cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nursing Home Organizational Characteristics and Utilization of Cancer-Related Medical Services

Nursing Home Organizational Characteristics and Utilization of Cancer-Related Medical Services by Chun-Chieh Lin A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010 Director: Jan Clement, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Health Administration Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S and is more common among the elderly. Since frailty and other age related conditions put the elderly at risk for nursing home care, nursing homes may be the site of care and death for many elderly cancer patients. However, there is a large gap in knowledge concerning cancer treatment of elderly nursing home residents. Since residents rely heavily on their nursing facilities, nursing homes might influence them in their treatment decisions. After controlling for resident and nursing home market characteristics, this study applies Andersen’s Behavioral Model to examine whether nursing home organizational characteristics (nurse staffing level, nursing skill mix, and quality deficiencies) are related to the use of cancerrelated medical services for treatment (oncologist visits, cancer-directed surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy), and palliative care (pain medication and hospice services) among 1,183 Medicaid and Medicare insured residents of nursing homes in Michigan from 1996-2000. Using data from the Medicare claim file, Medicaid claim file, Michigan tumor registry, Area Resource File, Michigan Medicaid Nursing Home Cost Report, and Online Survey, Certification and Reporting (OSCAR), the study used logistic regression to predict the utilization of cancer-related medical services. The results generally did not support the hypotheses. Nursing staffing level and nursing skill mix did not predict any cancer-related medical service utilization. Cancer care may be more associated with patient characteristics, such as age, which are usually taken into consideration when physicians suggest treatments, than nursing home organizational characteristics. However, relative to residents of nursing homes with the highest quartile of quality deficiencies, residents of nursing homes in the lowest quartile of quality deficiencies had a decreased likelihood of utilizing hospice care (OR=.509; 95%CI=.325 to .796; p=.003). Residents in high quality nursing homes may want to stay in the same place and not transfer to another facility for hospice care while residents in poor quality nursing homes may be motivated to use hospice care. Even though this study did not successfully find that higher nurse staffing level, nursing skill mix, quality of care are associated with greater opportunity of utilizing cancer-related medical services, this study was successful in laying out an empirically sound base framework to analyze this association. Future research can incorporate other states or nationwide data to reexamine this relationship using this study as a base model.
Metabolomics and Oral Disease Diagnosis

The view of personalized care has evolved with the advent of modern molecular and genomic science, the completion of the Human Genome Project, the launching of the Human Microbiome Project, the focus on the individual in western societies, the explosion of Big Data, and business models and political systems becoming interwoven with health care. Dentistry is embracing this new paradigm that focuses on health care that is personalized, predictive, preventive, and participatory. Whether using “omic” technology, handheld devices, or sampling of various body substances, health and dental care are poised to write the next chapter in our historical text of personalization of oral health care. Notable advances in personalization of oral care include knowledge gained in oral cancer, periodontal disease, and caries. These advances, with an emphasis on metabolomics, will be discussed within the framework of the current status of these diseases, their limitations, and the emerging opportunities in these fields in terms of disease diagnosis.
Fostering Emotional Intelligence

Leadership requires more than analytical skills; leadership requires emotional intelligence—understanding and managing the emotions of self and others. Emotional intelligence involves self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. Learning-directed leaders understand the importance of emotional intelligence in self and others. A key element to developing emotional intelligence is motivation to learn.
Vulva and Vagina

Tumors of the vulva and vagina share overall histological classifications of neoplastic lesions into squamous, glandular, melanocytic, and mesenchymal tumors. Squamous carcinoma is by far the most common primary malignancy involving both organs and is related to human papillomavirus infection in the majority of cases. Squamous intraepithelial lesion is the most common preinvasive condition of squamous cell carcinoma. Conventional Mullerian adenocarcinomas are rare malignancies of the vulva and vagina. Extramammary Paget disease represents a special form of intraepithelial glandular malignancy and is only rarely associated with an invasive component. Primary clear cell carcinoma of the vagina has been famous for its association with intrauterine diethylstilbestrol (DES) exposure in the past but is very rare nowadays. Melanoma accounts for 5 % of vulvar cancers and is capable of widespread metastases. A variety of benign and malignant mesenchymal tumors also occur in the vulvar and vaginal regions with benign angiomyofibroblastoma and deep aggressive angiomyxoma primarily involving these areas.
Remarks on high-Reynolds-number turbulence experiments and facilities

A summary is given here of remarks made at the Workshop on the need for research in high-Reynolds-number turbulence and the possibility of using a helium tunnel for the purpose.
Students: Common framework for Europe moves closer

