cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Screening, early detection, education, and trends for melanoma: Current status (2007-2013) and future directions: Part I. Epidemiology, high-risk groups, clinical strategies, and diagnostic technology

While most cancers have shown both decreased incidence and mortality over the past several decades, the incidence of melanoma has continued to grow, and mortality has only recently stabilized in the United States and in many other countries. Certain populations, such as men >60 years of age and lower socioeconomic status groups, face a greater burden from disease. For any given stage and across all ages, men have shown worse melanoma survival than women, and low socioeconomic status groups have increased levels of mortality. Novel risk factors can help identify populations at greatest risk for melanoma and can aid in targeted early detection. Risk assessment tools have been created to identify high-risk patients based on various factors, and these tools can reduce the number of patients needed to screen for melanoma detection. Diagnostic techniques, such as dermatoscopy and total body photography, and new technologies, such as multispectral imaging, may increase the accuracy and reliability of early melanoma detection.
The Assimilation of Radar Data for Weather Prediction

Since the early years of radar meteorology, scientists have given a good deal of attention to the development of techniques for deducing the unobserved meteorological fields from Doppler radar observations. For example, Lhermitte and Atlas (1961) and Atlas (1964) described the velocity-azimuth display (VAD) method for determining a horizontally averaged wind profile from single-Doppler radial velocity observations. Lhermitte (1970) developed a method to derive the detailed horizontal wind field from dual-Doppler radial velocity observations. These early research activities were largely driven by the desire to understand the dynamical processes of convective systems in the atmosphere. In the late 1980s, however, scientists began to recognize that radar observations would also play an important role in future mesoscale and convective-scale data assimilation systems for short-term weather forecasting. This scientific vision was gained, in large part, as a result of the planned implementation of the Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) network in the United States and the rapid increase in computer power. With these increased resources, it appeared that running numerical weather prediction (NWP) models with resolutions that are able to resolve mesoscale and cloudscale features was within reach. On account of the considerable societal and economic impact of the operational storm-scale NWP and the scientific and technological advancement, Lilly (1990) argued that it was time for convective-storm research scientists to apply their knowledge and to show whether storm-scale NWP was a realistic goal. Since the WSR-88D network is the major observing system capable of sampling the four-dimensional structure of storm-scale flows, a key scientific and technical challenge is whether these observations can be used to initialize high-resolution storm prediction models.
Accuracy of Billing Codes Used in the Therapeutic Care of Diabetic Retinopathy.

Importance Insurance billing claim databases represent a growing field of scientific inquiry within ophthalmology. Validating the accuracy of billing claim codes used during the care of diabetic retinopathy is a necessary precursor to fully understanding the underlying data and subsequent results of these types of studies. Objective To determine the accuracy of diagnostic, procedural, and therapeutic billing codes used in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective medical record review was conducted at 3 clinical practices (1 academic and 2 private). Insured patients with diabetic retinopathy were seen by the practices between 2011 and 2013. Each patient then had every visit for 2 years reviewed twice, once for billing data and the second for data from the medical record. Data were collected and analyzed from October 2015 to July 2016. Main Outcomes and Measures The positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) for each code of interest. Sensitivity and specificity were secondary outcomes. Results A total of 146 patients (mean [SD] age, 60.3 [12.5] years) from 11 physicians had 1072 encounters reviewed over 2 calendar years. Among the included patients, 49.3% were female (n = 72), 48.6% were white (n = 71), 37.0% were black (n = 54), and 18.5% had type 1 diabetes and a mean (SD) hemoglobin A 1C level of 7.7% (1.8) (n = 27). Nearly all codes of interest that were used frequently also had a high PPV (range, 89.5%-100%) and NPV (88.6%-100%) including billing codes for intravitreal injection, focal laser, panretinal photocoagulation, laterality of procedure, ranibizumab, bevacizumab, fundus photographs, fluorescein angiography, and optical coherence tomography. Codes that were used infrequently ( Conclusions and Relevance These data suggest diagnostic, procedure, and therapeutic codes derived from insurance billing claims accurately reflect the medical record for patients with diabetic retinopathy.
Electrodeposition of doped solid films of phosphomolybdates

The demand for materials that catalyse heterogenous reactions stimulated the interest in formation of solid ®lms of some polynuclear transition metal cyanides and oxides [1±8]. Some cyano-metalates have been anodically immobilized on electrode surfaces [1±5] as insoluble mixed valence polynuclear compounds. The general formula of these cyano-metalates is M[M(CN)6]. xH2O, where M A and M are transition metal ions with dierent formal oxidation numbers. The cathodic deposition of some insoluble oxometalate aggregates on electrode surfaces has been observed [6±8]. Unlike oxo-tungstate, no record exists of cathodic deposition of insoluble molybdate-based compounds from their stable solutions such as that in dioxane±water mixture. This note reports the electrodeposition of insoluble mixed valence solid ®lms of phosphomolybdates doped with multivalence iron centres.
Role of demonstration in the rapid force projection initiative: model, test, model philosophy

