cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Activity of Parasites from Diptera: Musca domestica, Stomoxys calcitrans, Fannia canicularis, and F. femoralis, at Sites in the Western Hemisphere

The role of parasitization as a natural mortality of Musca domestica L., Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), Fannia canicularis (L.), and F. femoralis Stein is discussed. Its fly reduction potential is emphasized, although any role in population regulation admittedly is unknown. The activity of 14 larval and pupal parasites of these hosts at diverse collection sites in the Western Hemisphere is noted as percent parasitization, the number of sites at which the parasite was active and the mean host pupal density sampled at those sites. Measures taken to improve biological control of house flies in southern California are noted.
Large Enhancements of Thermopower and Carrier Mobility in Quantum Dot Engineered Bulk Semiconductors

The thermopower (S) and electrical conductivity (σ) in conventional semiconductors are coupled adversely through the carriers’ density (n) making it difficult to achieve meaningful simultaneous improvements in both electronic properties through doping and/or substitutional chemistry. Here, we demonstrate the effectiveness of coherently embedded full-Heusler (FH) quantum dots (QDs) in tailoring the density, mobility, and effective mass of charge carriers in the n-type Ti0.1Zr0.9NiSn half-Heusler matrix. We propose that the embedded FH QD forms a potential barrier at the interface with the matrix due to the offset of their conduction band minima. This potential barrier discriminates existing charge carriers from the conduction band of the matrix with respect to their relative energy leading to simultaneous large enhancements of the thermopower (up to 200%) and carrier mobility (up to 43%) of the resulting Ti0.1Zr0.9Ni1+xSn nanocomposites. The improvement in S with increasing mole fraction of the FH-QDs aris...
Fixed Effects, Invariance, and Spatial Variation in Intergenerational Mobility

Chetty et al. (2014) document variation across commuting zones in intergenerational mobility. With over 700 commuting zones, the task of estimating place effects involves a high-dimension parameter space. I develop a fixed-effects model along with an oracle bound on the risk of invariant estimators. The oracle estimator uses an invariant prior, which I have incorporated into a random-effects model to obtain a feasible estimator. This estimator almost achieves the oracle bound over the relevant part of the (fixed-effects) parameter space in the empirical application. There is substantial reduction in risk compared with the least-squares estimator.
A power decoupling method with small capacitance requirement based on single-phase quasi-Z-source inverter for DC microgrid applications

This paper proposes a power decoupling method based on single-phase quasi-Z-source inverter (SPQZSI) for DC microgrid applications. Single-phase inverter would cause harmonic issues especially voltage ripple in DC microgrid because of low-frequency (100/120Hz) power ripple. Non-linear load or source would generate other harmonic on the common DC link as well. In order to achieve power decoupling, large electrolytic capacitor is required and connected to DC link in H-bridge inverters. However, electrolytic capacitor would affect the power density, reliability and lifetime of DC microgrid. Quasi-Z-source inverter is utilized instead for capacitance reduction. In terms of low-frequency ripple control with SPQZSI, an effective control method is necessary to regulate the current/voltage of both AC port and DC port. The theoretical analysis about capacitance requirement with power decoupling in SPQZSI is done first. Next, an advanced control method based on generalised predictive control is proposed to decouple low-frequency power ripple. The corresponding control law and predictor are designed as well. Experimental results with 500W prototype verify the stability, feasibility and superior performance of the proposed power decoupling method based on SPQZSI.
WE-F-204-02: A Research Career in Medical Physics: From Student to Faculty

In recent years heavy focus has been placed on clinical careers in medical physics, and the pathways to such careers are well-known and well-described. For the future advancement of the field of medical physics, it is necessary the focus also include research-oriented careers. It is important for the younger generation of medical physicists to know that there are many career opportunities in research, and that it is quite possible to build a successful career in which research is a major component. We will hear from those who have already blazed a trail of success in academic and industry research careers in order to understand some of the most important decisions to make and skills to develop in order to be successful. Topics such as how to build a research program, how to develop your own lab, and how to initiate good collaborations are not generally taught explicitly but are integral to succeeding in a research career. Skills such as these are often best learned from the experiences of others. The challenges encountered in transitioning from graduate student to faculty member, securing the first grant, and moving into an industry research position will be highlighted and discussed. Learning Objectives: 1.Identify career paths built on interest in research 2.Understand basic steps to starting and maintaining a research career 3.Identify differences between research careers in academia and industry M. Giger, support by NIH and COI will be listed. J. Dempsey, ViewRay, Inc. has provided financial support for my research. R. Mohan, support from NIH.
Rural Outshopping Behavior: Another Look at Orientations and Social Influences

