cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Control of normal and abnormal proliferation in the epidermis: EGF receptor function and epidermal hyperplasia

The epidermis of the skin is a multi-layered epithelial structure, with a layer of rapidly proliferating cells at the base of the structure. These cells are attached to a basement membrane that separates the epidermis from the underlying connective tissue. Above the basal layer are cells that have begun the process of differentiation. As these cells are pushed further toward the surface, differentiation progresses until the uppermost layer of the skin consists primarily of cross-linked, high-molecular-weight proteins that are eventually sloughed from the skin. Hyperproliferative skin diseases, of which psoriasis is a prototype, result in excess keratinocyte proliferation and a correspondingly thickened epidermis. Abnormal growth is accompanied by abnormalities in the differentiation process. Understanding how proliferation is regulated in the epidermis is important, since it may be possible to utilize this information to interdict events that give rise to abnormal growth without compromising physiological...
Orthopedic Residency: Are Duty Hours Predictive of Performance?

Objective This study examines the relationship between self-recorded resident work hours and Orthopedic In-training Examination (OITE) scores, resident clinical performance, and American Board of Orthopedic Surgery pass rates. The hypothesis of this study is that increasing duty hours would have a positive correlation with clinical and OITE performance. Design Total duty hours and recorded operating room hours from a single orthopedic residency program were extracted from 2006 to 2012. During the same time span, OITE scores, resident clinical scores from the E-Valuation system, and American Board of Orthopedic Surgery pass rates were collected. The correlation between the variables was assessed using the Pearson correlation coefficient's precision statistic. Setting A large public tertiary academic center in the upper Midwestern United States. Participants A total of 82 orthopedic surgery residents over 7 years. Results A total of 82 residents were matriculated between 2006 and 2012. The average weekly recorded duty hours were as follows: postgraduate year 2 (PGY2) = 60 hours/week (Standard Deviation (SD) ± 4), PGY3=59 hours/week (SD ± 5), PGY4=51 hours/week (SD ± 4), PGY5=49 hours/week (SD ± 3). There was significant variability in the average number of hours worked among residents (range: 2128-3753h/y) for the full academic year. The OITE scores and the work hours were found to be independent of each other ( ρ = 0.017, p=0.825), and no correlation was found between OITE scores and the resident E-value scores ( ρ = 0.071, p=0.34). Residents spent 36% to 48% of their time in the operating room. Second year residents logging more hours scored higher on faculty evaluation of overall competency ( ρ = 0.31, p=0.035). Faculty assessment of technical skills had a positive correlation with operating room duty hours for PGY5 class ( ρ = 0.346, p=0.025). Conclusions A large variation in duty hours exists between resident-logged duty hours. No correlation exists between in-training scores and duty hours. There is a positive correlation between senior resident operating room hours and technical skill scores.
Three-dimensional free-standing carbon nanotubes for a flexible lithium-ion battery anode

Flexible lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have received considerable attention as energy sources for wearable electronics. In recent years, much effort has been devoted to study light-weight, robust, and flexible electrodes. However, high areal and volumetric capacities need to be achieved for practical power and energy densities. In this paper, we report the use of three-dimensional (3D) free-standing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as a current collector-free anode to demonstrate flexible LIBs with enhanced areal and volumetric capacities. High density CNTs grown on copper (Cu) mesh are transferred to a flexible graphene/polyethylene terephthalate film and integrated into a flexible LIB. A fully flexible LIB cell integrated with the 3D CNT anode delivers a high areal capacity of 0.25 mAh cm(-2) at 0.1C and shows fairly consistent open circuit voltage under bending. These findings may provide significant advances in the application of flexible LIB based electronic devices.
Exploring the Diverse Effects of Stakeholder Engagement on Organizational Performance

Collaborative partnerships and stakeholder engagement support an exchange of information, ideas, and resources that are critical to successful policy implementation in the 21st century. Such multiorganizational arrangements accompany expectations that collaboration will lead to improved policy outcomes and organizational performance that would not otherwise be possible in more hierarchical settings. However, our knowledge of how collaborative partnerships contribute to the full spectrum of potential impacts ranging from direct substantive outcomes to more indirect process-oriented improvements remains limited. Using data from a unique survey of 150 Indian education directors in New Mexico and Oklahoma, the following study explores how collaboration between public officials and Native American communities is related to perceived improvements in organizational performance across eight different direct and indirect measures. The results demonstrate that higher levels of collaboration are positively related t...
Some Host-Plant Preferences Shown by Lygus lineolaris (Hemiptera: Miridae) in the Laboratory

Adult tarnished plant bugs, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), preferred celery or carrot over green beans, both as food sources and as oviposition sites, but adult fecundity and nymphal survival were dramatically superior when beans were the only food available. Celery and carrot both were inadequate diets for nymphal development. Hence, the stimuli which mediate selection of substrates by this species do not involve nutritional values. The tarnished plant bug exhibits a highly developed capability for discrimination.
A High-order Discontinuous Galerkin Method for Unsteady Flow Problems

