cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Degradation of Poly(l-Lactic Acid) and Bio-Composites by Alkaline Medium Under Various Temperatures

Ribbons of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and PLA containing 10 or 25% Osage Orange (OO) biocomposites of various sized heartwood particles were exposed to non-composting soil conditions either outdoors or in a greenhouse. No appreciable degradation was evident after 208 day treatments. An artificial alkaline degradation test system was developed to reduce the study time required to evaluate PLA compositional properties on degradation. Ribbons of PLA and PLA-OO biocomposites of various sized particles were subjected to hydrolysis in alkaline concentrations (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, and 0.25 M NaOH) under various temperatures (15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, and 80 °C) up to 56 days. Higher concentrations of NaOH (e.g., 0.25 M) caused more dramatic and rapid deterioration of PLA and PLA-OO composites than lower NaOH concentrations for all temperatures tested. Incubation in either the low temperatures (15 and 20 °C) or the highest temperature (80 °C) was consistently more effective in PLA-OO degradation than employing 35 or 40 °C. Several alkaline and temperature test combinations are offered to study accelerated PLA degradation. Ribbons immersed in NaOH were examined with the scanning electron microscope to analyze for morphological alterations.
Privacy and performance in social overlay networks

The core Internet protocols were not designed to protect the privacy of content or the identities of communicating users, thus making censorship and surveillance easy. The same problem persists at higher level protocols, popular peer-to-peer networks are trivial to monitor even for an adversary with limited resources. In fact, recent developments suggest that censorship and surveillance of Internet users is becoming more prevalent over time. This dissertation describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of two systems that can bring us towards a future where censorship and surveillance is hard. OneSwarm is a privacy-preserving data sharing network designed to give users performance comparable to the peer-to-peer networks commonly used today but without revealing their behavior to third party surveillance. Unblock is an overlay network that leverages many of the same building blocks but is designed to help users circumvent censorship of Internet services. Common to both systems is the use of existing social trust between participants to thwart surveillance and censorship respectively. These systems are designed to run on today's Internet and require no changes to core Internet infrastructure or protocols. Measurements of the systems in the wild, and simulations of their behavior at scale, show that they protect user privacy and improve performance over existing alternatives.
Modernist Studies and Anthropology: Reflections on the Past, Present, and Possible Futures

This chapter is part of a projected book on the subject of what has variously been called postmodern anthropology, interpretive anthropology, or the ethnography-as-text movement in the past 30 years, with a special focus on the literary and ‘modernist’ aspects of the enterprise.
Thermodynamics of Adsorption of a Hydrophobic Polymeric Flocculant on Coal, Pyrite and Shale Minerals

A study was performed on the adsorption of a hydrophobic polymer, FR-7A, on individual suspensions of coal, pyrite and shale minerals. A nephelometric method was employed for the determining FR-7A concentration in solutions. From the adsorption isotherms, thermodynamic derivations of ΔG ads 0 , ΔG el 0 , ΔGH, ΔH ads 0 and ΔS ads 0 were made. The study led to a number of findings: 1) adsorption of FR-7A on the minerals followed the Langmuir adsorption model; 2) FR-7A had a higher adsorption affinity to coal than to pyrite or to shale minerals; the higher affinity to coal could be attributed to “hydrophobic bonding”; 3) adsorption affinity of FR-7A on all minerals decreased as pH increased.
Integrated Regulatory and Metabolic Models

ABSTRACT This chapter describes how to reconstruct functional metabolic and transcriptional regulatory networks, as well as the modeling approaches that allow for simulation of network behavior for networks separately and for networks combined. This process is placed in the context of model-driven biological discovery, and is illustrated with a detailed case study. In this study, a genome-scale model was reconstructed and used in conjunction with experimental data to elucidate the regulatory and metabolic networks in Escherichia coli .
How Achievement Error Patterns of Students With Mild Intellectual Disability Differ From Low IQ and Low Achievement Students Without Diagnoses

This study investigated the differences in error factor scores on the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement–Third Edition between individuals with mild intellectual disabilities (Mild IDs), those...
Evaluation of hydroxamic acid in uranium extraction process : literature review.

The Uranium Extraction (UREX) process is being developed for the spent oxide fuel from light water reactors as part of the Accelerator Transmutation of Waste Project. The UREX process is similar to the Plutonium and Uranium Extraction (PUREX) process in that it involves solvent extraction based on a tributyl phosphate extractant. To assure that actinide reduction and complexation are effective, the reductant/complexant aceto-hydroxamic acid is being considered for use in the UREX process. The following literature review describes the solvent extraction, kinetics, oxidation-reduction, and complexation properties of aceto-hydroxamic acid and its derivatives.
Discriminative Stimulus Social Skills Training: The Effects of Video-Based Exemplars of Teacher Requests on the Compliance of Students with Behavioral Disorders

Virtually all social skills training (SST) regimens incorporate live or video modeling to effect gains in the targeted skills; there seems to be an implicit assumption that a behavioral model must ...
“Usually Slighted”: Gudrún, Other Medieval Women, and The Lord of the Rings , Book 3 (1925–1943)

