cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A re-examination of circadian rhythmicity in Carausius morosus

Abstract Rhythms of egg laying and locomotory activity in C. morosus show a 12 hr phase shift from L : D 12 : 12 to free-running conditions. Both egg laying and locomotory activity are entrained by a red light : dark 12 : 12 light regime. Egg laying is entrained by L : D 12 : 12 in insects with eyes excised suggesting the presence of an extraocular light receptor.
Reporting Risk: Perceptions of Fear and Risk from Health News Coverage

Using actual news coverage of an environmental risk, this experimental study examined whether providing unrelated risk comparisons and information about other sources of the same risk influenced readers' reactions to the coverage. The study suggests stories that provide information on other sources of a contaminant may do little to reduce risk perceptions; however, providing information about the magnitude of the risk at hand relative to other risks had several communication benefits. Both comparisons lead readers to feel more informed about the risk and, thus, better able to make decisions than those who did not see the comparisons. Media implications are discussed.
Structure Evolution during Cyclic Deformation of an Elastic Propylene-Based Ethylene-Propylene Copolymer

In-situ structural evolution during uniaxial extension and subsequent retraction of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) based on propylene-dominant ethylene−propylene (EP) copolymer was studied. Combined measurements of time-resolved wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) as well as stress−strain curves revealed molecular mechanism responsible for the elastic behavior. During the first cycle of deformation, a fraction of the crystals was destroyed, while the rest was reoriented. At strains larger than 1.0, strain-induced α-crystals in the lamellar form took place, resulting in the creation of a network with well-oriented lamellae having their normals parallel to the stretching direction. With the increase of strain, more crystals were induced, forming an enhanced network with strain-hardening behavior. During retraction and even after complete relaxation to zero stress, the majority of the strain-induced crystalline network remains in tact as being “permanent set”, where l...
Effects of Polymer Architecture and Nanoenvironment in Acylation Reactions Employing Dendritic (Dialkylamino)pyridine Catalysts

The role of architecture and nanoenvironment in the catalytic properties of dendritic polymers containing 4-(dialkylamino)pyridines was investigated in the context of acylation reactions employing sterically demanding tertiary alcohols as substrates. Frechet-type benzyl ether and aliphatic ester dendrimers were prepared in a convergent manner from a common trivalent core containing three DMAP groups while a linear polymer was dendronized with aliphatic esters using a divergent growth scheme. Catalysis experiments clearly indicate that nanoenvironment plays the dominant role in determining the activity of the polymer catalysts, with the polyester platform being superior to the benzyl ether. Polymer architecture played little or no role in affecting catalysis. With respect to molecular transport and catalysis, this represents the first comparative study of the effect of architecture and nanoenvironment using structurally similar dendritic materials.
Purification of human serum vitamin D-binding protein by 25-hydroxyvitamin D3-Sepharose chromatography.

Abstract 25-Hydroxyvitamin D 3 -Sepharose was prepared by coupling 25-hydroxyvitamin D 3 -3β-(1,2-epoxypropyl)-ether to thio-activated Sepharose CL-6B, forming a protease-resistant linkage between the sterol and the matrix. Vitamin D-binding protein from human plasma was obtained 85–92% pure after ligand affinity chromatography. Subsequent hydroxylapatite chromatography provided homogeneous protein. The purified vitamin D-binding protein was fully active in regard to 25-hydroxyvitamin D 3 and actin binding cappabilities.
A solid composite pH sensor based on quinhydrone

A solid composite pH sensor can be made from quinhydrone, solid paraffin and surface-modified graphite powder. It exhibits an almost theoretical slope of the potential–pH dependence (−57.7 mV at 25°C), a formal potential E0′ = 0.6922V (vs. NHE), low standard deviations for repeated measurements (0.04 pH units), fast potential response (15s) and a working range up to pH 9.5. The sensor can be used in moderately concentrated mineral acids and, unlike the conventional quinhydrone electrode, it is also applicable for measurements in milk. The sensor shows the same salt effect and sensitivity towards strong oxidants and reductants as the conventional quinhydrone electrode. The surface modified graphite was prepared by boiling graphite powder with concentrated nitric acid. By voltammetry it was shown that the surface of the modified graphite contains surface-confined redox centers similar to those in quinhydrone, which can catalyze the electron transfer of the quinhydrone on the surface of the sensor.
Repeating the target neither speeds nor slows its detection: Evidence for independent channels in letter processing

