cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Risk Factors for Clostridium difficile Stool Cytotoxin b among Critically III Patients: Role of Sucralfate

To identify risk factors other than antimicrobial exposure for Clostridium difficile stool cytotoxin b, subjects admitted to critical care units over 18 months and who had stool cytotoxin assays were evaluated. Twenty-two cases (cytotoxin b-positive) were compared with 125 controls (cytotoxin b-negative). Cases and controls were similar with respect to age, sex, therapeutic index severity score, duration of hospitalization before cytotoxin b testing, and antimicrobial exposure. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) revealed white blood cell count of > 12,000 on the day of stool sampling (OR, 4.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-12.4) and sucralfate exposure (OR, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.05-0.42) as significant independent positive and negative risk factors, respectively. Sucralfate exposure may decrease risk for C. difficile stool cytotoxin b by interfering with its detection, altering toxin production, or inhibiting colonization by the organism. Additional evaluation is needed to elucidate the mechanisms involved.
Comparative Study of Spider Communities in Alfalfa and Soybean Ecosystems: Foliage-Dwelling Spiders

Spider communities were characterized using several ecological parameters to determine whether a more persistent community structure developed over a three-year period in a perennial crop (alfalfa) than in an annual crop (soybean). In alfalfa, seasonal trends in species richness, evenness, and guild structures were distinctly different during the initial growing season when compared to the two subsequent seasons. In soybean, seasonal patterns of species richness were similar among years, while those of evenness and guild structures varied. By the second year following planting, the alfalfa foliage spider community had become established. In soybean, the development of a stable community structure is impossible due to the transitory nature of the habitat, which results in a “new” assemblage of spiders in the soybean foliage during each growing season.
Abstract 711: Small molecule compounds that target cell division cycle 7 (Cdc7) kinase inhibit cell proliferation and tumor growth.

Cdc7 is an essential, serine/threonine protein kinase that activates the initiation of DNA synthesis at replication origins. Cdc7 also promotes cell cycle checkpoint activation in response to replication stress. As a key regulator of S phase entry and progression, Cdc7 kinase is a potential target for cancer therapy, with a distinct mechanism of action from known drugs that inhibit DNA replication. Following a high throughput screen for inhibitors of Cdc7 kinase activity, we investigated structure-activity relationships of azole-based compounds and optimized the compounds for potency and pharmacokinetic properties. Here we present the characterization of one of these compounds as a potent, selective, bioavailable Cdc7 kinase inhibitor. In cells, Cdc7 inhibition decreases MCM2 phosphorylation and DNA synthesis, causes DNA damage, and slows S phase progression. Cdc7 inhibition also induces chromosome missegregation leading to cell lethality in vitro and tumor growth inhibition in vivo. Cdc7 inhibition provides a new approach to target cancers, either as a single agent or in combination with chemotherapy. Citation Format: Julie Bailis, Li Fang, Jessica Orf, Scott Heller, Tammy Bush, Matthew Bourbeau, Sonia Escobar, Michael Frohn, Paul Harrington, Faye Hsieh, Alexander Pickrell, Kelvin Sham, Aaron Siegmund, Helming Tan, Leeanne Zalameda, John Allen, Dineli Wickramasinghe. Small molecule compounds that target cell division cycle 7 (Cdc7) kinase inhibit cell proliferation and tumor growth. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 711. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-711
Serum prolactin levels in rats following isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarction.

Summary and ConclusionsCirculating prolactin levels were monitored in nonarterio-sclerotic, arteriosclerotic, and hormonally sterilized male and female Sprague-Dawley rats during the acute necrosis and repair phases of myocardial infarction induced by isoproterenol. Male rats are particularly prone to succumb to acute myocardial ischemia but reduction of androgen levels by neonatal sterilization improved survival considerably. Circulating prolactin levels are greatly increased, particularly in females, during acute myocardial ischemia. Since androgens suppress the hypothalamic center for prolactin release, prolactin levels were delayed and transitory in males. It is suggested that the superior survival of female rats may be related to their greater production of prolactin during acute stages of myocardial ischemia, which would dampen the tachycardia-inducing effects of the potent beta-adrenergic stimulating agent, isoproterenol.We thank P. Keers and D. Conatser for their able technical assistance in these...
Investigation on occupational health management in key industries for occupational hazards control in Chengtde City

[Objective]To understand the distribution and occupational health management status of key industries for occupational hazards control in Chengtde City,and provide evidence for developing effective control measures. [Methods]Questionnaire,site survey and checking safety supervision departments for the record were adopted to investigate the enterprises with occupational hazards in Chengde City in 2012. Totally 7 industries,including 887 enterprises,were taken as study object. The management status of occupational health was investigated. [Results]The results showed 60. 7% o key industries had established necessary mechanisms and systems. For the aspect of establishing management mechanism and system,non-ferrous metal industry was the best(77.5%). For the aspect of occupational health management and personnel settings,electricity and heat production and supply industry was the best( 89. 7%). Only 28. 8% enterprises carried out pre-evaluation and control effect evaluation of occupational hazards. Through chi-square test on the percentage of all 15 indicators,significant differences were observed between 7 key industries.[Conclusion]Occupational health management is carried out with significant differences between key industries of this city. The overall level of integrated management is low,with big gaps in some important parts of management. Government and relevant departments should adjust their thinking,develop effective management mechanism target at key industries,urge them to improve their own management and institution building,further intensify supervision over law enforcement,so as to effectively control occupational hazards and reduce the incidence of occupational diseases.
MEDIUM TEMPERATURE INTERNAL FRICTION OF THE Fe-Nb-C ALLOYS

