cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impact of Bone Fracture on Ischemic Stroke Recovery

Stroke is one of the most devastating complications of bone fracture, occurring in up to 4% of patients after surgical repair for hip fracture. Bone fracture and ischemic stroke have many common risk factors. The impact of bone fracture on stroke recovery has not drawn much attention in the research field. Bone fracture could occur in stroke patients at different times during the recovery phase, which steepens the trajectory of cognitive decline, greatly affects the quality of life, and causes a heavy burden on healthcare resources. In this paper, we reviewed the growing information on the pathophysiological mechanisms by which bone fracture may affect ischemic stroke recovery process.
A Critical Assessment of the Application of FT-IR Spectroscopy to the Study of Crystalline/Compatible Polymer Blends

For those of us interested in polymer vibrational spectroscopy, the advent of computer-assisted instruments, especially Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometers, served to rekindle our interest in applying the technique to complex multicomponent polymer systems such as blends and alloys. FT-IR spectrometers, are inherently more sensitive and accurate than conventional dispersive instruments but if viewed critically, the major advantages of the newer instruments are a direct consequence of the dedicated minicomputer. The use of signal averaging to enhance signal to noise ratio and the ability to manipulate the spectral data by techniques such as spectral subtraction and addition; least squares fitting of spectra; curve resolving and factor analysis has markedly increased our ability to characterize complex multicomponent polymer systems.
A Novel Storage Management in Embedded Environment

Flash memory has been widely used in various embedded devices, such as digital cameras and smart cell phones, because it has a fast access speed, a high availability and an economization of power. However, replacing hard drives with flash memory in current systems often either requires major file system changes or causes performance degradation due to the limitations of block based interface and out-of-place updates required by flash. We introduce a management framework of object-based storage system which can optimize the performance for the underlying implementation. Based on this model, we propose a data allocation method that takes richer information from an object-based interface. Using simulation, we show that cleaning overhead can be reduced by up to 11% by separating data and metadata. Segregating the hot data and cold data can further reduce the cleaning overhead by up to 19%.
DNA damaging agents trigger the expression of the HML silent mating type locus in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Abstract Many DNA damaging agents also react with RNA and protein, and could thus cause epigenetic as well as genotoxic changes. To investigate which DNA damaging agents alter epigenetic states, we studied the chemical-induced changes in expression of the yeast silent mating type locus HMLα, which can be triggered by inhibiting yeast Sir2. We observed that the alkylating agent methyl methane sulfonate (MMS) can result in HMLα expression, using a colony sector assay that results from expression of a HML-positioned cre gene. Using single-cell imaging we also observed that alkylating agents, including MMS and methyl-3-nitro-1-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), as well as short-wave UV, also decreased HML silencing. We suggest that chemical-induced alterations in heterochromatin structure could confer transient phenotypic changes that affect the cellular responses to DNA damaging agents.
Phase II trial of ponatinib in patients with bevacizumab-refractory glioblastoma.

2032Background: Responses to bevacizumab in recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) are not durable. Plasma levels of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) increase at the time of tumor progression. By concom...
Income Per Capita, Health and Cross Country IQ: An International Comparison

Recently, for the first time, international data on IQ scores across countries have become available. The new data opens up the exciting possibility of using cross country analysis to study IQ and its determinants. One important potential determinant of IQ is income inequality. The purpose of this paper is to use cross country regression analysis to see whether or not differences in income inequality matter with regard to IQ scores across countries. If greater country income inequality reduces country IQ, then it is possible that well designed policies aimed at achieving greater equity in the distribution of income, a policy highly desirable in and of itself, may also, by augmenting country IQ, have the added beneficial effect of enhancing a country's creativity and economic growth.
Chilling-stress modifies DNA methylation level in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seedling radicle to regulate elongation rate

Abstract Seedlings have been used as an experimental model to understand plant response to chilling-stress. In this study, we investigated if the occurrence or severity of chilling injury correlated with genomic methylation state in cucumber radicles, using Methylation-Sensitive Amplification Polymorphism (MSAP) analysis. Radicles were chilled or treated with a methylation inhibitor, 5-azacytidine (AZA), or a combination thereof. Chilling cucumber radicles at 2.5 °C was marked by an immediate cessation in elongation and higher levels of genomic methylation. Rewarming was associated with a partial reversal of the methylation caused by chilling-stress, a decrease in genomic methylation to the same level as that before chilling, and to a resumption in radicle growth, but only to 18.6% of that without chilling. This cessation and recovery of elongation during and after chilling was also observed when radicles were treated with AZA. Under normal and rewarming conditions, 60% and 74% suppression of elongation were detected in AZA-treated radicles, respectively. Growth rate of the radicles was slowest in AZA-treated radicles after exposure to chilling-stress, suggesting a “double” suppressive effect due to the treatment combination. This was paralleled by methylation modifications at novel sites, with no change in the global methylation level, although the latter was expected to decrease as an effect of AZA. This work showed that DNA methylation is associated with, and may partially regulate, radicle elongation rate under chilling-stress, through a dynamic alteration of methylation pattern.
The Limits of Professional Speech

Professional speech is different from other types of speech. When professionals speak to their clients to give professional advice within the confines of a professional-client relationship, the law in many ways constrains what they may say. Professionals who give bad advice are subject to malpractice liability, and the First Amendment provides no defense; this creates liability for some forms of “false speech,” unknown in other areas of speech protected by the First Amendment. Professionals have fiduciary duties to their clients; such duties between speakers do not exist elsewhere in First Amendment doctrine. And the state may require professionals to obtain a license before they dispense advice; a similar requirement outside the context of a professional-client relationship would likely be an impermissible prior restraint. But professional speech can only bear the weight of these doctrinal peculiarities if it is narrowly defined. The definition of professional speech should not be expanded beyond the doctrine’s purpose: ensuring that clients receive accurate, comprehensive, and reliable advice in accordance with the insights of the relevant knowledge community. This Essay examines the limits of professional speech through the lens of NIFLA v. Becerra, a recent Supreme Court case that struck down compelled disclosure requirements at “crisis pregnancy centers” as a violation of the First Amendment.
Fanon and the Underside of Commodity Fetishism

In the present essay, I argue that portions of Frantz Fanon’s L’an V de la revolution algerienne (A Dying Colonialism) significantly contribute to, develop, and advance the Marxian theory of commodity fetishism. First, I describe and chart Fanon’s theorization of the transformations of the veil, the radio, and medicine in revolutionary Algeria, and map the homologous moments of each of these studies. Next, I give a brief synopsis of Marx’s account of commodity fetishism and argue that this theory leaves open questions about the way in which use-value plays a role in commodity fetishization in colonial contexts, and, by extension, in actual anticolonial political revolutions. The foregoing then paves the way for a re-evaluation of the central insights of Fanon’s studies of the veil, the radio, and medicine.
Perspective Illusions Based On Convergence Vectors.

When pictures containing perspective cues are viewed simultaneously, the visual system combines the perspective cues using convergence vectors creating perspective illusions.
Moral foundations and decisions to donate bonus to charity: Data from paid online participants in the United States

Abstract We present novel data linking other-regarding behavior outside of a laboratory with a participant's moral foundations, demographics, and opinions/awareness of social problems. These data were originally collected for Study 2 of O'Grady et al. (2019). Anonymous, paid participants were recruited through the online labor market Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Mturk workers located in the United States and meeting MTurk's “Masters Qualification” were offered $0.50 to complete a short survey. We used the moral foundations questionnaire (MFQ) developed by Graham et al. (2009) to classify participants based on their moral intuitions. After participants completed the MFQ and six diversion questions about their opinions and awareness of current social problems, we measured other-regarding behavior through an incentivized experiment. Respondents were awarded a $1 bonus and the option to donate any part of their bonus to a charity with the promise of a matching donation made by the researchers. Participants could only donate to one of three predefined charities and charity options were randomly assigned to respondents within three separate data collection waves. In addition, the dataset contains detailed information regarding situational details of the survey task including survey date, time of day, duration between worker request and recruitment, survey completion time, and performance on attention checks.
A Numerical Investigation of the Berg Feature on Uranus as a Vortex-Driven System

The Berg cloud feature in the atmosphere of Uranus was first identified as a persistent grouping of clouds located just off the bright South Polar Collar at a latitude of around −34 degrees. Ongoing observations of this feature through the 1990s and 2000s suggested that the feature was oscillating in location by a few degrees in latitude for several years, and then unexpectedly began to drift towards the equator, which continued over the final 4 years until the cloud dissipated. One possible explanation for such a persistent drifting cloud is that it is a cloud-vortex system, in which an unseen vortex drives the creation of the cloud and the motions of the vortex control the cloud location. To explore this possibility, a series of vortices are studied numerically using the Explicit Planetary Isentropic Coordinate General Circulation Model (EPIC GCM). The evolution of these test vortices are simulated to examine their drift rates and the potential for cloud formation. The results indicate that conditions on Uranus could result in an equatorward drifting vortex over a range of latitudes and that significant cloud formation could occur, potentially obscuring observations of the vortex.
MCT4 regulates de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis in GBM in a lactate-independent manner.

Background Necrotic foci with surrounding hypoxic cellular pseudopalisades and microvascular hyperplasia are histological features found in glioblastoma (GBM). We have previously shown that monocarboxylate transporter 4 (MCT4) is highly expressed in necrotic/hypoxic regions in GBM and that increased levels of MCT4 are associated with worse clinical outcomes. Methods A combined transcriptomics and metabolomics analysis was performed to study the effects of MCT4 depletion in hypoxic GBM neurospheres. Stable and inducible MCT4-depletion systems were used to evaluate the effects of and underlining mechanisms associated with MCT4 depletion in vitro and in vivo, alone and in combination with radiation. Results This study establishes that conditional depletion of MCT4 profoundly impairs self-renewal and reduces the frequency and tumorigenicity of aggressive, therapy-resistant, glioblastoma stem cells. Mechanistically, we observed that MCT4 depletion induces anaplerotic glutaminolysis and abrogates de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis. The latter results in a dramatic increase in DNA damage and apoptotic cell death, phenotypes that were readily rescued by pyrimidine nucleosides supplementation. Consequently, we found that MCT4 depletion promoted a significant prolongation of survival of animals bearing established orthotopic xenografts, an effect that was extended by adjuvant treatment with focused radiation. Conclusions Our findings establish a novel role for MCT4 as a critical regulator of cellular deoxyribonucleotide levels and provide a new therapeutic direction related to MCT4 depletion in GBM.
CCR5 inhibitor as novel acute graft versus host disease prophylaxis in children and young adults undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplant: results of the phase II study.

We report results of a phase II study of maraviroc to prevent acute graft versus host disease (GVHD) in children undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). Oral maraviroc was added to standard GVHD prophylaxis of a calcineurin inhibitor with either mycophenolate mofetil, methotrexate or steroids from day −3 until day +30 after HSCT. Maraviroc trough levels were analyzed on day 0, +7, 14, and 21. We assessed functional CCR5 blockade by our previously described pharmacodynamic assay. In total, 17 patients were enrolled prospectively. No patient had liver GVHD by day +100. Four patients developed gastrointestinal (GI) GVHD (Grade II upper GI GVHD n = 2, grade III lower GI GVHD n = 2). No adverse effects of maraviroc were observed. Seven patients discontinued maraviroc at a median of day +14 (range day +1–day +29) due to study rules regarding hepatotoxicity (n = 5), renal function decline (n = 1) and withdrawal from study (n = 1). Maraviroc administration led to CCR5 inhibition but was limited by study rules defining hepatotoxicity, leading to frequent drug discontinuation. We cannot comment on the efficacy of maraviroc with our data but speculate that it could have a role in prevention of acute GI GVHD, with adequate compliance.
Recent advances on synthesis and biomaterials applications of hyperbranched polymers

Hyperbranched polymers represent an intriguing class of shape-persistent soft nanomaterials that could be easily produced in one-pot reaction to obtain highly branched arborescent structures. Although traditional synthesis of hyperbranched polymers suffers from the poorly defined structures and broad molecular weight distribution, recent progress on synthesis methods allows the production of structurally defined polymers in tunable molecular weights, composition and degree of branching. This review summarizes the recent advance on synthesis of hyperbranched polymers and their applications as biomaterials in tissue engineering scaffolds, diagnostic probe carriers and drug delivery fields. This article is categorized under: Implantable Materials and Surgical Technologies > Nanomaterials and Implants Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology.
Forgetting Myself: Self-regarding Ethical Responsibilities in the Use of Memory Modifying Technologies

In his 2000 book The Ethics of Memory, Avishai Margalit (2002) argues that most of us have ethical obligations to remember particular others and events that are intertwined with our own lives. He i...
Antibiotic Stewardship in the Pediatric Dialysis Unit

Antibiotic stewardship has become a key intervention in combating the increasing rates of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. By 2050, it is estimated that ten million people worldwide will die annually from an antimicrobial resistant infection if nothing is done to improve the use of antimicrobials. In this chapter, data is presented demonstrating the increasing rates of antibiotic-resistant bacteria identified in children, though data is limited among pediatric dialysis patients. Additionally, the use of antibiotics in dialysis patients is described to be extensive though data is, again, limited among pediatric patients. Finally, antimicrobial stewardship strategies are discussed highlighting the many different potential interventions to improve the use of antimicrobials in children undergoing dialysis. Importantly, more data are needed on which antimicrobial stewardship strategies are effective in improving overall antimicrobial use in this population.
Opportunistic Screening of Patients for Hepatic Steatosis: Clinical Follow-Up and Diagnostic Yield.

Abstract Purpose Hepatic steatosis is a common incidental finding on abdominal imaging that is not always reported or recognized as having clinical significance. Because of its association with liver disease, cirrhosis, and diabetes, the aim of this study was to bring attention to this finding and provide clinical guidance to referring clinicians by inserting standardized text into radiology reports of patients with incidentally detected hepatic steatosis. Methods Patients with incidentally discovered hepatic steatosis on abdominal ultrasound or CT had standard text inserted into the impression sections of their diagnostic imaging reports. A total of 1,256 patients whose reports were tagged between April 2016 and September 2017 were retrospectively identified and their electronic medical records reviewed to determine subsequent acknowledgment in the medical record or clinical action in response to the tagged report. Information regarding patient demographics, the type of provider who ordered the examination, and the acuity of the examination results was also recorded. Results Acknowledgment and subsequent clinical action were more likely in patients whose examinations was ordered by primary care providers, whose examination results were not urgent, and who were in the ultrasound group. The overall diagnostic yield in patients who underwent clinical evaluation was nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in 70%, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in 6%, and alcoholic hepatitis in 17%. Conclusions Opportunistic screening for incidental hepatic steatosis on abdominal CT and ultrasound is feasible, with substantial yield for patients with clinically important entities including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.
Love and Other Conversions

Conversions, in Alasdair MacIntyre's view, allows the convert to understand something she could not understand before and to become something she could not be before. A conversion comes about, according to psychologist James E. Loder, through a "rupture in the knowing context," as exemplied in cases reported by Miller and C'de Baca in "Quantum Change." The author offers a phenomenological reading of his own conversions to love and belief in God as reported in his book, "God: An Autobiography, as Told by a Philosopher." The examination includes his earlier conversion from belief to non-belief. Is there a "logic" that guides conversion. Not exactly, but there is a heuristics, most fruitful when conceived in relation to what Eric Voegelin calls "the tension toward the divine."
Familial nephropathy in Bracchi Italiani: 8 cases (2012-2019).

OBJECTIVE To characterize the signalment, clinical signs, clinical pathological and histologic findings, and outcome in 8 related Bracchi Italiani with proteinuric kidney disease. ANIMALS 8 client-owned Bracchi Italiani. PROCEDURES Health records submitted to the Bracco Italiano Health Foundation and the Bracco Italiano Club of America between 2012 and 2019 were reviewed for dogs with evidence of nephropathy for which histologic diagnoses were obtained. Pedigree, signalment, clinical signs, diagnostic test results (including microscopic examination of kidney tissue samples collected ante- or postmortem), and outcome were acquired. Results were presented as descriptive statistics. RESULTS The most common clinical sign in affected dogs was inappetence. All dogs were proteinuric, and 4 dogs were azotemic. Seven dogs developed clinical signs of kidney disease and were euthanized a median of 75 days postdiagnosis. Six dogs had glomerular amyloidosis, and 1 dog each had nephrosclerosis and nonamyloidotic fibrillar glomerulopathy. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results indicated that the clinical presentation may vary in affected dogs, and proteinuria in young or middle-aged Bracchi Italiani should raise the concern for hereditary nephropathy. Prognosis is likely poor once clinical signs are noted.
LEYENDA DE SANTA CATALINA DE ALEJANDRIA EN DULCE DUEÑO: CONSTRUCCION DE LA NUEVA MUJER

Through a rereading of the legend of Santa Catalina de Alejandria, Emilia Pardo Bazan appropriates Nietzsche's philosophy; In Sweet Owner, he creates a new woman capable of overcoming patriarchal controls. With the incorporation of intellectual women into society, the author participates in the regenerationist movement that seeks to solve the problems of Spain at the end of the century.
Constraint on the Control Benefits of Brokerage: Evidence from U.S. Venture Capital Fundraising

This paper investigates how the control benefits of a broker’s structural position are constrained by the perceived quality of actors a broker may represent in an exchange. I propose that brokers prefer to represent high quality actors but also that the value an actor places on representation is inversely related to the actor’s perceived quality. This tension implies that neither the actors that value representation most nor the actors that brokers would most like to represent are most likely to be represented by a broker. I also propose that this quality constraint on the control benefits of brokerage is mitigated by the matching of reputable brokers with high quality actors. Empirical analyses of U.S. venture capital fundraising support the theory. The likelihood that a broker represents a firm’s venture fund first increases and then decreases with three different quality indicators: fund size, firm experience and firm status. Firms of greater perceived quality are also represented by more reputable brokers.
Multivariate Covariogram Models

When multiple variables are observed at various spatial locations, it may greatly improve spatial prediction if spatial cross correlation is employed. A multivariate covariogram is a matrix-valued function that consists of marginal and cross covariograms. This article provides some classes of multivariate covariogram models. Keywords: cokriging; covariogram; cross covariogram; linear coregionalization model; multivariate Matern model
Teaching Science to Children: An Inquiry Approach

This comprehensive, easy-to-use text contains more than 300 science activities for the classroom. The text’s focus on the inquiry approach ties it to the inquiry-oriented National Science Education Standards for science teaching issued by the National Research Council. Each of the inquiry activities contains combined discussions of methods and content, and the text helps students overcome science anxiety by showing them how easy it is to teach science using a simple, consistent three-step approach to each of the activities (set induction, investigation, and resolution). Table of contents PrefaceSafety in the Classroom Chapter 1: The Methods Chapter 2: Teaching All Children Science Chapter 3: Technology in the Science Classroom Chapter 4: Teaching Children about the Characteristics of Matter Chapter 5: Teaching Children about Heat Energy Chapter 6: Teaching Children about Static Electricity and Magnetism Chapter 7: Teaching Children about Current Electricity Chapter 8: Teaching Children about Sound Chapter 9: Teaching Children about Light, Lenses, and Color Chapter 10: Teaching Children about Simple Machines Chapter 11: Teaching Children about Air and Air Pressure and Flight Chapter 12: Teaching Children about Weather and Climate Chapter 13: Teaching Children about Space Science Chapter 14: Teaching Children about the Sun, Moon, and Stars Chapter 15: Teaching Children about the Earth (Geology) Chapter 16: Teaching Children about the Oceans Chapter 17: Teaching Children about Energy, Environment, and Pollution Chapter 18: Teaching Children about the Plant Kingdom Seeds Chapter 19: Teaching Children about the Animal Kingdom Chapter 20: Teaching Children about Nutrition and Health Chapter 21: Teaching Children about Fitness: The Heart, Lungs, and Muscles GlossaryIndex
Mental Imagery, Philosophical Issues about

Mental imagery, often informally described as ‘seeing in the mind's eye’, ‘visualization’, etc., is quasi-perceptual experience: it significantly resembles perceptual experience, but occurs in the absence of the appropriate perceptual stimuli. Keywords: intentionality; consciousness; representation; perception; memory
Less extensive techniques for repair of pectus carinatum: The undertreated chest deformity

BACKGROUND: Although patients with pectus carinatum (PC) often experience moderate to severe symptoms, there are sparse published data about the indications for correction, the newer techniques of surgical repair, and the results. This study reviews clinical experience with new, less extensive, open operative techniques for repair of PC. STUDY DESIGN: Since 1970, 154 patients (119 men and 35 women) with symptomatic PC (mean severity index 1.76) underwent correction at the UCLA Medical Center using modifications of the Ravitch repair. The last 60 consecutive patients had a less extensive open repair with resection of only small chips of cartilage medially and laterally, and suture reattachment of the remaining costal cartilages to the corrected sternum and ribs. For patients with chondromanubrial protrusion, two or three sternal osteotomies were used, and for those with concomitant lower sternal depression, a lower sternal wedge osteotomy was used. For most patients, a temporary support bar anterior to the sternum and cartilages was used for 6 months. RESULTS: Each of the 154 patients with reduced endurance or dyspnea with mild exercise experienced marked improvement within 6 months. There were no major recurrent deformities; six patients underwent minor surgical revision of localized persistent costal cartilage protrusion or depression. Postoperative complications in the last 60 patients were minor and less frequent, pain was less severe, hospitalization was shorter (mean 2.5 days), and postoperative results were better than when more extensive repairs were used in previous years. With a mean overall followup of 7.9 years, more than 97% of all patients experienced a very good or excellent result. CONCLUSIONS: New, less extensive, open techniques for repair of PC have low morbidity, short hospital stay, and very good physiologic and cosmetic results.
Transfer of Plasmids to an Antibiotic-Sensitive Mutant of Zymomonas mobilis

Wild-type strains of Zymomonas mobilis exhibit multiple antibiotic resistance and thus restrict the use of many broad-host-range plasmids in them as cloning vehicles. Antibiotic-sensitive mutants of Z. mobilis were isolated and used as hosts for the conjugal transfer of broad-host-range plasmids from Escherichia coli. Such antibiotic-sensitive strains can facilitate the application of broad-host-range plasmids to the study of Z. mobilis.
Simple Method for Preparation of Homogeneous Spore Suspensions Useful in Industrial Strain Selection

Homogeneous suspensions of streptomycete spores were desirable for plating after mutagenesis. Filtration through 8-μm membrane filters (Millipore Corp.) more effectively separated hyphae and spore clumps from single spores than did filtration through cotton wefts or paper.
Integrating Scalar Optimization and Parallelization

Compiling programs to use parallelism and memory hierarchy efficiently requires both parallelizing (high-level) transformations and traditional scalar (low-level) optimizations. Our compiler has only one intermediate language — SUIF (Stanford University Intermediate Form) — for both parallelization and scalar optimizations. Having only one intermediate language offers two advantages: no duplication of functions between the two levels, and availability of high-level information at the low-level. This paper shows how SUIF integrates the two levels of abstraction, and how the SUIF compiler is organized to take advantage of this integration.
Investigation of 9-switch dual-bridge matrix converter operating under low output power factor

The dual-bridge matrix converter (DBMC) concept has been gaining recognition as a promising circuit alternative. Among all the DBMC topologies with reduced number of switches, the 9-switch topology shows the least number of switches and high quality waveforms. However, it has been proven that this converter can not operate safely when the output power factor is less than 0.866. This paper proposes a novel method to operate the 9-switch DBMC with low output power factor loads. In order to accomplish this task, one additional clamp circuit switch is introduced to exchange power when the output power factor is lower than 0.866. With this switch, the 9-switch DBMC can continue to provide high quality input/output waveforms when the output power factor, is not too low. Theoretical analysis, simulation and experimental results are presented in the paper to verify its effectiveness.
Development of a Mobile Device Optimized Cross Platform-Compatible Oral Pathology and Radiology Spaced Repetition System for Dental Education

Combining active recall testing with spaced repetition increases memory retention. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare students' perception and utilization of an electronic spaced repetition oral pathology-radiology system in dental hygiene education and predoctoral dental education. The study employed an open-source suite of applications to create electronic "flashcards" that can be individually adjusted for frequency of repetition, depending on a user's assessment of difficulty. Accessible across multiple platforms (iOS, Android, Linux, OSX, Windows) as well as via any web-based browser, this framework was used to develop an oral radiology-oral pathology database of case-based questions. This system was introduced in two courses: sophomore oral pathology for dental students and sophomore radiology for dental hygiene students. Students were provided free software and/or mobile tablet devices as well as a database of 300 electronic question cards. Study participants were surveyed on frequency and extent of use. Perception-based surveys were used to evaluate their attitudes towards this technology. Of the eligible students, 12 of 22 (54.5%) dental hygiene and 49 of 107 (45.8%) dental students responded to the surveys. Adoption rates and student feedback were compared between the two groups. Among the respondents, acceptance of this technology with respect to educational usefulness was similar for the dental and dental hygiene students (median=5 on a five-point scale; dental hygiene interquartile range (IQR)=0; dental IQR=1). Only a minority of the survey respondents (25% dental, 33% dental hygiene) took advantage of one of the main benefits of this technology: automated spaced repetition.
Variables Affecting the Reintegration Rate of Students with Serious Emotional Disturbance

This study examined educational program and teacher variables to identify factors that predict the reintegration of students with serious emotional disturbance (SED) into less restrictive placements. Data on program demographics, reintegration orientation, teacher reintegration training, and teacher attitudes toward reintegration were collected from 162 special education teachers and 31 administrators in restrictive placements for K-12 students with SED. This information was compared to the reintegration rates of students in those schools through the use of a hierarchical set regression analysis. Results indicated that reintegration orientation, demographic characteristics of restrictive SED programs, and particular experiences/training of special educators predict the reintegration of students with SED into less restrictive programs.
MICO: an open source CORBA implementation

The Common Object Request Broker Architecture is a specification for creating, distributing, and managing distributed program objects across a network. Both the International Organization for Standardization and X/Open have sanctioned CORBA as the standard middleware architecture for distributed objects. CORBA was specifically designed to support heterogeneous environments, different vendors' products, and several popular programming languages. MICO is an OSS implementation of CORBA. Inspired by the GNU project, the name "MICO" stands for "MICO Is CORBA". MICO has evolved into a mature open source project, with close to a half million lines of source code contributed by more than 150 programmers. The author discusses MICO's internal architecture and then offers a few guidelines to choose the right CORBA implementation for your purposes.
Population Regulation in Young of the Year Crayfish, Procambarus Clarkii (Girard, 1852) (Decapoda, Cambaridae)

Es wurde untersucht, ob dichteabhangiges Wachstum und Kannibalismus Faktoren sind, die sich populationsregulierend auf einen Jahrgang des Fluskrebses Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852) auswirken konnen. Fluskrebse gleichen Geschlechts und etwa gleicher Korpergrose wurden in zwei Populationsdichten in kunstlichen Teichen ausgesetzt, die ein niedriges bzw. hohes Angebot an Ruckzugsmoglichkeiten (Verstecken) aufwiesen. Nahrungsangebot und Wasserqualitat waren so bemessen, das sie keine limitierenden Faktoren darstelten. Nach sechs Wochen erwies sich die Kannibalismusrate als unabhangig von der Dichte und vom unterschiedlichen Angebot an Ruckzugsmoglichkeiten. Auserdem erwiesen sich die Wachstumsraten der Fluskrebse eines Jahrgangs als unbeeinflust von den unterschiedlichen Gegebenheiten. Individuen von Procambarus clarkii konnen also auf Nahrungssuche gehen und gleichzeitig aggressive Auseinandersetzungen mit Artgenossen vermeiden.
Impact of interhospital transfers on outcomes in an academic medical center. Implications for profiling hospital quality.

The purpose of this article is to determine whether a widely implemented method of severity adjustment underestimated the risk of death and other outcomes among interhospital transfers (ie, patients transferred from other acute care hospitals) and to examine the impact of this potential bias on hosp
Vernakalant: A novel agent for the termination of atrial fibrillation.

Purpose The pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, safety, clinical efficacy, and role of intravenous vernakalant hydrochloride for the rapid conversion of atrial fibrillation (AF) to normal sinus rhythm are reviewed. Summary Vernakalant, currently being evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for the termination of atrial fibrillation, differs in pharmacology from other antiarrhythmics; it achieves action potential interference through blockade of sodium and potassium currents. Vernakalant’s actions appear to be directed at relatively atrial-selective potassium currents, which result in lengthening of the atrial action potential and prolongation of the atrial action potential plateau, while not significantly affecting the Q-T interval or the ventricular effective refractory period. As a result, the proarrhythmic effects observed with all other agents approved by FDA for the treatment of AF are eliminated. In clinical trials of vernakalant versus placebo, a statistically significant number of patients converted to normal sinus rhythm after receiving vernakalant. For patients with atrial fibrillation continuing for 3–72 hours, the median time to conversion was between 8 and 14 minutes, with 79% of those who converted remaining in sinus rhythm at 24 hours. Conclusion Intravenous vernakalant, a novel, relatively atrial-selective antiarrhythmic agent, appears to offer an effective and safe approach to the rapid conversion of recent-onset AF to normal sinus rhythm.
Capillaries of the nailfold of the toe in diabetes mellitus.

Abstract The nailbed capillaries of the fingers and toes were examined by biomicroscopy in 20 healthy offspring of two diabetic parents (“prediabetics”), in 20 patients with diabetes of long duration, 20 diabetic patients with proliferative retinopathy, and in 20 nondiabetic controls. The capillary loops of the toes were in general shorter and more tortuous than those of the fingers. Congestion of the venular limb of the loops in the toe was more common in the diabetics than in the controls. A “glomerulus” type lesion was found in 16 of the 40 diabetic patients, in one prediabetic, and in none of the controls. This latter lesion was particularly common in the patients with proliferative retinopathy and would appear to be related to diabetic angiopathy rather than to uncomplicated diabetes even of long duration.
The role of neuroimaging for the diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders

Neuroimaging comprises a set of tools, which include different types of magnetic resonance imaging such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS), Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL), and radiotracer imaging such as positron emission tomography and single photon emission computed tomography. The focus of this review is to address the question whether fMRI can contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders. Key anxiety processes and neural substrates are reviewed. The main findings and shortcomings of fMRI in the context of anxiety are briefly summarized. Finally, the next stages of developing fMRI for diagnosis and treatment are highlighted. The main conclusion of this review is that fMRI could become a clinical tool for the diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders, but neuroimaging groups will need to better develop its specificity and sensitivity so that fMRI results can be meaningful for an individual patient not just for groups of individuals.
Effects of Starvation on Normal Development of β-Hydroxybutyrate Dehydrogenase Activity in Foetal and Newborn Rat Brain

THE mitochondrial enzyme β-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (BDH) catalyses the conversion of β-hydroxybutyrate to acetoacetate, with the subsequent production of three molecules of adenosine triphosphate for every molecule of β-hydroxybutyrate oxidized. Recent evidence suggests that this energy-yielding reaction is important for maintaining the metabolism of the brain when the supply of glucose is chronically depleted. Owen et al.1 demonstrated that β-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate become the principal sources of energy for the brain in humans subjected to prolonged starvation. The transition from glucose to ketones as the primary substrate for oxidative metabolism in the central nervous system occurs without demonstrable cerebral dysfunction1.
Kinetic Mechanism of Translocation and dNTP Binding in Individual DNA Polymerase Complexes

Complexes formed between phi29 DNA polymerase (DNAP) and DNA fluctuate discretely between the pre-translocation and post-translocation states on the millisecond time scale. The translocation fluctuations can be observed in ionic current traces when individual complexes are captured atop the α-hemolysin nanopore in an electric field. The presence of complementary 2'-deoxynucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) shifts the equilibrium across the translocation step toward the post-translocation state. Here we have determined quantitatively the kinetic relationship between the phi29 DNAP translocation step and dNTP binding. We demonstrate that dNTP binds to phi29 DNAP-DNA complexes only after the transition from the pre-translocation state to the post-translocation state; dNTP binding rectifies the translocation but it does not directly drive the translocation. Based on the measured time traces of current amplitude, we developed a method for determining the forward and reverse translocation rates and the dNTP association and dissociation rates, individually at each dNTP concentration and each voltage. The translocation rates, and their response to force, match those determined for phi29 DNAP-DNA binary complexes and are unaffected by dNTP. The dNTP association and dissociation rates do not vary as a function of voltage, indicating that force does not distort the polymerase active site and that dNTP binding does not directly involve a displacement in the translocation direction. This combined experimental and theoretical approach and the results obtained provide a framework for separately evaluating the effects of biological variables on the translocation transitions and their effects on dNTP binding.
Oral care education in the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia: quality patient outcomes in the intensive care unit.

Background Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates in mechanically ventilated patients in the United States. Routine oral care has been shown to have a direct effect on reducing VAP rates. Methods Intensive care unit registered nurses attended educational sessions about oral care and also used online education modules. Nursing care involving 180 intubated patients was observed, and changes were noted in practices related to oral care. Results After the education intervention, the frequency of oral care increased significantly (p = .001) to tooth brushing every 4 hours and swabbing every 12 hours with 0.12% chlorhexidine solution. The evidence-based practice education intervention decreased VAP rates by 62.5%. Conclusion Significant reductions in VAP rates may be achieved through improved education and implementation of oral care protocols with 0.12% chlorhexidine solution.
Ask the Experts: How best to treat recurrent glioma.

Victor Alan Levin received his medical degree from the University of Wisconsin (1966), was a Staff Associate in the Experimental Therapeutics branch of the National Cancer Institute (1967–1969) and completed a residency and fellowship in the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital (1969–1972). After residency, he was recruited to the University of California, San Francisco in the Departments of Neurological Surgery, Neurology and Pharmaceutical Chemistry and the Clinical Pharmacology program. He was promoted to Professor of Neuro-oncology in the Department of Neurological Surgery and Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco. In 1988, he moved to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neuro-oncology to help develop multidisciplinary programs in neuro-oncology, pain management, cancer rehabilitation and cancer psychiatry. He was a founder of the Society for Neuro-Oncology...
Why do sinking mucilage aggregates accumulate in the water column

Abstract The formation of nuisance scums of mucilage on the ocean surface requires that the sinking mucilage aggregates which eventually form the scums first become neutrally buoyant so as to accumulate in the water column. We hypothesize that neutral buoyancy is attained by an aggregate sinking from a lower density surface layer into a higher density halocline if some proportion of the aggregate's volume is occupied by lower density mucus which is resistant to diffusion of salts and water. A model, based on the porosities, excess densities, and sinking rates of natural diatom aggregates obtained empirically, demonstrates that only 0.5–2% of the volume of an aggregate need be occupied by mucus for it to attain neutral buoyancy and accumulate at even modest pycnoclines. The model predicts accumulations at vertical density gradients increasing by only 1–3 σt, similar to vertical changes in density previously observed at the depths of mucus accumulations in the Adriatic Sea.
Mining the intersections of cognitive sociology and neuroscience

Abstract Over the past 50 years, cognitive neuroscience has emerged as the dominant player in research on thought. In an effort to keep their voices heard, social psychologists, anthropologists, political scientists and even economists have joined cognitive neuroscientists in lively dialog. But many sociologists are stubbornly clinging to the sidelines, honoring – and in some cases strengthening – rigid intellectual boundaries. Triggered by DiMaggio's (1997) well sounded call to action, a distinct group of sociologists are challenging such boundaries and pursuing a new path. In this essay, I discuss several recent works that constitute a new and powerful page in cognitive sociology, and more broadly, in the study of culture and cognition.
Vexed surgeons, perplexed patients, and breast cancers which may not be cancer

In situ cancer of the breast is being diagnosed with increasing frequency due to the widespread use of mammography and heightened awareness of these lesions among pathologists. Treatment of these preinvasive cancers is controversial in light of recent data supporting breast-conserving therapy for small invasive cancers. Therapy for in situ breast cancer is discussed with attention to known risk factors for recurrence and breast cancer-related mortality. The controversies surrounding treatment of ductal and lobular carcinoma in situ compel the conscientious oncologist to seek fully informed consent and to respect the individual patient's feelings about cosmesis and breast cancer risk. Hopefully, prospective randomized studies such as the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B-17 trial will relieve the oncology community of much of its confusion about the natural history and optimal therapy for these diseases.
The L1 Family of Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules: Old Proteins Performing New Tricks

I would like to thank my many colleagues who communicated their unpublished results and cDNA sequences to me or who suggested many improvements to the manuscript. Work in my laboratory is supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (HD29388).
Yttrium Oxide Nanoparticles Prepared by Alkalide Reduction

Y2O3 nanoparticles have been synthesized by subambient homogeneous reduction using alkalide solutions and subsequent oxidation. As synthesized, the material consists of free flowing, well-defined 1...
Organic and black carbon 13C and 14C through the Santa Monica Basin sediment oxic-anoxic transition

Black carbon (BC) is a significant percentage of sedimentary organic carbon (SOC) at abyssal ocean sites, but its presence in shelf sediments is not well studied. Approximately 1600AD, Santa Monica Basin bottom waters shifted from oxic to very low oxygen (dysoxic) deposition conditions. Under oxic deposition conditions BC was 11 ± 4% of SOC, whereas after the overlying water became dysoxic (and sediments became anoxic), BC was 5.2 ± 1.2% of SOC. This shift may reflect the preferential remineralization of non-black SOC under oxic conditions. There is an offset between BC and SOC 14C ages which changes with oxidation conditions, suggesting that BC storage is related to oxygen exposure and confirming a previously published report of the vulnerability of BC to sedimentary oxidation [ Middelburg, 1999]. Terrestrial carbon is 17 ± 5% of total SOC in this core's anoxic region, and 31 ± 11% of this terrestrial carbon is BC.