cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Characterization of Soil Water Content Variability and Soil Texture using GPR Groundwave Techniques

Accurate characterization of near-surface soil water content is vital for guiding agricultural management decisions and for reducing the potential negative environmental impacts of agriculture. Characterizing the near-surface soil water content can be difficult, as this parameter is often both spatially and temporally variable, and obtaining sufficient measurements to describe the heterogeneity can be prohibitively expensive. Understanding the spatial correlation of near-surface soil water content can help optimize data acquisition and improve understanding of the processes controlling soil water content at the field scale. In this study, ground penetrating radar (GPR) methods were used to characterize the spatial correlation of water content in a three acre field as a function of sampling depth, season, vegetation, and soil texture. GPR data were acquired with 450 MHz and 900 MHz antennas, and measurements of the GPR groundwave were used to estimate soil water content at four different times. Additional water content estimates were obtained using time domain reflectometry measurements, and soil texture measurements were also acquired. Variograms were calculated for each set of measurements, and comparison of these variograms showed that the horizontal spatial correlation was greater for deeper water content measurements than for shallower measurements. Precipitation and irrigation were both shown to increase the spatial variability of water content, while shallowly-rooted vegetation decreased the variability. Comparison of the variograms of water content and soil texture showed that soil texture generally had greater small-scale spatial correlation than water content, and that the variability of water content in deeper soil layers was more closely correlated to soil texture than were shallower water content measurements. Lastly, cross-variograms of soil texture and water content were calculated, and co-kriging of water content estimates and soil texture measurements showed that geophysically-derived estimates of soil water content could be used to improve spatial estimation of soil texture.
EFFECT OF DEXAMETHASONE ON PHENYLETHANOLAMINE N-METHYLTRANSFERASE IN CHROMAFFIN TISSUE OF THE NEONATAL RAT

— Treatment of neonatal rats with dexamethasone resulted in the appearance of phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase (PNMT) and numerous small, intensely fluorescent (SIF) cells in abdominal paraganglia and in sympathetic paravertebral ganglia. These cells may be derived from a primitive stem cell precursor, but because of their unusual anatomical features, origin from ganglion cells cannot be altogether ruled out. Associated with the proliferation of the cells was a marked increase in the PNMT activity of the tissues. The PNMT response to the glucocorticoid was limited to the first few days of life, as was the SIF cell response. After discontinuance of dexamethasone, the enzyme activity fell very rapidly, while the number of cells declined at a slower rate.
Containing infectious disease

Since 2001, the threat of intentional release of biological agents capable of severe human disease has been a clear and present danger. At the same time, natural outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases have become almost routine: 2003, SARS (Peiris et al ., 2003); 2005, H5N1 influenza virus (Beigel et al ., 2005); 2009, H1N1 pandemic influenza virus (Neumann et al ., 2009); 2012, MERS CoV (Zaki et al ., 2012); and 2013, H7N9 influenza virus (Gao et al ., 2013). In addition, previously as well as recently established infectious agents continue to flare with some regularity: hantavirus (Jonsson et al ., 2010), West Nile virus (Murray et al ., 2010), dengue (Adalja et al ., 2012), etc. Even those infectious diseases (e.g. measles, mumps) long regarded as having been ‘taken off the table’ due to effective vaccines have seen resurgence due to evolving public perceptions of vaccination risk/benefit trade offs (Serpell & Green, 2006; Berger & Omer, 2010). Finally, long standing, but treatable traditional infectious agents have continued to demonstrate slow, but steady and relentless progression to greater resistance to available therapy: tuberculosis, malaria, multiple gram negative bacterial agents, etc. (Boucher et al ., 2009). Analysis of recent infectious disease outbreaks has revealed hundreds of newly recognized infectious agents in the latter half of the 20th century alone (Jones et al ., 2008). Factors influencing this explosion are varied. Clearly, technological …
Sources of along-strike variation in magnetic anomalies related to intrasedimentary faults: a case study from the Rio Grande Rift, USA

Normal faults within sedimentary basins are commonly associated with subtle linear features in high-resolution, total magnetic intensity (TMI) data. Many of these anomalies arise from the tectonic juxtaposition of sedimentary units of differing magnetic properties. In detail, the anomalies can be quite variable in character, even along the strike of individual faults. To understand this variability, we examine the well-exposed San Ysidro Fault in the central Rio Grande Rift, USA, using detailed magnetic-property measurements, geophysical models based on geology, and Euler analysis. We find that along-strike anomaly variability arises mainly from (I) multilevelled magnetic contrasts at the fault that are variably sampled by uneven levels of erosion, and to a lesser extent from (2) magnetic susceptibilities that vary along strike within individual units, and (3) variable throw and dip of the fault that produces differences in the extents to which contrasting units are in contact. The multilevelled magnetic contrasts arise from the juxtaposition of different strata across the fault at discrete depths. Locations of magnetic sources along the fault estimated from Euler analysis of the TMI data reflect the variations in depths to the shallowest sources along strike. Variations in clustering of the Euler solutions suggest that the sources have variable geometry (structural index). The results at the San Ysidro Fault demonstrate the important and complex role of multi-levelled magnetic sources in understanding anomalies associated with faulted geologic layers in general. The potential for multiple sources suggests that the use of simple model geometries to represent faults may not always be appropriate.
Controlled but not cured: Structural processes and explanatory models of Chagas disease in tropical Bolivia.

