cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Centralized preparation of neonatal total parenteral nutrition drugs

Objective To improve the quality of the total parenteral nutrition(TPN)through the whole intervention of the TPN drugs preparation by pharmacists.Methods The prescriptions were checked before the TPN preparation by pharmacists,aseptic procedures were strictly carried out during the preparation,further check after the preparation were carried out,triply check were carried out.Results The TPN preparation were completed by pharmacists that can reduce the pollution caused by preparation in the ward and the error rate due to nurses single operation and provide safer and more effective drugs for children.Conclusion Using centralized preparation and the examination of prescriptions by pharmacists can ensure the rationality of medication program,improve the safety of TPN.Admixture preparation following the operation rules and strict aseptic processing can greatly improve the stability of the nutrient solution,avoid TPN contaminated,and improve the quality of TPN.
Fatigue cracking detection in steel bridge girders through a self-powered sensing concept

Abstract Development of fatigue cracking is affecting the structural performance of many of welded steel bridges in the United States. One of the main sources of fatigue cracking is out-of-plane distortion occurring at connections of transverse structural members and longitudinal girders. Distortion-induced fatigue cracks mostly occur in older bridges with members prone to fatigue. Prediction of secondary stresses in these members is difficult using conventional design specifications. This limitation suggests the necessity of utilizing new strategies to analyze the damage caused by distortion-related cracking. This study presents a new approach for detection of distortion-induced fatigue cracking of steel bridges based on the interpretation of the data provided by a newly developed self-powered piezo-floating-gate (PFG) sensor. The PFG sensors are empowered using piezoelectric transducers through harvesting energy from the mechanical loading experienced by the structure. In order to assess the performance of the proposed sensing system, three-dimensional finite element models were developed and the structural response of the girder was subsequently obtained. The fatigue life of the girder was determined based on J-integral concept and Paris Law. Several damage states were defined by extending the fatigue crack lengths. Thereafter, features representing the PFG sensor output were extracted from the strain data for different sensing nodes to detect the damage scenarios. Furthermore, a new data fusion concept based on the effect of group of sensors was proposed to improve the damage detection performance. The results indicate that the proposed method is capable of detecting different damage progression states. This is specifically evident for the sensors that are located close to the damage location. The acceptable performance of the proposed sensing system implies its applicability for other modalities of infrastructure/structural health monitoring (I/SHM).
Characterizing local high-frequency solar variability for use in distribution studies

Accurately representing the local solar variability at distribution timescales (30-seconds and shorter) is essential to modeling the impact of solar photovoltaics (PV) on distribution feeders. Previous works have examined variability at single locations, but this may not be useful to an operator whose distribution feeder is in a different climate region. In this work, we compare high-frequency variability from 8 locations in the United States. We define a variability metric for quantifying variability and use this metric to quantify and compare the variability at each of the 8 locations. We also explore the relationship between high-frequency and low-frequency (hourly) variability to see if widely-available low-frequency data (e.g., satellite data) may be used to determine variability climate zones. The end goal is to provide high-frequency solar inputs with climatologically representative solar variability for use in distribution studies.
The design of agricultural product's production antecedents acquisition terminal based on Hi3511 and 3G technology

The agricultural products' production link, the production antecedents data is the foundation of the traceability system. In the process of agricultural products' production antecedents acquisition, according to the fact that the single acquisition method, the low collection efficiency, and the antecedents data was easy to tamper. This paper designs an agricultural products' production antecedents acquisition terminal based on Hi3511 and 3G technology. The terminal equipment can be realized agricultural products' production multimedia production antecedents data Acquisition of text, picture and video format. The result of using it in practice indicates that the equipment can meet the requirement of real-time and multi-source production antecedents acquisition.
Conifer Monoterpene Chemistry during an Outbreak Enhances Consumption and Immune Response of an Eruptive Folivore

Changes in the chemical composition of plant defense compounds during herbivory can impact herbivore resource allocation patterns and thereby herbivore survival, growth, and immune response against endoparasitoid infection. Few studies have investigated folivore responses to changes in plant chemistry that occur under outbreak conditions in mature conifer systems. Using data from an earlier observational field study, we carried out laboratory bioassays to test how variation in monoterpenes in pinon pine trees (Pinus edulis, Pinaceae) during an outbreak affects growth, consumption, and immune response of a specialist herbivore, the Southwestern tiger moth (Lophocampa ingens, Arctiidae). Larvae were fed on artificial diets containing four monoterpenes at concentrations that mimicked those observed in undamaged and herbivore-damaged trees in situ during an outbreak. Damaged trees contained 30% lower total monoterpene concentrations, likely reflecting volatile losses as observed in a previous field study Trowbridge et al. (Ecology 95:1591–1603, Trowbridge et al. 2014). Herbivores reared on diets mimicking terpene concentrations in the needles of damaged trees exhibited an approximately 60% increase in consumption relative to larvae reared on diets characteristic of trees without herbivore damage. Higher consumption was accompanied by a 40% increase in immune response with no change in growth rate. These observations suggest preferential resource allocation towards immunity and/or a strong genetic component that determines growth under these conditions. These outcomes, which favor the herbivore, point to: (i) a potential positive feedback mechanism that may increase L. ingens’s chance of escaping parasitism during the early phases of an outbreak; and (ii) the important role of monoterpenes in mediating conifer-folivore interactions specifically for P. edulis, which has suffered large-scale drought-induced mortality events exacerbated by the presence of insects.
Prevalence of Pulmonary Hypertension (PHTN) in Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) Adolescents with Pulmonary Complications.

