cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
380 Building epidemiological capacity for Drug Overdose surveillance in the U.S. health departments

Background In response to the growing prescription drug overdose (DO) epidemic in the U.S., an Injury Surveillance Workgroup on Poisoning (ISWP) released Consensus Recommendations for National and State Poisoning Surveillance in April 2012. The ISWP proposed standardised tools to conduct and improve DO surveillance. Methods The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) formed an Overdose Subcommittee (OS) to raise CSTE membership awareness of DO deaths and to test the proposed DO indicators before they were widely adopted as surveil­lance tools. Results The CSTE OS aims and results have been discussed during monthly calls opened to all CSTE members. Several major projects were completed with voluntary participation from CSTE OS members. Analysis of death certificate (DC) data in 11 jurisdictions revealed variations in completeness and specificity of the drug-related information (e.g., DO death rates not contributed to any drug varied from 0/100,000 in New York City to 7.4/100,000 in Kentucky). A study using toxicology and DC data found that drug-specific sensitivity on DCs in three jurisdictions varied widely (23%–92% benzodiazepines, 61%–92% heroin, 91%–100% opioid analgesics). New epidemiological tools for DC data analysis were developed. Several jurisdictions worked successfully with medical examiners/coroners to improve completeness and specificity of drugs listed on DCs. The CSTE findings were presented at national conferences, published in papers, and informed the development of national guidelines for state special emphasis reports on DO death data. Conclusions The CSTE OS work is an ongoing learning process that already improved the DO mortality surveillance methodology and standardisation, increased the epidemiological capacity for DO reporting and data quality improvement at state and local levels, and strengthened the collaborations among epidemiologists from different jurisdictions.
Effects of salinity and flooding on post-hurricane regeneration potential in coastal wetland vegetation

Premise of the study The nature of regeneration dynamics after hurricane flooding and salinity intrusion may play an important role in shaping coastal vegetation patterns. Methods The regeneration potentials of coastal species, types and gradients (wetland types from seaward to landward) were studied on the Delmarva Peninsula after Hurricane Sandy using seed bank assays to examine responses to various water regimes (unflooded and flooded to 8 cm) and salinity levels (0, 1, and 5 ppt). Seed bank responses to treatments were compared using a generalized linear models approach. Species relationships to treatment and geographical variables were explored using nonmetric multidimensional scaling. Key results Flooding and salinity treatments affected species richness even at low salinity levels (1 and 5 ppt). Maritime forest was especially intolerant of salinity intrusion so that species richness was much higher in unflooded and low salinity conditions, despite the proximity of maritime forest to saltmarsh along the coastal gradient. Other vegetation types were also affected, with potential regeneration of these species affected in various ways by flooding and salinity, suggesting relationships to post-hurricane environment and geographic position. Conclusions Seed germination and subsequent seedling growth in coastal wetlands may in some cases be affected by salinity intrusion events even at low salinity levels (1 and 5 ppt). These results indicate that the potential is great for hurricanes to shift vegetation type in sensitive wetland types (e.g., maritime forest) if post-hurricane environments do not support the regeneration of extent vegetation.
Stress-induced current in thin silicon dioxide films

Low-field current following Fowler-Nordheim stress of thin gate oxides is studied. The conduction mechanism is attributed to trap-assisted tunneling of electrons. For oxides thicker than 100 AA, this stress-induced current is observed to decay as traps are filled without significant tunneling out of traps. In thinner oxides, steady-state current flows when there is an equilibrium between trap filling and emptying processes. This model is observed to be consistent with stress-induced current behavior in a wide range of oxide thicknesses (60 AA to 130 AA) and process technologies. >
A new anatomical view on the vector cardiogram: The mean temporal-spatial isochrones.

Abstract Aim This proof of principle study aims to show the direct relationship between cardiac anatomy and the mean cardiac activation path as captured by the 12 lead ECG derived mean temporal-spatial isochrones (mean TSI) path. Methods To obtain the mean TSI signal a vector cardiographic (VCG) signal is constructed from the 12 lead ECG. The construction of the VCG signal uses a model of the heart and torso with patient specific electrode extracted from a 3D photo. The propagation of the activation through the heart is captured by estimating the mean of a cardiac activation isochrone using this VCG signal. The mean TSI signal is related to the heart model in a standard view using 3 orthogonal heart views, instead of the standard body related orthogonal planes. Results The mean TSI was computed for 4 patients with the ECG containing ectopic activations like Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) or pacemaps, and normal His-Purkinje activations. For each patient, a specific model with known electrode positions was available. For each activation, the mean TSI was shown in relation to the cardiac anatomy. The region of origin of the PVC or pacemap could easily be localized from these views. Also the initial trans-septal activation for normal His-Purkinje activations could easily be detected and related to the septum. Conclusion This proof of principle study showed that the mean path of cardiac activation can be derived from the ECG and related to standard orthogonal heart views: LAO, RAO, and 4 chambers. This new methodology might help to improve the diagnostic value of the ECG, as the interpretation of the mean TSI is easier to be related to the cardiac anatomy, also for less experienced physicians.
Improving SET Response Rates: Synchronous Online Administration as a Tool to Improve Evaluation Quality

