cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of watering trough chlorination on persistence of Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis.

Continued increases in Johne's disease around the world suggest more information is needed to understand the mechanisms by which the causative agent, Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis (MAP), is spread among livestock on the farm site. Livestock watering troughs are frequented by all animals on a farm; they provide a moist, nutrient-rich environment for bacterial survival, and the trough basin provides a surface for bacterial adhesion (i.e., biofilm formation). The goal of this study was to determine whether addition of chlorine to trough water could prevent or reduce biofilms containing MAP on trough materials. MAP was inoculated into trough water containing normal trough water microbial flora. The concentration of MAP in biofilms on suspended 1.5 in x 0.6 in (3.8 cm x 1.5 cm) concrete, plastic, galvanized or stainless steel trough materials was evaluated. Chlorine (2 ppm) was added to the trough water on day 7, and then weekly for 70 days. The concentration of MAP in biofilms on the trough materials was measured using quantitative, real-time PCR to target the MAP-specific 1S900 sequence in DNA extracts. Chlorination was most effective against MAP on galvanized steel and stainless steel trough materials (99% reduction (t99) in biofilmassociated MAP in 15 and 16 days, respectively). This value was two to four times higher for MAP in biofilms on plastic and concrete materials (t99 of 33 and 66 days, respectively). Differences in effectiveness of disinfection may result from higher pH (pH 8.23) in troughs with concrete materials and lower chlorine availability in troughs with plastic materials. These results suggest that the effectiveness of chlorine disinfection depends on trough material construction, pH, and chlorine availability. Optimization of disinfection protocols and elimination of biofilms on trough surfaces should reduce persistence of MAP in trough waters.
Fight Club: Doctors vs. Lawyers- - A Peace Plan Grounded in Self Interest

Doctors and lawyers have been at odds since the first medical malpractice “crisis” occurred in the mid-nineteenth century. Their modern fight plays out publicly in a variety of forums, principally the national tort reform movement. Like professional wrestlers, the fighters sometimes resort to dirty tactics. It is an unseemly, embarrassing spectacle for what traditionally have been considered the two most prestigious professions. Given the importance of the healthcare and legal systems they serve, the doctor-lawyer conflict has implications for all Americans. Previous calls for doctors and lawyers to improve their relationship have been met with scorn. This article takes a different tack in calling for improved relations: an appeal to self-interest. It argues that doctors and lawyers have shared tangible and intangible interests in reducing their conflict and improving communication. The article also sets forth several steps toward accomplishing those goals, including the need for each side to acknowledge certain core, uncomfortable truths about our medical liability system. It begins with a brief history of the doctor-lawyer fight and an explanation of why the two groups dislike each other so much. Throughout, doctors and lawyers are compared on a variety of measuring scales such as total numbers, educational debt load, income, public approval ratings, jokes concerning, job satisfaction, political leanings, substance abuse, and suicide rates.
Comparison of Three Information Sources for Smoking Information in Electronic Health Records

Objective: The primary aim was to compare independent and joint performance of retrieving smoking status through different sources, including narrative text processed by natural language processing (NLP), patient-provided information (PPI), and diagnosis codes (ie, International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision [ICD-9]). We also compared the performance of retrieving smoking strength information (ie, heavy/light smoker) from narrative text and PPI. Materials and methods: Our study leveraged an existing lung cancer cohort for smoking status, amount, and strength information, which was manually chart-reviewed. On the NLP side, smoking-related electronic medical record (EMR) data were retrieved first. A pattern-based smoking information extraction module was then implemented to extract smoking-related information. After that, heuristic rules were used to obtain smoking status-related information. Smoking information was also obtained from structured data sources based on diagnosis codes and PPI. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were measured using patients with coverage (ie, the proportion of patients whose smoking status/strength can be effectively determined). Results: NLP alone has the best overall performance for smoking status extraction (patient coverage: 0.88; sensitivity: 0.97; specificity: 0.70; accuracy: 0.88); combining PPI with NLP further improved patient coverage to 0.96. ICD-9 does not provide additional improvement to NLP and its combination with PPI. For smoking strength, combining NLP with PPI has slight improvement over NLP alone. Conclusion: These findings suggest that narrative text could serve as a more reliable and comprehensive source for obtaining smoking-related information than structured data sources. PPI, the readily available structured data, could be used as a complementary source for more comprehensive patient coverage.
Examining the role of human and technical infrastructure during emergency response

