cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Segregation of a missense mutation in the amyloid β-protein precursor gene with familial Alzheimer’s disease

Our report of a missense mutation in the APP gene that caused FAD provided an important turning point in AD research. This paper and subsequent papers provided information that has led to the development of cellular and animal models that recapitulate at least part of the AD phenotype. These models have greatly enhanced our understanding of the pathobiology of AD and have led to the identification of drug targets for AD and the development of drugs that are currently in clinical trials. Furthermore, the major predictions of this paper have withstood the test of time remarkably well.
Studies in Neotropical Paleobotany. XV. A Mio-Pliocene palynoflora from the Eastern Cordillera, Bolivia: implications for the uplift history of the Central Andes.

An assemblage of 33 fossil pollen and spores, recovered from the 3600-m high Pislepampa locality of E. W. Berry, Eastern Cordillera, Bolivia, adds considerably to our knowledge of three aspects of the region in late Neogene time: (1) the paleovegetation, (2) the paleoclimate, and (3) the paleoelevation of the Central Andes. The plant microfossils recognized are Isoetes, Lycopodium(three types), Cnemidaria, Cyathea (three types), Grammitis, Hymenophyllum, Pteris,trilete fern spores (two types), Danaea, monolete fern spores (four types), Podocarpus, Gramineae, Palmae, Ilex, cf. Oreopanax, Cavanillesia, cf. Pereskia, Compositae (three types), Ericaceae, Tetrorchidium, and unknowns (three types). The diversity of the Compositae suggest that this flora has a maximum age around the Miocene-Pliocene boundary, that is, 6‐7 million years. All members of the paleocommunity presently grow in the bosque montano —
Splittable traffic partition in WDM/SONET rings to minimize SONET ADMs

SONET ADMs are the dominant cost factor in the WDM/SONET rings. Recently several articles (Belvaux et al., European J. Oper. Res. 108 (1) (1998) 26-35; Clinescu and Wan, Traffic partition in WDM/SONET rings to minimize SONET ADMs, submitted for publication; Gerstel et al., Proc. IEEE INFOCOM'98, vol. 1, pp. 94-101; Liu et al., Proc. INFOCOM, vol. 2, 2000, pp.~1020-1025; Sutter et al., Oper. Res. 46 (5) (1998) 719-728) proposed a number of heuristics for traffic partition so as to use as few SONET ADMs as possible. Most of these heuristics assumes wavelength-continuity, i.e., the same wavelength is allocated on all of the links in the path established for a traffic stream. It was first observed and argued by Gerstel et al. that the number of ADMs can be potentially reduced by allowing a traffic stream to be locally transferred from one ADM in a wavelength to another ADM in a different wavelength at any intermediate node, in other words, the traffic streams are splittable. In this paper, we study two variations of this minimum ADM problem with splittable traffic streams: all traffic streams have prespecified routings, and all traffic streams have no prespecified routings respectively. Both variations are shown to be NP-hard. For the former variation, a heuristic with approximation ratio at most 5/4 is proposed. For the latter variation, a similar heuristic with approximation ratio 3/2 is proposed.
Comparison of Continuing Care Communication

Purpose: To describe and compare the patient-care communication exchanged between personnel in hospitals and nursing homes (NHs) and hospitals and home health agencies (HHAs) in referrals of elderly patients using an adaptation of classic communication theory. Little research on patient-care communication across organizational settings has been reported. This study offers baseline information about inter-organizational communication and insight into barriers to patient care communication. Design: A retrospective, descriptive study using a convenience sample of 455 medical records of referrals to NHs and 300 to HHAs. Methods: Medical records were audited and a Referraf Data inventory (with established reliability and validity) was completed for each of the records reviewed. Data were collected between January and June 1995. Findings: Greater amounts of referral data were transferred to NHs, than to HHAs. Patient information was composed largely of background and medical data, followed by some nursing care data and limited psychosocial data. Hospitals employed more formal channels of communication in referring patients to NHs than to HHAs, and communicated information more promptly. Some organizational factors related to both the referring hospitals and receiving organizations resulted in discrepancies in patient-care communication. Conclusions: Continuity of patient care involves a series of coordinating linkages across time, settings, providers, and consumers of health care. Communication is a core task in coordinating patient care. increased and improved inter-organizational communication is needed when patients are discharged to nursing homes or home health agencies.
Risk Factors for Hospitalization With Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in Children in Rural Alaska

