cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Perceived weight status in normal weight and overweight women

The current study sought to assess women's knowledge of what objectively constitutes underweight, normal weight, or overweight for a given height, and how this knowledge is affected by a woman's own weight status. A total of 31 normal weight women and 20 overweight women were asked to provide predictions of weight ranges for a female 4 feet 11 in. to 6 feet 2 in. in height for the following categories: extremely underweight, underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese, and extremely obese. Each participant completed the questionnaire for all heights, although the critical values for each participant were the weight ranges given for their own height category. These predictions were then compared to the participants' own weight status using Body Mass Index (BMI). Results suggest that normal weight women tend to believe that women must be smaller in order to be classified as normal weight, overweight, or obese when compared to the objective BMI categories used by physicians and researchers. In other words, the normal weight participants underestimated the BMI ranges for the normal weight, overweight, and obese categories. Overall, the overweight participants were fairly accurate in their BMI predictions for the different weight categories. One implication of these findings is that normal weight women may have a bias toward overestimating their weight to be within an overweight range. The need for health care marketing efforts to increase awareness of objective weight categories is addressed.
Differential plasma catecholamine and neuropeptide Y responses to acute stress in rats

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a vasoconstrictor present in the sympatho-adrenomedullary system and may be co-released with norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (EPI) during sympathetic activation. We studied plasma NPY-immunoreactivity (-ir, radioimmunoassay) and catecholamine (radioenzymatic) responses during two acute stress paradigms that differ in character, intensity, and duration. The intermittent stress of footshock (0.75 and 1.5 mA, 0.5 sec duration, at 5-sec intervals, for 5 min) evoked intensity-dependent immediate increments in plasma NE and EPI, and a delayed NPY-ir response (+0.6 −+ 0.1 pmol/ml). Prolonged (60 min) immobilization caused greater increases in plasma NE and EPI levels and no changes in plasma NPY-ir until the end of the stress session (+0.3 −+ 0.1 pmol/ml). Plasma NPY-ir responses correlated with those of NE but not with EPI suggesting a sympathetic origin for the release of the peptide. Relatively greater NPY-ir responses to footshock than to immobilization may be consistent with a preferential release of the peptide by a bursting but not continuous mode of sympathetic activation. However, it may also be due to a differential activation of the sympathetic nerves and adrenal medulla by these two stress situations.
Transplacental carcinogenicity of inorganic arsenic in the drinking water: induction of hepatic, ovarian, pulmonary, and adrenal tumors in mice.

Arsenic is a known human carcinogen, but development of rodent models of inorganic arsenic carcinogenesis has been problematic. Since gestation is often a period of high sensitivity to chemical carcinogenesis, we performed a transplacental carcinogenicity study in mice using inorganic arsenic. Groups (n = 10) of pregnant C3H mice were given drinking water containing sodium arsenite (NaAsO(2)) at 0 (control), 42.5, and 85 ppm arsenite ad libitum from day 8 to 18 of gestation. These doses were well tolerated and body weights of the dams during gestation and of the offspring subsequent to birth were not reduced. Dams were allowed to give birth, and offspring were weaned at 4 weeks and then put into separate gender-based groups (n = 25) according to maternal exposure level. The offspring received no additional arsenic treatment. The study lasted 74 weeks in males and 90 weeks in females. A complete necropsy was performed on all mice and tissues were examined by light microscopy in a blind fashion. In male offspring, there was a marked increase in hepatocellular carcinoma incidence in a dose- related fashion (control, 12%; 42.5 ppm, 38%; 85 ppm, 61%) and in liver tumor multiplicity (tumors per liver; 5.6-fold over control at 85 ppm). In males, there was also a dose-related increase in adrenal tumor incidence and multiplicity. In female offspring, dose-related increases occurred in ovarian tumor incidence (control, 8%; 42.5 ppm, 26%; 85 ppm, 38%) and lung carcinoma incidence (control, 0%; 42.5 ppm, 4%; 85 ppm, 21%). Arsenic exposure also increased the incidence of proliferative lesions of the uterus and oviduct. These results demonstrate that oral inorganic arsenic exposure, as a single agent, can induce tumor formation in rodents and establishes inorganic arsenic as a complete transplacental carcinogen in mice. The development of this rodent model of inorganic arsenic carcinogenesis has important implications in defining the mechanism of action for this common environmental carcinogen.
Amorphous-silicon thin-film transistor on soda-lime glass

— Amorphous-silicon (a-Si:H) thin-film transistors (TFTs) on soda-lime glass were fabricated by using a diffusion barrier and a low-temperature process at 200°C. The silicon nitride barrier was optimized in terms of diffusion blocking effectiveness, film adhesion, and surface finish. TFTs on soda-lime glass achieved a saturation mobility 0.47 cm2/V-sec, threshold voltage of 0 V, an off-current of 7.7×10−11 A, and a sub-threshold swing of 1.0 V/dec. From diffusion experiments, a 30,000-hour lifetime for the TFT device at 80°C was estimated, and the robustness of the silicon nitride barrier against long-term migration of sodium was demonstrated.
Trigger Simulations for GRB Detection with the Swift Burst Alert Telescope

