cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MTHFR 677C>T effects on anterior cingulate structure and function during response monitoring in schizophrenia: a preliminary study

Patients with schizophrenia exhibit deficient response monitoring as indexed by blunted activation of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and functionally related regions during error commission. This pattern may reflect heritable alterations of dACC function. We examined whether the hypofunctional 677C>T variant in MTHFR, a candidate schizophrenia risk gene, contributed to our previous findings of blunted error-related dACC activation and reduced microstructural integrity of dACC white matter. Eighteen medicated outpatients with schizophrenia underwent diffusion tensor imaging and performed an antisaccade paradigm during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). T allele carriers exhibited significantly less error-related activation than C/C patients in bilateral dACC and substantia nigra, regions that are thought to mediate dopamine-dependent error-based reinforcement learning. T carrier patients also showed significantly lower fractional anisotropy in bilateral dACC. These findings suggest that the MTHFR 677T allele blunts response monitoring in schizophrenia, presumably via effects on dopamine signaling and dACC white matter microstructural integrity.
A Taxonomy of Student Engagement with Educational Software: An Exploration of Literate Thinking with Electronic Text

Readers of the information age increasingly resort to “texts” that are stored, organized, and accessed electronically and rely on symbol systems other than alphanumeric. In schools, multimedia software and hypertexts are increasingly common documents from which students learn. This study sought to document instances of “high” literacy, literate thinking, among elementary school students as they worked with common computer software in the course of their normal school day. Seven distinct forms of engagement emerged to categorize students' work, and these were arranged in order of complexity: disengagement, unsystematic engagement, frustrated engagement, structure-dependent engagement, self-regulated interest, critical engagement, and literate thinking. The taxonomy of student engagement is described with examples. It clarifies other researchers' conceptualizations of high literacy and engagement and integrates them with notions of intrinsic motivation, volition, and self-regulated learning. It also implies...
Methanogenic calcite, 13C-depleted bivalve shells, and gas hydrate from a mud volcano offshore southern California

Methane and hydrogen sulfide vent from a cold seep above a shallowly buried methane hydrate in a mud volcano located 24 km offshore southern California in 800 m of water. Bivalves, authigenic calcite, and methane hydrate were recovered in a 2.1 m piston core. Aragonite shells of two bivalve species are unusually depleted in 13C (to −19‰ δ13C), the most 13C-depleted shells of marine macrofauna yet discovered. Carbon isotopes for both living and dead specimens indicate that they used, in part, carbon derived from anaerobically oxidized methane to construct their shells. The δ13C values are highly variable, but most are within the range −12‰ to −19‰. This variability may be diagnostic for identifying cold-seep–hydrate systems in the geologic record. Authigenic calcite is abundant in the cores down to ∼1.5 m subbottom, the top of the methane hydrate. The calcite is depleted in 13C (δ13C = −46‰ to −58‰), indicating that carbon produced by anaerobically oxidized methane is the main source of the calcite. Methane sources include a geologic hydrocarbon reservoir from Miocene source rocks, and biogenic and thermogenic degradation of organic matter in basin sediments. Oxygen isotopes indicate that most calcite formed out of isotopic equilibrium with ambient bottom water, under the influence of gas hydrate dissociation and strong methane flux. High metal content in the mud volcano sediment indicates leaching of basement rocks by fluid circulating along an underlying fault, which also allows for a high flux of fossil methane.
Evaluation of Subsurface Defects Created During the Finishing of Composites

The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that a degraded subsurface layer containing microcracks is produced in dental composites as a result of finishing procedures. Various composites in the form of rectangular bars were finished with a 12-fluted carbide bur or a fine diamond within minutes of light-curing, and were subsequently stained with silver nitrate. Microscopic evaluation revealed that significant penetration of stain occurred in the unfinished as well as in the finished surfaces. The extent of dye penetration that could be directly attributed to a damaged layer produced by the finishing procedure was less than 10 microns, being greatest for a microfill (Silux Plus) and a hybrid (P-50) composite. There was no difference between the effects of the finishing instruments. SEM analysis of the subsurface showed an absence of any cracks for the composites. However, occasional disruption of the interface between the pre-polymerized resin fillers and the matrix was apparent for the microfill material. The results showed that only a very limited subsurface damage may be created in certain composites during the initial contouring of a restoration.
Measuring theoretically complex constructs: the case of acquisition performance:

Researchers face numerous challenges when measuring complex theoretical constructs. This article focuses on the tension between the benefits of measurement precision and the benefits of generalizability in the context of the acquisition performance construct. Achieving precision tends to lead to measurement proliferation, while achieving generalizability calls for measurement convergence. The authors perform qualitative and quantitative analyses to determine how the literature has dealt with this tension. They conclude that acquisition performance is a theoretically complex construct comprised of relatively unrelated dimensions and that there is often a misalignment between theory and measurement – resulting in missed opportunities to capture the benefits of precision or the benefits of generalizability. Based on their analyses, the authors’ develop a framework to help future acquisition researchers manage the tension between precision and generalizability. The approach is recommended for use by researchers studying other theoretically complex constructs.
Racial Differences in Self-Reported Healthcare Seeking and Treatment for Urinary Incontinence in Community-Dwelling Women from the EPI Study

