cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Language of Miranda Warnings in American Jurisdictions: A Replication and Vocabulary Analysis

Miranda warnings are remarkably heterogeneous in their language, length, and content. Past research has focused mostly on individual Miranda warnings. Lacking in generalizability, these studies have limited applicability to both public policy and professional practice. A large-scale survey by R. Rogers et al. [2007b, Law and Human Behavior, 31, 177-192] examined Miranda warnings from across the United States and documented striking differences in the length, content, and reading comprehension. In moving from single jurisdiction studies to nationally representative research, the replication of the Rogers et al. survey is essential. With an additional 385 general Miranda warnings, most of the original findings were confirmed; this replication allows Miranda researchers to use findings based upon nationally-representative warnings for their subsequent research. Beyond reading comprehension, the study makes an original contribution to the understanding of Miranda vocabulary that is often infused with abstruse words and legalistic terms. It provides the first analysis of sentence complexity, which affects both Miranda comprehension and retention. As a result of these analyses, preliminary guidelines are provided for increasing the comprehension and understanding of Miranda warnings.
Yemeni debates on the status of non‐Muslims in Islamic law

Abstract This essay examines Yemeni legal debates, in the period between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, regarding the status of and relations with non‐Muslims inside and outside the Islamic state. The legal works considered in this paper are written by Zaydi scholars, but they are informed by all other Muslim legal traditions. Studies of the Islamic law of nations and of the dhimma system have traditionally fluctuated between either wholesale condemnation or unqualified apologetic defence. And yet, as the works examined in this essay illustrate, the Islamic legal position on each of the controversial aspects of the laws of non‐Muslims is diverse, and it does not lend itself to essentialist classifications. Moreover, this diversity demonstrates the internal flexibility of the law and its inherent potential for reforming itself.
Lectin binding distinguishes between neuroendocrine and neuronal derivatives of the sympathoadrenal neural crest

Lectin cytochemistry was used to identify surface epitopes selectively expressed by chromaffin cell chemoreceptors (glomus cells) in the rat carotid body. Unexpectedly, these studies revealed that binding sites for peanut agglutinin (PNA; Arachis hypogea) were highly expressed by all neuroendocrine derivatives of the sympathoadrenal neural crest, including glomus cells, small, intensely fluorescent cells, and adrenal chromaffin cells in situ. In contrast, principal sympathetic neurons did not express PNA receptors. PNA binding was inhibited by 2% galactose. To determine whether expression of PNA receptors was selectively induced by neuroendocrine differentiation of sympathoadrenal precursors, we compared PNA labeling of embryonic sympathoblasts in the presence of either nerve growth factor (NGF) or the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone (DEX). Dex-treated cells, which expressed several neuroendocrine traits, bound PNA, whereas NGF-treated neuronal derivatives did not. In addition, to examine whether expression of existing PNA receptors was down-regulated by neuronal differentiation of chromaffin cells, we compared labeling of PC12 cells, which normally bind PNA, in the presence and absence of NGF. Although PC12 cells acquired characteristic neuronal morphologies in the presence of NGF, they did not lose PNA labeling, even after 8 days of NGF treatment. These findings indicate that neuronal and neuroendocrine derivatives of the sympathoadrenal lineage can be distinguished by differential expression of carbohydrate epitopes and suggest that PNA receptors are induced by neuroendocrine differentiation. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Fixed-depth interconnection networks

Interconnection networks that have D stages with K*K switches, where D and K are powers of 2, are analyzed. The number of stages is held fixed irrespective of the number of processing elements in the system. These networks lie somewhere in the range between single-stage and multistage networks. The performance of these networks in terms of delay time for one-to-one connections, hardware complexity, and permuting abilities are considered. Routing tag schemes for routing data items through the network are presented. The D-stage network is compared with two well-known multistage networks in terms of the above-mentioned performance parameters. >
An analysis of the seismic characteristics of steel-jacketed circular bridge columns

The current approach for seismic retrofit of deficient bridge columns in California involves extensive use of steel jacketing. In this paper, the influence of steel jacketing on the lateral response of circular bridge columns is studied; particularly, the enhancement of the ultimate compressive strain of concrete, the increase in curvature ductility capacity and the increase in lateral stiffness are investigated. The current steel jacket thickness used in California is shown to enhance the ultimate compressive strain of concrete by 4-9 times the spalling strain of unconfined concrete. For larger steel jacket thickness, the ultimate limit state of steel-jacketed columns may be governed by the low-cycle fatigue fracture of the longitudinal reinforcement instead of the ultimate compressive strain of concrete. Steel jacketing is also expected to increase significantly the lateral stiffness of columns if full-height steel jackets are used. The increase in lateral stiffness of flexural columns (3 ≤ L/D ≤ 9) is estimated to be 35-60 per cent using current jacket thickness. Inelastic dynamic analyses of steel-jacketed columns using ground motions recorded during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake indicated that the current steel jacket thickness provides adequate protection against the damage potential of the ground motions with comparable spectral acceleration as that specified in current design spectra, and the damage sustained by the steel-jacketed column is likely to be repairable.
Repeated cocaine and stress increase dopamine clearance in the rat medial prefrontal cortex