The Rapid Force Projection Initiative (RFPI) is a Technology Program which encompasses the development and test of advanced technologies which will be applied to solutions for the U.S. Army early entry forces. The RFPI hunter/standoff killer concept is a new operational concept for the U.S. Army which focuses on a "system of systems" composed of forward sensors (hunters) and advanced technology weapon systems (standoff killers). These elements will be integrated through a robust command, control, and communications (C3) architecture within the current brigade force structure. To develop a proper integration architecture, a series of progressive tests and simulation activities are envisioned. This approach, coupled with extensive simulation efforts, is based on the Model - Test - Model philosophy. The initial test, the RFPI Early Version Demonstration (EVD), was held at Redstone Arsenal, AL, in September 1994. The EVD demonstrated hunter-standoff killer connectivity, rapid target acquisition and data transfer over the current brigade communications asset, and the integration of forward sensors with Army weapon systems into the RFPI "system of systems". EVD further provided the user community with an early opportunity to see the RFPI system of systems concept in operation. Through the use of surrogates of developmental technologies, not sufficiently mature to support field testing, participants had the opportunity to exercise their systems against a typical opposing force. This paper discusses the conduct and results of the EVD, provides preliminary user responses to the demonstration of this new operational concept, and provides insights into the planned RFPI Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) Advanced Warfighting Experiment.
Nematode assemblages in the Gulf of Mexico continental shelf collected during a two-year survey

Abstract Kinorhynch assemblages along the northern continental shelf of the Gulf of Mexico were examined to better understand the distributional trends of this understudied group of meiofauna. Samples were collected with a multicorer from 37 stations at 36–187 m depths in the years 2013 and 2014. Sediment was collected and the animals were isolated from the mud using Ludox® centrifugation. Kinorhynchs were isolated with a stereomicroscope and the adult animals were identified to species level either by light microscopy or scanning electron microscopy. A total of 1328 animals were recovered, including juveniles and adults. After processing, 812 adults were identified and classified to 6 families, 12 genera and 32 species. The identifications were used to explore relationships among the species, and to determine if the animal assemblages at each site revealed relationships to each other. Sediment characteristics were determined at each site, to reveal if abiotic factors correlated with animal densities. Cluster analysis revealed distinct assemblages in Louisiana versus Florida sediment. The highest abundance of kinorhynchs was found in western sediments in Louisiana, which are characterized by higher levels of silt and clay, and aluminum-associated trace metals. These sediment characteristics indicated a strong influence from the outflow of the Mississippi River. The most abundant species were Echinoderes bookhouti , E . skipperae , E . augustae , and E . spinifurca , which comprised 79% of the identified animals. This was the first kinorhynch survey to cover a geographic area as large as the northern Gulf of Mexico, over multiple years, and to statistically analyze the animals in relation to their sediment type.
The PVAD Algorithm to Learn Partial-Value Variable Associations with Application to Modelling for Engineering Retention

Abstract Existing data analytic techniques are mostly based on building the same one model of variable relations over the full ranges of all variable values, although relations of variables may exist only for certain values of variables or different relations exist for different values of variables. This paper presents the Partial-Value Association Discovery (PVAD) algorithm which discovers variable relations/associations that exist in partial ranges of variable values from large amounts of data in a computationally efficient way. The PVAD algorithm allows building a structural model of partial- and full-value variable associations in multiple layers that captures individual and interactive effects of multiple variables by learning from data. The application of the PVAD algorithm to the analysis of engineering student data for engineering retention is also presented.
Business Cycle and Momentum Payoffs

Expected returns vary over time along with business cycles. Momentum payoffs are lack of rational explanation. This paper examines how the time-varying expected returns affect each individual firm differently, and hence what the cross-sectional phenomena are. The result shows that the model based on a set of commonly used macroeconomic variables can explain momentum payoffs, implying that cross-sectional differences in expected returns as well as their variation through time can be a source of momentum payoffs.
A Manipulative Aid for Adding and Subtracting Integers.

In teaching basic operations with integers, the number line is sometimes as confusing as it is helpful. There is, however, a manipulative technique that students can understand. They can experience success with an abstract idea and have confidence in their results that will help as they later learn the rules for adding and subtracting integers. The teacher provides the students with two sets of chips of some kind black and white squares of paper, poker chips in two colors, or some other reasonable substitute. For the purpose of this discussion, the white squares will represent positive numbers and the dark squares will represent negative numbers. Crucial to this technique is the notion that + 1 + " 1 = 0, or, in terms of the chips, one white square plus one black square equal zero.
A Descriptive Alternative to Cluster Analysis: Understanding Strategic Group Performance with Simulated Annealing

Fixed effects models featuring cluster analytical techniques underlie much of the empirical research on strategic groups and their significance in explaining performance differences among competing firms. We propose an alternative “descriptive” approach for analyzing strategic groups and their impact on firms, particularly in multi-industry research settings. Our descriptive alternative utilizes a random effects model and simulated annealing in order to avoid some of the limitations of cluster analytical approaches as well as to provide insight on the relative importance of strategic group-level factors on variance in firm returns. We demonstrate our descriptive approach with simulated annealing of data from the Federal Trade Commission’s Line of Business Program. The demonstration suggests that strategic group-level factors are important for explaining persistent differences in firm performance, but that such factors are fluid and ephemeral, rather than fixed and durable over time.
A Completely Passive Continuous Flow Solar Water Purification System

Water-borne pathogens in developing countries cause several billion cases of disease and up to 10 million deaths each year, at least half of which are children. Solar water pasteurization is a potentially cost-effective, robust and reliable solution to these problems.
Nanofibers Regulate Single Bone Marrow Stem Cell Osteogenesis via FAK/RhoA/YAP1 Pathway

Understanding cell-material interactions is a prerequisite for the development of bio-inspired materials for tissue regeneration. While nanofibrous biomaterials have been widely used in tissue regeneration, the effects of nanofibrous architecture on stem cell behaviors are largely ambiguous because the previous biomaterial systems used for nanofiber-cell interactions could not exclude the interference of cell–cell interactions. In this study, we developed a unique micropatterning technology to confine one single stem cell in a microisland of the nanofibrous micropatterned matrix; therefore, eliminating any potential intercellular communications. The nanofibrous micropatterned matrix, which mimicked both the physical architecture and chemical composition of natural extracellular matrix, was fabricated by a combination of electrospinning, chemical crosslinking, and UV-initiated photolithography. Compared to the non-nanofibrous architecture, a bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) cultured on the nanofibr...
Cold tolerance of the invasive larch casebearer and implications for invasion success

Larch casebearer became established in North America in the late 1800s. Cold temperatures are considered a limiting factor for the insect’s range, yet the cold hardiness of larch casebearer has never been quantified. We investigated (i) larval survival after acute and prolonged exposure to subzero temperatures and (ii) supercooling points (i.e. temperatures causing the onset of freezing) of overwintering and active larvae from November 2015 to April 2017. We developed models linking exposure temperatures to survival and evaluated them with larvae from field conditions. Historical minimum temperature data were used to estimate changes in survival across time at a site in northern Minnesota. The cold tolerance of larch casebearer changed significantly with season: both lower lethal temperatures and supercooling points were lowest in mid-winter and highest in spring and autumn. For example, 50% survival was estimated after acute exposure to a mean±SE temperature of −28.9±1.77 °C in October, −40.8±0.77 °C in January and −27.8±1.00 °C in April. A model predicting survival using supercooling points provided conservative estimates of overwintering survival because it overestimated survival by approximately 4% and 8% in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Analysis of climate data suggested that overwintering survival could have increased significantly over the previous half century.
Italian unification’s blind spot: Verga’s “Libertà” and Vancini’s Bronte: Cronaca di un massacro che i libri di storia non hanno mai raccontato:

In this article, I analyze the short story “Liberta” by Giovanni Verga and the film Bronte: Cronaca di un massacro che i libri di storia non hanno mai raccontato by Florestano Vancini. I also bring...
International Justice and the Trading Regime

In recent years, a movement has developed focused on issues of justice, fairness, and equity raised by the adverse impact of trade, especially in developing countries. One of the movement’s focuses has been on creating more transparency with the World Trade Organization (WTO). However, there are detractors to this movement who argue that without a well-developed framework for engaging in justice across national boundaries limits efforts to bring fairness, equity, and justice to the center of the international trade regime.This article argues for recognizing that international economic institutions, such as the WTO, must recognize the necessity of moral reasoning even where it is inconsistent with the organization’s trade liberalization agenda. Where there is trust and confidence as a shared value system, the global trading system is strengthened.
Profiles of Religiousness, Spirituality, and Psychological Adjustment in Emerging Adults

Although emerging adults are engaged in heightened levels of meaning-making (Barry and Abo-Zena (eds) in Emerging adults’ religiousness and spirituality: meaning-making in an age of transition. Oxford University Press, New York, 2014), research has focused on either religiousness or spirituality (R/S) in each study. While R/S individually have been associated with emerging adults’ psychological adjustment (Rew and Wong in J Adolesc Health 38:433–442, 2006), scholars have rarely explored the specific profiles of R/S adjustment. Thus, a diverse group of undergraduate students (N = 792; Mage = 19.61, SD= 1.86; 69% women) completed questionnaires online involving these constructs. Preliminary analyses revealed strong correlations between R/S, which might be indicative of multicollinearity. A two-step cluster analysis revealed three distinct adjustment profiles. Adjustment was positive in instances of high R/S and low R/S. However, moderate levels of R/S were associated with poor adjustment. Subsequent research may verify these profiles and further explore multicollinearity in religiousness and spirituality research.
Child Abuse, Spotting the Signs: A Pilot Program to Increase the Detection Skills of Pediatric Residents, Using a Combination of Simulation-Based and Didactic Training

Purpose In 2014, over 700,000 children in the U.S. were victims of maltreatment or abuse, in which 1,500 children succumbed to fatalities. Providers can protect children by reporting maltreatment, but only if they can recognize the subtle signs of abuse and neglect. Methods Pediatrics residents participated in a one-day training, a hybrid education model of simulation and lecture. We developed a simulated scenario, which was a clinical visit for an infant with a …
Cannabidiol attenuates the rewarding effects of cocaine in rats by CB2, 5-HT1A and TRPV1 receptor mechanisms.

