cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Second Graders’ Mathematical Practices for Solving Fraction Tasks

Recently, over 40 states in the United States adopted the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) which include standards for content and eight standards for mathematical practices. The purpose of this study was to better understand the nature of young children’s mathematical practices through an exploratory examination of the practices of a group of second-grade students engaged in several mathematical tasks focused on rational number concepts. Twenty-five second-grade students completed three fraction tasks in structured clinical interviews. The interviews and student work were analyzed using an interpretational analysis to examine the data for constructs, themes, and patterns that were useful in explaining children’s mathematical practices. The results reveal that children used a variety of mathematical practices during the interviews to respond to the mathematical problems presented. Children’s mathematical practices were both a product that they used to solve the mathematical situations, and a process that was developing during the interactions of the interview. The findings lead to new insights about how mathematical practices develop and what promotes their development.
Production of a recombinant capsid protein VP1 from a newly described polyomavirus (RacPyV) for downstream use in virus characterization

Here we describe the methods for production of a recombinant viral capsid protein and subsequent use in an indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and for use in production of a rabbit polyclonal antibody. These reagents were utilized in development and optimization of an ELISA, which established the extent of exposure of free ranging raccoons to a newly described polyomavirus (RacPyV) [1]. Production of a polyclonal antibody has allowed for further characterization of RacPyV, including immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry techniques, in order to answer questions about pathogenesis of this virus.
Firm Performance and Management's Discussion and Analysis Disclosures: An Industry Approach

Over the period 1993-2001, this study examines whether the disclosure practices in the Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) section and Part I of the annual report for 71 firms in four diverse industries (banking, airlines, pharmaceuticals and electronics manufacturing) are differentially associated with the firm's future operating performance and valuation. Supplemental to the financial statements, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asserts that MD&A disclosures should provide investors and other users with transparent information on the financial condition and results of operations of the registrant, with particular emphasis on the registrant's prospects for the future. Our study addresses this issue. We find that our disclosure index based on comprehensive content analysis provides incremental explanatory power in predicting future firm performance and market valuation while controlling for current income and other related factors. While previous studies have not considered differential industry analyses, our results vary by the nature of the industry, particularly when future performance is more closely related to nonfinancial performance measures that are generally not disclosed or not clearly disclosed in current MD&A and Part I of the annual report information. This suggests that the SEC's current concern for more meaningful analysis in MD&A disclosures might well be more expressly directed to specific industries, e.g., the banking and pharmaceutical industries in our sample. Finally our evidence also suggests that the market assigns a higher market value to firms that are upfront with investors. In short, transparency - in terms of providing disclosures associated with current and future firm performance - pays as even though there is a differential industry effect, the market seems to reward firms that provide investors with the critical information they need to value their investments.
Chemoprevention of Skin Cancer

This chapter focuses on the use of systemic and topical retinoids in the chemoprevention of skin cancer and will aim to demystify their use in the clinical arena. The use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, antioxidants, and tea polyploids will also be addressed. Topical imiquimod, 5-fluoruracil, and photodynamic therapy have been detailed elsewhere (see Chapters 2 and 4).
Effects of Glucagon and Insulin on Plasma Free Fatty Acids and Blood Sugar in Owls

SummaryIntravenous injection of crystalline glucagon (50.0 μg/kg) of mammalian origin in owls caused significant elevations of plasma FFA and BS, results similar to those observed in other avian species. Intravenous injection of crystalline beef insulin (2.0 U/kg) in owls caused marked hypoglycemia, but no significant change of plasma FFA concentration.The author wishes to thank Mr. John B. Moyle, Research Coordinator, Department of Conservation of the State of Minnesota, for his help in procuring owls. The technical help of Donna E. Swenson and William F. Prigge is gratefully acknowledged, as well as that of Earl J. Levens for his skillful handling of the owls.
Pharmacokinetics, Toleration, and Safety of Indanyl Carbenicillin in Man

The indanyl ester of carbenicillin is rapidly absorbed after oral administration, with intact ester appearing in serum shortly after ingestion. Once absorbed, the ester is rapidly hydrolyzed to carbenicillin plus indanol, and the released carbenicillin is excreted in urine. Indanol is also excreted in the urine in good yield as glucuronide and sulfate conjugates. Indanyl carbenicillin at doses of 500-1,000 mg four times daily provides serum levels of 7-14 [tg/ml and urinary levels in excess of 500-1,000 [tg/ml without any hazard to the patient. This new antibiotic offers particular promise since the spectrum of activity against gram-negative rods covers the organisms most frequently involved in urinary tract infections, such as Pseudomonas, Escherichia coli, and all strains of Proteus, including indole-positive species.
Contemporary issues in frontal sinus surgery