France is leading the way with plans to increase student mobility across Europe. At a meeting of university bosses in Paris at the end of May, the French prime minister, Lionel Jospin, announced a new agreement to build a common framework of course structures and qualifications at European universities. The agreement was signed by the education ministers from France, Germany, Italy and the UK. "We are starting out as four, we will soon be 10 or 15," says Claude Allegre, the French education minister.
THE EFFECT OF RETORT COOKING PRESSURE AND BREADING TECHNIQUE ON YIELD AND PER CENT BREADING OF BROILER PARTS

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of breading techniques and retort cooking pressure on broiler parts. The cooking pressures used were 0 and 0.36 kg/cm2 There was a slight increase in cooking yield of thigh parts when the cooking pressure was increased. The parts gave significantly different cooking yields. One-half of the parts were given a single breading and the other one-half were double breaded. The second breading increased the breading on the parts by 6.9%. Double breaded parts showed an increase of 6.4% product yield over the single breaded parts. The taste panel preferred the double breaded parts.
Loyalty to Ethnic Heritage and Hispanic College Student Engagement.

This study examined Hispanic undergraduate students’ campus engagement at a private Hispanic Serving Institution. Through an analysis of survey responses of 84 students, a new measurement of ethnic...
Reasoning through madness: the detective in Gothic crime fiction

The Gothic era dealt in fear and the unknown, with early nineteenth century Gothic fiction being characterized by the macabre and influenced by the Enlightenment. The scientific and industrial revolutions of the eighteenth century brought forth advanced scientific theories and modes of reasoning, which found their way into the narratives of Gothic works. The public’s fascination with horror and the morbid extended from the Gothic era into the Victorian Gothic era, and tales of mystery and crime became intertwined with death and the monstrous. Literature of the Victorian Gothic era continued to explore the fears and anxieties of society, and was supplemented by knowledge obtained through developments in science, criminology and the criminal justice system. Elements of Gothic horror, scientific reasoning and crime are presented throughout various works of Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Such works include Poe’s stories of ratiocination in both his tales of horror and mystery; Poe’s stories featuring the detective C. Auguste Dupin; Doyle’s tales of mystery and the supernatural; and a selection of Doyle’s adventures of Sherlock Holmes. In these works by Poe and Doyle, the investigative prowess of the narrator, along with the methods of observation and interpretation, are utilized to explain the macabre and unknown. This essay introduces the reader to specific techniques of reasoning and the utilization of scientific methodology, specifically observation, to look beyond madness and mystery to arrive at logical conclusions for observed phenomena. The purpose of this essay is three-fold: first, to correlate the works of Poe and Doyle to the prevailing discourse of the nineteenth century, considering advances in epistemology, criminology and criminal investigations; second, to draw attention to the role of ratiocination and various forms of reasoning in solving crimes and the resolution of the fear of death and monster through the works of Poe and Doyle; third, to evaluate Poe and Doyle’s ideas regarding the police, crime solving and the intersection of science and crime as expressed through their stories.
Effective Legislative Advocacy - Lessons from Successful Medical Trainee Campaigns.

Since last November’s U.S. election, many residents and medical students have felt a new urgency to become politically active and engage in legislative advocacy on behalf of their patients. How can they have the greatest impact on policy?
Achievement in engineering and technical fields? a large-scale analysis

Analyzing survey data from a national sample of 3,118 undergraduates majoring in STEM, this study examined the extent to which faculty-student collaborations affect academic achievement as measured by college grades. Results suggest a statistically significant association between faculty-student relations and grades, even after controlling for confounding influences. Also, time spent studying was positively associated with college grades. Implications for future research and practice will be discussed.
Clinical Pharmacology of Drugs Acting at the Neuromuscular Junction

Since the first administration of d-tubocurarine in 1942 by Harold Griffith to facilitate muscle relaxation during an appendectomy, neuromuscular blocking drugs (NMBDs) have been a class of medications utilized by anesthesiologists and intensivists to facilitate the performance of invasive and painful procedures. NMBDs are administered to improve the quality of intubating conditions and decrease the incidence of vocal cord injury during airway instrumentation. Furthermore, the use of NMBDs to relax major skeletal muscle groups during intra-cavitary operations significantly improves surgical conditions. The utility of NMBDs is not limited to the perioperative arena; they can be used to facilitate mechanical ventilation in patients with poor pulmonary compliance in the intensive care unit.
Exploration to Exploitation: An Industry Analysis of Suborbital Space Tourism

Abstract Commercial human access to suborbital space tourism as a segment within the commercial space transportation industry has been rapidly evolving. This study uses a competitive analysis appro...
Evolution of a Thermophilic Strand-Displacing Polymerase Using High-Temperature Isothermal Compartmentalized Self-Replication.