Institutions of higher education continue to migrate student evaluations of teaching (SET) from traditional, in-class paper forms to online SETs. Online SETs would favorably compare to paper-and-pencil evaluations were it not for widely reported response rate decreases that cause SET validity concerns stemming from possible nonresponse bias. To combat low response rates, one institution introduced a SET application for mobile devices and piloted formal synchronous classroom time for SET completion. This paper uses the Leverage Salience Theory to estimate the impact of these SET process changes on overall response rates, open-ended question response rates, and open end response word counts. Synchronous class time best improves SET responses when faculty encourage completion on keyboarded devices and provide students SET completion time in the first 15 min of a class meeting. Full support from administrators requires sufficient wireless signal strength, IT infrastructure, and assuring student access to devices for responses clustering around meeting times.
Vapor-deposited organic glasses exhibit enhanced stability against photodegradation

Photochemically stable solids are in demand for applications in organic electronics. Previous work has established the importance of the molecular packing environment by demonstrating that different crystal polymorphs of the same compound react at different rates when illuminated. Here we show, for the first time, that different amorphous packing arrangements of the same compound photodegrade at different rates. For these experiments, we utilize the ability of physical vapor deposition to prepare glasses with an unprecedented range of densities and kinetic stabilities. Indomethacin, a pharmaceutical molecule that can undergo photodecarboxylation when irradiated by UV light, is studied as a model system. Photodegradation is assessed through light-induced changes in the mass of glassy thin films due to the loss of CO2, as measured by a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). Glasses prepared by physical vapor deposition degraded more slowly under UV illumination than did the liquid-cooled glass, with the difference as large as a factor of 2. Resistance to photodegradation correlated with glass density, with the vapor-deposited glasses being up to 1.3% more dense than the liquid-cooled glass. High density glasses apparently limit the local structural changes required for photodegradation.
Transfer and Redistribution of Salmonella Typhimurium LT2 and Escherichia coli O157:H7 during Pilot-Scale Processing of Baby Spinach, Cilantro, and Romaine Lettuce.

ABSTRACT Several outbreaks of foodborne illness traced to leafy greens and culinary herbs have been hypothesized to involve cross-contamination during washing and processing. This study aimed to assess the redistribution of Salmonella Typhimurium LT2 during pilot-scale production of baby spinach and cilantro and redistribution of Escherichia coli O157:H7 during pilot-scale production of romaine lettuce. Four inoculated surrogate:uninoculated product weight ratios (10:100, 5:100, 1:100, and 0.5:100) and three inoculation levels (103, 101, and 10−1 CFU/g) were used for the three commodities. For each of three trials per condition, 5-kg batches containing uninoculated product and spot-inoculated surrogate products at each ratio and inoculation level were washed for 90 s in a 3.6-m-long flume tank through which 890 L of sanitizer-free, filtered tap water was circulated. After washing and removing the inoculated surrogate products, washed product (∼23, 225-g samples per trial) was analyzed for presence or abse...
Photocatalytic H2 production by dirhodium(II,II) photosensitizers with red light

Photocatalytic proton reduction to generate H2 was achieved with the photosensitizers Rh2(DTolF)2(npCOO)2 (DTolF = p-ditolylformamidinate; npCOO− = 2-carboxylate-1,8-naphthyridine; 1) and [Rh2(DTolF)2(qnnp)2][BF4]2 (qnnp = 2-(quinolin-2-yl)-1,8-naphthyridine; 2) using a relay system containing the sacrificial donor BNAH (1-benzyl-1,4-dihydronicotinamide), electron acceptor MV2+ (methylviologen), and Pt nanoparticles as the catalyst with 655 nm irradiation. Comparison of the H2 evolution under similar experimental conditions show comparable activity of the Rh2(II,II) complexes (λirr = 655 nm) to that of the prototypical [Ru(bpy)3]2+ (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine; 3) with λirr = 447 nm. This work demonstrates the ability of the new panchromatic Rh2(II,II) complexes to achieve photocatalysis with red light.
CALCULATION OF NORMAL MODES OF OCEANS USING A LANCZOS METHOD

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a calculation of normal modes of oceans using a Lanczos method. There are several numerical methods available for the solution of large, sparse, symmetric Eigen problems. Among these are the power method, relaxation, and the method of Lanczos. The first two of these determine only extreme eigenvalues. The reported use of the Lanczos method has been limited to extreme values although its usefulness may include certain cases where interior values are desired. The chapter describes a model of 675 six-degree squares covering the North and South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. It also highlights the operator derived from Laplace's tidal equations along with its discretization corresponding to the finite grid. The chapter reviews Lanczos method for determining eigenvalues. It explains the difficulties associated with interior eigenvalues.
From Saartjie to Queen Bey: Black Female Artists and the Global Cultural Industry

