cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Relationships among water column toxins, cell abundance and chlorophyll concentrations during Karenia brevis blooms

Abstract The assumptions that Karenia brevis cell abundance and brevetoxin concentrations are proportional and that cell abundance and chlorophyll are related were tested in a 3-year field study off the west coast of Florida. The relationship between K. brevis cell abundance and brevetoxins (PbTx-2+PbTx-3) in whole water samples was strong ( R 2 =0.92). There was no significant difference between the brevetoxin concentrations in whole water and the >0.7 μm particulate fraction. Only 7% of the total brevetoxin concentration was measured in the K. brevis cell abundance >5000 cells L −1 with chlorophyll for all cruises and at all depths was robust ( R 2 =0.78). These data substantiate the use of chlorophyll as a proxy for K. brevis cell abundance and K. brevis cell abundance as a proxy for brevetoxins during blooms. The ratios of the brevetoxins, PbTx-2:PbTx-3, was significantly higher in surface water than in bottom water. This information in conjunction with K. brevis growth rates may provide a useful indicator for determining the physiological state of the bloom over time.
Do Medical Out-of-Pocket Expenses Thrust Families into Poverty?

This paper estimates the impact of medical out-of-pocket expenses on families' well-being using the Survey of Income and Program Participation. Medical out-of-pocket expenses include the out-of-pocket costs from medical services and the family's share of health insurance premiums. Demographic characteristics, insurance status, and medical usage of the family are analyzed to determine which characteristics are most likely to impoverish a family. Families impoverished because of medical out-of-pocket expenses are far more likely to have older heads of the family, at least one family member in poor health, or some adults without health insurance. Families without at least one person who worked full time for the entire year were also likely to be impoverished. However, children in the family had little effect on the probability that the family became impoverished. This odd result is probably due to the high correlation between parental health insurance coverage and the health insurance coverage of their children.
Medical image segmentation via min s-t cuts with sides constraints

Graph cut algorithms (i.e., min s-t cuts) [3][10][15] are useful in many computer vision applications. In this paper we develop a formulation that allows the addition of side constraints to the min s-t cuts algorithm in order to improve its performance. We apply this formulation to foreground/background segmentation and provide empirical evidence to support its usefulness. From our experiments on medical image segmentation, the graph cut with constraints achieve significantly better performance than that without any constraint. Although the constrained min s-t cut problem is generally NP-hard, our approximation algorithm that uses linear programming relaxation and a simple rounding technique as a heuristic produces good results in a few seconds with our unoptimized code.
Associations of Insulin Resistance With Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Inflammatory Cytokines in Normal-Weight Hispanic Women

OBJECTIVE To investigate the associations of markers of insulin resistance with cardiovascular disease risk factors and inflammation in young, normal-weight, Hispanic women. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Seventy-one normal-weight (BMI <25 kg/m2) Hispanic women (age, 20–39 years) participated in a fasting blood draw for glucose, insulin, lipids, and inflammatory markers, a glucose tolerance test, anthropometric and blood pressure measurements, body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, cardiorespiratory fitness via V o2max, and daily physical activity by accelerometer. RESULTS Six percent of participants had impaired fasting glucose, 14% had impaired glucose tolerance, and 48% had at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor. Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and fasting insulin were positively correlated with glucose, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure, and were negatively correlated with adiponectin ( P < 0.05). The 2-h insulin was positively correlated with diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. HOMA-IR and fasting insulin remained significantly and positively related to glucose, triglycerides, and blood pressure after adjustment for body composition. The relationships between markers of insulin resistance and adiponectin and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were attenuated after adjustment for body composition. CONCLUSIONS Surrogate markers of insulin resistance were associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors and inflammation in young, normal-weight, Hispanic women. Our findings suggest that HOMA-IR, fasting, and 2-h insulin may be important clinical markers for identifying young, normal-weight, Hispanic women who may be at risk for development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Our findings show the importance of early screening for prevention of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in this population.
Antireflective coatings using organically modified silica and polyimide via solution casting method

Antireflective (AR) coatings were prepared using a polyimide and two types of organically modified silica colloids via a solution casting method. The optically transparent polyimide was prepared from 2,2′-Bis[4-(3,4-dicarboxyphenoxy)phenyl]propane dianhydride (BPADA) and 4,4′-oxydianiline (ODA). The silica colloids were driven to the coating-air interface by either the fluorinated alkyl group or PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane) segment tethered onto the silica colloids. The amount of fluorinated alkyl groups and the molecular weight of the siloxane grafted on the silica colloid were varied. The PDMS-silica and fluorosilica colloids were characterized by TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy), DLS (Dynamic Light Scattering), FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy), solid-state 13C NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) and solid-state 29Si NMR. The AR coatings were characterized by UV–vis (Ultraviolet–Visible Spectroscopy) transmittance spectra, AFM (Atomic Force Microscope), and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope). The effects of modified silica loading and type of solvent on AR properties were studied. An enhancement in AR activity was observed for 1 wt% PDMS-modified (low molecular weight) silica coatings and 3 wt.% fluorosilica-10 in dimethylacetamide (DMAc). In comparison with cyclopentanone (CPT), DMAc favors migration of silica particles toward coating-air interface giving higher transmittance. The migration of particles to the surface and consequently increased surface roughness was observed by SEM. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 53:2228–2241, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers
Pip: detecting the unexpected in distributed systems

