cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Size-specific follicle selection improves mouse oocyte reproductive outcomes

Encapsulated in vitro follicle growth (eIVFG) has great potential to provide an additional fertility preservation option for young women and girls with cancer or other reproductive health threatening diseases. Currently, follicles are cultured for a defined period of time and analyzed as a cohort. However, follicle growth is not synchronous, and culturing follicles for insufficient or excessive times can result in compromised gamete quality. Our objective is to determine whether the selection of follicles based on size, rather than absolute culture time, better predict follicle maturity and oocyte quality. Multilayer secondary mouse follicles were isolated and encapsulated in 0.25% alginate. Follicles were cultured individually either for defined time periods or up to specific follicle diameter ranges, at which point several reproductive endpoints were analyzed. The metaphase II (MII) percentage after oocyte maturation on day 6 was the highest (85%) when follicles were cultured for specific days. However, if follicles were cultured to a terminal diameter of 300-350 μm irrespective of absolute time in culture, 93% of the oocytes reached MII. More than 90% of MII oocytes matured from follicles with diameters of 300-350 μm showed normal spindle morphology and chromosome alignment, 85% of oocytes showed two pronuclei after IVF, 81% developed into the two-cell embryo stage and 38% developed to the blastocyst stage, all significantly higher than the percentages in the other follicle size groups. Our study demonstrates that size-specific follicle selection can be used as a non-invasive marker to identify high-quality oocytes and improve reproductive outcomes during eIVFG.
Breast cancer screening trends in the United States and ethnicity

Background: The study objectives were to compare and examine mammography use trends among ethnic/racial women in the context of United States Healthy People 2010 goals. Methods: We analyzed pooled, multistage probability sample data from the 1996–2007 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Included in the sample were female respondents of ages 40 to 75 years ( N = 64,811) from six ethnic/racial groups (Black, White, Mexican, Other Latinas, Puerto Rican, and Cuban). The primary outcome was self-reported, past two-year mammography use consistent with screening practice guidelines. Results: We found that for most U.S. women, the Healthy People 2010 mammography goal (70%) was achieved between 1996 and 2007. Puerto Rican and White women, respectively, had the highest mammography rates, and Black and Cuban women had rates that approached the 2010 goal. Conclusion: Mexican Latinas reported the lowest rates of past two-year mammography; however, factors enabling healthcare access markedly moderated this lower likelihood. From 2000, Mexican Latinas' mammography use was markedly below (10%) the Healthy People 2010 goal and remained there for the duration. Impact: Our findings indicate that healthcare equity goals are attainable if efforts are made to reach a sizeable portion of vulnerable populations. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 21(2); 351–7. ©2011 AACR .
Sex differences in autoimmune diseases

Women are more susceptible to a variety of autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis (MS), primary biliary cirrhosis, rheumatoid arthritis and Hashimoto's thyroiditis. This increased susceptibility in females compared to males is also present in animal models of autoimmune diseases such as spontaneous SLE in (NZBxNZW)F1 and NZM.2328 mice, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in SJL mice, thyroiditis, Sjogren's syndrome in MRL/Mp-lpr/lpr mice and diabetes in non-obese diabetic mice. Indeed, being female confers a greater risk of developing these diseases than any single genetic or environmental risk factor discovered to date. Understanding how the state of being female so profoundly affects autoimmune disease susceptibility would accomplish two major goals. First, it would lead to an insight into the major pathways of disease pathogenesis and, secondly, it would likely lead to novel treatments which would disrupt such pathways.
A method for continuously measuring the pinch-off voltage shift of FET structures

A method is described for continuously measuring the pinch-off voltage V gT of FET structures as a function of time. This is of particular importance for the study of device instabilities.
Emergency department evaluation of the chest pain patient.

Evaluating the chest pain patient is one of the greatest challenges facing emergency physicians—despite major recent advances for diagnosing cardiac ischemia in both imaging technology and laboratory testing. The challenge stems from both the broad differential diagnosis for chest pain, which ranges from benign to immediately life threatening: Acute ischemic coronary syndrome (unstable angina, MI) Pulmonary embolus Tension pneumothorax Pericarditis with cardiac tamponade Aortic dissection The lack of an immediately available definitive test is also problematic. Missing the diagnosis of myocardial ischemia or infarction results in increased rates morbidity and mortality and can also result in significant medicolegal consequences. This article focuses on the often-subtle presentations of myocardial ischemia as well as the role of the patient's clinical history, risk factors, prior medical history, and physical findings in establishing the correct diagnosis. In the past, there was no true urgency in making a rapid or definitive diagnosis of myocardial ischemia. Most higher-risk chest pain patients would be admitted to the hospital, observed for arrhythmias, and allowed to rule in or rule out for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) over a period of 24 to 72 hours. Over the last two decades, however, the emergence of newer medications to manage unstable angina, coupled with thrombolytic therapy and emergent revascularization techniques, has dramatically altered the importance of rapidly making a rapid diagnosis of acute ischemic coronary syndromes (AICS) in the emergency department (ED). Nationwide estimates vary on the exact dollar cost for the patients admitted for evaluation of chest pain, but it appears to be in excess of $10 billion annually. 16 A variety of studies in the past have shown that typically fewer than 30% of patients admitted to coronary care units (CCUs) are actually having an acute myocardial infarction, whereas only another 20% of CCU patients are diagnosed with unstable angina. 16,31 Thus, at most only 50% of these patients have AICS as the cause of their chest pain. In an era of ever-shrinking healthcare resources, and with the need to maintain ever-higher levels of diagnostic accuracy, a variety of new approaches have been developed that aid in the efficient cost-effective evaluation for myocardial ischemia.
Covariance analysis of censored survival data.

