cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Competitive Engineering: Structural Climate Modifications to Enhance Youth Athletes' Competitive Experience:

Competitive engineering (CE) is a structural-based approach to changing the competitive environment of youth sports to provide more nurturing competitive experiences. Thus, in youth sport, CE attempts to enhance a variety of psychosocial outcomes by making systematic changes to the competitive environment in which athletes perform. A working CE model is presented that employs four CE strategies (i.e., modifying structure, rules, facilities and equipment) to promote athlete engagement goals based on athlete-directed sandlot sport principles (i.e., increasing action and scoring, keeping scores close, enhancing personal involvement, and maintaining positive social relationships) in order to attain intrinsic motivation outcomes, particularly competence, autonomy, relatedness and Flow while promoting an autonomy supportive climate. Discussion focuses on how the CE model can best promote research and intervention to enhance competitive climates in order to promote better sport experiences for all youngsters.
Modelling dislocations in a free-standing thin film

We present a set of efficient numerical algorithms to accurately compute the forces on dislocations in free-standing thin films. We first present a spectral method for computing the image stress field of dislocations in an isotropic elastic half space and a free-standing thin film. The traction force on the free surface is decomposed into Fourier modes by a discrete Fourier transform and the resulting image stress field is obtained by superimposing analytic solutions in the Fourier space. Dislocations intersecting free surfaces are discussed, including the use of virtual segments and the associated uniqueness of their solutions. The efficiency of the algorithm is enhanced by incorporating the analytical solutions for straight dislocations intersecting free surfaces. A comprehensive algorithm, including a flow diagram, is formulated and the numerical convergence of these algorithms discussed. As a benchmark, we compute the equilibrium orientation of a threading dislocation in a free-standing thin film. Good agreement is observed between the predictions from the dislocation dynamics model and those from molecular static simulations and the line tension model.
Synthesis of sub-2 nm ceria crystallites in carbon matrixes by simple pyrolysis of ion-exchange resins

Highly crystalline ceria nanoparticles in porous carbon matrixes are formed by the simple pyrolysis of cerium loaded ion-exchange resins. The resulting cerium/carbon composite structures maintain the original bead or powder form of the precursor resins with an increase in specific surface area. Incorporating Gd or Pr dopants with Ce in the resins provide uniform dispersions and equally small ceria crystallites upon pyrolysis, typically 1–2 nm. Highly active particles are obtained, as demonstrated by air light-off of the ceria/carbon composites as low as 200 °C. The combination of the high pyrolysis temperature (1000 °C) and the controlled dispersion and stable environment provided by the ion-exchange resin precursors are key to provide highly crystalline and extremely small ceria particles in a conductive carbon matrix. Various types of cation-exchange resins are considered and the best results are obtained with highly cross-linked or styrene-divinyl benzene (DVB) matrixes and cation chelating or weak acid functionalities.
The Relation Between Disinhibition and Emotion Regulation in Boys With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

This study examined group differences of 49 boys ages 6 to 11 years with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in emotion regulation during frustrating peer competition. Half of all boys in each group were explicitly instructed to hide their feelings if they became upset during the competition. Behavioral inhibition, both before and after the competitive task, was examined using the Stop Signal Task (SST), and emotion regulation was assessed via structured observation data. Effect sizes indicated that impulsive ADHD boys displayed greater disinhibition and were less effective at emotion regulation than comparison boys. In addition, boys with ADHD were unsuccessful in masking their emotions even when instructed to do so. In contrast, comparison boys were more successful at emotion regulation when given instruction to self-regulate, and these regulatory attempts predicted later inhibitory control. Findings are discussed in the context of current ADHD-related theories of inhibitory deficit, and suggestions for future research are provided.
High efficiency, magnetron sputtered CdS/CdTe solar cells

Abstract Polycrystalline II–VI semiconductor materials show great promise for efficient, low-cost photovoltaics. Large-area deposition of the II–VI semiconductors such as CdTe is possible by a variety of methods but the use of a plasma-based method such as magnetron sputtering can have significant advantages. Here we present recent results in the fabrication of CdS/CdTe cells using rf magnetron sputtering and discuss some of the advantages that accrue from the use of sputtering methods in this class of materials. Some of these advantages are particularly relevant as the polycrystalline thin-film PV community addresses issues related to the fabrication of tandem cells with efficiencies over 25%. Our best results have been obtained with sputtered ZnO:Al to achieve a CdTe solar cell having 14.0% efficiency at one sun with an air mass 1.5 global spectrum. We have also studied reactive sputtering of ZnTe:N which shows promise for use as a transparent back contact or as a recombination junction with ZnO:Al for II–VI based alloy top cells in a tandem solar-cell configuration. Finally, some advances have been made in substrate-configuration CdTe cells on Mo using sputter deposition that hold promise for flexible CdTe-based PV.
Data-driven model comparing the effects of glial scarring and interface interactions on chronic neural recordings in non-human primates.