Understanding the intrinsic cosmic long gamma-ray burst (GRB) rate is essential in many aspects of astrophysics and cosmology, such as revealing the connection between GRBs, supernovae (SNe), and stellar evolution. Swift , a multi-wavelength space telescope, is quickly expanding the GRB category by observing hundreds of GRBs and their redshifts. However, it remains difficult to determine the intrinsic GRB rate due to the complex trigger algorithm adopted by Swift . Current studies of the GRB rate usually approximate the Swift trigger algorithm by a single detection threshold. Nevertheless, unlike the previously flown GRB instruments, Swift has over 500 trigger criteria based on count rates and additional thresholds for localization. To investigate possible systematic biases and further explore the intrinsic GRB rate as a function of redshift and the GRB luminosity function, we adopt a Monte Carlo approach by simulating all trigger criteria used by Swift . A precise estimation of the intrinsic GRB rate is important to reveal the GRB origins and their relation to the black-hole forming SNe. Additionally, the GRB rate at high redshifts provides a strong probe of the star formation history in the early universe, which is hard to measure directly through other methods.
Promotability of Host‐Country Nationals: A Cross‐Cultural Study

Drawing on person–environment fit and national identity theory, the article proposes that person–national culture fit is likely to influence the promotability of host-country nationals in multinational firms. Focusing on fit with upward influence tactics, it suggests that the parent company's national culture influences managerial expectations of host-country nationals in foreign subsidiaries. It argues that host-country managers who demonstrate upward influence tactics that are culturally appropriate to the parent company's national culture will be more promotable than those who do not. Higher-level supervisors were asked to assess the promotability of two direct subordinates, who were independently surveyed about the upward influence tactics they used. The study contrasted ingratiation, exchange of benefits and coalition, and directness influence tactics of host-country nationals in domestic Ecuadorian firms with American and German multinationals in Ecuador. Compatible with our hypotheses, data from a sample of 79 firms suggest that exchange of benefits and coalition are more likely to be associated with promotability in German than in domestic Ecuadorian firms. In addition, upward-appeal assertiveness is more likely to be associated with promotability in American than in domestic Ecuadorian firms.
New strategies in diagnosing cancer in thyroid nodules: impact of molecular markers

Thyroid cancer is the most common type of endocrine malignancy, with approximately 55,000 new cases diagnosed in the United States in 2012. However, thyroid nodules are much more prevalent, particularly with increased age, and only a small fraction of those are malignant. Therefore, the major clinical challenge is to reliably differentiate those nodules that are malignant and need to be treated surgically from the majority of nodules that are benign and do not require surgery. The traditional diagnostic approach to this clinical situation is ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of the thyroid nodule followed by cytologic examination, which together reliably establish the diagnosis in 70% to 80% of cases. However, in the rest of nodules the presence of cancer cannot be ruled out by FNA cytology, hampering appropriate surgical management and frequently resulting in unnecessary surgical interventions. New approaches to diagnosis of cancer in thyroid nodules are based on mutational and other molecular markers, which can be reliably detected in cells aspirated during the FNA procedure. These markers offer significant improvement in the diagnostic accuracy of FNA cytology and are poised to make a profound effect on the management of patients with thyroid nodules. In addition to the molecular markers that have recently become available for clinical use, rapid development of new sequencing techniques is expected to further improve the accuracy of cancer diagnosis in thyroid nodules and allow for a fully individualized approach to the management of patients with thyroid nodules.
Politics, Institutions, and Trade: Lessons of the Interwar Era

Recent studies cast doubt on the value added of international trade agreements and institutions. Using a new data set that consists of about 35,000 observations on the trade of fifty-four nations between 1919 and 1938, we examine whether this skepticism also applies to the infamous interwar trade blocs. Traditional historical accounts attribute to them a large drop in international trade and a rise in the political tensions that would later erupt in World War II. In this study, we show that no bloc raised trade among its members as a whole or decreased trade between members and nonmembers. However, our findings are not wholly consistent with the skepticism recent studies express. We argue that conflicts of interest among the great powers encouraged the emergence of the bloc system and also gave rise to intrabloc trade shifts consistent with the political interests of their great-power hubs. The political-military alliances these conflicts created also reduced trade between their signatories, and we argue more generally that the causal chain runs from politics to trade. As a result, measuring only the effect of agreements and institutions on aggregate trade between their members can generate inaccurate estimates of their value added.
An Option for Mechanizing Integrated GPS/INS Solutions