Dressler (2001:456) characterizes medical anthropology as divided between two poles: the constructivist, which focuses on the "meaning and significance that events have for people," and the structuralist, which emphasizes socioeconomic processes and relationships. This study synthesizes structuralist and constructivist perspectives by investigating how structural processes impact explanatory models of Chagas disease in a highly endemic area. The research took place from March-June 2013 through the Centro Medico Humberto Parra, a non-profit clinic servicing low income populations in Palacios, Bolivia and surrounding communities. Semistructured interviews (n = 68) and consensus analysis questionnaires (n = 48) were administered to people dealing with Chagas disease. In the interview narratives, respondents link Chagas disease with experiences of marginalization and rural poverty, and describe multilayered impediments to accessing treatment. They often view the disease as incurable, but this reflects inconsistent messages from the biomedical system. The consensus analysis results show strong agreement on knowledge of the vector, ethnomedical treatment, and structural factors related to Chagas disease. In interpreting Chagas disease, respondents account for the structural factors which place them at risk and impede access to care.
Impregnated Membranes for Water Purification Using Forward Osmosis

The wide use of forward osmosis (FO) for water purification has been restrained by the lack of membranes with high water flux. Current FO membranes consist of a thick microporous support and a paper layer, which creates internal concentration polarization and presents major resistance for water transport across such membranes. This study investigates novel FO membranes consisting of a thin porous structure fully impregnated with a hydrophilic polymer. The elimination of the open-pore structures in these impregnated membranes (IMs) avoids the internal concentration polarization. More specifically, IMs consisting of hydrophilic cross-linked poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) in a porous hydrophobic Solupor support were prepared and thoroughly characterized for water and salt transport properties using a dead-end filtration system, salt kinetic desorption experiments, and an FO system. The IMs showed performance ratios (defined as the water permeance in FO mode to that in the dead-end filtration system...
Vud from Nuclear Mirror Transitions

We review the determination of Vud from nuclear mirror transitions and describe current experimental and theoretical efforts aimed at improving its precision.
Overview of Palliative Care and Non-Pain Symptom Management

Upon completion of the chapter, the student will be able to: 1. Define palliative care and differentiate it from hospice care. 2. Enumerate and understand the general rules of good doctor-patient communication including communicating bad news and advance care planning. 3. Identify and treat nonpain symptoms including dyspnea, cough, nausea and vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, bowel obstruction, mouth symptoms, skin symptoms, odor, and spiritual distress. 4. Understand the Medicare hospice benefit.
OSSEs for an Ensemble 3DVAR Data Assimilation System with Radar Observations of Convective Storms

AbstractAn ensemble of the three-dimensional variational data assimilation (En3DA) method for convective-scale weather has been developed. It consists of an ensemble of three-dimensional variational data assimilations and forecasts in which member differences are introduced by perturbing initial conditions and/or observations, and it uses flow-dependent error covariances generated by the ensemble forecasts. The method is applied to the assimilation of simulated radar data for a supercell storm. Results indicate that the flow-dependent ensemble covariances are effective in enabling convective-scale analyses, as the most important features of the simulated storm, including the low-level cold pool and midlevel mesocyclone, are well analyzed. Several groups of sensitivity experiments are conducted to test the robustness of the method. The first group demonstrates that incorporating a mass continuity equation as a weak constraint into the En3DA algorithm can improve the quality of the analyses when radial velo...
c Silicon Thin Films Deposited by Remote Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition Process

In an earlier study, we deposited μc-Si thin films by reactive magnetron sputtering (RMS). Here we extend our studies to the deposition of both undoped and high conductivity N-type and P-type μc-Si thin films by a remote PECVD. We show that μc-Si films can be deposited by bringing hydrogen, H2, into the source gas mixtures. The H2 could introduced by either upstream in a He/H2 mixture and directly plasma excited, or downstream, and be remotely excited along with the silane, SiH4, feed gas. The degree of crystallinity is shown to depend on the hydrogen dilution, the substrate temperature and the substrate material.
Rationalitätssicherung als Kern des Controlling

Dieses Kapitel dient der Klarung des Controllingverstandnisses der Arbeit. Zunachst erfolgt eine Einfuhrung in den Rationalitatssicherungsansatz des Controlling (2.1, 2.2). Bevor diese relativ junge Controllingkonzeption einer eingehenden Kritik unterzogen wird (2.4), gilt es das Zusammenspiel von Controlling und Unternehmensfuhrung zu skizzieren (2.3). Das Kapitel endet mit einem Ausblick auf den Internationalisierungsprozess als Objekt der Rationalitatssicherung (2.5) sowie einigen Gedanken zur Institutionalisierung eines Controlling von Internationalisierungsprozessen (2.6).
Reducing Soft-error Vulnerability of Caches using Data Compression