Abstract The effects of repeated footshock stress or cocaine on the kinetics of dopamine clearance in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) were measured by rotating disk electrode voltammetry (RDEV). Five groups of rats were used: animals were either naive (non-handled), pre-treated with five daily saline (1 ml/kg i.p.) or cocaine (15 mg/kg i.p.) injections, or pre-treated with five daily 20-min sessions of sham shock or footshock (0.05 mA/200 ms/s). Dopamine clearance was measured after a 1-week withdrawal period. No difference in K m values was present among the treatment groups, with the mean K m value at ≈0.5 μ M for all groups. However, V max values were ≈50% higher in daily sham shock-, footshock- and cocaine-pre-treated animals compared to naive rats. The increased ability to remove dopamine in these animals suggests that altered dopamine clearance may serve an adaptive mechanism in the mPFC.
Racial Similarity in the Relationship Between Poverty and Homicide Rates: Comparing Re-Transformed Coefficients

Criminologists have shown great interest in comparing the strength of the relationship between poverty and violent crime for whites and blacks. The present paper argues that the standard approach of comparing race-specific coefficients from logarithmic metric OLS and/or Poisson-based regressions has led to erroneous conclusions in this literature. Unlike researchers in other disciplines (especially economics), criminologists have largely ignored the need to 're-transform' coefficients to their linear-effect representations before making comparisons between groups. The current study illustrates the importance of this methodological issue for the substantive question of whether poverty’s relationship to homicide is racially invariant (N=134 cities). Similar to previous studies, initial results indicated that poverty’s effect on the natural logarithm of the homicide rate was dramatically stronger for whites than blacks (nearly 300% stronger for whites). However, after applying a broadly useful re-transformation formula, poverty’s effect on the homicide rate actually appeared somewhat stronger for blacks. Further application of bootstrap simulations necessary to calculate the standard error of the difference in coefficients suggested that this racial discrepancy was not statistically significant.
A Permanent Magnet Undulator for SPEAR

A 30 period permanent magnet (SmCo5) undulator has been designed, built and tested. The period is 6.1 cm, overall length is 1.95 m, and the gap is variable from 2.7 cm to 6.0 cm. Magnetic measurements at the midplane with a 2.7 cm gap show that the field is sinusoidal with a peak value of .28 T. Construction details and magnetic measurements are presented along with the spectral distribution of radiation produced by 3.0 GeV electrons traversing the undulator.
Epidemiology of Diseases Caused by Xylella fastidiosa in California: Evaluation of Alfalfa as a Source of Vectors and Inocula

Pierce's disease and almond leaf scorch disease have been chronic problems for California grape and almond growers, respectively. Both diseases are caused by the xylem-limited, bacterial pathogen Xylella fastidiosa, which is transmitted by xylem-feeding insects. We evaluated the potential for alfalfa to serve as a source of vectors and inocula in California. Analysis of Geographic Information Systems maps on the distribution and abundance of grape, almond, and alfalfa plantings determined that 94,521 ha of almond and grape were planted within 1.6 km of an alfalfa field. Seasonal trends of X. fastidiosa detection were monitored outdoors and in the greenhouse in five needle-inoculated alfalfa cultivars (CUF101, Moapa69, WL342, WL530HQ, and WL625HQ) over 2 years. Results suggest that cool winter temperatures reduced X. fastidiosa populations to undetectable levels but did not eliminate infections. Sampling of alfalfa fields to assess incidence of X. fastidiosa corroborated this result, with positive samples detected in summer only. Incidence of X. fastidiosa in alfalfa during summer was low, with only 6 positive samples out of 1,156 samples collected over 3 years. Insect trapping in alfalfa fields over 3 years found that the green sharpshooter (Draeculacephala minerva) was the most abundant vector. Within alfalfa fields, green sharpshooter abundance was highest in weedy areas, suggesting a preference for weeds over alfalfa. These results confirm that weedy alfalfa fields can serve as an important source of vectors. Incidence of X. fastidiosa in alfalfa was low, possibly due to preference of vectors for weeds over alfalfa.
Multi-class active learning for video semantic feature extraction

Active learning has been demonstrated to be a useful tool to reduce human labeling effort for many multimedia applications, especially for those handling large video collections. However, most of the previous work on active learning has focused on only binary classification, which greatly limits the applicability of active learning. We present a multi-class active learning approach which extends active learning from binary classification to multi-class classification using a unified representation with margin-based loss functions. The experimental results on the TREC03 semantic feature extraction task shows that the proposed active learning approach works effectively even with a significantly reduced amount of labeled data.
Narcosis induced by ether and chloroform

