cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Observations of Precipitation Development -- An Example from the UAE Project

Radar and aircraft observations from the 12 September 2004 case study, collected during a field project in the United Arab Emirates, are presented in the context of discerning precipitation development. The focus of the field projects was convective clouds forming over and near the Oman mountains in the eastern Arabian Penisula, as part of a larger feasibility study on precipitation enhancement and a subsequent randomized cloud seeding experiment. The radar data show that earlier convection likely pre-conditioned the region with mid-level moisture and ice particles. Subsequent cells and storms developed significant precipitation as they grew above 6 km (around -5° C). This is consistent with the concept that recycling particles into the same and adjacent turrets is an important process in precipitation development. However, the data set presented is quite limited and more details from other cases (both seeded and unseeded) are needed to generalize precipitation development in UAE clouds.
Dealing with Client Denial and Resistance in the Advance Directive Context: A Challenge for the Therapeutically-oriented Preventive Lawyer

An important reason why advance directive instruments are underused is that people faced with the need to think about the end-of-life, or future mental health problems or the need for nursing home admission experience psychological stress that produces denial and procrastination. This article examines how lawyers counseling clients about advance directive instruments can deal with such denial and resistance. It explains the psychological defense mechanism of denial and related forms of resistance, and offers suggestions about techniques that lawyers can use for dealing with them in counseling their clients about advanced directives. It suggests ways in which lawyers can develop their interpersonal skills, becoming more empathic and more sensitive to their clients' psychological needs.
Power and Sample Size Calculations

This chapter introduces several fundamental concepts related to power and sample size calculations. We first review some key questions that should be considered when developing research studies. We then introduce the concept of statistical power and explain why having adequate power is essential for designing successful studies. Next, we present some basic sample size formulas for when we plan to collect a sample of either continuous or binary data and then wish to construct a confidence interval for the population mean or the population proportion with a certain degree of precision. Subsequently, we present some basic sample size formulas for when we plan to collect one sample, a paired sample, or two independent samples of either continuous or binary data and then wish to test hypotheses about specific characteristics of the populations from which the data came. Finally, we discuss several advanced topics related to sample size calculation and the collaborative process of study design.
Effects of rapamycin-treated HSP60-pulsed dendritic cells on the progression of the atherosclerotic plaque in mice

AIM: To evaluate whether tolerogenic dendritic cells (DC) loaded with heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) inhibit the progression of aortic atherosclerotic plaque in hypercholesterolemic apolipoprotein E (Apo-E) -null mice. METHODS: Bone marrow derived DC of the mice were loaded with HSP60 and co-cultured with rapamycin to generate tolerogenic DC. The tolerogenic DC, DC loaded only HSP60 and PBS were injected into the ApoE-null mice at 8 weeks of age for three times at a one-week interval. 8 weeks after the last injection, aorta were harvested for HE staining and anti-CD4~+T cell immunostaining. Responses of pleenic cells to HSP60 were also evaluated. RESULTS: Compared with DC, DC_ HSP60 expressed higher levels of CD86, and stimulated T lymphocytes to proliferation significantly, while the tolerogenic DC expressed lower levels of CD86, and inhibited T lymphocytes to proliferation. After immunization with different injection, the numbers of CD4~+ T cells in plaque were increased significantly in DC_ HSP60 group vs in PBS group (P0.01). On the other hand, they were reduced significantly in rap-DC_ HSP60 group vs in PBS group (P0.01). Plaque areas in the tolerogenic DC group were smaller than that in the PBS group (P0.01). Stimulated by HSP60, pleenic cells in tolerogenic DC group secreted more IL-10, while in DC_ HSP60 group more IFN-γ secretion was observed. CONCLUSION: HSP60 specific tolerogenic DC immunization attenuated the progression of plaque, indicating a new immune therapy for atherosclerosis.
Guideline for prevention of nosocomial pneumonia.

Nosocomial pneumonia is a lower respiratory tract infection that develops during a patient's hospitalization. It is neither present nor incubating at the time of admission and usually does not become manifest in the first 48-72 hours after admission. Diagnosing pneumonia may be difficult but generally depends on a combination of radiographic and clinical features such as a pulmonary infiltrates, fever, cough, and production of characteristic sputum.' In this guideline, no distinction is made between pneumonia and other lower respiratory tract infections, such as purulent bronchitis or lung abscess. Further, isolation techniques used to prevent transmission of microorganisms involved in pneumonia are mentioned only briefly, and prevention of tuberculosis is not discussed. Pneumonia accounts for 10% to 20% of all hospitalassociated infections and is the third most common nosocomial infection after urinary tract and surgical wound infections. In addition, pneumonia is the nosocomial infection most frequently related to death.2 Because of its frequency and high case-fatality rate, up to 50% in some reports,3" nosocomial pneumonia constitutes a major infection control problem.
Trade-offs between socioeconomic and conservation management objectives in stock enhancement of marine recreational fisheries

