cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
CXCL1 but Not IL-6 Is Required for Recurrent Herpetic Stromal Keratitis

Herpetic stromal keratitis (HSK) is characterized by an inflammatory response that includes neutrophils, macrophages, NK cells, and T cells. The factors that are responsible for this inflammation are proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Many of these factors have been defined for primary disease, but relatively few have been investigated during recurrent HSK. The present study was designed to determine the role that two of these factors, IL-6 and CXCL1, play during recurrent HSK. Results clearly indicate that unlike primary disease, IL-6 plays no role in recurrent HSK. However, the presence of CXCL1 is required for recurrent HSK as evidenced by the lack of corneal disease in mice treated with anti-CXCL1 Ab. This was confirmed using mice lacking the primary receptor for CXCL1, CXCR2. Corneal disease in this strain was significantly reduced compared with wild-type C57BL/6 controls. Unexpectedly, lack of disease occurs even though CXCL1 knockout mice display increased viral shedding at the cornea. The primary mechanism that CXCL1 plays during disease is its ability to stimulate neutrophils to infiltrate the cornea following reactivation. This paper provides further evidence that primary HSK and recurrent HSK possess overlapping yet distinct disease mechanisms.
A comparison of cross protection between BCG, Hammondia hammondi, Besnoitia jellisoni and Toxoplasma gondii in hamsters.

SYNOPSIS. The effect of pretreatment with BCG strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis or Hammondia hammondi 21 days before challenge with lethal doses of Toxoplasma gondii and Besnoitia jellisoni was studied in hamsters. The results indicated that the intracardial administration of BCG provided no protection against either T. gondii or B. jellisoni. The hamsters immunized with H. hammondi survived challenge with 104 lethal doses of T. gondii but only 1 lethal dose with B. jellisoni, indicating strong cross protection between H. hammondi and T. gondii and only a marginal one between H. hammondi and B. jellisoni.
Current Issues: Training To Ensure Quality Practicum Supervision of Graduate Students

Abstract Appropriate supervision and effective clinical instruction are essential to the education of future speech-language pathologists. Practicum supervisors assist graduate students with their ...
k-anonymous message transmission

Informally, a communication protocol is sender k - anonymous if it can guarantee that an adversary, trying to determine the sender of a particular message, can only narrow down its search to a set of k suspects. Receiver k-anonymity places a similar guarantee on the receiver: an adversary, at best, can only narrow down the possible receivers to a set of size k. In this paper we introduce the notions of sender and receiver k-anonymity and consider their applications. We show that there exist simple and efficient protocols which are k-anonymous for both the sender and the receiver in a model where a polynomial time adversary can see all traffic in the network and can control up to a constant fraction of the participants. Our protocol is provably secure, practical, and does not require the existence of trusted third parties. This paper also provides a conceptually simple augmentation to Chaum's DC-Nets that adds robustness against adversaries who attempt to disrupt the protocol through perpetual transmission or selective non-participation.
Accounting Firm Culture and Governance: A Research Synthesis

This paper summarizes research related to accounting firm culture and governance. While perennially important, this topic has immediacy due to the intention of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to consider revisions of the current U.S. interim auditing standards on quality control. Our purposes are to bring together several disparate lines of research on this broad topic in order to identify specific areas of insufficient research. We review literature related to the roles of culture and subcultures within audit firms, and the relation between culture and audit quality. We also consider governance and control mechanisms, including policies related to consultation, independent monitoring boards, ethics training, and acculturation. Throughout the paper, we offer suggestions for future research based on the current status of the literature and the recent environmental changes in the auditing profession.
A semantic and pragmatic approach to verb particle constructions used in cartoons and puns

The aim of this paper is to discuss a special type of verb particle construction in English; namely, phrasal verbs used in cartoons and puns. Granted that the meaning of phrasal verbs may range from literal to idiomatic, their use in cartoons is artistically and linguistically exploited through a combination of verbal and non-verbal cues to convey humor, satire and fun. Our assumption is that this combination rests on the premise that a double reading of phrasal verbs in certain cartoons and puns is possible. To illustrate this, a sample of cartoons using phrasal verbs and puns (taken from www.ecenglish.com, English Teacher Online LLC) will be analyzed showing how the correspondence between the cartoon as a visual mode and the phrasal verb as a linguistic form can yield both literal interpretations and idiomatic ones. Phrasal verbs are also shown to violate Gricean maxims and to depend largely, in their interpretation, on extra linguistic factors.
Variable selection for multiply‐imputed data with application to dioxin exposure study