This chapter argues against the frequently articulated opinion that Tolkien was a misogynist. As a “queer creature” Tolkien was drawn to medieval women similarly abject in his earliest scholarship—specifically other rather than Other in the postmodern essentialized definition of not male. They occupied singular positions in medieval saints’ lives and manuals for anchoresses, the latter walled up to separate them from worldly affairs, chief among them the lives of St. Katherine and St. Julian and the Ancrene Riwle (the Anchoress’s Rule). In Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon literature, he preferred and adapted the tale of the Volsunga Saga’s Gudrun, and, in relation to Beowulf, adaptation and commentary on Grendel’s Mother and Freawaru. Similarly, in The Lord of the Rings, he creates a few powerful lone female characters, which begin from an abject and ignoble position in their cultures to finish victoriously, without dependency on men.
Ultrasound-guided spectral photoacoustic imaging of hemoglobin oxygenation during development.

Few technologies are capable of imaging in vivo function during development. In this study, we have implemented spectral photoacoustic imaging to estimate tissue oxygenation longitudinally in pregnant mice. We used the spectral photoacoustic signal to estimate hemoglobin oxygen saturation within intact, in vivo mouse concepti from developmental day (E) 8.5 to E16.5—a first step towards functional imaging of the maternal-fetal environment. Future work will apply these methods to compare longitudinal functional changes during normal vs abnormal development of embryos, fetuses, and placentas.
Designing Virtualization-Aware and Automatic Topology Detection Schemes for Accelerating Hadoop on SR-IOV-Enabled Clouds

Hadoop is gaining more and more popularity in virtualized environments because of the flexibility and elasticity offered by cloud-based systems. Hadoop supports topology-awareness through topology-aware designs in all of its major components. However, there exists no service that can automatically detect the underlying network topology in a scalable and efficient manner, and provide this information to the Hadoop framework. Moreover, the topology-aware designs in Hadoop are not optimized for virtualized platforms. In this paper, we propose a new library called Hadoop-Virt, based on RDMA-Hadoop, which provides with an automatic topology detection module and virtualization-aware designs in Hadoop to fully take the advantage of virtualized environments. Our experimental evaluations show that Hadoop-Virt delivers upto 34% better performance in the default execution mode and upto 52.6% better performance in the distributed mode as compared to default RDMA-Hadoop for SR-IOV-enabled virtualized clusters.
Moderate statin treatment reduces prebeta-1 high-density lipoprotein levels in dyslipidemic patients

Background Elevated plasma levels of prebeta-1 high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the principal acceptor of cholesterol effluxed from macrophages, are associated with increased risk of atherosclerotic coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction. Objective The objective of the study was to assess the effects on prebeta-1 HDL levels of 6-week moderate-dose statin treatment. Methods We studied 101 patients (mean age 52.7 years; 53.5% female; 63 with primary hypercholesterolemia; 38 with combined hyperlipidemia) before and after treatment with statins. Mean atorvastatin potency equivalence was 23.6 mg/d. Prebeta-1 HDL plasma levels were measured by immunofixation of agarose gels using anti-apolipoprotein A-1 antibody. Results We observed a 42.0% reduction of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (181 ± 56 vs 105 mg/dL, P P P = NS). Levels of prebeta-1 HDL were significantly reduced by 17.9% after statin treatment (mean 11.4 vs 9.4 mg apoA-1/dL, P Conclusions The association of high prebeta-1 HDL with coronary heart disease identifies it as an inferential measure of the rate of cholesterol efflux from the artery wall. Our observations demonstrate a reduction of prebeta-1 HDL with statin therapy, partially reflecting the reduced TGs, and probably reflecting a direct beneficial impact on cholesterol efflux.
Porous-Coated Metaphyseal Sleeves for Severe Femoral and Tibial Bone Loss in Revision TKA.

Abstract Background Metaphyseal bone loss is commonly encountered in revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Anderson Orthopaedic Research Institute types 2 and 3 defects generally require some form of metaphyseal fixation or augmentation. This study evaluates the midterm results of stepped, porous-coated metaphyseal sleeves in revision TKA in the setting of severe bone loss. Methods Patients who underwent revision TKA using metaphyseal sleeves from March 2006 to May 2014 at our institution were identified from a prospective research database. Preoperative patient characteristics and operative data were reviewed. Postoperative outcomes were compared with preoperative values. Primary study outcomes included complications, reoperations, radiographic assessment of sleeve osteointegration, and survivorship. Results One hundred sixteen knees (108 patients) underwent revision TKA with 152 metaphyseal sleeves (111 tibial and 41 femoral). Anderson Orthopaedic Research Institute defect classification included 5 type 2A, 89 type 2B, and 17 type 3 tibial defects; and 3 type 2A, 34 type 2B, and 4 type 3 femoral defects. There were 3 intraoperative fractures (1.9%) associated with sleeve preparation and/or insertion. Six knees (5 patients) were lost to follow-up and 5 patients (6 knees) died before 2 years. Of the remaining 104 knees (98 patients, 134 sleeves), mean follow-up was 5.3 years (range 2-9.6 years). Nineteen knees (16.4%) required reoperation, most commonly for recurrent infection. Only one sleeve demonstrated radiographic evidence of failed osteointegration, but did not require revision. Two sleeves (1.5%) required removal and/or resection for recurrent infection. Conclusion This large retrospective series illustrates the utility of porous metaphyseal sleeves in revision TKA with a low rate of intraoperative complications, excellent osteointegration, and long-term fixation.
Concordance of ETS fusion status of matched metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and primary prostate cancer: Data from NCI 9012, a randomized ETS fusion-stratified phase II trial.

