cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Polymorphism of Human Thyroxine-Binding Globulin

T4-binding globulin (TBG) consists of a single polypeptide chain containing 4 oligosaccharide units with an average of 10 terminal sialic acid residues. Isoelectric focusing (IEF) of TBG purified from pooled human plasma showed 4 main bands isoelectric at pH 4.2, 4.3, 4.5, and 4.6. Removal of 85% of carbohydrates by treatment with mixed glycosidases reduced these bands to 2, at pH 5.4 and 5.7. This residual microheterogeneity was not related to protein-ampholyte complexes, since it was still present in 8 M urea. It also did not represent an equilibrium mixture of interchangeable conformations, since each band obtained in the first dimension IEF gave a single spot when rerun in a second dimension. Therefore, the residual microheterogeneity of TBG after removal of carbohydrates can be attributed to variation in amino acid composition. Since genetic polymorphism of TBG was recently demonstrated, we further investigated whether the residual microheterogeneity was genetically determined. Plasma samples from 20 white donors and 17 black donors were labeled with [125I]T4 and submitted to IEF, followed by autoradiography. TBG-1, found in white donors and most black donors, showed the same 4 bands as TBG purified from pooled plasma. Two less frequent phenotypes were found in black individuals: TBG-2, with 4 bands at approximately pH 4.25, 4.45, 4.55, and 4.7; and TBG-1,2, having all of the bands present in TBG-1 and TBG-2. Electrophoretically homogeneous preparations of TBG of each type were obtained from 100 ml plasma; after deglycosylation, TBG-1 revealed 2 bands isoelectric at pH 5.4 and 5.7, TBG-2 had 2 bands at pH 5.7 and 5.9, and TBG-1,2 had 3 bands at pH 5.4, 5.7, and 5.9. The same TBG bands were found after neuraminidase treatment of whole plasma from the same donors. These data demonstrate two kinds of TBG polymorphism. The first is found in deglycosylated TBG from individual donors and is probably due to variation in amino acid composition. The second, also unrelated to the carbohydrate moiety, is a genetic polymorphism found in blacks.
Effect on Membrane Potential and Electrical Activity of Adding Sodium to Sodium-Depleted Cardiac Purkinje Fibers

Canine cardiac Purkinje fibers exposed to Na-free solutions containing 128 mM TEA and 16 mM Ca show resting potentials in the range -50 to -90 mV; if the concentration of Na in the perfusate is raised from 0 to 4 to 24 mM, hyperpolarization follows. If the initial resting potential is low, the hyperpolarization tends to be greater; the average increase in the presence of 8 mM Na is 14 mV. Such hyperpolarization is not induced by adding Na to K-free solutions, is not seen in cooled fibers, or in fibers exposed to 10-3 M ouabain, nor is it induced by adding Li and thus may result from electrogenic sodium extrusion. Fibers exposed to Na-free solutions are often spontaneously active; if they are quiescent they often show repetitive activity during depolarizing pulses. Such spontaneous or repetitive activity is suppressed by the addition of Na. This suppression may or may not be related to the hyperpolarization.
Automatic Initiation of the Periorbital Signal Extraction in Thermal Imagery

User intervention in the periorbital thermal signal extraction process breaks down automation. This paper proposes a novel way to minimize user intervention. While previous work demonstrated the importance of accurate computation of the periorbital signal, the present method enables its automatic extraction at a reduced processing time. The proposed algorithm capitalizes on detection of involuntary eye blinking in the thermal imagery. The need for automation has emerged because of repetitive processing of the same subjects, aiming to validate improvements in the periorbital tissue tracking or segmentation algorithms. The proposed approach initiates the tracking and segmentation algorithms on the same spatio-temporal location in repetitive runs of the thermal clip. Thus, it does not only automate the process but also eliminates the variability introduced by manual intervention. We have tested the algorithm on thermal video clips of 39 subjects who faced stressful interrogation for a mock crime. The results show that the proposed method has reduced total processing time from a week down to a day.
Grain boundary and surface scattering in interconnect metals

This work addresses the classical size effect in interconnect metals and presents the theoretical background and quantification of the contributions of grain boundary and surface scattering to the observed resistivity increase in Cu. The results of experimental studies of Cu films and lines are reviewed. The extent to which the experimental data supports the theoretically expected interactions between surface and grain boundary scattering mechanisms will also be discussed.
A biomedical engineer's experience in Nicaragua

The experiences of a 12-member team composed of physicians, nurses, a respiratory therapist, a rehabilitation engineer with specialty training in prosthetics and orthotics, and a biomedical engineer at a third-world medical facility are described. The obstacles encountered in the form of limited equipment, the state of disrepair of existing equipment, and environmental factors (heat and humidity) are discussed. The question of how best to help developing countries is examined. >
A posteriori error estimation of hierarchical type for the Schrödinger operator with inverse square potential

