cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A systematic review of psychosocial therapies for children with rheumatic diseases

To assess the quality of evidence for the effects of psychosocial therapies on pain and function in children with rheumatic diseases. We conducted a literature search of MEDLINE and PsycINFO for randomized clinical trials of psychosocial interventions for pain and disability in children with rheumatic diseases from January 1969 to September 2015. Studies with a sample size less than 10 subjects were excluded. Study quality was assessed using the Jadad score. Five articles met inclusion criteria, for a total of 229 patients, aged 5 to 18 years. Two studies included children with fibromyalgia. Three studies included children with juvenile arthritis. Neither study in fibromyalgia reported the statistical significance of immediate between-group pre-post changes in functioning or pain. One study examining the effects of an internet-based psychosocial intervention in children with juvenile arthritis reported significant differences in post-intervention pain scores (p = 0.03). However, 2 studies did not show improvements in pain scores among children with juvenile arthritis treated with psychosocial interventions vs. a wait-list control or vs. an active control (massage). No studies reported significant between-group differences for functional outcomes in children with juvenile arthritis. The available data were limited by the scarcity of randomized trials. Definite conclusions about the immediate effect of psychosocial interventions on pain and function in children with fibromyalgia could not be made because between-group comparisons of post-treatment change scores were not reported. For children with juvenile inflammatory arthritis, results of between-group comparisons for pain differed across studies, and analyses examining disability revealed no significant differences between groups.
Implications and Future Research Directions

Empirical evidence presented in the preceding chapters demonstrated that there is much to be gained educationally in general, and mathematically in particular, for learners and teachers of mathematics at all levels, through the development and application of an innovative approach to teaching mathematics by utilising the meta-cognitive strategy of concept mapping, available computer software and internet resources and recent developments in mathematics education to improve the processes involved in the planning and teaching of mathematics by teachers and in the learning and assessment of students’ problem solving skills and most important, the constructive development of students’ conceptual understanding of mathematics. Whilst various authors from different parts of the world, investigated and presented the work of one, a few, or many teachers/students, subsequent findings nonetheless suggest potentially viable approaches that could be usefully adopted and adapted in mathematics classrooms anywhere in the world to address the recurring problems experienced by many students as they struggle to make sense of mathematics problems, concepts and processes. These findings have implications for learners of mathematics both in schools and various university programs.
Rapid characterization of candidate loss of function genes in primary organoid culture.

77Background: Genome scale sequencing efforts have identified chromosomal deletions and non-synonymous mutations as putative drivers of gastro-intestinal cancer. There is a need to rapidly validate these drivers in robust models. The culture of primary, non-transformed tissues in vitro as three-dimensional organoids that accurately recapitulate organ structure and physiology serves as an ideal model for such validation, and many other applications in biology. Methods: Mouse wild type and p53flox/flox upper digestive tract tissue containing epithelial and mesenchymal components were cultured in an air-liquid interface and subjected to adenovirus expressing either a functional control or Cre recombinase. Resultant organoids were passaged at confluency until dysplasia was evident in histology. A lentiviral shRNA (loss-of-function) screen was then conducted, where proliferative activity was measured with barcode reads from the pooled library. Results: p53-null organoids showed histology consistent with human ...
Espresso: A Data Naming Service for Self-Summarizing Transport

Recent work suggested that, in the age of data overload produced by sensors, social media, and IoT devices, a key new type of network transport protocols will be one that offers representative summaries of requested data, retrieved at a consumer-controlled degree of granularity. Given the over-abundance of data, consumers will seldom need all data on a topic, but rather will increasingly favor an appropriate sampling for summarization purposes. The paper explores such sampling as a novel service enabled by information-centric networking paradigms that name data objects, not hosts. By naming data objects, it becomes possible to selectively retrieve them, but the properties of the resulting sampling depend on the naming scheme. This paper describes an automated object naming service, called Espresso, that facilitates content sampling over information- centric networks. We show how Espresso, combined with a trivial retrieval policy, translates the sampling problem into a naming problem, and customizes the naming to different applications' sampling needs. Experimental results show that the computational overhead of automated naming is affordable. The service is first evaluated in simulation, demonstrating a higher sampled-data utility to the consumer, while balancing retrieved data importance and diversity. Social network applications are then introduced, where naming is produced by Espresso. Results demonstrate the advantages of Espresso, compared to baselines, in terms of retrieving meaningful media data summaries.
Single-Docking Full Robotic Surgery for Rectal Cancer: A Single-Center Experience.

