cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MicroRNA biomarkers of pancreatic injury in a canine model

Pancreas-enriched microRNAs have been experimentally investigated in rodents as candidate serum biomarkers of pancreatic injury with several different acute pancreatic injury models. In the present study, temporal and magnitude responses of exocrine pancreas-enriched miR-216a, miR-216b, and miR-217 and endocrine-enriched miR-375 and miR-148a were measured by droplet digital PCR in serum in a caerulein model of pancreatic injury in the dog. All 5 microRNAs followed a similar time course that mirrored the responses of the conventional serum pancreatic injury biomarkers, amylase and lipase. Detection was improved through the use of assays designed against microRNA isomers (isomirs) identified by sequencing. Serum biomarker increases were concordant with histopathology defined acinar cell injury. Minimal islet cell changes were noted. The pancreas-enriched microRNAs demonstrated similar or greater sensitivity, a larger range of response, and a higher correlation to acinar cell injury compared to amylase and lipase. Our results further support the translational potential of pancreas-enriched microRNAs as sensitive biomarkers of acinar cell injury with evidence from an additional non-clinical model system.
Surgical Scar Location Preference for Pediatric Kidney and Pelvic Surgery: A Crowdsourced Survey.

Purpose: The benefits of minimally invasive surgery in pediatric urology, such as reduced length of hospital stay and postoperative pain, are less predictable compared to findings in the adult literature. We evaluated the choices that adult patients make for themselves and their children regarding scar location.Materials and Methods: We surveyed the preference for scar location/size based on surgery for bladder and kidney procedures with additional questions assessing the impact of a hidden incision, length of hospital stay and pain. The survey was posted to Amazon® Mechanical Turk®.Results: We analyzed a total of 954 completed surveys. Surgical history was reported in 660 surveys (69%) with scar bother reported in 357 (54.2%). For pelvic surgery the initial choice was a Pfannenstiel incision for 434 respondents (45.5%), laparoscopy port incisions for 392 (41.1%) and no preference for incision location for 126 (13.2%). When incisions were illustrated relative to undergarments, 718 respondents (75.3%) chos...
Feedback-Driven Sensory Mapping Adaptation for Robust Speech Activity Detection

Parsing natural acoustic scenes using computational methodologies poses many challenges. Given the rich and complex nature of the acoustic environment, data mismatch between train and test conditions is a major hurdle in data-driven audio processing systems. In contrast, the brain exhibits a remarkable ability at segmenting acoustic scenes with relative ease. When tackling challenging listening conditions that are often faced in everyday life, the biological system relies on a number of principles that allow it to effortlessly parse its rich soundscape. In the current study, we leverage a key principle employed by the auditory system: its ability to adapt the neural representation of its sensory input in a high-dimensional space. We propose a framework that mimics this process in a computational model for robust speech activity detection. The system employs a 2-D Gabor filter bank whose parameters are returned offline to improve the separability between the feature representation of speech and nonspeech sounds. This retuning process, driven by feedback from statistical models of speech and nonspeech classes, attempts to minimize the misclassification risk of mismatched data, with respect to the original statistical models. We hypothesize that this risk minimization procedure results in an emphasis of unique speech and nonspeech modulations in the high-dimensional space. We show that such an adapted system is indeed robust to other novel conditions, with a marked reduction in equal error rates for a variety of databases with additive and convolutive noise distortions. We discuss the lessons learned from biology with regard to adapting to an ever-changing acoustic environment and the impact on building truly intelligent audio processing systems.
Human MicroRNA-548p Decreases Hepatic Apolipoprotein B Secretion and Lipid Synthesis

Objective— MicroRNAs (miRs) play important regulatory roles in lipid metabolism. Apolipoprotein B (ApoB), as the only essential scaffolding protein in the assembly of very-low-density lipoproteins, is a target to treat hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis. We aimed to find out miRs that reduce apoB expression. Approach and Results— Bioinformatic analyses predicted that hsa-miR-548p can interact with apoB mRNA. MiR-548p or control miR was transfected in human and mouse liver cells to test its role in regulating apoB secretion and mRNA expression levels. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to identify the interacting site of miR-548p in human apoB 3′-untranslated region. Fatty acid oxidation and lipid syntheses were examined in miR-548p overexpressing cells to investigate its function in lipid metabolism. We observed that miR-548p significantly reduces apoB secretion from human hepatoma cells and primary hepatocytes. Mechanistic studies showed that miR-548p interacts with the 3′-untranslated region of human apoB mRNA to enhance post-transcriptional degradation. Bioinformatic algorithms suggested 2 potential binding sites of miR-548p on human apoB mRNA. Site-directed mutagenesis studies revealed that miR-548p targets site I involving both seed and supplementary sequences. MiR-548p had no effect on fatty acid oxidation but significantly decreased lipid synthesis in human hepatoma cells by reducing HMGCR and ACSL4 enzymes involved in cholesterol and fatty acid synthesis. In summary, miR-548p reduces lipoprotein production and lipid synthesis by reducing expression of different genes in human liver cells. Conclusions— These studies suggest that miR-548p regulates apoB secretion by targeting mRNA. It is likely that it could be useful in treating atherosclerosis, hyperlipidemia, and hepatosteatosis.
Soil moisture retrieval from AMSR-E and ASCAT microwave observation synergy. Part 2: Product evaluation

