cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Protease inhibitors decrease rabbit cartilage degradation after meniscectomy.

In vitro proteoglycan (PG) synthesis and release were measured on cartilage removed from rabbit knees within 1 week of meniscectomy. Three days following partial lateral meniscectomy, 72% of the femurs and 82% of the tibias had visible ulcers. Cartilage from the weight-bearing areas incorporated 2.0–2.9 times more 35S-sulfate in vitro than cartilage from the opposite, unoperated knees. 3H-thymidine incorporation was 2.5–3.4 times higher for surgical than control groups. 35S-sulfate incorporation by the surgical group was inhibited by 22% in the presence of 10−4M U24522, an inhibitor of rabbit chondrocyte metalloprotease (CMP). 3H-thymidine incorporation by the surgical group was inhibited by 28% by 10−4M U24522. In vitro PG release from cartilage removed 2 days after surgery was 1.6–3.7 times higher for the surgical than the control group. PG release by the surgical group after 22 h of incubation was reduced to the control level by three CMP inhibitors, U24278, U24279, and U24522. PG release by cartilage from the nonsurgical group was also reduced by these compounds at 22 h. These results suggest that both the anabolic and catabolic processes that are stimulated by surgery can be isolated in vitro and that CMP may be involved in the catabolic process.
Intracellular S-Adenosylhomocysteine Concentrations Predict Global DNA Hypomethylation in Tissues of Methyl-Deficient Cystathionine β-Synthase Heterozygous Mice

Because S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) are the substrate and product of essential methyltransferase reactions; the ratio of SAM:SAH is frequently used as an indicator of cellular methylation potential. However, it is not clear from the ratio whether substrate insufficiency, product inhibition or both are required to negatively affect cellular methylation capacity. A combined genetic and dietary approach was used to modulate intracellular concentrations of SAM and SAH. Wild-type (WT) or heterozygous cystathionine b-synthase (CBS 1/2) mice consumed a control or methyl-deficient diet for 24 wk. The independent and combined effect of genotype and diet on SAM, SAH and the SAM:SAH ratio were assessed in liver, kidney, brain and testes and were correlated with relative changes in tissue-specific global DNA methylation. The combined results from the different tissues indicated that a decrease in SAM alone was not sufficient to affect DNA methylation in this model, whereas an increase in SAH, either alone or associated with a decrease in SAM, was most consistently associated with DNA hypomethylation. A decrease in SAM:SAH ratio was predictive of reduced methylation capacity only when associated with an increase in SAH; a decrease in the SAM:SAH ratio due to SAM depletion alone was not sufficient to affect DNA methylation in this model. Plasma homocysteine levels were positively correlated with intracellular SAH levels in all tissues except kidney. These results support the possibility that plasma SAH concentrations may provide a sensitive biomarker for cellular methylation status. J. Nutr. 131: 2811-2818, 2001.
Rescuing Cardiac Malfunction The Roles of the Chaperone-Like Small Heat Shock Proteins

See related articles, pages 1473–1482 In response to various hypertrophic stimuli, the heart undergoes alterations in structure and function. One mechanism by which the heart adapts to physiological and pathological stimuli is an increase in size of individual cardiac myocytes, and when those stimuli are removed, the size of the myocytes can decrease. Modulation of cardiac size thus requires a very careful balance between protein synthesis and protein degradation, and any imbalance in these systems could be of potential damage to the heart. Increased protein synthesis in hypertrophied hearts is accompanied by “protein quality control” to eliminate aggregated unfolded proteins, but a failure of this monitoring system eventually leads to cardiac dysfunction.1 Heat shock proteins (HSPs) have chaperone-like properties that can bind to unfolded proteins and prevent their denaturation and aggregation.2 In recent genome surveys of mice, rats, and humans, small-molecular-weight heat shock proteins (sHSPs ≈15 to 30 kDa) have been identified. αB crystalline (CryAB) is a member of the sHSPs that is expressed at high levels in cardiomyocytes.2 CryAB has chaperone-like properties and also binds to both desmin and cytoplasmic actin which helps to maintain cytoskeletal integrity. Previous studies have shown that a mutation in CryAB mimics a form of desmin-related cardiomyopathy.3 Overexpressing CryAB in cultured cardiomyocytes and in transgenic mouse hearts protects against ischemia/reperfusion–induced cell death4,5; on the other hand, double knockout of the small heat shock proteins CryAB/SHSP2 induces abnormal cardiac growth and defective myocardial relaxation.6 In this issue of Circulation Research , Kumarapeli et al7 address and confirm the roles of CryAB in response to …
Engineering bone formation with peptidomimetic hybrid biomaterials

Bone exhibits hierarchical levels of organization from macroscopic to microscopic, and nano- length scales. Furthermore, multiple bioactive peptides, as part of the collagenous and non-collagenous water soluble glycoproteins and proteoglycans in the bone ECM, interact with progenitor BMS cells to initiate the cascade of chemotaxis, differentiation, and mineralization. In this work, a nanofiber hydrogel/apatite composite matrix is developed to mimic the laminated structure of the osteons in bone and to determine the effect of RGD and BMP peptides, grafted to the composite, on osteogenic differentiation and mineralization of BMS cells. For four-layer laminates, the Young's modulus of the laminated composites was four times that of the nanofibers alone. BMS cells seeded on RGD+BMP peptide modified composites showed synergistic 4.9- and 11.8-fold increase in calcium content from day 7 to 14 and 21. These findings are potentially useful in developing engineered scaffolds for bone regeneration.
Management of congenital nonpigmented iris cyst.