Abstract We used an integrated bio-economic model to explore the nature of tradeoffs between conservation of fisheries resources and their use for socioeconomic benefit, as realized through the stock enhancement of recreational fisheries. The model explicitly accounted for the dynamics of wild, stocked, and naturally recruited hatchery-type fish population components, angler responses to stocking, and alternative functional relationships that defined conservation and socioeconomic objectives. The model was set up to represent Florida’s red drum ( Sciaenops ocellatus ) fishery as a case study. Stock enhancement produced strong trade-offs characterized by frontiers indicating that maximizing socioeconomic objectives could only be achieved at great losses to conservation objectives when the latter were based exclusively on abundance of wild-type fish. When naturally recruited hatchery-type fish were considered equivalent to wild fish in conservation value, this tradeoff was alleviated. Frontier shapes were sensitive to alternative assumptions regarding how conservation objectives were formulated, differential harvesting of stocked and wild-type fish, and potential inherent stakeholder satisfaction from the act of stocking. These findings make more explicit the likely opportunity costs associated with recreational stock enhancement and highlight the utility of trade-off frontiers for evaluating management actions.
Signal processing by particle filtering for binary sensor networks

In a wireless sensor network, limited power, communication, and computational resources are the major constraints that have to be overcome for their successful deployment and utilization. Binary sensor networks are a class of networks that get around these constraints. There, the sensors transmit only a binary digit on the occurrence of the event of interest, and therefore, the signals that reach the fusion center of these networks are highly compressed and pose challenging problems for recovering the sensed information. We consider the problem of tracking a vehicle, which moves along a 2-dimensional space, by using a binary sensor network that fuses information by particle filtering.
Effect of an Integrated Pest Management Intervention on Asthma Symptoms Among Mouse-Sensitized Children and Adolescents With Asthma: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance Professionally delivered integrated pest management (IPM) interventions can reduce home mouse allergen concentrations, but whether they reduce asthma morbidity among mouse-sensitized and exposed children and adolescents is unknown. Objective To determine the effect of an IPM intervention on asthma morbidity among mouse-sensitized and exposed children and adolescents with asthma. Design, Setting, and Participants Randomized clinical trial conducted in Baltimore, Maryland, and Boston, Massachusetts. Participants were mouse-sensitized and exposed children and adolescents (aged 5-17 years) with asthma randomized to receive professionally delivered IPM plus pest management education or pest management education alone. Enrollment occurred between May 2010 and August 2014; the final follow-up visit occurred on September 25, 2015. Interventions Integrated pest management consisted of application of rodenticide, sealing of holes that could serve as entry points for mice, trap placement, targeted cleaning, allergen-proof mattress and pillow encasements, and portable air purifiers. Infestation was assessed every 3 months, and if infestation persisted or recurred, additional treatments were delivered. All participants received pest management education, which consisted of written material and demonstration of the materials needed to set traps and seal holes. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was maximal symptom days defined as the highest number of days of symptoms in the previous 2 weeks among 3 types of symptoms (days of slowed activity due to asthma; number of nights of waking with asthma symptoms; and days of coughing, wheezing, or chest tightness) across 6, 9, and 12 months. Results Of 361 children and adolescents who were randomized (mean [SD] age, 9.8 [3.2] years; 38% female; 181 in IPM plus pest management education group and 180 in pest management education alone group), 334 were included in the primary analysis. For the primary outcome, there was no statistically significant between-group difference for maximal symptom days across 6, 9, and 12 months with a median of 2.0 (interquartile range, 0.7-4.7) maximal symptom days in the IPM plus pest management education group and 2.7 (interquartile range, 1.3-5.0) maximal symptom days in the pest management education alone group ( P = .16) and a ratio of symptom frequencies of 0.86 (95% CI, 0.69-1.06). Conclusions and Relevance Among mouse-sensitized and exposed children and adolescents with asthma, an intensive year-long integrated pest management intervention plus pest management education vs pest management education alone resulted in no significant difference in maximal symptom days from 6 to 12 months. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier:NCT01251224
Influence of nanoscale structural heterogeneity on shear banding in metallic glasses

Abstract Structural heterogeneity at the nanoscale such as medium-range order (MRO) in metallic glasses (MGs) has been suggested by theories and simulations for many years and recently been observed by experiments. However, its correlation with plastic deformation is still poorly understood and investigation into this correlation has just begun. In this study, we first propose a correlation between the properties of shear transformation zone (STZ) and the local structural information at the MRO length scale. As revealed by experiments, the MRO exhibits different types of atomic order and symmetry in MGs depending strongly on the processing history and service condition. We then carry out STZ dynamics simulations to document effects of volume fraction and symmetry of dissimilar STZs (derived from experimental characterization of the MRO) on shear banding dynamics and stress-strain behavior. In particular, a “precipitation-hardening” effect is observed and “strain frustration” is introduced to explain and better understand the influence of nanoscale structural heterogeneity on mechanical behavior of MGs. Our approach intends to provide new fundamental insights into the relationship between the mechanical properties of MGs and their MRO-level structural heterogeneities.
Fatigue of three advanced SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites at 1200°C in air and in steam