The author presents findings from a mail survey that investigates frequent consumer outshopping behavior (i.e., why certain consumers often shop in distant, out-of-town retail areas), outshopping-orientations, and the effects of family and friends on outshopping behavior. The present study extends previous work on two outshopping-orientations (recreational and economic), and uses the theory of reasoned action as a model to examine the impact of important other people on retail patronage (Evans, Christiansen, and Gill1996; Fishbein and Ajzen 1975; Lumpkin, Hawes, and Darden 1986; Stone 1954).
A Combined Periodic-Shooting, Auto-Pilot Technique for Rotorcraft Analysis

The problem of rotorcraft trim is at once one of the most difficult and important problems of helicopter analysis. The task is primarily one of finding the periodic solution to a large set of nonlinear differential equations with some small set of unknown parameters, the pilot controls. These controls must be chosen such that the periodic solution satisfies a number of integral constraints on the periodic solution equal to the number of controls.
Plato: myth and theory

The analysis of the previous chapter suggested that myth in the middle dialogues expresses a synoptic view of reality. Myth extrapolates from the particulars of philosophical discussion and produces a narrative we might call ‘collective’ (or ‘recollective’). The philosopher's devotion to dialectic and to the examination of the grounds of his knowledge renders him capable of an intuitive leap to a vision of the soul separated from its body and related to the whole. The mythological vision is a self-qualifying image of the truth expressed in narrative. This intuitive understanding cannot stand by itself, however; it arose in the first place from dialectic and must return to dialectic to ground itself. This final chapter on Plato will examine how the treatment of myth in the late dialogues takes this vision in a different direction. This is not to say that synoptic myths do not occur in the late period. The cosmologies of the Statesman and the Timaeus are universalising, albeit incomplete, accounts of the world from a transcendental perspective. Nevertheless, the relationship of these accounts to the context of the dialogue in which they are set differs from the middle period. Instead of being a philosophically intuitive leap, they are firmly integrated into a framework of analytic method and methodology. Thus the cosmology of the Timaeus is an exercise in structured scientific and philosophical inference, while the cosmology of the Statesman is intended to help clarify a potential error in the dialectic process.
Blurring the Role of Oligonucleotides: Spherical Nucleic Acids as a Drug Delivery Vehicle

Nucleic acids are generally regarded as the payload in gene therapy, often requiring a carrier for intracellular delivery. With the recent discovery that spherical nucleic acids enter cells rapidly, we demonstrate that nucleic acids also have the potential to act as a delivery vehicle. Herein, we report an amphiphilic DNA-paclitaxel conjugate, which forms stable micellar nanoparticles in solution. The nucleic acid component acts as both a therapeutic payload for intracellular gene regulation and the delivery vehicle for the drug component. A bioreductively activated, self-immolative disulfide linker is used to tether the drug, allowing free drug to be released upon cell uptake. We found that the DNA-paclitaxel nanostructures enter cells ∼100 times faster than free DNA, exhibit increased stability against nuclease, and show nearly identical cytotoxicity as free drug. These nanostructures allow one to access a gene target and a drug target using only the payloads themselves, bypassing the need for a cocarri...
Lexikon of the Hispanic Baroque: Transatlantic Exchange and Transformation ed. by Evonne Levy and Kenneth Mills (review)

This book is a unique reference tool and will be essential reading for students of what the editors provocatively designate as the “Hispanic Baroque” for years to come. Designed to emphasize transatlantic links as well as local redefinitions in the religious histories and cultural practices of Spain and the Americas, the book is arranged thematically. Chronologically, it extends from the late fifteenth into the eighteenth century (p. 1). The book is organized into 43 categories, arranged alphabetically, from “Afterlife” to “Supernatural,” with separate entries for each category devoted to Spain and Spanish America. The author of each entry is a distinguished researcher, which permits the reader to enjoy 86 distillations of state-of-the-art scholarship; these are followed by suggestions for further reading. The scholars are of several generations and work in several disciplines, ranging across the humanities and social sciences.
Osteochondroma of the mandibular condyle: Report of a case with 10-year follow-up

A case of osteochondroma of the mandibular condyle has been presented, along with a review of the features of this lesion. A consideration of immediate condylar replacement after benign tumor surgery of the condyle is discussed.
A methodology for the design and testing of atmospheric boundary layer models for wind energy applications

