cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A theory of membrane permeability: III. The effect of hydrostatic pressure

Using expressions derived in previous papers, the author investigates the behavior of a cell immersed in an infinite medium, under the influence of diffusion of a single solute and flow of water. The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the system is taken into account. It is found that, depending on the values of certain parameters, the cell can collapse, burst, reach a stationary stable state, or execute undamped oscillations; a cell must burst or collapse unless its volume is an increasing function of internal pressure, and it can execute stable oscillations only if its membrane acts as a “potential well” to the molecules of the solute.
Control and growth of middle wave infrared (MWIR) Hg(1−x)CdxTe on Si by molecular beam epitaxy

Middle wave infrared (MWIR) HgCdTe p-on-n double-layer heterojunctions (DLHJs) for infrared detector applications have been grown on 100-mm Si (112) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) for large format 2,560×512 focal plane arrays (FPAs). In order to meet the performance requirements needed for these FPAs, cutoff and doping uniformity across the 100-mm wafer are crucial. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), x-ray, and etch pit density (EPD) were monitored to assess the reproducibility, uniformity, and quality of detector material grown. Material properties demonstrated include x-ray full width half maximum (FWHM) as low as 64 arc-sec, typical etch pit densities in mid-106 cm−2, cutoff uniformity below 5% across the full wafer, and typical density of macrodefects <1000 cm−2. The detector quality was established by using test structure arrays (TSAs), which include miniarray diodes with the similar pitch as the detector array for easy measurement of critical parameters such as diode I-V characteristics and detector quantum efficiency. Typical I-V curves show excellent R0A products and strong reverse breakdown characteristics. Detector quantum efficiency was measured to be in the 60–70% range without an antireflection coating.
Adjudicating Climate Change: Litigating Climate Change at the Coal Mine

In several prominent climate change cases, Australian environmentalists have sought to compel government agencies responsible for approving coal mining projects to consider the impact of the greenhouse gases that will be emitted at the time that the mined coal is burned to generate energy. With this approach, environmentalists have had some notable success in forcing such "indirect" or "downstream" greenhouse gas emissions to be assessed in the decision-making process. This article describes these cases and analyzes legal barriers that prevent favorable outcomes for plaintiffs in such cases.
Our Ancestors’ Dystopia Now: Indigenous Conservation and the Anthropocene

The proposed Anthropocene epoch is understood geologically as a time when the collective actions of humans began influencing earth systems in marked, unprecedented ways. Some claim that the Anthropocene could have started in the year 1610 with “colonialism, global trade and coal” (Lewis and Maslin 177). Scientists and environmental ethicists often characterize futures in the Anthropocene as involving climate destabilization that will likely threaten the very existence of certain ecosystems, plants, and animals (Kolbert; Thompson and Bendik-Keymer; Vaidyanathan; Sandler). Ever-expanding human economic activities and consumer lifestyles are major drivers of climate destabilization through their dependence on burning fossil fuels and certain kinds of land-use such as deforestation. Some conservationists argue that we will inevitably have to learn to live with these changes, make careful decisions about conservation priorities, and, in some cases, learn to let go of certain ecosystems and species (Kareiva and Marvier). Yet others in the conservation community take an adamant position that these changes, especially extinctions, are morally dreadful (Vaidyanathan; Cafaro and Primack).
Single Element Transducers

The aim of this chapter is to describe the design, fabrication, and characteristics of three different 2 MHz ultrasound transducers incorporated in a 3.6 mm diameter (11 Fr) probe designed for pedicle screw guidance using ultrasound imaging. In order to compare the imaging performance of these transducers, various acoustic parameters (sensitivity, bandwidth, and center frequency) were obtained experimentally and finally, B-mode image acquisition was done on two human pedicle samples (U of T Research Ethics Approval Protocol 29799). The work reported in this chapter represents the first stage in our ultimate goal of developing a 32-element radial-phased array capable of generating a cross-sectional image of the pedicle from within.
The influence of urinary pH on the renal excretion of salicyl derivatives during aspirin therapy.

