cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Contemporary Outcomes in Patients with Cardiac Amyloidosis Undergoing Heart Transplantation

Purpose Cardiac amyloidosis causes significant morbidity and mortality, leading to restrictive cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and death. Many patients are diagnosed late when irreversible amyloid fibril deposition has occurred. Heart transplantation may be considered in such patients. Historically, heart transplant outcomes were worse in cardiac amyloid patients compared with other types of heart failure, in part due to the systemic nature of the disease. However, effective therapies, particularly for light chain (AL) amyloidosis, have emerged, and disease remission is now possible. We aimed to assess whether transplant outcomes for cardiac amyloidosis are better in the contemporary era. Methods We studied cardiac amyloid patients seen during 2004-2017 at the Stanford University and Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara medical centers who underwent heart transplantation. We examined pre-transplant characteristics and post-transplant outcomes in this group compared with the overall transplant population at our centers. Results During the study period, 31 patients (13 with AL amyloidosis and 18 with transthyretin (ATTR) amyloidosis) underwent heart transplantation. ATTR patients were older, more likely to be male, had worse baseline renal function, and had longer waitlist times compared with AL patients and the overall transplant population. Post-transplant, there were no differences in post-operative bleeding, renal failure, infection, rejection, or malignancy. There was no significant difference in the overall survival between cardiac amyloid patients and the overall population (median follow up: 1462 days; Figure 1). Conclusion This single-center, retrospective study reports detailed, long-term heart transplantation outcomes in a large cohort of cardiac amyloid patients. In carefully selected patients with cardiac amyloidosis, heart transplantation can be an effective therapeutic option with outcomes similar to those transplanted for other causes of heart failure.
When value chains go south : governance and upgrading of the Kenyan leather sector

In the last three decades, the global economy has witnessed an ambivalent phenomenon of integration through disintegration. Whilst the amount of regional and global trade dramatically increased, vertical specialisation prompted the outsourcing of manufacturing, assembling, and other business functions regionally and globally. The slicing up of value chains and the consequent surge in trade of intermediate goods drew the attention of scholars interested in the economic, social, and environmental consequences of this phenomenon. Yet, most of the literature on value chains has concentrated on the institutional and market linkages between firms in developed economies and delocalised suppliers in the global South. Conversely, less attention has been paid to the rise in South-South trade that accompanied the development of South- South and regional value chains. The following chapters provide new evidence on the opportunities and constraints that participation in value chains across North-South, South-South, and regional trajectories entails for local suppliers in developing countries. This is achieved by means of a mixed-methods approach that combines firm-level export data with over 100 semi-structured interviews across the Kenyan leather sector. On the one hand, results show how North-South value chains are characterised by more profitable and stable relationships between buyers and local suppliers. Nonetheless, whilst defined by higher product and process standards, linkages with developed economies appear to prevent rather than encourage local value addition. On the other hand, South-South value chains are governed by instability and distrust underpinned by pressures to reduce prices and lack of upgrading opportunities. Like the global South, regional value chains are characterised by fierce competition and low profitability. Even so, they often constitute an alternative for small suppliers willing to venture into new products and functions. Particularly, the local and regional markets represent an upgrading platform for innovative firms whose low capital endowments prevent them from accessing premium North-South value chains. In this case, industrial policy and entrepreneurship play a crucial role in enabling smallholders to upgrade in a competitive environment.
Social Personality Traits as Salient Predictors of Religious Doubt Phenomena among Undergraduates

Twenty-six years ago, Bergin, Masters, and Richards (1987) published results from a correlational study of Allport's two religious orientations with indices of pathology and social personality trai...
Effect of level, source and duration of feeding of supplemental energy in sow diets of metabolic and hormonal traits related to energy utilization in the baby pig.

In each of two trials, 30 sows were assigned to six energy-supplemented diets for 5 (trial 1) or 35 d (trial 2) before farrowing, and the effects on sow milk and pig survival characteristics were examined. Treatments consisted of 1.6 kg/d of a basal diet plus .09, .18 or .27 kg of animal fat/d or .20, .39 or .58 kg of cornstarch/d. Two pigs were killed at birth after blood samples were taken and before suckling. Two pigs per litter were fasted to 24 h and two to 48 h of age. Blood glucose was increased (P less than .05) at birth in pigs from sows fed fat in the 35-d feeding, whereas blood glucose was not different in pigs in the short-term feeding of diets Beta-hydroxybutyrate was highest in blood from pigs in the fat-fed groups after a 48-h fast, which was an indication of increased fat metabolism. Beta-hydroxybutyrate was also higher (P less than .05) after a 24 h fast in livers of pigs from sows fed the highest level of fat in both trials than in livers of pigs from sows fed the same level of cornstarch. There were also treatment differences (P less than .05) in liver glycogen content, oxidation of palmitate to CO2, oxidation of glucose to CO2, number of pigs born dead, birth weight and colostrum total lipids and energy content. No treatment-related differences in levels of FFA, triiodothyronine, thyroxine or glucagon in blood of the offspring were observed.
Outcomes of Patients with Cardiogenic Shock Requiring Early vs Late Renal Replacement Therapy during Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Support

Introduction Acute kidney injury is common in patients with cardiogenic shock supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), and it is associated with mortality. Hypothesis We hypothesized that mortality is not different between patients who require early (within 48 hours) vs late (≥48 hours of ECMO) initiation of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). Methods We retrospectively reviewed all patients with cardiogenic shock who underwent veno-arterial ECMO at University Hospitals, between 2015 and 2018. Patients who required CRRT during ECMO support were divided into early vs late CRRT initiation. Inpatient mortality, one-year mortality and length of stay were compared between the two patient groups. Results Out of 127 patients supported with ECMO, 56 (44%) required CRRT (40 early and 16 late CRRT). Among patients requiring CRRT, mean age was 57±14 years, 74% were male, median SAVE score was -9 [-14, -5], and median lactate was 7.6 [4.2, 12.4] mmol/L. There were no statistically-significant differences in baseline characteristics (demographics, comorbidities, laboratory values, or hemodynamic measurements) between early and late CRRT (P>0.05 for all comparisons). There were no statistically-significant differences between early and late CRRT with respect to inpatient mortality (62% vs 64%, P>0.99), 1-year mortality (78% vs 67%, P=0.71) or length of stay (median 20 vs 16 days, P=0.61). There was no association between time of CRRT and risk of inpatient mortality (OR 1.00, 95% CI: 0.88-1.15, P=0.95), or one-year mortality (HR 0.96, 9% CI: 0.89-1.05, P=0.39). Conclusions Mortality is high among patients who require CRRT during ECMO support. There was no difference between early (
Clinicopathologic characteristics of malignant non-hematopoietic tumors first presented as an axillary mass with emphasis on occult breast carcinoma

Non-hematopoietic malignancies first presented as an axillary mass constitute a unique clinical presentation. We investigated the incidence of various types of malignancies and aimed to define clinicopathologic variables that may assist in the diagnosis, with focus on occult breast carcinoma (OBC). We reviewed the pathology reports of cases with non-hematopoietic malignancies of the axillary region in our institution between 2000 and 2016. We included patients who presented first with axillary mass and with the absence of a known primary. We recorded patients’ age and gender, tumor characteristics including size, histologic type, number of positive lymph nodes, and the clinical management. Then we focused on BC which were divided into OBC or primary BC (PBC). There were 100 cases that met our criteria (28 melanoma, 7 sarcoma and 65 carcinoma). For carcinoma cases, there were 42 BC (19 OBC, 17 PBC, and 6 possible OBC), 17 non-BC, and 6 carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP). Tumors found incidentally were more likely to be of breast primary (p = 0.01). Larger tumor size (in mm) favored melanoma or sarcoma over BC, non-BC carcinoma or CUP with median and range 61 (15, 180), 60 (23, 80), 30 (15, 75), 31 (17, 90), 26 (20, 55), respectively (p < 0.001). There were no differences in the histopathologic findings or clinical presentation. More than half of the patients with axillary malignancy have a tumor of non-breast origin. Therefore, clinical and pathologic studies are warranted to identify the primary site.
Direct Observation of Symmetry-Dependent Electron-Phonon Coupling in Black Phosphorus.

Electron–phonon coupling in two-dimensional nanomaterials plays a fundamental role in determining their physical properties. Such interplay is particularly intriguing in semiconducting black phosph...
Improved Transient Frequency Stabilization of Grid Feeding Distributed Generation Systems Using Active Damping Control

A shortage of energy reserves in power electronic based (active) microgrids (distributed generation) is not able to accommodate the load dynamics and is a major cause for the frequency stability problem. The work proposed in this paper aims to efficiently stabilize the frequency of grid feeding active distributed generators (GF-ADG) by controlling the stored energy in the dc link capacitor. In particular, an active damping control method is proposed to help GF-ADG to withstand larger power disturbances. The proposed method increases the stability margins by reducing frequency overshoot and improves the frequency profile when the system interfaces a weak grid. The method uses enhanced capabilities of dc link synthetic inertia controlled by the instantaneous energy mismatch between the supply and the load. The proposed method is verified with the simulation results developed for a PV connected microgrid system.
Artificial Urinary Sphincter Outperforms Sling for Moderate Male Stress Urinary Incontinence.

Abstract Objectives To determine the role of slings and artificial urinary sphincters (AUS) in the management of mild and moderate stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Methods A retrospective review of our single-surgeon male SUI database was completed. Men having AUS or AdVance sling procedures between 2008 and 2019 were included in the analysis. Those with severe incontinence and/or incomplete pre- or postoperative data were excluded. All patients were evaluated by standing cough test and stratified according to the Male Stress Incontinence Grading Scale. Scores of 0-1 and 2-3 defined mild and moderate SUI, respectively. We performed 2 analyses: (a) sling outcomes were compared between mild vs moderate SUI patients, and (b) for men with moderate SUI, we compared outcomes between slings and AUS. Treatment failure was defined as >1 pad per day or need for subsequent incontinence procedure. Results Among 202 sling cases, those with mild SUI had significantly higher success rate (69/88, 78%) than those with moderate SUI (72/114, 63%; P = .02). Among the 179 men with moderate SUI, those who underwent AUS had significantly higher success rate (52/65, 80%) than those who underwent sling (72/114, 63%; P = .02). Conclusion Male slings are more effective for men with mild SUI than for men with moderate SUI. Men with moderate SUI have a higher success rate with AUS than with sling.
The NVESD templar radar: results from the initial data collection

The U.S. Army has recently developed a single-operator, low frequency, non-motorized experimental radar system called “Templar”. This system is intended to collect data at geometries approximating those encountered by small, unmanned aerial systems (sUAS). As a result, it is smaller than typical vehicle-mounted systems, enabling it to be pulled by the operator and more easily image areas that are not accessible to motorized, vehicle-mounted systems. Since it is intended to operate at lower frequencies (500 MHz – 1500 MHz), its transmit and receive antennas are larger than those of many airborne systems. Hence, an appropriate physical structure—including a mast and a cart to carry necessary electronics—were required elements of the system design. In what follows we describe the system in more detail, and we discuss the initial data collections performed to verify system performance, noting certain problems encountered. Finally, we examine imagery from this initial data set and present plans for future data collection and processing.
CHAPTER 3.5 – Tilings

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on tilings and describes the theory of tilings, emphasizing aspects that are closely related to convex geometry in Euclidean spaces of any dimension. The intersection of any finite set of tiles has a measure zero. Much of the attraction of tilings comes from their appearance in nature and art. Thus, it is only natural that in any detailed exposition of plane tilings figures should play an important role. If a tiling has only finitely many triangles, quadrangles, and pentagons but infinitely many heptagons as tiles, then it cannot be normal no matter how the heptagons are distributed. In constructing plane tilings, the problem of extending patches of tiles to larger patches or to a tiling of the whole plane arises. The classification of plane tilings with respect to symmetries is a special case of the more general concept of classifying geometric objects with respect to symmetries, or by homeomerism. This general approach fits into Klein's Erlangen Program and has applications in the classification of other geometric objects such as colored tilings, various kinds of patterns, and line arrangements.
Use of AI-based tools for healthcare purposes: a survey study from consumers' perspectives.

Several studies highlight the effects of artificial intelligence (AI) systems on healthcare delivery. AI-based tools may improve prognosis, diagnostics, and care planning. It is believed that AI will be an integral part of healthcare services in the near future and will be incorporated into several aspects of clinical care. Thus, many technology companies and governmental projects have invested in producing AI-based clinical tools and medical applications. Patients can be one of the most important beneficiaries and users of AI-based applications whose perceptions may affect the widespread use of AI-based tools. Patients should be ensured that they will not be harmed by AI-based devices, and instead, they will be benefited by using AI technology for healthcare purposes. Although AI can enhance healthcare outcomes, possible dimensions of concerns and risks should be addressed before its integration with routine clinical care. We develop a model mainly based on value perceptions due to the specificity of the healthcare field. This study aims at examining the perceived benefits and risks of AI medical devices with clinical decision support (CDS) features from consumers’ perspectives. We use an online survey to collect data from 307 individuals in the United States. The proposed model identifies the sources of motivation and pressure for patients in the development of AI-based devices. The results show that technological, ethical (trust factors), and regulatory concerns significantly contribute to the perceived risks of using AI applications in healthcare. Of the three categories, technological concerns (i.e., performance and communication feature) are found to be the most significant predictors of risk beliefs. This study sheds more light on factors affecting perceived risks and proposes some recommendations on how to practically reduce these concerns. The findings of this study provide implications for research and practice in the area of AI-based CDS. Regulatory agencies, in cooperation with healthcare institutions, should establish normative standard and evaluation guidelines for the implementation and use of AI in healthcare. Regular audits and ongoing monitoring and reporting systems can be used to continuously evaluate the safety, quality, transparency, and ethical factors of AI-based services.
Exposed intimacies: Clinicians on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 has overwhelmed health-care providers The virus is novel in its preva-lence, severity and the risk of asymptomatic infection In order to reduce the risk of infection and stop the spread of COVID-19, clinicians in hospitals across the United States are taking measures to limit exposure to infected patients by reducing the frequency of visits to patients’ rooms, touching patients less, and adopting new protocols around the use of personal protec-tive equipment (PPE) While these newly adopted practices are helping to reduce transmission risk of COVID-19, they are producing a habitus of infection;an acute shift among clinicians that is deeply embodied and likely to have a permanent impact on the health and wellbeing of both providers and already isolated patients © Berghahn Books and the Association for Anthropology in Action
Abstract 368: Does Filtered Rhythm Technology Lead to Increased Inappropriate Manual Defibrillation?

Introduction: Defibrillation of ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT) is an effective treatment for patients with cardiac arrest (CA). Identifying the rhythm duri...
Confronting Ourselves: An Autoethnographic Approach to Whiteness in Higher Education

This chapter seeks to identify how the discourse of Whiteness maintains systems of oppression and dominance that support white supremacy and exacerbate racism and inequity in higher education. By employing critical discourse analysis and critical autoethnography, the authors identify ways in which the discourses of Whiteness operate and influence the behaviors on campus of white students, faculty, and administrators. Specifically, we use our lived experiences as white, middle-class people working in higher education as the means to illuminate the ways in which whites can be/are blind to the naturalized advantages afforded them by Whiteness.
Payment Barriers and Potential Solutions to Psychiatric Service Delivery in the Medical Setting.

This chapter explores the question of payment barriers and economic challenges for psychiatric service delivery within the medical setting. We first summarize how payments for psychiatric services developed and are treated differently than other medical services. Integrated care and patient-centered medical homes are shifting American health care from a fee-for-service model to a complex model of global payment, risk sharing, and incentives for quality and coordinated care. Psychiatry and behavioral health will play an essential role in consultation, care management, and coordination with primary care partners. Integrated behavioral health care models can be safer, better, and ultimately less expensive. We provide suggestions on how to address the challenge of convincing the health care system to integrate the payment for psychiatric and other behavioral services.
Normalized intraplaque hemorrhage signal on MP-RAGE as a marker for acute ischemic neurological events.

PurposeThis study sought to validate whether the signal intensity ratio (SIR) of carotid intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH) was associated with acute ischemic neurologic events.MethodsA retrospective rev...
Boolean factor graph model for biological systems: the yeast cell-cycle network.

© The Author(s), 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.
Tensile and fatigue behavior of superelastic shape memory rods

Abstract The tensile and fatigue behavior of superelastic shape memory alloy (SMA) bars heat-treated at three different temperatures were examined. Low cycle fatigue tests at variable load rates were carried out to determine the effect of stress and frequency on residual strain and energy dissipation in a fatigue cycle. The mechanism of energy dissipation was studied by monitoring the temperature changes in the fatigued samples as a function of applied stress and frequency of testing. Results from the tensile tests revealed that the stress for the Austenite to Martensite transformation decreased from 408 MPa to 204 MPa with an increase in temperature of heat treatment from 300 to 450 °C. The ultimate strength of the SMA increased from 952 MPa to 1115 MPa when the heat treatment temperature was increased from 300 to 450 °C. Fatigue testing prior to conducting the tensile test decreased the ultimate strength of the SMA and also reduced the failure strain. The energy dissipation in fatigue tests was found to decrease as test frequency increased from 0.025 Hz to 0.25 Hz and the change in sample temperature during the test at the lower test frequency was found to be considerably higher than at the higher frequency.
Estimation of diversity and community structure through restriction fragment length polymorphism distribution analysis of bacterial 16S rRNA genes from a microbial mat at an active, hydrothermal vent system, Loihi Seamount, Hawaii.

PCR was used to amplify (eu)bacterial small-subunit (16S) rRNA genes from total-community genomic DNA. The source of total-community genomic DNA used for this culture-independent analysis was the microbial mats from a deep-sea, hydrothermal vent system, Pele9s Vents, located at Loihi Seamount, Hawaii. Oligonucleotides complementary to conserved regions in the 16S rRNA-encoding DNA (rDNA) of bacteria were used to direct the synthesis of PCR products, which were then subcloned by blunt-end ligation into phagemid vector pBluescript II. Restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns, created by using tandem tetrameric restriction endonucleases, revealed the presence of 12 groups of 16S rRNA genes representing discrete operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The rank order abundance of these putative OTUs was measured, and the two most abundant OTUs accounted for 72.9% of all of the 16S rDNA clones. Among the remaining 27.1% of the 16S rDNA clones, none of the 10 OTUs was represented by more than three individual clones. The cumulative OTU distribution for 48 bacterial 16S rDNA clones demonstrated that the majority of taxa represented in the clone library were detected, a result which we assume to be an estimate of the diversity of bacteria in the native hydrothermal vent habitat. 16S rDNA fingerprinting of individual clones belonging to particular OTUs by using an oligonucleotide probe that binds to a universally conserved region of the 16S rDNA fragments was conducted to confirm OTU specificity and 16S rDNA identity. Images
The Collection Program in Schools: Concepts, Practices, and Information Sources

Kay Bishop has authored the fourth edition of The Collection Program in Schools: Concepts, Practices, and Information Sources. Dr. Bishop is Associate Professor and Director of School Media Program...
Does competency matter? Competency as a factor in workplace bullying

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the intersection of competency and bullying behaviors, not yet reported in the literature. Design/methodology/approach – The approach is an examination of the literature available on both topics, and development of a framework related to both. Findings – The theory is that there is a strong mediating relationship between the victim’s self-perception of competency and outcomes (the victim’s reactions) to bullying behaviors. There are multiple impacts of bullying behaviors, but the authors believe this mediation action of competency might be crucial. There is little research on competency or expertise in terms of behaviors resulting from these self-assessments. Future research should seek to examine the link empirically, and there are implications about the competency levels of bullies themselves that might arise. Research limitations/implications – As this is a newly developed research stream, the authors plan to continue with work on the topic. Practical i...
Identification of Unknown Payload and Environmental Parameters for Robot Compliant Motion

When compliant motion control is applied with the computed-torque methed, an accurate dynamic model of the manipulator and environment is required. This paper presents a method for estimating the inertial parameters of a rigid body load and the unknown parameters of the constraint environment. The inertial parameters include the mass, center of gravity, and moment of inertia. The unknown parameters of the constraint environment consist in environmental stiffness and the geometric parameters of the constraint surface. The dynamic equation is written in the Newton-Euler formulation with the assumption that joint velocity and acceleration and contact force and torque are known through measurements. Since the identification equation is nonlinear in terms of the unknown parameters of the environment, the extended Kalman filter is used to produce an optimal estimation.
Science, Evolution, and Politics: Problems with Pluralism

SURPRISING ANNOUNCEMENTS From the 1960s through the early 1990s, substantive and far-reaching changes in population genetics occurred. The debates concern the units of selection, and changed the nature and scope of evolutionary explanations, turning attention from genotypic models to models of structured populations. Furthermore, the relation of a trait to its environment was explored in both models and empirical investigations. For example, Maynard Smith's early theoretical work on group selection provoked theoretical debate, whereas Michael Wade and colleagues produced empirical evidence for the efficacy of group selection as an evolutionary component. Wade's (1978) paper, in particular, criticized ill-conceived, oversold, and rigid theoretical requirements for the efficacy of group selection in nature. The result was a blossoming in a corner of population biology – both in theoretical genetics and empirical studies – of investigations into the possibility of higher-level interactors such as those that had been found in the house mouse by Lewontin and Dunn (1960, 1962) (reviewed in Section 4; for detailed analysis of structured population models, see Lloyd 1988/1994). Various attempts had been made to expand population genetics beyond the organismically focused efforts of the pre-1960s, but the work of the 1980s is distinguished by its achievement of consensus about many fundamentals of hierarchical population genetics and by its empirical substantiation of these ideas. Philosophers of biology soon joined the revolution, sorting out the various disputes and definitions, analyzing the variety of evolutionary models, focusing in on what they saw as the key issue of contention: how could the various methods and principles be used for sorting out the key “units of selection” – the objects directly involved in selection processes determining the success of genes, thus engaging in “the interactor debates.”
Differential expression of the 61 kDa and 63 kDa calmodulin-dependent phosphodiesterases in the mouse brain

Based on their relative abundance and regulation by Ca2+ and by phosphorylation in vitro, it is thought that the Ca2+/calmodulin- dependent phosphodiesterases (CaM-PDEs) are important modulators of cyclic nucleotide function in the brain. Two of the most abundant CaM- PDEs in the brain are the 61 kDa and 63 kDa isozymes. In this study, the regional and cellular expression of mRNA encoding these two different isoforms in mouse brain has been determined by in situ hybridization. The 63 kDa CaM-PDE mRNA has a wide-spread but uneven distribution. Very strong hybridization signals are present in the caudate-putamen, nucleus accumbens, olfactory tubercle, and dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. Somewhat lesser amounts of 63 kDa CaM-PDE mRNA are present in the olfactory bulb and piriform cortex. Weaker but still easily discernible hybridization signals are seen in several layers of the cerebral cortex, CA1 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus, amygdaloid nuclear complex, thalamus, hypothalamus, midbrain, brainstem, cerebellum, and spinal cord. A weak hybridization signal was detected in the globus pallidus of the basal ganglia. In general, the distribution of the 63 kDa CaM-PDE is very similar to that of dopamine receptors, suggesting that it may modulate dopamine function. In contrast, the 61 kDa CaM-PDE mRNA has a more limited and much different distribution, with the highest level of expression in the cerebral cortex and in the pyramidal cells of the hippocampus. A moderate hybridization signal was detected in the medial habenula and amygdaloid nuclear complex. In addition, small subsets of neurons in several other regions showed specific hybridization. Both PDE mRNAs appear to be localized exclusively in neuronal cell bodies. Their distinct distribution suggests important but different physiological roles for these two isozymes in the regional regulation of cyclic nucleotides in the CNS. Since these two isozymes are differentially phosphorylated by cAMP-dependent and Ca2+/CaM-dependent protein kinases, the differential expression also provides a potential mechanism by which these PDEs can differentially regulate cAMP and cGMP in different brain areas. The high expression levels in specific subsets of neurons also suggest that agents increasing Ca2+ in these neurons will increase the rate of cyclic nucleotide degradation.
Self-Concept of African-American Students: An Operational Model for Special Education

African-American students who fail in school programs are presumed to have a “low” self-concept. However, this view fails to recognize self-concept as an observable, describable, situation-specific, and measurable phenomenon. In addition, it ignores the cultural biases and prejudices inherent in current self-concept assessment tools. In contrast, the operational model of self-concept, which defines self-descriptive behavior, permits identification of styles, strengths, and weaknesses in the areas of self-concept. The article explores methods for enhancing self-concepts of African-American students and accommodating multicultural perspectives.
Use of Biobrane in Wound Management

Biologic dressings remain the gold standard for temporary wound coverage and closure and as a skin substitute. However, increasing interest has resulted in numerous synthetic wound dressings and skin substitutes modeled after biologic dressings. In 1979 Biobrane was introduced for commercial use in the treatment of burn wounds and donor sites. Biobrane is a biosynthetic wound dressing constructed of a silicone film with a nylon fabric partially embedded into the film. Collagen is incorporated in both the silicone and nylon components. The purpose of this conference is to evaluate the effectiveness of Biobrane as a wound dressing with the 15 years of clinical experience used to define the best indications for its present use.
System-of-PUFs: multilevel security for embedded systems

Embedded systems continue to provide the core for a wide range of applications, from smart-cards for mobile payment to smart-meters for power-grids. The resource and power dependency of embedded systems continues to be a challenge for state-of-the-art security practices. Moreover, even theoretically secure algorithms are often vulnerable in their implementation. With decreasing cost and complexity, physical attacks are an increasingly important threat. This threat led to the development of Physically Unclonable Functions (PUFs) which are disordered physical systems with various applications in hardware security. However, consistent security oriented design of embedded systems remains a challenge, as most formalizations and security models are concerned with isolated physical components or high-level concept. We provide four unique contributions: (i) We propose a system-level security model to overcome the chasm between secure components and requirements of high-level protocols; this enables synergy between component-oriented security formalizations and theoretically proven protocols. (ii) An analysis of current practices in PUF protocols using the proposed system-level security model; we identify significant issues and expose assumptions that require costly security techniques. (iii) A System-of-PUF (SoP) that utilizes the large PUF design-space to achieve security requirements with minimal resource utilization; SoP requires 64% less gate-equivalent units than recently published schemes. (iv) A multilevel authentication protocol based on SoP which is validated using our system-level security model and which overcomes current vulnerabilities. Furthermore, this protocol offers breach recognition and recovery.
The effect of sputtering conditions on the exchange fields of Co/sub x/Ni/sub 1-x/O and NiFe

The effect of changing sputtering parameters on the magnetic properties of Co/sub x/Ni/sub 1-x/O/Ni/sub 81/Fe/sub 19/ exchange couples were studied. The thicknesses of the two layers were kept constant at 500 /spl Aring/ and 200 /spl Aring/ respectively. Substrate bias and sputtering pressure were varied for the CoNiO layer while the conditions for the NiFe layer were kept constant. We observed an increase in the exchange fields with increasing negative substrate bias and with decreasing sputtering pressure. X-ray studies revealed a correlation between the observation of exchange fields and film texture. Blocking temperatures were also measured and were found to increase with substrate bias.
Corrections for space-clamp errors in measured parameters of voltage-dependent conductances in a cylindrical neurite

The ability to correct parameters of voltage-gated conductances measured under poor spatial control by point voltage clamp could rescue much flawed experimental data. We explore a strategy for correcting errors in experiments that employs a full-trace approach to parameter determination. Simulated soma voltage-clamp runs are made on a model neuron with a single voltage-gated, Hodgkin-Huxley channel type distributed uniformly along an elongate process. Estimates for both kinetic and I(V) parameters are obtained by fitting a form of the Hodgkin-Huxley equations to the complete time course of leak-subtracted current curves. The fitted parameters are used to determine how much correction in each parameter is needed to regenerate the set actually belonging to the channel. Corrections are generated for a range of neurite lengths, conductance densities, and channel characteristics.
Use of a multiwell fluorescence scanner with propidium iodide to assess NMDA mediated excitotoxicity in rat cortical neuronal cultures

Abstract Glutamate mediated excitotoxicity is a major area of experimentation due to the potential for prevention of morbidity and brain damage associated with stroke and brain trauma. We have developed a simple rapid method to study excitotoxicity in primary cortical neuronal cultures using propidium iodide (PI) fluorescence read by a multiwell fluorescence scanner. Transient (25 min) or continuous N -methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA) treatment led to progressive neuronal death over 24 h that was blocked by 1 μ M MK-801, 10 μ M ifenprodil, and 200 mM ethanol. Results with PI fluorescence were identical to those found using the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release and trypan blue staining assays of excitotoxicity. This method provides a simple rapid means to test the effects of drugs during glutamate excitotoxicity and to do accurate time course experiments of delayed neuronal death.
EGFR gene amplification in breast cancer: correlation with epidermal growth factor receptor mRNA and protein expression and HER-2 status and absence of EGFR -activating mutations

The human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) family of receptor tyrosine kinase has been extensively studied in breast cancer; however, systematic studies of EGFR gene amplification and protein overexpression in breast carcinoma are lacking. We studied EGFR gene amplification by chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) and protein expression by immunohistochemistry in 175 breast carcinomas, using tissue microarrays. Tumors with >5 EGFR gene copies per nucleus were interpreted as positive for gene amplification. Protein overexpression was scored according to standardized criteria originally developed for HER-2. EGFR mRNA levels, as measured by Affymetrix U133 Gene Chip microarray hybridization, were available in 63 of these tumors. HER-2 gene amplification by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and protein overexpression by immunohistochemistry were also studied. EGFR gene amplification (copy number range: 7-18; median: 12) was detected in 11/175 (6%) tumors, and protein overexpression was found in 13/175 (7%) tumors. Of the 11 tumors, 10 (91%) with gene amplification also showed EGFR protein overexpression (2+ or 3+ by immunohistochemistry). The EGFR mRNA level, based on Affymetrix U133 chip hybridization data, was increased relative to other breast cancer samples in three of the five tumors showing gene amplification. Exons 19 and 21 of EGFR, the sites of hotspot mutations in lung adenocarcinomas, were screened in the 11 EGFR-amplified tumors but no mutations were found. Three of these 11 tumors also showed HER-2 overexpression and gene amplification. Approximately 6% of breast carcinomas show EGFR amplification with EGFR protein overexpression and may be candidates for trials of EGFR-targeted antibodies or small inhibitory molecules.
Expression of a collagenase that enables blood-brain barrier penetration for Salmonella implicated in bovine encephalopathies.

Abstract Recent studies identified strains of Salmonella that induce encephalopathies in calves exposed to stressful situations. In order to cause neurologic signs (such as ataxia, head tilt, and partial blindness), the strain must be able to cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB). One possible way is through the break down of tight junctions, which regulate the permeability of the BBB and can be weakened by enzymes such as collagenases. Salmonella and other Gram-negative bacteria contain a collagenase gene (clg) that is silenced in vitro but inducibly expressed in vivo. We hypothesized that the neuropathic strains of Salmonella express clg in response to neuroendocrine factors in the host and that the expressed collagenase perturbs the BBB allowing for CNS invasion by Salmonella. Our in vitro results revealed that clg is derepressed in serum obtained from stressed cattle. Derepression is relegated to the neuropathic Salmonella strains. In vivo studies indicated that clg expression is required for neuropathogenicity and that pharmacologic maintenance of the BBB prevents both the Salmonella invasion into the brain and the resulting neurologic signs. These studies identify a host-induced Salmonella collagenase that facilitates neuropathogenicity at the level of the BBB.
Why Japan Supports Whaling

Japan is one of the few states in the world that adamantly supports whaling. For decades, Tokyo has steadfastly maintained its right to whale and has aggressively lobbied the International Whaling ...
FROM DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION TO GRADUATION: A COMMUNITY COLLEGE EXPERIENCE

Using an ex post facto analysis of outcomes data, this paper tracks the academic performances of developmental and non-developmental students and examines the effects that developmental courses have on subsequent academic progress leading up to graduation. Three-year data on developmental students and graduates were analyzed to discern the characteristics of students graduating from the College, and to compare and contrast the characteristics of developmental and non-developmental students who graduated. The College graduates were categorized into four groups with respect to their academic preparation as suggested by their placement scores. During the three-year period considered, over 61% of the College's graduates took one or more developmental courses. This study shows that there is a positive link between the number of developmental courses taken and time to graduation. Consistent with prior studies, it is remarkable that developmental students perform equally well in college level courses as non-deve...
Bulk calcite size fraction distribution and Sr/Ca composition for deep-sea sediments at selected age horizons

Abstract Strontium/calcium (Sr/Ca) ratios in bulk and foraminiferal calcite have been used to constrain the history of Sr/Ca in the oceans and to evaluate calcite diagenetic alteration. However bulk Sr/Ca records also may be influenced by differences in Sr uptake and/or in the diagenetic susceptibility of different calcium carbonate sedimentary components. We present data on the sediment size fraction and calcium carbonate distribution in bulk samples, Sr/Ca in a range of sedimentary size components, and Sr/Ca in bulk sediments. Ocean Drilling Program samples from sites on Ontong Java Plateau and Ceara Rise (in the western equatorial Pacific and Atlantic, respectively) and from sites in the eastern equatorial Pacific were selected to represent progressive stages in the diagenetic pathway from the sea floor through a range of burial depths equivalent to sediment ages of ∼5.6, ∼9.4, and ∼37.1 Ma. Samples were subdivided by size to produce a unique data set of size-specific Sr/Ca ratios. Fine fraction (
Local flame propagation speeds along wrinkled, unsteady, stretched premixed flames

The local displacement speed was measured along a premixed flame that is wrinkled, unsteady, stretched, and freely propagating. The displacement speed is argued to be the most important and sensitive parameter that must be simulated correctly in numerical simulations of turbulent flames. An axisymmetric flame wrinkle is created so that all components of the normal vector and stretch can be measured: particle image velocimetry and high-speed shadowgraph movies yield the difference between the interface velocity and the reactant velocity, which is the displacement speed. This repeatable flame-vortex interaction problem provides useful test data for direct numberical simulation (DNS) models and flame stretch theory. Displacement speed varies enormously (by a factor of 7.5) along the flame; the variation, is much larger than predicted by steady-state theory. Furthermore, flame curvature plays a dominant role in determining displacement speed. Observed trends do not agree with those predicted by the standard steady-state theory. However, if a modified theory is based only on flame curvature and strain is ignored, the observed trends tend to agree with this modified theory in many regions of the flame, but not in all regions.
Social Yet Creative: The Role Of Social Relationships In Facilitating Individual Creativity

Integrating creativity and social network theories, I explore the direct and interactive effects of relationship strength, network position, and external ties on individual creative contributions. ...
Correlation between the energy and structure of grain boundaries in b.c.c. metals I. Symmetrical boundaries on the (110) and (100) planes

Abstract The zero-temperature energies and equilibrium volume expansions of point-defect-free grain boundaries (GBs) on the two densest planes of b.c.c. metals have been determined using a Finnis—Sinclair potential for Mo and Johnson's potential for α-Fe. The energies and volume expansions of the (100) boundaries are found to be about two to three times larger than those of the (110) boundaries. A close correlation between large volume expansion and high GB energy is observed. Since both potentials yield qualitatively very similar results it is concluded that the short-range repulsion between atoms is the dominating contribution to the energy in the GB region and therefore, electronic many-body effects arising from a local volume dependence of the interatomic interactions are relatively unimportant.
Extracting dense communities from telecom call graphs

Social networks refer to structures made of nodes that represent people or other entities embedded in a social context, and whose edges represent interaction between entities. Typical examples of social networks are collaboration networks in a research community, networks arising out of interaction between colleagues of large organization etc. Social networks are highly dynamic objects that evolve quickly over time with addition and deletion of nodes and edges. Understanding the evolution of a social network is helpful in inferring trends and patterns of social contacts in a particular social context. In this paper, we consider social networks that are derived from telephone call records, i.e, graphs in which the individual phone numbers (and hence its users) are the nodes and the edges correspond to a telephonic contact between the two nodes they connect. We study the problem of extracting dense communities from such telecom call graphs. The problem studied here is set in the context of a larger project. We motivate the problem studied by describing the context in which it is set. Our analysis is based on suitable algorithmic engineering of an approximation algorithm for the densest subgraph problem by Charikar. We present empirical results on massive graphs with millions of nodes and edges. We also discuss many open problems that are important in the context of analyzing telecom call graphs.
Determination of Infinite-Acting Period for Well-Test Analysis

This paper discusses a simplified method to determine the end of the infinite-acting flow period of either a single-well drawdown or a two-well interference test. The first part of this work investigates the single-well case for well locations in various closed rectangular drainage areas. The second part studies observation (interference) well locations in closed rectangles with one producing well located at various positions in the rectangles. The results are presented in two forms. First, contour maps of dimensionless time based on area are drawn that indicate the time when the pressure drop of a well at that position will deviate from infinite-acting behavior by 5%. Second, a hand-calculator program is given to allow determination of this dimensionless time for the single-well drawdown case.