cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
"Dental tourism": issues surrounding cross-border travel for dental care.

When I visit my dentist I travel 4 kilometres from my residence to her office. My experience is commonplace; many Canadians commute from their homes or workplaces to see a nearby dentist. Although our coffee might come from Colombia and our clothes from China, for most of us dental care is as local as the neighbourhood grocery store, library or community centre. However, for some people, obtaining affordable dental care involves travel to another country. Journalists call these travellers “dental tourists.” Americans visit dentists in such Mexican border towns as Ciudad Juarez, Los Algodones, Nogales and Tijuana.1–3 Australians fly to Thailand for inexpensive dental care. People from England, Ireland and Wales journey to clinics in Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary and Poland. In general, patients travel from higher-cost settings to regions where care is comparatively less expensive, and the price differential must be significant. Most “dental tourists” travel for treatment when the total cost of dental care, meals, accommodations, transportation and other expenses is less than the price of local care. The Internet facilitates cross-border dental care. Dental tourism companies advertise “allinclusive” travel packages that include dental procedures, hotel room reservations, side trips to tourist attractions and airline tickets. Dental clinics also use the web to attract international clients. People who consider travelling for dental care use the Internet to email sales representatives, submit digital images and negotiate prices. Given the size of the U.S. population and the proximity of the country to low-cost dental clinics in Mexico, far more Americans than Canadians presumably travel in search of affordable dental care. Nonetheless, Canadian snowbirds are among the customers seeking inexpensive care in Mexican clinics located adjacent to the borders of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas.4 An Ottawa-based company, The InciDental Tourist, sells dental tourism packages to China.5 The company states that care costing $8,400 in Canada is available in Nanjing for $1,840.6 Several Canadian medical tourism companies also market dental tourism “deals.”7–9 It is not surprising that dental tourism companies use patient testimonials to tout cost savings, customer satisfaction and quality of care. In turn, some dentists argue that inexpensive cross-border dental care is sometimes substandard. 10,11 They report encountering patients who have experienced serious complications as a result of obtaining low-priced dental care. Dental tourism companies respond to these criticisms by asserting that local dentists are merely protecting their own economic interests when they impugn “Dental Tourism”: Issues Surrounding Cross-Border Travel for Dental Care
Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Method for the Quantification of β-Casein Fragment (f 193-209)

: Bitter cheese extract was incubated with cell-free extract of Lactobacillus helveticus strain WSU19. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) analysis showed an intense peak at m/z-1880 that was markedly reduced after a 24-h incubation, as was bitterness. The m/z-1880 peptide was identified as β-casein (f193-209). Synthetic β-casein (f193-209) was mixed with internal standards, asparagine or deuterated glutamine substitution in β-casein (f193-209). Concentration ratios of β-casein (f193-209) to internal standard were plotted against signal ratios. Plots were linear for both internal standards. This study shows that MALDI-TOF is a rapid method for measuring a specific peptide in cheese and may be useful for assessing cheese ripening and screening cultures for debittering activity.
SEXUAL SEGREGATION RESULTS IN DIFFERENCES IN CONTENT AND QUALITY OF BISON (BOS BISON) DIETS

We examined diets of bison (Bos bison) bulls, cows, juveniles, and calves to determine differences in quality of diets between groups. Our results showed that bulls had a significantly higher proportion of C4 grasses in their diet than cows, juveniles, or calves. Diets of calves were of higher quality than diets of bulls, cows, or juveniles. Our results provide support for the sexual dimorphism‐body size hypothesis of sexual segregation in large ungulates.
Styrene and polystyrene microemulsions. I. Solubility in the W/O system

The solubility of styrene, its oligomers, and different molecular weight polymers was determined in W/O microemulsions stabilized by sodium dodecyl sulfate and pentanol. The results showed a complex pattern due to the interactions with pentanol, surfactant, and associated structures.
Highly sensitive detection of DMMP using a CMUT-based chemical sensor

We present ppt-level detection of dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), a common simulant used in detector calibrations for sarin gas, using a new capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) design with a mass sensitivity improved from 130 zg/Hz/µm2 to 48.8 zg/Hz/µm2. A low-noise oscillator using the CMUT as the frequency selective component exhibits an Allan deviation of 0.55 Hz at the presence of air flow. The CMUT resonant sensor was functionalized with a 50-nm thick proprietary polymer layer (Sandia National Laboratory, Albuquerque, NM). Our sensor performance was reliably measured at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory where the accurate delivery of low concentrations of gases was ensured through stringent calibrations. Our sensor response to various concentrations of DMMP in air (10 ppb-1 ppm) showed an excellent volume sensitivity of 30.6 pptv/Hz. Based on the system noise floor, we achieved a mass resolution of 26.9 zg/µm2 and a limit of detection of 16.8 pptv. In addition, the sensor showed good selectivity to DMMP.
Enzyme synthesis in the cotyledons of germinating seeds.

