cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Absence of BLM leads to accumulation of chromosomal DNA breaks during both unperturbed and disrupted S phases

Bloom's syndrome (BS), a disorder associated with genomic instability and cancer predisposition, results from defects in the Bloom's helicase (BLM) protein. In BS cells, chromosomal abnormalities such as sister chromatid exchanges occur at highly elevated rates. Using Xenopus egg extracts, we have studied Xenopus BLM (Xblm) during both unperturbed and disrupted DNA replication cycles. Xblm binds to replicating chromatin and becomes highly phosphorylated in the presence of DNA replication blocks. This phosphorylation depends on Xenopus ATR (Xatr) and Xenopus Rad17 (Xrad17), but not Claspin. Xblm and Xenopus topoisomerase IIIα (Xtop3α) interact in a regulated manner and associate with replicating chromatin interdependently. Immunodepletion of Xblm from egg extracts results in accumulation of chromosomal DNA breaks during both normal and perturbed DNA replication cycles. Disruption of the interaction between Xblm and Xtop3α has similar effects. The occurrence of DNA damage in the absence of Xblm, even without any exogenous insult to the DNA, may help to explain the genesis of chromosomal defects in BS cells.
Efficiency in Partnerships with Joint Monitoring

Abstract This paper examines deterministic partnerships where a single partner observes the actions taken by a subset of the other partners and issues a report conditional on that observation. No other partner has any additional information. In such a model, whenever the observing partner can see the action chosen by at least one other partner, the efficient action vector can be sustained in a perfect Bayesian equilibrium by sharing rule that exhibits budget balance and limited liability. Journal of Economic Literature classification numbers: C7, D7, D8, L2
Uterine muscle as a potential target of polychlorinated biphenyls during pregnancy.

Abstract Because of their once-popular commercial uses, improper disposal and environmental persistence, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are common environmental contaminants found in many designated Superfund sites. Several epidemiology studies associated PCB exposure with decreased length of gestation. Recent laboratory studies, described in this review, examined PCB actions in uterine muscle in order to investigate mechanisms by which PCBs may stimulate early onset of parturition. Because increased frequency, force and coordination of oscillatory uterine contractions are the defining characteristics of parturition, the laboratory studies used uterine muscle tissue and cells to study PCB actions on uterine contraction. Acute in vitro exposures to commercial PCB mixtures and microbially dechlorinated commercial PCB mixtures increased the frequency of spontaneous oscillatory contractions of uteri from pregnant rats. Increased uterine stimulation was observed with PCB mixtures containing increased abundance of lesser-chlorinated, ortho-substituted congeners. Similarly, in vitro exposures to PCB congeners increased the frequency of spontaneous uterine oscillatory contractions in a structurally related manner, with ortho-substitution of four or fewer chlorines associated with increased stimulation. Moreover, inhibitors of phospholipase A2 prevented stimulation of oscillatory uterine contractions by the commercial PCB mixture Aroclor 1242, suggesting involvement of arachidonic acid in the Aroclor 1242-induced stimulation. Acute exposure to a hydroxylated estrogenic PCB inhibited uterine contraction acutely, but a 42-h exposure increased uterine sensitivity to the uterotonic hormone oxytocin in a manner similar to 17β-estradiol, suggesting an estrogenic mechanism by which some PCBs could decrease gestation length. These studies show that PCBs stimulate uterine contraction in vitro, providing biologically plausible mechanisms in support of previous epidemiology findings associating PCB exposure with decreased gestation length. Further conclusions regarding human health should be considered in the context of human exposure and the experimental limitations of the in vitro studies.
Special Section Introduction: Best Practices in Risk and Crisis Communication

Secretary Tommy Thompson shockingly revealed on December 3, 2004, “I, for the life of me, cannot understand why the terrorists have not attacked our food supply because it is so easy to do” (Branig...
Dynamic modules in higher-order languages

Providing programmers the ability to construct meaningful abstractions to help manage complexity is a serious language design issue. Many languages define a module system that can be used to specify distinct namespaces, and build user-defined data abstractions; however, few languages support dynamic modules, i.e., modules which are true first-class objects. We define a module semantics for a dialect of Scheme called Rascal. Modules are defined in terms of reified environments, and are first-class objects which may be dynamically created, freely assigned, used as arguments to procedures, etc. If defined naively, however, implementing modules using environments can entail the capture of unwanted bindings, leading to potentially severe violations of lexical abstraction and locality. We address these concerns by giving users great flexibility to manipulate environments, and to constrain the extent and scope of the environment reification process. We argue that the techniques and operators developed define a cohesive and semantically sound basis for building large-scale modular systems in dynamically-typed higher-order languages. >
Molecular cloning of ovine endothelial nitric oxide synthase and expression in COS-7 cells.

