cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Hermaphrodite's Dilemma

Given sexual conflict, mating encounters between simultaneous hermaphrodites will conform to a new, conditional, non-zero sum game of strategy, the Hermaphrodite's Dilemma; special cases of which include Prisoner's Dilemma and Game of Chicken. The model predicts that hermaphrodite mating systems will be based on reciprocation with cheating in a preferred sexual role. This model suggests that study of hermaphrodite mating systems will provide direct evidence for the existence of sexual conflict and suggests that sexual conflict may act to stabilize hermaphroditism through such mating systems.
Building health care system capacity to respond to disasters: successes and challenges of disaster preparedness health care coalitions.

Introduction This research aimed to learn from the experiences of leaders of well-developed, disaster preparedness-focused health care coalitions (HCCs), both the challenges and the successes, for the purposes of identifying common areas for improvement and sharing "promising practices." Hypothesis/Problem Little data have been collected regarding the successes and challenges of disaster preparedness-focused HCCs in augmenting health care system preparedness for disasters. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of nine HCC leaders. Transcripts were analyzed qualitatively. RESULTS: The commonly noted benefits of HCCs were: community-wide and regional partnership building, providing an impartial forum for capacity building, sharing of education and training opportunities, staff- and resource-sharing, incentivizing the participation of clinical partners in preparedness activities, better communication with the public, and the ability to surge. Frequently noted challenges included: stakeholder engagement, staffing, funding, rural needs, cross-border partnerships, education and training, and grant requirements. Promising practices addressed: stakeholder engagement, communicating value and purpose, simplifying processes, formalizing connections, and incentivizing participation. CONCLUSIONS: Strengthening HCCs and their underlying systems could lead to improved national resilience to disasters. However, despite many successes, coalition leaders are faced with obstacles that may preclude optimal system functioning. Additional research could: provide further insight regarding the benefit of HCCs to local communities, uncover obstacles that prohibit local disaster-response capacity building, and identify opportunities for an improved system capacity to respond to, and recover from, disasters. Walsh L , Craddock H , Gulley K , Strauss-Riggs K , Schor KW. Building health care system capacity to respond to disasters: successes and challenges of disaster preparedness health care coalitions. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2015;30(2):1-10. Language: en
Recent advances in model calculations of the Venus ionosphere

Our understanding of the physical and chemical processes which control the behavior of the Venus ionosphere has advanced significantly during the last few years. These advances are the result of a still growing data base and a variety of evolving theoretical models. This review summarizes some of these recent studies, especially those concerning the dynamics of the ionosphere, the maintenance of the nightside ionosphere, the energetics of the nightside ionosphere, and the time evolution of magnetic fields in the dayside ionosphere.
Serving Hispanic Students with Learning Disabilities: Recommended Policies and Practices

Educators continue to have difficulty distinguishing learning disabilities from second language differences among Hispanic students. This article identifies major issues in the identification, asse...
Gene therapy for pancreatic cancer

Gene transfer technology has the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment. Developments in molecular biology, genetics, genomics, stem cell technology, virology, bioengineering, and immunology are accelerating the pace of innovation and movement from the laboratory bench to the clinical arena. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma, with its particularly poor prognosis and lack of effective traditional therapy for most patients, is an area where gene transfer and immunotherapy have a maximal opportunity to demonstrate efficacy. In this review, we have discussed current preclinical and clinical investigation of gene transfer technology for pancreatic cancer. We have emphasized that the many strategies under investigation for cancer gene therapy can be classified into two major categories. The first category of therapies rely on the transduction of cells other than tumor cells, or the limited transduction of tumor tissue. These therapies, which do not require efficient gene transfer, generally lead to systemic biological effects (e.g., systemic antitumor immunity, inhibition of tumor angiogenesis, etc) and therefore the effects of limited gene transfer are biologically "amplified." The second category of gene transfer strategies requires the delivery of therapeutic genetic material to all or most tumor cells. While these elegant approaches are based on state-of-the-art advances in our understanding of the molecular biology of cancer, they suffer from the current inadequacies of gene transfer technology. At least in the short term, it is very likely that success in pancreatic cancer gene therapy will involve therapies that require only the limited transduction of cells. The time-worn surgical maxim, "Do what's easy first," certainly applies here.
High-lift airfoil separation with dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuation

The efficacy of a single dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator for controlling turbulent boundary-layer separation from the deflected flap of a high-lift airfoil is investigated between Reynolds numbers of 240,000 (15 m/s) and 750,000 (45 m/s). Momentum coefficients for the dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator are approximately an order of magnitude lower than those usually employed for such studies, yet control authority is still realized through amplification of natural vortex shedding from the flap shoulder, which promotes momentum transfer between the freestream and separated region. This increases dynamic loading on the flap and further organizes turbulent fluctuations in the wake. The measured lift enhancement is primarily due to upstream effects from increased circulation around the entire model, rather than full reattachment to the deflected flap surface. Lift enhancement via instability amplification is found to be relatively insensitive to changes in angle of attack, provided that the separation location and underlying dynamics do not change. The modulation waveform used to excite low-frequency perturbations with a high-frequency plasma-carrier signal has a considerable effect on the actuator performance. Control authority decreases with increasing Reynolds number and flap deflection, highlighting the necessity for further improvement of plasma actuators for use in realistic takeoff and landing transport aircraft applications. These findings are compared to studies on a similar high-lift platform using piezoelectric-driven zero-net-mass flux actuation.
Cutaneous reactions to marine sponges and bryozoans

Marine sponges may have sharp calciferous or siliceous spicules which can cause an irritant dermatitis. Some may also be toxic and when handled, can cause pain, pruritus, erythema, and paresthesia of the affected areas. Bryozoans are plantlike animals and some are potent sensitizers. Bryozoan dermatitis is a major cause of disability in the fishing industry. Treatment of cutaneous problems related to Porifera and Ectoprocta are discussed.
Severe Hypoglycemia–Induced Lethal Cardiac Arrhythmias Are Mediated by Sympathoadrenal Activation

For people with insulin-treated diabetes, severe hypoglycemia can be lethal, though potential mechanisms involved are poorly understood. To investigate how severe hypoglycemia can be fatal, hyperinsulinemic, severe hypoglycemic (10–15 mg/dL) clamps were performed in Sprague-Dawley rats with simultaneous electrocardiogram monitoring. With goals of reducing hypoglycemia-induced mortality, the hypotheses tested were that: 1) antecedent glycemic control impacts mortality associated with severe hypoglycemia; 2) with limitation of hypokalemia, potassium supplementation could limit hypoglycemia-associated deaths; 3) with prevention of central neuroglycopenia, brain glucose infusion could prevent hypoglycemia-associated arrhythmias and deaths; and 4) with limitation of sympathoadrenal activation, adrenergic blockers could prevent hypoglycemia-induced arrhythmic deaths. Severe hypoglycemia–induced mortality was noted to be worsened by diabetes, but recurrent antecedent hypoglycemia markedly improved the ability to survive an episode of severe hypoglycemia. Potassium supplementation tended to reduce mortality. Severe hypoglycemia caused numerous cardiac arrhythmias including premature ventricular contractions, tachycardia, and high-degree heart block. Intracerebroventricular glucose infusion reduced severe hypoglycemia–induced arrhythmias and overall mortality. β-Adrenergic blockade markedly reduced cardiac arrhythmias and completely abrogated deaths due to severe hypoglycemia. Under conditions studied, sudden deaths caused by insulin-induced severe hypoglycemia were mediated by lethal cardiac arrhythmias triggered by brain neuroglycopenia and the marked sympathoadrenal response.
Change in the Word Symbol for Nurse in Korea

Purpose: To analyze the 7987 change in the written symbol for the word “nurse” in Korea, engendered by Mo Im Kim. Design: Descriptive historical and narrative analysis. Methods: Data were collected from documents in four libraries 7992–7996 in Seoul, Korea and Dallas, Texas. Kim and 20 of her friends, colleagues, and associates were interviewed. Findings from the interviews were compared with historical nursing documents and letters. Findings: Kim's work with her colleagues and their joint endeavors resulted in a change in nursing's status and responsibilities through an alteration of the Korean symbol for nursing. The symbol change resulted in the definition of nursing moving from that of manual laborer to that of teacher or professional. Conclusions: Changing the symbol for nurse reflected the shift in nursing's responsibilities and caused a legal change in the official civil service classification of nurse. This, in turn, has changed the status of nursing and led to more professional practice.
Detection of benzylic adducts in DNA and nucleotides from 7-sulfooxymethyl-12-methylbenz[a]anthracene and related compounds by 32P-postlabeling using new TLC systems

Abstract 7,12-Dimethylbenz[ a ]anthracene (DMBA) is a highly potent experimental carcinogen, that must be transformed to its ultimate carcinogenic form in vivo. The meso -region theory of aromatic hydrocarbon carcinogenesis predicts that 7-hydroxymethyl sulfate (7-HMBA) ester plays a major role in the metabolic activation, benzylic DNA adduct formation and complete carcinogenicity of HMBA and DMBA. This study was undertaken to detect highly lipophilic benzylic DNA adducts resulting from the reaction between 7-hydroxymethy sulfate ester of HMBA (7-SMBA) and DNA as well as determine their DNA base selectivity. Synthetic 7-SMBA was incubated with DNA (800 μg/ml) and individual deoxynucleoside 3′-monophosphates (600 μg/ml) and benzylic adducts were analyzed by 32 P-postlabeling/TLC following their enrichment with butanol extraction. Dilute ammonium hydroxide-based solvents were developed to detect the highly lipophilic aralkyl adducts. The reaction with DNA, dGp and dAp gave rise to multiple adducts; dCp and dTp showed no significant adducts. Chromatographic comparison revealed that the major DNA adduct was derived from dG. The methodology developed was also found applicable for highly lipophilic adducts resulting from sulfate esters of structurally-related metabolites of DMBA.
Step function: a measure for frontal crash pulse and its applications

Vehicle crash is a highly nonlinear transient dynamics event. The crash pulse is among the most important quantities to describe crash behaviour. To meet the need of an analytical tool for quantifying the crash pulse, a 2-step function representation is developed based on crash test data. The essence of this method is the equivalence of occupant responses generated by the full crash pulse curve and by the simple 2-step function. The crash pulse, considered as a key for crash analysis is thus parameterized. This metric can be used to characterize the difference between 2 sets of data, from tests or CAE, the variation of test data, as well as the difference in different vehicles. A regression formula from a DOE simulation is derived and verified. The 2-step function can be used as a design tool for a quick estimate of crash test dummy responses. The parameterized regression formula has also well fitted the needs of the safety optimization process and statistics study where the crash pulse curve plays an important role but is otherwise hard to process automatically.
Concept of a canister for high-level radioactive waste☆

Abstract The specific problem of developing a canister for the multibarrier waste isolation concept was considered. A conceptual design was developed for a canister that is relatively easy to fabricate, inspect, and handle. The design has the option of storing the canister or adding an overpack before storage. The costs for canisters made of three materials were estimated. Sufficient resources exist to allow the use of several common metals without significant impact on expected availability.
Immune-mediated inner ear disease: 10-year experience

Background Autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED) was first described in 1979 and the disease has become more widely recognized over the last decade. Limited information is available regarding clinical features of the disease, disease course, and response to treatment. Objective To analyze data from 42 patients with documented immune mediated inner ear disease to further define this syndrome. Methods A retrospective chart review was conducted on all patients considered to have AIED by the Otolaryngology division physicians and on all patients positive for antibody testing to inner ear antigens from 1990 to 1999. Patients who were antibody positive with a clinical diagnosis of AIED were included in this review. Results Patients with AIED presented with rapidly progressive, frequently bilateral (79%), often fluctuating sensironeural hearing loss. Mean age at presentation was 50 years (22-80) with no gender predilection. Tinnitus (83%), vestibular complaints (79%), and Meniere’s (50%) were common concomitant symptoms along with hearing loss. Seven of 42 (17%) of the patients had evidence for other systemic autoimmune disorders. In 4 of the patients the onset of vestibuloauditory complaints preceded the diagnosis of autoimmune disorder. Thirty-three of 42 demonstrated antibodies to inner ear antigens but other autoantibodies were infrequent except in patients with systemic autoimmune disorders. Twenty-three of 33 (70%) of patients treated with corticosteroids improved clinically, often short-term. Sixteen patients received treatment with other immunosuppressive drugs including methotrexate, cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, mycophenolic mofetil, and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) generally with a limited modest response. Using clinical trial criteria for response, only 5/35 (14%) demonstrated improvement over a mean 34.4 months follow-up. Conclusions Immune-mediated inner ear disease is not a uniform disease with simple diagnosis or treatment. The course of the disease often results in significant long-term disability due to hearing loss and response to aggressive immunosuppression including corticosteroids is poor.
Wavelength selectable switches and future photonic network applications

This presentation will review WSS technology, the key enabler for optical mesh networking, and discuss how the WSS is expected to evolve to support advanced dynamic optical network applications such as colorless and directionless switching.
Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage in Patients in a Respiratory Intensive Care Unit

Significant gastrointestinal hemorrhage occurred in 20% (20) of the patients in a respiratory intensive care unit. Risk factors significantly associated with the development of gastrointestinal hemorrhage included (1) the principal respiratory diagnosis of adult respiratory distress syndrome; (2) increasing numbers of days on a ventilator, days in the respiratory intensive care unit, and total days of hospitalization; and (3) the development of thrombocytopenia. Factors not associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal hemorrhage were the age and sex of the patient, the respiratory diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and the use of therapy with either heparin or corticosteroids. Routine prophylactic administration of antacids was associated with a decreased incidence of hemorrhage. The mortality of bleeders was significantly greater than that of nonbleeders.
Screening and Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder in Children and Adolescents: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

DESCRIPTION. This is an update of the 2002 US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation on screening for child and adolescent major depressive disorder. METHODS. The US Preventive Services Task Force weighed the benefits and harms of screening and treatment for major depressive disorder in children and adolescents, incorporating new evidence addressing gaps in the 2002 recommendation statement. Evidence examined included the benefits and harms of screening, the accuracy of primary care–feasible screening tests, and the benefits and risks of treating depression by using psychotherapy and/or medications in patients aged 7 to 18 years. RECOMMENDATIONS. Screen adolescents (12–18 years of age) for major depressive disorder when systems are in place to ensure accurate diagnosis, psychotherapy (cognitive-behavioral or interpersonal), and follow-up (B recommendation). Evidence is insufficient to warrant a recommendation to screen children (7–11 years of age) for major depressive disorder (I statement).
Rapid MeV electron precipitation as observed by SAMPEX/HILT during high‐speed stream‐driven storms

A number of relativistic electron loss processes exist in the inner magnetosphere, and the extent to which MeV electron precipitation into Earth's atmosphere plays a role in radiation belt dynamics is a topic of much debate. In this work, we investigate the contribution of electron precipitation to radiation belt losses, looking at what times and locations precipitation is important. Through high-cadence low-altitude measurements from the Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX) satellite, we examine the distributions of millisecond (microburst) as well as longer-duration (band-type) precipitation and the relative contributions of these two precipitation types to radiation belt dynamics during high-speed stream (HSS)-driven storms. Different local time and radial distributions between microbursts and precipitation bands suggest different scattering mechanisms as the causes of the two precipitation types. In a superposed epoch study of 42 HSS-driven storms, enhanced main and recovery phase losses to the atmosphere are observed. Microburst occurrence rates peak in the recovery phase of the storms, while their magnitudes remain fairly constant over storm phase. Precipitation bands show an increase in both occurrence and magnitude at storm onset, particularly at the inner edge of the outer radiation belt. The observations, enabled by the high time resolution and large geometric factor and field of view of the SAMPEX/Heavy Ion Large Telescope (HILT) instrument, reveal when and where microburst and band-type precipitation are contributing to radiation belt dynamics during HSS-driven storms.
Identifying regulatory networks by combinatorial analysis of promoter elements

Several computational methods based on microarray data are currently used to study genome-wide transcriptional regulation. Few studies, however, address the combinatorial nature of transcription, a well-established phenomenon in eukaryotes. Here we describe a new approach using microarray data to uncover novel functional motif combinations in the promoters of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In addition to identifying novel motif combinations that affect expression patterns during the cell cycle, sporulation and various stress responses, we observed regulatory cross-talk among several of these processes. We have also generated motif-association maps that provide a global view of transcription networks. The maps are highly connected, suggesting that a small number of transcription factors are responsible for a complex set of expression patterns in diverse conditions. This approach may be useful for modeling transcriptional regulatory networks in more complex eukaryotes.
Rate of Forgetting in Early Childhood

The relation between age and rate of forgetting was investigated with a task that eliminated differences in level of initial learning. Three-, four-, and six-year-olds were shown 40 pictures, then were tested for their recognition of 20 pictures immediately, followed by a recognition test of all pictures 24 hours later. Rate of forgetting was nearly identical in every age group. The results are discussed in terms of the interference theory of forgetting and hypotheses about the relation of forgetting to neurological maturation.
Trajectory planning and control of a 3-link biped robot

Trajectory planning methods and control algorithms for a three-link biped robot are proposed. Based on the observation of the motions of human beings, trajectory planning methods are proposed without neglecting the nonlinear terms of the biped dynamics. A combination of several well-developed control methods is used to control the biped. Comparisons are made of the path tracking performance and torque consumption of these control algorithms. >
Measurement of the critical current and flux creep parameters in thin superconducting films using the single coil technique

A non-contacting method of determining the critical current of a superconducting film has proven useful in several laboratories as a routine indicator of HTS film quality. It consists of a small coil pressed against the film surface and driven with an audio frequency sine wave current (I/sub drive/). The onset of a significant third harmonic voltage component (V/sub 3f/) across the coil indicates that the screening currents in the film have exceeded their critical value. We show in this paper that the quantity V/sub 3f//(f I/sub drive/) should be a universal function of I/sub drive//I/sub sc/ if the Bean critical state model is applicable. Here I/sub sc/ is a scaling that is proportional to J/sub c/d (J/sub c/=critical current density in the film, d is its thickness) and f is the frequency. By varying the temperature of a thin YBCO film between 4.2 K and its transition, this scaling was observed to apply over a range of J/sub c/'s covering more than three decades. The frequency dependent measurements revealed a logarithmic dependence of the critical current on frequency that can be interpreted as a manifestation of flux creep. This data was used to infer the pinning energy within the collective pinning model.
The organization of monoamine neurons within the brainstem of the North American opossum (Didelphis virginiana).

The distribution of monoamine-containing neurons within the brain of the opossum is described using the Falck-Hillarp histofluorescence technique. Catecholamine-containing neurons are organized into four groups. The medulla contains one group which is located dorsolateral to the lateral reticular nucleus and ventrolateral to the dorsal vagal nucleus. The second collection is found within the pons and includes both the locus coeruleus and a region continuous with it referred to as the nucleus coeruleus, pars α. The third aggregate includes the substantia nigra, the ventral tegmental area, and the mesencephalic reticular formation and a fourth group is located within the periventricular and dorsal paraventricular nuclei of the hypothalamus. The indoleamine-containing cell bodies are distributed within the nuclei raphe obscurus, pallidus, magnus, dorsalis, and the nuclei linearis and superior centralis except at certain pontine levels where they appear laterally within the reticular formation. A number of small intensely fluorescent (SIF) cells are present within the connective tissue surrounding the brain and its blood vessels as well. Although certain differences are present, the didtribution of monoamine neurons in the American opossum conforms generally to that described for the placental mammals studied to date.
Low Body Mass Index but Not Obesity Is Associated With In-Hospital Adverse Events and Mortality Among Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Recipients: Insights From the National Cardiovascular Data Registry

BackgroundImplantable cardioverter‐defibrillators (ICDs) are placed in patients at risk for sudden cardiac death, but the procedure may cause adverse events. Patient body habitus may be an importan...
A simplified framework for reduction in strength

Reduction in strength is a traditional transformation for speeding up loop execution on sequential processors. The inverse transformation, induction variable substitution, can also speed up loops by decreasing register requirements, although it is typically a normalizing step in the detection of array dependences by parallelizing compilers. The author presents a simple framework for performing these transformations. In contrast to previous approaches to strength reduction, no unnecessary temporary variables or dead code fragments are introduced, only relevant intermediate language fragments are examined, iteration test replacement is not handled as a special case, and the execution time of the target code is never increased. The method is particularly easy to visualize, making it a useful teaching tool as well. >
Hydrogen and helium production in structural materials by neutrons

Hydrogen and helium are produced when energetic neutrons interact with materials, and these gases can lead to significant changes in materials properties such as embrittlement and swelling. Such effects have been seen in fission reactors and a significant effort has been made for the development of fusion reactors where the effects are expected to be larger because of the higher neutron energy. For the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative, new structural materials are proposed, and the amount of gas production must be known to assess the properties of these materials under radiation damage. We are measuring the production cross sections for these gases by neutrons in the energy range from threshold to 100MeV at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center/Weapons Neutron Research (LANSCE/WNR) spallation source of fast neutrons. We measure the light charged particles (protons, deuterons, tritons, 3 He and alpha particles) emitted as a function of incident energy and angle and then integrate the angular distributions to obtain production cross sections. Results for the higher neutron energies are relevant to accelerated radiation damage facilities based on spallation neutron sources. The data measured for tantalum show a monotonic increase in the production cross sections of hydrogen and helium with neutron energy, whereas for iron and chromium, the cross sections flatten out above 50MeV. Nuclear data evaluations often do not account well for the excitation functions.
Ecology of Sympatric Fox Squirrels (Sciurus niger) and Gray Squirrels (S. carolinensis) at Forest-farmland Interfaces of Pennsylvania

Abstract We compared abundance, habitat use and diurnal activity patterns of sympatric populations of fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) and gray squirrels (S. carolinensis) in forest-farmland interfaces in a four-county area of Pennsylvania from August 1995 to October 1996. The mean number of fox squirrels observed was significantly less (F = 21.34, P < 0.001) than that of gray squirrels. Fox squirrel abundances were significantly greater in spring than in summer or fall (F = 6.1, P < 0.01). Habitat use by fox squirrels and gray squirrels was differentiated primarily by the distance to a forest-farmland edge, with fox squirrels using areas closer to the forest edge. Habitat used by fox squirrels was also characterized by fewer short shrubs compared to available habitat. Habitat used by gray squirrels was farther from the edge and had fewer understory trees and logs and a greater basal area of snags compared to available habitat. Gray squirrels were more active in the morning compared to midday (P < 0.001), bu...
Gap-freezing approach for shortening the lyophilization cycle time of pharmaceutical formulations-demonstration of the concept.

ABSTRACT During gap freezing, vials are placed on a metal tray, which is separated from the shelf surface with a small air gap that eliminates significant conductive heat transfer from the shelf to the bottom of the vial. The purpose of this freezing approach is to reduce the lyophilization cycle time of various amorphous formulations by nearly isothermal freezing. Such isothermal freezing promotes the formation of large ice crystals, and thus large pores throughout the cake, which subsequently accelerates the primary drying rate. The nucleation temperature using gap freezing, for the experimental conditions tested, was in the range of −1°C to −6°C, much higher than the range of −10°C to −14°C found using conventional shelf freezing. Isothermal freezing becomes effective when the gap is greater than 3 mm. The pore sizes and cake resistance during primary drying for various formulations were determined using the pore diffusion model developed by Kuu et al. ( Pharm Dev Technol, 2011, 16(4): 343-357 ). Reductions in primary drying time were 42% (for 10% sucrose), 45% (for 10% trehalose), and 33% (for 5% sucrose). © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 102:2572–2588, 2013
Design and characterization of calcium phosphate ceramic scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.

Abstract Objectives Our goal is to review design strategies for the fabrication of calcium phosphate ceramic scaffolds (CPS), in light of their transient role in bone tissue engineering and associated requirements for effective bone regeneration. Methods We examine the various design options available to meet mechanical and biological requirements of CPS and later focus on the importance of proper characterization of CPS in terms of architecture, mechanical properties and time-sensitive properties such as biodegradability. Finally, relationships between in vitro versus in vivo testing are addressed, with an attempt to highlight reliable performance predictors. Results A combinatory design strategy should be used with CPS, taking into consideration 3D architecture, adequate surface chemistry and topography, all of which are needed to promote bone formation. CPS represent the media of choice for delivery of osteogenic factors and anti-infectives. Non-osteoblast mediated mineral deposition can confound in vitro osteogenesis testing of CPS and therefore the expression of a variety of proteins or genes including collagen type I, bone sialoprotein and osteocalcin should be confirmed in addition to increased mineral content. Conclusions CPS are a superior scaffold material for bone regeneration because they actively promote osteogenesis. Biodegradability of CPS via calcium and phosphate release represents a unique asset. Structural control of CPS at the macro, micro and nanoscale and their combination with cells and polymeric materials is likely to lead to significant developments in bone tissue engineering.
Online Computerized Analysis of Peripheral Nerves

The analysis of anatomical structure has been greatly aided by the increased availability of computers in the laboratory. Three-dimensional information from Golgi-impregnated neurons and their processes is particularly suited to computer-aided analysis. Another subject of interest involves the quantitative study of perimeters which characterize individual fibers comprising a nerve bundle. This includes dimensional information about axons and their myelin sheaths and statistical considerations of their numbers and size ranges, as well as their spatial distribution within the bundle. While various methods have previously been used for deriving axon diameters, the direct method of measuring diameters manually is often limited by time considerations. That is, the amount of sampling which can be completed within a reasonable time period may not be adequate as a statistically significant representation of the total nerve fiber population.
Building a sustainable energy future, one community at a time

Abstract Solving energy issues requires integrated solutions at all societal and institutional levels. Community renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives offer a complementary model for renewable energy deployment and have several advantages over the prevailing “ top down” strategy employed in the US. In this paper, we present a review of the theoretical basis for community energy as a catalyst for energy behavior change; examine contrasting viewpoints of the definition of community energy; and review community energy literature. The first literature review compares energy behavior lessons from context independent individualistic and context dependent collective action theories. The review of community energy literature lists the energy option and geographical focus of more than 70 community energy studies from around the world and summarizes key lessons from this literature. In addition, we also present the data sources for a new US Community Energy Database that will be publicly available in the near future and introduce a new classification system for community renewable energy projects based on the results of this database. Finally, we present recommendations for future research in this rapidly growing field.
Comparing Utility Scores in Common Spinal Radiculopathies: Results of a Prospective Valuation Study

Study Design Prospective observational study. Objective To determine whether preference-based health utility scores for common spinal radiculopathies vary by specific spinal level. Methods We employed a standard gamble study using the general public to calculate individual preference-based quality of life for four common radiculopathies: C6, C7, L5, and S1. We compared utility scores obtained for each level of radiculopathy with analysis of variance and t test. Multivariable regression was used to test the effects of the covariates age, sex, and years of education. We also reviewed the literature for publications reporting EuroQol-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) scores for patients with radiculopathy. Results Two hundred participants were included in the study. Average utility for the four spinal levels fell within a narrow range (0.748 to 0.796). There were no statistically significant differences between lumbar and cervical radiculopathies, nor were there significant differences among the different spinal levels ( F = 0.0850, p = 0.086). Age and sex had no significant effect on utility scores. There was a significant correlation between years of education and utility values for S1 radiculopathy ( p = 0.037). On review of the literature, no study separated utility values by specific spinal level. EQ-5D utilities for both cervical and lumbar radiculopathy were considerably lower than the results of our study. Conclusions Utility values associated with the most common levels of cervical and lumbar radiculopathy do not significantly differ from each other, validating the current practice of grouping utility by spinal segment rather than by specific root levels. The discrepancy in average utility values between our study and the EQ-5D highlights the need to be mindful of the underlying instruments used when assessing outcomes studies from different sources.
Ecological factors rather than physical barriers shape genetic structure of algal symbionts in Micronesian corals

Reef-building corals rely on an obligate symbiosis with dinoflagellate algae of the genus Symbiodinium. In many corals, symbiont-free coral larvae disperse great distances and acquire their symbionts upon recruitment. Assuming that symbionts adapt locally due to limited dispersal capacity, it has been hypothesized that re-pairing with locally available symbionts could increase coral fitness across diverse environments. This ′global host-local symbiont′ hypothesis predicts that coral hosts should exhibit weak population structure and maintain high promiscuity towards their symbiosis partner, while symbionts should have strong genetic structure among locations and show host fidelity. Here, we tested this hypothesis in two species of Acropora corals from Micronesia by comparing genetic structures of the coral host and algal symbiont across different spatial scales. Each coral host species associated with two genetically distinct symbiont lineages, confirming that coral hosts are capable of high promiscuity. Within each location, the two coral hosts associated with divergent Symbiodinium genotypes of the same lineage, confirming that local symbionts exhibit host fidelity. Still, contrary to our initial expectation and unlike the coral host, symbiont genetic structure was not shaped by physical connectivity barriers and instead depended on local reef environment and host identity. Overall, these patterns support the view that association with local Symbiodinium could provide a mechanism to improve coral fitness across variable environments. However, variation in coral-Symbiodinium associations appears to be driven not by local adaptation of dispersal-limited symbionts, but by continuous evolution of broadly distributed host-specific symbiont lineages adapting to particular reef environments.
The ITA.LI.CA Staging System: A Novel Staging System for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

In this Perspective, Neehar Parikh and Amit Singal discuss the advantages of the ITA.LI.CA staging system for prognoses of liver cancer developed by Alessandro Vitale and colleagues.
Analysis of 600 MW Unit Boiler Abnormal MFT

Abnormal MFT fault occurred on a 600 MW unit boiler. Through analyzing, it is concluded that the causes are low quality coal, fragile combustion, slagging inside the boiler, poor flame inspection and adjustment, etc. Preventive measures are also proposed to prevent similar accident from happening and provide reference for accident handling.
Beyond the Balance Sheet: Teaching Capacity Building as Capital Building

Financial sustainability is a persistent challenge in the nonprofit sector. Capacity building is sometimes presented as a way to address this challenge. This article proposes that the teaching of capacity building can be reframed as an economic construct, capital building. By understanding capacity building as the development and activation of capital in multiple forms (e.g., social, financial, reputational, process), organizations may gain new options for program design and strategic decision making to enhance their effectiveness and sustainability. This article reviews the construct of capacity building, relating it to various capital resources and how they generate capacity. It concludes with examples of how a capital-building approach can be integrated into existing university courses to support the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council’s revised curricular guidelines.
Storifying as Time-Traveling: The Knowledgeable Use of Temporally Structured Discourse

(1983). Storifying as Time-Traveling: The Knowledgeable Use of Temporally Structured Discourse. Annals of the International Communication Association: Vol. 7, Communication Yearbook 7, pp. 857-888.
Combinatorial Treatment Effects in a Cell Culture Model of Alzheimer's Disease.

Background Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia, and as its prevalence increases, so does its detrimental impact on society. The currently available therapies have limited efficacy, leaving AD patients on an irrevocably fatal path of this disease. Objective The purpose of this study was to test efficacy of a novel combinatorial treatment approach to alleviate AD-like pathology. Methods We selected four naturally occurring compounds and used them in different combinations to test their effect on AD-like pathology. Employing a well-established cell culture AD model system, we evaluated levels of several diverse biomarkers associated with a number of cellular pathways associated with AD. The readouts included: amyloid-β peptides, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic proteins, oxidative enzymes, and reactive oxygen species. Results Using this approach, we demonstrated that the compounds delivered in combination had higher efficacy than individual treatments. Specifically, we observed significant reduction in levels of the amyloid-β peptides, as well as pro-inflammatory proteins and reactive oxygen species. Similarly, delivery of compounds in combination resulted in an increased expression of anti-apoptotic proteins and anti-oxidative enzymes. Collectively, these modifications in AD pathology biomarkers reflect a promising therapeutic and preventive strategy to combat this disease. Conclusion The above findings support a novel therapeutic approach to address a currently unmet medical need, which would benefit not only AD patients and their caregivers, but also society as a whole.
Social Skills in Action: An Ethic of Care in Social Studies Student Teaching Supervision

The theory of ethical care, as explored by Noddings (1986, 2002, 2003), serves as a framework for understanding relationships between people. In her philosophical treatise, Caring: A feminine approach to ethics and moral education, Noddings (2003) describes the experiences one may have when caring for another or helping another learn how to care, all while striving toward ethical ideals. The purpose of this chapter is to present an example of pedagogy that brings ethical care to the forefront of student teaching supervision, what I refer to as a pedagogy of care. Additionally the aim is to demonstrate how self-study methodology enabled me, a student teaching supervisor, to explore systematically my pedagogy of care to better understand my practice and my self as a teacher educator in the social studies.
Concentrations of thromboxane metabolites in feline urine

OBJECTIVE To determine the predominant thromboxane (TX) metabolite in urine of healthy cats, evaluate whether the method of sample collection would impact concentration of that metabolite, and propose a reference interval for that metabolite in urine of healthy cats. ANIMALS 17 cats (11 purpose-bred domestic shorthair cats, 5 client-owned domestic shorthair cats, and 1 client-owned Persian cat). PROCEDURES All cats were deemed healthy on the basis of results for physical examination, a CBC, serum biochemical analysis, urinalysis, and measurement of prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time. Voided and cystocentesis urine samples (or both) were collected. Aliquots of urine were stored at −80°C until analysis. Concentrations of TXB2, 11-dehydroTXB2, and 2,3 dinorTXB2 were measured with commercially available ELISA kits. Urinary creatinine concentration was also measured. RESULTS 11-dehydroTXB2 was the most abundant compound, representing (mean ± SD) 59 ± 18% of the total amount of TX detect...
Investigating the Osmotic Component in Mechanisms of Malaria Parasite Plasmodium Falciparum Egress and Invasion of Human Red Blood Cells

Human red blood cells (RBC) experience a transient echinocytic shape change immediately after parasite invasion and another within the last minutes before parasite egress when infected RBC seems to round up. The rapidity of shape changes in both events makes an osmotic mechanism a likely candidate. Indeed, it was shown that the rate of parasite egress is influenced by the osmolarity of the culture medium, suggesting the involvement of ion channels in the egress program and Aquaporin 1, a RBC water channel, was implicated in the initiation of the intraerythrocytic development of Plasmodium falciparum. Currently available methods are able to resolve infected red blood cell volume at the various stages of the 48h plasmodium developmental cycle, yet lack time resolution to capture fast-progressing events such as parasite egress and invasion of RBC. To gain insight into the putative osmotic component of these processes, we tested the suitability of a recently developed method for volume measurements of live cells, based on fluorescence exclusion, for volume evaluation in RBC during fast egress-invasion events in vitro. We show that volumes can be captured with video rate speed, high throughput, and sensitivity to relative changes of 0.3 µm3. We conclude that the fluorescence exclusion method is well suited for testing parasite egress-invasion events in real time and studying multiple individual events in the same cell suspension. Preliminary volume measurements of infected erythrocytes approaching parasite egress will be presented.
Healthcare outcomes, information technology, and Medicare reimbursements: a hospital-level analyses

The interplay between healthcare service quality, health IT, and variation in reimbursements for healthcare services is an understudied phenomenon. We propose a unified framework to empirically examine the association between healthcare quality, health IT usage and Medicare reimbursements for congestive heart failure cases. Hospital-level data from multiple sources, including Medicare, CMS hospital compare, and HIMSS Analytics, were obtained and integrated for the analyses reported in this study. Our empirical analyses, based on a three-year panel dataset of CHF patients, indicates a negative association between hospital mortality rates and average Medicare reimbursements, and a positive association between readmission rates and Medicare payments. We report a weak positive association between the usage of health IT systems and magnitude of average Medicare payments, suggesting that hospitals with greater usage of health IT exhibit higher Medicare reimbursements.
Deliberation period during easy and difficult decisions: re-examining Libet’s “veto” window in a more ecologically valid framework

Whether consciousness plays a causal role in cognitive processing remains debated. According to Benjamin Libet, consciousness is needed to deliberate and veto an action that is initiated unconsciously. Libet offered that the deliberation window takes place between the time of conscious intent (W) and action (MR). We further examined this deliberation-veto hypothesis by measuring the length of the temporal window (W-MR) when making easy and difficult choices. If Libet were correct that the W-MR is intended for evaluation and cancelation, we should expect a shorter W-MR for an easy decision since less deliberation is presumably needed. Instead, we observed a less intuitive effect: The W-MR window in the easy trials was longer than the W-MR window in the difficult ones. Our results suggest several interpretations including the idea that consciousness may play a causal role in decision making but not in a straightforward manner as assumed by Libet's veto hypothesis.