Turning now to the discussion of the experimental results with specific narcotics, it seems reasonable first of all to describe in detail the experiments carried out with two compounds and their immediate results. These details should provide the reader with a clear understanding of the progression of experimental events.
Time Series Construction of Summer Surface Temperatures for Alabama, 1883–2014, and Comparisons with Tropospheric Temperature and Climate Model Simulations

AbstractThree time series of average summer [June–August (JJA)] daily maximum temperature (TMax) are developed for three interior regions of Alabama from stations with varying periods of record and unknown inhomogeneities. The time frame is 1883–2014. Inhomogeneities for each station’s time series are determined from pairwise comparisons with no use of station metadata other than location. The time series for the three adjoining regions are constructed separately and are then combined as a whole assuming trends over 132 yr will have little spatial variation either intraregionally or interregionally for these spatial scales. Varying the parameters of the construction methodology creates 333 time series with a central trend value based on the largest group of stations of −0.07°C decade−1 with a best-guess estimate of measurement uncertainty from −0.12° to −0.02°C decade−1. This best-guess result is insignificantly different (0.01°C decade−1) from a similar regional calculation using NOAA’s divisional datase...
Expanding the Spectrum of Attitudes Toward the Death Penalty: How Nondichotomous Response Options Affect Our Understandings of Death Penalty Attitudes

Overall, studies show that the majority of Americans support the use of the death penalty for murderers; however, few studies have investigated response patterns to death penalty survey questions t...
Gonadotrophic hormone secretion in immature hypophysectomized parabiotic rats.

SummaryUsing immature hypophysectomized-gonadectomized parabiotic rats it has been demonstrated that following gonad removal in both sexes follicular stimulation only is obtained in the ovaries of the hypophysectomized parabiont for as long as 53 days following the operation. If the hypophysectomized partner is a male, the testes are maintained in the scrotum and their average weight is somewhat less than that of normals, whereas the weight of the accessory glands is approximately the same as that of normal animals.Approximately 17% of the pairs failed to show any gonadal stimulation following the hypophysectomy-gonadectomy procedure. This percentage failure is slightly greater than that occurring in nonhypophysectomized pairs.
The chemical and biological assay of essential fatty acids.

After defining and developing the background of essential fatty acids, the various chemical, biological and physical methods which have been used for their assay will be reviewed. Specific recommendations will be made regarding techniques in each method category for natural and processed fats. Special attention will be given to the distinction between the essential fatty acids and the other polynnsaturated acids.
An Analysis of the Effect and Impacting Factors in Early Detecting for “Six Types Cancers” in Minhang District, Shangshai

[Purpose] To investigate the effect of "six types cancers"(cancers of colorectum,stom- ach,liver,lung,breast and cervical) early detection and its impacting factors in Minhang district. [Method] The stages,survival and QOL between queue and non-queued groups from 1999 to 2011 were compared. [Results] The early detection rate,survival rate of 1-year,3-year and 5-year and QOL of "six types cancers" in queue group were better than those in non-queue group. The effect of early detection in community-based mode was better than that in medical institutions based mode. Factors impacting survival of cancer patients were age,male,family history,surgical,multiple tumor,delayed early detection and delayed intervention,with OR of 1.03,1.13,2.17,1.21,1.88,1.76, 1.71 respectively.Compared with cervical cancer,in colorectum,stomach cancer,liver cancer and lung cancer was 1.55,2.55,3.99,and 4.07,respectively. The mortality risk of breast cancer was 0.66 times of cervical cancer. [Conclusion] Two early detection modes are all effective. Communi- ty-based early detection model is much better. Early detection,early diagnosis,early treatment and improving the cure rate are the keys to reduce the risk of death,especially the early detection and treatment for liver cancer and lung cancer should be strengthened.
Severe Kawasaki heart disease treated with an internal mammary artery graft in pediatric patients. A first successful report.

Two Japanese boys, 6 and 10 years old, required operation for severe Kawasaki heart disease. Both had multiple coronary arterial aneurysms and stenoses, and one had mitral regurgitation as well. The operations consisted of anastomosis between the left internal mammary artery and the left anterior descending artery and insertion of an autologous saphenous vein between the aorta and the posterior descending artery in both patients. The mitral valve was replaced in the one with mitral regurgitation. Angina pectoris has been completely relieved as confirmed by postoperative angiocardiography. Late results of coronary bypass grafting with the saphenous vein in pediatric patients with Kawasaki disease have been less than satisfactory because of the high occlusion rate of the graft The internal mammary artery may be superior, at least theoretically, to the saphenous vein graft because it is a “living graft” with a high possibility of growing and with less susceptibility to degeneration. This is the first report of successful operation utilizing an internal mammary artery graft in coronary bypass for Kawasaki disease.
Measurement equivalence of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS ® ) Medicare survey items between Whites and Asians

