cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Systematic Review of Occupational Exposure to Particulate Matter and Cardiovascular Disease

Exposure to ambient particulate air pollution is a recognized risk factor for cardiovascular disease; however the link between occupational particulate exposures and adverse cardiovascular events is less clear. We conducted a systematic review, including meta-analysis where appropriate, of the epidemiologic association between occupational exposure to particulate matter and cardiovascular disease. Out of 697 articles meeting our initial criteria, 37 articles published from January 1990 to April 2009 (12 mortality; 5 morbidity; and 20 intermediate cardiovascular endpoints) were included. Results suggest a possible association between occupational particulate exposures and ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality as well as non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), and stronger evidence of associations with heart rate variability and systemic inflammation, potential intermediates between occupational PM exposure and IHD. In meta-analysis of mortality studies, a significant increase in IHD was observed (meta-IRR = 1.16; 95% CI: 1.06-1.26), however these data were limited by lack of adequate control for smoking and other potential confounders. Further research is needed to better clarify the magnitude of the potential risk of the development and aggravation of IHD associated with short and long-term occupational particulate exposures and to clarify the clinical significance of acute and chronic changes in intermediate cardiovascular outcomes.
Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Neighborhood Context of Mastery.

Residents of poor, non-white neighborhoods experience high rates of neighborhood stressors like crime, violence, and disorder. Stress process theory suggests that mastery is important for understanding how neighborhood stressors affect resident mental health. This research examines the relationship between neighborhood stressors and mastery with a focus on racial and ethnic differences in a multi-ethnic sample of Chicago residents. Because Black and Hispanic residents disproportionately live in high stressor neighborhoods and have more difficulty escaping them than Whites, a compound disadvantage model is proposed and tested using multilevel models with cross-level interactions. Findings suggest race-specific neighborhood antecedents of mastery and support for the compound disadvantage hypothesis. In highest stress neighborhoods, Blacks have lower mastery than Whites. In average and lower stress neighborhoods, Blacks have a mastery advantage.
Reducing Intake of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Is Vital to Improving Our Nation's Health.

Since its inception in 1948, the Framingham Heart Study has been crucial to our modern understanding of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. These include high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, smoking, obesity, diabetes, poor diet and physical inactivity 1 and form the foundation of the American Heart Association9s (AHA) "Life9s Simple 7" public education program 2 . Today the grandchildren of the original Framingham cohort are enrolled in the study and they continue to add to our knowledge of CVD 1 . Using data collected from the Third Generation cohort, Fox and colleagues have contributed to the robust body of literature linking sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption to adverse health outcomes in this issue of Circulation 3 . This is the first large, prospective, cohort study to link regular SSB consumption to deleterious changes in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) independent of weight gain. Abdominal adipose tissue, especially VAT, is linked with the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and CVD. Fox and colleagues9 findings provide new knowledge about the potential mechanisms linking SSBs with cardiometabolic disease and further our understanding that sugary drinks raise the risk of heart disease and T2DM not solely because they make people heavier.
Response of Bactrocera (Dacus) oleae Males (Diptera: Tephritidae) to Pheromones as Affected by Concentration, Insect Age, Time of Day, and Previous Exposure

The effect of concentration, insect age, time of day, and length of previous exposure on the response of olive fruit fly, Bactrocera (Dacus) oleae (Gmelin), males to pheromones was studied under laboratory conditions. Concentrations of 0.05, 0.08, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 10, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 μg on Whatman no. 1 filter paper were tested. Male response increased with concentrations from 0.05 to 10 μg and decreased with those higher than 10 μg up to 1,000 μg. The log of concentrations and the corresponding insect responses had a positive linear relationship for the first range of concentrations and a negative linear relationship for the second range of concentrations. Response to the concentration with maximum male response (10 μg) appeared on the third day after adult emergence, increased gradually up to the sixth day, and dropped gradually thereafter. At the age of 35 d, a low response was still present in the flies. Males responded to pheromone during the last 4 h of the light period at a photoperiod of 14:10 (L:D) h. Response increased toward the end of this 4-h period. Response to the concentration of 10 μg decreased significantly after 1 min of continuous exposure to the pheromone, but increase of concentration did not increase the response of these insects.
Integrating instruments and the laboratory information system

Significant progress has been made over the last 30 years in the interfacing of automated analytical instruments with laboratory information systems (LIS). Much of the progress has resulted from technology advances in microelectronics, improvements in information systems, implementation of bar code recognition in instruments, and better communications between instrument vendors, LIS vendors, and users. Further improvements, however, should be possible through a more consistent user interface(s), better integration into the laboratory work-flow, and interfaces that allow the LIS to query instruments regarding their internal operating status. These improvements are needed to extract improvements in productivity that are expected from the laboratory.
Germination and storage of pollen of Phytolacca dodecandra L. (endod)

The effect of sucrose, H 3 BO 3 , KNO 3 , Ca(NO 3 ) 2 .4H 2 O and MgSO 4 .7H 2 O on pollen germination of Phytolacca dodecandra L. (endod) in a liquid medium was investigated. Sucrose and H 3 BO 3 were critical to pollen germination. A concentration of 10 % sucrose and 161.8 μm H 3 BO 3 gave over 70% germination (...)
Materials design parameters for infrared device applications based on III-V semiconductors.

