cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Paleoclimatic significance of Late Quaternary eolian deposition on the Piedmont and High Plains, Central United States

Abstract Presently stabilized dune systems on the piedmont of eastern Colorado and adjacent High Plains have been repeatedly re-activated during the past 20,000 years. Radiocarbon and thermoluminescence age estimates indicate eolian activity late in the last glacial cycle ca. 20,000–12,000 yr B.P. and subsequent episodes of dune reactivation at ca. 6000, 4500 and 1000 yr B.P. Pollen analysis from aggraded buried soil A horizons show a shift from grasses and shrubs to goosefoot, a disturbance indicator. The association of maximum goosefoot levels with the coarsest part of the buried A horizon immediately prior to burial by eolian sand indicates a substantial reduction in grass and dominance of shrubs with onset of eolian activity. The vegetation change and eolian depositional sequence indicates a reduction in plant coverage with regional drought, possibly augmented by bison grazing and surface heating effects. We infer an increase in summer monsoonal precipitation between 13,000 and 9000 yr B.P. reflecting a heightened land-to-sea temperature gradient associated with rising summer solar-insolation values and a meltwater cooled Gulf of Mexico. Dune reactivation in the middle and late Holocene appears to be independent of summer insolation values, but rather reflects a small (
Binding Specificity for RACK1 Resides in the V5 Region of βII Protein Kinase C

Abstract Identification of selective anchoring proteins responsible for specialized localization of specific signaling proteins has led to the identification of new inhibitors of signal transduction, inhibitors of anchoring protein-ligand interactions. RACK1, the firstreceptor for activated C kinase identified in our lab, is a selective anchoring protein for βII protein kinase C (βIIPKC). We previously found that at least part of the RACK1-binding site resides in the C2 domain of βIIPKC (Ron, D., Luo, J., and Mochly-Rosen, D. (1995) J. Biol. Chem.270, 24180–24187). Here we show that the V5 domain also contains part of the RACK1-binding site in βIIPKC. In neonatal rat cardiac myocytes, the βIIV5-3 peptide (amino acids 645–650 in βIIPKC) selectively inhibited phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-induced translocation of βIIPKC and not βIPKC. In addition, the βIIV5-3 peptide inhibited cardiac myocyte hypertrophy in PMA-treated cells. Interestingly, βIV5-3 (646–651 in βIPKC), a selective translocation inhibitor of βIPKC, also inhibited PMA-induced cardiac myocyte hypertrophy, demonstrating that both βI- and βIIPKC are essential for this cardiac function. Therefore, the βIIV5 domain contains part of the RACK1-binding site in βIIPKC; a peptide corresponding to this site is a selective inhibitor of βIIPKC and, hence, enables the identification of βIIPKC-selective functions.
The effect of adherence to ACLS protocols on survival of event in the setting of in-hospital cardiac arrest.

Aim Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) algorithms are the default standard of care for in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) management. However, adherence to published guidelines is relatively poor. The records of 149 patients who experienced IHCA were examined to begin to understand the association between overall adherence to ACLS protocols and successful return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC).
Expression, Subcellular Distribution and Response to Phorbol Esters of Protein Kinase C (PKC) Isozymes in Drug-Sensitive and Multidrug-Resistant KB Cells Evidence for Altered Regulation of PKC-α

Protein kinase C (PKC) comprises a family of related phospholipid-dependent serine/threonine protein kinases. PKC has been implicated in the induction and maintenance of the multidrug-resistance (MDR) phenotype but the role of different isozymes is not well understood. We compared the expression and subcellular distribution, and membrane association and down-regulation induced by phorbol esters, of individual PKC isozymes in drug-sensitive KB-3 and multidrug-resistant KB-V1 human carcinoma cell lines. Immunoblotting with isozyme-specific antibodies indicated the presence of PKCα (cytosol only), PKCβ (membrane only), PKCɛ (mainly membrane associated) and PKCζ (both fractions). PKCδ and PKCγ were not detected. The expression levels of PKCβ, PKCɛ and PKCζ were unchanged in KB-V1 cells; PKCα was modestly increased (≈ 65%) in the resistant cells as further determined by enzyme assay. The cytosolic nature and increased expression of PKCα were confirmed by immunofluorescent localization studies. Revertant cells, obtained by culturing KB-V1 cells in a drug-free medium, regained drug sensitivity with a loss of P-glycoprotein and a concomitant decrease in expression of PKCα. KB-V1 cells were found to differ markedly from KB-3 cells with respect to the translocation and down-regulation specifically of PKCα upon exposure to 12-O -tetradecanoyl-1-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA). Treatment with 30 nM TPA for 24 h completely depleted KB-3 cells of PKCα whereas 1 μM TPA was required to deplete KB-V1 cells of PKCα. Similar results were obtained when phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate was used instead of TPA. Defective TPA-mediated down-regulation of PKCα was also observed in another PKCα-overexpressing MDR cell line, KB-A1. Importantly, cellular uptake of radiolabeled phorbol ester was similar for both drug-sensitive and MDR cells. Sensitive and resistant cells exhibited similar expression levels of RACK1, a PKC-binding protein important in activation-induced translocation. These findings further highlight the importance of PKCα in the MDR phenotype, and suggest that this isozyme may be expressed in a modified form or be subject to an altered regulation in MDR cells.
Antisocial Behavior and Psychoactive Substance Involvement Among Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Caucasian Adolescents in Substance Abuse Treatment

