cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Right Ventricular Systolic Performance Determined by 2D Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography and Acute Kidney Injury After Cardiac Surgery.

Objective An association between central venous pressure and acute kidney injury (AKI) has been observed following cardiac surgery, but it is unknown whether this reflects intravascular volume status or impaired right ventricular (RV) myocardial performance. This study was performed to test the hypothesis that decreased RV peak longitudinal strain (PLSS), as measured by 2-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography, is associated with AKI following cardiac surgery. Design Retrospective observational cohort study. Setting Cardiovascular intensive care unit in a 576-bed referral hospital. Participants Adult patients having undergone cardiac surgery in whom a transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) was performed within 48 hours after chest closure. Interventions This was a retrospective study. Urine output and serum creatinine values were recorded at baseline and for 48 hours after surgery. Statistical analysis was performed to identify differences in baseline demographic and echo-derived values between patients with and without postoperative AKI criteria. Measurements and Main Results One hundred ninety-nine subjects had postprocessing of TTE performed. AKI was observed in 87% of patients (173 of 199). Age, body mass index, and preoperative serum creatinine were higher in the AKI group. The mean PLSS was -17.2% ± 4.3% versus -17.1% ± 3.7% in patients with AKI versus those without (p = 0.95). The calculated RV systolic pressure was elevated in the AKI group compared to the non-AKI group (38.9 ± 9.9 v 34.6 ± 7.9 mmHg, p = 0.02). Conclusion In this cohort of cardiac surgery patients, speckle-tracking analysis of RV myocardial performance was feasible. Elevated RV systolic pressure associated with AKI, while speckle tracking-derived echocardiography measurements did not.
A Method for Research and Practice: Using a Developmentally Informed Interview to Increase Donor Engagement

In this article, we argue that researchers and fundraisers can use a theoretical framework from developmental psychology and its related assessment technique to explain philanthropic giving and improve fundraising practices. Specifically, a constructive developmental interview approach will help fundraisers to identify how donors might react to specific types of information, communication styles, and measures of success (or failure), particularly as it relates to complex problem solving (e.g., climate change or poverty). First, we present Robert Kegan’s model of constructive adult development and the related Subject-Object Interview developed with Lisa Lahey. Then we provide examples of the sorts of insights that can be drawn from this technique and identify challenges for researchers and fundraisers using the technique. We conclude by outlining a research agenda and offering recommendations for fundraiser trainings. Subscribe to JNEL
Review of Coordinated Control Strategy for AC/DC Hybrid Microgrid

AC/DC Hybrid Microgrid is an important part of Smart Grid in the future. It has prominent advantages in solving the energy crisis and environment. Compared with AC microgrid and DC microgrid, hybrid microgrid has high reliability, low construction and operation costs, and strong adaptability to various sources and loads. However, the development of AC/DC hybrid microgrid is hindered by power exchange and coordination control caused by various operation modes. This paper introduces the development of microgrid and outlines the coordinated control strategies and methods for AC, DC and hybrid microgrids. This paper summarizes the commonly used control strategies from the aspects of equipment, sub-microgrid and inter-microgrid control, and analyzes the application characteristics and existing problems of each method. Finally, the problems existing in the development and application of AC/DC hybrid microgrid are analyzed and prospected.
The Tec kinase ITK is essential for ILC2 survival and epithelial integrity in the intestine

Innate lymphoid cells (ILC) are lymphocytes that lack an antigen-specific receptor and are preferentially localized in non-lymphoid tissues, such as mucosal barriers. In these locations ILC respond to tissue perturbations by producing factors that promote tissue repair and improve barrier integrity. We show that mice lacking the Tec kinase ITK have impaired intestinal tissue integrity, and a reduced ability to restore homeostasis after tissue damage. This defect is associated with a substantial loss of Type 2 ILC (ILC2) in the intestinal lamina propria. Adoptive transfer of bone marrow ILC2 precursors confirms a cell-intrinsic role for ITK. Intestinal ILC2 numbers in Itk-/- mice are restored by the administration of IL-2 complexes, also leading to improved intestinal tissue damage repair. Reduced Bcl-2 expression in intestinal Itk-/- ILC2 is also restored to WT levels after IL-2 complex treatment, indicating a tissue-specific role for ITK in ILC2 survival in the intestine.
255) Effects of Cannabinoids on Responses of Human Dorsal Root Ganglia Neurons