Strand-displacing polymerases are a crucial component of isothermal amplification (IA) reactions, where the lack of thermal cycling reduces equipment needs and improves the time to answer, especially for point-of-care applications. In order to improve the function of strand-displacing polymerases, we have developed an emulsion-based directed evolution scheme, high-temperature isothermal compartmentalized self-replication (HTI-CSR) that does not rely on thermal cycling. Starting from an algorithm-optimized shuffled library of exonuclease-deficient Family A polymerases from Geobacillus stearothermophilus (Bst LF) and Thermus aquaticus (Klentaq), we have applied HTI-CSR to generate a more thermostable strand-displacing polymerase variant that performs well in loop-mediated isothermal amplification and rolling circle amplification, even after thermal challenges of up to 95 °C that lead to better primer annealing. The new enzyme (v5.9) is also capable of a variety of new reactions, including isothermal hyperbr...
Determining the Pathogenicity of a Genomic Variant of Uncertain Significance Using CRISPR/Cas9 and Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Background: The progression toward low-cost and rapid next-generation sequencing has uncovered a multitude of variants of uncertain significance (VUS) in both patients and asymptomatic “healthy” in...
Global Imbalances: Causes and Policies to Address Them

Global imbalances, which culminated in the wake of the Great Recession, have been one of the most complex macroeconomic issues facing economists and policy makers. They have reflected differences in a number of factors in many countries, including saving, investment, and portfolio decisions. The cross-country differences in saving patterns, investment patterns, and portfolio choices can be “good”—a natural reflection of differences in levels of development, demographic patterns, and other underlying economic fundamentals. However, they can also be “bad”, reflecting distortions and risks at the national and the international level.
Body mass index as a function of length of United States residency among Haitian immigrant children.

OBJECTIVES: 1) To compare Body Mass Index (BMI) percentiles of Haitian-born children and US-born Haitian Children; 2) To assess the relationship between time in the United States and BMI percentiles for Haitian-born children; and 3) To compare BMI percentiles of Haitian-born and US-born Haitian children to other US pediatric populations included in the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. DESIGN: Retrospective medical chart review of demographic and anthropometric characteristics. SETTING: Center for Haitian Studies, a nonprofit community based organization that provides health care and social services to the Haitian community. PATIENTS: The medical charts from 250 children ages 2-18 who received medical care at CHS between January 1, 2004 and July 30, 2006. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: 1) Overweight (> or = 85th to or = 95th BMI percentile). RESULTS: Thirty percent of Haitian-born and 51% of US-born Haitian children were > or = 85th percentile for BMI. US-born children had higher BMI percentiles than Haitian-born children (81st percentile vs 68th percentile). Among Haitian-born children, BMI percentile increased by 3.7% for each year of US residency. When compared to NHANES data, Haitian-born children were less likely to be overweight than non-Hispanic Blacks, Mexican Americans, and non-Hispanic White children, or for all groups combined (14.9% vs 33.6%, 95% CI 9.8%-22.2%), but were as likely to be obese (14.9% vs 17.7%, 95% CI, 9.8%-22.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Haitian-born children are currently experiencing a 3.7% BMI percentile increase for each year of US residency and are as likely to be overweight as other US minority children making them potentially at increased risk for health consequences associated with obesity.
Automated Classification of Skin Lesions: From Pixels to Practice

The letters "Interpretation of the Outputs of Deep Learning Model trained with Skin Cancer Dataset" and "Automated Dermatological Diagnosis: Hype or Reality?" highlight the opportunities, hurdles, and possible pitfalls with the development of tools that allow for automated skin lesion classification. The potential clinical impact of these advances relies on their scalability, accuracy, and generalizability across a range of diagnostic scenarios.
Adolescent Peer Relationship Qualities as Predictors of Long-Term Romantic Life Satisfaction

Adolescent-era predictors of adult romantic life satisfaction were examined in a multimethod, prospective, longitudinal study of 165 adolescents followed from ages 13 to 30. Progress in key developmental tasks, including establishing positive expectations and capacity for assertiveness with peers at age 13, social competence at ages 15 and 16, and ability to form and maintain strong close friendships at ages 16-18, predicted romantic life satisfaction at ages 27-30. In contrast, several qualities linked to romantic experience during adolescence (i.e., sexual and dating experience, physical attractiveness) were unrelated to future satisfaction. Results suggest a central role of competence in nonromantic friendships as preparation for successful management of the future demands of adult romantic life.
Climate information to support wildlife management in the North Central United States

