cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Vaccinating Health Care Workers Against Influenza: The Ethical and Legal Rationale for a Mandate

Despite improvements in clinician education, symptom awareness, and respiratory precautions, influenza vaccination rates for health care workers have remained unacceptably low for more than three decades, adversely affecting patient safety.When public health is jeopardized, and a safe, low-cost, and effective method to achieve patient safety exists, health care organizations and public health authorities have a responsibility to take action and change the status quo. Mandatory influenza vaccination for health care workers is supported not only by scientific data but also by ethical principles and legal precedent.The recent influenza pandemic provides an opportunity for policymakers to reconsider the benefits of mandating influenza vaccination for health care workers, including building public trust, enhancing patient safety, and strengthening the health care workforce.
Brain Injury in the Preterm Infant: New Horizons for Pathogenesis and Prevention

Preterm neonates are surviving with a milder spectrum of motor and cognitive disabilities that appear to be related to widespread disturbances in cell maturation that target cerebral gray and white matter. Whereas the preterm brain was previously at high risk for destructive lesions, preterm survivors now commonly display less severe injury that is associated with aberrant regeneration and repair responses that result in reduced cerebral growth. Impaired cerebral white matter growth is related to myelination disturbances that are initiated by acute death of premyelinating oligodendrocytes, but are followed by rapid regeneration of premyelinating oligodendrocytes that fail to normally mature to myelinating cells. Although immature neurons are more resistant to cell death than mature neurons, they display widespread disturbances in maturation of their dendritic arbors and synapses, which further contributes to impaired cerebral growth. Thus, even more mild cerebral injury involves disrupted repair mechanisms in which neurons and premyelinating oligodendrocytes fail to fully mature during a critical window in development of neural circuitry. These recently recognized distinct forms of cerebral gray and white matter dysmaturation raise new diagnostic challenges and suggest new therapeutic strategies to promote brain growth and repair.
Passive control of supersonic asymmetric vortical flows around cones

The unsteady, compressible, thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations are used to numerically study the passive control of steady and unsteady supersonic asymmetric flows around circular and noncircular cones. The main computational scheme of the present study is an implicit upwind, flux-difference splitting, finite-volume scheme. Passive control of flow asymmetry is studied by using a vertical fin in the leeward plane of geometric symmetry and side strakes with and without thickness at different orientations. The study focuses on circular-section cones since they are the most likely section-shapes for strong flow asymmetry. Side-strake passive control is shown to be more efficient and practical than vertical-fin passive control.
An integrated multilayer ceramic piezoelectric micropump for microfluidic systems

A package-level peristaltic piezoelectric micropump has been designed and fabricated in utilizing multilayer ceramic fabrication methods. The device was fabricated using commercially available low-temperature cofired ceramic materials and a custom-designed low-temperature cofired ceramic compatible piezoelectric ceramic composition. The assembled multilayer pump structure was sintered in single cofiring step. Performance testing resulted in observed unloaded bidirectional flow rates of 450 mL/min and a blocking pressure of 1.4 kPa when the pump was operated at a voltage of 100 Vpp (with a phase difference of 120) with a frequency of 100 Hz. It was further shown that incorporation of diffuser elements into the microfluidic interconnects was used to increase the blocking pressure capabilities at the expense of flow rate and bidirectional flow characteristics. Alternatively, by maintaining a uniform channel width but varying channel cross section width over height ratio (W/H), an unloaded flow rate of 630 mL/min with an enhancement of blocking pressure (1.55 kPa) was achieved for W/H = 3 (and the same drive conditions as above). The resulting multilayer ceramic-based piezoelectric micropump offers a compact planar pump design, with significant performance advantages, and design flexibility compared to competing micropump technologies.
Inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate and regulation of intracellular calcium.

Article synthese sur l'inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate et sa regulation dans le transport du calcium
Historical overview of child discipline in the United States: Implications for mental health clinicians and researchers

Discipline of children is a major topic of concern in our society. This paper places discipline in a historical perspective by briefly tracing disciplinary practices from the 1600s to the present day in the United States. Four primary trends are then delineated. These include the following: movement from strict discipline to lax discipline to mixed messages concerning discipline; determinants of discipline changing from Puritan religious beliefs to “experts” in fields such as psychology; the increasing role of legislative efforts focusing on children's rights; and the changing role of fathers in childrearing in general and discipline in particular. Viewed against such a historical account, implications for mental health professionals in shaping disciplinary practices are offered. These include generating data to provide needed answers and assuming an active role in setting policy.
Spectrally Tunable Leakage-Free Gold Nanocontainers

Drug delivery with precise spatial and temporal control is of broad current interest in biology and medicine. Despite recent advances achieved by combining drugs or drug carriers with NIR light responsive plasmonic nanomaterials, existing technologies are not capable of preventing drug leakage or degradation. We report a new class of monodisperse gold nanocontainer that can stably encapsulate cargo molecules, yet is compact in size and tunable in spectral responses.
Position uncertainty and the perception of apparent movement

