cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spatial Concepts and Cognitive Models for Geographic Information Use

Human spatial cognition appears to operate differently in manipulable (small scale) spaces and in geographic (large scale) spaces. Although some fundamental spatial concepts may apply for both kinds of spaces, the relative salience of the concepts may be quite different. Geographic information systems (GIS) represent geographic spaces and the entities in them, but users interact with these systems as if they were manipulable, through representations that appear in manipulable spaces. This difference in scales of representation and action is not new, as people have long reasoned about geographic spaces while looking at or remembering graphical maps, which, like GIS displays and equipment, are manipulable entities. Part of the power and utility of maps comes from their natural space-in-space representations, but since geographic and manipulable spaces are different in how people think and reason about them, graphical maps to some extent misrepresent the geographic spaces that they show. Montello captured the essence of this dilemma when he asserted: Maps represent [geographical] spaces, but are themselves instances of [manipulable] space...[he] therefore expect[s] the psychological study of map use to draw directly on the psychology of [manipulable] space rather than on the psychology of [geographical] space. [14, p. 315]
Retroviruses and Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma

In 1980, the first human retrovirus, human T-cell lympho tropic virus type I (HTLV-I) was discovered in a patient initially diagnosed as having cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). Subsequently, HTLV-I was demonstrated to be the etiologic agent for an endemic T-cell cancer, adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL), that shares some clinical features with CTCL. In retrospect, that index case has been reclassified as ATL; however, the search for a role of a retrovirus in the development and progression of CTCL has been vigorously pursued and debated. Based on critical review of published data to date, there is no conclusive evidence that HTLV-I or an associated retrovirus is a primary causative agent in CTCL.
Calidad y control en las publicaciones

La Odontologia basada en evidencia es un concepto establecido hace mucho tiempo y actualmente es ensenado y practicado mundialmente. Todo comenzo desde que el concepto de la Medicina basada en la evidencia fue desarrollado y aceptado tambien por la Odontologia. Profesionales de la salud actualmente se expresan a favor o en contra del concepto con mucho o poco conocimiento de lo que es la practica medica basada en evidencia, pero no es el topico central de este editorial.
Check It Again: Detecting Lacking-Recheck Bugs in OS Kernels

Operating system kernels carry a large number of security checks to validate security-sensitive variables and operations. For example, a security check should be embedded in a code to ensure that a user-supplied pointer does not point to the kernel space. Using security-checked variables is typically safe. However, in reality, security-checked variables are often subject to modification after the check. If a recheck is lacking after a modification, security issues may arise, e.g., adversaries can control the checked variable to launch critical attacks such as out-of-bound memory access or privilege escalation. We call such cases lacking-recheck (LRC) bugs, a subclass of TOCTTOU bugs, which have not been explored yet. In this paper, we present the first in-depth study of LRC bugs and develop LRSan, a static analysis system that systematically detects LRC bugs in OS kernels. Using an inter-procedural analysis and multiple new techniques, LRSan first automatically identifies security checks, critical variables, and uses of the checked variables, and then reasons about whether a modification is present after a security check. A case in which a modification is present but a recheck is lacking is an LRC bug. We apply LRSan to the latest Linux kernel and evaluate the effectiveness of LRSan. LRSan reports thousands of potential LRC cases, and we have confirmed 19 new LRC bugs. We also discuss patching strategies of LRC bugs based on our study and bug-fixing experience.
High School Coaches’ Coaching Efficacy: Relationship with Sport Psychology Exposure and Gender Factors

Coaching efficacy (CE) is largely influenced by mastery experiences such as formal education and coaching experience. However, specific education has not previously been considered in relation to C...
Numerical analysis of isotope production in molten salt reactors: A case study for Molybdenum-99 production

Abstract With the aging of current isotope-producing reactors and the rising demand for medical isotopes, future shortages are predicted to greatly increase the cost of Mo-99. Molten salt reactors have been proposed for the production of Mo-99, and have the potential for safe, efficient operation at a variety of scales. However, while Mo-99 is a major fission product, it is unclear how accessible it will be for direct extraction from a fuel salt given its relatively short half-life. In this study, a computationally efficient mathematical model was used to analyze fission product accumulation in an MSR, with the specific goal of assessing Mo-99 production by continuous or near-continuous extraction from the reactor. The model includes generation and removal of isotopes in an MSR from fission, decay, activation and extraction. The extraction process was assumed to be mass-transfer limited, owing to the noble behavior and relatively low concentration of molybdenum in the reactor. It was found that the concentration at which Mo was present in the reactor had a profound effect on the specific activity of the Mo-99 that could be successfully extracted. If molybdenum is allowed to buildup in the reactor, the majority of Mo-99 is lost by decay or activation, leaving only a small fraction of Mo-99 in the extracted molybdenum. Therefore, separation processes that require a high relative molybdenum concentration for extraction are not desirable. On the other hand, separation processes become more difficult at low concentrations. Thus, a trade-off exists between the difficulty of the separation and effectiveness of the extraction as measured by the recovery fraction and product quality. It was found that increasing the power density enabled improved Mo-99 recovery for separation processes at increased concentrations. These results demonstrate the use of a model to explore the viability of Mo-99 extraction from an MSR, the influence of operating parameters on that extraction, and the conditions under which Mo-99 extraction can be optimized.
Paintings in the Year Without a Summer

