cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Elementary Preservice Teachers' Challenges in Designing and Implementing Socioscientific Issues-Based Lessons.

Socioscientific issues (SSI) have been found to improve scientific literacy skills among K—12 students. Elementary preservice teachers (PSTs), however, are reluctant to implement SSI due to a lack ...
Vulnerability/Consequence Analysis

Secure, functioning, and resilient critical networks requires the efficient exchange of information, including intelligence, between all levels of government and critical infrastructure sector owners and operators. This must facilitate the timely exchange of threat and vulnerability information as well as information that allows for the development of a situational awareness capability during incidents.
Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of modeling plant CO2 exchange in the built environment

Abstract The dynamics of carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange in the built environment, coupled with local microclimate modeling, is of critical importance to the understanding of emergent patterns of longterm urban climate evolution. In addition to the complex model physics, the difficulty is outstanding to characterize uncertainties inherited in the parameter space and its impact on the model performance and predictive skills. In this study, we conducted a series of numerical simulations based on advanced Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms to quantify the sensitivity of a recently developed modeling framework by coupling the dynamics of CO2 transport into a single-layer urban canopy model. The results show that urban morphology (canyon aspect ratio), irrigation, and the physiological properties of urban vegetation predominate the processes of plant CO2 exchange in the built environment. In contrast, the CO2 budget is relatively insensitive to material properties of urban facets in the built environment. The findings in this study can help to unravel the interplay of urban carbon dynamics and the built environment, as well as to inform researchers and policy makers for sustainable urban development towards a low carbon city.
Church, World and the Christian Life: Practical-Prophetic Ecclesiology

1. Introduction 2. Blueprint ecclesiologies 3. A theodramatic horizon 4. Pluralist ecclesiology 5. A theodramatic response to pluralism 6. Inclusivist ecclesiology 7. Practical-prophetic ecclesiology.
College and Career Ready and Critically Conscious: Asset-Building With Latinx Immigrant Youth:

A growing body of evidence supports critical consciousness as a developmental asset for young people, including its benefits for educational and vocational outcomes. National dynamics and policies ...
CDKN2A loss-of-function genetic alterations in uterine sarcoma: prognostic implications and potential therapeutic target

Objectives: Uterine sarcomas frequently harbor non-actionable oncogenic mutations, limiting the use of targeted therapies. Alterations in the potentially targetable CDK4/6 pathway have recently been described. We explored clinicopathologic differences between uterine sarcomas with CDKN2A loss-of-function genetic alterations and TP53 loss-of-function mutations and sought to determine whether these molecularly defined uterine sarcomas differ in prognosis among early stage patients. Methods: Patients with uterine sarcoma were consented to a prospective study of tumor-normal targeted massively parallel sequencing of up to 468 cancer-related genes. Clinicopathologic data were abstracted from the medical record. Fisher's exact tests and Mann-Whitney-U tests were employed to compare categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to estimate survival, compared using log-rank test. Results: A total of 229 patients with uterine leiomyosarcoma (LMS; n=191) or undifferentiated uterine sarcoma (UUS; n=38) were identified. The most common genomic alterations were TP53 (62%, n=142) and RB1 (41%, n=94) mutations/homozygous deletions. Furthermore, 10% (n=23) harbored CDKN2A loss-of-function mutations or homozygous deletions, which were mutually exclusive with both TP53 and RB1 alterations (p Download : Download high-res image (93KB) Download : Download full-size image Conclusions: CDKN2A loss-of-function alterations, found in 10% of uterine sarcomas, are mutually exclusive with TP53 and RB1 alterations commonly present in this malignancy. CDKN2A altered uterine sarcoma may be a genomically and morphologically distinct tumor. We demonstrate poor survival outcomes for patients with early stage disease harboring these CDKN2A alterations. Identifying uterine sarcomas with CDKN2A loss-of-function alterations provides rationale for testing cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors in this molecular subset.
Understanding ethanol's acute effects on medial prefrontal cortex neural activity using state-space approaches

Abstract Acute ethanol (EtOH) intoxication results in several maladaptive behaviors that may be attributable, in part, to the effects of EtOH on neural activity in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). The acute effects of EtOH on mPFC function have been largely described as inhibitory. However, translating these observations on function into a mechanism capable of delineating acute EtOH's effects on behavior has proven difficult. This review highlights the role of acute EtOH on electrophysiological measurements of mPFC function and proposes that interpreting these changes through the lens of dynamical systems theory is critical to understand the mechanisms that mediate the effects of EtOH intoxication on behavior. Specifically, the present review posits that the effects of EtOH on mPFC N-methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA) receptors are critical for the expression of impaired behavior following EtOH consumption. This hypothesis is based on the observation that recurrent activity in cortical networks is supported by NMDA receptors, and, when disrupted, may lead to impairments in cognitive function. To evaluate this hypothesis, we discuss the representation of mPFC neural activity in low-dimensional, dynamic state spaces. This approach has proven useful for identifying the underlying computations necessary for the production of behavior. Ultimately, we hypothesize that EtOH-related alterations to NMDA receptor function produces alterations that can be effectively conceptualized as impairments in attractor dynamics and provides insight into how acute EtOH disrupts forms of cognition that rely on mPFC function. This article is part of the special Issue on ‘Neurocircuitry Modulating Drug and Alcohol Abuse'.
Board Committee Overlap and the Use of Earnings in CEO Compensation Contracts