Abstract The validity of the scheme of Smith and associates for the partition analysis of the salicylate fractions in urine has been confirmed. The equations obtained differed only slightly from those of these workers. This analytical method has been utilized to study the effect of sodium bicarbonate administration on the excretion of salicylate during aspirin therapy for acute rheumatic fever. The apparent clearance of free salicylate during regimens of aspirin without added sodium bicarbonate ranged from 0.5 to 9.66 per cent of the corresponding creatinine clearances, but most of the values were below 2 per cent. The true clearances, based on the unbound plasma salicylate concentration, were probably four to five times as high. Even such clearances were of the order of those of chloride, and this implied that the free salicylate filtered through the glomeruli was for the most part reabsorbed by the tubules. The free salicylate constituted about 20 per cent of the total salicylate in the acid urines, the remaining 80 per cent being almost equally divided between salicyluric acid and salicyl glycuronide. When sodium bicarbonate was administered along with the aspirin in quantities sufficient to alkalinize the urine, the free salicylate clearances were increased to three to thirteen times the original values. The clearances were found to be proportional to the urinary pH. This increased excretion of free salicylate made it comprise as much as 70 per cent of the urinary total salicylate, the average being 52 per cent. The total salicylate clearance was thereby also increased as much as 200 per cent. These clearances were also found to be proportional to the urinary pH. The enhanced clearances of total salicylate accounted for the significant drop in plasma salicylate levels, which occurred in all instances. The true clearance of free salicylate in alkaline urines approached that of creatinine. Thus, excess of base prevented almost completely the reabsorption of free salicylate from the glomerular filtrate. Since at the most only traces of conjugated salicylates were present in the plasma, the clearance of these conjugates was either infinitely high or at least as high as p -aminohippurate. Such findings indicated that conjugated salicylates either were produced in the renal tubules or excreted through them, or both. Conjugation of salicylate has for its function a special type of detoxication which converts the ordinarily poorly excretable free salicylate into compounds which are easily excretable.
Appearance based background subtraction for PTZ cameras

Traditional background subtraction algorithms assume the camera is static and are based on simple per-pixel models of scene appearance. This leads to false detections when the camera moves. While this can sometimes be addressed by online image registration, this approach is prone to dramatic failures and long-term drift. We present a novel background subtraction algorithm designed for pan-tilt-zoom cameras that overcomes this challenge without the need for explicit image registration. The proposed algorithm automatically trains a discriminative background model, which is global in the sense that it is the same regardless of image location. Our approach first extracts multiple features from across the image and uses principal component analysis for dimensionality reduction. The extracted features are then grouped to form a Bag of Features. A global background model is then learned from the bagged features using Support Vector Machine. The proposed approach is fast and accurate. Having a single global model makes it computationally inexpensive in comparison to traditional pixel-wise models. It outperforms several state-of-the-art algorithms on the CDnet 2014 pan-tilt-zoom and baseline categories and Hopkins155 dataset. In particular, it achieves an F-Measure of 75.41% on the CDnet dataset PTZ category, significantly better than the previously reported best score of 62.07%. These results show that by removing the coupling between detection model and spatial location, we significantly increase the robustness to camera motion. HighlightsAn appearance based background subtraction algorithm is presented for pan-tilt-zoom cameras.The proposed method extracts features for each pixel by considering its neighborhood.Four type of features are considered: gradient, color, texture and intensity.A global foreground/background model is learnt without any spatial constraint.It outperforms the state-of-the-art on CDnet 2014 and Hopkins 155 datasets.
Towards a psychology of free action

Although freedom has been of grave concern to people for centuries, it has surprisingly not been a central topic in psychology. The goal of this article is to begin constructing a theoretical frame...
Bridging the Research-Practice Divide Through the Intermediary Model:

The ProblemThe gap between research and practice has been recognized and analyzed across multiple fields. Various solutions have been proposed but the gap persists. Although there are consistent calls for joint actions through collaborations between scholars and practitioners, not many in either party have taken it as their primary responsibilities. Thus, incremental or suboptimal efforts have been made to bridge the great divide.The SolutionIn this article, we propose forming a new entity—intermediary—as an effective approach to transforming research into practice. Also, we share a real-world case to illustrate how this approach and its outcome can contribute to closing the research-practice divide.The StakeholdersThree stakeholders will benefit from this research—scholars, practitioners, and intermediaries. Both scholars and practitioners will better understand the transformation process and various ways to close research-practice divide. Intermediaries will have a better knowledge about how their contr...
Rubisco Ssmt and LSMT: Related αN- and ∈N-Methyltransferases that Methylate the Large and Small Subunits of Rubisco

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) experiences several types of post-translational modifications during the expression, import and assembly of the protein. The large subunit (LS) from many plant species contains a trimethyllysyl residue at Lys-14 (1-3). The small subunit (SS) is post-translationally modified by removal of the targeting presequence, and the N-terminal methionine residue subjected to αN-methylation (4). The methylation of Lys-14 in the LS is catalyzed by S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet): Rubisco LS (lysine) €N-methyltransferase (Rubisco LSMT, Protein Methylase III, EC 2.1.1.127) (5). In spinach a homologue of Rubisco LSMT exists that encodes an enzyme that methylates the SS of Rubisco (Rubisco SSMT). Recombinant tobacco Rubisco LSMT expressed in E. coli and both recombinant and purified pea Rubisco LSMT, also catalyze the methylation of the a amino group of the processed form of the SS.
Health and economic benefits of reducing sugar intake in the USA, including effects via non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a microsimulation model.

