cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Control of the electric field–polymer solution interaction by utilizing ultra-conductive fluids

Dramatically raising the conductivity of a polymer solution by using a salt additive allows control over the electric field-induced jet feed rate when electrospinning from an unconfined fluid without altering the applied voltage. As the solution conductivity increases, the flow rate drops by an order of magnitude. At a high voltage level and fluid conductivity value, the jets undergo a whipping instability over almost the entire path from the source to the collector experiencing only a negligibly short linear region which, along with the flow rate data, indicates that the jet narrows due to the high conductivity. Under these conditions, even while possessing relatively large individual jet feed rates, thin diameter nanofibers (200 e300 nm) are readily produced. In contrast with other approaches to obtain narrow fibers from unconfined fluids (e.g., voltage reduction to control feed rate), here the fiber forming jets are present indefinitely. Continuous, scaled up nanofiber production rate of >125� over the traditional single needle electrospinning method is observed from the presence of multiple jets, each possessing a relatively high solution feed rate. These fundamental experiments reveal new pathways for exploring novel electrospinning configurations where the jet feed rate can be controlled by manipulating the solution conductivity.
Public Support for Private Efforts at Assimilation by Immigrants: the Role of Credit Constraints

We examine the eect of borrowing constraint facing new immigrants on the process of their assimilation in the new society. We shall do so in a two-period model. In period one, immigrants invest, with some costs to them, in trying to assimilate. The probability of success in this endeavor depends on the amount invested and also on the level of the provision of a ‘public’ good paid for by lump-sum taxation of ‘natives’. Those who succeed enjoy a higher level of productivity and therefore wages in period 2. The level of investment is endogenously determined. Assimilation also aect remittances by immigrants. Given
Optimal utilization bounds for the fixed-priority scheduling of periodic task systems on identical multiprocessors

In fixed-priority scheduling, the priority of a job,.once assigned, may not change. A new fixed-priority algorthm for scheduling systems of periodic tasks upon identical multiprocessors is proposed. This algorithm has an achievable utilization of (m+1)/2 upon m unit-capacity processors. It is proven that this algorithm is optimal from the perspective of achievable utilization in the sense that no fixed-priority algorithm for scheduling periodic task systems upon identical multiprocessors may have an achievable utilization greater than (m+1)/2.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid Relatedness of Chlamydia sp. Strain TWAR to Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia psittaci

Chlamydia sp. strain TWAR is an important cause of acute respiratory disease in humans. To determine the genetic relatedness of the TWAR organism to Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia psittaci, solution hybridization followed by SI nuclease assays were performed, and guanine-plus-cytosine (G+C) contents were determined. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) preparations from three TWAR isolates were radioactively labeled and hybridized against DNAs from three serovars ofC. trachomatis and five strains of C. psittaci. Reciprocal experiments were also done by using radioactively labeled C. trachomatis and C. psittaci DNAs against TWAR DNA. In all cases, the degree of DNA relatedness between TWAR and the two Chlamydia species was 10% or less. Within the group of TWAR isolates, there was 94% or greater sequence similarity. The G+C values for TWAR were intermediate between the G+C values for C. trachomatis and C. psittaci. The degrees of DNA relatedness among the strains within the species C. psittaci ranged from 20 to 100%.
Focused Assessment in the Care of the Older Adult

This article presents an overview of the focused subjective and objective assessment of the older adult for the critical care nurse. Discussion includes the distinguishing features inherent to older adults, and relevant evidence-based screening tools that the nurse can use in assessing the critically ill older adult.
A novel approach of divergence-free reconstruction for adaptive mesh refinement

A simple novel approach to maintain the divergence-free condition with adaptive mesh refinement is presented. This new approach uses reconstructions on the coarse faces together with the divergence-free condition to reconstruct the field values on the internal fine faces. It does not construct a global interpolation polynomial over a whole coarse cell. Therefore, it can be easily applied to any refinement ratio. It is implemented via a directionally splitting approach so that it can be applied to any kind of grids and in any dimensions. Implementation is presented in the Cartesian, cylindrical and spherical geometries. It is shown by several 2D magneto-hydrodynamic simulations that such a method can keep the divergence-free error of magnetic fields at the round-off level.
Thermal Expansion of Hafnium Carbide

Since hafnium carbide (HfC) has a melting point of 7029 deg. F, it may have many high-temperature applications. A literature search uncovered very little information about the properties of HfC, and so a program was initiated at the Lewis Research Center to determine some of the physical properties of this material. This note presents the results of the thermal expansion investigation. The thermal-expansion measurements were made with a Gaertner dilatation interferometer calibrated to an accuracy of +/- 1 deg. F. This device indicates expansion by the movement of fringes produced by the cancellation and reinforcement of fixed wave-length light rays which are reflected from the surfaces of two parallel quartz glass disks. The test specimens which separate these disks are three small cones, each approximately 0.20 in. high.
Logged in and Connected? A Quantitative Analysis of Online Course Use and Alumni Giving.

