cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Grandmothers’ Beliefs and Practices in Infant Safe Sleep

Background Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and suffocation are leading causes of infant mortality. Supine sleep position and use of appropriate sleep surfaces reduce SIDS risk but are not universally practiced. Mothers’ decisions about sleep position and environment may be influenced by guidance provided by infants’ grandmothers and other caregivers. Methods A survey was conducted of a convenience sample of grandmothers aged 30–70 years who provide care at least weekly for an infant grandchild <6 months old. The survey was distributed through community partners of a university-based research team. Respondents received home safety items as compensation. Analyses focused on the relationship of grandmother demographic characteristics and beliefs on their reported practices related to infant sleep. Results Among the 239 grandmothers, 45 % reported placing infants to sleep supine on an appropriate sleep surface at the grandmother’s house, while 58 % reported doing so when the infant was sleeping in the mother’s house. After adjusting for other factors, respondents were less likely to adhere to recommended guidelines when they believed supine position increased choking risk (OR 0.34, 95 % CI 0.18–0.62) or believed infants are more comfortable or sleep longer when on their stomachs (OR 0.51, 95 % CI 0.28–0.93). Discussion Grandmothers do not universally observe evidence-based safe sleep practices, particularly if the infant is not sleeping in the home of the parent. Interventions for senior caregivers focused on perceived choking risk, infant comfort in the supine position, and other recent changes in recommended safety practices are warranted.
The Anglo-American Trade Agreement and Cordell Hull's Search for Peace 1936–1938

BY the middle of the 1930s, policymakers in the United States had become deeply concerned about the possibility of war in Europe and Asia. President Franklin D. Roosevelt eagerly began to seek ways to prevent a major conflict or, at least, to insulate the Western Hemisphere against its direct effects. In 1936, he called the Buenos Aires Conference in an attempt to create a system of "collective neutrality." In 1937, he toyed with the idea of quarantining aggressor nations and, until 1938, mulled over the suggestion that he sponsor an international conference. While Roosevelt fitfully explored these avenues without notable success, Secretary of State Cordell Hull also sought a foreign policy initiative that would help to pull the world back from the "Niagara of war." Hull had long insisted as a general proposition that economic rivalry was a basic cause of war and that gradual international adherence to the principles of liberalized trade embodied in the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Program of 1934 would ultimately produce prosperity and peace.' By 1936, however, Hull began to suspect that long-range remedies were inadequate; and he launched a vigorous effort to forge an Anglo-American commercial alliance that would accelerate the movement toward freer trade and thus slow the drift toward war. This endeavor culminated in the Anglo-American trade agreement of 1938, and for Hull it seemed to provide a workable plan by which the United States could effectively exert a pacific influence on the course of world events. Hull conceived of the Anglo-American agreement as the beginning of a worldwide campaign to restore political stability. Mutual adoption of liber-
Signal transduction through atypical PKCs, but not the EGF receptor, is necessary for UVC-induced AP-1 activation in immortal murine cells.

The exposure of mammalian cells to ultraviolet (u.v.) irradiation leads to activation of transcription factors, such as AP-1 and NFkappaB. It is postulated that the EGF receptor but not protein kinase C (PKC) is the major membrane mediator in UVC-induced signal transduction. We demonstrate here that the antisense oligonucleotides of PKC zeta and the dominant negative mutant of PKC lambda/iota as well as dominant negative PKC zeta markedly blocked UVC-induced AP-1 activity. In contrast, UVC-induced AP-1 activity in cells devoid of the EGF receptor (B82), is not significantly different from that of the stable transfectants with a kinase-deficient EGF receptor (B82M721), or wild-type EGF receptor (B82L). This was found at all UVC irradiation doses and time courses studied, while high levels of EGF-induced AP-1 activity were observed in B82L cells but not in B82 cells. This evidence strongly suggests that atypical PKCs, but not the EGF receptor, is necessary for UVC-induced AP-1 activation in JB6 and B82 cells.
Everybody Talks About Prosecutorial Conduct But Nobody Does Anything About It: A 25-Year Survey of Prosecutorial Misconduct and a Viable Solution

Prosecutors, whom we trust to carry out the demanding and essential business of presenting the People’s case against alleged law-breakers, are free to commit misconduct with impunity. They suffer no disciplinary repercussions for their misdeeds. The only adverse consequence facing an erring prosecutor is the extremely rare prospect of having a conviction overturned due to his misconduct. Even then the prosecutor will not be subject to any sanction: no citation for contempt, no suspension of license, no civil liability, no fine, not so much as a censure.In an earlier article entitled The Prosecutor Prince, I proposed the creation of an independent commission empowered to investigate claims of alleged prosecutorial misconduct, and mete out discipline should the claims be warranted. As set forth in that article, the commission would be modeled after California’s Judicial Panel, which has proven effective in dealing with instances of judicial misconduct.The purpose of this current article is not to once again make the case that prosecutorial misconduct is prevalent and represents a stain on the American justice system — that purpose has been thoroughly accomplished in the earlier article and by countless others. The two-fold purpose of this article is to revise the earlier proposal to make it more fiscally and politically viable, and to use the findings from our recently completed twenty-five-year survey of prosecutorial misconduct as support for the revised proposal.
DNA repair by ERCC1 in non-small-cell lung cancer.

