cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Echocardiographic features of congestive cardiomyopathy compared with normal subjects and patients with coronary artery disease.

Echocardiograms of ten patients with congestive cardiomyopathy were compared to those of three groups of patients: (1) 17 with no catheterization or angiographic evidence of cardiac disease; (2) 19 with 75% or greater obstruction of one or more coronary arteries (CAD); and (3) 8 with previous myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure (CAD-CHF). Echocardiographic values of interest included the left ventricular internal dimension at end-diastole/body surface area (LVIDd index), the amplitudes of the left septal echo (LSa) and posterior endocardial echo (ENa), LSa + ENa, and the maximum rate of rise of the posterior endocardial echo ([See Equation in PDF File]). Septal and posterior wall thicknesses were measured and the presence or absence of pericardial effusion and abnormal mitral valve closure were observed. All of the left ventricular measurements were significantly different when comparing the cardiomyopathy group with the normal and CAD groups. Differentiating cardiomyopathy from the CAD-CHF group was far more difficult with the only highly significant difference being the LSa + ENa ( P < 0.001). Only one cardiomyopathy patient and one CAD-CHF patient had a sum of LSa + ENa overlapping the other group. These results are consistent with the diffuse disease usually seen in congestive cardiomyopathy and the segmental nature of coronary artery disease in which some area of the left ventricle moves well even in the presence of congestive heart failure.
Poverty and profit in Central American forest policies

The failure of forestry to contribute to poverty reduction in Central America is due to public policies which inhibit its profitability. Absence of public regulation of harvesting and competing subsidies to agriculture keep forestry stumpage prices artificially low. This encourages destruction of the forest resource, which damages both the environment and the potential to reduce poverty. A comparison of Costa Rica and Honduras reveals two dissimilar approaches toward forest policy. While Costa Rica attempts to raise producer and grower stumpage prices by tax credits, soft loans and differential species fees, Honduras enforces price ceilings and uses centralized authority to control forest production and export. Both countries exhibit weaknesses in the management control cycle of programming, budgeting, implementing and evaluating their forest policies. Yet the Costa Rican approach has increased stumpage prices already, which bodes well for their forest sector. By contrast, the major beneficiary of Honduran forest policy has been COHDEFOR, the state enterprise responsible for forestry management, controlling production, and running its national system of agroforestry cooperatives. Despite greater public authority and resources than the Costa Rican forest service (DGF), the Honduran forest policy is not likely to increase producer profitability or reduce poverty in the near future.
Oil-Soluble Dyes Incorporated in Meridic Diet of Diatraea grandiosella (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) as Markers for Adult Dispersal Studies

Mark-release-recapture experiments to study insect dispersal require the release of marked insects that can be easily identified among feral conspecifics. Oil-soluble dyes have been used successfully to mark various insect species. Two oil-soluble dyes, Sudan Red 7B (C.I. 26050) and Sudan Blue 670 (C.I. 61554), were added to diet of the southwestern corn borer, Diatraea grandiosella Dyar, and evaluated against an untreated control diet. Survival, diet consumption, larval and pupal weight, development time, fecundity, longevity, and dry weight of the adults were measured. Adults reared on the three diets were also tested for mating success. Some minor effects were observed for southwestern corn borers reared on the marked diets. Eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults were all reliably marked and readily identifiable. Adults retained color for their entire life span. Adults from each diet mated successfully with adults from the other diets. F1 progeny from the different mating combinations survived to the second instar but tended to lose the marker after 3–4 d on untreated diet. Both Sudan Red 7B and Sudan Blue 670 can be used to mark southwestern corn borer adults and thus should be useful for mark-release-recapture dispersal studies. The dyes will also be useful for short-term studies with marked larvae and oviposition behavior.
Challenging the State: Effect of Minority Discrimination, Economic Globalization, and Political Openness on Domestic Terrorism

ABSTRACTDiscrimination against minority groups is a robust predictor of domestic terrorism. However, economic and political openness might further facilitate mobilization of such aggrieved sections of a larger population. This study relates economic and political openness to minority discrimination in explaining vulnerability to domestic terrorism. Terrorism is a rational choice when a minority’s deprivation of public good provisions increases, while global economic integration and limited political openness facilitate rebel mobilization. Using data on 172 countries, I find strong support that countries discriminating against minority groups are more likely to experience domestic terrorist attacks when their economic and political systems open up.
The Benefits of in-betweenness: return migration of second-generation Chinese American professionals to China

