cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
From Policy to Practice Change: Nursing Partnerships in Practice to Change Low‐Income African American and Hispanic Initiation of Breastfeeding Rates

This event consisted of several weeks of planning, followed by an intense (3 to 5 day) burst of activity to try-storm and implement improvements. The targeted time frame for reduction is the time from when the patient arrives at the admission front desk until when the electronic fetal monitor is applied. The Kaizen team approach focused on workflows for patient assignment and assessment, resource allocations, and physical surroundings to achieve this objective. The outcomes were a change in how we provide care in a high-risk obstetric triage unit and data to support a decrease in patient wait time that is within community and service line standards.
Transverse Fracture in Unidirectional Graphite/Polysulfone Composites

The transverse fracture properties of unidirectional graphite/polysulfone composites were used as a measure of the "in situ" fracture toughness of polysulfone, an amorphous thermoplastic matrix. At room temperature, the "in situ" plane-strain energy release rate, GIc, of polysulfone was a factor of four lower than the neat resin GIc. By comparing the temperature dependencies of the composite GIc to the neat resin GIc, we concluded that the release of residual thermal strain energy did not contribute to the observed loss of tough ness. The observed toughness loss is probably related to restriction of matrix yield zone size by the graphite fibers.
What Drives Early Dialysis Initiation and How Do We Optimize Timing of RRT

Timing of dialysis initiation has been in the spotlight in recent years (1). During the last decade, there has been a trend toward initiation of chronic dialysis at higher levels of eGFR (2). The reason for increased attention to the topic is accumulating evidence that early dialysis initiation does not improve patient outcomes and results in unwarranted costs. In observational studies, higher eGFR at dialysis initiation has been associated with higher mortality risk after initiation, independent of patient characteristics including nutritional status (1,3). The Initiating Dialysis Early and Late (IDEAL) trial recently reported that compared with a strategy of delayed dialysis initiation, earlier initiation in patients with advanced CKD was not associated with improved survival (4) or quality of life, but was associated with increased costs (5). The percentage of patients who initiate RRT at higher eGFR values continued to rise through 2009, both in the United States (6) as well as in Canada. Several factors have been hypothesized to contribute to the reported increase in eGFR at dialysis initiation, including greater acceptance of older and sicker patients with multiple comorbidities for dialysis intervention, a belief that of earlier dialysis initiation is associated with patient benefit, eGFR reporting and reliance on eGFR values to guide timing of dialysis initiation, misinterpretation of clinical practice guidelines, a desire to simplify management of CKD complications, and a greater financial reimbursement to providers associated with dialysis compared with CKD care (1,2). Prior studies have evaluated both patient and provider characteristics associated with timing of dialysis initiation (2,7). In this issue of CJASN, Sood et al. aimed to determine how patient, facility, and geographic characteristics influence the variation of eGFR at dialysis initiation across Canada (8).
Boundary element modeling of electrokinetically driven fluid flow in two‐dimensional microchannels

In recent years there has been considerable interest in fabricating electrophoretic separation systems on microchips. In this study the boundary element method is used to numerically model both the electrical charge density and the electrokinetically driven fluid flow velocity field in two-dimensional microchannels containing an arbitrary configuration of circular flow obstacles. An estimate of both the average velocity and the resolution has been determined for various obstacle configurations, obstacle sizes, area fractions, surface line lengths per unit area and for different values of the thickness of the electrical double layer. Based on the results, an optimal microchannel design is suggested. In addition, the recently observed phenomenon of recirculated flow in an open region of an otherwise packed electrochromatography column has been confirmed with the numerical model.
Solvent isotope effects upon the kinetics of some simple electrode reactions

Abstract The effects of replacing H2O with D2O solvent upon the electrochemical kinetics of simple transition-metal redox couples containing aquo, ammine or ethylenediamine ligands have been investigated at mercury electrodes as a means of exploring the possible contribution of ligand-aqueous solvent interactions to the activation barrier to outer-sphere electron transfer. The general interpretation of solvent isotope effects upon electrode kinetics is discussed; it is concluded that double-layer corrected isotopic rate ratios (kH/kD)E determined at a constant electrode potential vs. an aqueous reference electrode, as well as those determined at the respective standard potentials in H2O and D2O (kSH/kSD), have particular significance since the solvent liquid-junction potential can be arranged to be essentially zero. For aquo redox couples, values of (kSH/kSD) were observed that are substantially greater than unity and appear to be at least partly due to a greater solvent-reorganization barrier in D2O arising from ligand-solvent hydrogen bonding. For ammine and ethylenediamine complexes values of (kH/kD)E substantially greater than, and smaller than, unity were observed upon the separate deuteration of the ligands and the surrounding solvent respectively. Comparison of isotope rate ratios for corresponding electrochemical and homogeneous outer-sphere reactions involving cationic ammine and aquo complexes yields values of (kH/kD) for the former processes that are typically markedly larger than those predicted by the Marcus model from the homogeneous rate ratios. These discrepancies appear to arise from differences in the solvent environments in the transition states for electrochemical and homogeneous reactions.
Isochronal Difference Mapping: An Approach for Mapping Dynamic Changes During Reentrant Ventricular Tachycardia