While studies of human and bovine endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) demonstrate activation by Ca2+ /calmodulin, recent progress demonstrates that eNOS phosphorylation can alter sensitivity to intracellular free calcium ([Ca2+]i). The sheep, however, is widely used as a model for cardiovascular adaptation to pregnancy and ovine uterine artery endothelial cell (UAEC) eNOS undergoes pregnancy-specific (P) enhancement of activity associated with increased Ca2+ and protein kinase signaling in response to a number of agonists, including adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The degree of homology between the ovine and human full-length cDNAs was not previously known and yet is necessary to determine the validity in using an ovine model to study human physiology. The objectives of this study were to isolate and validate the clone of ovine eNOS cDNA and investigate ovine eNOS activation when expressed in COS-7 cells. The ovine eNOS cDNA has high homology to published human and bovine sequences and shares identity with the bovine amino acid sequence. When ovine eNOS was transiently expressed in COS-7 cells (COS-7/oeNOS), A23187 increased specific catalytic activity in a dose- and time-dependent manner. A23187-stimulated activation of eNOS was, however, also accompanied by phosphorylation of eNOS S1179 and dephosphorylation of T497, demonstrating that an increase in [Ca2+]i may not be the sole mechanism of activation. The physiologic relevance of this was further underscored by the finding that ATP dosedependently increased peak [Ca2+]i and eNOS activity in COS-7/oeNOS, but also increased eNOS p-S1179 and decreased p-T497. This finding was similar to those in ovine P-UAEC treated with the Ca2+ -mobilizing agonist ATP, wherein activation of eNOS was again concomitant with a rise p-Sl 179 as well as a slight decrease in p-T497. In conclusion, we describe the full-length ovine eNOS cDNA sequence and show that both physiologic and nonphysiologic calcium-mobilizing agents, which activate ovine eNOS in COS-7 and P-UAEC, do so in association with changes in eNOS phosphorylation. Given this information we can now begin to dissect the relationship between Ca2+ elevation and specific phosphorylation events in eNOS activation in the ovine model, and thereby gain insight into the possible basis for pregnancy-related dysfunction.
In vivo laser cartilage reshaping with carbon dioxide spray cooling in a rabbit ear model: a pilot study.

Author(s): Kuan, Edward C; Hamamoto, Ashley A; Sun, Victor; Nguyen, Tony; Manuel, Cyrus T; Protsenko, Dmitry E; Wong, Brian JF; Nelson, J Stuart; Jia, Wangcun | Abstract: Background/objectivesSimilar to conventional cryogen spray cooling, carbon dioxide (CO2) spray may be used in combination with laser cartilage reshaping (LCR) to produce cartilage shape change while minimizing cutaneous thermal injury. Recent ex vivo evaluation of LCR with CO2 cooling in a rabbit model has identified a promising initial parameter space for in vivo safety and efficacy evaluation. This pilot study aimed to evaluate shape change and cutaneous injury following LCR with CO2 cooling in 5 live rabbits.Study design/materials and methodsThe midportion of live rabbit ears were irradiated with a 1.45 µm wavelength diode laser (12 J/cm(2)) with simultaneous CO2 spray cooling (85 millisecond duration, 4 alternating heating/cooling cycles per site, 5 to 6 irradiation sites per row for 3 rows per ear). Experimental and control ears (no LCR) were splinted in the flexed position for 30 days following exposure. A total of 5 ears each were allocated to the experimental and control groups.ResultsShape change was observed in all irradiated ears (mean 70 ± 3°), which was statistically different from control (mean 37 ± 11°, P = 0.009). No significant thermal cutaneous injury was observed, with preservation of the full thickness of skin, microvasculature, and adnexal structures. Confocal microscopy and histology demonstrated an intact and viable chondrocyte population surrounding irradiated sites.ConclusionsLCR with CO2 spray cooling can produce clinically significant shape change in the rabbit auricle while minimizing thermal cutaneous and cartilaginous injury and frostbite. This pilot study lends support for the potential use of CO2 spray as an adjunct to existing thermal-based cartilage reshaping modalities. An in vivo systematic evaluation of optimal laser dosimetry and cooling parameters is required.
A wet, heterogeneous lunar interior: Lower mantle and core dynamo evolution