Objectives Excessive consumption of added sugars in the human diet has been associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes (T2D), coronary heart disease (CHD) and other elements of the metabolic syndrome. Recent studies have shown that non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a critical pathway to metabolic syndrome. This model assesses the health and economic benefits of interventions aimed at reducing intake of added sugars. Methods Using data from US National Health Surveys and current literature, we simulated an open cohort, for the period 2015–2035. We constructed a microsimulation model with Markov chains for NAFLD (including steatosis, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)), body mass index, T2D and CHD. We assessed reductions in population disease prevalence, disease-attributable disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and costs, with interventions that reduce added sugars consumption by either 20% or 50%. Findings The model estimated that a 20% reduction in added sugars intake will reduce prevalence of hepatic steatosis, NASH, cirrhosis, HCC, obesity, T2D and CHD. Incidence of T2D and CHD would be expected to decrease by 19.9 (95% CI 12.8 to 27.0) and 9.4 (95% CI 3.1 to 15.8) cases per 100 000 people after 20 years, respectively. A 20% reduction in consumption is also projected to annually avert 0.767 million (M) DALYs (95% CI 0.757M to 0.777M) and a total of US$10.3 billion (B) (95% CI 10.2B to 10.4B) in discounted direct medical costs by 2035. These effects increased proportionally when added sugars intake were reduced by 50%. Conclusions The decrease in incidence and prevalence of disease is similar to results in other models, but averted costs and DALYs were higher, mainly due to inclusion of NAFLD and CHD. The model suggests that efforts to reduce consumption of added sugars may result in significant public health and economic benefits.
Healthcare navigation service in 2-1-1 San Diego: guiding individuals to the care they need.

Background Connecting vulnerable populations to healthcare and health-related services remains a challenge. In San Diego County, California, many individuals are unaware that they are eligible for assistance, and community-based healthcare providers often do not have a single, reliable point of access for information on available programs. Purpose This paper describes how 2-1-1 San Diego worked with community partners to develop and implement a Healthcare Navigation Program. Navigators provide information about health insurance coverage, prescription assistance, and food assistance for low-income households and assist clients with transportation, appointment scheduling, child/elder care, and personal finance. Methods The 2-1-1 agents collected demographic, healthcare access, and program participation data as part of routine service. Participants in the Healthcare Navigation Program also completed a follow-up satisfaction survey. Data were collected July to December 2011, and analyzed in 2012. Results The program has resulted in increased enrollment of eligible individuals in California's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid, and a high percentage of callers reported satisfaction with the program and use of the referral information they received. Conclusions The health-related programs of 2-1-1 San Deigo demonstrate the ability of this platform to support improvements in health and healthcare access.
Hydrolysis resistant functional polypeptide scaffold for biomaterials

For biomaterials, rich functionality often comes at a cost of precise control over structure. In this paper, we have developed a hydrolysis resistant polypeptide that marries the potential for expansive modification with synthetic control. This polymer, poly(γ-propargyl-L-glutamine) may be prepared from commercially available or previously synthesized poly(L-glutamate) by routine amide bond coupling reactions on a multi gram scale. Afterwards, the polymer may be altered to suit many applications through modification of the side chains or end group by orthogonal and quantitative reactions. The ease of synthesis and versatile nature of poly(γ-propargyl-L-glutamine) makes it a unique and ideal scaffold for biomaterial applications.
Sharing Experiences and Stressors at Work and at Home: A Model of Work-Linked Couples

Work-linked couples are couples who are connected in some way by their work. We focus on understanding work-life experiences of one type of work-linked couple – dual-military couples, or those couples in which both spouses are enlisted or commissioned by the military. Our goal was to develop a model that not only explains and predicts dual-military couples’ experiences, but also extends beyond this specific group and provides a conceptual model for work-linked couples in all occupational settings. Data from 82 soldiers whose spouses were also in the military were collected during 19 focus groups. We conducted an inductive analysis on transcripts of the focus groups to guide the discovery of themes. Second, a deductive process was used to apply components of the dual-military model to themes that emerged during inductive coding. We identified a set of 11 specific themes, organized into the two main areas of Time and Planning and Boundary Separation and Integration. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Hormonal regulation of oviductal glycoprotein 1 (OVGP1; MUC9) in the rhesus macaque cervix.

