cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Measuring quality of life of patients of traumatic brain injury.

Quality of life (QOL) is recognized as an important indicator of health care and the patient's ability to cope with illness, treatment, and recuperation. Issues that need to be addressed in any proposed QOL research include a clear definition of QOL, a sound rationale for the choice of a measurement instrument, and the value of qualitative data. Measuring QOL in a patient population that has experienced traumatic brain injury (TBI) raises special concerns associated with the physical, behavioral, and cognitive limitations inherent with the specific TBI population. These pertinent issues are discussed with a focus that should be helpful for persons planning QOL projects and those reading and critiquing related literature. A study conducted by the author with patients with severe trauma injury will be used as an example of the impact of these issues on an actual project. Language: en
Interpersonal callousness, hyperactivity/impulsivity, inattention, and conduct problems as precursors to delinquency persistence in boys: a comparison of three grade-based cohorts.

Boys who exhibit interpersonal callousness (IC), hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI), inattention (IN), and conduct problems (CP) may be at risk for exhibiting persistent delinquent behavior. However, few studies have established the distinctiveness of these constructs or examined their relative contributions to the prediction of delinquent behavior across different developmental periods. This study explores these issues using boys from the youngest (1st grade, N = 849), middle (4th grade, N = 868), and oldest (7th grade, N = 856) cohorts of the Pittsburgh Youth Study. Confirmatory factor analysis indicates that the 4 constructs are related, yet independent, from childhood to adolescence. After controlling for the overlap among the constructs, CP significantly predicted delinquency persistence in the youngest cohort, whereas CP and IN predicted delinquency persistence in the middle cohort. IC uniquely predicted delinquency persistence for the oldest cohort. The results suggest that the saliency of specific pre...
Use of Lactobacillus probiotics for bacterial genitourinary infections in women: A review

Abstract Background: Lactobacilli are the dominant bacteria of the vaginal flora and possess antimicrobial properties that regulate other urogenital microbiota. Incomplete cure and recurrence of genitourinary infections lead to a shift in the local flora from a predominance of lactobacilli to coliform uropathogens. Use of Lactobacillus -containing probiotics to restore commensal vaginal flora has been proposed for the treatment and prophylaxis of bacterial urogenital infections. Objective: This review summarizes randomized controlled trials that have assessed the therapeutic efficacy and tolerability of lactobacilli in bacterial vaginosis (BV) and urinary tract infection (UTI). Methods: Relevant randomized controlled trials published in English were identified through a search of MEDLINE (through November 2007), ClinicalTrials.gov, and the Cochrane Database (second quarter 2007). The search terms included probiotics , Lactobacillus, lactobacilli, urinary, urogenic, bacterial vaginosis, vaginal, colonization, bacteremia, sepsis, pathogenic, taxonomy, diagnosis , and infections . Results: Eleven randomized controlled trials were identified that investigated the effects of lactobacilli in the treatment and prophylaxis of bacterial urogenital infections. In the 2 studies that reported a beneficial effect for probiotics in the treatment of BV, cure rates for lactobacilli at 30 days were 60% ( P = 0.004) and 88% ( P P = 0.004). Among the 4 trials involving treatment of UTI, 1 reported a 73% reduction in episodes of recurrent UTI compared with the previous year ( P = 0.001). Seven studies found no therapeutic effect of lactobacilli in the treatment or prophylaxis of BV or UTI. Only 2 of the identified trials attempted to validate the probiotic dosing strategy by obtaining quantitative evidence of local colonization with lactobacilli and had sufficient power to detect treatment effects, and only 1 trial addressed the stability of the probiotic product at the end of the study. Conclusions: Despite enhanced cure rates in some studies, concerns about product stability and limited documentation of strain-specific effects prevent recommendations for the use of Lactobacillus -containing probiotics in the treatment of BV. The results of studies of lactobacilli for the prophylaxis of UTI remain inconclusive as a result of small sample sizes and use of unvalidated dosing strategies.
The Vlasov‐Poisson‐Boltzmann system near Maxwellians

The dynamics of dilute electrons can be modeled by the Vlasov-Poisson-Boltz-mann system, where electrons interact with themselves through collisions and with their self-consistent electric field. It is shown that any smooth, periodic initial perturbation of a given global Maxwellian that preserves the same mass, momentum, and total energy (including both kinetic and electric energy), leads to a unique global-in-time classical solution. The construction of global solutions is based on an energy method with a new estimate of dissipation from the collision: ∫0t〈Lf(s), f(s)〉ds is positive definite for solution f(t,x,v) with small amplitude to the Vlasov-Poisson-Boltzmann system (1.4). © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Pathway Substrate 8 Is Overexpressed in Human Pituitary Tumors: Role in Proliferation and Survival

