cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Erythromycin improves gastric emptying half-time in adult cystic fibrosis patients with gastroparesis

Abstract Background Gastrointestinal manifestations are frequently encountered in cystic fibrosis patients. Gastroparesis evidenced by a variety of diagnostic methods has been described in patients with cystic fibrosis, predominantly in children and in individuals with advanced lung disease. The presence of gastroparesis in adult patients with different degrees of lung involvement and its response to the acute and chronic administration of macrolides have not been reported. Methods Using the University of Florida Cystic Fibrosis database we identified symptomatic patients who had gastroparesis confirmed by a prolonged half-time during gastric emptying scintigraphy. Results Of 86 cystic fibrosis patients, periodically followed in our institution, we found five who had classical symptoms and prolonged gastric emptying half-time. Age 25.2±8 years, 80% females, BMI 22±9 kg/m 2 , HbA1c 5.8±0.6 g/dl, FEV1 53.2±15% of predicted. Gastric emptying half-time was 191.4±91.4 min (range 100–300 min) and decreased to 12.2±6 min (range 5–20 min) after IV administration of erythromycin ( p =0.043). Patients were followed up for 3±2.1 years. All patients but one, who was taking opiods, had good clinical response to PO macrolides. Conclusions Gastroparesis occurs in patients with cystic fibrosis, even in patients with relatively preserved lung function and in those without cystic-fibrosis related diabetes. Macrolides may be an effective therapy in cystic fibrosis patients with gastroparesis when administered acutely or chronically.
Angiomodulin Is a Specific Marker of Vasculature and Regulates Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-A–Dependent Neoangiogenesis

Blood vessel formation is controlled by the balance between pro- and antiangiogenic pathways. Although much is known about the factors that drive sprouting of neovessels, the factors that stabilize and pattern neovessels are undefined. The expression of angiomodulin (AGM), a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A binding protein, was increased in the vasculature of several human tumors as compared to normal tissue, raising the hypothesis that AGM may modulate VEGF-A-dependent vascular patterning. To elucidate the expression pattern of AGM, we developed an AGM knockin reporter mouse (AGM(lacZ/+)), with which we demonstrate that AGM is predominantly expressed in the vasculature of developing embryos and adult organs. During physiological and pathological angiogenesis, AGM is upregulated in the angiogenic vasculature. Using the zebrafish model, we found that AGM is restricted to developing vasculature by 17 to 22 hours postfertilization. Blockade of AGM activity with morpholino oligomers results in prominent angiogenesis defects in vascular sprouting and remodeling. Concurrent knockdown of both AGM and VEGF-A results in synergistic angiogenesis defects. When VEGF-A is overexpressed, the compensatory induction of the VEGF-A receptor, VEGFR2/flk-1, is blocked by the simultaneous injection of AGM morpholino oligomers. These results demonstrate that the vascular-specific marker AGM modulates vascular remodeling in part by temporizing the proangiogenic effects of VEGF-A.
Effect of amniotic-fluid ingestion on vaginal-cervical-stimulation-induced Fos expression in female rats during estrus

Placental Opioid-Enhancing Factor (POEF) is a substance found in amniotic fluid (AF) that, when ingested, potentiates opioid-mediated, but not non-opioid-mediated, hypoalgesia. Vaginal-cervical stimulation (VCS) produces a stimulus-bound, partially opioid-mediated hypoalgesia that previous research has shown to be potentiated by AF ingestion. To understand the mechanism of opioid enhancement by POEF we investigated the pattern of neural activation after a bout of VCS that produced hypoalgesia, with and without co-administration of AF. Specifically, virgin Long-Evans rats showing vaginal estrus were handled briefly (control) or received VCS (75g pressure, 1 min), in a pattern that approximated early parturition rather than copulation, using a spring-loaded glass-rod probe. Rats were given an orogastric infusion (0.25 ml) of either AF or 0.9% saline resulting in four groups (VCS or handling; AF or saline). Rats were perfused 90 min after treatment and tissue was processed by immunohistochemistry for Fos. The number of Fos-immunoreactive cells was counted in structures previously shown to express Fos in response to VCS (the medial preoptic area, MPOA; the ventrolateral portion of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, vlVMH; the arcuate nucleus, ARC). We found that this pattern of VCS did not produce a significant increase in Fos expression in the MPOA and vlVMH unless it was paired with AF. VCS produced a significant increase in Fos in the ARC. The interaction of AF and VCS on Fos expression in the MPOA suggests that POEF may enhance vaginal-cervical sensory input at parturition to facilitate sensitization of the MPOA, and presumably facilitate maternal-behavior onset.
Orientation and Order of Aqueous Organic Ions Adsorbed to a Solid Surface