A high-order discontinuous Galerkin method with Lagrange multipliers is presented for the solution of unsteady advection-diffusion problems in the high Peclet number regime. Unlike the hybridizable discontinuous Galerkin methods, it operates directly on the secondorder form of the governing equation and does not require stabilization. In the spirit of the discontinuous enrichment method, it chooses its spatial basis functions among the freespace solutions of the homogeneous form of the partial differential equation obtained after time-discretization. Furthermore, the proposed high-order discretization method relies on Lagrange multipliers for enforcing a weak continuity of the approximated solution across the element interface boundaries. This leads to a system of differential-algebraic equations that are time-integrated by an implicit family of schemes based on the Backward Differentiation Formula. The numerical stability of these time-stepping schemes as applied to differential-algebraic equations is supported by a theoretical analysis here. The performance of the overall solution method is demonstrated for various high Peclet number model flow problems.
Neuro-Behçets in a Child

We describe a case of neuro-Behcet disease diagnosed in a 12-year-old girl. This patient presented with recurrent oral ulcers, incontinence, spastic gait, blurry vision, and asymmetrical lower extremity hypertonia. Extensive testing revealed punctate lesions through the central nervous system, vitritis, papillitis, and uveitis. A thorough infectious and neoplastic workup was negative. She was treated with pulse steroids and azathioprine with gradual improvement in her gait and ophthalmologic findings. Although rare, primary neuro-Behcet should be considered in pediatric patients with neurologic abnormalities and recurrent aphthous ulcers without other explanation.
The Nutritional Requirements of Termites in Axenic Cultures. 1. Sterilization of Eggs of Reticulitermes flavipes and the Requirements of First-Instar Nymphs

To obtain sterile nymphs for nutritional experiments, eggs of Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) were submerged in 0.1% aqueous solution of zephiran chloride. Eggs so treated appeared anatomically normal and hatched successfully in the presence of older workers, but only those exposed to zephiran for as long as 10 minutes were found to be decontaminated when tested on sterile nutrient agar plates. First-instar nymphs, which normally are assisted from the eggs by older termites, were removed by hand with no detrimental effects, but died in 7 days unless fed proctodeal and/or stomodeal food by older instars. Neither synthetic nutrient solutions nor artificially fed fecal solutions served as substitutes for the normal diet. Inconclusive results were obtained in a series of experiments conducted to determine whether grooming by older workers was a requisite for increasing the longevity of the first-instar nymphs.
Parameter Testing and Modelling of Excitation System for No.1 Unit in Hanpingzui Hydropower Station

The paper introduces parameter testing of the excitation system for No.1 unit in Gansu Hanpingzui Hydropower Station.According to the field test data,the excitation system model for stability calculation is set up and the model parameters are obtained.No-loading 5% step response of No.1 unit is simulated by BPA simulation software.The simulated result indicates the mathematical model and the parameters meet the actual situation and the needs of stability.
Parathyroid hormone inhibits proximal tubule Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity.

arathyroid hormone (PTH) decreases the transepithelial transport of Na+ in the proximal tubule, an action ascribed to PTH-inhibited apical Na(+)-H+ exchanger-dependent Na+ entry. We tested the possibility that PTH could also diminish Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase-dependent Na+ exit. To dissociate effects on Na+ entry, studies were performed in a suspension of rat proximal tubules by measuring nystatin-stimulated ouabain-inhibitable O2 consumption (QO2) and monensin-stimulated ouabain-sensitive 86Rb uptake in the absence or presence of bovine PTH-(1-34) fragment. PTH inhibited the percent nystatin-stimulated QO2 in a concentration-dependent manner, with maximal effect at 10(-10) M. PTH-increased cAMP formation was seen at doses higher than 10(-9) M and was maximal at 10(-7) M. Dibutyryl cAMP (10(-4) M) only partially reproduced the PTH action on QO2. Angiotensin II (10(-6) M) blunted the effect of 10(-7) M PTH on QO2, although it did not change 10(-7) M PTH-dependent cAMP generation. The analogues PTH-(3-34) and [Nle8,Nle18,Tyr34]PTH-(3-34)-amide mimicked the effects of PTH-(1-34) on QO2 but did not affect cAMP formation. Monensin-stimulated ouabain-sensitive 86Rb uptake was inhibited by PTH in a dose-dependent manner, with 10(-7) M PTH being maximally inhibitory. Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity was also decreased by PTH-(3-34) in a concentration-dependent manner, with maximal effect occurring at 10(-8) M. Agonist-dependent inhibition of Na+ pump was not due to a decrease of mitochondrial activity, because mitochondrial uncoupled QO2 rates were the same in control and PTH-treated tubules.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Building Practical Spoken Dialog Systems