5019 Background: Fusions of androgen-regulated genes with ETS transcription family members have been reported in 50% of localized pPCa patients (pts), with TMPRSS2-ERG fusions being the most common...
Four Other Major Philosophers of Science

In this chapter, we will provide a brief overview of four other major philosophers of science: Paul Feyerabend, Imre Lakatos, Larry Laudan, and Alan Gross. Each of these philosophers’ work has been impactful and the reader must have some acquaintance with this literature if they are to be conversant in the contemporary meta-scientific literature.
Chapter 9 – THE WORLD COLOR SURVEY DATABASE

Abstract The World Color Survey (WCS) is a research project that was undertaken to validate, invalidate, or – most likely – modify the main findings of Berlin and Kay (1969) (B&K): (1) that there exist universal crosslinguistic constraints on color naming, and (2) that basic color terminology systems tend to develop in a partially fixed order. To this end, the WCS collected color naming data from speakers of 110 unwritten languages. The data have recently been compiled into a unified data archive, available online at http://www.icsi.berkeley.edu/wcs/data.html . In this chapter, we review the history of the WCS, including the creation of the online data archive, and describe our recent use of the archive to test the universality of color naming across languages.
THE HOME-BASED ADVANTAGES AND A HIERARCHY OF LOCATION RESOURCES: FOREIGN AND LOCAL FIRMS DEPENDENCY ON LOCATION RESOURCES

This chapter seeks to explain cases whereby locationally advantageous countries do not give rise to internationally competitive national firms, as theory suggests. Rather, foreign firms enjoy equal access to the country resources and build strong competitive position based on them. It suggests that location resources vary in terms of the extent to which foreign firms experience liabilities in accessing them, and in the ability of MNE internal networks to provide substitute for them. It introduces a hierarchy of location resources along these two dimensions and suggests that the position of resources in the hierarchy determines variations between foreign and national firms in terms of their ability to access location resources. When critical advantages are based on location resources that are high on the hierarchy, that is, are exclusive to national firms, the latter are likely to take the lead in an industry, establishing strong competitive position based on these superior resources. In contrast, when critical advantages are based on location resources which foreign firms can access on similar terms to those of national firms, or else can rely on the MNE network for their provision, the leading firms in an industry are likely to originate in multiple countries and no apparent home country effect will be observed. This chapter outlines the implications of the findings for MNE location strategies and for policy makers.
Racial Discrimination in the Auto Loan Market

We provide evidence of discrimination in auto lending. Combining credit bureau records with borrower characteristics, we find that Black and Hispanic applicants’ loan approval rates are 1.5 percentage points lower, even controlling for creditworthiness. In aggregate, discrimination crowds out 80,000 minority loans each year. Results are stronger where racial biases are more prevalent and banking competition is lower. Minority borrowers pay 70 basis point higher interest rates, but default less ceteris paribus, consistent with racial bias rather than statistical discrimination. A major anti-discrimination enforcement policy initiated in 2013, but halted in 2018, reduced discrimination in interest rates by nearly 60%.
Rhetoric’s rac(e/ist) problems

This introductory essay makes the case that rhetorical studies as a field and the Quarterly Journal of Speech as the journal of record for that field are racist. Racism need not imply that evildoer...
Interpersonal and intrapersonal approach and avoidance motives after social rejection

Theories pertaining to social rejection often posit that rejected individuals are motivated to both pursue belonging and protect the self. The present study examined whether rejection indeed produc...
What the Federal Reserve Board Tells Us About Agency Independence

In administrative law, the sine qua non of agency independence lies in the enabling statute. If the statute protects the agency’s head from removal except “for cause,” then the agency is considered insulated from Presidential control and classified as independent. On the other hand, if the statute is silent on for-cause tenure protection, then the agency is classified as executive. This Note questions that central assumption by relying on the history of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, arguably one of the most independent agencies in Washington. By tracing the Board’s history from a limited institution in 1913 to the powerful central bank of today, this Note demonstrates that in at least some cases, the driving factors behind operative independence have more to do with the practical realities of governance than the formalities of administrative law. Indeed, even though the Fed’s enabling statute is silent on the issue of for-cause tenure protection, the President has never fired the head of the agency. Even President Trump has declined to go so far. This Note addresses this paradox through a detailed look at the Board’s history and the major inflection points in its rise. Throughout, this Note also highlights the active role that the Board played in its own ascendency, demonstrating the dynamic life of administrative agencies and the powerful role they can play in shaping their own futures.
CATALYZED DEUTERIUM-DEUTERIUM AND DEUTERIUM-TRITIUM FUSION BLANKETS FOR HIGH TEMPERATURE PROCESS HEAT PRODUCTION.