The adsorption and orientation of an aqueous organic ion with anisotropic shape (1,4-dimethylpyridinium, P{sup +}) at the surface of oxidized silicon carrying opposite charge (produced by conditions of high pH) were studied using polarized infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR). Orientation relative to the surface was quantified from the dichroic ratio of in-plane skeletal vibrations of the pyridinium ring (1643 and 1523 cm{sup {minus}1}), and the adsorbed amount was inferred from the intensity of these bands. The sticking energy of the organic ion was slightly larger than that of small inorganic ions of the same charge (Li{sup +}, Na{sup +}, Cs{sup +}). From relative quantities adsorbed in competitive adsorption, the relative sticking energy was quantified ({approximately}7k{sub B}T relative to Na{sup +} at pH = 9.2 and varying in the order Cs{sup +} > Na{sup +} > Li{sup +} by the total amount of 0.6k{sub B}T). At low ionic strength (no inorganic ions present except those in the buffer solution), P{sup +} stood preferably parallel to the surface when the surface coverage was low but more nearly upright both as its surface coverage increased and as the concentration of coadsorbed small ions increased. This shows the influence of steric packingmore » on the orientation of this ion of asymmetric shape. The larger the hydrated diameter of the coadsorbed ion, the more the P{sup +} ion tilted away from the surface (H{sup +} < Li{sup +}, Na{sup +}, Cs{sup +} < Mg{sup 2+}). Furthermore, if the mass adsorbed exceeded a critical level, both the tilt and the amount adsorbed jumped in response to increasing P{sup +} concentration in bulk solution, with hysteresis upon dilution. This jump, together with the measured ellipsometric thickness and contact angle, suggests that the discontinuity involved structural change within a single monolayer. The organic ion thus behaved at the surface as an embryonic amphiphile, although in the bulk, micelle formation has not been reported.« less
Intertemporal aggregation and incentives

Intertemporal aggregation results in a summarization of information and a natural delay in the release of information. We study a principal–agent model and show that intertemporal aggregation can be an optimal feature of a performance evaluation system. We then highlight subtleties associated with valuing additional information as the level of aggregation of existing information is varied.
Insertions in the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase Genes: Clinical Impact and Molecular Mechanisms

Treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals with antiretroviral (ARV) drugs is highly effective in inhibiting viral replication, increasing both the duration and the quality of life (71). Regimens consisting of combinations of protease (PR), reverse transcriptase (RT), and fusion inhibitors are the current standard of care and typically reduce the circulating virus levels in previously untreated patients to below current limits of detection. Treatment failure, however, is not uncommon and is typically defined as a return to detectable levels of circulating virus, eventually resulting in decreases of CD4-cell counts and immune function and progression to AIDS. The development of viral resistance to ARV drugs is a primary cause of treatment failure (24). Extensive genetic diversity is inherent in HIV because the highly error-prone RT enzyme creates a population of variants from which drug-resistant strains can be selected during treatment (49). Many individual point mutations (single amino acid changes) or groups of point mutations in the PR, RT, or gp41 gene have been associated in clinical studies with the failure of treatment with protease inhibitors (PIs), nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) and nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), and fusion inhibitors, respectively (17, 24, 50, 52). HIV-1 strains isolated both from patients who have failed treatment and from laboratory strains modified by site-directed mutagenesis to possess specific mutations show reduced susceptibilities in vitro to one or more ARV drugs. Some point mutations are specific to individual drugs, while others confer cross-resistance to one or more drugs of the same class. Over the past several years, strains with insertions of nucleotides in the PR and the RT genes (and that thus have extra amino acids in those proteins) have been found in patients who have failed ARV drug therapy. Numerous publications have examined the origins, prevalences, in vitro susceptibilities, and replication capacities of insert-containing strains, as well as the mechanisms by which the insertions affect drug resistance. This minireview focuses on the clinically related information regarding PR and RT insert-containing strains of HIV and briefly addresses the topics of mechanism and structure.
Biventricular Cineangiography in the Evaluation of Patients with Asymmetric Septal Hypertrophy

Echocardiographic studies have demonstrated that the characteristic anatomic defect in idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis (IHSS) is asymmetric septal hypertrophy (ASH). Although echocardiographic diagnosis of ASH is extremely sensitive, occasionally adequate echocardiograms cannot be obtained. Moreover, echocardiographic assessment of the extent of the underlying cardiomyopathic process, known to be distributed nonuniformly, is limited to evaluation of the upper part of the ventricular septum and the posterobasal left ventricular (LV) free wall. To determine if a specific angiographic marker of ASH can be identified even in the absence of LV outflow obstruction, and to delineate the extent and degree of cardiomyopathic involvement of the ventricular septum and LV free wall in patients with ASH, septal and LV wall configuration and thickness were measured using simultaneous biventricular cineangiography. The ventricular septum was thicker in 16 patients with ASH (avg. 15.2 ± 1.5 mm) and in six pati...
Nonlinear wave mixing with electromagnetically induced transparency in cold atoms

Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a four-level atomic system suppresses linear absorption and leads to resonantly enhanced slow-light four-wave mixing at low light intensities. We analyse the backward four-wave mixing in the four-level system under the EIT conditions, derive the four-wave-mixing efficiency and discuss slow-light propagation conditions. We present experimental measurements of resonant four-wave mixing with the backward scheme in cold Rb atoms and compare the experimental results with the theoretical calculations.
Reflections on a Half-Century of Organizational Sociology

