cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Incidence of Posterior and Combined AP Shoulder Instability Treatment with Surgical Stabilization Is Higher in an Active Military Population than in the General Population: Findings from the US Naval Academy.

BACKGROUND Anterior instability has consistently been shown to be the most common type of glenohumeral instability. Recent studies have demonstrated a higher percentage of posterior and combined (anterior and posterior) instability than had previously been reported; however, this work has not been replicated recently in a particularly young military population, which may be representative of an especially athletic or high-demand group. QUESTION/PURPOSE What proportion of arthroscopic shoulder stabilization procedures are performed to address isolated anterior instability, isolated posterior instability, and combined instability in a young, military population? METHODS Between August 2009 and January 2020, two sports medicine fellowship-trained surgeons performed arthroscopic shoulder surgery on 543 patients at a single institution. During that time, the indication to be treated with arthroscopic stabilization surgery was symptomatic glenohumeral instability, as diagnosed by the operative surgeon, that restricted patients from carrying out their military duties. Of those, 82% (443 of 543) could be evaluated in this retrospective study, while 18% (100 of 543) were excluded due to either incomplete data or because the procedure performed was not to address instability. No patient underwent an open stabilization procedure during this period. Of the 443 patients investigated, the mean age was 22 ± 4 years, and 88% (392 of 443 patients) were men. Instability type was characterized as isolated anterior, isolated posterior, or combined (anterior and posterior) according to the physician's diagnosis as listed in the patient's clinical records and operative reports after the particular capsulolabral pathology was identified and addressed. RESULTS Isolated anterior instability occurred in 47% of patients (210 of 443). Isolated posterior instability happened in 18% of patients (80 of 443), while combined anteroposterior instability occurred in 35% of patients (153 of 443). CONCLUSION Shoulder instability is common in the military population. Although anterior instability occurred most frequently, these findings demonstrate higher proportions of posterior and combined instability than have been previously reported. Surgeons should have a heightened suspicion for posterior and combined anteroposterior labral pathology when performing arthroscopic stabilization procedures to ensure that these instability patterns are recognized and treated appropriately. The current investigation examines a unique cohort of young and active individuals who are at particularly high risk for instability and whose findings may represent a good surrogate for other active populations that a surgeon may encounter.Level of Evidence Level III; therapeutic study.
Ergonomics of Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery: A Systematic Review

Objective There has been a significant expansion in endonasal endoscopic skull base surgery (EES) that has been used to address a wide range of intracranial and sinonasal pathologies. Although there exists a large amount of literature on approaches and patient outcomes, there is a paucity of data describing ergonomics in this field. Our goal was to evaluate and summarize the literature on ergonomics in EES. Methods We systematically reviewed all published, peer-reviewed, English language literature in the PubMed and Web of Science databases as screened by multiple reviewers describing ergonomics as related to EES. Results A total of 50 articles were found that described significant conclusions and descriptions on ergonomics in EES. We found and summarized the different technical aspects of ergonomics as pertaining to EES and provided evidence-based suggestions on operating room and surgeon setup. Conclusions There are several improvements in EES ergonomics that can decrease fatigue, improve efficiency, and overall surgeon well-being.
Measurements from the University of Colorado RAAVEN Uncrewed Aircraft System during ATOMIC

Abstract. Between 24 January and 15 February 2020, small uncrewed aircraft systems (sUAS) were deployed to Morgan Lewis (Barbados) as part of the Atlantic Tradewind Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Interaction Campaign (ATOMIC), a sister project to the ElUcidating the RolE of Cloud-Circulation Coupling in ClimAte (EUREC4A) project. The observations from ATOMIC and EUREC4A were aimed at improving our understanding of trade-wind cumulus clouds and the environmental regimes supporting them, and involved the deployment of a wide variety of observational assets, including aircraft, ships, surface-based systems and profilers. The current manuscript describes ATOMIC observations obtained using the University of Colorado Boulder RAAVEN sUAS. This platform collected nearly 80 hours of data throughout the lowest kilometer of the atmosphere, sampling the near-shore environment upwind from Barbados. Data from these platforms are publicly available through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Center for Environmental Intelligence (NCEI) archive. The primary DOI for the quality-controlled dataset described in this manuscript is 10.25921/jhnd-8e58 (de Boer et al., 2021).
Total joint replacement surgeon choice: A qualitative analysis in a medicare population.

