cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Compensation of patient motion in PET using a rotator and list-mode reconstruction

PET images are degraded by a number of physical factors present in the imaging process. One of these factors that can potentially have a large impact on PET image quality is patient motion. Due to the relatively large scanning time involved in a whole-body PET study, it is common for patients to move during the imaging study. Furthermore, physiological motion such as respiratory and cardiac motion can also degrade image quality. There are two basic approaches for developing PET iterative reconstruction methods that compensate for patient motion. The first approach is to model patient motion in the reconstruction (image) space. The second approach is to model the relative patient motion by moving the detector, and correcting the measured lines of response (LORs) in event space. In this study, an image-space based, list-mode ordered-subsets, expectation maximization (OSEM) algorithm is evaluated and tested. This method forms frames of list-mode data for each motion state, and uses a fast 3D Gaussian rotator to model motion in the projection and backprojection operations. In addition, a simpler method involving post-reconstruction rotation of each motion state is also evaluated. To study these approaches, a GATE Monte Carlo based computer simulation study using the NCAT anthropomorphic phantom was used to evaluate and compare the motion compensation methods. Quantitative analysis indicated that the two motion correction methods provided good fidelity to the reconstruction obtained from simulated measurements with no patient motion.
Statistical controversies in clinical research: Publication bias evaluations are not routinely conducted in clinical oncology systematic reviews

Background Publication bias is an over-representation of statistically significant results in the published literature and may exaggerate summary effect estimates in oncology systematic reviews. Omitting non-significant results in systematic reviews may therefore affect clinical decision-making. We investigate ways that systematic reviewers attempted to limit publication bias during the search process as well as the statistical methods used to evaluate it. For a subset of reviews not reporting publication bias evaluations, we carried out our own assessments for publication bias to determine its likelihood among these reviews. Design We examined systematic reviews from the top five highest impact factor oncology journals published between 2007 and 2015. Systematic reviews were screened for eligibility and qualifying reviews (n = 182) were coded for relevant publication bias study characteristics by two authors. A re-analysis of reviews not initially evaluating for publication bias was carried out using Egger's regression, trim-and-fill, and selection models. Results Of the 182 systematic reviews, roughly half carried out a hand search to locate additional studies. Conference abstracts were the most commonly reported form of gray literature, followed by clinical trials registries. Fifty-one reviews reported publication bias evaluations. The most common method was the funnel plot (80%, 41/51) followed by Egger's regression (59%, 30/51) and Begg's test (43%, 22/51). Our publication bias evaluations on non-reporting reviews suggest that the degree of publication bias depends on the method employed. Conclusion Our study shows publication bias assessments are not frequently used in oncology systematic reviews. Furthermore, evidence of publication bias was found in a subset of non-reporting reviews. Systematic reviewers in oncology are encouraged to conduct such analyses when appropriate and to employ more robust methods for both mitigating and evaluating publication bias.
Energy-efficiency skeptics and advocates: the debate heats up as the stakes rise

Energy efficiency (EE) is rapidly growing in many markets today, but its its cost-effectiveness and potential for growth are being hotly debated. These controversies impede public and private investment in efficiency programs, products, and services. As the stakes rise, the debate has heated up and the need grows to clarify the disagreements and disputes. We review the arguments of skeptics and advocates on 10 key questions concerning energy efficiency, attempting to answer three overriding questions: does an EE gap exist, how big is the gap, and how can the gap be shrunk? We tackle 10 areas of contention: the significance of market failures, the efficiency of investment levels, energy intensity as a measure of efficiency, the treatment of naturally occurring EE, the application of discount rates, accounting for transaction costs, treatment of the rebound effect, the practice of EE delivery, the integration of EE into utility business models, and opportunities for EE growth. Research needs in each of these areas are also described. By examining the divergent views of skeptics and advocates and by addressing the limitations of current knowledge, policymakers and stakeholders can make better-informed decisions supported by more defensible analysis.
Diastereoselective Base-Catalyzed Formal [4 + 2] Cycloadditions of N-Sulfonyl Imines and Cyclic Anhydrides

A diastereoselective base-catalyzed Mannich reaction of cyclic, enolizable anhydrides and N-sulfonyl imines for the synthesis of δ-lactams is reported. This anhydride Mannich reaction tolerates imines derived from aryl and enolizable aldehydes. A base-catalyzed product epimerization pathway ensures high anti diastereoselectivity in aryl and achiral enolizable imines.
Empirical mode decomposition of EEG signals for brain computer interface

