cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Re: Researchers should talk to workers Am. J. Ind. Med. 2000. 37:668

Dr. McDonald errs in his reply to my earlier letter "Researchers Should Talk to Workers," stating that the Amandus et al. [1987] study did not rely on McDonald's exposure estimates. Amandus [1987] states "the eight hour TWA fiber-exposure for jobs was estimated from the short term samples employing a scheme derived by McDonald et al. [1986a,b]." As this sentence indicates, Amandus et al. used Dr. McDonald's formula for the individual dose estimates. While it may be, as Dr. McDonald claims, that the Amandus team decided separately to rely on this exposure estimate, this does not obviate the fact that Amandus et al. did indeed rely on the McDonald et al. exposure scheme. Dr. McDonald's publications make no mention of his "numerous discussions with past and present employees." The only "employee" thanked for assistance in the 1986 study that was the focus of my original letter was Earl D. Lovick, the W.R. Grace Co. plant manager, an accountant by training [McDonald, 1986]. Moreover, in his sworn testimony Lovick said that he reviewed the exposure estimates with top executives at corporate headquarters, none of whom ever worked in the mine or mill. If Dr. McDonald's discussions with employees contributed to his estimates, then he should have cited (and perhaps thanked) them in his original paper. Dr. McDonald's interviews should have revealed a variety of problems with the Company's estimates. One worker, for example, testified that dust samples that were "too heavy to count" were thrown out [Egilman, 2000]. Dr. McDonald's assertion that fiber estimates which included the observations of workers would mean that tremolite was less hazardous than previously thought reveals other problems with his data. For example, Dr. McDonald underreported the occurrence of lung cancer at Libby. He reported 21 cases, but as of 1984, Grace knew of 32 asbestos lung cancers (R.C. Walsh to H.A. Eschenbach, October 18, 1983). The protocol explains why six of those lung cancers were omitted, but that still leaves 26 lung cancers that should have been included in the published papers. Since data on the higher number of lung cancers was available at the time of the study, I am hard-pressed to understand why this was omitted from the published paper. Neither Dr. McDonald nor the Grace Company has made the raw data from the tremolite studies public. Given the number and seriousness of the flaws in the McDonald et al. study, no conclusions about the toxicity of tremolite can be drawn from the Libby studies.
Characterizing Arctic mixed-phase cloud structure and its relationship with humidity and temperature inversion using ARM NSA observations

In this study, the characteristics of the Arctic mixed-phase cloud (AMC) have been investigated using data collected at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement North Slope Alaska site from October 2006 to September 2009. AMC has an annual occurrence frequency of 42.3%, which includes 18.7% of single-layered AMCs and 23.6% for multiple layers. Two cloud base heights (CBHs) are defined from ceilometer and micropulse lidar (MPL) measurements. For single-layered AMC, the ceilometer-derived CBH represents the base of the liquid-dominant layer near the cloud top, while MPL-derived CBH represents base of the lower ice-dominant layer. The annual mean CBHs from ceilometer and MPL measurements are 1.0 km and 0.6 km, respectively, with the largest difference (~1.0 km) occurring from December to March and the smallest difference in September. The humidity inversion occurrence decreases with increasing humidity inversion intensity (stronger in summer than in winter). During the winter months, AMC occurrences increase from 15% to 35% when the inversion intensity increases from 0.1 to 0.9 g/kg. On the contrary, despite a higher frequency of strong humidity inversion in summer, AMC occurrences are nearly invariant for different inversion intensities. On average, humidity and temperature inversion frequencies of occurrence above an AMC are 5 and 8 times, respectively, as high as those below an AMC. The strong inversion occurrences for both humidity and temperature above an AMC provide the moisture sources from above for the formation and maintenance of AMCs. This result helps to reconcile the persistency of AMCs even when the Arctic surface is covered by snow and ice.
Prepregnancy body mass index, gestational weight gain, and elevated depressive symptoms in a Hispanic cohort

Excess weight is an epidemic problem in the United States, with 69.2% of the adult population overweight or obese (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2014). Prepregnancy obesity has been associated with increased risk of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes including gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and macrosomia, and, for the infant, increased risk of obesity later in life (Papachatzi, Dimitriou, Dimitropoulos, & Vantarakis, 2013; Patro et al., 2013; Sarwer, Allison, Gibbons, Markowitz, & Nelson, 2006). Gestational weight gain (GWG) guidelines are based on prepregnancy Body Mass Index (BMI), with overweight and obese women encouraged to gain less weight during pregnancy compared to normal and underweight women (Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, 2009). Hispanic mothers are more likely to begin their pregnancies overweight or obese compared to non-Hispanic White women (Kieffer et al., 2006). While obesity predicts depression and elevated depressive symptoms in nonpregnant women (Luppino et al., 2010), studies in the perinatal period are sparse. However, prenatal depression is common: occurring in up to 18% of women in the United States (Gavin et al., 2005), and up to 33% of Hispanic women in the United States (Chasan-Taber et al., 2010). Given current societal pressure in the United States to be thin, overweight women and those who gain excess weight may experience high levels of body dissatisfaction, which has been linked to depression (Clark, Skouteris, Wertheim, Paxton, & Milgrom, 2009). Our objective was to assess the association between prepregnancy BMI, GWG, and elevated depressive symptoms during pregnancy in a Hispanic cohort. We hypothesized that women who were overweight, obese, or gained more than the recommended amount of weight during pregnancy would experience elevated depressive symptoms during pregnancy.
Sir Arnold Theiler and the discovery of anaplasmosis: A centennial perspective

Sir Arnold Theiler's research in 1908/09 led to the discovery of the first rickettsial pathogen, Anaplasma marginale, and set the stage for his development and implementation of an effective live vaccine based on a less virulent strain, A. marginale ss. centrale. His 1910 report, describing A. marginale, is among the classic monographs in infectious disease research, presenting not only observations in exacting detail but also highlighting the deductive reasoning leading to association of a new pathogen with a specific disease. With a centennial perspective and both conceptual frameworks and molecular tools unimaginable in Theiler's time, the significance of several observations in the original report--cyclic bacteremia, strain superinfection, and taxonomic position--is now clear and highlight the broad applicability of key principles of pathogen biology.
Accurate battery pack modeling for automotive applications

This paper describes an advanced battery pack modeling method for automotive applications. In contrast to the common approach of aggregating hundreds of battery cell models in series and parallel for battery pack representation, a simple yet accurate electrical analogue battery model with constant parameters is used to represent the whole battery pack. The modeling process involves only the external characteristics of the battery pack, thus detailed knowledge of the physical construction of the battery pack or the physical parameters of the battery cells are avoided. Battery experimental tests include an independent pulse charging/discharging cycle test and several performance estimates acquired from the anticipated battery application. This modeling approach is achieved by anticipating the bandwidth of the battery application and then optimizing the bandwidth of the battery pack model with this knowledge. The reported work enables a fast dynamic battery pack simulation with a new level of high fidelity. Although the scope of this work does not include temperature and lifetime effects, it is shown that the form of the model and the parameter extraction procedure can encompass these important improvements. This approach was experimentally verified on a 360 V, 21.3 kWh lithium-ion battery pack operated in a plugin hybrid electric vehicle.
Stimulating Evidence for Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccination Among HIV-Infected Adults

Streptococcus pneumoniae remains a formidable foe—it is the leading cause of bacterial pneumonia and an important cause of invasive disease. Adults infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are at particular risk for invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), with an approximate 40-fold risk compared with the general population despite the advent of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) [1–3]. Furthermore, up to 25% of HIV-infected persons develop recurrent disease, most commonly because of reinfection [4, 5]. The annual IPD incidence of 245 cases per 100 000 among HIV-positive adults in the developed world [2 ] points to the need for additional modalities to prevent this all too common infection. The burden of pneumococcal disease
TBA Values, Sensory Characteristics, and Volatiles in Ground Pork During Long-term Frozen Storage: Effects of Packaging

Ground pork (30% fat) was packaged in vacuum bags (V), polyvinyl chloride film (P), Saran Wrap(S), aluminum foil (A), or Saran-aluminum foil combination (SA) and frozen at -17 degrees C for 13, 26, and 39 wk. Samples were analyzed for TBA value and pH. Volatiles were steam distilled, volatilized at 60 degrees C, and 1 mL samples of headspace gas was analyzed using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Spectra for individual peaks on the total ion chromatograms were identified with spectra from known standards. Ground pork (cooked to 75 degrees C) was evaluated by a trained sensory panel for flavor and texture. Rancid and acid odor and flavor scores and TBA values increased over time regardless of packaging treatment; however, V-packaged pork had lower scores and P-packaged had higher scores at all time periods than did that in other materials. Eighteen volatiles were identified and quantified using GC/MS; 3-hydroxy-2-butanone had the highest correlation coefficients with TBA value, odor, and flavor scores.
Antitumor Agents. 181. † Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of 6,7,2',3',4'-Substituted-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-2-phenyl-4-quinolones as a New Class of Antimitotic Antitumor Agents

A novel series of 6,7,2',3',4'-substituted-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-2-phenyl- 4-quinolones were synthesized and evaluated for interactions with tubulin and for cytotoxic activity against a panel of human tumor cell lines, including ileocecal carcinoma (HCT-8), breast cancer (MCF-7), lung carcinoma (A-549), epidermoid carcinoma of the nasopharynx (KB), renal cancer (CAKI-1), and melanoma cancer (SKMEL-2). Most compounds (18, 20, 22-27) showed potent cytotoxic and antitubulin effects. The most active compounds (23, 26, 27) demonstrated strong cytotoxic effects with ED50 values in the nanomolar or subnanomolar range in almost all tumor cell lines. Three active racemates (20, 22, 25) were separated into the enantiomers, and generally, the optically pure (-)-isomers (20a, 22a, 25a) exhibited greater biological activity than the racemates or (+)-isomers. Cytotoxicity and antitubulin activity were closely correlated, with the most active compounds (23, 26, 27) having effects comparable to those of colchicine, podophyllotoxin, and combretastatin A-4.
A Survey of Shareholder Activism: Motivation and Empirical Evidence

Shareholder activism by institutions is an important aspect of U.S. financial markets. We provide an overview of shareholder activism by institutional and individual investors, emphasising their focus on corporate governance, the identity of the activists, and a brief history of their activities. We also present a survey of the theoretical and empirical research regarding the motivations and outcomes of shareholder activism.
Use of Constructed Wetlands to Treat Domestic Wastewater, City of Arcata, California

This paper summarizes 10 years of experience applying oxidation pond effluent to constructed wetlands in Arcata, California. The first five years (1980-1986) was spent experimenting with 6×66 metre constructed wetland mesocosm. The second five years involved fullscale analysis of 2.8 hectares and 12 hectares effluent receiving marshes. Experience to date has verified the capability of constructed wetlands to reliably and effectively meet advanced secondary water quality standards. Effluent BOD and suspended solids concentrations of 30 and 30 mg/l respectively can be met ninety percent of the time with weekly samples; fecal coliform levels of 20 CFU/100 can be met 90 percent of the time. Total inorganic nitrogen levels of 5 can be met in the growing season at 12 mg/l in the non-growing season. Design criteriaaregiven for BOD, SS, coliform, and TIN removal for a temperature range of 6 to 20°C. Experience gained to date on the construction details, vegetation planting, and operational consideration is also summarized in the paper.
Excitation Energies in Rare Isotopes as Indicators of Shell Evolution

The quest for a comprehensive and predictive model of atomic nuclei drives experimental and theoretical research endeavors around the world. The properties of short-lived, rare isotopes emerge as key ingredients for the development of nuclear models not only because they serve as crucial benchmarks for extrapolations into uncharted nuclear territory, but many important aspects of the interactions between the constituent nucleons are amplified in the regime of largely unbalanced proton and neutron numbers.
Effect of Dietary Aluminum and Vitamin D Interaction on Growth and Calcium and Phosphorus Metabolism of Broiler Chicks

The interaction of dietary aluminum (as aluminum sulfate) and vitamin D on growth performance and calcium and phosphorus metabolism was investigated using male broiler chicks. A corn-soybean broiler starter diet, containing .88% Ca and .45% available P and without added cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), was fed with 0 or .2% Al and with 0, 100, or 200 ICU of vitamin D3/kg of diet in a complete factorial arrangement. Four replicate cages of 10 chicks, 1 day of age, were assigned to each dietary treatment. Average body weight gain (328 versus 545 g), feed intake (611 versus 784 g), gain:feed (.54 versus .68), and plasma inorganic P (4.2 versus 6.7 mg/dL) were significantly reduced (P < .05) in chicks fed diets with .2% Al, compared with those fed 0% Al. These four variables were improved by increasing the level of vitamin D3 in the diet from 0 to 100 ICU/kg. However, further improvements were not obtained by elevating the vitamin D3 level to 200 ICU/kg. There were significant interactions of Al and vitamin D3 on gain, feed intake, and gain:feed, but not on plasma P. Gain and feed intake were significantly decreased by Al at each level of vitamin D3. Plasma total Ca was significantly increased by vitamin D3, but was unaffected by Al. Increasing the level of dietary vitamin D3 did not completely alleviate the negative effects of Al.
Evaluation of protection induced by Riemerella anatipestifer-E. coli O78 bacterin in white pekin ducks

SUMMARY Riemerella anatipestifer infection accounts for the most significant economic losses due to infectious disease in commercial White Pekin ducks in the United States. An inactivated bacterin and a live attenuated vaccine are approved for use against R. anatipestifer in the United States. This study aimed to evaluate the duration of protection induced by the commercial bacterin containing formalin-inactivated strains of R. anatipestifer serotype 1, 2, 5 (RA1, RA2, RA5) combined with E. coli 078 (RA-EC). Pekin ducks were vaccinated twice at 2 and 3 wk of age with 0.5 mL of RA-EC bacterin containing approximately 108 colony forming units (CFU) of E. coli and 109 CFU of RA1, RA2 and RA5 per dose (0.5 mL). Four-, 6-, and 8-week-old vaccinated and non-vaccinated control ducks were subsequently challenged with virulent strains of either: E. coli 078, RA1, RA2 and RA5. Evaluation of the vaccine protective index, histopathology, and bacteriology indicate RA-EC bacterin provides protection against virulent stains of RA1, RA2, RA5, and E. coli O78 throughout the 8-wk commercial Pekin grow-out period.
Clinical use of sodium profiling hemodialysis in children

Objective To evaluate the safety of profiling hemodialysis(PHD)in children and its ef- fects on hemodialysis-related complications and to ascertain whether it caused sodium overload.Methods Twenty-eight patients(11 males and 17 females)aged 1.3～15.1 years were studied.Six patients received conventional hemodialysis(CHD)with constant ultrafiltration rate;4 patients received PHD with a progressive decrease of ultrafiltration;18 patients received both CHD and PHD.They received dialysis for 319 times total- ly,CHD 190 times,PHD 129 times.Results There were no difference in serum sodium,BUN,Cr concentra- tion,osmolality and sodium removal before or after treatment between PHD and CHD(P0.05).Symptoms of the dialysis disequilibrium syndrome and hypotention were lower in PHD than that of CHD(P0.05),the incidence was 17.9% and 12.1% respectively in CHD,but 9.3% and 5.4% respectively in PHD.Conclusion Our results indicate that PHD may represent a safe treatment of children.It dramatically decreases both hy- potension and dialysis disequilibrium syndrome in hemodialysis children.The blood volume was more stable in PHD without leading to sodium overload.
Incidenz und Mechanismus des positiven direkten Antiglobulin-(Coombs-)Testes bei Cephalosporin-Behandlung

Bei 124 Patienten wurde nach Cephalosporin (CSP)-Behandlung in 4 Fallen ein positiver direkter Coombs-Test (direkter Antiglobulin-Test, DAT) festgestellt. Diese Incidenz von 3,2% liegt deutlich niedriger als in fruheren Berichten. Die unterschiedlichen Ergebnisse verschiedener Untersucher konnten einerseits durch technische Faktoren (Qualitat des Antiglobulinserums, methodische Durchfuhrung des DAT), andererseits durch eine unterschiedliche Zusammensetzung des untersuchten Krankengutes erklart werden. Dem positiven DAT bei CSP-Behandlung kann ein nicht-immunologischer und immunologischer Mechanismus zugrunde liegen. Eine nicht-immunologische Bindung von Serumproteinen an Cephalotin-behandelte Erythrocyten geht aus Absorptionsexperimenten, welche die Anlagerung von Proteinen an Cephalotin-Erythrocyten auch nach Entfernung von spezifischen Antikorpern zeigten, hervor. Weiters gelang der direkte Nachweis von einigen, an Cephalotin-Erythrocyten gebundenen, Serumproteinen mit Hilfe monospezifischer Antiseren. Fur einen Teil dieser Proteine kann eine immunologisch bedingte Bindung an die Cephalotin-Erythrocyten ausgeschlossen werden. Das auch ein Immunmechanismus einen positiven DAT nach CSP-Behandlung hervorruft, zeigt die Tatsache, das bei 3 der 4 Patienten mit positivem DAT die Erythrocyteneluate im indirekten Antiglobulin-Test mit Cephalotin-Erythrocyten reagierten. In einem Kontroll-experiment reagierten Eluate von Rhesus-sensibilisierten Erythrocyten nicht mit Cephalotin-Erythrocyten, was darauf hinweist, das die Konzentration des Antikorperproteins in solchen Eluaten zu gering ist, um positive indirekte Antiglobulin-Teste mit Cephalotin-Erythrocyten, bedingt durch eine nicht-immunologische Proteinabsorption, hervorzurufen. Im Serum dieser 4 Patienten waren gegen Cephalotin gerichtete Antikorper mit masig bis deutlich erhohten Titern nachweisbar. In allen drei gepruften Fallen handelte es sich um hochtitrige IgG-Cephalotin-Antikorper, welche die gleichzeitig vorliegenden IgM-Antikorper deutlich an Titerhohe ubertrafen. Die Cephalotin-Antikorper wiesen verschiedene Grade der Kreuzreaktion mit Penicillin auf. Gleichzeitig vorkommende Penicillin-Antikorper konnen in gleicher Titerhohe mit Cephalotin-Erythrocyten reagieren, es werden aber auch haufig deutlich divergierende Titer gesehen, welche Antikorpern unterschiedlicher Spezifitat entsprechen. Ein durch CSP-Behandlung verursachter positiver DAT kann im Rahmen eines Kreuzversuches in der Blutbank Schwierigkeiten bereiten, die Beurteilung dieses Befundes kann sich aber auch durch Verwechslung mit einem Autoimmunphanomen schwierig gestalten. Eine durch CSP-bedingte immunhamolytische Anamie wurde in dieser Untersuchungsserie nicht beobachtet.
Management of stage I and II Hodgkin's disease.

Early stage Hodgkin’s disease is highly curable with radiation therapy alone. Some prognostic factors are associated with increased risk of relapse and may require combined modality treatment. The evolution of treatment of stage I and II Hodgkin’s disease is presented.
Sex difference in behavioral effects of the THC agonist CP55,940

Aims: Attentional biases (AB) interfere with decision making processes and AB to drug cues is a cardinal feature of addiction that may contribute to relapse. Thus it is critical to identify the neural correlates of AB for improving interventions. Cue responsivity and AB differ between males and females suggesting the neural correlates of AB to drug cues may also be sex-specific. Methods: We explored associations between AB for cannabis cues (CCs) and neural responses to CCs among males (n=24) and females (n=14) seeking treatment for cannabis use disorder (CUD). CUDs were exposed to CCs and comparison cues (500ms duration; 48 images of each cue type) presented in a quasi-random order in a BOLD fMRI fast event-related paradigm. Males and females did not differ in demographic or drug use characteristics. Male and female CUDs also completed a visual dot-probe AB task, which contained pictures of CCs and nondrug cues to examine whether sex influences AB and to investigate relationships between AB and neural responses to CCs. Results: CUDs showed an AB to CCs (22.8±4.7ms), which was not significantly different between males and females. Neural responses to CCs were strongest in the ventral striatum in females and the amygdala inmales.Males showed positive correlations between AB and increased CC-induced brain activity in visual cortex and bilateral parahippocampus whereas females showed positive correlations (all bilateral) in the insula, lateral orbitofrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and middle temporal cortex. (T values range from 3 to 6, p=0.01). Conclusions: Results suggest that AB to CCs has different brain correlates for men and women. Thus, strategies to address AB may need to target sex-specific brain vulnerabilities for maximum impact on relapse. Financial support: PA DOH CURE.
Introduction: Paleoneurology, Resurgent!

Much has happened in the study of paleoneurology since the turn of the 20th Century involving increasing sophistication of digital methods which permit a variety of statistical and imaging techniques that are replacing the older methods of studying endocasts, which have relied upon plaster/latex rubber copies of fossil materials and mostly qualitative statements regarding morphology and those correlations with structural and functional studies from neuroanatomy. Today, non-invasive imaging techniques allow for immediate study of b both qualitative and multivariate quantitative approaches to both fossil specimens and modern human endocranial variation. Nevertheless, a critical examination of several recent paleoneurological papers suggest that too little familiarity with actual neuroanatomy and reliance instead on digitized descriptions and statistical techniques is leading to hypotheses that fly in the face of actual neuroanatomical details. We need a much better understanding of modern human and ape neuroanatomical patterns as well as more fossil specimens, and in particular, better ethics of sharing digital information.
On a Variant of the Mobile Observer Method

The mobile observer method has been used by traffic engineers since the middle of the last century to estimate traffic velocity, flow and density. Although simple and intuitive, the method suffers from two major issues. First, the vehicle must traverse a given road segment both in the direction of the traffic whose parameters are of interest and also in the opposite direction, essentially driving in a loop. Second, to get accurate results, several runs must be taken and the results aggregated. Our variant utilizes the communication capabilities in present-day vehicles to mitigate both these issues, thus enabling faster and more accurate traffic maps and traffic routing applications. Extensive simulation results have confirmed that our variant of the mobile observer method is comparable in accuracy with the stationary observer method even at lower flow rates.
Data on isoaspartylation of neuronal ELAVL proteins

This article contains experimental data examining the propensity of neuronal ELAVL proteins to become isoaspartylated. The data are related to the article "Isoaspartylation appears to trigger small cell lung cancer-associated autoimmunity against neuronal protein ELAVL4" (M.A. Pulido, M.K. DerHartunian, Z. Qin, E.M. Chung, D.S. Kang, A.W. Woodham, J.A. Tsou, R. Klooster, O. Akbari, L. Wang, W.M. Kast, S.V. Liu, J.J.G.M. Verschuuren, D.W. Aswad, I.A. Laird-Offringa, 2016) [1], in which it was reported that the N-terminal region of recombinant human ELAVL4 protein, incubated under physiological conditions, acquires a type of highly immunogenic protein damage. Here, we present Western blot analysis data generated by using an affinity-purified polyclonal rabbit antibody (raised against an N-terminal ELAVL4 isoaspartyl-converted peptide) to probe recombinant protein fragments of the other three members of the ELAVL family: the highly homologous neuronal ELAVL2 (HuB) and ELAVL3 (HuC), and the much less homologous ubiquitously expressed ELAVL1 (HuR).
The Art and Science of Persuasion: Not All Crowdfunding Campaign Videos are The Same

To successfully raise money using crowdfunding, it is important for a campaign to communicate ideas or products effectively to the potential backers. One of the lesser explored but powerful components of a crowdfunding campaign is the campaign video. To better understand how videos affect campaign outcomes, we analyzed videos from 210 Kickstarter campaigns across three different project categories. In a mixed-methods study, we asked 3150 Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) workers to evaluate the campaign videos. We found six recurrent factors from a qualitative analysis as well as quantitative analysis. Analysis revealed product related and video related factors that were predictive of the final outcome of campaigns over and above the static project representation features identified in previous studies. Both the qualitative and quantitative analysis showed that videos influenced perception differently for projects in different categories, and the differential perception was important for predicting successes of the projects. For example, in technology campaigns, projects perceived to have a lower level of complexity were more likely to be successful; but in design and fashion campaigns, projects perceived to have a higher level of complexity - which perhaps reflected craftsmanship - were more likely to be successful. We conclude with design implications to better support the video making process.
The acute muscular response to blood flow-restricted exercise with very low relative pressure

Summary To investigate the acute responses to blood flow-restricted (BFR) exercise across low, moderate and high relative pressures. Muscle thickness, maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) and electromyography (EMG) amplitude were assessed following exercise with six different BFR pressures: 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 50% and 90% of arterial occlusion pressure (AOP). There were differences between each time point within each condition for muscle thickness, which increased postexercise [+0·47 (0·40, 0·54) cm] and then trended towards baseline. For MVC, higher pressures resulted in greater decrements than lower pressures [e.g. 10% AOP: −20·7 (−15·5, −25·8) Nm versus 90% AOP: −24 (−19·1, −28·9) Nm] postexercise. EMG amplitude increased from the first three repetitions to the last three repetitions within each set. When using a common BFR protocol with 30% 1RM, applying BFR does not seem to augment acute responses over that of exercise alone when exercise is taken to failure.
Surface reaction mechanism for deuterium-deuterium fusion with a gas/solid-state fusion device

This paper discusses recent highly reproducible results of tritium production by deuterium-deuterium (D-D) fusion from gas/solid-state fusion experiments in terms of a surface fusion mechanism. Theoretical criteria and experimental conditions for improving and optimizing D-D fusion rates in a gas/solid-state fusion device are described. It is shown that the surface fusion mechanism also provides a plausible explanation for the nonreproducibility of the results of electrolysis fusion experiments.
Electrophysiology of Perception and Processing of Phonological Information as Indices of Toddlers' Language Performance.

Purpose The toddler years are a critical period for language development and growth. We investigated how event-related potentials (ERPs) to repeated and novel nonwords are associated with clinical ...
The Potential for Interventions in a Long-term Acute Care Hospital to Reduce Transmission of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae in Affiliated Healthcare Facilities

Background Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are high-priority bacterial pathogens targeted for efforts to decrease transmissions and infections in healthcare facilities. Some regions have experienced CRE outbreaks that were likely amplified by frequent transmission in long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs). Planning and funding of intervention efforts focused on LTACHs is one proposed strategy to contain outbreaks; however, the potential regional benefits of such efforts are unclear. Methods We designed an agent-based simulation model of patients in a regional network of 10 healthcare facilities including 1 LTACH, 3 short-stay acute care hospitals (ACHs), and 6 nursing homes (NHs). The model was calibrated to achieve realistic patient flow and CRE transmission and detection rates. We then simulated the initiation of an entirely LTACH-focused intervention in a previously CRE-free region, including active surveillance for CRE carriers and enhanced isolation of identified carriers. Results When initiating the intervention at the first clinical CRE detection in the LTACH, cumulative CRE transmissions over 5 years across all 10 facilities were reduced by 79%-93% compared to no-intervention simulations. This result was robust to changing assumptions for transmission within non-LTACH facilities and flow of patients from the LTACH. Delaying the intervention until the 20th CRE detection resulted in substantial delays in achieving optimal regional prevalence, while still reducing transmissions by 60%-79% over 5 years. Conclusions Focusing intervention efforts on LTACHs is potentially a highly efficient strategy for reducing CRE transmissions across an entire region, particularly when implemented as early as possible in an emerging outbreak.
Optimization of electromagnetically induced transparency by changing the radial size of Laguerre–Gaussian laser modes

We demonstrate electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in ultracold Rb87 with the control laser in a Laguerre–Gaussian mode and the probe laser in a Gaussian mode. The effects on EIT transmission spectra due to varying control mode sizes are explored and optimized. The narrowest EIT features that still exhibit large signal contrast occur when the control and probe laser have equivalent waists, despite the differences in the radial intensity profiles of the probe and control beams.
Early Clinical Experiences with Positron Emission Tomography–Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Epilepsy: Implications for Modeling the Neurovascular Unit

Cortical function in normal and pathologic neurologic states is largely influenced by the activity of the neurovascular unit. Hybrid technologies that combine positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) offer a chance for simultaneous noninvasive evaluation of cortical glucose consumption, blood flow, and cerebrovascular reactivity. We present differing PET/MRI results for two pediatric patients undergoing evaluation for medically refractory seizures, interpreted in the context of neurovascular unit behavior, suggesting the presence of ultrastructural changes at the level of the blood brain barrier in various epilepsy disorders.
Morcellation equipment: past, present, and future.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW This review was written in an effort to describe the evolution of power morcellation equipment from their creation to their current state. In addition, this review addresses the continuously evolving equipment involved with power morcellation and looks to describe where the field is headed in the future. In addition, recent professional and federal recommendations have changed the way power morcellation is being approached and has led to the development of contained morcellation systems, which, although in their infancy, are also being proven to be well tolerated options. RECENT FINDINGS This article will review the most current research on electronic power morcellation and the multiple attempts to prove superiority from the many different types of equipment, and also the many different approaches to morcellation. In addition, with the adaptation to contained morcellation, this review will cover research focused on optimizing a containment system and the techniques involved. SUMMARY In summary, this review is aimed at describing many of the currently available power morcellation products and contained morcellation systems in an effort to allow physicians to understand the different options available, and to discuss well tolerated, effective, and clinically proven techniques that can lead to improved surgical outcomes in the future.
A Commentary on Personal Thoughts on Early Childhood Special Education Research

Strain provides his perspective on four issues facing science and practice in early childhood and special education. He points to the need for (a) long-term functional research, (b) greater emphasi...
An assessment of users’ cyber security risk tolerance in reward-based exchange

This study examines users’ risk-taking behavior in software downloads. We are interested in quantifying the degree of risks that users are willing to take in the cyber security context. We propose conducting an experiment using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to assess the degree of risks that people are willing to take for monetary gains when they download software from uncertified sources.
The synthesis of aromatic polyformals

The synthesis of aliphatic polyformals (1) has been known for many years and is relatively straightforwardl. As shown in equation 1, aliphatic diols can be reacted directly with formaldehyde or dialkyl formals (2) to produce these polymers. The principal complication of the reaction occurs when the diol used contains 2, 3 or 4 carbon atoms in which case the formation of the cyclic formal (3) is favored.
The islet-expressed Lhx1 transcription factor interacts with Islet-1 and contributes to glucose homeostasis.

The LIM-homeodomain (LIM-HD) transcription factor Islet-1 (Isl1) interacts with the LIM domain-binding protein 1 (Ldb1) coregulator to control expression of key pancreatic β-cell genes. However, Ld...
Heterospecific information supports a foraging mutualism between corvids and raptors

Although animal social information is most commonly utilized by conspecifics, some conditions may favour heterospecific transmission. Generalists living in social groups are thought to produce information that is conspicuous and broadly useful to other species. Information may be signalled intentionally to other species when the sender benefits. We examined these predictions in a scavenger guild comprising two generalist social corvids (ravens, Corvus corax; magpies, Pica hudsonia), four raptor species and coyotes, Canis latrans. We used game cameras to monitor scavenging at 89 mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus, carcasses in Oregon and Washington, U.S.A. Corvid appearance times explained variation in golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos, bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hawk (Buteo jamaicensis and Buteo lagopus) and coyote arrivals, indicating that raptors and canids use corvids to locate food. Larger numbers of magpies, but not ravens, were associated with shorter raptor appearance times, providing partial support for the importance of group size in broadcasting information to heterospecifics. We also directly observed simulated carcasses composed of a deer hide and antler. Seventy one corvids and 13 raptors appeared among 16 treatments accompanied by raven decoys and playbacks, whereas only one corvid and no raptors appeared at paired controls. The time that ravens first flew in circles above a simulated carcass explained 98% of the variation in subsequent raptor arrival time, indicating that a specific raven behaviour provides a cue of carrion. After hide-cutting raptors opened a carcass, corvids benefited by switching from feeding at the eyes and the anus to feeding on flesh. However, raptors did not arrive sooner after corvids at closed carcasses than experimentally pre-opened carcasses, suggesting that corvids do not intentionally transmit more information to raptors when a carcass requires opening, at least under these conditions. A scavenging mutualism with corvids built on carrion discovery and access, but not intentional recruitment, may facilitate winter survival of raptors.
A 7nm 4GHz Arm ® -core-based CoWoS ® Chiplet Design for High Performance Computing

A dual-chiplet Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate (CoWoS®) was implemented in 7nm 15M process. Each SoC chiplet has four Arm® Cortex®-A72 processors operating at 4GHz. The on-die interconnect mesh bus operates above 4GHz at 2mm distance. The inter-chiplet connection features a scalable, 0.56pJ/bit power efficiency, 1.6Tb/s/mm2 bandwidth density, and 0.3V Lowvoltage- In-Package-INterCONnect (LIPINCONTM) interface achieving 8Gb/s/pin and 320GB/s bandwidth. Silicon test-chip measurements validate the processor, on-die interconnects and inter-chiplet interface performance. The built-in eye-scan feature shows the inter-chiplet connection achieves 244mV eye-height and 69% UI eye-width.
Electromagnetic Helicity in Classical Physics

This pedagogical note revisits the concept of electromagnetic helicity in classical systems. In particular, magnetic helicity and its role in mean field dynamo theories is briefly discussed highlighting the major mathematical inconsistency in most of these theories---violation of magnetic helicity conservation. A short review of kinematic dynamo theory and its classic theorems is also presented in the Appendix.
Babies No Longer: Projecting the 100+ Population

As the “babies” of the Baby-Boom continue to age, the oldest will reach age 100 in 2046, which is less than 30 years from now. Just as the number of teenagers grew rapidly in the 1960s, and the number of retirees in the 2010s, we expect that the 100+ population will grow substantially in the 2040s and thereafter. While we know that the aging of the baby boomers will contribute to the future growth in the centenarian population, we do not know exactly how much growth to anticipate. Larger cohorts moving into this age group will inevitably increase the size of this population. However, other factors such as immigration and improvements in survivorship will ultimately determine how much growth we will see in the future 100+ population.
AMBULATORY SURGERY TRENDS IN PEDIATRIC ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT RECONSTRUCTION: WHERE’S IT HAPPENING AND HOW MUCH CAN WE SAVE?:

Background:Benefits of ambulatory surgery include more efficient operations, lower cost, and patient preference. The national frequency of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in childre...
Sulfane transalkylations and metal catalyzed allylic substitutions for the synthesis of composite macrobicyclic peptides

Abstract A phenylpropionic acid derivative harboring two acylated cinnamyl alcohol motifs reacts with functionalized peptides during two or three-step sequences to afford macro-bicyclic products. The chemistry exploits sulfane transalkylations and transition metal catalyzed allylic aminations to generate complex ring systems scaffolded by atypical linkages to cysteine and histidine residues.
Enhanced performance of membrane distillation using radio-frequency induction heated thermally conducting feed spacers

Abstract In the last decade, there is a growing interest in membrane distillation (MD) technology for treating hypersaline water and wastewater. However, MD commercialization is still limited by technical challenges such as temperature polarization, high energy required for heating the bulk feed solution, and heat losses. We demonstrate a proof-of-concept approach to overcome these limitations using stainless steel thermally conducting feed spacers. Feed spacers were directly heated by induction heating, a contactless and instant heating method, using radio frequency (RF) altering electromagnetic fields. Results show that heat was efficiently transferred to the water-membrane interface by conduction and advection, thus, eliminating the need to continuously heat the bulk feed solution. Furthermore, the RF heated spacers were shown (experimentally and by numerical simulations) to reduce temperature polarization. The influence of operating conditions (i.e., flow velocity, vacuum pressure, and power) and the spacer’s material and geometry were evaluated and results were compared to a conventional MD process using a polymeric spacer. Overall, results show that higher spacer mass and larger porosity led to an increase in distillate flux and that the use of thermally conducting spacers heated by RF significantly enhance the distillate flux while reducing the specific heating energy.
A 5-V-Program 1-V-Sense Anti-Fuse Technology Featuring On-Demand Sense and Integrated Power Delivery in a 22-nm Ultra Low Power FinFET Process

A 11.56-kbit one-time programmable secure array featuring Intel’s first high-volume manufacturing (HVM) ready anti-fuse memory using the 22FFL process technology is reported. First, design and process technology are co-optimized to minimize the operating voltage, peripheral reliability stress, and area with dual gate-oxide 2-transistor (2T) bit cells. Second, a best reported array density and 1-V sense endurance supported by a low-voltage dynamic scheme that meets on-demand read requirements at a yield of 99.99% are demonstrated. Third, this is the first demonstration of integrated power delivery for anti-fuse memory in FinFET technologies. With program voltage limited to 5 V, 2-stage 1.8-V charge pumps improve system area and integration.
Krista Dalton of Ancient Jew Review

Krista Dalton, assistant professor of religious studies at Kenyon College, joins Bulletin editor Richard Newton to discuss her academic origins and the current trends within religious studies. From her early interests in biblical studies, rabbinics, and Jewish studies to her work as a co-founder of Ancient Jew Review, Dalton answers the questions many scholars—early career and senior faculty alike—find themselves asking. Breaking down academic hierarchy to promote learning at any level is key for Dalton and her pedagogical theory is apparent in all her scholarly efforts.
Activation mechanisms for Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV. Identification of a brain CaM-kinase IV kinase.

This manuscript examines the mechanisms by which Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV (CaM-kinase IV) is activated through the binding of Ca2+/CaM and by phosphorylation. Studies with the synthetic autoinhibitory domain peptides of CaM-kinase II indicate that CaM-kinase IV has a similarly located autoinhibitory domain, and this was confirmed since site-directed mutagenesis of this region (HMDT308 to DEDD and FN317 to DD) generated fully active Ca2+/CaM-independent kinases. Total activities of purified, baculovirus-expressed wild type and mutant kinases were increased 2-fold by intramolecular autophosphorylation, but this reaction was extremely slow (1-2 h) and probably not physiological. However, CaM-kinase IV can be activated by brain CaM-kinase IV kinase resulting in large increases in both total (5-7-fold) and Ca2+/CaM-independent (> 20-fold) CaM-kinase IV activities. This activation reaction required Mg2+/ATP and Ca2+/CaM, was intermolecularly catalyzed, and was reversed by protein phosphatase 2A. Activation of CaM-kinase IV resulted in a 10-fold decrease in Km for syntide-2 with little effect on Km for ATP or Vmax. CaM-kinase IV kinase was highly purified from rat brain extract and was shown to be a 68-kDa monomer. The results of this study demonstrate that CaM-kinase IV does have an autoinhibitory domain within residues His305-Lys321 that suppresses kinase activity in the absence of Ca2+/CaM. CaM-kinase IV is not significantly activated by autophosphorylation, but it can be activated 10-fold by a CaM-kinase IV kinase. This kinase cascade activation mechanism may be important for the physiological function of CaM-kinase IV such as transcriptional regulation through phosphorylation of cAMP responsive element binding protein (Enslen, H., Sun, P., Brickey, D., Soderling, S. H., Klamo, E., and Soderling, T.R. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 15520-15527).
Biotic homogenization a sequential and selective process

Biotic homogenization is the replacement of local biotas by nonindigenous and locally expanding species that can co-exist with humans (McKinney and Lockwood 1999). Because homogenization often replaces unique endemic species with already widespread species, it reduces spatial diversity at regional and global scales. Biotic homogenization is rapidly increasing to the point that the next geological epoch is sometimes called the “Homogecene” (Guerrant 1992). As noted by Brown (1989), ‘Geographically restricted native species with sensitive requirements will continue to have high extinction rates while those widespread broadly tolerant forms that can live with humans, and benefit from their activities, will spread and become increasingly dominant’.
Electric Discharge in Carbonaceous Meteorites

Discharge experiments produce amino acid distributions that are similar to distributions observed in carbonaceous meteorites (Oro, 1990). A recent work (Desch and Cuzzi, 2000) points out to the presence of lightning in the Solar Nebula. Magnetic measurements of chondrules reveal extraordinary magnetic acquisitions (Wasilewski and Dickinson, 2000) that can be explained simply by a presence of magnetic fields generated by lightning discharge (Wasilewski and Kletetschka, 1999). Thus we speculate that lightning discharge may be responsible for the origin of amino acid compounds in carbonaceous meteorites.