The use of regression models for making covariance adjustments in the comparsion of survival curves is illustrated by application to a clinical trial of maintenance therapy for childhood leukemia. Three models are considered: the log linear exponential (Glasser [1967]); Cox's [1972] nonparametric generalization of this; and the linear exponential (Feigl and Zelen [1965]). Age and white blood count at diagnosis are both shown to be important for prognosis; adjustment for the latter variable has marked effects on the treatment comparisons. Both advantages and disadvantages with the regression approach are noted.
Geostrophic turbulence and emergence of eddies beyond the radius of deformation

Abstract Geostrophic turbulence has traditionally been studied within the framework of the classical, quasi-geostrophic equation. This equation, valid only when vertical displacements are weak, possesses a symmetry between cyclonic and anticyclonic vortices that is not present in the primitive equations. Moreover, previous studies were restricted by length scales not in excess of the deformation radius. In an attempt to advance the study of unforced geostrophic turbulence, we address here the following questions: How is the energy cascade toward longer length scales affected beyond the deformation radius? And, what is the result of the cyclonic-anticyclonic asymmetry brought on by finite vertical displacements? Some answers are provided by numerical experiments using a generalized geostrophic equation. The energy cascade is found to come to a halt beyond the deformation radius. There, a statistical equilibrium is reached at a length scale prescribed as a combination of the deformation radius, the beta eff...
Relaxin suppresses atrial fibrillation in aged rats by reversing fibrosis and upregulating Na+ channels

Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) contributes significantly to morbidity and mortality in elderly patients and has been correlated with enhanced age-dependent atrial fibrosis. Reversal of atrial fibrosis has been proposed as therapeutic strategy to suppress AF. Objective To test the ability of relaxin to reverse age-dependent atrial fibrosis and suppress AF. Methods Aged F-344 rats (24 months old) were treated with subcutaneous infusion of vehicle or relaxin (0.4 mg/kg/day) for 2 weeks. Rat hearts were excised, perfused on a Langendorff apparatus, and stained with voltage and Ca2+ indicator dyes. Optical mapping and programmed electrical stimulation was used to test arrhythmia vulnerability and changes in electrophysiological characteristics. Changes in protein expression and Na+ current density (INa) were measured by tissue immunofluorescence and whole-cell patch clamp technique. Results In aged rats, sustained AF was readily induced with a premature pulse (n = 7/8) and relaxin treatment suppressed sustained AF by a premature impulse or burst pacing (n = 1/6) (P Conclusion Relaxin suppresses AF through an increase in atrial conduction velocity by decreasing atrial fibrosis and increasing INa. These data provide compelling evidence that relaxin may serve as an effective therapy to manage AF in geriatric patients by reversing fibrosis and modulating cardiac ionic currents.
Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't

As I picked up Leaders Eat Last, with its preface written by a retired Lieutenant General and its focus on business, I wondered if its contents would connect to those of us in health care. However, as I read the book I was struck by the similarities. As academia becomes “more like a business” and medicine becomes increasingly businesslike, the challenges discussed and insights offered seem very relevant. A key statement in the forward was particularly resonant, “Organizations where people share values and where people are valued succeed over the long term in good and bad times.” Mr. Sinek's description of leaders of great organizations, who “do not see people as a commodity to be managed to help grow the money,” but instead, “see money as the commodity to be managed to help grow their people” also was insightful. Hospitals, schools of chiropractic, and outpatient practices all are organizations that require excellence from every person within them, making this admonition very relevant. In chiropractic education this impact is magnified further as young professionals build their professional identities, and the values that will guide their care of others throughout their careers. Thus, the relevance of this book to us.
"Voice of the Black Community:" The Philadelphia Tribune, 1912-41