While recent analyses of lunar samples indicate the Moon had a core dynamo from at least 4.2–3.56 Ga, mantle convection models of the Moon yield inadequate heat flux at the core-mantle boundary to sustain thermal core convection for such a long time. Past investigations of lunar dynamos have focused on a generally homogeneous, relatively dry Moon, while an initial compositionally stratified mantle is the expected consequence of a postaccretionary lunar magma ocean. Furthermore, recent re-examination of Apollo samples and geophysical data suggests that the Moon contains at least some regions with high water content. Using a finite element model, we investigate the possible consequences of a heterogeneously wet, compositionally stratified interior for the evolution of the Moon. We find that a postoverturn model of mantle cumulates could result in a core heat flux sufficiently high to sustain a dynamo through 2.5 Ga and a maximum surface, dipolar magnetic field strength of less than 1 μT for a 350-km core and near ∼2 μT for a 450-km core. We find that if water was transported or retained preferentially in the deep interior, it would have played a significant role in transporting heat out of the deep interior and reducing the lower mantle temperature. Thus, water, if enriched in the lower mantle, could have influenced core dynamo timing by over 1.0 Gyr and enhanced the vigor of a lunar core dynamo. Our results demonstrate the plausibility of a convective lunar core dynamo even beyond the period currently indicated by the Apollo samples.
Estimating the sky map in gamma-ray astronomy with a Compton telescope

The author offers a formal mathematical formulation of the problem of estimating the sky-map from low-level Compton telescope data. A structured approach is used to derive an iterative algorithm, termed the EM ML (expectation-maximization maximum-likelihood) algorithm, which yields the rigorously optimal estimate of the sky-map given the formulation. The EM ML algorithm converges to the global maximum of the likelihood function, resulting in a true maximum likelihood estimate of the sky map. The result is rigorously optimal given the Poisson assumption. Initial Monte Carlo simulations indicate that maximum likelihood estimation of the sky map may offer improved contrast and all ability to resolve multiple sources within a diffuse background. The computational requirements of the EM ML algorithm are, however, roughly 60 times greater than that of the event circle method. >
Interday reliability of peak muscular power outputs on an isotonic dynamometer and assessment of active trunk control using the chop and lift tests

Abstract Context: Assessment techniques used to measure functional tasks involving active trunk control are restricted to linear movements that lack the explosive movements and dynamic tasks associ...
Expression profiles of differentially regulated genes during the early stages of apple flower infection with Erwinia amylovora

To identify genes involved in the response to the fire blight pathogen Erwinia amylovora in apple (Malus×domestica), expression profiles were investigated using an apple oligo (70-mer) array representing 40, 000 genes. Blossoms of a fire blight-susceptible apple cultivar Gala were collected from trees growing in the orchard, placed on a tray in the laboratory, and spray-inoculated with a suspension of E. amylovora at a concentration of 10(8) cfu ml(-1). Uninoculated detached flowers served as controls at each time point. Expression profiles were captured at three different time points post-inoculation at 2, 8, and 24 h, together with those at 0 h (uninoculated). A total of about 3500 genes were found to be significantly modulated in response to at least one of the three time points. Among those, a total of 770, 855, and 1002 genes were up-regulated, by 2-fold, at 2, 8, and 24 h following inoculation, respectively; while, 748, 1024, and 1455 genes were down-regulated, by 2-fold, at 2, 8, and 24 h following inoculation, respectively. Over the three time points post-inoculation, 365 genes were commonly up-regulated and 374 genes were commonly down-regulated. Both sets of genes were classified based on their functional categories. The majority of up-regulated genes were involved in metabolism, signal transduction, signalling, transport, and stress response. A number of transcripts encoding proteins/enzymes known to be up-regulated under particular biotic and abiotic stress were also up-regulated following E. amylovora treatment. Those up- or down-regulated genes encode transcription factors, signaling components, defense-related, transporter, and metabolism, all of which have been associated with disease responses in Arabidopsis and rice, suggesting similar response pathways are involved in apple blossoms.
Pascal's Wager

A. Pascal's statement of his wager argument is couched in terms of the theory of probability and the theory of games, and the exposition is unclear and unnecessarily complicated. The following is a ‘creative’ reformulation of the argument designed to avoid some of the objections which have been or might be raised against the original.
Clean energy and extreme poverty: The cost burden of donated solar home lighting systems

People living in extreme poverty may not be able to afford donated solar home lighting systems. These systems improve quality of life but they may not lift people out of poverty. Users must participate in savings programs, maintain savings themselves, or be able to arrange credit to pay for substantial future costs, such as battery replacement. The monthly savings needed for component replacement in typical solar home systems is less than many rural households spent on candles or other lighting sources before the system was installed, reducing energy costs. However, some households cannot always afford to buy traditional lighting sources. In these cases, the solar home system may increase their energy cost burdens or force the systems to fail when components need replacement. Before implementing home lighting programs in poor communities, sponsors must realistically assess households' ability to pay the ongoing system costs necessary. If households will not be saving money by using solar lighting, the development agenda should be reviewed to determine if the provision of electricity is the most urgent need.
Inoculation of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus into Cotton