The world of art changed in 1816. Paintings representing the brightest of skies of the European landscape now revealed the dark sun that seemed to take heat away from the world. Artist of this time did not understand why, but the atmosphere they were trying to depict was darker than that of the past. The dawns and sunsets that were the main focal points of their art and provided light and hope became redder and darker. A sense of perpetual darkness is shown, even with the light of the sun or the shine of the moon depicted in the skies above. Regardless, artists still looked to the heavens for inspiration, and their depictions have become snapshots of history in this “year without a summer,” showing that life, though hard, continued under a depressing atmosphere. With resilience and hard work, Europeans were able to live through this time, once again seeing the warmth of summer years later. The art created by J.M.W. Turner, John Crome, Caspar David Friedrich, and many other artists showed the changes in the atmosphere but also revealed how the lives of people were forced to continue in the face of darkness. Through their landscape paintings, common themes emerge, such as agriculture, religion, and shipping that will later have significant meaning to the people of these cold times in northern Europe.
Interlude: Forced Labor During WWII

During WWII, the administration in Kenya Colony began forced recruitment of Africans for labor in the army as well as for industries deemed essential for the war effort. This was permitted under the Forced Labour Convention. However, before the administration settled in with legal recruitment, it temporarily recruited African laborers for European plantations in an episode of what was deemed “assisted recruitment.” Although the workers were, technically, not coerced, investigations by Archdeacon Walter Owen uncovered evidence that the practice of “assisted recruitment” was, in fact, coercive. The administration stopped this “assisted recruitment” for private European farms after one year, but the administrations use of forced labor during WWII would later come under scrutiny by the UN’s Economic and Social Council.
O06.1 Gentamicin for pharyngeal gonorrhea: a single-arm, non-blinded clinical trial

Background CDC guidelines recommend gentamicin for the treatment of gonorrhea in cephalosporin-allergic patients. The efficacy of gentamicin in the treatment of pharyngeal gonorrhea, which is often undiagnosed, is uncertain. Methods Between September 2018 – March 2019, we enrolled MSM with NAAT-diagnosed pharyngeal gonorrhea in a single-arm, unblinded clinical trial. Men received a single 360 mg intramuscular (IM) dose of gentamicin at enrollment and underwent test-of-cure (TOC) by culture 4–7 days later. The study measured creatinine at enrollment and TOC, serum gentamicin concentration post-dose to establish peak concentration (Cmax), and standard antimicrobial minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC). The trial was designed to establish a point estimate for the efficacy of gentamicin for pharyngeal gonorrhea. We planned to enroll 50 evaluable subjects; assuming that gentamicin was 80% efficacious, the trial would establish a 95% confidence interval of 66%-90%. We planned interim analyses at n=10 and n=25. Results The study was stopped early due to poor efficacy. Of 13 enrolled men, 10 were evaluable, and only two (20%, 95%CI: 2.5% - 55.6%) were cured. Of 2 concomitant rectal infections, both were cured. Efficacy was not associated with gentamicin Cmax (p=0.809) or MIC (p= 0.429). No participants experienced renal insufficiency; average creatinine percent change was 5% (range: -7%, 21%). Six (46%) subjects experienced headache; all deemed unrelated to treatment. On a scale of 0–10, mean injection pain was 2 (range: 1–7). Among subjects with history of bicillin (n=7) and/or ceftriaxone (n=8) IM injections, 86% believed IM gentamicin to be less painful than bicillin and 75% believed it was more painful than ceftriaxone. Conclusion 360 mg of gentamicin failed to eradicate N. gonorrhoeae from the pharynx. Caution should be used when using the CDC’s current alternative therapy (gentamicin 240 mg plus azithromycin 2g) given increases in azithromycin resistance and gentamicin’s poor efficacy at the pharynx. Disclosure No significant relationships.
False lumen embolization as a rescue technique in the setting of acute and chronic dissecting aneurysms as adjunct to thoracic endovascular aortic repair.