We develop an a posteriori error estimate for mixed boundary value problems of the form $$(-\Delta +\fancyscript{V})u=f$$ ( - Δ + V ) u = f , where the potential $$\fancyscript{V}$$ V may possess inverse-square singularities at finitely many points in the domain. We prove that our error estimate can be efficiently computed and is asymptotically identical to the actual error in the energy norm, on a family of geometrically graded meshes appropriate for singular solutions of such problems. Therefore, our estimate can be used for a practical stopping criterion. A variety of numerical experiments support our theoretical results. We also offer a direct convergence and effectivity comparison between the geometrically-graded meshes, which are based on a priori knowledge of possible singularities in the solution, and adaptively refined meshes driven by local error indicators associated with our a posteriori error estimate.
A 0.8-1.2GHz Single-Phase Resonant-Clocked FIR Filter with Level-Sensitive Latches

In this paper, we present the design and experimental validation of RF1, a 0.8-1.2GHz frequency-scalable, resonant-clocked FIR filter test-chip with level-sensitive latches. Designed using a fully automated ASIC flow, RF1 was fabricated in a 0.13mum CMOS process with an on-chip inductor and clock generator. At its resonant frequency of 1.03GHz, RF1 dissipates 132mW, with clock power accounting for only 10.8% of total power dissipation. Resonating 42pF of clock load, RF1 achieves 76% clock-power efficiency over CV2 f.
Amazon and Mississippi river concentrations of uranium, thorium, and radium isotopes

Abstract Concentrations of uranium and thorium series isotopes were measured in two large samples of river water and associated sediment. From these data an oceanic residence time for uranium of 4 m.y. is calculated. The concentration of 232 Th in these rivers is an order of magnitude greater than in surface Atlantic waters. The amounts of 230 Th and 226 Ra being supplied to the ocean directly from rivers are less than 4% of that coming from other sources.
Metal Concentrations and Soluble Iron Speciation in Fine Particulate Matter from Light Rail Activity in the Denver-Metropolitan Area

Fine particulate matter samples (PM2.5) were collected from three locations around the Denver–Metropolitan area to study the impacts of the ground–level light rail on airborne metal concentrations. Size–segregated PM was collected on board the trains, at the side of the tracks, and at a background location in downtown Denver. Results from this study showed highest crustal enrichment factors of metals in samples collected on board the train, despite lower concentrations of total PM2.5. Metals commonly found in steel such as Fe, Cr, Mn, and Ni, all exhibited elevated concentrations relating to train activity over the background site. Iron in the PM2.5 at track–side and on board the trains was above the background by a factor of 1.89 and 1.54, respectively. For Mn, the ratios were 1.34 for the track–side and 0.94 for the on board samples. Cr and Ni exhibited higher ratios over the background only in samples collected on board the trains at 1.59 (Cr) and 1.26 (Ni). Soluble metals were measured with Ni (53–71%), Cu (52–81%), and Zn (30–81%) exhibiting the highest solubilities across the different sites. Soluble Fe ranged from 8–15% for the total measured Fe, indicating a non–crustal source of Fe. Soluble Fe was also characterized as Fe(II) and Fe(III) with 87–90% of the soluble Fe being Fe(II), similar to results from studies in Los Angeles, CA and East St. Louis, IL but higher than in Atlanta, GA and Waukesha, WI.
Tunneling and deconfinement

Abstract For non-abelian lattice gauge theory in a finite box one finds, as the box size increases, a rapid increase of the string tension due to tunneling between different toron sectors. The tunneling transition is a signal for the deconfinement phase transition. For various lattice shapes, we compare numerical results for this signal with those obtained from the popular analysis of Polyakovloop expectation values.
Carbon monoxide and nitric oxide: interacting messengers in muscarinic signaling to the brain's circadian clock.

Within the central nervous system, acetylcholine (ACh) functions as a state-dependent modulator at a range of sites, but its signaling mechanisms are yet unclear. Cholinergic projections from the brain stem and basal forebrain innervate the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the master circadian clock in mammals, and cholinergic stimuli adjust clock timing. Cholinergic effects on clock state require muscarinic receptor-mediated activation of guanylyl cyclase and cGMP synthesis, although the effect is indirect. Here we evaluate the roles of carbon monoxide (CO) and nitric oxide (NO), major activators of cGMP synthesis. Both heme oxygenase 2 (HO-2) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), enzymes that synthesize CO and NO, respectively, are expressed in rat SCN, with HO-2 localized to the central core of the SCN, whereas nNOS is a punctate plexus. Hemin, an activator of HO-2, but not the NO donor, SNAP, mimicked cholinergic effects on circadian timing. Selective inhibitors of HO fully blocked cholinergic clock resetting, whereas NOS inhibition partially attenuated this effect. Hemoglobin, an extracellular scavenger of both NO and CO, blocked cholinergic stimulation of cGMP synthesis, whereas l-NAME, a specific inhibitor of NOS, had no effect on cholinergic stimulation of cGMP, but decreased the cGMP basal level. We conclude that basal NO production generates cGMP tone that primes the clock for cholinergic signaling, whereas HO/CO transmit muscarinic receptor activation to the cGMP-signaling pathway that modulates clock state. In light of the recently reported inhibitory interaction between HO-2/CO and amyloid-beta, a marker of Alzheimer's disease (AD), we speculate that HO-2/CO signaling may be a defective component of cholinergic neurotransmission in the pathophysiology of AD, whose manifestations include disintegration of circadian timing.
Teaching and assessing ethics in the newborn ICU