CIACCIO, E.J., et al.: Isochronal Difference Mapping: An Approach for Mapping Dynamic Changes During Reentrant Ventricular Tachycardia. During clinical electrophysiological study for treatment of reentrant ventricular tachycardia, activation maps constructed from the acquired electrophysiological data can be difficult to interpret when the reentrant circuit is changing from one cardiac cycle to the next. Reduction of complexity would be beneficial but has been difficult. A new technical method termed isochronal difference mapping (IDM) was devised to reduce complexity and enhance distinctive conduction patterns present in the data. Electrograms were acquired from 196 sites using a canine model of a reentrant ventricular tachycardia circuit with a figure eight conduction pattern occurring in the epicardial border zone. Activation maps were constructed for all cardiac cycles during episodes of tachycardia in five experiments. IDM maps were then created, which are subtractive comparisons of the activation maps from two different cardiac cycles during a given tachycardia episode. In each map the electrical activation occurring for only one or for both of the cardiac cycles was separately highlighted in distinct spatial areas of the border zone during an isochronal interval. Based on the mappings, areas of conduction velocity change, regions of breakthrough of the wavefront across functional lines of block, regions with coherent activation, and regions with irregular activation became readily apparent. IDM maps showed that when cycle length prolonged due to deceleration of conduction within the reentrant circuit isthmus, conduction velocity increased elsewhere in the circuit. IDM accentuates cycle-to-cycle differences in multichannel electrophysiological data and can be used to reduce complexity and enhance distinctive conduction patterns.
The decarboxylation of itaconic acid polymers

Itaconic acid polymers decarboxylate in aqueous solution at temperatures of 100°C or less. The molar amount of evolved carbon dioxide per itaconic unit increases with itaconic acid content to about 0.30 for homopolymers. Development of ultraviolet absorption accompanies decarboxylation. A condensation of adjacent itaconic units which results in β-keto acids capable of decarboxylation to cyclic ketones is proposed. Further condensation may result in β-diketones. These reactions of polyitaconic acid are consistent with a structure consisting of repeating itaconic acid units. Polymaleic acid decarboxylates under similar conditions with the evolution of about 0.15 mole of carbon dioxide per maleic unit.
Ease-of-Retrieval as an Automatic Input in Judgments: A Mere-Accessibility Framework?

The ease-of-retrieval hypothesis suggests that people use the ease with which information comes to mind as a heuristic in forming judgments (Schwarz et al. 1991). We examine the automaticity of the use of ease-of-retrieval as an input in judgments. We demonstrate that the ease-of-retrieval is used unintentionally, outside of awareness, and effortlessly, along with other consciously applied inputs, to make related judgments. Once experienced, its impact follows through to judgments, even when it is discredited as a source of information. Results across four studies suggest that an automatic source of information (viz., the ease-of-retrieval) may merely have to be accessible to be used in a judgment. We propose a mereaccessibility framework as a variant of Feldman and Lynch’s (1988) accessibilitydiagnosticity framework to explain these results.
Kb, Kd, and Ld Molecules Share Common Tapasin Dependencies as Determined Using a Novel Epitope Tag

The endoplasmic reticulum protein tapasin is considered to be a class I-dedicated chaperone because it facilitates peptide loading by proposed mechanisms such as peptide editing, endoplasmic reticulum retention of nonpeptide-bound molecules, and/or localizing class I near the peptide source. Nonetheless, the primary functions of tapasin remain controversial as do the relative dependencies of different class I molecules on tapasin for optimal peptide loading and surface expression. Tapasin dependencies have been addressed in previous studies by transfecting different class I alleles into tapasin-deficient LCL721.220 cells and then monitoring surface expression and Ag presentation to T cells. Indeed, by these criteria, class I alleles have disparate tapasin-dependencies. In this study, we report a novel and more direct method of comparing tapasin dependency by monitoring the ratio of folded vs open forms of the different mouse class I heavy chains, L(d), K(d), and K(b). Furthermore, we determine the amount of de novo heavy chain synthesis required to attain comparable expression in the presence vs absence of tapasin. Our findings show that tapasin dramatically improves peptide loading of all three of these mouse molecules.
Influence Propagation: Patterns, Model and a Case Study

When a free, catchy application shows up, how quickly will people notify their friends about it? Will the enthusiasm drop exponentially with time, or oscillate? What other patterns emerge?
Premalignant and Early Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Actinic keratosis (AK) is a common sun-induced precancerous neoplasm confined to the epidermis. The AK is the initial manifestation of a continuum of clinical and histologic abnormalities that progresses to invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Bowen's disease, also known as squamous cell carcinoma in situ, represents early SCC confined to the epidermis. More than half of all SCCs contain p53 tumor suppressor gene mutations. Like SCCs, the vast majority of AKs and Bowen's disease lesions are asymptomatic. Each AK and suspicious lesion should be treated before it progresses to invasive SCC. Destructive modalities, such as cryosurgery using liquid nitrogen and electrodesiccation and curettage, usually performed by a dermatologist, are the mainstays of therapy.
A Guide to Reading Health Care News Stories