This paper investigates what is needed to make climate and weather information more usable for the wildlife management practitioners and ecological researchers in the Prairie Potholes Region (PPR) of the North Central United States. Using interviews, policy document analysis, and participant observation, we identify climate and weather information needs, barriers to use, and opportunities to provide better information to these users. We found that the research and management communities need guidance on how to interpret and apply existing information. Climate information needs in the PPR are driven by the need to understand how projected changes in precipitation will impact prairie wetland ecology. Primary needs include guidance towards selecting, interpreting, and using various climate information products to understand impacts and explanations of the differences between new products and previously available information. Another need includes information on how the societal responses to climate change will further impact ecological systems. Existing management priorities, limited institutional resources, and limited ecological data are remaining barriers that can be ameliorated by leveraging existing policy processes or trusted sources of information to provide guidance, thereby reducing time and costs associated with using climate information in wildlife policy planning. Throughout, we emphasize the importance of the social and ecological aspects of the decision-making context to shape climate information needs, barriers, and entry points. Additional research is needed on the diverse ways that users engage with and use climate information, and additional efforts are needed to co-produce guidance documents that interpret climate information for management and research communities.
Pacific Abyssal Transport and Mixing: Through the Samoan Passage versus around the Manihiki Plateau

AbstractThe main source feeding the abyssal circulation of the North Pacific is the deep, northward flow of 5–6 Sverdrups (Sv; 1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) through the Samoan Passage. A recent field campaign...
Urinary concentrations of benzophenone-3 and reproductive outcomes among women undergoing infertility treatment with assisted reproductive technologies

Abstract Benzophenone-3 is used in a variety of cosmetic products as a sunscreen, and has shown weak estrogenic and antiandrogenic activity in animal and in vitro studies. Few studies have evaluated whether benzophenone-3 is associated with reproductive outcomes among women. We studied 304 women undergoing infertility treatment (2007–2017) in the prospective Environment and Reproductive Health cohort study and who underwent 449 treatment cycles (n = 788 urines). Generalized linear mixed models were used with random intercepts to account for multiple cycles, and adjusting for confounders including physical activity. Analyses were also stratified by self-reported moderate/heavy outdoor work. The cycle-specific median (IQR) urinary benzophenone-3 concentration was 147 (58, 462) μg/L, and 98% samples had detectable concentrations. Self-reported sunscreen use, physical activity, and time spent on moderate/heavy outdoor work were positively associated with urinary benzophenone-3. Adjusted probabilities of implantation, clinical pregnancy and live birth were higher in increasing quartiles of benzophenone-3, but these associations were restricted to women who reported spending time outdoors performing moderate/heavy work. Specifically, among these women, those in the highest quartile of benzophenone-3 concentrations had 51% higher implantation (p,trend = 0.02), 68% higher clinical pregnancy (p,trend = 0.01) and 75% higher live birth (p,trend = 0.02) adjusted probabilities than women in the lowest quartile. Benzophenone-3 was unrelated to these outcomes among women who did not report doing moderate/heavy work outdoors. These results confirm that sunscreen use is a source of benzophenone-3 exposure, and show positive associations between benzophenone-3 and pregnancy outcomes, especially among women who reported engaging in outdoor work. Since these associations may be subject to important residual confounding by lifestyle factors, further research is needed to confirm these novel results in other populations, and to investigate whether other factors may be affecting the relation of benzophenone-3 with fertility and other health outcomes.
European integration and weak states: Romania’s road to exclusionary development

This paper challenges approaches that expect unavoidable decline in developmental state capacities as a result of European market integration. Using Romania’s automotive industry as its case study,...
Metagenomics and quantitative stable isotope probing offer insights into metabolism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons degraders in chronically polluted seawater

Abstract Bacterial biodegradation is a significant contributor to remineralization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): toxic and recalcitrant components of crude oil as well as byproducts of partial combustion chronically introduced into seawater via atmospheric deposition. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill demonstrated the speed at which a seed PAH-degrading community maintained by low chronic inputs can respond to acute pollution. We investigated the diversity and functional potential of a similar seed community in the Port of Los Angeles, a chronically polluted site, using stable isotope probing with naphthalene, deep-sequenced metagenomes and carbon incorporation rate measurements at the port and in two sites further into the San Pedro Channel. We demonstrate the ability of a local seed community of degraders at the Port of LA to incorporate carbon from naphthalene, leading to a quick shift in the microbial community composition to be dominated by these normally rare taxa. We were able to directly show that assembled genomes belonged to naphthalene degraders by matching their 16S-rRNA gene with experimental stable isotope probing data. Surprisingly, we did not find a full PAH degradation pathway in those genomes and even when combining genes from the entire microbial community. We analyze metabolic pathways identified in 29 genomes whose abundance increased in the presence of naphthalene to generate metagenomic-based recommendations for future optimization of PAHs bioremediation. Importance Oil spills in the marine environment have a devastating effect on marine life and biogeochemical cycles. Oil-degrading bacteria occur naturally in the ocean, especially where they are supported by chronic inputs of oil, and have a significant role in degradation of oil spills. The most recalcitrant and toxic component of oil is polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Therefore, the bacteria who can break those molecules down are of particular importance. We identified such bacteria at the port of Los Angeles, one of the busiest ports worldwide, and characterized their metabolic capabilities. Based on those analyses we proposed chemical targets to stimulate the activity of these bacteria in case of an oil spill in the port of LA.
Evidence of majoritic garnet from the mantle transition zone in the Alpe Arami garnet peridotite