Abstract Complicated type B aortic dissection (TBAD) is a life-threatening condition requiring surgical intervention. One such complication in the acute or chronic setting is aneurysmal degeneration. The dissected aortic wall is weakened, and the pressures in the false lumen are often high. In the past decade, thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) has become the treatment of choice for TBAD. TEVAR can be complicated by lack of false lumen thrombosis, increasing the risk of death. We present three cases of TBAD with patent false lumens after TEVAR that were treated by false lumen coil embolization.
Post-artemisinin delayed hemolysis after oral therapy for P. falciparum infection

A documented side-effect of artemisinin therapy is post-artemisinin delayed hemolysis (PADH), primarily occurring after parenteral treatment for severe P. falciparum infections. PADH has been infrequently reported after oral therapy and is rarely severe enough to require hospitalization and blood transfusions. A 24 year old man was diagnosed with P. falciparum, prompting initiation of oral artemether-lumefantrine (AL). Further work-up demonstrated that he met WHO criteria for severe malaria infection on the basis of high parasitemia and his regimen was switched to intravenous quinidine and oral doxycycline. He was transitioned back to AL after 4 days and was discharged on hospital day six. Five days later, he was readmitted for hemolytic anemia. His peripheral blood was absent of malaria parasites and he was diagnosed with PADH, ultimately requiring multiple blood transfusions. Severe hemolytic anemia requiring blood transfusions after oral artemisinin therapy is rare and may be associated with higher parasite loads. This case demonstrates the importance of close reassessment and consideration of PADH in patients treated with oral therapies, particularly in the setting of severe malarial infections.
Electrical Submersible Pump

Electrical Submersible Pump (ESP) in oil and gas industry is a multistage centrifugal pump used to lift moderate or high volumes of fluids from wellbores. In other words, ESP is one of the artificial lift methods that uses a downhole pump to provide an additional energy or additional lift to fluids inside the wellbore and hence improve hydrocarbon production. Electric power is supplied from surface to operate downhole pumps (ESPs) via cables. Since EPSs are multistage centrifugal pumps, their performance is similar to multi-single-stage centrifugal pumps connected in series. When connecting multi-single-stage centrifugal pumps in series, as the pumps are operated at a constant speed, the rate would be similar but pump heads are higher when compared with that of a single-stage centrifugal pump.
Invisible endocrine disruption and its mechanisms: A current review

The research on impacts of environmental chemicals on crustacean molting dates back to the 1970s when ground-breaking studies investigated the disruption of molting in Crustacea by organochlorines. With the emergence of a new scientific inquiry, termed environmental endocrine disruption, in the early 1990s, increasing attention has been attracted to the possibility that environmental chemicals capable of wreaking havoc on sex steroid-regulated processes in vertebrates can also adversely affect ecdysteroid-mediated processes, e.g. molting, in crustaceans. Given the fact that many molting-disrupting chemicals accumulate in crustacean tissues and that the effect on molting is not readily visible in the field, the disruption of molting by environmental chemicals has been dubbed the invisible endocrine disruption. In recent years, much advancement has been made in both the documentation of the phenomenon of molting disruption and the search for mechanisms, by which molting disruption occurs. This review provides an overview of the current status of the field of invisible endocrine disruption, and perspectives on future directions are also presented.
REEF Estimator: A Simplified Open Source Estimator and Controller for Multirotors

Researchers working on projects that involve multirotor platforms often spend a disproportionate amount of time and effort on the vehicle infrastructure rather than the intended research. This is especially true for graduate students or research laboratories attempting to establish flight capabilities for the first time and this paper aims to expedite that process. The paper provides a complete commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and Robot Operating System (ROS) node-based software solution to support reliable and repeatable flight capability for multirotor systems without the need for Global Positioning System (GPS) or motion capture systems. We detail a simplified filtering approach that breaks the typical multirotor estimator into more accessible pieces; an attitude filter, a velocity filter, and an altitude filter and their associated controllers that take velocity, altitude, and yaw-rate control requests. This solution enables the user to have a stable flight from manual or higher-level guidance inputs while providing a solid baseline implementation of GPS-denied multirotor systems. Links are provided for the open-source algorithms, multirotor simulator, hardware list and assembly instructions.
Chapter 18 – Fishes1

Publisher Summary This chapter deals with the subject of fishes. It begins with a few general topics, shedding light on the anatomy of a fish, their feeding roles, habitat and behavior, and some promising new efforts to develop bioassessment tools based on the diversity of the fish assemblage found at a site. It then examines many of the major families of freshwater fishes occurring in rivers and streams of North America. It also provides more detailed coverage of a half dozen or so families likely to be of particular interest to river enthusiasts and say only a few words about others. All fish species show some level of habitat specialization, and some are extremely specific. This chapter also highlights a number of examples in the treatment of various families of fishes. It is good to keep in mind that fishes, like any organism, exhibit an array of adaptations that fit together to make the total organism. An experienced stream ecologist can read a stream for signs of health or abuse and make a pretty fair assessment. A fish biologist can sample the fishes, and tell whether the seine haul includes good diversity, including species requiring special habitat and intolerant of pollution, or whether the collection yields only hardy generalists.
The Decline of College Textbook Publishing: Cengage Learning and McGraw-Hill:

America’s college textbook publishers historically had a business model based on continuing profits and growth led by high prices. However, that model eroded as competition from the used-book marke...
Point-of-care Lung Ultrasound Is More Sensitive than Chest Radiograph for Evaluation of COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: Current recommendations for diagnostic imaging for moderately to severely ill patients with suspected coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) include chest radiograph (CXR). Our primary objective was to determine whether lung ultrasound (LUS) B-lines, when excluding patients with alternative etiologies for B-lines, are more sensitive for the associated diagnosis of COVID-19 than CXR. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of all patients who presented to a single, academic emergency department in the United States between March 20 and April 6, 2020, and received LUS, CXR, and viral testing for COVID-19 as part of their diagnostic evaluation. The primary objective was to estimate the test characteristics of both LUS B-lines and CXR for the associated diagnosis of COVID-19. Our secondary objective was to evaluate the proportion of patients with COVID-19 that have secondary LUS findings of pleural abnormalities and subpleural consolidations. RESULTS: We identified 43 patients who underwent both LUS and CXR and were tested for COVID-19. Of these, 27/43 (63%) tested positive. LUS was more sensitive (88.9%, 95% confidence interval (CI), 71.1-97.0) for the associated diagnosis of COVID-19 than CXR (51.9%, 95% CI, 34.0-69.3; p = 0.013). LUS and CXR specificity were 56.3% (95% CI, 33.2-76.9) and 75.0% (95% CI, 50.0-90.3), respectively (p = 0.453). Secondary LUS findings of patients with COVID-19 demonstrated 21/27 (77.8%) had pleural abnormalities and 10/27 (37%) had subpleural consolidations. CONCLUSION: Among patients who underwent LUS and CXR, LUS was found to have a higher sensitivity than CXR for the evaluation of COVID-19. This data could have important implications as an aid in the diagnostic evaluation of COVID-19, particularly where viral testing is not available or restricted. If generalizable, future directions would include defining how to incorporate LUS into clinical management and its role in screening lower-risk populations.
Control and Minimization of Friction via Surface Modification

Friction between surfaces is a function of the additive effects of load and the true area of contact, but factors such as surface roughness, interfacial energies, and material elastic properties can influence the relative importance of “load controlled” and “adhesion controlled” friction. We consider the applicability and limitations of Amontons’ law, F = μL and the less common but more favorable conditions where the area of contact rather than the load dominates the friction force at high loads. The theoretical basis for load and area dependent friction are examined in the context of molecular mechanisms involved in friction, and simple theoretical predictions are compared with experimental results on a variety of smooth and rough surfaces, both lubricated and unlubricated.
Physiological Stress Integrates Resistance to Rattlesnake Venom and the Onset of Risky Foraging in California Ground Squirrels

Using venom for predation often leads to the evolution of resistance in prey. Understanding individual variation in venom resistance is key to unlocking basic mechanisms by which antagonistic coevolution can sustain variation in traits under selection. For prey, the opposing challenges of predator avoidance and resource acquisition often lead to correlated levels of risk and reward, which in turn can favor suites of integrated morphological, physiological and behavioral traits. We investigate the relationship between risk-sensitive behaviors, physiological resistance to rattlesnake venom, and stress in a population of California ground squirrels. For the same individuals, we quantified foraging decisions in the presence of snake predators, fecal corticosterone metabolites (a measure of "stress"), and blood serum inhibition of venom enzymatic activity (a measure of venom resistance). Individual responses to snakes were repeatable for three measures of risk-sensitive behavior, indicating that some individuals were consistently risk-averse whereas others were risk tolerant. Venom resistance was lower in squirrels with higher glucocorticoid levels and poorer body condition. Whereas resistance failed to predict proximity to and interactions with snake predators, individuals with higher glucocorticoid levels and in lower body condition waited the longest to feed when near a snake. We compared alternative structural equation models to evaluate alternative hypotheses for the relationships among stress, venom resistance, and behavior. We found support for stress as a shared physiological correlate that independently lowers venom resistance and leads to squirrels that wait longer to feed in the presence of a snake, whereas we did not find evidence that resistance directly facilitates latency to forage. Our findings suggest that stress may help less-resistant squirrels avoid a deadly snakebite, but also reduces feeding opportunities. The combined lethal and non-lethal effects of stressors in predator-prey interactions simultaneously impact multiple key traits in this system, making environmental stress a potential contributor to geographic variation in trait expression of toxic predators and resistant prey.
Leveraging Technology to Blend Large-Scale Epidemiologic Surveillance With Social and Behavioral Science Methods: Successes, Challenges, and Lessons Learned Implementing the UNITE Longitudinal Cohort Study of HIV Risk Factors Among Sexual Minority Men in the United States.