This work historicizes the uses and abuses of the black female body and talent through the global Eurocentric cultural industry. It focuses on the figure of Saartjie Baartmaan, the Hottentot Venus as the icon of the deeply embedded other. The article provides strong evidences that Saartjie Baartman serves as a conduit for a new generation of black female artists led by Beyonce Knowles slaying these racist and ideological formation and the cultural industry legacy of racialized power and privileges. Concomitantly, the creation of new categories of female blackness that explode conventional stereotypes, cliches and foreclosed categories for Black female artists to open up new avenues for power, autonomy, authorial voice and prestige that complicate the power game within the global cultural industry.
Mind the trap: large-scale field experiment shows that trappability is not a proxy for personality

Behavioural tendencies vary consistently among individuals and this variation is known as personality. Previous studies have found that personality traits measured through standardized behavioural tests predict trappability (i.e. ‘trap happy’ versus ‘trap shy’). However, the nature of this relationship is unclear since it has been explored only within single species and never across environments. This is problematic because trappability is a labile characteristic that can vary between seasons, environments and years. It is essential to understand this link because there is great potential for the use of trappability as a proxy for personality. For example, if trappability reflects personality, this would allow researchers to extract personality data from long-term capture–mark–recapture data sets. To clarify this relationship, we designed a large-scale field experiment to measure personality and trappability in five small mammal species and across four distinct forest types. With an open field test, we quantified behaviour in 189 deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus, 170 southern red-backed voles, Myodes gapperi, 42 American red squirrels, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, 58 woodland jumping mice, Napaeozapus insignis, and 87 northern short-tailed shrews, Blarina brevicauda. We identified personality in all five of our target species, and through mixed-effects modelling we found that personality traits did not predict different aspects of trappability. Furthermore, trappability was not a repeatable measure (i.e. animals that were trap happy in one session were not necessarily trap happy throughout the trapping season). Our results suggest that trappability cannot be used as a proxy for personality.
Posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use: Identifying the underlying role of difficulties regulating positive emotions.

Abstract The co-occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use is clinically-relevant. Emotion dysregulation is one factor that has been shown to underlie this association. However, literature in this area has been limited in its exclusive focus on emotion dysregulation stemming from negative emotions. The goal of the current study was to extend prior research by exploring the role of difficulties regulating positive emotions in the associations between PTSD symptom severity and both alcohol use and problems from drug use. Participants were 463 trauma-exposed individuals recruited from Amazon's MTurk (M age = 35.66 years; 55.7% female; 76.6% White). PTSD symptom severity, difficulties regulating positive emotions, alcohol use, and problems from drug use demonstrated significant positive zero-order correlations. Further, difficulties regulating positive emotions were found to account for the associations between PTSD symptom severity and both alcohol use and problems from drug use. Our results suggest the potential utility of addressing difficulties regulating positive emotions in interventions aimed at reducing substance use and abuse among individuals with PTSD.
Assessing the volume of large cerebral arteriovenous malformations: Can the ABC/2 formula reliably predict true volume?

Abstract Background Outcomes of stereotactic radiosurgery in the treatment of cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are volume-dependent. The ability to estimate AVM volume has significant value in guiding AVM management. Objective To determine whether AVM volume measurement calculated from the ABC/2 formula is accurate compared to volume calculated by a computer-assisted planimetric method for large AVMs. Methods Retrospective review of 42 intracranial AVMs >3 cm in diameter that underwent treatment with dose-staged hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (HSRT) from 2001 to 2018. Two raters independently measured pre- and post-HSRT volumes using both the ABC/2 formula and computer-assisted planimetry in a blinded fashion. Inter-rater reliability was assessed by calculation of intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Absolute volumes and percent volume change following HSRT as determined using the two methods were compared using paired t-tests, linear regression, and Bland-Altman plot analyses. Results The ICC between the 2 raters for planimetric and ABC/2 volumes was 0.859 and 0.799, respectively. ABC/2 volumes, 26.1 ± 26.6 cm3, were statistically smaller than planimetric volumes, 28.6 ± 27.1 cm3 (P = .008). Despite differences, the two methods were highly correlated (R2 = 0.904, linear regression). The percent volume change following HSRT was significantly greater with the ABC/2 method than compared to planimetry (P = .009). Conclusion The ABC/2 and planimetric methods are reproducible for measuring cerebral AVM volumes. Although the ABC/2 method of volume estimation underestimates planimetric AVM volume, the high correlation between the two suggests utility of the ABC/2 method if one understands its limits, particularly with respect to estimating change in AVM volume after treatment.
When Hiring New Trauma and Surgical Critical Care Fellowship Graduates, What Qualities Are Most Desirable? A Survey of Trauma Directors and Trauma Program Administrators.