To the Editor: Olaussen and colleagues (Sept. 7 issue)1 report a survival benefit associated with the absence of the excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) protein in patients with completely resected non–small-cell lung cancer who received adjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Most of the operative specimens of ERCC1positive tumors examined were squamous-cell carcinoma, whereas the ERCC1-negative tumors were almost evenly divided between squamouscell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma.1 Does this skewed distribution reflect a selection bias? Originally, the International Adjuvant Lung Cancer Trial (IALT) showed a difference in survival of 2.3 percentage points for patients with squamous-cell tumors who received cisplatin (as compared with those in the control group who did not receive cisplatin-based chemotherapy). Among patients with adenocarcinoma who received cisplatin, the survival difference was 4.9 percentage points. The absolute 5-year survival benefit was 4.1 percentage points.2 Does this difference fail to differentiate between the two histologic types? Lower expression of ERCC1 is correlated with adenocarcinoma,1 decreased survival,3 and the most benefit from adjuvant cisplatin-based therapy.1 ERCC1 expression in squamous-cell carcinoma may be more useful than the histologic type as a guide to chemotherapy.
Papillary (Transitional) Carcinoma in an Ileal Conduit

AbstractAn example of papillary carcinoma developing at the ureteroileal junction with herniation of the tumor into the lumen of an ileal conduit is reported. This and similar tumors have occurred within 4 years of urinary diversion, emphasizing the need for continued surveillance of patients with an ileal conduit. Patients with widespread atypia of the transitional epithelium of the urinary tract, such as ours, are especially prone to recurrent carcinoma and should be watched most carefully. Surgical excision of the tumor occurring at or near the ureteroileal junction should always include a cuff of ileum, as in the standard treatment of renal pelvic and ureteral tumors.
Stimulated Emission from Radiation Trapping Atoms: The Copper Vapor Laser

Stimulated emission in the atomic copper vapor laser takes place in a rather unique way in that the upper levels of the laser transitions (2P states) are electric dipole–coupled to the ground state (2S), the lower laser levels (2D) are metastable, and yet the gain is one of the highest among all the visible lasers [1]. It is generally believed that the radiation trapping in the 2P–2S resonant transitions greatly enhance the transition probabilities for the 2P–2D transitions, thereby making the lasing action possible for the Cu atoms. There have been theoretical studies to analyze the pumping mechanism and to understand the spectral composition of the copper vapor laser in connection with the efforts to develop high-power copper vapor lasers [2,3]. In these studies, radiation trapping has been treated by Holstein’s theory which is based on a transport equation and the Beer’s law absorption coefficient [4]. An earlier work by Leonard [5] analyzed the copper vapor laser by means of a three level laser model without considering the radiation trapping. As far as we know, however, there has been no analysis of the stimulated emission in the atomic copper vapor from the perspective of Rabi oscillations between the 2P — 2S states. It is the purpose of this paper to present a semiclassical calculation of the gain of the stimulated emission in the atomic copper vapor and discuss some new features that arise in the Rabi oscillation picture [6]. For instance the gain becomes proportional to the entire ground state atomic density, modulated by some factor that depends on the intensity of the trapped fields, in contrast to the usual laser systems where the gain is proportional to the population inversion density [7]. Also, there appears to be a “conservation law” which relates the gains of the two laser transitions (yellow and green).
Rousseau’s Conception of Liberty

Rousseau wrote his Contrat Social1 with Montesquieu continually in mind, as well as the Roman example, and he accepted his predecessor’s dictum that liberty is not a fruit that every climate can bear.2 Rousseau also endorsed Montesquieu’s pessimism about the possibility of democratic government, and the corollary that virtue must be the guiding principle of any republic.3 But he rejected the monarchists’ restriction of “republic” to democracies and aristocracies only. Rousseau included any government guided by the general will, which is the law (“tout gouvernement guide par la volonte generale, qui est la loi”). Even a monarchy could be a republic, provided the public interest (“l’interet public”) governed and the executive monarch was not confused with the legislative sovereign, which is the “people” collectively, the “body politic,” or “republic.”5 Yet monarchical governments make inferior republics, because monarchs generally seek to subvert the sovereignty of the people, by appointing nonentities to public office.6
Inflammatory Myopathy/Anti synthetase Syndrome

