cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Coronary pressure-flow autoregulation protects myocardium from pressure-induced changes in oxygen consumption

Pressure-flow autoregulation minimizes changes in coronary blood flow (CBF) when coronary perfusion pressure (CPP) is altered. This investigation determined if autoregulation also minimizes CPP-induced changes in coronary vascular volume (CVV) and CVV-dependent changes in myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO2). In 11 anesthetized dogs, the left anterior descending coronary artery was cannulated, and responses to 20-mmHg changes in CPP were examined over a range of CPP from 60 to 180 mmHg. Changes in CPP had no significant effect on systemic hemodynamics or on left ventricular end-diastolic segment length, end-systolic segment length, or percent segment shortening. In hearts with effective pressure-flow autoregulation [closed-loop gain (GC) > 0.4], CVV increased 0.06%/mmHg change in CPP. For the same hearts, MVO2 increased 0.04%/mmHg change in CPP. In hearts with ineffective autoregulation (GC < 0.4), CVV increased 0.97%/mmHg (P < 0.001 vs. autoregulating hearts), and MVO2 increased 0.41%/mmHg (P < 0.001 vs. autoregulating hearts). MVO2 and CVV were correlated (r = 0.69, P < 0.0001) independently of autoregulatory capability, but only when autoregulation was poor and capacitance was elevated did CPP significantly affect MVO2. We conclude that pressure-flow autoregulation protects myocardium from CPP-induced changes in CVV, which in turn produces changes in oxygen consumption.
THE ROLE OF PROXIMITY IN SECONDARY EQUITY MARKETS

This paper analyses the role of proximity between investors and corporations with equity traded on public secondary equity markets. Combining insights from recent research on home and local bias in financial economics, with economic geographical research on proximity and financial markets, the paper argues that proximity, even if defined narrowly as geographical proximity, has significant implications for: investors (in terms of performance and trade-off with liquidity); investment industry as a whole (in terms of size, structure, and strategy); issuers (in terms of access to capital and liquidity); communities (in terms of herd behaviour and financial literacy); and policy makers (in terms of market structure, competition, and international harmonisation). The consideration for cognitive, social, organisational, and institutional proximity enriches the understanding of secondary equity markets, by complementing the analysis of geographical proximity, but does not make the latter redundant.
The ACA's Dependent Coverage Expansion and Out-of-Pocket Spending by Young Adults With Behavioral Health Conditions.

Objective:Young adults with behavioral health conditions (mental or substance use disorders) often lack access to care. In 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) extended eligibility for dependent coverage under private health insurance, allowing young adults to continue on family plans until age 26. The objective of this study was to analyze out-of-pocket (OOP) spending as a share of total health care expenditures for young adults with behavioral health conditions before and after the implementation of the ACA dependent care provision. The study examined the population of young adults with behavioral health conditions overall and by race and ethnicity.Methods:The study analyzed 2008–2009 and 2011–2012 nationally representative data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey with zero-or-one inflated beta regression models in a difference-in-differences framework to estimate the impact of the ACA’s dependent coverage expansion. OOP spending was examined as a share of total health care expenditures among young...
The Physiological Roles of Arrestin-1 in Rod Photoreceptor Cells

Arrestin-1 is the second most abundant protein in rod photoreceptors and is nearly equimolar to rhodopsin. Its well-recognized role is to "arrest" signaling from light-activated, phosphorylated rhodopsin, a prototypical G protein-coupled receptor. In doing so, arrestin-1 plays a key role in the rapid recovery of the light response. Arrestin-1 exists in a basal conformation that is stabilized by two independent sets of intramolecular interactions. The intramolecular constraints are disrupted by encountering (1) active conformation of the receptor (R*) and (2) receptor-attached phosphates. Requirement for these two events ensures its highly specific high-affinity binding to phosphorylated, light-activated rhodopsin (P-R*). In the dark-adapted state, the basal form is further organized into dimers and tetramers. Emerging data suggest pleiotropic roles of arrestin-1 beyond the functional range of rod cells. These include light-induced arrestin-1 translocation from the inner segment to the outer segment, a process that may be protective against cellular damage incurred by constitutive signaling. Its expanding list of binding partners also hints at additional, yet to be characterized functions. Uncovering these novel roles of arrestin-1 is a subject of future studies.
Further along the Road Less Traveled: AMBER ff15ipq, an Original Protein Force Field Built on a Self-Consistent Physical Model

