cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Capturing, indexing, and retrieving system history

Complex networked systems are widely deployed today and support many popular services such as Google and Ebay.com. Due to their size and complexity, these systems tend to behave in ways that are difficult for operators to understand. In addition, frequent changes such as hardware and software upgrades mean that insights into system behavior could be invalidated at any time. When these complex systems exhibit problems, administrators must often analyze millions of metrics collected about system state, the vast majority of which are irrelevant for any particular problem. Furthermore, systematic methods of utilizing previous diagnostic efforts to aid problem resolution are lacking. This dissertation describes our approach of automatically extracting indexable descriptions, or signatures, that distill the system information most associated with a problem and can be formally manipulated to facilitate automated clustering and similarity based search. We argue that our technique helps operators better manage problems both by improved leveraging of past diagnostic efforts, and by automated identification of relevant system information. The first half of this thesis details how signatures can be used to aid system problem diagnosis and the methodology for evaluating their effectiveness. We also present a specific signature construction method based on statistical machine learning and show that signatures generated in this manner have significantly better clustering and retrieval properties compared to naive approaches. We validated our techniques on a testbed system with injected problems, as well as a production system serving real customers. The latter half of this thesis focuses on a couple of challenges we faced. First, because system behavior is often highly dynamic, we introduce a technique for employing an ensemble of models to capture changes in behavior. Second, problem symptoms often depend on how normal system behavior is defined. We present a method of using multiple models of normality to make signatures robust to variances in normal system behavior. We believe our signatures-based approach offers a promising framework for leveraging statistical and information retrieval techniques to address the challenges posed by the complexity of today's and tomorrow's systems.
Obesogenic environments in tribally-affiliated childcare centers and corresponding obesity rates in preschool children

Background: Determine the relationship between obesogenic characteristics of childcare and child adiposity in tribally-affiliated centers in Oklahoma. Methods: The two-day Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) included a total environment (TE), nutrition (N), and physical activity (PA) score and took place in 11 centers across Oklahoma. Eighty-two preschool children (3-5 years) participated. Child height and weight were measured and overweight status (≥ 85th percentile for age and sex) was determined. Regression models, fit using Generalized Estimating Equations methodology to account for clustering by center were used and adjusted for center characteristics. Results: Participants were 3.8 (0.8) years old, 55% male, 67% American Indian (AI) and 38% overweight. A healthier TE and PA was associated with a reduced odds of overweight, which remained significant after adjusting for some center characteristics, but not all. A healthier TE, N, and PA was associated with lower BMI percentile, which remained significant after some center-level adjustments, but not all. Lower sedentary opportunity and sedentary time were no longer associated with reduced odds of overweight following adjustment. Lower opportunity for high sugar and high fat foods and minutes of active play were associated with reduced odds of overweight in some adjusted models. Conclusions: Collectively unadjusted and adjusted models demonstrate that some aspects of a healthier childcare center environment are associated with reduced odds of overweight and lower BMI percentile in preschool children attending tribally-affiliated childcare in Oklahoma. Future research should examine the association of childcare and health behaviors and further explore the role of potential confounders.
Deletion of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 inhibitor genes P15 and P16 in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is a heterogeneous lymphoid malignancy consisting of several histologic types. Alterations in proto-oncogenes caused by reciprocal chromosome translocations have been implicated in the etiology of specific histologic groups. In this study, we examined the contribution of the cell cycle inhibitor genes P15, P16, and P18 to pathogenesis in a large panel of 209 cytogenetically characterized B-cell NHL tumors representing varied histologic groups. We identified the homozygous deletion of P15 and P16 genes in 13 tumors from 12 patients, all belonging to diffuse large-cell histology; 10 had this diagnosis made on presentation, 1 had transformed from small lymphocytic lymphoma, and 1 had transformed from Hodgkin's disease. Tumor-specific point mutations were not identified in the coding regions of these genes. Cytogenetically, chromosome 9p was normal in all but one tumor. On the other hand, eight tumors hemizygous for 9p by cytogenetic analysis showed wild-type configuration of these genes. Our study, therefore, indicates that deletion of P15 and P16 occurs in about 15% of diffuse large-cell NHL and is not usually detected by cytogenetic analysis. P18 was wild-type in all tumors including the 13 tumors hemizygous for 1p.
Abstract 276: Variation of Quality of Life Data Collection Across INTERMACS Sites