Cannabinoids are suggested to be a potentially important alternative approach to analgesia. Rodent models have shown analgesic properties of cannabinoid receptor activation and suppressed nociceptive responses within sensory neurons. The goal of the present study was to determine whether activation of cannabinoid receptors in human sensory neurons could suppress nociceptive responses or hyperactivity. Lumbar level human dorsal root ganglia were recovered from cadaveric organ donors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, dissociated and cultured, or fixed and frozen for histology. Using Fura-2AM calcium imaging of viable human sensory neurons, responses to the peripherally active cannabinoid agonist CB-13, a potent CB1/CB2 agonist, in naive neurons were examined. Responses to capsaicin (250 nM) in presence and absence of the inflammatory mediator PGE2 (1 µM) were examined after pre-treatment with 1 µM CB-13, or with CB-13 bath applied in between capsaicin administrations. Our results show that CB-13 produced no calcium influx in sensory neurons on its own, and that responses to capsaicin in naive neurons as well as PGE2-exposed neurons were not altered by CB-13. Patch clamp recordings of human sensory neurons to test changes in membrane properties by cannabinoid receptor activation by CB-13 is reported. Our data do not presently support the concept of peripherally acting cannabinoid receptors as having the capacity to suppress sensory neuron nociceptive responses or sensitization in people.
Abnormal gait detection and classification using micro-Doppler radar signatures

Micro-Doppler radars have been used to accurately detect and classify human activities in various scenarios. This paper discusses the development of an X-Band micro-Doppler radar in detecting abnormal signatures embedded in micro-Doppler responses from activities such as walking, jogging, and jumping. To synthesize the condition of an abnormal gait, five test subjects were asked to perform the activities while wearing shoes, being barefoot, and wearing shoes accompanied by a heel lift insert in one shoe. Abnormal gait detection was performed using micro-Doppler responses of the various activities measured over two different look angles. The Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) was used to analyze the micro-Doppler characteristics along with Cadence Frequency Diagrams (CFD). Feature extraction was performed on the micro-Doppler responses for acquiring unique hand-crafted features commonly used in literature for gait analysis by micro- Doppler radar measurements. A secondary analysis utilized dimensionality reduction through Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) to extract unique signatures and perform abnormal gait classification. An in-depth evaluation was performed on the different feature sets by the Weight K-Nearest-Neighbor (WKNN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier algorithms that determined the feasibility of discriminating between individuals performing the activities. The research allows for future determination of abnormal motion in specific activities via micro-Doppler response and machine learning that can further emphasize the ability of micro-Doppler radar to perform abnormal gait classification.
Effect of Carrier Frequency Offset on the Performance of FBMC and GFDM under Multipath Fading Channels

Filter Bank Multicarrier and Generalized Frequency Division Multiplexing are being considered as the major candidates for the 5G modulation schemes. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing is used in 4G but owing to its Out of Band spectral leakage it is being replaced by these modified waveforms. Multicarrier Modulation schemes are sensitive to Carrier Frequency Offset which significantly degrades the Signal to Noise Ratio by introducing Inter Carrier Interference causing degradation in the Bit Error Rate performance. This paper provides an in-depth investigation and analysis on the effects of Carrier Frequency Offset on the performance of Filter Bank Multicarrier and Generalized Frequency Division Multiplexing under AWGN and fading environments. Results are compared with the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing to highlight the features of either modulation scheme under various static and dynamic environments.
Current Source Gate Drive to Reduce Switching Loss for SiC MOSFETs

With conventional voltage source gate drives (VSG), the switching speed of SiC MOSFETs is difficult to increase due to large internal gate resistance, high Miller voltage, and limited gate voltage rating. This paper analyzes the requirement of current source gate drive (CSG) for SiC MOSFETs and proposes a CSG that can improve the switching speed and reduce switching loss. With the introduction of bi-directional switches, the influence of the large internal gate resistance of the SiC MOSFET can be mitigated, and sufficient gate current can be guaranteed throughout the switching transient. Therefore, the switching time and loss is reduced. The CSG can be controlled to be a VSG during steady state so the current of the gate drive is discontinuous and the stored energy of the inductor can be returned to the power supply to reduce gate drive loss. Double pulse tests are conducted for a SiC MOSFET with both conventional VSG and the proposed CSG. Testing results show that the switching loss of the proposed CSG is less than one third of the conventional VSG at full load condition.
When does the youthfulness of the female brain emerge

Goyal et al. (1) report in PNAS that the female adult brain has a persistently lower metabolic brain age compared with the male brain at the same chronological age. In interpreting this remarkable finding, the authors propose that sex-related differences in brain development may, in part, play a role in “setting” the female brain at a younger initial brain age at puberty, allowing them to maintain a younger brain throughout adulthood. We argue that this may not be the case and provide evidence to show that, in fact, the opposite may be true during childhood and adolescence. First, according to figure 2A of ref. 1, surprisingly, the predicted age between 35 and 50 y was underestimated for both males and females. It is unclear if the bias in this age range could have affected the overall findings or played a role in only the result from training on males and testing on females surviving a two-sided t test. Moreover, it is unclear … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: nmaleki{at}mgh.harvard.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Distinct nodule and leaf functions of two different sucrose phosphate synthases in alfalfa