A target letter at a predesignated location typically is identified less readily when extraneous letters are added to the display. This disruption has been attributed to lateral interference via interactive or inhibitory channels or to attempts to encode the string as a unit. In the present study, subjects saw a single letter (e.g., B), a repeated-letter string (e.g., BBBB), or an extraneous-letters string (e.g., BCLD) and had to decide whether the leftmost letter in the string matched a target letter. Since trials were blocked by string type, letter position did not have to be discriminated on repeated-letter trials, nor was response competition present on those trials. With normal letter spacing, RT was virtually the same on repeated-letter trials as on single-letter trials. (Increasing the letter spacing in Experiment 3 did produce a slight, but nonsignificant, 22-msec increment on the repeated-letter trials.) The results indicate that individual letters are perceived as such just as well when presented in a group as when presented individually and thus provide support for the parallel, independent-channels model.
Prion Infection of Mouse Brain Reveals Multiple New Upregulated Genes Involved in Neuroinflammation or Signal Transduction

Gliosis is often a preclinical pathological finding in neurodegenerative diseases, including prion diseases, but the mechanisms facilitating gliosis and neuronal damage in these diseases are not understood. To expand our knowledge of the neuroinflammatory response in prion diseases, we assessed the expression of key genes and proteins involved in the inflammatory response and signal transduction in mouse brain at various times after scrapie infection. In brains of scrapie-infected mice at pre- and postclinical stages, we identified 15 previously unreported differentially expressed genes related to inflammation or activation of the STAT signal transduction pathway. Levels for the majority of differentially expressed genes increased with time postinfection. In quantitative immunoblotting experiments of STAT proteins, STAT1α, phosphorylated-STAT1α (pSTAT1α), and pSTAT3 were increased between 94 and 131 days postinfection (p.i.) in brains of mice infected with strain 22L. Furthermore, a select group of STAT-associated genes was increased preclinically during scrapie infection, suggesting early activation of the STAT signal transduction pathway. Comparison of inflammatory markers between mice infected with scrapie strains 22L and RML indicated that the inflammatory responses and gene expression profiles in the brains were strikingly similar, even though these scrapie strains infect different brain regions. The endogenous interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), an inflammatory marker, was newly identified as increasing preclinically in our model and therefore might influence scrapie pathogenesis in vivo. However, in IL-1Ra-deficient or overexpressor transgenic mice inoculated with scrapie, neither loss nor overexpression of IL-1Ra demonstrated any observable effect on gliosis, protease-resistant prion protein (PrPres) formation, disease tempo, pathology, or expression of the inflammatory genes analyzed. IMPORTANCE Prion infection leads to PrPres deposition, gliosis, and neuroinflammation in the central nervous system before signs of clinical illness. Using a scrapie mouse model of prion disease to assess various time points postinoculation, we identified 15 unreported genes that were increased in the brains of scrapie-infected mice and were associated with inflammation and/or JAK-STAT activation. Comparison of mice infected with two scrapie strains (22L and RML), which have dissimilar neuropathologies, indicated that the inflammatory responses and gene expression profiles in the brains were similar. Genes that increased prior to clinical signs might be involved in controlling scrapie infection or in facilitating damage to host tissues. We tested the possible role of the endogenous IL-1Ra, which was increased at 70 days p.i. In scrapie-infected mice deficient in or overexpressing IL-1Ra, there was no observable effect on gliosis, PrPres formation, disease tempo, pathology, or expression of inflammatory genes analyzed.
Reliability, Validity, and Psychometric Development of the Pornography Consumption Inventory in a Sample of Hypersexual Men

This article reports the psychometric evaluation of the Pornography Consumption Inventory (PCI), which was developed to assess motivations for pornography use among hypersexual men. Initial factor structure and item analysis were conducted in a sample of men (N = 105) seeking to reduce their pornography consumption (Study 1), yielding a 4-factor solution. In a second sample of treatment-seeking hypersexual men (N = 107), the authors further investigated the properties of the PCI using confirmatory factor analytic procedures, reliability indices, and explored PCI associations with several other constructs to establish convergent and discriminant validity. These studies demonstrate psychometric evidence for the PCI items that measure tendencies of hypersexual men to use pornography (a) for sexual pleasure; (b) to escape, cope, or avoid uncomfortable emotional experiences or stress; (c) to satisfy sexual curiosity; and (d) to satisfy desires for excitement, novelty, and variety.
Quantifying scale-dependent effects of animal movement with simple percolation models

A simple model of animal movement on random and patterned landscapes was used to explore the problems of extrapolating information across a range of spatial scales. Simulation results indicate that simple relation- ships between pattern and process will produce a variety of scale-dependent effects. These theoretical studies can be used to design experiments for determining the nature of scale-dependent processes and to estimate parameters for extrapolating information across scales.
Micromechanical photonic integrated circuits

The ability to integrate micro-optical elements with movable structures and microactuators has opened up many new opportunities for optical and optoelectronic systems. It allows us to manipulate optical beams more effectively than conventional methods, and is scalable to large optical systems. Optical MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) have applications in display, sensing, and optical data storage. Recently, telecommunications have become the market driver for optical MEMS. Many different kinds of devices and systems have been reported, including optical switches, optical crossconnect wavelength division add/drop multiplexers, tunable filters/lasers/detectors, dispersion compensators and polarization dispersion compensators.
The role of medical school admissions committees in the decline of physician-scientists

Numerous articles written over the last few years have drawn attention to the disappearance of young physician-scientists (1–5). There are nearly 25% fewer physician-scientists on medical school faculties today than two decades ago (6) and now we know some of the reasons. The heavy accumulation of debt through many years of research training is one explanation (7). So is the difficulty of providing a useful research experience in the modern training curriculum (8–10), or reaching trainees who have no real understanding of what it means to be a physician-scientist before their career choices are made (3, 11). Some students attend medical schools that offer little investigative opportunity (3, 12, 13), and of course there are questions about earning a living from academic life. While these reasons partly explain the problem, I would add one more. Medical schools no longer matriculate sufficient numbers of students who are deeply interested in science.
Made in Italy: Small‐Scale Industrialization and its Consequences

Made in Italy: Small-Scale Industrialization and its Consequences. Michael L. Blim. New York:Praeger, 1990.
Antarctic tourists: ambassadors or consumers?

Two complementary studies were conducted to investigate both the immediate and longer-term influence of Antarctic cruise tourism experiences on participants' knowledge of Antarctica, attitudes toward management issues facing the Antarctic region, and environmental behaviours and future intentions. In addition, the study investigated tourists' attitudes toward visitor guidelines. The results suggest that Antarctica nature-based tourism operators have the potential to provide experiences that educate the public to the importance of Antarctica.
Alteration of Neurotrophins in the Hippocampus and Cerebral Cortex of Young Rats Exposed to Chlorpyrifos and Methyl Parathion

Exposure to either chlorpyrifos (CPS) or methyl parathion (MPS) results in the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase and leads to altered neuronal activity which normally regulates critical genes such as the neurotrophins nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). The effects of postnatal exposure to CPS and MPS on the expression of messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein levels for NGF and BDNF were investigated in the frontal cerebral cortex (cortex) and hippocampus of rats. Oral administration of CPS (4.0 or 6.0 mg/kg), MPS (0.6 or 0.9 mg/kg), or the safflower oil vehicle was performed daily from postnatal day 10 (PND10) through PND20. Exposure induced significant effects on growth and cholinesterase activity. Increased NGF protein levels were observed in the hippocampus but not the cortex on PND20 with some reduction occurring on PND28 in both regions. These changes did not correlate with the changes in NGF mRNA. BDNF mRNA was increased in both regions on PND20 and PND28, whereas BDNF protein levels were increased on PND20. On PND12, c-fos mRNA, a marker of neuronal activation, was increased in both regions. Total BDNF protein was increased in the hippocampus but decreased in the cortex. No changes in NGF protein were observed. These results indicate that repeated developmental OP exposure during the postnatal period alters NGF and BDNF in the cortex and the hippocampus and the patterns of these alterations differ between regions.
A continuation method for nonholonomic path-finding problems

We study the mathematical theory of an algorithm for nonholonomic point-to-point path finding, based on a "continuation" or "deformation" method, in which one starts with an admissible trajectory that goes from the desired initial point p~ to some point q~/sub 0/, and then tries to construct a one-parameter family of trajectories, whose terminal points q~/sub s/ describe, as s varies, a path that joins q/sub 0/ to the desired terminal point q~. >
Pathological defects in the epiphyseal cartilage of zinc-deficient chicks.

The objectives of this study were: 1) to compare the epiphyseal plates of the tibiotarsus and also the hock synovia of zinc-deficient and control chicks, 2) to gain information on the site of action of histamine and indomethacin, which were found previously to alleviate significantly the leg abnormalities caused by zinc de ficiency, and 3) to compare the epiphyseal plates of zinc-deficient chicks with those from chicks deficient in manganese and in vitamin D. In the proliferating region of the epiphyseal plate of zinc-deficient chicks, the cartilage cells that were near blood vessels were normal, whereas cells remote from vessels were larger and rounder and were separated by more extracellular matrix. In these chicks the cells of the de generating region of the epiphyseal plate did not degenerate normally unless they were near a blood vessel. In cross section these defects caused a characteristic and easily discernible "bull's eye" appearance around each blood vessel. This was not seen in tissue from manganese- or vitamin D-deficient chicks. Neither histamine nor indomethacin corrected the fundamental lesion due to zinc deficiency; however, the gross defect was alleviated. No hyperplasia or inflammation of the synovia due to zinc deficiency was observed.
Optical systems for free-space laser communications

An overview of optical systems utilized in JPL's Optical Communications research is provided here. These include discussions on the flight terminal optics, the ground receiver aperture and the uplink beacon or command optical system. On-going efforts on these and beam-coupling techniques will be described.
Gaussian Filters for Determining Group Velocities

Summary The problem of filtering dispersed wavetrains by Gaussian filters has been examined. Asymptotic expressions for small bandwidths are obtained for the centroid and for the variance of the filtered signal about its centroid. The forms of the expressions suggest the use of an extrapolation algorithm to estimate the group arrival time. An optimal filter is introduced to aid in selecting a set of corresponding pairs of centroid and bandwidth values for use in the algorithm. For a finite time series, only those pairs whose variances are well within the length of the time series are considered. In this way, the estimated group arrival times are consistent with the information content of the data and are independent of the data extension technique. The method is applied to both synthesized and real signals. The corresponding errors in the group velocity are less than 0.1 and 2 per cent, respectively.
Melanocytes in nonlesional sun-exposed skin: A multicenter comparative study

Background There are limited data regarding melanocyte density and distribution on sun-exposed skin of the head and neck, in particular, comparing morphology (hematoxylin-eosin [HE of these, 7 patients had follicular extension although this did not extend beyond 1 mm in depth. Cytologic atypia was noted in 19 of the 100 patients; pagetoid spread was found in 3. Limitations This was a selected population of patients; results may not be generalizable to the wider population. Variables such as contours of the epidermis (rete density), density of hair follicles, and epidermal thickness may affect the reproducibility of the results. Melanomas were not included for comparison. Conclusion Relatively high melanocyte density, mild to moderate confluence of melanocytes, focal pagetosis, superficial follicular extension (
Dynamic Managerial Capabilities and the Multibusiness Team: The Role of Episodic Teams in Executive Leadership Groups

This grounded theory-building multiple-case study examines the executive leadership group that comprises the general manager (GM) that heads each of the firm's business units in a multibusiness organization. Because each GM exercises control and authority over their business unit's resources, they operate at the nexus of firm-level strategy and strategy implementation through the development of business-unit-level strategy and tactics. Moreover, they play an essential role in adapting the organization by collectively sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring resources and thereby capturing product-market opportunities that emerge. However, there is little direct empirical understanding of this important executive leadership group. This study begins to address this gap in the literature by exploring the relationship between the characteristics of the set of business-unit general managers and firm performance in six firms operating in the high-dynamic software industry with an in-depth comparative case study. New theory is developed that begins to open the “black box” of executive leadership groups, and in so doing contributes new understanding of executive leadership groups and dynamic managerial capabilities, and thereby introduces the notion of an episodic team.
Chemoenzymatic synthesis of heparan sulfate and heparin

Covering: up to May 2014 Heparan sulfate is a polysaccharide that plays essential physiological functions in the animal kingdom. Heparin, a highly sulfated form of heparan sulfate, is a widely prescribed anticoagulant drug worldwide. The heparan sulfate and heparin isolated from natural sources are highly heterogeneous mixtures differing in their polysaccharide chain lengths and sulfation patterns. The access to structurally defined heparan sulfate and heparin is critical to probe the contribution of specific sulfated saccharide structures to the biological functions as well as for the development of the next generation of heparin-based anticoagulant drugs. The synthesis of heparan sulfate and heparin, using a purely chemical approach, has proven extremely difficult, especially for targets larger than octasaccharides having a high degree of site-specific sulfation. A new chemoenzymatic method has emerged as an effective alternative approach. This method uses recombinant heparan sulfate biosynthetic enzymes combined with unnatural uridine diphosphate-monosaccharide donors. Recent examples demonstrate the successful synthesis of ultra-low molecular weight heparin, low-molecular weight heparin and bioengineered heparin with unprecedented efficiency. The new method provides an opportunity to develop improved heparin-based therapeutics.
A record of late-Holocene environmental change from southern New England, USA

article i nfo Article history: Received 28 March 2011 Available online 31 August 2011 Analyses of a sediment core from Little Pond, located in the town of Bolton, Massachusetts, provide new insights into the history of environmental and ecological changes in southern New England during the late Holocene. Declines in organic content and peaks in the abundance of Isoetes spores indicate reduced water depth at 2900-2600, 2200-1800, and 1200-800 calibrated years before present (cal yr BP), generally consistent with the timing of dry conditions in records from elsewhere in the northeastern United States. The Little Pond pollen record features little change over the last 3000 yr, indicating that the surrounding vegetation was relatively insensitive to these periods of drought. The 1200-800 cal yr BP dry interval, however, coincides with increased abundance of Castanea pollen, suggesting that the expansion of Castanea in southern New England may have been influenced by late-Holocene climatic variability.
Global profiling of the circadian transcriptome using microarrays.

Circadian rhythms are biological cycles with a period length of approximately 24 hours that are generated by endogenous clocks. The application of microarrays for high-throughput transcriptome analysis has led to the insight that substantial portions of the transcriptomes of both humans and many model organisms are clock-regulated. In a typical circadian time course microarray experiment, samples are collected from organisms maintained in constant environmental conditions, gene expression at each time point is determined using microarrays, and finally clock-regulated transcripts are identified using statistical algorithms. Here, we describe how to design the experiment, process RNA, determine expression profiles using ATH1 microarrays, and use a non-parametric statistical algorithm named JTK_CYCLE in order to identify circadian-regulated transcripts in Arabidopsis. This basic procedure can be modified to identify clock-regulated transcripts in different organisms or using different expression analysis platforms.
Liability Rules and Risk Taking in Commercial Banks

From 1863-1933, commercial shareholders were subject to a broad range of liability rules for the obligation of their bank ranging from limited liability to unlimited liability. By increasing shareholder liability, the regulators hope to minimize incentives for risk shifting in these highly leveraged institutions. I find that risk taking is negatively related to the severity of the liability rule primarily because banks choose to hold less risky assets and greater net worth. These findings indicate that the shape of the equityholders' payoff function has a significant effect on their incentives particularly in regard to risk taking.
Movement of Corn Earworm Larvae on Ears of Resistant and Susceptible Corns

The movement of larvae of the corn earworm, Heliothis zea (Boddie), was monitored on 3 resistant and 3 susceptible artificially infested corns. Earworm penetration was limited to the silk channel on the resistant corns, whereas ear damage occurred on the susceptible corns after 12 days' infestation. Penetration into the silk channel by earworms on ‘Zapalote Chico #2451’ (antibiosis or nonpreference) was limited to the uppermost part of the silk channel, whereas earworms progressed to the lower part of the silk channel by 12 days on the tolerant corns, ‘Dixie 18’ and ‘471-U6 × 81-1.’
Perspectives on Migration Theory: Geography

Human migration involves the movement of people from one place to another. It is a geographical process. Our synopsis of contemporary thinking about migration in Geography begins with a section entitled the Intensity of Migration. Writing in the nineteenth century, Ravenstein observed that short distance moves outnumber long distance moves and we leverage this fundamental observation to examine the ideas of distance decay and the gravity model in migration research past and present. Although short moves internal to countries continue to dominate, migration research in Geography is increasingly interested in longer-distance/international migrations and their effects. Following Ravenstein further, we next consider the role that economic forces play in migration and use this section to reflect on “the decision to migrate”, occupational migration, and migration during the recent Great Recession and its lingering aftermath. We then consider the relationship between migration and development, the Age of Migration (Castles S, Miller MJ, The age of migration, 4th edn. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2009) and the so-called “mobilities turn” in Geography and allied fields. A discussion of circulation and transnational migration (also very much a part of global flows) follows, which leads to a discussion of scholarship on gender and migration. Last, we comment on channelization and networked flows and the implications for understanding immigrant’s settlement patterns, neighborhood segregation, and metropolitan divisions of labor.
The application of contamination index method to evaluate heavy metal contaminations in dairy products

Objective To understand the distribution characteristics of heavy metal contamination in dairy products,and to evaluate the status and the extent of heavy metal contamination. Methods The contents of Pb,total-Hg,Cd,Cr and total-As in raw milk,fermented milk,sterilized milk,infant formula and milk powder during 2012-2013 were detected.Single factor contamination index method and comprehensive contamination index method of Nemerow were used to evaluate the contamination level according to the grading standard of agriculture product quality. Results The detection rate of Pb,total-As,total-Hg,Cd and Cr were 14. 0%( 21 /150),24. 7%( 37 /150),82. 0%( 109 /133),26. 3%( 35 /133)and 72. 9%( 43 /59) in dairy products,respectively. Pb in raw milk and Cd in sterilized milk were not detected. The mean,P75 and P95 of total-Hg in raw milk were higher than the limit. The P95 of total-Hg in fermented milk and sterilized milk and Cd in milk powder were higher than the limit. The detection rate and single factor contamination index of total-Hg were the highest in raw milk,fermented milk and sterilized milk,which indicated there was severe contamination in the raw milk( PHg 1) and mild contamination in fermented milk( PHg 0. 6). The detection rate of Cr was the highest in infant formula and milk powder,while single factor contamination index of Cd was the highest. The heavy metal contamination in raw milk ranked the first with Pn= 0. 754,reaching mild level of contamination. The heavy metal contamination in dairy products could be lined in a decreasing order of raw milk,fermented milk,sterilized milk,milk powder and infant formula.Conclusion Four kinds of dairy products were at the safe level of heavy metal contamination. Total-Hg was the dominant heavy metal contamination in liquid milk,while Cd in solid milk. Single factor contamination index and comprehensive contamination index of total-Hg in raw milk indicated that measures should be taken to prevent the contamination.
Nontyphoidal Salmonellosis, Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection, and Ischemic Stroke