Business and education stand out as two of the most prominent sectors affected by the rapid expansion of the Internet. A significant body of literature within business has been devoted to developing positive e-commerce exchanges that develop customer loyalty. While online education grows each year, the long-term significance of online education to develop a loyal alumni base has yet to be studied. Findings in marketing research literature on trust and loyalty provide exceptional significance for online education, especially in a tight economic climate that has forced colleges and universities to rely on alumni giving for operational support. This study examines the significance of online course use as a predictive variable for alumni giving at one medium sized, private liberal arts university using 3,450 students. The results show a negative correlation between the online classes and alumni giving, among other predictive variables used in alumni giving. The findings provide foundational insights for education administrators and fundraisers involved in online education and its effect on alumni giving.
Effects of sunlight and hydroxyl radical on dissolved organic matter: Bacterial growth efficiency and production of carboxylic acids and other substrates

This study examines the importance of several possible mechanisms causing sunlight-mediated changes in the amounts of bacterial utilization and biomass growth on dissolved organic matter (DOM) from allochthonous sources. Our results demonstrate that, while hydroxyl radical reactions with DOM can be an important process increasing its bioavailability, other photoreactions will cause most of the sunlight-induced increases unless hydroxyl production rates are high (.;7 mmol L 21 d 21 ). Low molecular weight carboxylic acids could not account for most of the observed sunlight and hydroxyl-induced increases in DOM bioavailability. Both sunlight and hydroxyl-mediated reactions significantly decreased the bacterial growth efficiency of DOM, indicating that photochemical reactions affect not only the fraction of the total DOM pool available to bacteria on ecologically relevant timescales but also the substrate quality and ultimately the environmental fate of this material. Extrapolation of these results to field conditions suggests that photochemical and biochemical mineralization could be an important sink of DOC and source of bioavailable carbon in the Plum Island estuary during the summer months. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a heterogeneous mixture of natural organic compounds that is present in all natural waters. The sources of this carbon in freshwater systems include both in situ biological production (autochthonous sources) and detrital carbon from the surrounding terrestrial watershed (allochthonous sources). At one time, relatively labile autochthonous material was thought to be the dominant source of substrates for bacterial growth in these systems (Cole et al. 1982). More recently, it has become clear that relatively recalcitrant allochthonous (or humic) organic matter can also be a major source of energy and carbon for bacterial growth in many freshwaters (Tranvik 1988; Moran and Hodson 1990). One important environmental factor that may change the utilization of DOM by bacteria is exposure to light. A variety of studies have shown that irradiation of DOM by natural and/or simulated sunlight can increase both the amount of DOM that is susceptible to bacterial utilization and the abil1
High sensitivity vertical Hall sensor integrated with SOI CMOS

We present the design and performance of the gated vertical Hall sensor integrated with silicon on insulator (SOI) complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuits. We demonstrated almost a factor of ten improvement in sensitivity over the comparable vertical Hall sensor integrated on bulk CMOS i.e. constant voltage and constant current sensitivity of 1200 V/V*T versus 130 V/V*T and 200mV/A*T versus 23 mV/A*T respectively. The high sensitivity is probably related to the inherent amplification mechanism in the gated structure. We offer our interpretation of the physical principles of the built in gain and its dependence on bias conditions.
OBSERVATIONS ON SNOW ALGAE IN CALIFORNIA1,2

SUMMARY Algae that impart a red color to snowfields are rather common in California. Red snow occurs mainly in the Sierra Nevada at altitudes of 10,000–12,000 ft (3050–3600 in) and can occur at high altitudes where snow persists in other parts of the state. The distribution in the Sierra was similar in 1969 and 1970, contrasting snowfall years. Colored snow was found from May to October in old, wet snow-fields. The predominant color was red and occurred as surface patches in depressions in the snow. The color could extend as deep as 30 cm below the snow surface. Algae in the snowfields of the Tioga Pass area (Sierra Nevada) were large, red, spherical cells of Chlamydomonas nivalis. No other algae were seen. Their distribution, as measured by cell numbers and chlorophyll a, was patchy. Algal cells and chlorophyll a were mainly distributed at or near the snow surface but extended down to a depth of 10 cm. Light intensity was greatly attenuated by snow, but enough light for photosynthesis was found at 50 cm below the surface. Nutrient content of one snow sample was very low. The populations were very actively photosynthetic and took up as much as 65% of added 14CO2 in only 3 hr. It was tentatively concluded that CO2 limits in situ photosynthesis. Photosynthesis was inhibited by melting snow samples. Rough calculations of the growth rate suggested in situ generation times of only a few days for these algae.
Effect of alkali content of cement on properties of high performance cementitious mortar

Abstract The use of very low water-to-binder ratio (w/b) in high-performance cementitious mixtures (HPCM) such as ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is gaining popularity. Typically these mixtures consist of Portland cement, pozzolans, water, aggregate, chemical admixtures and steel fiber. The properties of such mixtures including workability, strength, dimensional stability and durability are sensitive to the quality and the proportions of the materials used. In particular, due to high cementitious materials content and low w/b ratio of these mixtures, the alkali content of Portland cement can have a significant effect on the fresh and hardened properties. However, there is limited information available in the literature on the influence of cement alkalinity on the properties of these mixtures. In order to have a closer examination of the influence of alkali content of cement on the properties of such mixtures, a series of Portland cement mortars having a w/c ratio of 0.20 and a range of cement alkali contents were evaluated in this study. The workability, setting time, compressive strength, drying shrinkage, rapid chloride ion penetration, volume of permeable voids and alkali–silica reaction potential of HPCM using reactive aggregate were studied as a function of the alkali content of cement ranging from 0.49% to 0.88% Na 2 O eq . The test results showed that when the alkali content of cement was higher than 0.70%, the workability of HPCMs decreased significantly as the alkali content increased. An increase in the alkali content of cement delayed the time of final setting, reduced the compressive strength, and increased the rapid chloride ion permeability, drying shrinkage and volume of permeable voids of HPCM. As the alkali content of cement increased, rapid and significant expansion due to ASR was observed in HPCM, along with significant loss in flexural strength of test specimens, even though the w/c was maintained at 0.20. Identical set of tests were conducted on parallel HPCM specimens containing Class F fly ash as a cement replacement material, and significant differences in results were observed when compared with pure Portland cement mixtures.
Phylogenetic estimation error can decrease the accuracy of species delimitation: a Bayesian implementation of the general mixed Yule-coalescent model

Species are considered the fundamental unit in many ecological and evolutionary analyses, yet accurate, complete, accessible taxonomic frameworks with which to identify them are often unavailable to researchers. In such cases DNA sequence-based species delimitation has been proposed as a means of estimating species boundaries for further analysis. Several methods have been proposed to accomplish this. Here we present a Bayesian implementation of an evolutionary model-based method, the general mixed Yule-coalescent model (GMYC). Our implementation integrates over the parameters of the model and uncertainty in phylogenetic relationships using the output of widely available phylogenetic models and Markov-Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation in order to produce marginal probabilities of species identities. We conducted simulations testing the effects of species evolutionary history, levels of intraspecific sampling and number of nucleotides sequenced. We also re-analyze the dataset used to introduce the original GMYC model. We found that the model results are improved with addition of DNA sequence and increased sampling, although these improvements have limits. The most important factor in the success of the model is the underlying phylogenetic history of the species under consideration. Recent and rapid divergences result in higher amounts of uncertainty in the model and eventually cause the model to fail to accurately assess uncertainty in species limits. Our results suggest that the GMYC model can be useful under a wide variety of circumstances, particularly in cases where divergences are deeper, or taxon sampling is incomplete, as in many studies of ecological communities, but that, in accordance with expectations from coalescent theory, rapid, recent radiations may yield inaccurate results. Our implementation differs from existing ones in two ways: it allows for the accounting for important sources of uncertainty in the model (phylogenetic and in parameters specific to the model) and in the specification of informative prior distributions that can increase the precision of the model. We have incorporated this model into a user-friendly R package available on the authors’ websites.
Study of thermodynamic properties of symmetric and asymmetric electrolyte systems in mixture with neutral components: Monte Carlo simulation results and integral equation predictions

Monte Carlo simulation is conducted to obtain the structure, excess internal energy and Helmholtz energy for systems containing charged and neutral hard spheres of comparable concentrations. The results are compared with the thermodynamic properties predicted by solving Ornstein–Zernike equation with hypernetted chain (HNC) and mean spherical approximation (MSA) closures. The HNC approximation is found to well represent the simulation results for both structure and excess energy, while the excess energy of MSA deviates from the simulation results in the intermediate- and high-density range. A simple modification of MSA, referred to as KMSA, is proposed to accurately predict the excess internal and Helmholtz energy in the studied density range. KMSA is proved to capture the effects of neutral component, size and charge asymmetry, system temperature and dielectric constant of the background solvent, on the excess energy of electrolyte systems.
Effective Leadership for Multicultural Teams

The literature on effective multicultural teams identifies leadership as an important factor in effectiveness. In some instances it has pointed out that there is a need for cohesion and a shared vision, while in others it has shown a need for a collaborative environment and expert coaching. This literature on the role of leadership does not agree on a coherent and systematic approach as to how multicultural teams can be effectively led. Although there is no one generic formula for the effective leadership of multicultural teams, there is a need to systematically approach leadership of multicultural teams in order to create a framework that takes into account the cultural dimensions as well as individual characteristics and behavior. This chapter offers some insights on how multicultural teams can be effectively led that take account of their many features that present challenges for members and leadership alike. It focuses on a leadership approach that is not about controlling teams but about providing an atmosphere where members can flourish and be creative. This approach, referred to as shared leadership, aims at engaging all team members as full participants who are fully empowered in a manner that recognizes their worth and importance as equal members of the team. Shared leadership stresses interdependence and connectedness, where all members work in an influence relationship that is multidirectional between leaders and followers. In order to build a platform for this shared leadership approach and to provide a context for how shared leadership might work in multicultural teams, the chapter first provides a definition of leadership that lays out the philosophical underpinnings for this approach. The chapter then discusses critical aspects of team leadership in general, and of multicultural teams in particular, that lay the foundation for the approach to be
Mesoporous Oxide Supported Catalysts for Low Temperature Oxidation of Dissolved Organics in Spacecraft Wastewater Streams

Novel mesoporous bimetallic oxidation catalysts are described, which are currently under development for the deep oxidation (mineralization) of aqueous organic contaminants in wastewater produced on-board manned spacecraft, and lunar and planetary habitats. The goal of the ongoing development program is to produce catalysts capable of organic contaminant mineralization near ambient temperature. Such a development will significantly reduce Equivalent System Mass (ESM) for the ISS Water Processor Assembly (WPA), which must operate at 135°C to convert organic carbon to CO 2 and carboxylic acids. Improvements in catalyst performance were achieved due to the unique structural characteristics of mesoporous materials, which include a three-dimensional network of partially ordered interconnected mesopores (5-25 nm). This structure results in high surface area, high pore volume, and reduced distances for reactants and byproducts to diffuse to and from interior catalyst sites, as compared to the tortuous diffusion path in conventional, high surface area microporous (1-2 nm) supports. Mesocellular Foams (MCFs) composed of silica-zirconia solid solutions, chemically impregnated with platinum and ruthenium, were found to produce the most active catalyst. This catalyst proved capable of mineralization of acetic acid, a refractory organic, at ambient temperature.
An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Distance From Campus And Gpa Of Commuter Students

A variety of factors influence a student’s ability to succeed in college and complete a degree program. Students who live on-campus, at least during their freshman year, have been shown to be more likely to complete their degrees than are students who live off-campus. Students who are commuters may have more demands on their time and may have fewer opportunities to develop a strong commitment to their studies and to their university. It may be hypothesized that students who live farther away from a campus may find it more difficult to attend classes and to complete outside tasks required by their classes. In an initial test of this hypothesis, an examination of the relationship between a commuter student’s distance from campus and his/her overall grade point average is assessed. Results do not support this hypothesis. Possible reasons for this finding and directions for future research are discussed.
From Terror to Enlightenment in Dental Education: UCLA School of Dentistry Class of 2008 Commencement Address

Dean Park, members of the graduating class, honored guests, faculty, parents, spouses, and friends: It was exactly sixty years ago that I was sitting in an auditorium, just as you are today. I, too, was graduating from dental school. No, it was not UCLA School of Dentistry. Your dental school did
What to expect from Gorbachev

The new Soviet leader's moves on the economy; agriculture, and arms control may not he liberal just because he is younger and better educated than his predecessors.
A Study on Dilemma of Chinese Multi-regional Water Environmental Protection Legal System

In order to improve the efficiency of the comprehensive coordination and management of cross regional water environmental protection,protect the limited water resources and avoid environmental disputes caused by cross-border water pollution,It is a necessity to analyze the straits of China's legal system of cross regional water environment protection,and the dificiency in the administrative system from the perspective of conflict of interest resulting from the game between central government and local government in environmental protection,so as to improve the legal system of cross-regional water environment and protect water resources..
RLT-POS: Reformulation-Linearization Technique-based optimization software for solving polynomial programming problems

In this paper, we introduce a Reformulation-Linearization Technique-based open-source optimization software for solving polynomial programming problems (RLT-POS). We present algorithms and mechanisms that form the backbone of RLT-POS, including constraint filtering techniques, reduced RLT representations, and semidefinite cuts. When implemented individually, each model enhancement has been shown in previous papers to significantly improve the performance of the standard RLT procedure. However, the coordination between different model enhancement techniques becomes critical for an improved overall performance since special structures in the original formulation that work in favor of a particular technique might be lost after implementing some other model enhancement. More specifically, we discuss the coordination between (1) constraint elimination via filtering techniques and reduced RLT representations, and (2) semidefinite cuts for sparse problems. We present computational results using instances from the literature as well as randomly generated problems to demonstrate the improvement over a standard RLT implementation and to compare the performances of the software packages BARON, COUENNE, and SparsePOP with RLT-POS.
Cryptorchidism: the surgical implications of non-union of the epididymis and testis.

