cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Molecular regulation of calcium and bone metabolism through the vitamin D receptor.

1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25 D) is traditionally viewed as an endocrine hormone produced in the kidney whose function is to regulate calcium homeostasis by influencing intestinal calcium absorption, renal calcium reabsorption, and bone calcium resorption. These effects are mediated at the molecular level by a nuclear receptor of the steroid hormone receptor superfamily, the vitamin D receptor (VDR). Like the other members of the superfamily, the VDR is a ligand activated transcription factor; elevated levels of 1,25 D activate VDR-mediated transcriptional activation. Transcriptional activation through the VDR is a multistep process that includes ligand binding to the receptor, heterodimerization to the retinoid X receptor (RXR), nuclear import through an importing mediated process, DNA binding, chromosomal remodeling, and recruitment of the basal transcription complex that includes RNA polymerase II (Figure 1). The gene promoter most sensitive to transcriptional activation by 1,25 D encodes a cytochrome P450 family member whose activity initiates the degradation of the hormone (CYP24). The biological activity of 1,25 D in a cell is strongly regulated by CYP24 activity. The CYP24 promoter contains multiple vitamin D responsive elements (VDREs) in the proximal promoter and additional VDREs acting as enhancer elements in the distal promoter. Phosphorylation events resulting from activation of signal transduction pathways can modulate 1,25 D action and VDR transcriptional activity on this promoter. Studies on mice lacking the VDR demonstrate essential function of the VDR in the bone and intestine. In the growing animal the primary role of the VDR is to maintain high levels of intestinal calcium absorption; loss of VDR leads to hypocalcemia and rickets that can be prevented by by-passing active calcium absorption with a diet containing high levels of lactose and calcium. The targets of 1,25 D action in the intestine are the apical membrane calcium channel, TRPV6, the calcium binding protein, calbindin D9k, and the basolateral membrane pump, PMCA1b. Reduced levels of intestinal VDR (50% of normal) lead to intestinal resistance to 1,25 D and also suggest a role for VDR in the translational control of calbindin D9k. The classical role of 1,25 D in bone biology has been the induction of osteoclast differentiation and stimulation of bone resorption leading to the release of calcium from bone J Musculoskelet Neuronal Interact 2006; 6(4):336-337
Temperature Dependent Superradiant Decay in Molecular Aggregates

The effect of acoustic and optical phonons on the superradiative decay in molecular aggregates is theoretically investigated, via numerical solution of a generalized master equation for the N exciton populations. The emergence of a coherence domain, over which the aggregate cooperatively radiates, is consistent with previous experimental observations.
Probabilistic Real-Time Data Access with Deadline and Interval Constraints

In this chapter, we address the issues of real-time data access in the context of manufacturing control applications using a combination of simulations and measurements based on the University of Michigan Open-Architecture Controller (UMOAC) testbed. Figure 1 shows the basic control loop of a typical real-time application. The controller takes the input (e.g., the desired position and velocity) from the user and the feedback (e.g., the actual position and velocity) from the controlled process, and computes a new control command to send to the controlled process. An open-architecture controller consists of a set of cooperative tasks, e.g., sensor-reading tasks and control-law tasks, and needs a database management system (DBMS) to support concurrent data access and to provide well-defined interfaces between different software modules [14, 23]. Typically these tasks are subject to a range of timing constraints, which require the DBMS to provide timing guarantees, sometimes under complex operating conditions.
Market Shares and Strategic Planning

(1994). Market Shares and Strategic Planning. Materials Technology: Vol. 9, No. 1-2, pp. 30-31.
Human Herpesvirus-6, -7, and -8 After Solid Organ Transplantation

HHV-6 is a beta herpes virus that establishes latency after primary infection with most infections occurring in the childhood. Active HHV-6 infection occurs in 20–50 % of transplant recipients and is largely due to endogenous reactivation of the latent virus. Infection typically develops in the early posttransplant period. The most frequently observed clinical features of HHV-6 are febrile dermatosis and bone marrow suppression and less commonly encephalitis, interstitial pneumonitis, and hepatitis. HHV-6 also has immunomodulatory effects that may facilitate superinfections with other opportunistic infections, particularly CMV and fungal infections. Treatment of HHV-6 remains challenging. Based on in vitro and anecdotal data, ganciclovir, foscarnet, and cidofovir have been used clinically. The role of HHV-7 as a pathogen in transplant recipients is not fully defined. KSHV is the etiologic agent of Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS). The incidence of posttransplant KS varies widely and largely parallels the geographic seroprevalence of KSHV. Cutaneous lesions are most common; however, up to 40 % of transplant recipients may develop visceral disease. Reduction or withdrawal of immunosuppression remains the mainstay of the management of KS in transplant recipients.
Textualism and the Role of The Federalist in Constitutional Adjudication

This paper addresses whether textualist objections to the use of legislative history in statutory interpretation apply with equal force to judicial reliance upon The Federalist in constitutional adjudication. The Federalist is susceptible to many of the same concerns as is legislative history. Hamilton’s, Madison’s, and Jay’s essays certainly not “enacted;” the ratifying conventions voted on the constitutional text, not on essays published during the ratification debates. Judges, moreover, have no basis for thinking that a constitutionally sufficient number of ratifiers assented to The Federalist’s intricate and often-lengthy essays, in whole or in part. Finally, textualists subscribe to an objective theory of interpretation, pursuant to which interpreters ask what a reasonable lawmaker, familiar with the relevant interpretive conventions, would have believed that he or she was voting for. Because a reasonable ratifier surely would not have understood The Federalist to be an authoritative expression of constitutional intent or meaning, a modern interpreter may not read it that way either.Even if not authoritative, however, The Federalist may still have persuasive value as a detailed, contemporaneous exposition of the Constitution by authors who were intimately familiar with its legal and political context. Of course, because The Federalist was a piece of political advocacy whose contents may at times reflect the exigencies of political debate, an interpreter must always examine its assertions for consistency with all surrounding contextual evidence. In short, to borrow from another interpretive context, when a textualist judge relies on The Federalist in constitutional adjudication, he or she must give it whatever weight is justified by “the thoroughness evident in its consideration, the validity of its reasoning, its consistency with earlier and later pronouncements, and all those factors which give it power to persuade, if lacking power to control.”
Iowa Gambling Task Performance Prospectively Predicts Changes in Glycemic Control among Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes.

Objectives: Good glycemic control is an important goal of diabetes management. Late adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are at risk for poor glycemic control as they move into young adulthood. For a subset of these patients, this dysregulation is extreme, placing them at risk for life-threatening health complications and permanent cognitive declines. The present study examined whether deficiency in emotional decision making (as measured by the Iowa Gambling Task; IGT) among teens with T1D may represent a neurocognitive risk factor for subsequent glycemic dysregulation. Methods: As part of a larger longitudinal study, a total of 241 high-school seniors (147 females, 94 males) diagnosed with T1D underwent baseline assessment that included the IGT. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), which reflects glycemic control over the course of the past 2 to 3 months, was also assessed at baseline. Of the 241,189 (127 females, 62 males, mean age=17.76, mean HbA1c=8.11) completed HbA1c measurement 1 year later. Results: Baseline IGT performance in the impaired range (per norms) was associated with greater dysregulation in glycemic control 1 year later, as evidenced by an average increase in HbA1c of 2%. Those with normal IGT scores (per norms) exhibited a more moderate increase in glycemic control, with an HbA1c increase of 0.7%. Several IGT scoring approaches were compared, showing that the total scores collapsed across all trials was most sensitive to change in glycemic control. Conclusions: IGT assessment offers promise as a tool for identifying late adolescents at increased risk for glycemic dysregulation. (JINS, 2017, 23, 204–213)
Surgical Quality and Safety: Current Initiatives and Future Directions

More than a decade ago, the Institute of Medicine released a comprehensive report “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System,” addressing issues related to patient safety and laying out an ambitious national agenda for reducing errors in healthcare and improving patient safety. This groundwork led to the recognition that most medical errors were the result of communication barriers and system failures. Since then, initiatives towards re-designing system processes have made tremendous strides in reducing the number of medical errors and adverse events. This chapter discusses the current topics around patient safety including government initiatives, public reporting, human factors in surgery, surgery checklists, crew resource management, resident duty hours, and physician burnout.
DNA Methylation and Human Heart Failure: Mechanisms or Prognostics.

Article, see p 1528 Heart failure is a growing public health concern, affecting 20% of individuals at some point in their lifetime and contributing to 11% of deaths, with an incidence that is expected to rise by 25% over the next 15 years.1 As a condition that can develop asymptomatically for years, after which the efficacies of most interventions are modest and palliative, heart failure is a prime target for the development of novel biomarkers that could be used in a clinical setting for stratification or as prognostic markers detectable before clinical presentation (the ultimate prize). Are the tools of high-throughput biology, so-called ’omics investigations, up to the task? Discovery technologies and their analytic platforms, especially for genomics, epigenomics, and transcriptomics, are comprehensive and, if not fully mature, rapidly approaching that point, whereas other ’omics techniques such as proteomics, metabolomics, and lipidomics are increasingly quantitative, reproducible, and amenable to application outside specialized laboratories. These approaches have been widely applied to lower organisms and, at an increasing rate, in the clinical setting. Get on with it then, one might argue, and use these methods to improve human cardiovascular health on a population scale. If only it were so easy. Genetic variability is a massive confounder in the study of common disease in large human populations. Many of the most successful and largest cohort studies are characterized by modest ethnic and genetic diversity. Syndromes such as heart failure are polygenic, and genome-wide association studies have identified only a few causal variants, each of which explains only a small fraction of the genetic basis of the syndrome. Add to this the contribution of environmental factors, and it is easy to see why current …
Mapping pharmacy deserts and determining accessibility to community pharmacy services for elderly enrolled in a State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program.

Objectives Limited studies have investigated geographic accessibility to a nearby community pharmacy for elderly which is an essential determinant of the access to medications and pharmacy services. This research identified pharmacy deserts and investigated availability of different types of community pharmacies and their services for elderly enrolled in a State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program (SPAP). Methods The state of Pennsylvania in the US was used as a case to demonstrate the geographic accessibility to community pharmacy and services for elderly enrolled in SPAP. The locations of community pharmacies and households of elderly enrolled in SPAP were derived from Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly programs’ database. The street addresses were geocoded and the distance to a nearby community pharmacy was calculated for study sample using the haversine formula. The demographic and geographic data were aggregated to Census Tracts and pharmacy deserts were identified using the predefined criteria. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to determine whether there are statistical differences in the socio-demographic profiles and distribution of different types of community pharmacies and their services in pharmacy deserts and non-deserts. This research used hot spot analyses at county level to identify clusters of pharmacy deserts, areas with high concentration of different racial/ethnic groups and clusters of high densities of chain and independent pharmacies. Results The Spatial analysis revealed that 39% and 61% Census Tracts in Pennsylvania were pharmacy deserts and non-deserts respectively (p < 0.001). Pharmacy deserts were found to have significantly more females, married and white elderly and fewer blacks and Hispanics compared to pharmacy non-deserts. Pharmacy deserts had significantly fewer chain and independent pharmacies and less delivery and 24-hour services in pharmacies than pharmacy non-deserts. Hot spot analyses showed that clusters of pharmacy deserts were more concentrated in southcentral, northwest and northeast regions of the state which represent rural areas and overlapped with clusters of high concentration of white individuals. Conclusions The findings suggest that urban-rural inequality, racial/ethnic disparity and differences in availability of pharmacies and their services exist between pharmacy deserts and non-deserts. The methodological approach and analyses used in this study can also be applied to other public health programs to evaluate the coverage and breadth of public health services.
A Preliminary Report of a Controlled Study of Thymosin Alpha-1 in the Woodchuck Model of Hepadnavirus Infection

Thymosin alpha-1 (TA1) is one of a family of peptides with immunoregulatory activities which occur naturally in thymic tissues (1). TA1 is an acidic 28 amino acid molecule that is biologically active in a number of in vitro and in vivo assays; it is highly conserved among mammalian species and is available as a chemically-defined synthetic preparation. Detectable levels of TA1 are found in the serum of normal individuals (2). Due to the immunoregulatory properties of thymic peptides, there is current interest in their possible use in the treatment of chronic diseases, including Type B hepatitis (3). In a preliminary report, Mutchnick, et al. (4) described the possible efficacy of thymosin fraction 5 and TA1 in the treatment of patients with chronic active hepatitis due to hepatitis B virus (HBV). The purpose of the current study was to evaluate TA1 in an animal model system of HBV infection and disease.
Expression of the CD11/CD18, leukocyte adhesion molecule 1, and CD44 adhesion molecules during normal myeloid and erythroid differentiation in humans

We have used three-color flow cytometry to investigate the pattern of expression of the CD11/CD18, CD44, and leukocyte adhesion molecule 1 (LAM-1) adhesion molecules during myeloid and erythroid differentiation in humans. The earliest myeloid cells, identified as CD33loCD15-, were exclusively CD44hi but contained both leukocyte function-associated antigen 1 (LFA-1hi) and LFA-1lo cells, as well as LAM-1+ and LAM-1- cells. This CD33loCD15- myeloid subpopulation expressed only low levels of CD11c and failed to express CD11b, CD14, or any lymphoid (CD3, CD16, CD19) antigens or glycophorin. Commitment to monocyte differentiation, suggested by the presence of an LFA-1hi CD11c+ subset within the CD33loCD15- subpopulation, was clearly signaled by upregulation of CD33; these monocyte-lineage committed cells were exclusively CD33hi, CD44hi, CD11ahi, CD11c+, and exhibited a broad range of intensity of CD15 expression. Later stages of monopoiesis were identified by acquisition of CD11b, and subsequently of CD14. Myeloid cells committed to granulopoiesis remained LFA-1lo, and underwent a sharp upregulation of CD15 along with downregulation of both CD33 and CD44. Successive stages of granulocyte development were marked by expression of CD11b and, subsequently, of CD16. The earliest cells capable of erythroid differentiation were CD44hi, LFA-1lo, and LAM-1+. Both LFA-1 and LAM-1 were lost before the onset of glycophorin (glyco) expression, whereas CD44 expression remained high on glyco+ cells, which also expressed CD45. CD44 expression was intermediate on glyco+ CD71+ cells, and low on glyco+ CD45- CD71- cells, similar to normal, circulating erythrocytes. Our results allow us to phenotypically define discrete stages in the normal development of monocytes, neutrophils, and erythrocytes. The expression of LFA-1, LAM-1, and high levels of CD44 on the most primitive hematopoietic cells detectable by flow cytometry suggests that at least some of these molecules are critically involved in leukocyte adhesion during development.
Applications to Electric Machines

Electric machines are essential systems in electric vehicles and are widely used in other applications. In particular, permanent magnet direct current (PMDC) motors have been extensively employed in industrial applications such as electric vehicles and battery-powered devices such as wheelchairs, power tools, guided vehicles, welding equipment, X-ray and tomographic systems, and computer numerical control (CNC) machines. PMDC motors are physically smaller and lighter for a given power rating than induction motors. The unique features of PMDC motors, including their high torque production at lower speed and flexibility in design, make them preferred choices in automotive transmissions, gear systems, lower-power traction utility, and other fields [12, 18, 22, 47, 54]. For efficient torque/speed control, thermal management, motor-condition monitoring, and fault diagnosis of PMDC motors, it is essential that their characteristics be captured in real-time operations. This is a system identification problem that can be carried out by using standard identification methods [35, 48].
Chronic Opioid Use is a Risk Factor for the Development of Central Sleep Apnea and Ataxic Breathing

Background:Chronic opioid therapy for pain management has increased dramatically without adequate study of potential deleterious effects on breathing during sleep.Methods:A retrospective cohort stu...
Growth Retardant Use on Herbaceous Perennials Grown Under Night-Interrupted Lighting Outdoors in the Southern United States

Abstract A study was conducted in 2002 and 2003 to determine if growth retardants could be used to suppress stem elongation of ‘Moonbeam’ coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata L. ‘Moonbeam’) and ‘Goldsturm’ coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida Aiton ‘Goldsturm’) when grown outdoors under nursery conditions in the southern United States without negating the benefits of earlier flowering from night-interrupted lighting (NIL). Night-interrupted lighting accelerated flowering of both cultivars without adversely affecting flower and flower bud counts or plant quality. However, plants grown under NIL generally were taller than plants grown under natural photoperiod (NP). When several PGRs [Cutless, B-Nine, B-Nine/Cycocel, Bonzi (2002 only), and Sumagic (2003 only)] were applied to plants under NIL, results varied with PGR type and concentration and year. Height of ‘Moonbeam’ coreopsis was effectively suppressed by 5000 or 7500 ppm B-Nine + 1500 ppm Cycocel in both years of the study and with 40 or 60 ppm Sumagic in the on...
Intravenous Lidocaine for Acute Pain: A Systematic Review

This systematic review evaluates the safety and efficacy of intravenous (IV) lidocaine for the treatment of acute pain in adult patients. The PubMed database was searched for randomized controlled trials, retrospective cohort studies, case series, and case reports evaluating the use of IV lidocaine for the treatment of acute pain in adult patients, published between January 1970 and January 2018. The primary outcome was pain reduction via the Visual Analog Scale, Verbal Rating Scale, or Numeric Rating Scale among patients treated with IV lidocaine and placebo or active controls. Safety outcomes included both nonserious and serious adverse events. A total of 347 titles and abstracts were screened, and after full-text review, 13 studies met the inclusion criteria involving 512 patients. The four active controls studied were IV morphine, IV ketorolac, IV dihydroergotamine (DHE), and IV chlorpromazine (CPZ). The dosing of IV lidocaine varied among studies between a weight-based dose of a 1- to 2-mg/kg bolus, a fixed-bolus dose of 50-100 mg, and a 1-mg/kg/hour continuous infusion. Monitoring of serum lidocaine concentrations was not done routinely. Intravenous lidocaine had superior efficacy to morphine for renal colic and critical limb ischemia, superior efficacy to DHE for acute migraine, and equivalent efficacy to ketorolac for acute radicular lower back pain. However, lidocaine was less effective than CPZ for the treatment of acute migraine. The most common adverse event reported among all studies were neurologic effects such as altered mental status and slurred speech. Due to the inconsistency in dosing, length of administration, and lack of serum monitoring, the absolute safety of IV lidocaine for acute pain is unknown. Larger, prospective studies are needed before the routine use of IV lidocaine can be recommended for all types of acute pain.
Using System Profiling for Effective Degradation Detection

Many computing systems suffer from degradation that becomes present over time and affects the value of the system. For an autonomic computing (AC) system to self-optimize and self-heal, rapid detection of degradation and identifying its source must be performed during execution, even when the degradation appears slowly over time. A common technique is to employ a MAPE-K (monitor-analyze-plan-execute plus knowledge) loop. Monitoring system degradation means the system must have an embedded representation of its expected performance over time to detect a change at runtime and determine how the degradation is propagating throughout the system. With this information, an appropriate adaption can be executed to address potential system failures. However, there are many industrial applications for which incorporating runtime monitoring and analysis requires studying historical data captures and relating them to prior system and process performance and degradation to construct the appropriate reference architectures. In addition, the monitoring process can itself degrade and report inaccurate performance outcomes. In this paper, we present an industrial application where the performance of system processes is dependent on the integrity of shared system components, each process is monitored by an independent, local monitoring process, and these monitors are subject to other independent sources of degradation. We demonstrate that using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test to analyze process performance can detect degradation. Using Pearson correlations with other processes in the system and application experimentation, we show that it can be determined if the system processes or monitor processes are affected and if there is a system-wide failure.
Radium-226 analysis methodology in Savannah River Site high activity waste matrices

Waste cleanup efforts currently underway at the Savannah River Site have created a need to characterize Radium-226 levels in the various high activity waste matrices currently in Site inventories. The traditional method our laboratory used for analyzing Ra-226 in higher activity matrices was based on classic cation exchange methodology. Radiochemical separations were often initiated in remotely operated shielded analytical cells followed by additional hands-on separations in radiological hoods. Methodology based on IBC advanced technologies SuperLig 640 extractant, mounted in 3M Empore filter media has been developed to streamLine the radium analyses.
Bone repair biomaterials in orthopedic surgery

Abstract Different classes of materials have been used in orthopedic surgery, which is one of the fields in medicine where biomaterials have been most vastly applied. In this chapter we will describe the different classes of materials from the orthopedic surgeon’s perspective. Orthopedic surgery deals with the treatment of pathological conditions of the musculoskeletal system. Its operative actions may be gathered into the following groups: (1) the geometrical correction of a deformed segment; (2) the replacement of joint components destroyed by a pathological process; and (3) the restoration of the anatomical, and possibly mechanical, integrity of a bone defect. A wide range of operative techniques have been developed, the most important of which are osteosynthesis, joint replacement, and bone replacement.
Compliance to an enhanced recovery pathway among patients with a high frailty index after major gastrointestinal surgery results in improved 30-day outcomes.

Abstract Background Enhanced recovery pathways have been shown to improve clinical outcomes after surgery. Concerns exist about the feasibility of implementing enhanced recovery pathways in frail patients, who are at a greater risk for adverse postoperative outcomes. This study evaluated compliance and outcomes after enhanced recovery pathway implementation in high-risk, abdominal surgery patients. Methods Patients entered into the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database who underwent abdominal surgery after enhanced recovery pathway implementation at two Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions were included. Risk was assessed using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program validated, modified 5-item frailty index. Primary outcomes included compliance with 14 enhanced recovery pathway standards and postoperative length of stay, major complications (Clavien-Dindo score II–IV), and 30-day readmission. Results This study included 646 patients who participated in our enhanced recovery pathway program and 65 patients with modified 5-item frailty index ≥ 2 before enhanced recovery pathway implementation. Overall, 325 patients (50.3%) were high compliers (>75% compliance) with enhanced recovery pathway standards, with similar proportions of patients with a modified 5-item frailty index ≥ 2 or Conclusion This study demonstrates that frail patients comply well with a robust enhanced recovery pathway protocol and subsequently experience improved outcomes. Targeted interventions that seek to maximize compliance with specific enhanced recovery pathway standards may further improve outcomes in this population.
Party-crashers or wallflowers? The lack of strategic voting in experimental primaries

Open and semi-open primaries allow members of opposing political parties to participate in the selection of candidates for the general election. This feature has led to the claim that partisans wil...
A 10-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE CASE-CONTROL ANALYSIS OF MEDICATION-RELATED OSTEONECROSIS OF THE JAW AT A MAJOR TERTIARY CARE DENTAL INSTITUTION

The connection between antiresorptive medications, like bisphosphonates and denosumab, and osteonecrosis of the jaw has been well studied in the literature. A 10-year retrospective case-control analysis of the patient population at the University of Southern California, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, found a robust population of patients of record with a history of bisphosphonate or denosumab use and a significant subset of those patients had medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ). This study explores the demographic and clinical factors associated with risk for MRONJ in patients taking antiresorptive medications. Multivariate analysis indicated that patients at greatest risk were over 60 years of age, female sex, Asian race, had cancer as a comorbidity, had a history of tooth extraction, and also patients on long-term antiresorptive pharmacotherapy. The findings of this study should help guide clinicians to identify patients at high risk for MRONJ, and thus patients that would benefit from risk reduction and prevention protocols.
A 49-Year-Old Man With Cough and Hand, Wrist, and Knee Pain.

Case Presentation A 49-year-old man was sent by his primary care physician to the rheumatology clinic with complaints of several months of bilateral lower extremity swelling. The swelling migrated from both ankles up to his knees. Presenting symptoms consisted of bilateral knee pain as well as bilateral wrist and hand pain with swelling. Pulmonary symptoms consisted of a nagging productive cough of several months. He also complained of significant weight loss: 50 pounds over 12 months. He was a never smoker. The examination was notable for bilateral knee effusions. Radiographs of his wrists, hands, and knee were obtained, along with a chest radiograph. He was then referred to a pulmonologist for further workup.
Assessing the Impact of Counterfactual Thinking on the Career Motivation of Women Engineers

Through an exploratory sequential mixed methods design using Q methodology, this work-in-progress Student Poster Paper explores one strategy by assessing the impact of counterfactual thinking, thoughts about what might have been, on the future motivation and decisions of women engineers in their early career. Within ten years of graduation, 54% of women who obtained engineering bachelor’s degrees in the U.S. either left or never entered the field. During this time in their early career, women are experiencing gender-based challenges such as gender bias, discrimination, harassment, and work-life compromises. It is important to provide women with strategies for overcoming these challenges and persisting in their engineering careers.
Electrical grid resilience framework with uncertainty

Abstract Resilience in our electrical grid is imperative to the well being of society after events such as natural disasters or cyber attacks. To justify the development of resilience improvements in the grid, metrics are needed to quantify the improvement and cost benefit. These resilience metrics need to consider the inherent uncertainty in the grid, which arise from elements such as variable load and generation. This paper presents a method to include uncertainty in the proposed resilience framework. The resilience framework is demonstrated on a 2000-bus synthetic grid with a transient contingency simulated as a hurricane type event with numerous line outages. Varying amounts of distributed energy resources (DERs) at 0%, 10%, 20%, and 50% of load amount are included in the system and assessed for their system resilience impact and cost-benefit with and without uncertainty evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation.
Cattle and carcass performance, and life cycle assessment of production systems utilizing additive combinations of growth promotant technologies.

The objective of this study was to determine the impact of beef production systems utilizing additive combinations of growth promotant technologies on animal and carcass performance and environmental outcomes. Crossbred steer calves (n =120) were stratified by birth date, birth weight, and dam age and assigned randomly to one of four treatments: 1) no technology (NT; control), 2) antibiotic treated (ANT; NT plus therapeutic antibiotics and monensin and tylosin), 3) implant treated (IMP; ANT plus a series of 3 implants, and 4) beta-agonist treated (BA; IMP plus ractopamine-HCl for the last 30 d prior to harvest). Weaned steers were fed in confinement (dry lot) and finished in an individual feeding system to collect performance data. At harvest, standard carcass measures were collected and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Yield Grade and Quality Grade were determined. Information from the cow-calf, growing, and finishing phases were used to simulate production systems using the USDA Integrated Farm System Model, which included a partial life cycle assessment of cattle production for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, fossil energy use, water use, and reactive N loss. Body weight in suckling, growing, and finishing phases as well as hot carcass weight was greater (P 0.05) USDA Yield grade. The life cycle assessment revealed that IMP and BA treatments reduced GHG emissions, energy use, water use, and reactive nitrogen loss compared to NT and ANT. These data indicate that growth promoting technologies increase carcass yield while concomitantly reducing carcass quality and environmental impacts.
Relationship Between Parental Attachment and Stress Elevation and Synchrony in Pediatric Occupational Therapy Patient-Parent Dyads.

Importance Populations already experiencing chronic stress, such as families with children who are neurologically atypical, are at particular risk for developing stress-related disease. Objective To establish feasibility of collecting salivary samples from pediatric occupational therapy patients and their parents in a clinical setting and at home and to examine associations among parental attachment style, parent self-reported stress, and physiological stress (i.e., cortisol) in pediatric occupational therapy patients who were neurologically atypical and their parents (N = 10 dyads). Design Cross-sectional pilot study to test feasibility. Setting Sliding-scale university clinic. Participants Participants were 10 children undergoing occupational therapy treatment and their parent. Families were approached and told the study was voluntary and would not affect their treatment. Families provided informed consent. Outcomes and measures Parents completed measures to assess their own attachment style, general and parenting stress, and stress in their child. Children and parents provided saliva samples during an occupational therapy clinic visit and collected samples at home to measure cortisol level. Results Parent attachment avoidance was related to increased parent cortisol levels in the clinic and increased child cortisol levels at home. Parent and child cortisol levels had a strong, positive relationship in the clinic but not at home. We did not observe a difference between cortisol levels in children or parents in the clinic or at home. Conclusions and relevance We concluded that this protocol is feasible and provide suggestions for future research. What this article adds Stress physiology in pediatric occupational therapy clients should be considered within the context of the family system. Family-based interventions may be particularly helpful for reducing client stress in this population.
Why study in Finland: RAMK, SAMK, and PBL

In September 2011, I visited two universities in Finland as part of Magellan faculty exchange: Rovaniemi University of Applied Sciences in Pori (RAMK) and Satakunta University of Applied Sciences in Pori and Rauma (SAMK). It was such a wonderful and rewarding trip that I decided to share my experience with students to encourage them to study abroad. to encourage them to study abroad. Arkansas State University is a member of Magellan Exchange Program (http://www.magellanexchange.org/). The mission of this program is “to provide opportunities for students and faculty to have an affordable educational and cultural immersion experience.” I decided to apply for this exchange to foster my professional development and to establish new contacts for cross-cultural collaboration in my area of research.
Spinal Cord Diffuse Leptomeningeal Glioneuronal Tumor Presenting without Leptomeningeal Dissemination.

Background and importance Diffuse leptomeningeal glioneuronal tumor (DLGNT) represents a provisional entity in the 2016 World Health Organization classification of tumors; it is characterized by a widespread leptomeningeal growth and oligodendroglial-like cytology. To this day, 4 pediatric patients have been reported to present with an isolated spinal cord tumor in the absence of leptomeningeal dissemination. Gross total resection (GTR) was achieved in only 1 patient. We present the clinical and technical nuances of this unique type of tumor, as well as the second reported case of GTR in a patient with DLGNT. Clinical presentation A 4-year-old boy presented to the emergency department after an episode of flaccid paralysis of bilateral lower extremities. MRI showed an intramedullary spinal cord tumor centered at T8. The patient was taken to the operative room, where a laminectomy and tumor resection were performed; cystic and solid tumor components were identified. Pathology report was consistent with DLGNT. After achieving GTR, patient is free of recurrence after a 15-month follow-up. Conclusion No standard treatment for DLGNT has been identified. Current literature report surgery and chemotherapy with variable success rates. DLGNT presenting as an isolated intramedullary tumor is an uncommon condition which progression appears to be halted when treated promptly. Identifying solid and cystic components of this tumor is crucial for achieving GTR.
Supervising Restoratively: Narratives of Applying Restorative Practices in Supervision in Residential Life

Student affairs scholarship has highlighted the importance of supervision, which is often an underdeveloped function of many professional positions. This study focused on 11 residential life mid- a...
Observations of near-infrared H2 emission in Planetary Nebulae

We report the results of a near-infrared (mostly K-band) spectroscopic survey of planetary nebulae at McDonald Observatory during the period 1986-1993. These observations were made with a grating spectrometer based on a 1 × 32-element InSb array. Most of the K-band observations were taken with spectral resolving power R = λ/Δλ = 600 in order to resolve the v=1-0 S(1) 2.121 μm H2 line from the adjacent recombination line of He I at 2.113 μm. We also simultaneously measured the strengths of H I Br γ and He II 2.189 γm. The typical limiting line flux detected in our 3.8” beam was 1 - 3 × 10-14 erg cm-2 s-1, corresponding to a surface brightness of 3 × 10-5 to 1 × 10-4 erg cm-2 s-1ster-1. An early result of this study was the first conclusive proof that the UV-pumping or “fluorescence” mechanism, rather than thermal (shock) excitation, is responsible for the H2 emission in a planetary nebula, Hubble 12 (Dinerstein et al. 1988, ApJ, 327, L27). This was also one of the first demonstrated cases of UV-pumped H2 emission in any astronomical source, and Hubble 12 has become a template for the study of this emission mechanism.
A double bounded key identity for Gollnitz's (BIG) partition theorem

Given integers i, j, k, L, M, we establish a new double bounded q—series identity from which the three parameter (i,j,k) key identity of Alladi-Andrews-Gordon for Gollnitz’s (big) theorem follows if L, M →∞. When L = M, the identity yields a strong refinement of Golhiitz’s theorem with a bound on the parts given by L. This is the first time a bounded version of Gollnitz’s (big) theorem has been proved. This leads to new bounded versions of Jacobi’s triple product identity for theta functions and other fundamental identities.
Molecular Studies on the Role of a Root Surface Agglutinin in Adherence and Colonization by Pseudomonas putida.

Abstract Pseudomonas putida aggressively colonizes root surfaces and is agglutinated by a root surface glycoprotein. Mutants of P. putida derived chemically or by Tn5 insertion demonstrated enhanced or decreased agglutinability. Two nonagglutinable Tn5 mutants (Agg−) and two mutants with enhanced agglutinability (Aggs) possessed Tn5 in unique restriction sites. Agg− mutants colonized root surfaces of seedlings grown from inoculated seeds, but at levels lower than those observed with the Agg+ parent. In short-term binding studies, Agg− cells adhered at levels that were 20- to 30-fold less than those for Agg+ parental cells. These data suggest that the agglutination interaction plays a role in the attachment of P. putida to root surfaces.
Large system performance of power-constrained distributed detection with analog local processing

The problem of decentralized detection in a sensor network subjected to a total average power constraint is investigated assuming that local sensor decisions are based on analog relay amplifier processing. For both deterministic and stochastic Gaussian signals, asymptotic performance in a large sensor system is analyzed by deriving the error exponents. The large system analysis shows that, in the case of deterministic signals when the whole system is subjected to a total average power constraint it is better to combine as many not-so-good local decisions as possible rather than relying on a few very-good local decisions. However, in the case of stochastic signals there are an optimal number of local sensor decisions that should be combined at the fusion center in order to obtain the best performance. While up to this optimal limit it is better to divide the power among many not-so-good local decisions, beyond this value the performance starts to degrade as we increase the number of sensors. In other words, in the case of distributed detection of a stochastic signal there is a minimum power level that each node needs to maintain if they are to make a useful contribution to the final fusion decision.
Binaural tuning of auditory units in the forebrain archistriatal gaze fields of the barn owl: local organization but no space map

We identified a region in the archistriatum of the barn owl forebrain that contains neurons sensitive to auditory stimuli. Nearly all of these neurons are tuned for binaural localization cues. The archistriatum is known to be the primary source of motor-related output from the avian forebrain and, in barn owls, contributes to the control of gaze, much like the frontal eye fields in monkeys. The auditory region is located in the medial portion of the archistriatum, at the level of the anterior commissure, and is within the region of the archistriatum from which head saccades can be elicited by electrical microstimulation (see preceding companion article, Knudsen et al., 1995). Free-field measurements revealed that auditory sites have large, spatial receptive fields. However, within these large receptive fields, responses are tuned sharply for sound source location. Dichotic measurements showed that auditory sites are tuned broadly for frequency and that the majority are tuned to particular values of interaural time differences and interaural level differences, the principal cues used by barn owls for sound localization. The tuning of sites to these binaural cues is essentially independent of sound level. The auditory properties of units in the medial archistriatum are similar to those of units in the optic tectum, a structure that also contributes to gaze control. Unlike the optic tectum, however, the auditory region of the archistriatum does not contain a single, continuous auditory map of space. Instead, it is organized into dorsoventral clusters of sites with similar binaural (spatial) tuning. The different representations of auditory space in closely related structures in the forebrain (archistriatum) and midbrain (optic tectum) probably reflect the fact that the forebrain contributes to a wide variety of sensorimotor tasks more complicated than gaze control.
An ominous radiographic feature: cortical ribbon sign

SIMI 2015 A 59-year-old woman presented with a 2-month history of headache, difficulty in finding words, and slow speech. Those symptoms were associated with intermittent bilateral jerky movements of the upper extremities. The patient had noted a memory decline over the prior 2 months. Her past medical history was significant for hypothyroidism, and her medications included levothyroxine. Her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 85. Physical examination did not reveal myoclonus, motor, or sensory deficits, hyper- or hyporeflexia, cerebellar signs, or ataxic gait. The patient had intermittent dysphonia, but her speech comprehension was intact. Results of laboratory studies, including a complete blood count, comprehensive metabolic profile, thyroid function tests, anti-thyroglobulin level, vitamin B12 level, homocysteine level, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, antinuclear antibody, anti-double stranded antibody, anti-endomysial antibody, rapid plasma reagin test, Lyme antibody test, HIV-1/2 immunoassay, serum cryptococcal antigen, paraneoplastic panel, heavy metal screening, and drug toxicological tests, were normal. The electroencephalography (EEG) study was normal. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain with and without intravenous gadolinium, including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) sequences, was performed. Cerebral MRI DWI demonstrated a ribbon-like signal hyperintensity of cerebral cortical gyri (cortical ribboning) of the right frontal, parietal, and occipital regions, known as the cortical ribbon sign