cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Changes in Weight at the End of Life: Characterizing Weight Loss by Time to Death in a Cohort Study of Older Men

The purpose of this analysis was to characterize the natural history of weight change in the years prior to death among older persons and to examine how this pattern varies according to longevity and cause of death. Weight trajectories were analyzed by using data from 800 male decedents from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (Maryland, 1958–2005) observed beginning an average of 19 years before death. A model including 3 distinct periods of weight change (weight stability/gain, mild weight loss, and accelerated weight loss before death) provided the best fit for all age-at-death groups. Approximately 9 years before death, the rate of weight loss increased to an average of 0.39 kg/year (P < 0.001) for all-cause mortality. For cancer deaths, weight loss accelerated significantly 3 years before death, regardless of age group. For cardiovascular deaths, the best-fitting inflection point increased with age, from 5 years for participants aged 60–69 years to 9–10 years before death for those aged 80 years or older. Results suggest that weight loss in older persons may begin earlier than previously believed. The duration of weight loss for noncancer deaths suggests that even distal changes in energy balance may be linked to risk of death.
Registered and antiregistered phase separation of mixed amphiphilic bilayers.

We derive a mean-field free energy for the phase behavior of coupled bilayer leaflets, which is implicated in cellular processes and important to the design of artificial membranes. Our model accounts for amphiphile-level structural fea- tures, particularly hydrophobic mismatch, which promotes antiregistration, in competition with the direct transmidplane coupling usually studied, which promotes registration. We show that the phase diagram of coupled leaflets allows multiple metastable coexistences, and we illustrate the kinetic implications of this with a detailed study of a bilayer of equimolar overall composition. For approximate parameters estimated to apply to phospholipids, equilibrium coexistence is typically registered, but metastable antiregistered phases can be kinetically favored by hydrophobic mismatch. Thus, a bilayer in the spinodal region can require nucleation to equilibrate, in a novel manifestation of Ostwald's rule of stages. Our results provide a framework for understanding disparate existing observations in the literature, elucidating a subtle competition of couplings and a key role for phase-transition kinetics in bilayer phase behavior.
Virtualizing Transactional Memory

Writing concurrent programs is difficult because of the complexity of ensuring proper synchronization. Conventional lock-based synchronization suffers from wellknown limitations, so researchers have considered non-blocking transactions as an alternative. Recent hardware proposals have demonstrated how transactions can achieve high performance while not suffering limitations of lock-based mechanisms. However, current hardware proposals require programmers to be aware of platform-specific resource limitations such as buffer sizes, scheduling quanta, as well as events such as page faults, and process migrations. If the transactional model is to gain wide acceptance, hardware support for transactions must be virtualized to hide these limitations in much the same way that virtual memory shields the programmer from platform-specific limitations of physical memory. This paper proposes Virtual Transactional Memory (VTM), a user-transparent system that shields the programmer from various platform-specific resource limitations. VTM maintains the performance advantage of hardware transactions, incurs low overhead in time, and has modest costs in hardware support. While manysystem-level challenges remain, VTM takes a step toward making transactional models more widely acceptable.
Egocentrism as a Source of Unrealistic Optimism

People tend to expect misfortunes to happen to others, not to themselves. College students (n = 76) who compared their own chances of experiencing 6 negative events with the chances of their classmates were optimistically biased (p < .001). Treatments were designed to manipulate 2 cognitive. factors-lack of information about others' risk-reducing factors and failure to think carefully about others-that might cause these biases. The Information treatment. forced subjects to think about others by providing detailed information about 5 other students. The Perspective treatment used a role-playing procedure to, force subjects to think about another student, but did not provide actual information. When repeating their comparative risk judgments for the same events, both Information and Perspective groups were significantly less optimistic than a control condition, but they did not differ from one another. The results support the hypothesis that egocentrism contributes to unrealistic optimism. They, suggest tha...
Locally efficient estimation of regression parameters using current status data

In biostatistics applications interest often focuses on the estimation of the distribution of a time-variable T. If one only observes whether or not T exceeds an observed monitoring time C, then the data structure is called current status data, also known as interval censored data, case I. We consider this data structure extended to allow the presence of both time-independent covariates and time-dependent covariate processes that are observed until the monitoring time. We assume that the monitoring process satisfies coarsening at random. Our goal is to estimate the regression parameter @b of the regression model T=Z^@?@b+@e. The curse of dimensionality implies no globally efficient nonparametric estimator with good practical performance at moderate sample sizes exists. We present an estimator of the parameter @b that attains the semiparametric efficiency bound if we correctly specify (a) a model for the monitoring mechanism and (b) a lower-dimensional model for the conditional distribution of T given the covariates. In addition, our estimator is robust to model misspecification. If only (a) is correctly specified, the estimator remains consistent and asymptotically normal. We conclude with a simulation experiment and a data analysis.
Structural changes occurring during transformation of the labial gland cells to their adult form, in Manduca sexta.

The labial gland of the adult sphingid moth, Manduca sexta, is composed of five distinct regions, each made of a single cellular type. Four of these regions are derivatives of the single specialized cellular population that makes up the caterpillar labial duct. Both the larval labial duct and its derivatives are large, polyploid cells with pleiomorphic nuclei. There is a definite cellular continuity between the larval and adult forms of these cells throughout metamorphosis; no mitoses or cell deaths are seen to occur in the gland during transformation. Cytological studies indicate that in the process of cell transformation the ducts first “dedifferentiate,” elongate, then redifferentiate. Intermediates in this process have well defined structures which should make this system useful in studying covert events in the transformation process.
Effects of Groundwater Development on Uranium: Central Valley, California, USA

Uranium (U) concentrations in groundwater in several parts of the eastern San Joaquin Valley, California, have exceeded federal and state drinking water standards during the last 20 years. The San Joaquin Valley is located within the Central Valley of California and is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world. Increased irrigation and pumping associated with agricultural and urban development during the last 100 years have changed the chemistry and magnitude of groundwater recharge, and increased the rate of downward groundwater movement. Strong correlations between U and bicarbonate suggest that U is leached from shallow sediments by high bicarbonate water, consistent with findings of previous work in Modesto, California. Summer irrigation of crops in agricultural areas and, to lesser extent, of landscape plants and grasses in urban areas, has increased Pco(2) concentrations in the soil zone and caused higher temperature and salinity of groundwater recharge. Coupled with groundwater pumping, this process, as evidenced by increasing bicarbonate concentrations in groundwater over the last 100 years, has caused shallow, young groundwater with high U concentrations to migrate to deeper parts of the groundwater system that are tapped by public-supply wells. Continued downward migration of U-affected groundwater and expansion of urban centers into agricultural areas will likely be associated with increased U concentrations in public-supply wells. The results from this study illustrate the potential long-term effects of groundwater development and irrigation-supported agriculture on water quality in arid and semiarid regions around the world.
A 20Gb/s SerDes transmitter with adjustable source impedance and 4-tap feed-forward equalization in 65nm bulk CMOS

The design and wafer probe test results of a 20 Gb/s Source-Series Terminated SerDes transmitter are presented. The integrated circuit, fabricated in a 65 nm bulk CMOS technology, transmits pre-emphasized data through the use of a 4-tap feed-forward equalizer. Transmitter output impedance is adjustable from 45 to 55 ohms. A power consumption of 167 mW at 1.1 V was measured at a transmit rate of 20 Gb/s.
Microbial activity in organic soils as affected by soil depth and crop.

The microbial activity of Pahokee muck, a lithic medisaprist, and the effect of various environmental factors, such as position in the profile and type of plant cover, were examined. Catabolic activity for [7-14C]salicylic acid, [1,4-14C]succinate, and [1,2-14C]acetate remained reasonably constant in surface (0 to 10 cm) soil samples from a fallow (bare) field from late in the wet season (May to September) through January. Late in January, the microbial activity toward all three compounds decreased approximately 50%. The microbial activity of the soil decreased with increasing depth of soil. Salicylate catabolism was the most sensitive to increasing moisture deep in the soil profile. At the end of the wet season, a 90% decrease in activity between the surface and the 60- to 70-cm depth occurred. Catabolism of acetate and succinate decreased approximately 75% in the same samples. Little effect of crop was observed. Variation in the microbial activity, as measured by the catabolism of labeled acetate, salicylate, or succinate, was not significant between a sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) field and a fallow field. The activity with acetate was insignificantly different in a St. Augustine grass [Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt) Kuntz] field, whereas the catabolism of the remaining substrates was elevated in the grass field. These results indicate that the total carbon evolved from the different levels of the soil profile by the microbial community oxidizing the soil organic matter decreased as the depth of the soil column increased. However, correction of the amount of carbon yielded at each level for the bulk density of that level reveals that the microbial contribution to the soil subsidence is approximately equivalent throughout the soil profile above the water table.
Joint encoding of the depth image based representation using shape-adaptive wavelets

We present a novel codec of depth-image-based representations for free-viewpoint 3D-TV. The proposed codec relies on a shape-adaptive wavelet transform and an explicit representation of the locations of major depth edges. Unlike classical wavelet transforms, the shape-adaptive transform generates small wavelet coefficients along depth edges, which greatly reduces the data entropy. The codec also shares the edge information between the depth map and the image to reduce their correlation. The wavelet transform is implemented by shape-adaptive lifting, which enables fast computations and perfect reconstruction. Experimental results on real data confirm the superiority of the proposed codec, with PSNR gains of up to 5.46 dB on the depth map and up to 0.19 dB on the image compared to standard wavelet codecs.
Does Mindfulness Meditation Enhance Attention? A Randomized Controlled Trial

Mindfulness-based interventions have been incorporated into a variety of psychotherapies. Attentional disruptions are common in many mental disorders, and it seems generally accepted that practicing mindfulness enhances attention. We tested the hypothesis that mindfulness training would enhance four components of attention: sustained vigilance, concentration, inhibition of distraction, and executive control. A randomized three-group design included: (1) a mindfulness meditation group, (2) a progressive muscle relaxation group to control for effects of physical relaxation on attention, (3) a wait-listed group to control for practice effects of repeated measures. Fifty-three community adults were randomly assigned to one of these groups. Forty-five participants completed the 4-week program. After training and 4 weeks of twice-daily practice, the mindfulness group demonstrated significantly greater discriminability on a signal detection task than did the other groups. Significant improvements in sustained attention were found following mindfulness meditation, which did not appear to be mediated by relaxation or practice effects. Performances on measures of concentration and inhibition of distraction did not support the hypothesis. These results partially support current considerations of mindfulness meditation to enhance attention.
Evaluation of Computer-Assisted Instruction in Principles of Economics

Despite increasing use, little is known about the effectiveness of web -based instructional material. This study assesses the effectiveness of supplementary web-based materials and activities in introductory economics courses. We have collected data on 66 students from three principles sections that describe demographic characteristics, use of web-based instructional resources, and performance on graded quizzes and examinations. We use this data to statistically assess the effectiveness of the web-based material. Student utilization of web-based material was extensive. Students frequently used on-line practice quizzes and accessed the web-based material often. A sizable fraction of the students actively posted and read threaded discussions on the course bulletin board. The statistical analysis shows that both on-line computer graded practice quizzes and posting to the class bulletin board are positively correlated with student performance on the quizzes and exams, but use of webbased content and passive reading of bulletin board posts ("lurking") is not. These results suggest that faculty should focus more on developing self-test quizzes and effective bulletin board discussion projects and less on generating on-line content.
Post-transplant malignancy: the role of immunosuppression.

Immunosuppressed organ allograft recipients have a 3- to 4-fold increased risk of developing tumours, but the risk of developing certain cancers is increased several hundredfold. With the exception of skin and lip cancers,most of the common malignancies seen in the general population are not increased in incidence. Instead, there is a higher frequency of some relatively rare tumours, including post-transplant lymphomas and lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD), Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS), renal carcinomas, in situ carcinomas of the uterine cervix, hepatobiliary carcinomas, anogenital carcinomas and various sarcomas (excluding KS). Skin and lip cancers present some unusual features: a remarkable frequency of KS, reversal of the ratio of basal to squamous cell carcinomas seen in the general population, the young age of the patients, and the high incidence of multiple tumours (in 43%of the patients). Anogenital cancers occur at a much younger age than in the general population. Salient features of PTLD are the high frequency of Epstein-Barr virus-related lesions, frequent involvement of extranodal sites, a marked predilection for the brain and frequent allograft involvement.
Personalization of an Online Handwriting Recognition System

This paper proposes and compares some approaches for personalizing a handwriting recognizer to a specific user's handwriting style. A typical PocketPC or TabletPC is used by one person exclusively. The handwriting recognizer on such a device can customize its recognition to the specific writing style of the user. This paper presents the results of different personalization approaches for a neural network based classifier, showing how using data specific to the user can dramatically improve recognition accuracy.
A survey of public attitudes toward oocyte donation between sisters

Oocyte donation offers the possibility of pregnancy for many patients with premature ovarian failure (POF) and recently a number of patients have been requesting egg donation by a sister. While patients anxious to achieve a pregnancy are favourably disposed toward egg donation, the existence of favourable attitudes in others, and thus the amount of social support such patients will receive, depends upon the wider social environment. A survey of public opinion was conducted utilizing a random sample of 501 adults in Orange County, CA in an attempt to identify demographic correlates of attitudes. Log linear analysis demonstrated no relationship between attitudes and an array of demographic data (income, political party, age), but showed a significant relationship between sex of the respondent and attitudes towards egg donation. While more than half of respondents of both sexes were favourably disposed towards egg donation, men exhibited significantly (P = 0.005) more positive attitudes towards oocyte donation by a sister than did women. Women in the general population showed markedly less support for egg donation by a sister than POF patients have been demonstrated to show. The theory is proposed that female respondents are more wary of the symbolic meaning of the reproductive connection between a sister-in-law and a husband, while the POF patient's attitude is shaped in part by her desire for a pregnancy. The results have implications for the attitudes POF couples may face in the social environment and for the type of social support which may be recommended.
Social Affiliation from Religious Disaffiliation: Evidence of Selective Mixing Among Youth with No Religious Preference During the Transition to College

The number of individuals claiming a nonreligious identity in the United States is on the rise, with one-fourth of the overall U.S. public failing to identify with any of the major religious traditions. In this article, we examine whether religious disaffiliation structures social network formation in a social context in which religious identification (and religiosity) is a salient cultural marker. We take advantage of unique data on the personal networks of youth transitioning into a college where religion is a culturally salient facet of everyday life. We hypothesize that, if there is nonreligious homophily, it may result from an attraction of the disaffiliated to each other or from a repulsion away from the religiously affiliated. Results of exponential random graph models suggest that both mechanisms may be at play. We find that religious “Nones” and affiliated non-Catholics are disproportionately more likely to form and maintain relationships with one another and are relatively less likely to form and maintain relationships with members of their respective religious out-groups. We close by outlining the implications of our findings and delineating promising avenues for future research.
Reduced Motor Neuron Excitability is an Important Contributor to Weakness in a Rat Model of Sepsis

The mechanisms by which sepsis triggers intensive care unit acquired weakness (ICUAW) remain unclear. We previously identified difficulty with motor unit recruitment in patients as a novel contributor to ICUAW. To study the mechanism underlying poor recruitment of motor units we used the rat cecal ligation and puncture model of sepsis. We identified striking dysfunction of alpha motor neurons during repetitive firing. Firing was more erratic, and often intermittent. Our data raised the possibility that reduced excitability of motor neurons was a significant contributor to weakness induced by sepsis. In this study we quantified the contribution of reduced motor neuron excitability and compared its magnitude to the contributions of myopathy, neuropathy and failure of neuromuscular transmission. We injected constant depolarizing current pulses (5s) into the soma of alpha motor neurons in the lumbosacral spinal cord of anesthetized rats to trigger repetitive firing. In response to constant depolarization, motor neurons in untreated control rats fired at steady and continuous firing rates and generated smooth and sustained tetanic motor unit force as expected. In contrast, following induction of sepsis, motor neurons were often unable to sustain firing throughout the 5s current injection such that force production was reduced. Even when firing, motor neurons from septic rats fired erratically and discontinuously, leading to irregular production of motor unit force. Both fast and slow type motor neurons had similar disruption of excitability. We followed rats after recovery from sepsis to determine the time course of resolution of the defect in motor neuron excitability. By one week, rats appeared to have recovered from sepsis as they had no piloerection and appeared to be in no distress. The defects in motor neuron repetitive firing were still striking at 2weeks and, although improved, were present at one month. We infer that rats suffered from weakness due to reduced motor neuron excitability for weeks after resolution of sepsis. To assess whether additional contributions from myopathy, neuropathy and defects in neuromuscular transmission contributed to the reduction in force generation, we measured whole-muscle force production in response to electrical stimulation of the muscle nerve. We found no abnormality in force generation that would suggest the presence of myopathy, neuropathy or defective neuromuscular transmission. These data suggest disruption of repetitive firing of motor neurons is an important contributor to weakness induced by sepsis in rats and raise the possibility that reduced motor neuron excitability contributes to disability that persists after resolution of sepsis.
Pulmonary Blood Flow in Normal and Abnormal States

Maintaining pulmonary circulation properly matched with ventilation is complex and everchanging. The body’s own defense mechanisms play major roles, particularly within physiologic limits. During pathologic disturbances, appreciation of the controlling and causative factors can lead to therapeutic regimens that may restore the normal balance.
Scratching Below the Core Network Surface: Capturing Hidden Exposure to Political Disagreement and Difference

One of the most common means by which network scholars have studied exposure to disagreement is through the name generator (e.g., Huckfeldt & Sprague, 1995; Mutz, 2006). Unfortunately, name generator methods suffer from a number of limitations, including severe limitations in the number of alters who can be identified. Accurately assessing the extent of political disagreement in discussion networks has become an important topic of recent research. Building on this work, the present paper used data from two national surveys – the 2012 U.S. Comparative National Elections Project (CNEP) survey and a May 2015 Race & Politics representative survey including a black oversample – to test the potential of a simple and efficient modification of name generator methods to probe for “hidden” exposure to difference. The findings highlight limitations of the traditional name generator, and suggest promise for the new approach. Over half of those for whom name generator results suggest no exposure to disagreement were able, in a follow-up, to name a discussion partner who supported an alternative candidate (2012 CNEP), and over a quarter of those whose name generator results indicate no exposure to a racially different alter were able to name someone of the opposite (Black vs. White) race with whom they’d talked politics (2015 Race & Politics). These findings suggest that mixed or diverse networks are far more common, and purely homophilous networks are far less common, than prior name generator research (Mutz, 2006) suggests. The implications for network measurement and democratic theory are discussed.
Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated With Hypertension in Hemophilia: Cross-Sectional Analysis of a National Discharge Register.

Introduction:Improved life expectancy of persons with hemophilia (PWHs) has led to a greater interest in the role of age-related chronic diseases, such as hypertension, in this cohort. Several obse...
Uncertainty analysis of geothermal well drilling and completion costs

Abstract The goal of this study was to characterize the uncertainty associated with the cost of drilling and completion of geothermal wells. Previous research and publications have produced correlations for the average cost of geothermal wells as a function of well depth. This project develops this concept further by using a probabilistic approach to evaluate the distribution of geothermal well costs for a range of well depths. The well cost uncertainty was characterized by identifying the main cost components of geothermal wells and quantifying the probability distributions of the key variables controlling these costs. These probability distributions were determined based on the detailed cost records of U.S. geothermal wells drilled or designed from 2009 to 2013 as well as cost data from drilling equipment manufacturers and vendors. Probability distributions of the key variables were examined to find statistically significant correlations between them. Lastly, the previously determined probability distributions of individual cost components and the correlations between them were input into WellCost Lite, a predictive geothermal drilling cost model, using the Monte Carlo method. This approach allowed us to generate the overall well cost probability distributions for 8000–15,000 ft. (2400–4600 m) geothermal wells. We have shown that the median geothermal well cost increases exponentially with depth. Deep wells typically have higher cost uncertainty and more positively-skewed cost probability distributions. The correlations presented in this paper can be used to determine the economic feasibility of geothermal energy systems, assess the project risk, and facilitate investment decisions.
Operational Aspects of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Autocidal Gravid Ovitrap.

Abstract Dengue viruses cause hundreds of millions of infections every year in tropical and subtropical countries. Unfortunately, there is not a single universal vector control method capable of suppressing Aedes aegypti (L.) populations. Amongst novel control tools or approaches are various types of traps targeting gravid females or their eggs. Here, we provide details of the operational use of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention autocidal gravid ovitrap (CDC-AGO trap) for the surveillance and control of Ae. aegypti. Adult mosquitoes were monitored every week in 2 isolated neighborhoods treated with 3 AGO traps per house in 85% of houses and in 2 reference neighborhoods without control traps. Between March 2013 and April 2015 we serviced the AGO traps 14 times in each community (every 2 months). Common trap problems were absent or broken trap tops (1–1.5%), flooded (0.1–0.7%) or dry (0.5–1.3%) traps, and missing (0.3–0.8%) or vandalized (0.5–1.4%) traps. Most traps kept a volume of infusion be...
Spaced-based search coil magnetometers

Search coil magnetometers are one of the primary tools used to study the magnetic component of low-frequency electromagnetic waves in space. Their relatively small size, mass, and power consumption, coupled with a good frequency range and sensitivity, make them ideal for spaceflight applications. The basic design of a search coil magnetometer consists of many thousands of turns of wire wound on a high permeability core. When a time-varying magnetic field passes through the coil, a time-varying voltage is induced due to Faraday's law of magnetic induction. The output of the coil is usually attached to a preamplifier, which amplifies the induced voltage and conditions the signal for transmission to the main electronics (usually a low-frequency radio receiver). Search coil magnetometers are usually used in conjunction with electric field antenna to measure electromagnetic plasma waves in the frequency range of a few hertz to a few tens of kilohertzs. Search coil magnetometers are used to determine the properties of waves, such as comparing the relative electric and magnetic field amplitudes of the waves, or to investigate wave propagation parameters, such as Poynting flux and wave normal vectors. On a spinning spacecraft, they are also sometimes used to determine the background magnetic field. This paper presents some of the basic design criteria of search coil magnetometers and discusses design characteristics of sensors flown on a number of spacecraft.
A Switchable Cross-Species Liquid Repellent Surface

A switchable cross-species liquid-repellent surface is developed that can rapidly switch between two distinct liquid-repellent modes: i) the superhydrophobic mode, modeled after lotus leaves, and ii) the slippery mode, modeled after the pitcher-plant peristome. Adaptive liquid repellency and programmable fog harvesting are demonstrated as application examples for the new switchable surface.
Exposure to chronic hyperglycemic conditions results in Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1)-mediated activation of p53 and ATM kinase in pancreatic β-cells

Chronic hyperglycemia (HG) promotes pancreatic islet dysfunction which leads to the onset of T2DM. This study is aimed at defining regulatory roles of Rac1, a small G-protein, in the activation of p53 and ATM kinase in pancreatic β-cells, under the duress of HG conditions. We report significant stimulatory effects of HG (20 mM; 24 h) on p53 activation in INS-1 832/13 cells, normal rodent and human islets. Pharmacological inhibition of Rac1 (EHT1864 or NSC23766) significantly suppressed HG-induced p53 activation in INS-1 832/13 cells and rat islets, suggesting novel roles for this small G-protein in the activation of p53. Inhibition of Rac1 geranylgeranylation with simvastatin or GGTI-2147, significantly attenuated HG-induced p53 activation, suggesting requisite roles for this signaling step in HG-mediated effects on β-cells. HG-induced p53 activation was also suppressed by SB203580, a known inhibitor of p38MAPK. Additionally, we observed increased activation of ATM kinase under HG conditions, which was blocked in presence of EHT1864. Furthermore, pharmacological inhibition of ATM kinase (KU55933) reduced activation of ATM kinase, but not p53, suggesting that HG-mediated activation of p53 and ATM could represent independent pro-apoptotic events. In conclusion, these data indicate that sustained activation of Rac1-p38MAPK signaling axis leads to activation of p53 leading to β-cell dysfunction under the duress of chronic hyperglycemic conditions.
Young Children's Moral Judgments, Justifications, and Emotion Attributions in Peer Relationship Contexts.

Children (n = 160, 4- to 9-year-olds; Mage = 6.23 years, SD = 1.46) judged, justified, attributed emotions, and rated intent for hypothetical physical harm, psychological harm, and resource distribution transgressions against close friends, acquaintances, disliked peers, or bullies. Transgressions against bullies were judged more acceptable than against friends and disliked peers and less deserving of punishment than against acquaintances and disliked peers. Transgressions against friends were judged least intended and resulting in more negative emotions for transgressors; actors transgressing against disliked peers, as compared to bullies or acquaintances, were happy victimizers. Across relationships, children viewed moral transgressions as wrong independent of rules and authority, based primarily on welfare and fairness justifications. Peer context colors but does not fundamentally change moral evaluations.
A Methodology for Quantifying Reliability Benefits From Improved Solar Power Forecasting in Multi-Timescale Power System Operations

Solar power forecasting improvements are mainly evaluated by statistical and economic metrics, and the practical reliability benefits of these forecasting enhancements have not yet been well quantified. This paper aims to quantify reliability benefits from solar power forecasting improvements. To systematically analyze the relationship between solar power forecasting improvements and reliability performance in power system operations, an expected synthetic reliability (ESR) metric is proposed to integrate multiple state-of-the-art independent reliability metrics. The absolute value and standard deviation of area control errors (ACEs), and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation Control Performance Standard 2 (CPS2) score are calculated through a multi-timescale scheduling simulation, including the day-ahead unit commitment, real-time unit commitment, real-time economic dispatch, and automatic generation control sub-models. The absolute ACE in energy, CPS2 violations, CPS2 score, and standard deviation of the raw ACE are all calculated and combined as the ESR metric. Numerical simulations show that the reliability benefits of multi-timescale power system operations are significantly increased due to the improved solar power forecasts.
Provenance in a Modifiable Data Set

Provenance of data is now widely recognized as being of great importance, thanks in large part to pioneering work [4, 6] by Peter Buneman and his collaborators in a stream that continues to produce influential papers today [1-3, 7]. When we consume data from a database, we often care about where these data come from, how they were derived, and so forth. We may desire answers to such questions to establish trust in the data, to investigate suspicious values, to debug code in the system, or for a host of other reasons. Considerable recent work has addressed many issues related to provenance. However, the standard assumption is that data sources, from which result data have been derived, are static. In reality, we know that most data are modified over time, including data sources used for deriving results of interest. When we consider provenance in the context of such modifications, many new problems arise. This chapter addresses two key problems in this context:
Neurotensin in the posterior thalamic paraventricular nucleus: inhibitor of pharmacologically relevant ethanol drinking

Individuals prone to ethanol overconsumption may have preexisting neurochemical disturbances that contribute to their vulnerability. This study examined the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT), a limbic structure recently shown to participate in ethanol intake. To identify individuals prone to ethanol overconsumption, we tested Long-Evans rats in behavioral paradigms and found high levels of vertical time (rearing behavior) in a novel activity chamber to be a consistent predictor of subsequent excessive 20 percent ethanol drinking under the intermittent access model. Examining neurochemicals in the PVT, we found before ethanol exposure that prone rats with high rearing, compared with non-prone rats, had significantly lower levels of neurotensin (NTS) mRNA and peptide in the posterior (pPVT) but not anterior (aPVT) subregion of the PVT. Our additional finding that ethanol intake has no significant impact on either rearing or NTS levels indicates that these measures, which are different in prone rats before ethanol consumption, remain stable after ethanol consumption. The possibility that NTS directly controls ethanol drinking is supported by our finding that NTS administration specifically suppresses ethanol drinking when injected into the pPVT but not aPVT, with this effect occurring exclusively in higher drinkers that presumably have lower endogenous levels of NTS. Further, an NTS antagonist in the pPVT augments intake in lower drinkers with presumably more endogenous NTS, while NTS in the pPVT inhibits novelty-induced rearing that predicts excessive drinking. Together, these results provide strong evidence that low endogenous levels of NTS in the pPVT contribute to an increased propensity toward excessive ethanol drinking.
Matrix Methods for Parabolic Partial Differential Equations

Many of the problems of physics and engineering that require numerical approximations are special cases of the following second-order linear parabolic differential equation: $$ \begin{array}{*{20}c} {\phi \left( {\rm x} \right)u_t \left( {{\rm x};t} \right)} \hfill & { = \sum\limits_{i = 1}^n {\left( {K_i \left( {\rm x} \right)u_{x_i } } \right)_{x_i } } + \sum\limits_{i = 1}^n {G_i \left( {\rm x} \right)u_{x_i } } } \hfill \\ \, \hfill & {\begin{array}{*{20}c} { - \sigma \left( {\rm x} \right)u\left( {{\rm x};t} \right) + S\left( {{\rm x};t} \right),} \hfill & {{\rm x} \in R,\,t > 0,} \hfill \\ \end{array}} \hfill \\ \end{array} $$ (8.1) where R is a given finite (connected) region in Euclidean n-dimentional space, with (external) boundary conditions $$ \begin{array}{*{20}c} {\alpha \left( {\rm x} \right)u\left( {{\rm x};t} \right) + \beta \left( {\rm x} \right)\frac{{\partial u\left( {{\rm x};t} \right)}}{{\partial n}} = \gamma \left( {\rm x} \right),} \hfill & {{\rm x} \in \Gamma ,t > 0,} \hfill \\ \end{array}$$ (8.2) where Г is the external boundary of R. Characteristic of such problems is the additional initial condition $$ \begin{array}{*{20}c} {u\left( {{\rm x};0} \right) = g\left( {\rm x} \right),} \hfill & {{\rm x} \in R.} \hfill \\ \end{array} $$ (8.3)
Fever as a Host Defense Mechanism

Publisher Summary This chapter describes fever as a host defense mechanism. The English word fever stems from the Latin word febris; pyrexia is a synonym derived from the Greek word pyretos. Fever has been recorded and associated with diseases throughout history. From the beginning, it was believed to be beneficial. Thus, Hippocrates (460–370 BC), building on the earlier concepts of the four natural elements (cold and dry earth, hot and moist air, hot and dry fire, and cold and moist water) proposed four corresponding bodily humors (cold and dry black bile, hot and moist blood, hot and dry yellow bile, and cold and moist phlegm) and argued that diseases resulted when any one of these humors occurred in excess. He believed that heat—that is, fever, destroyed this noxa, and considered therefore that it was a crucial remedy in many diseases. This view of the beneficial effects of fever essentially persisted until the late nineteenth century, when clinical observations and new techniques of quantitative measurements led to the questioning of the older naturalistic and more philosophical medical concepts.
Intranasal midazolam and fentanyl for procedural sedation and analgesia in infants in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Background The intranasal route is a minimally invasive method for rapidly delivering midazolam and fentanyl to provide short-term analgesia and sedation in infants. However, intranasal use of midazolam and fentanyl is not labeled for infants and safety data are sparse. The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety of intranasal midazolam and intranasal fentanyl in infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Methods We retrospectively identified all infants receiving intranasal midazolam or fentanyl in the NICU from 2009 to 2015. We recorded indication for use and vital signs and determined the proportion of infants experiencing the following adverse events: death within 24 hours, hypotension, bradycardia, worsening respiratory status, and chest wall rigidity. Vital signs 4 hours before and after each dose were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results We identified 17 infants (gestational ages 23- 41 weeks) receiving 25 intranasal doses. None of the infants died or developed hypotension, bradycardia, or chest wall rigidity. Intranasal delivery was most commonly used for sedation during magnetic resonance imaging studies. Other indications include analgesia or sedation for retinopathy of prematurity surgery, intubation, and peripherally inserted central catheter placement. One infant receiving intranasal midazolam experienced worsening respiratory status. Vital signs before and after dosing were not significantly different. Conclusions Intranasal midazolam and fentanyl use in term and preterm infants appeared safe and well-tolerated in this small cohort of infants. Larger, prospective studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of intranasal midazolam and fentanyl use in infants are warranted.
Occupational medicine clinical practice data reveal increased injury rates among Hispanic workers.

Background Minnesota has an ethnically diverse labor force, with the largest number of refugees per capita in the United States. In recent years, Minnesota has been and continues to be a major site for immigrant and refugee resettlement in the United States, with a large population of both immigrant and native born Hmong, Hispanic, and East Africans. This study seeks to evaluate the injury risk among the evolving minority workforce in the Minnesota Twin Cities region. Methods A retrospective cohort study identifying work-related injuries following pre-employment examinations was performed using electronic health records from a large multi-clinic occupational medicine practice. Preplacement examinations and subsequent work-related injuries were pulled from the electronic health record using representative ICD-10 codes for surveillance examinations and injuries. This study included patient records collected over a 2-year period from January 1, 2015, through December, 2016. The patients in this cohort worked in a wide-array of occupations including production, assembly, construction, law enforcement, among others. Results Hispanic minority workers were twice as likely to be injured at work compared with White workers. Hispanics were 2.89 times more likely to develop back injuries compared with non-Hispanic workers, and 1.86 times more likely to develop upper extremity injuries involving the hand, wrist, or elbow. Conclusion Clinical practice data shows that Hispanic workers are at increased risk for work-related injuries in Minnesota. They were especially susceptible to back and upper extremity injuries. Lower injury rates in non-Hispanic minority workers, may be the result of injury underreporting and require further investigation.
');DROP TABLE textbooks;--: An Argument for SQL Injection Coverage in Database Textbooks

In this position paper, we look at the representation of SQL injection within undergraduate database textbooks, and argue that both discussion of security issues and security of example code must be improved. SQL injection is a common database exploit which takes advantage of programs that incorrectly incorporate user input into SQL statements. Teaching students how to write parameterized SQL statements is key to preventing this wide-spread attack. We look at the current editions of seven textbooks used at the top 50 US CS programs, and analyze their coverage of SQL injection, use of parameterized queries, and correctness of examples. We find a wide variety in the amount of coverage given to the topic, from none at all to in-depth coverage of defenses. Additionally, we find cases of SQL injectable code given as examples of how to correctly write queries in two of seven textbooks.
Force-Regulated Refolding of the Mechanosensory Domain in the Platelet Glycoprotein Ib-IX Complex.

Abstract In platelets, the glycoprotein (GP) Ib-IX receptor complex senses blood shear flow and transmits the mechanical signals into platelets. Recently, we have discovered a juxtamembrane mechanosensory domain (MSD) within the GPIbα subunit of GPIb-IX. Mechanical unfolding of the MSD activates GPIb-IX signaling into platelets, leading to their activation and clearance. Using optical tweezer-based single-molecule force measurement, we herein report a systematic biomechanical characterization of the MSD in its native, full-length receptor complex and a recombinant, unglycosylated MSD in isolation. The native MSD unfolds at a resting rate of 9 × 10−3 s−1. Upon exposure to pulling forces, MSD unfolding accelerates exponentially over a force scale of 2.0 pN. Importantly, the unfolded MSD can refold with or without applied forces. The unstressed refolding rate of MSD is ∼17 s−1 and slows exponentially over a force scale of 3.7 pN. Our measurements confirm that the MSD is relatively unstable, with a folding free energy of 7.5 kBT. Because MSD refolding may turn off GPIb-IX’s mechanosensory signals, our results provide a mechanism for the requirement of a continuous pulling force of >15 pN to fully activate GPIb-IX.
Current Status and Future Prospects of Metal–Sulfur Batteries

Lithium-sulfur batteries are a major focus of academic and industrial energy-storage research due to their high theoretical energy density and the use of low-cost materials. The high energy density results from the conversion mechanism that lithium-sulfur cells utilize. The sulfur cathode, being naturally abundant and environmentally friendly, makes lithium-sulfur batteries a potential next-generation energy-storage technology. The current state of the research indicates that lithium-sulfur cells are now at the point of transitioning from laboratory-scale devices to a more practical energy-storage application. Based on similar electrochemical conversion reactions, the low-cost sulfur cathode can be coupled with a wide range of metallic anodes, such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and aluminum. These new "metal-sulfur" systems exhibit great potential in either lowering the production cost or producing high energy density. Inspired by the rapid development of lithium-sulfur batteries and the prospect of metal-sulfur cells, here, over 450 research articles are summarized to analyze the research progress and explore the electrochemical characteristics, cell-assembly parameters, cell-testing conditions, and materials design. In addition to highlighting the current research progress, the possible future areas of research which are needed to bring conversion-type lithium-sulfur and other metal-sulfur batteries into the market are also discussed.