Ethics and professionalism education has become increasingly recognized as important and incorporated into graduate medical education. However, such education has remained largely unstructured and understudied in neonatology. Neonatal-perinatal fellowship training programs have generally grappled with how best to teach and assess ethics and professionalism knowledge, skills, and behavior in clinical practice, particularly in light of accreditation requirements, milestones, and competencies. This article reviews currently available teaching methods, pedagogy, and resources in medical ethics, professionalism, and communication, as well as assessment strategies and tools, to help medical educators and practicing clinicians ensure trainees achieve and maintain competency. The need for consensus and future research in these domains is also highlighted.
The Log Odds of Positive Lymph Nodes Stratifies and Predicts Survival of High-Risk Individuals Among Stage III Rectal Cancer Patients

INTRODUCTION The log odds of positive lymph nodes (LODDS) is an empiric transform formula that incorporates positive and negative lymph node data into a single ratio for prognostic utility. We sought to determine the value of the log odds ratio as a prognostic indicator compared with established lymph node indices in advanced-stage rectal cancer patients who have undergone curative resection. METHODS Retrospective analysis of rectal cancer operations from 1995 to 2013 identified all stage III cancer patients who underwent curative resection. Patients were stratified into three groups according to calculated lymph node ratios (LNRs) and log odds ratios (LODDS). The relationship between LNR, LODDS, and 5-year overall survival (OS) were assessed. RESULTS OS for all patients was 81.4%. Both LNR and LODDS stratifications identified differences in 5-year OS. LODDS stratification was significantly associated with OS (p = .04). Additional significant clinicopathologic demographic variables included sex (p = .02), venous invasion (p = .02), tumor location (p < .001), and receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy (p = .047). LODDS separated survival among patients in the low LNR group (LNR1). CONCLUSION This study confirms that the measure of lymph node involvement transformed by the log odds ratio is a suitable predictor of 5-year overall survival in stage III rectal cancer. LODDS may be applied to stratify high-risk patients in the management of adjuvant therapy. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Traditionally, clinicians have relied solely on the total number of positive lymph nodes affected when determining patient prognosis in rectal cancer. However, the current staging strategy does not account for "high-risk," biologically aggressive tumors that fall into the same risk categories as less clinically aggressive tumors. The log odds of positive lymph nodes is a logistic transform formula that uses pathologic lymph node data to stratify survival differences among patients within a single stage of disease. This formula allows clinicians to identify whether patients with clinically aggressive tumors fall into higher-risk groups, providing additional insight into how to better counsel patients and manage postoperative therapies.
Evaluation of high tunnels for management of Drosophila suzukii in fall-bearing red raspberries: Potential for reducing insecticide use

Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is an invasive pest of soft-skinned fruit causing significant damage on a variety of fruit crops in North America, Europe, and Asia. In North America, fall-bearing fruit, such as primocane raspberries, ripen when D. suzukii populations peak and thus are vulnerable to high levels of infestation. In recent years, growers in northern climates have increased raspberry production under protected culture (high tunnels), resulting in season extension, increased yield, and improved fruit quality. High tunnels may be used as a pest management tool by physically excluding insect pests. This study investigated whether D. suzukii can be excluded from fall-bearing raspberries cultivated under tunnels covered with plastic or fine mesh netting, and whether this production technique can improve fruit marketability and serve as an alternative to insecticide application. We found that berries in plastic-covered tunnels had low season-long levels of infestation by D. suzukii (mean = 2 %), compared to netted tunnels (35 %), insecticide-treated open plots (60 %) and untreated open plots (81 %). Our microclimate data show that temperature and humidity levels inside the plastic-covered tunnels were often outside the previously published optimal temperature range for development, mating, and/or oviposition for D. suzukii, and may have therefore limited overall population growth. We conclude that exclusion and modification of microclimate may be effective and complementary pest management strategies for fall-fruiting raspberry and serve as an alternative to insecticide applications, particularly for small-acreage and organic production systems.
Saccadic Impairment Associated With Remote History of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Evidence suggests that mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with long-term changes in brain function, but conventional neurocognitive tools are often insensitive to deficits after 90 days. Eye movements have been proposed as a means to identify more chronic forms of impairment. In this study, saccadic, manual, and conventional neuropsychological measures were compared between participants with remote mild TBI and well-matched control participants. Saccadic impairment was more frequent within the mild TBI group, and a history of multiple injuries or high symptom burden appeared to compound this risk. However, other neurocognitive measures did not differ by group, number of injuries, or symptom severity. These results suggest that saccadic impairment may reflect chronic effects of mild TBI that conventional measures are unable to detect.
Aligning generations to improve retention in introductory computing courses