Abstract Cocaine abuse continues to be a serious health problem worldwide. Despite intense research there is currently no FDA-approved medication to treat cocaine use disorder. The recent search has been focused on agents targeting primarily the dopamine system, while limited success has been achieved at the clinical level. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a U.S. FDA-approved cannabinoid for the treatment of epilepsy and recently was reported to have therapeutic potential for other disorders. Here we systemically evaluated its potential utility for the treatment of cocaine use disorder and explored the underlying receptor mechanisms in experimental animals. Systemic administration (10–40 mg/kg) of CBD dose-dependently inhibited cocaine self-administration, shifted a cocaine dose-response curve downward, and lowered break-points for cocaine self-administration under a progressive-ratio schedule of reinforcement. CBD inhibited cocaine self-administration maintained by low, but not high, doses of cocaine. In addition, CBD (3–20 mg/kg) dose-dependently attenuated cocaine-enhanced brain-stimulation reward (BSR) in rats. Strikingly, this reduction in both cocaine self-administration and BSR was blocked by AM630 (a cannabinoid CB2 receptor antagonist), WAY100135 (a 5-HT1A receptor antagonist), or capsazepine (a TRPV1 channel blocker), but not by AM251 (a CB1 receptor antagonist), CID16020046 (a GPR55 antagonist), or naloxone (an opioid receptor antagonist), suggesting the involvement of CB2, 5-HT1A, and TRPV1 receptors in CBD action. In vivo microdialysis indicated that pretreatment with CBD (10–20 mg/kg) attenuated cocaine-induced increases in extracellular dopamine (DA) in the nucleus accumbens, while CBD alone failed to alter extracellular DA. These findings suggest that CBD may have certain therapeutic utility by blunting the acute rewarding effects of cocaine via a DA-dependent mechanism.
Modeling and measurements of ammonia from poultry operations: Their emissions, transport, and deposition in the Chesapeake Bay.

Abstract The goal of this study is to determine how much ammonia/nitrogen is being deposited to the Maryland Eastern Shore land and the Chesapeake Bay from poultry operations on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. We simulated the fate of ammonia/nitrogen emitted (using emission factors from the U.S. EPA in conjunction with Carnegie-Mellon University) from 603 poultry facilities using the air quality model, AERMOD. The model domain was approximately 134 km by 230 km (and covers the full land area of Maryland’s Eastern Shore), with a horizontal resolution of 2 km by 2 km. Ammonia concentration observations were made at 23 sites across Maryland’s Eastern Shore during two periods (September and October 2017) in order to calibrate the model. An ammonia deposition velocity of 2.4 cm/sec was selected based on the sensitivity analysis of results for the simulation of a large poultry facility, and this value fell within the range of measurements reported in the scientific literature downwind of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). The ammonia deposition velocity of 2.4 cm/s leads to an estimated total annual ammonia deposition of 11,100 Megagrams/year (10,600 Mg/yr deposition to land, and 508 Mg/yr deposition to water (1 Mg = 1,000,000 g = 1.1023 US Tons)). In addition, model simulations indicate that ~72.4% of ammonia emissions from poultry animal feeding operations would be deposited within the modeling domain. However, this deposited ammonia/nitrogen may be transported through waterways from the land mass and ground water to the Chesapeake Bay. A comprehensive sensitivity analysis of the assumed ammonia deposition velocity (ranging from 0.15 to 3.0 cm/s) on estimated ammonia annual deposition is provided. Using the lower limit of an ammonia deposition velocity of 0.15 cm/s gives much smaller estimated total annual ammonia deposition of 2,040 Mg/yr (1,880 Mg/yr deposition to land and 163 Mg/yr deposition to water).
Human Rights in Border Conservation: Access to Water at Cabeza Prieta

Over 3000 people are estimated to have died while crossing the border in the Sonoran Desert region since the late 1990s (humaneborders.org). This chapter looks at the challenge of protecting human rights in protected border areas. There is an interesting disparity in the case of Cabeza Prieta: supplemental water is provided for wildlife, but not for humans. Humanitarian aid groups must work within wilderness regulations, which can present a challenge to providing life-saving water to undocumented border-crossers. I conclude the chapter with a discussion of the language used to describe undocumented immigrants. I argue that language can affect perceptions of undocumented immigrants, ultimately dehumanizing border-crossers.
TextTubes for Detecting Curved Text in the Wild.