Nontyphoidal Salmonella infection and stroke are major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with increased risk in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected population. We report a rare case of ischemic stroke associated with Salmonella enteritidis subdural empyema in an older HIV-infected patient with multimorbidity, despite surgery and treatment with susceptible antimicrobial drugs.
A Motion Planning Framework for Skill Coordination and Learning

Coordinated whole-body motions are key for achieving the full potential of humanoids performing tasks in human environments and in cooperation with humans. We present a multi-skill motion planning and learning framework which is able to address several complex whole-body coordinations and as well detection and imitation of motion constraints. The framework is composed of three main parts: first, a minimal set of basic motion skills is defined in order to achieve basic stepping, balance and reaching capabilities. A multi-skill motion planner is then developed for coordinating motion skills in order to solve generic mobile manipulation tasks. Finally, learning strategies are presented for improving skill execution and for learning constraints from imitation. The framework is able to coordinate basic skills in order to solve complex whole-body humanoid tasks and also integrates learning mechanisms for achieving humanlike performances in realistic environments.
Implementation Strategies to Improve Knowledge and Adherence to Spinal Cord Injury Guidelines

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate a bundle of implementation strategies (local opinion leaders, printed educational materials, and educational outreach) to increase neurocritical care nurses’ knowledge of and adherence to spinal cord injury guidelines. Design A preprogram, postprogram, and follow-up design was used to evaluate outcomes. Methods Adherence was measured via self-reported anticipatory adherence; knowledge was measured by an author-developed assessment. Repeated measures ANOVA was used for data analysis. Findings Improvements in nursing knowledge and adherence were found from preprogram to postprogram to follow-up time points. Conclusions Outcomes noted in this study provide additional support for using this bundle of implementation strategies, and were consistent with previous research documenting the usefulness of these strategies. Clinical Relevance Although further research is needed, this study highlighted a systematic way of implementing evidence-based practices to improve neurocritical care nurses’ knowledge of and adherence to spinal cord injury guidelines.
A Binomial Modeling Approach for Upscaling Colloid Transport Under Unfavorable Attachment Conditions: Emergent Prediction of Nonmonotonic Retention Profiles

We used a recently developed simple mathematical network model to upscale pore-scale colloid transport information determined under unfavorable attachment conditions. Classical log-linear and non-monotonic retention profiles, both well-reported under favorable and unfavorable attachment conditions, respectively, emerged from our upscaling. The primary attribute of the network is colloid transfer between bulk pore fluid, the near surface fluid domain (NSFD), and attachment (treated as irreversible). The network model accounts for colloid transfer to the NSFD of down-gradient grains and for reentrainment to bulk pore fluid via diffusion or via expulsion at rear flow stagnation zones (RFSZs). The model describes colloid transport by a sequence of random trials in a 1D network of Happel cells, which contain a grain and a pore. Using combinatorial analysis that capitalizes on the binomial coefficient, we derived from the pore-scale information the theoretical residence time distribution of colloids in the network. The transition from log-linear to non-monotonic retention profiles occurs when the conditions underlying classical filtration theory are not fulfilled, i.e., when a NSFD colloid population is maintained. Then, nonmonotonic retention profiles result, potentially both for attached and NSFD colloids. The concentration maxima shift downgradient depending on specific parameter choice. The concentration maxima were also shown to shift downgradient temporally (with continued elution) under conditions where attachment is negligible, explaining experimentally-observed down-gradient transport of retained concentration maxima of adhesion-deficient bacteria. For the case of zero reentrainment, we develop closed form, analytical expressions for the shape and the maximum of the colloid retention profile.
Evidenced-based care of pregnant women with symptomatic adrenal masses - accepting imperfect data.

Caring for pregnant women with complex underlying medical conditions invariably leads to encounters with rather rare disorders. Such care is usually informed by limited published data, usually from single case reports or very small case series. This is the case when one seeks guidance regarding counseling and management of pregnant women with hormone secreting adrenal tumors. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Ketogenic Diet in Super-Refractory Status Epilepticus.

Researchers from the Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C. studied the feasibility, rate of complications, and effect on seizures of initiating the Ketogenic Diet (KD) in pediatric patients with Super-Refractory Status Epilepticus (SRSE).
Sexual and gender identities in transgender men: Fluid and binary perspectives

Little is understood about how sexual orientation and gender identity actually interconnect with transgender men. Eight transgender men were interviewed in depth, multiple times, and their perspect...
A comparison of oral flecainide and amiodarone for the treatment of recurrent supraventricular tachycardia in children