Abstract It has been shown that the increase in the activities of a phosphatase and an amylase in the cotyledons of germinating peas is the result of a process which is energy dependent and inhibited by chloramphenicol and p -fluoro-phenylalanine. It is concluded that these increased activities represent a net synthesis of enzyme-proteins. The phosphatase studied is rather specific for adenosine triphosphate and adenosine diphosphate and is maximally activated by cadmium ions.
Vapor Intrusion Investigation at a Site in New Jersey: A Field Study

AbstractA vapor intrusion investigation was conducted at a New Jersey site contaminated with tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE). Several residential and commercial buildings are nearby and may be impacted, including a middle school, a learning center, and a church. Groundwater water samples were collected from the site and analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Based on the results of the groundwater samples, subslab soil gas and indoor samples were collected from the buildings located in the area surrounding the site and analyzed for VOCs by using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Method TO-15. The analytical data were compared against background ambient air data and the soil gas and indoor air data were compared against New Jersey state screening levels. Both PCE and TCE were found above screening levels in groundwater and subslab soil gas samples. It is recommended that further groundwater and vapor intrusion investigations be performed at the nearby buildings and an appr...
Precision and accuracy of EO-1 Advanced Land Imager (ALI) data for semiarid vegetation studies

Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data and spectral mixture analysis have been used to estimate vegetation green cover in the Great Basin, western United States, to /spl plusmn/4.0% green cover (%GC). In this paper, we compare estimates of percent green cover derived from EO-1 Advanced Land Imager (ALI) data to estimates derived from field-based analyses and to results derived from Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+) data. These analyses define the precision and accuracy of ALI and ETM+ for making quantitative measurements of earth for semiarid ecological studies. The benefits of using ALI were not observed in the calculated uncertainty values (/spl plusmn/5.61%GC and /spl plusmn/6.15%GC for ETM+ and ALI, respectively). However, ALI did not return as many negative green cover estimates and exhibited lower spatial variance in regions of low green cover. These results were attributed to the better signal to noise and data precision inherent to the ALI sensor, and not to the increased number of multispectral bands. ALI was found to be internally inconsistent in that the third sensor chip assembly image swath contained multispectral band coregistration errors. This caused a less than 25%GC error in the ALI estimate of percent green cover along large vegetation gradients.
Tumor Associated Macrophages Protect Colon Cancer Cells from TRAIL-Induced Apoptosis through IL-1β- Dependent Stabilization of Snail in Tumor Cells

Background: We recently reported that colon tumor cells stimulate macrophages to release IL-1b, which in turn inactivates GSK3b and enhances Wnt signaling in colon cancer cells, generating a self-amplifying loop that promotes the growth of tumor cells. Principal Findings: Here we describe that macrophages protect HCT116 and Hke-3 colon cancer cells from TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Inactivation of IL-1b by neutralizing IL-1b antibody, or silencing of IL-1b in macrophages inhibited their ability to counter TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Accordingly, IL-1b was sufficient to inhibit TRAIL-induced apoptosis. TRAIL-induced collapse of the mitochondrial membrane potential (Dy) and activation of caspases were prevented by macrophages or by recombinant IL-1b. Pharmacological inhibition of IL-1b release from macrophages by vitamin D3, a potent chemopreventive agent for colorectal cancer, restored the ability of TRAIL to induce apoptosis of tumor cells cultured with macrophages. Macrophages and IL-1b failed to inhibit TRAIL-induced apoptosis in HCT116 cells expressing dnIkB, dnAKT or dnTCF4, confirming that they oppose TRAIL-induced cell death through induction of Wnt signaling in tumor cells. We showed that macrophages and IL-1b stabilized Snail in tumor cells in an NF-kB/Wnt dependent manner and that Snail deficient tumor cells were not protected from TRAIL-induced apoptosis by macrophages or by IL-1b, demonstrating a crucial role of Snail in the resistance of tumor cells to TRAIL. Significance: We have identified a positive feedback loop between tumor cells and macrophages that propagates the growth and promotes the survival of colon cancer cells: tumor cells stimulate macrophages to secrete IL-1b, which in turn, promotes Wnt signaling and stabilizes Snail in tumor cells, conferring resistance to TRAIL. Vitamin D3 halts this amplifying loop by interfering with the release of IL-1b from macrophages. Accordingly, vitamin D3 sensitizes tumor cells to TRAILinduced apoptosis, suggesting that the therapeutic efficacy of TRAIL could be augmented by this readily available chemopreventive agent.
Objective Features of Introductory Psychology Textbooks as Related to Professors' Impressions.