BACKGROUND Macaques are outstanding animal models for the development of new contraceptives. In women, progestin-only contraceptives often fail to block ovulation and are believed to act by altering cervix physiology. Herein, we assessed oviductal glycoprotein 1 (OVGP1) in the macaque cervix as a marker for progestogen action. MATERIALS Rhesus macaques were treated with estradiol (E2 ), E2 plus progesterone (P), and E2 plus levonorgestrel (LNG), a contraceptive progestin. Samples consisted of archived blocks of midcervix mucosa (epithelium and lamina propria) and fresh epithelial cells collected non-invasively by cytobrush. OVGP1 was assayed by quantitative real-time PCR and localized by immunocytochemistry. RESULTS OVGP1 transcript was maximal after E2 and reduced after treatment with E2 + P (P < .05). LNG also reduced OVGP1 expression (P < .05). OVGP1-specific staining localized to epithelial cells, and transcript was quantifiable in cytobrush collected samples. CONCLUSIONS OVGP1 expression in cytobrush samples of macaque cervix provides a non-invasive indicator of contraceptive progestin action.
Concept Mapping in Graduate Education

This chapter describes four informal case studies in concept mapping with graduate education students and in-service teachers using CmapTools (or simply Cmap), a concept mapping system with a particularly rich set of affordances. Three studies describe actual student applications of concept mapping using Cmap in three different graduate courses in Lehigh University’s College of Education and in Wilkes University’s Graduate School of Education, both in Pennsylvania in the USA. The fourth study describes the author’s experience in introducing Cmap as a concept mapping application for K-12 student use to about 1,000 K-12 teachers through regional hands-on workshops and national conference presentations. The aim was to raise teachers’ awareness of the potential benefits of concept mapping and to introduce them to powerful, free, concept mapping software for their classrooms. Findings indicate that teachers may adopt concept mapping if they recognize a compelling need to do so, and they tend not to understand the potential benefit and specific uses without intensive and extended professional development.
Resolving pronoun references

Abstract Two approaches to the problem of resolving pronoun references are presented. The first is a naive algorithm that works by traversing the surface parse trees of the sentences of the text in a particular order looking for noun phrases of the correct gender and number. The algorithm clearly does not work in all cases, but the results of an examination of several hundred examples from published texts show that it performs remarkably well. In the second approach, it is shown how pronoun solution can be handled in a comprehensive system for semantic analysis of English texts. The system is described, and it is shown in a detailed treatment of several examples how semantic analysis locates the antecedents of most pronouns as a by-product. Included are the classic examples of Winograd and Charniak.
Urine or You’re Out: Racialized Economic Threat and the Determinants of Welfare Drug Testing Policy in the United States, 2009–2015

Since 2009, fifteen U.S. states have passed some sort of restrictive drug-testing program for welfare-applicants and/or suspected recipients. Sociologists are often concerned with identifying the c...
Perioperative Outcomes for Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Differences Between Men and Women.

Background Previous studies have highlighted important biologic and survival-related differences among men and women with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, differences in perioperative or short-term outcomes have not been as well characterized. In this study, we investigated differences in the perioperative period and postoperative emergency department (ED) visits among men and women after lobectomy for stage I NSCLC. Methods A retrospective review was performed of patients who underwent a lobectomy for clinical stage I NSCLC at a single institution from 2010 to 2015. Results We identified 559 patients for inclusion, including 293 women (52%) and 266 men (48%). Women were more likely to present with clinical T1 status (p = 0.005) and to undergo a minimally invasive operation (p = 0.058). To reduce confounding, 206 case-matched pairs were identified. After matching, no differences were found in length of stay (p = 0.551) or pulmonary complications (p = 0.509); however, men experienced more cardiac complications (18% versus 7%, p = 0.001). Of importance, although rates of 30- and 90-day ED visits between sexes were similar (p = 0.531, p = 0.890, respectively) and no sex-related differences were found in presenting symptom on return to the ED (p = 0.478), women were more likely to be readmitted after presenting to the ED within 30 days (p = 0.038). Conclusions Women demonstrated an increased likelihood of being admitted after presenting to the ED within 30 days after discharge, indicating important differences between men and women in the short-term period after lobectomy. Further research will be required to further understand the cause for these differences.
Efficacy of Group Conversation Intervention in Individuals with Severe Profiles of Aphasia

An estimated 390,000 to 520,000 individuals with severe aphasia (IWSA) currently live in the United States. IWSA experience profound social isolation, which is associated with a wide range of negative health outcomes, including mortality. Treatments for severe aphasia frequently focus on compensatory communication approaches or a discrete communication act rather than on participation-based treatment. The purpose of this study was to determine whether IWSA demonstrated improved performance on standardized language measures, patient-reported outcome measures, and connected speech samples as a result of client-centered conversation group treatment. Results of assessments conducted at pretreatment, posttreatment, and maintenance intervals were variable across participants. All participants demonstrated improvement in at least one of the outcome measures considered. Importantly, none of these measures fully captured how IWSA were able to convey their thoughts in supported conversation. The results lend support for the use of conversation treatment for, and for further study in, this subpopulation of individuals with aphasia.
Longitudinal association between alcohol use and physical activity in US college students: Evidence for directionality