High-temperature mechanical properties and tension-tension fatigue behavior of three advanced SiC/SiC composites are discussed. The effects of steam on high-temperature fatigue performance of the ceramic-matrix composites are evaluated. The three composites consist of a SiC matrix reinforced with laminated, woven SiC (Hi-Nicalon™) fibers. Composite 1 was processed by chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) of SiC into the Hi-Nicalon™ fiber preforms coated with boron nitride (BN) fiber coating. Composite 2 had an oxidation inhibited matrix consisting of alternating layers of silicon carbide and boron carbide and was also processed by CVI. Fiber preforms had pyrolytic carbon fiber coating with boron carbon overlay applied. Composite 3 had a melt-infiltrated (MI) matrix consolidated by combining CVI-SiC with SiC particulate slurry and molten silicon infiltration. Fiber preforms had a CVI BN fiber coating applied. Tensile stress-strain behavior of the three composites was investigated and the tensile properties measured at 1200°C. Tension-tension fatigue behavior was studied for fatigue stresses ranging from 80 to 160 MPa in air and from 60 to 140 MPa in steam. Fatigue run-out was defined as 2 × 105 cycles. Presence of steam significantly degraded the fatigue performance of the CVI SiC/SiC composite 1 and of the MI SiC/SiC composite 3, but had little influence on the fatigue performance of the SiC/SiC composite 2 with the oxidation inhibited matrix. The retained tensile properties of all specimens that achieved fatigue run-out were characterized. Composite microstructure, as well as damage and failure mechanisms were investigated.
Denervated Myocardium Is Preferentially Associated With Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Ischemic Cardiomyopathy: A Pilot Competing Risks Analysis of Cause-Specific Mortality.

Background— Previous studies have identified multiple risk factors that are associated with total cardiac mortality. Nevertheless, identifying specific factors that distinguish patients at risk of arrhythmic death versus heart failure could better target patients likely to benefit from implantable cardiac defibrillators, which have no impact on nonsudden cardiac death. Methods and Results— We performed a pilot competing risks analysis of the National Institutes of Health–sponsored PAREPET trial (Prediction of Arrhythmic Events with Positron Emission Tomography). Death from cardiac causes was ascertained in subjects with ischemic cardiomyopathy (n=204) eligible for an implantable cardiac defibrillator for the primary prevention of sudden cardiac arrest after baseline clinical evaluation and imaging at enrollment (positron emission tomography and 2-dimensional echo). Mean age was 67±11 years with an ejection fraction of 27±9%, and 90% were men. During 4.1 years of follow-up, there were 33 sudden cardiac arrests (arrhythmic death or implantable cardiac defibrillator discharge for ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia >240 bpm) and 36 nonsudden cardiac deaths. Sudden cardiac arrest was correlated with a greater volume of denervated myocardium (defect of the positron emission tomography norepinephrine analog 11 C-hydroxyephedrine), lack of angiotensin inhibition therapy, elevated B-type natriuretic peptide, and larger left ventricular end-diastolic volume index. In contrast, nonsudden cardiac death was associated with a higher resting heart rate, older age, elevated creatinine, larger left atrial volume index, and larger left ventricular end-diastolic volume index. Conclusions— Distinct clinical, laboratory, and imaging variables are associated with cause-specific cardiac mortality in primary-prevention candidates with ischemic cardiomyopathy. If prospectively validated, these multivariable associations may help target specific therapies to those at the greatest risk of sudden and nonsudden cardiac death. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01400334.
Abstract 322: Reversal of Intramuscular Lipotoxicity is Mediated by a Novel p62-lipophagy Pathway

Background and Hypothesis: In the mammalian heart, autophagy is considered an adaptive mechanism promoting the removal of protein aggregates or damaged cell organelles. A common feature of non-ischemic heart failure is lipid accumulation. We hypothesize that autophagy is impaired in the muscle in chronic lipid overload. Therefore, we investigated whether activation of autophagy protects myocytes from lipotoxicity. Methods: We incubated rat L6 myocytes over a period of 6 days with or without long chain fatty acids (equimolar mixture of oleate and palmitate, 1.0mM). At day 6, an autophagic inhibitor (bafilomycin A1, 200 nM), or an autophagic activator (rapamycin, 1 μM), or both, were added for 48 hours. Following the pharmacologic treatments, glucose uptake was measured using [3H] 2-Deoxy-D-glucose, and insulin sensitivity was assessed. Intracellular triglyceride (TG) accumulation was assessed by Oil Red O staining and immunofluorescence and was quantified enzymatically. Protein markers of autophagic flux (LC3 and p62) and cell death (Caspase 3 cleavage) were measured by immunoblotting. Results: Inhibition of autophagy using bafilomycin increased TG accumulation and also increased fatty acid-mediated cell death. Conversely, activation of autophagy using rapamycin reduced both intracellular lipid accumulation and cell death. Unexpectedly, treatment with both rapamycin and bafilomycin resulted in a decrease in lipid accumulation. Immunoblotting indicated p62 degradation (autophagic flux), while immunofluorescence revealed the colocalization of p62 with lipid droplets in these cells. These findings indicate the potential association of p62 with lipid droplet turnover, which is a novel pathway for the breakdown of lipid droplets in muscle cells. In the same cells, rapamycin treatment increased glucose uptake, in response to insulin (100mM). Conclusions: Autophagy promotes the clearance of lipids from myocytes, improves insulin sensitivity, and switches to an alternative p62 mediated pathway of lipophagy in the context of chronic lipid overload. Moreover, lipophagy promotes metabolic adaptation and myocyte survival.
Nup153 Interacts with Sox2 to Enable Bimodal Gene Regulation and Maintenance of Neural Progenitor Cells.