Abstract A neural network (NN) soil moisture retrieval product computed from the synergy of AMSR-E brightness temperature and ASCAT backscatter observations is evaluated against in situ soil moisture observations from the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN). The skill of the NN retrieval is compared to that of the ESA-CCI soil moisture retrieval as well as modeled soil moisture fields from ERA-interim/land. The NN retrieval is able to capture the observed soil moisture temporal variations with a station-average correlation and anomaly correlation of 0.45 and 0.35, respectively. For most ground stations the model obtained a higher temporal correlation skill, with average correlation and anomaly correlation values of 0.53 and 0.46, respectively. For stations in data-sparse regions, the NN retrieval showed a slightly better performance than the model, illustrating the potential of soil moisture retrievals to inform models in data-sparse areas. A time series analysis further showed that the retrieval is well able to capture soil moisture variability outside of active precipitation phases, such as the soil moisture behavior during the dry down phase. Compared to the ESA-CCI retrieval, the NN methodology obtained higher correlations, as a result of its ability to use the complementary information provided by the active and passive microwave sensors. A global evaluation of the retrieval errors through a triple collocation analysis with SMOS and GLDAS soil moisture estimates showed that the errors are high in energy limited regions, where the NN retrieval appears to be lacking input information. In the data-sparse regions of Africa and South America, the triple collocation analysis confirmed the higher skill of the NN retrieval compared to the model.
The use of animals to benefit humans: Animal-assisted therapy.

Publisher Summary Animals have generally played a great role in human ecological adjustment. From the very beginning, animal-facilitated therapy (AFT) has paralleled the use of animals as pets, and many of the therapeutic uses are extensions of the health benefits now recognized for those who own or interact with companion animals. These included the early observations that people interacting with animals experienced a decrease in blood pressure to the more overt behaviors indicating a more relaxed state. There is now general acceptance that animals are therapeutic, and natural surroundings and contact with nature is good for people. Viewing nature in general has therapeutic value. Studies are beginning to look at the behavior and physiological indicators of relaxation in animals as they interact with people. It is known that most domestic animals actively try to be with people, presumably for the same reasons humans want to be with them—the comfort of the family, group, or pack. Remember that one requirement of the new Animal Welfare Act for research dogs is that the dogs have access to exercise and socialization, with people—human-facilitated therapy for institutionalized dogs. Reconciling the risks to the animals with their rehabilitation value is neither simple nor easy unless one follows the dictum that animals absolutely should not be used as means to an end. After a therapeutic session has ended, all involved—the recipient of the service, the therapist, and the animal—must have benefited from the experience. In this way, all society will benefit.
Measuring the Impact of Socio-Economic Factors on School Efficiency in Australia

This paper examines the productive efficiency of government schools in New South Wales (NSW) in Australia. The study uses a technical inefficiency effects model applied to a unique three-year panel dataset containing 1235 primary and 371 secondary schools in NSW. A stochastic frontier production function and an inefficiency effects function that control for school socioeconomic and environmental factors are estimated. The dataset contains information on various school inputs, school expenditures by major functional area, parental socioeconomic characteristics, student characteristics, and standardized test scores. We examine the degree to which school and non-school educational inputs influence student achievement scores and find that, overall, primary schools are 88.6% and secondary schools 96.4% efficient. The index describing community socio-educational advantage has the most significant influence on students’ achievement scores.
Demand-Side Management by Real-Time Pricing for Electric Power Service

Abstract This paper provides a preliminary estimate of potential efficiency gains of real-time pricing (RTP) and analyzes a customer’s response to RTP. First, a simple Monte Carlo simulation is employed to examine the advantages of spot pricing when compared with time-of-use (TOU) rates due to the superior adaptability of spot pricing to unpredictable fluctuations in demands over time. Second, I estimate the effects of RTP on a customer’s demand and the price sensitivity of a RTP customer. For this analysis, real hourly load and RTP tariff data for a refrigerated warehouse in northern California is used.
Nondiabetic men with high blood glucose levels were at increased risk for death

Source Citation Balkau B, Shipley M, Jarrett RJ, et al. High blood glucose concentration is a risk factor for mortality in middle-aged nondiabetic men. Diabetes Care. 1998 Mar;21:360-7.
Hyperbolic Cross and the Complexity of Various Classes of Ill-Posed Linear Problems

The present paper is a survey of the latest results obtained in the fields of information and algorithmic complexity of severely ill-posed problems.
Exceptional points and lasing self-termination in photonic molecules

