cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Potato Production and Farm Price Responses in Northeastern America

The potato industries in Northeastern America (including Maine, Prince Edward Island (P. E. I.), New Brunswick, and Quebec) have undergone structural changes over the past few decades. The most notable change was the continuing shift in potato production from Maine to P. E. I. Using data between 1980 and 2005, this study assessed the price impact of changes in production across the four potato-producing areas in the Northeast. The study found that production change in P. E. I. has the largest impact on its own price, supporting P. E. I.’s leading role in reducing potato production in the region. The estimation result of the price response model in the study also indicates that growers in other producing areas in the region will also benefit from P. E. I.’s acreage reduction program.
Rotator Cuff Repair In Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Background: Currently, there is very little information available regarding the results of rotator cuff repair in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Therefore, we reviewed our experience to determine the results, the risk factors for an unsatisfactory outcome, and the rates of failure of this procedure. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of all patients with rheumatoid arthritis who had undergone repair of a rotator cuff tear at our institution from 1988 to 2002. Twenty-three shoulders in twenty-one patients were identified. The median duration of follow-up for the twenty shoulders that did not require revision surgery was 9.7 years. Nine shoulders had a partial-thickness tear, and fourteen had a full-thickness tear. The shoulders were assessed with regard to pain, functional outcome, and overall patient satisfaction. Results: Patients with both partial and full-thickness rotator cuff tears had significant improvements in terms of overall pain (p < 0.05) and satisfaction (p < 0.05). Patients who had undergone repair of a partial-thickness tear had improved active elevation (from 155° to 180°; p = 0.03), whereas patients who had undergone repair of a full-thickness tear did not have improved elevation. Six of the fourteen shoulders with a full-thickness tear had an unsatisfactory result, whereas only two of the nine shoulders with a partial-thickness tear had an unsatisfactory result. Conclusions: Rotator cuff repair in patients with rheumatoid arthritis can be challenging. However, durable pain relief and patient satisfaction can be achieved. Functional gains should not be expected in patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tears. Repair of the rotator cuff in patients with rheumatoid arthritis can be undertaken when nonoperative measures for pain relief have failed. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IV. SEE Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Environmental Impact Assessment for Transportation Projects: Case Study Using Remote-Sensing Technology, Geographic Information Systems, and Spatial Modeling

A major function of planners is to promote the best use of a community’s land and resources for different construction projects; especially critical are infrastructure projects on which economic development relies. Transportation projects typically involve both environmental and economic issues facing a community as it grows and changes. Considerations of sustainability, as well as the widespread use of collaborative planning, design, and construction, require tools that facilitate long-term impact analysis and easy communication among built-environment professionals. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is instrumental for studying transportation project impacts, but it is a time-consuming process because of the large number of dependent and independent variables involved. This paper presents a descriptive case study for the analysis phase of an EIA for transportation projects on the basis of the integration of remote-sensing technology, geographic information systems, and spatial modeling. Environmental vulnerability around the project areas is presented by exploiting the advantages of the map overlay method and the matrix method. A vulnerability grade map and road distribution map were produced, providing an overall vulnerability score for each of the three planning alternatives considered. A road alignment was indicated as the preferred corridor, which was further recommended for a project development and environmental (PD&E) study. The proposed framework provides for a comprehensive environmental assessment of transportation projects and improvement of the quality of the decision-making process in urban and interurban projects.
Policy punctuations: U.S. budget authority, 1947-1995

Baumgartner and Jones (1993) described a process of punctuated equilibrium in their study of policymaking in the United States since World War II Evidence was drawn from a series of particular issue-areas, but the model has implications for all areas of policymaking In this paper, we explore the validity of this approach with a new dataset that tabulates congressional budget authority at the Office of Management and Budget subfunction level across all areas of the federal budget for the entire postwar period We find that government spending is characterized by much greater change than is typically portrayed in the literature, even if there is great stability for most categories most of the time In addition, overall patterns of spending have been affected by two large-scale punctuations These punctuations divide national spending into three epochs one of postwar adjustment, lasting until FY 1956; one of robust growth, lasting from 1956 through 1974, and one of restrained growth, beginning in FY 1976 We tes...
Pseudo-Goldstone bosons in curved space-time

We calculate the effective potential for pseudo-Goldstone bosons (PGB's) in a toy SU(3) gauge theory broken by scalars in the adjoint representation, in a time indpendent curved space time with constant scalar curvature R. In both the strong and weak gravitational field limits, the effective potential for the PGB's picks up curvature dependent quadratic terms in one-loop order. Curiously, in the weak field limit, the gravitational contribution to the PGB mass is of the form RlogR, while in the opposite case (strong field) the expected form linear in R is recovered. A subtlety involved in determining the coupling of Goldstone bosons to the scalar curvature in theories with spontaneous symmetry breaking is described. 22 refs., 2 figs.
Functional Testing Differences in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Patients Released Versus Not Released to Return to Sport

