cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evidence-Based Practice in Mental Health Care to Ethnic Minority Communities:

Evidence-based practice (EBP) has contributed substantially to the advancement of knowledge in the treatment and prevention of adult mental health disorders. A fundamental assumption, based on documented evidence of effectiveness with certain populations, is that EBP is equally effective and applicable to all populations. However, small sample sizes of ethnic minority populations in randomized clinical trials prevent strong and clear conclusions about the effectiveness and generalizability of EBP with regard to people of color. In addition, the appropriateness of EBPs to ethnic minority communities has rarely been investigated. This article critically examines the applicability and dissemination of adult mental health EBP to diverse ethnic minority populations. It highlights limitations of EBP rooted in its epistemological narrowness, exclusion of communities of color, and lack of cultural competence and examines whether the practice of EBP has overstepped its evidence. This article presents a framework characterized by pathways of epistemological partnership and substantive inclusion of racial and ethnic minority groups to facilitate the promotion of culturally responsive EBPs and to inform mental health practice and policy implementation.
Adaptive GOP Size Decision for Multi-Pass Video Coding Based on Hidden Markov Model

Multi-pass coding is a widely utilized technique to improve the compression efficiency in video coding, where frame statistics are collected from the previous passes and then analyzed to provide better encoder decisions, such as rate control parameters, prediction mode selection, motion estimation, etc. In this paper, a novel method to determine the size of each group of picture (GOP) using the multi-pass information is presented. In particular, we propose to categorize frames into regions with different natures, including stationary, high-variance, blending, and scene cut, through analyzing the frame statistics generated from the previous passes using a hidden Markov model. The GOP size is then determined based on the region types and the inter frame correlations. It is experimentally shown that the proposed adaptive GOP size decision provides considerable coding performance improvements over conventional fixed GOP length.
Intravenous delivery of adeno-associated viral gene therapy in feline GM1 gangliosidosis.

GM1 gangliosidosis is a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by a deficiency of lysosomal β-galactosidase. In its most severe form, GM1 gangliosidosis causes death by 4 years of age, and no effective treatments exist. Previous work has shown that injection of the brain parenchyma with an adeno-associated viral vector provides pronounced therapeutic benefit in a feline GM1 model. To develop a less invasive treatment for the brain and increase systemic biodistribution, intravenous injection of AAV9 was evaluated. AAV9 expressing feline β-galactosidase was intravenously administered at 1.5x1013 vector genomes/kilogram body weight to six GM1 cats at approximately 1 month of age. The animals were divided into two cohorts: 1) a long-term group, which was followed to humane endpoint, and 2) a short-term group, which was analyzed 16-weeks post treatment. Clinical assessments included neurological exams, cerebrospinal fluid and urine biomarkers, and 7-Telsa magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy. Postmortem analysis included β-galactosidase and virus distribution, histological analysis, and ganglioside content. Untreated GM1 animals survived 8.0 ± 0.6 months while intravenous treatment increased survival to an average of 3.5 years (n = 2) with substantial improvements in quality of life and neurologic function. Neurological abnormalities, which in untreated animals progress to the inability to stand and debilitating neurological disease by 8 months of age, were mild in all treated animals. Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers were normalized, indicating decreased central nervous system cell damage in the treated animals. Urinary glycosaminoglycans decreased to normal levels in the long-term cohort. Magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy showed partial preservation of the brain in treated animals, which was supported by postmortem histological evaluation. β-galactosidase activity was increased throughout the central nervous system, reaching carrier levels in much of the cerebrum and normal levels in the cerebellum, spinal cord and cerebrospinal fluid. Ganglioside accumulation was significantly reduced by treatment. Peripheral tissues such as heart, skeletal muscle, and sciatic nerve also had normal β-galactosidase activity in treated GM1 cats. GM1 histopathology was largely corrected with treatment. There was no evidence of tumorigenesis or toxicity. Restoration of β-galactosidase activity in the central nervous system and peripheral organs by intravenous gene therapy led to profound increases in lifespan and quality of life in GM1 cats. This data supports the promise of intravenous gene therapy as a safe, effective treatment for GM1 gangliosidosis.
Role of Information Technology in Social Society and Cyber Bullying As a Contemporary Issue in the Society amongst Teenagers

Modern day times as mediated by information technology have eased the way people interact, especially as mediated by computers, mobile gadgets and through telecommunications. Video games is great educational potential, and same popular in every age of group (Suhaib, 2018), Also, through the rise of social interactivity through social media, the world has been reduced to a global village and in the same note accelerated the freedom of expression. Nevertheless, a myriad of societal issues has developed, arisen by this adage of information technology. As a result, this paper would like to succinctly preview cyber bullying as one can recount from this adage of information technology. To highlight this, this paper will take account of previous cases as reported in the media and analyse its impact. Also, through the various postulated methodologies recommend an apt manner through which authorities and the society at large can deal with this menace.
Solar UV Radiation as a Selective Force in the Evolution of Terrestrial Plant Life

