cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Health risk characterization of maximum legal exposures for persistent organic pollutant (POP) pesticides in residential soil: An analysis

Abstract Regulations for pesticides in soil are important for controlling human health risk; humans can be exposed to pesticides by ingesting soil, inhaling soil dust, and through dermal contact. Previous studies focused on analyses of numerical standard values for pesticides and evaluated the same pesticide using different standards among different jurisdictions. To understand the health consequences associated with pesticide soil standard values, lifetime theoretical maximum contribution and risk characterization factors were used in this study to quantify the severity of damage using disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) under the maximum “legal” exposure to persistent organic pollutant (POP) pesticides that are commonly regulated by the Stockholm Convention. Results show that computed soil characterization factors for some pesticides present lognormal distributions, and some of them have DALY values higher than 1000.0 per million population (e.g., the DALY for dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane [DDT] is 14,065 in the Netherlands, which exceeds the tolerable risk of uncertainty upper bound of 1380.0 DALYs). Health risk characterization factors computed from national jurisdictions illustrate that values can vary over eight orders of magnitude. Further, the computed characterization factors can vary over four orders of magnitude within the same national jurisdiction. These data indicate that there is little agreement regarding pesticide soil regulatory guidance values (RGVs) among worldwide national jurisdictions or even RGV standard values within the same jurisdiction. Among these POP pesticides, lindane has the lowest median (0.16 DALYs) and geometric mean (0.28 DALYs) risk characterization factors, indicating that worldwide national jurisdictions provide relatively conservative soil RGVs for lindane. In addition, we found that some European nations and members of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics share the same pesticide RGVs and data clusters for the computed characterization factors.
Saturable Absorption in 2D Ti₃C₂ MXene Thin Films for Passive Photonic Diodes

MXenes comprise a new class of 2D transition metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides that exhibit unique light-matter interactions. Recently, 2D Ti3 CNTx (Tx represents functional groups such as OH and F) was found to exhibit nonlinear saturable absorption (SA) or increased transmittance at higher light fluences, which is useful for mode locking in fiber-based femtosecond lasers. However, the fundamental origin and thickness dependence of SA behavior in MXenes remain to be understood. 2D Ti3 C2 Tx thin films of different thicknesses are fabricated using an interfacial film formation technique to systematically study their nonlinear optical properties. Using the open aperture Z-scan method, it is found that the SA behavior in Ti3 C2 Tx MXene arises from plasmon-induced increase in the ground state absorption at photon energies above the threshold for free carrier oscillations. The saturation fluence and modulation depth of Ti3 C2 Tx MXene is observed to be dependent on the film thickness. Unlike other 2D materials, Ti3 C2 Tx is found to show higher threshold for light-induced damage with up to 50% increase in nonlinear transmittance. Lastly, building on the SA behavior of Ti3 C2 Tx MXenes, a Ti3 C2 Tx MXene-based photonic diode that breaks time-reversal symmetry to achieve nonreciprocal transmission of nanosecond laser pulses is demonstrated.
Human Guided Linear Regression With Feature-Level Constraints

Linear regression methods are commonly used by both researchers and data scientists due to their interpretability and their reduced likelihood of overfitting. However, these methods can still perform poorly if little labeled training data is available. Typical methods used to overcome a lack of labeled training data somehow involve exploiting an outside source of labeled data or large amounts of unlabeled data. This includes areas such as active learning, semi-supervised learning and transfer learning, but in many domains these approaches are not always applicable because they require either a mechanism to label data, large amounts of unlabeled data or additional sources of sufficiently related data. In this paper we explore an alternative, non-data centric approach. We allow the user to guide the learning system through three forms of feature-level guidance which constrain the parameters of the regression function. Such guidance is unlikely to be perfectly accurate, so we derive methods which are robust to some amounts of noise, a property we formally prove for one of our methods.
Critical Issues and Pedagogical Pathways in Gerontology & Geriatrics Education.

As we begin the new year this first issue of Gerontology and Geriatrics Education is framed around a variety of critical issues in our field including stereotypes and attitudes, bridging generation...
Interstitial Axon Branching/Collateral Elimination

Axon branching allows a single neuron to connect with multiple central nervous system (CNS) targets. During development, motile growth cones at axon tips steer growing axons, but collateral branches extending interstitially from the axon shaft establish connections with appropriate targets. Gradients of attractive and repellent molecular cues, reorganization and dynamics of the actin and microtubule cytoskeleton, calcium transients of different amplitudes and frequencies and intracellular signaling pathways are shared mechanisms underlying growth cone guidance and axon branching. These mechanisms are not completely understood, but it seems likely that axon growth and guidance along pathways and axon branching into targets are independently regulated.
Distributed Cross-Entropy $\delta$ -GLMB Filter for Multi-Sensor Multi-Target Tracking