Background:No standardized return-to-activity or sport guidelines currently exist after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Isokinetic testing and unilateral hop testing, which have construct validity, are often used to make the determination of when a patient is ready to return to sport. Neither of these measures has been reported to be predictive of subsequent injuries.Purpose:To compare the performance on 2 functional tests of ACL reconstruction patients released to return to activity versus those who have not been released based on clinical impairment measures.Study Design:Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.Methods:A total of 98 patients were examined by the treating orthopaedic surgeon 6 months after ACL reconstruction for traditional impairment measures, including swelling, range of motion, strength, and graft stability. After this examination, all subjects completed the functional testing, consisting of the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) and the Lower Quarter Y Balance Test (YBT-LQ),...
Spatial and Temporal Differences in Giant Kidney Worm, Dictophyma renale , Prevalence in Minnesota Mink, Mustela vison

Examination of 110 Mink ( Mustela vison ) carcasses from 1998 through 2007 indicated that the giant kidney worm, Dioctophyma renale , occurred in Pine and Kanabec Counties of eastern Minnesota with annual prevalences of 0-92%. Worm prevalence increased from 20% in 1999 to 92% in 2001 and decreased to 6% in 2005. During 2000 to 2007, no worms were found in Mink from Anoka and Chisago Counties (n = 54), and in 2000, none in 107 Mink from LeSeur, Freeborn, Redwood, Brown and Watonwan Counties. Changes in kidney worm prevalence were positively related to trapping success, considered an index of Mink density.
TICK-TRANSMITTED INFECTIOUS DISEASES IN THE UNITED STATES

▪ Abstract The epidemiologic concept of tick-transmitted diseases has increased in importance with the recognition of the emerging infectious diseases, Lyme borreliosis, human monocytotropic and granulocytotropic ehrlichioses, and three different babesioses. Effective public health control of these diseases would depend upon critical knowledge of the vector biology of the ticks that transmit them. Rocky Mountain spotted fever and the human ehrlichioses are life-threatening yet treatable diseases. A major problem remains establishment of the diagnosis when treatment decisions are being made. Clinical manifestations, other than erythema migrans for Lyme borreliosis, do not provide strong diagnostic clues. Ehrlichiae or babesiae are often not detected in peripheral blood smears. Frequently there are no antibodies to these diverse agents at the time of presentation, and isolation does not yield sensitive and timely results. Polymerase chain reaction, still a research tool, promises the greatest sensitivity, s...
Influence of Multiple Factors on Insect Colonization of Heterogeneous Landscapes: A Review and Case Study with Periodical Cicadas (Homoptera: Cicadidae)

The literature on herbivorous insects in heterogeneous habitats has addressed insect population responses to patch size, distance from source populations, habitat edges, and variation in host stem density. Studies typically conclude that insect colonists respond positively to the area of host plant patches, but there is little consensus on how insects respond to variation in host density at the patch level. Although observed variation likely results partially from differences in study species and focal habitats, deviations from expectations also may reflect the importance of unmeasured habitat parameters. In this study of colonization by cicada Magicicada cassinii (Fisher) in an experimentally fragmented old field, we simultaneously examined landscape variation in patch size, distance from the sources of colonization, and local host plant stem density (at a within-patch scale) and also considered edge effects. Per stem colonization was positively related to proximity to the population source and habitat patch size but negatively related to local host stem density. The effect of edge was nonsignificant. When coarser scale estimates of local stem density (calculated by averaging the figures for all quadrats within patches) were used in analyses, fewer significant main effects were found and sometimes interactions occurred. Our study highlights the importance of including all potential explanatory variables in analyses, with what we feel is a novel observation that the explicit consideration of fine-scale, within-patch variation in local stem density can be important to the interpretation of insect dispersal and colonization.
Molecular Regulation of Compromised B Lymphopoeisis in Aged Mice.