Summary Neural progenitor cells (NeuPCs) possess a unique nuclear architecture that changes during differentiation. Nucleoporins are linked with cell-type-specific gene regulation, coupling physical changes in nuclear structure to transcriptional output; but, whether and how they coordinate with key fate-determining transcription factors is unclear. Here we show that the nucleoporin Nup153 interacts with Sox2 in adult NeuPCs, where it is indispensable for their maintenance and controls neuronal differentiation. Genome-wide analyses show that Nup153 and Sox2 bind and co-regulate hundreds of genes. Binding of Nup153 to gene promoters or transcriptional end sites correlates with increased or decreased gene expression, respectively, and inhibiting Nup153 expression alters open chromatin configurations at its target genes, disrupts genomic localization of Sox2, and promotes differentiation in vitro and a gliogenic fate switch in vivo. Together, these findings reveal that nuclear structural proteins may exert bimodal transcriptional effects to control cell fate.
Modifications to EPA Method 3060A to Improve Extraction of Cr(VI) from Chromium Ore Processing Residue-Contaminated Soils

It has been shown that EPA Method 3060A does not adequately extract Cr(VI) from chromium ore processing residue (COPR). We modified various parameters of EPA 3060A toward understanding the transformation of COPR minerals in the alkaline extraction and improving extraction of Cr(VI) from NIST SRM 2701, a standard COPR-contaminated soil. Aluminum and Si were the major elements dissolved from NIST 2701, and their concentrations in solution were correlated with Cr(VI). The extraction fluid leached additional Al and Si from the method-prescribed borosilicate glass vessels which appeared to suppress the release of Cr(VI). Use of polytetrafluoroethylene vessels and intensive grinding of NIST 2701 increased the amount of Cr(VI) extracted. These modifications, combined with an increased extraction fluid to sample ratio of ≥900 mL g–1 and 48-h extraction time resulted in a maximum release of 1274 ± 7 mg kg–1 Cr(VI). This is greater than the NIST 2701 certified value of 551 ± 35 mg kg–1 but less than 3050 mg kg–1 Cr...
1212 What is the global impact of the new (2016) osha silica dust standard

Introduction In 2016 the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) completed a new standard for workplace crystalline silica. We are trying to understand what this will mean outside the U.S. Methods/current situation On March 24, 2016 OSHA issued a revised silica dust rule setting levels in construction and general industry at 50 ug/m3 for 8 hour workday—1/2 of the 100 ug/m3 previous standard. More information available https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/03/25/2016-04800/occupational-exposure-to-respirable-crystalline-silica. OSHA is now labelling respirable silica a known human carcinogen, as it has been judged by IARC since 1996. In addition to silica being known to cause silicosis, it is now judged to be linked with auto-immune and kidney diseases. The new rule expected to save 600 lives and 900 cases of silicosis annually in U.S. Results The World Health Organisation (WHO) is leading efforts to document the numbers of silicosis cases worldwide. Although the rates of silicosis have declined in most industrialised nations, they appear to be steady or rising in Asia, Africa, South America and the former Soviet Union. In South Africa, there is a strong effort to control silica dust because it is linked with excess silico-tuberculosis (silicoTB), especially in migrant gold miners. OSHA is likely to be asked by other global regulatory agencies to share their work, though we do not expect the new administration to be very supportive. There may be some collaboration to study nonsilicosis lung diseases, lung cancer and other cancer endpoints in countries such as South Africa, China and Chile. In the Philippines there have not been any published research, but there should be a focus on education of miners and construction workers. Discussion The new OSHA silica rule may spur other nations to adopt the new 50 ug/m 3 standard, to undertake novel research studies, and to offer education to alert workers to silica’s health risks.
Comparing Synchronous and Asynchronous Group Communication

In distributed systems, high service availability can be achieved by letting a group of servers replicate the service state; if some servers fail, the surviving ones know the service state and can continue to provide the service. Group communication services, such as membership and atomic broadcast, have been proposed to solve the problem of maintaining server state replica consistency. Group membership achieves agreement on the history of server groups that provide the service over time, while atomic broadcast achieves agreement on the history of state updates performed in each group.
Creating Brand Names With Meaning: The Use of Sound Symbolism