C C/^VN the 28th of November 1884, the Philadelphia Tribune made V_>/ its bow to the public. . . . And as long as memory holds majestic sway, the publisher will remember that in opening the Tribune's office in a small room on Sansom Street on that chilly November day, he did not have money enough to buy a stove to keep himself warm, after he had bought a second-hand table, chair, a pair of scissors and a five-cent bottle of mucilage. They were truly days of stress and storm." This reminiscence of Chris J. Perry provides a significant personal insight into the founding of the Philadelphia Tribune, the oldest continuously circulating black newspaper in the United States.1 Most people would agree that having survived for over one hundred years, without missing an issue, is enough reason for recognition. But in examining the role of the newspaper in the history, development, and education of the Philadelphia black community, we are able to describe and fully document why the paper was so successful, and how a black newspaper served and functioned in one of the largest urban black communities in the country during the first four decades of the twentieth century. According to various biographical sketches, Christopher James Per ry, Sr., was born in 1854 in Baltimore, Maryland, and migrated to Philadelphia in 1873. The reasons for Perry's migration have not been recorded.2 Initially, Perry attended night schools in the city and worked at a variety of jobs. Then in November 1881 he began to write a regular column for the Philadelphia Sunday Mercury, entitled, "Flashes and Sparks." The column presented lively and informative news on the comings and goings in the black community. But in 1884 the Mercury
Severity of infectious mononucleosis correlates with the frequency of crossreactive influenza A/Epstein Barr virus-specific CD8+ T cells (HUM4P.301)

During EBV-associated infectious mononucleosis (IM) IAV-specific crossreactive memory T cells are activated and play a role in disease severity. In HLA-A2+ IM patients, influenza M1 58 (IAV-M1)-specific CD8 memory T cell responses crossreacted with two different EBV lytic epitopes, BMLF1 280 (17/29) and BRLF1 109 (19/20). Disease severity of IM directly correlated with significantly increased frequencies of crossreactive IAV-M1/EBV-BMLF1, IAV-M1, and EBV-BMLF1 specific CD8 cells, and with mean viral load over the first 5 weeks of infection. Disease severity did not correlate with BRLF1 or M1/BRLF1 crossreactive responses. When severity of IM was scored and patients were assigned to either mild or severe groups, disease severity correlated with specific TCR Vb usage in IAV-M1 population suggesting that TcR selection is driving disease outcome. Consistent with crossreactive responses driving increased immunopathology was the observation that tetramer-sorted crossreactive responses had completely altered immune response signatures than cognate responses by gene array. These results suggest that T cell crossreactivity impacts T cell selection and function and ultimately disease outcome. Insights on these issues are important for the intelligent design of vaccines and to develop therapeutic interventions for virally induced disease (NIHAI49320).
Refereed paper: Policy Groups

This paper contributes to the current discussion on multipolicy systems: systems that support a multitude of independent security domains in which an individual security policy is enforced on the applications. In multipolicy systems, the interoperability between different security domains constitutes a major problem. While security policies are capable of controlling the applications within their domains, interactions between security domains create security loop-holes and cause conflicts between the involved security policies. This paper introduces policy groups as an approach to secure domain interactions. A policy group combines a set of security policies with a set of policies that control inter-domain actions. It composes a multipolicy system's security policies into a single structure and provides a single point of reference for the discussion of a system's security properties. In order to provide a precise foundation for this discussion, the paper introduces a formal model of policy groups based on Harrison, Ruzzo and Ullman's access control calculus. The paper concludes with statements about the decidability of the safety problem for policy groups.
Image Guided Well Log Interpolation using Predictive Painting

Different seismic attributes can be used to interpolate rock properties between well-logs but often seismic reflectors play no role in the essential task of guiding this process. We propose a method which honors both seismic image structures and the relationship of seismic amplitude or other attributes to well-log properties. An application to real data example demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method in following the structural pattern of the seismic image while interpolating rock properties between wells.
Fatty acid oxidation, citric acid cycle activity, and morphology of mitochondria in diabetic rat liver.

SummaryPalmitate and oleate oxidation in isolated mitochondria from alloxan diabetic rat liver were shown to be elevated two or threefold over normal. These increases were accompanied by enlargement of mitochondria as observed by electron microscopy. These metabolic and structural changes were reversed by treating the diabetic rat with insulin. The activities of citric acid cycle enzymes in MT were unchanged in the diabetic state. It is suggested that insulin regulates LCFA oxidation in the liver by an effect on MT structure and function.
The Effects of T-2 Toxin in Broiler Chickens

Abstract T-2 toxin is a mycotoxin produced by several species of Fusarium and small concentrations have been reported earlier to cause severe oral lesions in chickens. Graded concentrations (0, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 μg./g.) of dietary T-2 toxin were given to groups of 40 broiler chickens. A total of 240 chicks were used in these experiments. The growth rate was reduced significantly (P
Analysis of occupational health examination results of 1 580 employed coal workers in Jiahe County of Chenzhou City

