cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Early demise of twins in a cohort of stillbirths and second trimester miscarriages

Twins, particularly monochorionic (MC) pairs, are at increased risk for fetal death. Whereas previous work has sought to understand the mechanisms for this increased mortality, most studies analyze viable twin pregnancies or liveborn twin cohorts. In the Wisconsin Stillbirth Service Program cohort of 3,137 stillbirths and second trimester miscarriages, we identified 175 twin pregnancies for a twinning rate of 56/1,000, which is approximately double the general population. The excess of twins among miscarriages and stillbirths was attributable to MC pairs as the incidence of dizygotic (DZ) twinning was not increased compared to livebirth data. The leading causes of fetal demise among twins were twin-twin transfusion, acardia, and twin-twin disruption. Maternal causes of death, primarily premature rupture of membranes, were moderately increased in both MC and DZ twins relative to singletons. Although deceased twins were smaller than expected for viable twins at comparable gestational ages, placenta weights of deceased MC pairs were large compared to combined fetal weight, which indicates placental inefficiency likely due to vascular shunting. Co-twin survival was much lower for MC than for DZ pairs. Therefore, earlier diagnosis and treatment of MC twinning complications may decrease prenatal mortality.
The theory of games as a tool for the social epistemologist

Traditionally, epistemologists have distinguished between epistemic and pragmatic goals. In so doing, they presume that much of game theory is irrelevant to epistemic enterprises. I will show that this is a mistake. Even if we restrict attention to purely epistemic motivations, members of epistemic groups will face a multitude of strategic choices. I illustrate several contexts where individuals who are concerned solely with the discovery of truth will nonetheless face difficult game theoretic problems. Examples of purely epistemic coordination problems and social dilemmas will be presented. These show that there is a far deeper connection between economics and epistemology than previous appreciated.
Hyperthermia: “I’m Hot Blooded; Check It and See”

Hyperthermia can be the result of environmental exposure, physical overexertion, drug/medication use, or a combination of any of the above. Heat stroke and hyperthermia can have various presentations based on the underlying etiology and can present on a broad spectrum from simple heat cramps to alteration in mental status. About 618 people are killed by environmental heat–related illness in the United States every year according to the CDC (Extreme Heat (5/20/2018). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/index.html).
Affirming cultural values for health: The case of firearm restriction in suicide prevention.

•Messaging increased likelihood of locking up firearms for suicide prevention.•It also increased likelihood of participants engaging their family physician to help prevent suicide.•Effects were stronger for political conservatives and gun rights advocates.•Perceived value similarity between message source and recipient mediated effects.•Health behaviors were facilitated when regarded as consistent with cultural values.
The structure directing agent isomer used in SSZ-39 synthesis impacts the zeolite activity towards selective catalytic reduction of nitric oxides

The selective catalytic reduction of nitric oxide using copper ion-exchanged SSZ-39 is described. Samples made from identical synthesis gels with only different amounts of the trans isomer of the SDA exhibit both different copper metal uptake during exchange as well as different catalytic activity. The reactivity differences are most pronounced at low (<250 °C) and high temperatures, with conversions at 200 °C varying by nearly twenty percentage points (70 versus 90%). Samples with nearly identical Si/Al and Cu/Al values were prepared and show different catalytic activities under the conditions investigated. SEM and nitrogen physisorption suggest that this is not primarily a result of different particle sizes or micropore volumes. Preliminary analyses using EDS in conjunction with TEM indicate on the length scale of tens of nanometers aluminum zoning features appear as amount of the trans SDA used in the synthesis gel changes. These results indicate one route to manipulating local structure in zeolites that impact both the number of active sites as well as reactivity.
Principles guiding the development of clinical practice guidelines for medical genetics and genomics specialty

The development of clinical practice guidelines for medical genetics and genomics specialty is a key step in translating basic and clinical genetic research into evidence-based and precision clinical services. This paper briefly expounds the principles of writing high-quality and trustworthy clinical practice guidelines. According to these principles, the management framework, writing process, review and revision procedures, and application monitoring of medical genetic specialty guidelines are described. Systematic review of relevant literature for evidence applicable to the screening, diagnosis, counseling, treatment and prevention of specific genetic diseases is summarized. Specific requirements for writing and reviewing high-quality professional guidelines for medical genetics are introduced. These principles and requirements can ensure that the evidence-based methods and recommendations in the written guidelines conform to current international standards and have specific clinical purposes, scope of practice and time-tracking mechanism. Implementation of such guidelines can promote the translation of basic and clinical genetic research, promote cooperation of medical genetics and other clinical specialties and coordination of interdisciplinary clinical practice guidelines, and provide effective and safe clinical services for patients and their families.
Increasing integration scale of superconductor electronics beyond one million Josephson junctions

