cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Predictors of Response to Physical Therapy Intervention for Plantar Heel Pain

Background:Age, weight, and duration of symptoms have been associated with a poor response to treatment for plantar heel pain (PHP), but no studies were identified that examined predictors of response to physical therapy intervention. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the influence of age, body mass index (BMI), and symptom duration on treatment response to physical therapy intervention.Methods:Sixty participants received 6 visits over 4 weeks of physical therapy intervention that included manual therapy and exercise or electrophysiological agents and exercise. Outcomes were assessed using the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM), Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), and Global Rating of Change Scale (GRC). Logistic regression (P < .05) was used to analyze age, BMI, and symptom duration as potential predictors of a successful response based on the minimal clinically important difference of the outcome measures. Sensitivity analysis was used to assess the influence of success based on minimal ...
Reductionistic and Holistic Science

A reductionistic approach to science, epitomized by molecular biology, is often contrasted with the holistic approach of systems biology. However, molecular biology and systems biology are actually interdependent and complementary ways in which to study and make sense of complex phenomena.
A Bayesian approach for generalized linear models with explanatory biomarker measurement variables subject to detection limit: an application to acute lung injury

Biomarkers have the potential to improve our understanding of disease diagnosis and prognosis. Biomarker levels that fall below the assay detection limits (DLs), however, compromise the application of biomarkers in research and practice. Most existing methods to handle non-detects focus on a scenario in which the response variable is subject to the DL; only a few methods consider explanatory variables when dealing with DLs. We propose a Bayesian approach for generalized linear models with explanatory variables subject to lower, upper, or interval DLs. In simulation studies, we compared the proposed Bayesian approach to four commonly used methods in a logistic regression model with explanatory variable measurements subject to the DL. We also applied the Bayesian approach and other four methods in a real study, in which a panel of cytokine biomarkers was studied for their association with acute lung injury (ALI). We found that IL8 was associated with a moderate increase in risk for ALI in the model based on...
Interactions between granivorous and omnivorous ants in a desert grassland: results from a long-term experiment

. 1. There is growing evidence that granivorous ants compete for seeds in desert ecosystems. But ants that diverge in diet may still interact strongly if existing colonies deter foundress queens. Granivores (seed eaters) and omnivores (ants that scavenge and feed on plant exudates) are common components of desert ecosystems. 2. The results of a 15-year granivore reduction experiment to explore the responses of two common omnivorous ants, Forelius cf pruinosus and Dorymyrmex insana, in a desert grassland were analysed. The food competition hypothesis predicts that granivore removal will have no net effect on omnivores. The spatial competition hypothesis predicts compensatory increases in omnivores on granivore removal plots. 3. A grain-based gut poison significantly reduced the densities of three of the four common granivorous ants. Densities of the large-colony (105-worker) omnivore Forelius did not increase with granivore removal. In contrast, and consistent with the hypothesis of competition for space, densities of the small-colony omnivore (102−103 worker) Dorymyrmex increased on granivore removal plots; however, this effect was only observed in years of high Dorymyrmex abundance.
A new framework for identifying combinatorial regulation of transcription factors: A case study of the yeast cell cycle

By integrating heterogeneous functional genomic datasets, we have developed a new framework for detecting combinatorial control of gene expression, which includes estimating transcription factor activities using a singular value decomposition method and reducing high-dimensional input gene space by considering genomic properties of gene clusters. The prediction of cooperative gene regulation is accomplished by either Gaussian Graphical Models or Pairwise Mixed Graphical Models. The proposed framework was tested on yeast cell cycle datasets: (1) 54 known yeast cell cycle genes with 9 cell cycle regulators and (2) 676 putative yeast cell cycle genes with 9 cell cycle regulators. The new framework gave promising results on inferring TF-TF and TF-gene interactions. It also revealed several interesting mechanisms such as negatively correlated protein-protein interactions and low affinity protein-DNA interactions that may be important during the yeast cell cycle. The new framework may easily be extended to study other higher eukaryotes.
Specific Alterations of U1-C Protein or U1 Small Nuclear RNA Can Eliminate the Requirement of Prp28p, an Essential DEAD Box Splicing Factor

While some members of the ubiquitous DExD/H box family of proteins have RNA helicase activity in vitro, their roles in vivo remain virtually unknown. Here, we show that the function of an otherwise essential DEAD box protein, Prp28p, can be bypassed by mutations that alter either the protein U1-C or the U1 small nuclear RNA. Further analysis suggests that the conserved L13 residue in the U1-C protein makes specific contact to stabilize the U1 snRNA/5' splice site duplex in the prespliceosome, and that Prp28p functions to counteract the stabilizing effect of the U1-C protein, thereby promoting the dissociation of the U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle from the 5' splice site. Thus, in addition to unwinding RNA, the DExD/H box proteins may affect RNA-RNA rearrangements by antagonizing specific RNA-stabilizing proteins.
Considerations of red blood cell molecular testing in transfusion medicine