Tritiumless blanket designs, associated with a catalyzed deuterium-deuterium (D-D) fusion cycle and using a single high temperature solid pebble or falling bed zone, for process heat production, ar...
Utility of abbreviated versions of the test of memory malingering in children with traumatic brain injury

We evaluated the classification accuracy of two abbreviated versions of the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) in prediction of results on the full-length instrument in a sample of 126 children who ...
Genetics and signaling mechanisms of orofacial clefts

Craniofacial development involves several complex tissue movements including several fusion processes to form the frontonasal and maxillary structures, including the upper lip and palate. Each of these movements are controlled by many different factors that are tightly regulated by several integral morphogenetic signaling pathways. Subject to both genetic and environmental influences, interruption at nearly any stage can disrupt lip, nasal, or palate fusion and result in a cleft. Here, we discuss many of the genetic risk factors that may contribute to the presentation of orofacial clefts in patients, and several of the key signaling pathways and underlying cellular mechanisms that control lip and palate formation, as identified primarily through investigating equivalent processes in animal models, are examined.
The Affordable Care Act and the Diffusion of Policy Feedback: The Case of Medicaid Work Requirements

Over the last five years, many states have sought to limit access to Medicaid by adopting restrictive policies. How can we reconcile this development with studies that imply that Medicaid should be insulated from policy backlash? The answer lies in understanding the policy feedback effects that accompanied Medicaid expansion and how these effects created electoral pressure that led to policy modification. We situate our expectations within a policy diffusion framework that accounts for variation in both the content and timing of policy adoptions across states. We develop and test several hypotheses using survey data and an original dataset on gubernatorial support for Medicaid work requirements. Our hypotheses are generally supported and provide a more nuanced understanding of the policy feedback effects following Medicaid expansion.
A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship Between Sleep Problems and Loneliness:

In this meta-analysis, we aimed to evaluate the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between various forms of sleep problems and loneliness. A total of 84 articles (110 samples, N = 227,1...
Postoperative dysphagia immediately following pediatric endoscopic laryngeal cleft repair.

Abstract Objectives In pediatric patients undergoing endoscopic laryngeal cleft repair, immediate postoperative dysphagia is not well-characterized. This study examined whether worsened dysphagia is present in the immediate postoperative period as detected by clinical swallow evaluation, and evaluated how this relates to postoperative change in presenting symptoms and findings on swallow studies. Methods A retrospective cohort was conducted at a tertiary academic medical center, evaluating all pediatric patients who underwent endoscopic laryngeal cleft repair by a single surgeon from October 2014 through December 2018. All patients underwent instrumental swallow evaluation preoperatively and clinical swallow evaluation within 24 h following surgery. Results Thirty-nine patients met inclusion criteria. Based on clinical swallow evaluation performed within 24 h after surgery, 4 patients (10%) were recommended to thicken their diet from preoperative baseline; all others were unchanged. All patients were admitted to the PICU for observation; 34 (87%) discharged on postoperative day 1. Thirty-seven patients attended 6-week follow-up, with 2 (5%) requiring thicker diet since discharge; all others were stable or improved. Prevalence of recurrent respiratory infections, subjective dysphagia, chronic cough, and wheezing significantly decreased after surgery. No statistically significant change occurred in prevalence of aspiration or penetration on instrumental swallow studies postoperatively. Conclusion Endoscopic laryngeal cleft repair is well-tolerated in pediatric patients, and most do not have obviously worsened dysphagia at immediate postoperative evaluation. Improvement in symptoms postoperatively may be a more useful indicator of surgical outcomes beyond instrumental swallow studies alone. The relative stability of these patients provides further evidence that they can likely be managed on the floor or as outpatients rather than in the ICU postoperatively.
Logistic retainment interval dose exploration design for Phase I clinical trials of cytotoxic agents

Phase I studies of a cytotoxic agent often aim to identify the dose that provides an investigator specified target dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) probability. In practice, an initial cohort receives a dose with a putative low DLT probability, and subsequent dosing follows by consecutively deciding whether to retain the current dose, escalate to the adjacent higher dose, or de-escalate to the adjacent lower dose. This article proposes a Phase I design derived using a Bayesian decision-theoretic approach to this sequential decision-making process. The design consecutively chooses the action that minimizes posterior expected loss where the loss reflects the distance on the log-odds scale between the target and the DLT probability of the dose that would be given to the next cohort under the corresponding action. A logistic model is assumed for the log odds of a DLT at the current dose with a weakly informative t-distribution prior centered at the target. The key design parameters are the pre-specified odds ratios for the DLT probabilities at the adjacent higher and lower doses. Dosing rules may be pre-tabulated, as these only depend on the outcomes at the current dose, which greatly facilitates implementation. The recommended default version of the proposed design improves dose selection relative to many established designs across a variety of scenarios.
Evaluating the impact of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative on violence and gun crime in Tampa: does it work and does it last?

Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is an increasingly popular violence and gun crime prevention program which aims to identify prolific violent offenders, and deter or incapacitate them from offending. While PSN programs generally show moderate effects on violence and gun crime reduction, questions remain about the magnitude and duration of effects given the heterogeneity in treatment applications across PSN programs. This study presents a quasi-experimental evaluation of a cutting-edge PSN initiative on violence and gun crime in Tampa, Florida over a 6-year period. Results indicate that PSN was associated with a 24.4% raw reduction in violence (d = −0.16) and a 24.0% reduction in gun crime rates (d = −0.22) for the treatment agency, while the control groups saw much smaller decreases in violence and gun crime over the same time period. There are several policy implications, as PSN is currently endorsed by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat violence and gun crime, with billions spent to support these programs across the nation. First, this study suggests that the use of an objective scoring criteria comprised a multi-faceted array of evidence-based risk factors to identify the prolific offenders subject to the PSN intervention yields a notable effect on violence and gun crime reduction and unlike other PSN initiatives, this program benefits from not being reliant on more subjective or sweeping approaches to identify potential prolific offenders. Second, this approach was associated with substantial decreases in violence and gun crime over the 3-year follow-up period, but importantly, total arrests in the treatment jurisdiction also decreased. This has potential positive effects for police-community relations, and perceptions of police legitimacy and effectiveness. Finally, the crime reductions in this evaluation were estimated to prevent more than 250 victims of violence and gun crime, and provide support for a new approach for PSN initiatives to replicate in research and practice.
Scar satisfaction assessment after conventional thyroidectomy: follow-up results.

Objective. With the introduction of remote access thyroidectomy questions regarding patient satisfaction after trans-cervical thyroidectomy has been raised in several publications. As far as neck scars are concerned, patient satisfaction in the early post-operative period and long term are different. This study assessed patient satisfaction regarding their neck scar in the early post-operative period and at long term follow-up. Methods. Retrospective study. Patients underwent total thyroidectomy by single surgeon. Scar satisfaction scores assessed at different time intervals ( 35 years were compared. Patient and observer scar assessment scales (PSAS, OSAS) and patient satisfaction score (PSS) were used. Results. 595 patients were included (443 females and 152 males, age 19-77 years). Improvement was observed in the PSAS (13.5 ± 2.3 at 6 weeks; to 4.32 ± 1.37 at 5 years; p < 0.05) and OSAS (7.32 ± 1.35 to 4.18 ± 1.51; p < 0.05). PSS improved over time from 1.8 ± 0.8 to 0.92 ± 0.66 (p < 0.05). The satisfaction scores were higher in patients < 35 years (p = 0.003). The scores indicated excellent patient satisfaction and are similar to those published in the literature regarding minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Conclusions. Proper incision placement and suturing resulted in excellent patient satisfaction regarding scars after conventional thyroidectomy.
Inflammatory profile in a canine model of hypothermic circulatory arrest.

Abstract Background Hypothermic circulatory arrest (HCA) is a technique used for complex repair of the aorta, but it can be associated with neurologic morbidity. To better understand the molecular changes that underlie ischemic brain injury, we assessed gene expression and cytokine/chemokine polypeptide concentration in brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of canines that underwent two hours of HCA. Materials and Methods: Adult male canines were cannulated peripherally for cardiopulmonary bypass, cooled to 18°C, and arrested for two hours. Animals were euthanized two, eight, or 24 hours post-HCA (n = 8 per group), and their brains were compared to brains from eight normal canines, using gene expression microarray analysis, cytokine assay, and histopathology. Results Two to eight hours after HCA, pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNAs increased markedly, and gene expression was enriched within signaling pathways related to neuroinflammation or ischemic injury. Concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokine polypeptides IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β, and CCL2 were very low in normal canine brain, whereas anti-inflammatory IL-10 and TGF-β1 were expressed at moderate levels. Pro-inflammatory cytokine concentrations rose robustly in cerebral tissue and CSF after HCA. IL-6 and IL-8 peaked at eight hours and declined at 24 hours, while IL-1β and CCL2 remained elevated. Concentrations of anti-inflammatory IL-10 and TGF-β1 were maintained after HCA, with a significant increase in TGF-β1 at 24 hours. Conclusions These cytokines represent potential diagnostic markers for ischemic neurologic injury that could be used to assess neurologic injury in patients undergoing HCA. The cellular mechanisms underlying this pro-inflammatory, ischemic-induced injury represent potential targets for neuroprotection in the future.
Association of Outcomes with Model-Based Indices of Cerebral Autoregulation After Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury.