OBJECTIVE: Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are a major cause of morbidity for children worldwide and particularly for children from developing and indigenous populations. In this study, we evaluated risk factors for hospitalization with LRTI in a region in southwest Alaska. METHODS: The study was conducted from October 1, 2006, to September 30, 2007, in the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta region of Alaska. Cases were recruited from children <3 years of age hospitalized with LRTI. Controls were recruited during visits to the surrounding communities in the region and matched posthoc to cases on the basis of subregion, season, and age. Parents were interviewed for potential risk factors, and medical records were reviewed. Participants had a nasopharyngeal swab sample taken for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for a panel of respiratory viruses. Samples positive for respiratory syncytial virus, human metapneumovirus, or parainfluenza type 3 were quantitated by reverse transcriptase real-time quantitative PCR. RESULTS: One hundred twenty-eight cases were matched to 186 controls. In a multivariable conditional logistic regression model, significantly ( P < .05) increased risk of hospitalization was associated with medically high-risk status, having a woodstove in the house, being bottle fed, and vomiting after feeding; living in a house that had 2 or more rooms with sinks was a protective factor. Viral loads in hospitalized cases were significantly higher than those in controls, but a strict cutoff level was not observed. CONCLUSIONS: Several risk factors for LRTI hospitalization were identified in this high risk population. Some factors are amenable to environmental and behavioral interventions. * Abbreviations: hMPV — : human metapneumovirus hPIV — : human parainfluenza virus LRTI — : lower respiratory tract infection NPS — : nasopharyngeal swab OR — : odds ratio RSV — : respiratory syncytial virus RT-PCR — : reverse transcriptase real-time polymerase chain reaction RT-qPCR — : reverse transcriptase real-time quantitative PCR YKD — : Yukon Kuskokwim Delta
The carpometacarpal boss.

The carpometacarpal boss is a bone prominence involving the carpometacarpal joints of the index and long fingers. Analysis of forty-seven patients possessing a total of fifty-seven lesions showed that direct trauma to the dorsum of the wrist as well as repeated mechanical stress to the wrist were implicated in the etiology of this deformity in most cases. Conservative treatment was all that was needed in all but sixteen lesions. When there was no specific history of injury, surgery was rarely needed, but surgical intervention frequently was required in those lesions when there was a definite history of trauma. Adequate excision of the lesion relieved the symptoms, and also removed the cosmetically unsightly deformity.
Survey finds differences on preserving born-digital news:

A survey of newspaper workers, librarians, archivists and researchers in Maine reveals that preserving digitized newspapers is deemed most important, followed by born-digital news articles; however...
Influence of acetabular coverage on hip survival after free vascularized fibular grafting for femoral head osteonecrosis.

To The Editor: I read with great interest the article entitled “Influence of Acetabular Coverage on Hip Survival After Free Vascularized Fibular Grafting for Femoral Head Osteonecrosis,” (2006;88:2152-8), by Roush et al., and the commentary by Steinberg and Steinberg1. Indeed, this article and the commentary by Marvin Steinberg1 represent the views and thoughts of two senior authors with opposing opinions on how to treat osteonecrosis. Urbaniak2 supports vascularized bone-grafting, whereas Steinberg3 supports avascular cancellous bone-grafting. While the intent of the article by Roush et al. was not to document the clinical efficacy of either type of bone-grafting, the conclusions made therein invariably influence one's ability to recognize a potential limitation of free vascularized fibular grafting, and it is from this observation that I would like to offer a few comments. Roush et al. retrospectively reviewed a consecutive series of 200 hips in 160 patients with osteonecrosis of the femoral head who had undergone free vascularized fibular grafting. They found that, of the hips with a center-edge angle of ≤30°, 55% demonstrated progression of collapse and 45% were converted to a total hip arthroplasty. In contrast, of the hips with a center-edge angle of >30°, only 10% demonstrated progression of collapse and only 6% were converted to a total hip arthroplasty. Roush et al. encouraged the reader to consider acetabular dysplasia as an independent risk factor with a negative influence on prognosis and …
Oxygen isotope composition of trinitite postdetonation materials.

Trinitite is the melt glass produced subsequent the first nuclear bomb test conducted on July 16, 1945, at White Sands Range (Alamagordo, NM). The geological background of the latter consists of arkosic sand that was fused with radioactive debris and anthropogenic materials at ground zero subsequent detonation of the device. Postdetonation materials from historic nuclear weapon test sites provide ideal samples for development of novel forensic methods for attribution and studying the chemical/isotopic effects of the explosion on the natural geological environment. In particular, the latter effects can be evaluated relative to their spatial distribution from ground zero. We report here δ18O(‰) values for nonmelted, precursor minerals phases (quartz, feldspar, calcite), “feldspathic-rich” glass, “average” melt glass, and bulk (natural) unmelted sand from the Trinity site. Prior to oxygen isotope analysis, grains/crystals were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spec...
Selecting the Superior Segmentation Correlate

Frequency of use of a product and market context offer new perspectives for selecting the superior segmentation correlate.
Southern Population and Social Planning