Purpose Robotic surgery has gradually gained importance in the treatment of rectal cancer. However, recent studies have not shown any advantages when compared with laparoscopy. The objective of this study is to report a single surgeon's experience in robotic rectal surgery focusing on short-term and long-term outcomes. Methods Sixty consecutive robotic rectal resections for adenocarcinoma, over a 4-year period, were retrospectively reviewed. Patients' characteristics and perioperative outcomes were analyzed. Oncological outcomes and surgical resection quality as well as overall and disease-free survival were also assessed. Results Thirty patients out of 60 (50%) underwent neoadjuvant therapy. Anterior rectal resection was performed in 52 cases (86.7%), and abdominoperineal resection was done in 8 cases (13.3%). Mean operative time was 283 (±68.6) minutes. The conversion rate was 5% (3 patients). Postoperative complications occurred in 10 cases (16.7%), and reoperation was required in 1 case (1.7%). Mean hospital stay was 9 days, while 30-day mortality was 1.7% (1 patients). The histopathological analysis reported a negative circumferential radial margin and distal margins in 100% of cases with a complete or near complete total mesorectal excision in 98.3% of patients. Mean follow-up was 32.8 months with a recurrence rate of 3.4% (2 patients). Overall survival and disease-free survival were 94% and 87%, respectively. Conclusions Robotic surgery for rectal cancer proves to be safe and feasible when performed by highly skilled surgeons. It offers acceptable perioperative outcomes with a conversion rate notably lower than with the laparoscopic approach. Adequate pathological results and long-term oncological outcomes were also obtained.
Collective Pay for Performance: A Cross-Disciplinary Review and Meta-Analysis

Rewarding collective outcomes has become an increasingly important strategic motivational tool for driving collective success, reflecting the insight that paying employees for individual contributions does not always optimize performance in collective endeavors. Research into different types of collective pay for performance (PFP), or pay that is contingent on collective outcomes, has been studied in diverse academic fields (e.g., economics, strategy, psychology), but the compartmentalization between these academic disciplines hinders conceptual coordination. To advance this research and its related insights, this article provides a review of the theory and evidence pertaining to the relationships between different collective PFP types and collective outcomes. We also provide a meta-analysis that shows that collective PFP has desirable outcomes (e.g., meta-analysis shows an overall ρ = 0.11; p < .001), substantiating the value of studying collective PFP separately from individual PFP. The review also reve...
Are medical students trained in cross-cover?

OBJECTIVES To examine the current state of cross-cover education in undergraduate medical education and intern perceived readiness to provide cross-cover. METHODS An electronic survey was distributed to 126 incoming interns in surgery, internal medicine, family medicine and paediatrics residencies at a single academic centre. Information regarding prior cross-cover training, experience, confidence, and responses to a sample cross-cover case were obtained. RESULTS The survey response rate was 69.8% (88 of 126), which included both partial and complete responses. Fifty-seven interns out of 85 (67.1%) had no formal training and 51 (60.0%) had no experience performing cross-cover. They reported feeling unprepared to provide cross-cover, with an average score of 1.8 on a 5-point Likert scale (1, not at all confident; 5, extremely confident). Interns had more confidence in performing cross-cover tasks if they had prior direct cross-cover experience (p = 0.001), and were the least confident in performing the initial evaluation and management of urgent issues (Likert score = 1.6). Scores on the sample case were correlated with the amount of prior experience with patients (p = 0.06). Only 77.7% of interns indicated that they would notify their senior resident in two urgent scenarios. Those who reported higher confidence in knowing when to ask for help were more likely to appropriately notify their senior colleague (p = 0.005). We identified gaps in cross-cover training and in the preparedness of incoming interns CONCLUSIONS: We identified gaps in cross-cover training and in the preparedness of incoming interns. This has important implications for the first day of residency, when interns are often asked to perform cross-coverage, yet feel unprepared to do so and express the greatest concern in urgent cross-cover scenarios. Addressing this curricular gap is crucial in assuring safe cross-cover care.
THE USE OF MUTATOR FOR GENE-TAGGING: CROSS-REFERENCING BETWEEN TRANSPOSABLE ELEMENT SYSTEMS

A Mutator system, resulting in an approximately 30-fold increase in spontaneous mutation rate in maize, was first described by Donald S. Robertson in 1978 (15). This phenomenon was associated with the movement of a transposon, when a Mutator-derived mutant allele of the Adh1 locus was shown to contain a DNA insertion (24). The transposon, called Mu1, was found to be 1,367 bp in length, to have nearly perfect terminal inverted repeats, and to denerate a 9-bp direct repeat of the Adh1 target site upon insertion (2). Using this initial correlation between a mutant phenotype arising from a Mutator line and the presence of a particular DNA sequence (Mu1) within the mutated gene, it seemed reasonable to assume that other Mutator-induced mutations might also be due to the same DNA sequence. If true, the Mu1 sequence might be used as a hybridization probe to molecularly identify and clone the mutated gene by a process termed gene-tagging. Since the Mu1 sequence is present in multiple copies in the genome of Mutator-de rived plants (2,3), the problem would really be one of identifying which Mu1-hybridizing clone also contained DNA of the mutated gene of interest.
8 – Microencapsulation methods based on biopolymer phase separation and gelation phenomena in aqueous media