INTRODUCTION. The antibody (immunoglobulin, Ig) quality declines with age in both mice and humans. Our laboratory previously determined that pre-B cell numbers as well as the surrogate light (SL) chain, composed of the VpreB and lambda 5 (5) peptides, are reduced in aged mice (1-3). The SL is part of the pre-B cell receptor, critical for Ig variable heavy (VH) chain selection, cellular proliferation, and survival at the pre-B cell stage. We have also established that a human lambda 5 (hu 5) transgene is regulated in a stage- and lineage-specific fashion, similar to that of mouse lambda 5 (m 5) (4). METHODS. Bone marrow cells from 129 mice with the hu 5 transgene of different ages (young, 4 mos to old, 18, 24 and 24+ mos) were analyzed for expression of both m 5 and hu 5. After lysing red blood cells, cells were stained for fluorescent flow cytometry analysis, first on the membrane with CD43-PE and B220-CY to distinguish B lineage subsets, and then for cytoplasmic m 5 and hu 5 after cell fixation and permeabilization with 0.25% paraformaldehyde and 0.2% Tween 20. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) was also done on total RNA from the same population of cells. Dilutions of the RT were made before PCR, and gel electrophoresis, Southern blotting, hybridization to m 5 and hu 5 probes and quantitation by phosphoimager was performed. RESULTS/DISCUSSION. Here we report that hu 5, as well as m 5, is down regulated in the CD43 + B220 + pro-B/early pre-B cells in aged mice (greater than 18 mos) at the protein level, as measured by flow analysis, and as well, transcriptionally, by RT-PCR. The decrease in m 5/hu 5 coincide with the decreased number of pre-B cells in these aged mice. These mice provide a model to study the regulation of hu 5 during aging. We have also analyzed the VH repertoire in pre-B cells sorted from aged and young mouse bone marrow in BALB/c mice and show that there are differences in the VH repertoire in aged mice. Therefore, the altered VH Ig changes seen during aging may be in part accounted for by differential VH selection at the pre-B cell stage in the bone marrow, in both mice and humans. Transcription factors E47/E12, shown to regulate 5/ VpreB have also been shown to be downregulated during aging in mature B cells in the periphery (3) and these results are currently being confirmed and extended by gel shift analysis.
Eucaryotic vs Procaryotic Metabolic Response to a Low-Amplitude Swept-Frequency Magnetic Field

Respiration of infant rat cells and of the intestinal flora of the adult rat was measured upon exposure to a swept-frequency (100–200 Hz) magnetic field of 5 mGauss, rms, to determine the metabolic effects of small changes in the ambient magnetic field upon these life forms. Eucaryotic metabolism was found to change sharply after the field was imposed and after it was eliminated, with a recovery both in and out of the imposed field. Procaryotic metabolism decreased gradually upon exposure, and exhibited no recovery. The results suggest a basic difference in the biological systems which may mark a crucial step in the development of eucaryotic biology.
Recombinant phycobiliproteins. Recombinant C-phycocyanins equipped with affinity tags, oligomerization, and biospecific recognition domains.

A family of specific cloning vectors was constructed to express in the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC7120 recombinant C-phycocyanin subunits with one or more different tags, including the 6xHis tag, oligomerization domains, and the streptavidin-binding Strep2 tag. Such tagged alpha or beta subunits of Anabaena sp. PCC7120 C-phycocyanin formed stoichiometric complexes in vivo with appropriate wild-type subunits to give constructs with the appropriate oligomerization state and normal posttranslational modifications and with spectroscopic properties very similar to those of unmodified phycocyanin. All of these constructs were incorporated in vivo into the rod substructures of the light-harvesting complex, the phycobilisome. The C-terminal 114-residue portion of the Anabaena sp. PCC7120 biotin carboxyl carrier protein (BCCP114) was cloned and overexpressed and was biotinylated up to 20% in Escherichia coli and 40% in wild-type Anabaena sp. His-tagged phycocyanin beta--BCCP114 constructs expressed in Anabaena sp. were >30% biotinylated. In such recombinant phycocyanins equipped with stable trimerization domains, >75% of the fusion protein was specifically bound to streptavidin- or avidin-coated beads. Thus, the methods described here achieve in vivo production of stable oligomeric phycobiliprotein constructs equipped with affinity purification tags and biospecific recognition domains usable as fluorescent labels without further chemical manipulation.
Complications of Female Urethral Reconstructive Surgery

Female urethral reconstruction is an uncommon surgery used to repair female urethral strictures and fistulas. Because of the rarity of these operations, complications have not been well described in the literature. Complications can be categorized as intraoperative and postoperative. Postoperative can be further divided into general complications common to all pelvic surgery, which will not be discussed here, and those that are specific to urethral reconstruction. Those complications include: (1) early or late postoperative wound complications from the graft or flap harvest site, (2) stricture or fistula recurrence, (3) de novo postoperative incontinence, (4) de novo or recurrent urethral obstruction, and (5) de novo detrusor overactivity.
Outer Continental Shelf Leasing

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) is the key statute governing federal offshore oil and gas leasing and development. Enacted in 1953 and amended several times since, the OCSLA is the Department of Interior’s primary authority for managing leasing activity on the Outer Continental Shelf. Area-wide leasing releases for bid all unleased blocks in every lease sale, and so the government does not directly regulate how much acreage is leased outside the lease sales in the program plan. In this introductory chapter, the engine of OCS activity – lease sales – is reviewed, and the OCS leasing process and revenue components are described. Historic statistics on lease sale activity from 1994 to 2014, including acreage available, bid on and awarded, is summarized.
Vanadate causes hypokalemic distal renal tubular acidosis.