Purpose Previously reported clinical outcomes after treatment of congenital iris cysts have been poor, complicated by cyst recurrence and vision loss. Our purpose was to evaluate the outcomes of surgical excision and microdiathermy of congenital iris cysts. Design Interventional retrospective case series. Methods Four patients (3 children, 1 adult) were treated for a congenital iris cyst based on history and clinical presentation. After cyst excision with caution to avoid cyst rupture, the base of the cyst was treated with microdiathermy. Main Outcome Measure Presence or absence of a residual cyst after surgical intervention. Results In all 4 patients, histopathological findings confirmed the diagnosis of a congenital iris cyst. Follow-up periods ranged from 1.4 to 6.2 years (mean ± standard deviation, 4±2). Vision loss did not occur in any of the treated eyes. No cyst recurrence was noted after initial surgical treatment. Conclusion A modern microsurgical technique with adjunctive use of microdiathermy provides improved outcomes in the surgical management of congenital iris cysts. We believe that microdiathermy applied to the base of the cyst removes residual epithelial tissue that accounted for the recurrences documented in previous reports.
Charged lepton mixing via heavy sterile neutrinos

Pseudoscalar meson decay leads to an entangled state of charged leptons (μ, e) and massive neutrinos. Tracing out the neutrino degrees of freedom leads to a reduced density matrix for the charged leptons whose off-diagonal elements reveal charged lepton oscillations. Although these decohere on unobservably small time scales 10 −23 s they indicate charged lepton mixing as a result of common intermediate states. The charged lepton self-energy up to one loop features flavor off-diagonal terms responsible for charged lepton mixing: a dominant “short distance” contribution with W bosons and massive neutrinos in the intermediate state, and a subdominant “large distance” contribution with pseudoscalar mesons and massive neutrinos in the intermediate state. Mixing angle(s) are GIM suppressed, and are momentum and chirality dependent. The difference of negative chirality mixing angles near the muon and electron mass shells is θL(M 2 μ) − θL(M 2 e ) ∝ GF � U μj m 2 U ∗ je with mj the mass of the neutrino in the intermediate state. Recent results from TRIUMF, suggest an upper bound θL(p 2 � M 2 ) − θL(p 2 � M 2 )< 10 −14 (MS /100 MeV) 2 for one generation of a heavy sterile neutrino with mass MS . We obtain the wavefunctions for the propagating modes, and discuss the relation between the lepton flavor violating process μ → eγ and charged lepton mixing, highlighting that a measurement of such process implies a mixed propagator μ, e .F urthermore writing flavor diagonal vertices in terms of mass eigenstates yields novel interactions suggesting further contributions to lepton flavor violating process as a consequence of momentum and chirality dependent mixing angles. © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Funded by SCOAP 3 .
Composition of Drainage from Thawed Poultry Carcasses

Abstract Frozen turkeys, baking hens, broilers, and Rock Cornish Game hens, processed and frozen commercially, were purchased from a local wholesaler. The turkey hens were 24 weeks old, the baking hens were 21 months, broilers 8 weeks, and Rock Cornish Game hens 5 weeks. The frozen carcasses were thawed overnight and the drainage collected, weighted, and analyzed. Both the birds and containers were well covered with aluminum foil to minimize evaporation. The total fluid loss from the thawed birds ranged from 3.7% of the carcass weight of turkeys to 7.1% of the total weight of Rock Cornish Game hens. Drainage from various classes contained from 4.0 up to 6.6% solids. Protein in the drainage ranged from 3.6 to 5.2%. Fat content in the drained fluids was highest (0.15%) from turkey hens and lowest (.10%) from baking hens. Ash content in the drainage was highest from the youngest birds (the Cornish hens) and lowest from turkey hens. Mineral analysis of the drainage showed that K and Ca in the ash remained constant for all classes of poultry. In the drainage from chickens, there was significantly more Fe from older birds but more Cu and Zn from younger birds. Amino acid analysis of the drainage revealed a greater loss of essential amino acids from older birds. Drainage from turkeys contained less tryptophan than drainage from chickens. Tyrosine was nearly absent in drainage from broilers.
Pulse broadening of the enhanced backscattering from rough surfaces

Recently, the authors presented a study of pulse scattering by rough surfaces based on the first order Kirchhoff approximation which is applicable to rough surfaces with rms slope less than 0.5 and correlation distance l/spl ges//spl lambda/. However, there has been an increasing interest in enhanced backscattering from rough surfaces, and this requires inclusion of the second order Kirchhoff approximation with shadowing corrections. This paper presents a theory for the two-frequency mutual coherence function in this region and shows that the multiple scattering on the surface gives rise to an additional pulse tail in the direction of enhanced backscattering. The theory predicts pulse broadening approximately 20% greater than that caused by single scattering alone for a delta-function incident pulse and typical surface parameters. Analytical results are compared with Monte Carlo simulations and millimeter wave experiments for the one-dimensional rough surface with rms height of 1/spl lambda/, and correlation distance of 1/spl lambda/, showing good agreement. >
Implementing evidence-based programs: a four-step protocol for assuring replication with fidelity.

