cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dynamic intra-seasonal habitat use by Antarctic fur seals suggests migratory hotspots near the Antarctic Peninsula

Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) are major secondary consumers in the Southern Ocean, placing them in potential competition with commercial fisheries and requiring research to understand their seasonal habitat use. Using the data obtained during 14 shipboard surveys sampled on a fixed grid (150 K km2) during mid- to late summer, I quantified the spatial distribution and intra-seasonal variability of fur seal sightings relative to distance to land and hydrographic boundaries. I test the hypothesis that fur seals display an increase in their at-sea abundance during mid- to late summer near the Antarctic Peninsula as they prepare to take up wintering grounds. I also test whether abundances of their potential prey, krill and myctophids, exhibit intra-seasonal variability. During midsummer, high-abundance areas are located near major breeding colonies; however, during late summer, there is an order-of-magnitude increase in fur seal abundance, coinciding with an increase in the number of high-abundance areas located in Bransfield Strait. Coincidently, abundance of Euphausia superba decreased and the myctophid Electrona antarctica increased between mid- and late-summer surveys. High-abundance areas of fur seals are not associated with the southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current front but are concentrated within 100 km from land, potentially indicating the location of haul out and important coastal habitat use areas. The dynamic increase in the number and location of high-abundance areas during late summer represents a considerable amount of mammalian predators entering the Antarctic Peninsula marine ecosystem. This information is important for understanding the seasonal impact of fur seals on regional marine food webs and their potential interaction with the autumn–winter krill fishery.
The Verbal Behavior Approach to Early and Intensive Behavioral Intervention for Autism: A Call for Additional Empirical Support

Early and intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) has been firmly established and disseminated as one of the most effective treatments for early childhood autism. Recently, a number of practitioners have employed a variant of this approach in which the language curriculum is organized and taught according to Skinner’s (1957) analysis of verbal behavior. In this commentary, we briefly describe the verbal-behavior approach to EIBI and summarize the existing data that support its use. Although the approach is conceptually sound and is supported by a modest literature on the acquisition of verbal operants, no outcome research currently exists to directly support the long-term application of the verbal-behavior approach to children with autism. Thus, we outline three steps that clinicians and researchers can take to collect and publish outcome data on the verbal-behavior approach so that correspondence between dissemination and empirical evidence can be better coordinated.
Histories of Belonging(s): Narrating Territory, Possession, and Dispossession at the India-Bangladesh Border

This paper offers a history of belonging in Dahagram, a sovereign Bangladeshi enclave situated within India but close to the India-Bangladesh border. I recount Dahagram's post-Partition history, focusing particularly on the long and localized struggles between 1974 and 1992 to open the Tin Bigha Corridor, a land bridge through Indian territory that links Dahagram to the Bangladeshi mainland. Drawing on the memories and experiences of residents, I examine Dahagram's past(s) as narratives of postcolonial belonging: to fragmented conceptions of state and nation, to surrounding areas, and to the enclave itself. I focus on the overlapping tensions between national and local struggles to ‘claim’ Dahagram as Bangladeshi or Indian territory, and uneven processes of political inclusion within and around the enclaves and within the Bangladeshi State. I use ‘belonging’ as a double-entendre, as these tensions are all intimately linked to possession of land/territory, goods, and access to markets. The notion of belonging(s) helps to illuminate Dahagram's historical and contemporary cultural politics and political-economy, as well as its articulations with broader events in postcolonial South Asia. Yet, belonging is also an analytic for understanding how history is remembered and articulated as a claim to territory, rights, and membership in unstable places.
Universal dynamics of a degenerate unitary Bose gas

Ultracold atoms could help in understanding the physics of strongly interacting many-body systems, but the creation of degenerate Bose gases at unitarity has been hampered by the losses. An experiment overcomes these problems and investigates the time evolution of a unitary Bose gas.
A taxonomy of JavaScript redirection spam

Redirection spam presents a web page with false content to a crawler for indexing, but automatically redirects the browser to a different web page. Redirection is usually immediate (on page load) but may also be triggered by a timer or a harmless user event such as a mouse move. JavaScript redirection is the most notorious of redirection techniques and is hard to detect as many of the prevalent crawlers are script-agnostic. In this paper, we study common JavaScript redirection spam techniques on the web. Our findings indicate that obfuscation techniques are very prevalent among JavaScript redirection spam pages. These obfuscation techniques limit the effectiveness of static analysis and static feature based systems. Based on our findings, we recommend a robust counter measure using a light weight JavaScript parser and engine.
A Study of Group Therapy Dropouts

A SIGNIFICANT problem of outpatient group therapy is the typically high early attrition rate. Patients who prematurely terminate group therapy derive little, if any, benefit from their therapeutic experience and frequently hinder group progress. This article is based on an intensive study of all patients who dropped out of nine therapy groups in a university hospital outpatient clinic. Through this study we hoped to derive information pertinent both to the group selection procedure and to group therapeutic techniques. Specifically, we hoped to define personality characteristics predictive of failure in group therapy and to employ these data to find a better procedure for assignment to group therapy. Further, by studying the process of each group and the behavior of the therapist, we hoped to distinguish between therapy techniques which appear to foster premature termination and those which encourage remaining in the group. Review of Previous Studies Many reports based on clinical
Effect of target materials on structural and electrical properties of unhydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering

The effect of target materials (single crystalline silicon (c-Si), polycrystalline silicon (p-Si)) and substrate temperatures on structural and electrical properties of a-Si thin films deposited on glass substrate by RF magnetron sputtering have been investigated. The purpose of this work was to find out the cost-effective materials for intrinsic layer in inorganic solar cell device. X-ray diffraction patterns of both sets of a-Si films showed similar broad hump indicating amorphous nature of thin film materials. AFM topographs indicated no target phase dependency on grain size (50–60 nm) and surface roughness (∼ 10 nm). Optical band gap values of all deposited films were calculated using Tauc's plot from UV-Vis spectra, have values within the range 1.88 eV to 1.98 eV. In activation energy (E a ) study even in purely intrinsic phase dual activation energies in dark conductivity have been reported corresponding to high temperature (E a High) and low temperature (E a Low) regime. It is observed that E a Low was always lower in magnitude than E a High. The E a High originates due to dominant transport through the extended states (E C ) at relatively higher temperature while at lower temperature, the extended state transport appears less feasible and the transport is dominated by the carrier hopping from one localized state to an empty localized state and carrier hopping from a localized (defect) state to an empty extended state. The values of activation energy in high temperature region (E a High for T ≫ 400 K) of a-Si samples were independent of sputter target used. The E a High value for samples deposited at RT was 0.59 eV and for sample deposited at 200°C was 0.58 eV. At high temperature regime electrical band gap from activation energy data for all deposited thin film material ∼ 1.2 –1.4 eV observed.
Dialysate sodium, serum sodium and mortality in maintenance hemodialysis

Background. Individuals with end-stage kidney disease appear to have stable pre-dialysis serum sodium concentrations over time, with lower values associating with increased mortality. Dialysate sodium concentrations have increased over many years in response to shorter treatments, but the relationship between serum sodium, dialysate sodium and outcomes in chronic hemodialysis patients has not yet been systematically examined. Methods. We studied a cohort of 2272 individuals receiving thrice-weekly hemodialysis treatment. Available data included demographics, laboratory and clinical measures, details of the dialysis prescription and 30-month follow-up. We examined the distribution of serum and dialysate sodium among subjects and compared mortality according to dialysate and serum sodium concentrations using Cox regression models. Results. Dialysate sodium concentration varied within and among dialysis centers. The pre-dialysis serum sodium concentration (mean 136.1 mmol/L) did not differ across dialysate sodium concentrations. There was evidence for effect modification for mortality according to differing serum sodium and dialysate sodium concentrations (P = 0.05). For each 4 mmol/L increment in serum sodium, the hazard ratio for death was 0.72 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.63–0.81] with lower dialysate sodium compared to 0.86 (95% CI 0.75–0.99) for higher dialysate sodium. Higher dialysate sodium concentration was associated with mortality at higher, but not lower, pre-dialysis serum sodium concentrations. Conclusions. The pre-dialysis serum sodium concentration appears to be unaffected by the dialysate sodium concentration. The relationship between serum and dialysate sodium and mortality appears to be variable. Further research is warranted to determine the biological mechanisms of these associations and to re-examine total body sodium handling in hemodialysis.
Similarities of error regularization, sigmoid gain scaling, target smoothing, and training with jitter

The generalization performance of feedforward layered perceptrons can, in many cases, be improved either by smoothing the target via convolution, regularizing the training error with a smoothing constraint, decreasing the gain (i.e., slope) of the sigmoid nonlinearities, or adding noise (i.e., jitter) to the input training data, In certain important cases, the results of these procedures yield highly similar results although at different costs. Training with jitter, for example, requires significantly more computation than sigmoid scaling. >
Geothermal conversion plant-an engineer's perspective

Geothermal heat from the earth is converted to electricity via Carnot limited cycles, typically a steam or an organic Rankine type cycle. The conversion efficiency is inherently low because of the relatively low geothermal source temperature. It is a challenge to engineers to optimize geothermal conversion cycles to gain full cost-competitiveness compared to fossil-fueled electricity generation cycles. This presentation describes practical engineering and advanced techniques with potential to significantly reduce the cost of electricity produced from geothermal energy.
Adaptive iterative learning control for high-order nonlinear multi-agent systems consensus tracking

Abstract In this work, we present a new distributed adaptive iterative learning control (AILC) scheme for a class of high-order nonlinear multi-agent systems (MAS) under alignment condition with both parametric and nonparametric system uncertainties, where the actuators may be faulty and the control input gain functions are not fully known. Backstepping design with the composite energy function (CEF) structure is used in the discussion. Through rigorous analysis, we show that under this new AILC scheme, uniform convergence of agents output tracking error over the iteration domain is guaranteed. In the end, an illustrative example is presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed AILC scheme.
A Study on Expert Sourcing Enterprise Question Collection and Classification