We investigate the rich physics of photonic molecule lasers using a non-Hermitian dimer model. We show that several interesting features, predicted recently using a rigorous steady-state ab initio laser theory (SALT), can be captured by this toy model. In particular, we demonstrate the central role played by exceptional points (EPs) in both pump-selective lasing and laser self-termination phenomena. Due to its transparent mathematical structure, our model provides a lucid understanding for how different physical parameters (optical loss, modal coupling between microcavities, and pump profiles) affect the lasing action. Interestingly, our analysis also confirms that, for frequency mismatched cavities, operation in the proximity of exceptional points (without actually crossing the square root singularities) can still lead to laser self-termination. We confirm this latter prediction for two coupled slab cavities using scattering matrix analysis and SALT technique. In addition, we employ our model to investigate the pump-controlled lasing action and we show that emission patterns are governed by the locations of exceptional points in the gain space. Finally we extend these results to multicavity photonic molecules, where we found the existence of higher-order EPs and pump-induced localization.
Role of Imaging in Early-Phase Trials

Abstract Today the quest for new diagnostic and therapeutic agents is a fervent search akin to the gold miners and prospectors of the gold rush in the mid-1800s. While rejected rocks far outnumbered genuine gold nuggets, the hope of discovery despite endless time searching kept these prospectors motivated. Discovering novel diagnostic or therapeutic agents is a similar process as vast resources and time are spent synthesizing and testing tens of thousands of potential candidate molecules from preclinical discovery through the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval process. It is, however, a process that can be streamlined if trialists efficiently manage and leverage all available resources at strategic stages of the clinical trial.
Partial purification and immunoreactivity of an 80 000-molecular-weight polypeptide associated with peroxisome proliferation in rat liver.

Abstract Hypolipidaemic drugs and industrial plasticizers such as di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, which cause proliferation of hepatic peroxisomes, also cause an increase in an 80000-mol.wt. polypeptide in the liver of rats and mice. This polypeptide has been designated as PPA-80 (PPA, for peroxisome-proliferation-associated; 80 for 80000mol.wt.). The polypeptide PPA-80 was purified to over 90% purity from livers of rats treated with the peroxisome proliferators Wy-14,643, nafenopin, tibric acid and clofibrate by a single-step preparative sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel-electrophoretic procedure. The antibodies raised against the PPA-80 polypeptide isolated from livers of rats treated with Wy-14,643 cross-reacted with polypeptide PPA-80 purified from the livers of rats treated with Wy-14,643, as well as from the livers of rats treated with nafenopin, tibric acid and clofibrate. The anti-(polypeptide PPA-80) antibodies did not cross-react with catalase, a marker enzyme for peroxisomes, or with NADPH–cytochrome P-450 reductase, which has the same approximate mol.wt., 80000. The intensity of immunoprecipitin bands formed with microsomal, large-particle and postnuclear fractions from livers of animals pretreated with peroxisome proliferators was significantly greater compared with equal amounts of protein from corresponding fractions obtained from control animals, suggesting that these agents all enhance the synthesis of the same 80000-mol.wt. polypeptide. Although the polypeptide PPA-80 was increased in the postnuclear, large-particle and microsomal fractions of livers of rats pretreated with peroxisome proliferators, the relative abundance of this peptide in the peroxisome-rich light-mitochondrial fraction and its lack in highly purified mitochondrial fractions suggest the localization of this polypeptide in peroxisomes and/or microsomal fraction. Additional studies are needed to establish unequivocally the subcellular localization of the polypeptide PPA-80 and to ascertain if this polypeptide is identical with the multi-functional protein displaying enoyl-CoA hydratase and β-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase activities that was purified by Osumi & Hashimoto [(1979) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 89, 580–584].
The Motorola Mc68332 Microcontroller: Product Design, Assembly Language Programming and Interfacing

I. INTRODUCTION TO THE MICRO-CONTROLLERS AND THE MC68332. 1. Introduction to the Motorola Microprocessors and Controllers. 2. Microcontrollers. II. ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE PROGRAMMING. 3. Representation of Numbers and Characters. 4. Introduction to the MC68332. 5. MC68332 Assembly Language and Basic Instructions. 6. Data Transfer, Program Control, and Subroutines. 7. Arithmetic Operations. 8. Logical and Bit Operations. 9. Programming Techniques. III. SYSTEM CONTROL. 10. System Operation. 11. Exception-Handling Techniques. IV. MODULES OF THE MC68332. 12. The Queued Serial Module. 13. Time Processor Unit and Analog Input/Output. 14. The System Integration Module and Interface Design. V. PRODUCT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT. 15. Product Design and Real-Time Programming. 16. Product Development and Testing.
Lifetime trauma and suicide attempts in older clients with severe mental illness

Research examining links between lifetime trauma and suicide attempts in older clients with severe mental illness (SMI) is scarce. We examined associations among six common forms of lifetime trauma...
Generalized Synthesized Technique for the Design of Thickness Customizable High-Order Bandpass Frequency-Selective Surface

