cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Influence of Abiotic and Environmental Factors on the Density and Infection Prevalence of Ixodes pacificus (Acari: Ixodidae) with Borrelia burgdorferi

The abiotic and biotic factors that govern the spatial distribution of Lyme disease vectors are poorly understood. This study addressed the influence of abiotic and biotic environmental variables on Ixodes pacificus Cooley & Kohls (Acari: Ixodidae) nymphs, because it is the primary vector of Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmidt, Hyde, Steigerwaldt & Brenner in the far-western United States. Three metrics of Lyme disease risk were evaluated: the density of nymphs, the density of infected nymphs, and the nymphal infection prevalence. This study sampled randomly located plots in oak (Quercus spp.) woodland habitat in Sonoma County, CA. Each plot was drag-sampled for nymphal ticks and tested for B. burgdorferi infection. Path analysis was used to evaluate the direct and indirect relationship between topographic, forest structure and microclimatic variables on ticks. Significant negative correlations were found between maximum temperature in the dry season and the density of infected ticks in 2006 and tick density in 2007, but we did not find a significant relationship with nymphal infection prevalence in either year. Tick density and infected tick density had an indirect, positive correlation with elevation, mediated through temperature. This study found that in certain years but not others, temperature maxima in the dry season may constrain the density and density of infected I. pacificus nymphs. In other years, biotic or stochastic factors may play a more important role in determining tick density.
Learning progressions: significant promise, significant challenge

Over the past five years or so, the concept of alearning progression has gained traction in the United States (US) science education community. Learning progressions have been touted as a means of addressing a number of vexing and persistent problems facing science education in the US (and around the world). In particular, there is great excitement over the potential of learning progressions to provide much needed coherence to standards, curricula, and assessments. Although relatively new, this promising approach is already having a significant impact on the landscape of US science education. However, there are also concerns that this influence may be premature. A substantial challenge lies in the validation of learning progressions—how to ensure that these tools, which are rapidly being incorporated into policy and practice, have sufficient empirical justification. This paper discusses both the promise and challenge of work to validate learning progressions for use in science education reform.
Impact of Palmitic Acid Coating on the Water Uptake and Loss of Ammonium Sulfate Particles

Abstract. While water insoluble organics are prevalent in the atmosphere, it is not clear how the presence of such species alters the chemical and physical properties of atmospheric aerosols. Here we use a combination of FTIR spectroscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Aerosol Mass Spectrometry (AMS) to characterize ammonium sulfate particles coated with palmitic acid. Coated aerosols were generated by atomizing pure ammonium sulfate, mixing the particles with a heated flow of nitrogen with palmitic acid vapor, and then flowing the mixture through an in-line oven to create internally mixed particles. The mixing state of the particles was probed using the AMS data and images from the TEM. Both of these probes suggest that the particles were internally mixed. Water uptake by the mixed particles was then probed at 273 K. It was found that for ammonium sulfate containing ~20 wt% palmitic acid the deliquescence relative humidity (DRH) was the same as for pure ammonium sulfate (80±3% RH). For particles with ~50 wt% palmitic acid however, the mixed particles began to take up water at relative humidities as low at 69% and continued to slowly take up water to 85% RH without fully deliquescing. In addition to studies of water uptake, water loss was also investigated. Here coatings of up to 50 wt% had no impact on the efflorescence relative humidity. These studies suggest that even if insoluble substances coat salt particles in the atmosphere, there may be relatively little effect on the resulting water uptake and loss.
Chest Pain Centers: Diagnosis of Acute Coronary Syndromes

Chest pain centers in the emergency department have generally been accepted as a safe, cost-effective, and rapid approach to the evaluation, triage, and management of patients with potential acute coronary syndromes. These centers were initially designed to enhance patient care by decreasing time to treatment for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and rapidly identifying patients with unstable angina. They also included community outreach and educational objectives designed to reduce time from the onset of chest pain to ED presentation. In the past decade, health care financial constraints have created additional impetus to the development of chest pain centers. Cost reduction efforts have occurred to reduce hospitalizations, lengths of stay, and unnecessary treatments and procedures. Practitioners and administrators try to balance these goals with the imperative to provide high-quality patient care. Protocol-driven approaches have been developed for specific disease processes in emergency settings. The chest pain center concept is such an approach for patients with chest pain. Chest pain is the second most common ED presenting complaint and is a symptom related to the leading cause of death in the United States, coronary artery disease (CAD). One third of ED patients with chest pain will eventually have a diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome. Many patients with acute coronary syndromes have atypical presentations that are not diagnosed in the ED with the traditional diagnostic evaluation of a history, physical examination, and 12-lead ECG. If they are not admitted to the hospital for further evaluation, the diagnosis may be missed. The 2% to 5% of AMI patients who are inadvertently released home often have poor outcomes and result in a leading cause of malpractice suits in emergency medicine. More than one half of ED patients with chest pain have clinical findings after their initial evaluation consistent with acute coronary syndromes and are admitted to the hospital. Approximately one half of these patients, after evaluation in the hospital, are found not to have acute coronary syndromes. The cost for these negative inpatient cardiac evaluations has been estimated to be $6 billion in the United States each year. Today, chest pain centers serve as an integral component of many EDs. Their success and safety is the result of a focused, protocol-driven approach directed at the acute coronary syndrome continuum from unstable angina to transmural Q-wave myocardial infarction. New therapies for acute coronary syndromes make ED triage and risk stratification increasingly important. Although different chest pain center protocols have proved effective, all address the diagnosis and rapid treatment of acute myocardial necrosis, rest ischemia, and exercise-induced ischemia. Identifying patients with coronary artery disease in one of these stages in the spectrum of myocardial ischemia is the foundation for a successful chest pain center in the ED.
Portrayals of Spanish in 19th-century American prose: María Amparo Ruiz de Burton's The Squatter and the Don:

This article analyzes the portrayals of Spanish in The Squatter and the Don (1885), a novel written in English by Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton, a Baja Californian who immigrated to Alta California at the time of its annexation to the USA in 1848 and became the first Hispanic American woman writer. Her novel had an ideological purpose, namely, to denounce the land dispossession of the Californios — i.e. Hispanic settlers in California during the Spanish-Mexican period — and to propose an alliance between the Anglo and Hispanic elites. It also had a financial purpose, since writing was for Ruiz de Burton one of many ways in which she attempted to achieve financial prosperity. The representation of language was thus dictated not just by linguistic or aesthetic considerations, but also by the author's interpretation of the conditions prevalent in late 19th-century California, where Spanish had become subordinate to English. Ruiz de Burton's positive attitude towards bilingualism is revealed in her portrayal of...
Migrating fibroblasts perform polarized, microtubule-dependent exocytosis towards the leading edge

Cell migration might involve biased membrane traffic toward the leading edge to facilitate the building of extracellular matrix, membrane protrusions and adhesion plaques. We tested the hypothesis that secretory vesicles are preferentially delivered toward the leading lamella in wound-edge fibroblasts. Single fusion events of vesicles containing LDLR-GFP were mapped by total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIR-FM). In migrating fibroblasts, exocytic events were polarized towards the leading edge. After disrupting microtubules with nocodazole, exocytosis continued, but fusion sites were clustered around central Golgi elements; there was no peripheral exocytosis. We conclude that microtubules are necessary for the domain-specific fusion of post-Golgi vesicles with the plasma membrane during migration.
SHILL: a secure shell scripting language

The Principle of Least Privilege suggests that software should be executed with no more authority than it requires to accomplish its task. Current security tools make it difficult to apply this principle: they either require significant modifications to applications or do not facilitate reasoning about combining untrustworthy components.We propose SHILL, a secure shell scripting language. SHILL scripts enable compositional reasoning about security through contracts that limit the effects of script execution, including the effects of programs invoked by the script. SHILL contracts are declarative security policies that act as documentation for consumers of SHILL scripts, and are enforced through a combination of language design and sandboxing.We have implemented a prototype of SHILL for FreeBSD and used it for several case studies including a grading script and a script to download, compile, and install software. Our experience indicates that SHILL is a practical and useful system security tool, and can provide fine-grained security guarantees.
An Adaptive and Energy-efficient Routing Protocol Based on Machine Learning for Underwater Delay Tolerant Networks

Underwater Sensor Network (UWSN) is emerging as a promising networking technique for aquatic environment monitoring and exploration. However, because of the adverse characteristics of underwater communications, underwater sensor networks may get partitioned temporarily, and hence call for techniques for Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networks (DTNs). In this paper, we propose an adaptive and energy-efficient routing protocol based on a machine learning technique, Q-learning, for underwater DTNs. Extensive simulations of the proposed protocol are carried out, and the results have shown that our protocol can cope with dynamic disconnections and disruptions in underwater DTNs well and achieves a good trade-off between energy efficiency and end-to-end delay.
Changing Patterns in Health Behaviors and Risk Factors Related to Cardiovascular Disease Among American Indians and Alaska Natives

Objectives. We assessed changes in cardiovascular disease–related health outcomes and risk factors among American Indians and Alaska Natives by age and gender.Methods. We used cross-sectional data from the 1995 to 1996 and the 2005 to 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. The respondents were 2548 American Indian and Alaska Native women and men aged 18 years or older in 1995–1996 and 11 104 women and men in 2005–2006. We analyzed the prevalence of type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cigarette smoking, sedentary behavior, and low vegetable or fruit intake.Results. From 1995–1996 to 2005–2006, the adjusted prevalence of diabetes among American Indians and Alaska Natives increased by 26.9%, from 6.7% to 8.5%, and obesity increased by 25.3%, from 24.9% to 31.2%. Hypertension increased by 5%, from 28.1% to 29.5%. Multiple logistic models showed no meaningful changes in smoking, sedentary behavior, or intake of fruits or vegetables. In 2005–2006, 79% of the population had 1 or more of the 6 risk ...
The Key to a Successful Prospectus: Consult an Advisor, Early and Often