Abstract: Food grade microcapsules loaded with water-immiscible liquids or solids can be produced in aqueous media by a variety of polymer phase separation phenomena. Complex coacervation of mammalian gelatin with gum arabic was favored for many years, but mad cow disease created interest in developing encapsulation protocols based on the phase separation behavior of other shell materials. A number of such studies are summarized in this chapter. Polymer properties that affect reproducible capsule production are stressed as are efforts to cross-link capsule shells with agents other than glutaraldehyde. The relationship of ongoing studies of polymer phase separation phenomena in aqueous media to capsule process development is noted.
Incentive Salience and the Transition to Addiction

Most adults have used a potentially addictive drug at least once in their lifetime, if caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine are included in addition to illicit drugs. In some cases, contact with a substance is so frequent and socially accepted that many in society fail to recognize it as a “drug.” However, relatively few people develop sufficient problems with drug use to meet the formal criteria for addiction, even for potent illegal drugs such as cocaine or heroin. Drug addiction is characterized by compulsive drug seeking, an impairment of social and psychological functions and/or damage to one’s health. It typically involves overwhelming involvement with drug procurement and intake, a loss of control, and a narrowing of interests away from other forms of reward besides the drug of choice. According to a 2004 survey, less than 10% of the US population meet the criteria for alcohol abuse or any illegal drug abuse disorder, and an even smaller proportion suffer from chronic drug addiction. Yet, the worldwide monetary and social costs associated with drug control measures, corruption, lost productivity, and treatment of drug addiction are enormous. The chief problem in treating drug addiction is chronic or repeated relapse by those who have become addicted in the above sense. Even after prolonged periods of withdrawal and abstinence, a high percentage of addicted individuals in treatment programs eventually relapse to drug taking. For example, in the case of a study of heroin users, relapse rates to reuse after cessation were approximately 60% within 3 months and at least 75% within 12 months. For this reason, drug addiction is characterized as a chronic relapsing disorder; relapse is the rule rather than the exception and often occurs repeatedly. There are three reasons frequently suggested to explain relapse: (1) drug euphoria – that addicts resume drug taking to experience the intense pleasure
Margin-based feature selection in incomplete data

This study considers the problem of feature selection in in complete data. The intuitive approach is to first impute the missing values, and then apply a standard feature selection method to select relevant features. In this study, we show how to perform feature selection directly, without imputing missing values. We define the objective function of the un certainty margin based feature selection method to maxim ize each instance's uncertainty margin in its own relevant subspace. In optimization, we take into account the uncertainty of each instance due to the missing values. The experimental results on synthetic and 6 benchmark data sets with few missing values (less than 25%) provide evidence that our method can select the same accurate features as the alternative methods which apply an imputation method first. However, when there is a large fraction of missing values (more than 25%) in data, our feature selection method out performs the alternatives, which impute missing values first.
Treating Narcolepsy and Idiopathic Hypersomnia

According to the 2005 International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD-2), narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia are considered hypersomnias of central origin (American Academy of Sleep Medicine. International Classification of Sleep Disorders. Diagnostic and coding manual. 2nd ed. Westchester: American Academy of Sleep Medicine; 2005). In this chapter we will review the treatment of these two conditions. The pathophysiology of idiopathic hypersomnia remains unclear. Large systematic studies are lacking due to the rare prevalence of idiopathic hypersomnia. Treatment is mostly focused on excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). We will discuss presently available and emerging treatment options for narcolepsy. Symptomatic treatment options for narcolepsy are used for EDS in patients with idiopathic hypersomnia.
EXPLORING GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PREP INTEREST AMONG INDIVIDUALS TESTING HIV NEGATIVE IN AN URBAN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

PrEP is greater than 90% effective at preventing HIV infection, but many people who are vulnerable to HIV choose not to take PrEP. Among women, men who have sex with women (MSW) and men who have sex with men (MSM) who tested HIV negative in our emergency department, we assessed behavioral risk factors, self-perception of HIV risk, and interest in PrEP linkage. Women had lower odds of perceiving any HIV risk versus no risk compared to MSM (uOR=0.39, 95% CI 0.18–0.87), while Whites had greater odds of perceiving themselves as high risk compared to Blacks (aOR=0.35, 95% CI 0.13–0.99). Age and self-perception of risk were not associated with PrEP interest, but patients who were objectively classified as “at risk” had greater odds of interest in PrEP than those not at risk (p<0.01). Discordance between HIV risk self-perception and objective risk demonstrates the limitation of relying on patient self-referral for PrEP based on their own subjective risk perception.
nNOS phosphorylation mediates gastrointestinal motility