This paper will briefly reflect on the possible role of solar UV in the early stages of evolution of terrestrial plants and will examine a steep gradient of natural solar UV-B that currently exists on the Earth.
Equal Opportunity and Outcomes Assessment

At all levels of instruction, the landscape of student evaluation has been altered by the arrival of Outcomes Assessment (OA). OA is rooted in a number of distinct and somewhat conflicting purposes, methods of evaluation, and units of evaluation. The purposes include institutional accountability and improvement of instruction. The methods of evaluation are sometimes qualitative, such as observations of student performance, and sometimes quantitative, in the form of standardized tests. The units of evaluation, or significant scores, vary from individual students to building, district, or state-level performance. Broadly speaking, OA aims to determine what students are able to do, sometimes both before and after instruction occurs so as to measure the “value added” by instruction, and to use that to enforce academic standards and improve teaching and academic programs. To the extent that OA systems are implemented and effective, the quality of instruction might improve, and greater equality of educational opportunity might be obtained for underserved students. Teachers at all levels might also be constrained by more regimented schemes of student evaluation, penalized for deficiencies in student learning through external accountability schemes, or both.
Identification of new compounds with high activity against stationary phase Borrelia burgdorferi from the NCI compound collection

Lyme disease is the leading tick-borne disease in the USA. Whereas the majority of Lyme disease patients with early disease can be cured with standard treatment, some patients suffer from chronic fatigue and joint and muscular pain despite treatment, a syndrome called posttreatment Lyme disease syndrome. Although the cause is unclear, ineffective killing of Borrelia burgdorferi persisters by current Lyme disease antibiotics is one possible explanation. We took advantage of our recently developed high-throughput viability assay and screened the National Cancer Institute compound library collection consisting of 2526 compounds against stationary phase B. burgdorferi. We identified the top 30 new active hits, including the top six anthracycline antibiotics daunomycin 3-oxime, dimethyldaunomycin, daunomycin, NSC299187, NSC363998 and nogalamycin, along with other compounds, including prodigiosin, mitomycin, nanaomycin and dactinomycin, as having excellent activity against B. burgdorferi stationary phase culture. The anthracycline or anthraquinone compounds, which are known to have both anti-cancer and antibacterial activities, also had high activity against growing B. burgdorferi with low minimum inhibitory concentration. Future studies on the structure-activity relationship and mechanisms of action of anthracyclines/anthraquinones are warranted. In addition, drug combination studies with the anthracycline class of compounds and the current Lyme antibiotics to eradicate B. burgdorferi persisters in vitro and in animal models are needed to determine if they improve the treatment of Lyme disease.
Screening for depression in pregnancy: Characteristics of the Beck Depression Inventory

Objective To determine the test characteristics of a self-report questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory, when used as a screening test for depression in a population of ambulatory pregnant women. Methods One hundred five pregnant women completed the Beck Depression Inventory and underwent a structured interview using the National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule—version III. Current depression was diagnosed according to the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — III-R. A receiver operating characteristic curve was constructed for the Beck Depression Inventory score as a predictor of current depression. A table of sensitivities, specificities, predictive values, and likelihood ratios was created for various cutoff values. Results For the 105 women enrolled, the median Beck Depression Inventory score was 8.0. Twelve women (11%) were diagnosed with current depression and had a median Beck Depression Inventory score of 25.5, compared with those without current depression, who had a median score of 8.0 (P = .001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.9940. Using a cutoff range of greater than 16, the sensitivity of the Beck Depression Inventory to detect current depression was 0.83, the specificity was 0.89, the positive predictive value was 0.50, and the negative predictive value was 0.98. Conclusions The Beck Depression Inventory can serve as a rapid screening test for depression during pregnancy. A higher cutoff value is required for pregnant women than is customarily used outside of pregnancy.
Kinetic and mutagenic evidence for the role of histidine residues in the Lycopersicon esculentum 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase.

The ACCO gene from Lycopersicon esculentum (tomato) has been cloned into the expression vector PT7-7. The highly expressed protein was recovered in the form of inclusion bodies. ACCO is inactivated by diethyl pyrocarbonate (DEPC) with a second-order rate constant of 170 M−1 min−1. The pH–inactivation rate data imply the involvement of an amino acid residue with a pK value of 6.05. The difference UV spectrum of the the DEPC-inactivated versus native ACCO showed a single peak at 242 nm indicating the modification of histidine residues. The inactivation was reversed by the addition of hydroxylamine to the DEPC-inactivated ACCO. Substrate/cofactor protection studies indicate that both iron and ACC bind near the active site, which contains histidine residues. Four histidines of ACCO were individually mutated to alanine and glycine. H39A is catalytically active, while H177A, H177G, H211A, H211G, H234A, and H234G are basically inactive. The results indicate that histidine residues 177, 211, and 234 may serve as ligands for the active-site iron of ACCO and/or may play some important structural or catalytic role.
Sealant longevity for residential ducts

Duct leakage is a major source of energy loss in residential buildings. Most duct leakage occurs at the connections to registers, plenums, or branches in the duct system. At each of these connections, a method of sealing the duct system is required. Typical sealing methods include tapes or mastics applied around the joints in the system. Field examinations of duct systems have shown that taped seals tend to fail over extended periods of time. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been testing sealant longevity for several years. The accelerated test method developed by LBNL is being used as a basis for an ASTM Standard under sub-committee E6.41. LBNL tests found that typical duct tape (i.e., fabric backed tapes with rubber adhesives) fails more rapidly than all other duct sealants. LBNL has also tested advanced tape products being developed by major manufacturers. The results of these tests showed that the major weaknesses of the tapes that fail are the use of natural rubber adhesives and the mechanical properties of the backing.
Analysis of Oxygen Mechanical Impact Test Apparatuses and Methods

An independent analysis using theoretical calculations with nominal test chamber configuration geometries was performed to evaluate the effects of small and large variations in test apparatus chamber configurations, test chamber test pressures [446KPa to 69.07 MPa], and in preset initial striker pin positions [striker pin transmits mechanical impact energy from the test apparatus drop plummet to material test samples within the test chamber]. The effects evaluated were the total energy losses between the drop plummet energy impartation to striker pin and the striker pin energy impartation to the test sample of different given test apparatuses. These total energy loss effects directly determine whether or not a sufficient percentage of the drop plummet energy is in fact transmitted to the test sample during mechanical impact tests.
Acute kidney injury in statin initiators

Purpose Statins are widely used for preventing cardiovascular disease, yet recent reports suggest an increased risk of acute kidney injury (AKI). We estimated the one-year risk of AKI associated with statin initiation and determined the comparative safety of individual statin formulations. Methods We performed a cohort study in insurance billing data from commercial and Medicare insurance plans in the United States for the years 2000–2010. We identified statin initiators and non-users with histories of medication use and healthcare utilization. AKI diagnosis codes were identified in the one year following the index date. We estimated hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) with adjusted and propensity score (PS)-matched Cox-proportional hazards models. Models were run separately in insurance groups and adjusted for cardiovascular and renal risk factors, markers of healthcare utilization, and other medication use. Results We identified 3,905,155 statin initiators and 2,817,621 eligible non-users. The adjusted HR of AKI in statin initiators compared to non-users was: commercial, HR = 1.04 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.09); Medicare, HR = 0.72 (95% CI: 0.70, 0.75). PS-matching yielded: commercial, HR = 0.82 (95% CI: 0.78, 0.87); Medicare, HR = 0.66 (95% CI: 0.63, 0.69). As individual formulations, higher-potency simvastatin was associated with an increased risk of AKI over lower-potency simvastatin in adjusted models: commercial, HR = 1.42 (95% CI: 1.28, 1.58); Medicare, HR = 1.24 (95% CI: 1.15, 1.35). Conclusions As a class, statin initiation was not associated with an increase in AKI. However, higher-potency simvastatin did exhibit an increased AKI risk. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Three Dimensional Non-Isothermal Model of a High Temperature PEM Fuel Cell

The proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell using a polybenzimidazole (PBI) membrane operates between 120 °C and 180 °C, higher than the PEM fuel cell with a Nafion based membrane (lower than 80°C). Few studies have been conducted in the theoretical modeling of the PEM fuel cell with a PBI membrane. Experimental results have shown that the conductivity of a PBI membrane is affected by the phosphoric acid doping level, the cell operating temperature and the relative humidity. The fuel cell performance is thus affected by these parameters as well. The objective of this paper is to develop a three dimensional non-isothermal model to investigate the performance of the fuel cell with a PBI membrane. This new model considers influences of the relative humidity of the inlet air, the phosphoric acid doping level, and the operating temperature on the performance of fuel cells. The model is validated using the experimental data. A high oxygen concentration is found under the flow channel, as well as a high temperature region. The performance of fuel cells increases with the increase of the phosphoric doping level, temperature or relative humidity. The fuel cell performance is found to be more sensitive to the doping level and temperature changes, and less sensitive to the change of relative humidity.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
A graph formulation of a school scheduling algorithm

The problem classically titled “The Examination Schedule Problem” takes various forms in the literature. Most of these formulations can be presented in the terminology of classical Network Theory. One such formulation is: Given a nondirected network, partition its nodes into a minimal number of subsets such that no two members of the same subset are connected by an arc.An obvious lower limit to this number is the size of the largest strongly connected subgraph. Kirchgassner proved that an upper limit is this size plus one.One logical extension of the previous work is the introduction of variable length examinations where W(I) is the number of periods for exam I. The object of this paper is to generalize the definition of largest strongly connected subgraph to include the weighting of nodes, to present an approximate algorithm which usually finds the largest strongly connected subgraph, and to discuss the application of this algorithm to the solution of school scheduling and exam scheduling problems.
A generalized consistency condition for massless fields

Using a generalized consistency condition (gcc), we construct couplings between massless scalar fields and the spin 2 gravitational field. Specifically, we consider all possible third-order interaction terms for scalar fields ϕ and aμν and use the gcc to single out one. We also find three generalized current identities associated with the massless gauge fields.
Determination of the pair potential and the ion-electron pseudopotential for aluminum from experimental structure-factor data for liquid aluminum

A method of inverting a given structure factor ${[S(k)]}_{\mathrm{expt}}$ of a liquid metal using a hypernetted-chain equation containing bridge-diagram contributions is presented. Starting from parametrized local pseudopotential and a parametrized model local field (or a theoretical local field), a pair potential is constructed. The $S(k)$ calculated from it is fitted to the given ${[S(k)]}_{\mathrm{expt}}$. The method is first applied to a molecular-dynamics-generated $S(k)$ derived from an ab initio aluminum potential and shown to yield the pair potential, the pseudopotential, and the charge density in excellent quantitative agreement with the original ab initio potential and other quantities. The method is then applied to the experimental $S(k)$ of aluminum from x-ray data at 943 K. The Al-Al pair potential, Al-electron pseudopotential, and electron charge densities as well as the electron-gas response function (i.e., the model local field) are obtained self-consistently, to within the accuracy of the experimental data. The calculated electrical resistivity is in excellent agreement with experiment. These investigations provide a comparative examination of the electron-gas local fields of Geldart-Taylor, Vashishta-Singwi, Ichimaru-Utsumi, and the density-functional local-density approximation. The hard-sphere parameter defining the bridge term is found to be essentially the same for the different ion-ion potentials determined from all but one of the different local fields, thus supporting the "universality" hypothesis of Rosenfeld and Ashcroft.
Bipolar transistor with quantum well base

We report in this study the modeling of a heterostructure bipolar transistor (HBT) where the base is designed as a quantum well. The transistor structure consists of a base layer of GaAs that is heavily p-type doped. The [email protected] base is sandwiched between wide band gap In"xGa"1"-"xP which composes the n-type emitter and collector layers immediately adjacent to the base. The thickness of the base was chosen so that it is comparable to the wavelength of the electrons passing though it. There are two heavily doped cap layers of InGaAs at the emitter contact. The remainder of the emitter and collector regions are composed of GaAs. The purpose of this design is to filter the energies and velocities of electrons as they pass through the base region that forms a quantum barrier to electrons and a quantum well to holes. This should result in a significant decrease of noise in comparison to that observed in non-quantum base HBTs. As expected, the thin quantum well improves the collection of injected carriers, which in turn boosts the DC gain (@b) to 750 and increases the power of the novel transistor by a factor of six, in comparison to a commercially available HBT with a similar non-quantum well structure. At high frequencies, the gain of the device is increased by about 5dB over the non-quantum base HBT that this device is based upon. Additionally, the cutoff frequency is improved from 20 to 50GHz. Modeling of the novel transistor was done using Silvaco ATLAS(TM). This study will continue with the fabrication of experimental wafers.
Infrared investigations of pristine, doped and partially doped polypyrrole

Abstract It is well known that pristine (i.e. undoped) polypyrrole is not air-stable. As a result, it is difficult to obtain spectral data for the pristine polymer. Indeed, there are only two reports of infrared (IR) absorption spectra for the pristine material in the literature and, in both cases, the polymer seems to have undergone some air oxidation. It would be highly desirable to have reliable and reproducible IR spectra for the pristine form of this important polymer. We have designed a novel IR spectroelectrochemical cell which allows for electrochemical synthesis and IR and electrochemical analyses of thin polypyrrole films, while rigorously protecting these films from air. We present the IR spectra obtained using this cell for doped, partially doped and pristine polypyrrole.
Manufacturing controls: understanding the fundamentals of Kanban and CONWIP pull systems using simulation

This paper presents an introductory overview and tutorial in simulation modeling and control of serial Kanban and CONWIP (CONstant Work In Process) pull systems using ARENA/SIMAN 3.5/4.0. Card level estimation is discussed for both types of pull systems, and a heuristic method to adjust card levels controlling system WIP (Work In Process) is provided. The objective is to present a tutorial for students and practicing engineers familiar with the basics of simulation, but unfamiliar with pull system fundamentals.
Rationally Functional Dependence

Two different types of functional dependencies are compared: dependencies that are functional due to the laws of nature and dependencies that are functional if all involved agents behave rationally. The first type of dependencies was axiomatized by Armstrong. This article gives a formal definition of the second type of functional dependencies in terms of strategic games and describes a sound and complete axiomatization of their properties. The axiomatization is significantly different from the Armstrong’s axioms.
Observations on the effect of morphine on thalamocortical excitability in the cat.

Summary: The acute effects of morphine on the thalamocortical augmenting response in the cat were evaluated. The thalamocortical augmenting response was elicited by delivering pairs of pulses to the ventrolateral thalamus and recording from ipsilateral sensorimotor cortex. A biphasic, dose-related, naloxone-attenuable effect on the augmenting response elicited by pulse pairs was observed. Although the clinical significance of those morphine-induced changes is currently uncertain, they can be correlated with the convulsant and anticonvulsant effects of different doses of morphine. RESUME Nous avons etudie les effets de la morphine administree en aigu sur la reponse facilitatrice thalamocorticale du chat. La re-ponse facilitatrice thalamocorticale a ete obtenue par administration de decharges par paires au niveau du thalamus ventrolateral avec enregistrement au niveau du cortex sensorimoteur homolateral. Nous avons observe un effet biphasique, dose-dependant, diminue par la naloxone, sur la reponse facilitatrice provoquee par les paires de decharges. Bien que la signification clinique de ces modifications induites par la morphine reste hy-pothetique, nos constatations peuvent etre rapprochees des effets convulsivants et anticonvulsivants de diffdrentes doses de morphine. RESUMEN Se han estudiado los efectos agudos de la morfina sobre el incremento de la respuesta talamo-cortical en el gato. Esta re-spuesta se determino mediante la administracion de pares de pulsos al nucleo ventrolateral del talamo y registrandola desde la corteza sensitivo-motora homolateral. Se ha observado un efecto bifasico y atenuador, dosis-dependiente, de la naloxona sobre el aumento de la respuesta producida por los pares de pulsos. A pesar de que el significado clinico de estos cambios inducidos por la morfina es, por el momento, incierto es posible establecer una correlacion con los efectos convulsivos y anticonvulsives de dosis diferentes de morfina. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Die akute Wirkung von Morphin auf die thalamokortikale Verstarkerantwort bei der Katze wurde ausgewertet. Die thalamokortikale Verstarkerantwort wurde durch Stimuluspaare des ventrolateralen Thalamus ausgelost und vom ipsilateralen sowie motorischen Kortex abgeleitet. Eine biphasische. Dosis-korrelierte und durch Naloxon abzuschwachende Wirkung der Verstarkerantwort durch Stimuluspaare wurde beobachtet. Obwohl die klinische Signifikanz dieser Morphin-induzierten Verander-ungen zur Zeit nicht klar ist, kann sie mit den konvulsiven und antikonvulsiven Wirkungen veschiedener Morphindosen korre-liert werden.
The effect representatives have on their client's perceptions of justice and fair treatment in workplace dispute resolution processes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical framework for assessing the effects representatives have on their client's perceptions of justice, outcome and satisfaction, as well as the treatment received by clients from other stakeholders, in workplace dispute resolution processes.Design/methodology/approach – Research propositions are advanced based on constructs and theories drawn from the literature on organizational justice, in particular, as well as social psychology in general.Findings – Representatives are hypothesized to have a profound effect on their client's perceptions of voice, participation and satisfaction as well as on the treatment accorded the client by the other side and third‐party neutral. Representation, per se, is heralded as neither a positive nor a negative force in workplace dispute resolution processes.Research limitations/implications – The framework of a representative's effects is limited by a focus on individual employees who pursue disputes arising out of...
Calculation of the nonlinear susceptibility for optical second-harmonic generation in III-V semiconductors.

We calculate both linear and nonlinear optical response in the static limit for AlP, AlAs, GaP, and GaAs in the local-density approximation with and without a scissors operator, including local-field effects. The calculation agrees with the measurement of Levine and Bethea to within 15%. The derivatives d ln${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}^{(2)}$/d lna, for lattice constant a, are predicted to be from 1.7 to 6.6 times the values obtainable from existing models. The calculated static dielectric constants ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\infty}}}$ are within 2% of measured values; calculated results for d ln${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\infty}}}$/d lna are also presented. The scissors operator alters ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\infty}}}$ up to 25% but alters ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}^{(2)}$ by a factor of 2.
Design and implementation of a preamble-based burst mode CPM modem over Rayleigh fading channels

This paper discusses the design and implementation of a burst mode Continuous Phase Modulation (CPM) modem over flat, Rayleigh fading channels in the 220MHz frequency band. Our design focused on bandwidth efficiency while maintaining good synchronization performance and low complexity. The designed preamble is based on the combination of Minimum Shift Keying (MSK) signals and 3RC (Raised Cosine) signals. The use of MSK allows a closed form result for an initial Maximum Likelihood (ML) timing estimate. The 3RC signal, which has a better timing characteristic than MSK, is used to refine the timing and frequency estimates. The payload uses 3RC signals. Pilot symbol assisted modulation (PSAM) is used to assist channel estimation. The designed packet structure meets the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) frequency emission mask for 220MHz frequency band. A CPM modem using the designed packet structure has been implemented on the testbed and the simulation, bench test, and field test results are presented in this paper.
d Bands in Cubic Lattices. II