Bugs in distributed systems are often hard to find. Many bugs reflect discrepancies between a system's behavior and the programmer's assumptions about that behavior. We present Pip, an infrastructure for comparing actual behavior and expected behavior to expose structural errors and performance problems in distributed systems. Pip allows programmers to express, in a declarative language, expectations about the system's communications structure, timing, and resource consumption. Pip includes system instrumentation and annotation tools to log actual system behavior, and visualization and query tools for exploring expected and unexpected behavior. Pip allows a developer to quickly understand and debug both familiar and unfamiliar systems. We applied Pip to several applications, including FAB, SplitStream, Bullet, and RanSub. We generated most of the instrumentation for all four applications automatically. We found the needed expectations easy to write, starting in each case with automatically generated expectations. Pip found unexpected behavior in each application, and helped to isolate the causes of poor performance and incorrect behavior.
In-Person Interaction in AAC: New Perspectives on Utterances, Multimodality, Timing, and Device Design

Evidence is accumulating for the language use model in psycholinguistics, the social sciences as well as work in human computer interaction. Recent research in augmentative and alternative communic...
Lysosomes in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

The sections in this article are: 1 General Properties of Lysosomes 1.1 Definition 1.2 Physiological Functions of Lysosomes 2 Methods Used to Study Lysosomes 2.1 Biochemical Techniques 2.2 Morphological Techniques 3 Lysosomes in Vascular Smooth Muscle 3.1 Properties of Lysosomes in Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells 3.2 Lysosmal Alterations Associated with Vascular Diseases 4 Lysosomal Functions in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and Implications for Disease 4.1 Implications for Atherosclerosis 4.2 Implications for Hypertension and Diabetes Mellitus 4.3 Possible Implications of Autophagy 4.4 Insights from Inborn States of Lysosomal Deficiency 5 Conclusion 6 Addendum
112 Gb/s PM-QPSK transmission systems with reach lengths enabled by optical fibers with ultra-low loss and very large effective area

Steadily increasing data traffic gives rise to increasing capacity requirements in optical communication networks. It is well understood that systems with higher symbol rates and/or multi-level modulation formats generally demand higher optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) at the receiver to achieve acceptable system performance. In terms of the optical fiber medium, higher OSNR can be attained by lowering fiber loss and reducing fiber nonlinearity. We review several recent experimental investigations of 112 Gb/s PM-QPSK transmission with reach-length results enabled by the use of optical fibers with ultra-low loss and very large effective area.
Synthesis and Biological Activity of Human Neuropeptide S Analogues Modified in Position 2

Neuropeptide S (NPS) has been identified as the endogenous ligand of a previously orphan receptor now named NPSR. Previous studies demonstrated that the N-terminal sequence Phe2-Arg3-Asn4 of the peptide is crucial for biological activity. Here we report on a focused structure–activity study of Phe2 which has been replaced with a series of coded and noncoded amino acids. Thirty-one human NPS analogues were synthesized and pharmacologically tested for intracellular calcium mobilization by using HEK293 cells stably expressing the mouse NPSR. The results of this study demonstrated the following NPS position 2 structure–activity features: (i) lipophilicity but not aromaticity is crucial, (ii) both the size of the chemical moiety and its distance from the peptide backbone are important for biological activity, and (iii) this position plays a role in both receptor binding and activation, since [4,4′-biphenyl-Ala2]hNPS behaved as a partial agonist.
Boolean modeling of neural systems with point-process inputs and outputs.

This paper presents a novel modeling approach for neural systems with point-process inputs and outputs (binary time-series of 0's and 1's) that utilizes Boolean operators of modulo-2 multiplication and addition, corresponding to the logical AND and OR operations respectively. The form of the employed mathematical model is akin to a "Boolean-Volterra" model that contains the product terms of all relevant input lags in a hierarchical order, where terms of order higher than first represent nonlinear interactions among the various lagged values of each input point-process or among lagged values of various inputs (if multiple inputs exist) as they reflect on the output. The coefficients of this Boolean model are also binary variables that indicate the presence or absence of the respective term in each specific model/system. Simulations are used to explore the properties of such models and the feasibility of accurate estimation of such models from short data- records in the presence of noise (i.e. spurious spikes). The results demonstrate the feasibility of obtaining reliable estimates of such models, even in the presence of considerable noise in the input and/or output, thus making the proposed approach an attractive candidate for modeling neural systems in a practical context.
Bacterial Survivability and Transferability on Biometric Devices