Purpose: To capture health-related quality of life (HRQOL) benefits and[[Unable to Display Character: ]] risks of mechanical circulatory support (MCS), the INTERMACS registry expanded collection of HRQOL data to include the Kansas City[[Unable to Display Character: ]] Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) prior to and after MCS (beginning[[Unable to Display Character: ]] 6/12). To better understand reasons for incomplete data collection, we examined patient- and site-associated factors. Methods: Descriptive analyses and hierarchical logistic regression were used to examine the frequency & site variability (median odds ratios [MOR]) for each reason for not collecting the KCCQ at baseline & at three months. Results: The KCCQ was not collected in 43.4% (2031 of 4682) (range across sites: 0-[[Unable to Display Character: ]]100%) & 34.6% (1282 of 3702), (0-100%) of pts. at baseline and 3 months. The most common reason for incomplete KCCQ data at baseline was that the patient was too s...
Exurban Farmers' Perceptions of Land Use Policy Effectiveness: Implications for the Next Generation of Policy Development

Many local governments have enacted land use policies to address farmland loss and farm viability by protecting large blocks of farmland from residential growth. While the rate of suburban "sprawl" has slowed since the burst of the housing bubble in 2008, these policies remain the dominant approach to agricultural land use policy. Given the importance of exurban agricultural production, the growing diversity of exurban farms, and the increasing interest in local food systems by the public, it is time to revisit land use policy. Little is known about how farmers perceive land use policy environments, and whether diverse types of farmers have distinctive views on policy effectiveness. Therefore in this study we document land use policy environments of eight U.S. exurban counties. With farmer survey results we examine factors associated with farmers' perceptions of policy effectiveness. We find that the overall policy environment and differences in farmer and farm characteristics explain less variation in views of effectiveness than do farmers' perceptions of local community support, pressure from global markets, intensity of nonfarm development, and overall optimism about the future of agriculture. Farmers who market directly to consumers are particularly pessimistic about land use policies, as these policies were likely not designed with small farms in mind. Results suggest that next-generation policy efforts to encourage the sustainability of exurban farming could be more effective by creating stronger ties between farm and nonfarm populations, adopting flexible policies that recognize the different ways in which farmers adapt to urbanization, and ensuring that the voices of diverse exurban farmers are included in a participatory policy-making process.
Oxime decorated cavitands functionalized through solvent-assisted grinding.

In order to assemble supramolecular capsules, there is a need for reliable and effective synthetic methods for decorating cavitand-based host structures with appropriate functional groups. The synthesis of four different cavitands of significantly different depth and interior volume functionalized with four aldoxime groups capable of forming homomeric or heteromeric capsules through hydrogen bonding is reported. The final step in each synthesis, the aldehyde to oxime transformation, has been achieved in excellent yields through ‘solvent assisted grinding’.
Reduction of Gas Turbine Fuel Consumption on Gas Pipelines

As the value of natural gas began to rapidly escalate in recent years, a number of old concepts for improved gas turbine pipeline station fuel consumption have been analyzed. These concepts include the use of diesel starting devices, inlet air evaporative coolers, higher effectiveness regenerators, steam injection, combined steam and gas turbine cycles, optimum loading of the gas turbine, and more frequent changing of compressor impellers. This paper reviews these concepts in anticipation of higher fuel costs and offers a brief analysis of economic gains.Copyright © 1976 by ASME
Field testing the germinability of almond pollen (Prunus dulcis)

SummaryPetri plate culture of almond pollen in a basic mineral media with 10% sucrose and 2% agar enables optimum germination and tube growth of field-collected samples. Tests over one blooming season indicated that damp weather and an advanced stage of flower dehiscence are associated with low pollen germination. Pollen from honey-bees foraging for pollen germinated more readily than pollen from bees foraging for both nectar and pollen, or for nectar exclusively.
The Influence of an Additive Amount of Colloidal Silica on the Flowability and Drift Characteristics of Solid Formation

Colloidal silica is usually added to carriers wetted in advance with a small amount of liquid-state agricultural chemicals to improve the flowability in preparing for a solid formation.Since the relationships between the additive amount of colloidal silica and the flowability and drift characteristics of the formed solid have not yet been studied quantitatively, both relationships are examined in this paper, and the following conclusions are derived:1. The additive ratio of colloidal silica (called “white carbon, W. C.”) to SiC giving good flowability, increases with the increasing additive ratio of linseed oil to SiC. SiC and linseed oil were used in place of a carrier and liquid-state agricultural chemicals respectively in this study.2. The bulk density of SiC coated with both linseed oil and W. C. and exhibiting good flowability, decreases with the increase in the additive ratio of W. C. This phenomenon is analyzed by assuming that the thickness of W. C. layers adhering to the surface of SiC with linseed oil increases.3. It seems that there are two cohesive states of W. C. depending upon the additive ratio. It is difficult to exfoliate the W. C., which adheres strongly to the surface of SiC with the enough linseed oil, from the surface of SiC by an external force. Thus, there is hardly any drift of W. C. into the air. On the other hand, the W. C. attached weakly to SiC is easily exfoliated even by the same external force and drifts into the air. The exfoliation ratio reaches approximately 20% by weight of the total additive amount of W. C. at the minimum additive ratio of W. C. to SiC at which SiC with both linseed oil and W. C. shows good flowability.
Progress and prospects of research and utilization on genetic diversity of rice germplasm in Guizhou

