cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Flumazenil Reversal of Midazolam Sedation in the Elderly

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, the efficacy of flumazenil in reversing the psychomotor, sedative, and amnestic effects of midazolam in elderly patients after surgery under regional anesthesia was examined. Thirty ASA I-III patients older than 63 years undergoing regional anesthesia with midazolam sedation were randomly assigned to receive either intravenous flumazenil ( n = 19) or intravenous placebo ( n = 11) after surgery. After assessments of sedation immediately postoperatively, 0.1 mg/ml flumazenil or placebo was given in 2-ml increments twice, a minute apart, and titrated in further 2-ml increments until patients were awake or until 10 ml had been given. Efficacy of reversal was determined using patient and observer assessments of sedation and simple psychomotor tests administered preoperatively and at five, 15, 30, 60, 120, and 180 minutes after test drug administration. Reversal of amnesia was tested by assessing recall of pictures shown at five, 15, 30, and 60 minutes after drug administration. Time profiles of digit substitution test and observer assessment of sedation data were significantly different between the flumazenil and placebo groups. For observer9s assessment of sleep, significant differences were noted between flumazenil and placebo groups only at five, 15, and 30 minutes after test drug administration. A significant difference was noted between flumazenil and placebo patients in the ability to recall pictures shown five and 15 minutes after drug administration, but not pictures shown at 30 or 60 minutes. Within-group analysis demonstrated that loss of difference over time between flumazenil and placebo groups was the result of decreasing effect of both flumazenil and midazolam.
Incidence Functions and Incidence Matrices

We now introduce into our structure the concept of the direction of a branch of a network. This is accomplished by means of a function called an incidence function of a set of branches. This incidence function leads to a matrix called an incidence matrix of a set of branches. Most of this Chapter is devoted to properties of such incidence matrices.
Publish or Perish—An Editor’s Perspective

If there is one truth about authors, it is that every author wants to be published. However, the motivation for writing and publishing varies. Some authors are driven to write by vanity and some simply because they have something they want to tell. Others are driven by an intense career-dependent pressure. Academic promotion and access to competitive funding is often based on publications. Publication records often determine who will teach and who has access to research funds; and, consequently, research scientists find it necessary to publish early and often.
Intimate Partner Violence, US Criminal Justice Response to

The efforts of the battered women's movement in the 1960s and 1970s to draw attention to the problem of domestic violence (more recently identified as intimate partner violence, or IPV) led to dramatic reforms to the way that the criminal justice system handles the abuse of women from their partners and ex-partners. In most jurisdictions in the United States, laws exist that encourage both police officers and prosecutors to approach IPV cases aggressively. However, for a variety of reasons, these policies have been the center of much debate and controversy. Largely, many researchers, practitioners, and victims' advocates question whether they serve the best interests of women who experience IPV. Empirical research on the effectiveness of such policies have had mixed findings. Future societal response to IPV may involve a more collaborative community effort. Keywords: criminal justice; criminal law; domestic violence; intimate partner violence; policing; women
Twitter as a Tool for Health Research: A Systematic Review

Background. Researchers have used traditional databases to study public health for decades. Less is known about the use of social media data sources, such as Twitter, for this purpose.Objectives. To systematically review the use of Twitter in health research, define a taxonomy to describe Twitter use, and characterize the current state of Twitter in health research.Search methods. We performed a literature search in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and CINAHL through September 2015.Selection criteria. We searched for peer-reviewed original research studies that primarily used Twitter for health research.Data collection and analysis. Two authors independently screened studies and abstracted data related to the approach to analysis of Twitter data, methodology used to study Twitter, and current state of Twitter research by evaluating time of publication, research topic, discussion of ethical concerns, and study funding source.Main results. Of 1110 unique health-related articles mentioning Twi...
Reciprocal Interaction between Megakaryocytes and Myeloma Cells Results in Increased Survival and Proliferation of Myeloma Cells.

Abstract Megakaryocytes are often expanded in bone marrow (BM) areas infiltrated with myeloma (MM) cells while thrombocytopenia is uncommon in untreated MM patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the reciprocal interaction between primary megakaryocytes and MM cells. Cultures of megakaryocytes and their precursors were prepared by incubating mobilized peripheral blood in IMDM media supplemented with BSA, thrombopoeitin (TPO), IL-6 and IL-3. Following removal of all non-adherent cells, the remaining adherent megakaryocytes (>90%) highly expressed c-MPL, CD41a and factor VIII, and had various degree of ploidy. We initially demonstrated that purified MM cell-conditioned media from 7 patients increased migration of megakaryocyte precursors across a 8 μM pore size membrane 3.6±0.9 fold (p=0.001), an effect that was inhibited by anti-CXCR4 neutralizing antibody (p
An Exploration of the Political Dimensions of Cities’ Fiscal Policy Space