Pages F449–F453: E. Dafnis, M. Spohn, B. Lonis, N. A. Kurtzman, and S. Sabatini. “Vanadate causes hypokalemic distal renal tubular acidosis.” The value for urine anion gap in NH4Cl-treated animals on page F450 (last sentence in first paragraph of results), as well as on page F51 (Table 2, last value in last line), should be -82 ± 7 meq/l instead of -232 ± 27 meq/l.
Creating a Sticky MOOC

Learning How to Learn, a MOOC from UC San Diego, is one of Coursera’s most successful offerings; in its first year, nearly one million learners enrolled in the course. As a result of its high student satisfaction levels (4.55 on a 5-point Likert scale) and the persistence of strong student interest in the course, it is worth examining the course’s dynamics more closely in an effort to tease out its sources of satisfaction and popularity. For this paper, we used students’ responses to an open-ended question to develop a list of potentially important “stickiness” features. A subset of students enrolled in the third session of Learning How to Learn then rated their overall satisfaction with the course and the extent to which each feature contributed to their persistence in the course. Three primary factors suggested by a factor analysis of stickiness items correlated most highly with course satisfaction: Instructor Quality, Conceptual Clarity/Importance, and Format. A description of the course creation process explains how these factors were achieved through the use of metaphor and analogy, instructor interactions with the graphics, the use of motion to maintain students’ attention, tight scripting, a relaxed presentation demeanor, volunteer TA support, and relevant yet occasionally humorous quizzes.
DOES A SIMILAR PROCEDURE RESULT IN SIMILAR SURVIVAL FOR WOMEN AND MEN UNDERGOING ISOLATED CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS GRAFTING

Women and men come to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with different comorbidity profiles and clinical presentation. We sought to identify sex-related differences in preoperative risk factors and revascularization strategies, and examine the influence of these strategies on outcomes. From 1/
Design and Instrumentation of an Experimental Test-Bed for Research in Energy Efficiency in Buildings

This paper reports on the development of a conceptual design, construction and instrumentation of an experimental facility that can be used to carry out experimental research towards increasing energy efficiency in buildings. The overarching idea is to construct a system that emulates the scaled dimensions and materials of a typical building structure. The sub-scale testbed consists of a two-floor building configuration with dimensions of 1.2 m × 0.92 m × 1.1 m. The building structure is made out of wood, and covered with drywall and fiberglass insulation. Fixed walls are selected for the first floor whereas movable walls are incorporated into the second floor to study the effects of different room configurations. Four staircase openings enable airflow between the two floors. The second floor has a tiled-style ceiling and removable walls that allow for connectivity of sensors and actuators. A set of heating and cooling sub-systems, consisting of light bulbs and thermoelectric coolers connected to fans, are used for each room in the building. Both the set of light bulbs as well as the cooling system are powered through a relay box, and connected to a computer via LabVIEW which also interfaces the different sensing and actuating devices. The capabilities of the experimental facility are tested by implementing time-dependent heating- and cooling-processes and an on-off control strategy on a two-room prototype. Preliminary results demonstrate that the experimental testbed offers a reliable and versatile experimental system for research purposes.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Sensory and cognitive plasticity: implications for academic interventions

Research in neuroscience has great potential for transforming education. However, the brain systems that support academic and cognitive skills are poorly understood in comparison to the systems that support sensory processing. Decades of basic research have examined the role that brain plasticity plays in the genesis and treatment of developmental visual disorders, which may help to inform how cognitive training approaches can be tailored for students who experience environmental disadvantage. In this review, we draw parallels between visual and cognitive intervention approaches, and suggest research avenues that could inform educational practice in the future.
Quality and Safety of Rice under Different Production Modes

Some experimental researches were conducted to investigate the quality and safety of rice under the rice-duck farming mode for organic rice,NY5117-2002 production mode for non-polluted rice and conventional mode for rice.Based on these researches,the new schemes of quality and safety production techniques for rice that are adjustment,protection and decrease were proposed,and the comparative experiments were conducted.In the comparative experiments,besides the treatments of rice-duck farming mode for organic rice,NY5117-2002 production mode for non-polluted rice and conventional mode for rice,there were two treatments were set up that the application of new scheme to single cropping late rice transplanted field and the application of new scheme to single cropping late rice direct seeding field.The situations of soil,water layer and plant nutrition,the performances of diseases and insect pest,the quality and safety of rice and the comprehensive production costs were determined.The results showed that the new scheme fit the growth regularity of high-production colony better,and it can decrease the inputs of fertilizer and pesticide by 28%~30%,increase filled grain number per panicle,increase rice yield by 3.8%~15.6%;under the huge occurrence of rice plant hopper in autumn of 2009,the new scheme reduced pesticide spraying by three times than that of conventional mode;the key point of control non-point source pollution in the new scheme is do not drain the water in paddyfield within five days after fertilizer applying;the new scheme has great operability and obvious benefits in plain regions where realized mechanized farming and harvesting,and it plays a important role in eliminating or reducing agricultural non-point source pollution.
Mitosis and Development

Flowering plants which reproduce by sexual means develop from a single cell, called a zygote, which is the product of fertilisation. The development of this cell into a mature individual starts with its division, or to be more precise its reproduction, into two new cells. These two cells may then divide to give four and, similarly, the four can divide to give eight (Fig. 1). The process is repeated many times although the divisions may not continue to occur synchronously and only a few cells may be dividing at any one time.
Examination of Estimates the Advisory Committee

The third, and perhaps most important, phase in the United Nations budget process is that of examination of the estimates, and whereas the authorization and formulation phases in this Organization are essentially similar to those in governmental budgeting generally, this particular phase is uniquely peculiar to the United Nations, and to the League before it. What distinguishes it so sharply from other processes is that instead of the estimates going directly to the appropriating agency after authorization and formulation, they go through a crucial intermediate stage at the hands of a small and powerful agency — the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions.
Living Art: An Exploration of Interactive Art Installations

Before high school students step outside of the classroom and bring their work into the world, educators can help them understand that art is not solely for self-expression and beauty. Art and desi...
A new look at Apollonian circle packings

We define an abstract Apollonian supergasket using the solution set of a certain Diophantine equation, showing that the solutions are in bijective correspondence with the circles of any concrete supergasket. Properties of the solution set translate directly to geometric and algebraic properties of Apollonian gaskets, facilitating their study. In particular, curvatures of individual circles are explored and geometric relationships among multiple circles are given simple algebraic expressions. All results can be applied to a concrete gasket using the curvaturecenter coordinates of its four defining circles. These techniques can also be applied to other types of circle packings and higher-dimensional analogs. An Apollonian gasket is a type of circle packing in the plane generated recursively starting from a set of four mutually tangent circles. The curvatures of any four such circles are related by an equation discovered by Descartes, and every circle in a gasket generated by four circles with integer curvatures will have integer curvature. While these gaskets have been fascinating to mathematicians for some time — the use of group theory in their study was initiated by Keith Hirst [1967] and they even inspired a poem 1 — it was only relatively recently that Jeffrey Lagarias, Colin Mallows, and Allan Wilks [Lagarias et al. 2002] gave an algebraic characterization of Descartes configurations. One question in particular has inspired much work but resisted a complete answer: given the four original integer curvatures, which other curvatures can or will occur, and how frequently? Peter Sarnak [2011], Elena Fuchs [2013], and Hee Oh [2014] have recent surveys on this topic, which has seen significant progress in the past five years [Bourgain 2012; Bourgain and Kontorovich 2014; Bourgain and Fuchs 2011; Fuchs and Sanden 2011]. In this paper, inspired by recent work of Sam Northshield [2015], we provide a four-dimensional label to each circle that does not depend on the location of the circle but refers instead to its geometric relationship to the original four circles. Since we consider only the process of generating the gasket, the labels provide an
Science Saturdays: A Ground Up Approach to Partnering with Content-Rich Corporate Volunteers

This article discusses the pilot year of a 4-H Science project in which Mercer County 4-H partnered with content-rich corporate volunteers of a global STEM corporation to plan and implement six Science Saturdays for 4th-7th grade youth from Trenton and surrounding urban neighborhoods. The program was a ground up initiative designed and implemented by a core group (mostly women), which expanded to include 31 corporate volunteers by the end of the pilot year (2013-2014). The Science Saturdays were held once a month with each session focused on a different theme and included demonstrations or experiments along with other supporting activities. While all four program goals were met during the pilot year, results from the 4-H Science Common Measures survey did not reveal significant increases or improvements in youth outcome objectives. Findings and implications are discussed, as well as current and future programming.
Enrollment insights in the synchronous mRCC population: An update from the ongoing ADAPT* phase 3 study experience.

TPS4599^ Background: AGS-003 is an autologous immunotherapy designed to induce a T-cell response specific to a patient’s tumor antigens. Sunitinib is a TKI and first-line therapy for mRCC that also...
Internet Use and Happiness: A Longitudinal Analysis

This is an extension of a previous study, which explored the relationship between happiness and Internet use [1]. An Internet Use Scale (IUS), developed in the previous study, was administered to college students along with the Flourishing Scale [2] and the Satisfaction with Life Scale [3]; and three new open-ended questions. We compared changes in the relationship between these measures, and their mean values, across the two samples, and carried out qualitative analyses of the open-ended questions. Results indicated that those who reported spending less time on the internet, less time expressing emotions, and more time checking facts, scored higher on measures of happiness. Further, participants found negative affective expression on the Internet particularly aversive. Finally, those with lower happiness scores were more likely to report playing on-line games; and those with higher happiness scores were more likely to identify Internet disinformation as aversive.
Meaning on the move: synthesizing cognitive and systems concepts of culture

Recent developments in cultural sociology have advanced our understanding of the cognitive mechanisms that link culture to action. They have also raised a significant question about whether human cognitive limits are compatible with theories that envision culture as a complex, codified social system. This article describes a theoretical model of culture that reconciles these approaches by focusing on the circulation of meaning through heterogeneous semiotic networks. These networks are conceived as linking cognitive and environmental locations of culture with different information processing and storage characteristics. By specifying the characteristics of these locations of culture and the semiotic mechanisms through which meaning is translated between them, the model aims to provide a theory capable of reconciling cognitive and systems concepts of culture.
The Use of the Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services to Assess and Improve the Job Performance of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities

The Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services (PDC-HS) is an informant-based tool designed to identify the variables responsible for performance problems. To date, the PDC-HS has not been examined with individuals with intellectual disabilities. In the current study, two supervisors with intellectual disabilities completed the PDC-HS to assess the productivity of two supervisees with disabilities who performed a pricing task in a thrift store. The PDC-HS suggested that performance deficits were due to a lack of training; a PDC-HS-indicated intervention was effective to increase accurate pricing. • The PDC-HS is an informant-based tool designed to identify the variables responsible for employee performance problems in human service settings. • The PDC-HS can be completed by some individuals with intellectual disabilities in a supervisory position to identify the variables responsible for problematic job performance among their supervisees. • A PDC-HS indicated intervention was demonstrated to be effective to improve the job performance of individuals with disabilities. • The PDC-HS may be a useful tool to support performance improvement and job maintenance among individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Understanding the summertime diurnal cycle of precipitation over sub-Saharan West Africa: regions with daytime rainfall peaks in the absence of significant topographic features

Convection-permitting regional model output is analyzed to better understand the diurnal cycle of rainfall during the height of the West African summer monsoon. This investigation focuses on two regions, the western Bodele of Chad and eastern Burkina Faso, that have a propensity for daytime rainfall, but why this occurs does not conform to our conventional understanding of being directly associated with the presence of significant topographic feature(s). The August diurnal cycle of rainfall for the Bodele is characterized by an afternoon peak, with mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) originating within 500 km accounting for 80% of the afternoon precipitation. These MCSs are associated with a deepening of the monsoon trough over the western Sahara related to northern storm track African easterly wave (AEW) disturbance activity, combined with anomalous ridging over eastern Chad associated with cold pool outflow from convection that originates over the Marra Mountains the previous afternoon. These circulation features enhance the moist low-level southwesterly flow and increase instability over the Bodele. Over Burkina Faso rainfall has a primary afternoon peak, and a secondary morning peak. MCSs account for 95% of the total rainfall. Morning rainfall is primarily due to MCSs forming over the Damergou Gap of Niger, while the afternoon rainfall is associated with MCSs that originate over the Damergou Gap as well as locally. While both types of MCSs are associated with an approaching southern storm track AEW disturbance, it is differences in northern storm track activity that helps explain why some MCSs originate over the Damergou Gap.
Licensure and Certification of Psychologists

This chapter summarizes the elements of the licensure process that relate to the determination of competence and delineate the impact of these criteria on clinical training programs, faculty, and students and on those responsible for administering the licensure procedures. Hopefully, this provides an orientation for those involved.
Chemistry of Lignin Degradation by Wood-Destroying Fungi

The role of the wood pathologist differs from that of other plant pathologists in that its concern lies in the study of the effects of microorganisms on the dead tissues of woody plants--tissues in which lignin is a major component. The main goal of wood pathologists, of course, is to thwart biodeterioration. Recently, however, at the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory, at the Swedish Forest Products Laboratory, and at several industrial laboratories, a second goal has emerged--to use wood-attacking microorganisms beneficially, i.e. for the bioconversion of wood.
Techniques of Stereotactic Localization

In the past 50 years, the application of stereotactic techniques has transformed neurosurgery; it provides a platform for the development of minimal invasive surgery and functional neurosurgery. This chapter gives a historical overview in the evolution of stereotactic localization techniques and the ingenious application of stereotactic principles in the development of stereotactic radiosurgery. The latter not only changes the landscape in radiation therapy, but has undoubtedly changed our philosophy and approaches in the treatment of a variety of neurological diseases.
Microtubule Associated Proteins in Neurons

Microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) regulate the dynamic turnover of microtubules. A number of different MAPs can function to either stabilize microtubules to promote their polymerization or inhibit their depolymerization. Other MAPs make microtubules less stable or prevent their assembly. Local regulation of stabilizing and destabilizing MAPs controls the organization and turnover of microtubules within neuronal cells. Several mutations in genes for MAPs result in defects that compromise brain development, while hyperphosphorylation of one MAP, tau, is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. These health-related defects in MAP function highlight the role of the microtubule cytoskeleton in maintaining neuronal cell health.
Circulating cell free DNA to predict recurrence in uveal melanoma.

9569Background: Uveal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular malignant tumor in adults. Up to 50% of uveal melanoma patients die of metastasis, usually to the liver. Cell free DNA (cfDNA) ...
Are Medicare's Nursing Home Compare Ratings Accurate Predictors of 90-Day Complications, Readmission, and Bundle Cost for Patients Undergoing Primary Total Joint Arthroplasty?

Abstract Background Nursing Home Compare (NHC) ratings, created and maintained by Medicare, are used by both hospitals and consumers to aid in the skilled nursing facility (SNF) selection process. To date, no studies have linked NHC ratings to actual episode-based outcomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether NHC ratings are valid predictors of 90-day complications, readmission, and bundle costs for patients discharged to an SNF after primary total joint arthroplasty (TJA). Methods All SNF-discharged primary TJA cases in 2017 at a multihospital academic health system were queried. Demographic, psychosocial, and clinical variables were manually extracted from the health record. Medicare NHC ratings were then collected for each SNF. For patients in the Medicare bundle, postacute and total bundle cost was extracted from claims. Results Four hundred eighty-eight patients were discharged to a total of 105 unique SNFs. In multivariate analysis, overall NHC rating was not predictive of 90-day readmission/major complications, >75th percentile postacute cost, or 90-day bundle cost exceeding the target price. SNF health inspection and quality measure ratings were also not predictive of 90-day readmission/major complications or bundle performance. A higher SNF staffing rating was independently associated with a decreased odds for >75th percentile 90-day postacute spend (odds ratio, 0.58; P = .01) and a 90-day bundle cost exceeding the target price (odds ratio = 0.69; P = .02) but was similarly not predictive of 90-day readmission/complications. Conclusion Results of our study suggest that Medicare's NHC tool is not a useful predictor of 90-day costs, complications, or readmissions for SNFs within our health system.
Engelhardt’s Diagnosis and Prescription: Persuasive or Problematic?

In a spirit of critical appreciation, this essay challenges several core aspects of the critique of secular morality and the defense of Orthodox Christianity offered by H. Tristram Engelhardt in After God. First, I argue that his procedurally driven approach to a binding morality based solely on a principle of permission leaves morality without any substantive definition in general terms, in ways that are both conceptually problematic and also at odds with Engelhardt's long-standing distinction between non-malevolence and beneficence. Second, I question the accuracy or adequacy of Engelhardt's critique of the Enlightenment project for his unwarranted privileging of a particular version of Enlightenment thinking at the expense of other Enlightenment perspectives less amenable to Engelhardt's working generalizations. Third, I challenge the theoretical cogency of Engelhardt's insistence on the ubiquity and intractability of moral controversies and his depiction of moral strangers and moral friends as, in effect, mutually exclusive terms. Finally, I question Engelhardt's embrace of a divine command model of ethics as the appropriate resolution of Euthyphro's dilemma and suggest that there may be intermediate approaches to the usual starkly drawn contrasts between divine command and naturalist accounts.
Standard power regulator for the multi-mission modular spacecraft

The Standard Power Regulator Unit (SPRU) which forms the central building block of the Modular Power Subsystem (MPS) for the Multi-mission Modular Spacecraft (MMS) is described. A functional description of the SPRU is presented, detailing key design features, operational characteristics, and internal redundancy as well as giving block and schematic diagrams for all major subassemblies. The description of a qualification test program consisting of ten sequences ranging from a physical examination of the unit to calculating vibration and sine sweep of power on shock tests is presented. The results showed that some significant anomalies were encountered but no catastrophic failures were indicated, although several power module failures were found due to overvoltage malfunctions of the solar array stimulator.
Cold Atmospheric Plasma Jet Inactivates Cryptosporidium parvum Oocysts on Cilantro

ABSTRACT Cilantro was recently identified as a vehicle for protozoan illness. Current postharvest practices are not sufficient to inactivate protozoa on cilantro. Cold plasma is an emerging nonthermal waterless technology with potential applications in food processing that are currently being investigated to enhance the safety of herbs. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of cold atmospheric plasma (CP) on the viability of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts on cilantro. C. parvum oocysts were inoculated onto cilantro and treated with a CP jet for 0, 30, 90, and 180 s at a working distance of 10 cm with a flow of 1.42 × 10-3 m3/s. Oocyst viability was determined using HCT-8 cell culture infectivity assays. Overall, each treatment significantly reduced oocyst infectivity compared with the 0-s treatment control (P ≤ 0.02). Log inactivations of oocysts observed on cilantro were 0.84, 1.23, and 2.03 for the 30-, 90-, and 180-s treatment times, respectively. Drying and darkening of cilantro leaves was observed with treatments longer than 30 s. CP can reduce C. parvum infectivity on cilantro. With further research and optimization, this treatment technology has potential applications in postharvest processing of cilantro. HIGHLIGHTS
Inhibition of Microglial Activation in the Amygdala Reverses Stress-Induced Abdominal Pain in the Male Rat.

Background & Aims Psychological stress is a trigger for the development of irritable bowel syndrome and associated symptoms including abdominal pain. Although irritable bowel syndrome patients show increased activation in the limbic brain, including the amygdala, the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating visceral nociception in the central nervous system are incompletely understood. In a rodent model of chronic stress, we explored the role of microglia in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) in controlling visceral sensitivity. Microglia are activated by environmental challenges such as stress, and are able to modify neuronal activity via synaptic remodeling and inflammatory cytokine release. Inflammatory gene expression and microglial activity are regulated negatively by nuclear glucocorticoid receptors (GR), which are suppressed by the stress-activated pain mediator p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK). Methods Fisher-344 male rats were exposed to water avoidance stress (WAS) for 1 hour per day for 7 days. Microglia morphology and the expression of phospho-p38 MAPK and GR were analyzed via immunofluorescence. Microglia-mediated synaptic remodeling was investigated by quantifying the number of postsynaptic density protein 95–positive puncta. Cytokine expression levels in the CeA were assessed via quantitative polymerase chain reaction and a Luminex assay (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA). Stereotaxic infusion into the CeA of minocycline to inhibit, or fractalkine to activate, microglia was followed by colonic sensitivity measurement via a visceromotor behavioral response to isobaric graded pressures of tonic colorectal distension. Results WAS induced microglial deramification in the CeA. Moreover, WAS induced a 3-fold increase in the expression of phospho-p38 and decreased the ratio of nuclear GR in the microglia. The number of microglia-engulfed postsynaptic density protein 95–positive puncta in the CeA was increased 3-fold by WAS, while cytokine levels were unchanged. WAS-induced changes in microglial morphology, microglia-mediated synaptic engulfment in the CeA, and visceral hypersensitivity were reversed by minocycline whereas in stress-naive rats, fractalkine induced microglial deramification and visceral hypersensitivity. Conclusions Our data show that chronic stress induces visceral hypersensitivity in male rats and is associated with microglial p38 MAPK activation, GR dysfunction, and neuronal remodeling in the CeA.
Scientific Realism and the Study of Government

When we discuss government we refer to social entities, forces, and relations like these: organization, agency, social network, cultural scheme, social actor, normative system, institution, and local culture. The fundamental question of social ontology raised here is this: what kinds of entities, powers, and causal influence do we need to postulate in order to have an adequate theory of government? To take these questions seriously, we must be realists in the philosophical sense: we must assume that there is a reality underlying the observable characteristics of the thing we are investigating. Scientific realism is the view that developed areas of science offer theories of the nature of the real things and properties that underlie the observable world, and that the theories of well-confirmed areas of science are most likely approximately true. The chapter introduces the reader to the central ideas of scientific realism in application to the social sciences.
Concentrations, Particle-Size Distributions, and Dry Deposition Fluxes of Aerosol Trace Elements over the Antarctic Peninsula

Abstract. Size-segregated particulate air samples were collected during the austral summer of 2016–2017 at Palmer Station on the Anvers Island off the west Antarctic Peninsula, to characterize trace elements in aerosols. Trace elements in aerosol samples, including Al, P, Ca, Ti, V, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ce, and Pb, were determined by total digestion and sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (SF-ICP-MS). The results show that these elements are derived primarily from three sources: (1) regional crustal emissions, (2) long-range transport, and (3) sea-salt aerosols. Elements dominated by a crustal source (Al, P, Ti, V, Mn, Ce) with EFcrust 1 μm) and peaked at 2.5–7.8 μm in diameter, reflecting the contributions of regional crustal sources. Non-crustal elements (Ca, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb) showed EFcrust > 10. Aerosol Pb was accumulated primarily in fine-mode particles, peaking at 0.078–0.25 μm, and likely was impacted by air masses from South America based on air-mass back trajectories. However, Ni, Cu, and Zn were not detectable in most size fractions and didn't present clear size patterns. Sea-salt elements (Ca, Na, K) showed single mode distribution and peaked at 2.5–7.8 μm. The estimated dry deposition fluxes of dust for the austral summer, based on the particle size distributions of Al measured at Palmer Station, ranged from 0.65 to 28 mg m−2 yr−1 with a mean of 5.5 mg m−2 yr−1. The estimated dry deposition fluxes of the target trace elements in this study were lower than most fluxes reported previously for coastal Antarctica and suggest that atmospheric input of trace elements through dry deposition processes may play a minor role in determining trace element concentrations in surface seawater over the continental shelf of the west Antarctic Peninsula.
Abstract 248: Age-specific Differences in Outcomes Following Isoproterenol-induced Sudden Cardiac Death in Guinea Pigs

Background: The pathophysiological mechanisms involved in adult and pediatric heart failure (HF) are unique. One example of clinical differences in these two patient populations is the need for pri...