Ultra-high-pressure (UHP) peridotites found along collisional zones record rare information from deep within the Earth. However, the estimation of depth of origin for these UHP rocks has been contr...
Host Cathelicidin Exacerbates Group B Streptococcus Urinary Tract Infection

ABSTRACT Group B Streptococcus (GBS) causes frequent urinary tract infection (UTI) in susceptible populations, including individuals with type 2 diabetes and pregnant women; however, specific host factors responsible for increased GBS susceptibility in these populations are not well characterized. Here, we investigate cathelicidin, a cationic antimicrobial peptide, known to be critical for defense during UTI with uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC). We observed a loss of antimicrobial activity of human and mouse cathelicidins against GBS and UPEC in synthetic urine and no evidence for increased cathelicidin resistance in GBS urinary isolates. Furthermore, we found that GBS degrades cathelicidin in a protease-dependent manner. Surprisingly, in a UTI model, cathelicidin-deficient (Camp−/−) mice showed decreased GBS burdens and mast cell recruitment in the bladder compared to levels in wild-type (WT) mice. Pharmacologic inhibition of mast cells reduced GBS burdens and histamine release in WT but not Camp−/− mice. Streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice had increased bladder cathelicidin production and mast cell recruitment at 24 h postinfection with GBS compared to levels in nondiabetic controls. We propose that cathelicidin is an important immune regulator but ineffective antimicrobial peptide against GBS in urine. Combined, our findings may in part explain the increased frequency of GBS UTI in diabetic and pregnant individuals. IMPORTANCE Certain populations such as diabetic individuals are at increased risk for developing urinary tract infections (UTI), although the underlying reasons for this susceptibility are not fully known. Additionally, diabetics are more likely to become infected with certain types of bacteria, such as group B Streptococcus (GBS). In this study, we find that an antimicrobial peptide called cathelicidin, which is thought to protect the bladder from infection, is ineffective in controlling GBS and alters the type of immune cells that migrate to the bladder during infection. Using a mouse model of diabetes, we observe that diabetic mice are more susceptible to GBS infection even though they also have more infiltrating immune cells and increased production of cathelicidin. Taken together, our findings identify this antimicrobial peptide as a potential contributor to increased susceptibility of diabetic individuals to GBS UTI.
Act of Violence: Articulating the Spaces of Modernity

In this chapter, I analyze the ways in which Fred Zinnemann’s Act of Violence engages with the spatial and geographic politics of postwar America. Specifically, I analyze its treatment of suburban development and the consequent degradation of older inner cities and urban cores, arguing that the film works to puncture the myth of the suburbs as a bucolic idyll and to challenge the ideological foundations upon which that myth is built. It does so, I argue, by stressing the imbrication of its primary suburban setting within larger spatial and geographic systems, and by revealing repressed histories of violence lying beneath the apparently placid surface of suburban life. In developing this analysis, the chapter also shows how the film anticipates the slasher film cycle of the 1970s and 1980s with respect to both aesthetic and thematic concerns. These arguments are framed within a larger meta-critical discussion that centers on debates around practices of symptomatic reading and other related interpretation strategies in academic cultural studies.
Upgrading the Capstone Projects: The Engineering Clinic Model

Abstract Capstone engineering design projects are ideal for broad application of engineering concepts on open-ended research and design problems. These projects allow students to reinforce their skills and extend their expertise into specialized areas of interest. Often, the capstone projects serve as both test grounds and launch pads for students’ engineering careers. Within the engineering curriculum, these projects typically span the final year of an engineering program and entail a single project within a single disciplinary area. While their significance to the educational experience is unequivocal, the benefits of a capstone project can be expanded to further reflect real-world experiences. Over the span of their careers, professional engineers work on a number of projects and assume a variety of roles within a team of engineers with a range of expertise. How do we model that experience for our students within engineering education? Rowan University’s Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering adopted the Engineering Clinic Model (ECM) to replace capstone projects. With ECM students choose to work across traditional disciplinary boundaries on multiple projects over their junior and senior years. The Junior and Senior Engineering Clinics allow students to work on potentially four distinct projects with both juniors and seniors from any engineering discipline supervised by a faculty. The student teams focus on tangible objectives and present their outcomes for each term before moving to another team. The ECM has demonstrated tremendous resilience against enrollment growth and continues to be the most notable aspect of Rowan Engineering. Its resilience can be attributed to an automated process that prioritizes student preferences and faculty interests. The process begins with faculty from every engineering discipline pitching their projects at the start of the term. Students subsequently rank their preferences for those projects. A custom-developed Clinic Match algorithm assigns students to their projects based on a set criteria. The greatest benefit of this approach has been for the students to build desired competencies in a wide range of fields, regardless of the discipline. For the Spring 2019 semester, over 150 distinct projects, representing 5 engineering disciplines, were pitched to over 500 junior and senior engineering students. Students worked in teams typically ranging from 3-8 members on projects; often funded by the government and industry. This paper highlights the key features of engineering clinics within junior and senior years and supports the outcomes with quantitative trends gathered over the past 10 semesters. The Junior and Senior Engineering Clinics offer a powerful alternative for leveraging the capstone design project to impart a broad skill set among engineering graduates.
FOSTERING CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AMONG NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: GENERAL PRINCIPLES