Based on prior work showing that human pituitary tumors overexpress epidermal and fibroblast growth factor receptors, we hypothesized that downstream components of growth factor signaling pathways may also be dysregulated. Epidermal growth factor pathway substrate number 8 (Eps8) was identified as a transcript overexpressed (5.9-fold) in human pituitary tumors compared with normal pituitary by DNA microarrays. Eps8 mRNA up-regulation was confirmed by semiquantitative RT-PCR. Immunoblot analysis showed that Eps8 protein levels and its downstream target phosphorylated ERK were also up-regulated in human pituitary tumors. Stable overexpression of Eps8 in LbetaT2 gonadotrope pituitary cells augmented colony formation in soft agar at d 21. Eps8 cells proliferated more robustly compared with controls in growth factor replete as well as growth-restricted conditions. In addition, the Eps8 overexpressing cells were protected from serum withdrawal-induced apoptosis compared with controls as assessed by caspase-3 cleavage. Epidermal growth factor activated a robust amplification of ERK and modest up-regulation of Akt in Eps8-overexpressing pituitary cells compared with vector controls. MAPK kinase inhibition or silencing of Eps8 blunted the proliferation of the cells in response to growth factor stimulation. Blockade of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway or silencing of Eps8 resulted in a loss of the Eps8 protection from growth factor withdrawal-induced apoptosis. Together these data support a role of Eps8 in amplifying growth factor receptor signaling in human pituitary tumors to promote proliferation and cell survival.
Ophiolites in Earth History

I began my undergraduate studies in geology in 1974, shortly after the release of the now famous “Anonymous” report on the first Penrose Conference on Ophiolites (Geotimes, 1972). My early geology courses were filled with information on the nature of the seafloor, with details supplied largely from on-land studies of ophiolites. Pillow basalts and sheeted dike complexes, gabbros, peridotites, and cherts—all of these caught my attention and seemed so elegantly explained by formation at oceanic spreading centers. Over the next couple of decades, I simply assumed that ophiolites were direct analogues for material produced at mid-ocean ridges, and I missed the nuances of the ongoing debate about whether or not ophiolites really are representative of this tectonic setting.
An optimal online algorithm for packet scheduling with agreeable deadlines

An important issue in IP-based QoS networks is the effective management of packets at the router level. Specifically, if the arriving packets cannot all be stored in a buffer, or if the packets have deadlines by which they must be delivered, the router needs to identify the packets that should be dropped. In recent work, Kesselman et al. [6] propose a model, called buffer management with bounded delay, which can be thought of as an online scheduling problem on a single machine: packets arrive at a network switch and are stored in a buffer of size B. Each packet has a positive weight and a deadline, with the weight representing the value of transmitting the packet by its deadline. At each integer time step, exactly one packet can be transmitted, and the objective is to maximize the total weight of the transmitted packets. If B = ∞, this is the online version of the scheduling problem 1| pj = 1, rj, dj |Σ wj Uj. (We assume that rj and dj are integers.)
Exact anhydride: epoxy percentages for araldite and araldite-epon embedding.

Calculations that take into account weight per epoxy (WPE) values of resins allow production of embedding blocks with consistent cutting qualities, whether the epoxy resins are used singly or in combination. Percentage tables are presented for anhydride combinations with variation of the Araldite WPE values. A worksheet is provided for determining anhydride: epoxy percentages when Araldite—Epon resin combinations are employed. Comparisons in cutting qualities are made with blocks (both blanks and with tissue) varying in anhydride: anhydride cutting qualities, and epoxy: epoxy ratios.
“The Theory Behind How Students Learn”: Applying Developmental Theory to Research on Children's Historical Thinking

Abstract Recent research on children's historical thinking has produced rich descriptions of instruction. However, the research literature is largely lacking a theoretical model of learning. This article asserts that developmental constructivist theory informs research design and interpretation, provides explanatory power, and promises more useful recommendations for instruction. Specifically, it suggests that researchers revisit Piaget's theory of development, explaining how early misunderstandings of this model hampered researchers' understanding of historical thinking. Five studies (Barton, 2001; Hallam, 1966; Levstik & Pappas, 1987; Shemilt, 1980; VanSledright, 2002) are discussed to illustrate the benefits of applying a developmental model of learning to research and interpretation. The article concludes with a call for research that applies developmental theory to the study of children's historical thinking.
Anatomy of an assemblage zone

The upper Lower Devonian pinyonensis Zone, named by Merriam in central Nevada, is an assemblage zone based on brachiopods. It encompasses a high diversity fauna, most of whose members migrated into central Nevada shortly after the distinctive and favorable pinyonensis Zone environment came into existence. The pinyonensis Zone coincides in space and time with the equally distinctive Bartine Limestone lithofacies, which is a member of the McColley Canyon Formation. The assemblage zone comprises several communities that existed side by side during all or part of pinyonensis Zone time. The brachiopods of these communities migrated in regular, nonrandom patterns within the pinyonensis Zone environment in response to changes in water depths, energy levels, and circulation. The assemblage as a whole ceased to exist when its favorable environment disappeared, judging from the coincidence of the pinyonensis Zone with the Bartine lithofacies. The fauna of the pinyonensis Zone represents an indivisible aggregate, or naturally “packaged” group of coexisting species that underwent little evolution once they were assembled in a favorable environment. The formation of the distinctive fauna and its demise can both be attributed to geological events that altered the environment. It appears that assemblage zones form when and where geological events cause pronounced environmental changes and that they tend not to form in environments in which changes are small and continual. Loss of the environment of an assemblage zone, or of a large percentage of its total area, evidently causes large-scale speciation and (or) extinction of the fauna which previously had attained a relative stability and which is the reason that an assemblage zone, when fully known, is a viable chronostratigraphic unit.
Dialogue and Doubt in Descartes' ‘First Meditation’*