We review the existing fabrication processes for superconductor digital electronics and describe approaches to increasing the scale of integration of superconducting digital circuits from the current level of about one million Josephson junctions (JJs) on a 1-cm2 chip toward ten million JJs per chip. We present designs of ac-clocked Single Flux Quantum (SFQ) shift registers, convenient benchmarking circuits, in a 250-nm-linewidth superconductor electronics fabrication process developed recently at MIT Lincoln Laboratory (MIT LL). For shift registers using resistively shunted JJs with Josephson critical current density, J c of 100 μA/μm2, we achieved a record-high circuit density of 4.2106 JJs per cm2, a factor of three higher than the previous record obtained in the MIT LL 350-nm-linewidth SFQ5ee process. Using self-shunted JJs with J c of 600 μA/μm2, we increased this record circuit density to 7.4106 JJs per cm2.
The moduli space of negatively curved metrics of a hyperbolic manifold

We prove that the moduli space of negatively curved metrics of a hyperbolic manifold M n has nontrivial homotopy and homology groups in certain dimensions (depending on n) provided M has a ‘good’ closed geodesic.
Digital Jesus: The Making of a New Christian Fundamentalist Community on the Internet, by Robert Glenn Howard.

Digital Jesus: The Making of a New Christian Fundamentalist Community on the Internet, by Robert Glenn Howard. New York University Press, 2011. 213pp., pb., $27.00. ISBN-13: 9780814773109.
Residential Brokerage in Hot and Cold Markets

Using a search-theoretical framework, we study how a home seller's choice of whether or not to use a broker depends on different market conditions. We analyze the role that the broker plays in the house-selling process by examining the expected time-to-transaction, the expected transaction price, and the value of the transaction. We show that a broker brings less value to the seller in hot markets than in cold markets.
Challenge Model for Escherichia coli in the Colostrum Deprived Calf

There is an increasing number of oral immunoglobulin and probiotic preparations commercially available for the bovine neonate. Advertisements for calf immunosupplements may be vague, confusing, or even misleading. Early ingestion of high quality colostrum provides the best defense against calf colisepticemia.
Association between Area Deprivation Index and Listing for Heart Transplantation at an Academic Medical Center

Purpose Socioeconomic deprivation may impede referral for heart transplant (HT) evaluation and impart barriers to listing. The area deprivation index (ADI) incorporates Census-derived measures of neighborhood disadvantage that include education, employment, income, poverty, and housing characteristics. We examined the association of ADI with HT listing among patients evaluated at our institution. Methods All HT evaluations at our institution from 1/1/2017-12/31/19 were reviewed. Patient sex, age, race, ethnicity, BMI, and primary insurance payer were recorded. Block group-level ADI decile (1-10 with 10 being the most disadvantaged) was obtained at each patient's home address. Results Of 330 patients evaluated for HT, 262 were presented at our selection meeting. ADI was obtained for 259 patients and assigned by multiple imputation for three. Among them, 27% were women, 54% white, 22% Black, and 16% Latino. Median age was 59 years (IQR 48-55) and median ADI decile was 4 (2-7). Our institutional neighborhood ADI is 9. In total, 206 (79.5%) candidates were listed for HT. ADI decile did not associate significantly with odds of listing (OR 0.94 [95% CI 0.85-1.04],p=0.21). Compared to those with commercial insurance, patients with Medicare (OR 0.36 [0.16-0.79],p=0.01) and dual coverage (OR 0.17 [0.06-0.44],p Conclusion Among candidates presented for HT evaluation at our center, ADI did not associate with likelihood of listing. Lower listing odds for patients supported with Medicare or dual coverage may reflect longstanding illness. Additional studies will determine associations of ADI and insurance with bridging strategy, waitlist and post-HT outcomes.
Environmental estrogens inhibit the expression of insulin-like growth factor mRNAs in rainbow trout in vitro by altering activation of the JAK-STAT, AKT-PI3K, and ERK signaling pathways.

Abstract Environmental estrogens (EE) have been found to disrupt a host of developmental, reproductive, metabolic, and osmoregulatory process in a wide-range of animals, particularly those in aquatic ecosystems where such compounds concentrate. Previously, we showed that EE inhibited post-embryonic organismal growth of rainbow trout in vivo, but the precise mechanism(s) through which EE exert their growth inhibiting effects remain unknown. In this study, we used rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) as a model to investigate the direct effects of 17β-estradiol (E2), β-sitosterol (βS), and 4-n-nonylphenol (NP) on the synthesis of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and to elucidate the mechanism(s) by which EEs exert such effects. E2, βS, and NP significantly inhibited the expression of both IGF-1 and IGF-2 mRNAs in liver and gill in a time- and concentration-related manner. Although the response evoked by each EEs on the expression of IGF mRNAs was similar, the potency and efficacy varied with EE; the rank order potency/ efficacy was as follows: E2> NP> βS. The effects of EEs on the expression of IGF mRNAs was blocked by the estrogen receptor (ER) antagonist, ICI 182,780. The mechanism(s) through which EEs inhibit IGF mRNA expression were investigated in isolated liver cells in vitro. EE treatment deactivated JAK, STAT, ERK, and AKT. Moreover, blockade of growth hormone (GH)-stimulated IGF expression by EE was accompanied by deactivation of JAK, STAT, ERK, and AKT. EEs also increased the expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS-2), a known inhibitor of JAK-2--an action that also was blocked by ICI 182,780. These results indicate that EEs directly inhibit the expression of IGF mRNAs by disrupting GH post-receptor signaling pathways (e.g., JAK, STAT, ERK, and AKT) in an ER-dependent manner.
Automated delineation of orbital abscess depicted on CT scan using deep learning.

