cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Occurrence of Botrytis Crown Rot Caused by Botrytis cinerea in Lettuce in Southern New Mexico

This study provides the first account of the occurrence of Botrytis crown rot of lettuce in New Mexico. Lettuce plants affected by Botrytis crown rot displayed symptoms that included necrotic lesio...
ID Integrated Batteryless Wireless Digital pH Sensor

In this paper, an identification integrated pH sensor tag is presented for wireless pH sensing applications. Two electrodes based on silver/silver chloride and antimony/antimony oxide were fabricated using the standard lithography process. The electrode pair showed a linear response for different pH solutions ranging from 4.3 to 10.7 with a sensitivity of 46 mV/pH. The passive pH sensor tag was implemented using a transceiver antenna, an energy harvesting circuit and a low power digital modulation circuit. The digital modulation circuit generates an identification and converts the analog pH voltage into 8-bit digital bits. The pH sensor tag demonstrated wireless digital bit transfer at a data rate of 0.595 Kbps. No external battery power is required to activate and operate the sensor tag and hence the sensor tag is passive in nature. In a complete wireless measurement setup, a read range of 45 cm was achieved for the sensor tag at transmit power of 15 dBm. The prototype was fabricated by integrating sensor and discrete components on top of a low cost PCB.
Geochronologic constraints on deformation and metasomatism along an exhumed mylonitic shear zone using apatite U-Pb, geochemistry, and microtextural analysis

Abstract Directly dating and characterizing deformation and metasomatism in fault zones is critical to understanding fault zone processes and lithospheric evolution. Integrated apatite U-Pb geo-thermochronometry, geochemistry, and microtextural analysis has potential to directly date and characterize deformation and fluid-rock interactions in shear zones using a single mineral phase. Integrated apatite U-Pb, microtextural, and trace and rare earth element results from an exhumed mylonitic shear zone, the Main Mylonitic Band in the Northern Pyrenees, constrain timing of deformation and metasomatism along the shear zone as Early Cretaceous, synchronous with ductile deformation and exhumation of middle-lower crustal gneisses in the footwall, and significant mineralization and metasomatism in the brittle hanging wall. Samples from the hanging wall preserve magmatic apatite U-Pb crystallization ages that overlap with zircon and monazite U-Pb ages of ∼300 Ma, granitic geochemical trends, and primary magmatic growth zoning. Footwall samples below the MMB record dynamic recrystallization of apatite associated with mylonitization and exhumation of the gneisses in the Early Cretaceous. Apatite along the MMB record partial recrystallization via dissolution-reprecipitation associated with shearing and circulation of deeply sourced fluids along the shear zone evident by mixed ages (300-100 Ma), geochemical signatures enriched in light rare earth elements, and patchy microtextures. The MMB likely acted as a conduit for deeply sourced fluids that affected the brittle-ductile transition, strain localization, and fluid pathways through the continental crust. This study demonstrates that the integration of apatite U-Pb geo-thermochronology, geochemistry, and microtextural analysis is a powerful approach to dating deformation and metasomatism, characterizing grain scale deformation and (re)crystallization processes, and geochemically characterizing fluid-rock interactions in exhumed middle crustal shear zones.
Future of Work and Employee Empowerment: Evidence from a Decade of Technological Change

Increasing evidence suggests that technological change will significantly affect interactions in the workplace. Even if technological change displaces some jobs, it may have positive effects among the employees’ who remain employed and subsequent new hires. We introduce a new measure of technological change at the county-level using the growth in the stock of intellectual property (IP) across industries. Using new individual-level data between 2008 and 2018 from Gallup, we quantify the effects of technological change on employee empowerment and well-being. Our results suggest that technological change is associated with positive effects on employee empowerment and life satisfaction. The results are strongest in workplaces with trust and more directive managers, suggesting that structured management may be help mediate the emergence of AI and automation.
A method to visualize a complete sensitivity analysis for loss to follow-up in clinical trials.

Abstract Loss to follow-up occurs in randomized controlled trials. Missing data methods, including multiple imputation (MI), can be used but often rely upon untestable assumptions. Sensitivity analysis can quantify violations of these assumptions. Since an adequate sensitivity analysis requires evaluation of multiple scenarios, presenting this information in an easily interpretable manner is challenging. We propose to graphically represent a thorough sensitivity analysis displaying all possible outcomes for loss to follow-up in randomized controlled trial data relating a completely observed binary exposure to a binary outcome. We describe plausible results under different missingness mechanisms using data from the EAGeR Trial (n = 1228) on low-dose aspirin versus placebo on pregnancy and live birth, in which 140 participants had early withdrawal. For the effect of aspirin on live birth, sensitivity analysis risk ratios (RR) for all potential outcome scenarios ranged from 0.88 to 1.34, applicable to any possible missingness mechanism. MI produced RR = 1.10; 95% confidence interval: (0.98, 1.22). RRs from individual imputations ranged from 1.04 to 1.16, the range of results that could have been observed if data were missing at random. Under this mechanism, the conclusions about the efficacy of low-dose aspirin could have been sensitive to the missing outcome data. Rather than limiting sensitivity analysis for loss to follow-up to a few scenarios that can be presented tabularly, results of a complete sensitivity analysis can be presented in a single plot, which should be implemented in all studies with missing outcome data to convey certainty or uncertainty, confidence or caution.
Limits on Training Inhibitory Control with a Focused Video Game

Gwakkamole is a focused video game designed to train the executive function skill of inhibition in young adolescents and has been shown to be enjoyable and challenging for them. This study examined whether the game was also enjoyable and challenging as well as effective for a different age cohort (i.e., young adults). According to the cognitive theory of game-based training, two essential features of effective games are enjoyment and challenge. Across two experiments, young adults took a battery of executive function tests, played Gwakkamole or a control game for 2 h spread over four sessions within 9 days, and retook the battery of executive function tests along with a self-report survey. Across two experiments, the Gwakkamole group reported lower ratings than the control group on liking the game, exerting effort during playing, feeling motivated during playing, feeling challenged during playing, and wanting to play again; and the groups did not differ significantly on post-test inhibition score (with pre-test inhibition score included as a covariate). Gwakkamole appears to lack the necessary level of challenge and enjoyment for young adult players, which are two essential features for effective games based on the cognitive theory of game-based training.
Innovation and Certainty

Beginning in the nineteenth century, mathematics' traditional domains of 'number and figure' became vigorously displaced by altered settings in which former verities became discarded as no longer sacrosanct. And these innovative recastings appeared everywhere, not merely within the familiar realm of the non-Euclidean geometries. How can mathematics retain its traditional status as a repository of necessary truth in the light of these revisions? The purpose of this Element is to provide a sketch of this developmental history.
Homogenization and design of acoustic Willis metasurfaces

Metasurfaces are ultrathin planar arrays of carefully tailored subwavelength particles that enable agile and flexible manipulation of the impinging waves. Originally introduced in optics, their application to acoustic waves has recently opened exciting opportunities for exotic sound control. In conventional acoustic inclusions, the interactions with the impinging pressure and velocity are decoupled, limiting the functionalities that arrays of them can achieve. While the coupling between these two quantities in symmetry-breaking inclusions, known as Willis coupling, has been discussed for several years, only recently has it been realized that these phenomena can become nonperturbative in suitably tailored resonant scatterers. Here, we explore the opportunities that these Willis meta-atoms open in the context of acoustic metasurfaces, offering additional knobs to manipulate and tailor sound. The general response of Willis metasurface is analytically derived, yielding fundamental bounds and optimal surface responses enabling full control of the impinging acoustic wave front.
“They enjoyed little political power:” Representations of immigrant experience in an 11th-grade U.S. history textbook

Abstract Although the United States is largely a nation of immigrants, xenophobic ideologies and values about immigrants are continuously broadcast across various media outlets. This study uses Systemic Functional Linguistics and transitivity analysis to examine how textbook publishers’ language choices frame migration, immigrants, and immigrant identity for immigrants from two different geographical backgrounds in a currently adopted 11th-grade U.S. history textbook. Findings demonstrate textbook language was organized around three overarching themes: contribution, reception, and integration. Across the textbook, European immigrants are provided with more opportunities through verb processes to act, feel, sense, and be, as compared to Latinx immigrants. Furthermore, language choices reveal how authors create and perpetuate a hierarchical view that some immigrants are desired over others depending on their region of origin and proximity to Whiteness. This study concludes by providing implications for students and teachers to critically engage with analysis of texts.
Development of an interactive tool of early social responsiveness to track autism risk in infants and toddlers.

AIM To evaluate the psychometric properties of a 4-minute assessment designed to identify early autism spectrum disorder (ASD) status through evaluation of early social responsiveness (ESR). METHOD This retrospective, preliminary study included children between 13 and 24 months (78 males, 79 females mean age 19.4mo, SD 3.1) from two independent data sets (an experimental/training sample [n=120] and a validation/test sample [n=37]). The ESR assessment examined social behaviors (e.g. eye contact, smiling, ease-of-social-engagement) across five common play activities (e.g. rolling a ball, looking at a book). Data analyses examined reliability and accuracy of the assessment in identifying ESR abilities and in discriminating children with and without ASD. RESULTS Results indicated adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the ESR assessment. Receiver operator curve analysis identified a cutoff score that discriminated infants with ASD-risk from peers in the training sample. This score yielded moderate sensitivity and high specificity for best-estimate ASD diagnosis in the validation sample. INTERPRETATION Preliminary findings indicated that brief, systematic observation of ESR may assist in discriminating infants with and without ASD, providing concrete evidence to validate or supplement parents', pediatricians', or clinicians' concerns. Future studies could examine the utility of ESR 'growth curves'.
Multi-Facility vs. Single-Facility Concurrent Chemoradiation for Lung Cancer.

Purpose/Objective(s) Coordination of definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for locally advanced lung cancer can be challenging, especially if the therapies are delivered at different facilities. We hypothesized that patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or small cell lung cancer (SCLC) who undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy (RT) in multiple facilities (MF) compared to a single facility (SF) will have different sociodemographic/clinical characteristics but similar overall survival (OS). Materials/Methods We examined 2 cohorts of patients diagnosed in 2010-16 in the National Cancer Database: (1) stage III(N2+) NSCLC patients who received CCRT (60-70 Gy in 1.8-2 Gy fractions) and (2) stage III SCLC patients who received CCRT (45 Gy in 30 fractions or 60-70 Gy in 30-35 fractions). CCRT was defined as definitive multi-agent chemotherapy and external beam RT initiated within 30 days of each other. All patients received their entire course of RT at the reporting facility. Patients who received surgery or immunotherapy were excluded. We used univariable (UVA) and multivariable (MVA) analyses to assess potential associations of MF treatment with sociodemographic/clinical factors and OS. Odds ratios (OR) and hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) are reported. Subset analyses were performed to evaluate the impact of diagnosis year ( Results Our NSCLC cohort included 9279 patients; 32.4% received MF treatment. Our SCLC cohort included 2683 patients; 31.4% received MF treatment. Characteristics significantly associated with MF treatment on MVA for both cohorts included higher median household income, earlier year of diagnosis, absence of comorbidities, treatment at a community cancer program, and treatment at a facility in the South or Midwest. NSCLC patients receiving MF treatment were less likely to travel > 20 miles for RT (OR 0.80 [CI 0.70-0.90], P Conclusion Receiving definitive CCRT in MF vs. SF does not appear to significantly affect OS in locally advanced NSCLC or SCLC, although NSCLC patients receiving MF care are less likely to travel farther for RT. While outcomes of local control and toxicity have yet to be explored, traveling longer distances to receive lung cancer CCRT at the same facility may not be necessary to optimize survival.
Templated Liquid-Phase Epitaxy of InP Structures on Si

We demonstrate direct and over-dielectric heteroepitaxial growth of InP on Si substrates through templated liquid-phase epitaxy. Large grains (?5 µm) are indicated by electron channeling contrast imaging and epitaxy is confirmed by x-ray diffraction.
Unexpected pro-inflammatory effects of IL-10 on mouse mast cells (HYP4P.306)

Mast cells play critical roles in allergic and inflammatory diseases as effector and immunoregulatory cells. A well understood mast cell activation pathway is antigen-mediated crosslinkage of IgE bound to its high affinity receptor (FcϵRI). Cytokines produced during the immune response may alter mast cell function. We have shown that, contrary to its better-known anti-inflammatory role, IL-10 induces pro-inflammatory cytokines in peritoneal and bone marrow derived mast cells stimulated with IgE+antigen. The increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines (IL-6, MCP-1, MIP-1a, and IL-13) is seen both at the mRNA and protein level. Consistent with previously published data, IL-10 suppresses TNF production. Using an in vivo IgE-induced passive systemic anaphylaxis model, we show that IL-10 pre-treatment causes a more severe anaphylactic response and increased serum IL-6 and MIP-1a, suggesting that IL-10-mediated enhancement can occur in vivo. These data support a more nuanced view of IL-10 as a key immunoregulatory cytokine capable of curbing and promoting different inflammatory mediators in hypersensitivity reactions.
Neural Dynamic Effects

By the time information reaches the nervous system, it is related to past conditions of the individual and the environment. There is a similar delay between the time when a controlling signal is generated in the nervous system and when that signal can have an effect in the world. Since neural control is needed neither to respond to things that do not change nor to send messages to structures that are static, a major factor governing the evolution of the nervous system must be its success in responding to temporal events. The functions whose genetic basis is most likely to survive are those that are tried and proven to be successful in predicting and controlling future states of the individual and the environment. On the other hand, evolution preserves many processes that do not have a direct survival value. Thus simple delay may have a direct survival value, but more likely it had its primary role in another function or was the byproduct of some unrelated process.
Verification of Active and Passive Ground-Water Contamination Remediation Efforts

The verification of ground-water contamination remediation efforts requires thorough documentation of subsurface conditions before, during and after cleanup efforts have ceased. The documentation include include proof of: reduction of risk to human or environmental health, achievement of regulatory cleanup concentration goals in soil, gas or liquid media, or verification of continued approach to background environmental quality conditions. Meeting any one or all of these requirements calls for a comprehensive approach to the design and operation of remediation efforts with an emphasis on the monitoring of environmental conditions. These tasks are most challenging for in-situ remediation efforts which employ active (i.e., pumping or vacuum application) rather than passive (i.e., natural water and vapor gradient) conditions.
The intendedness of pregnancy: a concept in transition.

