cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Do cancer patients really want counseling

Abstract Newly diagnosed cancer patients who were screened as being “at risk” for future psychosocial distress were offered a counseling program, covering the period from hospital discharge to resumption of regular activity. More than two-thirds of “at risk” patients accepted. Those who refused the program tended to be more antagonistic or apprehensive than those who accepted. Refusers denied difficulties, minimized problems, and in certain instances were truculent and suspicious. Some refusers did not wish to be interviewed, for fear that social and emotional equilibrium would be disturbed; they rejected counseling, which was felt to be either an immediate threat or an omen of disaster. Accepters, while as much “at risk”, did not deny, but felt more hopeless. Differences in cancer site, stage, symptoms, treatment, availability of significant others, age, sex, social status, and so forth were not significant.
Understanding women’s burdens: preliminary findings on psychosocial health among datoga and iraqw women of northern tanzania

This preliminary, community-based study examines major stressors identified by Iraqw and Datoga women of Mbulu District, Tanzania, and describes steps in creating a culturally specific questionnaire to assess mental health burdens. This area of Tanzania is remote, with limited access to goods and services, and is undergoing dramatic social and economic changes. Iraqw and Datoga reside in close proximity and often intermarry but have different cultural and subsistence responses to this rapid social change. Data were collected from May to October 2002, with 49 Datoga women and 64 Iraqw women interviewed. In-home interviews were conducted to have women (1) free-list their primary concerns and (2) answer questions from a translated (in Datoga and Iraqw) and modified standardized mental health questionnaire. Both groups of women identified hunger, the lack of animals, particularly cattle, and health/illnesses as the most common major stressors. Other frequently cited stressors included crop failure, general fears of violence, paying taxes, and no money for basic needs. Additional refinements are required for the mental health questionnaire, with strengths and limitations discussed. Such data, while preliminary, augment efforts to analyze the emotional burdens associated with dramatic social change.
Ground-State Occupancy of an Ideal Bose-Einstein Gas Confined to a Finite Volume

The number of particles in the ground state has been computed as a function of temperature for an ideal BoseEinstein gas confined to a box of finite volume by evaluating the discrete sum over states on a computer. Large deviations from London's bulk-gas result are found when the length of the box is much greater than its width for the range of dimensions investigated here. It is shown that the deviations occur because in this limit the system tends to behave like a one-dimensional system. (auth)
Clinical biochemistry of preeclampsia and related liver diseases of pregnancy: a review

Pregnancy is a physiologic state associated with substantial and, on occasion, profound alterations in metabolic and biochemical processes. If there are no preexisting diseases or complications, such functional changes are reversible following delivery. Many of these changes are reflected in altered concentrations of chemical and hematologic constituents of blood. Most pregnancies progress with no maternal or fetal complications and result in delivery of healthy infants. Problem pregnancies, once difficult to detect, are now identified by an assessment of appropriate environmental and genetic factors and by the judicious use of laboratory tests in the antenatal period. The recent introduction of new biotechnologies and of high-resolution imaging systems has fostered the establishment of comprehensive clinical programs for prenatal diagnosis. In spite of these advances, certain maternal diseases continue to constitute threats to the fetus and mother. Intercurrent diseases of pregnancy can be divided into two categories: diseases occurring in all population groups including pregnant women (e.g. essential hypertension, hepatitis, pancreatitis, urinary tract infection, etc.), and diseases unique to pregnancy. In this critical review we discuss the first group only briefly, since there are no significant differences in clinical presentation, differential diagnosis and management of these diseases between pregnant and non-pregnant women. The primary focus of this paper is a review of pathophysiologic mechanisms of certain syndromes that are unique to pregnancy, e.g. preeclampsia, eclampsia and fatty liver of pregnancy, and an assessment of the utility of diagnostic tests with particular emphasis on tests of liver dysfunction and the coagulation system. Technical considerations are presented only when evidence suggests that they may significantly modify diagnostic interpretation.
Phase I trial of α-difluoromethyl ornithine (DFMO) and methylglyoxal bis (guanylhydrazone) (MGBG) in patients with advanced prostatic cancer

Abstract Both α-difluoromethyl ornithine (DFMO) and methylglyoxal bis (guanylhydrazone) (MGBG) inhibit sequential enzymatic reactions in the pathway of polyamine biosynthesis. Since polyamines may be important factors in proliferation of cancer cells and DFMO combined with MGBG has shown synergistic cytotoxicity in an experimental prostatic tumor, we evaluated these agents in phase I clinical trial involving 5 patients with advanced, hormone-resistant prostatic cancer. Toxic reaction to combined DFMO and MGBG was dose-related and included nausea, fatigue, and diarrhea especially with the higher doses of MGBG. No therapeutic responses of significance were seen, but toxicity precluded adequate evaluation. Future Phase II studies of combined DFMO and MGBG should employ low, nontoxic doses of MGBG combined with evaluation of polyamine levels and inhibition of polyamine enzymatic activity to minimize toxicity.
A rapid technique to assess the resting states of the eyes and other threshold phenomena: The Modified Binary Search (MOBS)