Abstract Introduction Previous research has shown that patients from historically marginalized groups in the United States tend to have poorer outcomes after joint replacement surgery and that they are less likely to receive joint replacement surgery at high-volume hospitals. However, little is known regarding how this group of patients chooses their joint replacement surgeon. The purpose of this study was to understand the factors influencing the choice of joint replacement surgeon amongst a diverse group of patients. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Medicare patients who underwent a hip or knee replacement within the last 24 months (N = 38) at an academic and community hospital. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and verified for accuracy. Transcripts were reviewed using iterative content analysis to extract key themes related to how respondents chose their joint replacement surgeon. Results and discussion MD referral/recommendation appears to be the strongest factor influencing joint replacement surgeon choice. Other key considerations are hospital reputation and surgeon attributes—including operative experience, communication skills, and participation in shared decision-making. Gender/ethnicity of a surgeon, industry payments to surgeons, number of publications and cost did not play a large role in surgeon choice. Conclusion and clinical relevance The process of choosing a joint replacement surgeon is a complex decision-making process with several factors at play. Despite growing availability of information regarding surgeons, patients largely relied on referrals for choosing their joint replacement surgeon regardless of ethnicity. Referring physicians need to ensure that patients are able to access hospital and surgeon outcomes, operative volume, and industry-payment information to learn more about their orthopedic surgeons in order to make an informed choice.
Reflection in Transformative Learning: The Challenge of Measurement:

Reflection is a key component of the transformative learning process. In this study, we take steps to define components of reflection and link them to a computer-based, quantitative method of conte...
Role for diacylglycerol in mediating the actions of ACh on M-current in gastric smooth muscle cells

The role of the second messenger diacylglycerol (DAG) in mediating muscarinic suppression of M-current, a type of a voltage-gated K+ current that is suppressed by acetylcholine (ACh), was examined in freshly isolated smooth muscle cells from toad stomach. Currents were recorded using a single electrode voltage clamp employing conventional microelectrodes. Extracellular application of 1,2-dioctanoyl-sn-glycerol (DiC8), a synthetic DAG that is a potent activator of protein kinase C (PKC), reversibly suppressed M-current. Current relaxations, representing the voltage-dependent closure of K+ channels underlying M-current, were also decreased by DiC8, although suppression was not always as complete as it was with ACh. In contrast, another DAG analogue, 1,2-dioctanoyl-3-thioglycerol, which has a structure closely related to DiC8 but does not activate PKC, failed to inhibit M-current. Furthermore, M-current induced by the beta-agonist isoproterenol, by a mechanism apparently mediated by adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (S. M. Sims, L. H. Clapp, J. V. Walsh, Jr., and J. J. Singer. Pflugers Arch. 417: 291, 1990), was also suppressed by DiC8. Both ACh and DiC8 were found to suppress endogenous and isoproterenol-induced M-current without altering the time course of M-current deactivation, suggesting that these agents act by decreasing the number of channels available to be opened. These results provide evidence that muscarinic regulation of M-current is mediated by DAG.
Chapter 2 Oxindole Alkaloids

Publisher Summary The application of modern techniques of structural analysis, particularly proton magnetic resonance (PMR), 13 C magnetic resonance (CMR), mass spectrum, and circular dichroism (CD), has had considerable impact upon elucidation of the structure of oxindole alkaloids and has laid bare the finer details of their stereochemistry and conformation. In this chapter, important physical properties of most of the known oxindole alkaloids are included in tabular form for the purpose of comparison and providing a comprehensive overview of the members of this group. Recently, the mass spectrum of gelsemine was investigated and the molecule was found to undergo fragmentation by two principle pathways upon electron impact. The most intense ion in the gelsemine spectrum occurring at m/e 108 (M-214) is characteristic of the fragmentation pathway, while a second mode of fragmentation results in the ion at m/e 279, probably by extrusion of N b as CH 2 =N–CH 3 . The N b -methylene (C-21) protons must be adjacent to a tertiary carbon, because they appear as a pair of doublets at 2.32 and 2.786 and exhibit no additional coupling. The mass spectrum of gelsedine exhibits a molecular ion peak at m/e 238 and a peak at m/e 209 corresponding to the loss of an ethyl group. The correctness of the formula C 21 H 24 O 3 N 3 for gelsevirine has been demonstrated by a molecular ion peak at m/e 352 in the high-resolution mass spectrum of the base. The chapter also discusses oxindoles of secoyohimbane and heteroyohimbane type. A comparison of the PMR chemical shifts of majdine with pteropodine and carapanaubine suggests that all three bases have the same allo stereochemistry. Gambirdine and isogambirdine, the latter isolated as its hydrochloride, are a pair of interconvertible oxindoles of C 21 H 24 N 2 O 4 constitution. IR, UV, PMR, and mass spectral data suggest that both are alkaloids of the mitraphylloid type.
Islet transplantation for type 1 diabetes--where should we go?