We present the AMBER ff15ipq force field for proteins, the second-generation force field developed using the Implicitly Polarized Q (IPolQ) scheme for deriving implicitly polarized atomic charges in the presence of explicit solvent. The ff15ipq force field is a complete rederivation including more than 300 unique atomic charges, 900 unique torsion terms, 60 new angle parameters, and new atomic radii for polar hydrogens. The atomic charges were derived in the context of the SPC/Eb water model, which yields more-accurate rotational diffusion of proteins and enables direct calculation of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation parameters from molecular dynamics simulations. The atomic radii improve the accuracy of modeling salt bridge interactions relative to contemporary fixed-charge force fields, rectifying a limitation of ff14ipq that resulted from its use of pair-specific Lennard-Jones radii. In addition, ff15ipq reproduces penta-alanine J-coupling constants exceptionally well, gives reasonable agree...
In Silico Prediction of Volume of Distribution in Humans. Extensive Data Set and the Exploration of Linear and Nonlinear Methods Coupled with Molecular Interaction Fields Descriptors

We present three in silico volume of distribution at steady state (VDss) models generated on a training set comprising 1096 compounds, which goes well beyond the conventional drug space delineated by the Rule of 5 or similar approaches. We have performed a careful selection of descriptors and kept a homogeneous Molecular Interaction Field-based descriptor set and linear (Partial Least Squares, PLS) and nonlinear (Random Forest, RF) models. We have tested the models, which we deem orthogonal in nature due to different descriptors and statistical approaches, with good results. In particular we tested the RF model, via a leave-class-out approach and by using a set of 34 additional compounds not used for training. We report comparable results against in vivo scaling approaches with geometric mean-fold error at or below 2 (for a set of 60 compounds with animal data available) and discuss the predictive performance based on the ionization states of the compounds. Lastly, we report the findings using a two-tier ...
Dynamic floating-body instabilities in partially depleted SOI CMOS circuits

Dynamic floating-body instabilities in PD/SOI CMOS devices and circuits are investigated using a physical yet compact MOSFET model in SOISPICE. SOISPICE simulations show how some floating-body effects can be beneficial, but they reveal that the hysteretic nature of the effects causes instabilities. They further exemplify how floating-body charge dynamics can complicate model parameter extraction. Accordingly SOISPICE-aided examinations of SRAM and DRAM circuits imply that conservative designs will be necessitated in PD/SOI technology. >
A sub-half micron partially gate-to-drain overlapped MOSFET optimized for high performance and reliability

A partially gate-to-drain overlapped n-channel MOSFET using poly spacers was studied and compared to a fully overlapped and a conventional oxide spacer device in terms of performance and reliability. It is shown that, for a 500-AA partial overlap (flanked with 700-AA oxide spacer) device, the gate-to-drain overlap capacitance and simulated inverter delay are only 12% and 8%, respectively, higher than those of a conventional oxide spacer device. At a given performance level, the partial overlap device has two orders of magnitude longer DC hot-carrier lifetime than that of an oxide spacer device. The reason the overlapped device has high resistance to the hot-carrier stressing is the adverse oxide field at V/sub G/ >
Projected Augmented Reality with the RoomAlive Toolkit

The RoomAlive Toolkit is an open source SDK that enables developers to create interactive projection mapping applications. The toolkit focuses on calibrating a network of multiple Kinect sensors and video projectors. It also provides a simple projection mapping sample that can be used as a basis to develop new immersive augmented reality experiences similar to those of the IllumiRoom [2] and RoomAlive [3] research projects. In this tutorial we will describe the RoomAlive Toolkit in detail, demonstrate its basic use and discuss integration with Unity3D.
An EXITS strategy for decreasing cancer risk in women

It has long been known that men have about 20% increased age-adjusted risk of developing cancer relative to women. For some individual (non–sex restricted) cancer types, males are affected at ratios in excess of 2:1. This effect is observed worldwide even after adjusting for socioeconomic and environmental factors, and its mechanistic basis is largely unexplained. One potential explanation for male cancer predominance, suggested in previous studies, is that a subset of X-chromosome tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) may escape from X-inactivation. Men can therefore lose these TSGs through a single mutational event, whereas women are protected by the presence of a second functional copy. To systematically search for the existence of putative “escape from X-inactivation tumor suppressor” (EXITS) genes, a team of researchers performed an unbiased analysis of genome sequencing data from over 4100 tumors representing 21 tumor types. This analysis revealed that six of 783 nonpseudoautosomal region (PAR) X-chromosome genes— ATRX , CNKSR2 , DDX3X , KDM5C , KDM6A , and MAGEC3 —contained loss-of-function mutations more frequently in males than in females, whereas similar bias was never detected in 18,055 autosomal and PAR genes. EXITS genes were identified through pan-cancer analyses and those restricted to individual tumor types and included genes previously implicated as tumor suppressors. Together, these results imply that biallelic expression of EXITS genes in women is likely to explain a portion of the male predominance in cancer incidence. This work is likely to inspire additional studies in several areas. First, it is likely that more EXITS genes exist because sample size estimates suggest that much larger numbers of tumors must be analyzed to achieve saturating detection of the coding, noncoding, and epigenetic alterations that may influence EXITS gene expression. Second, it will be important to understand how EXITS genes may interface with other factors likely to influence male cancer predominance, such as alcohol and tobacco exposure and endocrine biology. Last, this study implies that tumors of the same type in males and females may have distinct genetic underpinnings and, as such, distinct biology and therapeutic responses that should be considered in basic and clinical study design. A. Dunford et al. , Tumor-suppressor genes that escape from X-inactivation contribute to cancer sex bias. Nat. Genet. 10.1038/ng.3726 (2016). [[Abstract]][1] [1]: http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/ng.3726.html
Association between oncologists’ dispositional affect and depressive symptoms in their patients with metastatic cancer.

9559 Background: While caring for patients with metastatic cancer can be emotional, relationships between the emotions of oncologists and their patients have not been examined. As patients and onco...
Tip Shaping in Primary Rhinoplasty

As with all successful rhinoplasty, accurate preoperative analysis and planning is critical. Measurements and other objective preoperative evaluations should be used as a guide and general “road map,” rather than the definitive recipe in finesse tip shape
Weak law of large numbers for stationary graph processes

The ability to obtain accurate estimators from a set of measurements is a key factor in science and engineering. Typically, there is an inherent assumption that the measurements were taken in a sequential order, be it in space or time. However, data is increasingly irregular so this assumption of sequentially obtained measurements no longer holds. By leveraging notions of graph signal processing to account for these irregular domains, we propose an unbiased estimator for the mean of a wide sense stationary graph process based on the diffusion of a single realization. We also provide a bound on the estimation error and determine the conditions for a specific rate of convergence of the estimator to the mean, in a weak law of large numbers fashion.
National treatment in copyright and related rights: How much work does it do?

The obligation of national treatment makes an appearance in all five of the major active multilateral treaties concerning copyright and related rights, including the Berne Convention, the Rome Convention, the TRIPS Agreement, the WIPO Copyright Treaty ("WCT"), and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty ("WPPT"), a group I will collectively call the "five CRR treaties." It is principally lauded for its substantive bite, as a rule requiring that treaty parties extend protection to non-nationals on the same terms as they do to their own nationals. Yet there are reasons to question whether the national treatment obligations imposed by the five CRR treaties remain of paramount importance in practice. Together, those treaties now contain both far more specific substantive minimum guarantees than the Berne Convention did in its first incarnation in 1886, and a variety of specific exceptions and limitations to national treatment. At the same time, the choice-of-law framework in which "national treatment" may have meant more than non-discrimination has been substantially transformed.This paper reviews the operation of the national treatment principle in all major active copyright treaties, and assesses it continuing impact. Part I considers several aspects of the form of the national treatment rule in the context of copyright and related rights, and of intellectual property more generally. Part II considers the principal issues concerning the scope of application of the national treatment rule in the five CRR treaties. Part III offers some concluding remarks. Among those conclusions are that although national treatment continues to play an interstitial role in specific legal areas, its most important function may be as a symbolic carrier of the spirit of internationalism, a spirit that may be facing challenges as much from cultural preservationism as from economic protectionism.
Experimental Pedagogy in a Course on International Business in French

This article showcases “International Business in French, ” a course developed at Drew University, with a special focus on ways in which students use their experience to construct knowledge of the world of business and economics in a variety of Francophone contexts. To illustrate the value experiential pedagogy can add to a business language course, it examines in particular the ways in which a trip to Quebec, the study abroad component embedded in the course, reinforces, challenges, and reveals ambiguities concerning the knowledge acquired in class prior to the trip. In conclusion, it outlines and discusses the challenges such a pedagogy might pose to the instructor and provides a provisional assessment of this approach.
Beyond Gold Stars: Improving the Skills and Engagement of Struggling Readers through Intrinsic Motivation

The current pilot study assessed the impact of a motivational intervention on the task-avoidant behaviors, task-engagement behaviors, and skill growth of elementary-age readers attending a remedial...
'Critically Reflective Pedagogy': Teaching Sociology after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

The author relates his experiences teaching sociology after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the fall of 2005 at a Louisiana college. He assisted Katrina-displaced students from New Orleans who enrolled at his school, and then became an evacuee himself as Rita forced a 37 day closure of his university. During the hiatus, he pondered the pedagogical writings of Stephen Brookfield and decided to thrive upon the chaotic situation he was in and to use it to reorganize his teaching. To finish the unusual semester, he adopted a flexible, humane and democratic approach to teaching that was largely influenced by Brookfield’s writings. Older, nontraditional students were more engaged than their younger and more traditional counterparts in negotiating a fair ending to the semester.
Exact Bayesian moment based inference for the distribution of the small-time movements of an Itô semimartingale

Abstract We modify the Gallant and Tauchen (1996) efficient method of moments (EMM) method to perform exact Bayesian inference, where exact means no reliance on asymptotic approximations. We use this modification to evaluate the empirical plausibility of recent predictions from high frequency financial theory regarding the small-time movements of an Ito semimartingale. The theory indicates that the probability distribution of the small moves should be locally stable around the origin. It makes no predictions regarding large rare jumps, which get filtered out. Our exact Bayesian procedure imposes support conditions on parameters as implied by this theory. The empirical application uses S&P Index options extending over a wide range of moneyness, including deep out of the money puts. The evidence is consistent with a locally stable distribution valid over most of the support of the observed data while mildly failing in the extreme tails, about which the theory makes no prediction. We undertake diagnostic checks on all aspects of the procedure. In particular, we evaluate the distributional assumptions regarding a semi-pivotal statistic, and we test by Monte Carlo that the posterior distribution is properly centered with short credibility intervals. Taken together, our results suggest a more important role than previously thought for pure jump-like models with diminished, if not absent, diffusive component.
Collaborative economy and tourism: perspectives, politics, policies and prospects

Collaborative economy and tourism seeks to explore the nature, character and operation of the Collaborative Economy (CE) and its relationship with tourism. The book proposes that the CE has driven ...
Male sexual signal predicts phenotypic plasticity in offspring: implications for the evolution of plasticity and local adaptation.

In a rapidly changing world, understanding the processes that influence a population's ability to respond to natural selection is critical for identifying how to preserve biodiversity. Two such processes are phenotypic plasticity and sexual selection. Whereas plasticity can facilitate local adaptation, sexual selection potentially impedes local adaptation, especially in rapidly changing or variable environments. Here we hypothesize that, when females preferentially choose males that sire plastic offspring, sexual selection can actually facilitate local adaptation to variable or novel environments by promoting the evolution of adaptive plasticity. We tested this hypothesis by evaluating whether male sexual signals could indicate plasticity in their offspring and, concomitantly, their offspring's ability to produce locally adapted phenotypes. Using spadefoot toads (Spea multiplicata) as our experimental system, we show that a male sexual signal predicts plasticity in his offspring's resource-use morphology....
Feasibility of adopting retroperitoneal robotic partial nephrectomy after extensive transperitoneal experience.

Adoption of robotic retroperitoneal surgery has lagged behind robotic surgery adoption in general due to unique challenges of access and anatomy. We evaluated our initial results with robotic retroperitoneal robotic partial nephrectomy (RRPN) after transitioning from exclusively transperitoneal robotic partial nephrectomy (TRPN) to evaluate safety and any identifiable learning curve. We evaluated our single-surgeon (RA) prospective partial nephrectomy database since adopting RRPN routinely for posterior tumors in 2017. The surgeon had previously performed 410 partial nephrectomies by this time. Outcomes were compared after the initial 30 RRPN. Of 137 patients since adopting RRPN, two attempted RRPN were converted to TRPN without complications due to morbid obesity affecting access, and 30 RRPN were completed (107 TRPN). There were no statistically significant differences in demographics, mean tumor size, or RENAL score between groups. Mean blood loss was lower in RRPN (53 mL vs 99 mL, P < 0.05), but there were no transfusions in either group. There was no difference in mean operative (127.8 min vs 141.2 min, P = 0.06) or ischemia time (11.1 min vs 10.8 min, P = 0.98). There were no positive margins in either group. Mean length of stay was lower in RRPN due to more same-day discharges (0.7 vs 0.9 days). There were no 90-day Clavien III–V complications. One RRPN patient was readmitted POD#8 overnight for hypoxia, and one visited the emergency room POD#7 for persistent pain. All three TRPN complications were managed as outpatients. Successful adoption of RRPN can be achieved readily after experience with TRPN. Outcomes were immediately comparable without any identifiable learning curve.
Chapter 4 – Atmospheric Pathways

Publisher Summary This chapter acquaints the non-meteorologists with the basic principles of the transport, dispersion, and deposition of pollutants that are released to the atmosphere. Atmospheric calculations, computer codes, and comparisons of calculations with measured data are also discussed. The treatment is superficial and provides an understanding of some of the methods used in this highly specialized field. Radiological assessment, which uses comprehensive models to determine transport through environmental pathways and to assess dose to human receptors, is also dealt with in the chapter. Man-made atmospheric contaminants are injected only into the friction layer that extends to about 1000 m from the ground and has properties somewhat different from those of the rest of the atmosphere because of the influences of surface features on atmospheric flow. The advent of nuclear energy, and more particularly, the testing of nuclear weapons extended the problem of forecasting the fate of atmospheric contaminants considerably above the friction layer to altitudes of 30,000 m or greater. In more recent years, the properties of the upper atmosphere, even to the fringes of outer space, have become important to the space scientists. An understanding of the physics and chemistry of the upper atmosphere is also required to predict the physical, chemical, and biological effects of emissions from the high-flying aircrafts.
E-107 Short-term in-hospital outcomes of thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke patients with non-primary brain tumors and hypertension

Background Intravenous thrombolysis remains an underutilized treatment for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) due to several relative and absolute contraindications. Previous studies have found similar outcomes after thrombolysis between AIS patients with benign brain tumors and AIS patients without. This study aims to investigate short-term outcomes of thrombolytic treatment for the greater majority of AIS patients who have no history of primary brain tumors, particularly those with hypertension (HTN). Methods This retrospective cohort study utilized data from the 2012–2015Q3 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS). ICD-9 codes identified adult patients (ages 18+) who suffered acute ischemic stroke and received intravenous thrombolysis, and then further isolated patients diagnosed with HTN. Data for patients who were missing important clinical identifiers (age, gender, race, mortality), did not receive IV thrombolysis, and had primary brain tumors (benign or malignant) were excluded. Data analyses assessed hospital mortality rate, length of stay (LOS), inpatient charges, and average age of admission. Results Of the 24,692 encounters with AIS patients treated with thrombolysis and had no history of primary brain tumors, 15,219 were diagnosed with HTN. Mean mortality rate was significantly decreased (6.3% HTN vs. 8.1% no HTN, p Mean LOS was significantly shorter (5.90 days HTN vs. 7.05 days no HTN, p Average total charges were significantly decreased ($81,467.75 HTN vs. $93,538.04 no HTN, p Average age at admission was significantly older (67.73 years HTN vs. 65.95 years no HTN, p Conclusion This study aims to inform physicians to better manage acute ischemic stroke patients receiving IV thrombolysis with hypertension and no history of primary brain tumors. These patients experience lower mortality rate, shorter LOS, decreased total hospital charges, and older age at admission than those without HTN. The mortality rate and LOS could be explained by a wider range of care provided from an interdisciplinary healthcare team, as opposed to simple post-op observational care. Future research should aim to delineate the differences in approach to determine which aspects improve outcomes for AIS patients with hypertension who receive intravenous thrombolysis. Disclosures K. Tong: None. A. Wang-Selfridge: None. P. Brauer: None.
A new thinking of the study on plague vector efficiency based on the natural ecological model

It is an important topic that the plague vector efficiency has been studied in plague epidemiology from the plague found out, and it is one of the key issues that we recognized the plague preservation and prevalence in nature ecological system too. Current related biological basis, technical theory and new technology research and application, and other fields have made important achievements and progress in the study of plague vector efficiency, but a systematic and standardized evaluation of vector competency and efficiency is needed in modern vector transmission plague research. It is, therefore, necessary to establish specific and valid research indicators based on the plague natural ecological system and the plague nature quality and specific scientific research purpose, and these indicators will also be able to serve the research goal, improve the credibility and comparability of vector efficiency of research results. Key words: Plague; Vector efficiency; Research pattern; Nature ecological model
On the consistency of the logistic quasi-MLE under conditional symmetry

Abstract For estimating the parameters of a linear conditional mean, I show that the quasi-maximum likelihood estimator (QMLE) obtained under the nominal assumption that the error term is independent of the explanatory variables with a logistic distribution is consistent provided the conditional distribution of the error term is symmetric. No other restrictions are required for Fisher consistency; in particular, the error and covariates need not be independent, and so general heteroskedasticity of unknown form is allowed. Importantly, the influence function of the logistic quasi-log likelihood is bounded, making it more resilient to outliers than ordinary least squares. Inference using the logistic QMLE is straightforward using a robust asymptotic variance–covariance matrix estimator.
From deficit to benefit: Highlighting lower-SES students' background-specific strengths reinforces their academic persistence

Abstract Students from lower-socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds have unique background-specific strengths that they have acquired from their lived experiences. We test the hypotheses that guiding students toward recognizing the strengths that they have derived from their specific background and experiences will promote their positive understandings of their identities and have positive implications for their academic motivation and psychological well-being. Specifically, we present evidence indicating that a brief experimental paradigm guiding students to reflect on their background-specific strengths leads lower-SES college students (Study 1; N = 186), as well as Black and Latinx middle school students from lower-SES backgrounds (Study 2; N = 912), to endorse the idea that they are assets to their schools and society because of their backgrounds and increases their inclinations to persist in the face of academic difficulty. These psychological consequences were significantly associated with middle school students' end-of-term grades (Study 2).
Strategies for Multiplexed Biosensor Imaging to Study Intracellular Signaling Networks.

Signal transduction processes are a necessary component of multicellular life, and their dysregulation is the basis for a host of syndromes and diseases. Thus, it is imperative that we discover the complex details of how signal transduction processes result in specific cellular outcomes. One of the primary mechanisms of regulation over signaling pathways is through spatiotemporal control. However, traditional methods are limited in their ability to reveal such details. To overcome these limitations, researchers have developed a variety of genetically encodable, fluorescent protein-based biosensors to study these dynamic processes in real time in living cells. Due to the complexities and interconnectedness of signaling pathways, it is thus desirable to use multiple biosensors in individual cells to better elucidate the relationships between signaling pathways. However, multiplexed imaging with such biosensors has been historically difficult. Nevertheless, recent developments in designs and multiplexing strategies have led to vast improvements in our capabilities. In this review, we provide perspectives on the recently developed biosensor designs and multiplexing strategies that are available for multiplexed imaging of signal transduction pathways.
Science, the Virtual and the Actual: A Real Standoff

The World Wide Web is a source of social encounter occurring over undefined distances. If physical parameters of social encounter are considered uncontrollable for studies in a natural setting, the internet world, when dissected philosophically with respect to physical witnessibility of engaged identities, provides a model in which distance is absent. Upon comparison of meaning in science method and theory as it is necessarily rooted to common perceptional experience, it is proposed that established criteria of virtual, real, and actual employed for description in internet communication studies not only constitute 'world,' but 'universe' in which the gap between the actual and virtual has a physical meaning. Philosophical analogy is made from a proposed universal model to theory proposed by Albert Einstein, Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn and applied in an attempt to bridge conceptually the social and natural sciences. A release of identity-funding inhibition to the extension of the range of witness beyond the immediate environment, associated with cognitive generalization of phenomenon involving a null hypothesis, seen universally to singularly account for cognitive and behavioral trends towards modern times, is proposed to be the consequence of physical factors that are external to cultures. Discussion relating ‘paradox’ as ‘paradox of the injuring concept’ is rendered in terms of a physical divide between the virtual and the actual.
Food safety and inspection service regulatory testing program for Escherichia coli O157:H7 in raw ground beef.

We analyzed raw ground beef testing data to determine whether a decrease in the rate of Escherichia coli O157:H7–positive raw ground beef samples has occurred since the inception of Food Safety and Inspection Service (U.S. Department of Agriculture) regulatory actions and microbiological testing concerning this commodity and pathogen. A main effects log-linear Poisson regression model was constructed to evaluate the association between fiscal year and the rate of E. coli O157: H7–positive raw ground beef samples while controlling for the effect of season for the subset of test results obtained from fiscal year (FY)2000 through FY2003. Rate ratios were used to compare the rate of E. coli O157:H7–positive raw ground beef samples between sequential years to identify year-to-year differences. Of the 26,521 raw ground beef samples tested from FY2000 through FY2003, 189 (0.71%) tested positive for E. coli O157:H7. Year-to-year comparisons identified a 50% reduction in the rate of positive ground beef samples fr...
Selection of Temperature-Sensitive Mutants During Persistent Infection: Role in Maintenance of Persistent Newcastle Disease Virus Infections of L Cells

Virus mutants (NDV(pi)) recovered from L cells persistently infected with Newcastle disease virus (NDV, Herts strain) are temperature-sensitive (ts) at 43 C, although the wild-type virus (NDV(o)) which initiated the persistent infection replicates normally at that temperature. To study the relationship between the ts marker of NDV(pi) and the other properties which distinguish this virus from NDV(o), NDV(pi) ts(+) revertants were selected at the nonpermissive temperature and NDV(o) ts mutants were generated by treating NDV(o) with nitrous acid. Spontaneously-occurring ts mutants in the Herts NDV population were also isolated. The different virus populations were characterized with regard to plaque size, virulence for eggs, and thermal stability of infectivity, hemagglutinin, and neuraminidase. The NDV(pi) ts(+) revertants, although no longer temperature-sensitive, retained NDV(pi) properties, whereas both spontaneously-occurring and mutagen-induced ts mutants remained wild-type in their other properties. These findings showed that the properties which characterized NDV(pi) were independent of the ts marker. However, the ts marker and the other markers of NDV(pi) were coselected during the persistent infection, and the combination of those markers appeared to be important in the outcome of NDV infection of L cells. NDV(pi) replicated productively in L cells, whereas NDV(o), the NDV(pi) ts(+) revertants, and the spontaneously-occurring ts mutants all yielded covert infections in L cells. The role of the selection of ts mutants in persistent infection was confirmed as follows: L cells were persistently infected with NDV(pi) ts(+) revertants and NDV(o) ts mutants. Virus recovered from the persistently infected cultures after eight cell passages was always temperature-sensitive and of smaller plaque size than the parental virus in chicken embryo cell cultures. Similar results were obtained with virus recovered from L-cell cultures persistently infected with two other velogenic strains of NDV, the Texas-GB and Kansas-Man strains. These results strongly suggest that selection of ts mutants during the persistent infection was not random and played a role in establishment or maintenance of the persistent infection, or both.
Quality improvement in resident education: a pilot project to mitigate metabolic side effects from atypical antipsychotic medications in youth

Abstract This resident physician-led quality improvement project was conducted with aims to improve the health of youth prescribed atypical antipsychotic medications by increasing physician monitoring for metabolic side effects, while simultaneously educating trainees in quality improvement methodology. The plan, do, study, act quality improvement framework was utilized. Baseline metabolic monitoring rates of patients prescribed atypical antipsychotic medications in the two psychiatry resident outpatient clinics were obtained. Rates were stratified based on time on medication ( The baseline metabolic monitoring rates of patients prescribed atypical antipsychotic medications was 9% (range: 0 to 17.6%) for youth in their first year taking an atypical antipsychotic medication and 58.9% (range: 29% to 100%) in subsequent years on medication. The results of relatively easy changes resulted in modest improvement in monitoring rates. The metabolic monitoring rate of a patient initiated on an atypical antipsychotic medication was 29% after targeted quality improvement measures were employed. Following quality improvement changes, residents reported increased knowledge about guidelines and increased monitoring for side effects. Use of a standardized data collection instrument to track monitoring of patients increased from 0% to 70% (range: 30% to 90%). Quality improvement projects provide an avenue with which to improve atypical antipsychotic monitoring rates. Through active participation in quality improvement projects, psychiatry residents may be taught to employ quality improvement methodology.
Polymer Electrolytes Based on Ionomeric Copolymers of Ethylene with Fluorosulfonate Functionalized Monomers

The copolymerization of ethylene with α-olefinic fluorosulfonyl fluoride monomers using organometallic catalysts provides a new class of ionomeric polymer electrolytes. These hydrocarbon-based ionomeric polymers utilize strong acid-functional groups based on the fluorosulfonate anion the same anionic group used in the Nafion perfluorinated ionomer membrane. The Versipol™ catalyst system generates short-chain branches on the copolymers giving amorphous to semicrystalline copolymers that exhibit good organic solvent swelling and high lithium-ion conductivities. Metallocene catalysts are also able to make these copolymers, but with much higher crystallinity. By introducing a third monomer such as 1-octene to break down the crystallinity of metallocene-catalyst-based ethylene copolymers, the resulting terpolymers also conduct lithium ions well when swollen with organic solvents. Propylene-based copolymers with fluorosulfonyl fluoride monomers were also made and tested for conductivity, but the results were less satisfactory. © 2003 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.
Solution to a mathematical model of cell growth, division, and death☆

Abstract A model (due to G.I. Bell) representing the distribution of cells of a given age and volume is discussed. The cells are permitted to grow, to divide into two daughter cells, and to die without dividing. With certain assumptions about the rate of growth, mitosis, and death without mitosis, a unique solution to the model is given. The mathematical model has unusual boundary conditions, and its solution involves a partial differential difference equation.
Dying to meet you: facing mortality and enabling patient styles.

This paper is intended to emphasize the existence of prognostic uncertainty in providing survival estimates while also providing a method for caring to those who want to authentically help dying pa...
A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF THE PARA VENTRICULAR NUCLEUS AND ITS ALTERATION IN HYPOPHYSECTOMY

FROM THE EXTENSIVE retrograde change observed in the supraoptic nucleus after W hypophysial stalk resection (I, 2, 3) it appears that practically all of the fibers JL. from the supraoptic nucleus enter the neurohypophysis. While some cells of this nucleus remain intact after the usual hypophysectomy, these may be assumed to be connected with the median eminence of the tuber cinereum which is left intact and which is now regarded as part of the neurohypophysis (2–5). The relation of the paraventricular (filiform) nucleus to the innervation of the hypophysis is not so evident. Numerous authors have reported varying degrees of cell loss in this nucleus of various so-called hypophysectomized animals. Magoun and Ranson (3) in a study of 11 monkeys estimated that about 20 per cent of these atrophy as a result of severing the infundibular stem. Rasmussen (1) was not so sure that it occurred regularly in the rat.
Maintaining Weight Loss Momentum After Bariatric Surgery

Bariatric surgery holds considerable promise for initiating weight loss in extreme obesity. Yet, potential long-term benefits may not be fully realized without sustained lifestyle amelioration. This review discusses some key contributing dynamics as well as future research considerations for optimizing outcomes following weight loss surgery.
Implications for food regulations of novel food: Safety and labeling

Novel or functional foods may provide health and nutritional benefits due to non-nutritice components such as fiber, flavonoids, and phenols. National, regional and international regulations are discussed as a means to control label claims, composition and uses.
Genetic Stock Identification of Russian Honey Bees