Drawing upon literature from political science, economics, and sociology that has attempted to consider how local preferences are translated into policy outcomes, we delineate four conceptually distinct areas of “the local political system”: resident and interest-group demands, partisanship or ideology, local political culture, and municipal institutional arrangements. After describing the data and measures used to characterize political features of the 100 cities in the Fiscal Policy Space (FPS) dataset, we show how those measures can be distilled into a smaller, meaningful set of indicators of political constraint on fiscal policy. Some illustrations of how the FPS cities sort out along these various dimensions are then presented. We conclude by offering several hypotheses about the degree to which each of these dimensions might constrain local choices about budgeting and service provision.
Book Review: Conceptual Rigor: A Cabin for the Rhetoric of Heroism

Unlikely Heroes, written by Jack Bass, traces an important chapter in American legal history. The author’s heroes are judges who sat on the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit during a period of great turbulence, both in the attitudes of the country itself and in the legal processes of one of its courts. Bass describes such cases as Gomillion v. Lightfoot, the Tuskegee gerrymandering case, and Meredith v. Fair, the decision that forced the admission of the first black student to the University of Mississippi. Unlikely Heroes presents the Fifth Circuit as one of the civil rights movement’s driving forces. It depicts the nobility of spirit and steadfastness of purpose that underlay the court’s role in the blacks’ fight for full citizenship, and persuades the reader that the judicial heroes are to be cheered for their personal courage and selfless devotion to duty. There is a genuine risk that the host of new and not-so-new federal judges have been handed a model of heroism and achievement that they can easily misunderstand. The heroism Bass writes of is that of unique personal courage—devotion to the rule of law and basic morality at a time of fierce popular resistance. It should not be perceived as a model of activism to be emulated in other contexts. The virtues of one day may be miscast in another. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that this risk be properly articulated and its possible consequences fully considered.
System Level Parameterizations, constraints and synthesis

We introduce the system level approach to controller synthesis, which is composed of three elements: System Level Parameterizations (SLPs), System Level Constraints (SLCs) and System Level Synthesis (SLS) problems. SLPs provide a novel parameterization of all internally stabilizing controllers and the system responses that they achieve. These can be combined with SLCs to provide parameterizations of constrained stabilizing controllers. We provide a catalog of useful SLCs, and show that by using SLPs with SLCs, we can parameterize the largest known class of constrained stabilizing controllers that admit a convex characterization. Finally, we formulate the SLS problem, and show that it defines the broadest known class of constrained optimal control problems that can be solved using convex programming. We end by using the system level approach to computationally explore tradeoffs in controller performance, architecture cost, robustness and synthesis/implementation complexity.
Paying for Violence? Spousal Abuse and Son Preference in India

AbstractWe find a puzzling correlation in the data on domestic violence and children’s outcomes in India. Using the 2005–2006 National Family and Health Survey, we see that girls in families experiencing spousal violence are less worse off than boys when only fathers report a son preference while the gender bias reverses when only mothers report having a son preference. To shed light on the puzzle in the data, we present a non-cooperative theoretical framework based in economic theories of domestic violence, whereby differing parental son preference and bargaining over investments in girl and boy children potentially explains the observed relationship.
A Mesoscale-Based Homogenization Study of Sand Using the Discrete Element Method

Abstract In geomaterials, macroscale response may reasonably be considered to emerge largely from the mechanical interactions within the grain assembly. This offers a somewhat unique opportunity to be able to characterize the underlying structural evolution of the material, and use that characterization to inform a general constitutive framework to model the behavior of a wide spectrum of soils under a range of pressures and distortional transient loading conditions. The current work explores the internal evolution of a sand using mesoscale simulations of the physics involved. These simulations are used to carry out a homogenization study of the granular subdomain. This is done to 1) identify the threshold at which the transition from discrete mesoscale to the Representative Volume Element (RVE) occurs, and 2) to quantify the uncertainty associated with discretization below that threshold.
Value-driven learning: Decoding and building upon playful computing education (Invited keynote)

The use of playful interactions, clever metaphors, and wordplay are ways that we make computation more appealing to young people and more accessible and intuitive to everyone. But play is a culturally situated notion, and ways that we embed playfulness into our designs can carry unintended messages that encourage or discourage productive use. The focus of this talk is to introduce the term Value-driven Learning through unpacking our notions around play and metaphor, how those notions shape technology practices in various cultures, and to look at Participatory Design as a method for designing Value-driven Learning. In this presentation, I explore theories of play and metaphor. Using these theories, I look at critiques of technology that illustrate how play and metaphor are situated within different cultures and impact technology practices. As an approach to address these critiques, I introduce the term Value-driven Learning, and create a conceptual framework for how we can build upon play and interest of learners into sustained engagement with learning. Specifically, I explore Participatory Design, an often playful practice that helps designers learn from participants, breaking down power imbalances and cultural differences, creating shared vocabulary, and scaffolding the design process so participants can better contribute to co-designing. I explore Participatory Design as both a formative methodology and a guiding principle for Meta-design of technology, which allows the participants ongoing agency in reshaping and reinterpreting technology.
THE DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY OF THE LEVER SIGN FOR DETECTING ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT INJURY.