Purpose One third of the world’s population suffers from gastrointestinal (GI) dysmotility, a common feature of which is disrupted nitric oxide (NO) signaling and spastic contractility. In the healthy gut, neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) induces cGMP-dependent GI smooth muscle relaxation, which facilitates digestion. However, regulation of nNOS activity is poorly understood. PKA or Akt phosphorylation of nNOS S1412 enhances hypothalamic and penile NO synthesis. We hypothesized that nNOS S1412 phosphorylation promotes GI motility. Methods We quantified the contractile force of ileal segments from C57Bl/6 wildtype and nNOSS1412A mutant mice in an organ bath under non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic (NANC) conditions. Relaxation stimuli—neuronal depolarization (EFS; 20V, 2msec pulsewidth) or adenylate cyclase activation (FSK)—were applied to ileal segments in the presence of kinase, nNOS, or cGMP pathway inhibitors. We measured nNOS S1412 phosphorylation by western blot. We determined non-NANC ileal contraction velocity with the gastrointestinal motility monitor. Results EFS (1Hz) and FSK (300nM) increased nNOS S1412 phosphorylation by 310% (p Conclusions nNOS S1412 phosphorylation promotes GI motility by decreasing spastic contractility in murine ileal segments. Neuronal depolarization elicits Akt-dependent phosphorylation, while adenylate cyclase activation elicits PKA-dependent phosphorylation of nNOS. Common GI motility disorders like irritable bowel syndrome may benefit from therapies that upregulate nNOS S1412 phosphorylation.
Effects of antibiotics on degradation and bioavailability of different vitamin E forms in mice.

Tocopherols (T) and tocotrienols (T3), all existing in α, β, γ, and δ-forms, are the eight forms of vitamin E (VE). In this study, we investigated the effects of gut microbiota on the degradation and tissue levels of different VE forms by treating mice with antibiotics in drinking water for 12 days. The mice also received an intragastric (i.g.) dose of VE mixture (mVE; α-T, γ-T, δ-T, γ-T3, and δ-T3, each at a dose of 75 mg/kg) every morning. Antibiotic treatment significantly increased the blood levels of all VE forms in mice that received an i.g. dose of mVE in the morning, 3 h before sacrifice. Without this morning dose, the blood levels of α-T were at the normal physiological levels, but those of the other VE forms were much lower; and the levels of all VE forms were not significantly affected by antibiotics. The liver levels of these VE forms were generally higher and followed the same pattern as the serum. On the contrary, the levels of most side-chain degradation metabolites of VE forms in the serum, liver, kidney, urine, and fecal samples were significantly decreased by antibiotics. The increased bioavailability of VE by antibiotics is probably due to increased absorption of VE or its decreased degradation by gut microbes. The results demonstrate the important roles of gut microbiota in the degradation of VE and in decreasing the bioavailabilities of VE forms. © 2019 BioFactors, 45(3):450-462, 2019.
A Meta-Analysis of Expressive Writing on Posttraumatic Stress, Posttraumatic Growth, and Quality of Life:

Expressive writing is beneficial for promoting both positive psychological and physical health outcomes. Unfortunately, inhibiting emotions is related to impairments in psychological and physical h...
Ineffective Absorption? Failure of Direct-Acting Therapy for Chronic Hepatitis C in Cirrhotic Patients With Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass:

In this era of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, treated patients have extremely high rates of sustained virologic response to short courses of th...
Purification and Characterization of 83 kDa Nonmuscle Caldesmon from Cultured Rat Cells: Changes in Its Expression upon L 6 Myogenesis

We have purified and characterized nonmuscle caldesmon with Mr of 83,000 (83 kDa protein) from cultured rat cells, and have examined its intracellular localization in rat fibroblasts as well as L 6 myoblasts and myotubes. Like smooth muscle caldesmon, it is heat-resistant, binds to calmodulin-Sepharose in a calcium dependent manner, and binds to actin in a Ca2+/calmodulin dependent manner. Further, affinity-purified polyclonal antibodies raised against 83 kDa protein cross-react with smooth muscle caldesmon from chicken gizzard, suggesting that they are immunologically related proteins. Actin binding of 83 kDa protein is saturated at an approximate molar ratio of 6 actin monomers to one 83 kDa protein molecule, and actin bundling is fully observed at an approximate molar ratio of 8 actin monomers to one 83 kDa protein in the absence of reducing agents. The protein is found to be a phosphoprotein, which probably explains the presence of four isoelectric variants around pI 7 on high resolution two dimensional gels. Indirect immunofluorescence has shown that 83 kDa protein is localized in stress fibers of L 6 myoblasts, but disappears after fusion of L 6 myoblasts into myotubes. Biochemical analyses have confirmed this observation. SDS gel analyses have revealed that the microfilament fraction isolated from L 6 myoblasts contains 83 kDa protein as one of major components while the same protein is not detected in the microfilament fraction isolated from L 6 myotubes.
Increasing the robustness of material-specific deep learning models for crack detection across different materials