The multi-dimensional assignment problem, and by extension the problem of finding the $T$-best (i.e., the $T$ most likely) multi-sensor assignments, represent the main challenges of centralized and especially distributed multi-sensor tracking. In this paper, we propose a distributed multi-target tracking filter based on the $\delta$ -Generalized Labeled Multi-Bernoulli (6-GLMB) family of labeled random finite set densities. Consensus is reached for high-scoring multi-sensor assignments jointly across the network by employing the cross-entropy method in conjunction with average consensus. This ensures that multi-sensor information is jointly used to select high-scoring multi-assignments without exchanging the measurements across the network and without exploring all possible single-target multi-assignments. In contrast, tracking algorithms that rely on posterior fusion, i.e., merging local posteriors of neighboring nodes until convergence, are suboptimal due to the use of only local information to select the $T$-best local assignments in the construction of local posteriors. Numerical simulations showcase this performance improvement of the proposed method with respect to a posterior-fusion δ- GLMB filter.
Purification and partial characterization of LdtP, a cell envelope modifying enzyme in Liberibacter asiaticus

The aggressive spread of Liberibacter asiaticus, a bacterium closely associated with citrus greening, has given rise to an acute crisis in the citrus industry, making it imperative to expand the scientific knowledge base regarding L. asiaticus. Despite several endeavors to culture L. asiaticus, this bacterium has yet to be maintained in axenic culture, rendering identification and analysis of potential treatment targets challenging. Accordingly, a thorough understanding of biological mechanisms involved in the citrus host-microbe relationship is critical as a means of directing the search for future treatment targets. In this study, we evaluate the biochemical characteristics of CLIBASIA_01175, renamed LdtP (L,D-transpeptidase). Surrogate strains were used to evaluate its potential biological significance in gram-negative bacteria. A strain of E. coli carrying quintuple knock-outs of all genes encoding L,D-transpeptidases was utilized to demonstrate the activity of L. asiaticus LdtP. This complementation study demonstrated the periplasmic localization of mature LdtP and provided evidence for the biological role of LdtP in peptidoglycan modification. Further investigation highlighted the role of LdtP as a periplasmic esterase involved in modification of the lipid A moiety of the lipopolysaccharide. This work described, for the first time, an enzyme of the L,D-transpeptidase family with moonlighting enzyme activity directed to the modification of the bacterial cell wall and LPS. Taken together, the data indicates that LdtP is a novel protein involved in an alternative pathway for modification of the bacterial cell, potentially affording L. asiaticus a means to survive within the host.
COLLISION DURATION FOR POLAR OPTICAL AND INTERVALLEY PHONON SCATTERING

The use of femtosecond laser pulses to excite plasmas in semiconductors has become a major method of studying fast processes.1 The transition times from the Γ valley to the satellite X and L valleys are comparable to the reciprocal of the frequency of the phonons involved, bringing into question the use of standard perturbation-theory approaches. Our aim is to evaluate the time required to emit a phonon, either the intravalley LO or the intervalley, by a nearly-free electron in semiconductors. The leading idea of our work is that the so-called “collision duration” is related to the time required to build up correlation between the initial and final state, and then to destroy this correlation as the collision is completed. The calculations are developed using a non-equilibrium Green’s function formalism, which allows us to evaluate explicitly the effects of the correlations in time.
Afferent Lymphatic Transport and Peripheral Tissue Immunity

Lymphatic vessels provide an anatomical framework for immune surveillance and adaptive immune responses. Although appreciated as the route for Ag and dendritic cell transport, peripheral lymphatic vessels are often not considered active players in immune surveillance. Lymphatic vessels, however, integrate contextual cues that directly regulate transport, including changes in intrinsic pumping and capillary remodeling, and express a dynamic repertoire of inflammatory chemokines and adhesion molecules that facilitates leukocyte egress out of inflamed tissue. These mechanisms together contribute to the course of peripheral tissue immunity. In this review, we focus on context-dependent mechanisms that regulate fluid and cellular transport out of peripheral nonlymphoid tissues to provide a framework for understanding the effects of afferent lymphatic transport on immune surveillance, peripheral tissue inflammation, and adaptive immunity.
Is explainable artificial intelligence intrinsically valuable

There is general consensus that explainable artificial intelligence (“XAI”) is valuable, but there is significant divergence when we try to articulate why, exactly, it is desirable. This question must be distinguished from two other kinds of questions asked in the XAI literature that are sometimes asked and addressed simultaneously. The first and most obvious is the ‘how’ question—some version of: ‘how do we develop technical strategies to achieve XAI?’ Another question is specifying what kind of explanation is worth having in the first place. As difficult and important as the challenges are in answering these questions, they are distinct from a third question: why do we want XAI at all? There is vast literature on this question as well, but I wish to explore a different kind of answer. The most obvious way to answer this question is by describing a desirable outcome that would likely be achieved with the right kind of explanation, which would make the explanation valuable instrumentally. That is, XAI is desirable to attain some other value, such as fairness, trust, accountability, or governance. This family of arguments is obviously important, but I argue that explanations are also intrinsically valuable, because unexplainable systems can be dehumanizing. I argue that there are at least three independently valid versions of this kind of argument: an argument from participation, from knowledge, and from actualization. Each of these arguments that XAI is intrinsically valuable is independently compelling, in addition to the more obvious instrumental benefits of XAI.
Uncovering SARS-CoV-2 kidney tropism.

Samira Musah highlights work by Puelles et al. investigating multi-organ affinity of SARS-CoV-2 and its high infectivity of the kidneys.
Impact Assessments of Investment Treaties (Preface)

The author introduces Gehring’s call for a multi-lateralization of Impact Assessments (IAs). IA processes in Canada, the US and the EU illustrate the complex nature of IAs and their challenges in a rapidly evolving international investment law and policy regime. IAs have expanded to include non-environmental impacts, new jurisdictions and the coverage of assessments of proposed trade agreements and their negotiations, proposed investment agreements, major infrastructure or capital projects and government policies generally. Such expansions position IAs to advance transparency, participation and accountability.
Deciphering nucleic acid knots.

Nucleic acids can adopt G-quadruplex folds whose cellular roles remain poorly defined. Synthesis of new probes has now enabled the identification of human proteins that interact with G-quadruplexes. This could provide new clues to decipher the function of these curious folds.
Validating Coding for the Identification of Pediatric Treatment Resistant Epilepsy Patients

The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) system includes sub codes to indicate that an individual with epilepsy is treatment resistant. These codes would be a valuable tool to identify in...
Do I belong in my math class? The importance of perceived racial/ethnic context and math course sequence

Abstract As careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) continue to grow, so has attention to Algebra 1 enrollment timing that serves as a critical predictor of STEM success. The present study adds to the literature by examining if Algebra 1 enrollment timing from 8th to 9th grade is related to sense of belonging in math, and whether this association changes as a function of the students’ perceived school and math race/ethnic context. To capture the dynamic nature of these contexts, we examined racial/ethnic incongruence, or the difference in the perceived number of same-race/ethnic peers in math class and the school of Black, White, Latino, and Asian students. Mixed effects linear modeling analyses were conducted on a sample of 2,938 participants (46% males; 54% females) who attended 26 racially/ethnically diverse middle schools and who transitioned to 142 public high schools in California. The results showed that enrolling and successfully passing 8th Algebra was protective for sense of belonging but this association depended on students’ race/ethnicity and the racial/ethnic incongruence between the math class and school context. Findings have important implications for math education, teaching, and policy.
Effects of Different Allotments of Avocados on the Nutritional Status of Families: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

Avocados are a nutrient-dense plant-food, but limited trial-derived evidence exists about the effects of avocado intake on family nutritional status. We investigated the impact of two levels of avocado allotment, plus a standard nutrition education intervention on the nutritional status of Hispanic/Latino families. Seventy-two families consisting of at least three members of ≥5 years of age and residing in the same home, free of severe chronic disease, not on specific diets, and self-identified of Hispanic heritage, were randomized to one of two levels of avocado allotment (low = 3/week/family or high = 14/week/family) for 6 months plus 12 bi-weekly nutrition education sessions. The primary outcomes included change in a family’s total energy and macro- and micronutrient intakes. Primary analysis was intention-to-treat with unpaired, two-sided t-tests to assess mean changes between groups at 6 months. At 6 months, the high avocado allotment group had a significant reduction in energy intake, carbohydrate, animal and vegetable protein, saturated and polyunsaturated fat, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron, and vitamin D intakes (all p < 0.05). A high allotment of avocados significantly reduced self-reported energy intake by 29% kcal/family/day, compared to a 3% kcal/family/day reduction in families who received a low allotment. Culturally-appropriate plant-food interventions may alter the nutritional status of at-risk families.
Situating Early Childhood Care and Development Quality

Today, compared with the aims of large-scale investment in child-survival programs throughout the 1970s and 80s, the goal of Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) among NGOs operating in majority-world contexts is not only to promote survival but also to promote survivors’ physical, intellectual, social, and emotional development (World Bank, 2004). The term “majority-world” refers to the countries in which the majority of the children live, as opposed to the “minority-world” or developed countries, in which the minority of the world’s children live.
'End of life' conversations, appreciation sequences, and the interaction order in cancer clinics.

Abstract Objective To address the organization of conversations in oncology visits by taking an “interaction order” perspective and asking how these visits are intrinsically organized. Methods Conversation analysis. Results Using audio recordings of talk in oncology visits involving patients with non-small cell lung cancer, we identify and analyze an “appreciation sequence” that is designed to elicit patients’ understanding and positive assessment of treatments in terms of their prolongation of life. Conclusion An “appreciation sequence,” regularly initiated after the delivery of scan results and/or treatment recommendations, simultaneously reminds patients of their mortality while suggesting that the treatment received has prolonged their lives, and in some cases significantly beyond the median time of survival. Practice implications We explore the functions of the appreciation sequence for cancer care and set the stage for considering where and when physicians have choices about the order and direction the talk can take and how to allocate time for end of life and quality of life conversations.
da Vinci® single-site platform: anthropometrical, docking and suturing considerations for hysterectomy in the cadaver model.

