cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A quality improvement project significantly increased the vaccination rate for immunosuppressed patients with IBD.

BACKGROUND Immunosuppressed patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at risk for vaccine preventable illnesses. Our aim was to develop a quality improvement intervention to measure and improve the proportion of immunosuppressed IBD patients receiving recommended vaccinations. METHODS Using a Plan-Do-Study-Act quality improvement model, a process was developed to improve the proportion of patients with immunosuppressed IBD receiving recommended vaccinations. A 1-page vaccine questionnaire was developed and distributed to consecutive patients being seen in the IBD clinic during influenza season. If recommended vaccines were due, patients were offered and given vaccines by a nurse at that visit. After a period of observation, a second Plan-Do-Study-Act was performed and processes were improved. Data were collected and analyzed using simple descriptive statistics, Pearson's chi-square, and analysis of means. RESULTS Over a 10-week period, 184 patients were included in the intervention. Eighty-four of these patients (46%) were receiving immunosuppressant medications. Of these 84 patients, 45 (54%) had received an influenza vaccination in the previous year and 26 (31%) had received a pneumococcal vaccination within the previous 5 years. After the quality improvement intervention, the rate increased to 81% for influenza (P < 0.001) and 54% for pneumococcal vaccination (P < 0.001). An analysis of means confirms a significant change from the overall mean before and after the intervention. CONCLUSIONS The vaccination rate for a high-risk IBD population was significantly improved using a quality improvement intervention. A similar approach can be taken for other processes associated with improved quality of care.
Girl helpers and time allocation of nursing women among the Toba of Argentina

In this paper we outline the activities of young girls in a Toba community of northern Argentina and examine the effect of girl helpers on time allocation of nursing women. Activity budgets were obtained for 41 girls aged 3 to 15 using spot observations. Girls spent substantial portions of observations engaged in helping behaviors. Individual values varied with age, anthropometric characteristics, and birth order. Activity budgets of 21 nursing women were obtained through focal observation sessions. Women living in households with girls aged 7 to 15 allocated 17% less time to domestic work and 9% more time to socializing during afternoon observation sessions. For nursing women in this community, direct childcare (provided by the infant’s own mother) seemed to be a priority. Living with a girl helper did not have any measurable effect on the frequency or duration of nursing, or on the time that women spent caring for their infants. Based on these findings, hypotheses are outlined for future work on the effect of girl helpers on women’s fertility.
Spatial Patterns in a Bioindicator: Heavy Metal and Selenium Concentration in Eggs of Herring Gulls ( Larus argentatus ) in the New York Bight

Concentrations of selenium and five heavy metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, and manganese) in the eggs of herring gulls (Larus argentatus) were studied at six breeding colonies in the New York Bight to detect locational differences and to explore their use as a bioindicator of point source or nonpoint source pollution. The herring gull is widespread in North America, Europe, and Asia, and has urban-adapted counterparts in the southern hemisphere as well. We anticipated that the chromium contamination at Jersey City and high levels of manganese in industrial releases to the Passaic River would be reflected in the nearest colony (Shooter's Island), and that lead contamination from bridge remediation would be apparent in the Jamaica Bay colonies. There were significant locational differences in all metal levels, although the patterns were not the same for all metals. Shooter's Island in Newark Bay ranked first or second for five of the elements, but inexplicably had the lowest mercury level. Cadmium levels were highest at Canarsie Pol in Jamaica Bay, but mercury levels were highest at the relatively isolated Lavallette colony in northern Barnegat Bay. Chromium and manganese levels were indeed highest at Shooter's Island, but the lead levels in Jamaica Bay were only intermediate. We predicted that the essential trace elements, manganese, chromium, and selenium, which are known to be present at relatively high concentrations in various animal species, would have relatively low coefficients of variation, reflecting homeostatic mechanisms. This was confirmed. In conclusion, herring gull egg contents can be used to monitor metal concentrations at nearby colonies to indicate areas of concern for particular metals. They may confirm suspected associations or identify hitherto unsuspected problems.
Thermo-photo-voltaic conversion from high temperature energy sources

The concept of a thermo-photo-voltaic (TPV) energy converter is introduced and the device compared with thermoelectric and thermionic converters. Features of the TPV converter are that the entire device is kept at room temperature, potential power densities on the order of 10 watts/cm3, and potential conversion efliciencies of 30 percent. Considerations for TPV converter design are presented and compared with solar cells. Use of geometry and thin-film optical filters to improve efficiency is discussed. For a germanium converter operating with a hot source in the neighborhood of 1600°C a p-i-n structure with the absorption taking place in the intrinsic base region is shown to give maximum efficiency. A measured efficiency of 4.23 percent on an experimental converter with 282 mw/cm2incident energy has been achieved.
Von “hinichen” und honorablen Sprachen: Variationen, ihre Linguistiken und verbale Deixissysteme