A sample of 43 introductory psychology texts was identified and 29 objective features were measured (e.g., manuscript length and number of references), yielding normative and comparative data. Thes...
Venous thromboembolism bundle: Risk assessment and prophylaxis for obstetric patients

While venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a leading cause of severe maternal morbidity and mortality, maternal death from VTE is amenable to prevention. Thromboprophylaxis is the most readily implementable means of systematically reducing the maternal death rate, and protocols that identify at-risk women have led to a significant reduction in maternal deaths from VTE. Strategies to prevent VTE require minimal resources. A multidisciplinary working group convened as part of American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' District II Safe Motherhood Initiative reviewed research evidence and major society thromboprophylaxis guidelines and identified clinical strategies to reduce maternal VTE risk. This review provides recommendations for VTE prophylaxis and describes suggested clinical strategies for office and hospital-based implementation.
Neuronal effects of the speecheasy treatment for stuttering

MEG imaging was used to localize brain regions activated during language processing in subjects who stutter with and without the use of the SpeechEasy device (compared to non-stuttering control subjects). This study was done to determine if the SpeechEasy device actually alters cortical processing when it helps relieve the symptoms of stuttering. Stuttering is a disruption in speech production, characterized by repetition, blocks or prolongation. The SpeechEasy is an in-the-ear auditory feedback device demonstrated to enhance fluency in people who stutter. It combines delayed auditory feedback with frequency altered feedback to create a choral effect, which occurs when people who stutter speak or sing in unison with others and the stutter is dramatically reduced or even eliminated. Eight stuttering subjects and five control subjects underwent MEG imaging to detect cortical activity during verb generation (VG) and single word speaking aloud (SA) tasks. MEG data analyses were performed utilizing a distributed source model (MR-FOCUSS) and displayed on a standard MRI brain image. These results indicated that VG task activates Wernicke’s similarly regardless of the SpeechEasy device in the supramarginal gyrus (SMG). The SA tasks activated Broca’s areas with a longer delay with the SpeechEasy device in place than without the use of the device (487 vs. 479ms). Greater activation in Broca’s area was seen with the use of the SpeechEasy device. The main aim of this study is to establish the efficacy of specific MEG imaging techniques in determining the structure, activation sequence, and strength of neuronal interaction modulations during language processing with and without the SpeechEasy device. This study of MEG neuroimaging has increased our understanding of how choral effects, from the SpeechEasy device, impact the process of stuttering.
Melodic Contour Identification Training in Cochlear Implant Users with and without a Competing Instrument

For cochlear implant (CI) patients, music perception can be especially difficult when multiple instruments are played. The relatively poor spectro-temporal resolution does not allow CI patients access to pitch and timbre cues that may be used to segregate and stream competing melodies and instruments. Auditory training improves CI users' melodic pitch perception. Given the more difficult and more common listening condition of multi-instrument music, it may be more beneficial to train with multiple instruments than with a single instrument. In this study, CI subjects were trained to identify melodic contours. One group (“no masker”) trained while listening only to the target contours. The other group (“masker”) trained while listening to target contours presented with a competing masker. Before training, baseline melodic contour identification was measured with and without a masker; the timing, pitch, and timbre of the masker was systematically varied. Subjects trained at home for a total of 10 hours during the 1-month training period. Results showed that baseline performance was poorer with the masker than without, and that performance improved with both training methods. However, the magnitude of improvement was greater for the masker group, suggesting that the more difficult training provided better outcomes.
The Use of Diffusion Imaging to Detect Microstructure in the Preterm Brain

Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging utilizes the translational motion of water within tissue to provide information on a variety of tissue characteristics, including microstructure. It provides quantitative measures that reflect the normal maturational changes of brain microstructure, as well as the impact of brain injury. These applications make diffusion imaging a particularly attractive tool for evaluating preterm infants. In this review, we discuss the basic concepts underlying diffusion imaging, commonly used terminology, and the use of diffusion imaging to evaluate tissue microstructure in preterm neonates.
Importance of Each Residue within Secretin for Receptor Binding and Biological Activity

Secretin is a linear 27-residue peptide hormone that stimulates pancreatic and biliary ductular bicarbonate and water secretion by acting at its family B G protein-coupled receptor. While, like other family members, the carboxyl-terminal region of secretin is most important for high affinity binding and its amino-terminal region is most important for receptor selectivity and receptor activation, determinants for these activities are distributed throughout the entire length of this peptide. In this work, we have systematically investigated changing each residue within secretin to alanine and evaluating the impact on receptor binding and biological activity. The residues most critical for receptor binding were His1, Asp3, Gly4, Phe6, Thr7, Ser8, Leu10, Asp15, Leu19, and Leu23. The residues most critical for biological activity included His1, Gly4, Thr7, Ser8, Glu9, Leu10, Leu19, Leu22, and Leu23, with Asp3, Phe6, Ser11, Leu13, Asp15, Leu26, and Val27 also contributing. While the importance of residues in positions analogous to His1, Asp3, Phe6, Thr7, and Leu23 is conserved for several closely related members of this family, Leu19 is uniquely important for secretin. We, therefore, have further studied this residue by molecular modeling and molecular dynamics simulations. Indeed, the molecular dynamics simulations showed that mutation of Leu19 to alanine was destabilizing, with this effect greater than that observed for the analogous position in the other close family members. This could reflect reduced contact with the receptor or an increase in the solvent-accessible surface area of the hydrophobic residues in the carboxyl terminus of secretin as bound to its receptor.
Lysophosphatidylcholine-Induced Vascular Relaxation and Production of cGMP are Mediated by Endothelium-Derived Relaxing Factor