Health care providers are challenged to replicate evidence-based programs in their communities. These programs may be adapted to fit new communities, but the key components must be delivered with fidelity. This article describes a four-step fidelity assurance protocol developed by the Hawai'i's Healthy Aging Partnership as it adapted and replicated evidence-based health promotion programs for Hawai'i's older adults. The four steps are the following: (a) deconstruct the program into its components and prepare a step-by-step plan for program replication; (b) identify agencies ready to replicate the program, and sponsor excellent training to local staff who will deliver and coordinate it; (c) monitor the fidelity of program delivery using standardized checklists; and (d) track participant outcomes to assure achievement of expected outcomes. The protocol is illustrated with examples from Hawai'i's Healthy Aging Partnership's experience replicating EnhanceFitness, a senior exercise program. This protocol is transferrable to other communities wanting to adapt and replicate evidence-based, public health programs. Language: en
Free surface electrospinning of aqueous polymer solutions from a wire electrode

Abstract The production of nanofibers from an aqueous solution of poly(vinyl alcohol) by the method of free surface electrospinning from a wire electrode has been examined. The results are interpreted in terms of a previously reported model that was based on the production of fibers from polymeric solutions in ethanol by the same method. Differences in behavior were observed between the processing of aqueous and ethanolic solutions, arising from the more viscoelastic nature of the aqueous solution, the higher surface tension, the fewer number of droplets jetting simultaneously from the wire, and the different electrical current profile observed for jetting from a single droplet. These differences necessitated changes in equipment design, operation of the process, and modeling of productivity. The result is a more robust model for the productivity of fibers by free surface electrospinning from a wire electrode.
Planning and executing a global health experience for undergraduate nursing students: A comprehensive guide to creating global citizens

The preparation of future baccalaureate-prepared nurses will require undergraduate students to have both cultural awareness and global or international health competencies in order to meet the increasingly complex health care needs of a diverse community. Additionally, the nursing accrediting bodies have identified global healthcare as an area of core knowledge for clinical nurses. In order to meet the workforce needs, and provide global education of the undergraduate student body, we designed an international clinical experience within the undergraduate Community/Population Health course. The purpose of this article is to provide a guide for faculty in the planning, infrastructure needs, and implementation of a global clinical experience for undergraduate nursing students, in the context of the United States with addressing university concerns for student safety and security while abroad.
Pain in infancy.

This column attempted to briefly review information helpful to the nurse caring for hospitalized infants. Infants do in fact experience pain regardless of the inability to verbalize their experience, and health care professionals need to apply new facts from scientific findings to their clinical practice.
Effect of Difluhenzuron on the Canopy Arthropod Community in a Central Appalachian Forest

Little is known of the effects of diflubenzuron on the nontarget forest arthropod community. We hypothesized that the use of this compound in gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), control may cause indiscriminate reduction of nontarget arthropods. This, in turn, might be an important loss of food for forest birds and small mammals. In a 2-yr replicated study we sampled canopy arthropods with pole pruners for up to 3 mo following application of diflubenzuron. Due to a strong trend over time and large between-tree variance in canopy arthropod abundance and taxonomic richness, intensive sampling was required to reveal the treatment effect. Besides reductions in gypsy moth larvae, significant reductions due to diflubenzuron application were found mainly in canopy macrolepidoptera and non-lepidopteran mandibulate herbivores. Sucking herbivorous insects, microlepidoptera, and predaceous arthropods were not affected.
Missed Newborn Screening Case of Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase-II Deficiency

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase-II (CPT-II) deficiency can be detected through newborn screening with tandem mass spectrometry. We report a 4-year-old patient with rhabdomyolysis due to CPT-II deficiency, which was initially missed by newborn screening. The patient presented with a 2-day history of fevers, upper respiratory infection, diffuse myalgia, and tea-colored urine. Her medical history was notable for frequent diffuse myalgia when ill. She was demonstrated to have homozygous mutation c.338C>T, p. S113L in CPT2, which is typically found in the adult-onset, myopathic form of the disease. An unknown number of CPT-II deficient patients with normal newborn screening have not yet presented to medical care with the adult-onset, myopathic form of disease. We conclude that (1) not all cases of CPT-II deficiency are currently detected through newborn screening, even when blood is appropriately collected on day 2 of life and (2) CPT-II deficiency should be kept on the differential for patients presenting with rhabdomyolysis, even if the newborn screening results were normal.
From Skepticism to Prominence: Circadian Clocks in Bacteria

Not so long ago, chronobiologists did not think that bacteria expressed circadian rhythms. These timing systems regulate myriad biological processes, including metabolism and gene expression, helping organisms adapt to environmental changes within the course of each solar day that involve shifts from light to dark as well as temperature and humidity cycles. Before the mid-1980s, investigators assumed that endogenous timekeepers with periods close to 24 h would not be useful to microorganisms, many of which divide more than once every 24 h.
Radiation protection information: can you trust the government's risks or risk the government's trust?: 1997 G. William Morgan lecture.

