cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Estimation of Ventilatory Capacity in Subjects with Unacceptable Lung Function Tests

Based on pulmonary function data collected annually for six years on 540 Vermont granite workers, FEV1 in survey 1 was estimated by extrapolating back from subsequent measurements. The extrapolation method was found to fit the observed data of subjects with reproducible initial values very well (R2 = 0.87). Extrapolated FEV1s for workers unable to perform an adequate pulmonary function test according to the standards of the American Thoracic Society were compared to extrapolated values in the rest of the cohort. After adjusting for confounding, subjects with test failure in survey 1 had a lower extrapolated FEV1 than the rest of the cohort (p = 0.07). The mean extrapolated FEV1 of the 71 workers with an initial test failure was only 95% of a predicted value derived from the group with reproducible data, and the per cent predicted decreased from 98% to 71% as the number of test failures in the follow-up surveys increased (p = 0.0004). The American Thoracic Society and the Epidemiology Standardization Project currently recommend that test failures be excluded from the analysis of epidemiological data. Our findings suggest that alternative strategies for handling non-reproducible lung function may need to be explored in order to avoid selection bias.
Comprehensive analysis of implosion dynamics of Mo and Al wire arrays arranged in Triple Planar or nested cylindrical wire arrays dependent on load geometry

Triple Planar Wire Arrays (TPWA) consisted from three planes made of Mo (uniform) or from Mo and Al wire planes (combined). Each plane from Mo or Al wires was almost the same mass and therefore the total linear mass of both uniform and combined TPWAs was about 115 µg/cm. The previous results with 3 mm between planes are revisited. New experiments with the same TPWAs but with a reduced interwire gap of 1.5 mm that showed high yield of 25 kJ (close to the highest yield from Mo double planar wire arrays) are presented and analyzed. In addition, implosion dynamics and radiative properties of combined nested cylindrical wire arrays (NCWA) made of the same size Mo and Al wires (as in TPWAs) were compared with TPWAs, and similarity and differences are discussed. All experiments were performed on the Zebra generator at UNR. A set of diagnostics included fast, filtered x-ray diodes; a Ni bolometer; laser shadowgraphy and streak setups; time-gated and time-integrated x-ray pinhole cameras; and time-integrated spatially resolved (TISR) and time-gated spatially-integrated (TGSI) x-ray spectrometers. Implosion dynamics were analyzed with the wire ablation dynamics model. Non-LTE kinetic modeling was utilized to derive plasma electron temperature and density and to estimate opacity effects in K-shell Al lines. In particular, spatially resolved L-shell Mo plasma parameters were determined from TISR spectra. Time-gated (from TGSI data) and spatially-resolved (from TISR data) K-shell Al and Mg plasma parameters were modeled. In result, a comprehensive analysis and comparison of L-shell and K-shell plasma parameters for TPWAs with different geometries as well as for NCWAs was accomplished. Future directions of this work are discussed.
Tumor P-Glycoprotein Correlates with Efficacy of PF-3758309 in in vitro and in vivo Models of Colorectal Cancer

P-glycoprotein (P-gp), a member of the ATP-binding cassette transporter family, is overexpressed in a number of different cancers and some studies show that P-gp overexpression can be correlated to poor prognosis or therapeutic resistance. Here we sought to elucidate if PF-3758309 (PF-309), a novel p-21 activated kinase inhibitor, efficacy was influenced by tumor P-gp. Based on in vitro proliferation data, a panel of colorectal cancer cell lines were ranked as sensitive or resistant and ABCB1 (P-gp) expression was evaluated by microarray for these cell lines. P-gp expression was determined by western blot and activity determined by rhodamine efflux assay. Knock down of P-gp and pharmacologic inhibition of P-gp to restore PF-309 activity was performed in vitro. PF-309 activity was evaluated in vivo in cell line xenograft models and in primary patient derived tumor xenografts (PDTX). Mice were treated with 25 mg/kg PF-309 orally, twice daily. On the last day of treatment, tumor and plasma were collected for PF-309 analysis. Here we show that ABCB1 gene expression correlates with resistance to PF-309 treatment in vitro and the expression and activity of P-gp was verified in a panel of resistant cells. Furthermore, inhibition of P-gp increased the sensitivity of resistant cells, resulting in a 4-100 fold decrease in the IC50s. Eleven cell line xenografts and 12 PDTX models were treated with PF-309. From the cell line xenografts, we found a significant correlation between ABCB1 gene expression profiles and tumor response. We evaluated tumor and plasma concentrations for 8 tumor models (3 cell line xenografts and 5 PDTX models) and a significant correlation was found between tumor concentration and response. Additionally, we show that tumor concentration is approximately 4-fold lower in tumors that express P-gp, verified by western blot. Our in vitro and in vivo data strongly suggests that PF-309 efficacy is influenced by the expression of tumor P-gp.
Formalized poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes for reverse osmosis

The permeation properties of formalized poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes are described. The interest of this work is centered on the properties relevant to desalination by reverse osmosis. These membranes, when properly prepared, showed reasonably high water permeability, high salt rejection, and stability in the presence of acids and alkalies.
Thoughts About Multidisciplinary, Interdisciplinary, and Transdisciplinary Research

This essay focuses on multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research. The definitions and objectives for these three types of multiple discipline research are given. Discussion centers on the gains and losses that may be experienced by individual nurses who engage in such research, as well as gains and losses for the discipline of nursing.
Seismic tremor at the 9°50'N East Pacific Rise eruption site.

Ocean bottom seismic observations within the 9°50′N region of the East Pacific Rise indicate persistent, low-amplitude tremor activity throughout the October 2003 through February 2007 period of monitoring. These signals exhibit either monochromatic or polychromatic spectral characteristics, with a ∼6 Hz fundamental frequency and up to two harmonics. Individual events cannot be correlated between nearby (<1 km) stations, implying the presence of multiple, small-amplitude sources positioned within the shallow crust. Tremor exhibits a semidiurnal periodicity, with some stations recording activity during times of increasing tidal extension and others detecting tremor signals during times of increasing compression. The amplitude, duration, and rate of activity also correlate positively with fortnightly changes in the amplitude of the tides. These spatiotemporal patterns are consistent with tremor generation in response to tidally modulated fluid flow within a network of shallow cracks. Tremor energy flux is spatially and temporally heterogeneous; however, there are extended periods of greater and lesser activity that can be tracked across portions of the array. Despite their shallow crustal origin, changes in tremor amplitude and spectral character occur in the months prior to a major microearthquake swarm and inferred seafloor spreading event on 22 January 2006, with an increase in the degree of correlation between tremor activity and tidal strain in the weeks leading up to this event. After the spreading event, two eruption-surviving stations near the axis continue to show high rates of tremor activity, whereas these signals are suppressed at the single station recovered from the near-axis flanks. This off-axis quiescence may result from the dike-induced closing of cracks or perhaps from the emplacement of impermeable flows near the station.
Improving Word Alignment with Language Model Based Confidence Scores

This paper describes the statistical machine translation systems submitted to the ACL-WMT 2008 shared translation task. Systems were submitted for two translation directions: English→Spanish and Spanish→English. Using sentence pair confidence scores estimated with source and target language models, improvements are observed on the News-Commentary test sets. Genre-dependent sentence pair confidence score and integration of sentence pair confidence score into phrase table are also investigated.
Note: Queen's domination using border squares and (A,B )-restricted domination

In this paper we introduce a variant on the long studied, highly entertaining, and very difficult problem of determining the domination number of the queen's chessboard graph, that is, determining how few queens are needed to protect all of the squares of a k by k chessboard. Motivated by the problem of minimum redundance domination, we consider the problem of determining how few queens restricted to squares on the border can be used to protect the entire chessboard. We give exact values of ''border-queens'' required for the k by k chessboard when 1=
Gas hydrate saturations estimated from fractured reservoir at Site NGHP-01-10, Krishna-Godavari Basin, India

[1] During the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01 (NGHP-01), one of the richest marine gas hydrate accumulations was discovered at Site NGHP-01-10 in the Krishna-Godavari Basin. The occurrence of concentrated gas hydrate at this site is primarily controlled by the presence of fractures. Assuming the resistivity of gas hydrate– bearing sediments is isotropic, the conventional Archie analysis using the logging while drilling resistivity log yields gas hydrate saturations greater than 50% (as high as � 80%) of the pore space for the depth interval between � 25 and � 160 m below seafloor. On the other hand, gas hydrate saturations estimated from pressure cores from nearby wells were less than � 26% of the pore space. Although intrasite variability may contribute to the difference, the primary cause of the saturation difference is attributed to the anisotropic nature of the reservoir due to gas hydrate in high-angle fractures. Archie’s law can be used to estimate gas hydrate saturations in anisotropic reservoir, with additional information such as elastic velocities to constrain Archie cementation parameters m and the saturation exponent n. Theory indicates that m and n depend on the direction of the measurement relative to fracture orientation, as well as depending on gas hydrate saturation. By using higher values of m and n in the resistivity analysis for fractured reservoirs, the difference between saturation estimates is significantly reduced, although a sizable difference remains. To better understand the nature of fractured reservoirs, wireline P and S wave velocities were also incorporated into the analysis.
Analysis of bilateral fin-lines on anisotropic substrates

A full-wave analysis of the bilateral fin-line on anisotropic substrates is presented. The supporting medium is characterized simultaneously by both nondiagonal second rank ( epsilon ) and ( mu ) tensors. The dyadic Green's function is formed rigorously in the discrete Fourier transformed domain and is used to study the propagation characteristics of the fin-line. The Green's function elements are given explicitly in their closed forms along with the verification of the theory. New data describing the dispersion properties as functions of the coordinate misalignment are also generated for several substrate materials. >
Patient Satisfaction: The Journey of an Observation Patient from Waiting Room to Home again

The information, opinions expressed in this presentation is solely those of the author/presenter and not those of The MetroHealth System or any affiliated company or organization. The MetroHealth System does not guarantee the accuracy or reliability of the information provided here in. The call to provide meaningful high quality care driven by the needs of patients and their families are forcing stake holders to rethink care delivery. Federal guidelines, Congress and non-federal stakeholders (Institute of Medicine, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, National Quality Strategy three aims, Joint Commission) are forcing hospitals and health systems to make strategic changes to ensure compliancy, efficiency, and quality improvement for cost effective care. Nurses spend the most time caring for patients and have the most influence than any other healthcare givers in relation to patient outcomes. The patient is the focus for everything we do. This presentation explores strategies to improve patient satisfaction by understanding the patient perspective throughout the care continuum and improvements that could be made for staff and the patient to make it a more efficient process. How staff should engage with the patient during admission, treatment and discharge.
Cross-national differences in satisfaction/dissatisfaction and complaint behaviour concerning apparel products

Consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction with apparel products was compared among several European nations. The issues of complaint behaviour and the extent to which dissatisfied consumers took action were also studied. The data examined were from nine member nations of the Commission of the European Communities. The sample size was 9,153 respondents. Overall, respondents expressed satisfaction with apparel products; however, a minority of respondents in each country expressed dissatisfaction with such products. Chi-square tests of homogeneity determined relationships between countries and satisfaction/dissatisfaction with apparel. Differences in satisfaction/dissatisfaction among countries were found to be statistically significant. Moreover, whether consumers complained when dissatisfied and the type of complaining behaviour was found to vary significantly by country.
EXPLICIT DOUBLING INTEGRALS FOR Sp2(F) AND $\widetilde{{{\rm Sp}}_{2}}(F)$ USING "GOOD TEST VECTORS"

In this paper, we offer some explicit computations of a formulation of the doubling method of Piatetski-Shapiro and Rallis for the groups Sp2(F) (the rank 2 symplectic group) and its metaplectic cover for F a finite extension of ℚp with p ≠ 2. We determine a set of "good test vectors" for the irreducible constituents of unramified principal series representations for these groups as well as a set of "good theta test sections" in a family of degenerate principal series representations of Sp4(F) and . Determining "good test data" that produces a non-vanishing doubling integral should indicate the existence of a non-vanishing theta lifts for dual pairs of the type (Sp2(F), O(V)) (respectively ) where V is a quadratic space of an even (respectively odd) dimension.
Vitamin K storage and prothrombin levels in chicks obtained from injected eggs.

SummaryVitamin K (potassium 2-methyl-1,4-naphthohydroquinone disulfate), injected into eggs prior to their incubation, produces vitamin K stores in newly-hatched chicks. The injected vitamin protects against the rapid and extreme fall of the pro-thrombin level which occurs when chicks are placed on a vitamin K-free diet.
MONITORING OF TUNNEL CLEARANCE DISPLACEMENTS UNDER CONDITION OF TBM CONSTRUCTION

Taking Dahuofang Water Transfer Project in Liaoning Province as background,the monitoring technique of tunnel clearance displacements in the tunnel boring machine(TBM) bid segments is introduced under condition of TBM construction.Based on the tests,a monitoring method of TBM tunnel clearance displacements with laser collimation is proposed.It comes true by utilizing the longitudinal intervisible space between the boring machine and tunnel profile and using the laser collimation method to the three measuring points on the crown and two sidewalls.Thereby,the problem that the tunnel clearance displacement under condition of TBM construction is difficult to be obtained with existing monitoring methods can be resolved.Also,the SWL–I tunnel laser displacement monitoring system with satisfying measuring precision,simple and easy-to-operate characteristics is developed.The system has been applied and verified in the construction of Dahuofang Water Transfer Project by use of Robbins and Wirth′s open TBMs.The displacement characteristic curves of surrounding rock in the tunnel crown and both sidewalls at the end of the machine cutterhead are obtained firstly;and the monitoring of tunnel clearance displacements under condition of TBM construction has been realized.
Pretreatment Anemia Portends Poor Survival and Nonlocal Disease Progression in Patients with Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated with Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy.

Abstract Introduction We determined whether pretreatment anemia predicted for poor outcomes in the setting of early-stage NSCLC treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). Methods Pretreatment hemoglobin levels were evaluated to determine the association with local, regional, and distant control; disease-free survival; and overall survival. Survival rates were estimated with Kaplan-Meier analysis, and multivariate analysis was completed with adjustment for age, T stage, and radiation dose using the Cox proportional hazards model. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to determine the optimal pretreatment hemoglobin level that would predict for poor outcomes. Results A total of 147 cases of cases of early-stage NSCLC treated with SBRT were evaluated with a median follow-up of 28.9 months. The 3-year local, regional and distant control rates were 95%, 87%, and 89%, respectively. The 3-year overall survival and disease-free survival rates were 75% and 83%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, a lower pretreatment hemoglobin level predicted for poor regional control, poor disease-free survival, and overall survival ( p = 0.02, p = 0.03, p = 0.05, respectively). Pretreatment hemoglobin levels did not predict poor local control. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis found that pretreatment hemoglobin values less than 12.2 g/dL optimally predicted for poor disease-free survival and regional control. The 3-year disease-free survival for patients with a hemoglobin level of at least 12.2 g/dL was 94% versus 70% in patients with a hemoglobin level less than 12.2 g/dL ( p = 0.008). Conclusions In the setting of SBRT for early-stage NSCLC, we found pretreatment anemia to be predictive of aggressive disease with poor overall survival and nonlocal disease progression.
The role of older siblings in the sexual and reproductive health of Mexican-origin young women in immigrant families.

AbstractIn the USA, young people of Mexican-origin are more economically disadvantaged and experience higher birth rates than many other Latino groups. In this paper, we examine the influence of older siblings on the sexual and reproductive health of Mexican-origin immigrant women. Qualitative data were drawn from life history interviews with 21 first- and second-generation Mexican-origin women, aged 27–41 years old, resident in the Metro Denver area. Data suggest that older siblings may protect younger sisters from risky sexual behaviours through older siblings’ responsibility and care for younger siblings, close and supportive sibling relationships, older siblings’ advice about both sexual health and academic success, and sibling modelling. These mechanisms appear particularly protective due to the social and economic hardships immigrant families often face. Implications include fostering healthy sibling relationships and involving older siblings more fully in the sexuality education of younger siblings.
Indoor footstep localization from structural dynamics instrumentation

Abstract Measurements from accelerometers originally deployed to measure a building's structural dynamics can serve a new role: locating individuals moving within a building. Specifically, this paper proposes measurements of footstep-generated vibrations as a novel source of information for localization. The complexity of wave propagation in a building (e.g., dispersion and reflection) limits the utility of existing algorithms designed to locate, for example, the source of sound in a room or radio waves in free space. This paper develops enhancements for arrival time determination and time difference of arrival localization in order to address the complexities posed by wave propagation within a building's structure. Experiments with actual measurements from an instrumented public building demonstrate the potential of locating footsteps to sub-meter accuracy. Furthermore, this paper explains how to forecast performance in other buildings with different sensor configurations. This localization capability holds the potential to assist public safety agencies in building evacuation and incidence response, to facilitate occupancy-based optimization of heating or cooling and to inform facility security.
Hormonal and behavioral correlates of emotional states in sexually trained boars.

Physiological and behavioral traits of sexually mature boars were compared between episodes of copulation and sexual frustration in order to determine reliable indicators of the differences in emotional states. Ten boars, approximately 6 mo of age, were trained to mount a stationary artificial sow (ArtSow) and to ejaculate when digital pressure was applied to the extended penis. This method of semen collection is the typical procedure of the industry. All 10 boars used in this study were fully trained to this procedure before the onset of the study. Each boar was subjected to trials in which one of the following two treatments was applied. In the control (CTRL) treatment, boars were treated the same as during their training (i.e., allowed to complete ejaculation). In the frustration (FRUS) treatment, boars were allowed to mount the ArtSow, but because no manual pressure was applied to the extended penis, ejaculation never occurred. Blood was collected via indwelling catheters before onset of the trial, during exposure to the ArtSow, and after returning to their home pen. Concentrations of testosterone, cortisol, and beta-endorphin were quantified. Behavior of the boars was recorded during exposure to the ArtSow and for 30 min after return to their home pen. Relative to preexposure levels, serum cortisol increased (P<.05) during CTRL exposure and after exposure to both treatments (CTRL; P<.04 and FRUS; P<.06). Serum testosterone did not change during and after either treatment. Serum concentrations of beta-endorphin did not change during or after CTRL trials, but serum beta-endorphin was greater (P<.05) during FRUS than during CTRL trials. Behavioral analysis revealed that boars spent less time lying down and more time moving about their home pen (P<.05) after a FRUS than after a CTRL trial. In summary, serum cortisol did not allow us to distinguish between the excitement of copulation and the negative affect associated with sexual frustration, whereas increases in serum beta-endorphin and motor activity seemed to be indicators of the negative emotional state of sexual frustration in trained boars.
The Lost Journalism of Ring Lardner

By Ron Rapoport, ed.Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2017, 592 pp.Ring Lardner is remembered today for his short stories, especially the dark monologue “Haircut,” but he spent most of his lif...
Small Exporters and Stages of Development: An Empirical Study:

Empirically-based research and theory on currant internal problems of small business Is lacking since most research has dealt ex post facto with causes of small business failure and success. In addition, small business problems have not been correlated with the different stages of the overall development of the firm or different stages of the exporting process. This study attempts to fill a portion of this gap by empirically examining the differences between overall and exporting problems of small exporters at different stages of overall and exporting development.
Measuring the Downside Risk of Law School Attendance

Legal education has come under severe political pressure, both external and internal, for its perceived failure to deliver tangible economic benefits to law students. But legal education is not alone. The financial crisis of 2008 and the economic recession triggered by it have forced many other industries, to reevaluate their balance of costs and benefits. Many institutions, even entire industries, must now endure stress-testing in the form of debt-to-income or debt-to-capital ratios. This document focuses on student welfare, especially the core economic question of whether law school attendance delivers a valuable return on students’ investment. It also describe the tools, drawn from quantitative finance and econometrics, that it uses to evaluate downside risk and inequality within any cohort of law school graduates.
Characterizing Complex, Multi-Scale Neural Phenomena Using State-Space Models

In the past three decades, we have seen a massive expansion in our ability to record neural activity: from many more neurons, from multiple brain areas, and across multiple spatial and temporal scales. As a result, scientific investigation is limited in many cases not by the availability of data but by the availability of statistical and analysis tools. In particular, making use of such complex datasets to understand the mechanisms and effects of neural phenomena requires integration of multiple information sources. The state-space approach, whose application to complex neural phenomena has been pioneered by Emery Brown and his colleagues, provides a natural statistical modeling approach for integrating information across multiple sources and scales, for discovering low-dimensional representations of behavioral and cognitive states, and for expressing confidence about estimates and inferences. In this chapter, we will review the fundamental features of the state-space paradigm, discuss successful applications of the paradigm to various neural data analysis problems, and present a novel extension of these methods to better understand the phenomenon of hippocampal “ripple-replay” events. These events are defined by high-frequency oscillations in the local field potential (LFP), called ripples, during which neural spike sequences correspond to those seen during previous experience, or replay; their analysis therefore requires integration of neural information at multiple scales. Specifically, we will discuss a semi-latent state-space model that combines information from a rat’s movement, LFP, and ensemble hippocampal spiking to simultaneously identify periods of ripple-replay and decode its content in real time.
Antibiotic Treatments for Clostridium difficile Infection Are Associated with Distinct Bacterial and Fungal Community Structures.

ABSTRACT Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the most common nosocomial infection in the United States, being associated with high recurrence and persistence rates. Though the relationship between intestinal dysbiosis and CDI is well known, it is unclear whether different forms of dysbiosis may potentially affect the course of CDI. How this is further influenced by C. difficile-directed antibiotics is virtually uninvestigated. In this study, diarrheal stool samples were collected from 20 hospitalized patients, half of whom were confirmed to have CDI. Analyzing tissue ex vivo and in duplicate, CDI and non-CDI fecal samples (n = 176) were either not antibiotic treated or treated with metronidazole, vancomycin, or fidaxomicin, the three most common CDI therapies. The microbial community composition, interactions, and predicted metabolic functions were assessed by 16S rRNA gene and internal transcribed spacer sequencing, bipartite network analysis, and phylogenetic investigation of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states. Our results demonstrate that while all C. difficile-directed antibiotics were associated with similar reductions in alpha diversity, beta diversity significantly differed on the basis of the particular antibiotic, with differentiating relative abundances of bacterial and fungal assemblages. With the exception of fidaxomicin, each antibiotic was associated with the emergence of potentially pathogenic fungal operational taxonomic units, with predicted bacterial functions enriched for xenobiotic metabolism that could perpetuate the dysbiosis driving CDI. Toxin-independent mechanisms of colitis related to the relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria and fungi were also noted. This study suggests that a transkingdom interaction between fungi and bacteria may be important in CDI pathophysiology, including being a factor in the historically high persistence and recurrence rates associated with this disease. IMPORTANCE Using human fecal samples and including sequencing for both bacterial and fungal taxa, this study compared the conventional antibiotics used to treat C. difficile infection (CDI) from the perspective of the microbiome, which is particularly relevant, given the relationship between dysbiotic states and the development of CDI. Sequencing and imputed functional analyses suggest that C. difficile-directed antibiotics are associated with distinct forms of dysbiosis that may be influential in the course of CDI. Further, a role for fungal organisms in the perpetuation of the causal dysbiosis of CDI is discussed, suggesting a previously unappreciated, clinically relevant transkingdom interaction that warrants further study.
Effectiveness and Downstream Healthcare Utilization for Patients That Received Early Physical Therapy Versus Usual Care for Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Study Design.Randomized controlled trial.Objective.The aim of this study was to compare early physical therapy versus usual care in patients with low back pain.Summary of Background Data.Early physical therapy (PT) has been associated with reduced downstream healthcare utilization in retrospective s
Investigation of the Effect of Stimulated Raman Scattering on Parametric Pumping of Microring Resonators

We numerically investigate the effect of stimulated Raman scattering on parametric pumping of microring resonators. Furthermore, we re-derive the LLE for a generalized pump including a FSR mismatch term to determine the locking range.
The Tools of Pharmacogenetics

In a relatively brief period of time, the use of genetically defined organisms in alcohol-related research has grown dramatically. From an occasional study viewed by the rest of the alcohol research community as representing a (perhaps) interesting narrow specialty interest, the utilization of genetics has grown to represent a substantial proportion of the animal literature. This burgeoning of activity has not all been a result of a heightened interest in the genetics of alcohol-related phenomena. Some such increase in interest there has been, to be sure. But there has also been a growing realization that genetic methods can offer powerful manipulable variables and powerful controls for those whose primary interest is not genetic transmission but pharmacological, psychological, physiological, or other approaches to alcohol-related phenomena. Indeed, there is now an appreciable and growing sentiment that any animal research conducted without genetic specification suffers from a serious self-inflicted shortcoming.
Prealbumin II: Vitamin A(Retinol)-Binding Protein

Vitamin A circulates in the blood in the form of the alcohol called retinol. Retinol is found bound to prealbumin on electrophoresis.(1) It was soon shown that the retinol-binding protein (RBP) of prealbumin which held the retinol was tightly bound to thyroxine-binding prealbumin (TBPA) in a 1:1 molar ratio. This complex of RBP and TBPA is the retinol transport system.(2–4) Figure 12.1 is a schematic representation of this complex.
Learning Functional Models of Aquaria: The ACT Project on Ecosystem Learning in Middle School Science

The ACT project is an ongoing collaboration among learning, cognitive, computing and biological scientists at Georgia Institute of Technology and Rutgers University, focusing on learning functional models of ecosystems in middle school science. In particular, ACT (for Aquarium Construction Toolkit) is an interactive learning environment for stimulating and scaffolding construction of Structure-Behavior-Function (SBF) models to reason about classroom aquaria. Initial results from deployment of ACT in several classrooms with a few hundred middle school children indicate statistically significant improvement in identification of the structure, behaviors and functions of classroom aquaria as well as appropriation of SBF modeling by some middle school teachers for modeling other natural systems. In this article, we summarize and review the main results from ACT on learning about SBF models of ecosystems in middle school science and describe self-regulated learning in ACT, while also looking ahead and outlining the design of a metacognitive ACT toolkit.
Indications for Distal Femoral Replacement Arthroplasty in Acute Geriatric Distal Femoral Fractures

Distal intraarticular femoral fractures in the elderly are associated with significant morbidity and mortality and represent a difficult clinical situation for the treating orthopaedic surgeon. Challenges are due to high levels of comminution secondary to osteoporotic bone which limits traditional fixation techniques. Furthermore, these injuries occur in the setting of patients with complex medical co-morbidities which benefit from rapid mobilization. Primary distal femoral replacement arthroplasty has emerged as a viable option for the management of distal femoral fractures in the native knee in the elderly population. In the appropriate patient population, surgeons should consider this technique in the acute setting.
Image-Based Localization for Facilitating Construction Field Reporting on Mobile Devices

Current studies reveal the exceptional advantages of high-efficiency onsite information management for facilitating the design/building progress of construction projects. In particular, the prevailing methods of construction field reporting still primarily rely on manual on-site documentation of project information. Fortunately, state of the art computerized technologies provides solutions with great potential for boosting the efficiency of gathering and managing on-site information for field reporting. Providing on-demand access to such information in real-time requires an autonomous method for localizing and tracking (i.e. calculating the position and orientation) of a construction filed reporter on job site. This, in fact, will reduce both working time and efforts for providing on-demand access to project information. Mobile devices such as smartphones/tablets can be utilized to enable the on-site personnel to manage the project information in a portable fashion while adopting cloud technology for instant online access. In this paper, we proposed a method for on-site localization that can estimate and track the position and orientation of a hand-held device in a near real-time manner. The developed method is infrastructure-independent and marker-less. The proposed method mainly consists of mapping, localization and alignment modules. Initially, a video stream is acquired using the built-in camera of the mobile device scanning the target building. A 3D point cloud is then reconstructed from the acquired video data. Afterward, the localization algorithm outputs the location/orientation of the queried images using feature-based matching with the base 3D point cloud map generated earlier. Finally, global localization of frames is estimated by using the alignment parameters of the 3D point cloud with a Geo-referenced BIM model to transform the localized frames to the global reference. The proposed solution enables the field reporter to access, retrieve, save and edit the project information more efficiently on the construction site.
Prescription painkiller misuse and the perceived risk of harm from using heroin.

Abstract Background Prescription opioid pain reliever misuse is associated with initiation of heroin use. The perceived risk of harm from substance use is a key factor in initiation. We hypothesized that prescription pain reliever misuse is associated with a lower perceived risk of harm from trying heroin and from regular use. Methods Using the 2015–6 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), we evaluated the perceived risk of trying and regularly using heroin among heroin never-users. We estimated logistic regressions to assess the association between past-year prescription pain reliever misuse with the perceived risk of heroin initiation and regular use, adjusting for potential confounders. Results The sample contained 84,312 adults and 27,814 adolescents. Four percent of adults and 3.7% of adolescents reported past-year prescription pain reliever misuse. 87.9% of adults and 65.9% of adolescents perceived trying heroin as a great risk. Pain reliever misuse was associated with a significantly lower odds of perceiving great risk of harm from trying heroin (adults: AOR = 0.760, 95%CI 0.614–0.941, p = 0.013; adolescents: AOR = 0.817, 95%CI 0.672–0.993, p = 0.042). Both age groups were more likely to report perceiving regular heroin use as a great risk of harm compared to trying heroin once or twice, but only adults showed significant association with of pain reliever misuse. (AOR = 0.539 95%CI 0.390–0.744, p Conclusions Past-year prescription pain reliever misuse was associated with lower perceived risk of harm from heroin initiation and regular use. Further understanding of risk perception and the association with heroin initiation might inform development of primary prevention interventions.
Modeling of transport and reaction in a novel hydride vapor phase epitaxy system

Abstract Hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) has been recognized as one of the most promising growth methods in the manufacture of low-cost III–V photovoltaics. Motivated by this application, a fully continuous moving belt HVPE reactor for the growth of multilayer heterostructures with controllable qualities at significantly greater throughput and lower per unit production cost compared to the conventional epitaxial growth tools is proposed. This paper outlines the considerations of developing such growth system, provides a computational framework to aid the process design and demonstrates the feasibility of this approach to device formation. The core of this framework is a three-dimensional transport model updated with moving mesh feature and incorporated with a semi-empirical kinetic model for HVPE growth of III–V semiconductors. Applying this model, the critical elements impacting the formation of abrupt heterointerface are developed and the key features of the designs are presented. The model is used to simulate the continuous growth of a model device and the satisfactory thickness uniformity of the final product further confirms the capability of the proposed system.
Nonionic Amphiphilic Linear Dendritic Block Copolymers. Solvent-Induced Self-Assembly and Morphology Tuning

In this article, we report the solution self-assembly of a series of amphiphilic linear–dendritic block copolymers (LDBCs), which are composed of hydrophilic dendritic poly(ether-ester), PEE, blocks based on 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid and hydrophobic linear poly(styrene), PSt, blocks. The investigated LDBCs have narrow dispersity with three PEE generations (1–3) and a broad range of PSt molecular masses and are produced by dendron-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization of styrene followed by deprotection of the peripheral dendron hydroxyl groups. The solution self-assembly of the copolymers is performed by slowly adding water to the polymer solution in tetrahydrofuran (THF) as the common solvent for both blocks of the copolymers. The morphologies of the supramolecular assemblies are preserved either by diluting their dispersion by excess of water or by THF evaporation. It is found that the micellar morphology (sphere, wormlike, and/or vesicle) depends on the hydrophilic block fraction (F...
Democratic Legitimacy in Bureaucratic Structures: A Precarious Balance

In this chapter, we explore democratic legitimacy as a public governance value. This exploration builds on an enduring debate in the field of public administration, which has long sought to reconcile the role of bureaucracy within democratic governance. The overarching topic is broad, and much has been written about various aspects of legitimacy in governance. Here, our primary focus is on the relationship of democratic legitimacy to other public values, especially those which find more emphasis within administrative structures. Several of these values, including accountability, transparency, and lawfulness, which are further explored in other chapters in this volume, inform our case study of the water disaster in Flint, MI, USA, a poignant example of both values and violations of the integrity of governance. Our driving question is as follows: To what extent can democratic legitimacy be supported and maintained through bureaucratic means and authority?
Gain Properties of Type-II AlInN / ZnGeN 2 Quantum Wells for Ultraviolet Laser Diodes

The material gain properties of type-II AlInN / ZnGeN 2 QWs with different ZnGeN 2 layer thicknesses are investigated through the self-consistent hp formalism. Our study shows ∼6.2 times enhancement in material gain compared to the conventional structure and remarkable reductions in threshold current and carrier densities.
On the Job or in the Joint: Criminal Justice Contact and Employment Outcomes:

Existing research has shown that the rise of incarceration had a substantial effect on the stabilizing forces of employment. The conditions and circumstances that render felony imprisonment impactf...
Multi-Label Visual Feature Learning with Attentional Aggregation

Today convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have reached out to specialized applications in science communities that otherwise would not be adequately tackled. In this paper, we systematically study a multi-label annotation problem of x-ray scattering images in material science. For this application, we tackle an open challenge with training CNNs — identifying weak scattered patterns with diffuse background interference, which is common in scientific imaging. We articulate an Attentional Aggregation Module (AAM) to enhance feature representations. First, we reweight and highlight important features in the images using data-driven attention maps. We decompose the attention maps into channel and spatial attention components. In the spatial attention component, we design a mechanism to generate multiple spatial attention maps tailored for diversified multi-label learning. Then, we condense the enhanced local features into non-local representations by performing feature aggregation. Both attention and aggregation are designed as network layers with learnable parameters so that CNN training remains fluidly end-to-end, and we apply it in-network a few times so that the feature enhancement is multi-scale. We conduct extensive experiments on CNN training and testing, as well as transfer learning, and empirical studies confirm that our method enhances the discriminative power of visual features of scientific imaging.
Dynamics of undulatory fluctuations of semiflexible filaments in a network.

We study the dynamics of a single semiflexible filament coupled to a Hookean spring at its boundary. The spring produces a fluctuating tensile force on the filament, the value of which depends on the filament's instantaneous end-to-end length. The spring thereby introduces a nonlinearity, which mixes the undulatory normal modes of the filament and changes their dynamics. We study these dynamics using the Martin--Siggia--Rose--Janssen--De Dominicis formalism, and compute the time-dependent correlation functions of transverse undulations and of the filament's end-to-end distance. The relaxational dynamics of the modes below a characteristic wavelength $\sqrt{\ensuremath{\kappa}/{\ensuremath{\tau}}_{R}}$, set by the filament's bending modulus $\ensuremath{\kappa}$ and spring-renormalized tension ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{R}$, are changed by the boundary spring. This occurs near the crossover frequency between tension- and bending-dominated modes of the system. The boundary spring can be used to represent the linear elastic compliance of the rest of the filament network to which the filament is cross linked. As a result, we predict that this nonlinear effect will be observable in the dynamical correlations of constituent filaments of networks and in the networks' collective shear response. The system's dynamic shear modulus is predicted to exhibit the well-known crossover with increasing frequency from ${\ensuremath{\omega}}^{1/2}$ to ${\ensuremath{\omega}}^{3/4}$, but the inclusion of the network's compliance in the analysis of the individual filament dynamics shifts this transition to a higher frequency.
Implementation and experimental validation of a computational model to predict temperatures and heat transfer of a square array of heated rods enclosed in a pressure vessel filled with rarefied dry helium

Abstract A temperature-jump thermal resistance, based on results from Lin & Willis 1979, was implemented at the gas/solid interfaces of a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model of a 7 × 7 array of heated rods within a square-cross-section pressure vessel filled with rarefied dry helium. This configuration is relevant to the vacuum drying of used nuclear fuel canisters. Simulations were performed for a range of rod heat generation rates, boundary temperatures, and gas pressures in the continuum and rarefied-gas-slip regimes. Experiments conducted by the current authors were used to measure rod and enclosure temperatures for the same conditions, to validate the simulations. For all measurement locations and experiments, the measured rod-to-boundary temperature differences varied from 12 °C to 102 °C. The simulated differences correlated linearly to the measured differences, closely following variations for different locations and experiments, but exhibited random variations from the best-fit line. In the slip regime, the predicted rod-to-boundary temperature differences were systematically 0.9 °C smaller than the measured values (less than half of the thermocouple uncertainty), and 95% of the simulated differences were less than 2.5 °C from the best-fit line (14% larger than the rod thermocouple uncertainty). The temperature-jump thermal resistance model will be useful for predicting temperatures during vacuum drying operations.
The Impact of Anti-Corruption Laws: Evidence from the U.K. Bribery Act's Extraterritorial Reach

I study the impact of foreign anti-corruption laws using a setting that exploits US multinational firms' differential exposure to the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the 2010 United Kingdom Bribery Act (UKBA). Results suggest that adoption of the UKBA, which raised public litigation costs associated with foreign bribery, induces US firms subject to its jurisdiction to curb their business exposure to countries with high corruption risk, relative to their unexposed US peers. The effect is more pronounced for firms with greater enforcement risk and bribery exposure, and is robust to a battery of placebo and additional analyses. This study is the first to provide empirical evidence of the impact of foreign anti-corruption laws on US firms, which are already subject to the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. This evidence supports extraterritoriality as a critical element of effective anti-corruption laws and highlights its important role in regulating multinational firms in the globalized economy.
Examining Student Perceptions of Tobacco Policy Enforcement on College Campuses in Texas.

Background. Colleges across the country are adopting tobacco-free policies to prevent and decrease tobacco use among college-aged young adults. Aims. This study examines differences between nontoba...