The purpose of this study was to investigate bacterial recovery and transfer from three biometric sensors and the survivability of bacteria on the devices. The modalities tested were fingerprint, hand geometry and hand vein recognition, all of which require sensor contact with the hand or fingers to collect the biometric. Each sensor was tested separately with two species of bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Survivability was investigated by sterilizing the sensor surface, applying a known volume of diluted bacterial culture to the sensor and allowing it to dry. Bacteria were recovered at 5, 20, 40 and 60 minutes after drying by touching the contaminated device with a sterile finger cot. The finger cot was re-suspended in 5 mL of saline solution, and plated dilutions to obtain live cells counts from the bacterial recovery. The transferability of bacteria from each device surface was investigated by touching the contaminated device and then touching a plate to transfer the bacteria to growth medium to obtain live cell counts. The time lapse between consecutive touches was one minute, with the number of touches was n = 50. Again, S. aureus and E. coli were used separately as detection organisms. This paper will describe the results of the study in terms of survival curves and transfer curves of each bacterial strain for each device.
AN INTEGRATED METHOD OF PARAMETER DESIGN AND TOLERANCE DESIGN

Taguchi proposed a two-stage approach to quality improvement: parameter design followed by tolerance design. A novel approach is proposed for integrating parameter design and tolerance design into a single stage of design optimization. It enjoys a de..
Beiträge zur Chemie der Si-N-Bindung, IX. Silane als Silylierungsmittel in der Silicium-Stickstoff-Chemie†

Die Einfuhrung von Silylgruppen in prim. und sec. Amine, in Silylamine, Aminosilane sowie Silazane, kann durch katalytische Silylierung der entsprechenden Verbindungen mit Silanen erfolgen. Als Katalysator dienen die Alkalimetalle oder deren Hydride.
LPA4/GPR23 Is a Lysophosphatidic Acid (LPA) Receptor Utilizing Gs-, Gq/Gi-mediated Calcium Signaling and G12/13-mediated Rho Activation

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a bioactive lysophospholipid that signals through G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) to produce a range of biological responses. A recently reported fourth receptor, LPA4/GPR23, was notable for its low homology to the previously identified receptors LPA1–3 and for its ability to increase intracellular concentrations of cAMP and calcium. However, the signaling pathways leading to LPA4-mediated induction of cAMP and calcium levels have not been reported. Using epitope-tagged LPA4, pharmacological intervention, and G protein mini-genes, we provide independent confirmatory evidence that supports LPA4 as a fourth LPA receptor, including LPA concentration-dependent responses and specific membrane binding. Importantly, we further demonstrate new LPA-dependent activities of LPA4 that include the following: receptor internalization; G12/13- and Rho-mediated neurite retraction and stress fiber formation; Gq protein and pertussis toxin-sensitive calcium mobilization and activation of a nonselective cation conductance; and cAMP increases mediated by Gs. The receptor is broadly expressed in embryonic tissues, including brain, as determined by Northern blot and reverse transcription-PCR analysis. Adult tissues have increased expression in skin, heart, and to a lesser extent, thymus. These data confirm the identification and extend the functionality of LPA4 as an LPA receptor, bringing the number of independently verified LPA receptors to five, with both overlapping and distinct signaling properties and tissue expression.
Factor Validation of the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale: Evidence for a Short Version

The author examined the factor structure of the 12-item Consideration of Future Consequences (CFC) Scale (A. Strathman, F. Gleicher, D. S. Boninger, & S. Edwards, 1994) among 664 undergraduate university students enrolled in human development courses. A principal-components factor analysis with varimax rotation yielded 2 factors. The author used confirmatory factor analysis procedures to examine the fit of 4 models, according to the principal-components factor analysis findings, with the observed covariance. The author used a number of fit indices to compare the 4 models. Both sets of analysis provided the greatest support for an 8-item short version of the CFC Scale. The author discussed findings in regard to the CFC Scale as an instrument to measure future time perspective.
Gender Differences in Lay Knowledge of Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms Among Community-dwelling Caucasian, Latino, Filipino, and Korean Adults - DiLH Survey:

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore gender differences in lay knowledge of type 2 diabetes symptoms among community-dwelling Caucasian, Latino, Filipino, and Korean Americans.Design and MethodsA cross-sectional survey was administered to a convenience sample of 904 adults (172 Caucasians, 248 Latinos, 234 Koreans, and 250 Filipinos) without diabetes at community events, community clinics, churches, and online in the San Francisco Bay Area and San Diego from August to December 2013. Participants were asked to describe in their own words signs and/or symptoms of diabetes. A multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association of lay symptom knowledge with gender after controlling for potential confounding factors.ResultsOverall, the average age of the sample populations was 44 (SD ±16.1) years, 36% were male, and 58% were married. Increased thirst/dry mouth following increased urinary frequency/color/odor and increased fatigue/lethargy/low energy were the most frequentl...
High-throughput detection of mutations responsible for childhood hearing loss using resequencing microarrays