The internal friction in the Fe-Nb-C alloys was measured, It was found that the Snoek peak height (hs) of the alloys held at 700 ℃ for 1h and quenched in water is lower, and the more of niobium the alloy contains, the lower the hs is. Unlike general ferro-base materials, the hs of the Fe-Nb- C alloys raises after deforming. For the alloys containing Nb≥0.06%(mass fraction), the enlargement of the internal friction in the temperature range of Snoek damping (from room temperature to 150℃) is obvious, and the high-temperature branch of Snoek peak is evidently raised, or even developed to form a mixing double peak. For the alloys containing Nb≥0.33%, the hs is slightly enlarged, so that a Snoek peak and a peak between 80 ℃ and 130 ℃ can be observed. There are SKK peaks in all the alloys deformed, while the heights of the SKK peaks(hcSKK) in the alloys containing low niobium are lower. The SKK peaks measured during decreasing temperature all shift toward lower temperature; however, their heights(hhSKK) do not reduce, while the hcSKK in the alloys containing less niobium are all obviously higher than their hhSKK.
Community detection for emerging networks

Nowadays, many new social networks offering specific services spring up overnight. In this paper, we want to detect communities for emerging networks. Community detection for emerging networks is very challenging as information in emerging networks is usually too sparse for traditional methods to calculate effective closeness scores among users and achieve good community detection results. Meanwhile, users nowadays usually join multiple social networks simultaneously, some of which are developed and can share common information with the emerging networks. Based on both link and attribution information across multiple networks, a new general closeness measure, intimacy, is introduced in this paper. With both micro and macro controls, an effective and efficient method, CAD (Cold stArt community Detector), is proposed to propagate information from developed network to calculate effective intimacy scores among users in emerging networks. Extensive experiments conducted on real-world social networks demonstrate that CAD can perform very well in addressing the emerging network community detection problem.
Least Signficant Studentized Ranges For Duncan’s Test

This table contains critical values or least signficant studentized ranges, rα,p,v, for Duncan’s Multiple Range Test where α is the significance level, p is the number of successive values from an ordered list of k means of equal sample sizes (p = 2, 3,..., k), and v is the degrees of freedom for the independent estimate s2.
Bisexual Invisibility and the Sexual Health Needs of Adolescent Girls

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze bisexual female youth perspectives on their experiences accessing sexual health information and services provided by a doctor, nurse, or counselor. Specifically, we sought to: (1) understand how youth perceptions of providers' attitudes and behaviors affect their seeking and obtaining sexual health information and services; (2) examine how social stigmas within the family context might be associated with barriers to sexual health information and services; and (3) assess school-based sources of sexual health information. Method: We utilized a mixed-method study design. Data from bisexual female youth were collected through an online questionnaire and asynchronous online focus groups addressing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health and HIV prevention. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Results: Barriers to sexual healthcare included judgmental attitudes and assumptions of patient heterosexuality among heal...
Big Data and Pharmacovigilance: The Role of Oncology Nurses.

When new anticancer medications are approved, their safety profiles are often not fully understood. Oncology nurses have a responsibility to file reports of adverse drug events with safety registries such as MedWatch. If these registries receive prompt, complete, and accurate data from clinicians, agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will have a stronger ability to detect hazards and to issue safety recommendations. .
Unrecognized necrosis at same admission cholecystectomy for pancreatitis increases organ failure and infected necrosis

Abstract Background and aims Guidelines recommend same admission cholecystectomy (SAC) in the management of mild acute gallstone pancreatitis (AGP) with a recent randomized trial supporting this recommendation. However, the push for early cholecystectomy will lead a subset of patients with evolving, unrecognized necrotizing pancreatitis (NP) to undergo laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) with unknown consequences. With concerns about potentially serious outcomes, we studied the outcomes in patients with unrecognized NP who underwent SAC and identified predictors of unrecognized NP at the time of SAC. Methods Retrospective study of patients who appeared to have mild AGP but subsequently discovered to have unrecognized NP after SAC (study group). Outcomes were compared to a similar cohort with necrotizing AGP who did not undergo SAC (control group 1). Predictors for unrecognized NP at the time of SAC were identified through logistic regression using a second control group with truly mild AGP undergoing SAC. Results Patients in the study group (N = 46) undergoing SAC demonstrated higher rates of persistent organ failure (p = 0.0003), infected necrosis (p = 0.02), and length of hospital stay (p = 0.049) compared to a similar group (N = 48) with necrotizing AGP who did not undergo SAC. Persistent SIRS (p 12 × 10 9 /L (p Conclusions Unrecognized NP at the time of SAC is associated with increased rates of subsequent persistent organ failure, infected necrosis, and length of hospital stay. Persistent leukocytosis and SIRS at the time of proposed cholecystectomy are predictive of unrecognized NP and should prompt contrast enhanced CT prior to proceeding with LC.
A rare presentation of a common entity: Chronic appendicitis in a patient with back pain