This essay addresses in general lines the issue of variance within some languages and how such variances are linked systematically, i.e., on the basis of some general abstract theoretical pattern, with the standard language. Several such variances are illustrated ranging from regiolects to sociolects of German, and it is shown what the abstract pattern is that serves as the base of description of the standard as well as the sociolectal and regiolectal variances. The main body of the text is dedicated to a specific criterion of variation, namely the deictic features in the grammars of COME and GO in German, English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. To the extent that the five languages deviate considerably from one another in choosing one against the other of the two verbs of motion, an inventory of sociopragmatic conditions has been uncovered which plays the guiding role in selecting deictic alternatives and which can be considered to be of universal status. The bottom line is that there are conditions, beyond those of semantic and grammatical selection, i.e., sociopragmatic ones which systematically determine choices from some well-conditioned lexical paradigms.
PREDICTING MICROEVOLUTIONARY RESPONSES TO DIRECTIONAL SELECTION ON HERITABLE VARIATION

Microevolution of quantitative traits in the wild can be predicted from a knowledge of selection and genetic parameters. Testing the predictions requires measurement of the offspring of the selected group, a requirement that is difficult to meet. We present the results of a study of Darwin's finches on the Galapagos island of Daphne Major where this requirement is met. The study demonstrates microevolutionary consequences of natural selection.
Structural and regulatory roles of muscle ankyrin repeat protein family in skeletal muscle

The biological response of muscle to eccentric contractions (ECs) results in strengthening and protection from further injury. However, the cellular basis for this response remains unclear. Previou...
OIL SPILL CONTROL TRAINING: TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY'S APPROACH

Developed initially by Texas A&M's Civil Engineering Department in 1974 through a grant from the American Petroleum Institute, the five-day oil spill control course was subsequently turned over to the Texas Engineering Extension Service for implementation . Currently the course is offered at facilities in Galvestion, Texas. Flexibility within the curriculum allows the course to be directed towards non-industry personnel as well as personnel directly involved in oil production. Techniques current in industrial education, such as the spiral-step method of instruction, are employed throughout the course. Also, the course emphasizes practical training and is unique in its hands-on capabilities. The curriculum, subject to keen scrutiny, is continuously improved and updated. Moreover, the success of this program has encouraged the development of other specialized and refresher courses.
Other Pilgrims in Leiden: Hugh Goodyear and the English Reformed Church

When the citizens of seventeenth-century Leiden spoke of “the English church here,” they referred in most cases to the English Reformed Church, not to the historically-famous church of the Pilgrim Fathers. In the first decades of the seventeenth century, the Dutch city of Leiden included a sizable English and Scottish community, but one divided into two distinct religious factions, namely the Separatist Pilgrims and the non-separating Reformed Church. The enthusiasm to celebrate the deeds of the Mayflower Pilgrims may obscure Leiden's larger community of British strangers and sojourners; and not Leiden alone, for the English churches of Leiden were but two of more than two dozen such churches in early seventeenth-century Netherlands. John Robinson and his congregation arrived at Leiden in 1609, two years after the older English-Scottish community of the city had begun its own church life.
The Adult Human Hand: Some Anthropometric and Biomechanical Considerations

Recent studies of the anthropometry and selected biomechanical characteristics of hands are summarized. These include: (1) conventional anthropometry of male and female hands, (2) the anthropometry of the relaxed hand, (3) comparison of certain engineering anthropometric and performance parameters between bare and pressure-gloved hands, and (4) the ability to retain grips on selected handles under high dynamic loads. The utility of these data for human factors engineering is discussed.
Pharmacokinetics of ketamine in plasma and milk of mature Holstein cows.

Sellers, G., Lin, H. C., G. Riddell, M. G., Ravis, W. R., Lin, Y. J., Duran, S. H., Givens, M.D. Pharmacokinetics of ketamine in plasma and milk of mature Holstein cows. J. vet. Pharmacol. Therap. 33, 480–484. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of ketamine in mature Holstein cows following administration of a single intravenous (i.v.) dose. Plasma and milk concentrations were determined using a high-performance liquid chromatography assay. Pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated using a noncompartmental method. Following i.v. administration, plasma Tmax was 0.083 h and plasma Cmax was 18 135 ± 22 720 ng/mL. Plasma AUC was 4484 ± 1,398 ng·h/mL. Plasma t½β was 1.80 ± 0.50 h and mean residence time was 0.794 ± 0.318 h with total body clearance of 1.29 ± 0.70 L/h/kg. The mean plasma steady-state volume of distribution was calculated as 0.990 ± 0.530 L/kg and volume of distribution based on area was calculated as 3.23 ± 1.51 L/kg. The last measurable time for ketamine detection in plasma was 8.0 h with a mean concentration of 24.9 ± 11.8 ng/mL. Milk Tmax was detected at 0.67 ± 0.26 h with Cmax of 2495 ± 904 ng/mL. Milk AUC till the last time was 6593 ± 2617 ng·h/mL with mean AUC milk to AUC plasma ratio of 1.99 ± 2.15. The last measurable time that ketamine was detected in milk was 44 ± 10.0 h with a mean concentration of 16.0 ± 9.0 ng/mL.
Seam-Tracking for Friction Stir Welded Lap Joints