OBJECTIVES To develop and validate a deep learning algorithm to automatically detect and segment an orbital abscess depicted on computed tomography (CT). METHODS We retrospectively collected orbital CT scans acquired on 67 pediatric subjects with a confirmed orbital abscess in the setting of infectious orbital cellulitis. A context-aware convolutional neural network (CA-CNN) was developed and trained to automatically segment orbital abscess. To reduce the requirement for a large dataset, transfer learning was used by leveraging a pre-trained model for CT-based lung segmentation. An ophthalmologist manually delineated orbital abscesses depicted on the CT images. The classical U-Net and the CA-CNN models with and without transfer learning were trained and tested on the collected dataset using the 10-fold cross-validation method. Dice coefficient, Jaccard index, and Hausdorff distance were used as performance metrics to assess the agreement between the computerized and manual segmentations. RESULTS The context-aware U-Net with transfer learning achieved an average Dice coefficient and Jaccard index of 0.78 ± 0.12 and 0.65 ± 0.13, which were consistently higher than the classical U-Net or the context-aware U-Net without transfer learning (P < 0.01). The average differences of the abscess between the computerized results and the experts in terms of volume and Hausdorff distance were 0.10 ± 0.11 mL and 1.94 ± 1.21 mm, respectively. The context-aware U-Net detected all orbital abscess without false positives. CONCLUSIONS The deep learning solution demonstrated promising performance in detecting and segmenting orbital abscesses on CT images in strong agreement with a human observer.
A novel placement method for mini-scale passive components in surface mount technology

This paper aims to propose a novel placing method, i.e., place-between-paste-and-pad (PB), for mini-scale passive components to enhance electronic assembly lines’ yield. PB means a component is designed to be placed at the midpoint between the pastes and pads on the length direction while it aligns with the pads’ center on the width direction. An experiment that involves 12 printed circuit boards (PCB) and 4500 resistors R0402M (0.40 mm × 0.20 mm) is designed and conducted to get comparative results of PB and two industrial placing methods, i.e., place-on-pad and place-on-paste. Based on this experiment’s results, PB outperforms the other two methods in terms of minimizing the components’ final misalignment. Furthermore, PB is a low-cost placing strategy because PB does not need the real-time communication between the solder paste inspection machine and the pick-and-place machine. The placement method proposed in this study is expected to offer a low-cost exploration in the pick-and-place procedure to enhance the surface mount assembly quality of mini-scale passive components.
A Classical $\pi$ Machine and Grover's Algorithm

This paper studies a well-known $\pi$ machine illustrated by Fig.(1). It is shown that the $\pi$ machine can compute digits of $\pi$ if the ratio of block weights, $m_2/m_1$, satisfies certain conditions, and that dynamics of the $\pi$ machine is identical to that of Grover's algorithm [1] in quantum computing.
Surgical Management of Wilms Tumor (Nephroblastoma) and Renal Cell Carcinoma in Children and Young Adults.

This article reviews the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and multimodality management of Wilms tumors and renal cell carcinoma in pediatric and young adults. Key renal Societe Internationale d'Oncologie Pediatrique and Children Oncology Group studies are presented. The article reviews the common staging systems and risk-adapted treatment strategies with particular attention to the surgical management.
Mitochondrial H+ Leak and Thermogenesis.

Mitochondria of all tissues convert various metabolic substrates into two forms of energy: ATP and heat. Historically, the primary focus of research in mitochondrial bioenergetics was on the mechanisms of ATP production, while mitochondrial thermogenesis received significantly less attention. Nevertheless, mitochondrial heat production is crucial for the maintenance of body temperature, regulation of the pace of metabolism, and prevention of oxidative damage to mitochondria and the cell. In addition, mitochondrial thermogenesis has gained significance as a pharmacological target for treating metabolic disorders. Mitochondria produce heat as the result of H+ leak across their inner membrane. This review provides a critical assessment of the current field of mitochondrial H+ leak and thermogenesis, with a focus on the molecular mechanisms involved in the function and regulation of uncoupling protein 1 and the ADP/ATP carrier, the two proteins that mediate mitochondrial H+ leak. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Physiology, Volume 84 is February 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
Modding for Change: Promoting Empathy and Agency for Climate Systems