Rice germplasm resources in Guizhou are rich in genetic diversity with relatively large variation of biological characters and various types from evolution and artificial selection.Being evaluated and sorted systematically and comprehensively with the multi-disciplinary sciences,5168 traditional varieties,collected from 79 counties of Guizhou,accounting for about 10% of the total in China,were regenerated and sent to the National Bank of Crops Germplasm Resources at Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS)for long-term storage.There were some elite types including semi-dwarf, big panicle,big grain,high quality,cold and drought tolerance,resistance to diseases and pests.Other special elite types characterized by restoring to CMS,wide compatibility,and poly-embryonic seedlings were also screened out.Database for base and core collection was established to facilitate the uhilization of rice germplasm resources.
Customer Concentration and Public Disclosure: Evidence from Management Earnings Forecasts

This study examines the effect of customer-base concentration on corporate public disclosure policy. We argue that large customers have lower costs of accessing the supplier firm’s private information, which reduces their demand for the supplier’s public information, suggesting a negative association between customer concentration and the amount of public disclosure. Consistent with this argument, we find that the likelihood and frequency of management earnings forecasts decrease with customer concentration among firms with major corporate customers. This effect is stronger when the supplier and customers are engaged in more relationship-specific investments and when it is less costly for customers to find another supplier. We find a similar negative association between the concentration of prospective customers and the likelihood and frequency of management earnings forecasts.
Gastrointestinal hemorrhage in children. A pragmatic update.

This article presents a basic, clinically oriented review of gastrointestinal hemorrhage in infants and children. Age-related resuscitation, evaluation, and management guidelines are suggested. Particular emphasis is placed upon the endoscopic, surgical, and imaging developments of the last decade.
Risk Inequality and Welfare States: Social Policy Preferences, Development, and Dynamics

The transformation of night-watchman states into welfare states is one of the most notable societal developments in recent history. In 1880, not a single country had a nationally compulsory social policy program. A few decades later, every single one of today's rich democracies had adopted programs covering all or almost all of the main risks people face: old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment. These programs rapidly expanded in terms of range, reach, and resources. Today, all rich democracies cover all main risks for a vast majority of citizens, with binding public or mandatory private programs. Three aspects of this remarkable transformation are particularly fascinating: the trend (the transformation to insurance states happened in all rich democracies); differences across countries (the generosity of social policy varies greatly across countries); and the dynamics of the process. This book offers a theory that not only explains this remarkable transition but also explains cross-national differences and the role of crises for social policy development.
Diffractive charmonium spectrum in high energy collisions in the basis light-front quantization approach

Abstract Using the charmonium light-front wavefunctions obtained by diagonalizing an effective Hamiltonian with the one-gluon exchange interaction and a confining potential inspired by light-front holography in the basis light-front quantization formalism, we compute production of charmonium states in diffractive deep inelastic scattering and ultra-peripheral heavy ion collisions within the dipole picture. Our method allows us to predict yields of all vector charmonium states below the open flavor thresholds in high-energy deep inelastic scattering, proton–nucleus and ultra-peripheral heavy ion collisions, without introducing any new parameters in the light-front wavefunctions. The obtained charmonium cross section is in reasonable agreement with experimental data at HERA, RHIC and LHC. We observe that the cross-section ratio σ Ψ ( 2 s ) / σ J / Ψ reveals significant independence of model parameters.
Habitat-specific AMF symbioses enhance drought tolerance of a native Kenyan grass

The role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in enhancing plant tolerance to drought is well known. However, the degree to which AMF-plant symbioses are locally adapted has been suggested but is less well understood, especially at small spatial scales. Here, we examined the effects of two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities on drought tolerance of Themeda triandra, a native African perennial bunchgrass. In our study area, mound building activities of Odontotermes sp. termites produce heterogeneous habitat, particularly with respect to water availability, and do so over small spatial scales (<50 m). Thus, plants and their AMF symbionts may experience identical climatic conditions but very different edaphic conditions. We hypothesized that AMF from off-mound areas, where plants experience drought more intensely than on termite mounds, would confer greater protection from drought conditions than AMF from termite mound soils. To test this, we conducted a greenhouse experiment in which we grew plants in soils that we inoculated with fungi from on or off termite mounds, or with a sterilized control inoculum. Our results reveal habitat-specific AMF effects on host stomatal functioning and growth. Contrary to our expectations, drought stressed grasses inoculated with AMF from termite mounds closed stomata less, and produced 60% more leaves than those inoculated with off-mound AMF, thus exhibiting higher levels of tolerance. Mound-inoculated plants that were drought stressed also produced more than twice as many leaves as non-inoculated plants. Longer-term productivity measurements indicate both on- and off-mound inoculated plants were able to recover to a greater extent than non-inoculated plants, indicating that AMF associations in general help plants recover from drought. These findings highlight the important role that AMF play in mitigating drought stress and indicate that AMF affect how plants experience drought in a small scale, habitat-specific manner.
Abstract 311: TGFb/Smad3 Stimulation Drives Smooth Muscle Cell De-differentiation