The collaborative development of infrared detector materials by the Army Research Laboratory and Stony Brook University has led to new fundamental understandings of materials, as well as new levels of control and flexibility in III-V semiconductor crystal growth by molecular beam epitaxy. Early work on mid-wave strained layer superlattice (SLS) cameras led to a subsequent focus on minority carrier lifetime studies, which resulted in the proposal of the Ga-free SLS on GaSb substrates. The later demonstration of virtual substrate technology allowed the lattice constant to become a design parameter and enabled growth of undistorted bulk InAsSb. When grown in that manner, InAsSb has a bandgap bowing parameter large enough to cover absorption wavelengths across the entire long-wavelength band (8–12 μm). Even longer wavelengths are achieved with a general Ga-free SLS approach, with a virtual substrate having a lattice constant significantly larger than that of GaSb and with InAsSb in both bi-layers in the period. Since these layers can also be made very thin, the general Ga-free SLS does not suffer from the relatively low optical absorption and poor hole transport, which is characteristic of the special Ga-free SLS on GaSb for long-wavelength designs. Finally, the general Ga-free InAsSb SLS provides a method to induce and control sustained atomic ordering, which is yet another new design parameter.
Response by Li et al to Letter Regarding Article, "Adenosine-Induced Atrial Fibrillation: Localized Reentrant Drivers in Lateral Right Atria Due to Heterogeneous Expression of Adenosine A1 Receptors and GIRK4 Subunits in the Human Heart".

We thank Dr He for his comments on our study1 and for the interesting points he raises. In our functional and molecular mapping study1 of human hearts ex vivo, we demonstrated that adenosine provokes atrial fibrillation (AF) with a higher activation frequency in the right atria versus the left atria because of localized reentrant drivers in the lateral right atria. Furthermore, our study revealed a high right atria-to-left atria protein expression …
Hydroboration of alkynes and nitriles using an α-diimine cobalt hydride catalyst

Addition of NaEt3BH to (Ph2PPrDI)CoCl2 affords the corresponding monohydride, (Ph2PPrDI)CoH. X-ray diffraction and DFT calculations indicate that this compound possesses a radical monoanion α-DI chelate and a Co(ii) centre. Notably, (Ph2PPrDI)CoH catalyzes the hydroboration of alkynes and dihydroboration of nitriles under mild conditions.
Does Schedule UTP Have Uniform Long-Run Effects on Corporate Tax Planning?

ABSTRACT: This study investigates the effects of the Internal Revenue Service requiring confidential Schedule UTP disclosures on corporate tax planning over the period from 2008 to 2013. We make th...
Patterns of Statin Use in Older Medicare Beneficiaries With Traumatic Brain Injury.

Background: In addition to lowering lipids, statins also may be beneficial for older adults sustaining a traumatic brain injury (TBI), as statin use prior to and following trauma may decrease morta...
Gender-Based Cerebral Perfusion Differences in 46,034 Functional Neuroimaging Scans.

BACKGROUND Studies have reported that females have widespread increases in regional cerebral blood flow, but the studies were relatively small and inconsistent. OBJECTIVE Here we analyzed a healthy and a very large clinical psychiatric population to determine the effect of gender, using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). METHODS Whole brain and region of interest (ROI) gender differences were analyzed in a total of 46,034 SPECT scans at baseline and concentration. The sample included 119 healthy subjects and 26,683 patients (60.4% male, 39.6% female); a subset of 11,587 patients had complete diagnostic information. A total of 128 regions were analyzed according to the AAL Atlas, using ROI Extract and SPSS statistical software programs, controlling for age, diagnoses, and correcting for multiple comparisons. RESULTS Compared to males, healthy females showed significant whole brain (p < 0.01) and ROI increases in 65 baseline and 48 concentration regions (p < 0.01 corrected). Healthy males showed non-significant increases in 9 and 22 regions, respectively. In the clinical group, there were widespread significant increases in females, especially in the prefrontal and limbic regions, and specific increases in males in the inferior occipital lobes, inferior temporal lobes, and lobule 7 and Crus 2 of the cerebellum. These findings were replicated in the subset of 11,587 patients with the effect of diagnoses removed. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrated significant gender differences in a healthy and clinical population. Understanding these differences is crucial in evaluating functional neuroimaging and may be useful in understanding the epidemiological gender differences among psychiatric disorders.
Generalized Newtonian viscosity functions for hydrodynamic lubrication

Abstract Among some of the generalized Newtonian viscosity functions used in hydrodynamic lubrication, the Cross and Ellis equations have a transition from the first Newtonian plateau to the power-law regime that is much broader than is typical of polymer-thickened oils. The Dobson method employs the Cross equation to extract the second Newtonian viscosity for a polymer-thickened oil from ambient pressure viscometry. This method will always produce a second Newtonian viscosity for a polymer thickened oil, even if none is present in the data. Shear-thinning measured at elevated pressure removes this issue. An improved viscosity function is offered which describes the shear-dependence of the polymer and of the base oil without the artifacts associated with a sum of individual viscosity equations.
Second Law Optimization of Thermal Energy Storage Systems: Latent Heat Systems