Failure to develop a dissertation topic and proposal is sometimes the downfall of graduate students. The course work may go well, exams may be passed with flying colors, and the students may even successfully write and present papers at conferences. The elusive dissertation topic, though, may continue to bring them misery. One problem is that students may wait too long to develop an idea; having no concept of what a dissertation should be and not knowing how to narrow their wide ranging interests into manageable projects, they flounder. They meet real trouble because they wait until they finish courses and exams before they even consider the topics on which to write their dissertations.
Phylogeny of the Cichlid Subfamily Etroplinae and Taxonomic Revision of the Malagasy Cichlid Genus Paretroplus (Teleostei: Cichlidae)

Abstract A species-level phylogeny for Etroplinae is presented, based on the simultaneous analysis of morphological and nucleotide characters, and species of the endemic Malagasy genus Paretroplus are taxonomically revised, including the description of two new species. Relative to most other cichlid genera, Paretroplus is diagnosed by numerous anatomical features, including morphology of the gas bladder, neurocranium, oral jaws and dentition, and suspensorium. Keys to the genera of Malagasy–South Asian cichlids and to the species of Paretroplus are provided. Paretroplus is endemic to Madagascar and is the sister genus to Etroplus, endemic to southern India and Sri Lanka. Together these two genera comprise the subfamily Etroplinae. Paretroplus comprises 12 species, two of which are described herein as new. Three morphologically distinct clades are recovered within Paretroplus, one comprising the comparatively elongate, primarily riverine and rheophilic species P. damii, P. nourissati, P. tsimoly, and P. la...
Simple equivalent systems for GRIN lenses in inhomogeneous medium

Simple single-lens equivalent systems for graded-index (GRIN) lenses in inhomogeneous medium obtained using matrix optics are proposed in this letter. Due to its simplicity, the equivalent optical system enables quick analysis of the imaging properties of GRIN lens rod immersed in inhomogeneous medium. This facilitates the optical analysis of complicated optoelectronics systems in inhomogeneous medium utilizing GRIN lens rods.
Behavioral Response of Tamarixia radiata (Waterston) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) to Volatiles Emanating from Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) and Citrus

Tamarixia radiata Waterston (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) is an effective idiobiont ectoparasitoid of the psyllid Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), vector of the huanglongbing (HLB). We examined the olfactory responses of T. radiata to volatiles emanating from D. citri or plant volatiles using a custom designed T-maze olfactometer and open arena bioassays. We also examined the behavioral response of male and female T. radiata to conspecifics of the opposite sex to determine whether olfactory signals mediate mate location. T. radiata adults exhibited a sexually dimorphic response to volatiles emanating from D. citri and citrus. Female T. radiata responded positively to the odors emanating from D. citri nymphs in both olfactometer and open arena bioassays. However, female wasps showed no response to odors emanating from D. citri adults, D. citri honey dew secretions, intact citrus or orange jasmine leaves. Odors emanating from D. citri damaged citrus were not attractive to T. radiata females but stimulated attraction of wasps to D. citri on damaged plants. T. radiata females were not attracted to D. citri immatures when they were presented as visual cues. Male T. radiata did not show attraction to D. citri nymphs or other putative odors that were attractive to female T. radiata. In olfactometer bioassays, more male T. radiata responded to the odor of female conspecifics than blank controls in the absence of associated citrus host plant volatiles. Odors emanating from female T. radiata were not attractive to male T. radiata. Male or female T. radiata were not attracted to the odors emanating from same sex conspecifics. Both male and female T. radiata adults showed positive phototactic behavior. Collectively, our results provide behavioral evidence that: 1) female T. radiata use volatiles emanating from D. citri nymphs to locate its host and: 2) female T. radiata release a volatile pheromone that attracts male conspecifics.
Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS): Undergraduate Academic Curriculum and Precollege Training Program

