cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Translating Informal Theories Into Formal Theories: The Case of the Dynamic Computational Model of the Integrated Model of Work Motivation

Theories are the core of any science, but many imprecisely stated theories in organizational and management science are hampering progress in the field. Computational modeling of existing theories ...
Dynamics aggregation in stochastic control problems

For stochastic control problems with mixed state-control constraints, we develop a dynamics aggregation method which replaces the stochastic differential or difference equation with a simpler constraint. Solutions of such simplified problems are used to construct a sequence of approximations to the original problem. Convergence properties of the method for both discrete-time and continuous-time models are analyzed in detail.
An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Medical School Musculoskeletal Curriculum at an Academic Medical Center

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders are common medical problems encountered by physicians and affected 126.6 million Americans in 2012. Musculoskeletal education has inadequate in United States medical schools. Objective: To determine the musculoskeletal competency of third year medical students. Methods: A cross-sectional 25-question nationally validated musculoskeletal competency exam was given to the third year medical students. A survey was given to second and third year medical students to assess students’ level of interest in musculoskeletal medicine and their feedback regarding the curriculum. Results: The mean score of the competency exam was 69.0%. There was 48/107 (44.9%) students’ who reached the minimum passing score of 70%. Free-response feedback from both classes featured themes of more hands-on learning, a longer clinical block, and more small-group learning sessions. Conclusions: Third year medical students scored relatively well on the exam. Student feedback suggests the 2-week musculoskeletal block is useful and relevant to their future careers.
A Comparison of Youth Flag and Tackle Football Head Impact Biomechanics.

Abstract Our purpose was to describe the youth flag football head impact burden and make comparisons with youth tackle football. Head impact frequency and magnitude (linear acceleration [g], rotati...
Community policing and youth offending: a comparison of large and small jurisdictions in the United States

Over the last two decades, the implementation of community-oriented practices has been a primary focus of American policing. Supporters of this approach suggest that a partnership between police, c...
Appreciation of the ‘Subtle Changes’: Perspectives of Korean American Parents Raising Children with Developmental Disabilities

This qualitative study explored the experiences of Korean American (KA) immigrant parents of children with development disabilities (DDs) for their children with DDs living in the southeastern U.S. Using the Contextual Model of Family Stress as an organizing theoretical framework, we examined differences based on cultural characteristics, parents’ gender, child’s age, and diagnosis. Twenty KA parents of children with DDs participated in the study. We used grounded theory methods to analyze the data. Four major themes emerged including source of difficulties, source of support, perceptions of developmental progress, and personal transformations. The results indicated that KA parents shared similar experiences, but they varied depending on internal and external factors. Despite higher risk of stress, participants reported reframing challenges positively and using different types of support. However, parents who recently immigrated, lacked spousal support, and had children with severe symptoms appeared more vulnerable. We discuss implications for professionals working with this population.
Abstract 067: Endothelial mTORC1 Signaling Regulates Vascular Function and Mediates Angiotensin II Actions

The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) serves as an intracellular energy sensor through its downstream signaling components the S6-kinase and the ribosomal S6 protein with recent im...
Drug Resistance Mutations Among South African Children Living With HIV on WHO-recommended ART Regimens.

BACKGROUND Children living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (CLHIV) receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in resource-limited settings are susceptible to high rates of acquired HIV drug resistance (HIVDR), but few studies include children initiating age-appropriate World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended first-line regimens. We report data from a cohort of ART-naive South African children who initiated first-line ART. METHODS ART-eligible CLHIV aged 0-12 years were enrolled from 2012 to 2014 at 5 public South African facilities and were followed for up to 24 months. Enrolled CLHIV received standard-of-care WHO-recommended first-line ART. At the final study visit, a dried blood spot sample was obtained for viral load and genotypic resistance testing. RESULTS Among 72 successfully genotyped CLHIV, 49 (68.1%) received ABC/3TC/LPV/r, and 23 (31.9%) received ABC/3TC/EFV. All but 2 children on ABC/3TC/LPV/r were <3 years, and all CLHIV on ABC/3TC/EFV were ≥3 years. Overall, 80.6% (58/72) had at least one drug resistance mutation (DRM). DRMs to nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) were found among 65% and 51% of all CLHIV, respectively, with no statistical difference by ART regimen. More CLHIV on ABC/3TC/EFV, 47.8% (11/23), were found to have 0 or only 1 effective antiretroviral drug remaining in their current regimen compared to 8.2% (4/49) on ABC/3TC/LPV/r. CONCLUSIONS High levels of NNRTI and NRTI DRMs among CLHIV receiving ABC/3TC/LPV/r suggests a lasting impact of failed mother-to-child transmission interventions on DRMs. However, drug susceptibility analysis reveals that CLHIV with detectable viremia on ABC/3TC/LPV/r are more likely to have maintained at least 2 effective agents on their current HIV regimen than those on ABC/3TC/EFV.
College Students’ Test Anxiety and Listening Test Scores: CB and MAC-Based Psychoeducation Vs. No Treatment Control

The purpose of this study was to compare two psychoeducation interventions of cognitive behavioral (CB) and mindfulness acceptance commitment (MAC)-based models against a no treatment control (NTC)...
The Case for First Amendment Limits on Copyright Law

Scholars have felled many trees arguing for First Amendment limits on copyrights. Yet this outpouring of scholarship has been notably unsuccessful in wining judicial converts. While there have been occasional lower court decisions which have invoked First Amendment limits on copyrights, for the most part, courts have been unreceptive to the idea. Leading the way has been the Supreme Court which barely gave lip service to First Amendment rights in two high profile cases. In this short article, I try to bridge this gap between the scholarship and the jurisprudence. My goal is to present as clearly as possible the theoretical arguments for First Amendment limits on copyright. I also provide guidelines for how judges can determine when copyright law should be declared unconstitutional.
Firm Size and Employment during the Pandemic

Previous studies have established that firm size is associated with a wage premium, but the wage premium has declined in recent decades. The authors examine the risk for unemployment by firm size during the initial outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 in the United States. Using both yearly and state-month variation, the authors find greater excess unemployment among workers in small enterprises than among those in larger firms. The gaps cannot be entirely attributed to the sorting of workers or to industrial context. The firm size advantage is most pronounced in sectors with high remotability but reverses in the sectors most affected by the pandemic. Overall, these findings suggest that firm size is linked to greater job security and that the pandemic may have accelerated prior trends regarding product and labor market concentration. They also point out that the initial policy responses did not provide sufficient protection for workers in small and medium-sized businesses.
Effect of Green Shared Vision on Organization Members’ Behavior: Corporate Sustainable Development Strategy

In this study, expectancy–valence theory was used from the perspective of corporate green management to investigate green shared vision (GSV). Moreover, organizational identity theory and psychological ownership theory were combined to propose an integrated conceptual framework. To fill research gaps, an investigation was also conducted with frontline R & D and sales employees to further examine the effect of GSV on organization members’ psychology and behavior. The research results indicate that when under the following circumstances, corporate members can enhance organizational citizenship behavior for the environment (OCBE) to improve green management performance, gain the favor of green consumers and achieve sustainable consumption goals. First, enterprises should focus on environmental issues and develop their GSV. Second, enterprises should implement the GSV in different aspects, such as product design, processing, marketing and management. Finally, corporate GSV should be in line with the expectations and values of organization members on environmental issues to motivate their OCBE. Therefore, enterprises must implement their GSV to strengthen the green organizational identity and green product psychological ownership of their members. The framework indicates that the generation of GSV in organization members depends on whether the enterprise meets their expectations and values and whether it recognizes and produces a psychological behavior history relationship between GPPO and active behavior.
Model-Driven Dynamic Case Simulation for Exploration of Outcome Space

In the aerospace community, case studies and lessons learned are key sources of historical information for both system acquisition and systems engineering. However, traditional case studies do not illuminate the assumptions and decisions that led to the outcome, nor how the outcome would change (or not) if a different decision or assumption were made. To overcome this limitation, what is needed is a way to systemically explore the decision space of a historical case and then perturb the case by changing assumptions to assess the impact of those changes on the outcome space. This paper formalizes the representation of cases from historical case studies to illuminate key decision and tradeoffs that bear on the outcome. The overall approach combines domain ontology, formal representation of cases using model-based methods, tradeoff analyses techniques for alternative generation and evaluation, dashboard for monitoring, visualization, what-if intervention, and control of case execution, and data analytics. The domain ontology and case/system representation are to perturb assumptions and decisions, with case simulation-based analysis used to illuminate the impact of changes in decisions and assumptions on case outcomes.
Computer-assisted construct classification of organizational performance concerning different stakeholder groups.

The number of research articles in business and management has dramatically increased along with terminology, constructs, and measures. Proper classification of organizational performance constructs from research articles plays an important role in categorizing the literature and understanding to whom its research implications may be relevant. In this work, we classify constructs (i.e., concepts and terminology used to capture different aspects of organizational performance) in research articles into a three-level categorization: (a) performance and non-performance categories (Level 0); (b) for performance constructs, stakeholder group-level of performance concerning investors, customers, employees, and the society (community and natural environment) (Level 1); and (c) for each stakeholder group-level, subcategories of different ways of measurement (Level 2). We observed that increasing contextual information with features extracted from surrounding sentences and external references improves classification of disaggregate-level labels, given limited training data. Our research has implications for computer-assisted construct identification and classification - an essential step for research synthesis.
Redirecting tumor macrophage activity to fight cancer: Make room for the next era of anti-cancer drugs.

Functionally significant proteins expressed by tumor macrophages have emerged as promising anti-cancer targets. In this issue of Cancer Cell, Sun et al. identify two FDA-approved agents that together safely reprogram tumor macrophages into potent anti-tumor effectors, demonstrating the power of engaging both immune system arms to fight cancer.
Degradation of Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) Retrieved from the Hubble Space Telescope

Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) returned during Servicing Mission 4 are still being analyzed. Analysis has revealed degradation of optical, thermal, and mechanical properties, increased crystallinity, and reduction in fluorine/carbon ratio of aluminized-Teflon fluorinated ethylene propylene (Al-FEP) FEP. These material properties can be affected by high temperatures on orbit, increased radiation exposure, and in some cases contamination from materials in close proximity to the insulation on orbit. Preliminary results support conclusions of previous studies: areas of Al-FEP that received higher levels of solar exposure show more degradation (high temperatures and radiation combined).
Effect of ochratoxin and aflatoxin on serum proteins, complement activity, and antibody production to Brucella abortus in guinea pigs.

The effect of ochratoxin alone and in combination with aflatoxin and Brucella abortus antigen on complement activity, serum proteins, and antibody response in guinea pigs was investigated. Ochratoxin did not affect complement activity or antibody response and there was no interaction between ochratoxin and aflatoxin on any of the responses tested. Ochratoxin significantly lowered the level of β-globulin in serum of guinea pigs. There was no significant interaction between aflatoxin and antigen on lowering of the serum albumin levels of guinea pigs.
A cross-sectional study of fatigue and sleep quality before and after kidney transplantation

Fatigue and sleep disturbances are common problems for adults with chronic kidney disease or end-stage renal disease. However, these issues have not been examined much in the context of kidney transplantation (KTx). This study characterizes these outcomes in the KTx population and examines their association with psychological functioning and quality of life (QOL). A cross-sectional cohort of 100 wait-listed pre-KTx and 100 post-KTx patients at one transplant center in the United States completed validated fatigue, sleep, mood, and QOL questionnaires, and their medical records were reviewed. Pre-KTx patients had higher levels of fatigue frequency, fatigue severity, and fatigue disruptiveness than post-KTx patients. Also, pre-KTx patients had more difficulty with sleep quality, latency, duration, efficiency, and disturbance and were more likely to have "poor" sleep quality compared with post-KTx patients. Multivariate predictors of high fatigue severity for both pre- and post-KTx patients were high body mass index (BMI), poor sleep quality, and mood disturbance, while poor sleep quality was predicted by high BMI and mood disturbance. Most sociodemographic and clinical parameters were not associated with fatigue severity or sleep disturbance. Fatigue and sleep disturbances are common before and after KTx, and study findings have important implications for their assessment and management.
Cobalt(III) Protoporphyrin Activates the DGCR8 Protein and Can Compensate microRNA Processing Deficiency

Processing of microRNA primary transcripts (pri-miRNAs) is highly regulated and defects in the processing machinery play a key role in many human diseases. In 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS), heterozygous deletion of DiGeorge critical region gene 8 (DGCR8) causes a processing deficiency, which contributes to abnormal brain development. The DGCR8 protein is the RNA-binding partner of Drosha RNase, both essential for processing canonical pri-miRNAs. To identify an agent that can compensate reduced DGCR8 expression, we screened for metalloporphyrins that can mimic the natural DGCR8 heme cofactor. We found that Co(III) protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) stably binds DGCR8 and activates it for pri-miRNA processing in vitro and in HeLa cells. Importantly, treating cultured Dgcr8(+/-) mouse neurons with Co(III)PPIX can compensate the pri-miRNA processing defects. Co(III)PPIX is effective at concentrations as low as 0.2 μM and is not degraded by heme degradation enzymes, making it useful as a research tool and a potential therapeutic.
MO-F-CAMPUS-I-02: Accuracy in Converting the Average Breast Dose Into the Mean Glandular Dose (MGD) Using the F-Factor in Cone Beam Breast CT- a Monte Carlo Study Using Homogeneous and Quasi-Homogeneous Phantoms

Purpose: To investigate the accuracy in estimating the mean glandular dose (MGD) for homogeneous breast phantoms by converting from the average breast dose using the F-factor in cone beam breast CT. Methods: EGSnrc-based Monte Carlo codes were used to estimate the MGDs. 13-cm in diameter, 10-cm high hemi-ellipsoids were used to simulate pendant-geometry breasts. Two different types of hemi-ellipsoidal models were employed: voxels in quasi-homogeneous phantoms were designed as either adipose or glandular tissue while voxels in homogeneous phantoms were designed as the mixture of adipose and glandular tissues. Breast compositions of 25% and 50% volume glandular fractions (VGFs), defined as the ratio of glandular tissue voxels to entire breast voxels in the quasi-homogeneous phantoms, were studied. These VGFs were converted into glandular fractions by weight and used to construct the corresponding homogeneous phantoms. 80 kVp x-rays with a mean energy of 47 keV was used in the simulation. A total of 109 photons were used to image the phantoms and the energies deposited in the phantom voxels were tallied. Breast doses in homogeneous phantoms were averaged over all voxels and then used to calculate the MGDs using the F-factors evaluated at the mean energy of the x-rays. The MGDs for quasi-homogeneous phantoms were computed directly by averaging the doses over all glandular tissue voxels. The MGDs estimated for the two types of phantoms were normalized to the free-in-air dose at the iso-center and compared. Results: The normalized MGDs were 0.756 and 0.732 mGy/mGy for the 25% and 50% VGF homogeneous breasts and 0.761 and 0.733 mGy/mGy for the corresponding quasi-homogeneous breasts, respectively. The MGDs estimated for the two types of phantoms were similar within 1% in this study. Conclusion: MGDs for homogeneous breast models may be adequately estimated by converting from the average breast dose using the F-factor.
Boundary Lubrication of Undulated Metal Surfaces at Elevated Temperatures

In the boundary lubricated sliding of metals, lubricant molecules desorb from metal surfaces as the interfacial temperature exceeds the transition temperature. As a consequence, numerous metallic contacts will be established, leading to adhesion and wear particle formation. The wear particles so formed plow the sliding surfaces, resulting in high friction and severe wear. In this paper, it is shown that friction can be reduced at elevated temperatures even with additive-free lubricants by using undulated surfaces. Flat and undulated OFHC copper surfaces were tested with various lubricants at different temperatures. Experimental results and theoretical analysis show that undulated surfaces minimize the plowing component of friction due to wear debris, thereby keeping the friction coefficient at a low value after the transition. Presented at the 43rd Annual Meeting in Cleveland, Ohio May 9–12, 1988
Relationship between Kerr effect and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in Co1−xPtx and Co1−xPdx alloys

Abstract Evaporated Co1−xPtx and Co1−xPdx alloy films with an average perpendicular magnetic anisotropy constant Ku of up to 0.5 MJ/m3 have been investigated. A functional relationship between Ku and the Kerr rotation contributions ΔΘ KPt,Pd arising from exchange polarized Pt and Pd, respectively, could be established. Our results suggest important contributions to the anisotropy from Pt-5d and Pd-4d states via electronic hybridization with Co-3d states. An anisotropy model based on growth induced heterogeneities in these alloys is proposed.
Using randomization to make recursive matrix algorithms practical

Recursive block decomposition algorithms (also known as quadtree algorithms when the blocks are all square) have been proposed to solve well-known problems such as matrix addition, multiplication, inversion, determinant computation, block LDU decomposition and Cholesky and QR factorization. Until now, such algorithms have been seen as impractical, since they require leading submatrices of the input matrix to be invertible (which is rarely guaranteed). We show how to randomize an input matrix to guarantee that submatrices meet these requirements, and to make recursive block decomposition methods practical on well-conditioned input matrices. The resulting algorithms are elegant, and we show the recursive programs can perform well for both dense and sparse matrices, although with randomization dense computations seem most practical. By ‘homogenizing’ the input, randomization provides a way to avoid degeneracy in numerical problems that permits simple recursive quadtree algorithms to solve these problems.
College-age males' ability to produce the acoustic properties of an aging voice

The purpose of this study was to examine college-age males' ability to produce the acoustic properties of the normally aging voice when reading. The 17 subjects (M age=21.13 yr., SD=1.0) selected for this study were undergraduates who were placed into a single group. The procedure involved recording the subjects while reading The Rainbow Passage aloud. The first reading was in the subject's natural speaking voice. During the second reading, the reader imitated the voice of a normally aging 70-yr.-old man. Fundamental frequency and temporal measures were analyzed for each voice sample. Mean scores for each measure were compared for the natural speaking-voice production and the production when imitating the voice of a normally aging 70-yr.-old man. Analysis showed that temporal measures appear to have the most significant influence on subjects' production when imitating the normally aging voice as seen in the overall increase in all temporal measures.
Stable polymers from cyclic ketene acetals : cationic polymerization initiated by acid-washed glassware or acid-washed glass beads

Stable polymers were made by the cationic 1,2-polymerization of cyclic ketene acetals initiated by acid-washed glassware or acid-washed glass beads. Among several reactions possible for the very reactive cyclic ketene acetals, only the corresponding acetals of polyketene were formed. These structures were demonstrated by FTIR, 1 H-NMR, and 13 C-NMR analyses.
High-NA lithographic imagery at Brewster's angle

Recent advances have enabled exposure tool manufacturers to ship tools with Numerical Aperture (NA) equals 0.8, and to envision optics with even larger NA. Thus the lithography community must grapple with images formed by oblique waves close to Brewster's angle. (For a typical chemically amplified resist with index of refraction n equals 1.7, Brewster's angle is 59 degree(s), corresponding to NA equals 0.86.) This paper will consider some of the surprising phenomena that occur at such high NA. Both vector diffraction simulation results and experimental results from the IBM interferometric lithography apparatus will be discussed. One of the most interesting modeling predictions is that, near Brewster's angle, the swing curve for TM polarization is much smaller than normal, while the swing curve for TE polarization is much larger than normal, and experimental measurements verify this prediction. Special image cross sections using the Flagello decoration method will also demonstrate the loss of TM image contrast due to vector imaging effects.
Changes in spleen morphology and lymphoid cell activity during tumor progression.

Abstract Morphologic alterations in the spleen and dynamic changes in the biologic activity of its cellular components occur concomitant with the neoplastic progression of a murine methylcholanthrene induced fibrosarcoma. Spleen size, weight and cell number increased with tumor growth. Using the local adoptive transfer assay (LATA), spleens from tumor bearing mice in the early and late stages of neoplastic growth were shown to possess non-specific, tumor-facilitating cells which were radioresistant, phagocytic and adherent, presumably macrophages. On the other hand, spleens from mice in the intermediate and late stages of tumorigenesis displayed specific, tumor-neutralizing cells, which were radiosensitive and Thy 1.2 positive, presumably T-cells. Thus, a balance of tumor-facilitating and neutralizing cells may determine neoplastic progression in susceptible, syngeneic hosts.
Food safety beliefs and barriers to safe food handling among WIC program clients, Miami, Florida.

Abstract Objective To determine beliefs about and barriers to good food safety practices among clients of a Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC Program). Design Five audiotaped focus groups. Setting A large WIC Program clinic in Miami, Florida. Participants Thirty-two women attending the clinic who were demographically similar to clinic clients. Phenomenon of Interest Beliefs about, barriers to, and motivators for good food safety practices. Analysis Focus groups were audiotaped and transcribed. Transcripts were independently analyzed by three researchers to identify recurring ideas within and between groups. Results Participants did not perceive foodborne illnesses as a major problem or believe that foodborne illnesses usually resulted from poor food handling practices at home. The hardest practice to follow was using a cooking thermometer. Leaving perishable foods and baby bottles outside the refrigerator for longer than 2 hours were additional problems reported. Participants reported that their babies' health was the most important motivator to good food safety practices and that women may be most receptive to food safety education during their first pregnancy. Conclusions and Implications WIC clients in this clinic have several deficiencies in their food safety knowledge and practices. The WIC Program may be well positioned to help its clients, particularly pregnant women, improve food safety practices.
Who is Publishing the Entrepreneurship Research

This research note examines the impact of individuals and institutions on research in entrepreneurship for the period since the Academy of Management accorded division status to entrepreneurship in 1987. It includes research in publications rated appropriate quality or above as entrepreneurship research outlets by MacMillan’s (1993) survey. Nineteen different publications, containing 472 entrepreneurship articles were reviewed, Rankings adjusted and unadjusted for journal quality are presented.
Prevention of prostate cancer and liver tumors in L‐W rats by moderate dietary restriction

Aging conventional (CV) and germfree Lobund-Wistar (L-W) rats developed spontaneous tumors, predominantly in the prostate, liver, and adrenal glands. In CV L-W rats a 30% reduction of daily intake (natural ingredient diet L-485) had the following effects: (1) reduction of the incidence of metastatic prostate adenocarcinomas (PA) from 25.7% to 6.3% and extension of the average latent periods from 26.6 to 36.7 months; and (2) reduction of the incidence of hepatomas from 59% to 26% and extension of the average latent periods from 31.3 to 34 months. Adrenal medullary tumors developed in approximately 60% of rats older than 19 months, regardless of dietary intake and microbial status. Stromal hyperplasia developed among 36 of 78 (46%) rats older than age 30 months. Rats with PA were free of stromal hyperplasia, and the reverse was also true. Germfree L-W rats developed all of the above tumors, but the diet-related differences were not as significant as those among the conventional counterpart rats. The incidence of prostatis was reduced from 22% to 6% among the diet-restricted rats, but this lesion did not develop among the germfree rats.
Assistive Technology Assessment: More Than the Device

Assessing an individual for assistive technology (AT) use is an important part of the reauthorization of IDEA (1997) and an essential support in the path to greater independence and integration into society. Unfortunately, AT devices are frequently abandoned for many reasons. Sometimes AT selection is based on a mismatch between the individual's desires and/or needs. Sometimes the individual outgrows the capabilities of the device. To foster optimal AT use, this article presents guidelines that educators can follow to put the individual user of AT at the center of the assessment process.
Coupled Physics Modelling for Bi-Directional Check Valve System

This paper describes the development of a high speed on/off bi-directional check valve. The design was characterized using coupled-physics modelling tools, and a prototype was constructed and tested in the laboratory. The simulated and experimental results were compared. The high speed on/off bi-directional check valve (BDCV) utilizes positive feedback of flow forces and differential port pressure to quickly open and close the primary poppet. The coupled-physics model incorporates mechanical and fluid domains, which was solved through conducting finite element analysis (FEA) on a 2D planar model. After characterizing the BDCV, the system model was expanded for a single piston pumping system using two BDCVs and the simulation on system full displacement pumping was conducted. The modelling results showed a moderate agreement with measurements, which demonstrated the capability of the coupled physics model to effectively investigate the dynamic performances of a BDCV operating in a digital pump system.
Implications of recent advances in the understanding of pain pathophysiology for the assessment of pain in patients

As we approach the new millennium, it is clear that we are on the brink of a major change in clinical pain management. We are poised to move from a treatment paradigm that has been almost entirely empirical to one that will be derived from an understanding of the actual mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of pain. When this is achieved, pain treatment will at last be rationally based. The implications of this are immense and will necessitate major changes in the way we classify pain, which until now has been based on disease, duration and anatomy, to a mechanism-based classification. In addition, the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of pain will change. The aim in the future will be to identify in individual patients what mechanisms are responsible for their pain and to target treatment specifically at those mechanisms. We present for discussion, a new approach for classifying pain, based on an analysis of mechanisms, and show how this could be used to assess pain clinically. Such kinds of pain assessment, which need to be designed to reveal as much as possible about mechanisms, are necessary for more sophisticated epidemiology and clinical research as well as for providing the outcome measures necessary for the evaluation of the efficacy of new treatments targeted at particular pain mechanisms.
Radiation Is an Important Component of Multimodality Therapy for Pediatric Supratentorial Neuroectodermal Tumors

Title: Radiation is an Important Component of Multimodality TherapyPediatric Supratentorial Non-Pineal Neuroectodermal Tumors Authors: Sean M. McBride, B.S., Sally M. Daganzo, M.D.,* Anuradha Banerjee M.D., Nalin Gupta M.D., Kathleen R. Lamborn Ph.D., Michael D. Prados M.D., Mitchel S. Berger M.D., William M. Wara M.D.,* and Daphne A. Haas-Kogan M.D.* Departments of *Radiation Oncology, Pediatrics, and Neurological Surgery and Brain Tumor Research Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA. (Sponsored by Lynn Wilson, M.D., M.P.H., Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine) Purpose: We reviewed a historical cohort of pediatric patients with supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors (sPNET) in order to clarify the role of radiation in the treatment of these tumors. Patients and Methods: Fifteen children <18 years old with non-pineal sPNETs diagnosed between 1992 and 2006 were identified. Initial therapy consisted of surgical resection and chemotherapy (CT) in all patients and up-front radiotherapy (RT) in 5 patients. Five patients had RT at the time of progression and five received no RT whatsoever. Kaplan-Meier estimates of overall-survival (OS) were then calculated. Results: The median follow-up from diagnosis for all patients was 31 months (range 0.5165) and for surviving patients was 49 months (range 10-165). Of the 5 patients who received up-front RT, all were alive without evidence of disease at a median follow-up of 50 months (range 25-165). Only 5 of the 10 patients who did not receive up-front RT were alive at last follow-up. There was a statistically significant difference in overall survival between the group of patients that received up-front RT and the group that did not (P=0.048). Additionally, we found a trend toward a statistically significant improvement in overall-survival for those patients that received gross total resections (P=0.10). Conclusions: Up-front radiotherapy and gross total resection may confer a survival benefit in patients with sPNET. Local failure was the dominant pattern of recurrence. Efforts should be made to determine patients most likely to have local failure exclusively or as a first recurrence in order to delay or eliminate cranio-spinal irradiation (CSI). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The author would like to thank the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (D.D.C.F) and Yale University for the funding support that made this paper possible. He would also like to thank his co-authors and, most importantly, his mentors, to whom much is owed--Daphne Haas-Kogan at UCSF and Lynn Wilson at Yale.
Comparing Subset Regression Procedures

Although it is generally felt that the all-subsets, or “best” subset, approach is better than forward selection and backward elimination, the sequential procedures are still widely used. To see what advantage there is in doing all-subsets, this paper gtves both theoretical and empirical comparisons. It is shown that the difference in favor of all-subsets can be arbitrarily large in examples where there are predictors which do poorly alone but do very well together. Also. empirical comparisons on nine data sets show big dilrerences favoring all-subsets, when the differences are measured on the data (sample values). However, fairer comparisons based on known population values show very small differences favoring all-subsets. The only exception is the one data set which has predictors which do well together but poorly alone.
Analysis of detached human kinetochores

A method has recently been established for inducing the physical detachment of kinetochores from chromosomes in human HeLa cells, and was used in the studies reported here to investigate the organization and function of dissociated HeLa kinetochores. Immunofluorescence labeling demonstrated that the detached HeLa kinetochores were relatively intact, with the number of detached kinetochores being only moderately more than the diploid number of chromosomes in HeLa cells. In addition, the detached kinetochores could be labeled with antibodies specific for the inner kinetochore plate, outer kinetochore, and subjacent centromeric heterochromatin. A functional assay demonstrated that detached kinetochores retained the capacity to activate the spindle checkpoint, leading to metaphase arrest. Analysis of kinetochore DNA indicated that it consisted primarily of DNA fragments of 130–160 kb in size, while the remainder of the chromosomes were sheared into much smaller fragments during the kinetochore detachment event. Further analysis of kinetochore DNA indicated that it was first cleaved into high molecular weight DNA (>200 kb) fragments during the initial stages of the kinetochore detachment process, and then underwent further maturation following nuclear envelope breakdown to give rise to the 130–160 kb fragment in detached kinetochores. Collectively, these data indicate that detached human kinetochores will be a useful system for investigating the organization, assembly, and function of human kinetochores.
Minimum stream power and river channel patterns

Channel patterns of sand-bed rivers have been analyzed using the concept of minimum stream power together with formulas for flow resistance and sediment transport. A diagram has been constructed, on the plane of water discharge vs. valley slope, dividing regime rivers into straight, meandering, and braided patterns in plan configuration. The analytical diagram is supported by river data and previous observations. For the given water discharge Q and sediment load Qs, the stable channel geometry and slope were obtained from the stream power analysis, wherein a stable configuration is assumed to correspond to a minimum stream power per unit channel length. For small values of Q and Qs, the analysis shows that a unique minimum exists, indicating a unique stable channel configuration and slope. With this unique stable channel slope equal to the valley slope, the channel pattern is straight. Above a certain threshold valley slope, the stream power actually has two minimums, indicating two possible stable channel configurations and slopes. Whenever multiple channel slopes exist on a uniform valley slope, the river must be sinuous. The reason for meandering development is attributed to minimum stream power per unit channel length for the river system, because with its multiple configurations and slopes, a meandering river may minimize its stream power expenditure as well as its sediment load for the river system subject to physical constraints. Analytical relations also predict that highly sinuous rivers which are small in width/depth ratio occur on flatter valley slopes and that they become more braided and less sinuous as the valley slope increases.
Moral Reflections in Marketing

In this article, the authors introduce the concept of moral reflection and test several contextual variables thought to affect how much an individual engages in Business-Relevant Moral Reflection (...
Territorial Invasion in the Classroom: Invadee Response.

A comparison is made, among humans, testing dominance and subordination among the spatially central and peripheral in fourteen college classrooms. An operational definition of dominance was whether a person whose stably occupied seat was invaded (occupied by the experimenter during the "owner's" absence) defended his seat by asking for it back. The hypothesis was tested that the spatially central would defend territory (ask for their seat back) significantly more than would the spatially peripheral. Some findings were: (1) The spatially central defended territory significantly more than the spatially peripheral when invaded. (2) Those who defended stopped and stared before defense of territory significantly more than those who retreated. (3) Defenders of territory related their wishes verbally to invaders significantly more often than did retreaters. (4) The longer territory had been occupied and/or marked with personal property, the more often territory was defended against invaders. (5) After invasion, ...
Laboratory modelling of fractured clay for hazardous waste studies

Abstract The integrity and permeability of a clay mass that acts as a waste confining layer will be controlled by local defects such as desiccation cracks, fissures and fractures. In the Gulf Coast region, growth faults associated with natural geological processes and fluid withdrawal accelerate the production of local defects. Laboratory permeability tests conducted on recompacted samples or small undisturbed samples are unlikely to contain representative pattern of cracks and fissures and significantly under-predict the hydraulic conductivity of clay (natural deposits or liners) by several orders of magnitude. Although large-scale in-situ permeability tests may provide correct permeability information in accessible soils (near-surface), the time period required to conduct tests makes them impractical and hence it is essential to develop laboratory tests procedures to model closely the field conditions. Several methods of simulating cracks in the laboratory clay samples were investigated by using double ring-rigid wall permeameters. By inserting syringe needles of various sizes (gage numbers) and lengths defects were introduced into the compacted clay samples (simulating cracks) and the preliminary results indicate that the permeability of clay could be increased in a controlled manner. Using this technique, several tests are underway to investigate the effect of crack length, size and density on the permeability of Kaolinite clay. Relationship between permeability and crack length have been developed and the concept of effective clay thickness and effective permeability is introduced based on crack length. Numerical simulations based on a finite element model are being used to verify the experimental results.
Glutamine in Critical Illness: The Time Has Come, The Time Is Now

Glutamine (GLN) has been shown to be a key pharmaconutrient in the body's response to stress and injury. It exerts its protective effects via multiple mechanisms, including direct protection of cells and tissue from injury, attenuation inflammation, and preservation of metabolic function. Data support GLN as an ideal pharmacologic intervention to prevent or treat multiple organ dysfunction syndrome after sepsis or other injuries in the intensive care unit population. A large and growing body of clinical data shows that in well-defined critically ill patient groups GLN can be a life-saving intervention.
Species' traits predict phenological responses to climate change in butterflies

How do species' traits help identify which species will respond most strongly to future climate change? We examine the relationship between species' traits and phenology in a well-established model system for climate change, the U.K. Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS). Most resident U.K. butterfly species have significantly advanced their dates of first appearance during the past 30 years. We show that species with narrower larval diet breadth and more advanced overwintering stages have experienced relatively greater advances in their date of first appearance. In addition, species with smaller range sizes have experienced greater phenological advancement. Our results demonstrate that species' traits can be important predictors of responses to climate change, and they suggest that further investigation of the mechanisms by which these traits influence phenology may aid in understanding species' responses to current and future climate change.
Case Study: Two Additional Sudden Deaths With Tricyclic Antidepressants

Since 1990, there have been five reported cases of sudden death in children treated with desipramine. This case study describes the sudden deaths of two additional children treated with tricyclic antidepressants, one with desipramine, 3.3 mgkg per day, the other with imipramine, 6 mgkg per day and thioridazine, 1 mgkg per day. The reports add to concerns about the use of tricyclics in children.
Assessing asthma severity among children and adults with current asthma

AbstractBackground: Asthma severity is a key indicator to assess asthma care and management. Severity status may vary over time. Assessing asthma severity periodically is important for monitoring the health and well-being of people with asthma. Objective: To assess population-based asthma severity and to identify related-risk factors among children and adults with asthma. Methods: We used the 2006–2010 BRFSS child and adult Asthma Call-back Survey. Asthma severity was classified as intermittent or persistent. We performed multivariate logistic regression to identify related-risk factors. Results: Overall, 63.8% of persons with asthma had persistent asthma. Persistent asthma was more prevalent among children aged 0–4 years (71.8%; prevalence rate ratio [PR] = 1.3). Among adults with current asthma, persistent asthma was more prevalent among those who were 45 years or older (aged 45–54: 69.4%; PR = 1.1, aged 55–64: 72.6%; PR = 1.2, and aged 65+: 77.8%; PR = 1.3); annual household incomes of <$15 000 (74.1%;...
Replaying the Tape of Life: Quantification of the Predictability of Evolution

The question whether adaptation follows a deterministic route largely prescribed by the environment or can proceed along a large number of alternative trajectories has engaged extensive research over the recent years. Experimental evolution studies enabled by advances in high throughput techniques for genome sequencing and manipulation, along with increasingly detailed mathematical modeling of fitness landscapes, are beginning to allow quantitative exploration of the repeatability of evolutionary trajectories. It is becoming clear that evolutionary trajectories in static correlated fitness landscapes are substantially non-random but the relative contributions of determinism and stochasticity in the evolution of specific phenotypes strongly depend on the specific conditions, particularly the magnitude of the selective pressure and the number of available beneficial mutations.
Ca2+ Transients In Pim-1 Transfected Cardiac Stem Cells Co-Cultured With Rat Neonatal Cardiomyocytes

Cardiac stem cells transfected with serine/threonine kinase (Pim-1 cells) have been demonstrated to enhance the regenerative capacity upon adoptive transfer to infracted recipient mice (Fischer, et al., 2009, circulation). To probe the possible mechanisms at play in such hearts, we investigated the electrophysiological and Ca2+ signaling events in Pim-1 cells co-cultured for 3 days with ventricular myocytes of 4-6 day old rats. Membrane capacitance of whole-cell voltage-clamped control Pim-1 cells (33±3 pF, n=25) was smaller compared to cardiomyocytes (51±10pF, n=10), but increased significantly to 164±16pF (n=8) in co-cultured Pim-1 cells. Co-cultured Pim-1 cells developed ICa that was smaller (0.63±0.22pA/pF) and activated more slowly (16±2ms time to peak) than in cardiomyocytes (3.32±0.69pA/pF; 5.0±0.3ms). Confocal Ca2+ imaging (Fluo-4AM) showed strong Ca2+-release signals in cultured myocytes in response to KCl-depolarization (∈″F/F0= 0.86±0.20, n=11) or 10 mM caffeine puffs (∈″F/F0= 1.42±0.25, n=11), but not in co-cultured Pim-1 cells (∈″F/F0= 0.13±0.03, n=3 and 0.15±0.03, n=6, respectively). However, Pim-1 cells produced large, slowly decaying Ca2+-signals (∈″F/F0= 1.17±0.16, n=19) on rapid application of 100 ∈μM ATP. In contrast, cardiomyocytes generally responded weakly to ATP applications (∈″F/F0= 0.35±0.12, n=4). The expression of significant ICa in Pim-1 cells in 3 day old co-cultures suggests de novo expression of Ca2+ channels, but the increase in membrane capacitance and the delayed activation of ICa in these cells may also be consistent with development of gap junctions between cardiac myocytes and Pim-1 cells. The finding of IP3-gated Ca2+ stores in the Pim-1 cells, in a manner similar to embryonic or neonatal cardiomyocytes, suggests early cardiac differentiation.