This review focuses on the application of Second Law techniques to the optimal design and operation of latent heat thermal energy storage systems. The need for thermal energy storage systems, the advisability of employing concepts based on the Second Law of thermodynamics to optimize such systems and the application of Second Law concepts to sensible heat systems are discussed in a companion paper [1]. As shown in Figure 1, Hahne [2] classifies latent heat thermal energy storage systems as systems based on: (1) a phase change of the storage material, (2) the heat of reaction in a reversible chemical reaction, or (3) the heat of adsorption/desorption. The emphasis in the present work will be on phase change systems, although the literature on the Second Law analysis of thermochemical and adsorption/desorption systems is briefly discussed.
Decision Making Model for Choosing Voice-Operated Intelligent Speakers for Graduate Students

The recent technological advancements have shed light on some futuristic inventions and possibilities. One of these inventions and technologies has been home automation especially due to the rise of Internet of Things. One of the main areas of advancement in home automation has been Voice-operated speakers. Given the surprising success of the Amazon Echo ‐‐ a smart speaker that responds to your voice commands, plays music, and controls your smart home ‐‐ this area has become a competitive one. With Google Home entering the arena, backed by the company's ubiquitous search engine, the Echo's place on top is no longer secure. This growth will, evidently, increase the poll of sellers and would make the decision-making process an arduous one, both, for producers and the buyers of these products. This study looks into the decision-making criteria for the selection of the best voice operated speaker by consumers in order to facilitate the decision-making process involving smart, voice activated speakers. The Hierarchical Decision Model (HDM) has been used to establish a model based on perspectives, criteria, and alternatives. Furthermore, with the aim of better demonstrating the practicality of the study, five real voice operated speaker products are evaluated based on the perspectives and criteria weights obtained from the HDM model and scores.
What Differences Do Certainty and Cheap Talk Make in Eliciting Willingness to Pay for Education

Hypothetical estimates of willingness to pay tend to overstate real willingness to pay. Several methods to mitigate this so called hypothetical bias have been developed. This paper contributes by presenting the first simultaneous comparison of three common hypothetical bias mitigation methods as well as their interactions. In addition, the study represents the first use of the contingent valuation method to value higher education. The findings of the study suggest that models adjusting for certainty according to definitely sure yes responses are most similar to the model that adjusts for certainty at a level of 8 or higher. These calibrations yield point estimates of mean willingness to pay only a quarter to a third of estimates that do not account for certainty. Surprisingly the cheap talk treatment leads to yes respondents indicating responses with a higher level of certainty and higher mean willingness to pay.
TSH-STAINING PITUITARY ADENOMAS: RARE, SILENT, AND PLURIHOROMONAL.

Objective: To characterize a single referral center experience with thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)-staining adenomas. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted on histopathologic-proven TSH-staining adenomas resected between 2000–2015 at a single center. Tumors were classified as functional (hormonally active) or silent (hormonally inactive). Categorical variables were summarized using counts (n) and percentages; continuous variables were summarized using medians and ranges. Results: From the 1,065 pituitary adenomas operated, 32 (3.0%) showed diffuse staining for TSH. Median (range) age of patients was 49 years (20 to 77 years), and 21 (66%) were male. Tumor diameter was 20 mm (2 to 37 mm), with 7 (22%) microadenomas and 25 (78%) macroadenomas. Functional tumors (n = 5, 16%) had median diameter of 10 mm (5 to 21 mm) (2 microadenomas). At diagnosis, median (range) TSH was 4.3 μU/mL (1.2 to 6.9 μU/mL), and free thyroxine (FT4) was 2.4 ng/dL (2.1 to 3.4 ng/dL). Three tumors stained for TSH alon...
Geogebra for Model-Centered Learning in Mathematics Education

But common as it is, much of education clings too stubbornly to abstraction,without enough models to illustrate and enliven them. The cure for this on the learner’s side is to call for more models. Learners need to recognize that they need models and can seek them out.
Drifting-snow similitude-transport-rate and roughness modeling

This paper reports on results from a series of experiments in a boundary-layer wind tunnel concerning snow-drift control adjacent to grade separations on interstate highways. A new application of similitude principles making use of theoretical relationships involving drifting particulate material is presented. The primary modeling parameters are considered to be a mass-rate parameter and an aerodynamic roughness parameter. They are derived by considerations of mass-transport rate of material in saltation and the equivalent roughness height of material in saltation. The parameters are combined empirically to correlate model snow-drift data successfully as well as to predict equivalent full-scale wind speeds and storm durations. The combined parameter has been used to compare and evaluate a variety of drift-control techniques adjacent to an interstate highway grade-separation crossing.
Engaging with Health Data: The Interplay Between Self-Tracking Activities and Emotions in Fertility Struggles