The use of digital technologies to conduct large-scale research with limited interaction (i.e., no in-person contact) and objective endpoints (i.e., biological testing) have significant potential for the field of epidemiology, but limited research to date has been published on the successes and challenges of such approaches. We analyzed data from a cohort study of sexual minority men across the United States (US). collected using digital strategies during a 10-month period from 2017 to 2018. Overall, 113,874 individuals were screened, of whom 26,000 were invited to the study, 10,691 joined the study, and 7,957 completed all enrollment steps, including return of a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative sample. We examined group differences in completion of the steps towards enrollment to inform future research and found significant differences by several factors, including age and race. This study adds to prior work to provide further proof-of-concept for this limited interaction, technology-mediated methodology, highlighting some of its strengths and challenges, including rapid access to more diverse populations but also potential for bias due to differential enrollment. This method has strong promise and future implementation research is needed to better understand the roles of burden, privacy, access, and compensation, to enhance representativeness and generalizability of the data generated.
Smoke at night and sleep worse? The associations between cigarette smoking with insomnia severity and sleep duration

Abstract Objective Insomnia is a clinically verified nicotine withdrawal symptom. As nicotine is a stimulant, it is plausible that smoking at night could disturb sleep more than smoking at earlier times of the day, but this remains empirically unclear. This study examined smoking status and its associations with insomnia severity and sleep duration while considering the potential role of smoking time. Methods Data were derived from the Sleep and Healthy Activity Diet Environment and Socialization study, a community-based study of 1007 adults (nnonsmokers = 818; nsmokers = 189) aged 22-60 from the Philadelphia area. Smoking status and time of smoking were self-reported. Insomnia was assessed with the Insomnia Severity Index and categorized as none, mild, and moderate-to-severe. Sleep duration was assessed with one item from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and categorized as very short, short, normal, and long. Ordinal and multinomial logistic regressions were used to determine the association of smoking status including smoking time with insomnia severity and sleep duration controlling for sociodemographic covariates. Results Compared to nonsmoking, smoking was associated with experiencing increased insomnia (odds ratio = 2.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.9, 3.4, P Conclusions Findings provide evidence that smoking is associated with increased insomnia severity and shorter sleep duration, particularly nightly smoking. Sleep health should be considered in smoking cessation efforts.
Neural Flip-Flops I: Short-Term Memory

Abstract The networks proposed here show how neurons can be connected to form flip-flops, the basic building blocks in sequential logic systems. Two novel neural flip-flops (NFFs) are composed of two and four neurons. Their operation depends only on minimal neuron capabilities of excitation and inhibition. The NFFs can generate known phenomena of short-term memory. Memory tests have shown that certain neurons fire continuously at a high frequency while information is held in short-term memory. These neurons exhibit seven characteristics associated with memory formation, retention, retrieval, termination, and errors. One of the neurons in each of the NFFs produces all of the characteristics. This neuron and a second neighboring neuron together predict eight unknown phenomena. These predictions can be tested by the same methods that led to the discovery of the first seven phenomena.
Next generation sequencing for biliary tract cancers.

Biliary tract cancers (BTC), consisting of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) and gallbladder cancer (GBC), are rare and aggressive malignancies that carry a poor prognosis [1]. Gemcitabine and cisplatin-bas...
The Effect of Freespace Properties on Unilateral Stiffness Classification

Virtual environments rendered through kinesthetic haptic devices have frequency-dependent dynamic properties that affect perception. Previous studies on the perception of virtual walls have suggested that the properties not only of the wall, but also of the freespace with which it is paired, influence the perceived wall stiffness (bias) and discrimination thresholds. In this work, two experiments were undertaken to examine the effect of mass and damping properties in freespace on virtual wall stiffness classification. The results suggest that there may be alterations to classification performance under large changes in freespace conditions, but that small changes in mass and damping do not appear to significantly affect performance. These results suggest that additional study is needed to fully understand the effects of freespace properties on wall stiffness classification, which may differ from their effects on discrimination or bias.
High-Pressure Injection Injuries

The severity of high-pressure injection injuries to the hand is often overlooked on presentation. Urgent and thorough surgical debridement is indicated in most cases, and the risk of long-term morbidity with diminished function and chronic symptoms remains high. Despite our understanding of the pathophysiology of this injury, the role of systemic steroids remains uncertain. Functional outcomes depend on a number of factors including the magnitude of the initial wounding force, the chemical properties and volume of the substance injected, the presence of secondary infection, and the timing and thoroughness of debridement. Further studies are necessary to determine the relative importance of these factors and the role of steroids in treatment.
Low-momentum-transfer elastic electron scattering from He-3

Elastic electron scattering cross sections for $^{3}\mathrm{He}$ were measured relative to those of $^{12}\mathrm{C}$ in the range of momentum transfer squared between 0.032 and 0.34 ${\mathrm{fm}}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$. The $^{3}\mathrm{He}$ rms charge radius was determined from the data to be 1.89 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 0.05 fm.
- PCTAIRE: PCTAIRE-1,-2,-3 (vertebrates)