Aims: Objectives of this study are: (1) to examine the prevalence of healthcare seeking among black and white women with self-reported urinary incontinence (UI), (2) to investigate barriers to treatment for incontinence, and (3) To investigate commonly used therapeutic modalities for UI. Methods: This is a planned secondary analysis of responses from 2,812 black and white community-dwelling women living in southeastern Michigan, aged 35–64 years, who completed a telephone interview concerning UI, healthcare-seeking behaviors and management strategies. The study population was 571 subjects (278 black, 293 white) who self-identified as having urinary incontinence. Results: Of these women with UI, 51% sought healthcare with no statistically significant difference between the two races (53% black, 50.6% white, P ¼ 0.64). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, a higher likelihood of seeking healthcare was associated with increased age, body mass index lower than 30 kg/m 2 , prior surgery for UI, having regular pelvic exams, having a doctor, and worsening severity of UI. There was no significant association between hypothesized barriers to care seeking and race. Almost 95% of the subjects identified lack of knowledge of available treatments as one barrier. Black and white women were similar in percentage use of medications and some self-care strategies, for example, pad wearing and bathroom mapping, but black women were significantly more likely to restrict fluid intake than white women and marginally less likely to perform Kegels. Conclusions: Black and white women seek healthcare for UI at similar, low rates. Improved patient-doctor relationships and public education may foster healthcare seeking behavior. Neurourol. Urodynam. 30:1442–1447, 2011. 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Interactions of tillage and soil management practices on the biological control of diseases and pests

Crops should be sufficiently healthy to yield to the limits of their physical environment. This “attainable yield” can be determined experimentally for any given year and site by use of soil fumigation to eliminate soil-inhabiting pests, followed by full-season protection of the foliage against pests by whatever methods may be available. The objective in research should then be to develop economical biological controls that approach or achieve the attainable yield. Biological control is broadly defined to include the use of antagonists, natural enemies, modified or avirulent strains of the target pest, or the host plant managed or genetically modified to reduce the pest population or restrict its damage. Most biological control of pests of cool season pulse crops is accomplished by use of crop rotation and tillage, which favours the naturally occuring, biological control agents and the crop relatively more than the pest species. Other effective practices such as flooding the soil, organic amendments, and solarization of the soil, could be used for cool season pulse crops for soil disinfestation in some regions. Pathogen-suppressive soils provide effective natural biological control of some soilborne pathogens of pea and lentil and deserve wider study. Biological seed treatments with fungi and rhizobacteria inhibitory to soilborne pathogens have been tested to a limited extent on peas but the full potential of this approach is still to be exploited.
Ecological Studies on the Eggs of the Northern Corn Rootworm

The northern corn rootworm, Diabrotica longicornis (Say), adult was found to oviposit in the soil between plants within a row of maturing corn fields. Eggs were found in decreasing numbers at 4, 8, and 10 inches from the row but none were found in the middle between 40-inch rows. The depth of egg deposition is probably governed by the degree of soil cracking, but an average of 4 samples in 1963 and 1964 showed 92.8% of the eggs in the top 4 inches of soil. In a separate study, 88% of the eggs were noted in the upper 3 inches of soil, but after plowing to a depth of 9 inches, all eggs were recovered from the 3- to 9-inch layer. Sampling between plants in several fields before plowing showed 19-558 eggs per 100 cubic inches of soil 4 inches deep. Subsequent larval counts indicated 0.19 larva per egg detected by the particular egg assay employed. Hatch occurs in northern corn rootworm eggs after diapause is broken by low temperatures, but hatch was found to be reduced or prevented when the microclimate was –2°C or below for 6 or more weeks. Spring-collected eggs held in a refrigerator (around 4.4°C) for 24 months displayed a normal hatching pattern when removed to ambient laboratory temperatures. Eggs taken from the field in early spring showed first hatch in 15.3 days when held at 25°C, but when spring-collected eggs were held at 4.4°C for 8 months first hatch occurred 9.7, 14, and 18 days after being placed at temperatures of 26.7, 22.8, and 18.3°C, respectively. This fact might indicate some physiological development of diapause-free eggs retained at 4.4°C. No eggs hatched when incubated at 31.7 or 33.9°C. Contact moisture was employed for all studies on embryonic development. Laboratory-produced eggs retained at ambient laboratory temperatures displayed 13.3% hatch in the absence of a chilling period. Likewise, eggs collected from the field on October 12 showed 21.4% of the eggs free of diapause.
Traffic Alert Optimization for Airborne Collision Avoidance Systems

Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) is currently mandated on all large aircraft to reduce collision risk. TCAS provides both traffic alerts (TAs) and resolution advisories (RAs). TAs facilitate visual acquisition of approaching aircraft and prepare pilots to respond to vertical maneuver guidance provided by RAs. Recent research has investigated dynamic programming methods for optimizing the system logic that determines when to issue an RA and its associated vertical rate. This paper focuses on leveraging the results of the RA optimization to produce a TA logic that meets certain performance criteria, including meeting an ideal TA-RA lead time between 10 and 15 seconds and a low rate of TAs without RAs. Simulations based on recorded radar data in the JFK region were used to validate the success of the methodology presented in this paper.
Pharmaceutical Corporations and the Duty to Aid in HIV/AIDS Epidemic

At the ministerial conference held in Doha in 2001, the World Trade Organization (WTO) pointed out that public health problems resulting from tuberculosis, malaria, and other epidemics are afflicting many developing and least developed countries (LDCs).2 It reiterated the organization's commitment to Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), but affirmed that the Agreement can and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of WTO members' right to protect public health and, in particular, to promote access to medicines for all. While the WTO's plea was directed at various member nation states, in recent years some have argued that for-profit pharm aceutical corporations also have a moral duty to help promote access to essential medicines in the LDCs. This essay will focus on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in LDCs and examine whether or not multinational pharmaceutical corporations that pro duce AIDS medication have a moral duty to help ease the disproportionate disease burden. While there are many third-world infectious diseases that are affecting LDCs, this article will only focus on HIV/AIDS, which is unique partly because it is not solely a third-world disease. Unlike many infectious diseases such as TB and malaria, which are concentrated in LDCs with limited ability to pay for health care and thus have long been neglected
Domain walls in 3 He-A in a parallel-plate geometry

Pure $\stackrel{^}{l}$ domain walls in superfluid $^{3}\mathrm{He}$ confined between two parallel plates with gap $d$ ($\ensuremath{\sim}{\ensuremath{\xi}}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$, the dipole coherence length) are considered theoretically. The spatial conformation of the domain wall as well as the domain-wall energy are determined. The domain walls give rise to satellite resonances in NMR experiments. The satellite frequencies are determined.
Ethnic Identity and Gender in Pluralist Perú

In 2011, Japanese-Peruvian Keiko Fujimori (1975- ), daughter of the former president, Alberto Fujimori, almost won presidential elections in Peru. Ollanta Humala (1962- ), who identifies himself as indigenous and as a youth studied in “La Union,” a Japanese-Peruvian school, defeated her. He had been an army officer; Keiko Fujimori, a congresswoman. She now hopes to win in 2016. This would make her Peru's first elected female president. What is the importance of a candidate's ethnicity or gender? Have such identity factors become meaningless or unimportant in Peru -- despite the historical reality of racism and gender inequality? To answer these quite general questions, this article focuses on history, multiculturalism, and law. Key points are enhanced through conversations with present and former state officials, authors, professors, students, and with the coordinator of the Japanese Immigration Museum at the Peruvian Japanese Cultural Center. Peru is a multiethnic nation-state and being a woman is not an obstacle to power.
Status and Trend of Communication Technology for Hydropower Plant Digital Devices

The status and problems of communication technology of hydropower plant are summarized from the aspects of system structure,communication interface,transfer medium and protocol.And its developing trend is predicted.The new communication mode for hydropower plant digital devices based on IEC 61850 and IEC 61970 standards are put forward.
Nebulization of liposomes. III. The effects of operating conditions and local environment.

Multilamellar liposomes (MLV) of saturated phosphatidylcholine and dipalmitoyl phosphatidylglycerol (DPPG) (9:1 mole ratio) containing 5,6-carboxyfluorescein (CF) were prepared and extruded through 1.0-µm polycarbonate membranes. Diluted aqueous dispersions were aerosolized for a total of 80 min using a Collison nebulizer under a variety of conditions. The effects of air pressure, temperature, buffer osmotic strength, and pH on nebulized liposome dispersions were studied. Changes in air pressure produced large changes in the percentage release of CF and ranged from 1.3% (4 psig) to 88.2% (50 psig) after 80 min of nebulization. The temperature of the nebulizer dispersions dropped during experiments. The extent of the temperature drop varied according to the air pressure used and ranged from 5°C (4 psig) to 11°C (≥30 psig). The temperature of dispersions caused no increase in CF release until the gel-to-liquid crystalline transition temperature was exceeded (54.6°C), whereupon a 20% increase in leakage was observed after 80 min of nebulization. Aerosol mass output was relatively unaffected by the starting temperature of experiments when conducted within the ambient temperature range. Leakage from the liposomes was increased in hypotonic solution but decreased in hypertonic solutions. At a buffer pH of 2.85 the percentage leakage of CF was increased ≈18% compared to that at pH 7.2 and pH 10.75. Results show that the stability of liposomes composed of saturated phosphatidylcholine and DPPG (9:1 mole ratio) is affected by the operating and environmental conditions under which aerosolization takes place, with air pressure having the greatest effect.
Genetically Modified Animals