Despite dramatic advances in the instrumentation and diagnostic imaging available for the treatment of paranasal sinusitis, the surgical management of chronic frontal sinusitis continues to challenge otolaryngologists. The variety of surgical options that exist attests to the complexity of this dise
Local concept-based medical image retrieval with correlation-enhanced similarity matching based on global analysis

A correlation-enhanced similarity matching framework for medical image retrieval is presented in a local concept-based feature space. In this framework, images are presented by vectors of concepts that comprise of local color and texture patches of image regions in a multi-dimensional feature space. To generate the concept vocabularies and represent the images, statistical models are built using a probabilistic multi-class support vector machine (SVM). For the similarity search, the concept correlations in the collection as a whole are analyzed as a global thesaurus-like structure and incorporated in a similarity matching function. The proposed scheme overcomes some limitations of the “bag of concepts” model, such as the assumption of feature independence. A systematic evaluation of image retrieval on a biomedical image collection of different modalities demonstrates the advantages of the proposed retrieval framework in terms of precision-recall.
Introducing Home-Based Medical Care

As the population ages, home-based medical care becomes increasingly important in the care of frail, functionally impaired older adults. Unfortunately, formal education in home-based medical care is limited, and misconceptions abound. This book is intended to be a practical clinical reference for health care providers who practice medicine in the home. Home-based medical care is highly relevant to the evolving health service delivery system in the USA, but terminology related to this field can be confusing. We adopt the term “home-based medical care” to emphasize the relevance of this practice model as part of the contemporary health care system.
Complexity and Specificity of the Neutrophil Transcriptomes in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

NIH projects such as ENCODE and Roadmap Epigenomics have revealed surprising complexity in the transcriptomes of mammalian cells. In this study, we explored transcriptional complexity in human neutrophils, cells generally regarded as nonspecific in their functions and responses. We studied distinct human disease phenotypes and found that, at the gene, gene isoform, and miRNA level, neutrophils exhibit considerable specificity in their transcriptomes. Thus, even cells whose responses are considered non-specific show tailoring of their transcriptional repertoire toward specific physiologic or pathologic contexts. We also found that miRNAs had a global impact on neutrophil transcriptome and are associated with innate immunity in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). These findings have important implications for our understanding of the link between genes, non-coding transcripts and disease phenotypes.
Integrated inductors with magnetic materials for on-chip power conversion

This article consists of a collection of slides from the author's conference presentation on the deployment of integrated inductors with magnetic materials for on-chip power conversion. Some of the specific topics discussed include: the special features and processing capabilities of DC voltage converters; the properties of magnetic materials; and key features and processing capabilities of inductors.
Choosing a Language

Even before fieldwork preparation (which will be dealt with in Chapter 5), it is necessary to choose a language to work on. However, the choice of language may well be out of the hands of the researcher. The language ultimately chosen for fieldwork may be suggested by an advisor or senior linguist (Section 4.1) or, due to special circumstances, a language community might request a researcher to conduct fieldwork on their language (Section 4.2). The situation where the researcher has the chance to choose a language by himself/herself, a case perhaps not as common as one might believe, will be treated in Section 4.3.
Identification of oligosaccharides in feces of breast-fed infants and their correlation with the gut microbial community

Glycans in breast milk are abundant and found as either free oligosaccharides or conjugated to proteins and lipids. Free human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) function as prebiotics by stimulating the growth of beneficial bacteria while preventing the binding of harmful bacteria to intestinal epithelial cells. Bacteria have adapted to the glycan-rich environment of the gut by developing enzymes that catabolize glycans. The decrease in HMOs and the increase in glycan digestion products give indications of the active enzymes in the microbial population. In this study, we quantitated the disappearance of intact HMOs and characterized the glycan digestion products in the gut that are produced by the action of microbial enzymes on HMOs and glycoconjugates from breast milk. Oligosaccharides from fecal samples of exclusively breast-fed infants were extracted and profiled using nanoLC-MS. Intact HMOs were found in the fecal samples, additionally, other oligosaccharides were found corresponding to degraded HMOs and non-HMO based compounds. The latter compounds were fragments of N-glycans released through the cleavage of the linkage to the asparagine residue and through cleavage of the chitobiose core of the N-glycan. Marker gene sequencing of the fecal samples revealed bifidobacteria as the dominant inhabitants of the infant gastrointestinal tracts. A glycosidase from Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum was then expressed to digest HMOs in vitro, which showed that the digested oligosaccharides in feces corresponded to the action of glycosidases on HMOs. Similar expression of endoglycosidases also showed that N-glycans were released by bacterial enzymes. Although bifidobacteria may dominate the gut, it is possible that specific minority species are also responsible for the major products observed in feces. Nonetheless, the enzymatic activity correlated well with the known glycosidases in the respective bacteria, suggesting a direct relationship between microbial abundances and catabolic activity.
Market Interpretations of Price