This paper presents a design guide for the implementation of thickness customizable high-order ( $N \ge 2$ ) bandpass frequency-selective surface (FSS). Admittance inverters are used to synthesize the filter response given desired characteristics such as filter type, center frequency, and bandwidth. The spatial inverter layers are essentially electromagnetic coupling interlayers that can be adjusted to customize the thickness of multilayered FSS without degrading the desired filter performance. A generalized equivalent circuit is used to provide physical insights of the proposed design. This synthesized technique can be adopted to deliver a versatile implementation capability of high-order FSS filters using various dielectric spacers with arbitrary thicknesses. Such a technique enables the realization of spatial filters with variable weight and size, while maintaining the desired filter response. To highlight its thickness controllability, a third-order bandpass FSS operating at the X-band (center frequency at $f_{0} = 10$ GHz) with $\approx 10$ % fractional bandwidth is synthesized in four different thickness configurations (electrical size varying from $\lambda _{0}$ /12 to $\lambda _{0}$ /6). The simulation results of all the four thickness customized configurations deliver the same filter response. To validate the proposed technique, two prototypes among the four design configurations are fabricated and measured in a free-space environment. Simulated and measured results show good agreement.
Twin beam dual-energy vs single-energy on a novel PET-dual energy CT: Phantom study and clinical validation.

1767 Objectives: To assess the quantitative image quality and radiation dose of twin beam dual-energy (TBDE) and single-energy technique at different kV levels on a novel PET-DECT scanner. Methods and Materials A chest phantom was scanned with a PET-DECT scanner (Biograph mCT Flow, Siemens Healthineers) in single-energy (SE) and dual-energy (DE) mode [slice thickness 3 mm, pitch 0.6 (SE) and 0.3 (DE)]. Phantom SE acquisitions from 70kV to 140kV and 120kV DE acquisition were performed. 13 patients underwent TBDE protocol (120 kV/140mAs, slice thickness 3mm, pitch 0.3) for primary lung cancer staging. TBDE dataset was used to generate linearly-blended (TB-LB) and noise-optimized virtual monoenergetic images at 50keV (TB-50keV) using filtered-back projection (FBP) and iterative reconstruction (IR). Contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) was calculated and iodine CNR was normalized by radiation dose (CTDI) for all protocols using a figure-of-merit (FOM). Results TB-50keV datasets achieved the highest CNR and FOM compared to other datasets at each reconstruction. TB-50keV dataset reconstructed with IR 5 obtained the highest CNR, accounting for a 2-fold increase compared to FBP. TB-DE acquisition showed a CTDI of 6.7mGy, lower than 100kV (8.3mGy) and 120kV (14.2mGy). Patient data matched phantom result, TB-50keV achieved the highest CNR (5.39±1.61), yet with a 40% reduction in CTDI (9.7±1.8 mGy) compared with SE120kV protocol. Conclusion TB-50keV achieved higher CNR and FOM values compared to SE dataset ≥100 kV at a lower radiation dose. IR technique significantly improves DE and SE datasets CNR. Thus, TB-50keV dataset with IR reconstruction can significantly improve the objective image quality of a PET-DECT acquisition.
Lessons learned in conducting youth suicide prevention research in emergency departments

Introduction To address youth suicide, we recruited seven emergency departments (EDs) for what we believe is the first controlled trial of an intervention to promote safer firearm and medication storage after a child was seen in an ED by a behavioural health clinician. We provided training and a common protocol that required behavioural health clinicians to counsel about reducing access to household firearms and medication and provide locking devices. This paper examines how we addressed implementation challenges and considers how lessons learnt might inform future studies and interventions. Methods We tracked enrolment numbers and documented, through project records, the challenges in recruiting and developing partnerships with hospitals, as well as implementing the intervention and carrying out data collection. Results We encountered challenges identifying hospitals with sufficient patient volumes to meet our analytic requirements, obtaining contact information from families in the ED and providing supplies to the sites. These challenges were compounded by lack of uniformity in data systems, making it difficult to estimate total ED encounters meeting our eligibility criteria, and by differences in patterns of behavioural healthcare delivery across sites. The strategies we devised to address these challenges included creating visual materials that appealed to parents’ altruistic desire to help other families, laminated ‘cheat sheets’ and hang tags for clinician badges reminding them of the key points of the intervention and contracting with a distribution centre to coordinate shipping. Discussion Despite the challenges noted, we found that the behavioural health clinicians in the EDs followed the protocol and found it useful in engaging families in discussions about both firearm and medication storage. Several hospitals intend to continue the intervention on their own as the new usual care, suggesting that the challenges encountered can be and are worth tackling.
Detection of driver stress in real-world driving environment using physiological signals

Detection of driver stress is an important component in many ADASs (Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems), and a challenging problem when it is applied to real-world driving environment. In this paper, we present a convolutional neural network (CNN) designed to detect driver’s stress levels with four physiological signals, i.e., heart rate, heart rate variability, breathing rate, and galvanic skin response. The proposed model is shift invariant and is capable of handling the imbalanced data set issue. The performances of the proposed models are evaluated using real-world driving data in three different types of driver stress detection tasks, i.e., the single-driver, the cohorts of drivers, and all-driver stress detection task respectively. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model is capable of reliably detecting the driver’s stress levels. More importantly we demonstrate that a model can be trained on the data collected from drivers with similar cognitive capabilities and then generalized to new drivers with similar cognitive capabilities for stress detection.
Exploring the Social Construction of Crime by Neighborhood: News Coverage of Crime in Boston