Climate change is a difficult topic for students due to interconnections and feedback among multiple components of the climate system. But many people also disengage from this discussion due to feelings of powerlessness. To engage students with this topic, it is also important for them to feel empathy for those affected and agency to make change. We designed and facilitated a week-long game design workshop for 11 grade 7 students. Students learned about climate change issues, and then modified the game Forbidden Island to engage players in an issue of their choice. Based on observations, interviews, and analyses of students' games, we describe how the game narratives and game mechanics that students created reflected refinements in their reasoning about, and empathy for climate-related issues.
Associations among solicitation, relationship quality, and adolescents' disclosure and secrecy with mothers and best friends.

Disclosure and secrecy with mothers and best friends about personal, bad behavior, and multifaceted (e.g., staying out late) activities were examined using daily diaries among 102 ethnically diverse, urban middle adolescents (M = 15.18 years, SD = .89). Adolescents disclosed more and kept fewer secrets from best friends than from mothers and more frequently disclosed and kept secrets about their personal than their bad behavior and multifaceted activities. Better daily relationship quality was associated with more disclosure about personal and multifaceted activities and less secrecy about bad behaviors for both mothers and best friends. Overall, when mothers solicited information, adolescents disclosed more but also kept more secrets from them, whereas best friends' solicitation was mostly associated with more disclosure.
The SHAPE Guideline: Why Primary Care Physicians Should Embrace It

The vast majority of patients who have traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors but lack overt evidence of atherosclerotic disease (i.e., “primary prevention” patients) are managed by primary care physicians. A relatively small percentage of these patients currently achieve their JNC-VII and/or NCEP ATP-III goals, a reflection of both patient-specific and physician-related barriers. Many patients have unrealistic expectations of what can be achieved through diet alone, lack an appreciation of the potential benefit of pharmaceuticals, and/or have an inappropriate fear of medication side effects, all of which contribute to resistance to medication initiation and poor long-term adherence. This perspective is not easily changed as primary care physicians have difficulty in persuasively communicating long-term cardiovascular risks and the benefit of intervention. Most primary care physicians do not use Framingham Risk Scores to stratify higher risk patients. As time constraints make the scoring system impractical to utilize consistently, it provides an incomplete assessment of risk, and the derived 10 year-risk of having an event is difficult to interpret meaningfully for patients. Furthermore, many primary care physicians perceive current guidelines as being too complicated and find “optional” goals confusing. Thus, a more efficient means of identifying high-risk patients, coupled with simplified guidelines containing succinct, clear recommendations for LDL-C target levels and therapeutic interventions, would likely improve the CVD prevention goal attainment rates in these at-risk patients. The SHAPE Guideline addresses many of the barriers primary care physicians face in striving to optimally manage their dyslipidemic patients. Positive screening tests will help physicians to identify those patients who need more aggressive treatment, and likewise help to motivate at-risk patients to comply with their physician’s treatment recommendations. The heightened risk awareness afforded by a positive screening test will thereby enhance patient compliance and clearly improve the treatment of this high-risk population.
TU-G-BRA-06: PET-Based Treatment Response Assessement for Neoadjuvent Chemoradiation for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

Purpose: To address the limitations of the conventional response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST), and validate PET response criteria in solid tumors (PERCIST1.0). We analyze the relationship between the pathological treatment response (PTR) and PERCIST1.0 for patients treated with neoadjuvent chemoradiation (nCR) for pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Methods: The pre- and post-nCR CT and PET data for a total of 8 patients with resectable, or borderline resectable pancreatic head adenocarcinoma treated with nCR were retrospectively analyzed. These data were compared with the PTR which were graded according to tumor cell destruction (cellularity), with Grade1, 2 or 3 (G1, G2 or G3) for good, moderate, and poor responses, respectively. RECIST-based PET (RECISTPET), and PERCIST1.0 were defined using lean body mass normalized SUV (nSUVlb). RECIST-based CT (RECISTCT) was defined by contouring the whole pancreas head (CTPH). Pre- and post-nSUVlb and SUVbw, PERCIST 1.0, were correlated with PTR using Pearson’s correlation coefficient test. Results: The average mean and SD in nSUVlb for all 8 patients analyzed were lower in post-nCR (1.35±0.34) compared to those at pre-nCR (1.38±0.20). Using PERCIST1.0, 5/8 patients showed stable metabolic disease (SMD), 2/8 partial metabolic response (PMR), and 1/8 progressive metabolic disease (PMD). Using RECISTPET 4/8 showed stable disease (STD), 4/8 partial response (PR), whereas 8/8 showed stable disease (STD) using RECISTCT. PTR were correlated with PERCIST1.0 (R=0.3780/P=0.6071). Pathological tumor size was correlated with RECISTCT (R=0.0727/P=0.8679), and RECISTPET, R=−0.3333/P=0.3798. Conclusion: Chemoradiation treatment response assessment based on metabolic tumor activities using PRECIST1.0 and RECISTPET appears to provide better agreement with pathological assessment as compared to the conventional CT-based assessment using RECISTCT. The integration of these additional radiographic metrics in assessing treatment response to nCR for pancreatic adenocarcinoma may provide a promising strategy to better select those patients most suitable for therapeutic intensification.
Shape formation by self-disassembly in programmable matter systems

Programmable matter systems are composed of small, intelligent modules able to form a variety of macroscale objects with specific material properties in response to external commands or stimuli. While many programmable matter systems have been proposed in fiction, (Barbapapa, Changelings from Star Trek, the Terminator, and Transformers), and academia, a lack of suitable hardware and accompanying algorithms prevents their full realization. With this thesis research, we aim to create a system of miniature modules that can form arbitrary structures on demand. We develop autonomous 12mm cubic modules capable of bonding to, and communicating with, four of their immediate neighbors. These modules are among the smallest autonomous modular robots capable of sensing, communication, computation, and actuation. The modules employ unique electropermanent magnet connectors. The four connectors in each module enable the modules to communicate and share power with their nearest neighbors. These solid-state connectors are strong enough for a single inter-module connection to support the weight of 80 other modules. The connectors only consume power when switching on or off; they have no static power consumption. We implement a number of low-level communication and control algorithms which manage information transfer between neighboring modules. These algorithms ensure that messages are delivered reliably despite challenging conditions. They monitor the state of all communication links and are able to reroute messages around broken communication links to ensure that they reach their intended destinations. In order to accomplish our long-standing goal of programmatic shape formation, we also develop a suite of provably-correct distributed algorithms that allow complex shape formation. The distributed duplication algorithm that we present allows the system to duplicate any passive object that is submerged in a collection of programmable matter modules. The algorithm runs on the processors inside the modules and requires no external intervention. It requires O(1) storage and O(n) inter-module messages per module, where n is the number of modules in the system. The algorithm can both magnify and produce multiple copies of the submerged object. A programmable matter system is a large network of autonomous processors, so these algorithms have applicability in a variety of routing, sensor network, and distributed computing applications. While our hardware system provides a 50-module test-bed for the algorithms, we show, by using a unique simulator, that the algorithms are capable of operating in much larger environments. Finally, we perform hundreds of experiments using both the simulator and hardware to show how the algorithms and hardware operate in practice. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
Pathogenesis of paralysis and lymphoma associated with a wild mouse retrovirus infection

Abstract Wild mouse ecotropic retrovirus (Cas-Br-M) induced paralysis and non-thymic lymphomas in susceptible NIH Swiss and NFS/N mice. The incidence of paralysis was highest and latency shortest in mice receiving high doses of virus. Lower dose inoculation and inoculation of older mice produced less paralysis with longer latency, but resulted in more lymphomas. However, 10-day-old mice did not develop paralysis and had fewer lymphomas. Anti-Cas-Br-M antibody was detectable in sera from 10-day-old infected mice but not from paralyzed mice. These data suggest that while paralysis and lymphoma may result from different virus-host interactions, the development of immunocompetence may play a role in the age-dependent resistance to Cas-Br-M-associated paralysis and lymphoma in these mice.
Permeation of Buprenorphine and Its 3-Alkyl-Ester Prodrugs Through Human Skin

Purpose. Homologous 3-alkyl-ester prodrugs (C2 to C4) of buprenorphine with decreased crystallinity have been synthesized and evaluated for transdermal delivery commensurate with opioid dependence treatment. Methods. To assess the influence of derivatization on delivery, the permeation of the prodrugs through human skin was determined in vitro. Prodrug metabolism was measured in human blood and skin supernatant in vitro along with chemical hydrolysis controls. The pro-drugs' octanol/water partition coefficients were measured. Results. Without exception, the prodrugs were completely hydrolyzed on passing through the skin and appeared as buprenorphine in the receptor compartment. However, using saturation conditions, in no instance did the buprenorphine flux through skin from a prodrug solution exceed the flux of buprenorphine base itself in vitro. Moreover, the flux of the acetyl ester, the least hydrophobic of the prodrugs, was not significantly elevated upon stripping the skin. Whether in blood or the skin supernatant, the prodrugs hydrolyzed in an apparent first-order fashion and rate constants and half-lives were calculated. Conclusions. We conclude from the results that the prodrugs' very high octanol/water partition coefficients (hydrophobicity) placed them in viable tissue layer controlled diffusion. Consequently, one does not derive the potential flux-increasing benefit of reducing crystallinity that was expected.
Faculty-Graduate Student Mentoring: Implications for Health Education

Abstract This article provides an overview of mentoring literature. It defines “mentor” and “mentoring,” discusses phases of the mentoring relationship, and covers the drawbacks and benefits of mentoring relationships for both the mentor and the protege. Based on mentoring research, several suggestions for mentoring graduate students are provided for health education faculty.
Care and Exploitation of Nonhuman Primate Infants by Conspecifics Other Than the Mother

Publisher Summary This chapter shares the instances of care for infants by individuals other than the natural mother, and examines the instances of abuse of infants by males and females of various primate species and the advantages and disadvantages of such behavior for the parties concerned enumerated. Natural-selection pressures on the infant and on the mother-infant pair to either attract or discourage conspecific attentions are explored. Some differences between male and female treatment of infants are also discussed. For most primate studies, there are no firm data on kinship but the following assumptions are made: (1) in multimale troops, dominant males are most likely to copulate with females at the height of estrus, and females are most likely to be impregnated at this time, for example, baboons and macaques; younger and more subordinate males are less likely either to have consort relationships or to impregnate females, (2) in harems, the length of the leader's reign, and his success in maintaining the breeding integrity of his troop, must be taken into account, for example, patas monkeys and one-male troops of langurs, but in general, this male will be the progenitor of that troop's recent offspring, and (3) in matrifocal societies in which contact with the mother may continue after birth of the next infant juveniles or adults that seek recurrent contact with an older multiparous female may be assumed to be her offspring, and thus, her new children their half-siblings. Using behavioral indices to determine the probable degree of relationship becomes dangerously circular when kinship derived this way is then used as a part of the explanation for observed behavior.
Estrogen protects against the synergistic toxicity by HIV proteins, methamphetamine and cocaine

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection continues to increase at alarming rates in drug abusers, especially in women. Drugs of abuse can cause long-lasting damage to the brain and HIV infection frequently leads to a dementing illness.To determine how these drugs interact with HIV to cause CNS damage, we used an in vitro human neuronal culture characterized for the presence of dopaminergic receptors, transporters and estrogen receptors. We determined the combined effects of dopaminergic drugs, methamphetamine, or cocaine with neurotoxic HIV proteins, gp120 and Tat. Acute exposure to these substances resulted in synergistic neurotoxic responses as measured by changes in mitochondrial membrane potential and neuronal cell death. Neurotoxicity occurred in a sub-population of neurons. Importantly, the presence of 17beta-estradiol prevented these synergistic neurotoxicities and the neuroprotective effects were partly mediated by estrogen receptors. Our observations suggest that methamphetamine and cocaine may affect the course of HIV dementia, and additionally suggest that estrogens modify the HIV-drug interactions.
Effects of magnetic shield anneal processes determined by MFM and domain imaging

Summary form only given. Magnetic shields are employed in recording heads in order to isolate individual bits during the read back process. These can be made from various permeable materials, typically NiFe binary alloys. During the fabrication of spin valves these shields are subjected to an anneal at elevated temperatures perpendicular to the easy axis. This readily disrupts the anisotropy in the shield and can lead to stability issues in the final device. One method of minimising this effect is to anneal the shield at a higher temperature prior to spin valve deposition such that the anisotropy is thermally locked.
A Multilevel Framework for Recruiting and Supporting Graduate Students from Culturally Diverse Backgrounds in School Psychology Programs.

The lack of cultural diversity among practitioners and trainers in the field of school psychology has been recognized as a longstanding problem. In particular, individuals from racial, ethnic, and linguistic minority and international backgrounds often encounter a range of barriers to pursuing graduate study in school psychology. Given the urgent need to increase diversity among school psychologists, faculty and institutions must take proactive measures to deconstruct these barriers and to support the success of all students. This article outlines a multilevel framework for recruiting and supporting graduate students from culturally diverse backgrounds in school psychology programs. Within this framework, research-based strategies are presented at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of support. Moreover, considerations for assessing program and student outcomes are discussed, and applications to school psychology programs internationally are considered.
Clinical significance of surface antigen expression in children with acute myeloid leukemia : results of study AML-BFM-87