ABSTRACTIn an era of growing transnational practices, this paper considers the trend of second-generation Chinese Americans who have ‘returned’ to the People's Republic of China (PRC) to work. Previous studies of return migration to China have focused on issues of ethnic and racial identity that arise during temporary homeland trips undertaken by those seeking to connect with ancestral and cultural origins. Accordingly, most research has highlighted the sense of cultural ‘in-betweenness’ experienced by Chinese Americans whose travels in the ancestral homeland bring an uncomfortable realisation that they are considered neither fully Chinese nor fully American. By contrast, my in-depth interviews with 52 second-generation Chinese American professionals in Beijing and Shanghai suggest that this liminality can be particularly useful in the workplace. I argue that first-world Chinese co-ethnics who work on a long-term basis in the PRC can uniquely leverage Western training with their assumed knowledge of Chine...
Mission of U.S. Lake Survey

The writer emphasized the significance of the U.S. Lake Survey’s mission on the Great Lakes and its relationship to navigational charting, hydraulics and hydrology, international boards and committees, limnological research, data management and topographic maps. Lake Survey has also gathered large quantities of research data. In 1962, a formal research program was implemented. The program’s five sections are Water Motion, Shore Processes, Water Characteristics, Water Quantity, and Ice and Snow, The Great Data Center was organized to collect, coordinate, analyze, and make available water resources data in computer intelligible form. Future plans include expansion of the research program and greater utilization of automation.
Direct numerical simulation of sharkskin denticles in turbulent channel flow

The hydrodynamic function of sharkskin has been under investigation for the past 30 years. Current literature conflicts on whether sharkskin is able to reduce skin friction similar to riblets. To contribute insights toward reconciling these conflicting views, direct numerical simulations are carried out to obtain detailed flow fields around realistic denticles. A sharp interface immersed boundary method is employed to simulate two arrangements of actual sharkskin denticles (from Isurus oxyrinchus) in a turbulent boundary layer at Reτ ≈ 180. For comparison, turbulent flow over drag-reducing scalloped riblets is also simulated with similar flow conditions and with the same numerical method. Although the denticles resemble riblets, both sharkskin arrangements increase total drag by 44%-50%, while the riblets reduce drag by 5%. Analysis of the simulated flow fields shows that the turbulent flow around denticles is highly three-dimensional and separated, with 25% of the total drag being form drag. The complex three-dimensional shape of the denticles gives rise to a mean flow dominated by strong secondary flows in sharp contrast with the mean flow generated by riblets, which is largely two-dimensional. The so resulting three-dimensionality of sharkskin flows leads to an increase in the magnitude of the turbulent statistics near the denticles, which further contributes to increasing the total drag. The simulations also show that, at least for the simulated arrangements, sharkskin, in sharp contrast with drag-reducing riblets, is unable to isolate high shear stress near denticle ridges causing a significant portion of the denticle surface to be exposed to high mean shear.
Individuals with agenesis of the corpus callosum show sensory processing differences as measured by the sensory profile.

Objective Given reports of high pain thresholds and reduced auditory response in individuals with agenesis of the corpus callosum (AgCC), this study investigated whether affected participants report atypical experiences and behaviors on a well-established sensory processing measure. Methods Fourteen participants with AgCC (ages 11-59) completed the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile (Brown & Dunn, 2001). Sensory profile scales were classified as "Atypical" if they were more than 1 standard deviation from the mean. Results Fifty-seven percent of participants with AgCC reported reduced sensory registration as compared to an expected 16% of the normative sample. Similarly, 50% of the AgCC participants reported atypically increased auditory processing difficulties. Conclusions Using a well-established sensory processing questionnaire, participants with AgCC reported measurable differences in multiple aspects of sensory processing. The most notable difference was in the quadrant of low sensory registration, suggesting that individuals with AgCC may require sensory information to be presented more slowly or at a higher intensity for adequate processing. The sensory modality that was most affected was the auditory system, which is consistent with increased rates of language disorders and autism spectrum disorders in this population. Understanding sensory processing in individuals with AgCC can both elucidate the role of interhemispheric transfer in the development of intact sensory processing as well as contribute to our knowledge of the role of the corpus callosum in a range of disorders in which sensory processes are impacted. (PsycINFO Database Record
The Rise of Mobile Visual Computing Systems

The world's demand for increasingly capable mobile visual computing applications running on a range of low-energy computing platforms shows no sign of slowing down for the foreseeable future. Therefore, it's helpful for engineers to understand the technologies and solutions used to deliver efficient platforms today, and to look ahead at the challenges these emerging workloads will present to system architects in the years to come.
Genomic selection for wheat traits and trait stability

