cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Seeding of Gastrostomy Tube Site in Patient With Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Tongue: A Case Report

Enteral nutrition (EN) is a widely used therapeutic tool to provide nutrition support for patients with various clinical conditions, including different types of cancer. Head and neck cancers, often complicated by dysphagia, are among leading indications for enteral feeding. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) and percutaneous endoscopic jejunostomy (PEJ) tubes are typically used to deliver EN. This article presents a case report of a young male with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. Unfortunately, he developed metastasis of his cancer at the right lateral side of the PEG placement site, requiring surgical resection of seeded growth at the PEG site. This rare complication can be challenging, as it requires a high index of suspicion to diagnose and can potentially limit nutrition support options. A number of theories have been proposed to explain seeding during PEG/PEJ placement, including direct repositioning of malignant cells during instrumentation. A specific placement technique has not been shown to be superior, as seeding was reported with all placement techniques. However, given the lack of statistically powerful studies to describe this entity, there are still gaps we need to explore to better understand seeding of feeding tubes and best practices around diagnosis and early treatment. EN continues to be an important part of caring for patients with cancer during active or palliative treatments. Understanding potential risks in the setting of cancer metastasis is beneficial to the patients and multidisciplinary teams involved. Early recognition of possible seeding of feeding tube sites is necessary to ensure subsequent timely surgical intervention.
Psychosocial phenotyping as a personalization strategy for chronic disease self-management interventions.

Background As the U.S. population grows older and more diverse, self-management needs are increasingly complicated. In order to deliver effective personalized interventions to those suffer from chronic conditions social determinants of health must be considered. Therefore, psychosocial phenotyping holds strong promise as a tool for tailoring interventions based on precision health principles. Purpose To define psychosocial phenotyping and develop a research agenda that promotes its integration into chronic disease management as a tool for precision self-management interventions. Methods Since psychosocial phenotyping is not yet used in interventions for self-management support, we conducted a literature review to identify potential phenotypes for chronic disease self-management. We also reviewed policy intervention case reports from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to examine factors related to social determinants of health in people with chronic illnesses. Finally, we reviewed methodological approaches for identifying patient profiles or phenotypes. Results The literature review revealed areas within which to collect data for psychosocial phenotyping that can inform personalized interventions. The findings of our exemplar cases revealed that several environmental or key SDOH such as factors realted with economic stability and neighborhood environment have been closely linked with the success of chronic disease management interventions. We elucidated theory, definitions, and pragmatic conceptual boundaries related to psychosocial phenotyping for precision health. Conclusions Our literature review with case example analysis demonstrates the potential usefulness of psychosocial phenotyping as a tool to enhance personalized self-management interventions for people with chronic diseases, with implications for future research.
Cori: Dancing to the Right Beat of Periodic Data Movements over Hybrid Memory Systems

Emerging hybrid memory systems that comprise technologies such as Intel’s Optane DC Persistent Memory, exhibit disparities in the access speeds and capacity ratios of their heterogeneous memory components. This breaks many assumptions and heuristics designed for traditional DRAM-only platforms. High application performance is feasible via dynamic data movement across memory units, which maximizes the capacity use of DRAM while ensuring efficient use of the aggregate system resources. Newly proposed solutions use performance models and machine intelligence to optimize which and how much data to move dynamically. However, the decision of when to move this data is based on empirical selection of time intervals, or left to the applications. Our experimental evaluation shows that failure to properly conFigure the data movement frequency can lead to 10%-100% performance degradation for a given data movement policy; yet, there is no established methodology on how to properly conFigure this value for a given workload, platform and policy. We propose Cori, a system-level tuning solution that identifies and extracts the necessary application-level data reuse information, and guides the selection of data movement frequency to deliver gains in application performance and system resource efficiency. Experimental evaluation shows that Cori configures data movement frequencies that provide application performance within 3% of the optimal one, and that it can achieve this up to $5 \times$ more quickly than random or brute-force approaches. System-level validation of Cori on a platform with DRAM and Intel’s Optane DC PMEM confirms its practicality and tuning efficiency.
Modeling oscillatory car following using deep reinforcement learning based car following models

In this work, we use reinforcement learning (RL) to train a car following model for vehicle jerk. The learned model is specifically trained for car following in low-speed oscillatory driving conditions such as stop-and-go traffic typical in congested urban centers. This driving is of particular interest since it is difficult to model and substantially contributes to urban air pollution. The proposed model is calibrated using experimental data and the model performance is compared to a baseline calibrated intelligent driver model (IDM). The proposed RL model is able to outperform the IDM in some metrics, while the IDM has lower error in others. This indicates that the proposed RL model is able to capture the general car following behavior in low-speed oscillatory driving conditions without overfitting to the training data and represents a first step toward realistic car following models that capture the full range of driver behavior.
Intravenous Versus Oral Acetaminophen Use in Febrile Neurocritical Care Patients.

