cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Annual precipitation in the Yellowstone National Park region since AD 1173

Cores and cross sections from 133 limber pine (Pinus flexilis James) and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirbel) Franco) at four sites were used to estimate annual (July to June) precipitation in the Yellowstone National Park region for the period from AD 1173 to 1998. Examination of the long-term record shows that the early 20th century was markedly wet compared to the previous 700 yr. Extreme wet and dry years within the instrumental period fall within the range of past variability, and the magnitude of the worst-case droughts of the 20th century (AD 1930s and 1950s) was likely equaled or exceeded on numerous occasions before AD 1900. Spectral analysis showed significant decadal to multidecadal precipitation variability. At times this lower frequency variability produces strong regime-like behavior in regional precipitation, with the potential for rapid, high-amplitude switching between predominately wet and predominately dry conditions. Over multiple time scales, strong Yellowstone region precipitation anomalies were almost always associated with spatially extensive events spanning various combinations of the central and southern U.S. Rockies, the northern U.S.–Southern Canadian Rockies and the Pacific Northwest.
1|The Network Tasking Order (NTO)

Information and network communications play a vital role in the everyday operations of the United States Armed Forces. As the Department of Defense moves more toward net-centric warfare, this role will only increase. Traditional work in mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) assumes there is no knowledge available about mobility patterns or communication traffic over time. However, this is generally not the case in military networks. In this article, we put forward the notion of a network tasking order (NTO), which exploits a priori knowledge of network characteristics such as required data input/output, communications capability, and communications capacity. The concept of an NTO is defined as a parallel to the air tasking order (ATO). Our premise is that the knowledge in an NTO can be used to achieve greater network reliability, to attain better network management, and to assist in optimizing network topology and routing. We present a scenario in which, based upon information contained in an NTO, low priority messages are either redirected or scaled back to avoid having high priority messages dropped from the network.
Non-isometric manifold learning: analysis and an algorithm

In this work we take a novel view of nonlinear manifold learning. Usually, manifold learning is formulated in terms of finding an embedding or 'unrolling' of a manifold into a lower dimensional space. Instead, we treat it as the problem of learning a representation of a nonlinear, possibly non-isometric manifold that allows for the manipulation of novel points. Central to this view of manifold learning is the concept of generalization beyond the training data. Drawing on concepts from supervised learning, we establish a framework for studying the problems of model assessment, model complexity, and model selection for manifold learning. We present an extension of a recent algorithm, Locally Smooth Manifold Learning (LSML), and show it has good generalization properties. LSML learns a representation of a manifold or family of related manifolds and can be used for computing geodesic distances, finding the projection of a point onto a manifold, recovering a manifold from points corrupted by noise, generating novel points on a manifold, and more.
pH-Modulated Molecular Assemblies and Surface Properties of Metal–Organic Supercontainers at the Air–Water Interface†

The orientation of metal–organic supercontainer (MOSC) molecules in Langmuir films was systematically studied at the air–water interface. The acidity of the aqueous subphases plays a significant role in tuning the orientation of MOSC molecules in the Langmuir films. Furthermore, Langmuir–Blodgett films of MOSCs were prepared and the uniform multilayer structures demonstrated various surface properties, depending on their conditions of fabrication. Our use of Langmuir films provides a novel approach to access tunable assemblies of MOSC molecules in two-dimensional thin films.
The impact of parallel loop scheduling strategies on prefetching in a shared memory multiprocessor

Trace-driven simulations of numerical Fortran programs are used to study the impact of the parallel loop scheduling strategy on data prefetching in a shared memory multiprocessor with private data caches. The simulations indicate that to maximize memory performance, it is important to schedule blocks of consecutive iterations to execute on each processor, and then to adaptively prefetch single-word cache blocks to match the number of iterations scheduled. Prefetching multiple single-word cache blocks on a miss reduces the miss ratio by approximately 5% to 30% compared to a system with no prefetching. In addition, the proposed adaptive prefetching scheme further reduces the miss ratio while significantly reducing the false sharing among cache blocks compared to nonadaptive prefetching strategies. Reducing the false sharing causes fewer coherence invalidations to be generated, and thereby reduces the total network traffic. The impact of the prefetching and scheduling strategies on the temporal distribution of coherence invalidations also is examined. It is found that invalidations tend to be evenly distributed throughout the execution of parallel loops, but tend to be clustered when executing sequential program sections. The distribution of invalidations in both types of program sections is relatively insensitive to the prefetching and scheduling strategy. >
Investigating the association between vitamin D deficiency and sepsis: challenges and future prospects.

