Why concepts are (probably) vectors.

For decades, cognitive scientists have debated what kind of representation might characterize human concepts. Whatever the format of the representation, it must allow for the computation of varied properties, including similarities, features, categories, definitions, and relations. It must also support the development of theories, ad hoc categories, and knowledge of procedures.

The evolution and scope of Medicaid Section 1115 demonstrations to address nutrition: a US survey.

Poor nutrition and food insecurity are drivers of poor health, diet-related diseases, and health disparities in the U.S. State Medicaid Section 1115 demonstration waivers offer opportunities to pilot food-based initiatives to address health outcomes and disparities.

Testing the whole number interference hypothesis: Contributions of inhibitory control and whole number knowledge to fraction understanding.

The present study tests two predictions stemming from the hypothesis that a source of difficulty with rational numbers is interference from whole number magnitude knowledge. First, inhibitory control should be an independent predictor of fraction understanding, even after controlling for working memory. Second, if the source of interference is whole number knowledge, then it should hinder fraction understanding.

Relational thinking: An overlooked component of executive functioning.

Relational thinking, the ability to represent abstract, generalizable relations, is a core component of reasoning and human cognition. Relational thinking contributes to fluid reasoning and academic achievement, particularly in the domain of math. However, due to the complex nature of many fluid reasoning tasks, it has been difficult to determine the degree to which relational thinking has a separable role from the cognitive processes collectively known as executive functions (EFs).

Ten years post-GAO assessment, FDA remains uninformed of potentially harmful GRAS substances in foods.

It has been approximately 10 years since the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published its report to Congress entitled, , which strongly criticized FDA noting that its "oversight process does not help ensure the safety of all new GRAS determinations." Congress requested GAO to undertake this audit as a result of concerns that GRAS substances added to foods did not require FDA approval. Since 2010, FDA has addressed only a few of the criticisms regarding its process for establishing a food substance as GRAS.

Individual differences in fraction arithmetic learning.

Understanding fractions is critical to mathematical development, yet many children struggle with fractions even after years of instruction. Fraction arithmetic is particularly challenging. The present study employed a computational model of fraction arithmetic learning, FARRA (Fraction Arithmetic Reflects Rules and Associations; Braithwaite, Pyke, and Siegler, 2017), to investigate individual differences in children's fraction arithmetic.

Misunderstood food date labels and reported food discards: A survey of U.S. consumer attitudes and behaviors.

Introduction: Food date labels such as "best before" and "sell by" are largely unregulated in the United States (U.S.), although new voluntary standards are coming into effect.

Determination of the packing fraction in photonic glass using synchrotron radiation nanotomography.

Photonic glass is a material class that can be used as photonic broadband reflectors, for example in the infrared regime as thermal barrier coating films. Photonic properties such as the reflectivity depend on the ordering and material packing fraction over the complete film thickness of up to 100 µm. Nanotomography allows acquiring these key parameters throughout the sample volume at the required resolution in a non-destructive way.

Trabecular Bone Score in Patients With Chronic Glucocorticoid Therapy-Induced Osteoporosis Treated With Alendronate or Teriparatide.

Objective: To determine the effect of alendronate (ALN) and teriparatide on trabecular bone score (TBS) in patients with glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis.

Methods: Patients with chronic glucocorticoid therapy-induced osteoporosis (median 7.5 mg/day prednisone equivalent for ≥90 days) were randomized to receive oral ALN 10 mg/day (n = 214) or subcutaneous teriparatide 20 μg/day (n = 214) for 36 months; 118 patients in the ALN group and 123 patients in the teriparatide group completed treatment.

Tungsten band edge absorber/emitter based on a monolayer of ceramic microspheres.

We report on a band edge absorber/emitter design for high-temperature applications based on an unstructured tungsten substrate and a monolayer of ceramic microspheres. The absorber was fabricated as a monolayer of ZrO(2) microparticles on a tungsten layer with a HfO(2) nanocoating. The band edge of the absorption is based on critically coupled microsphere resonances.

Bone status in glucocorticoid-treated men and women.

Unlabelled: We recorded the results of areal bone mineral density (aBMD) and microarchitecture of the bone measured by trabecular bone score (TBS) in 416 glucocorticoid-treated men and women aged 40 years and older with or without fracture to 1104 controls. TBS better discriminated those with fracture compared to aBMD. These differences were the greatest in men.

Synthesis and thermal stability of zirconia and yttria-stabilized zirconia microspheres.

Hypothesis: Zirconia microparticles produced by sol-gel synthesis have great potential for photonic applications. To this end, identifying synthetic methods that yield reproducible control over size uniformity is important. Phase transformations during thermal cycling can disintegrate the particles.

Comparing bone microarchitecture by trabecular bone score (TBS) in Caucasian American women with and without osteoporotic fractures.

Several cross-sectional studies have shown the ability of the TBS to discriminate between those with and without fractures in European populations. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of TBS to discriminate between those with and without fractures in a large female Caucasian population in the USA. This was a case-control study of 2,165 Caucasian American women aged 40 and older.

Creation of an age-adjusted, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry-derived trabecular bone score curve for the lumbar spine in non-Hispanic US White women.

The trabecular bone score (TBS, Med-Imaps, Pessac, France) is an index of bone microarchitecture texture extracted from anteroposterior dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry images of the spine. Previous studies have documented the ability of TBS of the spine to differentiate between women with and without fractures among age- and areal bone mineral density (aBMD)-matched controls, as well as to predict future fractures. In this cross-sectional analysis of data collected from 3 geographically dispersed facilities in the United States, we investigated age-related changes in the microarchitecture of lumbar vertebrae as assessed by TBS in a cohort of non-Hispanic US white American women.

Vertebral microarchitecture and fragility fracture in men: a TBS study.

Introduction: Although osteoporosis is considered a disease of women, 25% of the individuals with osteoporosis are men. BMD measurement by DXA is the gold standard used to diagnose osteoporosis and assess fracture risk. Nevertheless, BMD does not take into account alterations of microarchitecture.

Cross-linked gold nanoparticles on polyethylene: resistive responses to tensile strain and vapors.

In this study, coatings of cross-linked gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on flexible polyethylene (PE) substrates were prepared via layer-by-layer deposition and their application as strain gauges and chemiresistors was investigated. Special emphasis was placed on characterizing the influence of strain on the chemiresistive responses. The coatings were deposited using amine stabilized AuNPs (4 and 9 nm diameter) and 1,9-nonanedithiol (NDT) or pentaerythritol tetrakis(3-mercaptopropionate) (PTM) as cross-linkers.

Utility of spine bone mineral density in fracture prediction within FRAX.

Predicting individuals at risk for fracturing and modifying that risk are important in preventative health. Our aim was to quantify the impact of spine bone mineral density (BMD) on fracture risk prediction and determine the positive predictive value of fracture prediction using the lowest BMD value at the femoral neck, total hip, or lumbar spine. A retrospective cross-sectional analysis of 15,033 women was performed, assessing the contribution of age, body mass index, number of clinical risk factors, T-score, and osteoporosis category to the presence of fracture.

Official Positions for FRAX(®) clinical regarding glucocorticoids: the impact of the use of glucocorticoids on the estimate by FRAX(®) of the 10 year risk of fracture from Joint Official Positions Development Conference of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry and International Osteoporosis Foundation on FRAX(®).

Given the significant impact the use of glucocorticoids can have on fracture risk independent of bone density, their use has been incorporated as one of the clinical risk factors for calculating the 10-year fracture risk in the World Health Organization's Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX(®)). Like the other clinical risk factors, the use of glucocorticoids is included as a dichotomous variable with use of steroids defined as past or present exposure of 3 months or more of use of a daily dose of 5 mg or more of prednisolone or equivalent. The purpose of this report is to give clinicians guidance on adjustments which should be made to the 10-year risk based on the dose, duration of use and mode of delivery of glucocorticoids preparations.

International Society for Clinical Densitometry official positions: Asia-Pacific Region consensus.

The International Society for Clinical Densitometry (lSCD) is a nonprofit multidisciplinary international professional organization. The ISCD mission is to advance excellence in the assessment of skeletal health. To achieve this mission, the ISCD has conducted a number of Position Development Conferences over the past 10yr, bringing together international experts to review and create evidence-based position statements guiding clinicians involved in the area.

"Evidence-based" or "logic-based" medicine?

Low trauma fractures are the cardinal manifestation of osteoporosis. Their occurrence supersedes bone mineral density in deciding whether specific therapy is warranted. We therefore disagree with the notion that a densitometric threshold for treatment should be applied to patients over age 50 who suffer low trauma distal radius fracture.

Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry Technical issues: the 2007 ISCD Official Positions.

At the 2007 Position Development Conference, the Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry Technical Task Force investigated three major areas of bone density testing. Although bone mineral density (BMD) testing in men had previously been reviewed at the 2005 Position Development Conference, we reviewed the most recent data in men to develop appropriate indications for bone density testing in men. We continue to recommend screening at age 70 and discuss the clinical risk factors that may be an appropriate indication for earlier BMD testing.

Position Development Conference of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry. Vancouver, BC, July 15-17, 2005.

Every 2 years the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) organizes a position development conference at which a panel of experts reviews topics of interest in the field of bone densitometry and proposes Official Positions of the ISCD. In July 2005, the most recent conference was held in Vancouver, Canada, during which 4 topics were discussed: (1) Cross-calibration of dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) systems, (2) Vertebral fracture assessment, (3) World Health Organization (WHO) classification of bone density for populations other than postmenopausal women, and (4) WHO classification for varying skeletal sites. The Official Positions reached at this conference enumerated in this report have been published in The Journal of Clinical Densitometry, and can be found at www.