Restenosis, or vessel re-narrowing, occurs in approximately 25-50% of arterial interventions involving balloon angioplasty due to the formation of a proliferative plaque in the vessel lumen termed neo-intimal hyperplasia. Arterial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) contribute to neo-intimal hyperplasia through a de-differentiation process that includes downregulation of their contractile gene expression and conversion to a phenotype that includes proliferation, migration, and matrix synthesis. Expression of TGFβ and its downstream signaling protein, Smad3, are greatly upregulated following vascular injury, including balloon angioplasty. Classically, TGFβ signaling has been shown to suppress SMC proliferation and migration in vitro, however, Smad3 overexpressing SMCs demonstrate enhanced proliferation and migration. Furthermore, overexpression of Smad3 in rat carotid arteries enhances neo-intimal hyperplasia following balloon angioplasty. These results lead us to hypothesize that TGFβ signaling, in the context of upregulated Smad3, drives SMC de-differentiation leading to enhanced cellular proliferation and migration. We utilized primary rat SMCs infected with adenovirus constructs overexpressing Smad3 or GFP control and performed gene expression microarrays 24 hours following TGFβ administration. We observed statistically significant (p
High-Resolution Historical Climate Simulations over Alaska

AbstractWeather and climate variability strongly influence the people, infrastructure, and economy of Alaska. However, the sparse observational network in Alaska limits our understanding of meteorological variability, particularly of precipitation processes that influence the hydrologic cycle. Here, a new 14-yr (September 2002–August 2016) dataset for Alaska with 4-km grid spacing is described and evaluated. The dataset, generated with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model, is useful for gaining insight into meteorological and hydrologic processes, and provides a baseline against which to measure future environmental change. The WRF fields are evaluated at annual, seasonal, and daily time scales against observation-based gridded and station records of 2-m air temperature, precipitation, and snowfall. Pattern correlations between annual mean WRF and observation-based gridded fields are r = 0.89 for 2-m temperature, r = 0.75 for precipitation, r = 0.82 for snow-day fraction, r = 0.55 for first sn...
Pilot Study to Determine Optimal Stent Duration Following Ureteroscopy: Three versus Seven days.

Background/aims Many providers elect to place a stent following ureteroscopy for nephrolithiasis, but little data exists on the optimal duration to leave a stent. We sought to determine whether there are any differences in post-operative outcomes for patients with a 3 versus 7-day stent following ureteroscopy. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 247 patients who underwent unilateral ureteroscopy with lithotripsy, 79 of whom removed a stent with an extraction string at 3 or 7 days post-operatively. These 2 groups were compared with regard to demographic information, pre-operative variables, and post-operative outcomes. Results Of all patients, 33% experienced a post-procedure related event (phone call, extra clinic visit, and emergency department visit) within 30 days of their procedure, 39% of 3-day stent patients compared to 21% of 7-day patients (p = 0.11). Within the 3 days following stent removal, 3-day stent patients were significantly more likely to have a post-procedure related event than 7-day patients (23 vs. 3%, p = 0.026). Conclusion One third of patients with a post-operative ureteral stent will seek medical care in the 30 days following ureteroscopy. Leaving a stent for 3 versus 7 days may lead to worse outcomes with regard to post-operative events and fank pain.
Exploring the Relationship Between Diversity Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence, and Executive Coaching to Enhance Leader Development Practices:

The ProblemLeadership development is one of the most pressing issues for human resource practitioners within organizations. Recently, coaching to enhance emotional intelligence (EQ) has become a ma...
Assessing Cloud Computing for Business Use

Cloud computing is widely accepted by businesses of all sizes. However, the level at which the adoption of cloud computing has moved varies significantly based on company size. Small businesses that lack the people or financial resources to manage a computing system mostly have embraced cloud computing without too much reservation. Medium sized businesses also benefit from transferring the management aspects of a computing system to the cloud. Large businesses have an option to use their internal systems exclusively or to transition some services to the cloud and keep the more sensitive applications in-house. This hybrid approach is expected to last for a while. Businesses consider cost savings as an attractive feature but require more control over their infrastructure. For this reason the private cloud deployments are growing rapidly. Cost comparison for cloud service versus in-house computing environment shows that private clouds are still cost effective. In this chapter we assess the reasons for companies moving to the cloud. This assessment includes cost, availability of service, reliability and security. We study in detail the cost factors of cloud computing and how it could help with cost savings for businesses. We analyze the risk components of cloud service and discuss how businesses could mitigate the cloud risk by using third party controls. One of the important things to note is that businesses tend to use a form of cloud service indirectly. We analyze in depth how outsourcing compares with cloud computing.
Electron Collision Cross Sections and Transport Parameters in CHF3