From April 16, 2006, through May 30, 2013, a team of reviewers from HealthNewsReview.org, many of whom were physicians, evaluated the reporting by US news organizations on new medical treatments, tests, products, and procedures. After reviewing 1889 stories (approximately 43% newspaper articles, 30% wire or news services stories, 15% online pieces [including those by broadcast and magazine companies], and 12% network television stories), the reviewers graded most stories unsatisfactory on 5 of 10 review criteria: costs, benefits, harms, quality of the evidence, and comparison of the new approach with alternatives. Drugs, medical devices, and other interventions were usually portrayed positively; potential harms were minimized, and costs were ignored. Our findings can help journalists improve their news stories and help physicians and the public better understand the strengths and weaknesses of news media coverage of medical and health topics.
Materializing piety: Gendered anxieties about faithful consumption in contemporary urban Indonesia

Islamic consumption promises to correct the ills of consumption yet relies on the logic of consumption for its appeal. Fashionably pious women in Indonesia have become figures of concern, suspected of being more invested in the material, and hence superficial, world than their virtuous appearances suggest. Arguing that consumption and religion are interdependent systems of faith, I show that women bear unusual semiotic burdens at the borders of materiality and piety. This approach reveals how pious Indonesian women must frame acts of pious consumption as disavowals of consumption and as expressions of beauty and modesty.
A comparison of fat and lean body mass index to BMI for the identification of metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents.

Context: The use of body mass index (BMI) to assess risk for cardiometabolic disease in the pediatric population may be limited by a failure to differentiate between fat and lean body mass. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to identify biologically based criteria for the definition of obesity using fat (FMI) and lean body mass index (LBMI) and to compare the ability of FMI and LBMI to BMI to identify the presence of metabolic syndrome (MetSyn). Design: This was a cross-sectional study using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2006 data. Participants: A total of 3004 participants aged 12–20 years with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry body composition and fasting laboratory data participated in the study. Main Outcome Measures: Adjusted odds ratios for MetSyn according to FMI and LBMI status and area under the curve for the identification of MetSyn were measured. Results: Receiver-operating characteristic curve analyses identified the 80th percentile for FMI and the 74th percent...
Mass spectrometry of the copper salt of tenuazonic acid

The copper salt of tenuazonic acid was studied by both positive and negative ion techniques. Fragmentation was elucidated with the aid of collision-induced dissociation/mass-analysed ion kinetic energy spectroscopy. During the course of the investigations, a homolog of tenuazonic acid was tentatively identified by using a combination of mass spectral techniques.
Increasing Triglyceride Synthesis Inhibits Glucose-Induced Insulin Secretion in Isolated Rat Islets of Langerhans: A Study Using Adenoviral Expression of Diacylglycerol Acyltransferase

The mechanisms by which prolonged exposure to elevated levels of fatty acids (FA) adversely affects pancreatic β-cell function remain unclear. Studies in the Zucker diabetic fatty rat have suggested that excessive accumulation of triglycerides (TG) in islets plays a key role in the deleterious effects of FA. However, a direct relationship between TG accumulation and defective β-cell function has not been established. The aim of the present study was therefore to determine whether increasing TG synthesis in isolated rat islets of Langerhans impairs insulin secretion. To this end, we infected isolated rat islets with an adenovirus encoding for the enzyme catalyzing the last step of triglyceride synthesis, acyl-coenzyme A:diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT). DGAT overexpression did not modify glucose oxidation nor palmitate oxidation, but increased palmitate incorporation into triglycerides by approximately 2-fold. Islets overexpressing DGAT and cultured in elevated glucose levels for 72 h had markedly i...
Bacteriophage-encoded shiga toxin gene in atypical bacterial host

Background Contamination from fecal bacteria in recreational waters is a major health concern since bacteria capable of causing human disease can be found in animal feces. The Dog Beach area of Ocean Beach in San Diego, California is a beach prone to closures due to high levels of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB). A potential source of these FIB could be the canine feces left behind by owners who do not clean up after their pets. We tested this hypothesis by screening the DNA isolated from canine feces for the bacteriophage-encoded stx gene normally found in the virulent strains of the fecal bacterium Escherichia coli.
Miniature multi-element antenna for wireless communications

We present a novel broad-band miniature antenna and employ it in a multi-element geometry with diversity capabilities for wireless communications. This antenna (diameter < 0.2 /spl lambda/ and thickness < 0.06 /spl lambda/) consists of two stacked circular patches that create two cylindrical slots resonating at two slightly different frequencies, fed by a strategically positioned coaxial probe. An extensive parametric study and results for a prototype working at 5.2 GHz are presented. A multi-element geometry with two or four of such elements follows. Microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based switches located within its geometry can not only change the working frequency of the design, but also activate a particular radiation beam depending on their specific location (resonant slot-aperture or feed line). Simulation results of a four-element antenna with dimensions 0.8 /spl lambda/ /spl times/ 0.8 /spl lambda/ /spl times/ 0.06 /spl lambda/ and a frequency band operation from 5 to 6 GHz are presented and compared to an experimental prototype. Circuit and radiation characteristics are discussed in terms of reconfigurability and diversity capabilities.
Interactions between antecedent climate and wildfire variability across south-eastern Arizona