Despite the high prevalence of PHTN in adults with SCD, the prevalence in the pediatric population with SCD is not known. We hypothesized that elevated pulmonary artery pressures may be found in SCD adolescents with history of pulmonary complications, such as acute chest syndrome (ACS), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), asthma, and reactive airway disease. Thirty such sickle cell disease adolescents were screened at Howard University or University of Michigan for PHTN with Doppler echocardiography. We defined PHTN as a tricuspid regurgitant jet velocity (TRV) of at least 2.5 m/sec (corresponding to a pulmonary artery systolic pressure greater than 35 mm Hg). PHTN was found in 16 SCD patients (53.3%) and 5 (16.7%) had TRV > 3.0 m/sec. Clinical findings according to the presences or absence of PHTN are shown in the table. Potential factors contributing to PHTN in patients with SCD include chronic hemolysis and chronic hypoxia. Our results suggest that PHTN is common among SCD adolescents with a history of pulmonary complications. Consideration should be given to screening such patients for PHTN and exploring treatment options. Further studies are urgently needed to clarify the prevalence and mechanisms of PHTN in adolescents with SCD. Clinical and demographic data of 30 SCD adolescents with pulmonary findings who underwent echocardiography at Howard University Hospital or University of Michigan
ANTIARRHYTHMIC MEDICATIONS FOR ATRIAL FIBRILLATION APPEAR REASONABLY SAFE IN HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY

Background: In patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) atrial fibrillation (AF) is common, often poorly tolerated and difficult to treat. Limited data exists regarding safety and efficacy of drugs used for AF rhythm control in HCM patients. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed of
Blood-brain barrier transport of glucose, free fatty acids, and ketone bodies.

Fuel homeostasis is important to the regulation of central nervous system (CNS) function because cerebral pathways of metabolism of glucose, ketone bodies, and amino acids are dependent upon plasma substrate availability. Therefore, brain function and brain metabolism are under nutritional regulation and the interface between diet or fuel homeostasis and brain function is the limiting transport barrier between blood and brain, which is the brain capillary endothelial wall, i.e., the blood-brain barrier (BBB) (Figure 1).
Spanish-language newspaper editorials from Mexico, Spain, and the U.S

The study examines discourse patterns among various Spanish-speaking regions within one single genre of newspaper editorials, as compared to English language editorials. It focuses on the varieties of Spanish used by Latino communities in the United States as represented by El Diario (New York) and La Opinion (Los Angeles) and compares the findings with previous studies on the genre from newspapers such as The New York Times , El Pais (Madrid), and El Universal (Mexico). Rhetorical and stylistic features such as sentence and paragraph length and complexity, editorial titles, placement of the main topic and the use of attribution to sources as a device of argumentation were analyzed. The results demonstrate regional differences among various Spanish-speaking countries, and between the two Spanish-speaking areas in the U.S.
Group Thinking: Antique Models of Community for Modern Religious Rights Regimes

Are human rights compatible with religiously based, group-oriented ordering systems? The question is usually asked the other way around: human rights have become a default rhetorical and ideological framework, and identity-based ordering systems, including religions, are seen as retrograde and illiberal. Yet the assumptions underlying rights may not be so widely shared, and are often surprisingly insular. Moreover, individualistic theories of rights have been singularly unsuccessful in accommodating group claims. This paper considers one example of a secular, group-oriented model for ordering law - the Roman concept of ius gentium - as a means to explore theoretical challenges to human rights that group orientations pose, especially to notions of universalism, legitimacy, and the state, and to consider alternative ways of thinking about rights and groups. Could ius gentium justify rights for religious or other minorities in a modern state system? Ius gentium might provide a useful foundation for reconfiguring minority rights since it admits multiple sources of authority and over-lapping modes of legal interaction without threatening territorial integrity: in the Roman conception, jurisdiction is personal and status-based, not territorial, and therefore could afford autonomy to communities who do not inhabit compact, homogenous territories. Ius gentium also inclusively accommodates both religiously and secularly oriented systems. Ius gentium does not impose any universal normative structure; it is less about "a right to rights" than about "a right to a system." This paper outlines the problems confronting group rights in the modern state system; defines the concept of ius gentium and considers its potential value; and considers questions about contemporary application to religious and other minorities. As part of a larger research project, this paper will also contribute to a legislative model for systematizing group rights that seeks to get around the dead-end debate between relativists and universalists, channeling those antinomies into the simultaneously philosophical and pragmatic enterprise of legitimating the authority to make decisions about rights, rather than simply debating outcomes.
The Credentials of an Apostle: Paul's Gospel in 2 Corinthians 1-7

