cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Wnt/PCP Instructions for Cilia in Left-Right Asymmetry

Wnt-Frizzled/planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling establishes cell orientation within the epithelial plane, but whether Wnts are instructive or permissive is debated. Reporting in Developmental Cell, Minegishi et al. (2017) uncover an instructive link from Wnt5a/b gradients to PCP-factor-regulated polarized cilia positioning that is essential to mouse embryo left-right asymmetry establishment.
Integrated vehicle and powertrain optimization for passenger vehicles with vehicle-infrastructure communication

Abstract This research proposes an optimal controller to improve fuel efficiency for a vehicle equipped with automatic transmission traveling on rolling terrain without the presence of a close preceding vehicle. Vehicle acceleration and transmission gear position are optimized simultaneously to achieve a better fuel efficiency. This research leverages the emerging Connected Vehicle technology and utilizes present and future information—such as real-time dynamic speed limit, vehicle speed, location and road topography—as optimization input. The optimal control is obtained using the Relaxed Pontryagin’s Minimum Principle. The benefit of the proposed optimal controller is significant compared to the regular cruise control and other eco-drive systems. It varies with the hill length, grade, and the number of available gear positions. It ranges from an increased fuel saving of 18–28% for vehicles with four-speed transmission and 25–45% for vehicles with six-speed transmission. The computational time for the optimization is 1.0–2.1 s for the four-speed vehicle and 1.8–3.9 s for the six-speed vehicle, given a 50 s optimization time horizon and 0.1 s time step. The proposed controller can potentially be used in real-time.
Low-Cost Behavioral Nudges Increase Medicaid Take-Up Among Eligible Residents Of Oregon

Efforts to reduce the ranks of the uninsured hinge on take-up of available programs and subsidies, but take-up of even free insurance is often less than complete. The evidence of the effectiveness of policies aiming to increase take-up is limited. We used a randomized controlled design to evaluate the impact of improved communication and behaviorally informed “nudges” designed to increase Medicaid take-up among eligible populations. Fielding randomized interventions in two different study populations in Oregon, we found that even very low-cost interventions substantially increased enrollment. Effects were larger in a population whose members had already expressed interest in obtaining coverage, but the effects were more persistent in low-income populations whose members were already enrolled in other state assistance programs but had not expressed interest in health insurance. The effects were similar across different demographic groups. Our results suggest that improving the design of enrollment processe...
Pediatric ATV injuries in a statewide sample: 2004 to 2014

OBJECTIVES: To establish the incidence, mortality rate, and fracture location of pediatric patients injured while using an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) over an 11-year period. METHODS: A retrospective study using a state trauma database for patients ages 0 to 17 years who sustained injuries while using an ATV. Thirty-two pediatric and adult trauma centers within the state were evaluated from January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2014. RESULTS: The inclusion criteria were met by 1912 patients. The estimated mean annual incidence during the period of the study was 6.2 patients per 100 000 children in the pediatric population CONCLUSIONS: Despite current guidelines by the American Academy of Pediatrics, patients younger than 16 years of age remain victims of ATV injuries. Although there was a 13.4% reduction in the incidence of ATV-related injuries in recent years, continued preventive guidelines are still necessary to avert these injuries in children and adolescents.
Abstract 5248: Pioglitazone prevents hepatocellular carcinoma development in a rat model of cirrhosis

Introduction: Advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of mortality worldwide with limited treatment options. There is a readily identifiable cohort of cirrhosis patients at risk and they are ideal candidates for chemoprevention. Anti-hyperglycemic agents have garnered interest for their potential anti-fibrotic as well as chemo-preventive effects. Pioglitazone, a selective PPAR-γ agonist, has been shown to reduce non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), but its role as an anti-fibrotic and chemopreventive agent has yet to be elucidated. The hypothesis of this study is that Pioglitazone reduces cirrhosis and subsequent HCC development in rats with diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced cirrhosis. Methods: Male Wistar received DEN 50mg/kg by intraperitoneal injection. DEN injury reliably recapitulates histological and molecular features of human HCC development with induction of hepatic fibrosis at 8 weeks, cirrhosis at 12 weeks, and HCC by 18 weeks. DEN-injured rats were randomized to receive oral gavage of pioglitazone at 3mg/kg/day (n=9) or vehicle control (n=9). Initiation of pioglitazone coincided with the development of liver fibrosis at 8 weeks. All animals were sacrificed at 18 weeks. Results: As expected, repeated injections of DEN in rats resulted in progressive fibrosis, cirrhosis, followed by HCC formation. Treatment with pioglitazone resulted in a 56% reduction of surface nodules relative to treatment with vehicle (7.4±4.9 vs. 17±7; p Conclusion: Overall our data supports the hypothesis that the anti-diabetic agent pioglitazone may be repurposed as a drug to reduce fibrosis and prevent HCC. This could be beneficiary in patient management given the low cost as well as minimal side effects. Citation Format: Shen Li, Sarani Ghoshal, Gunisha Arora, Derek J. Erstad, Michael Lanuti, Kenneth K. Tanabe, Bryan C. Fuchs. Pioglitazone prevents hepatocellular carcinoma development in a rat model of cirrhosis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5248. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5248
Enhancement of multiple cranial and spinal nerves in vanishing white matter: expanding the differential diagnosis