The GPS Joint Program Office has directed the delivery of GPS user equipment incorporating standard hardware and software. The resulting package, RCVR-3A, is designed to provide specified navigation performance under a wide range of alternative avionics interface requirements and aircraft mission scenarios. However, various integration studies have demonstrated that some of the RCVR-3A's potential performance is not realized because of the software design compromises made to accommodate standardization requirements. This is particularly the case when GPS measurements are integrated with INS outputs in RCVR-3A INS-mode operation. Therefore, some integrators have chosen to mechanize an independent navigation filter in a host vehicle mission computer when their system requirements exceed the GPS specifications. An alternative approach is to provide custom tuning for the RCVR-3A navigation filter to improve the receiver's own estimates of velocity and platform alignment. This paper summarizes the results of studies indicating that filter tuning is a cost-effective approach for certain combinations of INS and aircraft mission requirements. The paper concludes with a discussion of alternative means of mechanizing the RCVR-3A retuning.
Differences in carbon fluxes between forested and cultivated micronesian tropical peatlands

Taro is a staple crop that is often grown in wetlands throughout the Indo-Pacific, but the long-term impacts of its cultivation on wetland ecosystem functions are unknown. The objective of this study was to determine how cultivating taro affects carbon cycling by comparing key pathways in a forested peatland and an adjacent cultivated taro patch. Leaves decomposed rapidly at both sites with roughly 73% remaining after 2 weeks, 53% after 8 weeks, 38% after 17 weeks, and 17% after 36 weeks. Root decomposition proceeded much more slowly with roughly 93% remaining after 2 weeks, 80% after 8 weeks, 71% after 17 weeks, and 66% after 36 weeks. Annual litterfall was 1181 g m−2 year−1 and 849 g m−2 year−1 for the forested and cultivated sites, respectively. For the two sites combined, litterfall consisted of 78% leaves, 10% reproductive material, 3% branches, and 9% miscellaneous material. Fine root biomass was greater in the forested site than the cultivated site, averaging 205 g m−2 and 34 g m−2, respectively. Fine root production was much greater in the forested than the cultivated site, averaging 226 g C m−2 year−1 and 48 g C m−2 year−1, respectively. Soil respiration averaged 99 mg C m−2 h−1 and 55 mg C m−2 h−1 at the forested and cultivated sites, respectively. We found that the major change to carbon fluxes in the cultivated site was less carbon was entering the peatland, particularly less root production. Alterations to the carbon cycle caused by cultivation would probably not be permanent, because taro patches are periodically abandoned and allowed to regenerate naturally.
Semi-automated boundary detection for intravascular ultrasound

Automated boundary detection in intracoronary ultrasound images is hampered by significant time and space variant specular artifacts and incident angle dependent variations in signal intensity from anatomic boundaries. To overcome these problems, the authors have employed a variety of preprocessing steps coupled with minimal operator input to guide an automated boundary detection technique using compensated simulated annealing and linear programming methods. The semi-automated methods work well and provide reproducible estimates of luminal and vessel dimensions under realistic conditions. The methods and preliminary results of such a semi-automated boundary estimation technique are described. >
Spatial memory in captive American black bears (Ursus americanus).

The spatial memory and foraging strategies of four adult captive-born American black bears (Ursus americanus) were explored in four experiments using a simulated foraging task. In the first three experiments, each session consisted of two phases separated by a delay: During the exploration phase, subjects foraged among a set of baited and unbaited sites. During the delay, the same locations were rebaited and subjects were released again and allowed to search the sites (search phase). In Experiments 1a and 1b, different sites were baited each day and the interval between exploration and search was short (4 hr or 15 min). Subjects were not accurate at recovering the food items in either experiment. In Experiment 2, an “informed forager” paradigm was used in which one subject was given privileged knowledge about the location of the food during the exploration phase and was later released with an “uninformed” competitor during the search phase. The bears did not achieve above-chance recovery accuracy even in the presence of a competitor. In Experiment 3, the same two of four sites were continually baited and the bears were released simultaneously over a period of 20 days, with each baiting separated by 2 or 3 days. As a group, the bears’ foraging accuracy with repeated baiting and longer intervals approached greater than chance accuracy. Results suggest some limitations on bears’ use of spatial memory in captive environments, but reveal the potential for use of spatial memory over longer
Physical activity patterns in chronic hemodialysis patients: comparison of dialysis and nondialysis days.