This tutorial will give a practical description of the free software Carnegie Mellon Olympus 2 Spoken Dialog Architecture. Building real working dialog systems that are robust enough for the general public to use is difficult. Most frequently, the functionality of the conversations is severely limited - down to simple question-answer pairs. While off-the-shelf toolkits help the development of such simple systems, they do not support more advanced, natural dialogs nor do they offer the transparency and flexibility required by computational linguistic researchers. However, Olympus 2 offers a complete dialog system with automatic speech recognition (Sphinx) and synthesis (SAPI, Festival) and has been used, along with previous versions of Olympus, for teaching and research at Carnegie Mellon and elsewhere for some 5 years. Overall, a dozen dialog systems have been built using various versions of Olympus, handling tasks ranging from providing bus schedule information to guidance through maintenance procedures for complex machinery, to personal calendar management. In addition to simplifying the development of dialog systems, Olympus provides a transparent platform for teaching and conducting research on all aspects of dialog systems, including speech recognition and synthesis, natural language understanding and generation, and dialog and interaction management. The tutorial will give a brief introduction to spoken dialog systems before going into detail about how to create your own dialog system within Olympus 2, using the Let's Go bus information system as an example. Further, we will provide guidelines on how to use an actual deployed spoken dialog system such as Let's Go to validate research results in the real world. As a possible testbed for such research, we will describe Let's Go Lab, which provides access to both the Let's Go system and its genuine user population for research experiments.
Nutrient intake of institutionalized developmentally disabled individuals: impact of the nutrition knowledge of paraprofessionals.

The role of the caretaker in enhancing nutrient intake of developmentally disabled individuals living in an institutional setting was examined. Eighty developmentally disabled residents living at the Western Carolina Center, Morganton, NC, were assessed for anthropometric measurements and for dietary intake, with a 3-day plate waste study. Seventy paraprofessionals/feeders working at the same center were assessed for knowledge of nutrition and food practices and participated in a series of inservice programs on nutrition. Pretest and post-test scores for knowledge of nutrition and food practices were determined. For the paraprofessionals/feeders, inservice programs on nutrition resulted in increased knowledge of nutrition but did not increase the nutritional quality of their own diets. However, statistically significant differences were noted in residents' diets for calories (p;
Remote Sensing of Drought: Vegetation, Soil Moisture, and Data Assimilation

Application of remote sensing is emerging for operational drought monitoring and early warning as it offers opportunities for assessing drought from different perspectives. This chapter provides an overview of the advances in monitoring different types of drought using satellite remote-sensing observations with an example on agricultural drought assessment over the continental U.S. While the main constraint in remote sensing of drought is attributed to limited duration of records, this can be overcome by merging the remote-sensing observations with model simulations through data assimilation. The application of data assimilation as a promising approach is described for drought monitoring over the Pacific Northwest US.
Stability analysis for multicomponent mixtures including capillary pressure

Abstract Despite the large potential of unconventional resources, many unknowns still exist regarding the physics controlling the extraction processes in these settings. These include accurate representation of phase equilibrium in tight formations and effective implementation of relevant models in simulation tools. When a fluid is confined in pore spaces of nanometer size, significant interfacial curvatures may occur that can result in large capillary pressures between the liquid and vapor phases: The pressure difference between the two phases will likely affect the vapor-liquid equilibrium state. Previous efforts have shown that this effect is negligible for conventional reservoirs (with pores in the micron range) and current commercial reservoir simulators commonly ignore the effect of capillary pressure in the VLE calculations. However, experimental and modeling efforts have shown that ignoring capillary pressure in the VLE calculations will not be a valid approximation for unconventional (tight) reservoirs. In this work, we analyze the numerical aspects of including capillarity phenomena in VLE calculations in an effort to arrive at robust and efficient algorithms for stability analysis that can be used in compositional modeling/simulation of unconventional reservoirs. While the equality of chemical potentials is a necessary condition for equilibrium, it is not a sufficient one. A sufficient condition for equilibrium is the minimization of Gibbs energy, and the latter can be tested using the tangent plane distance ( TPD ) criteria. We show that stability analysis based on the TPD criteria remains valid for systems with large capillary pressures and propose effective/robust algorithms for stability testing. The proposed algorithms are tested for multicomponent reservoir fluid systems over a range of relevant temperatures, pressures and pore radii.
Research of new method about the closed-loop test in smart substation

The data exchanged in smart substation is based on communication. Most of time, the test about measure value and status information are open-loop, all the SV packets and MMS packets are only recorded and do not take comparison analysis. A new method about the closed-loop test including the process layer, bay layer and station layer of smart substation is presented. The SV and GOOSE packet in process bus, the MMS packet in station bus and the IEC60870-5-104 packet used to remote communication are captured to cross-layer analysis to realize automatic closed-loop test about the measure value, status information and control operation. The scheme of the method and the related key technology are discussed in detailed. It will be helpful to guide the test on site of the smart substation and can improve the efficiency of test.
Externality and Incorporation in the World-System: Abyssinia - Anomaly or Palimpsest?