Background The paper describes specific technical requirements, limitations, anthropometrical, docking and suturing considerations on the performance of robotic hysterectomy using the da Vinci® Single-Site Platform in the cadaver model Methods A data set was collected for each procedure including port placement, docking sequence, robotic arms placement and angles, robotic instrumentation, optimal ergonomics, operative time, and cadaver anthropometrical measurements. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to determine whether age, BMI or docking approach were correlated with docking difficulty and likelihood of successful procedure completion. Analysis of the data was performed using SPSS v19.0.0. Results The planned surgical procedure was successfully completed with single-port robotics in 87.5% of cases. High BMI was correlated with difficulty docking the robot, correlation coefficient 0.98. Conclusions Further work is needed in the development and advancement of single-site robotic platforms, articulated instrumentation, and optics. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Dynamically generating context-relevant sub-webs

There is unprecedented growth of Web information but challenges on mining this vast information resource remain This paper addresses designing an effective prototype tool that dynamically generates sub-webs of information from a web-based resource (World Wide Web or a subset) Sub-webs present context-relevant results to individuals or groups Given that the prototype tool is technically implemented from multiple components, each of which has efficacy, there still remains the challenge of devising an appropriate evaluation of the complete model This is difficult when the search scope is the entire World Wide Web and a vast number of result pages are technically good on Recall but low on Precision This paper describes an iterative approach to finding an effective technical prototype using an evaluation method that can a) reasonably model the search environment of the World Wide Web and b) provide convincing metrics for evaluating efficacy of solutions.
Imaging and clinical characteristics of temporal bone meningioma.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Imaging characteristics of temporal bone meningioma have not been previously reported in the literature. CT and MR imaging findings in 13 cases of temporal bone meningioma are reviewed to define specific imaging features. METHODS: A retrospective review of our institutional case archive revealed 13 cases of histologically confirmed temporal bone meningioma. CT and MR imaging studies were reviewed to characterize mass location, vector of spread, bone changes, enhancement characteristics, and intracranial patterns of involvement. Clinical presenting signs and symptoms were correlated with imaging findings. RESULTS: Thirteen temporal bone meningiomas were reviewed in 8 women and 5 men, aged 18–65 years. Meningiomas were stratified into 3 groups on the basis of location and tumor vector of spread. There were 6 tegmen tympani, 5 jugular foramen (JF), and 2 internal auditory canal (IAC) meningiomas. Tegmen tympani and JF meningiomas were characterized by spread to the middle ear cavity. IAC meningiomas, by contrast, spread to the cochlea and vestibule. Hearing loss was the most common clinical presenting feature in all cases of temporal bone meningioma (10/13). The presence of tumor adjacent to the ossicles strongly correlated with conductive hearing loss (7/9). CONCLUSION: Meningioma involving the temporal bone is rare. Three subgroups of meningioma exist in this location: tegmen tympani, JF, and IAC meningioma. Tegmen tympani and JF meningiomas spread to the middle ear cavity. IAC meningiomas spread to intralabyrinthine structures. Conductive hearing loss is commonly seen in these patients and can be surgically correctable.
Identifying putative candidate genes and pathways involved in immune responses to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection.

Differences in gene expression were compared between RNAs from lungs of high (HR) and low (LR) porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) burden pigs using the swine protein-annotated long oligonucleotide microarray, the Pigoligoarray. Pathway analyses were carried out to determine biological processes, pathways and networks that differ between the LR and HR responses. Differences existed between HR and LR pigs for 16 signalling pathways [P 1.96]. Top canonical pathways included acute phase response signalling, crosstalk between dendritic cells and natural killer cells and tight junction signalling, with numerous immune response genes that were upregulated (SOCS1, SOD2, RBP4, HLA-B, HLA-G, PPP2R1A and TAP1) or downregulated (IL18, TF, C4BPA, C1QA, C1QB and TYROBP). One mechanism, regulation of complement activation, may have been blocked in HR (PRRSV-susceptible) pigs and could account for the poor clearance of PRRSV by infected macrophages. Multiple inhibiting signals may have prevented effective immune responses in susceptible HR pigs, although some protective genes were upregulated in these pigs. It is likely that in HR pigs, expression of genes associated with protection was delayed, so that the immune response was not stimulated early; thus, PRRSV infection prevented protective immune responses.
Echocardiographic parameters that predict poor outcomes in acute pulmonary embolism