Le doute de Descartes est conditionne par une sorte de dialogue entre deux caracteres distincts : Descartes l'auteur d'une part, et son compagnon litteraire, Descartes meditant, d'autre part
Specific method for the determination of genomic DNA methylation by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

Herein we report a novel method for determining genomic DNA methylation that utilizes liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) to measure 5-methyl-2‘-deoxycytidine levels following enzymatic hydrolysis of genomic DNA. LC separation of 5-methyl-2‘-deoxycytidine from the four deoxyribonucleosides, the four ribonucleosides, and 5-methyl-2‘-cytidine, a RNA methylation product, has been achieved within 15 min. In combination with ESI-MS/MS detection, the reported method is highly specific and extremely sensitive with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.2 fmol and a quantification linearity range from 1 fmol to 20 pmol. Genomic DNA methylation was expressed as the ratio of 5-methyl-2‘-deoxycytidine to 2‘-deoxyguanosine and was determined directly using 2‘-deoxyguanosine as the internal standard. Because deoxycytidine methylation typically ranges from 2 to 6% in mammalian genomes, and pharmacological or genetic manipulations have not achieved levels lower than 0.1%, we va...
DNA ploidy and p-glycoprotein expression as predictive factors of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy for invasive bladder cancer

Abstract Objective. To identify a factor or factors that could predict response of muscle invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder to neoadjuvant cisplatin, methotrexate, and vinblastine chemotherapy. Methods. DNA ploidy analysis and immunohistochemical staining for p-glycoprotein (the product of the multidrug resistance gene, MDR-1) were performed on bladder biopsies obtained prior to chemotherapy. Radical cystectomy specimens were utilized for complete pathologic staging. Results. Tissue was available for DNA ploidy analysis in 25 patients. Ten patients had complete responses to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and 15 patients did not respond. Nineteen patients had aneuploid tumors, of which 7 (37%) were complete responders. Six patients had diploid tumors, of which 3 (50%) were complete responders. This difference was not statistically significant. Tissue was available for immunostaining in 15 patients. Seven of 9 patients (78%) who did not respond to chemotherapy stained positively for p-glycoprotein, whereas 5 of 6 patients (83%) who had complete responses stained positively. This difference was not statistically significant. Conclusions. Neither DNA ploidy nor p-glycoprotein expression appears to predict successfully those patients likely to respond to neoadjuvant cisplatin, methotrexate, and vinblastine chemotherapy in the treatment of invasive bladder cancer.
Variation in Black Anti-White Bias and Target Distancing Cues: Factors that Influence Perceptions of “Ambiguously Racist” Behavior

Experiment 1 indicated that when the White supervisor's negative treatment of a Black subordinate was unconstrained, participant race had no impact on attributions. Conversely, when the treatment was constrained, Black participants reported greater racist attributions than did White participants. Experiment 2 indicated that when the supervisor reported no response or a minimal negative response (i.e., indicating that he did not support his actions) after his negative treatment of the Black subordinate, Black participants reported greater racist attributions than did White participants. Conversely, when the supervisor's negative treatment was followed by a more extreme negative response, participant race had no impact on attributions. Experiment 3 indicated that Black participants were less likely than White participants to perceive a minimal negative response as reflecting a White supervisor's lack of support for his negative actions. Conversely, participant race had no impact on attributions of a Black supervisor's negative actions.
Contact hypersensitivity to methyl red in female Balb/c mice

Abstract Rationale Methyl red is a commonly used azo dye in laboratory assays, textiles, and other commercial products but little is known about its sensitization properties in humans. These studies were conducted to evaluate the sensitizing potential of methyl red using murine models of hypersensitivity. Methods For the local lymph node assay, female BALB/c mice were dosed for 3 days with vehicle (dimethyl sulfoxide), positive control, or increasing concentrations of methyl red (0.05-1.0%) on the dorsal surface of each ear. Following injection of [3H]-thymidine, draining lymph nodes were radioassayed on day 6. In the phenotypic analysis assay, mice were similarly exposed for 4 days. On day 10 post-exposure, serum was collected for total serum IgE analysis and lymph nodes were excised to evaluate B220+ and IgE+B220+ cell populations. Results Exposures up to 1.0% methyl red resulted in a dose dependent increase in lymphocyte proliferation reaching statistical significance (p Conclusions These studies suggest the potential for methyl red to induce contact sensitization in humans.
Mediation misgivings: ambiguous clinical and public health interpretations of natural direct and indirect effects

