cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Decomposing the Black-White Wealth Gap: The Role of Parental Resources, Inheritance, and Investment Dynamics

Much research has shown that even after controlling for income, African Americans suffer from drastically lower net worths than their white counterparts; these differences in net worth have important implications for the overall well-being of blacks and whites. If not directly from labor market disadvantages–i.e., income differentials–then from what does this racial gap in wealth arise? The current study assesses two complementary accounts of this race difference in asset holdings. The first, the historical legacy thesis, suggests that net wealth differences in the current generation are largely a result of discrimination in past generations; that is, they can be traced to the “head start” that whites have enjoyed in accumulating assets and passing them on. The second theory, the contemporary dynamics thesis, holds that current dynamics of institutional racism in the housing and credit markets are more responsible for the gap. The current study tests the relative impact of multi-generational forces and contemporary property and credit dynamics by using two-generational data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. It finds that parental wealth and income levels and inheritance all have a significant impact on the wealth levels of the current generation net of respondent socioeconomic characteristics; however, parental wealth and inheritance fail to explain the black-white gap. Further, this study shows that even predicting net worth from that same family's net worth five years prior (also controlling for savings during the interim), there remains a significantly negative effect of African American race. However, breaking out initial net worth into asset types shows that it may be different investment types and returns that explain the difference in asset accumulation over a five-year period.
Loaded delay lines for future RF pulse compression systems

The peak power delivered by the klystrons in the NLCTA (Next Linear Collider Test Accelerator) now under construction at SLAC is enhanced by a factor of four in a SLED-II type of RF pulse compression system (pulse width compression ratio of six). To achieve the desired output pulse duration of 250 ns, a delay line constructed from a 36 m length of circular waveguide is used. Future colliders, however, will require even higher peak power and larger compression factors, which favors a more efficient binary pulse compression approach. Binary pulse compression, however, requires a line whose delay time is approximately proportional to the compression factor. To reduce the length of these lines to manageable proportions, periodically loaded delay lines are being analyzed using a generalized scattering matrix approach. One issue under study is the possibility of propagating two TE/sub on/ modes, one with a high group velocity and one with a group velocity of the order 0.05 c, for use in a single-line binary pulse compression system. Particular attention is paid to time domain pulse degradation and to Ohmic losses.
The effect of intravenous enalaprilat (MK-422) administration in patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension.

The antihypertensive effect of enalaprilat (MK-422), an intravenous (IV), nonsulfhydryl converting-enzyme inhibitor, was evaluated in a double-blind study of 14 patients with mild to moderate hypertension. The seven patients in the treatment group initially received IV enalaprilat 1.25 mg q6h for 24 hours. Thereafter, responding patients (diastolic blood pressure [BP] less than or equal to 95 mm Hg) continued receiving this dose q6h for an additional 24 hours, whereas nonresponding patients were increased to IV enalaprilat 5 mg q6h for another 24 hours. Baseline BP for enalaprilat was 161 +/- 5/107 +/- 2 mm Hg (+/- SEM), and for placebo it was 150 +/- 5/103 +/- 2 mm Hg. Within the first 60 minutes, a significant reduction in both systolic and diastolic BP was noted in the enalaprilat group (P less than .05), without significant changes occurring in the placebo group. Although there was a gradual decline in both systolic and diastolic BP throughout the 48-hour study period in the placebo group, systolic and diastolic BP reduction was greater in the enalaprilat group, reaching a maximal decrease of 133 +/- 3/87 +/- 3 mm Hg. Adverse side effects did not occur in any patient.
Improved estimation of PM2.5 using Lagrangian satellite-measured aerosol optical depth

Accurate estimates of fine suspended particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations are important in air quality and epidemiological studies. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrieved by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite instrument has been used as an empirical predictor to estimate ground-level concentrations of PM2.5. However, these estimates usually have large uncertainties. The main objective of this work is to assess the value of upwind (Lagrangian) MODIS-AOD as predictors in empirical models of ground-level PM2.5. We also explored the reconstruction of missing MODIS data and developed a daily average uniformly-gridded AOD product. The empirical models developed in this work were tested in ten different sites across the continental United States. Multiple linear regression models that included Lagrangian AOD along in situ AOD as predictors showed statistically significant improvement over the simple linear regression models (PM2.5 and in situ AOD). A set of seasonal categorical variables was included in the regressions to account for the variability of regression performance with respect to seasons. The extended multiple linear regression models exhibited statistically significant improvement over the simple and multiple linear regression models that only contained AOD as predictors.
A Conceptual Model for the Instruction and Supervision of Treatment Planning