Self-tracking data is often seen as a means to reflect and achieve a goal, usually focusing on positive insights and actions. Lately, some studies have discussed the negative consequences of self-tracking, suggesting that people interact with personal data in different ways. We explored how self-tracking activities and the emotional context characterize how people engage with personal health data through the analysis of a complex and emotionally-loaded use case: fertility self-tracking. We qualitatively analyzed patient-generated content in an online health community dedicated to fertility. We found five distinct types of engagement with data: positive, burdened, obsessive, trapped, and abandoning. Each of them is composed of an action and an emotional component that mutually influence each other. We discuss how the interplay of these components characterize a person's engagement with data, how the online forum made these issues visible, and how they are embedded in the self-tracking culture. We also provide insights into the implications of these issues for self-tracking tools. Finally, we hypothesize how people transition through the types of relationships with data, suggesting directions for future research in the area.
“From the client's point(s) of view”: How poor people perceive and evaluate political clientelism

L'A. porte son attention sur le clientelisme politique, phenomene marquant au sein de la vie politique en Amerique latine. Il se demande plus particulierement comment les beneficiaires des faveurs des hommes politiques percoivent le clientelisme politique, s'ils le jugent utile, s'ils le considerent comme une forme d'aide. L'A. etudient les pratiques du Parti peroniste en Argentine en ce domaine. Il analyse la relation entre le beneficiaire et le «fournisseur» de faveurs. Il montre que la relation clienteliste suppose une reciprocite. Un service est accorde en echange de la promesse d'assister a une reunion politique. L'A. decrit la mise en place des politiques de goudronnage des rues des quartiers pauvres de Buenos Aires. Il souligne que les beneficiaires des faveurs s'efforcent d'utiliser la politique afin d'ameliorer leurs conditions de vie. Il examine le rapport entre faveur, domination et vote
Design optimization of a rotordynamic beam system with elastic supports to minimize flexural responses using a combined optimization algorithm

Modern rotating machines are often required to operate with increasingly limited physical footprints and/or overall weights, necessitating that they utilize wide-ranging shaft speed to accomplish needed power levels. It is not uncommon then that the resulting speed envelope crosses or encompasses multiple critical speeds with the requirement that flexural vibrations be limited to safe and acceptable levels. Design optimization of this class of problem can be particularly difficult in that responses can exhibit high modality adding significant complexity and time to the optimization effort. This paper presents a design optimization methodology appropriate to an economic solution for this class of problem. A simplified rotordynamic example is used to challenge the proposed optimization method against other more “conventional” techniques with results of the proposed method extensible to more complicated, practical rotordynamic problems.
The immunology of rheumatoid arthritis.

The immunopathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) spans decades, beginning with the production of autoantibodies against post-translationally modified proteins (checkpoint 1). After years of asymptomatic autoimmunity and progressive immune system remodeling, tissue tolerance erodes and joint inflammation ensues as tissue-invasive effector T cells emerge and protective joint-resident macrophages fail (checkpoint 2). The transition of synovial stromal cells into autoaggressive effector cells converts synovitis from acute to chronic destructive (checkpoint 3). The loss of T cell tolerance derives from defective DNA repair, causing abnormal cell cycle dynamics, telomere fragility and instability of mitochondrial DNA. Mitochondrial and lysosomal anomalies culminate in the generation of short-lived tissue-invasive effector T cells. This differentiation defect builds on a metabolic platform that shunts glucose away from energy generation toward the cell building and motility programs. The next frontier in RA is the development of curative interventions, for example, reprogramming T cell defects during the period of asymptomatic autoimmunity. Weyand and Goronzy discuss how the progressive loss of immune cell tolerance underlies the immunopathology associated with rheumatoid arthritis.
Carbon nanotubes in high-performance perovskite photovoltaics and other emerging optoelectronic applications

In this perspective, we take a look back at the successful integration of carbon nanotubes (CNT) into high-efficiency solar cells based on metal-halide perovskites (MHPs). In addition to these successes, we identify critical questions and issues that remain to be addressed for the functionality of CNTs in MHP-based solar cells. Finally, we look forward toward potential future opportunities for CNT/MHP interfaces, in both new types of photovoltaic devices and other emerging optoelectronic applications.
Benzylisoquinoline alkaloid content in goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.) is influenced by phenological stage, reproductive status, and time-of-day

Abstract Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis, Ranunculaceae/Hydrastidaceae) is a popular Appalachian medicinal forest plant whose roots and rhizomes are mostly collected from the wild for commerce. The benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIA) berberine, canadine, and hydrastine are believed to be primarily responsible for the bioactivity of goldenseal. To provide a consistent, quality-focused product to consumers, a better understanding of factors that influence major BIA levels is needed. We examined BIA content in relation to phenological stage, reproductive status (i.e., reproductive versus vegetative morphology), and time-of-day in wild and forest-farmed goldenseal collected in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis revealed that phenological stage and reproductive status influences the BIA concentration in both dried belowground (roots, rhizomes) and aerial portions (leaves, stems). BIA levels were found to be higher in the belowground parts compared to aerial. Moreover, BIA concentrations peaked in both plant aerial and belowground portions at the flowering stage and in the belowground parts at dormancy, suggesting that an early season harvest of aerial tops could be explored in farmed populations in addition to traditional late season “root” harvests. Additionally, hydrastine and canadine levels were found to be greatest in aerial portions at 1600 h over a 24 -h range, which suggests late day as the best time for aerial harvests. Overall, these results provide guidance for optimizing alkaloid content in goldenseal harvests and contributes to the broader understanding of secondary metabolite in relation to plant phenological stage.
Male pelvic multi-organ segmentation on transrectal ultrasound using anchor-free mask CNN.