Background An alternative physical examination procedure for evaluating the integrity of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) has been proposed in the literature but has not been validated in a broad population of patients with a symptomatic complaint of knee pain for its diagnostic value. Purpose To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of the Lever Sign to detect ACL tears and compare the results to Lachman testing in both supine and prone positions. Study design Prospective, blinded, diagnostic accuracy study. Methods Sixty-two consecutive patients with a complaint of knee pain were independently evaluated for the status of the ACL's integrity with the Lever Sign and the Lachman test in a prone and supine by a blinded examiner before any other diagnostic assessments were completed. Results Twenty-four of the 60 patients included in the analysis had a torn ACL resulting in a prevalence of 40%. The sensitivity of the Lever Sign, prone, and supine Lachman tests were 38, 83, and 67 % respectively and the specificity was 72, 89, and 97% resulting in positive likelihood ratios of 1.4, 7.5, and 24 and negative likelihood ratios of 0.86, 0.19, and 0.34 respectively. The positive predictive values were 47, 83, and 94% and the negative predictive values were 63, 89, and 81% respectively. The diagnostic odds ratios were 1.6, 40, and 70 with a number needed to diagnose of 10.3, 1.4, and 1.6 respectively. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that Lever Sign, in isolation, does not accurately detect the status of the ACL. During the clinical examination, the Lever Sign should be used as an adjunct to the gold standard assessment technique of anterior tibial translation assessment as employed in the Lachman tests in either prone or supine position. Level of evidence 2.
PATIENTENBEGLEITENDE KOMPLIKATIONSERFASSUNG IN DER UNFALLCHIRURGIE : KONZEPT, PROBLEME UND ERGEBNISSE

Eine moglichst komplette und korrekte Erfassung von Behandlungszwischenfallen stellt die Grundlage jeglicher Qualitatskontrolle dar, ist aber weder durch externe noch durch retrospektive Qualitatssicherung zu erreichen. Nach negativen Erfahrungen mit „freiwilligen“ Komplikationsmeldungen in der Vergangenheit werden daher seit 1. 1. 1995 an der Klinik fur Unfall- und Wiederherstellungschirurgie Augsburg die Komplikationen sofort bei ihrer Manifestation (Anmeldung des Patienten zur Reoperation, Rontgendemonstration, Stationssprechstunde) von einem der beiden Komplikationsbeauftragten (Oberarzte der Klinik) handschriftlich festgehalten und anschliesend in eine PC-Datenbank ubertragen. Der weitere Verlauf aller erfasten Zwischenfalle wird im Rahmen einer monatlichen Komplikationsbesprechung mit den zustandigen Operateuren diskutiert und dokumentiert. Jeder Fall wird erst abgeschlossen, wenn eine definitive Aussage uber den Ausgang der Komplikation moglich ist. Die theoretischen und praktischen Probleme bei diesem Verfahren werden diskutiert und die Ergebnisse fur 1995 vorgestellt.
Synthesis of N-phosphoryl amino acids via phosphoramidite amine-exchange

Abstract N‐Thiophosphoryl amino acids were prepared rapidly and in high yield via phosphoramidite amine‐exchange in the presence of 1H‐tetrazole followed by thionation with sulfur. Formation of bis‐cyanoethyl phosphoramidothionates incorporating representative methyl esters of the amino acids alanine, glutamic acid, leucine, phenylalanine, proline, and tryptophan, were demonstrated to be successful with 2‐cyanoethyl tetraisopropylphosphorodiamidite. Mild one‐step basic deprotection of the carboxylate and phosphoramidothionate groups with LiOH afforded the N‐thiophosphonamidothioic acid derivatives of several amino acids.
Physical Activity in the Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease

Epidemiologists have had difficulty documenting the health benefits of exercise because of the problems with selection and premorbid job transfers, quantifying activity levels, accurate diagnosis of coronary disease and the interaction with other risk predictors. In addition, the type of exercise that is beneficial and its method of protection is uncertain. Since an exercise program can lower catecholamine levels and ’increase fibrinolysis, the beneficial action could be mediated by hormonal and clotting factor changes possibly not related to the hemodynamic changes produced by an exercise program. In order to clarify this last problem, this review will begin with a description of the body’s acute and chronic response to exercise. Following will be a summary of the studies of Paffenbarger, Morris and colleagues which have demonstrated physical inactivity to be a risk factor in three different apparently well populations and have provided some quantification of protective levels of activity. Fortunately, high levels of activity (i.e., marathoning) are not necessary and modest levels of exercise provide a decreased probability of developing coronary disease. Recent autopsy studies have identified the pathology related to the rare event of sudden death during exercise in the apparently healthy individual. Lastly, two recent exercise-intervention studies of secondary prevention will be reviewed.
Planning Transition to Employment in Rural Areas for Students with Disabilities: Start with a Good Local Fit.