The process of treatment planning requires the effective application of complex problem-solving skills. The occupational therapy literature has described components of this process and has identified both the difficulty educators have in teaching and the difficulty clinicians have in articulating the process of clinical problem solving. This paper presents a conceptual model of the dynamic process of occupational therapy treatment planning based on the case method of problem solving. An analysis of the process provides a basis for academic and clinical educators to effectively instruct and supervise students in treatment planning. An analysis of critical concepts related to each stage is followed by (a) common clinical errors committed by students and new therapists and (b) suggestions for supervisory approaches specific to errors at each stage.
Monetary Policy Transmission and Bank Lending In South Korea and Policy Implications

This paper tests the bank lending channel for South Korea based on a simultaneous-equation model consisting of the demand for and the supply of bank loans. The three-stage least squares method is employed in empirical work. The demand for bank loans is negatively associated with the lending rate and positively affected by real GDP and the corporate bond yield. The supply of bank loans has a positive relationship with the lending rate and real bank deposits and a negative relationship with the central bank policy rate, the KRW/USD exchange rate and the 10-year U.S. government bond yield. Therefore, this study finds evidence of a bank lending channel for South Korea. Expansionary monetary policy through a lower policy rate or open market purchase of government bonds to increase bank deposits/reserves would increase bank loan supply.
Ecology and geography of avian influenza (HPAI H5N1) transmission in the Middle East and northeastern Africa

Background The emerging highly pathogenic avian influenza strain H5N1 ("HPAI-H5N1") has spread broadly in the past decade, and is now the focus of considerable concern. We tested the hypothesis that spatial distributions of HPAI-H5N1 cases are related consistently and predictably to coarse-scale environmental features in the Middle East and northeastern Africa. We used ecological niche models to relate virus occurrences to 8 km resolution digital data layers summarizing parameters of monthly surface reflectance and landform. Predictive challenges included a variety of spatial stratification schemes in which models were challenged to predict case distributions in broadly unsampled areas.
Sparse-CAPR: highly accelerated 4D CE-MRA with parallel imaging and nonconvex compressive sensing.

CAPR is a SENSE-type parallel 3DFT acquisition paradigm for 4D contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA) that has been demonstrated capable of providing high spatial and temporal resolution, diagnostic-quality images at very high acceleration rates. However, CAPR images are typically reconstructed online using Tikhonov regularization and partial Fourier methods, which are prone to exhibit noise amplification and undersampling artifacts when operating at very high acceleration rates. In this work, a sparsity-driven offline reconstruction framework for CAPR is developed and demonstrated to consistently provide improvements over the currently-employed reconstruction strategy against these ill-effects. Moreover, the proposed reconstruction strategy requires no changes to the existing CAPR acquisition protocol, and an efficient numerical optimization and hardware system are described that allow for a 256×160×80 volume CE-MRA volume to be reconstructed from an 8-channel data set in less than two minutes.
Tryptophan hydroxylase expression is regulated by a circadian clock in Xenopus laevis retina.

: A circadian clock has been localized to the photoreceptor layer in the Xenopus laevis retina. This clock controls the rhythmic synthesis of melatonin, which results in elevated levels during the night and low levels during the day. The rate-limiting enzyme in melatonin synthesis in Xenopus laevis retina is tryptophan hydroxylase. A cDNA clone coding for Xenopus tryptophan hydroxylase was isolated, characterized, and used as a probe for analysis of tryptophan hydroxylase mRNA expression. Northern blot analyses of total retinal RNA show that the tryptophan hydroxylase message levels are low in the day and higher at night. The expression of tryptophan hydroxylase mRNA is under circadian control because rhythmic changes are also seen in constant darkness, with elevated levels during the subjective night. Nuclear run-on analysis during the first subjective day in constant darkness revealed that transcription initiation is low early in the day and increases throughout the day. Our observations suggest that the circadian clock modulates tryptophan hydroxylase gene expression. An understanding of how the circadian clock controls tryptophan hydroxylase expression may lead to a clearer understanding of the melatonin biosynthetic pathway, and possibly the clock itself.
Relatedness of cytotoxins from geographically diverse isolates of Moraxella bovis.