This article examines the concept of the external arena and the role of the information network in the expansion of the world-system and incorporation of new regions. To address systemic incorporation, I reference research on nested networks of interaction, and echo criticisms that the impact of myth and misinformation has been underappreciated as an element of incorporation. Significant alteration occurs well-prior to the point at which most world-systems literature considers a region incorporated. I offer the concept of protoglobalization as a means of conceptualizing this early, overlooked social, economic, and political change. Abyssinia is of interest because it offers a rare case of cross-systemic incorporation. The region was historically part of the Red Sea trade complex, had linkages throughout the interior of Africa, and existed on the periphery of the Indian Ocean world-system. So while initially outside the realm of European contact, this case offers an example of successful resistance to incorporation and how that process can be understood. Additionally, it offers a case study of crosssystemic incorporation, which has been lacking in the literature. As such, it also contributes to the concept of a contested periphery. The case reaffirms the significant impact external regions can have on the functioning of internal system actors; the mere myth of Prester John spurred significant effort by European powers to locate his legendary Christian Kingdom. Finally, the article uses the methodological innovation of historical maps to trace the border of the information network, which allows for a refinement of our understanding of the complex process of incorporation and an improved model of the relationship between networks of interaction, frontiers, contestation, and incorporation.
Recent advances in CMV tropism, latency, and diagnosis during aging

Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is one of the largest viruses known to cause human diseases. Chronic CMV infection, as defined by anti-CMV IgG serology, increases with age and is highly prevalent in older adults. It has complex biology with significant immunologic and health consequences. This article aims to summarize research findings presented at the 6th International Workshop on CMV and Immunosenescence that relate to advances in the areas of CMV tropism, latency, CMV manipulation of cell metabolism, and T cell memory inflation, as well as novel diagnostic evaluation and translational research of chronic CMV infection in older adults. Information summarized here represents the current state of knowledge in these important fields. Investigators have also identified a number of areas that deserve further and more in-depth investigation, including building more precise parallels between mouse CMV (mCMV) and human CMV (HCMV) research. It is hoped that this article will also stimulate engaging discussion on strategies and direction to advance the science to the next level.
Roles of Grainyhead-like transcription factors in cancer

The mammalian homologs of the D. melanogaster Grainyhead gene, Grainyhead-like 1-3 (GRHL1, GRHL2 and GRHL3), are transcription factors implicated in wound healing, tubulogenesis and cancer. Their induced target genes encode diverse epithelial cell adhesion molecules, while mesenchymal genes involved in cell migration and invasion are repressed. Moreover, GRHL2 suppresses the oncogenic epithelial-mesencyhmal transition, thereby acting as a tumor suppressor. Mechanisms, some involving established cancer-related signaling/transcription factor pathways (for example, Wnt, TGF-β, mir200, ZEB1, OVOL2, p63 and p300) and translational implications of the Grainyhead proteins in cancer are discussed in this review article.
Anterior cingulate cortex γ-aminobutyric acid deficits in youth with depression

Abnormally low γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels have been consistently reported in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD). Our group extended this finding to adolescents, and documented that GABA deficits were associated with anhedonia. Here we aimed to confirm our prior finding of decreased brain GABA in youth with depression and explore its associations with clinical variables. Forty-four psychotropic medication-free youth with MDD and 36 healthy control (HC) participants (12-21 years) were studied. Participants represent a combined sample of 39 newly recruited youth (MDD=24) and 41 youth from our previously reported study (MDD=20). GABA levels and the combined resonances of glutamate and glutamine (Glx) were measured in vivo in the anterior cingulate cortex using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Youth with depression exhibited significantly lower GABA levels than HC in both the newly reported (P=0.003) and the combined (P=0.003) samples. When depressed participants were classified based on the presence of anhedonia, only the anhedonic MDD subgroup showed reduced GABA levels compared to HC (P=0.002). While there were no associations between any clinical measures and GABA or Glx levels in the new sample, GABA was negatively correlated with only anhedonia severity in the combined MDD group. Furthermore, in the combined sample, hierarchical regression models showed that anhedonia, but not depression severity, anxiety or suicidality, contributed significant variance in GABA levels. This report solidifies the evidence for a GABA deficit early in the course of MDD, which correlates specifically with anhedonia in the disorder.
Interest-Relative Invariantism and Indifference Problems