In alfalfa, the B form of Sucrose phosphate synthase synthesizes sucrose in the leaves while the A form participates in regulatory cycles of synthesis/breakdown of sucrose/starch in the root nodules. Sucrose (Suc) is the major stable product of photosynthesis that is transported to all heterotrophic organs as a source of energy and carbon. The enzyme sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) catalyzes the synthesis of Suc. Besides the leaves, SPS is also found in heterotrophic organs. There are two isoforms of SPS in alfalfa (Medicago sativa): SPSA and SPSB. While SPSA is expressed in the vasculature of all the organs and in the N2-fixing zone in the nodules, SPSB is exclusively expressed in the photosynthetic cells. Two classes of alfalfa transformants were produced, one with a gene construct consisting of the alfalfa SPSA promoter and the other with the SPSB promoter—both driving the maize SPS coding region—referred to as SPSA-ZmSPS and SPSB-ZmSPS, respectively. Both classes of transformants showed increased growth compared to control plants. The SPSB-ZmSPS transformants showed increased SPS protein levels and activity along with a significant increase in the Suc levels in the leaves. The SPSA-ZmSPS transformants showed an increase in the SPS protein level and enzyme activity both in the leaves and the nodules with no increase in Suc content in the leaves but a substantial increase in the nodules. Both SPSA and SPSB have unique roles in the nodules (sink) and leaves (source). SPSB is responsible for the synthesis of Suc in the photosynthetic cells and SPSA participates in a regulatory cycle in which Suc is simultaneously degraded and re-synthesized; both these functions contribute to plant growth in rhizobia nodulated alfalfa plants.
Crystal structure and photoreactivity of a halogen-bonded cocrystal based upon 1,2-diiodoperchlorobenzene and 1,2-bis(pyridin-4-yl)ethylene.

The formation of a photoreactive cocrystal based upon 1,2-di­iodo­perchloro­benzene (1,2-C6I2Cl4) and trans-1,2-bis­(pyridin-4-yl)ethyl­ene (BPE) has been achieved. The resulting cocrystal, 2(1,2-C6I2Cl4)·(BPE) or C6Cl4I2·0.5C12H10N2, com­prises planar sheets of the com­ponents held together by the combination of I⋯N halogen bonds and halogen–halogen contacts. Notably, the 1,2-C6I2Cl4 mol­ecules π-stack in a homogeneous and face-to-face orientation that results in an infinite column of the halogen-bond donor. As a consequence of this stacking arrangement and I⋯N halogen bonds, mol­ecules of BPE also stack in this type of pattern. In particular, neighbouring ethyl­ene groups in BPE are found to be parallel and within the accepted distance for a photoreaction. Upon exposure to ultraviolet light, the cocrystal undergoes a solid-state [2 + 2] cyclo­addition reaction that produces rctt-tetra­kis­(pyridin-4-yl)cyclo­butane (TPCB) with an overall yield of 89%. A solvent-free approach utilizing dry vortex grinding of the com­ponents also resulted in a photoreactive material with a similar yield.
Simple and Principled Uncertainty Estimation with Deterministic Deep Learning via Distance Awareness

Bayesian neural networks (BNN) and deep ensembles are principled approaches to estimate the predictive uncertainty of a deep learning model. However their practicality in real-time, industrial-scale applications are limited due to their heavy memory and inference cost. This motivates us to study principled approaches to high-quality uncertainty estimation that require only a single deep neural network (DNN). By formalizing the uncertainty quantification as a minimax learning problem, we first identify input distance awareness, i.e., the model's ability to quantify the distance of a testing example from the training data in the input space, as a necessary condition for a DNN to achieve high-quality (i.e., minimax optimal) uncertainty estimation. We then propose Spectral-normalized Neural Gaussian Process (SNGP), a simple method that improves the distance-awareness ability of modern DNNs, by adding a weight normalization step during training and replacing the output layer with a Gaussian process. On a suite of vision and language understanding tasks and on modern architectures (Wide-ResNet and BERT), SNGP is competitive with deep ensembles in prediction, calibration and out-of-domain detection, and outperforms the other single-model approaches.
Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Metastatic Cancer Receiving Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in the Inpatient Setting

Background As indications for immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy have increased in recent years, so has the proportion of patients eligible for this type of therapy. However, a lack of data exists about the risks and benefits of ICI therapy in hospitalized patients, who tend to be frailer and sicker than patients enrolled in clinical trials. Material and methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study among hospitalized patients with metastatic solid tumors who received ICI therapy at a large academic cancer center over the course of 4 years. We analyzed the characteristics and outcomes of these patients and identified demographic and clinical factors that could be used to predict mortality. Results During the 4-year study period, 106 patients were treated with ICI therapy while admitted to the hospital; 70 (66%) had Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status ≥2, which would have prevented them from enrolling in most clinical trials of ICIs. Fifty-two patients (49%) died either during admission or within 30 days of discharge; median overall survival was 1.0 month from discharge, and 16 patients (15%) were alive 6 months after discharge. Independent predictors of death following receipt of inpatient ICI included a diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer relative to melanoma and prior treatment with two or more lines of therapy. Conclusion The poor overall outcomes observed in this study may give clinicians pause when considering ICI therapy for hospitalized patients, particularly those with characteristics that are associated with a greater risk of mortality. Implications for practice Immunotherapy strategies for patients with cancer are rapidly evolving and their use is expanding, but not all patients will develop a response, and secondary toxicity can be significant and challenging. This is especially evident in hospitalized patients, where the economic cost derived from inpatient immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) administration is important and the clinical benefit is sometimes unclear. The poor overall outcomes evidenced in the ICI inpatient population in this study highlight the need to better identify the patients that will respond to these therapies, which will also help to decrease the financial burden imposed by these highly priced therapies.
A Systematic Review of the Relationship Between In-Training Examination Scores and Specialty Board Examination Scores.