For the past half-century, the study of organizations has been an active area within sociology. I provide an overview of the emergence of this specialty during the second half of the twentieth century, its relation to the larger field of organization studies, and the important theoretical advances associated with the adoption of an open system framework during the 1960s. Among the recent trends I describe are changes in our conceptions of organization boundaries, strategies, and controls, and the beginning of a shift from an entity-based to a process-based view of organization. Evidence of success—the number of sociologists now employed in professional schools—simultaneously raises concerns about the source of future organizational sociologists.
Attack Resilient Network Channel Code for the Wireless Multiple Access Relay Network

We consider a wireless multiple access network where the sender nodes are aided by a number of relay nodes. A two-phase transmission protocol is utilized. Low-density parity-check codes are used at sender nodes in the time-domain. A low-density generator-matrix code is formed across the spatial domain under the spirit of network coding. Looking at it from the perspective of the access node, the received signal vector whose elements are collected from both sender and relay nodes is the reception of a codeword encoded in both the time and the spatial domain. We call this combined code a space-time mesh code here. We investigate the performance of this code for varying channel conditions. Relay nodes deployed in wireless access network are in open domain and thus are vulnerable for various security attacks. For this, an iterative decoder with attack resilient abilities is designed. Simulation results show the proposed attack-detecting algorithm is robust.
A fast technique for finding the stationary autocorrelation matrix from a perturbational measurement of the gradient

It is shown that, when using a synchronously spaced FIR (finite impulse response) data equalizer with complex weights, one can estimate the autocorrelation matrix by empirically measuring the gradient of the MSE (mean square error) performance surface using only the real portion of the maximal time-delay weight located at the far end of the FIR filter. Since one only needs to perturb one weight of the FIR filter to find the autocorrelation matrix, this represents a minimal computation technique. This technique is of particular usefulness when one does not have access to the tap weight data vector. >
Assessing the Perioperative Safety of Common Femoral Endarterectomy in the Endovascular Era

Introduction:Common femoral endarterectomy (CFE) has historically been the preferred treatment for atherosclerotic lesions involving the common femoral artery. The objectives of this study are to d...
Deriving Benefit Measures with Higher Precision: A Study of Economic Values of Air Quality

A calibration strategy using ridge regression to generate more precise estimates for a particular parameter in a model is proposed. Formulae to compute the proposed ridge estimates from standard ordinary least squares (OLS) results are provided. The strategy is applied to recomputing marginal effects of air pollution on property values for 30 housing studies. Results show that ridge estimates are superior to the OLS estimates under the mean squared error criterion. The same strategy can be used to reestimate key parameters of interest in other applications, such as price elasticities for demand forecasts or the value of a statistical life from hedonic wage regressions.
Transforming society by transforming technology: the science and politics of participatory design

This article attempts to shed historical light on some of the social, political, and ethical issues that have arisen from two disparate perspectives on technology which have both come to integrate an explicit consideration of social factors into systems design. It presents two distinct historical traditions which have contributed to the current field of participatory design methodologies— Joint Application Design (JAD ® ), and the British “socio-technical systems” and Scandinavian “collective resources” approaches—and which in practice integrated the endusers in different ways consequent upon their differing perspectives on workers, professional relationships to technology, and stated goals. One interest in examining the independent development of methodologies from these two perspectives is that, despite their differences, the approaches ultimately converged on a set of shared concerns and very similar practices. The paper also examines the relation of these traditions to transformations in the theorization of business organization and trends of corporate restructuring which helped to secure a place for variants of related methodologies in major US and multinational corporations. It concludes with an examination of some broader issues in the relationship between technology and society and the prospects for the critical study of technology. I argue that participatory design and its related methodologies are best understood as a model for involving users, designers and the technology itself in a process of technological development. Rather than seeing participatory design as merely the insertion of public dialog within technological design practices, as several observers have done, we should see it as a model for the critical practice of developing technological designs. © 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Decellularized retinal matrix: Natural platforms for human retinal progenitor cell culture.