Background Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) in children can be difficult to treat when first-line therapies (beta-blockade or digoxin) are not effective. Both flecainide and amiodarone are used as second-line therapies. We sought to compare the efficacy and safety of flecainide and amiodarone in pediatric patients with recurrent SVT. Methods Pediatric patients treated with oral flecainide or oral amiodarone for SVT between 2006 and 2015 were studied. Tachycardia mechanisms included orthodromic reciprocating tachycardia (ORT), intra-atrial reentrant tachycardia (IART), and ectopic atrial tachycardia (EAT). Outcomes were classified as full success, partial success (requiring additional intervention), or failure. Results Seventy-four patients were included (median age 46 days, range 1 day to 19 years). Flecainide was used in 47 patients and amiodarone in 27 patients. Full success was achieved in 68% and 59%, respectively (P = 0.28). Partial success was achieved in 13% and 19%, respectively (P = 0.12). Treatment failed in 19% and 22%, respectively (P = 0.97). Ten crossover patients received the second medication after the first failed. Of five amiodarone-to-flecainide crossovers, four achieved success on flecainide alone. Of five flecainide-to-amiodarone crossovers, two achieved success. Minor adverse events occurred in 9% of flecainide and 22% of amiodarone patients (P = 0.16). No significant differences were seen by arrhythmia subtype (36 EAT, 28 ORT, 10 IART), congenital heart disease (n = 38), or age group (56 infants). Conclusions Oral flecainide and amiodarone achieved meaningful arrhythmia control in 81% and 78% of pediatric patients with recurrent SVT, respectively. Those who failed amiodarone had encouraging outcomes when changed to flecainide.
Local and Global Dynamics of Free Shear Layers

Since Brown and Roshko [5.3] pointed out that coherent structures are intrinsic features of a free shear layer, their investigation has become the mainstream of shear-turbulence research. The pairing of these structures [5.4, 5.5] was proved to be responsible for the spreading and the momentum transfer in a mixing layer. Therefore, if the evolution of these coherent structures can be well described, the dynamics of the shear layer can be understood.
“We’ll Cook Him Up in a Stew”: Stepmothers and Primogeniture in the Brothers Grimm’s The Juniper Tree

What larger social concern could the continued popularity of the nineteenth-century cannibal stepmother narrative in twenty-first century crime and news reporting be indicating? In this paper, I compare a fictional episode of cannibalism in the non-canonical Brothers Grimms’ tale, “The Juniper Tree,” with the true story of the 2010 murder and subsequent dismemberment of Zahra Baker in Hickory, North Carolina to consider the larger cultural implications of cannibalistic stepmothers. In doing so I argue that, despite the half-hearted attempt by mainstream animation studios to try to create semi-Feminist adaptations of the canonical fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and Charles Perrault, narratives similar to “The Juniper Tree” in fact reinforce a pro-male model of inheritance at the sacrifice of both wives and their girl children. These adaptations also communicate modern social anxieties surrounding blended families, especially regarding heteronormative visions of childhood, savior narratives around adoption, and easy answers about inheritance. Faculty Sponsor: Elizabeth E. Tavares
Speculator: a tool to analyze speculative execution attacks and mitigations

Speculative execution attacks exploit vulnerabilities at a CPU's microarchitectural level, which, until recently, remained hidden below the instruction set architecture, largely undocumented by CPU vendors. New speculative execution attacks are released on a monthly basis, showing how aspects of the so-far unexplored microarchitectural attack surface can be exploited. In this paper, we introduce, Speculator, a new tool to investigate these new microarchitectural attacks and their mitigations, which aims to be the GDB of speculative execution. Using speculative execution markers, set of instructions that we found are observable through performance counters during CPU speculation, Speculator can study microarchitectural behavior of single snippets of code, or more complex attacker and victim scenarios (e.g. Branch Target Injection (BTI) attacks). We also present our findings on multiple CPU platforms showing the precision and the flexibility offered by Speculator and its templates.
A new species of Hypolophites (Chondrichthyes, Myliobatiformes) from the Lower Clayton Limestone Unit of the Midway Group (Paleocene), near Malvern, Arkansas, USA

A new species of Hypolophites (Chondrichthyes, Myliobatiformes) is described from an assemblage of isolated pavement teeth recovered from the Lower Clayton Limestone Unit of the Midway Group (Paleocene) near Malvern, Arkansas. These teeth were collected from several localized lag deposits containing an abundance of chondrichthyan and osteichthyan teeth, invertebrate remains, and trace fossils indicative of a marginal-shallow marine depositional environment. To date, only four additional species of Hypolophites have been reported from Paleocene deposits that occur along the west coast of central-northern Africa and in central New Jersey, USA. The identification of Hypolophites beckeri n. sp. in southwestern Arkansas extends the distribution of this biostratigraphically significant genus ∼1,750 km westward into the Mississippi Embayment and Gulf Coastal Plain of the USA. The distribution of Hypolophites species during the Paleocene attests to the uniformity of shallow marine shelves between western Africa and the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains of the USA, as well as myliobatiform diversification following the K/Pg mass extinction event.
What Are Whole Body Shapes for Plus Sized Women in the United States?: Implications for New Product Development