For most of the 20th century, increasing numbers of genetically defined laboratory mice have been described and incorporated into biological research; this trend has accelerated in the 21st century. Initially, research using inbred strains was limited mostly to basic genetic studies in which biochemical or visual phenotypic expression patterns were observed. With the advent of molecular genetics in the 1960s, laboratory mice developed into critical research tools in which the genomic basis of disease and mutation could be examined at the level of individual genes. By the 1970s, the prospect of intentionally modifying the murine genome by the addition of new functional DNA was at hand (Jaenisch, 1976; Jaenisch and Mintz, 1974). By the early 1980s, the persistence of microinjected laboratory-derived DNA within the cells of live-born mice (Gordon and Ruddle, 1981) and the functional expression of transgenes in mice (Brinster et al., 1981; Costantini and Lacy, 1981) were reported. Within a few years, major universities, medical schools, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies had created in-house transgenic mouse laboratories and genetic modification technologies had been expanded to other species. Genetically modified C. elegans, Drosophila, zebrafish, mice, and rats have been used in biomedical research for studies of basic genetics and gene function, as well as for modeling human disease. Genetically modified cattle, goats, and sheep have been used to produce proteins in milk (Schnieke et al., 1997), while genetically modified pigs have been used as large animal models of certain diseases and as potential xenotransplantation donors (Lai et al., 2002). The mouse remains the primary choice for transgenic experimentation due to the relative ease of embryo and adult manipulation and the unparalleled depth of murine genetic knowledge, although rats may have more utility for some purposes (Zheng et al., 2012). Today, genetically modified mice are produced as models of human disease, to study basic gene function and regulation, and as in vivo systems in which mammalian (and nonmammalian) genetic expression may be investigated.
“Better everyone should know our business than we lose our house”: Costs and benefits of medical crowdfunding for support, privacy, and identity:

In the United States, medical crowdfunding is an increasingly common response to overwhelming healthcare costs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 individuals crowdfunding for health (e.g. cancer, paralysis, brain injury) on behalf of themselves or others, to better understand this new phenomenon as it informs theory on social support, identity, and privacy. First, findings suggest that crowdfunding is often a resource for both instrumental and emotional social support. Second, many crowdfunders weighed the need for support against perceived privacy risks, which is consistent with and extends privacy calculus theory. Finally, highly vulnerable self-disclosures were often reinterpreted to be empowering, which also supports and extends work on identity shift. Using crowdfunding as a context for inquiry, findings point to new theoretical frameworks to describe how users navigate needs for both privacy and support online and the often positive consequences of that negotiation for identity.
FOXM1 and STAT3 interaction confers radioresistance in glioblastoma cells.

// Uday B. Maachani 1 , Uma Shankavaram 1 , Tamalee Kramp 1 , Philip J. Tofilon 1 , Kevin Camphausen 1 , Anita T. Tandle 1 1 Radiation Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA Correspondence to: Anita T. Tandle, email: tandlea@mail.nih.gov Keywords: glioblastoma multiforme, FOXM1, STAT3, glioma stem cells, radio resistance Received: June 30, 2016 Accepted: September 28, 2016 Published: October 14, 2016 ABSTRACT Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) continues to be the most frequently diagnosed and lethal primary brain tumor. Adjuvant chemo-radiotherapy remains the standard of care following surgical resection. In this study, using reverse phase protein arrays (RPPAs), we assessed the biological effects of radiation on signaling pathways to identify potential radiosensitizing molecular targets. We identified subsets of proteins with clearly concordant/discordant behavior between irradiated and non-irradiated GBM cells in vitro and in vivo . Moreover, we observed high expression of Forkhead box protein M1 (FOXM1) in irradiated GBM cells both in vitro and in vivo . Recent evidence of FOXM1 as a master regulator of metastasis and its important role in maintaining neural, progenitor, and GBM stem cells, intrigued us to validate it as a radiosensitizing target. Here we show that FOXM1 inhibition radiosensitizes GBM cells by abrogating genes associated with cell cycle progression and DNA repair, suggesting its role in cellular response to radiation. Further, we demonstrate that radiation induced stimulation of FOXM1 expression is dependent on STAT3 activation. Co-immunoprecipitation and co-localization assays revealed physical interaction of FOXM1 with phosphorylated STAT3 under radiation treatment. In conclusion, we hypothesize that FOXM1 regulates radioresistance via STAT3 in GBM cells. We also, show GBM patients with high FOXM1 expression have poor prognosis. Collectively our observations might open novel opportunities for targeting FOXM1 for effective GBM therapy.
Social Neuroscience and the Modern Synthesis of Social and Biological Levels of Analysis