The staggering level and rate of growth of brands being introduced to the marketplace suggests a heightened need to understand how to create effective new brand names. Limited academic research, however, has been conducted in this area. This paper investigates the use of linguistics, specifically sound symbolism, in order to create brand names with inherent meaning. Results of two studies indicate that the sound of a brand name can communicate information about the product, e.g. its size, speed, strength, weight, etc. Brand name sounds can convey product-related information either in the presence or absence of supporting marketing communications.
A Parabolic Equation Analysis of the Underwater Noise Radiated by Impact Pile Driving

Impact pile driving can produce extremely high underwater sound levels, which are of increasing environmental concern due to their deleterious effects on marine wildlife. Prediction of underwater sound levels is important to the assessment and mitigation of the environmental impacts caused by pile driving. Current prediction methods are limited and do not account for the dynamic pile driving source, inhomogeneities in bathymetry and sediment, or physics-based sound wave propagation. In this thesis, a computational model is presented that analyzes and predicts the underwater noise radiated by pile driving and is suitable for shallow, inhomogeneous environments and long propagation ranges. The computational model uses dynamic source models from recent developments in the technical literature. Pile source models are coupled to a broadband application of the range-dependent acoustic model (RAM-PE), a standard parabolic equation (PE) propagation code capable of modeling wave propagation through complex, range dependent environments. Simulation results are shown to be in good agreement with several observations of pile driving operations in the Columbia River between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. The model is further applied to extend sound level predictions over the entire river and study the effects of sediment and bathymetry on the underwater sound levels present in the environment.
Factorial validity and invariance of the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire among black and white adolescent girls.

Meaningful comparison of physical selfconcept among racial or ethnic groups requires that the measurement instruments used have equivalent measurement properties. We tested the factorial validity and invariance of the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire (PSDQ) among Black (n5658) and White (n5479) adolescent girls in the 12th grade. Construct validity was examined by estimating correlations between PSDQ subscales and external criteria (physical activity, physical fitness, body mass index [BMI], and participation in sports). The hypothesized 11-factor model demonstrated adequate overall fit in both groups. Comparison of nested models supported the between-group invariance of the overall factor structure. Convergent and discriminant evidence for construct validity was supported by the pattern of correlations with the external criteria. The results indicate that a meaningful comparison of PSDQ scores can be made between Black and White girls in the 12th grade and that valid inferences from PSDQ scores can be made about specific aspects of physical self-concept. Despite lower levels of physical activity, sport participation, and fitness and higher BMI, Black girls had similar self-esteem and higher physical selfconcept and perceived appearance compared to White girls. (Ethn Dis. 2006;16:551–558)
The Millennial Mindset: Unraveling Fact from Fiction

3.30 p.m., 25 August 2011 As a newly hired educator in a research-1 university, I step in to the classroom to teach my first class of undergraduate students who were all wired – either to their pho...
Gas Dynamics of Pulsed Low Energy Helium Beams

We report data on pulsed atomic helium beams for use in an experiment on atomic reemission of atoms incident on a superfluid helium four sample. We used a gas dynamics code to model these pulsed low energy helium beams and found a good fit with the experimental results at low source power. The fit implies that significant collisional effects occur in these beams. Using the model for the incident pulsed beam which we obtained, we produced simulated signals from the reemitted atoms which we expect to see in the experiment in which we monitor reemission from the sample when these atomic pulses are fired at it. We find that the present experiment could detect the proposed condensate mediated transmission process but that a larger superfluid sample would give a more definitive result.
Limited capacity in US pediatric drug trials: qualitative analysis of expert interviews.

The recently renewed Best Pharmaceuticals for Children and Pediatric Research Equity Acts (BPCA/PREA) have continued industry incentives and opportunities for pediatric drug trials (PDTs). However, there is no current assessment of the capacity to perform PDTs. The aim of this study was to deepen understanding of the capacity for US PDTs by assessing PDT infrastructure, present barriers to PDTs, and potential approaches and solutions to identified issues. Pediatric clinical research experts participated in semi-structured interviews on current US pediatric research capacity (February–July 2007). An initial informant list was developed using purposive sampling, and supplemented and refined to generate a group of respondents to explore emerging themes. Each phone interview included a physician researcher and two health researchers who took notes and recorded the calls. Health researchers produced detailed summaries, which were verified by the physician researcher and informants. We then undertook qualitative analysis of the summaries, employing multiple coding, with the two health researchers and the physician researcher independently coding each summary for themes and subthemes. Coding variations were resolved by physician researcher/health researcher discussion and consensus achieved on themes and subthemes. The 33 informants’ primary or secondary roles included academia (n = 21), federal official (5), industry medical officer (8), pediatric research network leader (10), pediatric specialist leader (8), pediatric clinical pharmacologist (5), and practitioner/research site director (9). While most experts noted an increase in PDTs since the initial passage of BPCA/PREA, a dominant theme of insufficient US PDT capacity emerged. Subthemes included (i) lack of systems for finding, incentivizing, and/or maintaining trial sites; (ii) complexity/demands of conducting PDTs in clinical settings; (iii) inadequate numbers of qualified pediatric pharmacologists and clinician investigators trained in FDA Good Clinical Practice; and (iv) poor PDT protocol design resulting in operational and enrollment difficulties in the pediatric population. Suggested potential solutions for insufficient PDT capacity included (i) consensus-building among stakeholders to create PDT systems; (ii) initiatives to train more pediatric pharmacologists and educate clinicians in Good Clinical Practice; (iii) advocacy for PDT protocols designed by individuals sensitive to pediatric issues; and (iv) physician and public education on the importance of PDTs. Insufficient US PDT capacity may hinder the development of new drugs for children and limit studies on the safety and efficacy of drugs presently used to treat pediatric conditions. Further public policy initiatives may be needed to achieve the full promise of BPCA/PREA.
Race, Markets, and Digital Technologies: Historical and Conceptual Frameworks