The field of transfusion medicine is on the threshold of a paradigm shift, as the technology for genotyping of red blood cell antigens, including US FDA-approved arrays, is now moving into standard practice. Access to cost-efficient, high-resolution genotyping has the potential to increase the quality of care by decreasing the risk for alloimmunization and incompatible transfusions in individuals on long-term blood transfusion protocols, including patient groups with hemoglobinopathies and other chronic diseases. Current and future applications of molecular methods in transfusion medicine and blood banking are discussed, with emphasis on indications for genotyping in various clinical scenarios. Furthermore, limitations of the current gold standard methodology and serology, as well as of contemporary molecular methodology, are examined.
An Improved Parameterization for Simulating Arctic Cloud Amount in the CCSM3 Climate Model

Abstract A simple alternative parameterization for predicting cloud fraction in the Community Climate System Model, version 3 (CCSM3) global climate model is presented. This formula, dubbed “freeezedry,” is designed to alleviate the bias of excessive low clouds during polar winter by reducing the cloud amount under very dry conditions. During winter, freezedry decreases the low cloud amount over the coldest regions in high latitudes by over 50% locally and more than 30% averaged across the Arctic. The cloud reduction causes an Arctic-wide drop of 15 W m−2 in surface cloud radiative forcing (CRF) during winter and about a 50% decrease in mean annual Arctic CRF. Consequently, wintertime surface temperatures fall by up to 4 K on land and 2–8 K over the Arctic Ocean, thus significantly reducing the model’s pronounced warm bias. Freezedry also affects CCSM3’s sensitivity to greenhouse forcing. In a transient-CO2 experiment, the model version with freezedry warms up to 20% less in the North Polar and South Pola...
The Difficult Patron Situation

Summary Problem/difficult patron incidents that occur in libraries are on the rise. Library administrators and library employees have attempted to decrease the number of incidents by providing staff training and formulating policies and rules to control the situation. The purpose of this article is to share the proactive steps that the Education and Behavioral Sciences Library, Penn State University Libraries, took to prevent or decrease the incidences of difficult patrons as the library prepares to relocate. The focus was on assisting the frontline staff members, who work on the reference desk, to acquire the competencies they need to provide consistent quality reference services to patrons, and to reduce incidences of unsatisfied, difficult, and problem patrons.
Band theory of single-walled carbon nanotubes

In this paper, a curvilinear coordinate system is used in space and in k-space to study the energy band of single-walled carbon nanotubes wrapped at a helical angle. Using this method, a general function of the bandgap associated with the radius of the tube and the helical angle is derived based on the tight-binding theory. The three-dimensional hexagonal Brillouin zone of the tube is on the surface of cylinder in the k-space. For two tubes with different diameters, there is a distance between the cylindrical Brillouin zones in the radial direction. The Brillouin zone varies with the radius of the tube and the number of cells on the circumference. For the metallic zigzag tubes, the bandgaps decrease discretely to zero at the corners of the Brillouin zones, and those corners are singular points of zero gaps. With the transformation of coordinates, the metallic zigzag type is proven to be equivalent to an armchair configuration. Electrical characteristics of the chiral effects are briefly highlighted.
FlashPower: a detailed power model for NAND flash memory

Flash memory is widely used in consumer electronics products, such as cell-phones and music players, and is increasingly displacing hard disk drives as the primary storage device in laptops, desktops, and even servers. There is a rich microarchitectural design space for flash memory and there are several architectural options for incorporating flash into the memory hierarchy. Exploring this design space requires detailed insights into the power characteristics of flash memory. In this paper, we present FlashPower, a detailed analytical power model for Single-Level Cell (SLC) based NAND flash memory, which is used in high-performance flash products. We have integrated FlashPower with CACTI 5.3, which is widely used in the architecture community for studying memory organizations. FlashPower takes as input device technology and microarchitectural parameters to estimate the power consumed by a flash chip during its various operating modes. We have validated FlashPower against published chip power measurements and show that they are comparable.
Cortical mechanisms of memory formation and readout

Most researchers regard the ‘spontaneous’ background activity seen in EEG (scalp electroencephalogram) and ECoG (intracranial electrocorticogram) as noise, to which signals are added by stimuli or by intention to act. Indeed they are noise, but they are not random, and the signals are not added. They emerge by rapid, large-scale reorganization of background activity in the process of perception. Here I show that the background activity of the brain conforms to a modified form of scale-free brown noise - black noise - that is sustained by mutual excitation. Distributed inhibitory feedback operates on the noise as a band pass filter, giving Rayleigh noise in every pass band. The beats trigger the formation of non-random spatiotemporal structures by enabling repetitive phase transitions, through which the microscopic activity patterns of neural populations abruptly re-form upon selection by stimuli into spatial brain wave patterns revealing Rice distributions. The reorganization under sensory guidance constitutes recall of memories stored in synaptic distributions, leading to recognition through transient states of globally patterned brain activity.
Politics and Consumer Culture

This entry explores the relationship between consumer culture and politics. Special attention is paid to the role of the mass media. Keywords: communication and media studies; politics; postmodern theory
Quality-of-life impairment in depressive and anxiety disorders.