Large enterprises, such as IBM, accumulate petabytes of free-text data within their organizations. To mine this big data, a critical ability is to enable meaningful question answering beyond keywords search. In this paper, we present a study on the characteristics and classification of IBM sales questions. The characteristics are analyzed both semantically and syntactically, from where a question classification guideline evolves. We adopted an enterprise level expert sourcing approach to gather questions, annotate questions based on the guideline and manage the quality of annotations via enhanced inter-annotator agreement analysis. We developed a question feature extraction system and experimented with rule-based, statistical and hybrid question classifiers. We share our annotated corpus of questions and report our experimental results. Statistical classifiers separately based on n-grams and hand-crafted rule features give reasonable macro-f1 scores at 61.7% and 63.1% respectively. Rule based classifier gives a macro-f1 at 77.1%. The hybrid classifier with n-gram and rule features using a second guess model further improves the macro-f1 to 83.9%.
Trauma Therapists' Clinical Applications, Training, and Personal Practice of Mindfulness and Meditation.

Mindfulness and meditation (MM) are increasingly used in trauma treatment, yet there is little research about therapist qualifications and clinical applications of these practices. We surveyed trauma therapists (N = 116) about their clinical uses, training, and personal practice of MM. Most respondents reported use of MM in trauma therapy, primarily MM-related imagery and breathing exercises and mindfulness in session or daily life. Almost a third used mindfulness-based stress reduction, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, or mindfulness-based relapse prevention. Across all respondents, 66 % were trained by a mental health (MH) professional, 16 % were trained exclusively by a spiritual teacher, and 18 % received no training. On average, therapists used four types of MM. Less than half maintained a personal meditation practice and only 9 % reported practicing daily meditation. Therapists who were trained by a MH professional were more likely to integrate MM into trauma psychotherapy; those who were trained by a spiritual teacher were more likely to teach clients to use MM between sessions and reported more personal practice of MM. Results indicate divergence from standard recommendations for therapist personal practice and professional training in manualized uses; however, there is little guidance about requisite training and personal practice to support individualized uses of MM such as breathing exercises and imagery. Further research should address relationships of therapist training and personal practice to clinical outcomes in MM-informed trauma therapy.
Understanding the Radical Nature of an Oxidized Ruthenium Tris(thiolate) Complex and Its Role in the Chemistry

The spectroscopically observable tris(thiolate) complex [Ru(dppbt)3]+ (1+) (dppbt = diphenylphosphinobenzenethiolate) is reported to have chemistry based on thiyl-radical character. High-level ab initio methods predict the ground-state electronic structure of 1+ to be an open-shell diradical singlet state with antiferromagnetic coupling between (S = 1/2) Ru(III) and (S = 1/2) S pz, rather the previous description based on a diradical state involving two S p orbitals. These new results provide an improved understanding of the experimental chemistry of 1+ and related species.
Evaluation of Potential Printed Wiring Board Materials: Thermoplastic Polyimide + Polymer Liquid Crystal Blends

Polymer liquid crystals (PLCs) have potential applications as printed wiring board materials and in other aspects of plastic packaging. They have a number of desirable properties such as low moisture absorption, thermoplastic behavior, and low thermal expansivity. However, PLCs can have significant anisotropy in expansivity with negative expansivities in the drawing or molding direction and relatively low positive expansivities in the transverse directions. By incorporating PLCs into an engineering polymer (EP) matrix, in our case a thermoplastic polyimide (TPI), we expected to be able to control the expansivity of the resulting blend – thereby aiding in long-term service performance and reliability. Properties such as low moisture absorption, dimensional stability at elevated temperatures, good adhesion properties, and reworkability were also sought. In this paper, we report on our work to process a TPI/PLC blend and characterize the thermal properties of the blends. An amorphous TPI was chosen over a semicrystalline one because of a thermo-irreversible cold crystallization in the latter, causing undesirable changes in the morphology and poor adhesion to metals. Our evaluations of TPIs through thermally stimulated depolarization (TSD) and temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry (TMDSC) reveal sub-glass transition relaxations. We have investigated the selected semicrystalline TPI + PLC pair in the entire composition range, and concluded that the narrower range, up to 30 wt. % of the PLC, is sufficient for the achievement of our objectives. The glass transition temperature Tg = 240°C of the TPI determined by DSC is unaffected by variations of the PLC concentration. The cold crystallization temperature of the semicrystalline TPI decreases with increasing PLC concentration but upon formation of the LC-rich islands this effect becomes smaller. All the blends exhibit degradation onset temperature over 520°C. The thermal conductivity of the amorphous TPI + PLC blends varies as a function of the PLC concentration. The blends show very good film formability. The addition of the PLC improves the processability of the TPI. Thermomechanical analysis (TMA) reveals that the desired control of the expansivity of the blends is also achieved by varying the PLC concentration.
Patients with hip osteoarthritis progression demonstrate altered sensory perception and lower extremity kinematics