The modeling of gas discharges requires the accurate experimental or theoretical determinations of a large amount of atomic and molecular collision data. Among these are the interactions of electrons with CHF3 due to its applications to replace CF4 in low pressure plasma processing employed in the semi-conductor industry for etching and deposition. However only a modest amount has been published on low energy electron scattering cross sections of CHF3 and nothing on its electron transport parameters. This study looks at electron drift velocities in the low E/N regime to determine vibrational excitation and total scattering cross sections in CHF3. the total scattering cross section was estimated by Christophorou1 using the Born approximation and as expected, it is quite large due to the polar character of CHF3. Recently, Sanabia etal2 have measured the total cross section for 0-20eV electrons. It is approximately constant above 2 eV at 15 x 10-16 cm2 and then below 2eV increases rapidly as the electron energy tends to zero— characteristic of s-wave scattering. Other electron collision cross sections have not been reported in the literature for low electron energies, however the similarity of CHF3 to CH4and CF4 would suggest that it has large low-energy vibrational excitation cross sections.
Bayesian P Values

There are no substitutes for p values when a statistical interrogation must lead to a decision. It will therefore come as no surprise when I say that their use requires careful, deliberate thought. Even in the simplest of experiments, investigators must think critically and prospectively about the degree of community protection they wish to provide as they determine the type I and type II errors. As I pointed out in chapters 7 and 8, the application of p values to experiments in health care is even more complicated when these experiments have more than two treatment arms and multiple endpoints. In all cases, the experiment must be executed concordantly, according to the protocol, so that the resulting p values are interpretable. These endeavors are not to be undertaken lightly.
Dying well in america: what is required of physicians?

Physicians have a responsibility to practice palliative medicine so they can appropriately care for their dying patients and help them achieve their end-of-life goals. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Conti Rossini, Carlo (1872–1949)

Carlo Conti Rossini (1872–1949) was a major figure in Ethiopian studies. With a dual career in both public service and the academy, Conti Rossini published many important texts on a variety of Ethiopian and Eritrean languages, as well as works on history, law, and culture.
Analyst coverage and lawsuit risk

In this study, we use a unique, hand-collected dataset of employee lawsuits and study the impact of analyst coverage on labour relations. We find that an increase in analyst coverage lowers the wor...
Development of electronic-nose technologies for early disease detection based on microbial dysbiosis.

A new frontier in clinical disease diagnostics was launched by a series of recent discoveries of a new phenomenon that makes important connections between the metabolic activities of resident microbes and human diseases. Numerous recent studies have demonstrated that the mechanisms leading to disease development involve not only pathogenesis, but also activities and interactions between the complex assemblage of microbes (microbiota) in the oral cavity, lungs, and gut, the microbial metabolites they produce, and the host immune system. These interactions may occur by either metabolism-dependent or metabolism-independent pathways. Consequently, dysbiosis or changes in microbiota composition, often modulate disease development by at least two different mechanisms, including disease-induced dysbiosis and alterations in dysbiotic patterns caused by abiotic, exogenous factors (diet, drug use, and various environmental factors). This paper summarizes recent evidence demonstrating how electronic-nose (e-nose) technologies with multisensor arrays could potentially be used to identify specific changes in microbiome composition, microbiome diversity, and related alterations in patterns of metabolic pathways at different locations in the body. This could be achieved through detections and discriminations between specific chemical VOC-biomarkers, products of microbial metabolism, identified in healthy patients and those related to dysbiosis associated with specific diseases. Recent advances in e-nose technologies, having capabilities of detecting complex mixtures of VOC-metabolites in the headspace of clinical samples, offer new tools for exploiting the common occurrence of microbial dysbiotic mechanisms for noninvasive early disease detection.
Chronic Ethanol Exposure and Withdrawal Impair Synaptic GABAA Receptor-Mediated Neurotransmission in Deep-Layer Prefrontal Cortex.