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is an economically important virus of many crops throughout the world. Cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., has previously been demonstrated to be susceptible to TSWV (1). During the fall of 1996, cotton was assayed as a potential host of TSWV, as it is an important early season host of thrips vectors of TSWV. Four commercial cotton varieties (DP 20, DP 52, DP 5409, and HS 46) were screened for susceptibility to four isolates of TSWV: two from tobacco, one from pineapple, and one from dahlia. Greenhouse-grown plants in the first true leaf stage were inoculated mechanically. Mean percent infection ranged from 20 to 33% (x = 27%) across all cotton varieties screened against all virus isolates 21 days post-inoculation. TSWV was recovered through mechanical inoculation from double antibody sandwich-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS ELISA) positive cotton leaves in 83% of indicator plants, Emilia sonchifolia (L.) DC. ex Wight. Individual cotton plants testing TSWV ELISA positive were held for an additional 28 days with 4% of these again testing virus positive. The four cotton varieties were tested in the cotyledon, one-leaf, and four-leaf stages for susceptibility to tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca Hinds, transmission of one TSWV isolate from tobacco. First instar thrips were obtained from an avirulent colony. Mean percent infection among all varieties assayed was 10, 63, and 5%, respectively, for the three developmental stages. Cotton appears to be most susceptible in the one-leaf developmental stage with potential to serve as a source for TSWV spread to other crops. Reference: (1) G. L. Schuster and R. S. Haliwell. Plant Dis. 78:100, 1994.
SPOTTED OWL HOME‐RANGE AND HABITAT USE IN YOUNG FORESTS OF WESTERN OREGON

Abstract To assess spotted owl use of young forests, we studied home-range sizes and habitat-use patterns of 24 adult northern spotted owls (Strix occidentalis caurina) on 2 sites in the Oregon Coast Range: the Elliott State Forest (ESF) and state forest lands in the Northern Coast Range (NCR). Conifer forests at ESF were characterized by a mixture of old, mature, and pole-sized conifer, similar to other areas occupied by spotted owls in western Oregon, USA. In contrast, conifer forests at NCR were younger than most other sites occupied by spotted owls in western Oregon and consisted primarily of conifers <80 years old. Broadleaf forest also was abundant (approx 22%) at both ESF and NCR. We used an information–theoretic approach and Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) to evaluate a priori hypotheses about spotted owl home-range sizes and habitat-use patterns on our study areas. Considering previous knowledge about habitat requirements of the species, we predicted that owls occupying sites with fewer old ...
The partitioning of nanoparticles to endothelium or interstitium during ultrasound-microbubble-targeted delivery depends on peak-negative pressure

Patients diagnosed with advanced peripheral arterial disease often face poor prognoses and have limited treatment options. For some patient populations, the therapeutic growth of collateral arteries (i.e. arteriogenesis) that bypass regions affected by vascular disease may become a viable treatment option. Our group and others are developing therapeutic approaches centered on the ability of ultrasound-activated microbubbles to permeabilize skeletal muscle capillaries and facilitate the targeted delivery of pro-arteriogenic growth factor-bearing nanoparticles. The development of such approaches would benefit significantly from a better understanding of how nanoparticle diameter and ultrasound peak-negative pressure affect both total nanoparticle delivery and the partitioning of nanoparticles to endothelial or interstitial compartments. Toward this goal, using Balb/C mice that had undergone unilateral femoral artery ligation, we intra-arterially co-injected nanoparticles (50 and 100 nm) with microbubbles, applied 1 MHz ultrasound to the gracilis adductor muscle at peak-negative pressures of 0.7, 0.55, 0.4, and 0.2 MPa, and analyzed nanoparticle delivery and distribution. As expected, total nanoparticle (50 and 100 nm) delivery increased with increasing peak-negative pressure, with 50 nm nanoparticles exhibiting greater tissue coverage than 100 nm nanoparticles. Of particular interest, increasing peak-negative pressure resulted in increased delivery to the interstitium for both nanoparticle sizes, but had little influence on nanoparticle delivery to the endothelium. Thus, we conclude that alterations to peak-negative pressure may be used to adjust the fraction of nanoparticles delivered to the interstitial compartment. This information will be useful when designing ultrasound protocols for delivering pro-arteriogenic nanoparticles to skeletal muscle.
Utilizing a test lab for wireless medical devices.

Changes in healthcare suggest that more and more medical devices will begin to utilize the information technology (IT) network infrastructure in the hospital, particularly the wireless network. Due to the increased risk of operating medical devices on the converged wireless IT network, there are multiple steps required to safely and effectively implement these types of devices. A key component of the implementation should be to perform testing of wireless devices for interference and functionality. In order to perform this testing, development of a test environment within the hospital is required. While recent focus has been on electromagnetic interference and the risk assessment and mitigation via IEC 80001-1— the new standard for the application of risk management for IT networks incorporating medical devices—more progress is needed in the development of a test lab and performance of testing within the hospital environment. There are many potential benefits of deploying medical devices on the wireless network; however, there are multiple risks, including loss of data or missed patient alarm notification due to a loss of wireless network connectivity. Testing can be vital in identifying and developing mitigations for these risks. Creating the Lab In order to create a test lab, a location first must be selected. In theory, an ideal wireless test environment would be shielded from all external sources of radio frequency (RF) interference. To achieve this goal, physical space and a substantial budget would be required. A stand-alone wireless network infrastructure would have to be developed in this shielded space to enable the connection and testing of any wireless medical devices. This type of test environment is impractical for clinical engineering use due to resource constraints and the inadequacy for realistic simulation of the true deployment environment. A more realistic and beneficial location to create the test lab would be a clinical engineering shop or a storage area in the basement of the hospital. The value of this type of location is that the physical space is relatively distant from clinical floors, thereby limiting the interference between the current patient-care equipment and the test lab and reducing the potential risk to either the device under test or to the devices on the clinical floor. It is also advantageous to be in the hospital in order to utilize a segregated portion of the network infrastructure that is already in place. Also, although a test lab in this environment would not be totally isolated About the Author
Forensic framework for honeypot analysis

The objective of this research is to evaluate and develop new forensic techniques for use in honeynet environments, in an effort to address areas where anti-forensic techniques defeat current forensic methods. The fields of Computer and Network Security have expanded with time to become inclusive of many complex ideas and algorithms. With ease, a student of these fields can fall into the thought pattern of preventive measures as the only major thrust of the topics. It is equally important to be able to determine the cause of a security breach. Thus, the field of Computer Forensics has grown. In this field, there exist toolkits and methods that are used to forensically analyze production and honeypot systems. To counter the toolkits, anti-forensic techniques have been developed. Honeypots and production systems have several intrinsic differences. These differences can be exploited to produce honeypot data sources that are not currently available from production systems. This research seeks to examine possible honeypot data sources and cultivate novel methods to combat anti-forensic techniques. In this document, three parts of a forensic framework are presented which were developed specifically for honeypot and honeynet environments. The first, TimeKeeper, is an inode preservation methodology which utilizes the Ext3 journal. This is followed with an examination of dentry logging which is primarily used to map inode numbers to filenames in Ext3. The final component presented is the initial research behind a toolkit for the examination of the recently deployed Ext4 file system. Each respective chapter includes the necessary background information and an examination of related work as well as the architecture, design, conceptual prototyping, and results from testing each major framework component.
Pressure Testing of Thick Reinforced Concrete Cell

The structural response to internal pressure (to 10 psig) of a thick reinforced concrete containment cell was tested. The experimental strains were measured with SR-4 strain gages and compared with analytical strains. The analytical strains were calculated by analyzing a longitudinal frame bent, a transverse frame bent, and a horizontal box frame. Satisfactory agreement was obtained. Apparent disagreement at re-entrant corners and openings is alleviated by the proper application of stress concentration factors. The frames and the whole cell behave elastically. The analysis based on the moment distribution method and on uncracked concrete sections is valid. Construction joints, if carefully made, can sustain tensile stresses at least as high as 1/3 of the concrete tensile strength.
Biases in grant proposal success rates, funding rates and award sizes affect the geographical distribution of funding for biomedical research

The ability of the United States to most efficiently make breakthroughs on the biology, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases requires that physicians and scientists in each state have equal access to federal research grants and grant dollars. However, despite legislative and administrative efforts to ensure equal access, the majority of funding for biomedical research is concentrated in a minority of states. To gain insight into the causes of such disparity, funding metrics were examined for all NIH research project grants (RPGs) from 2004 to 2013. State-by-state differences in per application success rates, per investigator funding rates, and average award size each contributed significantly to vast disparities (greater than 100-fold range) in per capita RPG funding to individual states. To the extent tested, there was no significant association overall between scientific productivity and per capita funding, suggesting that the unbalanced allocation of funding is unrelated to the quality of scientists in each state. These findings reveal key sources of bias in, and new insight into the accuracy of, the funding process. They also support evidence-based recommendations for how the NIH could better utilize the scientific talent and capacity that is present throughout the United States.
Reduction in Experimental Rat Caries by Fluorine

Dental research in the field of caries prevention received new impetus when Hoppert, Webber and Canniff1 experimentally produced dental caries in 90 to 100% of their rats by feeding them a diet, which although adequate nutritionally, consisted mainly of coarse corn particles. Their hypothesis was that the corn particles became impacted in the teeth and produced decay. Lilly2 obtained a 90% reduction in the incidence of dental decay by substituting commercial casein for the powdered whole milk (20% of the Hoppert, Webber and Canniff diet). The same year, Hodge, Luce-Clausen and Brown3 found that the commercial casein used by them was contaminated with fluorine (0.2%). It occurred to us that fluorine might be the factor producing the caries reduction in Lilly's experiments. Two major findings in the literature support this contention : (1) clinical observations by Dean and others4 give evidence of a reduction of caries in areas of endemic fluorisis (mottled enamel); (2) analyses made by Armstrong and Brekhu...
The adrenocortical response to stress in incubating magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus)