Author(s): Samaan, MA; Kumar, D; Schwaiger, BJ; Link, TM; Wise, BL; Lane, NE; Majumdar, S; Souza, RB
Canonical Force Distributions in Pairwise Interatomic Interactions from the Perspective of the Hellmann–Feynman Theorem

Force-based canonical approaches have recently given a unified but different viewpoint on the nature of bonding in pairwise interatomic interactions. Differing molecular categories (covalent, ionic, van der Waals, hydrogen, and halogen bonding) of representative interatomic interactions with binding energies ranging from 1.01 to 1072.03 kJ/mol have been modeled canonically giving a rigorous semiempirical verification to high accuracy. However, the fundamental physical basis expected to provide the inherent characteristics of these canonical transformations has not yet been elucidated. Subsequently, it was shown through direct numerical differentiation of these potentials that their associated force curves have canonical shapes. However, this approach to analyzing force results in inherent loss of accuracy coming from numerical differentiation of the potentials. We now show that this serious obstruction can be avoided by directly demonstrating the canonical nature of force distributions from the perspectiv...
Slight Differences in a Common Whole: Survey and Deconstruction of the Big and Small Cultural Tradition

There has been a difference between so-called big cultural traditions and small ones since Zhou Dynasty in China. The establishment of yayan(standard language), yayue(court music) and etiquette was the first signal of distinguishing from folk music. Big and small cultural traditions spread through different communities. The former spreads through cities,temples and official activities, while the latter spreads through villages and pastoral areas. The nature and function of both are the same: that is to maintain a certain cultural order or ethics and make it the common value of society.
Imaging of Osteomyelitis of the Extremities.

Introduction Osteomyelitis is defined as inflammation of bone, which is typically infectious in etiology. Bacteria can seed bone directly from an adjacent ulcer, through direct inoculation by penetrating trauma, or by hematogenous spread of infection from another source. Direct spread usually infects bone with multiple organisms. Staphylococcus aureus is most commonly isolated from hematogenous infections of bone. The infecting agent triggers an inflammatory response consisting of bony hyperemia, edema, and neutrophilic infiltration. The hyperemia causes bone demineralization, seen as a subtle lucency and loss of the cortical contour on radiographs. The neutrophilic infiltrate destroys bony trabeculae, causing osteolysis and replacing the normal fatty marrow to produce the imaging appearance of acute osteomyelitis. If left untreated, the infection progresses and may lead to necrotic bone (sequestrum). This bone becomes a sanctuary for bacteria, from which these organisms continue to infect the adjacent tissues. The adjoining bone responds to the infection by laying down new reactive bone around the infected area, producing a sclerotic appearance (involucrum). It then seeks to expel the infection through a sinus tract (cloaca) that extends through the cortex to the soft tissues or the skin. At this point, the infection could be termed “chronic.”
Family Therapy for Depression in Young People

Despite increasing evidence that “depression runs in families” (Hammen, 1991) and assertions that family therapy is the treatment of choice for a variety of childhood disorders (e. g., Johnson, Rasbury, & Siegel, 1986), little attention has been paid to utilizing family therapy with depressed children and adolescents. To address this deficiency, we begin this chapter with a brief review of the literature regarding the families of depressed children and the linkage between parental depression and the emergence of depressive symptoms in children (for detailed review see Kaslow, Deering, & Racusin, 1994). These streams of literature are reviewed because any discussion of family therapy techniques with this population must be rooted in current knowledge about these families. Due to space considerations, the related body of research focusing on parent—child relations and the etiology of adult depression will not be reviewed here (for a review, see Burbach & Borduin, 1986). Our attention will then turn to a delineation of an interpersonal family therapy (IFT) model that we have developed specifically for work with depressed youths and their families (Kaslow & Racusin, 1988; Racusin & Kaslow, 1991). This model, predicated on family systems theory, cognitive—behavioral psychology, the tenets of object relations theory, and developmental psychopathology, integrates other authors’ approaches to family interventions with depressives.
Effect of dorzolamide on corneal endothelial function in normal human eyes.

PURPOSE To assess the effects of dorzolamide hydrochloride, a topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, on corneal endothelial function. METHODS The authors measured the rate of corneal deswelling and the endothelial permeability to fluorescein after 2 hours of hypoxic contact lens wear in 19 normal human subjects. The study was double-masked; one eye of each subject was randomly assigned to receive 2% dorzolamide drops, and the other eye received placebo drops every 8 hours for 24 hours before the study day and twice during the study day. RESULTS Dorzolamide-treated eyes were not significantly different from placebo-treated eyes in corneal deswelling rate, expressed as the percent recovery per hour (55.7% +/- 13.6% versus 59.6% +/- 14.5%; P > or = 0.10), open eye steady state thickness, swelling induced by hypoxia, and corneal autofluorescence. Endothelial permeability to fluorescein was increased in the dorzolamide eyes (4.40 +/- 0.84 x 10(-4) cm/minute versus 4.10 +/- 0.80 x 10(-4) cm/minute; P = 0.01). As expected, the intraocular pressure and aqueous humor flow rate were decreased in the dorzolamide eyes. CONCLUSIONS Dorzolamide hydrochloride, when topically administered to normal human eyes for 24 hours, had no significant effect on the corneal deswelling rate after hypoxic stress. The corneal endothelial permeability to fluorescein, however, was increased by the drug, although this did not result in increased corneal thickness.
Improving the Radiance Assimilation Performance in Estimating Snow Water Storage across Snow and Land-Cover Types in North America

