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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to carry out a systematic review of intervention programs that have addressed affective learning outcomes within physical education and to explore pedagogical practices in alignment with teaching, lesson content, and learning outcomes. Method: The literature search was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Included were 26 peer-reviewed pedagogical studies of physical education programs that addressed affective outcomes and reported fidelity of implementation. Results and Discussion: Affective outcomes were grouped into four themes: motivation, emotional responses, self-concept, and resilience. The findings showed that offering choice, encouraging peer feedback, asking deductive questions, focusing on personal improvement, and differentiating are effective teaching strategies that were widely used to support affective learning in children and adolescents. This review highlights the importance of fidelity of implementation to understand how intervention programs are delivered.

Objective: To create a data-driven definition of post-COVID conditions (PCC) by directly measure changes in symptomatology before and after a first COVID episode. Materials and methods: Retrospective cohort study using Optum® de-identified Electronic Health Record (EHR) dataset from the United States of persons of any age April 2020-September 2021. For each person with COVID (ICD-10-CM U07.1 "COVID-19" or positive test result), we selected up to 3 comparators. The final COVID symptom score was computed as the sum of new diagnoses weighted by each diagnosis' ratio of incidence in COVID group relative to comparator group. For the subset of COVID cases diagnosed in September 2021, we compared the incidence of PCC using our data-driven definition with ICD-10-CM code U09.9 "Post-COVID Conditions", first available in the US October 2021. Results: The final cohort contained 588,611 people with COVID, with mean age of 48 years and 38% male. Our definition identified 20% of persons developed PCC in follow-up. PCC incidence increased with age: (7.8% of persons aged 0–17, 17.3% aged 18–64, and 33.3% aged 65+) and did not change over time (20.0% among persons diagnosed with COVID in 2020 versus 20.3% in 2021). For cases diagnosed in September 2021, our definition identified 19.0% with PCC in follow-up as compared to 2.9% with U09.9 code in follow-up. Conclusion: Symptom and U09.9 code-based definitions alone captured different populations. Maximal capture may consider a combined approach, particularly before the availability and routine utilization of specific ICD-10 codes and with the lack consensus-based definitions on the syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating overqualification research with the social network perspective, we examine how social networks represent a mechanism linking relative overqualification and supervisors' perceptions of employee organizational citizenship behaviors. Specifically, drawing upon social comparison and social exchange theories, we suggest that relative overqualification (ROQ) has implications for employees' centrality in a friendship network and that friendship network centrality mediates the relationship between ROQ and supervisors' perception of a focal employee's organizational citizenship behaviors directed at coworkers (OCBI). Further, extending social comparison theory to the context of workgroup membership, we identify focal employees' perception of workgroup team orientation as a moderator determining the strength of the indirect relationship between ROQ and OCBI via friendship network centrality. Multilevel modeling using multi-source time-lagged data from 182 employees and 33 supervisors working in restaurants in the Southwestern United States showed a negative relationship between ROQ and friendship network centrality with friendship network centrality mediating the relationship between ROQ and OCBI. Moreover, the results of path analysis indicated that the indirect relationship between ROQ and OCBI via friendship network centrality was stronger for employees who perceived low levels of team orientation. Implications and directions for perceived overqualification and social network research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Fourteen million colonoscopies are performed annually in the United States, with the results dependent on bowel preparation before the procedure. However, suitable preparation is neglected in 20–25% of cases, resulting in increased loss of time, failure to diagnose, procedure repetition, and decreased patient satisfaction. Consequently, the current study was performed to evaluate the effect of reinforced education (RE) on the satisfaction of patients undergoing colonoscopy. Methods: This study employed an experimental research method. Participants included 83 patients referred to Ayatollah Taleghani Medical Educational Center for colonoscopy, who were divided into control and intervention groups. The control group received standard education, whereas the intervention group received instruction via media and virtually, and preparation was followed up on the day before the colonoscopy. The research tool was a demographic and satisfaction questionnaire developed by the researcher. Analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS software (v. 20). Results: Eighty-three patients, including 47 men and 36 women with an average age of 49.19 years, participated in the study. Mean (standard deviation) patient satisfaction was 11.78 (4.65) in the intervention group and 9.04 (2.95) in the control group; the independent t-test revealed a significant difference between the two groups (P<0.001). Conclusions: The study suggests that reinforced education using media and virtual means is effective in the satisfaction of patients undergoing colonoscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This present paper aims to examine various epidemiological aspects of the monkeypox viral infection using a fractional-order mathematical model. Initially, the model is formulated using integer-order nonlinear differential equations. The imperfect vaccination is considered for human population in the model formulation. The proposed model is then reformulated using a fractional order derivative with power law to gain a deeper understanding of disease dynamics. The values of the model parameters are determined from the cumulative reported monkeypox cases in the United States during the period from May 10th to October 10th, 2022. Besides this, some of the demographic parameters are evaluated from the population of the literature. We establish sufficient conditions to ensure the existence and uniqueness of the model's solution in the fractional case. Furthermore, the stability of the endemic equilibrium of the fractional monkeypox model is presented. The Lyapunov function approach is used to demonstrate the global stability of the model equilibria. Moreover, the fractional order model is numerically solved using an efficient numerical technique known as the fractional Adams-Bashforth-Moulton method. The numerical simulations are conducted using estimated parameters, considering various values of the fractional order of the Caputo derivative. The finding of this study reveals the impact of various model parameters and fractional order values on the dynamics and control of monkeypox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Inadequate description of trial interventions in publications has been repeatedly reported, a problem that extends to the description of placebo controls. Without describing placebo contents, it cannot be assumed that a placebo is inert. Pharmacologically active placebos complicate accurate estimation and interpretation of efficacy and safety data. In this study, we sought to assess whether placebo contents are described in study protocols and publications of trials published in high-impact medical journals. Methods: We identified all placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials (RCTs) published in 2016 in Annals of Internal Medicine, The BMJ, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), The Lancet, and the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). We included all trials with publicly available study protocols. From journal publications and associated study protocols, we searched and recorded: description of placebo contents; the amount of each placebo ingredient; and investigators' stated rationale for selection of placebo ingredients. Results: We included 113 placebo-controlled RCTs. Of the 113 trials, placebo content was described in 22 (19.5%) journal publications and 51 (45.1%) study protocols. The amount of each placebo ingredient was described in 15 (13.3%) journal publications and 47 (41.6%) study protocols. None of the journal publications explained the rationale for the choice of placebo ingredients, whereas a rationale was provided in 4 (3.5%) study protocols. The stated rationales were to ensure the placebo was visually indistinguishable from the experimental intervention (N = 3) and ensure comparability with a previous study (N = 1). Conclusion: There is no accessible record of the composition of placebos for approximately half of high-impact RCTs, even with access to study protocols. This impedes reproducibility and raises unanswerable questions about what effects—beneficial or harmful—the placebo may have had on trial