Asians report worse experiences with care than Whites. This could be due to true differences in care received, expectations about care, or survey response styles. We examined responses to the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) Medicare survey items by Whites and Asians, controlling for underlying level on the CAHPS constructs. We conducted multiple group analyses to evaluate measurement equivalence of CAHPS Medicare survey data between White and Asian Medicare beneficiaries for CAHPS reporting composites (communication with personal doctor, access to care, plan customer service) and global ratings of care using pooled data from 2007 to 2011. Responses were obtained from 1,326,410 non-Hispanic Whites and 40,672 non-Hispanic Asians (hereafter referred to as Whites and Asians). The median age for Whites was 70, with 24 % 80 or older, and 70 for Asians, with 23 % 80 or older. Fifty-eight percent of Whites and 56 % of Asians were female. A model without group-specific estimates fit the data as well as a model that included 12 group-specific estimates (7 factor loadings, 3 measured variable errors, and 2 item intercepts): Comparative Fit Index = 0.947 and 0.948; root-mean-square error of approximation = 0.052 and 0.052, respectively). Differences in latent CAHPS score means between Whites and Hispanics estimated from the two models were similar, differing by 0.053 SD or less. This study provides support for measurement equivalence of the CAHPS Medicare survey composites (communication, access, customer service) and global ratings between White and Asian respondents, supporting comparisons of care experiences between the two groups.
NESTARCHITEKTUR UND WOHNUNGSSUCHE

Von Tieren erbaute Strukturen lassen sich als ausere Organe ihrer Baumeister betrachten oder, genauer gesagt, als erweiterter Phanotyp der Organismen, die sie hervorgebracht haben.1, 2 Die arttypischen Neststrukturen sind bei sozialen Insekten das Ergebnis kollektiven Handelns vieler Individuen und somit die erweiterten Phanotypen der kooperierenden Gruppen, der Superorganismen, die sie erbauten.
Vampiras and Vampiresas

If a non-Spanish speaker were to grapple with translating “vampire” into Spanish, s/he may come across false cognates. In Spanish, a vampiro is a male vampire, while vampira is, unsurprisingly, female. The word vampiresa, despite its inclusion of “vampire,” translates to “seductress.” However, when one engages in a bit of linguistic wordplay in a reading of vampire texts that include Latina vampires, vampira and vampiresa come intriguingly close to becoming synonymous.
Unprotected Left Main Intervention The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Despite impressive advances in stent technology, unprotected left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease requiring revascularization remains the province of the surgeon at most institutions. In a 2007 editorial, we summarized the evolution of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for LMCA disease, concluding that given the available evidence at that time, coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) should remain the procedure of choice for most good surgical candidates with significant LMCA disease.1 Moreover, just a few months ago in 2009, a consensus document from 6 cardiac societies was published describing “Appropriateness Criteria for Coronary Revascularization,” in which PCI was considered to be “inappropriate” for significant LMCA disease, regardless of the extent of concomitant coronary artery disease, presence or absence of diabetes, and left ventricular function.2 Since these publications, important new evidence has emerged that has challenged the surgical gold standard. In the large-scale multicenter MAIN-COMPARE registry, stent implantation and CABG had comparable 3-year rates of mortality and composite death, Q-wave myocardial infarction, or stroke in patients with LMCA disease, although target vessel revascularization was more common with bare metal stents or drug-eluting stents (DES) than with surgery.3 Of even greater significance, among 1800 patients with LMCA or triple vessel disease randomized to paclitaxel-eluting stents versus surgery in the SYNTAX trial, paclitaxel-eluting stents compared with CABG resulted in nonsignificantly different 1-year rates of death and myocardial infarction, with 76 more revascularization procedures but with 16 fewer strokes per 1000 patients treated, both significant differences.4 The results with paclitaxel-eluting stents were even more favorable in the 705 randomized patient LMCA disease cohort …
Single antenna in-band full-duplex isolation-improvement techniques

Many in-band full-duplex wireless systems transmit and receive on a single antenna to minimize redundancy and maintain compact form factors. For effective operation, all of these systems need to maximize transmit-to-receive isolation, which is limited by non-ideal antenna matching and non-zero circulator leakage. Several isolation-improvement techniques are investigated in this paper, and illustrate how RF components can be used to minimize the consequential self-interference of these systems. Two unique cancellation schemes were validated, and the isolation of a single-antenna transceiver was measured to improve by 15 and 33 dB over the 100 MHz bandwidth centered at 2.45 GHz.
Design and applications of high Q passive devices on multilayered liquid crystalline polymer based substrates for handset applications