With ongoing chip miniaturization and voltage scaling, particle strike-induced soft errors present increasingly severe threat to the reliability of on-chip caches. In this paper, we present a technique to reduce the vulnerability of caches to soft-errors. Our technique uses data compression to reduce the number of vulnerable data bits in the cache and performs selective duplication of more critical data-bits to provide extra protection to them. Microarchitectural simulations have shown that our technique is effective in reducing cache vulnerability and outperforms another technique. For single and dual-core system configuration, the average reduction in cache vulnerability is 5.59× and 8.44×, respectively. Also, the implementation and performance overheads of our technique are minimal and it is useful for a broad range of workloads.
ICP-MS Determination of Heavy Metals in Seafood from Beibu Gulf with Microwave Assisted Sample Digestion

The sample of seafood from Beibu gulf was digested with a mixture of HNO3and H2O2(4+3)by microwave assisted digestion,and contents of 7heavy metals(i.e.Cr,Cu,As,Cd,Sb,Hg and Pb)in the sample solution were determined by ICP-MS.The matrix interference was eliminated by internal standard method.Detection limits(3s)of the method found were in the range of 0.018-0.23μg·L-1.Tests for precision were made by analyzing a sea shrimp sample by the proposed method,giving values of RSD′s(n=6)for the 7elements in the range of 1.4%-8.8%.In analysis of two CRMs of yellow croaker(GBW 08573)and scallops(GBW 10024) by this method,the results obtained were in consistency with the certified values.
The Uroradiographic Evaluation of the Enuretic Child

The proper evaluation of the enuretic child is controversial. A standardized evaluation was devised to decrease the number of examinations done based on the extant literature. During a 5-year period 138 children were examined uroradiographically. Of these patients 21 were found to have a significant anatomic abnormality. These abnormalities were found in children with either a history of a urinary tract infection, infected urine at the time of examination or obstructive signs or symptoms. Based on these findings a simple flow sheet for the evaluation of enuretic children is presented.
Long carrier lifetimes in large-grain polycrystalline CdTe without CdCl2

For decades, polycrystalline CdTe thin films for solar applications have been restricted to grain sizes of microns or less whereas other semiconductors such as silicon and perovskites have produced devices with grains ranging from less than a micron to more than 1 mm. Because the lifetimes in as-deposited polycrystalline CdTe films are typically limited to less than a few hundred picoseconds, a CdCl2 treatment is generally used to improve the lifetime; but this treatment may limit the achievable hole density by compensation. Here, we establish methods to produce CdTe films with grain sizes ranging from hundreds of nanometers to several hundred microns by close-spaced sublimation at industrial manufacturing growth rates. Two-photon excitation photoluminescence spectroscopy shows a positive correlation of lifetime with grain size. Large-grain, as-deposited CdTe exhibits lifetimes exceeding 10 ns without Cl, S, O, or Cu. This uncompensated material allows dopants such as P to achieve a hole density of 1016 c...
Lord, R. D. 2007. Mammals of South America. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, 198 pp. ISBN 0-8018-8494-2, price (hardbound), $50.00

R. D. Lord 2007. Mammals of South America. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, 198 pp. ISBN 0-8018-8494-2, price (hardbound), $50.00. The foreword on the dust jacket of Lord's Mammals of South America makes 2 ambitious assertions, it “… provides the most vivid snapshot of South American fauna ever produced …” and “… will serve as a valuable reference for both students and professional mammalogists.” Clearly, there are few widely available works that have adequately documented large portions of the South American mammalian fauna with photographs. In terms of the number of color images of mammals endemic to South America, this volume could make a case for the 1st claim. However, other books, such as that by Macdonald (2006), have photographs of many of the same species that are equally, if not more, vibrant. With regard to the accompanying text, Lord's book is largely cursory in nature and falls short of its aim to be a reference book of great value to mammalogists. In the Preface , Lord emphasizes South America's equatorial location, its diversity of life zones and habitats, presence of extraordinary geologic features (e.g., the Andes, Amazon River, and Amazon forest), and the great species richness derived from these attributes. He …
Woody biomass energy efficiency pathways: public policy implications.

ABSTRACTWood energy, energy derived from woody biomass, has historically been the largest source of renewable energy in the US mainly combusted for heating purposes. However, recent US public policy energy programs have promoted the use of woody biomass to generate electric power, placed less emphasis on heating and largely neglected efficiency considerations. We systematically examine the net useful energy (NUE) produced from one unit of woody biomass from different energy conversion pathways to gauge resource efficiency. Wood energy heat pathways consistently showed higher resource efficiency than electric power conversion did. Across energy pathways, estimates for high-efficiency heat production yielded about twice as much NUE than electricity-only generation per tonne of woody biomass. This result points to the importance of resource efficiency criteria in the design of public-supported incentives to maximize wood energy potential to replace fossil fuels.
Medium-retaining Petri dish insert to grow and image cultured cells.