Background The prefrontal cortex (PFC) acts as an integrative hub for the processing of cortical and subcortical input into meaningful efferent signaling, permitting complex associative behaviors. PFC dysfunction is consistently observed with ethanol (EtOH) dependence and is a core component of the pathology of alcohol use disorders in current models of addiction. While intracortical gamma-aminobutryric acid (GABA)ergic neurotransmission is understood to be essential for maintaining coordinated network activity within the cortex, relatively little is known regarding functional GABAergic adaptations in PFC during EtOH dependence. Methods In the present study, male and female (> postnatal day 60) Sprague-Dawley rats were administered EtOH (5.0 g/kg; intragastric gavage) for 14 to 15 consecutive days. Twenty-four hours after the final administration, animals were sacrificed and brains extracted for electrophysiological recordings of isolated GABAA receptor-mediated currents or analysis of GABAA receptor subunit protein expression in deep-layer PFC neurons. Results Chronic EtOH exposure significantly attenuated activity-dependent spontaneous GABAA receptor-mediated inhibitory postsynaptic current (IPSC) frequency with no effect on amplitude. Furthermore, analysis of IPSC decay kinetics revealed a significant enhancement of IPSC decay time that was associated with decrements in expression of the α1 GABAA receptor subunit, indicative of further impaired phasic inhibition. These phenomena occurred irrespective of neuron projection destination and sex. Based on previous observations by our laboratory of an epigenetic mechanism for EtOH-induced changes in cortical GABAA receptor subunit expression, the histone deacetylase inhibitor Trichostatin A was administered to water- and EtOH-exposed animals, and prevented EtOH-induced changes in spontaneous IPSC frequency, IPSC decay kinetics, and GABAA receptor subunit expression. Conclusions Taken together, these results demonstrate that chronic EtOH exposure impairs synaptic inhibitory neurotransmission in deep-layer pyramidal neurons of the medial PFC in both male and female rats. These maladaptations occur in neurons projecting to numerous regions implicated in the sequelae of EtOH dependence, offering a mechanistic link between the manifestation of PFC dysfunction and negative affective states observed with extended consumption.
Are employee surveys biased? Impression management as a response bias in workplace safety constructs

Abstract Safety researchers often rely on employee surveys, which are susceptible to impression management. The purpose of this investigation was to estimate the prevalence of impression management in self-report measures of workplace safety constructs in three distinct samples. Results from an initial sample of research laboratory personnel indicated that impression management accounted for 28% of the variance in the relationships among safety constructs. In a second sample of research laboratory personnel, impression management was significantly related to safety constructs even after controlling for personality trait variance and accounted for more variance (35%) in the safety construct relationships than what was found in the first sample. A third sample of oil and gas personnel provided less support for the biasing effect of impression management, accounting for 11% of the variance in safety construct relationships. Overall, these data suggest that impression management accounts for up to one-third of the variance in workplace safety construct relationships. Safety researchers should seek to replicate these findings, examine interventions to reduce the prevalence and impact of impression management, and identify alternative sources or methods of assessment.
Plummer-Vinson Syndrome and Heart Failure: An Unusual Association in an African American Woman

BACKGROUND Plummer-Vinson syndrome (PVS) is a rare disorder composed of the triad of dysphagia, iron-deficiency anemia (IDA), and esophageal webs. It is most prevalent in middle-aged white women, and the dysphagia often improves when the anemia is treated. It is well established that chronic hypertension can lead to congestive heart failure (CHF). While IDA is frequently found concomitantly with CHF, there have been no reported cases of new-onset CHF with anemia presenting as PVS. CASE REPORT We present the case of a 48-year-old African American woman with symptomatic anemia and new-onset congestive heart failure secondary to hypertension, who presented with the classic symptoms of PVS. CONCLUSIONS CHF with accompanying IDA may be an independent risk factor for the development of PVS. At the very least, there is an association between CHF-induced IDA and PVS. Patients presenting with CHF with symptoms of dysphagia should be considered at risk for the syndrome, and endoscopy may be warranted. Treatment for PVS includes iron replacement, and in some cases requires mechanical dilation.
Droplet-Based Digital Ratiometric Fluorescence Coding for Multiplex Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing

Multiplexed NAAT is essential for molecular diagnosis of various diseases. Currently, encoding each nucleic acid target with a specific fluorescently-labeled probe has been the most commonly employed approach for multiplexed detection. Unfortunately, this “one-color-one-target” approach is limited by spectral overlap between fluorophores and cannot achieve highly multiplexed detection. This paper proposes a novel method termed Digital Ratiometric Fluorescence Coding to expand multiplexing capacity of NAAT. We encode each nucleic acid target with a specific ratio between two standard fluorophores in single droplet via a microfluidic system, allowing multiplexed detection of targets while obviating spectral overlap restriction. For demonstration, we detected DNA targets from six sexually transmitted diseases and demonstrated the potential for further expanding the multiplexing capability of our method.
Leukemic infiltration of prostate

Abstract The twenty-seventh case of leukemic infiltration of the prostate is reported. A review of the literature is presented, with special attention to those features helpful in the urologic management of the leukemic patient with prostatic obstruction.
What constitutes excellent teaching: A survey of the perceptions of AAVMC distinguished veterinary teacher award winners