AbstractContinental-scale snow radiance assimilation (RA) experiments are conducted in order to improve snow estimates across snow and land-cover types in North America. In the experiments, the ensemble adjustment Kalman filter is applied and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) brightness temperature TB observations are assimilated into an RA system composed of the Community Land Model, version 4 (CLM4); radiative transfer models (RTMs); and the Data Assimilation Research Testbed (DART). The performance of two snowpack RTMs, the Dense Media Radiative Transfer–Multi-Layers model (DMRT-ML), and the Microwave Emission Model of Layered Snowpacks (MEMLS) in improving snow depth estimates through RA is compared. Continental-scale snow estimates are enhanced through RA by using AMSR-E TB at the 18.7- and 23.8-GHz channels [3% (DMRT-ML) and 2% (MEMLS) improvements compared to the cases using the 18.7- and 36.5-GHz channels] and by considering the vegetation single-scatte...
Bifenthrin activates homotypic aggregation in human T-cell lines.

Background Here, we addressed the concern that, despite the lack of overt toxicity, exposure to low levels of the common household pyrethroid pesticide, bifenthrin, could cause harm to the immune system. To do this, we measure the effect of bifenthrin on phytohemagglutinin (PHA) activation of homotypic aggregation in human T-cell lines. Material/methods The human CD4+ H9, and Jurkat cell lines and the human promonocyte U937 cell line, were exposed to varying concentrations of bifenthrin. Cell viability was determined using the AlmarBlue Toxicity Assay. Concentrations of bifenthrin which did not reduce cell viability were determined and these concentrations were tested for the effect of bifenthrin on PHA-mediated homotypic aggregation. Blocking antibodies to ICAM and LFA-1 were used to disrupt aggregation and a nonspecific IgG was used as a control. Results Bifenthrin was found to be nontoxic at concentrations ranging from 10(-4) to 10(-13) M. Bifenthrin did not inhibit PHA induced cell aggregation in all cell lines tested. However, at 10(-4) M, bifenthrin to form aggregates stimulated homotypic aggregation in the H9 and Jurkat T-cell lines. The bifenthrin-induced aggregate formation, like that seen with PHA, was blocked by treating the cells with antibodies to either LFA-1 or ICAM. Conclusions The results here show that bifenthrin activates T-cell function by stimulating ICAM/LFA-1 mediated homotypic aggregation. This data suggests that exposure to bifenthrin, even at "acceptable" limits, can increase the risk for and frequency of inflammatory responses and diseases such as asthma.
Body Mass Index at Accession and Incident Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in US Army Soldiers, 2001–2011

Individuals entering US Army service are generally young and healthy, but many are overweight, which may impact cardiometabolic risk despite physical activity and fitness requirements. This analysis examines the association between Soldiers' BMI at accession and incident cardiometabolic risk factors (CRF) using longitudinal data from 731,014 Soldiers (17.0% female; age: 21.6 [3.9] years; BMI: 24.7 [3.8] kg/m2) who were assessed at Army accession, 2001-2011. CRF were defined as incident diagnoses through 2011, by ICD-9 code, of metabolic syndrome, glucose/insulin disorder, hypertension, dyslipidemia, or overweight/obesity (in those not initially overweight/obese). Multivariable-adjusted proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) between BMI categories at accession and CRF. Initially underweight (BMI<18.5 kg/m2) were 2.4% of Soldiers, 53.5% were normal weight (18.5-<25), 34.2% were overweight (25-<30), and 10.0% were obese (≥30). Mean age range at CRF diagnosis was 24-29 years old, with generally low CRF incidence: 228 with metabolic syndrome, 3,880 with a glucose/insulin disorder, 26,373 with hypertension, and 13,404 with dyslipidemia. Of the Soldiers who were not overweight or obese at accession, 5,361 were eventually diagnosed as overweight or obese. Relative to Soldiers who were normal weight at accession, those who were overweight or obese, respectively, had significantly higher risk of developing each CRF after multivariable adjustment (HR [95% CI]: metabolic syndrome: 4.13 [2.87-5.94], 13.36 [9.00-19.83]; glucose/insulin disorder: 1.39 [1.30-1.50], 2.76 [2.52-3.04]; hypertension: 1.85 [1.80-1.90], 3.31 [3.20-3.42]; dyslipidemia: 1.81 [1.75-1.89], 3.19 [3.04-3.35]). Risk of hypertension, dyslipidemia, and overweight/obesity in initially underweight Soldiers was 40%, 31%, and 79% lower, respectively, versus normal-weight Soldiers. BMI in early adulthood has important implications for cardiometabolic health, even within young, physically active populations.
Sources and dispersal of land-based runoff from small Hawaiian drainages to a coral reef: Insights from geochemical signatures

Abstract Land-based sediment and contaminant runoff is a major threat to coral reefs, and runoff reduction efforts would benefit from knowledge of specific runoff sources. Geochemical signatures of small drainage basins were determined in the fine fraction of soil and sediment, then used in the nearshore region of a coral reef-fringed urban embayment on southeast Oahu, Hawaii, to describe sources and dispersal of land-based runoff. The sedimentary rare earth element ratio (La/Yb) N showed a clear distinction between the two main rock types in the overall contributing area, tholeiitic and alkalic olivine basalt. Based on this geochemical signature it was apparent that the majority of terrigenous sediment on the reef flat originated from geologically old tholeiitic drainages. Sediment from one of five tholeiitic drainages had a distinct geochemical signature, and sediment with this signature was dispersed on the reef flat 2 km west and 150 m offshore of the contributing basin. Sediment and the anthropogenic metals Cd, Pb, and Zn were entrained in runoff from the most heavily urbanized region of the watershed. Although anthropogenic Cd and Zn had localized distributions close to shore, anthropogenic Pb was found associated with fine sediment on the westernmost part of the reef flat and 400 m offshore, illustrating how trade-wind-driven sediment transport can increase the scale of runoff impacts to nearshore communities. Our findings show that sediment geochemical signatures can provide insights about the source and dispersal of land-based runoff in shallow coastal environments. The application of such knowledge to watershed management and habitat remediation efforts can aid in the protection and restoration of runoff-impacted coastal ecosystems worldwide.
Exploring the Influence of Attitude and Stigma on Participation of African American and Latino Populations in Mental Health Services

Various factors, including mistrust and disparities, prevent people of color from taking advantage of mental health services. Previous research has focused on mistrust, disparities, and stigma. However, little is understood about how one's attitude affects participation in mental health. The authors surveyed 129 African American and Latino community participants to examine the relationships among attitudes, stigma, and help-seeking behavior. Linear regression analyses revealed that attitude is a unique predictor in one's decision to seek counseling and is influenced by the presence of stigma. Varios factores, entre los que se incluyen la falta de confianza y las disparidades, impiden que las personas de color aprovechen los servicios de salud mental. Las investigaciones hasta ahora se han centrado en la falta de confianza, las disparidades y los estigmas. Sin embargo, falta mucho para comprender como la actitud de una persona afecta a su participacion en la salud mental. Los autores entrevistaron a 129 participantes de comunidades afroamericanas y latinas para examinar las relaciones entre actitudes, estigmas y la busqueda de ayuda. Los analisis de regresion lineal revelaron que la actitud es un indicador unico en la decision de un individuo de buscar servicios de consejeria, y esta influida por la presencia de estigmas.
Scrimshaw and Lexicogenesis

Scrimshaw is defined as ‘handicrafts practised by sailors by way of pastime during long whaling and other voyages, and for the products of these, as small manufactured articles, carvings on bone, i...
Providing Dementia Consultations to Veterans Using Clinical Video Telehealth: Results from a Clinical Demonstration Project

Abstract Purpose: Veterans with dementia and their caregivers in remote areas may not have access to specialists to provide diagnosis, treatment, and education. The purpose of this clinical demonstration project was to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of a video consultations clinic for veterans with dementia or memory complaints and their caregivers. Methods: The dementia clinical video telehealth (CVT) consultation clinic was established to identify, diagnose, and treat dementia in veterans at sites distant from the main medical center. A geriatrician at the main facility provided video consultation to patients and caregivers at seven satellite facilities. Diagnoses made and services provided were recorded after the initial consultation. Patient and caregiver satisfaction with the CVT clinic were assessed. Findings: Ninety-four patients were evaluated in the CVT dementia clinic (average age = 74.7; average Mini-Mental State Exam = 24.4). Forty patients had a prior dementia diagnosis, 1...
Long-period comet impact risk mitigation with Earth-based laser arrays

Long-period comets (LPCs) frequently transit the inner solar system, and like near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), pose a continued risk of impact with Earth. Unlike NEAs, LPCs follow nearly parabolic trajectories and approach from the distant outer solar system where they cannot be observed. An LPC on an Earth-impact trajectory is unlikely to be discovered more than a few years in advance of its arrival, even with significant advancements in sky survey detection capabilities, likely leaving insufficient time to develop and deliver an interception mission to deflect the comet. However, recent proposals have called for the development of one or more large ∼ 1 km laser arrays placed on or near Earth primarily as a means for photon propulsion of low-mass spacecraft at delta-v above what would be feasible by traditional chemical or ion propulsion methods. Such a laser array can also be directed to target and heat a threatening comet, sublimating its ices and activating jets of dust and vapor which alter the comet's trajectory in a manner similar to rocket propulsion. Simulations of directed energy comet deflection were previously developed from astrometric models of nongravitational orbital perturbations from solar heating, an analogous process that has been observed in numerous comets. These simulations are used together with the distribution of known LPC trajectories to evaluate the effect of an operational Earth-based laser array on the LPC impact risk.
Critical Airway Team: A Retrospective Study of an Airway Response System in a Pediatric Hospital:

Objective Study the performance of a pediatric critical airway response team. Study Design Case series with chart review. Setting Freestanding academic children's hospital. Subjects and Methods A structured review of the electronic medical record was conducted for all activations of the critical airway team. Characteristics of the activations and patients are reported using descriptive statistics. Activation of the critical airway team occurred 196 times in 46 months (March 2012 to December 2015); complete data were available for 162 activations (83%). For 49 activations (30%), patients had diagnoses associated with difficult intubation; 45 (28%) had a history of difficult laryngoscopy. Results Activation occurred at least 4 times per month on average (vs 3 per month for hospital-wide codes). The most common reasons for team activation were anticipated difficult intubation (45%) or failed intubation attempt (20%). For 79% of activations, the team performed an airway procedure, most commonly direct laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation. Bronchoscopy was performed in 47% of activations. Surgical airway rescue was attempted 4 times. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation occurred in 41 activations (25%). Twenty-nine patients died during or following team activation (18%), including 10 deaths associated with the critical airway event. Conclusion Critical airway team activation occurred at least once per week on average. Direct laryngoscopy, tracheal intubation, and bronchoscopic procedures were performed frequently; surgical airway rescue was rare. Most patients had existing risk factors for difficult intubation. Given our rate of serious morbidity and mortality, primary prevention of critical airway events will be a focus of future efforts.
Modeling and Optimization of Recycled Water Systems to Augment Urban Groundwater Recharge through Underutilized Stormwater Spreading Basins.

Infrastructure systems that use stormwater and recycled water to augment groundwater recharge through spreading basins represent cost-effective opportunities to diversify urban water supplies. However, technical questions remain about how these types of managed aquifer recharge systems should be designed; furthermore, existing planning tools are insufficient for performing robust design comparisons. Addressing this need, we present a model for identifying the best-case design and operation schedule for systems that deliver recycled water to underutilized stormwater spreading basins. Resulting systems are optimal with respect to life cycle costs and water deliveries. Through a case study of Los Angeles, California, we illustrate how delivering recycled water to spreading basins could be optimally implemented. Results illustrate trade-offs between centralized and decentralized configurations. For example, while a centralized Hyperion system could deliver more recycled water to the Hansen Spreading Grounds, ...
Secondary electron emission yield from high aspect ratio carbon velvet surfaces

The plasma electrons bombarding a plasma-facing wall surface can induce secondary electron emission (SEE) from the wall. A strong SEE can enhance the power losses by reducing the wall sheath potential and thereby increasing the electron flux from the plasma to the wall. The use of the materials with surface roughness and the engineered materials with surface architecture is known to reduce the effective SEE by trapping the secondary electrons. In this work, we demonstrate a 65% reduction of SEE yield using a velvet material consisting of high aspect ratio carbon fibers. The measurements of SEE yield for different velvet samples using the electron beam in vacuum demonstrate the dependence of the SEE yield on the fiber length and the packing density, which is strongly affected by the alignment of long velvet fibers with respect to the electron beam impinging on the velvet sample. The results of SEE measurements support the previous observations of the reduced SEE measured in Hall thrusters.
The Microbiome That Shapes Us: Can It Cause Obesity?

We sought to examine the effects of the gut microbial makeup on weight gain and obesity. We wanted to find out what the current research on this topic was and what the effect of the gut microbiota on energy metabolism is, as well the effects of diet on the microbiome and what effect the microbiome has on metabolic syndrome. Obesity is thought to be due to greater calorie intake than expenditure. Recently, research has looked into the effects of the microbiome on obesity. Our gut flora is made up of trillions of microbes and there is evidence to suggest that even from the earliest stages of life, altering that flora can affect human’s ability to gain and lose weight, which can lead to obesity and ultimately other disease such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and liver disease. Obesity can affect the human body in profound ways and lead to a multitude of comorbidities. We found that the obesity pandemic appears to parallel the increased use of antibiotics seen across the US. In addition, the use of antibiotics can alter the gut flora even from the earliest stages of life and the altered microbiome can alter our body habitus and energy metabolism through antibiotics, diet, and bariatric surgery.
Persistent Auditory Nerve Damage Following Kainic Acid Excitotoxicity in the Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus)