Objective. We characterized electrode stability over twelve weeks of impedance and neural recording data from four chronically-implanted Utah arrays in two rhesus macaques, and investigated the effects of glial scarring and interface interactions at the electrode recording site on signal quality using a computational model. Approach. A finite-element model of a Utah array microelectrode in neural tissue was coupled with a multi-compartmental model of a neuron to quantify the effects of encapsulation thickness, encapsulation resistivity, and interface resistivity on electrode impedance and waveform amplitude. The coupled model was then reconciled with the in vivo data. Histology was obtained seventeen weeks post-implantation to measure gliosis. Main results. From week 1–3, mean impedance and amplitude increased at rates of 115.8 kΩ/week and 23.1 μV/week, respectively. This initial ramp up in impedance and amplitude was observed across all arrays, and is consistent with biofouling (increasing interface resistivity) and edema clearing (increasing tissue resistivity), respectively, in the model. Beyond week 3, the trends leveled out. Histology showed that thin scars formed around the electrodes. In the model, scarring could not match the in vivo data. However, a thin interface layer at the electrode tip could. Despite having a large effect on impedance, interface resistivity did not have a noticeable effect on amplitude. Significance. This study suggests that scarring does not cause an electrical problem with regard to signal quality since it does not appear to be the main contributor to increasing impedance or significantly affect amplitude unless it displaces neurons. This, in turn, suggests that neural signals can be obtained reliably despite scarring as long as the recording site has sufficiently low impedance after accumulating a thin layer of biofouling. Therefore, advancements in microelectrode technology may be expedited by focusing on improvements to the recording site-tissue interface rather than elimination of the glial scar.
Food security under climate change

Using food prices to assess climate change impacts on food security is misleading. Differential impacts on income require a broader measure of household well-being, such as changes in absolute poverty.
Amphiphilic Macromolecule Self-Assembled Monolayers Suppress Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation

A significant limitation of cardiovascular stents is restenosis, where excessive smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation following stent implantation causes blood vessel reocclusion. While drug-eluting stents minimize SMC proliferation through releasing cytotoxic or immunosuppressive drugs from polymer carriers, significant issues remain with delayed healing, inflammation, and hypersensitivity reactions associated with drug and polymer coatings. Amphiphilic macromolecules (AMs) comprising a sugar-based hydrophobic domain and a hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) tail are noncytotoxic and recently demonstrated a concentration-dependent ability to suppress SMC proliferation. In this study, we designed a series of AMs and studied their coating properties (chemical composition, thickness, grafting density, and coating uniformity) to determine the effect of headgroup chemistry on bioactive AM grafting and release properties from stainless steel substrates. One carboxyl-terminated AM (1cM) and two phosphonate- (Me...
Multimodal Data Mining in a Multimedia Database Based on Structured Max Margin Learning

Mining knowledge from a multimedia database has received increasing attentions recently since huge repositories are made available by the development of the Internet. In this article, we exploit the relations among different modalities in a multimedia database and present a framework for general multimodal data mining problem where image annotation and image retrieval are considered as the special cases. Specifically, the multimodal data mining problem can be formulated as a structured prediction problem where we learn the mapping from an input to the structured and interdependent output variables. In addition, in order to reduce the demanding computation, we propose a new max margin structure learning approach called Enhanced Max Margin Learning (EMML) framework, which is much more efficient with a much faster convergence rate than the existing max margin learning methods, as verified through empirical evaluations. Furthermore, we apply EMML framework to develop an effective and efficient solution to the multimodal data mining problem that is highly scalable in the sense that the query response time is independent of the database scale. The EMML framework allows an efficient multimodal data mining query in a very large scale multimedia database, and excels many existing multimodal data mining methods in the literature that do not scale up at all. The performance comparison with a state-of-the-art multimodal data mining method is reported for the real-world image databases.
Ion Implantation Damage Processes in Nuclear Waste Glass and Other Silicate Glasses

Cantilever beam measurements of induced lateral stress have been made for He, Xe and Pb ion-implantation into the complex borosilicate radioactive waste glasses (PNL 76–68, SRP), a commercial borosilicate (Pyrex), and into fused Si02 (Suprasil 1). For the borosilicate glasses, implantation caused a buildup of stress to a saturation value (∼ 1 × 10 5 dynes/cm). The maximum occurred at ion fluences greater than those found for maximum stress in fused silica and without a stress relief mechanism. The separate family of stress curves for Pyrex and PNL 76–68 coincide when stress is plotted as a function of energy into electronic processes. Pyrex has 13 wgt.% B 2 O 3 and 81 wgt.% SiO 2 , while PNL 76–68 and SRP have 10% B 2 O 3 , 40% SiO 2 and N5 B 2 O 3 and 58% Si0 2, respectively. Pyrex is known to be phase-separated, and Ghe waste glasses are susceptible to phase separation. It is suggested that the B 2 O 3 phase may be more easily compacted than the SiO 2 phase. The evidently greater effectiveness of the ionization component of the ion energy in creating damage in borosilicate glasses should be of considerable interest in waste glass studies because of the large amounts of ionization from α-decay (∼ 5 MeV He).
cDNA-AFLP Analysis of Differentially Expressed Genes in Tobacco Infected by TMV