Two experiments compared the perception of apparent movement when the second of two successive stimuli always appeared in the same position and when it varied randomly between two spatial positions. The results of both experiments showed that foreknowledge of the position of the second stimulus does not facilitate the perception of apparent movement. Experiment 2 also clearly showed that the space-time relationships of Korte’s third law of apparent movement does not depend on foreknowledge of the position of the second stimulus. These findings imply that apparent movement in real time occurs after the second stimulus has been registered by the visual system. It suggests that apparent movement involves a delayed decision mechanism that stores the first stimulus, the interstimulus temporal interval, and the second stimulus, and then impletes a motion compatible with the stimulus information.
The Xenopus Suc1/Cks Protein Promotes the Phosphorylation of G2/M Regulators

The entry into mitosis is controlled by Cdc2/cyclin B, also known as maturation or M-phase promoting factor (MPF). In Xenopus egg extracts, the inhibitory phosphorylations of Cdc2 on Tyr-15 and Thr-14 are controlled by the phosphatase Cdc25 and the kinases Myt1 and Wee1. At mitosis, Cdc25 is activated and Myt1 and Wee1 are inactivated through phosphorylation by multiple kinases, including Cdc2 itself. The Cdc2-associated Suc1/Cks1 protein (p9) is also essential for entry of egg extracts into mitosis, but the molecular basis of this requirement has been unknown. We find that p9 strongly stimulates the regulatory phosphorylations of Cdc25, Myt1, and Wee1 that are carried out by the Cdc2/cyclin B complex. Overexpression of the prolyl isomerase Pin1, which binds to the hyperphosphorylated forms of Cdc25, Myt1, and Wee1 found at M-phase, is known to block the initiation of mitosis in egg extracts. We have observed that Pin1 specifically antagonizes the stimulatory effect of p9 on phosphorylation of Cdc25 by Cdc2/cyclin B. This observation could explain why overexpression of Pin1 inhibits mitotic initiation. These findings suggest that p9 promotes the entry into mitosis by facilitating phosphorylation of the key upstream regulators of Cdc2.
Four publics of anti-bioterrorism information campaigns: A test of the situational theory

Abstract Applying the situational theory, this study examines the extent to which citizens recognize bioterrorism as a social issue, their level of involvement with it, and how their perceptions of it affect communication and protective behaviors. A national sample survey ( N = 363) showed that problem recognition was positively related to information seeking and processing while constraints recognition was negatively related to information seeking and processing. Involvement was positively related to information seeking. Respondents were segmented into four public types based on media consumption habits, source trust evaluations and intentions to perform recommended behaviors.
The effective mechanical properties of nonlinear isotropic composites

Abstract A new variational structure is proposed that yields a prescription for the effective energy potentials of nonlinear composites in terms of the corresponding energy potentials for linear composites with the same microstructural distributions. The prescription can be used to obtain bounds and estimates for the effective mechanical properties of nonlinear composites from any bounds and estimates that may be available for the effective properties of linear composites. The main advantages of the procedure are the simplicity of its implementation, the generality of its applications and the strength of its results. The general prescription is applied to three special nonlinear composites : a porous material, a two-phase incompressible composite and a rigidly reinforced material. The results are compared with previously available results for the special case of power-law constitutive behavior.
Dexamethasone Inhibits Erythroid and Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony Formation from Circulating Progenitor Cells of Preterm Infants. • 333

Dexamethasone phosphate (DP) is a synthetic corticosteroid widely used in neonatal intensive care units for the prevention and treatment of chronic lung disease. Previous studies have shown that pharmacologic doses of dexamethasone exert a profound suppressive effect on the inflammatory and immune repsonses. Binding studies with glucocorticoids suggest that erythroid progenitors might have glucocorticoid receptors, but the effect of DP on clonogenic maturation of hematopoietic progenitors of preterm infants is not known. Therefore, we obtained circulating CD34+ progenitor cells from umbilical cord blood of four preterm infants (GA=25-30wks) and cultured them in the presence of various concentrations of DP and Erythropoietin (Epo) and appropriate controls. The numbers of Erythroid Colony-Forming Unit (CFU-E) and Burst-Forming Unit(BFU-E) and granulocyte macrophage (GM) colonies detected at each DP concentration were expressed as a percentage of the number detected without DP. (Values are mean ± SD, *p<0.05) Table DP also reduced erythroid colony size, in a dose-dependent fashion. No such reductions were evident using progenitors of healthy adults.Conclusions: DP, at pharmacologic concentrations, markedly decreases both erythroid and GM colony formation from progenitor cells obtained from preterm infants. Further study is required to determine the in vivo effect of DP treatment on hematopoiesis in preterm infants.
Bond lengths and valences in aluminates with the magnetoplumbite and β-alumina structures

Abstract Bond valence sums in a number of compounds with the β-alumina and magnetoplumbite structures show that the tetrahedral Al atom in the center of the “spinel slabs” is consistently underbonded (i.e., the AlO bonds are longer than normal). Except for bonds to this atom, predicted bond lengths agree well with those observed. Refinements of X-ray data for CaAl 12 O 19 and SrAl 12 O 19 show that the “anomalous” tetrahedral site is fully occupied and indicates normal temperature factors for the atom at this site. It is proposed that the long AlO bonds are a result of Al … Al nonbonded interactions in accord with previous ideas.
Effects of diet and behavior therapy on social and motor behavior of retarded phenylketonuric adults: an experimental analysis.

