cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Insulin increases the turnover rate of Na+-K+-ATPase in human fibroblasts.

Insulin stimulates K+ transport by the Na+-K+-ATPase in human fibroblasts. In other cell systems, this action represents an automatic response to increased intracellular [Na+] or results from trans...
Efficacy and safety of teriparatide in bisphosphonate-pretreated and treatment-naive patients with osteoporosis at high risk of fracture: Post hoc analysis of a prospective observational study.

Abstract Background Teriparatide is the first anabolic agent shown to reduce the risk of fractures in patients with osteoporosis. In Japan, teriparatide is prescribed to treat patients at high risk of fracture. Given that bisphosphonates are commonly used prior to teriparatide as treatment for osteoporosis, information on the effectiveness and safety of teriparatide with or without previous bisphosphonate treatment is helpful for physicians in clinical practice. This study aims to report the effectiveness and safety of teriparatide in treatment-naive and bisphosphonate-pretreated patients in Japan as real-world evidence. Methods A post hoc analysis of a postmarketing surveillance study was conducted in Japanese patients with osteoporosis at high risk of fracture who received 24-month treatment of daily teriparatide. Changes in bone turnover biomarkers and bone mineral density and incidence of new fractures were analyzed in treatment-naive as well as bisphosphonate-pretreated patients. Results The analysis included 1433 patients (treatment-naive, n = 659; bisphosphonate-pretreated, n = 774). Bone mineral density increased significantly from baseline at 24 months in both treatment-naive (lumbar spine, 13.45%; femoral neck, 5.16%; total hip, 4.46%) and bisphosphonate-pretreated (lumbar spine, 11.20%; femoral neck, 2.22%; total hip, 0.67%) patients. The incidence rates of new vertebral and nonvertebral fractures at 24 months were 1.69% and 3.37%, respectively, in treatment-naive patients and 3.60% and 5.56%, respectively, in bisphosphonate-pretreated patients. The incidence of adverse drug reactions was 6% in treatment-naive patients and 10% in bisphosphonate-pretreated patients. The most common adverse drug reaction in treatment-naive and bisphosphonate-pretreated patients was nausea (0.91%) and hyperuricaemia (1.81%), respectively. Conclusions In this post hoc analysis, no new safety concerns and similar effectiveness of teriparatide were observed in Japanese patients with osteoporosis at high risk of fracture, regardless of their previous treatment status with bisphosphonates.
Radial keratotomy: an overview of the Kansas City study.

Abstract The first 290 consecutive eyes (192 patients) to undergo radial keratotomy by one surgeon were evaluated prospectively. All had had complete preoperative evaluation and 269 (93%) were examined one or more years after surgery. Preoperatively, all patients except one had worse than 20/100 uncorrected visual acuity, 65% had less than 20/400, and mean spherical equivalent (SE) was −4.8 diopters. One year postoperatively, 40% of the patients had uncorrected visual acuity of 20/20 or better and 83% had 20/40 or better. The mean change in SE after 1 year was 5.0 diopters, and 60% of eyes were within 1 diopter of emmetropia. Keratometric changes paralleled refractive changes, and both appeared stable within 1 to 3 months. Complications were few and most were transient or well-tolerated. One case of presumably viral disciform keratitis occurring 8 months postoperatively had a three Snellen line decrease in best-corrected acuity 1 year postoperatively. Factors affecting refractive outcome were studied using stepwise multiple regression analysis. Size of the optical zone, depth of incision, patient age, patient sex, intraocular pressure, number of incisions, preoperative average keratometry, and corneal diameter were each found to affect clinical outcome significantly.
Cryobanking Biomaterials from Wild Animal Species to Conserve Genes and Biodiversity: Relevance to Human Biobanking and Biomedical Research

When considering the topic of biobanking, it is natural to think first about the collection, storage and use of human biomaterials, a process now considered essential for addressing many diseases and medical conditions. But for more than 25 years, systematic gathering and cryo-storage of biomaterials from diverse wild species have been ongoing to save gene diversity and improve captive (ex situ) and wild (in situ) animal management. Whereas repositories for humans generally are highly specialized toward a targeted medical issue, cryo-storage of non-human biomaterials offers broader opportunities—from helping understand the fundamental biology of unstudied species to enhanced conservation breeding, genomics and veterinary medicine. While promoted for decades, the banking of germplasm, tissue, blood and DNA from wildlife species only recently has been considered by some to be a core function of animal conservation programs. There are commonalities between human and wildlife biobanking programs, including similar needs to harmonize sample and data collection, management and most effective use as well as finding ways to be financially sustainable. We argue here for the need to build bridges between these two ‘repository worlds’, sharing what we do, addressing the substantial remaining challenges and considering the advantages of a bigger, more integrated field of global biobanking science to benefit humans, diverse species and the planet.
Clinically relevant treatment considerations regarding lithium use in bipolar disorder