Geographic information system (GIS), Global Positioning System (GPS) and remote sensing (RS) are important tools in the emerging agricultural revolution called precision agricultural or site-specific management. GIS and GPS are inherently linked technologies. Together, they form a powerful tool to measure, map, monitor, and model resources and environmental data for both scientific and commercial applications. Many students and faculty of agricultural colleges from minority institutions have little experience with these new technologies. This paper summarizes how GIS, GPS, and Remote Sensing instruction was incorporated into the existing agriculture/natural science curriculums at the Land-Grant Institutions, Virginia State University (VSU), Delaware State University (DSU), Southern University (SU), and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) such as Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) and Bethune-Cookman University (BCU). The curricular materials were developed through a series of faculty development workshops at VSU, ECSU, and DSU. These workshops were coordinated by the Principal Investigator (Shobha Sriharan, senior author of this presentation) of the USDA Capacity Building Teaching Grant. The USDA collaborators, James Everitt and Reginald Fletcher provided training in the use of ArcGIS, GPS and remote sensing techniques. In addition, a summer faculty workshop was hosted at the Remote Sensing Laboratory of the Integrated Farming and Natural Resources Research, Weslaco, Texas, for exposing the faculty members to the applications of GIS and RS in agricultural fields.
Approximate dynamic programming using support vector regression

This paper presents a new approximate policy iteration algorithm based on support vector regression (SVR). It provides an overview of commonly used cost approximation architectures in approximate dynamic programming problems, explains some difficulties encountered by these architectures, and argues that SVR-based architectures can avoid some of these difficulties. A key contribution of this paper is to present an extension of the SVR problem to carry out approximate policy iteration by forcing the Bellman error to zero at selected states. The algorithm does not require trajectory simulations to be performed and is able to utilize a rich set of basis functions in a computationally efficient way. Computational results for an example problem are shown.
Breastmilk cultures and infection in extremely premature infants.

As expressed mother's milk (MM) is known to be colonized by microbial species, it is occasionally considered as a source of infection in premature infants, prompting some clinicians to obtain milk bacterial culture results before infant feeding. To determine whether serial microbial cultures of MM predict infection in premature infants. Milk microbial flora was determined by plate counts from aliquots of MM obtained from 161 mothers of infants born <30 weeks gestation (n=209). Pathogens isolated from the same infant were tabulated. Milk samples (n=813) yielded 1963 isolates. There were no relationships between microbial counts and maternal age, ethnicity, education, skin-to-skin contact and infant infection. In 64 infants, milk and pathological isolates had presumptively the same Gram-positive organism, yet the odds of infection before or after exposure to milk containing that Gram-positive organism were not significant (1.18; 95% confidence interval=0.51, 2.76). In eight infants, milk and pathological isolates had presumptively the same Gram-negative organism, which appeared sporadically in milk, either before or after isolation in the infant. Results of initial milk cultures do not predict subsequent culture results. Random milk cultures, even if obtained at any time during hospitalization, are not predictive of infection in premature infants. The sporadic nature of the appearance of certain isolates, however, suggests common exposure of both mother and infant. Routine milk cultures do not provide sufficient data to be useful in clinical management.
Properties of Vermiculites and Smectites: Expansion and Collapse

Samples of smectites and vermiculites were evaluated to (1) determine the effects of source and amount of charge, (2) determine if a continuum of properties exists, and (3) improve the basis for differentiating criteria for identification. The montmorillonites expanded to the equivalent two-layer complex upon solvation by condensation of ethylene glycol or glycerol vapor. Beidellite exhibited the one-layer complex with glycerol vapor and the two-layer complex with ethylene glycol. The vermiculite samples did not yield regular two-layer complexes regardless of saturating cation, prior moisture or solvating agent. A number of different complexes of vermiculite were obtained depending on conditions of solvation. These corresponded to spacings of approx 13·6, 14·0, 14·3, 15·0, and 15·3 A. Two or more of the complexes may be present in the same sample. Potassium-saturated vermiculites and smectites both exhibited collapsed layers in a dry atmosphere. Hydration of smectites occurred at humidities above 20 per cent and resulted in poorly ordered diffraction maxima of 11–12 A. The K-saturated vermiculites tended to retain the collapsed lattice and exhibited diffraction maxima of 10–10·6 A with integral higher orders. Some hydration occurred as evidenced by peak asymmetry or the appearance of a small 14·3 A line at higher humidities, although the collapsed spacing predominated. The tendency of vermiculite to hydrate decreased as the exchange capacity increased. Differences in properties can be related to both source and amount of charge. Nevertheless, a continuum in the properties of expansion and collapse between the smectites and vermiculites was not observed. The data indicate two discrete populations. These properties may be used as differentiating criteria for identification.
Theoretical study of the reaction formalhydrazone with singlet oxygen. Fragmentation of the C=N bond, ene reaction and other processes.