During the past decade programs for transitioning students with disabilities to employment have been started throughout the country. Many of these programs, including those in rural areas, have not...
Determinants of Earnings Management Ethics Among Accountants

Earnings management behavior is a concern of standard-setters, regulators and the accounting profession. This study examines the ethics of this practice using a national sample of 763 accounting practitioners, faculty and students. Possible determinants of the ethics of this practice such as perceived role of ethics and social responsibility, and personal moral philosophies (i.e. idealism and relativism) are explored. Results indicate a positive relationship between social responsibility, focus on long-term gains, idealism, and the ethical perception of earnings management and negative relationship between focus on short-term gains, relativism and the ethical perception of this practice. Implications for the accounting profession as it deals with the issue of earnings management are discussed.
Mathematical methods for thin film deposition simulations

Summary We have discussed the theory of moving solid boundaries and numerical algorithms to simulate them. In Sec. II, the problem description (i.e., Hamilton-Jacobi type equation and entropy conditions) is presented. We have emphasized the fact that the Hamilton-Jacobi type equation (and therefore the ray-tracing method or method of characteristics) in itself cannot determine the physically plausible solid surface evolution. It is important to recognize that the additional physical mechanism (i.e., infinitesimal surface diffusion) is needed to derive the entropy conditions, which together with the Hamilton-Jacobi type equation determine the physical solution. A geometric method to construct the physical solution is presented in Sec. II.F, based on the entropy conditions of Eq. (20) or Oleinik construction. The shock-tracking algorithm (1) presented in Sec. III explicitly uses this geometric construction method to determine the correct moving boundary solution. Earlier work on etching/deposition topography simulation focused primarily on the method of characteristics or ray tracing (26-31), but paid little attention to the entropy conditions. Without the entropy conditions, however, some other procedures must be invoked to avoid seemingly unphysical solutions (32,33). In many cases, such procedures are introduced based on the modeler's intuition of what the correct physical solutions should be, rather than additional physical processes such as surface diffusion. In the latter half of this article, we have treated more specific applications, that is dry processes for etching and deposition, and presented some representative examples. The spatial scale treated in these problems is mesoscopic, that is, sufficiently smaller than macroscopic scales such as mean free paths of gaseous atoms, but sufficiently larger than molecular scales. For semiconductor dry processes, the representative scale for microfeatures is typically 1 or less, in which one can still approximate the solid by a continuum, rather than aggregates of molecules. In this mesoscopic continuum model, ion and neutral fluxes impinging on the surface are also treated as continuums. Under some realistic assumptions, such fluxes are easily evaluated, as shown in Sec. IV. For simplicity, we have only discussed the two-energy/single-species model, but extending this model to a multienergy/multispecies model is straightforward. Since the goal of this article is to present the basic theory of moving boundary problems in dry processes, no attempt was made to discuss details of various processes used in industry. For instance, readers interested in more details of the examples shown in Sec. V are referred to Refs. 4, 5, 19, and 20.
Going forward by going back: re-defining rewind mechanics in narrative games

A growing number of new games utilize rewind as a narrative mechanic and there is an increasing need for a reliable way to understand and evaluate storytelling in such games. This paper builds on previous work by conducting narrative interaction focused analysis on rewind mechanics in commercial video games, and focuses on rewind as a form of narrative progression. The analysis resulted in updated definitions of rewind mechanic types originally defined by Kleinman et al. [13]. An updated framework is proposed where rewind is described in terms of control, scope, initiation, presentation, story structure, and structure traversal. Common design patterns associated with rewind, such as narrative justification and feedback, are also discussed. This expanded framework can be used to better understand rewind mechanics, and evaluate storytelling and user experience in the video games that utilize them.
Investigation of Pitting Corrosion Initiation and Propagation of a Type 316L Stainless Steel Manufactured by the Direct Metal Laser Sintering Process

Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) is an additive manufacturing process that utilizes a laser to sinter powdered metal to make geometrically complex parts. However, components made by DMLS are bel...
Allergen Sensitization and Asthma Outcomes among World Trade Center Rescue and Recovery Workers