Background In-training examinations (ITEs) are intended for low-stakes, formative assessment of residents' knowledge, but are increasingly used for high-stake purposes, such as to predict board examination failures. Objective The aim of this review was to investigate the relationship between performance on ITEs and board examination performance across medical specialties. Methods A search of the literature for studies assessing the strength of the relationship between ITE and board examination performance from January 2000 to March 2019 was completed. Results were categorized based on the type of statistical analysis used to determine the relationship between ITE performance and board examination performance. Results Of 1407 articles initially identified, 89 articles underwent full-text review, and 32 articles were included in this review. There was a moderate-strong relationship between ITE and board examination performance, and ITE scores significantly predict board examination scores for the majority of studies. Performing well on an ITE predicts a passing outcome for the board examination, but there is less evidence that performing poorly on an ITE will result in failing the associated specialty board examination. Conclusions There is a moderate to strong correlation between ITE performance and subsequent performance on board examinations. That the predictive value for passing the board examination is stronger than the predictive value for failing calls into question the "common wisdom" that ITE scores can be used to identify "at risk" residents. The graduate medical education community should continue to exercise caution and restraint in using ITE scores for moderate to high-stakes decisions.
Adolescents' and Young Adults' Ability to Self-Screen for Contraindications to Hormonal Contraception and the Role of Chronic Illness.

Abstract Purpose Multiple states allow pharmacists to prescribe hormonal contraception but can have age restrictions. The study objective was to examine how age influences adolescents' and young adults' (AYAs) ability to self-report potential contraindications to hormonal contraception compared with physician reports (our “gold standard”). Methods Between February 2017 and August 2018, girls aged 14–21 years and their physicians were recruited in outpatient adolescent primary and subspecialty care clinics. Screeners were completed separately for medical conditions that are potential contraindications to hormonal contraception as defined by the Centers for Disease Control Medical Eligibility Criteria. Overall, discordance was defined as differences between the patient's and provider's answers, and potential unsafe discordance was defined as AYAs underreporting of contraindications. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine predictors of overall and unsafe discordance. Results Of 394 AYA/physician pairs, 45% were from subspecialty clinics, 35% identified as African American, the mean age was 16.7 ± 1.9 years, and 38% were sexually active. Fifty percent of patients reported potential contraindications to hormonal contraception. There was only an 18% rate of unsafe discordance, with no statistical difference by age but a higher rate in subspecialty clinics (28% vs. 10%). No variables were predictive of higher rates of unsafe discordance in general or subspecialty clinics. Conclusions Potential overall and unsafe discordance between AYAs' and physicians' reports of medical contraindications to combined hormonal contraception were not related to younger age and thus support expansion of pharmacy access to adolescents. Pediatric subspecialists need to proactively address hormonal contraceptive needs and safety as pharmacy access expands.
Rural melanoma patients in Maryland do not present with more advanced disease than urban patients

Purpose: Rural populations have higher poverty rates, lower educational attainment, higher smoking rates, lower rates of health insurance, higher proportions of elderly individuals, decreased access to health services including dermatology, higher all-cause mortality, and higher mortality from melanoma. Despite these disparities, rural patients have not been adequately studied within the dermatologic literature, particularly at geographic units smaller than the county level. Methods: We used zip codes and Rural Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) codes to conduct a cross-sectional study on the prevalence and severity of melanoma among 31,750 rural versus urban patients treated by the Johns Hopkins Department of Dermatology from January, 2016 to June, 2017. Results: Compared to urban patients, rural patients had a 2.6 times higher melanoma prevalence (P<0.0001), travelled much greater distances for treatment (101.8 miles versus 17.7 miles, P<0.0001), and lived in zip codes with median household incomes $18,188 lower ($58,718 versus $76,906; P=0.0040). However, there were no significant differences in Breslow depth or clinical stage between rural and urban patients. Conclusions: Despite having a higher prevalence of melanoma and travelling much greater distances to receive care, rural patients did not present with more advanced disease than their urban counterparts.
Energy-Efficient Connected and Automated Vehicles: Real-Time Traffic Prediction-Enabled Co-Optimization of Vehicle Motion and Powertrain Operation

Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) can bring energy, mobility, and safety benefits to transportation. Energy savings can be achieved by solving a mathematical optimization problem for a lookahead horizon using previewed traffic information enabled by connectivity. However, it is challenging to predict shortterm traffic, especially for mixed-traffic scenarios, where both connected and unconnected vehicles are on the road.
Compartment Syndrome Forearm and Hand

Compartment syndrome of the extremity is a diagnosis that requires emergent intervention. It is characterized as an elevation of tissue pressure resulting in impaired perfusion. Although commonly associated with fractures, there are a number of intrinsic and extrinsic causes. Early intervention can reduce the extent of permanent muscle and neurovascular damage, impairment, and the late sequela, specifically Volkmann ischemic contracture. The goal of surgical treatment is to restore tissue perfusion with emergent decompression/fasciotomy. Ensuring a complete release of all affected compartments is imperative to achieve a good clinical outcome and mitigate complications.
Tribute to Professor David Markell: A Colleague Among Colleagues

This essay was written to celebrate David Markell at his retirement from an extraordinary career in both civil service and academia. To a prolific career of scholarly writing, Dave brought the rare gift of high-level practical experience in environmental governance, enabling him to marry a natural gift for academic analysis with an in-depth, field-level understanding of the constraints, challenges, and rate-determining steps of environmental law. As a result, both his scholarship and his teaching were infused with a level of insight that most law professors never quite reach. The incorporation of these twin gifts into his written work invites the highest possible praise, in that his scholarship is truly useful, both to those thinking about and practicing in the field of environmental law. Still, the essay concludes that Dave’s most enduring contributions were in the sustaining personal relationships he created and his own compelling personal example. Dave was a backbone of every community he was part of, caring not only about institution-building but about the individuals that compose them, and supporting every student, colleague, and neighbor who crossed his path with patience, humility, and grace. Published posthumously, the essay concludes with shared reflections of how his various communities will always remember him, profoundly characterized by his utter nobility and sincerity as a human being. He was, and remains, a colleague among colleagues, the very best among us.
Home/community-based interventions to improve function in persons with mild cognitive impairment/early dementia

Abstract Persons with mild cognitive impairment/early dementia have a possible 20-year trajectory of disability and dependence with little information on the effectiveness of interventions to improve function. This review investigates the literature of home/community-based interventions for physical and executive function in persons with mild cognitive impairment/early dementia. A 2007–2020 systematic literature search was conducted through PubMed, CINAHL Plus with Full Text and PsycINFO. Of the 1749 articles retrieved, 18 eligible studies were identified and consisted of three types of interventions: cognitive training-only (n = 7), multicomponent (n = 9), and physical activity-only (n = 2). Results showed that the interventions impacting function in persons with cognitive impairment incorporated a visual/written element, technology-based training, caregiver support, and modified duration/increased frequency of interventions. In studies improving function, participants simulated Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. They addressed cognitive function using both objective and subjective cognitive measures. We found gaps in the literature in incorporating race/ethnicity and appropriate socioeconomic status measures.
Checked Your Bias Lately? Reasons and Strategies for Rural Teachers to Self-Assess for Grading Bias.

Multiple factors influence teachers’ grading and scoring of students’ class work, homework, projects and tests. Put simply, bias in grading is giving different grades on student work of essentially equal quality, based on factors irrelevant to the scope and criteria for that work. Grading is to a degree subjective, but it need not be biased. Intentional bias is a common criticism of teachers and has been the topic of numerous studies and reports. However, less attention has been given to unintentional sources of grading bias. For teachers in any school, bias can creep into grading despite a teacher’s best efforts to be fair and impartial. Teachers in rural schools may face more challenges to preventing and reducing grading bias. This paper identifies some of the issues relevant to teachers’ unintentional grading biases and discusses both conventional and innovative ways to reduce it.
Rotational Mixing and Lithium in Young Stars

The potential role of rotational mixing as an agent for lithium depletion is reviewed. For main sequence stars, mixing driven by angular momentum loss can cause lithium depletion for models with a wide range of masses. For young stars, however, the evolution of the structure inhibits lithium depletion in higher mass models. As a result, rotational mixing can cause a large dispersion in abundance for young low mass (late G and K) stars but not for young high mass (early G and F) stars. The properties of solar metallicity and metal-poor models are also compared.
MUSEUM STUDIES NOW

The purpose of this short article is to summarize briefly the current state and direction of museum studies in relation to academic priorities and pressing issues facing museums today, including new buildings, access, revisionist art history, commercialism and repatriation. It ends by questioning the rapid expansion of museum studies programmes on both sides of the Atlantic.
In situ sensing to understand diel turbidity cycles, suspended solids, and nutrient transport in Clear Creek, Iowa