A technique was developed to automate subjective measurement of the resting states of the eyes. This technique, the Modified Binary Search (MOBS), evolved from the binary search and a commonly used manual bracketing technique. The procedure is mathematically and logically simple, and it requires minimal storage and computation capabilities. Monte Carlo simulations indicate that the MOBS procedure provides more precise measures with fewer stimulus presentations than conventional staircases. It is also relatively insensitive to response errors.
American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Position Paper on Bisphosphonate-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw – 2009 Update

0 isphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw BRONJ) adversely affects the quality of life, producing ignificant morbidity in afflicted patients. Strategies for he treatment of patients with, or at risk of, BRONJ were et forth in the American Association of Oral and axillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) Position Paper on isphosphonate-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaws Position Paper) and approved by the Board of Trustes in September 2006. The Position Paper was eveloped by a Task Force appointed by the Board nd composed of clinicians with extensive experince in caring for these patients and basic science esearchers. The knowledge base and experience in ddressing BRONJ has expanded, necessitating modfications and refinements to the original Position aper. The Task Force was reconvened in August 2008 to
Solid polyorganodisulfide electrodes as ion storage layers for electrochromic devices

We report on the fabrication and use of new ion storage layers as counter electrodes for completely solid state electrochromic windows. The ion storage layers are transparent composites of a room temperature ion-conducting polymer and an electroactive material based upon the polyorganodisulfide/dithiolate redox couple. Solid state devices consisting of molybdenum doped W0 3 , a polymer ion conductor layer and the new ion storage layers colored rapidly from a pale yellow to a deep blue-green, upon application of 1 .2 V d.c. The photopic transmittance changed from 6 1 to 9% , and the solar transmittance from 45 to 5% during the coloration process, for a typical example. Because the counter electrode does not change optical properties as a function of redox state, problems with color imbalance can be avoided completely. The large number of polyorganodisulfides that may be used for this application allows for flexibility in device design and properties, and the use of solid state components ensures improved stability of windows incorporating this technology.
Intravenous self-administration of morphine by naive mice

Abstract A simple method for IV self-administration of drugs by mice is described. When morphine (0.5 mg/kg) was made contingent on a nosepoke response, naive mice increased their rate of nosepoking when compared either with animals receiving contingent saline vehicle injectionsor yoked control animals receiving noncontingent morphine.
System simulation from operational data

System simulation is a valuable tool to unveil inefficiencies and to test new strategies when implementing and revising systems. Often, simulations are parameterized using offline data and heuristic knowledge. Operational data, i.e., data gained through experimentation and observation, can greatly improve the fidelity between the actual system and the simulation. In a traffic scenario, for example, different road conditions or vehicle types can impact the outcome of the simulation and have to be considered during the modeling stage. This paper proposes using machine learning techniques to generate high fidelity simulation models. A traffic simulation case study exemplifies this approach by generating a model for the SUMO traffic simulator from vehicular telemetry data.
FASTBUS Slaves -- A Designers View

Although FASTBUS has features built into it which allow complex interconnections and multiple Masters, the rules for implementing Slaves are very simple. The first time designer of Slave Modules should not be intimidated by the 200 pages of the FASTBUS document. About 90% of the specification is associated with system implications that do not impact Slave design. This paper will review the basic logic and timing requirements for FASTBUS Slave design. Also, some examples of implementation will be shown. The discussion which follows assumes that mastership of the bus has been gained. Bus arbitration, system interconnection, message routing, etc. are separate topics and will not be discussed here. These topics affect only the design of devices which operate at the system level since FASTBUS Slave modules have been specified to be completely transparent to these system considerations.
The Patient–Doctor Relationship Questionnaire (PDRQ-9) in Primary Care: A Validity Study

This study assessed the validity of the Patient–Doctor Relationship Questionnaire-9 (PDRQ-9) in a primary care sample (N = 180). Convergent validity was assessed through a correlation between the patient-rated PDRQ-9 and the physician-rated Difficult Doctor Patient Relationship Questionnaire-10 (DDPRQ-10). Discriminant validity was assessed through correlations between the PDRQ-9 and patient age, patient- and physician-reported health and psychological distress. To determine if the PDRQ-9 could discriminate between groups, patient PDRQ-9 ratings were compared between patients who were treated by faculty physicians versus those who were treated by residents. An exploratory factor analysis confirmed that the PDRQ-9 was made up of a single factor. The PDRQ-9 scale was internally consistent (α = .96) and significantly and negatively correlated with the DDPRQ-10 (r = −.22, p = .003) and was not significantly correlated with patient age, health, or psychological distress. PDRQ-9 ratings were statistically greater in patients who were treated by faculty physicians than those who were treated by residents (p = .01). This study provides additional support for the reliability and validity of the PDRQ-9 as a measure of the doctor–patient relationship in a primary care sample.
A functional analysis of common and bizarre visual mediators