[Objective]To understand the health status of coal workers in Jiahe County of Chenzhou City,and provide evidence for promoting workers' health and reducing the incidence of occupational diseases.[Methods]Occupational health examination was performed on 1580 coal workers in Jiahe County in 2012,according to the "Occupational Health Surveillance Specification"and the data were analyzed with SPSS 16.0.[Results]Of 1 580 coal workers investigated,64(4.05%) cases of suspected pneumoconiosis were detected,as well as 532(33.67%) cases of hypertension,265(16.77%) cases of abnormal liver function and 15(0.95%) cases of ECG abnormalities.[Conclusion]The health condition of the coal workers is worse.Therefore,it is necessary to enforce the coal management and health surveillance of the workers so as to ensure the health of workers.
Application of an Improved Data Mining Algorithm In the Condition-based Maintenance System of Hydropower Plant

This paper introduces the basic concept of hydropower plant condition-based maintenance.And combining with the data mining technology,here we do some research work of application in condition-based maintenancesystem.It focuses on the application of data mining technology including feature extraction,state identification,diagnosis and decision inequipment condition monitoring and fault diagnosis in related areas.It is so important to clarify the data mining technology inhydropower equipment condition monitoring and fault diagnosis field,and also practical applicationsignificance.
Rapid high pressure liquid chromatographic determination of aflatoxin M1 in milk and nonfat dry milk.

A modification of the current revised AOAC method, 26.A10-26.A15, is described for the rapid analysis of aflatoxin M1 in milk and nonfat dry milk. The method incorporates chloroform extraction and eliminates the need for column chromatography by using liquid-liquid partition for sample extract cleanup. Quantitation is carried out by using fluorescence detection combined with high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) of aflatoxin M1 which has been converted to aflatoxin M2a with trifluoroacetic acid. The method has a detection limit of 0.014 micrograms/L (2 X signal/noise) for whole milk. For 6 samples of naturally contaminated nonfat dry and freeze-dried milk, the modified method gave an average result of 0.698 micrograms/L; the AOAC method gave an average result of 0.386 micrograms/L.
The effects of routine intensive care interactions on metabolic rate in ventilated patients

The intensive care unit is a dynamic setting where critically ill patients receive extensive and constant care. They undergo many clinical and nursing interventions as a part of their routine care. These result in changes in oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production that are accompanied by alterations in the outputs of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. This provides an opportunity to examine the physiological response of critically ill patients to acute increases in oxygen demand. More practically, oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production are frequently measured to calculate energy expenditure for use in planning nutritional regimens. The intrinsic state of the patient (sleeping, resting, moving etc) affects the determination of energy expenditure and must be accounted for.
Electron microscopic observations on scrapie in the mouse, with reference to glucosaminidase activity.

SUMMARY Electron microscopic and histochemical methods were used to relate glucosaminidase activity to changes at the ultrastructural level in scrapie-affected mice. Increased activity of the enzyme was demonstrated in the cytoplasm of certain neurons. The relationship between glucosaminidase activity and the cytological observations is discussed.
Lead relation research between rebar futures prices and spot prices

The pricing mechanism and influence factors attract extensive attention theoretically and practically. In this article, choosing the rebar futures in Shanghai Futures Exchange as object, we analyze the rebar futures market efficiency, on the basis of prices, and the cointegration relationship between rebar futures prices and spot prices. The research indicates the rebar futures prices are characterized by normal distribution, the rebar futures markets are weak efficiency, and the rebar futures prices are long-term equilibrium with spot prices, what is more, one day lagged spot prices are the causes of the variations in futures prices.
A randomized trial to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage and juice intake in preschool-aged children: description of the Smart Moms intervention trial

Obesity in young children remains a public health concern, and maternal weight is one of the strongest predictors of obesity in early childhood. However, parental adherence in interventions for young children is often low and existing programs have had mixed success. An innovative approach to treatment is needed that increases adherence among mothers and improves weight-related behaviors simultaneously in mothers and children. The objective of the Smart Moms randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to test the efficacy of a 6-month primarily smartphone-delivered program to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage and juice consumption among children ages 3–5 whose mothers are overweight or obese. This paper describes the study design and intervention. Mother-child dyads were eligible if the mother was overweight or obese, owned a smartphone, and if the child was between the ages of 3–5 and consumed 12 oz or more per day of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and 100 % fruit juice. Participants were randomly assigned to the Smart Moms intervention or a waitlist control group. The intervention consisted of theoretically grounded and evidence-based behavioral strategies delivered through one group session, lessons on a mobile-optimized website, and text messages. Mothers submitted self-monitoring information via text message and received regular tailored feedback emails from interventionists. The primary outcome is change in child SSB and juice consumption and a secondary outcome is change in maternal weight. This Smart Moms study was designed to determine if a low-burden intervention delivered using mobile methods and targeted towards mothers could be effective at changing child sugar-sweetened beverage intake. Results will indicate if mobile-based methods can be a feasible way to engage mothers in family-based studies and will inform successful strategies to prevent childhood obesity through parent-targeted approaches. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02098902 (Registered March 25, 2014).
Una sola familia humana: hospitalidad y derechos humanos de las personas inmigrantes.