Abstract. The GEWEX Atmospheric Boundary Layer Studies (GABLS) 1, 2 and 3 are used to develop a methodology for the design and testing of Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) models for wind energy applications. The first two GABLS cases are based on idealized boundary conditions and are suitable for verification purposes by comparing with results from higher-fidelity models based on large-eddy simulation. Results from three single-column RANS models, of 1st, 1.5th and 2nd turbulence closure order, show high consistency in predicting the mean flow. The third GABLS case is suitable for the study of these ABL models under realistic forcing such that validation versus observations from the Cabauw meteorological tower are possible. The case consists on a diurnal cycle that leads to a nocturnal low-level jet and addresses fundamental questions related to the definition of the large-scale forcing, the interaction of the ABL with the surface and the evaluation of model results with observations. The simulations are evaluated in terms of surface-layer fluxes and wind energy quantities of interest: rotor equivalent wind speed, hub-height wind direction, wind speed shear and wind direction veer. The characterization of mesoscale forcing is based on spatially and temporally averaged momentum budget terms from Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulations. These mesoscale tendencies are used to drive single-column models, which were verified previously in the first two GABLS cases, to first demonstrate that they can produce similar wind profile characteristics to the WRF simulations even though the physics are more simplified. The added value of incorporating different forcing mechanisms into microscale models is quantified by systematically removing forcing terms in the momentum and heat equations. This mesoscale-to-microscale modeling approach is affected, to a large extent, by the input uncertainties of the mesoscale tendencies. Deviations from the profile observations are reduced by introducing observational nudging based on measurements that are typically available from wind energy campaigns. This allows the discussion of the added value of using remote sensing instruments versus tower measurements in the assessment of wind profiles for tall wind turbines reaching heights of 200 m.
Neural Modeling and Identification of Nonlinear Systems in an Abstract Space Setting

A rigorous framework is available for the modeling and identification of nonlinear dynamical systems by artificial neural networks. The system model is obtained as a best approximation of the operator(s) representing the system in a “neural space”, under interpolating or smoothing constraints imposed by the input-output training data. This optimal modeling results in one of four types of neural networks proposed and discussed by the author elsewhere, namely the OI, OS, OMNI and OSMAN nets. The identification of a system so modeled can take place instantaneously by batch processing of the training data, or sequentially by adaptation, learning, and/or evolution. These concepts are briefly discussed in the present article, and illustrated in terms of a self-tuning nonlinear regulator system.
Pharmacology and Perioperative Considerations of Pain Medications.

Background Pain continues to be the most common medical concern, and perioperative health care providers are encountering increasing numbers of patients with chronic pain conditions. It is important to have a clear understanding of how long-term use of pain medications impacts anesthesia during the intraoperative and postoperative periods. Objective To review common medications used to treat chronic pain and summarize current recommendations regarding perioperative care. Method We reviewed the literature by searching PubMed and Google Scholar for articles from 2000-2016. The search strategy included searching for the various classes of pain medications and including the terms perioperative, anesthesiology, and recommendations. We also reviewed the reference lists of each article to identify other relevant sources regarding the perioperative management of pain medications. Results After the literature review, we were able to establish the pharmacology, anesthetic interactions, and recommendations for management of each of the common classes of pain medication. Conclusion Management of postoperative pain is an important concern for all perioperative health care providers. Although most pain medications should be continued in the perioperative period, it is important to preoperatively discontinue those that antagonize pain receptors to avoid significant postoperative morbidities associated with poorly managed pain.
A frequency‐domain non‐contact photoacoustic microscope based on an adaptive interferometer

A frequency-domain, non-contact approach to photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) that employs amplitude-modulated (0.1-1 MHz) laser for excitation (638-nm pump) in conjunction with a 2-wave mixing interferometer (532-nm probe) for non-contact detection of photoacoustic waves at the specimen surface is presented. A lock-in amplifier is employed to detect the photoacoustic signal. Illustrative images of tissue-mimicking phantoms, red-blood cells and retinal vasculature are presented. Single-frequency modulation of the pump beam directly provides an image that is equivalent to the 2-dimensional projection of the image volume. Targets located superficially produce phase modulations in the surface-reflected probe beam due to surface vibrations as well as direct intensity modulation in the backscattered probe light due to local changes in pressure and/or temperature. In comparison, the observed modulations in the probe beam due to targets located deeper in the specimen, for example, beyond the ballistic photon regime, predominantly consist of phase modulation.
Can Consumers Perceive Collective Psychological Ownership of an Organization

Research on psychological ownership in marketing has focused primarily on consumers’ ownership of products. Drawing on the management literature that has examined psychological ownership of an organization by its employees, this chapter argues that consumers can also perceive psychological ownership of an organization and that this ownership is likely to occur at the collective level. Consumers are most likely to perceive collective psychological ownership of an organization when their relationship with the organization enables them to express their social identities and to fulfill one of the other three motivations underlying psychological ownership: effectance, need for stimulation, and need for home. Specific organizations are well suited to foster collective psychological ownership, including charities and nonprofit organizations, organizations that market hedonic and experiential goods, and place-based services and experiences. An empirical study of consumers’ psychological ownership of a charitable organization, using a minimal group experimental design, reveals that when the organization is perceived to be a member of the consumer’s ingroup, as opposed to an out-group, perceptions of collective psychological ownership are greater. This effect was robust across two different charitable organizations and for both donors and nondonors to the organization. Consumers were not found to differ in their identification with the organization or their individual psychological ownership of the organization, suggesting that this is a collective-level phenomenon.
Letter to General Nariño

Bolivar freed most of New Granada in the Battle of Boyaca. He persuaded the Venezuelan Congress to create the republic of Colombia, composed of Venezuela, New Granada, and Quito. The latter was not yet under republican control. The Congress moved to Cucuta, where Cundinamarcan (New Granadan) delegates were admitted. The 1821 Constitution of Colombia did not follow the proposals in the Angostura Discourse. However, Bolivar was elected President and confirmed in his full military power.
Using Data To Enhance Decision Making: Graduation Initiative 2025

The California State University launched its Graduation Initiative 2025 in January 2015 with a clear goal to increase graduation rates for our 475,000 students across all 23 campuses. The Graduation Initiative 2025 will add 100,000 more baccalaureate degree-educated citizens to California over the next ten years and begin to meet workforce demands. Increasing graduation rates, particularly for first-generation students, requires a strategic, data-driven approach. California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) faces particular challenges as 81% of our undergraduate population are first-generation college students, 63% receive Pell Grant, and 56% of incoming first-year students require some form of developmental coursework in English, math, or both. Data-driven decision-making must be used to focus graduation efforts. CSUSB organizes data regarding college readiness, and enrollment characteristics as preparedness have a direct influence on time to degree. Data on persistence and progress towards the degree are also important to track when examining graduation rates as it helps identify areas to improve. Finally, data on completion and post-graduation are indicators to track the progress of the initiative and meeting workforce demands.
Political Learning from Presidential Debates

This paper focuses on an important aspect of presidential debates: the degree to which voters are able to glean candidate information from them. Using an open-ended measure of candidate information, the analysis tests hypotheses concerning the impact of debates on information acquisition among the mass public for all debates from 1976 to 1996. The findings indicate that people do learn from debates and that learning is affected by the context in which the information is encountered. Specifically, early debates generate more learning than do subsequent debates, and the public tends to learn more about candidates with whom they are relatively unfamiliar than about better-known candidates.
Real-Time Doppler Imaging for Unambiguous Measurement of Blood Volume Flow

A new ultrasonic method involving real-time Doppler imaging in the transcutaneous measurement of blood volume flow is described. The approach involves examination of an arbitrary sample plane cutting across the vessel lumen. Two general techniques utilizing this routine are described.
Iannucci and Its Aftermath: The Application of the Banzhaf Index to Weighted Voting in the State of New York

We review the use by New York State Courts of John Banzhaf Ill’s game-theoretic inspired index of power as a measure of fair representation. We look at the extent to which game-theoretic arguments have been a) properly understood by the courts; b) integrated into constitutional and legal analysis; and c) properly applied. We pay particular attention to weighted voting in Nassau County, for which we provide a more detailed historical analysis.
Circuit Performance Shifts Due to Layout-Dependent Stress in Planar and 3D-ICs

This paper presents an approach for analyzing stress in 2-D and 3-D integrated circuits (ICs) due to postmanufacturing thermal mismatch. For both 2D-ICs and 3D-ICs, shallow trench isolation (STI) induces thermal residual stress in active silicon. For 3D-ICs, through-silicon vias (TSVs) act as an additional source of stress. Together, the sources of stress cause changes in the delay and power of the circuit. We develop an analytical model based on inclusion theory in micromechanics to accurately estimate the stresses and strains induced in the active region by surrounding STI in a layout. The TSV-induced stress depends on the location of the transistor with respect to the TSVs. Therefore, these stresses result in placement-dependent variations in the transistor mobilities and threshold voltages of the active devices, and we propagate these effects to circuit-level performance. At the transistor level, the stress state is translated into mobility and threshold voltage variations using piezoresistivity and band deformation potential models, respectively. At the gate level, the computed changes in transistor electrical parameters are used to predict gate-level delay and leakage power changes for single-fingered and multifingered layout styles, which are subsequently used to predict circuit-level delay and leakage power for a given placement.
A Strategy for Undergraduate Student Development in Animal Science

The Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University has experienced a tremendous increase in undergraduate enrollment in the past decade, yet the placement rate of graduates remains at almost 98%. While the industry continues to expand its demand for qualified graduates, this placement rate is not accomplished by chance or without a strategy. This strategy is put into place during the prospective student visit which often occurs during the student’s junior or senior year of high school, and continues throughout their career at Iowa State University.
Medical Emergencies in the Primary Care Setting: An Evidence Based Practice Approach Using Simulation to Improve Readiness.

Abstract Background Simulation is an evidenced based strategy which has been shown to impact office-based readiness to respond in a medical emergency. Medical emergencies occur in the primary care setting on a less frequent basis than in the inpatient setting. Clinicians working in primary care may benefit from an opportunity to refresh their skills. Methods This descriptive pre and post survey design evidenced based project examined staff reported levels of competence and confidence when responding to an emergency in a pediatric primary care office. Simulation educators partnered with ambulatory nursing and medical leaders to create a mock code program for staff in a care network. During a 14-month period, simulations were conducted in 30 primary care sites. Staff completed pre- and post-simulation surveys to assess levels of confidence in decision-making skills and competence when managing medical emergencies. Findings A statistically significant increase in the mean scores for both confidence and competence was demonstrated when comparing pre- and post-simulation survey results. Discussion and application to practice Simulation as an educational technique resulted in an increased level of competence and confidence of primary care office staff to respond to an emergency. Additionally, staff developed an overall heightened awareness of emergency processes and recognized of the value of simulation as an educational tool.
Process and outcome evaluation of the Oral Health Improvement through Outreach (OHIO) Project.

Academic dental institutions serve a foundational role in meeting the oral health needs of Americans through community-based learning experiences. Purpose The purpose of this study was to longitudinally evaluate an ongoing primary objective of the Oral Health Improvement through Outreach (OHIO) Project Program, which is to build strong partnerships between The Ohio State University (OSU) College of Dentistry (CoD) and community-based dental facilities and increase access to dental care for underserved populations. Methods Upon exempt Institutional Review Board approval (2004H0067), a longitudinal evaluation study was conducted of 15 years of the OHIO Project during the 2004-2019 academic years. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the OHIO Project using process and outcome evaluation methods. Results The data from 107,510 patients were analyzed. Process evaluation revealed the OHIO Project has been reaching the target population of communities with dental care needs and limited access, as evidenced by the main methods of patient payment/non-payment and the quantity of completed restorative/oral surgery procedures. Outcome evaluation revealed the OHIO Project has been building strong partnerships between the CoD and communities to address dental care needs and improve access, as evidenced by the increased number and distribution of the community-based facilities throughout Ohio. Conclusion Process and outcome evaluation revealed the OHIO Project has been meeting its primary goal of building strong partnerships between the CoD and OHIO Project community-based facilities to address the basic dental needs and increase access for Ohio residents. Future research is needed to evaluate the dental student impact of providing community-based care.
The role of rigid bronchoscope combined with high frequency ventilation in the diagnosis and treatment of infantile acute fibrinous laryngotracheobronchitis

Objective:To explore the role of rigid bronchoscope combined with high frequency ventilation in the diagnosis and treatment of infantile acute fibrinous laryngotracheobronchitis. Method:The clinical data of 7 children with acute fibrinous laryngotracheobronchitis were analyzed retrospectively. Laryngology and bronchoscopy were conducted by hard tube bronchoscopy combined with high frequency ventilation in all cases. During the operation, a large quantity of membranous scabs was removed from subglottic area, trachea and bronchus. Result:Six cases were treated by emergency operation and cured. One patient was treated with mechanical ventilation for 48 hours because of respiratory failure. Then the operation was performed to remove the endogenous foreign body since no improvement was observed after prolonged ventilation. This patient died of multiple organ failure. The histopathological examination of these 7 cases of endogenous foreign bodies showed fibrinous exudation and necrosis, accompanied by a large quantity of inflammatory cells infiltration. Conclusion:Removal of the plastic endogenous foreign bodies which block the respiratory tract by rigid bronchoscope and high frequency ventilation under general anesthesia facilitates the diagnosis and treatment of acute fibrinous laryngotracheobronchitis in pediatric patients. Prompt surgical intervention could relieve the obstruction of respiratory tract, which is crucial to reduce mortality.
Use of Appendices

Regulations regarding appendices have evolved over the past few years to become stricter due to applicants using appendices as a means to circumvent page limitations. Now only very specific items can be included as appendices: letters from collaborators/consultants in support of your project, manuscripts that are accepted but not yet published, or information that legitimately cannot be incorporated into the main text (e.g., moving images, epidemiological survey tools that will be utilized in the project).
Toward Efficient Microwave-Optical Transduction using Cavity Electro-Optics in Thin-Film Lithium Niobate

We describe progress toward high-efficiency transduction between microwave and optical radiation using integrated thin-film superconducting microwave resonators and lithium niobate optical resonators.
$\Omega^-$ Hyperon Decay Modes with the HyperCP Experiment at Fermilab

The HyperCP experiment (Fermilab E871) has the largest recorded sample of $\Omega^-$ hyperon decays, allowing new searches for three rare decay modes, each with five charged tracks in the final state. Results are presented for $\Omega^-\to\Xi^-\pi^+\pi^-$; $\Omega^- \to \Xi^0(1530)\pi^-$; and the flavor-changing neutral-current decay $\Omega^- \to \Xi^-\mu^+\mu^-$. Normalization of these measurements were to the decay $\Omega^- \to \Lambda K^-$ with a five-track topology similar to the signal mode with the subsequent decay of $\Lambda \to p \pi^-$ and $K^- \to \pi^- \pi^+ \pi^-$ in the decay volume.
Factors influencing farmers’ awareness and choice of adaptation strategies to climate change by smallholder crop farmers

Climate variability is a global phenomenon and its effects on agricultural productivity have been experienced by developing countries drastically. Climate differences such as high temperatures, drought and long seasons have led to a loss in food production through crop failure, water stress, and human disease outbreak. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate factors influencing farmers’ awareness and choice of adaptation strategies to climate variability by smallholder crop farmers in Libode, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Primary data were purposively collected from 120 smallholder crop farmers. Binary logistic regression was used to estimate factors influencing farmers’ awareness while Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the choice of adaptation strategies employed by crop farmers. Results showed that farmers have perceived climate change and have adapted to changing climatic conditions. The empirical results have showed that socio-economic factors such as years spent in school, land size, farm experience, and extension services affect farmers' awareness positively while age has a negative influence. Few farmers have adjusted their farming practices to account for the effects of climate change. Thus, the study identifies crop diversification and agroforestry as being the most promising strategies with benefits for farmers, the environment and future generations. The government should develop policies aimed at providing and enhancing farmers’ knowledge on climate change. Farmers are encouraged to form farm organizations and be active as to serve as a platform to share knowledge on indigenous and technological farming practices for effective climate change adaptation.
Using a Data-Driven Improvement Methodology to Decrease Surgical Site Infections in a Community Neurosurgery Practice: Optimizing Preoperative Screening and Perioperative Antibiotics.

Objective We used a data-driven methodology to decrease the departmental surgical site infection rate to a goal of 1%. Methods A prospective interventional study with historical controls comparing preimplementation/intervention (unknown methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus [MSSA]/methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus [MRSA] status and standard weight and drug allergy–based preoperative antibiotics) with postimplementation/intervention (optimized preoperative chlorhexidine showers, MSSA/MRSA screening, MSSA/MRSA decolonization, and optimized preoperative antibiotic order set implementation). The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program was used for case surveillance. The primary outcome was the presence of a surgical site infection with a secondary outcome of cost(s) of implementation. Results A total of 317 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program abstracted neurosurgical cases were analyzed, 163 cases before implementation and 154 cases after implementation. There were no significant differences between the preimplementation and postimplementation cohorts regarding patient demographics and baseline comorbidities, with the exceptions of inpatient and functional status (P Conclusions The findings highlight the importance of systematically investigating areas of gap in existing clinical practice and quality improvement projects to increase patient safety and enhance the value of care delivered to neurosurgical patients.
Reading texts, reading people: Cognitive literary science and pedagogy:

Cognitive literary science has explored the the complex relationship between literary reading and social cognition. However, this insightful work about reading literature is frequently distanced fr...
Diagnostic and Medication Treatment Disparities in African American Children with ADHD: a Literature Review.