Long-term antecedent climate conditions are often overlooked as important drivers of wildfire variability. Fuel moisture levels and fine-fuel productivity are controlled by variability in precipitation and temperature at long timescales (months to years) before wildfire events. This study examines relationships between wildfire statistics (total area burned and total number of fires) aggregated for south-eastern Arizona and antecedent climate conditions relative to 29 fire seasons (April-May-June) between 1973 and 2001. High and low elevation fires were examined separately to determine the influence of climate variability on dominant fuel types (low elevation grasslands with fine fuels v. high elevation forests with heavy fuels). Positive correlations between lagged precipitation and total area burned highlight the importance of climate in regulating fine fuel production for both high and low elevation fires. Surprisingly, no significant negative correlations between precipitation and seasonal wildfire statistics were found at any seasonal lag. Drought conditions were not associated with higher area burned or a greater number of fires. Larger low elevation fires were actually associated with wet antecedent conditions until just before the fire season. Larger high elevation fires were associated with wet conditions during seasons up to 3 years before the fire season.
Index Sets of Finite Classes of Recursively Enumerable Sets

Let q0, q1,… be a standard enumeration of all partial recursive functions of one variable. For each i, let wi = range qi and for any recursively enumerable (r.e.) set α, let θα = {n | wn = α}. If A is a class of r.e. sets, let θA = the index set of A = {n | wn ∈ A}. It is the purpose of this paper to classify the possible recursive isomorphism types of index sets of finite classes of r.e. sets. The main theorem will also provide an answer to the question left open in [2] concerning the possible double isomorphism types of pairs (θα, θβ) where α ⊂ β.
Use of Viscoelastic Solution to Improve Visualization During Urologic Microsurgery: Evaluation of Patency After Vasovasostomy

Objectives Viscoat is a nonpyrogenic, sterile, viscoelastic solution used to protect the endothelium and enhance visualization during cataract and corneal surgery. Commonly used in ophthalmic surgery, we evaluated whether it could improve the optics during urologic microsurgery without adversely affecting outcomes. Methods We retrospectively compared consecutive vasovasostomies performed by a single surgeon with (n = 23) and without (n = 50) the bilateral use of Viscoat. The examined parameters included patient age, vasectomy duration, intraoperative sperm characteristics, patency (ejaculation of motile sperm), time to patency, and postoperative semen characteristics. The comparisons of the sample mean values and proportions were assessed with analysis of variance, Wilcoxon, and χ 2 tests. Results Subjectively, Viscoat improved visualization of the vasal lumen and suture placement and aided in resident and fellow instruction. The vasovasostomy cases performed with and without the use of Viscoat were similar with regard to the patient and intraoperative characteristics. The overall patency rates were similar between the two groups (91% vs 92%, P = .92) with a median follow-up of 7 months. In addition, the best total motile sperm count and the durability of the patency achieved were similar between the two groups. Conclusions Viscoat is a dispersive agent that does not adversely affect surgical patency after vasovasostomy. Subjectively, it helped with visualizing the lumen of the vas deferens during urologic microsurgery.
A GENERAL LINEAR MODEL FOR SEA ICE EXTENT

A general linear model is used for simultaneous identification of short term seasonal variations and long term trends in deseasonalized sea ice extent. It shows a sustained decline of Arctic sea ice extent over the entire study period from 1978 to 2014. No decline of sea ice extent is evident in the Antarctic.
Tocopherone and expoxytocopherone products of vitamin E oxidation.

Publisher Summary α-Tocopherol (vitamin E) is the principal chain-breaking antioxidant in most biological membranes and in lipoproteins. As a chain-breaking antioxidant, it reacts primarily with peroxyl radicals, which are the principal chain-carrying species in biological lipid peroxidation. The reaction yields the tocopheroxyl radical, a resonance-stabilized phenoxyl radical that does not readily propagate radical chain reactions. Reduction of tocopheroxyl radical to α-tocopherol by biochemical reductants may complete a one-electron redox cycle, which accounts for the antioxidant synergism between α-tocopherol and other antioxidants. The tocopheroxyl radical molecules that do not complete redox cycles may react with a second peroxyl radical to form other products. In consuming a second peroxyl radical, the reaction contributes to the antioxidant effects of α-tocopherol. The reaction removes tocopheroxyl radical from the system, leads to α-tocopherol oxidative turnover, and may yield marker products for α-tocopherol function in biological systems. This chapter describes the methods to characterize and analyze 8a-substituted tocopherones and epoxytocopherones, which are the principal products formed by peroxyl radical-mediated oxidations of α-tocopherol.
Epilepsy and Behavior

Investigators at Georgia Regents University, Augusta, GA, and multiple centers (25) in the USA and UK, studied the Neurodevelopmental Effects of Antiepileptic Drugs (NEAD Study) in 195 children of pregnant women with epilepsy who had received AED monotherapy (carbamazepine, lamotrigine, phenytoin, or valproate) from 1999 to 2004.
The Rule Of 78s: Practical Applications And Theoretical Limitations

The purpose of this article is to provide an in-depth explication of basic concepts and operational precepts of the rule of seventy-eights sol that the accountant may better understand and, therefore, better advise his client in regard to interest income recognition. This income recognition technique does have wide application and as will be shown, is a theoretically valid approach to recording interest revenue so long as certain constraints are not violated.
Behavioral weight control for obese adolescents: preliminary findings and future considerations.