Circulating levels of glucocorticoids increase rapidly in response to capture and handling in many vertebrate species, which is indicative of the sensitivity of the hy- pothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis to a variety of acutely stressful events. We measured cir- culating levels of corticosterone at capture and after 25 min of handling and restraint in free- living Magellanic Penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) during their first two long incubation turns. Initial levels of corticosterone were higher for males than for females; however, levels of corticosterone after 25 min of handling and restraint increased throughout incubation and were higher for females than for males. These 25-min levels of corticosterone were negatively correlated with body mass and body condition. Initial levels of circulating corticosterone, however, were not associated with mass and did not change during the fast, except for an increase among three females that had been incubating the longest. The higher 25-min cor- ticosterone levels for females may be due to their lower body mass and longer fast during incubation. Magellanic Penguins appear to be more responsive to stress as fasting proceeds, suggesting that disturbances should be minimized when penguins have depleted fat stores.
Assessing Student-Learning Outcomes Within a Counselor Education Program Philosophy, Policy, and Praxis

Given that the 2009 Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) standards require programs to implement curricular changes based on assessment data, there is a...
Rheological and mechanical properties and interfacial stress development of composite cements modified with thio-urethane oligomers.

Objectives Thio-urethane oligomers have been shown to reduce stress and increase toughness in highly filled composite materials. This study evaluated the influence of thio-urethane backbone structure on rheological and mechanical properties of resin cements modified with a fixed concentration of the oligomers.
Adventitious Knots in Urethral Catheters: Report of 5 Cases

Urethral catheterization with 5 or 8F feeding tubes in 5 boys was complicated by stochastic knotting within the bladder thereby impeding removal. The common factor in these patients was insertion of excessive length within the bladder. Percutaneous endoscopic retrieval was done successfully in 1 child. This technique may avoid urethral trauma associated with catheter removal, particularly in younger boys.
Prevalence of Viable Lactobacillus acidophilus in Dried Commercial Products.

Samples of 27 dried acidophilus products used as dietary adjuncts for Lactobacillus acidophilus in humans, were enumerated for viable cells on plate count agar (PCA), MRS broth plus 1.5% agar (MRSA) and MRSA plus 0.15 % oxgall (MRSOA). Colony-forming units did not differ greatly on plating media because most viable cells formed colonies aerobically, anaerobically or in the presence of bile salts. Health food samples had very low numbers of viable cells and counts varied between samples from different lots. Only one of four brands from the health food group had viable L. acidophilus cells. Samples from this group had organisms other than lactobacilli, including coliforms and gram-negative, lactose-negative, motile rods. Most pharmaceutical and milk culture samples had high numbers of viable cells, but only two brands from pharmaceutical samples had viable cells of L. acidophilus . L. acidophilus strains were susceptible to drying, with vacuum drying being more lethal than freeze drying.
Structuring a Product Development Organization Based on the Product Architecture and Communication

This paper demonstrates a method to structure a complex system development organization based on both the product architecture and the technical communication exchange. This is accomplished using two DSM data sets – one documenting the component interfaces and another capturing the level of cross- functional communication. The clustering analysis utilizes a combined DSM that makes explicit any mismatches between the product and organization architectures and simultaneously clusters interactions in both dimensions.
Material Connections: “The Smithsonian Effect” in Anthropological Cataloguing

Museum curators led development of the discipline of anthropology in the late nineteenth century, and at the same time developed foundational systems for cataloguing cultural materials. Although entering and accessing catalogue information now relies on keyboards rather than inkwells, the earliest systems continue to influence our understanding of objects. Among the most influential of the early systems was that of the Smithsonian's United States National Museum (USNM), with its first anthropological catalogue entry dating to 1859. Analysis of the material culture of the ubiquitous catalogue books of American museums both before and after the establishment of the USNM system reveals its wide and lasting impact. This system normalized certain fields as essential and disciplined data accordingly, resisting alternate ideas about information offered by donors and by later developments in anthropology. While many museums have now moved through successive generations of information management systems, the effect of early data choices has seldom been examined.
Numerical investigation of 3D effects on a 2D-dominated shocked mixing layer