Public acceptance of information concerning radiation risks has been impacted by the erosion of trust in government agencies and by societal images that personify radiation or its effects in terms of monsters and ogres. The loss of trust in government agencies, particularly the Atomic Energy Commission and later the Department of Energy, has been influenced by a number of key events and individuals. Examp]es of these are given, including the anti-Viet Nam war movement, the Watergate incident, the activities of the Union of Concerned Scientists, Ralph Nader and the Critical Mass movement, the claims of Ernest Sternglass, and the widely publicized views of John Gofman and Arthur Tamplin. The use of negative images, pictures, and symbols in the mass media has reinforced the public perception of radiation as a thing to be feared. There is growing evidence that the public perception of radiation risks is related more to mistrust and negative images than it is to the technical information health physicists provide or to the issue of whether or not the linear no-threshold theory of radiation risks is correct. Attempts by federal agencies to regain public trust in radiation risk information generated by health physicists or other radiation scientists appear to be largely unsuccessful. If health physicists hope to be successful in changing such public perceptions, they may have to focus efforts on the next generation and concentrate on assuring that elementary and secondary school children receive sound instruction on radiation risks. Additional research at the molecular biology level is needed to elucidate the risks, if any, at low doses so that the practice of extrapolating low dose responses from high dose data can be eliminated.
The mammalian circadian system: From genes to behavior

2 Historical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 802 2.1 Discovery and Properties of the Circadian System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 802 2.2 Identification of the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 803 2.3 Use of Mutant Animal Models to Study the Circadian System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 804
Prospective and Mentor Teacher Perspectives on Co-Learning Events.

One response to the disconnect between principle-based university methods courses and practice-oriented elementary school classrooms has been to create co-learning spaces by bringing prospective teachers (PSTs), practicing mentor teachers (MTs), and teacher educators together to explore key ideas related to teaching and learning. The purpose of this study was to examine MTs’ and PSTs’ perspectives on their experiences in co-learning events designed to maximize co-construction of knowledge that might lessen the gap between theory and practice. Findings from the analysis of interviews with 16 PSTs and 22 MTs included numerous benefits of co-learning events, including opportunities for (a) MTs to learn about PSTs’ world and build relationships; (b) PSTs to learn from MTs’ practical knowledge; and (c) to foster diverse perspectives and mutually beneficial collaboration. Participants also described tensions related to positioning MTs and PSTs in collaborative roles. Implications for the design of co-learning e...
Using domain-specific languages for analytic graph databases

Recently graph has been drawing lots of attention both as a natural data model that captures fine-grained relationships between data entities and as a tool for powerful data analysis that considers such relationships. In this paper, we present a new graph database system that integrates a robust graph storage with an efficient graph analytics engine. Primarily, our system adopts two domain-specific languages (DSLs), one for describing graph analysis algorithms and the other for graph pattern matching queries. Compared to the API-based approaches in conventional graph processing systems, the DSL-based approach provides users with more flexible and intuitive ways of expressing algorithms and queries. Moreover, the DSL-based approach has significant performance benefits as well, (1) by skipping (remote) API invocation overhead and (2) by applying high-level optimization from the compiler.
Maternal deprivation alters expression of neural maturation gene tbr1 in the amygdala paralaminar nucleus in infant female macaques

Early parental loss is associated with social-emotional dysregulation and amygdala physiologic changes. Previously, we examined whole amygdala gene expression in infant monkeys exposed to early maternal deprivation. Here, we focus on an amygdala region with immature neurons at birth: the paralaminar nucleus (PL). We hypothesized that 1) the normal infant PL is enriched in a subset of neural maturation (NM) genes compared to a nearby amygdala subregion; and 2) maternal deprivation would downregulate expression of NM transcripts (mRNA). mRNAs for bcl2, doublecortin, neuroD1, and tbr1-genes expressed in post-mitotic neurons-were enriched in the normal PL. Maternal deprivation at either 1 week or 1 month of age resulted in PL-specific downregulation of tbr1-a transcription factor necessary for directing neuroblasts to a glutamatergic phenotype. tbr1 expression also correlated with typical social behaviors. We conclude that maternal deprivation influences glutamatergic neuronal development in the PL, possibly influencing circuits mediating social learning.
Combat in Games