Background: Although researchers have attempted to discern the characteristics of good teachers and good teaching, no one has attempted to solicit the perspectives of instructors recognized for their teaching effectiveness in veterinary medicine. Thus, the purpose of this study was to survey national award-winning educators, namely recipients of the AAVMC Distinguished Veterinary Teacher Award, in an effort to gain insights about the beliefs, characteristics and behaviors of proven, outstanding educators. Methods: This mixed-methods study utilized survey and grounded theory methodologies to analyze quantitative and qualitative data. Results: Although most award-winning educators did not possess any formal training in education, each demonstrated a high-level understanding of modern learning theory and effective pedagogical techniques. Although opinions varied on some issues, there was virtually a consensus on the importance of issues such as emphasizing clinical relevance, focusing on core concepts, avoiding minutiae, offering opportunities for application, and illustrating how concepts are related. Further, most educators embraced backward design principles and were highly intrinsically motivated to perform their instructional duties well. Award-winning educators tend to believe developing expertise in teaching is just as important as developing expertise in one's academic discipline/content area. Conclusion: Continual and increasing efforts to promote faculty development are warranted in veterinary medical education.
Prior inhibition of AKT phosphorylation by BX795 can define a safer strategy to prevent herpes simplex virus-1 infection of the eye

Abstract Purpose To evaluate the prophylactic antiviral efficacy, corneal tolerance and toxicity of topically dosed BX795, a non-nucleoside small-molecule inhibitor of herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1). Methods Prophylactic treatment with BX795 was performed both in-vitro on human corneal epithelial cells and in-vivo on mice prior to HSV-1 challenge. Viral burden was evaluated using a standard plaque assay. In a separate experiment, mice were treated topically 3-times daily for 4-weeks with BX795 to evaluate corneal tolerance and toxicity. Phenol-red thread measurements, fluorescein staining and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were used to evaluate tear production, dryness and corneal structural changes. Corneal sensitivity and intraocular pressure were measured using esthesiometery and tonometery respectively. Results Both in-vitro and in-vivo results showed a robust suppression of HSV-1 infection when treated prophylactically with BX795. The fluorescein stain and phenol-red results for the BX795-treated eyes did not show signs of corneal surface dryness when compared to trifluridine (TFT), an FDA-approved topical antiviral. The OCT measurements showed no signs of structural changes to the cornea suggesting that BX795 treatment was well tolerated without any apparent signs of toxicity or inflammation. The corneal sensitivity of BX795-treated eyes was not significantly different from TFT-treated eyes. No significant increase in the intraocular pressure of BX795-treated mice was observed. Conclusions Prophylactic treatment with BX795 protects corneal cells from HSV-1 infection. The antiviral is well-tolerated on murine corneas without any detectable toxicity.
Effects of Ventilation-Perfusion Mismatch on Severity of Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Modeling Study

Plant gain quantifies the extent and rapidity with which arterial blood gases change following hypopneic or hyperpneic events. High plant gain, acting in concert with a highly collapsible upper airway and low arousal threshold, may contribute significantly towards increasing the severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), even when controller gain is low. Elevated plant gain may be a manifestation of abnormal gas exchange resulting from ventilation-perfusion mismatch in the lungs. Using a mathematical model, we explore in this paper how ventilation-perfusion mismatch can affect plant gain, as well as the severity of OSA.
Suicide and Euthanasia

When discussing issues of suicide and euthanasia Joel Feinberg’s (1986) scheme that considers suicide as an act involving one party/certain harm and euthanasia as one involving two party/certain harm will be used. Viewed from this perspective, the same principles that apply to suicide can be applied to euthanasia. If a person makes a rational request to die, if it is assured that the request is voluntary and that the person is in a stable, competent state that qualifies the individual as a moral agent, then it should be irrelevant whether the act of suicide is assisted. If the act is judged to be permissible, then it is proper to receive aid from a second party, with the major reservation that the second party should have no secondary (financial or personal) interests and the interests of relevant third parties are not harmed by the person’s death.
4-Hydroxy-2-nonenal, a lipid peroxidation product, as a biomarker in diabetes and its complications: challenges and opportunities

Over 30 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes and this number is only expected to increase. There are various causes that induce complications with diabetes, including oxidative stress. In oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation-derived reactive carbonyl species such as 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) is shown to cause damage in organs that leads to diabetic complications. We provided evidence to show that 4-HNE or/and 4-HNE-protein adducts are elevated in various organ systems of diabetic patients and animal models. We then discussed the advantages and disadvantages of different methodologies used for the detection of 4-HNE in diabetic tissues. We also discussed how novel approaches such as electrochemistry and nanotechnology can be used for monitoring 4-HNE levels in biological systems in real-time. Thus, this review enlightens the involvement of 4-HNE in the pathogenesis of diabetes and its complications and efficient methods to identify it. Furthermore, the article presents that 4-HNE can be developed as a biomarker for end-organ damage in diabetes such as diabetic cardiac complications.
Sailing School: Navigating Science and Skill, 1550-1800: By MARGARET E. SCHOTTE. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019. 12 + 297 pp., glossary, notes, bibliography, index, 9 color illus., 70 b&w illus. $59.95 (HB). ISBN 9781421429533.