Endothelial cells produce powerful vasorelaxant substances, among them an endothelium-derived relaxing factor that is believed to be nitric oxide. It relaxes vascular smooth muscle via activation of guanylate cyclase and a subsequent rise in cyclic GMP level. Lysophosphatidylcholine is a potent endothelium-dependent vascular smooth muscle relaxant. Its action, similar to that of endothelium-derived relaxing factor, mediates an increase of cGMP in smooth muscle cells. The experiments reported here demonstrate that inhibitors of nitric oxide formation, such as N-omega-nitro-L-arginine and its methyl ester, inhibit relaxation and cyclic GMP formation by lysophosphatidylcholine in bovine pulmonary artery strips with intact endothelium in a dose-dependent manner. N-omega-Nitro-D-arginine methyl ester does not inhibit relaxation; L-arginine, but not D-arginine, reverses the effect of N-omega-nitro-L-arginine and its methyl ester. It is concluded that lysophosphatidylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation is endothelium-derived relaxing factor-mediated.
Extending dynamic network theory to group and social interaction analysis Uncovering key behavioral elements, cycles, and emergent states

This article proposes a markedly new conceptual approach to group and social interaction analysis, grounded in transformative advances in dynamic network theory. The framework first theoretically i...
Developmental Correlates of Microcephaly

Developmental and motor function at age 2 years of 958 children born before the 28th week of gestation were assessed at Boston and Harvard Universities and other centers, comparing those with microcephaly at birth or 2 years with children with normal head circumference.
Airway Inflammation in the Donor Prior to Explant Increases the Risk of Primary Graft Dysfunction

s S101 for recipients from donors aged 55-64 and donors over 64 years of age were 1.15 (95% CI 1.08-1.21, p 64 years of age had clinically relevant reductions in long-term survival. In light of these data, it should be further investigated whether and how the acceptable donor age can be safely increased to 64 years, which would have the potential to significantly expand the pool of donor lungs.
Dicer and Its Functions in RNA Interference

RNA Interference is a sequence-specific RNA degradation process mediated by double-stranded RNA.Dicer,a member of RNase Ⅲ family,plays an important role in the initial steps of RNA Interference.Dicer,including Dicer-1 and Dicer-2,was first discovered in Drosophila.Two complexes,Dicer-1/R3D1-L and Dicer-2/R2D2 can produce microRNA(miRNA)and small interfering RNA(siRNA)respectively.In addition to its function in RNAi,Dicer also regulates reproductive development in animals.
Analysis of lymphatic protein flux data. V. Unique PS products and sigma dS at low lymph flows

The selectivity of the capillary membrane to protein (osmotic reflection coefficient, sigma d) can be measured at high transcapillary volume flow when the capillary membrane can be considered as a true sieve. However, the diffusive capacity of the membrane (permeability-surface area product, PS) for macromolecules has not been directly measured, only estimated by assuming that transcapillary volume flow was zero. Based on unique properties of the Peclet number, a parameter that describes the ratio of solute convective flux relative to diffusive capacity, we have developed three new techniques using lymph protein fluxes to estimate a unique PS product that is independent of transcapillary fluid flux. Two of these techniques require a measure of sigma d when the ratio of protein concentration in lymph relative to plasma is equal to (1- sigma d), which occurs at high capillary filtration rates. However, the third method allows both sigma d and the PS product to be determined at relatively low lymph flow rates, eliminating the need for high capillary pressures to determine sigma d. For each protein, these techniques yield an estimate of PS and sigma d for the total membrane. However, by analysis of several different sized proteins and estimation of small- and large-pore volume flows, sigma d and PS can be determined separately for the small- and large-pore pathways. These techniques for estimating sigma d and PS were evaluated by modeling the total solute flux of albumin and immunoglobulins G and M in a heteroporous membrane.
Inhibition of Gastric Acid Secretion in Man by the Transcranial Application of Low Intensity Pulsed Current

This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of transcranial electrotherapy (TCE) in reducing gastric secretion in man. TCE has been proposed as a therapeutic modality which induces a relaxed psychological state by the application of low intensity diffuse electrical current and has been purported by Soviet investigators to be beneficial in the treatment of peptic ulcers. Secretion rates were monitored in adult male volunteers by a method of intragastric titration utilizing a pH-sensitive telemetry capsule. In one study 5 subjects had their basal secretion rates monitored before, during, and after the application of TCE at graduated current intensities. A threshold of inhibition was observed for currents of 0.9 ma and greater. In a second study, 12 subjects had histamine-stimulated maximum acid output determined for control and during TCE application. Gastric acid secretion was reduced by an average of 30% when 1-ma TCE was applied, with individual reductions ranging from 5.7% to 53.2%. Since the application of relatively high TCE currents may produce discomfort in some subjects, a third study was conducted to determine whether the inhibition might not merely be the result of nonspecific noxious stimuli. For this study the electrical connections to the TCE electrodes were altered so that the same uncomfortable sensation was produced on the forehead, but no current was actually applied transcranially. This "placebo" TCE produced no reduction in the maximal acid output of 6 volunteers, but when the currents were applied transcranially, the gastric acid secretion was reduced by an average of 27% below control values.
A Prospective Study of Alcohol Consumption and Smoking and the Risk of Major Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Men