We investigated whether model-based indices of cerebral autoregulation (CA) are associated with outcomes after pediatric traumatic brain injury. This was a retrospective analysis of a prospective clinical database of 56 pediatric patients with traumatic brain injury undergoing intracranial pressure monitoring. CA indices were calculated, including pressure reactivity index (PRx), wavelet pressure reactivity index (wPRx), pulse amplitude index (PAx), and correlation coefficient between intracranial pressure pulse amplitude and cerebral perfusion pressure (RAC). Each CA index was used to compute optimal cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP). Time of CPP below lower limit of autoregulation (LLA) or above upper limit of autoregulation (ULA) were computed for each index. Demographic, physiologic, and neuroimaging data were collected. Primary outcome was determined using Pediatric Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended (GOSE-Peds) at 12 months, with higher scores being suggestive of unfavorable outcome. Univariate and multiple linear regression with guided stepwise variable selection was used to find combinations of risk factors that can best explain the variability of GOSE-Peds scores, and the best fit model was applied to the age strata. We hypothesized that higher GOSE-Peds scores were associated with higher CA values and more time below LLA or above ULA for each index. At the univariate level, CPP, dose of intracranial hypertension, PRx, PAx, wPRx, RAC, percent time more than ULA derived for PAx, and percent time less than LLA derived for PRx, PAx, wPRx, and RAC were all associated with GOSE-Peds scores. The best subset model selection on all pediatric patients identified that when accounting for CPP, increased dose of intracranial hypertension and percent time less than LLA derived for wPRx were independently associated with higher GOSE-Peds scores. Age stratification of the best fit model identified that in children less than 2 years of age or 8 years of age or more, percent time less than LLA derived for wPRx represented the sole independent predictor of higher GOSE-Peds scores when accounting for CPP and dose of intracranial hypertension. For children 2 years or younger to less than 8 years of age, dose of intracranial hypertension was identified as the sole independent predictor of higher GOSE-Peds scores when accounting for CPP and percent time less than LLA derived for wPRx. Increased dose of intracranial hypertension, PRx, wPRx, PAx, and RAC values and increased percentage time less than LLA based on PRx, wPRx, PAx, and RAC are associated with higher GOSE-Peds scores, suggestive of unfavorable outcome. Reducing intracranial hypertension and maintaining CPP more than LLA based on wPRx may improve outcomes and warrants prospective investigation.
Bilateral mastectomy for unilateral breast cancer: A perplexing trend

In the United States, there has been a trend towards the increased utilization of bilateral mastectomy for the treatment of unilateral breast cancer. Yet, breast conserving surgery rates have increased slightly, so it is among women choosing mastectomy that the use of bilateral mastectomy is increasing. Ironically, since about 1985, the risk of developing contralateral breast cancer has decreased, likely due to the widespread use of adjuvant systemic therapy for the treatment of early breast cancer. The increased utilization of bilateral mastectomy is therefore puzzling, and this article discusses factors that may account for this trend. Several observational studies have shown that bilateral mastectomy is associated with improved survival when compared to unilateral mastectomy. However, these associations are probably due to selection bias, and bilateral mastectomy is unlikely to have an independent effect in improving survival for the majority of women with unilateral breast cancer. Bilateral mastectomy might be indicated for women with a high risk of developing contralateral breast cancer, such as those with a history of mantle irradiation or mutations in the BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 genes, but it cannot be entirely justified in the majority of women with unilateral breast cancer.
RNA as a long-distance information macromolecule in plants

A role for RNA as a non-cell-autonomous information macromolecule is emerging as a new model in biology. Studies on higher plants have shown the operation of cell-to-cell and long-distance communication networks that mediate the selective transport of RNA. The evolution and function of these systems are discussed in terms of an RNA-based signalling network that potentiates control over gene expression at the whole-plant level.
G-spectral estimation

In [1], 1971, a transformation referred to as the G-Transformation was introduced by H. L. Gray, T. A. Atchison and G. V. McWilliams. The transformation was shown to be of value in evaluating improper integrals and was especially effective in those cases where the integrand behaved like a linear combination of exponentials with real or complex arguments. These ideas have more recently ([2,3] 1976-77) been utilized to define a spectral estimator referred to as the G-Spectral Estimator. In this paper the nature of the G-transform and G-Spectral estimator are discussed and it is pointed out that such an estimator is most appropriate for processes whose autocorrelations behave as a linear combination of exponentials with real or complex arguments.
Evaluation of the Temporal Transferability of a Model Describing Dissolved Solids in Streams of the Upper Colorado River Basin1

Kenney, Terry A. and Susan G. Buto, 2012. Evaluation of the Temporal Transferability of a Model Describing Dissolved Solids in Streams of the Upper Colorado River Basin. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(5): 1041-1053. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2012.00667.x Abstract: The application of a nonlinear least-squares regression model describing the sources and transport of dissolved solids in streams of the Upper Colorado River Basin, and that was calibrated using data from water year 1991, was evaluated for use in predicting annual dissolved-solids loads for the years 1974 through 1998. Simulations for each water year were run using annual climate data. To evaluate how well the model captures the observed annual variability across the basin, differences in predicted annual dissolved-solids loads for each simulated year and 1991 were compared with differences in monitored annual loads. The temporal trend of the differences between predicted annual loads for the simulated years and the load for 1991 generally followed the trend of the monitored loads. The model appears to underpredict the largest annual loads and overpredict some of the smaller annual loads. An underprediction bias for wetter years was evident in the residuals as was an overprediction bias, to a lesser degree, for drier years. A regression analysis on the residuals suggests that the underprediction bias is associated with precipitation differences from 1991 and with previously defined downward trends in dissolved-solids concentrations in the basin. In general, given the representative climatic conditions, the model adequately performs throughout the period examined. However, the model is most transferable to years with climatic conditions similar to 1991.
Rendering, Complexity, and Perception

Computer graphics researchers have spent great effort in the last ten years on strengthening the physical foundations of computers graphics. We now need to step back and examine the nature of scenes our end-users wish to render, and what qualities these rendered images must possess. Humans view these images, not machines, and this crucial distinction must guide the research process, lest we become an increasingly irrelevant enclave, divorced from the users we profess to serve.
Selecting Sawn-Timber Beams

Structural members stressed primarily in bending are called beams. Horizontal beams of dimension lumber, such as 2 × 8s, used repetitively in bending are usually referred to as joists, whereas large beams that support other beams are called girders. Beam sections are generally chosen on the basis of bending and then checked for other possible failure modes. Beam failure could be a result of bending, shear, lateral buckling, bearing, deflection under service loads, or deflection from creep or ponding. Beam design consists of selecting a species, grade, and cross-sectional dimensions to prevent any of these types of failure from occurring.
Non-governmental Organisations and African Wildlife Conservation: A Preliminary Analysis

There is no overview of the collective activities of conservation NGOs in sub-Saharan Africa. We have made a first attempt by collecting details from as many organisations as we could find that work in Sub-Saharan Africa, and present findings on the work of over 280 organisations. We found that the number of NGOs in existence grew in the 1980s and blossomed in the 90s. Their distribution across the continent is patchy. NGOs work in about 14% of the continent’s protected areas. We estimate that average annual expenditure from 2004 to 2006 was just over $200 million. This is at most about 40% of the lowest predicted needs, and these predictions are themselves likely to be substantial underestimates of the sums required for effective conservation by conservation NGOs. Spending by country matches some declared conservation priorities well, without taking cost of doing conservation in different countries into account. In our concluding discussion we examine the diversity of the conservation NGO sector. We argue that the sector will probably need to scale up its activities by one order of magnitude to achieve its stated goals. We offer reasons why this might not be such an impossible task. But we also note that the possibility of more funding raises a number of awkward questions. These include: is money being spent effectively now? Does scaling-up mean more money to existing organisations or a whole set of new ones? More fundamentally, many studies of the performance of international NGOs in poorer countries, doing conservation, development and other activities have noted that there are many problems associated with existing levels and patterns of expenditure. Scaling up NGO activity will not deal with these problems, they could make many worse. We argue that the problems will be best addressed by recognising them explicitly.
Self-Assembling Peptides Form Immune Suppressive Amyloid Fibrils Effective in Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis.

Amyloidogenic proteins have long been linked to neurodegenerative diseases. However, amyloid fibrils composed of six amino acids are protective in an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). The reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines, decrease in the number of inflammatory foci in the parenchyma and meninges of the brain and spinal cord, and amelioration of the neurological signs of EAE when amyloid fibril-forming hexapeptides are administered reveal that some fibrils provide benefit. The therapeutic activity of the amyloid fibrils arise from diverse pathways that include binding of pro-inflammatory mediators in the plasma, reduction of IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-γ levels, and induction of type 1 interferon (IFN). Type 1 IFN has been used widely as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of MS and has been shown to be therapeutic in EAE with adoptive transfer of Th1 lymphocytes. However, type 1 IFN is known to exacerbate EAE with adoptive transfer of Th17 lymphocytes. Indeed, the amyloid fibril-forming peptide Tau 623–628 was therapeutic in Th1 adoptively transferred EAE, but ineffective in Th17 adoptively transferred EAE. However, the therapeutic effect of Tau 623–628 was restored in IFN-α/β receptor (IFNAR) knockout mice, indicating that other immune pathways independent of type 1 IFN induction play a role in the amelioration of EAE. Moreover, Amylin 28–33, a polar, non-ionizable peptide that does not form fibrils as rapidly as Tau 623–628, induces a small fraction of type 1 IFN compared to Tau 623–628 and is therapeutic in Th17 EAE. The diverse immunological pathways modulated by the self-assembling hexapeptides are under investigation with a goal to develop novel, safe, and potent therapeutics for neuroinflammation.
Investigation of electrospun fiber diameter distribution and process variations