In the recent past, fully packaged RF modules suitable for integration in wireless handsets have been fabricated on organic packaging technology that uses a single sheet liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) substrate. This paper demonstrates the RF characterization of inductors that were fabricated on two different stack-ups utilizing different configurations of the LCP substrate. The paper, then, shows the implementations of the embedded LC passives in RF front-end modules such as voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs) and tunable filters. The first application is the design and implementation of a 1.8 GHz feedback oscillator in a novel multilayer laminate-type process technology that uses three layers of LCP substrate. The microstrip type oscillator measures a phase noise of -117 dBc/Hz at 100 KHz offset at 10 mW of power consumption. The oscillator meets the stringent phase noise specifications of cellular systems for both mobile-station and base-stations. The final application of the high quality factor (Q) passives is in the design and implementation of voltage tunable filters useful for WLAN applications. The filters were fabricated on a completely different stack-up that uses two layers of LCP substrate. The filter prototype is tunable from 1.75 to 2.03 GHz with an insertion loss of 2.5 dB using lossy surface-mount varactor diodes.
Electrical Probes of DNA-Binding Proteins

A DNA electrochemistry platform has been developed to probe proteins bound to DNA electrically. Here gold electrodes are modified with thiol-modified DNA, and DNA charge transport chemistry is used to probe DNA binding and enzymatic reaction both with redox-silent and redox-active proteins. For redox-active proteins, the electrochemistry permits the determination of redox potentials in the DNA-bound form, where comparisons to DNA-free potentials can be made using graphite electrodes without DNA modification. Importantly, electrochemistry on the DNA-modified electrodes facilitates reaction under aqueous, physiological conditions with a sensitive electrical measurement of binding and activity.
Interaction Effects among Labeled Attributes for Eggs in the United States

New labels for food products continue to be introduced in the United States. This paper estimates interaction effects among labeled attributes for eggs to investigate cases where affixing labels of...
Relational Attachment at Work: A Complementary Fit Perspective on the Role of Relationships in Organizational Life

Organizational scholars concur that supportive work relationships can attach employees to their workplace and improve the quality of organizational life, but they lack insights into how or why this...
Examining the Therapeutic Potential of Kratom Within the American Drug Regulatory System

Kratom is a plant native to Southeast Asia. It has been used for hundreds, if not thousands, of years in traditional medicine within that region. Kratom is a rare substance, due to it having both stimulant and narcotic properties. Kratom use has spread to regions outside of its native geographic range, and these countries are simultaneously considering both the benefits kratom could hold for patients and the misuse that could occur among drug users. Within the United States, after reports of increasing kratom use, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced its intention to regulate the plant on an emergency basis. After considerable public and legislative backlash, the DEA backed off of this decision. To date, no federal regulation exists within the United States, and only a few states have regulations. This chapter discusses kratom use within Southeast Asia and the growing body of research documenting the potential medical benefits as well as the abuse liability of kratom. It concludes by discussing the drug regulation system within the United States and the potential hurdles kratom might face before becoming a recognized part of American pharmacopeia.
The Demography of Rural Latin America: The Case of Chile

The most recent century witnessed deep and rapid demographic change in Latin America characterized by rapid population increase owing to the demographic transition, and urbanization resulting from industrialization, immigration, and rural-to-urban migration. Our purpose here was to provide an entree into the rural demography of Latin America by focusing on one of the region’s more demographically advanced, urban and prosperous nations, Chile. Analyzing data from the 2006 National Socioeconomic Characterization Survey we show that the 13% of Chileans who live in rural areas differ from their urban counterparts in important ways. Rural adults are more likely to be married and to cohabit, and to be elderly and residentially stable. Socioeconomically, rural residents have lower incomes, higher rates of illiteracy, and lower educational achievement. They are less attached to the formal labor force, and more likely employed in agriculture. Rural residents have less access to public utilities, fewer material possessions and less cultural capital. Future research needs to focus on several of the issues our descriptive analyses spotlight, notably rural economic disadvantage, rural-to-urban migration, and rural marriage and family.
Women Owned Businesses and Bank Switching: The Role of Customer Service

The number of businesses owned and operated by women is increasing rapidly, and women owned businesses are becoming a powerful economic force. It is estimated that half of the businesses in this country will be owned and operated by women by the year 2,000. This article describes research conducted on women owned small businesses and the nature of their banking relationships. Findings revealed that over 90% of those surveyed used banking products. A surprisingly high percentage of the women surveyed had switched banks. Major reasons for switching included poor customer service, an arrogant and condescending attitude on the part of bank personnel, and errors and mistakes. These results suggest opportunities for bank managers to improve the quality of their interactions with women business owners, a growing segment of the market.
Building the Infrastructure of E-University

E-University refers to the university that supports its research, education and administrative activities via the internet that overcomes the boundaries of time and space. The underlying infrastructure is a web based autonomous distributed information system, which integrates very different format of data. The data may be structured or unstructured text, pictures, sound, and video. It is a very complex information system. In this paper only very few issues have been touched: privacy and security, group ware, management of multimedia (text, graphics, images, audio and video) and semi structured text (XML technology).
Optimal Tap Setting of Voltage Regulation Transformers Using Batch Reinforcement Learning