Objective To determine physical activity patterns in chronic hemodialysis patients with a specific emphasis on the difference between dialysis and nondialysis days. Design A cross-sectional single-center study. Setting Vanderbilt University Outpatient Dialysis Unit. Patients Twenty current chronic hemodialysis patients: 10 male, 10 female; 15 black, 5 white; mean age, 50.1 ± 9.9 years; height, 164.5 ± 10.9 cm; weight, 82.5 ± 15.4 kg; length on dialysis, 57.3 ± 45.3 months. Methods Minute-by-minute physical activity was assessed over a 7-day period using a triaxial accelerometer, which consists of raw numbers or counts calculated by the 3 axes of the accelerometer (PA counts). PA counts were extrapolated on a daily and hourly basis. Physical functioning tests included: sit-to-stand, 6-minute walk, and 1-repetition maximal leg press exercise. Laboratory values for serum concentrations of albumin, prealbumin, C-reactive protein, and cholesterol were also collected. Main outcome measure PA counts. Results Total PA counts were significantly lower on dialysis days when compared with nondialysis days (128,279 ± 74,009 versus 168,744 ± 95,168, respectively, P = .025). The average PA counts during the 4-hour dialysis time period were significantly lower on dialysis days when compared with nondialysis days (3,086 ± 3,749 versus 11,070 ± 7,695, respectively, P = .001). At postdialysis hours 1 and 2, PA counts on dialysis days were significantly higher than on nondialysis days (11,410 ± 5,340 versus 9,082 ± 6,646, P = .008, and 14,048 ± 9,728 versus 8,662 ± 6,433, P = .016, respectively). By postdialysis hour 4, PA counts on dialysis days had significantly decreased when compared with nondialysis days (6,068 ± 6,268 versus 10,512 ± 7,420 PA counts, P = .01, respectively). From postdialysis hours 5 to 20, there was no significant difference in PA counts between dialysis and nondialysis days. Conclusion This study shows that physical activity is lower on dialysis days when compared with nondialysis days, and this decrease is caused by the lack of activity during the 4-hour hemodialysis procedure. New behavior modification strategies involving physical activity, both during hemodialysis and on nondialysis days, must be examined in this patient population.
A quantitative structure–activity relationships (QSAR) analysis of triarylmethane dye tracers

Dyes are important hydrological tracers. Many different dyes have been proposed as optimal tracers, but none of these dyes can be considered an ideal water tracer. Some dyes are toxic and most sorb to subsurface materials. The objective of this study was to find the molecular structure of an optimal water tracer. We used QSAR to screen a large number of hypothetical molecules, belonging to the class of triarylmethane dyes, in regard to their sorption characteristics to a sandy soil. The QSAR model was based on experimental sorption data obtained from four triarylmethane dyes: C.I. Food Blue 2 (C.I. 42090; Brilliant Blue FCF), C.I. Food Green 3 (C.I. 42053; FDC ORCOacid Blue A 150%), and C.I. Acid Green 9 (C.I. 42100; ORCOacid Fast Green B). Sorption characteristics of the dyes to the sandy soil were expressed with the Langmuir isotherm. Our premise was that dye sorption can be reduced by attachment of sulfonic acid (SO3) groups to the triarylmethane template. About 70 hypothetical dyes were created and QSAR were used to estimate sorption characteristics. The results indicated that both the position and the number of SO3 groups affected dye sorption. Sorption decreased with increasing number of SO3 groups attached to the molecule. Increasing the number of sulfonic acid groups also decreases the toxicity of the compounds. An optimal triarylmethane water tracer contains 4 to 6 SO3 groups. q 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Comment on “On electrical conductivity of microbial nanowires and biofilms” by S. M. Strycharz-Glaven, R. M. Snider, A. Guiseppi-Elie and L. M. Tender, Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, 4, 4366

A paper published in Energy and Environmental Science by Strycharz-Glaven et al. suggests that electron transport along the pili and through the conductive biofilms of Geobacter sulfurreducens proceeds via electron superexchange rather than metallic-like conductivity. Multiple lines of evidence disprove the superexchange hypothesis, but are consistent with metallic-like conductivity.
Dietary Magnesium and Genetic Interactions in Diabetes and Related Risk Factors: A Brief Overview of Current Knowledge

Nutritional genomics has exploded in the last decade, yielding insights—both nutrigenomic and nutrigenetic—into the physiology of dietary interactions and our genes. Among these are insights into the regulation of magnesium transport and homeostasis and mechanisms underlying magnesium's role in insulin and glucose handling. Recent observational evidence has attempted to examine some promising research avenues on interaction between genetics and dietary magnesium in relation to diabetes and diabetes risk factors. This brief review summarizes the recent evidence on dietary magnesium's role in diabetes and related traits in the presence of underlying genetic risk, and discusses future potential research directions.
The Psychology of Developmen t and the Psychology of Literacy: A Poin t of Intersection

The correlations between literacy and development are universally recognised, though not always fully understood. Since the individual is the locus of all learning as well as the agent of all development actions, psychological approaches to the study of the relationship between literacy and development should be promising. The essential question in the psychology of development is: What type and quality of human psyche is relatively more amenable to generating and sustaining development, both at the personal and societal levels? The essential question in the psychology of literacy is: What effect, if any, does literacy learning have on the psyche of the new literate? Finally, at the intersection of these two research and theory traditions lies another question: What is the role of literacy in development? Formulated in practical terms, we can ask the question: At this historical time, in the midst of the International Literacy Year, 1990, is development in the Third World possible without the universalisa...
Exogenous and endogenous corticosterone alter feather quality