Abstract Despite being one of the most common pediatric surgical diseases, some cases of appendicitis are far from straightforward to diagnose. We present here an interesting case of chronic, retrocecal appendicitis in a dancer who presented with isolated back pain.
Current Orthobiologics for Elective Arthrodesis and Nonunions of the Foot and Ankle

A fusion rate of 100% would be ideal. Despite adhering to sound surgical principles, complete compliance, and no adverse comorbidities, that 100% fusion rate goal is elusive. Orthobiologics are a special class of materials developed to enhance the fusion rates in foot and ankle arthrodesis sites. Whether orthobiologics are used for the first fusion or reserved for a nonunion is debatable, especially when considering cost.
Clinical fetal monitoring. Experience on a large clinical service.

Abstract The usage and rapid acceptance of direct fetal monitoring systems on a large obstetric service are presented. Data are given which will serve those concerned with projecting supply consumption needs per patient. The indications for monitoring and over-all usage are stated. Delivery by cesarean section occurred in 17.5 per cent of monitored patients compared with 3.5 per cent in unmonitored patients. The over-all influence of intrapartum monitoring on the cesarean section rate is discussed. Perinatal data are presented which suggest probable benefits to the monitored fetus as compared to those unmonitored. This is true particularly when one considers that the monitored group is composed exclusively of “high-risk” patients.
Learned generosity? An artefactual field experiment with parents and their children

Abstract An active area of research within the social sciences concerns the underlying motivation for sharing scarce resources and engaging in other pro-social actions. In this paper we ask: do parents model social preference behavior to children, and do children emulate this behavior? We develop a theoretical framework to examine this question, and conduct an experiment with 147 3–5 year-old children and their parents, using dictator games to measure generosity. We find (1) evidence of parental teaching/modeling in the case of fathers and in that of parents of relatively generous children, and (2) an emulation effect such that children who initially share less than half of their endowment subsequently share more the more they see a parent or other adult share. We find little correlation between baseline sharing of children and the parents, with the possible exception of the oldest children.
Lightweight Techniques to Support Students in Large Classes

With surging enrollments in computer science, large classes are becoming standard, even at the upper division. Unfortunately, this new reality can leave students feeling anonymous and unsupported. This work examines the impact of several lightweight interventions on students' sense of connection with instructors and the class. These strategies were employed in a range of large courses at a public research-focused university. The implemented techniques include: opportunities for one-on-one tutoring, seating assignments with consistent teaching staff members seated in class, and assigned small discussion sections, among others. All strategies are lightweight and require only the usual staffing resources afforded to a class. In this report, we evaluate student sense of community and reflect on the benefits and challenges of these techniques.
CONCURRENT DOUBLE VALVE-IN-VALVE TRANSCATHETER HEART VALVE REPLACEMENT FOR FAILED MITRAL AND AORTIC BIOPROSTHESES

Surgical bioprosthetic valves on average begin to fail at about 9 years. Elderly patients with failing heart valves are often at high risk for re-operation which can preclude them from open heart surgery. Registries of valve-in-valve (ViV) transcatheter heart valve (THV) replacement for either
Keeping up with sea-level rise: Carbonate production rates in Palau and Yap, western Pacific Ocean

Coral reefs protect islands from tropical storm waves and provide goods and services for millions of islanders worldwide. Yet it is unknown how coral reefs in general, and carbonate production in particular, will respond to sea-level rise and thermal stress associated with climate change. This study compared the reef-building capacity of different shallow-water habitats at twenty-four sites on each of two islands, Palau and Yap, in the western Pacific Ocean. We were particularly interested in estimating the inverse problem of calculating the value of live coral cover at which net carbonate production becomes negative, and whether that value varied across habitats. Net carbonate production varied among habitats, averaging 10.2 kg CaCO3 m-2 y-1 for outer reefs, 12.7 kg CaCO3 m-2 y-1 for patch reefs, and 7.2 kg CaCO3 m-2 y-1 for inner reefs. The value of live coral cover at which net carbonate production became negative varied across habitats, with highest values on inner reefs. These results suggest that some inner reefs tend to produce less carbonate, and therefore need higher coral cover to produce enough carbonate to keep up with sea-level rise than outer and patch reefs. These results also suggest that inner reefs are more vulnerable to sea-level rise than other habitats, which stresses the need for effective land-use practices as the climate continues to change. Averaging across all reef habitats, the rate of carbonate production was 9.7 kg CaCO3 m-2 y-1, or approximately 7.9 mm y-1 of potential vertical accretion. Such rates of vertical accretion are higher than projected averages of sea-level rise for the representative concentration pathway (RCP) climate-change scenarios 2.6, 4.5, and 6, but lower than for the RCP scenario 8.5.
Reduction of agitation and anxiety observed in a case study of people with dementia using TimeSlips™ creative expression program