Based on the estimates of accuracy, genomic selection would be useful for selecting for improved trait values and trait stability for agronomic and quality traits in wheat. Trait values and trait stability estimated by two methods were generally independent indicating a breeder could select for both simultaneously. Genomic selection (GS) is a new marker-assisted selection tool for breeders to achieve higher genetic gain faster and cheaper. Breeders face challenges posed by genotype by environment interaction (GEI) pattern and selecting for trait stability. Obtaining trait stability is costly, as it requires data from multiple environments. There are few studies that evaluate the efficacy of GS for predicting trait stability. A soft winter wheat population of 273 lines was genotyped with 90 K single nucleotide polymorphism markers and phenotyped for four agronomic and seven quality traits. Additive main effect and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model and Eberhart and Russell regression (ERR) were used to estimate trait stability. Significant GEI variation was observed and stable lines were identified for all traits in this study. The accuracy of GS ranged from 0.33 to 0.67 for most traits and trait stability. Accuracy of trait stability was greater than trait itself for yield (0.44 using AMMI versus 0.33) and heading date (0.65 using ERR versus 0.56). The opposite trend was observed for the other traits. GS did not predict the stability of the quality traits except for flour protein, lactic acid and softness equivalent. Significant GS accuracy for some trait stability indicated that stability was under genetic control for these traits. The magnitude of GS accuracies for all the traits and most of the trait stability index suggests the possibility of rapid selection for these trait and trait stability in wheat breeding.
Perspectives on training in gastroenterology.

Training in endoscopy has changed dramatically during the past 20 years and will probably change even more over the next 10 years. To confront these changes more effectively, the leaders of the four major digestive disease societies, collectively known as the Gastroenterology Leadership Council (GLC), encouraged the formation of a training director’s committee. This article discusses several of the issues that the GLC Training Directors Committee has dealt with.
Small-angle X-ray scattering of calpain-5 reveals a highly open conformation among calpains.

Abstract Calpain-5 is a calcium-activated protease expressed in the retina. Mutations in calpain-5 cause autosomal dominant neovascular inflammatory vitreoretinopathy (ADNIV, OMIM# 193235 ). The structure of calpain-5 has not been determined, thus hindering the investigation of its proteolytic targets and pathological role in ADNIV. Herein, we report models of the proteolytic core of calpain-5 (mini-calpain-5) containing two globular domains (termed DIIa-IIb) connected by a short, flexible linker, consistent with small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data. Structural modeling in the absence of calcium suggests that mini-calpain-5 adopts a more open conformation when compared to previously determined structures of other calpain cores. This open conformation, achieved by a rotation of DIIa and DIIb with respect to each other, prevents formation of the active site and constrains the enzyme in an inactivated form. The relative domain rotation of 60–100° we found for mini-calpain-5 (a non-classical calpain) is significantly greater than the largest rotation previously observed for a classical calpain (i.e., 55.0° for mini-calpain-9). Together with our prediction that, in the full-length form, a long loop in DIIb (loop C1), a few residues downstream of the inter-domain linker, likely interacts with the shorter, acidic, inactivating loop on domain-III (DIII), these structural insights illuminate the complexity of calpain regulation. Moreover, our studies argue that pursuing higher resolution structural studies are necessary to understand the complex activity regulation prevalent in the calpain family and for the design of specific calpain inhibitors.
On Automatic Composition of Stereotypic Documents in Foreign Languages

This paper describes an interactive system that composes high quality stereotypic documents. The language for the interaction is totally independent from the target language, in which the documents are written; that is, a user can produce documents in a foreign language by interacting with the system in his language without any knowledge of the foreign language. It is also possible to produce documents in several languages simultaneously. The idea is that the system first builds, by interaction, a semantic content, which contains enough information to produce the documents. Then the system composes the document by looking at the specification file, which specifies the stereotypic document of a particular language. A new type of document or a new target language can be added to the system by simply creating a new specification file without altering the program itself. A successful pilot system has been implemented at Computer Science Department, Carnegie-Mellon University.
The Legality of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS): Examining Pro-Competitive and Anti-Competitive Outcomes on Consumers and Competitors

The formation of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was intended to produce entertaining match-ups and a national title game for the financial and public benefit of participants that the previous bowl systems could not arrange. However, disputes continued to rage about access and the selection criteria used to establish eligible teams for the various BCS games. This article reviews the Sherman Antitrust Act emphasizing the anti-competitive and pro-competitive effects of the BCS on Division I (FBS) members and college football fans primarily under the rule of reason test. Recent financial and product quality evidence regarding the pro-competitive and anti-competitive outcomes of the BCS will be introduced to lend support to those who prefer an alternative postseason arrangement for Division I (FBS). A brief review of the Lanham Act and Federal Trade Commission Act will also occur to further highlight how college football fans are important consumers to consider for potential litigation.
A short-term longitudinal examination of the relations between depression, anhedonia, and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in adults with a history of self-injury

Background Limited research has addressed the role of anhedonia in predicting suicidality and/or nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adults, despite evidence suggesting that loss of interest or pleasure may increase vulnerability for self-inflicted harm, even beyond other depressive symptoms. Methods In the current study, we explored the role of symptoms of depression and recent changes in anhedonia in predicting suicidality, NSSI ideation, and perceptions of NSSI helpfulness among individuals with a history of NSSI or suicide attempts (N=187). Results We found that changes in anhedonia partially mediated the effect of depression on suicidality, and fully mediated the effect of depression on perceptions of NSSI helpfulness. Anhedonia did not predict NSSI ideation above and beyond depression symptoms, and did not significantly predict NSSI frequency when accounting for suicidality. Compared to individuals with a history of NSSI only or suicide attempt only, people with a history of both NSSI and suicide attempt evidenced greater risk and symptomatology. Conclusions Results confirm the relation between anhedonia and suicidality evidenced in past research, but suggest a complex relationship between anhedonia, depression, and facets of non-suicidal self-injury.
Are Instrumented Knee Forces Representative of a Larger Population of Cruciate-Retaining Total Knee Arthroplasties?