Abstract To determine whether amino acid sequence variation exists in the Moraxella bovis ( M. bovis ) cytotoxin (MbxA) from geographically diverse M. bovis isolated in the United States, mbxA was amplified and sequenced. The MbxA deduced amino acid sequence from M. bovis originally isolated in California, Washington, North Carolina, and Georgia, as well as reference strains of M. bovis isolated at the National Animal Disease Laboratory, Ames, IA, USA, all encoded a nearly identical 927 amino acid protein. MbxA from two of the four California isolates (SFS 9a and SFS 100a) differed from all other isolates at two sites at which the polar amino acids glutamine (position 666) and asparagine (position 823) were replaced by ionized amino acids glutamic acid and aspartic acid, respectively. Rabbit antiserum to the expressed carboxy terminus (amino acids 590–927) of MbxA from M. bovis (Tifton I) neutralized the hemolytic activity of SFS 9a and SFS 100a. The M. bovis cytotoxin appears to be conserved amongst geographically diverse isolates of M. bovis from the USA. Antiserum against the carboxy terminus of MbxA common to the majority of isolates neutralized the hemolytic activity of two strains with a divergent MbxA deduced amino acid sequence. Vaccines against IBK that incorporate MbxA as antigen may offer protection against geographically diverse strains of M. bovis .
Augmented loop languages and classes of computable functions

A classification of all the computable functions is given in terms of subrecursive programming languages. These classes are those which arise from the relation ''primitive recursive in''. By distinguishing between honest and dishonest classes the classification is related to the computational complexity of the functions classified and the classification has a wide degree of measure invariance. The structure of the honest and dishonest classes under inclusion is explored. It is shown that any countable partial ordering can be embedded in the dishonest classes, and that the dishonest classes are dense in the honest classes. Every honest class is minimal over some dishonest class, but there are dishonest classes with no honest class minimal over them.
“Reading German”: A Self‐Tutorial Skills‐Learning Package1

PEDAGOGICAL theory and practice in foreign languages have been for some time holistic in orientation, assuming that language is a phenomenon inseparable from the culture it carries, and that all aspects of language-use (command of phonological system, ability to comprehend spoken and written language, ability to produce comprehensible utterances in spoken and written form) are inseparably related to one another. The language-learning texts currently available, which largely determine teaching strategy, are almost all based on these assumptions. Language classes today are mostly, to use the jargon of the trade, "four-skills classes" with a cultural component. The theory may be correct,2 but its implementation causes problems for a small but important group of potential language-learners: those whose professional work demands that they acquire only a reading knowledge of the foreign language, usually as quickly as possible, and who have no interest in learning the speaking, writing, or oral comprehension skills. Such people are frustrated by "four-skills" classes, where the overall pace of learning is determined by the development of speaking skill, whose mastery comes slowest for most learners.
Long-term outcome of arthroscopic massive rotator cuff repair: the importance of double-row fixation

Purpose The purpose of this study was to (1) evaluate the long-term functional outcome of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair of massive rotator cuff tears (RCTs) and (2) compare double-row (DR) and single-row (SR) repairs. Methods This was a retrospective review of massive RCTs treated with an arthroscopic rotator cuff repair over an 8-year period. Minimum 5-year follow-up was available for 126 repairs at a mean of 99 months. Among 107 complete repairs, there were 62 SR and 45 DR repairs. Functional outcome was determined by University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons scores. A multivariate analysis was performed to examine the role of a DR repair. Results For all repairs combined, improvements were observed in forward flexion (132° v 168°), pain (6.3 v 1.3), UCLA score (15.7 v 30.7), and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score (41.7 v 85.7) ( P P = .035) and a DR repair ( P = .008). When we excluded partial repairs, postoperative UCLA gain was greater after a DR repair ( P = .007). Patients reported their shoulder as feeling closer to normal after a DR repair compared with an SR repair (93.5% v 84.4%, P = .006). A DR repair was 4.9 times more likely to lead to a good or excellent outcome ( P = .021). Conclusions When a DR repair of a massive RCT is possible, on the basis of the ability to mobilize the tendons, a better long-term functional outcome can be expected compared with an SR repair. Given the known high risk of recurrence after repair of massive RCTs and the knowledge that functional outcome is related to recurrence, a DR repair of massive RCTs should be performed when there is sufficient tendon mobility. Level of Evidence Level III, retrospective comparative study.
Thin Film Growth

A review of the experimental and theoretical results describing thin film growth modes is presented. Thermodynamic criteria for determining which growth mode might be expected to occur in a particular case along with some kinetic considerations are given. The characteristics of each of the three principal growth modes, namely Frank and van der Merwe (layer), Stranski-Krastanov (layer plus island), and Volmer-Weber (island), are discussed. Lastly, the requirements favoring the growth of epitaxial multilayers are briefly considered.
Drug-induced liver injury: a summary of recent advances