TimeSlips™ is a group storytelling program encouraging creative expression among people with dementia. A case study was conducted to evaluate whether TimeSlips could decrease symptoms of agitation and anxiety, in people with dementia, utilising the overt agitation severity scale (OASS). Participants included 42 residents diagnosed with dementia and impaired by anxiety and/or agitation. Despite a rigorous enrolment process, consent for only 15 residents was attained; 12, who routinely participated in TimeSlips and control sessions, which were conducted twice weekly for six weeks. OASS ratings were conducted before and after all sessions. When pre- and post-OASS ratings were compared for, all study participants showed clear reductions in agitation and anxiety as measured by changes in OASS scores (p < .001). The TimeSlips group was as effective as the control group and consistently had lower OASS scores, showing promise for care of persons with dementia, expressing symptoms of anxiety and agitation.
Full length article: Transmitted power allocation/control for multi-band MC-CDMA

Transmit power allocation over multiple subcarriers is an effective way to improve system error probability performance and to save power in traditional multi-carrier systems. In this paper, we derive the optimum power allocation algorithm for multi-band MC-CDMA systems, where optimum is defined as minimal BER under the constraint of fixed transmitted power, assuming knowledge of power attenuation of different sub-bands. With a two-band MC-CDMA system and Rayleigh channel fading, we show that a BER performance improvement based on the optimum allocation can only be attained over a limited range of transmit power and a limited range of sub-band power attenuation difference values. This performance improvement is also modest compared with a uniform power allocation, which suggests that the uniform power allocation is near optimal for transmit power control under our assumptions. Two simple transmitted power control algorithms are provided, and the controlled transmit power for a two-band system is shown to be a linear function of the power attenuation difference between the two bands for a large range of these attenuation differences. The small non-linear range implies that in using a multi-band channel, any savings in total transmitted power can occur only when the power attenuation difference between the two bands is small.
Chemical and behavioral evidence for a third pheromone component in a North American population of the black cutworm moth, Agrotis ipsilon

The sex pheromone of Agrotis ipsilon had been previously identified as a blend of (Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate (Z7–12:Ac) and (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate (Z9–14:Ac). A synthetic blend of Z7–12:Ac and Z9–14:Ac (30 μg:10 μg) is effective in attracting males in the field. In several countries, addition of (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate (Z11–16:Ac) to the previously identified blend increases male captures, but this had not been demonstrated in North America. We found Z11–16:Ac, in addition to Z7–12:Ac and Z9–14:Ac, from pheromone gland extracts of females from North America. The mean ratio of Z7–12:Ac, Z9–14:Ac, and Z11–16:Ac produced by individual females was 70.5:14.2:15.3, respectively. In Kentucky, addition of Z11–16:Ac (60 μg) to a two-component blend of Z7–12:Ac and Z9–14:Ac significantly increased the trap capture rate in the field. Traps baited with this three-component blend were 3.3 times (1995) and 4.6 times (1996) more effective in capturing male A. ipsilon than the two-component blend. This improved effectiveness resulted in detection of A. ipsilon in 60% more of the sampling periods in the two years. In the wind tunnel, males flew upwind and contacted a rubber septum loaded with a three-component blend including Z11–16:Ac significantly more frequently than they did to any two-component blend. These results demonstrate that Z11–16:Ac is a pheromone component in this North American population of A. ipsilon.
PARTICLE DIAGNOSTICS FOR MAGNETIC FUSION EXPERIMENTS

The statement has been made [1] that the most impressive progress in the past twenty years in research in magnetic fusion has been in the area of diagnostics. Compared to the situation in fusion work in the 1950’s and early 1960’s, measured plasma parameters for present fusion experiments can be quoted with confidence. Often each parameter, such as temperature or density, is measured by a variety of techniques. Spatially and temporally resolved measurements are quite common (Fig. 1). While the progress in our theoretical understanding of fusion experiments has been impressive, the major thrust of fusion research continues to be the construction of larger experiments, and the measurement of the properties of the plasmas produced in the experiments. Diagnostics play a crucial role in this effort.
Frameworks, Conceptual Schemes, and “Framework Relativism”

Chapter 1 was concerned primarily with the question of relativism’s alleged self-refutation. The present chapter takes as its subject the cluster of arguments for and against relativism which focus on the idea that cognitive activity is inevitably conducted from some ongoing perspective or point of view.
Euler and Lagrange

The invention of the calculus and its early exploitation was certainly due to Newton and Leibniz, but the invention of classical analysis was very largely due to Leonhard Euler, of Basel, who worked mainly in St. Petersburg. He was the student of Johann or Jean Bernoulli the First, and maintained a justifiable lifelong admiration and affection for the family.
Cytological diagnosis of osteoblastoma of the talus: Case report with unusual presentation and diagnostic pitfalls