D.D. Franks and J.H. Turner (eds.), Handbook of Neurosociology, Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-4473-8_6, © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013 The brains of social organisms have neurobiological circuits that recognize, compute, and manipulate socially relevant information. In some cases, these networks appear to have evolved to co-opt older neurobehavioral mechanisms (Eisenberger et al. 2003 ) , in others to have evolved as domain-speci fi c neurobiological mechanisms (Ho et al. 2009 ), and in still others to have evolved to deal more generally with the complex information processing demands of social species (Dunbar and Shultz 2007 ) . Indeed, the immense processing demands necessary for functioning within a complex social group have been proposed to be one of the primary sources responsible for a neurobiological arms race that has resulted in the development of the relatively large brain size observed in primates (Brothers 1990 ; Dunbar 2009 ) . Consistent with this hypothesis, average social group size increases with relative neocortex volume in anthropoid primates (Dunbar and Shultz 2007 ) . The processing power of this “social brain” permits the neurobiological mining of the most inconspicuous of socially relevant signals (e.g., variations in body language, eye gaze, tone of voice) from the nearly in fi nite amount of sensory data in nearly all environmental contexts (Adolphs 2009 ) . Interestingly, the computational capacity of the brain is such that the majority of this processing occurs outside awareness and only comes to our attention when things go wrong. For example, localized lesions to speci fi c bilateral neuroanatomical structures can induce rather striking alterations in social information processing. Frontotemporal dementias and lesions in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex are associated with normal social recognition and memory but increased antisocial behavior, whereas damage to the amygdala diminishes people’s ability to infer other’s emotional states and causes diminished emotional activation to negative or threatening stimuli (Adolphs et al. 1994 ; Berntson et al. 2007 ) . Thus, the brains of various social animals are tuned to the relevant frequencies important for social communication and behavior leading some to describe the central nervous system of various social mammals, including humans, as “the social brain” (Adolphs 2009 ; Brothers 1990 ; Cacioppo et al. 2004 ; Dunbar 2009 ) . Social neuroscience is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of complex social structures, processes, and behaviors. In particular, this fi eld includes the study of social networks, the individuals that create them, and the neural, hormonal, and genetic mechanisms that allow for their existence. Chapter 6 Social Neuroscience and the Modern Synthesis of Social and Biological Levels of Analysis
Molecular Beam Epitaxy of lithium niobium oxide multifunctional materials

Abstract The role of stoichiometry and growth temperature in the preferential nucleation of material phases in the Li-Nb-O family are explored yielding an empirical growth phase diagram. It is shown that while single parameter variation often produces multi-phase films, combining substrate temperature control with the previously published lithium flux limited growth allows the repeatable growth of high quality single crystalline films of many different oxide phases. Higher temperatures (800–1050 °C) than normally used in MBE were necessary to achieve high quality materials. At these temperatures the desorption of surface species is shown to play an important role in film composition. Using this method single phase films of NbO, NbO 2 , LiNbO 2 , Li 3 NbO 4 , LiNbO 3 , and LiNb 3 O 8 have been achieved in the same growth system, all on c-plane sapphire. Finally, the future of these films in functional oxide heterostructures is briefly discussed.
Transfer Learning in Multi-Armed Bandit: A Causal Approach

We leverage causal inference tools to support a principled and more robust transfer of knowledge in reinforcement learning (RL) settings. In particular, we tackle the problem of transferring knowledge across bandit agents in settings where causal effects cannot be identified by Pearl's {do-calculus} nor standard off-policy learning techniques. Our new identification strategy combines two steps -- first, deriving bounds over the arm's distribution based on structural knowledge; second, incorporating these bounds in a novel bandit algorithm, B-kl-UCB. Simulations demonstrate that our strategy is consistently more efficient than the current (non-causal) state-of-the-art methods.
Reply to Martinez-Canales et al.: The structure(s) of lithium at low temperatures.

In our recent article (1), we proposed that Fermiology measurements can be used as a complementary probe for determining the low-temperature state of Li. In a letter (2) criticizing our conclusions, Martinez-Canales, Loa, and Ackland (MLA) claim ( i ) that “obtaining dHvA signals from martensitic microstructures is usually impossible” and ( ii ) that the experimental data of Hunt et al. (3), in particular, cannot be used to infer useful information about the martensitic phase. The first assertion is not correct. A clear de Haas–van Alphen (dHvA) signal from a martensitic phase has been experimentally observed and reported by Goddard et al. (4). Furthermore, a careful reading of the earlier references cited by MLA (5, … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: rh34{at}cornell.edu, bonev{at}llnl.gov, or deemyad{at}physics.utah.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Knowledge-driven industrial robotics for flexible production

The paper concentrate on the development of an innovative robotic system based on ontologies as knowledge-source used to solve shortcomings of the state-of-the-art solutions. The description of the product in form of ontologies facilitates the autonomous reasoning about the used concepts linking product model, manufacturing process and production infrastructure. By applying our ontology-driven concept, we tend to enhance not only the flexibility of each component's control architecture but would also lower the configuration cost for new products with respect to required time and expertise. The approach is anticipated for demonstration in two diverse industrial use cases.
End-of-Life Plans for African American Older Adults With Dementia:

African Americans are perceived to be least likely of all racial and ethnic groups to prepare for the end of life. However, verbal plans for the end of life are of particular importance to this population and may help understand why they are less likely to possess a formal end-of-life care planning document. The purpose of this study was to determine the number of formal and/or informal end-of-life care plans that existed among a convenience sample of African American older adults with dementia. For this descriptive study, data were collected from African American family caregivers (N = 65) of older adults with dementia. Descriptive statistics were conducted. Caregivers in this sample reported high rates of formal and/or informal end-of-life plans for their care recipients. Agency forms (power of attorney, health-care surrogate, or guardianship forms) had been obtained by 74% of the care recipients, while 63% of them possessed a formal end-of-life care planning document. All combined, 88% of the caregivers possessed at least 1 document or verbal information concerning end-of-life care for their care recipient or at least there was an assigned surrogate. Although limited, these findings reflect more end-of-life planning in this population than previous studies reported and could improve the quality of end-of-life outcomes in this population by giving health-care providers increased understanding of African American end-of-life planning preferences. This may, in turn, help the providers to inform and educate these care recipients and their family caregivers.
Cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety and related disorders: A meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials.

The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety-related disorders based on randomized placebo-controlled trials. We included 41 studies that randomly assigned patients (N = 2,843) with acute stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder (PD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or social anxiety disorder (SAD) to CBT or a psychological or pill placebo condition. Findings demonstrated moderate placebo-controlled effects of CBT on target disorder symptoms (Hedges' g = 0.56), and small to moderate effects on other anxiety symptoms (Hedges' g = 0.38), depression (Hedges' g = 0.31), and quality of life (Hedges' g = 0.30). Response rates in CBT compared to placebo were associated with an odds ratio of 2.97. Effects on the target disorder were significantly stronger for completer samples than intent-to-treat samples, and for individuals compared to group CBT in SAD and PTSD studies. Large effect sizes were found for OCD, GAD, and acute stress disorder, and small to moderate effect sizes were found for PTSD, SAD, and PD. In PTSD studies, dropout rates were greater in CBT (29.0%) compared to placebo (17.2%), but no difference in dropout was found across other disorders. Interventions primarily using exposure strategies had larger effect sizes than those using cognitive or cognitive and behavioral techniques, though this difference did not reach significance. Findings demonstrate that CBT is a moderately efficacious treatment for anxiety disorders when compared to placebo. More effective treatments are especially needed for PTSD, SAD, and PD.
Families of Children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

This article selectively reviews aspects of families of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A growing body of evidence indicates that some type, or possibly multiple types, of biologic underpinnings lead to a final common pathway of ADHD. Nevertheless, considerable information has accumulated on aspects of the families of children with ADHD as well. Some of the current areas of research include the familiality of the disorder, whether this familiality is genetic, issues regarding parent-child interaction, and involvement of parents in the treatment of children with ADHD. This article touches on current research in each of these areas.
M & A contracts: purposes, types, regulation, and patterns of practice

M&A transactions are governed by contracts that exhibit constrained variation – they are negotiated, yet full of boilerplate, tailored, yet full of patterns and regularities. This paper (a chapter of the Research Handbook on Mergers and Acquisitions, forthcoming) reviews the suite of contracts commonly needed in an M&A transaction, and offers two complementary descriptions of the core “deal contracts” in M&A. The first tracks the customary organization of the contracts themselves, and the second re-analyzes their contents with a new, functional typology derived from the purposes of deal contracts: (1) specification (especially of deal structure, pricing terms, and, in partial acquisitions, the business to be acquired), (2) risk-sharing, (3) process management, (4) control and information sharing, and (5) dispute management. Each description is illustrated by examples from and links to recent, high profile deals, augmented with cross-sectional data from a representative sample of M&A contracts involving U.S. targets. Ways that ownership and regulation shape M&A contracts for U.S. targets are summarized, and data consistent with that summary is presented. Finally, the rapidly growing body of empirical research on the contents and effects of M&A contracts is surveyed. The paper concludes with a brief agenda for future research on M&A contracts.
Performance of Stilbene Bars Coupled to Silicon Photomultipliers Using Different Reflectors

Two 6-mm by 6-mm by 50-mm bars of stilbene were each coupled to a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) and evaluated for signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), time resolution, and pulse shape discrimination (PSD) capability using specular and diffuse reflectors. To evaluate the SNR at 478 keV, a Cs-137 source was placed between both bars and measured. The average SNR was 38% lower using a specular reflector as compared to using a diffuse reflector. The coincidence resolving time, measured with a Na-22 source, improved by 32% for standard output pulses and 40% for fast output pulses. PSD capability, measured with a Cf252 source, degraded with an increased gamma misclassification rate of about 972% for the light output range of 100-200-keVee. These results show that timing performance can be improved by using a specular reflector, but PSD capability is greatly diminished.
Metabolic Syndrome in Adolescents with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Prevalence on the Basis of Different Diagnostic Criteria.