Incoming students at higher education institutions exhibit different core traits than those of students from past generations. The misalignment that can occur between the traditional course approach and the expectations of students is one of the contributing factors to low student retention, especially in Computer Science and Information Technology programs. The author's school observed a clear misalignment of this nature in a first semester introduction to computing course. After researching the core traits of Generation Y and Generation Z, the department underwent a process of redesigning their course to better meet the needs of today's students. This paper provides an overview of the core traits of the current generation of incoming higher education students, describes in detail the major changes involved in the restructuring of the introduction to computing course, and examines the positive results of their implementation during the first offering of the revised course.
Application and Analysis of NID Desulfurization Technology

NID,developed by ABB,is a semi-dry flue gas desulfurization technology that combines ash removal and desulfurization.It has simple structure and high desulfurization efficiency.Through commissioning in a certain power plant,its technical features and process control outlines are summarized,and existing issues and countermeasures are also presented.
Effects of partial and all endometrial sleeve resection for menorrhagia

Objective To investigate the effects of part and all endometrial resection for the treatment of menorrhagia.Methods 62 cases with menorrhagia of our hospital were selected by group therapy treatment.The observation group of 30 cases underwent partial endometrial electrocision of clinical treatment.32 cases of control group were all endometrial electrocision clinical operation,and the hemoglobin,degree of improvement,the phenomenon such as operation time of the two group were compared.Results Compared with all endometrial resection,the treatment time of part endometrial circumcision was shorter,and the corresponding cure effect was better.Conclusion The endometrial circumcision is improved endometrial loop excision,which has short operation time,good curative effect and less complications.It is worthy of clinical promotion.
Relational learning for collective classification of entities in images

We consider the problem of discrete multi-label entity classification in images. We argue that the framework of Markov Logic can provide a unified, well-grounded mechanism to incorporate arbitrary logical relationships between entities to improve classification in images, and thus generalizes much of the recent work on exploiting local and global context in object recognition and scene understanding. Furthermore, we show that Markov Logic can provide a powerful new set of contexts that can relate entities across images in a database for joint classification of all entities in a test set simultaneously. We relate this collective classification of images to graph-based semi-supervised learning approaches, and show that Markov Logic can effectively provide a method to unify context-related work with semi-supervised approaches in a way that neither techniques could easily do on their own. Finally, we show the efficacy of these techniques on a face recognition task on three datasets showing that adding contextual relations dramatically improves accuracy over semi-supervised learning approaches alone.
Restoration of ecosystem functions and efficiency control: case study of the Danube floodplain between Neuburg and Ingolstadt (Bavaria/Germany)

The Danube floodplain is disconnected from its river, and natural water dynamic is inhibited by regulation and hydropower generation. Notwithstanding the hydropower dams, this restoration project aims to bring back natural water dynamics to the floodplain by a new floodplain stream, by ecological flooding and by temporary groundwater drawdown during summer months. Due to the new floodplain stream, former fluctuating water zones which are habitat for the target species Oenanthe aquatica changed to aquatic habitats which are also required. The measure groundwater drawdown aims to enhance the abiotic conditions for this pioneer species of muddy streambanks. The scientific efficiency control compares the situation before restoration implementation with the effects of three different types of groundwater drawdown. For these three types, the hydrological situation was investigated, and the effects on the potential area and on the occurrence of O. aquatica were mapped. The outcome is that one type can enhance germination of O. aquatica, but is detrimental for aquatic organisms. The other type is able to provide the same suitable conditions for O. aquatica, without severely harming the aquatic habitats. The third type cannot reach the needed low water levels and is therefore not a comparable option. The results show that an interdisciplinary monitoring is able to develop a measure suitable for both competing habitat types.
CONSTRAINTS TO PLANT GROWTH, REPRODUCTION, AND ESTABLISHMENT IN ARCTIC ENVIRONMENTS

Plant metabolism, growth, and reproduction in the Arctic are controlled by the interactions of physical environment and the genetic structure of an old, relatively small, winter-adapted flora. Gradients of both are described with particular reference to decreasing floristic richness toward the cold summer climates of high latitudes. Photosynthesis is restricted to the C3 mode. Plant growth is constrained primarily by low air and soil temperatures, shallow depth of thaw, nutrient deficiencies, and at higher latitudes and elevations by drought stress. Arctic plants have one trait differentiating them from all others: the ability to metabolize and grow at temperatures only slightly above freezing.
Reading Delhi, Writing Delhi: An Ethnography of Literature