Osteoblastoma is a rare bone tumor mostly affecting the young adults and commonly involving the spinal cord and long bones. Talus is the uncommon site of presentation, and if involved, then the neck is more commonly involved than the body of talus. The cytological diagnosis of osteoblastoma is limited, and to the best of our knowledge, its fine-needle aspiration (FNA) in the talus has still not been reported in the literature. The present case of osteoblastoma is, therefore, being reported due to the unusual presentation in elderly male in the body of talus and showing extensive involvement on X-ray. The case was initially diagnosed on FNA cytology excluding the possibility of giant-cell tumor and osteosarcoma. The case also highlights the importance of vigilant observation of subtle cytological features of this rare tumor which may be helpful in avoiding diagnostic pitfalls, especially at an uncommon site and with unusual presentation. An early precise diagnosis by cytology may be followed by appropriate treatment and thus avoiding any further complications.
Development and Pilot Testing of a Coping Kit for Parents of Hospitalized Children.

Abstract Objective Serious pediatric illness places great stress on families. Parents who learn coping skills may better manage these stressors. This study sought to develop and refine a stress coping intervention for parents of hospitalized children, assess the intervention acceptability among these parents, and gather preliminary data on stress, negative and positive affect, anxiety, depression, and self-efficacy. Methods We conducted an observational study in 2 phases, enrolling parents of children who were inpatients with serious illness, 10 in Phase 1 and 40 in Phase 2. All parents completed at baseline measures of stress and psychological well-being and were introduced to the Coping Kit for Parents. Follow-up interviews were conducted at 1 week (all parents) and 1 month (Phase 2 parents only) regarding the acceptability of the intervention. Results At baseline, parents reported that stressful situations were frequent (mean = 30.6, standard deviation [SD] = 6.8) and difficult (mean = 26.2, SD = 7.1) and revealed elevated levels of negative affect (mean = 27.3, SD = 7.7), depression (mean = 8.5, SD = 3.7), and anxiety (mean = 11.3, SD = 3.1) and moderate levels of self-efficacy related to their child's illness (mean = 3.3, SD = 0.5). The majority of parents used the kit regularly and on a scale of 1 to 7 agreed that the kit was helpful (mean = 6.0, SD = 0.9), interesting (mean = 5.7, SD = 1.3), practical (mean = 5.7, SD = 1.4), enjoyable (mean = 6.0, SD = 1.3), and they would recommend it to other parents (mean = 6.4, SD = 0.9). Conclusions The Coping Kit for Parents is an acceptable stress management intervention that could be made available to parents of children with serious illness at pediatric hospitals with minimal staff training or time commitment.
A test bed for measuring UAV servo reliability.

Extant literature suggests minimal research in the area of system reliability of components used in the design of these UAS (Unmanned Air Systems), thus, subjecting UAS to critical failures that may pose a safety hazard to flight operations. The purpose of the study was to critically assess the reliability of a laboratory designed UAS component test-bed operated using real-world data collected from a Boeing Scan Eagle UAS aileron servo unit via a flight data recorder. The study hypothesized that the test-bed unit's replicating a UAS aileron servo motor's reliability, in terms of a base-line measured encoder output of commanded servo positions, will not be significantly different after double and triple periods of time for continuous operating cycles. Study adds to paucity of extant research on UAS reliability and recommends further studies on commercial UAS components reliability and time to failure.
Plasma membrane G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER) mediates rapid estradiol facilitation of sexual receptivity through the orphanin-FQ-ORL-1 system in estradiol primed female rats.

Abstract In estradiol-primed nonreceptive ovariectomized rats, activation of G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER) in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARH) rapidly facilitates sexual receptivity (lordosis). Estradiol priming activates ARH β-endorphin (β-END) neurons that then activate medial preoptic (MPN) μ-opioid receptors (MOP) to inhibit lordosis. ARH infusion of non-esterified 17β-estradiol (E2) 47.5 h after 17β-estradiol benzoate (2 μg EB) priming deactivates MPN MOP and rapidly facilitates lordosis within 30 min via activation of GPER. Since it was unclear where GPERs were located in the neuron, we tested the hypothesis that GPER signaling is initiated at the plasma membrane. Membrane impermeable estradiol (17β-estradiol conjugated to biotin; E-Biotin) infused into the ARH of EB primed rats facilitated lordosis within 30 min, and MPN MOP was deactivated. These actions were blocked by pretreating with GPER antagonist, G-15. Further, we used cell fractionation and western blot techniques to demonstrate that GPER is expressed both in plasma membrane and cytosolic ARH fractions. In previous studies, the orphanin FQ/nociceptin-opioid receptor-like receptor-1 (OFQ/N-ORL-1) system mediated estradiol-only facilitation of lordosis. Therefore, we tested whether the OFQ/N-ORL-1 system mediates E-Biotin-GPER facilitation of lordosis. Pretreatment of UFP-101, an ORL-1 selective antagonist, blocked the facilitation of lordosis and deactivation of MPN MOP by ARH infusion of E-Biotin. Double-label immunohistochemistry revealed that GPER is expressed within approximately 70% of OFQ/N neurons. These data indicate that membrane GPER mediates the E2/E-Biotin facilitation of lordosis by inducing OFQ/N neurotransmission, which inhibits β-END neurotransmission to reduce MPN MOP activation.
Watered by Tempests: Hurricanes in the Cultural Fabric of the United Houma Nation