Background: Despite current knowledge of mutations in 45 genes that can cause nonsyndromic sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), no unified clinical test has been developed that can comprehensively detect mutations in multiple genes. We therefore designed Affymetrix resequencing microarrays capable of resequencing 13 genes mutated in SNHL (GJB2, GJB6, CDH23, KCNE1, KCNQ1, MYO7A, OTOF, PDS, MYO6, SLC26A5, TMIE, TMPRSS3, USH1C). We present results from hearing loss arrays developed in two different research facilities and highlight some of the approaches we adopted to enhance the applicability of resequencing arrays in a clinical setting. Results: We leveraged sequence and intensity pattern features responsible for diminished coverage and accuracy and developed a novel algorithm, sPROFILER, which resolved >80% of no-calls from GSEQ and allowed 99.6% (range: 99.2-99.8%) of sequence to be called, while maintaining overall accuracy at >99.8% based upon dideoxy sequencing comparison. Conclusions: Together, these findings provide insight into critical issues for disease-centered resequencing protocols suitable for clinical application and support the use of array-based resequencing technology as a valuable molecular diagnostic tool for pediatric SNHL and other genetic diseases with substantial genetic heterogeneity.
Imagining the White Picket Fence: Social Class, Future Plans, and Romantic Relationship Quality

Previous research has established that individuals from a lower social class report lower relationship quality. However, to date, no studies have examined interdependence processes within the relationship as a mechanism underlying this association. The present research investigates the role of planned tangible investments as a mediator between social class and relationship quality. Across two studies, we test this hypothesis correlationally (Study 1) and experimentally (Study 2). As predicted, lower-class individuals reported fewer planned tangible investments, which in turn were associated with lower relationship satisfaction and commitment (Studies 1 and 2), as well as overall satisfaction with life (Study 2). Together, these studies suggest the importance of perceived ability to make future plans for individual and relationship well-being. This research has implications for understanding relationship quality and mental health among lower-class populations, and the findings are discussed in relation to the growing literature on social class and romantic relationships.
SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT: INFLUENCE OF INTER-ITEM ASSOCIATIVE STRENGTH UPON IMMEDIATE FREE RECALL IN CHILDREN.

Indices of inter-item associative strength were obtained on the basis of word association norms for 15 free recall lists consisting of 12 items each. Recall performance on these lists was found to ...
Managing Information Rights to Develop the Energy Informatics Field

Data-mining can use pattern and cluster analysis in regulated domains to discover important relationships, anomalies and dependencies. Information sciences promise to enrich the emerging field of “energy informatics.” Law both constrains and enables analysis of energy exploration, production, refining and distribution data, promising market efficiencies and environmental quality. This paper explores the management of information governance to enhance access to energy-related data repositories: reservoir geophysical, commodity/financial markets, leasing, land rights, environmental, refinery characteristics, pipelines, supply chain, critical infrastructure, fuel chemistry, and GIS. Provisional relationships are developed among these data sets using open and proprietary sources to enhance energy sustainability and economic security.
States Can Avoid Substantial Revenue Loss by Decoupling from New Federal Tax Provision

Johnson suggests that states protect themselves from a large revenue loss by decoupling their depreciation rules from the federal rules for the period of time that bonus depreciation is in effect.
Institutional Sexual Assault and the Rights/Trust Dilemma

This essay explores recent instances of sexual assaults in the U.S. military and on university campuses as a product of what sociologist Andre Beteille identifies as an often insurmountable gap between the assertion of individual Constitutional rights and the promotion and preservation of public trust in longstanding and venerated institutions. The piece discusses why, despite claims that campus or military “cultures” are responsible for fostering sexual assaults, in fact, the source of these seemingly intractable problems may in fact be a larger, societal imbalance in which the rights assertions by rape victims are distrusted and institutional authority is treated as inviolate.
Promoting improved family caregiver health literacy: evaluation of caregiver communication resources

Objectives Family caregivers of cancer patients have a vital role in facilitating and sharing information about cancer, revealing a need to develop caregiver health literacy skills to support caregiver communication. The goal of this study was to investigate caregiver print materials and develop and assess a new caregiver communication resource titled A Communication Guide for CaregiversTM. Methods Using a model of six domains of caregiver health literacy skills, print cancer education materials were collected and evaluated for caregiver communication support. A new caregiver communication resource was also developed and assessed by caregivers and healthcare providers. Caregivers reviewed content and assessed utility, relatability, and reading quality. Healthcare providers also assessed whether the material would be understandable and usable for cancer caregivers. Results Only three of the 28 print materials evaluated were written at the recommended sixth grade reading level and only five addressed all six caregiver health literacy skills. Readability scores for A Communication Guide for CaregiversTM were at the sixth grade level, and caregivers reported its contents were relatable, useful, and easy to read. Healthcare providers also rated the material as easy for patient/family members of diverse backgrounds and varying levels of literacy to understand and use. Conclusions Existing print-based caregiver education materials do not address caregivers' health literacy skill needs and are aimed at a highly literate caregiving population. A Communication Guide for CaregiversTM meets health literacy standards and family caregiver and provider communication needs. The findings are relevant for healthcare professionals who provide cancer education. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Iron mineralogy and redox conditions during deposition of the mid-Proterozoic Appekunny Formation, Belt Supergroup, Glacier National Park

The redox state of the mid-Proterozoic oceans, lakes, and atmospheres is still debated, but it is vital for understanding the emergence and rise of macroscopic organisms and eukaryotes. The Appekunny Formation, Belt Supergroup, Montana, contains some of these early macrofossils dated between 1.47 Ga and 1.40 Ga and provides a well-preserved record of paleoenvironmental conditions. We analyzed the iron chemistry and mineralogy in samples from Glacier National Park, Montana, by pairing bulk rock magnetic techniques with textural techniques, including light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Field observations of the Appekunny Formation combined with mineralogical information allowed revised correlations of stratigraphic members across the park. However, late diagenetic and/or metasomatic fluids affected primary iron phases, as evidenced by prevalent postdepositional phases including base-metal sulfides. On the west side of the park, pyrrhotite and chlorite rims formed during burial metamorphism in at least two recrystallization events. These complex postdepositional transformations could affect bulk proxies for paleoredox. By pairing bulk and textural techniques, we show primary records of redox chemistry were preserved in early diagenetic and often recrystallized framboidal pyrite, submicron magnetite grains interpreted to be detrital in origin, and red-bed laminae interpreted to record primary detrital oxides. Based on these observations, we hypothesize that the shallow waters of the mid-Proterozoic Belt Basin were similar to those in modern marine and lacustrine waters: fully oxygenated, with detrital reactive iron fluxes that mineralized pyrite during organic diagenesis in suboxic, anoxic, and sulfidic conditions in sedimentary pore waters.
Electrospun Zwitterionic Poly(Sulfobetaine Methacrylate) for Nonadherent, Superabsorbent, and Antimicrobial Wound Dressing Applications

Zwitterionic poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (PSBMA) has been well studied for its superhydrophilic and ultralow biofouling properties, making it a promising material for superabsorbent and nonadherent wound dressings. Electrospinning provides multiple desirable features for wound dressings, including high absorptivity due to high surface-area-to-volume ratio, high gas permeation, and conformability to contour of the wound bed. The goal of this work is to develop a fibrous membrane of PSBMA via electrospinning and evaluate its properties related to wound dressing applications. Being superhydrophilic, PSBMA fibers fabricated by a conventional electrospinning method would readily dissolve in water, whereas if cross-linker is added, the formation of hydrogel would prevent electrospinning. A three-step polymerization-electrospinning-photo-cross-linking process was developed in this work to fabricate the cross-linked electrospun PSBMA fibrous membrane. Such electrospun membrane was stable in water and exhibited high water absorption of 353% (w/w), whereas the PSBMA hydrogel only absorbed 81% water. The electrospun membrane showed strong resistance to protein adsorption and cell attachment. Bacterial adhesion studies using Gram negative P. aeruginosa and Gram positive S. epidermidis showed that the PSBMA electrospun membrane was also highly resistant to bacterial adhesion. The Ag(+)-impregnated electrospun PSBMA membrane was shown microbicidal, against both S. epidermidis and P. aeruginosa. Such electrospun PSBMA membrane is ideal for a novel type of nonadherent, superabsorbent, and antimicrobial wound dressing. The superior water absorption aids in fluid removal from highly exudating wounds while keeping the wound hydrated to support healing. Because of the resistance to protein, cell, and bacterial adhesion, the dressing removal will neither cause patients' pain nor disturb the newly formed tissues. The dressing also prevents the attachment of environmental bacteria and offers broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. It is the first work to develop the water-stable electrospun PSBMA membrane, which has great potential for wound dressing and other applications.
Response of the human red cell to muscular activity.

SummaryThe concentration of 2,-3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG) in the human red cell increases significantly during 60 min of vigorous muscle activity. The increase is related to the severity of the exercise. The resultant shift to the right of the oxygen dissociation curve may increase the amount of oxygen delivered to the contracting muscle cells during prolonged physical exertion.
Thermal expansion of SrZrO3 and BaZrO3 perovskites

High-temperature X-ray diffraction studies of SrZrO3 and BaZrO3 perovskites have been carried out to 1200° C. The diffraction patterns are analyzed with Rietveld method so as to refine the unit cell dimensions. The volumetric thermal expansion coefficient are observed to be 2.98*10-5K-1 for orthorhombic Pbnm phase, 3.24*10-5K-1 for orthorhombic Cmcm phase, 3.75*10-5K-1 for tetragonal I4/mcm phase of SrZrO3 perovskite, and 2.06*10-5K-1 for cubic Pm3m phase of BaZrO3 perovskite, respectively. The linear thermal expansion coefficients of SrZrO3 perovskite show considerable anisotropy of α a >α c >α b for orthorhombic Pbnm phase, which reflect the decrease of distortion of the perovskite. It is demonstrated that thermal expansion of the centrosymmetrically distorted ABX3 perovskite can be empirically expressed as a combination of the changes of [B-X] bond length and tilting angle of BX6 octahedral framework. The octahedral tilting is considered to be the primary order parameter for the ferroelastic type of structural phase transitions in perovskite. Thermodynamically, the tilting induced volume change denotes the “excess volume” and the corresponding thermal expansion represents the “excess thermal expansion” for the lower symmetry phase with respect to its prototype of the cubic perovskite.
Role of Physical Therapy Intervention in Patients With Life-Threatening Illnesses: A Systematic Review

Background:Physical therapy encompasses the skilled treatment and care for patients across the life span through a multitude of different practice settings. This includes caring for individuals wit...
Social Bonding to School and Educational Inequality Race/Ethnicity, Dropping Out, and the Significance of Place

Social bond theory suggests that strong bonds to school influence better outcomes on measures of educational progress and success. However, we know little about the relationship between social bonding to school and dropout for racial/ethnic minorities, or how this relationship varies across school settings. We examine how five types of social bonding (attachment, academic and sports involvement, commitment, and belief) influence the likelihood of dropout for racial/ethnic minorities in urban, suburban, and rural schools using national survey data. Results suggest that strong social bonds to school have the potential to mitigate some of the observed racial/ethnic gaps in dropout risk; however, the opportunity to form such bonds, as well as the strength of their protective effects, vary by student race/ethnicity, type of social bond, and school location.
Research on the Computer Network Security and Prevention Strategy

The computer network is a "double-edged sword",in providing convenience to people at the same time,it also brings many security problems,such as network virus,revealing private secrets,rubbish information,and the security risks brought a lot of troubles,even lead to some people who suffer from a "network of syndrome".In view of these problems existing in computer network,we can take corresponding preventive measures and means,the maintenance of computer network security.
Investigation on mental health level of 546 medical stuffs

Objective To study the mental health level of medical stuffs. Methods Beck depression inventory scale(BDI-13) was used to evaluate the mental health level of 546 medical stuffs. Results The average BDI-13score of the medical stuffs was(17.67±4.71), 42.31% of which got depression. The rate of depression increases when they get more education, and reached the highest when they got college degree(52.52%). 30.97%(83/268) of medical stuffs who do exercise regularly got depression, 53.24%(148/278) who never do exercise got depression, with statistically significant difference. Conclusion The depression rate of medical staffs is close to the rate of the national rate.Health education, psychological counseling, and physical exercise are good ways to improve mental health.
An exercise program led to a slower decline in activities of daily living in nursing-home patients with Alzheimer disease.

Source Citation Rolland Y, Pillard F, Klapouszczak A, et al. Exercise program for nursing home residents with Alzheimer's disease: a 1-year randomized, controlled trial. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2007;55:1...
Model-Based Approaches for Teaching and Practicing Personality Assessment

ABSTRACTPsychological assessment is a complex professional skill. Competence in assessment requires an extensive knowledge of personality, neuropsychology, social behavior, and psychopathology, a background in psychometrics, familiarity with a range of multimethod tools, cognitive flexibility, skepticism, and interpersonal sensitivity. This complexity makes assessment a challenge to teach and learn, particularly as the investment of resources and time in assessment has waned in psychological training programs over the last few decades. In this article, we describe 3 conceptual models that can assist teaching and learning psychological assessments. The transtheoretical model of personality provides a personality systems-based framework for understanding how multimethod assessment data relate to major personality systems and can be combined to describe and explain complex human behavior. The quantitative psychopathology—personality trait model is an empirical model based on the hierarchical organization of ...
Continuous Spinal Anesthesia

Summary Continuous spinal anesthesia has a fascinating history. The recent excitement about being able to use this method in young patients is now dampened by reports of cauda equina syndrome. It is hoped that limiting the concentrations and amounts of local anesthetic used for continuous spinal anesthesia will prevent this. All anesthetic methods have potential for complications and although continuous spinal anesthesia is no exception, it has much to offer.
Evaluation of systemic neonicotinoid insecticides for the management of the Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri on containerized citrus.

BACKGROUND Studies were conducted to evaluate uptake and retention of three systemic neonicotinoid insecticides, dinotefuran, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, in potted citrus nursery plants treated at standard label rates. Infestation of these plants placed at a field site with moderate levels of Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) was monitored for 14 weeks following treatments, and insecticide residues in leaf tissue were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Bioassays were conducted using leaves harvested on various dates post-treatment to compare the efficacies of residues against adult ACP. RESULTS Residues of the three neonicotinoids were detected in leaf tissues within 1 week after treatment. Peak concentrations established at 1 week for imidacloprid and dinotefuran and at 2 weeks for thiamethoxam. Imidacloprid and thiamethoxam outperformed the control and dinotefuran treatments at protecting trees from infestations by ACP eggs and nymphs. For a given insecticide concentration in leaf tissue, thiamethoxam induced the highest mortality of the three insecticides, and dinotefuran was the least toxic. CONCLUSION If the time needed to achieve effective thresholds of a systemic neonicotinoid is known, treatments at production facilities could be scheduled that would minimize unnecessary post-treatment holding periods and ensure maximum retention of effective concentrations after the plants have shipped to retail outlets. The rapid uptake of the insecticides and retention at effective concentrations in containerized citrus suggest that the current 30 day post-treatment shipping restriction from production facilities to retail outlets outside of quarantine could be shortened to 14 days. Thiamethoxam should be added to the list of approved nursery treatments. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry
Tissue Plasminogen Activator in Nervous System Function and Dysfunction

The extracellular protease tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) has been implicated in various normal and pathological situations in the mammalian nervous system. The availability of (i) transgenic and knock-out mice in which the expression level of tPA can be widely varied, (ii) in vivo models for studying function and disease, and (iii) culture models for examining cell behavior, has allowed a detailed evaluation of many of these proposed functions. This chapter summarizes the current state of knowledge of possible roles for the tPA/plasminogen system in neuronal function and dysfunction.
Unpacking the relationship between probationers with serious mental illnesses and probation officers: A mixed-methods examination

ABSTRACTThis study examines the relationship between a sample of 98 probationers with serious mental illnesses (SMI) and probation staff in three programs: mental health court, specialized mental health probation, and standard probation. Probationers in the mental health court rated the quality of their relationships with probation officers higher than did those in standard probation. Qualitative analyses highlight caring as a bedrock relational factor upon which other relationship dimensions rest, and the important role of support in developing and maintaining therapeutic relationships. Findings shed light on the importance of relational experiences in the context of probation supervision for people with SMI.
How Media and Family Build Children's Persuasion Knowledge

The changing media landscape alters media use and advertising exposure, which impacts advertising literacy. We investigate socialization forces (media, family) on advertising persuasion knowledge i...
The Metalloprotease, Mpr1, Engages AnnexinA2 to Promote the Transcytosis of Fungal Cells across the Blood-Brain Barrier

Eukaryotic pathogens display multiple mechanisms for breaching the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and invading the central nervous system (CNS). Of the fungal spp., that cause disease in mammals, only some cross brain microvascular endothelial cells which constitute the BBB, and invade the brain. Cryptococcus neoformans, the leading cause of fungal meningoencephalitis, crosses the BBB directly by transcytosis or by co-opting monocytes. We previously determined that Mpr1, a secreted fungal metalloprotease, facilitates association of fungal cells to brain microvascular endothelial cells and we confirmed that the sole expression of CnMPR1 endowed S. cerevisiae with an ability to cross the BBB. Here, the gain of function conferred onto S. cerevisiae by CnMPR1 (i.e., Sc strain) was used to identify targets of Mpr1 that might reside on the surface of the BBB. Following biotin-labeling of BBB surface proteins, Sc -associated proteins were identified by LC-MS/MS. Of the 62 proteins identified several were cytoskeleton-endocytosis-associated including AnnexinA2 (AnxA2). Using an in vitro model of the human BBB where AnxA2 activity was blocked, we found that the lack of AnxA2 activity prevented the movement of S. cerevisiae across the BBB (i.e., transcytosis of Sc strain) but unexpectedly, TEM analysis revealed that AnxA2 was not required for the association or the internalization of Sc . Additionally, the co-localization of AnxA2 and Sc suggest that successful crossing of the BBB is dependent on an AxnA2-Mpr1-mediated interaction. Collectively the data suggest that AnxA2 plays a central role in fungal transcytosis in human brain microvascular endothelial cells. The movement and exocytosis of Sc is dependent on membrane trafficking events that involve AnxA2 but these events appear to be independent from the actions of AnxA2 at the host cell surface. We propose that Mpr1 activity promotes cytoskeleton remodeling in brain microvascular endothelial cells and thereby engages AnxA2 in order to facilitate fungal transcytosis of the BBB.
Decidability of the AE-theory of the lattice of $${\varPi }_1^0$$ Π 1 0 classes

An AE-sentence is a sentence in prenex normal form with all universal quantifiers preceding all existential quantifiers, and the AE-theory of a structure is the set of all AE-sentences true in the structure. We show that the AE-theory of $$(\mathscr {L}({\varPi }_1^0), \cap , \cup , 0, 1)$$ is decidable by giving a procedure which, for any AE-sentence in the language, determines the truth or falsity of the sentence in our structure.
Regulation of Chromatin Dynamics

A eukaryotic genome is organized into nucleosomes, the repeating unit of chromatin. Although nucleosomes provide safe storage of long strands of DNA, the positional stability of nucleosomes inhibits access of the underlying DNA for transcription, repair of DNA damage, and DNA replication. Cells utilize three strategies to overcome this inhibition: histone modifications, incorporation of histone variants, and ATP-dependent nucleosome remodeling. This article focuses on the dynamic interplay of these strategies, and recent advances that provide insights into each mechanism.
Proteomic analysis of antimicrobial effects of pegylated silver coated carbon nanotubes in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium

Synthesis of silver nano-compounds with enhanced antimicrobial effects is of great interest for the development of new antibacterial agents. Previous studies have reported the antibacterial properties of pegylated silver-coated carbon nanotubes (pSWCNT-Ag) showing less toxicity in human cell lines. However, the mechanism underlining the pSWCNT-Ag as a bactericidal agent remained unfolded. Here we assessed the pSWCNT-Ag effects against foodborne pathogenic bacteria growth and proteome profile changes. Measurements of bioluminescent imaging, optical density, and bacteria colony forming units revealed dose-dependent and stronger bactericidal activity of pSWCNT-Ag than their non-pegylated counterparts (SWCNT-Ag). In ovo administration of pSWCNT-Ag or phosphate-buffered saline resulted in comparable chicken embryo development and growth. The proteomic analysis, using two-dimensional electrophoresis combined with matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight/time of flight mass spectrometry, was performed on control and surviving Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium to pSWCNT-Ag. A total of 15 proteins (ten up-regulated and five down-regulated) differentially expressed proteins were identified. Functional analyses showed significant reduction of proteins associated with biofilm formation, nutrient and energy metabolism, quorum sensing and maintenance of cell structure and cell motility in surviving S. Typhimurium. In contrast, proteins associated with oxygen stress, DNA protection, starvation, membrane rebuilding, and alternative nutrient formation were induced as the compensatory reaction. This study provides further evidence of the antibacterial effects of pSWCNT-Ag nanocomposites and knowledge of their mechanism of action through various protein changes. The findings may lead to the development of more effective and safe antimicrobial agents.
Increased Flexibility between Stems of Intramolecular Three-Way Junctions by the Insertion of Bulges.

Abstract Intramolecular junctions are a ubiquitous structure within DNA and RNA; three-way junctions in particular have high strain around the junction because of the lack of flexibility, preventing the junctions from adopting conformations that would allow for optimal folding. In this work, we used a combination of calorimetric and spectroscopic techniques to study the unfolding of four intramolecular three-way junctions. The control three-way junction, 3H, has the sequence d(GAAATTGCGCT5GCGCGTGCT5GCACAATTTC), which has three arms of different sequences. We studied three other three-way junctions in which one (2HS1H), two (HS12HS1), and three (HS1HS1HS1) cytosine bulges were placed at the junction to allow the arms to adopt a wider range of conformations that may potentially relieve strain. Through calorimetric studies, it was concluded that bulges produce only minor effects on the enthalpic and thermal stability at physiological salt concentrations for 2HS1H and HS1HS1HS1. HS12HS1 displays the strongest effect, with the GTGC stem lacking a defined transition. In addition to unfolding thermodynamics, the differential binding of counterions, water, and protons was determined. It was found that with each bulge, there was a large increase in the binding of counterions; this correlated with a decrease in the immobilization of structural water molecules. The increase in counterion uptake upon folding likely displaces binding of structural water, which is measured by the osmotic stress method, in favor of electrostricted waters. The cytosine bulges do not affect the binding of protons; this finding indicates that the bulges are not forming base-triplet stacks. These results indicate that bulges in junctions do not affect the unfolding profile or the enthalpy of oligonucleotides but do affect the number and amount of molecules immobilized by the junction.
Optimal Regulation of Ventilation During Exercise

Perhaps one of the most long-standing tenets in physiological research is the general belief that every biological response must stem from a specific stimulus. Beginning with Sherrington1, this “stimulus-response” or reflex control paradigm has continued to dominate current models of regulatory processes in the body. In the long history of respiratory physiology such a view has prevailed. For example, in the well-celebrated Hering-Breuer reflex one finds a direct association of the stimulus (pulmonary stretch receptor activity) with the resulting response (delayed onset of inspiration). Similarly, in the chemoreflex regulation of respiration one observes an increase in ventilation in response to chemoreceptor stimulation. In both these cases the picture seems quite clear: there is a unique, one-to-one relationship between the purported stimulus and the resulting response. Thus, a causal effect appears to be evident, and the simple reflex scheme as a general physiological control paradigm appears to work remarkably well. There is little reason to warrant any alternative explanation for a simple empirical relationship that seems so trivial and obvious.
Some Aspects of Model-Selection Criteria

Often a statistical analysis involves use of a set of alternative models for the data. “Model selection” refers to the choice of the “best” model(s) from such a set.