This article presents a method for automatic seam-tracking in friction stir welding (FSW) of lap joints. In this method, tracking is accomplished by weaving the FSW tool back-and-forth perpendicular to the direction of travel during welding and monitoring force and torque signals. Research demonstrates the ability of this method to automatically track weld seam positions. Additionally, tensile and S-bend test result comparisons demonstrate that weaving most likely does not reduce weld quality. Finally, benefits of this weave-based method to FSW of lap joints are discussed and methods for incorporating it into existing friction stir welding control algorithms (such as axial load control) are examined.
Lipid-Modulated Sequence-Specific Association of Glycophorin A in Membranes

Protein association in lipid membranes is a complex process with thermodynamics directed by a multitude of different factors. Amino-acid sequence is a molecular parameter that affects dimerization as shown by limited directed mutations along the transmembrane domains. Membrane-mediated interactions are also important although details of such contributions remain largely unclear. In this study, we probe directly the free energy of association of Glycophorin A by means of extensive parallel Monte Carlo simulations with recently developed methods and a model that accounts for sequence-specificity while representing lipid membranes faithfully. We find that lipid-induced interactions are significant both at short and intermediate separations. The ability of molecules to tilt in a specific hydrophobic environment extends their accessible interfaces, leading to intermittent contacts during protein recognition. The dimer with the lowest free energy is largely determined by the favorable lipid-induced attractive interactions at the closest distance. Finally, the coarse-grained model employed herein, together with the extensive sampling performed, provides estimates of the free energy of association that are in excellent agreement with existing data.
Force spectroscopy of cell adhesion molecules

Cellular adhesion molecules are placed under force during the highly specific mechanical interactions that occur between proteins of the cell surface and extracellular matrix. In the authors' laboratory they have developed atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques to study the elastic properties of the extracellular matrix proteins at the single molecule level. The authors demonstrate that extracellular matrix proteins are elastic and that this elasticity involves reversible unfolding of single protein domains. Their data suggest that domain unfolding/refolding could be an important determinant of elasticity in extracellular matrix proteins and that the elastic properties of proteins could play role in cell-cell interactions. Furthermore, the authors have used protein engineering to construct tandem repeats of a single protein module and stretch it with the AFM. This strategy has allowed them to directly measure the unfolding and refolding rates of a single protein domain. They have compared these rates with chemical folding rates for untethered modules and found that the unfolding rates obtained by the two methods are the same. The authors' results demonstrate AFM as a unique tool to study the folding reactions of single protein domains and examine in unprecedented detail the molecular basis of protein elasticity.
Conversion Functions for Symmetric Key Ciphers

As a general design criterion, a symmetric key cipher should not be closed under functional composition due to the implications on the security of the cipher. However, there are scenarios in which this property is desirable and can be obtained without reducing the security of a cipher by increasing the computational workload of the cipher. We ex- pand the idea of a symmetric key cipher being closed under functional composition to a more general scenario where there exists a function that converts the ciphertext resulting from encryption under a speciflc key to the ciphertext correspond- ing to encryption with another key. We show how to perform such a conversion without exposing the plaintext. We dis- cuss the tradeofi between the computational workload and security, and the relationship between such conversions and proxy cryptography. We conclude with a discussion of some practical applications of our results.
Researching Anna’s Drawing The Pedagogical Composition of Concern

Recounting an experience that he had while researching the drawing practice of a three-year-old student, Anna, the author of this article attempts to linger with those subtle yet potent values that he and she accumulated over time and that they elected to remember, curate, wield, and ultimately fashion toward one another in order to institute the kind of change, resistance, understanding, and affirmation that was desired from one moment to the next. In doing so, the author of this article leverages into play an incessant questioning of how and why one’s pedagogical composition materializes and the extent to which it concerns itself with everyday life.
U.S. EPA's IRIS assessment of 2-butoxyethanol: the relationship of noncancer to cancer effects.

