cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Outcomes of renal calculi in patients with spinal cord injury.

Aims Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) are at risk of developing renal calculi. This study describes the management of renal calculi among patients with SCI with attention to factors influencing surgical management vs observation. Methods This retrospective, cohort study identified patients with SCI and renal calculi between 2009 to 2016 from an institutional neurogenic bladder database and detailed the management of their stones. A stone episode was defined as radiographic evidence of new calculi. Results Of 205 patients with SCI, 34 had renal stones, for a prevalence of 17%. The mean age was 50 years (range 22,77) and most had cervical SCI (n = 22, 65%). There were 41 stone episodes with 98 individual stones identified with a mean stone size of 4.9 mm (range 1-19). Of the 41 episodes, 10 (24%) underwent surgery after initial diagnosis. Pain was the most common primary indication for surgery (n = 9, 60%). The median time from diagnosis to intervention for all patients was 4 months (interquartile range 1,23). Of the 41 episodes, 31 (76%) were initially observed and among these, 5 ultimately required surgery (16%) while 26 (84%) did not. Of these 26, 12 (46%) stones passed spontaneously and 14 (53%) remained unchanged. The need for surgery correlated with more stone episodes (P = .049). Conclusion In this cohort of patients with SCI and small, nonobstructing renal stones, 76% (n = 31) were offered observation. Of these observed patients, 84% (n = 26) did not require further intervention at a median of 4 years of follow-up.
Coaltered Ras/B-raf and TP53 Is Associated with Extremes of Survivorship and Distinct Patterns of Metastasis in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

Purpose: We aimed to investigate genomic correlates underlying extremes of survivorship in metastatic colorectal cancer and their applicability in informing survival in distinct subsets of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Experimental Design: We examined differences in oncogenic somatic alterations between metastatic colorectal cancer cohorts demonstrating extremes of survivorship following complete metastasectomy: ≤2-year (n = 17) and ≥10-year (n = 18) survivors. Relevant genomic findings, and their association with overall survival (OS), were validated in two independent datasets of 935 stage IV and 443 resected stage I–IV patients. Results: In the extremes-of-survivorship cohort, significant co-occurrence of KRAS hotspot mutations and TP53 alterations was observed in ≤2-year survivors (P Conclusions: Genomic analysis of extremes of survivorship following colorectal cancer metastasectomy identifies a prognostic role for coaltered Ras/B-raf–TP53 and its association with distinct patterns of colorectal cancer metastasis.
Decolonizing the demarcation of the ethical

The question of what distinguishes moral problems from other problems is important to the study of the evolution and functioning of morality. Many researchers concerned with this topic have assumed, either implicitly or explicitly, that all moral problems are problems of cooperation. This assumption offers a response to the moral demarcation problem by identifying a necessary condition of moral problems. Characterizing moral problems as problems of cooperation is a popular response to this issue—especially among researchers empirically studying the beginnings and limits of moral psychology. However, demarcating the moral in this way severely restricts the domain of moral problems. There are plenty of moral problems that aren’t simply problems of cooperation. In this paper I argue that understanding moral problems as problems of cooperation is too restrictive and offer an alternative way of demarcating moral from non-moral problems. Characterizing what makes a problem moral in terms of cooperation excludes a variety of problems that are ordinarily understood and responded to as moral. The alternative characterization that I propose is based on the American Indian/Native American concept of harmony. Using the concept of cooperation to demarcate the moral removes moral agents from their surroundings or contexts by assuming moral agency applies only to humans or other similarly evolved lifeforms. In contrast, using the concept of harmony allows for moral consideration to be granted to non-humans as well (e.g., non-human animals, plant life, ecosystems, etc.).
Brain Translation: A Feather Tips the Scale

In this issue of Molecular Cell, Gonatopoulos-Pournatzis et al. (2020) report a neuron-specific microexon in eIF4G translation initiation factors that dampens synaptic protein translation. Autism-associated disruption of this exon results in increased protein production, likely through reduced coalescence with cytoplasmic ribonucleoprotein granule components, including FMRP.
The Role of Parental Knowledge and Attitudes about ADHD and Perceptions of Treatment Response in the Treatment Utilization of Families of Children with ADHD.