. This has left clinicians with one fewer option in an area bereft of effective biological-based therapies. The treatment paradigm for sepsis and septic shock has essentially remained unchanged over the past 20 years. It includes source identification and control, adequate intravenous fluid resuscitation, administration of appropriate antibiotics and organ support methods. These inter-ventions are unfortunately inadequate for a significant number of severely ill patients with sepsis.Vitamin D has been increasingly rec-ognized for its intricate role in the func-tion of the immune system
Processing negation and disjunction in logic programs through integrity constraints

Integrity constraints were initially defined to verify the correctness of the data that is stored in a database. They were used to restrict the modifications that can be applied to a database. However, there are many other applications in which integrity constraints can play an important role. For example, the semantic query optimization method developed by Chakravarthy, Grant, and Minker for definite deductive databases uses integrity constraints during query processing to prevent the exploration of search space that is bound to fail. In this paper, we generalize the semantic query optimization method to apply to negated atoms. The generalized method is referred to assemantic compilation. This exploration has led to two significant results. First, semantic compilation provides an alternative search space for negative query literals. The alternative search space can find answers in cases for which negation-as-finite-failure and constructive negation cannot. Second, we show how semantic compilation can be used to transform a disjunctive database with or without functions and denial constraints without negation into a new disjunctive database that complies with the integrity constraints.
Effects of Burns Conducted in Summer and Winter on Vegetation of Matagorda Island, Texas

Abstract We conducted prescribed fires on Matagorda Island, Calhoun County, Texas, in late summers (August) and early winters (January) of 1992–1993 and 1993–1994 to determine responses of vegetation and litter. There were reduced litter loads 1 year after burning, but they approached pre-burn levels 2 years after burning. There was no difference in production of grasses, forbs, or the Juncus and other-Cyperaceae complex 1 year after burning. There was a significant difference in production of Juncus and other Cyperaceae when years were compared. We presume this was caused by differences in precipitation between years. There was no difference in percentage frequency between burned and control plots 1 year after burning for most species examined. However, burning in summer significantly increased occurrences of coastal mistflower (Conoclinium betonicifolium), Fabaceae, and Cyperaceae (other than Juncus) over control plots 1 year after treatment. Beach groundcherry (Physalis cinerascens) and Fabaceae also w...
A content-guided publish/subscribe mechanism for sensor networks without location information

The publish/subscribe paradigm represents a large class of applications in sensor networks as sensors are designed mainly to detect and notify upon events of interests. Thus, it is important to design a publish/subscribe mechanism to enable such applications. Many existing solutions require that the sensor node locations be known, which is not possible for many sensor networks. Among those that do not require so, the common approach currently is to use an expensive gossip procedure to disseminate subscription queries and published events. We propose a solution that does not require location information yet aimed at better efficiency than the gossip-based approach. Our theoretical findings are complemented by a simulation-based evaluation.
The northern geographic range limit of the intertidal limpet Collisella scabra: a test of performance, recruitment, and temperature hypotheses

A decline in abundance towards a species' range boundary is often interpreted as evidence of a decline in individual success, and is usually assumed to reflect a decline in suitable environmental conditions. Gradual declines towards high latitude range boundaries are frequently attributed to limitations on organismal tolerance of cold temperature. Rarely have these two assumptions been empirically tested. The intertidal gastropod Collisella scabra declines monotonically in abundance from 435 to < 1 m -2 over the northern 300 km of its geographic distribution. I examined temperature, adult performance (survival, growth, reproduction), and recruitment at five locations in this region of decline. Mortality ranged from 4.9 to 11.2% per month, but was highest at the lowest latitude study site. Growth rates ranged from 0 to 5.2 mm yr -1 , but were generally lower at lower latitude sites. Gonad development was high in the three populations examined, but the possibility of infrequent spawning at high latitude sites could not be excluded. Finally, a comparison of performance differences among populations with temperature revealed clear effects of temperature on both growth and mortality; however, the patterns were not consistent with a hypothesis of cold stress at the range boundary. Overall there was little evidence for either reduced performance or increasing cold stress in low density high latitude populations. Over the same 300 km, recruitment declined monotonically from a mean of six recruits per 625 cm 2 to less than one; suggesting that limitations on recruitment, rather that adult performance, are responsible for low abundance in marginal populations. Several hypotheses for the decline in recruitment are discussed in the paper and the most likely explanation appears to be an increase in the distance between populations at the range margin, reducing the chances that dispersing larvae find suitable habitat for settlement.
Approach to the Infertile Man

Introduction: Infertility is one of commonest disorders to afflict young men and women. The evaluation of infertility is initiated typically after 1 yr of failure to conceive. Diagnostic Evaluation: The couple should be evaluated together to determine whether the problem resides in the male partner, the female partner, or both. The objectives of evaluation are to exclude treatable conditions—gonadotropin deficiency, obstruction, and coital disorders—and identify those who are candidates for assisted reproductive technologies, those who are sterile and should consider adoption or artificial insemination using donor sperm, and those who should undergo genetic screening. All infertile men should undergo several semen analyses according to the World Health Organization manual, as well as measurements of testosterone, LH, and FSH levels. Hormone measurements can help determine whether the patient has gonadotropin deficiency (low testosterone and low or inappropriately normal LH and FSH), primary testicular fai...
Coupling Assembly of the E-Cadherin/β-Catenin Complex to Efficient Endoplasmic Reticulum Exit and Basal-lateral Membrane Targeting of E-Cadherin in Polarized MDCK Cells