Results: The proportion of patients with clinically severe impairment (two or more standard deviations below the community norm) in quality of life varied with different diagnoses: major depressive disorder (63%), chronic/double depression (85%), dysthymic disorder (56%), panic disorder (20%), OCD (26%), social phobia (21%), premenstrual dysphoric disorder (31%), and PTSD (59%). Regression analyses conducted for each disorder suggested that illness-specific symptom scales were significantly associated with baseline quality of life but explained only a small to modest proportion of the variance in Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire scores. Conclusions: Subjects with affective or anxiety disorders who enter clinical trials have significant quality-of-life impairment, although the degree of dysfunction varies. Diagnostic-specific symptom measures explained only a small proportion of the variance in quality of life, suggesting that an individual’s perception of quality of life is an additional factor that should be part of a complete assessment.
The Stereo-Electroencephalography Methodology

The stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG) methodology and technique was developed almost 60 years ago in Europe. The efficacy and safety of SEEG has been proven. The main advantage is the possibility to study the epileptogenic neuronal network in its dynamic and 3-dimensional aspect, with optimal time and space correlation, with the clinical semiology of the patient's seizures. The main clinical challenge for the near future remains in the further refinement of specific selection criteria for the different methods of invasive monitoring, with the ultimate goal of comparing and validating the results (long-term seizure-free outcome) obtained from different methods of invasive monitoring.
Between River and Road: Circular Migrations and Reversible Conversions in Northern Mozambique

Migration out of the countryside and conversion to Pentecostalism are often taken to be general conditions characterizing contemporary sub-Saharan Africa. This paper proposes a counter-narrative, not in denial of the ample statistical evidence for both demographic trends, but in affirmation of the ambivalence with which individuals behind the statistics experience novelty. It elaborates what could be considered, for the Xirima-speaking people of northern Mozambique, a culturally-grounded model of change: change as incremental, reversible, and, most crucially, unexceptional. Accordingly, this paper’s analytical concerns go beyond the usual ones of why people migrate and why people convert, questions that assume these kinds of transformations to be anomalous and unidirectional. Its argument is that urban migration and Pentecostal conversion would be better seen, at least among the Xirima, as recent and suitably temporary expressions of an enduring and everyday experimentalism.
Lattice Relaxation of 4He with 3He Impurities: NMR Studies

Measurements of the 3He nuclear spin relaxation times of dilute 3He impurities in solid 4He have been used to explore the unusual dynamics of solid 4He at low temperatures. The 3He impurities move through the lattice by quantum mechanical exchange with neighboring 4He atoms. Because of the larger zero point motion of the 3He atoms, there is an appreciable lattice distortion that accompanies the tunneling 3 He atom and the tunneling motion depends on the elastic properties of the 4He lattice. This motion modulates the 3He-3He nuclear dipole- dipole interactions and thus determines the NMR relaxation rates. We compare the observed temperature dependence of the NMR relaxation rates with that expected from the measurements of the shear modulus by Syshchenko et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 195301 (2009)].
Does the primate pattern hold up? Testing the functional significance of infraorbital foramen size variation among marsupials

Objectives The relative size of the infraorbital foramen (IOF) has been used to infer the ecology of extinct primates for several decades. Primates have relatively smaller IOFs than most other mammals, which may result from the fact that they pre-process and manipulate food with their hands rather than their muzzles. In primates, relative IOF area co-varies with diet, where insectivores and folivores have relatively smaller IOFs than frugivores. We wanted to determine whether the observed patterns associated with IOF variation hold across other orders. Materials and Methods We examined how relative IOF area differs among marsupials occupying different ecological niches. Marsupials were chosen because they converge with primates in both ecology and morphology, but unlike primates, some marsupials approach and pre-process foods only with their muzzles. We measured IOF area and cranial lengths from 72 marsupial species, and behavioral feeding data were obtained from a subset of this sample (N = 20). Results Relative IOF area did not vary significantly between substrate preferences. However, relative IOF area differed significantly by diet category (P < 0.001). Species that specialize in feeding on non-grassy leaves have significantly smaller relative IOF areas than species which primarily feed on grasses, insects, vertebrates, or some combination thereof. Behavioral analyses support that folivorous marsupials approach and remove food with the hands more often than marsupials from other dietary groups. Discussion Results suggest that relatively small IOF area may reflect increased reliance on the hands while feeding, and that relative IOF size can be used as an indicator of feeding behavior. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Occurrence of Hyaluronidase and Lecithinase in Relation to Virulence in Clostridium welchii.