Abnormal cranial or spinal nerve contrast enhancement on MRI in cases of suspected pediatric leukodystrophy is recognized as an important clue to the diagnosis of either metachromatic leukodystrophy or globoid cell leukodystrophy (Krabbe disease). We report a case of genetically confirmed childhood vanishing white matter with enhancement of multiple cranial and spinal nerves in addition to the more typical intracranial findings. This case expands the limited differential diagnosis of cranial nerve or spinal nerve enhancement in cases of suspected leukodystrophy and may aid in more efficient work-up and earlier diagnosis of vanishing white matter.
A Political Economy of Modernism: Literature, Post-Classical Economics, and the Lower Middle-Class

In A Political Economy of Modernism, Ronald Schleifer examines the political economy of what he calls 'the culture of modernism' by focusing on literature and the arts; intellectual disciplines of post-classical economics; and institutional structures of corporate capitalism and the lower middle-class. In its wide ranging study focused on modernist writers (Dreiser, Hardy, Joyce, Stevens, Woolf, Wells, Wharton, Yeats), modernist artists (Cezanne, Picasso, Stravinsky, Schoenberg), economists (Jevons, Marshall, Veblen), and philosophers (Benjamin, Jakobson, Russell), this book presents an institutional history of cultural modernism in relation to the intellectual history of Enlightenment ethos and the social history of the second Industrial Revolution. It articulates a new method of analysis of the early twentieth century - configuration and modeling - that reveals close connections among its arts, understandings, and social organizations.
Practical security of semi-quantum key distribution

Unconditionally secure key distribution is impossible using classical communication only. However, by providing Alice and Bob with quantum capable hardware the task becomes possible. How quantum does a protocol need to be, though, in order to gain this advantage? In 2007, Boyer et al., proposed "semi-quantum key distribution" where only Alice need be quantum while Bob need only limited classical" capabilities. Several protocols were proposed and proven secure in the perfect qubit scenario" but not necessarily against realistic attacks (with one exception being recently published in (PRA 96 062335)). In this paper, we devise a new SQKD protocol and analyze its security against certain practical attacks.
Anästhesie für In-vitro-Fertilisation

wicklung bedacht werden. Obwohl die Daten unschlussig sind, scheint es angebracht, die Oozytenexposition durch Anasthetika oder Sedativa zu minimieren. Wir bevorzugen daher die Spinalanasthesie fur die Oozytengewinnung. Das Standardverfahren bei laparoskopischen Eingriffen in der reproduktiven Chirurgie ist die Intubationsnarkose.
Robust principal component analysis with non-greedy l 1 -norm maximization

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is one of the most important methods to handle high-dimensional data. However, the high computational complexity makes it hard to apply to the large scale data with high dimensionality, and the used l2-norm makes it sensitive to outliers. A recent work proposed principal component analysis based on l1-normmaximization, which is efficient and robust to outliers. In that work, a greedy strategy was applied due to the difficulty of directly solving the l1-norm maximization problem, which is easy to get stuck in local solution. In this paper, we first propose an efficient optimization algorithmto solve a general l1-norm maximization problem, and then propose a robust principal component analysis with non-greedy l1-norm maximization. Experimental results on real world datasets show that the nongreedy method always obtains much better solution than that of the greedy method.
Herbaceous-layer diversity and tree seedling recruitment are enhanced following Rhododendron maximum shrub removal