Los refugiados llaman a la puerta de nuestra casa comun. Europa se siente amenazada por los refugiados. Europa esta atravesada por varias brechas. Una brecha norte-sur a causa de la deuda griega, que ha ido dejando paso a otra mas visible: desde este verano,existe una brecha este-oeste: la Europa occidental, sobre todo Alemania, al principio de manera notable, a final del otono de manera mas comedida, y la Europa meridional se han volcado en la acogida de inmigrantes y refugiados que huyen del complejo conflicto sirio, con sus ramificaciones o contextos kurdo, iraqui y libanes, mientras la Europa central y la britanica han levantado muros: unos, interiores y mentales, otros, vallas fronterizas,cuestionando un espacio europeo de comunicacion libre de personas. En el lado sur y este del Mediterraneo estan las causas de una situacion de emergencia que no es nueva,aunque haya adquirido tonos dramaticos; en el lado norte y oeste del mismo mar se verifican los efectos de esa crisis humanitaria. Los refugiados, los desplazados, los migrantes, llegan a las puertas de Europa en busca de una tierra prometida, con seguridad, con trabajo y con reconocimiento de derechos protegidos. Es la tierra prometida de la que nos sentimos orgullosos, ?legitimamente?, ?responsablemente?
The Clinical Illness Promotion Factor

This monograph has focused largely on the establishment of the causal role of a given factor in the production of a disease or clinical syndrome by epidemiological and/or experimental means (Evans, 1976). This proof often included reproduction of the disease in a susceptible laboratory animal or susceptible human host (as per the Henle-Koch postulates), the demonstration that the disease occurs more commonly in the presence of the suspected factor than in its absence (increased relative risk), or that removal of the factor decreases the incidence of the disease (attributable risk). These approaches to causative proof have concentrated mainly on two ingredients: the suspected factor and the human host.
Change in birth outcomes among infants born to Latina mothers after a major immigration raid

Background Growing evidence indicates that immigration policy and enforcement adversely affect the well-being of Latino immigrants, but fewer studies examine 'spillover effects' on USA-born Latinos. Immigration enforcement is often diffuse, covert and difficult to measure. By contrast, the federal immigration raid in Postville, Iowa, in 2008 was, at the time, the largest single-site federal immigration raid in US history. Methods We employed a quasi-experimental design, examining ethnicity-specific patterns in birth outcomes before and after the Postville raid. We analysed Iowa birth-certificate data to compare risk of term and preterm low birthweight (LBW), by ethnicity and nativity, in the 37 weeks following the raid to the same 37-week period the previous year ( n = 52 344). We model risk of adverse birth outcomes using modified Poisson regression and model distribution of birthweight using quantile regression. Results Infants born to Latina mothers had a 24% greater risk of LBW after the raid when compared with the same period 1 year earlier [risk ratio (95% confidence interval) = 1.24 (0.98, 1.57)]. No such change was observed among infants born to non-Latina White mothers. Increased risk of LBW was observed for USA-born and immigrant Latina mothers. The association between raid timing and LBW was stronger among term than preterm births. Changes in birthweight after the raid primarily reflected decreased birthweight below the 5th percentile of the distribution, not a shift in mean birthweight. Conclusions Our findings highlight the implications of racialized stressors not only for the health of Latino immigrants, but also for USA-born co-ethnics.
Learning to Rate Clinical Concepts Using Simulated Clinician Feedback

We present a user-based model for rating concepts (i.e., words and phrases) in clinical queries based on their relevance to clinical decision making. Our approach can be adopted by information retrieval systems (e.g., search engines) to identify the most important concepts in user queries in order to better understand user intent and to improve search results. In our experiments, we examine several learning algorithms and show that by using simulated user feedback, our approach can predict the ratings of the clinical concepts in newly unseen queries with high prediction accuracy.
Getting to Know Your Students and an Educational Ethic of Care

In the 10 years since Hawk and Lyons published, “Please Don’t Give Up on Me: When Faculty Fail to Care” in Journal of Management Education, much has changed about the nature of pedagogical caring, ...
Management of Drug Interactions of New Drugs in Multicenter Trials Using the Metabolism and Transport Drug Interaction Database