Abstract Tissue decellularization strategies have enabled engineering of scaffolds that preserve native extracellular matrix (ECM) structure and composition. In this study, we developed decellularized retina (decell-retina) thin films. We hypothesized that these films, mimicking the retina niche, would promote human retinal progenitor cell (hRPC) attachment, proliferation and differentiation. Retinas isolated from bovine eyes were decellularized using 1% w/v sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and pepsin digested. The resulting decell-retina was biochemically assayed for composition and cast dried to develop thin films. Attachment, viability, morphology, proliferation and gene expression of hRPC cultured on the films were studied in vitro. Biochemical analyses of decell-retina compared to native retina indicated the bulk of DNA (94%) was removed, while the majority of sulfated GAGs (55%), collagen (83%), hyaluronic acid (87%), and key growth factors were retained. The decell-retina films supported hRPC attachment and growth, with cell number increasing 1.5-fold over a week. RT-PCR analysis revealed hRPC expression of rhodopsin, rod outer membrane, neural retina-specific leucine zipper neural and cone-rod homeobox gene on decell-retina films, indicating photoreceptor development. In conclusion, novel decell-retina films show promise as potential substrates for culture and/or transplantation of retinal progenitor cells to treat retinal degenerative disorders. Statement of significance In this study, we report the development of a novel biomaterial, based on decellularized retina (decell-retina) that mimics the retina niche and promotes human retinal progenitor cell (hRPC) attachment, proliferation and differentiation. We estimated, for the first time, the amounts of collagen I, GAGs and HA present in native retina, as well as the decell-retina. We demonstrated that retinas can be decellularized using ionic detergents and can be processed into mechanically stable thin films, which can act as substrates for culturing hRPCs. Rhodopsin, ROM1, NRL and CRX gene expression on the decell-retina films indicated photoreceptor development from RPCs. These results support the potential of decell-retina as a cell delivery platform to treat and manage retinal degenerative disease like AMD.
Reliability of pediatric histories. A preliminary study.

A study of reliability of elementary facts in the developmental histories of pediatric patients in a clinic population is reported. The results show that mothers do not report gestation time reliably, that many mothers are incorrect when they state that forceps were not used in the delivery, that few mothers can report accurately the immediate difficulties at the delivery of their infant. Feeding histories revealed many discrepancies in duration of nursing and knowledge of formula composition. Many mothers forget or overlook a significant number of illnesses. On the other hand, the mother9s evaluation of difficulty of labor and delivery agrees with that of the physician; facts concerning weight at birth, and at subsequent yearly intervals, and details of motor development are reported with accuracy. The significance of reliability is stressed in interpreting the relevance of factual developmental data to differential diagnosis in deviant behavior, perinatal studies, etc., and further areas of investigation of reliability are suggested.
Association of Fetal Growth with Maternal Nutrition

A complete bibliography of all papers dealing with maternal nutrition and fetal growth in both animals and man is beyond the scope of this chapter. Recognizing that animal investigations may be relevant, I have attempted to concentrate on information derived from studies in human beings. References cited may be incomplete in some cases. Usually I have emphasized recent reports for the perspective they provide.
Histamine and leukotrienes mediate pulmonary hypersensitivity to antigen in guinea pigs

To study roles of histamine and slow-reacting substance of anaphylasis (SRS-A) in mediating airway responses following antigen challenge, mediator antagonists were administered to guinea pigs sensitized with ovalbumin 10 days before the study. Twenty-three animals were divided into the following five treatment groups: 1) saline only (control 1, n = 5); 2) antigen challenged (n = 5); 3) antigen + methapyrilene (antihistamine, n = 5); 4) FPL 55712 only (SRS-A antagonist, control 2; n = 4), and 5) antigen + FPL 55712 (n = 4). Control groups were not sensitized. Experimental values were compared with those of control 1 at equal times after injections. Pulmonary resistance (RL), dynamic compliance (Cdyn), breathing frequency (f), tidal volume, minute ventilation (VE) and systemic arterial pressure were measured for 15–20 min just before (base line) and for up to 30 min after saline or antigen administration. Antigen challenge alone induced maximal respiratory changes at 5 min. RL increased 131 +/- 28% above base line (P less than 0.05), whereas Cdyn decreased slightly (28 +/- 10%, P less than 0.05). Antihistamine almost eliminated all changes in RL but did not affect decreased Cdyn. On the other hand, FPL 55712 eliminated changes in both RL and Cdyn. Both antagonists blocked the transient increase in VE, but neither blocked the rise in f at 5 min. We conclude that antigen-induced bronchoconstriction (RL) may be primarily mediated by histamine, whereas simultaneous alterations in Cdyn may depend mainly on leukotrienes and those in f depend on neither.
Long-term daily vibration exposure alters current perception threshold (CPT) sensitivity and myelinated axons in a rat-tail model of vibration-induced injury

Repeated exposure to hand-transmitted vibration through the use of powered hand tools may result in pain and progressive reductions in tactile sensitivity. The goal of the present study was to use an established animal model of vibration-induced injury to characterize changes in sensory nerve function and cellular mechanisms associated with these alterations. Sensory nerve function was assessed weekly using the current perception threshold test and tail-flick analgesia test in male Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to 28 d of tail vibration. After 28 d of exposure, Aβ fiber sensitivity was reduced. This reduction in sensitivity was partly attributed to structural disruption of myelin. In addition, the decrease in sensitivity was also associated with a reduction in myelin basic protein and 2',3'- cyclic nucleotide phosphodiasterase (CNPase) staining in tail nerves, and an increase in circulating calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) concentrations. Changes in Aβ fiber sensitivity and CGRP concentrations may serve as early markers of vibration-induced injury in peripheral nerves. It is conceivable that these markers may be utilized to monitor sensorineural alterations in workers exposed to vibration to potentially prevent additional injury.
Mid-Cretaceous to Paleocene North American drainage reorganization from detrital zircons

Detrital zircons (DZ) from fluvial sandstones of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GoM) passive margin indicate mid-Cretaceous through Paleocene continental-scale drainage reorganization. DZ populations from the Early Cretaceous Mannville Group of Alberta represent a continental-scale system that routed sediment from the Appalachian Mountains and the eastern three-quarters of North America to the Boreal Sea. In contrast, DZ populations from the GoM coastal plain show that only the southern United States and Appalachian-Ouachita orogen contributed sediment to the GoM through the Late Cretaceous, whereas by the Paleocene, southern North America, from the Western Cordillera to the Appalachian Mountains, had been routed to the GoM. This continental-scale drainage reorganization reflects the culmination of an ∼300 m.y. trajectory that began with Paleozoic Appalachian assembly, and broad east to west sediment routing, followed by assembly of the Mesozoic Western Cordillera, which resulted in west-derived rivers in the United States draining to the GoM in Texas, or to an ancestral Mississippi River in the Mississippi embayment, setting up the template for sediment routing that persists today.
How do we interpret national inpatient sample data about complications? Commentary on an article by Amit Jain, MD, et al.: "rhBMP Use in Cervical Spine Surgery: Associated Factors and In-hospital Complications".

Achieving solid osseous fusion remains a challenge in spine surgery. Autologous iliac crest bone graft remains the gold-standard graft material. In most cases, the fusion rates achievable with modern surgical techniques and autologous iliac crest bone graft are >90%. In specific scenarios, including long-segment fusion surgery and in patients with comorbidities, the fusion rates are substantially lower than this benchmark. Commercially available recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein (rhBMP) has rapidly been adopted as an alternative that can avoid the morbidity of iliac crest harvest and yet achieve similar, or possibly better, fusion rates than autograft bone. A number of recent publications have questioned the potential risks associated with the use of rhBMP1. A series of papers showing conflicting results has followed: some describing serious complications associated with rhBMP, and some reporting minimal or no effect on complication rates. In fact, two independent groups analyzed individual patient-level data supplied by the manufacturer of rhBMP-2 (Medtronic Sofamor Danek) and reached similar, but not identical, conclusions2,3. This controversy is the context for the paper by Jain et al., which describes the use of rhBMP in cervical spine surgery …
Precepting and mentoring needs of nursing faculty and clinical instructors: Fostering career development and community

A descriptive survey was conducted to describe (a) perceptions of precepting and mentoring at early-, mid-, and late-career phases and (b) the organization's support of department members' precepting and mentoring needs. Participants were nursing faculty and clinical instructors at a midwestern public university. The Measure of Precepting and Mentoring was developed for this study. Findings indicate that clinical instructors experience greater precepting and mentoring satisfaction than faculty and distance-site department members experience a higher level of satisfaction than main-campus department members. Faculty expressed the most dissatisfaction for late-career mentoring and organizational culture and outcomes. From the qualitative data, three themes emerged: (a) a need for precepting and mentoring that changes with time, (b) a lack of an organizational precepting and mentoring philosophy and supporting mechanisms, and (c) the feeling of together but separate. A model of precepting and mentoring emerged from our study.
Significance in the Evaluation of Lymphocyte Subgroup in Children with Respiratory Tract Infection

Respiratory tract infection is the most wildspread disease in children,Some children recover quickly,while the others tend to get recurrent respiratory tract infection(RRTI).To evaluate the change of lymphocyte subgroup,we divide the children into two groups:study group(RRTI children or course of disease10 days)and control group.The investigation shows that the level of NK cell in peripheral blood in RRTI children is lower than that in healthy children(P0.01).It suggests the level of NK cell in peripheral blood may predict the severity and prognosis of disease.Meanwhile CD19+CD23+ cell significantly increases in study group(P0.01),which implies allery existing in wheezing children,besides infections.Those wheezing children may develop to asthma.
The Exodus in the Bible's Teaching and Our Teaching of the Bible: Helping to Reconcile Faith and Critical Study of the Bible Through Threshold Concept Theory

For students coming from a religious background to Biblical Studies, it can sometimes be difficult to reconcile faith and critical study of the Hebrew Bible, struggling with the concepts of multiple voices within the text, and multiple methods of interpretation in scholarship. This article will explore the use of the Exodus event as a Threshold Concept in the Bible's teaching, and propose that it can be used as a helpful model for students encountering critical study of the Bible. It will be shown that the Exodus event has differing accounts and multiple interpretations throughout the Bible, and that these function according to the characteristics of a Threshold Concept, by being transformative, integrative, troublesome and affective [Meyer, Jan H. F., and Ray L. Land. 2006a. ‘Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge: An Introduction’. In Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding: Threshold Concepts an Troublesome Knowledge, edited by Jan Meyer and Ray Land, 3-18. London: Routledge]. This analysis ...
A mixed methods approach to improving recruitment and engagement of emerging adults in behavioural weight loss programs

SummaryObjective Emerging adults ages 18–25 are at high risk for obesity, but are markedly underrepresented in behavioural weight loss (BWL) programs and experience lower engagement and retention relative to older adults. Purpose To utilize a mixed methods approach to inform future efforts to effectively recruit and engage this high-risk population in BWL programs. Methods We used a convergent parallel design in which quantitative and qualitative data were given equal priority. Study 1 (N = 137, age = 21.8 + 2.2, BMI = 30.1 + 4.7) was a quantitative survey, conducted online to reduce known barriers and minimize bias. Study 2 (N = 7 groups, age = 22.3 + 2.2, BMI = 31.5 + 4.6) was a qualitative study, consisting of in person focus groups to gain greater depth and identify contextual factors unable to be captured in Study 1. Results Weight loss was of interest, but weight itself was not a central motivation; an emphasis on overall lifestyle, self-improvement and fitness emerged as driving factors. Key barriers were time, motivation and money. Recruitment processes should be primarily online with messages tailored specifically to motivations and preferences of this age group. Preferences for a program were reduced intensity and brief, hybrid format with some in-person contact, individual level coaching, experiential learning and peer support. Key methods of promoting engagement and retention were autonomy and choice, money and creating an optimal default. Conclusions An individually tailored lifestyle intervention that addresses a spectrum of health behaviours, promotes autonomy and emphasizes activity and fitness may facilitate recruitment and engagement in this population better than traditional BWL protocols.
Listening for Jazz in Post-Armistice Istanbul

On the evening of 14 July 2013, while living in Istanbul, I walked down Kumbaraci Yokusu away from the sounds of protest to the city's contemporary art museum. As part of the Istanbul Jazz Festival lineup, the Istanbul Modern screened director Batu Akyol's documentary Turkiye'de Caz (Jazz in Turkey), which gathers interviews with Turkish jazz musicians intimate with the country's jazz scene from the 1940s onward. The emergence of a jazz ecology of musician-composers, entrepreneurs, jazz promoters, and collectors runs in tandem with the history of the Turkish Republic, beginning in the years leading up to and including World War I and gaining momentum in the 1930s and 1940s. The documentary does not present a hermetically sealed nationalist understanding of Turkish jazz, but rather affirms a vibrant celebration of the music. To date, Istanbul's arts organizations host international jazz summer festivals and yearlong jazz programs. There are jazz clubs, radio programs, and magazines that highlight international and local events. Turkish university music departments offer jazz studies and formal performance opportunities for musicians. But there are also informal venues, such as the streets, cafes, and bookstores. While out late in Istanbul when I lived there, I would frequently listen to a lone street musician stationed outside of Narmanli Han playing “My Funny Valentine” on his trumpet. On more recent trips, I have come across a jazz band playing Dixieland tunes along Istiklal Avenue. This is all to say that Istanbul is a city where one can listen to jazz standards, Dixieland, bebop, cool, and fusion as well as take lindy hop dance lessons from a local group. Although Akyol's documentary uncovers a jazz soundtrack dating to the 1930s that is composed of personal stories of local musicians becoming jazzers, the post-Armistice period (1918–23) remains mute, mired in what I consider to be a standard version of the city's origin story of jazz. I want to consider the case of jazz in post-Armistice Istanbul to think about how master narratives erase some sounds and privilege others.
Quantifying Gauche Defects and Phase Evolution in Self-Assembled Monolayers through Sessile Drops.

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are widely used in surface modifications, specifically in tuning the surface chemistry of materials. The structure and properties of SAMs have been extensively studied often with sophisticated tools, even for the simplest n-alkanethiolate SAMs. In SAMs, especially in linear n-alkanethiolates, the properties are dependent on the chain length, which is best manifested in the so-called odd–even effect, a simple yet not fully understood phenomenon. One main challenge is fully delineating the origin of length-dependent properties, which can be due to the structure (ideal SAMs), defect evolution, or substrate-molecule effects. This study demonstrates that utilizing the wetting behavior of polar (water) and nonpolar (hexadecane (HD)) solvents on n-alkanethiolate SAMs formed on ultraflat gold and silver surfaces, the evolution of chain-length-dependent gauche defects can be revealed and parameterized through a newly defined dimensionless number (χ). The observation of the odd–even...
Our obsession with eminence warps research

Many decisions about whose work is recognized are at least partially arbitrary, and we should acknowledge that, argues Simine Vazire.
Study of formation damage caused by retention of bi-dispersed particles using combined pore-scale simulations and particle flooding experiments

Abstract The infiltration of solid particles (fines) into a reservoir during drilling or water reinjection is a long-standing problem in the petroleum industry because of the associated production decline or injectivity loss. Solid particle infiltration is also an active area of research in other fields such as waste water treatment and fines migration in clay-rich reservoirs. In this work, we perform experiments to study particle infiltration into sintered glass bead core plugs and measure the changes in porosity and permeability using computed tomography (CT) scanning and pressure transducers, respectively. Suspensions of prescribed bimodal particle sizes, concentrations, and flowrates are flooded through the core plugs. Permeability changes are measured continuously over time, and the porosity change is measured after flowing a fixed mass of invaded particles. A dual pore-scale numerical model approach (a combination of a direct pore-scale discrete element method (DEM) and a pore-scale network model) is used to predict permeability reduction by particle filtration in porous media. Large particle deposition is modeled using the DEM in a disordered sphere pack geometry; the result is a prediction of deposition as a function of large particle concentration. Small particle deposition is modeled using the network model; the result is a prediction of deposition as a function of small particle concentration. Crucially, the geometry of the network model depends on the amount of large particles deposited. In this way, the deposition of large and small sized particles is coupled together. The permeability and porosity reduction of the network due to the deposition of small and large particles are then calculated from the functions above. We compare the experimental results with simulation predictions and find that the dual pore-scale model is capable of predicting the permeability of the invaded core in the regions away from the injection face. Permeability prediction in the region adjacent to the injection face is improved by incorporating the influence of the external filter cake.
Diffusion Entropy: A Potential Neuroimaging Biomarker of Bipolar Disorder in the Temporal Pole.

Despite much research, bipolar depression remains poorly understood, with no clinically useful biomarkers for its diagnosis. The paralimbic system has become a target for biomarker research, with paralimbic structural connectivity commonly reported to distinguish bipolar patients from controls in tractography-based diffusion MRI studies, despite inconsistent findings in voxel-based studies. The purpose of this analysis was to validate existing findings with traditional diffusion MRI metrics and investigate the utility of a novel diffusion MRI metric, entropy of diffusion, in the search for bipolar depression biomarkers. We performed group-level analysis on 9 un-medicated (6 medication-naive; 3 medication-free for at least 33 days) bipolar patients in a major depressive episode and 9 matched healthy controls to compare: (1) average mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) and; (2) MD and FA histogram entropy-a statistical measure of distribution homogeneity-in the amygdala, hippocampus, orbitofrontal cortex and temporal pole. We also conducted classification analyses with leave-one-out and separate testing dataset (N = 11) approaches. We did not observe statistically significant differences in average MD or FA between the groups in any region. However, in the temporal pole, we observed significantly lower MD entropy in bipolar patients; this finding suggests a regional difference in MD distributions in the absence of an average difference. This metric allowed us to accurately characterize bipolar patients from controls in leave-one-out (accuracy = 83%) and prediction (accuracy = 73%) analyses. This novel application of diffusion MRI yielded not only an interesting separation between bipolar patients and healthy controls, but also accurately classified bipolar patients from controls.
PHOTOPERIODIC RESPONSES OF CHENOPODIUM QUINOA WILLD. AND AMARANTHUS CAUDATUS L.

SCHNARF S K. 1929. Embryologie der Angiospermen. Berlin. SHARP, L. W. 1943. Fundamentals of Cytology. McGraw-Hill Co., Inc. New York. SMITH, F. G. 1948. The effect of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid on the respiratory metabolism of bean stem tissue. Plant Physiol. 23: 70-83. , C. L. HAMNER, AND R. F. CARLSON. 1947. Changes in food reserves and respiratory capacity of bindweed tissues accompanying herbicidal action of 2,4dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. Plant Physiol. 22: 5865. SWANSON, C. P. 1946. Histological responses of the kidney bean to aqueous sprays of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. Bot. Gaz. 107: 522-531. VAN OVERBEEK, J. 1945. Control of flower formation and fruit size in the pineapple. Bot. Gaz. 108: 64-73. WEAVER, R. J., C. P. SWANSON, W. B. ENNIS, AND F. T. Boyi). 1946. Effect of plant growth-regulators in relation to stages of development of certain dicotyledonous plants. Bot. Gaz. 107: 563--568. WILDMAN, S., AND J. BONNER. 1946. Separation and properties of the auxin protein of spinach leaves. Amer. Jour. Bot. 33: 23a.
Big Time Athletic Villages--Gated Communities Emerging on Campus.

Top football programs around the country are leading a trend of building exclusive player-only villages to enhance the togetherness of the team. Although coaches love this idea, little thought has ...
The impact of expanded health insurance coverage for unauthorized pregnant women on prenatal care utilization

