cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
P6.035 The Road to Project Ownership; The Experience of Sub Granting in 27 Districts of Uganda

Many donor funded HIV/AIDS programmes have been known to crumble when the donor pulls out. This has largely been attributed to poor sustainability plans by most projects. Since 2008, Baylor Uganda has been implementing an HIV/AIDS programme through sub granting in 27 districts of Uganda. We describe the sub granting experience as a sustainability implementation approach to HIV/AIDS programmes. Methods Under Sub granting we provide cash subventions to 27 districts health offices, 267 health facilities and 27 district network of people living with HIV/AIDS (PHA) to implement their own HIV/AIDS priority activities. These funds supplement the meagre government primary health care (PHC) conditional grant. Baylor-Uganda together with the partners hold annual planning meetings to identify priority areas for HIV/AIDS for funding in line with ministry of health requirements. Funds are released on a quarterly basis to the partners based on their approved work plans and budgets. Baylor staff monitors project implementation on a monthly basis. Supported districts submit technical and financial reports quarterly. Accountability of the district is reviewed and districts are annually categorised according to performance. The size of the grant in subsequent quarters is dependent upon the performance of the partner. Results Todate all the partners able to identify their priorities, develop work plans and implement their own activities hence fostering ownership and sustainability. Sub granting has helped to create a strong sense of ownership by both the project implementers and the target beneficiaries. Ranking of districts has brought in competition which has improved service delivery as well as accountability. Late implementation and late submission of accountability are still the major challenges. Conclusion Whereas sub granting faces some challenges, it is a fundamental step towards creating ownership and sustainability of HIV programmes in low resource settings.
The role of the spleen and the lymphoid-macrophage system in the quinine treatment of gallinaceum malaria; acquired immunity and phagocytosis.

the host in drug treatment. Nevertheless it is generally assumed that the body plays an essential role in cures following the drug treatment of infections. Ehrlich (1909) considered in detail how drugs, inactive in vitro, might be metabolically transformed into active parasitotropic compounds in vivo and how others might have their parasiticidal activity greatly enhanced by the auxiliary production of antibodies. These and other suggested activities of the body were later largely ascribed to the macrophages or reticulo-endothelial system (see review in Jungeblut, 1930, and Jaffe, 1938). There are two main explanations of the role of the reticulo-endothelial or macrophage system. Some workers believe that it actually plays an integral and necessary part in the therapeutic activity of the drug, whereas others ascribe to it an important independent supplemental role. The authors who
Currant status of environmental sanitation and drinking water in rural areas of Xingshan county of three gorges reservoir region

Objective To understand the sanitation of rural environment and drinking water in Xingshan County and to provide a scientific basis for formulating sanitary construction policy in rural areas.Methods According to the investigation plan,stratified sampling method was used to extract one half of the administrative villages in Xingshan County,5 households were randomly selected in each village for investigation.An questionnaire was then made for training the investigators.Results There were 80.00% of villages with health control system;98.65% with a clean house,51.11% with random trash disposal;57.69% of the villages had toilets,household toilet accounted for 64.00%.The village central water supply accounted for 45.89%,the rate of water quality testing was 14.47%,the rate of sewage processing was 4.45%;94.67% of the families had domestic animal corral,the condition of "four pests" was more serious.Conclusions Random trash disposal is serious in rural areas,the rate of excrement detoxification processing is low,and second pollution exists in centralized water supply.More attention should be paid on environmental health condition by relevant government organizations.
Differential substrate properties of mammalian ribonucleotide reductase.

Ribonucleotide reductase catalyzes the reaction in which ribonucleoside 5’-diphosphates are reduced to 2’-deoxyribonucleoside 5’-diphosphates. This is the rate-limiting step in the generation of 2’-deoxyribonucleoside 5’-triphosphates required for DNA replication. The active enzyme consists of two non-identical protein subunits that are encoded by different genes. One subunit contains non-heme iron and a tyrosyl free-radical (NHI subunit); the other subunit has the effector-binding sites for the nucleoside 5’-triphosphate allosteric effectors.1 While it is reported that one enzyme catalyzes the reduction of all four substrates (CDP, UDP, GDP and ADP)2, there are data that show that the activity of ribonucleotide reductase toward the various substrates can be differentially affected by a variety of inhibitors or agents3-5 or show different ratios of activities in hydroxyurea-resistant cell lines derived from various sources.6-8
SU‐F‐T‐445: Effect of Triaxial Cables and Microdetectors in Small Field Dosimetry

Purpose: Advances in radiation treatment especially with smaller fields used in SRS, Gamma knife, Tomotherapy, Cyberknife, and IMRT, require a high degree of precision especially with microdetectors for small field dosimetry (Das et al, Med Ph, 35, 206, 2008; Alfonso et al, Med Phys, 35, 5179, 2008). Due to small signal, the triaxial cable becomes critical in terms of signal to noise ratio (SNR) which is studied with microdetectors. Methods: Six high quality triaxial cables, 9.1 meters long from different manufacturers without any defects were acquired along with 5 most popular microdetectors (microdiamond, plastic scintillators, SRS-diode, edge-diode and pinpoint). A dedicated electrometer was used for each combination except W1 which has its own supermax electrometer. A 6MV photon beam from Varian True beam with 100 MU at a 600 MU/min was used. Measurements were made at a depth of 5 cm in water phantom. Field sizes were varied from 0.5 cm to 10 cm square fields. Readings were taken with combination of cables and microdetectors. Results: Signal is dependent on the quality of the connectors, cables and types of microdetector. The readings varied from nC to pC depending on the type of microdetector. The net signal, S, (Sc-Sn), where Sc is signal with chamber and Sn is without chamber is a linear function of sensitive volume, v; (S = α+β•V), where α and β are constants. The standard deviation (SD) in 3 sets of reading with each combination of cable-detector was extremely low <0.02%. As expected the SD is higher in small fields (<3cm). Maximum estimated error was only ±0.2% in cables-detector combinations. Conclusion: The choice of cables has relatively small effect (±0.2%) with microdosimeter and should be accounted in overall error estimation in k value that is needed to convert ratio of reading to dose in small field dosimetry.
Histopathological assessment of gonadal tissue in wild fishes

Histology offers a powerful tool in the study of reproductive health of fishes. It is routinely used for sex verification, identifying stage of development, documenting presence of intersex, tumors, parasites and other abnormalities and quantifying atresia. It can also be used for more subtle changes such as thickness of the vitelline envelope at various stages, yolk appearance, necrosis of sperm, and Sertoli cell proliferation. Gonadal histology, in conjunction with hormone and vitellogenin measurements, morphological and fecundity studies, can provide insights into the effects of various environmental stressors on reproductive health. However, much research, both field and laboratory, is needed to understand cause and effect for observed changes and to understand the meaning of many of the histological observations made in field studies, in terms of reproductive success of fish populations.
Overlooked possibility of a collapsed Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation in warming climate

Changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) are moderate in most climate model projections under increasing greenhouse gas forcing. This intermodel consensus may be an artifact of common model biases that favor a stable AMOC. Observationally based freshwater budget analyses suggest that the AMOC is in an unstable regime susceptible for large changes in response to perturbations. By correcting the model biases, we show that the AMOC collapses 300 years after the atmospheric CO2 concentration is abruptly doubled from the 1990 level. Compared to an uncorrected model, the AMOC collapse brings about large, markedly different climate responses: a prominent cooling over the northern North Atlantic and neighboring areas, sea ice increases over the Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian seas and to the south of Greenland, and a significant southward rain-belt migration over the tropical Atlantic. Our results highlight the need to develop dynamical metrics to constrain models and the importance of reducing model biases in long-term climate projection.
A 2kPa per stage and 1.3sccm flow rate modular two-stage electrostatic gas micropump with stiffened drive electrodes

The pressure and flow rate produced by a 3-chip (2-stage) stacked electrostatic gas micropump has been improved by incorporating structural modifications. Deep vertical trenches are used to create vertical stiffeners to reduce electrode deflection, and consequently increase pump and valve membrane displacement to generate higher compression and pressure. Electrode stiffening has improved pressure and flow rate by 4X and 15X respectively. A 3-chip stacked micropump (2-stage pump) has produced a pressure difference of 4 kPa and flow rate of 1.3 sccm at membrane actuation frequency of 24 kHz and drive amplitude of 190 Vpk·pk. Each micropump chip is 5.5 × 4 × 0.5 mm3 and pumping/microvalve membrane is 2 × 2 mm2. This is the highest pressure per stage (2 kPa) reported by a peristaltic multi-stage MEMS gas micropump with this size.
Community perceptions of scuba dive tourism development in Bien Unido, Bohol Island, Philippines

The Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation (CCEF), a Philippine environmental organization, in collaboration with Region 7 municipality leaders from Cebu, Leyte, and Bohol, as well as various financial donors, is striving to improve the marine resource management of the Outer Danajon Bank in the Philippines. One of the goals is to develop scuba dive tourism along the Outer Bank, beginning with the municipality of Bien Unido on Bohol Island. Despite previous efforts to attract investors and tourists by the Bien Unido mayor, dive tourism is currently absent from the municipality. During the summer of 2011, the mayor, the CCEF, and a private real estate developer, agreed to invest in infrastructure and livelihood training in Bien Unido for the purpose of developing a scuba dive tourism industry. This study analyzes current community viewpoints on the development of dive tourism in Bien Unido and four selected dive tourist cites. The study consists of thirty-four qualitative interviews conducted in Bien Unido and four other dive tourist sites as well as 1117 quantitative surveys conducted with community members throughout the central portion of the Philippines (Region 7). This study complements the Danajon Bank Marine Park Project of the CCEF and makes recommendations to improve the management of the Danajon Bank Double Barrier coral reef with protected areas and alternative livelihood projects linked to tourism development. The interviews served to define tourism and to document the specific needs of each barangay, or community, for tourism development. The qualitative survey revealed generally positive attitudes regarding scuba dive tourism development. Nintey-one percent of respondents believe tourism will help the barangay and most would participate in selling food/drink or being a recreational tour guide for tourists. Interview and survey respondents expectations that economic benefits will outweigh any social or environmental challenges, primarily alternative livelihoods and increased revenue for the municipality. Overall, Bien Unido and Region 7 community members will likely welcome visitors to their communities due to the expected benefits regardless of other negative environmental and social externalities such as increases in resource pressures and losses of tradition. Four additional municipalities were selected as “tourism developed sites” to further explore the negative and positive impacts of dive tourism, as perceived by the barangay captains or council, over a range of five to thirty years. These findings revealed challenges that were not mentioned in Bien Unido interviews or in the Region 7 qualitative surveys including changes in the price of living, increases in drug trafficking and sex trade, and private investors controlling community decisions. “As long as tourists like to come, then we want them all. If they will come, we will welcome them all.” Bien Unido interviewee, July 19, 2011
Optimal exchange of data over broadcast networks with adversaries

In the cooperative data exchange problem, a set of clients share a lossless broadcast channel. Each client initially has a subset of packets in the ground set X, and wishes to learn all packets in X. The clients exchange their packets with each other by broadcasting coded or uncoded packets. In this paper, we consider a generalization of this problem for the settings in which an unknown (but of a bounded size) subset of clients are adversarial. The adversarial clients can introduce erasures or errors in their packet transmissions in an arbitrary manner. The problem is to find the minimum total number of transmissions required such that, regardless of the configuration of adversarial clients, all non-adversarial clients can learn the maximally recoverable subset of packets in X. For arbitrary problem instances (i.e., arbitrary sets of packets available at the clients), this problem is NP-hard. Focusing on the settings where the packets are distributed randomly among clients, in this work, we propose a linear-time algorithm which solves (with high probability) the special case of the problem with one adversarial client. This result can also be extended to more general cases with arbitrary number of adversarial clients.
Racial/ethnic differences in perception of need for mental health treatment in a US national sample

To resolve contradictory evidence regarding racial/ethnic differences in perceived need for mental health treatment in the USA using a large and diverse epidemiologic sample. Samples from 6 years of a repeated cross-sectional survey of the US civilian non-institutionalized population were combined (N = 232,723). Perceived need was compared across three non-Hispanic groups (whites, blacks and Asian-Americans) and two Hispanic groups (English interviewees and Spanish interviewees). Logistic regression models were used to test for variation across groups in the relationship between severity of mental illness and perceived need for treatment. Adjusting statistically for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and for severity of mental illness, perceived need was less common in all racial/ethnic minority groups compared to whites. The prevalence difference (relative to whites) was smallest among Hispanics interviewed in English, −5.8% (95% CI −6.5, −5.2%), and largest among Hispanics interviewed in Spanish, −11.2% (95% CI −12.4, −10.0%). Perceived need was significantly less common among all minority racial/ethnic groups at each level of severity. In particular, among those with serious mental illness, the largest prevalence differences (relative to whites) were among Asian-Americans, −23.3% (95% CI −34.9, −11.7%) and Hispanics interviewed in Spanish, 32.6% (95% CI −48.0, −17.2%). This study resolves the contradiction in empirical evidence regarding the existence of racial/ethnic differences in perception of need for mental health treatment; differences exist across the range of severity of mental illness and among those with no mental illness. These differences should be taken into account in an effort to reduce mental health-care disparities.
Support for political mobilization and protest in Egypt and Morocco: an online experimental study

AbstractWhy do individuals engage in or support acts of contentious politics? Building from previous work, this article uses a 2 (high/low grievance) × 2 (high/low risk) × 2 (high/low opportunity) online experimental design to examine the impact of these factors on political action with participants from Egypt (n = 517) and Morocco (n = 462). Participants assumed a first-person perspective as a member of a fictional oppressed ethnic minority group in one of eight vignettes. Participants then indicated the extent to which they would engage in various forms of protest and violence, and how justified such actions were. Participants answered several social-personality measures: Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), Right Wing Authoritarianism (RWA), and Activism and Radicalism Intentions Scale (AIS and RIS). Analyses show that higher SDO and RIS scores largely drive violent engagement and justification for these actions. Higher AIS scores predicted protest engagement and justification, while SDO negatively infl...
5 – Analyzing biomaterial surfaces and blood-surface interactions

Abstract There are three major concerns when a biomaterial is selected to be used in an implantable device. First the materials must be chemically stable toward the corrosive environment of the body, second the materials must pass the cytotoxicity evaluation to avoid any irritation and third the implantable materials must be hemocompatible (not causing any blood coagulation, no chemical reaction with blood). In this chapter only the last criteria will be discussed. There are around 500 miles of blood vessels just in brain which indicates the importance of hemocompatibility in design and selection of implantable biomaterials, so interaction of the implant device and more specifically the interaction of the surface of biomaterial and blood is inevitable. The blood-surface interaction can be studied from two prospective, first the blood can cause deterioration of the implant which consequently will result in device performance failure, second the material can cause blood clotting and plasma activation.
Role of Natural Effector Cells in the Regulation of Cell-Mediated Immune Responses

The natural immune system is composed of host defense mechanisms that do not appear to require sensitization and lack antigen specificity and MHC restriction. In contrast, the immune system mounts responses to foreign materials that are specific for the antigens encountered and exhibit a memory or enhanced response upon reexposure to the agent. Although the classical immune system and the natural immune system differ fundamentally in these respects, it is now clear that these systems nonetheless interact with or influence one another. For example, a number of lymphokines are produced by T lymphocytes, in the course of an immunological response to antigen, which have significant effects on the functional capabilities of natural effector cells (this is the subject of Chapter 2). Conversely, there is now a large body of evidence that effector cells of the natural immune system exert profound effects on the immunological functions of T and B lymphocytes. The properties of natural effector cells affecting cell-mediated immune responses will be the focus of this chapter.
Bacteremic Urosepsis: A Phenomenon Unique to Elderly Women

Bacteremia constitutes a major challenge to the aged patient because the pathophysiological derangements that ensue pose an immediate threat to life. Compared to younger adults the elderly suffer bacteremia more frequently in association with pneumococcal pneumonia and salmonella enteritis/colitis. A prospective study to detect bacteremia was performed on 68 consecutive women with pyelonephritis requiring hospitalization. The data indicate that bacteremia occurs more frequently in elderly than in young women with nonobstructive pyelonephritis.
New Selectable Markers for Volvox carteri Transformation

Volvox carteri is an excellent model for investigating the evolution of multicellularity and cell differentiation, and the rate of future progress with this system will depend on improved molecular genetic tools. Several selectable markers for nuclear transformation of V. carteri have been developed, including the nitrate reductase (nitA) gene, but it would be useful to have additional markers to multiplex transgenes in this species. To further facilitate molecular genetic analyses of V. carteri, we developed two new selectable markers that provide rapid, easily selected, and stable resistance to the antibiotics hygromycin and blasticidin. We generated constructs with Volvox-specific regulatory sequences and codon-optimized hygromycin (VcHyg) and blasticidin (VcBlast) resistance genes from Coccidioides posadasii and Bacillus cereus, respectively. With these constructs, transformants were obtained via biolistic bombardment at rates of 0.5-13 per million target cells bombarded. Antibiotic-resistant survivors were readily isolated 7days post bombardment. VcHyg and VcBlast transgenes and transcripts were detected in transformants. Co-transformation rates using the VcHyg or VcBlast markers with unselected genes were comparable to those obtained with nitA. These results indicate that the pVcHyg and pVcBlast plasmids are highly efficient and convenient for transforming and co-transforming a broad range of V. carteri strains.
Measurement of Anisotropic Elastic Moduli and Comparison with Equivalent Media Theories

Anisotropic elastic moduli were determined for a layered glass plate-epoxy composite from oblique angle time-of-flight measurements using an immersion system. The composite consisted of thin glass plates bonded with a UV curing epoxy. The glass plates were 5cm square and 0.04cm thick. The epoxy bonds were very thin, comprising only 1.99% of the composite. Both the glass and the epoxy behave as isotropic materials in bulk form. However, once assembled to produce a heterogeneous structure (composite material) and probed with sufficiently long wavelengths (approximately ten times the thickness of the glass plates at 1 MHz), the stack of thin glass-epoxy layers appeared homogeneous but with anisotropic properties. The anisotropy exhibited by the glass-epoxy stack was transverse isotropy. Equivalent media theories are designed to predict behavior of homogeneous material combined in a heterogeneous structure. Consequently, with the measured properties of the constitutive bulk glass and epoxy and knowledge of their ratio in the layered stack, forward calculations can be made to determine the elastic moduli of the composite. Of the equivalent media theories available for calculating expected behavior in composite media, we consider a thickness-weighted averaging model as well as a theory which models the thin compliant epoxy bonds as a set of fractures. Anisotropic elastic moduli predicted using these two theories will be compared to the measured elastic moduli of the glass-epoxy stack.
Social Justice, Sport and Racism: A Position Statement

Despite common claims that society is “post-racial” and that sport is apolitical, issues of racial injustice continue to permeate sport and recreational institutions. Drawing insight from critical ...
Propositions and the First-Order Moral

Propositions are abstract entities that express the content of declarative sentences, and serve as truth-bearers. Moral non-cognitivists deny that first-order moral discourse is propositional, hence is neither true nor false, while moral cognitivists hold that first-order moral discourse is propositional. Commonsense morality is cognitivist, as is the metaethical theory to which it is committed, viz., moral realism. I argue that moral realists are correct. First-order moral discourse mirrors most of the features of non-moral discourse: the conditions for meaningfulness are similar; their internal structures are similar; their formal characteristics are similar; they function similarly in arguments; etc. Cognitivists are on much firmer ground than non-cognitivists in their respective analyses of moral discourse.
Battle weary/battle ready: A phenomenological study of parents' lived experiences caring for children with autism and their safety concerns

AIM The first aim of this study was to explore the lived experiences of parents caring for their autistic children and their experiences with safety for these children. The second aim was to elicit safety recommendations from the parents of autistic children. DESIGN Hermeneutic phenomenology. METHODS Fifteen participants who self-reported they were parents of children with autism were recruited via snowball sampling. Data were collected from September 2017-December 2018 in audiotaped interviews using semi-structured questions. Interviews were held with four participants to determine if the findings represented their experiences and concerns accurately. RESULTS Two underlying structures which demonstrated the trajectory of the experience caring for autistic children were lost/finding our way and battle ready/battle weary. The phenomenological themes within battle weary included living with fear, living with uncertainty and living with disappointment. Resilience was a fourth phenomenological theme which supported the experience of being battle ready. The participants provided recommendations for other parents and healthcare professionals to help keep autistic children safe. CONCLUSION This study illustrates the unique perspective of parents of autistic children concerning autism and safety. IMPACT Most parents in this sample reported they faced substantial issues with safety for their child. Study results demonstrated that parents received little to no information about safety from healthcare professionals. Parents of autistic children and healthcare professionals need to be educated about safety issues to prevent injuries and death.
Your Trash Is My Sustenance: Recycling the Image of ‘Waste Pickers’

Waste pickers have, historically and across the globe, been one of the most marginalized urban subjects. Fortunately, in the last decades, we’ve witnessed their growing mobilization. This chapter explores the ways in which a collaborative project of urban intervention forged between graffiti artists and waste pickers, has, thanks to crowdfunding, expanded across Brazil and its borders, taking on the status of a ‘movement.’ I examine the ways in which the viral effect of this project has effectively helped to destigmatize the image of the catador in the city of Sao Paulo while re-signifying graffiti art. More specifically, at the core of my inquiry lies the question: What are the various cultural, political, and material factors that have allowed ‘Pimp My Carroca’ (Pimp My Cart) its longevity, expansion, and popularity? And what is the role of the catador in sustaining the ‘movement’?
Communication Accommodation and Identity Gaps as Predictors of Relational Solidarity in Interfaith Family Relationships

Guided by Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) and Communication Theory of Identity (CTI), the purpose of this study was to investigate how families communicatively negotiate religious differen...
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Acceptability in Hispanic Males Living on the U.S./Mexico Border.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States, and the prevalence rate of infections is approximately 79 million. Research investigating HPV ...
Impact of Genetic Ancestry on Treatment Toxicity and Racial Disparities in Breast Cancer

Racial disparities in breast cancer are multifactorial and include inferior outcomes and increased rates of serious toxicity in African Americans. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the contribution of race, genetic ancestry, and genomic biomarkers to treatment toxicity and to demonstrate the impact of toxicity on racial disparities. Taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy (TIPN) and congestive heart failure (CHF) are potentially irreversible and life-altering toxicities of curative chemotherapy for breast cancer. Analysis of genetic ancestry, rather than self-reported race, in a large cooperative group adjuvant clinical trial discovered significantly higher rates of both TIPN and CHF in women of African descent compared with European Americans. Importantly, TIPN resulted in more dose reductions of chemotherapy in African Americans, which resulted in worse disease-free survival. Beyond race, significant individual variations in toxicity exist, which may be explained by validated genotypic predictors of TIPN and CHF, reviewed here. Race, in particular genetic ancestry, impacts both tumor and host biology, contributing to toxicity that drives disparities in quality of life and survival. Translating these data into clinical decision-making will benefit from engagement of the African American community to perform clinical trials and develop datasets focused specifically in this population to validate biomarkers and best understand patient preferences.
The role of RNA epigenetic modification in normal and malignant hematopoiesis.

RNA epigenetic modifications have been identified as novel, dynamic regulators of gene expression, with important impacts on stem cell fate decisions. Here, we examine the functions of RNA modifications, with a focus on N6-methyladenosine (m6A), in hematopoietic stem cells under normal conditions and in malignancy. The m6A RNA modification is a critical regulator of hematopoiesis. Disruption of different elements of the m6A machinery can skew the balance of self-renewal and differentiation in normal hematopoietic stem cells. The m6A reader, writer, and eraser proteins are also overexpressed in myeloid leukemia, and disruption of their function impairs leukemogenesis. RNA m6A modification governs important aspects of immune system function, including immune cell development, immune signaling, and recognition of RNA as foreign or self. In hematopoietic stem cells, endogenously derived double-stranded RNA can form in the absence of m6A, inducing deleterious inflammatory pathways which compromise stem cell function. The RNA modification m6A exerts a variety of functions in normal hematopoietic stem cells as well as leukemic cells. Pharmacologic modulation of different elements of the m6A machinery provides a promising avenue for ex vivo expansion of hematopoietic stem cells in the transplant setting, as well as for leukemia therapy.
Digital Assets and Blockchain: Hackable, Fraudulent, or Just Misunderstood?*

Unhackable. Immutable. Fraud‐proof. These terms are frequently used to describe cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology that underpins them. Together, they imply that a high degree of safety accompanies cryptocurrencies and blockchain ledgers. But is this understanding supported by the facts, or is it more based on the promise and theoretical construction of blockchain and cryptocurrencies? To better answer this question, we have compiled and analyzed existing research on initial coin offerings, security offerings, blockchain hacks and thefts, and data breaches of blockchain‐based platforms and digital wallets. In contrast to the popular press, we find that in practice, blockchain and cryptocurrencies are more prone to malfeasance, fraud, and manipulation than is commonly understood. The security and trust provided by blockchain as a technology tool are only as secure as the underlying code that establishes the blockchain, and the value derived from cryptocurrencies is only as trustworthy as the entity developing the cryptocurrency. Neither are without their vulnerabilities. Skepticism and proper due diligence should be maintained for any entity looking to utilize blockchain technology or invest in cryptocurrencies. ACTIFS NUMERIQUES ET CHAINE DE BLOCS: PIRATABLES, FRAUDULEUX OU SIMPLEMENT MAL COMPRIS? Impossibles a pirater. Inalterables. A l'epreuve des fraudes. Ces qualificatifs sont souvent utilises pour decrire les cryptomonnaies et la technologie de la chaine de blocs qui les sous‐tend. Collectivement, ces expressions donnent a penser qu'un niveau eleve de securite est associe aux cryptomonnaies et aux registres de la chaine de blocs. Toutefois, cette perception est‐elle appuyee par les faits, ou se fonde‐t‐elle sur les promesses et la construction theorique de la chaine de blocs et des cryptomonnaies? Pour repondre efficacement a cette question, nous avons compile et analyse des etudes sur les premieres emissions de cryptomonnaie, les emissions de titres, les piratages et vols associes a la chaine de blocs et les atteintes a la securite des donnees dans les plateformes fondees sur la chaine de blocs et les portefeuilles virtuels. Contrairement a ce qui est vehicule dans la presse populaire, nous montrons que dans la realite, la chaine de blocs et les cryptomonnaies sont plus vulnerables aux malversations, a la fraude et a la manipulation qu'on ne le croit. Le degre de securite et de confiance que procure la chaine de blocs en tant qu'outil technologique est tributaire du niveau de securite du code sous‐jacent, et la fiabilite de valeur conferee a une cryptomonnaie est tributaire de l'entite qui la cree. Chacun de ces elements a ses propres faiblesses. Toute entite qui cherche a utiliser la technologie de la chaine de blocs ou a investir dans les cryptomonnaies devrait faire preuve de scepticisme et d'une diligence raisonnable.
“It Seems like They Purposefully Try to Make as Many Kids Drop”: An Analysis of Logics and Mechanisms of Racial-Gendered Inequality in Introductory Mathematics Instruction

Introductory mathematics courses, including precalculus and calculus, largely influence Black and Latin* students’ persistence and sense of belonging in STEM. However, prior research on instruction...
Attenuation correction vs non-attenuation correction in detecting lesions of normal and overweight patients in 18F-FDG coincidence imaging

2120 Objectives : Attenuation is a major problem in nuclear imaging and has a particularly significant impact on PET imaging. The loss of counts due to attenuation can exceed 50% to 95% which increases image noise, artifacts, and distortion in a large patient. The purpose of this study is to compare the non-attenuation corrected (NAC) tomographic coincidence imaging with arithmetic attenuation-corrected (AC) tomographic coincidence imaging for lesion detection and correlate these findings with body mass index (BMI). Methods : 10 cases (6 male, 4 female) of normal weight (BMI Results : In the normal weight cases, NAC images were rated "better resolution" in 67%. The total number of lesions counted between both physicians among all images given was 107, and there were no significant discrepancies. In the overweight cases, NAC images were rated "better resolution" in only 54%. The total number of lesions counted was 72, with an inter-reader variability of 5 lesions. However, there was no significant discrepancy in lesion detection between AC and NAC techniques among individual readers. Conclusions : Overall, NAC images were perceived to have better resolution. Our results demonstrate that there is no significant difference in lesion detection between AC and NAC whole body linear tomographic coincidence imaging in normal or overweight cancer patients.
Economic Factors Affecting the Likelihood of a Switch to a Volunteer Army

The authors use the proposition that it is the size of the net gains from a change to the volunteer army that determines its probability to describe circumstances which unambiguously increase the probability of a policy change. Certain events which intuitively seem to imply a greater probability of a volunteer army are shown to have ambiguous implications for such a policy change.
A Transition Zone Showing Highly Discontinuous or Alternating Levels of Stem Cell and Proliferation Markers Characterizes the Development of PTEN-Haploinsufficient Colorectal Cancer.

Background Stepwise acquisition of oncogene mutations and deletion/inactivation of tumor suppressor genes characterize the development of colorectal cancer (CRC). These genetic events interact with discrete morphologic transitions from hyperplastic mucosa to adenomatous areas, followed by in situ malignant transformation and finally invasive carcinoma. The goal of this study was to identify tissue markers of the adenoma-carcinoma morphogenetic transitions in CRC.
Use of sources in newspaper coverage of the 2009 Bulgarian parliamentary election

Although the importance of news sources is widely acknowledged in journalism and political communication, few studies have examined source use in election news reporting in Bul- garia. Based on a content analysis of the two national dailies with the highest circulation, the present study demonstrates that domestic politicians vastly outnumber other types of sources. In addition, election news articles rarely incorporate more than one news source, thus limiting the diversity of opinions in the press. Such coverage may potentially lead to a narrowing of the range of discussion about political issues and give national political elites the power to define the issues for the public.
Concepts of Scientific Integrative Medicine Applied to the Physiology and Pathophysiology of Catecholamine Systems

This review presents concepts of scientific integrative medicine and relates them to the physiology of catecholamine systems and to the pathophysiology of catecholamine-related disorders. The applications to catecholamine systems exemplify how scientific integrative medicine links systems biology with integrative physiology. Concepts of scientific integrative medicine include (i) negative feedback regulation, maintaining stability of the body's monitored variables; (ii) homeostats, which compare information about monitored variables with algorithms for responding; (iii) multiple effectors, enabling compensatory activation of alternative effectors and primitive specificity of stress response patterns; (iv) effector sharing, accounting for interactions among homeostats and phenomena such as hyperglycemia attending gastrointestinal bleeding and hyponatremia attending congestive heart failure; (v) stress, applying a definition as a state rather than as an environmental stimulus or stereotyped response; (vi) distress, using a noncircular definition that does not presume pathology; (vii) allostasis, corresponding to adaptive plasticity of feedback-regulated systems; and (viii) allostatic load, explaining chronic degenerative diseases in terms of effects of cumulative wear and tear. From computer models one can predict mathematically the effects of stress and allostatic load on the transition from wellness to symptomatic disease. The review describes acute and chronic clinical disorders involving catecholamine systems-especially Parkinson disease-and how these concepts relate to pathophysiology, early detection, and treatment and prevention strategies in the post-genome era.
NOTES ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FRESHWATER MUSSEL ANODONTA IMPLICATA SAY AND THE ALEWIFE POMOLBUS PSEUDOHARENGUS (WILSON)1

“Were there more connections between us that needed exploration?”—John Hay: The Run. An ecological relationship between the freshwater mussel Anodonta implicata Say and the alewife Pomolobus pseudoharengus (Wilson) is described. Evidence is presented that the parasitic larvae (glochidia) of A. implicata cannot, in the process of attachment, “discriminate” between the tissues of P. pseudoharengus and those of other fishes that may move with the alewives during the run but have a much wider distribution. The conclusion is reached that if, as most evidence appears to indicate, the relationship between the two animals is nevertheless a species-specific one, the parasitic stage of A. implicata cannot complete its development on the tissues of other fishes to which it can be caused to attach experimentally and, further, that this stage can be of no greater duration than the time spent in freshwater by an individual alewife.
Dopaminergic toxicity associated with oral exposure to the herbicide atrazine in juvenile male C57BL/6 mice

The herbicide atrazine (ATR) is a very commonly used pesticide in the United States. and a major ground water contaminant. It has also been recently implicated as a potential basal ganglia toxicant. In the present study, our objective was to determine the effects of ATR exposure on striatal neurochemistry, on the number of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc), and, as a reference, in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of male juvenile C57BL/6 mice. Oral exposure to ATR for 14 days dose-dependently decreased the levels of dopamine (DA) and its metabolites in the striatum for up to a week post-treatment. ATR exposure also time- and dose-dependently decreased the number of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive (TH+) dopaminergic neurons in both SNpc and VTA (with effects being slightly more prominent in SNpc), such that the decreases were most evident at 7 weeks post-cessation of exposure to ATR. Together, these data indicate that, in the juvenile male C57BL/6 mouse, the neurotoxic effects of ATR appear to cause transient neurochemical alterations, whereas the loss of TH+ neurons appears to be persistent, possibly confined to basal ganglia dopaminergic neurons, but not exclusive to the SNpc.
A Large Country Imposing Import Tariff: Optimal Import Tariff in Terms of Adjustment Weights

This paper derives all the formulae of interest in autarky, free trade, and after an import tariff imposed by a large country in terms of competitive three adjustment weights based on market inverse demand and domestic inverse supply and the ratio of inverse supplies slopes. It also offers comparisons of results of free trade with autarky and after tariff with free trade. For the first time in the literature, this paper finds the range of import tariff that ensures the beggar-thy-neighbor policy and a formula for the optimal tariff that maximizes the tariff imposing country’s welfare.
Central action of a catechol-amide seizure-inducing agent: opposing effect on tyrosine and tryptophan hydroxylase activity in vivo.