PURPOSE Current prostate brachytherapy uses transrectal ultrasound images for implant guidance, where contours of the prostate and organs-at-risk are necessary for treatment planning and dose evaluation. This work aims to develop a deep learning-based method for male pelvic multi-organ segmentation on transrectal ultrasound images. METHODS We developed an anchor-free mask convolutional neural network (CNN) that consists of three subnetworks, that is, a backbone, a fully convolutional one-state object detector (FCOS), and a mask head. The backbone extracts multi-level and multi-scale features from an ultrasound (US) image. The FOCS utilizes these features to detect and label (classify) the volume-of-interests (VOIs) of organs. In contrast to the design of a previously investigated mask regional CNN (Mask R-CNN), the FCOS is anchor-free, which can capture the spatial correlation of multiple organs. The mask head performs segmentation on each detected VOI, where a spatial attention strategy is integrated into the mask head to focus on informative feature elements and suppress noise. For evaluation, we retrospectively investigated 83 prostate cancer patients by fivefold cross-validation and a hold-out test. The prostate, bladder, rectum, and urethra were segmented and compared with manual contours using the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), 95% Hausdorff distance (HD95 ), mean surface distance (MSD), center of mass distance (CMD), and volume difference (VD). RESULTS The proposed method visually outperforms two competing methods, showing better agreement with manual contours and fewer misidentified speckles. In the cross-validation study, the respective DSC and HD95 results were as follows for each organ: bladder 0.75 ± 0.12, 2.58 ± 0.7 mm; prostate 0.93 ± 0.03, 2.28 ± 0.64 mm; rectum 0.90 ± 0.07, 1.65 ± 0.52 mm; and urethra 0.86 ± 0.07, 1.85 ± 1.71 mm. For the hold-out tests, the DSC and HD95 results were as follows: bladder 0.76 ± 0.13, 2.93 ± 1.29 mm; prostate 0.94 ± 0.03, 2.27 ± 0.79 mm; rectum 0.92 ± 0.03, 1.90 ± 0.28 mm; and urethra 0.85 ± 0.06, 1.81 ± 0.72 mm. Segmentation was performed in under 5 seconds. CONCLUSION The proposed method demonstrated fast and accurate multi-organ segmentation performance. It can expedite the contouring step of prostate brachytherapy and potentially enable auto-planning and auto-evaluation.
Investigation of a Capnometry Guided Respiratory Intervention in the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Evidence‐based treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including psychotherapies and medications, have high dropout and nonresponse rates, suggesting that more acceptable and effective treatments for PTSD are needed. Capnometry Guided Respiratory Intervention (CGRI) is a digital therapeutic effective in panic disorder that measures and displays end-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO2) and respiratory rate (RR) in real-time within a structured breathing protocol and may have benefit in PTSD by moderating breathing and EtCO2 levels. We conducted a single-arm study of a CGRI system, Freespira®, to treat symptoms of PTSD. Participants with PTSD (n = 55) were treated for four weeks with twice-daily, 17-min at-home CGRI sessions using a sensor and tablet with pre-loaded software. PTSD and associated symptoms were assessed at baseline, end-of treatment, 2-months and 6-months post-treatment. Primary efficacy outcome was 50% of participants having ≥ 6-point decrease in Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-5) score at 2-month follow up. Tolerability, usability, safety, adherence and patient satisfaction were assessed. CGRI was well tolerated, with 88% [95% CI 74–96%] having ≥ 6-point decrease in CAPS-5 scores at 2-months post-treatment follow up. Mean CAPS-5 scores decreased from 49.5 [s.d. = 9.2] at baseline to 27.1 [s.d. = 17.8] at 2-months post-treatment follow up. Respiratory rate decreased and EtCO2 levels increased. Associated mental and physical health symptoms also improved. This CGRI intervention was safe, acceptable, and well-tolerated in improving symptoms in this study in PTSD. Further study against an appropriate comparator is warranted. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT#03039231.
Unemployment Risk and Entrepreneurship