2 Corinthians provides us with our most detailed exposition of Paul's self conscious reflection on the nature of his apostleship and the significance of his self-presentation in fulfilling that ministry. This study examines the settings of the epistle and the literary integrity of the book. DeSilva proposes the unity of 2 Corinthians 1--7 based on a rhetoricalcritical analysis.
Fairness-Regularized DLMP-Based Bilevel Transactive Energy Mechanism in Distribution Systems

Distribution locational marginal pricing can adversely affect users in a grid-constrained transactive distribution system market that are at larger distances from the substation, thereby requiring longer paths to connect to it. When the grid operates closer to its physical limits in terms of line capacities and voltage deviations, these users are more likely to cause grid violations than others in the vicinity of the substation. Conversely, increased energy consumption by users near the substation can choke off supply to those at the grid’s extremities. This research describes a novel mechanism to charge users in a more equitable manner, by regularizing the distribution system operator’s (DSO) social welfare objective function with the Jain’s index of fairness. The overall problem entails the maximization of the regularized objective within a set of linear constraints that ensure that the grid’s physical limits are not violated. Dual decomposition is applied to the constrained optimization problem. The dual variables and unit costs are incrementally updated by the DSO using the augmented Lagrangian method. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Impact of the "Weekend Effect" for Hospital Discharges on Readmissions After Elective Colectomy

BACKGROUND Hospital readmissions after elective colectomy are costly and potentially preventable. It is unknown whether hospital discharge on a weekend impacts readmission risk. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to use a national database to determine whether discharge on a weekend versus weekday impacts the risk of readmission, and to determine what discharge-related factors impact this risk. DESIGN This investigation is a retrospective cohort study. SETTINGS Data were derived from the University HealthSystem Consortium, PATIENTS:: Adults who underwent elective colectomy from 2011 to 2015 were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome measured was the 30-day hospital readmission rate. RESULTS Of the 76,031 patients who survived the index hospitalization, the mean age of the study population was 58 years; half were men and more than 75% were white. Overall, 20,829 (27%) were discharged on the weekend, and the remaining 55,202 (73%) were discharged on weekdays. The overall 30-day readmission rate was 10.5%; 8.9% for those discharged on the weekend vs 11.1% for those discharged during the weekday (unadjusted OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.74-0.83). The adjusted readmission risk was lower for patients discharged home without services (routine, without organized home health service) on a weekend compared with on a weekday (adjusted OR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.81-0.93; readmission rates, 7.4% vs 8.9%, p < 0.001); however, the combination of weekend discharge and the need for home services increased readmission risk (adjusted OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.25-1.55; readmission rate, 16.2% vs 8.9%, p < 0.001). Although patients discharged to rehabilitation and skilled nursing facilities were at an increased risk of readmission compared with those discharged to home, there was no additive increase in risk of readmission for weekend discharge. LIMITATIONS Data did not capture readmission beyond 30 days or to nonindex hospitals. CONCLUSIONS Patients discharged on a weekend following elective colectomy were at increased risk of readmission compared with patients discharged on a weekday if they required organized home health services. Further prospective studies are needed to identify areas of intervention to improve the discharge infrastructure. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/A799.
Effects of reintegration difficulties, perceived message acceptance and perceived autonomy support on U.S. military Veterans’ evaluations of messages encouraging them to seek behavioral health care

ABSTRACTThis online experiment integrates confirmation, politeness, and self-determination theories to examine how Veterans evaluate family members’ messages encouraging them to seek behavioral hea...
A 3-bp deletion of WLS5 gene leads to weak growth and early leaf senescence in rice

In rice (Oryza sativa) and other grains, weak growth (dwarfism, short panicle length, and low seed-setting rate) and early senescence lead to reduced yield. The molecular mechanisms behind these processes have been widely studied; however, the complex genetic regulatory networks controlling growth and senescence require further elucidation. We isolated a mutant exhibiting weak growth throughout development and early senescence of leaf tips, and designated this mutant weakness and leaf senescence5 (wls5). Histological analysis showed that the poor growth of wls5 plants involved a reduction in cell length and number. Physiological analysis and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the wls5 cells had abnormal chloroplasts, and the mutants underwent chlorophyll degradation triggered by accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Consistent with this, RNA sequencing revealed changes in senescence-related gene expression in wls5 plants. The wls5 mutants also exhibited significantly higher stomatal density and altered phytohormone contents compared with wild-type plants. Fine mapping delimited WLS5 to a 29-kb region on chromosome 5. DNA sequencing of wls5 identified a 3-bp deletion in the first exon of LOC_Os05g04900, resulting in a deletion of a lysine in the predicted protein. Knockout of LOC_Os05g04900 in Nipponbare plants caused leaf senescence, confirming this locus as the causal gene for WLS5. We identified a novel mutant (wls5) that affects plant development and leaf senescence in rice. LOC_Os05g04900, encoding a protein of unknown function, is the causal gene for wls5. Further molecular study of WLS5 will uncover the roles of this gene in plant growth and leaf senescence.
Elevated Outpatient C-Reactive Protein Independently Predicts Stroke and Gastrointestinal Bleeding in LVAD Patients