The chapter focuses on PCTAIRE-1, -2 and -3 that were cloned via homology to the Cdc2/Cdc28 family. They were named after the amino acid sequence corresponding to the PSTAIRE motif of Cdc2. The PCTAIRE kinases have longer N-terminal extensions (120–200 amino acids) than other CDKs. PCTAIRE-1 has been cloned from human (fetal brain) and mouse (BAC1.2F5A macrophages). PCTAIRE-2 has been cloned from human (Nalm-6 pre-B lymphoblastic leukemia cells) and mouse (BAC1.2F5A macrophages). PCTAIRE homologues have been found in Xenopus laevis and Caenorhabditis elegans. PCTAIRE-3 can be assayed by transfer of radioactivity from [γ32P]ATP to a 12-amino acid peptide from a high molecular weight basic nuclear protein from Northern flounder testis. PCTAIRE-1 mRNA is readily detected in a broad range of cells and tissues. To date, the highest levels have been identified in postmeiotic sperm. PCTAIRE-2 mRNA is expressed in a variety of tissue culture lines; among tissues, the highest levels are in brain and lung. The highest level of expression of PCTAIRE-3 mRNA are in brain, heart, kidney, and intestine.
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE ITEMS AND BODY COMPOSITION.

Abstract The purpose of the study is: (a) to determine the relationships between body composition and physical peformance and related items; and (b) to determine whether or not certain physical performance and related items might be useful in estimating body composition in terms of total lean body mass and percent lean body mass as measured by potassium-40 determinations in adult men. Data on 19 physical performance items were obtained from 40 subjects between 21 and 57 years of age. The results are of value to researchers in general and researchers in physical education in particular for estimating gross body composition using certain physical performance items.
Transport of glycine by hemolyzed and restored pigeon red blood cells. Symmetry properties, trans effects of sodium ion and glycine, and their description by a single rate equation.

Abstract The aim of the present work was to devise a reasonably detailed transport model and derive an equation from it which would describe the effects on unidirectional glycine transport of the substrates, Na+ and glycine, simultaneously present on both sides of the membrane. The model is a transition model rather than a static site model, and is passive in that energy for glycine-active transport comes solely from the Na+ gradient. Glycine entry and exit kinetics, including Na+ dependence, were compared; unidirectional glycine influx kinetics under steady state and equilibrium conditions were compared; inhibition of glycine exit by various external Na+ concentrations in the absence of external glycine was determined; the relief of this inhibition by external glycine was measured. With most of the measurements, six of seven indispensable parameters of the equation were evaluated as functions of the seventh. Expected values for the three remaining measurements could be calculated from the equation with the six evaluated parameters since kinetic behavior is insensitive to the seventh parameter, although individual rate and equilibrium constants strongly depend on it. Agreement between predicted and measured values was fair to good. In addition to the general fit of experiments to the model, several special properties were found. The system is asymmetrical in that glycine exit and entry kinetics are not mirror images. The asymmetry does not arise from the active character of glycine transport. Formation of a complex containing more than one Na+ must occur. Membrane-crossing rate constants for empty, Na+-loaded, and Na+ plus glycine-loaded mechanism are different. That for the fully Na+-loaded form (ENa2) is very much smaller than the other two, if not zero. Transport kinetics for hemolyzed and restored cells are very similar to those for intact cells.
Objective Assessment of Electro-acupuncture Benefit for Improving Balance and Gait in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease (P3.074)

OBJECTIVE: Assessing effectiveness of a standardized electro-acupuncture (EA) regimen for improving balance and gait in patients with idiopathic Parkinson’s Disease (PD) using objective modalities employing innovative body-worn sensor technology. BACKGROUND: Balance and gait disturbances, predictors of falling risk and impaired quality of life, have emerged as major therapeutic concerns in PD. While acupuncture is increasingly used as a complementary PD therapy, objective measures of its effectiveness in improving clinically relevant ambulatory performance in PD are lacking. DESIGN/METHODS: Thirteen PD patients were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n=10) or a control group (n=3). All patients underwent either real or sham acupuncture for 3 weeks in once-weekly, 30-minute sessions. Outcomes were assessed in an off-medication state at baseline prior to and at the end of therapy. Measurements included balance (assessed by ratio of mediolateral center of mass sway to anteroposterior sway during eyes open, eyes closed, and eyes open dual-task), gait (assessed during single-task vs. dual-task habitual or fast walking), postural transitions (assessed by Timed Up and Go, TUG), quality of life (SF12) and UPDRS. RESULTS: Significant improvement occurred in the intervention group compared to baseline for balance, gait, TUG, SF12, UPDRS II on fall and UPDRS III. Overall balance improved by 31% (reduction in ML/AP sway); gait speed increased by 10%, and stride length increased by 5% among all participants in active group for all different conditions of testing. No improvement for any measurement was found in the control group compared to baseline. No between group difference was observed for baseline assessments and demographic information (P>0.11). After treatment, between groups comparison revealed that balance, gait speed and stride length during all conditions was significantly better in the intervention group compared to control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: EA is an effective therapy in improving certain aspects of balance and gait disorders in PD. Study Supported by: Disclosure: Dr. Lei has nothing to disclose. Dr. Toosizadeh has nothing to disclose. Dr. Schwenk has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sherman has nothing to disclose. Dr. Karp has nothing to disclose. Dr. Parvaneh has nothing to disclose. Dr. Esternberg has nothing to disclose. Dr. Najafi has nothing to disclose.
Ultra high-resolution photoacoustic microscopy using a novel transient absorption technique