In summary, let me again stress the educational implications of population trends from rural areas to centers of industry. There is need for (a) increased federal and state support of education, the funds to be raised where the income is and expended where those to be educated reside; (b) making vocational guidance a major function in education at all age levels; (c) extending the school year, shortening the school day, and linking the program closer to reality; and (d) cooperation from higher educational institutions in preparing teachers for such a program, and developing an adult education program which will train for leadership in rural communities through the use of extension work, the radio and moving pictures.
Prospects for Stability in Tajikistan

In June 2002, Tajikistan achieved five years of increasing stability after a peace agreement formally initiated a transition to national reconciliation. Theories of conflict based only on grievance or those based on fear, incentives and opportunity fail to explain the continued cooperation of opposition forces in the face of government antagonism and obstruction. A focus on the competition between groups defending incompatible frames, or interpretive schemes by which individuals label and identify events and assign values, reveals the important role of intellectuals in connecting rational strategy and grievances. In Tajikistan, the competition between recruitment appeals targeting different identities and interests depended on the capabilities and values of the intelligentsia. The peace agreement implementation process and the activity of international donors and humanitarian organizations created greater autonomy for social activists and those who produce culture. The Dartmouth Conference "Sustained Dialogue" intervention stimulated the development of a new political culture of tolerance for public debate. In this perspective, the frame of political change through social transformation, community action and education overcame the frame that supported violence.
Preventing Student Veteran Attrition: What More Can We Do?:

Student veterans face many challenges when transitioning to college. This two-phase study first examined their retention and persistence through the use of archival data at one Midwestern public un...
The Decolonization of Africa

The First World War strengthened the native African resistance movements;’ the Second World War provided the opportunity to achieve success. The declaration of principles by Churchill and Roosevelt in the Atlantic Charter in 1941, with its promise of self-determination and self-government for all, brought new hope. As the Second World War progressed, there emerged a new genera­tion of black leaders intent on obtaining self-rule. Among them were Kwame Nkrumah (1909-72) of the Gold Coast, Leopold Sedar Senghor (b. 1906-) of Senegal, Jomo Kenyatta (1891-1978) of Kenya, Ahmed Sekou Toure (1922-84) of Guinea, Patrice Lumumba (1925­61) of the Belgian Congo (Zaire), Kenneth Kaunda (b. 1924-) of Northern Rhodesia, and Julius Nyerere (b. 1922-) of Tanganyika. Britain’s postwar relinquishing of India (1947), coupled with Dutch and French defeats in Asia, further strengthened the movement for African independence.
Ten Years of Real-time Earthquake Loss Alerts

The priorities of the most important parameters of an earthquake disaster are number of fatalities, number of injured, mean damage as a function of settlement, and expected intensity of shaking at critical facilities. The requirements to calculate these parameters in real time are (1) Availability of reliable earthquake source parameters within minutes. (2) Capability of calculating expected intensities of strong ground shaking. (3) Data sets on population distribution and conditions of building stock as a function of settlements. (4) Data on locations of critical facilities. (5) Verified methods of calculating damage and losses. (6) Personnel available on a 24/7 basis to perform and review these calculations. Three services are available that distribute information about the likely consequences of earthquakes within about half an hour of the event. Two of these calculate losses, one gives only general information. Although, much progress has been made during the last 10 years in improving data sets and calculating methods, much remains to be done. Data sets are only first-order approximations and the methods bare refinement. Nevertheless, the quantitative loss estimates after damaging earthquakes in real time are generally correct in the sense that they allow one to distinguish disastrous from inconsequential events.
Chemical Carcinogenesis: A Natural and Man-made Global Environmental Problem

ABSTRACT One of the first environmental and occupational diseases of modern times is that of the chimney sweep's cancer of the scrotum which 1s produced by the carcinogenic hydrocarbons in the soot. At the beginning of this century tumours were experimentally produced by painting soot extracts on the skin of animals. Since then, extensive tests with different chemicals in animals have revealed that 25% of all the chemical compounds tested were found to be carcinogenic. In the light of the results of this extensive research and of the more recent findings on the presence of carcinogens in polluted urban air, drinking water, food, industrial and commercial products, a consensus has been reached by cancer investigators that 80-90% of all human malignancies can be ultimately traced to the effect of environmental agents. Some of these agents are physical and biological, but the majority of them are chemical compounds manufactured by man, either as primary or secondary products of our diverse human activities. Although our technological civilization may be principally responsible for the high incidence of this environmental disease, 1t should be noted that chemical carcinogens are also found among natural products. It is even probable that these compounds existed before life appeared on the Earth, as indicated by the polycyclic hydrocarbons detected in meteorites and in cosmic grains from supernovae explosions, as well as in ashes and lava from various volcanoes. It is also known that a number of living organisms, such as fungi (e.g., aspergillus) and plants (e.g. ferns and cycads) produce potent chemical carcinogens (e.g. aflatoxin and cycasin) which usually cause cancer and death to animals ingesting them. A review of the most important naturally occurring and synthetic chemical carcinogens, and presently available methods for their detection will be presented.
Discussion: Screening-off and Visibility to Selection