A nominally two-dimensional interface, unstable to the Rayleigh-Taylor or Richtmyer-Meshkov instability, will become three-dimensional at high Reynolds numbers due to the growth of background noise and 3D effects like vortex stretching. This three-dimensionality changes macroscopic features, such as the perturbation growth rate and mixing, as it enhances turbulent dissipation. In this study, a 2D perturbation with small-scale, 3D fluctuations is modeled using the hydrodynamics code Miranda. A Mach 1.95 shockwave accelerates a helium-over-SF6 interface, similar to the experiments of Motl et al. [“Experimental validation of a Richtmyer-Meshkov scaling law over large density ratio and shock strength ranges,” Phys. Fluids 21(12), 126102 (2009)], to explore the regime where a 2D dominated flow will experience 3D effects. We report on the structure, growth, and mixing of the post-shocked interface in 2D and 3D.
The effect of early nutrient restriction on subsequent compensatory growth in market turkeys

75 INTRODUCTION 77 MATERIALS AND METHODS 79 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 82 REFERENCES 97 SECTION III. EFFECT OF SEVERITY OF EARLY PROTEIN RESTRICTION AND REALIMENTATION ON LARGE TURKEY TOMS.. 1. PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS AND LEG WEAKNESS 100 ABSTRACT 102
Whole-exome sequencing identified a variant in EFTUD2 gene in establishing a genetic diagnosis.

Structured AbstractObjectives Craniofacial anomalies are complex and have an overlapping phenotype. Mandibulofacial Dysostosis and Oculo-Auriculo-Vertebral Spectrum are conditions that share common craniofacial phenotype and present a challenge in arriving at a diagnosis. In this report, we present a case of female proband who was given a differential diagnosis of Treacher Collins syndrome or Hemifacial Microsomia without certainty. Prior genetic testing reported negative for 22q deletion and FGFR screenings. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the critical role of whole-exome sequencing in establishing a genetic diagnosis of the proband. Setting and Sample Population The participants were 14½-year-old affected female proband/parent trio. Materials and Methods Proband/parent trio were enrolled in the study. Surgical tissue sample from the proband and parental blood samples were collected and prepared for whole-exome sequencing. Illumina HiSeq 2500 instrument was used for sequencing (125 nucleotide reads/84X coverage). Analyses of variants were performed using custom-developed software, RUNES and VIKING. Results Variant analyses following whole-exome sequencing identified a heterozygous de novo pathogenic variant, c.259C>T (p.Gln87*), in EFTUD2 (NM_004247.3) gene in the proband. Previous studies have reported that the variants in EFTUD2 gene were associated with Mandibulofacial Dysostosis with Microcephaly. Conclusion Patients with facial asymmetry, micrognathia, choanal atresia and microcephaly should be analyzed for variants in EFTUD2 gene. Next-generation sequencing techniques, such as whole-exome sequencing offer great promise to improve the understanding of etiologies of sporadic genetic diseases.
Corruptions of the Narcissism of History in Os cus de Judas , by António Lobo Antunes

This article explores the connections between history and love in Antonio Lobo Antunes’ Os cus de Juda s . It analyzes how the the effects of the war endured by the narrator go beyond post-traumatic stress disorder, the trauma wreaking unexpected consequences on the narrator’s desire and ego. The narrator cannot begin a meaningful relationship with any woman, nor can he identify himself with the Portuguese historical narrative. At the heart of this impossibility lies the narrator’s shredded self-image. Without an ego, the narrator loses his ability to insert himself in any sort of national narrative or identify with the set of images that compose it. Likewise, without a clear and defined image of himself, the narrator cannot narcissistically identify with any particular woman or fall in love.
Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration for staging of non-small cell lung cancer

Accurate staging for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is essential to guide therapy. While computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography (PET) scan can indicate whether mediastinal lymphadenopathy is present, histologic confirmation is required to complete the staging evaluation. Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a minimally invasive technique associated with similar diagnostic yield and improved postoperative pain and complication rates compared to mediastinoscopy. We share the surgical technique for EBUS-TBNA based on our experience. An 81-year-old man underwent EBUS-TBNA for concurrent tissue diagnosis and mediastinal staging of a hypermetabolic left lower lobe mass and subcarinal lymph node. Our patient had no perioperative complications and was discharged home on the same day. Histologic evaluation demonstrated squamous cell carcinoma in the left lower lobe and subcarinal lymph node. EBUS-TBNA provides histologic confirmation of suspicious mediastinal lymph nodes seen on imaging. Clinicians should consider EBUS-TBNA as a mediastinal staging modality for patients with NSCLC.
Preprocessing in matlab inconsistent linear system for a meaningful least squares solution