Summary: The effects of a low phenylalanine diet on six retarded phenylketonuric adults were assessed. An ABA individual-subject design was used in experiment I to assess the effects of a low phenylalanine diet on social and motor behavior. Following a baseline during which the subjects ingested a normal phenylalanine diet (phase A), a low phenylalanine diet (phase B) was administered in a double blind fashion. Finally, the baseline condition (phase A) was reinstated (normal diet). The low phenylalanine diet resulted in few significant behavioral changes for those subjects with which proper methodologic controls were employed. However, for two of six subjects motor behavior, including stereotypy and tremor, seem to have ameliorated. In experiment II, applied behavior analysis techniques, including differential reinforcement of other behavior and time out, were combined to radically reduce the frequency of stereotypy and self-abuse exhibited by one of the six subjects of experiment I. Speculation: Single-subject methodology borrowed from the experimental analysis of behavior revealed that a low phenylalanine diet was unsuccessful in producing significant desirable behavior changes in four adult retarded phenylketonuric subjects with proper experimental controls. However, when behavior therapy techniques were used with one of these same subjects, a rapid and dramatic reduction in stereotypy and self-abuse was observed.
Cytoarchitecture and cortical connections of the posterior cingulate and adjacent somatosensory fields in the rhesus monkey

The cytoarchitecture and connections of the caudal cingulate and medial somatosensory areas were investigated in the rhesus monkey. There is a stepwise laminar differentiation starting from retrosplenial area 30 towards the isocortical regions of the medial parietal cortex. This includes a gradational emphasis on supragranular laminar organization and general reduction of the infragranular neurons as one proceeds from area 30 toward the medial parietal regions, including areas 3, 1, 2, 5, 31, and the supplementary sensory area (SSA). This trend includes a progressive increase in layer IV neurons. Area 23c in the lower bank and transitional somatosensory area (TSA) in the upper bank of the cingulate sulcus appear as nodal points. From area 23c and TSA the architectonic progression can be traced in three directions: one culminates in areas 3a and 3b (core line), the second in areas 1, 2, and 5 (belt line), and the third in areas 31 and SSA (root line). These architectonic gradients are reflected in the connections of these regions. Thus, cingulate areas (30, 23a, and 23b) are connected with area 23c and TSA on the one hand and have widespread connections with parieto-temporal, frontal, and parahippocampal (limbic) regions on the other. Area 23c has connections with areas 30, 23a and b, and TSA as well as with medial somatosensory areas 3, 1, 2, 5, and SSA. Area 23c also has connections with parietotemporal, frontal, and limbic areas similar to areas 30, 23a, and 23b. Area TSA, like area 23c, has connections with areas 3, 1, 2, 5, and SSA. However, it has only limited connections with the parietotemporal and frontal regions and none with the parahippocampal gyrus. Medial area 3 is mainly connected to medial and dorsal sensory areas 3, 1, 2, 5, and SSA and to areas 4 and 6 as well as to supplementary (M2 or area 6m), rostral cingulate (M3 or areas 24c and d), and caudal cingulate (M4 or areas 23c and d) motor cortices. Thus, in parallel with the architectonic gradient of laminar differentiation, there is also a progressive shift in the pattern of corticocortical connections. Cingulate areas have widespread connections with limbic, parietotemporal, and frontal association areas, whereas parietal area 3 has more restricted connections with adjacent somatosensory and motor cortices. TSA is primarily related to the somatosensory-motor areas and has limited connections with the parietotemporal and frontal association cortices.
HIV-1 gp120 as a therapeutic target: Navigating a moving labyrinth

Introduction: The HIV-1 gp120 envelope (Env) glycoprotein mediates attachment of virus to human target cells that display requisite receptors, CD4 and co-receptor, generally CCR5. Despite high-affinity interactions with host receptors and proof-of-principle by the drug maraviroc that interference with CCR5 provides therapeutic benefit, no licensed drug currently targets gp120.Areas covered: An overview of the role of gp120 in HIV-1 entry and of sites of potential gp120 vulnerability to therapeutic inhibition is presented. Viral defenses that protect these sites and turn gp120 into a moving labyrinth are discussed together with strategies for circumventing these defenses to allow therapeutic targeting of gp120 sites of vulnerability.Expert opinion: The gp120 envelope glycoprotein interacts with host proteins through multiple interfaces and has conserved structural features at these interaction sites. In spite of this, targeting gp120 for therapeutic purposes is challenging. Env mechanisms that have evolved...
Roughness of a tilted anharmonic string at depinning.