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita affected hundreds of thousands in southern Louisiana. To say that they touched people of every stripe and color dramatically is a gross understatement. Aside from the horrendous loss of life and property damage, families were uprooted, traditions disrupted, and one of the largest migrations in American history forced on a state with traditionally the lowest outmigration rate. Still, as hurricane survivors know, a large difference separates standing battered versus lying destroyed. What Katrina and, more significantly, Rita dealt the United Houma Nation and other tribes of southeastern Louisiana was a harsh strike but not a death blow. On the contrary, Katrina and Rita were only the last in a series of hurricanes that have shaped Indian settlement and culture. Through all those storms the Houmas have persevered, helped each other, and used tempests to reaffirm who they are. This article will examine several hurricanes and how they affected Houma history and culture. Though the Houma lived among highland bluffs when they first met the French in 1699, within seven years they had relocated down the Mississippi and to the Bayou St. John area just outside New Orleans. A few years later they moved back upstream to the area known in colonial times as Upper Lafourche, near modern Donaldsonville, Louisiana. There the Houma provided foodstuffs to La Nouvelle-Orleans and also buffered the settlement against hostile tribes and the English. Houma political power waned dramatically during the Spanish colonial era as increasing numbers of Germans, Acadians, and Canary Islanders (Islenos) settled along the river. Not only did these groups supplant the Houma as food producers and soldiers, but also increasing conflict with settlers convinced elders that the best route to survival was to relocate down bayous into Lafourche Interior and into modern Lafourche, Terrebonne, and St. Mary parishes.
Do human screams permit individual recognition

The recognition of individuals through vocalizations is a highly adaptive ability in the social behavior of many species, including humans. However, the extent to which nonlinguistic vocalizations such as screams permit individual recognition in humans remains unclear. Using a same-different vocalizer discrimination task, we investigated participants' ability to correctly identify whether pairs of screams were produced by the same person or two different people, a critical prerequisite to individual recognition. Despite prior theory-based contentions that screams are not acoustically well-suited to conveying identity cues, listeners discriminated individuals at above-chance levels by their screams, including both acoustically modified and unmodified exemplars. We found that vocalizer gender explained some variation in participants' discrimination abilities and response times, but participant attributes (gender, experience, empathy) did not. Our findings are consistent with abundant evidence from nonhuman primates, suggesting that both human and nonhuman screams convey cues to caller identity, thus supporting the thesis of evolutionary continuity in at least some aspects of scream function across primate species.
Computer-Aided Acoustics

In the following we will outline the use of computer-aided design models for the analysis of complicated acoustic spaces. The overall goal is to solve the acoustic wave equation for the domain and satisfy the boundary conditions when the geometry is considerably more complicated than can be properly accommodated in analytical solutions. In many studies of sound fields that rely on computational approaches such as the finite element or boundary element methods, the most cumbersome task is in properly describing the geometric details of the domain and boundary conditions. Having the geometry described in a computationally convenient way, the formulation and solution of the equations can be relatively straightforward. The main goal of the following is to provide a brief introduction to the process for formulating and numerically solving the equations based on a geometric description that is readily available through the use of common software used in computer-aided design.
A global perspective on mercury cycling in the ocean.

Mercury (Hg) is a ubiquitous metal in the ocean that undergoes in situ chemical transformations in seawater and marine sediment. Most relevant to public health is the production of monomethyl-Hg, a neurotoxin to humans that accumulates in marine fish and mammals. Here we synthesize 30 years of Hg measurements in the ocean to discuss sources, sinks, and internal cycling of this toxic metal. Global-scale oceanographic survey programs (i.e. CLIVAR and GEOTRACES), refined protocols for clean sampling, and analytical advancements have produced over 200 high-resolution, full-depth profiles of total Hg, methylated Hg, and gaseous elemental Hg throughout the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, and Southern Oceans. Vertical maxima of methylated Hg were found in surface waters, near the subsurface chlorophyll maximum, and in low-oxygen thermocline waters. The greatest concentration of Hg in deep water was measured in Antarctic Bottom Water, and in newly formed Labrador Sea Water, Hg showed a decreasing trend over the past 20 years. Distribution of Hg in polar oceans was unique relative to lower latitudes with higher concentrations of total Hg near the surface and vertical trends of Hg speciation driven by water column stratification and seasonal ice cover. Global models of Hg in the ocean require a better understanding of biogeochemical controls on Hg speciation and improved accuracy of methylated Hg measurements within the international community.
The Stability of Human Supervisory Control Operator Behavioral Models Using Hidden Markov Models