Abstract Infrastructure defect detection solutions based on computer vision have recently emerged as powerful tools with applications in both traditional inspection practices, as well as robotic inspections. These applications involve the collection of images from a wide range of infrastructure systems with heterogeneous characteristics such as conditions, materials, surface appearances and textures. Consequently, defect detection models need to be sufficiently robust to accommodate this type of heterogeneity. Existing image-based crack detection literature almost entirely focuses on models tailored to crack detection in either concrete or asphalt surfaces with prior knowledge of the material involved and studies on crack detection in more than one material are needed for truly automated inspection systems. This paper focuses on the adaptability of deep learning-based crack detection models across common construction materials. To investigate this problem, a residual convolutional neural network architecture was trained and tested on two separate concrete and asphalt crack image data sets and compared with existing baselines. These tests demonstrated that the change of material significantly reduces crack detection accuracy of a tailored model. In response, three domain adaptation techniques, namely joint training, sequential training, and ensemble learning are proposed and implemented to develop robust crack detection models that work on both datasets regardless of the material environment. Results demonstrate that the proposed techniques are able to successfully produce accuracies comparable to those of the material-specific models, without prior knowledge of the material.
An Automated Model Tuning Procedure for Optimizing Prediction of Transient and Dispersive Behavior in Wide Bandgap Semiconductor FETs

This article presents an automated procedure for developing wide bandgap semiconductor device models capable of capturing high-frequency effects in applications relevant to next generation power electronics. A derivative-free global optimization algorithm is used to autonomously model both the static and dynamic behavior of a power semiconductor device. This procedure is demonstrated with a specific model, but the procedure is model-agnostic and not exclusive to this implementation. The modeling procedure creates a compact and modular power electronic device model accounting for both frequency-dependence of device inter-electrode capacitances and characterization uncertainty of device parasitic package inductances. The procedure targets prediction of specific signal features in the transient device behavior. Digital twin development and validation are performed under disparate switching conditions to demonstrate the overall improvement in model predictive power. The proposed modeling approach serves to reduce manual model development time, while improving time-domain prediction under switching conditions of interest to application engineers and systems integrators. This is particularly important in the case of wide bandgap semiconductors, which pose challenges for conventional device models due to their fast switching dynamics. The effectiveness of the presented method is demonstrated by automatically generating a device model for a 1.2-kV SiC mosfet and comparing predicted switching behavior with empirical double pulse test behavior.
Magnetostrictive particulates of Tb0.3Dy0.7Fe2 integrated into carbon fiber reinforced polymer for structural damage monitoring

Smart materials usually are either mounted on surfaces or embedded inside; in this work, we study magnetic properties of smart materials that are integrated into the structure. Magnetostrictive particles of TbxDy1−xFe2 (x ∼ 0.3), commonly known as Terfenol-D, incorporated into carbon fiber reinforced polymers showed a 3000% enhancement in the coercive field compared to the reference pristine bulk Terfenol-D. Torque magnetometer measurements revealed a magnetic anisotropy with twofold symmetry. The lowest applied field at which a reversible torque without hysteresis occurred was ∼5.0 kOe, which yields 5 Oe anisotropic field for a carbon fiber reinforced polymer magnet. This value of the anisotropic field is confirmed using the Miyajima method. Angle dependent coercive field and saturation/remanent magnetization also confirmed the twofold symmetry of magnetization in this system. The high magnetostrictive coefficient, together with the enhanced coercive field, makes Terfenol-D integrated into carbon fiber reinforced polymers serve as an excellent candidate for in situ sensing of damage in various polymer composites under several mechanical loading conditions.
Financial Conflicts of Interest are of Higher Ethical Priority than “Intellectual” Conflicts of Interest

The primary claim of this paper is that intellectual conflicts of interest (COIs) exist but are of lower ethical priority than COIs flowing from relationships between health professionals and commercial industry characterized by financial exchange. The paper begins by defining intellectual COIs and framing them in the context of scholarship on non-financial COIs. However, the paper explains that the crucial distinction is not between financial and non-financial COIs but is rather between motivations for bias that flow from relationships and those that do not. While commitments to particular ideas or perspectives can cause all manner of cognitive bias, that fact does not justify denying the enormous power that relationships featuring pecuniary gain have on professional behaviour in term of care, policy, or both. Sufficient reason exists to take both intellectual COIs and financial COIs seriously, but this paper demonstrates why the latter is of higher ethical priority. Multiple reasons will be provided, but the primary rationale grounding the claim is that intellectual COIs may provide reasons to suspect cognitive bias but they do not typically involve a loss of trust in a social role. The same cannot be said for COIs flowing from relationships between health professionals and commercial industries involving financial exchange. The paper then assumes arguendo that the primary rationale is mistaken and proceeds to show why the claims that intellectual COIs are more significant than relationship-based COIs are dubious on their own merits. The final section of the paper summarizes and concludes.
Bloedite-type Na 2 X(SO 4 ) 2 (X = Ni, Mg) as novel alternative aqueous electrolyte materials for supercapacitors