Abstract Forest ecosystems dominated by Tsuga canadensis are undergoing fundamental changes in function and composition from infestations by hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae). We proposed that the first step to restoring southern Appalachian riparian forests following T. canadensis mortality would be eliminating the evergreen shrub, Rhododendron maximum. We hypothesized that removing R. maximum would increase light transmittance, soil moisture and temperature; and subsequently, enhance herbaceous-layer diversity and promote tree seedling recruitment and survival. We tested these hypotheses at two locations, (CWT, Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory; WOC, White Oak Creek) in the Nantahala Mountain Range of western North Carolina, both with heavy T. canadensis mortality and a dense R. maximum subcanopy. The treatments were designed to remove only soil O-horizon (FF), remove only R. maximum (CR), remove R. maximum and soil O-horizon (CFFR), and untreated, reference (REF). We installed permanent plots across treatments and locations and measured light transmittance (Qi/Qo), soil water content (θ), herbaceous-layer cover and diversity (Shannon’s index (H′cover) and species richness), and tree seedling recruitment. As expected, cutting the R. maximum subcanopy (CR and CFFR) immediately increased Qi/Qo in the spring months across locations, and it was sustained through the first growing season. θ was generally high across plots, averaging 26% during the growing season, and didn’t vary over time. By the second growing season (2017) after treatments, herbaceous-layer cover and diversity increased on CR and CFFR. Herbaceous-layer cover was significantly related to Qi/Qo (r2 = 0.22, p Acer rubrum > Quercus coccinea > Liriodendron tulipifera > Q. rubra. In CFFR, tree seedling recruitment ranked Betula spp. > A. rubrum > L. tulipifera. These vegetation responses have important implications for potential recovery of riparian forests following T. canadensis mortality.
Nanotechnology Toward Treating Cancer: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract Nanomedicine, the application of nanotechnology to treatment and prevention of diseases, is an emerging form of drug therapy that utilizes nanomaterials as drug carriers for enhancing treatment efficacy while reducing detrimental side effects to normal tissues. Nanomaterials, with their size range (1–100 nm) that corresponds to basic biological materials such as DNA and vastly increased surface area, have a wide range of applications from drug and gene delivery to biomedical imaging. The major advantages of using nanomaterials as a carrier for anticancer agents are the possibility of targeted delivery to the tumor, tumor imaging, their ability to hold thousands of molecules of a drug, and also their ability to overcome solubility, stability, and resistance issues. Currently, there are several nanotechnology-enabled diagnostic and therapeutic agents undergoing clinical trials, and a few are already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicine Agency (EMA). Targeted delivery of anticancer agents is achieved by “Enhanced Permeation and Retention Effect” (EPR effect) and/or active targeting. This review provides an update on FDA-approved cancer nanomedicines and those in nanoplatforms that have reached an advanced stage of clinical development utilizing liposomes, albumin nanospheres, micelles, and gold nanoparticles.
Fusion process and fusion efficiency is essential to optimal antitumor immunity

3444 The fusion of dendritic cells (DC) and tumor cells is an effective approach to the design of vaccines in cancer immunotherapy. However, question has been raised whether the fusion process is essential for the potency of DC/tumor fusion cells since most DC-based vaccines can induce antitumor immune response. In the present study, we fused DC with MC38/MUC1 tumor cells and examined the relationship between fusion process, fusion efficiency and antitumor immunity. The fusion efficiency was determined by dual expression of MHC class II as DC marker and MUC1 as tumor marker at multiple time points. On day 1, only 3.81% cells expressed MUC1 and MHC class II. The double positive cells increased to 10.2% on day 4 and 36.2% on day 7 culture. In contrast, only 3.96% of cells were double positive for MHC class II and MUC1 when DC were mixed with tumor cells without PEG and cultured for 7 days. These results indicate that fusion of DC and tumor cells using PEG as a fusogen is a dynamic and evolving process and that short-term culture of fusion cell products promotes the fusion efficiency. In addition, fusion process is essential for the optimal expression of both tumor antigens and DC markers. To determine the relationship between fusion efficiency and immune response, groups of MUC1 transgenic mice were immunized with 5 × 105 cells obtained from day 1, 4 and 7 fusion products. Immunization of mice with day 1, 4 and 7 day fusion products provided 20%, 70% and 100% protection, respectively, against challenge with 5 × 105 MC38/MUC1 tumor cells. Impaired antitumor immunity was observed in mice immunized with DC mixed with tumor cells. Eight out of 9 mice immunized with DC mixed with tumor cells on day 7 culture developed tumors. Similar results were obtained in CTL assay. Immunization of mice with fusion products on day 7 culture resulted in the induction of the highest CTL activity against MC38/MUC1 tumor cells. Taken together, these results indicate that fusion efficiency is closely correlated with antitumor immunity and that fusion process is indispensable for the optimal antitumor immunity.
Post-call transfer of resident responsibility: its effect on patient care.

Objective:To determine whether transferring the care of patients to another senior resident the day after admission to the bospital adversely affects the efficiency and quality of care. Design:Retrospective analysis of a natural experiment. Setting:The general medical service of the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, a major tertiary teaching hospital of the University of Minnesota internal medicine residency program. Patients/participants:Subjects were all the patients admitted to the medicine service from 5:00 PM to 6:00 AM over an eight-month period. Intervention:After 5:00 PM, half of the patients were admitted to the hospital by a cross-covering senior resident (CC group of patients), and their care was transferred to a different senior resident the following day. The other patients were initially evaluated by the primary senior resident (PE group of patients). Assignment to the different services was a random, sequential process. Measurements and main results:The CC group had significantly more laboratory tests performed during their hospital stay than did the PE group of patients (44 vs. 32, p=0.01), even when adjusted for length of stay. Using multiple linear regression to adjust for other clinical parameters including length of stay, DRG weight, and number of consults, the authors found that being a CC subject was a significant predictor of the number of laboratory tests obtained (p=0.01). Furthermore, the median length of stay in the CC group (n=74) was longer than that in the PE group (n=72) (eight days vs. six days); this was of borderline statistical significance, using a two-sample median test (p=0.06). Conclusion:Patients transferred to a different resident the day after admission had more laboratory tests performed and longer inpatient stays.
The Defense Cooperation Agreement Dataset (DCAD)