[1] Recent advances in sensor technology have made high-frequency environmental data readily available. In this study, high-frequency monitoring of turbidity revealed diel turbidity cycles with peak values during the nighttime and lower values occurring during daytime. Particles responsible for these cycles were fixed suspended solids consisting mostly of aluminosilicates (clay particles) emanating from bed sediments. High-frequency data were used to investigate the transport of total suspended solids (TSS) during base flow. A majority of the base flow TSS loading occurred during the nighttime in a small agricultural catchment in Iowa, United States. Elevated nighttime turbidity coincided with an increased total suspended phosphorus loading during nighttime. Bioturbation, as a result of nocturnal feeding of fishes, is the suspected cause of the diel turbidity cycles. High-frequency monitoring was also used to detect TSS loading during storm events. Results from this study highlight the importance of high-frequency environmental measurements to reveal and understand biogeochemical transport phenomena.
Library assessment on a budget

Purpose – Colleges and universities conduct regular surveys that provide space for local questions, including library‐related items. Unfortunately these surveys often use incomparable metrics and scales. This study seeks to examine techniques to take advantage of such surveys to supply practical results.Design/methodology/approach – Effect size meta‐analysis is a statistical method used to combine such disparate results. This method and other statistical tools were used to extract significant findings from the survey results, looking at such library constructs as physical access, analysis (the ability to determine information quality and relevance), collection quality and quantity, retrieval, hours and staff.Findings – The paper describes the meta‐analysis of three separate surveys which contained library‐related data responses, and conclusions subsequently drawn from that analysis.Research limitations/implications – This paper assumes that the reader possesses some understanding of basic statistical conc...
The effect of differing patterns of childhood body mass index gain on adult physiology in American Indians.

Objective Identifying groups of individuals with similar patterns of body mass index (BMI) change during childhood may increase understanding of the relationship between childhood BMI and adult health. Methods Discrete classes of BMI z-score change were determined in 1,920 American Indian children with at least four non diabetic health examinations between the ages of 2 and 18 years using latent class trajectory analysis. In subsets of subjects, data were available for melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) sequencing; in utero exposure to type 2 diabetes (T2D); or, as adults, oral glucose tolerance tests, onset of T2D, or body composition. Results Six separate groups were identified. Individuals with a more modern birth year, an MC4R mutation, or in utero exposure to T2D were clustered in the two groups with high increasing and chronic overweight z-scores (P < 0.0001). The z-score classes predicted adult percent fat (P < 0.0001, partial r2 = 0.18 adjusted for covariates). There was a greater risk for T2D, independent from adult BMI, in three classes (lean increasing to overweight, high increasing, and chronic overweight z-scores) compared to the two leanest groups (respectively: HRR= 3.2, P = 0.01; 6.0, P = 0.0003; 11.6, P < 0.0001). Conclusions Distinct patterns of childhood BMI z-score change associate with adult adiposity and may impact risk of T2D.
Value-added laboratory medicine in an era of managed care.

Clinical laboratory consultants (M.D.s and Ph.D.s) must add value and medical relevance to the healthcare system to earn and maintain their roles in an era of managed care. Service opportunities include new and expanded roles in system-wide (a) managing of point-of-care testing, (b) informatics and information systems, (c) clinical consultation, (d) resource management, (e) management of utilization, (f) improving healthcare quality assurance, and (g) technology assessment and implementation. Hypothesis-driven research focused on the linkage between the laboratory and outcome analysis, clinical practice guidelines, total quality improvement, technology assessment, and healthcare policy provides major opportunities to complete for expanding research support. Changes in clinical laboratory consultant training are necessary to provide the knowledge, skills, and experience required to provide value-added and medically relevant services. Clinical laboratory consultants with Ph.D. degrees should initially be trained broadly in all areas of the laboratory, with emphasis on system-wide issues, and then trained as specialized scientists.
Falls in HIV-infected patients: a geriatric syndrome in a susceptible population.

Background:Falls is a common geriatric syndrome that has not been well characterized in HIV-infected populations.Methods:We retrospectively reviewed our database and identified patients who fell over the last 12 months.Results:Thirty-two patients were identified (incidence rate of 16 × 1000 patients per year). Twenty-five percent were female and 75% male. Sixty-seven percent were African American with 33% Caucasians. Average age was 48.19, number of years with HIV infection on average was 9.38 years, mean CD4 count 347.2 cell/mm3, mean HIV viral load was 31 379 copies/mL. The average number of medications was 8.7 with a mean of 3.48 comorbidities. The mean vitamin D level was 27.20. Sixty-two percent of patients were compliant with antiretroviral therapy. Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that number of medications (< .005 medications; P < .005), more than 3 comorbidities (P < .005), and noncompliance (P < .001) were related to falls in this population.Conclusion:Falls is a common geriatric synd...
The problem of the type II statistical error.

Objective To determine if type II statistical errors (also known as beta errors) are a common problem in published clinical research. Methods Type II statistical errors occur when sample sizes are too small to show an effect of treatment, even when an effect truly exists. Searching the Medline data base, we identified ten meta-analyses published during 1986–1994 in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Obstetrics and Gynecology , and The Journal of Reproductive Medicine . Meta-analyses were used as sources of component or individual studies for the following reason: When small component studies have negative findings that differ from the overall conclusions of the meta-analysis, the component studies may have type II statistical errors. Results We found that only 6.5% (15 of 231) of component studies provided any documentation that power calculations to determine sample sizes had been done a priori (before) the research began. Thus, many of these component studies with findings of no treatment effect may have had type II errors because of too-small sample sizes. When stratifying the component studies by year of publication, we found that 7.9% (14 of 178) of studies published in the 1980s and 1990s had any documented evidence of a priori power calculations. In the 1960s and 1970s, only one of 53 component studies had documented evidence of power calculations. Conclusion To ensure that truly effective treatments are introduced into clinical practice as quickly as possible, we believe that a priori power calculations should always be done in quantitative clinical research.
Synthesis of brookite TiO2 nanorods with isolated Co(ii) surface sites and photocatalytic degradation of 5,8-dihydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone dye

Decomposition of Co2(CO)8 in the presence of ca. 4 nm × 20 nm oleic acid stabilized brookite TiO2 nanorods was performed according to a prior report in the literature in which Co–TiO2 hybrid nanocrystals had been observed. The hybrid nanocrystals could not be duplicated; however, we report a procedure that consistently led to a mixture of blue Co(II)–TiO2 nanorods and Co precipitate. The Co(II)–TiO2 nanorods have single-site Co(II) ions selectively attached to the TiO2 nanocrystal surface. Transmission electron microscopy and powder X-ray diffraction data show the crystal phase and morphology of the nanorod is unchanged on addition of Co(II) and no new crystal phases or particulate domains are associated with the colloid. A combination of UV-visible, X-ray photoelectron, and X-ray absorption spectroscopic analysis indicates Co(II) sites are present on the surface of the TiO2 nanorods in octahedral and tetrahedral coordination in ∼1 : 1 ratio. A mechanism is proposed in which the Co–Co bond of the precursor undergoes heterolysis followed by disproportionation of Co(I) to yield Co(II) and Co(0) precipitate. The Co(II)–TiO2 nanorods were shown to exhibit greater activity than TiO2 nanorods in the degradation of 5,8-dihydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone dye under visible light irradiation.
Soldier determination in Pheidole bicarinata: effect of methoprene on caste and size within castes

Abstract Topical application of methoprene to final-instar larvae of the ant Pheidole bicarinata can induce soldier development. Soldier induction takes place if methoprene levels are above a soldier-determining threshold during a critical period of juvenile hormone-sensitivity that occurs during about days 4–6 of the final instar. Furthermore, the amount of exogenous methoprene applied affects the timing of metamorphosis and the adult size in both the minor worker and soldier castes. When larvae that receive methoprene treatment become minor workers these are always larger than acetone-treated controls. In larvae that become soldiers, growth and timing of metamorphosis vary with the dose of methoprene, but in a more complex way. A high dose of methoprene produces a metamorphic delay and large soldiers. However, the lowest effective dose for soldier induction produces early metamorphosis and small adults. On the basis of these results, we have expanded our model of a mechanism by which juvenile hormone could control determination of worker castes in Pheidole bicarinata .
Evidence that a mutation in the MLH1 3'-untranslated region confers a mutator phenotype and mismatch repair deficiency in patients with relapsed leukemia.

Defects in DNA mismatch repair (MMR) are the molecular basis of certain cancers, including hematological malignancies. The defects are often caused by mutations in coding regions of MMR genes or promoter methylation of the genes. However, in many cases, despite that a hypermutable phenotype is detected in a patient, no mutations/hypermethylations of MMR genes can be detected. We report here a novel mechanism that a mutation in the MLH1 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) leads to MMR deficiency. A relapsed leukemia patient displayed microsatellite instability, but no genetic and epigenetic alterations in key MMR genes were identifiable. Instead, a 3-nucleotide (TTC) deletion in the MLH1 3′-UTR was found in the patient's blood sample. The mutant MLH1 3′-UTR was found to significantly reduce the expressions of both a firefly luciferase reporter gene and an ectopic MLH1 gene in model cell lines. Consistent with these observations, a significant reduction in the steady-state level of MLH1 mRNA was observed in white blood cells of the patient. These findings suggest that the mutant MLH1 3′-UTR can cause a severely reduced/defective MMR activity conferring leukemia relapse, likely by down-regulating MLH1 expression at the mRNA level. Although the exact mechanism by which the mutant 3′-UTR down-regulates the MLH1 mRNA is not known, our findings provide a novel marker for cancers with MMR defects.
Determination and Communication of Critical Findings in Neuroradiology