The concept of price is exceedingly complex, and the roles it can play are numerous. Two basic roles for price are allocation and information. The price of a product as an allocative mechanism determines who can buy the product, and how much can be purchased, or the total demand for the product. In an allocative role, prices can have a divisive impact in splitting a society into ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’. Effective pricing by increasing the total size of the potential market enables more consumers to be able to reap the benefits of society’s organizational resources. Conversely, ineffective pricing may polarize the social classes and alienate the poor from the rest of society.1 At the same time, price provides signals, and in effect positions a product as to its quality and the acquired social status in owning the product. Price is often a clear indicator of what the consumer may desire or want to be recognized for in a purchasing or use situation. Price, therefore, along with deals and promotional levels, can be a potent marketing stimulus in eliciting the response of purchasing behaviour.
Propionibacterium acnes: Time-to-Positivity in Standard Bacterial Culture From Different Anatomical Sites.

Background: Propionibacterium acnes infections are likely under-recognized and underreported. This is partly because of low clinical suspicion, perceived non-pathogenicity, or lack of adequate culture incubation time. We conducted a study to assess the optimal incubation period to recover P. acnes from specimens acquired during the workup of suspected clinical infections. Methods: A 5-year retrospective chart review was conducted between January 2010 and December 2014 at a single tertiary-care hospital. All patient cases from which P. acnes was recovered were included for analysis. Source of infection, antibiotic use, and culture time-to-positivity (TTP) were recorded. Results: Implanted devices comprised the single most common source of P. acnes infection. In the majority of cases, P. acnes was the only organism identified. The mean incubation TTP for all isolates was 5.73 days. Conclusions: Standard 5-day culture incubation periods are insufficient to recover P. acnes . As a result, P. acnes is likely a much more common etiology of a variety of clinical infections than previously reported. J Clin Med Res. 2016;8(12):916-918 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jocmr2753w
Stable single mode terahertz semiconductor sources at room temperature

Terahertz (THz) range is an area of the electromagnetic spectra which has lots of applications but it suffers from the lack of simple working devices which can emit THz radiation, such as the high performance mid-infrared (mid-IR) quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) [1] based on InP technology [2]. The applications for the THz can be found in astronomy and space research, biology imaging, security, industrial inspection, etc. Unlike THz QCLs based on the fundamental oscillators, which are limited to cryogenic operations, semiconductor THz sources based on nonlinear effects of mid-IR QCLs do not suffer from operating temperature limitations, because mid-IR QCLs can operate well above room temperature. THz sources based on difference frequency generation (DFG) utilize nonlinear properties of asymmetric quantum structures, such as QCL structures.
The upgrade of the CMS hadron calorimeter with silicon photomultipliers

The upgrade of the hadron calorimeter of the CMS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider is currently underway. The endcap sections will be upgraded in the winter of 2016–2017 and the barrel sections during the second LHC long shutdown in 2019. The existing photosensors will be replaced with about 16 000 new silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), resulting in the first large installation of SiPMs in a radiation environment. All associated front-end electronics will also be upgraded. This paper discusses the motivation for the upgrade and provides a description of the new system, including the SiPMs with associated control electronics and the front-end readout cards.
On the wave propagation analysis and supratransmission prediction of a metastable modular metastructure for non-reciprocal energy transmission

Abstract In this research, we investigate in-depth the nonlinear energy transmission phenomenon in a metastable modular metastructure and develop efficient tools for the design of such systems. Previous studies on a one-dimensional (1D) reconfigurable metastable modular chain uncover that when the driving frequency is within the stopband of the periodic structure, there exists a threshold input amplitude, beyond which sudden increase in the energy transmission can be observed. This onset of transmission is caused by nonlinear instability and is known as supratransmission. Due to spatial asymmetry of strategically configured constituents, such transmission thresholds could shift considerably when the structure is excited from different ends and therefore enabling the non-reciprocal energy transmission. This one-way propagation characteristic can be adaptable via reconfiguring the metastable modular system. In this new study, we build upon these findings and advance the state of the art by (a) exploring the different mechanisms that are able to activate the onset of supratransmission and their implications on wave energy transmission potential, and (b) developing an effective design tool - a localized nonlinear-linear model combined with harmonic balancing and transfer matrix analyses to analytically and efficiently predict the critical threshold amplitude of the metastable modular chain. These investigations provide important new understandings of the rich and intricate dynamics achievable by nonlinearity, asymmetry, and metastability, and create opportunities to accomplish adaptable non-reciprocal wave energy transmission.
APPLYING A GENERAL STRAIN THEORY FRAMEWORK TO UNDERSTAND SCHOOL WEAPON CARRYING AMONG LGBQ AND HETEROSEXUAL YOUTH