The academic study of defense cooperation focuses heavily on formal military alliances. Yet, governments rarely sign new alliances, and the global alliance structure has remained relatively static ...
Duration-Driven Returns

We propose a duration-based explanation for the premia on major equity factors, including value, profitability, investment, low-risk, and payout factors. These factors invest in firms that earn most of their cash flows in the near future and could therefore be driven by a premium on near-future cash flows. We test this hypothesis using a novel dataset of single-stock dividend futures, which are claims on dividends of individual firms. Consistent with our hypothesis, the expected CAPM alpha on individual cash flows decrease in maturity within a firm, and the alpha is not related to the above characteristics when controlling for maturity.
Surface Penetration without Enrichment: Simulations Show Ion Surface Propensities Consistent with Both Elevated Surface Tension and Surface Sensitive Spectroscopy.

Molecular dynamics was used to investigate ion surface propensities in NaCl, KBr, and CsI solutions with an MP2-based force field. Although NaCl is found to be strongly repelled from the liquid–vap...
The "envirome" and what the practitioner needs to know about it.

Abstract Objective This review on the “envirome” focuses on pollution, microbial, and social stressor elements of the environment that may impact development or expression of allergic diseases. Data Sources Peer-reviewed publications on the impact of environmental factors indexed in PubMed were the primary data source for this review. Study Selections The primary search strategy for this review employed cross-referencing asthma, atopic dermatitis, and immunoglobulin E (IgE) against pollution (ozone, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, tobacco smoke), microbial exposures (farm exposure, microbiome, infection, antibiotic use) and psychosocial stressors, with emphasis on results in the past 5 years, with inclusion of key seminal articles or comprehensive reviews. Results Air pollution is a clear cause of allergic disease exacerbation, with increasing recognition that pollutant exposure increases risk of allergic disease. Microbial exposures and maternal and child stress also modulate development and expression of allergic disease. Early life exposures are especially critical periods during which all of these factors have notable impacts on allergic disease. Conclusion Nonallergenic environmental factors are important modulators and adjuvants for development of allergic disease, with early life exposures being especially important. Development and validation of interventions directed toward these factors during early life is a significant opportunity for primary prevention of allergic disease.
Can a couples' intervention reduce unmet needs and caregiver burden after brain injury?

OBJECTIVE To examine the effectiveness of the Therapeutic Couples Intervention (TCI) on caregiver needs and burden after brain injury. RESEARCH METHOD Individuals with brain injury and their intimate partners/caregivers (n = 75) participated in a 2-arm, parallel, randomized trial with a waitlist control. The TCI consisted of 5 2-hr sessions, with a sixth optional session for parents. The Family Needs Questionnaire-R (FNQ-R) and the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) were secondary outcome measures. RESULTS After adjusting for baseline characteristics, caregivers in the TCI group demonstrated reduction in unmet needs for 5 of the 6 FNQ-R subscales, whereas those in the waitlist control group did not. ZBI scores improved significantly for TCI caregivers but not for controls. At the 3-month follow-up, benefits were maintained for the ZBI and 4 of the 6 FNQ-R subscales (Health Information, Emotional Support, Professional Support, and Community Support Network). CONCLUSIONS The present investigation provided evidence that, following brain injury, a structured couples intervention can reduce unmet needs and burden in caregivers. Future multicenter research examining long-term durability of treatment gains and specific characteristics of positive responders is warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Early-onset colorectal cancer: initial clues and current views

Over the past several decades, the incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC; in patients <50 years old) has increased at an alarming rate. Although robust and scientifically rigorous epidemiological studies have sifted out environmental elements linked to EOCRC, our knowledge of the causes and mechanisms of this disease is far from complete. Here, we highlight potential risk factors and putative mechanisms that drive EOCRC and suggest likely areas for fruitful research. In addition, we identify inconsistencies in the evidence implicating a strong effect of increased adiposity and suggest that certain behaviours (such as diet and stress) might place nonobese and otherwise healthy people at risk of this disease. Key risk factors are reviewed, including the global westernization of diets (usually involving a high intake of red and processed meats, high-fructose corn syrup and unhealthy cooking methods), stress, antibiotics, synthetic food dyes, monosodium glutamate, titanium dioxide, and physical inactivity and/or sedentary behaviour. The gut microbiota is probably at the crossroads of these risk factors and EOCRC. The time course of the disease and the fact that relevant exposures probably occur in childhood raise important methodological issues that are also discussed. The incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer (in patients <50 years old) is increasing at an alarming rate. This Review highlights potential risk factors and putative mechanisms that drive this disease, and suggests likely areas for fruitful research, including diet, stress and antibiotics.
Inhibition of Human Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation by Low-Intensity Ultrasound Stimulation