We present a detector for curved text in natural images. We model scene text instances as tubes around their medial axes and introduce a parametrization-invariant loss function. We train a two-stage curved text detector, and evaluate it on the curved text benchmarks CTW-1500 and Total-Text. Our approach achieves state-of-the-art results or improves upon them, notably for CTW-1500 by over 8 percentage points in F-score.
Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty in Patients With Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: A Retrospective Matched-Cohort Study.

Abstract Background Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDSs) are connective-tissue disorders resulting in joint laxity. Soft-tissue stability is a concern in these patients when they undergo total hip arthroplasty (THA). Our purpose was to compare THAs in the population with EDS with a matched control undergoing THA for osteoarthritis. Methods Thirteen patients with EDS underwent THA from 1997 to 2017. Matching was 1:3 with a control group of patients who underwent THA for osteoarthritis. Matching was based on the gender, age, and length of follow-up. Results We found no difference in demographics or postoperative Harris Hip Scores between the cohorts (P > .05). Two patients (15.4%) with EDS and 2 patients (5.1%) in the control group suffered a dislocation. We found no difference in the reoperation or revision rate between the groups (P = .28). Conclusions Patients with EDS have a significant improvement in postoperative Harris Hip Scores after THA. These patients also have a high dislocation rate after surgery, and alternative approaches and technologies such as dual-mobility components should be considered to reduce the rate of dislocation in this population.
Improvement of retinal tissue perfusion after circuit resistance training in healthy older adults.

Abstract Purpose To determine the retinal tissue perfusion (RTP) and its relation to cognitive function in healthy older people after an 8-week high-speed circuit resistance training program (HSCT). Methods Eleven subjects in the HSCT group and seven age-matched non-training controls (CON) were recruited. The HSCT group trained 3 times per week for 8 weeks, while CON performed no formal training. One eye of each subject in both groups was imaged at baseline and at an 8-week follow-up, using a Retinal Function Imager to measure retinal blood flow (RBF). Retinal tissue perfusion (RTP) was calculated as RBF divided by the corresponding tissue volume. Cognitive function was assessed during both visits using the NIH Toolbox Fluid Cognition Battery. Results RTP was 2.99 ± 0.91 nl·s−1·mm−3 (mean ± SD) at baseline and significantly increased to 3.77 ± 0.86 nl·s−1·mm−3 after training (P Conclusions This is the first prospective study to demonstrate that the increased RTP after HSCT was related to improved cognition in cognitively-normal elders, indicating RTP could be an imaging marker for monitoring cognitive changes due to physical activity in the elderly.
Shifting the Service Referral Paradigm Using Community-Based Second Responders: Examining Weapon Use in Intimate Partner Violence

To address a rise in intimate partner violence (IPV) related homicides, Cincinnati Police Department (CPD) partnered with Women Helping Women (WHW), a community, gender-based violence prevention organization to create the Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team (DVERT). Second responders are sent out to the scene of IPV police calls to better address the needs of survivors and connect them with services. The aim of this study is to assess how calls involving weapons differed from those that did not. The sample included 1253 calls from August 2018 to January 2020, which were then categorized by whether or not the incident included a weapon. A series of bivariate analyses were conducted to assess for differences between groups in perpetrator and survivor characteristics, harm incurred, criminal justice responses, and referrals for services. There were significant differences in perpetrator characteristics between weapon involvement groups. Perpetrators in the weapon involvement group were more likely to have access to weapons; history of physical violence, verbal or mental abuse; substance abuse problems, and mental illness. Black women were disproportionately more likely to have a weapon used on them. The criminal justice system did not differ significantly in their response to cases involving weapons. However, survivors of weapons related cases were overall more likely to receive service referrals. Findings suggest a need for community-based second responder programs to partner with police departments to address the multitude of needs for survivors given the lethality of these incidents.
From avatars to mavatars: The role of marketing avatars and embodied representations in consumer profiling

Abstract Recent trends in advertising and social media (e.g., facial/body recognition technologies) will change how people need to think about their digital representations and privacy, as well as how managers can use these technologies to interact with customers. The term avatar is usually associated with a video game character or a pictorial representation on a social network, and among other components of the definition of the concept is the notion that users control the avatar's appearance and actions. Facial recognition and video analytic technologies being applied in public digital signage displays and on social networks like Facebook capture and create an embodied biometric database that is essentially an avatar-like profile that will be used for marketing products and supporting consumer applications. In this article we discuss the nature of these new marketing avatars, which we call mavatars , and offer a framework for understanding where and how these embodied profiles are and will be used. We also discuss and speculate how these representations and the applications they spawn will evolve; where they will be used; and the ramifications of these embodied representations for consumers, managers, and society at large.
Tunable Optoelectronic Properties of Polydimethylsiloxane-Arylazopyrazole Flexible Composite