Introduction: Limited information exists on the utility of modern echocardiographic measurements in predicting need for ICU care, hospital mortality and length of stay in acute pulmonary embolism (PE). Methods: We confirmed diagnosis of PE by reviewing CT angiogram. The patients were admitted between March 2010 and December 2012. We included 56 patients with acute PE in the present study. Patients with poor echocardiographic window were excluded. A large number of traditional and modern echocardiographic variables were measured. Binary logistic regression was used to identify echocardiographic predictors of hospital mortality. Results are given as hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval. Results: Age (mean (SD)) was 61 (15). A total of 52 (93 %) patients were admitted to the medical ICU and the rest to regular nursing floor. On admission HR was 99 (18) bpm, hemodynamic instability on admission was observed in 8 (14 %) patients, FIO2 was 51 (35) %. Thrombolytic therapy was given to 13 (23 %) of individuals. Only 7 (13%) patients died during hospitalization. Right ventricular diastolic diameter at mid-cavity (HR: 3.2 (1.2-8.7)), tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) (HR: 0.8 (0.5-1)) and paradoxical interventricular septal motion (HR: 0.09 (0.02-0.54)) predicted hospital mortality. Of the patients that did not die during the hospitalization, echocardiographic parameters obtained on admission could not adequately predict the length of hospital stay. Conclusions: Right ventricular diameter, TAPSE and paradoxical septal motion predicted hospital mortality. In those patients that survived the hospitalization, echocardiographic parameters did not predict length of hospital stay.
ASSISS: an active semi-structured scientific information sharing system

The main concept behind our approach to scientific information sharing is to capture scientific experiments in hypermedia documents as the basic unit of information exchange. We defined SEML (Scientific Experiment Markup Language), based on the XML standard that introduces definitions of tags and links for specific and common information describing scientific experiments. A collection of SEML documents can be viewed as an online electronic experiment logbook that captures the entire experiment. The process and inter-relationships between experiments are modeled to allow an experiment to be re-created, perhaps when input data sets change. We have prototyped ASSISS (Active Semi-Structured Information Sharing System), supporting the browsing, searching and dissemination of XML documents. ASSISS extends scalable active data dissemination technologies developed in the Semantic Multicast Project to provide support for collaborative scientific information dissemination. Within the framework, users' information requests are adaptively clustered. The aggregated information processing and dissemination needs of user groups are then satisfied by a network of dynamic content agents that filters and transforms information in the appropriate manner. SEML is used as the vocabulary against which user profiles are specified, and SEML documents capturing an experiment can be proactively multicasted to groups of users who are interested in some aspect of the activity as the experiments are being conducted.
Bile acids stimulate cFLIP phosphorylation enhancing TRAIL-mediated apoptosis

Abstract Bile acids induce hepatocyte injury by enhancing death receptor-mediated apoptosis. In this study, bile acid effects on TRAIL-mediated apoptosis were examined to gain insight into bile acid potentiation of death receptor signaling. TRAIL-induced apoptosis of HuH-7 cells, stably transfected with a bile acid transporter, was enhanced by bile acids. Caspase 8 and 10 activation, bid cleavage, cytosolic cytochrome c, and caspase 3 activation by TRAIL were all increased by the bile acid glycochenodeoxycholate (GCDCA). GCDCA (100 μm) did not alter expression of TRAIL-R1/DR4, TRAIL-R2/DR5, procaspase 8, cFLIP-L, cFLIP-s, Bax, Bcl-xL, or Bax. However, both caspase 8 and caspase 10 recruitment and processing within the TRAIL death-inducing signaling complex (DISC) were greater in GCDCA-treated cells whereas recruitment of cFLIP long and short was reduced. GCDCA stimulated phosphorylation of both cFLIP isoforms, which was associated with decreased binding to GST-FADD. The protein kinase C antagonist chelerythrine prevented bile acid-stimulated cFLIP-L and -s phosphorylation, restored cFLIP binding to GST-FADD, and attenuated bile acid potentiation of TRAIL-induced apoptosis. These results provide new insights into the mechanisms of bile acid cytotoxicity and the proapoptotic effects of cFLIP phosphorylation in TRAIL signaling.
Success of a High-Friction Diverting Gel in Acid Stimulation of a Carbonate Reservoir - Cornell Unit, San Andres Field

High-friction gel (HFG) is a fluid that exhibits unusual shear stress characteristics that make it well suited as a diverting agent for well stimulation procedures. It is being pumped into the formation of the Cornell Unit to divert acid to other portions of the formation. Injection wells that have been acid stimulated using HFG as a diverting agent have displayed better vertical sweep efficiency than those using straddle packers of benzoic acid flakes to divert acid. 3 refs.
The infrared structure of the quark-antiquark scattering kernel in quantumchromodynamics: A clue to the nature of the quark binding potential?☆

Abstract The equal rate, near-mass-shell behavior of the two particle irreducible, spin-independent, color singlet channel quark-antiquark (qq) scattering kernel is studied to all orders in perturbation theory. A general functional form in terms of the long-distance Yang-Mills invariant charge g(t),t→0, t being the momentum transfer, is determined. Under certain conditions, the behavior of the Bethe-Salpeter iteration of this kernel in the qq threshold regime suggests the existence of a universal qq effective potential of the form g2eff[g(t)]/t.
Linear Dichroism of the 740NM Absorbing Form of Chlorophyll a

