cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mutagenesis by reversible promoter insertion to study the activation of NF-κB

Genetic dissection of signaling pathways in mammalian cells involves screening or selecting phenotypic mutants obtained by a variety of techniques. Limitations in current methods include inadequate genome coverage and difficulty in validating the link between mutation and phenotype. We describe an improved method for insertional mutagenesis with retroviral vectors and show that the ability to induce mutations increases greatly if a randomly inserted promoter directs transcription into the host DNA. The mutant phenotype is due to the expression of a hybrid transcript derived from the vector and the insertion site. Because other alleles of the affected gene remain intact, the phenotype is dominant, but is reversible by inactivating the promoter, for example, by site-specific recombination. Importantly, in mutant clones with multiple inserts, limited excision yields progeny with different patterns of inserts remaining. Characterizing these progeny allows the mutant phenotype to be associated with a specific target gene. Relative simplicity and robust target validation make the method suitable for a broad range of applications. We have used this technique to search for proteins that regulate NF-κB-dependent signaling in human cells. Two validated targets are the relA gene, which codes for the NF-κB p65 subunit, and the NF-κB regulator act1. Overexpression of the corresponding proteins, caused by insertion of a promoter into the first intron of each gene, leads to NF-κB-dependent secretion of factors that activate NF-κB through cell-surface receptors, establishing an autocrine loop.
Recovery from posttraumatic locked-in syndrome with basilar artery occlusion

Abstract A 43-year-old woman suffered mild trauma to the head and neck in an automobile accident and subsequently developed a locked-in syndrome. Arteriography revealed abnormal retrograde filling of the distal basilar artery. Dramatic improvement occurred over two months, and she eventually recovered neurologically. This case illustrates the need for early and appropriate medical management of patients with locked-in syndrome.
An evaluation of surrogate chemical exposure measures and autism prevalence in Texas.

There is currently considerable discussion in the scientific community as well as within the general public concerning the role mercury (Hg) exposures may play in the apparent increased incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders (particularly autism) in children. Although the primary focus of this debate has focused on ethylmercury from vaccinations, linkage to other sources of Hg has been proposed. An ecologic association between 2001 Toxic Release Inventory (TRI; www.epa.gov/tri) data for Hg and 2000–2001 school district autism prevalence was previously reported in Texas. Evaluations using industrial release data as surrogate exposure measures may be problematic, particularly for chemicals like Hg that have complex environmental fates. To explore the robustness of TRI-based analyses of the Hg–autism hypothesis in Texas, a detailed analysis was undertaken examining the extent of the ecological relationship during multiple years and examining whether surrogate exposure measures would yield similar conclusi...
Poverty Tourism, Justice and Policy

Based on moral grounds, should poverty tourism be subject to specific policy constraints? This article responds by testing poverty tourism against the ethical guideposts of compensation justice, participative justice, and recognition justice, and two case descriptions, favela tours in Rocinha and garbage dump tours in Mazatlan. The argument advanced is that the complexity of the social relationships involved those tours requires policy-relevant research and solutions.
Correlates of therapy use and expenditures in children in the United States

Introduction: This paper describes correlates of use and expenditures for therapies (physical, occupational, speech or home health services) among children in the US.Methods: It examined data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a nationally-representative US sample. The characteristics of users and described patterns of expenditures were examined.Results: Use is quite low, only 3.8% of children use services or 4.3% once the use that occurs in the special education system is included. Children more likely to use therapy include those with presumably greater need: children with chronic conditions, functional limitations and/or a history of hospitalizations or injuries. There is a significant interaction of minority status and having a functional limitation. Expenditures are low when examined across the child population. Among a small proportion of high users, therapy expenditures account for a large proportion of overall health expenditures.Conclusions: The educational system adds only slightly to th...
Long memory of pathfinding aesthetics

This paper investigates a new dynamic (i.e., space-time) model to measure aesthetic values in pathfinding for videogames. The results we report are important firstly because the artificial intelligence literature has given relatively little attention to aesthetic considerations in pathfinding. Secondly, those investigators who have studied aesthetics in pathfinding have relied largely on anecdotal arguments rather than metrics. Finally, in those cases where metrics have been used in the past, they show only that aesthetic paths are different. They provide no quantitative means to classify aesthetic outcomes. The model we develop here overcomes these deficiencies using rescaled range (R/S) analysis to estimate the Hurst exponent, H. It measures long-range dependence (i.e., long memory) in stochastic processes and provides a novel well-defined mathematical classification for pathfinding. Indeed, the data indicates that aesthetic and control paths have statistically significantly distinct H signatures. Aesthetic paths furthermore have more long memory than controls with an effect size that is large, more than three times that of an alternative approach. These conclusions will be of interest to researchers investigating games as well as other forms of entertainment, simulation, and in general nonshortest path motion planning.
The Navel of the Dream: Freud, Derrida and Lacan on the Gap where "Something Happens"