A genetic stock certification assay was developed to distinguish Russian honey bees from other European (Apis mellifera L.) stocks that are commercially produced in the United States. In total, 11 microsatellite and five single-nucleotide polymorphism loci were used. Loci were selected for relatively high levels of homogeneity within each group and for differences in allele frequencies between groups. A baseline sample consisted of the 18 lines of Russian honey bees released to the Russian Bee Breeders Association and bees from 34 queen breeders representing commercially produced European honey bee stocks. Suitability tests of the baseline sample pool showed high levels of accuracy. The probability of correct assignment was 94.2% for non-Russian bees and 93.3% for Russian bees. A neighbor-joining phenogram representing genetic distance data showed clear distinction of Russian and non-Russian honey bee stocks. Furthermore, a test of appropriate sample size showed a sample of eight bees per colony maximizes accuracy and consistency of the results. An additional 34 samples were tested as blind samples (origin unknown to those collecting data) to determine accuracy of individual assignment tests. Only one of these samples was incorrectly assigned. The 18 current breeding lines were represented among the 2009 blind sampling, demonstrating temporal stability of the genetic stock identification assay. The certification assay will be used through services provided by a service laboratory, by the Russian Bee Breeders Association to genetically certify their stock. The genetic certification will be used in conjunction with continued selection for favorable traits, such as honey production and varroa and tracheal mite resistance.
Factors affecting relative fitness measurements in pairwise competition assays of human immunodeficiency viruses.

Abstract Cell culture growth competition assays of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) are used to estimate viral fitness and quantify the impact of mutations conferring drug resistance and immunological escape. A comprehensive study of growth competition assays was conducted and identified experimental parameters that can impact measurements of relative fitness including multiplicity of infection, viral input ratio, number, timing and interval of time points used to evaluate selective outgrowth, and the algorithm for calculating fitness values. An optimized protocol is developed here that is a multi-point growth competition assay that resolves reproducibly small differences in viral fitness. The optimized protocol uses an MOI of 0.005, a consistent ratio of mutant: parental viruses (70:30), and a multipoint [1 + s 4,7] algorithm that uses data points within the logarithmic phase of viral growth for assessing fitness differences
Structure of the Small Outer Capsid Protein, Soc: A Clamp for Stabilizing Capsids of T4-like Phages

Many viruses need to stabilize their capsid structure against DNA pressure and for survival in hostile environments. The 9-kDa outer capsid protein (Soc) of bacteriophage T4, which stabilizes the virus, attaches to the capsid during the final stage of maturation. There are 870 Soc molecules that act as a "glue" between neighboring hexameric capsomers, forming a "cage" that stabilizes the T4 capsid against extremes of pH and temperature. Here we report a 1.9 A resolution crystal structure of Soc from the bacteriophage RB69, a close relative of T4. The RB69 crystal structure and a homology model of T4 Soc were fitted into the cryoelectron microscopy reconstruction of the T4 capsid. This established the region of Soc that interacts with the major capsid protein and suggested a mechanism, verified by extensive mutational and biochemical studies, for stabilization of the capsid in which the Soc trimers act as clamps between neighboring capsomers. The results demonstrate the factors involved in stabilizing not only the capsids of T4-like bacteriophages but also many other virus capsids.
Worldwide prevalence of red-green color deficiency

Literature that describes the prevalence of inherited red-green color deficiency in different populations is reviewed. Large random population surveys show that the prevalence of deficiency in European Caucasians is about 8% in men and about 0.4% in women and between 4% and 6.5% in men of Chinese and Japanese ethnicity. However, the male: female prevalence ratio is markedly different in Europeans and Asians. Recent surveys suggest that the prevalence is rising in men of African ethnicity and in geographic areas that have been settled by incoming migrants. It is proposed that founder events and genetic drift, rather than natural selection, are the cause of these differences.
On-lattice kinetic Monte carlo simulations of point defect aggregation in entropically influenced crystalline systems

An on-lattice kinetic Monte Carlo model of vacancy aggregation in crystalline silicon is parametrized using direct regression to evolution data from nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. The approach bypasses the need to manually compute an energy barrier for each possible transition and leads to an excellent, robust representation of the molecular dynamics data. We show that the resulting lattice kinetic Monte Carlo model correctly captures the behavior of the real, continuous space system by properly accounting for continuous space entropic effects, which are often neglected in lattice-based models of atomistic processes. These contributions are particularly important at the high temperatures relevant to many steps in semiconductor materials processing.
Impediments to curing myeloma in 2012

SUMMARY Our understanding of multiple myeloma biology over the last two decades has led to a marked improvement in progression-free and overall survival for the majority of patients. The introduction of novel agents, improvement in administration of high-dose therapy with autologous stem cell support, along with supportive care measures have enabled the myeloma researchers to once again debate the curability of this disease. The present article is a succinct review of the progress that has been made and the impediments to curability of this disease.
A Joint University, College and Public Library

Florida Atlantic University, Indian River Community College, and the St. Lucie County Library developed a joint-use library facility serving the information needs of three distinct populations. This article reviews planning, staffing, managing, and collection development issues encountered by the partners of the joint-use library. The complex nature of the operation is described through interviews with library staff and library administrators. Agreements between the cooperating libraries are included.