This chapter provides historical and conceptual frameworks for understanding how racial difference and market forces interact with—and intersect within—digital technologies. The historical framework unpacks the legacies of stereotypes and patterns of material inequality surrounding capitalist markets and technological achievement as they relate to racial categories. The conceptual framework examines prominent social media platforms Facebook and TripAdvisor to show how they help maintain racial hierarchies, participate in the formation of racial categories, and contribute to the commodification of racial difference. Digital technologies play a key role in the proliferation of a globalized economy where racially marginalized groups are clearly and systematically disadvantaged (Pieterse in Development theory, 2nd edn. Sage: Washington, 2010; Goldberg in The threat of race: reflections on racial neoliberalism. Wiley-Blackwell, Malden, 2009; Harvey in A brief history of neoliberalism. Oxford University Press, New York, 2005). They have also created a myriad of new marketplaces in exclusively online settings that are measured in terms of follows, likes, clicks, and retweets. These newer digital marketplaces have a tendency to mirror existing racial inequality but are distinct in important ways (Boyd in Race after the Internet. Routledge, New York, pp 203–221, 2012; McPherson in Race after the Internet. Routledge, New York, pp. 21–37, 2012). This chapter seeks to explain what is relatively ‘old’ and what is relatively ‘new’ regarding these influences, and the frameworks presented may be used to understand and combat contemporary patterns of racial inequality in digital and market environments.
Let me tell you ‘bout the birds and the bee-mimicking flies and Bambiraptor

Scientists have been arguing for more than 25 years about whether it is a good idea to collect voucher specimens from particularly vulnerable biological populations. Some think that, obviously, scientists should not be harvesting (read: killing) organisms from, for instance, critically endangered species. Others think that, obviously, it is the special job of scientists to collect precisely such information before any chance of retrieving it is forever lost. The character, extent, longevity, and span of the ongoing disagreement indicates that this is likely to be a hard problem to solve. Nonetheless, the aim of this paper is to help field biologists figure out what do to when collecting a voucher specimen risks extinction. Here I present and assess varying practices of specimen collection for both extant (i.e., neontological) and extinct (i.e., paleontological) species in order to compare and contrast cases where extinction risk both is and is not a problem. When it comes to taking vouchers from extant species at some risk of extinction, I determine that those advocating for conservative approaches to collection as well as those advocating for liberal information-gathering practices have good reasons to assess things in the way they each do. This means that there is unlikely to be a decisive, one-size-fits-all response to this problem. Still, progress can be made. We can acknowledge the risks of proceeding in either manner, as well as the uncertainty about how best to proceed (which will be deep in some cases). We can proceed as thoughtfully as possible, and be ready to articulate a rationale for whichever procedure is used in any particular case.
Association of vitamin D in pregnancy and after 15 days of delivery along with neonatal

Summary Background &aims India, where sunshine is abundant throughout the year, the extent of VD deficiency have been reported ranging from 50% to 86.5% for neonatal and young infants, which is still huge. The high prevalence of VD deficiency during pregnancy is increasingly recognized, especially in women, following customs like a veil. Uttarakhand located at the foothills of Himalayas is the totally socio-culturally diverse state with higher population density in the plain region like Dehradun, India. Methods To understand the differences in VD status we evaluated 25 (OH) D levels in three trimesters of pregnancy and at birth in neonatal serum and cord blood along with 15 days of life born within our hospital along with mother respectively. Results The study demonstrated a high prevalence of VD levels at the time of pregnancy. The studied reflects a deficiency of serum VD in the first trimester 18 ± 6 ng/ml, while in second and third trimester VD levels were more 38 ± 3 and 41 ± 4 ng/ml respectively as compared to first. There was a significant difference in VD status due to the presence of supplementation in both cord blood and in neonatal serum. There are many traditional factors which contributed to the observation of the high occurrence of VD deficiency in this study. Identifying VD deficiency at pregnancy time and after birth should be essential for the growth of public policy for anticipation and supplementation. Conclusions The study demonstrated a high prevalence of VD status with significant differences due to the existence of supplementation. There are many traditional factors which contributed to the observation of the high occurrence of VD deficiency in this study. Identifying VD deficiency at pregnancy time and after birth should be essential for the growth of public policy for anticipation and supplementation. To improve this situation, pregnant mothers should be educated about the importance of VD deficiency at and after birth for the development of risk factors.
Precision of Single-Skill Math CBM Time-Series Data: The Effect of Probe Stratification and Set Size:

Comparatively little research exists on single-skill math (SSM) curriculum-based measurements (CBMs) for the purpose of monitoring growth, as may be done in practice or when monitoring intervention...
Exemplar Auditing for Multi-Label Biomedical Text Classification.