participants, potentially confounding an accurate assessment of the experimental intervention's safety and efficacy. Considering that study protocols are unabridged, detailed documents describing the trial design and methodology, the fact that less than half of the study protocols described the placebo contents raises concerns about clinical trial transparency. To improve the reproducibility and potential of placebo-controlled RCTs to provide reliable evidence on the efficacy and safety profile of drugs and other experimental interventions, more detail regarding placebo contents must be included in trial documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examine the influence of global factors in driving connectedness among Unite States and emerging stock markets. For this purpose, we employ widely recognized approaches of and Barunik and Krehlik to estimate connectedness among the underlying markets in time‐frequency domains. Also, we use the tests proposed by Péguin‐Feissolle and Teräsvirta to examine the impact of global factors on the transmission relationship between United States and emerging stock markets utilizing the non‐linear causality tests. The findings validate the influential role of global factors in channeling overall total spillovers between United States and emerging stock markets. However, the results for individual emerging markets show some degree of heterogeneous impact of global factors in driving connectedness across different emerging stock markets. Our robustness results also confirm the main findings. Important implications of findings are discussed for portfolio managers and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The financial burden of pregnancy in the United States can be high and is associated with worse mental health and birth outcomes. Research on the financial burden of health care, such as the development of the COmprehensive Score for Financial Toxicity (COST) tool, has been conducted primarily among patients with cancer. This study aimed to validate the COST tool and use it to measure financial toxicity and its impacts among obstetric patients. Methods: We used survey and medical record data from obstetric patients at a large medical center in the United States. We validated the COST tool using common factor analysis. We used linear regression to identify risk factors for financial toxicity and to investigate associations between financial toxicity and patient outcomes including satisfaction, access, mental health, and birth outcomes. Results: The COST tool measured two distinct constructs of financial toxicity in this sample: current financial toxicity and concern over future financial toxicity. Racial/ethnic category, insurance, neighborhood deprivation, caregiving, and employment were associated with current financial toxicity (P < 0.05 for all). Only racial/ethnic category and caregiving were associated with concern over future financial toxicity (P < 0.05 for all). Both current and future financial toxicity were associated with worse patient–provider communication, depressive symptoms, and stress (P < 0.05 for all). Financial toxicity was not associated with birth outcomes or keeping obstetric visits. Conclusions: The COST tool captures two constructs among obstetric patients, current and future financial toxicity, both of which are associated with worse mental health and patient–provider communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By August 1, 2022, the SARS-CoV-2 virus had caused over 90 million cases of COVID-19 and one million deaths in the United States. Since December 2020, SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have been a key component of US pandemic response; however, the impacts of vaccination are not easily quantified. Here, we use a dynamic county-scale metapopulation model to estimate the number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths averted due to vaccination during the first six months of vaccine availability. We estimate that COVID-19 vaccination was associated with over 8 million fewer confirmed cases, over 120 thousand fewer deaths, and 700 thousand fewer hospitalizations during the first six months of the campaign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining whether SARS-CoV-2 exhibits seasonality like other respiratory viruses is critical for public health planning. We evaluated whether COVID-19 rates follow a seasonal pattern using time series models. We used time series decomposition to extract the annual seasonal component of COVID-19 case, hospitalization, and mortality rates from March 2020 through December 2022 for the United States and Europe. Models were adjusted for a country-specific stringency index to account for confounding by various interventions. Despite year-round disease activity, we identified seasonal spikes in COVID-19 from approximately November through April for all outcomes and in all countries. Our results support employing annual preventative measures against SARS-CoV-2, such as administering seasonal booster vaccines in a similar timeframe as those in place for influenza. Whether certain high-risk individuals may need more than one COVID-19 vaccine booster dose each year will depend on factors like vaccine durability against severe illness and levels of year-round disease activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gastroparesis is characterized by delayed gastric emptying without a significant obstructive pathology and is estimated to effect more than 5 million adults in the United States. Therapies for this condition are divided into two categories: gastric electrical stimulation or pyloric therapies to facilitate gastric emptying. Pyloric procedures include pyloroplasty, a well-documented procedure, and per-oral endoscopic myotomy (POP), a relatively novel endoscopic procedure that disrupts the pyloric muscles endoscopically. There is a paucity of literature comparing the two procedures. The aim of this study is to compare the outcomes of these two techniques. Methods: Under an IRB protocol, data were collected prospectively from September 2018 through April 2021 at our institution for patients undergoing POP (n = 63 patients) or robotic pyloroplasty (RP) (n = 48). Preoperative and postoperative data including sex, race, age, BMI, and Gastroparesis Cardinal Symptom Index (GCSI) score were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: There was no significant difference in sex, age, and BMI for both cohorts, but patients with RP were more likely to have private insurance, pre-op reflux, and PPI (p <.05 for all). Patients who underwent POP had significantly shorter operative time compared to RP (median 27 min vs 90, p < 0.001). The average change between preoperative and postoperative GCSI scores was significantly decreased for both interventions (POP mean = 8.2, RP 16.8, p < 0.001 both). However, comparing both data, RP has significantly better improvement in postoperative GCSI score than POP in both univariate (p < 0.001) and multivariate analysis (p = 0.030). This was reflected in the individual symptoms with nausea (p < 0.001), ability to finish meal (p = 0.037), abdomen visibly larger (p = 0.037) and bloating (p = 0.022) all showing improvement in both groups, but with RP having a more significant decrease in the scoring of these symptoms than POP. There was no significant difference in the number of postoperative complications (POP 19% vs RP 13%, p = 0.440). Conclusion: Even though both interventions are significantly associated with improvement of symptoms in patients with gastroparesis, our data demonstrates that robotic pyloroplasty has a superior response in comparison to per-oral endoscopic myotomy for the management of these symptoms. Per-oral pyloromyotomy has a similar complication rate to robotic pyloroplasty with a shorter operative time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Little is known about the relationship between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity and subsequent risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event (CVE) after COVID-19 recovery. We evaluated this relationship in a large cohort of United States adults. Methods Using a claims database, we performed a retrospective cohort study of adults diagnosed with COVID-19 between 1 April 2020 and 31 May 2021. We evaluated the association between COVID-19 severity and risk of CVE >30 days after COVID-19 diagnosis using inverse probability of treatment–weighted competing risks regression. Severity was based on level of care required for COVID-19 treatment: intensive care unit (ICU) admission, non-ICU hospitalization, or outpatient care only. Results A total of 1 357 518 COVID-19 patients were included (2% ICU, 3% non-ICU hospitalization, and 95% outpatient only). Compared to outpatients, there was an increased risk of any CVE for patients requiring ICU admission (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.80 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.71–1.89]) or non-ICU hospitalization (aHR, 1.28 [95% CI, 1.24–1.33]). Risk of subsequent hospitalization for CVE was even higher (aHRs, 3.47 [95% CI, 3.20–3.76] for ICU and 1.96 [95% CI, 1.85–2.09] for non-ICU hospitalized vs outpatient only). Conclusions COVID-19 patients hospitalized or requiring critical care had a significantly higher risk of experiencing and being hospitalized for post–COVID-19 CVE than patients with milder COVID-19 who were managed solely in the outpatient setting, even after adjusting