Photobiologic and synthetic versatility of hydrazones has not yet been established with 1 O2 as a route to commonly encountered nitrosamines. Thus, to determine whether the “parent” reaction of formalhydrazone and 1 O2 leads to facile C=N bond cleavage and resulting nitrosamine formation, we have carried out CCSD(T)//DFT calculations and analyzed the energetics of the oxidation pathways. A [2 + 2] pathway occurs via diradicals and formation of 3-amino-1,2,3-dioxazetidine in a 16 kcal/mol � 1 process. Reversible addition or physical quenching of 1 O2 occurs either on the formalhydrazone carbon for triplet diradicals at 2–3 kcal mol � 1 , or on the nitrogen (N(3)) atom forming zwitterions at ~15 kcal/mol � 1 , although the quenching channel by charge-transfer interaction was not computed. The computations also predict a facile conversion of formalhydrazone and 1 O2 to hydroperoxymethyl diazene in a low-barrier ‘ene’ process, but no 2-amino-oxaziridine-O-oxide (perepoxide-like) intermediate was found. A Benson-like analysis (group increment calculations) on the closed-shell species are in accord with the quantum chemical results.
Trade-Based Manipulation Or Speculative Bubble: A Case Study

This paper examines the unusual and puzzling stock price performance of USEC Inc. during July 2013. The stock price surged as much as ten times during merely sixteen trading days without apparent value-changing information being released. Four possible reasons are analyzed - mean reversion, information-based manipulation, speculative bubble, and trade-based manipulation. Trade-based manipulation and speculative bubble resulting from investors’ overconfidence seem to be more plausible and better explain the dramatic stock price changes.
Inhibition of Prolactin Secretion by Cholinergic Drugs

SummaryThe effects of cholinergic drugs on serum prolactin concentration were determined in male and female rats. Acetylcholine bromide was injected once into the lateral ventricles of the brain, and pilocarpine nitrate and physostigmine sulfate were injected once ip. All drugs reduced serum prolactin values as compared to controls, although pilocarpine and physostigmine were more effective at lower than at higher dose levels. These results suggest an inhibitory role for the cholinergic system in the brain on prolactin release.
[Clinical study on the mechanism of motion sickness--clinical examination based on trigger factors].

This report deals with factors which trigger motion sickness. The author has focused on the clinical examinations applied to motion sickness cases. Relationships between clinical data and susceptibility to motion sickness were investigated.The following results were obtaind:1. CV R-R (coefficient of variation of R-R intervals on EGG) in the frequent motion sickness group showed higher values than in the occasional motion sickness group. This result suggests a hyperfunction of the vagus nerve.2. In caloric testing with ENG, the motion sickness group showed lower values of duration and eye speed than the occasional motion sickness group. On the other hand, the frequent group showed higher values of laterality in eye speed than the occasional group.3. With the visual suppression test, the frequent motion sickness group showed higher values than the occasional motion sickness group. On the other hand, there was a significant difference between the frequent motion sickness group and the occasional motion sickness group in terms of laterality of visual suppression values.4. In testing fluctuation of CV R-R in response to optokinetic stimuli, the frequent motion sickness group showed elavation of CV R-R values after optokinetic load. On the other hand, the occasional motion sickness group showed deppression of CV R-R values after the same load.5. Among clinical examinations designed to diagnose susceptibility to motion sickness, CV R-R, the caloric test, the visual suppression test and OKP testing can produce sufficiently accurate results for clinical investigation.
Hypertension and Atrial Fibrillation

Hypertension and atrial fibrillation are currently both major issues in the cardiovascular field. The potential occurrences of both increase with patient's age. Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia,and it is a concomitant disease of hypertension and has a high morbidity and mortality. The presence of hypertension increases the risk of cardiovascular events and mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation. The treatment of patients with hypertension and atrial fibrillation using angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotension Ⅱ receptor blockers has been getting more attention. This review summarizes recent developments in the relationship between hypertension and atrial fibrillation,the pathophysiological link between them,and treatment of patients with both diseases.
75 – 105 GHz switching power amplifiers using high-breakdown, high-fmax multi-port stacked transistor topologies

High-breakdown, high-fmax multi-port transistor topologies are presented in this work for realizing high power, highly efficient mm-wave switching power amplifiers at 75–105 GHz. Implemented in a 90nm SiGe BiCMOS process, the proposed active structures comprising of two and three stacked transistors with integrated layout parasitics achieve (fmax, breakdown voltage) of (295 GHz, 8V) and (260 GHz, 11 V) respectively and demonstrate peak (output power, PAE) of (22 dBm, 19%) at 85 GHz and (23.3 dBm, 17%) at 83 GHz respectively. The implemented designs are benchmarked against a 88 GHz 19.5 dBm, 16% PAE W-band Class-E power amplifier using native transistor footprints fabricated in the same 90nm SiGe BiCMOS process. The superior performance of the composite transistor designs highlight the benefit of the proposed approach.
Superlens breaks optical barrier

One of the best known properties of light is that it diffracts, bending or spreading around objects that lie in its path. A familiar example is when a collimated beam of light passes through a small aperture in an opaque barrier. If the aperture is large, the light emerges as a beam with the same radius as that of the aperture. But if the size of the aperture is similar to the wavelength of the incident light, the emerging light flares out from the aperture and forms a diffraction pattern whereby the intensity of the transmitted light has a broad central peak.
Factors Predicting Testing and Treatment of Iron Deficiency in a Nationwide Cohort of Anemic UC Patients.