Abstract Study Objective Existing literature on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MBS) in adolescents with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is inconsistent, likely because of the application of differing diagnostic criteria. The objective was to assess the prevalence of MBS in adolescents with PCOS depending on the PCOS diagnostic criteria used. Design, Setting, and Participants A retrospective chart review of female patients (N = 37), ages 11-22 years, diagnosed with PCOS between January 2013 and December 2017. Patients were included only if they had received screening allowing comparison across all PCOS diagnostic criteria: National Institutes of Health, Rotterdam, Androgen Excess Society, Amsterdam, Endocrine Society, and the Pediatric Endocrine Society (PES). The presence of MBS was established using the International Diabetes Federation criteria. The proportion of patients having MBS was then calculated for each PCOS diagnostic criteria subgroup. Interventions and Main Outcome Measures For the entire study cohort, MBS was present in 17/37 patients (45.9%). The highest prevalence of MBS was among the subgroup of patients meeting the PES PCOS diagnostic criteria (13/25; 52.0%), whereas the lowest prevalence was in the subgroup meeting the Amsterdam PCOS criteria (6/15; 40.0%). Those diagnosed using the PES criteria also had the highest percentage of patients with 3 or more risk factors for MBS. Results and Conclusion The prevalence of MBS varied according to the specific PCOS diagnostic criteria and was highest when PES guidelines were used. The PES criteria are adolescent-specific and have thus refined the diagnosis of PCOS for this population. Our results highlight the importance of validated adolescent-specific PCOS diagnostic criteria.
Patient generated health data use in clinical practice: A systematic review

Abstract Background Precision health calls for collecting and analyzing large amounts of data to capture an individual's unique behavior, lifestyle, genetics, and environmental context. The diffusion of digital tools has led to a significant growth of patient generated health data (PGHD), defined as health-related data created, gathered or inferred by or from patients and for which the patient controls data collection and data sharing. Purpose We assessed the current evidence of the impact of PGHD use in clinical practice and provide recommendations for the formal integration of PGHD in clinical care. Methods We searched PubMed, Ovid, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Scopus up to May 2018. Inclusion criteria were applied and four reviewers screened titles and abstracts and consequently full articles. Findings Our systematic literature review identified 21 studies that examined the use of PGHD in clinical settings. Integration of PGHD into electronic records was extremely limited, and decision support capabilities were for the most part basic. Discussion PGHD and other types of patient-reported data will be part of the health care system narrative and we must continue efforts to understand its impact on health outcomes, costs, and patient satisfaction. Nursing scientists need to lead the process of defining the role of PGHD in the era of precision health.
Constraint-based Learning of Phonological Processes

Phonological processes are context-dependent sound changes in natural languages. We present an unsupervised approach to learning human-readable descriptions of phonological processes from collections of related utterances. Our approach builds upon a technique from the programming languages community called *constraint-based program synthesis*. We contribute a novel encoding of the learning problem into Boolean Satisfiability constraints, which enables both data efficiency and fast inference. We evaluate our system on textbook phonology problems and datasets from the literature, and show that it achieves high accuracy at interactive speeds.
Early Treatment Uptake and Cost Burden of Hepatitis C Therapies Among Newly Diagnosed Hepatitis C Patients with a Particular Focus on HIV Coinfection

Despite the high efficacy and safety associated with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), access to HCV treatment has been frequently restricted because of the high DAA drug costs. To (1) compare HCV treatment initiation rates between HCV monoinfected and HCV/HIV coinfected patients before (pre-DAA period) and after (post-DAA period) all-oral DAAs became available; and to (2) estimate the HCV treatment costs for payers and patients. A retrospective analysis of the MarketScan® Databases (2009–2016) was conducted for newly diagnosed HCV patients. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) of initiating HCV treatments during the pre-DAA and post-DAA periods. Kruskal–Wallis test was used to compare drug costs for dual, triple and all-oral therapies. A total of 15,063 HCV patients [382 (2.5%) HIV coinfected] in the pre-DAA period and 14,896 [429 (2.9%) HIV coinfected] in the post-DAA period were included. HCV/HIV coinfected patients had lower odds of HCV treatment uptake compared to HCV monoinfected patients during the pre-DAA period [OR, 0.59; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.45–0.78], but no significant difference in odds of HCV treatment uptake was observed during the post-DAA period (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.87–1.33). From 2009 to 2016, average payers’ treatment costs (dual, $20,820; all-oral DAAs, $99,661; p < 0.001) as well as average patients’ copayments (dual, $593; all-oral DAAs $933; p < 0.001) increased significantly. HCV treatment initiation rates increased, especially among HCV/HIV coinfected patients, from the pre-DAA to the post-DAA period. However, payers’ expenditures per course of therapy saw an almost fivefold increase and patients’ copayments increased by 55%.
Paraneoplastic ataxic syndrome with anti-Yo antibodies in breast and ovarian cancer: A retrospective analysis.