The results of a previous, perturbation theoretic treatment of $d$ bands in the body-centered cubic lattice are extended in several respects: The methods of the previous calculation are applied to determine energy levels at the points $\ensuremath{\Gamma}$ and $X$ in the Brillouin zone of the face-centered cubic lattice. As before, the crystal potential is that of a lattice of point charges, screened by a uniform distribution of electrons. The perturbation expansion of the wave function of a $d$ electron is developed for the body-centered cubic lattice. Calculations are reported for two states near the top and bottom of the $d$ band, including terms of first order in the potential. These functions have the characteristic property that the wave function of a state near the top of the $d$ band is more compact than that belonging to a state near the bottom. The energies of four states for the body-centered lattice are computed as a function of the binding parameter $\mathrm{Za}$ by a more accurate method than that employed in the previous work, making possible an estimation of the accuracy of perturbation theory and the dependence of bandwidth on binding parameter. The role of crystal field effects in the tight-binding limit is discussed, and the circumstances are determined under which the $d$ band may split into sub-bands based on functions of different cubic symmetries. Estimation of the value of the binding parameter for which such separation occurs strongly suggests that this split does not occur for the actual transition metals. Finally, the effects of spin-orbit coupling on the band structure are studied in the tight-binding approximation. A formulation of k\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}p perturbation theory for $d$ bands is given.
Observations on the synaptic organization of the retina of the albino rat: A light and electron microscopic study

An electron microscopic study of the retina of the albino rat, with particular emphasis on the synaptic organization of the inner and outer plexiform layers, has been correlated with specimens impregnated with a modified Golgi technique. The central element of the photoreceptor “triad” in the outer plexiform layer is a bipolar cell dendrite. Two types of synaptic contacts were observed in the inner plexiform layer, the “dyad” ribbon synapse and the conventional synapse. The postsynaptic elements of the “dyad” consisted of an amacrine process and a ganglion cell dendrite. Conventional synapses were made by amacrine processes which were usually presynaptic to bipolar terminals. Reciprocal synapses between processes making ribbon synapses and those making conventional synapses were seen. Golgi technique revealed the presence of two types of bipolar cells, three types of amacrine cells, and one type each of horizontal and ganglion cell. These findings are discussed in relation to reported receptive field organization.
Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy and placement of a jejunal extension tube

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) has revolutionized enteral access, allowing rapid delivery of enteral nutrition in critically ill, nutritionally compromised patients. Numerous techniques for PEG placement will be reviewed, including the pull, push, and introducer techniques. Recent guidelines for training a GI assistant have been developed, allowing this to be a onephysician procedure. Multiple button, replacement balloon, and low profile devices have been developed for long-term management in the more chronic patient, each with unique techniques for placement and removal. Finally, patients with gastric emptying disorders, severe reflux, and aspiration problems have been managed with placement of jejunal extension tubes. Numerous novel techniques for successful placement of this more complex device have been developed and will be reviewed.
New species of Caloplaca (Teloschistaceae) from North America

This paper describes five new species of Caloplaca from Mexico and the central United States. Caloplaca fissurata, C. pacifica and C. michoacanensis are described from Mexico, and C. lignicola and C. pratensis are described from the central United States. Notes are given for C. soralifera, a new record for North America, and a new distribution map is presented for C. ulcerosa. Maps and color photographs are provided for the species treated.
Introduction to Military Medicine: A Brief Overview

This article provides an overview of the current organization and structure of the United States military medical forces. The five levels of care are presented. The "glue" that binds the five levels of care together -- medical evacuation -- is briefly discussed. The logistics system/structure that sustains military medical systems in remote locations is summarized. Finally, the overall command and control of in-theater combat medical assets, the initiative to establish a Joint Military Trauma Record system, and the ongoing efforts to collect real-time casualty data with the goal of enhancing combat care through improved training and early equipment fielding are described.
Homeomorphic brain image segmentation with topological and statistical atlases

Atlas-based segmentation techniques are often employed to encode anatomical information for the delineation of multiple structures in magnetic resonance images of the brain. One of the primary challenges of these approaches is to efficiently model qualitative and quantitative anatomical knowledge without introducing a strong bias toward certain anatomical preferences when segmenting new images. This paper explores the use of topological information as a prior and proposes a segmentation framework based on both topological and statistical atlases of brain anatomy. Topology can be used to describe continuity of structures, as well as the relationships between structures, and is often a critical component in cortical surface reconstruction and deformation-based morphometry. Our method guarantees strict topological equivalence between the segmented image and the atlas, and relies only weakly on a statistical atlas of shape. Tissue classification and fast marching methods are used to provide a powerful and flexible framework to handle multiple image contrasts, high levels of noise, gain field inhomogeneities, and variable anatomies. The segmentation algorithm has been validated on simulated and real brain image data and made freely available to researchers. Our experiments demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of the method and the limited influence of the statistical atlas.
Utility and significance of ureteric frozen section analysis during radical cystectomy.

Objective To assess the utility of routine frozen section analysis of ureters at the time of radical cystectomy (RC) for urothelial cancer (UC), and the long-term outcomes of adverse ureteric pathology. Patients and Methods Pathological data on 2 047 patients undergoing RC for UC with routine frozen section analysis of ureters (January 1971 to December 2009) were analysed. Univariate and multivariable logistic and Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine the risk of upper tract UC (UTUC) recurrence, local recurrence and overall survival in those identified as having adverse pathology (severe atypia/carcinoma in situ [CIS] or UC) at time of frozen section analysis. Results Adverse pathology was identified by frozen section analysis in 178 patients (8.6%). Frozen section analysis was found to have poor sensitivity in identifying adverse pathology (59.1%), which was improved in patients with preoperative CIS (68.0%). After a median (interquartile range) follow-up of 12.4 (1.9–10.1) years, 28 patients (1.4%) developed UTUC recurrence. There were no uretero-enteric anastomotic recurrences. Adverse pathology on frozen section analysis was associated with UTUC recurrence on univariate analysis (hazard ratio [HR] 6.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.9–13.5), but 15/28 patients (54%) with UTUC recurrence had benign ureteric frozen section analysis on initial sectioning. Adverse pathology on frozen section analysis was not independently associated with the risk of local recurrence (HR 1.08, 95% CI 0.61–1.89) or overall survival (HR 1.12, 95% CI 0.94–1.35) in multivariate models. Conclusions Ureteric frozen section analysis has poor sensitivity and may be marginally improved in pre-existing CIS. UTUC recurrence is rare and can occur despite negative frozen section analysis. Our data question the utility of routine frozen section analysis of the distal ureteric margin at the time of RC.
Ankyrin and synapsin: Spectrin‐binding proteins associated with brain membranes

Brain membranes contain an actin-binding protein closely related in structure and function to erythrocyte spectrin. The proteins that attach brain spectrin to membranes are not established, but, by analogy with the erythrocyte membrane, may include ankyrin and protein 4.1. In support of this idea, proteins closely related to ankyrin and 4.1 have been purified from brain and have been demonstrated to associate with brain spectrin. Brain ankyrin binds with high affinity to the spectrin beta subunit at the midregion of spectrin tetramers. Brain ankyrin also has binding sites for the cytoplasmic domain of the erythrocyte anion channel (band 3), as well as for tubulin. Ankyrins from brain and erythrocytes have a similar domain structure with protease-resistant domains of Mr = 72,000 that contain spectrin-binding activity, and domains of Mr = 95,000 (brain ankyrin) or 90,000 (erythrocyte ankyrin) that contain binding sites for both tubulin and the anion channel. Brain ankyrin is present at about 100 pmol/mg membrane protein, or about twice the number of copies of spectrum beta chains. Brain ankyrin thus is present in sufficient amounts to attach spectrin to membranes, and it has the potential to attach microtubules to membranes as well as to interconnect microtubules with spectrin-associated actin filaments. Another spectrin-binding protein has been purified from brain membranes, and this protein cross-reacts with erythrocyte 4.1. Brain 4.1 is identical to the membrane protein synapsin, which is one of the brain's major substrates for cAMP-dependent and Ca/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases with equivalent physical properties, immunological cross-reaction, and peptide maps. Synapsin (4.1) is present at about 60 pmol/mg membrane protein, and thus is a logical candidate to regulate certain protein linkages involving spectrin.
Low-cost, high-efficiency organic/inorganic hetero-junction hybrid solar cells for next generation photovoltaic device

Organic/inorganic hybrid structures are considered innovative alternatives for the next generation of low-cost photovoltaic devices because they combine advantages of the purely organic and inorganic versions. Here, we report an efficient hybrid solar cell based on sub-wavelength silicon nanotexturization in combination with the spin-coating of poly (3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene):polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS). The described devices were analyzed by collecting current-voltage and capacitance-voltage measurements in order to explore the organic/inorganic heterojunction properties. ALD deposited ultrathin aluminium oxide was used as a junction passivation layer between the nanotextured silicon surface and the organic polymer. The measured interface defect density of the device was observed to decrease with the inclusion of an ultrathin Al2O3 passivation layer leading to an improved electrical performance. This effect is thought to be ascribed to the suppression of charge recombination at the organic/inorganic interface. A maximum power conversion efficiency in excess of 10% has been achieved for the optimized geometry of the device, in spite of lacking an antireflection layer or back surface field enhancement schemes.
Ethnicity and sex-role socialization: A comparative example using life history data from Hawaii

Hawaii's multiethnic society is explored as a field for researching the impact of ethnicity on the learning of female sex roles via the life history approach. Life history data collected by the author from women of Hawaii's Chinese and Portuguese communities is drawn on for a comparison of their socialization to sex-related roles in the domestic and selected public domains during their girlhoods in the 1920s and 1930s. Discussion examines six categories of information pertinent to research of the ethnicity/sex-role relationship which the case studies suggest life histories are rich in. Possible future directions for research of the topic via the life history approach are considered.
Electrical measurement of the spin Hall effects in Fe/In x Ga 1−x As heterostructures

There has been extensive theoretical discussion of the spin Hall effect (SHE) and the various ways that it could be exploited to generate or manipulate spin currents. However, only a handful of recent experiments have investigated this effect, and in semiconductor materials they have relied on optical techniques to either detect or generate spins [1,2].
Hydrazide-Containing Inhibitors of HIV-1 Integrase†

Inhibitors of HIV integrase are currently being sought as potential new therapeutics for the treatment of AIDS. A large number of inhibitors discovered to date contain the o-bis-hydroxy catechol structure. In an effort to discover structural leads for the development of new HIV integrase inhibitors which do not rely on this potentially cytotoxic catechol substructure, NSC 310217 was identified using a three-point pharmacophore search based on its assigned structure N-(2-hydroxybenzoyl)-N-(2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl)hydrazine (1). When a sample of NSC 310217 was obtained from the NCI repository, it was shown to exhibit potent inhibition of HIV-1 integrase (3‘-processing IC50 = 0.6 μg/mL). In work reported herein, we demonstrate that NSC 310217, rather than containing 1, which has no inhibitory potency against HIV-1 integrase, is comprised of roughly a 1:1 mixture of N-(2-hydroxybenzoyl)-N‘-(2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl)hydrazine (6) and N,N‘-bis-salicylhydrazine 7, with all inhibitory potency residing with com...
The Niobrara River Valley, a Postglacial Migration Corridor and Refugium of Forest Plants and Animals in the Grasslands of Central North America

The Niobrara River Valley of northern Nebraska contains numerous bryophyte, vascular plant, and animal species more typical of forests far to the east, north, and west than to other forests in the grasslands that surround the Valley. Some species are probably relicts of cooler glacial and early postglacial times, when much of what is now grassland was covered by boreal and cool-temperate forests. Others entered the Valley from the east in postglacial times, and some entered from the west as the climate became semi-arid. There is a steep decline in total number of vascular plant species from the mouth of the Missouri River up through the Niobrara Valley, suggesting an environmental gradient and differential migration and extirpation of species at various times since the Pleistocene.
Local-density total-energy supercell description of excited-state properties of solids: Ce photoemission and inverse photoemission spectra.

A total-energy theoretical description of peak positions in the experimental photoemission and inverse photoemission spectra of Ce is presented. The linearized muffin-tin-orbital method and local-density theory are employed to calculate the electronic structure and total energy of the excited ''impurity'' atom inside a supercell. Both 4f valence-band spectra and 3d core-hole spectra are determined. The energy positions of the 4f excitations are derived from the total energy of appropriate final-state configurations with a localized hole or localized electron picture. The 3d core-hole and 4f valence-band excitations are compared with x-ray-photoemission experiments and inverse photoemission experiments. The results show that the peak positions in these spectra can be explained by ordinary screening effects, i.e., the availability of distinct groups of (metastable) final states for the photoemission process.
A modified Plasmodium falciparum growth inhibition assay (GIA) to assess activity of plasma from malaria endemic areas

Plasma samples from patients undergoing treatment in malaria endemic countries often contain anti-malaria drugs, that may overstate effects of specific antibodies in growth inhibition assays (GIA). We describe a modified assay that uses drug resistant P. falciparum parasites (W2) that circumvents the requirement for dialyzing samples that may likely contain drugs such as chloroquine and sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine (SP).
Test anxiety among nursing students: A systematic review

This systematic review explores test anxiety among nursing students. Test anxiety affects 30% of nursing students and has detrimental effects on academic performance and student success. Significant effects of treatment are discussed, including hypnotherapy, aromatherapy, and relaxation. Test anxiety has multiple ramifications and is a determining factor in student success among this population. Nurse educators can have a significant impact on student outcomes by recognizing test anxiety, intervening early, and implementing effective, supportive strategies.
Evidence-Based Education Policies: Transforming Educational Practice and Research

At the dawn of the 21st century, educational research is finally entering the 20th century. The use of randomized experiments that transformed medicine, agriculture, and technology in the 20th century is now beginning to affect educational policy. This article discusses the promise and pitfalls of randomized and rigorously matched experiments as a basis for policy and practice in education. It concludes that a focus on rigorous experiments evaluating replicable programs and practices is essential to build confidence in educational research among policymakers and educators. However, new funding is needed for such experiments and there is still a need for correlational, descriptive, and other disciplined inquiry in education. Our children deserve the best educational programs, based on the most rigorous evidence we can provide.