Motor imagery (MI) based brain-computer interface (BCI) systems show potential applications in neural rehabilitation. In MI-BCI systems, the brain signals from movement imagination, without actual movement of limbs, can be acquired, processed and characterized to translate into actionable signals that can be used to activate external devices. However, success of such MI-BCI systems, depends on the reliable processing of the noisy, non-linear, and non-stationary brain activity signals for extraction of characteristic features for effective classification of MI activity and translation into corresponding actions. In this work, a signal processing technique, namely, empirical mode decomposition (EMD), has been proposed for processing EEG signals acquired from volunteer subjects for characterizing MI activities and activity identification.
Abstract 170: Arginase Contributes to Delayed Constriction of Large Cerebral Arteries in a Model of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Introduction: Increased arginase activity can limit nitric oxide synthase activity and contribute to age-related increase in aortic stiffness. Hypothesis: Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) produces a delayed increase in arginase activity that contributes to delayed decreases in diameter of major cerebral arteries. Methods: Male rats underwent injection of blood into the cisterna magna on day 0 and again on day 2. Shams had double injection of artificial CSF. Measurements of arginase activity on vessels in the Circle of Willis and pia matter were made with an assay based on the conversion of radiolabeled arginine to urea. Measurements of diameter of basilar, posterior (PCA), middle (MCA), and anterior (ACA) cerebral arteries were made ex vivo after perfusion with paraformaldehyde and black latex casting. Results: Arginase activity (nmol of urea/min/mg of protein) increased from the control value of 13±3 (±SE; n=17) to 24±6 (n=6) at 3 days, 36±14 (n=4) at 5 days, and 48±16 (n=9) at 7 days after SAH and then recovered at 10 days (14±5; n=4) and 14 days (18±6; n=5) after SAH. Infusion of the arginase inhibitor 2(S)-amino-6-boronohexanoic acid (ABH) for 7 days after SAH with an ip osmotic pump blocked the increase in arginase activity (10±2; n=4). Assessment of arterial diameter at 3, 5, 7, 10, and 14 days after SAH revealed the smallest diameters occurring at 7 days (except for MCA which occurred at 5 days). Continuous ip infusion of 10 mg/kg/day ABH significantly attenuated the decrease in diameter (μm) 7 days after SAH in PCA (sham = 249±9, n=8; SAH = 209±12, n=10; SAH+ABH = 255±9, n=6) and ACA (sham = 178±11; SAH = 141±11; SAH+ABH = 198±10). Effects on basilar artery were of marginal significance (P=0.065). Conclusion: SAH produces an increase in vascular arginase activity that is temporally related to delayed decreases in diameter of cerebral arteries. Inhibition of arginase activity prevents the decrease in diameter at 7 days after SAH, thereby indicating a contribution of arginase to delayed arterial constriction/remodeling in post-fixed arteries.
A county-level cross-sectional analysis of positive deviance to assess multiple population health outcomes in Indiana.

Objective To test a positive deviance method to identify counties that are performing better than statistical expectations on a set of population health indicators. Design Quantitative, cross-sectional county-level secondary analysis of risk variables and outcomes in Indiana. Data are analysed using multiple linear regression to identify counties performing better or worse than expected given traditional risk indicators, with a focus on ‘positive deviants’ or counties performing better than expected. Participants Counties in Indiana (n=92) constitute the unit of analysis. Main outcome measures Per cent adult obesity, per cent fair/poor health, low birth weight per cent, per cent with diabetes, years of potential life lost, colorectal cancer incidence rate and circulatory disease mortality rate. Results County performance that outperforms expectations is for the most part outcome specific. But there are a few counties that performed particularly well across most measures. Conclusions The positive deviance approach provides a means for state and local public health departments to identify places that show better health outcomes despite demographic, social, economic or behavioural disadvantage. These places may serve as case studies or models for subsequent investigations to uncover best practices in the face of adversity and generalise effective approaches to other areas.
Performance Modeling of Moving Target Defenses

In recent years, Moving Target Defense (MTD) has emerged as a potential game changer in the security landscape, due to its potential to create asymmetric uncertainty that favors the defender. Many different MTD techniques have then been proposed, each addressing an often very specific set of attack vectors. Despite the huge progress made in this area, there are still some critical gaps with respect to the analysis and quantification of the cost and benefits of deploying MTD techniques. In fact, common metrics to assess the performance of these techniques are still lacking and most of them tend to assess their performance in different and often incompatible ways. This paper addresses these gaps by proposing a quantitative analytic model for assessing the resource availability and performance of MTDs, and a method for the determination of the highest possible reconfiguration rate, and thus smallest probability of attacker's success, that meets performance and stability constraints. Finally, we present an experimental validation of the proposed approach.
Tough, Rapidly Swelling Thermoplastic Elastomer Hydrogels for Hemorrhage Control

We present a novel elastomer with an amphiphilic triblock/graft architecture, allowing it to rapidly swell in water and form a tough hydrogel. The design was motivated by uncontrolled hemorrhage, responsible for 80–90% of potentially survivable deaths of US soldiers over the past 15 years. The polymer is 5.7 times as absorbent and 3 times as tough as a state of the art gauze-based hemostatic dressing. It swells to equilibrium within seconds in phosphate buffered saline due to a microphase-separated morphology featuring a continuous mobile ionic phase supported by hydrophobic glassy domains and rubbery linkages, as observed by transmission electron microscopy and small-angle neutron scattering. Thickness-dependent swelling is as much as an order of magnitude faster than many tough hydrogels in the literature, yet toughness is comparable as a function of water content. The polymer is combined with gauze to form a rapidly swelling, fiber-reinforced hydrogel composite with promising mechanical properties.
Field Orientation Principle

In general, an electric motor can be thought of as a controlled source of torque. Accurate control of the instantaneous torque produced by a motor is required in high-performance drive systems, e.g., those used for position control. The torque developed in the motor is a result of the interaction between current in the armature winding and the magnetic field produced in the field system of the motor. The field should be maintained at a certain optimal level, sufficiently high to yield a high torque per unit ampere, but not too high to result in excessive saturation of the magnetic circuit of the motor. With fixed field, the torque is proportional to the armature current.
Interval Methods for Nonlinear Systems

Interval methods provide computational tests for the existence or non-existence of a Solution to a given system of nonlinear equations in an n-dimensional rectangle. Tests are also provided for the convergence of certain iterative methods within suitable regions (safe starting regions). Using bisection procedures, we can search an arbitrary n-dimensional rectangle for a safe starting region. Various bisection rules are discussed.
Psychoeducational interventions for children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at risk for impaired functioning in most areas related to school success. Despite the benefits of psychostimulants and other medications to alleviate problem behaviors associated with ADHD, these therapies are unable to completely ameliorate behavior problems for all children with this disorder. Additionally, whereas pharmacologic therapies do impact behavioral functioning they have not been shown to improve academic achievement. Therefore, attention needs to be directed toward psychoeducational interventions and their ability to increase the successful functioning of children with ADHD. The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the most prominent and empirically validated classroom intervention strategies for children with ADHD. Additionally, this article discusses the importance of choosing psychoeducational interventions based on funtional assessment data. Finally, this article describes progress monitoring strategies that should be used to determine the efficacy of intervention strategies.
Negative Results for Active Learning with Convex Losses

We study the problem of active learning with convex loss functions. We prove that even under bounded noise constraints, the minimax rates for proper active learning are often no better than passive learning.
STUDY OF THE USE OF BIO-SOLVE™ SOLUBILIZER WITH BIOLOGICALLY SIGNIFICANT SAMPLES()

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on sample preparation techniques that are concerned with homogeneous, translucent and single phased samples, free from chemiluminescence. The sample types for which preparation techniques are discussed are: sucrose gradients, bone tissue, muscle tissue, nucleotide-eluents, and acrylamide gels. In the method described in the chapter, efficiencies of buffered sucrose gradient samples labeled with 3 H and 14 C exhibited counting results of approximately of 3% and 40% along with chemiluminescence, which seriously limited the counting potential of the proposed sample. To improve the counting results by reducing chemiluminescence and increasing counting efficiency for sucrose gradient samples, a different scintillator was tested. Chemiluminescence was not detected when this new scintillator was used. Counting efficiencies of bone tissue were determined by the internal standard technique, which showed significant improvement over sucrose ingredients. The elution of labeled nucleotides from ion exchange paper for subsequent preparation as a liquid scintillation sample involves the use of Triton X-100® as a solubilizer—to make aqueous elutant miscible in toluene based scintillator. The solubilization of the electrophorized acrylamide gel for the purpose of liquid scintillation counting is dependent upon either the selective masceration of the gel and subsequent elution of the sample or dissolution of slices of the gel in H 2 O 2 —thus obtaining the sample in a clear liquid form.
Applications, Technologies, and Standards in Secure Wireless Networks and Communications

Wireless networks and communications are becoming an integrated part of people’s everyday work and life. Mainly due to the nature of unconfined signal transmitted in air and relatively limited computation power and battery resources, designing and implementing security mechanisms in wireless networks is much more challenging than in wired environments. This chapter provides an overview of the applications, technologies, and standards of secure wireless networks and communications. As each type of wireless networks has its own characteristics and supports different applications, the technical details of security goals, technologies, and standards are elaborated in each of the following chapters.
SHAKE-RoverD Framework for Nuclear Power Plants: A Streamlined Approach for Seismic Risk Assessment

A major challenge facing the nuclear energy industry is to remain competitive under current market conditions. Utility operators are searching for innovative methods to reduce nuclear power plant (...
Fatigue behavior of ultrafine grained triplex Al0.3CoCrFeNi high entropy alloy

Abstract Ultrafine grained (UFG) alloys suffer from limited strain hardening hence reduced ductility. Incorporation of deformation twinning can overcome this limitation. An Al0.3CoCrFeNi high-entropy alloy was thermo-mechanically processed to yield a UFG triplex microstructure (davg: 0.71 ± 0.35 μm) with FCC, and hard B2 and sigma phases. The annealed material exhibited an exceptional strength-ductility combination with ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of ~1.1 GPa and elongation of ~25%. Furthermore, the alloy showed excellent fatigue resistance with an endurance limit of ~0.43 UTS. Remarkable mechanical properties are attributed to the formation of extensive deformation nanotwins and increased dislocation accumulation capability.
A Differentially Private and Truthful Incentive Mechanism for Traffic Offload to Public Transportation

Encouraging passengers to take public transportation reduces cost and enhances sustainability of urban ecosystems. However, the passengers incur some inconvenience cost due to potential delays and discomfort when switching from private to public transit service. In this paper, we propose a reverse auction-based mechanism so that the government can incentivize the passengers to take public transit system instead of private transit services. The proposed mechanism achieves individual rationality, truthfulness and near optimal social welfare. However, revealing passengers’ truthful inconvenience cost raises privacy concerns. Hence, a truthful and privacy preserving auction mechanism is investigated in this paper. The mechanism design is formulated as a mixed integer program, which makes the VCG-like payment scheme computationally intractable. To mitigate the computation complexity, a heuristic algorithm is proposed as an approximation. We show that truthfulness, near optimal social welfare, individual rationality and differential privacy are preserved by the heuristic algorithm. The proposed approach is demonstrated using numerical case study.
ASSESSING THE ROLE OF LONG NONCODING RNAS (LNCRNAS) IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

Background The contribution of non-coding genomic elements remains largely unexplored in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are increasingly recognized for their role in transcription regulation, and likely contribute to transcriptome dysregulation in ASD. Methods We are applying a combination of short-read and long-read RNA-Seq, with and without lncRNA capture to unveil the role of lncRNAs in ASD. As lncRNAs are poorly represented in standard RNA-Seq experiments, we used capture RNA-Seq (Capture-Seq) to quantify lncRNA expression in postmortem prefrontal cortex and cerebellum tissues in a cohort of 40 ASD and controls. We additionally combined full-length (PacBio) isoform sequencing (Iso-Seq) with capture (Capture-IsoSeq) to build a comprehensive map of brain-expressed lncRNAs. Results The enrichment by Capture-Seq increased the lncRNA fraction of our RNA-Seq datasets from 5% to 57%. We identified 28 differentially expressed (false discovery rate (FDR) Discussion Our Capture enriched sequencing approaches substantially improved our ability to profile lncRNA expression and reconstruct poorly annotated lncRNA isoforms. We have identified many DE lncRNA/TUCP transcripts in a cohort of 40 ASD and controls from two different brain regions as a key step towards understanding the role of lncRNAs in ASD etiology.
Cholesterol: Factors Determining Blood Levels

High blood cholesterol is one of the leading risk factors for atherosclerosis. Blood cholesterol level is affected by a number of factors, including genetics, diet, tobacco use, level of physical activity, age, and menopause. Cholesterol is carried in the blood by macromolecular complexes called lipoproteins, which consist of a protein moiety (apolipoprotein) and also include, besides cholesterol, phospholipids, and triacylglycerol. A key determinant of cardiovascular risk is low-density lipoprotein (LDL) blood concentration. In turn, dietary fat quality and quantity is a major factor affecting LDL levels. Recent studies have shown that polyunsaturated fatty acids tend to reduce LDL cholesterol when replacing saturated fat in the diet.
Meta-analysis of prognostic biomarkers for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs).

e15688Background: PNETs are marked by histological heterogeneity and variable clinical outcomes. Other than Ki67 index, reliable circulating or tissue biomarkers for prognosis do not exist. Methods...
Searching for spellcheckers: What kids want, what kids need

Misspellings in queries used to initiate online searches is an everyday occurrence. When this happens, users either rely on the search engine's ability to understand their query or they turn to spellcheckers. Spellcheckers are usually based on popular dictionaries or past query logs, leading to spelling suggestions that often better resonate with adult users because that data is more readily available. Based on an educational perspective, previous research reports, and initial analyses of sample search logs, we hypothesize that existing spellcheckers are not suitable for young users who frequently encounter spelling challenges when searching for information online. We present early results of our ongoing research focused on identifying the needs and expectations children have regarding spellcheckers.
Potential Use of Transgenic Mice in Chemoprevention Studies

An oncomouse is a transgenic mouse in which the germline has been manipulated to overexpress certain genes or to delete certain genes so that the resulting mice will be more susceptible to developing cancer. For example, if a mutated copy of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)2/neu oncogene is placed on an murine mammary tumorvirus (MMTV) promoter (which is preferentially expressed in mammary epithelial cells), the resulting mice develop mammary tumors (1). In addition, if specific genes are knocked out—e.g., p53 in the germline of the mouse—the resulting animals will preferentially develop certain forms of cancer (2). Many of the earlier knockout models entailed knockout of the gene during embryogenesis and in all tissues. More sophisticated methods currently available allow knockout (or expression) of genes in very specific target cells (3) and at specific times during development. Furthermore, by crossbreeding transgenic mice, one may be able to make highly specific compound mice that are a more nearly “ ideal” model of human cancer (4).
High thymidylate synthase gene expression predicts poor outcome after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Author(s): Donner, David B; Nakakura, Eric K; Venook, Alan P; Lenz, Heinz-Josef; Zhang, Wu; Hwang, Jimee; Bergsland, Emily K; Lin, Meng Hsun; Toriguchi, Kan; Antonia, Ricardo J; Warren, Robert S | Abstract: IntroductionPrognosis after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is highly variable. Compared to clinicopathologic factors, the use of molecular markers to predict outcome has not been well studied. We investigated the prognostic importance of thymidylate synthase (TS) gene expression and polymorphisms in patients after resection of HCC.MethodsPatients who underwent complete resection of HCC for whom tissue was available were identified. TS gene expression level and polymorphisms were determined in HCC specimens. Prognostic factors were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazard models.ResultsThe study included 67 patients. In univariate analysis, variables that negatively influenced survival included TNM stage, microvascular invasion, and high TS expression. For the high TS expression group, median survival was 54 months and 5-year actuarial survival was 47%. For the low TS expression group, median survival was not reached and the 5-year actuarial survival was 91%. In multivariate analysis, only high TS expression remained an independent predictor of poor survival (HR = 10.77, 95% CI 1.36-84.91; P = 0.02). TS gene polymorphisms were not associated with TS expression or overall survival.ConclusionsHigh TS expression predicts poor outcome after resection of HCC. Molecular markers might be robust predictors of patient outcome after resection of HCC.
Safety of Food and Water Supplies in the Landscape of Changing Climate.

In response to evolving environmental, production, and processing conditions, microbial communities have tremendous abilities to move toward increased diversity and fitness by various pathways such as vertical and horizontal gene transfer mechanisms, biofilm formation, and quorum sensing [...]
Biobanking for Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine

Biomarkers, or epidemiologic molecular identifiers that are often established by biospecimen science, can be useful in improving prevention and detection, diagnosis, disease progression, prognosis, and treatment efficacy in a variety of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine (PCCSM) disorders. This chapter will discuss the role of biobanking in PCCSM research. Fundamental issues regarding biobank components governances and enrollment procedures will be discussed along with operational best practices. Issues unique to PCCSM samples and data will be presented as well. We end with a discussion of challenges and opportunities for the advancement of human-based epidemiologic, biomedical research and clinical prevention, diagnosis, and therapeutics in the PCCSM domain.
Robust Planar Dynamic Pivoting by Regulating Inertial and Grip Forces

In this paper, we investigate the planar dynamic pivoting problem, in which a pinched object is reoriented to a desired pose through wrist swing motion and grip force regulation. Traditional approaches based on friction compensation do not work well for this problem, as we observe the torsional friction at the contact has large uncertainties during pivoting. In addition, the discontinuities of friction and the lower bound constraint on the grip force all make dynamic pivoting a challenging task for robots. To address these problems, we propose a robust control strategy that directly uses friction as a key input for dynamic pivoting, and show that active friction control by regulating the grip force significantly improves system stability. In particular, we embed a Lyapunov-based control law into a quadratic programming framework, which also ensures real-time computational speed and the existence of a solution. The proposed algorithm has been validated on our dynamic pivoting robot that emulates human wrist-finger configuration and motion. The object orientation can quickly converge to the target even under considerable uncertainties from friction and object grasping position, where traditional methods fail.
Cognitive risk, coping-oriented substance use, and increased avoidance tendencies among depressed outpatients: A prospective investigation.

OBJECTIVE The present study was designed to assess the interplay between depressive cognition, coping-oriented substance use, and future behavioral disengagement tendencies. Cognitive risk subtypes examined include brooding rumination, attributional bias (internal/stable/global), and dysfunctional attitudes. METHOD Individuals were recruited from outpatient treatment settings and met criteria for a unipolar depressive disorder (N = 70; 66% female; 81% White; Mage = 31; SDage = 13.2). Participants completed self-report measures of brooding rumination, attributional style, dysfunctional attitudes, coping-oriented substance use, and behavioral disengagement tendencies following a 3-week period. RESULTS Brooding rumination, stable attributional style, and dysfunctional attitudes were positively associated with later behavioral disengagement tendencies. Coping-oriented substance use moderated associations between both internal attributional style, as well as dysfunctional attitudes onto later behavioral disengagement. CONCLUSIONS With regard to stress-related avoidance, subsyndromal substance use may play a detrimental role among cognitively vulnerable, depressed outpatients when said drug or alcohol use serves as a means of coping.
Examinator: A Plagiarism Detection Tool for Take-Home Exams

