cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparison of 20-Year Obesity-Associated Cancer Mortality Trends With Heart Disease Mortality Trends in the US.

Importance Heart disease and cancer are the 2 major diseases associated with mortality risk in the United States. Four decades of improvements in heart disease mortality slowed after 2011; this slowing has been associated with the obesity epidemic. The same pattern has not been observed for total cancer mortality. However, trends in total cancer mortality may obscure patterns specific to obesity-associated cancers. Objective To investigate whether trends in obesity-associated cancer mortality mirror the slowed mortality improvements observed for heart disease associated with the obesity epidemic. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional study compared US mortality trends for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision-defined cancer (total cancer, obesity-associated cancer, and cancer not associated with obesity) and heart disease deaths from January 1, 1999, to December 31, 2018. Data were included on decedents with complete information on the underlying cause of death, age, sex, race, and ethnicity. Exposures Changes in age-adjusted cause-specific mortality rates between 1999-2011 and 2011-2018 were compared. Main Outcomes and Measures Annual relative rates of change in age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) in the overall population and stratified by sex, race, and ethnicity were estimated using Poisson regression. Differences in AAMR annual relative rates of change before and after 2011 were evaluated using Wald tests. Results A total of 50 163 483 decedents met the inclusion criteria (50.1% female decedents, 79.9% non-Hispanic White decedents, and 11.7% non-Hispanic Black decedents; mean [SD] age, 72.8 [18.5] years). In contrast with heart disease mortality, for which improvements slowed between 1999-2011 and 2011-2018, decreases in total cancer AAMR relative change accelerated between 1999-2011 (-1.48 [95% CI, -1.43 to -1.52]) and 2011-2018 (-1.77 [95% CI, -1.67 to -1.86]) (P < .001). For obesity-associated cancer mortality, which accounted for approximately 33% of total cancer deaths annually, decreases in annual AAMR relative change decelerated from -1.19 (95% CI, -1.13 to -1.26) in 1999-2011 to -0.83 (95% CI, -0.70 to -0.96) in 2011-2018 (P < .001). The largest decelerations in obesity-associated cancer mortality were observed for female decedents (-1.45 [95% CI, -1.36 to -1.53] in 1999-2011 and -0.91 [95% CI, -0.75 to -1.07] in 2011-2018; P < .001) and non-Hispanic White individuals (-1.16 [95% CI, -1.09 to -1.22] in 1999-2011 and -0.68 [95% CI, -0.55 to -0.81] in 2011-2018; P < .001). Conclusions and Relevance Slowing improvements in obesity-associated cancer mortality were obscured when considering total cancer mortality. These findings potentially signal a changing profile of cancer-associated mortality that may parallel trends previously observed for heart disease as the consequences of the obesity epidemic are understood.
Specific and common mediators of gastrointestinal symptom improvement in patients undergoing education/support vs. cognitive behavioral therapy for irritable bowel syndrome.

Objective: This study sought to characterize change mechanisms that underlie gastrointestinal (GI) symptom improvement in IBS patients undergoing two dosages of CBT for IBS as compared to a nondirective education/support (EDU) condition. Method: Data were collected in the context of a large clinical trial that randomized 436 Rome III-diagnosed IBS patients (Mage = 41, 80 % female) to standard, clinic-based CBT (S-CBT), a largely home-based version with minimal therapist contact (MC-CBT) or Education/Support that controlled for nonspecific effects. Outcome was measured with the IBS-version of the Clinical Global Improvement scale that was administered at Week 5 and 2-week posttreatment (Week 12). Potential mediators (IBS Self-efficacy (IBS-SE), pain catastrophizing, fear of GI symptoms, and treatment alliance were assessed at Weeks 3, 5, and 8 during treatment with the exception of treatment expectancy that was measured at the end of Session 1. Results: IBS-SE, a positive treatment expectancy for symptom improvement, and patient-therapist agreement on tasks for achieving goals mediated effects of CBT early in treatment (rapid response, RR) and at posttreatment. Notwithstanding their different intensities, both CBT conditions had comparable RR rates (43%-45%) and significantly greater than the EDU RR rate of 22%. While pain catastrophizing, fear of GI symptoms, and patient-therapist emotional bonding related to posttreatment symptom improvement, none of these hypothesized mediators explained differences between CBT and EDU, thereby lacking the mechanistic specificity of IBS-SE, task agreement, and treatment expectancy. Conclusion: Findings suggest that CBT-induced GI symptom improvement may be mediated by a constellation of CBT-specific (IBS-SE) and nonspecific (task agreement, treatment expectancy) processes that reciprocally influence each other in complex ways to catalyze, improve, and sustain IBS symptom relief. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Comparative Analysis of Prepectoral versus Subpectoral Implant-based Breast Reconstruction