In this paper, we address the problem of setting the tap positions of load tap changers (LTCs) for voltage regulation in power distribution systems. The objective is to find a policy that maps measurements of voltage magnitudes and topology information to LTC tap ratio changes so as to minimize the voltage deviation across the system. We formulate this problem as a Markov decision process (MDP), and propose a data and computationally efficient batch reinforcement learning (RL) algorithm to solve it. To circumvent the “curse of dimensionality” resulting from the large state and action spaces, we propose a sequential learning algorithm to learn an action-value function for each LTC, based on which the optimal tap positions can be directly determined. By taking advantage of a linearized power flow model, we propose an algorithm to estimate the voltage magnitudes under different tap settings, which allows the RL algorithm to explore the state and action spaces freely offline without impacting the system operation. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is validated via numerical simulations on the IEEE 13-bus and 123-bus distribution test feeders.
Using a shoebox spectrograph to investigate the differences between reflection and emission

For various reasons, optics laboratories often become activities of following instructions and being told to look at one thing or another. This approach can prevent students from exploring optics on their own and diminishes opportunities for “play” and discovery, which are critical to learning. On the other hand, letting students simply explore with equipment that they are just learning to use can be risky and expensive. This is particularly true for spectroscopy with monochromators and spectrographs. To help students gain a better understanding of spectroscopy through inquiry-based discovery learning, we have designed a low-budget and durable spectrograph, which we call a “shoebox spectrograph” that students assemble themselves. Our spectrograph (less than $30 per unit, which includes a webcam to collect spectral images) can then be used in discovery-themed experiments enabling students to explore spectroscopic properties of light as it extends to vision without much fear of student destruction. In this report, we discuss how our spectrograph works, its construction, and explore a student experiment that explores reflected light versus fluorescence.
Simultaneous Fault Detection and Identification in Continuous Processes via nonlinear Support Vector Machine based Feature Selection

Abstract Rapid detection and identification of process faults in industrial applications is crucial to sustain a safe and profitable operation. Today, the advances in sensor technologies have facilitated large amounts of chemical process data collection in real time which subsequently broadened the use of data-driven process monitoring techniques via machine learning and multivariate statistical analysis. One of the well-known machine learning techniques is Support Vector Machines (SVM) which allows the use of high dimensional feature sets for learning problems such as classification and regression. In this paper, we present the application of a novel nonlinear (kernel-dependent) SVM-based feature selection algorithm to process monitoring and fault detection of continuous processes. The developed methodology is derived from sensitivity analysis of the dual SVM objective and utilizes existing and novel greedy algorithms to rank features that also guides fault diagnosis. Specifically, we train fault-specific two-class SVM models to detect faulty operations, while using the feature selection algorithm to improve the accuracy of the fault detection models and perform fault diagnosis. We present results for the Tennessee Eastman process as a case study and compare our approach to existing approaches for fault detection, diagnosis and identification.
First Record of Chorioactis geaster from Oklahoma

Chorioactis geaster (Peck) Kupfer, the devil’s cigar fungus, is reported from Oklahoma for the first time. A collection was made in Choctaw County in southeast Oklahoma in January 2017. Chorioactis geaster is a fleshy fungus that belongs to the Ascomycota and is an example of what are commonly referred to as cup fungi. The young ascomata are closed, swollen-elongate, brown and finely hairy. During expansion, the ascomata split into 3–6 rays that are reminiscent of earth star fungi. The hymenophore color is pale yellow to tan. The ascospores are large, measuring 60–70 x 12– 13 μm , and are curved-fusoid in shape. All previous records from the United States have been reported from Texas, and the fungus is also known from Japan. The holotype was collected in Austin, Texas in 1891 and described by Charles H. Peck in the genus Urnula .
[P086] Impact of modality (2D planar, 2D/3D hybrid, 3D SPECT) on kidneys absorbed dose in lu-177-based PRRT