Objectives Cancer is characterized by uncontrolled cell proliferation, which makes novel therapies highly desired. In this study, the effects of near-field low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) stimulation on T47D human breast cancer cell and healthy immortalized MCF-12A breast epithelial cell proliferation were investigated in monolayer cultures. Methods A customized ultrasound (US) exposure setup was used for the variation of key US parameters: intensity, excitation duration, and duty cycle. Cell proliferation was quantified by 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine and alamarBlue assays after LIPUS excitation. Results At a 20% duty cycle and 10-minute excitation period, we varied LIPUS intensity from to 100 mW/cm2 (spatial-average temporal-average) to find a gradual decrease in T47D cell proliferation, the decrease being strongest at 100 mW/cm2 . In contrast, healthy MCF-12A breast cells showed an increase in proliferation when exposed to the same conditions. Above a 60% duty cycle, T47D cell proliferation decreased drastically. Effects of continuous wave US stimulation were further explored by varying the intensity and excitation period. Conclusions These experiments concluded that, irrespective of the waveform (pulsed or continuous), LIPUS stimulation could inhibit the proliferation of T47D breast cancer cells, whereas the same behavior was not observed in healthy cells. The study demonstrates the beneficial bioeffects of LIPUS on breast cancer cells and offers the possibility of developing novel US-mediated cancer therapy.
Lamanitas, The Spanish-speaking Hermanos: Latinos Loving Their Mormonism Even as They Remain the Other

I stood in the lobby of the chapel in my green Army uniform, staring at the few people asking each other about their week. Mine was the only brown face and it would be a lonely brown face as I left the chapel a couple of hours later. I don’t remember if it was the LDS bishop or one of his counselors who asked me a question or two, the only interaction of my worship time there, but he did not actually welcome me. I remember never going back and simply reading my scriptures, praying and watching “clean movies” during my sabbaths at Valley Forge Surgical Hospital in Pennsylvania where I was a medical corpsman in 1970.
Food insecurity, Eucharist, and community: Reading Jean-Marc Éla’s “shade-tree” theology in light of Balthasar’s ecclesiology:

This article discusses how the African church together with the church catholic can develop a theological response to rising food insecurity in Africa. Considering food insecurity is only a symptom...
Fiber photometry does not reflect spiking activity in the striatum

Abstract Fiber photometry recordings are commonly used as a proxy for neuronal activity, based on the assumption that increases in bulk calcium fluorescence reflect increases in spiking of the underlying neural population. However, this assumption has not been adequately tested. Here, using endoscopic calcium imaging in the striatum we report that the bulk fluorescence signal correlates weakly with somatic calcium signals, suggesting that this signal does not reflect spiking activity, but may instead reflect subthreshold changes in neuropil calcium. Consistent with this suggestion, the bulk fluorescence photometry signal correlated strongly with neuropil calcium signals extracted from these same endoscopic recordings. We further confirmed that photometry did not reflect striatal spiking activity with simultaneous in vivo extracellular electrophysiology and fiber photometry recordings in awake behaving mice. We conclude that the fiber photometry signal should not be considered a proxy for spiking activity in neural populations in the striatum. Significance statement Fiber photometry is a technique for recording brain activity that has gained popularity in recent years due to it being an efficient and robust way to record the activity of genetically defined populations of neurons. However, it remains unclear what cellular events are reflected in the photometry signal. While it is often assumed that the photometry signal reflects changes in spiking of the underlying cell population, this has not been adequately tested. Here, we processed calcium imaging recordings to extract both somatic and non-somatic components of the imaging field, as well as a photometry signal from the whole field. Surprisingly, we found that the photometry signal correlated much more strongly with the non-somatic than the somatic signals. This suggests that the photometry signal most strongly reflects subthreshold changes in calcium, and not spiking. We confirmed this point with simultaneous fiber photometry and extracellular spiking recordings, again finding that photometry signals relate poorly to spiking in the striatum. Our results may change interpretations of studies that use fiber photometry as an index of spiking output of neural populations.
Introduction: Teaching Outside of the Traditional Classroom

Education is conceptualized as occurring in a physical space completely dedicated to teaching—the classroom. Similarly, a teacher is perceived as someone dedicated full-time to their students’ learning, within a classroom. However, teaching and learning increasingly occur in spaces outside of traditional classroom settings—such as homes, outdoors, and online—particularly today in response to COVID-19. At the same time, individuals who never trained nor planned to become teachers find themselves educating outside of the traditional classroom with students they may have never imagined teaching.
Acquired epidermodysplasia verruciformis (AEV) in three children after cardiac transplantation: A case series and review of the literature

Acquired epidermodysplasia verruciformis (AEV) describes epidermodysplasia verruciformis developing in an immunocompromised host. There is limited information in the literature regarding AEV in the pediatric population; of the patients reported, most patients described had HIV, with only two reported cases of children who developed AEV post-transplantation. This case series describes three pediatric patients who developed AEV on immunosuppressant therapy following cardiac transplantation. We review risk factors, treatment options, and prognosis of AEV in the pediatric population.
Implications for Supporting Marginalized Job Seekers: Lessons from Employment Centers