Mathematical models of many physical/statistical problems are systems of linear equations. Due to measurement and possible human errors/mistakes in modeling/data, as well as due to certain assumptions to reduce complexity, inconsistency (contradiction) is injected into the model, viz. the linear system. While any inconsistent system irrespective of the degree of inconsistency has always a least-squares solution, one needs to check whether an equation i.e. an information is too much inconsistent or, equivalently, too much contradictory. Such an equation will affect/distort the least-squares solution to such an extent that it becomes unacceptable/unfit to be used in a real-world application. We propose an algorithm, in Matlab, which (i) can detect and prune numerically redundant linear equations from the system, if necessary, as these do not add any new information to a non-least-squares model, although they do have significant impact in a least-squares model, (ii) detects contradictory linear equations along with a degree of contradiction (inconsistency index) and then (iii) obtain the minimum norm least-squares solution of the acceptably inconsistent reduced (pruned) linear system as well as that of non-reduced linear system without too contradictory equations. The resulting two solution vectors will be different in general and have important implication in a real-world environment. The algorithms presented in Matlab may reduce the computational and storage complexities and also may improve the accuracy of the solution. These also detect and provide the necessary warning if there exists a highly contradictory equation in the model. In addition, we suggest a thorough relook into the mathematical modeling to determine the reason why unacceptable contradiction has occurred thus prompting one to make necessary corrections/modifications to the models - both mathematical and, if necessary, physical. We will focus here mainly on the non-over-determined linear systems rather than over-determined systems which are often usually the case in a least-squares problem.
Oxidation Chemistry of CNS Indoles

The aromatic amino acid L-tryptophan (TPP) undergoes a variety of metabolic transformations in mammals which result in the formation of a large number of compounds in which the indole nucleus is retained1. A most important series of metabolic transformations occur in the central nervous system (CNS) where dietary TPP, which can cross the blood-brain barrier, is first converted to 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTPP) by the enzyme tryptophan hydroxylase which in turn is converted, by 5-hydroxytryptophan decarboxylase, to 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). Following the initial detection of 5-HT in brain2, 3 and because of its structural resemblence to certain psychoactive drugs4 the indoleamine began to be suspected of being a chemical neurotransmitter which, of course, it is now known to be. Among the presumed roles of 5-HT in the CNS are the regulation of body temperaature, sleep and certain emotional states5. The normal metabolic pathways for 5-HT are outlined in Figure 16–12, which clearly shows that many 5-hydroxylated indoles are formed. However, 5-HIAA is the major metabolite formed by this pathway. At about the time that 5-HT was first discovered in brain, suggestions began to appear in the literature that a defect in the normal CNS metabolism of 5-HT might in some way be related to certain types of pyschotic behavior13, 14.
Intergroup Relations, Social Psychology of

For purposes of this article, intergroup relations will be defined in accord with Sherif's classic (1962) definition of intergroup behavior, i.e., ‘individuals belonging to one group interacting, collectively or individually, with another group or its members in terms of their group identification….’ This definition helps to distinguish the topic of intergroup relations from related work on stereotypes, stereotyping, and prejudice as individual-level processes. Within social psychology, theory and research on intergroup relations encompasses two major research traditions. The first is research related to the ‘contact hypothesis,’ which includes both laboratory experiments and field studies of the effects of intergroup contact, cooperation, and competition. The classic studies in this area include Sherif's (1961) field experiment in an Oklahoma summer camp and field studies of housing desegregation in the US in the 1950s. More recent research to be reviewed involves experimental studies in the laboratory and in classrooms on the effects of cooperative contact on the reduction of intergroup prejudice. The second research tradition is work related to the study of ethnocentrism and ‘ingroup bias,’ including experiments on the ‘minimal intergroup situation’ developed by Tajfel and his colleagues in Bristol, UK (1970). The literature to be reviewed here encompasses experimental and field research on the causes and consequences of ingroup favoritism and ingroup–outgroup differentiation. The final section of the article reviews recent work that integrates the contact hypothesis and theories of ingroup bias to develop interventions for reducing intergroup prejudice and discrimination.
Axion Haloscopes: Moving from Microwaves to Mm-Waves

The axion is a well-motivated dark matter candidate particle. Axions are expected to convert to photons in the presence of a strong magnetic field. This photon signal can be enhanced using resonant electromagnetic cavities. Current experiments are searching for axions in the microwave regime, but the possible axion mass range extends to much higher frequencies. This work will discuss the use of microwave cavities in current experiments as well as the challenges and possible approaches to moving to the mm-wave and THz regimes in the future.
Local Management of Enteroatmospheric Fistulae

Enteroatmospheric (EA) fistula is a dreaded complication of abdominal surgery that is becoming increasingly common with the use of abdominal damage control procedures. Fistula isolation is imperative for effective management. Management of EA fistulas requires characterization of the fistula location and output as well as understanding and mitigating contributing factors. The goal of EA fistula management, prior to surgical management, is isolation and conversion of the EA fistula into an enterocutaneous fistula using wound coverage and grafting techniques in order to simplify wound management. Operative intervention to excise EA or enterocutaneous fistulae should be done electively, several months after the index operation in order to minimize complications due to adhesive disease.