Two adolescent boys with histories of rapidly increasing obesity participated in a behavioral weight-reduction program. The multi-dimensional treatment included those behavioral techniques most'often shown to be effective in treating obese adults. While the program was not effective in reversing their increase in obesity, it was successful in reducing the rate of weight gain. During treatment both subjects' average monthly weight gain was reduced relative to baseline averages and lower than the rate expected for children this age. A 16-wk. follow-up showed a return to pretreatment patterns of weight gain. Directions for research with such people are discussed.
Monolithic InP Optical Crossconnects: 4 x 4 and Beyond

Increasingly, optical crossconnects are being proposed as the basis for various photonic packet switching nodes [l, 2].
A Tap on the Shoulder: External Influences as Catalysts for Professional Change

Not all community college presidents begin their careers with the goal of becoming president, yet something causes them to alter their initial career paths to seek a presidency. Understanding how community college leaders make the decision to seek and subsequently prepare for a presidency can help identify candidates with the potential to fill anticipated vacancies, meet national needs, and lead innovation. This article explores one set of findings from a year-long study that reveals the importance of external influences as catalysts for changing a potential leader's career path.
Trophic Retinal Degenerations

Trophic retinal degenerations are characterized by some vascular, metabolic, or nutritional disturbance as the main pathogenic mechanism.
The world is your test suite.

In this chapter I discuss the importance of verifying requirements by seeing how software is used in the world. I discuss various techniques for monitoring software failures, performance, and usability through instrumentation and monitoring.
The Grocery Store as an Exploitative Niche

The boutique in Volga Plage or in Sainte Therese is a microcapitalist venture in a poverty ecosphere. This local economic institution shows the flexibility of the capitalist system, which operates and carves a niche for itself at the very bottom of Martinican society. In fact the boutique represents in Fort-de-France one of the tentacles of the capitalist state and is an extension at the local level of the major national economic institutions. The study of this kind of venture forces us to give particular consideration to the ‘processes and institutions of social reproduction which stand behind and support the circuits of capital’ (Dickinson and Russell, 1986, p. 2).
Controversies That Shaped the Field of Human Resource Development: Town Hall Forums of the Academy of Human Resource Development

The ProblemThere is a dearth of information concerning the various controversies that have arisen within human resource development, as encapsulated within the Town Hall Forums provided at the annu...
Tricuspid Septal Leaflet Detachment for Ventricular Septal Defect Repair in Adults

We report a 21-year-old patient with a ventricular septal defect (VSD) with an embolic vegetation on the tricuspid valve using a technique of septal leaflet detachment to facilitate the repair of the VSD. Although described in the pediatric patients, this technique has not been reported in adults. The technique of septal leaflet mobilization is described, along with other techniques of tricuspid leaflet mobilization that aid in VSD visualization and repair. Tricuspid leaflet detachment has application for adult surgeons repairing perimembranous, postinfarction, and iatrogenic VSD encountered in resection of subaortic stenosis.
Playing at Violence: Lock-down Drills, "Bad Guys" and the Construction of "Acceptable" Play in Early Childhood.

ABSTRACTThis study examines how acceptable play was framed for a class of pre-Kindergarten children by their teacher and classroom aide. Using comic subjectivity theory [Zupancic, A. (2008). The odd one in: On comedy. Cambridge: MIT Press], the author explores how children’s playing at pretend violence (bad guy and pretend gun play) is forbidden, but playing at real violence (in the form of active-shooter lock-down drills) positioned the children in the classroom as victims of violence, rather than agentic powerful players. As gun violence in the United States continues to invade school spaces, this paper crtitically examines how ‘acceptable’ play for young children is being framed and defined by outside forces rather than pedagogical and professional knowledge.
Call types of Bigg’s killer whales (Orcinus orca) in western Alaska: using vocal dialects to assess population structure

Bigg’s killer whales (Orcinus orca; i.e. ‘transient’ ecotype), as apex predators, are important to the dynamics of marine ecosystems, but little is known about their population structure in western...
Development of Procedures and Equipment for Fabrication of the High Flux Isotope Reactor Target Rods

The High Flux Isotope Reactor and the Transuranium Processing Facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory will produce research quantities of such transplutonic elements as americium, curium, and...
Molecular basis for deficient acetaminophen glucuronidation in cats. An interspecies comparison of enzyme kinetics in liver microsomes.