Using proxy statement data describing the terms of compensation contracts, we examine how overlapping membership between compensation and audit committees influences the use of earnings metrics in compensation. While research predicts that such overlap could either increase or decrease the reliance on earnings, we find that firms with overlapping directors rely less on earnings-based performance measures in incentive contracts without altering the overall level of performance-contingent cash bonuses. In addition, we provide evidence that firms substitute earnings measures with measures less subject to earnings management. Our findings are robust to potential alternative explanations, extend to an implicit relation between earnings and compensation for a larger sample, and are not driven by the tendency towards an overlapping committee structure more broadly.
Fingertip Amputations: Supermicrosurgery and Replantation

Fingertip replantation has been slow to gain acceptance in hand surgery because of the challenging nature of the procedure and the perceived notion that little functional gain is achieved. However, no other method can restore form and function as well, i.e., digital length and fingernail function while avoiding a painful stump neuroma. Recent studies have confirmed this advantage. With the advent of supermicrosurgery techniques, and firm knowledge of the vascular anatomy of the fingertip, success of replantation is now in the order of 86 %. This chapter discusses the indications, results, surgical anatomy, technique, and strategies to achieve a successful outcome in fingertip replantation.
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's Best Response to Booker Is to Do Nothing

The best post- Booker strategy for the U.S. Sentencing Commission is to do nothing. The pre- Booker guidelines were too rigid, too harsh, and, for those reasons, too often circumvented. Post- Booker , the federal guidelines provide a framework and starting points for sentencing and plea bargaining which should produce reasonable consistency within individual district courts. Different sentencing patterns between districts, and significant differences between regions of the country are inevitable and produce far less injustice than did the pre- Booker guidelines.
Regulation of blood flow in the microcirculation: role of conducted vasodilation

This review is concerned with understanding how vasodilation initiated from local sites in the tissue can spread to encompass multiple branches of the resistance vasculature. Within tissues, arteriolar networks control the distribution and magnitude of capillary perfusion. Vasodilation arising from the microcirculation can ‘ascend’ into feed arteries that control blood flow into arteriolar networks. Thus distal segments of the resistance network signal proximal segments to dilate and thereby increase total oxygen supply to parenchymal cells. August Krogh proposed that innervation of capillaries provided the mechanism for a spreading vasodilatory response. With greater understanding of the ultrastructural organization of resistance networks, an alternative explanation has emerged: Electrical signaling from cell to cell along the vessel wall through gap junctions. Hyperpolarization originates from ion channel activation at the site of stimulation with the endothelium serving as the predominant cellular pathway for signal conduction along the vessel wall. As hyperpolarization travels, it is transmitted into surrounding smooth muscle cells through myoendothelial coupling to promote relaxation. Conducted vasodilation encompasses greater distances than can be explained by passive decay and understanding such behavior is the focus of current research efforts. In the context of athletic performance, the ability of vasodilation to ascend into feed arteries is essential to achieving peak levels of muscle blood flow. Conducted vasodilation is tempered by sympathetic neuroeffector signaling when governing muscle blood flow at rest and during exercise. Impairment of conduction during aging and in diseased states can limit physical work capacity by restricting muscle blood flow.
Improving Efficiency and Equity of Child-Related Federal Tax Policies

Proposal combines EITC, child credit, and dependent allowance into one child-related benefit program so that the tax code is simplified. It allows the phasing down of benefits to be less than 6 percent so that the marginal tax rate is reduced, especially for families that are currently subject to both the federal tax rate and the EITC phase-out rate. It reduces the marriage penalty for single heads with incomes below $20,000. It eliminates the middle class parent penalty: the current situation in which families with incomes between $30,000 and $60,000 receive less child-related benefits than either wealthier or poorer households. Finally, though it only costs modestly more than the Bush child credit proposal, it is more effective at lowering marginal tax rates and marriage penalties.
Anti-thymoglobulin (ATG) treatment does not reverse type 1 diabetes in the acute virally induced rat insulin promoter-lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (RIP-LCMV) model

Immune modulators such as anti-thymoglobulin (ATG) are under clinical evaluation for the treatment of type 1 diabetes (T1D). Although such agents have cured T1D in the non-obese diabetic (NOD) model, their clinical efficacy has been much lower. In order to improve the odds of successful translation from bench to bedside, we propose to evaluate this agent under more stringent conditions. Here, we evaluated the capacity of ATG to reverse T1D in the acute rat insulin promoter-lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (RIP-LCMV) model. RIP-LCMV-glycoprotein (GP) mice were treated after new-onset T1D with murine ATG antibodies. Although ATG treatment did not impair viral clearance it failed to reverse new-onset T1D in this model. The CD4:CD8 ratio was reduced drastically upon LCMV infection due to an expansion of CD8 effectors but ameliorated in ATG-treated mice. Although the percentage of CD4(+) CD25(+) regulatory T cells (T(regs) ) within the CD4(+) population was increased significantly after ATG therapy, their frequency in the periphery was reduced dramatically and never returned to normal baseline. The inability of ATG treatment to cure T1D in a stringent viral model (RIP-LCMV mice) is due at least partially to the inability to maintain or increase a sufficient CD4(+) CD25(+) T(regs) frequency, in striking contrast with what was reported in the NOD model. Our data would argue for the use of multiple animal models to assess efficacy of promising immune-based interventions and select the most potent therapies for future clinical trials.
A Library in the Palm of Your Hand: Mobile Services in Top 100 University Libraries

What is the current state of mobile services among academic libraries of the country’s top 100 universities, and what are the best practices for librarians implementing mobile services at the university level? Through in-depth website visits and survey questionnaires, the authors studied each of the top 100 universities’ libraries’ experiences with mobile services. Results showed that all of these libraries offered at least one mobile service, and the majority offered multiple services. The most common mobile services offered were mobile sites, text messaging services, e-books, and mobile access to databases and the catalog. In addition, chat/IM services, social media accounts and apps were very popular. Survey responses also indicated a trend towards responsive design for websites so that patrons can access the library’s full site on any mobile device. Respondents recommend that libraries considering offering mobile services begin as soon as possible as patron demand for these services is expected to increase.
Parallel repetition theorems for interactive arguments

We study efficient parallel repetition theorems for several classes of interactive arguments and obtain the following results: We show a tight parallel repetition theorem for public-coin interactive arguments by giving a tight analysis for a reduction algorithm of Hastad et al. [HPPW08]. That is, n-fold parallel repetition decreases the soundness error from δ to δn. The crux of our improvement is a new analysis that avoid using Raz’s Sampling Lemma, which is the key ingredient to the previous results. We give a new security analysis to strengthen a parallel repetition theorem of Hastad et al. for a more general class of arguments. We show that n-fold parallel repetition decreases the soundness error from δ to δn/2, which is almost tight. In particular, we remove the dependency on the number of rounds in the bound, and as a consequence, extend the “concurrent” repetition theorem of Wikstrom [Wik09] to this model. We obtain a way to turn any interactive argument to one in the class above using fully homomorphic encryption schemes. This gives a way to amplify the soundness of any interactive argument without increasing the round complexity. We give a simple and generic transformation which shows that tight direct product theorems imply almost-tight Chernoff-type theorems. This extends our results to Chernoff-type theorems, and gives an alternative proof to the Chernoff-type theorem of Impagliazzo et al. [IJK09] for weakly-verifiable puzzles.
Pharmacokinetic targets of antiretroviral therapy in children and adolescents

Large populations of HIV-infected and exposed infants, children and adolescents are increasingly exposed to antiretroviral therapy throughout dramatic changes of the body composition and maturation process in utero, perinatally and during the later growth and development throughout childhood and puberty. The majority of HIV-infected children live in the resource-limited setting where the presence of other significant co-morbidities such as malnutrition, tuberculosis and malaria complicates the selection of the most effective, safe and least toxic combination of antiretroviral drug therapy. This review focuses on the role of the pharmacokinetic factors including clinically important drug-drug interactions on the therapeutic targets of antiretroviral therapy throughout childhood and adolescence. Proceedings of the 9 th International Workshop on Neonatology · Cagliari (Italy) · October 23 rd -26 th , 2013 · Learned lessons, changing practice and cutting-edge research
Synthesis and characterization of the cubic coordination cluster [CoIII6CoII2(IBT)12]14- (H3IBT = 4,5-bis(tetrazol-5-yl)imidazole)

Abstract A self-assembly reaction between the ditopic ligand 4,5-bis(tetrazol-5-yl)imidazole (H3IBT) and cobalt(II) chloride in basic aqueous medium afforded the mixed-valence molecular species ( NBu 4 ) 14 [ Co III 6 Co II 2 ( IBT ) 12 ] · 22 H 2 O (1). X-ray analysis of 1 revealed a cubic arrangement of six trivalent and two divalent cobalt ions, with the latter situated on opposing vertices along the cube diagonal. The cubic coordination cluster was further characterized by cyclic voltammetry, mass spectrometry, and magnetic measurements.
Femur fractures should not be considered distracting injuries for cervical spine assessment

Abstract Introduction The National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study (NEXUS) clinical decision rule is extremely sensitive for clearance of cervical spine (C-spine) injury in blunt trauma patients with distracting injuries. Objectives We sought to determine whether the NEXUS criteria would maintain sensitivity for blunt trauma patients when femur fractures were not considered a distracting injury and an absolute indication for diagnostic imaging. Methods We retrospectively analyzed blunt trauma patients with at least 1 femur fracture who presented to our emergency department as trauma activations from 2009 to 2011 and underwent C-spine injury evaluation. Presence of C-spine injury requiring surgical intervention was evaluated. Results Of 566 trauma patients included, 77 (13.6%) were younger than 18 years. Cervical spine injury was diagnosed in 53 (9.4%) of 566. A total of 241 patients (42.6%) had positive NEXUS findings in addition to distracting injury; 51 (21.2%) of these had C-spine injuries. Of 325 patients (57.4%) with femur fractures who were otherwise NEXUS negative, only 2 (0.6%) had C-spine injuries (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.2%-2.2%); both were stable and required no operative intervention. Use of NEXUS criteria, excluding femur fracture as an indication for imaging, detected all significant injuries with a sensitivity for any C-spine injury of 96.2% (95% CI, 85.9%-99.3%) and negative predictive value of 99.4% (95% CI, 97.6%-99.9%). Conclusions In our patient population, all significant C-spine injuries were identified by NEXUS criteria without considering the femur fracture a distracting injury and indication for computed tomographic imaging. Reconsidering femur fracture in this context may decrease radiation exposure and health care expenditure with little risk of missed diagnoses.
Anthropology in and of the academy: globalization, assessment and our field's future

In considering the challenges and opportunities likely to be faced by social anthropologists over the coming 20 years, this paper begins with a recognition of the critical role of institutional structures and processes, especially practices of evaluation and assessment, in the future trajectory of our discipline. The core of the article critically explores two general modalities of assessment and evaluation: deliberative processes, of which peer review is a classic example, and more formal techniques focused on particular quantitative indicators such as citation factors and impact analysis. The discussion draws upon ethnographic work on and from the midst of such bureaucratic sites, on tracking in some detail the conflation of descriptive and evaluative practice embedded in the forms of quantitative metrics, and on current critical examinations of both deliberative and analytical strategies. The article argues that deliberative, consultative peer review can lead to much more acute, textured and realistic outcomes for such reviews, whether of programmes or individuals, than can a reliance solely on bibliometrics. I also suggest that scholarly associations such as EASA have a particular role to play both in arguing for the value of serious collegial engagement in such work and in modelling, in ways with which social anthropologists are deeply familiar, how such qualitative reviewing might be responsibly and proactively pursued.
Parallel methods for real-time simulation of continuous systems

The authors explore the fields of digital continuous simulation and system modeling, highlighting areas in which efficiency can be improved by concentrating on how best to apply parallel processing techniques. They discuss a wide variety of parallel methods that can be applied to large-scale and complex continuous systems, forming a basis for real-time operation. A number of these techniques are being applied to the simulation of several real-world systems, including a guided-missile controller and the US Space Shuttle's main rocket engines. >
The Administration of Antithrombin III in the Management of Severe Preeclampsia: A Pilot Study

In severe preeclampsia/eclampsia a disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)-like syndrome is a prominent feature. Low levels of antithrombin III (AT-III; heparin cofactor) have been described in this syndrome. The objective of this pilot study is to determine whether the low levels of AT-III can be increased to normal by the intravenous administration of purified, concentrated, human AT-III. All patients entered into the study manifested thrombocytopenia, hemolytic anemia, coagulopathy, evidence of liver disease, and/or a bleeding diathesis. Each patient received a dose of AT-III equivalent to the amount in 3,000 ml of plasma. The levels of AT-III as measured by a functional assay were significantly increased (1.5–2x) following the initial 3,000 unit bolus of AT-III and prior to any other blood replacement therapy. The response of individual patients is proportional to the initial level of AT-III. In the control group there was no difference between the predelivery levels of AT-III and those obtained ...
In-stream tidal energy potential of Puget Sound, Washington

AbstractThe far-field, barotropic effects of in-stream tidal energy extraction from Puget Sound are quantified using a one-dimensional channel model. In-stream turbines are modelled in regions of e...
Intranasal beclomethasone inhibits antigen-induced nasal hyperresponsiveness to histamine.

To determine whether intranasal steroid treatment inhibits the increased sensitivity to histamine that occurs 24 hours after nasal antigen challenge, 12 allergic volunteers were entered into a double-blind study comparing placebo or 164 μg of beclomethasone dipropionate twice a day for 7 days. Beclomethasone dipropionate partially reduced the early mediator response to antigen and the influx of eosinophils 24 hours later. Comparing the initial histamine challenge with that done 24 hours after antigen with the subjects on placebo, there was a significant increase in sneezes, TAME-esterase activity, and albumin. Pretreatment with intranasal beclomethasone dipropionate resulted in a reduced response to histamine 24 hours after antigen challenge. A positive correlation occurred between the number of eosinophils in the lavage before histamine challenge and the level of TAME-esterase activity ( r =0.67, p=0.03) during the histamine challenge that followed antigen with the subjects on placebo. We thus confirmed the increase in nonspecific nasal airway responsiveness 24 hours after antigen challenge, with a concomitant increase in eosinophils, and demonstrate its inhibition by pretreatment with intranasal steroids.
Implementation of a team-based physician staffing model at an academic emergency department.

Introduction: There is scant literature regarding the optimal resident physician staffing model of academic emergency departments (ED) that maximizes learning opportunities. A department of emergency medicine at a large inner-city academic hospital initiated a team-based staffing model. Its pre-interventional staffing model consisted of residents and attending physicians being separately assigned patients, resulting in residents working with two different faculty providers in the same shift. This study aimed to determine if the post-interventional team-based system, in which residents were paired with a single attending on each shift, would result in improved residents’ learning and clinical experiences as manifested by resident evaluations and the number of patients seen. Methods: This retrospective before-and-after study at an academic ED with an annual volume of 52,000 patients examined the mean differences in five-point Likert-scale evaluations completed by residents assessing their ED rotation experiences in both the original and team-based staffing models. The residents were queried on their perceptions of feeling part of the team, decision-making autonomy, clinical experience, amount of supervision, quality of teaching, and overall rotational experience. We also analyzed the number of patients seen per hour by residents. Paired sample t-tests were performed. Residents who were in the program in the year preceding and proceeding the intervention were eligible for inclusion. Results: 34 of 38 eligible residents were included (4 excluded for lack of evaluations in either the pre- or post-intervention period). There was a statistically significant improvement in resident perception of the quality and amount of teaching, 4.03 to 4.27 (mean difference=0.24, p=0.03). There were non-statistically significant trends toward improved mean scores for all other queries. Residents also saw more patients following the initiation of the team-based model, 1.24 to 1.56 patients per hour (mean difference=0.32, p=0.0005). Conclusion: Adopting a team-based physician staffing model is associated with improved resident perceptions of quality and amount of teaching. Residents also experience a greater number of patient evaluations in a team-based model. [West J Emerg Med. 2014;15(6):-0]
Concurrent learning-based network synchronization

A data-driven concurrent learning-based control law is developed for the synchronization of a leader-follower network of agents with uncertain nonlinear dynamics wherein only a subset of the follower agents is connected to the leader. The development is facilitated by the use of online data-driven adaptive update policies to approximately learn a distributed control law which satisfies a given performance metric without the need for persistence of excitation (PE). A neighbor-decoupled control structure is introduced which provides greater flexibility in the consideration of individual neighbors during synchronization and makes the control of each agent a differential game.
Chilling-induced Ca2+ overload enhances production of active oxygen species in maize (Zea mays L.) cultured cells: the effect of abscisic acid treatment

Chilling (4 °C) induced a prolonged high level of intracellular Ca2+ (Ca2+ overload) and lipid peroxidation in maize (Zea mays L. cv Black Mexican Sweet) cultured cells. However, such Ca2+ overload and enhanced lipid peroxidation were not seen in abscisic acid (ABA)-treated cells, which had an improved chilling tolerance. A Ca2+ ionophore, A23187, caused Ca2+ overload in both ABA-treated maize cells and the untreated control, whereas an enhanced lipid peroxidation was detected only in the control. The high level of active oxygen species (AOS) in the control during chilling at 4 °C could be reduced by the presence of lanthanum (La3+), a Ca2+ channel blocker, in the medium. Moreover, both the A23187-induced lipid peroxidation and AOS production in the control could be reduced by extracellular EGTA, a Ca2+ chelator. Laser-scanning confocal microscopy revealed that mitochondria were one of the major AOS sources under chilling and during A23187 treatment. In vitro assays showed that superoxide production in isolated maize mitochondria was enhanced by the presence of Ca2+. Findings suggest that chilling-induced Ca2+ influx in the control triggers a marked generation of AOS, which in turn results in the enhanced lipid peroxidation. The ability of ABA-treated cells to avoid the chilling-induced Ca2+ influx may serve as a mechanism that prevents the chilling-induced oxidative stress and thus results in less chilling injury.
Sources, characteristics and effects of emerging technologies: Research opportunities in innovation

Abstract Diverse technological developments across information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and satellite communications technology are dramatically altering industry landscapes, with important economic and policy implications. Not surprisingly, therefore, managers are challenged to develop strategies to cope with the threats posed by emerging technologies and leverage the opportunities posed by them. Indeed, there is growing anecdotal evidence that firms' inabilities to cope with emerging technologies have produced high product and firm failure rates. From an academic perspective, I argue that emerging technologies have important distinctive features that have not been examined in current theory in marketing, and specifically, in organizational innovation. In this article, I identify several research questions that emerge from the sources, characteristics and effects of emergent technologies in the area of organizational innovation. Insights generated from such a line of inquiry have the potential to broaden the canvas of innovation theory and provide valuable insights to managers who confront these onerous challenges on a daily basis.
Temporal Trends (1992–2007) of Perfluorinated Chemicals in Northern Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) from South-Central Alaska

Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) have been detected in abiotic and biotic matrices worldwide, including the Arctic Ocean. Considering these chemicals’ persistent and bioaccumulative potentials, it was expected that levels of PFCs, like those of many legacy organic pollutants, would respond slowly to the restrictions in production and usage. Temporal trend studies in remote areas, such as the Arctic, can help determine the chronology of contamination and the response of the environment to regulations on PFCs. Prior to this study, temporal trends of PFCs in Alaskan coastal waters had not been examined. In the present study, concentrations of six PFCs were determined in livers of northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) collected from three areas in south-central Alaska (Prince William Sound, n = 36; Resurrection Bay, n = 7; Kachemak Bay, n = 34) from 1992 to 2007. Additionally, previously published profiles and concentrations of PFCs in southern sea otters from California and Asian sea otters from Kamchatka (Russia) were compared to our new data, to determine the geographical differences in PFC profiles among these three regions in the Pacific Ocean. Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA), and perfluorononanoate (PFNA) were the predominant PFCs found in the livers of northern sea otters from 1992 to 2007. Other PFCs, such as perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), perfluoroundecanoate (PFUnDA), and perfluorodecanoate (PFDA), were detected less frequently, and at low concentrations. Overall, from 2001 to 2007, a decrease in concentrations of PFOS was found in northern sea otters, suggesting an immediate response to the phase-out in 2000 of perfluorooctanesulfonyl-based compounds by a major producer in the United States. In contrast, concentrations of PFNA in northern sea otters increased by 10-fold from 2004 to 2007. These results indicate that the contribution by PFNA to ΣPFC concentrations is increasing in northern sea otters. The profiles (i.e., composition of individual PFC to ΣPFC concentration) of PFCs in northern sea otters from Alaska were similar to those reported for southern sea otters from California, but were considerably different from the profiles reported for Asian sea otters from Russia, suggesting differences in point sources of exposure.
The potential impact of antipsychotics on lipids in schizophrenia: is there enough evidence to confirm a link?

Lipid abnormalities are common in the general population and early data suggests that they may be more common in people with schizophrenia. Little data exist from treatment-naive patients making it difficult to differentiate any genetic contribution associated with a diagnosis of schizophrenia from the lifestyle risks associated with this diagnosis. Additional potential risks associated with antipsychotic drug treatment have been noted in the literature since 1971. The majority of the existing data on lipids derive from retrospective and cross-sectional analyses of datasets that have been designed for other purposes. Specifically screening bias for lipid testing and treatment selection bias are important potential confounders. Prospective clinical trials are difficult to interpret, as many are short-term, report on non-fasting data and were never designed to evaluate the differential effects of antipsychotic drugs on lipids as a primary endpoint. There is little reported data on lipid fractions such as LD...
Foiled Conjugation in α-Oximino Carbocations

The 4-CHNOCH3 group is a cation-stabilizing group when placed in the para-position of a cumyl cation. The effect of this group on cumyl cations when flanked by adjacent methyl groups has now been determined. Solvolysis rates of 3,5-(CH3)2-4-(CHNOCH3)cumyl trifluoroacetates are somewhat slower than that of 3,5-dimethylcumyl trifluoroacetate. This is attributed to steric inhibition of the cation-stabilizing resonance effect of the p-oximino group. In a 1-adamantyl system, where an α-oximino group has been placed directly adjacent to a developing cationic center, solvolysis rates relative to 1-adamantyl mesylate are slowed by a factor of 108. This is attributed a cation-destabilizing inductive effect where geometric constraints prevent stabilizing orbital overlap of the cationic center with the adjacent α-oximino group. This cation-destabilizing effect fades in the homoadamantyl and the bicyclo[3.3.1]nonyl systems, where rate-retarding effects are 1.6 × 104 and 1.5 × 102, respectively. The behavior of geomet...
Thermodynamic modeling of sensitization of AISI 304 stainless steels containing nitrogen

In this paper the effect of nitrogen is incorporated into the thermodynamic model by means of the free energy interaction coefficients of nitrogen with chromium and carbon. Results of electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation (EPR) tests and analytical electron microscopy (AEM) investigations in which the effects of nitrogen additions on the sensitization kinetics of AISI 304 stainless steels were investigated are also described. The calculations are compared with the experimental results, and used to propose a mechanism by which nitrogen additions affect the sensitization kinetics of AISI 304 stainless steels.
Places to Stand: The Practices and Politics of Writing Histories