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathy frequently affects the lungs. This chapter focuses on the pulmonary manifestations of patients with myositis. Specifically, we address the epidemiology, clinical and serologic phenotypes, and treatment of myositis associated interstitial lung disease.
Expression of three forms of melanoma growth stimulating activity (MGSA)/gro in human retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Purpose To characterize mRNA expression and protein production of the cytokine MGSA/gro in human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and to determine whether expression of MGSA/gro is modulated by serum and the cytokines interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), or transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta) mediators implicated in proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). Methods Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to determine the steady-state mRNA expression of three forms of MGSA/gro, alpha, beta, and gamma, by cultured human RPE cells in the presence or absence of recombinant IL-1 beta, TNF alpha, or TGF beta, or when serum-starved cells were re-fed with medium containing serum. Immunocytochemistry was used to characterize RPE cell-associated MGSA/gro protein, and immunoprecipitation of MGSA/gro from cell-conditioned medium was used to demonstrate MGSA/gro secretion. Results MGSA/gro mRNA was expressed minimally under basal conditions. Expression for all three forms of MGSA/gro mRNA was induced in a dose- and time-dependent manner after exposure to IL-1 beta, to a lesser extent after exposure to TNF alpha, but not after exposure to TGF beta. Serum induced MGSA/gro alpha and gamma transcripts, but not beta transcripts. Cell-associated MGSA/gro was identified on RPE cells grown in the absence of cytokines, but MGSA/gro was not secreted under these conditions. Exposure to IL-1 beta did not consistently cause increased cell-associated MGSA/gro; however, IL-1 beta induced secretion of MGSA/gro in a time-dependent manner. Conclusion MGSA/gro is produced by human RPE in response to mediators implicated in PVR. Because MGSA/gro is a pleiotropic modulator of cell proliferation and inflammation, it may contribute to the intraocular wound healing response that characterizes PVR.
Outdoor airborne contamination control for semiconductor manufacturing process

Semiconductor process can be adversely affected by airborne molecular contamination, which may arise from sources in the outdoor environment or from sources in the fab. In Taiwan, environment air pollutants could be carried in by seasonal wind from overseas or could arise from domestic agriculture and industry sources. Potential air pollution chemicals include NH 4 , SO 2 , H 2 S, DMS or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and SF 6 . Without proper defense system, these chemical contaminants could enter into the fab air circulation and interact with the processed wafers. This paper demonstrated correlation of physical and electrical defects with several potential air pollutants from the local environment in Taiwan. Furthermore, a novel UV/catalyst based system was tested for decomposition of molecular contaminant. Such system may supplement the chemical filter based filtration system in which filter replacement cost could be significant.
A Multivariate and Phylogenetic Analysis of Blackfoot Biographic Art: Another Look at the Deadmond Robe

The Deadmond robe, an example of painted biographic art attributed to Blackfoot, is thought to date from the last two decades of the nineteenth century. A previous frequency seriation analysis reported in this journal provided results indicative of such a date. Here, this claim is reassessed. Two multivariate statistical methods were utilized that circumvent certain methodological difficulties encountered during the earlier comparative frequency seriation. A further aim of the analyses was to provide a test case for the application of evolutionary-phylogenetic methods to these kinds of data. The two multivariate analyses provide results that entirely corroborate the date of the Deadmond robe. The phylogenetic analyses meanwhile indicate that such methods can be applied in comparable ethnographic and archaeological circumstances where less contextual information may be known. The analyses reiterate that the Deadmond robe forms an important element in the historical legacy of biographic art from the Northwe...
Characterization of coiled SMA actuators for humanoid robot

In this paper, we present modeling and characterization of coiled SMA spring actuators that are fabricated by coiling cylindrical SMA wires on to a threaded screw mandrel and applying heat treatment. Here, we evaluate a theoretical model that describes the actuation behavior of SMA coiled springs based on the constitutive model of SMA. We have experimentally verified the developed theoretical model and analyzed various parameters with respect to temperature change during actuation. The model was coded in Simulink® and the effects of various parameters with respect to temperature change were investigated. Simulations were compared with experiments and good agreement was obtained. We also show, how the high tension winding of SMA on the mandrel help in better performance and understanding of the fabricated coiled SMAs.
Exploring the role of motivational interviewing in adolescent patient-provider communication about type 1 diabetes

OBJECTIVE Adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) frequently experience deterioration in glycemic control. Providers have unique opportunities to address diabetes self-management, yet little is known about the most effective way to communicate with adolescents. This investigation used a motivational interviewing (MI) framework to characterize naturally-occurring adolescent patient-provider communication in medical encounters and examined relations between adolescent patient-provider communication and (a) T1D self-management and (b) glycemic control (hemoglobin A1c [HbA1c]). METHODS Medical encounters between pediatric endocrine providers and 55 adolescents with T1D (49% female; M age = 14.8 years; M baseline HbA1c = 8.6%) were audio recorded and coded using standardized rating instruments. Patients and parents completed measures assessing T1D care behaviors and self-efficacy. Assessments were completed at routine endocrinology visits (baseline) and 1 and 3-month post-baseline; HbA1c was obtained from medical records at baseline and 3-month. RESULTS Hierarchical multiple regressions showed that greater provider use of MI non-adherent behaviors (eg, confronting, persuading) was associated with (a) poorer 3-month HbA1c, P < 0.001; (b) worse 1-month adolescent diabetes adherence P < 0.001, and (c) lower diabetes self-efficacy at 1-month (P < 0.001) follow-up. Lower patient self-efficacy for diabetes self-management mediated the relation between provider use of MI non-adherent language and lower diabetes adherence (P = 0.020). CONCLUSION Providers' use of persuasion and confrontation regarding risks of non-adherence was associated with poorer glycemic control and adherence. Communication training for providers that targets reductions in MI-inconsistent language may have the potential to improve diabetes self-care in this vulnerable population.
Abstract 2654: Resveratrol and piceatannol synergistically induce PDL1 expression