Cats are highly susceptible to acetaminophen toxicity because of deficient glucuronidation of this drug in vivo. The enzyme kinetic basis for this defect is unknown. Therefore, the kinetic properties of acetaminophen UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (acetaminophen-UGT) were investigated, using hepatic microsomes from cats (N = 4) compared with those of species that are less sensitive to acetaminophen intoxication including dogs (N = 4), humans (N = 4), and six other mammalian species (one liver from each). Gunn rats were also studied, since they express defective UGT family 1 isoenzymes and are also prone to acetaminophen toxicity. Acetaminophen kinetics were biphasic in all instances with distinct high and low affinity components. Km values for the high affinity activity in cat microsomes (0.31 ± 0.1 mM; mean ± SEM) were intermediate between those of dogs (0.11 ± 0.02 mM) and humans (0.60 ± 0.06 mM) and other species (0.22 to 6.7 mM; range).On the other hand, high affinity Vmax values were over 10-fold less in cat microsomes (0.025 ± 0.006 nmol/min/mg) than in dogs (0.92 ± 0.09 nmol/min/mg) and humans (0.27 ± 0.09 nmol/min/mg); and over 5-fold less compared with microsomes from other species (range 0.13 to 7.63 nmol/min/mg). Gunn rat microsomes showed a similar 10-fold difference in high affinity Vmax values between the homozygous mutant (0.67 nmol/min/mg) and homozygous normal (6.75 nmol/min/mg) animals. These results demonstrate that, relative to a number of other species, cats have remarkably low hepatic levels of a high affinity acetaminophen-UGT. This difference is sufficient enough to explain poor glucuronidation of acetaminophen in vivo and susceptibility to acetaminophen intoxication.
The Tragic Aspect of Teaching: Hope in Face of Uncertainty.

AbstractEducators throughout the ages have offered metaphors and analogies for teaching and teachers. Prominent among them are: gardener, midwife, facilitator, guide, sacrament. Each of these metaphors shed light, from a different angle, on the act of teaching. This article proposes the metaphor of tragedy as a way of shedding new light, from a totally different perspective, on what it means to engage in academic teaching of religion. It explores three areas in particular in light of the metaphor: the quest for certainty, the confessional classroom, and learning without teaching. Tragedy holds the possibility of opening up awareness of the uniqueness of teaching the conversation when placed in critical dialogue with these three areas.
Application of laser powder deposition for turbine blade tip cap freeform fabrication

This paper presents a laser powder deposition based manufacturing method for freeform fabricating a new tip cap or restoring/repairing an existing tip cap on high pressure turbine blade airfoil. Cast turbine airfoils for advanced gas turbine engines have internal features that challenge the capability of current casting technologies. Conventional way of manufacturing HPT blade involves casting the entire blade airfoil including the tip cap as an integral part with sacrificial ceramic cores to form the complex internal features. These cores are fragile and prone to shift during the casting process, which leads to low yield (50-70%) of the casting process. The post-cast leaching and core cleanout processes are time consuming due to the enclosed complex internal cavities of blade. To cast the HPT blade with open tip and then form the tip cap structure on the cast airfoil using laser powder deposition technique can potentially improve the cast yield and reduce the production cycle time while maintaining the metallurgical integrity of the finished part. Methods are presented in this paper to form an overhanging tip cap structure on a HPT blade airfoil directly from metal powder. A metallurgical bonding is formed between the blade base material (alloy A) and the tip cap material (alloy B).This paper presents a laser powder deposition based manufacturing method for freeform fabricating a new tip cap or restoring/repairing an existing tip cap on high pressure turbine blade airfoil. Cast turbine airfoils for advanced gas turbine engines have internal features that challenge the capability of current casting technologies. Conventional way of manufacturing HPT blade involves casting the entire blade airfoil including the tip cap as an integral part with sacrificial ceramic cores to form the complex internal features. These cores are fragile and prone to shift during the casting process, which leads to low yield (50-70%) of the casting process. The post-cast leaching and core cleanout processes are time consuming due to the enclosed complex internal cavities of blade. To cast the HPT blade with open tip and then form the tip cap structure on the cast airfoil using laser powder deposition technique can potentially improve the cast yield and reduce the production cycle time while maintaining the m...
Autothermal-reformation enhancement using a stratified-catalyst technique

Abstract An investigation of a stratified catalyst arrangement for methanol autothermal reforming was conducted. The stratified arrangement consisted of a monolith platinum group metal (PGM) catalyst, immediately followed by a pelletized Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 water gas shift (WGS) catalyst. The system was experimentally investigated under different test conditions by varying the flow rate, oxygen-to-carbon ratio, and the packed length of the downstream WGS bed. The reactor performance was quantified with several metrics including the fuel conversion, hydrogen yield, system temperatures, and preliminary results are shown for short-term catalyst degradation. Conversion and hydrogen yield increased significantly at low oxygen-to-carbon ratios as compared to the stand-alone PGM catalyst. Results confirm the benefits of using a PGM and WGS catalyst in a stratified fashion and the stratified arrangement increases performance over each of the catalysts used singularly. Further study is warranted considering potential degradation of the WGS bed caused by high temperatures encountered at the exit of the PGM section.
Toward More Meaningful Accountability to the Public: Assessing Lifelong Competence of Physicians.