e18089Background: Paraneoplastic cerebellar syndrome is a rare immunological reaction caused most commonly by Anti-Yo or Purkinje cell cytoplasmic antibody type 1(PCA1) to cerebellar degeneration p...
A Spatio-Temporally Modulated Metasurface as a Free-Space N-Path System

A spatio-temporally modulated metasurface, that functions as a free-space N-path system, is reported at X-band frequencies. The reflection phase of the rows of the metasurface can be independently time-modulated for two orthogonal polarizations. A space-time bias is applied to the metasurface, enabling directionally dependent electromagnetic responses. When the modulation wavenumber is larger than that in free space, the metasurface suppresses certain harmonic mixing products in the far field, allowing subharmonic mixing. The metasurface was experimentally validated for a 2-path configuration, where the fabricated metasurface suppresses odd harmonic mixing products. With proper design of the space-time bias waveform, Doppler-like frequency translation is demonstrated at twice the modulation frequency.
Radio in Music Education: The Indiana School of the Sky Music Episodes, 1947–1948:

In this study I examined archival material relating to music lessons that aired on the Indiana School of the Sky during its inaugural season in the 1947–1948 school year. The Indiana School of the ...
A Pharmacist and Health Coach–Delivered Mobile Health Intervention for Type 2 Diabetes: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Crossover Study

Background: Aggressive management of blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol through medication and lifestyle adherence is necessary to minimize the adverse health outcomes of type 2 diabetes. However, numerous psychosocial and environmental barriers to adherence prevent low-income, urban, and ethnic minority populations from achieving their management goals, resulting in diabetes complications. Health coaches working with clinical pharmacists represent a promising strategy for addressing common diabetes management barriers. Mobile health (mHealth) tools may further enhance their ability to support vulnerable minority populations in diabetes management. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of an mHealth clinical pharmacist and health coach–delivered intervention on hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c, primary outcome), blood pressure, and low-density lipoprotein (secondary outcomes) in African-Americans and Latinos with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes. Methods: A 2-year, randomized controlled crossover study will evaluate the effectiveness of an mHealth diabetes intervention delivered by a health coach and clinical pharmacist team compared with usual care. All patients will receive 1 year of team intervention, including lifestyle and medication support delivered in the home with videoconferencing and text messages. All patients will also receive 1 year of usual care without team intervention and no home visits. The order of the conditions received will be randomized. Our recruitment goal is 220 urban African-American or Latino adults with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes (HbA1c ≥8%) receiving care from a largely minority-serving, urban academic medical center. The intervention includes the following: health coaches supporting patients through home visits, phone calls, and text messaging and clinical pharmacists supporting patients through videoconferences facilitated by health coaches. Data collection includes physiologic (HbA1c, blood pressure, weight, and lipid profile) and survey measures (medication adherence, diabetes-related behaviors, and quality of life). Data collection during the second year of study will determine the maintenance of any physiological improvement among participants receiving the intervention during the first year. Results: Participant enrollment began in March 2017. We have recruited 221 patients. Intervention delivery and data collection will continue until November 2021. The results are expected to be published by May 2022. Conclusions: This is among the first trials to incorporate health coaches, clinical pharmacists, and mHealth technologies to increase access to diabetes support among urban African-Americans and Latinos to achieve therapeutic goals. Trial Registration:
Optimizing the cellular automata finite element model for additive manufacturing to simulate large microstructures

Abstract This study proposes an implementation of the cellular automata finite element (CAFE) model in order to optimize its performance for simulating the solidification of additively manufactured (AM) materials. The translating melt pool in AM leads to a highly localized region of activity at any given time. The time scale associated with the evolving temperature field is much larger than the time scale associated with grain solidification. A separation of temporal scales is proposed such that solidification analysis is treated independently as sub-cycles within each discrete time step of the scanning laser. At each laser time step, all of the domain is idle except a small portion, which is the region where the material is undercooled but has yet to be solidified. This region is identified, and a second partition of the computational resources is established such that the solidification computations are evenly balanced. Numerical studies demonstrate that the proposed implementation achieves dramatic improvement in parallel scalability than previously reported and thus advances the state-of-the-art of CAFE modeling for AM in terms of computational efficiency. This improved computational performance is necessary to simulate the large 3D polycrystalline microstructures required to evaluate texture and grain morphology, and two of such simulations are presented. The model is validated for laser powder bed fusion 316L stainless steel, where the polycrystalline grain morphology and crystallographic texture of the simulated microstructure closely match experimental characterization data. A second simulation is performed for a different scan pattern in order to highlight and evaluate its effect on microstructural features.