for differences between these groups. These findings underscore the continued importance of preventing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection from progressing to severe illness to reduce potential long-term cardiovascular complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goddesses of love and beauty are frequently depicted in artwork in a contrapposto posture with one leg relaxing while the other bears the weight. Previous research has indicated that compared to an upright standing pose, a contrapposto pose is considered more attractive with its curviness capturing greater visual attention. Yet, whether a body posed in contrapposto is generally more visually attention-grabbing than an upright body remains unknown. We sought to address this gap and also examined if individual differences in sociosexuality – individual differences in willingness to engage in uncommitted sexual relations – influence attentional allocation. Online gaze-tracking was employed to monitor subjects (n = 71) during image presentation in a preferential looking design (contrapposto verse standing). Participants had a greater proportion of their gaze directed towards female bodies depicted in contrapposto pose compared to a standing posture over an extended period of time but not in the first gaze shift. Moreover, sociosexuality correlated positively with the proportion of gazes towards contrapposto stimuli but fell short of statistical significance. The results of the current study indicate that top-down factors play a role in how people allocate more attention to contrapposto poses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Social support is a key protective factor in the psychological adjustment of individuals to traumatic events. However, since March 2020, extant research has revealed evidence of increased loneliness, social isolation, and disconnection, likely due to COVID-19 pandemic-related recommendations that restricted day-to-day contact with others. Methods: In this investigation, we applied a case-control design to test the direct impacts of the pandemic on social support in United States adults recovering from a significant injury caused by PTSD-qualifying, traumatic events (e.g., motor vehicle crashes, violence, etc.). We compared individuals who experienced trauma during the pandemic, the "cases" recruited and evaluated between December 2020 to April 2022, to trauma-exposed "controls," recruited and evaluated pre-pandemic, from August 2018 through March 9, 2020 (prior to changes in public health recommendations in the region). Cohorts were matched on key demographics (age, sex, education, race/ethnicity, income) and injury severity variables. We tested to see if there were differences in reported social support over the first 5months of adjustment, considering variable operationalizations of social support from social network size to social constraints in disclosure. Next, we tested to see if the protective role of social support in psychological adjustment to trauma was moderated by cohort status to determine if the impacts of the pandemic extended to changes in the process of adjustment. Results: The results of our analyses suggested that there were no significant cohort differences, meaning that whether prior to or during the pandemic, individuals reported similar levels of social support that were generally protective, and similar levels of psychological symptoms. However, there was some evidence of moderation by cohort status when examining the process of adjustment. Specifically, when examining symptoms of post-traumatic stress over time, individuals adjusting to traumatic events during COVID-19 received less benefit from social support. Discussion: Although negative mental health implications of the pandemic are increasingly evident, it has not been clear how the pandemic impacted normative psychological adjustment processes. These results are one of the first direct tests of the impact of COVID-19 on longitudinal adjustment to trauma and suggest some minimal impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many believe religion has no place in modern medical and professional fields. Nevertheless, recent studies show that religion remains integral to many people's lives and professional practices, such as physicians. This study addresses the significance that American Muslim physicians (AMPs) attribute to their religious values in shaping their identity; and examines how the values held by self-identified Muslim physicians affect their medical practice, specialization, public roles, and civic engagement. This paper also discusses how complex lives may not be adequately addressed by theories of value derived from modernization theory and more normatively conceived Muslim ethical principles. Individual interviews were conducted with 62 AMPs. Grounded thematic analysis guided the processing of qualitative interview data. The results suggest that many of the AMPs' religious values converge with shared cultural and professional values in the United States and elsewhere. The authors suggest that focusing on how AMPs articulate their values will lead to more humane professional, community, and healthcare settings. Regardless of the religious beliefs of professional providers, they should not ignore the impact of religion on their medical practice, especially since religion is still a vital part of many patients' lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate secukinumab (SEC) 300 mg and 150 mg vs placebo in a United States-only population of biologic-naïve patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA).Methods: CHOICE was a double-blind, randomized controlled trial conducted in the US. Biologic-naïve patients with PsA and psoriasis (PsO) were randomized 2:2:1 to SEC 300 mg (n = 103), SEC 150 mg (n = 103), or placebo (n = 52). The primary objective was to show superiority of SEC 300 mg vs placebo in American College of Rheumatology 20% (ACR20) response at week 16. Additional objectives included the effect of SEC on dactylitis, enthesitis, PsO, and safety.Results: ACR20 response rates at week 16 were higher with SEC 300 mg than with placebo (51.5% vs 23.1%; odds ratio 3.51 [95% CI 1.65-7.45]; P = 0.001). SEC 300 mg also led to greater ACR50/70 responses and improvements in other variables vs placebo. Responses were generally sustained over time. Patients with inadequate response to SEC 150 mg at weeks 16, 28, or 40 who received dose escalation to 300 mg experienced improved clinical response after uptitration. The most common adverse events were upper respiratory tract infections and diarrhea. No inflammatory bowel disease was reported or new safety signals observed.Conclusion: SEC 300 mg led to rapid and significant improvements over placebo in symptoms of PsA in this heavier population of US-only, biologic-naïve patients. Findings were consistent with previous studies and suggest that SEC 300 mg is a safe and efficacious first-line biologic treatment for patients with PsA. [ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02798211]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence suggests that plants can behave intelligently by exhibiting the ability to learn, make associations between environmental cues, engage in complex decisions about resource acquisition, memorize, and adapt in flexible ways. However, plant intelligence is a disputed concept in the scientific community. Reasons for lack of consensus can be traced back to the history of Western philosophy, interpretation of terminology, and due to plants lacking neurons and a central nervous system. Plant intelligence thus constitutes a novel paradigm in the plant sciences. Therefore, the perspectives of scientists in plant-related disciplines need to be investigated in order to gain insight into the current state and future development of this concept. Methods: This study analyzed opinions of plant intelligence held by scientists from different plant-related disciplines, including ethnobiology and other biological sciences, through an online questionnaire. Results: Our findings show that respondents' personal belief systems and the frequency of taking into account other types of knowledge, such as traditional knowledge, in their own field(s) of study, were associated with their opinions of plant intelligence. Meanwhile, respondents' professional expertise, background (discipline), or familiarity with evidence provided on plant intelligence did not affect their opinions. Conclusions: This study emphasizes the influential role of scientists' own subjective beliefs. In response, two approaches could facilitate transdisciplinary understanding among scientists: (1) effective communication designed to foster change in agreement based on presented information; and (2) holding space for an interdisciplinary dialogue where scientists can express their own subjectivities and open new opportunities for collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dramatic lack of diversity within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) higher-education graduates is a serious issue facing the future of the STEM workforce. Colleges and universities are attempting to fix this disparity through targeted intervention programs aimed at increasing the persistence and retention of low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented (UR) students in STEM. A comprehensive synthesis of adopted strategies and analysis of their effectiveness is lacking. We conducted a systematic multiple-studies review, considering 31 empirical articles published between 2005 and 2020 that shared the outcomes of intentional intervention programs in place across the United States. We uncovered essential characteristics of successful programs and highlighted the top 10 critical program components to consider. These can be used to guide the development and execution of future programs' support systems and interventions. This is a relatively new area of research, with most programs just in the earliest stages of implementation. It is essential to continue to follow the data on the outcomes of these programs, particularly their longitudinal impacts on the diversification of the STEM workforce, to be able to implement effective evidence-based practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Several underlying medical conditions have been reported to be associated with an increased risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and related hospitalization and death. Population attributable fractions (PAFs) describing the proportion of disease burden attributable to underlying medical conditions for COVID-19 diagnosis and outcomes have not been reported. Methods A retrospective population-based cohort study was conducted using Optum's de-identified Clinformatics Data Mart database. Individuals were followed up from 20 January 2020 to 31 December 2020 for diagnosis and clinical progression, including hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, intubation and mechanical ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and death. Adjusted rate ratios and PAFs of underlying medical conditions for COVID-19 diagnosis and disease progression outcomes were estimated by age (18–49, 50–64, 65–74, or ≥75 years), sex, and race/ethnicity. Results Of 10 679 566 cohort members, 391 964 (3.7%) were diagnosed with COVID-19, of whom 87 526 (22.3%) were hospitalized. Of those hospitalized, 26 640 (30.4%) died. Overall, cardiovascular disease and diabetes had the highest PAFs for COVID-19 diagnosis and outcomes of increasing severity across age groups (up to 0.49 and 0.35, respectively). Among adults ≥75 years of age, neurologic disease had the second-highest PAFs (0.05‒0.27) after cardiovascular disease (0.26‒0.44). PAFs were generally higher in Black persons than in other race/ethnicity groups for the same conditions, particularly in the 2 younger age groups. Conclusions A substantial fraction of the COVID-19 disease burden in the United States is attributable to cardiovascular disease and diabetes, highlighting the continued importance of COVID-19 prevention ( eg, vaccination, mask wearing, social distancing) and disease management of patients with certain underlying medical conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although global reviews of infant respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) burden exist, none have summarized data from the United States or evaluated how RSV burden estimates are influenced by variations in study design.Methods: We performed a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of studies describing RSV-associated hospitalization rates among US infants and examined the impact of key study characteristics on these estimates.Results: We reviewed 3328 articles through 14 August 2020 and identified 25 studies with 31 unique estimates of RSV-associated hospitalization rates. Among US infants <1 year of age, annual rates ranged from 8.4 to 40.8 per 1000 with a pooled rate of 19.4 (95% confidence interval [CI], 17.9-20.9). Study type influenced RSV-associated hospitalization rates (P = .003), with active surveillance studies having pooled rates (11.0; 95% CI, 9.8-12.2) that were half that of studies based on administrative claims (21.4; 19.5-23.3) or modeling approaches (23.2; 20.2-26.2).Conclusions: Applying our pooled rates to the 2020 US birth cohort suggests that 79 850 (95% CI, 73 680-86 020) RSV-associated infant hospitalizations occur each year. The full range of RSV-associated hospitalization rates identified in our review can better inform future evaluations of RSV prevention strategies. More research is needed to better understand differences in estimated RSV burden across study design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age‐ and sex‐specific survival rates are essential for understanding animal population dynamics and discerning environmental influences on population parameters. To date, little research has been done on age‐ and sex‐specific survival of the Gunnison's prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni), a colonial ground‐dwelling squirrel inhabiting the sagebrush ecosystem of the southwestern United States. To discern impacts of the year of study, age, sex, and reproductive status on survival, we conducted a capture‐mark‐recapture analysis on a previously collected long‐term dataset of a population of Gunnison's prairie dogs (n = 2508) from 1989 to 1995. We implemented two models: age‐cohort Cormack–Jolly–Seber (CJS) models (to examine survival by age, sex, and year) and multistate mark‐recapture models (to analyze survival by age and year, as well as breeding status). Females had higher apparent survival than males. Yearlings had a low apparent survival rate (0.288 ± 0.022, [±SE]) compared to juveniles (0.461 ± 0.019) and adults (0.482 ± 0.055). Less than 50% (48.0 ± 2.7) of female yearlings successfully weaned litters each year. Yearling survival rate was lower than other highly social prairie dog species that do not reproduce as yearlings, suggesting that there may be a cost to reproduction. We also constructed a postbreeding matrix population model and associated elasticity analysis, which indicated that the reproductive output of yearlings was the most significant potential driver of population growth. Our findings provide more nuanced estimates for age‐ and sex‐specific survival in this species than were previously available and also more broadly inform linkages between demography and sociality in prairie dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has substantially impacted healthcare utilization worldwide. The objective of this retrospective analysis of a large hospital discharge database was to compare all-cause and cause-specific hospitalizations during the first six months of the pandemic in the United States with the same months in the previous four years. Methods: Data were collected from all hospitals in the Premier Healthcare Database (PHD) and PHD Special Release reporting hospitalizations from January through July for each year from 2016 through 2020. Hospitalization trends were analyzed stratified by age group, major diagnostic categories (MDCs), and geographic region. Results: The analysis included 286 hospitals from all 9 US Census divisions. The number of all-cause hospitalizations per month was relatively stable from 2016 through 2019 and then fell by 21% (57,281 fewer hospitalizations) between March and April 2020, particularly in hospitalizations for non-respiratory illnesses. From April onward there was a rise in the number of monthly hospitalizations per month. Hospitalizations per month, nationally and in each Census division, decreased for 20 of 25 MDCs between March and April 2020. There was also a decrease in hospitalizations per month for all age groups between March and April 2020 with the greatest decreases in hospitalizations observed for patients 50–64 and ≥65 years of age. Conclusions: Rates of hospitalization declined substantially during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting delayed routine, elective, and emergency care in the United States. These lapses in care for illnesses not related to COVID-19 may lead to increases in morbidity and mortality for other conditions. Thus, in the current stage of the pandemic, clinicians and public-health officials should work, not only to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission, but also to ensure that care for non-COVID-19 conditions is not delayed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the association of testosterone deficiency with inflammation and how long-term testosterone therapy affects inflammation biomarkers over time.Methods: We conducted a 2-component study. First, we conducted a cross-sectional study using the recently released 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data to examine the association between testosterone deficiency and inflammation biomarkers including high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), liver enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in the US general population. Then we conducted a longitudinal study to investigate the longitudinal effect of testosterone therapy on inflammation biomarkers and the risk of cardiovascular events, using data from 776 hypogonadal men based on a registry study in Germany with up to 11 years' follow-up.Results: The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) describing the associations between testosterone deficiency and hsCRP ≥ 3mg/L, ALT > 40U/L, and AST > 40U/L were 1.81 (P-value < 0.001), 1.46 (P-value = 0.009), and 0.99 (P-value = 0.971), respectively. In the control group, CRP, ALT, and AST levels increased by 0.003 (95%CI: -0.001, 0.007) mg/L, 0.157 U/L (95%CI: 0.145, 0.170), and 0.147 (95%CI: 0.136, 0.159) U/L per month, while in the treatment group, CRP, ALT, and AST levels decreased by 0.05 (95%CI: -0.055, -0.046) mg/L, 0.142 U/L (95%CI: -0.154, -0.130), and 0.148 (95%CI: -0.158, -0.137) U/L per month.Conclusion: Testosterone deficiency was associated with an increased level of inflammation; long-term testosterone therapy alleviated inflammation among hypogonadal men, which may contribute to the reduced cardiovascular risk. Future large trials are warranted to confirm our observational study findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The United States has been heavily impacted by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Understanding microlevel patterns in US rates of COVID-19 can inform specific prevention strategies. Methods Using a negative binomial mixed-effects regression model, we evaluated the associations between a broad set of US county-level sociodemographic, economic, and health status–related characteristics and cumulative rates of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths between 22 January 2020 and 31 August 2020. Results Rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths were higher in US counties that were more urban or densely populated or that had more crowded housing, air pollution, women, persons aged 20–49 years, racial/ethnic minorities, residential housing segregation, income inequality, uninsured persons, diabetics, or mobility outside the home during the pandemic. Conclusions To our knowledge, this study provides results from the most comprehensive multivariable analysis of county-level predictors of rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths conducted to date. Our findings make clear that ensuring that COVID-19 preventive measures, including vaccines when available, reach vulnerable and minority communities and are distributed in a manner that meaningfully disrupts transmission (in addition to protecting those at highest risk of severe disease) will likely be critical to stem the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increases in burned area and large fire occurrence are widely documented over the western United States over the past half century. Here, we focus on the elevational distribution of forest fires in mountainous ecoregions of the western United States and show the largest increase rates in burned area above 2,500 m during 1984 to 2017. Furthermore, we show that high-elevation fires advanced upslope with a median cumulative change of 252 m (-107 to 656 m; 95% CI) in 34 y across studied ecoregions. We also document a strong interannual relationship between high-elevation fires and warm season vapor pressure deficit (VPD). The upslope advance of fires is consistent with observed warming reflected by a median upslope drift of VPD isolines of 295 m (59 to 704 m; 95% CI) during 1984 to 2017. These findings allow us to estimate that recent climate trends reduced the high-elevation flammability barrier and enabled fires in an additional 11% of western forests. Limited influences of fire management practices and longer fire-return intervals in these montane mesic systems suggest these changes are largely a byproduct of climate warming. Further weakening in the high-elevation flammability barrier with continued warming has the potential to transform montane fire regimes with numerous implications for ecosystems and watersheds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Few studies have examined the trends in clinical and economic outcomes of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) who receive endovascular therapy (ET) in the real-world setting. Objective To evaluate characteristics and trends in clinical and economic outcomes among commercially insured patients with AIS undergoing ET between 2011 and 2017. Methods Patients with AIS undergoing ET from January 1, 2011 to June 30, 2017 were identified from administrative claims contained in the IBM MarketScan Commercial and Medicare Supplemental databases. The Mann--Kendall trend test was performed to examine clinical and economic trends. Between 2011 and 2017, 3411 patients (mean age 62.85±15 years) with a primary diagnosis of AIS underwent ET (coverage: Commercial 59%, n=2008; Medicare Supplemental 41%, n=1403). In the Commercial cohort, discharge to home increased significantly (from 29.54% to 39.18%, p<0.05). Length of stay declined significantly among the overall cohort (from 10.96 to 9.05 days, p<0.01) and the Medicare Supplemental cohort (from 10.03 to 8.43 days, p<0.05). All-cause 365-day readmission decreased significantly among the overall cohort (from 47.5% to 36.7%, p<0.05) and the Commercial cohort (from 51.54% to 36.43%, p<0.05) but remained unchanged in the Medicare Supplemental cohort. While index procedure cost did not change significantly ($93 955 to $87 906, p=0.8806), total cost significantly declined in the overall cohort (from $166 922 to $130 678, p<0.05). Conclusions Although with some variation across the samples studied, outcomes including discharge to home, length of stay, readmission, and total cost associated with endovascular stroke therapy seemed to have improved between 2011 and 2017. Index admission cost remained unchanged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the prevalence and patterns of behavioral symptoms, including agitation/aggression (AA), psychotic symptoms (PS), anxiety/mood disorders (MD), and delirium among patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and their association with diagnosed insomnia. A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted using the MarketScan Multi-State Medicaid Database 2016-2020. Patients aged ≥50 with newly diagnosed AD (N = 56,904) were identified during 2017-2019 and categorized into insomnia and non-insomnia groups based on billing codes recorded in medical and pharmacy claims. The index date was defined as the earliest date of diagnosis/medication of insomnia. The new diagnosis of AD had to be established within 12 months before (baseline) or 3 months after the index date. Point prevalence of behavioral symptoms was estimated during baseline and the 12-month follow-up period. Propensity score matching was performed to match patients with and without insomnia. Multivariable conditional logistic regression was used to assess the risk of diagnosis of behavioral symptoms among insomnia and non-insomnia groups. The study cohort included 7808 patients with newly diagnosed AD (mean age = 79.4, SD = 9.6 years). The point prevalence of behavioral symptoms was as follows: among those with insomnia (n = 3904), in the baseline, AA = 9.0%, PS = 12.5%, and MD = 57.8%, and during the follow-up, AA = 13.9%, PS = 16.3%, and MD = 72.1%; among those without insomnia (n = 3904), in the baseline, AA = 6.2%, PS = 9.2%, and MD = 41.4%; and during the follow-up, AA = 7.4%, PS = 10.4%, and MD = 49.2%. The likelihood of being diagnosed with any behavioral symptoms in the follow-up period was significantly higher among patients with insomnia than those without [adjusted odds ratio (OR), 2.7; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.4-3.1]. In patients with AD, prevalence of behavioral symptoms and likelihood of being diagnosed with behavioral symptoms were significantly higher among patients with diagnosed insomnia. Further investigation is needed to understand the relationship between insomnia and behavioral symptoms in patients with AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The present study examined the motor competence of preschool children from Belgium and the United States (US), and the influence of perceived motor competence on actual motor competence. A secondary objective was to compare the levels of motor competence of Belgian and US children using the US norms of the Test of Gross Motor Development, Second Edition (TGMD-2). Methods: All participants (N = 326; ages 4–5 years) completed the TGMD-2 and the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence for Young Children. Results: Belgian children performed significantly higher on actual object control and locomotor skills than US children. However, both Belgian and US children scored significantly worse on the TGMD-2 when compared to the US norm group from 1997–1998. Furthermore, perceived motor competence was significantly related to actual object control skills but not locomotor skills. Conclusion: The present study showed cross-cultural differences in actual motor competence in young children. The findings also indicate a secular downward trend in childhood competence levels, possibly due to a decrease in physical activity and increase in sedentary behavior. Future research should consider conducting an in-depth exploration of physical activity contexts such as physical education to better understand cross-cultural differences in motor competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Safety performance functions (SPFs) are essential tools for highway agencies to predict crashes, identify hotspots and assess safety countermeasures. In the Highway Safety Manual (HSM), a variety of SPFs are provided for different types of roadway facilities, crash types and severity levels. Agencies, lacking the necessary resources to develop own localized SPFs, may opt to apply the HSM’s SPFs for their jurisdictions. Yet, municipalities that want to develop and maintain their regional SPFs might encounter the issue of the small sample bias. Bayesian inference is being conducted to address this issue by combining the current data with prior information to achieve reliable results. It follows that the essence of Bayesian statistics is the application of informative priors, obtained from other SPFs or experts’ experiences. Method In this study, we investigate the applicability of informative priors for Bayesian negative binomial SPFs for rural divided multilane highway segments in Florida and California. An SPF with non-informative priors is developed for each state and its parameters’ distributions are assigned to the other state’s SPF as informative priors. The performances of SPFs are evaluated by applying each state’s SPFs to the other state. The analysis is conducted for both total (KABCO) and severe (KAB) crashes. Results, conclusions and practical applications As per the results, applying one state’s SPF with informative priors, which are the other state’s SPF independent variable estimates, to the latter state’s conditions yields better goodness of fit (GOF) values than applying the former state’s SPF with non-informative priors to the conditions of the latter state. This is for both total and severe crash SPFs. Hence, for localities where it is not preferred to develop own localized SPFs and adopt SPFs from elsewhere to cut down on resources, application of informative priors is shown to facilitate the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Many Americans sustain large animal-related injuries (LARIs) from blunt trauma. We compare the injuries and management of LARI in our region of the United States with those of motor vehicle crashes (MVCs).Methods: A 15-year retrospective study of trauma patients with LARI matched to MVC controls by Injury Severity Score (ISS), age, and sex was conducted. Values were statistically compared, and differences were considered statistically significant at P < .05.Results: There were 156 LARI cases, of which 87% were related to horses, 8% to bulls, and the remainder to deer, mules, bison, cows, and rams. In the LARI group, the age was 42±18 years (mean±SD), ISS was 7±4, and 61% were females. The MVC group had a significantly longer length of hospital stay (5±5 vs 4±3 days) and blood alcohol concentration (35±84 vs 3±20 g/L). There were no significant differences in injury patterns between LARI and MVC; however, additional radiological studies (RS) were performed on MVC (9±6 vs 7±5). LARI patients were more often transferred from rural locations (39% vs 25%) and traveled further to our trauma center (40±32 vs 24±29 km) than did MVC patients.Conclusions: LARI has a similar pattern of injury to MVC, but fewer RS. LARI typically occurred further away, requiring transfer from rural areas to our institution. We recommend a similar approach for the evaluation of LARI and MVC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ocean waves are a more predictable resource with a higher energy density compared to solar and wind. In addition, and specifically for the United States, resource locations with high wave power are close to major load centers being located along coastlines. These features have sparked a surge of attention in the United States on trying to economically harness ocean wave power. The aim of this article is to provide a concise review of the current state of ocean wave energy conversion technologies and industry status in the United States including research and development as well as commercial activities and governmental support, concluding with a discussion of future industry perspectives. Existing facilities, softwares as well as laboratory and open-water test facilities and resources, active research groups and commercial activities have been identified. Over one third of commercially active wave energy developers worldwide are located within the United States, but only a few have reached a high Technology Readiness Level. These findings, together with a relevant practical resource located within the U.S. and the advantageous nature of the resource compared to other renewable resources, indicate that the United States is well positioned to advance the wave energy industry in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cluster analysis (CA) is a frequently used applied statistical technique that helps to reveal hidden structures and "clusters" found in large data sets. However, this method has not been widely used in large healthcare claims databases where the distribution of expenditure data is commonly severely skewed. The purpose of this study was to identify cost change patterns of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who initiated hemodialysis (HD) by applying different clustering methods.Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional, observational study was conducted using the Truven Health MarketScan® Research Databases. Patients aged ≥18 years with ≥2 ESRD diagnoses who initiated HD between 2008 and 2010 were included. The K-means CA method and hierarchical CA with various linkage methods were applied to all-cause costs within baseline (12-months pre-HD) and follow-up periods (12-months post-HD) to identify clusters. Demographic, clinical, and cost information was extracted from both periods, and then examined by cluster.Results: A total of 18,380 patients were identified. Meaningful all-cause cost clusters were generated using K-means CA and hierarchical CA with either flexible beta or Ward's methods. Based on cluster sample sizes and change of cost patterns, the K-means CA method and 4 clusters were selected: Cluster 1: Average to High (n = 113); Cluster 2: Very High to High (n = 89); Cluster 3: Average to Average (n = 16,624); or Cluster 4: Increasing Costs, High at Both Points (n = 1554). Median cost changes in the 12-month pre-HD and post-HD periods increased from $185,070 to $884,605 for Cluster 1 (Average to High), decreased from $910,930 to $157,997 for Cluster 2 (Very High to High), were relatively stable and remained low from $15,168 to $13,026 for Cluster 3 (Average to Average), and increased from $57,909 to $193,140 for Cluster 4 (Increasing Costs, High at Both Points). Relatively stable costs after starting HD were associated with more stable scores on comorbidity index scores from the pre-and post-HD periods, while increasing costs were associated with more sharply increasing comorbidity scores.Conclusions: The K-means CA method appeared to be the most appropriate in healthcare claims data with highly skewed cost information when taking into account both change of cost patterns and sample size in the smallest cluster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Measures of population-level influenza severity are important for public health planning, but estimates are often based on case-fatality and case-hospitalization risks, which require multiple data sources, are prone to surveillance biases, and are typically unavailable in the early stages of an outbreak. To address the limitations of traditional indicators, we propose a novel severity index based on influenza age dynamics estimated from routine physician diagnosis data that can be used retrospectively and for early warning.Methods: We developed a quantitative 'ground truth' severity benchmark that synthesizes multiple traditional severity indicators from publicly available influenza surveillance data in the United States. Observing that the age distribution of cases may signal severity early in an epidemic, we constructed novel retrospective and early warning severity indexes based on the relative risk of influenza-like illness (ILI) among working-age adults to that among school-aged children using weekly outpatient medical claims. We compared our relative risk-based indexes to the composite benchmark and estimated seasonal severity for flu seasons from 2001-02 to 2008-09 at the national and state levels.Results: The severity classifications made by the benchmark were not uniquely captured by any single contributing metric, including pneumonia and influenza mortality; the influenza epidemics of 2003-04 and 2007-08 were correctly identified as the most severe of the study period. The retrospective index was well correlated with the severity benchmark and correctly identified the two most severe seasons. The early warning index performance varied, but it projected 2007-08 as relatively severe 10 weeks prior to the epidemic peak. Influenza severity varied significantly among states within seasons, and four states were identified as possible early warning sentinels for national severity.Conclusions: Differences in age patterns of ILI may be used to characterize seasonal influenza severity in the United States in real-time and in a spatially resolved way. Future research on antigenic changes among circulating viruses, pre-existing immunity, and changing contact patterns may better elucidate the mechanisms underlying these indexes. Researchers and practitioners should consider the use of composite or ILI-based severity metrics in addition to traditional severity measures to inform epidemiological understanding and situational awareness in future seasonal outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the issue of elderly inmates remaining incarcerated despite posing a decreased threat to society, how prison conditions affect the elderly, the rate at which New York grants parole and compassionate medical release to elderly prisoners, and the rate of recidivism among elderly prisoners. Topics include the Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) campaign which was founded by former inmates and advocated the decarceration of elderly inmates, how the U.S. prison system impacts Black and Latino populations, and the cost to taxpayers of keeping elderly convicts incarcerated.

Introduction: Fine-grained influenza surveillance data are lacking in the US, hampering our ability to monitor disease spread at a local scale. Here we evaluate the performances of high-volume electronic medical claims data to assess local and regional influenza activity. Material and Methods: We used electronic medical claims data compiled by IMS Health in 480 US locations to create weekly regional influenza-like-illness (ILI) time series during 2003–2010. IMS Health captured 62% of US outpatient visits in 2009. We studied the performances of IMS-ILI indicators against reference influenza surveillance datasets, including CDC-ILI outpatient and laboratory-confirmed influenza data. We estimated correlation in weekly incidences, peak timing and seasonal intensity across datasets, stratified by 10 regions and four age groups (<5, 5–29, 30–59, and 60+ years). To test IMS-Health performances at the city level, we compared IMS-ILI indicators to syndromic surveillance data for New York City. We also used control data on laboratory-confirmed Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) activity to test the specificity of IMS-ILI for influenza surveillance. Results: Regional IMS-ILI indicators were highly synchronous with CDC's reference influenza surveillance data (Pearson correlation coefficients rho≥0.89; range across regions, 0.80–0.97, P<0.001). Seasonal intensity estimates were weakly correlated across datasets in all age data (rho≤0.52), moderately correlated among adults (rho≥0.64) and uncorrelated among school-age children. IMS-ILI indicators were more correlated with reference influenza data than control RSV indicators (rho = 0.93 with influenza v. rho = 0.33 with RSV, P<0.05). City-level IMS-ILI indicators were highly consistent with reference syndromic data (rho≥0.86). Conclusion: Medical claims-based ILI indicators accurately capture weekly fluctuations in influenza activity in all US regions during inter-pandemic and pandemic seasons, and can be broken down by age groups and fine geographical areas. Medical claims data provide more reliable and fine-grained indicators of influenza activity than other high-volume electronic algorithms and should be used to augment existing influenza surveillance systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic provides a unique opportunity for detailed examination of the spatial dynamics of an emerging pathogen. In the US, the pandemic was characterized by substantial geographical heterogeneity: the 2009 spring wave was limited mainly to northeastern cities while the larger fall wave affected the whole country. Here we use finely resolved spatial and temporal influenza disease data based on electronic medical claims to explore the spread of the fall pandemic wave across 271 US cities and associated suburban areas. We document a clear spatial pattern in the timing of onset of the fall wave, starting in southeastern cities and spreading outwards over a period of three months. We use mechanistic models to tease apart the external factors associated with the timing of the fall wave arrival: differential seeding events linked to demographic factors, school opening dates, absolute humidity, prior immunity from the spring wave, spatial diffusion, and their interactions. Although the onset of the fall wave was correlated with school openings as previously reported, models including spatial spread alone resulted in better fit. The best model had a combination of the two. Absolute humidity or prior exposure during the spring wave did not improve the fit and population size only played a weak role. In conclusion, the protracted spread of pandemic influenza in fall 2009 in the US was dominated by short-distance spatial spread partially catalysed by school openings rather than long-distance transmission events. This is in contrast to the rapid hierarchical transmission patterns previously described for seasonal influenza. The findings underline the critical role that school-age children play in facilitating the geographic spread of pandemic influenza and highlight the need for further information on the movement and mixing patterns of this age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are examining different configurations and circuit topologies for arithmetic components such as adder and compressor circuits using both symmetric and asymmetric work-function FinFETs. Based on extensive characterization data, for the carry generation of a mirror full adder using symmetric devices, both leakage current and delay are decreased by 25% and 50%, respectively, compared to results in the literature. For the 14-transistor (14T) full adder topology, both leakage and delay are decreased by 23% and 29%, respectively, compared to the mirror topology. The 14T adder topology, using asymmetric devices without any additional power supply, achives reduction in leakage current by 85% with a small degradation of 7% in delay. The compressor circuits, using asymmetric devices for one of the proposed configurations, achieve reduction in both leakage current and delay by 86% and 4%, respectively. All simulations are based on a 25nm FinFET technology using the University of Florida UFDG model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of context and culture on leadership and decision-making styles of Lebanese-born executives working in the USA, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and Lebanon. Design/methodology/approach – Using a semi-structured questionnaire, 76 successful Lebanese executives were interviewed in three regions of the world. Comparisons among the three groups are made on three elements: early ingredients for success particularly during childhood and educational years, emotional intelligence (EI) leadership styles, and decision-making styles. Findings – Although successful leaders, born and raised in Lebanon, share the early ingredients for success, they differ significantly in their decision making and EI leadership styles when working outside Lebanon with multicultural and diverse followers. Research limitations/implications – The research findings strongly suggest that future research on cross-cultural leadership will be more fruitful when context and culture are taken into account, and if researchers use a non-Western conceptualization of culture, and when the research is conducted by multicultural and interdisciplinary researchers. Originality/value – The study lends support to the notion that successful leaders adapt to their new culture and context, learning from adversity and experience, and mastering the cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the introduction of Chapter 93 which integrates the Stolen Valor Act into the California Legislature. The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 was signed into law in 2006 criminalizing a person who falsely claim to have been awarded with a service medal or decoration by the U.S. Congress that violates the Act involving the Medal of Honor or another top medal. However, Chapter 93 amends section 3003 of the California Government Code that requires state officials to relinquish if convicted of violating the Stolen Valor Act to preserve the honor and dedication and sacrifice on behalf of the nation.

Collapsible soils type are in nature unsaturated soils, which are characterized by a metastable structure and undergo an abrupt collapse when they are flooded (with or without loading), which causes important damage. Based on the structural composition of these soils, we reconstituted the samples made up of sand and fine particles occurring in various proportions. The first phase of the work consists in the experimental determination of the geotechnical characteristics of these samples. It is thereafter proposed a test program based primarily on the use of the cone penetrometer and the ultrasonic apparatus allowing the factors which influence collapse to be predicted. The results obtained clearly show the influence of certain parameters such as water content and the energy of compaction on the collapse potential and the ultrasonic speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable precipitation measurement is a crucial component in hydrologic studies. Although satellite-based observation is able to provide spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation, the measurements tend to show systematic bias. This paper introduces a grid-based precipitation merging procedure in which satellite estimates from the Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks–Cloud Classification System (PERSIANN–CCS) are adjusted based on the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) daily rain gauge analysis. To remove the bias, the hourly CCS estimates were spatially and temporally accumulated to the daily 1° × 1° scale, the resolution of CPC rain gauge analysis. The daily CCS bias was then downscaled to the hourly temporal scale to correct hourly CCS estimates. The bias corrected CCS estimates are called the adjusted CCS (CCSA) product. With the adjustment from the gauge measurement, CCSA data have been generated to provide more reliable high temporal/spatial-resolution precipitation estimates. In the case study, the CCSA precipitation estimates from the proposed approach are compared against ground-based measurements in high-density gauge networks located in the southwestern United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies are available on Corporate Social and Environmental Disclosure (CSED) in a developing country like Bangladesh. The latest study on the state of CSED was conducted about 10 years ago. During this period, in addition to global diversities, many changes have occurred in the socio-political scenario in Bangladesh. The Government of Bangladesh (GOB) has recently undertaken pragmatic steps in order to make institutional and organizational changes. Attempts are being made to ensure good governance in all parts of public administration, declaring war against corruption. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the controlling body for the stock exchanges, has taken necessary action to establish corporate governance of the listed companies in Bangladesh. Stakeholders of the companies are gradually becoming aware of corporate operations. These socio-political and organizational changes might influence the social responsibilities of the corporate bodies that might ultimately be reflected in the disclosure practices of the listed companies. This study attempts to revisit the state of CSED through content analysis. Annual reports of 100 companies, listed both on the Dhaka Stock Exchange and the Chittagong Stock Exchange, are selected based on a stratified random sampling technique. The study reveals that the level of disclosure has improved over the last 10 years. Based on the proposed research instrument for content analysis, all sample companies (n = 100) in Bangladesh are found to disclose at least one item of disclosure on human resource issues; while community issues (47%), consumer issues (23%) and environmental issues (19%). From a global perspective, however, the level and the extent of disclosure are found to be meagre. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study presents experimental results on the use of Portland cement in the modification and stabilization of soils in the state of Washington, USA. Cement was added in percentages of 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10%, by dry weight of the soils. Laboratory tests to determine the drying rate of the soil, Atterberg limits, compaction characteristics, unconfined compressive strength, and consolidated-undrained triaxial behaviour were performed. Results of the investigation showed significant improvement in drying rate, workability, unconfined compressive strength, and shear strength. The improvement is dependent on the type of soil. Results of undrained triaxial tests showed that while cement treatment improved shear strength significantly, the type of failure behavior varied greatly. Non-treated, 5%, and 10% cement treated soils displayed ductile, planar, and splitting type of failure, respectively. Treated soils with 10% cement content split during failure with rapid rise in pore pressures equaling confining pressures resulting in effective pressure at failure near zero. Therefore, while increased strength is achieved by cement treatment, high percentages of cement should be used with caution in field applications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The visible-near infrared (VNIR) and short wave infrared (SWIR) spectral bands of both the level 1B, radiance at sensor, and level 2, AST_07 surface reflectance data products of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument were evaluated and compared for mapping the alteration zones around porphyry copper deposits and occurrences at the northern Shahr-e-Babak, SE Iran. The level 1B data were converted to reflectance using internal average relative reflectance (IARR) method whereas the AST_07 dataset was processed as delivered. The porphyry copper mineralization occurs in Eocene, andesitic and basaltic rocks with zonal alteration patterns that are concentric and almost symmetrically arranged. The spectral signatures of alteration index minerals collected from field samples and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) spectral reference library, were considered in directed principal component analysis (DPCA) and spectral angle mapping (SAM) algorithms. Carrying out the DPCA method on three spectral bands enhanced the alteration haloes in the last principal component (PC) images. Generating RGB colour composite images using these PC images differentiated three alteration zones from the host rocks. The SAM results of the IARR calibrated dataset discriminated the propylitic, argillic and phyllic alteration zones. It is concluded that the higher spectral resolution of ASTER instrument is effective for mineral mapping. However, the method of conversion from radiance to reflectance is critical to the validity of the outputs and that the pseudo-reflectance method using the IARR process may be more reliable than the standard reflectance product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the purpose behind the Fifth Amendment, the case law dealing with the "physical characteristics" cases, and Muniz's cruel trilemma analysis. It also describes the conflicting positions taken by the Ninth and First Circuits, and argues that dictation method evidence is testimonial in nature and that Pheaster has been "undermined" by Muniz. It then concludes that the Ninth Circuit should reverse Pheaster, or that the U.S. Supreme Court should resolve the circuit split in favor of the First Circuit's position in Campbell.

Purpose — The purpose of this paper is to examine entrepreneurship in Egypt, an Islamic society in transition to a free market, and makes general comparisons with entrepreneurship in the United States, a secular society with a highly developed market economy. Design/methodology/approach — American and Egyptian entrepreneurial differences are discussed within a number of themes related to cultural and environmental factors: the transition to a free market including transparency; money and its cultural meanings; locus of control; attitude towards risk; and work-life equilibrium. Findings — This paper argues that social and economic changes and environmental adversity, such as competition, which accompany the transition to a free market, create pressure on the emergent market (Egypt) to adopt a model of environment that is hospitable to entrepreneurs who seek to create new organizations or implement change through new organizational and programmatic initiatives. Practical implications — Managers in an emergent market who are trying to improve competitiveness and efficiency should be aware of how most people from specific cultures value money, and also be aware of cultural differences with regard to the importance and the role of money. Originality/value — It may be that insufficient attention is given to the relationship between entrepreneurial characteristics and national culture, as well as structural elements influenced by or directly related to culture. This paper attempts to bring some light to this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lobbying constitutes a major element in the political strategy of firms seeking favorable regulatory outcomes and is perceived as a source of a firm's competitive advantage. Recognizing firms' ability to influence their external environments through reactive and proactive political behavior, this paper analyzes the firm-specific determinants of corporate political activity and intensity. Results from US and Japanese firms indicate that firm size, diversification, and internationalization positively influence the likelihood of a firm being an active lobbyist. While firm profitability influences the "intensity" of lobbying activity, foreign nationality has a negative impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the effects of exposure to the environment around the World Trade Center after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Evaluation of police first-responders; Occurrence of respiratory symptoms; Independent risk factors for abnormal spirometry; Finding that officers with dyspnea, chest discomfort, or wheeze were more likely to have abnormal spirometry.