Interest-relative invariantism (IRI hereafter) is the view that practical interests encroach upon knowledge. In other words, the more that is at stake for S, the harder it is for her true belief to be an instance of knowledge. Russell and Doris (Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 86: 429–437, 2008) argue that IRI theorists are committed to indifference being knowledge-making feature of IRI, where knowledge comes easier for subjects the less they care. In this paper, I explain why indifference cases are problematic and which assumptions about IRI generate them. I then argue IRI theorists can immunize themselves from indifference problems by grounding practical interests in either Aristotelianism or a restricted form of Humeanism, both of which link practical interests to some conception of well-being. I then argue that besides solving indifference problems, these approaches present a reasonable conception of practical interests, while also saving IRI theorists from abandoning plausible theses about knowledge.
Cross-National Comparisons of Union Stability in Cohabiting and Married Families With Children

Increases in cohabitation, nonmarital childbearing, and partnership dissolution have reshaped the family landscape in most Western countries. The United States shares many features of family change common elsewhere, although it is exceptional in its high degree of union instability. In this study, we use the Harmonized Histories to provide a rich, descriptive account of union instability among couples who have had a child together in the United States and several European countries. First, we compare within-country differences between cohabiting and married parents in education, prior family experiences, and age at first birth. Second, we estimate differences in the stability of cohabiting and married parents, paying attention to transitions into marriage among those cohabiting at birth. Finally, we explore the implications of differences in parents’ characteristics for union instability and the magnitude of social class differences in union instability across countries. Although similar factors are associated with union instability across countries, some (prior childbearing, early childbearing) are by far more common in the United States, accounting in part for higher shares separating. The factors associated with union instability—lower education, prior childbearing, early childbearing—also tend to be more tightly packaged in the United States than elsewhere, suggesting greater inequality in resources for children.
Exploring the association between reported discrimination and hypertension among African Americans: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: The experience of racial discrimination among African Americans may contribute to an increased risk of developing hypertension and having poor hypertension control once diagnosed. Although it is a commonly held belief that experiences of discrimination may exert lasting effects on health behavior and physiology, the existing evidence is mixed. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review was to identify evidence linking the experience of discrimination with hypertension among African Americans and to provide an updated synthesis of the literature. DESIGN: Articles for the review were identified through an electronic search of PubMed, OVID, and other pertinent journals. The review was augmented with a manual search of references. We assessed the quality of included articles using modified Downs and Black criteria. RESULTS: In total, 15 articles were selected for the review, 12 cross-sectional studies and 3 cohort studies. The preponderance of evidence (9 of 15 articles) indicated that discrimination was associated with an increased risk of developing hypertension, difficulty obtaining control of existing hypertension, and/or elevated blood pressure among those without a diagnosis of hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review supports the association of racial discrimination with an increased risk of developing hypertension; however, the picture is not uniform. Methodological challenges, such as floor or ceiling effects of reported discrimination and low sample size, may have prevented researchers from detecting important associations. A better understanding of the emerging but complex relationship between discrimination and hypertension among African Americans is needed, as we seek to resolve existing cardiovascular health disparities. Ethn Dis. 2012;22[4]:422–431
Troubling Fieldwork: When Critical Events/Incidents in Classroom Fieldwork Provoke:

In this autoethnography, I reflect on troubling fieldwork dilemmas I experienced while conducting qualitative research in a high school English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom. Here, I trouble...
Rationale and development of a randomized pragmatic trial to improve diabetes outcomes in patient-centered medical homes serving rural patients

Proper diabetes self-care requires patients to have considerable knowledge, a range of skills, and to sustain multiple health behaviors. Self-management interventions are needed that can be readily implemented and sustained in rural clinics with limited resources that disproportionately care for patients with limited literacy. Researchers on our team developed an evidence-based, patient-centered, low literacy intervention promoting diabetes self-care that includes: 1) the American College of Physicians (ACP) Diabetes Guide that uses plain language and descriptive photographs to teach core diabetes concepts and empower patients to initiate behavior change; 2) a brief counseling strategy to assist patients in developing short-term, explicit and attainable goals for behavior change ('action plans'); and 3) a training module for health coaches that prepares them to assume educator/counselor roles with the Diabetes Guide as a teaching tool. While the intervention has previously been field tested and found to significantly improve patient knowledge, self-efficacy, and engagement in related health behaviors, its optimal implementation is not known. This project took advantage of a unique opportunity to modify and disseminate the ACP health literacy intervention among patients with type 2 diabetes cared for at rural clinics in Arkansas that are Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMH). These practices all had health coaches that could be leveraged to provide chronic disease self-management mostly via phone, but also at the point-of-care. Hence we conducted a patient-randomized, pragmatic clinical trial in 6 rural PCMHs in Arkansas, targeting individuals with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes.
Extravillous Trophoblast Cyst