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of expanding Medicaid health insurance coverage for unauthorized women on prenatal care utilization. DESIGN AND SAMPLE A natural experiment design was used. We examined the prenatal care utilization of 20,876 unauthorized women from Nebraska, which expanded Medicaid coverage for unauthorized women, and South Carolina, which has never expanded coverage. MEASURES Measurements of prenatal care utilization included adequate prenatal care using the Kotelchuck Index and the number of prenatal care visits. The policy independent variable of interest was an interaction between the policy years (2007-2009) and Nebraska residence. Demographic characteristics were included as covariates. Analysis entailed a difference-in-difference approach to compare prenatal care utilization by state, both before and after legislation was passed to fund care among unauthorized women in Nebraska. RESULTS Women with insurance coverage were more likely to utilize prenatal services. Unauthorized women living in Nebraska during Medicaid expansion were 28% more likely to receive adequate prenatal care (OR = 1.28, p < 0.01) and had about one more prenatal care visit (IRR = 1.05, p < 0.01) than women who did not have expanded Medicaid coverage. CONCLUSIONS Findings have important public health policy implications to support improved birth outcomes among native-born infants of unauthorized women.
STIMULATION OF LYMPHOCYTES WITH ALLOGENEIC NORMAL CELLS AND AUTOLOGOUS LYMPHOBLASTOID CELL LINES: DISTINCTION BETWEEN NK-LIKE CELLS AND CYTOTOXIC T LYMPHOCYTES BY MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the stimulation of lymphocytes with allogeneic normal cells and autologous lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL). In a study described in the chapter, effector cells were generated by culturing 8 × 106 responding lymphocytes with 8 × 106 x-irradiated allogeneic normal cells pooled from 20 individuals, with 2 × 106 x-irradiated LCLs or with 2 × 106 glutaraldehyde treated LCLs. Effector cells, harvested on day 6 or 7, were treated with control ascites or monoclonal antibodies at a final dilution of 1:100 followed by treatment with nontoxic rabbit complement as detailed. Dead cells were removed by centrifugation, and the recovered viable cells were tested at several effector:target ratios in 6–7 hr 51Cr release assays. Lytic units (LU)/106 cells and total LU recovered were calculated. The antibodies used included 0KT3, which reacts with 90–95% of peripheral sheep red blood cells rosetting cells, 0KT11A, which reacts with 100% peripheral E rosetting cells, and 0KT8, which reacts with the cytotoxic/suppressor cell population. The evidence that lysis of EB+ LCLs and EB targets is mediated by CTLs and NK cells, respectively, derives from the results of experiments where LCL-stimulated effectors were treated with 0KT8 and C. Lysis of EB+ LCLs was markedly reduced whereas lysis of the EB-targets was not.
3HE TRANSVERSE EXCITED STATE OCCUPATION IN THIN 3HE-4HE FILMS

The discovery that3He was occupying transverse excited states at submonolayer coverages in3He-4He mixture films on a Nuclepore substrate, was a surprise. In this note we discuss the relationship between theory and experiment in attempting to understand the physics of this behavior. We first discuss various single-atom-limit calculations of the level spacing between the ground-state and first excited state. We then introduce a free, quasi-particle picture for analyzing experimental magnetization step data and compare those results with the single-atom-limit calculations. The experiments clearly show excited state occupation at submonolayer coverages in contradistinction with the calculations. We then briefly discuss a microscopic, semi-phenomenological theory which, in agreement with experiment, yields3He occupation of the first excited state at submonolayer coverages. The mechanism is a model3He-3He effective interaction due to one ripplon exchange. This effective interaction is density dependent and very long ranged. It strongly modifies the small-k properties of the3He self-energy and, in particular, causes the ground-state to first excited state level spacing to decrease with increasing3He areal density.
The Cell Cycle, Cell Lineage, and Neuronal Specificity

The first principle of neuronal differentiation is the generation of cellular diversity which, at least quantitatively, matches that found in the entire remainder of the embryo. More importantly, it is the characteristic differences among neurons (rather than properties which all neurons share to the exclusion of non-neural cells) that enables them to associate selectively and to assemble the synaptic circuits which are the substrates of macroscopic brain function. Neuronal differentiation must be viewed, therefore, not simply as a process by which “zygote” cells generate “nerve” cells, but rather as the systematic derivation from the zygote of a cell population with characteristically diverse properties and synaptic specificities. This review considers some aspects of neuronal specificity and the possible role(s) of the cell cycle and cell lineage in neuronal differentiation.
On the diffusion of oxygen in a silicon crystal

Gosele and Tan 1 discussed the relation of oxygen diffusion to thermal donor formation at 450 °C in crystalline silicon. They found the accepted diffusion constant for interstitial oxygen (O1) in silicon to be too slow by several orders of magnitude to explain the rate of oxygen thermal donor formation. They were forced to postulate a second diffusion mechanism for oxygen in silicon. They postulated this to be a rapidly diffusing oxygen dimer (O2), a gas-like molecular oxygen without bonds to silicons. They estimated the diffusion constant of 02 to be 108 times that of O1.
Radionucleotide Bone Imaging

When technetium 99m is bound to methylene diphosphonate, the resulting ­compound is called technetium 99m-MDP. Administered intravenously, as much as 60% of this substance will be taken up by the skeleton through a process called chemabsorption by which the tracer is actually incorporated into the calcium hydroxyapatite crystal matrix of bone or other calcium depositions. The remainder of the tracer is excreted via the urinary tract. Gallium, another radioactive material, is not used as a primary agent for bone scans now that MDP bone scanning is available (Fig. 37.1)