Permanent loss of auditory nerve (AN) fibers occurs with increasing age and sound overexposure, sometimes without hair cell damage or associated audiometric threshold elevation. Rodent studies suggest effects of AN damage on central processing and behavior, but these species have limited capacity to discriminate low-frequency speech-like sounds. Here, we introduce a new animal model of AN damage in an avian communication specialist, the budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus). The budgerigar is a vocal learner and speech mimic with sensitive low-frequency hearing and human-like behavioral sensitivity to many complex signals including speech components. Excitotoxic AN damage was induced through bilateral cochlear infusions of kainic acid (KA). Acute KA effects on cochlear function were assessed using AN compound action potentials (CAPs) and hair cell cochlear microphonics (CMs). Long-term KA effects were assessed using auditory brainstem response (ABR) measurements for up to 31 weeks post-KA exposure. KA infusion immediately abolished AN CAPs while having mild impact on the CM. ABR wave I, the far-field AN response, showed a pronounced 40–75 % amplitude reduction at moderate-to-high sound levels that persisted for the duration of the study. In contrast, wave I latency and the amplitude of wave V were nearly unaffected by KA, and waves II–IV were less reduced than wave I. ABR thresholds, calculated based on complete response waveforms, showed no impairment following KA. These results demonstrate that KA exposure in the budgerigar causes irreversible AN damage, most likely through excitotoxic injury to afferent fibers or synapses as in other species, while sparing ABR thresholds. Normal wave V amplitude, assumed to originate centrally, may persist through compensatory mechanisms that restore central response amplitude by downregulating inhibition. Future studies in this new animal model of AN damage can explore effects of this neural lesion, in isolation from hair cell trauma and threshold elevation, on central processing and perception of complex sounds.
REPLACEMENT OF "COARSE" CEMENT PARTICLES BY INERT FILLERS IN LOW W/C RATIO CONCRETES. II. EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION

Abstract It has been suggested that in low water-to-cement ratio (w/c) concretes, the “coarser” cement particles could be replaced by an “inert” filler with little loss in performance in terms of hydration and strength development. This communication presents the results of an experimental study conducted to validate this hypothesis, using a coarse limestone filler and a classified cement. The cement and limestone powders were both classified with a cutoff diameter of about 30 μm. The coarse limestone was then blended with the fine cement, and water-to-solids ratio=0.3 pastes and mortars were prepared to compare to reference (original cement powder) systems. The results for chemical shrinkage for the pastes were consistent with a simple dilution of the cement by the limestone and also with the results predicted by the CEMHYD3D hydration model. In mortars, the predicted compressive strength loss in the filled system at 7 days was consistent with model predictions, and furthermore, at 56 days, no detectable difference in strength was measured. Thus, this study further supports the idea that coarse limestones could be used to replace equivalent size cement particles in low w/c concretes with little loss in hydration and strength performance.
Aligning Program Goals, Student Selection, and Program Activities

Gifted programs have many different goals, and the selection process a program uses should match those goals. Wide-range academic ability and achievement tests may be appropriate for programs that have no specific focus, but many programs have clearly delimited goals, such as nurturing creative writing skills or developing future scientists, for which general assessments may be inappropriate.
Constraints on Topological Defects Energy Density from First-Year WMAP Results

We compare the predictions of hybrid inflationary models that produce both adiabatic fluctuations and topological defects to first year WMAP results. We use a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method to constrain the contribution of cosmic strings and textures to the CMB angular power spectrum. Marginalizing this contribution over the cosmological parameters of a power law flat LCDM model, we place a 95% upper limit of 23% on the topological defects contribution to density fluctuations, the maximum likelihood being of order 4%. This corresponds to an upper limit on the string scale of G\mu \leq 3.2 \times 10^{-7}. We also explore the degeneracies between the defects contribution and other cosmological parameters.
The Chimera of Choice: Gentrification, School Choice, and Community

AbstractThis study investigates school choice in a gentrified urban context and examines the ways in which school choice as rhetoric creates false perceptions, how school-choice policies can betray...
Edible Dye-Enhanced Solar Disinfection with Safety Indication

The rural developing world faces disproportional inequity in drinking water access, where point-of-use water treatment technologies often fail to achieve adequate levels of pathogen removal, especially for viruses. Solar disinfection (SODIS) is practiced because of its universal applicability and low implementation cost, though the excessively long treatment time and lack of safety indication hinder wider implementation. This study presents an enhanced SODIS scheme that utilizes erythrosine—a common food dye—as a photosensitizer to produce singlet oxygen for virus inactivation and to indicate the completion of water disinfection through photobleaching color change. Experimental results and predictions based on global solar irradiance data suggest that over 99.99% inactivation could be achieved within 5 min in the majority of developing countries, reducing the time for SODIS by 2 orders of magnitude. Preserving the low cost of traditional SODIS, erythrosine embodies edible dye-enhanced SODIS, an efficient ...
Taking Sigmund Freud to the Guggenheim: the religio-erotic production of Frank Lloyd Wright

In this essay, using both psychoanalysis and institutional logics I consider the sources of one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s extraordinary new architectural forms, the Guggenheim Museum first designed i...
“The Rules Change”: Exploring Faculty Experiences and Work Expectations Within a Drifting Community College Context:

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of faculty working within baccalaureate degree–granting community colleges. Method: Data sources included 16 semi-structured int...