This article situates itself within recent calls for rhetorical studies to expand its regional and cultural scope, offering an analysis of rhetorical constitution in republican Ecuador. Identifying the unavoidable ethical problems that arise when rhetoricians travel, the article argues for a flexible, learning-focused approach to rhetorical historiography that neither abandons existing rhetorical concepts nor rests easily in the face of their limitations. In light of the new insights that emerge when Burke's constitutional theories encounter Ecuador's complicated constitutional scene, the article suggests that our understandings of how rhetoric works can be tempered—both bent and strengthened—by displacement.
A LEED-AES study of the reconstructed Pt(110) surface and the effect of oxygen treatment

Abstract The Pt(110) crystal face has been studied by low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). The stable reconstructed (1 × 2) surface structure transforms, reversibly, to the (1 × 1) structure upon heating in vacuum to 830 ± 30°C. Ion bombardment at 25°C also stabilizes the metastable (1 × 1) surface structure which converts, irreversibly and rapidly to the stable (1 × 2) structure upon heating in vacuum at 800°C) result in the appearance of new (1 × 3), (1 × 5) and (“1 × 7”) surface structures while oxygen remains undetectable by AES. Adsorbed CO causes the (1 × 2) → (1 × 1) transformation while it does not affect the (1 × 3) surface structure.
Soil properties and tree species drive ß-diversity of soil bacterial communities

A challenge in ecology and biogeography is to understand the drivers of the composition and distribution of biological communities. Environmental factors (especially pH) and dispersal limitation are thought to exert the primary controls on the composition of soil bacterial communities. However, quantifying their relative importance remains difficult because of analytical uncertainties. For example, the relationship between bacterial community composition and soil pH, which is often nonlinear, is typically evaluated with a linear test and without accounting for variability in rates of turnover along environmental gradients. Furthermore, potential drivers of variation in soil pH, and therefore bacterial community composition, are not commonly analyzed during microbial biogeographical studies. To address these issues we collected 700 soil samples across multiple spatial scales from beneath four late-successional tree species within 12 forests in the eastern United States. We performed high-throughput sequencing of 16S rDNA amplicons and measured soil properties thought to influence soil bacterial composition. Generalized Dissimilarity Modeling, a non-linear form of matrix regression, indicated that geographic distance and soil properties explained 77.3% of the deviance in turnover in overall bacterial community composition. However, only 2.1% of the explained deviance was attributable to geographic distance, indicating little contribution of dispersal limitation to bacterial s-diversity across scales of ∼1.7 m to >1000 km. Although 81.7% of the explained deviance in overall bacterial composition was attributable to soil properties, particularly soil pH, the magnitude and rate of compositional turnover varied among bacterial families across the pH gradient. The s-diversity of three dominant families (Bradyrhizobiaceae, Hyphomicrobiaceae and Burkholderia) was explained by neither soil properties nor geographic distance. Differences in soil pH between certain tree species likely led to distinct bacterial communities at several sites. Thus, shifts in soil pH, potentially as the result of shifts in tree composition, will likely have important consequences for the composition of soil bacterial communities.
Urinary tract anomalies in patients with hypospadias.

Summary— Fifty-five patients with hypospadias were reviewed. Intravenous urography was carried out on 80%. The incidence of upper urinary tract anomalies was 22%. This was independent of the severity of the hypospadias. Patients with hypospadias and undescended testis were reviewed as a separate group. The incidence of upper urinary tract anomaly here was 31%. Again, the incidence was not influenced by the severity of the hypospadias. None of the upper urinary tract anomalies required surgical intervention. It is concluded that routine IVU is not indicated in all cases of hypospadias.
Explicit calculation of layer absorption in radiative transfer computations by doubling methods

Abstract Formulae are derived which permit absorption to be obtained directly, with very little additional computation, when the scattering matrices or functions for thick layers are being computed by doubling or similar superposition methods.
Empirical evaluation of data transformations and ranking statistics for microarray analysis

There are many options in handling microarray data that can affect study conclusions, sometimes drastically. Working with a two-color platform, this study uses ten spike-in microarray experiments to evaluate the relative effectiveness of some of these options for the experimental goal of detecting differential expression. We consider two data transformations, background subtraction and intensity normalization, as well as six different statistics for detecting differentially expressed genes. Findings support the use of an intensity-based normalization procedure and also indicate that local background subtraction can be detrimental for effectively detecting differential expression. We also verify that robust statistics outperform t-statistics in identifying differentially expressed genes when there are few replicates. Finally, we find that choice of image analysis software can also substantially influence experimental conclusions.
Self-Assessment in Schizophrenia: Accuracy of Evaluation of Cognition and Everyday Functioning

Objective Self-assessment deficits, often referred to as impaired insight or unawareness of illness, are well established in people with schizophrenia. There are multiple levels of awareness, including awareness of symptoms, functional deficits, cognitive impairments, and the ability to monitor cognitive and functional performance in an ongoing manner. The present study aimed to evaluate the comparative predictive value of each aspect of awareness on the levels of everyday functioning in people with schizophrenia.
Hydrogeologic controls of surface-water chemistry in the Adirondack region of New York State

Relationships between surface-water discharge, water chemistry, and watershed geology were investigated to evaluate factors affecting the sensitivity of drainage waters in the Adirondack region of New York to acidification by atmospheric deposition. Instantaneous discharge per unit area was derived from relationships between flow and staff-gage readings at 10 drainage basins throughout the region. The average chemical composition of the waters was assessed from monthly samples collected from July 1982 through July 1984. The ratio of flow at the 50-percent exceedence level to the flow at the 95-percent exceedence level of flow duration was negatively correlated with mean values of alkalinity or acid-neutralizing capacity (ANC), sum of basic cations (SBC), and dissolved silica, for basins containing predominantly aluminosilicate minerals and little or no carbonate-bearing minerals. Low ratios are indicative of systems in which flow is predominately derived from surface- and ground-water storage, whereas high ratios are characteristic of watersheds with variable flow that is largely derived from surface runoff. In an evaluation of two representative surface-water sites, concentrations of ANC, SBC, and dissolved silica, derived primarily from soil mineral weathering reactions. decreased with increasing flow. Furthermore, the ANC was highest at low flow when the percentage of streamflow derived from ground water was maximum. As flow increased, the ANC decreased because the contribution of dilute surface runoff and lateral flow through the shallow acidic soil horizons to total flow increased. Basins having relatively high ground-water contributions to total flow, in general, have large deposits of thick till or stratified drift. A major factor controlling the sensitivity of these streams and lakes to acidification is the relative contribution of ground water to total discharge.
The Use of Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy in Patients With Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women. Nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) offers the opportunity to preserve the breast envelope and the nipple-areolar complex by removing only breast tissue and avoiding multiple surgical procedures for reconstruction. The objective of this article is to review the oncologic and surgical concerns with NSM, along with the appropriate selection of patients and potential postoperative complications. A review of the literature was conducted through MEDLINE®, PubMed, and Google Scholar, focusing on recent research. The findings revealed that although the oncologic safety of NSM continues to be debated, indications are strong that cancer recurrence rates are low and the aesthetic motivation is high for carefully screened patients. From those findings, considerations for patient education regarding risks and expectations are described. Nurses in a variety of cancer care settings can use this information to address the concerns of patients making decisions regarding surgical options and adjusting to postoperative body image expectations and changes.
In vitro activity in deptomycin (LY-146032) compared with other antimicrobial agents against gram-positive cocci.

Abstract A comparison was made of the activity of deptomycin (LY-146032) with that of ampicillin, cephalexin, cefamandole, cephalothin, erythromycin, teicoplanin, tetracycline, and vancomycin. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MICs) for ⩾ 90% of 356 Gram-positive cocci, against deptomycin, were ⩽ 2 μ g/ml. The MICs for the other antimicrobials varied greatly depending on the compound. A slight and unexplained inoculum effect was observed for LY-146032.
Clinical correlates of long-term mortality after percutaneous interventions of saphenous vein grafts.

Background Increasing number of patients undergo percutaneous intervention of saphenous vein grafts (SVGs). However, the clinical factors associated with long-term mortality after SVG interventions are currently less known. Accordingly, the goal of present study was to evaluate clinical correlates of long-term mortality and to develop a simple bedside tool for risk stratification in patients undergoing SVG interventions. Methods We analyzed 1019 patients undergoing SVG interventions from the Duke Cardiovascular Disease Database (1986-2003). Cox proportional hazards model was used to identify baseline variables associated with long-term mortality, and the model variables were then used to construct a nomogram for survival probability at 4 years. Results At a median follow-up of 4 years, 24% of those undergoing SVG interventions died (interquartile range 2-7 years). Independent correlates of death at follow-up on multivariable analysis included presenting heart rate (hazard ratio [HR] 1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.03), diabetes (HR 1.73, 95% CI 1.37-2.18), presenting heart failure (HR 1.62, 95% CI 1.27-2.06), age (per 10-year increase, HR 1.29, 95% CI 1.13-1.46), peripheral vascular disease (HR 1.59, 95% CI 1.23-2.04), renal insufficiency (HR 2.01, 95% CI 1.36-2.97), patent internal mammary graft (HR 0.67, 95% CI 0.53-0.86), body mass index ≤25 kg/m 2 (HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.85-0.97), carotid bruit (HR 1.44, 95% CI 1.12-1.85), S 3 ventricular gallop (HR 1.83, 95% CI 1.11-3.03), and hypertension (HR 1.38, 95% CI 1.04-1.83) (c-index 0.83). Bootstrap validation confirmed excellent internal validity of the model (mean c-index 0.84, 95% CI 0.80-0.85). Conclusion Long-term survival after SVG intervention is poor, with one fourth of patients dying at median follow-up of 4 years. The nomogram developed using the model variables provides a method for clinicians to advise patients undergoing SVG interventions regarding their long-term prognosis, thereby enhancing discharge and long-term follow-up planning and setting up of realistic expectations.