Information disseminated by the news shapes the way that the public perceives criminal events, often providing a distorted view of crime. Previous research has largely overlooked neighborhoods in d...
Strategies to Obtain Encapsulation and Controlled Release of Small Hydrophilic Molecules

The therapeutic effect of small hydrophilic molecules is limited by the rapid clearance from the systemic circulation or a local site of administration. The unsuitable pharmacokinetics and biodistribution can be improved by encapsulating them in drug delivery systems. However, the high-water solubility, very hydrophilic nature, and low molecular weight make it difficult to encapsulate small hydrophilic molecules in many drug delivery systems. In this mini-review, we highlight three strategies to efficiently encapsulate small hydrophilic molecules and achieve controlled release: physical encapsulation in micro/nanocapsules, physical adsorption via electronic interactions, and covalent conjugation. The principles, advantages, and disadvantages of each strategy are discussed. This review paper could be a guide for scientists, engineers, and medical doctors who want to improve the therapeutic efficacy of small hydrophilic drugs.
Mediterranean Diet and Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Assessed Brain Atrophy in Cognitively Normal Individuals at Risk for Alzheimer's Disease.

OBJECTIVES Epidemiological evidence linking diet, one of the most important modifiable environmental factors, and risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is rapidly increasing. Several studies have shown that higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MeDi) is associated with reduced risk of AD. This study examines the associations between high vs. lower adherence to a MeDi and structural MRI-based brain atrophy in key regions for AD in cognitively normal (NL) individuals with and without risk factors for AD. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING Manhattan (broader area). PARTICIPANTS Fifty-two NL individuals (age 54+12 y, 70% women) with complete dietary information and cross-sectional, 3D T1-weighted MRI scans were examined. MEASUREMENTS Subjects were dichotomized into those showing higher vs. lower adherences to the MeDi using published protocols. Estimates of cortical thickness for entorhinal cortex (EC), inferior parietal lobe, middle temporal gyrus, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) were obtained by use of automated segmentation tools (FreeSurfer). Multivariate general linear models and linear regressions assessed the associations of MeDi with MRI measures. RESULTS Of the 52 participants, 20 (39%) showed higher MeDi adherence (MeDi+) and 32 (61%) showed lower adherence (MeDi-). Groups were comparable for clinical, neuropsychological measures, presence of a family history of AD (FH), and frequency of Apolipoprotein E (APOE) e4 genotype. With and without controlling for age and total intracranial volume, MeDi+ subjects showed greater thickness of AD-vulnerable ROIs as compared to MeDi- subjects (Wilk's Lambda p=0.026). Group differences were most pronounced in OFC (p=0.001), EC (p=0.03) and PCC (p=0.04) of the left hemisphere. Adjusting for gender, education, FH, APOE status, BMI, insulin resistance scores and presence of hypertension did not attenuate the relationship. CONCLUSION NL individuals showing lower adherence to the MeDi had cortical thinning in the same brain regions as clinical AD patients compared to those showing higher adherence. These data indicate that the MeDi may have a protective effect against tissue loss, and suggest that dietary interventions may play a role in the prevention of AD.
Scalable Reactor Design for Electrocatalytic Nitrite Reduction with Minimal Mass Transfer Limitations

A parallel-plate thin-layer (PPTL) flow reactor with potential control and custom-made cathode of Pd–In modified activated carbon cloth was developed for electrocatalytic removal of nitrite from wa...
Population Status of the Megacephalic Map Turtles Graptemys pearlensis and Graptemys gibbonsi and Recommendations Regarding Their Listing under the US Endangered Species Act