In this study, the active use of bloedite-type material in many different areas has revealed the idea that it can also be used in capacitors as the aqueous electrolyte. In this context, aqueous electrolyte properties of bloedite Na2X(SO4)2·(4H2O) (X = Mg, Ni) samples were investigated. In electrochemical measurements, it has been determined that Ni and Mg-bloedite structures have “rectangular shape” cyclic voltammetry (C–V) characteristics. Ni-bloedite capacitors reached 2.35 F g−1, and Mg-bloedite capacitors reached 2.09 F g−1 capacitance values. As a result of cycle-life studies, Ni-bloedite structure provides higher performance than Mg-bloedite structure with a difference of 0.24 F g−1 at the end of 100 cycles. The research results have shown that Ni and Mg-bloedite materials can be used in supercapacitors as an alternative high-performance aqueous electrolyte. This study could also provide an idea to researchers of using different types of materials in energy storage systems, and helps to produce alternative materials for energy storage systems.
Healthy Food Density is Not Associated With Diet Quality Among Pregnant Women With Overweight/Obesity in South Carolina

Abstract Objective Examine the association and moderating effect of residential location (urban/rural) on the relationship between neighborhood healthy food density and diet quality. Design Cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the Health in Pregnancy and Postpartum study, a randomized trial designed to prevent excessive gestational weight gain. Participants Pregnant women in South Carolina with prepregnancy overweight/obesity (n = 228). Main Outcome Measures Healthy Eating Index–2015 (HEI) was used to measure diet quality from 2 24-hour dietary recalls. The HEI total scores and 11 binary HEI components (those that met the standard for maximum component score vs those that did not) were calculated as dependent variables. Analysis Multiple linear and logistic regression models were used to examine the association between healthy food density and HEI total scores and meeting the standards for maximum component scores. Healthy food density × residential location tested for moderation. P Results Participants’ diet quality was suboptimal (mean, 52.0; SD, 11.7; range, 27–85). Healthy food density was not significantly related to HEI total scores or components, and residential location was not a moderator. Conclusions and Implications Diet quality was suboptimal, and there was no relationship between healthy food density and diet quality among Health in Pregnancy and Postpartum study participants. These data support examining behavioral factors that could influence diet quality.
Esophageal granular cell tumor and eosinophils: a multicenter experience.

Background Esophageal granular cell tumor (eGCT) is rare, and the recent literature suggests a link between eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and eGCT. The aim of our study was to determine if EoE or other disorders associated with eosinophilia are consistently associated with eGCT. Methods We retrospectively searched pathology databases of three academic institutions from 1999 to 2018 for eGCTs. The archived slides and medical records were reviewed. Results From 294,855 esophagogastroduodenoscopy procedures, 45 patients (17 males and 28 females) with eGCTs were identified. The patients (30-73 years in age, median 50) had eGCT 0.2-2.0 cm in size (average 0.71). Thirteen had a history of gastroesophageal reflux disease, 5 had Barrett esophagus/goblet cell metaplasia and 1 had EoE. Thirty-four eGCTs had intralesional eosinophils (14 with peak > 10 eosinophils/400x hpf); of these, 21 also had eosinophils in lamina propria (9 with peak > 10 eosinophils/hpf). eGCT with atypical features (including nuclear enlargement and prominent nucleoli) were more likely to have increased eosinophils in non-epithelial compartments than those without atypia. Pleomorphism and spindled cells were seen in 3 eGCT cases (mean peak intralesional eosinophils: 43 per hpf); 2 of these had goblet cell metaplasia. We found no association between EoE and eGCT, p = 0.5966, (95% C.I. 0.0276, 6.5389, Fisher's exact test). Instead, most patients had gastroesophageal reflux disease or Barrett esophagus. Conclusion Eosinophilia, common in eGCT and adjacent stroma, likely drives atypical/reactive histologic features, but a pathogenic relationship between eosinophil rich inflammatory conditions and eGCT has not yet been established.
From Breastfeeding to Bottles: Nestlé Infant Formula Debate and its Aftermath

Prior to the early twentieth century, women had only two choices for how to feed their infants: they could breastfeed their infants themselves, or they could seek out a “wet nurse.” In the 1920s, a third option was introduced in developed nations— infant formula, a manufactured alternative to breast milk. De- pending on its audience, this alternative was seen as a lifesaving option, a modern way to feed a child or a shameful health risk. The differing reactions to infant formula are an excellent il- lustration of the conflicting ways in which people view infant health. Societal and cultural beliefs about sickness, or “meaningcentered beliefs,” inform the way people react to health and dis- ease. For example, Anne Fadiman’s book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down relates a Hmong cultural belief that when someone has a seizure, it represents the soul leaving the body.1 Meaning-centered beliefs influence every country and every culture. Moreover, they hold persuasive marketing power, a fact that Nestle, a transnational corporation based in Vevey, Switzerland, demonstrated when it introduced infant formula to the Western world.
Individual differences in emotional intelligence skills of people with visual impairment and loneliness amid the COVID-19 pandemic

In response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, public health interventions such as social distancing and stay-at-home orders have widely been implemented, which is anticipated to contrib...
Exploring Engineering Managers’ Perspectives on the Actions of Engineering Managers and Newly Hired Engineers During the New Engineers’ Socialization Period

The purpose of this study is to explore engineering managers’ perspectives on what actions they should perform to assist newly hired engineers and what proactive steps newly hired engineers should ...
Resilient Performance in Aviation

Resilience is defined as “the intrinsic ability of a system to adjust its functioning prior to, during, or following changes and disturbances, so that it can sustain required operations under both expected and unexpected conditions” (Woods & Hollnagel, 2006, p. xxxvi). If there was ever an industry that has demonstrated this ability, it is the aviation industry. The industry has continually demonstrated the ability to adjust and sustain operations after unexpected events, and has improved both reliability and safety in the midst of increasing complexity of the aircraft, economic challenges, and aviation systems that are dependent on a range of different organizations to succeed (Hoyland & Aase, 2008). It has been proposed that resilience is a characteristic of system performance, not the system itself (Hollnagel, 2011), and therefore it is fitting to examine the aspects of aviation that enable it to demonstrate resilient performance. This chapter presents a discussion of resilient performance in aviation, including what resilient performance looks like in aviation, how it is currently achieved, and methods to further advance resilient performance in the future.
Work in progress - developing national survey instruments to assess engagement in best instructional practices and attainment of targeted student outcomes

This paper describes the process of developing two survey instruments student and faculty versions to assess the extent to which engineering students are engaged in identified "best instructional practices" in engineering education and achieving certain learning outcomes desired of engineering graduates. Drafts of the survey instruments will be completed by July 2005 and piloted at a single institution in spring 2006. At the conclusion of this project, CASEE intends to make the survey instruments available for use by engineering colleges nationwide
The coronary circulation in diabetes: influence of reactive oxygen species on K+ channel-mediated vasodilation.

Abstract Enhanced oxidative stress, particularly an excess production of superoxide, has been implicated in the altered vasomotor responsiveness observed in diabetes mellitus (DM). Recent evidence suggests that an altered regulation of K + channel activity by enhanced oxidative stress may participate in the abnormal vascular responses. This review examines the mechanism of hyperglycemia-induced superoxide production and describes the consequences on hyperpolarization-mediated vasodilation. Several pathways have been proposed as mechanisms for hyperglycemia-induced superoxide overproduction, including increased flux through the polyol pathway, depletion of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), altered endogenous antioxidant enzymes, and reduced availability of tetrahydrobiopterin, an essential cofactor for nitric oxide synthase (NOS). The resulting excess production of superoxide has been implicated in the impaired dilator responses to ATP-sensitive K + (K ATP ) channel openers in aorta and in mesenteric and cerebral arteries of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. This may have important implications for ischemia-mediated vasodilation. Potential alterations in voltage-sensitive K + (K V ) channel regulation also have been implicated in the vascular pathogenesis of DM. For example, incubation of small rat coronary arteries in high glucose for 24 h greatly reduces K V channel activity and functional responses, both of which can be partially restored by antioxidant treatment. However, not all K + channels are adversely affected by reactive oxygen species (ROS). For example, high-conductance Ca 2+ -activated K + (BK Ca ) channels may compensate for the loss of other vasodilator mechanisms in disease states such as atherosclerosis where ROS generation is increased. Therefore, BK Ca channels may be refractory to superoxide, providing a compensatory mechanism for partially reversing the reduced dilator responses attributed to the dysfunction of other K + channel types. In summary, determining the effect of ROS on K + channel-mediated dilation will be important for understanding the pathophysiology of diabetic vascular dysfunction and for developing therapies to improve tissue perfusion in this disease.
Challenges and Opportunities in Sociolinguistic Data and Metadata Sharing

Advances in computing technology coupled with recent focus on big data in the social sciences have provided the motivation and some of the infrastructure necessary for sociolinguists to share data among themselves and with researchers in related fields such as human language technologies (HLT). Collaboration among sociolinguists offers the promise to extend current knowledge beyond the community studies that have dominated the field for the past 50 years and focus more on regional and national patterns of variation and change and what they indicate about linguistic theory. Collaboration with HLT developers while relatively new and still uncommon has led to advances both in sociolinguistic methodology and in technologies suited to sociolinguistic research. Before the field can make full use of these advances, however, sociolinguists must confront a number of challenges. Studies that were developed with the intent of describing a single speech community presumably need not ensure, and in many cases have not ensured, consistency with prior work. Given this practice, attempts to compare phenomena across studies must address mismatches at the levels of data elicitation and selection, coding practice, and the definition of underlying concepts. Adding to the confusion wrought by methodological differences, speech communities differ in ways that the field worker cannot always predict so that different and sometimes unique linguistic and non-linguistic features are found to vary with linguistic structure. This paper underscores the motivation for data sharing by identifying some limitations of comparisons based only on published papers and reviewing advances fueled by data sharing among linguists and between linguists and technology developers. It also documents some of the challenges that hinder data sharing by reviewing work that has build upon available corpora. Finally, it summarizes efforts outside of sociolinguistics that have proposed frameworks for sharing and comparing metadata and categories setting the stage for the papers that follow in these special issues.
The Relationship between Gene Network Structure and Expression Variation among Individuals and Species

Variation among individuals is a prerequisite of evolution by natural selection. As such, identifying the origins of variation is a fundamental goal of biology. We investigated the link between gene interactions and variation in gene expression among individuals and species using the mammalian limb as a model system. We first built interaction networks for key genes regulating early (outgrowth; E9.5-11) and late (expansion and elongation; E11-13) limb development in mouse. This resulted in an Early (ESN) and Late (LSN) Stage Network. Computational perturbations of these networks suggest that the ESN is more robust. We then quantified levels of the same key genes among mouse individuals and found that they vary less at earlier limb stages and that variation in gene expression is heritable. Finally, we quantified variation in gene expression levels among four mammals with divergent limbs (bat, opossum, mouse and pig) and found that levels vary less among species at earlier limb stages. We also found that variation in gene expression levels among individuals and species are correlated for earlier and later limb development. In conclusion, results are consistent with the robustness of the ESN buffering among-individual variation in gene expression levels early in mammalian limb development, and constraining the evolution of early limb development among mammalian species.
An Analysis of Asymmetric Rolling Bodies with Nonlinear Aerodynamics

A nonlinear analysis is performed for the motion of a rolling re-entry vehicle for the case of constant roll rate and for the case of variable roll rate, dynamic pressure, and stability derivatives. Each of the restoring, damping, lag, Magnus, and induced moments is assumed to be a cubic function of the angle-of-attack with variable coefficients. In the constant roll rate case, the derivative expansion version of the method of multiple scales is used to derive equations that characterize the time variation of the amplitudes and phases of the nutation and precession modes. In the variable roll rate case, the generalized version of the method of multiple scales is used to derive equations for the roll rate and the amplitudes and phases of the oscillatory modes of the angle of attack near and away from roll resonance. The roll degree of freedom is coupled with the pitch and yaw degrees of freedom instead of assuming a priori the variation of the roll rate. The analytical solutions are found to be in good agreement with the numerical solutions of the full problem.
Convergence and divergence in plant community trajectories as a framework for monitoring wetland restoration progress

Summary 1. Environmental policies that use ecological restoration to offset the destruction of natural ecosystems assume that restorations readily compensate for the losses because they progress reliably and predictably over time, following deterministic successional trajectories. However, succession and restoration are spatially and historically contingent processes, often characterized by divergent trajectories that deviate from expectations. 2. We develop a framework for monitoring restorations that integrates two ideas from succession theory: convergence vs. divergence in species composition among successional sites, and progression towards vs. deviation from an expected community state. We apply this framework to short- and long-term monitoring data from 11 restored wetlands in Illinois, USA, by comparing plant species composition among restored wetlands over time and between restored wetlands and two sets of reference wetlands (high integrity, ‘target’ wetlands and low integrity, degraded wetlands). 3. Over the first 4 years, restored wetlands that were initially similar in species composition diverged, progressing towards different high integrity target states. Planting a large number of native species in restorations increased their similarity to reference wetlands. 4. Over longer time scales (5–11 years post-restoration), however, restored wetlands deviated from the ideal trajectory and converged upon the species composition of degraded wetlands, mainly because of non-native species invasion. 5. Synthesis and applications. Framing restoration trajectories in terms of compositional convergence/divergence and progression towards/deviation from an acceptable range of reference sites is useful for monitoring restoration progress, identifying constraints to success and predicting restoration outcomes. Barriers to restoration, including non-native species and a lack of native propagules, can limit long-term progression towards target communities and constrain restoration to undesirable outcomes. Furthermore, convergence of restored wetlands on an undesirable community state limits the effectiveness of wetland mitigation policies.
Compositional Verification of a Communication Protocol for a Remotely Operated Vehicle

We present the specification and verification, in PVS, of a protocol intended to facilitate communication in an experimental remotely operated vehicle used by NASA researchers. The protocol is defined as a stack-layered composition of simpler protocols. It can be seen as the vertical composition of protocol layers, where each layer performs input and output message processing, and the horizontal composition of different processes concurrently inhabiting the same layer, where each process satisfies a distinct requirement. We formally prove that the protocol components satisfy certain delivery guarantees. Then, we demonstrate compositional techniques that allow us to prove that these guarantees also hold in the composed system. Although the protocol itself is not novel, the methodology employed in its verification extends existing techniques by automating the tedious and usually cumbersome part of the proof, thereby making the iterative design process of protocols feasible.