The use of intravenous (IV) acetaminophen (APAP) for fever has not been thoroughly studied in neurocritical care (NCC) patients, in whom a temperature of ≥38°C is associated with poor outcomes and ...
Personeneigenschaft der Personengesellschaften

Diese Definition sagt nichts ausdrucklich daruber aus, ob Personengesellschaften als „Personen“ im Sinne des Abkommens gelten. Jedoch ist Definition des Begriffs “Person” durch den Ausdruck „unter anderem“ sehr weit gefast. Aus der Zusammenschau mit Art. 3 Abs. 1 lit. e DBA-USA, der definiert, das der Begriff „Gesellschaft“ nur juristische Personen oder Rechtstrager sind, die wie juristische Personen besteuert werden, ergibt sich, das die Personeneigenschaft im Sinne des Abkommens nicht auf die nach innerstaatlichem Recht steuerpflichtigen naturlichen Personen und Korperschaften beschrankt ist. Es sind vielmehr auch solche Rechtsgebilde „Personen“ im Sinne des Abkommens, die wie die Personengesellschaften keine eigenen Steuerrechtssubjekte sind4. Auch durch Art. 4 Abs. 1 lit. b DBA-USA, der die Frage der Ansassigkeit von Personengesellschaften fur die Zwecke des Abkommens regelt, wird klargestellt, das eine Personengesellschaft Personeneigenschaft besitzt.
Lensless Microscopy and Holography with 60 nm Resolution using Tabletop Coherent Soft X-Rays

We demonstrate high numerical aperture lensless diffractive imaging and Fourier transform holography using high harmonic generation from an ultrafast laser system. The HHG source operates at 29 nm or 13 nm wavelength and achieves 60 nm resolution.
Factors associated with Salmonella prevalence on pork carcasses in very small abattoirs in Wisconsin

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has expressed concern over Salmonella prevalence on pork carcasses. Our objectives were to survey the prevalence of Salmonella on pork carcasses in very small Wisconsin abattoirs, and identify processing conditions and indicator bacteria levels associated with reduced Salmonella prevalence. During April to July 2007, sponge samples were obtained from 181 pork carcasses at 10 Wisconsin abattoirs before carcass washing (carcass half A), and after washing and chilling and before fabrication (carcass half B). Each sample was categorized by whether the carcass was skinned, by wash-water temperature (7 to 43 degrees C), and the duration (1 or 2 days), temperature, and percent relative humidity of chilling. Sponge samples were analyzed qualitatively for Salmonella and quantitatively for Escherichia coli, coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae, and aerobic plate count (APC). Salmonella prevalences on skinned and unskinned prewash carcasses were 11.7 and 8.3%, respectively. Corresponding values for chilled carcasses were 32.0 and 19.5% for 1-day chilled carcasses, and 11.4 and 14.7% for 2-day chilled carcasses. Lower Salmonella prevalence on prewash carcasses was significantly related to lower prewash carcass APC levels (odds ratio = 7.8 per change of 1.0 log CFU/cm2), while lower Salmonella prevalence on chilled carcasses was significantly related to 2-day chilling (odds ratio = 5.2), and chilled-carcass levels of coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae, and APC (odds ratio = 1.5 to 1.9 per change of 1.0 log CFU/cm2). Salmonella prevalence on chilled pork carcasses in very small Wisconsin plants could be reduced by chilling carcasses 2 days before fabrication and improving carcass-handling hygiene.
Criterion-Referenced Exit Examinations: An Institution's Internal Process for Psychometric Analysis.

The Texas State University-San Marcos undergraduate healthcare administration program requires all bachelors of health administration (BHA) students to pass a comprehensive examination to demonstrate their knowledge of specific core competencies. This also demonstrates completion of their didactic coursework in order to enter a practical internship or residency experience. Since this examination provided important documentation of student learning, the program conducted a detailed psychometric analysis of its three most recent undergraduate comprehensive exit examinations. In order to determine the value of this examination psychometrically, an evaluation of item validity evidence, between-exam reliability, and related assessment of descriptive statistics with regard to overall exam results and individual healthcare administration competency outcomes was necessary. Using Classical Test Theory (CTT) as a methodological framework, the psychometric analysis involved calculating item-level indices that assessed descriptive, validity, difficulty, and discrimination characteristics. This allowed the program’s faculty to better interpret student exam outcomes at the overall exam and within-exam competency levels. Additionally, this analysis provided an evaluation of the score reliability of the three alternate exam forms, as well as within-exam healthcare administration competency items, furthering the program’s comprehensive exit exam test development process. The outcomes of the analysis included an increased awareness of potential non-equivalent test forms for the total exam and within each exam (competency) level, increased level of interpretation the descriptive results for each exam, and the establishment of a more robust test development process to guide future comprehensive examination efforts.
Modeling interdisciplinary activities involving mathematics and philosophy