The audiogenic seizure-inducing drug H13/04 was found to elicit opposing effects on the in vivo accumulation of 5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan) and DOPA (3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) in the brain following inhibition of l-amino acid decarboxylase. In strains of mice that normally do not exhibit audiogenic seizures, H13/04 retarded the accumulation of 5-HTP in the telencephalon, diencephalon and brainstem and enhanced the accumulation of DOPA in the diencephalon and brainstem. The duration of the biochemical action of H13/04 correlated with the duration of the behavioral effect. When H13/04 is administered to strains of mice with a genetically-determined susceptibility to audiogenic seizures, but at an age when they are developing sesistance to seizures, H13/04 does not alter the incidence of sound-induced seizures. The effect on the accumulation of 5-HTP and DOPA was similar to that noted in the genetically-resistant strain; a retardation of the accumulation of 5-HTP in the telencephalon and brainstem and an enhancement of DOPA accumulation in the brainstem. Since the rate of accumulation of 5-HTP and DOPA is a measure of the in vivo rates of tryptophan and tyrosine hydroxylase, respectively, the results may reflect changes in neural activity with consequent effects on the synthesizing enzymes. These results emphasize the usefulness of the drug in analyzing central mechanisms underlying audiogenic seizure activity and in studying functional properties and interactions of the central catechol-and indoleamine systems.
Ultratrace liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis of large peptides with post-translational modifications using narrow-bore poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) monolithic columns and extended range proteomic analysis.

Abstract This paper describes approaches to optimize the chromatographic performance for our recently developed LC–MS platform, extended range proteomic analysis (ERPA), for comprehensive protein characterization at the ultratrace level. Large digested peptide fragments up to 10 kDa (e.g., from lysyl endopeptidase digestion) with or without modifications were well separated with high resolution using narrow bore (20 and 50 μm I.D.) poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) (PS-DVB) monolithic columns constructed by in situ solution polymerization. Importantly, the macroporous structure of the monolithic columns facilitated mass transport of large peptides with improved recovery relative to small pore size reversed-phase packings. High sequence coverage (>95%), including identification of phosphorylated and glycosylated particles was achieved for β-casein and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) at the 4 and 20 fmol levels per injection, respectively, using the 20 μm I.D. PS-DVB monolithic column. For peptides with greater ionization efficiency, the detection limit could be lowered to ∼400 zmol. Typically, the separation system produced a peak capacity of ∼200 for a 10 cm column. This paper demonstrates that narrow-bore monolithic columns are suitable for high sensitivity and high-resolution separation of large peptide fragments by LC–MS analysis.
Sometimes doing the right thing sucks: frame combinations and multi-fetal pregnancy reduction decision difficulty.

Abstract Data are analyzed for 54 women who made an appointment with a North American Center specializing in multifetal pregnancy reduction (MFPR) to be counseled and possibly have a reduction. The impact on decision difficulty of combinations of three frames through which patients may understand and consider their options and use to justify their decisions are examined: a conceptional frame marked by a belief that life begins at conception; a medical frame marked by a belief in the statistics regarding risk and risk prevention through selective reduction; and a lifestyle frame marked by a belief that a balance of children and career has normative value. All data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and observation during the visit to the center over an average 2.5 h period. Decision difficulty was indicated by self-assessed decision difficulty and by residual emotional turmoil surrounding the decision. Qualitative comparative analysis was used to analyze the impact of combinations of frames on decision difficulty. Separate analyses were conducted for those reducing only to three fetuses (or deciding not to reduce) and women who chose to reduce below three fetuses. Results indicated that for those with a non-intense conceptional frame, the decision was comparatively easy no matter whether the patients had high or low values of medical and lifestyle frames. For those with an intense conceptional frame, the decision was almost uniformly difficult, with the exception of those who chose to reduce only to three fetuses. Simplifying the results to their most parsimonious scenarios oversimplifies the results and precludes an understanding of how women can feel pulled in different directions by the dictates of the frames they hold. Variations in the characterization of intense medical frames, for example, can both pull toward reduction to two fetuses and neutralize shame and guilt by seeming to remove personal responsibility for the decision. We conclude that the examination of frame combinations is an important tool for understanding the way women carrying multiple fetuses negotiate their way through multi-fetal pregnancies, and that it may have more general relevance for understanding pregnancy decisions in context.