Recent advances in mastectomy and reconstruction have allowed for an evolution in implant-based breast reconstruction to a muscle-sparing, prepectoral approach. Advantages of this technique may include reductions in postoperative pain, shorter hospitalization, less narcotic usage, and improved aesthetic outcomes. Postoperative complication rates are described as comparable to subpectoral techniques; however, little comparative data exist to adequately assess prepectoral versus subpectoral implant placement. Methods To address this knowledge gap, we performed a single institution retrospective review of 186 (83 prepectoral, 103 subpectoral) consecutive immediate breast reconstructions. All cases were tracked for a minimum of 2 years between 2016 and 2021. Results Prepectoral patients demonstrated an overall higher seroma rate (P = 0.001), with all other postoperative complications being comparable. Prepectoral patients tolerated higher intraoperative tissue expander fill volumes (P < 0.001), shorter hospital stays (P = 0.007), fewer clinic visits for tissue expansion (P < 0.001), and experienced less animation deformity (P = 0.005). Both groups demonstrated similar pain scores (P = 0.65) and needs for narcotics (P = 0.8) as well as comparable scores of capsular contracture (P = 0.791). Conclusions Our comparative analysis of consecutive immediate implant-based breast reconstructions finds prepectoral reconstruction to be safe and effective. Compared with subpectoral reconstruction, the prepectoral approach may offer quicker tissue expansion, less postoperative office visits, less need for muscle relaxants, and a shorter hospital stay with a comparable complication profile.
AMDet: A Tool for Mitotic Cell Detection in Histopathology Slides.

Breast Cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the world. The World Health Organization reports that the disease still affects a significant portion of the developing world citing increased mortality rates in the majority of low to middle income countries. The most popular protocol pathologists use for diagnosing breast cancer is the Nottingham grading system which grades the proliferation of tumors based on 3 major criteria, the most important of them being mitotic cell count. The way in which pathologists evaluate mitotic cell count is to subjectively and qualitatively analyze cells present in stained slides of tissue and make a decision on its mitotic state i.e. is it mitotic or not? This process is extremely inefficient and tiring for pathologists and so an efficient, accurate, and fully automated tool to aid with the diagnosis is extremely desirable. Fortunately, creating such a tool is made significantly easier with the AutoML tool available from Microsoft Azure, however to the best of our knowledge the AutoML tool has never been formally evaluated for use in mitotic cell detection in histopathology images. This paper serves as an evaluation of the AutoML tool for this purpose and will provide a first look on how the tool handles this challenging problem. All code is available athttps://github.com/WaltAFWilliams/AMDet
Involvement of CGRP in peripheral nerve injury-induced behavioral hypersensitivity and chemokine production (CCR5P.260)

Previously, we have observed increased expression of Calcitonin Gene Related Peptide (CGRP), a pro-nociceptive neuropeptide, along with selected cytokines and chemokines, in the lumbar spinal cord following spinal nerve L5 transection (L5Tx, a murine model of neuropathic pain) in BALB/c mice. To further study the effects of CGRP in neuropathic pain, we intrathecally (i.t.) injected a CGRP antagonist (CGRP8-37) into BABL/c mice following L5Tx. Mice injected with CGRP8-37 displayed a reduced L5Tx-induced mechanical hypersensitivity, but not heat hypersensitivity. CGRP8-37 also caused significant reduction of the level of lumbar spinal cord CCL5 (RANTES) post-L5Tx when compared to vehicle injected-mice and non-injected mice. i.t. injection of a CCL5 neutralizing antibody significantly inhibited L5Tx-induced mechanical hypersensitivity. To test whether CGRP played its pro-nociceptive role through stimulating glial response, mixed glial cells were treated with various doses of CGRP. CGRP induced a slight increase of CCL5 24 hours post-treatment, which was correlated with the increased expression of MAP Kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway molecules: p38 and JNK. Thus, CGRP may promote MAPK-mediated glial activation and the subsequent production of CCL5, which potentiate behavioral hypersensitivity following L5Tx.
Expression of the mitochondrial genome in HeLa cells: IX. Replication of mitochondrial DNA in relationship to the cell cycle in HeLa cells

The labeling of mitochondrial DNA, after [methyl-3H]thymidine pulses, in different phases of the cell cycle has been investigated in synchronized cultures of HeLa cells obtained by selective detachment of mitotic cells or by double thymidine block of DNA synthesis: the data thus obtained have been correlated with the labeling of total cell and intra-mitochondrial pools of thymidine and its phosphorylated derivatives. In cells synchronized by selective detachment mitochondrial DNA synthesis was found to start, or to be greatly accelerated, in the S-phase and to reach a maximum rate in the G2-phase. In cells synchronized by double thymidine block, on the contrary, mitochondrial DNA synthesis appeared to proceed at a constant rate throughout the cell cycle. The implications of these findings with respect to the control of mitochondrial development are discussed.
They Say in Harlan County: An Oral History

Reviewed Medium: book Authors: Alessandro Portelli Year: 2011 Pages: 456 Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 978-01-977-3568-6 (hard cover).
Diagnostic Mammography Performance and Race: Outcomes in Black and White Women

BACKGROUND A previous study compared the performance (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and cancer detection rate) of screening mammography in Black and White women. No study, to the authors' knowledge, has evaluated the difference in the performance of diagnostic mammography between Black and White women. METHODS Univariate analysis was used to evaluate differences in characteristics and cancers between Black and White women. Stratified and adjusted logistic regression analyses were used to test the association of Black and White race with performance measures of diagnostic mammography. RESULTS The sensitivity of diagnostic mammography was higher (91% vs. 84%) and specificity was lower (86% vs. 90%) among Black women compared with White women. After controlling for age, density, self-reported breast problems, and previous mammography, sensitivity was significantly higher (odds ratio [OR] = 1.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.22–2.80) and specificity was significantly lower (OR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.70–0.81) among Black women. The crude cancer detection rate of mammography was higher for Black women (42.6/1000) than for White women (31.0/1000) and Black women had a higher proportion of cancers that were > 2.0 cm (57.4% vs. 46.2%) that were more often poorly differentiated (61.7% vs. 49.3%) and were more often estrogen-receptor and progesterone-receptor negative. CONCLUSIONS Black women have lower specificity of diagnostic mammography and, consequently, more unnecessary workups than White women. Black women have higher sensitivity of diagnostic mammography, with cancers that are larger and more advanced than White women. Delay in responding to signs and symptoms would explain the size and later stage. However, more research is needed to understand the biologic differences of breast cancer characteristics between Black and White women. Cancer 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society.
Destabilizing effects of muscular co-contraction in human-machine interaction

We are studying the control of human arm movements that are constrained by physical interaction with a machine such as a hand controller or a telerobotic system. One of the difficulties in controlling this type of constrained interaction is instability in the human arm-machine system. In this article, we present simulation results showing that increasing muscular co-contraction destabilizes human-machine interaction. Results of this work may have an impact on the design of machines that are to interact with humans.
No B.S.: The Contemporary Practice of Game Education, Design, and Development

Normal 0 21 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 This interview is excerpted from a series we conducted in 2010 with Quentin Rezin, a scripter/level designer at inXile Entertainment (http://www.inxile-entertainment.com/). Prior to joining inXile, Rezin studied computer science at the University of Arkansas and interned at Disney Interactive Studios/Buena Vista Games. He is currently working on Hunted: The Demon’s Forge . Normal 0 21 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
Carbonic Anhydrase and Fetal Hemoglobin in Thyrotoxicosis

chromatography by the method of Huisman and Dozy.7 Carbonic anhydrase activity in the red blood cells was estimated by the quantitative method of Wilbur and Anderson,8 which is based on that of Roughton and Booth.’ By this method the rate of change of pH is measured when CO2 in solution in H20 is converted to H2C03 in the presence of the enzyme. Enzyme activity in hemolysates prepared from packed red blood cells was measured in two different concentrations and expressed in arbitrary enzyme units per milligram Hb. A unit of activity is defined as that amount of enzyme required to reduce the blank reaction time under the stated conditions to half its value and is given by the formula:’
Moessbauer study of metal cations in the chevrel phases

Moessbauer effect studies at /sup 119/Sn and /sup 57/Fe sites have been made in Sn/sub 1/ /sub 0/Fe/sub 0/ /sub 1/Mo/sub 6/S/sub 8/ and Sn/sub 1/ /sub 0/Fe/sub 0/ /sub 4/Mo/sub 6/S/sub 8/ to examine the Sn- and Fe- motion and electronic states in the high T/sub c/, high H/sub c//sub 2/ superconductor SnMo/sub 6/S/sub 8/ with Fe additions. Above 50K the /sup 57/Fe spectra are asymmetric doublets with isomer shift and quadrupolar splitting similar to that of the intermediate temperature results in Fe/sub 1/ /sub 0/Mo/sub 6/S/sub 8/. At 4.4K the Fe atoms have begun to magnetically order. The Sn atoms are found to occupy two electronically different sites in Sn/sub 1/ /sub 0/Fe/sub 0/ /sub 4/Mo/sub 6/S/sub 8/.
Narratives of Empire: The Fictions of Rudyard Kipling

Acknowledgements List of abbreviations 1. Kipling's India 2. Something of himself 3. The problem of otherness: a hundred sorrows 4. The worst muckers 5. The bridge builders 6. Kim: empire of the beloved Notes Bibliography Index.
Effects of Risperidone on Energy Balance in Female C57BL/6J Mice

Objective To investigate the effect of risperidone on energy expenditure and weight gain in female C57BL/6J mice. Design and Methods Body weight and composition, food intake, energy expenditure, and activity were determined weekly. mRNA expression of uncoupling protein 1 in brown adipose tissue, orexin, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the hypothalamus were quantified using real-time PCR. Results Risperidone tended to induce a greater body weight gain (P = 0.052) and significantly higher food intake (P = 0.038) relative to the placebo-treated group. Risperidone-treated mice had a higher resting energy expenditure (P = 0.001) and total energy expenditure (TEE) (P = 0.005) than the placebo group. There were no effects of treatment, time, and treatment by time on non-resting (or activity-related) energy expenditure between groups. Risperidone-treated mice showed a significantly lesser locomotor activity than placebo-treated mice over 3 weeks (P < 0.001). Risperidone induced a higher UCP1 mRNA (P = 0.003) and a lower orexin mRNA (P = 0.001) than placebo. Conclusion Risperidone-induced weight gain is associated with hyperphagia and a reduction in locomotor activity in C57BL/6J mice. Additionally, higher total and resting energy expenditure were accompanied by higher levels of UCP1 mRNA in BAT. The increased TEE could not offset the total intake of energy through risperidone-induced hyperphagia, therefore resulting in weight gain in female C57BL/6J mice.
OVATION Prime-2013: Extension of auroral precipitation model to higher disturbance levels

OVATION Prime (OP) is an auroral precipitation model parameterized by solar wind driving. Distinguishing features of the model include an optimized solar wind-magnetosphere coupling function (dΦMP/dt) which predicts auroral power significantly better than Kp or other traditional parameters, the separation of aurora into categories (diffuse aurora, monoenergetic, broadband, and ion), the inclusion of seasonal variations, and separate parameter fits for each magnetic latitude (MLAT) × magnetic local time (MLT) bin, thus permitting each type of aurora and each location to have differing responses to season and solar wind input—as indeed they do. We here introduce OVATION Prime-2013, an upgrade to the 2010 version currently widely available. The most notable advantage of OP-2013 is that it uses UV images from the GUVI instrument on the satellite TIMED for high disturbance levels (dΦMP/dt > 1.2 MWb/s which roughly corresponds to Kp = 5+ or 6−). The range of validity is approximately 0 < dΦMP/dt ≤ 3.0 MWb/s (Kp about 8+). Other upgrades include a reduced susceptibility to salt-and-pepper noise, and smoother interpolation across the postmidnight data gap. The model is tested against an independent data set of hemispheric auroral power from Polar UVI. Over the common range of validity of OP-2010 and OP-2013, the two models predict auroral power essentially identically, primarily because hemispheric power calculations were done in a way to minimize the impact of OP-2010s noise. To quantitatively demonstrate the improvement at high disturbance levels would require multiple very large substorms, which are rare, and insufficiently present in the limited data set of Polar UVI hemispheric power values. Nonetheless, although OP-2010 breaks down in a variety of ways above Kp = 5+ or 6−, OP-2013 continues to show the auroral oval advancing equatorward, at least to 55° MLAT or a bit less, and OP-2013 does not develop spurious large noise patches. We will also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of other precipitation models more generally, as no one model fits best all possible uses.
A frequency-reconfigurable circularly polarized patch antenna by integrating MEMS switches

A microstrip antenna with integrated RF microelectromechanical system (MEMS) switches is proposed and demonstrated to operate at dual frequencies with circular polarization. The switches are incorporated into the diagonally fed square patch for controlling the operating frequency and a rectangular stub attached to the edge of the patch acts as the perturbation to produce the circular polarization at 6.69 GHz and 7.06 GHz.
Age-dependent radial increases in wood specific gravity of tropical pioneers in Costa Rica

Wood specific gravity is the single best descriptor of wood functional properties and tree life-history traits, and it is the most important variable in estimating carbon stocks in forests. Tropical pioneer trees produce wood of increasing specific gravity across the trunk radius as they grow in stature. Here, we tested whether radial increases in wood specific gravity were dependent on a tree's diameter or its age by comparing trees of different diameters within cohorts. We cored trunks of four pioneer species in naturally regenerating, even-aged stands in the lowland, wet forests of Costa Rica. For each core, specific gravity was determined for 1-cm radial wood segments, pith to bark. Increases across the radius were evident in all four species studied, and in four different stands for one species. For any given species in a given stand, the rate of radial increase in specific gravity as a function of radial distance from the pith was greater in smaller diameter trees. As the trees in a stand represent a colonizing cohort, these results strongly suggest that the radial increases in specific gravity in lowland pioneers are associated with tree age, not with tree diameter. Furthermore, the specific gravity of the outermost wood was not associated with tree radius, further negating size dependence. One consequence of these results is that species-specific biomass estimates for trees in secondary forests are likely to be confounded by age, as diameter alone may be a poor indicator of specific gravity in individual trees for pioneers of tropical wet forests.
The shortage of science teachers.

Science deserves plaudits for focusing on the crisis in science education resulting from the lack of properly qualified K-12 teachers in the nation's public schools (News Focus Special: Preparing Teachers, 1 June, pp. 1270-1279). Calling attention to efforts in several states to engage research universities will hopefully begin to address the problem. Unfortunately, the supply side of this issue is only one of several critical, interacting elements of a complex sociopolitical system that is typically controlled or redesigned one element at a time. Focusing only on the supply side is a losing strategy. Let me give examples from California, with which I am most familiar. If all the graduates of California's public universities who have majored in math in a given year became credentialed teachers in the state, the numbers would still fall short of the projected demand for math teachers in the decade ahead. A second major problem is teacher retention, particularly in hard-to-staff, low-performing schools where “working conditions” are a major factor and where underprepared teachers are predominantly located ([1][1]). Teacher attrition in the first 1 to 4 years diminishes the importance placed on increasing the number of entrants ([2][2]). The typical explanation for this phenomenon that a teacher would give is that it stems from the loss of professional status in the teaching profession as a consequence of overemphasis on testing and rigid adherence to standards-based instruction. Teachers no longer enjoy the privilege of controlling delivery of curricula and thus acting as professionals, i.e., exercising judgment in the conduct of their classes. ![Figure][3] CREDIT: GETTYIMAGES.COM Finally, teachers with whom I have worked value time above compensation. No university administration expects its faculty to spend the entire day standing in front of a class. Teachers in K-12 need time for collegial activity and professional development to discuss content and pedagogy and, above all, to reduce the sense of isolation that dominates their lives. As an engineering scholar, it is painfully clear to me that the public educational system will never function properly until policy and practice are consonant with a properly designed, controlled, and resourced system. As long as policy-makers continue to tinker with only selected parts of the problem, the “Gathering Storm” will continue to gain energy. If K-12 were an airplane, it never would have taken off. 1. 1.[↵][4] The Status of the Teaching Profession 2005 (The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, Santa Cruz, CA, 2005), pp. 82-84. 2. 2.[↵][5] California Postsecondary Education Commission, Winter 2006 Request for Proposals, Retention of Math and Science Teachers, footnote, p. 3. [1]: #ref-1 [2]: #ref-2 [3]: pending:yes [4]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1. in text" [5]: #xref-ref-2-1 "View reference 2. in text"
Feeding laying hens stearidonic acid-enriched soybean oil, as compared to flaxseed oil, more efficiently enriches eggs with very long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

The desaturation of α-linolenic acid (ALA) to stearidonic acid (SDA) is considered to be rate-limiting for the hepatic conversion of ALA to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in humans, rodents, and chickens. Thus, we hypothesized that feeding laying hens SDA, as a component of the oil derived from the genetic modification of the soybean, would bypass this inefficient metabolic step and result in the enrichment of eggs with EPA and DHA at amounts comparable to that achieved by direct supplementation of hens’ diet with these very long-chain (VLC) n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). In a 28-d study, laying hens incorporated 0.132 mg, 0.041 mg, or 0.075 mg of VLC n-3 PUFAs into egg yolk for each milligram of ingested dietary ALA derived primarily from conventional soybean oil (CON), dietary ALA derived primarily from flaxseed oil (FLAX), or dietary SDA derived from SDA-enriched soybean oil, respectively. Moreover, the amounts of total yolk VLC n-3 PUFAs in eggs from hens fed the ...
“The Content of Our Character”: Another Look at Racial Differences in Navy Officer Fitness Reports

As an extended analysis of Thomas, Edwards, Perry, and David's (1998) content analysis of Navy officer fitness reports, this investigation explored the relation between the written comments by Navy...
If the Television Program Bleeds, Memory for the Advertisement Recedes:

In public surveys, the most common complaint about television is the amount of violence depicted on the screen. More than half the programs shown on television are violent, and hundreds of studies have shown that viewing TV violence causes an increase in societal violence. Nevertheless, advertisers continue to sponsor violent programs. For an advertisement to be effective, people should be able to remember the brand advertised and the message in the advertisement. This article reviews the effect of TV violence on memory for ads. A meta-analysis integrating the results from 12 studies involving more than 1,700 participants shows that TV violence impairs memory for ads. The impairment occurs for males and females, for children and adults, and for people who like and do not like to watch TV violence. These results suggest that sponsoring violent programs might not be a profitable venture for advertisers.
Introducing young engineers to magnetic amplifier problems

YOUNG ENGINEERS entering a field of electrical development and design seldom possess an adequate perspective of the phenomena and facts and methods that are pertinent to that area. Infact, they may have altogether immature notions of the ways by which engineering problems are solved. This is particularly true if their college training has been of a dreary “learning by the book” variety, where procedures and “formulas” may have been derived or accepted without adequate
Impact of Educational Levels and Health Literacy on Community Acetaminophen Knowledge

Patient understanding of acetaminophen is important for its safe and appropriate self-use. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the San Francisco Bay Area to determine the impact of educational level, patient health literacy score, and other demographic characteristics on acetaminophen knowledge. A 17-item, in-person, paper-and-pen questionnaire containing questions about demographics and acetaminophen knowledge was administered to 311 adults outside 5 local grocery stores in varying socioeconomic communities. Knowledge assessed was whether Tylenol-McNeil contains acetaminophen, maximum daily dose, and primary organ affected by toxicity. Participant health literacy was evaluated using the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine-Short Form (REALM-SF) test. Of the 300 who successfully completed the study, only 3.8% of all subjects were able to answer all 3 acetaminophen knowledge questions correctly regardless of educational level or health literacy score. This reaffirms that a lack of appropriate acetaminophen knowledge remains present in the general population, and further efforts to educate patients will be needed to prevent adverse events.
Differential effects of aging on estrogen negative and positive feedback