In this paper a didactical model is presented. The goal of the model is to work as a didactical tool, or conceptual frame, for developing, carrying through and evaluating interdisciplinary activities involving the subject of mathematics and philosophy in the high schools. Through the terms of Horizontal Intertwining, Vertical Structuring and Horizontal Propagation the model consists of three phases, each considering different aspects of the nature of interdisciplinary activities. The theoretical modelling is inspired by work which focuses on the students abilities to concept formation in expanded domains (Michelsen, 2001, 2005a, 2005b). Furthermore the theoretical description rest on a series of qualitative interviews with teachers from the Danish high school (grades 9-11) conducted recently. The special case of concrete interdisciplinary activities between mathematics and philosophy is also considered.
Tests of evaluated beryllium /n, 2n/ cross sections by analysis of 1.4-eV flux in water for an americium-beryllium source enclosed in beryllium spheres

Evaluated Be-9 /n,2n/ cross sections tested by measuring flux distributions in water for Am-Be source enclosed in Be spheres
Electrical Rhythmicity and Excitability in Cell Membranes

Every cell has a plasma membrane. The plasma membrane is a thin film, less than a hundred angstroms thick, which maintains a difference between inside and outside by gatekeeping the passage of molecules and ions. Every cellular membrane is freely permeable to some substances (e.g., water) and essentially impermeable to others (e.g., proteins and certain ions). Nerve cells and some secretory cells are distinguished from most other kinds of cell chiefly in that the selective permeability of their plasma membranes depends sharply on an electric field. All cells experience an electric potential difference between inside and outside, ultimately because amino acids bear an ionic charge and, once polymerized inside the cell, they can’t get out.1 This potential difference is typically about one-tenth of a volt, so the thin plasma membrane is stressed by an electric field in the order of 10 million volts/m. In nerve cells, molecular anatomy within the plasma membrane is believed to readjust when this field is reduced to less than a certain threshold. With its selective permeability altered, the membrane passes certain ions that it had formerly restrained, resulting in a further decrease in the field maintained, and a self-catalyzing breakdown of membrane potential quickly ensues. But things are so arranged that a recovery promptly follows in which electrical imbalance is restored.
Renal frame count: a measure of renal flow that predicts success of renal artery stenting in hypertensive patients.

Objectives Renal artery (RA) stenting can improve control of hypertension yet predicting clinical response remains difficult. We sought to determine the role of the renal frame count (RFC) (number of angiographic frames for contrast to reach distal renal parenchyma after initial RA opacification) as a predictor of improvement in blood pressure (BP) after RA stenting. Methods Renal flow was quantified in 68 consecutive patients (age 72.5 ± 9.1 years, 72% male) undergoing RA stenting for refractory hypertension (BP ≥ 140/90 mm Hg despite treatment with two or more antihypertensive medications) by measuring RFC pre-RA stenting. Significant renal artery stenosis (RAS) was defined as a stenosis ≥ 70% by visual estimation on angiography. Baseline and 6-month follow-up BP was recorded. Clinical response was defined by a drop in systolic blood pressure (SBP) >10 mm Hg on the same or fewer number of anti-hypertensive medications. Results Patients with RFC > 30 had SBP reduction (43.2 ± 25.7 mm Hg vs. 30.1 ± 31.3 mm Hg, P = 0.067), diastolic blood pressure reduction (9.1 ± 19.0 vs. −0.2 ± 13.4 mm Hg, P = 0.02), and mean arterial pressure reduction (23.8 ± 19.4 vs. 11.8 ± 16.1 mm Hg, P 30 was associated with a higher rate of clinical response to RA stenting (93.5% vs. 73%, P = 0.027). Conclusions RFC can be used as a clinical predictor of response to RA stenting. RFC > 30 was associated with reduction in BP after RA stenting and was predictive of clinical response. RFC provides a useful intraprocedural tool in assessing the severity of RAS and predicts the likelihood of clinical response following RA stenting. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Lysine 144, a Ubiquitin Attachment Site in HIV-1 Nef, Is Required for Nef-Mediated CD4 Down-Regulation

Nef is a HIV-1 accessory protein critical for the replication of the virus and the development of AIDS. The major pathological activity of Nef is the down-regulation of CD4, the primary receptor of HIV-1 infection. The mechanism underlying Nef-mediated CD4 endocytosis and degradation remains incompletely understood. Since protein ubiquitination is the predominant sorting signal in receptor endocytosis, we investigated whether Nef is ubiquitinated. The in vivo ubiquitination assay showed that both HIV-1 and SIV Nef proteins expressed in Jurkat T cells and 293T cells were multiple ubiquitinated by ubiquitin-His. The lysine-free HIV-1 Nef mutant (Δ10K) generated by replacing all 10 lysines with arginines was not ubiquitinated and the major ubiquitin-His attachment sites in HIV-1 Nef were determined to be lysine 144 (di-ubiquitinated) and lysine 204 (mono-ubiquitinated). Lysine-free HIV-1 Nef was completely inactive in Nef-mediated CD4 down-regulation, so was the Nef mutant with a single arginine substitution at K144 but not at K204. A mutant HIV-1 provirion NL4–3 with a single arginine substitution in Nef at K144 was also inactive in Nef-mediated CD4 down-regulation. Lysine-free Nef mutant reintroduced with lysine 144 (ΔK10 + K144) was shown active in CD4 down-regulation. These data suggest that ubiquitination of Nef, particularly diubiquitination of the lysine 144, is necessary for Nef-mediated CD4 down-regulation.
Superoxidation and Electrochemical Reactions during Switching in Pb(Zr2Ti)O3 Ceramics