Sailing School is based on the author’s extensive study of methods and materials used to teach navigation at various locations in western Europe during the early modern period. Casting a remarkably...
Student and Faculty Beliefs about Diverse Approaches to Engineering Design Decisions

Background: Engineers need to be able to make robust design decisions. Because design is an ill-structured endeavor, design decisions require some combination of rationalistic, intuitive, and empathic approaches. However, engineering education remains largely oriented towards the use of rationalistic approaches. Purpose/Hypothesis: We posit that the persistent gap between the need to leverage diverse approaches to make engineering design decisions and the emphasis on primarily rationalistic approaches in engineering spaces is due, in part, to the beliefs that individuals hold about diverse approaches. Design/Method: We analyzed interview transcripts to identify the beliefs shared by students and by faculty (as individual units of analysis) about rationalistic, intuitive, and empathic approaches to making engineering design decisions, and then we compared the shared beliefs of the two groups. Results: Students and faculty similarly shared a belief that rationalistic approaches are normative in engineering. The two groups also had a common, general belief that empathic approaches are missing in engineering, but they differed in the ways in which they talked about empathic approaches. Finally, the two groups differed in their beliefs about the role of diverse approaches in practice: students believed rationalistic approaches are and should be used most in practice, but faculty believed that rationalistic approaches are inherently limited and therefore require the use of intuitive approaches. Conclusions: We interpret the pervasive belief that engineers are expected to portray their design decision making as primarily rational as a reflection of an unrealistic yet powerful social norm in engineering spaces, which can be understood as a key part of how the exclusive culture of engineering is perpetuated. We see a need to teach explicitly about this social norm in order to disrupt it, and we encourage engineering educators to reflect on how the ways in which their praxis might endorse or reinforce such unrealistic beliefs, either explicitly or implicitly.
Obesity and menopausal status impact the features and molecular phenotype of invasive lobular breast cancer.

Purpose We investigated the relationship between obesity, menopausal status, and invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), the second most common histological subtype of breast cancer. Specifically, we evaluated the association between body mass index (BMI), metabolic syndrome, the 21-gene Oncotype Recurrence Score (Oncotype RS), and pathological features in patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2-negative ILC. Methods The study cohort included 491 patients from a prospectively maintained institutional database consisting of patients with stage I-III, HR-positive ILC who underwent surgical treatment between 1996 and 2019. Results Contrary to our expectations, we found that lower BMI was significantly associated with having higher Oncotype RS (18.9% versus 4.8%, p = 0.028) in post-menopausal patients, but was not related to tumor characteristics in pre-menopausal patients. Multivariate network analyses suggested a strong relationship between post-menopausal status itself and tumor characteristics, with lesser influence of BMI. Conclusion These findings provide further insight into the recently appreciated heterogeneity within ILC and support the need for further investigation into the drivers of this disease and tailored treatment strategies.
The group of (the complement of) a link

By a knot we mean a polygon in R 3. A link is a finite union of disjoint knots. Thus a link L is a compact polyhedral 1-manifold in R 3. The fundamental group π(R 3 − L) is called the group of L. We shall show that such a group is always finitely generated, and is obtainable from a free group by imposing a finite number of four-letter relations. (These terms will be defined in due course.)
Spatiotemporal dynamics of complex ecological networks: Power-law scaling and implications for conservation planning

Spatial constraints on the topology of complex networks are just beginning to be appreciated, both theoretically^1-3^ and in concrete examples like the Internet^4^ and global air transportation network^5^. Ecological networks, composed of habitat patches connected by species dispersal, are intrinsically spatial and show promise as a tool for conservation planning; but while habitat-loss effects on ecological networks have been simulated, such effects have not been directly measured in ecological networks varying over time^6-8^. In this study, I used satellite remote sensing to study ecological networks composed of wetland habitat in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North America. I find power-law scaling of important topological properties as a function of dispersal ability and as wetland density varies with climate. Prairie wetland networks are 'meso-worlds' with mean topological distance increasing faster with network size than small-world networks^9^, but slower than regular lattices^10^. While similar dynamics have been shown in random spatial networks^1,3^, these results emphasize the importance of processes determining locations of nodes in a spatial network, with possible implications in other areas like wireless communication networks^11^ or disease transmission networks^12^. Wetland networks establish a climate envelope for landscape connectivity in the PPR, and I show that wetland-dependent species face a 'crisis of connectivity' with climate change. The global biodiversity crisis requires that conservation planners act quickly over large areas using limited resources^13,14^; a network-based approach to coarse-filter conservation planning in dynamic landscapes should be broadly applicable to this problem.