�� ��� Jacques Lacan, who made a career of placing the Freudian oeuvre in unexpected philosophical contexts, admitted in 1955 that “I’m not the only one to have had the idea of taking up the dream of Irma’s injection again” (Seminar II 147). That dream of Freud’s, the analysis of which constitutes one of the most famous passages of The Interpretation of Dreams, has occupied a central place in the psychoanalytic canon for several reasons: it is the first dream that Freud subjects to a rigorous analysis, and it is his own dream; moreover, its analysis, unusually thorough, leads Freud to two essential formulations (the dream as a fulfillment of a wish, and the logic of the broken kettle). Freud returns to this dream several times throughout The Interpretation, just as post-Freudian psychoanalytic thinkers have consistently returned to Irma to theorize aspects of the dream-work and the unconscious. The body of scholarly work on Irma is so voluminous that, some forty years after Lacan, Joan Copjec could call Irma’s injection “that overinterpreted anxiety dream” (119); two years after that, undaunted by “the enormous analytic literature that, throughout the world, has submitted it to investment and investigation from every angle,” Jacques Derrida would publish his own close reading of the dream in a 1996 essay entitled “Resistances” (“Resistances” 5). The dream has, to borrow a phrase from another context and J. Hillis Miller, “an inexhaustible power to generate commentary” (Miller 177). Derrida, like many others, turns to Irma’s injection as a way to access the thoughts of a discipline’s founding father at the very scene of that discipline’s invention. Rightly skeptical of creation myths, however, Derrida concludes that “Freud was neither able nor willing to inaugurate a new concept of analysis” in this case (“Resistances” 20). “Resistances” is persuasive in its refusal to acknowledge the audacity or inventiveness of Freud’s self-analysis; it is daring in its call for non-psychoanalytic perspectives on Irma. It is arguably the most serious challenge to psychoanalytic orthodoxy anywhere in Derrida’s work, The Post Card included. In this it recalls the bravado of Lacan, who, with characteristic glee in frustrating his auditors’ expectations, spent two meetings of his second seminar
Women’s Later Life Career Development: Looking Through the Lens of the Kaleidoscope Career Model

This study explores the relevance of the Kaleidoscope Career Model (KCM) to women’s later life career development. Qualitative interview data were gathered from 14 women in both the ‘‘truly’’ late ...
Cholecystokinin secretagogue-induced gastroprotection: role of nitric oxide and blood flow

This study was done to examine the role of CCK in gastric mucosal defense and to assess the gastroprotective roles of nitric oxide and blood flow. In rats, the CCK secretagogues oleate and soybean ...
FORMATION FLIGHT AS A COOPERATIVE GAME

Close formation flight is considered in the context of cooperative game theory and the natural aggregate motion of flocking birds, schooling fish, and herds of land animals. The airplanes in the formation are allowed to maneuver individually. However, the maneuver chosen by each airplane stems from basic flocking instincts such as collision avoidance, obstacle avoidance, and formation keeping. Consequently, there is no designated leader of the formation and the airplanes cooperate to achieve a common target seeking objective for the formation. Two examples are simulated. One example illustrates a formation of five aircraft completing a heading change maneuver while encountering several environmental obstacles. The second example demonstrates cooperative behavior as part of the formation breaks away to inspect a potential target or adversary. The results illustrate that the formation of aircraft can follow very precise and intricate three-dimensional paths while still acting as a group.
Pricing and Hedging Calendar Spread Options on Agricultural Grain Commodities

The calendar spread options (CSOs) on agricultural commodities, most notably corn, soybeans and wheat, allow market participants to hedge the roll-over risk of futures contracts. Despite the interest from agricultural businesses, there is lack of both theoretical and empirical research on pricing and hedging performances of CSOs. We propose to price and hedge CSOs under geometric Brownian motion (GBM) and stochastic volatility (SV) models. We estimate the model parameters by using implied state-generalized method of moments (IS-GMM) and evaluate the in-sample and outof-sample pricing and hedging performances. We find that the average pricing errors of the SV model are 0.79% for corn, 0.75% for soybeans and 1.2% for wheat; the pricing and hedging performance of the SV model are mostly superior to the benchmark GBM model, both in and out of sample, with only one exception where the out-of-sample hedging error for the GBM model for market makers is slightly better than the SV model.
Use of a Florida Gulf Coast Barrier Island by Spring Trans-Gulf Migrants and the Projected Effects of Sea Level Rise on Habitat Availability.