Extravillous trophoblast cysts are grossly visible cysts that are usually located in the subchorionic region or within the septa. They are not an uncommon finding in cut slices of the mature placenta. They have been thought to be of no clinical significance but a a re-evaluation of the clinical associations, including with in utero hypoxia, is needed.
Abstract WMP111: Family Perceptions of Quality of End-of-Life Care in Stroke: The OASIS Study

Introduction: Stroke remains the fifth leading cause of death in the US, yet there has been little effort to formally assess the quality of end-of-life stroke care. We explored family surrogate dec...
A Longitudinal Analysis of Operating Profitability in the U.S. Airline Industry, 1988-2011

What is the impact of operational performance on profitability in the airline industry? We address this question in the context of the domestic U.S. airline industry from 1988 through 2011. The industry consists of (i) focused carriers that provide a limited set of service offerings for a particular market niche within North America, and (ii) legacy carriers who attempt to serve a wide variety of destinations (both continental and intercontinental) and customer segments. We compare and contrast the impact of five determinants of operating profitability – yield, load factor, equipment cost, labor cost, and fuel cost – for legacy carriers and focused carriers across two eras – pre 9/11 and post 9/11. Pre 9/11, focused and legacy carriers differed markedly in terms of managing the primary determinants. However, focused carriers have become more similar to legacy carriers post 9/11.
Extended Arguments in Children's Discourse

In arguments produced by preschool children, structural forms which initiate, elaborate and terminate argument sequences are categorized, and age differences are discovered for initiating and elabo...
Symptoms in Children Receiving Treatment for Cancer—Part II: Pain, Sadness, and Symptom Clusters :

Children and adolescents receiving treatment for cancer experience multiple symptoms as a consequence of their disease and its treatment that interfere with the child's quality of life. Understanding of symptom assessment in children with cancer is foundational to the work of the Children's Oncology Group Nursing Discipline, whose research aims are to address knowledge gaps including understanding illness-related distress. This article is the second of a two-part summary of current evidence addressing the assessment of symptoms frequently reported by children and adolescents receiving treatment for cancer. Studies reporting assessment of pain, sadness, and symptom clusters published between January 2008 and May 2018 were included. Forty-three publications addressed pain. Pain was highly prevalent and distressing, varied in its trajectory across a cycle of chemotherapy and across multiple cycles of treatment, and correlated with biomarkers associated with the pain response. Consequences of pain were poorer functional status and emotional health. Twenty publications addressed sadness. Sadness was the most prevalent psychosocial symptom. Its prevalence decreased over the course of treatment and over a cycle of chemotherapy. Persistent sadness was of greater severity and distress. Eight publications addressed symptom clusters. These studies identified both groups of co-occurring symptoms and groups of patients with common symptom profiles. This two-article series provides evidence for the distressing nature of symptoms among children receiving cancer treatment. Efforts to support clinicians in routine symptom assessment are needed. Additional research directed at alleviating symptoms and building resilience among the child experiencing symptoms is needed.
Introduction to high-temperature low-cycle fatigue

A better understanding of the problem of high-temperature low-cycle fatigue is important in the use of materials at high temperatures. Some of the metallurgical aspects involved in the problem have been emphasized in this paper. There is a need to relate more closely the observed results with our knowledge of metallurgical processes. This can best be done by a closer working relationship between tween the designer, the materials engineer and the metallurgist.
Gastrointestinal Eosinophil Responses in a Longitudinal, Randomized Trial of Peanut Oral Immunotherapy.

Background & Aims Gastrointestinal side effects are common during oral immunotherapy (OIT) and eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a potential complication. We aimed to characterize eosinophilic gastrointestinal responses to peanut OIT, in which peanut protein is given orally, with incremental increases in dose over time. Methods Twenty adults with IgE-mediated peanut allergy were randomly assigned to groups given peanut OIT (n = 15) or placebo (n = 5); 1 additional subject withdrew before randomization. Serial gastrointestinal biopsies were collected at baseline (n = 21, 0 weeks), following dose escalation (n = 10, 52 weeks), and during the maintenance phase (n = 11, 104 weeks). Endoscopic findings were characterized using the EoE endoscopic reference score. Biopsies were assessed for eosinophils per high-power field (eos/hpf) and other pathology features using EoE histologic scoring system scores. We performed immunohistochemical analyses of eosinophil peroxidase deposition, quantified using automated image analysis. Results At baseline, no subjects reported current gastrointestinal symptoms. However, 3 of the 21 subjects (14%) had esophageal peak eosinophil counts ≥15 eos/hpf and all subjects had dilated intercellular spaces (DIS). OIT induced or exacerbated esophageal eosinophilia (EE) at 52 weeks in most subjects (peak eosinophil counts >5 eos/hpf in 6 of 7 patients [86%]; peak eosinophil counts ≥15 eos/hpf in 4 of 7 patients [57%]). One subject met clinicopathologic criteria for EoE and withdrew; no significant changes in esophageal peak eosinophil counts were observed in the placebo group. EE in the OIT group corresponded with significant increases in EoE histologic scoring system scores and deposition of eosinophil peroxidase. In 4 of 6 participants (67%), OIT-induced EE and gastrointestinal eosinophilia resolved by the end of the maintenance phase. Gastrointestinal symptoms were not clearly associated with EE or gastrointestinal eosinophilia. Conclusions In this pilot study, we found that peanut OIT-induced EE and gastrointestinal eosinophilia are usually transient and are not always associated with gastrointestinal symptoms. Clinicaltrials.gov no: NCT02103270
A qualitative study examining pediatric clinicians’ perceptions of delayed vaccine schedules

Abstract Objective To explore pediatric clinicians’ attitudes, beliefs, and perceived social norms about the impact of delayed vaccine schedules on the clinical management of their patients. Methods We conducted 30 semi-structured qualitative interviews with academic (Infectious Diseases, Emergency Medicine) and community pediatric clinicians (General Pediatrics) to explore clinicians’ perspectives on how delayed schedules influence their clinical management of patients. The interview guide was based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. We analyzed interview transcripts using both an inductive and deductive thematic approach. Results The pediatric clinicians in our study overwhelmingly supported the recommended schedule, sought guidance on approaches to navigating conversations with vaccine hesitant families, and desired more evidence to effectively promote on-time vaccination. Clinicians described how delayed schedules have consequences for sick children (e.g., increased antibiotics, laboratory tests, emergency department visits) and healthy children (e.g., increased vaccine visits, out-of-pocket costs, fears among children receiving frequent shots). Clinicians stated that delayed schedules also negatively impact pediatric practices (e.g., increased time counseling patients, staff burden, clogged clinic space, unpredictable vaccine utilization, costs). Conclusions Pediatric clinicians perceive that delayed vaccine schedules negatively affect patients, pediatric practices, the healthcare system, and society. Future research should quantify the consequences of delayed schedules and identify strategies that promote vaccine adherence. Results from future studies can better support clinician-parent conversations about vaccine hesitancy, guide decision-makers about practice-level approaches to vaccine schedules, and advise payors and policymakers regarding vaccine-related policies.
Spermatophore retention may accommodate sexual signal loss in Pacific field crickets

Sexual signals are gained and lost over evolutionary time. While signal gain has obvious fitness benefits, signal loss should present significant costs due to decreased mating opportunities. Just as female mating preferences can promote evolutionary gain and elaboration of sexual signals, they may also maintain signal loss. We investigated how two components of female mate choice are involved in rapid sexual signal loss in the Pacific field cricket (Teleogryllus oceanicus), in which many males have lost the ability to sing. Males that can sing (“normal-wings”) and obligately silent males (“flatwings”) coexist in Hawaiian populations. While we know that females prefer not to mate with flatwings, we tested whether females discriminate against flatwing males before copulation due to the lack of a song or something inherent about their wing morphology. We combined this assessment with a test of post-copulatory preference by presenting females with either a normal-wing or flatwing male in the presence or absence of a courtship song stimulus. Females took significantly longer to mount males in the absence of a courtship song regardless of male wing morph. This is the first evidence that females discriminate against the absence of a song during mate choice, not male wing morph. However, females retained spermatophores for equally long regardless of male wing morph and whether they heard a courtship song, suggesting no post-copulatory barriers in the absence of a song. Pre- and post-copulatory sexual selections may not operate synchronously in this system, which may help explain the success of the silent morph in wild populations. Signal loss is ubiquitous in nature, despite the associated decrease in mating opportunities. We assessed how the interaction of pre- and post-copulatory preferences may accommodate signal loss. Song attracts mates in Pacific field crickets, but some males have lost the ability to sing in response to an acoustically orienting parasitoid. We measured how long females took to mount males (pre-copulatory choice) and the length of sperm transfer, i.e., spermatophore retention time (post-copulatory choice), when presented with normal and silent males in the presence and absence of a song stimulus. Females took longer to mate in the absence of a courtship song but kept spermatophores for full sperm transfer, regardless of song presence or male type. Pre-copulatory choice in this system acts against silent males, while post-copulatory choice may not. Asynchrony between these two episodes of sexual selection may allow signal loss to persist in spite of the challenges it presents to mating.
A Supervised Machine Learning Approach for Distinguishing Between Additive and Replacing Horizontal Gene Transfers