The Metabolism and Transport Drug Interaction Database© (DIDB) is a web-based research tool (http://www.druginteractioninfo.org) for scientists and clinicians working in the field of drug interactions (DIs). The DIDB enables users to access, manage, and analyze the scientific basis of clinical drug interactions for drugs, biologics, food, and herbal derivatives. Users can search the database using a number of queries that allow them to approach the data from different perspectives. This chapter illustrates how the DIDB can be used by clinical investigators to manage drug interactions of new molecular entities in the context of a disease and its comorbidities or during multicenter trials.
13-MW 140-fs pulses from a gain-switched diode seeded fiber amplifier (Conference Presentation)

Mode-locked oscillators are fantastic scientific instruments. Today, femtosecond pulses are now in demand for applications outside physics and chemistry laboratories, most notably for precision materials processing and nonlinear optical microscopy in biomedical laboratories and clinics. These applications require short pulses with high peak power and excellent beam quality. However, they also require devices that are cheap, reliable, and – crucially -- flexible. For example, synchronization of pulses with scanning optics is crucial for high efficiency machining and imaging alike. Lasers in materials processing are often required to exhibit pulse-on-demand operation in order to deposit energy only in specific locations. In biology, such behavior would enable region-of-interest monitoring, allowing e.g. ultrahigh resolution monitoring of a neuronal circuit’s dynamics. This kind of behavior is not compatible with the regular pulse train of a mode-locked oscillator. To this end, we seed an ultrafast fiber amplifier with a gain-switched diode. This a robust, integrated device that can be electronically triggered at virtually any repetition rate, or on-demand, yielding partially-coherent, ~10 ps duration pulses. Remarkably, a single Mamyshev regenerator (nonlinear spectral broadening in fiber followed by offset spectral filtering) allows isolation of a coherent component of the diode pulse. After subsequent nonlinear pulse shaping, amplification to the µJ-regime, and linear compression, we obtain transform-limited ~140-fs pulses with 13 MW peak power. As will be discussed, such a source cannot replace all mode-locked oscillators (e.g., for frequency comb applications), but is extremely attractive for the key mainstream applications of ultrashort pulses.
Addressing Diverse User Preferences: A Framework for Query Results Navigation.

Database queries are often exploratory and users often find their queries return too many answers, many of them irrelevant. Existing approaches include categorization, ranking, and query refinement. The success of all these approaches depends on the utilization of user preferences. However, most existing work assumes that all users have the same user preferences, but in real life different users often have different preferences. In this paper, we propose a framework that addresses diverse user preferences in query results navigation.
Critical Moments in Learning Mathematics: First Year Pre-Service Primary Teachers' Perspectives.

Pre-service primary teachers have been identified in several research studies as having poor self-conceptions of themselves as mathematics teachers. Many express feelings of anxiety when faced with mathematics tasks resulting in poor dispositions and understandings. This paper reports on beginning pre-service primary teachers’ (N=106) recollections of critical moments in their mathematics education at school. Interestingly, their graphical ratings of their dispositions suggest a slightly positive recollection of their mathematical experiences. In contrast their justifications and recount was generally negative.
Integrated Drainage-Wetland Systems for Reducing Nitrate Loads from Tile Drained Landscapes

In addition to raising local water quality concerns, nitrate loads from Midwest agriculture are suspected as a primary contributor to hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Over-application of fertilizer can exacerbate the problem, but the major causes are hydrological and land-use changes that came with tile drainage. Subsurface drainage creates very productive croplands and reduces water quality problems associated with surface runoff, but subsurface flow and nitrate transport are substantially increased. A permanent solution to the environmental problem of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico will likely require more than improved nitrogen management and tillage practices. We present results of simulations integrating nitrate-removal wetlands, as a proven technology, with the emerging technologies of drainage modification. Relatively small areas of wetlands intercepting tile drainage can remove over 50% of the nitrate in tile drainage water. Controlled drainage and shallow drainage can reduce subsurface flow and nitrate export by as much as 50%. The integration of shallow and controlled drainage systems with nitrate-removal wetlands has the potential to simultaneously decrease the volume of subsurface drainage, increase the number of wetland sites, push those sites closer to the nitrate source, and enhance wetland performance by increasing the average residence time in the wetlands.
Reflecting on Theory-Building: A Call for Empirical, Interpretive, and Confrontive Theory in Public and Environmental Affairs

Despite the relevance of social theory to matters of public concern as diverse as social justice and the environment, the importance of standards for evaluating theoretical projects and new efforts...
Investigating the factor structure of the K10 and identifying cutoff scores denoting nonspecific psychological distress and need for treatment