AbstractA boy with a non-palpable undescended testis was found to have a 7.5cm. separation between the detached epididymis and testis. This anomaly of non-union of the epididymis and testis emphasizes the need for careful exploration of the non-palpable undescended testis.
Chapter 11 – Substrate Preparation

Publisher Summary It is unusual to utilize thin ﬁlms as free-ﬂoating ﬁlms. All thin ﬁlms are formed by the deposition of atoms onto a substrate. Hence, the thin ﬁlms and the substrate should be viewed collectively as a system in evaluating the properties. The substrate cleanliness is dependent on the pre-deposition processing steps. The substrate preparation techniques are carried out outside the deposition process. For preparation of high-quality surfaces, in situ preparation techniques prior to the deposition operation inside the deposition chamber appear to be essential. In order for cleaning to be successful, it is imperative that the various parts of the vacuum chamber, pieces of equipment should also be cleaned with a high degree of attention. A contaminant is any material on the surface of the substrate that has an influence on the formation of the film, properties of the film or the stability of the film. Contaminants, which are chemically bound to the surface, require heating of the sample when they may be removed as a volatile oxide, sulphide, or carbide or dissolve into the solid. The modification of the physical and mechanical properties of the surface is necessary for some applications.
Knowledge of Child Rights among the Child Labourers in Tirupattur, Vellore (Dist): A Human Rights perspective

Objective: To determine the level of knowledge of child labourers on their rights. Subjects and methods: A Qualitative and Quantitative, descriptive study was conducted with 13 children going for work (11 male and 2 female) aged 7 to 18 in and around Triupattur. Snow ball sampling was adopted to select the respondents. Respondents consent was taken and confidentiality was promised, the respondents were bit hesitant asthey had awareness that childlabour is hidden and masked in the society and it is illegal. A structured pre designed and pre tested self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the quantitative data and in-depth interviews were conducted to collect the qualitative data. The data was analyzed using SPSS 20. Results: All of the respondents have above average level of knowledge regarding their rights, yet not willing to make use of their rights due to their poor economic condition. Most of them are below the poverty line. In the in-depth interview it was revealed that most of the respondents were undergoing physical and verbal harassment. The working conditions were poor. Conclusion: Most of the children go for work because of poor economic condition. Unless Government takes steps to raise socio – economic Condition of poor people,India has to live with child labour.
Scientific Creativity within the Rules

Many of the world’s most notable, gifted, and creative scientists, such as Newton, Einstein, and Tesla, are suspected of having had autism, or at the very least, to fall somewhere “on the spectrum” of autism disorders. Recently, Buchen (2011) presented an article in Nature, suggesting that the reason so many notable scientists fall on this spectrum is because individuals with autism are drawn to the rules and formulas associated with scientific thinking.
Acetylcholine versus cold pressor testing for evaluation of coronary endothelial function.

Background Assessment of coronary endothelial function with intracoronary acetylcholine (IC-Ach) provides diagnostic and prognostic data in patients with suspected coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD), but is often not feasible due in part to the time and expertise needed for pharmacologic mixing. Cold pressor testing (CPT) is a simple and safe stimulus useful for either invasive or non-invasive endothelial function testing and myocardial perfusion imaging but has not been specifically evaluated among symptomatic women with signs of ischemic heart disease (IHD) who have no obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods 163 women with signs and symptoms of IHD and no obstructive CAD from the NHLBI- Women’s Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation-Coronary Vascular Dysfunction (WISE-CVD) study underwent coronary reactivity testing with a Doppler flow wire (FloWire® Volcano, San Diego, CA) in the proximal left anterior descending artery. Coronary artery diameter and coronary blood flow (CBF) assessed by core lab using QCA before and after IC-Ach (18.2 μg/ml infused over 3 minutes) and during CPT. Results Mean age was 55 ± 12 years. Rate pressure product (RPP) in response to IC-Ach did not change (baseline to peak, P = 0.26), but increased during CPT (363±1457; P = 0.0028). CBF in response to CPT was poorly correlated to IC-Ach CBF. Change in coronary artery diameter after IC-Ach correlated with change after CPT (r = 0.59, P<0.001). The correlation coefficient was stronger in subjects with coronary dilation to IC-Ach (r = 0.628, P<0.001) versus those without dilation (r = 0.353, P = 0.002), suggesting that other factors may be important to this relationship when endothelium is abnormal. Conclusions In women with no obstructive CAD and suspected CMD, coronary diameter changes with IC-Ach and CPT are moderately-well correlated suggesting that CPT testing may be of some use, particularly among patients with normal endothelial function, however, not an alternative to IC-Ach for diagnosis of coronary endothelial dysfunction.
Sex Education for the Allied Health Professional

Leading sexologists from Kinsey (Kinsey, Pomeroy, & Martin, 1948) to Masters (Repairing the Conjugal Bed, 1970) have noted that a variety of professional helping disciplines such as nursing, social work, law, and the ministry deal with sex-related problems as frequently—or even more frequently—than physicians. Yet despite the pervasiveness of sex-related problems in the practice of the allied health professions, there had been little guidance for such practice in either the professional literature or training programs until the mid-1960s. This absence of adequate preparation in the past leads to serious questions about how well prepared the allied health professions were to deal with the often subtle and complex sex-related problems for which they have long carried a major professional responsibility (Elder, 1970; Fonseca, 1970; Gochros, 1971; Golub, 1975; Krizinofski, 1973; Picconi, 1977).
Caring for Young Children with Asthma: Perspectives from Urban Community Health Centers

Asthma disproportionately affects low-income, minority youth, with notable disparities among children <5 years of age. Understanding the perceptions of urban community health centers (CHCs) regarding treating young children with asthma could improve care for these patients. This study uses data from semi-structured focus groups with staff from eight urban CHCs. Themes emerged in three domains. Within the parent/family domain, providers noted low rates of follow-up visits, low health literacy, and-for young children specifically-misunderstanding about the diagnosis. At the CHC level, providers needed more staff, space, and comfort with applying the guidelines to infants and young children. CHCs reported asthma registries, population health oversight, and an asthma champion improved care. At the system level, providers wanted improved communication with emergency departments and community outreach programs. Reducing these multi-level barriers may improve care.
The Curious Case of Projected Twenty-First-Century Drying but Greening in the American West

Climate models project significant twenty-first-century declines in water availability over the American West from anthropogenic warming. However, the physical mechanisms underpinning this response are poorly characterized, as are the uncertainties from vegetation's modulation of evaporative losses. To understand the drivers and uncertainties of future hydroclimate in the American West, a 35-member single model ensemble is used to examine the response of summer soil moisture and runoff to anthropogenic forcing. Widespread dry season soil moisture declines occur across the region despite increases in total water-year precipitation and ubiquitous increases in plant water-use efficiency. These modeled soil moisture declines are initially forced by significant snowpack losses that directly diminish summer soil water, even in regions where water-year precipitation increases. When snowpack priming is coupled with a warming- and CO2-induced shift in phenology and increased primary production, widespread increases in leaf area further reduces summer soil moisture and runoff by outpacing decreased stomatal conductance from high CO2. The net effects lead to the cooccurrence of both a "greener" and "drier" future across the western United States. Because simulated vegetation exerts a large influence on predicted changes in water availability in the American West, these findings highlight the importance of reducing the substantial uncertainties in the ecological processes increasingly incorporated into numerical Earth system models.
Global strain field mapping of a particle-laden interface using digital image correlation

Abstract Hypothesis The ability to identify the stress-strain relations correctly is critical to understanding and modeling any rheological responses of an interface. Langmuir-Pockels (LP) trough is one of the most commonly used tools for studying an interface. Most, if not all, existing studies assume a 1D uniaxial compression during a LP-trough compression experiment. It is hypothesized that the deformation field is far more complex than what is typically assumed. Experiments To examine this hypothesis, we custom-built a glass-bottomed LP trough equipped with a camera to capture a series of optical images as a carbon nanotube (CNT)-laden interface is compressed. A digital image correlation (DIC) technique was then applied to the images to evaluate the global strain field during compression of the CNT laden interface. The DIC-corrected strain data were subsequently analyzed with the surface stress data to quantify the surface shear and dilatational moduli of the CNT-laden interface. Findings Our experimental findings clearly show, for the first time, the development of a non-uniform and complex 2D strain field during compression. The local strains were further quantified and compared with the usual assumption of 1D uniaxial compression. Although the compressive strain averaged over the whole trough area closely resembles the 1D uniaxial compression strain, the 1D compression assumption underestimates the local strain by about 36% at the center of the trough, where the surface stresses are measured. This is the first study in applying the DIC technique to map out the global strain field as a particle-laden interface is compressed. The method may also be applicable to other systems with similar optical texture, allowing the correct identification of stress-strain relationship of an interface.
Preclude2 : Personalized conflict detection in heterogeneous health applications