We consider the discretized model of a driven string with an anharmonic elastic energy, in a two-dimensional random potential, as introduced by [Rosso and Krauth, Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 187002 (2001)]. Using finite size scaling, we numerically compute the roughness of the string in a uniform applied force at the critical depinning threshold. By considering a string with a net average tilt, we demonstrate that the anharmonic elastic energy crosses the model over to the quenched KPZ universality class, in agreement with recent theoretical predictions.
Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of Certain β-Aminoketones

Preliminary biological evaluation for 17 compounds is provided. Eleven compounds in this study exhibited some degree of activity.
Education in the Realm of the Senses: Understanding Paulo Freire's Aesthetic Unconscious through Jacques Rancière

In this article I re-examine the role that aesthetics play in Paulo Freire's pedagogy of the oppressed. As opposed to the vast majority of scholarship in this area, I suggest that aesthetics play a more centralised role in pedagogy above and beyond arts-based curricula. To help clarify Freire's position, I will argue that underlying the linguistic resolution of the student/teacher dialectic in the problem-posing classroom is an accompanying shift in the very aesthetics of recognition. In order to demonstrate the always already aesthetic nature of all education, I will turn to the aesthetic philosophy of Jacques Ranciere. Through Ranciere we can begin to understand how the pedagogy of the oppressed is predicated on an aesthetic redistribution of the sensible, of what can be seen and what can be heard. As Ranciere will confirm, if we truly want to understand the aesthetics of pedagogy, we cannot simply see aesthetics as external to teaching and learning. Rather, education as an aesthetic event has to be taken seriously, and aesthetics should regain primacy in discussions of critical pedagogy.
Transverse Mode Control in High-Contrast Subwavelength Grating VCSEL

We present the experimental study on transverse mode control in VCSEL utilizing finite-area single-layer high-index-contrast subwavelength grating. A 2 mW, single transverse mode (30 dB) emission can be obtained for HCG-VCSEL with oxide aperture up to 10 mum.
Interaction with membrane remnants of target myotubes maintains transmitter sensitivity of cultured neurons

Parasympathetic neurons, when cultured alone, lose sensitivity to acetylcholine, but if striated muscle is included in the culture, neuronal chemosensitivity is maintained. The membrane remnants of myotubes ruptured by osmotic shock also supported the responsiveness of the cultured neurons to transmitter, whereas muscle-conditioned medium or membrane remnants of nonmuscle embryonic skin cells did not support this responsiveness. The regulation of chemosensitivity by contact of neurons with the target cell membrane may be important in the formation and maintenance of neuronal circuitry.
Characterization of solution-phase and gas-phase reactions in on-line electrochemistry—thermospray tandem mass spectrometry

Electrochemistry was used on-line with high-performance liquid chromatography-thermospray tandem mass spectrometry to provide insight into the solution-phase decomposition reactions of electrochemically generated oxidation products. Products formed during electrooxidation were monitored as the electrode potential was varied. The solution reactions which follow the initial electron transfer at the electrode are affected by the vaporizer tip temperature of the thermospray probe and the composition of the thermospray buffer. Either hydrolysis or ammonolysis reactions of the initial electrochemical oxidation products can occur with pH 7 ammonium acetate buffer. Both the electrochemically generated and the synthesized disulfide of 6-thiopurine decompose under thermospray conditions to produce 6-thiopurine and purine-6-sulfinate. Solution-phase studies indicate that nucleophilic and electrophilic substitution reactions with purine-6-sulfinate result in the formation of purine, adenine, and hypoxanthine. Products were identified and characterized by tandem mass spectrometry. This work shows the first example of high-performance liquid chromatography used on-line with electrochemistry to separate stable oxidation products prior to analysis by thermospray tandem mass spectrometry. In addition, solution-phase and gas-phase studies with methylamine show that the site of the nucleophilic and electrophilic reactions is probably inside the thermospray probe. Most importantly, these results also show that the on-line combination of electrochemistry with thermospray tandem mass spectrometry provides valuable information about redox and associated chemical reactions of biological molecules such as the structures of intermediates or products as well as providing insight into reaction pathways.
A simple video method for the quantification of microscopic objects