Purpose Inflammation and congestion may contribute to stroke and gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) in LVAD pts. C-Reactive Protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and N-terminal-pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are established biomarkers of inflammation and congestion. We aimed to investigate the association of these biomarkers with stroke and GIB in LVAD pts who survived to their first outpt visit. Methods Serum CRP, ESR and NT-proBNP were prospectively measured in consecutive LVAD pts at outpt visits. Pts with stroke or GIB prior to their first visit were excluded from the respective analysis. Biomarker levels were averaged to the date of the outcome of interest. ROC curves were constructed to identify the optimal biomarkers cut off points to predict stroke and GIB. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were built to assess the association of CRP with stroke and GIB after adjusting for age, gender, BMI, diabetes, INTERMACS profile, and NT-proBNP. Results 228 LVAD pts (105 HMII and 105 HM3, 18 others) were enrolled. 216 pts met inclusion for the GIB analysis (Cohort 1) and 223 for the stroke analysis (Cohort 2). The median follow-up was 829 [408-1196] and 857 [464-1209]d, respectively. 35 pts had a GIB and 24 had a stroke at a median follow up of 223 [120-695] and 415 [164-768]d. Median CRP, ESR and NT-proBNP were 14.6 [7.27-30.7] mg/L, 38.3 [25.8-55.5] mm/hr, and 1144 [655-2314] pg/mL in Cohort 1, and 22 [6.14-30.5] mg/L, 41.7 [25.1-53.0] mm/hr, and 1157 [662-2366] pg/mL in Cohort 2. The ROC curves identified significant cut offs only for CRP: 15.5 mg/L (AUC 0.66, p 15.5 mg/L was an independent predictor of stroke (HR 4.2 95% CI 1.6-11.1, p=0.004) and CRP>8 mg/L was an independent predictor of GIB (HR 3.0 95% CI 1.0-8.6, p=0.04) Conclusion Elevated outpt CRP is an independent predictor of stroke and GIB in LVAD recipients.
Potential pest bark and ambrosia beetles from Cuba not present in the continental United States

Early detection of potential threats relies on solid knowledge of exotic species and potential pathways of introduction. Here we provide a review of potential pest bark and ambrosia beetles recorded from Cuba but not present in the USA. Highlighted are genera which contain species known to have caused significant economic damage. This information is highly relevant to entomologists and practitioners involved in forest and tree industries, as well as biosecurity.
The role of glutamate mGlu5 and adenosine A2a receptor interactions in regulating working memory performance and persistent cocaine seeking in rats.

Abstract Cocaine use disorder (CUD) is associated with neurobehavioral deficits that are resistant to current treatments. While craving and high rates of relapse are prominent features of CUD, persistent cognitive impairments are common and linked to poorer treatment outcomes. Here we sought to develop an animal model to study post-cocaine changes in drug seeking and working memory, and to evaluate ‘therapeutic’ effects of combined glutamate mGlu5 and adenosine A2a receptor blockade. As mGlu5 antagonists reduce drug seeking, and A2a blockade ameliorates working memory impairment, we hypothesized that mGlu5 + A2a antagonist cocktail would reduce both cocaine relapse and post-cocaine working memory deficits. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were first trained and tested in an operant delayed match-to-sample (DMS) task to establish the working memory baseline, followed by 6 days of limited and 12 days of extended access cocaine self-administration. Chronic cocaine reduced working memory performance (abstinence day 30–40) and produced robust time-dependent cocaine seeking at 45-, but not 120-days of abstinence. Systemic administration of A2a antagonist KW-6002 (0.125 and 1 mg/kg) failed to rescue post-cocaine working memory deficit. It also failed to reverse working memory impairment produced by mGlu5 NAM MTEP (1 mg/kg). Finally, KW-6002 prevented the ability of MTEP to reduce cocaine seeking and increased locomotor behavior. Thus, despite mGlu5 and A2a being exclusively co-localized in the striatum and showing behavioral synergism towards reducing cocaine effects in some studies, our findings advocate against the use of mGlu5 + A2a antagonist cocktail as it may further compromise cognitive deficits and augment drug craving in CUD.
The Half-Full Landau Level

At even-denominator Landau level filling fractions, such as $\nu=1/2$, the ground state, in most cases, has no energy gap, and there is no quantized plateau in the Hall conductance. Nevertheless, the states exhibit non-trivial low-energy phenomena. Open questions concerning the proper description of these systems have attracted renewed attention during the last few years. Issues at $\nu=1/2$ include consequences of particle-hole symmetry, which should be present for a spin-aligned system in the limit where one can neglect mixing between Landau levels. Other issues concern questions of anisotropy and geometry, properties at non-zero temperature, and effects of relatively strong disorder. In cases where one does find a gapped even-denominator quantized Hall state, such as $\nu=5/2$ in GaAs structures, major questions have arisen about the nature of the quantum state, which will be discussed briefly in this chapter. The chapter will also discuss phenomena that can occur in a two-component system near half filling, i.e., when the total filling factor $\nu_{\rm{tot}} $ is close to 1.
Comparison of inter-facility transports of critically ill neonates who died after admission vs. survivors

Abstract Objective To compare characteristics before, during and after inter-facility transports (IFT), and changes in the Transport Risk Index of Physiologic Stability (TRIPS) before and after inter-facility transports (IFT) in infants who died within 7 days of admission to a level IV NICU versus matched survivors. Study design This retrospective case-control study included infants who died within 7 days of IFT and controls matched for gestational age and reason for admission. Unplanned events were temperature or respiratory derangements. Therapeutic interventions included increased respiratory support, resuscitation or blood product transfusion. Results Our cohort was predominantly preterm and male. Cases had a higher rate of resuscitation, lower Apgar scores, more respiratory acidosis, lower BP and higher TRIPS, compared to controls. Deterioration in TRIPS was independently associated with male gender and unplanned events; not with patient group. Conclusions Rates of unplanned events, therapeutic interventions, and deterioration in TRIPS following IFT by a transport team are comparable in cases and controls.
Maturation Rates of Arteriovenous Fistulas Using Small Veins in the Era of Endovascular Interventions.

Background Traditional practice suggests the abandonment of veins smaller than 3 mm in diameter for arteriovenous fistula (AVF) creation because of a low rate of maturation. This study aims to show that with balloon-assisted maturation (BAM), undersized veins can be used to create functional AVFs with a high rate of success. Methods All patients who underwent AVF creation between 2014 and 2018 at a tertiary academic medical center were retrospectively reviewed. The patients without preoperative vein mapping, those who failed to follow-up, and the patients who were not on dialysis were excluded. A fistula was considered to be mature if it was successfully cannulated for dialysis. A total of 596 patients were identified for analysis. The cohort was divided into the small-vein group (SVG, Results In the study cohort, 61.9% of the patients were male, with an average age of 62.8 ± 13.7 years, and an average preoperative vein size of 2.9 ± 1.1 mm. With similar demographic distribution, the participants in the SVG (n = 216) had significantly smaller preoperative vein size of 1.9 ± 0.4 mm than the patients in the LVG (n = 380), 3.5 ± 0.8 mm (P = 0.001). There were significantly more radio-cephalic AVFs created in the SVG (77.8% versus 48.7%, P The overall maturation rate was 83.1% (n = 495), 219 fistulas (36.7%) matured primarily and 276 (46.3%) required interventions. Ninety-one percent of the patients required only 1 or 2 BAMs to achieve maturation. The SVG achieved a maturation rate of 75.9% as compared with 87.1% in the LVG (P = 0.002). A significantly higher number of patients in the SVG required BAM for maturation as compared with the LVG (67.7% versus 49.9%, P = 0.0002); however, there was no difference in the average number of BAMs required for fistula maturation between the groups (1.5 ± 0.8 for the SVG vs. 1.4 ± 0.7 for the LVG). In multivariable logistic regression analysis, vein size ≥2.5 mm (odds ratio (OR) = 2.11, confidence interval (CI): 1.36–3.27, P = 0.0009) and male sex (OR = 2.30, CI: 1.49–3.57, P = 0.0002) were independent predictors of maturation. Conclusions Small veins can be used for AVF creation with lower but still favorable maturation rates using BAM interventions, especially in male patients. This practice can increase the creation of autogenous dialysis access and potentially reduce complications related to prosthetic dialysis access.
Walking ABER: Of pedagogy, practice and potentiality

This paper seeks to explain and share resources with teachers/colleagues to help them incorporate a walking-based Arts-Based Educational Research in their own classrooms. First, it proposes walking...
Machine Understanding of Emotion and Sentiment