Despite a national focus on achieving health equity, limited attention has been paid to behavioral and pediatric health disparities. As the most common pediatric neurobehavioral disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) provides an opportunity to assess the status of pediatric behavior health disparities. The purpose of this literature review is to provide a synthesis of existing research on ADHD diagnostic and treatment disparities between African American and White children. Studies were systematically identified through searches in PubMed, CINAHL, and APA PsycInfo using the terms attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, disparity, race, ethnicity, diagnosis, medication, and treatment. Summary calculations were conducted to report the proportions of studies with statistically significant differences in ADHD diagnosis and treatment between White and African American children, and to describe trends in disparities over time. Forty-one studies were included in this review. The majority of studies identified significant disparities in ADHD diagnosis and medication treatment between African American and White children. While diagnostic disparities show a trend toward reduction over time, a similar trend was not observed in medication treatment disparities. This synthesis provides a critique of the existing literature and recommendations for practice and future research.
5 – RNA PURIFICATION AND NORTHERN BLOT ANALYSIS

The isolation and characterization of messenger RNA are important parts of the study of gene expression of an organism. This chapter describes an experiment in which RNA is isolated from plants. The RNA isolated is separated on the basis of size using a denaturing formaldehyde agarose gel. The RNAs are then transferred from the gel to a membrane-producing a Northern blot. The Northern blot is then hybridized with a cloned probe for a gene to determine the steady state levels of mRNA present in the cell that are complementary to the cloned probe. The basic protocols needed are also discussed. The isolation of RNA presents a challenge because RNases are ubiquitous. Endogenous RNases are quickly inactivated by the phenol/SDS extraction step of the RNA isolation procedure. Glassware and solutions are treated with agents such as diethyl pyrocarbonate to inactivate RNases. The yield of RNA can vary depending on the source. Pea seedlings generally give a high yield, as much as 7 mg of total RNA from 15 g of plant material.
Relationship between Lucas Sequences and Gaussian Integers in Cryptosystems

Both Gaussian integers and Lucas sequences have been applied in cryptography. This paper presents the mathematical relationship between Lucas sequences and Gaussian integers. It also explores the complexity of Discrete Logarithm Problem (DLP) for Gaussian integers modulo prime by reducing it to Lucas Sequences DLP and real integer DLP. We demonstrate that the algorithms based on the Gaussian Integer DLP have advantages over the corresponding algorithms based on real integer DLP or Lucas Sequences DLP. Numerical examples are provided.
Low HDL cholesterol may lead to disruption of bone (re)modeling in obese early pubertal girls

Aim: Cardiovascular risk factors and compromised bone phenotype are apparent in obese children. Identification of cardiovascular-bone linking factors is warranted. The objective is to determine the association between circulating factors of lipid metabolism and bone parameters in obese early-pubertal females. Materials and Methods: 43 peri-pubertal obese girls aged 7-11 years who underwent dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to measure whole body bone mineral content (BMC) and peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) to measure bone parameters were included. Lipids (total cholesterol, TC; high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, HDL; low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, LDL; triglyceride, TG), bone turnover markers (carboxy-terminal collagen crosslinks, CTX; type 1 procollagen N-terminal propeptide, P1NP), and inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha, TNFα; interleukin-6, IL-6) were obtained from venipuncture. Results: HDL was positively associated with P1NP (p<0.01) and total bone area at 66% radial length, yet negatively associated with total bone density (p < 0.05). Stratification by HDL level revealed significant differences in total bone area at 66% radial length between normal- and low-HDL groups. TNFa and IL-6 contributed to the observed differences (p≤0.05). Conclusion: The findings herein indicate a link between lipid and inflammatory markers and bone parameters in overweight/obese girls, which may partially explain the increased risk of fracture in this population.
Beyond Black and White: Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in the U. S. South and Southwest

Although Americans have traditionally treated race relations as a matter of black and white, race in this country is much more complex. "Beyond Black and White: Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in the U.S. South and Southwest" brings new perspectives to the oversimplification of racial categories and new insight into the complexity of social relationships in these two important regions. Although the topics covered range from law in the South in the nineteenth century to political activism by Mexican Americans in the twentieth century, they begin with a common viewpoint: If we are to understand the complexity of race in the United States, we must go beyond thinking in black and white. A product of the Walter Prescott Webb Lectures held at the University of Texas at Arlington in 2000, this volume provides links between ideas and events within Southern history to that of the Southwest. In their various chapters, the seven contributors illustrate that elites' common (and inaccurate) use of dichotomous categories to describe social relationships--not only black and white, but also male and female, slave and free, dependent and independent--have shored up white power in both regions. Together they illustrate multilevel social diversity, and demonstrate that acceptance then and now of simple binaries has impeded efforts by groups outside those categories to claim recognition, rights, and privileges on their own terms. All those interested in race and public policy as well as social activism concerning with racial, ethnic, and gender issues will find in these thought-provoking analyses a doorway to deeper understanding.
Emergency management: Concepts and strategies for effective programs

Review of Emergency Management: Concepts and Strategies for Effective Programs By Lucien G. Canton, CEM. By taking a different perspective on local government emergency management programs, this book presents the vision for a very different model--one that includes an independent emergency manager leading an enterprise-wide program focused on strategies that promote disaster resilient communities.
Using Team-Based Learning in an Online, Asynchronous Information Literacy Course

