cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Considering critical turns in research on educational leadership and policy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of critical policy analysis (CPA) in the fields of educational leadership and policy. In addition to exploring how CPA compares to traditional research approaches in educational leadership and policy, the authors consider the influence of long-established ways of knowing, why scholars choose to engage in CPA and how and why scholars who utilize this approach decide on specific methods. Design/methodology/approach – The exploration draws primarily on the use of CPA in the USA, though the authors also examine how scholars working within the UK utilize CPA. Findings – In the review of critical policy literature, the authors identified a number of assumptions common to traditional and critical policy research theories and approaches. For example, systems theory and analysis, structural analysis, cost-benefit analysis, technicist models, and political models were commonly used within traditional literature. In comparison, critical policy researchers rel...
Amphiphilic sites for general anesthetic action? Evidence from 129Xe-[1H] intermolecular nuclear Overhauser effects.

Abstract Because a strong correlation exists between the potency of general anesthetics and their ability to dissolve in oil, a lipophilic site of action is often assumed. We show here that a lipophilic molecule may preferentially target less lipophilic sites after interaction with a membrane takes place. Xenon, a chemically inert and structureless general anesthetic, was chosen as an unbiased molecular probe for assessment of its dynamic distribution. Site-selective, intermolecular 129Xe-{1H} nuclear Overhauser effects were used to measure the specific interaction between xenon and protons in different regions in a phosphatidylcholine lipid membrane. It was evident that xenon–membrane interaction was directed toward the amphiphilic head region, with significant involvement of interfacial water, despite xenon's apolar and highly lipophilic nature in the gas phase. This result may suggest the importance of amphiphilicity in association with anesthetic action.
A Field Manual for the Cradle of Civilization: Theory of Leadership and Lessons of Iraq

The U.S. Army's Counterinsurgency Field Manual, Bremer's My Year in Iraq, and Xenophon's Education of Cyrus all consider problems of establishing a state. Bremer sees constitutions as fundamental, ...
Caught in a Bad Romance: Adolescent Romantic Relationships and Mental Health

Integrating insights from cultural sociology and identity theory, I explore the mental health consequences of adolescent romantic relationship inauthenticity—incongruence between thoughts/feelings and actions within romantic contexts. Applying sequence analysis to National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health data, I measure relationship inauthenticity by quantifying the extent to which the ordering of events of actual romantic relationships (e.g., holding hands, saying “I love you”) diverges from the sequence of events within idealized relationship scripts among 5,316 adolescents. I then test its association with severe depression, suicide ideation, and suicide attempt. I find that romantic relationship inauthenticity is positively associated with the risk of all three markers of poor mental health, but only for girls. This study highlights the importance of gender and culture in determining how early romantic involvement influences psychological well-being.
Structure and stability of cytosine deoxyoligonucleotides multiplexes

It has very recently been reported that deoxyribonucleic acid oligomers of cytosine with sequences such as d-T(CN)T aggregate into tetrastranded sructures [J. L. Leroy et al. (1993), Biochemistry, Vol. 32, pp. 6019–6031; K. Gehring et al. (1993), Nature, Vol. 363, pp. 561–565; S. Ahmed (1994), Structural Biology, Vol. 1, pp. 83–88]. Using gel filtration chromatography we have found that the oligomer dC10 aggregates into a mixture of duplex, tetraplex, and octaplex structures. We have also found that at the concentration used for Raman spectroscopy (0.05 M in base residues), these structures remain stable from pH 5 to pH 8 at 5°C. The Raman spectra of these oligomers in a 0.1 M NaCl solution at pH 7 and 5°C show a remarkable resemblance to the Raman spectra of the A-form double-helical ribonucleic acid polymer of cytosine taken at pH 5.5 and room temperature [C. H. Chen and G. J. Thomas, Jr. (1977), Biopolymers, Vol. 16, pp. 765–789]. This appears to be the first time that this A-type furanose ring pucker has been reported in deoxyoligonucleotides in aqueous solution at low salt and pH 5.5–7. The gel filtration chromatography and the uv melting behavior of the annealed dC10 solutions show the presence of an equilibrium mixture of multiplexes with multiple melting transitions. Very slow annealing of dC10 solutions in the pH range 6.5–7.0 also produced a similar equilibrium mixture of multiplexes, but at a much slower rate. Rapidly cooled samples tended to change to the equilibrium mixture over a period of several days. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Formation of N-Ethylmaleimide (NEM)-Glutathione Conjugate and N-Ethylmaleamic Acid Revealed by Mass Spectral Characterization of Intracellular and Extracellular Microbial Metabolites of NEM

The extracellular and intracellular metabolites formed upon exposure of activated sludge microorganisms to a sublethal concentration of N-ethylmaleimide were monitored by liquid chromatography with ion trap mass spectrometry. The metabolite N-ethylsuccinimido-S-glutathione (m/z 433) was converted rapidly to N-(2-oxoethyl)-2,2-(propionylamino)propanamide (m/z 187) and N-ethylmaleamic acid (m/z 144).
Aryl Ether Cleavage by Group 9 and 10 Transition Metals: Stoichiometric Studies of Selectivity and Mechanism

The reactivity of terphenyl diphosphines bearing aryl–methyl ether or aryl–aryl ether moieties with M0 (M = Ni, Pd, Pt), M′I (M′ = Co, Rh, Ir), or MII centers was investigated to gain mechanistic insight into intramolecular aryl–ether bond cleavage in structurally related metal complexes. RhI converts the aryl–methyl ether moiety to an aryl C–H bond. This is similar to reactivity previously observed at Ni0 that involves C–O oxidative addition, β-H elimination liberating CH2O, reductive elimination of an aryl C–H bond, and decarbonylation of CH2O. IrI leads to unselective aryl and alkyl C–O bond activation. In the presence of excess CO, RhI and IrI display a shift in selectivity and reactivity and cleave the alkyl C–O bond. CoI does not perform C–O cleavage. Alkyl C–O bond activation was observed with MII–halide complexes with loss of MeCl via a Lewis acid–base mechanism. Pd0 and Pt0 cleave selectively the O–Me bond via oxidative addition. With a diaryl ether moiety, Pd0 and Pt0 are found to be capable of ...
Contingent Professionalism: Bureaucratic Mobility and the Adoption of Water Conservation Rates

Professional networks are widely recognized as important sources of environmental protection policy innovation. I argue that innovations are most likely to diffuse from professions to governments under conditions of bureaucratic job mobility. When an agency head arrives from outside the government he serves, she carries both a reputation and mandate for innovation. The incentives for innovation are less potent when an agency head is promoted from within. The result is mobility-contingent professionalism, for the priorities of an administrator's profession are more likely to become manifest in policy when she arrives from outside than when she is promoted from within an agency. Analysis of data from an original survey of water utility executives tests the effect of career path and professional involvement on utilities’ adoption of conservation-oriented water rate structures. I find that executive career path is a strong predictor of an agency's adoption of conservation rates, even after accounting for climatic and institutional conditions. Further, the effect of professional involvement is contingent on career path: Professionalism is strongly associated with adoption of conservation rates for diagonally mobile executives but not for executives promoted from within.
Exact Primitives for Time Series Data Mining

Data mining and knowledge discovery algorithms for time series data use primitives such as bursts, periods, motifs, outliers and shapelets as building blocks. For example a model of global temperature considers both bursts (i.e. solar fare) and periods (i.e. sunspot cycle) of the sun. Algorithms for finding these primitives are required to be fast to process large datasets. Because exact algorithms that guarantee the optimum solutions are very slow for their immense computational requirements, existing algorithms find primitives approximately. This thesis presents efficient exact algorithms for two primitives, time series motif and time series shapelet. A time series motif is any repeating segment whose appearances in the time series are too similar to happen at random and thus expected to bear important information about the structure of the data. A time series shapelet is any subsequence that describes a class of time series differentiating from other classes and thus can be used to classify unknown instances. We extend the primitives for different environments. We show exact methods to find motifs in three different types of time series data. They are the in-memory datasets suitable for batched processing, the massive archives of time series stored in hard drives and finally, the streaming time series with limited storage. We also describe an exact algorithm for logical-shapelet discovery that combines multiple shapelets to better describe complex concepts. We use efficient bounds to the goodness measures to increase the efficiency of the exact algorithms. The algorithms are orders of magnitude faster than the trivial solutions and successfully discover motifs/shapelets of real time series from diverse sensors such as EEG, ECG, EPG, EOG, Accelerometers and Motion captures. We show applicability of these algorithms as subroutines in high-level data mining tasks such as summarization, classification and compression.
Effect of transdermal testosterone treatment on Serum lipid and apolipoprotein levels in men more than 65 years of age

Abstract Purpose Because the effects of androgen replacement on lipoprotein levels are uncertain, we sought to determine the effect of transdermal testosterone treatment on serum lipid and apolipoprotein levels in elderly men. Subjects and methods One hundred and eight healthy men more than 65 years of age who had serum testosterone concentrations >1 SD below the mean for young men were randomly assigned to receive either testosterone (54 men; 6 mg/day) or placebo (54 men) transdermally in a double-blind fashion for 36 months. Serum concentrations of lipids and apolipoproteins were measured, and cardiovascular events recorded. Results Serum total cholesterol concentrations decreased in both the testosterone-treated men and placebo-treated men, but the 3-year mean (± SD) decreases in the two groups (testosterone treated, −17 ± 29 mg/dL; placebo treated, −12 ± 38 mg/dL) were not significantly different from each other ( P = 0.4). Similarly, serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels decreased in both treatment groups, but the decreases in the two groups (testosterone treated, −16 ± 24 mg/dL; placebo treated, −16 ± 33 mg/dL) were similar ( P = 1.0). Levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, and apolipoproteins A-I and B did not change. Lipoprotein(a) levels increased in both groups by similar amounts (testosterone treated, 3 ± 9 mg/dL; placebo treated, 4 ± 6 mg/dL; P = 1.0). The number of cardiovascular events was small and did not differ significantly between the testosterone-treated men (9 events) and the placebo-treated men (5 events) during the 3-year study (relative risk=1.8; 95% confidence interval: 0.7 to 5.0). Conclusions As compared with placebo, transdermal testosterone treatment of healthy elderly men for 3 years did not affect any of the lipid or apolipoprotein parameters that we measured. The effect of testosterone treatment on cardiovascular events was unclear, because the number of events was small.
Three-dimensional photolithographic patterning of multiple bioactive ligands in poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels

The biomaterials community is faced with the challenge of imitating a vastly complex, physiological tissue environment. While cellular systems towards this end have been traditionally studied in two dimensions (2D), most cells require three-dimensional (3D) cues to produce a physiologically relevant response. Two-photon absorption laser scanning lithography (TPA-LSL) may be applied to photosensitive hydrogel systems to engineer heterogeneous, 3D microenvironments consisting of precisely patterned bioactive signals. In this work, we have developed new operating parameters and system capabilities for TPA-LSL through the patterning of fluorescently labeled monoacrylate PEG-RGDS within PEG-DA hydrogels. Specifically, we have demonstrated a flexible pattern size range, with features ranging from 1 µm to nearly 1 mm. We have also shown patterns of differing concentrations of the cell adhesive ligand RGDS and correlated observed RGDS fluorescence with laser scan speed and intensity. Finally, we have micropatterned multiple, unique bioactive ligands into distinct, 3D forms within a single hydrogel. The results presented here have significantly developed the capabilities of the TPA-LSL micropatterning technique to allow for the fabrication of heterogeneous, 3D cellular microenvironments, which should prove highly useful for future biomimetic applications.
Phase factors representation for EM scattering from a rough surface perfect conductor

The surface magnetic field (current) integral equation for a plane in an average rough interface between a vacuum and a perfect conductor is considered. This equation is presented in a form that contains the random elevations only in a form of exponential functions with purely imagined exponents. Iterations of this equation lead to a solution in powers of multiplicity of the Kirchhoff scattering, and each iterative term contains the random elevations only in exponents. Because the modulus of such functions is equal to unity, one may expect that convergence of such series is independent of the Rayleigh parameter. All mean values can be expressed directly in terms of joint characteristic functions of elevations in different points of a rough surface. To develop this representation of the scattering problem the author uses the three-dimensional Green's function in terms of the one-dimensional Fourier integral with respect to z.
The interventional cardiologist and structural heart disease: the need for a team approach.

There has been an explosion in the field of interventional cardiology since Andreas Gruentzig performed the first percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty more than 30 years ago. With the development of a multitude of steering wires, balloons, rotablators, and stents, percutaneous coronary
Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Correlates of Anxiety at 1 Year After Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

Abstract Objective To determine at 1 year after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury the (1) rate of clinically significant anxiety; (2) rates of specific symptoms of anxiety; (3) risk factors for anxiety; and (4) associations of anxiety with other 1-year outcomes, including participation and quality of life. Design Prospective longitudinal observational study. Setting Inpatient rehabilitation centers, with data capture at injury and 1-year follow-up. Participants Persons with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury who were enrolled in the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems database (N=1838). Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures The 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire (9-item screen for depression), FIM, Participation Assessment with Recombined Tools-Objective, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Results Clinically significant anxiety was reported by 21% of the participants. Of these, >80% reported interference with daily activities, with the most common symptoms being excessive worry and irritability. A common pattern was comorbid anxiety and depression, with smaller proportions reporting either disorder alone. Anxiety had large effect sizes with respect to life satisfaction and cognitive disability and medium to small effect sizes relative to societal participation and self-care. Middle age, black race, lower socioeconomic status, preinjury mental health treatment, and at least 1 traumatic brain injury prior to the index injury were all risk factors for later anxiety. Conclusions Anxiety should be screened, fully evaluated, and treated after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Worry and irritability might be treated with pharmacologic agents or relatively simple behavioral interventions, which should be further researched in this population.
Use of a Rapid Ethylene Glycol Assay: a 4-Year Retrospective Study at an Academic Medical Center

Ethylene glycol (EG) is a common cause of toxic ingestions. Gas chromatography (GC)-based laboratory assays are the gold standard for diagnosing EG intoxication. However, GC requires specialized instrumentation and technical expertise that limits feasibility for many clinical laboratories. The objective of this retrospective study was to determine the utility of incorporating a rapid EG assay for management of cases with suspected EG poisoning. The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics core clinical laboratory adapted a veterinary EG assay (Catachem, Inc.) for the Roche Diagnostics cobas 8000 c502 analyzer and incorporated this assay in an osmolal gap-based algorithm for potential toxic alcohol/glycol ingestions. The main limitation is that high concentrations of propylene glycol (PG), while readily identifiable by reaction rate kinetics, can interfere with EG measurement. The clinical laboratory had the ability to perform GC for EG and PG, if needed. A total of 222 rapid EG and 24 EG/PG GC analyses were documented in 106 patient encounters. Of ten confirmed EG ingestions, eight cases were managed entirely with the rapid EG assay. PG interference was evident in 25 samples, leading to 8 GC analyses to rule out the presence of EG. Chart review of cases with negative rapid EG assay results showed no evidence of false negatives. The results of this study highlight the use of incorporating a rapid EG assay for the diagnosis and management of suspected EG toxicity by decreasing the reliance on GC. Future improvements would involve rapid EG assays that completely avoid interference by PG.
Hitting the Ceiling: An Examination of the Barriers to Success for Asian American Women

This paper aims to fill the void in legal research on the experiences of Asian American women. This paper is limited in its scope and focuses specifically on the experiences of middle-class, educated, Asian American women. It also focuses on societal forces that create barriers to success for Asian American women, such as stereotyping. Asian Americans are not a monolithic group. They are from different countries with distinct histories, and differ in language, culture, food, and religion. Nevertheless, our dominant society often mistakes all Asian Americans as being members of a monolithic group. For that reason, my paper focuses specifically on external forces creating barriers to success. In Part II, I discuss the exclusion of Asian American women in the "glass ceiling" and the "bamboo ceiling." In Part III, I discuss the study of intersectionality, its limitations, and potential to discuss the barriers to success for Asian American women. In order to fully understand the barriers to success for Asian American women, I examine the history of exclusion, stereotypes, and discrimination of Asian American women in Part IV. I will also discuss the model minority myth and how Asian American women fit into this narrative. I will conclude this paper with a discussion on ways to remove these barriers to success and acknowledge the experiences of Asian American women.
Work in progress: Using mobile technology to enhance self-efficacy in underrepresented students for engineering education

Many efforts have been made on research to increase the number of underrepresented students in engineering disciplines. In this project, we developed a complementary tool using mobile learning concepts and technologies to enhance students' interests in the topic of embedded systems design; and promote self-efficacy in underrepresented students and increase their retentions in engineering topics. Through this tool, students learned the materials actively and gained hands-on experiences, which increased their interests in advanced topics. The ultimate goal of this project is to further enhance their self-efficacy and accumulate their confidences for underrepresented students to work on engineering majors.
Characterization of the temperature field structure in turbulent premixed jet flames

© 2015 by Patton M. Allison. In the current work, the piloted premixed jet burner (PPJB) configuration developed at the University of Sydney is used to characterize four highly turbulent flame cases with increasing turbulence intensities, increasing Karlovitz numbers, and decreasing Damkohler numbers. High-resolution, planar Raleigh scattering is applied to measure the two-dimensional temperature field at several axial locations within the premixed jet flame cases. Analysis of the structure of the temperature field shows that with increasing jet velocities, the flame brush and thermal zone is broadened. In contrast, the thickness of individual thermal layers decreases with increasing jet velocity as the degree of turbulence-chemistry interactions are enhanced with increasing Karlovitz number.
Uptake, distribution and binding of vertebrate and invertebrate steroid hormones and time-dependence of ponasterone A binding in Calliphora vicina. Comparisons among cholesterol, corticosterone, cortisol, dexamethasone, 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, ecdysone, estradiol-17 beta, ponasterone A, progesterone, and testosterone.

The presence of specific binding sites for radiolabelled vertebrate-type and arthropod-type steroid hormones was investigated in several organs including salivary gland, and central nervous system of third instar Calliphora vicina larvae by thaw-mount autoradiography. Ponasterone A, a 20-hydroxyecdysone agonist and 20-hydroxyecdysone are the only steroids which bind to nuclear high affinity binding sites. These binding sites are DNA associated while nucleoli show no tracer binding. Ecdysone, an endogenous 20-hydroxyecdysone precursor, is taken up by target cells but no significant nuclear binding occurs. 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 concentrates in cytoplasm only and its uptake is highest compared to all other steroids. Progesterone and testosterone show weak accumulation in the cytoplasm, while for cholesterol, corticosterone, cortisol, dexamethasone, dihydrotestosterone and estradiol-17β, no noticeable uptake occurs. For ponasterone A, a clear time dependence of uptake and intracellular distribution is visible, suggesting the existence and involvement of specific ecdysteroid uptake and transport mechanisms. These results suggest the presence of binding sites for various mammalian steroids in insects. Whether vertebrate steroid hormones or metabolites of them play a role in insects or whether the uptake and binding is based on chemical similarities alone without biological significance remains to be further investigated.
Community-based assessment and intervention for early childhood caries in rural El Salvador.

Author(s): Dabiri, Darya; Fontana, Margherita; Kapila, Yvonne; Eckert, George; Sokal-Gutierrez, Karen | Abstract: ObjectiveThe objectives were to assess early childhood caries (ECC) in rural areas of El Salvador and to investigate the changes in caries and mouth pain in the presence of community-based interventions.MethodsThis study was a retrospective analysis of de-identified and anonymous data obtained from baseline and four annual follow-up visits that focused on the preventive oral health intervention and nutrition in a convenience sample of children 0-6 years of age. The decayed, missing and filled teeth (dmft) index for primary teeth was used as the survey tool. Caries was defined as a cavitated lesion. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the prevalence of ECC in the sample in relation to age and dmft score. Linear mixed model analysis of variance (ANOVA) and generalised linear mixed effects models were used to compare the pre-intervention and post-intervention outcomes.ResultsThe prevalence of caries was 58%. Incorporation of a community oral health education and fluoride supplementation programme contributed to significant reductions in caries experience (from 74% to 61%) and mouth pain (from 58% to 39%), in children 3-6 years of age.ConclusionsECC is a common public health problem in rural El Salvador. In an established community-based maternal-child health programme in El Salvador, there appears to be an association between the incorporation of preventive oral health intervention and improvement in children's oral health and quality of life over time.
Isolation and Proteomics Analysis of Barley Centromeric Chromatin Using PICh.

Identification of proteins that are directly or indirectly associated with a specific DNA sequence is often an important goal in molecular biology research. Proteomics of isolated chromatin fragments (PICh) is a technique used to isolate chromatin that contains homologous DNA sequence to a specific nucleic acid probe. All proteins directly and indirectly associated with the DNA sequences that hybridize to the probe are then identified by proteomics.1 We used the PICh technique to isolate chromatin associated with the centromeres of barley (Hordeum vulgare) by using a 2′-deoxy-2′fluoro-ribonucleotides (2′-F RNA) probe that is homologous to the AGGGAG satellite DNA specific to barley centromeres. Proteins associated with the barley centromeric chromatin were then isolated and identified by mass spectrometry. Both alpha-cenH3 and beta-cenH3, the two centromeric histone H3 variants associated with barley centromeres, were positively identified. Interestingly, several different H2A and H2B variants were recove...
Human brucellosis epidemiology and delayed diagnosis analysis of Jining city during 2006-2013

Objective To understand the incidence and prevalence of human brucellosis in Jining city,grasp its charictristics,the comprehensive strategy is aimed to brucellosis prevention and control. Methods The database was used by Excel and data was analyzed by SPSS software,to analyze the human brucellosis cases reported in Jining city during January of 2006 to September of 2013. Results During January of 2006 to September of 2013,the incidence of human brucellosis has been increasing,a total of 214 cases were identified,most were in 2013,174 were from Jining city( 81. 3%),40 were form other places( 18. 69%). Of the 214 cases,the male were 162( 75. 70%) and the female were 52( 24. 3%). The average age were( 45. 4 ±14. 6),mainly focus on age 40-60,accounted for 57. 01% of the total number( 122 cases),the youngest was 2,the oldest was 75; The proportions of brucellosis cases with occupational exposure was 55( 25. 7%).There was no statistically significance between the female and male among different age groups( χ2= 1. 12,P 0. 05) and different places( χ2= 0. 09,P 0. 05). From 214 cases,the median for significant diagnose delay time of brucellosis was 23 d. Conclusions There was a grim situation for human brucellosis in Jining city,and measures to prevent and control it should be strengthen,raising the level of public awareness,cultivating the training for all levels of medical workers and epidemic prevent personnel,for early prevention and,early diagnosis and early treatment.
A land-ocean bottom seismograph experiment in the Mariana forearc

Abstract A network of land and ocean-bottom seismographs in the north central Mariana Islands located 20 earthquakes during a 22-day recording period. The locations of 14 subcrustal events define an inclined seismic zone extending to approximately 280 km depth, with one isolated event at 580 km depth. The geometry of this zone coincides with that defined by teleseismic earthquake locations. No reliably located earthquakes occurred within the accretionary prism, consistent with the hypothesis that deformation within the accretionary prism takes place aseismically.
Na+/Ca2+ exchange current density in cardiac myocytes from rabbits and guinea pigs during postnatal development

It has been proposed that the activity of the cardiac sarcolemmal Na+/Ca2+ exchanger may be greatest in developing animals before the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) reaches functional maturity. Experiments were performed in rabbits, which have a sparse SR at birth, and in newborn guinea pigs, which exhibit a more extensive SR. Whole cell voltage clamp techniques were used to characterize the Ni(2+)-sensitive Na+/Ca2+ exchange current in single freshly isolated cardiac myocytes. Na+/Ca2+ exchange current was measured from a holding potential of -40 mV by using a slow-ramp voltage protocol (-120 to +60 mV, 0.09 V/s) in the presence of Ba2+, Cs+, tetraethylammonia, D-600, and ouabain to block Ca2+, Na+, and K+ currents. Experiments in developing rabbits (1–22 days old) demonstrated that Na+/Ca2+ exchange current density was greatest at 1–4 days and declined rapidly over the first 3 wk of age. In contrast, Na+/Ca2+ exchange current density in newborn guinea pig myocytes did not differ from that recorded in adults. These results confirm that Na+/Ca2+ exchange is functional at birth in both rabbits and guinea pigs. The species-related difference in the ontogeny of Na+/Ca2+ exchange is consistent with the concept that Na+/Ca2+ exchange assumes a relatively greater role in newborn animals with a sparse SR.
Autologous and Allogenous Antibodies in Lung and Islet Cell Transplantation.

The field of organ transplantation has undoubtedly made great strides in recent years. Despite the advances in donor-recipient histocompatibility testing, improvement in transplantation procedures, and development of aggressive immunosuppressive regimens, graft-directed immune responses still pose a major problem to the long-term success of organ transplantation. Elicitation of immune responses detected as antibodies to mismatched donor antigens (alloantibodies) and tissue-restricted self-antigens (autoantibodies) are two major risk factors for the development of graft rejection that ultimately leads to graft failure. In this review, we describe current understanding on genesis and pathogenesis of antibodies in two important clinical scenarios: lung transplantation and transplantation of islet of Langerhans. It is evident that when compared to any other clinical solid organ or cellular transplant, lung and islet transplants are more susceptible to rejection by combination of allo- and auto-immune responses.
The world citrus crop

The genus Citrus and its relatives in the Rutaceae family are believed to have originated in southeastern Asia. Travellers, emigrants, and traders carried the more edible selections westward, estab...
Gibbon’s second trilogy: an introductory survey

ABSTRACTThis essay is speculative in character. It is the work of a historian who has completed a study, written on certain principles, of the first three volumes of Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and does not intend to advance to a similar study of the second three. He does, however, believe that such a study would differ profoundly from that he has constructed of the first trilogy and wishes to offer hypotheses as to why this should be so. All hypotheses invite falsification, and he will make statements about the second trilogy and its hypothetical construction which invite research with results to which they may or may not stand up. To do this will be an exercise in the history of historiography, a sub-discipline still in progress of establishing itself. It will also give the author the opportunity of extending certain generalizations he was led to advance in writing and completing his study of Gibbon’s first trilogy, and of enquiring whether they remain valid in the light of a study of ...
Vitamin D for the Management of Asthma.

Despite the authors' caution that further data are needed to clarify the role of vitamin D in care, this Cochrane review found that its use reduces the average number of asthma exacerbations requiring corticosteroid treatment from 0.44 to 0.28 per person per year.
A waveform design approach to complex interference reduction

Conventional radar signal processing techniques approximate multipath as a linear process. Unfortunately such an approach results in poor detection performance and because the model for the interference does not accurately represent the physical scattering process. We instead propose a method that uses the flexibility of waveform design for a given aperture to linearize the physical scattering phenomenon. This allows us to successfully detect targets using a Weiner matched filter approach in high multipath conditions.
Factors affecting co-inoculation with antibiotic-producing bacteria to enhance rhizobial colonization and nodulation

Co-inoculation with antibiotic-producing bacteria and rhizobia resistant to those antibiotics has been proposed as a means of promoting colonization and nodulation of legumes by root-nodule bacteria. A study was conducted to establish some of the factors affecting co-inoculation with antibiotic-producing strains of Bacillus and Streptomyces griseus. The stimulation of Rhizobium meliloti and yield and N uptake by alfalfa was enhanced with increasing inoculum size of Bacillus sp. S. griseus and chitin added to soil increased nodulation of soybeans by Bradyrhizobium japonicum and increased nodulation, yield, and number of pods on a second crop grown in the same soil. Bacillus sp. persisted in soil in sufficient numbers for at least 51 days to increase colonization of soybean roots by B. japonicum. The populations of S. griseus, Bacillus sp., and antibiotic-resistant isolates of R. meliloti and B. japonicum fell after their addition to seeds. Nevertheless, a benefical effect by the antibiotic-producing bacteria was evident on R. meliloti colonization of the rhizosphere, nodulation, and yield of alfalfa grown from seeds stored 94 days and on B. japonicum colonization, nodule number, yield, and seed weight of soybeans grown from seeds stored 90 days. Because non-antibiotic-producing derivatives of Bacillus sp. and S. griseus did not promote colonization or nodulation of alfalfa roots by R. meliloti, the benefit of this co-inoculation is a result of antibiotic formation.
Severity Setting for Human Health

In this chapter, we consider a context of indicators for infant health on the Indonesian island of Java as studied by Ms. Yekti Widyaningsih in cooperation with the authors of this volume. This complements the foregoing material by presenting a setting wherein the indicators are intended to reflect severity of a context of concern instead of favorability. Instead of reversing ratings, we invert interpretations so that previously preferential positions become particularly problematic positions in salient scaling and preference plots. The data pertain to Java Island in 2007 at the district level, omitting Banten Province and Kepulauan District due to incompleteness of information (see Fig. 12.1).
Activation or inhibition of PPARα-mediated fatty acid β-oxidation does not active cardiomyocyte proliferation in normal or infarcted adult mice

ABSTRACT Objectives PPAR genes are known as the important regulators of fatty acid oxidation and energy homeostasis. PPARα is highly expressed in the embryonic and adult heart. Previous studies from infant mouse hearts have suggested that activation of PPARα using GW7647 treatment or cardiac-restricted activation of PPARα using αMHC-PPARα transgenic mice enhanced fatty acid β-oxidation and promoted cardiomyocyte proliferation rate in the postnatal day 4 mouse heart. Here, we further investigate the impact of PPARα-mediated fatty acid β-oxidation on cardiomyocyte proliferation in the adult mouse heart. Methods and Results Adult wild-type (C57BL/6J) mice were subjected to five injections of GW7647, a highly specific PPARα agonist, or vehicle (saline). Cardiomyocyte proliferation was analyzed by quantification of DNA synthesis via ethynyldeoxyuridine (EdU) incorporation and quantification of cells undergoing mitosis using phosphorylated histone H3 (PH3). GW7647 treatment resulted in activation of PPARα target genes associated with fatty acid metabolism and β-oxidation, validating its biological activity. However, GW7647 treatment did not active cardiomyocyte proliferation in the normal heart. In parallel, mice were subjected to myocardial infarction (MI) using permanent coronary artery occlusion. Both GW7647-treatd wild-type mice and αMHC-PPARα transgenic mice showed no significant differences in cardiomyocyte DNA synthesis and mitosis compared with vehicle-treated wild-type mice after MI. Furthermore, inhibition of PPARα-mediated fatty acid β-oxidation using etomoxir (ETO) treatment had no impact on cardiomyocyte proliferation in both normal and infarcted hearts of wild-type mice compared with vehicle treatment. Summary These findings suggest that activation or inhibition of PPARα-mediated fatty acid β-oxidation did not active cardiomyocyte proliferation in normal or infarcted hearts of adult mice. Any effects on cardiac function observed following PPARα activation treatment is independent of enhanced cardiomyocyte renewal in the adult heart.
Utilizing the Generalized Intelligent Framework for Tutoring (GIFT) for Human Factors Education

Human Factors educators teach a variety of different types of classes including in-person, mixed mode, and online. The Generalized Intelligent Framework for Tutoring (GIFT) is a free, open-source d...
Test platform for autopilot system embedded in a model of multi-core architecture using X-Plane flight simulator

The use of multi-core processing platform has become a trend in the automation industry due to the benefits that this technology can offer, such as a substantial reduction of overall temperature of hardware operation and more computational power delivered to embedded system. However, the use of this technology still represents a great challenge for the aerospace industry that demands a high level of safety and reliability for critical applications. The insertion of a new technology like multi-core architecture into an airplane system requires exhaustive tests to ensure that the new system fulfills the requirement of high-level safety demanded by aerospace industry. This paper, with educational and research purpose, presents a test platform to evaluate the use of an autopilot system embedded on a representative model of a multi-core architecture emulated by a network with twenty Raspberry-Pi's connected via Ethernet. We simulated three scenarios of failure condition: Measurement error, Communication error and Time delay effect.
Who do you know? Zoonotic disease communication networks of livestock producers, veterinarians, human health professionals, and emergency managers

Zoonotic disease epidemics are on the rise with emerging diseases being identified that affect humans and animals alike. An understanding about communication networks of those involved in managing a zoonotic disease outbreak is necessary to develop a strong communication response in the event of a zoonotic disease outbreak. The purpose of this study was to explore the communication networks of livestock producers, veterinarians, human health professionals, and emergency managers related to zoonotic disease. In-depth interviews were conducted with 41 people within key areas of one state in an effort to understand how communication networks may be activated during a crisis. This study revealed a wide range of information sources that livestock producers, medical professionals, veterinarians, and emergency managers seek information from. The results from this study also highlight the communication gaps, such as veterinarians not communicating with livestock producers, emergency managers not communicating with medical professionals and livestock producers, and a lack of communication between medical professionals and livestock producers. It is recommended that professionals who play a key role in zoonotic disease outbreaks, such as livestock producers, veterinarians, human health professionals, and emergency managers, cultivate and maintain relationships outside their usual professional group beyond times of disease outbreaks.
Stop the Bleed: Effective Training in Need of Improvement.

Abstract Background The “Stop the Bleed” (StB) campaign aims to educate laypersons on performing bleeding control techniques in any setting that requires hemorrhage control, such as motor vehicle crashes or mass casualty incidents. Participants undergo a didactic and practical session, the latter incorporating a mannequin. We hypothesized that participants would increase content knowledge after StB participation and that the training could be improved by a more life-like bleeding modification of the mannequin. Materials and methods From July 2017 to January 2018, hospital and community members from a major metropolitan area participated in StB training. Participants provided demographic data regarding prior emergency training and were asked pre- and post-test questions (five-point Likert scale) regarding their response to hemorrhage. Individuals also evaluated the mannequin on bleeding simulation. Scores were reported as means with standard deviation or medians with interquartile ranges (IQRs) with subset analysis stratified by experience. Results Of 402 participants, 310 provided complete data. On the composite, pre-test self-assessment, participants had a median score of 24 of 30 points (IQR 16-30). Post-testing demonstrated a statistically significant increase with a median score of 29 (IQR 25-30, P Conclusions StB is an effective education program. Those without prior experience or training in hemorrhage cessation demonstrated the most improvement. Regardless of background, participants reported overwhelmingly that the training would be more effective if it were more realistic. Future work to design and develop cost-effective mannequins demonstrating pulsatile blood flow and cessation of hemorrhage could enable learners to actually “Stop the Bleed”.
Optical Interrogation of Neurovascular Coupling

Brain function is the result of the interaction between neural and vascular networks. We have used optical and electrophysiology techniques to interrogate the coupling between these two networks. Here we report our latest results.
Respiratory Care Faculty and Student Perceptions of Effective Clinical Instructor Characteristics

Background: Clinical instructors play a crucial role in shaping the future of healthcare by training students on site to deliver patient-centered team based care. Respiratory care clinical instructors play an integral part in preparing respiratory care students to be effective practitioners given that almost 50% of the respiratory care curriculum is conducted in the clinical environment under the supervision of clinical instructors. Professional competence, interpersonal relationships, personality characteristics and teaching ability are all qualities that clinical instructors should possess in order to provide students with quality clinical education experiences. This study aimed to explore and compare respiratory care faculty and students9 perceptions of the most important characteristics of an effective clinical instructor. Methods: A letter of solicitation which housed the link to an online questionnaire was sent to all respiratory care program directors in the US via email. Program directors9 emails were secured from the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) website which provides an alphabetical listing of all accredited respiratory care education programs. The clinical instructor9s effectiveness questionnaire was used to collect the data (Tang et al 2005). The questionnaire categories are clinical instructor9s professional competence, interpersonal relationships, personality characteristics, and teaching ability. Institutional Review Board IRB approval was obtained. Results: 176 faculty and 122 students completed the questionnaire. Respiratory care faculty scored the highest mean in the professional competency category µ= (4.81) and the lowest mean in the interpersonal relationship category µ = 4.51, while respiratory care students scored the highest mean in the interpersonal relationship category µ = (4.58) and the lowest in the personality characteristics category µ = (4.53). A Mann Whitney U test revealed significant differences between respiratory care faculty and students in the professional competence (P=.001) and interpersonal relationship (P= .01) categories . Conclusions: Besides being professionally competent, clinical instructors should be able to supports students as they seek to overcome stressors that might arise in the clinical education portion of their curriculum. Clinical instructors must understand their role as mentors and develop a positive interpersonal relationship with students.
Escalus' Dream: Re-Imagining Shakespeare's States

Law and theater, like law and literature, and indeed like law and the humanities more generally, share a common reliance upon the performance of competing imaginaries. To experiment with different cognitive and affective registers, projecting divergent socio-political and legal realities, is to engage in a pedagogic and ultimately an ethical practice. In Measure for Measure Shakespeare suggests that whether law’s sovereignty will be violently disruptive in its onset and coercive in its rule, or bound to an ethics of equity in conjunction with the accidents of grace, and the demands of shared moral values, depends on “the properties of government, character, and discourse that unfold.” Measure for Measure plays out the intertwined complexities of politics and character. By identifying and assaying various characters, the play identifies diverse forms of political and legal knowledge and practice and, by extension, possible sources of self and state sovereignty based on the extra-legal beliefs and values that we hold most sacred. This insight provides a path to meaningful freedom in the development of self and political governance alike. At the same time, however, the dark challenge of humanist freedom remains. In shadows and grace, the entangled vicissitudes of secular power and transcendent meaning recapitulate the paradox of law.
Abstract 12541: Left Atrial Cardiomyopathy and Associations With Left Atrial Structure and Function

Introduction: Abnormally negative P-wave terminal force in lead V1 (aPTFV1 <-5000μV*ms) is an electrocardiographic marker of left atrial (LA) myopathy and is associated with an increased risk of st...
Lessons learned from safe tracheostomy aftercare taskforce implemented during COVID-19 pandemic.

PURPOSE: At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, our institution instituted a Safe Tracheostomy Aftercare Taskforce (STAT) team to care for the influx of patients undergoing tracheostomies. This review was undertaken to understand this team's impact on outcomes of tracheostomy care. METHODS: We compared retrospective data collected from patients undergoing tracheostomies at our institution from February to June 2019, prior to creation of the STAT team, to prospectively collected data from tracheostomies performed from February to June 2020, while the STAT team was in place and performed statistical analysis on outcomes of care such as decannulation prior to discharge, timely tube change, and post-discharge follow-up. RESULTS: We found that the STAT team significantly increased rate of decannulation prior to discharge (P < 0.0005), performance of timely trach tube change when indicated (P < 0.05), and rates of follow-up for tracheostomy patients after discharge from the hospital (P < 0.0005). CONCLUSION: The positive impact of the STAT team on outcomes of patient care such as decannulation prior to discharge, timely tube change, and post-discharge follow-up makes a strong case for its continuation even in non-pandemic times.