cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Code Triage: Integrating the National Children's Disaster Mental Health Concept of Operations Across Health Care Systems ☆

This article describes the National Children's Disaster Mental Health Concept of Operations (“CONOPS”) model as a method to address discrepancies between research advances that have been made and the typical methods of providing mental health services to children after disasters. Three key CONOPS strategies are described: (1) the PsySTART Disaster Mental Health Triage System, (2) a child-focused Incident Action Plan (IAP), and (3) a continuum of risk stepped-care model that matches the level of evidence-based treatment interventions with the level of identified risk using a stepped-care framework. Together, these strategies provide an integrated “disaster systems of care” method for the needs of children. With the goal to strengthen the resilience of children, the CONOPS provides clear operational strategies to facilitate mental health care addressing the full continuum of risk and resilience in the child population. Adapting this tool to health care systems i s a vital step to improving mental health services and resilience outcomes for children after a disaster.
The Cauldron Called Cognitive Science

Mind as Machine: A History of Cognitive Science, Two-Volume Set. By Margaret A. Boden (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2006). Volume 1: xlviii + 700 pp; Volume 2: xiii + 901 pp. [701–1631] $280.00 cloth; ...
A New IDEA Mandate: The Use of Functional Assessment of Behavior and Positive Behavior Supports

The provision of appropriate educational programs for students with disabilities continues to be clarified through amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1990. Required in the latest amendments, in 1997, and the subsequent publication of the regulations in 1999, are a research-based method known as functional assessment of behavior (FAB) and a behavioral change strategy known as positive behavior supports (PBSs). This article provides a legal base for and describes the steps in implementing an FAB; it also provides examples of appropriate PBSs and their use with students with disabilities.
Strategy optimization and generation for construction project management using an interactive simulation

Construction activities are exposed to unpredictable external events and internal dynamic feedbacks of constraints which deviate projects from as-planned duration and costs. In practice, various decisions have been used to minimize the impacts of risks. Learning from experiences is valuable which requires historical data collection and analysis. To avoid the high cost in direct data collection and difficulties in studying single decision impacts, we present an alternative to study and optimize decision strategies. Interactive Construction Decision Making Aid (ICDMA) is an interactive simulator which allows users to implement different decision strategies on the defined projects. All the project information and decision data in the simulation are recorded electronically. We started with five candidate strategies and analyzed data for general patterns. New hybrid strategies were generated based on the data analysis. Reimplementation of new strategies showed improvement in cost and duration management, validating the feasibility of strategy optimization through interactive simulation.
Psychometric assessment of scales for a Model of Goal Directed Vegetable Parenting Practices (MGDVPP).

Vegetable intake has been related to lower risk of chronic illnesses in the adult years. The habit of vegetable intake should be established early in life, but many parents of preschoolers report not being able to get their child to eat vegetables. The Model of Goal Directed Behavior (MGDB) has been employed to understand vegetable parenting practices (VPP) to encourage a preschool child’s vegetable intake. The Model of Goal Directed Vegetable Parenting Practices (MGDVPP) provides possible determinants and may help explain why parents use effective or ineffective VPP. Scales to measure effective and ineffective vegetable parenting practices have previously been validated. This manuscript presents the psychometric characteristics and factor structures of new scales to measure the constructs in MGDVPP. Participants were 307 parents of preschool (i.e. 3 to 5 year old) children, used for both exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). Data were collected via an internet survey. First, EFA were conducted using the scree plot criterion for factor extraction. Next, CFA assessed the fit of the exploratory derived factors. Then, classical test theory procedures were employed with all scales. Finally, Pearson correlations were calculated between each scale and composite effective and ineffective VPP as a test of scale predictive validity. Twenty-nine subscales (164 items) within 11 scales were extracted. The number of items per subscale ranged from 2 to 13, with three subscales having 10 or more items and 12 subscales having 4 items or less. Cronbach’s alphas varied from 0.13 to 0.92, with 17 being 0.70 or higher. Most alphas <0.70 had only three or four items. Twenty-five of the 29 subscales significantly bivariately correlated with the composite effective or ineffective VPP scales. This was the initial examination of the factor structure and psychometric assessment of MGDVPP scales. Most of the scales displayed acceptable to desirable psychometric characteristics. Research is warranted to add items to those subscales with small numbers of items, test their validity and reliability, and characterize the model’s influence on child vegetable consumption.
Applications of Range Query Theory to Relational Data Base Join and Selection Operations

This article applies range query theory to develop join algorithms that run inO(IlogdI+U) time, whereIandUare the sizes of the input and output anddis usually a small constant. One advantage of these algorithms is that they do not require the storage of an index, and they also use a working memory space guaranteed to be proportional to the size of the input. If the memory space is expanded toO(NPolylogN), our formalism also leads to the development of very fast indices supportingO(PolylogN) selection operations.
Satisfaction with and Intention to Continue Depo-Provera Versus the Mirena IUD among Post-Partum Adolescents through 12 Months of Follow-Up

Abstract Study Objective No prior study has directly compared satisfaction with Depo-Provera to the Mirena intra-uterine device (IUD) among post-partum parous adolescents. Our aim was to make this comparison among post-partum adolescents at 3, 6, and 12 months of follow-up. Participants Post-partum/parous adolescents (aged 20 and younger) choosing either Depo-Provera or the Mirena IUD as their method of contraception. Design Prospective longitudinal survey. Setting The adolescent clinic at the Truman Medical Center, Kansas City Missouri. Main Outcome Measure Satisfaction with and intention to continue the chosen method at 3, 6, and 12 months of follow-up. Interventions None. Results Sixty-six post-partum/parous adolescents were recruited, 37 choosing the Mirena IUD and 29 choosing Depo-Provera for contraception. The 2 groups had similar baseline characteristics. There was no statistically significant difference in overall satisfaction with Depo-Provera versus the Mirena IUD at 3, 6, or 12 months of follow-up. For both contraceptive methods, unpredictable bleeding was most unacceptable at 6 months of follow-up but the trend was only statistically significant for Depo-Provera. For Depo-Provera, there was a significantly lower proportion of participants actually continuing the method at 12 months (42.9%) relative to the proportion who at 6 months had expressed an intention to continue (80.0%; P = .01). This trend was not seen for the Mirena IUD. Conclusion Among post-partum/parous adolescents, overall subjective satisfaction with Depo-Provera and the Mirena IUD is similarly high over 12 months of follow-up. With Depo-Provera, however, there appears to be a disconnect between intention to continue at 6 months and actual continuation at 12 months.
Effects of L-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid on matrix secretion and Golgi structure in fibroblasts and osteoblasts of the mouse

The effect of a proline analogue, L-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid (LACA), on collagenous matrix secretion by periodontal ligament fibroblasts and alveolar bone osteoblasts was studied by light and electron microscopic radioautography after injection of 3H-glycine; 3H-glycine labeled material accumulated in the cisternae of the rough endoplasmic reticulum and was not secreted for over 4 hours. The Golgi complex of both fibroblasts and osteoblasts showed a marked alteration of its composition after LACA administration. All Golgi saccules and collagen secretion granules disappeared within 2 hours. Flattened Golgi cisternae were still present and appeared to be unaffected by the administration of LACA. These observations indicate that Golgi saccules in collagen-secreting cells are the initial staging areas for the formation of collagen secretory granules and that there is a close correlation between form and function in the Golgi apparatus of collagensecreting cells.
Comparing Two Methods of Detection for Chlamydia trachomatis in Liquid-Based Papanicolaou Tests

This study compared the performance of Chlamydia trachomatis testing using 2 methods: the BD ProbeTec Chlamydia trachomatis Q x Amplified DNA Assay (CTQ) on the BD Viper System with XTR technology (CTQ assay) and the Hybrid Capture (HC) 2 assay. A total of 1,054 Surepath and ThinPrep specimens were tested for C trachomatis nucleic acids using the CTQ assay and the HC2 assay. For positive and discrepant C trachomatis test results, confirmatory test for C trachomatis was performed using a reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction. Of 1,054 liquid-based gynecologic cytology samples tested for C trachomatis using both assays, 1,041 tested negative on both. In 6 (0.57%) samples, findings were discordant. The CTQ assay and the HC2 assay had sensitivity rates of 100% and 66.7%, respectively, with comparable specificity (99.9%). The positive predictive values were 92.3% and 88.9% with the CTQ and HC2 assays, respectively. In this study, the CTQ assay was found to be more sensitive than the HC2 assay in detecting chlamydial infection; the CTQ assay also demonstrated a higher positive predictive value.
Virtualization of open-source secure web services to support data exchange in a pediatric critical care research network.

Objectives To examine the feasibility of deploying a virtual web service for sharing data within a research network, and to evaluate the impact on data consistency and quality. Material and Methods Virtual machines (VMs) encapsulated an open-source, semantically and syntactically interoperable secure web service infrastructure along with a shadow database. The VMs were deployed to 8 Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network Clinical Centers. Results Virtual web services could be deployed in hours. The interoperability of the web services reduced format misalignment from 56% to 1% and demonstrated that 99% of the data consistently transferred using the data dictionary and 1% needed human curation. Conclusions Use of virtualized open-source secure web service technology could enable direct electronic abstraction of data from hospital databases for research purposes.
Ultra-low contact resistance of epitaxially interfaced bridged silicon nanowires

Laterally oriented single-crystal silicon nanowires are epitaxially grown between highly doped vertically oriented silicon electrodes in the form of nanobridges. Resistance values extracted from the current-voltage measurements for a large number of nanobridges with varying lengths and diameters are used to propose a model which highlights the relative contribution of the contact resistance to the total resistance for nanowire-based devices. It is shown that the contact resistance depends on the effective conducting cross-section area and hence is influenced by the presence of a surface depletion layer. On the basis of our measured data and constructed model, we estimated the specific contact resistance to be in the range 3.74 x 10(-6) to 5.02 x 10(-6) Omega cm2 for our epitaxial interfacing method. This value is at least an order of magnitude lower than that of any known contact made to nanowires with an evaporated metal film, a common method for integrating semiconductor nanowires in devices and circuits.
Long-Term Competence Restoration

While the United States Supreme Court's Jackson v. Indiana decision and most state statutes mandate determinations of incompetent defendants' restoration probabilities, courts and forensic clinicians continue to lack empirical evidence to guide these determinations and do not yet have a consensus regarding whether and under what circumstances incompetent defendants are restorable. The evidence base concerning the restoration likelihood of those defendants who fail initial restoration efforts is even further diminished and has largely gone unstudied. In this study, we examined the disposition of a cohort of defendants who underwent long-term competence restoration efforts (greater than six months) and identified factors related to whether these defendants were able to attain restoration and adjudicative success. Approximately two-thirds (n = 52) of the 81 individuals undergoing extended restoration efforts were eventually deemed restored to competence. Lengths of hospitalization until successful restoration are presented with implications for the reasonable length of time that restoration efforts should persist. Older individuals were less likely to be restored and successfully adjudicated, and individuals with more severe charges and greater factual legal understanding were more likely to be restored and adjudicated. The significance of these findings for courts and forensic clinicians is discussed.
Microbial activity during leaf decomposition in an Alaskan subarctic stream

Fungal biomass and growth and microbial respiration were studied for two field seasons in a second-order subarctic stream where water temperature is 0°C for approximately 6 months. Leaf packs (5-g) of alder Alnus tenuifolia, birch Betula papyrifera and willows Salix alaxensis and Salix arbusculoides immersed in autumn of 1979 and 1980 were sampled until June 1980 and January 1981, respectively. Fungal growth and microbial respiration occurred in submerged detritus at 0°C. Total and FDA-active hyphal lengths were measured, the active proportion averaging 25% of the total (all leaf species, both years). Generally, microbial respiration peaked in all leaf species after two weeks in the stream. As water approached 0°C, respiration declined by 20–50% depending on leaf species, but often increased later in decomposition (at 0°C). Seasonal trends in microbial respiration and FDA-active hyphal lengths were not similar although maximal respiration usually occurred as FDA-active hyphae were growing most rapidly. The calculated leaf weight loss due to microbial respiration was small (7–10%) in all leaf species, compared with total weight loss over 98 d. Scanning electron microscopy provided a visual record of leaf surface microorganisms and apparent leaf cuticle dissolution by fungi and bacteria.
Air Model Studies of Hydraulic Downpull on Large Gates

Studies to determine hydraulic downpull forces on large fixed wheel gate and on slide gate; applicability of air tests for this work; method of applying data which will be helpful in evaluating downpull forces on other similar gate structures.
The Association Between Reflective Functioning and Parent–Child Relationship Quality

Research consistently links adult and infant attachment styles, yet the means by which attachment is transmitted is relatively elusive. Recently, attention has been directed to the psychological underpinnings of caregiver sensitivity—originally thought to be the mechanism of transmission—as indicated by caregivers’ ability to keep in mind children’s mental states when interpreting children’s behavior, or reflective functioning. Unfortunately for researchers, extant measures of reflective functioning are time-consuming and require extensive observation and coding. A self-report measure could help facilitate the study and assessment of reflective functioning in research and clinical settings. This study investigated the relationship between parental reflective functioning and multiple aspects of the parent–child relationship, by using a new, self-report measure of reflective functioning. Participants were 79 caregivers (M age = 31.8 years) who completed self-report measures assessing reflective functioning, parent–child relationship characteristics, perceived rejection in early relationships, attachment anxiety and avoidance in current close relationships, depression, and substance use. The results indicated that reflective functioning is a strong predictor of parent–child relationship quality (i.e., parental involvement, communication, parent satisfaction, limit setting, and parental support), independent of other potential indicators. Findings support parental reflective functioning as a contributor to the quality of parent–child relationship and suggest that a parent’s capacity to reflect on the mental states of his or her child in parent–child interactions may provide a key target for interventions that aim to improve parent–child relationships.
Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Terrorism

Terrorist violence perpetrated by states, non-state actors, individuals, or private groups ''jolts elementary human consciousness.'' Most shocking is the arbitrary murder of uninvolved parties for the sake of propaganda. In addition, terrorism grievously affects survivors, victims' families, the community in general, and even the terrorists themselves.Therapeutic jurisprudence attempts to use the law as a therapeutic agent. For this purpose, it has developed a strong interdisciplinary component that has broadened understanding of law's social impact. This understanding is particularly necessary for an adequate legal response to the challenge of terrorism and its devastating psychological effects.
High-power, picosecond, 10 µm pulses via compression of a laser beat-wave in GaAs

We produce a train of high-power, 2 ps, 10 um laser pulses by multiple-four-wave-mixing compression of a 106 GHz CO2 laser beat-wave in GaAs. The possibility of generating high-power, 300 fs, mid-IR pulses is discussed.
The Evaluation Developing Trend of Tool Materials in Engine Machining

This paper summarize and analyze the common drill failure modes,analysis drill failure in engine production with basic principles from cooling and lubrication,deep hole machining,inclined surface drilling.the deviation of these principles will lead to abnormal wear,edge and tool broken,need analysis from these basic principles to solve drill failure.
Descriptive Analysis of Spinal Neuroaxial Injections, Surgical Interventions, and Physical Therapy Utilization for Degenerative Lumbar Spondylolisthesis Within Medicare Beneficiaries from 2000 to 2011.

Study design A retrospective, observational study. Objective The aim of this study was to determine the utilization of various treatment modalities in the management of degenerative spondylolisthesis within Medicare beneficiaries. Summary of background data Degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis is a condition often identified in symptomatic low back pain. A variety of treatment algorithms including physical therapy and interventional techniques can be used to manage clinically significant degenerative spondylolisthesis. Methods This study utilized the 5% national sample of Medicare carrier claims from 2000 through 2011. A cohort of beneficiaries with a new International Classification of Diseases 9th edition (ICD-9) diagnosis code for degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis was identified. Current procedural terminology codes were used to identify the number of procedures performed each year by specialty on this cohort. Results A total of 95,647 individuals were included in the analysis. Average age at the time of initial diagnosis was 72.8 ± 9.8 years. Within this study cohort, spondylolisthesis was more prevalent in females (69%) than males and in Caucasians (88%) than other racial demographics. Over 50% of beneficiaries underwent at least one injection, approximately one-third (37%) participated in physical therapy, one in five (21%) underwent spinal surgery, and one-third (36%) did not utilize any of these interventions. Greater than half of all procedures (124,280/216,088) occurred within 2 years of diagnosis. The ratio of focal interventions (transforaminal and facet interventions) to less selective (interlaminar) procedures was greater for the specialty of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation than for the specialties of Anesthesiology, Interventional Radiology, Neurosurgery, and Orthopedic Surgery. The majority of physical therapy was dedicated to passive treatment modalities and range of motion exercises rather than active strengthening modalities within this cohort. Conclusion Interventional techniques and physical therapy are frequently used treatment modalities for symptomatic degenerative spondylolisthesis. Understanding utilization of these techniques is important to determine relative clinical efficacies and to optimize future health care expenditures. Level of evidence N/A.
Robot Surveillance and Security

This chapter introduces the foundation for surveillance and security robots for multiple military and civilian applications. The key environmental domains are mobile robots for ground, aerial, surface water, and underwater applications. Surveillance literally means to watch from above, while surveillance robots are used to monitor the behavior, activities, and other changing information that are gathered for the general purpose of managing, directing, or protecting one’s assets or position. In a practical sense, the term surveillance is taken to mean the act of observation from a distance, and security robots are commonly used to protect and safeguard a location, some valuable assets, or personal against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Surveillance is a proactive operation, while security robots are a defensive operation. The construction of each type of robot is similar in nature with a mobility component, sensor payload, communication system, and an operator control station.
I Have Lost Fervour

Despite the combination of personal triumph in the publication of The Forsyte Saga in 1922, and his status as a public figure, Galsworthy generally did not represent a serious and significant voice to the new generation of those most interested in literature in the twenties. In contrast to the apostles of “modernism”, Eliot, Pound, Joyce, Woolf, whose work seemed new, terse, dry, astringent, capsulizing the universal in striking metaphor, Galsworthy’s work seemed soft, spongy, insufficiently experimental, dull, insular and outmoded. In addition, some of the “modernists”, particularly Virginia Woolf and David Garnett, thought him personally stuffy, entirely imprisoned within his superficial rectitude. Galsworthy, unlike Virginia Woolf, was never very skilful in literary controversy, in declaring or defining a public role for his literary work. The public statements he continued to make about literature, almost as if under an obligation, were often bland, obvious, diffident, petulant or undisccrning, very seldom anchored to any penetrating idea or emotion. Such a statement was On Expression, his address at the ceremony of his installation as president of the English Association in 1924. He began well enough by trying to establish criteria for good literary style that included the “unexpectedness” of “fresh angles” and “new lights”, although not at the expense of “significance” or “verity”.
Predictive value of early 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging for immunotherapy response assessment in metastatic melanoma patients

408 Objectives Therapeutic assessment of immunotherapy with immune check-point blockade therapy can be challenging since immunotherapy effect may not be immediately cytoreductive, leading to delay in tumour regression. Using 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging, we monitored patients with metastatic melanoma undergoing immunotherapy during the course of treatment. We aimed to evaluate the role of using 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging performed early during and after immunotherapy in predicting therapy response at 6 months follow up. Methods This is an IRB-approved, HIPPA-compliant retrospective study investigating 27 patients (20 males and 7 females, mean age 59±11 yo) with metastatic malignant melanoma receiving immunotherapy (anti-CTLA-4, anti-PD-1 or anti-PDL-1). 18F-FDG-PET/CT imaging was performed before the start of treatment (PET1-baseline scan) in all patients, at 1.3±0.9 months (PET2), during the treatment, in n=25 patients, and 4.1±1.1 months (PET 3) in n=23 patients, after starting immunotherapy. According to immunotherapy response assessment, patients were categorized in two groups: group 1 as having complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) or stable disease (SD), and group 2 as having progression disease (PD) for each time point. These were compared with the 6 months follow up clinician response assessment. Results After 6 months follow up, 22 patients were characterized as having progressive disease (PD), 4 patients demonstrated complete response (CR) and 1 patient showed partial response (PR). Early FDG-PET imaging (PET2) at 1.3±0.9 months after therapy accurately classified 64% (16/25) patients, predicting treatment response in 5 patients and disease progression in 11 patients, whereas 9 patients were wrongly classified as responders, and 2 patients were not scanned. At 4.1±1.1 months (PET 3), PET imaging accurately classified 83% of patients (19/23), predicting treatment response in 5 patients, and disease progression in 14 patients, 4 patients were wrongly classified as responders, and 4 patients were not scanned. Conclusions In patients with metastatic melanoma, 18F-FDG PET imaging performed at ~4 months after immunotherapy better predicted final response assessment at 6 months follow up, as compared to the early intra-therapy (~1 month) FDG-PET imaging (83% vs 64%).
Helicobacter hepaticus cytolethal distending toxin promotes intestinal carcinogenesis in 129Rag2-deficient mice.

Summary Multiple pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria produce the cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) with activity of DNase I; CDT can induce DNA double strand breaks (DSBs), G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in cultured mammalian cells. However, the link of CDT to in vivo tumorigenesis is not fully understood. In this study, 129/SvEv Rag2-/- mice were gavaged with wild-type Helicobacter hepatics 3B1( Hh) and its isogenic cdtB mutant HhcdtBm7, followed by infection for 10 and 20 weeks (WPI). HhCDT-deficiency did not affect cecal colonization levels of HhcdtBm7, but attenuated severity of cecal pathology in HhcdtBm7-infected mice. Of importance, preneoplasic dysplasia was progressed to cancer from 10 WPI to 20 WPI in the Hh-infected mice but not in the HhcdtBm7-infected mice. In addition, the loss of HhCDT significantly dampened transcriptional upregulation of cecal Tnfα and Il-6, but elevated Il-10 mRNA levels when compared to Hh at 10 WPI. Furthermore, the presence of HhCDT increased numbers of lower bowel intestinal γH2AX-positive epithelial cells (a marker of DSBs) at both 10 WPI and 20 WPI, and augmented phospho-Stat3 foci+ intestinal crypts (activation of Stat3) at 20 WPI. Our findings suggest that CDT promoted Hh carcinogenesis by enhancing DSBs and activation of the Tnfα /Il-6-Stat3 signaling pathway.
Electrochemical skin conductance: a systematic review.

Currently available techniques for the evaluation of small fiber neuropathy and related sudomotor function remain suboptimal. Electrochemical skin conductance (ESC) has recently been introduced as a simple noninvasive and fast method for the detection of sudomotor dysfunction. The purpose of this review is to synthesize and appraise research using ESC measurements for sudomotor evaluation in adults. Electronic databases including MEDLINE and Google Scholar were searched (up to March 13, 2017). The search strategy included the following terms: "electrochemical skin conductance,” “Sudoscan,” and “EZSCAN.” Evidence was graded according to defined quality indicators including (1) level of evidence; (2) use of established tests as reference tests (e.g., quantitative sudomotor axon test [QSART], sympathetic skin responses [SSR], thermoregulatory sweat test [TST], and skin biopsies to assess sudomotor and epidermal small fibers); (3) use of consecutive/non-consecutive subjects; and (4) study design (prospective/retrospective). A total of 24 studies met the inclusion criteria. These were classified into preclinical, normative, comparative/diagnostic, or interventional. ESC measurement properties, diagnostic accuracy, and similarities to and differences from established tests were examined. ESC measurements expand the arsenal of available tests for the evaluation of sudomotor dysfunction. The advantages and disadvantages of ESC versus established tests for evaluating sudomotor/small fiber function reviewed herein should be used as evidence to inform future guidelines on the assessment of sudomotor function.
Development, Characterization, and Utility of 13 Polymorphic Microsatellite Loci in Praticolella (Gastropoda: Polygyridae) Species from South Texas, U.S.A.

We developed and characterized 13 polymorphic microsatellite loci in South Texas species of Praticolella von Martens, 1892 (Gastropoda: Polygyridae), some of which have restricted distributions and can be difficult to identify using traditional shell characters. To make this genomic tool more broadly useful in these species, instead of characterizing loci in many individuals of a single species, we tested them across five populations of four different species. Twelve loci amplified in all four species tested, and eleven loci showed deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. These loci will be valuable in assessing species identity and population genetic connectivity among South Texas Praticolella.
Finite—State Vector Quantization

Like a predictive vector quantizer, a finite-state vector quantizer is a vector quantizer with memory. In general, a coding system with memory means that the index or channel symbol generated by the encoder depends not only on the current input vector but also on prior input vectors; correspondingly, the current reproduction produced by the decoder depends not only on the current channel symbol but also on the past history of the channel symbols received by the decoder. Both finite-state and predictive vector quantization can be considered as special cases of a more general class of VQ systems with memory called recursive vector quantization or feedback vector quantization [201], [202]. Recursive vector quantization is the generalization to vectors of the scalar recursive quantizers considered in [111], [236], [133]. It is instructive to begin with this more general class and then specialize it to the finite-state case.
Behcet's syndrome: A new method of treatment: Report of a case

Abstract Behcet's syndrome is a rare disease entity. Until recently, treatment has been unsatisfactory. A case has been presented to illustrate the effectiveness of using dexamethasone, triamcinolone acetonide in an adhesive vehicle, and demethychlortetracycline in the treatment of Behcet's syndrome.
Real-Time Error Detection in Nonlinear Control Systems Using Machine Learning Assisted State-Space Encoding

Successful deployment of autonomous systems in a wide range of societal applications depends on error-free operation of the underlying signal processing and control functions. Real-time error detection in nonlinear systems has mostly relied on redundancy at the component or algorithmic level causing expensive area and power overheads. This paper describes a real-time error detection methodology for nonlinear control systems for detecting sensor and actuator degradations as well as malfunctions due to soft errors in the execution of the control algorithm on a digital processor. Our approach is based on creation of a redundant check state in such a way that its value can be computed from the current states of the system as well as from a history of prior observable state values and inputs (via machine learning algorithms). By checking for consistency between the two, errors are detected with low latency. The method is demonstrated on two test case simulations - an inverted pendulum balancing problem and a sliding mode controller driven brake-by-wire (BBW) system. In addition, hardware results from error injection experiments in an ARM core representation on an FPGA and artificial sensor degradations on a self-balancing robot prove the practical feasibility of implementation.
Development and Verification of a Numerical Library for Solving Global Terrestrial Multiphysics Problems

Author(s): Bisht, G; Riley, WJ | Abstract: Current generation Land Surface Models (LSMs) routinely simulate many nonlinear multiphysics processes. The complexity of future generation LSMs is expected to increase as critical new biophysical and biogeochemical processes are incorporated. Current generation LSMs have several shortcomings including the lack of robust numerical methods to solve discretized equations, monolithic software design that hinders testing of a process representation in isolation from other components, and absence of a flexible coupling framework to solve tightly coupled multiphysics problems. While the LSMs community vigorously evaluates the accuracy of the conceptual model to represent reality (validation), the accuracy of the numerical implementation of the conceptual model (verification) is seldom examined. Method of Manufactured Solutions is a technique for verifying complex codes when analytical solutions are unavailable. In this work, we present a stand-alone, open source numerical library for solving global terrestrial multiphysics processes that includes a flexible coupling framework. Robust numerical solution for linear and nonlinear equations is provided via the Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation library. We verify the numerical library using Method of Manufactured Solutions for a range of problems comprising single and multiphysics steady state problems that are applied in one or multiple physical domains. This work provides an example of incorporating code verification as an integral part of Land Surface Model development activities.
Mechanics of randomly packed filaments—The “bird nest” as meta-material

Systems of randomly packed, macroscopic elements, from jammed spherical grains to tangled long filaments, represent a broad class of disordered meta-materials with a wide range of applications and manifestations in nature. A “bird nest” presents itself at an interface between hard round grains described by granular physics to long soft filaments, the center of textile material science. All of these randomly packed systems exhibit forms of self-assembly, evident through their robust packing statistics, and share a common elastoplastic response to oedometric compression. In reviewing packing statistics, mechanical response characterization, and consideration of boundary effects, we present a perspective that attempts to establish a link between the bulk and local behavior of a pile of sand and a wad of cotton, demonstrating the nest’s relationship with each. Finally, potential directions for impactful applications are outlined.
Health and Fitness Awareness in Schools and Student Impact: A Quantitative Study

The purpose of this study was to analyze whether or not schools can have an impact on student knowledge of health and fitness if they implement programs that educate students in that content area. This study gathered information, via student questionnaires, from two school sites, to compare student knowledge at a school that implemented a health and fitness program with one that did not. The review of literature focused on current and passed data that emphasized the need for educating society on health trends, resulting impacts of unhealthy lifestyles i.e. obesity rates and diabetes, and the best venue for addressing and making changes in current health trends. The resulting data confirmed the hypothesis: Student health knowledge is higher in schools that provide health/fitness programs than those that do not, to be true. The data was statistically significant revealing that site A (the intervention site) yielded an average of 83-86% knowledge in health and fitness awareness and site B an average of 40-43% knowledge in that subject area. Health and Fitness Awareness in Schools 7
Identifying Language Needs in Community-Based Adult ELLs: Findings from an Ethnography of Four Salvadoran Immigrants in the Western United States

This chapter employs findings from 6 months of ethnographic observations with four Salvadoran first-generation immigrant women living in a suburban neighborhood in the western United States. We document these women’s authentic experiences with navigating everyday linguistic interactions in Spanish and English, showing how the women’s participation in Salvadoran and other Latinx communities curtails much of their need for daily English but that their desires to fulfil economic and other long-term goals motivate them to improve their English, even with few opportunities to do so. We document the assets, strategies, and skills the women use when the need for English does arise (usually in a small set of routine contexts), often with success despite their limited English proficiency, then close by proposing general recommendations to ESL programs based on these observations.
Effects of El Niño Southern Oscillation and local ocean temperature on the reproductive output of green turtles ( Chelonia mydas ) nesting at Tortuguero, Costa Rica

In species presenting long intervals between reproductive seasons, atmospheric-oceanic phenomena can affect the yearly number of individuals that become reproductively active. Sea turtles take multiyear intervals between reproductive seasons, which are influenced by environmental processes affecting their nutrition. Atmospheric-oceanic phenomena affect the reproductive output of different sea turtle species and populations. The population of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) nesting at Tortuguero-10.4489° N, 83.5069° W-, Costa Rica, is the largest in the Atlantic Basin and one of the most comprehensively studied. Nevertheless, only one study analyzed the effects of sea surface temperature on the reproductive output of Tortuguero green turtles. We analyzed three decades of data that revealed two likely scenarios: (1) more green turtle clutches were laid at Tortuguero after warm sea surface temperature anomalies during boreal winters and (2) fewer green turtle clutches were laid at Tortuguero 2 years after El Nino and more green turtle clutches were laid 2 years after La Nina events. Atmospheric-oceanic phenomena affect green turtle reproductive output likely through disrupting nutritional pathways, which alters the number of female green turtles that become reproductively active each year. Tortuguero green turtles are herbivorous feeding mostly on seagrass meadows off Nicaragua. As primary consumers, green turtles are tightly constrained by environmental conditions, and if the productivity of seagrass meadows decreased due to elevated sea surface temperature in the Caribbean basin or the altered hydric regime following El Nino events, fewer females would be able to accrue energy for reproduction.
Knowledge politics and the Bt cotton success narrative in Burkina Faso

Abstract Burkina Faso’s 2008 Bt cotton adoption was Africa’s largest genetically modified (GM) crop introduction principally for small farmers, and became its most celebrated success story. In 2016, however, Burkina Faso announced an abrupt phase-out of Bt cotton, citing millions of dollars of losses due to inferior lint quality. In hindsight, quality issues were conspicuously absent from the success narrative, particularly given that cotton sector actors were aware of problems for a decade. Recent data also reveal significantly lower yield gains and substantial inequalities between farmers, further questioning the success story and the evaluation literature it relied upon. Why and how was such a faulty and incomplete success narrative produced and promoted? To answer this, we draw on extended fieldwork conducted over ten years in Burkina Faso to critically examine how the knowledge used to build this success narrative was produced. We first scrutinize the evaluation literature, pointing out flaws and blindspots in the methodologies and reporting of findings. We then extend our analysis, drawing on political ecology and critical science studies, to focus on the power relations of knowledge production. We focus on three themes and show how (1) the political economic context favored the production of positive results, with Monsanto holding substantial power over the evaluation process, (2) the narrow epistemologies of agronomic evaluation produced “apolitical” knowledge that overlooked how local-level power dynamics shaped data collection, and – in at least two cases (fertilizer application rates and seed costs) – the returns accrued by smaller-scale Bt cotton farmers, (3) the knowledge produced via these processes was used to accrue material benefits to Monsanto and helped to promote GM crops across the continent. We conclude that future GM crop evaluations should be more self-reflexive, critical, and transparent in how power shapes the evaluation process and agricultural outcomes for differentiated farmers.
Hierachical Delta-Attention Method for Multimodal Fusion

In vision and linguistics; the main input modalities are facial expressions, speech patterns, and the words uttered. The issue with analysis of any one mode of expression (Visual, Verbal or Vocal) is that lot of contextual information can get lost. This asks researchers to inspect multiple modalities to get a thorough understanding of the cross-modal dependencies and temporal context of the situation to analyze the expression. This work attempts at preserving the long-range dependencies within and across different modalities, which would be bottle-necked by the use of recurrent networks and adds the concept of delta-attention to focus on local differences per modality to capture the idiosyncrasy of different people. We explore a cross-attention fusion technique to get the global view of the emotion expressed through these delta-self-attended modalities, in order to fuse all the local nuances and global context together. The addition of attention is new to the multi-modal fusion field and currently being scrutinized for on what stage the attention mechanism should be used, this work achieves competitive accuracy for overall and per-class classification which is close to the current state-of-the-art with almost half number of parameters.
Self-assembled growth of size-controlled InGaN quantum dots for LEDs

Controlled growth and increased radiative recombination rates of InGaN quantum dots (QDs) are demonstrated. The InGaN QDs are grown by a self-assembly (SA) method using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition on planar GaN and photoelectrochemically (PEC) etched InGaN QD templates. The PEC QD templates are formed from InGaN layers with a coherent source, which results in controlled QD sizes, and are capped and planarized with AlGaN/GaN layers. The PEC QDs behave as seeds via localizing strain near the QDs, which provide improved control of the SA QD growth. The SA QDs grown on PEC QD templates are smaller and have controlled sizes. Multiple quantum dots, consisting of 4 periods of SA QDs and AlGaN/GaN barrier layers, grown on PEC QD templates have higher radiative recombination rates. The higher rates are a result of the controlled and smaller-sized SA QDs. Forming SA QDs on PEC QDs templates can enhance the performance of InGaN-based QD emitters.
The Egyptian Hydro-Hegemony in the Nile Basin: The Quest for Changing the Status Quo

For long, Egypt has been the principal state in the Nile basin. “Through a myriad of mechanisms and tactics Egypt has been capable of maintaining its role as the regional hydro-hegemon and effectively hindering any competition over its water supply.” Recently, however, the upstream states, especially Ethiopia, are challenging the Egyptian hydro hegemony and undertaking various measures to change the status quo. The launching of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), the adoption of the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA), the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), and the signing of Declaration of Principles (DoPs) are examples of those measures. This paper attempts to analyze the implications of those measures on the hydro-hegemonic configuration of the Nile basin. In so doing, it follows a multi-disciplinary approach- drawing upon politics, hydro-hegemony, and law. The paper argues that, although the measures are steps forward for challenging the Egyptian hegemony, the two important legal instruments, the CFA and DoPs, are not sufficient to change the anachronistic status quo. In addition, the paper indicates how the lower riparian states could use these documents to perpetuate the status quo. It proposes a change in the status quo through a new basin-wide multilateral treaty that harms none and benefits all.
Outcomes of Osteochondral Autograft Transplantation in Pediatric Patients With Osteochondritis Dissecans of the Capitellum.

Purpose To assess the outcomes of osteochondral autograft transplantations in the treatment of osteochondritis dissecans of the capitellum in the pediatric population. Methods Between 2011 and 2016, 15 patients who had undergone osteochondral autograft transplantation at a mean age of 13.7 years at surgery were identified. The donor site was from the superolateral, non–weight-bearing surface of the lateral femoral condyle of the ipsilateral knee. Results Mean follow-up was 29.5 months, with no patients lost to follow-up. Mean arc of motion increased significantly from 121.9° preoperatively to 139.1° postoperatively. All 9 elite athletes returned to sports at an elite level: 7 returned to the same level of competition in the same sport, 1 retired from gymnastics due to multiple injuries but began diving at an elite level, and 1 retired from baseball unrelated to elbow symptoms but continued hockey at the same level. Of the 4 recreational athletes, all returned to sport. There were no intraoperative complications . The symptoms resolved completely in all but 2 patients, who improved over their preoperative condition. The donor site knee pain resolved in all patients at an average of 2.3 months. Postoperative imaging demonstrated the healing and incorporation of the plug in all patients. Conclusions In the treatment of osteochondritis dissecans of the capitellum, osteochondral autograft transplantation demonstrates excellent clinical and radiographic outcomes, with minimal short-term donor site morbidity and a high level of return to the sport. Type of study/level of evidence Therapeutic IV.