The purpose of this study is to categorize the whole body shapes in overweight and obese (OWOB) female in the United States. Based on K-mean cluster analysis and four principle component (PC) scores, four whole body shapes among OWOB female in the US were categorized: Full bust-curvy, straight-oval, straight-pear, and full bust-tilted. The body shapes were mainly identified based on their side views as three PCs explained the characteristics of their body from the side silhouette and one PC related to the upper body from the front view. The results implied that OWOB female’s whole body shapes were significantly differentiated from the side views. Identifying whole body shapes among OWOB women in the US contributes significantly to apparel companies who target the markets of plus sized women to develop new sizing system and body related literature by filling gaps in missing whole body shape categories among OWOB female.
Seeding Network Influence in Biased Networks and the Benefits of Diversity

The problem of social influence maximization is widely applicable in designing viral campaigns, news dissemination, or medical aid. State-of-the-art algorithms often select “early adopters” that are most central in a network unfortunately mirroring or exacerbating historical biases and leaving under-represented communities out of the loop. Through a theoretical model of biased networks, we characterize the intricate relationship between diversity and efficiency, which sometimes may be at odds but may also reinforce each other. Most importantly, we find a mathematically proven analytical condition under which more equitable choices of early adopters lead simultaneously to fairer outcomes and larger outreach. Analysis of data on the DBLP network confirms that our condition is often met in real networks. We design and test a set of algorithms leveraging the network structure to optimize the diffusion of a message while avoiding to create disparate impact among participants based on their demographics, such as gender or race.
Parent Perspectives on Sending Their Children to College Early

Early entrance to college, a form of academic acceleration, is an educational alternative that opens pathways for advanced students to have challenging, stimulating, and relevant learning experienc...
Systematic Review of Predictors of Success for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination

Objective. Studies have examined possible predictors of success on the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX). This systematic review investigated the literature on potential predictors of success on the NAPLEX. Findings. Articles were included in the review if they included student characteristics and academic performance as independent variables and NAPLEX scores and/or pass rate as an outcome. Data were extracted from each article for students’ demographics or variables, sample size, methods of statistical analyses, and results reporting correlation or predictability. From 40 articles retrieved from the initial search and sorting, a total of 20 studies were included in the final review per inclusion criteria. Three studies included all the pharmacy programs, 15 were single-institution studies, 2 multi-institution studies, and 4 published as posters. Among 30 different variables identified as potential predictors of success on the NAPLEX, the most examined variables were student age at matriculation, having a prior degree, Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) scores, cumulative pharmacy school grade point average (GPA), overall Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment (PCOA) scores, and PCOA content areas scores. Positively correlated factors included PCAT scores, not having a prior degree, prepharmacy and pharmacy school GPA, institutional characteristics, and PCOA scores. Negatively correlated factors included older age at admission. Summary. Cumulative pharmacy school GPA and PCOA scores were predictors of NAPLEX success consistently in the studies. The effects of preadmission student characteristics on NAPLEX success varied and were not consistently correlated or predictive.
Buffalo Change & Community

In this special issue of the Buffalo Law Review, we look beyond the rhetoric of revival and join a critical analysis of Buffalo change and community. Is today's appearance of economic success grounded in reality? To the extent this newfound prosperity is real, who benefits? And, how can we do better? While exposing a dark underside to Buffalo's new luster, we also see a moment of opportunity for constructive change. Buffalo's emerging identity and posture will be stronger with broader and more effective community based participation in economic development.
Drug-Related and Toxin-Related Deaths

Deaths related to drugs or toxins represent a sizeable percentage of cases investigated by forensic pathologists. Chapter 11 begins by discussing the investigation, autopsy findings, general toxicology issues, and death certification issues specifically related to drug/toxin deaths. The remainder of the chapter presents many common and some uncommon drugs and toxins which may result in death.
Molecular fractionation during crystallization and its application to the study of lamellar thickening during isothermal crystallization

The increase of average lamellar thickness of polymer crystals occurring during isothermal crystallization has been ascribed by KAWAI, HOSOI, and KAMIDE1 to the phenomenon of molecular fractionation induced by crystallization. This explanation however, is not in agreement with several experimental observations. These observations are discussed and compared with an earlier explanation proposing fractionation during crystallization followed by crystal thickening.
BECOMING A TWEEP: How prior online experiences influence Twitter use

Despite much excitement about the microblogging platform Twitter, little is known about predictors of its adoption and how its uses relate to other online activities in particular. Using a unique longitudinal data set from 2009 to 2010 surveying over 500 diverse young American adults about their online experiences, we look at how adoption of Twitter relates to prior engagement in other types of online activities. Our findings suggest that online skills as well as prior consumption and production activities especially in the domain of entertainment news are significant predictors of subsequent Twitter use. Our results caution about the potential biases that may result from studies that sample on Twitter users excluding other populations.