Growing interest in flexible electronic platforms spurs introduction of guest structures into polymeric materials to achieve composites with novel optical and electronic properties. In this work, optoelectronic composites were realized by incorporation of novel derivative of arylazopyrazole (AAP) in polydimethylsiloxane matrix. The composites were investigated before and after irradiation with 365 nm UV source through optical spectroscopy. The responses at UV - Vis region, revealed significant regulation of properties by the presence and photoisomerization of embedded AAP, as well as a strong dependence on concentration. The refractive indices ranged from 1.83 - 2.38 in pristine state and 1.59 - 1.71 upon UV irradiation; and associated dielectric constants were 3.5 - 5.5 and 3.0 - 4.0, respectively. The impact of concentration manifested in increasing magnitude of properties as AAP concentration increased. In pristine state, composites absorbance spectra showed maxima centered at 340 nm that was typical of $\pi \rightarrow \pi^{*}$ transition in the AAP. After exposure to UV, the maxima shifted to $\sim 310$ nm with secondary peak occurring at 450 nm due to $\mathrm{n}\rightarrow\pi^{*}$ transition because of conformal change of the AAP to cis structure. Analyses of absorbance spectra showed that the secondary $\mathrm{n}\rightarrow\pi^{*}$ transition was indirect and assisted by phonons due to rotation of AAP molecules during photo-isomerization, while primary $\pi\rightarrow\pi^{*}$ excitation was direct with gap values 3.1- 3.5 eV.
ABCL-312: Survival Outcomes of Primary Intraocular Lymphoma

Objectives To report the clinical presentation, treatment, and outcome of patients diagnosed with primary intraocular lymphoma (PIOL) at a single institution in the time period between July 1996 and December 2020. Materials and Methods We identified 38 patients who were consecutively diagnosed or seen between 1996 and the present and had pathology-confirmed PIOL. Data regarding initial presentation, staging, treatment, progression, and survival were collected and analyzed for trends related to survival. Results In our cohort of 38 patients, the mean age is 65 years, although it is not limited by age and can present in other age groups. Most patients (33 cases, 85%) were diagnosed with vitrectomy. At initial presentation, bilateral eye involvement was present in 11/38 cases (25%), progression to the CNS was present in 10 cases (23%), and 4 patients had CSF involvement (37 had CSF evaluation; therefore, 9% of those evaluated, 5 patients had atypical CSF results). Thirty-five (80%) patients had B-cell lymphomas and 20% T-cell lymphomas. Tumors commonly expressed B-cell markers (CD20, PAX5, CD19, or/and CD79). Twenty-nine patients were treated with ocular targeted external beam radiation or whole-brain radiation (66%). Methotrexate-based systemic plus intrathecal regimen with an average of 3.5 cycles was given to 33 patients (75%). Although 19 patients (47%) achieved complete remission after first-line therapy, 17 relapsed (39%) and received second-line treatment, and 3 received third-line therapy, which includes chemotherapy with or without radiation. Those who relapsed were less likely to have undergone radiation and methotrexate chemotherapy. Of the 38 patients, 30 (76%) underwent autologous stem cell transplant. The overall survival is 75% (29 patients), while progression-free survival is 41% (16 patients), with a median follow-up of 49.7 months. Conclusion PIOL remains a rare disease, which, in opposition to its scarcity, has a poor prognosis, being potentially fatal. The use of ocular radiotherapy, combined with HD MTX-based systemic chemotherapy, has become the mainstay of ocular lymphoma treatment, highlighting the highly therapeutic effects through significantly improved patient outcomes. Prospective studies are needed to improve outcomes in this rare disease.
Orem's Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory to Improve Children's Self-Care: An Integrative Review.

Often school-age children are thought of as dependent on their parents and not necessarily involved in behaviors related to their own self-care. It is important to implement and advance self-care p...
Bimetallic Two-Dimensional Metal-Organic Frameworks for Chemiresistive Detection of Carbon Monoxide

This paper describes the demonstration of a series of heterobimetallic, isoreticular 2D conductive metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with metallophthalocyanine (MPc, M=Co and Ni) units interconnected by Cu nodes towards low-power chemiresistive sensing of ppm-levels of carbon monoxide (CO). Devices achieve sub-part-per-million (ppm) limits of detection (LOD) of 0.53 ppm toward CO at low driving voltages of 0.1 V. MPc-based Cu-linked MOFs can continuously detect CO at 50 ppm, the permissible exposure limit required by Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series, for multiple exposures and realize CO detection in air and humid environment. Diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS), density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and comparison experiments suggest the contribution of Cu nodes for CO binding and the essential role of MPc units in tuning and amplifying the sensing response.
Computable Chaotic Orbits of Ergodic Dynamical Systems

The central theme of this Institute is scaling in disordered systems, especially the use of both regular (periodic) and ‘random’ fractals to describe the scaling properties. In a related set of lectures, Wolfram1 has shown how both regular and pseudo-random states can be generated systematically via simple integer maps called cellular automata. The question whether a given problem is ‘decidable or intractable’1-b was touched upon in a general way. For example, the question whether a given cellular automaton generates a truly random sequence of bits when no pattern can be found may be undecideable: it is always possible that an algorithm generates a pattern that is sufficiently complex that we may fail to decode it, yet it may pass all standard tests for randomness. We regard this as an example of the sort of limitation upon computability that is suggested by the work of Turing.2,2-b
Emergency department use among children with tracheostomies: Avoidable visits