The interaction of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and its ligand programed cell death-1 ligand (PD-L1) is a major focus of recent immune oncology therapy efforts. The expression of PD-1 on T lymphocytes and its subsequent interaction with PD-L1, either from antigen presenting or tumor cells, will result in apoptosis-dependent inactivation of the T lymphocytes. This interaction plays an integral role in tumor immunology, specifically augmenting immune evasion. Relatively little is known about the regulation of PD-L1 in either the tumor or normal environment. We investigated the ability of natural dietary compounds to induce PD-L1 expression on normal epithelial cells and various cancer cell lines. These molecules have been evolutionary selected to control inflammation and cancer cell transformation and progression, understanding their mechanism of action could be important to understanding how this system works. Using flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry, we focused our studies on resveratrol and its metabolite piceatannol, key phytochemicals extracted from grapes, after an initial screen of various natural products. Experimental data showed that both compounds can individually up-regulate the expression of PD-L1 on tumor cell lines and normal epithelial cells, by an IFN-γ-independent mechanism. PD-L1 induction by both of these compounds was higher in tumor than in normal epithelium, suggesting greater significance in tumor regulation than inflammation. Additionally, the combination of resveratrol and piceatannol acted synergistically, leading to a significantly greater induction of PD-L1 expression across multiple tumor indications. Understanding whether resveratrol and piceatannol use a common signaling pathway to induce PD-L1 expression in tumor cells, was critical to understand the synergistic induction observed. Studies utilizing specific inhibition of IKK phosphorylation were accompanied by a significant reduction in the ability to induce PD-L1 expression on tumor cells, either as single agents or in combination. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that induction of PD-L1 by resveratrol or piceatannol, or their combination involves molecular determinants down-stream of NF-kB signaling. Citation Format: Justin P. Lucas, Joseph M. Wu, TzeChen Hsieh, Zbigniew Darzynkiewicz, Halina Dorota Halicka-Ambroziak. Resveratrol and piceatannol synergistically induce PDL1 expression [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2654. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-2654
Abstract 141: Endothelial TRPA1 Channel is Protective Against Ischemia and Hemorrhagic Strokes in Mice

The transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) cation channel is more selective for Ca 2+ versus Na + ions (∼8:1). We showed that TRPA1 is located in the endothelium of cerebral arteries (eTRPA1) and that reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced channel activity generates localized Ca 2+ signals (TRPA1 sparklets) that initiate endothelium-dependent hyperpolarization and vasorelaxation. Cerebrovascular disease is associated with increased ROS generation and oxidative stress. Thus, we hypothesized that eTRPA1 activity is protective against stroke. Tissue-specific deletion of eTRPA1 in mice was achieved using the Cre -recombinase (Tie2 promoter) / loxP system. Ischemic strokes were induced by permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO). Neurological function after pMCAO was assessed by a modified neurological severity scale, ranging from 0 to 4 (0: normal behavior; 1: failure to extend contralateral paw; 2: circling; 3: rolling to one side; 4: stupor). Deletion of eTRPA1 increased post-stroke (24 hours) neurological damage in eTRPA1 -/- versus WT mice, as shown by a higher severity score (2.6±0.4 vs 3.8±0.2, p -/- mice were significantly more susceptible to hemorrhagic strokes compared to WT. Kaplan-Meyer survival plots showed a higher survival rate for WT vs eTRPA1 -/- at day 10 (61 vs 54%), day 15 (44 vs 21%) and day 20 (22 vs 8%) (p -/- mice suffered hemorrhagic strokes by day 22, whereas some of the WT mice survived until day 52. Further, eTRPA1 -/- mice showed a higher number of hemorrhagic lesions in the cerebral cortex when compared to WT (12±4 vs 23±4 lesions per animal, p
Gaining the most utility from our geospace observational system: Network analysis of total electron content as a means to understand space weather to the point of prediction

We present the first network analysis of interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) clock angle dependent, high-latitude, hemispheric-specific total electron content (TEC) data. We examine network parameters to describe spatio-temporal correlations in the TEC data for January 2016. We find that significant network structure exists distinguishing the dayside and nightside ionosphere, and specific features in the high-latitudes (cusp/ionospheric footpoints of magnetospheric boundary layers, polar cap, and auroral zone), and that these features vary with IMF clock angle. In this brief summary paper, we provide proof of concept results and identify important areas of future research, providing a basis for the discussion of network analysis and machine learning approaches for space weather applications.
Recovery of the Complete Data Set From Focused Transmit Beams