Although the success rate of islet transplantation for patients with type 1 diabetes has improved, many issues still need to be resolved. In this Viewpoint, the authors highlight areas of concern, including the inefficiency of current isolation protocols and the occurrence of adverse events, and ask how the efficacy of this procedure can be enhanced.
Locale of Innovation

In this article, the focus is on local and transnational innovations. With the increasing globalization of firms, markets, and the factors influencing development and consumption of goods and services, the words “local” and “transnational” can be considered to be ideas on a continuum rather than as discrete categories. Therefore, discussion of one cannot be exclusive of the other. As a result, local and transnational innovation are discussed in tandem. Keywords: location; innovation; local; transnational; globalization
Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. Incidence and risk factors in North Western Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES To find the incidence, early outcome and the associated risk factors of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy(HIE) in Madina Al-Munawara, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and compare it with other centers. Also, to find out whether any of these risk factors are preventable. METHODS We conducted a case controlled study of HIE in Madina Maternity and Children's Hospital, Madina Al-Munawara, KSA over a one-year-period, from June 1995 to May 1996. All the inborn term babies without major congenital malformations that developed HIE were included in the study. A term baby born next to the index case was taken as a control for each case. Data was collected for possible risk factors. The incidence of risk factors in the 2 groups was analyzed and compared statistically. RESULTS A total of 70 cases of HIE were recorded in the study period giving an incidence of 5.5 cases per 1000 term births. This incidence is lower compared to many developing countries and comparable to other centers. Among the maternal factors, being a primigravida, with no antenatal care, presence of pregnancy induced hypertension, and complications of pregnancy were significantly higher in the study population. Similarly, the frequency of prolonged 2nd stage of labor, antepartum hemorrhage, delivery by emergency cesarean section (CS) or the use of instruments was significantly higher in the study group. Babies suffering from intrauterine growth retardation and male sex were also at significantly higher risk. The average hospital stay of the cases was 12 days. Twelve cases of severe HIE died before discharge from the hospital giving an overall mortality rate of 17.1%. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of HIE and birth asphyxia reported in different studies varies widely. The incidence in our hospital is much lower than reported in many studies from developing countries. The important associated risk factors includes being a primigravida mother, lack of antenatal care, pregnancy induced hypertension, prolonged 2nd stage of labor, delivery by use of instruments or emergency CS and intrauterine growth retardation. Improvement in antenatal care and intra-partum monitoring can decrease the incidence of HIE. The threshold for intervention in cases with fetal distress needs to be lower.
Adoptive Transfer of Tumor-Specific Tc17 Effector T Cells Controls the Growth of B16 Melanoma in Mice

In vitro generated OVA-specific IL-17–producing CD8 T effector cells (Tc17) from OT-1 mice, adoptively transferred into B16-OVA tumor-bearing mice, controlled tumor growth in early and late stage melanoma. IL-17, TNF, and IFN-γ from the Tc17 effectors all played a role in an enhanced recruitment of T cells, neutrophils, and macrophages to the tumor. In addition, Tc17 cells and recently recruited, activated neutrophils produced further chemokines, including CCL3, CCL4, CCL5, CXCL9, and CXCL10, responsible for the attraction of type 1 lymphocytes (Th1 and Tc1) and additional neutrophils. Neutrophils were rapidly attracted to the tumor site by an IL-17 dependent mechanism, but at later stages the induction of the chemokine CXCL2 by Tc17-derived TNF and IFN-γ contributed to sustain neutrophil recruitment. Approximately 10–50 times as many Tc17 effectors were required compared with Tc1 effectors to exert the same level of control over tumor growth. The recruitment of neutrophils was more prominent when Tc17 rather than Tc1 were used to control tumor and depletion of neutrophils resulted in a diminished capacity to control tumor growth.
Stereochemistry of nucleic acids and their constituents. XIX. Copper binding sites and mechanism of G-C selective denaturation of DNA. Crystal and molecular structures of guanine-copper(II) chloride and cytosine-copper(II) chloride complexes.

Abstract The crystal and molecular structures of the copper(II) chloride complexes of guanine (C5H6N5O·CuCl3·H2O) and cytosine (C4N3H5O·CuCl2) have been determined by the heavy-atom technique and refined by the method of least-squares to R values of 0.052 and 0.078, respectively, using three-dimensional diffractometric data and copper Kα radiation. Crystals of guanine copper(II) chloride are monoclinic space group C2/c, with unit cell constants a = 16.952 A , b = 10.183 A , c = 13.185 A , β = 99.97 °. The calculated and observed densities are 2.015 and 2.024 g cm−3, respectively. Crystals of cytosine copper(II) chloride are monoclinic space group P21/c with unit cell constants a = 8.349 A , b = 13.744 A , c = 13.660 A , β = 128.0 °. Calculated and observed densities are, respectively, 1.90 and 1.96 g cm−3. The preferred copper binding sites were found to be N(3) and O(2) (weak) for cytosine and N(9) for guanine. It is significant that the copper binding to cytosine involves two of the three sites which are normally involved in hydrogen bonding to guanine in the Watson-Crick base pairing scheme. The known preference of copper(II) for binding to G·C pairs rather than A · T pairs is shown to be related to the observed copper(II) binding scheme. From other physico-chemical evidence implicating copper binding to N(7) of guanine, probable complexes of copper and cytosine and/or guanine are suggested which can affect denaturation of DNA.
The Impact of Social Network Composition upon Knowledge and Resistance to Persuasion: Reconciling Findings