Under ferroelectric switching in Pb(Zr,Ti)O{sub 3} (PZT) ceramics, the authors demonstrate that oxygen gas is emitted and degrades electrode microstructure. The oxygen is a direct result of the defect chemistry associated with superoxidation which is established during the processing of the ceramics. Under high alternating electric fields, electron injection into the ceramic surface induces a reduction process, and surface layers are believed to change from a p-type electronic compensation to an ionic compensation of oxygen vacancies and A-site lead vacancies. During this process, the authors noticed progressive changes in capacitance, loss, remnant polarization, and coercive field. The wider implications of this observation for PZT thin film nonvolatile memories are discussed in brief.
SU-FF-I-68: Evaluation of An Intensity-Based Free-Form Deformable Registration Algorithm

Purpose: To propose and evaluate an intensity‐based free‐form deformable registration algorithm for CTimage volumes. Method and Materials: We have developed an intensity‐based deformable registration algorithm with essentially limitless degrees of freedom depending on required accuracy and execution speed. The algorithm utilizes sufficient regularization to minimize the likelihood of folds or tears in the deformation fields. The first evaluation strategy utilized real CT volume pairs acquired weeks apart for three subjects who exhibited significant weight loss during IMRT treatment. For these subjects, we calculated the correlation coefficient after rigid and deformable registration. Additionally, a known deformation was applied to a real CT volume creating a synthetic target to determine the ability of the algorithm to recover the same “gold standard” deformation. Finally, we measured the consistency of the algorithm as the average distance of concatenated forward and reverse deformations from the unity transform on a real CT volume pair. Results: The correlation coefficients after rigid registration were 0.890, 0.921, and 0.859 for the three volume pairs. These improved to 0.979, 0.983, and 0.978, respectively, after deformable registration. These results were comparable to benchmark self‐correlations of the target CTs with a 1.4mm translation error applied (0.979, 0.980, and 0.978, respectively). In the second experiment, rigid registration averaged 10.3mm error (6.6mm SD) while deformable registration averaged 1.1mm error (1.9mm SD) from the “gold standard”. Nearly three quarters (73.9%) of voxels had less than 1mm error and the 95% confidence interval was 4.8mm compared to 0.6% and 23.2mm respectively for rigid registration. Finally, concatenating the forward and reverse deformations resulted in an average distance of 3.1mm (3.1mm SD) from unity. Conclusions: The accuracy and speed of the algorithm suggests its utility for a variety of purposes including integration into an adaptive radiation therapy protocol. Conflict of Interest: Contributing author employed by MIMvista Corp.
Parallel Chemical Genetic and Genome-Wide RNAi Screens Identify Cytokinesis Inhibitors and Targets

Cytokinesis involves temporally and spatially coordinated action of the cell cycle and cytoskeletal and membrane systems to achieve separation of daughter cells. To dissect cytokinesis mechanisms it would be useful to have a complete catalog of the proteins involved, and small molecule tools for specifically inhibiting them with tight temporal control. Finding active small molecules by cell-based screening entails the difficult step of identifying their targets. We performed parallel chemical genetic and genome-wide RNA interference screens in Drosophila cells, identifying 50 small molecule inhibitors of cytokinesis and 214 genes important for cytokinesis, including a new protein in the Aurora B pathway (Borr). By comparing small molecule and RNAi phenotypes, we identified a small molecule that inhibits the Aurora B kinase pathway. Our protein list provides a starting point for systematic dissection of cytokinesis, a direction that will be greatly facilitated by also having diverse small molecule inhibitors, which we have identified. Dissection of the Aurora B pathway, where we found a new gene and a specific small molecule inhibitor, should benefit particularly. Our study shows that parallel RNA interference and small molecule screening is a generally useful approach to identifying active small molecules and their target pathways.
The high temperature electrical properties of ZnTe: Al; self-compensation model in ZnTe

Abstract The high temperature defect equilibria and self-compensation behavior of ZnTe were investigated by measuring the high temperature electrical transport properties under equilibrium conditions of Al-doped single crystals. The conductivity type was changed from p -type to low resistivity n -type between 700 and 925°C in Zn-rich atmospheres by the addition of 6 × 10 18 cm −3 Al donors. A two-carrier treatment of the transport measurements yields n αP +0·4 Zn . It is proposed that the impurity donors are compensated by doubly ionized native acceptors.
THE EFFECT OF QUININE UPON THE THYROID GLAND

Forchheimer was the first (circa 1885) to recommend on empiric grounds the use of quinine in thyrotoxic states. On the basis of his wide clinical experience he claimed that “the good effects of this treatment usually follow in the same sequence: first, the tachycardia improves, the pulse frequently coming down from 130–140 beats to 80 or 90 beats per minute in forty-eight hours; secondly, the thyroid gland diminishes in size, by measurement; thirdly, the tremor and exophthalmos disappear” (1). There have been a number of more or less enthusiastic reports on the use of various salts of quinine, chiefly the hydrobromide, in thyrotoxicosis (2). Clendening, in his text on “Modern Methods of Treatment” (3) states that “in the treatment of intoxication from the thyroid gland, quinine is the drug that I use as a routine most frequently.” Although the drug has never come into general use, it is still routinely employed in some European clinics, and faith in its efficacy in hyperthyroidism persists in some quarter...
Conceptual perspective and lexical choice in acquisition

Abstract Adult speakers choose among perspectives when they talk, with different words picking out different perspectives (e.g., the dog , our pet , that animal ). The many-perspectives account of lexical acquisition proposes that children learn to take alternative perspectives along with the words they acquire, and, therefore, from the first, readily apply multiple terms to the same objects or events. And adults offer children pragmatic directions about the meanings of new words and hence about new perspectives. In contrast, the one-perspective account proposes that children are able, at first, to use only one term to talk about an object or event. Evidence for the many-perspectives account comes from a range of sources: children spontaneously use more than one term for the same object ( horse and chair for a toy horse); they construct novel words to mark alternate perspectives ( Dalmatian-dog vs. dog ); they shift perspective when asked (from cat to animal , or sailor to bear for anthropomorphic characters); and they readily learn new terms for talking about already-labelled kinds. Children sometimes fail to learn new words or fail to relate them to words already known, but only in situations that lack adequate pragmatic directions.
Tutorials in clinical research: part VII. Understanding comparative statistics (contrast)--part A: general concepts of statistical significance.

Objectives/Hypothesis The present tutorial is the seventh in a series of Tutorials in Clinical Research. The specific purpose of the tutorial (Part A) and its sequel (Part B) is to introduce and explain three commonly used statistical tools for assessing contrast in the comparison between two groups. Study Design Tutorial. Methods The authors met weekly for 10 months discussing clinical research studies and the applied statistics. The difficulty was not in the material but in the effort to make the report easy to read and as short as possible. Results The tutorial is organized into two parts. Part A, which is the present report, focuses on the fundamental concepts of the null hypothesis and comparative statistical significance. The sequel, Part B, discusses the application of three common statistical indexes of contrast, the χ2, Mann-Whitney U, and Student t tests. Conclusions Assessing the validity of medical studies requires a working knowledge of research design and statistics; obtaining this knowledge need not be beyond the ability of the busy surgeon. The authors have tried to construct an accurate, easy-to-read, easy-to-apply, basic introduction to comparing two groups. The long-term goal of the present tutorial and others in the series is to facilitate basic understanding of clinical research, thereby stimulating reading of some of the numerous well-written research design and statistical texts. This knowledge may then be applied to the continuing educational review of the literature and the systematic prospective analysis of individual practices.
Measuring the Short-Run Impact of a Country's Import Restrictions on its Exports

I. Introduction, 456. â€”II. Input-output model tracing the impact of changes in the prices of imports on the prices of domestic products, 457.â€” III. Application of this model to Colombia, 458. â€” IV. Conclusion, 461.
Large-channel counterflow turbulence in superfluid 4 He

With the use of a highly sensitive chemical potential difference detector, critical heat current densities for superfluid turbulence in the temperature range of 1.15 to 2.14 K have been measured in a large rectangular glass channel and are compared with the Vinen model. The temperature dependence of $\frac{{\ensuremath{\chi}}_{1}}{{\ensuremath{\chi}}_{2}}$ is found to be in fair agreement with the Schwarz theory in the range of 1.15 to 1.6 K, but significant deviations from theory in the high-temperature range (g 1.6 K) are observed.
Influence of partial reinforcement pattern and intertrial reinforcement on extinction performance following abbreviated training

The resistance to extinction of albino rats was investigated as a function of N-R, R-N, and R-R transitions with abbreviated training in a runway. The relevance of the results to the modified aftereffects hypothesis was discussed.
Application of the theory of orthogonal polynomials in two variables to a multi-gain equivalent linearization problem

It is shown that the multi-gain representation for a single-valued non-linearity with multiple inputs as developed by Somerville and Atherton may be regarded as an approximation problem involving orthogonal polynomials in two variables. Consider two stationary random processes, x(t) and y(t), possibly correlated, with a given second-order (zero-delay) joint probability density, p(x,y). If the input to a specified zero-memory non-linear device having the input/output characteristic v0(t) = f[vi(t)] is x(t) + y(t), the relevant polynomials satisfy orthonormality conditions over the xy-plane with respect to p(x, y) as weighting function. An inherent minimum property of these polynomials then allows the equivalent gains to be determined directly in terms of the expansion coefficients of f(x+y) with respect to the polynomials. When x and y are uncorrelated, the gains reduce to the values previously obtained by Somerville and Atherton. A further property of the polynomials is sufficient to prove that the zero-delay cross-correlation between the input and the error involved in the approximation is zero, and that this result remains true as the order of the approximation is increased.
Effects of Mulch on Seedlings and Soil on a Closed Landfill

Landfills are ideal locations for short-rotation forestry, tree-based bioremediation, and wildlife habitat reconstruction. However, tree survival is reduced by harsh growing conditions and poor soil quality. This study was designed to determine survival of tree seedlings and test effects of different mulch types and depths on edaphic properties and herb emergence on a closed Ohio landfill. In spring 2002, five species of hardwood tree seedlings (Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Robinia pseudoacacia, Prunus serotina, Quercus macrocarpa, and Populus sp.) were planted in a clustered fashion on 35 plots. Each plot received a mulch treatment consisting of one type of mulch (hardwood, leaf, or mixed) at a specific depth (5 or 15 cm) or was designated as a nonmulched control. The status of each seedling and edaphic qualities (soil moisture, temperature, and nutrients) were recorded for two growing seasons. Aboveground herbaceous biomass was sampled at the end of each growing season. We found that survival and growth were species dependent. At the conclusion of the experiment, Fraxinus had the highest survival rate (70%) and Prunus the lowest (7%). The use of leaf mulch (15 cm deep) increased organic matter and various edaphic properties (cation exchange capacity, P, Mg) after the second growing season. Mulch treatments did not significantly affect aboveground herbaceous biomass when compared to nonmulched controls. These results suggest Fraxinus as a good candidate for landfill plantings. Additionally, leaves and yard waste are plentiful and could quickly enrich poor soils on a landfill if left to decompose aboveground.
Some Reflections on Diffusion Theory and the Role of Everett Rogers

To a remarkable degree, the Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) framework and particularly Everett Rogers as its primary definer, organizer, and elaborator, never sit still. In edition after edition of ...
Individual bilateral megadontism: report of case

The presence of two giant teeth that apparently developed from the lower second premolar buds in an 8-year-old girl was revealed by radiographic examination. These anomalous giant teeth were removed intact.
The Interface Between Monitoring and Physiology at the Bedside

Hemodynamic instability as a clinical state represents either a perfusion failure with clinical manifestations of circulatory shock or heart failure or 1 or more out-of-threshold hemodynamic monitoring values, which may not necessarily be pathologic. Different types of causes of circulatory shock require different types of treatment modalities, making these distinctions important. Diagnostic approaches or therapies based on data derived from hemodynamic monitoring assume that specific patterns of derangements reflect specific disease processes, which respond to appropriate interventions. Hemodynamic monitoring at the bedside improves patient outcomes when used to make treatment decisions at the right time for patients experiencing hemodynamic instability.
Use of Mueller matrices in the photoelastic determination of the stress distribution in a model for a solid propellant rocket grain

We introduce some basic optical rules dealing with Mueller matrices as phenomenological descriptors of optical devices. Specific simple examples illustrate how all the Stokes parameters of a beam passing through a system of several devices can be determined by the multiplication of the individual Mueller matrices of the respective system components and the Stokes vector of the incident beam. Two resulting families of interference fringes in the (visible) emerging field of the de- vices considered are separated from each other by the introduction of suitable additional system components. The ''isochromatic'' family of fringes can thus be isolated from the ''isoclinic'' family, and a natural application to photoelastic problems becomes evident. Thus, a second purpose is to use this technique and these fringes to photoelastically determine the stress distribution in a disk with a square perforation, when the disk is subjected to a uniformly distributed pressure, acting at its outside or at its inside periphery. This enables the visualization and quantification of the stresses developed during the burning of the grain. The size of the square hole and the radii of the fillets at the corners of the square are variables of the study. Results are given as stress concen- tration factors, in dimensionless form, and are of use to the designer of solid propellant rocket grains. An analogy is given to suggest another application at longer wavelengths to calibrate or discriminate between some radar signals in the microwave region. © 2003 Society of Photo-Optical
Voluntary consumption of ethanol in 15 inbred mouse strains

To determine genetic differences in ethanol consumption, 15 commonly used inbred strains of mice were given ad libitum two-bottle choice between ethanol, 0.2% saccharin, or ethanol plus saccharin in one bottle versus tap water in the other bottle. Three different concentrations of ethanol were used: 3%, 6% and 10% (v/v). Of the 15 strains, the C57BL/6J, C57BR/cdJ and C57L/J strains showed the most consistent higher intake of ethanol either with or without 0.2% saccharin. In marked contrast, the DBA/1J and DBA/2J strains consistently showed the lowest intake. Consumption of 3% ethanol without saccharin was highly genetically correlated with saccharin consumption (r=0.77), suggesting that low concentrations of ethanol may have a sweet taste that affects voluntary consumption. Most strains showed very different patterns of response to ethanol with or without saccharin. Three patterns of strain responses were identified. Some strains avoided higher concentrations of ethanol whether in water or saccharin; some appeared to be sensitive to the ability of saccharin to mask the odor of ethanol; and some may have reduced consumption only when ethanol concentrations were high enough to produce aversive postingestional effects. Whereas earlier studies generally attempted to explain strain differences in consumption by invoking a single mechanism, our results demonstrate that more than one mechanism is necessary to explain the preferential ethanol intake of all strains studied.
Constraining the Ages of Supernova Progenitors. I. Supernovae and Spiral Arms

We present the first results of a three-part study of supernova (SN) ages using positional age indicators in spiral galaxies. We have measured the positions of 90 spectroscopically identified Type Ia and Type II SNs (SNs Ia and SNs II) relative to spiral arms in their host galaxies, making a special effort to reduce inhomogeneity in the process of arm tracing for different galaxies. We find that SNs II are more tightly concentrated to the arms than SNs Ia, but both kinds of SNs occur closer to arms than a random disk population. However, when compared with the distribution of V and I light relative to the arms, the SNs Ia are no more tightly concentrated than the general stellar population. This indicates that SNs Ia occur in a population old enough to have diffused away from their formation regions.
Cultural Landscape Heritage in Sub-Saharan Africa

Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection/Harvard University, Washington D.C. 10–11 May 2013In his 1993 book The Culture of Flowers, social anthropologist Jack Goody wrote with conviction that...
The Identification and Treatment of Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes Mellitus: Current Practice in the USA 366

The Identification and Treatment of Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes Mellitus: Current Practice in the USA 366
Developmental changes in the effects of serotonin and N-methyl-d-aspartate on intrinsic membrane properties of embryonic chick motoneurons

Abstract A spinal cord slice preparation was developed in order to study developmental changes in intrinsic membrane properties and in responses to N -methyl- d -aspartate and serotonin in embryonic chick motoneurons. Transverse spinal cord slices were obtained from chick embryos over a series of developmental stages (embryonic days 12–18). Intracellular recordings were obtained from 87 antidromically identified motoneurons. During the stages examined, the average resting membrane potential did not vary significantly, the voltage threshold of current-evoked action potentials became significantly more negative, there was a non-significant trend towards a decrease in the recorded input resistance, but there were no significant changes observed in the membrane time constant. There were significant developmental changes in the waveform of the current-evoked action potentials. The average amplitude of the action potentials increased over the stages studied, while the action potential duration measured at half-amplitude decreased. All of the motoneurons examined were maximally depolarized by bath application of 50 μM N -methyl- d -aspartate. The depolarization persisted in the presence of tetrodotoxin but was blocked by 100 μM 2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid and, therefore, was at least partially due to a direct action of N -methyl- d -aspartate on motoneuronal receptors. The average amplitude of the N -methyl- d -aspartate-induced depolarizations decreased significantly over the stages examined. In contrast, bath application of 50 μm serotonin produced either depolarizing or hyperpolarizing responses depending on the developmental age of the motoneuron. Serotonin induced a depolarization in about 50% of the motoneurons at embryonic day 12, 69% of the motoneurons at embryonic day 15 and 100% of the motoneurons recorded from at embryonic day 1. These findings reveal important developmental changes in intrinsic membrane responses and action potential properties of chick motoneurons recorded from a slice preparation. We have also documented changes in the motoneuronal responses to serotonin, a neurotransmitter used by a major descending projection, and N -methyl- d -aspartate, which activates glutamate receptors known to contribute to synaptic activity in segmental circuits.
Neuronal growth as diffusion in an effective potential

Current understanding of neuronal growth is mostly qualitative, as the staggering number of physical and chemical guidance cues involved prohibit a fully quantitative description of axonal dynamics. We report on a general approach that describes axonal growth in vitro, on poly-D-lysine-coated glass substrates, as diffusion in an effective external potential, representing the collective contribution of all causal influences on the growth cone. We use this approach to obtain effective growth rules that reveal an emergent regulatory mechanism for axonal pathfinding on these substrates.
The O-Mannosylation Pathway: Glycosyltransferases and Proteins Implicated in Congenital Muscular Dystrophy

Several forms of congenital muscular dystrophy, referred to as dystroglycanopathies, result from defects in the protein O-mannosylation biosynthetic pathway. In this minireview, I discuss 12 proteins involved in the pathway and how they play a role in the building of glycan structures (most notably on the protein α-dystroglycan) that allow for binding to multiple proteins of the extracellular matrix.
DEMONSTRATION IN AN ANIMAL MODEL OF A HEAT LABILE TOXIN PRODUCED BY C PYLORIDIS (CP)

The production of enterotoxins by various bacterial cell lines has been widely studed in a variety of models including both animal and tissue culture cells. A report of a mouse model for measurement of virulence has been published recently (McCardell, et al., J. Infect. Immun; 153:177, 1986). Similar results with CP, a gram negative, curved bacterium associated with chronic gastritis, have been obtained in our laboratory. Using a modification of this animal model to identify the presence of toxins, sterilely filtered cell lysates of CP obtained from a pediatric patient were injected ip into 6-8 week old CF-1 outbred female mice. CP was grown on Columbia agar with 5% sheep blood and incubated at 37°C, microaerophically for 4 days. Harvested cells were lysed and the particulate matter was removed by centrifugatipn. The supernatant was sterilely filtered. One ml of sterile filtratres at various protein concentrations were injected ip into mice. The mice were observed for 4 days for death. Control mice were injected with PBS that was used to wash uninoculated Columbia agar plates. Protein concentrations ranging from 1 to 5 mg were evaluated. Concentrations greater than 1.3 mg were uniformly toxic (90% mortality within 48 hours). No deaths were noted during the 4 day study period with protein concentrations below 1.3 mg/ml. Additional work has snown that the toxic factor was inactivated by trypsin, heat (100°C for 15 min), and acidification to pH 4.0. The toxic factor was precipitated with 80% NH4SO4 and is nondialyzable. Postmortem examination of the mice shows edema and distention of the duodenum with the remainder of the bowel appearing normal. The above work demonstrates that there is a toxic factor that is present in certain strains of CP. This factor is lethal to mice when given ip and is probably protein in nature. Whether this factor is responsible for the epithelial damage seen in patients with active CP associated gastritis remains to be determined. Further work will also determine if this toxic factor can be demonstrated on the various tissue culture models used for toxin assays.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: the short and long of it.

This is a copy of an article published in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology © 2013 Copyright Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.; Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology is available online at: http://www.liebertonline.com.
SPaM: a combined self-paced reading and masked-priming paradigm.

In this article, we validate an experimental paradigm, SPaM, that we first described elsewhere (Luke & Christianson, Memory & Cognition 40:628–641, 2012). SPaM is a synthesis of self-paced reading and masked priming. The primary purpose of SPaM is to permit the study of sentence context effects on early word recognition. In the experiment reported here, we show that SPaM successfully reproduces results from both the self-paced reading and masked-priming literatures. We also outline the advantages and potential uses of this paradigm. For users of E-Prime, the experimental program can be downloaded from our lab website, http://epl.beckman.illinois.edu/ .
A new idea in sandwich panel construction

Abstract Techniques of discrete field mechanics are used to obtain rationally based closed form solutions for sandwich panels with isolated core blocks. The mathematical model for a rational analysis including membrane, flexural and composite action is derived in the form of summation equations. The solution is written as a double finite Fourier series for the nodal quantities and double infinite Fourier series for continuous quantities. The derived formulae are numerically illustrated.
Role of serum complement, immunoglobulins, and cell-mediated immune system in the pathogenesis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP)

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a common complication of advanced liver disease, which has a reported prevalence of between 4 and 27%. Frequent bacteremias due to inadequate host defense mechanisms, particularly the reticuloendothelial system (RES), with seeding of an ascitic fluid that lacks a normal opsonic activity, is believed to be the principal cause of SBP. Little data exist as to the role of serum levels of complement and immunoglobulins as well as the cell-mediated immune system in the pathogenesis of SBP. The aim of this study was to determine the serum levels of the third and fourth components of complement (C3, C4), total hemolytic complement activity (CH100), and properdin factor B (PFB) and immunoglobulins G, A, and M and various T-cell parameters in individuals admitted to hospital with ascites and advanced liver disease and to determine whether one or more of these factors could be used to predict the development of SBP in patients with advanced liver disease. Fourteen consecutive patients (nine male and five female; age 47.5±3.1 years, mean±Sem) with end-stage liver disease and ascites, who were evaluated for possible liver transplant at the University of Pittsburgh and who developed SBP, comprised the study group. The diagnosis of SBP was determined by positive ascitic fluid culture (three patients) and/or ascitic fluid neutrophil count of>250 cells/mm3 (all patients). The control group consisted of 14 patients, matched for type of liver disease, age, and sex, who did not develop SBP. Each patient studied underwent a prospective elective abdominal paracentesis, and the recovered fluid was assayed for total protein, total white blood cell count, total neutrophil count, and culture. The immunological status of each individual was accomplished by determining the serum levels of C3, C4, PFB, CH100, and immunoglobulins G, A, and M. Finally the percentage of lymphocytes and their distribution in the various T-cell subsets was determined also. No difference in the immunological status between these two groups was evident. However, the ascitic fluid protein level, although not significantly different between the two groups studied, was less than 2 g/dl more often in the group developing SBP than in the control group that did not subsequently develop SBP. The estimated risk for developing SBP in individuals with ascitic fluid protein level of <2 g/dl was increased eightfold (95% CI: 50.05, 1.28) compared to those with ascitic fluid total protein levels above this cutoff level. Based on these data, it is concluded that serum immunoglobulin and complement levels and the cell-mediated immune system activity are similar in patients with advanced liver disease who develop and do not develop SBP. Thus, these parameters cannot be used as predictors for the development of SBP. In contrast, the ascitic fluid protein level was found to be a simple readily measurable parameter capable of identifying patients at high risk for the development of SBP.