Purpose In peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) the kidneys are considered an organ at risk for radiation-induced damage. Thus the absorbed dose to the kidneys is one important safety parameter with the potential to influence treatment regimen and therefore treatment outcome. Dosimetry can be performed using planar, hybrid (planar/SPECT) or SPECT imaging. The choice of modality is expected to impact the results. In this work we aimed to compare (1) the different modalities and (2) different planar correction/calibration methods. Methods Retrospective planar, hybrid and 3D dosimetry analysis was performed using the internal dosimetry software suite QDOSE. Five patients with neuroendocrine tumours, who received 177Lu-Dotatate PRRT and were imaged at time points at 0.5 h, 4 h, 24 h and 96 h post-injection, were analyzed. SPECT data were reconstructed with 3D OSEM including attenuation and scatter correction. Planar corrections included attenuation correction using a broad beam μ and background correction. The activity calibration of the planar data was performed either using the activity in the whole body (WB) or a reference vial. Phantom-based dose calculations were performed using IDAC-Dose 2.1. Results Comparing modalities, using 3D SPECT as reference, the absorbed dose to the kidneys was overestimated by 95% when calculated with planar methodology and by 13% when hybrid dosimetry was applied. Regarding planar corrections, there was only a moderate difference between vial and WB calibration of −14% when all corrections were applied. However, vial calibration without attenuation correction resulted in a large deviation of −58% compared to full correction. When WB calibration was applied, no correction performed slightly better (−8% deviation) than only attenuation correction (+9%) or only background correction (−14%) compared to full correction. Conclusions For quantitative accuracy 3D SPECT dosimetry is preferable. If planar imaging is used, overlapping activity can cause significant overestimation of activity and hence absorbed dose for the kidneys. As absorbed dose limits (23Gy–29Gy) are commonly applied to the kidneys, dosimetry results based on planar imaging could potentially impede treatment efficacy by artificially restricting the administered therapeutic activity. Hybrid dosimetry provided a sufficiently accurate compromise between the higher acquisition time demands of 3D dosimetry and limited accuracy of planar dosimetry.
Operating room turnover time autocorrelation while using mobile applications

We would like to thank Drs. Dexter and Epstein for their well thought-out comments to our recent article about the use of an Android app to record the OR turnover times. In their letter, they raised several important questions and asked for clarifications which we now provide. At the time we performed our experiments, Greenville Memorial Hospital did not have sensor data to track OR turnover times. This is still the case as of today. The response to the inquiry related to turnover time autocorrelation is provided in the following.
Religion and Mental Health among Central Asian Muslim Immigrants in Chicago Metropolitan Area

Migration creates opportunities but also bring challenges that cause stress and affect mental health of migrants. Stress among Muslim immigrants can be intensified by experiences of discrimination. This study addressed the meaning and role of religion as a mediator of stress and mental health among Central Asian Muslim immigrants. This paper explored whether religious coping worked for recent Muslim immigrants in the US, and how religion buffered migration and discrimination-related stress that negatively affected mental health of Central Asian immigrants. Drawing from different types of ethnographic and biological data, collected in Chicago Metropolitan Area, this study explored culturally embedded stress responses, and tested the religious coping framework upon experiences of a new minority group of Muslim immigrants in the US, expanding our knowledge on factors that inform health outcomes of immigrant population.
The Interaction Between Two Worlds: MicroRNAs and Toll-Like Receptors

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are critical mediators of posttranscriptional regulation via their targeting of the imperfect antisense complementary regions of coding and non-coding transcripts. Recently, researchers have shown that miRNAs play roles in many aspects of regulation of immune cell function by targeting of inflammation-associated genes, including Toll-like receptors (TLRs). Besides this indirect regulatory role of miRNAs, they can also act as physiological ligands of specific TLRs and initiate the signaling cascade of immune response. In this review, we summarize the potential roles of miRNAs in regulation of TLR gene expression and TLR signaling, with a focus on the ability of miRNAs bind to TLRs.
The Evolution of Surgical Management for Children and Young Adults With Spontaneous Pneumothorax.

Abstract Background Few studies have analyzed pediatric spontaneous pneumothorax (SPTX) nationally. We sought to better define this patient population and explore the evolution of surgical management. Methods Patients (10-20 y old) with an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision diagnosis of SPTX were identified within the Kids' Inpatient Database for the years 2006, 2009, and 2012. Diagnoses and procedures were analyzed by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes. National estimates were obtained using case weighting. Results There were 11,792 pediatric SPTX hospitalizations, and patients were predominantly male (84.0%), non-Hispanic white (69.0%), with a mean age of 17.2 y (95% confidence interval, 17.2-17.3). Overall, 52.5% underwent tube thoracostomy as the primary intervention, and more than one-third had a major surgical procedure (34.9%). From 2006 to 2012, there was an increase in bleb excisions from 81.1% to 86.9% and an increase in mechanical pleurodesis from 64.2% to 69.0%. There was a significant change from a predominantly open thoracotomy approach in 2006 (76.1%) to a video-assisted thoracoscopic approach in 2012 (89.3%). Conclusions Pediatric admission for SPTX results in tube thoracostomy in more than half of the cases and surgery in approximately one-third of the cases. Surgical intervention has changed to a more minimally invasive approach during the last decade, and counseling to patients and their families should reflect these updated management strategies. Level of Evidence III.
The Identification of National Trends and Issues for Workplace Preparation and their Implications for Vocational Teacher Education