Making information literacy instruction engaging to learners can be a challenge. Making it engaging in an online, asynchronous setting can be even more daunting. As students seek more opportunities for online learning, itâs becoming increasingly important to develop information literacy instruction that will promote engagement and enhance learning in the online environment. Team-Based Learning is a method of instruction that has transformed the atmosphere of a face-to-face information literacy course. This article explores the design and implementation of an online version of the same course where many of the benefits of Team-Based Learning were successfully transferred to the online setting.
Book Review of Jack Goldsmith, Power and Constraint: The Accountable Presidency after 9/11 (2012)

Like all of Goldsmith’s work, Power and Constraint offers a powerful challenge to the conventional thinking that we live in an era of unconstrained presidential power. But just as the conventional critique of the terror presidency goes too far in sounding "the death knell for the separation of powers," Power and Constraint swings too far the other way in its claims about presidential accountability. As usual, the truth lies somewhere in between. Goldsmith argues that the Bush Administration's policies encountered significant pushback from a wide variety of actors both within and outside the government, including inspectors general, military and national security lawyers, the press, and human rights attorneys. The result was a rethinking, recalibration, and in some cases revision of the Bush Administration's counter-terrorism policies, which have become the "new normal," largely followed by the Obama Administration. Paradoxically, the constraints on the Presidency enhanced its power by endowing it with greater legitimacy. In reaching this conclusion, Goldsmith sees law and legitimacy as much more consequential than in his early book, The Limits of International Law, co-authored with Eric Posner.Power and Constraint's analysis of what Goldsmith calls "distributed checks and balances" is largely convincing, subject to two caveats. First, his conclusion about the "accountable Presidency" is not fully convincing because he evaluates accountability almost exclusively in prospective rather than retrospective terms, and does not consider the question of accountability to the victims of abuse. Second, his explanation for the push-back against the Bush Administration's policies focuses largely on procedural factors, such as the Bush Administration's unilateralism and expansive rhetoric. But the bigger problems with the Bush Administration's policies were substantive rather than procedural -- for example, its use of enhanced interrogation techniques such as waterboarding and its refusal to apply the Geneva Conventions to the conflict in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, Goldsmith has done a valuable service in providing a more complete and nuanced analysis of the various checks on presidential power, and reminds us of the power of law and legitimacy within, if not among, nations.
A Family Affair: Examining the Impact of Parental Infidelity on Children Using a Structural Family Therapy Framework

Infidelity has a permeating impact on social systems, but no system is more impacted by infidelity than the nuclear family. This paper examines the impact of parental infidelity on the family using a structural family therapy (SFT) framework. Conceptualizing and treating infidelity from an SFT approach provides a systemic understanding of how interactions between the parental units about infidelity impact parent–child dynamics. Clinical recommendations are outlined for couple and family therapists to help families find healthy and adaptable ways to create and maintain structures that minimize the harmful impact of infidelity on the family system.
The Effect of Environmental Factors on Bilingualism Among Chinese and Korean Americans

For parents of immigrant children in the United States, the desire for their children to assimilate into the American culture and to learn English as quickly as possible is often mingled later with the frustration of not being able to communicate with their own children in the heritage or native language. While some immigrant children lose almost all ability to communicate in the heritage language, others grow up to be bilingual adults who are able to successfully maneuver between the two cultures. This paper will aim to explore some of the factors which have led some first and second generation Asian Americans to maintain the use of their heritage language and interest in their heritage culture. Specifically, factors such as exposure to the heritage language, personal motivation and family attitudes will be discussed.
Intimate Partner Violence Exposure Predicts PTSD Treatment Engagement and Outcome in Cognitive Processing Therapy

Intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure was examined as a predictor of treatment engagement (i.e., starting and completing therapy) and treatment outcome in 150 women taking part in a dismantling study of cognitive processing therapy (CPT) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Resick et al., 2008). Results indicate that women in a current intimate relationship with recent IPV (i.e., past year) were less likely to begin treatment relative to women who reported past IPV only or no history of IPV. For women who began treatment, IPV exposure was not predictive of whether or not they completed treatment. Among women who began treatment, the frequency of IPV was associated with treatment outcome such that women who experienced more frequent IPV exhibited larger reductions in PTSD and depression symptoms over the course of treatment, but experienced similar levels of PTSD and depression severity at the 6-month follow-up. Findings highlight the importance of targeting treatment engagement among women who report recent IPV and suggest that women who have experienced frequent IPV respond well to CPT treatment in spite of their IPV experiences.