We have recently harnessed transient absorption for ultrahigh resolution photoacoustic microscopy, achieving nearly an order of magnitude improvement in axial resolution. We will discuss recent progress in system development and time resolved measurements for hemoglobin oxygen saturation.
Is Courtesy Enough?Solidarity in Call Center Interactions

Polite self-presentation is expected of call center agents even through they must convey complex and unfavorable information speedily via the telephone. This study identified and evaluated the use of response strategies that are strongly associated with courtesy. Data were drawn from 587 stressful calls in a corpus of 3000 calls recorded at a large Singaporean insurance company call center. We adopted a grounded theory methodology together with a rich triangulation of qualitative (linguistic and rhetorical) and quantitative (scalar and correlational) methods. Tools for coding response strategies (independent variables)and courtesy (dependent variables) were developed via analyses of calls, interviews with call center agents and management, and a series of evaluations involving blind coding and subsequent consensus. We identified four categories of response strategies that are tightly related to each other and to courtesy: shows solidarity, anticipates needs, shows attentiveness, and asks for direction. Correlations and analysis of their enactment in stressful calls led us to propose solidarity expression - responses that engage the caller in search of meaning to work on the task as a team. We argue that solidarity expression challenges traditional views of politeness and is less about the presentation of self and more about enabling collaboration with the other.
Functional cues for position learning effects in animals

Using transfer methodology, several possible factors that could have affected the expression of serial position learning were examined with runway-trained rats. A 3-trial series (SNP)—for which S and P refer to series trials when sucrose (S) and plain (P) Noyes pellets were used as a reward, and N refers to a trial without reward—was the basis for training in the first 2 and final experiments. Transfer tests in Experiment 1 altered reward memories, the time between trials in the series, or both. Tests in Experiment 2 altered the number of trials in the series while maintaining essential memory relationships. Experiment 3 involved a 4-trial series (PSNP or SPNS) and transfer tests with changed memory (NNNN). In Experiment 4, training on an RNR series, where R could be either S or P in either large or small magnitudes, was followed by a transfer test to NNN and a final test in which the rats were prevented from running on the 1 st or 2nd series trial. The findings support a view that position and memory learning are compatible sources of serial effects, and they suggest temporal and response cues may not be crucial in position effects.
The Brans-Dicke theory and anisotropic cosmologies

The Hamiltonian method developed to study homogeneous, anisotropic cosmological models can be extended to the equivalent models in the Brans-Dicke theory. Universes of Bianchi types I and IX are studied and diagrammatic solutions are obtained in both cases.
A prospective evaluation of indications for neurological consultation in the emergency department.

Recognizing the diverse presentation of neurological conditions that emergency physicians encounter can be challenging, and management of these patients often requires consultation with a neurologist. Accurate diagnosis is critical in neurological emergencies because patient outcomes are often dependent on timely treatment. Our primary objective was to ascertain whether consultant neurologists understood the reason for consultation in the emergency department. The authors conducted a prospective study of a non-consecutive sample of 94 patients seen in an academic tertiary care emergency department (ED) who underwent consultation by neurologist over 4 consecutive months. At the time a consult was requested, we independently surveyed the treating ED physician for their differential diagnosis. Neurologists were also queried as to whether there was a clear indication for consultation. We then followed the patients to determine their final diagnosis and outcome. The median age was 57 years (interquartile range 45–78). 45.7 % were male. The clinical reasons for all the consults were 61 % focal symptom, 12 % concern about a specific diagnosis, 9 % radiological finding, 9 % diagnostic ambiguity, and 11 % other. There was no significant difference in the rate of a final neurological diagnosis based on the clinical reason for consult (p = 0.13). In the 17 % of patients for whom the treating neurologist reported a lack of a clear indication for the consultation, 25 % were later admitted to a neurological service, and 69 % ultimately had a neurological diagnosis. Although patients with neurological emergencies can have diverse presentations, emergency physicians appear to utilize neurologic consultation appropriately. Additionally, nearly 70 % of patients for whom the consultant did not precisely understand the need for the consultation had neurological diagnoses. Time and resource constraints in the ED create challenges in making correct diagnosis.
Guerrilla strategies for underdog competitors