Many practical applications of AI in medicine consist of semi-supervised discovery: The investigator aims to identify features of interest at a resolution more fine-grained than that of the available human labels. This is often the scenario faced in healthcare applications as coarse, high-level labels (e.g., billing codes) are often the only sources that are readily available. These challenges are compounded for modalities such as text, where the feature space is very high-dimensional, and often contains considerable amounts of noise. In this work, we generalize a recently proposed zero-shot sequence labeling method, "binary labeling via a convolutional decomposition", to the case where the available document-level human labels are themselves relatively high-dimensional. The approach yields classification with "introspection", relating the fine-grained features of an inference-time prediction to their nearest neighbors from the training set, under the model. The approach is effective, yet parsimonious, as demonstrated on a well-studied MIMIC-III multi-label classification task of electronic health record data, and is useful as a tool for organizing the analysis of neural model predictions and high-dimensional datasets. Our proposed approach yields both a competitively effective classification model and an interrogation mechanism to aid healthcare workers in understanding the salient features that drive the model's predictions.
O campo intelectual como espaço de ritualização do poder: IHGRN, historiografia e saber (1945-1971)

O artigo discute a historiografia produzida no Instituto Historico e Geografico do Rio Grande do Norte (IHGRN), com o objetivo de analisar a ritualizacao do poder formulada pelos socios. Portanto, buscamos trazer a lupa, a partir da Revista do IHGRN, elementos simbolicos, usos do passado, usos politicos da historia, todo um trabalho realizado discursivamente nesta rede de sociabilidade potiguar. Assim, e possivel considerar as narrativas desses intelectuais como instrumento para ganhos de legitimidade, ou seja, um recurso simbolico, dentro do gremio. Com isso, pode-se ter em mente uma das formas que os usos do passado foram feitos por uma das instituicoes mais antigas do Estado potiguar, por conseguinte, na historiografia norte-rio-grandense. Para realizar essa investigacao, a leitura sera guiada a partir do conceito de campo intelectual, do sociologo frances Pierre Bourdieu.
Endoscopic and Minimally Invasive Meningioma Surgery

Craniotomy has generally been the standard of care for removing skull base meningiomas. Over the last 15 years, endoscopic and minimally invasive neurosurgery has become a popular option as a means of achieving ideal neurosurgical results by either using natural corridors or creating corridors to access the pathology. Skull base meningiomas, in selected cases, are ideal pathologies for these techniques, which can offer an alternative approach without compromising oncologic results. All three techniques discussed, EEA (endoscopic endonasal approach), SKM (supraorbital keyhole minicraniotomy), and TOA (transorbital approach), follow these foundational principles of minimally invasive neurosurgery and also utilize the endoscope either as the main source of visualization or as a valuable adjunct for improved visualization of surgical field. The key to successful application is selecting the right technique for each tumor and to have the necessary experience, technical skill, equipment, and the anatomical knowledge to execute the procedure to achieve an ideal surgical outcome.
D3BA: A Tool for Optimizing Business Processes Using Non-deterministic Planning

This paper builds on recent work in the declarative design of dialogue agents and proposes an exciting new tool – D3BA (Declarative Design for Digital Business Automation) – to optimize business processes using AI planning. The tool provides a powerful framework to build, optimize, and maintain complex business processes and optimize them by composing with services that automate one or more subtasks. We illustrate salient features of this composition technique, compare with other philosophies of composition, and highlight exciting opportunities for research in this emerging field of business process automation.
Single kernel aflatoxin and fumonisin contamination distribution and spectral classification in commercial corn