Emotions are subjective experiences involving perceptual and con-textual factors [4]. There is no objective tool for precise measurement of emotions. However, we can anticipate an emotion's emergence through the knowledge of common responses to events in similar situations. We can also measure proxies of emotions by recognizing emotional expressions [3]. Studying emotional response to multimedia allows identifying expected emotions in users consuming the content. For example,abrupt loud voices are novel and unsettling which result in surprise and higher experience of arousal [2,6]. For a particular type of con-tent such as music, mid-level attributes such as rhythmic stability or melodiousness have strong association with expected emotions[1]. Given that such mid-level attributes are more related to the con-tent, their machine-perception is more straightforward. Moreover,their perception in combination with user models enables building person-specific emotion anticipation models.In addition to studying expected emotions, we can also observe users emotional reactions to understand emotion in multimedia.Typical methods of emotion recognition include recognizing emotions from facial or vocal expressions. Recognition of emotional expressions requires large amount of labeled data, expensive to produce. Hence, the most recent advances in machine-based emotion perception include methods that can leverage unlabeled data through self-supervised and semi-supervised learning [3, 5]. In this talk, I review the field and showcase methods for automatic modeling and recognition of emotions and sentiment indifferent contexts [3,8]. I show how we can identify underlying factors contributing to the construction of subjective experience of emotions [1,7]. Identification of these factors allows us to use them as mid-level attributes to build machine learning models for emotion and sentiment understanding. I also show how emotions and sentiment can be recognized from expressions with the goal of building empathetic autonomous agents [8].
Radio-wave absorption by aluminum and its dependence on the absorption distance

The absorption of radio wave is relevant to electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and low observability. The effect of the absorption distance much above the calculated skin depth on the absorption of radio wave (600–2000 MHz) is studied by determining the absorption loss per unit thickness for aluminum sheets of thickness ranging from 0.528 to 2.053 mm. Aluminum is dominantly used for EMI shielding. The absorption loss SEA increases with increasing thickness, such that when the absorption distance x exceeds 1.3 mm, the increase is slight. The distance 1.3 mm corresponds to ~ 500 times the calculated skin depth for x = 0. Furthermore, when x exceeds 1.3 mm, the linear absorption coefficient α obtained from SEA/thickness decreases linearly with increasing x. At x below 1.3 mm, α decreases with increasing x in a nonlinear non-exponential manner that is not far from linearity and corresponds to much less decrease for the same x than the exponential case. The non-exponential relationship indicates that the skin effect alone cannot explain the observed relationship. The observed high α at large x, at which the electric field is low, indicates nonlinear dielectric behavior. The factor β that relates α2/α1 and x1/x2 (where α1 is the α value at x1, and α2 is the α value at x2) increases with x and levels off at ~ 1.5 when x exceeds 1.3 mm. The effect of x on α is large compared to the effect of the frequency on α.
It’s NOT the economy when people are dying: accountability for household economic and health outcomes during the pandemic

Economic voting models usually assume that the economy is usually salient to the public, especially during a recession, yet the public’s attention to the economy is likely to wane when other, more ...
Protecting the Deep State: Making Sense of Section 107 of New York's Civil Service Law.

This article reviews the long and convoluted history of New York's Section 107 of the Civil Service Law, which is designed to protect government workers from dealing with political interference in the performance of their jobs.
Predicting childhood chronic kidney disease severity in infants with posterior urethral valve: a critical analysis of creatinine values in the first year of life

Posterior urethral valve (PUV) is a leading cause of chronic kidney failure in children. Studies have shown that a creatinine nadir above historical cutoff values of 0.8 or 1.0 mg/dL correlates with worse kidney outcomes. The ability to use nadir creatinine more discriminately as a test of kidney outcomes is otherwise limited. We performed a retrospective review of 102 infants treated with primary valve ablation prior to 1 year of age. Patient factors including creatinine at presentation (Cr-P), nadir within 6 weeks after ablation (Cr-6 W), and nadir within 1 year after ablation (Cr-1Y) were assessed as predictors of final chronic kidney disease (CKD) severity. An optimal threshold for four CKD levels was defined in incremental fashion using binary outcome with receiver operating characteristic (ROC). Multivariable logistic regression models compared Cr-P, Cr-6 W, and Cr-1Y while adjusting for patient factors. Boys were ablated at mean age of 36.3 days and followed for 6.6 years (± 3.7). When compared to other demographics, only creatinine remained independently predictive of CKD outcomes on multivariable analysis. ROC analysis demonstrated excellent diagnostic accuracy for Cr-6 W and Cr-1Y (p < 0.001) and acceptable accuracy for Cr-P (p < 0.005). Using the Cr-6 W and Cr-1Y models, high sensitivity and specificity creatinine nadir cutoffs were determined to predict each CKD outcome. The severity of childhood CKD can be predicted with high accuracy using the creatinine nadir within 6 weeks of ablation. The cutoff values described can be incorporated into a clinical setting for patient counseling and individual risk stratification.
Persuading children to read: a test for electronic newspapers