Understanding the decision of individuals to become a new entrepreneur has long been an important topic among economists. Empirically, I find that (i) unemployed individuals are more likely to become an entrepreneur compared to the employed, and (ii) in response to increasing unemployment rate, the propensity to become entrepreneurs increases for employed workers but decreases for unemployed individuals. To explain these findings, I build an equilibrium search model of entrepreneurship and unemployment with endogenous job destructions. Entry decision into entrepreneurship is affected by an opportunistic effect and a separation effect, which is strengthened by surging unemployment risk in recessions. I show that the unemployment rate during the Great Recession would have been two percentage points higher if separation-induced entry is absent in the model. Also, unemployment benefits can be beneficial to the economy by inducing more nascent entrepreneurs from employment. A self-employment subsidy can boost the aggregate output as well. Finally, a decline in labor share would discourage entry from employment resulting in a smaller average firm size.
Plasma Disruption Modeling and Simulation

Disruptions in tokamak reactors are considered a limiting factor to successful operation and a reliable design. The behavior of plasma-facing components during a disruption is critical to the overall integrity of the reactor. Erosion of plasma facing-material (PFM) surfaces due to thermal energy dump during the disruption can severely limit the lifetime of these components and thus diminish the economic feasibility of the reactor.Initially, the incident plasma particles will deposit their energy directly on the PFM surface, heating it to a very high temperature where ablation occurs. Models for plasma-material interactions have been developed and used to predict material thermal evolution during the disruption. Within a few microseconds after the start of the disruption, enough material is vaporized to intercept most of the incoming plasma particles. Models for plasma-vapor interactions are necessary to predict vapor cloud expansion and hydrodynamics. Continuous heating of the vapor cloud above the material surface by the incident plasma particles will excite, ionize, and cause vapor atoms to emit thermal radiation. Accurate models for radiation transport in the vapor are essential for calculating the net radiated flux to the material surface which determines the final erosion thickness and consequently component lifetime. A comprehensive model that takesmore » into account various stages of plasma-material interaction has been developed and used to predict erosion rates during reactor disruption, as well during induced disruption in laboratory experiments. Differences between various simulation experiments and reactor conditions are discussed. A two-dimensional radiation transport model has been developed to particularly simulate the effect of small test samples used in laboratory disruption experiments.« less
Drag kings in the new wave: gender performance and participation.

SUMMARY In an examination of Midwestern drag king performers and communities that have emerged since the study by Volcano and Halberstam of king cultures in London, New York, and San Francisco, this article considers traditional and alternative ways of “doing drag,” both performative and participatory, as a means of interrogating the proximity of a “new wave” of king culture to academic theory. Tracing the evolution of drag king performance in the Twin Cities from the 1996 workshop by Diane Torr to the formation of two distinct king troupes in the late 1990s demonstrates a particular trajectory in kinging that reflects a new consciousness and enactment of gender theory through artistic praxis. Participation plays a key role in breaking down the distance between spectator and performer in venues such as the First International Drag King Extravaganza in Columbus, Ohio, and Melinda Hubman's art installation “Performing Masculinities: Take a Chance on Gender” in Minneapolis. By engaging the “audience” in drag...
Explotación normal, resistencia normal | Normal Exploitation, Normal Resistance

En este texto, James C. Scott desarrolla el concepto de “formas cotidianas de resistencia”. Mientras los estudios sobre las resistencias campesinas anteriores se han centrado especialmente en analizar las rebeliones violentas y organizadas, Scott trata de demostrar que estas han sido formas minoritarias y menos practicas de resistencia, y que los campesinos han desarrollado su resistencia principalmente por medio de las practicas del dia a dia, en ocasiones de forma oculta y en cualquier caso no llamativa. Para ello, da una especial importancia no solo a los actos, sino tambien a la experiencia y la conciencia de los agentes de la resistencia, entrando asi en dialogo con conceptos como “la hegemonia” de Gramsci y con las corrientes mas estructuralistas del marxismo. In this text, James C. Scott develops the concept “everyday forms of resistance”. Whereas former studies about peasant resistances have focused specially in violent and organized rebellions, Scott tries to prove how these forms of rebellion have been a minority and unpractical form of resistance. Instead, peasants have developed their resistance mainly through everyday practices, sometimes in a hidden way, and in any case not in a noteworthy way. For this purpose, he places emphasis not only in the acts, but also in the experience and consciousness of resistant agents and, by doing so, he enters into dialogue with concepts like Gramci’s “hegemony” and with the most structuralist Marxist schools.
Is reuse distance applicable to data locality analysis on chip multiprocessors

On Chip Multiprocessors (CMP), it is common that multiple cores share certain levels of cache. The sharing increases the contention in cache and memory-to-chip bandwidth, further highlighting the importance of data locality analysis. As a rigorous and hardware-independent locality metric, reuse distance has served for a variety of locality analysis, program transformations, and performance prediction. However, previous studies have concentrated on sequential programs running on unicore processors. On CMP, accesses by different threads (or jobs) interact in the shared cache. How reuse distance applies to the new architecture remains an open question—particularly, how the interactions in shared cache affect the collection and application of reuse distance, and how reuse-distance–based locality analysis should adapt to such architecture changes. This paper presents our explorations towards answering those questions. It first introduces the concept of concurrent reuse distance, a direct extension of the traditional concept of reuse distance with data references by all co-running threads (or jobs) considered. It then discusses the properties of concurrent reuse distance, revealing the special challenges facing the collection and application of concurrent reuse distance on CMP platforms. Finally, it presents the solutions to those challenges for a class of multithreading applications. The solutions center on a probabilistic model that connects concurrent reuse distance with the data locality of each individual thread. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed techniques in facilitating the uses of concurrent reuse distance for CMP computing.
Modeling Rich Interactions in Session Search - Georgetown University at TREC 2014 Session Track

Abstract : This year we participate in the TREC Session Track Task 1. We adopt the Query Change Model (QCM) weighted QCM, re-ranking, clustering, and error analysis in our approaches. The QCM retrieval model is employed to combine all queries in a session. QCM allows documents that are relevant to any query in a session to appear in the final retrieval list. Weighted QCM combines queries unevenly based on a prediction of query quality. It is based on the following intuition: if a query does not bring any document that leads to a SAT-Click from the user, it suggests that this query is poorly formed. Our re-ranking module is based on implicit feedback from the user; in this case the SAT-Clicked documents. The module boosts a document's ranking position if it has been SAT-Clicked in the session or in other sessions that share similar search topics. We apply K-means clustering algorithm to detect which sessions share similar search topics. Each unique term is one dimension of the vector and is weighted by its idf. We also apply session error analysis in RL3. From the query log, we first identify sessions with similar topics by clustering, then we use SAT-Clicks from most sessions to re-rank the documents for the sessions that the algorithm predicts as poorly issued sessions, i.e. more difficult session due to ill-form queries. Combining above approaches, we achieve a 20.9% nDCG@10 increment and a 13.0% P@10 increment from RL1 to RL2, and with utilization of the whole log data, we achieve a 4% nDCG@10 increment and a 0.5% P@10 increment from RL2 to RL3.
Medulloblastoma outcome is adversely associated with overexpression of EEF1D, RPL30, and RPS20 on the long arm of chromosome 8.

Background: Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor of childhood. Improvements in clinical outcome require a better understanding of the genetic alterations to identify clinically significant biological factors and to stratify patients accordingly. In the present study, we applied cytogenetic characterization to guide the identification of biologically significant genes from gene expression microarray profiles of medulloblastoma. Methods: We analyzed 71 primary medulloblastomas for chromosomal copy number aberrations (CNAs) using comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). Among 64 tumors that we previously analyzed by gene expression microarrays, 27 were included in our CGH series. We analyzed clinical outcome with respect to CNAs and microarray results. We filtered microarray data using specific CNAs to detect differentially expressed candidate genes associated with survival. Results: The most frequent lesions detected in our series involved chromosome 17; loss of 16q, 10q, or 8p; and gain of 7q or 2p. Recurrent amplifications at 2p23-p24, 2q14, 7q34, and 12p13 were also observed. Gain of 8q is associated with worse overall survival (p = 0.0141), which is not entirely attributable to MYC amplification or overexpression. By applying CGH results to gene expression analysis of medulloblastoma, we identified three 8qmapped genes that are associated with overall survival in the larger group of 64 patients (p < 0.05): eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1D (EEF1D), ribosomal protein L30 (RPL30), and ribosomal protein S20 (RPS20). Conclusion: The complementary use of CGH and expression profiles can facilitate the identification of clinically significant candidate genes involved in medulloblastoma growth. We demonstrate that gain of 8q and expression levels of three 8q-mapped candidate genes (EEF1D, RPL30, RPS20) are associated with adverse outcome in
What Factors are Associated with Consumer Initiation of Shared Decision Making in Mental Health Visits

Understanding consumer initiation of shared decision making (SDM) is critical to improving SDM in mental health consultations, particularly because providers do not always invite consumer participation in treatment decisions. This study examined the association between consumer initiation of nine elements of SDM as measured by the SDM scale, and measures of consumer illness self-management and the consumer-provider relationship. In 63 mental health visits, three SDM elements were associated with self-management or relationship factors: discussion of consumer goals, treatment alternatives, and pros and cons of a decision. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed.
Magnesium Toxicity: Effect on Phosphorus Utilization by Broiler Chicks

Abstract Excessive dietary magnesium (Mg) (.3, .5, and .9% additions to a corn-soy basal diet) fed to broiler chicks was found to be cathartic and significantly decreased 28-day body weight, significantly increased mortality, and induced leg abnormalities. Increasing dietary phosphorus (P) significantly ameliorated the detrimental effects of Mg toxicity except at the highest Mg level (.9% addition). Increasing dietary chloride (C1) significantly increased body weights of Mg intoxicated chicks and significantly reduced the hypermagnesemia induced by excessive dietary magnesium. Excessive dietary magnesium increases the need for dietary P. Failure to monitor Mg content of diets may contribute to the ambiguity of ascertaining the P requirement of domestic fowl.
An Application of a Job Exposure Profile in Work-related Shoulder Disorders Study

This study aimed at presenting a method that creates an exposure profile for a combined physical exposure of forceful exertions and work postures. Hand/wrist work posture and forceful exertion data...
The Interaction of Glycosaminoglycans with Heparin Cofactor II

The binding sites for dermatan sulfate and heparin in HCII overlap but are not identical. This may explain the observation that HCII binds nonspecifically to heparin oligosaccharides, but preferentially binds to a minor hexasaccharide isolated from dermatan sulfate. The tissue distribution of dermatan sulfate molecules containing the high-affinity HCII binding site may regulate HCII activity in vivo. Finally, in the presence of dermatan sulfate or heparin, the N-terminal acidic region of HCII may interact with the hirudin-binding site of thrombin to produce maximal stimulation of the thrombin-HCII reaction.
Onset of ETS expression is not accelerated by premature exposure to signals from limb mesenchyme.