Author(s): Osborn, Joseph C; Lederle-Ensign, Dylan; Wardrip-Fruin, NG; Mateas, Michael | Abstract: While the game design and game studies communities have analyzed combat both in specific games and game genres, and while combat is clearly central to many types of games, there is no general account of combat that is portable across diverse games. We provide such an account in the form of criteria which are satisfied by games that players inter- pret as “having combat.” These requirements are eventually fulfilled via operational logics, which tie the game’s observ- able behavior (including its instantial assets) to play expe- riences and cultural knowledge, creating what we refer to as a “combat model.” In addition to establishing a com- prehensive model of combat, making it possible to discuss combat across game genres, this work is the first to describe how complex playable models are constructed from composi- tions of operational logics working in concert; we also define two families of logics which are novel in the literature. This broad model of combat has already proved useful in practice, yielding insights in the analysis of the art game Unmanned; it also promises exciting computational applications in areas such as game design support tools and general game playing.
Learning spam: simple techniques for freely-available software

The problem of automatically filtering out spam email using a classifier based on machine learning methods is of great recent interest. This paper gives an introduction to machine learning methods for spam filtering, reviewing some of the relevant ideas and work in the open source community. An overview of several feature detection and machine learning techniques for spam filtering is given. The authors' freely-available implementations of these techniques are discussed. The techniques' performance on several different corpora are evaluated. Finally, some conclusions are drawn about the state of the art and about fruitful directions for spam filtering for freely-available UNIX software practitioners.
Cross-cousin marriage among the Yanomamö shows evidence of parent–offspring conflict and mate competition between brothers

Marriage in many traditional societies often concerns the institutionalized exchange of reproductive partners among groups of kin. Such exchanges most often involve cross-cousins-marriage with the child of a parent's opposite-sex sibling-but it is unclear who benefits from these exchanges. Here we analyze the fitness consequences of marrying relatives among the Yanomamo from the Amazon. When individuals marry close kin, we find that (i) both husbands and wives have slightly lower fertility; (ii) offspring suffer from inbreeding depression; (iii) parents have more grandchildren; and (iv) siblings, especially brothers, benefit when their opposite-sex siblings marry relatives but not when their same-sex siblings do. Therefore, individuals seem to benefit when their children or opposite-sex siblings marry relatives but suffer costs when they, their parents, or same-sex siblings do. These asymmetric fitness outcomes suggest conflicts between parents and offspring and among siblings over optimal mating strategies. Parental control of marriages is reinforced by cultural norms prescribing cross-cousin marriage. We posit that local mate competition combined with parental control over marriages may escalate conflict between same-sex siblings who compete over mates, while simultaneously forging alliances between opposite-sex siblings. If these relationships are carried forward to subsequent generations, they may drive bilateral cross-cousin marriage rules. This study provides insights into the evolutionary importance of how kinship and reciprocity underlie conflicts over who controls mate choice and the origins of cross-cousin marriage prescriptions.
Low-latency smartphone app for real-time noise reduction of noisy speech signals

This papers presents a low-latency smartphone app to achieve real-time noise reduction of speech signals in noisy sound environments. This app overcomes the two shortcomings of high latency and musical noise artifact that are associated with the previously developed apps for the same purpose. The results of both objective and subjective evaluations are reported which show the effectiveness of this app towards reducing noise for speech signals in noisy environments, in particular in babble background noise.
Merkel Cell Carcinoma with Distant Metastasis to the Clivus Causing Symptoms Mimicking Tolosa-Hunt Syndrome: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an uncommon but highly malignant neuroendocrine tumor of the skin. Merkel cell carcinoma can metastasize, but involvement of the central nervous system is rare. Here we report a case of rapidly progressing metastatic MCC to the clivus and bilateral cavernous sinus in an immunocompromised patient. This case is unique in that it is the first case report showing MCC metastasis to the clivus from a distal site. It also demonstrates that a MCC metastasis can masquerade with symptoms of Tolosa-Hunt syndrome. A literature review on MCC with CNS metastasis is presented.
Emergence of Coherent Clusters in the Ocean

Why does material tend to congregate in long coherent clusters at the surface of the ocean when it is well known that the ocean is dispersive? Here we review some recent research that addresses this question. A standard diagnostic for discerning transport pathways in incompressible 2D flows is the finite time Lyapunov exponent (FTLE). The FTLE can be expressed as the average of two rarely evaluated Lagrangian objects: the dilation and stretch rates. The stretch rate accounts for the ability of fluid shear to change the shape of fluid blobs, and for incompressible fluids it is the FTLE. However, in the real ocean and especially at submesoscales, the horizontal divergence is not negligible. This is quantified by the dilation rate, which is identically zero in 2D incompressible flow. Our analysis demonstrates that the combination of fluid dilation and stretch enhances accumulation of buoyant material along thin clusters in an otherwise dispersing ocean.
The Persistence of Deficit Thinking Among Social Studies Educators

This research explores the prevalence of deficit thinking among social studies educators in the State of Florida. Included in this research is an analysis of semi-structured interview data that focused on pivotal experiences and participants’ understanding of the connection between social class and academic achievement, mobility, and race and ethnicity. Despite divergent pivotal experiences with social class, findings suggest social studies teachers’ exhibit deficit thinking towards students living in poverty. From a social justice perspective, in order for social studies teachers to develop asset-based knowledge of students living in poverty they must receive explicit training that challenges deficit thinking and stereotypes that lead to lowered expectations of students living in poverty.
The Gendered Discourse of Work-Family Balance in the Oil and Gas Industry:

U.S. corporations have been slow to adopt family-friendly workplace accommodations, despite decades of research demonstrating their value. Some hope that the millennial generation will spur corpora...
Metastatic Non-Uterine Leiomyosarcoma: Prognostic factors, Overall Survival and chemotherapy outcomes.