Recent methodological innovation is giving rise to an increasing number of applied papers in medical and epidemiological journals in which natural direct and indirect effects are estimated. However, there is a longstanding debate on whether such effects are relevant targets of inference in population health. In light of the repeated calls for a more pragmatic and consequential epidemiology, we review three issues often raised in this debate: (i) the use of composite cross-world counterfactuals and the need for cross-world independence assumptions; (ii) interventional vs non-interventional identifiability; and (iii) the interpretational ambiguity of natural direct and indirect effect estimates. We use potential outcomes notation and directed acyclic graphs to explain ‘cross-world’ assumptions, illustrate implications of this assumption via regression models and discuss ensuing issues of interpretation. We argue that the debate on the relevance of natural direct and indirect effects rests on whether one takes as a target of inference the mathematical object per se, or the change in the world that the mathematical object represents. We further note that public health questions may be better served by estimating controlled direct effects.
Cultural Economies: Past and Present

Cultural Economies: Past and Present. Rhoda H. Halperin. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994. 309 pp.
The challenge of detector designs for PET.

OBJECTIVE. The use of PET, especially the use of PET/CT scanners, has expanded rapidly over the past few years. Although most of the detector development efforts have been focused on scintillator-based designs, other technologies, such as wire chambers, time projection chambers, and solid-state devices, are also being pursued.CONCLUSION. Many of these new technologies have not translated into commercial systems. This article will explore some of the basic challenges of PET detector designs.
NINJA: Java for high performance numerical computing

When Java was first introduced, there was a perception that its many benefits came at a significant performance cost. In the particularly performance-sensitive field of numerical computing, initial measurements indicated a hundred-fold performance disadvantage between Java and more established languages such as Fortran and C. Although much progress has been made, and Java now can be competitive with C/C++ in many important situations, significant performance challenges remain. Existing Java virtual machines are not yet capable of performing the advanced loop transformations and automatic parallelization that are now common in state-of-the-art Fortran compilers. Java also has difficulties in implementing complex arithmetic efficiently. These performance deficiencies can be attacked with a combination of class libraries ({\it packages}, in Java) that implement truly multidimensional arrays and complex numbers, and new compiler techniques that exploit the properties of these class libraries to enable other, more conventional, optimizations. Two compiler techniques, {\it versioning} and {\it semantic expansion}, can be leveraged to allow fully automatic optimization and parallelization of Java code. Our measurements with the NINJA prototype Java environment show that Java can be competitive in performance with highly optimized and tuned Fortran code.
Cyber Crime and Business: How to not Get Caught by the Online Phisherman

Throughout the history of modern business, management has dealt with the problem of theft. Businesses have a difficult time keeping mon ey and information out of the wrong hands, due to external robberies and internal theft of bot h money and confidential information (Nykodym & Ariss, 2006). Apart from the ease of being able to reach customers anywhere in the world, the electronic media has created a new wave of worries for companies, since theft of information is becoming easier for criminals and ha rder to detect for businesses. Cyber crime, called "phishing," can be characterized by attacker s using trusted Internet sites to lure information from unsuspecting consumers. It is now becoming a widespread problem for the business world. Phishing attacks are one of the maj or elements of cyber crime and companies have begun the arduous battle against phishers to k eep their customers safe and their businesses afloat.
Differential role for CBP and p300 CREB-binding domain in motor skill learning.

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element binding protein (CREB) binding protein (CBP) andE1A binding protein (p300) are highly homologous transcriptional coactivators with histone acetyltrans-ferase activity. Although CBP and p300 have unique functions in vivo during embryogenesis andhematopoiesis, their functions within the nervous system remain poorly understood. The authorsdemonstrate that these coactivators have differential roles in motor skill learning. Mice with a mutationin the CREB-binding (KIX) domain of CBP exhibited motor learning deficits. However, mice with theanalogousmutationintheKIXdomainofp300showednormalmotorlearning.Further,CREBknock-outmice exhibited a motor learning deficit similar to that of CBP-KIX mutant mice. These results suggestthat the CREB–CBP interaction is more limiting or critical than the CREB–p300 interaction for motorskill learning. Thus, CBP and p300 are genetically distinct at the behavioral level.
Multicomponent Diffusion in Molten Silicates: Theory, Experiments, and Geological Applications