Objective: To investigate directionality of the association between alcohol use and physical activity in a college student sample, longitudinally across three time points. Participants: A total of 396 undergraduate students from a large university in the United States (62% females) participated in this study. Methods: Self-report data of alcohol use and physical activity were collected at three timepoints with 3-month lags between waves. Random-intercept cross-lagged panel modeling was used to disentangle within- and between-person effects. Results: Despite no significant between-person effects, there were significant cross-lagged paths from alcohol use to vigorous physical activity at the within-person level. Specifically, when individuals consumed more alcohol than normal at earlier timepoints, they reported more subsequent vigorous physical activity at 3-month follow-ups. Conclusion: We provide evidence that alcohol use may positively predict later physical activity in college students over the course of a school year. These findings advance theoretical understanding of how these two health behaviors are linked using sophisticated methods.
Technical Considerations for Semantic Segmentation in MRI using Convolutional Neural Networks.

High-fidelity semantic segmentation of magnetic resonance volumes is critical for estimating tissue morphometry and relaxation parameters in both clinical and research applications. While manual segmentation is accepted as the gold-standard, recent advances in deep learning and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have shown promise for efficient automatic segmentation of soft tissues. However, due to the stochastic nature of deep learning and the multitude of hyperparameters in training networks, predicting network behavior is challenging. In this paper, we quantify the impact of three factors associated with CNN segmentation performance: network architecture, training loss functions, and training data characteristics. We evaluate the impact of these variations on the segmentation of femoral cartilage and propose potential modifications to CNN architectures and training protocols to train these models with confidence.
The role of weight stigma in parental weight talk

BACKGROUND Many parents engage in "weight talk" with their child, such as encouraging their child to lose weight or making comments about their own weight or others' weight. What parents say to their children about weight can affect children's well-being, yet little is known about parental characteristics that may be at play regarding this common practice. OBJECTIVES This study examined the role of weight stigma in parental weight talk, and whether internalized weight bias mediates the relationship between parents' experiences of weight stigma and weight-based conversations and comments. METHODS A sample of 453 parents (Mage = 35.07) with children 2 to 17 years old (Mage = 8.76) completed surveys measuring parental experiences with weight stigma, weight bias internalization, and frequency of different types of parental weight talk. Mediations were tested via the PROCESS macro. RESULTS Independent of controls (parent BMI, child BMI percentile, parent and child sex, parent and child age, race, income, and education), experienced weight stigma was indirectly associated with greater frequency of weight-based conversations (β = .08) and comments about oneself (β = .08) and others (β = .04) via parents' internalized weight bias. CONCLUSIONS These findings offer novel insights for understanding parental weight talk and can inform pediatric providers working with families on weight-related issues.
Xylella fastidiosa: bacterial parasitism with hallmarks of commensalism.

All organisms evolve in the presence of other organisms and these intimate associations are major drivers of evolution. Broadly speaking, these interactions are considered symbioses and can take on a full range of positive, negative or seemingly neutral interactions. Just two examples of these symbiotic interactions are parasitism and commensalism. Parasitism results in one partner benefitting while one partner suffers adverse consequences. Commensalism is a form of symbiosis where one partner benefits and the other partner is neutrally affected. Research efforts are more often focused on understanding parasitic symbioses related to disease, hence, much research is performed on identifying virulence factors to understand the fundamentals of pathogenesis. In turn, much less is understood about the fundamentals of commensal relationships. Here, we will take an introspective look at the plant-associated bacterium, Xylella fastidiosa. In some of its many plant hosts, this bacterium participates in seemingly commensal relationships while in other hosts, it causes devastating diseases that result in epidemics, making it a good model for exploring the determinants of where bacteria fall on the spectrum of parasitic and commensal relationships from both the microbial and the plant host perspective. Recent discoveries in how pathogenic X. fastidiosa imposes self-limiting behaviors upon itself indicate that even in its parasitic form, X. fastidiosa displays hallmarks of a commensal lifestyle. Understanding how commensalism can ‘go wrong’ and manifest into pathologies in specific hosts is a useful vantage point from which to study the determinants of virulence and pathogenicity.
DOES TIME TO WORK LIMIT TIME TO PLAY?: ESTIMATING A TIME ALLOCATION MODEL FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS BY HOUSEHOLD SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS

We use data from the 2003 to 2014 American Time Use Survey to estimate substitution between working and extracurricular time for high school students, which may have long‐run educational and labor market consequences. We find that working students are 5 percentage points less likely to participate in extracurricular activities and spend 40 minutes less on extracurriculars per day. We estimate heterogeneous effects by socioeconomic indicators to test whether disadvantaged students are more or less likely to substitute time away from extracurriculars. We find the largest interaction effects by paternal education, where working students with low paternal education are 0.5 percentage points more likely to engage in extracurriculars and increase extracurriculars by 15 minutes per day. (JEL I2, J22, J24)
Three-Dimensional Printing of Tissue Engineering Scaffolds with Horizontal Pore and Composition Gradients