This chapter details how the author created a fieldwork-based methodology in order to study contemporary literature in the multilingual Indian context. Drawing on the author’s intellectual biography, the chapter outlines a relationship between literary studies and anthropology in order to show how the analysis of Indian novels in English became a starting point to sketch Delhi’s literary field. By linking these novels, which have become darlings of the global literary stage, to an actual place in India, the idea was to counter issues of representation with field-based research and to ask: Why was India only being represented in English? Here, “fieldwork” becomes an accounting of individual histories and experiences of language, or linguistic subjectivities, as “literature” becomes an anthropological object.
Colonial tube-dwelling ciliates influence methane cycling and microbial diversity within methane seep ecosystems

In a variety of marine ecosystems, microbial eukaryotes play important ecological roles; however, our knowledge of their importance in deep-sea methane seep ecosystems is limited. Microbial eukaryotes have the potential to influence microbial community composition and diversity by creating habitat heterogeneity, and may contribute to carbon cycling through grazing or symbiotic associations with microorganisms. In this study, we characterized the distribution, substrate variability and ecology of a particular group of microbial eukaryotes, known as folliculinid ciliates, at methane seeps along the eastern Pacific margin. Folliculinid ciliates were recently recognized as an abundant and ecologically important component of hydrothermal vent ecosystems, but their ecology in methane seeps has not been examined. Folliculinid ciliates inhabited methane seeps from Costa Rica to Oregon, suggesting a broad distribution in the eastern Pacific. Using phylogenetic analyses of the 18S rRNA gene, two different species of folliculinid were identified. Folliculinids occupied a range of physical substrates, including authigenic carbonate rocks, shells of dead vesicomyid clams, polychaete tubes and gastropod shells. Molecular analysis of folliculinid associated microorganisms (16S rRNA and particulate methane monooxygenase) revealed that these ciliates not only influence overall microbial diversity, but also and have a specific relationship with bacteria in the ‘Deep sea-2’ methanotroph clade. Natural δ13C isotope signatures of folliculinids (-35‰) and their 13C-enrichment patterns in shipboard 13CH4 stable isotope-probing experiments indicated these ciliates and their associated microbes are involved in cycling methane-derived carbon. Folliculinids were significantly enriched in 13C after the addition of 13CH4 over short-term (3-8 day) incubations. Together, these results suggest that folliculinid ciliates represent a previously overlooked contributor to the ecology and biogeochemical cycling of deep-sea methane seep ecosystems.
Prenatal sonographic diagnosis of meconium peritonitis from duodenal atresia

A primigravid woman aged 29 years presented for the first time to our antenatal clinic for routine check-up at 34 weeks of pregnancy. She denied any symptoms. Medical, surgical, social and family histories were reviewed and were unremarkable. Prior scans and prenatal workup from 7 to 15, and 24 weeks were reviewed and were normal. Physical examination revealed a fundal height consistent with 34 weeks of pregnancy. Abdominal ultrasound scan detected 25.3 mm bowel dilation consistent with duodenal atresia, and ascites (figures 1 and 2). The fetus was diagnosed to have grade II meconium peritonitis secondary to duodenal atresia. Biophysical profile was performed on admission was 3. The decision for emergency caesarean section was made. Figure 1 Double bubble sign signifying the bowel dilation …
Beyond Text: Fluid Fatwas and Embodied Muftis

The study of Islamic juridical pronouncements (fatwas) has come to occupy a prominent position in the field of Islamic Studies. These works on fatwas, though deeply insightful, are characterized by a text-centric approach. The text of the fatwa is seen as standing in a virtually sanitized environment free from the complexities of form, process, context and language. Challenging this bias in scholarship on fatwas, I argue for a broadening of the traditional text-centered approach to fatwa analysis by highlighting the importance of examining the fatwa issuance process as well as the broader context of fatwas that is jointly constructed and negotiated during the fatwa issuance process by the jurisconsult (mufti) and the questioner (mustafti). I substantiate my arguments by drawing on theories of language, works on the interview and writings on context and embodiment. To elucidate the significance of my propositions and recommendations, I supplement my discussions with examples from the field, including my own ethnographic work. As this article asserts, the merits of this approach to fatwa analysis include a drastic widening of the scope in which a particular fatwa can be understood and interpreted.
Comparison of standard immunohistochemistry and automated quantitative immunohistochemistry for quantification of signaling proteins in archival Ewing sarcoma samples.

10045 Background: Targeted therapies are increasingly being evaluated for patients with Ewing sarcoma (EWS). Optimal strategies for quantifying key signaling proteins from paraffin-embedded materia...
An Integrated Approach to Falls Prevention: A Model for Linking Clinical and Community Interventions through the Massachusetts Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund.

Older adult falls continue to be a public health priority across the United States, and Massachusetts (MA) is no exception. The MA Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund (PWTF) program within the MA Department of Public Health aims to reduce the physical and economic burdens of chronic health conditions by linking evidence-based clinical care with community intervention programs. The PWTF partnerships that focused on older adult falls prevention have integrated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Stopping Elderly Accidents, Death and Injuries toolkit into clinical settings. Partnerships also offer referrals for home safety assessments, Tai Chi and Matter of Balance (1) programs. This paper describes the PWTF program implementation process involving 49 MA organizations, while highlighting the successes achieved and lessons learned. With the unprecedented expansion of the U.S. Medicare beneficiary population, and the escalating incidence of falls, widespread adoption of effective prevention strategies will become increasingly important for both public health and for controlling healthcare costs. The lessons learned from this PWTF initiative offer insights and recommendations for future falls prevention program development and implementation.
Biobased Fiber Production: Enzyme Retting for Flax/Linen Fibers

Flax (Linum ustitatissimum L.) is the source of natural fibers that provides biobased products for a variety of existing markets, but considerable processing and cleaning is required. Flax fibers, and bast fibers generally, are produced in the outer regions of the stem between bark and inner core tissues and require retting, which is the microbial separation of fiber from nonfiber tissues, as the first and most limiting stage of processing. Enzyme retting offers a method to overcome disadvantages of the current method, i.e., dew-retting, for high- and consistent-quality fibers with tailored properties for specific applications. Using chemical analyses, microscopy, and microspectroscopy, sites of carbohydrates, aromatics, and waxes plus cutins were identified in flax stems and their relationship to effective enzyme retting determined. Aromatics occur mostly in the inner, core tissues, with the fibers containing only small amounts located sporadically in cell corners of fiber bundles. Therefore, effective retting using enzymes to separate the aromatic-containing tissues from the fibers, but not to degrade aromatic compounds per se, is required. Waxes and cutin in the epidermal regions are effective barriers to enzyme penetration, and mechanical disruption facilitates enzyme penetration into the stems. Pectinases, with chelators to remove Ca++ and destabilize pectin molecules, remove matrix compounds holding fibers within the stem and have been used in effective formulations to ret flax stems.
Does adjuvant therapy improve overall survival for stage IA/B pancreatic adenocarcinoma?

Abstract Background Current guidelines recommend adjuvant chemotherapy for resected pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, no studies have addressed its survival benefit for stage I patients as they comprise Methods Using the NCDB 2006–2012, resected PDAC patients with stage I disease who received adjuvant therapy (chemotherapy or chemoradiation) were analyzed. Factors associated with overall survival (OS) were identified. Results 3909 patients with resected stage IA or IB PDAC were identified. Median OS was 60.3 months (mo) for stage IA and 36.9 mo for IB. 45.5% received adjuvant chemotherapy; 19.9% received adjuvant chemoradiation. There was OS benefit for both stage IA/IB patients with adjuvant chemotherapy (HR = 0.73 and 0.76 for IA and IB, respectively, p = 0.002 and Conclusion Adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with an OS benefit for patients with stage I PDAC; adjuvant chemoradiation was either of no benefit or associated with worse OS.
Managing Water as a Critical Component of a Changing World

It once seemed that all water managers had to do was to develop and manage infrastructure necessary to convert the natural spatial and temporal distributions of water and its quality to that desired by we humans at acceptable levels of reliability and cost. We are increasingly learning there are limits to achieving such goals, and the consequences can impact just about every component in our economy and society. We’re having to conserve, treat, reuse, find alternatives for and generally get smarter about how we develop and manage our natural resources. Furthermore, we must do it in a political environment of conflicting stakeholder expectations and in ways that minimize the damage to our natural environment as well. No one wants their behavior or life style to contribute to an environment of climatic extremes and regional conflicts that are outside the ranges we and our ecosystems can thrive, or even survive. If we who are in the business of developing and applying models for identifying and evaluating ways of improving how we plan, design, and operate water resources infrastructure systems do not address these broader global environmental and social issues, even partially, and in ways that lead to beneficial impacts, and reduced risks to health and economic security risks, what’s our value? Our literature, including this journal, is full of novel and often useful modeling approaches for identifying and evaluating alternative environmental resource systems designs, plans and policies. Is this enough? This paper addresses ways we might, and in my opinion should, as a discipline, extend our planning and management modeling expertise to address a wider range of societal concerns that stem from the impact water has on almost all human activities. How can we better provide and manage water to better serve society? In short how can we water systems analysts, planners and managers better serve humankind as we manage a critical resource everyone and every economy needs?
Dissemination of corneal herpes simplex

Some strains of herpesvirus have loicler dissemination than others and may penetrate into the eye and multiply in the endothelium without virus persisting in the stroma. In evaluating chemotherapeutic response, both the strain of the virus and the frequency of drug administration are important; less frequent drug administration gives a poorer therapeutic response. The drug in ointment is more effective than the drug in saline or in dimethyl sulfoxide.
Diurnal feeding behavior of the American Eel Anguilla rostrata