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) youth are at a higher risk for school victimization, social isolation, and school weapon carrying compared with their heterosexual peers, yet few studies have been conducted to investigate their experiences. By using a general strain theory (GST) framework, data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) statewide probability sample of Delaware heterosexual (n = 7,688) and LGBQ (n = 484) youth in grades 9–12 show that there are both similarities and differences in the factors associated with school weapon carrying among LGBQ and heterosexual youth. LGBQ and heterosexual youth's weapon carrying is related to school victimization, but social support does not moderate the relationship between school victimization and school weapon carrying as suggested by GST. Furthermore, being male is significantly related to heterosexual youth's weapon carrying, but sex is not related to weapon carrying among LGBQ youth. Overall, the results highlight a need to reconceptualize GST to help center the experiences of LGBQ youth, a historically marginalized group, within mainstream criminological literature. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.
Role of temperature and oxygen content on structural and electrical properties of LaBaCo2O5+δ thin films.

The role of temperature and the oxygen content in the structural transformation and electrical conductivity of epitaxial double perovskite LaBaCo2O5+δ (0≤ δ ≤ 1) thin films was systematically investigated. Reciprocal space mapping and ω-2θ x-ray diffraction performed at different temperatures in vacuum indicate that oxygen vacancies in the films become ordered at high temperature in a reducing environment. The changes of the oxygen content and the degree of oxygen vacancy ordering in the films result in a strong in-plane anisotropic lattice deformation and a large thermal expansion coefficient along the c-axis direction. The electrical conductivity measurements reveal that these behaviors are related to the degree of oxygen vacancy formation and lattice deformation in the films.
Nonvolatile memory outlook: Technology driven or application driven

The last decade has seen significant progress in emerging nonvolatile memory (NVM) technologies including Spin Torque Transfer RAM (STT RAM), phase change memory (PCM) and resistive RAM (RRAM). Until now, the key industry players have all demonstrated Gb-scale capacity in advanced technology nodes, including 1Gb PCM at 45nm by Micron [1], 8Gb PCM at 20nm by Samsung [2], 32Gb RRAM at 24nm by Toshiba/Sandisk [3], 16Gb conductive bridge (CBRAM) at 27nm by Micron/Sony [4], 128Gb 3D XPoint technology by Micron/Intel [5] and 1Gb STT-RAM with DDR4-compatible interface by Everspin [6]. Even with successful commercialization, the insertion of these technologies to exiting computer system as a direct drop-in replacement seems not being effective. The fundamental reasons for that are 1) Technically, the inherent nature of these technologies does not align well with either main memory or persistent storage in terms of cost-per-bit, latency, power, endurance, and retention. 2) Economically, besides more investment to existing memory manufacturing facilities for producing these new technologies, it is difficult to convince end-users to switch to a new technology as long as they can still use DRAM or Flash for the same purpose, unless significant benefits are provided.
A Model of Tourism as Context for Historical Sites: An Example of Historical Archeology at Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park, well known for its unparalleled concentration of hydrothermal features and scenic vistas, is dramatic and awe-inspiring to modern visitors. Tourists of the 19th century found it equally striking and described the park as a “Wonderland,” a name that has stuck to this day. The natural features of Yellowstone spark a visceral reaction in many to the point that the public often views the park as a pristine wilderness virtually untouched by human artifice. Nevertheless, decades of archeological investigations have revealed an almost continuous human occupation in Yellowstone, one that extends for at least 9000 years into the past.
Value Desiderata in the Logical Structuring of Computer Diagnosis

For centuries the healer in almost every culture was a mediator between the sick person and the mysterious sources of healing. He was, so to speak, between man and God — the friendly advocate, in touch, on the one hand, with the pained body and spirit, and, on the other, with the power from which healing could spring.
Ethnicity and Health

With the rapid growth of the Asian American population and its diverse ethnic composition, it is both surprising and problematic that the quality of health within Asian American communities is not better understood. This chapter reviews existing literature and highlights the relationship between ethnicity and health among Asian Americans. After presenting terms and theoretical perspectives, we review current literature and explore national data to describe patterns of physical and mental health among Asian ethnic groups. Finally, we conclude the chapter with recommendations for future directions on ethnicity and health among Asian Americans.
Elastic anisotropy and micro-damage processes in polycrystalline ice Part I: Theoretical formulation

A microstructural damage model is developed for polycrystalline ice deforming at the high end of the quasi-static domain of loading. The formation (nucleation) of microcracks is attributed to the extension of grain boundary precursors under the influence of the applied stresses and microstructural stresses resulting from the elastic anisotropy mechanism. In a compressive stress field, a growing population of stable cracks leads to progressive damage in the material. Nucleation, and hence damage accumulation, is influenced by three random variables-the precursor orientation, the basal plane orientation of the grains adjoining the precursor of interest, and the grain size. Model predictions consist of the following steps: (a) computation of microstructural stresses using a first-order approximation of the Eshelby procedure, (b) analysis of nucleation using a mixed-mode fracture criterion, and (c) computation of the elastic compliance using the self-consistent method. When coupled to a creep model, the relative contribution of microcracking and creep to the total deformation can be delineated.
The Hazards of Extrapolation in Regression Analysis

Extrapolation of a fitted regression equation beyond the range of the given data can lead to seriously biased estimates if the assumed relationship does not hold the region of extrapolation. This is demonstrated by some examples that lead to nonsensical..
Supergravities: Successes and Problems

We review some of the properties and difficulties of super-gravity models and their higher spin extensions - hypergravities. To emphasize the resemblance of supergravity to other non-abelian theories, we first derive it from its free field constituents. Next, the renormalizability problem is discussed, and contrasted with that of ordinary gravity. Some speculations about possible renormalizability are presented. Finally, as one possible generalization, we consider hypergravities, in which the graviton is replaced by spin ≥5/2 particles as the highest component of the multiplet.
Computer Data Bases for Pediatric Disability: Clinical and Research Applications

This article describes three types of computer-based medical records for children with disabilities and compares them with two decades of experience with development of medical records on large mainframe computers. The Patient Data Management System, a relational data base for personal computers, provides easily read Patient Clinical Abstracts, can be customized without programmer skills, and can be used for research. The other two programs offer a clinically useful method of communications in a flat file format for personal computers or a quality-control assessment tool for a central mainframe computer.
Nearly weighted risk minimal unbiased estimation

Abstract Consider a small-sample parametric estimation problem, such as the estimation of the coefficient in a Gaussian AR(1). We develop a numerical algorithm that determines an estimator that is nearly (mean or median) unbiased, and among all such estimators, comes close to minimizing a weighted average risk criterion. We also apply our generic approach to the median unbiased estimation of the degree of time variation in a Gaussian local-level model, and to a quantile unbiased point forecast for a Gaussian AR(1) process.
What Do Plastic Surgery Patients Think of Financial Conflicts of Interest and the Sunshine Act

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to evaluate patients' views of conflicts of interest (COI) and their comprehension of recent legislation known as the Physician Payments Sunshine Act. This report constitutes the first evaluation of plastic surgery patients' views on COI and the government-mandated Sunshine Act. METHODS This cross-sectional study invited patients at an academic, general plastic surgery outpatient clinic to complete an anonymous survey. The survey contained 25 questions that assessed respondents' perceptions of physician COI and awareness of the Sunshine Act. Analyses were performed to examine whether perspectives on COI and the Sunshine Act varied by level of education or age. RESULTS A total of 361 individuals completed the survey (90% response rate). More than half of respondents with an opinion believed that COI would affect their physician's clinical decision-making (n = 152, 52.9%). Although almost three fourths (n = 196, 71.2%) believed that COI should be regulated and COI information reported to a government agency, the majority were not aware of the Sunshine Act before this survey (n = 277, 81.2%) and had never accessed the database (n = 327, 95.9%). More than half of patients (n = 161, 59.2%) stated that they would access a publicly available database with physicians' COI information. A larger proportion of older and educated patients believed that regulation of physicians' COI was important (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Awareness of and access to plastic surgeon COI information is low among plastic surgery patients. Older and more educated patients believed that transparency regarding COI is important with regard to their clinical care.
Evidence for Abilities of Predator Recognition

If we study the ability of birds to recognize predators, we must first make clear how accurate recognition we are interested in. It is the same as if we were to survey children’s ability to recognize vehicles. They can recognize vehicles intrinsically: passenger cars vs. lorries, passenger Volkswagen vs. Mercedes cars and even Volkswagen Passat vs. Volkswagen Golf. We should try to specify a similar level of accuracy even when dealing with predator recognition. However, as already mentioned in Chap. 1, we cannot, naturally, ask whether birds recognize, e.g. Volkswagen and Mercedes cars, but only if they distinguish them.
Sharp numerical simulation of incompressible two-phase flows

Abstract We present a numerical method for simulating incompressible immiscible fluids, in two and three spatial dimensions. It is constructed as a modified pressure correction projection method on adaptive non-graded Oc/Quadtree Cartesian grids, using the level-set framework to capture the moving interface between the two fluids. The sharp treatment of the interface position, of the fluid parameter discontinuities, and of the interfacial jump conditions ensures convergence in the L ∞ -norm. Using a novel construction for the pressure guess, we are able to alleviate the standard time step restriction incurred by capillary forces. The solver is validated numerically and employed to simulate the dynamics of physically relevant problems such as rising bubbles and viscous droplets in electric fields.
Silica nanoparticles as copper corrosion inhibitors

Nanoparticle suspensions (or 'nanofluids') employed as heat transfer fluids (HTF) enhanced the thermal conductivity and the effectiveness of the heat exchangers as well as efficacy of thermal energy storage (TES) platforms by augmenting the effective specific heat capacity of various solvents. In prior studies, molten salt nanofluids also reduced corrosion by 50% (compared to that of neat molten salts and pure molten salt eutectics). Here, we demonstrate that silica nanoparticle suspension could be beneficial not only from the point of higher rates of heat transfer and thermal energy storage but also as corrosion inhibitors of copper substrates, that are typically used for thermal systems (e.g., HTF and TES). Combined use of Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) technique and atomic force microscopy indicate a significant lowering of the corrosion rates (up to 4 times) when only 10% of the surface is covered by silica nanoparticles with a nominal diameter of 10 nm. These results are attributed to the negative surface potential of silica nanoparticles. As a result when the nanoparticles precipitate on the copper surface and form surface 'nano-fins'—they preferentially prevent negatively charged ions (such as chlorine ions) from approaching the metal surface and thereby serve as an impediment from increasing the metal dissolution rate. This counter-intuitive behavior occurs even when the nanofins are formed randomly (i.e., without forming a uniform coating) and are sparsely dispersed on the copper substrate. This phenomenon of reduced corrosion is attributed to be another manifestation of the 'nano-Fin Effect (nFE)'.
Mucormycosis diagnosed during induction chemotherapy in five pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Mucormycosis in pediatric oncology patients is a rare invasive fungal infection associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We describe five patients diagnosed with mucormycosis during induction chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia at our institution. All of the patients in our series survived, some in spite of having disseminated disease. Most of the patients' chemotherapy was modified with the aim of controlling their leukemia while minimizing immunosuppression until their fungal infection was under control. Although mucormycosis is frequently fatal, rapid diagnosis and a multidisciplinary approach can lead to excellent outcomes, even in patients undergoing intensive chemotherapy.
Thrombospondin-4 mediates hyperglycemia- and TGF-beta-induced inflammation in breast cancer

Inflammation drives the growth of tumors and is an important predictor of cancer aggressiveness. CD68, a marker of tumor-associated macrophages (TAM), is routinely used as a marker to aid in prognosis and treatment choices for breast cancer. We recently reported that thrombospondin-4 (TSP-4), a matricellular protein highly upregulated in several cancers, attracts macrophages into tissues during inflammation and promotes their pro-inflammatory polarization. Here, we report that TSP-4 mediates breast cancer inflammation and growth in mouse models in response to hyperglycemia and TGF-beta by increasing TAM infiltration and production of inflammatory signals in tumors. Analysis of breast cancers and non-cancerous tissue specimens from hyperglycemic patients revealed that levels of TSP-4, macrophage marker CD68, and TGF-beta signaling are upregulated in diabetic tissues. TSP-4 was co-localized with macrophages in cancer tissues. Bone-marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) responded to high glucose by upregulating TGF-beta signaling and TSP-4 production and expression, as well as the expression of inflammatory markers. We report a novel function for TSP-4 in breast cancer: regulation of TAM infiltration and inflammation. The results of our study provide new insights into regulation of cancer growth by hyperglycemia and TGF-beta and suggest TSP-4 as a potential therapeutic target.
Earthquake Country: A Qualitative Analysis of Risk Communication via Facebook

Social media play an increasingly important role in effective risk communication for disasters like earthquakes. This study investigates a Facebook discussion group for disaster risk communication ...
Topical Antimicrobial Agents for Burn Wound Care: History and Current Status.

Background: Infection is the leading cause of death after thermal injury. Optimal prevention and treatment of burn wound infection is enabled by an in-depth understanding of burn wound treatment modalities not only from a technical standpoint, but also from the standpoint of the clinical context in which these modalities were originally developed. Methods: A review of the historical literature on the topical antimicrobial care of burn wounds was performed. Results: As our understanding of post-burn infection evolved, and as new products were developed for the prevention of post-burn wound infection, major advances in post-burn survival occurred. Ultimately, improvements in anesthetic, surgical, and critical care management have permitted early excision and grafting of the burn wound, decreasing but not eliminating the importance of topical antimicrobial care, and shifting much of the burden of wound infection prevention to the post-operative period. Conclusions: The development of effective topical antimicrobial agents for wound care was, arguably, the single most important advance in the care of the burn patient. Still, many gaps in our ability to treat complicated burn wounds remain. Fungal infection is an unusual but daunting challenge. Patients with impaired wound healing and those with advanced age or medical comorbidities may not benefit from early excision, and the benefits of early excision may not be available in austere or remote locations. For these reasons, research on optimal topical treatment continues.
What happens when you compare yourself to a model eating a cheeseburger? An experiment testing the impact of models promoting calorie-dense foods on beliefs about weight maintenance, body satisfaction, and purchase intent.

Ads depicting models promoting calorie-dense foods and beverages are ubiquitous and no known research has examined their effects on consumers. Drawing from social comparison theory, we hypothesized that participants who viewed ads with models (versus without models) would be more likely to rate models and less likely to rate themselves as able to consume the calorie-dense foods regularly and still maintain their weight/shape. We also hypothesized that participants who viewed ads with models (versus without models) would report more body dissatisfaction and, consistent with consumer research, a greater intention to purchase the product. Participants (N = 168) were randomly assigned to view food or beverage ads with models or without models and completed self-report measures. Participants who viewed ads without models were more likely to rate themselves and most people as able to consume calorie-dense foods regularly and maintain their weight/shape and reported a greater intention to purchase the product. Consistent with our hypotheses, participants who viewed ads with models reported increased body dissatisfaction. Results indicate that consumers’ perceptions of their own and others’ abilities to regularly consume calorie-dense foods and maintain their weight/shape change based on whether (or not) the calorie-dense foods are promoted by a model. Our findings reveal the nuanced negative effects of calorie-dense food ads with and without models and give insight into the psychological and potential physical health consequences that food ads can have on consumers.
Intimate Partner Violence: Law Enforcement

In order to remedy domestic violence, the services of law enforcement are often called upon. This dynamic can become complicated when intimate partner violence involves an offer of the law.
Spectroscopy and Scattering Studies Using Interpolated Ab Initio Potentials.

The Born–Oppenheimer potential energy surface (PES) has come a long way since its introduction in the 1920s, both conceptually and in predictive power for practical applications. Nevertheless, near...
Analysis on the Impact of Human Psychological on Economic Irrational Exuberance

"Irrational Exuberance" is a concept put forward by Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan on the US stock market bubble in 1996. There are many "Irrational Exuberance" in the world economy's history, which is the embodiment of the bubble economy. However, the existing economic theories cannot entirely explain why "Irrational Exuberance" occurs and why "Irrational Exuberance" leads to an economic crisis. Therefore, it is essential to find a new interpretation method. In the past economic theories, the impact of human psychological activities on the economy was often underestimated. This is why this research contains many of the latest knowledge and discoveries about the impact of human psychology on the economy. So far, the main reason for human mental activity is believed to be related to individual self-cognition and feedback. Besides, feedback to information, lack of experience, environmental impact, etc. affect the changes in human psychological activities. Since it is found that individual psychological changes impact group psychological changes, the hypothesis of psychological activity communication is proposed, including "bounded rationality," systematic cognitive bias, the influence of mass media, confidence multiplier hypothesis, and group unconsciousness.
Subarctic landscape adaptations and paleodemography: A 14,000-year history of climate change and human settlement in central Alaska and Yukon

Abstract Central Alaska and Yukon represent the longest continuously inhabited region in the Americas, with a rich record of research on technology, subsistence, and decision-making spanning over 14,000 years. Still, archaeologists debate whether the changes observed in the material and paleodemographic record can be interpreted as the result of environmental influences. This paper presents a multivariate analysis of regional occupation chronology, paleodemography, site placement, and climate data to investigate how past populations were affected by climate change. This research shows that populations were larger than expected at some of the earliest periods and that significant climatic and environmental events do not correspond with significant population decreases as researchers have previously argued. Changes in land use were gradual and unidirectional, with decreases in average site slope, increases in average site size, and consistent average site elevation through time. Trends in land use and paleodemography correspond to cultural phases assigned by regional experts, though environmental shifts undoubtedly played a role in shaping land use and culture throughout the past. This research has possible implications for our understanding of important cultural moments in the region's history, such as initial and subsequent migrations throughout the Americas.
Effects of skeletal streetscape design on perceived safety

Abstract It is important for planners and urban designers to understand how physical characteristics of urban streetscapes contribute to perceptions of them as safe, comfortable urban spaces. While urban design theory offers numerous suggestions for successful streetscapes there is meager empirical evidence of their effects. We suggest that this is largely due to precision and sample size limitations on audit-based physical design and human perception measurements. This paper overcomes these limitations by identifying a key set of “streetscape skeleton” design variables that can be efficiently measured using a GIS-based method. It then measures these variables on a large and diverse sample of streetscapes, and examines their relationship to crowdsourced perceived safety scores, a useful indicator of environmental comfort. Regression modeling indicates that factors related to streetscape enclosure have a substantial positive effect on perceived safety. These include street tree canopy, the number of buildings along a block, and the cross-sectional proportion—the ratio of building height to width across the street between building facades. Importantly, these streetscape-scale skeleton variables have greater effect than neighborhood-scale urban form and affluence measures that are commonly used to identify desirable urban environments. Planning practitioners can draw on our results to set priorities for urban forestry and design guidelines that shape the spatial proportions of streetscapes and their success as spaces that feel safe and comfortable for human users.
Banking Tissue Specimens for Research

In the current “post-genomic” era, technologies such as DNA microarrays can be used to measure the expression of thousands of genes simultaneously. Microarray studies have led to key discoveries, including the identification of new molecular subtypes of breast cancer and gene signatures for better prognostication. Gene signatures are also being evaluated to predict and monitor response to therapies. Because cellular macromolecules such as mRNA (the expressed complement of genes) are labile, microarray studies typically require freshly frozen breast tumor specimens. Pathology departments routinely process and archive formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue blocks for clinical care, but not freshly frozen tissues. As such, a major limiting factor in basic, translational, and clinical studies of breast cancer has been and continues to be the availability of appropriately banked fresh-tissue specimens. Understanding the role and processes of the Tissue Bank is critical to maximize development of these tissue repositories. These repositories are an increasingly vital resource for breast cancer research.
Dominance, Sexism, and Inadequacy

Abstract This study explored sexist attitudes in a sample of 342 men involved in sadomasochism (SM). A compensatory conceptualization of sexual dominance suggests that men dominate women in SM activities to compensate for feelings of inadequacy. If dominants (a.k.a. “doms”) are compensating for feelings of inadequacy by dominating women, they also are likely to hold sexist attitudes to achieve the same result. Thus, it was hypothesized that doms would score significantly lower on measures of self-esteem and significantly higher on measures of sexism than submissives (a.k.a. “subs”). Neither hypothesis found empirical support; doms were significantly higher in self-esteem and significantly lower in sexism than subs. The results are discussed in terms of the gender role congruence of dominant vs. submissive behaviors in heterosexual men. Results suggest that subs' lower self-esteem and elevated sexism scores may be related to their feeling rejected by others because their behavior violated male gender norms.
Progress testing 2.0: clinical skills meets necessary science

Introduction : Progress testing has been widely used in medical schools to test scientific knowledge but has not been reported for assessing clinical skills. Development : We designed a novel progress examination that included assessments of both clinical performance and underlying basic and social science knowledge. This Progress Clinical Skills Examination (PCSE) was given to 21 early medical students at the beginning and end of a 6-week pilot test of a new medical school curriculum. Implementation : This examination was feasible for early students, easy to map to curricular objectives, and easy to grade using a combination of assessment strategies. Future directions : Use of a PCSE is feasible for early medical students. As medical schools integrate clinical experience with underlying knowledge, this type of examination holds promise. Further data are needed to validate this examination as an accurate measure of clinical performance and knowledge. Keywords: progress test; early clinical exposure; assessment; pilot; integration (Published: 5 May 2015) Citation: Med Educ Online 2015, 20: 27769 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/meo.v20.27769
A Review of “Islam and the English Enlightenment 1670–1840”

Examinations of the interaction between Europe and the Muslim world have become an increasingly common and important part of academic scholarship, especially since the publication of Edward Said's ...
A particle model for state estimation in real-time strategy games

A big challenge for creating human-level game AI is building agents capable of operating in imperfect information environments. In real-time strategy games the technological progress of an opponent and locations of enemy units are partially observable. To overcome this limitation, we explore a particle-based approach for estimating the location of enemy units that have been encountered. We represent state estimation as an optimization problem, and automatically learn parameters for the particle model by mining a corpus of expert StarCraft replays. The particle model tracks opponent units and provides conditions for activating tactical behaviors in our StarCraft bot. Our results show that incorporating a learned particle model improves the performance of EIS Bot by 10% over baseline approaches.
The primary and secondary prevention of cancer

Prevention of cancer is now divided into primary and secondary prevention. Primary prevention is that set of interventions that keeps a cancerous process from ever developing and includes health counseling and education, environmental controls. and product safety as examples. Secondary prevention is that set of interventions leading to the discovery and control of cancerous or precancerous processes while localized, i.e., screening, early detection, and effective treatment. Risk is lifelong for all, though it may vary in intensity among different groups. Jointly, primary and secondary prevention must be synthesized into optimum life time strategies that are best understood and evaluated under certain basic concepts of the epidemiology of cancer and operations research. The purpose of this report is to provide a brief review of these concepts applied to primary and secondary prevention of human cancer. Improved understanding of these concepts is essential for planning, implementation, and evaluation of prevention programs.