cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sexually transmitted disease services and third-party payer reimbursement: Attitudes, knowledge, and current practices among 60 health departments/districts. Why does this matter to public health nurses?

Objective To assess staff attitudes, knowledge, and current practices in billing third-party payers for sexually transmitted disease (STD) services in public health departments/districts. Design and sample A cross-sectional, online survey was administered to staff at 60 urban and rural health departments/districts. Snowball sampling was used for greater representation. There were 311 staff responses from 56 agencies represented in the data analysis. Of the 311 responses, 106 were public health nurses and seven of the health directors had nursing backgrounds. Measurement The survey measured attitudes, knowledge, and current billing practices for STD services. Analysis of data was performed at both individual and agency level. Results Almost 90% reported it was acceptable to bill insurance. However, 56% felt these services should remain a "free" service in the agency. Most agencies were billing Medicaid for STD services (95%) and 70% bill private third-party payers. Conclusions Current funding for public STD clinics is not sustainable and other viable income streams such as third-party payer reimbursement must be utilized. Public health nurses play a pivotal role in developing policies and procedures in billing third-party payers for STD and other clinical services. Understanding the interactions between attitudes, knowledge and practice are vital in this development.
Kinetoplast DNA in trypanosomid flagellates.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the kinetoplast DNA in trypanosomid flagellates. The chapter reviews the recent developments in the application of recombinant DNA technology to problems of the structure, replication, and transcription of the unusual mitochondrial DNA in the kinetoplastid protozoa known as “kinetoplast DNA.” Kinetoplast DNA is discussed in terms of its two molecular components—minicircles and maxicircles, with an emphasis on species-dependent variations. The chapter focuses on the general characteristics of minicircle DNA of several species, including Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma equiperdum, Leishmania tarentolae, Crithidia fasciculata, and Crithidia luciliae. Unlike most other kinetoplastid species, the kDNA minicircles from T.equiperdum are homogeneous in base sequence. The minicircles in the Leishmania are the smallest reported to date. L .tarentolae minicircles are about 870 bp in size and show extensive sequence heterogeneity by restriction enzyme analysis. The minicircles in the Leishmania are the smallest reported to date. L.tarentolae minicircles are about 870 bp in size and show extensive sequence heterogeneity by restriction enzyme analysis. The maxicircle component of the kinetoplast DNA appears to represent the homolog of the informational mitochondria1 DNA found in other eukaryotic cells.
Learning sparse representations in reinforcement learning.

Reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms allow artificial agents to improve their selection of actions to increase rewarding experiences in their environments. Temporal Difference (TD) Learning -- a model-free RL method -- is a leading account of the midbrain dopamine system and the basal ganglia in reinforcement learning. These algorithms typically learn a mapping from the agent's current sensed state to a selected action (known as a policy function) via learning a value function (expected future rewards). TD Learning methods have been very successful on a broad range of control tasks, but learning can become intractably slow as the state space of the environment grows. This has motivated methods that learn internal representations of the agent's state, effectively reducing the size of the state space and restructuring state representations in order to support generalization. However, TD Learning coupled with an artificial neural network, as a function approximator, has been shown to fail to learn some fairly simple control tasks, challenging this explanation of reward-based learning. We hypothesize that such failures do not arise in the brain because of the ubiquitous presence of lateral inhibition in the cortex, producing sparse distributed internal representations that support the learning of expected future reward. The sparse conjunctive representations can avoid catastrophic interference while still supporting generalization. We provide support for this conjecture through computational simulations, demonstrating the benefits of learned sparse representations for three problematic classic control tasks: Puddle-world, Mountain-car, and Acrobot.
Anti-Korean sentiment and online affective community in Taiwan

This paper examines the rise of anti-Korean sentiment in contemporary Taiwan particularly at the turn of the 2010s. It moves beyond conceptualizing emotion as psychological status to conceive anti-...
Delivery of a patient-friendly functioning report to improve patient-centeredness of dialysis care: a pilot study