Multiple imputation (MI) is a commonly used technique for handling missing data in large-scale medical and public health studies. However, variable selection on multiply-imputed data remains an important and longstanding statistical problem. If a variable selection method is applied to each imputed dataset separately, it may select different variables for different imputed datasets, which makes it difficult to interpret the final model or draw scientific conclusions. In this paper, we propose a novel multiple imputation-least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (MI-LASSO) variable selection method as an extension of the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method to multiply-imputed data. The MI-LASSO method treats the estimated regression coefficients of the same variable across all imputed datasets as a group and applies the group LASSO penalty to yield a consistent variable selection across multiple-imputed datasets. We use a simulation study to demonstrate the advantage of the MI-LASSO method compared with the alternatives. We also apply the MI-LASSO method to the University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study to identify important circumstances and exposure factors that are associated with human serum dioxin concentration in Midland, Michigan.
Oxygen isotopes of phosphatic compounds—Application for marine particulate matter, sediments and soils

The phosphate oxygen isotopic composition in naturally occurring particulate phosphatic compounds (y 18 Op) can be used as a tracer for phosphate sources and to evaluate the cycling of phosphorus (P) in the environment. However, phosphatic compounds must be converted to silver phosphate prior to isotopic analysis, a process that involves digestion of particulate matter in acid. This digestion will hydrolyze some of the phosphatic compounds such that oxygen from the acid solution will be incorporated into the sample as these phosphatic compounds are converted to orthophosphate (PO4 3� ). To determine the extent of incorporation of reagent oxygen into the sample, we digested various phosphatic compounds in both acid amended with H2 O (spiked) and unspiked acid and then converted the samples to silver phosphate for y 18 Op analysis. Our results indicate that there is no isotopic fractionation associated with acid digestion at 50 8C. Furthermore, we found that reagent oxygen incorporation is a function of the oxygen to phosphorus ratio (O:P) of the digested compound whereby the percentage of reagent oxygen incorporated into the sample is the same as that which is required to convert all of the P-compounds into orthophosphate. Based on these results, we developed a correction for reagent oxygen incorporation using simple mass balance, a procedure that allows for the determination of the y 18 Op of samples containing a mixture of phosphatic compounds. We analyzed a variety of environmental samples for y 18 Op to demonstrate the utility of this approach for understanding sources and cycling of P. D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Enzymatic Characterization of Refolded Human Rhinovirus Type 14 2A Protease Expressed in Escherichia coli

Reported here is the production of recombinant human rhinovirus 14 (HRV14) 2A protease from bacterial cells transformed with a heat-inducible plasmid containing the HRV14 2A cDNA sequence. Overexpressed 2A protein partitioned into the inclusion bodies was solubilized in urea and then refolded in the presence of Zn 2+ . Transition metals were required for the restoration of 2A protease activity as a structural component, but appeared to be inhibitory if added exogenously once the enzyme was refolded. Based on the cleavage specificity studies, a colorimetric assay was developed for the highly purified HRV14 2A protease. A peptide with the sequence RKGDIKSY– p -nitroanilide was found to be cleaved by the 2A protease with a k cat / K m ratio of ∼335 M −1 s −1 , which allows its activity to be measured continuously with a spectrophotometer or a microplate reader.
Optimal designs and large-sample tests for linear hypotheses

SUMMARY Moment conditions beyond those required for Gauss-Markov estimation are shown to yield error bounds on normal-theory approximations to type I error probabilities and confidence coefficients associated with variance ratio tests, Scheff6's (1953) bounds, and Dunnett's (1955) procedure for comparing k treatments with a control. These bounds depend on the experimental design. The error-minimizing designs are characterized and shown to be orthogonal.
Liquefaction potential of coastal slopes induced by solitary waves

Tsunami runup and drawdown can cause liquefaction failure of coastal fine sand slopes due to the generation of high excess pore pressure and the reduction of the effective over burden pressure during the drawdown. The region immediately seaward of the initial shoreline is the most susceptible to tsunami-induced liquefaction failure because the water level drops significantly below the still water level during the set down phase of the drawdown. The objective of this work is to develop and validate a numerical model to assess the potential for tsunami-induced liquefaction failure of coastal sandy slopes. The transient pressure distribution acting on the slope due to wave runup and drawdown is computed by solving for the hybrid Boussinesq—nonlinear shallow water equations using a finite volume method. The subsurface pore water pressure and deformation fields are solved simultaneously using a finite element method. Two different soil constitutive models have been examined: a linear elastic model and a non-associative Mohr–Coulomb model. The numerical methods are validated by comparing the results with analytical models, and with experimental measurements from a large-scale laboratory study of breaking solitary waves over a planar fine sand beach. Good comparisons were observed from both the analytical and experimental validation studies. Numerical case studies are shown for a full-scale simulation of a 10-m solitary wave over a 1:15 and 1:5 sloped fine sand beach. The results show that the soil near the bed surface, particularly along the seepage face, is at risk to liquefaction failure. The depth of the seepage face increases and the width of the seepage face decreases with increasing bed slope. The rate of bed surface loading and unloading due to wave runup and drawdown, respectively, also increases with increasing bed slope. Consequently, the case with the steeper slope is more susceptible to liquefaction failure due to the higher hydraulic gradient. The analysis also suggests that the results are strongly influenced by the soil permeability and relative compressibility between the pore fluid and solid skeleton, and that a coupled solid/fluid formulation is needed for the soil solver. Finally, the results show the drawdown pore pressure response is strongly influenced by nonlinear material behavior for the full-scale simulation.
Evaluation of Placement Techniques for DNA Probe Array Layout