Abstract In recent years the microcrystalline form of Chlorophyll a (Chla) with an intense red band around 740 nm has received much attention. This Chla species has been shown to be a good photo conductor; therefore, the use of this microcrystalline Chla species for solar photovoltaic cells is being actively explored.1,2 The 740 nm absorbing Chla species are formed in some hydrocarbon solvents, aqueous ethanolic solutions and also in some aqueous micellar ethanolic solutions.1,3 The exact nature of the absorption red shift observed in Chla aggregates, considered to be (Chla. H2O)n, has not been unambiguously resolved.4
Endovascular middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats as a model for studying vascular dementia

Vascular dementia (VaD), incorporating cognitive dysfunction with vascular disease, ranks as the second leading cause of dementia in the United States, yet no effective treatment is currently available. The challenge of defining the pathological substrates of VaD is complicated by the heterogeneous nature of cerebrovascular disease and coexistence of other pathologies, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) types of lesion. The use of rodent models of ischemic stroke may help to elucidate the type of lesions that are responsible for cognitive impairment in humans. Endovascular middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion in rats is considered to be a convenient and reliable model of human cerebral ischemia. Both sensorimotor and cognitive dysfunction can be induced in the rat endovascular MCA occlusion model, yet sensorimotor deficits induced by endovascular MCA occlusion may improve with time, whereas data presented in this review suggest that in rats this model can result in a progressive course of cognitive impairment that is consistent with the clinical progression of VaD. Thus far, experimental studies using this model have demonstrated a direct interaction of cerebral ischemic damage and AD-type neuropathologies in the primary ischemic area. Further, coincident to the progressive decline of cognitive function, a delayed neurodegeneration in a remote area, distal to the primary ischemic area, the hippocampus, has been demonstrated in a rat endovascular MCA occlusion model. We argue that this model could be employed to study VaD and provide insight into some of the pathophysiological mechanisms of VaD.
Research update on teaching L2 listening

Abstract Listening is a fundamental language skill, but it is often ignored by foreign and second language teachers. This article explains the complexity and importance of the listening skill, summarizes research on L2 listening, and provides a research-based consumer's guide to selecting and using L2 listening activities.
A comparative study on sub-filament organization in primary myofilaments of basalar direct flight and tibial extensor muscles of the lepidopteran, Achalarus lyciades.

Primary myofilaments of direct flight muscle fibers are hexagonally arranged, are surrounded by six secondary myofilaments, and are composed of two sub-unit-fibrils, 90–120 A in diameter, at mid-sarcomere levels. Primary myofilaments are resolvable into electron-densities 15–25 A in diameter, which number 3–4 in each sub-fibril at mid-sarcomere levels, and number 6–8 elsewhere. Primary myofilaments of tibial extensor muscle are not found in hexagonal arrays, are surrounded by 10–12 secondary myofilaments, and are resolvable into electron densities which are 15–25 A in diameter similar to primary myofilaments of basalar flight muscle. However, a binary sub-fibril structure at mid-sarcomere levels is lacking in tibial extensor muscle fibers.
Comprehensive scrotal flow and scan technique for detection of varicoceles

Abstract We describe a noninvasive modified radionuclide technique, the “comprehensive scrotal flow and scan,” for the detection of varicoceles. The procedure utilizes in-vivo-labeled pyrophosphate red blood cells and 99m Tc-pertechnetate as a blood pool scanning agent. The procedure includes an immediate flow study along with early and delayed static images, both in the upright and supine position. These studies were examined by visual inspection and by computer analysis. Data were obtained from 50 patients and 8 control subjects. The technique demonstrated a 91.1 per cent sensitivity when compared to physical examination and an 84.6 per cent sensitivity when compared to venography from patients with subclinical or poorly palpable varicoceles.
Prevention of Controlled Substance Diversion - Use of Diversion Detection Software

This is the fifth of a six-part series on diversion of controlled substances in an acute health care setting. The six articles are meant to accompany the recommendations in the Hospital Pharmacy ar...
The Attractions and Perils of Flexible Mortgage Lending

A mortgage program that offered borrowers greater flexibility in the timing of repayments increased a bank's volume by over 35%. Loans in the program exhibited superior performance. Despite this, a regression discontinuity analysis shows that the causal impact of offering flexibility was to attract borrowers to the bank who experienced quadruple the average delinquency rate. These contrasting findings are driven by the fact that the bank engaged in ex post sorting of stronger borrowers into the flexible program. This sorting masked the ex ante adverse selection effects that offering flexibility had on the entire borrowing pool. The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Financial Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com., Oxford University Press.
On the performance of different AR methods in the spectral estimation of FDTD waveforms

In the past, several extrapolation techniques have been used in conjunction with the finite-difference—time-domain algorithm to reduce the computational cost involved in obtaining an accurate representation of the frequency response of the electromagnetic system under consideration. In this article we study the performances of different autoregressive techniques in accurately estimating the spectra of finite-difference—time-domain waveforms without resorting to extrapolation. The advantages and disadvantages of these techniques are demonstrated through two examples: a package plane structure and a cavity. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Reducing primary cesarean delivery: can we prevent current and future morbidity and mortality?

Reducing primary cesarean delivery: can we prevent current and future morbidity and mortality?
Form factors and photoproduction amplitudes

We examine the use of phenomenological form factors in tree level amplitudes for meson photoproduction. Two common recipes are shown to be fundamentally incorrect. An alternate form consistent with gauge invariance and crossing symmetry is proposed.
Behavior therapy of the sexual variations.

Abstract The behavior therapy of such sexual variant behavior as fetishism, exhibitionism, and transvestism is discussed. Homosexual behaviors are excluded from consideration. Clinical guidelines are formulated to determine when the variant behaviors should be treated directly and when other behaviors must be treated first. The aversive methods currently are the most powerful techniques for modifying such behaviors. However, clinical experience suggests that other methods, particularly thought stoppage, may prove even more effective. Several cases are presented to illustrate the flexibility and highly individualized nature of behavior therapy in this area.
Laser-induced photofragmentation of neutral and acidic glycans inside an ion-trap mass spectrometer

Permethylated acidic and neutral N-glycans representing different types of glycan structures, such as linear and branched sialylated structures, high-mannose type and fucosylated complex type, were photodissociated with 157 nm vacuum ultraviolet light in a linear ion trap. Cross-ring fragments corresponding to high-energy fragmentation pathways were observed in abundance for all studied structures. Some product ions appear diagnostic for a linkage of sialic acid residues and the glycan antenna to which these residues are attached. A conclusive assignment of the fucosylation site of the studied glycan structure has been facilitated through measurement of cross-ring fragmentation resulting from photodissociation.
Porous silicon as a cell interface for bone tissue engineering

A novel cell interface has been constructed on porous silicon. We have demonstrated that nano- to macro-scale porous architectures have promising osteoconductive potentials. Macroporous silicon (pore opening 1-2 μm) is especially favorable for osteoblast adhesion, growth, protein synthesis and mineralization. An electronic/optoelectronic controllable medical implant with both scaffolding and drug delivery functions may be created for orthopaedic tissue engineering with this material.
Medical therapies for mood disorders alter the blood-brain barrier

The effects of amitriptyline, lithium, and electroconvulsive shock on cerebral permeability and blood flow were tested. These three treatments share in common (i) the ability to influence the functional activity of central adrenergic neurons by way of effects on the release, reuptake, or metabolism of norepinephrine and (ii) therapeutic efficacy in mood disturbances. Under control conditions, cerebral permeability increases linealy with increasing arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide and hence cerebral blood flow. All three treatments altered this relationship in a manner consistent with their adrenergic effects. Amitriptyline potentiated this increase in cerebral permeability whereas lithium and electroconvulsive shock blunted this phenomenon. These results support the hypothesis that one function of central adrenergic neurons is regulation of the blood-brain barrier and raise the possibility that a related effect may underlie the clinical usefulness of such treatment.
Endocrine control of glycogen synthesis in crabs

Abstract 1. 1. Eyestalk removal in crabs Hemigrapsus nudus and Cancer magister (intermolt stage) is followed by an increase in the activity of UDPG-Glycogen transglucosylase system (UDPG-GT) in muscle tissue. 2. 2. Injection of eyestalk extract into eyestalkless animals decreases the enzyme activity nearly to normal levels. 3. 3. Net synthesis of glycogen in muscle and hepatopancreas, from either glucose or maltose, is not increased by eyestalk removal or depressed by the eyestalk extract injection. 4. 4. The turnover of glucose in glycogen in muscle and hepatopancreas is increased, as indicated by increased specific activity of the glycogen following injection of C 14 glucose or C 14 maltose, by eyestalk removal. 5. 5. Eyestalk extracts have been fractionated by chromatography on Sephadex and the inhibitory factor localized in a definite fraction. 6. 6. The increased turnover is treturned to normal by the injection of crude eyestalk extract or of the purified fraction containing the transglucosylase inhibitor. 7. 7. Eyestalk removal is followed by a marked decrease in total phosphorylase and an increase in the percentage of “inactive” phosphorylase “ b ”, but these changes are not reversed by injection of purified fraction of eyestalk extracts. 8. 8. The purified fraction does not increase blood glucose when injected, but does increase the maltose concentration in the blood. 9. 9. These results support the hypothesis that the inhibitor of UDPG-GT acts as a hormone in the control of glycogen synthesis and suggests the possibility that other factors may also be involved in the control of carbohydrate metabolism.
Interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein––an old gene for new eyes