This study determined if the complexity level and type of common and bizarre visual mediators generated for paired associate items functionally related to performance on a recall task given 1 week later. Results indicated that while bizarre imagery yielded higher complexity scores and was associated with greater response recall, there was no difference between correctly and incorrectly recalled responses in terms of mediator complexity. The previously reported finding of greater variety in mediator formation for bizarre mediators was replicated. The discussion focused on differential effects of complexity of verbal and visual mediators.
Backscattered coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering for at range detection of dipicolinic acid and four-wave mixing multiple scattering

We investigate femtosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) signals collected at range from dipicolinic acid (DPA), one of the marker molecules within anthrax spores. The backscattered CARS signal from the DPA solution recorded versus probe pulse delay exhibits molecular coherence beating. We show a signal-to-noise ratio better than two orders of magnitude for a sample placed 12 m away, and infer the possibility of detection at range over distances of hundreds of metres. We also study the backscattered CARS signals from DPA powder. The beat signal exhibits two vibrational modes with a level spacing of 70±10 cm− 1, which matches very well with the literature value of 69 cm− 1. We quantitatively study the effects of multiple scattering in four-wave mixing from powder samples and estimate an 8 µm mean distance between the scattering events.
MHC class I genes of the channel catfish: sequence analysis and expression.

Four cDNAs encoding the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I α chain were isolated from a channel catfish clonal B-cell cDNA library. Sequence analysis suggests these cDNAs represent three different MHC class I loci. All cDNAs encoded conserved residues characteristic of the MHC class I α chain: namely, those involved in peptide binding, salt bridges, disulfide bond formation, and glycosylation. Southern blot analyses of individual outbred and second-generation gynogenetic fish indicated the existence of both polygenic and polymorphic loci. Northern blot studies demonstrated that catfish B, T, and macrophage cell lines transcribed markedly higher levels of class I α and β2-microglobulin (β2m) mRNA than fibroblast cell lines. In addition, immunoprecipitation data showed that a 41 000 Mr glycoprotein (presumably class I α) was associated with β2m on the surface of catfish B cells. This latter finding is the first direct evidence for the cell surface association of β2m with the MHC class I α chain on teleost cells and supports the notion that functional MHC class I proteins exist in teleosts.
Newer antidotal therapies

Although the availability of an antidote for a toxic agent does not take away the primary responsibility of the clinician to manage the patient's clinical signs, the use of antidotes in appropriate situations can result in a more rapid recovery with potentially fewer long-term complications. Recent advances in pharmacology and molecular biology have resulted in the development of new and safer antidotal therapies for the management of toxicosis. The progress in immunotoxicotherapy over the last two decades continues and may ultimately lead to an era when the clinical toxicologist has a vast array of antibody fragments available for use with specific toxic agents. Development of specific pharmacologic antagonists for other agents should also enable the clinician to more reliably manage toxicoses. In spite of all these potential advances, the management of most toxicoses still relies on the application of sound veterinary medical principles.
New discovery of Netrin-1 in cardioprotection.

Netrins are a family of proteins that direct cell and axon migration during development [1]. Three secreted netrins (netrin-1, -3 and -4) have been identified in mammals, in addition to the GPI-anchored membrane proteins, netrin-G1 and G2 [1]. Netrin-1, a diffusible protein produced by floor plate cells, was initially identified for its ability to guide axons [2]; however, widespread expression of netrin-1 and its receptors outside the nervous system suggests additional roles for these ligand/receptor pairs during morphogenesis [1, 3]. Indeed, netrin-1 and its receptors have been implicated in other developmental processes, including regulation of apoptosis [4], leukocyte migration [5], tumorgenesis [4], vascular remodeling and vessel navigation [3, 6]. Despite the tremendous advances in examining the role of netrin-1 in the neuronal development and more recently, vascular development, there remains a substantial need to extend our understanding of netrin-1’s effects on cardiovascular function. In their article, Zhang J. and Cai H. discovered that the cardioprotective effects of netrin-1 in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury are through a DCC/ERK1/2/eNOSs1177/NO/DCC feed-forward mechanism. Thus, only previously defined as a neuronal developmental protein and a regulator of cardiovascular development, a new role of netrin-1 is uncovered as a potent cardioprotective agent.
The development of a conceptually based nursing curriculum: an international experiment

Nursing programmes in the United States of America are based on a conceptual framework. Not only do faculty and students ascribe to the necessity of such programmes but the national accreditation agency also provides its accreditation approval for the institution only after all criteria are met, including the requirement of a well-defined, operationalized and implemented framework. Can a nursing programme be developed in other nations utilizing the esoteric, American-based idea of the necessity for a conceptually based curriculum? The author answers this question. The manuscript presents both the process utilized in selecting a conceptual framwork for a new junior college programme in Kuwait and discusses the selected framework. The idea of a conceptual framework to guide the curriculum was as foreign in Kuwait as it was to nursing curricula in the United States 15 years ago. Though initially rejected by the faculty in Kuwait, the idea of a conceptual framework was reintroduced after much faculty discussion and questions related to nursing knowledge vis-a-vis medical knowledge, and what should be included in and excluded from the programme. By the end of the second year, a definite framework had been operationalized into courses and content. The selection of the framework evolved from faculty participation in the operationalization of the framework. This point is quite significant particularly in an international assignment, as it is the faculty who are left with the monumental task of supporting and continuing the work which has been done. Strategies used to develop and implement a conceptual framework included confrontation of faculty of the existing situation, lectures, seminars, workshops, and the identification of a critical review board.
Cocaine and Benzoylecgonine in Serum Microsamples of Intact and Gonadectomized Male and Female Wistar Rats

Tail-tip plasma samples of intact and gonadectomized male and female Wistar rats were analyzed for cocaine and benzoylecgonine. The samples were obtained from immobilized subjects 10 and 30 min following the 1st and 22nd intraperitoneal injections of 10 mg/kg cocaine hydrochloride. Gender differences in plasma cocaine or benzoylecgonine levels were not observed after the first injection of cocaine because many of the samples were below the detection limit. Cocaine plasma levels were much higher after the 22nd injection, but gender differences were not observed either 10 or 30 min following cocaine administration. Plasma levels of benzoylecgonine were higher 30 min than 10 min after cocaine administration in intact and castrated male rats and ovariectomized female rats but not in intact female rats. These data show that, in rats, gender differences in cocaine metabolism may be observed after repeated cocaine administration, but the exact mechanism remains to be elucidated.
The relative importance of light-use efficiency modifications from environmental conditions and cultivation for estimation of large-scale net primary productivity

Understanding spatial and temporal variation in net primary production (NPP), the amount of carbon fixed into biomass by vegetation, is a central goal of ecosystem ecologists. Optical remote sensing techniques can help address this need by providing accurate, consistent, and reliable approximations of photosynthetic activity at large scales. However, converting photosynthetic activity into NPP requires estimates of light-use efficiency, which has been shown to vary among vegetation types. In this study, we compare remotely sensed estimates of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation with ground-based NPP estimates to determine appropriate light-use efficiency values for grasslands and croplands. We contrast the performance of models with and without information about vegetation type and light-use efficiency downregulation due to unfavorable environmental conditions. Our results suggest that: 1) current models may include overestimates of grassland light-use efficiency; 2) including vegetation information in light-use efficiency calculations causes a dramatically better fit between ground-based and remotely sensed estimates of primary production; and 3) incorporating environmental downregulation to light-use efficiency yields only minor improvements, which may be a result specific to annual estimates in grassland and cropland systems. In addition, this study presents a regional dataset of ground-based primary production estimates that may prove useful for future studies.
Composite materials manufactured from wood particles modified through a reactive extrusion process

Wood-based composites such as particleboard and medium-density fiberboard are currently made with formaldehyde-containing adhesives. Since the government is continuously developing and implementing very stringent regulations to eliminate formaldehyde emissions into the environment, alternative approaches must be developed to replace these adhesives. This study examined the concept of using a reactive extrusion process as a means of developing a new, formaldehyde-free binding system for wood composite products. The surfaces of wood particles were modified by grafting maleated polyolefins through a continuous reactive extrusion process. Chemical changes resulting from this treatment were followed by studying the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra. The modified wood particles were compression-molded into panels, which were tested for mechanical properties. FTIR, 13C NMR, and XPS data revealed that the chemical reactions have taken place between the hydroxyl groups of wood particles and maleated polyolefins. The mechanical property test results indicated that the composite panels compared favorably with current standard requirements for conventional particleboard. POLYM. COMPOS., 26:534–541, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers
Increasing Spontaneous Verbal Responding in Autistic Children Using a Time Delay Procedure.

Abstract One oft-cited problem with teaching speech skills to autistic children is the failure of the speech to be spontaneous. That is, the children's speech often remains under the control of the verbal behavior of others rather than under the control of other nonverbal referents in the environment. We investigated the effectiveness of a time delay procedure to increase the spontaneous speech of seven autistic children. Initially, the experiment presented a desired object (e.g., cookie) and immediately modeled the appropriate response "I want (cookie)." Gradually, as the child imitated the vocalization, the experimenter increased the time between presentation of the object and the modeled vocalization in an attempt to transfer stimulus control of the child's vocalization from the experimenter's model to the object. Results indicated that all the children learned to request items spontaneously and generalized this behavior across settings, people, situations, and to objects which had not been taught. These results are discussed in relation to the literature on spontaneous speech, prompting, and generalization.
Growth of Biaxially Textured CeO2 Layers on Glass by Magnetron Sputtering

Recently, a new approach of using a biaxially textured template to grow crystalline silicon on glass for large-area electronics applications was proposed. Here CeO2 is chosen as a template candidate. RF sputtering of a CeO2 target in combination with ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) has been used to create biaxially textured material on a glass substrate. The use of IBAD made it possible to change the texture orientation relative to that of film deposited without the use of IBAD. Another approach has also been studied where RF sputtering is used in combination with inclined substrate deposition (ISD). This approach also did result in the formation of biaxially textured CeO2. However the texture orientation could not be modified using ISD.
Has fire suppression increased the amount of carbon stored in western U.S. forests

Active 20th century fire suppression in western US forests, and a resulting increase in stem density, is thought to account for a significant fraction of the North American carbon sink. We compared California forest inventories from the 1930s with inventories from the 1990s to quantify changes in aboveground biomass. Stem density in mid-montane conifer forests increased by 34%, while live aboveground carbon stocks decreased by 26%. Increased stem density reflected an increase in the number of small trees and a net loss of large trees. Large trees contain a disproportionate amount of carbon, and the loss of large trees accounts for the decline in biomass between surveys. 20th century fire suppression and increasing stand density may have decreased, rather than increased, the amount of aboveground carbon in western US forests.
Multiplexed Detection and Label‐Free Quantitation of MicroRNAs Using Arrays of Silicon Photonic Microring Resonators

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short (19 to 24 nucleotides), single-stranded, non-protein-coding RNAs that are powerful transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. Unlike small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), miRNAs are genomically encoded and play key roles in a range of normal cellular processes, including proliferation, apoptosis, and development.[1-4] Not surprisingly, miRNAs have also been implicated in a number of diseases, including cancer,[5-8] neurodegenerative disorders,[9-11] and diabetes,[12-14] and represent promising biomarker candidates for informative diagnostics. Despite their increasingly well-understood importance in gene regulation, the development of sensitive analytical techniques for the quantitation of multiple miRNAs has lagged behind. Furthermore, current methodologies for miRNA expression analysis are not applicable to a clinical setting where sample sizes are limited and assay cost and time-to-result is of tremendous importance.
Economic Context and Multiple Abuse Techniques

The authors use ordinary least squares regression to determine the factors associated with the use of multiple abuse techniques against targets who reported abuse. The data for this analysis come from the 1985 Physical Violence in American Families, Third ICPSR Release. The authors' findings suggest that assaults on women occur within a context of unequal power relationships. Different types of assault appear to occur in a context of unequal means of economic survival. Women who are able to at least equalize their occupational prestige with their partner suffer fewer types of abuse than women whose prestige is lower than their partner's and women from lower socioeconomic households.
Prosody, emotions, and… ‘whatever’

Weexaminetheroleofprosodyincueingascaleofnegative� meaningsassociatedwiththeuseof� whatever.�Theanalysisof� acorpusofelicitedexamplesshowsthatthemorenegative� thetoken,�themorelikelyitistohaveanadditionalpitch� accent,�extendedduration,�andexpandedpitchrangeonthe� firstsyllable.�Thesefindingsareanalyzedasalinkbetween� pragmaticmeaningandthestrengthoftheprosodicboundary� betweenthefirsttwosyllables�( what#ever).�Theresultsof� perceptionexperimentsshowthattheprosodyofwhatever� itselfisasystematiccueforthedegreeofnegative� connotationassociatedwiththeutteranceinwhich� whatever� occurs.� Potentialapplicationsofthisresultforspoken� dialoguesystemsandsynthesisofemotionalspeechare� discussed.�
Lithium and aggressive behavior in patients with early total deafness

Patients with early total deafness frequently present with impulsive, aggressive behavior. Nine such inpatients were treated with Lithium. Two acting out adolescents showed a response to medication and a third personality disorder was dropped for side reactions. Of six schizophrenics, five responded in terms of aggressive behavior, while requiring continued medication with phenothiazines at notably lowered doses for their schizophrenic pathology. Language: en
Characterization of Resistance and Immunity to Eimeria tenella Among Major Histocompatibility Complex B-F/B-G Recombinant Hosts

The relative influence of the B-F vs. B-G chromosomal regions on innate resistance and immunity to Eimeria tenella was studied among six B-F/B-G recombinants, designated BR1, BR3, BR4, BR5, BR6, and BR8. In one experiment, resistance was studied among 340 F1 chicks each carrying the B17 allele derived from Line UCD.003 and therefore also heterozygous for one of the B recombinant haplotypes. In a second experiment, acquired immunity was studied among 161 F2 chicks each carrying one B17 allele and segregating for one of the recombinant alleles. In Experiment 1, F1 chicks of similar haplotypes, BR3 and BR4 (BF2-G23), gained significantly more weight than those with BR1 (BF24-G23) and BR5 (BF21-G19) following exposure to a single high dose of 25,000 oocysts, although no differences in lesion scores were detected among the six recombinants. Following exposure to a single low dose of 2,500 oocysts, F1 chicks BR3 and BR4 also gained significantly more weight and had significantly lower lesion scores than BR1 or BR5 F1 chicks. To study acquired immunity in the F2 homozygous chicks, five consecutive daily exposures of 500 oocysts were followed 21 days later by challenge with 10,000 oocysts. The BR5 (BF21-G19) and BR6 (BF21-G23) homozygous chicks, both carrying the B-F21 allele, showed significant protection in terms of reduced lesion scores. These results demonstrate that E. tenella parasitism manifests itself to varying degrees in chicken hosts possessing different recombinant major histocompatibility complex haplotypes.
Group Polarization and Exogenous Preferences: Some Implications for International Relations

Group polarization, or the progressive segregation of a population into two oppositional groups, appears to be happening in parts of the Muslim world; in some places Sunni and Shia are polarizing, and in others, Islamists and secularists. Group polarization is in fact evident in many times and places and (1) may spread transnationally and (2) may trigger foreign interventions. It is fruitful to understand group polarization as endogenous preference formation; i.e., the more social interaction takes place, the more individuals identify more strongly with their own type and against an opposing type; these identifications in turn affect individuals’ preferences over the allocation of goods, such that each progressively favors more goods for his own group and fewer for the opposing group. A complication arises from the fact that people have multiple group affiliations: exogenous events can cause a population to polarize along one identity axis (e.g., ethnicity) and de-polarize along another (e.g., nationality). Endogenous group polarization (EGP) contrasts with rational-choice accounts that see group polarization as the revelation or clarification of exogenous, fixed preferences. Two historical cases of transnational polarization – Europe 1917-22 and Africa’s Great Lakes region 1972-94 – can help adjudicate how helpful EGP and rational choice are, respectively, in explaining group polarization. In the end, an adequate model might need to recognize both that some actors (elites) have fixed preferences but that they are constrained by the endogenous preferences of other, non-elite actors.
Nanodiamond-Decorated Silica Spheres as a Chromatographic Material.

Nanodiamond (ND) particles (∼5 nm), obtained from detonation soot, were oxidized and/or thermally hydrogenated. Both, the non-hydrogenated and hydrogenated ND particles were successfully coupled to the surface of micrometer-size organo-silica particles. A thin layer of nanodiamonds (NDs) decorating the surface of the organo-silica particles was visible on transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and infrared spectroscopy (IR) were used to characterize the NDs prior to coupling and to confirm attachment onto the organo-silica particles. Both, ultraviolet (UV) radiation and a chemical initiator were proved to be effective radical initiators for the ND–silica coupling reaction, although for scale-up purposes the chemical initiation was more advantageous to produce the ND–silica composite. Commercially available nanodiamond primary particles were also coupled to the surface of silica particles. The ND-containing silica particles were packed into chromatographic col...
A Multihospital Safety Improvement Effort and the Dissemination of New Knowledge

Article-at-a-Glance Background Research on the transfer of medical technology and guidelines suggests that this transfer is driven more by interpersonal relationships than by new research or available information and that it is inconsistent, largely unsuccessful, and strongly influenced by local factors. Yet studies of collaborative, multiple-hospital improvement efforts have shown these transfers to be effective for the specific microsystems participating in the project. The diffusion of medical innovations beyond the participating teams was studied during a 2000–2001 national collaborative safety improvement effort. Methods Twenty-two teams from Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals participated in a 9-month quality improvement project designed to improve safety in high-hazard areas. Participating hospitals and other regional hospitals were contacted to determine the level of dissemination of information generated during and after the project. Results While the participating hospitals benefited from the quality improvement effort, changes were implemented only 9% of the time on other units within the hospitals and only 2% of the time in other regional hospitals. After 12 months, there was no implementation within participating hospitals, and other regional hospitals were implementing changes 10% of the time. Discussion Personal commitment from senior leadership, dissemination strategies that push information to clinicians, and monitoring of progress at the regional level are all needed for dissemination of complex medical information to occur.
Pediatric Pain Beliefs Questionnaire: Psychometric Properties of the Short Form.

Abstract Cognitive appraisals inform and shape individuals' pain experiences. As researchers examine mechanisms of cognitive-behavioral interventions for chronic pain, psychometrically sound measures based in cognitive theory are needed to directly assess pain beliefs. The Pain Beliefs Questionnaire (PBQ), a 32-item self-report measure informed by coping and appraisal theory, was designed to assess children's pain threat appraisals, problem-focused pain coping efficacy, and emotion-focused pain coping efficacy. The present study aimed to: 1) create a short form of the PBQ, and 2) evaluate the psychometric properties of the reduced measure in a large database of pediatric patients with functional abdominal pain (n = 871). Item reduction analyses identified an 18-item short form of the PBQ (PBQ-SF) that exhibited psychometric properties similar to the original measure. All 3 subscales of the PBQ-SF exhibited strong internal consistency (α levels ranged from .79 to .80) and adequate test-retest reliability at 2 weeks. Evidence for construct validity was provided by examining patterns of partial correlations for each subscale. The PBQ-SF represents a valid and reliable measure for evaluating children's pain beliefs. Future studies should investigate the treatment sensitivity of the PBQ-SF to evaluate its appropriateness for use in clinical trials. Perspective This article presents the psychometric properties of a reduced 18-item version of a measure used to assess children's pain beliefs in a large sample of children with functional abdominal pain. This measure could help identify processes and individual differences underlying children's responses to psychological treatments for chronic pain.
Preconditioned steepest descent methods for some nonlinear elliptic equations involving p-Laplacian terms

Abstract We describe and analyze preconditioned steepest descent (PSD) solvers for fourth and sixth-order nonlinear elliptic equations that include p-Laplacian terms on periodic domains in 2 and 3 dimensions. The highest and lowest order terms of the equations are constant-coefficient, positive linear operators, which suggests a natural preconditioning strategy. Such nonlinear elliptic equations often arise from time discretization of parabolic equations that model various biological and physical phenomena, in particular, liquid crystals, thin film epitaxial growth and phase transformations. The analyses of the schemes involve the characterization of the strictly convex energies associated with the equations. We first give a general framework for PSD in Hilbert spaces. Based on certain reasonable assumptions of the linear pre-conditioner, a geometric convergence rate is shown for the nonlinear PSD iteration. We then apply the general theory to the fourth and sixth-order problems of interest, making use of Sobolev embedding and regularity results to confirm the appropriateness of our pre-conditioners for the regularized p-Lapacian problems. Our results include a sharper theoretical convergence result for p-Laplacian systems compared to what may be found in existing works. We demonstrate rigorously how to apply the theory in the finite dimensional setting using finite difference discretization methods. Numerical simulations for some important physical application problems – including thin film epitaxy with slope selection and the square phase field crystal model – are carried out to verify the efficiency of the scheme.
Multimodal examination of distress tolerance and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in acute-care psychiatric inpatients

Abstract Distress tolerance (DT), the actual or perceived capacity to withstand negative internal states, has received increasing scholarly attention due to its theoretical and clinical relevance to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Past studies have indicated that lower self-reported – but not behaviorally observed – DT is associated with greater PTSD symptoms; however, studies in racially and socioeconomically diverse clinical samples are lacking. The current study evaluated associations between multiple measures of DT (self-report and behavioral) and PTSD symptoms in an urban, racially and socioeconomically diverse, acute-care psychiatric inpatient sample. It was hypothesized that lower self-reported DT (Distress Tolerance Scale [DTS]), but not behavioral DT (breath-holding task [BH]; mirror-tracing persistence task [MT]), would be associated with greater PTSD symptoms, above and beyond the variance contributed by trauma load, substance use, gender, race/ethnicity, and subjective social status. Participants were 103 (41.7% women, M age = 33.5) acute-care psychiatric inpatients who endorsed exposure to potentially traumatic events consistent with DSM-5 PTSD Criterion A. Results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that DTS was negatively associated with PTSD symptom severity (PCL-5 Total) as well as with each of the four DSM-5 PTSD symptom clusters ( p ’s p
But for the Grace of God: Abortion and Cognitive Disability, Luck and Moral Status

Many theories of moral status that are intended to ground pro-choice views on abortion tie full moral status to advanced cognitive capabilities. Extant accounts of this kind are inconsistent with the intuition that the profoundly cognitively disabled have full moral status. This paper improves upon these extant accounts by combining an anti-luck condition with Steinbock’s stratification of moral status into two levels. On the resulting view, a being has full moral status if and only if (1) she has moral status and (2) (a) has had advanced cognitive capacities, (b) has the potential to develop such capacities, or (c) would have had such capacities were it not for luck. I argue that modal accounts of luck provide a non-speciesist basis for attributing the lack of advanced cognitive capacities in humans to luck without doing the same for non-human animals.
Why life speeds up: Chunking and the passage of autobiographical time

AbstractTime seems to speed up as one ages, and it affects how people find meaning in life and plan their future. What creates this perception? We examine the role of “chunking” – mentally bundling individual moments of experience under broad categories. With age, people group experiences into progressively bigger chunks (e.g., work, family). Consequently, fewer things seem to have occurred in a given period, so it seems to have passed faster in retrospect. Supporting this account, three studies (overall N = 324) show that people led to chunk (vs. not chunk) their past year perceived it as passing faster. The effect of chunking emerged reliably across converging operations and specifically accelerated the chunked period, not other periods. Furthermore, chunking increased the appeal of nostalgia, suggesting that processes that accelerate time instigate a compensatory urge to reflect on momentous occasions of one’s life. Implications for the “self across time” are discussed.
Seed germination in cleistogamous species: theoretical considerations and a literature survey of experimental results

A cleistogamous species consists of individuals that produce both chasmogamous (open, CH) and cleistogamous (permanently closed, CL) flowers, which facilitates a mixed-mating system. In contrast to what one might expect, CL (obligately selfed) seeds and the plants derived from them can be more fit than CH (potentially outcrossed) seeds and the plants they give rise to. Our aim was to review some theoretical aspects of mixed mating in relation to retention of both CH and CL in cleistogamous species and to determine if data on germination support the notion that CL is advantageous over that of CH. Based on germination (or seedling emergence) of CH vs CL seeds in 29 species in 21 genera and 11 families of monocots and eudicots, CL seeds germinated better in 107 and equally well as in 64 of 252 case studies as CH seeds (67.9%), and the (CH CL) ratio was 107/81 (1.32). We conclude that our study lends support to the notion that production of CL seeds by cleistogamous species is advantageous over that of CH seeds. Retention of CH by CL species may be due to the need to prevent complete selfing (s= 1.0) and thus total inbreeding depression (δ), which theory predicts would decrease reproductive success. Some caveats concerning the results of comparative studies on the germination biology of CH vs CL seeds of amphicarpic sensu stricto Fabaceae species and Commelina benghalensis and the aerial cleistogamous grass Danthonia spicata are discussed.
Terrestrial Cave Ecology of the Mammoth Cave Region

Terrestrial communities of cave-adapted invertebrates are found where surface organic material is deposited: cave entrances, upper-level terminal breakdowns, upper-level vertical shafts, cave stream banks, and cave base-level rivers. The high diversity of cave-adapted species in the Mammoth Cave region is partly due to the variety of food inputs from the surface. Surface organic material is imported into caves passively via gravity, water, or wind, or actively through transport by organisms that use caves for shelter or live inside them most of their lives. Though many organisms defecate inside cave entrances, both feces and eggs deposited by cave crickets (Hadenoecus subterraneus) support the most diverse communities of cave invertebrates in the region. H. subterraneus, relative to the two species of surface crickets with which it shares cave entrances, is long lived and feeds on the surface throughout the year. Scientific studies have partially revealed the life histories of many invertebrates supported by H. subterraneus, but there are many aspects that remain to be discovered.
Levinas and the Anticolonial

Over the last two decades, the various attempts to “radicalize” Levinas have resulted in two interesting and often separated debates: one the one hand, there is the debate regarding the relationship between Levinas and colonialism and racism, and on the other hand, there is the debate regarding the relationship between Levinas and Judaism. Whether scholars interested in issues of colonialism disregard Levinas's Judaism or use his "subaltern" identity to challenge European hegemony, they do not take seriously the Jewish content of Levinas's thought. In this essay, I challenge the prevailing postcolonial orinetation of the Levinas-colonialism conversation, approaching Levinas's phenomenology from an anticolonial perspective. I will use Frantz Fanon’s dualistic understanding of the colonial world to evaluate the adequacy of Levinas’s phenomenology in describing the ontological structure of the colony and the historical experience of the colonized within it. Levinas’s incomplete understanding of the Holocaust as colonialism contributes to his failure to recognize the dividing line of colonial ontology, the zone of nonbeing, the non-human status of the colonized, and ultimately contributes to the insufficiency of his phenomenology to describe the colony. Because my purpose is not to reject Levinas’s thought in general but to encourage a new approach to his work, in the conclusion I will gesture toward the need for an anticolonial reading of Levinas’s project for Jewish education.
Kappa Opioid System Involvement in Mood and Anxiety Disorders

Current interest in opioid drugs is directed mostly on morphine-like drugs that activate the μ opioid peptide (MOP) system and induce euphoria and, potentially, addiction. Less attention has been paid to the κ opioid peptide (KOP) system, likely because drugs that activate the KOP system have low abuse potential. Indeed, activation of the KOP system often is reported to have effects on brain and behavior that are opposite to MOP activation. The literature suggests that dynorphin and its κ receptor are, indeed, unique among the opioids. That uniqueness has generated interest in our laboratory. We have taken a different approach to understanding the KOP system. Rather than focusing on drug abuse, we have adopted mood and anxiety as a model for investigation of the KOP system. The assumption is that clarification of the underlying mechanisms and behavioral outcomes of κ agonists and antagonists will help inform the KOP system for other situations, including drug use and abuse. This review will highlight the basis for our fascination with KOP and the κ receptor.