Examinator compares pairs of take-home exams to select which should be manually checked for plagiarism. Examinator also generates a report with evidence for these cases using its metrics and those generated as a by-product of the commercial grading tool Gradescope. Examinator supports degree-seeking graduate programs (both online and on-campus) at a top computer science graduate institute in the United States. Since Spring 2019, Examinator has compared over 2 million pairs of exams from a popular Artificial Intelligence course, resulting in 56 cases being referred for discipline. Iterative development has improved the percentage of referrals of suggested cases from 15% to 25%.
A unique variant of juvenile papular‐purpuric gloves and socks syndrome

Parvovirus B19 is the most common causative agent of papular-purpuric gloves and socks syndrome (PPGSS), an often-underreported condition in the pediatric population. Classically, PPGSS presents with a papular-purpuric and at times petechial eruption of the hands and feet. (Dermatology. 1994;188:85; Int J Dermatol. 1996;35:626) We report a unique variant of juvenile PPGSS with prominent involvement of the flexural and extensor elbows, wrists, and knees.
What’s Love Got to Do With It? Toward a Theory of Benevolent Whiteness in Education

In this theoretical essay, I argue that the contemporary over-disciplining of Black and Native youth can best be understood through understanding the culturally violent roots of the heroic white woman teacher. I use analytical tools from settler colonial theory and feminist of color theory to inform my epistemological framing of power as a site of multidimensionality existing across space and depth (Sandoval, Methodology of the oppressed, vol 18, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 2013) and comprised of mutually constructed systems of oppression (Collins, Black feminist thought: knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment, Routledge, London, 2002). Revisioning the “discipline gap” from this vantage point moves us away from culturally focused or individualized deficit thinking aimed at communities of color and toward understanding the structures and histories foundational to our contemporary school systems, and the individuals who have informed and upheld those structures for nearly 200 years. I close with a discussion of immediate practical changes we can implement in classrooms, as well as a perhaps less practical call for reimagining decolonial futurities for teaching and schooling, both taking into account that the current U.S. teaching force and enrollees in credential programs are majority white and female whereas the student population is not.
Investigating mesoscale eddy characteristics in the Luzon Strait region using altimetry

The circulation in the northern South China Sea (SCS) strongly responds to anticyclonic eddies that shed from the Kuroshio intruding across Luzon Strait. An eddy tracking algorithm was applied to 26 years of altimetry data to better quantify the surface characteristics of eddies in and near the Luzon Strait with an emphasis on eddies with significant westward propagation across the northern SCS. Spatial mean eddy characteristics revealed that the most robust anticyclonic eddies are in the region of 20–22° N and 118–120° E (where eddies have been observed to shed from the Kuroshio into the northern SCS) and in the North Pacific Gyre east of the Luzon Strait (18–22° N, 121–124° E). The composite structure of mesoscale eddies revealed stronger, more high-amplitude eddies east of the Kuroshio for both circulation types, which was true in all seasons but the starkest contrast was during the summer monsoon. We then isolated the ten farthest westward-propagating eddies that generated in the Luzon Strait region. The majority of these long-propagating eddies occurred during the boreal fall and winter when the cyclonic basin-scale circulation was conducive to eddy propagation along the Chinese shelf break. Using the Kuroshio South China Sea Index (KSI), we find that a highly viable condition for generation of North Pacific Gyre eddies that propagated westward across the Luzon Strait was found when the Kuroshio bifurcates with one branch into the northern SCS and the other northward along eastern Taiwan. In this state, an anticyclonic eddy can generate east of the Kuroshio and be advected into the SCS.
Who is welcome? South Korean public opinion on North Koreans and other refugees

What explains South Korean public opposition for refugees and does the public differentiate among groups? Although a sizable literature addresses perceptions of North Korean arrivals, few studies directly compare sentiment for this group to others. Using an original web survey with an embedded experimental design, we find clear greater support for accepting North Korean arrivals compared to both non-ethnic Korean refugees and Muslim refugees. Additional analysis finds clear majorities view Islam as incompatible with Korean values. Our results suggest the challenge of encouraging multiculturalism in the largely homogeneous country.
Cangjie's Poetry: An Interactive Art Experience of a Semantic Human-Machine Reality

This paper describes the conceptual background, artificial intelligent system design, and visualization strategies of an interactive art experience: Cangjie's Poetry. This artwork provides a conceptual response to the human-machine reality in the context of language, symbols, and semantic meanings. In the Cangjie's Poetry art installation, the intelligent system (Cangjie) constantly observes surroundings through the lens of a camera, writes poetry using its symbolic system based on its interpretation, and explains the evolving poem in natural language to audiences in real time. Due to the global pandemic of COVID-19, multiple presentation formats of this work were developed, which include in-person installation, virtual installation, and a special edition with pre-rendered video. This work prioritizes ambiguity and tension between machinic vision and human perception, the actual and the virtual, past and present.
Quasi-stationary probability distribution for the SIR epidemic model

In this paper, we propose two new approximations to the joint quasi-stationary distribution (QSD) of the number susceptible and infected individuals in the Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) stoc...
The practice of lethal means restriction counseling in US emergency departments to reduce suicide risk: a systematic review of the literature.

BACKGROUND Suicide is a leading cause of death in the US. Lethal means restriction (LMR), which encourages limiting access and reducing the lethality of particular methods of suicide, has been identified as a viable prevention strategy. For this approach to be successful, adequate education about risks and means must be communicated to families and individuals at risk for suicide. This systematic review aims to identify LMR methods most commonly communicated by healthcare providers in the emergency department, and barriers to the delivery of such counseling. METHODS The protocol for this systematic review is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42018076734). Included studies were identified through searching four databases (PubMed, Scopus, PsycInfo, and EBSCO). Studies were selected and coded independently by two researchers using the PICOS framework. Included studies examined LMR counseling delivered in the ED regardless of patient age, sex or race/ethnicity. RESULTS A total of 1282 studies were screened; 9 met the inclusion criteria. Included studies were published from 1998 to 2020. Study participants were majority female, and safe firearm storage was the most common form of LMR counseling provided. Eight studies included counseling on multiple forms of lethal means, [e.g., alcohol, medication, and firearm storage] and one study focused solely on safe firearm storage. Two studies reported barriers limiting healthcare providers' delivery of LMR counseling, including lack of specialized skills and skepticism regarding the effectiveness of LMR counseling. CONCLUSION There is limited published evidence that identifies the most effective methods and target populations for LMR counseling. Given the growing literature that provides evidence of gender differences in suicide modality (e.g., guns, medications, suffocation), LMR counseling should be multifaceted, to address common means of suicide in both men and women. Despite evidence that the majority of suicide attempts and half of completed suicides do not involve firearms, results showed that LMR counseling is frequently focused on promoting the safe storage of firearms. This highlights the need to include counseling focused on a variety of lethal means to reduce risk of suicide completion. Prospective studies should also aim to identify the most efficacious methods of delivering LMR counseling in the clinical settings.
Preference Decomposition and the Expressiveness of Preference Query Languages

Preferences in the scope of relational databases allow modeling user wishes by queries with soft constraints. There are different frameworks for database preferences including commercially available systems. They slightly vary in semantics and expressiveness but have in common that preferences induce strict partial orders on a given data set. In the present paper we study the expressiveness of preference operators in the available implementations. Particularly, we search for decompositions of strict partial orders into fundamental preference constructs. We study which preference operators and operands are necessary to express any strict partial order. Finally, we present two decomposition algorithms and show their correctness.
Employment Desirability: The Interactive Effects of Gender-Typed Profile, Stimulus Sex, and Gender-Typed Occupation

Using a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design we investigated the interactive effects of gender-typed profile (masculine, feminine), stimulus sex (male, female), and gender-typed occupation (firefighter, secretary) on employment desirability. Forty-five women and 35 men volunteered to participate (M age = 21.14, SD = 4.05). Most participants were white, however, people of various racial and ethnic backgrounds were represented in the sample. Each participant read one of eight scenarios describing (a) a man or a woman, (b) applying for a job as a firefighter or a secretary, and (c) described by male gender-typed or female gender-typed adjectives. Each scenario was followed by five employment desirability rating items. A significant three-way interaction revealed that participants rated male firefighters described by a masculine-typed profile the highest overall. Gender-typed occupation by stimulus sex was also significant; that is, the male firefighter received higher ratings than the female firefighter and the female secretary received higher ratings than the male secretary. There was a significant main effect for gender-typed profile, in that participants rated the masculine-typed profile more favorably than the feminine-typed profile. Overall, male and female participants did not differ significantly in their ratings of hiring desirability.
Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Desorption electrospray ionization is an atmospheric pressure surface sampling/ionization technique for mass spectrometry. Desorption electrospray ionization consists of a pneumatically assisted electrospray ionization source, or emitter, held at a fixed angle above a sample surface. A high-velocity spray consisting of charged solvent microdroplets in a gas stream emerges from the source and impacts the sample surface. The spray solubilizes any analyte molecules that are present and creates charged analyte-containing secondary droplets that are drawn into the inlet of the mass spectrometer through an atmospheric pressure interface. Ionization may occur in a fashion similar to that involved in electrospray ionization, although other ionization mechanisms may also play a role. Analytes that can be detected using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry can also be detected using desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Desorption electrospray ionization can be used to rapidly sample surfaces ranging from living tissues to metal oxides for a diverse variety of analytes, and has been used for such important applications as direct determination of analytes present in complex matrices, analyses of biological tissues and forensically relevant materials, readout of thin-layer chromatography plates, and chemical imaging. As in electrospray ionization, multiply-charged ions are formed during desorption electrospray ionization, allowing for the detection of analytes having molecular weight ranges beyond the m/z range of the mass analyzer. Keywords: atmospheric pressure desorption/ionization; desorption electrospray ionization; DESI; liquid and gas jet surface sampling/ionization; mass spectrometry; surface sampling; open-air ionization
Fixed points: Fermion mass predictions

Familiar theoretical relationships exist amongst the masses of the light fermions in SU(5):1 $$ \frac{{{m_d}}}{{{m_e}}} \approx \frac{{{m_s}}}{{{m_{\mu }}}} \simeq 4\pm \frac{\hbox{$\scriptstyle 1$}}{\hbox{$\scriptstyle 2$}} \quad \frac{{{m_b}}}{{{m_{\tau }}}} \simeq 2.75\pm .25 $$ These result from essentially three ingredients: (a) the Higgs mechanism which relates the fermion mass to the Higgs-Yukawa (HY) coupling constant by \( {m_f} = {g_f} /\sqrt {2} \approx {g_f} \cdot (175\quad GeV) \) (b) the renormalization group (RG) equations which describe the evolution of the (HY) couplings down from MX to low energies and (c) the boundary conditions from SU(5), assuming a 5 and 24 of Higgs, which relate g−1/3 quark (MX) = g−1 lepton (MX) within a given generation. Thus one obtains: $$ \frac{{^{m} - 1/3}}{{^{m} - 1}} = \frac{{^{g} - 1/{{3}^{{(\mu )}}}}}{{^{g} - {{1}^{{(\mu )}}}}} \approx {{\left( {\frac{{{{\alpha }_{3}}\left( \mu \right)}}{{{{\alpha }_{3}}\left( {{{M}_{X}}} \right)}}} \right)}^{{8/2{{b}_{0}}}}} + {{\left. {\left( {electroweak} \right)} \right|}_{{\mu \simeq {{m}_{{quark}}}}}} $$ (2) and the numerical results of eq. (1) follow to one loop accuracy with Λs ~. 4 GeV. We note that ingredients (b) and (c) do not apply to models with composite Higgs bosons (e.g. ETC) or composite fermions on a scale of M′ < MX since the RG equations demand pointlike particles over the entire range of the desert. Though the results for md/me and ms/mμ are questionable we note that they are qualitatively correct. We take the “prediction” for mb/mτ to be a successful result of SU(5) and we seek to extend the above analysis to much heavier objects; either a very heavy top-quark or a heavy fourth generation of quarks and leptons.
Research Quality and Newsworthiness of Published Articles are Partial Predictors of Journal Impact Factors

Objective – Determine what characteristics of a journal’s published articles can be used to predict the journal impact factor (JIF). Design – A retrospective cohort study. Setting – The researchers are located at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Subjects – The sample consisted of 1,267 clinical research articles from 103 evidence based and clinical journals which were published in 2005 and indexed in the McMaster University Premium LiteratUre Service (PLUS) database and those same journals’ JIF from 2007. Method – The articles were divided 60:40 into a derivation set (760 articles and 99 journals) and a validation set (507 articles and 88 journals). Ten variables which could influence JIF were developed and a multiple linear regression was run on the derivation set and then applied to the validation set. Main Results – The four variables found to be significant were the number of databases which indexed the journal, the number of authors, the quality of research, and the “newsworthiness” of the journal’s published articles. Conclusion – The quality of research and newsworthiness at time of publication of a journal’s articles can predict the journal impact factor with 60% accuracy.
Diagnostic accuracy of history, laryngoscopy, and stroboscopy

Objectives/Hypothesis: Although clinical dogma suggests the value of laryngeal visualization (flexible laryngoscopy and stroboscopy) in dysphonic patients, recently published clinical guidelines suggest that, in many cases, history and/or physical examination are sufficient to guide clinical decision-making regarding the timing of such examinations. We sought to prospectively quantify the diagnostic accuracy of history, laryngoscopy, and stroboscopy using direct laryngoscopy as the gold standard. Study Design: Expert survey. Methods: Six laryngologists were presented with vignettes including history and physical examination (HPE), laryngosocpy, and stroboscopy. Questions regarding diagnosis, the certainty of diagnosis, and subsequent management plans were posed. Operative findings via direct laryngoscopy were employed as a comparator. Results: The diagnostic accuracy of HPE was quite low (5%). The accuracy of diagnosis increased substantially following laryngeal imaging; 68.3% for both flexible laryngoscopy and stroboscopy. Particular diagnoses were more consistently identified; cancer, for example, was much more accurately identified on laryngoscopy (100%) and stroboscopy (100%) rather than HPE alone (33%). Cancer was selected as the diagnosis in 10 of 60 HPEs, though was only correct once and missed in five cases. In contrast, no diagnoses of cancer were missed following laryngoscopic and/or stroboscopic examinations. Conclusion: These findings confirm the value of laryngeal visualization (flexible laryngoscopy and stroboscopy) in dysphonic patients, and the lack of accuracy of history and physical examination in determining the diagnosis in patients with hoarseness. Laryngoscope, 2013