Recent studies have demonstrated an age-related decline in gonadotropins and a decrease in pituitary responsiveness to GnRH, indicating that aging influences the neuroendocrine components of the fe...
Optical micromachined ultrasound transducers (OMUT)-a new approach for high-frequency transducers

The sensitivity and reliability of piezoelectric ultrasound transducers severely degrade in applications requiring high frequency and small element size. Alternative technologies such as capacitive micromachined ultrasound transducers (CMUT) and optical sensing and generation of ultrasound have been proposed and studied for several decades. In this paper, we present a new type of device based on optical micromachined ultrasound transducer (OMUT) technology. OMUTs rely on microfabrication techniques to construct micrometer-scale air cavities capped by an elastic membrane. A modified photoresist bonding process has been developed to facilitate the fabrication of these devices. We will describe the design, fabrication, and testing of prototype OMUT devices which implement a receive-only function. Future design modifications are proposed for incorporating complete transmit-receive functionality in a single element.
Observation of 20 Hz-wide optical clock spectra in even-isotope Yb atoms confined to an optical lattice

We report the first spectroscopy of optical lattice-confined Yb atoms. We demonstrate 20 Hz linewidths using the highly forbidden clock transition (1S 0 -3P 0 ) in metrologically superior even-isotope 174Yb atoms in a one-dimensional optical lattice.
Show me the way to the next worthy deed: Towards a microstructural theory of volunteering and giving

Using the data from a survey undertaken in the United States in 1992, this article examines the effects of altruism, self-interest and social ties on motivations to give and volunteer, as well as the effects of volunteering on definitions of life goals. Social ties with non-profit organisations were good predictors of both the value of charitable contributions and the time volunteered for charitable causes. The level of prior philanthropic activism and social connections with philanthropic institutions had an effect on life goals. Altruism and the desire for self-improvement had effects on volunteering, but not on giving. Utilitarian motives (expected career advancement) had no observable effects on volunteering or giving. Based on those findings, a general microstructural model of philanthropic behaviour is proposed.
Topic modeling for OLAP on multidimensional text databases: topic cube and its applications

As the amount of textual information grows explosively in various kinds of business systems, it becomes more and more desirable to analyze both structured data records and unstructured text data simultaneously. Although online analytical processing (OLAP) techniques have been proven very useful for analyzing and mining structured data, they face challenges in handling text data. On the other hand, probabilistic topic models are among the most effective approaches to latent topic analysis and mining on text data. In this paper, we study a new data model called topic cube to combine OLAP with probabilistic topic modeling and enable OLAP on the dimension of text data in a multidimensional text database. Topic cube extends the traditional data cube to cope with a topic hierarchy and stores probabilistic content measures of text documents learned through a probabilistic topic model. To materialize topic cubes efficiently, we propose two heuristic aggregations to speed up the iterative Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm for estimating topic models by leveraging the models learned on component data cells to choose a good starting point for iteration. Experimental results show that these heuristic aggregations are much faster than the baseline method of computing each topic cube from scratch. We also discuss some potential uses of topic cube and show sample experimental results. Copyright © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Statistical Analysis and Data Mining 2: 378-395, 2009
Carbonyl Complexes of Iron(II), Ruthenium(II), and Osmium(II) 5,10,15,20-Tetraphenylporphyrinates: A Comparative Investigation by X-ray Crystallography, Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy, and Density Functional Theory

We have synthesized and characterized via single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods iron(II), ruthenium(II), and osmium(II) carbonyl derivatives of (1-methylimidazole)(5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyri...
“To Think and Imagine and See Differently”: Popular Geopolitics, Graphic Narrative, and Joe Sacco's “Chechen War, Chechen Women”

This paper, while acknowledging the import of popular geopolitics for understanding how foreign policies are interpreted in an everyday sense, argues that this literature has glossed over a set of key oppositional cultural formats, such as documentary films, satirical newspapers, and non-fiction comic books (referred to here as graphic narratives), which also influence the geopolitical imaginations of their consumers. Using O Tuathail's concept of the anti-geopolitical eye, the paper considers how popular geopolitical understandings are constructed, arguing that these oppositional formats, and graphic narratives in particular, challenge hegemonic scriptings of geopolitics through a bricolage of narrative techniques. Discussing the work of comics journalist Joe Sacco and his graphic narrative “Chechen War, Chechen Women” in detail, the paper considers how three distinct narrative techniques he employs – historical interlude, the singular panel, and the depiction of the banal – make possible a counter-hegem...
Caveolins sequester FA on the cytoplasmic leaflet of the plasma membrane, augment triglyceride formation, and protect cells from lipotoxicity