Electrospinning is a method to produce submicron polymer fibers for a wide range of applications and it is desirable to understand what determines the fiber diameter distribution in this process. A well instrumented and machine vision based system had been developed to provide the measurement capability for this study. This paper investigated several important process variation factors as well as the operating conditions which resulted in minimal Taylor cone and jet fluctuations. It was found that the dynamic variations of Taylor cone volume, electric current, and charge density correlated to the resulting fiber diameter distributions.
New Land is Not Enough: Agricultural Performance of New Lands Settlement in West Africa

Abstract For centuries onchocerciasis, or river blindness, has contributed to the underpopulation of fertile river basins in much of the West African savanna. For this reason, an 11 -country program initiated in 1974 to control river blindness disease was expected to increase total crop production and improve living standards. Farm management data from 15 sites show that despite the control program's success in opening up new land, the farmers moving back into these areas were successful in increasing and stabilizing their incomes at only five of the 15 sites. Two of the major factors that explained these low success rates were the highly negative policy environment and lack of appropriate technology and supports for intensive cereal production in the drier semi-arid basins.
The Use of Hypnosis among Psychologists

Abstract This research provides current descriptive and comparative data regarding the incidence and general use of hypnosis among psychologists. Two samples were used. A survey of 600 randomly selected members and fellows of the American Psychological Association (APA) general membership and 288 members of the Division of Psychological Hypnosis, American Psychological Association (Division 30–APA) yielded a total of 463 respondents (50% and 57% respectively). A telephone follow-up of 35 randomly selected nonrespondents was conducted to increase generalizability. The areas assessed include: demographic characteristics; hypnosis training, use, and therapeutic application; research and interest areas; and attitudes toward hypnosis. The results indicate that 47% of the general membership and virtually all Division 30 members have had some training in hypnosis. Therapeutically, hypnosis is used primarily with adult clients by users from both groups. Overall, respondents hold favorable attitudes toward hypnosi...
Different Effects of Glucose Starvation on Expression and Stability of VEGF mRNA Isoforms in Murine Ovarian Cancer Cells

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been implicated as a potent regulator of angiogenesis in tumors, and its protein exists as at least five isoforms with distinct biologic activities and clinical significance. Tumors under metabolic stress conditions dramatically increase VEGF expression due to both increased transcription and decreased mRNA degradation. However, it is not known how stress conditions regulate expression of each VEGF isoform. Here, we report a novel Taqman real-time RT-PCR strategy for quantification of all murine VEGF isoforms and find that (1) glucose starvation dramatically up-regulates the mRNA level of all VEGF isoforms, with the three abundant isoforms, VEGF120, VEGF164, and VEGF188, increasing at a similar rate, while the rare isoform VEGF144 is more markedly up-regulated; (2) glucose starvation induces a significant increase of the relative abundance of VEGF144 mRNA, but not the more prevalent isoforms VEGF120, VEGF164, and VEGF188, compared to total VEGF; and (3) the stability of each isoform mRNA differs under the control conditions as well as glucose starvation. The latter significantly stabilizes mRNA of all VEGF isoforms at a different rate, with VEGF144 most significantly stabilized. Our results indicate that under metabolic stress conditions VEGF144 is the most dramatically up-regulated VEGF isoform, probably through mechanism(s) different from the three abundant VEGF isoforms.
Rate constants for the reaction of O(3P) atoms with benzene and toluene over the temperature range 299–440 K

Abstract Absolute rate constants for the reaction of O 3 P) atoms with benzene and toleune have been determined over the temperature range 299–440 K using a flash photolysis-NO 2 chemiluminescence technique. The Arrhenius expressions obtained were k 2 (benzene) = 1.68 × 10 −11 exp[−(3995 ± 200)/ RT ] cm 3 molecule −1 s −1 and k 2 (toluene) = 1.64 × 10 −11 × exp [−(3050 ± 200)/ RT ] cm 3 molecule −1 s −1 , with activation energies in cal mole −1 ; the room-temperature rate constants are (2.00 ± 0.20) × 10 −14 cm 3 molecule −1 s −1 and (9.62 ± 0.96) × 10 −14 cm 3 molecule −1 s −1 for benzene and toluene, respectively.
The glucagon-like peptides: a double-edged therapeutic sword?

Abstract Glucagon-like peptide-1(7–36)-amide (GLP-1) is an endogenous peptide that is secreted from the gut in response to the presence of food. Recent studies have established that GLP-1 and its longer-acting analog exendin-4 have multiple synergistic effects on glucose-dependent, insulin secretion pathways of the pancreatic β-cell and on plasticity in neuronal cells. Recent interest has focused on the development of these peptides as a novel therapeutic strategy for non-insulin-dependent (type 2) diabetes mellitus and associated neuropathy. This is with a view to developing lead compounds, based on neurotrophic action, for central and peripheral degenerative disorders such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease in addition to the peripheral neuropathy associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Here, we address recent advances in the biological action of GLP-1 and its related analogs.