Infrastructures—both technical and human—are critical components of emergency response, helping to facilitate and shape both formal work practices and the improvisational work that individuals and organizations take part in as they address emergent challenges during unpredictable events. This research explores the relationships between infrastructure and collaborative work in this context, at a time when the infrastructures themselves are rapidly changing and/or under pressure to change due to the introduction of new technology. We interviewed 17 emergency workers from region that had recently experienced a major emergency response. These interviews illuminate weaknesses in some of the systems designed to support the information and communication needs of emergency workers, and demonstrate emergency workers assembling their own ICT infrastructures using familiar off-the-shelf tools like social media platforms and shared Google documents. These findings also highlight the importance of human infrastructure in supporting improvisation and collaboration among emergency workers.
Is Ignorance Bliss? A Note on Dynamic Pricing with Demand Learning

In this paper, we present an interesting observation that seems at odds with the common belief that Bayesian learning should do better than no learning. Specifically, in a dynamic pricing problem with limited inventory for sale, we show that the optimal revenue of a learning system can be lower than that of a no-learning system, suggesting that "ignorance is bliss." Our subsequent investigation into a two-state model reveals that the "superior" performance of the no-learning system is actually an exaggeration due to an overly optimistic demand belief resulted from its ignoring of past demand observations. We also show that this insight reverses as the demand environment becomes more cyclic. We further verify the robustness of the insight under a continuous-state model. Our findings shed light on the importance of inventory assumption in dynamic pricing problems - whether inventory is ample or limited can lead to drastically different insights about demand learning.
Next-generation sequencing in pancreatic cancer: Novel mutations and potential targets for therapy.

e15228 Background: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PA) has one of the worst prognoses of all malignancies prompting the search for oncogenic mutations that might be targets for therapy. Methods: We cond...
Keepers of the flame: NFL films and the rise of sports media

The National Football League dominates the American sports world. Televised games regularly trump all other competitors for viewers and advertisement revenue, and pro football generates media atten...
Optimizing green space locations to reduce daytime and nighttime urban heat island effects in Phoenix, Arizona

Abstract The urban heat island effect is especially significant in semi-arid climates, generating a myriad of problems for large urban areas. Green space can mitigate warming, providing cooling benefits important to reducing energy consumption and improving human health. The arrangement of green space to reap the full potential of cooling benefits is a challenge, especially considering the diurnal variations of urban heat island effects. Surprisingly, methods that support the strategic placement of green space in the context of urban heat island are lacking. Integrating geographic information systems, remote sensing, spatial statistics and spatial optimization, we developed a framework to identify the best locations and configuration of new green space with respect to cooling benefits. The developed multi-objective model is applied to evaluate the diurnal cooling trade-offs in Phoenix, Arizona. As a result of optimal green space placement, significant cooling potentials can be achieved. A reduction of land surface temperature of approximately 1–2 °C locally and 0.5 °C regionally can be achieved by the addition of new green space. 96% of potential day and night cooling benefits can be achieved through simultaneous consideration. The results also demonstrate that clustered green space enhances local cooling because of the agglomeration effect; whereas, dispersed patterns lead to greater overall regional cooling. The optimization based framework can effectively inform planning decisions with regard to green space allocation to best ameliorate excessive heat.
Preliminary study of a robotic foot-ankle prosthesis with active alignment

Robotic prosthetic foot-ankle prostheses typically aim to replace the lost joint with revolute joints aimed at replicating normal joint biomechanics. In this paper, a previously developed robotic ankle prosthesis with active alignment is evaluated. It uses a four-bar mechanism to inject positive power into the gait cycle while altering the kinematics of the ankle joint and pylon segment to reduce loading on the residual limb. In a single-subject biomechanics analysis, there was a 10% reduction in peak limb pressures and evidence of greater gait symmetry in ground reaction forces when active alignment was implemented compared to walking with the daily use prosthesis. These results provide preliminary evidence that an alternative lower limb prosthesis may be capable of improving gait characteristics over traditional revolute designs.
Undergraduate Students' Exposure, Knowledge, Utilization, and Intended Use of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Abstract. Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death among college students. Crisis hotlines play a role in linking suicidal individuals to help. Despite leading to favorable outcomes, low utilization of crisis outlines has been reported. Aims: To explore exposure, knowledge, and utilization of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) among a sample of university students; to determine if knowledge and perceived helpfulness of NSPL predict intent to use NSPL. Method: The researcher surveyed 560 students attending a Midwestern university to assess knowledge of, and attitudes toward, the NSPL. Results: Those who reported seeing the NSPL advert (50%) perceived the NSPL to be more helpful than those who had not seen the advert. Only 29% (n = 160) were able to identify who would answer the NSPL (a trained, skilled counselor). Only 1% (n = 4) reported utilization. Participants who reported past exposure to the NSPL advert reported higher levels of perceived helpfulness of the NSPL. Perceived helpful...
Form-finding algorithm for masonry arches subjected to in-plane earthquake loading

A form finding method for masonry arches is presented.Horizontal acceleration is used as a first-order approximation of seismic action.The method relies on thrust line analysis.Obtained shapes can resist the design acceleration by guaranteeing a compression-only load path.The obtained shapes require up to 65% less material than circular with constant thickness designed for the same acceleration. This paper presents the first form finding method for masonry arches subjected to self-weight and in-plane horizontal loading due to earthquakes. New material-efficient arch shapes are obtained by considering both horizontal and gravitational acceleration in the form finding process. By interpreting the obtained forms, insights into the influence of form on the earthquake resistance of the arches are presented. The form finding algorithm relies on two simplified, first-order equilibrium methods: thrust line analysis and kinematic limit state analysis, which present respectively a lower- and upper-bound approach to the analytic problem of arch stability under gravity and horizontal loading. Through a methodological application of a series of geometric manipulations of the thrust line, shapes are obtained that can resist the design acceleration by guaranteeing a compression-only load path. Forms are obtained for horizontal accelerations of 0.15, 0.3 and 0.45g, as well as for arches of different rise-to-span ratios (1/2, 1/4 and 1/8). The obtained shapes require up to 65% less material than circular arches with constant thickness that are designed to withstand the same horizontal acceleration and self-weight, regardless of acceleration magnitude. The findings of this research will thus allow more material-efficient design of masonry arches in seismic areas.
International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies Classification of Soft Tissue Vascular Anomalies: Survey-Based Assessment of Musculoskeletal Radiologists' Use in Clinical Practice

Aim There is controversy regarding the diagnosis and classification of vascular anomalies (VA). As torso and extremities are the second most common body part for presentation of VAs, musculoskeletal (MSK) radiologists play a central role in VA classification. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the awareness and clinical use of the International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies (ISSVA) classification by MSK radiologists. Materials and Methods A Web-based survey was designed and electronically sent to Society of Skeletal Radiology (SSR) members, with 3 questions on demographics and 7 questions on ISSVA classification use and knowledge. The Z-test for binomial proportions is used to assess for statistical significance between subgroups. Results The response rate was 12% (130 of 1091), comprised of 64% (83 of 130) academic and 36% (47 of 130) nonacademic MSK radiologists. VAs accounted for only a small (0%-5%) proportion of clinical practice in the majority 92% (119 of 130). Only 17% (22 of 130) of MSK radiologists used the ISSVA classification in practice. Of all respondents, 74% (94 of 127) considered hemangioma a type of vascular malformation (VM). There was no significant difference in the response characteristics between academic and nonacademic radiologists. A greater proportion of MSK radiologists with >5 years’ experience provided responses that were discordant with the ISSVA classification compared with less experienced radiologists (0-5 years) in diagnosing hemangiomas in adult patients (P = 0.02), and using the presence of phleboliths to diagnose hemangiomas (P = 0.004). Conclusion Our survey results indicate a lack of familiarity with the ISSVA classification by the MSK radiology community.
Diffusion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Industry Homogeneity and CSR Practice Variety

Moving away from firm-level CSR research, this study examines CSR adoption at the industry level. Applying institutional logic, we argue that strategic homogeneity will be positively associated wit...
Down-regulation of bcl-xl gene expression with histone deacetylase inhibitor

5378 Introduction BCL-XL, an anti-apoptotic member of the bcl-2 gene family, is highly expressed in human mesothelioma. Over-expression of BCL-XL has been correlated with mesothelioma conventional clinical treatment resistance. Our research group demonstrated that down-regulation of BCL-XL expression by siRNA will induce apoptosis and sensitize mesothelioma cells to subsequent chemotherapy. Our lab also noticed that histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) could decrease bcl-xl expression. Here, we try to understand the mechanism how HDACI leads to decreased bcl-xl expression. Materials and Methods Human mesothelioma lines I45 and REN were used in the following experiments. Western blot and real-time RT-PCR were used quantiy the gene expression. EMSA and CHIP assay were performed to measure the activities of transcriptional factors. Epigenitic gene expression was detected by affimatrix gene chip analysis. Result Bcl-xl expression could be down-regulated with HDACI at transcriptional level. Our western blot and real-time RT-PCR data demonstrated that bcl-xl expression were decreased 70% after HDACI exposure. Our nucli run-on assay revealed that bcl-xl expression was regulated at transcriptional level. Deaminated Bcl-xl was not detected after HDACI exposure by western blot. Analysis of bcl-xl promoter demonstrated that bcl-xl could be regulated by ETS family, NF-KB and STATs. Eight promoter deletion constructs were created and tested in our Meso cell line I45 with and without HDACI exposure. Luceriferase was used as a reporter. Our data demonstrated that the distal 350 bp of promoter is critical for the transcription regulation of bcl-xl and response to the HDACI. Deletion of 350bp leaded to 60% reduction of promoter activity. HDACI could decrease 70% whole bcl-xl promoter activity and only 40% of xl p750 promoter activity deletion. This 350 bp contains several ETS binding sites and two NF-KB binding sites. EMSA was used to compare the activities of these transcriptional factors on bcl-xl promoter with and without HDACI. Only NF-KB activity showed reduced by HDACI. Reduction of NF-KB activity was confirmed by CHIP assay. CHIP assay revealed 80% reductuion. Ikk mutant adenovirus could lead to 80% of bcl-xl reduction on I45 cell lines. Inhibiting JACK-STATs pathway has no impact on bcl-xl expression. Our affimatrix gene array experiments showed that only limited (2-3%) genes expressions were increased or decreased. Transcription repressor NCOR was induced by HDACI. Increased N-COR expression was confirmed by western blot and real-time RT-PCR. mSin3a expression remained unchanged. Conclusion BCL-XL expression is regulated at transcriptional level. Inhibition of NF-KB activity by HDACI leads to reduced bcl-xl transcription. Induction of transcription repressor by HDACI might contribute to bcl-xl transcriptional reduction.
Best Linear Prediction with Half-sib Progeny Test Data

Although the many desirable statistical properties of BLP can be demonstrated using matrix algebra, it is difficult to develop a sense of how BLP works without actually applying it to some data. The purpose of this chapter is to illustrate how BLP handles the kinds of messy data problems discussed in Chapter 3 through the use of a number of small examples. Using hypothetical half-sib progeny test data and the linear model defined in Chapter 2 (Eq. 2.23), we look at how BLP works on a balanced data set, and then systematically change and delete data to examine how BLP combines data and makes predictions with unbalanced and messy data. Throughout this chapter, open-pollinated families are assumed to be half-sib families and the terms halfsib and open-pollinated (OP) are used interchangeably. Much of this chapter is based on White et al. (1987).
Building Admissible Spaces

We have defined in the previous chapter a category of admissible spaces V that drive the construction of groups of diffeomorphisms as flows associated to ordinary differential equations with velocities in V. We now show how such spaces can be explicitly constructed, focusing on Hilbert spaces. This construction is fundamental, because it is intimately related to computational methods involving flows of diffeomorphisms. We will in particular introduce the notion of reproducing kernels associated to an admissible space, which will provide our main computational tool. We introduce this in the next section.
PADDLE: Performance Analysis Using a Data-Driven Learning Environment

The use of machine learning techniques to model execution time and power consumption, and, more generally, to characterize performance data is gaining traction in the HPC community. Although this signifies huge potential for automating complex inference tasks, a typical analytics pipeline requires selecting and extensively tuning multiple components ranging from feature learning to statistical inferencing to visualization. Further, the algorithmic solutions often do not generalize between problems, thereby making it cumbersome to design and validate machine learning techniques in practice. In order to address these challenges, we propose a unified machine learning framework, PADDLE, which is specifically designed for problems encountered during analysis of HPC data. The proposed framework uses an information-theoretic approach for hierarchical feature learning and can produce highly robust and interpretable models. We present user-centric workflows for using PADDLE and demonstrate its effectiveness in different scenarios: (a) identifying causes of network congestion; (b) determining the best performing linear solver for sparse matrices; and (c) comparing performance characteristics of parent and proxy application pairs.
Absolute calibration of a time-resolved high resolution x-ray spectrometer for the National Ignition Facility (invited).

A high resolution, Diagnostic Instrument Manipulator (DIM)-based x-ray Bragg crystal spectrometer has been calibrated for and deployed at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to diagnose plasma conditions in ignition capsules near stagnation times. The spectrometer has two conical crystals in the Hall geometry focusing rays from the Kr Heα, Lyα, and Heβ complexes onto a streak camera, with the physics objectives of measuring time-resolved electron density and temperature through observing Stark broadening and the relative intensities of dielectronic satellites. A third von Hamos crystal that time-integrates the Kr Heα, Heβ and intervening energy range provides in situ calibration for the streak camera signals. The spectrometer has been absolutely calibrated using a microfocus x-ray source, an array of CCD and single-photon-counting detectors, and multiple K- and L-absorption edge filters at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) x-ray laboratory. Measurements of the integrated reflectivity, energy range, and energy resolution for each crystal are discussed. These calibration data provide absolute x-ray signal levels for NIF measurements, enabling precise filter selection and comparisons to simulations.
Guideline: Experts recommend against prostate cancer screening with prostate-specific antigen test

Source Citation Tikkinen KAO, Dahm P, Lytvyn L, et al. Prostate cancer screening with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test: a clinical practice guideline. BMJ. 2018;362:k3581. 30185545
Diagnosing Abnormal Uterine Bleeding: The Standard of Care Has Changed

Abnormal uterine bleeding is a common presenting medical problem encountered in women in the gynecologic as well as the primary care setting. It has an overwhelming impact on these women’s quality of life and the utilization of the healthcare services. The annual prevalence rate of abnormal uterine bleeding in women ages 18–50 years was estimated as 53 per 1000 women. The availability of newer diagnostic tools has made it possible to promptly diagnose and treat an increasing number of such abnormal uterine bleeding in an office setting. Once a proper diagnosis has been established, appropriate therapy may be embarked upon. This chapter reviews the changes in the standard of care of patients presenting with abnormal uterine bleeding, in terms of the descriptive terms and diagnosis approach. In 2012, all those changes have been endorsed and enforced by the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology, but unfortunately not all clinicians seem to be aware of that.
Corneal Crosslinking for Keratoconus and Corneal Ectasia

Corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) is a treatment designed to decrease the progression of keratoconus, in particular, and other corneal thinning processes such as post-LASIK and PRK ectasia. CXL may have beneficial vision and optical effects as well. In the CXL procedure, riboflavin (Vitamin B2) is administered in conjunction with ultraviolet A (UVA – 370 nm) producing a photochemical reaction in the corneal stroma with consequent mechanical stiffening of the cornea. Studies suggest that crosslinking is effective in decreasing progression of keratoconus and corneal ectasias. Maximum keratometry generally flattens by 1D to 3D 1 year after CXL. Similarly, corneal topography indices, higher-order aberrations, and subjective visual function generally improve after CXL. In addition, best-corrected visual acuity improves by about 1 Snellen line, on average. After crosslinking, clinical outcomes appear to worsen at 1 month and improve between 3 and 12 months. During the wound healing course, there is a typical crosslinking-associated corneal haze, which peaks at 1 month, and improves between 3 and 12 months, postoperatively. From the viewpoint of clinical decision-making, it is reasonable to consider all eyes with progressive keratoconus or corneal ectasia for crosslinking; however, eyes with good visual acuity (better than 20/40) may be somewhat more susceptible to a loss of 1 Snellen line of acuity after CXL. New clinical studies are underway to investigate transepithelial, accelerated, and customized crosslinking procedures as well as crosslinking as an adjunctive treatment with other procedures such as intracorneal ring segments and PRK.
Natural Language Generation Model for Mammography Reports Simulation

Extending the size of labeled corpora of medical reports is a major step towards a successful training of machine learning algorithms. Simulating new text reports is a key solution for reports augmentation, which extends the cohort size. However, text generation in the medical domain is challenging because it needs to preserve both content and style that are typical for real reports, without risking the patients’ privacy. In this paper, we present a conditioned LSTM-RNN architecture for simulating realistic mammography reports. We evaluated the performance by analyzing the characteristics of the simulated reports and classifying them into benign and malignant classes. An average classification AUC was calculated over two distinct test sets. A qualitative analysis was also performed in which a masked radiologist classified 0.75 of the simulated reports as real reports, showing that both the style and content of the simulated reports were similar to real reports. Finally, we compared our RNN-LSTM generative model with Markov Random Fields. The RNN-LSTM provided significantly better and more stable performance than MRFs ( $p , Wilcoxon).
How Internet Contracts Impact Research: Content Analysis of Terms of Service on Consumer Product Websites.

Background: Companies use brand websites as a promotional tool to engage consumers on the web, which can increase product use. Given that some products are harmful to the health of consumers, it is important for marketing associated with these products to be subject to public health surveillance. However, terms of service (TOS) governing the use of brand website content may impede such important research. Objective: The aim of this study is to explore the TOS for brand websites with public health significance to assess possible legal and ethical challenges for conducting research on consumer product websites. Methods: Using Statista, we purposefully constructed a sample of 15 leading American tobacco, alcohol, psychiatric pharmaceutical, fast-food, and gun brands that have associated websites. We developed and implemented a structured coding system for the TOS on these websites and coded for the presence versus absence of different types of restriction that might impact the ability to conduct research. Results: All TOS stated that by accessing the website, users agreed to abide by the TOS (15/15, 100%). A total of 11 out of 15 (73%) websites had age restrictions in their TOS. All alcohol brand websites (5/15, 33%) required users to enter their age or date of birth before viewing website content. Both websites for tobacco brands (2/15, 13%) further required that users register and verify their age and identity to access any website content and agree that they use tobacco products. Only one website (1/15, 7%) allowed users to display, download, copy, distribute, and translate the website content as long as it was for personal and not commercial use. A total of 33% (5/15) of TOS unconditionally prohibited or put substantial restrictions on all of these activities and/or failed to specify if they were allowed or prohibited. Moreover, 87% (13/15) of TOS indicated that website access could be restricted at any time. A total of 73% (11/15) of websites specified that violating TOS could result in deleting user content from the website, revoking access by having the user’s Internet Protocol address blocked, terminating log-in credentials, or enforcing legal action resulting in civil or criminal penalties. Conclusions: TOS create complications for public health surveillance related to e-marketing on brand websites. Recent court opinions have reduced the risk of federal criminal charges for violating TOS on public websites, but this risk remains unclear for private websites. The public health community needs to establish standards to guide and protect researchers from the possibility of legal repercussions related to such efforts.
The effects of dust on the spectral energy distribution of star-forming galaxies

Abstract I review the effects of dust, both in absorption and in emission, on the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of local star-forming galaxies. The energy balance between the stellar light absorbed by dust at UV–optical-near-IR wavelengths and the energy re-emitted by dust in the far-infrared (FIR) shows that the amount of dust extinction affecting the galaxy can be predicted with simple prescriptions applied to the UV–optical data. The implications of these results for high redshift galaxies are discussed. Arguments can be given to support the view that local starbursts are representative of high-redshift (z>2), UV-detected, star-forming galaxies. If this is the case, the high redshift FIR emission will be generally undetected in sub-mm surveys, unless: (1) the bolometric luminosity of the high-z galaxies is comparable to or larger than that of local ultra-luminous FIR galaxies; and (2) their FIR SED contains a cool dust component.
Courts As Instruments of Change in American Family Law: Realities, Benefits, Risks, and Limits

The President of the United States of America delivered a major policy speech in Krasinski Square in Warsaw, Poland, on July 6, 2017. President Trump spoke about our need to defend and protect the values and institutions that undergird Western Civilization, including the family. In his speech, he declared: "We put faith and family, not government and bureaucracy, at the center of our lives." He asked: "The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive. Do we have the confidence in our values to defend them at any cost? ... Do we have the desire and the courage to preserve our civilization in the face of those who would subvert and destroy it?" He warned: "If we do not have strong families and strong values, then we will be weak and we will not survive." The President's observations about the importance of strong families to the survival of Western Civilization provide an excellent introduction to this article. As family law scholars, we are committed to providing effective legal protections and opportunities for the family. We seek to develop and to support government policies that safeguard and nurture the institution of the family, and that protect and advance all members of the family. So we spend a lot of time studying, evaluating, and suggesting reforms to existing and proposed substantive family policies. However, it is important also to remember that families and their members are profoundly impacted by structural mechanisms and procedural operations, as well as by substantive policies. Governmental systems and processes influence the way that substantive legal policies are applied and received. This article examines the impact that courts-the judicial branch of government- have upon families and family law in the United States of America. In most democratic legal systems, substantive regulations and legal policies are created primarily by the politically accountable branches-the legislature (most often) and the executive branch. In those legal systems, the courts have the limited role of interpreting and applying the laws, but the judicial branch usually does not have the authority to create broad, general, substantive legal rules and regulations. Thus, normally, in democratic legal systems, general substantive rules and legal policies are created by the politically accountable branches. However, in some democratic or republican nations, the allocation of law-making authority has evolved over time and, today, many of the rules and doctrines regulating some areas of human relations and behaviors are judicially created. In the United States, courts have played a prominent role in creating legal policies for many years, especially in creating family law policies. The active role of the judicial branch in creating family law in the United States both manifests and has brought about important (and potentially troubling) attributes of American family law. Several of these developments are reviewed herein.
Transient refrigerant and oil distribution in a residential heat pump water heater system: Experiments and model

Abstract This paper presents an experimental and numerical investigation of the transient refrigerant and oil distribution in a residential heat pump water heater (HPWH) system. In the experiments, R134a is paired with POE 22 oil. The quick closing valve technique (QCVT) is used to trap the refrigerant and oil in each section of the system. The trapped refrigerant mass is measured after recovered by liquid nitrogen. The retained oil mass in each section, except for the compressor, is determined by the mix and sample technique (MST). Five experiments are conducted to cover a full warm-up of five hours. The experimental data shows that most of the refrigerant is in the heat exchangers. During the water warm-up, the inventory of the refrigerant generally decreases in the evaporator, while in the condenser, it decreases in the first three hours and later increases. The measurements also indicate that most of the oil stays in the compressor and the escaped oil is mainly retained in the heat exchangers. Besides, a model is developed to predict the refrigerant and oil retention in the heat exchangers by applying the mixture vapor quality to calculate the void fraction. The developed model predicts the refrigerant inventory in the condenser with an average deviation of 7.4%, and in the evaporator, 9.1%. The average deviations in the predictions of the oil retention in the two heat exchangers are 15.8% and 10.2%.
Regional anesthesia does not decrease opioid demand in pelvis and acetabulum fracture surgery

Patients with pelvic and acetabular fractures often have considerable pain in the perioperative period. Regional anesthesia (RA) including peripheral nerve blocks and spinal analgesia may reduce pain. However, the real-world impact of these modalities on inpatient opioid consumption and outpatient opioid demand is largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of perioperative RA on inpatient opioid consumption and outpatient opioid demand. This is a retrospective, observational review of inpatient opioid consumption and outpatient opioid demand in all patients ages 18 and older undergoing operative fixation of pelvic and acetabular fractures at a single Level, I trauma center from 7/1/2013–7/1/2018 (n = 205). Unadjusted and adjusted analyses were constructed to evaluate the impact of RA on inpatient opioid consumption and outpatient opioid demand while controlling for age, sex, race, body mass index (BMI), smoking, chronic opioid use, ASA score, injury mechanism, additional injuries, open injury, and additional inpatient surgery. Adjusted models demonstrated increases in inpatient opioid consumption in patients with RA (12.6 estimated OE’s without RA vs 16.1 OE’s with RA from 48 to 72 h post-op, p 0.05). Estimated cumulative outpatient opioid demand was significantly higher in patients with RA at discharge to 90 days post-op (and 156.8 vs 207.9 OE’s to 90 days, p 0.05). In pelvis and acetabulum fracture surgery, RA was associated with increased inpatient and outpatient opioid demand after adjusting for baseline patient and treatment characteristics. Regional anesthesia may not be beneficial for these patients.
Revisiting minimum description length complexity in overparameterized models.

Complexity is a fundamental concept underlying statistical learning theory that aims to inform generalization performance. Parameter count, while successful in low-dimensional settings, is not well-justified for overparameterized settings when the number of parameters is more than the number of training samples. We revisit complexity measures based on Rissanen's principle of minimum description length (MDL) and define a novel MDL-based complexity (MDL-COMP) that remains valid for overparameterized models. MDL-COMP is defined via an optimality criterion over the encodings induced by a good Ridge estimator class. We provide an extensive theoretical characterization of MDL-COMP for linear models and kernel methods and show that it is not just a function of parameter count, but rather a function of the singular values of the design or the kernel matrix and the signal-to-noise ratio. For a linear model with $n$ observations, $d$ parameters, and i.i.d. Gaussian predictors, MDL-COMP scales linearly with $d$ when $d n$. For kernel methods, we show that MDL-COMP informs minimax in-sample error, and can decrease as the dimensionality of the input increases. We also prove that MDL-COMP upper bounds the in-sample mean squared error (MSE). Via an array of simulations and real-data experiments, we show that a data-driven Prac-MDL-COMP informs hyper-parameter tuning for optimizing test MSE with ridge regression in limited data settings, sometimes improving upon cross-validation and (always) saving computational costs. Finally, our findings also suggest that the recently observed double decent phenomenons in overparameterized models might be a consequence of the choice of non-ideal estimators.
The Kantian Sublime and the Revelation of Freedom

In this book Robert R. Clewis shows how certain crucial concepts in Kant's aesthetics and practical philosophy - the sublime, enthusiasm, freedom, empirical and intellectual interests, the idea of a republic - fit together and deepen our understanding of Kant's philosophy. He examines the ways in which different kinds of sublimity reveal freedom and indirectly contribute to morality, and discusses how Kant's account of natural sublimity suggests that we have an indirect duty with regard to nature. Unlike many other studies of these themes, this book examines both the pre-critical Observations and the remarks that Kant wrote in his copy of the Observations. Finally, Clewis takes seriously Kant's claim that enthusiasm is aesthetically sublime, and shows how this clarifies Kant's views of the French Revolution. His book will appeal to all who are interested in Kant's philosophy.
„Spitzenmannschaft für Spitzenprodukte – Die Ausbildung der Mitarbeiter als entscheidender Faktor für soziale Nachhaltigkeit und erfolgreiche Produkte in China“

Dieser Beitrag stellt die Mitarbeiterauswahl und -entwicklung in China in den Mittelpunkt der Diskussion, speziell die der Facharbeiter, um die Verbindungen zu den Themen soziale Nachhaltigkeit und erfolgreiches Produktmanagement aus einer sehr praktischen Perspektive nachzuzeichnen und die Besonderheiten eines Emerging Markets aufzuzeigen. Im Wesentlichen steht das Erfahrungswissen im Vordergrund, das angereichert mit konkreten Beispielen aus der Volkswagen Group China eine Einfuehrung in die Besonderheiten der Personalentwicklung und Ausbildung in China ermoeglichen soll.
Endodontic Access Considerations Based on Root Canal Morphology

The odontoblast cells within dental pulp create the roots of teeth through a process of dentinogenesis during tooth development. Dental pulp initially occupies the root canal space within each root of a tooth. The root canal space containing dental pulp reduces in volume throughout life, because of dentinogenesis, which is the continual calcification and mineralization process of odontoblasts. As a patient gets older their root canals become more calcified and narrower, in old age the root canals of teeth can be completely calcified with no apparent dental pulp remaining. These continuing mineralization processes within the root canals of teeth give rise to alterations in root canal morphology which can present challenges for the ideal position of the endodontic access. The goal of the access is to locate and provide the direct access of files and instruments into the root canals of the tooth. The position and design of the access is determined by the size of the pulp chamber, the age of the tooth, previous restorative efforts, the long axis of the tooth, and root curvature. The location and design of the access cavity is dictated by the pulp chamber morphology of the tooth being treated. Achieving adequate access to the root canal is the key to accomplishing endodontic success. In order to remove the dental pulp the location of the coronal pulp chamber and the pulp within the roots must be visualized. To help visualize the location of the dental pulp, there are laws to be used to help position the access and find the orifices to root canals:Root canal centrality, Root canal concentricity, Dentin color change, Symmetry 1 and 2, and Orifice location 1 and 2. If the access is not adequate for endodontic treatment, it could compromise the cleaning, shaping and obturation of the root canals which could increase the risk of treatment failure.
Receptor Transduction Mechanisms

Neurotransmitter and peptide signalling requires receptor-mediated responses to affect the target cell. General principles of ionotropic and metabotropic receptor-mediated signalling include membrane potential alterations, calcium signalling, and kinase activity. Keywords: signal transduction; signal cascade; second messenger; ionotropic receptor; metabotropic receptor
A new frontier in engineering education: importing courses

Telecommunication innovations provides major new opportunities to improve the quality ofthe education we ofleer our students. On line courses can be accessed by students anywhere of anytime. Many schools are exporting courses via videotape. CD's or on-line. however very few f ony have taken advantage of the new commirnicotion leclinologies lo import courses that enhance the quality and diversity of the material they @er their students. Budget limitations and a shortage of qualified faculty ojen limit the courses that are offered. Some of these limitorions could be solved by imporling courses from experts in other parts of the country or the world. However, administrativeproblems and faculty sociology make !his difficult.
Effectiveness and Preference for Selected Interpretive Media

(1970). Effectiveness and Preference for Selected Interpretive Media. Environmental Education: Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 125-128.
Terrain portrayal for read-down displays flight test

The Synthetic Vision Systems General Aviation (SVS-GA) element of NASA's Aviation Safety Program is developing technology to eliminate low visibility induced General Aviation (GA) accidents through the application of synthetic vision techniques. SVS displays present computer generated 3-dimensional imagery of the surrounding terrain to greatly enhance pilot's situation awareness (SA), reducing or eliminating Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT), as well as Low-Visibility Loss of Control (LVLOC) accidents. In addition to substantial safety benefits, SVS displays have many potential operational benefits that can lead to flight in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) resembling those conducted in visual meteorological conditions (VMC). Potential benefits could include lower landing minimums, more approach options, reduced training time, etc. SVS conducted research will develop display concepts providing the pilot with an unobstructed view of the outside terrain, regardless of weather conditions and time of day. A critical component of SVS displays is the appropriate presentation of terrain to the pilot. The relationship between the realism of the terrain presentation and resulting enhancements of pilot SA and pilot performance has been largely undefined. Comprised of coordinated simulation and flight test efforts, the terrain portrayal for head-down displays (TP-HDD) test series examined the effects of two primary elements of terrain portrayal: variations of digital elevation model (DEM) resolution and terrain texturing. Variations in DEM resolution ranged from sparsely spaced (30 arc-sec/2,953ft) to very closely spaced data (1 arc-sec/98 ft). Variations in texture involved three primary methods: constant color, elevation-based generic, and photo-realistic, along with a secondary depth cue enhancer in the form of a fishnet grid overlay. The TP-HDD test series was designed to provide comprehensive data to enable design trades to optimize all SVS applications, as well as develop requirements and recommendations to facilitate the implementation and certification of SVS displays. The TP-HDD flight experiment utilized the NASA LaRC Cessna 206 Stationaire and evaluated eight terrain portrayal concepts in an effort to confirm and extend results from the previously conducted TP-HDD simulation experiment. A total of 15 evaluation pilots, of various qualifications, accumulated over 75 hours of dedicated research flight time at Newport News (PHF) and Roanoke (ROA), VA, airports from August through October, 2002. This report will present results from the portion of testing conducted at Roanoke, VA.
Uniquely Represented Data Structures for Computational Geometry

We present new techniques for the construction of uniquely represented data structures in a RAM, and use them to construct efficient uniquely represented data structures for orthogonal range queries, line intersection tests, point location, and 2-D dynamic convex hull. Uniquely represented data structures represent each logical state with a unique machine state. Such data structures are strongly history-independent. This eliminates the possibility of privacy violations caused by the leakage of information about the historical use of the data structure. Uniquely represented data structures may also simplify the debugging of complex parallel computations, by ensuring that two runs of a program that reach the same logical state reach the same physical state, even if various parallel processes executed in different orders during the two runs.