Rapid changes in technology are expected to limit the availability of decent work for millions of people worldwide. This particularly disadvantages socially and economically marginalized job seekers who are already being pushed into lower-wage precarious work with increasing levels of job insecurity. While the number of employment support tools that match job seekers to employers has been growing, marginalized job seekers still significantly rely on physical employment centers that have a track record of supporting the specific needs associated with marginalization and economic constraints. We drew from prior HCI and CSCW literature uncovering the employment and technology-related challenges that marginalized job seekers face and from the Psychology of Working Theory to frame our research questions and results. To complement this prior work, we investigated how employment center staff work with marginalized job seekers and moderate factors to securing decent work. We found in an interview of 21 employment center staff--career advisors and business services coordinators--that they performed significant work to prepare and encourage marginalized job seekers in applying to positions, while also training employers to be more inclusive and open-minded. Career advisors worked directly with job seekers to connect them with external resources, provide encouragement, strategize long-term goals, and mitigate feelings of stigma. Business services coordinators worked directly with employers to prepare job positions and employee support programs. Drawing from the expertise of employment centers, we contribute a framework for designing employment support tools that better serve the needs of marginalized job seekers, and outline tangible design implications that complement the support these organizations provide.
Gold/Ceria: The Making of a Robust Catalyst for Fuel Processing and Hydrogen Production

Abstract Gold supported on cerium oxide has been studied over the past two decades as a potential alternative to platinum metals for low-temperature CO oxidation and the water–gas shift (WGS) reaction because of its higher intrinsic activity, and as an alternative to copper catalysts for methanol steam reforming because of its better resistance to deactivation in fuel cell system operation. The literature on the subject is briefly reviewed in this chapter. The evolution of our understanding of how to make this type of robust catalyst is described with specific cases drawn from our own work and that of others. Properly prepared ceria at the nanoscale with and without dopants can stabilize a large amount of atomically bound Au–Ox species which are the active sites for the WGS and the methanol steam reforming reactions operating through different mechanisms on these sites. Design principles for this and other metals atomically dispersed on ceria can be drawn from this review.
A Case Study of the Impact of Bioenergy Development Upon Crop Production, Livestock Feeding, and Water Resource Usage in Kansas

The development of grain-based ethanol production in Kansas has had a marked impact upon the feedgrain and livestock industries of the state. The increased focus on feedgrain production stemming from ethanol development impacts the use and sustainability of Kansas water resources, and has changed the proportional mix of crops grown in the state. The need to handle increased amounts of feedgrains and to transport them to ethanol plants has affected the functional role of local grain elevators as well as the directional flow of grain within the state. The grain trucking industry has been dramatically affected by the increase in demand for moving both feedstock inputs and co-product outputs to and from ethanol plants in the state.
To Lend or Not to Lend: What the CRA Ought to Say about Sub-Prime and Predatory Lending

Policies that support the expansion of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income persons must be reconciled with those policies that undercut the sustainability of home ownership. The sub-prime market represents a much needed expansion of credit markets to those who have been denied access to credit though they are creditworthy. The high failure rate of the sub-prime market indicates that market forces are ineffective in halting this economic abuse. This article argues that the public policy choices and justifications for certain practices have marginalized the concerns of particular consumer classes. It challenges the premise that the free market can and should operate without interference and critiques it from the a utilitarian perspective using home-equity lending as an example. It endorses the need for diversified financial services industry but argues that predatory lending, which is the result of market information failure, does not fulfill this objective and in fact leads to an onerous type of borrower market segmentation. The capital supply of predatory lenders is critical to eliminating the sharp practices presently sanctioned by law. Proposing a duty on the originating lender to conduct a due diligence analysis, the article suggests that closer adherence to the rules of commercial negotiation would place more scrutiny on both the funding of predatory lenders by the primary market and the selling of predatory loans on the secondary market.
Growth Hormone and Prolactin Family of Hormones and Receptors: The Structural Basis for Receptor Activation and Regulation

Publisher Summary This chapter studies the growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (PRL) family or hormones and receptors as the structural basis for receptor activation and regulation. It reviews the studies that have laid the foundations for a new generation of investigations that are likely to produce a further level of insight about the subtleties under which molecular recognition processes drive biological function and provides a background to our current understanding and suggests areas of future investigation. Growth hormone (GH), placental lactogen (PL), and prolactin (PRL) regulate an extensive variety of important physiological functions. GH biology generally centers on the regulation and differentiation of muscle, cartilage, and bone cells and the PRL hormones and receptors display a much broader spectrum of activities, ranging from their well-known effects in mammalian reproductive biology to osmoregulation in fishes and nesting behavior in birds. The activities of GH, PL, and PRL and their homologs are triggered by hormone-induced homodimerization of their cognate receptors, which produce subsequent signals through a series of phosphorylation events in the Janus kinase (JAK) signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling pathway. The various structures of hormone–receptor complexes provide information that encompasses both the versatility and specificity components inherent in the recognition system that regulates endocrine biology. This is explained in the chapter.
Modeling the price side of econometric models: An analysis of the underlying hypotheses