There is a new policy shift in the Nigerian university educational policy which promotes entrepreneurial education to facilitate entrepreneurial pursuit after graduation. This is in response to the growing rate of unemployment among the young population especially university graduates because governments at various levels cannot provide enough employment for the teeming population of youth who needs jobs. Entering the world of business or entrepreneurship could be challenging especially within the context of the ever-evolving 21st-century business climate. Business success thus becomes a huge concern for entrepreneurs and other stakeholders in the growth and development of the Nigerian society and economy. This apprehension becomes magnified with Nigeria’s myriads of economic challenges. This work aims at contributing to the discourse on consolidating entrepreneurial practices in a developing economy such as Nigeria by targeting students at different levels of study in the university system. While exposing the concepts of creativity and innovation, the work proposes that the preparation of university students for business or entrepreneurial pursuit should include deliberate creativity and innovation through the use of structured tools and deliberate methods and principles for business success in a highly competitive and dynamic business world. This proposal becomes relevant within the context of the sustainability of businesses in the ever-challenging Nigerian economy. Conclusively, the paper avers that the principles and strategies canvassed will facilitate entrepreneurial success when these university students eventually become entrepreneurs. Article visualizations:
Household energy access and expenditure in developing countries: Evidence from India, 1987–2010

Abstract Although most studies of energy poverty focus on whether or not households have access to modern fuels, expenditure is also an important issue, as households in developing countries spend a significant proportion of their total expenditures on energy. Using nationally representative household data from India, 1987–2010, this article describes and explains trends in household energy expenditure. While monthly household spending on energy has increased in many Indian states, this change is not driven by increased household affluence. Statistical analysis shows that when modern fuels (LPG for cooking, electricity for lighting and appliances) are available, households are willing and able to spend on energy. Indian households that have seen improved access to LPG and electricity have also seen much higher energy expenditures, whereas increased household incomes do not explain greater spending on household energy. For policymakers, the key lesson is that programs to improve access to modern fuels allow both wealthy and poor households to spend money on valuable energy services.
A qualitative study of cognitive, behavioral, and environmental influences on Hispanic mothers' early childhood feeding practices.

Abstract Young children's lifestyle behaviors are largely shaped by their parents. There are socioeconomic risk factors particular to Hispanic populations that influence the way parents feed their children. As obesity continues to be a public health issue with substantial inequities across race and ethnicity, it is critical to understand Hispanic parents' food choices and feeding practices. The objective of this qualitative study is to identify the behavioral, environmental, and cognitive factors that influence the parental food choices and feeding behaviors of Hispanic mothers of children ages 0–5 years. Snowball sampling was used to recruit participants from the community (n = 30) who were 1) female; 2) Hispanic; 3) over the age of 18; and 4) a mother to child(ren) between the ages zero and five. Each interview consisted of a brief demographic survey and a set of open-ended questions based on Social Cognitive Theory constructs. A thematic analysis using a combined deductive and inductive approach was used to analyze transcriptions. Results indicated that mothers' attitudes around breastfeeding were connected with their challenges, while their attitudes around solid foods were expressed in their feeding strategies. Mothers used strategies of modeling, repeated exposure, and practices of “sneaking” in healthy foods and bribing to promote healthy eating. Mothers were most likely to seek out information from (1) pediatricians, (2) female family members, and (3) the internet. Hispanic mothers actively seek out information from many different sources that impact how they feed their young children. Understanding their trusted sources and how it influences the SCT constructs is an important step in preventing early childhood obesity.
Substance Use and Childhood Sexual Abuse among Girls Who Are Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation.

Background: Girls who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation (CSEC) have high rates of substance use and childhood sexual abuse. We compared girls who are victims of CSEC and matched control...
Hepatic cell mobilization for protection against ischemic myocardial injury.

The heart is capable of activating protective mechanisms in response to ischemic injury to support myocardial survival and performance. These mechanisms have been recognized primarily in the ischemic heart, involving paracrine signaling processes. Here, we report a distant cardioprotective mechanism involving hepatic cell mobilization to the ischemic myocardium in response to experimental myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (MI-R) injury. A parabiotic mouse model was generated by surgical skin-union of two mice and used to induce bilateral MI-R injury with unilateral hepatectomy, establishing concurrent gain- and loss-of-hepatic cell mobilization conditions. Hepatic cells, identified based on the cell-specific expression of enhanced YFP, were found in the ischemic myocardium of parabiotic mice with intact liver (0.2 ± 0.1%, 1.1 ± 0.3%, 2.7 ± 0.6, and 0.7 ± 0.4% at 1, 3, 5, and 10 days, respectively, in reference to the total cell nuclei), but not significantly in the ischemic myocardium of parabiotic mice with hepatectomy (0 ± 0%, 0.1 ± 0.1%, 0.3 ± 0.2%, and 0.08 ± 0.08% at the same time points). The mobilized hepatic cells were able to express and release trefoil factor 3 (TFF3), a protein mitigating MI-R injury as demonstrated in TFF3-/- mice (myocardium infarcts 17.6 ± 2.3%, 20.7 ± 2.6%, and 15.3 ± 3.8% at 1, 5, and 10 days, respectively) in reference to wildtype mice (11.7 ± 1.9%, 13.8 ± 2.3%, and 11.0 ± 1.8% at the same time points). These observations suggest that MI-R injury can induce hepatic cell mobilization to support myocardial survival by releasing TFF3.
Halfway Independent": Experiences of formerly homeless adults living in permanent supportive housing."

Permanent supportive housing (PSH), which combines affordable public housing with social services, has become the dominant model in the United States for providing housing to formerly homeless people. PSH has been effective in reducing re-entry to homelessness, yet has shown limited evidence of improving formerly homeless individuals' mental health and quality of life. This study aimed to understand the lived experiences of formerly homeless adults' adjustment to tenancy in PSH, with a focus on how living in PSH has affected their meaningful activity and social engagement. Based on a phenomenological approach, a thematic analysis was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 17 individuals living in three PSH buildings in New York City. Results suggested that PSH was beneficial in fulfilling formerly homeless individual's basic needs and facilitating lifestyle improvements, yet many were dissatisfied with their living conditions and lacked meaningful activity, social integration, and community belongingness. These issues were found to develop in large part as a result of formerly homeless individuals' disharmonious relationships within the social context of PSH, consisting of staff members, other residents, and people in the surrounding community. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and implications for PSH social services are discussed.
Design and synthesis of the audio equalizers

This paper designs and synthesizes audio equalizers for multimedia applications. In order to prevent the equalizers from boosting undesired frequency components, the peaks of the inverse model of room transfer function are clipped. Different techniques are then used to synthesize the equalizer from the clipped amplitude response. A howling margin is employed to evaluate the equalizer's performance and to determine the optimum threshold for clipping. Real-time experiments using the SHARC processor show increased howling onset level and reduced reverberation.
Electrochemical Oxidation of Uric Acid and Xanthine at the Pyrolytic Graphite Electrode Mechanistic Interpretation of Electrochemistry

The quantitative course of electrochemical oxidation of uric acid and xanthine at the pyrolytic graphite electrode has been examined between pH 1–7, the most commonly encountered pH range in biological systems. Basically, uric acid is oxidized in a primary oxidation of the bond to give a readily reducible and highly reactive bis‐imine. The bis‐imine can be detected as a cathodic peak by fast sweep cyclic voltammetry. Complete hydration of the bis‐imine gives rise to uric acid‐4,5‐diol that breaks down to alloxan and urea at pH 1, allantoin and a small amount of urea at pH 7, and at intermediate pH values mixtures of alloxan, allantoin, urea, and occasionally traces of parabanic acid are formed. Xanthine undergoes a oxidation that proceeds by two stages. The first involves oxidation of the bond to give uric acid which, being more easily oxidized than xanthine, is immediately further oxidized to the uric acid bisimine. This then hydrates and fragments in essentially the same way as described for uric acid, the same products being observed. Mechanisms are developed which explain the observed electrochemistry and over‐all formation of products from this reaction. The nature and yields of products formed electrochemically and the effect of pH on the reaction parallels the biological (enzymatic) oxidation of these compounds.
Is it Rational to Assume Consumer Rationality? Some Consumer Psychological Perspectives on Rational Choice Theory