Many silicate melts of geological interests are made of three or more oxide components (e.g., SiO2, Al2O3, TiO2, FeO, MgO, CaO, Na2O, K2O, and H2O). Chemical diffusion in such systems is referred as multicomponent diffusion. Multicomponent diffusion involves mass fluxes driven by chemical potential gradients and is an essential mass transfer mechanism for many transport processes involving melt, solid, and melt-solid mixtures under magmatic conditions. The rate of crystal dissolution in a melt, for example, is determined by the rate of diffusion in the liquid, the thickness of concentration boundary layer surrounding the crystal, and the extent of undersaturation of the melt with respect to the dissolving crystal (e.g., Cooper and Kingery 1964; Watson 1982; Watson and Baker 1991; Zhang et al. 1989; Kerr 1995; Liang 2000; Zhang and Xu 2003). A key to understanding chemical diffusion in multicomponent melt is the diffusive flux. According to Onsager (1945), the diffusive flux of a given component (e.g., SiO2) in a multicomponent fluid or melt is a linear combination of concentration gradients of the independent components in the system. In a mass-fixed or barycentric frame of reference the diffusive flux of component i in an n component melt, J i , is given by (e.g., Onsager 1945; de Groot and Mazer 1962; Hasse 1969) \batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \[\mathbf{J}\_{\mathit{i}}\ =\ {-}\ {\rho}{{\sum}\_{\mathit{j}\ =\ 1}^{\mathit{n}\ {-}\ 1}}\mathit{D}\_{\mathit{ij}}\ {\nabla}\ \mathit{w}\_{\mathit{j}}\] \end{document}(1) where ρ is melt density; D ij are elements of an ( n −1) by ( n −1) diffusion matrix [ D ] with component n taken as the dependent variable; w j is mass fraction of component j ; and ∇ is the gradient operator. In the absence of a sink or source and bulk flow, mass conservation in a fluid volume element leads …
Membrane protein Crry maintains homeostasis of the complement system

Complement activation is tightly regulated to avoid excessive inflammatory and immune responses. Crry −/− is an embryonic lethal phenotype secondary to the maternal complement alternative pathway (AP) attacking a placenta deficient in this inhibitor. In this study, we demonstrate that Crry −/− mice could be rescued on a partial as well as on a complete factor B (fB)- or C3-deficient maternal background. The C3 and fB protein concentrations in Crry −/− C3 +/− and Crry −/− fB +/− mice were substantially reduced for gene dosage secondary to enhanced AP turnover. Based on these observations, a breeding strategy featuring reduced maternal AP-activating capacity rescued the lethal phenotype. It led to a novel, stable line of Crry SKO mice carrying normal alleles for C3 and fB. Crry SKO mice also had accelerated C3 and fB turnover and therefore reduced AP- activating potential. These instructive results represent an example of a membrane regulatory protein being responsible for homeostasis of the complement system. They imply that there is constant turnover on cells of the AP pathway which functions as an immune surveillance system for pathogens and altered self.
Florida’s Planned Retirement Communities: Marketing Age, Religion, Ethnicity and Lifestyle

Much of Florida’s significant growth, both demographically and economically, can be attributed to a large elderly migration stream from the Northeast and Midwest. This chapter first discusses the development of large scale, planned retirement communities such as Century Village, Greater Sun City, and The Villages. Some retirement communities directed their marketing efforts to the general retiree market. Others targeted specific population groups, such as Jews, Catholics, Finns, gays, and various occupational groups. While most elderly Floridians do not live in these large scale communities, their marketing efforts boosted the state’s population as a whole. A major contention then is that, while Florida would have developed into a major retirement center under any circumstances, the large scale developments like Century Village acted as a significant catalyst to the expansion of the elderly population. Next, this chapter examines the significant social service, economic, and political impacts of the three million elderly Florida residents. Note that while the development of competitive retirement communities in other states and the recession of 2008–2009 have somewhat slowed this growth, the impending retirement of the baby boom generation should result in another significant wave of retirees in the next decade.
Ionic Domain for Y2O3‐Doped ThO2 at Low Oxygen Activities

The emf method was used to determine the lower limit of oxygen activity for essentially pure anionic conduction in Th0.85Y0.15O1.925 from 775° to 1000C. The results show that the oxygen transference number is ≥0.99 when log PO2≥−6.5(104/T°K)+29.
Recombination in West Nile Virus: minimal contribution to genomic diversity

Recombination is known to play a role in the ability of various viruses to acquire sequence diversity. We consequently examined all available West Nile virus (WNV) whole genome sequences both phylogenetically and with a variety of computational recombination detection algorithms. We found that the number of distinct lineages present on a phylogenetic tree reconstruction to be identical to the 6 previously reported. Statistically-significant evidence for recombination was only observed in one whole genome sequence. This recombination event was within the NS5 polymerase coding region. All three viruses contributing to the recombination event were originally isolated in Africa at various times, with the major parent (SPU116_89_B), minor parent (KN3829), and recombinant sequence (AnMg798) belonging to WNV taxonomic lineages 2, 1a, and 2 respectively. This one isolated recombinant genome was out of a total of 154 sequences analyzed. It therefore does not seem likely that recombination contributes in any significant manner to the overall sequence variation within the WNV genome.
Case Studies in Athletic-Academic Integration: A Closer Look at Schools that Implement COIA's Best Practices

This research follows a 2009 survey jointly conducted by the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics (COIA) and the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State to assess the “best practices” of FBS institutions in regard to the integration of athletics into academics. Case studies of the six highest-scoring institutions—the University of Houston, University of Illinois, University of Maryland, Oklahoma State University, University of South Carolina, and Southern Methodist University—were conducted. The aim of these case studies was to highlight those institutions that implement more of COIA’s best practices than other surveyed schools. Further, the aim was to develop a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between COIA’s suggested practices, the “Athletics Integration into Academics” survey, and the local conditions of FBS institutions.
High pseudocapacitance of MnO2 nanoparticles in graphitic disordered mesoporous carbon at high scan rates

Nanocomposites composed of MnO2 and graphitic disordered mesoporous carbon (MnO2/C) were synthesized for high total specific capacitance and redox pseudocapacitance (CMnO2) at high scan rates up to 200 mV s−1. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) demonstrated that MnO2 nanodomains were highly dispersed throughout the mesoporous carbon structure. According to HRTEM and X-ray diffraction (XRD), the MnO2 domains are shown to be primarily amorphous and less than 5 nm in size. For these composites in aqueous 1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte, CMnO2 reached 500 F/gMnO2 at 2 mV s−1 for 8.8 wt% MnO2. A capacitance fade of only 20% over a 100-fold change in scan rate was observed for a high loading of 35 wt% MnO2 with a CMnO2 of 310 F/gMnO2 at the highest scan rate of 200 mV s−1. The high electronic conductivity of the graphitic 3D disordered mesoporous carbon support in conjunction with the thin MnO2 nanodomains facilitate rapid electron and ion transport offering the potential of improved high power density energy storage pseudocapacitors.
A Conserved Mechanism for Bni1- and mDia1-induced Actin Assembly and Dual Regulation of Bni1 by Bud6 and Profilin

Formins have conserved roles in cell polarity and cytokinesis and directly nucleate actin filament assembly through their FH2 domain. Here, we define the active region of the yeast formin Bni1 FH2 ...
A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF THE “BRIGHT BAND” IN RADAR PRECIPITATION ECHOES

Abstract Observations and measurements of the bright band in radar echoes are presented. It is shown that the theory of coalescence and melting of snowflakes provides an adequate explanation of the phenomenon.
A Simple, Efficient, and Sensitive Method for Simultaneous Detection of Anti-HIV Drugs Atazanavir, Ritonavir, and Tenofovir by Use of Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

In the treatment of HIV infection, a combination of anti-HIV drugs is commonly used in highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). One such combination recommended for clinical therapy consists of the two HIV protease inhibitors atazanavir and ritonavir and the HIV nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor tenofovir. The detection of plasma and cell drug concentrations provides an assessment of actual drug exposure and patient compliance. We thus developed a simple, efficient, and sensitive method to simultaneously extract and detect these three drugs in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The use of a liquid-liquid extraction followed by protein precipitation provided a simple process, yielding a high recovery rate for all three drugs in plasma (>92%) and in cells (>86%). The liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assay was able to detect 0.01, 0.25, and 2.5 pg (2, 50, and 500 pg/ml, respectively) in 5 μl for atazanavir, ritonavir, and tenofovir, respectively. Validation of the method exhibited high precision and accuracy. This method was subsequently applied to a primate study to determine the concentrations of all three drugs in both plasma and cell samples. This validated method can be useful for an evaluation of drug concentrations in biological samples in an efficient and sensitive manner.
KCC2 rescues functional deficits in human neurons derived from patients with Rett syndrome

Rett syndrome is a severe form of autism spectrum disorder, mainly caused by mutations of a single gene methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) on the X chromosome. Patients with Rett syndrome exhibit a period of normal development followed by regression of brain function and the emergence of autistic behaviors. However, the mechanism behind the delayed onset of symptoms is largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that neuron-specific K+-Cl− cotransporter2 (KCC2) is a critical downstream gene target of MeCP2. We found that human neurons differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells from patients with Rett syndrome showed a significant deficit in KCC2 expression and consequently a delayed GABA functional switch from excitation to inhibition. Interestingly, overexpression of KCC2 in MeCP2-deficient neurons rescued GABA functional deficits, suggesting an important role of KCC2 in Rett syndrome. We further identified that RE1-silencing transcriptional factor, REST, a neuronal gene repressor, mediates the MeCP2 regulation of KCC2. Because KCC2 is a slow onset molecule with expression level reaching maximum later in development, the functional deficit of KCC2 may offer an explanation for the delayed onset of Rett symptoms. Our studies suggest that restoring KCC2 function in Rett neurons may lead to a potential treatment for Rett syndrome.
Ultrasonically guided antegrade pyelography.

AbstractGuided by ultrasound percutaneous antegrade pyelography can be accomplished with great ease in patients with obstructive hydronephrosis. The exact location and the depth of the dilated renal pelvis can be determined accurately with the use of ultrasound and the procedure is similar to that of a cyst puncture. Antegrade pyelography provides significant diagnostic information on the nature of the obstructive lesion and can be performed as an adjunct to a retrograde study or as an alternative to a retrograde pyelogram. Ultrasound is considered a most advantageous aid to the performance of antegrade pyelography.
Mammalian cell cultures contaminated with PPLO III. Elimination of PPLO with specific antiserum.