The focused transmit beam is a standard tool for clinical ultrasound scanning, concentrating energy from a number of array elements toward an imaging target. However, above and below the transmit focus, much of the energy in the beam is spread in a broadened main lobe and long off-axis tails that are ignored by conventional beamforming methods. This paper proposes a method to decompose a set of focused transmit beams into their constituent components—diverging waves from individual array elements. The recovery of this complete data set enables synthetic transmit focusing at all points in the field of view without beam shape or focal depth artifacts commonly associated with virtual source synthetic aperture beamforming. An efficient frequency-domain linear decoding implementation is introduced. The principles of the method are demonstrated both in transmit field simulations and experimental imaging. At depth, up to a 9.6-dB improvement in electronic signal-to-noise ratio and 8.9-dB improvement in contrast were observed in comparison with conventional dynamic receive beamforming. The proposed method is broadly applicable to existing scan sequences and requires only channel data for processing.
Effect of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs on therapeutic outcomes among women with endometriosis.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) affect the use of hormonal treatments, subsequent ablative surgery, and need for pain management, including opioids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and anti-depressants, among women with endometriosis. METHODS In a retrospective study, data were reviewed from women with surgically confirmed endometriosis who were not treated (n=234) or treated with DMARDs for 6 weeks or more (n=25) before surgical diagnosis at a single healthcare system in the USA between 2003 and 2013. The postoperative use of hormonal treatments, proportion of women undergoing subsequent ablative surgery, and use of adjunct therapies such as antidepressants, steroids, and opioids after surgery were compared between the two groups. RESULTS The two groups showed differences in age (P=0.007) and follow-up time (P<0.001). Univariate analysis showed more frequent use of hormonal treatments (P=0.045) and antidepressants (P=0.006) among women treated with DMARDs. The frequency of post-diagnostic use of opioids was lower among treated women (P=0.001); this association remained significant in multivariate analysis controlling for potential confounders (P=0.003). CONCLUSION The findings suggest that administration of DMARDs for at least 6 weeks is associated with decreased opioid usage among women with endometriosis.
Decolonizing the civic/ethnic binary:

The founding works of nationalism theory identify two overarching categories of nationalism: civic and ethnic. While the former is lauded as liberal, inclusive, and rational, the latter is derided ...
An Overall Mentorship Strategy for Entry-Level Faculty

Mentorship is an essential duty of academic surgeons and has been recognized as a key component on the path to success and leadership. We outline the important facets of mentorship for the early career surgeon, suggested components of an institutional mentorship program, as well as an overview of mentor and mentee relationship, roles, and goals.
Chapter 15 – Architecture as a Key Driver for Agile Success: Experiences at Aviva UK

Large enterprise organizations are increasingly turning to the use of agile approaches for their information technology (IT) development and are encountering a range of challenges that were not faced by the early, usually smaller, agile adopters. Enterprise-scale organizations frequently have complex organizational structures and complex IT estates, including a mix of legacy and modern applications. Both of these attributes have a negative impact on the ease with which agile principles and practices can be applied. This chapter describes the experiences of Aviva UK during our early agile transformation journey. We describe the challenges that we faced, focusing particularly on those relating to our IT architecture, and we discuss the three architecture strategies that we put in place to drive success: • Sufficient architecture and design activity must be completed during project initiation to set the context for and ensure the success of emergent design activity throughout the remainder of the project. • The IT architecture strategy must drive a high level of independence between architecture layers by establishing effective abstraction and separation of concerns. • There must be a clear focus on the importance of the “change-time” attributes of architecture components, such as automated testing frameworks. These must be seen as fundamental requirements of the future strategic architecture alongside the usual “run-time” attributes, such as performance. These strategies have been developed based on both our own experience and the input and experience of agile consultants .We believe that they will be key drivers for success in any large corporate organization with an IT estate that includes both legacy and modern applications.
THE SURFACE TENSIONS OF LIQUID METALS AT THEIR MELTING POINTS

In an attempt to correlate surface tensions of liquid metals with other properties, an investigation was made to determine if the Hildebrand and Scott equation or a modlfication of it could be applied to a large number of liquid metals at their melting points. The results were plotted as log gamma (surface tension) vs. log s (energy of vaporization per unit volume). This plot could not be improved by using as Hildebrand and Scott did, log ( gamma /v /sup 1/2/), where v is molecular volume, for the ordinate. (M.C.G.)
Life Events Scale