The current research examines the role of subjective versus objective knowledge in the relation between social network attitudinal composition and attitude strength in order to elucidate prior contradictory results. Prior research demonstrates that individuals embedded in attitudinally heterogeneous social networks are more knowledgeable, and so should have stronger attitudes that are less susceptible to persuasion. Yet other research shows that individuals embedded in heterogeneous networks have weaker attitudes that are less stable and more susceptible to persuasion. The current results, based on a national survey indicate that although heterogeneous networks may increase objective knowledge, they diminish individuals’ perceptions of their own knowledge. It is this perceived lack of knowledge that partially mediates attitude strength effects, such that those in attitudinally heterogeneous networks have weaker attitudes which are more susceptible to persuasion. In addition to illuminating the nuances of the impact of social context upon attitudes and attitude strength, these results highlight the important distinction between objective and subjective measures of politically relevant variables.
Enteric commensal bacteria activate formyl peptide receptor 1 to regulate intestinal epithelial homeostasis and wound repair (488.7)

Mucosal homeostasis and wound repair require epithelial proliferation and migration. Gut commensal microbiota are essential for normal intestinal development, renewal and repair. N-formyl peptide r...
Children With Encopresis: A Study of Treatment Outcome

A pediatric treatment program for encopresis was established in a large medical center. This consisted of counseling and education, initial bowel catharsis, a supportive maintenance program to potentiate optimum evacuation, retraining, and careful monitoring and follow-up. A group of 127 children received care for this problem. At the end of one year, outcome data were obtained on 110 patients. Of these, 51% had not had "accidents" for more than six months. Another 27% showed marked improvement and were having only rare episodes of incontinence. 14% of these children showed some improvement, but continued to have incontinence, while 8% showed no improvement whatsoever during the treatment year. These four outcome groups were compared with respect to a large number of demographic, developmental, psychosocial, and clinical variables.
An Analysis of the Scope of Copyright Protection for Application Programs

The article describes how the first courts to address the scope of copyright protection for application programs have tended to view application programming as predominantly an exercise in creative expression and accordingly have interpreted the scope of copyright protection in this area quite broadly. As Part I explains, however, many design choices in writing application programs are made by applying the principles of the scientific fields of human factor analysis and software engineering. Thus, the tendency of courts to view application programming as more akin to literary creativity than to scientific and engineering advancement threatens to give broad legal protection to basic principles of human factor analysis and software engineering without requiring the creators of the programs embodying those principles to satisfy the more exacting standards of patent law. The article concludes that a careful application of the idea/expression merger doctrine, recognizing the importance of scientific considerations in application programming and the need to standardize computer-human interfaces, would both foster the invention, development, and diffusion of improved application programs and comport with basic copyright principles.
Inverse relationship of protein concentration and binding activity of alpha-galactoside receptors from sugarcane membranes.

1. 1. The binding activity of purified α-galactoside receptor proteins from a number of plant species decreases when the protein concentration is increased from 2 ng/ml to 100 μg/ml. 2. 2. The apparent loss of binding activity at high protein concentrations corresponds to the formation of high molecular weight multimers. 3. 3. Raffinose and melibiose cause a ligand-dependent increase in binding activity and a corresponding decrease in the relative abundance of multimers at any given protein concentration. 4. 4. The self-inhibition of binding activity at high protein concentrations arises from a competition between ligand binding by oligomers and self-association of these oligomers into multimeric species which have little or no binding activity.
Reliability and reactivity of self-recording by preschool children.

Summary.-Reliability and reactivity are two important aspects of self-recording which have been studied in school-age children and adults. Little research on reliability and reactivity of self-recording by preschool children is available. The reliability of preschool children as recorders of their own behavior and whether reactive changes (or increases in behavior) occurred as a result of self-monitoring were evaluated. Two types of training in self-monitoring (didactic instruction vs guided practice) were received by two independent groups of 6 preschool children. Reliable self-recording for children ages 4 through 5 was not attained. Reactive changes in the recorded behavior were not observed. Behavioral self-monitoring is a technique employed in behavior therapy and is designed to provide the recorder with feedback on his own behavior. This technique has been used to count and modify nonovert (e.g., cognitions, feeling states) and overt, obsemable behavior with varying success (3) Research has mainly involved adults and school-age children and has focused on two important factors, reliability and reactivity of self-recording. Reliability Mash and McElwee (6) point out that the concepts of "observers' accuracy" and "observers' agreement" have at times been obscured in the literature. While observers' agreement refers to the interrater reliability between two observers, observers' accuracy "represents a comparison of an observer's score with some previously established criterion" (6, p. 367). This distinction is an important one as the criterion for a specific free-operant behavior is not known and cannot be known independently of continuous overt observation of that specific behavior which is generally, logistically impossible. The covert agreement between the independent observer and the self-recorder is tantamount to observers' accuracy. Several research groups (5, 8, 11) have shown that observers' accuracy (covert observers' agreement) is generally quite poor as correlations between self-recorders and independent covert observers have not exceeded .60. These data indicate that self-recorders' observations of behavior may not be
The Main Phase Transition of Mica-Supported Phosphatidylcholine Membranes

The phase behavior of mica-supported bilayers has been studied with a differential scanning calorimeter, owing to a significant increase of the substrate area resulting from chopping a piece of mica into a large number of microscopic chips. We have found that there are two main phase transitions for supported phosphatidylcholine bilayers, separated by about 2 °C, and that the lower transition temperature is about 2 °C higher than the main phase transition temperature of lamellar bilayers. Therefore, supported bilayers do have the essential feature of free-standing lipid bilayers. However, the double transitions and higher transition temperatures indicate that details of the main phase transition in lipid layers are highly sensitive to their surrounding environment.
The modification of interview behavior by client use of social reinforcement

It was hypothesized that clients, through the use of social reinforcement, could alter the response classes of past or present verb forms emitted by interviewers. Two graduate students who acted the roles of “real clients” attempted this experimental manipulation in a 27-min interview. Each “client” was interviewed by two groups of interviewers. The target response for one group was past verb forms and, for the other, present verb forms. An overall analysis indicated differences between clients and interviewers on such measures as total-talk time and number of interactions. Problems which arise in investigations of free-operant verbal behavior and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Mitochondrial ATP:AMP phosphotransferase from beef heart: purification and properties.

ATP: AMP phosphotransferase has been purified 186-fold from beef heart mitochondria in an overall yield of 30%. The purified enzyme, Mr 31500, has a specific activity of 800 U/mg and was found to be a homogeneous protein by constancy of specific activity across the elution peak following passage through an Affi-Gel Blue agarose column and by dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis. Isoelectrofocusing shows a minor peak of activity that arises again when the major peak is re-focused. The pI of the enzyme is 9.30 and the optimum pH of activity is 5.8 in the forward reaction (formation of ADP) and 8.0 in the reverse reaction. The enzyme requires the presence of a divalent metal ion, namely Mg2+, Co2+, Ca2+, Mn2+, Ni2+ and Zn2+ in decreasing order of activity and is influenced by NaCl. It shows rigorous specificity for AMP (dAMP) as phosphate acceptor but is rather unspecific for the triphosphate donor since, UTP, CTP, ITP and GTP may substitute for ATP (dATP). ATP and MgATP (dATP was not tested) bind to the enzyme with dissociation constants of 0.122 and 0.132 mM respectively, while AMP (dAMP was not tested), UTP, CTP, ITP and GTP binding could not be detected by the dialysis equilibrium technique used. Amino acid analysis gave the following composition as residues: 26 aspartic acid or asparagine, 14 threonine, 17 serine, 27 glutamic acid or glutamine, 24 proline, 19 glycine, 25 alanine, 17 valine, 8 methionine, 14 isoleucine, 31 leucine, 5 tyrosine, 9 phenylalanine, 6 histidine, 25 lysine, 15 arginine, 4 half cystine (no free sulfhydryls) and no tryptophan, giving a total of 286 residues. The purified mitochondrial adenylate kinase is not a contaminating heart cytosolic enzyme. ATP:AMP phosphotransferase was extracted from beef heart cytosol depleted of mitochondria and brought to homogeneity. Determinations of pI, Mr and amino acid composition showed that the heart mitochondrial and cytosolic adenylate kinases are different isozymes.
Quantifying performance of duplexing, multiplexing and multiple access in mesh, relay, and ad-hoc networks

Decentralized wireless ad hoc networks have become attractive in several settings. The choice of duplexing, multiplexing, and multiple access (D/M/MA) techniques in ad hoc networks is critical to important network characteristics. Yet determining the “optimum” D/M/MA technique is still an open problem, and to our knowledge very few works directly compare available D/M/MA techniques. In this paper we extend previous comparisons of mesh and relay networks to include a simple ad hoc network. In addition, in contrast to our previous work that uses an equal peak power constraint, here we apply two different constraints: an equal average power, and an equal energy constraint. Our comparison method is illustrated with the mesh network, and results for relay networks are summarized. We then investigate D/M/MA performance for an example ad hoc network. We show that one's conclusions regarding the different D/M/MA schemes depend upon the comparison constraint, but for all three constraints, results illustrate that specific types of hybrid time-frequency resource allocation schemes are equivalent to or better than pure time division or pure frequency division in terms of data rate, signal-to-noise ratio, and throughput, in all network topologies. Moreover, the hybrid time-frequency schemes offer more flexibility than the pure time and frequency division schemes in terms of bit-error-ratio and range.
The microdistribution and social behavior of some pelagic mysid shrimps

Abstract Certain pelagic mysids occur in well defined layers near the sea floor in bathymetric zones roughly parallel with shore, within which, during the day, they form large shoals composed of smaller swarms and schools. When light is present vision is apparently the primary, but not exclusive, mode of establishing contact between individuals. Aggregation occurs at night in field populations. Experiments showed that parallel swimming orientation occurs in total darkness but is less precise. At night the mysids probably respond to body contact and the currents created by their fellows; the possible role of general chemical cues in promoting aggregation was not established. Copulation occurs only at night. Apparently it involves emission of a specific chemical attractant by molting adult females, to which only adult males of the same species respond. The observations are interpreted in relation to microdistribution and to possible functions, which include: maintenance of position in the habitat, reduction of predation, efficiency of copulation, and population regulation. It is concluded that studies of structure and function of pelagic populations and communities must take sociality into account.
The impact of audit penalty distributions on the detection and frequency of fraudulent reporting

We investigate how the distribution of the penalties incurred by auditors for failing to detect fraud influences their effort to detect fraud and auditees’ commission of fraud. We compare a probabilistic, skewed audit penalty to a penalty that automatically imposes the expected penalty of the probabilistic distribution (hereafter, a deterministic penalty). Our experiments show that a deterministic penalty with the same expected value of a probabilistic, skewed penalty increases audit effort to detect fraud and decreases fraudulent reporting by auditees and that these benefits hold in a game involving both auditee and auditor players.
Direct observation of initial polarization (CIDEP) in H and D atoms produced in water radiolysis

Abstract Observations are reported of initial CIDEP polarization in the time-resolved EPR spectra of H and D atoms produced by electron radiolysis of aqueous solutions. These observations are compared with previous work on H atom CIDEP. Implications for the concepts of spur chemistry are discussed.
Social Work: An Authority-Based Profession:

Although social work is flourishing by many outward signs, such as the increased number of schools of social work, it is argued that this growth has not honored obligations in our code of ethics, f...
Crystallization and processing of carbohydrates using carbon dioxide

In this work we demonstrate how CO2 in the gaseous, liquid and supercritical states can be utilized in a wide range of industrially relevant processes, namely, crystallization, glassification, material processing of carbohydrates as well as the dispersion of biologically important macromolecules.
Forum: Radiometry And Photometry

My column this month is a review of the seminar on "Utilization of Infrared Detectors" that was presented on January 17 and 18, 1978, at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in North Hollywood, California. This seminar, organized by Wesley L. (Lum) Eisenman of the Naval Ocean Systems Center, was devoted to materials, testing, astronomy, and devices.
Laser Sisyphus cooling in a magnetic trap

Abstract A method of laser Sisyphus cooling of neutral atoms in a magnetic trap is presented. A one-dimensional model predicts a minimum temperature that approaches the recoil limit. Three-dimensional Monte Carlo simulations show that sub-mK temperatures can be reached if the atoms can be kept from ending up in orbits where no further interaction with the laser is possible.
To hire a hall: “An argument in Indianapolis”

This essay examines the historic struggle of the American Civil Liberties Union to assemble in a government owned facility in Indianapolis, and the controversial “See It Now” television broadcast documenting the dispute.
Characterizing kinetics near a first-order catalytic-poisoning transition.

We conside the kinetics near a first-order poisoning transition for simple surface reaction models which exlude nonreactive desorption. Elucidation of the development and growth of the reactive steady state from a near-poisoned state is achieved via an ``oxidation epidemic'' analysis of the evolution of an empy patch embedded in the poisoned phase. Associated critical exponents vary strongly with reaction rate, and reflect slow kinetics. The increase in epidemic survival probability with initial patch size is smooth, and described by additional exponents, rather than indicating a critical size for survival.
Math Skills Assessment

: A math review exam, written and administered in conjunction with the Quantitative Assessment Program at the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, is used at the beginning of the 1st food engineering course to evaluate math skills needed for successful completion of the course. Students who do not score well on the math exam are targeted for individual remedial work to help bring their math skills up to a level that allows successful completion of the food engineering course.
IRTs of the ABCs: children's letter name acquisition.

Abstract We examined the developmental sequence of letter name knowledge acquisition by children from 2 to five years of age. Data from 2 samples representing diverse regions, ethnicity, and socioeconomic backgrounds ( n s = 1074 and 500) were analyzed using item response theory (IRT) and differential item functioning techniques. Results from factor analyses indicated that letter name knowledge represented a unidimensional skill; IRT results yielded significant differences between letters in both difficulty and discrimination. Results also indicated an approximate developmental sequence in letter name learning for the simplest and most challenging to learn letters—but with no clear sequence between these extremes. Findings also suggested that children were most likely to first learn their first initial. We discuss implications for assessment and instruction.
Prosodic facilitation in the resolution of syntactic ambiguities in subjects with left and right hemisphere damage.

The purpose of this study was to determine if prosody facilitates the comprehension of sentences containing temporary syntactic ambiguities in control, and left (LHD) and right hemisphere damaged (RHD) subjects. To test for effects of prosodic facilitation, sentences were created where prosodic boundaries coincided with (cooperating), were absent (baseline), or conflicted (conflicting) with syntactic boundaries in three response times (RTs) experiments. Despite differences in overall RTs and response accuracy for each group, all three groups responded faster and more accurately to sentences in the cooperating than in the baseline and conflicting conditions across experiments, indicating that prosody facilitates syntactic parsing in brain-damaged subjects just as it does with normal control subjects. Results are discussed in relation to psycholinguistic theories of syntactic parsing and neurolinguistic theories of hemispheric specialization in processing the acoustic properties of prosodic structures.
The Development of Tense Markers from Demonstrative Pronouns in Panare (Cariban)

Two synchronic tense-marking auxiliaries in Panare are derived etymologically from demonstrative pronouns. The original pronouns differed in spatial deixis, one marking proximate ('this'), the other distal ('that'). They came to be required between predicate noun and subject in predicate nominal clauses, and thus evolved into copulas. As copulas, the deixis of the pronouns shifted to time, with proximal becoming present or immediate future and distal becoming past (but also sometimes interpretable as distant future). These copulas then evolved further to become tense auxiliaries for a new generation of main clause verbs.
Comparing cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of targeted drug carriers in cancer cell lines with different drug resistance mechanisms.

The purpose of this study was to compare the cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of targeted and nontargeted doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded poly(d,l-lactide co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticle (NP) drug delivery systems in drug-resistant ovarian (SKOV-3) and uterine (MES-SA/Dx5) cancer cell lines. The cellular uptakes of DOX from nonconjugated DOX-loaded NPs (DNPs) and from HER-2 antibody–conjugated DOX-loaded NPs (ADNPs) in MES-SA/Dx5 cancer cells were higher compared to free DOX. Results also showed higher uptake of DOX from ADNPs in SKOV-3 cells compared with both free DOX and DNPs treatment. Cytotoxicity results at 10 μM extracellular DOX concentration were consistent with the cellular uptake results. Our study concludes that cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of DOX can be improved in MES-SA/Dx5 cells by loading DOX into PLGA NPs. DNPs targeted to membrane receptors may enhance cellular uptake and cytotoxicity in SKOV-3 cells.
A natural inactivating mutation in the CovS component of the CovRS regulatory operon in a pattern D Streptococcal pyogenes strain influences virulence-associated genes.

A skin-tropic invasive group A Streptococcus pyogenes (GAS) strain, AP53, contains a natural inactivating mutation in the covS gene (covSM) of the two-component responder (CovR)/sensor (CovS) gene regulatory system. The effects of this mutation on specific GAS virulence determinants have been assessed, with emphasis on expression of the extracellular protease, streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin B (SpeB), capsular hyaluronic acid, and proteins that allow host plasmin assembly on the bacterial surface, viz. a high affinity plasminogen (Pg)/plasmin receptor, Pg-binding group A streptococcal M protein (PAM), and the human Pg activator streptokinase. To further illuminate mechanisms of the functioning of CovRS in the virulence of AP53, two AP53 isogenic strains were generated, one in which the natural covSM gene was mutated to WT-covS (AP53/covSWT) and a strain that contained an inactivated covR gene (AP53/ΔcovR). Two additional strains that do not contain PAM, viz. WT-NS931 and NS931/covSM, were also employed. SpeB was not measurably expressed in strains containing covRWT/covSM, whereas in strains with natural or engineered covRWT/covSWT, SpeB expression was highly up-regulated. Alternatively, capsule synthesis via the hasABC operon was enhanced in strain AP53/covSM, whereas streptokinase expression was only slightly affected by the covS inactivation. PAM expression was not substantially influenced by the covS mutation, suggesting that covRS had minimal effects on the mga regulon that controls PAM expression. These results demonstrate that a covS inactivation results in virulence gene alterations and also suggest that the CovR phosphorylation needed for gene up- or down-regulation can occur by alternative pathways to CovS kinase. Background: The two-component CovRS system is a GAS virulence gene regulator. Results: A natural inactivating mutation has been found in CovS in a skin-invasive GAS strain, potentially affecting expression of key virulence genes. Conclusion: The mutation in CovS showed substantial effects on regulation of virulence genes. Significance: Expression of genes critical to GAS virulence can reveal reasons why specific strains of GAS are effective tissue specialists.
Relativistic spaceflight and the catalytic nuclear ramjet

Abstract The interstellar ramjet concept allows us, at least hypothetically, to get around the mass-ratio limit inherent with relativistic fuel-carrying rockets. The required ramjet energy must be extracted from the nuclear reserves of the interstellar hydrogen (interstellar deuterium is too scarce). Unfortunately, the usual PPI chain for converting hydrogen to helium is hopelessly slow due to the minute weak interaction cross section of the reaction p + p → 2 D + e + + v at essentially any energy. It is shown here that this problem can be avoided, in principle, by exploiting a proton burning catalytic cycle. The best known catalytic cycle is the CNO Bi-Cycle occurring in sufficiently hot main sequence stars. The catalyst “fuel” may be carried on board the ship since it is not depleted, and the ultimate source of energy is the interstellar hydrogen. It is shown that with potentially realistic parameters the energy requirements for a ramjet accelerating at 1 g to near luminal velocities can be met with either the “hot” CNO Bi-Cycle or the Ne-Na cycle. Some of the formidable technological problems associated with a conventional heavy ion fusion reactor are briefly discussed. It is not absolutely necessary that a conventional plasma reactor model be used; for example a laser fusion reactor or a large scale Migma-type reactor (if technologically possible) might be employed. The problem of interstellar drag is considered and a model is suggested in which the incident proton's kinetic energy is stored in the electric field between charged grids and returned to the exhaust particles after the relevant nuclear reactions are completed. Such a combination of electric and magnetic fields would make less severe other suggested limitations to the ramjet's performance. The problem of ionizing the interstellar medium directly in front of the ramjet when operating in non-HII regions of space is also discussed. It is shown that laser ionization is energetically possible for interstellar number densities ≳10 cm −3 ; however, since the laser also tends to sweep the interstellar matter out of the ramjet's path, more quantitative study is necessary before the method can be considered feasible at any density. The possibility of using a thin stripper foil, placed over the intake cross section, to ionize the interstellar medium is suggested. This method has the advantage of efficiently ionizing the interstellar matter independent of density.
Non-Laser Capture Microscopy Approach for the Microdissection of Discrete Mouse Brain Regions for Total RNA Isolation and Downstream Next-Generation Sequencing and Gene Expression Profiling

As technological platforms, approaches such as next-generation sequencing, microarray, and qRT-PCR have great promise for expanding our understanding of the breadth of molecular regulation. Newer approaches such as high-resolution RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq)1 provides new and expansive information about tissue- or state-specific expression such as relative transcript levels, alternative splicing, and micro RNAs2-4. Prospects for employing the RNA-Seq method in comparative whole transcriptome profiling5 within discrete tissues or between phenotypically distinct groups of individuals affords new avenues for elucidating molecular mechanisms involved in both normal and abnormal physiological states. Recently, whole transcriptome profiling has been performed on human brain tissue, identifying gene expression differences associated with disease progression6. However, the use of next-generation sequencing has yet to be more widely integrated into mammalian studies. Gene expression studies in mouse models have reported distinct profiles within various brain nuclei using laser capture microscopy (LCM) for sample excision7,8. While LCM affords sample collection with single-cell and discrete brain region precision, the relatively low total RNA yields from the LCM approach can be prohibitive to RNA-Seq and other profiling approaches in mouse brain tissues and may require sub-optimal sample amplification steps. Here, a protocol is presented for microdissection and total RNA extraction from discrete mouse brain regions. Set-diameter tissue corers are used to isolate 13 tissues from 750-μm serial coronal sections of an individual mouse brain. Tissue micropunch samples are immediately frozen and archived. Total RNA is obtained from the samples using magnetic bead-enabled total RNA isolation technology. Resulting RNA samples have adequate yield and quality for use in downstream expression profiling. This microdissection strategy provides a viable option to existing sample collection strategies for obtaining total RNA from discrete brain regions, opening possibilities for new gene expression discoveries.
Critical Success Factors in an Agency Construction Management Environment

AbstractThis study aims at differentiating construction project critical success factors based on organizational backgrounds of project participants: contractor, construction manager (owner representative), and design firms. Construction professionals from diverse locales were asked to rate a list of 53 potential factors for the objectives of schedule, budget, and quality, and additionally compare the objectives for overall project success. The set of 53 factors was enriched by eliminating 13 factors that could not prove their statistical significance for even one of schedule, budget, or quality performances for any of the three organizations. Commissioning the 40 significant factors, an analytical hierarchy process was used to determine organization-based factor rankings for overall project success. Spearman’s test on rankings of the 40 significant factors for overall project performance results in a highest level of correlation between the managers and contractor personnel (rs=0.54), followed by that be...
Stochastic analysis of process-control models

Most conventional methods of process design ignore the stochastic nature of the process and its param eters ; only deterministic models are employed, and the solutions obtained are at best only approxima tions. To allow for the uncertainty of designs based on such a procedure, gross safety factors must be added to the design variables based on the deterministic models.An alternative approach is to introduce stochastic variability directly into the process model and to use stochastic simulation to estimate the process outputs and design parameters. By using stochastic simulations which incorporate random inputs and ran dom parameters, one can obtain sample estimates of the expected values and expected variances of the output variables. From these and the characteristics of the probability distributions of the output vari ables, one can show when the expected values of the outputs of stochastic process models differ from those of deterministic models in which the random variables are replaced by their expec...
The context fabric: an infrastructure for context-aware computing

Despite many sensor, hardware, networking, and software advances, it is still quite difficult to build effective and reliable context-aware applications. We propose to build a context infrastructure that provides three things to simplify the task of building context-aware applications: a context data store for modeling, storing, and distributing context data; a context specification language for declaratively stating and processing context needs; and protection mechanisms for safeguarding privacy needs.