Purpose To characterize high emergency department (ED) use by children with tracheostomies and complex chronic conditions, to distinguish avoidable from unavoidable ED visits, and to describe the financial impact of avoidable visits. Methods Children with tracheostomies in a pediatric tertiary care center with the highest ED utilization were identified via analysis of administrative data. Six experts in interdisciplinary dyads reviewed the records from all ED visits for these children, and distinguished avoidable from unavoidable visits. Hospital cost data for avoidable visits is described. Results Among 75 children with tracheostomies and complex chronic conditions, 23 (31%) were high ED utilizers. These 23 children accounted for 74% of all ED discharges the total group of 75 children from 2008 to 2011. Four of these 23 children with high utilization were excluded, leaving 19 subjects for review. These 19 children had 312 ED visits, of which 103 (33%) were deemed avoidable. Leading reasons for avoidable visits were uncomplicated upper respiratory infections, gastrointestinal infections, and enteral feeding system problems. Avoidable visits cost the hospital {$}67,940. Conclusions One-third of ED visits by children with tracheostomies and complex chronic conditions may be avoidable. Increased ambulatory access to interdisciplinary teams of providers familiar with these children's unique needs might reduce avoidable ED visits and improve health outcomes. Further studies on how this model of ambulatory care might affect ED utilization and total healthcare costs are needed.
An Adiabatic Demagnetization Cooled Bolometer System

We have constructed an adiabatic demagnetization refrigeration (ADR) system suitable for cooling bolometers for use at infrared and submillimeter wavelengths. Because it does not rely on a gravitational field for operation, this refrigeration method has been proposed to cool bolometers intended for NASA’s Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF). To explore the use of ADR in this manner, we have constructed a portable instrument that has been used successfully for ground-based astronomical observations. By employing chromic potassium sulfate as a paramagnetic cooling material, we have successfully cooled bolometers to temperatures of 0.1 K with a cryogenic hold time of greater than nine hours. Our most sensitive detector tested had a measured electrical noise equivalent power of 7 × 10−17 W Hz−1/2, which is the lowest value yet recorded for a submillimeter wavelength bolometer. A computer controlled feedback loop was used to regulate the temperature of the bolometer to within 14 µK, which results in a less than one percent change in responsivity for 0.1 K bolometers. We discuss operation of this refrigeration system, and some issues affecting the adaptation of this type of system to the spacecraft environment.
Miniaturized CPW-fed slot antenna using stepped impedance resonator

A compact CPW-fed stepped impedance resonator (SIR) slot dipole antenna has been investigated. Transmission-line equations together with full-wave analysis are used to analyze and design this antenna. The proposed antenna shows a 3.6% bandwidth of greater than 10 dB return loss at the center frequency of 3.86 GHz. Compared with the CPW-fed uniform impedance resonator (UIR) antenna, the proposed antenna shows a 31% length reduction.
Cardozo and the Upper-Court Myth

There has recently been published a volume, Selected Writings of Benjamin N. Cardozo,3 which every thoughtful lawyer and judge will want ready at hand. It will repay constant re-reading. It includes nearly all Cardozo's extra-judicial writings, notably The Nature of the Judicial Process, first published in 192I, and The Growth of the Law, first published in I924.4 In these two books, one of our most eminent appellate judges set forth his legal philosophy. More important, he showed how this philosophy aided him in his judicial work, and, in that connection, disclosed some of the intimate details of upper-court techniques. I say "more important" because, before Cardozo, no judge, with the exception of Holmes, had been similarly candid. Cardozo's frankness emboldened others, lawyers and judges, to be less diffident in thinking about and commenting on courthouse ways.5 He did not confine himself to a description of what appellate judges do. He told, also, what they ought and ought not do. While wisely indicating the proper limits of judicial legislation, he exhorted these judges to put moral ideals into practice. His descriptions and exhortations he both illustrated refreshingly by his own judicial opinions, and fortified by apposite reflections on a variety of legal and non-legal philosophies. This sort of critical self-revelation by a judge was novel and exciting. Somewhat less novelty and inventiveness appear in the contents of his own philosophy-far less than in the off-the-bench writings of his great master, Holmes, all of which contain highly original insights. Cardozo, more productive than Holmes, was also more eclectic. But, as in the case of Cicero, brilliant eclecticism became itself creative. It was tonic that a revered judge, by no means "radical," should boldly declare, "I take judge-made law as one of the realities of life."6 To be sure, this had often been said previously,7 once forthrightly (and with appropriate qualifications) by Holmes in a dis-
Characterization of leukemic and normal white blood cells by Curie-point pyrolysis—mass spectrometry