Provider recognition of level of functioning may be suboptimal in the dialysis setting, and this lack of recognition may lead to less patient-centered care. We aimed to assess whether delivery of an app-based, individualized functioning report would improve patients’ perceptions of patient-centeredness of care. In this pre-post pilot study at three outpatient dialysis facilities in metropolitan Atlanta, an individualized functioning report—including information on physical performance, perceived physical functioning, and community mobility—was delivered to patients receiving hemodialysis (n = 43) and their providers. Qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to gather patient and provider feedback to develop and assess the report and app. Paired t test was used to test for differences in patient perception of patient-centeredness of care (PPPC) scores (range, 1 = most patient-centered to 4 = least patient-centered) 1 month after report delivery. Delivery of the reports to both patients and providers was not associated with a subsequent change in patients’ perceptions of patient-centeredness of their care (follow-up vs. baseline PPPC scores of 2.35 vs. 2.36; P > 0.9). However, patients and providers generally saw the potential of the report to improve the patient-centeredness of care and reacted positively to the individualized reports delivered in the pilot. Patients also reported willingness to undergo future assessments. However, while two-thirds of surveyed providers reported always or sometimes discussing the reports they received, most (98%) participating patients reported that no one on the dialysis care team had discussed the report with them within 1 month. Potential lack of fidelity to the intervention precludes definitive conclusions about effects of the report on patient-centeredness of care. The disconnect between patients’ and providers’ perceptions of discussions of the report warrants future study. However, this study introduces a novel, individualized, multi-domain functional report that is easily implemented in the setting of hemodialysis. Our pilot study provides guidance for improving its use both clinically and in future pragmatic research studies, both within and beyond the dialysis population.
Clinical assessment of acellular dermal matrix (AlloDerm©) as an option in the replacement of the temporomandibular joint disc: A pilot study.

Abstract Background There is limited data available in the literature describing the utility of acellular dermal matrix (AlloDerm©) in the replacement of the temporomandibular joint disc. Few reports of clinicians using implantable AlloDerm to replace the disc do exist, however, this has been described for reconstruction after surgical resection of the entire temporomandibular joint complex to treat pathology, as opposed to isolated articular disc disorders. Moreover, there is a lack of description in the literature regarding associated perioperative outcomes after such a procedure. We sought to assess the immediate perioperative outcomes in the form of a pilot study, to determine whether this technique warrants further investigation in the form of prospective clinical studies. Methods The study team conducted a retrospective review of medical records for patients who underwent temporomandibular joint discectomy and replacement with AlloDerm© at a single tertiary care center, from 2011 to 2016. Perioperative outcomes of interest including pain levels and range of motion were recorded and descriptive statistics were utilized for statistical analysis. Results 15 patients met the inclusion criteria, of which 87% were females and 13% males. The mean age was 47.27 ± 15.93 years. Preoperatively, 74% of the patients reported severe pain (VAS scores of 7–10); in contrast, 73% of the patients reported only mild pain (VAS scores of 1–3) during the postoperative visits, suggesting an overall reduction in pain intensity. Range of motion also improved from an average of 27.73 ± 13.04 mm, to an average of 38.60 ± 6.08 mm (P Conclusions Based on our preliminary data, patients with advanced TMJ articular disc disorders showed clinical improvement from discectomy and replacement with acellular dermal matrix (AlloDerm©). Further longitudinal studies evaluating long-term outcomes need to be conducted to validate this technique, in the form of larger sample sizes with a control group, as well as radiographic assessment of long-term clinical outcomes.
Confidence Calibration: An Introduction With Application to Quality Improvement

A probabilistic forecast is one that assigns a probability (or likelihood) to the occurrence of an event. Radiologists commonly make probabilistic judgments in their reports, even if these predictions are not explicitly expressed as numbers. There are calls for radiologists to commit to their probabilistic predictions in a standardized fashion; however, without a mechanism for feedback, there is no opportunity for improvement. Analysis techniques familiar to radiologists (eg, calculation of sensitivity and specificity and construction of receiver operating characteristics curves) have a blind spot with regard to calibration of these probabilities to reality and are the main obstacle to improvement along this axis. We review statistical and graphical methods for calibration analysis in wider use outside the medical literature and present a framework for implementation of these techniques for quality improvement and radiologist self-assessment.
Bilateral Acute Osteoporotic Lumbar Pedicle Fracture Presenting with Associated Neurological Deficit: A Case Report and Review of Literature.

Osteoporosis is a common cause of vertebral compression fractures. Often times affecting post-menopausal women, these fractures may occur spontaneously or following minor trauma and are typically managed non-surgically. Here we present a case of a 67-year-old patient who presented with acute compression fracture of the lumbar 5 vertebra and bilateral pedicle fractures of the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae following an episode of coughing secondary to tracheitis. She underwent a lumbar 3 to sacral 1/ilium instrumentation/arthrodesis, with screw augmentation via hydroxyapatite, followed by lumbar 4/5 laminectomy and foraminotomy.
Trust Decision-Making in Online Social Communities: A Network-Based Model

The unique characteristics of online social communities call for a reexamination and adaptation of established behavioral theories of trust decision-making. Guided by relevant social science and co...
Towards automatic classification of diffuse reflectance image cubes from paintings collected with hyperspectral cameras

Abstract Knowledge of pigments and their distribution in paintings can inform conservators and scholars to better understand, and conserve these objects. In recent years, a variety of macro-scale non-contact imaging modalities have been applied to paintings to create classification/material maps. One modality, reflectance imaging spectroscopy (RIS) captures the diffuse reflectance spectral signatures of the artists’ materials present in the objects which can be used for classification (by defining regions of the image cube that have the same spectral reflectance signature). In Cultural Heritage Science the ENVI spectral hourglass wizard (ENVI-SHW) has been used to create classification maps from RIS. This method is slow and requires an expert user input during the processing in order to find the reflectance spectra that define the spectral classes (spectral endmembers or exemplars). The pigments are then deduced from spectral features in endmember spectra and from other non-invasive analytical chemical analysis of sites defined by the RIS maps. This paper explores the potential of more automated algorithms, such as maximum distance (MaxD), that are based on the theory of convex hulls for doing these classifications as well as spectral matching algorithms to an optimal spectral library. While all of these algorithms were developed for Remote Sensing community, MaxD and the library matching examine all the spectra in the reflectance image cube, require little user input, and are reproducible and fast. The results from the analysis of reflectance image cubes (400 to 950 nm) of three paintings with MaxD and a spectral library matching algorithm are presented and compared to those obtained with the ENVI-SHW algorithm. The three paintings analyzed are the central panels from illuminated leafs, two from the Laudario of Sant’Agnese (c. 1340) painted by the Master of the Dominican Effigies, namely The Nativity with the Annunciation to the Shepherds and, Christ and the Virgin Enthroned with Forty Saints, and one cutting from a leaf from a Choir book, Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata, painted by Cosme Tura (c. 1470s). Specifically, the results include the spectral endmembers recovered from each method as well as the associated classification maps. The findings from this study show that the MaxD algorithm was able to find the majority of the reflectance spectral endmembers with little user input.
Physiologically based pharmacokinetic model calibration, evaluation, and performance assessment

Abstract This chapter introduces the process of parameterization, calibration, evaluation, and performance assessment of physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models. Several case studies were used to illustrate this process, including a PBPK model for oxytetracycline in dogs, a PBPK model for gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in mice, a PBPK model for 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) in humans, and a PBPK model for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in rats. These models were chosen as they were representative(s) for drugs, environmental chemicals, and nanoparticles, and were in different species developed using different software programs (i.e., Berkeley Madonna for the oxytetracycline and AuNP models, GastroPlus for the 2,4-D model, and R program for the PFOS model). The similarities and differences of model calibration, evaluation, and performance assessment among different software programs are presented. The step-by-step instructions are presented in this chapter and all relevant model codes are provided in the Supplementary Material.
An Empirical Investigation of Factors Influencing Young Indian Consumer Decision Making

The purpose of this research effort is to examine the factors influencing young Indian consumer decision making. Present research considers consumer decision making as a conscious and deliberate pr...
Discovery of a Cryptic Depsipeptide from Streptomyces ghanaensis via MALDI-MS-Guided High-Throughput Elicitor Screening

Microbial genomes harbor an abundance of biosynthetic gene clusters, but most are expressed at low levels and need to be activated for characterization of their cognate natural products. In this work, we report the combination of high-throughput elicitor screening (HiTES) with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) for the rapid identification of cryptic peptide natural products. Application to Streptomyces ghanaensis identified amygdalin as an elicitor of a novel non-ribosomal peptide, which we term cinnapeptin. Complete structural elucidation revealed cinnapeptin as a cyclic depsipeptide with an unusual 2-methyl-cinnamoyl group. Insights into its biosynthesis were provided by whole genome sequencing and gene deletion studies, while bioactivity assays showed antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria and fission yeast. MALDI-HiTES is a broadly applicable tool for the discovery of cryptic peptides encoded in microbial genomes.
Herz- und Gefäßkrankheiten: allgemeine Symptomatik, Anamnese, klinische und ergänzende Untersuchungen

Herz- und Gefaskrankheiten fallen durch klinische Symptome wie Zyanose, Herzinsuffizienz, Tachypnoe, Synkopen, Herzschmerzen unter Belastung oder durch einen auffalligen Auskultationsbefund auf. Einfache technische Untersuchungen sind Blutdruckmessung, 24-h-Blutdruckmessung, EKG, 24-h-EKG, Belastungs-EKG und Rontgenthorax. Das wichtigste diagnostische Mittel des Kardiologen ist die Echokardiografie (B-Bild, M-Mode, Doppler, Farbdoppler, zunehmend auch 3D-Echo), die in der Routine meist transthorakal, bei besonderen Fragestellungen aber auch transosophageal durchgefuhrt wird. Schnittbildverfahren wie Kardio-CT und MRT werden immer haufiger genutzt und liefern hervorragende anatomische Darstellungen des Herzens. Mittels nuklearmedizinischer Methoden kann die kardiale Funktion (Perfusion, Ejektionsfraktion) untersucht werden. Die Herzkatheteruntersuchung verliert dabei als diagnostisches Mittel an Bedeutung, dagegen nehmen Katheterinterventionen (Ballondilatation, Implantationen von Stents oder Herzklappen, Verschluss von Defekten u. v. a.) immer weiter zu.
Morphing Quadcopters: A Comparison Between Proposed and Prominent Foldable Quadcopters

Quadcopters are entering numerous fields of work and require unique functionality for each area that they are deployed. They are also becoming more adaptable to terrain and changes in the environment. For example, a quadcopter that can fold could be used by Search and Rescue teams who need to navigate tight and inaccessible spaces. This paper presents a notable insight into two variants of morphing drones that have been assembled with keeping different morphing modes and mechanisms in mind. The first proposed quadcopter uses servo motors on each propellor arm to achieve a folding motion mid-flight, while the second proposed quadcopter uses a novel method of utilizing micro linear actuators to reduce its size in all directions. Flight data for the proposed quadcopters will be presented, along with comparing total weight, flight time, size reduction, and other parameters with similar morphing quadcopters from the research community.
Weak-Form and Semi-Strong-Form Stock Return Predictability Revisited

This paper makes indirect inference about the time variation in expected stock returns by comparing unconditional sample variances to estimates of expected conditional variances. The evidence reveals more predictability as more information is used, and there is no evidence that predictability has diminished in recent years. Semi-strong-form evidence suggests that time variation in expected returns remains economically important.
Real-World Evaluation of the Impact of Implementation of the Virtuo Blood Culture System in a Tertiary Care Hospital.

The bioMerieux BacT/Alert Virtuo blood culture system used in combination with resin-containing media may enhance the growth of microorganisms. Our objective was to assess the impact of transitioning to the Virtuo system in comparison to the VersaTREK blood culture system at a tertiary care medical center. We retrospectively reviewed all blood cultures performed at a 1,250-bed academic medical center between January and December 2018 (VersaTREK) and January and December 2019 (Virtuo). Blood culture positivity rates and contamination rates were compared before and after Virtuo implementation. Of 101,438 blood cultures performed during the study period, 48,839 (48.1%) were processed preimplementation and 52,599 (51.9%) postimplementation. The blood culture positivity rate increased from 8.1% preimplementation to 11.7% postimplementation (P < 0.001). Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequently isolated species in both time periods and had a higher recovery rate postimplementation (1.5% of all blood cultures obtained preimplementation versus 3.4% postimplementation; P < 0.001). A higher recovery rate in the postimplementation period was also noted for coagulase-negative staphylococci (1.9% preimplementation versus 2.7% postimplementation; P < 0.001), as well as modest but statistically significant changes for Escherichia coli (0.8% versus 1.0%; P < 0.001), Klebsiella pneumoniae (0.4% versus 0.5%; P = 0.005), and Candida albicans. (0.1% versus 0.2%; P = 0.038). The inpatient blood culture contamination rate was higher postimplementation (1.5% preimplementation versus 1.9% postimplementation; P < 0.001). The Virtuo blood culture system was associated with a higher observed proportion of positive blood cultures than the VersaTREK system. Future studies are needed to assess whether an increased rate of positive blood cultures is associated with changes in clinical outcomes.
Co-Listing Strategies: Better Transaction Outcomes?

A co-listing strategy exists when two or more listing agents jointly represent the owner of a property who desires to sell it. This strategy is not new in the real estate brokerage industry, but its popularity has increased during recent years with the formation of teams of agents who repeatedly work together using the co-listing strategy. To date, the literature has not analyzed this business strategy. This study investigates the probability of selling, selling price, and time on market effects related to the use of the co-listing strategy. The results of this study indicate that co-listing is associated with a higher probability of sale, an increased selling price, and a marginal longer or shorter marketing time, depending on the situation. Comparing market outcomes for agents who form teams and repeatedly employ the co-listing strategy against market outcomes for agents who are involved in only one co-listing indicates that both types of co-listing produce higher prices and are more likely to result in a sale, but the effects for repeated co-listings are larger in magnitude. Additionally, repeated co-listing slightly reduces marketing time, but single co-listing slightly increases marketing time. The marketing time effects in both repeated and single co-listings, however, are too small to be economically important. In general, this study suggests that sellers are better served by the co-listing strategy compared to no co-listing, especially when the co-listing agents repeatedly work together in teams.
Is your C-suite risk literate?

Managing risk effectively is essential for a business to be successful, and thus understanding risk is vital for business executives. Effective risk management increases firm value, whereas poor risk management will damage shareholder wealth. In this article, we examine the risk literacy of business executives and find significant variation among the leaders we sample. Our findings suggest that business executives would be well served to evaluate their own risk literacy (and remediate, if necessary), to work to increase risk literacy in the company’s employees, and to include risk literacy as an important and routine part of the firm’s overall culture. Because the importance of risk literacy increases with business complexity, we believe that risk literacy will only become more important in the future.
He II Heat Transfer

Chapter 4 emphasized the physical understanding of He II including heat transport in the laminar flow and turbulent mutual friction regimes. These mechanisms are fundamental to the behavior of He II, although they represent rather idealized conditions. Therefore, it is of interest to apply the treatment of He II to practical heat transfer problems. In doing so, the concepts already developed must be extended into regimes that are usable in more practical situations. To be more specific, the emphasis of Chapter 4 has been to understand the interactive mechanisms. Thus, of principal concern are the behavior of the transport properties including mainly the normal fluid viscosity η n and the mutual friction parameter A. Of interest now is to use these concepts in understanding such phenomena as the maximum heat flux q*, the maximum energy deposition ΔE*, and the maximum temperature difference Δ T m , which can be either within the fluid or across a solid—fluid interface. The goal of the present chapter is to establish a connection between the engineering parameters q*, ΔE*, and ΔT m and the physical properties of the fluid and solid—fluid boundaries. In establishing this connection there are a number of subjects of practical interest which must be addressed. These include steady-state heat transport, forced convection, transient heat transport, Kapitza thermal boundary conductance, and film boiling. Some of these phenomena are also important in pool boiling He I heat transfer, which is the subject of Chapter 6.
Constructing Fuzzy Utility Values in Conjoint Analysis

The goal of conjoint analysis is to explain and predict prefercenes of the various product attributes. The partial utilities which the various attributes contribute to the overall preference (overall utility) are estimated on the basis of overall preference judgements as expressed by test persons (Gustafsson et al (2000)). The partial benefits are calculated as cardinale utility data, even those values have just ordinale character. In many papers this discordance is discussed (Gustafsson et al (2000)) and critical aspects are worked out. Using these critical points, a heuristic method for constructing fuzzy membership functions for partial utility values is proposed. The membership functions allow to illustrate the vagueness inherent to the utility values of the product attributes, and leads also to a critical and a more pertinent discussion and usage of the utility values. The use of fuzzy utility values is shown exemplarily in the area positioning of product components in target costing.
Synaptic Membranes Bend to the Will of a Neurotoxin

In their Perspective, Zimmerberg and Chernomordik discuss the study by Rigoni et al. In the same issue that shows how the lipid products of a phospholipase present in snake venom reproduce the known paralytic effect of the lipase itself on presynaptic action in the neuromuscular junction. The lipid products shift the curvature of synaptic membranes toward or away from intermediate states of membrane fusion. This suggests a hemifusion intermediate state in synaptic vesicle release and explains the existence of rapid and spontaneous neurotransmitter release from vesicles.
Explicit and Efficient Formulas for the Lattice Point Count in Rational Polygons Using Dedekind--Rademacher Sums

We give explicit, polynomial-time computable formulas for the number of integer points in any two-dimensional rational polygon. A rational polygon is one whose vertices have rational coordinates. We find that the basic building blocks of our formulas are Dedekind--Rademacher sums , which are polynomial-time computable finite Fourier series. As a by-product we rederive a reciprocity law for these sums due to Gessel, which generalizes the reciprocity law for the classical Dedekind sums. In addition, our approach shows that Gessel's reciprocity law is a special case of the one for Dedekind--Rademacher sums, due to Rademacher.
An evaluation of regulation of the hexose monophosphate shunt in Escherichia coli.

Abstract Evidence based upon measurements of (a) the rates of radioactive CO2 production from specifically labeled [14C]glucose, and (b) the intracellular concentrations of key intermediates of the hexose monophosphate shunt indicates that the rate of glucose oxidation by glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase is only 40% higher in an Escherichia coli mutant having 10-fold the normal amount of enzyme. These results not only provide evidence for regulation of the first step of the shunt but, more importantly, indicate the limits under which a regulatory mechanism must operate. A comparison of the kinetic constants of partially purified glucose-6-P dehydrogenase with the measured intracellular levels of metabolites indicates that glucose-6-P and NADP+ are saturating and that the rate of the enzyme in the mutant cannot be explained by substrate or coenzyme limitations. Furthermore, the concentration of NADPH in the mutant is not sufficient for the 90% inhibition required to reduce the activity of glucose-6-P dehydrogenase down to a level only 40% higher than that of the wild type strain. A limited survey of possible inhibitors was unsuccessful, and it is concluded that an unknown metabolite must be involved in regulation of glucose-6-P dehydrogenase or that the regulatory properties of the enzyme are altered upon removal from the cell and purification. A comparison of the in vivo and in vitro rates of gluconate-6-P dehydrogenase suggests that this enzyme is also not operating at its maximal velocity in the cell and is regulated. The activity of the third shunt enzyme likewise does not appear to be limited by the availability of substrate or coenzyme.
Combining glucose monitoring and insulin delivery into a single device: current progress and ongoing challenges of the artificial pancreas

Despite the widespread availability of insulin pumps, continuous glucose sensors, and insulin analogs with rapid-acting pharmacokinetic profiles, most people with type 1 diabetes fail to meet recommended glycemic targets, rates of severe hypoglycemia remain unacceptably high, and the burden of care on patients and loved ones exacts an enormous psychosocial toll. The combination of continuous glucose monitoring with insulin delivery into an integrated automated system promises to improve diabetes control while at the same time reduce the burden of care. A wide variety of automated insulin delivery systems, ranging in scope from simple pump suspension to reduce hypoglycemia, to complex multiple hormone systems under separate regulation and delivery, have been studied in both controlled inpatient settings and more free-ranging outpatient environments. Preliminary findings have been positive, with most studies demonstrating reduction in overall glucose levels, increased time-in-target range, and reductions in exposure to hypoglycemia. As these systems move closer to commercialization, the focus of ongoing efforts will need to address the continuing challenges of sensor accuracy and reliability, connectivity issues, and human factors considerations.
Pick Your Poison: The Exercise of Local Discretion on Special District Governance

For a sizeable minority of special districts, the form of district governance is not fully determined by state law. Many states allow the groups who instigate incorporation to decide whether a new district is managed by appointed or elected officials. Such discretion raises the question: why do these actors opt for one form of governance over another? This study uses logistic regression to examine these decisions for a full set of cases and subsets divided by whether a special district incorporated in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, or 1980s. Drawing upon Burns, it tests whether decisions on district governance were determined by the institutional powers of the individual district or if the economic and political circumstances surrounding that district played some role. The study finds that the powers to tax property and issue general obligation bonds were the most important predictors, but local government revenues and debt were also relevant.
Perceived weight discrimination in the CARDIA study: Differences by race, sex, and weight status

Objective To examine self-reported weight discrimination and differences based on race, sex, and BMI in a biracial cohort of community-based middle-aged adults. Design and Methods Participants (3,466, mean age = 50 years, mean BMI = 30 kg/m2) of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study who completed the 25-year examination of this epidemiological investigation in 2010-2011 were reported. The sample included normal weight, overweight, and obese participants. CARDIA participants are distributed into four race–sex groups, with about half being African-American and half White. Participants completed a self-reported measure of weight discrimination. Results Among overweight/obese participants, weight discrimination was lowest for White men (12.0%) and highest for White women (30.2%). The adjusted odds ratio (95% CI) for weight discrimination in those with class 2/3 obesity (BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2) versus the normal-weight was most pronounced: African American men, 4.59 (1.71-12.34); African American women, 7.82 (3.57-17.13); White men, 6.99 (2.27-21.49); and White women, 18.60 (8.97-38.54). Being overweight (BMI = 25-29.9 kg/m2) vs. normal weight was associated with increased discrimination in White women only: 2.10 (1.11-3.96). Conclusions Novel evidence for a race–sex interaction on perceived weight discrimination, with White women more likely to report discrimination at all levels of overweight and obesity was provided. Pychosocial mechanisms responsible for these differences deserve exploration.
Visual Merchandising: The Image of Selling Louisa Iarocci, Editor. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2013.

Visual Merchandising: The Image of Selling Louisa larocci, Editor. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2013.With this collection of essays, architectural historian and editor Louisa larocci presents a fascinating thumbnail of the history of merchandising and its relationship to commercial visual culture. Together, the essays in this book examine spaces of display and consumption both historically and as an artistic practice. In a realm where art and commerce intersect, visual merchandising-or, the artistic presentation of retail goods-creates its own "distinctive visual language" aimed at cultivating visual appeal and consumer desire (10). These essays, initially brought together at the Society for Architectural Historians annual meeting, provide an innovative look at the intersections between visual culture, design, consumption, and public space.Organized along the themes of "promotion," "product," and "place," the twelve essays in this book collectively argue that commercial space has played an important role in influencing consumer habits, in driving advertising practice, and in changing American culture after 1880. Part One considers the relationship between print advertisements and their relationship to geographic space, whether the neighborhood, city, or nation. Part Two explores the ways that particular commodities shaped the retail environment itself, and Part Three explores the relationship between interior/ exterior design and selling in spaces such as automobile dealerships. Like any good anthology, this collection combines broad historical overviews-such as larocci's discussion of window dressing, for example-with narrow examinations of particular practices and themes, including the purposeful design of retail space to heighten appeals to consumers, the iconography of automobile hood ornaments, changing mannequin designs, commodities with exotic appeal, the merchandising of luxury goods (such as Armani), and the commodification of death vis-a-vis the funeral home. Some of the most intriguing essays here include Kathleen Chapman's look at German advertising posters and Emily Bills' examination of AT&T's advertising campaigns in the early twentieth century.According to Chapman, the German Sachplakat, or "object poster," was developed in response to the increasingly fast-paced and visually-saturated environment of the modern city at the turn of the twentieth century (38). The Sachplakat minimized design elements and eliminated the lengthy advertising texts more common in magazine advertisements of the time. The highly stylized posters functioned "like a hieroglyph, a word-picture that [could] be apprehended instantly" in a process that "prioritize[d] seeing over reading" (40). This type of environment-driven aesthetics became one of the first advertising appeals developed specifically for the fast-moving and visually-loud cityscape, complete with its omnibuses, street cars, dense foot traffic, and increasing use of electric lighting and signage. …
Nutritional effects of marijuana, heroin, cocaine, and nicotine

Use of addictive drugs, such as cocaine, marijuana, and nicotine, affects food and liquid intake behavior, taste preference, and body weight. Changes in specific nutrient status and metabolism can also develop; heroin addiction can cause hyperkalemia and morphine use can result in calcium inhibition. Nutrition-related physiological aspects, such as impaired gastrin release, hypercholesterolemia, hypothermia, and hyperthermia, are also seen with morphine use. Nutrition-related conditions can affect sensitivity to and dependence on drugs and their effects. Diabetes decreases sensitivity to and dependence on morphine, protein deprivation produces preferential fat utilization with low cocaine use, and vitamin D deficiency decelerates morphine dependency. During use and/or withdrawal from nicotine, heroin, marijuana, and cocaine, major changes in food selection and intake occur, which result in weight gain or loss. Detailed human studies are needed to investigate the effects of drug use on the broad spectrum of nutrients and to determine the role of nutrition during drug withdrawal.
The function of mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 in peptidoglycan-stimulated macrophages.

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases play a pivotal role in the macrophages in the production of proinflammatory cytokines triggered by lipopolysaccharides. However, their function in the responses of macrophages to Gram-positive bacteria is poorly understood. Even less is known about the attenuation of MAP kinase signaling in macrophages exposed to Gram-positive bacteria. In the present study, we have investigated the regulation of MAP kinases and the role of MAP kinase phosphatase (MKP)-1 in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines using murine RAW264.7 and primary peritoneal macrophages after peptidoglycan stimulation. Treatment of macrophages with peptidoglycan resulted in a transient activation of JNK, p38, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase. Most interestingly, MKP-1 expression was potently induced by peptidoglycan, and this induction was concurrent with MAP kinase dephosphorylation. Triptolide, a diterpenoid triepoxide, potently blocked the induction of MKP-1 by peptidoglycan and prolonged the activation of JNK and p38. Overexpression of MKP-1 substantially attenuated the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α induced by peptidoglycan, whereas knockdown of MKP-1 by small interfering RNA substantially increased the production of both TNF-α and interleukin-1β. Finally, we found that in primary murine peritoneal macrophages, MKP-1 induction following peptidoglycan stimulation also coincided with inactivation of JNK and p38. Blockade of MKP-1 induction resulted in a sustained activation of both JNK and p38 in primary macrophages. Our results reveal that MKP-1 critically regulates the expression of TNF-α and interleukin-1β in RAW264.7 cells and further suggest a central role for this phosphatase in controlling the inflammatory responses of primary macrophages to Gram-positive bacterial infection.
Mapping facets of alexithymia to executive dysfunction in daily life

Alexithymia refers to a cluster of emotion processing weaknesses. Etiological theories suggest frontal lobe impairment, which implicates corresponding executive dysfunction. Although some studies have identified cognitive deficits in alexithymia, no study has systematically investigated executive functioning in this population while simultaneously deconstructing alexithymia and related constructs into empirically-derived dimensions. In this study, 104 adults completed self-report measures of alexithymia, emotional intelligence, and mood awareness as well as an ecologically-sensitive measure of discrete executive functions in daily life. Principal components analysis revealed two latent alexithymia factors: emotional clarity (EC) and emotional monitoring (EM). Analyses revealed that low-EC participants performed worse than high-EC participants across multiple executive function domains, including behavioral initiation/inhibition, set-shifting, self-monitoring, working memory, error recognition, and ability to plan and organize. No relationship was found between EM and patterns of cognitive performance. These data highlight the need to decompose alexithymia into discrete facets and suggest that executive dysfunction is related to lack of emotional clarity specifically rather than alexithymia broadly.
Endoscopic third ventriculocisternostomy in hydrocephalic children under 2 years of age: appropriate or not? A single-center retrospective cohort study

Purpose Treating hydrocephalus can be difficult in children under the age of 2 years because a high amount of uncertainty exists as to which treatment to perform. In this retrospective cohort study, we analyzed children under the age of 2 years with hydrocephalus undergoing an endoscopic third ventriculocisternostomy (ETV) with respect to ETVoutcome. Methods In 59 consecutive patients under the age of 2 years, an ETV was performed between 1999 and 2010 at the Erasmus MC, Sophia Children’s Hospital. Demographics, etiology of hydrocephalus, and radiological data were extracted retrospectively from the patients’ medical records and operative reports and related to outcome. ETV Success Score (ETVSS) was used to retrospectively calculate the probability of success related to the actual outcome. Results In this series, 42.4 % of patients had a successful ETV. The only statistically significant finding concerned age. The failed ETV patients appeared to be younger (0.52± 0.60 vs. 0.86±0.56 year, p00.005), and when using a cutoff age of 6 months only, five out of 32 infants had a successful ETV (p00.002). Of the children with an arachnoid cyst, 57.1 % were treated successfully with an ETV. Of the five patients with a high probability of ETV success, four (80 %) were indeed successfully treated with ETV (p00.049). Conclusions Our data confirm the overall ineffectiveness of an ETVin children under the age of 6 months. Nevertheless, using the ETVSS is recommended to aid in the decisionmaking process even in patients under the age of 6 months.
Multi-photon ionization of the H + 2 molecule by an xuv laser pulse

We present theoretical predictions for one-, two-, and three-photon ionization of H+2 by an xuv laser pulse. The results were obtained by solving the time-dependent Schrodinger equation in prolate spheroidal coordinates. Good agreement is obtained with results from a time-independent perturbative model.
Assimilation and Contrast in Persuasion: The Effects of Source Credibility in Multiple Message Situations

The present research explores a contextual perspective on persuasion in multiple message situations. It is proposed that when people receive persuasive messages, the effects of those messages are influenced by other messages to which people recently have been exposed. In two experiments, participants received a target persuasive message from a moderately credible source. Immediately before this message, participants received another message, on a different topic, from a source with high or low credibility. In Experiment 1, participants' attitudes toward the target issue were more favorable after they had first been exposed to a different message from a low rather than high credibility source (contrast). In Experiment 2, this effect only emerged when a priming manipulation gave participants a dissimilarity mindset. When participants were primed with a similarity mindset, their attitudes toward the target issue were more favorable following a different message from a high rather than low credibility source ...
International Student Perspectives on Graduate Advising Relationships.

International graduate students experience a number of unique challenges as they transition through their training programs. Surprisingly, relatively little research has been conducted on perhaps one of the most crucial predictors of international students' retention and success within their graduate programs: the advising relationship. Using a total of 367 diverse students who responded to a universitywide survey of international students, the authors were able to use quantitative and qualitative analyses to (a) support the adequacy of the Advisory Working Alliance Inventory (L. Z. Schlosser & C. J. Gelso, 2001) for measuring alliance factors in advising relationships for international students; (b) show that some ratings of alliance were lower than a comparison group of U.S. domestic students; (c) determine that alliance ratings had minimal association with grade point average, gender, or college-level area of study, but were substantially associated with advising satisfaction and desire to change advisors; and (d) reveal themes in advising experiences reflecting constructive and destructive advising experiences. The social justice and future implications of the results are consistent with many historical and contemporary emphases in counseling psychology.
Medial slide calcaneal osteotomy: Technique, patient selection, and results

This article reviews the indications and the operative technique for the medial calcaneal slide osteotomy for the treatment of posterior tibial insufficiency. Patient selection, expected results, and complications of this technique are discussed. When used in combination with flexor digitorum longus transfer, the medial calcaneal slide osteotomy is an effective method of treatment for the adult acquired flatfoot associated with insufficiency of the posterior tibial tendon.
2D IR spectroscopy reveals the role of water in the binding of channel-blocking drugs to the influenza M2 channel

Water is an integral part of the homotetrameric M2 proton channel of the influenza A virus, which not only assists proton conduction but could also play an important role in stabilizing channel-blocking drugs. Herein, we employ two dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy and site-specific IR probes, i.e., the amide I bands arising from isotopically labeled Ala30 and Gly34 residues, to probe how binding of either rimantadine or 7,7-spiran amine affects the water dynamics inside the M2 channel. Our results show, at neutral pH where the channel is non-conducting, that drug binding leads to a significant increase in the mobility of the channel water. A similar trend is also observed at pH 5.0 although the difference becomes smaller. Taken together, these results indicate that the channel water facilitates drug binding by increasing its entropy. Furthermore, the 2D IR spectral signatures obtained for both probes under different conditions collectively support a binding mechanism whereby amantadine-like drugs dock in the channel with their ammonium moiety pointing toward the histidine residues and interacting with a nearby water cluster, as predicted by molecular dynamics simulations. We believe these findings have important implications for designing new anti-influenza drugs.