Background Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is an often unrecognized and undertreated complication of ulcerative colitis (UC). We conducted the first nationwide study in the United States to evaluate the prevalence of testing for iron deficiency (ID) in anemic UC patients and determine the frequency of treatment with iron supplementation in patients with IDA. Methods Nationwide cohort of patients with newly diagnosed UC in the Veterans Affairs health care system was identified. Primary outcome was to evaluate if anemic UC patients were tested for ID and subsequently treated with iron replacement therapy if IDA is confirmed. Candidate parameters included factors that can impact testing and treatment of anemia including patients' demographics, severity of anemia, and endoscopic findings. Results Of 836 newly diagnosed patients with UC, 585 patients (70%) developed anemia over the course of median 8 years of follow-up. Of 585 patients, 401 patients (68.6%) had iron study evaluation. Two hundred fifty-one patients (62.6%) were diagnosed with IDA, and among them, 191 patients (76.1%) were treated with oral iron therapy. None of the patient received intravenous iron therapy. In multivariate analysis, patients with mild/moderate anemia and patients from Midwest and South region were independent predictors of iron study evaluation in patients with anemia. Conclusions More than a third of anemic UC patients were not tested for ID. Once tested, almost a quarter of the patients with IDA were not treated with iron replacement therapy. Testing for ID and subsequent treatment with iron replacement therapy should be considered among the quality process indicators in UC.
Allostatic load: a useful concept for advancing nursing research.

Aims and objectives To elucidate the historical development of the allostatic load concept, alongside its use in nursing research, and to explore how allostatic load has been investigated among two stress-vulnerable populations. Background ‘Stress’ is a prominent term in understanding the development of disease. Allostatic load is among several approaches undertaken to quantify the magnitude of stress and understand how stress can affect health. Method We explored the advent of allostatic load including its antecedents, and consequences. We used an exemplar case to apply the concept. We reviewed studies that used allostatic load among workers and women of childbearing age. Results There remains a need to consolidate a common definition and operationalisation of allostatic load. Despite this need for further work, allostatic load is a good fit for nursing science which focuses on the client, environment and health. Only 12 studies explored allostatic load among workers (n = 6) and women of childbearing age (n = 6). In some studies, allostatic load was used as a predictor while in others it was used as an outcome. None of the studies considered it as a mediator. Conclusions The concept of allostatic load holds promise for nursing researchers to operationalise a holistic view of multiple stressors and to quantify their effects on health. Studies are needed to affirm the role of allostatic load as a potential mediator between multiple stressors and outcomes. Longitudinal studies are also needed to demonstrate a causal pathway from stressor exposure to tertiary outcomes such as chronic conditions and morbidity. Relevance to clinical practice Allostatic load is a useful concept for nurses working with stress-vulnerable populations. With the use of an interpretable allostatic load index, nurses will be able to intervene at various stages of the allostasis–adaptation process (stress-response) and adjust interventions accordingly.
Thomas Aquinas on hylomorphism and the in-act principle

In Summa Theologiae I.76.1 Aquinas presents an argument for the hylomorphic union of body and soul that he attributes to Aristotle. Aquinas builds on Aristotle’s original argument, however, offerin...
Predicting Access to Healthcare Using Data Mining Techniques

Healthcare is a very basic need for everyone in today’s society. However, many individuals do not have or have difficulties accessing healthcare services. Researchers have studied various aspects in healthcare, including using data mining techniques to analyze healthcare data. Most of these studies, however, focused on treatment effectiveness, healthcare management, fraud and abuse detection, etc., few have reported on the accessibility study of healthcare. In this paper, we examine individual demand of receiving health care using the data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a sample of the U.S. population. Models were built using the typical predictive modeling methods to predict the accessibility of healthcare based on the explanatory variables in the data set. Our experimental results showed that the regression and neural network models yielded better prediction accuracy whereas the decision tree and nearest-neighbor models fell behind in their performance.
Cognitive Reappraisal and Depression in Children with a Parent History of Depression

Although decades of research have documented that children whose parents have a history of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) are at a higher risk of developing depression themselves, not all of these children go on to develop depression themselves, thus highlighting the need to understand potential moderators of risk. The current study examined whether child emotion regulation, specifically, the use of cognitive reappraisal and suppression, moderated the link between parent and child depression. We recruited 458 parents and their children between the ages of 7-11 from the community. The majority of children were Caucasian (74.2%) and approximately half were girls (46.1%). Among children with a parent history of MDD, those who reported using cognitive reappraisal more frequently were less likely to have a history of depressive diagnoses themselves and had higher current levels of positive affect. Although children's use of suppression was not associated with their levels of depressive symptoms among children with a parent history of MDD, higher levels of suppression were related to higher levels of depressive symptoms among children with no parent history of MDD. These findings suggest that, among children with a history of parent depression, children's use of cognitive reappraisal may influence their own risk for developing depression and highlights the potential utility of early interventions that focus on improving the use of emotion regulation strategies like cognitive reappraisal among children of depressed parents.
Mean Passage Times in Queueing Networks