DNA probe arrays have emerged as a core genomic technology that enables cost-effective gene expression monitoring, mutation detection, single nucleotide polymorphism analysis and other genomic analyses. DNA chips are manufactured through a highly scalable process, Very Large-Scale Immobilized Polymer Synthesis (VL-SIPS), that combines photolithographic technologies adapted from the semiconductor industry with combinatorial chemistry. Commercially available DNA chips contain more than a half million probes and are expected to exceed one hundred million probes in the next generation. This paper is one of the first attempts to apply VLSI CAD methods to the problem of probe placement in DNA chips, where the main objective is to minimize total border cost (i.e., the number of nucleotide mismatches between adjacent sites). We make the following contributions. First, we propose several partitioning-based algorithms for DNA probe placement that improve solution quality by over 4% compared to best previously known methods. Second, we give a simple in-place probe reembedding algorithm with solution quality better than previous "chessboard" and batched greedy algorithms. Third, we experimentally evaluate scalability and suboptimality of existing and newly proposed probe placement algorithms. Interestingly, we find that DNA placement algorithms appear to have better suboptimality properties than those recently reported for VLSI placement algorithms.
The comprehensive description of stress fractures: a new classification system.

Background: Stress fractures represent a fatigue failure of bone, occurring with a spectrum of severity of structural injury, and healing potential varies by location. There is no comprehensive classification system for stress fractures incorporating both clinical and radiographic characteristics of the injury that is applicable to all bones. We introduce a system that is reproducible, generalizable, easy to use, and clinically relevant, with three descriptors: fracture grade, fracture location, and imaging modality. Methods: After a review of current classification systems, a five-tier system was proposed to determine fracture grade: Grade I indicated asymptomatic stress reaction on imaging, Grade II indicated pain with no fracture line, Grade III indicated non-displaced fracture, Grade IV indicated displaced fracture, and Grade V indicated nonunion. Example cases of each grade with clinical vignettes and images were prepared to test the interobserver and intraobserver reliability of the system by the test and retest evaluation among fifteen clinicians. A questionnaire and recall test assessed the ease of use, clinical applicability, and recall accuracy. Results: Test and retest analysis showed that the system had almost perfect agreement in intraobserver reliability with a kappa value of 0.81. The overall intraobserver reliability showed almost perfect agreement with a kappa value of 0.81. Almost perfect agreement with a kappa value of 0.83 was also produced when these responses were compared with our assessment. The overall interobserver reliability had substantial agreement with a kappa value of 0.78. The reliability of the group compared with that of the answer key was almost perfect with a kappa value of 0.83. The recall test showed an overall accuracy of 97.3%. Of the fifteen evaluators who completed questionnaires, fourteen (93.3%) said that the system would be easily remembered, would facilitate communication among colleagues, and would be useful in clinical practice. Conclusions: The proposed stress fracture classification system is clinically relevant, easily applied, and generalizable, and has excellent interobserver and intraobserver reliability.
The Kasai portoenterostomy for biliary atresia: a review of a 27-year experience with 81 patients

Purpose: The aim of this study was to utilize clinical outcome methodology through multivariable analysis of perioperative factors to predict a successful Kasai-portoenterostomy (PE). Methods: Records of 81 patients treated for biliary atresia (BA) were reviewed. Outcome was defined as successful if the patient was alive and had no liver transplant (LT). To predict future successful or failed PE, patients were categorized at 6 months post-PE into 2 groups: Success: direct bilirubin (DB) less than 2.0 mg/dL; Failure: DB greater than 2 mg/dL, or the patient was listed/had undergone LT, or had died. Groups were analyzed for positive or negative predictive values (PPV, NPV) at 2 and 5 years after PE. Cox regression was used to determine risk factors for PE.
Potential Sources of Hydrogel Stabilization of Florida Bay Lime Mud Sediments and Implications for Organic Matter Preservation

Abstract The fine grained carbonate mud sediments of central Florida Bay are resuspended quite easily. However, this disturbance is usually limited to the surficial (‘floc’) layer, as the underlying sediments appear to be stabilized by an hydrogelation involving the bulk organic matter. That gelation has occurred within these sediments is suggested from their physical behavior and an observed mathematical relationship between the percentages of organic carbon (Corg) and water. Specifically, when extruded from a core barrel, the sediment maintains its integrity and has the consistency of a fine spackling compound. However, upon homogenization, as with a stirring rod prior to sieving, these sediments break into two distinct phases, ½–⅔ milky water and ⅓–½ sediment grains, by volume. The relationship observed between Corg and water was modeled as both linear (% water = (0.0777) Corg + 0.2984, R2 = 0.8664) and logarithmic (% water = 0.2489 Ln Corg + 0.2842, R2 = 0.9455) functions. As this relationship tends t...
Rethinking the Standard of Care in Treating Professional Athletes