The Pascagoula map turtle (Graptemys gibbonsi) and Pearl map turtle (Graptemys pearlensis) were first separated from the Alabama map turtle (Graptemys pulchra) in 1992 under the former name and subsequently recognized as 2 separate species in 2010. The possibility that they should be listed under the Endangered Species Act was raised 7 yrs after separation from G. pulchra, when basking surveys showed that at most sites they were considerably less abundant than 2 sympatric congeners listed as threatened: the Pearl River drainage's ringed sawback (Graptemys oculifera, listed in 1986) and the Pascagoula River drainage's yellow-blotched sawback (Graptemys flavimaculata, listed in 1991). Historical data also indicated that the sympatric species pairs may once have been more similar in abundance. Now, more than 2 decades later, G. gibbonsi and G. pearlensis are candidates for listing. From 2015 to 2018, we surveyed basking turtles in point counts and in jon boat and canoe surveys and conducted trapping at several sites to ascertain the status of the 2 candidate species. Data were also combined with similar data collected between 2006 and 2014. Despite their similarity morphologically and in their basic ecology, 3 important differences are pertinent to the question of whether the 2 candidate species should be federally protected. First, their river systems are geomorphically very different. The medium-size to large tributary streams that the 2 species inhabit are a considerably more prominent feature of the Pascagoula drainage than the Pearl drainage and may insulate populations from potential threats on the main stems. Second, G. gibbonsi inhabited 35% more stream reach, had 22% higher catch per unit effort, and were recorded at 44% higher numbers in point counts and 3% higher numbers in basking density surveys than G. pearlensis. Coarse-scale estimates of each species' global populations suggest that G. gibbonsi is ∼ 1.56 times as abundant as G. pearlensis overall. Third, the reasons for the listing of each species' sympatric sawback congener are very different: G. oculifera of the Pearl drainage was listed primarily due to existing and imminent but as-yet-unrealized habitat modification, while G. flavimaculata of the Pascagoula drainage was listed primarily due to perceived low populations, particularly in upper portions of the drainage, and concerns regarding water quality. We conclude that G. pearlensis warrants conservation protection via a listing as threatened, while G. gibbonsi should be listed either as threatened or as threatened by similarity of appearance. For G. gibbonsi, the former option would recognize a long-term historical decline in its relative abundance suggested by trapping data from the 1950s through 1970s, while the latter would recognize its less imperiled status and protect it from the pet trade while focusing recovery efforts on G. pearlensis.
Special Education Is Associated With Reduced Odds of School Discipline Among Students With Disabilities

Students with disabilities are disciplined at disproportionately high rates, despite federal laws designed to ensure disciplinary protection. We examine the association between disability and disci...
Impaired Financial Decision-Making as an Early Indicator of Cognitive Decline: A Commentary.

Cognitive impairment and dementia are public health concerns with significant financial implications for both individual households and public insurance systems. Though research has refined diagnos...
Muslim-Jewish Sexual Liaisons Remembered and Imagined in 20th-Century Yemen

Despite mutual taboos against exogamy, memoirs and similar materials written by Jews from Yemen contain a number of anecdotes describing love affairs and sexual encounters between Muslims and Jews prior to the mass migration of the vast majority of Yemen's Jews to Israel in 1949–50. These stories associate these liaisons with vulnerability, poverty, and marginalization. In them, sex and conversion to Islam are intrinsically connected, yet this interreligious intimacy leads not to resolution but to ongoing identity crises that persist beyond the community's realignment with a majority-Jewish society. The staging of the anecdotes in rural areas where shariʿa norms held only nominal sway, in watering places and hostels where strangers might interact, and at dusk, when identity is difficult to discern, heightened their ambiguity.
A time-frequency analysis of the correlation between the electromechanical impedance (EMI) of surface bonded piezoelectric wafer active transducers (PWaTs) and the pitch-catch signal.

Abstract Ultrasound based Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) commonly uses surface-bonded piezoelectric wafer active transducers (PWaTs) for ultrasound wave generation and sensing. Both the electromechanical impedance (EMI) of the surface bonded PWaT and the ultrasound pitch-catch signal have been studied extensively for damage detection. However, these two signals were studied separately. The correlation between the EMI and the pitch-catch signal has not been studied in detail. In this paper, a broadband spectral analysis method is presented to analyze the influence of the EMI resonances on the fundamental symmetric (S0) pitch-catch signal. First, the broadband responses of the PWaT actuator and sensor are measured and analyzed in the time-frequency domain. The results clearly demonstrate that the S0 pitch-catch signal can deviate significantly from the excitation signal when the excitation frequency is above a threshold. Next, a simulation model was implemented to explain the observed distortions. The simulation model was first validated by adjusting the adhesive parameters to reproduce the experiment measurements. The resonant characteristics of the PWaT actuator and sensor were then analyzed separately. The study reveals that the S0 deviations are due to the resonances and anti-resonances of the PWaT EMI. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that the resonance characteristics of surface-bonded PWaTs are more complicated than previously known. The research framework presented in this paper lays the theoretical foundation for future more in-depth analysis of the PWaT resonances.
Two-Dimensional Airfoils in Hypersonic Flows

Equations for the force and moment coefficients of a sharpedged two-dimensional airfoil are developed on the basis of Tsien's hypersonic similarity law. The coefficients are calculated for a flat plate and for three airfoils with thickness. The optimum airfoil is a wedge whose lower surface is flat, with the maximum thickness at mid-chord. The results are valid when the product of the Mach Number and the thickness ratio is of the order of 1.
Perception and Evolution