The amount of new knowledge in medicine is exploding. Physicians and other health care providers need to develop effective strategies to incorporate the latest information into patient care decisions. In addition to knowledge application skills, a 21st century physician requires additional
Effect of Humidity on Sporicidal Activity of Iodine Vapor on Bacillus thuringiensis

The emergence of Bacillus anthracis as a potential bioterrorism and biological warfare agent points to the need for safe, effective, and economical sporicides for infection prevention and control. This work examined the efficacy of iodine vapor decontamination technologies to inactivate a surrogate for B. anthracis, Bacillus thuringiensis spores on glass materials. 106–107 colony-forming units of spores inoculated onto circular glass cover slips were treated with different concentrations of iodine vapor under various temperature and relative humidity. Only minimal spore killing activity was observed at low humidity. Higher humidity levels, as well as pre-hydration or post-hydration of the spores, increased the rate of inactivation as long as the contact between spores and iodine was maintained in a hydrated environment. Significant sporicidal activity of 3-log and 6-log spore reduction has been observed with 2.1 mg L−1 iodine vapor concentration at 90% relative humidity and 22 °C, with 1 and 24 h of exposure, respectively. The results showed that the relative humidity of the environment is of major importance in regulating the rate at which the spores are inactivated by iodine. The results of this study may provide insight into the parameters of effective decontamination procedures for Bacillus spores using gaseous iodine.
Oncogenes in human neoplasms

The biologic activity of tumor DNA, detected by transfection of NIH 3T3 mouse cells, has led to the identification of transforming genes which are activated in a variety of human and animal neoplasms. The DNA of many tumors efficiently induces transformation of NIH 3T3 cells. In contrast, the DNA of normal cells lacks efficient transforming activity, even the normal DNA of the same individual animals or patients whose tumor DNA induces transformation. These findings imply that the development of many neoplasms involves dominant genetic alterations leading to activation of transforming genes, which are then detectable by their biologic activity in this gene transfer assay.
Doing Well or Doing Good in Ethics Consultation

“The Zadeh Scenario,” when taken together with the subsequent layers of peer review and commentary on that peer review, highlights two crucial insights regarding peer review for clinical ethics. The first is one that most (but not all) of Finder’s peer reviewers miss: peer-reviewers who would give attestation to quality need to be critically attentive to, and reflective about, the evidence supplied to them by candidates. The second is a more significant point: the kind of doing that is clinical ethics consultation is a local form of moral enquiry, seeking not just to achieve medical – or clinical ethical – goals, but to enact human goods. Good peer review thus turns on being clear regarding the goods of ethics consultation. Buried inside “The Zadeh Scenario” one can find several goods of clinical ethics. These goods are subjective, idiosyncratically named and defined by patients, and embedded in an institution of healthcare that purports to be of service to the goods of health. The clinical ethics consultant, at her best, acts as a careful mid-wife, attempting to bring forth the goods desired, the goods possible, and perhaps even the goods that, while desired, are not possible. After all, some goods pursued by patients are not possible due to the limits of medicine. On the other hand, some goods pursued by medicine are not desired by patients. And equally, some goods pursued by clinical ethicists might be limited, provisional, and local. “The Zadeh Scenario” thus acts to problematize the goals of clinical ethics consultation, asking it to focus on the goods that the practice might bring forth.
Competencies for Global Mental Health: Developing Training Objectives for a Post-Graduate Fellowship for Psychiatrists.

Author(s): Buzza, Colin; Fiskin, Anna; Campbell, Jorien; Guo, Jennifer; Izenberg, Jacob; Kamholz, Barbara; Hung, Erick; Acharya, Bibhav | Abstract: BackgroundDespite an increase in psychiatry trainees' interest in global mental health (GMH), there is a lack of relevant training competencies developed using educational frameworks that incorporate viewpoints from high- and low-income countries. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine competencies for a two-year post-graduate GMH fellowship for psychiatrists utilizing Kern's six-step process as a theoretical framework for curriculum development. Methods: We conducted a targeted needs assessment via key informant interviews with a purposive sample of stakeholders (n = 19), including psychiatry trainees, generalist clinicians, medical directors, psychiatrists, researchers, and GMH educators from high- and low-resource settings in the United States and abroad. We analyzed data using a template method of thematic analysis. Findings: We tabulated learning objectives across 20 domains. Broadly, clinical objectives focused on providing supervision for short-term, evidence-based psychotherapies and on identifying red flags and avoiding harmful medication use among vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly. Non-clinical objectives focused on social determinants of health, education, and clinical supervision as part of capacity-building for non-specialists, engagement in a systems-wide project to improve care, and ethical and equitable partnerships that involve reciprocal and bidirectional education. Several competencies were also relevant for global health work in general. Conclusions: A theory-informed framework for curriculum development and a diverse set of key informants can provide educational objectives that meet the priorities of the trainees and the clinical sites in both low- and high-income settings. Limitations of this study include a small sample size and a focus on clinical needs of specific sites, both of which may affect generalizability. Given the focus on training specialists (psychiatrists), the low-resource sites highlighted the importance of educating and supervising their permanent, generalist clinicians, rather than providing direct, independent patient care.
Effects of biological factors on the expression of arginine vasopressin receptors