There is public discussion and debate about the role of the team physician in professional sports. There is uncertainty over whether a separate legal standard of care should apply when treating professional athletes. This article advocates a single standard of care for all patients. This article also proposes that it would be useful for team physicians to develop a consensus that there should be a health policy for professional athletes. This health policy should aspire that professional athletes can complete their career, while minimizing the risk of cognitive or physical injuries that affect later quality of life.
Chern-Simons Splitting of 2+1D Pure Yang-Mills Theory at Large Distances

Holomorphic quantization of 2+1 dimensional pure Yang-Mills theory is studied with focusing on finite large scales. Previously we have shown that (Yildirim, 2015, Int. J. Mod. Phys A, 30(7), 1550034) topologically massive Yang-Mills theory exhibits a Chern-Simons splitting behavior at large scales, similar to the topologically massive AdS gravity model in its near ChernSimons limit. This splitting occurs as a sum of two Chern-Simons terms with levels k=2 each. In the pure Chern-Simons limit, the split parts add up to give the original Chern-Simons term in the action. The opposite limit of the gravitational analogue is an Einstein-Hilbert term with a negative cosmological constant, which can be written as subtracted two half Chern-Simons terms. With this motivation, the gauge theory version of this limit is investigated, showing that at large distances, pure Yang-Mills theory acts like a topological theory that consists of split Chern-Simons parts with levels k=2 and k=2. At very large distances these split terms cancel, making the Yang-Mills theory trivial as expected due to existence of a mass gap. Gauge invariance of the split parts is discussed. It is also shown that, this splitting behavior can be exploited to incorporate link invariants of knot theory, just like in the topologically massive case.
EFFECT OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON THE STEREOTYPIC BEHAVIORS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Background: Physical activity is now widely accepted as a measure to reduce stereotypic behaviors in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, several issues exist concerning the effects of physical activity on stereotypic behaviors, such as inconsistency with research methodology. The present study which was different from previous investigations as it attempted to address those issues because it classified the intensity of physical activity using heart rate, monitored the children’s behavior over a span of 4 hours after physical activity and documented how long stereotypic behavior reduction lasted. The regimented exercise routine was also enriched with fun and motivational activities. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of physical activity on stereotypical behaviors of children with ASD. Patients and Methods: The present study was comprised of 23 children aged from 5 to 11 years, who participated in 15 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Physical activity was identified as moderate or vigorous based on the child’s heart rate. Participants were observed for a period of 2 hours before and after 15 minutes engagement in MVPA and their behaviors were then classified as either stereotypic behavior (SB) or task-engaged behavior (TE). A 2 (gender) x 3 (disorder) repeated measures ANOVA was conducted on pre and post percentage scores to analyze the physical activity effects on children’s stereotypic behaviors. Results: A significant reduction in stereotypic behaviors of children with ASD was observed for 2 hours, following 15 minutes of MVPA. Conclusions: This information has implications for researchers and practitioners who consider MVPA participation when designing behavior-changing interventions for children with ASD.
First-principles elasticity of monocarboaluminate hydrates

The elasticity of monocarboaluminate hydrates, 3CaO·Al2O3·CaCO3·xH2O (x = 11 or 8), has been investigated by first-principles calculations. Previous experimental study revealed that the fully hydrated monocarboaluminate (x = 11) exhibits exceptionally low compressibility compared to other reported calcium aluminate hydrates. This stiff hydration product can contribute to the strength of concrete made with Portland cements containing calcium carbonates. In this study, full elastic tensors and mechanical properties of the crystal structures with different water contents (x = 11 or 8) are computed by first-principles methods based on density functional theory. The results indicate that the compressibility of monocarboaluminate is highly dependent on the water content in the interlayer region. The structure also becomes more isotropic with the addition of water molecules in this region. Since the monocarboaluminate is a key hydration product of limestone added cement, elasticity of the crystal is important to understand its mechanical impact on concrete. Besides, it is put forth that this theoretical calculation will be useful in predicting the elastic properties of other complex cementitous materials and the influence of ion exchange on compressibility.
Fever without apparent source on clinical examination, lower respiratory infections in children, and other infectious diseases.

This section focuses on issues in infectious disease that are commonly encountered in pediatric office practice. Paul McCarthy discusses recent literature regarding the evaluation and management of acute fevers without apparent source on clinical examination in infants and children and the evaluation of children with prolonged fevers of unknown origin. Jean Klig reviews recent literature about lower respiratory tract infection in children. Finally, Jeffrey Kahn discusses recent developments concerning rotavirus vaccine. Curr Opin Pediatr 1999, 11:89–106
Correlation of Arachidonic Acid of Sterol Esters with Restrictive and Susceptibility to Naturally-Occurring Atherosclerosis in Pigeons.

SummaryThe levels of arachidonic acid in cholesterol esters of both serum and liver from atherosclerosis-susceptible White Car-neau pigeons are significantly lower than those of the athersclerosis-resistant Show Racer pigeons. This finding, together with that of others, suggests that the susceptibility to atherosclerosis may be inversely related to the level of arachidonic acid of sterol esters of serum and liver. In addition, it was found that the differences in the proportions of other fatty acids of cholesterol esters of liver between the two breeds of pigeons correspond with changes found in serum cholesterol esters in patients with atherosclerosis and healthy humans.
Arabidopsis cobra protein binds to glucan chains with higher affinity than to cellulose

Because of several anomalies in a publication that we coauthored, concerning the interaction of the Arabidopsis cobra protein with crystalline cellulose (Avicel) and individual glucan chains (cellohexaose) we reexamined the data and had an independent laboratory redo a key experiment. The results show that COBRA binds to cellohexaose preferably over binding to Avicel, confirming our previous report.
Separation of Protein C from Fraction IV of the Cohn Process Using Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography

A book1 which deals with most aspects of protein C has been of considerable help in this work. Protein C is azymogen precursor present in human blood.2,14 Its absence could be harmful to the patient, and could ultimately lead to death. Hence, it has become important to provide protein C to all patients who need it at an affordable price. To achieve this, protein C must be produced in large quantities and at a low cost. Present methods to produce protein C are very expensive. Purification by immunoaffinity following the Cohn precipitation process produces protein C which can only be used as a model protein for recombinant protein C experiments’. It is too expensive to treat patients prophylactively. Hence, another approach might be to produce protein C using Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography (IMAC) since IMAC is inexpensive and its separation efficiency approaches that of immunoaffinity chromatography.15
Intracellular degradation and reduced cell-surface expression of sucrase-isomaltase in heat-shocked Caco-2 cells

To investigate the role of post-translational events in intestinal cell differentiation we have studied the effects of heat shock on processing and cell surface delivery of sucrase-isomaltase (SI), dipeptidylpeptidase IV (DPPIV) and aminopeptidase N (APN) in Caco-2 cells. In cells cultured at 42.5 degrees C there was a rapid decline in sucrase activity, while DPPIV and APN were unaffected over a 3-day period. Immunofluorescence staining confirmed the selective disappearance of SI from the surface membrane after only 1 day of culture at 42.5 degrees C. Cell-surface biotinylation of cells metabolically labelled with [35S]methionine 4 h after a switch from 37 degrees C to 42.5 degrees C demonstrated that newly synthesized APN and DPPIV were associated with the surface membrane, while SI was almost completely retained intracellularly. Pulse-chase experiments confirmed that, in these cells, DPPIV and APN were normally processed and vectorially delivered to the cell surface; in contrast, conversion between the two conformationally distinct high-mannose precursor forms of SI (hmP1 and hmP2) was markedly inhibited, a significant fraction of newly synthesized enzyme was degraded, probably in the ER, and an immature form of complex-glycosylated SI precursor (cP) was produced and mostly retained intracellularly. Double labelling of Caco-2 cells for SI and cathepsin D excluded an accumulation of SI in the lysosomes, suggesting that this organelle was not involved in the degradation of SI. These results indicate that the ER may play an important role in intestinal cell differentiation by regulating the conformational maturation, degradation and eventual cellular localization of some digestive enzymes.
Infant feeding practices of low- and middle-income families in Nebraska1

Feeding practices for 100 infants from low-income families were compared with practices for 102 infants from middle-income families in Lincoln, NE, in 1980. Families with annual incomes less than $10,000 were classified as low income and those with incomes of $10,000 or more as middle income. Breast feeding occurred with similar frequency in both income groups, with 56% of each group breast feeding for varying periods of time, some exclusively and some in combination with formula feeding. Age of introduction of solid foods was positively correlated with annual income and education of mothers. Breast-fed infants were introduced to solids later than bottle-fed infants. Attendance at prenatal classes affected feeding practices favorably, particularly with middle-income mothers. Mothers who attended the classes were more likely to breast feed and to introduce solid foods at a later age.
SU-F-J-46: Feasibility of Cerenkov Emission for Absorption Spectroscopy

Purpose: Cerenkov emission (CE) is a promising tool for online tumor microenvironment interrogation and targeting during radiotherapy. In this work, we utilize CE generated during radiotherapy as a broadband excitation source for real-time absorption spectroscopy. We demonstrate the feasibility of CE spectroscopy using a controlled experiment of materials with known emission/absorption properties. Methods: A water tank is irradiated with 20 MeV electron beam to induce Cerenkov emission. Food coloring dyes (Yellow #5, Red #40, and Blue #1), which have known emission/absorption properties were added to the water tank with increasing concentration (1 drop (0.05 mL), 2 drops, and 4 drops from a dispenser bottle). The signal is collected using a condensing lens which is coupled into a 20m optical fiber that is fed into a spectrometer that measures the emitted spectra. The resulting spectra from water/food coloring dye solutions were normalized by the reference spectrum, which is the Cerenkov spectrum of pure water, correcting for both the nonlinearity of the broadband Cerenkov emission spectrum as well as the non-uniform spectral response of the spectrometer. The emitted spectra were then converted into absorbance and their characteristics were analyzed. Results: The food coloring dye had a drastic change on the Cerenkov emission, shifting its wavelength according to its visible color. The collected spectra showed various absorbance peaks which agrees with tabulated peak positions of the dyes added within 0.3% for yellow, 1.7% for red, and 0.16% for blue. The CE peak heights proportionally increased as the dye concentration is increased. Conclusion: This work shows the potential for real-time functional spectroscopy using Cerenkov emission during radiotherapy. It was demonstrated that molecule identification as well as relative concentration can be extracted from the Cerenkov emission color shift.
Developing a Measure of Library Goodness

A Review of: Orr, R. H. (1973). Measuring the goodness of library services: A general framework for considering quantitative measures. Journal of Documentation, 29(3), 315-332. Abstract Objective – To discuss the theoretical design of a measure of library quality and value that could be used across functional areas of a library in order to justify and maximize the allocation of resources. Design – This theoretical article provides background on how to conceptualize and develop a quantitative measure of library goodness. Setting – The process delineated is applicable to any library, whether public, academic, or special. Subjects – The intended audience is library management, both at the director and the department head levels. Methods – The author provided examples and questions in the development of appropriate variables. Main Results – The author presented a discussion of potential variables. These variables include library capability and utilization. Conclusion – The article concluded with a discussion of the major desiderata for an effective measure of library goodness: appropriateness, informativeness, validity, reproducibility, comparability, and practicality.
Organizing the Performance Appraisal Context

A framework that organizes the myriad of contextual factors in performance appraisals is developed to guide systematic future research in this area. Emphasis is placed on categorizing contextual fa...
Cataract refractive surgery: Innovative technology provides more choices for Canadian cataract patients.

Historically, cataract surgery was aimed at removing the clouded lens of the eye and replacing it with an artificial lens; this provided clear vision to patients but without regard to their refractive error—their need for spectacles or contact lenses after surgery. Modern diagnostic and surgical instrumentation now makes it possible to address these refractive errors at the time of surgery, introducing a new paradigm—cataract refractive surgery. Although not medically necessary, many patients appreciate the chance to reduce or eliminate their need for spectacles after surgery, even if some personal cost is involved.
Exploring Computer-Supported Professional Development for Novice Museum and Zoo Professionals

Zoos and museums often rely on interpretive staff, called explainers, to facilitate visitors' learning through conversations and demonstrations. Many explainers begin their careers as teens, and would benefit from ongoing Professional Development (PD). As institutions begin to use mobile devices to enhance explainers' interpretation, new opportunities arise to support explainers' individual and collaborative professional development. This paper presents the results of structured participatory design sessions to engage explainers in examining and proposing features for a Facilitation, Reflection, and Augmented Interpretation Mobile System (FRAIMS). The goal for FRAIMS is to support everyday interpretive tasks while also gathering information on how explainers perform that interpretation (both passively, via logging and recording, and actively, via self-reports and ratings) to support them in their PD. Reflecting on one's own performance and the performance of others is a powerful PD strategy, but can be emotionally fraught. Via participatory design sessions with expert, in-development, and novice explainers at different informal learning institutions, we found that explainers' preferences for socially sharing performance information gathered via mobile devices varied with their experience. We detail emerging themes captured from the sessions and make suggestions for how these findings might apply more broadly to computer-supported professional development systems.
Non-auditory neurocognitive skills contribute to speech recognition in adults with cochlear implants.

Objective Unexplained variability in speech recognition outcomes among postlingually deafened adults with cochlear implants (CIs) is an enormous clinical and research barrier to progress. This variability is only partially explained by patient factors (e.g., duration of deafness) and auditory sensitivity (e.g., spectral and temporal resolution). This study sought to determine whether non-auditory neurocognitive skills could explain speech recognition variability exhibited by adult CI users. Study Design Thirty postlingually deafened adults with CIs and thirty age-matched normal-hearing (NH) controls were enrolled. Methods Participants were assessed for recognition of words in sentences in noise and several non-auditory measures of neurocognitive function. These non-auditory tasks assessed global intelligence (problem-solving), controlled fluency, working memory, and inhibition-concentration abilities. Results For CI users, faster response times during a non-auditory task of inhibition-concentration predicted better recognition of sentences in noise; however, similar effects were not evident for NH listeners. Conclusions Findings from this study suggest that inhibition-concentration skills play a role in speech recognition for CI users, but less so for NH listeners. Further research will be required to elucidate this role and its potential as a novel target for intervention.
Quality assurance of anatomic pathology diagnoses: Comparison of alternate approaches.

Abstract Objectives Traditionally, a 10% review has been the basis for quality assurance programs in anatomic pathology. The effectiveness of such reviews has been questioned and alternative methodologies suggested. The study investigates the error detection rates for four quality assurance protocols. Methods The detection rate for diagnostic errors in surgical pathology was calculated over a one year period using four different review procedures comprising: random 10% review, correlation of internal and external diagnoses following solicited external expert opinion, correlation of internal diagnoses with outside diagnoses in cases sent for review at a second institution treating the patient along with a focused review of dermatopathology cases over a 3 month period. Error rate was expressed as percentage of reviewed cases where the initial diagnosis differed from the review diagnosis. Error rates detected by each method were compared among the methods Results The 10% random review detected seventeen errors in 2147 cases (0.8%). Solicited case consultations requested by clinicians or internal pathologists detected five diagnostic errors in seventy cases (7.1%). Unsolicited reviews by outside institutions in the course of patient care detected three diagnostic errors in 190 cases (1.6%). Review of the dermatopathology material disclosed 5 diagnostic errors in 59 cases (8.5%). Conclusions Focused reviews initiated by diagnostic concerns of a clinician or pathologist, unsolicited reviews because of treatment at another institution and sub-specialty based reviews appear to be more effective in detecting diagnostic errors than the 10% random review. Quality assurance programs should include focused reviews in addition to 10% random review to maximize error detection.
Distributed lossy interactive function computation

Several users observing random sequences take turns sending error-free messages to a central estimation officer (CEO) and all other users one at a time. The CEO, which also observes a side information correlated with the users observations, aims to compute a function of the sources and the side information in a lossy manner. The users' observations are assumed to be conditionally independent given the side information. Inner and outer bounds to the rate distortion region for this lossy interactive distributed function computation problem are established and shown to coincide in some special cases. In addition to this newly closed case, two more examples are provided in which each user observes a subset of independent random variables, and the full rate distortion region is characterized. Additionally, the relationship between a zero-distortion limit and lossless distributed function computation is studied for a special class of extremum functions and related distortions.
12-HETE Regulates Stromal Aging Induced Proliferation of Pancreatic Cancer Cells

Recent evidence suggests a significant role of fibroblasts in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) stromal cellularity, metabolism, and therapy response. Considering PDAC being an age-associated disease and a dismal 5-y survival of less than 6%, this study investigates whether stromal aging regulates PDAC progression. Results showed that normal human fibroblasts (NHFs) from older vs. younger healthy individuals stimulate proliferation of PDAC cells in co-cultures and PDAC cells that were cultured in conditioned media. Results from 3D experiments also showed a significant acceleration in proliferation of luciferase expressing MIA PaCa-2 PDAC cells co-cultured with old vs. young NHFs. These results were also recapitulated from in vivo tumor xenograft experiments: (i) 2x tumor volume in xenograft of MIA PaCa-2 cells and old NHFs; and (ii) median survival of 32 d in mice carrying xenograft of MIA PaCa-2 cells and old NHFs vs. 44 d in mice carrying xenograft of MIA PaCa-2 cells and young NHFs. Results from oxidative stress PCR-array (SA Bioscience) and RT-PCR assays showed 6-fold increase in arachidonic acid lipoxygenase (ALOX12) expression in old vs. young NHFs, which was also associated with increases in ALOX12 metabolite, 12-(S)-hydroxy-5,8,10,14-eicosatetraenoic acid (12-HETE): 8 in old vs. 1 femto g/cell in young NHFs. Oncomine data search and RT-PCR analysis showed a lack of ALOX12 expression in PDAC cells, suggesting that PDAC rely on stromal derived mitogens for their proliferative needs. Consistent with this hypothesis, 12-HETE stimulated MIA PaCa-2 proliferation, and siRNA knockdown of ALOX12 in old NHFs suppressed MIA PaCa-2 proliferation in co-cultures. In summary, these results showed that stromal aging significantly contributes to PDAC progression, and identified 12-HETE as a potential biomarker for PDAC progression and target for therapy.
Differences in velocity-information processing between two areas in the auditory cortex of mustached bats

Abstract The bio-sonar pulse of the mustached bat, Pteronotus parnellii parnellii, consists of four harmonics of constant frequency (CF1-4) and frequency-modulated (FM1-4) components. The CF and FM components carry velocity and distance information, respectively. In the auditory cortex of mustached bats, the CC (“C” stands for constant frequency) and DIF (dorsal intrafossa) areas consist of CF/CF neurons tuned to a combination of pulse CF1 and echo CFn (n = 2 or 3). They show facilitative responses to pulse-echo stimuli with specific frequency differences, corresponding to Doppler shifts. Their facilitative responses are sharply tuned to a specific relative target velocity (best velocity). Compared with CC neurons, DIF neurons are tuned to higher velocities and to larger CF1 amplitudes, and adapt faster to repetitive pulse-echo stimuli. The great majority of CC neurons are suited for the processing of velocity information during cruising and target-directed flight, whereas the majority of DIF neurons are suited for the processing of velocity information when the bat is emitting loud pulses at low repetition rates during cruising flight. CC and DIF neurons are broadly tuned to 0–2-ms echo delays and not suited for ranging.
Scale-and Shift-Invariances Explain Two-Player Fehr-Schmidt Fairness Utility Function

In a recent paper [2], it was shown that people’s behavior in simple two-person economic games can be quantitatively explained by using Fehr-Schmidt fairness utility function, i.e., by assuming that a person chooses a strategy for which the following quantity attains the largest possible value: x1 − α · max(x2 − x1,0) − β · max(x1 − x2,0), where x1 is this person’s monetary gain and x2 is the gain of the other player. The Fehr-Schmidt utility function has an intuitive explanation, as an approximate expression that captures such feelings as envy and guilt. In [3], it was shown that for an arbitrary number of agents, the corresponding Fehr-Schmidt utility function can be derived from reasonable assumptions such as monotonicity, additivity, etc. In this paper, we show that for the case of two players, already simple invariance requirements uniquely determine this function.
Metastatic cutaneous apocrine carcinoma: Multidisciplinary approach achieving complete response with adjuvant chemoradiation.

Cutaneous adnexal tumors are rare and can present a diagnostic and therapeutic dilemma. Distinguishing primary cutaneous tumors from metastatic carcinoma to the skin requires thorough diagnostic evaluation, including imaging, endoscopy, and histologic and molecular pathologic analysis. As with many rare cancers, there is no standard of care management.1 Here we present the diagnostic approach for a primary cutaneous adenocarcinoma of the scalp with lymph node metastasis and subsequent multimodal therapy.
Too big to fail? The case of the New York Times : journalism next

Andrew Phelps, the Senior Product Manager for The New York Times and one of the investigators involved in the leaked Innovation Report, (the paper's investigation on changes needed to cope with the digital world) was the keynote speaker at the Menell Media Exchange (MMX15) in South Africa this year. Here are some highlights from his talk to a crowded room of journalists from across the country and journalism spectrum.
Midinfrared Electro-optic Modulation in Few-Layer Black Phosphorus

Black phosphorus stands out from the family of two-dimensional materials as a semiconductor with a direct, layer-dependent bandgap spanning the visible to mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectral range. It is, therefore, a very promising material for various optoelectronic applications, particularly in the important mid-IR range. While mid-IR technology has been advancing rapidly, both photodetection and electro-optic modulation in the mid-IR rely on narrow-band compound semiconductors, which are difficult and expensive to integrate with the ubiquitous silicon photonics. For mid-IR photodetection, black phosphorus has already been proven to be a viable alternative. Here, we demonstrate electro-optic modulation of mid-IR absorption in few-layer black phosphorus. Our experimental and theoretical results find that, within the doping range obtainable in our samples, the quantum confined Franz-Keldysh effect is the dominant mechanism of electro-optic modulation. A spectroscopic study on samples with varying thicknesses reveals strong layer dependence in the interband transition between specific pairs of sub-bands. Our results show that black phosphorus is a very promising material to realizing efficient mid-IR modulators.
Effects of focused continuing pharmacy education on pharmacists’ attitudes toward suicide prevention

Background: Pharmacists are ideally situated to be involved in suicide prevention, but little is known about their attitudes toward suicide prevention. Aims: To determine whether continuing pharmacy education (CPE) focused on suicide and its prevention would positively affect pharmacists’ attitudes toward suicide prevention. Methods: A one-hour presentation on suicide and suicide prevention was developed for a school-sponsored CPE activity. Pharmacists who attended the CPE activity were asked to complete an online survey that included the Attitudes to Suicide Prevention (ASP) scale before and after the educational activity. Results: The survey was completed by 99/173 (57%) pharmacists before the CPE activity and 87/173 (50%) pharmacists after the CPE activity. The mean ASP total score decreased from 33.1 +/- 4.3 to 30.0 +/- 6.6 ( p <0.001), and 6 of 14 individual items were statistically significantly improved. Conclusion: Focused CPE had a positive impact on pharmacists’ attitudes toward suicide prevention. Future methodologically rigorous studies are warranted.
Large Eddies and Polymer Strings

The Doppler shift of forward scattered light from particles and the fluorescence intensity at 90 degrees from the incident light forming the same probe volume were measured simultaneously to study the interaction of injected polymer strings with the flow. In drag reducing turbulence when clusters of strings are observed, the velocity fluctuations are damped, but isolated strings appear to have no effect on the flow.