ABSTRACT The conduct disorder behaviors and substance involvement of Hispanic and non-Hispanic Caucasian adolescents receiving treatment for alcohol and other drag abuse were compared in order to examine differences in problem behaviors prior to entering treatment. Thirty-four, 12–18 year old non-Hispanic Caucasian participants were socio-demographically matched to 34 Hispanic adolescent alcohol and drag abusers from a larger longitudinal study. Each adolescent and a collateral informant (usually a parent) were interviewed while in treatment using the Customary Drinking and Drag Use Record to assess their current and lifetime substance involvement and the Conduct Disorder Questionnaire to assess current and Lifetime conduct disorder behaviors. Non-Hispanic Caucasian adolescents were 3 times as likely to be diagnosed with conduct disorder prior to onset of substance involvement than their Hispanic peers. Hispanic adolescents were more likely to have been involved in a gang. The conduct disorder behaviors o...
Identification and phylogenetic analysis of 15 MHC class II DRB1 β1 expressed alleles in a ewe–lamb flock

Ovar-DRB1 is part of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II of sheep and functions by presenting extracellular-derived peptides to the immune system. Although there are over 100 different Ovar-DRB1 DNA sequences reported in GenBank, only two Ovar-DRB1 mRNA sequences have been reported. As a first step in understanding MHC Class II function as it relates to disease progression in sheep, Ovar-DRB1 transcripts encoding the peptide-binding site or the first domain (beta1) of Ovar-DRB1 in a 32-ewe-lamb flock were identified and characterized by using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, cloning, sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis. Fourteen new Ovar-DRB1 beta1 cDNA sequences out of a total of 15 Ovar-DRB1 beta1 cDNA sequences in a ewe-lamb flock of 32 sheep were identified. One Ovar-DRB1 beta1 cDNA sequence was 100% identical to M93432, one of the two Ovar-DRB1 mRNA sequences reported in GenBank. Twelve out of 15 Ovar-DRB1 beta1 cDNA sequences were 100% identical to the corresponding previously reported Ovar-DRB1 genomic DNA sequences, indicating that these Ovar-DRB1 genomic DNA sequences are also transcribed. One of three of the remaining Ovar-DRB1 beta1 cDNA sequences, DRB1*07012, had a synonymous substitution resulting in an identical deduced amino acid sequence to DRB1*0701. Two of the remaining three Ovar-DRB1 beta1 cDNA sequences had nucleotide differences and subsequent deduced amino acid sequence differences when compared to known Ovar-DRB1 beta1 genomic DNA sequences, and therefore, DRB1*0206 and DRB1*0353 represent new Ovar-DRB1 beta1 expressed alleles. Phylogenetic analysis of the 15 Ovar-DRB1 beta1 cDNA sequences revealed that DRB1*0206 had a strong phylogenetic relationship to DRB1*0203, and DRB1*0353 had a strong phylogenetic relationship to DRB1*0303.
Psychiatric Disorders of Children Living With Drug-Abusing, Alcohol-Abusing, and Non-Substance-Abusing Fathers

ABSTRACT Objective The present study examined lifetime psychiatric disorders and current emotional and behavioral problems of 8- to 12-year-old children living with drug-abusing (DA) fathers compared to children living in demographically matched homes with alcohol-abusing (AA) or non-substance-abusing fathers. Method Children's lifetime psychiatric diagnoses were determined using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children, Present and Lifetime Version. In addition, both parents completed the Pediatric Symptom Checklist. Substance-abusing fathers were recruited from an outpatient treatment program. Results Children who lived with DA fathers were more likely to have a lifetime psychiatric diagnosis (i.e., 53% versus 25% in AA homes and 10% in non-substance-abusing homes). Compared to children in the other groups, children in DA homes were more than twice as likely to exhibit clinical levels of behavioral symptoms. Conclusions Children living with DA fathers were more likely to experience a lifetime psychiatric disorder and more negative behaviors compared to children living with an AA father or non-substance-abusing parents.
Keck adaptive optics imaging of near-Earth Asteroid 2004 XP14

We present resolved near-infrared images of near-Earth Asteroid 2004 XP14, obtained with the adaptive optics system on Keck II during July 2006. This is the first time a near-Earth asteroid has been directly imaged from the ground. Our result illustrates the capabilities of adaptive optics and complements radar and spectral observations.
Multisectional mold for fabrication of prosthetic ears

Abstract The use of a multisectional stone mold is advocated for the fabrication of prosthetic ears. Less force is required in the deflasking procedure with this technique, reducing the risk of fracturing the mold or tearing the prosthesis. This technique requires more time and care in the flasking procedure. Convergence of the sections is of particular importance. The potential for multiple section lines may result in a need for more surface finishing of the prosthesis.
Influences of pileup on the measurement of mechanical properties by load and depth sensing indentation techniques

Finite element simulation of conical indentation of a wide variety of elastic-plastic materials has been used to investigate the influences of pileup on the accuracy with which hardness and elastic modulus can be measured by load and depth-sensing indentation techniques. The key parameter in the investigation is the contact area, which can be determined from the finite element results either by applying standard analysis procedures to the simulated indentation load-displacement data, as would be done in an experiment, or more directly, by examination of the contact profiles in the finite element mesh. Depending on the pileup behavior of the material, these two areas may be very different. When pileup is large, the areas deduced from analyses of the load-displacement curves underestimate the true contact areas by as much as 60%. This, in turn, leads to overestimations of the hardness and elastic modulus. The conditions under which the errors are significant are identified, and it is shown how parameters measured from the indentation load-displacement data can be used to identify when pileup is an important factor.
Preparing Unemployed Youth for Job Interviews A Controlled Evaluation of Social Skills Training

The utility of social skills training for improving job-interview performance of unemployed youth was investigated in an applied setting. Participants of a broadly focused job-preparation program received social skills training in four-session or two-session format or were placed in one of two control conditions. Training was focused on development of behavioral skills reported as important in preliminary interviews with previous program participants, their counselors, and employers. Impact of training was evaluated in both role-played and actual employment interviews. Social skills training resulted in superior role-play performance as indicated by group differences in overall ratings and on several specific behavioral measures. Similar differences appeared in the analysis of ratings completed by potential employers immediately after actual interviews. Differences in employer ratings occurred most frequently between the four-session social skills training group and controls. Role-play ratings at posttest...
Relation of parental alcoholism to early adolescent substance use: A test of three mediating mechanisms.

The current study assessed 3 hypothesized mediating mechanisms underlying the relation between parental alcoholism and adolescent substance use. Using structural equation modeling, we analyzed data obtained from a large community sample of adolescent children of alcoholics and a demographically matched comparison group. Results suggested that parental alcoholism influenced adolescent substance use through stress and negative affect pathways, through decreased parental monitoring, and through increased temperamental emotionality (which was associated with heightened negative affect). Both negative affect and impaired parental monitoring were associated with adolescents' membership in a peer network that supported drug use behavior. The data did not support a link between parental alcoholism and temperamental sociability.
Lkb1 regulates quiescence and metabolic homeostasis of haematopoietic stem cells

The capacity to fine-tune cellular bioenergetics with the demands of stem-cell maintenance and regeneration is central to normal development and ageing, and to organismal survival during periods of acute stress. How energy metabolism and stem-cell homeostatic processes are coordinated is not well understood. Lkb1 acts as an evolutionarily conserved regulator of cellular energy metabolism in eukaryotic cells and functions as the major upstream kinase to phosphorylate AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and 12 other AMPK-related kinases. Whether Lkb1 regulates stem-cell maintenance remains unknown. Here we show that Lkb1 has an essential role in haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) homeostasis. We demonstrate that ablation of Lkb1 in adult mice results in severe pancytopenia and subsequent lethality. Loss of Lkb1 leads to impaired survival and escape from quiescence of HSCs, resulting in exhaustion of the HSC pool and a marked reduction of HSC repopulating potential in vivo. Lkb1 deletion has an impact on cell proliferation in HSCs, but not on more committed compartments, pointing to context-specific functions for Lkb1 in haematopoiesis. The adverse impact of Lkb1 deletion on haematopoiesis was predominantly cell-autonomous and mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1)-independent, and involves multiple mechanisms converging on mitochondrial apoptosis and possibly downregulation of PGC-1 coactivators and their transcriptional network, which have critical roles in mitochondrial biogenesis and function. Thus, Lkb1 serves as an essential regulator of HSCs and haematopoiesis, and more generally, points to the critical importance of coupling energy metabolism and stem-cell homeostasis.
Evaluation of the health effects of benzene inhalation.

(1977). Evaluation of the Health Effects of Benzene Inhalation. Clinical Toxicology: Vol. 11, No. 5, pp. 531-548.
Quantitation of macromolecular binding using size exclusion filters: application to a fucosyltransferase assay.

Abstract A method to quantify the covalent attachment of small radiolabeled substrates to macromolecules on the basis of molecular weight using size exclusion filters in an Amicon Centrifree micropartition system is described. GDP-[14C]- l -fucose was covalently attached to asialofetuin in a fucosyltranferase reaction catalyzed by mouse spermatogenic cell extracts. Radiolabeled product was separated from unreacted substrate by centrifuging 200–400 μl of cell extract through a 10-kDa size exclusion filter at 1000g for 10 to 20 min. After 10 washes with an appropriate buffer, no detectable radioactivity was found in the eluant and the membranebound radiolabeled product was counted in a scintillation vial. Using this method the fucosyltransferase activity of mouse spermatogenic cells was approximately 17 pmol/mg protein/min which is essentially identical to values obtained using size exclusion chromatography. This technique provides a rapid, efficient, and inexpensive alternative for the isolation and detection of acceptor-substrate complexes.
Synthesis of Beta-Aryl Lignin Model Compounds

Abstract A Claisen-Schmidt type aldol addition reaction was used to synthesize erythro- and threo-ethyl-3-hydroxy-3-(4-benzyloxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-phenylpropanoate (la, lb) and erythro-2,3-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,3-propanediol (9). The key aldol addition step was facilitated by adding a molar equivalent of Zn (II) cations to stabilize the addition product, thus inhibiting the reverse aldol reaction. This allowed the reaction to be carried out at moderate temperatures (-20 to 0°C) and rather short reaction times (10 to 20 minutes). The H-alpha–H-beta coupling constants in the PMR spectra were used for assignment of the stereoisomers.
A Mediator's Dilemma: Acknowledging or Disregarding Stance Displays

Mediators must strike a balance. On the one hand, they must direct participants' talk toward possible agreement. On the other hand, they must be sensitive and responsive to participants' evident stance (including affect and point of view) toward what is happening. In a case study of a videotaped, actual small claims court mediation session, several moments in which these competing constraints appear evident in the talk are analyzed. One participant (the landlord in a housing dispute) provides repeated indicators of his stance. The mediator disregards several of these. Finally, in a private caucus session, he acknowledges the landlord's stance. Understanding how talk works in such moments can help mediators respond sensitively to participants while maintaining impartiality and guiding the mediation process.
Interstial granulomatous dermatitis as initial presentation of juvenile mixed connective disease and its response to tacrolimus

Purpose Interstitial granulomatous dermatitis (IGD) has been reported in association with autoimmune disorders in adults. These associated conditions include rheumatoid arthritis, seronegative arthritis, SLE, autoimmune thyroiditis and others. It has also been described in drug-reaction pulmonary coccidioidomycosis, Lyme’s disease and pulmonary silicosis. IGD has rarely been described in children.
Bayesian modeling of multivariate average bioequivalence

Bioequivalence trials are usually conducted to compare two or more formulations of a drug. Simultaneous assessment of bioequivalence on multiple endpoints is called multivariate bioequivalence. Despite the fact that some tests for multivariate bioequivalence are suggested, current practice usually involves univariate bioequivalence assessments ignoring the correlations between the endpoints such as AUC and Cmax. In this paper we develop a semiparametric Bayesian test for bioequivalence under multiple endpoints. Specifically, we show how the correlation between the endpoints can be incorporated in the analysis and how this correlation affects the inference. Resulting estimates and posterior probabilities ‘borrow strength’ from one another where the amount and the direction of the strength borrowed are determined by the prior correlations. The method developed is illustrated using a real data set. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Attachment and the representation of intimate relationships in adulthood

Community college students in the United States (151 men, 217 women) described their current or most recent intimate relationship on questionnaires derived from the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (Benjamin & Friedrich, 1991). Attachment organization was assessed by categories (secure, avoidant, or ambivalent) and by dimensions (Attachment Security x Level of Activation). Respondents with avoidant or ambivalent attachment described more hostility in their relationships than secure participants did. Avoidant participants described themselves as less submissive. Respondents with low attachment security and high attachment activation were especially likely to describe more hostile patterns of interaction. Those with greater attachment security also described more interdependence in the relationship. No interaction effects of attachment with amount of experience in close relationships were found.
The impact of compulsive communicators on the self‐perceived competence of classroom peers: An investigation and test of instructional strategies

Two studies assess the influence of student communication behavior on peer self‐evaluation in basic communication courses. Study 1 explores whether students who are compulsive communicators influence the self‐perceived communication competence of their peers. Results show that students in classes with compulsive communicators have significantly smaller gains in self‐perceived communication competence over the course of a semester than students in classes without compulsive communicators. Study 2 assesses the effects of implementing a cognitive learning strategies model of instruction on students’ self‐perceived communication competence. Results indicate that the cognitive learning strategies model eliminates the suppression effect found in course sections with compulsive communicators.
Customer response capability in a sense-and-respond era: The role of customer knowledge process

An organization’s customer response capability, its comptence in satisfying customer needs through effective and quick responses, is critical for sustained success. In this article, the authors examine how customer knowledge process influences customer response capability. They highlight two dimensions of customer response capability, customer response expertise and customer response speed. It is observed that apart from its direct positive association with customer response expertise and speed, the customer knowledge process also diminishes the positive association between risk propensity and these dimensions of customer response capability. The influence of customer response expertise and speed on performance is also examined. The hypotheses are tested using survey data collected from a sample of retailing firms and the findings triangulated using qualitative data collected through depth interviews with managers. The results highlight the importance of customer knowledge in enhancing customer response capability.
Endovascular treatment for symptomatic cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage: transluminal balloon angioplasty compared with intraarterial papaverine.

The authors retrospectively evaluated the short-term neurological improvement of 69 patients undergoing endovascular treatment for symptomatic cerebral vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The patient group observed here is a subset of patients enrolled in the multicenter North American Trial of Tirilazad in SAH. Thirty-one patients were treated with intraarterial administration of papaverine (IAP). Fourteen patients were only treated with transluminal balloon angioplasty (TBA), and 24 patients received a combination of angioplasty and papaverine. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of IAP and TBA on short-term clinical improvement of patients. Daily clinical staging with the modified Glasgow Coma Scale and every-other-day transcranial Doppler (TCD) measurements allowed for a close investigation of the clinical course. Furthermore, this study was designed to investigate the effects of treatment timing on short-term outcome. Although TCD studies demonstrated a decrease...
Center of pressure trajectory during gait: A comparison of four foot positions

Knowledge of the center of pressure (COP) trajectory during stance can elucidate possible foot pathology, provide comparative effectiveness of foot orthotics, and allow for appropriate calculation of balance control and joint kinetics during gait. Therefore, the goal of this study was to investigate the COP movement when walking at self-selected speeds with plantigrade, equinus, inverted, and everted foot positions. A total of 13 healthy subjects were asked to walk barefoot across an 8-m walkway with embedded force plates. The COP was computed for each stance limb using the ground reaction forces and moments collected from three force plates. Results demonstrated that the COP excursion was 83% of the foot length and 27% of the foot width in the anterior–posterior and medial lateral directions for plantigrade walking, respectively. Regression equations explained 94% and 44% of the anterior–posterior and medial–lateral COP variability during plantigrade walking, respectively. While the range of motion and COP velocity were similar for inverted and everted walking, the COP remained on the lateral and medial aspects of the foot for these two walking conditions, respectively. A reduced anterior–posterior COP range of motion and velocity were demonstrated during equinus walking. Ankle joint motion in the frontal and sagittal planes supported this COP movement, with increased inversion and plantar flexion demonstrated during inverted and equinus conditions, respectively. Results from this study demonstrated the COP kinematics during simulated pathological gait conditions, with the COP trajectory providing an additional tool for the evaluation of patients with pathology.
One-dimensional physics in transition metal nanowires: Phases and elementary excitations

We used the Hartree-Fock approximation to classify the electronic phases that might occur in a transition-metal nanowire. The important features of this situation are orbital degeneracy (or near degeneracy) and interactions favoring locally high-spin configurations. In this circumstance, spin density waves and triplet superconductivity are favored. If the interactions favor locally low-spin configurations as in previously studied spin-ladder systems, charge density waves, and singlet superconductivity are observed.
S2 emission from porphyrin assemblies

Abstract Fluorescence, Raman and micro Raman spectroscopies are used to investigate the electronic properties of mixed Langmuir-Blodgett monolayers containing ZnTOOPP or CuTOOPP (where TOOPP is 5,10,15,20-tetrakis[4-(1-octyloxy) phenyl]porphyrin) with 4-(1-octyloxy)benzaldehyde in molar ratios of 1:1. Enhanced S2 fluorescence from the monolayer assemblies compared with that from solution phase samples is observed. Fluorescence spectra reveal the presence of two species which are evident in varying relative amounts on varying monolayer compression conditions. Micro Raman spectra collected from different monolayer domains also reveal the presence of two primary domain types.
Targeting Essential Genes in Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium with Antisense Peptide Nucleic Acid

ABSTRACT We investigated the capability of antisense peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) conjugated to the (KFF) 3 K cell-penetrating peptide to target possible essential genes ( ligA , rpoA , rpoD , engA , tsf , and kdtA ) in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and inhibit bacterial growth in vitr o and in cell culture. All targeted PNA-based gene inhibition has shown great potency in gene expression inhibition in a sequence-specific and dose-dependent manner at micromolar concentrations. Among tested PNAs, the anti- rpoA and - rpoD PNAs showed the greatest potency.
C-testable systolic arrays

A reconfigurable cell model for C-testability of systolic arrays is presented. With this model each systolic array is reconfigurable to a set of C-testable orthogonal iterative systolic arrays (OISAs). The time complexity of a systolic array is determined from the time complexity of its corresponding OISAs. The C-testable time complexities of some known systolic arrays are presented. >
History of early atomic clocks

This review of the history of early atomic clocks includes early atomic beam magnetic resonance, methods of separated and successive oscillatory fields, microwave absorption, optical pumping and atomic masers.
Two Decades of Declining Cancer Mortality: Progress with Disparity

The close of the twentieth century brought historic changes in cancer risk factors, early detection, and treatment. As a consequence, we have seen two decades of steadily declining risk of death from cancer in the United States. The reasons for declining cancer mortality rates are largely known: reduced tobacco use, the adoption of cancer early-detection methods, and better cancer therapeutics. Despite this progress, disparities in cancer mortality persist across different groups defined by race and social class. Because all the factors that account for declining cancer trends are influenced strongly by social class, and because of large social class disparities in cancer risk factors, there will likely be a widening gap in cancer mortality among those in lower socioeconomic groups in the future. This article reviews the trends in risk factors for cancer mortality and discusses the persistent problem of disparities by race and social class.
Bayesian estimation of discrete entropy with mixtures of stick-breaking priors

We consider the problem of estimating Shannon's entropy H in the under-sampled regime, where the number of possible symbols may be unknown or countably infinite. Dirichlet and Pitman-Yor processes provide tractable prior distributions over the space of countably infinite discrete distributions, and have found major applications in Bayesian non-parametric statistics and machine learning. Here we show that they provide natural priors for Bayesian entropy estimation, due to the analytic tractability of the moments of the induced posterior distribution over entropy H. We derive formulas for the posterior mean and variance of H given data. However, we show that a fixed Dirichlet or Pitman-Yor process prior implies a narrow prior on H, meaning the prior strongly determines the estimate in the under-sampled regime. We therefore define a family of continuous mixing measures such that the resulting mixture of Dirichlet or Pitman-Yor processes produces an approximately flat prior over H. We explore the theoretical properties of the resulting estimators and show that they perform well on data sampled from both exponential and power-law tailed distributions.
Advocacy Coalitions, Policy Entrepreneurs, and Policy Change

The advocacy coalition framework (AC) explains policy stability The policy entrepreneurship model (PE) explains dynamic policy change. Thus, augmenting the AC with insights from the PE provides a method of explaining a common empirical phenomenon: policy stability punctuated by dynamic policy change. This analytical strategy could be used to explore stability and change in many policy arenas. Here, we use it to interpret the background lo and dynamics of recent education policy reform in Michigan.
Signaling by Price in a Congested Environment

We consider the informational role of a queue when a firm can adjust its price to signal its quality to uninformed consumers. When the proportion of informed consumers is relatively high, increasing the price of a high-quality good is a superior signaling strategy. In this case, high- and low-quality firms choose different prices, so the queue has no role in communicating information about quality. Such separation is costly for a high-quality firm if, to prevent imitation by the low-quality firm, it has to raise its price beyond a monopoly price. When the proportion of informed consumers is low, there are also equilibria in which high- and low-quality firms pool on a low price. We exhibit equilibria in which, in the limit as waiting costs vanish, the queue almost perfectly reveals the quality. Here, short queues are associated with the low-quality firm and long queues with the high-quality one. We show that the high-quality firm earns a higher profit in the pooling equilibrium with congestion as compared to the case of costly separation. This explains why some producers prefer to signal quality via the queue length rather than by charging a high price. We demonstrate numerically that our findings are robust to positive waiting costs.
Satisfaction with electronic health records is associated with job satisfaction among primary care physicians

Objective To evaluate the association between electronic health record (EHR) satisfaction and job satisfaction in primary care physicians (PCPs). Method Cross-sectional survey of PCPs at 825 primary care practices in North Carolina. Results Surveys were returned from 283 individuals across 214 practices (26% response rate for practices), of whom 122 were physicians with EHRs and no missing information. We found that for each point increase in EHR satisfaction, job satisfaction increased by ~0.36 points both in an unadjusted and an adjusted model (β 0.359 unadjusted, 0.361 adjusted; p < 0.001 for both models). Conclusion We found that EHR satisfaction was associated with job satisfaction in a cross-sectional survey of PCPs. Our conclusions are limited by suboptimum survey response rate, but if confirmed may have substantial implications for how EHR vendors develop their product to support the needs of PCPs.
Laboratory Maintenance of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

Staphylococcus aureus is an important bacterial pathogen in the hospital and community settings, especially Staphylococcus aureus clones that exhibit methicillin-resistance (MRSA). Many strains of S. aureus are utilized in the laboratory, underscoring the genetic differences inherent in clinical isolates. S. aureus grows quickly at 37°C with aeration in rich media (e.g., BHI) and exhibits a preference for glycolytic carbon sources. Furthermore, S. aureus has a gold pigmentation, exhibits β-hemolysis, and is catalase and coagulase positive. The four basic laboratory protocols presented in this unit describe how to culture S. aureus on liquid and solid media, how to identify S. aureus strains as methicillin resistant, and how to generate a freezer stock of S. aureus for long-term storage.
Blunt chest trauma: utility of radiological evaluation and effect on treatment patterns

Minor chest wall trauma is a common complaint in the emergency department (ED) (Barnea Y, Kashtan H, Skornick Y, Werbin N. Isolated rib fractures in elderly patients: mortality and morbidity. Can J of Surgery 2002;45(1):43-6; Lee RB, Bass SM, Morris JA, Mackenzie EJ. Three or more rib fractures as an indicator for transfer to a level I trauma center. J Trauma 1990;30:689-94; Dubinsky I, Low A. Non-life-threatening blunt chest trauma: Appropriate investigation and treatment. Am J Emerg Med 1997;15(3):240-3). Up to 50% of rib fractures may be missed on standard x-ray (Ziegler DW, Agarwal NN. The morbidity and mortality of rib fractures. J Trauma 1994;37:975-9; Palvanen M, Kannus P, Niemi S, Parkkari J. Hospital-treated minimal-trauma rib fractures in elderly Finns: long-term trends and projections for the future. Osteoperosis International). Little consensus exists among emergency physicians with respect to the workup of minor blunt chest trauma. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of emergency physicians in interpreting rib radiographs and to determine if that interpretation resulted in any variance in treatment patterns. Our study is a retrospective study of 271 charts from a community-based teaching hospital from August 2000 to August 2002. Patients were excluded if they suffered major trauma. The treatment rendered was categorized. Categories included over-the-counter medication, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, narcotics, and muscle relaxants. The overall chi2 calculation showed no differences between the fractured group and the no fracture group (P=.072). From this, it can be concluded that there were no between-group differences in drugs prescribed based on whether a fracture was diagnosed by the ED physician. Indicating that the interpretation of the rib series does not influence the physicians treatment plan.
A Hybrid Algorithm for the Joint PDF Equation of Turbulent Reactive Flows

In this paper a new particle-finite-volume hybrid algorithm for the joint velocityfrequency-composition PDF method for turbulent reactive flows is presented. This method is a combination of a finite-volume scheme and a particle method. The finitevolume scheme is used to solve the Reynolds averaged Navier‐Stokes equations and the particle method to solve the joint PDF transport equation. The motivation is to reduce the bias and the statistical error and to have an algorithm which is more efficient than stand-alone particle-mesh methods. Therefore, in the particle method we use the smoother mean densityh‰i and Favre averaged velocity ˜ U fields computed
An Integrated Child Safety Seat Cooling System—Model and Test

Vehicle safety remains a prominent automotive issue for engineers, consumers, and government regulators. One area that merits attention is the safety issue of when a child is left alone in a parked vehicle during the summer months when the ambient air temperatures are warmer. Injuries and deaths of infants, young children, and elderly adults have occurred due to elevated body temperatures for prolonged time periods. One proposed solution is the design of a car safety seat that offers temporary thermal protection to the occupant. This seat features thermoelectric cooling and forced air convection to maintain the body temperature within acceptable ranges for a limited time. In this paper, a system thermal model and experimental results are presented to validate the effectiveness of the thermoelectric-based safety system. The experimental system demonstrates the capability of maintaining localized cabin air temperatures below critical survivability thresholds in a closed parked vehicle for up to 95 minutes. This represents an 85% increase over standard child seating units, in cabin temperatures up to 69°C, for an emulated 7 kg infant.
A Figure of Merit for the Design of Inductance Coils Having Low Distributed Capacitance

The performance of an inductor is often significantly compromised by the combined effects of series resistance and distributed capacitance. For a given inductance value and coil configuration, it is always possible to vary the absolute size and/or turns count so as to reduce one residual parameter at the expense of an increase in the other. The ratio M = L/RC2is unaffected by these transformations and is proposed as a figure of merit characterizing the particular coil design. Measurements of M for sample coils of a number of commonly used types are given; they provide lower limits to the performance attainable with available magnetic materials.
Transition in Compressible Free Shear Layers

The transition Reynolds number for shear layers produced by interactions between weak and strong shock waves is determined on the basis of experiments performed in a 20-in. (Mach 6) and an 11-in. (Mach 6.9) hypersonic tunnel. A variable angle wedge was used to generate a planar shock wave which interacted with the bow wave of a blunt body. An average value of the transition length (defined as the length along the shear layer from the shock interaction to the point where turbulence became visible on schlieren photographs) was used to determine the transition Reynolds number.
The Effects of a Gay and Lesbian Speaker Panel on College Students' Attitudes and Behaviors: The Importance of Context Effects

The current study investigated the effect of a gay and lesbian speaker panel presentation on the attitudes and behaviors of an undergraduate population. In order to control for context effects, subjects were led to believe that they were participating in two, unrelated, research projects. Contrary to the results obtained in previous investigations that have not controlled for context effects, these findings suggest that this type of intervention does not significantly alter intolerant attitudes and behaviors. Most respondents started out as moderately homophobic, and then simply remained that way, regardless of whether they had been exposed to the panel discussion.
The prediction of long-term functional outcomes of children with cerebral palsy.

UMMARY Current information was obtained from I 17 respondents, including 71 who completed interviews, of a population of 810 individuals who had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy between 1951 and 1974. Original chart reviews constituted the basis for predicting employment capabilities of the interviwed cohort. A comparison of predictions with actual functional outcomes demonstrated a tendency to pessimistic underestimation of'long-term functional outcome, sounding a note of caution to paediatric developmentalists. RESUME Ce qu'il advicni des enfants IMC -Prediction a long terme des devenirs fonctionncls Sur une population de 810 individus, chez qui un diagnostic ayant repondu, dont 71 recontres dans une entrevue. Les dossiers d'origine ont fourni une base de prediction sur Is capacites d'insertion professionanelle dans le groupe etudie. Une comparaison des predictions avec le devenir fonetionncl effectif a revele une sous-estimation pessimiste du devenir fonetionncl a long terme, soulignant une note de prudence chez les developpementalistes pediatres. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Was wird aus Kindern mil Cerebralparese –Langzeitprognose der funktionellen fahigkeiten Die vorlicgcnden Informationen stammen von 117 Patienten, darunter 71 mit vollstandigen Intervies, aus einer Population von 810 Patientcn, bei dencn in den Jahren /.wischen 1951–1974 die Diagnose einer Carebralparese gestellt worden war. Die Befunde aus den Krankenakten bildeten die Grundlage fUur die Prognose von Berufschancen bei den interviewten Patienten und ein Vergleich unserer Prognosen mit den aktuellcn funktionellen Befunden zeigte die Tendenz einer pessimisiischen Unterschatzung des funktionellen Outcomes, was den padiatrischen Kntwicklungsneurologen zu denken geben sollte. RESUMEN Cued es el futuro de los ninos con paraisis cerebral–Prediccion a largo plazo del exito funcional Se obutvo information de 117 casos. incluyendo 71 que completaron entrevistas, de una poblacion de 810 individuos que habian sido diagnosticados de paralisis cerebral entre 1951 y 1974. La revision de targetas originates constituyo la base para la prediccion de las capacidades de empleo de la cohorte entrevistada, asi como la comparacion de nuestras predicciones con el exito functional real, demostrandose una tendencia a la subestimacion pesimista del exito a largo plazo, lo que reprcsenta una nota de atencion para los evolutivistas prediatricos.
Effect of coating heating by high power in optical fibres at small bend diameters

The heating effect in highly bent singlemode optical fibres under high power conditions was studied. It was found that heating of the coating depends on the bend radius and the type of telecommunication fibre used. The detected heating only occurred at bend diameters much smaller than that recommended for normal deployment.
Sleep-Related Hypoventilation/Hypoxemic Syndromes

The latest edition of The International Classification of Sleep Disorders: Diagnostic and Coding Manual subsumes a broad range of disorders under the heading "Sleep Related Hypoventilation/Hypoxemic Syndromes." Some are quite common, such as COPD with worsening gas exchange during sleep; while some are exceedingly rare, such as congenital central hypoventilation syndrome. All share the attribute of abnormal gas exchange that worsens, or may only be present, during sleep. The sleep state, the sleeping posture, and the circadian rhythm driving sleep all may affect respiration by altering control of breathing and/or pulmonary mechanics. These changes are largely inconsequential in the normal individual but interact with respiratory, neurologic, or neuromuscular disease to manifest as the sleep-related hypoventilation/hypoxemic syndromes. In addition to optimal treatment of the underlying disorder (when known and when possible), treatment usually involves nocturnal ventilatory support that is now most commonly provided by noninvasive positive pressure ventilation.
High-Q, gallium nitride nanowire-ALD composite mechanical resonators

We are investigating high quality-factor, Q, gallium nitride (GaN) nanowire (NW) - atomic layer deposition (ALD) composite nano-electromechanical resonators. GaN-NWs of typical 100 nm radius and a few microns length are single crystal structures grown by molecular beam epitaxy. These NWs are singly-clamped cantilevers, resonate near 1 MHz, and have typical Q in the range 104–105 under high vacuum. We are exploring the potential for surface functionalization and resonance frequency tuning of these high-Q resonators through ALD coatings. We report that thin coatings (≪ 10 nm) of ALD Al 2 O 3 lead to a broadening of the GaN-NW fundamental mode resonance peak and a consistent increase in resonance frequency of ~15 kHz per 5 nm ALD.
Modulation of hypoxia-signaling pathways by extracellular linc-RoR

Resistance to adverse environmental conditions, such as hypoxia, contributes to the reduced efficacy of anticancer therapies and tumor progression. Although deregulated expression of many long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) occurs in human cancers, the contribution of such RNA to tumor responses to hypoxia are unknown. RNA expression profiling identified several hypoxia-responsive lncRNAs, including the long intergenic noncoding RNA, regulator of reprogramming (linc-RoR), which is also increased in expression in malignant liver cancer cells. Linc-RoR expression was increased in hypoxic regions within tumor cell xenografts in vivo. Tumor cell viability during hypoxia was reduced by small interfering RNA (siRNA) to linc-RoR. Compared with controls, siRNA to linc-RoR decreased phosphorylation of p70S6K1 (RPS6KB1), PDK1 and HIF-1α protein expression and increased expression of the linc-RoR target microRNA-145 (miR-145). Linc-RoR was highly expressed in extracellular RNA released by hepatocellular cancer (HCC) cells during hypoxia. Incubation with extracellular vesicle preparations containing extracellular RNA increased linc-RoR, HIF-1α expression and cell survival in recipient cells. These studies show that linc-RoR is a hypoxia-responsive lncRNA that is functionally linked to hypoxia signaling in HCC through a miR-145-HIF-1α signaling module. Furthermore, this work identifies a mechanistic role for the extracellular transfer of linc-RoR in intercellular signaling to promote cell survival during hypoxic stress.
Multilevel diversity-embedded space-time codes for video broadcasting over WiMAX

Advances in wireless technologies, such as WiMAX [1], allow high data rates and high reliability through the use of MIMO-OFDM. However, they are not optimally designed for broadcasting. The nature of the wireless medium may cause an entire frame to be in outage with little chance of recovery. One strategy to overcome this deficit is to employ diversity embedding, which protect different bits with different diversity orders. Such codes exhibit the property that even if the entire frame is in outage, a subset of the frame may still be reliably recovered. In this paper, we present space-time codes designed for MIMO-OFDM systems which achieve diversity embedding. We demonstrate how these codes can increase PSNR for video broadcasting in WiMAX.