Immunophenotyping using a panel of 15 antibodies was performed in 267 (87%) and cytogenetic analysis in 196 (64%) of 307 children under 17 years of age enrolled in the AML-BFM-87 study. Treatment consisted of cytosine arabinoside, daunorubicin, etoposide induction and a 6-week seven-drug consolidation chemotherapy, followed by two blocks of high-dose cytosine arabinoside with or without cranial irradiation and maintenance therapy for 1 year. Five-year event-free survival for patients with immunophenotypic data was .43 +/- .03 SE. The diagnostic value of the pan-myeloid reagents CD13, CD33, and CDw65 for the recognition of childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML) was high with a sensitivity of 98% (positivity of at least one of these antigens), whereas, with the exception of CD41 for French American British (FAB) subtype M7, the expression of single cell-surface antigens showed no correlation with morphologic or cytogenetic subgroups. On the other hand, characteristic subgroups of AML defined by morphologic features and karyotypes could be described by low or high rates of surface antigen expression compared with those of other patients. These immunophenotypic features most probably associated with specific entities include expression of CD34 or CD13 and absence of CD14 or CD4 in M2 with Auer rods/t(8;21); absence of HLA-DR, CD34, and CD14, but expression of CD33 in M3/t(15;17); positivity of either CD34 or CD13 and either CD14 or CD2 for M4Eo/inv(16); and absence of either CD34 or CD13 and expression of either CD33 or CDw65 and either CD15 or CD4 for M5/t(9;11). In FAB M0, negativity of one or two of the three panmyeloid-associated markers (CD13/33/w65) was common; and cytogenetic results frequently showed random abnormalities. Expression of lymphoid-, progenitor- and most myeloid-associated antigens had no influence on the prognosis, whereas the outcome was significantly better for children with M2 with Auer rods, M3, or M4Eo or for those with the associated karyotypes t(8;21);t(15;17) and inv(16) than for other patients.
Identification of Tobacco streak virus in Cranberry and the Association of TSV with Berry Scarring

Cranberry plants bearing disfigured, scarred fruit were reported by growers in the major cranberry-growing region of central Wisconsin in July 2012. Plants bearing scarred fruit have since been observed in Massachusetts and New Jersey. Three complementary methods provided evidence of Tobacco streak virus (TSV) in symptomatic plants: (i) leaves and scarred berries tested positive for TSV by double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; (ii) quasi-isometric particles approximately 33 nm in diameter were extracted from leaves of symptomatic plants and visualized using transmission electron microscopy; and (iii) coat protein gene sequence analysis revealed 94 to 99% nucleotide similarity with reference TSV sequences. In newer cultivars, 99% of uprights with scarred berries tested positive for TSV. In older cultivars, 31% of uprights with scarred berries tested positive for TSV and the remaining 69% of uprights with scarred berries tested positive for Blueberry shock virus. TSV overwintered in cranberry plants, and leaves, pollen, and fruit tested positive for TSV the year following symptom occurrence. Attempts to inoculate cranberry using infected pollen or sap as inoculum failed, but several herbaceous hosts tested TSV positive following mechanical inoculation. Phylogenetic analysis of the coat protein gene of 26 TSV isolates from various cultivars of cranberry in Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Massachusetts revealed diversity. This work provides information that will be useful in understanding the epidemiology of TSV in cranberry and in the development of management strategies.
Diversity of Comets: Formation Zones and Dynamical Paths

The past dozen years have produced a new paradigm with regard to the source regions of comets in the early solar system. It is now widely recognized that the likely source of the Jupiterfamily short-period comets (those with Tisserand parameters, T > 2 and periods, P, generally 20 years) appears to be the Oort cloud. However, the comets in the Oort cloud almost certainly originated elsewhere, since accretion is very inefficient at such large heliocentric distances. New dynamical studies now suggest that the source of the Oort cloud comets is the entire giant planets region from Jupiter to Neptune, rather than primarily the Uranus-Neptune region, as previously thought. Some fraction of the Oort cloud population may even be asteroidal bodies formed inside the orbit of Jupiter. These comets and asteroids underwent a complex dynamical random walk among the giant planets before they were ejected to distant orbits in the Oort cloud, with possible interesting consequences for their thermal and collisional histories. Observational evidence for diversity in cometary compositions is limited, at best.
Probabilistic Frame-Semantic Parsing

This paper contributes a formalization of frame-semantic parsing as a structure prediction problem and describes an implemented parser that transforms an English sentence into a frame-semantic representation. It finds words that evoke FrameNet frames, selects frames for them, and locates the arguments for each frame. The system uses two feature-based, discriminative probabilistic (log-linear) models, one with latent variables to permit disambiguation of new predicate words. The parser is demonstrated to significantly outperform previously published results.
Outsiders and Civil Wars: From Outbreak to Settlement

How International Relations Affect Civil Conflict: Cheap Signals, Costly Consequences. By Clayton L. Thyne Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2009. 237 pp., $70.00 hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-0-7391-3456-4). Clayton Thyne has written a very ambitious book that largely delivers on its promise. He starts by breaking with much of the literature and looking for explanations of civil wars not in domestic factors, but rather the role of outside states. Moreover, rather than looking at outbreak, duration, and settlement as separate phenomena, he links them together with the general notion of rational actors responding to expectations of success or failure. His initial assumption is that there are often dissatisfied groups in countries which would like to initiate a civil war if they thought they could win, reflecting the common argument that grievances are widespread and perceived opportunities explain why war breaks out in some particular countries at some particular times and not at others. His second assumption is that expectations about the behavior of outside states have a major impact on both governments and potential rebels. This suggests that states with high levels of dissatisfaction (often based on inequality) presumably do not break down into civil war because the government and potential rebels both expect that the government will win any such conflict because of a shared assumption about some kind of outside action (diplomacy, sanctions, interventions, etc.), which will make this result more likely. Thyne's initial argument is that war will come only when these expectations change. This in turn produces an intriguing paradox—strong signals, even when aimed at avoiding war and costly to the sender, usually do not have much impact on the targets because they confirm pre-existing expectations. Thyne argues that cheap signals that signal a possible policy change are likely to change expectations …
Influence of pine wood shavings on the pyrolysis of poultry litter