Major performance measures of a queueing network are the mean time a unit (i.e. customer) spends in a sector of the network and the mean time for a unit to move from one sector to another. We give expressions for these and other mean passage times on routes in Jackson queueing networks and in more general queueing networks with congestion-dependent processing and routing. In these networks, the units may overtake one another as they move.
Imaging and Propagation of Beams in Metallic or Dielectric Waveguides

Multimode dielectric or metallic waveguides have the property that a narrow beam launched into the waveguide does not randomly disperse, but forms repetitive cohesive patterns at certain points along the axis of the guide. This imaging property is the result of constructive interference between modes, and is mathematically related to the hybrid ray-mode formulations of Felsen and his colleagues. This paper will review the origins and applications of the imaging properties of uniformly filled metallic or dielectric waveguides.
Impact of Connector Placement and Design on Bending Stiffness of Spinal Constructs

Objective To evaluate the stability of multiple rod–connector construct designs using a mechanical 4-point bending testing frame. Methods A mechanical study was used to evaluate the bending stiffness of 3 connectors across 12 different configurations of rod–connector–rod constructs. Stability was evaluated in flexion–extension and lateral bending. Combinations of rods having 1 of 3 diameters (4.0 mm, 5.5 mm, and 6.0 mm) connected by 1 of 3 connector types (parallel open, snap-on, and hinged) were compared. Configurations with single connectors and with double connectors with variable spacing were also compared to simulate revision surgery conditions. Results Constructs consisting of 4.0-mm rods connected to 4.0-mm rods were significantly less stiff as the total number of connectors used in a series exceeded 2. When single-connector configurations were compared, parallel open rod connectors demonstrated greater stiffness in flexion–extension than hinged open connectors, whereas hinged open connectors demonstrated greater stiffness in lateral bending. Using double connectors increased stiffness of 4.0- to 4.0-mm rod configurations in flexion–extension and lateral bending, 4.0- to 6.0-mm rod configurations in flexion–extension, and 5.5- to 6.0-mm rod configurations in lateral bending. Spacing the double connectors significantly improved lateral bending stiffness of 4.0- to 4.0-mm and 5.5- to 6.0-mm rod configurations. Conclusions Our data indicate that the design, number, and placement of rod connectors have a significant impact on the bending stiffness of a surgical construct. Such mechanical data may influence construct design in primary and revision surgeries of the cervical spine and cervicothoracic junction.
Alternative Indices of Performance: An Exploration of Eye Gaze Metrics in a Visual Puzzle Task

Abstract : When an operator's cognitive resources exceed demands, a 'red line' of performance may be crossed after which performance breaks down. Traditional approaches to state assessment use secondary tasks (e.g., mental arithmetic) or secondary physiological measures (e.g., heart rate variability) for state assessment. The current work was motivated by dynamic systems theory which indicates that there are meaningful patterns of variability in 'primary' behaviors (e.g., required activities) which might provide a measure of operator state. The present work uses eye gaze as a primary measure in a visual puzzle task. The goal of Experiment 1 was to determine if performance changes in a visual puzzle task were reflected in eye gaze. The results of Experiment 1 suggest that there are impacts of task demands on gaze patterns, for both conventional and dynamic gaze metrics. There were also significant of practice that could be interpreted as learning or strategy shifts. The results of Experiment 2 show a significant improvement in performance in the task accompanied by change in gaze patterns; and that the dynamic measure of diagonal recurrence was systematically related to this performance change. This suggests that non-conventional measures of dynamic structure provide additional & complimentary information about operator state.
Autophagy Protects Against Developing Increased Lung Permeability and Hypoxemia by Down Regulating Inflammasome Activity and IL-1β in LPS Plus Mechanical Ventilation-Induced Acute Lung Injury.