Abstract Using a non-linear vector autoregression, this paper investigates the dynamic interactions between a set of disaggregated price series. A hypothesis, positing that all sectoral prices are a function of a ‘major price index’, is tested and the way this hypothesis is used in econometric models is discussed. The model is based upon the theory of covariance stationary time series. Non-linear estimation procedures are used.
Confidentiality and Legal Privilege

The duty of health care professionals to protect the privacy of health care information is a bedrock legal and ethical principle. Two types of laws provide such protection. One concerns confidentiality, and the other concerns privilege. The two are related but discrete. Confidentiality is the legal and ethical obligation of health care professionals not to disclose information about an individual obtained in the course of providing diagnostic or treatment services. Privilege is the law's recognition of confidentiality in legal proceedings in which confidential material otherwise would be subject to disclosure as part of that proceeding. This article discusses the values that underlie confidentiality, the various sources of confidentiality law, and significant exceptions to it. The note concludes with a brief discussion of legal privilege.
How and Why Economies Develop and Grow: Lessons from Preindustrial Europe and China

Why are we rich and others poor? What is preventing the less-developed countries from catching up with the more developed? How did we become rich? Underlying these questions are more fundamental ones: What is the nature of economic progress? What are its causes? I seek the answers to these questions empirically - from the historical evidence of economic progress. This is not, however, a work of history. I do not attempt to establish historical facts or to explain particular historical events. Rather, I derive from the historical evidence a theory of economic progress in general.The particular ‘sample’ from which I derive my theory is the economic history of preindustrial Europe. To test the theory ‘out of sample’, I apply it to the economic history of preindustrial China in order to understand how and why it differed from that of preindustrial Europe.The theory begins by broadening the definition of economic activity. Usually economic activity is identified with production - with the creation of goods and services. But there are two other forms of economic activity - two other ways of making a living. One is commerce - trading for profit the goods and services that others produce. The other is predation - taking by force the goods and services that others produce or trade. The theory offers an explanation of economic progress in terms of the conflicting effects on production of commerce and predation.
Blinded prospective evaluation of sensitivity of MR angiography to known intracranial aneurysms: importance of aneurysm size.

PURPOSE To determine the sensitivity of time-of-flight and phase-contrast MR angiography for the detection of intracranial aneurysms. METHODS Sixteen patients with 27 intracranial aneurysms previously identified with conventional angiography and 19 control patients were examined with three-dimensional time-of-flight, three-dimensional phase-contrast MR angiography, and standard MR imaging. Subvolumes of the carotid and posterior circulations, source images, and standard MR images were blindly interpreted by three experienced neuroradiologists. RESULTS Detection of an aneurysm by a given sequence was defined as at least two of the three blinded readers identifying the aneurysm. The sensitivities of the sequences based on all 27 aneurysms were: transaxial T1, 25.9%; T2, 48.1%; PC, 44.4%; and TF, 55.6%. Two of 3 aneurysms detected with T2 but not MR angiography had adjacent blood products. Five millimeters appeared to be a critical size; the sensitivities for aneurysms greater than or equal to 5 mm were: T1, 37.5%; T2, 62.5%; PC, 75%; and TF, 87.5%. CONCLUSIONS Three-dimensional time-of-flight MR with 512 x 256 matrix is more sensitive than three-dimensional phase-contrast or standard MR imaging for detection of aneurysms. Retrospectively, aneurysms 3 mm or larger can be identified with MR angiography; however, prospectively, 5 mm is the critical size for detection.
Instantons in nonintegrable aesthetic field theory

Abstract Starting from the mathematically aesthetic principles which we have been studying for some time, we obtain a new type of multiparticle system. We investigate a three space-time dimensional situation that leads to what appears to be an infinite instanton system. Here the particles exist for short intervals of time. In this situation, the location of maxima (minima) is not that of a simple lattice when we specify an integration path. Instead, we find that the x location of two-dimensional maxima (minima) within a family lie on a (discrete) sine curve. The y location within the family has a more complicated oscillatory arrangement. We call such a system an oscillatory-type lattice. We have studied what happens to the system above when we augment the basic equations with a superposition principle at each point. The superposition principle arises since the system is nonintegrable. We find that the instanton property is preserved when we use the superposition principle. It appears that the instantons are rearranged in a more complicated way by the superposition principle, although further computer work would be needed to observe larger regions of space-time. The ladder symmetry which occured when the superposition principle (integration scheme) was applied to a simple lattice was no longer present when we used the oscillatory lattice, although some regularities were still observed.
Superplastic behavior of a fine-grained two-phase Mg-9wt.%Li alloy