Philosophers have used the probabilistic relation of ’screening-off‘ to explicate concepts in the theories of causation and explanation. Brandon has used screening-off relations in an attempt to reconstruct an argument of Mayr and Gould that natural selection acts at the level of the organism. I argue that Brandon‘s reconstruction is unsuccessful.
Functions and Programming

The base installation of R has many built-in functions, including sort and order to arrange vectors or arrays in ascending or descending order; all the standard trigonometric and hyperbolic functions log(base e), log10, exp, sqrt, abs, etc.; and more sophisticated mathematical functions such as factorial, gamma, bessel, fft (Fourier transform), etc. Additional mathematical functions, the orthogonal polynomials used in mathematical physics and chemistry, are available in the contributed package orthopolynom, available through the CRAN web site. The functions uniroot (Section 3.4.1) and polyroot (Section 3.4.2) are used to solve for the zeros of general functions and polynomials, respectively. In addition to those mathematical functions, R has numerous others that are useful to scientists.We’ll discuss three of them here in this section: sorting, splines, and sampling. At the end of this chapter, we’ll introduce some of the R functions that are commonly used in numerical analysis.
Learning from contrasting molecular animations with a metacognitive monitor activity

A common problem associated with having General Chemistry students view animations is that students tend to accept the animations as ‘‘correct’’ explanations without question or consideration for their limitations. This study proposes a new strategy for presenting animations in chemistry instruction that requires students to critique contrasting animations to determine which animation is a best fit with video-recorded scientific evidence. The purpose of the study was to examine how undergraduate students, enrolled in their first semester of a General Chemistry course, responded to two contrasting animations, one that was scientifically accurate and one that was scientifically inaccurate, as molecular level explanations of a video of a redox reaction involving the reaction between solid copper and aqueous silver nitrate. An analysis of a metacognitive monitoring activity was performed to study how students saw similarities and differences between the animations, as well as, to their own molecular level explanations of the reaction event. The findings revealed that students picked up on the mechanistic differences between the animations, but they struggled with understanding why the reaction happened. Regardless of their background knowledge of chemistry, students voiced preference for animations that were simplistic in their appearance and obvious in what they conveyed while also having an explicit connection to the macroscopic level.
Delivering tertiary centre specialty care to ALS patients via telemedicine: a retrospective cohort analysis.

Objective: This study was undertaken to determine if ALS patients evaluated via telemedicine received the same quality of care as patients evaluated by traditional face-to-face encounters.Methods: ...
Effects of food neophobia on visual attention and sensory acceptance of ethnic-flavored foods

Due to growing globalization, there has been an increase in demand for ethnic or ethnic-flavored foods in the retail grocery and foodservice industries. However, some consumers are unlikely to enjoy ethnic or ethnic-flavored foods due to novelty or unfamiliarity associated with them. Limited research exists on consumer behavior toward ethnic or ethnic-flavored foods as a function of food neophobia. This study aimed to determine the influence of food neophobia on Caucasian consumers’ visual attention toward packaging images, as well as sensory acceptance of ethnic-flavored potato chips. Ninety adults were divided into high food neophobia (HFN) and low food neophobia (LFN) groups based on a food neophobia scale score. All participants’ visual attention toward packaging images of ethnic-, local-, and plain-flavored potato chips were measured using an eye-tracker, and their willingness to taste, expected liking, and purchase intent were assessed. One week later, the participants rated sensory perception and liking of the potato chip samples whose packaging images had been viewed. Participants in the LFN group looked significantly longer at the descriptions of ethnic (Chinese Szechuan) and local (Southern biscuits and gravy) flavors shown on the packaging images of potato chips than did those in the HFN group. As participants in the LFN group, but not those in the HFN group, looked at the descriptions of ethnic flavors shown on the packaging longer, they were more likely to like and purchase those potato chips. There were only limited impacts of food neophobia on attribute intensities and likings of the potato chips, irrespective of flavor. In conclusion, this study provides empirical evidence that participants with a lower level of food neophobia are more attentive to descriptions regarding ethnic flavor shown on packaging of chip products, possibly inducing a higher intent of purchasing the products, although such findings vary with the type of ethnic flavor.
The spatial distribution of Republican and Democratic climate opinions at state and local scales

Even as US partisan polarization shapes climate and energy attitudes, substantial heterogeneity in climate opinions still exists among both Republicans and Democrats. To date, our understanding of this partisan heterogeneity has been limited to analysis of national- or, less commonly, state-level opinion poll subsamples. However, the dynamics of political representation and issue commitments play out over more finely resolved state and local scales. Here we use previously validated multilevel regression and post-stratification (MRP) models (Howe et al., Nat Clim Chang 5(6):596–603 2015; Mildenberger et al., PLoS One 11(8):e0159774 2016) combined with a novel approach to measuring the distribution of party members to model, for the first time, the spatial distribution of partisan climate and energy opinions. We find substantial geographic variation in Republican climate opinions across states and congressional districts. While Democratic party members consistently think human-caused global warming is happening and support climate policy reforms, the intensity of their climate beliefs also varies spatially at state and local scales. These results have policy-relevant implications for the trajectory of US climate policy reforms.
ELAMIPRETIDE RESTORES PROTEIN AND MRNA EXPRESSION LEVELS OF CARDIOLIPIN SYNTHASE-1 IN LEFT VENTRICULAR MYOCARDIUM OF DOGS WITH CHRONIC HEART FAILURE

Cardiolipin (CL), an inner mitochondrial (MITO) membrane phospholipid is synthesized by CL synthase-1 (CLS1) and is critical for normal MITO function. Levels of CL are reduced in MITO of LV myocardium of dogs with heart failure (HF) and are normalized after chronic therapy with elamipretide (ELAM),
Abstract P286: C-Reactive Protein, Inflammation, and Incident Venous Thrombosis: Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS)

Background: Inflammation is associated with increased risk of atherothrombosis. While C-reactive protein (CRP), a widely used biomarker of inflammation, is higher in the presence of several risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE), the role of CRP in predicting risk of VTE remains controversial. We examined the associations of circulating CRP and other biomarkers of inflammation with incident VTE in a large multi-ethnic population. Methods: REGARDS recruited 30,239 participants in their homes across the continental US between 2003-07; by design 55% were female, 41% black, and 56% lived in the southeast. CRP, white blood cell count (WBC), platelet count, and serum albumin were measured in baseline samples of REGARDS. CRP was log-transformed to normalize the distribution; back transformed means are presented. Cox models were used to calculate the association of biomarkers with VTE accounting for VTE risk factors; albumin was modeled per SD lower value. Results: There were 268 incident VTE events over 4.6 years of follow-up. Mean CRP was higher, and platelet count and albumin lower, in those with incident VTE compared to those without incident VTE (CRP: 2.8 vs. 2.2 mg/l; platelet count: 238 vs. 225 x10 9 cells/l; and albumin; 4.1 vs. 4.2 g/dl) (all p-values Conclusion: Higher CRP and lower albumin are associated with increased risk for VTE, while white cell count and platelet count were not.These data may reflect inherent differences in the biology related to inflammation and VTE, and suggest that CRP and albumin may be risk factors for VTE.
Clinical Features of Essential Tremor in Children

Investigators from Cleveland Clinic Child Neurology Center reported the clinical features of essential tremor (ET) in the pediatric population.
Sparse Bayesian Learning for Robust PCA

In this paper, we propose a new Bayesian model to solve the Robust PCA problem - recovering the underlying low-rank matrix and sparse matrix from their noisy compositions. We first derive and analyze a new objective function, which is proven to be equivalent to the fundamental minimizing "rank+sparsity" objective. To solve this objective, we develop a concise Sparse Bayesian Learning (SBL) method that has minimum assumptions and effectively deals with the crux of the problem. The concise modeling allows simple and effective Empirical Bayesian inference via MAP-EM. Simulation studies demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method over the existing state-of-the-art methods. The efficacy of the method is further verified through a text extraction image processing task.
Does dampness and mold in schools affect health? Results of a meta-analysis

This paper provides meta-analyses of the published findings relating the respiratory health of occupants of schools with visible dampness, water damage, visible mold, and/or mold odor. Random effects models were used to develop central estimates and confidence limits for the associations of respiratory health effects with school dampness and mold. Eleven studies, all with cross-sectional designs, were included in the meta-analyses; however, analyses for some health outcomes were based on as few as four studies. Analyses were performed using data from adults and children combined, using only data from children, and using data from adults and children after excluding two studies. The central estimates of odds ratios from the meta-analyses were consistently above unity. The evidence of adverse health effects was strongest for cough and wheeze, which had confidence limits excluding unity in some or all analyses. The odds ratios of 1.32 for cough and 1.68 for wheeze suggest moderate increases in health risk. Studies not included in the meta-analyses provide additional evidence that dampness and mold in schools are associated with adverse health outcomes. These meta-analyses and the published literature not included in the meta-analyses suggest that dampness and mold in schools are associated with adverse respiratory health effects.
Audit in View of Hygiene on the Design of Central Air Conditioning System in a Subway Complex Construction Project

This article intends to predict and assess possible hazards of a central air conditioning system in a large subway complex construction project.Design,technical parameters,and corresponding protective measures were audited and assessed in compliance with relevant hygienic standards.The overall plan and designed parameters on indoor temperature and humidity,fresh air vents,return air inlets,air outlets,duct systems,cooling water facility,condensate system,noise reduction measures,and air-conditioning room of this system fundamentally met the requirements of relevant national standards and guidelines.However,certain probable hygienic hazards still exist,thus fresh air volume,garage ventilation,and protection distance from the cooling tower need to be redesigned.
The Role of Hirak and the Southern Transitional Council

During Yemen’s street protests of 2011, and later during the war between 2015 and 2019, developments in the south were largely distinct from events in the north. To begin with, the demands of southern protesters in 2011 were unlike demands in the north because at the time southerners had been holding continuous street protests since 2007, four years before the northern opposition imported the “Arab Spring” model from Tunis and Cairo. Between 2007 and 2011, mass street protests in the south were part of a popular movement called al-Hirak, “the Movement,” which drew hundreds of thousands of citizens to the streets. When warfare erupted in early 2015, combat on southern lands increasingly played out as a war within the war, separate from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) coalition operations in the north against Houthi rebels and remnant loyalists of Saleh. The most significant wartime difference between the north and the south happened when the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) was announced in Aden on May 11, 2017. Just over two years later, the STC came to power in Aden after routing forces loyal to President Hadi during street battles in August 2019.
Superconducting magnesium diboride films for levitation of laser targets

Abstract Inertial confinement fusion targets would benefit from being levitated inside hohlraums to avoid capsule support-related implosion perturbations. Levitation inside a magnetic trap requires coating the capsule with a thin film that is superconducting at 20 K. Such non-epitaxial film growth on non-planar substrates is challenging. Here, we study Mg vapor annealing and solid-phase reactive inter-diffusion methods to form superconducting magnesium diboride (MgB2) films on different planar and spherical carbon substrates, evaluating glassy carbon, polycrystalline diamond made by chemical vapor deposition, and carbon deposited by magnetron sputtering of graphite targets. Thin films of B and Mg are produced by magnetron sputtering onto stationary planar or rolling spherical substrates and annealed at either 600 or 850 ∘C in Mg vapor. The films are characterized by a combination of high-energy ion scattering, electron microscopy, and magnetometry. Results show that the critical superconducting temperature of resultant films depends on film microstructure and oxygen impurity content. The formation of MgB2 films is also strongly substrate dependent, even in this case of non-epitaxial growth. Important factors to consider are oxygen outgassing of the substrate during thermal processing, substrate surface roughness, and the matching of thermal expansion coefficients of different layers in the multilayer structure.
Numerical Prediction of Residual Deformation and Failure for Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing of Metal Parts

Residual deformation and failure are two critical issues in powder bed fusion (PBF) additive manufacturing (AM) of metal products. Residual deformation caused by the non-uniform residual stress distribution dramatically affects the quality of AM product and can result in catastrophic failure in operation. Therefore, the development of an effective numerical approach to predict residual deformation and failure characteristics of AM product is always a major concern in industrial applications.In this paper, a numerical approach in predicting residual distortion, stress and failure in AM products is presented. The conventional inherent strain method used in welding process is modified to consider the specific characteristic of AM process, such as the influences of reheating and scanning pattern. This approach consists of three simulation steps including a detailed process simulation in small-scale, a onetime static mechanical finite element analysis in part-scale, and a material failure analysis. First, the inherent strains are calculated from a thermo-mechanical process simulation in small-scale, which considers AM process parameters, such as laser power, scanning speed and path. The physical state in deposited materials including powder, liquid and solid states are taken into account in the simulation by specifying the solidus and liquidus temperature and corresponding material properties. Then the inherent strains are applied layer by layer to the part-scale simulation, where the residual distortion and stress can be predicted efficiently. Finally, a Lagrange particle method is utilized to study the failure characteristics of AM products. Numerical examples are studied to investigate the effectiveness and applicability of present approach.
Risk factors associated with increased emergency department utilization in patients with sickle cell disease: a systematic literature review

Sickle cell disease (SCD), a genetic disorder affecting up to 100,000 patients in the USA, impacts multiple organ systems. The emergency department (ED) is frequently utilized by patients with SCD who have severe pain from vaso-occlusive crises. The goal of this systematic literature review is to identify predictors for ED use among patients with SCD in the USA, as high ED reliance is not ideal because of the potential for discontinuity of care as well as higher costs. PubMed and Embase were searched for articles containing the keywords “sickle cell disease” AND (“emergency” OR “acute care”) AND (“utilization” OR “health care”) published between 2000 and 26 September 2019. A total of 26 publications were identified meeting the following inclusion criteria: report of ED or acute care clinic use; report of health care utilization for SCD; and report of ED visits independent of hospital admission, ED revisits, inpatient care visits, and SCD care unit visits. Articles unavailable in English or those focused on populations outside the USA were excluded. Of the 26 articles included, 4 were prospective and the remainder were retrospective. Qualitative analysis of the articles revealed a higher rate of ED utilization among adults than children, patients with public insurance than private insurance, and patients with more comorbidities, complications, or pain. Age and pain levels were both commonly cited as predictors of ED utilization. Additional prospective and interventional studies are needed to further define predictors of ED utilization and to uncover treatments that decrease ED visits.
95 Year Old White Female with a Reddish, Nodule on Temple

A 95 year old white female nursing home patient presented with three lesions on her face, one of which was rapidly growing. She has a history of skin cancers, primarily squamous cell carcinomas and pre-cancers (actinic keratosis). In her youth, she spent considerable time outdoors and had multiple episodes of sun burns.
Ethnic-Racial and Religious Identity as Mediators of Relations Between Ethnic-Racial Socialization and Prosocial Behaviors Among Black Young Adults:

Scholars have long asserted the importance of studying cultural socialization processes predicting prosocial behaviors, but studies on this topic among Black young adults are rare. The current stud...
Race, class, and support for egalitarian statism among the African American middle class

This study uses data from the 1990 and 1987 years of the General Social Survey to assess the effects of minority status and position in the class structure in explaining middle class African Americans' support for opportunity-enhancing and outcome-based egalitarian statist policies. Findings do not provide confirmation for prior research that has found that racial effects are predominant, but has considered a more narrow range of policies and not assessed interaction effects. First, neither additive nor interactive effects of race and social class explain support for government policies that are premised on providing people with skills to compete in the labor market. Second, interaction effects are salient for government policies that are intended to guarantee socioeconomic outcomes. Specifically, the joint effects of race and social class explain levels of support that are intermediate between the relatively pro-interventionist views of working class racial peers and the more anti-statist stance of white middle class counterparts. The race/class dynamics are interpreted as a product of the extent to which the two policy types conform to the dominant principles of American stratification ideology. In addition, implications of the findings for understanding the kinds of policies likely to be enacted and racial inequality in the policy implementation process are discussed. Finally, suggestions for future research that shed additional light on the race/class basis of opinions about egalitarian statism are offered
The Political Economy of Taxation: A Critical Review of a Classic

This book review reexamines Henry Simons famous contribution to the tax policy literature, "Personal Income Taxation: The Definition of Income as Problem in Fiscal Policy" (1938). It argues that while Professor Simons was concerned with tax fairness and the redistribution of income, he adopted a definition of income that worked to undermine the interests of many of the poor individuals in society that he sought to support.
Screening and Selection

This article is reproduced from the previous edition, volume 20, pp. 13755–13760, © 2001, Elsevier Ltd, with an updated Bibliography section supplied by the Editor.
Behaviors of cavefish offer insight into developmental evolution

Many developmental processes have evolved through natural selection, yet in only a few cases do we understand if and how a change of developmental process produces a benefit. For example, many studies in evolutionary biology have investigated the developmental mechanisms that lead to novel structures in an animal, but only a few have addressed if these structures actually benefit the animal at the behavioral level of prey hunting and mating. As such, this review discusses an animal's behavior as the integrated functional output of its evolved morphological and physiological traits. Specifically, we focus on recent findings about the blind Mexican cavefish, Astyanax mexicanus, for which clear relationships exist between its physical traits and ecosystem. This species includes two morphotypes: an eyed surface dweller versus many conspecific types of blind cave dwellers, some of which evolved independently; all of the blind subtypes derived from eyed surface dwellers. The blind cavefish evolved under clear selection pressures: food is sparse and darkness is perpetual. Simulating the major aspects of a cave ecosystem in the laboratory is relatively easy, so we can use this species to begin resolving the relationships between evolved traits and selection pressures-relationships which are more complex for other animals models. This review discusses the recent advances in cavefish research that have helped us establish some key relationships between morphological evolution and environmental shifts.
Fate of Escherichia coli O157:H7 on fresh-cut apple tissue and its potential for transmission by fruit flies

Pathogenic Escherichia coli O157:H7, as well as nonpathogenic strains ATCC 11775 and ATCC 23716, grew exponentially in wounds on Golden Delicious apple fruit. The exponential growth occurred over a longer time period on fruit inoculated with a lower concentration of the bacterium than on fruit inoculated with a higher concentration. The bacterium reached the maximum population supported in the wounds regardless of the initial inoculum concentrations. Populations of E. coli O157:H7 in various concentrations of sterilized apple juice and unsterilized cider declined over time and declined more quickly in diluted juice and cider. The decline was greater in the unsterilized cider than in juice, which may have resulted from the interaction of E. coli O157:H7 with natural populations of yeasts that increased with time. Experiments on the transmission of E. coli by fruit flies, collected from a compost pile of decaying apples and peaches, were conducted with strain F-11775, a fluorescent transformant of nonpathogenic E. coli ATCC 11775. Fruit flies were easily contaminated externally and internally with E. coli F-11775 after contact with the bacterium source. The flies transmitted this bacterium to uncontaminated apple wounds, resulting in a high incidence of contaminated wounds. Populations of the bacterium in apple wounds increased significantly during the first 48 h after transmission. Further studies under commercial conditions are necessary to confirm these findings.
Association Between Orthopaedic Outpatient Satisfaction and Non-Modifiable Patient Factors.

Background: Increasingly, patient satisfaction surveys are being utilized to evaluate hospital and physician performance. Despite this, little is known about factors associated with patient satisfaction. The objective of this study was to determine whether selected non-modifiable patient characteristics are associated with outpatient satisfaction scores. Methods: We reviewed patient satisfaction scores from 12,177 outpatient clinical encounters at an academic orthopaedic outpatient clinic between December 2010 and October 2013. Any adult patient who completed at least one patient satisfaction survey at any point during the study period was included in this study. Factors including age, sex, employment status, type of health insurance, zip code, and orthopaedic subspecialty were recorded. Patients were divided into more satisfied and less satisfied groups, and generalized estimating equation logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors predictive of lower patient satisfaction. Results: Age was found to be strongly associated with patient satisfaction, with younger patients reporting less satisfaction; the adjusted odds ratio for the patient age of eighteen to twenty-nine years compared with the patient age of eighty years or older was 2.78 (95% confidence interval, 1.74 to 3.82) (p < 0.001). This relationship was maintained in a predictive model across all age groups, both sexes, all travel distances, and all orthopaedic subspecialties. Travel distance was also associated with patient satisfaction, with patients who live closer reporting less satisfaction compared with patients who live farther away; the adjusted odds ratio for a distance of less than fifty miles compared with a distance of fifty miles or more was 1.18 (95% confidence interval, 1.03 to 1.33) (p = 0.016). Conclusions: The finding that non-modifiable patient factors such as age and geographic location affect patient satisfaction challenges the utility of comparing patient satisfaction between populations that differ significantly with regard to such characteristics. Clinical Relevance: A more complete knowledge of the factors that influence patient satisfaction may enable better insight into the interpretation of current patient satisfaction metrics and may allow physicians and hospitals to improve their delivery of care.
Status thymico-lymphaticus

Summary Sudden death in children resolves itself as a problem into many components. There is, of course, no one cause and in a series of well over 500 autopsies in children dying suddenly, the thymus problem is a secondary one. Strangely, however, enlargement of the thymus gland, lymphatism, hypo-adrenalism, and similar related conditions have been displaced even from secondary positions of importance as causes of disease and death and thrown into disrepute by articles in the medical literature which are based more on precedent and fashion than upon observation. The now popular attitude that there is no such thing as Status Thymical Lymphaticus can be quickly dissipated by autopsy studies in any Coroner's Office where children are studied and the widespread belief that an enlarged thymus in itself will not cause asphyxia by tracheal and auricular compression and distortion, can be disproved at necropsy wherever studies are done on cases of sudden death in children. On the other hand, when once accepted, Status Thymical Lymphaticus and related terms become far too easy to use. Instead of being reserved for specific cases to which they properly apply, such diagnoses are generically used to explain many sudden deaths in children, where there is no other obvious cause. It may be that such diagnostic abuses have in the main been responsible for the disrepute of the thymic status. We now feel that an orderly necropsy proceedings will segregate the various causes of asphyxia in infants which is by far the commonest cause of sudden death under the age of 2 years and that such studies will, in their natural evolution, re-establish the relationship of enlarged thymus glands, lymphatism, adrenal hypoplasia, and such conditions either isolated or related as veritable and tenable direct and sole causes of death.
Portable standoff Raman and Mie-Rayleigh lidar for cloud, aerosol, and chemical monitoring

There is a need for portable, low-cost lidar systems that can be used for cloud, aerosols and chemical monitoring from a stand-off distance. At the University of Hawaii we have developed lidar systems based on a 12.7-cm diameter telescope and a 20 Hz frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser source. For stand off Raman detection of organic liquid and vapors, and plastic explosives, we are using a 0.25-m HoloSpec f/2.2 spectrometer equipped with a gated intensified detector (PI Model I-MAX-1024-E). The samples of interest are excited with 532-nm laser light (35 mJ/pulse). The operational range of the Raman system is in 10's of meters and has been tested at distance of 66 m. This system can also be operated as a Raman lidar by using appropriate filters for atmospheric nitrogen, oxygen and other gaseous species of interest. The Mie-Rayleigh lidar system uses the same telescope and laser, but we have three (1064, 532 and 355-nm) wavelengths available for monitoring clouds and aerosols. A small Hamamatsu H6779 photomultiplier tube (PMT) located near the focal point of telescope detects 532-nm backscatter signal. An avalanche photodiode (APD, EG & G C3095) detector equipped with a 2.5-cm diameter aspheric lens is used for detecting 1064-nm backscatter. The Mie-Rayleigh lidar has usable range of 60 - 4000 m. Results obtained with this system for marine aerosols and clouds are discussed.