The E-cadherin/catenin complex regulates Ca++-dependent cell–cell adhesion and is localized to the basal-lateral membrane of polarized epithelial cells. Little is known about mechanisms of complex assembly or intracellular trafficking, or how these processes might ultimately regulate adhesion functions of the complex at the cell surface. The cytoplasmic domain of E-cadherin contains two putative basal-lateral sorting motifs, which are homologous to sorting signals in the low density lipoprotein receptor, but an alanine scan across tyrosine residues in these motifs did not affect the fidelity of newly synthesized E-cadherin delivery to the basal-lateral membrane of MDCK cells. Nevertheless, sorting signals are located in the cytoplasmic domain since a chimeric protein (GP2CAD1), comprising the extracellular domain of GP2 (an apical membrane protein) and the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of E-cadherin, was efficiently and specifically delivered to the basal-lateral membrane. Systematic deletion and recombination of specific regions of the cytoplasmic domain of GP2CAD1 resulted in delivery of 90% of each mutant protein was retained in the ER. None of these mutants formed a strong interaction with β-catenin, which normally occurs shortly after E-cadherin synthesis. In addition, a simple deletion mutation of E-cadherin that lacks β-catenin binding is also localized intracellularly. Thus, β-catenin binding to the whole cytoplasmic domain of E-cadherin correlates with efficient and targeted delivery of E-cadherin to the lateral plasma membrane. In this capacity, we suggest that β-catenin acts as a chauffeur, to facilitate transport of E-cadherin out of the ER and the plasma membrane.
Electronic Structure of Amorphous Semiconductors

Until very recently, amorphous solids were a good deal more common in nature than in solid state theory textbooks. This can be only partially excused on the grounds that they are embarrassingly difficult substances to analyse theoretically in any fundamental way. The lack of periodicity (and hence Bloch’s Theorem) presents severe obstacles to the formulation of a theory that is at once fundamental, rigorous, realistic and tractable. One must always hope for the last of these qualities but the other three can hardly be attained simultaneously, so the problem must necessarily be investigated from different (complementary rather than competing) points of view, each of which has its own particular merits. We shall review these briefly in the next section, before embarking on an exposition of our own recent efforts. However it is first necessary to say something about structure. This obvious first step in the description of a solid is, in the case of amorphous solids, still a rather hesitant and uncertain one. While many of the remarks which we shall make are of wide validity, it is appropriate at this point to define our field of immediate interest as being confined to the very simplest amorphous semiconductors, namely Si, Ge and related compounds.
Phase III Study of Two Different Dosing Schedules of Erythropoietin in Anemic Patients With Cancer

Purpose To compare maintenance epoetin alfa administered once every 3 weeks with continued weekly epoetin alfa for patients with cancer-associated anemia. Patients and Methods Eligible patients were randomly assigned at enrollment to receive three weekly doses of epoetin alfa 40,000 U subcutaneously (SC), followed by either standard weekly epoetin alfa (40K arm) or 120,000 U of epoetin alfa (120K arm) SC every 3 weeks for 18 additional weeks. Results Three hundred sixty-five patients were enrolled. One hundred eighty-three patients were assigned to the 40K arm, and 182 were assigned to the 120K arm. There was no difference in the proportion of patients requiring transfusions during the study (23% in 40K arm and 18% in 120K arm, P .22) or specifically during the maintenance phase (13% in 40K arm v 15% in 120K arm, P .58). Patients randomly assigned to the 40K arm were more likely to have a 2o r 3 g/dL hemoglobin (Hb) increment, were more likely to have a drug dose held because of high Hb, and had higher mean end-of-study Hb levels. Toxicities, including thromboembolism, and overall survival were similar. Patients in the 40K arm had a higher global quality of life (QOL) at baseline for unclear reasons, whereas patients in the 120K arm had a greater global QOL improvement during the study, so end-of-study QOL was equivalent.
Change in plasma prolactin and clinical response to haloperidol in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder

There has been a long-standing interest in plasma prolactin as a potential in vivo indicator of blockade of tuberoinfundibular D2 dopamine receptors. Potential relationships between prolactin response and neuroleptic treatment have been obscured by the use of high doses which have caused prolactin to plateau. With lower doses of neuroleptic now commonly in use, prolactin may be more valuable as a correlate of clinical response. In this study, 23 acutely exacerbated schizophrenic and schizoaffective patients were washed out for at least 6 days and were then treated with haloperidol to achieve fixed low to moderate plasma levels under double-blind conditions. Clinical response, plasma prolactin, and haloperidol plasma levels were measured weekly for 3 weeks. Clinical symptoms at endpoint were related to both prolactin change and final prolactin level during haloperidol treatment. Specifically, fewer symptoms at endpoint were associated with a greater increase in prolactin over time and a higher prolactin level at endpoint. Thus, prolactin increase caused by low to moderate doses of haloperidol may be a correlate of endpoint symptomatology. As lower doses of typical neuroleptics are now in use, prolactin response as a predictor of clinical response may have more clinical utility. Further study of prolactin and clinical response to typical neuroleptics should focus on low neuroleptic doses.
An implantable cuff electrode for collision block of pudendal nerve motor activity

An implantable cuff electrode technique for collision block of pudendal nerve motor activity has been developed and tested through acute and chronic animal studies. The necessary quasitrapezoidal stimulus parameters for acute and chronic collision block generation have been characterized and are discussed. An asymmetric two-electrode cuff design effectively produces the trains of antidromically propagated action potentials needed to implement a collision block of motor signals to the external periurethral sphincter. >
Lamellar and whisker single crystals of poly(2,6-oxynaphthoate)

Electron diffraction from single crystal lamellae and whiskers of poly(2,6-oxynaphthoate) reveals the presence of at least 3 unit cells. The equatorial reflections in the patterns from the whiskers correspond to the dominant (phase I) hk0 diffraction pattern from the lamellae; phase I is monoclinic with 2 chemical repeats per physical repeat. The intensity distributions in the hk0 patterns of phase I and II resemble those of the same phases in poly (p-oxybenzoate). The hk0 reflections of phase III suggest a common internaphtalene unit spacing, but variable lateral (and possible axial) shifts; apparently related orthorhombic and monoclinic patterns, with variable γ * are observed
Accurate registration and failure detection in tissue micro array images

Image-to-image registration is well-studied, but the challenge of automatically validating registration results remains. In many applications, registration performance is still visually inspected. In Tissue microarrays (TMAs), there are usually hundreds of tissues on a single glass slide, making visual inspection almost impossible. In cases where the TMA slide has to be removed from the microscope and replaced (e.g., in sequential staining, temporal studies, and change analysis), the images on the TMA need to be registered to the corresponding images in the previous steps. The registration has to be robust since undetected registration failure will lead to inaccurate results in subsequent analysis. In this work, we present an automated system to register images of corresponding tissue samples in a TMA, detect registration failures accurately, and automatically re-initialize registration in such cases. The system is image-independent, and reduces the number of cases where the images need to be visually validated. The system has been applied in a study of sequential fluorescent staining of tissue samples on a TMA slide, with 99.88% registration accuracy.
Affine transformation resistant watermarking based on image normalization

Geometric attacks are among the most challenging problems in present day watermarking. Such attacks are very simple to implement yet they can defeat most of the existing watermarking algorithms without causing serious perceptual image distortion. In this paper we propose a new public watermarking algorithm, which is robust to such attacks. This algorithm uses a normalized with respect to affine transformation representation of the image based on the image moments. Then, a CDMA scheme is used to embed a multi-bit watermark in the discrete cosine transform domain of the normalized image. Numerical experiments are shown where the properties of the proposed algorithm are tested. These numerical experiments show that the proposed algorithm is very robust to wide range of geometric attacks.
Towards programming languages for genetic engineering of living cells

Synthetic biology aims at producing novel biological systems to carry out some desired and well-defined functions. An ultimate dream is to design these systems at a high level of abstraction using engineering-based tools and programming languages, press a button, and have the design translated to DNA sequences that can be synthesized and put to work in living cells. We introduce such a programming language, which allows logical interactions between potentially undetermined proteins and genes to be expressed in a modular manner. Programs can be translated by a compiler into sequences of standard biological parts, a process that relies on logic programming and prototype databases that contain known biological parts and protein interactions. Programs can also be translated to reactions, allowing simulations to be carried out. While current limitations on available data prevent full use of the language in practical applications, the language can be used to develop formal models of synthetic systems, which are otherwise often presented by informal notations. The language can also serve as a concrete proposal on which future language designs can be discussed, and can help to guide the emerging standard of biological parts which so far has focused on biological, rather than logical, properties of parts.
What’s Wrong with Social Epidemiology, and How Can We Make It Better?

It is perhaps ironic that an epidemiologist who has been working in the field of social epidemiology for over a quarter of a century, and who directs a center focused on social epidemiology, should coin a title suggesting that there is something “wrong” with social epidemiology. Perhaps it is even inopportune, as it could provide ammunition to those who believe that the practice of social epidemiology is misguided, unscientific, ideological, or too overreaching (1–3). However, this title was chosen purposely with the hope that identifying some of the critical intellectual, methodological, and empirical lacunae and challenges in social epidemiology might promote continuing development of a social epidemiology that is both scientifically enlightening and useful, productive, and contributory to the public’s health. Indeed, the hope is that the “social” in epidemiology will become so integral a part of epidemiology that the term can be dropped altogether. To assert that all epidemiology is social is not an attempt at intellectual hegemony—that the problems of disease and the distribution of disease in populations over time and space can be understood from a social perspective only or that such information is in some sense more fundamental that other types of information about disease determinants. In the same way that our understanding of the etiology of chronic and infectious diseases benefits from knowledge of the pathobiologic processes involved in such diseases, increased understanding of social factors, broadly considered, may shed light on processes every bit as integral to our understanding of the etiology of those diseases.
Atrial Fibrillation and Renal Function: How High Is the Price of Anticoagulation?∗

For over a half century, vitamin K antagonists, chiefly warfarin, were the exclusive oral anticoagulants available for long-term anticoagulation. Being “the only game in town,” the emphasis of the accompanying clinical research was focused on determining the most appropriate method to measure
Redefining Signaling Pathways with an Expanding Single-Cell Toolbox

Genetically identical cells respond heterogeneously to uniform environmental stimuli. Consequently, investigating the signaling networks that control these cell responses using 'average' bulk cell measurements can obscure underlying mechanisms and misses information emerging from cell-to-cell variability. Here we review recent technological advances including live-cell fluorescence imaging-based approaches and microfluidic devices that enable measurements of signaling networks, dynamics, and responses in single cells. We discuss how these single-cell tools have uncovered novel mechanistic insights for canonical signaling pathways that control cell proliferation (ERK), DNA-damage responses (p53), and innate immune and stress responses (NF-κB). Future improvements in throughput and multiplexing, analytical pipelines, and in vivo applicability will all significantly expand the biological information gained from single-cell measurements of signaling pathways.
Impact of chabazite SSZ-13 textural properties and chemical composition on CO2 adsorption applications

Chabazite SSZ-13 samples with varying silica content (Si/Al from 5 to ∼20) were synthesized under both stirring and static conditions to obtain materials with changing particle size and morphology and thoroughly analysed using various characterization techniques. The role of particle size and chemical compositions in CO2 and N2 adsorption measurements was investigated. The Si/Al ratio played a major role in CO2 adsorption; Al-rich SSZ-13 demonstrated a higher CO2 uptake than an Al-poor material. This was attributed to the high density of active charged species in the chabazite cage. The particle size also played a role in the sorption capacities; smaller particles, obtained under stirring conditions, showed enhanced CO2 uptake compared to larger particles of similar chemical composition. This was associated with a higher contribution of micropores containing active sites for CO2 adsorption.
Abstract 2307: Targeted agents and chemotherapeutic treatments of genetically engineered Basal-like breast cancer mouse model

Background: Genomic characterization of human breast tumors has resulted in the identification of at least five distinct tumor subtypes (Luminal A and B, HER2-enriched, Claudin-low, and Basal-like). These subtypes each show their own unique biology, which correlates with distinct patient outcomes. Basal-like Breast Cancer (BLBC) is associated with high grade, BRCA1 mutation status, younger patient age, and increased frequency in African Americans. In order to identify novel therapeutic strategies for BLBC, we developed a genetically engineered mouse model based upon two common human BLBC genetic events, namely BRCA1 and TP53 loss. Results: We developed a genetically engineered mouse (GEM) model of breast cancer by inactivating TP53 and BRCA1 genes using Cre-LOX technology in the mammary gland (K14-cre / TP53 L/L / BRCA1 L/L). As part of the characterization of this GEM model, we performed gene expression profiling and DNA copy number analysis using aCGH arrays on the Basal-like tumors from this model (25/27 total tumors were Basal-like). We found a number of chromosomal regions that were similarly altered and found to be specific to mouse and human BLBC including gains of mouse chromosome 1q and 12q and losses in chromosomes 3F1 and 15q. Subsequently two tumors from the murine Basal-like group were taken and expanded into an orthotopic syngeneic model where they passaged in wild type FVB mice. These two tumors lines were then tested extensively with chemotherapeutics (Doxorubicin, Carboplatin, Cytoxan, Paclitaxel) and biologically targeted agents (MEK inhibitor/AZD6244, PI3K Inhibitor/BEZ235, PARP Inhibitor/ABT888 and mTOR Inhibitor/Everolimus). The DNA damaging agents exhibited exceptional efficacy (i.e. ABT888, Cytoxan, and Carboplatin), whereas the biologically targeted agents tended to at best, only slow tumor growth, even in combination. Conclusions: Genetic engineering of mice using TP53 and BRCA1 loss results in tumors of predominantly the Basal-like subtype phenotype. As expected, these tumors were exquisitely sensitive to DNA damaging chemotherapeutics including cytoxan and carboplatin, yet generally insensitive to the 3 tested kinase inhibitors. Novel combinations of targeted agents and chemotherapeutics are now being tested. Citation Format: Cristina M. Contreras, Grace O. Silva, Adam D. Pfefferle, Charles M. Perou. Targeted agents and chemotherapeutic treatments of genetically engineered Basal-like breast cancer mouse model. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 2307. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-2307
Answering Kleinbard, Taylor, and Avi-Yonah: The Treasury Clearly Has Authority Under Section 385 to Address Inversions and It Should Use It

This paper explains why the Treasury has the authority under Section 385, which authorizes regulations distinguishing between debt and equity, to adopt Professor Shay's proposal that the Treasury issue regulations under that section addressing the interest stripping abuse that is occurring in inversions.
Biochemical and physiological indicators of selenium status in animals.

Selenium (Se) concentrations in animal tissues vary with the tissue and with the amount and chemical form of Se in the diet. In cattle, sheep and swine, Se concentrations rank in kidney greater than liver greater than heart greater than skeletal muscle greater than adipose tissue. Selenium concentrations (wet basis) in skeletal muscle of swine (.03 to .52 ppm) reflect natural dietary Se concentrations ranging from .03 to .49 ppm. Inorganic Se additions to diets low in natural Se (.05 ppm) increase skeletal muscle Se concentrations until dietary Se levels are adequate. After a period of Se repletion, skeletal muscle Se concentrations should be at least .08 ppm on a wet basis. Selenium concentrations in plasma, serum or whole blood are also related to inorganic Se intake and rise in direct relation to each other in the deficient to adequate range. Plasma or serum Se concentrations of .08 to .12 ppm are consistent with dietary adequacy. Selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity of plasma or whole blood may also be used to assess Se status in some animals since plasma or whole blood Se concentrations are positively correlated with GSH-Px activity in animals that are low to adequate in dietary inorganic Se. However, inter-laboratory variation in GSH-Px values is large, and it is doubtful that limits of normalcy developed in one laboratory are applicable in others. In certain tissues it is important to distinguish between GSH-Px and glutathione (GSH) S-transferases, which can reduce organic hydroperoxides but which are not Se-dependent. It is also important that the instability of GSH-Px be considered so that losses in activity during handling and storage may be minimized. Urinary Se excretion and Se retention as percentages of Se intake may be helpful in assessing Se status when facilities for metabolism studies are available.
Melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy: an important mimicker of paratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma.

AbstractWe report a case of a paratesticular tumor in a 6-month-old infant. This tumor was originally believed to represent a poorly differentiated sarcoma of the cord but upon further pathological consultation it was recognized as a rare melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy involving the epididymis. Since the former is a highly aggressive lesion and the latter an indolent tumor, treatment of these 2 entities differs markedly. Therefore, although the histological distinction between these lesions is often difficult, it is of critical importance.
Voting for Autocracy: BUDGET CYCLES UNDER PRI HEGEMONY

A central empirical implication of my theory presented in Chapter 1 is that there would be budget cycles or an increase in government spending around elections, when the hegemonic coalition is most vulnerable to potential challengers, including those resulting from splits within the ruling party. Budget cycles would occur even when elections were not competitive, and would become more pronounced when the opposition strengthened. My approach also predicts that splits within the ruling party would tend to occur in part due to failures to distribute enough material rewards to the members of the ruling coalition. This chapter tests these hypotheses against the empirical evidence. I answer the following questions: first, is there systematic empirical evidence that the PRI flooded districts at election time with generous amounts of government spending? Second, is there evidence that electoral business cycles took place even when elections were not competitive? Third, do other policy instruments and variables, such as the money supply, inflation, and economic growth, also move according to the electoral calendar? The chapter unfolds as follows. The first section summarizes the literature on electoral business cycles, which was developed for competitive democracies. The second section presents a discussion of budget cycles in light of some conventional views about the Mexican political system. The third section analyzes government spending patterns between 1938 and 2000. The fourth and fifth sections present evidence of the movement of inflation, the money supply, nominal wages, and the exchange rate according to the electoral calendar.
The Rise of Political Islam Can The Turkish Model Be Applied Successfully in Egypt? By Dr Taha Kassem