Introduction: The knowledge base of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) continues to grow each year as additional drugs are identified as hepatotoxins. There is still a need to improve our ability to predict and diagnose DILI in the preclinical and post-approval settings. Areas covered: This article presents the new and updated DILI registries for 2010, including the latest information on the causes and outcomes of non-acetaminophen DILI cases in the US Acute Liver Failure Study Group database. As DILI is still largely a diagnosis of exclusion, it is appropriate that causality assessment instruments are again the subject of considerable discussion. Expert opinion: DILI research remains extremely active including studies aimed at being better able to identify causative agents, utilize potential biomarkers, predict who is at greatest risk of injury and manage outcomes. With respect to identifying DILI risk factors at the genetic level, the field is rapidly approaching the day where ‘personalized medicine’ (bas...
Evaluation and Emergy Analysis of the Cobscook Bay Ecosystem

Abstract A naturally eutrophic, estuarine ecosystem with many unique features has developed in Cobscook Bay over the past four thousand years under the influence of six meter tides and rich flows of nitrogen from the deep waters of the Gulf of Maine. In this paper, measurements of primary production and water column properties made in the Bay from 1995 to 1996 and information from past studies are used to construct an energy systems model of the Bay's ecosystem and to evaluate the annual flows of energy and matter coursing through this network. The properties of this ecosystem network were analyzed in terms of the solar emjoules (emergy) required to support primary and secondary production. In Cobscook Bay there is an extraordinary convergence of emergy, 7.4E+12 sej m −2, from renewable sources. This level of emergy is one of the highest natural empower densities that we have found. Eighty-four percent of this emergy is from the tides and wave action. Transformities calculated in this analysis show that e...
A New Elevation Record for the Red Tree Vole in Oregon: Implications for National Forest Management

Abstract We document the capture of a red tree vole (Arborimus longicaudus) at a new location and higher elevation than previously recorded for the species. This finding shows that the red tree vole occurs outside the current survey and management areas designated for its protection in Oregon federal forests.
Ethnobotany and Sustainable Utilization of Natural Dye Plants in Sierra Leone

An ethnobotanical survey of practicing dyers in the biodiversity rich ecosystems of Sierra Leone and of the literature was conducted on the common plant species used to produce natural dyes. In addition, the methods used to obtain these dyes and to dye fabric, together with the techniques used to produce various patterns on fabric were investigated. Although the thriving dye industry is now predominantly serviced by synthetic dyes, the knowledge of the plants used still survives among some dyers, who use plant dyes to some extent. However this indigenous knowledge is rapidly being lost as increasingly less of it is being passed on to succeeding generations. Several plants used in the dyeing process are documented, together with their taxonomic characteristics; local names; how the dyes are produced and fabric dyed; the colors obtained; in addition to how various patterns are designed. Sustainable utilization of this important renewable natural resource is discussed.
Diverse wave-particle interactions for energetic ions that traverse Alfvén eigenmodes on their first full orbit

Neutral-beam ions that are deflected onto loss orbits by Alfven eigenmodes (AE) on their first bounce orbit and are detected by a fast-ion loss detector (FILD) satisfy the “local resonance” condition proposed by Zhang et al. [Nucl. Fusion 55, 22002 (2015)]. This theory qualitatively explains FILD observations for a wide variety of AE-particle interactions. When coherent losses are measured for multiple AE, oscillations at the sum and difference frequencies of the independent modes are often observed in the loss signal. The amplitudes of the sum and difference peaks correlate weakly with the amplitudes of the fundamental loss-signal amplitudes but do not correlate with the measured mode amplitudes. In contrast to a simple uniform-plasma theory of the interaction [Chen et al., Nucl. Fusion 54, 083005 (2014)], the loss-signal amplitude at the sum frequency is often larger than the loss-signal amplitude at the difference frequency, indicating a more detailed computation of the orbital trajectories through the mode eigenfunctions is needed.
Improving EGFR kinase inhibitor design for the targeted treatment of lung cancer.

With over 174,000 new cases of lung cancer being diagnosed in the United States each year novel chemotherapy treatments with efficacy towards both small-cell and non-small cell lung carcinoma is of interest to increase the survival rate of cancer patients.1,2 Historically pharmaceutical treatments have been based on surgery, radiation therapy, and broad spectrum chemotherapies. New research is now focused on targeted approaches that seek to either inhibit specific proteins necessary for cellular proliferation or to initiate apoptosis for the removal of cancerous cells. The Epithelial Growth Factor (EGF) and its Receptor (EGFR) EGFR is protein that initiates cellular growth and has been found to be overexpressed in cancer cells which makes it an effective targeted approach to cancer treatment.3-5 Specifically, this research determined structural blockade of the tyrosine kinase receptor of the EGFR as a way to inhibit cancer propagation with the use of FDA approved drugs. 22 crystal structures of the tyrosine kinase of the EGFR protein were docked using IGEMDock to 714 FDA drugs to determine structural correlation for the most effective binders. Structural similarities were determined wih IGEMDock and vROCS and partition coefficient was determined using DRAGON program. This data found a cluster of approximately 25 drugs to preferentially bind to the EGFR tyrosine kinase for use as targeted cancer treatments. This work will be used in the engineering of improved EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
Multiproject interdependencies in health systems management: a longitudinal qualitative study.

Background A health care organization often engages in the simultaneous implementation of multiple organization change initiatives. However, the degree to which these initiatives are implemented and can be enhanced based on their interdependencies is an open question. How organizations and the change initiatives they pursue might benefit from more careful examination of potential interdependencies among projects was explored in this article. Purpose The aim of this study was to introduce a multiproject management conceptualization that stresses project interdependencies and suggests synergies can be found to enhance overall project and organizational performance. It examines this conceptualization in the context of a health system pursuing several major initiatives to capture insights into the nature of such interdependencies. Methodology/approach Longitudinal qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with hospital leaders attempting to manage multiple initiatives being implemented by the system's leadership team was used in this study. Findings The implementation of an electronic medical record (EMR) is empirically identified as the most central among multiple projects based on other projects dependencies on the EMR. Furthermore, concerns for data are identified most frequently as success factors across all projects. This reinforces the depiction of the EMR as a central organizational focus. Practical implications A unique perspective on multiproject management in hospitals and on EMR projects is presented. In addition, the interdependency conceptualization and its application and results provide insights into multiproject management that can help ensure that benefits of individual projects are more fully optimized or exploited in leveraging the effectiveness of other project initiatives.
Toddlers' Differential Susceptibility to the Effects of Coparenting on Social-Emotional Adjustment.

The paper reports on a study which tested whether infants high in negative affectivity are differentially susceptible to observed coparenting behavior in relation to their subsequent social–emotion...
Reversal of Ejaculatory Failure (Anorgasmia) with Imipramine by Substitution of Nortriptyline

Ejaculatory failure (anorgasmia) has frequently been reported with imipramine and other tricyclic antidepressants (TCAD). A 44-year old man treated for panic disorder reported ejaculatory failure with 150 mg. imipramine and also with antihistaminics suggesting an anticholinergic mechanism. Since anorgasmia has been reported to diminish with change to a less anticholinergic antidepressant, he was given nortriptyline, 75 mg/day. He regained ejaculatory potency on this medication with continued control of his panic disorder. The antiadrenergic effects of imipramine may inhibit both emission of semen and ejaculation (orgasm), whereas the anticholinergic effects can cause anorgasmia with normal semen emission.
Influence of prior Na+ pump activity on pump and Na+/Ca2+ exchange currents in mouse ventricular myocytes.

We examined the dependence of peak Na+ pump and Na+/Ca2+exchanger currents on prior Na+pump inhibition induced by exposure to zero extracellular K+ in voltage-clamped adult murine ventricular myocy...
Review: Temples of the Indus: Studies in the Hindu Architecture of Ancient Pakistan by Michael W. Meister

Michael W. Meister Temples of the Indus: Studies in the Hindu Architecture of Ancient Pakistan Leiden: Brill, 2010, 85 pp., 149 b/w illus. $132, ISBN 9789004186170 Masonry temples built in the sixth to tenth centuries in what is now northwest Pakistan remain neglected in the historiography of South Asian temple architecture. In exploring a group of monuments built in the Salt Range and along the Indus River, Michael Meister’s monograph draws attention to a significant architectural experiment with the North Indian temple form called Nagara. The experiment produced a distinct regional variant of Nagara using architectural vocabulary and building techniques from previous Buddhist monastic structures of the greater Gandhara region, of which the Salt Range is a southern periphery. More importantly, Gandhara-Nagara architecture provides missing links for understanding the earliest evolution of this major North Indian temple form. The book is put together like a puzzle, worked out from inside out. It represents the author’s fieldwork in the Salt Range in the 1990s, including two seasons of excavation in 1996 and 1998 in close collaboration with scholars from the Peshawar University, the Pakistan Heritage Society, and the Department of Archaeology of the Government of Pakistan. The project overlaps the author’s engagement with a multivolume Encyclopedia of Indian Temple Architecture , now a standard reference for describing religious structures according to architectural continuities instead of shifting political boundaries of successive dynasties of rulers in different regions.1 The present volume brings the Salt Range within the framework of the Encyclopedia , and applies a technical vocabulary for describing architecture from the point of view of local and regional designers developed for the Encyclopedia from a synthesis of Sanskrit architectural treatises by the eminent Indologist, M. A. Dhaky. Sanskrit terms are explained in a separate glossary, and placed within the narrative to encourage a student to learn them in relation to the architectural logic for structural components and surface ornaments being developed in each chapter. For forty years, …
Identity Repertoires in the Narratives of Advanced American Learners of Russian

One of the central goals of foreign and second language (L2) learning for many, albeit not all, learners is self-translation; that is, the ability to present oneself in complex and diverse ways as one would do in the native language, yet in terms understandable to target language speakers. In cases of typologically similar languages and culturally similar communities, the achievement and display of this ability may pass unnoticed, but when the linguistic and cultural gap between the two speech communities is wide, self-translation becomes a daunting task (Pavlenko 1998, 2001, 2004).
Effects of framing a robot as a social agent or as a machine on children's social behavior

The presentation or framing of a situation—such as how something or someone is introduced—can influence people's subsequent behavior. In this paper, we describe a study in which we manipulated how a robot was introduced, framing it as either a social agent or as a machine-like being. We asked whether framing the robot in these ways would influence young children's social behavior while playing a ten-minute game with the robot. We coded children's behavior during the robot interaction, including their speech, gaze, and various courteous, prosocial actions. We found several subtle differences in children's gaze behavior between conditions that may reflect children's perceptions of the robot's status as more, or less, of a social actor. In addition, more parents of children in the Social condition reported that their children acted less shy and more talkative with the robot that parents of children in the Machine condition. This study gives us insight into how the interaction context can influence how children think about and respond to social robots.
Dysregulation of Hematopoietic Stem Cells with Age.

Aging is an inexorable process marked by an accumulation of traits that ultimately limit the normal function of the organism. Stem cells have long been of interest to the study of aging due to their potential to rejuvenate somatic tissues. However, several groups have now shown that stem cells themselves are subject to the effects of aging. In the hematopoietic system, stem cells markedly decline in function with time, and display characteristic behaviors such as skewing of differentiation toward myeloid development. Current studies focus on both the broad effects of aging on stem cells, and also on the role of specific genes in the aging process. Our laboratory has used gene expression profiling to examine the global gene expression changes that occur in purified hematopoietic stem cells in a time course of aging in mice. Of around 14,000 genes profiled, we identified ~1500 that were age-induced and ~1600 that were age-repressed. Genes associated with the stress response, inflammation, and protein aggregation dominated the upregulated expression profile, while the downregulated profile was marked by genes involved in the preservation of genomic integrity and chromatin remodeling. Regional analysis suggested dysregulation of many gene clusters rather than alterations of a small number of aging-specific genes. These studies suggest that hematopoietic stem cells are subject to extensive epigenetic changes over time. This epigenetic dysregulation lays a fertile ground for secondary events that may enhance the impact of genetic changes, thus driving both functional attenuation and the increased propensity for neoplastic transformation with age. The influence of the aging environment on stem cells is only now being explored. The composition of the bone marrow changes with age, and this can clearly exert effects on the types and proportions of progenitors. Furthermore, environmental conditions that typify the aging state, such as chronic inflammation, can directly impact the stem cells. A broad view of aging bone marrow environment and stem cells, as well as current molecular data addressing these issues, will be presented.
Practical achievable capacity for advanced SATCOM on-the-Move

Advanced Satellite Communication (SATCOM) On-The-Move (SOTM) employing the latest On-Board Signal Processing (OBSP) for Digital Channelizer and Beamforming (DCB) technology that can provide broadband communications capability to commercial and military mobile users. This paper addresses the maximum practical capacity that can be achieved for future advanced SOTM operating in X-band, Ku-band and Ka-band. It discusses the key technologies and system performance factors that drive SOTM's capacity. For typical SOTM scenarios, our models show that the practical achievable capacities for X, Ku, and Ka are 1.36, 1.74 and 4.59 Giga-bits/sec per beam, respectively.
Regulated and Unregulated Clinical Trials of Stem Cell Therapies for Stroke.

Several lines of laboratory investigations reporting solid safety profiles and robust efficacy readouts of stem cells in clinically relevant animal models have advanced stem cell transplantation as an experimental therapy for stroke. Unfortunately, translating laboratory findings into effective clinical trials entails rigorous regulatory examinations, which posed a major challenge in the application of stem cells to patients. As a consequence of this slow pace of clinical entry, and a media-propagated hype narrating stem cells as a “magic bullet”, a dangerous market has been created for unregulated stem cell clinics. These clinics are often guilty of misleading patients and delivering low-quality, even harmful, treatments. Additionally, these medical tourism-purported clinical procedures, which have been performed even in the US, are likely to negatively impact on the true science and clinical value of stem cells. For the full potential of stem cell therapies to be realized, these pressing public misconceptions and regulatory clinical concerns must be addressed. Here, we provide the scientific evidence supporting the safe and effective conduct of stem cells. Arguably, relying on such evidence-based science to dictate the translation of stem cells from the laboratory to the clinic should allow an objective assessment of the risks and the rewards, and the delineation of the hype from hope of this experimental stroke therapy.
Becoming Eastern Orthodox in diaspora: materializing Orthodox Russia and Holy Rus’

ABSTRACTIn this article, I draw on interviews and participant observation data from a two-year-long ethnographic study in a Russian Orthodox parish in the United States. I argue that both the Russian Orthodox immigrants and the Protestant converts to Orthodoxy attending this parish may be usefully thought of as diasporic groups. Seeking to construct their particular Orthodox identity, both groups deal with their own physical and symbolic displacements, and attempt to find their place of belonging. I demonstrate how in the process, through reliance on religious narratives, prayer, and Russian Orthodox icons, parishioners construct two overlapping, yet distinctive places of their origin: Holy Rus’ and Orthodox Russia. Finally, attending to how some Orthodox Christians were able to position themselves in two groups simultaneously, I suggest that we think of religious practitioners as able to inhabit two diasporas at once.
Utility of extra biopsies during colposcopy: experience with a cervical imaging system at an academic center

Objective: Determine if additional non-random biopsies beyond clinician directed biopsy enhance the detection of high-grade cervical disease. Methods: A cervical imaging system (CIS) was used as an adjunct to colposcopy in an academic colposcopy clinic between July 2008 and October 2010 in an IRB approved post-FDA approval study. A post hoc analysis explored if additional biopsies through the CIS added diagnostic value to the clinician’s biopsies. Results: Of 181 women with complete analysis, 50 (27.6%) were found to have CIN2+ disease. Clinician directed biopsy detected 45 of 50 (90%) of CIN2+. CIS directed biopsy detected an additional 5 of 50 (10%) of CIN2+. Clinicians directed 180 total biopsies meaning that 1 of every 4 clinician biopsies detected CIN2+ disease, whereas CIS directed an additional 68 biopsies resulting in a yield of one case of CIN2+ disease for approximately 14 additional biopsies. Conclusion: Additional non-random biopsies based on CIS increased the detection of high-grade disease in cases where clinicians did not identify high-grade disease. As noted by others, both random and non-random additional biopsies increase the sensitivity of traditional colposcopy. What is not clear is whether the additional cases identified represent clinically significant disease. Our study is particularly relevant as colposcopists explore standardizing high yield diagnostic techniques.
Machine learning based prediction of wave breaking over a fringing reef

Abstract The characteristics of wave breaking in shallow waters that are of interest include whether a wave will break, the type of breaking that will occur, the breaking wave height, breaking depth, the position of breaking, the wave setup, and the transformation of the broken wave for given offshore wave characteristics and given bottom profile. Various methods have been proposed in the literature to estimate these wave-breaking characteristics. Deo et al. (2003) used a neural network approach to predict the breaking wave height and breaking depth for waves transforming over a range of simply sloped bottoms. The Deo et al. approach is extended here to predict other characteristics of wave breaking, including the type of wave breaking, the position of breaking, the wave setup, and the rate of dissipation of wave energy, in the case of waves impinging on a fringing reef. Observations from a series of specially conducted laboratory experiments involving monochromatic waves impinging on an idealized reef are used to develop and train respective models. The input parameters to the neural network models are the ratio of offshore wave height to the shallow-water depth of the flat section of the reef, H 1 / h s and the wave frequency parameter f H 1 / g . The breaker type classification model developed predicts the type of breaker with a success rate of 96 % , outperforming previously used criteria for classifying breaker types. The numeric prediction models for the dimensionless position of wave breaking for plunging and spilling breakers, for wave setup, and for the reduction in energy flux across the reef have performance ratings characterized by respective correlation coefficients of 0.99, 0.82, 0.89, and 0.94. The modest value for the correlation between prediction and the actual result for the position of breaking of spilling breakers is believed to be associated with inaccuracies in determination of the exact position of breaking and to difficulty in visually capturing spilling breakers in observations. High correlation between predicted and actual values of the reduction in energy flux across the reef is achieved in spite of the fact the model was trained using data from a wave tank that included partial reflection (characterized by 7% mean deviation among non-breaking waves) from the downstream end of the tank. The method can be extended to provide predictive models for consideration of a range of natural coastal conditions, random waves, and various bottom profiles and complex geometry, based on training and testing of the models using representative laboratory, field, and/or flow simulation, in support of accurate prediction of near-shore wave phenomena.
British infantry battalion commanders in the First World War

Peter E. Hodkinson’s book evaluates the evolution and qualities of British infantry battalion commanders during the Great War. This is a neglected section of the British officer corps and, as such,...
Esprit de Corps and Quality: Making the Case for Eradicating Burnout.

Esprit de Corps and Quality: Making the Case for Eradicating Burnout Stephen Swensen; Journal of Healthcare Management
The clinical trials landscape for glioblastoma: is it adequate to develop new treatments?

Background There have been few treatment advances for patients with glioblastoma (GBM) despite increasing scientific understanding of the disease. While factors such as intrinsic tumor biology and drug delivery are challenges to developing efficacious therapies, it is unclear whether the current clinical trial landscape is optimally evaluating new therapies and biomarkers. Methods We queried ClinicalTrials.gov for interventional clinical trials for patients with GBM initiated between January 2005 and December 2016 and abstracted data regarding phase, status, start and end dates, testing locations, endpoints, experimental interventions, sample size, clinical presentation/indication, and design to better understand the clinical trials landscape. Results Only approximately 8%-11% of patients with newly diagnosed GBM enroll on clinical trials with a similar estimate for all patients with GBM. Trial duration was similar across phases with median time to completion between 3 and 4 years. While 93% of clinical trials were in phases I-II, 26% of the overall clinical trial patient population was enrolled on phase III studies. Of the 8 completed phase III trials, only 1 reported positive results. Although 58% of the phase III trials were supported by phase II data with a similar endpoint, only 25% of these phase II trials were randomized. Conclusions The clinical trials landscape for GBM is characterized by long development times, inadequate dissemination of information, suboptimal go/no-go decision making, and low patient participation.
Modified “Blue Spritz” Technique for Ureteroscopic Localization and Management of Caliceal Diverticula

Abstract Introduction and Objective: Renal caliceal diverticula often present a significant management challenge for the urologist. Although not all caliceal diverticula present with symptoms, pati...
Misperceived norms and personal sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and fruit and vegetable intake among students in the United States.

Abstract Perceptions of peer food and beverage consumption norms may predict personal consumption. Yet actual peer norms may be misperceived. Data were collected from adolescents in grades 6–12 (n = 5841) in 13 schools across six regionally diverse states via an anonymous online survey. The male and female averages for the number of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) personally consumed per day were significantly lower than average perceptions of the typical number of SSBs consumed by peers. Inversely, the male and female averages for the number of fruit and vegetable (FV) servings personally consumed per day were significantly higher than average perceptions of typical FVs consumed by peers. Among the majority of male and female grade cohorts, the median SSB consumption was 1 drink per day and the median FV intake was 3 servings per day. Regression analyses found a strong relationship between personal consumption and perceived peer norms about male and female consumption ( β = 0.56, p β = 0.52, p
Separation of Microstresses and Macrostresses

In two phase or composite materials it is possible to determine both the macrostresses in the material and the average microstresses present in each phase. The stress equilibrium relations allowing this separation are outlined. It is shown that errors in the unstressed lattice parameter lead to errors in only the hydrostatic component of the stress tensor. It is thus possible to accurately determine the entire deviatoric macrostress and microstress tensors without the unstressed lattice parameters of the individual phases. Two examples of the usefulness of macrostress and microstress measurements are given. In a SiC-TiB2 microcracking ceramic com-posite large hydrostatic microstresses develop during consolidation due to differential thermal contraction. Microcracks form during stressing, relaxing the thermal microstresses. Measurements of this relaxation have helped quantify the toughening in this system associated with microcracking. Measurements in both the ferrite and cementite phases of 1080 steel during low cycle fatigue show the proportion of the applied load carried by each phase. These results show that as the material yields in both tension and compression, the carbides take a higher fraction of the load and thus the stress range experienced by the carbide phase is much higher.
Ensemble-based Semantic Lexicon Induction for Semantic Tagging

We present an ensemble-based framework for semantic lexicon induction that incorporates three diverse approaches for semantic class identification. Our architecture brings together previous bootstrapping methods for pattern-based semantic lexicon induction and contextual semantic tagging, and incorporates a novel approach for inducing semantic classes from coreference chains. The three methods are embedded in a bootstrapping architecture where they produce independent hypotheses, consensus words are added to the lexicon, and the process repeats. Our results show that the ensemble outperforms individual methods in terms of both lexicon quality and instance-based semantic tagging.
Stability of Molecular Order in the Smectic a Phase of a Liquid Crystal

Ethyl-[p-(p-methoxybenzilidene)-amino]-cinnamate (EMC) was ordered in its smectic A phase by ordering in the nematic phase and cooling through the nematic-smectic A phase transition in the presence of a magnetic field. The direction and degree of order were determined using pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. The order was observed to change with time following a rotation of the magnetic field. The degree and stability of order produced were found to be functions of the concentration of small amounts of decomposition products. A model is discussed that satisfactorily accounts for the time dependence of the reordering.