Poultry litter from broilers and turkeys are a mixture of manure, feathers, feed and wood shavings, thus pyrolysis oils produced from this material are influenced by the individual components. In order to determine the influence of wood shavings that are used as bedding material, we investigated the pyrolysis of pine wood shavings and poultry manure. Because manure from layer chickens are usually not contaminated with wood shavings, we made mixtures of layer manure and pine wood shavings in the following manure to wood ratios, 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100 w/w and pyrolyzed them in a fluidized bed reactor at 450 °C. The total liquid yield ranged from 43.3 to 62.7 wt.%. The layer manure oil had a HHV of 29.7 MJ/kg and pH of 5.89 compared to pine wood oil which had HHV of 25.6 MJ/kg and pH of 3.04. The addition of wood shavings to manure clearly influenced the physical properties of the oil, resulting in a decrease in pH and HHV and an increase in density. The oils had relatively high nitrogen content ranging from 1.36 to 5.88 wt.%. The ash (<0.07 wt.%) and sulfur (<0.28 wt.%) contents were very low. FTIR, (13)C NMR and (1)H NMR spectrometric analysis of the oils showed that manure oil was rich in hydrocarbons and nitrogenous compounds such as primary, secondary amides, aromatic amines and N-heterocyclic. The properties of the oils were strongly influenced by the amount of wood in the mixture.
An initial proteomic analysis of human preterm labor: placental membranes.

Human preterm labor (PL) is the single most significant problem in modern Obstetrics and Gynecology, affecting ∼10% of pregnancies worldwide, constituting the leading cause of perinatal mortality and morbidity, and contributing significantly to chronic childhood disease. Currently, our molecular understanding of PL remains staggeringly inadequate to reliably diagnose or rationally intervene in PL events; several molecular alterations have been implicated in PL, but these have proven of limited value as diagnostic/prognostic markers. The majority of PL events remain spontaneous and unpredictable: critical care emergencies. Here, we apply functional proteomics to dissect molecular mechanisms of human PL. Human placental tissue was collected in clearly differentiated cases of preterm and term labor. Highly refined two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) was used for protein separation, coupled with automated differential gel image analysis to compare the resulting proteomic maps. For this initial study, o...
Observation of Broadband Self-Amplified Spontaneous Coherent Terahertz Synchrotron Radiation in a Storage Ring

Bursts of coherent synchrotron radiation at far-infrared and millimeter wavelengths have been observed at several storage rings. A microbunching instability has been proposed as the source for the bursts. However, the microbunching mechanism has yet to be elucidated. We provide the first evidence that the bursts are due to a microbunching instability driven by the emission of synchrotron radiation in the bunch. Observations made at the Advanced Light Source are consistent with the values predicted by the proposed microbunching model. These results demonstrate a new instability regime for high energy synchrotron radiation sources and could impact the design of future sources.
A systematic revision of the South African Pettalidae (Arachnida : Opiliones : Cyphophthalmi) based on a combined analysis of discrete and continuous morphological characters with the description of seven new species

The cyphophthalmid family Pettalidae in South Africa is revised and seven new species are described from museum material collected between 1939 and 1985. Two of these are placed in the genus Purcellia and five in Parapurcellia, bringing the total number of described South African cyphophthalmids to 15. In addition, Purcellia peregrinator is transferred to the genus Parapurcellia. Phylogenetic analyses of discrete morphological and continuous morphometric characters, both separately and in combination, support the generic assignments and contribute towards a more detailed understanding of the systematics of the group in South Africa. In order to assess the stability of our phylogenetic results, the different morphological datasets were analysed under equal and implied weighting, as well as under several weighting schemes that varied the respective contribution to tree length of the discrete and continuous data partitions. These variations generated two phylogenetic hypotheses: (1) monophyly of the South African pettalids + Austropurcellia from north-eastern Australia as a derived clade within Pettalidae; and (2) polyphyly of the South African pettalids with Parapurcellia basal within Pettalidae. The latter hypothesis is congruent with previous molecular phylogenies of Cyphophthalmi, and has moderate bootstrap support. The sisterhood of Purcellia griswoldi, sp. nov. and P. lawrencei, sp. nov. receives high nodal support across analytic methods. New combination: Parapurcellia peregrinator (Lawrence, 1963).