We investigated how exogenous and endogenous glucocorticoids affect feather replacement in European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) after approximately 56% of flight feathers were removed. We hypothesized that corticosterone would retard feather regrowth and decrease feather quality. After feather regrowth began, birds were treated with exogenous corticosterone or sham implants, or endogenous corticosterone by applying psychological or physical (food restriction) stressors. Exogenous corticosterone had no impact on feather length and vane area, but rectrices were lighter than controls. Exogenous corticosterone also decreased inter-barb distance for all feathers and increased barbule number for secondaries and rectrices. Although exogenous corticosterone had no affect on rachis tensile strength and stiffness, barbicel hooking strength was reduced. Finally, exogenous corticosterone did not alter the ability of Bacillus licheniformis to degrade feathers or affect the number of feathers that failed to regrow. In contrast, endogenous corticosterone via food restriction resulted in greater inter-barb distances in primaries and secondaries, and acute and chronic stress resulted in greater inter-barb distances in rectrices. Food-restricted birds had significantly fewer barbules in primaries than chronic stress birds and weaker feathers compared to controls. We conclude that, although exogenous and endogenous corticosterone had slightly different effects, some flight feathers grown in the presence of high circulating corticosterone are lighter, potentially weaker, and with altered feather micro-structure.
The Cytokinin Type-B Response Regulator PtRR13 Is a Negative Regulator of Adventitious Root Development in Populus

Adventitious root formation at the base of plant cuttings is an innate de novo organogenesis process that allows massive vegetative propagation of many economically and ecologically important species. The early molecular events following shoot excision are not well understood. Using whole-genome microarrays, we detected significant transcriptome remodeling during 48 h following shoot removal in Populus tremula × Populus alba softwood cuttings in the absence of exogenous auxin, with 27% and 36% of the gene models showing differential abundance between 0 and 6 h and between 6 and 24 h, respectively. During these two time intervals, gene networks involved in protein turnover, protein phosphorylation, molecular transport, and translation were among the most significantly regulated. Transgenic lines expressing a constitutively active form of the Populus type-B cytokinin response regulator PtRR13 (ΔDDKPtRR13) have a delayed rooting phenotype and cause misregulation of CONTINUOUS VASCULAR RING1, a negative regulator of vascularization; PLEIOTROPIC DRUG RESISTANCE TRANSPORTER9, an auxin efflux transporter; and two APETALA2/ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR genes with sequence similarity to TINY. Inappropriate cytokinin action via ΔDDKPtRR13 expression appeared to disrupt adventitious root development 24 h after shoot excision, when root founder cells are hypothesized to be sensitive to the negative effects of cytokinin. Our results are consistent with PtRR13 acting downstream of cytokinin to repress adventitious root formation in intact plants, and that reduced cytokinin signaling after shoot excision enables coordinated expression of ethylene, auxin, and vascularization pathways leading to adventitious root development.
The impact of maternal characteristics on the moderately premature infant: an antenatal maternal transport clinical prediction rule.

Background—Moderately premature infants, defined here as those born between 30 0/7 and 34 6/7 weeks gestation, comprise 3.9% of all births in the United States and 32% of all preterm births. While long-term outcomes for these infants are better than for less mature infants, morbidity and mortality are still substantially increased in comparison to infants born at term. There is an added survival benefit resulting from birth at a tertiary neonatal care center, and although many of these infants require tertiary level care, delivery at lower level hospitals and subsequent neonatal transfer are still common. Objective—Our primary aim was to determine the impact of maternal characteristics and antenatal medical management on the early neonatal course of the moderately premature infant. The secondary aim was to create a clinical prediction rule to determine which infants require intubation and mechanical ventilation in the first 24 hours of life. Such a prediction rule could inform the decision to transfer maternal-fetal patients prior to delivery to a facility with a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where optimal care could be provided without the requirement for a neonatal transfer. Methods—Data for this analysis came from the cohort of infants in the Moderately Premature Infant Project (MPIP) database, a multi-center cohort study of 850 infants born at gestational age 30 0/7 to 34 6/7 weeks, who were discharged home alive. We built a logistic regression model to identify maternal characteristics associated with need for tertiary care, as measured by administration of surfactant. Using statistically significant covariates from this model, we then created a numerical decision rule to predict need for tertiary care.
Brooklyn, New York foodscape 2007-2011: a five-year analysis of stability in food retail environments.

Food retail studies have focused on the availability of food stores, and on disparities in food access by neighborhood race and income level. Previous research does not address possible changes in local food environments over time, because little is known about the extent to which food environments fluctuate. Records of stores licensed to sell food with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets from 2007–2011 were compared to detect differences in the total number of food stores and supermarkets annually, as well as the total change for the five-year period. Food stores and supermarkets per 10,000 persons were also calculated. Food retail stability – how many individual food stores opened and closed – was also calculated for total stores and supermarkets. All results were stratified by income level and racial characteristics of 2000 Census Bureau census tracts. There was an overall increase in all food stores, as well as in supermarkets specifically. However, stability – the proportion of stores that remained open for five years – was greater in higher-wealth and predominantly white areas. Supermarkets remained open in greater proportion than total stores in all racial/ethnic and income areas, but areas with the highest wealth had the greatest supermarket stability. Those areas also had slightly more supermarkets per 10,000 persons, and had no permanent closures of supermarkets. The proportion of new store locations was similar between areas, but lowest-income areas had the greatest proportion of new supermarket locations. These data suggest that food retail environments change over short periods of time. Stability of food retail environments varies between neighborhoods by race and income. Fluctuations may need to be studied further to understand their impact on food behaviors and health of residents. Finally, the dynamic nature of food retail environments suggests opportunities for policymakers and community organizations to create programs that promote the availability of healthier foods at the neighborhood level.
Impaired ketogenesis in iron-deficient rat pups.