The freshwater eel is notable not only for great sushi, but also for chromophore substitution (Beatty, 1984; Lythgoe, 1991). As young adults these eels spend most of their time in fresh water and, like many other freshwater creatures, have a longwavelength visual pigment known as porphyropsin, with a maximal sensitivity at 522 nanometers. As the time draws near for the first leg of their breeding migration, which takes them into coastal waters, the porphyropsin changes to a rhodopsin with maximal sensitivity at 500 nanometers. And as the time draws near for the last leg of their breeding migration, which takes the eels into the deep sea, the rhodopsin changes its maximal sensitivity to 487 nanometers, a value typical for many deepsea creatures. This is but one of many engaging examples of the adaptation, both phylogenetic and ontogenetic, of perceptual systems to environments. The variety of adaptations in vision alone is remarkable. The optical systems used include: pigmented pits without lenses or mirrors, found in some platyhelminthes, protochordates, coelenterates, annelids, and molluscs (Salvini-Plawen & Maxx, 1977); multiple pigmented tubes, found in some tube-worms; spherical lens eyes, found in fishes, some molluscs, alciopid annelids, and copepod crustaceans (Pumphrey, 1961); corneal refraction, found in many terrestrial vertebrates and arachnids (Land, 1985); apposition compound eyes, found in many diurnal insects and crustacea; refracting superposition compound eyes, found in nocturnal insects and some crustacea (Exner, 1891; Kunze, 1979; Nilsson, 1989); simple mirror eyes,
Flanking transmission in wood framed multifamily dwellings

The flanking transmission in wood frame construction was investigated. The effect of joist orientation, junction blocking details, joist type and wall framing for airborne excitation was examined. The floor/wall junction in multifamily buildings was found to provide serious structural flanking for airborne excitation. A continuous subfloor provided resistance to wind or seismic loading in such cases.
Impact of pharmacotherapy on interstage outcomes in single ventricle infants.

Objective. To characterize the pharmacotherapeutic regimens used in infants with single ventricle heart disease and determine the influence of outpatient medications on interstage weight gain. Design. Retrospective review. Setting. Tertiary care pediatric hospital. Patients. All patients discharged from our institution with single ventricle heart disease that underwent neonatal first stage surgical palliation between 2002 and 2009 were included. Patients who died prior to second stage palliation or underwent orthotopic heart transplantation were excluded. Outcome Measures. Outpatient medication regimens during the interstage period were reviewed. Medication regimens were compared between surgical eras and between patient groups experiencing different outcomes. A logistic regression model was developed to determine independent factors for an interstage increase in weight-for-age z-score (WAZ) and a linear regression model to determine medications significant for an increase in weight gain per day. Results. The study cohort consisted of 161 patients (58% male). Most patients in this cohort had either hypoplastic left heart syndrome (51%) or unbalanced complete atrioventricular canal (29%). Patients were placed on a median of four medications (range 1–9) at discharge from first surgical palliation, with aspirin (79%), furosemide (79%), and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I) (73%) most commonly prescribed. A median of six medication doses per day (range 2–18) were prescribed at discharge. Most patients (71%) had a decrease in WAZ during the interstage period. Use of digoxin (P < 0.01) and high-dose furosemide (P= .02) were associated with a decrease in WAZ score during the interstage period. Additionally, the use of ACE-I, ranitidine, proton-pump inhibitors, or promotility agents was not associated with improved somatic growth during the interstage period. Conclusions. Infants with single ventricle heart disease have a high-medication burden during the interstage period. Despite the focused and intensified use of medications to improve feeding tolerance and somatic growth, current pharmacotherapeutic regimens appear to have little effect on interstage weight gain.
AMPA receptors: molecular and functional diversity.

Publisher Summary This chapter summarizes the current knowledge of the pharmacology and molecular biology of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid (AMPA) receptors, with special attention to understanding the link between molecular and functional diversity and the resulting insights for drug discovery. The AMPA subtypes of glutamate receptor are the workhorse excitatory neurotransmitter receptors of the brain. AMPA receptors are postsynaptic ion channels that, when gated open by synaptically released glutamate, mediate the influx of Na + into the neuron and the efflux of K + . Under some conditions, AMPA receptor activation can produce pathophysiological or toxic effects. Neurolathyrism is a crippling neurodegenerative condition caused by the ingestion of a plant, which naturally contains an excitotoxic glutamate analog, β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), which activates AMPA receptors. AMPA receptor antagonists are effective neuroprotectant drugs in animal models of global ischemia. Excessive AMPA receptor activation may also play a role in the excitotoxic damage associated with some chronic degenerative disorders such as Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, and amyelotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Latina Immigrants, Interpersonal Violence, and the Decision to Report to Police

Interpersonal violence (IPV) occurs across all ethnic and racial groups and affects women of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. Battered women of Latin American descent are less likely to seek help from either formal or informal sources and these women are more likely to stay longer in an abusive relationship before seeking help. To contribute to the growing body of literature on IPV, this research will examine particular situational and individual-specific characteristics of IPV incidents experienced by Latina immigrant women living in a metropolitan area in the Southern United States. Based on a sample of 568 immigrant Latina women collected over a 6-year period, this research explains whether particular situational and individual-specific characteristics of IPV incidents affect the decisions of Latina victims to report to the police.
Hormone replacement therapy for African American women: missed opportunities for effective intervention.

Objectives Because of the potential benefits and risks of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), information about the efficacy of HRT in different groups of women is important to patients and providers. The objectives of this study were to review the evidence on the benefits and risks of HRT in African American women and to present a quantitative analysis of the potential reduction in mortality from osteoporotic fractures and coronary heart disease and the potential increase in risk of breast and endometrial cancer. Methods A MEDLINE search of English-language observational studies and clinical trials on the effects of HRT on osteoporotic fractures and coronary heart disease (CHD) was conducted for the time period from 1966 to September 1998. Using available CHD mortality data for African American women and white women, potential reductions in mortality with HRT were explored for African American and white women. Results In the 30 studies on CHD and HRT, African American women were known to comprise only 173 (0.1%) of 148,437 participants. In 11 studies of HRT and osteoporotic fractures, only 128 (0.4%) of 40,299 participants were known to be African American women. An analysis of CHD mortality by decade intervals indicated that African American women, aged 55 to 64, are more likely to die from CHD each year than white women. Despite a lower incidence of breast and endometrial cancer among African American women, the mortality rates of African American women with these cancers is higher compared with white women. Conclusions With the higher underlying CHD mortality rate among African American women, HRT is an important potential preventive therapy. The absence of African American women and other non-white women from clinical studies of HRT makes it difficult to fully assess the risks and benefits of HRT in this group of women.
129I and 127I transport in the Mississippi River.

The watershed processes which control 129I/127I ratios, 129I and 127I concentrations, and speciation of iodine isotopes were studied through an investigation into the variability of these parameters in the Mississippi River near New Orleans, undertaken in 1996−1998. Analyses of suspended particulate matter (SPM) revealed a greater percent association of 127I than of 129I, resulting in lower 129I/127I ratios in SPM than in surrounding water. Furthermore, cross-flow ultrafiltration showed that organo-iodine was the dominant form for both isotopes, with 70−85% of these isotopes found in the 0.45 μm filter-passing fraction associated with colloidal macromolecular organic matter. 129I showed a weak correlation, 127I no correlation, and 129I/127I ratios a strong inverse correlation with river flow rate. Inverse correlations between 129I/127I ratios and river flow rates can be best explained by rainwater and evapotranspiration dominated ratios at base flow and a lowering of the isotope ratios during higher flow ...
Space–Time Wave Extremes: The Role of Metocean Forcings

AbstractWave observations and modeling have recently demonstrated that wave extremes of short-crested seas are poorly predicted by statistics of time records. Indeed, the highest waves pertain to wave groups at focusing that have space–time dynamics. Therefore, the statistical prediction of extremes of short-crested sea states should rely on the multidimensional random wave fields’ assumption. To adapt wave extreme statistics to the space–time domain, theoretical models using parameters of the directional wave spectrum have been recently developed. In this paper, the influence of metocean forcings (wind conditions, ambient current, and bottom depth) on these parameters and hence on wave extremes is studied with a twofold strategy. First, parametric spectral formulations [Pierson–Moskowitz and Joint North Sea Wave Project (JONSWAP) frequency spectra with cos2 directional distribution function] are considered to represent the dependence of wave extremes upon wind speed, fetch, and space domain size. Afterwa...
Ergodicity of a measure-valued Markov chain induced by random transformations

Let Z1, Z2,... be a sequence of i.i.d. random transformations (possibly discontinuous) of a compact metric space M, and let E denote the space of normalized mass distributions on M. Given μ in E, let μ n denote the random measure μ°(Z n °...°Z1)−1 (when well-defined). We construct the transition probability P of the E-valued Markov chain (μ n ), and give a necessary and sufficient condition for P to have a unique invariant measure concentrated on the degenerate mass distributions. Convergence to ‘statistical equilibrium’ of the associated discrete-time stochastic flow is investigated.
TH‐D‐224C‐06: An Optimal MLC Quality Assurance Procedure Using EPID

Purpose:IMRT QA is extremely time consuming and labor intensive, while IMRT delivery is complex. The purpose of this work is to develop an automated and quantitative IMRT QA process utilizing an EPID. One of the aspects of this is testing of MLC leaf position accuracy. The Memorial‐Sloan‐Kettering strip test was modified to provide an automated EPID‐based process. Method and Materials: To provide a baseline fluence map, Kodak XV film was irradiated to obtain an open field 2D beam profile, which was fitted with a Gaussian and used in the image correction routine. We used a strip test consisting of seven adjacent segments with an intentional gap of nominally 0.5 mm. The gap was intentionally varied for the positions located at regularly placed hexagonal regions in order to create a set of calibration curves. A fitting technique using a Lorentzian type function was developed to determine the dose‐peak‐height, dose‐peak‐position and FWHM. Results: The standard deviation of dose‐peak‐height at each abutment for traditional Memorial‐Sloan‐Kettering pattern was of the same order of magnitude as that of the average over the entire image. In contrast, in our pattern a difference of an order of magnitude was observed, which indicated the reducing of cross‐talk effect from adjacent leaves. The leaf positioning error can be identified by using standard calibration curves of dose‐peak‐height vs. gap. The coordinate of dose‐peak‐position is found to be an extremely sensitive indicator of leaf error with sub‐pixel standard deviation. Conclusions: This procedure is able to identify MLC positional errors less than 0.5 mm by using a fitting technique and by reducing the cross‐talk effect. Conflict of Interest: Research sponsored by Varian Corporation.