ABSTRACTIntroduction: The goal of this paper is to provide a practical, clinically oriented review of lithium, a salt widely used to treat mania since the 1870s and formally approved as a mood stabilizer in 1970. Although lithium is still considered a first-line treatment for bipolar mania in most practice guidelines, its use may be overshadowed by newer psychotropic medications.Areas covered: This paper addresses the historical use of lithium, modern indications for its use, guidelines for prescribing and monitoring continued lithium use, drug-drug interactions, and pharmacodynamics/pharmacokinetic properties. The paper also reviews the unique properties of lithium and their potential clinical importance.Expert opinion: While the use of lithium does involve some unique risks to the patient, it may also has some unique advantages in certain patient populations. Two major findings that make lithium unique are its potential neuroprotective benefits and decreased risk of suicide in patients with mood disorders.
On the Analytic Therapy of Gay Men

Most psychoanalysts assume that homosexuality reflects an unfavorable unconscious solution to developmental conflicts and that consequently the entire personality of the homosexual shows various disturbances. The pathological deficits attributed to homosexuals are numerous and varied, and I have selected only a few for illustrative purposes. Bergler (1957) wrote of six traits: masochistic provocation and injustice collecting, defensive malice, flippancy, hypernarcissism, refusal to acknowledge accepted standards in nonsexual matters, and general unreliability. “The most interesting feature of this sextet of traits,” he writes, “is its universality. Regardless of the level of intelligence, culture, background, or education, all homosexuals possess it” (p. 49). Homosexuals have been said to suffer from a large variety of ego defects (Panel, 1954, p. 344), including “primitive features of the ego” similar to those found in schizophrenia (Panel, 1960, p. 556) and sociopathy.1 Glover (1932, p. 230) suggested that homosexuality and other “perversions” “help to patch over flaws in the development of reality-sense.” Socarides (1968) wrote that approximately half of the patients who engage in homosexual practices have a “concomitant schizophrenia, paranoia, are latent or pseudoneurotic schizophrenics or are in the throes of a manic-depressive reaction. The other half, when neurotic, may be of the obsessional or, occasionally, of the phobic type” (p. 90). Most of the patients he labeled as schizophrenic would probably be classified in his later formulation (1978) as belonging to the class of Preoedipal Type 2, “suffering from a transitional condition lying somewhere between the neuroses and psychoses” (p. 58).
History and Status of Automated Driving in the United States

Research in the field of automated driving has a long history in the United States. From the very early efforts in the 1930s and 1940s when automated highway systems were proposed and which were researched intensively from the 1950s to 1990s, the field gained new momentum and direction in the early 2000s when the military called for the DARPA Grand Challenge, which showcased what was possible in the field of infrastructure independent automated vehicles. These initiatives were the starting point for the recent push towards automated vehicles in the interest of road traffic safety and efficiency. This article reviews the history of automated driving research in the U.S. and discusses where the field is headed with players from industry and academia, as it also points out the role of the government in setting rules and driving innovation.
Pressure Ulcers: What Clinicians Need to Know

Pressure ulcer treatment is one of many aspects of patient care in which nursing care interfaces directly with clinician-provided medical services. Traditionally, the treatment of pressure ulcers has been left to nurses. No less an authority than Florence Nightingale said in 1859, “If he has a bedsore, it's generally not the fault of the disease, but of the nursing.”1 Physicians have tended to be passive participants, routinely cosigning orders written by hospital-based wound-care nurses or home health nurses. Realization of the costs associated with the treatment of pressure ulcers and recent requirements by third-party payers have prompted physicians to become more actively engaged in the prevention, identification, and treatment of pressure ulcers. Pressure ulcers are localized areas of tissue damage or necrosis that develop because of pressure over a bony prominence. They have previously been called pressure sores, bedsores, and decubitus ulcers, terms that imply that only bed-bound, nonambulatory patients develop pressure ulcers. It is important to recognize that patients who are ambulatory can also develop pressure ulcers, although reduced mobility is still a major risk factor. The purpose of this article is to familiarize physicians and other clinicians who provide care to hospitalized patients, such as physician assistants, certified nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners, with some of the terminology associated with pressure ulcers, so that they can better assess patients at risk for the development of pressure ulcers and properly identify and describe pressure ulcers.
Learning to Adapt: Online Social Science Instruction in Higher Education

i DEDICATION iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 5 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 35 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS 45 CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS 60 CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS 78 BIBLIOGRAPHY 94 APPENDIX A: The Participants 100 APPENDIX B: Interview Guide 101 APPENDIX C: Codebook 107
AMPKα1 regulates T follicular helper cell metabolism and homeostasis

T follicular helper (T FH ) cells provide key help to germinal center (GC) B cells during humoral immune response. How T FH cells are metabolically adapted to this unique task is not clear. Here we report that T FH cells have increased AMPK activation and T-cell-specific deletion of Prkaa1 , which encodes AMPKα1, results in impaired T FH response at a late time point when T FH cells move into GCs and interact with GC B cells. AMPK activation requires SAP and CD84, which are essential for T-B-interaction, and CAMKK2, which is activated by calcium signaling. AMPKα1 helps sustain T FH response by promoting autophagy, which is upregulated in T FH cells in an AMPK-dependent manner and is required for optimal T FH response. Our results suggest that AMPK plays a critical role in promoting homeostasis of T FH cells by linking T FH -B-interaction and calcium signaling to T FH -cell metabolic programing.
Degradation and Cracking Behavior of Polyamide-Based Backsheet Subjected to Sequential Fragmentation Test

In this paper, a facile test method combining weathering with a sequential fragmentation test is designed to quickly and effectively reproduce the cracking behavior of polyamide (PA)-based backsheets in the field, leading to a new way to evaluate and predict the crack propensity of backsheets. Commercial PA-based backsheets were exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light for 2000 and 4000 h, respectively. The exposed samples were then pulled in tension stepwise with in situ monitoring using laser scanning confocal microscopy. Detailed characterizations of the backsheets indicate significant chemical degradation, along with surface erosion and loss of ductility. Moreover, it was found that cracking appeared on the surface of the UV-exposed samples at a small applied strain (<1%). With increasing strain, more parallel cracks formed at multiple sites, which is similar to the cracking behavior observed in the field. The sample aged for 2000 h showed a relatively shallow crack depth with higher crack density than the sample aged for 4000 h. Different crack patterns and fracture energies of the degraded samples could be further explained by depth-profile characterizations and the Hsueh and Yanaka model.
Surgical excision of the submandibular gland

A variety of pathology commonly affects the salivary glands including both benign and malignant tumors as well as infectious and inflammatory disease. Although newer techniques including sialo-endoscopy are emerging for the treatment of inflammatory and obstructive disorders, excision of the submandibular gland remains the treatment of choice for tumors of the submandibular gland and remains an important option for the treatment of refractory inflammatory disease. Relevant surgical anatomy, perioperative management, surgical technique, and possible complications are discussed.
Epilog: What Could Go Really, Really, Wrong?

The previous twelve chapters have been optimistic. Google may impose very high costs on all of society, even if mostly they are well-hidden. Facebook may be able to manipulate elections at the moment. And the digital transformation of everything may require that societies think long and hard about fairness and the new social contract. But regulation catches up, and societies solve their problems. They always have. But what if this time they don’t? AT&T cooperated with the government. Railroads were tamed. The power of robber barons and mega-financiers was controlled. What if this time is different? This Chapter explores four very different alternative future scenarios. In two of them, American technology continues to dominate the net, while in the other two China’s Made in China 2025 initiative succeeds in shifting advantage to China. In two, the current world order remains as we understand it, while in the other two, global mega-corporations take over many of the functions previously performed by national governments. All of these scenarios are possible, but I am certain that all readers will have a strong preference for one of them. If so, we should act to promote our preferred scenario while we still can.
Green Salamander Estimated Abundance and Environmental Associations in South Carolina

Green Salamanders, Aneides aeneus, are habitat specialists found in narrow crevices of rock outcrops and under flaky bark of trees. The species has a high conservation priority throughout its range and has been negatively affected by habitat loss, climate change, disease, and overcollection. In portions of the Blue Ridge Escarpment population, many historical locations for this species have not been visited since the 1980s or earlier. Across three counties in South Carolina, we conducted visual encounter surveys of known rock outcrops that were accessible, and used binoculars to conduct arboreal surveys in the adjacent forest. We detected Green Salamanders at 30 of the 61 sites surveyed (49.2%). We collected a variety of habitat variables and compared a suite of N-mixture models using an Akaike information criterion framework. Detection probability was positively influenced by time of day. A model of abundance that included aspect, habitat size, and elevation had the most support. Specifically, Green Salamanders were more abundant at larger sites at lower elevations with south-facing slopes. Knowledge of factors that influence population abundance will help guide future efforts to protect the species in the southern portion of its range.
Inequivalence between gravitational mass and energy of a composite quantum body in general relativity

We consider the so-called semiclassical variant of general relativity, where gravitational field is not quantized but matter is quantized, for the simplest composite quantum body - a hydrogen atom. We create a stationary electron quantum state in the atom in the absence of gravitational field and study its time evolution in the presence of the field, using the local Lorentz invariance property of spacetime. It is shown that this state with a definite energy in the absence of gravitational field is not anymore a stationary state in the field. Therefore, quantum measurements of passive gravitational mass of electron in a hydrogen atom can give the following quantized values, $m_n = m_e + E_n/c^2$, where $m_e$ is the bare electron mass and $E_n$ is its energy level in the atom. We discuss some difficulties in the possible experimental observations of this mass quantization phenomenon.
Trivial constraints on orbital-free kinetic energy density functionals

Abstract Approximate kinetic energy density functionals (KEDFs) are central to orbital-free density functional theory. Limitations on the spatial derivative dependencies of KEDFs have been claimed from differential virial theorems. We identify a central defect in the argument: the relationships are not true for an arbitrary density but hold only for the minimizing density and corresponding chemical potential. Contrary to the claims therefore, the relationships are not constraints and provide no independent information about the spatial derivative dependencies of approximate KEDFs. A simple argument also shows that validity for arbitrary v-representable densities is not restored by appeal to the density-potential bijection.
Assessment to identify learner-specific prompt and prompt-fading procedures for children with autism spectrum disorder

Few studies have evaluated the use of assessment to identify the most efficient instructional practices for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. This is problematic as these individuals often have difficulty acquiring skills, and the procedures that may be efficient with one individual may not be for others. The experimenters conducted instructional assessments to identify the most efficient prompt type (model, partial physical, full physical) and prompt-fading procedure (progressive delay, most-to-least, least-to-most) for teaching auditory-visual conditional discriminations for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Each assessment was conducted at least twice, and a final generality test combined the most and the least efficient prompt type and prompt-fading procedure for teaching novel auditory-visual conditional discriminations. The results demonstrated learner-specific outcomes for the prompt type assessment, whereas the least-to-most prompt fading procedure was most efficient for all participants.
The modern testicular prosthesis: patient selection and counseling, surgical technique, and outcomes

The testicular prosthesis can be an afterthought for providers when performing an orchiectomy for testicular cancer, torsion, atrophic testis, or trauma. However, data suggest that patients find the offer of a testicular prosthesis and counseling regarding placement to be extremely important from both a pragmatic and a psychosocial perspective. Only two-thirds of men undergoing orchiectomy are offered an implant at the time of orchiectomy and of those offered about one-third move forward with prosthesis placement. The relatively low acceptance rate is in stark contrast with high patient satisfaction and low complication rates for those who undergo the procedure. The most common postoperative patient concerns are minor and involve implant positioning, size, and weight. Herein, we provide an up-to-date review of modern preoperative evaluation, patient selection, expectation management, surgical technique, and expected outcomes for testicular prostheses.
Democratic Militarism: Analyses of public opinion

Public opinion data can provide microfoundational evidence for defense's redistributive potential, and determine what role one's relative wealth plays in grand strategic preferences. A classical liberal (or Marxian) analysis might agree that inequality leads to militarization, but explain it as a result of the wealthy's superior political power. However, if the public good of defense actually has redistributive implications then an individual's relatively low wealth should correlate to support for higher defense spending and more aggressive policies, and this does not fit competing explanations. The first section tests four hypotheses across a broad array of democracies. The most direct test of the Meltzer-Richard hypothesis is to see if one's relative income (wealth, SES, etc.) affects one's attitude towards defense spending: H 1 Respondents with lower income are more disposed to support higher defense spending . The theory also suggests hypotheses for state-level independent variables: H 2 Higher state-wide inequality will result on average in higher support for defense spending . H 3 Increased public good value for defense will result on average in higher support for defense spending . H 4 Higher military capitalization will result on average in higher support for defense spending . In addition to the cross-national data, I employ a second data set derived from a survey which asked American respondents to assess foreign policy goals and threats as well as defense spending.
Transitioning from Student to Academic: The Role of Mentorship in the Evolution from Doctoral Student to Assistant Professor

As a first-generation college student, my experiences in higher education have been new and intimidating. I have, however, utilized my resources and taken advantage of opportunities to gain knowledge and advice from my professors in order to more efficiently navigate my journey to the PhD. Specifically, I developed relationships with friendly and approachable professors, volunteered to serve as a teaching assistant, and volunteered to assist in research projects in order to further develop relationships and gain invaluable experience relevant to advancing academically. While obtaining my PhD, I recognized the importance of having various mentors to support me in specific areas of my development. As I graduated and moved to another state to begin my career as a Counselor Educator, I found myself needing to establish another support system and mentorship team, which proved to be a challenge. This chapter will provide an overview of the role of mentorship in the processes of completing a PhD and beginning a tenure-track academic position. Moreover, this chapter will speak to the challenges I faced in finding mentors, the need for me as a faculty of color to have mentors and be a mentor, and specific considerations when developing mentorship relationships.
Building bridges in police-youth relations through experiential peacebuilding: how reduced threat and increased humanization impact racialized structural and direct violence in Baltimore

In the United States, trust in law enforcement is plummeting alongside increased crime rates and police-involved killings, primarily of unarmed black men, making this social issue of imminent impor...
Dermatologic Surgery in Pregnancy

Performing dermatologic procedures during pregnancy requires a proper understanding of medication safety and risks to the fetus. The second trimester is the safest time to perform surgery with positioning of the mother in left lateral tilt. Common antiseptics and anesthetics used in dermatologic surgery such as alcohol, chlorhexidine, lidocaine, and epinephrine are safe to use in pregnancy. Acetaminophen is generally safe for postoperative pain in pregnant patients.
The nuclear receptor RORα preserves cardiomyocyte mitochondrial function by regulating mitophagy through caveolin-3

Preserving optimal mitochondrial function is critical in the heart, which is the most ATP-avid organ in the body. Recently, we showed that global deficiency of the nuclear receptor ROR-alpha in the "staggerer" (ROR-alpha sg/sg) mouse exacerbates angiotensin II-induced cardiac hypertrophy and compromises cardiomyocyte mitochondrial function. The mechanisms underlying these observations have not been defined. Here we present evidence that ROR-alpha regulates cardiomyocyte mitophagy using pharmacological and genetic gain- and loss-of-function tools, including a novel cardiomyocyte-specific ROR-alpha knockout mouse. Cardiomyocyte ROR-alpha is upregulated by hypoxia and the loss of ROR-alpha blunts hypoxia-induced mitophagy and broadly compromises mitochondrial function. We show that ROR-alpha is a direct transcriptional regulator of the mitophagy mediator caveolin-3 in cardiomyocytes and that increased expression of ROR-alpha increases caveolin-3 abundance and enhances mitophagy. Knockdown of ROR-alpha impairs cardiomyocyte mitophagy, but this defect can be rescued by caveolin-3 overexpression. Collectively, these findings reveal a novel role for ROR-alpha in regulating mitophagy through caveolin-3 and expand our limited understanding of the mechanisms underlying ROR-alpha-mediated cardioprotection.
Signposts of multiple planets in debris disks

We review the nearby debris disk structures revealed by multi-wavelength images from Spitzer and Herschel , and complemented with detailed spectral energy distribution modeling. Similar to the definition of habitable zones around stars, debris disk structures should be identified and characterized in terms of dust temperatures rather than physical distances so that the heating power of different spectral type of stars is taken into account and common features in disks can be discussed and compared directly. Common features, such as warm (~150 K) dust belts near the water-ice line and cold (~50 K) Kuiper-belt analogs, give rise to our emerging understanding of the levels of order in debris disk structures and illuminate various processes about the formation and evolution of exoplanetary systems. In light of the disk structures in the debris disk twins (Vega and Fomalhaut), and the current limits on the masses of planetary objects, we suggest that the large gap between the warm and cold dust belts is the best signpost for multiple (low-mass) planets beyond the water-ice line.
Glider: A Reinforcement Learning Approach to Extract UI Scripts from Websites

Web automation scripts (tasklets) are used by personal AI assistants to carry out human tasks such as reserving a car or buying movie tickets. Generating tasklets today is a tedious job which requires much manual effort. We propose Glider, an automated and scalable approach to generate tasklets from a natural language task query and a website URL. A major advantage of Glider is that it does not require any pre-training. Glider models tasklet extraction as a state space search, where agents can explore a website's UI and get rewarded when making progress towards task completion. The reward is computed based on the agent's navigating pattern and the similarity between its trajectory and the task query. A hierarchical reinforcement learning policy is used to efficiently find the action sequences that maximize the reward. To evaluate Glider, we used it to extract tasklets for tasks in various categories (shopping, real-estate, flights, etc.); in 79% of cases a correct tasklet was generated.
A Portrait of the Relationship Between Mechanization and Work in the U.S. Economy in 1980

Debates over the effects of technological change on work continue to generate a wide and confusing array of findings. One reason for the lack of consensus is that empirical research based on large samples has yet to adequately address the core issue: the relationship, if any, between the level of mechanization and the characteristics of work. This relationship is explored using data from the 1980 Census of Population to link measures of the level of mechanization with measures of work characteristics for manufacturing industries. The results are mixed; work characteristics in more mechanized industries compared to less mechanized industries are higher in some dimensions and lower in others. A path model approach allows aggregation of these mixed results. Using wages as a yardstick, and controlling for other determinants of wages, we find that the work characteristics of more mechanized industries are upgraded in the aggregate, compared to those in less mechanized industries.
The Political Transition: From Traditional Authority (Monarchy) to Electoral Democracy with Legal-Rational Authority

As Max Weber described in his Economy and Society, the transition from traditional authority to legal-rational authority is difficult. Many nations fail in their attempt to establish electoral democracy and legal-rational authority. However, there is hope: legal-rational authority is reinforced by the rational-scientific worldview; the contract law of capitalism reinforces government by law; education and the expanding new middle class can help establish and maintain democracy and lawful government. On the negative side, the rapid social change in the modern world, and the changing cultural values and norms destabilize democracies and sometimes engender tyrannies. As Durkheim has told us, anomie—the loss of norms and values—leads to deviance and social disorder. And Weber has told us, that under such conditions people often turn to a charismatic leader for help. Unfortunately, such charismatic leaders can be wonderful, like Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt or beyond terrible, such as Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin.
Multi-Dimensional Assessment and Interdisciplinary Care to Reduce Asthma Readmissions in Safety Net Hospitals

Asthma is a prevalent disease that disproportionately affects socioeconomically underprivileged minorities. In fact, racial and ethnic minorities such as Blacks and Latinos have higher rates of severe asthma, asthma-associated emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and readmissions compared with whites. Such disparities exist due to genetic predispositions and to socioeconomic determinants of health such as environmental factors and limited health-care access. A value-based purchasing program encourages hospitals to improve communication and care coordination to better engage patients and caregivers in discharge plans, and, in turn, reduce avoidable readmissions. The program supports the national goal of improving health care by linking payment to the quality of hospital care. Efforts have been made to address asthma-related complications in these populations, which have been addressed at various levels of the care system, including the patient and family, community, organization, provider/microsystem, and policy. Many of these programs promote patient education and health-care accessibility through interdisciplinary and multi-dimensional approaches, and have been shown to be effective in reducing asthma-associated readmissions and hospitalizations, but these localized approaches have not been largely adopted. The wide-spread implementation of asthma programs is necessary to address factors related to the increased incidence of asthma and associated rates of hospitalizations and readmissions in impoverished, minority populations.
Automated Finite Element Modeling of Wing Structures for Shape Optimization

The displacement formulation of the finite element method is the most general and most widely used technique for structural analysis of airplane configurations. Modem structural synthesis techniques based on the finite element method have reached a certain maturity in recent years, and large airplane structures can now be optimized with respect to sizing type design variables for many load cases subject to a rich variety of constraints including stress, buckling, frequency, stiffness and aeroelastic constraints (Refs. 1-3). These structural synthesis capabilities use gradient based nonlinear programming techniques to search for improved designs. For these techniques to be practical a major improvement was required in computational cost of finite element analyses (needed repeatedly in the optimization process). Thus, associated with the progress in structural optimization, a new perspective of structural analysis has emerged, namely, structural analysis specialized for design optimization application, or.what is known as "design oriented structural analysis" (Ref. 4). This discipline includes approximation concepts and methods for obtaining behavior sensitivity information (Ref. 1), all needed to make the optimization of large structural systems (modeled by thousands of degrees of freedom and thousands of design variables) practical and cost effective.
Isolation and Characterization of Human Breast Epithelial Cells

Figure 2. Organoid explant culture. Organoids were placed in culture using luminal and basal cell medium to induce cell migration. A) Organoid after 5 days culture in culture. B) Confluent cells from explant culture in luminal medium. C) Confluent cells from organoid explant culture in basal cell medium. Organoid isolation, subculture, and magnetic separation: Normal human mammary epithelial cells (HMEC) can be cultured readily, and a number of immortalized lines have been derived. The distinguishing feature of these cells is that they almost uniformly express a strong basal phenotype. Cells with basal properties seem to adhere better to plastic, proliferate more rapidly, and divide more often than cells with luminal characteristics [Cattoretti, 1988; Ince, 2007]. Antibody-linked magnetic beads were used to isolate essentially pure populations of both basal and luminal mammary epithelial cells from organoid explant cultures using either CD227 or CD10 antibodies [Clarke, 1994;Dairkee, 1993].
Dissociation between cutaneous basophil hypersensitivity and basophil sensitization.

We investigated the antigen-specific sensitization of basophils in the peripheral circulation of guinea pigs using an in vitro histamine release assay. Animals were primed for cutaneous basophil hypersensitivity (CBH) by intradermal injection of either keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) or ovalbumin (OA) in saline. Basophils isolated from these animals 7 days after sensitization did not release histamine to the specific antigen in vitro. On day 9, however, basophils did release histamine when challenged with the antigen. These results were in contrast to 24-hr skin tests that showed a typical CBH profile both on day 7 and day 9. When animals were immunized via the footpad by emulsification of antigen in incomplete Freund's adjuvant, basophil sensitization (i.e., histamine release) either occurred earlier (day 7, KLH) or at lower antigen concentrations (OA). Thus, dissociation of in vivo CBH and in vitro basophil sensitization was demonstrated. The lack of correlation was only seen early after immunization and depended on the route of immunization used. An additional finding was a transient blood basophilia that also was dependent on the route of immunization, the antigen used, and the time post-sensitization. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that at early times post-immunization, CBH is mediated by T cells and not via homocytotropic antibodies, but that at later times such antibodies may also play a role in the elicitation of CBH reactions.
Similarities between touch and vision

Publisher Summary It has long been speculated that vision and touch may be based on similar neural mechanisms. This chapter discusses the similarities between touch and vision. Although, the mechanisms of sensory transduction in the visual and somatosensory systems are by necessity different in the two systems, it is not obvious whether the neural mechanisms that operate within the two sensory systems are the same or different. In vision, three principal input systems have been reported, out of which two are discussed in the chapter. The two systems, called the “parvocellular” or P system and the “magnocellular” or M system, receive their inputs from the color-opponent and broad-band ganglia cells of the retina. P and slowly adapting type I (SAI) systems and the M and rapidly adapting (RA) systems play similar roles in vision and touch. The P and SAI systems have high spatial but low temporal resolving capacities and are devoted to processing information concerning form and texture. In contrast, the M and RA systems have lower spatial but high temporal resolving capacities and are devoted to processing motion across the skin or retina and for processing low frequency temporal information that are termed “flutter” in the somatosensory system and “flicker” in the visual system.
Supercomputing about Physical Objects

Scientific and technological advances in the next 5 to 10 years will make it feasible to create an integrated, interactive system for the design, manipulation and analysis of collections of physical objects. These advances will come in computing power through the mechanism of parallel computation, in algorithms for geometry, in problem solving systems to provide very high level user interfaces and in graphics to allow direct visualization of the behavior of the physical objects. In this paper we describe the project Computing about Physical Objects which is to explore the associated technical problems and to build prototypes of such systems. The focus here is upon the role of supercomputers in this area and, especially, their application to solving the partial differential equations that model many physical phenomena.
Chapter 7 Interactions of protons with the acetylcholine transporter of synaptic vesicles

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the interactions of protons with the acetylcholine transporter of synaptic vesicles. Most biochemical studies of acetylcholine (ACh) active transport by synaptic vesicles have utilized intact vesicles isolated from the electric organ of the marine ray Torpedo and ATP to generate the required acidification of the vesicular interior. Proton interaction with and flow through the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) have been studied very little because a kinetics analysis of how protons interact with the VAChT requires the pH to be varied on each side of the membrane. However, variation of the external pH affects the activity of the V type ATPase that pumps protons into the vesicles, thus superimposing the pH dependence of the ATPase on the pH dependence of the VAChT. With intact vesicles the experimenter has no control over the internal pH, which is set by the activity of the V-type ATPase. Thus, it has become necessary to develop a different approach to driving ACh uptake in order to study the interaction of protons with the VAChT.
INSTRUMENT KEBIJAKAN PUPUK BERSUBSIDI BAGI PETANI INDONESIA

The policy implementation have several problems such as policy design and choise of policy instrument. Policy design must pay on attention to the citizen. That will be have a good result if the actor of policy makers have capability and commitment. Capability on understanding the nature of problems and how to make a good policy. Commitment to make the implementation doing right. The policy of subsidized manure make the farmer difficult to take it for their land. Subsidized manure distribution mechanism did not going properly. That make the farmer mistrust with government who make the policy. For every case, if citizen did not trusted with government, every policy that government took would not responded.
Operational Risk Management: An Emergent Industry

Financial institutions have always been exposed to operational risk - the risk of loss from faulty internal controls, human error or misconduct, external events, or legal liability. Only in the past decade, however, has operational risk risen to claim a central role in risk management within financial institutions, taking its place alongside market and credit risk as a hazard that financial institutions, regulators, and academics seriously study, model, and attempt to control and quantify. This newfound prominence is reflected in the Basel II capital accord, in numerous books and articles on operational risk, and in the emergence of a rapidly expanding operational risk management profession that is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 5.5%, from US$992 million in 2006 to US$1.16 billion in 2009. This increased emphasis on operational risk management corresponds to a much wider trend of responsive or enforced self-regulation, both in the United States and internationally, that attaches significant importance to the internal control and compliance mechanisms of business and financial institutions. Driven by legal changes and well-organized compliance industries that include lawyers, accountants, consultants, in-house compliance and human resources personnel, risk management experts, and workplace diversity trainers (hereafter, legal intermediaries), internal compliance expenditures have increased substantially throughout the past decade, assuming an ever-greater role in legal liability determinations and organizational decision-making, and consuming an ever-greater portion of corporate and financial institution budgets. This chapter situates operational risk management - particularly those components of operational risk related to legal risk and the risk of loss from employee misconduct - within the broader literature on enforced self-regulation, internal controls, and compliance, arguing that the increased focus on operational risk management portends both positive and negative effects. On the one hand, business and financial institutions that are law abiding and avoid unforeseen and unaccounted for disasters are an obvious positive. At the same time, however, all operational risk management is not created equally. Some operational risk expenditures may prove more effective at enhancing the profits or positions of particular firm constituencies and legal intermediaries, or luring regulators and firm stakeholders into a false confidence regarding operational risk management, than at significantly reducing operational risk losses. Indeed, recent rogue trading losses such as those at Societe Generale and MF Global Ltd. demonstrate that operational risk measures such as those embraced in Basel II are no substitute for sound firm management and regulatory oversight.
The Distribution of Field Horizontal-Branch Stars in the Galactic Halo

Since the time allowed per paper at this joint discussion is short only one aspect of the stellar distribution at high galactic latitudes will be presented here, namely the distribution of field horizontal-branch stars (FHB) in the galactic halo. First, the method by which FHB stars are found will be described. Second, the density distribution of FHB stars will be compared with that of the RR Lyrae stars.
Ingress noise cancellation for the upstream channel in broadband cable access systems

We present a receiver architecture for transmission over the upstream channel of hybrid fiber coax (HFC) networks affected by ingress noise and channel distortion. The receiver uses a noise prediction algorithm. It is shown that the proposed receiver makes it possible to transmit a QPSK signal over a cable channel affected by three interferers with an individual power of -10 dBc, with an SNR degradation of only 1.8 dB. The SNR degradation corresponding to 16-QAM transmission over a channel affected by three interferers of -15 dBc is 2.1 dB. We also describe an adaptation technique that makes use of empty time slots to track changes of the ingress noise continuously. The noise canceller involves only a small additional complexity.
The mobility of economists and the diffusion of policy ideas: The influence of economics on national policies ☆

Abstract Economic policies are innovations that have important effects on countries and their social welfare. Far from being simply technical in nature, such policies are often ideological innovations. This paper examines three economic policy innovations (privatization, central bank independence, and pension reform) and shows how the diffusion of these policies depended not only upon the mobility of American-trained Ph.D. economists to adopting countries, but also the state of agreement among economists on the value of these policy innovations. By estimating hazard models for adoption times, the effects of mobility and policy agreement are shown to explain the adoption patterns. The implications of this analysis are to treat the creation and diffusion of economic policies as innovations that are subject to trial and error revision as well as to the changing consensus within an academic community.
Multiple Flood Source Expected Annual Damage Computations

For flood damage reduction analysis, the standard for measuring risk is expected annual damage. This index represents a long-term average annual flood damage for a given structure or area. We compute this index by integrating a probability-damage function. In practice, we develop the required function by developing a water level (stage)-probability function and an elevation-damage relationship. The analysis becomes complex when the stage-probability function is dependent upon multiple flooding sources. For example, this occurs when an area is protected by multiple leveed reaches or can be flooded from more than one stream. Here we propose alternative analysis frameworks for computing expected annual damage considering this complicating factor. An example illustrates that appropriate methods depend on the alternatives evaluated, the correlation of discharges, and the number of levee reaches.
Background radiation studies for future, above ground antineutrino detectors

We will describe an assembly of radiation detectors that quantifies the gamma, muon, and fast and thermal neutron fluxes present at potential above ground antineutrino detector sites. Antineutrino detectors show great promise for reactor safeguards applications, due to their ability to monitor thermal power and/or fissile content. One of the major technical challenges that this safeguard application faces is the ability to distinguish signals from antineutrinos originating in a reactor core from noise due to background created by terrestrial and cosmogenic radiation. To date, antineutrino experiments have increased the signal to noise in their detectors by surrounding the experiments with significant shielding and placing them underground. For the safeguards agency, this is less than optimal, as it increases the overall size of the device and limits the range of possible deployment locations. Placing reactor monitoring antineutrino detectors at, or near, the surface would greatly increase the range of possible deployment locations. In order to investigate designs that would allow this, we must understand the backgrounds found above ground that can mimic the antineutrino signal so that these can be easily identified, separated, and subtracted rather than shielded. The design, construction, calibration, and results from the deployment of this background measurement system at a variety of sites will be presented.