Abstract U.S. EPA's integrated risk information system (IRIS) assessment of 2-butoxyethanol (EGBE) indicates that the human carcinogenic potential of EGBE cannot be determined at this time, but that “suggestive evidence” for cancer exists from laboratory animal studies (hemangiosarcoma of the liver in male mice and forestomach squamous cell papilloma or carcinoma in female mice [National Toxicology Program (NTP), 2000a. Toxicology and carcinogenesis studies of 2-butoxyethanol (CAS no. 111-76-2) in F344/N rats and B6C3F1 mice (inhalation studies). National Toxicology Program Technical Report Series No. 484. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Washington, DC]). Since the last EGBE IRIS assessment, a number of studies have provided evidence that the carcinogenic effects observed in mice are nonlinear in their mode of action and may be dependent on threshold events such as EGBE-induced hemolytic effects. EPA is in the process of considering several questions relating to this issue. First, can a plausible mode of action be determined for the two types of tumors observed in mice? Second, are the mechanisms involved applicable to humans? If so, should the mode of action be considered to result in a linear or nonlinear dose–response? These questions will be addressed within the context of the agency's new cancer guidelines and with regard to how the answers might affect a revised IRIS assessment for EGBE.
Strategies for Addressing the Nursing Shortage: Coordinated Decision Making and Workforce Flexibility

In this article, we present strategies to help combat the U.S. nursing shortage. Key considerations include providing an attractive work schedule and work environment—critical issues for retaining existing nurses and attracting new nurses to the profession—while at the same time using the set of available nurses as effectively as possible. Based on these ideas, we develop a model that takes advantage of coordinated decision making when managing a flexible workforce. The model coordinates scheduling, schedule adjustment, and agency nurse decisions across various nurse labor pools, each of differing flexibility levels, capabilities, and costs, allowing a much more desirable schedule to be constructed. Our primary findings regarding coordinated decision making and how it can be used to help address the nursing shortage include (i) labor costs can be reduced substantially because, without coordination, labor costs on average are 16.3% higher based on an actual hospital setting, leading to the availability of additional funds for retaining and attracting nurses, (ii) simultaneous to this reduction in costs, more attractive schedules can be provided to the nurses in terms of less overtime and fewer undesirable shifts, and (iii) the use of agency nurses can help avoid overtime for permanent staff with only a 0.7% increase in staffing costs. In addition, we estimate the cost of the shortage for a typical U.S. hospital from a labor cost perspective and show how that cost can be reduced when managers coordinate.
A multi-agent model for fault diagnosis in petrochemical plants

Petrochemical plants are extremely complex systems with many dynamically interconnected components. Traditional approaches to fault detection and diagnosis of these complex systems follow a centralized design in which huge and sophisticated models (e.g., first principle models) are constructed to process sensor data acquired from the entire plant. These systems are very difficult to design due to their complexity. Maintaining such a system to reflect any plant changes (e.g., equipment replacement), is also very challenging. In this article, we introduce a multi-agent model for fault detection and diagnosis which exploits the concept of leadership; that is, when a fault is detected one agent emerges as leader and coordinates the fault classification process. The proposed model is flexible, modular, decentralized, and portable. Our experimental results show that even using simple detection and diagnosis methods, the model can achieve comparable results to those from sophisticated centralized approaches.
Optical resonators with whispering-gallery modes-part II: applications

We review photonic applications of dielectric whispering-gallery mode (WGM) resonators-tracing the growth of the technology from experiments with levitating droplets of aerosols to ultrahigh-Q solid state crystalline and integrated on-chip microresonators.
Watching the Watchers: Transgovernmental Implementation of Data Privacy Policy in Europe

Abstract The governance of data privacy in Europe increasingly transpires through networks of transgovernmental actors – data privacy authorities. While research has demonstrated how such networks shape the policy agenda, little work has examined issues of implementation. This article, thus, explores the growing role that pan-European networks of data privacy authorities play in the enforcement of regional privacy rules. It first surveys the different networks and their participants before identifying their implementation efforts – information sharing, standards harmonization, and joint enforcement. The article notes how such regional enforcement co-operation has itself become a political leverage point for data privacy authorities seeking to expand their authority. In comparing across networks and their functions, the article isolates a regional dimension to privacy implementation and more generally suggests a novel form of networked governance within Europe.
Working energy-based economic incentives for the supply and loading qualities improvement in islanded micro-grids

There is a tendency to operate power grids with renewable sources of energy, such as wind generators and/or photovoltaic panels, as islanded micro-grids. Due to low short-circuit power in such grids, harmonic distortion and asymmetry could be higher than in common distribution systems, however. The paper shows that conventional accounts for energy, based on the amount of active energy delivered from a power utility to customers, do not contain any economic incentives for reducing harmonic distortion and asymmetry. Such incentives can be created when instead of the amount of active energy the amount of the working energy delivered to a customer is used as the base for energy accounts.
Impact of second-generation biofuel agriculture on greenhouse-gas emissions in the corn-growing regions of the US

In the US, 95% of biofuel is produced from corn (Zea mays L), an intensively managed annual crop that is also grown for food and animal feed. Using the DAYCENT model, we estimated the effects on ecosystem services of replacing corn ethanol feedstocks with the perennial cellulosic feedstocks switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L) and miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus Greef et Deuter). If cellulosic feedstocks were planted on cropland that is currently used for ethanol production in the US, more ethanol (+82%) and grain for food (+4%) could be produced while at the same time reducing nitrogen leaching (−15 to −22%) and greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions (−29 to −473%). The GHG reduction was large even after accounting for emissions associated with indirect land-use change. Conversion from a high-input annual crop to a low-input perennial crop for biofuel production can thus transition the central US from a net source to a net sink for GHGs.
Bracketing the extremes: courtship behaviour of the smallest- and largest-bodied species in the salamander genus Desmognathus (Plethodontidae: Desmognathinae)

With both a ‘manageable’ number of taxa and moderate levels of behavioural diversity, plethodontid salamanders of the North American subfamily Desmognathinae offer exciting opportunities for a phyloethological study of courtship. In moving toward this goal, the present paper reports courtship descriptions for two taxa with very different biologies: the pygmy salamander Desmognathus wrighti and the blackbelly salamander D. quadramaculatus. Despite similarities in behaviour patterns used to accomplish indirect sperm transfer by means of the deposition of spermatophores on the substrate (tail-straddle walk), these two taxa greatly differ in the ways by which males stimulate, or ‘persuade’, females to mate. Male D. wrighti bite and seize their partners in order to provide them with tactile and chemical stimuli. In contrast, male D. quadramaculatus provide these same stimuli, but by head rubbing and snapping. I end with a comparative survey of courtship in the Desmognathinae, and a first attempt to interpret behavioural evolution in the subfamily using a phyloethological analysis.
Distinct α-intercalated cell morphology and its modification by acidosis define regions of the collecting duct

During metabolic acidosis, the cortical collecting duct (CCD) of the rabbit reverses the polarity of bicarbonate flux from net secretion to net absorption, and this is accomplished by increasing th...
Deterministic and Stochastic Scheduling Problems with Treelike Precedence Constraints

In this paper we present some of the known results for sequencing identical jobs on parallel machines subject to treelike precedence constraints. In-trees and out-trees are discussed. Highest-level-first policies are shown to minimize the makespan in the deterministic case. These policies are not necessarily optimal for stochastic processing times, except for the case of two machines and in-tree precedence constraints.
Basis and Basketball: A One-Act Story of First Norwest Industries of America, Inc. v. Commissioner (aka the Seattle Supersonics Case)

This is a short, in-class exercise/demonstration/dramatization to help introductory Federal Income Tax students understand the holding and reasoning of First Norwest Industries of America, Inc. v. Commissioner, 649 F.2d 707 (9th Cir. 1981). Different students can be selected to play the parts of the Narrator, Taxpayer, representatives of franchise teams, the Tax Court and the Court of Appeals. Through this interactive (and light-hearted) dialogue, students focus on the fact that property purchased by a taxpayer has a cost basis under IRC § 1012, and if that property is sold, the excess of amount realized over adjusted basis is the taxpayer’s gain (or loss). Colleagues are welcome to adapt the materials for their own classroom use.
Physical Models of Lipid Membranes in Latent Cancer Cells: Ordering Effects of Petroleum Hydrocarbons

Chemical carcinogenesis is known for the long quiescent or latent period between the time of first exposure to the carcinogen and the stage of relatively uncontrolled multiplication of tumor cells. In wax pressmen who operated the plate and frame presses to remove the first crude wax from chilled petroleum distillates this latent period before the onset of scrotal cancer lasted 24 years, on the average1. A very much longer delay (> 50 yrs. average) was noted among workmen, known as “mule spinners”, who operated machinery for spinning cotton thread and were exposed to poorly refined, but dewaxed, lubricating oil sprayed from the unsealed bearing surfaces of the spindles2. This difference in latent periods in comparison with differences in composition between the paraffin distillates and the mainly naphthenic lubricants provided the important clue that ultimately led to an understanding of the carcinogenicity of petroleum fractions3.
Degranulating cytotoxic lymphocytes inflict multiple damage pathways on target cells

In this review, we will describe our recent studies on lymphocyte cytotoxicity using a molecular approach to the understanding of cytotoxic lymphocyte function. However, before describing this work, it is important to place these studies in a broader perspective, as providing a biochemical basis to the general physiological picture of lymphocyte cytotoxic mechanisms which had emerged previously. After the development of the 51Cr release assay, which allowed convenient quantitation of cell death in vitro, several excellent laboratories studying alloreactive cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) established a number of important properties of what might be called the physiology of CTL-mediated cytotoxicity (Green and Henney 1981; Golstein and Smith 1977; Martz 1977). Three distinct phases of the cytotoxic process were distinguished: (1) adhesion; (2) lethal hit; and (3) target cell disintegration, or killer cell-independent lysis. The first two of these phases occurred within minutes at 37° C), and required the divalent cations Mg+2, Ca+2, respectively. They could be blocked by various inhibitors of energy production and cytoskeletal function. The target disintegration step, which occurred after the CTL had delivered the “kiss of death” to the target, occurred over the course of hours and was difficult to block by drugs. This multihour “death agony” of the target cell is relevant to considerations of the pathways described below.
Bergman, Piterbarg, and Beyond: Pricing Derivatives Under Collateralization and Differential Rates