The ETS transcription factors ER81 and PEA3 are expressed in discrete populations of sensory and motor neurons and regulate late events in neuronal development and limb innervation. Although initiation of ETS expression requires limb-derived signals, we show here that precocious axon growth into transplanted older donor limbs, which prematurely exposes neurons to limb-derived signals, does not accelerate the onset of expression of Er81 or Pea3. Similarly, neither MN-cadherin, which is reportedly regulated by ER81, nor T-cadherin is expressed precociously in neurons innervating older donor limbs. Thus, neurons must attain a particular level of differentiation to respond to inducing signals from limb. We also show that signals emanating from limb mesenchyme are sufficient to initiate Er81 and Pea3 expression in sensory and motor neurons in the absence of myogenic cells in Spd mutant mice and that induction of ETS expression is unlikely to directly involve retinoid signaling from limb mesenchyme. Developmental Dynamics 236:2109–2117, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
52.3: Display Properties of High‐efficiency Electrophosphorescent Diodes

The efficiency-vs-current characteristics of phosphorescent organic light emitting diodes (PHOLEDs™) have been studied and compared to fluorescent small molecule organic light emitting diodes (SMOLED) and fluorescent polymer light emitting diodes (PLED). Results show that high efficiency PHOLEDs have significantly higher luminous efficiency than SMOLEDs and PLEDs at both the low and high drive current regimes required for active and passive matrix display applications. The efficiency roll-off of both phosphorescent and fluorescent devices is comparable. Long triplet exciton lifetime and the possible triplet-triplet annihilation do not explain this similarity. Other causes such as polaron-exciton annihilation and electric field induced photoluminescence quenching are provided.
DIMERIZATION OCCURS DURING THE REVERSIBLE ACID INACTIVATION OF 2-OXO-4-HYDROXYGLUTARATE ALDOLASE FROM ESCHERICHIA COLI

Abstract Exposure of Escherichia coli 2-oxo-4-hydroxyglutarate aldolase (4-hydroxy-2-oxoglutarate glyoxylate-lyase, EC 4.1.3.16) (molecular weight = 63000) to phosphoric acid at pH 1.6 for 10 min at 4δC causes 95% or greater inactivation. No significant effect on the rate or extent of inactivation is caused by varied aldolase concentrations or the presence of exogenous proteins. Chloride ion (50–100 mM) or 10 mM 2-oxo-4-hydroxyglutarate markedly decreases both the rate and extent of inactivation; good protection is also afforded by 10 mM pyruvate, glyoxylate, glyoxal, 2-oxoglutarate or 2-oxobutyrate. Whereas native aldolase has two free and three buried sulfhydryl groups, all five are exposed in the acid-inactivated enzyme and the molecular weight of this species at pH 1.6 is 126000. Ultraviolet absorbance difference spectra, circular dichroism spectra and ultracentrifugation studies establish that the inactivation process is characterized by an alteration of secondary and tertiary structure as well as an aggregation to a dimer of the native molecule. Reactivation of enzyme activity to 60–80% of the original level is seen within 20 min at pH 6 to 8; examination of inactivation/reactivation as a function of pH indicates that these two processes occur via kinetically distinct pathways. Native and reactivated enzymes are identical in molecular weight, sulfhydryl titer, Km and α-helix content.
Experience with dual kidney transplants from donors at the extremes of age

Background Dual kidney transplantation (DKT) from donors at the extremes of age represents one approach to expanding the organ donor pool. The purpose of this study was to review our experience with DKT from older donors and en bloc KT (EBKT) from small pediatric donors. Methods Deceased donor KTs performed at our center between October 2001 and November 2005, were reviewed retrospectively. If the calculated creatinine clearance in an expanded criteria donor was Results Of a total of 279 deceased donor KTs during the 49-month study period, 15 (5%) recipients underwent DKT and 5 (2%) underwent EBKT. Mean donor age was 65.4 years and 21.4 months in the DKT and EBKT groups, respectively. Patient survival rates in both groups were 100% with a mean follow-up of 22 months (minimum, 6 months). Kidney graft survival rates were 80% (12/15) and 60% (3/5) in the DKT and EBKT groups, respectively. The combined incidence of delayed graft function was 10%. Mean 12-month glomerular filtration rates were 46 mL/min and 66 mL/min in the DKT and EBKT groups, respectively. Conclusions DKT using kidneys from marginal elderly donors and EBKT from small pediatric donors appear to offer a viable option to counteract the shortage of acceptable kidney donors.