10574 Background: Non-uterine Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is an aggressive, malignant tumor of mesenchymal origin whose natural history is poorly defined. We sought to evaluate clinical and treatment outc...
The relationship of diastereomer hydrolysis kinetics to shelf-life predictions for cefuroxime axetil.

Cefuroxime axetil, an ester prodrug of cefuroxime, is comprised of a 50:50 mixture of diastereomers A and B. The first-order hydrolysis kinetics of cefuroxime axetil were investigated as a function of pH, temperature, buffers, and ionic strength. Chromatographically identified hydrolysis products were cefuroxime, Δ2-cefuroxime axetil, and α,β-sulfoxides. Buffer catalysis was observed in acetate and phosphate buffers. No significant kinetic effect was observed for ionic strength in the range µ = 0.1-1.0. The pH–rate profiles for hydrolysis of cefuroxime axetil isomeric mixture were obtained at 45, 35, and 25°C. The equation defining the cefuroxime axetil hydrolysis rate constant as a function of pH was k obs = k H(a H) + k s + k OH(K w/a H), exhibiting maximal stability in the pH range 3.5 to 5.5. The predicted profile at 5°C was in excellent agreement with experimental data in the pH range 3.6 to 5.5. In the pH range 1 to 9, the maximum difference observed for individual hydrolysis constants of isomers was 27%. Shelf-life estimates based on the hydrolysis rate constants for cefuroxime axetil as an isomeric mixture were shown to be equivalent to those based on individual hydrolysis rate constants for isomers A and B.
PENNSYLVANIAN SEDIMENTATION IN NORTHERN ILLINOIS: EXAMINATION OF DELTA MODELS

It is generally agreed that Pennsylvanian age cyclothems in northern Illinois are deltaic in origin. However, there is little agreement on the specific application of the delta model. Appalachian and European cyclothems have been more successfully interpreted as they are generally thick, locally developed and often have close modern counterparts. A major difficulty in applying a delta model to the northern Illinois deposits lies in the widespread, continuous, yet thin development of the strata, particularly the coal members. To address this problem a cyclothem delta model is constructed and modified for static and fluctuating sea level conditions. Preliminary investigation of northern Illinois cyclic strata suggests a low gradient model (comparable to a tropical Mississippi Delta) coupled with generally static sea level conditions.
The Case for Real-world Evidence in the Future of Clinical Research on Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.

Abstract Purpose In light of recently published guidelines from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the communication of real-world data (RWD) and real-world evidence (RWE) to support regulatory decision making, it is important to understand how such data are developed, the limitations of these data, and how to best use RWD to improve patient care. Historically, the use of RWE has been approached with skepticism because of its often-retrospective nature compared with data from conventional randomized controlled trials (RCTs). This review discusses the role and function of RWE and RWD in clinical research. We summarize the types of RWE used in clinical research, outline the challenges and limitations involved with these data, and suggest how these types of analyses can supplement results from clinical trials to foster a more complete understanding of a drug or disease area of interest. In particular, we focus on the role of RWE in investigating chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy for CML. Methods We reviewed FDA guidance on the use of RWE and conducted a PubMed literature search to evaluate published data from real-world studies in CML. Findings RWE includes analysis of RWD gathered from nonconventional sources, including patient registries, observational studies, and social media, among others. Importantly, although real-world studies do not adhere to the same degree of controlled conditions and predefined patient-management strategies as do conventional clinical trials, analyses resulting from these studies can be held to a high degree of validation and standardization, making them as meaningful as those from RCTs. In CML, RWE has informed early treatment milestones and has provided a window into patient perspectives regarding treatment. These types of analyses have already informed and can continue to inform disease management. These improvements in disease management, in turn, will help clinicians to better forecast treatment challenges and allow for the optimization of future treatment paradigms. Implications Real-world studies are different from conventional RCTs and therefore provide insight into distinct aspects of treatment and patient outcomes. Together with results from clinical trials, RWE can help to illustrate a more complete picture of the tolerability, effectiveness, and impact of a drug. The recently published guidelines indicate that the FDA expects a growing role for RWE.
The Effect of Higher Temperatures on Wildfire Size: Evidence from Wildfires on U.S. Forest Service Lands in the Northern Rockies

This paper investigates the effect that rising temperatures will have on wildfire size in the United States. Using data for 586 wildfires that occurred on US Forest Service land in the Northern Rockies between 1995 and 2012, I find that a 1% increase in the maximum temperature observed during the month a wildfire occurs is associated with a 2.34% increase in wildfire size, holding all other factors constant. Given that current climate models predict temperatures to rise by 32% in this region by the end of the century, this estimate suggests that average wildfire size could increase by 75%. I estimate that perfectly offsetting this increase in wildfire size would require the US Forest Service to increase per-fire suppression expenditures by 202%. This would translate into a $5 million increase in suppression expenditures for the average wildfire in my dataset.
Effects of Concurrent Manual Task Performance on Connected Speech Acoustics in Individuals With Parkinson Disease

Purpose Prior investigations suggest that simultaneous performance of more than 1 motor-oriented task may exacerbate speech motor deficits in individuals with Parkinson disease (PD). The purpose of...
Differing reflections of paediatric classical Hodgkin's lymphoma on local and distant immunological microenvironments: a flow cytometric study.