A large number of World Trade Center (WTC) rescue and recovery workers are affected by asthma. While physical and mental health comorbidities have been associated with poor asthma control in this population, the potential role of allergen sensitization is unknown. This study examined the association of indoor sensitization and exposure as a risk factor for increased asthma morbidity in WTC workers. We used data from a prospective cohort of 331 WTC workers with asthma. Sensitization to indoor allergens was assessed by measurement of antigen-specific serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels. We used validated tools to evaluate the exposure to indoor allergens. Asthma morbidity outcomes included level of control (Asthma Control Questionnaire, ACQ), quality of life (Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire, AQLQ) and acute resource utilization. The prevalence of sensitization to cat, dog, mouse, dust mite, cockroach, and mold allergens were 33%, 21%, 17%, 40%, 17%, and 17%, respectively. Unadjusted and regression analyses showed no significant relationship between sensitization and increased asthma morbidity (p > 0.05 for all comparisons), except for sensitization to Aspergillus Fumigatus, cat and mouse epithelium, which were associated with decreased morbidity.
Increased breast cancer risk in women with neurofibromatosis type 1: a meta-analysis and systematic review of the literature.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a cancer predisposing syndrome. Studies suggest that women < 50 years old (y.o.) with NF1 have an increased breast cancer (BC) incidence and BC associated mortality. However, this has not been widely recognized secondary to small study populations. A systematic literature review was conducted through database searches for BC and NF1: 3456 articles identified, 166 reviewed, 58 used for descriptive analysis and 4 utilized for meta-analysis. Fisher’s exact tests, Kaplan-Meier curves and random-effects meta-analysis models were used for analysis. Two hundred eighty-six cases of NF1 and female BC were identified with a median age of 46 years at diagnosis; 53% were < 50. Peak age of BC diagnosis was between 34 to 44 years. Women < 50 y.o. presented with more advanced disease vs. those ≥50 (56% vs. 22% stage III-IV, respectively; p = 0.005). Median survival for the entire cohort was 5 years vs. the reported median BC survival of over 20 years in the general population using the SEER database. Median age at BC death was 48.5 years; 64% of deceased patients were < 50. Meta-analysis of a total of 4178 women with NF1 revealed a BC standardized incidence ratio (SIR) of 3.07 (95%CI 2.16–4.38) for women with NF1 vs. the general population. Women < 50 y.o. demonstrated a higher SIR of 5.08 (95%CI 3.77–6.81) compared to 1.92 (95%CI 1.40–2.63) if ≥50 y.o. This systematic literature review and meta-analysis suggests that women with NF1 < 50 y.o. have a five-fold increased risk of BC, present with more advanced disease, and may have an increased BC related mortality. Increased awareness and implementation of recent National Comprehensive Cancer Network early BC screening guidelines for this high-risk patient population is essential. Additional evaluation on the influence of NF1 gene mutations identified in patients undergoing hereditary cancer genetic testing on breast cancer risk in individuals without clinical evidence of NF1 is needed.
Detection of Lithium Plating During Thermally Transient Charging of Li-Ion Batteries

Li-ion batteries are prone to thermal transients imposed by external environmental conditions and/or operationally-induced self-heating characteristics. The material properties, form factor, and implemented cooling strategy of a battery influence the severity and behavior of thermal transients. In contrast to equilibrated low temperatures (0˚C), both substantial and mild (40 to 0˚C and 10 to 0˚C) temporally transient thermal conditions, result in approximately half of the Li+ ions plate as lithium metal at the anode, as opposed to intercalating, in the first charge. This quantity of plated lithium accelerates capacity loss in subsequent cycles and causes rapid onset of jellyroll collapse (cycles 5-8). The plating process induced by charging under a thermal transient causes a unique drop in voltage during charging, resulting in a negative differential voltage, which is not observed in subsequent cycles when the cell temperature has reached thermal equilibrium or in any equilibrium condition. Because a negative differential voltage is distinct, it provides route for detection to prevent rapid degradation and compromised safety. Accelerated rate calorimetry assesses cell safety after substantial plating and jellyroll collapse induced by charging under a temporally thermal transient condition. Self-heating begins at temperatures as low as 35˚C and can wall rupture provides risk of propagation failures in battery packs. Charging during thermal transients is identified as a plating-prone condition that alters the long-term performance and safety of Li-ion batteries. This work exemplifies the importance of understanding the role of thermal transients in pack assemblies to enable safe operation.
The enormous financial impact of stroke disability

The societal cost of ischemic stroke is known to be high, an estimated nearly $50 billion (US dollars [USD]) per year in the United States.1 This sum includes the hospitalization for acute care and initial rehabilitation, as well as subsequent clinic appointments, prescriptions, long-term care, and loss of income from inability to work. When policy makers determine acceptability of new stroke therapies, they consider these costs and whether a new therapy offers enough clinical benefit to justify them. However, until now, no one has calculated such long-term costs by levels of disability after stroke, leaving a critical gap in our ability to analyze and compare new therapies. If treatments reduce disability, this may have a substantial impact on the health care system that can then be evaluated next to the cost of widespread use of the intervention.
The Evolving Utility Of Intracardiac Echocardiography In Cardiac Procedures

Intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) has gained increasing use in electrophysiology due to the need to visualize key anatomic structures. Precise guidance for transseptal puncture and visualization of the pulmonary veins are common essential uses for ICE, but many operators adept at ICE imaging have developed additional and specific uses. With heavy use of ICE guidance, electrophysiologists demonstrated feasibility of left atrial ablation with minimal use of fluoroscopy. With the advent of 3D mapping-integrated ICE, rendering of contours for the left atrium, aortic cusps, and left ventricular structures such as the papillary muscles have become possible. Improved understanding of the anatomy of these areas can facilitate mapping and ablation of these structurally complex sites. Additional uses of scar-visualization and integration into voltage maps have been explored. Left atrial appendage imaging has been an area of interest in the ICE community, although technological improvements are likely needed to make this more reliably complete. A new real-time 3D ICE catheter has also been developed, and work is in progress to delineate potential uses for this new frontier. Increasingly routine use of ICE has led to improved real-time guidance of all percutaneous cardiac procedures.
Volunteer Training Needs for Successful 4-H STEM Programs

Informal STEM education programs through youth-serving organizations like 4-H have the potential to help youth prepare for future STEM careers. Volunteers continue to be an important way to mentor and provide programs for youth with support and guidance from professionals working for youth organizations. 4-H STEM programs present challenges for 4-H professionals and traditional 4-H volunteers who often have limited knowledge and confidence in their ability to teach STEM skills. Recruiting science experts as volunteers to lead 4-H STEM programs is one way to provide these programs, but some experts have limited knowledge about youth development and how to engage youth. Findings from the 4-H Science: Building a 4-H Career Pathway initiative are discussed here related to volunteer training, volunteer recruitment and retention and resources needed for 4-H professionals and volunteers to successfully implement 4‑H STEM programs. A process evaluation was conducted that included focus groups and interviews in 3 states that participated in the initiative. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with youth, parents, volunteers, and 4-H professionals involved in 4-H STEM programs. Themes included the need for volunteer training focused on increasing STEM knowledge and skills as well as pedagogy and youth engagement, the need for training for 4-H professionals related to STEM skills so they could support volunteer efforts, and the need to use diverse methods to recruit science experts and other volunteers for these programs.
Optimal Experiment Design for Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting: Cramér-Rao Bound Meets Spin Dynamics

Magnetic resonance (MR) fingerprinting is a new quantitative imaging paradigm, which simultaneously acquires multiple MR tissue parameter maps in a single experiment. In this paper, we present an estimation-theoretic framework to perform experiment design for MR fingerprinting. Specifically, we describe a discrete-time dynamic system to model spin dynamics, and derive an estimation-theoretic bound, i.e., the Cramer-Rao bound, to characterize the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) efficiency of an MR fingerprinting experiment. We then formulate an optimal experiment design problem, which determines a sequence of acquisition parameters to encode MR tissue parameters with the maximal SNR efficiency, while respecting the physical constraints and other constraints from the image decoding/reconstruction process. We evaluate the performance of the proposed approach with numerical simulations, phantom experiments, and in vivo experiments. We demonstrate that the optimized experiments substantially reduce data acquisition time and/or improve parameter estimation. For example, the optimized experiments achieve about a factor of two improvement in the accuracy of ${T}_{2}$ maps, while keeping similar or slightly better accuracy of ${T}_{1}$ maps. Finally, as a remarkable observation, we find that the sequence of optimized acquisition parameters appears to be highly structured rather than randomly/pseudo-randomly varying as is prescribed in the conventional MR fingerprinting experiments.
Prevalence of cannabis use, disorder, and medical card possession in U.S. military veterans: Results from the 2019-2020 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study.

Abstract More than half of U.S. states legalized medical or recreational sale and possession of cannabis since the prevalence of cannabis use was last estimated among U.S. military veterans in 2014. To provide updated estimates of the prevalence and correlates of cannabis use, cannabis use disorder (CUD), and medical cannabis card possession in this population, data were analyzed from the 2019–2020 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, a nationally representative survey of 4,069 veterans ages 22–99 years who reported on their past-6-month cannabis use, CUD symptoms, and possession of a medical cannabis card. An estimated 11.9% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 10.9–12.9%)] of veterans reported using cannabis, 2.7% (95% CI = 2.3–3.3%) screened positive for CUD, and 1.5% (95% CI = 1.2–2.0%) reported possessing a medical card. Prevalence of cannabis use, CUD, and card possession were higher among younger veterans (use: 20.2%, CUD: 5.6%, card: 2.1%) and those with psychiatric conditions (use: 24.0%-30.0%, CUD: 8.9%-13.0%, card: 3.1%-4.0%). Younger age, alcohol use disorder, and childhood adversity explained a large proportion of variance in cannabis use and CUD, and depression was independently associated with CUD (odds ratio [OR] = 2.76). Physical disability (OR = 3.59), combat veteran status (OR = 2.84), and non-Hispanic black (OR = 0.23) relative to white race/ethnicity most strongly predicted using cannabis with a medical card. The estimated prevalence of cannabis use in veterans—nearly 12%—is higher than the most recently reported estimate (9% in 2014). Veteran cannabis use may be increasing and is particularly prevalent among veterans with psychiatric conditions.
Reinvestigating Rk Behavior in Ring Games

Kneeland (2015) separates different orders of belief in rationality with a new identifying assumption that a lower-order player does not respond to the changes in higher-order opponents' payoffs. This paper points out two features in the games used by Kneeland (2015) that could potentially obfuscate the validity of the identifying assumption, and reports the experimental results using two new sets of games with these features removed. The deviation rates from the theoretical prediction are higher in this experiment, and a larger fraction of subjects cannot be confidently assigned to a type. The deviations also lead to underestimation of reasoning levels in one set of my data, which could be partially corrected by a model of imprecise response and non-degenerate beliefs. The findings suggest that the validity of the identification strategy in Kneeland (2015) is subject to the payoff structure and that the payoff numbers should be carefully chosen depending on the purpose of the research.
CLOSURE OF BEARING CAPACITY OF FOUNDATIONS ON SAND

KARAFIATH, GIROUD, AND STUTZ QUESTIONED THE VALIDITY OF CHOOSING A LOGARITHMIC SPIRAL FOR THE SLIP SURFACE IN THE TRANSITION ZONE. TO JUSTIFY THIS POINT THE WRITERS RELIED ON THE EXPERIMENTAL WORK DONE BY BIAREZ WHICH REVEALED THAT THE SIDES OF THE CORE BENEATH THE FOOTING ARE NEARLY STRAIGHT; THEN THE REGION TO THE RIGHT OF EDGE BC (SEE FIG. 3) IS A PASSIVE ZONE. THEREFORE BC CAN BE CONSIDERED AS THE FACE OF A RETAINING WALL SUBJECTED TO PASSIVE PRESSURE. THE WRITERS ADMIT THAT THE TRUE SLIP SURFACE WAS APPROXIMATED BY A LOGARITHMIC SPIRAL IN LINE WITH WHAT IS DONE IN THE EARTH PRESSURE THEORY BECAUSE OF THE SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE TWO PROBLEMS. HOWEVER, IT CAN BE SAID THAT THE METHOD PROPOSED WAS EXTENDED BY THOMAS TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE EFFECT OF THE NONLINEAR RELATIONS BETWEEN TAU AND SIGMA. SUCH AN APPROACH REVEALED THAT THE BEARING CAPACITY COEFFICIENTS, I.E., N SUB Y AND N SUB Q, DECREASE WITH RESPECT TO THE WIDTH OF THE FOOTING. IT IS WORTHWHILE TO NOTE THAT MEYERHOF AND DE BEER RECOGNIZED THE EFFECT OF THE NONLINEARITY OF THE INTRINSIC CURVE ON THE BEARING CAPACITY COEFFICIENTS. THEY SUGGESTED AN EQUIVALENT ANGLE OF INTERNAL FRICTION SMALLER THAN THAT FOUND BY THE TRIAXIAL TEST AND BY THIS APPROACH THEY REDUCED THE VALUES OF N SUB Y AND N SUB Q. THE METHOD PROPOSED BY THE WRITERS AND THAT OF HU AGREE IN RESULTS DESPITE THE FACT THAT HU DIDN'T INCLUDE DELTA SUB D IN HIS APPROACH (29). THE WRITERS FEEL THAT THE RESULTS OBTAINED FOR N SUB Y AND N SUB Q, BY SOLVING THE BASIC DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS OF PLASTICITY EQS. 24, ARE LOW COMPARED TO THAT IS FOUND EXPERIMENTALLY. FURTHERMORE, THIS APPROACH DOES NOT TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE NONLINEARITY IN THE INTRINSIC CURVE. /AUTHOR/
A communication assisted solution for a 138kV distance relay misoperation

This paper discuss a 138kV miss operation due to a zone 1 overreach of a microprocessor relay. A communication assisted solution to the overreach without compromising the security of the line has been presented that will also increase the dependability of the line.
A comparison of synthetic and natural oxytocin as determined by intra-amniotic fluid pressure recordings

Abstract This study has shown that intravenous infusions of natural and synthetic oxytocin administered alternately and consecutively in the same patient, under similar conditions, produce the same frequency, intensity, rhythm, and form of uterine contractions. The study was performed on 21 patients through the technique of intraamniotic pressure recordings. It is concluded that natural and synthetic oxytocin are identical in their uterotonic activity.
Effect of glance duration on perceived complexity and segmentation of user interfaces

Computer users who handle complex tasks like air traffic control (ATC) need to quickly detect updated information from multiple displays of graphical user interface. The objectives of this study are to investigate how much computer users can segment GUI display into distinctive objects within very short glances and whether human perceives complexity differently after different durations of exposure. Subjects in this empirical study were presented with 20 screenshots of web pages and software interfaces for different short durations (100ms, 500ms, 1000ms) and were asked to recall the visual objects and rate the complexity of the images. The results indicate that subjects can reliably recall 3-5 objects regardless of image complexity and exposure duration up to 1000ms. This result agrees with the "magic number 4" of visual short-term memory (VSTM). Perceived complexity by subjects is consistent among the different exposure durations, and it is highly correlated with subjects' rating on the ease to segmentation as well as the image characteristics of density, layout, and color use.
COMPARISON OF SOME CODES FOR THE INITIAL VALUE PROBLEM FOR ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a comparison of some codes for the initial value problem for ordinary differential equations. Several techniques for solving boundary value problems such as shooting and invariant imbedding require the use of codes, which solve the initial value problem. Hence, it is important to have available good quality software for this purpose. The chapter presents some preliminary results of a study comparing the performance of several first class general purpose codes for solving the initial value problem for non-stiff ordinary differential equations. For low accuracy requests, RKF is probably best as it is competitive with DE/STEP, INTRP, and DVDQ on function counts while also having the smallest overhead cost. For medium accuracy requests, the choice between RKF and DE/STEP, INTRP, or DVDQ depends on how expensive the derivative evaluations are, and for high accuracy, requests DE/STEP, INTRP, or DVDQ is usually be the best choice. DIFSUB is generally not competitive in any range of tolerances. EXTRAP is considered competitive at high-accuracy requests when the derivative evaluations are inexpensive.
Violence While in Pursuit of Knowledge: African Victims of Xenophobia

Critics of the envisaged policy fear that funding, academic standards, state sponsorship of students, and the international character of academic staff may be adversely affected when the University of Botswana loses its status as the “only son” in the higher education landscape. Greater reduction of government support may have a negative impact on its ability to retain senior-level expatriate staff and maintain academic standards. Over the years, the University of Botswana has played a critical role in the training of the required manpower for the country’s rapid development. The university has attracted expatriate scholars, who constitute 35 percent of its academic staff. It is feared that further reductions in government funding may affect the ability of the university to maintain its competitive edge in Africa. Such a loss of status might challenge the University of Botswana’s vision of serving as “a leading academic center of excellence in Africa and the world.” A concomitant issue concerns alternative and sustainable sources of funding. In line with globalization trends elsewhere, the adoption of a cost-sharing policy by the university is a likely option. However, this approach may be more controversial than in other developing countries, for citizens are long used to what a recent report by a government-appointed council (the Business Economic Advisory Council) called “a culture of entitlements” and of living in a “comfort zone.” The council’s characterization of Botswana as “a relatively low-income country with a high-income lifestyle” does not raise any hope that a cost-sharing policy would be easy to implement.
Influence of Hospital Procedural Volume on Care Process and Mortality for Patients Undergoing Elective Surgery for Mitral Regurgitation

Background— Few studies have examined the procedural volume–outcome relationship for heart valve surgery. None have examined process of care factors that may be mediators of this association. Methods and Results— This was a retrospective review of outcomes for 13 614 patients having elective surgery for mitral regurgitation between 2000 and 2003 in 575 North American centers participating in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Cardiac Database. Hospital annual mitral valve volume varied widely from 22 cases per year in the lowest-volume quartile to 394 in the highest. Unadjusted mortality rates decreased from 3.08% in the lowest-volume category to 1.11% in the highest-volume category. The risk-adjusted odds ratio for mortality in the highest-volume category compared with the lowest was 0.48 (95% confidence interval 0.28 to 0.82). The rates of mitral valve repair increased from 47.7% in the lowest-volume quartile to 77.4% in high-volume hospitals (P<0.0001). Similarly, the rates of bioprosthetic valv...
The effect of storage temperature and percentage of condensed distillers solubles on the shelf-life of distillers wet grains stored aerobically

Distillers wet grains with solubles (DWGS) are widely used as a supplemental protein source in North American cattle rations. However, due to its short shelf-life, its use is limited to feedlots within close proximity of an ethanol production plant. It is known that the shelf-life of DWGS in the summer diminishes drastically compared to in the winter. This effect is primarily due to temperature, which drives mold growth in high moisture feedstocks. The purpose of this study was to understand and quantify the effect of temperature (10, 20, and 25 °C) and condensed distillers solubles (CDS) levels [0%, 20% and 30%] on the shelf-life of DWGS under warm and cool aerobic storage conditions. Sample conditions which indicate shelf-life and product deterioration such as moisture content (m.c.), pH, fat acidity (FA), fungal growth and mycotoxin levels were measured in the DWGS samples before and after seven days of storage under three temperature levels (10, 20, and 25 °C). It was found that changes in temperature had the most significant effect on sample conditions (P < 0.05). After seven days of storage, m.c. and water activity (aw) decreased with increase in temperature. In comparison, it was determined that FA, pH, fungal growth and mycotoxin levels increased with temperature after seven days of storage. Also, FA and CFU increased with increase in CDS level in DWGS. It was concluded that after seven days of storage at both warm and cool aerobic storage conditions, FA, aflatoxin, fumonisin and zearalenone levels increased. DWGS deteriorated less at 10 °C than at 20 °C and 25 °C, likewise less deterioration in 0% CDS than in 20% and 30% was noted.
Enhancement of left ventricular function by glucose-insulin-potassium infusion in acute myocardial infarction

Abstract Twenty-eight patients admitted to the hospital with suspected acute myocardial infarction underwent baseline studies within 12 hours of onset of symptoms. Patients were then randomized to receive control infusion (0.45 percent sodium chloride at 20 ml/hour) (15 patients) or glucoseinsulin-potassium infusion (300 g glucose, 50 units regular insulin, 80 mEq KCl/liter water at 1.5 ml/kg per hour) (13 patients) for 48 hours. All patients received 0.45 percent sodium chloride for 2 more days. Coronary arteriograms and left ventriculograms were obtained in 26 (93 percent) of 28 patients 2 to 3 weeks after infarction. Radionuclide ejection fraction improved during glucose-insulin-potassium infusion (49 ± 4 to 55 ± 5 percent, p During experimental infusion pulmonary arterial end-diastolic pressure decreased in the glucose-insulin-potassium group (17 ± 2 to 12 ± 2 mm Hg, p These data suggest that glucose-insulin-potassium infusion after acute myocardial infarction in human beings (1) increases global ejection fraction, (2) Increases ejection fraction in the “infarcted zone” without changing ejection fraction in the “noninfarcted zone”, and (3) decreases pulmonary arterial end-diastolic pressure and end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes.