cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Problem-Based Learning for Introductory Psychology: Preliminary Supporting Evidence

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a pedagogy designed to facilitate the development of critical thinking skills and promote student course engagement, yet it appears to be underutilized within psychology courses. The current study evaluated the impact of using a problem-based learning (PBL) approach within a small introductory psychology class on students’ critical thinking and course engagement. A total of 74 undergraduate students (38 experimental, 36 control) participated in the study. Students completed questionnaires assessing critical thinking and course engagement at the start (experimental only) and conclusion (both experimental and controls) of the semester. Repeated measures analyses revealed that students in the PBL introductory psychology course showed significant improvements on critical thinking and engagement from the beginning to the end of the course. Group comparisons at the end of the semester showed that students in the PBL course reported higher critical thinking skills, behavioral engagement, and global course engagement relative to the control students. It appears PBL may be an effective method for use within introductory courses to begin developing critical thinking skills and promoting student engagement in learning. Implications for teaching introductory psychology with PBL are discussed.
Physician and patient characteristics associated with outpatient breast cancer screening recommendations in the United States: analysis of the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey Data 1996–2004

Background The primary goal of breast cancer screening tests is to find cancer at an early stage before a person has any symptoms. Evidence suggests that screening examinations such as mammography and clinical breast examinations (CBE) are effective in early detection of breast cancer. Physician recommendation is an important reason many women undergo screening. This study examined the physician and patients related factors associated with physician recommendations for breast cancer screening in the United States (US) outpatient settings.
An ethnographic study of copy and paste programming practices in OOPL

Although programmers frequently copy and paste code when they develop software, implications of common copy and paste (C&P) usage patterns have not been studied previously. We have conducted an ethnographic study in order to understand programmers' C&P programming practices and discover opportunities to assist common C&P usage patterns. We observed programmers using an instrumented Eclipse IDE and then analyzed why and how they use C&P operations. Based on our analysis, we constructed a taxonomy of C&P usage patterns. This paper presents our taxonomy of C&P usage patterns and discusses our insights with examples drawn from our observations. From our insights, we propose a set of tools that both can reduce software maintenance problems incurred by C&P and can better support the intents of commonly used C&P scenarios.
BUSINESS PLANS MADE EASY, SECOND EDITION

BUSINESS PLANS MADE EASY, SECOND EDITION By Mark Henricks & John Riddle Entrepreneur Press, 2002, 336 pg. ISBN: 1-89198443-8 Business Plans Made Easy: It's Not As Hard As You Think, presents an excellent, ready-touse methodology for writing a business plan and presenting it to potential funding sources. While aimed at the startup entrepreneur, even a seasoned business veteran will find it instructive. Books on writing business plans, on the whole, present the same basic information. What sets them apart is the author's writing style and use of practical, how-to worksheets and tips. Authors Mark Henricks and John Riddle have done an excellent job in both respects. The conversational style used by the authors makes this book an easy read. The material is presented as if a knowledgeable mentor was speaking to proteges, guiding them through the elements necessary in a business plan and alerting them to common problems to avoid. Scattered throughout every chapter are textboxes entitled "Plan Pitfall," "Plan Pointer," "Plan of Action," "Fact or Fiction," and "Buzzword" which impart very practical advice on common plan errors, ways to improve a plan, sources for more assistance, straight answers to business plan questions, and definitions of terms a writer will likely encounter. Chapter 2 did an excellent job of dispelling common myths regarding the use of venture capital in startup businesses. An interview with a venture capitalist in the health care industry provided an inside look at what a venture capital firm is really looking for and how they evaluate a proposed investment idea and management team. Two useful pre-venture planning worksheets are included in Chapter 4. A "Goals & Objectives Worksheet" guides prospective entrepreneurs through a series of questions to assess their commitment to the venture and determine their management style. So often, entrepreneurs dive into a new venture without analyzing the company's financial potential. The authors provide a very practical worksheet entitled "Assessing Your Company's Potential," which examine a potential startup from a financial and lifestyle perspective. An example is included on assessing the financial potential of a newsletter directed at owners of coffee bars. Chapter 8 does a superior job in describing the importance of and exactly how a startup business determines its "Unique Selling Proposition (USP)". The authors include a worksheet where business owners define areas of strength/uniqueness and score them on a scale from 1 to 10. …
Neuroscience: Decrypting a brain enigma

The combined neuronal activity of two seemingly opposite types of Purkinje cell in the brain's cerebellum has been found to be required to control the jerky eye movements known as saccades in monkeys. See Letter p.439 The Purkinje cells are inhibitory neurons in the cerebellum with a central role in coordinating the body's motor function. It has long been thought that they encode eye motion saccades, but how this is achieved was not known. Recording from Purkinje cells in monkeys, David Herzfeld et al. find that the combined simple-spike responses of bursting and pausing Purkinje cells, but not either population alone, predicted the real-time speed of the saccade. Moreover, when Purkinje cells were organized according to their complex-spike field, the population responses encoded both speed and direction via a gain field.
Zinc-induced arsenite tolerance in mice

Abstract Zinc-Induced Arsenite Tolerance in Mice, Kreppel, H., M Liu, J., Liu, Y., Reiciil, F. X., And Klaassen, C. D. (1994). Fundam. Appl. Toxicol. 23, 32-37. The mechanism of tolerance to arsenic toxicity is not known. Recently it has been shown that arsenic induces metallothionein (MT), which is a sulfhydryl-rich metal-binding protein that decreases the toxicity of a number of metals. The present studies were designed to examine the role of MT in arsenic toxicity. Zinc (Zn) pretreatment (1000 μmol/kg, sc) markedly increased hepatic MT (150-fold over controls), and also protected against the lethal effects of arsenite (130 μmol/kg, sc). However, no correlation was found between the ability of various known MT inducers (Zn, Cd, arsenite monomethylarsenite, α-bederin or oleanolic acid) to increase hepatic MT and to protect against arsenic lethality in mice. Tn examine the mechanism of Zn protection against arsenic toxicity, the subcellular distribution of arsenite in liver, kidney, and small intestine was determined 2 hr after arsenite injection. Zn pretreatment did not markedly alter the amount of arsenic-73 in the cytosol or the various cellular organelles (nuclei, mitochondria, microsomes) in liver, kidney, or small intestine. There was also very little arsenic-73 bound to MT in the cytosol of the Zn-pretreated mice, as determined by G-75 gel-filtration chromatography. In mice pretreated with Zn (1000 μmol/kg, sc) and subsequently injected with arsenite-73 (115 μmol/kg, sc), the arsenic-73 content in blood, heart, lung, kidneys, spleen, muscle, and skill was lower than in controls, indicating increased arsenic elimination in Zn-pretreated mice. In conclusion, Zn pretreatment protects mice against arsenite toxicity, but the mechanism of tolerance does not appear to be induction of MT.
Nitrogen retention in the riparian zone of catchments underlain by discontinuous permafrost

Summary 1. Riparian zones function as important ecotones that reduce nitrate concentration in groundwater and inputs into streams. In the boreal forest of interior Alaska, permafrost confines subsurface flow through the riparian zone to shallow organic horizons, where plant uptake of nitrate and denitrification are typically high. 2. In this study, riparian zone nitrogen retention was examined in a high permafrost catchment (approximately 53% of land area underlain by permafrost) and a low permafrost catchment (approximately 3%). To estimate the contribution of the riparian zone to catchment nitrogen retention, we analysed groundwater chemistry using an end-member mixing model. 3. Stream nitrate concentration was over twofold greater in the low permafrost catchment than the high permafrost catchment. Riparian groundwater was not significantly different between catchments, averaging 13 μm overall. Nitrogen retention, measured using the end-member mixing model, averaged 0.75 and 0.22 mmol N m−2 day−1 in low and high permafrost catchments, respectively, over the summer. The retention rate of nitrogen in the riparian zone was 10–15% of the export in stream flow. 4. Our results indicate that the riparian zone functions as an important sink for groundwater nitrate and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). However, differences in stream nitrate and DOC concentrations between catchments cannot be explained by solute inputs from riparian groundwater to the stream and differences between streams are probably attributable to deeper groundwater inputs or flows from springs that bypass the riparian zone.
Quantum order from string-net condensations and the origin of light and massless fermions

Recently, it was pointed out that quantum orders and the associated projective symmetry groups can produce and protect massless gauge bosons and massless fermions in local bosonic models. In this paper, we demonstrate that a state with such kinds of quantum order can be viewed as a condensed state of nets of strings. The emergent gauge bosons and fermions in local bosonic models can be regarded as a direct consequence of string-net condensation. The gauge bosons are fluctuations of large closed string nets. The ends of open strings are the charged particles of the corresponding gauge field. For certain types of strings, the ends of open strings can even be fermions. According to the string-net picture, fermions always carry gauge charges. This suggests the existence of a new discrete gauge field that couples to neutrinos and neutrons. We also discuss how chiral symmetry that protects massless Dirac fermions can emerge from the projective symmetry of quantum order.
Capital Market Consequences of EU Bank Stress Tests

This paper examines the capital market consequences of government stress testing of banks in the European Union during the recent global financial crisis. Theory suggests that the announcement of forthcoming public disclosure and the eventual disclosure can induce changes in the information environment. Compared with propensity score matched control firms, I report that the announcement of stress tests generally elicited weak effects from measures of information asymmetry and information uncertainty for tested banks. I also report that after disclosure of 2011 test results, information asymmetry declined gradually but information uncertainty increased significantly. This suggests that while the revealed information enabled sorting of strong and weak banks, uncertainty worsened either due to low test credibility and unresolved bank capital plans, or due to negative signals about fundamentals. Furthermore, I document evidence that the unprecedented level of sovereign and total Exposure At Default disclosure in the 2011 test results had directional information content for measures of information asymmetry, information uncertainty, CDS spreads and equity returns. Collectively, the evidence highlights the importance of transparent and credible stress tests supported by a strong regulatory commitment to remedy negative outcomes.
Acute Bacterial Sinusitis in Children

On the basis of strong research evidence, the pathogenesis of sinusitis involves 3 key factors: sinusostia obstruction, ciliary dysfunction, and thickening of sinus secretions. On the basis of studies of the microbiology of otitis media, H influenzae is playing an increasingly important role in the etiology of sinusitis, exceeding that of S pneumoniae in some areas, and b-lactamase production by H influenzae is increasing in respiratory isolates in the United States. On the basis of some research evidence and consensus,the presentation of acute bacterial sinusitis conforms to 1 of 3 predicable patterns; persistent, severe, and worsening symptoms. On the basis of some research evidence and consensus,the diagnosis of sinusitis should be made by applying strict clinical criteria. This approach will select children with upper respiratory infection symptoms who are most likely to benefit from an antibiotic. On the basis of some research evidence and consensus,imaging is not indicated routinely in the diagnosis of sinusitis. Computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging provides useful information when complications of sinusitis are suspected. On the basis of some research evidence and consensus,amoxicillin-clavulanate should be considered asa first-line agent for the treatment of sinusitis.
Staphylococcal Infection in Chick Embryos: The Role of Staphylococcal Toxins in Death of Chick Embryos

Staphylococcal strains.?Strain 502A is a Staphylococcus aureus that produces a hemolysin for rabbit erythrocytes and produces coagulase as determined by the tube and slide methods. Other characteristics of the strain have been previously described (Shinefield et al, 1963; Ribble and Shinefield, 1967). This strain is capable of producing a lethal infection in 10-day-old chick embryos inoculated intra-allantoically with as few as 10 colony-forming units. The mortality rate is usually about 25^0 at 24 hours, 85*^ at 48 hours, and over 95*^ at 72 hours after inoculation of embryos. A nonhemolytic variant (NH) of strain 502A was isolated by the method of Dudgeon and Goadby (1930) and was used in certain experiments. A hemolytic
miR-124 inhibits the invasion and metastasis of gastric carcinoma MKN-45 cells

Objective To explicit whether miR-124 suppresses cell invasion and metastasis,thus to reveal molecular mechanism that miR-124 functions as a tumorsuppressor in gastric carcinoma.Methods MKN-45 cells were transfected with miR-124 mimics,and next cell wound healing assay was performed to detect the invasion of miR-124.Results Transfection of miR-124 mimics for 24h,48 h respectively,cell wound healing assay showed that the wound healing rate was(0.313±0.005) and(0.369±0.031),compared with the control group(0.413±0.035) and(0.852±0.024),it can significantly slow down the scratch wound healing of the MKN-45 cell,the groups were significant different(P0.05);Conclusion miR-124 can inhibit the invasion and metastasis in MKN-45 cells of gastric cacinoma.
In qualified defense of VOT.

The VOT measure has been said to provide the single most nearly adequate physical basis for separating homorganic stop categories across a variety of languages, granted that other features may also be involved. That transition duration affects perceived voicing of synthesized initial stops of one specific language, English, has suggested the hypothesis by Stevens and Klatt (1974) that a detector responsive to rapid formant-frequency shifts after voice onset better explains the child's acquisition of the contrast than does some mechanism which responds to VOT directly. If such a detector is part of our biological equipment, then it seems remarkably underutilized in language, for the hypothesis asserts that basic to voicing perception is whether laryngcal signal is or is not present during the interval in which the stop-vowel transition occurs. In effect, the “archetypical” voiceless stop is aspirated. Not only do many languages not possess voiceless aspirates, but even in English aspiration is severely res...
A Modified Technique for Placing Prebent Plates during a Le Fort I Osteotomy: A Technical Note.

Prebent plates have gained popularity in recent years as a fixation appliance for large maxillary advancements. They are larger than standard plates used for maxillary procedures and appear to give greater stability. Due to their size and configuration, they have the potential to be more palpable than standard plates, possibly causing discomfort following placement. With a simple “box” osteotomy of the maxilla at the site of placement and a minor modification of the plate, the plate is less palpable and better tolerated by the patient.
Deep optical learning devices and architectures

The innovations of neuron functionality and network architecture that have allowed the convergence of back-propagating deep-learning algorithms for large problems, such as rectifying linear units, dropout, and convolutional layers, may make the implementation of optical neurons and multilayer adaptive holographic learning networks feasible.
NADPH Oxidase Activation and Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Uncoupling Contribute to Endothelial Dysfunction in Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Abstract Introduction: Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is characterized by thrombosis and/or recurrent fetal loss in the presence of persistently elevated antiphospholipid antibodies (APLA). The majority of pathologic APLA are directed against β2-glycoprotein I (β2GPI). APLA cause endothelial dysfunction, though the underlying mechanisms have not been clearly delineated. Methods: Endothelial cells (EC) were incubated with β2GPI and either control antibodies or anti-β2GPI antibodies affinity-purified from sera of patients with APS, in the absence or presence of diapocynin, an NADPH oxidase (NOX) inhibitor, or siRNA against NOX1, NOX2, or NOX4. Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in EC and conditioned medium were measured using fluorescent dyes (CM-H2DCFDA and CellROX Deep Red) or chemiluminescent substrate. NOX1, NOX2, NOX4, 3-nitrotyrosine, and thioredoxin reductase 1 (TrxR1) expression were analyzed by western blot. eNOS monomer and dimer were detected using cold (4°C) SDS-PAGE and immunoblot. Immunoprecipitation of TrxR1 was performed using protein A/G agarose. EC activation was assessed by measuring expression of E-selectin. Results: Incubation of EC with β2GPI and anti-β2GPI antibodies stimulated ROS generation in EC, as well as the release of ROS into conditioned medium. Expression of NOX2, but not NOX1 or NOX4, was significantly increased in EC exposed to anti-β2GPI antibodies, but not control IgG. Preteatment of endothelial cells with diapocynin, a NOX inhibitor, or siRNA against NOX2 and NOX4, but not NOX1, inhibited endothelial cell activation by anti-β2GPI antibodies. Furthermore, anti-β2GPI antibody-treated EC generated more peroxynitrite, as determined by 3-nitrotyrosine expression. Treatment of EC with anti-β2GPI antibodies increased eNOS monomer/dimer ratio, suggesting eNOS uncoupling. Compared to control human IgG, the TrxR1 immunoprecipitate from EC treated with β2GPI and anti-β2GPI antibodies contained more 3-nitrotyrosine level, suggesting TrxR1 tyrosine residue modification by nitration and possible loss of function. Conclusions: β2GPI and anti-β2GPI antibodies stimulate ROS generation in EC, with release into the conditioned medium. The impairment of EC activation by diapocynin, NOX2 siRNA, or NOX4 siRNA suggests that NOX mediate EC activation by anti-β2GPI antibodies. Anti-β2GPI antibodies induce nitrative stress in EC, which might be explained by eNOS uncoupling induced by these antibodies. The nitration of TrxR1, an enzyme that prevents eNOS uncoupling, may result in the inactivation of TrxR1 and contribute to eNOS uncoupling. Taken together, these studies provide preliminary evidence of the contribution of NOX activation and eNOS uncoupling in mediating oxidative and nitrative stress and induction of EC dysfunction by APLA. Disclosures McCrae: Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Syntimmune: Consultancy; Momenta: Consultancy; Halozyme: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.
Identification of genomic signatures in African-American and Caucasian-American early-onset breast cancer

1661 Although the incidence of breast cancer in the U.S. is highest overall in Caucasian-American (CA) women, breast cancer in young women occurs at a higher frequency in African-Americans (AA). AA women present with more aggressive disease and, as a consequence, the mortality rates due to breast cancer in this population are higher than those of their CA counterparts across all age groups. AA tumors are more likely to be hormone receptor negative, have higher nuclear and histological grade, exhibit p53 mutations and present at an advanced stage. Tumors in young AA women are more often characterized as basal ‘triple negative’ breast tumors, the breast cancer subtype most difficult to treat. Many factors have been proposed to contribute to breast cancer disparities in AA women. To begin to understand the genetic component of breast cancer disparities, we are investigating genomic signatures of breast tumors from Alabama women. We hypothesized that the differences in tumor phenotype observed between AA and CA early onset breast tumors correlate with specific patterns of genomic aberrations. Our initial study includes 25 AA and 47 CA patients diagnosed with breast cancer at or below the age of 50. Compared to CA women, AA women were significantly more likely to present with grade 3 tumors and tumors of the basal subtype. Immunohistochemical analysis of expression of the tumor suppressors p53 and p27 showed a trend towards a poor prognostic profile in AA women. Using high resolution, whole genome array comparative genomic hybridization, age and grade matched tumors were analyzed for genomic aberrations. Both CA and AA tumors demonstrated complex genomic profiles. A subset of loci was identified that are differentially altered based on ethnicity. In addition, copy number variations have been identified that discriminate breast tumors based on tumor subtype. These studies may lead to the identification of loci that contribute to the increased incidence and aggressiveness of early onset breast cancer in AA women.
An Investigation Into the Effect of Subcooled Liquid Inertia on Flowrate Induced Transient Flow Surges in Horizontal Condensing Flow Systems

The objective of this research is to investigate large-scale transient flow surges of condensate leaving horizontal in-tube condensing flow systems, due to perturbations in the inlet vapor flowrate, and the influence of the subcooled condensate inertia on these surges. In a tube-type condenser involving complete condensation, it has been seen that small changes in the inlet vapor flowrate momentarily cause large transient flow surges in the outlet liquid flowrate. A System Mean Void Fraction (SMVF) Model is developed for predicting these flow surge characteristics. Experimental data are also presented, showing both the influence of subcooled liquid inertia, and the very good predictive capability of the SMVF Model. The salient feature of the SMVF Model is its simplicity that, with an experimentally verified predictive capability, enhances the models’ utility as an analytical tool as well as a tool for educational purposes.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Black and Latino Urban Food Desert Residents’ Perceptions of Their Food Environment and Factors That Influence Food Shopping Decisions

There is a lack of consensus on how we should measure and identify food deserts. Recently, some scholars have called for studies that incorporate the lived experiences of food desert residents themselves into the discussion. We interviewed 42 black and Latino low-income female caregivers of young children living in an urban area classified as a food desert about how they shop for food. The women we spoke with talked about their motivations for choosing stores, as well as their experiences dealing with poor food access and an unequal distribution of food stores. We found that women cited price as the strongest motivator for choosing a store but found that a lack of transportation and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation also had significant effects on shopping behaviors. This study underscores the importance of qualitative, participatory approaches to food environment research.
A Conserved Leucine Zipper Motif in Gammaherpesvirus ORF52 Is Critical for Distinct Microtubule Rearrangements

Productive viral infection often depends on the manipulation of the cytoskeleton. Herpesviruses, including rhesus monkey rhadinovirus (RRV) and its close homolog, the oncogenic human gammaherpesvirus Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus/human herpesvirus 8 (KSHV/HHV8), exploit microtubule (MT)-based retrograde transport to deliver their genomes to the nucleus. Subsequently, during the lytic phase of the life cycle, the maturing viral particles undergo orchestrated translocation to specialized regions within the cytoplasm, leading to tegumentation, secondary envelopment, and then egress. As a result, we hypothesized that RRV might induce changes in the cytoskeleton at both early and late stages of infection. Using confocal imaging, we found that RRV infection led to the thickening and acetylation of MTs emanating from the MT-organizing center (MTOC) shortly after viral entry and more pronounced and diffuse MT reorganization during peak stages of lytic gene expression and virion production. We subsequently identified open reading frame 52 (ORF52), a multifunctional and abundant tegument protein, as being the only virally encoded component responsible for these cytoskeletal changes. Mutational and modeling analyses indicated that an evolutionarily conserved, truncated leucine zipper motif near the N terminus as well as a strictly conserved arginine residue toward the C terminus of ORF52 play critical roles in its ability to rearrange the architecture of the MT cytoskeleton. Taken together, our findings combined with data from previous studies describing diverse roles for ORF52 suggest that it likely binds to different cellular components, thereby allowing context-dependent modulation of function.IMPORTANCE A thorough understanding of the processes governing viral infection includes knowledge of how viruses manipulate their intracellular milieu, including the cytoskeleton. Altering the dynamics of actin or MT polymerization, for example, is a common strategy employed by viruses to ensure efficient entry, maturation, and egress as well as the avoidance of antiviral defenses through the sequestration of key cellular factors. We found that infection with RRV, a homolog of the human pathogen KSHV, led to perinuclear wrapping by acetylated MT bundles and identified ORF52 as the viral protein underlying these changes. Remarkably, incoming virions were able to supply sufficient ORF52 to induce MT thickening and acetylation near the MTOC, potentially aiding in the delivery viral genomes to the nucleus. Although the function of MT alterations during late stages of infection requires further study, ORF52 shares functional and structural similarities with alphaherpesvirus VP22, underscoring the evolutionary importance of MT cytoskeletal manipulations for this virus family.
Response bias and response monitoring: Evidence from healthy older adults and patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.

Abstract Patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) often exhibit an abnormally liberal response bias in recognition memory tests, responding “old” more frequently than “new.” Investigations have shown patients can to shift to a more conservative response bias when given instructions. We examined if patients with mild AD could alter their response patterns when the ratio of old items is manipulated without explicit instruction. Healthy older adults and AD patients studied lists of words and then were tested in three old/new ratio conditions (30%, 50%, or 70% old items). A subset of participants provided estimates of how many old and new items they saw in the memory test. We demonstrated that both groups were able to change their response patterns without the aid of explicit instructions. Importantly, AD patients were more likely to estimate seeing greater numbers of old than new items, whereas the reverse was observed for older adults. Elevated estimates of old items in AD patients suggest their liberal response bias may be attributed to their reliance on familiarity. We conclude that the liberal response bias observed in AD patients is attributable to their believing that more of the test items are old and not due to impaired meta-memorial monitoring abilities.
C-reactive protein improves the ability to detect cardiometabolic risk in mild-to-moderate obstructive sleep apnea.

Abstract Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), particularly in the mild‐to‐moderate range, affects up to 40% of the adult general population. While it is clear that treatment should be pursued in severe cases of OSA, when and how to best treat OSA in the mild‐to‐moderate range remains complicated, despite its high prevalence. The aim of this study was to compare the relative utility of apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) versus a biomarker of inflammation, C‐reactive protein (CRP), in identifying the presence and severity of hypertension and hyperglycemia. Middle‐aged ( n = 60) adults with mild‐to‐moderate OSA (AHI between 5 and 29 events per hour) underwent 8‐h polysomnography, a physical examination including measures of blood pressure and body mass index, and a fasting morning blood draw for glucose and CRP. CRP levels were associated with greater odds for having hypertension and hyperglycemia compared to AHI. Receiver‐operating characteristics (ROC) curves revealed that adding CRP to standard clinical factors (age, sex, and BMI) yielded moderately good to strong risk models for the disorders (AUC = 0.721 and AUC = 0.813, respectively). These preliminary findings suggest that including a measure of CRP improves the ability for clinicians to detect cases of mild‐to‐moderate OSA with true cardiometabolic risk, with implications in improving prognosis and treatment within this clinically gray area.
Analysis of human factors in a building environmental assessment system in Korea: Resident perception and the G-SEED for MF scores

Abstract This study investigates the relationships between the scores of the Green Standard for Energy and Environmental Design for Multi-Family Housing (G-SEED for MF) and resident perception ratings in Korea. Various sets of data were collected and analyzed, including the G-SEED for MF scorecards, resident surveys, and focus group interviews with professionals and residents. Results show that residents in the certified apartments have low awareness of the system. There are differences between the presence of G-SEED for MF features and the occupants' perception of those features. Additional differences are found between the expectations of professionals and resident ratings on the system's features. Its higher scores do not necessarily mean higher resident perception ratings of such features. The studied residents' perceptions often differ from those of professionals. The professionals are inclined to give more focus on construction costs of projects rather than living environments for occupants. The G-SEED for MF is currently evaluated on its economic benefits and energy consumption disregarding residents' opinions on the actual performance of green buildings. Suggestions for future development imply that perspectives of different end users need to be examined from varied research angles and methodologies to make the G-SEED for MF a comprehensive set of evaluation including significant human factors: building users' experience and perception.
Synthesis, structure-affinity relationships, and radiolabeling of selective high-affinity 5-HT4 receptor ligands as prospective imaging probes for positron emission tomography.

In a search for high-affinity receptor ligands that might serve for development as radioligands for the imaging of brain 5-HT4 receptors in vivo with positron emission tomography (PET), structural modifications were made to the high-affinity 5-HT4 antagonist (1-butylpiperidin-4-yl)methyl 8-amino-7-iodo-2,3-dihydrobenzo[b][1,4]dioxine-5-carboxylate (1, SB 207710). These modifications were made mainly on the aryl side of the ester bond to permit possible rapid labeling of the carboxylic acid component with a positron emitter, either carbon-11 (t1/2 = 20.4 min) or fluorine-18 (t1/2 = 109.7 min), and included (i) replacement of the iodine atom with a small substituent such as nitrile, methyl, or fluoro, (ii) methylation of the 8-amino group, (iii) opening of the dioxan ring, and (iv) alteration of the length of the N-alkyl goup. High-affinity ligands were discovered for recombinant human 5-HT4 receptors with amenability to labeling with a positron emitter and potential for development as imaging probes. The r...
Influence of parasitism on growth of cattle possibly mediated through tumor necrosis factor

Poor growth, reduced feed efficiency, and a wasting diathesis characterized by atrophied skeletal muscles, hair loss and serous atrophy of fat mark chronic sarcocystosis in livestock. Despite a high prevalence of this protozoan parasite in cattle and sheep, the parasite burden per animal need not be great to elicit such signs and to stimulate a strong mononuclear cell response in many tissues. Detection of a parasite associated toxin that kills rabbits, induces gelation in the Limulus Amebocyte Assay, and stimulates production and release of tumor necrosis factor in murine macrophages suggests that the parasite exerts it effects through endogenous meditators.
From Exploration to Selective Information Gathering: The Development of Chemosensory Investigation in Male African Elephants ( Loxodonta africana )

Male African and Asian elephants exhibit a lengthy extended developmental period from weaning to social reproductive maturity. Chemical signals play an important role in elephant society, and male Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) have been shown to go through developmental changes in chemical signal sending, reception and social interactions. We examined the chemosensory behaviour of male African elephants (Loxodonta africana) over four life stages (calf, juvenile, adolescent and adult). We observed the investigatory behaviour of the trunk by wild male African elephants, as well as their responses to potential chemical signals (i.e. urine, control and individual compounds from elephant urine). One of our objectives was the search for compounds in the urine of African elephant females that might serve as chemical signals. We conducted biological assays with elephants in South Africa and Tanzania. No single compound evoked responses indicative of a chemical signal. The chemosensory response to these signals showed an intriguing pattern of increasing interest by males from the calf to adolescent stages with a significant drop off in chemosensory behaviour by adult males. Chemosensory behaviour in male African elephants appears to go through developmental refinement from exploration to selective information ­gathering once they mature.
Nontestimonial Hearsay after Crawford, Davis and Bockting

The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution bars some hearsay from being introduced against criminal defendants on the ground that it would violate their right to confront the witnesses against them. In a recent series of decisions - Crawford, Davis and Bockting - the U.S. Supreme Court has narrowed the scope of the Confrontation Clause by interpreting it to govern only testimonial hearsay. This article criticizes the analysis and process by which the Court reached its conclusion that the Confrontation Clause has no application to nontestimonial hearsay and raises questions of history and policy about the possible dangers of admitting such hearsay against criminal defendants without any Sixth Amendment limitations.
This Wicked Rebellion: Wisconsin Civil War Soldiers Write Home

Review of: "This Wicked Rebellion: Wisconsin Civil War Soldiers Write Home," edited by John Zimm.
Potential energy surface of monatomic liquids

In the last decade, significant progress has been made in the many-body Hamiltonian formulation of liquid dynamics theory. Earlier analysis of experimental data for a wide variety of elemental liquids had provided the reliable but qualitative description of the atomic motion: vibrations in a representative $3N$-dimensional potential energy valley, plus transits, in which atoms cross the intersections between these valleys. Recent comparisons of first-principles theory with experiment for several elemental liquids at melt revealed a highly accurate and versatile theory. In the present work, we report on an extensive quench study of the entire condensed-matter structure-energy distribution for a metallic Na MD system. With these results, all that was learned from experimental data is confirmed, refined in detail, and made more accurate. We show the entire structure-energy distribution, composed of widespread symmetrics and higher lying randoms, we show the increasing dominance of the randoms as $N$ increases, until the symmetrics vanish completely, and we show the random distribution continue its spectacular narrowing as $N$ continues to increase. This behavior certifies our early assignment of the random distribution to the liquid phase and our prediction of macroscopic uniformity of the random structures. Procedures are discussed to identify and calibrate a single random structure to represent the liquid, and the role of the structure energy in liquid thermodynamics is described. A comparison with other liquid dynamics theories is observed in the Introduction, and the relation to the equation-of-state program is noted in the Conclusion.
Analyzing the nexus of creativity, Islam, and democracy: Evidence from Turkey

While the relationship between Islam and democracy has received considerable attention in the social science literature, very few studies have explained the dynamics of support for democracy throug...
Dietary patterns and health-related quality of life in bladder cancer survivors.

Abstract Purpose A nutritious diet has been associated with better health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a variety of cancer survivors. However, little is known about dietary habits and its association with HRQOL in bladder cancer survivors. The objective of this cross-sectional study is to describe dietary intake patterns and its relationship to HRQOL in a large cohort of bladder cancer survivors. Methods Bladder cancer survivors within our institutional database were mailed surveys to assess dietary intake patterns utilizing the Diet History Questionnaire II and assessing HRQOL utilizing the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bladder Cancer. Diet quality was assessed via Healthy Eating Index 2010 scores based on subjects’ Diet History Questionnaire II results. Univariate and multivariate analyses of HRQOL based on diet quality were used to evaluate whether diet quality was associated with HRQOL. Results Four hundred and fifty-nine patients (48%) returned questionnaires. Mean age was 74 years, 81% were male and 28% underwent radical cystectomy. Diet quality and quantity in our cohort was similar to the general older U.S. population and did not differ significantly between those managed conservatively or long-term following cystectomy. Our cohort had low intake of whole grains and fat-soluble vitamins, particularly vitamin D. Diet quality was significantly associated with HRQOL in the univariate analysis but lost statistical significance in our multivariate analysis. Elixhauser Comorbidity Index was significantly associated with HRQOL in the multivariate analysis. Conclusions This study demonstrates a similar diet quality of bladder cancer survivors to the older general U.S. population that, on average, “needs improvement.” Dietary intake is particularly lacking in whole grain and vitamin D intake. Future studies are warranted to determine the impact on long-term outcome, but bladder cancer survivors should be counseled on the importance and benefits of adherence to dietary guidelines, including its potential contribution toward better HRQOL.
Organizational Change for Enterprise Growth

This is the second of two articles describing how IBM tackled the enormous challenge of renewing its mainframe product line for transactions processing during the mid-1990s. To achieve this renewal...
Design of High-Performance Toroidal DC-link Inductor for Current-Source Inverters

Advances in wide bandgap (WBG) power switches are creating opportunities for significant mass and volume reductions of power electronic inverters by shrinking passive and cooling components. The miniaturization achieved by using WBG devices including their potential for high-temperature operation is highly appealing for a new approach to integrated motor drives (IMDs) that uses current source inverters (CSIs). Since CSIs use an inductor as their dc-link energy storage, a new class of inductors that operate efficiently at high-frequency and high temperatures are needed. The inductors must have low volume and low mass, combined with a low radiated EMI signature. This paper presents a comprehensive design procedure for toroidal inductors intended for use in CSI inverters. The presented method is straightforward to implement and enables rapid optimization of the inductor designs. A calorimetric test was conducted to measure the inductor losses instead of conventional electrical measurements. This calorimetric measurement method is an appealing alternative to other power loss measurement techniques for high-quality-factor inductors operating at high frequencies.
Innervation Patterns of Mystacial Vibrissae Support Active Touch Behaviors in California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus)

Vibrissae or follicle-sinus complexes (F-SCs) are highly developed mammalian sensory structures. These blood-filled sinuses are richly innervated and possess novel mechanoreceptors. Although much is known regarding the function of F-SCs in terrestrial mammals, much less is known regarding marine carnivores such as pinnipeds. Pinnipeds possess the largest, most highly innervated vibrissae of any mammal. One such pinniped is the California sea lion, which are generalist marine predators that rely heavily upon tactile discrimination capabilities. Psychophysical studies demonstrate that haptic tactile discrimination using F-SCs is exceptionally sensitive. However, our knowledge of the structure and function of F-SCs in otariids is limited. Our objectives were to investigate the innervation and microstructure of F-SCs across the mystacial vibrissal field and infer function from haptic performance studies in California sea lions. Innervation and microstructure of vibrissae differed considerably compared to similar data available for phocids. Total innervation of mystacial vibrissae was estimated to be 86,042 axons. Investigations of innervation density and investment of microvibrissae versus macrovibrissae demonstrated a significantly increased axon density per F-SC in medial microvibrissal regions compared to lateral macrovibrissae, which supports psychophysical data and somatotopic organization of the central nervous system involved with tactile discrimination capability. Innervation increased from medial microvibrissae (705 ± 125 axons/F-SC) to lateral macrovibrissae (1,447 ± 154) as well as from dorsal (541 ± 60) to ventral (1,493 ± 327) vibrissal regions. These data provide a more complete picture of the sensory ecology of this important aquatic mammalian lineage; the specialization of peripheral sensory structures, central nervous structures with demonstrated enhanced haptic capabilities behaviorally has likely led to the ecological success of California sea lions.
New lower bounds on the size-Ramsey number of a path

We prove that for all graphs with at most $(3.75-o(1))n$ edges there exists a 2-coloring of the edges such that every monochromatic path has order less than $n$. This was previously known to be true for graphs with at most $2.5n-7.5$ edges. We also improve on the best-known lower bounds in the $r$-color case.
Synthesis, optical, and thermal properties of 2,4,6-tris(4-substituted phenyl)pyrylium tosylates and triflimides

Abstract A group of five 2,4,6-tris(4-substituted phenyl)pyrylium tosylates were synthesized in one-pot reaction from para-substituted benzaldehyde and para-substituted acetophenones using tosic acid as a condensing agent. The tosylate salts were converted to the corresponding triflimide salts by metathesis reactions. Chemical structures, as well as optical spectroscopic and thermal properties of these salts were studied using pertinent experimental techniques. Trimethyl- and trihalo-substituted pyrylium salts emitted strong blue light with peaks in the 456 nm–479 nm range and trimethoxy-pyrylium salts emitted intense green light with maxima around 526 nm in acetonitrile solution. Quantum yields of the solutions were rather low, but the salts were also fluorescent in the solid state. Acetonitrile solution of trichloro-substituted pyrylium triflimide showed significant spectral line narrowing and fluorescence lifetime shortening under intense excitation, and laser action with minimal feedback. The salts have low melting transitions compared to the corresponding –BF4 salts, and their thermal stability is excellent with decomposition temperature in the 268–402 °C range in nitrogen.
Functional characterization of MCAK/Kif2C cancer mutations using high-throughput microscopic analysis

The microtubule (MT)-depolymerizing activity of MCAK/Kif2C can be quantified by expressing the motor in cultured cells and measuring tubulin fluorescence levels after enough hours have passed to allow tubulin autoregulation to proceed. This method allows us to score the impact of point mutations within the motor domain. We found that, despite their distinctly different activities, many mutations that impact transport kinesins also impair MCAK/Kif2C's depolymerizing activity. We improved our workflow using CellProfiler to significantly speed up the imaging and analysis of transfected cells. This allowed us to rapidly interrogate a number of MCAK/Kif2C motor domain mutations documented in the cancer database cBioPortal. We found that a large proportion of these mutations adversely impact the motor. Using green fluorescent protein-FKBP-MCAK CRISPR cells we found that one deleterious hot-spot mutation increased chromosome instability in a wild-type (WT) background, suggesting that such mutants have the potential to promote tumor karyotype evolution. We also found that increasing WT MCAK/Kif2C protein levels over that of endogenous MCAK/Kif2C similarly increased chromosome instability. Thus, endogenous MCAK/Kif2C activity in normal cells is tuned to a mean level to achieve maximal suppression of chromosome instability.
The Languages of Constitutional Dialogue: Bargaining in the Shadow of the People

Much has been made in Canadian constitutional law circles of the notion of dialogue. And at this point I must immediately acknowledge Peter Hogg, former Dean and current Emeritus Professor of this Law School, and a distinguished New Zealander, and alumnus and holder of an Honorary Doctorate from the Victoria University of Wellington. Peter, and his co-author Allison Bushell as she then was, started a dialogue about dialogue in a lecture delivered in Toronto 11 years ago yesterday – a dialogue to which I wish to contribute, and extend, today.
Evaluating the effects of agitation by shaking, stirring and air sparging on growth and accumulation of biochemical compounds in microalgae cells

The economic feasibility of microalgae biomass production for biofuels is evaluated based on biomass concentration and productivity, and accumulation of pigments, lipid, carbohydrate, and protein. ...