"Law-and-economics," an influential perspective among some in law (and possibly a few in economics), seeks to apply the basic assumption of economics ? that people are "rational maximizers" (i.e., will try to get the most out of what they have) ? to law. Rational Choice Theory provides the conceptual core of Law-and-economics. After briefly discussing the intellectual heritage of Rational Choice Theory, we address three things. Operating from a consumer psychological perspective, first we examine fundamental assumptions underlying Rational Choice Theory and conclude that many either are, or approach being, untenable. Next, we comment upon arguments raised by Judge Richard Posner (one of the leading proponents of this theory) in defense and elucidation of Rational Choice Theory. We conclude by offering some suggestions which, if adopted, we believe will advance the empirical assessment of Rational Choice Theory.
What is the self

In this paper I briefly sketch a theory that answers the question "what is the self?," where this question is understood in a scientific sense that includes both natural science and systematic fundamental metaphysics. As selves, we are essentially rational human minded animals or real persons in a fully natural and desperately non-ideal world-animals with meaningful lives, for better or worse.
Biochemistry and metabolism of basement membranes.

Publisher Summary Basement membranes or basal laminae are ubiquitous in the vertebrate and invertebrate world and constitute important structural and functional extracellular matrices. Basement membranes are composed of fine fibrils, 40–60 A in diameter, arranged randomly in a granular matrix. Three general functions are ascribed to basement membranes: they (1) act as a semipermeable filter, (2) provide support, and (3) serve as a boundary between cell types or between cell layers and the underlying connective tissue. Basement membranes are insoluble in buffers at neutral pH, although small amounts of material can be brought into solution with acid buffers. Complete solubilization can be accomplished by reduction and alkylation in the presence of denaturant or after limited proteolysis. Collagen molecules are present in basement membranes. These apparently exist as triple-helical procollagen molecules composed of identical pro-α chains. Collagenous peptides equivalent in size to α chains can be isolated from digests of basement membranes. Noncollagenous glycoproteins are present in the matrix of most basement membranes; they are linked to the procollagen molecules via disulfide bonds and lysine- or hydroxylysine-derived cross-links.
Characterization of immunodominant epitopes of gag and pol gene-encoded proteins of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I.

Abstract A series of synthetic peptides derived from the corresponding regions of the gag, pol, and env proteins of human T-cell lymphotropic virus types I (HTLV-I) and II (HTLV-II) were used in an enzyme immunoassay to map the immunodominant epitopes of HTLV. Serum specimens from 79 of 87 (91%) HTLV-I-infected patients reacted with the synthetic peptide Gag-1a (amino acids [a.a.] 102 to 117) derived from the C terminus of the p19gag protein of HTLV-I. Minimal cross-reactivity (11%) was observed with serum specimens from HTLV-II-infected patients. Peptide Pol-3, encoded by the pol region of HTLV-I (a.a. 487 to 502), reacted with serum specimens from both HTLV-I- and HTLV-II-infected patients (94 and 86%, respectively). The antibody levels to Pol-3 were significantly higher (P less than 0.01) in patients with HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis than in either adult T-cell leukemia patients or HTLV-I-positive asymptomatic carriers. None of the other peptides studied demonstrated significant binding to serum specimens obtained from HTLV-I- or HTLV-II-infected individuals. While Gag-1a did not react with serum specimens from normal controls, Pol-3 demonstrated some reaction with specimens from seronegative individuals (11.4%). The antibodies to Gag-1a and Pol-3 in serum specimens from HTLV-I-infected patients could be specifically inhibited by the corresponding synthetic peptides and by a crude HTLV-I antigen preparation, indicating that these peptides mimic native epitopes present in HTLV-I proteins that are recognized by serum antibodies from HTLV-I- and -II-infected individuals.
Anaesthesia for the patient with cardiac disease.

I have tried to summarize experimental work in human and animal models. This work is complex and difficult to interpret. Clinicians should not take isolated experimental studies and jump to conclusions about clinical use of anaesthetics. Experimenters should not arrive at sweeping conclusions based on a particular experimental study performed under some or other carefully or not so carefully controlled conditions. Editorialists, such as Becker12 in a recent issue of Anesthesiology, should not conclude that an anaesthetic is “dangerous,” based on these kinds of studies. It is especially invalid to use the term “dangerous” unless the author is willing to present us with a viable, experimentally proven, safer alternative. To tell us that isoflurane is “dangerous” implies that we should switch to some unspecified other agent.
A new type of PKM based on the special universal joint

This paper presents a new type of parallel kinematic machines (PKM), which can be used for drill point grinding, based on a special universal joint. The special universal joint is composed of a parallel mechanism with three legs as the inputs. One can rotate as a spindle; other ones can drive a moving platform and make a cutting tool get an accurate position in workspace. Due to the simple mechanical structure comparing the parallel kinematic machines with the existing conventional CNC machine tools, it should be easy for the parallel kinematic machines to manufacture at a low cost. In addition, inverse kinematic equations of the special type of universal joint are derived.