Evolving 40 times independently, eyes are striking examples of convergent evolution in that 11-cis retinaldehyde is always used for photon capture, yet the mechanism for its regeneration may be dramatically different in between systems. In particular, insects, cephalopods and vertebrates show varying physical separation of the cis-->trans photoisomerization and chromphore reisomerization. In the vertebrate retina, these two processes are actually distributed between different cells. This compartmentalization is made possible by the phylogenetic innovation of the two-layered optic cup of the vertebrate retina. This unprecedented design created the subretinal space as a novel anatomical compartment allowing photoreceptors access to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and Muller cells, the two cell types which share the burden of 11-cis retinoid regeneration. To take advantage of this arrangement, early vertebrates appear to have recruited for retinoid binding, the betabetaalpha-spiral fold proven useful in enoyl-CoA isomerase/hydratases, and the carboxy-terminal proteases for stabilizing hydrophobic ligands. Quadruplication of this functional domain within a single polypeptide lead to the emergence of interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP). IRBP is the main soluble component of the IPM, and is prevented from diffusing out of the subretinal space because its large size excludes it from the photoreceptor/Muller cell zonulae adheretes. Despite this physical entrapment, IRBP is rapidly turned over within the IPM through a process that coordinates secretion of the protein by the photoreceptors, and its removal from the matrix by RPE and photoreceptor endocytosis. The present review will summarize what is known about the structure and function of IRBP to anticipate future avenues of research.
Inverse dynamics of adaptive structures used as space cranes

As a precursor to the real-time control of fast moving adaptive structures used as space cranes, a formulation is given for the flexibility induced motion relative to the nominal motion (i.e., the motion that assumes no flexibility) and for obtaining the open loop time varying driving forces. An algorithm is proposed for the computation of the relative motion and driving forces. The governing equations are given in matrix form with explicit functional dependencies. A simulator is developed to implement the algorithm on a digital computer. In the formulations, the distributed mass of the crane is lumped by two schemes, vz., 'trapezoidal' lumping and 'Simpson's rule' lumping. The effects of the mass lumping schemes are shown by simulator runs.
Using Big Data and BKT to Evaluate Course Resources (Abstract Only)

Now finding footing in objective research methodology, MOOCs have made significant strides toward developing into mature platforms for not only offering educational materials but also performing exploratory analysis of educational methods. Bayesian Knowledge Tracing (BKT) has been repeatedly shown to be successful at providing an accurate model of student knowledge in more traditional classroom settings, and recent research has explored the application of BKT to MOOCs with promising results. Using data from several MOOCs run by Stanford university, we propose to extend earlier research into the application of BKT to MOOCS by developing a framework within which the use of course resources and student performance can be leveraged both to increase the predictive accuracy of BKT modeling and to provide an evaluative metric for the utility of those resources. We hope that such a framework can contribute not only to MOOC courses, but traditional classrooms as well.
Total mercury levels in tunas from offshore waters of the Florida Atlantic coast.

Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), blackfin tuna (T. atlanticus), and little tunny (Euthynnus alletteratus), support significant recreational and commercial fisheries in Florida and throughout their respective ranges. Greater than 2.7 million pounds of these three tuna species were landed in Florida during 2002 (National Marine Fisheries Service, Fisheries Statistics and Economic Division, personal communication). The majority of recreational landings of blackfin tuna and little tunny in the southeastern United States are typically from Florida waters (National Marine Fisheries Service, Fisheries Statistics and Economic Division, personal communication). Although mercury and other contaminants in tunas and other pelagic species are of widespread interest and concern, data regarding mercury levels in tunas from the southeastern United States are very limited. Due to the current lack of information, increased monitoring of mercury in these species has been recommended by both state and federal fishery agencies. Fish-consumption advisories issued by the Florida Department of Health (DOH) for mercury in fish from Florida waters currently include blackfin tuna and little tunny (DOH, 2003). This advisory urges limited consumption of blackfin tuna from waters off the central Atlantic coast of Florida and limited consumption of little tunny from all Florida coastal waters (DOH, 2003). The objectives of this study were to analyze and interpret the total mercury content in dorsal muscle tissue of yellowfin tuna, blackfin tuna, and little tunny collected from coastal and offshore waters Florida’s Atlantic coast from 1999 to 2002. This study will also provide critical data to public health agencies within the State of Florida and elsewhere in the region to assess potential public health issues related to mercury concentrations in tunas from Florida and adjacent states in the southeastern United States.
Electron-hole pair creation and metal/semiconductor interface scattering observed by ballistic-electron-emission microscopy.

Ballistic-electron-emission microscopy (BEEM) is used to demonstrate experimentally that the creation of electron-hole pairs near the metal/semiconductor (M/S) interface significantly affects the scattering of the ballistic electrons with energy greater than the semiconductor-substrate energy gap. In addition, we observe that the derivative BEEM spectrum of Au/Si(001) (n-type) is rich with features which may correspond to either M/S interface states or to states in the semiconductor band gap near the interface. We suggest that these interface scattering processes occur also for other M/S systems.