Targeting inflammasome activation to modulate interleukin (IL)-1β is a promising treatment strategy against acute respiratory distress syndrome and ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). Autophagy is a key regulator of inflammasome activation in macrophages. Here, we investigated the role of autophagy in the development of acute lung injury (ALI) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and mechanical ventilation (MV). Two hours before starting MV, 0.2 mg/kg LPS was administered to mice intratracheally. Mice were then placed on high-volume MV (30 ml/kg with 3 cmH2O positive end-expiratory pressure for 2.5 h without additional oxygen application). Mice with myeloid-specific deletion of the autophagic protein ATG16L1 (Atg16l1fl/fl LysMCre) suffered severe hypoxemia (adjusted p < 0.05) and increased lung permeability (p < 0.05, albumin level in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid) with significantly higher IL-1β release into alveolar space (p < 0.05). Induction of autophagy by fasting-induced starvation led to improved arterial oxygenation (adjusted p < 0.0001) and lung permeability (p < 0.05), as well as significantly suppressed IL-1β production (p < 0.01). Intratracheal treatment with anti-mouse IL-1β monoclonal antibody (mAb; 2.5 mg/kg) significantly improved arterial oxygenation (adjusted p < 0.01) as well as lung permeability (p < 0.05). On the other hand, deletion of IL-1α gene or use of anti-mouse IL-1α mAb (2.5 mg/kg) provided no significant protection, suggesting that the LPS and MV-induced ALI is primarily dependent on IL-1β, but independent of IL-1α. These observations suggest that autophagy has a protective role in controlling inflammasome activation and production of IL-1β, which plays a critical role in developing hypoxemia and increased lung permeability in LPS plus MV-induced acute lung injury.
Salomon Maimon, “On the First Grounds of Natural Right”

In an essay (Berl. Monatsschrift, Nov. 1794), I have established a new formula of the moral principle, different from the Kantian, and more convenient to use. It grounds itself in a new deduction, ...
Corporate Inversions: Going beyond Tax Incentives

We study tax and nontax incentives for corporate inversions in a hand-collected data set of 691 inversions out of 11 home countries into 45 host destinations over the 1996–2013 period. Even though lower tax rates generally attract inversions, only 2 of 5 firms invert into tax havens, and two-thirds of firms invert into host destinations with lower statutory tax rates than those faced at home. Moreover, firms invert to geographically close destinations with similar governance standards. Using staggered country-pair-level policy changes as experiments, we find that host-country governance may explain why not all firms invert.Received December 6, 2018; Editorial decision August 12, 2019 by Editor Andrew Ellul.
Use of Noninvasive Ventilation for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Bronchoscopies in Patients with Respiratory Failure

Flexible bronchoscopy is a widely used diagnostic and therapeutic tool and, in many instances, it can provide information that results in a change in management. Acute respiratory failure in non-mechanically ventilated patients places them at high risk of complications such as worsening hypoxia, cardiac arrhythmias after an uncomplicated bronchoscopy. In this chapter, we look at evidence of safety and feasibility for using NIV by means of face mask positive pressure ventilation and HFNC for diagnostic and therapeutic bronchoscopies in high-risk patients in respiratory failure.
My Mental Health Struggle in Academia: What I Wish All Business School Faculty, Students, and Administration Knew:

This article deals with my experience of struggling with mental health while trying to succeed in a management department. I will explore the realities of working as an academic in a business schoo...
The Incidence and Detection of Ineligible Voting

This paper addresses several questions about voter fraud focusing on the incidence and detection of voting by individuals who are not eligible to vote. Drawing on the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s Election Administration and Voting Surveys for 2008 and 2010, I offer and test several explanations and empirical hypotheses for the following questions: What is the incidence of voting among individuals who are not eligible to vote? What is the incidence with which local election officials detect ineligible voters? What are the determinants of ineligible voting and what are the most efficacious remedies for ineligible voting? I find that the incidence of ineligible voting is low and that detection of ineligible voting is robust. Ineligible voting is in part due to remedial errors individuals make on or before Election Day. These errors are less likely to be observed in states with in-person early voting. Allowing individuals to vote at more than one voting place before Election Day is offered as a means of reducing ineligible voting without suppressing voting among otherwise eligible voters.
Weakness and Irritability in 12-week-old Infant

Presentation 12-week-old, term female was brought to the hospital for irritability, progressively worsening reduced left upper extremity movement and left neck swelling. 10 days prior to presentation, she developed irritability with movement, especially when cradled on her left side. She was seen at urgent care; chest X-ray was performed and was read as normal. She was seen again at her primary care office for worsening fussiness; parents were again reassured and sent home. 4 days prior to her presentation, parents noted that she was not moving her left arm. On the day of …
Sanctuary Cities and Counties for the Unborn: The Use of Resolutions and Ordinances to Restrict Abortion Access

So far at least five states—Illinois, New Mexico, Texas, North Carolina, and Utah—have passed resolutions and ordinances declaring localities as sanctuaries for the unborn. Santa Rosa County in Florida is poised to be the first county in Florida to be designated as a pro-life sanctuary. Some localities declare life begins at conception, ban abortion services (including access to emergency contraception), classify abortion as murder with malice aforethought, label pro-choice organizations as criminal enterprises, and create civil causes of action against abortion providers and those who assist women in obtaining an abortion. Most of the localities that have enacted the ordinances and resolutions have small populations and do not have abortion clinics. This article examines the sanctuary movement across the United States. It discusses the intersection of romantic paternalism with reproductive jurisprudence, the emergence and proliferation of TRAP laws, and the resolutions and ordinances making up the sanctuary movement.