This work investigated a new three-dimensional (3D) printing methodology to prepare porous scaffolds containing horizontal pore and composition gradients. To achieve that, a multimaterial printing ...
Progress and outlook for capacitive deionization technology

Capacitive deionization (CDI), an emerging desalination technology, has received considerable attention in recent years due to porous carbon development, new cell designs, and unique operational modes providing higher performance for capacitance-based salt removal. The energy cost of this separation process has also been rigorously evaluated through a variety of efficiency calculations, and direct comparisons are now being made with more conventional membrane-based separation systems. Currently, the thermodynamic energy efficiency (TEE) of CDI is quite low with values typically below 5%, although there are examples where this efficiency can reach 10% or higher under the proper conditions. As the development of CDI and analogous capacitive processes continue, the TEE should remain a metric for comparison to conventional techniques. In addition, the ability of CDI to perform selective separations for trace compounds, resource recovery, and contaminant removal should be more heavily investigated.
Survival benefit of neoadjuvant therapy in patients with non-metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: A propensity matching and intention-to-treat analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Conclusive evidence in favor of neoadjuvant therapy for those with non-metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is still lacking. The objective of this study was to evaluate the survival benefit of neoadjuvant therapy vs upfront surgery for patients with non-metastatic PDAC. METHODS The study involved 565 patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy or upfront surgery as the primary treatment for PDAC. Propensity score matching was performed between the neoadjuvant therapy group (NAT group) and the upfront surgery group (UFS group) using 20 clinical variables at diagnosis. Overall survival and surgical pathology were compared between the two treatment groups on an intent-to-treat basis. RESULTS In the matched cohort, the NAT group (n = 91) had a longer median overall survival than the UFS group (n = 91) (23.1 months vs 18.5 months, P = .043). The rate of patients undergoing surgical resection was lower in the NAT group (58% vs 80%, P = .001). Regarding surgical pathology, the NAT group had smaller tumor size (2.8 cm vs 4.0 cm, P = .001), lower incidence of positive surgical margins (8% vs 30%, P < .002), and less lymph node metastasis (45% vs 78%, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS The strategy of neoadjuvant therapy before surgical resection appears to offer pathologic effect and survival benefit for the patients presenting with non-metastatic PDAC.
Experiments for Reinforced Concrete Foundation Remote Monitoring

The design and testing of a solution to provide energy for, and communications with, sensors encased in reinforced concrete structures, without additional wiring, was investigated. The single wire transmission line technique was adapted for use on reinforcing steel (rebar) embedded in the concrete. Experiments were conducted that first validated the approach on rebar in an ambient air medium. After the validation tests were completed, testing in concrete was conducted. To interface with the rebar special directional couplers were designed that focus the energy along the rebar in one direction. To ensure the results would be transferrable to industry, the couplers were kept physically small by using a carrier frequency of 2.4 GHz. The couplers were constructed using advanced manufacturing techniques, including laser-cut copper components and computer-aided manufacturing for the plastic dielectric members. The baseline testing in air verified that the rebar functioned as a single wire transmission line and that the coupler design worked. However, when the experimentation moved to encasement of the rebar and couplers in concrete, the performance degraded significantly. The degradation in concrete was large enough to suggest that the use of 2.4 GHz may not support either communications or energy harvesting in reinforced concrete structures. A second design approach was pursued that investigated using a much lower carrier frequency of 8 kHz. Though the degradation was not as severe as with 2.4 GHz, it was still substantial enough to indicate that the rebar single wire transmission line approach faces challenges that may warrant consideration of other techniques for embedded monitoring of reinforced concrete structures. Future areas of research were identified, including transferring the research to applications for monitoring existing steel structures in air, and also consideration of the use of this research for reinforced concrete monitoring when there are concentric steel reinforcing structures present.
Asset Prices When Differences of Opinion are Common Knowledge

We examine how investors capitalize differences of opinion when disagreements are common knowledge. We conduct an event study of the market's reaction to analysts' dispersed earnings forecast revisions. We find that investors take differences of opinion into account and do not exhibit an optimism bias. Our findings indicate that the overpricing of stocks with high forecast dispersion is not due to investors' tendency to overweight optimistic expectations, but rather due to investor credulity regarding analysts' incentives. Our findings support the notion that assets may become mispriced when rational investors face structural uncertainties as proposed by Brav and Heaton (2002).
Change in foster parent knowledge, skills and confidence associated with support from a peer “trauma coach”