Human supervisory control (HSC) is a widely used knowledge-based control scheme, in which human operators are in charge of planning and making high-level decisions for systems with embedded autonomy. With the variability of operators’ behaviors in such systems, the stability of an operator modeling technique, i.e., that a modeling approach produces similar results across repeated applications, is critical to the extensibility and utility of such a model. Using an unmanned vehicle simulation testbed where such vehicles can be hacked, we compared two operator behavioral models from two different experiments using a hidden Markov modeling (HMM) approach. The resulting HMM models revealed operators’ dominant strategies when conducting hacking detection tasks. The similarity between these two models was measured via multiple aspects, including model structure, state distribution, divergence distance, and co-emission probability distance. The similarity measure results demonstrate the stability of modeling human operators in HSC scenarios using HMM models. These results indicate that even when operators perform differently on specific tasks, such an approach can reliably detect whether strategies change across different experiments.
Fifth generation troponin T assay is subject to antibody interference.

Abstract Background The fifth generation (high-sensitivity) troponin T assay offers increased precision and analytical sensitivity to the predecessor method. The assay has proven utility in risk stratification and patient management. Upon clinical suspicion and discordant 4th generation troponin T and troponin I results, we investigated a sample for suspected interfering substances to the 5th generation troponin T assay. Methods The analysis included a serial dilution, treatment with polyethylene glycol, commercial antibody blocking reagents, and size exclusion chromatography. Results The sample diluted linearly (R2 = 0.9957); however, experienced a dramatic reduction in concentration after both the polyethylene glycol and blocking agent treatment. Finally, size exclusion chromatography demonstrated assay reactivity around 970 kDa range. Conclusions These experiments elucidate a heterophilic antibody interference to the assay, and demonstrate potential measures to discern the interference.
A Study of Cobalt Containing Polyimide Films

The need to replace current technological materials by lightweight, easily processible and cheaper substances has been reflected in active research toward the modification of polymer characteristics. One of the more prominent demonstrations has been the enhancement of electrical conduction in polyacetylenes and related polymers by addition of either donor or acceptor species. These doped materials suffer, however in stability for most routine applications; consequently their use will probably be limited to “hermetically sealed” systems.2 Our laboratory has also been interested in lowering polymer electrical resistance. Limiting ourselves to polyimides, we have achieved to varying degrees air stable electrical conduction.3 This achievement, however, has been restricted to films with additives that showed migration of metal to the surfaces of these doped films during thermal imidization. The formation of a metal(0) layer during thermal imidization in air or the interaction of a surface metal species with moisture have been rationalized to account for the lowered resistivity. The quest for additives that will enhance conduction through the bulk of the polymer rather than on the polymer surface remains challenging.
Cellular, molecular, and therapeutic characterization of pilocarpine-induced temporal lobe epilepsy.

We probed a transcriptomic dataset of pilocarpine-induced TLE using various ontological, machine-learning, and systems-biology approaches. We showed that, underneath the complex and penetrant changes, moderate-to-subtle upregulated homeostatic and downregulated synaptic changes associated with the dentate gyrus and hippocampal subfields could not only predict TLE but various other forms of epilepsy. At the cellular level, pyramidal neurons and interneurons showed disparate changes, whereas the proportion of non-neuronal cells increased steadily. A probabilistic Bayesian network demonstrated an aberrant and oscillating physiological interaction between oligodendrocytes and interneurons in driving seizures. Validating the Bayesian inference, we showed that the cell types driving the seizures were associated with known antiepileptic and epileptic drugs. These findings provide predictive biomarkers of epilepsy, insights into the cellular connections and causal changes associated with TLE, and a drug discovery method focusing on these events.
Codoping Mg-Mn Based Oxygen Carrier with Lithium and Tungsten for Enhanced C2 Yield in a Chemical Looping Oxidative Coupling of Methane System

Oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) is a compelling strategy for the direct conversion of methane to C2+ hydrocarbons in order to produce fuels and value-added chemicals. Nevertheless, it remains c...
Dynamic Load Sharing in Memory Constrained Devices: A Survey

In recent years, we have witnessed unprecedented growth in the adoption of IoT devices. These devices provide immense benefits in various areas such as healthcare, industry, and home automation. However, most of these devices operate on a strict power requirement and are memory constrained. They can have limited CPU and I/O capabilities that may require applications to run at limited capacity and lead to network latency issues. One solution to ease the computational load is to have devices execute compute intensive and I/O intensive resources in the cloud. However, such an approach will incur additional network overhead. In addition, this approach might not be favorable to devices with no internet connectivity, such as wireless sensor networks. In an IoT ecosystem with heterogeneous devices of varied compute capabilities connected over a network, it is beneficial to ensure that unused compute resources (e.g. CPU and I/O) are efficiently distributed across all devices in the network. An approach that has the potential to reduce network latency, improve resource efficiency, and increase the Quality of Service (QoS) is to implementing load-sharing techniques locally across devices in an IoT network. The goal of this paper is to provide a review of recent work on load sharing techniques in an IoT ecosystem in order to create a robust compilation of the current state of the art in load-sharing in IoT. In addition, we also outline issues with integrating load sharing into the IoT ecosystem.
Chapter 3 Characterization Techniques for Oxygen in Silicon

Publisher Summary The chapter presents a study on characterization techniques for oxygen in silicon. The combined application of infrared spectroscopy, X-ray topography, and transmission electron microscopy that began to uncover the complex physics and chemistry of oxygen precipitation is discussed. These core techniques fulfilled three essential requirements to measure concentration, uniformity, and microstructure. The chapter presents a survey of the techniques that are outlined, with emphasis on strengths and weaknesses of each for the oxygen application. The objective is to provide general perspective without technical details. Physical techniques are those that rely on incident probes of photons, electrons, or ions and are distinguished in the chapter from those that couple with wet chemical separations or electrical measurements. They encompass the traditional core tools and others that are included in the chapter. Infrared vibrational spectroscopy reveals the presence of dispersed oxygen in Czochralski silicon crystals as well as silica precipitates produced under controlled high-temperature annealing. The chapter describes over 16 characterization techniques for measuring oxygen in silicon.
Near THz radiation from optically-induced plasma sources

Summary form only given. Short pulse lasers can be used to generate two types of short-lived, radiating plasmas. When absorbed by a semiconductor, a sudden optical pulse creates a charge-neutral, electron-hole plasma that radiates as the carriers relax in local crystal, surface, or applied electric fields. When focused onto the surface of an insulator or metal, the electric fields in an intense optical pulse break down the solid surface and surrounding gas. The charged particles in this surface-breakdown plasma radiate as they are created at the solid-gas (air) interface. The sudden creation of either of these types of plasmas with a sub-picosecond optical pulse produces a non-equilibrium distribution of charges that radiates with an extremely wide bandwidth in the THz regime. This paper reports the radiated electric field intensities, spectra, and associated radiation patterns for electron-hole plasmas from gallium arsenide and silicon, and for surface-breakdown plasmas from aluminum, glass (BK-7), gallium arsenide, and silicon. The plasmas are created and diagnosed with a chirped-pulse regenerative amplifier laser that produces a 1 kHz train of 120 fs wide pulses with up to 2 mJ of energy per pulse at a wavelength of 800 nm. To explore the wide bandwidth of these plasma radiation sources, two electric field diagnostics were used. A conventional electric field probe (D-dot) with a 40 GHz bandwidth and a 70 GHz sampling oscilloscope measured the low frequency tail of the radiation spectrum. To measure the high frequency range of the spectrum, electro-optic crystals (zinc telluride) sampled the radiated electric field as it co-propagated with an optical probe beam that was split off the excitation (pump) beam. The bandwidth of the electro-optic sampling is limited by the thickness of the electro-optic crystals, so a range of thicknesses was employed to demonstrate source-limited measurements. The fundamental differences between electron-hole and surface-breakdown plasmas will be discussed. Similarities and contrasts in radiation patterns and efficiencies will be described for all of these plasma radiation sources. Simple models for the picosecond carrier motion in these sources will be presented and compared with measurements. The advantages and challenges of using a kilohertz, millijoule, short-pulse laser for plasma generation and electro-optic sampling will also be mentioned.
A Review of “Ethics in Cyberspace: How Cyberspace May Influence Interpersonal Interaction”

The ethical challenge raised by new technologies is not a new field of study. Philosophy has explored the changes in ethical situations caused by new technologies almost as long as there have been ...
Traumatic Optic Neuropathies

Traumatic optic neuropathy may be a result of severe head trauma or may be associated with little or no evidence of head injury. Traumatic optic neuropathy occurs in approximately 0.5% to 5% of closed head injuries1 and in 2.5% of patients with maxillofacial trauma and midface fractures.2 Loss of consciousness is associated with traumatic optic neuropathy in 40% to 70% of cases.3,4 In closed head injuries, the site of injury causing blindness is often the forehead or supraorbital ridge, less commonly the temporal region. Patients from 20 to 40 years of age represent the major trauma population who experience traumatic optic neuropathy.5
Algebraic techniques in the memory size computation of multimedia processing applications

In real-time multimedia processing systems a very large part of the power consumption is due to the data storage and data transfer. Moreover, the area cost is often largely dominated by memories. Hence, the optimization of the memory architecture is a crucial step in the design methodology for this type of applications. In deriving an optimized memory architecture, memory size computation is an important step in the data transfer and storage exploration stage. This work investigates non-scalar methods for computing the memory size in real-time multimedia algorithms. The approach is based on more recent algebraic techniques specific to the data-flow analysis used in modem compilers. In contrast with previous works which utilize only approximate methods due to the size of the problems (in terms of number of scalars) and single-assignment specifications, this research aims to obtain exact determinations even for large applications.