Arginine vasopressin (AVP) is a hormone that functions to regulate blood pressure and bodily fluid homeostasis. Vasopressin has three main receptors AVPR1a, AVPR1b, and AVPR2 which were investigated in this project along with OXTR, LNPEP, and CUL5. AVPR1a functions in the smooth muscle and causes vasoconstriction, AVPR1b functions in the pituitary helping to regulate adrenocorticotropic hormone release, and AVPR2 is expressed highly in the kidneys and works to concentrate urine. This project investigates how these various receptors are expressed with different factors related to pregnancy such as, sex of the baby, chronically hypertensive mothers, and gestational age at delivery
Toxicity monitoring in phase I/II clinical trials with applications at James Graham Brown Cancer Center Clinical Trials.

e14021 Background: Phase II clinical trials are usually designed to measure efficacy but patient safety is also a very important aspect, especially now that combination therapies are becoming incre...
Foods Consumed by US Adults From Cafeterias and Vending Machines: NHANES 2005 to 2014.

Purpose:As part of wellness efforts, employers may seek to improve the nutritional quality of foods offered and consumed in cafeterias and vending machines. However, little is known about who consu...
The vacuolar zinc transporter TgZnT protects Toxoplasma gondii from zinc toxicity

ABSTRACT Zinc (Zn2+) is the most abundant biological metal ion aside from iron and is an essential element in numerous biological systems, acting as a cofactor for a large number of enzymes and regulatory proteins. Zn2+ must be tightly regulated, as both the deficiency and overabundance of intracellular free Zn2+ are harmful to cells. Zn2+ transporters (ZnTs) play important functions in cells by reducing intracellular Zn2+ levels by transporting the ion out of the cytoplasm. We characterized a Toxoplasma gondii gene (TgGT1_251630, TgZnT), which is annotated as the only ZnT family Zn2+ transporter in T. gondii. TgZnT localizes to novel vesicles that fuse with the plant-like vacuole (PLV), an endosome-like organelle. Mutant parasites lacking TgZnT exhibit reduced viability in in vitro assays. This phenotype was exacerbated by increasing zinc concentrations in the extracellular media and was rescued by media with reduced zinc. Heterologous expression of TgZnT in a Zn2+-sensitive Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strain partially restored growth in media with higher Zn2+ concentrations. These results suggest that TgZnT transports Zn2+ into the PLV and plays an important role in the Zn2+ tolerance of T. gondii extracellular tachyzoites. IMPORTANCEToxoplasma gondii is an intracellular pathogen of human and animals. T. gondii pathogenesis is associated with its lytic cycle, which involves invasion, replication, egress out of the host cell, and invasion of a new one. T. gondii must be able to tolerate abrupt changes in the composition of the surrounding milieu as it progresses through its lytic cycle. We report the characterization of a Zn2+ transporter of T. gondii (TgZnT) that is important for parasite growth. TgZnT restored Zn2+ tolerance in yeast mutants that were unable to grow in media with high concentrations of Zn2+. We propose that TgZnT plays a role in Zn2+ homeostasis during the T. gondii lytic cycle.
The nuclear phosphoinositide response to stress

Accumulating evidence reveals that nuclear phosphoinositides (PIs) serve as central signaling hubs that control a multitude of nuclear processes by regulating the activity of nuclear proteins. In response to cellular stressors, PIs accumulate in the nucleus and multiple PI isomers are synthesized by the actions of PI-metabolizing enzymes, kinases, phosphatases and phospholipases. By directly interacting with effector proteins, phosphoinositide signals transduce changes in cellular functions. Here we describe nuclear phosphoinositide signaling in multiple sub-nuclear compartments and summarize the literature that demonstrates roles for specific kinases, phosphatases, and phospholipases in the orchestration of nuclear phosphoinositide signaling in response to cellular stress. Additionally, we discuss the specific PI-protein complexes through which these lipids execute their functions by regulating the configuration, stability, and transcription activity of their effector proteins. Overall, our review provides a detailed landscape of the current understanding of the nuclear PI-protein interactome and its role in shaping the coordinated response to cellular stress.
Simulation of nonequilibrium electron and phonon dynamics in advanced concept photovoltaic devices (Conference Presentation)

We use ensemble Monte Carlo simulation of electrons and holes to investigate ultrafast carrier processes related to hot carrier capture and multi-exciton generation relevant for advanced photovoltaic devices. The particle based simulation includes electron-phonon scattering in quantum wells and quantum wires, intercarrier scattering including impact ionization, and nonequilibrium phonon effects. For quantum well devices, we elucidate how nonequilibrium phonons and real/k-space transfer contribute to the slower energy relaxation rates observed in quantum well structures. For nanowires, we show that energy relaxation is slowed due to bandstructure effects and reduced dimensionality, and that impact ionization is enhanced above the threshold, leading to strong carrier multiplication.