Abstract Conflicting health information is a primary barrier of self-management of chronic diseases. Increasing number of people now rely on mobile health apps and online health websites to meet their information needs and often receive conflicting health advice from these sources. This problem is more prevalent and severe in the setting of multi-morbidities. In addition, often medical information can be conflicting with regular activity patterns of an individual. In this work, we formulate the problem of finding conflicts in heterogeneous health applications including health websites, health apps, online drug usage guidelines, and daily activity logging applications. We develop a comprehensive taxonomy of conflicts based on the semantics of textual health advice and activities of daily living. Finding conflicts in health applications poses its own unique lexical and semantic challenges. These include large structural variation between pairs of textual advice, finding conceptual overlap between pairs of advice, inferring the semantics of an advice (i.e., what to do, why and how) and activities, and aligning activities suggested in advice with the activities of daily living based on their underlying dependencies and polarity. Hence, we develop Preclude2, a novel semantic rule-based solution to detect conflicts in activities and health advice derived from heterogeneous sources. Preclude2 utilizes linguistic rules and external knowledge bases to infer advice. In addition, Preclude2 considers personalization and context-awareness while detecting conflicts. We evaluate Preclude2 using 1156 real advice statements covering 8 important health topics, 90 online drug usage guidelines, 1124 online disease specific health advice covering 34 chronic diseases, and 2 activity datasets. The evaluation is personalized based on 34 real prescriptions. Preclude2 detects direct, conditional, sub-typical, quantitative, and temporal conflicts from 2129 advice statements with 0.91, 0.83, 0.98, 0.85 and 0.98 recall, respectively. Overall, it results in 0.88 recall for detecting inter advice conflicts and 0.89 recall for detecting activity–advice conflicts. We also demonstrate the effects of personalization and context-awareness in conflict detection from heterogeneous health applications.
New agents for the management of resistant metastatic breast cancer.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is an incurable disease and treatment is directed towards symptom palliation and survival prolongation. Treatment selection in patients is based on tumor biology, age, comorbidities, performance status, tumor burden, and prior treatment history.Areas covered: This present review summarizes the recent treatment strategies in the management of MBC, highlighting regimens after first-line therapy. Topics discussed include new strategies for endocrine therapy, anti-HER2 therapy, and promising strategies for the management of triple negative breast cancer.Expert opinion: MBC is a heterogeneous entity and despite recent advances, there is significant room for improvement of treatment beyond first-line therapies. Combination regimens that can maximize clinical efficacy while minimizing toxicities are required. Current investigation approaches in advanced stages of clinical development include immunoconjugates, immune checkpoint blockade, novel cyclin-dependent-...
The Role of Angiogenesis, Growth Arrest and Autophagy in Human Ovarian Cancer Xenograft Models for Tumor Dormancy

The concept of tumor dormancy has been developed to explain a prolonged interval between primary therapy and the recurrence of metastatic disease. The process of dormancy may be driven or supported by several different mechanisms including angiogenesis and the tumor microenvironment, cell cycle arrest, immune surveillance, and autophagy. One xenograft model for dormancy in ovarian cancer emphasizes the importance of an effective and stable tumor microvasculature. In another xenograft model of dormancy in ovarian cancer, autophagy appears to be important for sustaining dormant cancer cells under nutrient poor conditions. Autophagy plays an ambiguous role in cancer pathophysiology. As a cellular defense mechanism, loss of autophagy has been implicated in tumor progression in several models, but autophagy can also provide a survival mechanism for dormant cancer cells. ARHI (DIRAS3) is a maternally imprinted tumor suppressor gene that is downregulated in 60% of human ovarian cancers associated with decreased progression free survival. Re-expression of ARHI blocks proliferation, inhibits migration, prevents angiogenesis and induces autophagy and tumor dormancy. Treatment of mice bearing ARHI-induced dormant xenografts with chloroquine, a functional inhibitor of autophagy, delays the outgrowth of tumor transplants, consistent with a role for autophagy in sustaining nutrient deprived cancer cells. This mechanism may extend beyond ovarian cancer, as downregulation of ARHI has been found in breast, lung, prostate, pancreatic, and thyroid cancers. This review considers the role of multiple mechanisms for dormancy in epithelial ovarian cancers that may provide new targets for eliminating dormant cancer cells.
Male-male interactions and their influence on the mating behavior and success in the fountain darter, Etheostoma fonticola

Behavioral interactions between individuals of the same sex can affect the outcome of intersexual selection. For this reason, intrasexual selection is oftentimes examined independently from intersexual selection in studies aimed at understanding mating behaviors. However, a more complete understanding of sexual selection effects within a population can only come from exploring both intrasexual and intersexual selection and the potential interactions between the levels of selection. Association preferences in male and female Etheostoma fonticola do not reveal a size preference for same sex or opposite-sex individuals. However, male-male interactions may influence female choice in E. fonticola. We examined whether male E. fonticola that differ in body size exhibit differences in agonistic behaviors and mating success. Larger males do exhibit higher rates of aggressive behaviors and smaller males, in turn, exhibit more defensive behaviors. However, differences between larger and smaller males in male-male interactions did not translate into differences in spawning success. These results suggest that male size influences dominance relationships in E. fonticola but not mating success. There were also no differences between large and small males in mating attempts, which could be an outcome of the year-round breeding season found in this species, females laying eggs singly, or males fertilizing eggs individually.
PW 0913 Cost of older adult falls in the united states and innovative interventions to address the problem

Background Falls are projected to be the 17th leading cause of death globally by 2030. Older adults are disproportionately affected. In the United States (U.S.), one in four adults 65+fall annually. By 2030, there will be 49 million falls among older adults and 12 million injuries in the U.S. each year. Description of the problem When not fatal, falls can cause brain injury, hip fracture, and loss of independence. In the U.S., there are more than 3 million emergency department visits, and over 8 00 000 hospitalizations each year due to falls. However, falls can be prevented. This presentation describes the overall cost of older adult falls in the U.S. and innovative approaches the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is pursuing to address this major health threat. Cost of older adult falls In total, $50 billion was spent to treat nonfatal falls in 2015, with government-funded programs (Medicare, Medicare) paying 75% of the total. Medical spending for fatal falls was $750 million. Most U.S. adults age 65+receive healthcare coverage through Medicare, a federally funded program. On average, Medicare pays approximately $10 000 per emergency department visit and $30 000 per fall-related hospital stay. CDC approach Given the health and economic burden, CDC encourages healthcare providers to screen, assess, and intervene to reduce patient’s multiple fall-risk factors. Interventions that address multiple modifiable risk factors can reduce falls by 24%. The CDC is evaluating the effectiveness of clinical fall prevention in primary care, upon hospital discharge, and within community pharmacies. In primary care, older adults at risk for a fall who received a treatment plan to reduce their fall-risk were 40% less likely to have a fall-related hospitalization compared to those at-risk without a treatment plan. Conclusion Fall interventions offered in clinical settings can reduce healthcare expenditures and prevent falls worldwide.
Progressive Sublesional Bone Loss Extends into the Second Decade After Spinal Cord Injury.

Abstract Objective: The rate of areal bone mineral density (aBMD) loss at the knee (distal femur (DF) and proximal tibia ) and hip (femoral neck (FN) and total hip (TH)) was determined in persons with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) who were stratified into subgroups based on time since injury (TSI). Design: Cross-sectional retrospective review. Setting: Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Private Rehabilitation Hospital. Participants: Data on 105 individuals with SCI (TSI ≤12 months, n = 19; TSI 1–5 years, n = 35; 6–10 years, n = 19; TSI 11–20 years, n = 16; TSI >20 years, n = 15) and 17 able-bodied reference (ABref) controls. Interventions: NA Main Outcome Measures: The knee and hip aBMD values were obtained by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (GE Lunar iDXA) using standard clinical software for the proximal femur employed in conjunction with proprietary research orthopedic knee software applications. Young-normal (T-score) and age-matched (Z-scores) standardized scores for the FN and TH were obtained using the combined GE Lunar/National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) combined reference database. Results: When groups were stratified and compared as epochs of TSI, significantly lower mean aBMD and reference scores were observed as TSI increased, despite similar mean ages of participants among the majority of TSI epoch subgroups. Loss in aBMD occurred at the distal femur (DF), proximal tibia (PT), FN, and TH with 46%, 49%, 32%, and 43% of the variance in loss, respectively, described by the exponential decay curves with a time to steady state (tss) occurring at 14.6, 11.3, 14, and 6.2 years, respectively, after SCI. Conclusions: Sublesional bone loss after SCI was marked and occurred as an inverse function of TSI. For aBMD at the hip and knee, tss extended into the second decade after SCI.
Safety, Side Effects and Relative Efficacy of Medications for Rhythm Control of Atrial Fibrillation in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

In patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC), atrial fibrillation (AF) is common, often poorly tolerated and difficult to treat. Limited data exists regarding safety or efficacy of drug therapy for AF rhythm control in HC patients. We performed a retrospective analysis of patients with HC followed >6 months, treated with amiodarone, sotalol, dofetilide, or disopyramide for rhythm control of non-postoperative AF. The duration followed on each medication, reasons for discontinuing, and incidences of adverse events were recorded. Confounding factors including maximum ventricular septal thickness, age, left ventricular ejection fraction, and gender were assessed. Ninety-eight patients had 130 drug treatments (defined as a continuous time on 1 drug); 23 patients were treated with >1 medication. The probability of remaining on a single antiarrhythmic drug at 1 year was 62% and at 3 was 42%. Maximum ventricular septal thickness (hazard ratio 1.05, p = 0.03) and presence of resting outflow gradient (hazard ratio 2.50, p = 0.002) were associated with discontinuation of therapy. Patients treated with amiodarone or sotalol had no serious safety events suggesting that these medications may be reasonably safe. Amiodarone was least likely to be discontinued for inefficacy (8.5%), but likely to be discontinued for side effects (19%). The probability of remaining on sotalol was 74% at 1 year and 50.0% at 3 and it was only discontinued for side effects in 2%. A small number of patients were treated with disopyramide and dofetilide. In conclusion, our data suggest that amiodarone and sotalol are likely safe, and that sotalol may be particularly attractive given its low rate of side effects and low rate of discontinuation.