Background: Although interest in the intendedness or the planning status of a pregnancy goes back many centuries, it is only since 1941 that questions about these issues have been asked systematically in large-scale surveys. More recently, questions about intendedness have become standard features of the National Survey of Family Growth and of the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS). Interest in and concern about the large numbers of unintended pregnancies reported in those surveys resulted in an Institute of Medicine report on the subject and the inclusion of a national health objective for increasing the proportion of pregnancies that are intended in Healthy People 2000 and Healthy People 2010. Needs: The terms, “intended,” “unintended,” “mistimed,” “wanted,” “unwanted,” and “planned” are often used without significant attention being paid to their meaning or how they are derived from survey questions. There is a particular need to distinguish between terms that define attitudes and those that define behaviors. In addition, research has revealed that women are often happy despite experiencing an unintended pregnancy and that contraceptive failures do not always result in a report of an unintended pregnancy. Objectives: Researchers have begun to ask questions about the meaning of the intendedness concept and its relationship to what women express as their feelings about pregnancies and births. This article, and this entire issue, is an attempt to make the reader aware of the current issues in this area and to suggest additional research that is needed to enable policy makers and program planners to design programs that will better assist couples in meeting their fertility goals.
New Geometric Methods in Computing the Motion Parameters of A Rigid Body Using Line Correspondences

This paper describes a method to determine rigid body motion using straight line correspondences. It is assumed that the body has features in the form of parallel line segments. Our method relies on the observation of two pairs of parallel lines over three frames. By introduction of plucker coordinates of a line in R3, the motion of the line is easly modeled, and the line-based computation of motion parameters can be carried out with algorithms which only involve linear or quadratic equations.
OXYGEN-INDUCED RETINOPATHY IN THE MOUSE

PURPOSE To develop oxygen-induced retinopathy in the mouse with reproducible and quantifiable proliferative retinal neovascularization suitable for examining pathogenesis and therapeutic intervention for retinal neovascularization in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and other vasculopathologies. METHODS One-week-old C57BL/6J mice were exposed to 75% oxygen for 5 days and then to room air. A novel fluorescein-dextran perfusion method has been developed to assess the vascular pattern. The proliferative neovascular response was quantified by counting the nuclei of new vessels extending from the retina into the vitreous in 6 microns sagittal cross-sections. Cross-sections were also stained for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). RESULTS Fluorescein-dextran angiography delineated the entire vascular pattern, including neovascular tufts in flat-mounted retinas. Hyperoxia-induced neovascularization occurred at the junction between the vascularized and avascular retina in the mid-periphery. Retinal neovascularization occurred in all the pups between postnatal day 17 and postnatal day 21. There was a mean of 89 neovascular nuclei per cross-section of 9 eyes in hyperoxia compared to less than 1 nucleus per cross-section of 8 eyes in the normoxia control (P < 0.0001). Proliferative vessels were not associated with GFAP-positive astrocyte processes. CONCLUSIONS The authors have described a reproducible and quantifiable mouse model of oxygen-induced retinal neovascularization that should prove useful for the study of pathogenesis of retinal neovascularization as well as for the study of medical intervention for ROP and other retinal angiopathies.
Internal colonization, folk justice, and murder in Appalachia: The case of Kentucky

For three decades, the southern subculture of violence thesis was the center of debate for homicide researchers. Often, the South was regarded as a homogeneous region regarded as a subculture without attending to within-region variations. This research tested whether there were subregional variations within the state of Kentucky, paying particular attention to the coal-producing counties of Appalachia as an internal colony. Sociodemographic factors, economic distress, Core-Appalachia, and alcohol were used as predictors of homicide in the state. Using path analysis, it is argued that economic distress and Core-Appalachia predict homicide with alcohol acting as a significant intervening factor in the relationship. It is concluded that sociodemographic, subcultural, structural, and lifestyle factors are interrelated and predictive of overall homicide rates in the state. Treating the South as a uniform region is questioned.
Division of Labor and Multiple Domains of Sexual Satisfaction Among First-Time Parents:

Sexual satisfaction is an important contributor to relationship functioning that is not well understood among first-time parents, at a time when relationship functioning is important for the well-being of parents as well as the child. The current study examined how several dimensions of individual and relationship functioning among first-time parents (coparenting, division of household and paid labor, parenting stress, and role overload) at 6 months postbirth predicted multiple domains of sexual satisfaction at 12 months postbirth, in a sample of heterosexual first-time parents. Role overload, work hours, and division of household labor each predicted at least one domain of sexual satisfaction for both mothers and fathers, whereas parenting stress was a unique predictor for mothers only. The implications of these results for first-time parents are discussed.
The reliability of virus-induced gene silencing experiments using tobacco rattle virus in tomato is influenced by the size of the vector control

The tobacco rattle virus (TRV)-based vector pYL156 is the most widely used vector for virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) in solanaceous plants. We show here that vacuum agroinfiltration of the pYL156 empty vector causes extensive stem lesions, foliar necrosis, stunted growth and delayed flowering in tomato, whereas plants infiltrated with pYL156-based silencing constructs that carry inserts of ∼250 bp or more show few symptoms of virus infection. This difference in plant health influences plant susceptibility to insects, a trait measured in many VIGS experiments, and could potentially bias the results of other bioassays designed to assess the phenotypic consequences of VIGS. When plants were infiltrated with the pYL156:GUS construct, which carries a 396-bp fragment of the β-glucuronidase gene that has no significant homology with any endogenous gene in tomato, they showed similar growth and development as buffer-infiltrated controls, and exhibited significantly fewer viral symptoms than the empty vector. Furthermore, pYL156:GUS did not influence plant susceptibility to aphids. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results indicated that the GUS insert may cause a modest delay in virus movement within the plant, but does not limit TRV replication in infected tissue. Therefore, the pYL156:GUS construct represents an improved negative control for TRV-induced gene silencing.
Failed Endotracheal Intubation and Adverse Outcomes Among Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants

Failed endotracheal intubation and adverse outcomes among extremely low birth weight infants
An upper bound for the complexity of transformation semigroups

functions on Q, with composition as multiplication. For n > 1, ii’ denotes the transformation monoid (tm) with n states and with the n constant maps on those n states (along with the identity function) as transformations. The main theorem (Theorem 2.2) of this paper shows that if a ts X does not contain a copy of ii’ as a sub-ts, then the complexity of X is less than n. Recall that a ts X has complexity less than or equal to II (written Xc Q n) iff
Enhancing the efficiency of direct reprogramming of human mesenchymal stem cells into mature neuronal-like cells with the combination of small molecule modulators of chromatin modifying enzymes, SMAD signaling and cyclic adenosine monophosphate levels

Advances in cell reprogramming technologies to generate patient-specific cells of a desired type will revolutionize the field of regenerative medicine. While several cell reprogramming methods have been developed over the last decades, the majority of these technologies require the exposure of cell nuclei to reprogramming large molecules via transfection, transduction, cell fusion or nuclear transfer. This raises several technical, safety and ethical issues. Chemical genetics is an alternative approach for cell reprogramming that uses small, cell membrane penetrable substances to regulate multiple cellular processes including cell plasticity. Recently, using the combination of small molecules that are involved in the regulation chromatin structure and function and agents that favor neural differentiation we have been able to generate neural-like cells from human mesenchymal stem cells. In this study, to improve the efficiency of neuronal differentiation and maturation, two specific inhibitors of SMAD signaling (SMAD1/3 and SMAD3/5/8) that play an important role in neuronal differentiation of embryonic stem cells, were added to our previous neural induction recipe. Results demonstrated that human mesenchymal stem cells grown in this culture conditions exhibited higher expression of several mature neuronal genes, formed synapse-like structures and exerted electrophysiological properties of differentiating neural stem cells. Thus, an efficient method for production of mature neuronal-like cells from human adult bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells has been developed. We concluded that specific combinations of small molecules that target specific cell signaling pathways and chromatin modifying enzymes could be a promising approach for manipulation of adult stem cell plasticity.
The effect of inversion at 8p23 on BLK association with lupus in Caucasian population.

To explore the potential influence of the polymorphic 8p23.1 inversion on known autoimmune susceptibility risk at or near BLK locus, we validated a new bioinformatics method that utilizes SNP data to enable accurate, high-throughput genotyping of the 8p23.1 inversion in a Caucasian population. Methods: Principal components analysis (PCA) was performed using markers inside the inversion territory followed by k-means cluster analyses on 7416 European derived and 267 HapMaP CEU and TSI samples. A logistic regression conditional analysis was performed. Results: Three subgroups have been identified; inversion homozygous, heterozygous and non-inversion homozygous. The status of inversion was further validated using HapMap samples that had previously undergone Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assays with a concordance rate of above 98%. Conditional analyses based on the status of inversion were performed. We found that overall association signals in the BLK region remain significant after controlling for inversion status. The proportion of lupus cases and controls (cases/controls) in each subgroup was determined to be 0.97 for the inverted homozygous group (1067 cases and 1095 controls), 1.12 for the inverted heterozygous group (1935 cases 1717 controls) and 1.36 for non-inverted subgroups (924 cases and 678 controls). After calculating the linkage disequilibrium between inversion status and lupus risk haplotype we found that the lupus risk haplotype tends to reside on non-inversion background. As a result, a new association effect between non-inversion status and lupus phenotype has been identified ((p = 8.18×10−7, OR = 1.18, 95%CI = 1.10–1.26). Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that both known lupus risk haplotype and inversion status act additively in the pathogenesis of lupus. Since inversion regulates expression of many genes in its territory, altered expression of other genes might also be involved in the development of lupus.
Predictors of Dental Caries Progression in Primary Teeth

The current evidence on the role of the social, behavioral, and community determinants of dental caries is based on cross-sectional analyses. The available evidence has not been based on analysis of multiple determinants within the same population. This longitudinal study addresses both of these limitations. The study included data from 788 dyads of children and their caregivers (77% follow-up), who were examined in 2002-03 and 2004-05. The families were assessed by calibrated dentists for severity of caries at both time periods. Additionally, the caregivers answered questionnaires administered by trained interviewers. The caries increment was adjusted for reversals. Significant predictors of higher caries increment were higher consumption of soda drinks, older age of child, greater weight-for-age, fewer dental treatment visits, higher baseline caries levels of children and their caregivers, dental fatalism, and neighborhood disadvantage status. The selected risk factors in the final model explained about 20% of the variation in the increment.
Comparative effects of dietary sucrose and cornstarch on tryptophan requirement of the rat.

SummaryImmature female rats were fed tryptophan-free rations supplemented with graded levels of dl-tryptophan and containing either sucrose or cornstarch as the source of dietary carbohydrate. Rats fed dl-tryptophan at a level of 600 mg/kg of diet grew poorly when sucrose was the dietary carbohydrate but showed a significant increment in body weight over that observed on the sucrose-containing diet when cornstarch replaced sucrose as the source of dietary carbohydrate. At higher levels of tryptophan supplementation (1.8 g or 5.4 g dl-tryptophan/kg of diet) no significant difference in weight increment occurred between rats fed cornstarch or sucrose-containing rations.
Molecular alterations to human chromosome 3p loci in neuroendocrine lung tumors.

BACKGROUND The origins of and interrelations between low grade and high grade neuroendocrine lung tumors, typical and atypical carcinoids, and small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) have not been elucidated. Karyotypic and molecular genetic studies have demonstrated deletions in 3p in 100% of SCLCs and the candidate lung tumor suppressor gene, FHIT, at 3p14.2 is not expressed in the majority of SCLCs. Similar studies of typical and atypical carcinoids could clarify the interrelations among these tumors. METHODS For molecular genetic analyses, archival carcinoids and paired normal cells were microdissected from paraffin sections, deparaffinized, and DNA prepared. Oligonucleotide primer pairs for 12 microsatellite markers mapping between 3p14.2 and 3p21.3 were used to amplify allelic DNA fragments from 13 typical and 6 atypical carcinoids. In addition, an independent series of archival sections of carcinoids and SCLCs was tested by immunohistochemistry for expression of Fhit protein. RESULTS Of the six atypical carcinoids examined, three had lost an allele at all informative markers, whereas one had lost alleles in two distinct regions and two showed allele loss in a subregion of the chromosome region tested. Of the 13 typical carcinoids, 3 showed allele loss at only 1 or 2 loci each. Typical carcinoids, similar to normal lung epithelia, were strongly positive for the cytoplasmic Fhit protein, SCLCs were uniformly negative, and atypical carcinoids appeared to express an intermediate level of Fhit protein. CONCLUSIONS Loss of heterozygosity at 3p14.2-p21.3 is significantly more extensive in all atypical carcinoids. Atypical carcinoids, which exhibit clinicopathologic features intermediate between typical carcinoids and small cell carcinomas and have been considered well differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas, also are intermediate between typical carcinoids and SCLC on the basis of extent of loss of 3p alleles and reduced expression of Fhit protein. Cancer 1998;83:1109-1117. © 1998 American Cancer Society.
A sperm chemoattractant is released from xenopus egg jelly during spawning

Although the jelly layers surrounding amphibian eggs are known to be essential to fertilization, no biological activities have been reported for jelly macromolecules in any vertebrate. Here we provide evidence that the jelly surrounding Xenopus laevis eggs releases a small diffusible protein into the surrounding media that serve as sperm chemoattractant. Using video microscopy we find that Xenopus sperm will preferentially turn toward and contact a glass capillary filled with egg jelly extract. In experiments using a two-chamber bioassay device we find that egg jelly extracts are capable of stimulating sperm extract. In experiments using a two-chamber bioassay device we find that egg jelly extracts are capable of stimulating sperm movement across a membrane barrier sixfold over controls. This activity is not observed in materials unrelated to egg jelly and the response of sperm to egg jelly extract is clearly chemotactic rather than chemokinetic. A concentration gradient of the extract is absolutely necessary, and the chemotactic activity of the extract exhibits a biphasic dose dependence similar to that of chemotactic agents in other systems. We have been able to characterize the factor as being a heat-stable protein about 10 kDa in size. This study, therefore, provides the first clear evidence for a diffusible sperm chemoattractant in a nonhuman vertebrate, as well as the first demonstration of a physiological role for egg jelly macromolecules in Xenopus fertilization.
Abstract 4601: XBP1 regulated function of c-MYC and BCL2 in antiestrogen resistance in breast cancer

Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent types of cancer in the United States. In fact, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lifetime. Approximately, 70% of newly diagnosed cases of invasive breast cancer are estrogen receptor-α positive (ER+) and in these patients, the disease is often managed by antiestrogen therapy. A barrier in successfully treating some of these patients is their tumors’ ability to develop resistance to the antiestrogens. Previously, we have shown that one mechanism though which breast cancer cells become resistant to antiestrogens is by up-regulating the X-Binding protein 1 (XBP1). Specifically, the presence of the spliced form of XBP1, XBP1(S), confers resistance to breast cancer cells by inhibiting apoptosis. Overexpression of XBP1(S) in MCF-7 breast cancer cells also up-regulates the expression of c-MYC, a transcription factor that is involved in cell proliferation and cell survival, and BCL2, an anti-apoptotic molecule. c-MYC can confer partial resistance to the antiestrogen ICI 182, 780, and can cooperate with and/or be regulated by BCL2. We are investigating the role of XBP1 in regulating c-MYC and BCL2 in antiestrogen resistance. We hypothesize that co-inhibition of c-MYC and BCL2 will restore antiestrogen sensitivity to resistant breast cancer cells. We are using two MCF-7 variants: LCC9 cells that are an estrogen/antiestrogen resistant (ICI 182, 780 resistant and tamoxifen cross-resistant) and LCC1 cells that are estrogen/antiestrogen sensitive. Using small molecule inhibitors or lentiviral short hairpin RNA particles or we are specifically inhibiting our target molecules (c-MYC and BCL2) and testing the effects on antiestrogen responsiveness. Our preliminary data indicate that under basal condition, the antiestrogen resistant LCC9 cells are more sensitive to 10058-F4 (c-MYC inhibitor) and ABT-737 (BCL2 inhibitor) compared to LCC1 cells. Thus, in LCC9 cells, c-MYC and BCL2 clearly play important roles in cell survival. Our results will elucidate how XBP1 signals through c-MYC and BCL2 to confer endocrine resistance. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4601.
The Empires Strike Back: Is the Internet Corporatizing Rather than Democratizing Policy Processes?

For at least a decade, scholars have sought ways to remedy citizen dissatisfaction with representative democracy. Recently, the development and deployment of the Internet has been heralded as a technical solution to this problem. Observers often base their optimism on analysis of the Internet’s impact on elections and public comment processes. Yet elections do not generate the policies that people resent—policy processes do. So far, we know little about the Internet’s role in this critical social activity. This article provides a framework for locating the Internet’s impact on policy processes and presents findings from two case studies on “Internet-enabled” policy making. The cases suggest that the Internet will not fix what ails representative democracy. Indeed, the Internet may only reinforce the much-resented organizational dominance of politics. Reconnecting politics with society is still primarily the work of organizational and institutional reformers, not hardware and software engineers. Liberal representative democracy models appear to have a built-in bias against citizens in disorganized or informal sectors that are not highly focused, in contrast to those driven by single issues. Powerful lobby groups are able to mobilize resources and influence government agendas for their own causes, while groups without resources or a single focus have no mechanism for influencing government policies and processes. The imbalance created by lobbying is probably one of the most serious issues confronting current liberal representative democracy models. —Kakabadse, Kakabadse, and Kouzmin (2003, 48)
Effects of phosphate limitation on expression of genes involved in pyrimidine synthesis and salvaging in Arabidopsis.

Abstract Arabidopsis seedlings grown for 14 d without phosphate (P) exhibited stunted growth and other visible symptoms associated with P deficiency. RNA contents in shoots decreased nearly 90%, relative to controls. In shoots, expression of Pht1;2 , encoding an inducible high-affinity phosphate transporter, increased threefold, compared with controls, and served as a molecular marker for P limitation. Transcript levels for five enzymes (aspartate transcarbamoylase, ATCase, EC 2.1.3.2; carbamoyl phosphate synthetase, CPSase, EC 6.3.5.5); UMP synthase, EC 2.4.1.10, EC 4.1.1.23; uracil phosphoribosyltransferase, UPRTase, EC 2.4.2.9; UMP kinase, EC 2.7.1.14) increased 2–10-fold in response to P starvation in shoots. These enzymes, which utilize phosphorylated intermediates at putative regulated steps in de novo synthesis and salvaging pathways leading to UMP and pyrimidine nucleotide formation, appear to be coordinately regulated, at the level of gene expression. This response may facilitate pyrimidine nucleotide synthesis under P limitation in this plant. Expression of P-dependent and P-independent phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate (PRPP) synthases (PRS2 and PRS3, respectively) which provide PRPP, the phosphoribosyl donor in UMP synthesis via both de novo and salvaging pathways, was differentially regulated in response to P limitation. PRS2 mRNA levels increased twofold in roots and shoots of P-starved plants, while PRS3 was constitutively-expressed. PRS3 may play a novel role in providing PRPP to cellular metabolism under low P availability.
Executive function in adolescents with ADHD.

ABSTRACT Objective The aim of this study was to clarify executive function weakness in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) during adolescence and determine the specificity of executive function weakness to ADHD symptom domains. Method A total of 182 adolescents (105 boys), ages 13 to 17 years, completed a multistage diagnostic assessment; 85 were diagnosed with ADHD: 43 primarily Inattentive type (ADHD-PI) and 42 Combined type (ADHD-C). Participants completed the Stop, Trail Making, Wisconsin Card Sort, and Stroop tasks. Results The ADHD group exhibited impaired performance compared with the non-ADHD group on executive function measures (multivariate p Conclusions Executive function weakness in adolescent ADHD is specifically related to symptoms of inattention-disorganization. Results are congruent with a dual-pathway model of ADHD cognitive mechanisms.
Service vs education: situational and perceptional differences in surgery residency.

Objective This study determined whether situational or perceptional differences exist when trying to define what constitutes “service” and “education” in surgery residency in relation to the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) survey. Design An institutional review board–approved, single institute, cross-sectional study was conducted through a survey. Participants were asked to rate common resident tasks. Participants were also asked general questions regarding “service” and “education.” Setting Wright State University surgery program, Dayton, OH. Participants The study included 69 participants, which included medical students (19), residents (26), nurses/advanced practitioners (14), and attending surgeons (10). Results A significantly high number of attending surgeons reported that writing a history and physical examination is educational compared with residents and students. Similar results were found regarding talking with patients/families. Drawing blood and starting peripheral intravenous access were universally rated as service tasks. For laparoscopic cholecystectomy, when the resident had done one previously, it was universally thought educational. When the resident had done more, most attending surgeons thought the task educational, but residents and students thought it much less educational. When analyzing only residents, in talking with families, most interns rated this as service, whereas postgraduate years 2 and 3 reported it as more educational and postgraduate years 4 and 5 ranked it equally as service and educational. Similar results were seen in answering nursing phone calls and writing admission orders. Residents (88%) and attending surgeons (90%) agreed that service is part of residency training. Only 40% of residents, however, stated they know what the term “service” means in regard to the ACGME survey. Overall, 80% of attending surgeons and 44% of residents agree that “service” has not been well defined by the ACGME. Conclusions Situational and perceptional differences do exist regarding “service” and “education” in our program, and most participants are unclear about the terms. As the definitions are situational and change with the person queried, then should this be the ACGME standard to assess programs and issue citations?
Assigning Loss Budgets To Fiber Optic Components In Adverse Environments

Using fixed power margins in fiber optic system power budget calculations does not adequately account for the nature and complexity of a fiber optic link. In an adverse environment scenerio the power margin must be sufficient to guarantee link operation throughout all expected conditions. A variable margin dependent upon the nature and number of the components in the link provides a more acurate estimate of the margin required for a link than a fixed margin. One particular method of estimating each components portion of the environmental margin is presented.
Preventing Spur Development on Male Birds

Abstract WHEN poultry breeders and commercial poultrymen raise or keep male birds they find themselves confronted with the serious problem of how to keep these birds together without injuring one another, for it is almost impossible to prevent fighting. The fighting and resultant injuries may arise from the natural desire to fight, or the sexual desire. Sometimes a larger bird will get a weaker one down and then the whole flock will tread the weaker bird until he is entirely useless for breeding purposes. Occasionally there is injury to females from the spurs of the males. The ideal method in handling birds would be to keep each male in an individual pen or cage when he is not being used for mating purposes, but this plan is too expensive for the average poultryman or breeder. To prevent the male birds from doing one another bodily damage from fighting, it is desirable . . .
Inference on mode preferences, vehicle purchases, and the energy paradox using a Bayesian structural choice model

Abstract Discrete choice modeling is experiencing a reemergence of research interest in the inclusion of latent variables as explanatory variables of consumer behavior. There are several reasons that motivate the integration of latent attributes, including better-informed modeling of random consumer heterogeneity and treatment of endogeneity. However, current work still is at an early stage and multiple simplifying assumptions are usually imposed. For instance, most previous applications assume all of the following: independence of taste shocks and of latent attributes, exclusion restrictions, linearity of the effect of the latent attributes on the utility function, continuous manifest variables, and an a priori bound for the number of latent constructs. We derive and apply a structural choice model with a multinomial probit kernel and discrete effect indicators to analyze continuous latent segments of travel behavior, including inference on the energy paradox. Our estimator allows for interaction and simultaneity among the latent attributes, residual correlation, nonlinear effects on the utility function, flexible substitution patterns, and temporal correlation within responses of the same individual. Statistical properties of the Bayes estimator that we propose are exact and are not affected by the number of latent attributes.