Abstract Despite potential to structure ecosystem food webs through top-down effects, the trophic interactions of the American Eel Anguilla rostrata remain largely understudied. All previous research on the trophic ecology of American Eel in inland aquatic ecosystems has been conducted in temperate continental regions of the species' range. These studies have led to a paradigm that American Eel is a nocturnally active benthic predator, which most commonly consumes benthic invertebrates. Tropical island streams and rivers have habitats and communities that are distinct from temperate counterparts, but comprise a large portion of the adult habitat in the American Eel's range. We documented a previously undescribed diurnal feeding behavior by American Eel in a Caribbean river and demonstrate that this behavior, and a shift toward more frequent daytime feeding, is linked to periodic mass migrations of postlarvae of amphidromous fish taxa, including the Sicydiine goby Sicydium spp. Our findings indicate that periodic mass migrations of amphidromous postlarvae could function as a potentially important food source for American Eel in tropical regions of its distribution, despite the intermittence of availability. Furthermore, this suggests that the American Eel plays an important role in the structure of tropical lotic food webs through top-down effects that are potentially augmented by instream barriers.
ModEDI: An extendable software architecture for examining the effects of developmental interactions on evolutionary trajectories

Quantitative genetics is the study of complex biological traits, or traits controlled by more than one gene. A primary goal of quantitative genetic studies is the development of computational models for predicting the evolution of such traits in response to selection. Most models for analyzing the evolution of multiple traits employ a constant genetic variance-covariance matrix (G-matrix) to describe the distribution of genetic variation. While G-matrix based models provide a reasonable approximation of short term evolution, they may not sufficiently capture all important associations between traits. For example, nonlinear interactions between developmental factors underlying the production of traits can result in dramatic alteration of genetic variances and covariances as evolution proceeds. To aid in investigating this issue, we have developed an object-oriented code base, Models of Evolution with Developmental Interactions (ModEDI), that implements a powerful, general mathematical and conceptual framework developed by Sean Rice. This framework utilizes a phenotypic landscape to explicitly incorporate the effect of development in shaping heritable phenotypic variation. With our program, users can develop custom simulations for analyzing the evolution of multiple phenotypic traits that involve interactions between overlapping sets of developmental factors. Initial results from simulations performed with ModEDI indicate that developmental interactions may substantially alter evolutionary trajectories.
Why Do Certain Products Influence Grocery Store Choice? The Role of Anchor Products and Their Relationships with Other Store Choice Factors: An Abstract

This paper has the following two objectives: (1) to develop a concept (i.e., anchor products) that theoretically explains why some planned products are influential in store choice decisions and (2) to identify relationships between anchor products and other important store choice factors (e.g., product quality, product selection, and overall prices). To achieve the first objective, this paper proposes the concept of anchor products, drawing on anchoring effects theory and automatic cognitive processing theory. This paper also compares the concept of anchor products with other similar concepts in the store choice literature [e.g., destination categories (Briesch, Dillon, & Fox, 2013), lead category (Chen et al., 1999), Type 1 products (Dreze & Hoch, 1998), and category-specific store loyalty (Bell, Ho, & Tang, 1998)] to shed light on their similarities and differences. To achieve the second objective, this paper proposes three hypotheses addressing the relationships between anchor product formation and three dominant store choice factors (product quality, product selection, and overall prices). Using a survey instrument, data were collected at two grocery stores. Based on results from logit regression and ANOVA analyses, this paper finds that favorable perceptions on (1) overall product quality and (2) product selection at a grocery store increase the likelihood that consumers choose anchor products directed at the grocery store. However, perceptions of (3) overall lower prices at a grocery store decrease the likelihood that consumers choose anchor products directed at the grocery store. The paper also offers several theoretical and managerial implications of the results.
Dithienylmethanone-Based Cross-Conjugated Polymer Semiconductors: Synthesis, Characterization, and Application in Field-Effect Transistors

Herein, we report the synthesis, characterization, and field-effect properties of two cross-conjugated dithienylmethanone (DMO)-based alternating polymers, namely, PDMO-S and PDMO-Se. Both polymers possess high thermal stability, good solubility, and broad absorption spectra. Their electrochemical properties were investigated using cyclic voltammetry, indicating that PDMO-Se has higher HOMO/LUMO energy levels of −5.49/−3.49 eV than −5.57/−3.58 eV of PDMO-S. The two polymers exhibited promising charge transport properties with the highest hole mobility of 0.12 cm2 V−1 s−1 for PDMO-S and 0.025 cm2 V−1 s−1 for PDMO-Se. AFM and 2D-GIXRD analyses demonstrated that the PDMO-S formed lamellar, edge-on packing thin film with close π-π stacking. These findings suggest that cross-conjugated polymers might be potential semiconducting materials for low-cost and flexible organic electronics. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018.
Individual Domain-Specific Epistemologies: Implications for Educational Practice