The present study examined the impact of parental knowledge and attitudes about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and parental perceptions of treatment response on the utilization of behavioral and pharmacological ADHD treatments, using data from a longitudinal treatment study designed to assess physical growth in children with ADHD. It also explored if these relations were moderated by race/ethnicity. Participants include 230 (74% Hispanic) families of treatment naive children with ADHD (M age = 7.56, SD = 1.94; 73% male). Families were randomly assigned to receive behavior therapy (BT) or stimulant medication (MED; which also included low dose BT). After 6 months, families whose children still showed at least moderate impairment had access to either treatment for a total of 30 months. Utilization was measured using the number of BT sessions attended and total mg of MED taken over the study period. Families who reported more willingness to use medication for their child's ADHD at baseline were more likely to use MED and less likely to use BT, regardless of race/ethnicity. Parental knowledge about ADHD was only important in predicting BT utilization for White non-Hispanic families. Greater reduction in ADHD symptoms and impairment significantly predicted more MED utilization for Hispanic families. Results highlight the need to explore multiple parent (e.g., medication willingness) and child (e.g., symptom severity) factors when considering treatment utilization. Results also highlight ethnic differences in which factors affect treatment utilization.
Internet of Things based Cyber-Physical System framework for Real-Time Operations

The paper presents an intelligent cyber-physical system (CPS) framework using object detection for real-time operations in an Internet-of-Things (IoT) connected physical environment. To facilitate real-time object detection, we used a variant of Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) known as Faster R-CNN (R stands for the region proposals). The control action related to the detected object is exchanged with the actuation system using Real-Time Data Exchange (RTDE) protocol. We demonstrate the proposed framework to perform pick-and-place operations as it is a widely performed operation on a production floor using a Universal Robot (UR5) as an actuation system.
Deep Learning on 3D Data

Emerging 3D related applications such as autonomous vehicles, AI-assisted design, and augmented reality have highlighted the demands for more robust and powerful 3D analyzing algorithms. Inspired by the success of deep learning on understanding images, audio, and texts, and backed by growing amounts of available 3D data and annotated 3D datasets, a new field that studies deep learning on 3D data has arisen recently. However, unlike images or audio that have a dominant representation as arrays, 3D has many popular representations. Among them, the two most common representations are point clouds (from raw sensor input) and meshes (widely used in shape modeling) that are both not defined on a regular grid. Due to their irregular format, current convolutional deep neural networks cannot be directly used. To analyze those 3D data, two major branches of methods exist. One family of methods first converts such irregular data to regular structures such as 3D volumetric grids (through quantization) or multi-view images (through rendering or projection) and then applies existing convolutional architectures on them. On the other hand, a new family of methods study how to design deep neural networks that directly consume irregular data such as point clouds (sets) and meshes (graphs). Those architectures are designed to respect the special properties of the input 3D representations such as the permutation invariance of the points in a set, or the intrinsic surface structure in a mesh. In this chapter we present representative deep learning models from both of those families, to analyze 3D data in representations of regular structures (multi-view images and volumetric grids) and irregular structures (point clouds and meshes). While we mainly focus on introducing the backbone networks that are general for deep 3D representation learning, we also show their successful applications ranging from semantic object classification, object part segmentation, scene parsing, to finding shape correspondences. At the end of the chapter we provide more pointers for further reading and discuss future directions.
Chapter V: Argirópolis

In this chapter that gives the title to the essay, Sarmiento reasserts the benefits of creating a capital city on the Martin Garcia Island in order to reconcile the interests of the confederated States. He also calls for the fusion of the three States of the region—Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay—into a single body to ensure the “dignity and future status of the Spanish race in the Atlantic.” Such a national body, he says, would one day rival the United States. After discussing the means to improve the economy of the Entre Rios province by replacing cattle grazing with agriculture, he states that establishing the Confederation’s capital on the island would “bring about a complete change in the current politics of the Confederation’s governments.”
How open source software works: “free” user-to-user assistance

Research into free and open source software development projects has so far largely focused on how the major tasks of software development are organized and motivated. But a complete project requires the execution of “mundane but necessary” tasks as well. In this paper, we explore how the mundane but necessary task of field support is organized in the case of Apache web server software, and why some project participants are motivated to provide this service gratis to others. We find that the Apache field support system functions effectively. We also find that, when we partition the help system into its component tasks, 98% of the effort expended by information providers in fact returns direct learning benefits to those providers. This finding considerably reduces the puzzle of why information providers are willing to perform this task “for free.” Implications are discussed. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Greatest Common Divisors, Diophantine Equations, and Combinatorics

Introduction This chapter deals with the structure of how prime numbers are put together (Prime Factorization) and the tools of number theory which include greatest common divisors (GCD), least common multiples (LCM). These tools provide the beginning of important theorems such as the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic and the Euclidean Algorithm and its byproduct. Problems which have only solutions in integers (Diophantine equations) are discussed. Application to combinatorics is also mentioned.
Quality of top webpages providing abortion pill information for Google searches in the USA: An evidence-based webpage quality assessment.

Background In the United States, the internet is widely used to seek health information. Despite an estimated 18 million Google searches on abortion per year and the demonstrated importance of the abortion pill as an option for pregnancy termination, the top webpage search results for abortion pill searches, as well as the content and quality of those webpages, are not well understood. Methods We used Google’s Custom Search Application Programming Interface (API) to identify the top 10 webpages presented for “abortion pill” searches on August 06, 2018. We developed a comprehensive, evidence-based Family Planning Webpage Quality Assessment Tool (FPWQAT), which was used to assess webpage quality for the five top webpages presenting text-based educational content. Results Of the top webpages for “abortion pill” searches, a plannedparenthood.com page was the top result and scored highest on our assessment (81%), providing high-quality and useable information. The other four webpages, a Wikipedia.com page and three anti-abortion information webpages, scored much lower on our assessment (14%-43%). These four webpages had lower quality of information in less useable formats. The anti-abortion pages also presented a variety of disinformation about the abortion pill. Conclusions Both the lack of accurate clinical content on the majority of top webpages and the concerning disinformation they contained raise concerns about the quality of online abortion pill information, while underlining challenges posed by Google search results to informed choice for consumers. Healthcare providers and consumers must be informed of online abortion pill content that is not based in current clinical evidence, while advocates and policymakers should push for online information that is credible and useable. These changes are imperative given the importance of sound abortion pill information for reproductive decision-making at a time when in-person abortion services are further challenged in the US.
How to Use TeleSimBox Off the Shelf" to Connect Remote Content Experts With In-Person Simulation Participants"

In this technical report, we describe how to use TeleSimBox to run a remotely facilitated simulation to connect the facilitator with learners at a distant site. This method was developed to comply with safety measures imposed during the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic to reduce the risk of viral exposure and transmission. Here, we present one example where a telesimulation naive facilitator was trained as an in-person facilitator to enable the in-situ medical student and resident learners to participate in a pediatric emergency simulation exercise remotely guided by an off-site content expert. The case of neonatal shock was run five times during a half-day emergency department (ED) educational program with one to four participants per session. 14/15 (93%) participants completed evaluations and felt that the simulation met the case learning objectives and that connecting with the remote facilitator was useful for their learning. Feedback from the one newly trained in-person facilitator was that the tool was easy to learn how to use quickly, and the process of connecting with a remote expert was worthwhile for learners. To grab this web-based toolkit off the proverbial shelf and successfully run a telesimulation session from start to finish took approximately one hour; 20 minutes were spent in preparation the day prior and 40 minutes to set up and run the simulations the day of. We believe that this is a low-cost, efficient, and perceived to be an effective method to connect remotely located content experts and learners to engage in a simulation-based education activity when access to in-person resources and personnel is limited.
Program-to-Circuit: Exploiting GNNs for Program Representation and Circuit Translation.

Circuit design is complicated and requires extensive domain-specific expertise. One major obstacle stuck on the way to hardware agile development is the considerably time-consuming process of accurate circuit quality evaluation. To significantly expedite the circuit evaluation during the translation from behavioral languages to circuit designs, we formulate it as a Program-to-Circuit problem, aiming to exploit the representation power of graph neural networks (GNNs) by representing C/C++ programs as graphs. The goal of this work is four-fold. First, we build a standard benchmark containing 40k C/C++ programs, each of which is translated to a circuit design with actual hardware quality metrics, aiming to facilitate the development of effective GNNs targeting this high-demand circuit design area. Second, 14 state-of-the-art GNN models are analyzed on the Program-to-Circuit problem. We identify key design challenges of this problem, which should be carefully handled but not yet solved by existing GNNs. The goal is to provide domain-specific knowledge for designing GNNs with suitable inductive biases. Third, we discuss three sets of real-world benchmarks for GNN generalization evaluation, and analyze the performance gap between standard programs and the real-case ones. The goal is to enable transfer learning from limited training data to real-world large-scale circuit design problems. Fourth, the Program-to-Circuit problem is a representative within the Program-to-X framework, a set of program-based analysis problems with various downstream tasks. The in-depth understanding of strength and weaknesses in applying GNNs on Program-to-Circuit could largely benefit the entire family of Program-to-X. Pioneering in this direction, we expect more GNN endeavors to revolutionize this high-demand Program-to-Circuit problem and to enrich the expressiveness of GNNs on programs.
Cardiovascular findings on chest computed tomography associated with COVID-19 adverse clinical outcomes.

Study objective: Chest computed tomography (chest CT) is routinely obtained to assess disease severity in COVID-19. While pulmonary findings are well-described in COVID-19, the implications of cardiovascular findings are less well understood. We evaluated the impact of cardiovascular findings on chest CT on the adverse composite outcome (ACO) of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Setting/participants: 245 COVID-19 patients who underwent chest CT at Rush University Health System were included. Design: Cardiovascular findings, including coronary artery calcification (CAC), aortic calcification, signs of right ventricular strain [right ventricular to left ventricular diameter ratio, pulmonary artery to aorta diameter ratio, interventricular septal position, and inferior vena cava (IVC) reflux], were measured by trained physicians. Interventions/main outcome measures: These findings, along with pulmonary findings, were analyzed using univariable logistic analysis to determine the risk of ACO defined as intensive care admission, need for non-invasive positive pressure ventilation, intubation, in-hospital and 60-day mortality. Secondary endpoints included individual components of the ACO. Results: Aortic calcification was independently associated with an increased risk of the ACO (odds ratio 1.86, 95% confidence interval (1.11-3.17) p < 0.05). Aortic calcification, CAC, abnormal septal position, or IVC reflux of contrast were all significantly associated with 60-day mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events. IVC reflux was associated with in-hospital mortality (p = 0.005). Conclusion: Incidental cardiovascular findings on chest CT are clinically important imaging markers in COVID-19. It is important to ascertain and routinely report cardiovascular findings on CT imaging of COVID-19 patients as they have potential to identify high risk patients.
Breathing Life into CPR Training

This study reports on our development and prototyping of an accessible, simplified simulation for teaching CPR in classrooms. The prototype involves an inexpensive digitally enhanced dummy that can be constructed from common available materials linked with an iPad or tablet running a customized program. The mobile program targets students at 5th grade and above and faculty for CPR training. iPad sensors register pressure manipulation on the dummy and the program responds with interactive instruction. Several tests with older youth and adults proved the simulation was effective in teaching simple CPR techniques that testers could remember the following week. With an improved dummy, we will conduct empirical tests across different age groups in the coming year.
Local receptive field diversity within cortical neuronal populations

The aim of this review paper is to draw attention to a little-appreciated but ubiquitous feature of cerebral cortical organization that we propose is fundamental to an understanding of cortical functioning. Specifically, we (i) describe evidence supporting the idea that neighboring cells in the cortex have richly diverse receptive fields, and (ii) suggest some of the possible mechanisms that generate this receptive field diversity. The possible roles of local receptive field diversity in cortical information processing are discussed.
Analysis of excitation functions via the compound statistical model: Angular momentum effects

Abstract Data are presented for the Mo92(α, n)Ru95, Mo92(α, p)Tc95g, Mo92(α, p)Tc95m, and Mo100(α, n)Ru103 excitation functions. These and some previously published data for reactions involving single particle emission have been analysed via the compound statistical model, with explicit inclusion of angular momentum effects. The values of a, the level density parameter, derived from comparison of the results of these calculations with experimental data agree with values predicted for the Fermi gas model. The values of I I r , the ratio of the nuclear moment of inertia to the moment of inertia of a rigid body, show deviations from the value predicted for a Fermi gas model of the nucleus, and an apparent systematic trend with the nuclear mass number.
Creating visualization modules for a data communications and computer networks course using low-fidelity prototyping

A wide number of published papers, conference presentations, and books have introduced the concepts and advantages of visualization, applied visualization techniques to various areas of study, measured the effects of visualization on a student's ability to learn, and introduced visualization tools that can be used in the commercial, scientific and educational environments. Despite the large amount of work published on visualization, little has been done in the area of computer network pedagogical visualization. In an effort to create a set of visualization tools for teaching a data communications and computer networks course, this paper will describe how low-fidelity prototyping [18] was used to create a set of eleven computer based training (CBT) modules. Low-fidelity prototyping involves the use of paper cutouts and human manipulation to test a computer interface design. This paper will provide a quick overview of previous visualization examples, followed by an introduction of the eleven modules, then describe how low-fidelity prototyping was used to create these modules.
Balm for The Soul: Immigrant Religion and Emotional Well‐Being

Immigrants can face insurmountable odds in their acculturation to the new society, and subsequently suffer from poor emotional/mental health. Using immigrant data from the United States, Australia, and Western Europe, this paper tests the relationship between immigrant religious involvement and emotional well-being. Results demonstrate that regular religious participation is associated with better emotional/mental health outcomes. Conversely, non-religious group involvement (i.e., ethnic associations, leisure groups, work groups) do not have as equally a positive association with emotional well-being. This pattern is consistent across all countries examined in this study, suggesting that religion has a unique relationship with immigrant emotional well-being regardless of national context. Therefore, it is posited that in easing the emotional/mental adjustment of immigrants, religion is not an artifact of context or of a particular religious group, but a generality of immigrant adaptation. Policy implications for the study’s findings are discussed. Yet to him, in his troubled state, Christianity brought also the miracle of redemption. Poor thing that he was, his soul was yet a matter of consequence. For him the whole drama of salvation had been enacted: God had come to earth, had suffered as a man to make for all men a place in a life everlasting. Through that sacrifice had been created a community of all those who had faith, a kind of solidarity that would redress all grievances and right all wrongs, if not now, then in the far more important aftermath to life. (Handlin, 1973 [1951]:93)
Cognitive and Psychiatric Predictors to Psychosis in Velocardiofacial Syndrome: A 3-Year Follow-Up Study

Objective To predict prodromal psychosis in adolescents with velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS). Method A total of 70 youth with VCFS, 27 siblings of youth with VCFS, and 25 community controls were followed from childhood (mean age=11.8 years) into mid-adolescence (mean age=15.0 years). Psychological tests measuring intelligence, academic achievement, learning/memory, attention, and executive functioning as well as measures of parent and clinician ratings of child psychiatric functioning were completed at both time points. Results Major depressive disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder diagnoses increased in the VCFS sample. With very low false positive rates, the best predictor of adolescent prodromal psychotic symptoms was parent ratings of childhood odd/eccentric symptoms and child performance on a measure of executive functioning, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Conclusions Similar to the non-VCFS prodromal psychosis literature, a combination of cognitive and psychiatric variables appears to predict psychosis in adolescence. A child with VCFS who screens positive is noteworthy and demands clinical attention.
Genomic imprinting disorders in humans: a mini-review.

Mammals inherit two complete sets of chromosomes, one from the father and one from the mother, and most autosomal genes are expressed from both maternal and paternal alleles. Imprinted genes show expression from only one member of the gene pair (allele) and their expression are determined by the parent during production of the gametes. Imprinted genes represent only a small subset of mammalian genes that are present but not imprinted in other vertebrates. Genomic imprints are erased in both germlines and reset accordingly; thus, reversible depending on the parent of origin and leads to differential expression in the course of development. Genomic imprinting has been studied in humans since the early 1980’s and accounts for several human disorders. The first report in humans occurred in Prader-Willi syndrome due to a paternal deletion of chromosome 15 or uniparental disomy 15 (both chromosome 15s from only one parent) and similar genetic disturbances were reported later in Angelman syndrome.
Alkyne Addition to a Metal‐Stabilized Thiyl Radical: Carbon–Sulfur Bond Formation between 1‐Octyne and [Ru(SP)3]+

The metal-stabilized thiyl radical complex [Ru(SP)3]+, [Ru-1]+, {SP = 2-(diphenylphosphanyl)benzenethiolate} adds 1-octyne across the cis-sulfur sites to yield the S-alkylated dithiolene product [Ru-1·octyne]+. The product complex exists as a pair of inseparable geometric isomers, which were characterized by X-ray crystallography, 31P NMR spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. By using electrochemical methods, the rate constant for 1-octyne addition was determined as 8.7 × 103M–1 s–1.
Improved diffraction patterns from isolated heart muscle with infrared light.

Diffraction measurement of myofilament overlap can be made with greater resolution or extended to thicker heart muscle preparations by using light of a near IR wavelength.
Radical depletion model for intensity effects on photopolymerization

Abstract Photopolymerization behavior of suspensions based on monomers is determined by the curing kinetics of the monomer, the concentration of photoactives such as photoinitiator, inert dye or inhibitor, and the conditions of polymerization such as light intensity. We present a Radical depletion model, an extended Inhibitor exhaustion model, in terms of minimum light intensity that is required for initiation of the photopolymerization. The validity of this model was tested on a series of (meth)acrylate suspensions with varying the photoactives concentration in the intensity range ∼8–40 mW/cm 2 .
Ethical and Professional Demands for Forensic Mental Health Professionals in the Post-Atkins Era

Defendants with impairment in psychological functioning are the locus of considerable discussion, research, and practice debates in forensic mental health (see, e.g., Melton, Petrila, Poythress, & Slobogin, 1997). If the depth of psychological-legal impairment is not substantial, people with mental retardation may be deemed competent to participate in the legal process. However, in June 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Atkins v. Virginia (2002), held that execution of retarded persons is cruel and unusual punishment, ruling that
Materials and high Tc

Abstract We discuss material aspects of high T c compounds with reference to what is known about the pre-cuprate superconductors. A correlation between cuprate in-plane lattice parameter and T c is pointed out.
YIELD OF SERIAL STRESS MYOCARDIAL PERFUSION IMAGING IN THE EVALUATION OF RENAL TRANSPLANT POPULATION

A scientific statement from the ACC/AHA on kidney transplantation candidates stated that “The usefulness of periodically screening asymptomatic kidney transplantation candidates for myocardial ischemia while on the transplant waiting list to reduce the risk of MACEs is uncertain”. We sought to
Exact non-reflecting boundary conditions

An exact non-reflecting boundary condition is devised for use in solving the reduced wave equation in an infinite domain. The domain is made finite by the introduction of an artificial boundary on which this exact condition is imposed. In the finite domain a finite element method is employed. Although the boundary condition is non-local, that does not affect the efficiency of the computational scheme. Numerical examples are presented which show that the use of the exact non-local boundary condition yields results which are much more accurate than those obtained with various approximate local conditions. The method can also be used to solve problems in large finite domains by reducing them to smaller domains, and it can be adapted to other differential equations.
Presence of the ϵ-(γ-glutamic)lysine crosslink in cellular proteins

The ϵ-(γ-glutamic)lysine bond is a covalent interaction which has been found to crosslink polypeptide chains of a number of extracellular proteins. Among known covalent bonds crosslinking protein chains, it is unique in that it is formed directly by enzymatic catalysis, a property which may also endow Glu-Lys crosslink formation with important intracellular functions. We found glutamic-lysine bonds to be present in the procaryote, Escherichia coli, in primitive eucaryotes such as the slime mold, Physarum polycephalum, and the ciliate, Paramecium aurelia, and in muscle cells of a bird and a mammal. Our data show that, although Glu-Lys bonds occur in low concentrations in cellular proteins, they are nevertheless widely distributed. Evidence is also presented indicating that the low levels of the Glu-Lys bonds we measure in the proteins of various cells types are not artifacts of our analytical procedures.
Social Support Factors as Moderators of Community Violence Exposure Among Inner-City African American Young Adolescents.

Using both surveys and the experience sampling method (ESM), community violence exposure, social support factors, and depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed longitudinally among inner-city African American adolescents. Moderator models were tested to determine protective factors for youth exposed to community violence. Several social support factors emerged as protective–stabilizing forces for witnesses of violence both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, including maternal closeness, time spent with family, social support, and daily support (ESM). Contrary to hypotheses, several social support factors demonstrated a promotive–reactive effect such that, in conditions of high victimization, they failed to protect youth from developing symptoms. Effects did not differ by outcome or sex, though sex differences in findings emerged. Protective-stabilizing effects occurred more for witnessing violence, whereas promotive–reactive patterns occurred more for victimization. Results affirm social support fa...
The shape of stationary dislocations

Abstract It is shown that the structure of the stationary dislocations which occur in a wide variety of patterns in nonequilibrium systems is given by a self-similar solution of the universal Cross-Newell equation.
Recent developments in semiconductor gamma-ray detectors

The successful development of lithium-drifted Ge detectors in the 1960s marked the beginning of the significant use of semiconductor crystals for direct detection and spectroscopy of gamma-rays. In the 1970s, high-purity Ge became available, which enabled the production of complex detectors and multi-detector systems. In the following decades, the technology of semiconductor gamma-ray detectors continued to advance, with significant developments not only in Ge detectors but also in Si detectors and room-temperature compound-semiconductor detectors. In recent years, our group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has developed a variety of gamma-ray detectors based on these semiconductor materials. Examples include Ge strip detectors, lithium-drifted Si strip detectors, and coplanar-grid CdZnTe detectors. These advances provide new capabilities in the measurement of gamma-rays, such as the ability to perform imaging and the realization of highly compact spectroscopy systems.
Fidelity as a criterion for practicing and evaluating narrative inquiry

“Fidelity” is presented as a criterion for practicing and evaluating narrative inquiry, linking narrative inquiry to both social science and art. “Fidelity” is contrasted with “truth” and characterized as moral in character. “Fidelity” is further characterized as a “betweenness,” construed as both intersubjective (obligations between teller and receiver) and as a resonance between the story told and the social and cultural context of a story. Storytelling as an arena of purposeful reconstruction of events on the part of both the teller and the narrative inquirer links narrative inquiry to art making. Using Ricoeur's work on emplotment and Langer's work in aesthetic philosophy, a criterion of “believability” is established. The narrative is believable when it can be credited with conveying, convincingly, that the events occurred and were felt in ways the narrator is asserting. Dilemmas with achieving “fidelity” and aesthetics in narrative inquiry are investigated.
The poverty of Canadian politics

Political leadership is a key variable in the contemporary process of democratization. Powerful political leaders were also a salient feature of Canada's transition from the authoritarian, governor‐controlled regimes in the early nineteenth century to modern democratic conditions in the twentieth century. Canada's political leadership tradition, which valued compromise and accommodation, is often hailed as exemplary but has come in for considerable criticism since 1982 as Canadian politicians continue to fail in their attempts to find a basic constitutional definition of the Canadian state acceptable to Quebec and the rest of Canada. This article assesses the Canadian tradition and argues that the image of past Canadian leaders has conventionally been idealized. An important lesson to be learned from the Canadian case is that leaders who assisted in the transition to democracy in North America worked in generally favourable conditions of economic and territorial expansion and often resorted to party build...
Fully deformable discrete element analysis using a finite element approach

Abstract A method of analysis is presented for problems in which the deformation of the individual blocks play a significant role. The blocks are modeled as single quadrilateral elements and a constitutive model has been presented for computing the contact forces. In order to illustrate the influence of the deformation of the individual blocks two examples have been presented. The results of the analysis with deformable blocks and with rigid blocks are compared. These examples clearly demonstrate the importance of the deformation of blocks in the class of problems represented by these two examples.
High surface area alumina-supported nickel (II) oxide aerogels using epoxide addition method

Nickel (II) oxide aerogels with an amorphous alumina support were synthesized by the expoxide addition method. The monoliths were obtained by adding propylene oxide to an alcoholic solution of hydrated metal nitrate salts. The wet gels were dried by supercritical extraction to produce porous monolithic aerogels. The as-synthesized aerogels were amorphous containing aluminum and nickel hydroxides. Annealing of the as-synthesized aerogels at 400 °C yields crystalline nickel oxide materials which retain the high surface areas (>160 m2/g) and porosities of the original aerogels. The resultant aerogel materials were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction, thermo-gravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and nitrogen adsorption/desorption analysis.
Clinical significance of cathepsin D in primary ovarian cancer

Cathepsin D (Cath D) levels were assayed in a prospective series of 72 patients with primary ovarian carcinoma, by using an immunoradiometric assay. Cath D levels ranged from 2.00 to 45.60 pmol/mg protein with a median value of 15.80 pmol/mg protein. Cath D levels were higher in metastatic deposits than in primary tumors (median 24.12, range 9.33-98.33 pmol/mg protein versus median 12.76, range 2.00-45.20 pmol/mg protein; P = 0.04). The cut-off levels of the lower, median and upper quartiles of the distribution of Cath D were identified to distinguish patients with low, intermediate, and high Cath D content. Cases with low Cath D content showed a lower percentage of complete response to chemotherapy than cases with intermediate and high Cath D content (22% versus 65% and 47%, respectively) (P = 0.003). Moreover cases with high Cath D content showed a worse prognosis with respect to patients with intermediate Cath D levels (P = 0.09). Interestingly, cases with low Cath D content had a shorter progression-free survival with respect to cases with intermediate Cath D content (P = 0.04). Cath D status retained an independent prognostic value when assessed in the multivariate analysis.
DIFFERENTIAL X-RAY ABSORPTION AND DUST-TO-GAS RATIOS OF THE LENS GALAXIES SBS 0909+523, FBQS 0951+2635, AND B 1152+199

We analyzed Chandra observations of three gravitational lenses, SBS 0909+523, FBQS 0951+2635, and B 1152+199, to measure the differential X-ray absorption and the dust-to-gas ratio of the lens galaxies. We successfully detected the differential X-ray absorption in SBS 0909+523 and B 1152+199, and failed to detect it in FBQS 0951+2635 due to the dramatic drop in its flux from the ROSAT epoch. These measurements significantly increase the sample of dust-to-gas ratio measurements in cosmologically distant, normal galaxies. Using the larger sample, we obtain an average dust-to-gas ratio of E(B – V)/N H = (1.5 ± 0.5) × 10–22 mag cm2 atoms–1 with an estimated intrinsic dispersion in the ratio of 40%. This average dust-to-gas ratio is consistent with our previous measurement and the average Galactic value of 1.7 × 10–22 mag cm2 atoms–1, and the estimated intrinsic dispersion is also consistent with the 30% observed in the Galaxy. A larger sample size is still needed to improve the measurements and to begin studying the evolution in the ratio with cosmic time. We also detected X-ray microlensing in SBS 0909+523 and significant X-ray variability in FBQS 0951+2635.
Reverse Mapping of Coarse-Grained Polyethylene Chains from the Second Nearest Neighbor Diamond Lattice to an Atomistic Model in Continuous Space

A high coordination lattice was recently introduced for the simulation of coarse-grained rotational isomeric state (RIS) model chains. This second nearest neighbor diamond (2nnd) lattice is formed by connecting every other site on a tetrahedral lattice. Monte Carlo simulations of polyethylene (PE) melts have recently been performed on the 2nnd lattice by incorporating the intramolecular short range interactions from the RIS model and the long range interactions using a potential derived from an averaging procedure of the Mayer function in the expansion for the second virial coefficient. In the present work, the reverse mapping of specific snapshots from the coarse-grained PE melt back to the fully atomistic representation in continuous space is demonstrated. Reverse mapping is, essentially, determining the location of intermediate backbone atoms that are not represented on the 2nnd lattice but exist on the diamond lattice. In certain situations, the new locations of two intermediate atoms may coincide, le...
Mimicking biological principles in artificial olfactory system

Biology has inspired solutions to many engineering problems, including those encountered in chemical sensing. Modern approaches to chemical sensing have been based on the biological principle of combining cross-selective chemical sensors with a pattern recognition engine to identify odors. In this poster, we will review some recent advances made by our group in mimicking biological design and computing principles to develop a neuromorphic electronic nose.
Sample Size Determination in Comparing Two Population Variances with Paired-data: Application to Bilirubin Tests

Sample size needed by using paired-data to compare two population variances is much smaller than that of using usual independent samples. In this paper, we proposed three parametric methods to compare two population variances with paired-data. After comparing the powers of all three methods, we furnish the tables to indicate the least sample sizes required in various parameter values for the method with the largest power. The bilirubin example is used to illustrate the usefulness of the tables.
Occipital transtentorial approach to the precentral cerebellar fissure and posterior incisural space.

Objective To describe the surgical techniques and postoperative clinical outcomes with the occipital transtentorial (OT) approach in patients harboring lesions arising from the precentral cerebellar fissure, posterior incisural space, and adjoining structures. Methods Twenty-two patients underwent microsurgical resection of intra-axial lesions arising within the precentral cerebellar fissure and posterior incisural space between 1997 and 2006. Patient demographics, presenting symptoms, pathology, and neurological outcomes were retrospectively reviewed. Pre- and postoperative magnetic resonance imaging scans were evaluated to determine the anatomic extensions of the lesion and the degree of surgical resection. Patients with lesions primarily confined to the pineal and posterior third ventricle approached by a supracerebellar infratentorial trajectory were excluded from this study. Results Of the 22 patients reported in this series, 17 (77%) had contrast-enhancing lesions, and 5 (23%) had nonenhancing lesions arising from the precentral cerebellar fissure and posterior incisural space. The lesions were oriented dorsomedial to the midbrain and diencephalon in 6 patients (27%), dorsolateral in 14 patients (64%), and lateral in 2 patients (9%). A lateral OT approach directed under the occipitotemporal junction was used in 16 patients (73%), and an interhemispheric OT approach was used in 6 patients (27%). Transient visual field loss occurred in 3 patients (14%); it resolved by the third follow-up month. Gross total resection or near-total resection of the imaging-defined lesion volume was achieved in 19 patients (86%). Conclusion The OT approaches provide excellent exposure for lesions of the precentral cerebellar fissure, posterior incisural space, and adjacent structures. The lateral OT approach directed under the occipitotemporal junction provides an inline view for lesions situated posterolateral to the brainstem. It also provides an inferiorly directed view under the venous system into the precentral cerebellar fissure and fourth ventricular roof. Visual field deficits are minimized by directing the trajectory under the occipitotemporal junction instead of retracting along the interhemispheric corridor. The interhemispheric OT approach was primarily used for lesions extending superiorly, in the midline or near midline, above the tentorium and venous system into the splenium of corpus callosum, lateral ventricle, and posterior thalamus, where extensive lateral retraction was not required.
Relative Economic Importance of Milk and Milk Fat Percentage in Selecting Artificially Inseminated Proven Dairy Sires

Abstract The relative economic importance of the genetic changes in milk yield and milk fat percentage attributed to individual sires was investigated for artificially inseminated (AI) proven sires of the five major dairy breeds in the United States, summarized with daughter-herdmate comparisons in 1965. Twenty groups of sires were studied with multiple regression techniques which took into consideration representative pricing systems, breed averages, and sire effects for milk yield and milk fat percentage expressed as differences from herdmates for their AI daughters. For the entire population of sires and a representative pricing system, variations in milk fat percentage were 30, 32, 43, 47, and 37% as important as were variations in milk yield for Ayrshires, Brown Swiss, Guernseys, Holsteins, and Jerseys, respectively. Within the top third of the sires on milk production only, variations in milk fat percentage were 54, 55, 89, 82, and 58% as important as were variations in milk yield for Ayrshires, Brown Swiss, Guernseys, Holsteins, and Jerseys, respectively. Sires of the Guernsey, Jersey, and Holstein breeds, summarized for the first time in 1965, were similar to the entire population of sires in the relative importance of milk yield and milk fat percentage. Interrelated factors which tended to make variations in milk fat percentage have a relatively high economic importance were 1) a high level of production, 2) low milk fat percentage, 3) low blend price paid for the milk, 4) high milk fat differential, and 5) basing the blend price on a high milk fat percentage.
Imaging osteoarthritis in the knee joints using x-ray guided diffuse optical tomography

In our previous studies, near-infrared (NIR) diffuse optical tomography (DOT) had been successfully applied to imaging osteoarthritis (OA) in the finger joints where significant difference in optical properties of the joint tissues was evident between healthy and OA finger joints. Here we report for the first time that large joints such as the knee can also be optically imaged especially when DOT is combined with x-ray tomosynthesis where the 3D image of the bones from x-ray is incorporated into the DOT reconstruction as spatial a priori structural information. This study demonstrates that NIR light can image large joints such as the knee in addition to finger joints, which will drastically broaden the clinical utility of our x-ray guided DOT technique for OA diagnosis.