Background and Aims Data regarding smoking and alcohol consumption and risk of gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) are sparse and conflicting. We assessed the risk of major GIB associated with smoking and alcohol consumption in a large, prospective cohort. Methods We prospectively studied 48,000 men in the Health Professional follow-up Study (HPFS) who were aged 40–75 years at baseline in 1986. We identified men with major GIB requiring hospitalization and/or blood transfusion via biennial questionnaires and chart review. Results We documented 305 episodes of major GIB during 26 years of follow-up. Men who consumed >30 g/day of alcohol had a multivariable relative risk (RR) of 1.43 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.88–2.35; P for trend 0.006) for major GIB when compared with nondrinkers. Alcohol consumption appeared to be primarily related to upper GIB (multivariable RR for >30 g/day vs. nondrinkers was 1.35; 95% CI, 0.66–2.77; P for trend 0.02). Men who consumed ≥ 5 drinks/week vs. < 1 drink/month of liquor had a multivariable RR of 1.72 (95% CI, 1.26–2.35, P for trend <0.001). Wine and beer were not significantly associated with major GIB. The risk of GIB associated with NSAIDs/aspirin use increased with greater alcohol consumption (multivariable RR 1.37; 95% CI, 0.85–2.19 for 1-14g/day of alcohol, RR 1.75; 95% CI, 1.07–2.88 for ≥ 15g/day compared to nondrinkers). Smoking was not significantly associated with GIB. Conclusions Alcohol consumption, but not smoking, was associated with an increased risk of major GIB. Associations were most notable for upper GIB associated with liquor intake. Alcohol appeared to potentiate the risk of NSAID-associated GIB.
Identifying Indicators for Fatigue Cracking in Hot-Mix Asphalt Pavements Using Viscoelastic Continuum Damage Principles

A critical distress in asphalt concrete pavements is fatigue cracking, which results in decreased ride quality and fuel economy, and provides an avenue for water intrusion, which causes a pavement system to deteriorate rapidly. Given the poor state of the infrastructure network, changes are needed in the current mixture design process to promote innovation and alternative approaches to production. This study addressed this need by pursuing the following objectives: (a) relate mixture stiffness, fatigue, and pavement system characteristics for performance-based mixture design; (b) identify a simplified viscoelastic continuum damage (S-VECD) output parameter that most clearly distinguishes between poor and satisfactory performance when combined with dynamic modulus information; and (c) evaluate the impact of recycled materials on performance indicators for fatigue cracking. The results show that a pavement structure selection process related to the S-VECD failure criterion produces better performance predic...
Gaps in Patient Knowledge About Risks and Benefits of Testosterone Replacement Therapy.

Objective To assess patient knowledge of the symptoms of testosterone deficiency, and the benefits and risks associated with testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Methods An anonymous, 10-question multiple choice survey was administered to consecutive patients presenting for urologic evaluation at an academic medical center, from December 2015 to April 2016. The survey included questions about perceived symptoms of testosterone deficiency, perceived benefits and risks associated with TRT, whether respondents had a diagnosis of testosterone deficiency, and whether they were interested in receiving TRT. Results The survey response rate was 88% (97/110). The median age group was 41-50 years. Although 43% of all respondents reported an interest in TRT, only half of them had a clinical diagnosis of hypogonadism. The most commonly reported symptoms of low testosterone were “low energy” (54%), “decreased libido” (51%), “weak erections” (52%), and “decreased strength” (42%). Of the perceived benefits of TRT, the most commonly reported were “improved sexual function” (54%), “increased energy” (53%), and “feeling better” (51%). Half of the respondents were unsure of the risks of TRT. Of the respondents, 16%, 10%, and 8% acknowledged the association between TRT and heart attack, TRT and stroke, and TRT and blood clots, respectively. Conclusion There is disproportionate knowledge about the benefits vs the risks associated with TRT among patients. Although 43% of the respondents were interested in receiving TRT, half of the respondents were unsure of the associated risks. These findings indicate an ongoing need for patient education regarding TRT.
Questionnaires and Checklists

Assessment instruments that are completed by adults in reference to a child’s behavior can be used by clinicians to assess children’s behavioral problems and psychological characteristics. Surveys of clinicians from different therapeutic orientations indicate that rating scales and checklists are helpful in their clinical practice (Piotrowski & Keller, 1984; Wade & Baker, 1977). Yet, in a survey of child clinical and school psychologists’ assessment methods for children with hyperactive characteristics, interviews, behavioral observations, standardized IQ tests, and drawing tasks were preferred over checklists (Rosenberg & Beck, 1986). As discussed throughout this book, one assessment method should not be considered superior and used independently of other assessment strategies. Yet, given the attractive features of checklists, it is surprising that these instruments are not used more extensively by clinicians. Checklists have also often been ignored in previous discussions of child behavior assessment (Wilson & Prentice-Dunn, 1981).
Horseshoe bats and Old World leaf-nosed bats have two discrete types of pinna motions.