This chapter will examine the implications for educational practice at the tertiary level of a theory of domain-specific epistemological development at the individual level. Educational researchers and theorists have described how the epistemological belief systems of university-level students may support or impede student learning (Jonassen et al., 2004; Moore, 1994; Wineburg, 1991, Valanides & Angeli, 2005). In previous work, the authors of this chapter have explored how individual students describe discipline specific epistemologies and how these epistemologies may be incongruent from one knowledge domain to another (Marra & Palmer, 2005; Palmer & Marra, 2004). While these incongruities have a theoretical and conceptual significance in terms of prior understandings of domain-specific epistemologies, they also offer educators a unique opportunity to challenge students’ epistemological stances. We explore how university educators may specifically target the imbalance of the individual student’s domain epistemologies as a “teachable moment” through inter and cross disciplinary pedagogies that leverage domain-specific epistemologies. We also discuss via empirical data, the ways in which students describe the teaching processes used in the classroom as a potential constriction on the development of more complex epistemological perspectives. We conclude with a synthesis of how individual epistemologies and instruction are intertwined and apply these concepts to university education globally.
Quality Improvement Initiative to Improve Postoperative Pain with a Clinical Pathway and Nursing Education Program

Abstract Background and Aims We created a multicomponent intervention to improve pain management in the immediate postoperative period with the goal of improving the quality of patient recovery. Design A multicomponent intervention to improve pain management in the immediate postoperative period with the goal of improving the quality of patient recovery. Settings Pain management education of postanesthesia recovery room nurses through a practical intervention has the potential to improve patient pain experience, especially in those with a history of opioid tolerance. Participants/Subjects Postanesthesia recovery nurses/postanesthesia patients. Methods The intervention included two components: a clinical pain pathway on multimodal analgesia for both opioid-naive and opioid-tolerant patients undergoing surgery and an educational program on pain management for frontline clinical nurses in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). We measured the intervention's impact on time to pain relief, PACU length of stay, and patient satisfaction with pain management, as measured by self-report. Results Patient PACU surveys indicated a decrease in the percent of patients with opioid tolerance who required more than 60 minutes to achieve adequate pain relief (from 32.7% preintervention to 21.3% postintervention). Additionally, after the intervention, the average time from a patient's PACU arrival to his or her discharge criteria being met decreased by 53 minutes and PACU stay prolongation as a result of uncontrolled pain for opioid-tolerant patients decreased from 45.2% to 25.7%. The sample size was underpowered to perform statistical analysis of this improvement. Conclusions After the combined intervention of a clinical pain pathway and interactive teaching workshop, we noted shortened PACU length of stay, reduced time to reach pain control, and improved overall patient satisfaction. Although we could not determine statistical significance, our findings suggest improved management of acute postoperative pain, especially for patients who are opioid tolerant. Because of the paucity of data, we were not able to conduct the analysis needed to evaluate quality improvement projects, as per SQUIRE 2.0. could be adopted by any institution.
Nematodes of Agricultural Importance in North and South Carolina

Traditionally, like much of the South, the Carolinas have been agricultural. From the towering Appalachian Mountains to the Coastal Plain, its climate and landscapes allow for a variety of agricultural crops including tobacco, sweet potatoes cotton, soybeans, peanuts, cotton, corn, wheat, nursery, fruit trees and more. Plant parasitic nematodes are pests of agricultural crops and cause considerable economic losses. However, due to its small microscopic size, we are often unaware of losses caused by nematodes and may attribute to other causes. This review documented all the plant parasitic nematode species in total of 105 species occurred in North Carolina and South Carolina so far and elaborated the major damaging nematode species including root knot, soybean cyst, reniform, sting, lesion, lance, stubby root, tobacco cyst, ring, foliar, and stem and bulb nematodes as a guidance for future nematode research and management.
Pediatric Hearing Loss and Speech Recognition in Quiet and in Different Types of Background Noise

Purpose Speech recognition deteriorates with hearing loss, particularly in fluctuating background noise. This study examined how hearing loss affects speech recognition in different types of noise to clarify how characteristics of the noise interact with the benefits listeners receive when listening in fluctuating compared to steady-state noise. Method Speech reception thresholds were measured for a closed set of spondee words in children (ages 5–17 years) in quiet, speech-spectrum noise, 2-talker babble, and instrumental music. Twenty children with normal hearing and 43 children with hearing loss participated; children with hearing loss were subdivided into groups with cochlear implant (18 children) and hearing aid (25 children) groups. A cohort of adults with normal hearing was included for comparison. Results Hearing loss had a large effect on speech recognition for each condition, but the effect of hearing loss was largest in 2-talker babble and smallest in speech-spectrum noise. Children with normal ...
Coloboma of the Choroid

Colobomas of the choroid are a subset of uveal colobomas which result from disruption of the normal process of ocular development during organogenesis. This disruption causes a thinning or absence of a portion of the choroid. Choroidal colobomas may be isolated, associated with other ocular features such as microphthalmos, or associated with systemic features such as papillorenal syndrome and CHARGE syndrome.