Background: Foster parents are in an ideal position to build resilience and manage trauma symptoms in the children they care for. Learning about trauma and using effective parenting strategies can mitigate the devastating impact of trauma on the youth. Peer support incorporating psychoeducation and skill building for the caregiver has been demonstrated to promote more accurate interpretation of children’s behavior in some settings. Objective: To identify changes in knowledge, skills and efficacy of foster caregivers who received trauma coach services. Design/Methods: The study was conducted …
The Role of Suffering in Relation to Suicide in Persons Experiencing Co-occurring Substance Use Disorders and Mental Health Conditions: A Brief Perspective

This article explores how suffering and lack of choice play a role in suicide among individuals with co-occurring substance use disorders and mental health conditions. People who experience profoun...
A Comprehensive Study of Cloud Forensics

Cloud Computing has many facets to it which makes it diverse. Investigation of a cyber-crime that involves the cloud as a subject, object, or as an environment, is cloud forensics. Challenges in cloud forensics exist at every phase of digital forensics. To provide a holistic solution to overcome these challenges we must first understand the cloud forensics landscape (the Cloud). The elements which give the Cloud the diversity that it has, and have an impact on the forensics process of the cloud should be taken into consideration while designing the cloud forensics framework. In this paper, the researchers present a comprehensive survey of the research trend in cloud forensics. The paper also proposes a cloud forensics taxonomy based on the paradigms of cloud computing that have an impact on cloud forensics. Although forensics solution taxonomies have been proposed earlier, this paper aims at a taxonomy solution at a more generic level. The proposed taxonomy provides cloud forensics solution strategies for efficient cloud forensics.
DWI for Renal Mass Characterization: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Diagnostic Test Performance

OBJECTIVE. The objective of our study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the test performance of DWI in the characterization of renal masses. MATERIALS AND METHODS. We performed searches of three electronic databases for studies on renal mass characterization using DWI. Methodologic quality was assessed for each study. We quantitatively analyzed test performance for three clinical problems: first, benign versus malignant lesions; second, clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) versus other malignancies; and, third, high-versus low-grade clear cell RCCs. We summarized performance as a single pair of sensitivity and specificity values or a summary ROC curve. RESULTS. The studies in the literature were limited in both quantity and quality. For classification of benign versus malignant lesions, four studies with 279 lesions yielded a single summary estimate of 86% sensitivity and 78% specificity. For differentiation of clear cell RCC from other malignancies, five studies showed marked heter...
On the Design of Personal & Communal Large Information Scale Appliances

As large displays become less expensive and more common throughout our working environments, we believe they will become pervasive, much as telephones were the ubiquitous communication devices of the previous generation. When large displays are coupled to an authentication device (e.g., a badge reader) and put on a network, they permit very rapid personal content access. The BlueBoard project explores the design of large displays that can be used as temporary personal access points to personalized content, yet also be used as display surfaces for small groups of people who want to easily share content between themselves. We've developed several design points that make BlueBoards simple for individual and small group use -- (1) p-cons to refer to a person for information access and exchange, (2) assuring users that information displayed on a BlueBoard is truly transient, (3) providing a basic set of tools for immediate walk-up use, and (4) giving the BlueBoard a sense of where it's located for contextually appropriate information display.
How tutors characterize students: a study of personal constructs in tutoring

Human tutoring provided on a one-to-one basis has been credited as the most effective form of instruction [Bloom, 1984]; [Cohen, Kulik, & Kulik, 1982]. It is not surprising, then, that efforts to isolate and describe the actions of expert tutors and the unique interactions that take place between tutor and tutee have intensified in recent years. Cognitive researchers, particularly those interested in developing intelligent computer learning environments, want to know how good tutors behave and think during interactions with students. Models of human tutoring provide a rich source of ideas for system designers and developers.
Marketing Your Accounting Practice Effectively

As a result of increased competition, accounting practitioners must develop a marketing strategy, or if they already have one in place, ascertain that it is truly effective. The authors describe a questionnaire that may be used by accounting firms to help them determine and satisfy their clients' specific needs. Sample questions are provided to demonstrate how this may be done.
Humans: Archaic and Modern

The terms archaic and modern human refer to two biologically and temporally disparate groups of humans. Keywords: Homo sapiens; Homo neanderthalensis; Homo heidelbergensis
TAGTC meets across the pond: 3rd Transatlantic Gene Therapy Consortium London, UK, 2–3 October 2007

The third Transatlantic Gene Therapy Consortium (TAGTC) workshop took place on 2–3 October 2007 at the Royal Society of Medicine in London. This workshop brings together leading investigators from the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany to discuss recent developments in gene therapy relevant to vector development and clinical trials. The workshop represents the culmination of multiple collaborative efforts organized as the TAGTC. The first retreat was held in 2005 at the Eberbach Monastery (Germany) in conjunction with the annual Georg-Speyer-Haus Symposium in Frankfurt, Germany. The second retreat took place in Baltimore in 2006 in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Society of Gene Therapy. Approximately 30–40 individuals from five to seven laboratories attended each of these retreats so as to facilitate shared vector development, preclinical trials, and clinical protocols.
Reproductive tract microbiome in assisted reproductive technologies