Purpose The aims of this study were to analyze reporting of critical findings among neuroradiologists in a university setting and to revise a list of critical findings reflecting an academic clinical practice as part of a practice quality improvement project. Materials and Methods Neuroradiologic studies performed between January 1 and February 28, 2011, containing "critical finding" notations were searched. Reports were matched with an institutionally approved list of critical findings. These findings and unlisted items that were labeled critical were analyzed for frequency, clinical severity, and diagnosis category. The list was revised on the basis of frequency and severity results. Results A total of 12,607 reports contained 871 critical findings, 608 of which (69.8%) matched the preexisting list. One-third of the findings (263 of 871) labeled critical were not found on the list. Facial, spinal, and calvarial fractures (76 of 263 [28.9%]) and neurovascular injuries (38 of 263 [14.4%]) were the most frequent unlisted findings. A revised list encompassed 86.7% of all communicated neuroradiologic critical findings. Conclusions Clinician-approved and neuroradiologist-approved standardized sets of critical findings can facilitate the communication of important results without "overcalling" and decreasing efficiency. Physician judgment of what constitutes a critical finding supersedes any such list, as clinical scenarios are highly variable from patient to patient. Critical findings lists require intermittent revision to reflect practice patterns and changing incidence of disease. Such a review can constitute a practice quality improvement initiative.
Secretion of proliferin.

Proliferin (PLF) is a member of the PRL-GH family whose mRNA has been detected in proliferating mouse cells in culture and in mouse placenta. Suspensions of murine placental tissue have been shown to produce PLF detectable by immunoprecipitation. Here we report that PLF is secreted as a heterogeneous glycoprotein by growing mouse cell lines and placental tissue and that the first 29 amino acids of the preprotein serve as a signal peptide. Placental PLF is immunologically distinguishable from the 2 previously described mouse placental lactogens. (Endocrinology 120: 208–213,1987)
An electromyographic study of arm muscles during climbing

Upper extremity muscle injuries from rock climbing are common. Knowledge of the activity of specific muscles during climbing may allow the development of training programs to reduce these injuries. This study evaluated the electrical activity of the first interosseous (IN), brachioradialis (BR), flexor digitorum superficialis (FD), and biceps brachii (BB) muscles in seven climbers by integrated electromyography (IEMG) during finger-tip pull-ups. The climbers, with forearms pronated, performed three consecutive pull-ups. Each pull-up consisted of: (1) hanging using four fingers of each hand, (2) pull-up to maximum elbow flexion, (3) slow return to starting position. The IEMG during maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) was obtained for each muscle separately, and the IEMG was normalized to MVC. During hanging, FD showed the highest normalized IEMG (0.64 +/- 0.20). During pull-up, the highest IEMG was produced by FD (0.69 +/- 0.25) and BR (0.67 +/- 0.19), while BB showed only 0.33 +/- 0.12 and IN 0.09 +/- 0.06. During lowering, FD again had the highest IEMG (0.74 +/- 0.24), while the EMG from BR was decreased to 0.42 +/- 0.14 and BB to 0.15 +/- 0.15. BR and BB showed an abrupt peak in EMG during pull-up and lowering, as opposed to FD which remained constantly highly activated, which suggests that FD does not contribute to elbow flexion even though it crosses the elbow joint. The high activation of FD and BR may explain their elevated incidence of injury during climbing. Thus, a reduction in climbing-related muscle injuries may be achieved by a training program that emphasizes conditioning of the BR and FD muscles.
Relative Orbital Elements Formulation Based upon the Clohessy-Wiltshire Equations

For on-orbit applications where two or more spacecraft are flying in close proximity, it is often convenient to apply the Clohessy-Wiltshire differential relative motion equations in order to calculate the relative motion of a deputy spacecraft about a chief spacecraft that is assumed to be in a circular orbit. Under these assumptions, the solutions to the Clohessy-Wiltshire equations can be re-parameterized as a set of relative orbital elements that fully characterize the relative motion of the deputy about the chief. In contrast to the Cartesian relative position and velocity states, relative orbital elements provide a clear geometric interpretation of the relative motion and yield an intuitive understanding of how the unforced relative motion will evolve with time. In this paper, the derivation of relative orbital elements is given, and the transformation between relative orbital elements and Cartesian state elements expressed in the local-vertical, local-horizontal frame is provided. The evolution of relative orbital elements with time is evaluated, and characteristics of the unforced motion in terms of relative orbital elements are described.
Mitral valve ring dehiscence with an aorta-left atrial fistula.

In an era with the increasing use of various imaging modalities including echocardiography, ventriculography and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging, one must be aware of the limitations of each discipline. We report a case of an individual who presented with both a partial dehiscence of a mitral valve annuloplasty ring and an aorta–left atrium fistula following surgical management of infective endocarditis that was correctly identified using transesophageal echocardiographic imaging.
Pygmalion in work organizations: a meta-analysis

The Pygmalion effect, a type of self-fulfilling prophecy, has been demonstrated in educational settings with empirical studies, qualitative reviews and meta-analyses. It has also been studied in organizational settings. This meta-analysis provides a review of the Pygmalion literature, an analysis of findings to date, and a deeper look into the nature of the effect. The present analysis of 13 effect sizes revealed an overall d for the Pygmalion effect in work organizations of 0.81. Moderator analyses revealed stronger effects when the initial level of performance was low and when the experiment took place in a military rather than a business setting. Implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.