Although the parliamentary elections run in Egypt in December 2011January 2012 indicated that Egypt is witnessing an era of political or democratic transformation, they signified the rise of political Islam to authority; the rise which created a lot of debates and posed a lot of questions about the political and economic future of Egypt. The core of these debates circles around these questions: Would Egypt adopt, literally, a rigid proIslamic type of rule based on the Islamic Sharia (Islamic Code) or would it adopt a moderate model, like that in Turkey, in its political and economic transformation? Pessimists think that Egypt will become another model of Iraq where national strife causes a lot of bloodshed or another model of Iran which gained a global antagonism. Optimists, on the other hand, aspire that Egypt will adopt a moderate proIslamic model as Islam itself is called the religion of moderateness (Din al Aetedal wa al Wasatiya) and they suggest and appreciate that Egypt follows the steps taken by the Turkish party AKP ( Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi), The Justice and Development Party in Turkey. They base their argument on the political and economic development witnessed by Turkey under the rule of the AKP. Moreover, they consider Turkey to be a Muslim but pro-Western and secular state, a “model” or “inspiration” for other Muslim countries. Though the author supports the optimists’ view, he thinks that Egypt faces a lot of barriers that 1 Instructor of International Economics and International Politics at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport. I thank Miss Nadine Fakhry.M. for research help Topics in Middle Eastern and African Economies Vol. 15, No. 1, May 2013 65 could hinder the achievement of these objectives or at least preclude their realization on the short run.
MicroRNA reduction of neuronal West Nile virus replication attenuates and affords a protective immune response in mice

West Nile virus (WNV) is an important agent of human encephalitis that has quickly become endemic across much of the United States since its identification in North America in 1999. While the majority (∼75%) of infections are subclinical, neurologic disease can occur in a subset of cases, with outcomes including permanent neurologic damage and death. Currently, there are no WNV vaccines approved for use in humans. This study introduces a novel vaccine platform for WNV to reduce viral replication in the central nervous system while maintaining peripheral replication to elicit strong neutralizing antibody titers. Vaccine candidates were engineered to incorporate microRNA (miRNA) target sequences for a cognate miRNA expressed only in neurons, allowing the host miRNAs to target viral transcription through endogenous RNA silencing. To maintain stability, these targets were incorporated in multiple locations within the 3'-untranslated region, flanking sequences essential for viral replication without affecting the viral open reading frame. All candidates replicated comparably to wild type WNV in vitro within cells that did not express the cognate miRNA. Insertional control viruses were also capable of neuroinvasion and neurovirulence in vivo in CD-1 mice. Vaccine viruses were safe at all doses tested and did not demonstrate mutations associated with a reversion to virulence when serially passaged in mice. All vaccine constructs were protective from lethal challenge in mice, producing 93-100% protection at the highest dose tested. Overall, this is a safe and effective attenuation strategy with broad potential application for vaccine development.
Right Hemisphere Syndromes

With almost universally preserved language, right hemisphere (RH) lesions reveal a conundrum of cognitive disorders. However, assessment beyond sensorimotor deficits hardly surfaces in quantitative scales, although the NIH stroke scale scores neglect syndromes. The absence of a more detailed assessment of right hemisphere function obviates the appreciation of an extensive panoply of cognitive functions that may be improving or worsening during a particular neurological disease process. The common usage of “dominant” versus “non-dominant” hemisphere is completely biased towards language. The following illustrates how the right hemisphere is probably dominant for more (at least measurable by us thus far) items than the left hemisphere.
Systematic Convergence in Applying Variational Method to Double-Well Potential.

In this work, we demonstrate the application of the variational method by computing the ground- and first-excited state energies of a double-well potential. We start with the proper choice of the trial wave functions using optimized parameters, and notice that accurate expectation values in excellent agreement with the numerical results can be aquired by cautious systematic improvement of trial wave functions.
Geographical aesthetics: Imagining space, staging encounters edited by Harriet Hawkins and Elizabeth Straughan

Geographical Aesthetics is a compendium of essays that ‘identify how geography contributes to the corpus of aesthetic history’ (3). On the one hand, the editors Harriet Hawkins, a geographer at Roy...
Learning from errors: Analysis of medication order voiding in CPOE systems

Objective Medication order voiding allows clinicians to indicate that an existing order was placed in error. We explored whether the order voiding function could be used to record and study medication ordering errors. Materials and Methods We examined medication orders from an academic medical center for a 6-year period (2006-2011; n = 5 804 150). We categorized orders based on status (void, not void) and clinician-provided reasons for voiding. We used multivariable logistic regression to investigate the association between order voiding and clinician, patient, and order characteristics. We conducted chart reviews on a random sample of voided orders ( n = 198) to investigate the rate of medication ordering errors among voided orders, and the accuracy of clinician-provided reasons for voiding. Results We found that 0.49% of all orders were voided. Order voiding was associated with clinician type (physician, pharmacist, nurse, student, other) and order type (inpatient, prescription, home medications by history). An estimated 70 ± 10% of voided orders were due to medication ordering errors. Clinician-provided reasons for voiding were reasonably predictive of the actual cause of error for duplicate orders (72%), but not for other reasons. Discussion and Conclusion Medication safety initiatives require availability of error data to create repositories for learning and training. The voiding function is available in several electronic health record systems, so order voiding could provide a low-effort mechanism for self-reporting of medication ordering errors. Additional clinician training could help increase the quality of such reporting.
Regional Variation in the Language Classroom and Beyond: Mapping Learners' Developing Dialectal Competence

Although surveys have shown that regional variation is rarely covered in more than a cursory way in language textbooks, research has suggested that exposure to and knowledge about dialectal variation can be beneficial for second language (L2) learners' development. However, little is known about the effects of explicit instruction and exposure on learners' dialectal competence. This article presents findings from two studies that address these gaps in the previous literature. Students (N = 11) in the first study were enrolled in a fourth-semester Spanish class designed to showcase the regional variation present in several Spanish dialects. Learners' L2 dialect comprehension and recognition were measured before and after instruction and were compared with the comprehension and recognition of a control group (N = 13) who did not receive explicit instruction. The second study examined the relationship between dialect exposure and perception for 20 Spanish language students. The results show that exposure and instruction were both significant predictors of learners' dialect perception. These findings illustrate the importance of choosing instructional materials that expose learners to regional variation and, when possible, explicitly addressing characteristics of different dialects in the classroom setting.
New records of Encyrtids (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Encyrtidae) from Georgia, with description of seven new species

Abstract Thirty-eight species are recorded from the Lagodekhi reserve. Three genera (Ixodiphagus Howard, 1907, Metablasthothrix Sugonjaev, 1964 and Protyndarichoides Noyes, 1980) and twenty-two species are newly recorded for Caucasus and 9 species are recorded for the first time from Georgia, for a total of 31 new records for Georgia. Descriptions and illustrations are provided for the seven new species: Adelencyrtus gvritishvilii sp. n., Anagyrus hayati sp. n., A. tenebris sp. n., Discodes kudigorensis sp. n., Echthroplexiella aliquam sp. n., Metablasthothrix kostjukovi sp. n., and Psyllaephagus batsibutsi sp. n.
Prevalence and change of central obesity among US Asian adults: NHANES 2011–2014

Central obesity is a major risk factor for cardiometabolic diseases. The prevalence of central obesity has not been reported fully among Asian adults in the United States (US). Cross-sectional data of 1288 Asian adults aged 20 years or over was selected from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey with a stratified multi-stage sampling design. The prevalence of central obesity was calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and Chi-square tests were conducted to test the significance of the prevalence differences across characteristic groups. The overall prevalence of central obesity among US Asian adults was 58.1% in 2011–2014. The prevalence of central obesity was higher in older adults (73.5%) than in young adults (45.4%) (p < 0.0001). Women had 13.4% higher prevalence than men (64.4% vs 51.0%, p < 0.0001). The prevalence increased over time (2011–2012 vs 2013–2014) in young adults (39.2% vs 51.5%), men (45.4% vs 56.6%), adults with college education or above (54.2% vs 61.7%) and non-poor adults (55.4% vs 62.4%). Compared with men, women had higher prevalence in each subgroup of age, education, poverty, and length of time (except for the subgroup of “born in the US”) (all p < 0.05) and in the subgroup of “married or living with partner” for marital status (p < 0.0001). Central obesity is prevalent in Asian adults, particularly in older adults and women. More efforts are needed to prevent and treat obesity in Asian adults as Asians are incurring the greatest increase in type 2 diabetes in parallel with the rising rate of central adiposity.
Understanding Role-Making in Leadership Performance

With high-stakes educational environment, principals need to reconceptualize their leadership in order to make their schools responsive, adaptive, and productive. This is a challenge for principals that have emerged from the ranks of the teaching ranks, typically learning their leadership frameworks by “taking” their role from previous principals and concepts of leadership they have experienced. The phenomenon of strict adherence to a predefined role is referred to as role-taking by Hart (Principal succession: establishing leadership in schools. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993) and because of today’s high-stakes environment, has become an out-of-date way of thinking about the leadership role because of its static view and disregard for reciprocal leadership grounded in a dynamic interaction between the students, teachers, central office, parents, and the community. This chapter explores how principals can shift their traditional role-taking processes to role-making processes that are performance-based, relational, reflective, contextual, and involve collaborative reciprocating engagement of constituents to adequately address the complexities of educational reform.
CHEMICAL PROCESSING OF NANOSTRUCTURED COATINGS

Nanostructured materials, often characterized by a physical dimension of 1-100 mn (such as grain size) and significant amount of surfaces and interfaces, have been attracting much interest because of their demonstrated or anticipated unique properties compared to the conventional materials (1-3). Nanophase coatings can enhance the surface properties and yet retain the bulk properties of the coarse grained substrate material.