Horseshoe bats (Rhinolophidae) and the related Old World leaf-nosed bats (Hipposideridae) both show conspicuous pinna motions as part of their biosonar behaviors. In the current work, the kinematics of these motions in one species from each family (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum and Hipposideros armiger) has been analyzed quantitatively using three-dimensional tracking of landmarks placed on the pinna. The pinna motions that were observed in both species fell into two categories: In “rigid rotations” motions the geometry of the pinna was preserved and only its orientation in space was altered. In “open–close motions” the geometry of the pinna was changed which was evident in a change of the distances between the landmark points. A linear discriminant analysis showed that motions from both categories could be separated without any overlap in the analyzed data set. Hence, bats from both species have two separate types of pinna motions with apparently no transitions between them. The deformations associated with ...
Comparison of Clustering Techniques for Residential Energy Behavior using Smart Meter Data

Author(s): Jin, L; Lee, D; Sim, A; Borgeson, S; Wu, K; Spurlock, CA; Todd, A | Abstract: Current practice in whole time series clustering of residential meter data focuses on aggregated or sub sampled load data at the customer level, which ignores day-to-day differences within customers. This information is critical to determine each customer's suitability to various demand side management strategies that support intelligent power grids and smart energy management. Clustering daily load shapes provides fine-grained information on customer attributes and sources of variation for subsequent models and custom-er segmentation. In this paper, we apply 11 clustering methods to daily residential meter data. We evaluate their parameter settings and suitability based on 6 generic performance metrics and post-checking of resulting clusters. Finally, we recommend suitable techniques and parameters based on the goal of discovering diverse daily load patterns among residential customers. To the authors' knowledge, this paper is the first robust comparative review of clustering techniques applied to daily residential load shape time series in the power systems literature.
F2F: Reliable storage in open networks

A major hurdle to deploying a distributed storage infrastructure in peer-to-peer systems is storing data reliably using nodes that have little incentive to remain in the system. We argue that a node should choose its neighbors (the nodes with which it shares resources) based on existing social relationships instead of randomly. This approach provides incentives for nodes to cooperate and results in a more stable system which, in turn, reduces the cost of maintaining data. The cost of this approach is decreased flexibility and storage utilization. We describe our approach and sketch two applications for which this approach is viable: a cooperative backup system and a
Asynchronous fault diagnosis of Discrete Event Systems

In this paper, a novel diagnoser is developed for diagnosing Discrete Event Systems (DESs) to detect, identify, and locate the occurred faults. In contrast to existing diagnosis techniques, the proposed diagnoser is capable of diagnosing faults that occur prior to and/or after the diagnoser's activation; thus allowing the diagnoser and the understudied system to be initialized asynchronously. Illustrative examples are provided to explain the construction of the proposed diagnoser.
Universality of the elastic net error

We consider the problem of reconstructing a vector x 0 ∊ Rn from noisy linear observations y = Ax o + w, where A ∊ Rm×n is a known operator and w is a noise vector, using the elastic net method. Assuming that A is random with independent and identically distributed entries, and under suitable moment conditions, we prove the following universality result. In the high-dimensional asymptotics n→∞ and m/n → δ > 0, the normalized error of the elastic net minimizer converges in probability to a limit, that does not depend on the exact distribution that the entries are drawn from. We also provide an explicit formula for the limit.
Introduction to the Special Issue on Single-Case Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses:

This special issue provides an update on recent conceptual and methodological developments for conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of single-case research. In this introductory article,...
Complements on Physics

The appendix recalls some special topics in theoretical physics that are referred to in the main text. They are neither self-contained nor complete.
Roles of aminium radical intermediates in the biotransformation of dihydropyridines, cycloalkylamines, and N,N -dimethylanilines by cytochrome P -450 enzymes

Cytochrome P-450 (P-450) enzymes catalyse oxidation of a wide variety of amines, many of which are important drugs and carcinogens (Kadlubar and Hammons, 1987; Nelson and Harvison, 1987Guengerich, 1988; Butler et al., 1989Shimada et al., 1989). Products of the oxidation of different amines include hydroxylamines, N-oxides, pyridines, dealkylation products and other compounds. A proper understanding of the catalytic mechanism of P-450 is important in rationalizing and predicting what metabolites will be formed and what consequences will result from biotransformation. Although several mechanisms are theoretically possible for the oxidation of amines, several lines of evidence indicate that a pathway involving initial abstraction of a non-bonded electron predominates (Guengerich and Macdonald, 1984). The general mechanism of amine N-dealkylation which is now most widely accepted is shown in Fig. 9.1 where a P-450 high valent iron/oxygen complex is depicted as [FeO]3+.
Novel Trial Design in Sepsis