Abstract Aflatoxin and fumonisin contamination distribution in corn is non-homogeneous. Therefore, bulk sample testing may not accurately represent the levels of contamination. Single kernel analysis could provide a solution to these problems and lead to remediation strategies such as sorting. Our study uses extensive single kernel aflatoxin (AF) and fumonisin (FM) measurements to (i) demonstrate skewness, calculate weighted sums of toxin contamination for a sample, and compare those values to bulk measurements, and (ii) improve single kernel classification algorithm performance. Corn kernels with natural contamination of aflatoxin and fumonisin (n = 864, from 9 bulk samples) were scanned individually twice for reflectance between the ultraviolet–visible–near infrared spectrum (304 nm–1086 nm), then ground and measured for aflatoxin and fumonisin using ELISA. Single kernel contamination distribution was non-homogeneous with 1.0% (n = 7) of kernels with ≥20 ppb aflatoxin (range 0 - 4.2 × 10 5 ppb), and 5.0% (n = 45) kernels with ≥2 ppm fumonisin (range 0 - 7.0 × 10 2 ppm). A single kernel weighted sum was calculated and compared to bulk measurements. Average difference in mycotoxin levels (AF = 0.0 log(ppb), FM = 0.0 log(ppm), weighted sum – measured bulk levels) calculated no systematic bias between the two methods, though with considerable range of −1.4 to 0.7 log(ppb) for AF and −0.6 to 0.8 log(ppm) for FM. Algorithms were trained on 70% of the kernels to classify aflatoxin ( ≥ 20 ppb) and fumonisin ( ≥ 2 ppm), while the remaining 30% of kernels were used for testing. For aflatoxin, the best performing algorithm was stochastic gradient boosting model with an accuracy of 0.83 (Sensitivity (Sn) = 0.75, Specificity (Sp) = 0.83), for both training and testing set. For fumonisin, the penalized discriminant analysis outperformed the rest of the algorithms, with a training accuracy of 0.89 (Sn = 0.87, Sp = 0.88), and testing accuracy of 0.86 (Sn = 0.78, Sp = 0.87). The present study improves the foundations for single kernel classification of aflatoxin and fumonisin in corn, and can be applied to high throughput screening. This study demonstrates the heterogeneous distribution of aflatoxin and fumonisin contamination at single kernel level, comparing bulk levels calculated from those data to traditional bulk tests, and utilizing a UV–Vis–NIR spectroscopy system to classify single corn kernels by aflatoxin and fumonisin level.
Impact of surface and laser-induced noise on the spectral stability of implanted nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond

Scalable realizations of quantum network technologies utilizing the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond require creation of optically coherent NV centers in close proximity to a surface for coupling to optical structures. We create single NV centers by $^{15}\mathrm{N}$ ion implantation and high-temperature vacuum annealing. The origin of the NV centers is established by optically detected magnetic resonance spectroscopy for nitrogen isotope identification. Near-lifetime-limited optical linewidths $(l60 \mathrm{MHz})$ are observed for the majority of the normal-implant (${7}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$, $\ensuremath{\approx}100$ nm deep) $^{15}\mathrm{NV}$ centers. Long-term stability of the ${\mathrm{NV}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ charge state and emission frequency is demonstrated. The effect of NV-surface interaction is investigated by varying the implantation angle for a fixed ion energy, and thus lattice damage profile. In contrast to the normal-implant condition, NVs from an oblique implant (${85}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$, $\ensuremath{\approx}20$ nm deep) exhibit substantially reduced optical coherence. Our results imply that the surface is a larger source of perturbation than implantation damage for shallow implanted NVs. This work supports the viability of ion implantation for formation of optically stable NV centers. However, careful surface preparation will be necessary for scalable defect engineering.
Forecasting the price of crude oil

Crude oil is the mixture of petroleum liquids and gases that is extracted from the ground by oil wells. It is an important source of fuel and is used in the production of several products. Given the important role price of the crude oil plays, it becomes extremely important for managers to predict future oil price while making operational decisions such as: when to purchase material, how much to produce and what modes of transportation to use. The goal of this paper is to develop a forecasting model to predict the oil prices that aid management to reduce operational costs, increase profit and enhance competitive advantage. We first analyze the primary theories related to the forecast of oil price followed by the reviews of two main streams of forecast theory, which are Target Capacity Utilization Rule (TCU) and Exhaustible Resources Theory. We implement a Target Capacity Utilization Rule recursive simulation model and test it on the historical data from 1987 through 2017 to predict crude oil prices for 1991 through 2017. We tried several variations of the base model and the best method produced MAD, MSE, MAPE and MPE of 12.676, 280.92, 0.2597, 0.028, respectively. We further estimated the forecasts of the oil prices at a monthly level based on our yearly forecast of oil prices from our best method. The calculated MAD, MSE, MAPE and MPE values are 5.66, 82.1163, 0.1246 and 0.038, respectively, which shows our model is promising again at a monthly level.
Who Are Gun Owners in the United States? A Latent Class Analysis of the 2019 National Lawful Use of Guns Survey:

We used data from the 2019 National Lawful Use of Guns Survey to segment the gun-owning population into different subcultural categories. Performing a latent class analysis, we introduce six types ...
Incremental Speech Translation: A Layered Chart Approach

Human speech understanding works incrementally. We begin to process acoustic input before the speaker’s utterance has ended. A system capable of performing sophisticated communication in a natural dialogue or simultaneous interpreting, has to work incrementally, too. The architecture of such a system should be modular, uniform and integrated. We present an architectural framework that suits these three requirements by implementing layered charts, a multi-purpose data structure intended to represent several competing hypotheses about linguistic content of utterance intervals based on hyper graphs. We demonstrate the feasibility by presenting results from an actual interpreting system.