The human microbiome has gained much attention recently for its role in health and disease. This interest has come as we have begun to scratch the surface of the complexity of what has been deemed to be our "second genome" through initiatives such as the Human Microbiome Project. Microbes have been hypothesized to be involved in the physiology and pathophysiology of assisted reproduction since before the first success in IVF. Although the data supporting or refuting this hypothesis remain somewhat sparse, thanks to sequencing data from the 16S rRNA subunit, we have begun to characterize the microbiome in the male and female reproductive tracts and understand how this may play a role in reproductive competence. In this review, we discuss what is known about the microbiome of the reproductive tract as it pertains to assisted reproductive technologies.
Quintessential cosmology: Novel models of cosmological structure formation

We examine the possibility that a substantial fraction of the total energy density in a spatially flat Universe is composed of a time-dependent and spatially inhomogeneous component whose equation-of-state differs from that of baryons, neutrinos, dark matter, or radiation. In this lecture, we report on our investigations of the case in which the additional energy component, dubbed "quintessence", is due to a dynamical scalar field evolving in a potential. We have computed the effects on the background cosmological evolution, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and mass power spectrum, finding a broad range of cosmologically viable models. We stress three important features of the quintessence or Q-component: the time evolution of the equation-of-state; the length-scale dependence of the speed of propagation of the fluctuations in the Q-component; and, the contribution of quintessence fluctuations to the CMB anisotropy spectrum.
MM:4 The children with special health care needs podcast series

The Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) Podcast Series utilizes a new medium (the podcast) to present current and state-of-the-art clinical reviews to pediatric residents and pediatricians who care for children with disabilities. The podcast represents an innovative method of presenting teaching materials. Audio content can be downloaded to portable media players on demand, and later listened to at the user's convenience. Podcasting is spreading quickly because of the rapid adoption of MP3 players, increasing familiarity with electronic transfer of information, and the desire of learners to have fresh content. The CSHCN Podcast Series is a set of interview-style lectures that are posted on ‘Podcasting from the U’ (http://www.utah.edu/podcast), a website recently developed by the University of Utah for public access of audio-based educational content. Each podcast addresses an issue relevant to the care of medically complex pediatric patients. The podcasts included in this submission are the third and fourth in the series. The third podcast is an interview with Nancy Murphy, MD on the diagnosis and management of cerebral palsy. The fourth podcast is a critical evaluation of autism screening recommendations by Paul Carbone, MD. All podcasts in the series can be downloaded free of charge and serve to improve dissemination of new and important information to pediatricians and trainees. We are in the process of incorporating these podcasts into the pediatric residency curriculum and evaluating their effectiveness as teaching tools. Acknowledgements: This work is posted on the Podcasting from the U website, maintained by the University of Utah Department of Marketing and Communication. Jason Smith, coordinator of the Podcasting from the U website, assists in editing.
LARGE AMOUNTS OF CELL-FREE FETAL DNA ARE PRESENT IN AMNIOTIC FLUID

Until recently, the focus of our research in the noninvasive diagnosis of Down syndrome was the genetic analysis of intact fetal nucleated erythrocytes from the circulation of pregnant women (1). The initial step in the physical isolation of these target cells involves the layering of diluted maternal blood on a density gradient (2). Before 1997, we routinely discarded the plasma layer of the density gradient, unaware of the fact that it could contain nucleic acids. In 1997, prompted by reports of large quantities of tumor-specific DNA sequences in the plasma and serum of cancer patients (3)(4)(5), Lo et al. (6) demonstrated the presence of male fetal DNA sequences in the serum and plasma of pregnant women. Subsequently, this same group extended their observations by quantifying the fetal DNA in maternal plasma (7) and studying its kinetics and physiology (8). The detection and/or quantification of fetal DNA sequences in maternal plasma have been used for a variety of clinical applications, including diagnosis of gender, Rhesus D genotype, single gene disorders, aneuploidy, and preeclampsia [reviewed in Refs. (9)(10)]. More recently, it has also been suggested that the genetic material in the plasma consists of a continuum of intact and apoptotic cells as well as cell-free DNA (11)(12). Fetal DNA, however, appears to exist predominantly in a cell-free form in the maternal plasma (13). Despite advances in the clinical applications of this technology, to date not much is known about the tissue of origin of the cell-free fetal DNA and how it is metabolized in the pregnant woman. Botezatu et al. (14) demonstrated that male DNA sequences could be found in the urine of women who received a blood transfusion from a male donor, as well as women who were pregnant with a male …