Aims To compare immunological microenvironments in local and distant lymphoid tissues in Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) in children. Methods We have analysed diagnostic bone marrow (BM) samples in 22 and corresponding involved lymph node (LN) in eight and peripheral blood (PB) in eight cases of HL by flow cytometry and sought correlations with clinical features retrospectively. Results While there were significant differences in lymphocyte compositions of BM and LN tissues, the distribution of lymphocyte subsets mimicked each other in BM and PB. CD8-positive cytotoxic T cells predominate the bone marrow in contrast to CD4-positive helper T cells in LN tissue with corresponding CD4/CD8 ratios (0.85 and 5.3, respectively; p=0.002). Additionally, T-large granular lymphocytes population was much higher in BM in comparison to LN tissue (10.5% vs 4.5%; p=0.036). Conclusions Local immunological microenvironment appears to be highly influenced by HL tumour cells and distant site lymphocyte composition reflects immune response to control the neoplastic process.
Antiphospholipid syndrome: Diagnosis and management in the obstetric patient

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a rare condition clinically characterized by thrombotic events or pregnancy complications and confirmed by one or more repeatedly positive antiphospholipid antibodies on two or more occasions at least 12 weeks apart. Several factors are thought to have roles in the pathogenesis of adverse obstetric events related to APS, including platelet and endothelial cell activation, complement activation, and ultimate activation of the thrombotic pathway. Despite standard treatment with a heparin agent and low-dose aspirin, 30% of women with definite APS cannot achieve a successful pregnancy outcome. Additional treatment options are still controversial, and prospective trials with appropriate controls are needed to investigate the efficiency of alternative treatments. In this chapter, we discuss diagnostic, clinical, and therapeutic approaches in the treatment of APS syndrome in pregnancy.
Molecular dynamics simulations of alkaline earth metal ions binding to DNA reveal ion size and hydration effects

The identity of metal ions surrounding DNA is key to its biological function and materials applications. In this work, we compare atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of double strand DNA (dsDNA) with four alkaline earth metal ions (Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, and Ba2+) to elucidate the physical interactions that govern DNA-ion binding. Simulations accurately model the ion-phosphate distance of Mg2+ and reproduce ion counting experiments for Ca2+, Sr2+, and Ba2+. Our analysis shows that alkaline earth metal ions prefer to bind at the phosphate backbone compared to the major groove and negligible binding occurs in the minor groove. Larger alkaline earth metal ions with variable first solvation shells (Ca2+, Sr2+, and Ba2+) show both direct and indirect binding, where indirect binding increases with ion size. Mg2+ does not fit this trend because the strength of its first solvation shell predicts indirect binding only. Ions bound to the phosphate backbone form fewer contacts per ion compared to the major groove. Within the major groove, metal ions preferentially bind to guanine-cystosine base pairs and form simultaneous contacts with the N7 and O6 atoms of guanine. Overall, we find that the interplay among ion size, DNA-ion interaction, and the size and flexibility of the first solvation shell are key to predicting how alkaline earth metal ions interact with DNA.
Toxicity of fine powders, filter cake and Triplex against Sitophilus zeamais adults:

Filter cake and Triplex are powdered by-products of aluminum sulfate and soap factories, respectively. There is limited data about the use of these powders as grain protectants. This study was aimed at determining contact toxicity of both powders against Sitophilus zeamais, a common pest of stored grains. Lethal concentration of both powders to S. zeamais was determined by exposing 10 adults for 12 h in 9 cm diameter concrete arenas inside Petri dishes dusted with filter cake (0 - 8 g/m2) or Triplex (0 - 9 g/m2). Lethal time was determined by exposing adults to 3 g/m2 filter cake and 9 g/m2 Triplex for 1 to 24 h. Each treatment was replicated 3 times. At the intended exposure time, adults were transferred to 150-ml round plastic containers with 30 g of wheat and held at 28 degree Celsius and 65% r.h. for 14 d to determine mortality. Adult progeny production was determined after 42 d. A 50% mortality of adults was obtained at 0.61 g/m2 of filter cake and 1.61 g/m2 of Triplex concentrations with a 12 h exposure. The corresponding effective concentrations for 50% reduction of progeny production were 0.18 g/m2 of filter cake and 2.66 g/m2 of Triplex. Lethal times for 50% mortality of adults after exposure to 3 g/m2 of filter cake and 9 g/m2 of Triplex were 4.42 and 4.29 h, respectively. The corresponding effective times for 50% reduction of progeny production after exposure to 3 g/m2 of filter cake and 9 g/m2 of Triplex were 1.74 and 2.34 h respectively. The overall result indicated that filter cake was highly toxic to S. zeamais than Triplex. Therefore, filter cake is a potential powder to be included in the integrated pest management practice in small holder farmers’ storage structures after tested under real field conditions.
What is that Building?: An End-to-end System for Building Recognition from Streetside Images