Flue-cured tobacco variety Longjiang 925 with high resistance to Tobacco mosaic virus(TMV) was used as the tested material,and we selected 240 pairs of primers and amplified cDNA from the tobacco leaf inoculated by TMV.The results showed that approximately 9500 gene transcript fragments were obtained,and twelve inducible expressed gene fragments were selected out by cloning and sequencing.The inducible fragments functions,involve in the nucleic acid metabolism,protein synthesis and modulation,energy metabolism,stress responding,intracellular transport,metabolism of carbohydrates.To validate the func-tions of these differentially expressed gene sequences obtained,we analyzed TIF2 fragment by real-time PCR with the samples collected at 0,12,24,48,and 72 hours after inoculation,and the mRNAs samples were isolated.The result of real-time PCR in-dicated that the gene isolated was related to TMV-resistance.Then,both 5'-and 3'-rapid amplification of cDNA ends(RACE) were preformed.A full length cDNA sequence of TIF2 contained 875 bp,with a coding zone of 101 bp to 613 bp conjecturably,encoding 170 amino acids.Analyses of Blastn and Blastp showed that the gene was not homologous to tobacco,and probably was the TMV-resistance related novel gene.The results will be helpful for the future research on tobacco resistant-breeding to TMV in molecule level and so on.
QoS Model of Next Generation Network Based on MPLS

Several QoS technologies are presented,one single technology can not solve the QoS problem perfectly.A new QoS model is brought forward,which integrates MPLS traffic engineering,DiffServ and IntServ.Design philosophy and implementation technique of this model are brought forward.Simulations about this model in NS2 are done.Compared with MPLS network,network delay is shortened and packets loss rate is decreased by 20% in proposed model.
Two Spectrophotometric Methods for Ganoderma Lucidum Polysaccharide Determination

Objective To compare the difference of the two spectrophotometric methods for the polysaccharide determination of ganoderma lucidum and ganoderma lucidum eatract.Methods The content of ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide was measured by phenol-sulfuric acid and anthrone-sulfuric acid spectrophotometric methods.Results There were no significant difference between the results of the two methods.The linear relationship of standard solution between 0.005 mg/ml and 0.1 mg/ml was good,and correlation coefficient were both above 0.9994.Conclusion The two methods can be used to determine the content of ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide accurately.
52 A SINGLE-DOSE PHARMACOKINETIC STUDY OF MYFORTIC (MYCOPHENOLATE SODIUM) IN LIVER TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS.

Background Enteric coated mycophenolate sodium (EC-MPS) is the sodium salt formulation of the active immunosuppressive compound mycophenolic acid (MPA). This drug was recently approved for use in renal transplantation. The pharmacokinetic profile for MPS has been well studied in renal transplant recipients but has not been described in the liver transplant population. Methods This study is designed to determine the pharmacokinetic profile of MPS in liver transplant recipients. Patients enrolled in this study must be $ 12 months post-transplant and on a stable dose of tacrolimus or cyclosporine for 3 months. Exclusion criteria included ALT $ 235 IU/l, serum creatinine $ 2.5 mg/dL, current use of sirolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, or azathioprine, or acute cellular rejection within 3 months of enrolment. Each patient was orally administered one dose EC-MPS 720 mg followed by measurement of blood levels of MPA at the following intervals (hours) t = 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 5.0, 8.0, and 12.0. Previous renal transplant studies have defined the MPA pharmacokinetics with EC-MPS as tmax mean (range) = 2 h (0.8-8), Cmax mean ± SD = 26.1 ± 12.0 μg/mL, AUC0-12 mean ± SD = 66.5 ± 22.6 μg-hr/mL. Results From August to November 2005, eight patients were enrolled in this study. Demographics include 4 male/4 female, mean age = 53.4 years, mean weight = 81.2 kg. Etiology of underlying liver disease: four hepatitis C, two PBC, one hepatitis B, one hemangioma. Mean time post-transplant = 4.73 years. Results from this study showed the following pharmacokinetic parameters: tmax mean (range) = 2.9 h (1.5-5), Cmax mean ± SD = 33.9 ± 21.9 μg/mL, AUC0-12 mean ± SD = 52.9 ± 25.2 μg-hr/mL. Conclusion (1) These preliminary findings show that in liver transplant recipients, the pharmacokinetic parameters of MPA appear similar to renal transplant patients. (2) Further study is required to better understand the pharmacokinetic profile of MPA in liver transplant patients and determine if any significant differences will be noted due to underlying liver disease or coadministered immunosuppressants.
The Application of Advanced Product Quality Plan to SGMW GP50

The essence of management concept of supplier quality management in automobile industry is prevention first, to reduce waste and to satisfy customers increased demand by constant improvement.Thus,APQP has been increasingly applied to manage new project development.This paper expatiates on the basic idea and the content of APQP and introduces the application of APQP to SGMW GP50.
Analysis of the Change and its Clinical Significance of N-terminal Pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide Level in Children with Tetralogy of Fallot after Radical Operation

Objective: To explore the change and its clinical significance of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide level in children with tetralogy of Fallot after radical operation. Methods: 52 cases of tetralogy of Fallot were selected in our hospital from October 2011 to April 2013, all patients underwent radical operation, and detected plasma NT-proBNP preoperative, postoperative 3h, 12h, 48h, 1 week, 1 month and 3 months, Meanwhile, right ventricular end-diastolic volume(RVEDV), pulmonary artery pressure differences left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF) and right ventricular Tei index were detected by cardiac ultrasound. Results: ①The NT-proBNP level gradually increased in postoperative 3h, after 48h, reached the highest level, significantly higher than the preoperative level(P0.01), 1 months, 3 months after operation was obviously lower than that of before treatment(P0.05). ② 1 week after operation, the levels of plasma NT-proBNP, pulmonary artery pressure gradient across the valve and the RVEDV in right heart dysfunction group was significantly higher than that of right ventricular function in normal group, LEVF was significantly lower than that of right ventricular function in normal group(P0.05). ③3 months postoperatively, severe reflux group, moderate regurgitation patients received 48h, 1 weeks, 3 months, plasma NT-proBNP was significantly higher than the mild reflux group(P0.05); severe reflux group after 1 weeks, 3 months, plasma NT-proBNP was significantly higher than the mild reflux group(P0.05). Conclusion: The change of NT-proBNP early in the radical operation of tetralogy of Fallot after levels and right heart function, can be used as objective indicators of right heart function evaluation.
Early presentation of carcinoma of the small bowel in Crohn's disease (“Crohn's carcinoma”): Case reports and review of the literature

We report here 3 cases of adenocarcinoma of the small bowel complicating Crohn's disease ("Crohn's carcinoma"). In 2 cases, the adenocarcinoma was discovered in the first attack of enteritis. In only one other case in the literature, a similar presentation was described. A review of 59 reported cases of adenocarcinoma of small bowel in Crohn's disease, together with these 3 cases reveals that: (a) the cancer develops at a younger age than in carcinoma de novo; (b) there is no difference in incidence of carcinoma in the first, second, and third decades after the onset of symptoms of Crohn's disease; (c) in 73% of cases, the neoplasm rose in the ileum; (d) in all but 1 case it developed in inflamed segments of bowel; (e) in 31% of cases the cancer developed in a bypassed segment of bowel. This analysis clearly demonstrates that "Crohn's carcinoma" is a complication in Crohn's disease and not a chance coexistence of two diseases in the same patient.
Acute Cerebral Infarction: Evaluation and Treatment

Patients with recent strokes, suspected strokes, or transient ischemic attacks should be hospitalized to permit comprehensive evaluation and initiation of proper therapy. Immediate short-term measures to prevent further brain infarction may be advisable. In many cases definite heart or lung disease is present and requires primary treatment.
Associations Between End-of-Life Cancer Care Patterns and Medicare Expenditures.

Background The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which patterns of intensive end-of-life care explain geographic variation in end-of-life care expenditures among cancer decedents. Methods Using the SEER-Medicare database, we identified 90,465 decedents who were diagnosed with cancer in 2004-2011. Measures of intensive end-of-life care included chemotherapy received within 14 days of death; more than 1 emergency department visit, more than 1 hospitalization, or 1 or more intensive care unit (ICU) admissions within 30 days of death; in-hospital death; and hospice enrollment less than 3 days before death. Using hierarchical generalized linear models, we estimated risk-adjusted expenditures in the last month of life for each hospital referral region and identified key contributors to variation in expenditures. Results The mean expenditure per cancer decedent in the last month of life was $10,800, ranging from $8,300 to $15,400 in the lowest and highest expenditure quintile areas, respectively. There was considerable variation in the percentage of decedents receiving intensive end-of-life care intervention, with 41.7% of decedents receiving intensive care in the lowest quintile of expenditures versus 57.9% in the highest quintile. Regional patterns of late chemotherapy or late hospice use explained only approximately 1% of the expenditure difference between the highest and lowest quintile areas. In contrast, the proportion of decedents who had ICU admissions within 30 days of death was a major driver of variation, explaining 37.6% of the expenditure difference. Conclusions Promoting appropriate end-of-life care has the potential to reduce geographic variation in end-of-life care expenditures.
Effects of system harmonics and unbalanced voltages on electromagnetic performance of induction motors

Various phenomena can deteriorate the performance of induction motors and cause potential safety hazards. This can be harmful for the respective applications. Deficiencies like unbalanced voltages due to an unbalance in the power grid or harmonics in the voltage source could result in problems like excessive losses, over-voltages, mechanical oscillations, and interference with control electronics. Detecting these abnormal conditions in the machine is of great importance in the interaction of the electrical machine and the power grid. In this paper the effect of the unbalanced voltages and harmonics on the motor performance, have been investigated. Then, monitoring these unhealthy condition using electrical machine parameters is carried out. In this case motor itself can act as the sensor that detects unpopular condition.
Differential expression of miR-34b and androgen receptor pathway regulate prostate cancer aggressiveness between African-Americans and Caucasians.

// Marisa Shiina 1, * , Yutaka Hashimoto 1, * , Taku Kato 1 , Soichiro Yamamura 1 , Yuichiro Tanaka 1 , Shahana Majid 1 , Sharanjot Saini 1 , Shahryari Varahram 1 , Priyanka Kulkarni 1 , Pritha Dasgupta 1 , Yozo Mitsui 1 , Mitsuho Sumida 1 , Laura Tabatabai 1 , Guoren Deng 1 , Deepak Kumar 2 , Rajvir Dahiya 1 1 Department of Urology, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco and University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA 2 Division of Science and Mathematic, Cancer Research Laboratory, University of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, USA * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Rajvir Dahiya, email: rdahiya@ucsf.edu Keywords: miR-34b, prostate cancer, african-americans, caucasians, androgen receptor Received: October 04, 2016 Accepted: November 23, 2016 Published: December 25, 2016 ABSTRACT African-Americans are diagnosed with more aggressive prostate cancers and have worse survival than Caucasians, however a comprehensive understanding of this health disparity remains unclear. To clarify the mechanisms leading to this disparity, we analyzed the potential involvement of miR-34b expression in African-Americans and Caucasians. miR-34b functions as a tumor suppressor and has a multi-functional role, through regulation of cell proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis. We found that miR-34b expression is lower in human prostate cancer tissues from African-Americans compared to Caucasians. DNA hypermethylation of the miR-34b-3p promoter region showed significantly higher methylation in prostate cancer compared to normal samples. We then sequenced the promoter region of miR-34b-3p and found a chromosomal deletion in miR-34b in African-American prostate cancer cell line (MDA-PCA-2b) and not in Caucasian cell line (DU-145). We found that AR and ETV1 genes are differentially expressed in MDA-PCa-2b and DU-145 cells after overexpression of miR-34b. Direct interaction of miR-34b with the 3’ untranslated region of AR and ETV1 was validated by luciferase reporter assay. We found that miR-34b downregulation in African-Americans is inversely correlated with high AR levels that lead to increased cell proliferation. Overexpression of miR-34b in cell lines showed higher inhibition of cell proliferation, apoptosis and G1 arrest in the African-American cells (MDA-PCa-2b) compared to Caucasian cell line (DU-145). Taken together, our results show that differential expression of miR-34b and AR are associated with prostate cancer aggressiveness in African-Americans.
Expression of TrkA, TrkB and TrkC in human neuroblastomas

There is considerable interest in the role of the TRK family of neurotrophin receptors in regulating the survival, growth and differentiation of normal and neoplastic nerve cells. Indeed, there is increasing evidence that TRK genes play an important role in the biology and clinical behavior of neuroblastomas, tumors of the peripheral nervous system. Evidence from several independent studies suggests that high expression of TrkA is an indicator of favorable outcome, and there is an inverse correlation between TrkA expression and N-myc amplification. In addition, some primary neuroblastomas differentiate in vitro in the presence of NGF but die in its absence. We have evidence that coexpression of full-length TrkB and BDNF is associated with N-myc amplification and may represent an autocrine survival pathway. Conversely, truncated TrkB is expressed predominantly in differentiated tumors. Finally, TrkC is expressed in favorable neuroblastomas, essentially all of which also express TrkA. In summary, the study of neurotrophin receptor expression and function in neuroblastomas may provide important insights into the role that these pathways play in the pathogenesis and clinical behavior of this tumor. Ultimately, these pathways may provide attractive targets for the development of therapy aimed at inducing differentiation or programmed cell death in these tumors.
Analysis of aerosol composition data for western United States wildfires between 2005 and 2015: Dust emissions, chloride depletion, and most enhanced aerosol constituents.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Research Program [2 P42 ES04940]; ONR [N00014-16-1-2567, N00014-10-1-0811]; NASA/HQ; Agilent Technologies; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; National Park Service
Single Magnetic Impurities in Colloidal Quantum Dots and Magic-Size Clusters

Impurity doping can be used to dramatically alter the physical properties of semiconductor nanostructures and endow them with promising new technological potential. This review summarizes recent progress toward the development of colloidal semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) doped with individual magnetic impurity ions. Such singly doped quantum dots (SDQDs), as well as related magic-sized nanoclusters, represent an exciting class of materials for cultivating unique physical effects arising from magnetic exchange coupling between delocalized charge carriers and the single impurity ions. Key exchange effects can be enhanced by carrier confinement in such small structures. The physical properties displayed by these materials may prove valuable for new technologies based on the manipulation of individual spins in semiconductor nanostructures, such as spintronics, spin-photonics, or quantum computing. Interesting chemical and analytical challenges also emerge when exploring this research frontier. Here, we descr...
Vaccination Perceptions of College Students: With and Without Vaccination Waiver

Introduction: The resurgence of vaccine preventable diseases occurs more often among intentionally unvaccinated individuals, placing at direct risk young adults not caught up on vaccinations. The objectives of this study were to characterize the sociodemographic characteristics of young adults with and without vaccination waivers and identify their perceived benefits, barriers, and influencers of vaccination. Methods: Young adults (n=964) from a Midwestern rural university responded to a survey (fall 2015 - spring 2016) designed to identify their perception towards vaccination. Instrument consistency was measured using the Cronbach α-scores. The Chi-square test was used to test any sociodemographic differences and Mann-Whitney U-tests results for differences between exempt and non-exempt students. Analysis occurred in spring 2017. Results: A little over one-third of young adults with a vaccination waiver were not up to date on their vaccinations, and think that vaccinations can cause autism. The biggest identifiable benefit was effective control against disease. The out of pocket cost associated with vaccination was the most reported barrier and vaccines that are safe and easy to use was the most important influencer of vaccination. Conclusions: Young adults who have had a vaccination waiver appear to not be up to date on their vaccinations. Vaccine administration programs, such as university campus clinics, would benefit from addressing perceptions unique to young adults with and without a vaccine waiver. This would subsequently better provide young adults a second shot for getting appropriately caught up on vaccinations.
Patterns of abuse among South Asian women experiencing domestic violence in the United States

This qualitative study was conducted with a convenience sample of 20 South Asian women experiencing domestic violence in the United States. The results explore the patterns of abuse as well as the factors and circumstances (i.e. turning points) that motivated South Asian women to change in the context of the stage that they were in as per the Landenburger model (binding, enduring, disengaging, and recovery). The four themes that emerged from the interviews and analysis are (1) ‘Timing and Frequency of abuse’, (2) ‘Methods of control – financial, isolation and suspicion’, (3) ‘Cycle of Abuse’, and (4)’ Turning Points – motivation to change’. Implications for practice and policy-level changes for abused South Asian women in the United States are discussed.
Biological Principles of Radiotherapy in the Central Nervous System

Responses of the central nervous system (CNS) to irradiation may be broadly classified as acute, subacute and late, and occur in a similar manner for a conventional course of treatment or single-dose stereotactic radiotherapy (Plowman 1999). Acute effects of brain irradiation are transient and occur 6-48 h after therapy. They are characterized by edema and drowsiness. These effects do not necessarily predict that later complications will occur. Drowsiness is claimed to be more pronounced in children than in adults. Irradiation of the nucleus tractus solitarius and area postrema can stimulate brain stem emetic mechanisms. Subacute effects of brain irradiation have an insidious onset beginning 6-10 weeks after the start of a course of radiation therapy, with somnolence and fatigability being the predominant symptoms. They are fully or partially reversible. In the spinal cord, radiation-induced meningeal changes can lead to a positive Lhermittei¯s sign, but this is not a precursor of effects in the cord itself. If late sequelae develop, they do so most commonly between about 5 months and 2 years, with the onset of symptoms occurring earlier with higher doses. (Lo et al. 1992; Chiang et al. 1997). However, injury may not become apparent for many years after exposure (Million and Parsons 1999).
Searching images and the meaning of alarm calls.

The snake alarm call of Japanese tits prompts nesting adults to search for and mob the reptile until it is driven away. From playback experiments, Suzuki (2018) has inferred that the call provides an associative cue, evoking a searching image of the salient visual features of the predator—a novel approach to exploring visual attention and vocal communication in the wild.
An oral health baseline of need at a predominantly African American Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE): Opportunities for dental-nursing collaboration.

Abstract This descriptive study sought to establish an oral health baseline of need for enrollees at a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) and identify opportunities for nursing interventions. The Oral Health Assessment Tool (OHAT) was applied to a random sample of 120 enrollees, 64 of whom met inclusion criteria, agreed to participate to assess their oral health status, and were included in the analysis. The mean OHAT score was 4.4 (SD = 2.6; range 0–12). Higher scores indicate poorer oral health. The oral conditions found needing the most attention were gums, saliva, natural teeth, dentures, and oral cleanliness. Oral cleanliness scored the worst on the OHAT, highlighting opportunities for nursing interventions and the necessity for oral hygiene routines. This study also identifies the need for nurses to address enrollees’ oral health and relay information back to the PACE interdisciplinary team (IDT) to initiate referrals to the dentist as needed.
Role of Moderators on Engagement of Adolescents With Depression or Anxiety in a Social Media Intervention: Content Analysis of Web-Based Interactions

Background: The Supporting Our Valued Adolescents (SOVA) intervention aims to use a moderated social media website to encourage peer discussion about negative health beliefs, which may prevent treatment uptake. Web moderators with a background in behavioral health are used to facilitate peer conversation to promote a sense of community, provide social support, and ensure safety. Objective: Although moderation is a core component of this intervention, little is known on best practices for moderators to ensure safety while encouraging engagement. This study sought to describe interactions between moderators and peer users and understand moderator experiences through individual interviews. Methods: Adolescents and young adults aged 14 to 26 years with depression or anxiety history were recruited for a usability study of the SOVA intervention. During this study, 14 moderators were trained to regularly review comments to blog posts for safety, facilitate conversation, and correct misinformation. A total of 110 blog posts and their associated comments were extracted and coded using a codebook based on items from the supportive accountability model and a peer social support analysis. Closing interviews with 12 moderators assessing their experience of moderating were conducted, recorded, and transcribed. Blog post text and comments as well as transcripts of moderator interviews were assessed using a thematic analysis approach, and blog posts were examined for trends in content of moderator comments comparing blog posts with differences in comment contributor order. Results: There were no safety concerns during the study, and moderators only intervened to remove identifiable information. Web moderators exhibited elements of supportive accountability (such as being perceived as experts and using verbal rewards as well as offering informational and emotional support). When the moderators provided the last comment under a blog post, thereby potentially ending contribution by users, they were at times found to be commenting about their own experiences. Moderators interviewed after completing their role expressed challenges in engaging users, which a cohort of users who received more extensive training on supportive accountability and peer social support felt improved because of the training. Conclusions: Moderators of a Web-based support site for adolescents with depression or anxiety were able to ensure safety while promoting user engagement. Moderators can elicit user engagement by offering gratitude and encouragement to users, asking users follow-up questions, and limiting their own opinions and experiences when responding to comments.
Deficiency of MicroRNA miR-1954 Promotes Cardiac Remodeling and Fibrosis

Background Cardiac fibrosis occurs because of disruption of the extracellular matrix network leading to myocardial dysfunction. Angiotensin II (AngII) has been implicated in the development of card...
The physics of knocking over LEGO minifigures with time reversal focused vibrations

Time reversal (TR) is a method of focusing wave energy at a single point in space. This project optimizes a TR demonstration designed to knock over one selected LEGO minifigure among other minifigures by focusing vibrations within an aluminum plate at the target minifigure. The goal is to achieve high repeatability of the demo along with making it possible to do at a lower cost. By comparing the motion of the minifigure and the plate directly beneath its feet, it was determined that a major factor inhibiting the repeatability of the demo was that smaller vibrations leading up to the focal event caused the minifigure to bounce repeatedly, losing contact with the plate and ending up in the air during the main focal event intended to knock over the minifigure. This project explores the effects of amplitude, frequency, TR technique, plate size, and vibration sensor type on the repeatability of the demonstration. This demonstration illustrates the power of TR focusing and the principles learned by optimizing this demonstration can be applied to other real-world applications.
The Impact of Major Postoperative Complications on Long-Term Survival After Cardiac Surgery.

Background This study evaluated the impact of postoperative complications on long-term survival after cardiac surgery. Methods Adults undergoing an index cardiac operation from January 2010 to December 2017 were included. Patients were stratified by the number and type of major complications as defined by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Failure to rescue was defined as mortality after a complication that occurred before hospital discharge. Long-term mortality among patients with complications was defined as a postcomplication death occurring after hospital discharge. Multivariable Cox regression was used for risk adjustment. Results In all, 9532 patients were included in the study, and 16.8% (n = 1600) had a major postoperative complication. Operative mortality was 0.8% for patients with no complications. Early failure to rescue increased as the number of complications increased (7.5%, 28.1%, and 51.5% for one, two, and three or more complications, respectively; P Conclusions Postoperative complications after cardiac surgery, particularly when occurring in combination, have a profound impact on long-term survival, even after excluding early postoperative deaths.
Hedonic and utilitarian value as a mediator of men’s intention to purchase cosmetics

Global trends towards men grooming behavior about their appearance are considered as one of the drivers behind the growing popularity of cosmetic products. Previous research on male cosmetics has f...
Potassium-lowering agents for the treatment of nonemergent hyperkalemia: pharmacology, dosing and comparative efficacy

Hyperkalemia represents a common and potentially life-threating electrolyte abnormality, a complication frequently observed in patients with heart failure, kidney disease, diabetes or in those receiving drug therapies influencing the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Elevated serum potassium levels are often the result of impaired urinary potassium elimination, inadequate or reduced cellular potassium uptake, severe heart failure, use of medications influencing potassium levels in the circulation, or, more commonly, a combination of these factors. Strategies for the treatment of nonemergent hyperkalemia include the use of cation-exchange resins, polymers or other novel mechanisms of potassium trapping, including sodium polystyrene sulfonate, patiromer and sodium zirconium cyclosilicate. These agents differ in their pharmacology and mechanism of action, clinical efficacy, including onset and extent of potassium-lowering effect, dosage and administration, and potential safety and adverse effect profiles. In this review, an evaluation of these characteristics, including clinical evidence and safety concerns, in the management of nonemergent hyperkalemia will be explored.
Graduate Students’ Clinical Self-Efficacy: Impact of an Intensive Cleft Lip and Palate Clinical Practicum:

This study aimed to examine self-efficacy as graduate students gained clinical skills during an intensive international cleft lip and palate (CLP) clinical practicum. A total of 17 graduate student...
Serious Sailing: Time-Optimal Control of Sailing Drones in Stochastic, Spatiotemporally Varying Wind Fields.

In contrast to traditional mobile robots, renewably powered mobile robotic systems offer the potential for unlimited range at the expense of highly stochastic mobility. Robotic sailboats, termed sailing drones, represent one such example that has received recent attention. After providing a detailed model and corresponding velocity polar for a candidate customized robotic sailboat, this paper presents a stochastic dynamic programming (SDP) approach for time-optimal control of sailing drones in a stochastic wind resource, which provides a feedback control policy to minimize expected time to a prescribed waypoint. The paper provides a Monte Carlo study of the impact of wind direction volatility on the resulting routes, along with an assessment of robustness to mismatches between actual and assumed volatility.
Invasion and colonization: Islamophobia and anti-refugee sentiment in West Virginia:

Amidst a rise in hate crimes, hate group organizing, and anti-Muslim and anti-refugee policy making in the United States, this paper examines efforts by a national hate group to organize opposition...
Business strategy and the management of digital marketing

Abstract The internet brought disruptive change to the business landscape through the creation of a whole host of digital marketing tactics. But with these new tactical options has come the need for marketing managers to (1) prioritize what they wish to accomplish and (2) determine which digital marketing tactics to invest in. We consider these issues from the perspective of four business strategies: prospectors, analyzers, low-cost defenders, and differentiated defenders. In this article, we provide marketing managers with insights into how businesses pursuing various strategies approach these digital marketing issues, with the ultimate goal being to assist managers in the efficient and effective implementation of their firm’s adopted strategy.
IS IT WRONG TO DO RIGHT WHEN OTHERS DO WRONG?: A Critique of American Tort Law

In recent years, American tort law has been the beneficiary of a growing effort by sophisticated legal theorists to advance a theory that both descriptively and normatively accounts for its doctrines on non-utilitarian grounds.See, e.g., the rich set of essays recently compiled by David Owen upon which I shall draw extensively in this piece. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF TORT LAW (David G. Owen ed., Clarendon Press, 1995) (hereinafter PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS). Yet despite the formidable challenges that this literature has posed for the economic analyses that have dominated tort law theorizing in recent decades, central tort doctrines persist in defying efforts to describe and defend them as vehicles for redressing rights violations. In saying this, I do not mean to refer to such obvious things as the fact that the Hand Formula“[I]f the probability [of a foreseeable plaintiff’s injury] be called P; the injury, L; and the burden [of precautions necessary to avert L], B; liability depends upon whether B is less than L multiplied by P: i.e., whether B [is less than ] PL.” United States v. Carroll Towing Co., 159 F.2d 169, 173 (2d Cir. 1947). appears to allow rights violations in the name of utility or wealth maximization (although corrective justice theorists must admit that the fact that the Hand Formula dominates contemporary characterizations of negligence is a painful theoretical thorn in their sidesFor a denial of the prominence of economic analysis in doctrinal explanation, see Richard W. Wright, The Standards of Care in Negligence Law, in PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS, 249–75, 250. For a deontological account of tort law’s use of the Hand Formula, see Heidi M. Hurd, The Deontology of Negligence, 76 B. U. L. REV. 249–72 (1996).). Rather, I have in mind the more subtle but more significant fact that myriad tort doctrines reflect the fundamental thesis that persons have obligations to (re-)structure their conduct so as to mitigate the harms caused by others’ foreseeable wrongdoing—obligations which, when violated, properly serve as a basis for declaring such persons negligent.
The Effects of Physical Activity on Engagement in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Physical activity (PA) is linked to multiple positive health outcomes for young children, with potential benefits in other domains as well. Engaging in higher intensity PA may produce positive gains for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), especially in academic engagement and on-task behavior. However, there is limited research documenting current levels of PA in young children with ASD and effective strategies for early childhood educators to increase PA. The aim of this study is to address these gaps by examining the extent to which embedded antecedent exercise (AE) increases and sustains engagement for children with ASD in early childhood settings. Three kindergarten students with ASD participated in this study, using a single-case withdrawal design to investigate the relationship between intensity of PA and student engagement during two unique classroom activities. Overall, results showed an increase in student engagement across classroom activities after participating in embedded AE.