The development of a well-prepared workforce is an issue of critical concern in America and education is a key ingredient for preparing a well-qualified workforce. However, policymakers have tended to overlook teacher preparation and its place in preparing a competitive workforce. The University Council for Vocational Education (UCVE) funded this study to identify significant trends and issues of national importance for workforce preparation and determine their implications for vocational teacher preparation. The research was initiated with development of an extensive annotated bibliography of over 300 relevant publications that focused on the preparation of the nation's skilled workforce. Of those documents 19 were judged by institutional representatives of UCVE to be of importance in the identification of trends and issues for the preparation of a well-qualified workforce. The selected documents were submitted to institutional representatives with a request that they identify implications for vocational teacher education. Using a nominal group methodology, the implications were then identified and prioritized with respect to the improvement of policy and practice for vocational teacher education. The results of the study were used to prepare a statement for those concerned with the preparation or teachers' needed to educate a well qualified workforce for the nation.
Plasma Neurofilament Light Chain as a Translational Biomarker of Aging and Neurodegeneration in Dogs

Age is a primary risk factor for multiple comorbidities including neurodegenerative diseases. Pet dogs and humans represent two populations that have experienced a significant increase in average life expectancy over the last century. A higher prevalence of age-related neurodegenerative diseases has been observed across both species, and human diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), have canine analogs, canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD), and degenerative myelopathy (DM) respectively. In humans, protein biomarkers have proved useful in the prediction and diagnosis of neurodegeneration. Molecular signatures of many proteins are highly conserved across species. In this study, we explored the potential of the neuronal cytoskeletal protein neurofilament light chain (NfL) as a biomarker of neuro-aging in dogs using an ultrasensitive single-molecule array assay to measure plasma concentrations. Healthy dogs of different ages and dogs affected with CCD and DM were evaluated. The mean plasma NfL concentrations in the different age groups of the healthy population were as follows: 4.55 ± 1.70 pg/mL in puppy/junior group (0.43–2 years), 13.51 ± 6.8 pg/mL in adult/mature group (2.1–9 years), and 47.1 ± 12.68 pg/mL in geriatric/senior group (9.3–14.5 years). Concentrations in dogs with DM (7.5–12.6 years) and CCD (11.0–15.6 years) were 84.17 ± 53.57 pg/mL and 100.73 ± 83.72 pg/mL, respectively. Plasma NfL increases in an age-dependent manner and is significantly elevated in dogs diagnosed with neurodegenerative disease. This work identified plasma NfL as a key clinical index of neuro-aging and neurodegeneration in pet dogs. Our findings mirror recent reports from human neurodegenerative diseases.
Fluorogenic DNase Sensor Reveals Ubiquitous DNase Activity in Podosomes and Invadopodia

Podosomes and invadopodia, collectively termed invadosomes, are important adhesive and degradative units formed in macrophages, osteoclasts, dendritic cells, cancer cells, and many other cell types. Invadosomes are well known for recruiting proteases that degrade matrix proteins and facilitate cell invasion. In contrast to the extensively studied proteases, another important class of degradative enzymes, DNase, remains uninvestigated and in fact, unknown in invadosomes. Using surface nuclease sensor (SNS), which reports deoxyribonuclease (DNase) activity on the cell membrane by fluorescence signal, we revealed that invadosomes, regardless of cell types or species, universally recruit DNase and readily degrade extracellular double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). We identified the recruited DNase as GPI-anchored membrane protein DNase X which functions locally at the cell-substrate interface and is co-localized with the actin cores of the invadosomes. DNase recruitment is highly consistent and rapid in invadosomes. Co-imaging of F-actin and DNase activity shows that 46-86% invadosomes (dependent on cell types) have associated DNase activities. Time series imaging shows that DNase becomes active within a minute after the actin nucleation, functioning concomitantly with protease activity in podosomes but preceding it in invadopodia. Overall, this discovery suggests a richer arsenal of degradative enzymes in invadosomes at the cell-substrate interface. This work would likely prompt more studies to investigate DNase in invadosomes, in particular, to understand the physiological role of invadosome-associated membrane DNase in cell functions such as immune response, cell migration, matrix remodeling, etc.
Solving differential equations with reconfigurable Mach–Zehnder interferometer photonic networks

In this work we present and discuss the case of a reconfigurable, Mach–Zehnder interferometer-based photonic network, specially designed for implementing any arbitrary matrix operator. After a brief discussion on the available architectures we describe the main elements of the proposed architecture. Finally, using simulations we demonstrate a practical example where an $11 \times11$ MZI network is implement for the solution of differential equation.
Active and Protected: Developing a “Safer Sex” Handout for Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer

There is a critical need to engage adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer in conversations regarding "safer" sexual activity during treatment. Many providers, however, report lacking the knowledge and/or tools to engage in these discussions. This article describes the experience of one pediatric institution in assessing and addressing provider barriers to safer sexual activity discussions among AYAs with cancer. Feedback from patients and providers resulted in an educational handout detailing recommendations regarding safer sex practices for AYAs with cancer. Handout adoption, acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility are described alongside barriers to assist other institutions seeking to develop similar interventions.