Abstract While widely used in epidemiological research, studies of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) have supported profoundly mixed results regarding its latent factor structure and optimal cutoff scores to identify clinically significant psychological distress. The present study sought to investigate the K10 and identify cutoff scores denoting clinically significant nonspecific psychological distress and need for treatment in a sample of American adults recruited online. Four hundred thirty-four (434) adults (M age = 37.86) participated via Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) as part of a larger study and completed the International Personality Item Pool Representation of the NEO PI-R, 120-item version (IPIP-NEO-120), K10, and demographic information. Factor analyses revealed that a two-factor solution (Depression and Anxiety) fit K10 items statistically significantly better than a unidimensional model. Good convergent validity emerged between IPIP-NEO-120 Depression and Anxiety facets and K10 and its subscales (all correlation coefficients ≥ 0.63). Optimal cutoff scores denoting clinically significant nonspecific psychological distress and need for treatment were identified as: K10 (12), K10-Dep (7), and K10-Anx (3/4). The findings of the present study support the multidimensionality of the K10 in a representative sample of Americans and were the first to identify clinically validated cutoff scores for the K10’s depression and anxiety subscales.
Economic outcomes associated with an investigational drug service within a Veterans Affairs health care system.

Abstract Background An investigational drug service (IDS) has a foundational role in ensuring the safe and efficient management of investigational drugs. The objective of this assessment is to determine economic value of an IDS within a Veterans Affairs health care system. Methods This assessment was a single-center retrospective record review. Study protocols managed by the IDS over a 2-year period were evaluated for cost avoidance, revenue, and waived revenue. Cost avoidance was defined as the cost savings generated when a research subject received sponsor-provided treatment in place of a therapy that would have been otherwise funded by the institution. Revenue from fees charged to investigators and waived revenue based on the standardized IDS fee schedule were also totaled. The total economic value to the institution accounted for the personnel costs of the IDS. Results Twenty-three investigational study protocols managed by the IDS resulted in economic outcomes. The total cost avoidance during the two-year period was $482,627.33. The total revenue and waived revenue associated with the IDS was $16,822 and $54,200, respectively. Oncology protocols had the highest contribution to the outcomes of cost avoidance and revenue and mental health protocols had the highest contribution for waived revenue. The overall economic value of the IDS to the institution was $393,649.33. Conclusions Over a two-year period, the IDS demonstrated a substantial economic value that was largely driven by cost avoidance. Revenue generation from fees charged to investigators and cost savings to the investigator through waived revenue also contributed economic benefits to the institution.
Inferring radiation-induced microstructural evolution in single-crystal niobium through changes in thermal transport

Abstract Ion beams enable accelerated radiation exposure experiments, but traditional destructive post-irradiation examination techniques remain time-consuming. Here, measurements of thermal diffusivity are used to monitor microstructural changes in single crystal niobium irradiated with Si3+ ions up to 1.9 dpa (5.1 × 1015 ions/cm2). Changes in thermal transport are correlated to defect generation and clustering through dose-microstructure relationships. These measurements are made using transient grating spectroscopy (TGS), a multi-modal, non-destructive, rapid characterization technique. This work demonstrates that in this low-dose point defect clustering regime, direct measurements of thermal properties are a powerful tool for understanding irradiation-induced microstructure evolution.
Effects of Model, Method of Collection, and Topography on Chemical Elements and Metals in the Aerosol of Tank-Style Electronic Cigarettes.

Our purpose was to examine the effect of model, puffing topography (voltage, air-flow, puff interval), and method of collection on 19 elements/metals in aerosols from six tank-style electronic cigarettes (EC). Aerosols were collected from six brands using a cold trap or impinger and various puffing topographies. 19 elements were quantified using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. 16 elements/metals were present and quantified in the aerosols. The total concentrations of elements/metals ranged from 43 to 3,138 µg/L with the impinger method of collection and 226 to 6,767 µg/L with the cold trap method. The concentrations of individual elements were often similar across brands and across topographies. Some elements (e.g., zinc) were present in most aerosols, while others (e.g., cadmium, titanium, vanadium) were rarely found. Concentrations of some elements (e.g., lead) increased in aerosols as voltage/power increased. The model with fewest metal parts in the atomizer had the fewest metals in its aerosols. Most elements/metals in the aerosols have been found previously in the atomizers of EC. All tank-style aerosols had elements/metals that appeared to originate in the atomizers, and concentrations increased with increasing power. Concentrations of some elements were high enough to be a health concern.
Differing, multiscale landscape effects on genetic diversity and differentiation in eastern chipmunks

Understanding how habitat loss and fragmentation impact genetic variation is a major goal in landscape genetics, but to date, most studies have focused solely on the correlation between intervening matrix and genetic differentiation at a single spatial scale. Several caveats exist in these study designs, among them is the inability to include measures of genetic diversity in addition to differentiation. Both genetic metrics help predict population persistence, but are expected to function at differing spatial scales, which requires a multiscale investigation. In this study, we sampled two distinct spatial scales in 31 independent landscapes along a gradient of landscape context (i.e., forest amount, configuration, and types of intervening matrix) to investigate how landscape heterogeneity influences genetic diversity and differentiation in the forest-associated eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus). Overall, quality of intervening matrix was correlated with genetic differentiation at multiple spatial scales, whereas only configuration was associated with regional scale genetic diversity. Habitat amount, in contrast, did not influence genetic differentiation or diversity at either spatial scale. Based on our findings, landscape effects on genetic variation appears to differ based on spatial scale, the type of genetic response variable, and random variation among landscapes, making extrapolation of results from single scale, unreplicated studies difficult. We encourage landscape geneticists to utilize multiscale, replicated landscapes with both genetic diversity, and differentiation to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how habitat loss and fragmentation influence genetic variation.
Health Literacy Among Bhutanese Adult Refugees in the United States: The Sociocultural Approach:

Drawing on the accounts of literacy as socioculturally situated, this 2-year ethnography explores Bhutanese adult refugees’ health literacy at the intersection of their culture and experiences. Thi...
BIG DATA ANALYTICS: A PRIMER

The use of digital devices and systems such smart phones, computers, the Internet, and social media has resulted in a massive volume of data which is exponentially increasing daily. Such data is processed using multiple techniques, collectively known as big data analytics. Big data analytics is the process of examining large amounts of data (big data) to uncover hidden patterns, correlations, and other insights. Analyzing big data enables organizations and businesses to make better and faster decisions. This paper briefly presents the fundamental concepts of big data analytics and its tools.
Chapter 40 – Chemical Defense

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses chemical defense, which is the ability of insects to biosynthesize a large variety of compounds for use as agents of chemical defense against their omnipresent enemies. Many of these compounds are unique products with diverse modes of toxicity against a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate predators. These defensive secretions often originate from unlikely sources that appear to optimize the effectiveness of the chemical defensive systems. Ultimately, for countless species of insects, chemical defense and survival are synonymous. For example, the proteinaceous saliva of the hemipteran Vela capraii has been adapted to promote escape from potential predators in aquatic environments. This aquatic true bug will discharge its saliva onto the water surface, a reaction that results in lowering the surface tension of the water behind the bug and propelling it across the aquatic surface. There are other defensive techniques as well such as froths from diverse glands, nonsalivary entangling secretions, externalizing allomones by reflex bleeding, blood as part of a glandular secretion, and nonglandular discharges of plant origin.
Continuous on-body sensing for the COVID-19 pandemic: Gaps and opportunities.

Hyoyoung Jeong John A. Rogers Shuai Xu As of 20 June 2020, the Center for Disease Control’s tabulations show more than 2.2 million recorded cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and nearly 120,000 in deaths in the United States ( 1 ). Infected patients present with a wide range of symptoms, from completely asymptomatic to rapidly progressive pneumonia leading to death. Rigorous and widespread testing remains a critical component of strategies for containing this pandemic. The limited availability of molecular diagnostics constrains the use of these technologies to those who present with disease. The current gold standards rely on detection of viral RNA, typically by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), but these approaches, as commonly implemented, have notable disadvantages. First, the nasopharyngeal swab is uncomfortable and may not be tolerated well by all patients, particularly children or the elderly. Second, false-negative test results remain a significant concern, with some RT-PCR tests exhibiting false-negative rates as high as 29% ( 2 ). Third, swab samples must be collected by trained staff to avoid false negatives or inconclusive tests ( 3 , 4 ). Fourth, samples must be transported via viral medium to centralized laboratory facilities, where transport delays from rural or remote areas can reach 48 hours or longer ( 5 ). Alternative tests based on antibodies offer some promise, but the appearance of antibodies [immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG] can lag weeks to months after the initial exposure ( 6 ). Furthermore, positive antibody titers may potentially only reflect prior exposure as opposed to protective immunity. Emerging evidence suggests that re-infection by endemic coronaviruses is not atypical, thereby adding complications to protocols for follow-up molecular testing ( 6 , 7 ). The net result is a continuing gap between widespread population-level testing and the availability of tests that is likely to persist for the foreseeable future ( 8 – 11 ). These circumstances motivate the development of complementary technologies for …
Heterogeneity versus the COVID-19 Pandemic

In this paper, heterogeneity is formally defined, and its properties are explored. We define and distinguish observable versus non-observable heterogeneity. It is proposed that heterogeneity among the vulnerable is a significant factor in the contagion impact of COVID-19, as demonstrated with incidence rates on a Diamond Princess Cruise ship in February 2020. Given the nature of the disease, its heterogeneity and human social norms, pre-voyage and post-voyage quick testing procedures may become the new standard for cruise ship passengers and crew. The technological advances in testing available today would facilitate more humanistic treatment as compared to more archaic quarantine and isolation practices for all onboard ship. With quick testing, identification of those infected and thus not allowed to embark on a cruise or quarantining those disembarking and other mitigation strategies, the popular cruise adventure could be available safely again. Whatever the procedures implemented, the methodological purpose of this study should add valuable insight in the modeling of disease and specifically, the COVID-19 virus.