Barrier islands on the north coast of the Gulf of Mexico are an internationally important coastal resource. Each spring hundreds of thousands of Nearctic-Neotropical songbirds crossing the Gulf of Mexico during spring migration use these islands because they provide the first landfall for individuals following a trans-Gulf migratory route. The effects of climate change, particularly sea level rise, may negatively impact habitat availability for migrants on barrier islands. Our objectives were (1) to confirm the use of St. George Island, Florida by trans-Gulf migrants and (2) to determine whether forested stopover habitat will be available for migrants on St. George Island following sea level rise. We used avian transect data, geographic information systems, remote sensing, and simulation modelling to investigate the potential effects of three different sea level rise scenarios (0.28 m, 0.82 m, and 2 m) on habitat availability for trans-Gulf migrants. We found considerable use of the island by spring trans-Gulf migrants. Migrants were most abundant in areas with low elevation, high canopy height, and high coverage of forests and scrub/shrub. A substantial percentage of forest (44%) will be lost by 2100 assuming moderate sea level rise (0.82 m). Thus, as sea level rise progresses, less forests will be available for migrants during stopover. Many migratory bird species’ populations are declining, and degradation of barrier island stopover habitat may further increase the cost of migration for many individuals. To preserve this coastal resource, conservation and wise management of migratory stopover areas, especially near ecological barriers like the Gulf of Mexico, will be essential as sea levels rise.
“Click” Synthesis of Intrinsically Hydrophilic Dendrons and Dendrimers Containing Metal Binding Moieties at Each Branching Unit

A new family of water-soluble triazole dendrimers composed of tri(ethylene glycol) (TrEG) and bis(methylol)propionic acid (bis-MPA) was created through Cu(I)-catalyzed alkyne–azide cycloaddition (CuAAC) between specifically designed complementary building blocks. Dendrimers up to generation three were synthesized by CuAAC to a trifunctional core with yields ranging from 72% for generation one, through 67% for generation two, and 64% for third generation dendrimer. The two triazole rings at each bis-MPA branching site could serve as efficient chelating pockets for some VIIIA group elements. As proof-of-principle, the [PdCl2(PhCN)2] coordination chemistry of these hydrophilic dendritic ligands was studied by 1H NMR, dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and DFT calculations. The results showed that the complexation is completed within 5 min. The novel hydrophilic dendritic Pd complexes were able to catalyze Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions in water within 3 h at 100 °C, at 60 °C, and ...
Application of Kinetic Modeling and Competitive Solvent Hydrolysis in the Development of a Highly Selective Hydrolysis of a Nitrile to an Amide

A combination of mechanism-guided experimentation and kinetic modeling was used to develop a mild, selective, and robust hydroxide-promoted process for conversion of a nitrile to an amide using a substoichiometric amount of aqueous sodium hydroxide in a mixed water and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone solvent system. The new process eliminated a major reaction impurity, minimized overhydrolysis of the product amide by selection of a solvent that would be sacrificially hydrolyzed, eliminated genotoxic impurities, and improved the intrinsic safety of the process by eliminating the use of hydrogen peroxide. The process was demonstrated in duplicate on a 90 kg scale, with 89% isolated yield and greater than 99.8% purity.
Sonographic assessment of tumor response: from in vivo models to clinical applications.

AbstractThe advent of antiangiogenic drugs in cancer therapy necessitates an imaging modality that can longitudinally assess posttreatment changes in tumor vasculature. In this regard, microbubble contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) offers several advantages over conventional imaging modalities
Design of a Multi-point Data Acquisition System Based on MSP430 and nRF905

An embedded data concentrator and data acquisition which use MSP430 Micro Control Unit(MCU)and nRF905 wireless data communication module as the core is designed. The MSP430 Serial Peripheral Interface(SPI) driver,nRF905 SPI driver and its interface implementation are introduced and its link control program and several issues that should be focused on in practical applications are expounded.The efficient and stable wireless data transmission between data acquisitions and data concentrator is realized. The designed system has the advantages of flexibility,low cost,short cycle of construction,etc. So it can be widely used in various occasions.
ATP Simulation for ZnO Surge Arrester under Lightning Stroke

The author analysed the dynamic characteristics and the simulation model building of metal oxide arrester(MOA).The advantages and drawbacks of MOA's U-I characteristics were ana- lyzed using piecewise linear method,single exponential and muti-exponential function fitting method, linear and nonlinear fitting method.And the conclusion is drawn that the Pinceti model is suitable for modeling MOA using alternative transients program(ATP),and muti-exponential fitting method is suit- able for calculation of nonlinearity of metal oxide resistor.
Bioinformatics, Genomics, and the Complete Story

I am writing in response to David Holzman’s Current Topics article in the June 2006 Microbe, p. 266, entitled “Speculate with Genomics but Test, Test Again with Experiments.” Holzman says that J. Greg Ferry’s discovery of the function of WrbA protein shows “the importance of conducting experiments rather than relying on bioinformatics and genomics.” In fact, the details described by Holzman tell quite a different story. The original mistaken assignment of WrbA as a tryptophan repressor-binding protein was based on biochemistry—the copurification of WrbA with tryptophan repressor. The clues to correction actually came from bioinformatics: the ubiquity of WrbA homologs in a wide range of prokaryotic genomes, and the sequence similarity to a plant quinone reductase. Furthermore, both proteomics and microarrays revealed the protein abundance under stress conditions. In other words, both genomic and postgenomic tools provided the essential direction to conduct the right biochemistry.
Long-term Stress: Stress Kills Neurons Too

Here I consider the unhappy consequences of chronic stress—consequences that include destructive modifications of the structure and functioning of our brains. This is not joyful material, but in the chapters of Part III and beyond I discuss how toughening prevents and even reverses most of these effects. There is light at the end of the tunnel, though the tunnel is long and quite dark.
Responses of invasive silver and bighead carp to a carbon dioxide barrier in outdoor ponds

Resource managers need effective methods to prevent the movement of silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) from the Mississippi River basin into the...
Chapter 3 - Step-Economical Synthesis of Clinprost and Analogs Utilizing a Novel Decarboxylation Reaction

Abstract We present our step-economical synthesis of clinprost, the methyl ester of isocarbacyclin, and analogs. Isocarbacyclin is a valuable target due to its neuroprotection from the oxidative damage after a stroke. Specifically, we utilized a palladium-catalyzed decarboxylative coupling of a pentadienyl dienoate, a rhodium-catalyzed diene-diene [2+2+1] cycloaddition, and a ruthenium-catalyzed cross-metathesis reaction. The decarboxylation reaction is the first decarboxylation of its type since the carboxyl-bearing carbon does not possess an anion-stabilizing group. In this chapter, we present some of our research into this novel reaction. The diene-diene [2+2+1] cycloaddition is the first cyclocarbonylation between two dienes. The metathesis reaction is particularly valuable since it allows for late-stage diversification. These three metal-catalyzed reactions enabled us to complete the synthesis of clinprost in nine steps, seven for some analogs, instead of the 15 or more steps that have been previously reported.
Operation of strained-layer (In,Ga)As quantum well lasers prepared on (112)B GaAs substrate

The operation of (In,Ga)As quantum well lasers prepared on [112]-oriented GaAs substrates is reported. Threshold current densities as low as 187 A/cm2 for a 1.57 mm-long device have been obtained under pulsed-mode operation. The demonstration of laser action in a heterostructure grown on the [112]-oriented substrate is important for the design of blue-green light emitters.
Dense hydrogen: the reluctant alkali

In 1935 Eugene Wigner and his student Hillard Huntington predicted the existence of metallic hydrogen. Their calculations showed that, at high enough pressures, this dissociated form of hydrogen would conduct electricity. Three decades later the author predicted that, above a certain density, some monoatomic forms of metallic hydrogen would display high-temperature superconductivity. Yet 60 years after Wigner's original prediction, physicists are still waiting for conclusive proof that hydrogen can be made to conduct, never mind superconduct, electricity.
The extreme El Niño of 2015–2016: the role of westerly and easterly wind bursts, and preconditioning by the failed 2014 event

At the beginning of 2015, as one year earlier in 2014, the scientific community anticipated that El Nino conditions could develop in the tropical Pacific by year-end. Such projections were related to the occurrence of westerly wind bursts during winter–spring of each year that generated strong downwelling Kelvin waves indicative of an emerging El Nino. However, the event’s progression quickly stalled in 2014, but actively continued in 2015, leading to an extreme warm event (comparable to 1997 or 1982). Here, we compare climate evolution during these two years using satellite observations and numerical simulations. We show that during 2014, El Nino development was interrupted mid-year by an exceptionally strong easterly wind burst, whereas during the second year it continued through the summer. Further, we show that the failed 2014 event created favorable conditions for El Nino development during the next year, as it kept ocean heat content recharged and the western Pacific warm pool extended eastward. Subsequently, the winter–spring westerly wind bursts in 2015 were followed by a series of state-dependent westerly bursts as part of a strong positive Bjerknes feedback. Analogue simulations with a coupled GCM wherein we superimpose the observed sequences of westerly and easterly wind bursts support these conclusions, stressing the role of the failed 2014 event in preconditioning the ocean–atmosphere system for the development of an extreme El Nino. In our simulations the probability of an extreme event following early-year westerly wind bursts increases from 14% to nearly 60% due to this preconditioning. Thus, the interplay between westerly and easterly wind bursts shapes El Nino development and diversity.
Asthma prevalence disparities and differences in sociodemographic associations with asthma, between Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, Asian, and White adults in Hawaii - Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 2001-2010.

ABSTRACTObjectives: Despite high asthma prevalence, relatively little is known about the epidemiology of asthma in Hawaii or among Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islanders (NHOPI). We sought to better characterize racial/ethnic differences in asthma prevalence and in sociodemographic factors associated with asthma among Hawaii adults.Design: We conducted multivariable logistic regression using 2001–2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from Hawaii, and computed adjusted prevalence and ratios.Results: Asthma prevalence markedly varied between self-identified census categories of race in Hawaii, with NHOPI having the highest estimates of both lifetime (20.9%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 19.5%–22.4%) and current (12.2%, CI: 11.2%–13.3%) asthma. Highest asthma prevalence among NHOPI persisted after controlling for potential confounders and within most sociodemographic categories. Among females Asians reported the lowest asthma prevalence, whereas among males point estimates of asthma prevalenc...
Website Signal Perceptions and Seller Quality Identification

This study extends the understanding of signaling in online shopping environments by evaluating website signal perceptions of online buyers. Drawing from signaling theory, this study proposes and empirically tests a model for conceptualizing the influence of website signal perceptions on perceived trust, perceived deception and purchase intentions. Experimental results support the assertions of the model and indicate that the online buyers’ perceptions and purchase intentions are mainly influenced by website content and website physical presence, whereas human presence and website policy credibility are less significant. In addition, there is evidence that signal perceptions change depending on the quality of online sellers. When dealing with low-quality online sellers, online buyers are concerned with physical and human presence. When evaluating high-quality sellers, online buyers are concerned with website amateurism.
A Review of Recent Developments of Mesoporous Materials

This personal account concerns novel recent discoveries in the area of mesoporous materials. Most of the papers discussed have been published within the last two to three years. A major emphasis of most of these papers is the synthesis of unique mesoporous materials by a variety of synthetic methods. Many of these articles focus on the control of the pore sizes and shapes of mesoporous materials. Synthetic methods of various types have been used for such control of porosity including soft templating, hard templating, nano-casting, electrochemical methods, surface functionalization, and trapping of species in pores. The types of mesoporous materials range from carbon materials, metal oxides, metal sulfides, metal nitrides, carbonitriles, metal organic frameworks (MOFs), and composite materials. The vast majority of recent publications have centered around biological applications with a majority dealing with drug delivery systems. Several other bio-based articles on mesoporous systems concern biomass conversion and biofuels, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies, ultrasound therapy, enzyme immobilization, antigen targeting, biodegradation of inorganic materials, applications for improved digestion, and antitumor activity. Numerous nonbiological applications of mesoporous materials have been pursued recently. Some specific examples are photocatalysis, photo-electrocatalysis, lithium ion batteries, heterogeneous catalysis, extraction of metals, extraction of lanthanide and actinide species, chiral separations and catalysis, capturing and the mode of binding of carbon dioxide (CO2 ), optical devices, and magneto-optical devices. Of this latter class of applications, heterogeneous catalysis is predominant. Some of the types of catalytic reactions being pursued include hydrogen generation, selective oxidations, aminolysis, Suzuki coupling and other coupling reactions, oxygen reduction reactions (ORR), oxygen evolution reactions (OER), and bifunctional catalysis. For perspective, there have been over 40,000 articles on mesoporous materials published in the last 4 years and about 1388 reviews. By no means is this personal account thorough or all inclusive. One objective has been to choose a variety of articles of different types to obtain a flavor of the breadth of diversity involved in the area of mesoporous materials.
Watershed Modeling With HEC-HMS (Hydrologic Engineering Centers-Hydrologic Modeling System) Using Spatially Distributed Rainfall

Simulation of the watershed runoff response to rainfall is an essential element of flood-warning and preparedness programs. The reliability of estimated runoff is an important aspect of successful programs. Methodologies for observing spatially distributed rainfall (radar rainfall) and for obtaining other gridded watershed data are continuously evolving. The increasing availability of spatially distributed data creates opportunity for improving rainfall-runoff modeling. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Hydrologic Engineering Center (IIEC) has developed a watershed modeling program, HEC-HMS, that has the capability to use spatially distributed rainfall and runoff parameters for runoff simulation. This capability and the associated applicability to flash floods are described.
Clarivate Analytics (Formerly Produced by Thomson Reuters) Journal Metrics and AJPH.

The article discusses changes to the journal's impact factor as measured by the Journal Metrics service of the firm Clarivate Analytics. Topics include the distinction between the academic prestige of a journal and its impact factor, comparisons of the journal's citation numbers to those of other public health journals, and the journal's performance measured by the Eigenfactor score measurement.
Large patch (Rhizoctonia solani AG 2-2LP) severity on Japanese lawngrass (Zoysia japonica) influenced by fungicide and application target site

Abstract Large patch, caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG 2-2LP, affects the sheaths and stems of Japanese lawngrass (JLG; Zoysia japonica) in the transition zone. Large patch is difficult to control with traditional fungicide sprays because much of the applied fungicide solution remains on the leaf away from the infection court. Our objective was to determine the amount of protection provided by fungicides deposited on the leaf, sheath, or stem of JLG. Growth chamber experiments were conducted in 2015 in Knoxville, TN, to evaluate large patch control using fungicides deposited on three target sites of JLG (leaf, sheath, and stem). Azoxystrobin, flutolanil, tebuconazole, and chlorothalonil were applied with a pipette as 2.5-μl droplets that were dispensed singly on the leaf, sheath, or stem. Measurements of percent visual disease severity and photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) were collected every seven days. In both experimental runs, JLG treated with fungicides applied on the sheath or stem significantly reduced large patch severity and had higher Fv/Fm values compared to JLG receiving leaf applications on most rating dates. Azoxystrobin, flutolanil, and tebuconazole applied on the leaf resulted in a range of 35–75% large patch severity between the two experimental runs. When these fungicides were applied on the stem and sheath, large patch severity ranged from 2 to 30%. Chlorothalonil, a contact fungicide, was least affected by the target site of application on most rating dates. This experiment demonstrated that the target site of fungicide application was critical in large patch management. Developing novel spray strategies that result in greater penetration of the fungicide solution into the thatch, and deposition closer to the site of infection is warranted.
“Maybe You Have to be Friends to be Nakama”: School Friends and Cultural Logics in the United States and Japan

I examine the concept of school friends by drawing on the ideas and experiences of one Japanese boy as he lived and attended school in both the United States and Japan. This ethnographic case study facilitates a comparative analysis of peer relations in schools through centering an 11-year-old’s perspective as he participated in and navigated ecological systems in both countries. Data include formal interviews with the youth, his parents, and his teachers, observations in schools in the United States and Japan, eco-maps, community maps, and sociometric questioning over a fifteen-month period. The study identified the strategies used to navigate social spaces, the different logics of school friends in the sociocultural spaces examined, and the subtle ways that particular types of communities are built in classrooms. Implications for teachers, teacher educators, administrators and others interested in building social, linguistic, and cognitive skills and a healthy school climate are discussed.
A systematic review of adenosine triphosphate as a surrogate for bacterial contamination of duodenoscopes used for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

Background Bacterial culture is the accepted standard to measure the adequacy of high-level disinfection (HLD) of duodenoscopes. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence assays have been suggested as an alternative method of evaluating the quality of reprocessing. We systematically reviewed published research describing the correlation between ATP and bacterial cultures. Methods The primary outcome was the correlation or concordance between concomitantly sampled ATP and bacterial contamination obtained from the instrument channel and/or elevator mechanism of the duodenoscope. A secondary outcome included the reduction in ATP measurements between paired samples before and after stages of duodenoscope reprocessing. Results Ten studies were included in the analysis. Four studies reported the relationship between concomitantly sampled ATP and cultures. Three studies reported receiver operating characteristic curves (1 study additionally reported a Wilcoxon rank sum test), and 1 study reported Spearman correlation coefficients and paired dichotomous measurements of ATP and bacterial contamination. All analyses suggested a poor relationship between the 2 measures. Studies measuring ATP before and after manual cleaning and before and after HLD reported a reduction in ATP after the reprocessing stage. Conclusion Current research does not support the direct substitution of ATP for bacterial culture surveillance of duodenoscopes. Serial ATP measurement may be a useful tool to evaluate the adequacy of manual cleaning and for training of endoscopic reprocessing staff.
Preparing for Certification: Health Educators' Perceived Competencies

A study of perceived professional strengths and weakness was conducted on 99 health educators attending three professional association meetings in the Fall of 1987. These educators were asked to se...
Primary biliary cirrhosis associated with scleroderma.

A 60-year-old housewife with primary biliary cirrhosis associated with scleroderma but without features of the calcinosis-Raynaud's phenomenon-sclerodactyly-telangiectasia syndrome is reported. Normal delayed hypersensitivity was demonstrated in cultures of the patient's peripheral lymphocytes.
NONSPECIFIC SUPPRESSION OF THE INITIATION OF THE PRIMARY IMMUNE RESPONSE IN VITRO

Publisher Summary The chapter presents a study in which the specific stimulation of primed lymphoid cells generated the release of a factor that nonspecifically suppressed the initiation of the primary immune response against a heterologous antigen in vitro. In an attempt to determine whether the factor functioned by suppressing the inductive or productive phase of antibody synthesis, the kinetics of the appearance of anti-SRBC PFC in cultures maintained with the mediator was studied. A variety of effector molecules have been reported to mediate the function of suppressor T cells in the inhibition of B-cell humoral immune responses in vitro. Whenever T lymphocytes are triggered by antigen, suppression occurs.
The role of the radiology nurse.

The radiology nurse's role requires a high level of knowledge, expertise and independence because the department provides services to a wide variety of patients with diverse needs and about whom information may be limited. Radiology nurses routinely start or check peripheral i.v.s, assess infusaports, administer medications, monitor vital signs, suction patients, insert foleys and help patients with their personal needs. The nurse also informs the technologist or radiologist of any unusual patient needs and performs specialized nursing duties, such as administering i.v. sedation or analgesia during special procedures and closely monitoring patients with cardiac/pulse oximeters. Radiology departments call on nurses to care for patients transported from intensive care, patients in emergency situations and pediatric patients and others needing sedation. Teaching is another duty radiology nurses assume, instructing patients and their families, students, technologists, other nurses, radiologists and physicians about patient care. They also teach the radiology staff new nursing policies and national standards as such changes occur. Radiology nurses devote a lot of time to quality improvement and infection control programs: collecting data, keeping records and reporting results. Because radiology nursing is relatively new, the nurse may be called upon to help write patient care policies, design flowsheets or patient instruction sheets and develop protocols or care plans. Radiology nurses utilize skills employed in many other nursing specialties and incorporate them in the radiology setting. They must provide quality nursing care to a large, transient group of patients of all ages, be a spokesperson for patient care and a teacher to other radiology staff members on patient care issues.
Sum-Product Unmixing for Hyperspectral Analysis With Endmember Variability

Models of endmember variability capture the notion that multiple spectra may represent a single class or material, and while these models are physically realistic, they often give rise to excessive computational complexity during the spectral unmixing process. In this letter, we present a computationally tractable supervised unmixing method that uses Gauss–Markov processes to model endmember variability and interband correlation properties within endmembers. We use a probabilistic graphical model over multiple Gauss–Markov processes to capture the mixing effects of a spectral sensor and employ sum-product message passing to develop an accelerated statistical unmixing algorithm. The computational complexity of the proposed unmixing algorithm is only linear in the number of bands, making it suitable for both hyperspectral (hundreds of bands) and ultraspectral (thousands of bands) applications. Unmixing examples with measured reflectance spectra show sizable performance improvements when accounting for interband correlation using the proposed method, and empirical results quantify orders of magnitude reduction in complexity compared to alternative methods.
Two-qudit deterministic optical quantum logic in a single photon

We demonstrate deterministic two-qudit gates using the time and frequency degrees of freedom of a single photon, showing the potential of our scheme for deterministic quantum computing in high-dimensional Hilbert spaces.
Floppy eyelid syndrome in stickler syndrome.

Abstract Purpose To report the possible connection between Stickler syndrome and floppy eyelid syndrome. Observations A 36-year-old man with genetically confirmed Stickler syndrome presented with prominent bilateral eyelid laxity consistent with floppy eyelid syndrome. He had a high-arched palate and reported years of apneic episodes during sleep consistent with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Conclusions and importance To our knowledge, there have been no prior reported cases of floppy eyelid syndrome in Stickler syndrome patients. However, many patients with Stickler syndrome have palate abnormalities, which are associated with a higher risk of OSA. Given the known association between floppy eyelid syndrome and OSA, this case highlights the potential role for the ophthalmologist in identifying these patients and referring them for a sleep study if floppy eyelid syndrome is identified.
Ultrasound-guided in Utero Transplantation of Placental Stem Cells into the Liver of Crigler-Najjar Syndrome Model Rat.

Background Advances in prenatal screening and early diagnosis of genetic disease will potentially allow for preemptive treatment of anticipated postnatal disease by in utero cell transplantation (IUCT). This strategy carries potential benefits over postnatal treatment, which might allow for improved engraftment and function of the transplanted cells. Congenital metabolic disorders may be an ideal target for this type of therapy, as in most cases, they require replacement of a single deficient hepatic enzyme, and multiple small-animal models exist for preclinical testing. Methods The Gunn rat, a Crigler-Najjar syndrome model animal lacking UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT1A1), was used as recipient. Human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs), which possess hepatic differentiation potential, were transplanted into the midgestation fetal Gunn rat liver via ultrasound-guided IUCT. The impact of IUCT on live birth and postnatal survival was evaluated. Human cell engraftment was immunohistochemically analyzed on postnatal day 21. Results Ultrasound-guided IUCT was conducted in rat fetuses on embryonic day 16. Following IUCT, the antihuman mitochondria-positive cells were detected in the liver of recipient rats at postnatal day 21. Conclusions Here, we have introduced ultrasound-guided IUCT of hAEC using a small-animal model of a congenital metabolic disorder without immunosuppression. The immunological advantage of IUCT was demonstrated with xenogeneic IUCT. This procedure is suitable to conduct preclinical studies for exploring the feasibility and efficacy of ultrasound-guided transuterine cell injection using rodent disease models.
Balancing the books

Supporting your studies with evening or weekend work may make sense. Gretchen P Purcell describes how she paid for her undergraduate and professional education doing unique jobs that advanced her career
Tracheostomy Care: Hospital Management and Transition to Home

The process for a family to bring an infant with a tracheostomy home can be a long journey. A successful transition is helped by having a comprehensive program to train a primary and secondary caregiver, a multidisciplinary team to help the family with obtaining supports in the home such as private duty nursing and a durable medical equipment supplier, and a general and specialist medical team who can help the child achieve medical stability and streamline their care so it is practical in the home.
Which Pathway to Good Ideas? An Attention-Based View of Innovation in Social Networks

This study introduces the notion of attention allocation in networks to argue that individuals with different types of network structure produce good ideas via different pathways. Using survey data on communication networks at a software company, we find that people with highly constrained networks generate good ideas by following a logic of interrogation, by which they focus their attention on information from a particular contact. Conversely, individuals with less constrained networks produce good ideas by following a logic of recombination, whereby they divide their attention to information coming from across multiple contacts. The results show that in highly constrained networks, interrogation is a more reliable pathway to good ideas than recombination. We discuss the implications of these findings for behavioral strategy, social networks, and innovation.
AHRR Methylation is a Significant Predictor of Mortality Risk in Framingham Heart Study.

Background.—The ability to predict mortality is useful to clinicians, policy makers and insurers. At the current time, prediction of future mortality is still an inexact process with some proposing...
The role of an auditory cue in generating anticipatory postural adjustments in response to an external perturbation

Anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) are usually generated to minimize the potential postural disturbance induced by predictable external perturbations. Visual information about a perturbation is important for the generation of APAs, but whether people can rely on auditory information to generate APAs is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of an auditory cue in generating APAs when visual information is not available. Fifteen young adults participated in the study. They received external perturbations a) with visual information but no auditory information available, b) without neither visual nor auditory information, c) with both visual and auditory information available, and d) with only auditory information available. Electromyography (EMG) activities of eight leg and trunk muscles and displacements of the center-of-pressure (COP) were recorded and analyzed during the anticipatory and compensatory (CPAs) phases. Outcome measures included the latencies and integrals of muscle activities, COP displacements, and indices of co-contraction and reciprocal activation of muscles. The results showed that after a short training, participants were able to rely only on the auditory cue to generate APAs comparable to that when the visual information was available. In addition, a training effect was found such that the participants demonstrated stronger APAs and less demands for CPAs through the training trials. The outcome provides a foundation for future studies focusing on the utilization of auditory cues for postural control in older adults and individuals who have vision deficit.
Effect of the addition of ultraviolet light on broiler growth, fear, and stress response

Summary The objective of this study was to determine the effects of ultraviolet light supplementation on production parameters, fear responses, and stress susceptibility in broiler chickens. Birds were reared under either light emitting diode (LED) bulbs supplemented with UV light fixtures (UV) or just LEDs (Control). Growth, feed conversion, tonic immobility, inversion, composite asymmetry, plasma corticosterone, heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and humoral immunity were measured to determine treatment differences. No differences were found in body weight or feed conversion (P > 0.05). UV birds righted quicker during tonic immobility (P 0.05). These results suggest broilers reared under ultraviolet light have lower stress susceptibility and fear responses. Ultraviolet light may be critical to maximize broiler welfare.
New-onset ESRD secondary to reflux nephropathy has decreased in incidence in the United States.

Summary Introduction and objective Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) has been associated with the development and progression of reflux nephropathy (RN). Management of VUR has become more conservative over time as therapies have not been reliably proven to prevent renal scarring. We sought to examine the incidence of end stage renal disease (ESRD) due to RN over recent decades in the United States. Study design The United States Renal Data System (USRDS) is a national data system that collects information about chronic kidney disease and ESRD. Since 1995, the USRDS has mandated that all dialysis centers enroll and submit data on new-onset ESRD patients. Of the over 2.5 million patients enrolled since 1996, 7314 were enrolled with a diagnosis code for RN as the primary cause of ESRD. We examined the trends seen in this patient population from 1996 to 2014 and used US census data to calculate incidence. Results The incidence of patients with new-onset ESRD attributed primarily to RN saw a steady decrease over time: from 1.9 per million in 1996 to 0.6 per million in the US population in 2014 (exp(B) = 0.941, p 0.05). When comparing pediatric new-onset ESRD to adult-onset, a non-significant trend (p = 0.093) was seen with a decrease in incidence of adult ESRD, but a relatively stable incidence of pediatric ESRD (mean age 12, incidence 0.2–0.6 cases per million US children/year). 44.5% of patients received renal transplantation at a mean age of 36 years, 18.9 months (IQR 5–40) after ESRD diagnosis. The mean age of mortality was 62 years old (IQR 50–76), and 5-year survival after RN ESRD diagnosis was 65.8%. Discussion As with any public database study, our findings may be limited by disease coding or reporting practices. Medical and surgical management trends practiced since the 1960s may have contributed to a decrease in the incidence of ESRD primarily attributed to RN in the United States between 1996 and 2014. Our findings may also reflect changes in diagnostic practices. Conclusions ESRD attributed primarily to RN has gradually decreased in incidence in the United States between 1996 and 2014, but the age of ESRD onset has been unchanged. Download : Download high-res image (117KB) Download : Download full-size image Summary Figure . End stage renal disease (ESRD) primarily attributed to reflux nephropathy (RN) has decreased in incidence from 1995 to 2014, in both adults and children.