Abstract There is convincing evidence that exposure to stress in daily life is related to physical and mental health. A life events scale is a comprehensive list of external events and situations (stressors) that are hypothesized to place demands that tend to exceed the capacity of the average person to adapt (Cohen et al. 4 ). Difficulty in adaptation leads to physical and psychological changes or dysfunction, creating risk for disorders and disease. The naturalistic measurement of life events has a long history in health research, primarily in observational, nonexperimental, population-based descriptive studies. Life events scales have proliferated, applying different theories of why stress exposure affects health, and addressing different levels of analysis, from momentary exposure to stress during the day, to the accumulation of stressors and their impact across many years of life. Four types of stress measurement are described: major life events, chronic stressors, stress appraisal, and daily hassles, or events.
A Good Side to Non—Reflexive Transformations

Let V be a vector space over an infinite scalar field and suppose that a ∈ L(V). We show that, as a strictly closed algebra of transformations, alg lat a is generated by its own rank one members and the original transformation a. To do so, we obtain a concrete description of the rank one members of alg lat a when a is locally algebraic.
Qualitative Research Techniques

There are aspects of the human experience that cannot be enumerated or represented by a summary score. Clinicians in the surgical disciplines intuitively know this, yet often are not certain how to evaluate the perspectives and circumstances of their patients’ experiences. Qualitative research is systematic inquiry that focuses on exploring and understanding the experiences of individuals and groups. Both the perceptions of patients and health care consumers plus those of providers have been studied widely using qualitative research methods.
Gender composition and share of management: Tipping points in US workplaces, 1980–2005

Abstract This paper examines how concepts of gendered organizations, tokenism and the glass escalator affect women’s share of management. Specifically, we examine how the gender composition of workplaces affects women’s share of management in 195,534 workplaces using EEO-1 report data collected from the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 1980 until 2005. The EEO-1 data allow us to explore the effects of gender composition on women’s share of management net of labor market change, industrial change, organizational determinants, and changes in workplace segregation using workplace-level data. We draw on past research to identify potential composition levels—tipping points—in which women have more or less share of management. Our findings suggest that across all compositions, ranging from women comprising less than 15% to over 85% of the workplace, larger percentages of the non-management women are associated with greater shares of women in management. Findings offer little support for the glass escalators hypothesis extended to workplaces, but once further contextualized, the findings do suggest that workplaces are gendered in such a way that tokenism works differently for men and women. Thus, our paper adds to the body of research on gender composition and further illustrates the need to determine under which conditions these social processes operate.
Effect of scan substrates on accuracy of 7 intraoral digital impression systems using human maxilla model.

Objective This study aimed to determine how the accuracy of digital impressions was affected by four common dental substrates using seven prevalent IOS systems to scan the complete arch of a human maxilla. Setting and sample population The Department of Oral Rehabilitation at the Medical University of South Carolina. A single cadaver maxilla. Materials and methods Seven digital intraoral impression systems were used to scan a freshly harvested human maxilla. The maxilla contained several teeth restored with amalgam and composite, as well as unrestored teeth characterized by enamel. Also, three teeth were prepared for full coverage restorations to expose natural dentin. An industrial grade metrology software program that allowed 3D overlay and dimensional computation compared deviations of the complete arch and its substrates on the test model from the reference model. Results Substrates were significantly different from each other when considering scan data as a whole, as well as when comparing IOS devices individually. Only PlanScan failed to reveal trueness differences between the different substrates, while only Emerald revealed precision differences between the substrates. Conclusions Substrate type does impact the overall accuracy of intraoral scans with dentin being the most accurate and enamel being the least accurate. The four substrates scanned impacted the trueness of all IOS devices.
Development and Pilot Installation of a Scalable Environmental Sensor Monitoring System for Freeze–Thaw Monitoring under Granular-Surfaced Roadways:

The freeze–thaw cycle is one of the major sources of damage to granular-surfaced roadways, especially in areas where the timing of heavy agricultural traffic coincides with that of spring thawing. ...
Review: Improvising Improvisation: From Out of Philosophy, Music, Dance, and Literature by Gary Peters

Gary Peters, Improvising Improvisation: From Out of Philosophy, Music, Dance, and Literature . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017. 288 pages. In 2013, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, an organization funded by the Canadian government, awarded $2.5 million to support the
Short Communication: Effects of low antioxidant mineral concentrations in the growing diet on marbling deposition in feedlot cattle

ABSTRACT Objectives This experiment investigates the effect of antioxidant mineral supplementation during a 28-d growing period on marbling deposition of feedlot steers. Materials and Methods After a 28-d adaptation period to the feedlot, 167 SimAngus steers (272 ± 28.2 kg, 219 ± 15 d of age) were divided into 4 weight blocks, placed in 1 of 24 pens, and randomly assigned a dietary treatment. Dietary treatments were applied during a 28-d growing period: (1) no supplemental Cu, Mn, Zn, and Se; (2) Cu, Mn, Zn, and Se supplemented at the requirement of growing beef steers; and (3) Cu, Mn, Zn, and Se supplemented at twice the requirement. Plasma was collected after the growing phase to quantify nonesterified fatty acid and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance concentrations. Afterward, steers were offered a common finishing diet until being removed from the experiment for slaughter at a similar backfat thickness. Statistical analyses used a mixed model in SAS, considering the fixed effect of treatment and the random effect of block. Results and Discussion There were no treatment differences (P > 0.35) for measures of feedlot performance, carcass, and blood metabolite. With the exception of Cu, it is possible adequate mineral concentrations supplied by the basal diet caused a lack of treatment differences. Additionally, liver and body mineral stores may not have been depleted during the 28 d of the experimental intervention. Implications and Applications Future research is needed to further investigate the effects of dietary antioxidant mineral level on marbling deposition of feedlot steers.
Common Person Test Equating

In Rasch Analysis in the Human Sciences, we detailed the steps and thinking that are needed to link one test to another test (and to link one survey to another survey). In this chapter we introduce readers to “Common Person Test Equating”. This is the technique in which two tests measuring the same trait, but not sharing any common items, can be linked through use of “common persons”. We also outline how the technique can be used to link surveys.
Recruiting Reporters’ Perceptions of Ethical Issues:

In the Internet era, a substantial online media industry dedicated to covering the recruitment of high school athletes to college sports programs has developed in the United States. The current stu...
Enabling Homeostasis using Temporal Decay Mechanisms in Spiking CNNs Trained with Unsupervised Spike Timing Dependent Plasticity

Convolutional Neural Networks(CNNs) have become the work horse for image classification tasks. This success has driven the exploration of Spike Time Dependent Plasticity (STDP) learning rule applied to the convolutional architecture for complex datasets as opposed to the fully connected architecture. Inhibitory neurons and adaptive threshold are widely adopted methods of inducing homeostasis in fully connected spiking networks to aid the unsupervised learning process. These methods ensure that all neurons have approximately equal firing activity across time and that their receptive fields are different, generally referred to as homeostatic behavior. While the adaptive threshold is straightforward to implement in spiking CNNs, adding in-hibitory neurons is not suitable to the convolutional architecture due to its shared weight nature. In this work, we first show that adaptive threshold in isolation is weak in obtaining approximate equal firing activity across activation maps in a spiking CNN. Next, we develop weight and offset decay mechanisms that enable the desired behavior to complement the STDP learning rule and adaptive threshold. We empirically show that these decay mechanisms improve feature learning as compared to baseline STDP in terms of accuracy (up to 1.4%) as well as enhanced homeostatic behavior among activation maps (more than halving the standard deviation). We discuss the complementary behavior of the decay mechanisms as compared to the adaptive threshold in terms of the variance in the activity induced. Finally, we show that when the convolutional features are trained on a subset of classes using STDP with decay mechanisms, the features learned are transferable to the subset of classes that are unseen to the convolutional layers. Thus, the decay mechanisms not only encourage the network to learn better features corresponding to the task being trained for but learn common structure prevalent among the classes while encouraging contribution from all activation maps. We perform experiments and present our findings on the Extended MNIST (EMNIST) dataset.
Ultra-Permeable Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Membranes with Exceptional Performance at Scale

Enhanced fluid transport in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) promises to enable major advancements in many membrane applications, from efficient water purification to next-generation protective garments. Practical realization of these advancements is hampered by the challenges of fabricating large-area, defect-free membranes containing a high density of open, small diameter SWCNT pores. Here, large-scale (≈60 cm2) nanocomposite membranes comprising of an ultrahigh density (1.89 × 1012 tubes cm-2) of 1.7 nm SWCNTs as sole transport pathways are demonstrated. Complete opening of all conducting nanotubes in the composite enables unprecedented accuracy in quantifying the enhancement of pressure-driven transport for both gases (>290× Knudsen prediction) and liquids (6100× no-slip Hagen-Poiseuille prediction). Achieved water permeances (>200 L m-2 h-1 bar-1) greatly exceed those of state-of-the-art commercial nano- and ultrafiltration membranes of similar pore size. Fabricated membranes reject nanometer-sized molecules, permit fractionation of dyes from concentrated salt solutions, and exhibit excellent chemical resistance. Altogether, these SWCNT membranes offer new opportunities for energy-efficient nano- and ultrafiltration processes in chemically demanding environments.
Uncovering the complexity of teaching and learning about/from pedagogies of discomforting, difficult knowledge through a “more-than-human” framework for grief on HBO’s The Leftovers

Grief resists easy explanation. Nevertheless, there is a consensus that it is unpleasant and isolating. Yet to understand grief as such misses its intersubjective magnitudes, and neglects to interr...
OXPHOS deficiencies affect peroxisome proliferation by downregulating genes controlled by the SNF1 signaling pathway

Summary How environmental cues influence peroxisome proliferation, particularly through other organelles, remains largely unknown. Yeast peroxisomes metabolize all fatty acids (FA), and methylotrophic yeasts also metabolize methanol. NADH and acetyl-CoA, the products of these pathways enter mitochondria for ATP production, and for anabolic reactions. During the metabolism of FA and/or methanol, the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathway accepts NADH for ATP production and maintains cellular redox balance. Remarkably, peroxisome proliferation in Pichia pastoris was abolished in NADH shuttling and OXPHOS mutants affecting complex I or III, or by the mitochondrial uncoupler, 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP), indicating ATP depletion causes the phenotype. We show that mitochondrial OXPHOS deficiency inhibits the expression of several peroxisomal proteins implicated in FA and methanol metabolism, as well as in peroxisome division and proliferation. These genes are regulated by the Snf1 complex (SNF1), a pathway generally activated by high AMP and low ATP. Consistent with this mechanism, in OXPHOS mutants, Snf1 is activated by phosphorylation, but Gal83, its interacting subunit, fails to translocate to the nucleus. Phenotypic defects in peroxisome proliferation observed in the OXPHOS mutants, and phenocopied by the Δgal83 mutant, were rescued by deletion of three transcriptional repressor genes (MIG1, MIG2 and NRG1) controlled by SNF1 signaling. We uncovered here the mechanism by which peroxisomal and mitochondrial metabolites influence redox and energy metabolism, while also influencing peroxisome biogenesis and proliferation, thereby exemplifying interorganellar communication and interplay involving peroxisomes, mitochondria, cytosol and the nucleus. We discuss the physiological relevance of this work in view of human OXPHOS deficiencies.
Body composition changes in adult men during selected weight training and jogging programs.

Abstract The effects of a weight training program and a jogging program on body composition and structure were studied in adult men. Twenty-one subjects, aged 23-48 years were randomly formed into the following groups: weight training (N = 7), jogging (N = 7), and control group (N = 7). Body composition was assessed by duplicate pre- and posttraining measures of body potassium (whole body 40K scintillation), 11 skinfold thickness sites and 4 body girth sites. The physical training programs were conducted for 13 weeks, 3 days per week, 30 minutes per session. Significant increments in fat-free weight assessed by 40K whole body counting, and in chest and upper arm girths were found in the weight training group relative to decrements in these measures observed in the jogging and control groups. Body fat determined in all three groups from 40K and skinfold thickness measurements did not significantly change, with the exception of a statistically significant decrement in the cheek skinfold measurement of the j...
Clash of Brothers in a Contagious World: Wars to Avoid Diusion

Does sharing the same religion, civilization or racial proximity lead to more peaceful relations between countries? This paper argues that cultural similarity can actually cause wars, which occur to combat di_usion. This new theory of war combines the models of Acemoglu and Robinson (2006) and Fearon (1995), and shows that cultural similarity can lead to more warfare when old elites are afraid of losing their position to a newly inspired citizenry, as these elites try to destroy the external source of inspiration. The microfoundation for inspiration is derived from revealed information about the income level under given institutions, which are assumed to have positive correlation with cultural proximity. On the empirical side, I present case studies on the 1848 Revolutions, the 2013 Korean Crisis (using content analysis of official North Korean articles) and on the First World War, as well as statistical analysis on all the wars of the last two centuries.
ROLES OF CATECHOLAMINES IN SELF-STIMULATION AND OTHER BEHAVIORS AND THEIR MODIFICATIONS BY DRUGS

Studies correlating drug-induced behavioral effects with neurochemical changes demonstrate that drugs that stimulate self-stimulation responding usually cause increase in DA levels and decrease in 5-HT levels in relevant brain areas and vice versa, although exception to this generalization has been observed.
Reconceptualizing Instructional Message Design: Toward the Development of a New Guiding Framework

According to Pettersson (2002, 2007), message design in the broadest sense comprises the analysis, planning, presentation, and understanding of the content, language, and form of messages that are created for the purpose of satisfying the aesthetic, economic, ergonomic, and subject matter information needs of the intended receivers. More specifically within the educational context, message design has been defined as the manipulation and planning of signs and symbols for the purpose of modifying the cognitive, affective, or psychomotor behavior of one or more persons (Fleming & Levie, 1978, 1993; National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), 2000, 2005; Seels & Richey, 1994). As a part of the overall instructional design process, instructional message design is the point at which generalized specifications about the nature of instruction are translated into the specific plans for the instructional materials to be used and how they should be designed in order to enhance learning from them (Grabowski, 1991; Reigeluth, 1983). And, like the field of instructional design generally, perspectives on instructional message design have changed as the theoretic orientations of psychologists and educators have changed over the years about how people learn.
Nutritional support of the hospitalized child.

Advances in surgery, nursing, pharmacology, and medical electronics have markedly altered the care and prognosis for children with previously fatal pediatric diseases. Many of these acutely or chronically ill infants and children are unable to consume sufficient food to meet nutritional requirements. Since prolonged illness with inadequate nutrient intake leads to malnutrition, a need has arisen for aggressive nutritional support of seriously ill pediatric patients. Failure to provide such nutritional support may result in prolonged hospitalization and increased morbidity and mortality. The goal of this chapter is to review the established methods of nutritionally evaluating and supporting seriously ill, hospitalized infants and children.