Abstract A two-phase Mg-9Li alloy (where the composition is in weight per cent) was made fine grained (d≈6–35 μm) by extensive cold rolling into foils and press bonding the foils at low homologous temperatures. The material exhibited superplastic properties in the temperature range 423–523 K ((0.49–0.61)T/Tm) with elongations to failure as high as 460%. The creep rate was determined to be inversely proportional to approximately the square of grain size and to the second power of stress. The activation energy for superplastic flow was equal to that for lattice diffusion in the major b.c.c. β phase. The Mg-9Li laminate alloy was found to be similar in its flow characteristics to MA-21, a multicomponent Mg-8.1Li fine-grained commercial Soviet alloy.
Stereoacuity testability in African-American and Hispanic pre-school children.

Purpose. To determine testability using the Randot Pre-school Stereoacuity Test in black and Hispanic children 30 to 72 months of age. Methods. A population-based cohort of children 30 to 72 months of age was administered the Randot Pre-school Stereoacuity Test, with presenting refractive correction, and before cover testing, visual acuity testing, or refraction. Children who could not point to specified two-dimensional demonstration pictures, and children who would not try to name or match random dot figures to the corresponding two-dimensional pictures, were classified as unable to perform the test. Children who were able to perform the task but could not correctly identify at least two 800-arcsecond random dot figures were classified as having no stereopsis, and were retested by another examiner. Results. Stereoacuity testing was attempted in 1662 Hispanic and 1470 black children. Overall, 80% of children were able to be tested; 33% of children 30 to 36 months of age, 73% of children 37 to 48 months of age, 96% of children 49 to 60 months of age, and 98% of children 61 to 72 months of age were testable. Older children were significantly more likely to complete testing successfully than younger children (p 0.0001). After adjusting for age, there was no significant ethnicity-related difference in testability (p 0.19); however, there was a small but significant gender-related difference (p 0.0002) with more girls (82%) than boys (77%) able to complete testing. Conclusions. Eighty percent of children aged 30 to 72 months can be tested using the Randot Pre-school Stereoacuity test. Testability increases steadily with age, and 97% of children over 48 months of age can complete the test. Testability does not differ between children of Hispanic and black ethnicity. (Optom Vis Sci 2008;85:158–163)
The practice of evidence-based medicine (EBM) in gastroenterology: discrepancies between EBM familiarity and EBM competency

Introduction: Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has become increasingly important in the practice of gastroenterology and endoscopy, and the training of future gastroenterology physicians. The objectives were to assess the attitudes/opinions of gastroenterology specialists towards EBM, and evaluate possible gaps in education for certain EBM-related concepts. Methods: An internet-based survey was emailed to 4073 gastroenterology specialists. The main outcome measurements were physicians’ endorsement of EBM, impact of EBM on clinical practice, utilization of EBM-specific resources, self-assessed understanding of EBM concepts (EBM familiarity score), and actual knowledge of EBM concepts (EBM competency score). Results: A total of 337 gastroenterology specialists participated. On a sale of 1–10, there was widespread agreement that EBM improves patient care (median score = 9, interquartile range (IQR) = 7–10), and physicians should be familiar with techniques for critical appraisal of studies (median = 9, IQR = 8–10). Most (64.0%) utilized the EBM-related resource UpToDate™ regularly, as opposed to PubMed™ (47.1%) or Clinical Evidence™ (5.4%). The mean EBM familiarity score was 3.4 ± 0.6 on a scale of 1–4. Out of a maximum 49 points, the mean EBM competency score was 35 ± 4.9. There was poor concordance among EBM familiarity and competency scores (r = 0.161; p = 0.005). Academic practice (p < 0.001), research/teaching (p < 0.001), advanced degree (p = 0.012), and recent EBM training (p = 0.001) were all associated with improved EBM competency. Conclusion: The attitudes and opinions of EBM are extremely favorable among gastroenterology physicians. Although gastroenterology physicians report familiarity with most EBM-related concepts, there is poor correlation with their actual knowledge of EBM. Further educational initiatives should be undertaken to address methods in which EBM skills are reinforced among all gastroenterology practitioners.
Comparison of sediment extract microtox ® toxicity with semi-volatile organic priority pollutant concentrations

A total of 105 sediment samples were extracted with acetonitrile and subjected to cleanup with C-18 columns and copper powder. Extracts were analyzed for semi-volatile organic priority pollutants and for acute toxicity using the Microtox® bioassay. Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) accounted for 85% of all priority pollutant identifications. The results of statistical comparisons made between PAH concentrations and extract toxicity depended upon the correlation procedures used. Total PAHs were significantly correlated with toxicity using Spearman's correlation procedure, but not correlated using a linear correlation procedure. Many extracts with below or barely detectable levels of priority pollutants were highly toxic. On an individual extract basis, concentrations of priority pollutants were poor indicators of extract toxicity. Toxicity determinations were also made for commonly detected priority pollutants dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide.