cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
College Students' Recollections of Childhood Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs and Their Potential Impact on Reduction of Sexual Victimization

Abstract Background Child sexual abuse prevention programs are offered in many schools globally, but research is scant on whether or not these programs actually decrease the rates of CSA among youth who participate in them. Objective This study sought to determine if participation in a CSA prevention program (based on participant recall), in the US or another country, led to lower rates of self-reported past victimization among youth, affected disclosure and effects on sexual satisfaction. Participants and setting One thousand five hundred and two students from an ethnically and racially diverse university in the southeast served as participants. Methods Participants completed measures on line (Qualtrics). This included demographic information and participation in CSA prevention programs in schools, concepts that were covered, and recollections of sexual victimization. The second measure was a revised version of the sexual satisfaction scale (Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory). Results Students who had not participated in a CSA prevention program were significantly more likely to be abused than those who did participate, regardless of the program or location (χ2 (1,1498) = 19.01, p Conclusion These results highlight the importance of universal CSA prevention programs in schools worldwide as one part of comprehensive prevention.
Downscaling of Continental-Scale Atmospheric Forecasts to the Scale of a Watershed for Hydrologic Forecasting

A study, utilizing atmospheric forecasts for runoff prediction, has been performed at Calaveras River watershed in Northern California. Eta atmospheric model forecasts were used to provide input to a mesoscale atmospheric model, MM5. The MM5 model was then run to provide refined precipitation forecasts over the Calaveras River watershed. Using these precipitation forecasts as input, the HEC-HMS watershed hydrology model was then used to obtain 48-hour-ahead runoff forecasts at Calaveras watershed.
Minimal clinically important differences after subpectoral biceps tenodesis: definition and retrospective assessment of predictive factors.

Background Minimal clinically important differences (MCIDs) at 1 year after subpectoral biceps tenodesis are unknown for the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) scale, Subjective Shoulder Value (SSV), and visual analog scale (VAS) for pain. Our objectives were to determine MCIDs for these measures at 1 year after biceps tenodesis and to identify preoperative factors that predict attainment of MCIDs. Methods We included 52 patients who underwent arthroscopic debridement, decompression, and mini-open biceps tenodesis from 2016–2018. We analyzed age, sex, body mass index value, arm dominance, diagnosis, range of shoulder motion, and preoperative and 1-year postoperative ASES, SSV, and VAS scores. MCIDs were calculated using a distribution-based method of one-half the standard deviation. Preoperative thresholds predictive of MCIDs were calculated with univariate logistic regression. Multiple logistic regression was used to determine factors that predict MCIDs. Significance was set at a 2-tailed P value of Results MCIDs for the ASES, SSV, and VAS were 13, 12, and 1.6 points, respectively. Preoperative ASES score 3 predicted MCID on the VAS (P 40° predicted MCID on the SSV (P = .02); and age >41 years predicted MCID on the VAS (P = .02). Conclusion At 1 year after debridement, decompression, and biceps tenodesis, MCIDs were 13, 12, and 1.6 points for the ASES, SSV, and VAS, respectively. Patients most likely to attain MCIDs were those aged >41 years, those with the most preoperative pain, and those with the poorest preoperative shoulder function.
Targeting the GLI family of transcription factors for the development of anti-cancer drugs.

GLI1 is a transcription factor that has been identified as a downstream effector for multiple tumorigenic signaling pathways. These include the Hedgehog, RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK, and PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathways...
The Impact of Integrating Palliative Medicine Into COVID-19 Critical Care.

Abstract Background Ensuring high-quality patient-centered care for critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients presents unprecedented challenges. Many patients become critically ill unexpectedly and have not previously discussed their health-care wishes. Clinicians lack experience with this illness and therefore struggle to predict patient outcomes. Measures Critical care medicine (CCM) providers were surveyed about the effectiveness and efficiency of a pilot intervention. Intervention Proactive palliative care rounding with CCM providers on COVID-19 intensive care units. Outcomes Fifty-four percent of CCM providers responded to the survey (21/39). CCM providers rated the intervention highly across all domains. CCM providers frequently identified that early palliative involvement was critical to providing families with information and support when separated from their loved ones. Conclusions/Lessons Learned This pilot study found that proactive rounding improves critical care provider assessments of quality of care for patients and families and allows CCM providers to focus their efforts on managing complex physiology and surges.
Strengthening the Rule of Virtue and Finding Chinese Law in 'Other' Places: Gods, Kin, Guilds, and Gifts

Discussions about the rule of law in China today often do not consider traditional institutions and practices. Before the tumultuous events of the 20th century, traditional Chinese law (TCL) was remarkably continuous and stable for centuries. It was a blend of ritual and law focused on flourishing, virtue formation, and self-rule. Ritual was communion with, and law accountability to, the invisible spirit world. This blend spanned multiple jurisdictions, from state codes and courts to divine petitions and courts, to ancestral rites and family codes, to merchant codes and courts. Chinese law can be found in these 'other places', including gifts and feasts. Effective legal reform today should also include an exploration of current rituals and invisible accountability, multiple fora and a strengthening of the rule of virtue. Present-day practices of lavish gifts, banquets and wine become comprehensible within this framework.
Integrated Voluntary-Reactive Control of a Human-SuperLimb Hybrid System for Hemiplegic Patient Support

This letter presents a new type of wearable robot, called the Hybrid SuperLimb, which integrates voluntary human movements and the autonomous reactive control of a robotic limb. Some degrees of freedom (DOF) of the SuperLimb are powered by human body movements and are controlled voluntarily and directly by the human, while other DOF are powered by robot actuators and are controlled automatically. A data-driven methodology for identifying the subspaces of voluntary and reactive control is developed for bimanual manipulation. It is applied to support hemiplegic patients’ use of a knife and fork. The bimanual operation of a knife and fork demonstrated by a healthy subject is measured. Correlation data analysis reveals that a few DOF of the hand holding a knife are not significantly correlated with any other DOF, indicating independent, voluntary movements. Furthermore, a few DOF are strongly correlated with the fork movements and, thereby, predictable. The latter can be replaced by robot actuators controlled autonomously with a regression prediction. A prototype hybrid SuperLimb is designed and tested. The motion of a patient's foot is transmitted to activate the voluntary DOF, which is associated with cutting motion. Two robotic actuators are controlled using a principal component regression predicting the knife position in response to the fork movement.
Determining the Effect of Smartphone Alerts and Warnings on Street-Crossing Behavior in Non-Mobility-Impaired Older and Younger Adults

Vehicle manufacturers and government agencies are considering using vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication to improve pedestrian safety. However, there are unanswered questions about whether people will heed alerts and warnings presented through a smartphone. We conducted between-subject studies with younger and older adults where they physically crossed a virtual street. They received either permissive alerts (safe to cross), prohibitive warnings (not safe to cross), or no alerts or warnings (control). We found that both older and younger adults were highly likely to heed permissive alerts, even when this meant taking gaps between two vehicles that were smaller than they would typically take on their own. We also found that we could shift participants’ road-crossing behavior toward greater caution when they were only alerted to cross very large gaps between two vehicles. Participants stated that alerts and warnings were useful, but that prohibitive warnings were annoying. These findings give insights into V2P design and pedestrian behavior when smartphone assistance is provided.
The antiviral enzyme viperin inhibits cholesterol biosynthesis

Many enveloped viruses bud from cholesterol-rich lipid rafts on the cell membrane. Depleting cellular cholesterol impedes this process and results in viral particles with reduced viability. Viperin (Virus Inhibitory Protein, Endoplasmic Reticulum-associated, Interferon iNducible) is an endoplasmic reticulum membrane–associated enzyme that exerts broad-ranging antiviral effects, including inhibiting the budding of some enveloped viruses. However, the relationship between viperin expression and the retarded budding of virus particles from lipid rafts on the cell membrane is unclear. Here, we investigated the effect of viperin expression on cholesterol biosynthesis using transiently expressed genes in the human cell line human embryonic kidney 293T (HEK293T). We found that viperin expression reduces cholesterol levels by 20% to 30% in these cells. Following this observation, a proteomic screen of the viperin interactome identified several cholesterol biosynthetic enzymes among the top hits, including lanosterol synthase (LS) and squalene monooxygenase (SM), which are enzymes that catalyze key steps in establishing the sterol carbon skeleton. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments confirmed that viperin, LS, and SM form a complex at the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. While coexpression of viperin was found to significantly inhibit the specific activity of LS in HEK293T cell lysates, coexpression of viperin had no effect on the specific activity of SM, although did reduce SM protein levels by approximately 30%. Despite these inhibitory effects, the coexpression of neither LS nor SM was able to reverse the viperin-induced depletion of cellular cholesterol levels, possibly because viperin is highly expressed in transfected HEK293T cells. Our results establish a link between viperin expression and downregulation of cholesterol biosynthesis that helps explain viperin's antiviral effects against enveloped viruses.
Effect of untreated carotid artery stenosis at the time of isolated coronary artery bypass grafting

Abstract Background Severe carotid artery stenosis (sCAS) is frequently discovered at the time of evaluation for coronary arterial revascularization. However, there has been controversy regarding the optimal management of sCAS. This study evaluated the potential effects of untreated sCAS at time of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in contemporary practice. Methods This was a retrospective study from a multihospital healthcare system including patients undergoing isolated CABG between 2011 and 2018. Patients were stratified by the presence of sCAS (≥80% stenosis) in at least 1 carotid artery. Perioperative and 5-year stroke were compared, and multivariable analysis was used to identify risk-adjusted predictors of stroke and mortality. Results A total of 5475 patients were included, 459 (8.4%) with sCAS and 5016 (91.6%) without sCAS. Patients with sCAS experienced more frequent perioperative stroke (4.4% vs 1.2%; P Conclusions This contemporary analysis of CABG procedures reveals that concurrent sCAS continues to confer a significant stroke risk, especially in those with history of previous stroke. Although whether sCAS lesions are responsible for most strokes is unclear, they likely serve as a surrogate for other stroke risk factors.
AI for COVID-19: Battling the pandemic with computational intelligence.

The new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic leading to over 180 million confirmed cases and nearly 4 million deaths until June, 2021, according to the World Health Organization. Since the initial reported from December 2019 in Wuhan, China, COVID-19 has demonstrated a high transmission rate (with a R0 > 2), a diverse set of clinical characteristics (e.g., high rate of hospital and intensive care unit admission rates, multi-organ dysfunction for critically ill patients due to hyperinflammation, thrombosis, etc.), and tremendous burden on health care systems around the world. To understand the serious and complex disease and develop effective control, treatment, and prevention strategies, researchers from different disciplines have been making significant efforts from different aspects including epidemiology and public health, biology and genomic medicine, as well as clinical care and patient management. In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has been introduced into the healthcare field to aid clinical decision-making for disease diagnosis and treatment such as detecting cancer based on medical images and has achieved superior performance in multiple data-rich application scenarios. In the COVID-19 pandemic, AI techniques have also been used as a powerful tool to overcome the complex disease. In this context, the goal of this study is to review existing studies on applications of AI techniques in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, these efforts can be grouped into the fields of epidemiology, therapeutics, clinical research, social and behavioral studies and are summarized. Potential challenges, directions, and open questions are discussed accordingly, which may provide new insights into addressing COVID-19 pandemic and would be helpful for researchers to explore more related topics in the post-pandemic era.
Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Casualty Management Principles

Chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) weapons have been used since antiquity. Examples of their recent use include war fighting, ethnic conflict, terrorism and assassination. In addition, CBRN incidents have also included accidental releases during peace time operations, and many of the principles for CBRN incident response can be applied to other hazardous material (HAZMAT) incidents. The impact of such weapons may have a range of implications for medical personnel both military and civilian.
Single nucleotide polymorphism in MDM2 is associated with sporadic endometrial cancer risk.

5400 Objectives: MDM2 is an important negative regulator of the p53 tumor suppressor protein. A naturally occurring T/G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the MDM2 gene promoter, SNP309, causes an increase in MDM2 protein levels and impairment of p53 tumor suppressor activity. SNP309 occurs at a relatively high frequency in the general population (40% heterozygous T/G, 10% homozygous G/G) and has been associated with accelerated tumorigenesis in hereditary Li-Fraumeni associated cancers as well as in sporadic soft tissue sarcomas. The objective of this study was to examine the association between SNP309 and sporadic endometrial cancer risk. Methods: Genomic DNA was isolated from 73 patients with endometrial cancer and 79 unaffected controls. The MDM2 gene promoter region was amplified by PCR and the SNP309 genotype determined by restriction enzyme digestion of the amplified DNA fragment. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between genotypes and endometrial cancer features. Results: The homozygous G/G genotype was found in 25% of endometrial cancer cases and 11% of controls. In an age-adjusted analysis of cases and controls, the G/G genotype increased the risk of endometrial cancer 2.76-fold (95% CI 1.06, 7.20; p=0.037) compared to presence of a wild-type T allele (T/G and T/T genotypes). No association was found between the SNP309 G/G genotype and endometrial cancer histology (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.16, 4.55), grade (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.58, 1.64), stage (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.51, 1.44), or age of diagnosis (p=0.32). Conclusions: The MDM2 SNP309 homozygous G/G phenotype may be a genetic variant that influences sporadic endometrial cancer susceptibility.
Wives and Warriors: Women and the Military in the United States and Canada

Wives and Warriors: Women and the Military in the United States and Canada. Laurie Weinstein and Christie C. White. eds. Westport, CT: Bergin and Garvey, 1997. 252 pp.
Investigations of potential microbial pathogens associated with ulcerative disease syndrome (UDS) of Florida fish.

ABSTRACT: Reports from fishermen reviewed by Grier and Quintero (1987) in Florida, as early as 1979, revealed that several types of fresh and salt water fish developed lesions not previously characterized. Subsequent to these local reports, Noga and Dykstra (1986) described oomycete fungi specifically associated with ulcerative mycosis in menhaden from North Carolina. UDS, occurring annually in recent years in the St. Johns River during the months of November to March, was characterized by severe hemorrhagic or open dermal ulcers on the body of the fish, usually the head, mandible, or midbody regions. A variety of fish including gizzard shad ( Dorosoma cepedonium ), blue gill ( Lepomis macrochirus ), weakfish ( Cynoscion regalis ), Atlantic menhaden ( Brevoortia tyrannus ), and ocellated flounder ( Ancylopsetta quadrocellata ) have been predominately affected by UDS. Reports have indicated that over 50% of commercial fish catches are lesioned and unmarketable during the months of occurrence.
Hydrodynamic scaling of the deceleration-phase Rayleigh–Taylor instability

The scaling of the deceleration phase of inertial fusion direct-drive implosions is investigated for OMEGA and National Ignition Facility (NIF)-size targets. It is shown that the deceleration-phase Rayleigh–Taylor instability (RTI) does not scale hydro-equivalently with implosion size. This is because ablative stabilization resulting from thermal conduction and radiation transport in a spherically converging geometry is different on the two scales. As a consequence, NIF-scale implosions show lower hot-spot density and mass ablation velocity, allowing for higher RTI growth. On the contrary, stabilization resulting from density-gradient enhancement, caused by reabsorption of radiation emitted from the hot spot, is higher on NIF implosions. Since the RTI mitigation related to thermal conduction and radiation transport scale oppositely with implosion size, the degradation of implosion performance caused by the deceleration RTI is similar for NIF and OMEGA targets. It is found that a minimum threshold for the no-α Lawson ignition parameter of χΩ ≈ 0.2 at the OMEGA scale is required to demonstrate hydro-equivalent ignition at the NIF scale for symmetric direct-drive implosions.
Far infrared studies of hydrogen bonding in carboxylic acids—III: Halogenated acids

Abstract Far infrared spectra of eight halogenated acids have been measured between 370 and 50 cm −1 . From these spectra and with the aid of literature results on other acids, the hydrogen bond stretching mode, v (OHz.snfc;O), has been assigned for the eight acids. These frequencies, combined with the v (OHz.snfc;O) frequencies of other acids, have been used to give a consistent explanation of v (OHz.snfc;O) frequency shifts in acids. The v (OHz.snfc;O) frequencies can be placed in three groups depending on whether the acid is a mono-, di-, or tri-substituted acetic acid. The v (OHz.snfc;O) frequency shifts, whether within any one of the three groups or between groups are not dependent on the mass of atoms beyond the carbon atom beta to the carboxyl group. The frequency shifts within any one group are related to the total mass of the molecules (up to and including the β carbon atom), while the frequency shifts between groups are related to the mass of the substituent groups on the carbon atom alpha to the carboxyl group.
How the pediatric autopsy yields valuable information in a vertically integrated health care system

Abstract Context.—Although autopsy rates have declined significantly in recent decades, studies continue to validate the autopsy as an important source of clinically relevant information, a teaching tool, and a quality assurance measure. A recent review of autopsy series showed a decline in the number of serious errors likely to have affected clinical outcome detected at autopsy during the past 46 years, with a current major error rate of 8.4% to 24.4%. Objective.—Our hypothesis was that the pediatric autopsy would uncover a significant number of major unexpected findings at the high end of the spectrum predicted by a recent review. This study assesses the unexpected findings at a pediatric hospital whose autopsy service handles both in-house (tertiary care) and referral (mostly perinatal) cases for a vertically integrated health care system. Design.—Data were analyzed from an autopsy effectiveness report completed for all autopsies performed in 2000. The data from this series include concordance of premo...
Evidence Based on Relations to Other Variables: Bolstering the Empirical Validity Arguments for Constructs

In this chapter, the concept of validity is examined using evidence based on the relation of constructs within the instrument to constructs that are external to the instrument. This chapter addresses two major categories of validity evidence based on these external relationships. The first is what has historically been referred to as construct validity, which includes analyses of convergent and divergent validity. This first part of the chapter is dedicated to discussing the methodological framework (correlations and multitrait-multimethod matrices) and statistical techniques [structural equation modeling (SEM)] needed to quantify these relationships. The second half of the chapter discusses what has commonly been referred to as criterion validity and includes evidence with external variables that is often predictive in nature. The final section discusses the complex tasks of gathering incremental validity evidence and gathering evidence for use of the instrument with other populations.
Emotion expression and substance use in newly parenting adolescents and young adults.

Objective Deficits in emotion expression skills have been associated with alcohol and substance use, but the mechanisms through which these associations occur are not well understood. The current study investigated (a) associations between emotion expression and substance use (i.e., alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana) in newly parenting adolescents and young adults and (b) whether symptoms of depression and stress mediate these associations in young mothers and fathers. Methods Participants recruited from obstetrics and gynecology clinics completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Emotion Expression Scale for Children, and substance use items. Results Path analysis indicated that lower emotion expression at 6 months postpartum was significantly associated with more alcohol and marijuana use at 12 months postpartum for males but not females. Also among males, stress levels at 6 months postpartum partially mediated associations between emotion expression and alcohol and marijuana use at 12 months postpartum. Conclusions Findings suggest that poor emotion expression skills are related to more substance use in young fathers, and levels of stress may partially account for this association.
Robust width: A characterization of uniformly stable and robust compressed sensing.

Compressed sensing seeks to invert an underdetermined linear system by exploiting additional knowledge of the true solution. Over the last decade, several instances of compressed sensing have been studied for various applications, and for each instance, reconstruction guarantees are available provided the sensing operator satisfies certain sufficient conditions. In this paper, we completely characterize the sensing operators which allow uniformly stable and robust reconstruction by convex optimization for many of these instances. The characterized sensing operators satisfy a new property we call the robust width property, which simultaneously captures notions of widths from approximation theory and of restricted eigenvalues from statistical regression. We provide a geometric interpretation of this property, we discuss its relationship with the restricted isometry property, and we apply techniques from geometric functional analysis to find random matrices which satisfy the property with high probability.
Spatially variant red blood cell crenation in alternating current non-uniform fields

Alternating-current (AC) electrokinetics involve the movement and behaviors of particles or cells. Many applications, including dielectrophoretic manipulations, are dependent upon charge interactions between the cell or particle and the surrounding medium. Medium concentrations are traditionally treated as spatially uniform in both theoretical models and experiments. Human red blood cells (RBCs) are observed to crenate, or shrink due to changing osmotic pressure, over 10 min experiments in non-uniform AC electric fields. Cell crenation magnitude is examined as functions of frequency from 250 kHz to 1 MHz and potential from 10 Vpp to 17.5 Vpp over a 100 μm perpendicular electrode gap. Experimental results show higher peak to peak potential and lower frequency lead to greater cell volume crenation up to a maximum volume loss of 20%. A series of experiments are conducted to elucidate the physical mechanisms behind the red blood cell crenation. Non-uniform and uniform electrode systems as well as high and low ion concentration experiments are compared and illustrate that AC electroporation, system temperature, rapid temperature changes, medium pH, electrode reactions, and convection do not account for the crenation behaviors observed. AC electroosmotic was found to be negligible at these conditions and AC electrothermal fluid flows were found to reduce RBC crenation behaviors. These cell deformations were attributed to medium hypertonicity induced by ion concentration gradients in the spatially nonuniform AC electric fields.
Differential Behavioral Responses to Cocaethylene of Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley Rats: Role of Serotonin

Cocaethylene is a neuroactive metabolite derived from the concurrent consumption of cocaine and ethanol. The effects of cocaethylene on locomotor activity, stereotypy, and rearing in Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley rats were compared.A single cocaine injection (molar equivalent of 60 μmol/kg cocaethylene, intraperitoneal) elicited a robust series of motor output behaviors, including locomotion, stereotypy, and rearing over a 30-minute testing period in Long-Evans rats. In contrast, cocaethylene administration, under comparable testing conditions, produced no significant changes in locomotor and investigatory behaviors. Because cocaethylene has relatively little impact on serotonin (5-HT) reuptake as opposed to reuptake of dopamine, we pretreated Long-Evans rats with fluoxetine (10 mg/kg; IP), a selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitor. Fluoxetine profoundly augmented cocaethylene-stimulated behaviors in this rat phenotype. To examine whether other rat strains exhibit a similar response to cocaethylene, Sprague-Dawley rats were injected (IP) with cocaethylene and their behavior patterns monitored over a 30-minute testing period. Cocaethylene produced marked locomotor and exploratory behaviors in this strain, suggesting therefore that Long-Evans and Sprague- Dawley rats differ in their response to cocaethylene. To relate these behavioral differences to possible structural differences in the neuronal density of dopaminergic or serotonergic neurons, Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley brains were evaluated for tyrosine hydroxylase and 5-HT immunocytochemistry. No gross morphological differences in neuronal architecture or density were found in the ventral tegmental area or dorsal raphe nucleus of the two rat phenotypes. These results indicate that two commonly used rat strains show a differential response to cocaethylene and the neurochemical basis for this behavioral difference may be related to synaptic 5-HT bioavailability.
New and Improved Daily Photoprotection: Microfine Oxide (Z-Cote®)

Sheldon R. Pinnell, MD, Durham, NC, is a board-certified dermatologist. Doren L. Madey, PhD, Durham, NC. Recently, scientists have proven that ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation is a major culprit in photoaging and skin cancers.1 Unfortunately, most sunscreens do not protect against long-wave UVA. In addition, legally valid but scientifically misleading sunscreen labels—including the “broad-spectrum” and sun protection factor (SPF) designations—may provide users with a false sense of protection. Fortunately, a new technology has been developed that provides unmatched protection against UVA and ultraviolet B (UVB) damage—microfine zinc oxide (Z-Cote®, sunSmart, Wainscott, NY). However, until federal guidelines and regulations catch up with new sunscreen research and technologies, physicians and consumers need to know how best to achieve daily photoprotection and what to look for when choosing sunscreen and daily wear products. The new technology, Z-Cote®, is a 100-nm particle of microfine zinc oxide that is coated with a patented form of dimethicone. The coating process creates fine, uniform particles that are invisible to the eye and easy to formulate in both daily wear and sunblock skin care products.2 Microfine zinc oxide is an effective and safe sunscreen agent that provides true broad-spectrum protection, including protection from long-wave UVA.3 Zinc oxide is the only sunscreen agent that provides protection from UVB, short-wave UVA and long-wave UVA, uniformly protecting from 290 to 380 nm. Microfine zinc oxide is photostable and does not react with organic sunscreen agents under irradiation.3 It is easy to formulate with other sunscreen agents and can be used in both daily care and beach products. Ultraviolet radiation that reaches the earth and damages skin can be divided into three key wavelengths: UVB (280 to 320 nm), short-wave UVA (320 to 340 nm), and long-wave UVA (340 to 400 nm). UVB, which …
Controlled Gelation and Degradation Rates of Injectable Hyaluronic Acid-based Hydrogels through a Double Crosslinking Strategy

Various biodegradable hydrogels have been employed as injectable scaffolds for tissue engineering and drug delivery. We report a double-crosslinking strategy of biocompatible and biodegradable hydrogels derived from aminated and oxidized hyaluronic acid (HA) with genipin (GP), a compound naturally derived from the gardenia fruit. Fast gelation is attributed to the Schiff-base reaction between amino and aldehyde groups of polysaccharide derivatives, and the subsequent crosslinking with GP results in ideal biodegradability and mechanical properties. The gelation time, morphology, equilibrium swelling, compressive modulus and degradation of double-crosslinked hydrogels were examined. The double crosslinked hydrogels were examined in vivo via subcutaneous injection into a mouse model. Histological results indicated favourable biocompatility, as revealed by an absence of neutrophils and macrophages. These studies demonstrate that double-crosslinked HA hydrogels are potentially useful as injectable, biodegradable hydrogels in tissue-engineering applications.
On the collision protection of ships

A brief survey of the literature extant on the collision protection of ships is presented herein. An examination of the characteristics of different energy-absorbing methods suggests that honeycomb structures provide a feasible alternative to deck structures which are currently used to achieve the collision protection of ships. Various features of honeycomb panels are explored and a particular structural arrangement which utilizes both sides of a hull and incorporates honeycomb panels is proposed for the collision protection of a ship.
Endogenous games and mechanisms: Side payments among players

We characterize the outcomes of games when players may make binding offers of strategy contingent side payments before the game is played. This does not always lead to efficient outcomes, despite complete information and costless contracting. The characterizations are illustrated in a series of examples, including voluntary contribution public good games, Cournot and Bertrand oligopoly, principal-agent problems, and commons games, among others.
Cross-Age Reading Buddies and Cultural-Sensitive Literature: Student-Centered English Language Instruction in an Ethiopian Budget School

The Ethiopian government has called for educational improvement, emphasizing the employment of active, student-centered pedagogy. One way of maximizing an interactive learning approach involves blending a cross-age reading buddies program with high-quality, culturally relevant children's literature. Employing descriptive, mixed-method research, this study explored the effectiveness of books and buddies on English language use, motivation, and active learning in an underresourced, “budget” school in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The report includes a comparison of traditional workbook exercises to the reading of real books. It gives criteria for choosing literature for children of poverty in a developing country, and it describes a process for preparing older students to share second-language books with younger schoolmates. The results of the study suggest that a limited number of well-chosen books used in the context of cross-age reading buddies can have a positive impact on the frequency of English language usa...
Rapid solution of constrained traveling salesman problems

This paper addresses the AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Artificial Intelligence Design Challenge. The approach taken to solve this problem begins with a Monte Carlo code that quickly generated tours satisfying all the constraints in order to find excellent tours to measure the performance of algorithms. The solution begins with an initial tour that starts and ends with the home city and satisfies the local constraint of visiting Boston after Los Angeles. Variants of this small initial tour are created by inserting remaining cities into the tour at the most expensive link. Each variant tour is expanded by successively adding the city that maximizes the tour value while minimizing the cost and remaining within budget. The optimal tour is the best tour over all variants of the initial tour. This method attains a value of 88 for the sample problem, with a 0.005 probability of exceeding the budget, in one minute on an AT&T 6300 with 8087 coprocessor.
Do Nash values have value? Discussion and alternate proposals

where Qobs is the observed streamflow, Qcalc is the streamflow predicted by some models, and Qobs is the mean observed flow over the interval of interest. Schaefli and Gupta (2007) point out that few modellers in other environmental fields know what an NSE value is. However, they follow Legates and McCabe (1999), Seibert (2001) and several others who propose to modify and improve this metric by the substitution of a suitable objective benchmark Qbench for the mean flow Qobs in Equation (1). Schaefli and Gupta (2007) do not mention the one major point made by Legates and McCabe (1999) and Krause et al. (2005), which is that the NSE overemphasizes large flows relative to other measurements because the various deviations are squared. This problem is shared by the familiar correlation coefficients, R and R2, and while this weighting scheme is statistically questionable, it could be argued that large flows have the greatest importance to humans. However, this defect is serious because the very flows that are overrepresented in such ‘goodness-of-fit’ calculations are for many reasons the least accurately measured. To offset this problem, Legates and McCabe (1999) propose that Equation (1) be replaced with a more general formulation of efficiency ‘E ’ based on absolute values:
an unexpected souvenir

Most people are genuinely sympathetic to the difficulties encountered by handicapped persons, but probably too often the compassion evaporates when the wheelchair disappears from view or the tapping of crutches fades down the hall. The accessibility of buildings and facilities has certainly improved in recent years; we now take it for granted that curb cuts and wide doors make the going smoother, at least in public places like university campuses, but consciences still are not eased simply by holding the elevator.
Acridine Orange Sensitization and DNA Inhibition Effects on the Cyclic Voltammetry of Naphthoquinones Using Bare and DNA Modified Gold Electrodes

An ion pair mechanism is used to characterize the inhibition by DNA, and sensitization by acridine orange (AO) of the peak currents in the cyclic voltammetry (CV) of naphthoquinones with differing ionic substituents. Gold electrodes modified with adsorbed synthetic ′5-thiol-(GC)10 double strand DNA oligomers are used to study the redox activity of ferricyanide, 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulfonic acid sodium salt (NQS), 4-amino-1,2-naphthoquinone (ANQ), or 1,2-naphthoquinone (NQ) in the presence of AO. Parallel studies are performed using bare gold electrodes with double strand calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) in the bulk solution. AO is known to bind intercalatively to DNA and is seen to sensitize the redox activity of ferricyanide or NQS with DNA either adsorbed on the electrode or present in the electrolyte. AO otherwise does not sensitize the peak currents in the CV of either ANQ or NQ regardless of the presence of DNA, nor does the DNA inhibit their CV, as it does the AO sensitized CV of the anions in the presence of DNA. The electroanalysis is done in pH 7 phosphate buffer with the solute and calf thymus double strand DNA base pair concentrations in the 10–3 molar range, and AO concentrations in the 10–4 molar range. The anion selective electrolytic sensitization combined with the intercalative property of AO may be applied to either the design of DNA based biosensors for the detection of anions, or DNA sensitive biosensors using AO as a marker.
Mending Broken Hearts: Effects of Expressive Writing on Mood, Cognitive Processing, Social Adjustment and Health Following a Relationship Breakup

Seventy-two male and 73 female undergraduates were randomly assigned to an experimental group, in which they wrote expressively about a relationship breakup, or to a control group, in which they wrote in a non-emotional manner about impersonal relationship topics. Control participants reported short-term increases in upper respiratory illness (URI) symptoms, tension and fatigue, whereas experimental participants did not. Further, higher levels of intrusive thoughts and avoidance were associated with short-term increases in URI symptoms in the control group, but were unrelated to URI symptoms in the experimental group. Finally, there was a trend ( p <0.06) suggesting that experimental participants were more likely to reunite with their ex-partner than were control participants. These findings indicate that expressive writing has a wide range of social, emotional, and physical health benefits for individuals coping with stressful events, particularly if they are experiencing ongoing intrusive thoughts and a...
PILOT IN-TRAIL PROCEDURE VALIDATION SIMULATION STUDY

A Human-In-The-Loop experiment was conducted at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center (LaRC) to investigate the viability of the In-Trail Procedure (ITP) concept from a flight crew perspective, by placing participating airline pilots in a simulated oceanic flight environment. The test subject pilots used new onboard avionics equipment that provided improved information about nearby traffic and enabled them, when specific criteria were met, to request an ITP flight level change referencing one or two nearby aircraft that might otherwise block the flight level change. The subject pilots subjective assessments of ITP validity and acceptability were measured via questionnaires and discussions, and their objective performance in appropriately selecting, requesting, and performing ITP flight level changes was evaluated for each simulated flight scenario. Objective performance and subjective workload assessment data from the experiment s test conditions were analyzed for statistical and operational significance and are reported in the paper. Based on these results, suggestions are made to further improve the ITP.
Small firm entrepreneurial outsourcing: traditional problems, nontraditional solutions

Purpose – Pursuing objectives despite limited internal resources and leveraging external resources despite non‐ownership are familiar hallmarks of entrepreneurial firms. Although outsourcing is the standard way for businesses to surmount these barriers, entrepreneurial firms often lack the resources to purchase outsourcing arrangements. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how entrepreneurial firms can better procure and benefit from outsourcing arrangements.Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines six entrepreneurial firms in a Shanghai business incubator as they undertook a variety of outsourcing arrangements. It utilizes an integrative framework based on transaction cost theory, resource dependency theory, and the resource‐based view. It then cross‐hatches those three theory bases with four outsourcing modes (full, partial, spinout, inter‐outsourcing) and case study methodology.Findings – The paper's findings yield three novel propositions for strategic and ex ante entrepreneurial firm...
PS3-22: HMORN VDW Mortality QA: Evaluating Completeness and Consistency of Death and Cause of Death Data

Background/Aims Patient mortality data is a critical component of health research data, especially where death is a clinical outcome of interest. Mortality data is also important for cohort selection and to avoid communications with families of deceased patients. The HMORN Virtual Data Warehouse (VDW) has a DEATH file and a CAUSE OF DEATH file that contain data on whether a patient is dead or alive, date of death, confidence of death status, and causes of death. VDW mortality data is synthesized from multiple sources, such as state death certificates, federal data, and health plan utilization and membership data. These sources are combined using complex, probabilistic algorithms. There is variation in both source data and the transformation logic used by sites. This poses potential challenges for researchers to derive accurate results from multi-site studies. Our aim is to measure the quality of VDW mortality data across HMORN sites, highlight areas of consistency and variation, report issues for remediation, and identify opportunities to improve data specifications and guidelines.
Mechanisms Linking Genetic and Social Influences in Adolescent Development: Beginning a Collaborative Search

opment. On the one hand, current studies of the social environment, using improved methods, report sizable associations between en vironmental factors, such as par enting practices, and indices of adjustment, such as antisocial be havior (e.g., see Kellam & Rebok, 1992; Patterson, 1993; Patterson, DeBaryshe, & Ramsey, 1989; Patterson, Reid, & Dishion, 1992; Reiss et al., 1995). On the other hand, there is convincing evidence that genetic influences account for a substantial percentage of indi vidual differences on the same measures, including antisocial be havior, among children and ado lescents (Edelbrock, Rende, Plo min, & Thompson, 1995; Lyons et al, 1995; Rowe, 1983). In many of these studies, genetic and psycho social factors each account for half or more of the variance in the same
Non-Representational Language in Mipam's Re-Presentation of Other-Emptiness

Buddhist traditions understand emptiness in various ways, and two streams of interpretation, “self-emptiness” (rang stong) and “other-emptiness” (gzhan stong), have emerged in Tibet that help bring into focus the extent to which interpretations diverge.1 In contrast to self-emptiness, other-emptiness does not refer to a phenomenon’s lack of its own essence; it refers to the ultimate reality’s lack of all that it is not. Rather than claiming the universality of self-emptiness (emptiness as lack of own essence), proponents of other-emptiness assert another way to understand emptiness with regard to the ultimate (emptiness as ultimate ground). These two interpretations of emptiness — as ground and as groundless abyss — reveal a rift at the foundation of Buddhist metaphysics. This essay probes the discourses of other-emptiness in the Jonang (jo nang) and Nyingma (rnying ma) traditions. After briefly introducing other-emptiness in the Jonang tradition, the locus classicus for other-emptiness in Tibet, I will contrast the way Mipam (‘ju mi pham rgya mtsho) (1846–1912) positions the discourse of other-emptiness in his interpretative system. I will then demonstrate how Mipam’s portrayal of other-emptiness highlights the way he uses a perspectival means to incorporate a diversity of seemingly contradictory claims that he uses to support his view of ultimate reality as indeterminate. I will argue that an implication of his view is a non-representational account of language about the ultimate.
Kinase phosphorylation: Keeping it all in the family

The identification of PDK1 as a kinase that phosphorylates the AGC family of kinases led to a hunt for 'PDK2', a hypothetical regulated kinase(s) that would be required for full activation of the AGC kinases. Recent findings suggest that the elusive PDK2 may actually be a familiar kinase with an atypical associate.
A simple, physical calculation of the response of a buried conducting drum to electromagnetic induction searching

Abstract A very simple, physical calculation of the magnitude of the response of a single buried conducting drum to electromagnetic induction searching is given
Crystal structure and high temperature transport properties of Yb-filled p-type skutterudites YbxCo2.5Fe1.5Sb12

Abstract Partially Yb-filled Fe substituted polycrystalline p -type skutterudites with nominal compositions Yb x Co 2.5 Fe 1.5 Sb 12 , with varying filler concentrations x , were synthesized by reacting the constituent elements and subsequent solid state annealing, followed by densification by hot-pressing. The compositions and filling fractions were confirmed with a combination of Rietveld refinement and elemental analysis. Their thermoelectric properties were evaluated from 300 to 800 K. The Seebeck coefficients for the specimens increase with increasing temperature and plateau at around 750 K. The thermal conductivity decreases with increasing Yb filling fraction, and bipolar conduction becomes evident and increases at elevated temperatures. A maximum ZT value of 0.8 was obtained at 750 K for Yb 0.47 Co 2.6 Fe 1.4 Sb 12 . The thermoelectric properties and potential for further optimization are discussed in light of our results.