cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Accelerated immunotherapy schedules: review of efficacy and safety

Objectives To provide a comprehensive evaluation of accelerated immunotherapy build-up schedules in terms of adverse reactions and clinical efficacy. Data Sources Peer-reviewed studies and review articles were selected from the PubMed database for articles published in the years 1976 to 2006 using the following keywords: rush, cluster immunotherapy in combination with allergic rhinitis, asthma, Hymenoptera, and imported fire ant . Study Selection Studies were selected if they provided safety and efficacy information on accelerated allergen immunotherapy schedules. Most of the studies reviewed were double-blind, placebo controlled, but some open-observational studies were included if they provided immunotherapy safety or other information the author thought was relevant. Results A wide range of systemic reactions were reported in the literature with inhalant allergens: ranging from 27% to 100% of the patients in rush immunotherapy studies and 0% to 79% of patients in the cluster studies. Predictors of systemic reactions with rush immunotherapy were forced expiratory volume in 1 second less than 80% of predicted and a high degree of skin test reactivity. Premedication clearly reduces the risk of systemic reactions with rush immunotherapy, but the effect on cluster schedules was not as clear. Conclusions Accelerated immunotherapy build-up schedules in selected patients may provide a rapid alternative to conventional build-up schedules without a significant increase in risk.
Polyhedral embeddings in the projective plane

We characterize the graphs that have polyhedral embeddings in the projective plane. We also prove that if one embedding of a graph is polyhedral then all embeddings of that graph are polyhedral.
Heavy Metals and Cardiovascular Disease: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2006

We assessed the role of lead and cadmium as partial mediators between smoking and composite cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease (CCVD). We also studied the association between urinary heavy metals and CCVD. Pooled data from NHANES 1999-2006 were examined. Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease was determined using a standardized questionnaire asking about history of stroke, angina, heart attack, coronary artery disease, and congestive heart failure. Increasing serum cadmium levels were associated with increasing prevalence of CCVD (P-trend: .03). Adjusted odds-ratio (OR) for active smokers versus never smokers was 2.09 (1.67-2.63). Adjustment for lead did not affect the OR but adjustment for cadmium significantly attenuated the OR (1.54 [1.17-2.03]). Significant association was observed between CCVD and urinary antimony, cadmium, cobalt, and tungsten. High levels of serum cadmium (>0.61 µg/L) were associated with CCVD. The relationship between smoking and CCVD was partially mediated through cadmium. Urinary antimony, cadmium, cobalt, and tungsten may be associated with CCVD.
Integrated Care Increases Treatment and Improves Outcomes of Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection and Psychiatric Illness or Substance Abuse.

Background & Aims Patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with psychiatric disorders and/or substance abuse face significant barriers to antiviral treatment. New strategies are needed to improve treatment rates and outcomes. We investigated whether an integrated care (IC) protocol, which includes multidisciplinary care coordination and patient case management, could increase the proportion of patients with chronic HCV infection who receive antiviral treatment (a combination of interferon-based and direct-acting antiviral agents) and achieve a sustained virologic response (SVR). Methods We performed a prospective randomized trial at 3 medical centers in the United States. Participants (n = 363 patients attending HCV clinics) had been screened and tested positive for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and/or substance use; they were assigned randomly to groups that received IC or usual care (controls) from March 2009 through February 2011. A midlevel mental health practitioner was placed at each HCV clinic to provide IC with brief mental health interventions and case management, according to formal protocol. The primary end point was SVR. Results Of the study participants, 63% were non-white, 51% were homeless in the past 5 years, 64% had psychiatric illness, 65% were substance abusers within 1 year before enrollment, 57% were at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder, 71% had active depression, 80% were infected with HCV genotype 1, and 23% had advanced fibrosis. Over a mean follow-up period of 28 months, a greater proportion of patients in the IC group began receiving antiviral therapy (31.9% vs 18.8% for controls; P = .005) and achieved a SVR (15.9% vs 7.7% of controls; odds ratio, 2.26; 95% confidence interval, 1.15−4.44; P = .018). There were no differences in serious adverse events between groups. Conclusions Integrated care increases the proportion of patients with HCV infection and psychiatric illness and/or substance abuse who begin antiviral therapy and achieve SVRs, without serious adverse events. ClinicalTrials.gov # NCT00722423.
Barriers to Excellent End-of-life Care for Patients with Dementia

While great strides have been made recently in improving end-of-life care in the United States, people with dementia often die with inadequate pain control, with feeding tubes in place, and without the benefits of hospice care. In this paper, we discuss the most important and persistent challenges to providing excellent end-of-life care for patients with dementia, including dementia not being viewed as a terminal illness; the nature of the course and treatment decisions in advanced dementia; assessment and management of symptoms; the caregiver experience and bereavement; and health systems issues. We suggest approaches for overcoming these barriers in the domains of education, clinical practice, and public policy. As the population ages, general internists increasingly will be called upon to provide primary care for a growing number of patients dying with dementia. There are great opportunities to improve end-of-life care for this vulnerable and underserved population.
Schools, Families, and Communities Affecting the Dropout Rate: Implications and Strategies for Family Counselors.