A small firm, like Key Pharmaceuticals, pioneers niche businesses by developing novel ways of delivering medicine to a patient's bloodstream—for example, nitroglycerine absorbed through adhesive pads on cardiac patients' chests. Key Pharmaceuticals is viewed as an ally by the large pharmaceutical firms as long as it stays out of their drug discovery businesses. • A small company refuses to abandon loyal customers when other firms stop producing products that face declining demand. For example, Beaunit makes cupramonium‐process rayon, which is needed by the small casket‐velvets market; enterprising electronic component distributors buy out inventories of obsolete vacuum tubes to supply a few good customers who don't want to retire their equipment before it wears out. Neither firm is challenged in its market niche because competitors don't consider the rewards worth the effort. • The “new company on the block” demonstrates its credibility by investing aggressively in a pioneering idea—as Archer‐Daniels‐Midland did with high fructose corn syrup in the maturing corn wet milling industry. The gamble succeeds because its larger rivals ignore its activities—perhaps because they don't consider the pioneer a threat; or because they believe that they can easily copy the pioneer's successes; or they're busy with more important battles in other markets.
Regional versus local influences on lead and cadmium loading to the Great Lakes region

Environmental legislation has reduced the anthropogenic loadings of Pb and Cd to the Great Lakes region over the past 3 decades. However, the accumulation rates of these metals still remain above background values. Because environmental legislation was targeted at major sources (e.g., Pb in gasoline) whose influence on the environment was on a regional scale, local sources (e.g., watershed scale) for the metals may now play a more significant role. The relative importance of regional versus local scale influences on metal inputs to the environment is poorly understood. In this study, sediment chronologies of Pb and Cd were examined from 12 inland lakes that cover the broad geographic area of the State of Michigan. These chronologies were compared temporally and spatially and to watershed population densities and metal production records to gain an understanding of local and regional influences on metal inputs to the Great Lakes region. Results show that anthropogenic Pb loading during the 1930s and 1970s was dominated by regional sources, such as coal burning and use of leaded gasoline. Current loadings are now more related to local influences such as watershed population densities, rather than atmospheric deposition. Anthropogenic Cd loadings to the Great Lakes region have been dominated by both regional and local sources over time. Lead may also have shown the influence of local sources over time, if the influence of emissions from gasoline had not been present. This work shows that Pb and Cd loadings in the Great Lakes region are strongly related to watershed population densities, however, the specific sources and pathways for the metal cycling are unclear.
Dermatoglyphics in the 18q-Syndrome

Extract: The dermatoglyphics of 6 Caucasian patients with partial deletion of the long arm of chromosome 18 (18q-syndrome) were studied together with those of their parents and normal sibs. A second control sample, consisting of 19 randomly selected Caucasian families, was used for comparison. The patients showed significantly higher pattern intensity index, mainly higher frequency of whorls on their fingers. The direction of the main palmar lines was also significantly more transverse. The distribution of pattern intensity index, however, and the main line terminations of the parents and sibs of the patients were similar to those of the control families. Speculation: The present study indicates the relevance of derma toglyphics as an aid in the diagnosis of the 18q-syndrome, and reveals the usefulness of intrafamily comparisons in establishing dermatoglyphic peculiarities, especially when dealing with small samples.
Exploratory research to design a school nurse-delivered intervention to treat adolescent overweight and obesity.

Abstract Objective In preparation for a pilot study to evaluate the efficacy of a school nurse-delivered intervention, focus groups were conducted to gain insight into the perceptions of stakeholders regarding the design and implementation of the intervention. Setting and Participants Fifteen focus groups at participating schools. One hundred subjects, including overweight and obese high school students, parents, high school nurses, and staff. Main Outcome Measure Stakeholders’ perceptions. Analysis Focus groups were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Theme instances related to the research aim were identified, coded, and sorted into theme categories. Results Major topics discussed included teen issues, family support, intervention implementation–related concerns, and curriculum content. Teen issues included dealing with peer pressure, avoiding emotional eating, and support from friends. Many participants thought it should be the teen’s choice to involve parents. Confidentiality was the most commonly identified potential barrier to implementation. Recommendations for nutrition and physical activity curriculum content focused on concrete, practical strategies. Conclusions and Implications Results of this research provided insight into stakeholder’s needs and perceptions regarding the content and structure of a school nurse-delivered intervention to treat adolescent overweight and obesity. Findings were used in the design and implementation of intervention protocols and materials.
Interaction between peptide growth factors and homoeobox genes in the establishment of antero-posterior polarity in frog embryos

The expression of the Xenopus homoeobox gene xhox3 is an early response to mesoderm induction by peptide growth factors and the level of xhox3 expression marks the antero-posterior character of the induced mesoderm. Different peptide growth factors specify different antero-posterior mesodermal cell fates as seen by the level of xhox3 expression and the capacity to induce specific secondary neural/epidermal structures. These factors and homoeobox genes thus form part of the mechanism necessary for establishing antero-posterior polarity in the frog embryo.