Abstract Background Microscope chambers that accept glass coverslips with cultured cells are often used to monitor intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) during cell superfusion. Unfortunately, the experimental maneuvers associated with the coverslip installation in these chambers (medium removal and re-application) trigger unintended [Ca2+]i elevations. New method To prevent these [Ca2+]i elevations, a Petri dish insert has been constructed. The insert features a superfusion-optimized well to grow cell cultures. After this insert is removed from the Petri dish, the well retains the medium. This feature allows the inserts to be installed in microscope chambers while keeping the cells submerged at all times. Results These inserts were used to test the impact of a transient medium removal from the well (an equivalent of a coverslip removal from the medium) on [Ca2+]i in primary murine cortical neurons and astrocytes, and in HEK-293 cells. In all of these models, the medium removal/re-application caused a micromolar [Ca2+]i spike. While in neurons this spike was caused by a Ca2+ influx, in astrocytes and HEK-293 cells, it was caused by a Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. After the spike, a subpopulation of neurons failed to restore low [Ca2+]i; in 24% of the astrocytes, the spike triggered [Ca2+]i oscillations. However, prior to the spike, [Ca2+]i was low and uniform in all these cells. Comparison with existing method(s) The new method avoids the artificially-induced [Ca2+]i elevations that take place during the handling of glass coverslips with cultured cells. Conclusions The new method allows monitoring [Ca2+]i without disturbing the basal [Ca2+]i levels.
Quantum Theory: Realism or Pragmatism?

During his long and extraordinarily productive career Hilary Putnam occasionally flirted with pragmatism. But his scientific realism provided a fixed point of his attempts to interpret quantum theory. I have argued recently that pragmatist treatments of representation, explanation and probability are keys to understanding how we use quantum theory so successfully, and so how it should be interpreted. For Putnam, scientific realism is itself a scientific hypothesis that explains the success of science. If I am right, the success of quantum theory undermines this kind of scientific realism while supporting a rival pragmatism. Scientific realism remains immune to empirical refutation if it is viewed not as a scientific hypothesis but as a regulative ideal. But a pragmatist view of quantum theory poses a challenge to a certain kind of metaphysical realism.
Aggregation Behavior of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube-Titanium Dioxide Nanohybrids: Probing the Part-Whole Question

Multiwalled carbon nanotube-titanium dioxide (MWNT-TiO2) nanohybrids (NHs), a promising support for electrocatalysts, have a high likelihood of environmental release. Aggregation of these NHs may or may not be captured by the sum of their component behavior, thus necessitating a systematic evaluation. This study probes the “part-whole question” by systematically evaluating the role of TiO2 loading (C:Ti molar ratios of 1:0.1, 1:0.05 and 1:0.033) on the aggregation behavior of these NHs. Aggregation kinetics of these in-house synthesized (using a sol–gel method) NHs and the components is investigated with time-resolved dynamic light scattering in the presence of mono- and divalent cations and with and without Suwannee River humic acid. A deviation in the aggregation behavior from classical electrokinetic theory has been observed which indicates that the material complexity has a strong influence in the observed behavior; hence other material attributes (e.g., fractal dimension, surface roughness, charge he...
An Updated Review of the Fish Faunas From the Green River Formation, the World’s Most Productive Freshwater Lagerstätten

The Green River Formation has provided what is clearly the richest, most diverse sample of Early Tertiary freshwater vertebrate faunas in the world (see numerous illustrations in Grande, 1984, for example). In addition to a wide array of non-fish fossils, the formation provides an unparalleled sample of the Early Tertiary fish fauna of North America, with hundreds of thousands of beautifully preserved skeletons belonging to at least 16 different families. The composition, relationships, and importance of the Green River Formation fish faunas have become increasingly evident as detailed studies on these faunas continue. An earlier review by (Grande 1980, Grande 1984) has been a commonly used identification guide to the fishes of the Green River Formation. It was written over 20 years ago when there were far fewer specimens, fewer detailed descriptions and almost no phylogenetic studies of Green River fish species together with other closely related fossil and living species. In light of progress since that earlier review, I believe that the time is right for a new synthesis. This paper provides an updated taxonomic assessment of the Green River fishes, summarizes recent works on them, and points out some remaining questions concerning various Green River taxa.
Chapter 12 - Varicella-zoster

Primary infection with varicella-zoster virus (VZV), an exclusively human neurotropic α-herpesvirus, causes varicella (chickenpox), after which virus becomes latent in ganglionic neurons along the entire neuraxis. With advancing age or immunosuppression, cell-mediated immunity to VZV declines and virus reactivates to cause zoster (shingles), dermatomal distribution pain, and rash on an erythematous base in one to three dermatomes. Zoster develops anywhere on the body. Skin lesions resolve within 1–2 weeks while complete cessation of pain usually takes 4–6 weeks. Unfortunately, zoster can be followed by chronic pain (postherpetic neuralgia), meningoencephalitis, cerebellitis, cranial nerve palsies, vasculopathy, myelopathy, and inflammatory eye disease. VZV reactivation also produces chronic radicular pain without rash (zoster sine herpete). In fact, all neurologic and ocular disorders listed above may also develop without rash. This review covers clinical, laboratory, and pathologic features of neurologic complications of VZV reactivation, including diagnostic testing to verify active VZV infection in the nervous system and the potential value of examining saliva for VZV DNA in patients with neurologic disease without rash. Additional perspectives are provided by discussions of the VZV genome, latency, pathogenesis, and immunity, and of the value of immunization of elderly individuals to boost cell-mediated immunity to VZV and prevent VZV reactivation.
The effect of semicoherent precipitation on void swelling in Al-Cu alloys

Aluminum-4 wt pct copper alloys previously heat treated (50 h at 473 K) to contain semicoherent theta' precipitate were neutron irradiated to a fast fluence of 2.8 x 10/sup 26/ n/m/sup 2/ (E > 0.1 MeV) at 328 K to determine the effect of the precipitate on void swelling relative to swelling observed in elemental aluminum under the same irradiation conditions. The observed void swelling values were approx. 1 and approx. 12 pct for the alloy and elemental aluminum, respectively. The broad faces of the theta' precipitate underwent at least partial coherency loss, the matrix dislocation density increased somewhat, and some of the transmutation-formed silicon segregated to theta' interfaces and some voids during the irradiation. The theta' particle size distribution did not change significantly during the irradiation. The swelling behavior of the alloy under irradiation was analyzed by extending the rate theory of swelling to include reduction of irradiation-caused point defect concentration by indirect recombination, a result of trapping free point defects at theta' interfaces. Calculated swelling in the alloy using the model agreed well with the experimental observation. According to the model the suppression of swelling by theta' precipitates under the irradiation conditions used occurs by extension of themore » knee of the swelling curve, not by changing the dose exponent for swelling.« less
Eigenvalue Computation from the Optimization Perspective: On Jacobi-Davidson, IIGD, RQI, and Newton Updates

We discuss the close connection between eigenvalue computation and optimization using the Newton method and subspace methods. From the connection we derive a new class of Newton updates. The new update formulation is similar to the well-known Jacobi-Davidson method. This similarity leads to simplified versions of the Jacobi-Davidson method and the inverse iteration generalized Davidson (IIGD) method. We prove that the projection subspace augmented by the updating direction from each of these methods is able to include the Rayleigh quotient iteration (RQI) direction. Hence, the locally quadratic (cubic for normal matrices) convergence rate of the RQI method is retained and strengthened by the subspace methods. The theory is supported by extensive numerical results. Preconditioned formulations are also briefly discussed for large scale eigenvalue problems.
Neuro-MMI: A Hybrid Photonic-Electronic Machine Learning Platform

We demonstrate a hybrid electronic-photonic feedforward neural network which exploits interference patterns in a Multimode Interference coupler (neuro-MMI). The proposed neuro-MMIs accuracy is statistically equivalent to state-of-the-art networks. Neuro-MMI serves as a blueprint for a class of high-performance neuromorphic networks that can solve cognitive tasks.
Scan-Time Corrections for 80–100-min Standardizetd Uptake Volume Ratios to Measure the 18 F-AV-1451 Tracer for Tau Imaging

The 18F-AV-1451 PET tracer binds to tau, an Alzheimer’s disease biomarker. The standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) 80–100 min window is widely used to quantify tau binding, although 18F-AV-1451 continues increasing relative to a reference region in regions with tau deposition. Left uncorrected, acquisition time inaccuracies can lead to errors from −4% to 6% in 20-min SUVR measurements in subjects with Alzheimer’s disease. In 40 subjects with scans from 75–115 min following 18F-AV-1451 injection, we created 20-min reconstructions ( $4\times 5$ min) of start-times ranging from 75–85 min, as proxies of offset scans and calculated the mean in regions of interest (ROIs). We developed a segmented least squares (SLS) method to obtain error-minimizing weighting coefficients for 18F-AV-1451 ROIs that best predict SUVR 80–100 from weighted means of SUVRs from offset start-times. We compared residual errors of our SLS method to those in: 1) uncorrected offset 20-min-SUVRs; 2) the mean of five-min frames within the 80–100 window; and 3) a least-squares interpolation method. We evaluated errors induced by start-time offset on SUVRs for each method. The SLS, which corrected using least-squares coefficients of 5-min components, consistently reduced errors across all offset start-times. Effect size analysis for simulated clinical longitudinal 18F-AV-1451 drug trials showed that uncorrected 20-min offset SUVRs would require up to 20% more participants to detect treatment effects compared with using SLS. Correction of SUVR scan-time errors by SLS minimizes errors compared with other correction methods and may be extended to other scanners and tracers.
Abstract A62: Differences in sexual dysfunction between lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual female breast cancer survivors

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine (1) differences in sexual dysfunction between lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual female breast cancer survivors including (2) patient-provider communication regarding sexual problems, and (3) receipt of treatment for sexual complaints. Methods: Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation9s The Health of Women (HOW) Study™ is a cohort study of approximately 40,000 women with and without breast cancer who have responded to one or more online, self-administered surveys. This study includes data from women who completed the baseline and quality-of-life surveys. Women were included if they had a previous diagnosis of breast cancer and if they self-identified as lesbian, bisexual, or heterosexual (N=3,833). Sexual dysfunction was defined as “ever [having] significant problems with change in sexual interest.” We also examined whether women (1) thought that their cancer/cancer treatment was “the primary cause of [her] most significant problems with changes in sexual interest”, (2) “talked to [her] doctor about [her] problems with change in sexual interest”, and (3) “received treatment for [her] problems with change in sexual interest.” Analyses included chi-square test of independence and bivariate logistic regression. Differences were considered significant at p Results: Distribution of sexual orientation was as follows: heterosexual (96%), lesbian (3%), and bisexual (1%). Over a third of women reported sexual dysfunction (34%); 78% of them attributed these changes in sexual interest to their breast cancer treatment. Bisexual women were most likely to report changes in sexual interest (48%) when compared to lesbian (34%) and heterosexual (34%) women. Bisexual women were 77% more likely to report changes in sexual interest compared to heterosexual women (OR=1.77; 95%CI: 0.99-3.17, p Conclusion: Sexual dysfunction was a common issue identified by women breast cancer survivors, particularly among bisexual women who were also less likely to report sexual dysfunction to their provider. Overall, treatment for sexual dysfunction was low for all women, suggesting a potential gap in survivorship care more broadly. These findings suggest that experiencing problematic changes in sexual interest was more common among bisexual breast cancer survivors, who may face unique challenges in receiving needed survivorship care. Targeted interventions for these women may be warranted to increase patient-provider communication about sexual dysfunction and to improve the burden of sexual dysfunction among bisexual women. Citation Format: Christopher W. Wheldon, Megan C. Roberts, Michelle I. Silver, Ulrike Boehmer. Differences in sexual dysfunction between lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual female breast cancer survivors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Tenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2017 Sep 25-28; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2018;27(7 Suppl):Abstract nr A62.
Investigation of electrical performance of impregnation resin material for superconducting magnet

Abstract With the development of superconducting technology, the electrical performance of insulating materials is drawing increasing concern. This paper is devoted to investigating resin materials and aims to test the resin requirements of impregnating procedures and design curing molds. First, the samples are prepared, and then the power-frequency breakdown, lighting surges, relative dielectric constant, and loss angle tangent of the impregnation resin are measured at room temperature and liquid nitrogen temperature. We also present the testing reference for cryogenic and high-voltage insulating materials of superconducting power devices.
The role of cognitive style, gullibility, and demographics on the use of social media for financial decision making

Consumer use of social media has witnessed significant growth in recent years. Due to its unregulated, user-generated, and poorly censored format, social media use has blurred the line between the fake and the true and can result in mass dissemination of inaccurate and false information, thereby impacting national politics, election outcomes, and social interactions between consumer social clusters. In the unique context of financial decisions, consumer reliance on social media can significantly increase the risk of making poor financial decisions. This study examined the impact of cognitive style, consumer gullibility, and demographics on consumers’ reliance on social media for financial decision making. The results of a US national survey identify consumer characteristics which contribute to increased reliance on social media in financial decision making. The findings point to consumer vulnerabilities associated with psychographic and demographic attributes of consumers. The paper concludes with recommendation-related consumer education and public protection measures.
No evidence for higher rates of hepatocellular carcinoma after direct-acting antiviral treatment: a meta-analysis.

Aim Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the United States. Achieving sustained viral response with interferon (IFN) treatment reduces the risk from 3%-5% to 0.5%-1% annually. Several studies reported unexpectedly high rates of HCC after treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). The aim of our study was to compare HCC rates in DAA-, IFN-treated and untreated populations. Methods A literature search was conducted using ScienceDirect, Ovid®, Web of Science and MEDLINE through January 2019. Studies were included if they measured rates of de novo or recurrent HCC (following curative treatment) in HCV-infected persons. We included 138 studies (n = 177,512). Simple pooling of data and meta-analysis were performed, using the random effects method. Results Mean age was higher in the DAA-treated vs. IFN-treated group (58.4 years vs. 52.6 years; P = 0.0073), as were diabetes prevalence (34.5% vs. 11.7%; P ≤ 0.001) and incident cirrhosis (47.8% vs. 34.2%, P = 0.0017). The incidence rate of de novo HCC was 2.01/100 person-years (py) (95%CI: 1.38, 2.67) in the DAA group and 1.45/100py (95%CI: 0.98, 1.94) in the IFN-treated group. HCC recurred at 16.76/100py (95%CI: 10.75, 22.91) in the DAA-treated group vs. 20.04/100py (95%CI: 2.58, 45.21) after IFN. After adjusting for factors such as age and cirrhosis, the hazard ratio was 0.58 (95%CI: 0.20, 1.07) for HCC occurrence and 0.59 (95%CI: 0.24, 1.03) for HCC recurrence after DAA treatment compared to IFN-based treatment. Conclusion We did not find evidence for increased rates of HCC in DAA-treated compared with IFN-treated patients. Compared to those treated with IFN, older patients with additional risk factors for HCC were treated with DAAs. This imbalance appears to explain the higher numerical incidence of HCC among DAA-treated patients.
Febrile Status Epilepticus

Febrile status epilepticus (FSE) is defined as a febrile seizure lasting 30 minutes or more and is considered the extreme end of the complex febrile seizure spectrum. It remains unclear why some children are predisposed to the development of FSE compared with others. FSE is considered as medical emergency and as such, early treatment is crucial. The consequences of FSE have been a topic of interest for many years, specially its association with temporal lobe epilepsy and hippocampal sclerosis. In this article, we review the epidemiology, risk factors, pathophysiology, treatment, and prognosis including findings from the “Consequences of Prolonged Febrile Seizures in Childhood” (FEBSTAT) study.
Occurrence of Microplastic Pollution at Oyster Reefs and Other Coastal Sites in the Mississippi Sound, USA: Impacts of Freshwater Inflows from Flooding.

Much of the seafood that humans consume comes from estuaries and coastal areas where microplastics (MPs) accumulate, due in part to continual input and degradation of plastic litter from rivers and runoff. As filter feeders, oysters (Crassostrea virginica) are especially vulnerable to MP pollution. In this study, we assessed MP pollution in water at oyster reefs along the Mississippi Gulf Coast when: (1) historic flooding of the Mississippi River caused the Bonnet Carre Spillway to remain open for a record period of time causing major freshwater intrusion to the area and deleterious impacts on the species and (2) the spillway was closed, and normal salinity conditions resumed. Microplastics (~25 µm–5 mm) were isolated using a single-pot method, preparing samples in the same vessel (Mason jars) used for their collection right up until the MPs were transferred onto filters for analyses. The MPs were quantified using Nile Red fluorescence detection and identified using laser direct infrared (LDIR) analysis. Concentrations ranged from ~12 to 381 particles/L and tended to decrease at sites impacted by major freshwater intrusion. With the spillway open, average MP concentrations were positively correlated with salinity (r = 0.87, p = 0.05) for sites with three or more samples examined. However, the dilution effect on MP abundances was temporary, and oyster yields suffered from the extended periods of lower salinity. There were no significant changes in the relative distribution of MPs during freshwater intrusions; most of the MPs (>50%) were in the lower size fraction (~25–90 µm) and consisted mostly of fragments (~84%), followed by fibers (~11%) and beads (~5%). The most prevalent plastic was polyester, followed by acrylates/polyurethanes, polyamide, polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyacetal. Overall, this work provides much-needed empirical data on the abundances, morphologies, and types of MPs that oysters are exposed to in the Mississippi Sound, although how much of these MPs are ingested and their impacts on the organisms deserves further scrutiny. This paper is believed to be the first major application of LDIR to the analysis of MPs in natural waters.
Is There a Tradeoff between Economic Development Incentives and Economic Freedom

State and local governments have used targeted incentives to recruit businesses for decades. The relationship between incentives and business formation, employment, and economic growth has been studied in detail. This paper extends this literature by examining the relationship between development incentives and economic freedom. Optimal tax theory assumes an exogenous government revenue constraint, suggesting that not collecting taxes from some businesses results in higher taxes on others, which may negatively impact economic freedom. By contrast, tax breaks could diffuse across firms and, thus, positively affect economic freedom. The paper investigates this relationship with state-level panel data between 1994 and 2013. We find an economically and statistically significant negative relationship between incentives and freedom, which is robust to several specifications.
Chondrodysplasia punctata and neonatal lupus in an infant with positive anti-RNP and negative anti-Ro/SSA and -La/SSB antibodies, a case report

Rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata is a rare, often fatal disease that shares many clinical dysmorphologic features with the rare often non-lethal chondrodysplasia punctata due to maternal autoimmune disease. Characteristic findings of both conditions include mid-face hypoplasia, stippled epiphyses of the vertebrae and long bones, and growth failure. A growing association with anti-ribonucleoprotein antibodies is emerging amongst patients with chondrodysplasia punctata due to maternal autoimmune disease and also neonatal lupus that have potential important screening implications. We present a unique case of chondrodysplasia punctata with neonatal lupus in the setting of positive anti-RNP antibodies and negative anti-Ro/SSA and -La/SSB antibodies born to a mother with mixed connective tissue disease and Raynaud's syndrome.
Abraham Maslow, Utopian Realist:

The ideal human community or “Eupsychia” envisioned by Abraham Maslow was a place inhabited by a thousand “self-actualizing people” who shared a devotion to certain higher values. These values were...
Electronically Tunable Negative Electron Affinity Silicon Photoemitters

Applications such as Ultrafast Electron Diffraction and X-Ray Free Electron Lasers are enabled by high brightness photomitters [1], [2]. High brightness beams require rapid response times, low mean transverse energies (MTE), and high quantum efficiencies. Negative electron affinity (NEA) cathodes, composed of a GaAs wafer and a Cs/O surface layer, have been shown to simultaneously exhibit good external quantum efficiencies (EQE) of ~10-3-10-2 and reasonable MTEs but are rarely used due to (i) the significant complexity associated with fabricating them and (ii) the lack of stability. These include high temperature processing steps, entirely insitu activation, and ultra-high vacuum storage and operating pressures.
Computational Electromagnetic Modeling of SansEC(Trade Mark) Sensors

This paper describes the preliminary effort to apply computational design tools to aid in the development of an electromagnetic SansEC resonant sensor composite materials damage detection system. The computational methods and models employed on this research problem will evolve in complexity over time and will lead to the development of new computational methods and experimental sensor systems that demonstrate the capability to detect, diagnose, and monitor the damage of composite materials and structures on aerospace vehicles.
Application of the Bass Model to Unconventional Oil Production: A Look at the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas

Developing long-term forecasts for unconventional oil, gas and condensate production have challenged both analysts and academics because the shale revolution is still in its relatively early stages. In this paper, forecast accuracy using limited data of oil and condensate production in the Eagle Ford has been improved using a Bass Diffusion Model that could be applicable to other shale field developments in the U.S., and eventually in other countries as well. Using only preliminary production data from 2006 through 2010, a Bass Model yields more accurate early predictions than more conventional, bottom-up, data/labor-intensive ordinary least squares (OLS) regression approaches. Further, the Bass Model suggests somewhat surprisingly that Eagle Ford oil and condensate production could reach as high as 2.6 million barrels per day by 2020, significantly above a recent analyst prediction of 2 million barrels, and far higher than the OLS regression forecasts ranging from between 450,000 and 1.4 million barrels per day.
Controlling transport of ultracold atoms in one-dimensional optical lattices with artificial gauge fields

We show that the recently developed optical lattices with Peierls substitution---which can be modeled as a lattice with a complex tunneling coefficient---may be used to induce controllable quantum transport of ultracold atoms. In particular, we show that by ramping up the phase of the complex tunneling coefficient in a spatially uniform fashion, a finite quasi-steady-state current (QSSC) ensues from the exact dynamics of noninteracting fermions. The direction and magnitude of the current can be controlled by the overall phase difference but not the details of the ramp. The entanglement entropy does not increase when the QSSC lasts. Due to different spin statistics, condensed noninteracting bosons do not support a finite QSSC under the same setup. We also find that an approximate form of the QSSC survives when perturbative effects from interactions, weak harmonic background traps, and finite temperature are present, which suggests that our findings should be observable with available experimental capabilities.
An Assisted Obstetric Delivery Device for Resource-Limited Settings

Pregnancy related mortalities account for the death of 350,000 women annually, and 99% of these mortalities occur in developing countries. Obstructed labor is one of the four leading causes of maternal mortality, in part because of inadequate access to assisted delivery technology. Currently used vacuums and forceps do not meet the functionality required by end users due to factors such as training time, dependence on electricity, and risks associated with device misuse. An assisted obstetric delivery device was designed and evaluated for use in low resource settings, following input gained through 15 weeks of interactions with Ghanaian health care workers in the summer of 2011. The prototype consists of a pronged applicator and an extractor sleeve, and requires no additional source of energy to operate. Future work includes improving the securing mechanism of the extractor as well as modifying the shape of the applicator to improve deflection characteristics.
Elastic Equilibrium of an Anisotropic Homogeneous Body Bounded Internally by a Cylindrical Surface of Arbitrary Cross Section

The purpose of this chapter is to study the elastic equilibrium of an anisotropic, homogeneous and continuous medium bounded internally by a cylindrical surface of arbitrary cross section. The medium is subjected to body and surface forces. The work of Lekhnitskii (1963) is heavily referenced and used as a guide line for the present analysis. His model is extended to include the influence of a boundary stress component parallel to the hole axis.
Suppression of noise in speech using the saber method

A stand alone noise suppression algorithm is described for reducing the spectral effects of acoustically added noise in speech. A fundamental result is developed which shows that the spectral magnitude of speech plus noise can be effectively approximated as the sum of magnitudes of speech and noise. Using this simple phase independent additive model, the noise bias present in the short time spectrum is reduced by subtracting off the expected noise spectrum calculated during nonspeech activity. After bias removal, the time waveform is recalculated from the modified magnitude and saved phase. This Spectral Averaging for Bias Estimation and Removal, or SABER method requires only one FFT per time window for analysis and synthesis.