Ectopic expression of caveolin-1 in HEK293 cells enhances FA sequestration in membranes as measured by a pH-sensitive fluorescent dye (1). We hypothesized that sequestration of FA is due to the enrichment of caveolin in the cytosolic leaflet and its ability to facilitate the formation of lipid rafts to buffer high FA levels. Here we show that ec­topic expression of caveolin-3 also results in enhanced FA sequestration. To further discriminate the effect that caveolins have on transmembrane FA movement and distribution, we labeled the outer membrane leaflet with fluorescein-phosphatidylethanolamine (FPE), whose emission is quenched by the presence of FA anions. Real-time measurements made with FPE and control experiments with positively charged fatty amines support our hypothesis that caveolins promote localization of FA anions through interactions with basic amino acid residues (lysines and arginines) present at the C termini of caveolins-1 and -3.
Measurement of internal stress and electric field in a resonant piezoelectric transformer using the electro-optic and photoelastic effects

Full characterization of a piezoelectric transformer (PT) requires knowledge of internal operating parameters such as electric field, stress, and strain. Finite-element numerical models can determine these parameters with respect to the geometry of the PT and input conditions. However, experimental verification of these parameters for a resonating PT are challenging due to the mechanical vibration and electrical loading effects. An optical measurement has been designed to measure internal electric field by taking advantage of the electro-optic and photoelastic effects that also occur in lithium niobate (LiNbO3). The optical measurement can probe the PT without influencing its operation. A linearly polarized helium-neon laser beam was used to transversely probe a PT with respect to the input and output electric fields. As the piezoelectric effect caused variations in the internal electric field and strain, the superposition of the photoelastic and electro-optic effects resulted in a relative phase shift in the linearly polarized beam. The resultant phase shift was measured via intensity variations at a photodiode following a second linear polarizer. Internal parameters such as stress, strain, and electric field were calculated based on the coupled piezoelectric, photoelastic, and electro-optic equations. These results are presented for varying positions along the output section of a resonating LiNbO3 length-extensional PT.
Open Order Rescheduling in Job Shops with Demand Uncertainty: A Simulation Study

This paper addresses the problem of open order rescheduling in a job shop. Results are reported of experiments conducted in a simulation model of an 8-machine job shop. Four different order updating policies are examined. The due-date process is modeled to include several realistic features about the pattern of due-date variability. These features are parameterized and tested at several levels. Tardiness results indicate that open order rescheduling is beneficial only when allowances are loosely set. The results indicate that inventory performance is improved by order rescheduling, particularly in cases when due dates are revised to earlier times than originally forecast.
Disclosure of emotional events in groups at risk for posttraumatic stress disorder.

The disclosure of emotional events to various social intimates (disclosure targets) was measured in 2 samples (soldiers and first responders) at risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as a comparison sample of college students. These 3 groups completed survey measures of disclosure, and at risk groups also completed measures of PTSD symptoms and social support. Groups at risk for PTSD were less likely to disclose emotions related to potentially traumatic events than were college students reporting general emotional disclosure. Overall, disclosure of positive emotions was more likely than disclosure of negative emotions. Furthermore, amount of disclosure depended on the person to whom the individual disclosed. Within groups at risk for PTSD, social support was associated with lower levels of PTSD. However, this relationship was
Effects of a low-carbohydrate diet on weight loss and cardiovascular risk factor in overweight adolescents

Abstract Objectives To compare the effects of a low-carbohydrate (LC) diet with those of a low-fat (LF) diet on weight loss and serum lipids in overweight adolescents. Design A randomized, controlled 12-week trial. Setting Atherosclerosis prevention referral center. Methods Random, nonblinded assignment of participants referred for weight management. The study group (LC) (n = 16) was instructed to consume Results The LC group lost more weight (mean, 9.9 ± 9.3 kg vs 4.1 ± 4.9 kg, P Conclusions The LC diet appears to be an effective method for short-term weight loss in overweight adolescents and does not harm the lipid profile. (J Pediatr 2003;142:253-8)
Possible mechanisms underlying intermittent synchronous activity in the networks of excitatory and inhibitory bursting neurons

Basal ganglia circuits in Parkinson’s disease constitute a prominent example of neural system of coupled inhibitory and excitatory neurons, which exhibit synchronous activity [1]. The phase-locking of neural activity in this system, as analyzed in experimental data intraoperatively recorded in Parkinsonian patients, exhibits intermittent temporal dynamics [2]. The mechanisms of this intermittent synchronous dynamics make the subject of this study. The conductance-based network models of subthalamo-pallidal circuitry of basal ganglia have being shown to reproduce the intermittent temporal patterns of phase-locking observed in experiments with high fidelity [3]. We start with this network model of synaptically coupled excitatory subthalamic and inhibitory pallidal bursting neurons. We further reduce it to the model of two mutually coupled inhibitory neurons with self-inhibition. This network is presented at Figure ​Figure1.1. While real subthalamic neurons are excitatory, the resulting two-neurons network is adequate simplification of the original circuitry under assumption of high fidelity of responses of inhibitory pallidal cells. While this reduction may be associated with the loss of some other biologically realistic features, it produces a relatively generic circuit, therefore the studied mechanism may be quite general too. Figure 1 The network architecture. Each connection is inhibitory synapse. We used geometric dynamical systems and singular perturbation methods to reduce the full model to a simpler set of equations. Mathematical analysis was completed using three slow variables with two different time scales. Intermittently synchronous oscillations are generated by overlapped spiking which crucially depend on the geometry of slow phase plane and the interplay between slow variables as well as the strength of synapses. Two slow variables are responsible for the generation of out-of-phase stable solution and the other slower variable for irregular and intermittent activity pattern. The results of analysis can be traced to particular values of biophysical parameters (synaptic strength and parameters of calcium dynamics), which are known to be impacted in Parkinson’s disease.
Towards the clinical implementation of pharmacogenetics in bipolar disorder.

Background Bipolar disorder (BD) is a psychiatric illness defined by pathological alterations between the mood states of mania and depression, causing disability, imposing healthcare costs and elevating the risk of suicide. Although effective treatments for BD exist, variability in outcomes leads to a large number of treatment failures, typically followed by a trial and error process of medication switches that can take years. Pharmacogenetic testing (PGT), by tailoring drug choice to an individual, may personalize and expedite treatment so as to identify more rapidly medications well suited to individual BD patients.
A stratospheric aerosol climatology from SAGE II and CLAES measurements: 2. Results and comparisons, 1984–1999

[1] This paper presents a climatology of the stratospheric aerosol produced with our look-up table (LUT) technique using data from the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE II) and the Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer (CLAES) instruments. The LUT climatology spans the period from December 1984 to August 1999. It includes values and uncertainties of measured extinction and optical depth at four SAGE II wavelengths (0.385–1.02 μm) and supplements these with results from the CLAES 12.82 μm wavelength during the key period January 1992 through May 1993, when the large particle sizes from the Pinatubo volcanic injection made many SAGE II extinction and optical depth spectra wavelength independent. Also included are retrieved values of effective radius Reff, distribution width σg, surface area S, and volume V. Aerosol retrievals show notable increases in all these parameters after major volcanic eruptions, with increases in Reff lagging increases in the others. Postvolcanic increases in σg, indicative of broader size distributions, are consistent with sudden increases in numbers of both small and large particles that exceed increases in intermediate-size particles. After Pinatubo, retrieved Reff and σg took nearly 5 years to return to pre-eruption values, while slightly shorter recovery times were obtained for S and V. During low-aerosol-loading periods, size distributions narrow in going from the tropical core to higher latitudes at altitudes between 20 and 22 km. Seasonal variations in S and V are observed at high latitudes for several altitude bands, but are less obvious in Reff. With some exceptions, LUT retrievals agree well with most previous climatologies. For example, agreement is good between LUT retrieved surface area and results from balloon-borne measurements, where available. However, there are a few noteworthy discrepancies. For example, values of surface area from principal component analysis of SAGE II data are less than LUT retrievals during near-background periods (e.g., 1989 to mid-1991, and after 1996) and greater than LUT retrievals in the peak of the Pinatubo plume. The smaller LUT-derived surface areas during the Pinatubo peak result from the constraint provided by the CLAES 12.82 μm extinction measurements.
Calculation of the Optical Absorption Due to Localized Mode-Lattice Vibration Combination Bands in Boron-Doped Silicon

The absorption spectrum associated with localized modes in boron-doped silicon, compensated by a variety of donors to reduce free-carrier absorption, has been extensively studied(1). In boron-doped, lithium — compensated, silicon, Waldner, Hiller and Spitzer(2) have observed weak absorption at higher frequencies, which they ascribe to overtones of the localized modes and to combination tones of a localized boron mode with silicon lattice modes. The latter are of course spread over a wide range, but they show some structure, which these authors tentatively correlate with critical points in the lattice spectrum of silicon. In particular, there are peaks which are interpreted as combinations of localized boron modes with frequencies at 517cm-1 and 377cm-1. The association with the boron localized modes is confirmed by isotopic substitution. The frequency at 517cm-1 is close to the Raman frequency of silicon (518cm-1). That at 377cm-1 is close to the longitudinal acoustic frequency at the L-point (377cm-1) and to the longitudinal acoustic frequency at the W-point (371cm-1).
Nanopatterning on nonplanar and fragile substrates with ice resists.

Electron beam (e-beam) lithography using polymer resists is an important technology that provides the spatial resolution needed for nanodevice fabrication. But it is often desirable to pattern nonp...
The quantity and quality of new immigrants to the US

Since immigration to the US began to accelerate in the 1970s, economic and social policy issues surrounding immigration frequently raise concern and generate debate. These policy debates often aim to mitigate the costs of immigration and augment the benefits. Key to this is understanding the characteristics of immigrants, especially those related to economic success and integration. A commonly accepted finding in the economic literature regards the declining economic “quality” of successive immigrant cohorts as measured by differences in entry wages across cohorts. In this paper, I refine our understanding of immigrant cohort quality. I show that increasing competition in the labor market among immigrants can explain a significant portion of declining “quality”. This result suggests that labor market interactions are as important to immigrant economic integration as their inherent “quality”.