The paper describes Streetside Building Search-Retrieve System (SBSRS) - a system for recognizing buildings from steetside images. SBSRS powers several distinct applications: 1) it improves map-search by enriching its streetview service with semantic information, such as location, business name, open hours, etc.; 2) it enables search by image and location - a novel form of visual image search where both visual and location signals are used to identify the most relevant result to a query image of a building. SBSRS works in an entirely unsupervised way. It has an offline component, which generates an index of building objects by scraping streetview images, segmenting and conflating them with business information. An online component can then search over the index, utilizing location information to retrieve a small set of geo-relevant results, which are then re-ranked using novel highly accurate visual descriptors. To evaluate the system, we generate a dataset of over 23K unique business buildings from four major US cities. This significantly exceeds the number of landmarks in datasets previously used by similar systems. We compare our system with a state-of-the-art baseline and show its accuracy on our new buildings dataset as well as on two popular landmark datasets.
MiniFAST: A sensitive and fast miniaturized microscope for in vivo neural recording

Abstract Observing the activity of large populations of neurons in vivo is critical for understanding brain function and dysfunction. The use of fluorescent genetically-encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) in conjunction with miniaturized microscopes is an exciting emerging toolset for recording neural activity in unrestrained animals. Despite their potential, current miniaturized microscope designs are limited by using image sensors with low frame rates, sensitivity, and resolution. Beyond GECIs, there are many neuroscience applications which would benefit from the use of other emerging neural indicators, such as fluorescent genetically-encoded voltage indicators (GEVIs) that have faster temporal resolution to match neuron spiking, yet, require imaging at high speeds to properly sample the activity-dependent signals. We integrated an advanced CMOS image sensor into a popular open-source miniaturized microscope platform. MiniFAST is a fast and sensitive miniaturized microscope capable of 1080p video, 1.5 µm resolution, frame rates up to 500 Hz and high gain ability (up to 70 dB) to image in extremely low light conditions. We report results of high speed 500 Hz in vitro imaging of a GEVI and ∼300 Hz in vivo imaging of transgenic Thy1-GCaMP6f mice. Finally, we show the potential for a reduction in photobleaching by using high gain imaging with ultra-low excitation light power (0.05 mW) at 60 Hz frame rates while still resolving Ca2+ spiking activity. Our results extend miniaturized microscope capabilities in high-speed imaging, high sensitivity and increased resolution opening the door for the open-source community to use fast and dim neural indicators.
Assessment of Performance

In this chapter we discuss the performance of the procedures that we have presented throughout this work. We begin with empirical results and conclude with a theoretical discussion of computational complexity.
Driving Pressure or Tidal Pressure: What A Difference a Name Makes.

In Reply: We certainly agree that the term driving pressure is a misnomer because it is the difference between two static variables recorded at end-inspiration and end-expiration. As such, it represents the amplitude of the tidal alveolar pressure, but the only thing it “drives” is the onset
Environmental risk factors are associated with autoimmune hepatitis

BACKGROUND Failure of immunologic homeostasis and resultant hepatocyte destruction in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is likely the result of environmental triggers within a permissive genetic architecture. AIMS We aimed to identify risk factors associated with AIH in a well-phenotyped AIH cohort. METHODS We prospectively collected environmental questionnaires from 358 AIH cases and 563 healthy controls. Response frequencies were compared using logistic regression, adjusting for age at recruitment, sex and education. RESULTS AIH cases were more likely to ever have a urinary tract infection (UTI) (53.6% vs 33.9%, P < .001) and recurrent UTI (more than 1 per year) (23.5% vs 15.9%, P = .002) compared to controls. Female cases more frequently had ever used oral contraceptives (83.0% vs 73.7%, P = .006), fewer pregnancies (median = 1 vs 3, P < .001) and less often used hormone replacement therapy compared to controls (28.5% vs 60.1%, P < .001). Current smoking was more prevalent in cases (18.9% vs 7.4%, P = .022), yet no difference according to historical smoking behaviours was observed. Finally, cases were less likely to have history of mumps (32.4% vs 53.1%, P = .011) and rheumatic fever (1.1% vs 4.4%, P = .028), but reported higher vaccination frequency to chicken pox (38% vs 28.1%), measles (66.5% vs 39.3%), mumps (58.7% vs 34.6%), rubella (55.3% vs 32.7%), pertussis (59.8% vs 40.1%) and pneumococcus (47.2% VS 39.4%) (P < .002). CONCLUSIONS Environmental factors are important in AIH pathogenesis. Replication of these findings and prospective examination may provide new insight into AIH onset and outcomes.