Many newspapers in the United States are facing declining growth prospects because older readers are not being replaced by younger ones. Specifically, wc sought to prove or disprove three hypotheses. It was possible to measure differences in interest levels by news category among students in elementary, junior high and senior high schools with an electronic newspaper called the Digital Missourian, delivered to nine elementary, three junior high and two high schools in the Columbia, Missouri, public school system. Automated computer logs made it possible to measure, via census, electronic access to all editorial departments (more than 70 different choices were offered). The research design is the on-line equivalent of overnight ratings of TV programs.
Modeling the dynamics of oculomotor system in three dimensions

Gaze control in three dimensions is achieved by the geometrical arrangement of the extra-ocular muscles. For head-fixed saccadic eye movements, the ocular rotation axis is constrained according to Listing's law. In this paper, an ocular model is developed to control gaze. Quaternions associated with eye positions and rotations are used to precisely describe the axis of rotation.
Amniotic fluid testosterone and follicle-stimulating hormone in the determination of fetal sex

Abstract To determine whether hormone analysis could be used for accurate determination of fetal sex, we measured testosterone (T) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in 130 amniotic fluid samples at midgestation. The mean unconjugated T in amniotic fluid of 73 patients carrying male fetuses was 202 pg. per milliliter (95 per cent confidence limits [CL]: 70 to 580) and all but three had levels higher than 90 pg. per milliliter. The mean amniotic fluid unconjugated T for 49 patients carrying female fetuses of 41 pg. per milliliter (95 per cent CL: 11 to 125) was fivefold lower than that for the male fetuses and all but three patients carrying female fetuses had amniotic fluid T levels of 90 pg. per milliliter or lower. The mean amniotic fluid FSH of 0.7 ml.U. per milliliter (95 per cent CL:
Effects of estrogen plus progestin on risk of dementia.

To the Editor: Dr Shumaker and colleagues 1 from the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS) reported that combined equine estrogen (CEE) plus medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) increased the risk for probable dementia in postmenopausal women aged 65 years or older. They also found that this regimen did not prevent mild cognitive impairment. These findings are consistent with our data that MPA antagonizes the neuroprotective and memory mechanisms of estrogen. 2-4 These studies, conducted while the WHIMS trial was in progress, indicate that progestins have differing profiles of biochemical and genomic activation that lead to differential effects on beneficial estrogen-inducible mechanisms. 5 Results of these analyses could be used to predict efficacy of hormone therapy formulations for prevention of Alzheimer disease (AD). The challenge remains to develop a therapeutic strategy for promoting the beneficial effects of estrogen in the brain while preventing untoward consequences of estrogen in other organ systems. Funding/Support: Research support was provided by the JD French Foundation, the K. T. and E. L. Norris Foundation, Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, and the National Institute on Aging.
GULFSTREAM: staged static analysis for streaming JavaScript applications

The advent of Web 2.0 has led to the proliferation of client-side code that is typically written in JavaScript. Recently, there has been an upsurge of interest in static analysis of client-side JavaScript for applications such as bug finding and optimization. However, most approaches in static analysis literature assume that the entire program is available to analysis. This, however, is in direct contradiction with the nature of Web 2.0 programs that are essentially being streamed at the user's browser. Users can see data being streamed to pages in the form of page updates, but the same thing can be done with code, essentially delaying the downloading of code until it is needed. In essence, the entire program is never completely available. Interacting with the application causes more code to be sent to the browser. This paper explores staged static analysis as a way to analyze streaming JavaScript programs. We observe while there is variance in terms of the code that gets sent to the client, much of the code of a typical JavaScript application can be determined statically. As a result, we advocate the use of combined offline-online static analysis as a way to accomplish fast, browser-based client-side online analysis at the expense of a more thorough and costly server-based offline analysis on the static code. We find that in normal use, where updates to the code are small, we can update static analysis results quickly enough in the browser to be acceptable for everyday use. We demonstrate the staged analysis approach to be advantageous especially in mobile devices, by experimenting on popular applications such as Facebook.
Optimal Design of SWRO Desalination Processes with Boron Level Considerations

Abstract Reverse osmosis is the leading technology for seawater desalination. We have recently introduced a systematic two-step approach based on process network optimization techniques [1]. The methodology allows for a reliable and relatively quick determination of optimal process structures for seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination systems, as well as for the analysis of trends across different design classes [1] for a given economic objective and typical design constraints. The approach was subsequently extended to address detailed water quality information as part of the process network synthesis, by developing simple but realistic membrane element models based on commercial simulators, in order to account for the rejection of individual seawater constituents throughout the temperature ranges of interest [2]. This enables the design for common product water specifications whilst capturing membrane-scaling issues. This work expands our previous efforts, and more specifically addresses the issue of boron removal, which is often a key challenge in SWRO design. RO membrane element models that allow for the tracing of individual constituents throughout the processing system, including boron, were developed and incorporated into the process network optimization problem formulation. The superstructure optimization formulations were also expanded so as to handle additional design decisions associated with Boron removal in SWRO process networks. This includes selecting suitable combinations for several options of membrane elements types listed by the ROSA membrane simulator (Dow), determining optimum pH conditions required for these membrane element choices, and acid/base dosing adjustments required. The approach has been illustrated with a case study that involves seawater qualities with salinities ranging from 35 to 50 ppt. The results highlight the variation in optimal designs depending on the given feed water quality, the desired salinity removal and the acceptable boron level in the permeate stream.
Counterintuitive Tax Revenue Effect of REIT Spinoffs

Several reports have attacked REIT spinoffs because they erode the corporate tax base, apparently reducing government tax revenues. This article uses a very simple example to illustrate that multiple variables can affect the tax-revenue effect of a REIT spinoff and shows that under some assumptions the tax-revenue effect of a REIT spinoff can actually be positive.
Water concentration of the blood during pregnancy, labor, and the puerperium

Abstract During the active childbearing function of women, the water concentrations of whole blood, plasma, and cells follow the same general curve, which is the reverse of that noted for specific gravity of whole blood and plasma, cell volume, plasma proteins, and hemoglobin content of whole blood. These findings confirm the conception of a blood dilution during pregnancy with prompt elimination of the excess water during parturition and the puerperium. There is evidence that the body attempts to compensate for this dilution by increasing the hemoglobin content of individual cells, which consequently show an increased specific gravity. The slight anemia of normally pregnant women recognized by clinical methods is only apparent and can be explained by physiologic dilution of the blood associated with an increased blood volume, and by the further dilution of finger-prick blood with the fluid from edematous subcutaneous tissues.
Ethics and Statistics: Disagreements About the Strength of Evidence

In the world we live in, the scientific claims we notice have been selected through a complex filtering process involving funders, researchers, scientific journals, and the news media. The question...
GBA Variants are associated with a distinct pattern of cognitive deficits in Parkinson's disease.

Background Loss-of-function mutations in the GBA gene are associated with more severe cognitive impairment in PD, but the nature of these deficits is not well understood and whether common GBA polymorphisms influence cognitive performance in PD is not yet known. Methods We screened the GBA coding region for mutations and the E326K polymorphism in 1,369 PD patients enrolled at eight sites from the PD Cognitive Genetics Consortium. Participants underwent assessments of learning and memory (Hopkins Verbal Learning Test–Revised), working memory/executive function (Letter-Number Sequencing Test and Trail Making Test A and B), language processing (semantic and phonemic verbal fluency), visuospatial abilities (Benton Judgment of Line Orientation), and global cognitive function (MoCA). We used linear regression to test for association between genotype and cognitive performance with adjustment for important covariates and accounted for multiple testing using Bonferroni's corrections. Results Mutation carriers (n = 60; 4.4%) and E326K carriers (n = 65; 4.7%) had a higher prevalence of dementia (mutations, odds ratio = 5.1; P = 9.7 × 10−6; E326K, odds ratio = 6.4; P = 5.7 × 10−7) and lower performance on Letter-Number Sequencing (mutations, corrected P[Pc] = 9.0 × 10−4; E326K, Pc = 0.036), Trail Making B-A (mutations, Pc = 0.018; E326K, Pc = 0.018), and Benton Judgment of Line Orientation (mutations, Pc = 0.0045; E326K, Pc = 0.0013). Conclusions Both GBA mutations and E326K are associated with a distinct cognitive profile characterized by greater impairment in working memory/executive function and visuospatial abilities in PD patients. The discovery that E326K negatively impacts cognitive performance approximately doubles the proportion of PD patients we now recognize are at risk for more severe GBA-related cognitive deficits. © 2015 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
EXPLORING THE FIVE THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY USING TECHNOLOGY

The five themes of geography (location, place, region, human-environment interaction, and movement) are a cornerstone of social studies education; yet, at times, the best instructional resources for teaching the five themes with elementary children are not widely disseminated among teachers. This article presents five free technology tools with practical applications for elementary (grades 2-5) geography instruction. Positioned within the scholarship of technology integration in the elementary grades and social studies education, this article illustrates new applications for geography instruction in the elementary grades using technology. Opportunities for integration with other content areas are also discussed.
Reversible Conversion of 4-Hydroxybenzoate and Phenol by Clostridium hydroxybenzoicum

Reversible conversion of 4-hydroxybenzoate and phenol and their analogs was observed in whole-cell suspensions and cell extracts of Clostridium hydroxybenzoicum grown with 4-hydroxybenzoate and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate. Assuming that bicarbonate is the cosubstrate, the equilibrium constants calculated for the reactions 4-hydroxybenzoate- + H2O ⇆ phenol + HCO3- and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate- + H2O ⇆ catechol + HCO3- were 11.4 (± 0.5) and 5.05 (± 0.25), respectively. In a phenol-adapted sediment slurry, 4-hydroxybenzoate and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate were decarboxylated to phenol and to catechol, respectively, as intermediates without a lag time.