Abstract A preliminary study was undertaken to determine the usefulness of Curie-point pyrolysis—mass spectrometry followed by computer analysis for character diseased white blood cells. White blood cells from normal, infected, polyeyrhemic and leukemic persons were pyrolyzed in front of the electron impact ion source of a quadrupole mass spectrometer on 510°C and 355°C Curie-point filaments. Visual inspection and computer assisted pattern analysis using the ARTHUR program revealed marked differences in the spectra among the different diagnostic categories. The 510°C pyrolysis—mass spectra from leukemic patients were found to have increased intensity at mass peaks related to RNA and DNA as well as decreased intensity at mass peaks related to choline containing phospholipids when compared to controls. The spectra from the polyeyrhemic patient and the two infected patients were found to have intermediate intensities for these two characteristic series. Pyrolysis at 355°C was found to enhance the differences seen in the 510°C pyrolysis spectra. Though the number of patients is too small to allow rigorous statistical analysis of the observed differences, numerical analysis of the spectra appears to hint at the possibility of using Curie-point pyrolysis—mass spectrometry as a diagnostic tool in discriminating different types of leukemias. An investigation with many more samples is needed to confirm these preliminary findings.
The impact of household endowment constraints on nutrition and health

Abstract This paper is an attempt to assess the impact on individuals of systematic undernutrition caused by asset and purchasing power constraints. A model is developed linking initial assets to nutrition, nutrition to physical health and physical health to the frequency of sickdays. The cycle is completed by linking the frequency to sickdays to initial assets. The model was tested using a data set from rural Bangladesh and the results support the hypothesis. Those who start below a certain minimum level of assets are caught up in a process of continuous pauperization. Education acts as a brake to this process. The initial thesis that in the absence of outside intervention, asset constraints on nutrition leads to a systematic divestment of human and physical capital is supported in this sample from rural Bangladesh.
The Use of Advance Directives by Persons with Serious Mental Illness for Psychiatric Treatment

Objective. A health care proxy is an advance directive that allows an individual to indicate in writing who can act on his behalf when he lacks the capacity to make health care decisions, and what limitations he is placing on this authority. Of great interest in medical settings, health care proxies are beginning to receive more attention in psychiatric settings. Are these proxies useful when applied to psychiatric treatment decisions? This paper examines health care proxies in Massachusetts and their potential use for decisions about psychiatric interventions at one Massachusetts state hospital. Method. A point in time study of a state hospital's entire census was done by reviewing all patients' records for demographic, diagnostic, and legal data, and for the presence and content of the state required health care proxy form. Results. Of the 161 patients in the hospital, 71 (44%) had full guardians and were ineligible to complete their own proxies. Of the remaining 90 patients, 53 (33% of the total population) had a proxy form in their chart, but 34 (21%) of these patients refused to sign them. Of the 19 (12%) signed proxies, 16 (10%) of the patients were deemed competent to have executed meaningful health care proxies. Conclusions. This preliminary analysis reveals that only 10% of a state hospital population had meaningful health care proxies. Further outcome studies are needed to determine if the process of offering health care proxies and the presence of properly executed proxies are meaningful and beneficial to chronically ill psychiatric patients.
Three Essays in Environmental and Agricultural Issues

This dissertation is a collection of three essays. The first essay is titled,"Avoiding biases from data-dependent specification search: an application to the tillage choice model". The study evaluates the gains of avoiding data-dependent specification search on an estimation sample in an application to discrete choice models. The second essay is titled,"Empirical Ag-Environmental Model for Iowa". This research develops an empirical model to estimate the effects of domestic policies like taxes on input prices, restrictions on input use and subsidy for adopting more environmentally benign crop rotation, on water quality andwildlife habitat. The third essay is,"Further Investigation of the Effects of Meat Recalls and Correlations on Consumer Demand and Volatility", Closely related US beef, pork and poultry data are examined for the presence of correlation between the recall events. A static model is used to determine the change in the shares of expenditure for different recall correlation patterns. This study is further extended to test whether recalls increase the volatility of retail prices.
NMR of 89Y in the copper-oxide spin-chain compound Ca2+xY2-xCu5O10

We report NMR lineshape, spin-lattice relaxation time T 1 , and spin-spin relaxation time T 2 data at 17 MHz (8.07 T) for 89 Y in the copper-oxide spin-chain compound Ca 2+x Y 2-x Cu 5 O 10 . For x = 0, a broad, asymmetric line with width Δν 90 kHz is observed for T = 250-300 K. The spectra exhibit an appreciable average shift (ΔH/H +0.7%) and sharpen at lower temperature, possibly due to increasing intrachain ferromagnetic correlations. T 1 and T 2 decrease with decreasing temperature. The T 1 data imply a short correlation-time limit, with τ e = 3-5 x 10 -11 s. The T 2 data apparently include a contribution from dipolar interactions with copper nuclei. Relaxation time data for a doped (x=0.5) compound surprisingly show more rapid relaxation.