cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The acute effects of caffeinated versus non-caffeinated alcoholic beverage on driving performance and attention/reaction time

Aims Marketing that promotes mixing caffeinated 'energy' drinks with alcoholic beverages (e.g. Red Bull with vodka) targets young drinkers and conveys the expectation that caffeine will offset the sedating effects of alcohol and enhance alertness. Such beliefs could result in unwarranted risk taking (e.g. driving while intoxicated). The aim of this study was to assess the acute effects of caffeinated versus non-caffeinated alcoholic beverages on a simulated driving task and attention/reaction time. Design We conducted a 2 × 2 between-groups randomized trial in which participants were randomized to one of four conditions: beer and non-alcoholic beer, with and without caffeine added. Caffeine was added in the same proportion as found in a commercially available caffeinated beer (69 mg/12 oz of beer at 4.8% alc. by vol). Participants Participants were 127 non-dependent, heavy episodic, young adult drinkers (age 21-30) who were college students or recent graduates. The target breath alcohol level was 0.12 g%. Measures Driving performance was assessed with a driving simulator; sustained attention/reaction with the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT). Findings Across the driving and attention/reaction time we found main effects for alcohol, with alcohol significantly impairing driving and sustained attention/reaction time, with mainly large statistical effects; however, the addition of caffeine had no main or interaction effects on performance. Conclusion The addition of caffeine to alcohol does not appear to enhance driving or sustained attention/reaction time performance relative to alcohol alone. Language: en
Discrete-time controller design for robust vehicle traction

A discrete-time control algorithm for robust vehicle traction, which includes antiskid braking and antispin acceleration, is presented. The algorithm is a nonlinear feedback scheme that can be designed via classical digital control theory. The algorithm is easy to tune and modify to incorporate higher-order dynamics, which may be necessary for a practical hardware setup. The robust controller provides stable and reliable performance under a variety of uncertainties involved in the vehicle/brake system that are difficult to measure. The effectiveness of this new scheme is demonstrated by experiments on antiskid braking. >
Dissociative Chemisorption of Water onto Silica Surfaces and Formation of Hydronium Ions

chemisorption of water molecules onto the silica surface, forming silanol (SiOH) groups at a concentration consistent with experimental data. Water penetration and silanol formation 7-8 A below the outermost oxygen are observed. Because of the dissociative nature of the water potential, formation of hydronium ions is allowed, and, whereas seldom observed in the simulations of bulk water, hydronium ions are formed during the reactions causing the formation of the silanols. The formation of hydronium ions has also been observed in ab initio calculations of water adsorption onto silica surfaces. The time evolution of the reactions involving hydronium ions in our MD simulations is similar to that observed in first-principles MD calculations. Hydronium ions offer a mechanism by which initially singly coordinated terminal oxygen (Si-O - ) receives a H + ion from a relatively distant chemisorbed H2O molecule via multiple H + ion transfer, creating two SiOH sites.
Meal fatty acid uptake in adipose tissue: gender effects in nonobese humans

We tested for gender differences in dietary fatty acid metabolism in 12 nonobese men and 12 nonobese women using the meal fatty acid tracer/adipose tissue biopsy study design. In addition to determ...
Laser refrigeration of hydrothermal nanocrystals in physiological media.

Coherent laser radiation has enabled many scientific and technological breakthroughs including Bose–Einstein condensates, ultrafast spectroscopy, superresolution optical microscopy, photothermal therapy, and long-distance telecommunications. However, it has remained a challenge to refrigerate liquid media (including physiological buffers) during laser illumination due to significant background solvent absorption and the rapid (∼ps) nonradiative vibrational relaxation of molecular electronic excited states. Here we demonstrate that single-beam laser trapping can be used to induce and quantify the local refrigeration of physiological media by >10 °C following the emission of photoluminescence from upconverting yttrium lithium fluoride (YLF) nanocrystals. A simple, low-cost hydrothermal approach is used to synthesize polycrystalline particles with sizes ranging from 1 μm. A tunable, near-infrared continuous-wave laser is used to optically trap individual YLF crystals with an irradiance on the order of 1 MW/cm2. Heat is transported out of the crystal lattice (across the solid–liquid interface) by anti-Stokes (blue-shifted) photons following upconversion of Yb3+ electronic excited states mediated by the absorption of optical phonons. Temperatures are quantified through analysis of the cold Brownian dynamics of individual nanocrystals in an inhomogeneous temperature field via forward light scattering in the back focal plane. The cold Brownian motion (CBM) analysis of individual YLF crystals indicates local cooling by >21 °C below ambient conditions in D2O, suggesting a range of potential future applications including single-molecule biophysics and integrated photonic, electronic, and microfluidic devices.
THE LOWER MISSISSIPPIAN (KINDERHOOKIAN) AMMONOID GONIOCYCLUS FROM THE HANNIBAL SHALE, MISSOURI

The Pericyclidae are distinctive ancestral (middle Tournaisian-lower Visean) Goniatitina characterized by prominent transverse sculpture. Ancestry of the group was in Goniocyclus Gordon, 1986 (type species, Goniatites blairi Miller and Gurley, 1896). These diminutive (generally less than 35 mm), coarsely ribbed pericyclids are distinguished by sharply angular ventral sinuses and sutures with primitive, incipiently bifid ventral lobes. Goniocyclus characterizes the late Kinderhookian (late middle Tournaisian) Siphonodella isosticha —Upper Siphonodella crenulata conodont Zone where it is represented by at least six distinctive species in the North American Cordillera and Midcontinent (Gordon, 1986). The earliest record, which extends the generic range back to the base of the traditional middle Tournaisian, is a widely discussed, but previously undescribed, species from the Hannibal Shale of Missouri (Work et al., 1988; Becker, 1993a, 1993b; Popov and Kusina, 1997) described herein as Goniocyclus hannibalensis new species. Representatives of Goniocyclus hannibalensis n. sp. were recovered from the Hannibal Shale in late 1979, during the construction of Clarence Cannon Dam on Salt River, approximately 11.3 km (7 mi) north of Perry, Ralls County, Missouri (NE1/4 sec. 26, T55N, R7W, Joanna 7–1/2′ quadrangle). Although the Hannibal is 25 m (82 ft) thick at this site, only the upper 6.1 m (20 ft) is currently accessible in a series of intermittent exposures situated along the base of the north valley wall of Salt River. The Hannibal sequence at the dam site consists of 22.9 m (75 ft) of gray to grayish-green, highly bioturbated mudstones and argillaceous siltstones that overlie the Cuivre Member, a 2.1-m (7 ft) zone of dark-gray, sub-fissile shale containing thin, discontinuous, conodont-rich sandstone lentils. Below the Cuivre is a 0.8-m-thick (2.5 ft) sparsely fossiliferous carbonate unit, the Horton Creek Limestone, whose base corresponds to the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary (Sandberg et al., 1972; Collinson et al., 1979 …
A new microcontroller with fuzzy inference instructions simplifies controller designs

A new family of 16-bit microcontrollers, the Motorola M68HC12, combine the features of a general purpose microcontroller with those of a fuzzy inference engine, resulting in a tool that can greatly simplify designs of control systems. This paper briefly reviews fuzzy logic as applied to control system design, introduces the new microcontroller family and explains how the new fuzzy inference instructions can be applied.
Civil Engineering: Education and Practice

An attempt is made to explain the estrangement felt by many practicing engineers towards current engineering education programs and to discuss the reasons for changes in such programs. In order to foster a better working relationship between education and practice, ASCE has established a Committee on Interchange Between Education and Practice. The objectives and activities of this new committee are briefly discussed. Cooperative education is considered as an outstanding example of a meaningful way to achieve a practice orientation in engineering education. The paper also serves to introduce a series of papers presented on cooperative education.
New Visions for University-Sponsored Executive Education Programs

Jhe fastest growing segment of higher education in business today is executive education. The reason for this is simple: It produces results. CEOs of the most admired companies send their executives to these programs and, as a result, find that their executives perform at a higher level of effectiveness in both their current and future job assignments. Directors of executive programs sponsored by universities have met annually for the last 17 years in conferences with leading corporate executives. The objective of each meeting has been to evaluate the effectiveness of existing university-sponsored programs and to create the vision required to develop entirely new approaches to executive development for the future. The ten visions outlined below have come from these conferences and from our experiences at the Fuqua School. These visions may offer the best path for executive education in the near future.
Impurity Redistribution Studies on Laser-Formed Silicides

4 He + Backscattering and SIMS were used to study impurity redistribution during laser formation of refractory silicides. Thin films of Mo and W were evaporated on to p-type silicon substrates, which were As or B implanted to doses of 1 ×10 15 to 1 ×10 16 cm −2 . These samples were laser reacted with multiple or single laser scans at various powers. Analysis of these films indicate impurity movement into the forming silicide layer. Impurity concentrations in the films were observed to be as high as 7.8×10 20 cm −3 −> for As in WSi 2 , however a reduction in this concentration occurred with subsequent thermal annealing.
Metabolism of dl-adrenaline-2-C14 in the human.

SummaryA procedure is described which utilizes a combination of filter paper and ion exchange chromatography to separate the urinary metabolic products of adrenaline. After intravenous infusion of dl-adrenaline-2-C14 in 6 human subjects, 73 ± 5% of infused radioactivity was recovered in 24 hour urine. Radioactivity which appeared in urine was distributed among various metabolic products as follows: adrenaline, 4%, 3-methyl-O-adrenaline, 5%, 3-methyl-O-adrenaline conjugate, 42 ± 7%; 3-methoxy-4-hydroxymandelic acid, 27 ± 3%; 3, 4-dihydroxymandelic acid, 12 ± 4%; 2 unidentified fractions, 4%.
Characteristics and significance of Nanzhang/Yuanan Fauna, Hubei Province

Nanzhang/Yuanan Fauna, which is yielded in the laminated limestone and micrite at the top of 3rdmember of Jianglingjiang Formation, is characterized by marine reptiles, together with some Homoneneae and mollusk. The age of Nanzhang/Yuanan Fauna is late Olenekian Spathian of Early Triassic. The assemblage of marine reptiles in this fauna comprises Hupehsuchia,Ichthyosauria(Chaohusaurus), and Eosauropterygia(Hanosaurus, Keichousaurus, and Nothosauridae). Compared with other marine reptiles, Hupehsuchia has most abundance and diversity in this fauna. The high specialized skeleton of Hupehsuchia indicates that this animal should exist at the bottom of marine reptiles' food chain. A lot of marine reptiles lived in Nanzhang/Yuanan Fauna,which indicates that marine ecosystem should begin recovery in late Spathian after late Permian mass extinction.
Critical aspects of decision-making and grieving after diagnosis of fetal anomaly

After the diagnosis of a fetal anomaly, women and their partners must make difficult decisions about whether to (1) plan to raise the child with the condition/s, (2) carry the pregnancy for as long as possible and pursue palliative care or perinatal hospice if the condition is life threatening, (3) relinquish the child for adoption, or (4) terminate the pregnancy. The decisions are highly contextual, driven by factors such as the woman’s religious views, beliefs about quality of life, availability biases, access to support networks (both formal and informal), and the woman’s sense of her own ability to cope with the selected outcome. This chapter delineates factors involved with decision-making and also addresses how grief is a part of the outcome for any of these decisions. Women benefit when they are helped to recognize that the diagnosis of a fetal anomaly (or multifetal pregnancy that is likely to have a poor outcome) is where the grief begins and that their decisions are all likely to lead to a situation where they must mourn the imagined, healthy child they intended to have. Strategies for providing care for women and their partners after fetal diagnosis are identified.
Intra- and extra-bank determinants of Latin American Banks' profitability

Abstract Using data on commercial banks in seven Latin American countries from 1995 to 2012, we find evidence of several major relationships involving bank profitability, including: 1) an inverse U-shaped relationship between banks' capital ratios and profitability, 2) a positive relationship between asset diversification (e.g. security trading, hedge funds, foreign exchange, assurance, etc.) and profitability, 3) a negative relationship between revenue diversification (e.g. interests, fees, commissions, etc.) and profitability, 4) a positive relationship between market concentration and profitability, and 5) improvements in the legal and regulatory system are associated with a negative impact on banks' profitability. This paper contributes to the literature by assessing these relationships using data on Latin American banks and by estimating their models using a system GMM approach that addresses issues arising from endogenous independent variables and heterogeneity among individual banks.
Teilchenphysik und Kosmologie

Typisch fur die Entwicklung der Naturwissenschaften ist u. a. eine zunehmende Spezialisierung und als Folge hiervon das Entstehen immer neuer Disziplinen. Besonders deutlich ist dieser Trend an der Physik unseres Jahrhunderts zu verfolgen. Den Allroundphysiker, der sich in allen Bereichen der Physik gleichermasen beheimatet fuhlt und uberall bei der Diskussion offener Fragen mitreden kann, gibt es schon seit Generationen nicht mehr. Die Zahl der Fachzeitschriften wachst ins Unermesliche und die Kommunikation zwischen den Fachleuten verschiedener Spezialgebiete wird zum Problem. Fast unglaublich mus es daher anmuten, das sich in jungerer Zeit zwei Naturwissenschaften entgegen aller allgemeinen Tendenz aufeinander zubewegten und eine Symbiose eingingen, deren Forschungsanliegen ursprunglich aber auch gar nichts miteinander zu tun zu haben schienen, ja die sich mit scheinbar diametral entgegengesetzten Problemstellungen, namlich der Physik bei kleinsten und bei grosten Raum- Zeit-Skalen, beschaftigten. Die Rede ist hier von der Teilchenphysik und der Kosmologie. Ausgerechnet die Teilchenphysiker, die sich mit der Mikrowelt der fundamentalen Komponenten der Materie und deren Wechselwirkungen befassen, und die Astrophysiker und Kosmologen, die die Physik des Universums zu ergrunden suchen, veranstalten seit Jahren gemeinsame Konferenzen und veroffentlichen ihre Forschungsergebnisse in denselben Zeitschriften.
Ecological solutions to reef degradation: optimizing coral reef restoration in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic.

Reef restoration activities have proliferated in response to the need to mitigate coral declines and recover lost reef structure, function, and ecosystem services. Here, we describe the recent shift from costly and complex engineering solutions to recover degraded reef structure to more economical and efficient ecological approaches that focus on recovering the living components of reef communities. We review the adoption and expansion of the coral gardening framework in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic where practitioners now grow and outplant 10,000’s of corals onto degraded reefs each year. We detail the steps for establishing a gardening program as well as long-term goals and direct and indirect benefits of this approach in our region. With a strong scientific basis, coral gardening activities now contribute significantly to reef and species recovery, provide important scientific, education, and outreach opportunities, and offer alternate livelihoods to local stakeholders. While challenges still remain, the transition from engineering to ecological solutions for reef degradation has opened the field of coral reef restoration to a wider audience poised to contribute to reef conservation and recovery in regions where coral losses and recruitment bottlenecks hinder natural recovery.
Anatomy and Physiology of the Circadian System

Harmonious physiological and behavioral interactions require a dependable timing system. Most life forms on earth, from single-celled organisms to humans, have adapted their endogenous rhythms to the most prominent 24-h day and night cycle generated by the earth’s rotation around its polar axis. Such rhythms with a 24-h period are known as circadian rhythms. In mammals, circadian rhythms are under the control of a highly organized and hierarchical circadian timing system (CTS), headed by a central pacemaker located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus. The central pacemaker is synchronized to the light/dark cycle by photic cues received from retinal photoreceptors, which leads to appropriate rhythmic expression of various bodily functions such as sleep, hormonal secretions, alertness and temperature. In this chapter we describe the contemporary understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the CTS.
Site Sampling and Snowball Sampling - Methodology for Accessing Hard-to-reach Populations

After reviewing limitations of residential and ‘reputational’ samples of hard-to-reach populations, an alternative methodology is described. An initial sample is obtained through “site sampling”, i...
Product placements in social settings: The impact of coviewing on the recall of placed brands

Abstract Product placements are often consumed in social settings. However, the product placement literature has yet to adequately incorporate social settings into its research agenda. This research adds to the product placement literature by examining the nature of the social setting based on the relationship between coviewers. Results from a multilevel modeling analysis of 254 dyads showed that coviewing settings with friends generated greater recall of placed brands than those with non-friends. This effect was especially strong in social settings that allowed for interaction between coviewers. In interactive coviewing settings, visually placed brands were better recalled among friends than non-friends; there was no significant difference in recall of audio and audio-visual brands between conditions. Additional analyses revealed that interactive coviewing settings with friends also resulted in greater recall of placed brands than solo viewing settings. Theoretical and managerial implications of findings on recall of placed brands in social settings are discussed.
Antibiotic pressure on the acquisition and loss of antibiotic resistance genes in Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Objectives In this study, we characterize a concurrent disseminated infection with a virulent hypermucoviscous (HMV) Klebsiella pneumoniae and an OXA-181-producing XDR K. pneumoniae from a patient with recent hospitalization in India. During exposure to meropenem therapy, the highly susceptible HMV K. pneumoniae became resistant to carbapenems, consistent with the acquisition of blaOXA-181. Methods Twelve K. pneumoniae isolates were recovered from the patient and the hospital room environment over a 3 month hospitalization. Phenotypic and molecular studies were completed to characterize the isolates. Oxford Nanopore and Illumina MiSeq WGS were performed to study phylogeny (MLST and SNPs), plasmids and virulence genes and demonstrate changes in the organism's resistome that occurred over time. Results WGS revealed that the HMV K. pneumoniae belonged to ST23 and harboured an IncH1B virulence plasmid, while the XDR K. pneumoniae belonged to ST147 and possessed two MDR plasmids (IncR and IncFII), the blaOXA-181-bearing ColKP3 plasmid and chromosomal mutations conferring the XDR phenotype. Sequential isolates demonstrated plasmid diversification (fusion of the IncR and IncFII plasmids), mobilization of resistance elements (ompK35 inactivation by ISEcp1-blaCTX-M-15 mobilization, varying numbers of resistance genes on plasmid scaffolds) and chromosomal mutations (mutations in mgrB) leading to further antibiotic resistance that coincided with antibiotic pressure. Importantly, the HMV strain in this study was unable to preserve the carbapenem-resistant phenotype without the selective pressure of meropenem. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to report a carbapenem-resistant HMV K. pneumoniae strain in the USA. Ultimately, this case demonstrates the role of antibiotic pressure in the acquisition and loss of important genetic elements.
Effects of hysteresis and Brayton cycle constraints on magnetocaloric refrigerant performance

Despite promising proofs of concept, system-level implementation of magnetic refrigeration has been critically limited by history-dependent refrigerant losses that interact with governing thermodynamic cycles to adversely impact refrigeration performance. Future development demands a more detailed understanding of how hysteresis limits performance, and of how different types of cycles can mitigate these limitations, but without the extreme cost of experimental realization. Here, the utility of Brayton cycles for magnetic refrigeration is investigated via direct simulation, using a combined thermodynamic-hysteresis modeling framework to compute the path-dependent magnetization and entropy of a model alloy for a variety of feasible Brayton cycles between 0–1.5 T and 0–5 T. By simultaneously varying the model alloy's hysteresis properties and applying extensions of the thermodynamic laws to non-equilibrium systems, heat transfers and efficiencies are quantified throughout the space of hystereses and Brayton cycles and then compared with a previous investigation using Ericsson cycles. It is found that (1) hysteresis losses remain a critical obstacle to magnetic refrigeration implementation, with efficiencies >80% in the model system requiring hysteresis <0.5 K at 1.5 T; (2) optimal-efficiency Brayton cycles for given field and hysteresis constraints exist and are determined uniquely by the refrigerant transformation temperatures at the relevant fields; (3) for a given hysteresis and field constraint, Brayton and Ericsson-type cycles generate similar efficiencies; for a given temperature span, Ericsson cycles lift more heat per cycle, with the difference decreasing with the refrigerant heat capacity outside the phase transformation region.
Sparse broadband time varying acoustic response modeling and estimation from an undersampled vertical array with application to underwater communications

Sparse broadband time varying acoustic response functions associated with horizontally stratified environments can be well estimated from an undersampled vertical array. The sparsity of the arrivals here is captured by means of a two component Gaussian mixture model. The implied posterior expectation of the bifrequency function serves to attenuate low amplitude non-coherent arrivals while leaving coherent arrivals at the array unchanged. This estimate of the acoustic response specifies a time varying increment operator that unravels the time varying motion between the source and receiver array allowing for a further sparsification of the response. This additional improved sparsity allows for improved coherent multipath combining at the receiver. The model is applied to a three element vertical array during a set of broadband acoustic observations in the shallow waters of Buzzard's Bay, MA. M-ary orthogonal spread spectrum acoustic transmissions at 32.5 kHz center frequency and 25 kHz bandwidth are considered. With M = 4, throughput rates of 95 bps are tested. At 2 km and at a receive signal-to-noise ratio per element of −15.5 dB, a 3 element undersampled vertical array achieved bit error rates less than 10−5.Sparse broadband time varying acoustic response functions associated with horizontally stratified environments can be well estimated from an undersampled vertical array. The sparsity of the arrivals here is captured by means of a two component Gaussian mixture model. The implied posterior expectation of the bifrequency function serves to attenuate low amplitude non-coherent arrivals while leaving coherent arrivals at the array unchanged. This estimate of the acoustic response specifies a time varying increment operator that unravels the time varying motion between the source and receiver array allowing for a further sparsification of the response. This additional improved sparsity allows for improved coherent multipath combining at the receiver. The model is applied to a three element vertical array during a set of broadband acoustic observations in the shallow waters of Buzzard's Bay, MA. M-ary orthogonal spread spectrum acoustic transmissions at 32.5 kHz center frequency and 25 kHz bandwidth are conside...
Measuring Attitudes of Clinical Laboratory Science Students toward Interprofessional Education using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS)

BACKGROUND The current complex environment of healthcare demands a comprehensive approach where teamwork and communication are paramount. Interprofessional education (IPE) is one avenue to promote collaboration. Our objective was to determine the attitudes of Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS) students toward IPE. METHODS The revised Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) was chosen to assess CLS student’s attitudes toward IPE after participating in an interprofessional simulation. In addition to the RIPLS items, demographics, and previous experience in healthcare and interprofessional simulation were collected. RESULTS Fifty participants had an average age of 26.7 years (SD = 5.25), 70% were female and 46% were white. In addition, 26% had experience in interprofessional simulation, while 48% had worked in healthcare. Students’ scores were high in all questions of RIPLS subscales except for the questions belonging to the Negative Professional ID (inverted scale) and for the Roles and Responsibilities subscales. CONCLUSION UAB CLS students have a positive attitude about interprofessional education. Faculty in CLS programs should provide interprofessional experiences for their students.
Acute post-operative airway complications following anterior cervical spine surgery and the role for cricothyrotomy

Anterior cervical spine surgery (ACSS) is a common procedure, but not without its own risks and complications. Complications that can cause airway compromise occur infrequently, but can rapidly lead to respiratory arrest, leading to severe morbidity or death. Knowing emergent post-operative airway management including surgical airway placement is critical. We aim to review the different etiologies of post-operative airway compromise following ACSS, the predictable timeline in which they occur, and the most appropriate treatment and management for each. We place special emphasis on the timing and proper surgical technique for an emergent cricothyrotomy. Angioedema is seen the earliest as a cause of post-operative airway compromise, typically within 6–12 hours. Retropharyngeal hematomas can be seen between 6–24 hours, most commonly within 12 hours. Pharyngolaryngeal edema is seen within 24–72 hours. After 72 hours, retropharyngeal abscess is the most likely etiology. Several studies have utilized delayed extubation protocols following ACSS based on patient risk factors and found reduced postoperative airway complications and reintubation rates. The administration of perioperative corticosteroids continues to be controversial with high-level studies recommending both for and against their use. Animal studies showed that after cardiac arrest, the brain can recover if oxygenation is restored within 5 minutes, but this time is likely shorter with asphyxia prior to cardiac arrest. Experience and training are essential to reduce the time for successful cricothyrotomy placement. Physicians must be prepared to diagnose and treat acute postoperative airway complications following ACSS to prevent anoxic brain injury or death. If emergent intubation cannot be accomplished on the first attempt, physicians should not delay placement of a surgical airway such as cricothyrotomy.
Prospective Assessment of Patient-Reported Dry Eye Syndrome After Whole Brain Radiation

Purpose Dry eye is not typically considered a toxicity of whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT). We analyzed dry eye syndrome as part of a prospective study of patient-reported outcomes after WBRT. Methods and Materials Patients receiving WBRT to 25 to 40 Gy were enrolled on a study with dry mouth as the primary endpoint and dry eye syndrome as a secondary endpoint. Patients received 3-dimensional WBRT using opposed lateral fields. Per standard practice, lacrimal glands were not prospectively delineated. Patients completed the Subjective Evaluation of Symptom of Dryness (SESoD, scored 0-4, with higher scores representing worse dry eye symptoms) at baseline, immediately after WBRT (EndRT), and at 1 month (1M), 3 months, and 6 months. Patients with baseline SESoD ≥3 (moderate dry eye) were excluded. The endpoints analyzed were ≥1-point and ≥2-point increase in SESoD score at 1M. Lacrimal glands were retrospectively delineated with fused magnetic resonance imaging scans. Results One hundred patients were enrolled, 70 were eligible for analysis, and 54 were evaluable at 1M. Median bilateral lacrimal V20Gy was 79%. At 1M, 17 patients (32%) had a ≥1-point increase in SESoD score, and 13 (24%) a ≥2-point increase. Lacrimal doses appeared to be associated with an increase in SESoD score of both ≥1 point (V10Gy: P = .042, odds ratio [OR] 1.09/%; V20Gy: P = .071, OR 1.03/%) and ≥2 points (V10Gy: P = .038, OR 1.15/%; V20Gy: P = .063, OR 1.04/%). The proportion with increase in dry eye symptoms at 1M for lacrimal V20Gy ≥79% versus Conclusions Dry eye appears to be a relatively common, dose/volume-dependent acute toxicity of WBRT. Minimization of lacrimal gland dose may reduce this toxicity, and patients should be counseled regarding the existence of this potential side effect and treatments for dry eye.
Intercollegiate Athletics: A Unique Segment of the Sport Industry

Intercollegiate athletics in the United States is a unique educational opportunity for participants, a passion-inducing bond for the student body, and a branding and development vehicle for the uni...
Examining the Effect of Explicit Reading Instruction on the Engagement of Elementary Students with Challenging Behaviors

Providing support to students with challenging behaviors is a critical focus of classroom teachers’ success. Finding ways to prevent and mediate academic and behavioral difficulties is a high prior...
An Attack Vector for IoT Networks

The advent of the twenty-first century has seen a myriad of amazing technological advancements. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a prime example of technological capabilities at its finest. The IoT is a series of interconnected devices capable of sending and receiving data over existing network infrastructure, but why does this matter? Technology is becoming a conventional commodity, while the uses are endless, technological advancement constitutes a very serious risk. Any device that is connected to the Internet poses a heightened security risk. These risks have the potential of compromising the device and its users. Therefore, the understanding of device-level security is critical to protect the users from various security threats. To provide a holistic view of IoT security, the investigated devices are broken down with respect to different domains (e.g., healthcare, commerce, and home). Specifically, this paper presents a survey of frequently used devices with a common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) for each investigated IoT domain. This will be an attempt to identify the pivotal device vulnerabilities and determine which attack vectors are predominately exploited in IoT networks.
Ableness as Property

The article puts forth the need for gatekeepers to address ableness as property, instead of focusing on the ability/disability of an individual. Not addressing such a property interest leads courts and academic institutions to make damaging and varying decisions as seen in two medical school cases. By focusing on the property interest in ableness, gatekeepers begin to embrace the social model of disability, making educational systems accessible rather than "fixing" the individual to fit into existing systems. The article highlights how resistance and fear of difference towards students with disabilities in higher education maintain an ableist social structure. Gatekeepers increase in power and reinforce ableist ideologies as they manufacture disability using rational discrimination.
Democracy, Nazi Trials, and Transitional Justice in Germany, 1945–1950

Post-war Germany has been seen as a model of 'transitional justice' in action, where the prosecution of Nazis, most prominently in the Nuremberg Trials, helped promote a transition to democracy. However, this view forgets that Nazis were also prosecuted in what became East Germany, and the story in West Germany is more complicated than has been assumed. Revising received understanding of how transitional justice works, Devin O. Pendas examines Nazi trials between 1945 and 1950 to challenge assumptions about the political outcomes of prosecuting mass atrocities. In East Germany, where there were more trials and stricter sentences, and where they grasped a broad German complicity in Nazi crimes, the trials also helped to consolidate the emerging Stalinist dictatorship by legitimating a new police state. Meanwhile, opponents of Nazi prosecutions in West Germany embraced the language of fairness and due process, which helped de-radicalise the West German judiciary and promote democracy.
Computing and Utilizing an Equating Constant to Explore Items for Linking a Test to an Item Bank

In Rasch Analysis in the Human Sciences we described some steps that researchers can take in order to link a test or a survey to another test through use of test (or survey) item anchoring. This chapter describes an additional set of steps that can be followed in order to link a test to a bank of test items. Specifically, we outline the steps required to compute an “equating constant” that can be used to link a test to another test or to an item bank.
Artificial Intelligence for Flood Observation

Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally changing our society, benefiting from the big data revolution and dramatical declination in the Internet of Things (IoT) costs. Flood research and applications will progress with this emerging technology, as AI is creating new flood data sources, enhancing our capability to analyze the data, and improving our accuracy of flood predictions. This chapter introduces the basic concepts of AI and its technical frontier. Using the method of “review of the reviews” with example highlight the emerging AI applications in the field of flood hazards is summarized in terms of the data sources, including crowdsourcing and surveillance camera videos. The use of the AI-enabled big data is also discussed. The opportunities and barriers of this new technology are summarized. At the end of the chapter, the trend and the research gaps are identified in this field.
Determining the effect of aging, recovery time, and post-stroke memantine treatment on delayed thalamic gliosis after cortical infarct

Secondary injury following cortical stroke includes delayed gliosis and eventual neuronal loss in the thalamus. However, the effects of aging and the potential to ameliorate this gliosis with NMDA receptor (NMDAR) antagonism are not established. We used the permanent distal middle cerebral artery stroke model (pdMCAO) to examine secondary thalamic injury in young and aged mice. At 3 days post-stroke (PSD3), slight microgliosis (IBA-1) and astrogliosis (GFAP) was evident in thalamus, but no infarct. Gliosis increased dramatically through PSD14, at which point degenerating neurons were detected. Flow cytometry demonstrated a significant increase in CD11b+/CD45int microglia (MG) in the ipsilateral thalamus at PSD14. CCR2-RFP reporter mouse further demonstrated that influx of peripheral monocytes contributed to the MG/Mϕ population. Aged mice demonstrated reduced microgliosis and astrogliosis compared with young mice. Interestingly, astrogliosis demonstrated glial scar-like characteristics at two years post-stroke, but not by 6 weeks. Lastly, treatment with memantine (NMDAR antagonist) at 4 and 24 h after stroke significantly reduced gliosis at PSD14. These findings expand our understanding of gliosis in the thalamus following cortical stroke and demonstrate age-dependency of this secondary injury. Additionally, these findings indicate that delayed treatment with memantine (an FDA approved drug) provides significant reduction in thalamic gliosis.
Buying status: Experimental evidence on status in negotiation

Status is an important motivator of human behavior. This article examines the extent to which people are willing to adjust their negotiating behavior in response to their opponent's status level. The results of a series of experiments on the effect of status on student subjects' negotiating behavior are reported. The data suggest that status affects human interactions in a positive way, which causes people to seek status. It is, therefore, a successful advertising strategy to associate high status with consumption of a product. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Severe Deep Vein Thrombosis Complicating Surgery for Ulcerative Colitis

PURPOSE: We report the case of an unusual presentation of deep vein thrombosis in a patient with ulcerative colitis. METHODS: We review the patient’s medical records, clinical and laboratory findings, and operative reports, as well as review the applicable literature. RESULTS: We describe the case of a 47-year-old man who presented with a severe deep vein thrombosis during the course of ulcerative colitis. Most deep vein thromboses can be successfully treated with typical anticoagulation therapy. However, our patient was not as responsive, and his course was complicated further by surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Deep vein thrombosis can be caused by ulcerative colitis. By removing the inflamed colon the source of the thrombosis can be eliminated.
Conjugated Graetz problems—II: Fluid-fluid problems

Abstract Conjugated Graetz problems [1], involving two co- or counter-currently flowing phases are discussed following the general formalism of [1]. Although the difficulty, which arises from the changing sign of the velocity profile over the total cross-section of the two-fluid conduit of the counter-current problems, may be readily handled by the general formalism, the inclusion of axial heat conduction in the analysis presents special difficulties in obtaining analytical and/or computationally efficient solutions. The present analysis shows that analytical and computationally efficient solutions may be obtained only for these problems where the temperature profile at the entrance of the heating section is known for at least one of the fluids. The solution of a class of problems with long heating sections is obtained untilizing the general formalism together with the Gram-Schmidt orthonormalization process in the spirit of [5]. Problems with low Peclet numbers for both fluids and with an adiabatic section preceding the heating section or problems with very short heating sections are also briefly discussed.
Stem cell mechanobiology: diverse lessons from bone marrow

A stem cell niche is defined by various chemical and physical features that influence whether a stem cell remains quiescent, divides, or differentiates. We review mechanical determinants that affect cell fate through actomyosin forces, nucleoskeleton remodeling, and mechanosensitive translocation of transcription factors. Current methods for physical characterization of tissue microenvironments are summarized together with efforts to recapitulate niche mechanics in culture. We focus on mesenchymal stem cells, particularly in osteogenesis and adipogenesis, and on blood stem cells – both of which reside in mechanically diverse marrow microenvironments. Given the explosion of efforts with pluripotent stem cells, the evident mechanosensitivity of clinically relevant, multipotent marrow cells underscores an increasing need to examine and understand in vivo and in vitro physical properties on length scales that cells sense.
The myth of decomposition

Abstract Branch, and Bound (BB) and Decomposition algorithms are the two main deterministic approaches that have been applied successfully to solve Mixed-Integer optimization problems. A Generalized Branch and Cut (GBC) algorithm is presented here and it is shown that all current decomposition and BB algorithms are essentially specific instances of GBC with different sets of heuristics. First it will be shown that Decomposition algorithm based on Outer Approximation for solving convex MINLPs and INLPs [5] , [6] is a BC algorithm with a certain set of heuristics. A different set of heuristics for the BC algorithm that may be potentially more efficient (on average) to solve convex MINLPs will then be presented. Finally, numerical results from several example problems is compared to identify an efficient set of heuristics to be employed in the GBC algorithm that will reduce the computational time (on average).
Effectiveness of vaginal bromocriptine in treating women with hyperprolactinemia

Treatment of hyperprolactinemia with oral bromocriptine has been associated with a high incidence of side effects. The authors recently demonstrated that, in normal women, the vaginal route of administration was an effective and safe alternative to oral bromocriptine. To evaluate the effectiveness of vaginal bromocriptine in treating women with hyperprolactinemia, the authors treated 15 hyperprolactinemic women with daily vaginal administration of 2.5 mg tablets of bromocriptine. Serum prolactin (PRL) levels and vital signs were measured daily for 6 days, then weekly for 4 weeks. Gastrointestinal side effects were limited to a single episode of mild nausea, and two cases of transient constipation. In all patients there was a dramatic initial reduction in PRL in response to a single 2.5 mg dose of bromocriptine. In 13 patients PRL levels were maintained within the normal range with daily administration of 2.5 mg, whereas in two patients, PRL levels remained higher than normal despite an increase in bromocriptine dose to 5 mg. These results suggest that short term use of vaginal bromocriptine is a safe and effective method of therapy for hyperprolactinemia.
Percentile ranks of sonar fetal abdominal circumference measurements

We present the percentile ranks of sonar fetal abdominal circumference (AC) measurements from 18 to 41 weeks' gestation. The ACs are derived from both longitudinal and cross-sectional ultrasonic studies of 200 low-risk pregnant women. The reproducibility of sonar AC falls within 2% of the mean value; this variation permits antenatal distinction of the fetus with a small AC (less than twenty-fifth percentile) or large (greater than eightieth percentile) reading. The fetal AC measurements add another dimension to the interpretation of cephalic growth, particularly in identifying macrosomic fetuses as well as those who are either asymmetrically or symmetrically undergrown. Additionally fetal AC measurements are useful as adjuncts to the diagnosis of hydrocephalus by quantitating the difference between cephalic and body size. In the presence of fetal ascites the AC also can be used to assess the severity and progression of the abnormality.
Comparison of retropubic synthetic mid-urethral slings to fascia pubovaginal slings following failed sling surgery.

Aims Mid-urethral slings are considered first-line surgical treatment of stress urinary incontinence. However, there is a paucity of data regarding the use of mid-urethral slings (MUS) for patients who have failed a prior sling procedure. Materials and Methods After receiving IRB approval, a multi-institutional retrospective review of 224 consecutive patients undergoing placement of a retropubic MUS (n = 153) or autologous rectus fascia (ARF) pubovaginal sling (n = 71) for prior failed sling surgery is conducted. Pre- and post-operative pad use is recorded for all patients in addition to completion of four validated questionnaires pre- and post-operatively: SEAPI-QMM incontinence classification system (stress-related leak, emptying ability, anatomy, protection, inhibition, quality of life, mobility, and mental status), incontinence impact questionnaire (IIQ-7), urogenital distress inventory (UDI-6), and 10-point visual analog score (VAS). Results Median follow-up is 29 months and the overall subjective cure rate was 61.4%. A statistically significant improvement in pad use and in all validated questionnaire outcomes is observed for secondary repair with a retropubic sling. In further sub-analysis between the MUS and the ARF groups, there are no significant differences in subjective cure rates or changes in post-operative questionnaire outcomes. Conclusions Secondary repair with a retropubic sling is a durable and effective procedure for patients who have failed prior sling procedures without differences in outcomes noted between retropubic MUS and ARF slings. Neurourol. Urodynam. 9999:1–4, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Arresting Development: Facebook Searches and the Information Super Highway Patrol

Does the right of the police to search an arrestee’s person and vehicle include the right to rifle through and clone all the content on his smartphone’s Facebook account? Social networks may be the furthest thing from the minds of those placed under arrest — especially those booked for minor traffic offenses punishable by fines. But for those handcuffed near their smartphones, the social-networking site may seismically shift the balance between their privacy and the police’s investigatory power. As the most frequented stop today on the information super highway, Facebook has mushroomed civilian traffic, but also has escalated the highway patrol policing it, albeit away from public view. The privacy shift can be attributed, in large part, to the Supreme Court’s outdated Fourth Amendment jurisprudence and Congress’s failure to update federal privacy laws to consider methods of modern communication tools. In this article, I conduct an empirical analysis of the ways that lower courts have allowed or barred a government search of an arrestee’s cellular phone (or other mobile electronic device). I demonstrate that these decisions suggest little hope of suppressing a post-arrest Facebook search, despite running afoul of principles underlying any exceptions to Fourth Amendment-search rules. I conclude that even if a search triggers federal privacy laws or avoids the myriad holes in the Swiss cheese of Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, the digital architecture of social networking punctures any hope that such investigations can be challenged under existing criminal-procedure rules.