Abstract Background It is not known if the loads and motions reported for instrumented knees are generalizable to a larger population of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients. The purpose of this study is to (1) report axial implant force data for chair and stair activities for a population of cruciate-retaining TKA patients and (2) compare the population forces to those measured with instrumented TKAs. Methods Twenty-three subjects with a cruciate-retaining TKA underwent motion analysis during stair ascending, stair descending, chair sitting, and chair rising activities after informed consent in this institutional review board approved study. Axial TKA forces were calculated using a previously validated computational model. Differences between the mean and variability of population instrumented TKA peak forces and force impulses were tested using t tests and Levene test. Results Peak axial forces were 3.06, 2.74, 2.65, and 2.60 kN for stair ascent, stair descent, chair rising, and chair sitting, respectively. Force impulses were 123.3, 123.4, 153.5, and 154.0 kN*% activity cycle for stair ascent, stair descent, chair sitting, and chair rising, respectively. Population TKA and instrumented TKA peak forces were different for stair ascent ( P = .03) and stair descent ( P = .03) in the second half of the activity cycles. The variability of the peak forces and impulses were not different ( P = .106 to P = .99). Conclusion The forces and motions presented in this study represent cruciate-retaining TKA patients and could be used for displacement-driven knee wear testing. The forces are similar to those in the literature from instrumented prostheses of an ultracongruent cruciate-sacrificing TKA.
Screening Sensitivity Theory

A comprehensive rigorous theory is developed for screening sensitivity coefficients in largescale modeling applications. The theory uses Bayesian inference and group theory to establish a probabilistic framework for solving an underdetermined system of linear equations. The underdetermined problem is directly related to statistical screening sensitivity theory as developed in recent years. Several examples of the new approach to screening are worked out in detail and comparisons are made with statistical approaches to the problem. The drawbacks of these latter methods are discussed at some length.
Centering Transborder Students: Perspectives on Identity, Languaging and Schooling between the U.S. and Mexico.

Undocumented families' rates of repatriation to Mexico from the United States have risen throughout the Obama administration, and this trend will likely increase under Donald Trump. This study describes the experiences of Mexican-born youth who grew up in the United States and are back in Mexico. While these children are participants in their families' migration, their input is rarely sought in decisions to leave or return to a country. This article shares transborder students' voices on their struggles to find their identities as Mexican, American, or some combination of the two. They reflect on their schooling experiences across countries, and how these challenges are compounded when they are new to learning in Spanish or indigenous languages in Mexico.
A Rare Cause of Abdominal Pain.

CASE A 54 year old woman with hypothyroidism presented with right flank pain that began acutely one week prior to presentation. She was told initially she had a urinary tract infection and treatment resulted in mild symptomatic improvement. The pain returned and she presented to another Emergency Department (ED); and was told the pain was due to constipation. She returned to the ED the next day when her pain worsened and her labs were notable for WBC of 19,000/uL, BUN/Cr of 28/0.75 mg/dL, AST of 31 U/L, ALT of 92 U/L and total bilirubin of 0.6 mg/dL. RUQ ultrasound was notable for dilation of the common bile duct. Given concern for choledocholithiasis, she was started on cefepime and metronidazole. MRCP demonstrated a distended gallbladder without stones and a small amount of pericholecystic fluid. Also noted were two areas of increased signal in the right kidney, concerning for neoplasia or infarction. Contrasted abdominal Computed tomography showed a moderate size area of hypodensity, consistent with renal infarct. Workup for embolic source of the infarction was unrevealing. Renal artery angiogram demonstrated a spontaneous dissection of the superior branch of the right renal artery. PCI was not performed due to risk of jeopardizing the other vessels and so she was managed medically with rivaroxaban along with hydrochlorothiazide and metoprolol succinate to keep her systolic blood pressure below 140 mmHg. The morning after the procedure, the patient told the treatment team that her grandson liked to jump from a height and she would catch him on her right side. This was felt to be a likely etiology of her spontaneous dissection. At the time of discharge, her pain was improved and repeat angiogram performed eight weeks later noted healing of the dissection. DISCUSSION Spontaneous renal artery dissection is a rare cause of abdominal pain and often presents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. This case highlights the importance of considering alternate etiologies of localized abdominal pain when other common pathologies have been excluded.
Learning Through the Lens of Sketch