Horizontal gene transfer is one of the most important drivers of microbial gene and genome evolution. Despite its central role in microbial evolution, several aspects of horizontal gene transfer remain poorly understood. In particular, transfers can be either additive or replacing depending on whether the transferred gene adds itself as a new gene in the recipient genome or replaces an existing homologous gene. However, despite recent efforts, there do not yet exist effective computational approaches for classifying inferred transfers as being additive or replacing. In this work, we address this gap by devising a novel supervised machine learning approach for classifying transfers as being either additive or replacing. Our approach is based on phylogenetic reconciliation, a standard computational technique for inferring transfers. Our classifier, named ARTra, uses as features the classifications provided by several simple reconciliation-based classification rules, along with topological information from the gene tree, and ensembles them to produce a more accurate classification. ARTra is efficient and robust and significantly improves upon the classification accuracy of the only existing computational approach for this problem. We demonstrate the accuracy of ARTra by applying it to a wide range of simulated datasets and to a large biological dataset. Our results show that ARTra performs well over a broad range of evolutionary conditions and on real data, and that it does so even when trained only on a narrow range of such conditions and only using simulated data. An open-source implementation of ARTra is freely available from https://compbio.engr.uconn.edu/software/ARTra/.
Modeling cover crop biomass production and related emissions to improve farm-scale decision-support tools

Abstract CONTEXT Cover crops deliver numerous ecosystem services including the capacity to sequester and store atmospheric CO2 offering promise as a natural climate solution. Farm system models must be able to accurately represent cover crop systems and estimate the associated net greenhouse gas emissions from this practice across agricultural contexts. OBJECTIVE The objectives of this study were to: (1) parameterize new and existing cover crop species for DayCent – the biogeochemical model behind the decisions-support tool, COMET-Farm – using published data on cover crop biomass production, (2) validate differences between cover crop and control systems using published and long-term data from across the U.S. for SOC and N2O emissions, and (3) evaluate model performance and discuss improvements to cover crop data reporting to facilitate future testing. METHODS We used published field experiment datasets from across the U.S. to estimate cover crop biomass production, SOC, and soil N2O emissions. We parameterized one new cover crop species in the model – sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) – and revised the parameters for existing model cover crop species using new biomass observations. We also validated the ability of the model to estimate changes in SOC and soil N2O emissions relative to a no cover crop control using empirical observations. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS For data sets used in parameterization, DayCent reasonably captured observed trends in aboveground biomass C, N, and C:N ratios across six different cover crop species and mixtures, explaining 25–69%, 14–58%, and 29–50% of the variation, respectively, with a few exceptions. Using a smaller validation dataset for a subset of these cover crop species – cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) and vetch (Vicia spp.) – the model demonstrated less agreement between modeled and observed aboveground biomass. For SOC model validation, the observed mean SOC difference between cover crop and control treatments was 178.4 g m−2 and the mean modeled difference was 158.2 g m−2. Observed soil N2O emissions were highly variable impacting model performance, but DayCent did capture the general trend from field measurements for cover crops to suppress soil N2O emissions. SIGNIFICANCE Our results demonstrate that even under limited data availability, process-based models like DayCent can inform on farm-scale biogeochemical processes under cover cropping. These findings are critical as cover crops are more widely adopted in the United States for their climate and environmental benefits. However, more detailed reporting from empirical studies will improve model estimates and reduce uncertainty, particularly data pertaining to farm management, soil, climate, and location.
Peering into Prisons, Gazing upon Graves: Early U.S. Missionary Media from Burma

This article examines the nineteenth-century print culture and religious imagination inspired by the imprisonment of an American Baptist missionary to Burma during the First Anglo-Burmese War, 1824...
Reality check: changes in business students' psychological resources as they move towards graduation

This study examines the trajectory of student psychological resources over the course of business education. Business education should equip students with positive psychological resources so that they can succeed. Most business school programs focus on the development of skills in communication, critical thinking, and quantitative, technological, and functional knowledge, while omitting training that affects students' psychological resources to succeed in business. This study employs the psychological capital (PsyCap) instrument to measure psychological resources. Comparisons of freshmen and seniors showed that freshman scored higher on four of the five PsyCap dimensions. Business students followed for two years showed significant drops in need for achievement and need for feedback. To counter reduced psychological resources, business schools should explore the implementation of training interventions. Future research should replicate longitudinal measures of business student psychological resources that have profound implications for business education.
Using Minimal English (Minimal Spanish, Etc.) for Non-circular Learners’ Dictionaries

A small ‘Minimal English’ vocabulary has been successfully used for writing definitions in a learners’ dictionary. With this approach, there are several advantages for beginning-level L2 learners, including an easy-to-learn defining vocabulary and the elimination of circular definitions. The chapter explores the features of ‘Learn These Words First’, an online monolingual dictionary written using Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) and about 300 semantic molecules. The dictionary begins with short lessons and quiz questions to teach and review the meanings of the NSM primes and semantic molecules. Several metrics are used to evaluate and compare the dictionary’s quality and coverage. Cross-translation of semantic molecules is discussed, as well as parallel approaches for writing learners’ dictionaries in other languages.