Livers of Fe-deficient rat pups contain significantly less carnitine and more triacylglycerol (TG) than livers of control pups. Carnitine affects ketogene- sis (KG), which is a vital adaptation in the neonate. To determine if KG is impaired by low carnitine in Fe-deficient pup liver, ketone body synthesis was measured in liver mitochondria from 15-d-old pups. Litters from Fe-deficient ( â€" Fe) and Fe-adequate ( + Fe) dams were orally supplemented with water (W) as a control, 18 mMferrous sulfate, or 10 mM L-carnitine from d 8 through d 15 of lactation. The amount of ketone bodies (AŸ-hydroxybutyrate + acetoacetate) synthesized was 68 % less (P < 0.05) in â€" FeW pups than in +FeW pups. Iron or carnitine supplementation in creased KG in - Fe pups to + Fe KG levels, but carnitine did not affect KG in + Fe pups. Liver TG in + Fe pups was not altered by supplementation, but liver TG was lowered in - Fe pups by carnitine and iron 21% and 64 %, respectively, compared to - FeW pups. The data support the hypothesis that in the Fe-deficient suckling rat, low carnitine levels may contribute to impaired ketogenesis and increased lipids in liver. J. Nutr. 116: 2180-2189, 1986.
The influence of perceived neighborhood disorder on smoking cessation among urban safety net hospital patients.

Abstract Background Although research has shown that objective neighborhood characteristics are associated with health behaviors including smoking, little is known about the influence of perceived neighborhood characteristics on a smoking cessation attempt. Methods Participants ( N = 139) enrolled in a Dallas safety-net hospital smoking cessation program were followed from 1 week pre-quit through 4 weeks post-quit. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the impact of perceived neighborhood order and disorder on the likelihood of achieving biochemically verified point prevalence and continuous smoking abstinence 4 weeks following a scheduled quit attempt. Analyses were adjusted for demographic characteristics, cigarettes per day, intervention group, and pharmacological treatment. Results Participants were primarily non-White (72.7%) and female (56.8%) with a mean age of 52.5 (SD = 3.7) years. Most reported an annual household income of ≤$25,000 (86.3%). Logistic regression analyses indicated that greater neighborhood physical ( p = .048) and social order ( p = .039) were associated with a greater likelihood of achieving point prevalence smoking abstinence at 4 weeks post-quit. Greater perceived physical ( p = .035) and social disorder ( p = .039) and total neighborhood disorder ( p = .014), were associated with a reduced likelihood of achieving point prevalence abstinence. Social disorder ( p = .040) was associated with a reduced likelihood of achieving continuous abstinence at 4 weeks post-quit, while social order ( p = .020) was associated with an increased likelihood of continuous abstinence. Conclusions Perceptions of neighborhood order and disorder were associated with the likelihood of smoking cessation among socioeconomically disadvantaged smokers making a quit attempt. Findings highlight the need to address perceptions of the neighborhood environment among disadvantaged smokers seeking treatment.
An analysis of a service system supporting IBM's global service delivery

The world economy continues to evolve away from the traditional producer-consumer roles prevalent in the industrial era, towards more dynamical, collaborative business relationships characteristic of the emerging global services economy. New challenges are emerging for businesses engaged in service delivery, particularly concerning process normalization and cost estimation. Service standardization is being addressed at IBM through careful analysis of historical service deals and the development of “best practice” standards for service solutions. The Solution Definition Manager (SDM) is a platform developed at IBM through a close collaboration among research and business representatives, designed to support the flexible creation of global service solutions within standards, as well as subsequent cost estimation and pricing of those solutions at fine level of granularity. In this paper, the SDM is discussed in terms of how and why it is being developed as well as the business transformation it represents. An analysis is presented of how research and business groups within IBM have co-created value by transforming internal processes, and how the SDM in turn allows IBM to be a better partner for value co-production while delivering services to external clients.
Collisional and inertial dynamics of the ionospheric interchange instability

The dynamical properties and spectral characteristics of the ionospheric interchange instability in the collisional and inertial regimes are investigated numerically and analytically, using a two-dimensional fluid model. This model, which describes the collisional and inertial dynamics of the F region ionosphere, is similar to the models of Ott (1978) and Kintner and Seyler (1985). By numerically integrating the model equations, the nonlinear evolution of three interchange unstable configurations in the collisional and inertial regimes are followed, and their dynamical and spectral properties are studied. The solutions indicate that the dynamical properties of a collision-dominated regime are distinctly different from those of an inertia-dominated regime. The qualitative characteristics of a plasma bubble in both regime-types are described.
What are we teaching? Applying error analysis to school activities

Abstract The vision of the child as an active learner whose behaviors (including “errors”) are evidence of thinking ‐ of the discovery of new rules ‐ has been a central message of research on oral and written language during the past two decades. In literacy education, Clay, Goodman, and others have urged teachers to look at children's errors or miscues as indicators of the complex processing going on in children's minds. This paper aims to extend and broaden this use of error analysis. Observing how children perform during varied literacy activities can not only allow clues to their linguistic rules for using oral and written language, it can also allow clues to the sociolinguistic rules children are discovering in the classroom ‐ rules teachers may not be aware that they are teaching.
Errors in Second Moments Estimated from Monostatic Doppler Sodar Winds. Part II: Application to Field Measurements

Abstract In this paper we use the theoretical results presented in Part I of this paper to correct turbulence parameters derived from monostatic sodar wind measurements in an attempt to improve the statistical comparisons made with the sonic anemometers on the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory tower. We first show the approximate magnitude of the error due to spatial and temporal pulse volume separation as a function of mean wind angle relative to the sodar configuration and for several antenna pulsing orders. Sodar-derived standard deviations of the lateral wind component, before and after the application of the spatial and temporal volume separation correction, are presented. The improvement appears to be significant. The effects of correcting for pulse volume averaging derived in Part I are also discussed.
Cardiac Purkinje fibers and arrhythmias; The GK Moe Award Lecture 2015

Purkinje fibers/cells continue to be a focus of arrhythmologists. Here we review several new ideas that have emerged in the literature and fold them into important new points. These points include the following: some proteins in Purkinje cells are specific to Purkinjes; pacemaker function in Purkinje may be similar to that of the sinus node cell; sink-source concerns about tracts/sheets of Purkinje fibers; role of Ito in arrhythmias; and genetic lesions in Purkinjes and their high impact on cardiac rhythm. Although new ideas about the remodeled Purkinje cell are not the focus of this review, one can easily imagine how Purkinjes and their function may be altered in diseased hearts.
Student's Perspective of Success in a Postbaccalaureate Program

Abstract Objective To identify contributors to the success of students in medical school that graduate from a 1-year postbaccalaureate bridge program. Method In 2010, using rigorous qualitative methodology, the principal investigator interviewed a random sample of 15 (23%) of current and past graduates of The Florida State University College of Medicine Bridge program. The investigators recorded and transcribed the interviews, utilized consensual qualitative research methodology to analyze the data, and identified an overarching theoretical construct. Results Content analysis of all 15 interviews yielded 73 themes, which were grouped into 6 broad categories/domains: The Florida State University College of Medicine Bridge Program attributes, personal attributes, proof of competence, support systems, exposure to medical programs, and faith/religion. Conclusion Postbaccalaureate programs prepare students for success in medical school. The Florida State University College of Medicine Bridge Program has been particularly successful in identifying and educating students who demonstrated promise upon application, despite noncompetitive grades and Medical College Admission Test scores. The authors identify the characteristics and individual experiences of the students and program that relate to success.
Modulation of Cisplatinum Cytotoxicity by p53: Effect of p53-Mediated Apoptosis and DNA Repair

A stable transfectant (S2SN7) of p53-null SaOS-2 (human osteosarcoma) cells expressing wild-type p53 under the tight control of a tetracycline-responsive promoter was used to study the functional roles of p53 in cellular response to cisplatinum (CP). When cells were grown in media containing normal concentrations (10%) of serum, induction of p53 by tetracycline withdrawal resulted in an 8-fold decrease in sensitivity to CP. In contrast, when cells were grown in lower serum (1%) media, induction of p53 led to a 10-fold increase in sensitivity to CP. The p53-mediated sensitivity to CP under lower serum conditions was attributed, at least in part, to increased susceptibility of p53-mediated apoptosis. Under lower serum (0.1-1%) but not normal serum conditions, p53 induction correlated with selective down-regulation of bcl-2, an inhibitor of apoptosis. In addition, a host-cell reactivation assay showed that induction of p53 caused a significant increase in repair of CP-induced DNA damage under normal serum but not low serum conditions. These data suggest that growth conditions may modulate and possibly reverse p53-mediated CP sensitivity by altering p53-mediated gene regulation and, as a result, susceptibility to apoptosis. They also suggest that a combined effect of p53-mediated apoptosis and DNA repair may be the ultimate determinant in p53-mediated cellular resistance or sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs.
Group Orthogonal Matching Pursuit for Logistic Regression

We consider a matching pursuit approach for variable selection and estimation in logistic regression models. Specifically, we propose Logistic Group Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (LogitGOMP), which extends the Group-OMP procedure originally proposed for linear regression models, to select groups of variables in logistic regression models, given a predefined grouping structure within the explanatory variables. We theoretically characterize the performance of Logit-GOMP in terms of predictive accuracy, and also provide conditions under which LogitGOMP is able to identify the correct (groups of) variables. Our results are non-asymptotic in contrast to classical consistency results for logistic regression which only apply in the asymptotic limit where the dimensionality is fixed or is restricted to grow slowly with the sample size. We conduct empirical evaluation on simulated data sets and the real world problem of splice site detection in DNA sequences. The results indicate that Logit-GOMP compares favorably to Logistic Group Lasso both in terms of variable selection and prediction accuracy. We also provide a generic version of our algorithm that applies to the wider class of generalized linear models.
Politicization and the Three Fundamental Properties of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Legitimacy

This article reexamines the view that perceptions of politicized decision-making directly impacts the magnitude of legitimacy attributed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Legitimacy attitudes of the mass public vary on the three properties of magnitude, persuasiveness and stability. The experimental evidence presented here shows that politicization impacts the persuasiveness and stability of legitimacy but does not directly affect magnitude. As Court decisions are encountered, the decreased persuasiveness and stability of a politicized legitimacy causes a decrease in legitimacy. These results show that only a non-politicized judiciary can maintain its independence. It also lays out a framework for studying the public’s support for institutions based on individual variation on three fundamental properties.
Fibrosing mediastinitis: a rare complication of histoplasmosis.

We report a case of a 29-year-old man who presented with intermittent haemoptysis for about 18 months. Previously, his symptoms had been diagnosed as musculoskeletal pain and later as pneumonia. CT found a venous infarct in the right lung in addition to extensive lymphadenopathy in the mediastinum and pulmonary hila, with associated calcifications almost completely occluding the superior vena cava and azygos vein. Further questioning revealed that the patient had once worked on an organic farm in Colorado. Subsequent work up was positive for histoplasmosis yeast antibodies. The patient was diagnosed with fibrosing mediastinitis (FM) and started on itraconazole for 3 months. We note that FM is a rare complication of histoplasmosis and can present as chronic haemoptysis. Travel history is an important aspect of the clinical evaluation. Antifungal agents have shown some efficacy in treating histoplasmosis-related FM.
Synthesis and Characterization of Gyroidal Mesoporous Carbons and Carbon Monoliths with Tunable Ultralarge Pore Size

Ordered mesoporous carbons with high pore accessibility are of great interest as electrodes in energy conversion and storage applications due to their high electric and thermal conductivity, chemical inertness, and low density. The metal- and halogen-free synthesis of gyroidal bicontinuous mesoporous carbon materials with uniform and tunable pore sizes through bottom-up self-assembly of block copolymers thus poses an interesting challenge. Four double gyroidal mesoporous carbons with pore sizes of 12, 15, 20, and 39 nm were synthesized using poly(isoprene)-block-poly(styrene)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (ISO) as structure-directing triblock terpolymer and phenol–formaldehyde resols as carbon precursors. The highly ordered materials were thermally stable to at least 1600 °C with pore volumes of up to 1.56 cm3 g–1. Treatment at this temperature induced a high degree of sp2-hybridization and low microporosity. Increasing the resols/ISO ratio led to hexagonally packed cylinders with lower porosity. A single gy...
What about the increasing adaptive value of manipulative language use

Group size covaries with relative neocortical volume in nonhuman primates. This regression equation predicts a group size for modern humans very similar to that for hunter-gatherer and traditional horticulturalist societies. Similar group sizes are found in other contemporary and historical societies. Nonhuman primates maintain group cohesion through social grooming; among the Old World monkeys and apes, social grooming time is linearly related to group size. Maintaining stability of human-sized groups by grooming alone would make intolerable time demands. It is therefore suggested (1) that the evolution of large groups in the human lineage depended on developing a more efficient method for time-sharing the processes of social bonding and (2) that language uniquely fulfills this requirement. Data on the size of conversational and other small interacting groups of humans accord with the predicted relative efficiency of conversation compared to grooming as a bonding process. In human conversations about 60% of time is spent gossiping about relationships and personal experiences. Language may accordingly have evolved to allow individuals to learn about the behavioral characteristics of other group members more rapidly than was feasible by direct observation alone.
THERMOCHEMISTRY OF BSI(G), BSI2(G), AND BSI3(G)

The partial pressures of Si(g), B(g), BSi(g), BSi2(g), and BSi3(g) were measured over the condensed phase mixtures silicon + silver and silicon + germanium + silicon nitride + silver, contained in boron nitride Knudsen cells. The thermal functions were calculated for the B−Si gaseous species, and the atomization enthalpies ΔatomH°m (in kJ·mol -1) were deduced as 312 ± 12 (BSi), 767 ± 18 (BSi2), and 1199 ± 28 (BSi3) at T = 0 K; and 317 ± 12 (BSi), 777 ± 18 (BSi2), and 1214 ± 28 (BSi3) at T = 298.15 K. These values in combination with enthalpies of formation of Si(g) and B(g) yielded enthalpies of formation ΔfH°m (at T = 298.15 K; in kJ·mol -1): 698 ± 14 (BSi), 688 ± 20 (BSi2), and 701 ± 31 (BSi3).