Summary1. The isolation of 94 strains of Cl. welchii from human feces, soil, and animal feces was facilitated by the use of sodium azide in the culture media. 2. These strains were tested for mouse virulence, and for ability to produce the enzymes lecithinase and hyaluronidase. Fixty-six per cent of the strains producing both enzymes were virulent, as were 47% of those producing only lecithinase. Twenty-four per cent of those strains producing only hyaluronidase and 28% of those producing neither enzyme were virulent. 3. Of 41 mouse virulent strains isolated, 83% produced lecithinase, and 54% produced hyaluronidase. Of all strains isolated, 70% produced lecithinase whereas only 52% produced hyaluronidase.4. It is concluded that regardless of the role of hyaluronidase in a gangrenous lesion, its in vitro production by a given strain of Cl. welchii bears no necessary relationship to the virulence of that strain for mice.
High-Lying Vibrational Spectrum of Ammonia via Nonlinear Quantum Theory*

We introduce a simple three-parameter model in nonlinear quantum theory—the discrete self-trapping equation to describe the stretching spectrum of ammonia at highlying vibrational states. The model calculations appear to describe the data well. These results obtained are conducive to researching the quantum chaotic manner and the multiphoton processes and isotope separation by multiphoton dissociation of ammonia molecular system.
Investigation on Permafrost Distribution over the Upper Reaches of the Heihe River in the Qilian Mountains

Permafrost and seasonally frozen ground have a dramatic influence on surface hydrological processes,ecosystems,carbon cycle,and infrastructures in cold regions.The upper reaches of the Heihe River are located in the eastern part of the Qilian Mountains,where climate is cold and semi-arid.The study of permafrost distribution in Heihe River basin is of great importance for systematically understanding the regional eco-hydrological process,climate and environmental changes,water resources assessment and construction,etc.Field investigation on distribution of permafrost had been conducted over the upper reaches of the river during the summer of 2011.Seven boreholes ranging from 20 to 100 m in depths were drilled in early August,2011.Based on borehole drilling information and temperature profiles measured at least two months after the drilling,it is found that the lower bound of permafrost is at between 3 650 m and 3 700 m a.s.l.Depending on altitude,the active layer depth varies from 1.6 m at 4 132 m a.s.l.to about 4.0 m near the lower bound of permafrost at a little above 3 650 m a.s.l.Mean annual ground temperatures at the depth of zero annual amplitude increases from-1.7 ℃ at 4 132 m a.s.l.to near 0.0 ℃ at the lower bound of permafrost.Permafrost depth decreases from more than 100 m at 4 132 m a.s.l.to 0.0 m as moving down to 3 650 m a.s.l.At the same time,the other local factors,such as slope,aspect,soil type,soil water(ice)content,vegetation and river channel,may also have significant effect on permafrost conditions.
Why clinical field study

Although the intellectual base of nursing is believed to be patient care, the role of clinical field studies in master of nursing programs is unstructured and undeveloped.
Recent progress of researches in cartilage tissue engineering

OBJECTIVE To review the recent progress of the researches in the field of cartilage tissue engineering, and to discuss the challenges in construction of tissue engineered cartilage. METHODS Literature related with cartilage tissue engineering was reviewed and analyzed. RESULTS Some techniques have been applied in clinical. As far as the seeding cells, induced pluripotent stem cells have attracted much more attention. Current strategies of scaffold designing are trying to imitate both component and structure of natural extracellular matrix. Cartilage regeneration through the autologous cell homing technique eliminate the transplantation of exotic cells and has become the hot topic. CONCLUSION Successful treatment of the damaged cartilage using tissue engineering method will depend on the advances of stem cell technology development, biomimetic scaffolds fabrication and proper application of growth factors.
The Temple of Caesar (Aedes divi Iuli)

History The momentous events that followed Caesar’s assassination (March 15, 44 BCE) inspired the construction of a temple dedicated to his divine spirit. As Pontifex Maximus, high priest of the Roman state, Caesar formally lived in the Regia, the official residence of the Pontifex Maximus. The slain dictator’s body was carried back to the Forum, and Mark Antony – then consul, Caesar’s friend, relative, and lieutenant – delivered a brilliant funeral oration. Standing on the Rostra in front of the Temple of Castor and Pollux, he called Caesar superhuman, inviolable, and a veritable god and lifted the dictator’s bloody robe on a spear. While the audience echoed his lamentations, he chanted the dictator’s honors and achievements, and, when an aide raised on high a life-sized wax image of Caesar clearly showing his many brutal wounds, the crowd rioted. Led (says Suetonius) by two divine spirits with swords, the spectators set fire to the bier, feeding the flames with nearby wooden benches. Soldiers threw in their weapons, and women, their jewels and amulets of their children. The frantic grief of the wild scene spread throughout the city as groups of foreigners ran through the streets bewailing Caesar’s death. To honor Caesar’s memory on the site of his funeral pyre, in front of the Regia about halfway between the front of the Basilica Aemilia and the Temple of Castor, the people set up an altar with a giallo antico column almost twenty Roman feet high (5.92 m) with the inscription PARENTI PATRIAE (to the father of his country).
Red Light Increases Suppression of Downy Mildew in Basil by Chemical and Organic Products

Basil is an economically important herb in the United States and in the world. Recent epidemics of basil downy mildew, caused by Peronospora belbahrii, have significantly affected basil production in the United States. ProPhyt (potassium phosphite), Actigard (acibenzolar-S-methyl) and Organocide (sesame oil) were evaluated in the greenhouse in the presence or absence of red light for their effects on the severity of downy mildew and sporangial production by P. belbahrii. Red light at intensity of 12 μmol photons/m2/s significantly (P < 0.05) reduced severity of downy mildew in basil. ProPhyt-treated basil plants had the lowest disease severity irrespective of red light exposure. Basil plants treated with Actigard and Organocide under red light had significantly lower disease severity compared to plants under dark conditions with the same fungicide treatments 14 and 13 days after inoculation (DAI) in experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Red light significantly reduced AUDPC in the treatments of Actigard and Organocide in both experiments. Basil plants treated with Actigard and Organocide under red light had significantly reduced number of P. belbahrii sporangia than those under dark conditions receiving the same fungicide treatments. This is the first report demonstrating red light in combination with Actigard and Organocide for improved management of downy mildew in greenhouse-grown basil.
Image reconstruction in emission tomography using canonical origin ensembles

Tomographic reconstruction based on origin ensembles (OE) is a new procedure for estimation of emission intensity distributions from projection measurements. The advantages of this method over standard iterative approaches are shorter computation time and easier implementation of complex system models in emission tomography (ET) inverse problems. The approach is not based on data likelihood, as are the standard iterative methods, but uses 5iV-dimensional probability density functions (PDFs) of origin locations, where N is the number of detected events. In this work, the theory of OE was extended by introducing a parameter, β, which can be viewed as an image regularization parameter. With this extension, the system is called the canonical origin ensemble (COE), because of the resemblance to the canonical ensemble in statistical mechanics. The acquired dataset is considered a macroscopic state of the system, and locations of emissions (event origins) are viewed as unknown microscopic states described by the PDF. Monte Carlo simulations of the realistic geometry of 3D Positron Emission Tomography (PET) were generated using Simset. Photon attenuation was simulated, but randoms and Compton scatter were ignored. By measuring the image entropy, we found that the statistical system described by the COE undergoes a phase transition at β=1. Notably, the bias of the reconstructed values undergoes a similar transition at β=1. This indicates that, for realistic noise levels, COE reconstruction with β close to, but less than, 1 should be used for optimal image quality. A remarkable similarity between COE reconstructed image for β=1 and the image obtained using 10,000 iterations of list-mode 3D maximum likelihood-expectation maximization (ML-EM) was discovered. This work provides guidelines for improving the accuracy of the OE reconstruction method and demonstrates the use of attenuation correction for OE 3D list-mode PET.
Intergenerational patterns of cognitive flexibility through expressions of maternal care

Abstract This study investigated intergenerational transmissions of cognitive flexibility among 87 ( N = 174) mother-child dyads. We also examined child reports of maternal care as a mediator between mother-child cognitive flexibility. The results showed a significant direct effect from mother cognitive flexibility to child cognitive flexibility. Moreover, there was an indirect effect from mother cognitive flexibility to child cognitive flexibility through child perceptions of maternal care. Overall, the results suggest that expressions of maternal care are one way in which mother-child cognitive flexibility are linked. The implications of the results are discussed.
Nonnative fish stocking alters stream ecosystem nutrient dynamics.

Each year, millions of hatchery-raised fish are stocked into streams and rivers worldwide, yet the effects of hatchery-raised fish on stream nutrient cycles have seldom been examined. We quantified the influence of supplemental nonnative fish stocking, a widespread recreational fishery management practice, on in-stream nutrient storage and cycling. We predicted that supplemental, hatchery-raised brown trout (Salmo trutta) stocking would result in increased N and P supply relative to in-stream biotic demand for those nutrients and that stocked fishes would remineralize and store a significantly greater amount of N and P than the native fish community, due to higher areal biomass. To test these predictions, we measured the biomass, nutrient (NH4+ -N and soluble reactive phosphorus [SRP]) remineralization rates, and body carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus content of the native fish community and trout stocked into four study streams. We then estimated fish growth rates to determine species-specific nutrient sequestration rates in body tissues for both stocked and native fish and measured ammonium and phosphorus uptake rates to determine the relative influence of net fish nutrient remineralization on stream nutrient cycles. When brown trout were stocked in these systems at density levels that were orders of magnitude higher than ambient native fish density, they provided a sizeable source of NH4+ -N that could account for up to 85% of demand for that nutrient. Stocked trout had minimal effects on in-stream SRP cycles even at high release densities, likely due to low per capita SRP excretion rates. A unique feature of our study was that we evaluated the temporal component of the stocked trout nutrient subsidy by estimating the number of fish removed from the system through natural mortality and angler harvest, which indicated that the stocked trout subsidy lasted approximately 6-8 weeks after stocking. By combining population models with areal nutrient excretion rates and estimates of biotic nutrient uptake, we showed that trout stocking provided a strong pulsed nutrient subsidy.
The negative impact of prison work on sleep health

Objectives To examine the prevalence of sleep disorders, deprivation, and quality in a sample of prison employees, and investigate the relationship between exposure to work-related critical incidents and sleep. Methods We surveyed 355 Washington State Department of Corrections employees. The survey included the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index and the Critical Incident History Questionnaire. Results We found 28% and 45% of the sample reported suffering from Apnea and insomnia, respectively. Over half of the sample reporting sleeping less than 2 h between shifts and being constantly fatigued. We found significant associations between exposure to critical incidents and sleep problems. Conclusions Prison workers are in desperate need of help to improve their sleep. Our findings suggest the importance of continued investigation of prison worker sleep health using objective measures, toward the development of programs for improving sleep and resilience to critical incidents and stress.
Movement and Habitat Use of Alligator Gars in the Escambia River, Florida

AbstractIn Florida, the population status of the Alligator Gar Atractosteus spatula is unknown, and harvest of this species was prohibited in 2006. Although abundance estimates are needed, first information about its habitat use and life history is required. We examined movement, habitat use, and home range of Alligator Gars in the Escambia River, an unregulated coastal river in Florida. Twenty-two fish (TL range = 92–193 cm) were captured by using large-mesh gill nets and were tagged with external transmitters. Detachment of tags resulted in 16 fish being tracked for the study (tag retention time = 2–19 months). Seasonal movements of fish were monitored by active daytime tracking and via fixed-station receivers to determine home and core ranges. Results suggested that Alligator Gar movement was seasonal and related to water temperature. Mean linear home ranges and core ranges were each approximately five times smaller during the cold season (water temperature ≤ 15°C) than during the warm season (>15°C). ...
Comorbidity index in central cancer registries: the value of hospital discharge data.

Author(s): Lichtensztajn, Daphne Y; Giddings, Brenda M; Morris, Cyllene R; Parikh-Patel, Arti; Kizer, Kenneth W | Abstract: The presence of comorbid medical conditions can significantly affect a cancer patient's treatment options, quality of life, and survival. However, these important data are often lacking from population-based cancer registries. Leveraging routine linkage to hospital discharge data, a comorbidity score was calculated for patients in the California Cancer Registry (CCR) database.California cancer cases diagnosed between 1991 and 2013 were linked to statewide hospital discharge data. A Deyo and Romano adapted Charlson Comorbidity Index was calculated for each case, and the association of comorbidity score with overall survival was assessed with Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards models. Using a subset of Medicare-enrolled CCR cases, the index was validated against a comorbidity score derived using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked data.A comorbidity score was calculated for 71% of CCR cases. The majority (60.2%) had no relevant comorbidities. Increasing comorbidity score was associated with poorer overall survival. In a multivariable model, high comorbidity conferred twice the risk of death compared to no comorbidity (hazard ratio 2.33, 95% CI: 2.32-2.34). In the subset of patients with a SEER-Medicare-derived score, the sensitivity of the hospital discharge-based index for detecting any comorbidity was 76.5. The association between overall mortality and comorbidity score was stronger for the hospital discharge-based score than for the SEER-Medicare-derived index, and the predictive ability of the hospital discharge-based score, as measured by Harrell's C index, was also slightly better for the hospital discharge-based score (C index 0.62 versus 0.59, Pl0.001).Despite some limitations, using hospital discharge data to construct a comorbidity index for cancer registries is a feasible and valid method to enhance registry data, which can provide important clinically relevant information for population-based cancer outcomes research.
Systemic and Biologic Agents for Lupus Erythematosus

Lupus erythematosus (LE) is an autoimmune disorder that is difficult to manage and treat. Non-organ-threatening disease is managed with nonsteroidals, antimalarials, and low doses of prednisone and sometimes methotrexate. Targeted therapies are infrequently used. Serious lupus is managed with antimalarials, moderate doses of prednisone, and immune suppressives such as methotrexate, azathioprine, and mycophenolate mofetil. Resistant disease is managed with targeted therapies which may include belimumab, rituximab, abatacept, or tocilizumab.
Abstract A119: Nanocarriers with a camptothecin-mitocan co-drug suppress tumor growth and extend survival in models of chemosensitive and chemoresistant neuroblastoma

Background: Neuroblastoma (NB) ranks as the most common solid tumor in infants and is responsible for 15% of all childhood cancer deaths. Chemotherapeutics used as a first-line treatment in high-risk NB patients are inherently toxic and ultimately ineffective. High-risk NB patients have Citation Format: David Guerrero, Ivan S. Alferiev, Ferro Nguyen, Peng Guan, Venkatadri Kolla, Danielle Soberman, Ilia Fishbein, Robert J. Levy, Garrett M. Brodeur, Michael Chorny. Nanocarriers with a camptothecin-mitocan co-drug suppress tumor growth and extend survival in models of chemosensitive and chemoresistant neuroblastoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2017 Oct 26-30; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2018;17(1 Suppl):Abstract nr A119.
Intelligent Learning Object Guide (iLOG): A Framework for Automatic Empirically-Based Metadata Generation

We present a framework for the automatic annotation of learning objects (LOs) with empirical usage metadata. Our implementation of the Intelligent Learning Object Guide (iLOG) was used to collect interaction data of over 200 students' interactions with eight LOs. We show that iLOG successfully tracks student interaction data that can be used to automate the creation of meaningful empirical usage metadata that is based on real-world usage and student outcomes.
Theory of Schottky Barriers for III-V and Group-IV Semiconductors

A theory of Schottky barriers for III-V and Group-IV semiconductors must explain numerous experimental observations, two of which are the following: (1) The barrier height φB = Ec s-EF b often attains nearly its final value with the deposition of only a fraction of a monolayer of metal on the semiconductor surface [1,2]. (Here Ec s and EF b are respectively the energies of the conduction band edge at the surface and the Fermi level in the bulk.) This finding implies that the mechanism responsible for Schottky barrier formation requires only submonolayer coverage rather than a complete semiconductor/metal interface. It thus appears to rule out metal-induced gap states [3–6] as the dominant mechanism for most systems. (2) In many cases, more than one value of the Schottky barrier height is observed for a single semiconductor. In InP, for example, there is a “switching” of barrier heights from about 0.5 eV to nearly zero as the reactivity of the metal treatment of the surface is varied [7]. A theory that yields only a single barrier height for all metals and all surface treatments is thus unable to explain these Schottky barriers.
Regulation of Recreational Marijuana in Small Cities and Counties in Colorado

In November 2016 the number of states where recreational marijuana sales are legal increased to eight. Thousands of cities and counties are now on the front lines of regulating these new land uses. Local governments in Colorado, the first state to implement recreational marijuana legalization, are models for jurisdictions in other states. We study counties and municipalities in the eight micropolitan statistical areas in Colorado to learn how they regulate recreational marijuana businesses. We reviewed codes, ordinances, and other documents of 43 local governments and interviewed planners in a third of these jurisdictions. These places were purposefully selected and reflect their specific social, geographic, and economic contexts instead of the average experience of local governments. We found that over half of the jurisdictions prohibit the businesses. Among those that allow them, land use and operational regulations are designed to make these businesses more discreet and shield the population from negative impacts. Public opposition to new businesses by neighbors and people opposed to recreational marijuana was common. Jurisdictions that prohibit the businesses are adjacent to places that allow them, creating the conditions for a geographic monopoly that provides some jurisdictions a disproportionate amount of tax and fee revenue. Local governments should take the time to craft regulations that address community concerns and can withstand public opposition. They need to consider their choices in a regional context. Discussion at the regional level could lead to cooperation that would distribute both the benefits and burdens of the businesses more evenly.
Intravascular Devices in the ICU

Intravascular devices are widely used in the intensive care unit, both for monitoring and access. They may be useful for managing hemodynamics in critically ill patients in order to maintain organ perfusion. This need has prompted the development of several different devices to assist in the assessment of hemodynamic variables. For many years the most common monitor used was the pulmonary artery catheter although several studies have called its utility into question. This has prompted the development of newer, less invasive devices. A monitoring device is only as valuable as the skill of the clinician who is interpreting the data. The decision to place any intravascular monitor must require an assessment of the individual patient as well as a practitioner who is comfortable interpreting the data and applying it to specific treatment algorithms.
Molecular dynamics simulation of nerve agent-sorbent binding

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of nerve agent-sorbent binding are presented for interpretation of infrared molecular binding spectroscopy, which is for nerve agent detection. Potential-energy-function parameters for the MD simulations are adjusted according to attenuated total reflection (ATR) measurements of surface interaction between a custom sorbent material and nerve agent simulant. The physical assumptions underlying these MD simulations and sensitivity of potential-function parameters are examined with respect to viability for quantitative prediction and interpretation of ATR spectra associated with nerve agent detection.
Raman microspectroscopy differentiates perinatal pathogens on ex vivo infected human fetal membrane tissues

Streptococcus agalactiae, also known as Group B Streptococcus (GBS), is a major cause of chorioamnionitis and neonatal sepsis. This study evaluates Raman spectroscopy (RS) to identify spectral characteristics of infection and differentiate GBS from Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus during ex vivo infection of human fetal membrane tissues. Unique spectral features were identified from colonies grown on agar and infected fetal membrane tissues. Multinomial logistic regression analysis accurately identified GBS infected tissues with 100.0% sensitivity and 88.9% specificity. Together, these findings support further investigation into the use of RS as an emerging microbiologic diagnostic tool and intrapartum screening test for GBS carriage.
Filamentous fusion phage cloning vectors for the study of epitopes and design of vaccines.

Foreign sequences can be inserted within the minor coat protein, pIII, of filamentous phage, creating a fusion protein that is incorporated into the virion; the virions, which we call “fusion phage,” display the foreign amino acids encoded in the insert on their surface. Phage bearing specific antigenic determinants from a target gene can be purified in infectious form from a vast excess of phage bearing other determinants by affinity to antibody directed against the gene product. Fusion phage can be used as a source of antigen as a carrier-hapten conjugate for obtaining immunological reagents in rabbits, and for B epitope mapping. By generating a fusion phage library expressing virtually all possible short, amino acid sequences, it may be possible to study epitopes on immunologically important proteins without the use of synthetic peptides and without ever having cloned the genes.
Assessing the Performance of Islamic Banks: Some Evidence from the Middle East

The study examines the determinants of Islamic banks’ performance across eight Middle Eastern countries between 1993 and 1998. A variety of internal and external banking characteristics were used to predict profitability and efficiency. In general, our analysis of determinants of Islamic bank profitability confirms previous findings. Controlling for macroeconomic environment, financial market structure, and taxation, the results indicate that high leverage and large loans to asset ratios lead to higher profitability. The results also indicate that foreign-owned banks are more profitable than their domestic counterparts. Everything remaining equal, there is evidence that implicit and explicit taxes affect the bank performance measures negatively. Furthermore, favorable macroeconomic conditions impact performance measures positively. Our results also show that stock markets are complementary to bank financing
“Everybody’s hard times are different”: country as a political investment in white masculine precarity

ABSTRACTRecognizing the complex interplay between country music, lifestyle, and identity, and the disparate nature of these texts and their producers, we center our analysis of the politics of cont...
The profound implications of continuing to teach 'supply and demand' instead of 'demand and cost' in intro economics courses - an unequal exchange application

This paper focuses on how two iconic memes of neoclassical (NC) introductory economics provide the ideological basis for the neoliberal perfectly competitive free market (PCFM) and free trade (FT) economic doctrines. The paper argues that the supply and demand (SDM) and Ricardian comparative advantage (RCA) memes that ostensibly support these doctrines are fundamentally in error both economically and logically, and should be replaced in introductory economics teaching by demand and cost (DCM) and unequal exchange (UE) memes, respectively. The DCM is explained in detail and used to analyse all situations to which the SDM is usually applied. The UE meme, within a DCM framework, is then used to derive principles for fair and sustainable international trade and finance. The paper shows that the DCM and UE memes provide more realistic, equitable, and sustainable views of production and international economies than the fictional SDM and RCA memes, which have become ubiquitous, even in heterodox textbooks.
Convenient Access to Gallium(I) Cations through Hydrogen Elimination from Cationic Gallium(III) Hydrides.

Although gallium hydrides XnGaH3–n (X = monoanionic substituent) are usually stable compounds, cationic arene-solvated species [H2Ga(arene)2]+ spontaneously eliminate dihydrogen at room temperature...
Object stiffness recognition using haptic feedback delivered through transcutaneous proximal nerve stimulation.

Objective Haptic feedback is crucial when we manipulate objects. Information pertaining to an object's stiffness in particular can help facilitate fine motor control. In this study, we seek to determine whether objects of different stiffness levels can be recognized using haptic feedback provided by transcutaneous electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves. Approach Using a stimulation electrode grid placed along the medial side of the upper arm, the median and ulnar nerve bundles were targeted to evoke haptic sensation on the palmar side of the hand. Stimulation current amplitude was modulated in real-time with the fingertip force recorded from a sensorized prosthetic hand. In order to evaluate which stimulation pattern was more critical, object stiffness was encoded either by the rate of change of the stimulus amplitude or the level of peak stimulus amplitude, as the prosthesis grasped the objects. Main results Both encoding methods allowed the subjects to differentiate objects of different stiffness levels with >90% accuracy. No significant difference was observed between the two encoding methods, which indicated that both the rate of change of the stimulation amplitude and the peak stimulation amplitude could effectively provide stiffness information of the objects. Significance The outcomes suggest that it is possible to elicit haptic sensations describing various object stiffness levels using transcutaneous nerve stimulation. The haptic feedback associated with object stiffness can facilitate object manipulation/interactions. It may also improve user experience during human-machine interactions, when object stiffness information is incorporated.