SUMMARY The design and operation of a simple, semi-automatic video system for the analysis of geometric parameters of microscopic specimens is described. The system consists of standard video equipment and a custom built Electronic Integrator. The video signal from a camera attached to a microscope is mixed with the video signal from a second camera focused on a drawing board. A contour outline of the specimen to be analysed is drawn with the aid of a video monitor display of the combined images. The contour image is passed into the Electronic Integrator and analysed automatically. Logic circuitry in the Electronic Integrator permits analysis of complex contours independent of their orientation in the video raster. The area or volume of complex, overlapping specimens with restricted grey scale range can be rapidly analysed. The Electronic Integrator also is suitable for densitometric and specimen motion analyses.
Survey on human papillomavirus/p16 screening use in oropharyngeal carcinoma patients in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal carcinoma (OC) have better prognosis than patients with HPV-negative OC. The objective of the current study was to assess how different practices across the United States treat patients with OC with respect to screening for HPV DNA or p16. METHODS: Five hundred forty-two randomly selected radiation oncologists were sent an 11-question survey by email regarding the use of HPV/p16 screening in OC. The questionnaire addressed demographics of the practice, intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) use, screening practices for HPV DNA or p16, which year this began, the use of HPV or p16 data to direct patient care, and future plans for its use if it had not already been instituted. RESULTS: One hundred ninety-two responses (39.6%) were received. Thirty-five percent of respondents (67 of 188) reported screening for HPV DNA routinely, whereas 4.8% of respondents (9 of 188) reported screening for p16. Of the physicians who did not use screening techniques, 37.2% (44 of 118 respondents) reported future plans to institute these screening techniques, 20% (9 of 45 respondents) stated plans to institute these techniques in the next 6 months, 55.5% (25 of 45 respondents) stated plans to institute these techniques within 6 months to 1 year, and 22.2% (10 of 45 respondents) stated plans to institute these techniques within 1 to 2 years. Academic physicians were more likely to use screening techniques (62.7%; P < .001) compared with private practitioners (31.4%). Only 12.4% of respondents reported using HPV or p16 data to direct care. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 40.4% of radiation oncology practices that responded to a survey in the United States screened for HPV DNA or p16 in OC, whereas only 12.4% used it to further direct care. This number appears to be growing rapidly. Clinical trials to further elucidate how HPV or p16 status should direct care in OC are warranted. Cancer 2010. © 2010 American Cancer Society.
THE RORSCHACH AND PERSONALITY CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE CALIFORNIA PSYCHOLOGICAL INVENTORY

In a sample of 48 adolescent inpatients, the Rorschach whole response and white space response were significantly related to gender and California Psychological Inventory classification.
Chronic Ankle Instability Alters Central Organization of Movement

BackgroundChronic ankle instability alters spinal level sensorimotor function and is hypothesized to alter supraspinal motor control mechanisms. Gait initiation is a functional task modulated by supraspinal pathways, but the effect of chronic ankle instability, a peripheral musculoskeletal impairment, on gait initiation and thus supraspinal motor control mechanisms remains unknown.PurposeThis study was conducted to determine if supraspinal aspects of motor control are altered in subjects with chronic ankle instability.Study DesignControlled laboratory study.MethodsSubjects with chronic ankle instability (5 males, 15 females; age, 20.5 ± 1.0 years; height, 169.8 ± 9.8 cm; weight, 74.2 ± 20.2 kg) and uninjured controls (4 males, 16 females; age, 20.85 ± 1.6 years; height, 164.3 ± 7.9 cm; weight, 64.2 ± 10.62 kg) completed 5 gait initiation trials for each leg at a self-selected pace. The resulting trajectory of the center of pressure trace was investigated and peak center of pressure excursions in the anter...
MRI guided interstitial laser therapy in a rat malignant glioma model

We have used MR monitoring to guide and evaluate the effects of the Nd:YAG interstitial laser on a well-characterized rat brain tumor model (C6). MRI was used to determine the tumor size, verify the location of the interstitial probe, and evaluate the size and location of the laser–induced lesion during and after treatment. During laser irradiation, an irreversible loss of signal intensity at the fiber tip and a reversible decrease in signal intensity around it were observed with MRI. None of the treatment protocols affected mean rat survival significantly. Although MRI-guided interstitial laser therapy appears to be safe and easy, it does not provide a curative treatment for spatially disseminated gliomas where a “target volume” cannot be adequately defined. Better results can be expected, especially in well-defined tumors, with improvements of both the imaging techniques and the laser treatment protocol. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Concept-oriented video skimming and adaptation via semantic classification

Concept-oriented video skimming and adaptation plays an important role in enabling online medical education by selecting and transmitting the suitable medical video clips to the students over network. In this paper, we propose a novel framework to enable concept-oriented video skimming and adaptation in a specific domain of medical education video. Specifically, this framework includes: (a) A novel semantic-sensitive framework for video content characterization and representation by using principal video shots to enhance the quality of features on discriminating between different semantic video concepts. (b) A novel technique for semantic medical concept interpretation by using finite mixture models to approximate the class distributions of the relevant principal video shots. (c) A novel classifier training scheme by using an adaptive Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm for automatic parameter estimation and model selection (i.e., selecting the optimal number of mixture Gaussian components). (d) Subjective driven concept-oriented video skimming algorithm via semantic video classification
Penicillin desensitization correlation of clinical and immunological events using an in vitro model.

Summary A patient with actinomycosis was found to have immediate hypersensitivity to penicillin by previously described skin testing methods as well as by a recently described in vitro system utilizing rat peritoneal mast cells. Desensitization to penicillin became imperative, but in using the classical route (the intracutaneous route), systemic anaphylaxis and other complications were encountered. Subsequently, successful desensitization was accomplished utilizing the intravenous route. We are able to demonstrate this patient's loss of reactivity to penicillin by the rat mast cell system as well as skin tests and to correlate the immunological state with the clinical course.
Beyond vandalism: Wikipedia trolls

Research on trolls is scarce, but their activities challenge online communities; one of the main challenges of the Wikipedia community is to fight against vandalism and trolls. This study identifies Wikipedia trollsâ behaviours and motivations, and compares and contrasts hackers with trolls; it extends our knowledge about this type of vandalism and concludes that Wikipedia trolls are one type of hacker. This study reports that boredom, attention seeking, and revenge motivate trolls; they regard Wikipedia as an entertainment venue, and find pleasure from causing damage to the community and other people. Findings also suggest that trollsâ behaviours are characterized as repetitive, intentional, and harmful actions that are undertaken in isolation and under hidden virtual identities, involving violations of Wikipedia policies, and consisting of destructive participation in the community.
Lung function and gas exchange in Eisenmenger syndrome and their impact on exercise capacity and survival

Abstract Background Eisenmenger physiology may contribute to abnormal pulmonary mechanics and gas exchange and thus impaired functional capacity. We explored the relationship between lung function and gas exchange parameters with exercise capacity and survival. Methods Stable adult patients with Eisenmenger syndrome (N=32) were prospectively studied using spirometry, lung volumes, diffusion capacity, and blood gas analysis, as well as same day measurement of 6-minute walk distance and cardiopulmonary maximal treadmill exercise. Patients were followed prospectively to determine survival (7.4±0.5years). Abnormalities were identified and appropriate comparisons were made between affected and unaffected individuals between respiratory mechanics, exercise function, and survival. Results Obstruction (FEV 1 /FVC ratio 2 32±4.4mmHg). PaCO 2 was less reduced in older patients (r=0.438, P=0.022), and correlated independently with exercise duration (R=−0.463, P=0.03), yet PaO 2 , not PaCO 2 , was associated with survival. Conclusions Eisenmenger patients show evidence of obstructive lung disease, diffusion abnormalities, and hypocapnia; likely from hyperventilation. Understanding expected lung mechanics and gas exchange may facilitate more appropriate clinical management.
Achievement Differences in Structured Versus Unstructured Instructional Geometry Programs

This study investigated the effect of students' ability and type of instructional program, structured and unstructured, on easy and difficult posttest items. Seventh-grade students worked through 14 instructional activities in The Geometer Sketchpad, a dynamic geometry program, and accessed a Geometry tutorial developed to parallel the state geometry standards. Low-ability students scored higher in the less structured program, whereas high- and medium-ability learners performed better in the structured program. High- and medium-ability students outscored low-ability learners by a greater margin on the difficult items than on the easy items. Although their overall performance was poor in both programs, that low-ability learners performed relatively better in the less structured, less traditional, mathematics activities is an encouraging finding for mathematics educators and designers of open-ended learning environments.
Faster GPS via the sparse fourier transform

GPS is one of the most widely used wireless systems. A GPS receiver has to lock on the satellite signals to calculate its position. The process of locking on the satellites is quite costly and requires hundreds of millions of hardware multiplications, leading to high power consumption. The fastest known algorithm for this problem is based on the Fourier transform and has a complexity of O(n log n), where n is the number of signal samples. This paper presents the fastest GPS locking algorithm to date. The algorithm reduces the locking complexity to O(n√(log n)). Further, if the SNR is above a threshold, the algorithm becomes linear, i.e., O(n). Our algorithm builds on recent developments in the growing area of sparse recovery. It exploits the sparse nature of the synchronization problem, where only the correct alignment between the received GPS signal and the satellite code causes their cross-correlation to spike.We further show that the theoretical gain translates into empirical gains for GPS receivers. Specifically, we built a prototype of the design using software radios and tested it on two GPS data sets collected in the US and Europe. The results show that the new algorithm reduces the median number of multiplications by 2.2x in comparison to the state of the art design, for real GPS signals.
Joint Blind Adaptive Carrier Frequency Offset Estimation and Channel Shortening

Multicarrier modulation has the advantage of robustness to multipath, so long as the delay spread of the multipath is less than the guard interval between successive transmitted blocks. However, it has the disadvantage of sensitivity to a carrier frequency offset (CFO), which disrupts the orthogonality of the subcarriers. If a CFO is present, it must be estimated and then corrected. In addition, if the channel delay spread exceeds the guard interval, this must be accounted for as well, usually by a channel shortening equalizer. Hitherto, CFO estimation and channel shortening have been addressed individually. However, this leads to a circular set of assumptions, since standard CFO estimators perform poorly when the channel is longer than the guard interval, and standard channel shorteners assume that CFO estimation has already been perfectly performed. In this paper, we investigate a blind, adaptive method for jointly performing CFO estimation and channel shortening
Investigating the association between obstructive sleep apnea and periodontitis.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder characterized by disruptions of normal sleep architecture. Chronic periodontitis is a chronic disease of the periodontium that elicits a general inflammatory response to local dental plaque. It has been suggested that periodontal disease may increase in severity with increasingly severe OSA because both disease entities share common inflammatory pathways, acting synergistically to alter the host response. The aim of this study is to analyze the association between severity of OSA and the prevalence/severity of periodontitis.Methods: One hundred patients from a large veterans administration sleep study center (n = 26 normal, n = 21 mild, n = 19 moderate, n = 34 severe) diagnosed with an overnight polysomnogram underwent a comprehensive periodontal examination. Periodontal parameters measured included the following: 1) mean periodontal probing depth (PD); 2) clinical attachment level (CAL); 3) gingival recession; and 4) percentage of sites with b...
Accelerating system of systems engineering understanding and optimization through lean enterprise principles

By applying a lean enterprise lens to studies of the evolving field of system of systems engineering (SoSE), it has been observed that many SoSE teams are developing processes that are consistent with many lean enterprise principles. These SoSE processes are designed to efficiently evolve the group of systems to meet new needs using limited resources. This paper provides further insights and recommendations for the evolution of system of systems processes using lean concepts. We conclude with a discussion of the potential conflicts between SoSE and lean paradigms and provide thirteen SoS case studies to illustrate the emphasis on lean thinking.
Identification of a New Gene Essential for Germination of Bacillus subtilis Spores with Ca2+-Dipicolinate

Bacillus subtilis spores can germinate with a 1:1 chelate of Ca(2+) and dipicolinic acid (DPA), a compound present at high levels in the spore core. Using a genetic screen to identify genes encoding proteins that are specifically involved in spore germination by Ca(2+)-DPA, three mutations were identified. One was in the gene encoding the cortex lytic enzyme, CwlJ, that was previously shown to be essential for spore germination by Ca(2+)-DPA. The other two were mapped to an open reading frame, ywdL, encoding a protein of unknown function. Analysis of ywdL expression showed that the gene is expressed during sporulation in the mother cell compartment of the sporulating cell and that its transcription is sigma(E) dependent. Functional characterization of YwdL demonstrated that it is a new spore coat protein that is essential for the presence of CwlJ in the spore coat. Assembly of YwdL itself into the spore coat is dependent on the coat morphogenetic proteins CotE and SpoIVA. However, other than lacking CwlJ, ywdL spores have no obvious defect in their spore coat. Because of the role for YwdL in a part of the spore germination process, we propose renaming ywdL as a spore germination gene, gerQ.
Exposure to diagnostic levels of radiation prior to age 30 increases the risk of breast cancer in BRCA1/2 carriers

Commentary on: Pijpe A, Andrieu N, Easton DF, et al., on behalf of GENEPSO, EMBRACE, and HEBON. Exposure to diagnostic radiation and risk of breast cancer among carriers of BRCA1/2 mutations: retrospective cohort study (GENE-RAD-RISK). BMJ 2012;345:e5660.[OpenUrl][1][Abstract/FREE Full Text][2] As BRCA1/2 are involved in DNA repair, it has been postulated that carriers may have increased radiosensitivity and increased risk of radiation-induced cancers from diagnostic imaging studies. There are conflicting data from previous studies addressing this. This study evaluated the risk of breast cancer as a function of ever or never having been exposed to diagnostic levels of radiation prior to age 30 in a retrospective cohort study of 1993 BRCA1/2 carriers, of whom 848 (43%) had a diagnosis of breast cancer at the time of the study. Exposure was determined from self-reported patient surveys and estimated dose levels from procedures determined from available literature. … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DBMJ%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1136%252Fbmj.e5660%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F22956590%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/ijlink?linkType=ABST&journalCode=bmj&resid=345/sep06_2/e5660&atom=%2Febmed%2F18%2F4%2Fe40.atom
Compressive sensing for through-the-wall radar imaging

Through-the-wall radar imaging (TWRI) is emerging as a viable technology for providing high-quality imagery of enclosed structures. TWRI makes use of electromagnetic waves to penetrate through building wall materials. Due to the “see” through ability, TWRI has attracted much attention in the last decade and has found a variety of important civilian and military applications. Signal processing algorithms have been devised to allow proper imaging and image recovery in the presence of high clutter, which is caused by front walls and multipath due to reflections from internal walls. Recently, research efforts have shifted toward effective and reliable imaging under constraints on aperture size, frequency, and acquisition time. In this respect, scene reconstructions are being pursued with reduced data volume and within the emerging compressive sensing (CS) framework. We present a review of the CS-based scene reconstruction techniques that address the unique challenges associated with fast and efficient imaging in urban operations. Specifically, we focus on ground-based imaging systems for indoor targets. We discuss CS-based wall mitigation, multipath exploitation, and change detection for imaging of stationary and moving targets inside enclosed structures.
International Careers The Gap Between Student Interest and Knowledge

Amidst a policy context that is ardently promoting participation in world politics, trade, and cultural exchange, institutions of higher education are increasingly committing their campuses to prep...
Effect of curing age on the self-monitoring behavior of carbon fiber reinforced mortar

The self-monitoring behavior of carbon fiber reinforced mortar was found to be affected in two ways by curing age from 7 to 28 days. Firstly, the electrical resistance increased monotonically with increasing compressive strain during first loading at 7 days, but at 14 and 28 days it decreased monotonically. Secondly, the resistance decreased slightly and irreversibly at the end of each cycle as cycling progressed at 14 and 28 days, but not at 7 days. These effects of the curing age are associated respectively with the effects of the curing age on fiber-cement bond strength and on cement compliance.
Teaching social determinants of child health in a pediatric advocacy rotation: Small intervention, big impact

Background: Traditionally, medical education does not specifically address the social determinants of health or how to advocate for families’ cultural, social or economic needs in spite of our increasingly diverse society.Aim: This article describes a new social–legal curriculum added to a Pediatric Resident's Advocacy course.Methods: Pediatric interns completed ‘Memos To Myself’ after the Advocacy rotation.Results: The curriculum impacted residents’ (1) realization regarding family circumstances; (2) reflections regarding self and personal practice; and (3) knowledge about advocacy issues and community partnerships for solutions.Conclusions: This curriculum raised awareness about topics that are traditionally not covered in medical education.
On optimal bidding in sequential procurement auctions

Abstract We investigate the problem of optimal bidding for a firm that in each period procures items to meet a random demand by participating in a finite sequence of auctions. We develop a new model for a firm where its item valuation derives from the sale of the acquired items via their demand distribution, sale price, acquisition cost, salvage value and lost sales. We establish monotonicity properties for the value function and the optimal dynamic bid strategy and we present computations.
Role of Shear Keys in Seismic Behavior of Bridges Crossing Fault-Rupture Zones

This paper examines the role of shear keys at bridge abutments in the seismic behavior of “ordinary” bridges. The seismic responses of bridges subjected to spatially uniform and spatially varying ground motions for three shear-key conditions—nonlinear shear keys that break off and cease to provide transverse restraint if deformed beyond a certain limit; elastic shear keys that do not break off and continue to provide transverse restraint throughout the ground shaking; and no shear keys—are examined. Results show that seismic demands for a bridge with nonlinear shear keys can generally be bounded by the demands of a bridge with elastic shear keys and a bridge with no shear keys for both types of ground motions. While ignoring shear keys provides conservative estimates of seismic demands in bridges subjected to spatially uniform ground motion, such a practice may lead to underestimation of some seismic demands in bridges in fault-rupture zones that are subjected to spatially varying ground motion. Therefore...
Abstract #LB-12: SHP-2 is a potential therapeutic target for EGFRvIII-transformed human GBMs

AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 18-22, 2009; Denver, CO SHP-2 (also termed PTP1D, PTP2C, PTPL1, SHPTP3 and Syp) is a ubiquitously expressed 68kDa non-transmembrane protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) and positively regulates mitogenic signals in receptor tyrosine kinase pathways. In response to stimulation of growth factors, SHP-2 is recruited to their receptors to transduce signals. Oncogenic EGFRvIII is a naturally occurring oncoprotein and is expressed in about 40-50% of human glioblastomas, particular those that arise de novo. This mutated oncoprotein is expressed on the cell surface and constitutively phosphorylated in the absence of EGF. Targeting EGFRvIII for cancer therapy by using monoclonal antibodies or kinase inhibitors is under investigation. However, the intracellular signals activated by oncogenic EGFRvIII are poorly understood. To understand the molecular mechanisms by which this oncoprotein alters transforming phenotypes, and since our previous work indicated that SHP-2 protein tyrosine phosphatase activity modulated EGFRvIII activation and downstream signaling, we examined whether SHP-2 plays a role in EGFRvIII-induced oncogenesis. Ectopic expression of a phosphatase-inactive form of SHP-2, SHP-2 C459S, but not its wild-type SHP-2 or either of two SH2 domain mutants, abrogated transformation of EGFRvIII-expressing U87MG cells in soft agar and in nude mice. Furthermore, shp2 +/- and -/- mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) could not be transformed by EGFRvIII while shp2 +/+ MEFs displayed a fully transformed phenotype upon introduction of EGFRvIII, again indicating a requirement for functional SHP-2 in EGFRvIII transformation. EGFRvIII expression recruited SHP-2 to the receptor complex and increased endogenous SHP-2 PTPase activity and SHP-2 phosphorylation at Tyr542 in U87MG.EGFRvIII cells. Phosphorylated SHP-2 Tyr542 accumulated in the cellular membrane in parental and EGFRvIII-expressing cells, but only localized to the perinuclear region in EGFRvIII-containing cells by immunofluorescence staining (IF). Activated SHP-2 interacted with focal adhesion kinase (FAK) to further transduce signals and induce a more transformed phenotype . Inhibition of SHP-2 expression by Shp-2 siRNA inhibited cell growth, transformation and altered morphology of EGFRvIII transformed PTEN-deficient U87MG.EGFRvIII and PTEN-intact LN229.EGFRvIII cells. Moreover, the SHP-2 PTPase activity inhibitor NSC-87877 inhibited endogenous SHP-2 activity, Erk phosphorylation and transformation in both GBM cell lines. These data indicate that SHP-2, in particular its PTPase activity, plays a critical role in EGFRvIII-mediated transformation. These data also provide further support that SHP-2 may be a downstream factor of PTEN in human GBMs. Therefore, use of shp-2 siRNAs or SHP-2 inhibitors may represent a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of human GBMs, in particular primary GBMs that express the EGFRvIII oncoprotein. Citation Information: In: Proc Am Assoc Cancer Res; 2009 Apr 18-22; Denver, CO. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2009. Abstract nr LB-12.