Serious social and economic consequences affect the local and national levels when students drop out of school. Research has shown that collaboration among schools, families, and communities in the academic progression of students can decrease their drop out probability. The author presents findings related to a qualitative study conducted in which interventions were used, which increased parental and family involvement. A specific school/family/community strategy, also known as a graduation team, involved families and communities as an integral component in encouraging and facilitating school completion. Implications for counselors who work with children, families, and the schools will be made as well as recommendations for future research.
A generic motif discovery algorithm for sequential data

Motivation: Motif discovery in sequential data is a problem of great interest and with many applications. However, previous methods have been unable to combine exhaustive search with complex motif representations and are each typically only applicable to a certain class of problems. Results: Here we present a generic motif discovery algorithm (Gemoda) for sequential data. Gemoda can be applied to any dataset with a sequential character, including both categorical and real-valued data. As we show, Gemoda deterministically discovers motifs that are maximal in composition and length. As well, the algorithm allows any choice of similarity metric for finding motifs. Finally, Gemoda's output motifs are representation-agnostic: they can be represented using regular expressions, position weight matrices or any number of other models for any type of sequential data. We demonstrate a number of applications of the algorithm, including the discovery of motifs in amino acids sequences, a new solution to the (l,d)-motif problem in DNA sequences and the discovery of conserved protein substructures. Availability: Gemoda is freely available at http://web.mit.edu/bamel/gemoda Contact: [email protected] Supplementary Information: Available at http://web.mit.edu/bamel/gemoda
Adaptive offloading inference for delivering applications in pervasive computing environments

Pervasive computing allows a user to access an application on heterogeneous devices continuously and consistently. However it is challenging to deliver complex applications on resource-constrained mobile devices, such as cellular telephones and PDA. Different approaches, such as application-based or system-based adaptations, have been proposed to address the problem. However existing solutions often require degrading application fidelity. We believe that this problem can be overcome by dynamically partitioning the application and offloading part of the application execution to a powerful nearby surrogate. This will enable pervasive application delivery to be realized without significant fidelity degradation or expensive application rewriting. Because pervasive computing environments are highly dynamic, the runtime offloading system needs to adapt to both application execution patterns and resource fluctuations. Using the fuzzy control model, we have developed an offloading inference engine to adaptively solve two key decision-making problems during runtime offloading: (1) timely triggering of adaptive offloading, and (2) intelligent selection of an application partitioning policy. Extensive trace-driven evaluations show the effectiveness of the offloading inference engine.
Long-term response with sunitinib for metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Abstract A 65-year-old man with metastatic renal cell carcinoma developed progressive disease after treatment with interferon-α. He began treatment with sunitinib, a multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor, on clinical trial. The patient achieved a partial response after two cycles of therapy, with a durable response continuing after 2 years of treatment. This case report illustrates the long-term response to sunitinib for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.
Factors Affecting End Users' Intrinsic Motivation to Use Software

Several research efforts have developed new tools to help end users create effective software. End users will gain benefits from these new tools if they actually adopt and use the systems' features. Most users are likely to be driven by job productivity; thus, they tend to use known features to complete a task rather than taking time to learn to use new features which could more effectively handle the task. This research proposes to investigate what motivates end users to use new features. Particularly, it focuses on end users' intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is an internal drive to perform an activity for the sake of enjoyment of the activity itself. Users with intrinsic motivation enjoy exploring and using the new features. Evidence shows that intrinsic motivation can impact users' software adoption better than extrinsic motivation. For example, game-based software training, which was more interesting and enjoyable, enhanced users' perceived ease of use and intention to use the software more than traditional lecture-based training. Workplace applications can also be intrinsically motivating. Users who used a menu-based word processing application had greater intrinsic motivation than those using a command-based application. The main research question is how to design software that will encourage users to learn and use new features, that users enjoy to use, and that helps users remain engaged in performing their tasks. To tackle this question, a first step is to identify factors affecting users' intrinsic motivation to use a computer system. The study's contribution will be the identification of factors that promote or inhibit end-user programmers' intrinsic motivation.
Paradigms and paradoxes: Mechanisms for possible enhanced biological activity of bilaterally symmetrical chemicals

We propose a mechanism that bilateral symmetry yields an entropic advantage for enzyme recognition. We suggest that bilateral symmetry may be a guiding principle used by nature to produce some particularly effective receptor–ligand interactions. An essential result is that bilateral symmetry is common among enzyme inhibitors, which coupled with an enhanced bond energy that connects dimer molecules compared to a reduced bond energy profile for higher oligomers provides a clue to explain the abundance of bilaterally symmetrical molecules found in Nature.
Myopic and Non-myopic Communication under Partial Observability

In decentralized settings with partial observability, agents can often benefit from communicating, but communication resources may be limited and costly. Current approaches tend to dismiss or underestimate this cost, resulting in over-communication. This paper presents a general framework to compute the value of communicating from each agent’s local perspective, by comparing the expected reward with and without communication. In order to obtain these expectations, each agent must reason about the state and belief states of the other agents, both before and after communication. We show how this can be done in the context of decentralized POMDPs and discuss ways to mitigate a common myopic assumption, where agents tend to over-communicate because they overlook the possibility that communication can be deferred or initiated by the other agents. The paper presents a theoretical framework to precisely quantify the value of communication and an effective algorithm to manage communication. Experimental results show that our approach performs well compared to other techniques suggested in the literature.
Turgor Differences and Water Stress in Maize and Sorghum Leaves During Drought and Recovery

The pressure potentials (turgor pressure) in leaves of maize (Zea mays L.) and grain sorghum (Sorghum vulgare Pers.) plants subjected to water stress in a controlled environment were estimated from measurements of water and osmotic potentials. Changes in turgor pressure were larger in sorghum than in maize during the development of water stress and after re watering. It is suggested that this indicates a lower cell wall elasticity in sorghum than in maize. This fact may affect some of the physiological activities of sorghum.
A Trio of Concerns

This essay assesses the two most significant changes in psychology over the past century: the attempt to localize psychological phenomena in restricted brain sites and the search for genetic contributions to behavior and psychopathology. Although there are advantages to these new developments, they are accompanied by some questionable assumptions. Because the investigators in these domains often relate variation in their biological measures to variation in personality traits evaluated with questionnaires, an analysis of the unique properties of the verbalreport questionnaires is presented. It is suggested that future research on human personality should try to combine semantic reports with behaviors and biological data in order to arrive at more fruitful constructs.
Ecological Contexts in the Development of Coalitions for Youth Violence Prevention: An Organizational Network Analysis

Community coalitions are a recognized strategy for addressing pressing public health problems. Despite the promise of coalitions as an effective prevention strategy, results linking coalition efforts to positive community outcomes are mixed. To date, research has primarily focused on determining organizational attributes related to successful internal coalition functioning. The authors' research complements and adds to this literature by offering a network conceptualization of coalition formation in which coalition participation is studied within the broader context of local organizational networks both within and beyond a coalition. The authors examine participation in the first year of a youth violence prevention coalition exploring both differences between participating and nonparticipating organizations and levels of participation. Each network variable, reflecting prior collaboration and being viewed by other organizations as a local leader, approximately doubled the explained variance in coalition participation beyond the predictive power of all available organizational attributes combined. Results suggest that initial coalition participation emerged out of a preexisting network of interorganizational relations and provide an alternative perspective on coalition formation that goes beyond conceptual orientations that treat coalitions as bounded organizational entities that exist apart from the communities in which they are embedded.
Growth arrest-specific gene 6 (Gas6) levels are elevated in patients with chronic renal failure

Background The TAM receptors (tyro3, axl and mer) and their ligands (vitamin K-dependent proteins—Gas6 and Protein S) are crucial modulators of inflammation, which may be relevant in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Gas6 and axl have multiple roles in mediating vascular atherosclerosis and injury, thrombosis and inflammation, yet nothing is known about the Gas6–axl pathway in humans with CKD. Given the prevalence of chronic inflammation and vascular disease in this population, we measured TAM ligands in patients with various levels of renal function.
Biosynthesis, accumulation and secretion of isoflavonoids during germination and development of white lupin (Lupinus albus L.)

A combination of 14 C labelling experiments of white lupin seedlings (Lupinus a/bus L.) and high pressure liquid chromatography of tissue extracts indicated active biosynthesis of isoflavonoids during the first 2-4 d of seed germination. These were synthesized mostly as glucosides and to a lesser extent as aglycones, with trace amounts of prenylated derivatives. There was a general decrease in total isoflavonoids during later stages of germination (c. until d 13), which may be ascribed to their turnover and/or exudation into the rhizosphere. In addition, exudation of isoflavonoids by lupin seeds germinated under sterile conditions continues for 12 d with a preferential release of monoprenylated compounds. The relationship between the specific developmental events during seed germination and the accumulation of certain groups of isoflavonoids is discussed in relation to their possible role in the growth processes of lupin
Demographic Framework for Analysis of Insect Life Histories

The purpose of this paper is to generalize both cohort and population phenomena. All cohort properties are viewed as ‘events’ and divided into two types: i) non-renewable—events that cannot be repeated (eg. death); and ii) renewable-events that can be repeated (eg. reproduction). A framework for examining averages and heterogeneity of each type is presented. The foundation for examining population properties is the stable population model. An organizational framework for the conventional population parameters is presented as well as two example extensions: i) a two-sex model; and ii) harvesting models. A brief discussion at the end emphasizes the importance of understanding the more generic properties of insect life histories.
Learning as embodied familiarization

Embodied familiarization is offered as an overarching conception of learning informed by work in the hermeneutic philosophical tradition, especially the writings of Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Taylor, and Dreyfus. From this perspective, learning is conceptualized as meaningful engagement that involves a shift in embodied familiarity—that is, a shift in one’s sense of “dwelling” and capability. This view of learning differs from others in that it is based on an agentic account of human practical involvement (viz., participational agency) and makes no effort to explain learningrelated phenomena through mental representation or other reified constructs. As an alternative to traditional learning theories in psychology, embodied familiarization treats concernful, practical involvement as its primary ontological commitment. This conceptual alternative is described through a discussion of four lived phenomena (antecedent familiarity, encounters with unfamiliarity, exploration, and tacitization) and three modes of familiarity (basic, working, and skilled).
Pretest prediction and diagnosis of metastatic lesions to the pancreas by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration.

Background and Aim Early diagnosis of solid pancreatic lesions (SPLs) enables prompt treatment. The study aims to identify factors differentiating metastatic lesion to the pancreas (PMET) from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs). Methods This is a retrospective study at a tertiary cancer center. Consecutive patients referred for endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) of SPLs from 2004 to 2011 were reviewed. The main outcomes were pre-EUS-FNA (endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration) predictors and diagnostic accuracy of EUS-FNA for PMETs. Results Among a total of 1108 EUS-FNAs for pancreatic lesions, 672 patients had neoplastic SPLs (PMETs = 53; PDACs = 528, PNETs = 91). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and accuracy of EUS-FNA for diagnosis of PMETs were 84.9%, 100%, 100%, and 98.8%, respectively. The mean number of EUS-FNA passes for diagnosis of PMET was 3.1 per patient. For each endosonographer, preceding 3-year EUS volume (mean/year) significantly correlated with fewer needle passes (rs[−0.30], P = 0.03). The most common PMET was renal cell carcinoma. Stratified multivariate analyses were performed. Compared with patients with PDACs, PMETs were more common in men (odds ratio [OR] = 2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.0–4.0); located in the pancreatic tail (OR = 2.4; 95%CI = 1.1–5.2); and were less likely with increasing age (OR = 0.95; 95%CI = 0.92–0.99), presence of major symptoms (abdomen pain/diarrhea/weight loss; OR = 0.2; 95%CI = 0.1–0.4), elevated bilirubin (OR = 0.3; 95%CI = 0.13–0.69), and imaging evidence of arterial invasion (OR = 0.15; 95%CI = 0.03–0.67). Compared with PNETs, PMETs were more common with increase age (OR = 1.05; 95%CI = 1.02–1.08) and increasing lesion size (OR = 1.03; 95%CI = 1.0–1.1), and were less likely in patients with diabetes (OR = 0.34; 95%CI = 0.11–0.99). Conclusion Among the largest numbers of neoplastic SPLs evaluated at a single center, pre-test features reliably characterize, and EUS-FNA provides a highly specific diagnosis of PMETs.
Designing Problems to Promote Higher‐Order Thinking

The design of the problem can be a key to success in using problem-based learning. This chapter discusses characteristics of effective problems that will elicit higher-order thinking among students.
Leadership Development in the New Millennium

The students and practitioners who attend our leadership classes and our professional development seminars now will be doing most of their leadership in the 21st century. They need to understand the concept of leadership that will operate in the 21st century. They need to be able to practice a new paradigm of leadership that will operate in the 21st century, not the old paradigm of leadership that has dominated the 20th century. The author looks at pst models of leader development programs and future models of leadership development programs in an effort to demonstrate the difference between the two paradigms of leadership.
Children's Understanding of Homonyms.

Previous tasks have shown that preschool and early elementary school-children typically have trouble learning and identifying homonyms (Peters & Zaidel, 1980; Mazzocco, 1989). It is possible that a one-to-one mapping assumption or a lack of metalinguistic skills makes homonym learning and identification particularly difficult. In three experiments we examined a total of 60 three-year-olds' ability to pick out homonym pairs, and the extent to which they realize that although homonyms share a common label, they represent two different categories. In Experiment 1 subjects were asked to identify homonym pairs. In Experiment 2, homonym pairs and non-homonym pairs were labelled, then children were asked whether the pairs had the same name, and whether they were the same kind of thing. In Experiment 3 children were shown one-half of each of several homonym and non-homonym pairs, then asked to identify a name match and a category match from a set of pictures. From these experiments we conclude that children have the metalinguistic skills necessary to identify homonym pairs; moreover, they realized that homonyms represent two different categories. Finally, if children have a one-to-one mapping assumption, it is not strong enough to prevent them from acquiring homonyms.
Tax Incentives: An Effective Development Strategy for Rural Communities?

As national and local economies become more globalized, nlany rural areas are going to tind it more difficult to compete for private capital investments. A traditional tool. modifications to tax policy, of state and local governments will not be as effective (for Illany communities it has never been effective) in the future. These communities will need to seek other avenues of growth. However; for many rural communities even alternative avenues will not lead to enhanced economic opportunity.
Developing a grey-based decision-making model for supplier selection

Abstract The purpose of this study is to develop a decision making model based on the grey relational analysis for supplier selection. Using a multi-criteria decision making approach, the grey system theory has been used to capture the complexity inherent in supplier selection process. In order to enhance the effectiveness of the proposed methodology, an integrated, two-phase model is proposed which integrates the fuzzy pairwise comparison with a grey relational analysis. In the first phase, the proposed model utilises the fuzzy pairwise comparisons technique to tackle some of the limitations in the current grey methodology. In the second phase, a method is proposed to mitigate the bias judgment and inconsistency in pairwise comparisons application in order to improve the results of the first phase. To validate the capability of the proposed model and clarify the details, suppliers of six products from a case study in the auto industry are ranked based on the proposed model, and the results are compared with outcome of the recent grey model in the literature, and the managers' ranking. The findings suggest that the proposed model provides more consistent and reliable results which are in line with managers' ranking. Implications of the study to the theory and practice and future research have been outlined.
Arsenic induces apoptosis of multidrug-resistant human myeloid leukemia cells that express Bcr-Abl or overexpress MDR, MRP, Bcl-2, or Bcl-xL

We investigated the in vitro growth inhibitory and apoptotic effects of clinically achievable concentrations of As2O3 (0.5 to 2.0 μmol/L) against human myeloid leukemia cells known to be resistant to a number of apoptotic stimuli. These included chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML) blast crisis K562 and HL-60/Bcr-Abl cells, which contain p210 and p185 Bcr-Abl, respectively, and HL-60 cell types that overexpress Bcl-2 (HL-60/Bcl-2), Bcl-xL(HL-60/Bcl-xL), MDR (HL-60/VCR), or MRP (HL-60/AR) protein. The growth-inhibitory IC50 values for As2O3 treatment for 7 days against all these cell types ranged from 0.8 to 1.5 μmol/L. Exposure to 2 μmol/L As2O3 for 7 days induced apoptosis of all cell types, including HL-60/Bcr-Abl and K562 cells. This was associated with the cytosolic accumulation of cyt c and preapoptotic mitochondrial events, such as the loss of inner membrane potential (▵Ψm) and the increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS). Treatment with As2O3 (2 μmol/L) generated the activities of caspases, which produced the cleavage of the BH3 domain containing proapoptotic Bid protein and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. Significantly, As2O3-induced apoptosis of HL-60/Bcr-Abl and K562 cells was associated with a decline in Bcr-Abl protein levels, without any significant alterations in the levels of Bcl-xL, Bax, Apaf-1, Fas, and FasL. Although As2O3 treatment caused a marked increase in the expression of the myeloid differentiation marker CD11b, it did not affect Hb levels in HL-60/Bcr-Abl, K562, or HL-60/neo cells. However, in these cells, As2O3 potently induced hyper-acetylation of the histones H3 and H4. These findings characterize As2O3 as a growth inhibiting and apoptosis-inducing agent against a variety of myeloid leukemia cells resistant to multiple apoptotic stimuli.
MicroRNA profiles in colorectal carcinomas, adenomas and normal colonic mucosa: variations in miRNA expression and disease progression

MiRNAs are small, non-protein-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression either by post-transcriptionally suppressing mRNA translation or by mRNA degradation. We examine differentially expressed miRNAs in colorectal carcinomas, adenomas and normal colonic mucosa. Data come from population-based studies of colorectal cancer conducted in Utah and the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program. A total of 1893 carcinoma/normal-paired samples and 290 adenoma tissue samples were run on the Agilent Human miRNA Microarray V19.0 which contained 2006 miRNAs. We tested for significant differences in miRNA expression between paired carcinoma/adenoma/normal colonic tissue samples. Fewer than 600 miRNAs were expressed in >80% of people for colonic tissue; of these 86.5% were statistically differentially expressed between carcinoma and normal colonic mucosa using a false discovery rate of 0.05. Roughly half of these differentially expressed miRNAs showed a progression in levels of expression from normal to adenoma to carcinoma tissue. Other miRNAs appeared to be altered at the normal to adenoma stage, while others were only altered at the adenoma to carcinoma stage or only at the normal to carcinoma stage. Evaluation of the Agilent platform showed a high degree of repeatability (r = 0.98) and reasonable agreement with the NanoString platform. Our data suggest that miRNAs are highly dysregulated in colorectal tissue among individuals with colorectal cancer; the pattern of disruption varies by miRNA as tissue progresses from normal to adenoma to carcinoma.
TAKOTSUBO CARDIOMYOPATHY, AN INCREASINGLY RECOGNIZED SYNDROME: NATIONWIDE TRENDS IN REPORTED INCIDENCE

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) is believed to be an increasingly diagnosed syndrome; however, data on its incidence is limited. The purpose of this study was to determine the reported incidence of TTC in the United States and to examine its trend over several years. Data was obtained from the
Revision of the Oecanthinae (Gryllidae: Orthoptera) of America South of the United States

Thirty-one species of Oecanthinae occur in America south of the United States. Of the 11 species of Neoxabea , 9 are known only from South America; the other 2 are found in both the United States and Mexico. Seven of the 20 species of Oecanthus are known only from South America, 2 range from northern South America into the U.S., 3 are restricted to Central America and Mexico, 7 occur in Mexico and the U.S. but not in South America, and 1 is known only from the West Indies. Features of the pretarsal claws and wing venation separate Neoxabea and Oecanthus , and features of the male metanotum and the cerci are useful in distinguishing the species of Neoxabea . The calling songs of O. allardi T. Walker and Gurney, O. varicornis F. Walker, and O. immaculatus Bruner are characterized from audiospectrographic analysis. New species described are Neoxabea astales , N. enodis, N. femorata, N. lepta, N. quadrula, Oecanthus comma, O. major, O. nanus, and O. prolatus . Keys are given to the 2 genera and to the species of each occurring in the Neotropical region.
ncorporation of Variations in Simulation Softwares to Better Predict Real Life Scenarios - Natural Convection: a Case Study

This paper first compares results obtained by simulation of natural convection from a flat plate for different orientations with theoretical results, to understand simulation procedures. It further compares experiments and simulations of natural convective heat transfer from a cylinder for different orientations of the cylinder, to verify the accuracy of the simulation. Plausible reasons for the variances between the results obtained have been analyzed and presented and improvements in simulation procedures are explored.
Measurement of total body water in the dog with antipyrine.

Summary and Conclusions1. Intravenously injected antipyrine is destroyed in the dog at the rate of 20 to 60% per hour. 2. Nevertheless, antipyrine space may be used for the determination of total body water in the dog, because of the fact that the distribution of antipyrine appears to be essentially complete after 10 minutes. 3. Dogs in adequate nutritional status are found to have antipyrine spaces of 53.9% to 67.9%. The average value obtained from 8 normal dogs was 59.9%. 4. Inadequate nutrition and emaciation result in an increase in the antipyrine space, a result consistent with the idea that body water is related more closely to lean body mass than to body weight.
Effects of Temporal Stressors on Vigilance and Information Processing

The data of two control and ten experimental studies of the effects of continuous work and sleep loss on sustained multiple-task performance, representing more than 9 man-years of synthetic work by 89 different subjects, were reanalyzed to permit comparisons of the performances of three watchkeeping tasks and two active tasks that are time-shared in a multiple-task performance battery (MTPB). Specific comparisons were made of the two control groups, of the effects of 48 hours of continuous work and sleep loss with and without the employment of pulse rate and EEG-theta bio feedback and autoregulation, of the effects of the duration of continuous work and sleep loss (36, 44, or 48 hours), of the effects of the duration of rest and recovery following 36 hours of continuous work (12, 6, 4, 3, and 2 hours), and of circadian rhythm and 36-hour continuous work interactions. Eight specific conclusions are reached, the most general of which is that the relevance of typical laboratory research with single-task watchkeeping tests, including the capability of its findings being generalized to, and implemented in, practical situations involving monitoring performances within operational manmachine systems is seriously questioned, if not compromised, by the findings.
Determination 12 kinds of Preservatives in Cosmetics simultaneously by HPLC

Objective:To develop a HPLC method for determination of preservatives.Methods: After ultrasonic extraction in methanol,samples were analyzed by HPLC.With acetonitrile as mobile phase A,0.05 mol/L sodium dihydrogen phosphate solution(pH=3.0) as mobile phase B gradient elution,flow rate 1 ml/min.Detection wavelength of 265 nm.Results: In a given within the concentration range of the peak area and concentration of preservatives has a good linear relationship.To add a certain concentration of preservatives standard measured by the average recovery was 87.4%~139%,relative standard deviation is 0.16%~5.81%(n=6).Conclusion: This method can simultaneously determine 12 kinds of preservatives.Separation effect is good. The method is simple,fast,high accuracy and good reproducibility.It can be used for simultaneous detection of multiple preservatives.
Biomechanical consequences of adding plantar fascia release to metatarsal osteotomies: Changes in forefoot plantar pressures.

Destruction of the normal metatarsal arch by a long metatarsal is often a cause for metatarsalgia. When surgery is warranted, distal oblique, or proximal dorsiflexion osteotomies of the long metatarsal bones are commonly used. The plantar fascia has anatomical connection to all metatarsal heads. There is controversial scientific evidence on the effect of plantar fascia release on forefoot biomechanics. In this cadaveric biomechanical study, we hypothesized that plantar fascia release would augment the plantar metatarsal pressure decreasing effects of two common second metatarsal osteotomy techniques. Six matched pairs of foot and ankle specimens were mounted on a pressure mat loading platform. Two randomly assigned surgery groups, which had received either distal oblique, or proximal dorsiflexion osteotomy of the second metatarsal, were evaluated before and after plantar fasciectomy. Specimens were loaded up to a ground reaction force of 400 N at varying Achilles tendon forces. Average pressures, peak pressures, and contact areas were analyzed. Supporting our hypothesis, average pressures under the second metatarsal during 600 N Achilles load were decreased by plantar fascia release following proximal osteotomy (p < 0.05). However contrary to our hypothesis, peak pressures under the second metatarsal were significantly increased by plantar fascia release following modified distal osteotomy, under multiple Achilles loading conditions (p < 0.05). Plantar fasciotomy should not be added to distal metatarsal osteotomy in the treatment of metatarsalgia. If proximal dorsiflexion osteotomy would be preferred, plantar fasciotomy should be approached cautiously not to disturb the forefoot biomechanics. © 2016 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:800-804, 2017.
Survey of U.S. wheat for ochratoxin and aflatoxin.

A total of 291 hard red winter wheat samples, 286 hard red spring wheat samples, and 271 soft red winter wheat samples were analyzed for the presecne of ochratoxin and aflatoxin. Samples in all grades came from those collected during crop years 1970-1973 for grade determinations by the Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Sensitivity limits of the analytical method as carried out were 1-3 ppb aflatoxin B1 and 15-30 ppb ochratoxin A. No aflatoxin was detected in any sample. Three samples of hard red winter wheat (Grades U.S. No. 4 and 5 and Sample Grade) contained ochratoxin A (trace, 35, and 25 ppb, respectively). Eight of the hard red spring wheats contained ochratoxin A (15-115 PPB); these were in Grades U.S. No. 4 and 5 and Sample Grade.
A Myth resurgent: classical foundationalism and the new Sellarsian critique

One important strand of Sellars’s attack on classical foundationalism from Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind is his thesis about the priority of is-talk over looks-talk. This thesis has been criticized extensively in recent years, and classical foundationalism has found several contemporary defenders. I revisit Sellars’s thesis and argue that is-talk is epistemically prior to looks-talk in a way that undermines classical foundationalism. The classical foundationalist claims that epistemic foundations are constituted by the agent’s set of looks-judgments. However, I argue that only a subset of these looks-judgments are even candidates to serve as foundations for the agent’s empirical knowledge, and membership in this subset is determined by the agent’s theory of how the world is. Thus, the epistemic force of the looks-judgments in this subset is dependent on the agent’s theory of how the world is. This means that these looks-judgments aren’t foundational at all, as the agent’s theory of how the world is is epistemically is prior to the epistemic status of these looks-judgments. This is the sense in which judgments about how the world is are epistemically prior to judgments about how things look. This conclusion allows concrete elaboration of another of Sellars’s well-know (although not well-understood) claims: “I do wish to insist that the metaphor of ‘foundation’ is misleading in that it keeps us from seeing that if there is a logical dimension in which other empirical propositions rest on observation reports, there is another logical dimension in which the latter rest on the former”.
Examining Tale Protein Binding Kinetics and Site Competition using Single Molecule Imaging

Transcription activator-like effector (TALE) proteins are a set of regulatory proteins that can be programmed to bind specifically any DNA sequence of choice. Despite the obvious potential of TALE proteins as fluorescence imaging and site specific genome editing tools, very little is known about their binding kinetics and affinity in the presence of other DNA-binding proteins that may be competing for the same or nearby sites. Utilizing a polyethylene glycol (PEG) coated flow cell we are able to observe TALE protein binding to a tethered target DNA. We compare the binding kinetics both on and off target to study TALE protein binding specificity. To investigate the usefulness of TALE proteins for live cell imaging of targeted loci we examined TALE binding kinetics in the presence of competition and interactions with DNA binding proteins.
Integrating Data Cleansing With Popular Culture: A Novel SQL Character Data Tutorial

Big data and data science have experienced unprecedented growth in recent years. The big data market continues to exhibit strong momentum as countless businesses transform into data-driven companies. From salary surges to incredible growth in the number of positions, data science is one of the hottest areas in the job market. Significant demand and limited supply of professionals with data competencies has greatly affected the hiring market and this demand/supply imbalance will likely continue in the future. A major key in supplying the market with qualified big data professionals, is bridging the gap from traditional Information Systems (IS) learning outcomes to those outcomes requisite in this emerging field. The purpose of this paper is to share an SQL Character Data Tutorial. Utilizing the 5E Instructional Model, this tutorial helps students (a) become familiar with SQL code, (b) learn when and how to use SQL string functions, (c) understand and apply the concept of data cleansing, (d) gain problem solving skills in the context of typical string manipulations, and (e) gain an understanding of typical needs related to string queries. The tutorial utilizes common, recognizable quotes from popular culture to engage students in the learning process and enhance understanding. This tutorial should prove helpful to educators who seek to provide a rigorous, practical, and relevant big data experience in their courses.
The Pleasures of Dystopia

George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), with its frightening surveillance culture, has been the most frequently invoked dystopic fiction in the wake of Edward Snowden’s revelations, racing to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list some 60 years after its initial publication date. However, as much as the social policing elements of that novel seem uncannily predictive, Orwell was not particularly prescient about other aspects of the future. He was especially amiss in his forecasting for technologies of pleasure. For his characters in Oceania, trudging to and from their joyless jobs in party-issued overalls and rallying for their daily Two Minutes Hate, non-procreative sexuality and intimacy are forbidden. In between bouts of torture in Room 101, O’Brien tells Winston Smith about Big Brother’s plan for the future: ‘“The sex instinct will be eradicated. […] We shall abolish the orgasm.”’1 While today sexual and reproductive rights are still subject to politics everywhere, the austerity and sheer greyness of Orwell’s prognosis for pleasure, even to the most cynical critic of the culture industry, have not come to pass in most of the world.
Exosomes function in antigen presentation during an in vivo Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection

Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected macrophages and dendritic cells are limited in their ability to present antigen to CD4+ T cells suggesting that other mechanism of antigen presentation are driving the robust T cell response observed during an M. tuberculosis infection. These mechanisms could include antigens present in apoptotic bodies, necrotic debris, exosomes or even release of non-vesicular antigen from infected cells. However, there is limited data to support any of these mechanisms as important in driving T cell activation in vivo. In the present study we use Rab27a-deficient mice which show diminished trafficking of mycobacterial components to exosomes as well as M. tuberculosis strains that express recombinant proteins which traffic or fail to traffic to exosomes. We observed that exosomes released during a mouse M. tuberculosis infection contribute significantly to its T cell response. These finding imply that exosomes function to promote T cell immunity during a bacterial infection and are an important source of extracellular antigen.
Analysis of N- and O-Glycosylation of Lysosomal Glycoproteins

The vast majority of lysosomal proteins are heavily glycosylated. The present protocol describes the method of analyzing N- and O-linked glycans in lysosomal proteins of interest. The method is based on using deglycosylating enzymes, endoglycosidases, and exoglycosidases. Endoglycosidases catalyze the cleavage of an internal bond in an oligosaccharide, while exoglycosidases remove terminal carbohydrates from glycans. Different types of carbohydrate residues or chains can be removed by specific glycosidases. Removing oligosaccharides with glycosidases increases the electrophoretic mobility of a protein. This increase in mobility depends on the size and number of removed carbohydrate chains. Therefore, the treatment of lysosomal proteins with specific glycosidases followed by a western blot analysis of a protein of interest provides a way to determine which types of glycans are present in the protein by comparing the gel mobility before and after treatment.
The Timnian and Pastoral Nomadism in the Chalcolithic

Although the earliest evidence for the domestication of caprines (sheep and goats) in the Levant is associated with Neolithic occupations of the early Holocene (Clutton-Brock 1979; Ducos and Helmer 1981; Hecker 1982; Horwitz 1987; Hole 1989), it was not until very late Neolithic or even Chalcolithic times, some 5,000–7,000 years ago, that we see the first clear indications of populations that practiced pastoral nomadism (Gilead 1992; Rosen 1988; Bar-Yosef and Khazanov 1992; Koehler-Rollefson 1989, 1992). Depending upon their environmental settings, these groups displayed varying degrees of residential mobility and dependence upon the herding of caprines. Such patterns appear to have ranged from permanent settlements based largely upon a mixed economy of horticulture and animal husbandry to mobile settlements lacking horticulture and dependent upon the herding of sheep and goats. Hunting, especially of gazelles, and presumably gathering also appears to have contributed significantly to the economies of the fully nomadic pastoralists, at least as indicated by the evidence from southern Jordan. As might be expected, the more permanent settlements with their more diversified economies are found within the better watered areas of the Levant, whereas fully nomadic pastoralism is most often associated with the exploitation of the driest portions of the region.
Social Referencing: Defining and Delineating a Basic Process of Emotion

Social referencing informs and regulates one’s relation with the environment as a function of the perceived appraisals of social partners. Increased emphasis on relational and social contexts in the study of emotion makes this interpersonal process particularly relevant to the field. However, theoretical conceptualizations and empirical operationalizations of social referencing are disjointed across domains and populations of study. This article seeks to unite and refine the study of this construct by providing a clear and comprehensive definition of social referencing. Our perspective presents social referencing and social appraisal as coterminous processes and emphasizes the importance of a relational and interpersonal approach to the study of emotion. We conclude by outlining possible lines of research on this construct.