We extend Piterbarg’s result (Piterbarg, Risk, 2:97–102, 2010) on European-style derivative pricing under collateralization by relaxing the assumption of a single unsecured funding rate. Introducing different lending and borrowing rates has the effect of producing nonlinear price functionals for general claims. Buyer and seller prices diverge, and values of derivative portfolios are not the sum of the individual deal values. Conditions under which no-arbitrage price bounds can be derived explicitly are given and numerical examples showcased.
Concave or S-Shaped Sales Response to Advertising: Does It Really Matter?: A Mathematical Model Modifies Conventional Wisdom about Ad Budgeting

ABSTRACT In many advertising situations, the optimal decision—how much to spend and where to allocate the advertising budget—is not sensitive to the exact functional form used in modeling the process under study. For decades, however, researchers have taken for granted the conventional theory that the major distinction is whether the “shape” of sales, as a function of advertising, is concave—increasing, with diminishing returns—or S-shaped—convex to begin with, and after an inflection point, concave from then on. In fact, as the current study showed, the distinction between concave and S-shaped sales-response functions can be irrelevant. The optimal advertising decision may not vary depending on the type of function.
Academic Skills of Engineering Psychology Majors: A Comparative Study

Shattuck (2001) described the Engineering Psychology program at West Point and how its graduates are prepared to work in interdisciplinary design teams. The current research assessed the academic skills of senior Engineering Psychology cadets in ten basic areas, and compared them with similar measures taken among freshmen and senior leadership and management majors at the academy. Results indicated significant differences among the groups in seven areas including information gathering, groups/organizations, interpersonal, behavior management, critical thinking, research methods, and ethics/values. In general, seniors reported more developed skills than freshmen, and Engineering Psychology majors reported more research-related skills than Leadership and Management majors. Implications for program evaluation and development are discussed.
Dream Analysis: Korngold, Mendelssohn, and Musical Adaptations in Warner Bros.' A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)

Abstract In his first film score, Erich Wolfgang Korngold adapted the works of Felix Mendelssohn so that the music seemed to interact and respond with the visual editing of the film, A Midsummer Night9s Dream (Warner Bros., 1935). By detailing the facets of this unusual production, which range from Korngold9s presence on the set to the publicity department9s efforts to spotlight Mendelssohn9s music and Korngold9s arrangements, I argue that the score for Dream played an important role in elevating film music and film composers within the hierarchy of Hollywood production and publicity. Not only was the Mendelssohn-Korngold score given greater consideration during the film9s making, but also audiences were reminded to listen to the film9s music, a facet rarely acknowledged in other contemporaneous publicity drives. Importantly, these changes were effected and rationalized through the self-conscious foregrounding of the music, principles, and rhetoric of nineteenth-century Romanticism. Documents at the Warner Bros. Archive reveal how the confluence of these factors not only established the unusual tenor of Korngold9s career within the Hollywood studio system but also helped construct the film composer9s public image as an incongruously independent artist working within an otherwise collaborative medium.
Differential Distribution of Pepsinogen II Between the Zones of the Human Prostate and the Seminal Vesicle

AbstractPepsinogen II (PG II) is a gastric proenzyme which has previously been found in both human seminal fluid and the prostate gland. However, no regional distribution of PG II has been noted within the prostate nor has it been found in the seminal vesicle.Bouins-fixed sections of central zone, peripheral zone and seminal vesicle, taken from 10 prostates removed at radical prostatectomy or cystectomy, were exposed to antibody against PG II and stained using the A-B-C immunoperoxidase technique. Formalin-fixed tissue from autopsy prostates of four men in the third decade, and six cases with BPH nodules, were also examined for PG II activity.In nine of 10 seminal vesicles, and seven of 10 central zone samples, more than 50 per cent of the cells stained positive for PG II. By contrast, in nine of 10 peripheral zone samples staining was present in five per cent or less of the epithelial cells. Similarly, PG II activity in the four autopsy prostates occurred almost entirely within the central zone and ended...
Geriatric assessment in the home.

Home assessment of health, environmental, and social factors, and their interactions that may impair the patient’s functional capabilities and quality of life can play a critical role in the care of frail elderly patients. Home assessments can reveal important new health and social problems not identified in a clinical visit. Recent information suggests that home assessment is identified with good patient outcomes. Although this type of assessment is traditionally carried out by a nurse in the context of an interdisciplinary team, an individual primary care physician can also establish an ad hoc, multidisciplinary team to help care for frail elderly patients using principles derived from a comprehensive home assessment.
Therapeutic drug monitoring in saliva. An update.

This article re-examines the issue of salivary therapeutic drug monitoring (STDM). The anatomy and physiology of saliva and the salivary glands, as well as the effects of disease and drugs on salivary secretion and composition, are discussed briefly. Drugs for which therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) has been shown useful are individually considered to determine if salivary drug concentrations (Csal) are reflective of plasma free drug concentrations (Cup). That is, is the Csal/Cup ratio time- and concentration-independent, as supported by a review of literature data? The primary determinant which appears to govern the potential utility of STDM for many of the drugs is the pKa of the drug. Drugs which are not ionisable or are un-ionised within the salivary pH range (phenytoin, carbamazepine, theophylline) are candidates for STDM based on current literature data. Digoxin and cyclosporin are potential candidates for STDM; however, further studies are necessary to confirm these preliminary findings. On the basis of current literature data, STDM does not appear to be useful for other drugs therapeutically monitored in serum/plasma.
The Stactive Style: Whiteness and the Rhetoric of History

As rhetoricians combine antiracist and postmodern discourses to compose a hybrid critical discourse on whiteness, they fail to consider the contradictory attitudes toward historical knowledge embodied by the two original discourses. Repressed from the hybrid discourse’s content, the contradictory attitudes nonetheless surface in its style. On one hand, the hybrid discourse’s style is characterized by active sentences that strive to represent historical dynamics, following the antiracist imperative to ameliorate historical amnesia. On the other, the hybrid discourse’s style is characterized by abstractions and vague actions, which reflect postmodernist skepticism of historical knowledge. Abstract nouns replace specific agents and social groups, while weak verbs gesture toward unspecified practices and processes. These stylistic elements constitute “stactive” sentences that substitute a feeling of historicity for concrete historical dynamics. Uncritical immersion in the stactive style can limit the field’s ...
A Quality Improvement Project Measuring the Effect of an Evidence-Based Civility Training Program on Nursing Workplace Incivility in a Rural Hospital Using Quantitative Methods

Workplace incivility is a well-documented issue in nursing. It has the potential to cause emotional and physical distress in victims, and potentially affect the quality of care provided. Research in acute care settings found that facilitated educational training sessions related to workplace incivility, in combination with experiential learning activities, assisted nurses in improving their understanding of workplace incivility and their communication skills. It has also been found to reduce workplace incivility. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to see if implementation of a civility training program would: a) increase the staff nurses’ ability to recognize workplace incivility, b) reduce workplace incivility on a nursing unit, and c) increase confidence in the staff nurses’ ability to respond to workplace incivility when it occurs. The project design involved implementing a civility training program that included education about incivility through facilitated discussions, as well as teambuilding exercises and experiential learning activities involving practice in responding to incivility in a safe environment. The project was implemented in a medically-focused medical-surgical unit at a rural Kentucky hospital with a sample of nine registered nurses. The findings of the project included no significant changes in the frequency of the nurses’ experiences with incivility in their unit. It did result in statistically significant increases in the nurses’ self-assessed ability to recognize workplace incivility and confidence in the nurses’ ability to respond to workplace incivility when it occurs. It was concluded that implementing this type of intervention in other rural nursing settings might help nurses have greater confidence in their ability to recognize and respond to workplace incivility. Keywords : Incivility, Nursing, Experiential learning DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.14574/ojrnhc.v17i1.438
Educational Gaming for Pharmacy Students - Design and Evaluation of a Diabetes Themed Escape Room

Objective. To design an educational game that will increase third-year professional pharmacy students' knowledge of diabetes mellitus disease management and to evaluate their perceived value of the game. Methods. Faculty members created an innovative educational game, the diabetes escape room. An authentic escape room gaming environment was established through the use of a locked room, an escape time limit, and game rules within which student teams completed complex puzzles focused on diabetes disease management. To evaluate the impact, students completed a pre-test and post-test to measure the knowledge they've gained and a perception survey to identify moderating factors that could help instructors improve the game's effectiveness and utility. Results. Students showed statistically significant increases in knowledge after completion of the game. A one-sample t-test indicated that students' mean perception was statistically significantly higher than the mean value of the evaluation scale. This statically significant result proved that this gaming act offers a potential instructional benefit beyond its novelty. Conclusion. The diabetes escape room proved to be a valuable educational game that increased students' knowledge of diabetes mellitus disease management and showed a positive perceived overall value by student participants.
The Role of Religion and Spirituality in the Association Between Hope and Anxiety in a Sample of Latino Youth

Latino adolescents are a subpopulation of youth who are disproportionately at risk for experiencing low levels of hope, which is linked to high levels of anxiety. However, factors such as religion/spirituality (i.e., identifying as a spiritual/religious person), that may buffer this association are not yet clear. Religion/spirituality may serve as a protective factor in this link by fostering positive coping. The current study examined the moderating role of religion/spirituality the link between hope and anxiety in a sample of Latino youth. Religion/spirituality combined with high levels of hope was hypothesized to be associated with the lowest levels of anxiety. 134 Latino adolescents (83.5% Mexican heritage) attending a charter high school in a large Midwestern city (45.5% Male, M = 16.14 years, SD = 1.31) completed a survey that included items measuring religiosity/spirituality, beliefs around goal setting, and self-reported anxiety symptoms. A link between hope and anxiety was evident, with higher levels of hope associated with lower levels of anxiety. However, religion/spirituality moderated the association between hope and anxiety. Simple slope plots revealed that a negative association between hope and anxiety was only evident in the presence of religion/spirituality. Hope was unrelated to anxiety in the absence of religion/spirituality. Findings did not support a buffering effect of religion/spirituality. Religious/spiritual coping may strengthen the link between high levels of hope and low anxiety levels in this sample.
Using Sr Resin with mixed acid matrices

The quantification of radioactive material dispersed following the release of 90Sr, whether accidental or intentional, would be of high importance. Depending on the circumstances, it is possible that the contaminated materials would need to be completely digested prior to quantification. Many sample matrices require a mixture of different acids be employed to achieve total dissolution. Unfortunately, one the most common approaches for the separation of strontium, extraction chromatography with Sr Resin, has only been fully characterized in pure mineral acid solutions (Filosofov et al. in Solv Extr Ion Exch 33(5): 496–509, 2015; Horwitz et al. in Solv Extr Ion Exch 10(2): 313–336, 1992). This work shows that Sr Resin can be used effectively with high concentration mixtures of nitric and hydrochloric acids in the presence or absence of hydrofluoric acid, thereby potentially negating the need for conversion to a pure mineral acid matrix.
Longitudinal growth of receptive language in children with cerebral palsy between 18 months and 54 months of age

Aim We examined receptive language developmental trajectories between 18 months and 54 months for three clinical speech-language profile groups of children with cerebral palsy (those with speech motor involvement, without speech motor involvement, and with anarthria) and quantified differences from age-level expectations. We identified latent classes of comprehension development, related these classes to clinical profile groups, and examined how well early receptive language predicted outcomes. Method We used a prospective longitudinal design. Eighty-five children with cerebral palsy (43 females, 42 males) were followed longitudinally from 18 to 54 months of age. Children were seen two to eight times (322 data points). Children were classified into clinical profile groups. Language comprehension age-equivalent scores were the primary measures of interest. Results Children with anarthria had significant language delays, limited developmental change over time, and comprised their own latent class. Children with speech motor impairment had slight receptive language delays over time. Children with no speech motor impairment had age-appropriate receptive language over time. Early language comprehension scores were highly predictive of later latent profile group membership. Interpretation Early language comprehension abilities are highly predictive of language comprehension growth trajectory and suggest that children with early language delay, particularly those who are non-speaking, should receive language intervention to support development. What this paper adds There are two growth trajectories for language comprehension among children with cerebral palsy. Children with speech motor impairment had a constant 6-month receptive language delay. Children without speech motor impairment had age-appropriate receptive language. Non-speaking children had significant receptive language delay. Early language comprehension change was highly predictive of later trajectory group.
Targeting the molecular pathophysiology of gastrointestinal stromal tumors with imatinib. Mechanisms, successes, and challenges to rational drug development.

The development of imatinib as molecularly targeted therapy for GIST represents an important case study of rational drug development. It is a paradigm of how the molecular understanding of a cancer has resulted in a new effective therapy that targets the critical pathway upon which the GIST cells were dependent: the uncontrollably active KIT signaling pathway. Unresectable or metastatic GISTs have traditionally exhibited a rapid and fatal clinical course, with no evidence of benefit from any standard cytotoxic chemotherapy. The identification of KIT activation as a critical factor in the pathogenesis of GIST led to the search for a new type of therapeutic compound to serve as a KIT inhibitor and to interfere with the constitutive phosphorylation of the KIT kinase in GIST cells. Clarification of the molecular genetic pathophysiology of GIST and the role of KIT activation in this disease, therefore, has not only enabled improved diagnosis and differentiation of GIST from other mesenchymal neoplasms but has also been key in identifying new targeted strategies for therapeutic intervention. The improved understanding of the molecular pathophysiology of GIST, a disease that was previously untreatable with any available systemic therapy, has led to the development of imatinib, a well-tolerated agent that can inhibit the dysregulated KIT signaling pathways in GIST. Imatinib represents the first (and currently the only) effective systemic therapy for patients with unresectable GIST. Imatinib therapy can induce objective responses and stabilization of disease and can provide clinical benefit in the majority of GIST patients treated with the drug. Other strategies are beginning to be explored, such as the use of imatinib earlier the in course of GIST (e.g., as adjuvant therapy after definitive surgical resection of early-stage disease). Integration of signal transduction inhibitors into the armamentarium of cancer therapeutics will undoubtedly continue based on this important paradigm of GIST.