Large, randomized clinical trials in sepsis have found few successful therapeutics in the past decade. Traditional randomized trials of novel therapies, both in sepsis and in other fields, typically test a single drug or intervention in a single, and often narrowly defined, patient population, randomizing patients evenly to intervention versus control. Newer designs in other fields have incorporated features to improve efficiency, such as the testing of multiple agents with a common control arm, the testing of a single agent within different patient subgroups, or the testing of agents within patients with different diseases but common mechanisms of action. Other features include randomization schemes that adapt over time, typically using Bayesian inference rules, to preferentially assign better performing agents within different subgroups. These designs may be ideal to test new precision interventions in sepsis phenotypes, although rapid patient phenotyping will be required to enable more sophisticated randomization schemes. Electronic health records found in many large healthcare systems are well-positioned to help deploy adaptive trials with point-of-care efficiency.
Thyroidectomy in older adults: an American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program study of outcomes.

BACKGROUND The growth of the US geriatric population coupled with the rise in thyroid nodular disease and cancer will result in an increased number of thyroidectomies performed in older adults. We aim to evaluate outcomes after thyroidectomy in older adults as compared with younger adults. METHODS A retrospective cohort study using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database from 2012-2015 categorized thyroidectomy patients into three age groups: 18-64 y, 65-79 y, and ≥80 y. Thirty-day perioperative outcomes were analyzed using bivariate χ2 test and multivariate logistic regression to estimate risk of outcomes. RESULTS Our study identified 60,990 patients who underwent thyroidectomy: 47,855 (78.4%) patients between 18 and 64 y old, 11,716 (19.2%) between 65 and 79 y old, and 1419 (2.3%) ≥80 y. Compared with younger adults, patients aged ≥80 y were 2.67 times more likely to develop a complication (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.02-3.53, P < 0.001), 1.83 times more likely to be readmitted for any reason (95% CI: 1.40-2.38, P < 0.001), 1.54 times more likely to be readmitted for a reason related to the thyroidectomy (95% CI: 1.10-2.16, P < 0.05), and 1.66 times more likely to have an extended hospital stay (95% CI: 1.44-1.91, P < 0.001). Patients aged 65-79 y were 1.40 times more likely to develop a complication (95% CI: 1.19-1.63, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Patients aged ≥65 y have significantly higher rates of overall complications. In addition, patients aged ≥80 y have higher rates of total and thyroidectomy-related readmissions and extended length of hospital stay.
A potential strategy for reducing cysts in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease with a CFTR corrector

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is associated with progressive enlargement of cysts, leading to a decline in function and renal failure that cannot be prevented by current treatments. Mutations in pkd1 and pkd2, encoding the polycystin 1 and 2 proteins, induce growth-related pathways, including heat shock proteins, as occurs in some cancers, raising the prospect that pharmacological interventions that target these pathways might alleviate or prevent ADPKD. Here, we demonstrate a role for VX-809, a corrector of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), conventionally used to manage cystic fibrosis in reducing renal cyst growth. VX-809 reduced cyst growth in Pkd1-knockout mice and in proximal, tubule-derived, cultured Pkd1 knockout cells. VX-809 reduced both basal and forskolin-activated cAMP levels and also decreased the expression of the adenylyl cyclase AC3 but not of AC6. VX-809 also decreased resting levels of intracellular Ca2+ but did not affect ATP-stimulated Ca2+ release. Notably, VX-809 dramatically decreased thapsigargin-induced release of Ca2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). VX-809 also reduced the levels of heat shock proteins Hsp27, Hsp70, and Hsp90 in mice cystic kidneys, consistent with the restoration of cellular proteostasis. Moreover, VX-809 strongly decreased an ER stress marker, the GADD153 protein, and cell proliferation but had only a small effect on apoptosis. Given that administration of VX-809 is safe, this drug potentially offers a new way to treat patients with ADPKD.
Acquired Causes of Lacrimal System Obstructions

The lacrimal drainage system is composed of the puncta, canaliculi, lacrimal sac, and the nasolacrimal duct that facilitates the drainage of the tears produced by the lacrimal glands, accessory lacrimal glands, and the glands of Krause and Wolfring, along with the suspended debris in the tears. This unique physiologic system is simple and elegant in design, yet it is elaborate in the function of tear drainage, with the lacrimal pump and its anatomical construction. Tears drain through the superior and inferior puncta, canaliculi, lacrimal sac, and the nasolacrimal duct to finally empty into the inferior meatus of the nasal cavity to be absorbed by the nasal mucosa and/or be disposed of through the digestive system. The canaliculi are lined by a nonkeratinized stratified squamous epithelium surrounded by the orbicularis muscle, and the lacrimal sac and nasolacrimal duct are similarly lined with pseudostratified columnar epithelial cells with a ciliated surface. The sac contains scattered goblet cells, mucus secretors, and serous glands. The common internal punctum is the transition from the canaliculi to the lacrimal sac and shares histologic features of both (McCormick and Linberg, Contemp Issues Ophthalmol Lacrimal Surg 5:169–202, 1988).
Introduction: A New Look at Wildfire Management Expenditures

In the United States, increased wildland fire activity over the last 15 years has resulted in increased pressure to balance the cost, benefits, and risks of wildfire management. Amid increased public scrutiny and a highly variable wildland fire environment, a substantial body of research has developed to study factors affecting the cost-effectiveness of wildfire management activities. This book examines the state-of-the-art in the economics of wildfire management. The introductory chapter presents the broad goal of the book: to take stock of research to-date on the economics of wildfire management and examine a way forward for answering remaining research questions. Subsequent chapters review existing research, present new empirical analyses of fire management expenditures, and examine potential applications of expenditure models for decision making.
Perognathus penicillatus (Desert pocket mouse)

The karyotypes presented here are gifts of Mr. James L. Patton, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA. The male specimen belongs to subspecies P. p. atrodorsalis, collected 4km west of Tula, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The female belongs to P. p. eremicus, collected 24 miles north of Saltillo, Conhuila, Mexico. Direct bone marrow preparations were used in both cases.
Multiscale Computation of Cytoskeletal Mechanics During Blebbing

Cellular blebbing occurs when detachment of the underlying cytoskeleton from a portion of the plasma membrane leads to the formation of protrusions under the influence of cytosol pressure. Blebbing is associated with cellular apoptosis and has been linked to diseased states such as cancer. Multiple phenomena at disparate scales occur during blebbing. At the molecular scale there are biochemical reactions governing actin polymerization, cross-linkage, and formation of membrane adhesion complexes. At the cellular level, forces on the cell membrane lead to deformation of the cytoskeleton and localized mechanical stress. Fluid motion during protrusive activity modifies local concentrations of free actin monomers as well as other molecules that participate in cytoskeleton formation. A computational model of cellular blebbing has to link these disparate scales. In this work a general multiscale interaction procedure is applied to the problem of cellular blebbing. The procedure simultaneously advances in time three models of the cytoskeleton at three different length scales. At the smallest length scale the Langevin dynamics of small actin filament segments is computed by solving stochastic differential equations. At larger scales the cytoskeleton actin network is characterized by probability distribution functions for parameters such as actin filament length and orientation. A Fokker–Planck equation is formulated for the probability distribution functions and advanced in time. At an even larger scale the cytoskeleton is modeled as a continuum, and inhomogeneous elasticity equations are solved. The overall procedure is efficient enough to show cellular level effects produced by changes at the microscopic level, such as biochemical reaction rates.
Fully strained epitaxial Ti1−xMgxN(001) layers

Abstract Ti1−xMgxN(001) layers with 0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.49 are deposited on MgO(001) by reactive magnetron co-sputtering from titanium and magnesium targets in 5 mTorr pure N2 at 600 °C. X-ray diffraction ω-2θ scans, ω-rocking curves, φ-scans, and high resolution reciprocal space maps show that the Ti1−xMgxN layers are rock-salt structure single crystals with a cube-on-cube epitaxial relationship with the substrates: (001)TiMgN║(001)MgO and [100]TiMgN║[100]MgO. Layers with thickness d = 35–58 nm are fully strained, with an in-plane lattice parameter a|| = 4.212 ±0.001 A matching that of the MgO substrate, while the out-of-plane lattice parameter a⊥ increases with x from 4.251 A for TiN(001) to 4.289 A for Ti0.51Mg0.49N(001). This yields a relaxed lattice parameter for Ti1−xMgxN(001) of ao = (1-x)aTiN + xaMgN – bx(1-x), where aTiN = 4.239 A, aMgN = 4.345 A, and the bowing parameter b = 0.113 A. In contrast, thicker Ti1−xMgxN(001) layers with d = 110–275 nm are partially (pure TiN) or fully (x = 0.37 and 0.49) relaxed, indicating a critical thickness for relaxation of 50–100 nm. The in-plane x-ray coherence length is large (100–400 nm) for fully strained layers with 0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.45 but drops by an order of magnitude for x = 0.49 as the composition approaches the phase stability limit. It is also an order of magnitude smaller for thicker (d ≥ 110 nm) layers, which is attributed to strain relaxation through the nucleation and growth of misfit dislocations facilitated by glide of threading dislocations.
Cost Accounting Systems and Practices in Public Organizations: A Framework for Understanding Costing Evolution and Connections to Sustainability Strategies

This chapter discusses the use of cost accounting as an important organizational tool for informing operational and financial sustainability strategies in public organizations. While the main accounting and budgetary theories tend to overlook cost accounting, the information that cost accounting provides is important for the effective functioning of both accounting and budgetary theories of public organizational sustainability. Furthermore, cost accounting informs two structural responses to sustainability challenges: contracting service delivery with private providers, and collaboration with government and nonprofit providers. In its current incarnation in the public sector, cost accounting may not be capable of addressing the large and important problem of financial sustainability of public services. As such, a systems-practices framework is developed to make a distinction between cost accounting systems from cost accounting practices. This model draws attention to differences in costing discussions and provides a basis for thinking comprehensively about how many disparate discussions of public cost accounting are interrelated.