SummaryA procedure for control of PPLO contamination in mammalian cell cultures has been presented as an alternative to the employment of antibiotics. Six cell lines have been freed of PPLO by comparatively short-term exposure to antiserum specific for the contaminant in question. For destruction of 2 of the mycoplasma species a heat-labile serum component was required; the remaining 4 lines were successfully treated with inactivated serum. Because control of these contaminants is of utmost importance in the use of cell cultures as experimental systems application of this technic may be advantageous when antibiotic resistance is encountered.
Egg Production Patterns in Turkeys

Abstract MUCH has been written about egg production in both chickens and turkeys, how they resemble each other in seasonable production, tendency to lay in clutches (eggs laid on successive days), decline in egg size as the clutch advances, response to gonad stimulation by the use of artificial light, and in other ways. Comparatively little information has been written to indicate differences in the laying patterns of chickens and turkeys. This paper is to make further comparisons and to call attention to certain existing differences among egg production patterns. It has been pointed out that clutch size is somewhat of a definite characteristic among both chickens and turkeys and frequently fits a regular, though imperfect, rhythm. Good layers fit into a definite rhythm more frequently than poor layers. Atwood (1927) reported that the first egg of every cycle (clutch) is usually laid relatively early in the day, with a tendency for …
Zn2+-Selective Switch of Duplex to Hairpin DNA

DNA sequences that undergo large changes in secondary structure upon binding of small molecules are the basis for molecular switches. Here we report a Zn2+ complex that promotes the conversion of a fully complementary DNA double helix into DNA hairpins. The conformational switch is promoted by an isolated Zn2+ complex or by free ZnCl2 and a macrocyclic ligand. The switch is selective for Zn2+ over biologically relevant transition-metal ions including Cu2+ and Fe2+. The dual ligand/DNA switch is an approach that may improve the selectivity for metal-ion-sensing applications.
Radiologic assessment of the shoulder. Plain and arthrographic.

SUMMARY Five standard radiographic projections are useful in screening patients with shoulder complaints. Three are AP views: internal rotation, external rotation, and 100-de-gree abduction. The other two are the axillary and bicipital groove views. Single-contrast arthrography is valuable in diagnosing full-thickness rotator cuff tears, adhesive capsulitis, and lesions of the biceps. It also is useful in determining deep-surface, incomplete cuff tears and, occasionally, anterior instability.
Re-assessing the economic and analytical tools that measure and optimize households’ energy-efficiency improvements

Since the Arab oil embargo of 1973, technologies associated with residential energy efficiency have developed from applications unfamiliar to building and remodeling contractors to recognizable techniques required by building codes. Codes specify minimum levels of energy efficiency, and installing energy-efficiency measures that go beyond code specifications have economic and environmental ramifications. Commonly used decision-making tools regarding energy-efficiency improvements for consumers are described, along with some of the pitfalls associated with these analytical methods. The purpose of this paper is to provide an argument for expanding the evaluation techniques related to energy-efficiency improvement upgrades within the home. An alternative method of evaluating energy-efficiency upgrades is proposed, which incorporates measures beyond simply monthly cost savings such as growth in house price attributed to energy-efficient upgrades.
Diagnosis in Molar Endodontics

Developing a diagnosis is, in essence, a process in information gathering. This information is gathered from the patient’s history of pain, trauma or restorative procedures, clinical examinations, results of clinical tests, and radiographic examination of the teeth and the surrounding tissues. The diagnostic process begins with a patient interview and review of the medical history, dental history, and pain history. A thorough patient and pain assessment interview will often enable a clinician to differentiate between odontogenic and non-odontogenic pain. Non-odontogenic pain will often become chronic and debilitating in nature. Furthermore, this pain can be further exacerbated by incorrect or unnecessary treatments frequently resulting in the establishment of chronic pain pathways.
An update on the role of daratumumab in the treatment of multiple myeloma

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have emerged as a promising new drug class for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM). Daratumumab (DARA), a CD38 mAb, has demonstrated safety, tolerability and activity in a range of clinical trials, both as monotherapy and in combination strategies for MM. The favorable efficacy results in heavily pretreated patients with advanced MM have provided the rationale for the investigation of DARA in a number of ongoing and future phase II and III trials. The general tolerability of mAbs has allowed for widespread investigation and use of DARA among a variety of MM patients, however their use requires special consideration. Infusion-related reactions (IRRs), interference with blood compatibility assays and response assessments are all unique factors related to the use of DARA. This review provides an update of the results from the DARA clinical trials conducted to date, its future plans for investigation, and practical management considerations for the use of DARA in daily practice.
Samuelson's Analysis of the Extreme Variability and Relative Unpredictability of Investment, Due to the Uncertainty of Investment Expenditures, Leads to the Rejection of the Post Keynesian-Davidsonian Claim that Samuelson Was Not a Keynesian

Samuelson’s eighth edition of his Economics presented an excellent elaboration on and explanation of Keynes’s overall analysis in the General Theory. Samuelson covered the reasons why a “free” market, Laissez Faire economy, operating with minimal government, would never be able to provide a full employment amount of investment in real capital. Thus, Investment spending will always be ”highly variable” and “relatively unpredictable “unless counteracted by the appropriate mix of necessary expansionary and contractionary fiscal and monetary policies over time. Samuelson covered the connection between expectations and uncertainty, as well as covering the real possibility of a liquidity trap, where the impact of a collapse of confidence in expected returns from durable investment results in a liquidity preference “uncertainty floor”, where monetary policy can’t work because of the interest rate bound of 0 %.Samuelson treated uncertainty as extrinsic uncertainty .Hence ,the impact of uncertainty is modeled as occurring outside the pure, formal, economic model based on microeconomics alone. It is modeled as creating unexpected and unanticipated, large shifts in the relevant microeconomic demand and supply curves. These shifts cause Investment expenditures, at the aggregated macro level, to be ” highly variable” and “relatively unpredictable” over time, leading to involuntary unemployment unless counteracted by continuous and vigorous government (public) intervention. There is no “Invisible Hand” that will allow the private sector to self adjust internally by itself. At the micro level, the result will be a “very slowly adjusting disequilibrium” that could require decades to eliminate, assuming that there are no other uncertain impacts that occur in the intervening period of time while the adjustment process to the initial uncertain event takes place. If uncertainty is pervasive, then the initial disequilibrium is never eliminated because another uncertain event impacts the economic system before such adjustment can take place. The private sector is thus in a permanent state of disequilibrium due to ambiguity about the business cycle, expectations, irrational exuberance,innovation, technological change, the threat of obsolescence, etc., that cause the mec schedule to shift unpredictably through time.Samuelson’s mastery of chapter 12 of the General Theory allowed him to accurately predict the Dot.com implosion and recession of 2000-2001 in 1996 (Cover,Kindleberger, 3rd edition). Predictions with comparable accuracy to Samuelson’s would be American Brigadier General Billy Mitchell’s 1924 prediction that sometime in the future at 7:30 AM on a Sunday morning, the Japanese Imperial Navy will launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor from aircraft carriers and Bertrand Russell’s prediction in 1948 that a man would be landed on the Moon by 1975.
Social network cohesion and the retreat from Southern vowels in Raleigh

Network research in sociolinguistics suggests that integration in a local community network promotes speakers' retention of local linguistic variants in the context of pressure from external or standard dialects. In most sociolinguistic network research, a speaker is assigned a single score along an index representing the aggregate of several network and other social features. We propose that contemporary network methods in adjacent disciplines can profitably apply to sociolinguistics, thereby facilitating not only more generalizable quantitative analysis but also new questions about the relational nature of linguistic variables. Two network analysis methods—cohesive blocking and Quadratic Assignment Procedure regression—are used to evaluate the social network factors shaping the retreat from the Southern Vowel Shift (SVS) in Raleigh, North Carolina. The data come from a 160-speaker subset of a conversational corpus. Significant network effects indicate that network proximity to Raleigh's urban core promotes retention of SVS features, and that network similarity between speakers corresponds to linguistic similarity. Contemporary social-network methods can contribute to linguistic analysis by providing a holistic picture of the community's structure. (Networks, sociophonetics, Southern Vowel Shift, dialect contact)*
Cross-Course Collaboration in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum: Primary Kinetic Isotope Effect in the Hypochlorite Oxidation of 1-Phenylethanol in the Physical Chemistry Laboratory

A kinetic isotope effect (KIE) experiment is described for the physical chemistry laboratory. Students conduct a hypochlorite (household bleach) oxidation of an equimolar mixture of 1-phenylethanol and 1-deuterio-1-phenylethanol to acetophenone. The reaction occurs in a biphasic reaction mixture and follows first-order kinetics with respect to either isotopomer of 1-phenylethanol. Reaction progress is measured by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Alternatively, the experiment could be conducted with each isotopomer serially and followed by GC alone. The reaction rate constant for the disappearance of 1-phenylethanol, kH, ranges from 3 × 10–4 to 2 × 10–3 s–1, while kD, for 1-deuterio-1-phenylethanol, ranges from 9 × 10–5 to 5 × 10–4 s–1. The observed KIE, the ratio kH/kD, is remarkably robust, ranging between 2.3 and 3.6, with a mean of 2.9 and standard deviation of 0.4 over three years of student data. The robustness of the observed KIE stems from using competing reactions. The experiment can ...
Is This Technology Useless? How Seemingly Irrelevant Factors Affect Adoption and Efficacy

We conduct a field experiment to understand how the strategies organizations use to implement new technologies affect their adoption and efficacy. Specifically, we show that the standard strategy schools use to introduce a text message alert system for parents — online signup — induces negligible adoption. Simplifying the enrollment process by allowing parents to enroll via text messages modestly increases adoption — especially among parents of higher-performing students. Automatically enrolling parents dramatically increases adoption since very few parents opt out. The standard and simplified implementations generate no detectable increases in student performance. However, automatically enrolling parents meaningfully increases GPA and reduces student course failures. Simple changes to the implementation of new technologies can lead to radically different conclusions about whether new technologies are valuable and their ability to close achievement gaps.