Dr. Tracy Hammond gave a keynote on morning of the second day of the conference. She spoke about how both her research and the field of Sketch Recognition evolved over the last decade. One motivation of her career was to develop algorithms that provide insights into human brain activity and also develop applications that improve human-human communication. Her initial work focused on domain-independent recognition methods, while her current work focuses on developing systems to improve education. She also shows how sketch recognition methods can advance both sketch forensics and activity recognition, providing inspiration as per how this can allow for surprisingly intelligent personalized feedback. This chapter provides a lightly edited transcription of that keynote.
Liver Transplantation: Perioperative Considerations

For a liver transplant (LT) program to be successful, the support of a high-quality critical care service is essential. LT recipients, candidates, and potential candidates, are frequent consumers of intensive care unit (ICU) resources. Among multiple specialists caring for patients who require LT, intensivists play a unique role by providing continuous bedside presence to deliver evidence—based therapeutic interventions that provide support for multiple organs, while taking an holistic view of the patient [1–3]. Many factors will determine a patient’s ultimate outcome after LT. Whether an ICU stay is brief (after a “routine” LT, for example) or prolonged (because of the need for critical care support pre-operatively in addition to postoperatively, for example), delivery of high-quality ICU care is a key element of the hospital infrastructure required to deliver excellent outcomes.
Exploring the Influence of Federal Welfare Expenditures on State-Level New Economy Development Performance: Drawing From the Diffusion of Innovation Theory:

Functional theory suggests that each level of government expands in the arena in which it can best perform, reducing the price of federalism. Focusing on the functional pattern of American federali...
Mirrored movement therapy using an upper body robotic exoskeleton for stroke

This study presents pilot data gathered to validate the kinematics of mirrored movement therapy for the shoulder so that it can be applied to future stroke patient populations. The data was collected on one healthy subject using the Harmony upper body exoskeleton. Three different sample exercises including shoulder abduction/adduction, flexion/extension, and scaption were conducted at five repetitions each. In each exercise, the left arm was relaxed and driven by volitional movement of the right arm. The RMSE of mirrored acromion position from right to left shoulder during each of those exercises was 6.5 mm, 10.6 mm, and 7.1 mm, respectively. Large errors in the flexion and extension movement were noticed, which is likely attributed to undesirable motion capture marker movement. However, the results still show the ability of the robot to mimic acromion position from one side of the body to the other while only attaching to the humerus.
Implementing evidence‐based treatment protocols: Flexibility within fidelity.

Efficacious psychological treatments exist for a variety of mental health conditions, but many who could benefit from these treatments do not receive them. Increasing efforts have been made to disseminate effective protocols, and several approaches for implementing such treatments have been proposed, including the use of protocols, principles, practices, and policies. We discuss the relative merits of disseminating protocols, and highlight the importance of employing flexibility within fidelity. We describe the benefits of using protocols, including their empirical support, guidance for decision making, and structure to facilitate training and enhance treatment integrity. We also address several criticisms that have been offered against protocols, citing data that indicates that many of the criticisms are not warranted.
Prescription Tranquilizer/Sedative Sources for Misuse in Older Adults.

AbstractBackground: Older adult prescription tranquilizer/sedative misuse is understudied, despite evidence of increased misuse prevalence and significant associated consequences (e.g., suicidal id...
Heart failure symptom clusters and quality of life.

Abstract Background Heart failure (HF) is a progressive symptomatic illness with reports suggesting that patients experience multiple symptoms. Symptom clusters constitute symptoms that co-occur, are related, and influence outcomes. Objectives The specific aims of this study were to (1) examine prevalent symptoms experienced by persons with HF, (2) identify symptoms forming clusters, and (3) evaluate the impact of HF symptom clusters on quality of life (QOL). Methods 117 participants (62% male; 50% black; age = 56) were recruited. Prevalent symptoms were evaluated; principle components analysis (PCA) was used to extract symptom clusters; regression analysis was used to evaluate factors influencing QOL, defined as life satisfaction. Results Three symptom clusters–sickness behavior, discomforts of illness, and GI distress–were extracted. Sickness behavior significantly influenced QOL (β = −0.603 p = 0.0001), explaining 40% of the variance (F = 75.12; R2 = 0.404; p = 0.0001). Conclusions The Sickness Behavior cluster had a negative impact on QOL and suggests that incorporating an evaluation of these symptoms may facilitate identification and treatment of symptoms having an additive and detrimental influence on QOL. Studies to examine the stability of the clusters are warranted.
Development of a Pediatric Palliative Care Curriculum and Dissemination Model: Education in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (EPEC) Pediatrics

Abstract Context Most children living and dying with serious illnesses experience high burden of distressing symptoms. Many seriously ill children and their families do not have access to subspecialist pediatric palliative care (PPC) services nor to clinicians trained in primary PPC. Lack of PPC education appears to be a significant barrier to PPC implementation. Objectives Description of the development and dissemination of Education in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (EPEC)-Pediatrics. Methods Funded through a U.S. $1.6 million National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute grant 2010–2017, this 24-module curriculum was designed to teach primary palliative care. The target audience included interprofessional pediatric hematology/oncology providers and all other clinicians caring for seriously ill children. Results The curriculum is delivered in a combination of online learning and in-person, face-to-face sessions. In addition, a one-day Professional Development Workshop was developed to teach EPEC-Pediatrics graduates, future “Trainers,” thus becoming “Master Facilitators.” Between 2012–May 2019, a total of 867 EPEC-Pediatric Trainers and 75 Master Facilitators from 58 countries participated in 17 Become an EPEC-Pediatrics-Trainer conferences and three Professional Development Workshops. The curriculum has also been adapted for large-scale dissemination across Canada and Latin-America, with translation to French and Spanish. Participants overwhelmingly report improvements in their PPC knowledge, attitudes, and skills, including teaching. Trainers subsequently anticipated improvements in patient care for children with serious illness at their home institutions. Conclusion EPEC-Pediatrics has developed into the most comprehensive PPC curriculum worldwide. It is highly adaptable for local settings, became self-sustaining and six conferences are offered around the world in 2019.
Rapid Determination of Nitrogen Status in Annual Vinca

Abstract Three experiments were conducted to develop a method for rapid determination of nitrogen (N) status in ‘Pacifica White’ vinca (Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don). In experiment 1, N was appl...
Disrupting Higher Education: Engaging Design Students in UX Processes to Enhance Innovation in Higher Education

In Fall 2018, California State University, Long Beach initiated an envisioning process for future casting called BEACH 2030. This multi-year event was initiated with a two-day event called “Imagine Beach 2030.” Designed to engage a broad audience of stakeholders including students, faculty, staff, alumni, leadership, regional partners, and community members, this event, held on November 14–15, 2018, was an opportunity to host a series of campus activities meant to engage groups of people both in virtual and physical space. This case study discusses an experience design event that was a collaborative strategy to generate innovation strategies to enhance the student experience in higher education. A unique combination of UX research strategies, design course and student engagement events are discussed with regard to how existing courses and resources can be used to create a cohesive process for UX innovation in higher education in design.
Methodology in Bioethics (in Polish)

The issues presented in this article bear on (1) the status of bioethics as an academic discipline and (2) research methods employed in it. With regard to the status of bioethics, I discuss problems related to the definition of bioethics, the ways of addressing bioethical issues (interdisciplinary discourse, applied ethics, an extension of medical ethics) and the choice of the discipline within which bioethics should be developed (law, theology, philosophy). The presented methods of bioethics have been divided into normative and non-normative. The non-normative methods are empirical, both qualitative and quantitative, whereas normative methods have been divided into three groups: methods based on principles (the application method and coherentism), casuistry, and alternative methods (virtue ethics, the ethics of care, communitarianism, and the narrative perspective). Since alternative ways of addressing bioethical issues are not always sufficiently developed from the methodological point of view, I have introduced, apart from the concept of method, the concept of research perspective (used, in the literature on the subject, interchangeably with the concept of research approach).
Streamlining the preparation of "endotoxin-free" ClearColi cell extract with autoinduction media for cell-free protein synthesis of the therapeutic protein crisantaspase.

Abstract An “endotoxin-free” E. coli-based cell-free protein synthesis system has been reported to produce therapeutic proteins rapidly and on-demand. However, preparation of the most complex CFPS reagent – the cell extract – remains time-consuming and labor-intensive because of the relatively slow growth kinetics of the endotoxin-free ClearColiTMBL21(DE3) strain. Here we report a streamlined procedure for preparing E. coli cell extract from ClearColi™ using auto-induction media. In this work, the term auto-induction describes cell culture media which eliminates the need for manual induction of protein expression. Culturing Clearcoli™ cells in autoinduction media significantly reduces the hands-on time required during extract preparation, and the resulting “endotoxin-free” cell extract maintained the same cell-free protein synthesis capability as extract produced with traditional induction as demonstrated by the high-yield expression of crisantaspase, an FDA approved leukemia therapeutic. It is anticipated that this work will lower the barrier for researchers to enter the field and use this technology as the method to produce endotoxin-free E. coli-based extract for CFPS.
Water and Carbon Footprints of Electricity Are Sensitive to Geographical Attribution Methods.

Environmental footprinting methods provide a means to relate the environmental externalities of electricity production to electricity consumers. Though several methods have been developed to connec...
Epidemiology and management of appendicular fractures occurring in neonatal intensive care patients.

AIM To describe the epidemiology and management of appendicular fractures occurring in the neonatal ICU in a large series of patients treated a single, quaternary care neonatal intensive care unit. METHODS Patients <1 years old with appendicular fractures treated from 2012 to 2016 at a quaternary-level NICU were identified. Bivariate testing compared fractures, work-up and management based on designated mechanism (presumed birth-related vs unknown). In patients with unknown mechanism, factors with potential fracture association were analysed in a descriptive fashion. RESULTS Eighty-five fractures (54 patients) were included. Mechanistic cohorts differed by birthweight (P < .001) and gestational age at birth (P < .001). Presumed birth-related fractures were more commonly upper extremity (P < .001), solitary (P = .001) and radiographically diagnosed in the acute state (<.001). The biochemical profile of the cohorts differed significantly. The prevalence of factors with potential fracture association was high in patients with unknown mechanism. Only one patient required surgery, while all others resolved with minimal orthopaedic intervention. CONCLUSION Findings indicate these injuries rarely require operative intervention and that two distinct injury profiles appear to exist based on fracture mechanism. Steroid use, ventilation use, diuretic use, nutritional supplementation and recent bedside procedures were common among patients without known fracture mechanism. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level III-Retrospective Cohort Study.
Transcriptional signatures in histologic structures within glioblastoma tumors may predict personalized drug sensitivity and survival

Background Glioblastoma is a rapidly fatal brain cancer that exhibits extensive intra- and intertumoral heterogeneity. Improving survival will require the development of personalized treatment strategies that can stratify tumors into subtypes that differ in therapeutic vulnerability and outcomes. Glioblastoma stratification has been hampered by intratumoral heterogeneity, limiting our ability to compare tumors in a consistent manner. Here, we develop methods that mitigate the impact of intratumoral heterogeneity on transcriptomic-based patient stratification. Methods We accessed open-source transcriptional profiles of histological structures from 34 human glioblastomas from the Ivy Glioblastoma Atlas Project. Principal component and correlation network analyses were performed to assess sample inter-relationships. Gene set enrichment analysis was used to identify enriched biological processes and classify glioblastoma subtype. For survival models, Cox proportional hazards regression was utilized. Transcriptional profiles from 156 human glioblastomas were accessed from The Cancer Genome Atlas to externally validate the survival model. Results We showed that intratumoral histologic architecture influences tumor classification when assessing established subtyping and prognostic gene signatures, and that indiscriminate sampling can produce misleading results. We identified the cellular tumor as a glioblastoma structure that can be targeted for transcriptional analysis to more accurately stratify patients by subtype and prognosis. Based on expression from cellular tumor, we created an improved risk stratification gene signature. Conclusions Our results highlight that biomarker performance for diagnostics, prognostics, and prediction of therapeutic response can be improved by analyzing transcriptional profiles in pure cellular tumor, which is a critical step toward developing personalized treatment for glioblastoma.
Prediction of CO₂ Saturation Spatial Distribution Using Geostatistical Inversion of Time-Lapse Geophysical Data

Carbon dioxide sequestration in deep saline aquifers and depleted reservoirs relies on numerical models for the prediction of the spatial distribution of CO2 saturation during injection and migration. Due to the limited knowledge of the rock and fluid properties before injection, model predictions are often uncertain and must be updated when new measurements are available. The spatial distribution of CO2 saturation and the plume location can be monitored using time-lapse geophysical data, such as seismic and controlled source electromagnetic surveys. We propose a geostatistical inversion approach for the prediction of the time-dependent spatial distribution of CO2 saturation from geophysical data. The methodology is based on the application of a stochastic optimization method, the Ensemble Smoother, for the solution of the inverse problem, using rock physics and geophysical models. The inversion is applied to the difference in the geophysical data acquired before and during injection. The predicted models of CO2 saturation are obtained by updating an ensemble of geostatistically generated prior realizations, based on the misfit between geophysical model predictions and measured data. The novelty of the approach is the integration of geostatistical algorithms and stochastic optimization methods for the joint inversion of geophysical data. The proposed approach allows including hydrological constraints in the prior model and quantifying the prediction uncertainty due to the noise and resolution of the data and approximations in the physical relations. The method is applied to the Johansen formation model, offshore Norway, using synthetic seismic and electromagnetic data.
Integrating political and technological uncertainty into robust climate policy.

As climate change is unlikely to follow a linear path, climate policies should anticipate varied outcomes and be flexibly responsive. The case for such “robust policy” is compelling. However, advocates of robust approaches to policymaking often understate the challenge, as the variability of climate is just one of at least three interactive arenas of uncertainty that require attention. Emerging technologies will have a significant but indeterminate impact on climate adaptation and mitigation efforts. Uncertainty is also heightened because politics is an arena of disruptive change. The development of robust climate policy given the convergence of unknowns in the climatic, technological, and political realms entails three components: (1) diverse, distributed, and transparent participation; (2) safe-to-fail experimentation; and (3) exploratory foresight.
Aperiodic metal–organic frameworks

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) represent one of the most diverse structural classes among solid state materials, yet few of them exhibit aperiodicity, or the existence of long-range order in the absence of translational symmetry. From this apparent conflict, a paradox has emerged: even though aperiodicity frequently arises in materials that contain the same bonding motifs as MOFs, aperiodic structures and MOFs appear to be nearly disjoint classes. In this perspective, we highlight a subset of the known aperiodic coordination polymers, including both incommensurate and quasicrystalline structures. We further comment upon possible reasons for the absence of such structures and propose routes to potentially access aperiodic MOFs.
TTVFast: AN EFFICIENT AND ACCURATE CODE FOR TRANSIT TIMING INVERSION PROBLEMS

Transit timing variations (TTVs) have proven to be a powerful technique for confirming Kepler planet candidates, for detecting non-transiting planets, and for constraining the masses and orbital elements of multi-planet systems. These TTV applications often require the numerical integration of orbits for computation of transit times (as well as impact parameters and durations); frequently tens of millions to billions of simulations are required when running statistical analyses of the planetary system properties. We have created a fast code for transit timing computation, TTVFast, which uses a symplectic integrator with a Keplerian interpolator for the calculation of transit times. The speed comes at the expense of accuracy in the calculated times, but the accuracy lost is largely unnecessary, as transit times do not need to be calculated to accuracies significantly smaller than the measurement uncertainties on the times. The time step can be tuned to give sufficient precision for any particular system. We find a speed-up of at least an order of magnitude relative to dynamical integrations with high precision using a Bulirsch-Stoer integrator.
Comparison of Simulation-Based versus Cadaveric-Tissue-Based Ocular Trauma Training on Novice Ophthalmologists: Repair of Corneal Laceration Model

Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the simulated tissue models may be used in place of animal-based model for corneal laceration repair for surgical skills acquisition. Design Prospective randomized controlled trial. Participants Seventy-nine military and civilian 2nd- and 3rd-year ophthalmology residents and 16 staff ophthalmologists participating in the Tri-Service Ocular Trauma Skills Laboratory at the Uniformed Services University (Bethesda, MD). Methods Resident ophthalmologists underwent preliminary evaluation of their ability to close a 5-mm linear, full-thickness corneal laceration involving the visual axis. They then were randomized to undergo 90 to 120 minutes of either simulator-based (SIM) or swine cadaveric-tissue-based (CADAVER) corneal laceration repair. The same evaluation was performed post training. On a more limited basis, the study was repeated for attending ophthalmologists to act as a pilot for future analysis and test efficacy for “refresher” training. Main Outcome Measures Successful wound closure with secondary outcomes of suture length, tension, depth, and orientation, as graded by attending ophthalmologists. Results No significant difference in CADAVER versus SIM groups in the primary outcome of watertight wound closure of the corneal laceration. CADAVER group performed better than SIM group for certain metrics (suture depth, p = 0.009; length, p = 0.003; and tension, p = 0.043) that are associated with poor wound closure and increased amount of induced corneal astigmatism. For attending ophthalmologists, six of the eight in each group (SIM and CADAVER) retained or improved their skills. Conclusions For resident ophthalmologists, SIM training is sufficient for achieving the primary outcome of watertight wound closure. However, CADAVER training is superior for wound metrics for the ideal closure. For attending ophthalmologists, SIM training may be useful for retention of skills.
Development of PIFE-PIC: A 3-D Parallel Immersed Finite Element Particle-in-Cell Code for Plasma Simulations

In this talk, we will report development progresses of PIFE-PIC, a 3-D Parallel Immersed Finite Element Particle-in-Cell code for particle simulations of plasmas1. This code is based on a recently developed non-homogeneous electrostatic IFE-PIC algorithm2, which is designed to handle complex plasma-material interface boundary conditions associated with irregular geometries using a Cartesian-mesh-based PIC. 3-D domain decomposition is used in both electric field-solve and particle-push to distribute the computation among multiple processors. A validation cases simulating the charging/sheath of a dielectric sphere immersed in a stationary plasma is carried out to demonstrate the capability of code. Timing benchmark and parallel efficiency will be investigated and discussed.
Mitral Valve Prolapse: Criteria of Prognostic Evaluation in Athletes

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is said to exist when a leaflet(s) or its portion protrudes abnormally above the annular plane. In the large majority of cases no definite causes of this abnormality can be identified (primary or idiopathic MVP), but in a minority of persons MVP is due to an identifiable etiology (secondary prolapse) such as rheumatic fever, ischemia or infarction, cardiomyopathies and connective tissue disorders [1,2].