A general surgeon shortage exists and fewer surgical residents specialize in trauma and surgical critical care (TSCC). We conducted a survey of trauma directors and administrators to determine what qualities are most desirable when hiring new TSCC fellowship graduates. METHODS The survey, entitled "A Survey of Directors of Trauma on Hiring New Attending Trauma Surgeons," was submitted to the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST) and distributed to the association members in January 2016. Categorical data were summarized using frequency counts and percentages. Comparisons of responses were analyzed using the chi-squared or Fisher's exact test. Statistical significance was denoted by P < 0.05. RESULTS A total of 317 respondents from 1364 submitted surveys presented a response rate of 23.2 per cent. Of these respondents, 85.8 per cent (n = 272) decide whether or not a new trauma surgeon is hired and 33.7 per cent were trauma directors. In all, 82.9 per cent work at academic centers and have an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-approved general surgery residency and 58.4 per cent have an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-approved surgical critical care or acute care surgery fellowship. In total, 72.6 per cent work in American College of Surgeons-verified trauma centers and 45.0 per cent hire new trauma surgeons as needed. Of the 272 respondents who decide whether or not a new trauma surgeon is hired, the recommendation of the residency and fellowship program director is important. Word of mouth was the most important manner of finding a new hire and the most important qualities of a new TSCC physician were personality and likeability. CONCLUSION The survey revealed that well-trained, likeable, enthusiastic, and personable TSCC physicians are the best candidates for hire.
Mitigating RNA Toxicity in Myotonic Dystrophy using Small Molecules

This review, one in a series on myotonic dystrophy (DM), is focused on the development and potential use of small molecules as therapeutics for DM. The complex mechanisms and pathogenesis of DM are covered in the associated reviews. Here, we examine the various small molecule approaches taken to target the DNA, RNA, and proteins that contribute to disease onset and progression in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) and 2 (DM2).
Febrile Seizure Plus and PCDH19-Related Epilepsy Syndromes

Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain characterized by an enduring predisposition to generate epileptic seizures. Practically, a patient has epilepsy if having two unprovoked seizures more than 24 hours apart, one unprovoked seizure and significant risk of another seizure, or epilepsy syndrome. Seizures induced by fever do not therefore fit this classification. An initial febrile seizure may therefore cause a false sense of security in children who evolve to febrile seizure plus syndromes. Sodium channel defects seem to predominate as the main causative factor for febrile seizure plus syndromes. More severe pathological variants, such as Dravet's syndrome, have phenotypic similarities to other fever-associated epileptic encephalopathies, including those caused by mutations in protocadherin 19 (PCDH19). The clinical presentations, investigational studies, and management of febrile seizure plus syndrome, as well as epilepsies associated with PCDH19 mutations will be reviewed.
Pooling Tweets by Fine-Grained Emotions to Uncover Topic Trends in Social Media

In this paper, we present a lexicon-based sentiment analysis method that is used as an annotation scheme for identifying fine-grained emotions in social media topics. This methodology is based on Plutchik's wheel of emotion and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). We firstly annotate a tweet based on eight basic emotions and secondly we compute further eight dyads as a product of the basic emotions. We demonstrate that this lexicon-based approach achieves up to 78.53% ground truth accuracy when compared to human annotated data that is split into positive and negative polarities. Moreover, we investigate a novel means to identify trending topics in twitter data by utilizing LDA and focusing on fine-grained emotions associated with each tweet. We compare the most dominant emotions in social media as topics from an emotion-document pooling strategy and compare the results to an author-topic modeling strategy.
Responding to Crossover Youth: A Look Beyond Recidivism Outcomes:

Crossover youth are involved in both child welfare and juvenile justice systems. The Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM) promotes collaboration between these systems to inform decision making bet...
A Highly Trusted Demand Response System Based on Block-Chain

The comparison between the traditional demand response form and the new form is mainly shown in two aspects: the number of users will change from a small amount of participation to a large number of users' participation, the signing form will also change from the invitation system to the form of automatic contract, and the control mode will gradually change from the centralization to the form of decentralization and self-organization, Through the deep integration of block-chain and demand response system, The invention mainly solves the functions of identity authentication, contract storage, intelligent contract and response data audit of demand response subject through block-chain technology, so as to realize the process and data reliability of demand response business.
Rapid Improvement of Pyoderma Gangrenosum Managed with IV Methylprednisolone.

Here we report a case of pyoderma gangrenosum managed with immunosuppressive therapy. A 55-year-old woman presented with a one week history of several painful nodules on her hands and face that appeared abruptly. She reported similar lesions in the past that resolved without treatment. Her medical history was significant for rheumatoid arthritis for which she was not undergoing treatment due to cost. Physical exam revealed large, ulcerated nodules on the left fifth finger, right fourth finger and left cheek near nostril. Given the negative cultures, and histopathology consistent with the diagnosis of pyoderma gangrenosum, the patient was started on intravenous methylprednisolone. Within five days, the size, depth and associated pain of the ulcers had significantly improved. Therapy was changed to oral prednisone and patient continued to improve after 1 week. Pyoderma gangrenosum is an uncommon cutaneous ulcerative disease that is generally managed with immunosuppressive therapy. Topical corticosteroids may be sufficient to treat mild and local disease while systemic steroids are considered first line therapy for severe and more extensive disease. This case highlights the rapid improvement that can be achieved with systemic immunosuppressive.
Localized method of particular solutions using polynomial basis functions for solving two-dimensional nonlinear partial differential equations

Abstract The localized method is one of the popular approaches in solving large-scale problems in science and engineering. In this paper, we implement the localized method of particular solutions using polynomial basis functions for solving various nonlinear problems. To validate our proposed numerical method, we present four numerical examples in regular and irregular domains which are solved by using localized method of particular solution with polynomial basis functions. We compared our numerical method with localized method of particular solutions using multiquadric radial basis function and numerical results clearly show that our numerical method is highly accurate, efficient, and outperformed the method using multiquadric radial basis function.
Tradition, Identity, and Change beyond the Roman Frontier

The subject of this chapter is the use of objects transmitted through intercultural interaction. The cases examined involve a long-lived, relatively stable frontier between distinct cultural groups. Similar instances can be identified in many examples through time and space. The chapter treats human beings as self-conscious, decision-making entities, able to make informed choices about their courses of action.
Inositol Lipids in Cell Signaling by Parathyroid Hormone

Parathyroid hormone has a long been thought to activate its target cells through stimulation of cellular calcium.1,2 However, the evidence in support of this stimulation rested solely on isotopic fluxes.3,4 Shortly after the Michell review in 1975, suggesting that inositol phospholipids may serve as a mechanism of receptor associated stimulation of cell calcium entry,5 Lo et al reported that PTH stimulated 32Pi incorporation into phosphatidylinositol (PI).6 We reported that PTH stimulated an increase in myoinositol turnover in isolated perfused canine kidneys, and we suggested that this may have been related to PTH induced stimulation of inositiol phospholipid turnover.7 Subsequently, we8,9,10 reported that PTH stimulated the initial rates of 32Pi incorporation into phosphatidylinositol 4’5-bisphosphate (PIP2), phosphatidylinositol 4-monophosphate (PIP), PI, and phosphatidic acid (PA). At this time, muscarinic-cholinergic stimuli H1-histamine receptor stimulation, vasopressin, serotonin, and α1-catecholamines in several different tissues11,12 had been shown to stimulate phosphoinositide turnover through phosphodiesteratic cleavage of the phosphoinositides, and subsequent resyn-thesis through PA.
TU-EF-304-01: BEST IN PHYSICS (THERAPY): Plan Robustness and Optimality Improvement with 4-Dimensional Robust Optimization for Lung Cancer Patients

Purpose: To develop the first 4D robust optimization (RO) method accounting for respiratory motion and evaluate its potential to improve plan robustness and optimality compared to 3D RO and PTV-based optimization. Methods: A set of 4D CT images are used to track respiratory motion and deformation of tumors and organs. For each of 10 respiration phases, dose distributions for nine different uncertainty scenarios including the nominal one, those incorporating ±5mm setup uncertainties long x, y and z directions and ±3.5% range uncertainties are calculated. All 90 dose distributions are simultaneously optimized to achieve full dose coverage of 10 CTVs and sparing of normal structures. ITV-based 3D RO and PTV-based optimization based on the average CT are also carried for the same patient using same dose volume constrains. After optimization, 4D robustness evaluation was performed for all resulting plans. The CTV coverage and the sparing of normal tissue in 10 phases are evaluated and compared among the three methods. The widths of DVH bands represent the robustness of dose distributions in the structures. Results: For one patient studied so far, the worst case CTV coverage by the prescription dose among all 90 scenarios is: 99% for 4D RO; 88.9% for 3D RO, and 85.2% for PTV based optimization. 4D RO also results in best robustness with the narrowest DVH’ bandwidths for the CTV. 4D and 3D RO have similar organ sparing while PTV based optimization results in worst organ sparing. Conclusion: 4D robust optimization which accounts for anatomy motion and deformation in the optimization process, significantly improves plan robustness and achieves higher quality treatment plans for lung cancer patients. The method is being evaluated for multiple patients with different tumor and motion characteristics. Acknowledge the grant U19, the grant number is 2U19CA021239-35
Time dependence of oxidation-induced microstructural changes in Nicalon- and Nextel-reinforced SiC

Thermogravimetric analyses and electron microscopy were used to characterize the high-temperature oxidation behavior of Nicalon- and Nextel 312-reinforced SiC with carbon interphases and no seal coatings. The results have been used to analyze the respective time dependencies of the oxidation reactions leading to carbon loss and the growth of solid products in the interfacial regions. While the overall oxidation responses of these two composite systems were qualitatively similar, the Nextel 312-reinforced SiC showed a longer period of carbon depletion and slower accumulation of oxide product in the interfacial areas. Consequently, this composite showed some resistance to brittle failure after oxidation times that completely embrittled the Nicalon/SiC. However, because of the reactions at the fiber-matrix interface, the incorporation of a more oxidation-resistant fiber in SiC with carbon interphases leads to only small improvements in high-temperature environmental stability.
A multisite view of psychosocial risks in patients presenting for bariatric surgery.

Objective The psychosocial health of adolescents with severe obesity (BMI ≥ 120% for age and gender) has only recently been the focus of empirical work. Methods This multisite study—an ancillary to a prospective longitudinal observational study documenting health in adolescents having weight loss surgery (WLS)—presents preoperative/baseline data from 141 WLS adolescents and 83 nonsurgical comparisons (NSComps). Self-report data from adolescent and caregiver dyads characterize adolescent psychopathology and potential correlates. Results One in three adolescents reported internalizing symptoms, and one in five endorsed externalizing symptoms in the clinical range. Generalized linear model analysis demonstrated that increased risk of psychopathology for adolescents with severe obesity was associated with family dysfunction, eating pathology, family composition, and seeking behavioral intervention (versus WLS), whereas better quality of life (QOL) was associated with lower psychopathology. Conclusions While psychopathology rates are comparable to national samples, there is a subgroup of youth who present for behavioral weight loss services and are at greater risk for psychopathology relative to national adolescent base rates. Adolescents who achieve candidacy for WLS may be a highly selective population of youth with severe obesity and may have lower base rates of psychopathology compared to NSComps.
Introduction to special section on Results of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission

Since 2009 the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has made comprehensive measurements of the Moon and its environment. The seven LRO instruments use a variety of primarily remote sensing techniques to obtain a unique set of observations. The analyses of the LRO data sets have overturned previous beliefs and deepened our appreciation of the complex nature of our nearest neighbor. This introduction to the special section describes the LRO mission and summarizes some of the science results in the papers that follow.
Chain transfer in vinyl acetate polymerization

Chain transfer constants in the free-radical polymerization of vinyl acetate have been determined for nearly 100 substances at 60°C. A few measurements at other temperatures or with other monomers are also reported. The transfer constants for vinyl acetate show the expected strong correlation with those for styrene, which has similar polarity. It is emphasized that accurate transfer constants cannot be obtained in strongly retarded systems without knowledge of the relative frequencies of the several termination processes, which in general would demand extensive kinetic data as well as molecular weight measurements. Polymerization rates of vinyl acetate have been determined in a few solvents and used to estimate relative rates of addition of solvent radicals to monomer. Kettenubertragungskonstanten bei der Polymerisation von Vinylacetat mit freien Radikalen wurden fur nahezu 100 Verbindungen bei 60°C bestimmt. Uber einige Messungen bei anderen Temperaturen oder mit anderen Monomeren wird ebenfalls berichtet. Die Ubertragungskonstanten fur Vinylacetat zeigen die erwartete starke wechselseitige Beziehung mit Styrol, das ahnliche Polaritat besitzt. Es wird hervorgehoben, das genauere Ubertragungskonstanten in stark verzogerten Systemen nicht erhalten werden konnen ohne Kenntnis der relativen Haufigkeit der verschiedenen Abbruchsreaktionen, die im allgemeinen sowohl umfassende kinetische Daten als auch Molekulargewichtsmessungen erfordern. Die Polymerisationsgeschwindigkeit von Vinylacetat wurde in einigen Losungsmitteln bestimmt und zur Bestimmung der relativen Anlagerungsgeschwindigkeiten von Losungsmittelradikalen an das Monomere benutzt.
Lymph Node Evaluation for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma and Its Value as a Quality Metric

Adequate lymph node evaluation (LNE) is recommended for surgically treated pancreatic adenocarcinoma because studies have shown an association between improved survival and adequate LNE. This study aimed to understand the mechanism of this association and determine whether LNE is a valuable quality metric. Using the linked Surveillance Epidemiology End Results Medicare database, we identified patients with surgically treated pancreatic adenocarcinoma from 2000 to 2010. Adequate LNE was defined as evaluation of ≥15 nodes. Survival was determined using Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards. We identified 2629 patients who underwent resection for pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Overall, 33 % had adequate LNE. Adequate LNE was significantly associated with receipt of postoperative chemotherapy. A significant decrease in hazard of death was associated with adequate LNE (HR 0.86, p < 0.05). Receipt of postoperative chemotherapy was also significantly associated with decreased hazard of death (HR 0.77, p < 0.05). On unadjusted analysis, the survival benefit associated with adequate LNE was lost when stratified by receipt of postoperative chemotherapy. The survival benefit associated with LNE is in part derived from the fact that patients who receive adequate LNE are also more likely to receive chemotherapy. Thus, the use of lymph node counts has limitations as a quality metric.
A stochastic hybrid algorithm for robust global almost sure synchronization on the circle: All-to-all communication

A stochastic hybrid algorithm for guaranteeing global almost sure synchronization of a finite number of agents evolving on the circle is presented. We assume all-to-all communication where every agent has access to the same aggregate quantity corresponding to an average of the position of the agents. The lack of robustness of deterministic algorithms to adversaries and slow convergence properties of stochastic gossip algorithms are overcome by using a stochastic hybrid feedback.
Curved Mesh Correction And Adaptation Tool to Improve COMPASS Electromagnetic Analyses

SLAC performs large-scale simulations for the next-generation accelerator design using higher-order finite elements. This method requires using valid curved meshes and adaptive mesh refinement in complex 3D curved domains to achieve its fast rate of convergence. ITAPS has developed a procedure to address those mesh requirements to enable petascale electromagnetic accelerator simulations by SLAC. The results demonstrate that those correct valid curvilinear meshes can not only make the simulation more reliable but also improve computational efficiency up to 30%. This paper presents a procedure to track moving adaptive mesh refinement in curved domains. The procedure is capable of generating suitable curvilinear meshes to enable large-scale accelerator simulations. The procedure can generate valid curved meshes with substantially fewer elements to improve the computational efficiency and reliability of the COMPASS electromagnetic analyses. Future work will focus on the scalable parallelization of all steps for petascale simulations.
Methodological study applying three-mode factor analysis to three-way chemical data sets

Abstract Zeng, Yousheng and Hopke, P.K., 1990. Methodological study applying three-mode factor analysis to three-way chemical data sets. Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, 7: 237–250. A multivariate data analysis method, three-mode factor analysis (TMFA), has primarily been employed in the social sciences. Although it has not been extensively used in the natural sciences, TMFA provides the opportunity to examine data that are collected in form of a three-way matrix. With TMFA, one can simultaneously examine system variations in the three dimensions to determine the causal factors that control the system. This approach has been applied to the receptor modeling problem that attempts to relate ambient air quality to sources of pollution. By simulating an air pollution system, the relationships between the results of TMFA and the underlying physical model are investigated. In this way, the physical interpretation of the results of TMFA has been found. The model can be generalized to suit many three-way chemical data sets. It is also found that varimax rotation of the initially derived factors greatly improves their interpretability. The rotated solution can reflect the nature of the underlying physical system.
α-Cl-α-Br-phosphonoacetic acid is a potent and selective inhibitor of Na+/Pi cotransport across renal cortical brush border membrane

We found that alpha-Cl-alpha-Br-phosphonoacetate (ClBrPAA) is a competitive, solute-specific inhibitor of Na+/Pi cotransport across renal cortical brush border membrane. Inhibition by ClBrPAA (Ki = 62 microM) is more than three times more effective than inhibition by phosphonoformate (PFA), the most potent Na+/Pi cotransport inhibitor known to date, and 26 times more effective than the parent compound, phosphonoacetate (PAA). These observations indicate that substitution of bromine and chlorine atoms at the alpha-carbon of PAA greatly enhances its efficacy as a competitive inhibitor of Na+/Pi cotransport. As ClBrPAA is much less inhibitory than PAA and PFA towards viral DNA polymerases and did not inhibit human alpha-DNA polymerase (ref. 10), the results also demonstrate that Na+/Pi cotransport inhibition can be dissociated from inhibition of DNA polymerases by phosphonocarboxylate compounds.
Comparability of Conflict Opportunities in Human-to-Human and Human-to-Agent Online Collaborative Problem Solving.

Students’ performance in human-to-human and human-to-agent collaborative problem solving assessment task is investigated in this paper. A secondary data analysis of the research reported by Rosen and Tager (2013) was conducted in order to investigate the comparability of the opportunities for conflict situations in human-to-human and human-to-agent settings. The major research question in this study was whether the semi-standardized human-to-human collaboration provides the student with adequate conflict opportunities in which the student can showcase collaborative skills. This is in comparison to the conflict opportunities in a similar standardized human-to-agent setting. While one type of assessment task was explored in this study, the aim of this paper is to offer strategies for evaluating complex collaborative problem solving process data generally. A process analysis of the chats and actions of the students showed that in human-to-agent group the students encounter significantly more conflict situations than in the human-to-human group. However, it was found that students in human-to-human setting were engaged in significantly more situations in which the partner proposed different solutions for a problem. The paper concludes with recommendations for collaborative problem solving assessment development, and proposes further research directions.
Normative Observations on the International Value-Added Chain and Strategic Groups

The formulation of strategy can be fruitfully viewed as placing bets on certain markets and on certain links of the value-added chain. The key to understanding a global strategy is to locate how competitive positions in one national market change the economics for entry into other countries and into other product lines. This article argues that global strategies succeed by creating certain economies along and the between value-added chains and by designing marketing programs that adapt products to national needs and yet exploit these upstream economies. Two major conclusions are that a company can compete in different strategic groups across countries and that a hallmark feature of a global strategy is the creation of operational flexibility to benefit from uncertainty.
Chemoprophylactic efficacy against experimental endocarditis caused by beta-lactamase-producing, aminoglycoside-resistant enterococci is associated with prolonged serum inhibitory activity.

Abstract We studied the prevention of experimental aortic endocarditis caused by a beta-lactamase-producing, aminoglycoside-resistant strain of Enterococcus faecalis (HH22) in 146 catheterized rabbits. Both vancomycin and ampicillin-sulbactam readily killed this resistant enterococcus strain in vitro. At a challenge inoculum of approximately 10(9) CFU, vancomycin (40 mg/kg intravenously [i.v.]), ampicillin (40 mg/kg i.v.), or a combination of ampicillin plus a beta-lactamase inhibitor, sulbactam (20 mg/kg, i.v.), did not prevent the development of endocarditis in any of the animals, although mean intravegetation bacterial densities were significantly lower in animals that received vancomycin than they were in animals that received other therapies (P less than 0.001). At a challenge inoculum of 10(6) CFU, vancomycin was 100% effective in preventing enterococcal endocarditis compared with ampicillin (29%; P less than 0.00001) and ampicillin-sulbactam (65%; P less than 0.01). Factors associated with the superior prophylactic efficacy of vancomycin in this model included prolonged serum inhibitory activity and time above MICs. Factors not associated with the antienterococcal prophylactic efficacy of vancomycin included the duration of the in vitro postantibiotic effect of the drug and the magnitude of the ability of this drug to enhance enterococcal in vitro opsonophagocytic killing by polymorphonuclear leukocytes. The superior prophylactic efficacy of vancomycin in this endocarditis model related to the superior pharmacokinetic profile of the drug when it was given intermittently at dose intervals of every 6 h.
Response to Goodwin

I want to thank Jeff Goodwin for his careful and sympathetic exposition and critique of my book, Autocracy, Modernization, and Revolution in Russia and Iran. He and I obviously have many common points of orientation on how to study social revolutions, including an impatience with overly general abstract schemes. Nonetheless, he himself sometimes faults me for not extending my analysis further than I am willing to do. Therefore, it is useful to explain why I did not do so and discuss what, in a larger sense, the comparative study of revolutions should involve. He, as opposed to bolder generalizers such as Goldstone or Tilly, will probably agree with much of what I say.
Proximal megacolon in an adult.

A44-year-old woman, born and residing in the United States, presented with medically nonresponsive chronic constipation, requiring 1 gallon of polyethylene glycol electrolyte solution weekly to induce bowel movements. She consistently experienced incomplete evacuation. She was hospitalized once for suspected sigmoid volvulus that spontaneously resolved. Physical examination showed a distended tympanitic abdomen with palpable stool in the left lower quadrant. Rectal examination revealed a high resting anal sphincter tone and no coordinated perineal descent during simulation of defecation; these features were confirmed on anorectal manometry (high squeeze anal sphincter pressure and requirement of 200 g to facilitate 50-mL balloon evacuation from the rectum). Gastric emptying was normal, and colonic transit was delayed. She was diagnosed with pelvic floor dyssynergia and symptoms improved somewhat after biofeedback therapy. A plain abdominal radiograph (Figure A) showed a dilated colon, confirmed on computerized tomography scan. Sagittal views of the abdominal computerized tomography (Figure B) showed an elongated, dilated proximal colon with a decompressed rectum. Direct endoscopic visualization of the intersection of the dilated and nondilated colon showed no mass or constrictions. Because of persistent symptoms and megacolon, she underwent colectomy at another hospital. Figure C shows the resected specimen with a dilated ascending and transverse colon, normal-caliber descending colon and rectum, and no constricted transition zone between dilated and normal-caliber segments. No pathologic examination of the colon was available. The enteric nervous system is derived from vagal and sacral neural crest cells. Vagal neural crest cells migrate caudally through the entire length of the gastrointestinal tract and provide the majority of neurons and glia. The sacral neural crest cells migrate rostrally and contribute to the innervation of the distal colon and rectum. Colonic dysganglionosis presents as a continuous spectrum, ranging anatomically from hypoganglionosis in colonic sections of different lengths and distributions to a localized constriction with proximal dilatation in Hirschsprung disease (HD). Hypoganglionosis is a decrease vs a complete lack of ganglia, and it can present as localized or generalized megacolon, or it may occur concomitantly with HD. These disorders present with long-term constipation refractory to medical therapy. Although approximately 95% of HD cases are diagnosed before the age of 5, less severe cases may present after 10 years of age and are considered adult HD.
Lactic Acid Partitioning in TALSPEAK Extraction Systems

The TALSPEAK process, developed in the 1960s at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and demonstrated in various forms up to pilot scale elsewhere, has emerged as a primary method for partitioning of trivalent transplutonium actinides from fission product lanthanides in advanced nuclear fuel cycles. The baseline process relies on the monoacidic dialkyl phosphoric acid extractant bis-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (HDEHP), the aqueous complexant diethylenetriamine-N,N,N′,N″,N″-pentaacetic acid (DTPA), and high concentrations of a pH 3.5 buffer, usually 1-2 M lactic acid (HL). Previous reports have established that HL not only buffers the pH, but also increases phase transfer kinetics, improves the radiation stability of DTPA, and has been implicated as a possible participant in the formation of ternary complexes in both the aqueous and organic phases. One feature central to the interpretation of these results is the extent of partitioning of HL between the phases. In this study, 14C-labeled HL has been used to...