cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Muscles of the Lepidopterous Male Genitalia

It is a commonplace in comparative morphology that the muscles and their nerves give fundamental data, comparable with that given by the skeletal parts. There have been many attempts to allocate the male genitalia of the Lepidoptera to their proper segments and appendages, but so far with very uncertain results. The chitinous parts have been fully studied, and the results summarized from time to time, especially by Pierce in his introductions to the “Genitalia of the British Noctuidae” and “Geometridae.” But the internal parts have been less completely recorded. The embryology is hopelessly distorted by the fact that the whole group of appendages are formed very late from an imaginal bud; the nerves give uncertain evidence, because all of them are branches of a single trunk, passing back from the fused terminal ganglia; the muscles have been only partially and I suspect inaccurately reported, and the two forms cited by Snodgrass in his “Principles of Insect Morphology” are further degenerate types, Bombyx having largely lost the clasper and much of the vinculum, and having no recognizable distinction of juxta and valve; Carpocapsa being less reduced in having preserved the juxta as a separate sclerite, but also completely lacking uncus and clasper.
Human Nature and Good Lives: Etzioni’s Elisions

In “Happiness Is the Wrong Metric,” Amitai Etzioni argues against the self-satisfier conception of human nature: the view that humans are exclusively motivated by a pursuit of their happiness, where happiness is defined in terms of their satisfactions. The self-satisfier conception is reductionistic and harmful in thinking about good lives, good societies, and sound social policy. In its place Etzioni recommends a moral-wrestler conception of human nature that highlights the pursuit of moral values, especially duties to promote the common good, highlighted in his communitarian ethics, along with the pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately, his dichotomy between the self-satisfier and moral-wrestler conceptions is itself reductionistic. The moral-wrester conception needs to be broadened into a value-seeker (and value-wrestler) conception of human nature that takes seriously non-moral values, widens morality to include virtues as well as duties, and adopts a more plausible view of happiness.
Miniatures of the Fables of Bidpai and of the Life of Aesop in the Pierpont Morgan Library

Among the treasures in the manuscript section of The Pierpont Morgan Library is a collection of ancient folk-tales (MS 397) written in a Greek script which has been placed and dated as South Italian of the late tenth century.1 The following texts are found on its one hundred and twelve folios: a fragment of the Fables of Bidpai, or Kalilah and Dimnah, fols. 1r–7v;Physiologus,2 fols. 8r–21v; Life of Aesop, fols. 22r–67v; two hundred and twenty-six fables of Aesop, fols. 67v–108r; thirty-one of the fables of Babrius,3 fols. 108r–112v; seven of the “witty sayings” () from the Philogelos of Hierocles and Philagrios,4 fol. 112v. Of these texts, only the Bidpai fables and the Life of Aesop are illustrated.
Osąd, wyobraźnia i Bildung

Pedagogical practices that cultivate the capacities for individuals to think and to reason for themselves play a critical part in promoting the individual’s participation in democratic politics. Political deliberation and public decisions that give the will to live together its direction depend on the abilities of citizens to engage critically with the issues and challenges that threaten the common good. In this article, I argue that the kind of cultural knowledge that a liberal arts education traditionally entails also contributes to the individuals’ self-formation. The semantic complexity of the concept of Bildung bears out this connection between the cultivation of one’s aptitudes and the power to exercise one’s own judgment. This power in turn highlights the role played by imagination in reforming or revolutionizing praxis . In this regard, the experiences afforded by music, literature, cinema, theater and works of art teach us to be open to new ways of thinking, feeling and acting. Similarly, the schooling in phronesis that supports the development of the individual’s autonomy is at the same time a cultural good and a pedagogical obligation.
Modeling the Thickness of Perennial Ice Covers on Stratified Lakes of the Taylor Valley, Antarctica

A one-dimensional ice cover model was developed to predict and constrain drivers of long term ice thickness trends in chemically stratified lakes of Taylor Valley, Antarctica. The model is driven by surface radiative heat fluxes and heat fluxes from the underlying water column. The model successfully reproduced 16 years (between 1996 and 2012) of ice thickness changes for west lobe of Lake Bonney (average ice thickness = 3.53 m; RMSE = 0.09 m, n = 118) and Lake Fryxell (average ice thickness = 4.22 m; RMSE = 0.21 m, n = 128). Long-term ice thickness trends require coupling with the thermal structure of the water column. The heat stored within the temperature maximum of lakes exceeding a liquid water column depth of 20 m can either impede or facilitate ice thickness change depending on the predominant climatic trend (temperature cooling or warming). As such, shallow (< 20 m deep water columns) perennially ice-covered lakes without deep temperature maxima are more sensitive indicators of climate change. The long-term ice thickness trends are a result of surface energy flux and heat flux from the deep temperature maximum in the water column, the latter of which results from absorbed solar radiation.
Effects of Targeted Professional Development on Teachers’ Specific Praise Rates:

Classroom management continues to be a concern for educators, administrators, and policymakers. Although evidence-based classroom management practices exist, teachers often receive insufficient tra...
MicroRNA-511 Binds to FKBP5 mRNA, Which Encodes a Chaperone Protein, and Regulates Neuronal Differentiation

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the FKBP5 gene increase the expression of the FKBP51 protein and have been associated with increased risk for neuropsychiatric disorders such as major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Moreover, levels of FKBP51 are increased with aging and in Alzheimer disease, potentially contributing to disease pathogenesis. However, aside from its glucocorticoid responsiveness, little is known about what regulates FKBP5. In recent years, non-coding RNAs, and in particular microRNAs, have been shown to modulate disease-related genes and processes. The current study sought to investigate which miRNAs could target and functionally regulate FKBP5. Following in silico data mining and initial target expression validation, miR-511 was found to suppress FKBP5 mRNA and protein levels. Using luciferase p-miR-Report constructs and RNA pulldown assays, we confirmed that miR-511 bound directly to the 3′-UTR of FKBP5, validating the predicted gene-microRNA interaction. miR-511 suppressed glucocorticoid-induced up-regulation of FKBP51 in cells and primary neurons, demonstrating functional, disease-relevant control of the protein. Consistent with a regulator of FKBP5, miR-511 expression in the mouse brain decreased with age but increased following chronic glucocorticoid treatment. Analysis of the predicted target genes of miR-511 revealed that neurogenesis, neuronal development, and neuronal differentiation were likely controlled by these genes. Accordingly, miR-511 increased neuronal differentiation in cells and enhanced neuronal development in primary neurons. Collectively, these findings show that miR-511 is a functional regulator of FKBP5 and can contribute to neuronal differentiation.
HTA-Based Tracking of Pilot Actions in the Cockpit

This work presents a computational goal-oriented task model based on Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) able to support accurate tracking of pilot actions and current goals in a controlled environment. Formal semantics are proposed to capture the expressiveness of pen and paper HTA using a computational approach based on open petri nets. Finally, a case study involving professional airline pilots is conducted to demonstrate the resulting tracking system with realistic data.
Experimental Study of Containment Boom Behavior in Waves

An effort to assess containment boom performance in waves is described. New model testing instruments and procedures have been developed to provide a direct measure of boom heave response to wave excitation at several points along the boom. Measurements have been made in reproducible regular, irregular and breaking waves for various generic model boom configurations over a range of wave characteristics, boom buoyancy/weight ratios, and towing speeds. A model scale of 1/8 allows for tests in regular waves up to 12 ft high full scale at 12:1 length/height ratio and irregular waves with significant heights of up to 8 ft full scale. Breaking waves equivalent to over 6 ft height above mean water level are also generated Measurements include total towing force and heave motion at four locations along each boom. The results of tests of three different size models all scaled to the same 4 ft high prototype boom show no significant scale effects on heave response to the various types of waves. Drag differences found among the models are attributable to differences in full scale lengths, as well as buoyancy/weight ratios. A buoyancy/weight ratio of 10 or greater was found to improve heave conformance with waves at optimum towing speeds of about 0.5 knot. Short wavelength waves, requiring the highest frequency response, are shown to be the most difficult conformance problem. Of particular concern is the fact that a catenary tow shape focuses waves near the vertex, thereby amplifying the wave height and causing excessive motions near the center of the boom. For this reason, light weight, highly flexible booms with maximum buoyancy/weight ratio and sufficient freeboard are recommended for open sea operations
“Some explanation here”: a case study of learning opportunities and tensions in an informal science learning environment

Recent scholarship highlights the wealth of varied and interconnected opportunities for learning science that informal environments can provide; yet, participants with different experiences, knowledge, and backgrounds do not all learn in the same ways. Thus, studies are needed that examine how particular participants take up learning opportunities (LOs) in informal contexts. In this ethnographic case study, we focus on the learning experiences of one fifth-grade girl, Nina, who reported that she was not able to learn as much as she had hoped from her participation in an afterschool robotics engineering club. Through analysis of video-recordings, interviews, and field notes, we investigated how instructors and peers shaped LOs for Nina and the environmental tensions that affected how LOs were shaped and how Nina took them up. Comparison of examples in which instructor and peer-afforded LOs were realized and unrealized (i.e., presented in ways that Nina could take them up or not) illuminates multiple tensions. Club members faced tensions related to differing goals and abilities to teach each other, while the instructors faced tensions related to their roles in informal learning environments and their propensity to direct participants to other resources. As a result, many potential LOs for Nina in this rich inquiry learning environment where unrealized because instructors and peers did not shape them in ways that were explicit, elaborated upon, or connected to Nina’s prior knowledge, and because Nina was not necessarily attuned to potential LOs in the informal context. We conclude with implications for instructors in informal learning environments.
Soil as a reservoir for road salt retention leading to its gradual release to groundwater

Abstract Road salt application elevates Na and Cl concentrations throughout the year in many surface water and groundwater systems. This study explores the role of soils in extending the lag time between road salt application and the delivery of Na and Cl to shallow groundwater in a temperate environment. Intact soil cores were collected near karst springs at both an urban and a rural site at distances of 1 m, 5 m, and 13 m from nearby roads that experience winter salting. Cores were manipulated in the lab to simulate various field conditions; treatments included irrigation with: 1) deionized (DI) water (DI group) as a control, 2) NaCl solution (salt group) to mimic prolonged exposure to road salt, or 3) NaCl followed by DI water (recovery group) to mimic winter road salting followed by dilute rainfall in spring. In the first NaCl irrigation of the salt and recovery groups, soils retained 62% of the applied Cl and 66% of the applied Na on average, which was largely stored in the porewater. Throughout the 5 week study, Ca, Mg, and K were elevated and the pH was depressed in leachate from salt group compared to DI group cores due to cation exchange. Likewise, cation exchange enhanced Na retention so that salt and recovery group cores retained half of the applied Na at the end of the experiment, compared to a quarter of the Cl. Na and Cl retention were greater for soils from the rural site, which is characterized by higher organic matter (OM) and sand content, faster infiltration, and lower bulk density than for the urban site, which has higher bulk density and more silt and clay. Furthermore, extractable Cl in untreated field soils was positively correlated with soil water content, OM, and sand content, suggesting that these properties may control retention. We assume Cl retention to be the result of porewater retention, microbial uptake, and chlorination of soil OM. After the addition of 2000 mg Cl to the salt group cores, non-conservative Cl behavior ceased because the retention capacity of the soils had been exhausted. Recovery rates during DI flushes of recovery group cores indicate that these soils slowly release Na and Cl for at least 2.5–5 months following salt application. This gradual release from soils helps to explain the year-round persistence of high salt concentrations in some surface waters and groundwaters.
A critical review of patient safety indicators attributed to trauma surgeons.

Abstract Background The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) developed patient safety indicators (PSIs) to identify events with a high likelihood of representing medical error. The purpose of this study was to validate PSIs attributed to trauma surgeons and compare validated PSIs to performance improvement (PI) and morbidity and mortality (MM all were deemed non-preventable through trauma PI. All deaths considered failure to rescue were classified as expected mortalities during M&M review. Although not clinically significant, all cases of accidental puncture/laceration (10% of valid PSIs) represented opportunities for improvement. Conclusion Overall, PSIs have low validity and do not reflect quality of care in trauma.
Targeted Gene Knockdown in Early Embryos Using siRNA

RNA interference is a convenient and highly effective technique to investigate the biological function of genes. Adequately designed RNA molecules introduced into an oocyte are able to bind specific endogenous mRNAs and trigger their degradation. Subsequent fertilization of these oocytes will result in the generation of embryos in which the expression of the gene of interest is downregulated, and following the degradation of maternal proteins the role of the gene product can be studied. Here, we describe the approach how post-transcriptional gene silencing can be achieved in oocytes and early embryos using siRNA.
A Randomized Clinical Trial of Online Stress Inoculation for Adult Children of Divorce

ABSTRACTInterventions for helping young adults cope with the stress produced by their parents’ divorce are rarely described or evaluated. Transitions, derived from a stress inoculation framework, was designed to foster stress-coping and parent–young adult relationship skills via the Internet. Participants (95 young adult college students who had experienced parental separation or divorce within the past year) were randomly assigned to experimental and delayed-treatment control conditions. Intervention modules included psychoeducation, relaxation, mindfulness meditation, cognitive restructuring, and communication skills. A multivariate analysis of variance yielded a significant treatment-by-repeated-measures interaction; univariate follow-up analyses of variance showed improvement on stress but not on relationship variables measuring quality of relationship with mother or father. Neither moderator nor intent-to-treat analyses altered this outcome pattern.
Integration of mini-frac stress results with core data to identify ductile behavior of overpressured sandstone reservoir in deep-water offshore Krishna-Godavari basin, India

Insitu reservoir stress measurements are essential from geomechanics perspective to efficiently develop an oil and gas field. Wireline conveyed mini-frac tests gives accurate measurements of minimum horizontal stress. Wireline conveyed mini-frac test was performed in the clastic cretaceous syn-rift high pressure (9000 psi) gas bearing sandstone reservoir of an offshore deep-water well (water depth—1108 m) in Krishna-Godavari basin of East Coast off India in order to determine the insitu reservoir stresses. All the mini-frac tests attempted within the syn-rift reservoir were unsuccessful to achieve the formation breakdown pressure even with the applied pressures significantly higher than the vertical stress. This paper discusses the post-job investigation of all these unsuccessful mini-frac tests within the reservoir. Distinct large plastic deformation behaviors were identified in all these test. This investigation in conjunction with rock mechanics data derived from core samples suggest that strong relationship exist between pore fluid pressure and rock mechanical properties. High pore fluid pressure within the reservoir has made sandstone rocks mechanically weak and ductile in nature. The distinct large plastic deformation behaviors are the manifestation of this reservoir ductility. Awareness and evaluation of rock ductility in high overpressured reservoir condition is necessary during planning stages of mini-frac stress testing job. Additionally, paper shows that the rock mechanical properties plays significant role on rock deformation mode within reservoir with pressure depletion during production phase. Paper demonstrates the effective use of rock mechanical properties to predict the brittle–ductile (B–D) transition value in Q–P space (differential stress vs. mean effective stress), which will help in forecasting the reservoir deformation mode during field production stage. Furthermore, the paper highlights the importance of performing critical laboratory tests to aid significant value in field development program from geomechanics perspective.
Immunization Completion in Infants Born at Low Birth Weight.

Background Low birth weight (LBW) has been associated with underimmunization. We sought to understand the effect of LBW on immunization completion after controlling for previously hypothesized mediators, including prematurity, neonatal illness, well-child care, non-well-child visits, and provider consistency. Methods We formed a retrospective cohort of infants born between 2008 and 2011 with ≥2 years of military healthcare follow-up. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes were used to identify LBW, preterm birth, neonatal illnesses, well-child visits, non-well-child visits, provider consistency, and parental rank in the inpatient and outpatient records. Immunization records were extracted from both records. Logistic regression determined the odds of immunization completion and well-child care completion (ie, having had ≥6 WCC visits by 15 months of age). Results Of 135964 included infants, 116521 (85.7%) were completely immunized at the age of 2 years. In adjusted analysis, the odds of immunization completion were significantly decreased in infants born at LBW (odds ratio [OR], 0.88 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.79-0.97]), very LBW (OR, 0.61 [95% CI, 0.48-0.77]), or extremely LBW (OR, 0.45 [95% CI, 0.33-0.63]) or at ≤32 weeks' gestation (OR, 0.76 [95% CI, 0.63-0.92]), infants with chronic lung disease (OR, 0.63 [95% CI, 0.45-0.88]), male infants (OR, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.93-0.99]), and infants who experienced decreased provider consistency (OR, 0.92 [95% CI, 0.91-0.92]). The rate of immunization completion increased with the overall number of healthcare visits (OR, 1.02 [95% CI, 1.02-1.02]) and complete well-child care (OR, 1.80 [95% CI, 1.75-1.86]). However, children born LBW or preterm were significantly less likely to have complete well-child care. Conclusions After adjustment for preterm birth, comorbid neonatal conditions, and early childhood patterns of healthcare use, LBW was significantly associated with immunization noncompletion in a universal healthcare system. Provider consistency and well-child care seem important for increasing immunization completion in LBW infants.
Exact Delaunay normalization of the perturbed Keplerian Hamiltonian with tesseral harmonics

A novel approach for the exact Delaunay normalization of the perturbed Keplerian Hamiltonian with tesseral and sectorial spherical harmonics is presented in this work. It is shown that the exact solution for the Delaunay normalization can be reduced to quadratures by the application of Deprit’s Lie-transform-based perturbation method. Two different series representations of the quadratures, one in powers of the eccentricity and the other in powers of the ratio of the Earth’s angular velocity to the satellite’s mean motion, are derived. The latter series representation produces expressions for the short-period variations that are similar to those obtained from the conventional method of relegation. Alternatively, the quadratures can be evaluated numerically, resulting in more compact expressions for the short-period variations that are valid for an elliptic orbit with an arbitrary value of the eccentricity. Using the proposed methodology for the Delaunay normalization, generalized expressions for the short-period variations of the equinoctial orbital elements, valid for an arbitrary tesseral or sectorial harmonic, are derived. The result is a compact unified artificial satellite theory for the sub-synchronous and super-synchronous orbit regimes, which is nonsingular for the resonant orbits, and is closed-form in the eccentricity as well. The accuracy of the proposed theory is validated by comparison with numerical orbit propagations.
"…Not Intended to Diagnose, Treat, Cure or Prevent Any Disease." 25 Years of Botanical Dietary Supplement Research and the Lessons Learned.

Botanical dietary supplements (BDS) are complex mixtures of phytochemicals exhibiting complex pharmacology and posing complex research challenges. For 25 years, clinical pharmacologists researching BDS have confronted a litany of issues unlike those encountered with conventional medications. Foundational to these concerns is the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, which exempted BDS from premarket safety and efficacy trials. In the ensuing period, safety concerns regarding multi-ingredient products formulated as "proprietary blends" and herb-drug interactions have garnered significant attention. Idiosyncrasies unique to BDS can affect the outcome and interpretation of in vitro and in vivo studies, and although "omics" approaches hold promise in uncovering BDS efficacy mechanisms, purposeful adulteration threatens their safety. Despite a quarter century of public use, healthcare professionals still know little about BDS, thus it falls to industry, government, and academia to join forces in promoting a new paradigm for BDS research and product development.
Annotating Topics of Opinions.

Fine-grained subjectivity analysis has been the subject of much recent research attention. As a result, the field has gained a number of working definitions, technical approaches and manually annotated corpora that cover many facets of subjectivity. Little work has been done, however, on one aspect of fine-grained opinions - the specification and identification of opinion topics. In particular, due to the difficulty of manual opinion topic annotation, no general-purpose opinion corpus with information about topics of fine-grained opinions currently exists. In this paper, we propose a methodology for the manual annotation of opinion topics and use it to annotate a portion of an existing general-purpose opinion corpus with opinion topic information. Inter-annotator agreement results according to a number of metrics suggest that the annotations are reliable.
ATP-dependent uptake of 5-hydroxytryptamine by secretory granules isolated from thyroid parafollicular cells

Abstract The current study was done to test the hypotheses that parafollicular granules contain a vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase) similar to that found in chromaffin granules, that the transport of H+ into granules mediated by this enzyme drives the granular uptake of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin), and that secretagogues stimulate both the acidification of parafollicular granules and their ability to take up 5-HT by opening an anion channel in the granular membrane. Our studies indicate that parafollicular granules contain a V-ATPase that is antigenically similar to that of the V-ATPase of adrenal chromaffin granules; however, the parafollicular granular membrane differs from that of chromaffin granules in permeability to Cl- and K+. The membranes of granules derived from resting parafollicular cells appear to be relatively impermeable to Cl- but permeable to K+. Parafollicular granules (and ghosts derived from them) manifest ATP-dependent transmembrane transport of 5-HT. This transport is more dependent on the pH difference (delta pH) than on the membrane potential component of the proton electrochemical gradient across the granular membrane. Transport of 5-HT is thus inhibited more by exposure of parafollicular granules to agents, such as nigericin, that collapse delta pH than by those, such as valinomycin, that decrease transmembrane difference in potential. ATP-dependent uptake of 5-HT by granules isolated from secretagogue-stimulated parafollicular cells is greater than that into granules isolated from unstimulated cells. Since secretagogues open a Cl- channel in parafollicular granule membranes, which enhances acidification of the granules, the facilitation of 5-HT uptake by secretagogues is probably due to an increase in delta pH.
Non-Invasive Measurements of Regional Cerebral Blood Flow in Patients with Cerebrovascular Disorders

The recently developed 133Xe inhalation method (3, 7, 8) has certain advantages compared to the carotid injection method which may be listed as in Table I. The method is noninvasive for measuring regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), with little or no discomfort to patients or volunteers during the measurement. Serial measurements of rCBF may thus be correlated with the clinical condition of the patient as well as with other diagnostic tests, such as computer-assisted tomography and the EEG. Regional blood flow measurements may be made within the vertebrobasilar arterial distribution by means of a special helmet with placement of detectors over the brainstem and cerebellum (4), as well as over both cerebral hemispheres in the carotid arterial distribution. These advantages of the 133Xe inhalation method are particularly useful in the clinical investigation of cerebrovascular disease in both carotid and vertebrobasilar arterial territories.
The Ethical Risks of Technology

Law practice today increasingly depends on technology. The ABA 2010 Legal Technology Survey Report, for example, found that 76 percent of responding lawyers used smart phones, up from 64 percent in 2009. Both prosecutors and defense counsel use e-mail, circulate electronic drafts of legal pleadings, briefs, and other case materials, and rely on smart phones and other mobile devices. Many law offices use remote data backup and cloud computing. Such use of technology raises a number of ethical issues. What if a lawyer sends an e-mail intending it to be delivered to one recipient only to find that it was accidentally sent to one or more unintended recipients? What if a lawyer loses a smart phone containing client e-mails and documents? Such errors can seriously compromise client confidentiality and attorney-client privilege as well as do serious practical and strategic damage to a client’s case. In this column we explore the ethical issues some of today’s technology creates for lawyers and what ethics rules and opinions say about precautions lawyers should take to protect client information.
Characterization of asymmetric coplanar waveguide discontinuities

A general technique to characterize asymmetric coplanar waveguide (CPW) discontinuities with airbridges where both the fundamental coplanar and slotline modes may be excited together is presented. First, the CPW discontinuity without airbridges is analyzed using the space-domain integral equation (SDIE) approach. Second, the parameters (phase, amplitude, and wavelength) of the coplanar and slotline modes are extracted from an amplitude modulated-like standing wave existing in the CPW feeding lines. Then a 2n*2n generalized scattering matrix of the n-port discontinuity without airbridges is derived which includes the occurring mode conversion. Finally, this generalized scattering matrix is reduced to an n*n matrix by enforcing suitable conditions at the ports which correspond to the excited slotline mode. For the purpose of illustration, the method is applied to a shielded asymmetric short-end CPW shunt stub, the scattering parameters of which are compared with those of a symmetric one. Experiments are performed on both discontinuities and the results are in good agreement with theoretical data. The advantages of using airbridges in CPW circuits as opposed to bond wires are also discussed. >
Pediatric Insomnia: Update and Future Directions

Throughout their childhood, pediatric insomnia impacts approximately 25% of all children in the general population. Although it can occur as an isolated condition, it commonly associates with other comorbidities, such as autism, developmental delay, and psychiatric disorders. Careful and detailed history is essential, and sleep logs and actigraphy are useful tools in the assessment and diagnosis of pediatric insomnia. However, polysomnography is usually not warranted in the assessment of pediatric insomnia unless underlying medically-based sleep symptoms are concurrently identified and justify such test. In the majority of cases, behavioral interventions are the recommended approach for treatment. Despite the fact that many pharmacological approaches are used for child insomnia off-label, there are currently no FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved medications for the management of pediatric insomnia. The high prevalence of pediatric insomnia, coupled with the low number of providers, who are formally trained in behavioral treatment for this prevalent condition, highlights the urgent need for improving primary care practitioner awareness, while expanding alternative routes to access to care, such as interactive virtual technology-based treatments, parent education and manuals, along with ongoing efforts to increase professional training opportunities.
Bioinspired strong nanocellular composite prepared with magnesium phosphate cement and polyurea aerogel

Abstract A strong nanocellular composite with stiff magnesium phosphate cement (MPC) particles and soft polyurea aerogel (PUA) has been synthesized and characterized. Utilizing the nano-confinement effect, the effective Young’s modulus and the compressive strength of the ligaments are 8–10 times higher than those of PUA. Taking advantage of the hierarchical cellular structure of PUA, the low density (0.285 g·cm−3) and high porosity (86.4%) features are preserved. This bioinspired nano-composite design has shown superior composite action, offering both high strength and deformability. The verified analytical model reveals the bioinspired designing rules for MPC/PUA material system.
The influence of family relationship schemas, parental support, and parental verbal aggression on mental well-being

This study examined children’s mental well-being in adulthood as a function of family relationship schemas, parental support, and parental verbal aggression. Three-hundred and fifteen college stude...
Analysis of the gene characteristic correspondence on rats with Hantavirus and the human infected Hantavirus in natural epidemic areas of HFRS in Shenzhen

Objective To compare and contrast the gene characteristic correspondence of hantaviruses(HV) carried by rats in natural epidemic areas of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome(HFRS) and infected among HFRS patients in Shenzhen,provide a reasonable scientific basis for controlling of HFRS.Methods We collected the patients serum specimens in acute stage and lung tissues samples of rats.ElISA and direct immunofluorescence were applied to screen the positive samples,respectively.The partial G2 fragments of M segment and S segment were amplified from the representative patients' serum positivesamples and lung tissues positive samples in different areas with reverse transcription-nested-polymerase chain reaction(RT-nested PCR) by the hantaviruses genotype specific primers.The amplified genes were then sequenced,and subjected to genotyping and homology analysis with other known hantaviruses.Results Four hundred and seventy-two rats were trapped in the main epidemic areas,and Hantavirus specific-antigens in lung tissues samples were identified in 47 out of the 472 by direct immunofluorescence.Twelve partial M and S segments were amplified from 60 patients serum specimens positive with specific IgM antibodies against hantavirus with ELISA by RT-nested PCR.The homology of M and S genome segments among 16 strains of Hantaviruses showed more than 95% and 96.5% at nucleotide level,respectively.And the deduced amino acid sequences homology was 98.0% -100% and 98.4%-100%,respectively.The genotype of hantavirus carried by rats and infected among patients were identified to the same subtype-SEO S2.Conclusion The genotype of Hantavirus carried by rats and infected among patients in Shenzhen all belongs to S2 SEOV.The nucleotide homology of SEO type of Hantavirus in the same or nearby areas is higher and the viruses are highly conserved. Key words: Hantavirus; Genotype; Correspondence; RT-nested PCR; Phylogenetic tree
Role of the activation peptide in the mechanism of protein C activation

Protein C is a natural anticoagulant activated by thrombin in a reaction accelerated by the cofactor thrombomodulin. The zymogen to protease conversion of protein C involves removal of a short activation peptide that, relative to the analogous sequence present in other vitamin K-dependent proteins, contains a disproportionately high number of acidic residues. Through a combination of bioinformatic, mutagenesis and kinetic approaches we demonstrate that the peculiar clustering of acidic residues increases the intrinsic disorder propensity of the activation peptide and adversely affects the rate of activation. Charge neutralization of the acidic residues in the activation peptide through Ala mutagenesis results in a mutant activated by thrombin significantly faster than wild type. Importantly, the mutant is also activated effectively by other coagulation factors, suggesting that the acidic cluster serves a protective role against unwanted proteolysis by endogenous proteases. We have also identified an important H-bond between residues T176 and Y226 that is critical to transduce the inhibitory effect of Ca2+ and the stimulatory effect of thrombomodulin on the rate of zymogen activation. These findings offer new insights on the role of the activation peptide in the function of protein C.
Parameterized Drawing Design Method of Reluctance Resolvers

Drawing design is an important link in the development of reluctance resolver. The manual drawing of CAD drawings is tedious and time-consuming, and it is prone to omissions and errors. This paper uses VB language for programming, parametric design of the reluctance resolver drawings, and saves the drawing information with a DXF format drawings file, so as to realize the automatic drawing of CAD drawings. This paper gives the program principle and examples of key parts of the program. The program principle is concise and clear. The program in this paper can independently realize the expected function without relying on CAD software. It has the advantages of easy programming and convenient use, which can greatly save drawing time and improve design and processing efficiency.
Constitutive Androstane Receptor and Hepatitis B Virus X Protein Cooperatively Induce β-catenin-Activated Liver Tumors

Abstract Background and Aims The xenobiotic nuclear receptor Constitutive Androstane Receptor (CAR) is essential for xenobiotic tumor promotion in mouse models. In these models, β-catenin is genetically activated in approximately 80% of tumors. Chronic Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection is a major risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and β-catenin activation is also frequently activated in HBV-associated HCCs. The goal of this research was to determine whether activation of CAR in a mouse model of chronic HBV infection would result in tumor formation and whether these tumors would display increased β-catenin activation. Approach and Results We treated transgenic mice expressing the HBV X protein (HBx) in hepatocytes with a single dose of the potent CAR agonist TCPOBOP. After 10 months, these mice developed large liver tumors that are characterized by β-catenin nuclear localization and upregulation of β-catenin targets. The β-catenin regulator FoxM1 and the oxidative stress master regulator Nrf2, both of which are CAR gene targets, were also overactivated in tumors. The CAR/HBx tumors share a conserved gene signature with HBV-related human hepatocellular carcinoma. Conclusions Activation of CAR in the presence of HBx results in tumors with strong β-catenin activation. The mouse model we have described reflects the gene expression patterns seen in human HBV-associated HCC and presents an attractive basis for future studies.
The Impact of Stricter Guidelines on Post-Interview Contact, Restricted Interview Topics and Differences by Gender in the Urology Match

AbstractIntroduction:In response to studies showing high rates of program initiated post-interview contact and the use of discriminatory personal questions on topics such as age, intent for childre...
Input modeling

Most discrete-event simulation models have stochastic elements that mimic the probabilistic nature of the system under consideration. A close match between the input model and the true underlying probabilistic mechanism associated with the system is required for successful input modeling. The general question considered here is how to model an element (e.g., arrival process, service times) in a discrete-event simulation given a data set collected on the element of interest. For brevity, it is assumed that data is available on the aspect of the simulation of interest. It is also assumed that raw data is available, as opposed to censored data, grouped data, or summary statistics. This example-driven tutorial examines introductory techniques for input modeling. Most simulation texts (e.g., Law and Kelton, 2000) have a broader treatment of input modeling than presented here. Nelson and Yamnitsky (1998) survey advanced techniques.
Effect of Different Exercise Modes on Aldosterone and Sodium Retention in Rats with Myocardial Infarction

After myocardial infarction (MI), cardiac remodeling activates Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone system (RAAS), which causes sodium (Na+)-induced plasma expansion, a contributor to ventricular dilation...
Drugs to Treat Eating and Body Weight Disorders

Eating and body weight disorders are a group of diseases that are characterized by atypical feeding behaviors and/or unhealthy changes in body weight. Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder are predominantly psychiatric conditions, caused by unrealistic impressions of ideal body shape or brought on by companion diseases such as depression, anxiety, and obsessive compulsive behavior. Body weight disorders are complex metabolic diseases that can result in significant loss of lean body mass as in cachexia or the deposition of adipose tissue as in obesity. Current management of these diseases involves a combination of pharmacological and nonpharmacological strategies that include drug therapy, nutritional counseling, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Pharmacotherapy, however, is limited by the availability of safe and efficacious drugs. Significant progress has been made in recent years in understanding the etiology of these disorders (especially obesity) and in identifying new molecular targets for future drug discovery. This review describes (1) biochemical and genetic mechanisms of eating and body weight disorders; (2) guidelines for treatment; (3) new and old drugs available for pharmacotherapy, including their mechanisms of action, adverse effects, metabolic fates, and structure-activity relationships; and (4) promising agents in clinical development. Keywords: eating disorders; body weight disorders; obesity; wasting diseases; cachexia; anorexia nervosa; bulimia nervosa; binge eating disorder; night-eating syndrome; fat absorption inhibitors; appetite suppressants; lipolytic agents; thermogenic agents; orlistat; sibutramine; phentermine; benzphentamine; phendimetrazine; diethylpropion; mazindol; hypothalamus; arcuate nucleus; leptin; insulin; nucleus tractis solaris; satiety signal; caffeine; ephedrine; fluoxetine; sertraline; paroxetine; fluvoxamine; imipramine; desipramine; amitriptyline; nortriptyline; phenelzine; metoclopramide; alprazolam; conjugated estrogens; megestrol; oxandrolone; dronabinol; growth hormone; CNTF; rimonabant; topiramate; β3-adrenergic receptor agonists; bupropion
Prostacyclin and Oral Vasodilator Therapy in Sarcoidosis-Associated Pulmonary Hypertension: A Retrospective Case Series

Background It is unclear whether recent advances in pulmonary arterial hypertension therapy can be safely applied to sarcoidosis-associated pulmonary hypertension (SAPH). Evidence for prostacyclin (PG) therapy in SAPH is limited. Methods We conducted a single-center, retrospective review of 46 patients with sarcoidosis, 26 of whom had SAPH. Thirteen received PG as monotherapy or in combination with oral vasodilators. Results Follow-up right-sided heart catheterization at a mean of 12.7 months revealed improved cardiac output, cardiac index, and pulmonary vascular resistance. Functional class and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide levels also improved in patients treated with PG. No significant change in oxygen requirement was seen with vasodilator therapy initiation. At 2 years, 15 patients with SAPH survived, including eight on PG, and at 5 years, seven survived, including five on PG. Survival was significantly reduced in patients with SAPH compared with patients who had sarcoidosis without pulmonary hypertension. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the use of PG therapy in SAPH is not associated with increased mortality. Conclusions Many patients with severe SAPH showed significant hemodynamic and clinical improvement on long-term IV or subcutaneous PG therapy and had survival outcomes similar to patients with moderate SAPH on oral vasodilator therapy.
Effects of ambient temperature on metabolic rate, respiratory quotient, and torpor in an arctic hibernator.

Arctic ground squirrels (Spermophilus parryii) overwinter in hibernaculum conditions that are substantially below freezing. During torpor, captive arctic ground squirrels displayed ambient temperat...
Presence of antisperm antibodies reactive with peptide epitopes of FA-1 and YLP12 in sera of immunoinfertile women.

Problem Recent studies in several laboratories are focused on delineating sperm antigens that are relevant to fertility and examining involvement of antibodies to these antigens in human immunoinfertility. Our laboratory has characterized two such antigens, namely fertilization antigen (FA-1) and YLP12 dodecamer sequence that are involved in sperm-oocyte binding. The present study was conducted to examine the occurrence of isoantibodies to various peptide epitopes of human and murine FA-1 antigen and YLP12 peptide in sera of immunoinfertile and fertile women. Method of study Sera from 67 immunoinfertile and 19 fertile women were collected. Various peptides based up on human and murine FA-1 antigen and YLP12 were synthesized, and examined for immunoreactivity with these sera by using ELISA. Four immunodominant sequences, two each from human (hFA-182-97aa and hFA-1200-219aa) and mouse (mFA-12-19aa and mFA-1117-136aa) FA-1 antigen, were selected for the present study. Another human FA-1 sequence, hFA-1220-240aa, that was not in the immunodominant region was used as a control. Results For human FA-1 peptides, 41.8% of the immunoinfertile sera reacted positively (≥2 SD units) with hFA-182-97aa, 24.6% (16/65) with hFA-1200-219aa, and 3% (2/66) with hFA-1220-240aa peptide. For two murine FA-1 peptides, 41.7% (25/60) of the immunoinfertile sera reacted positively with mFA-12-19aa, and 41.5% (27/65) with mFA-1117-136aa peptide. For the YLP12 dodecamer peptide, 43.3% (29/67) of the immunoinfertile sera reacted positively. None of the sera from fertile women reacted positively with any of these peptides. Conclusion In conclusion, our data indicate that the immunoinfertile women have circulating isoantibodies against at least two immunodominant peptide epitopes of human and murine FA-1 antigen and YLP12 peptide sequence. These peptides may find clinical application in the specific diagnosis and treatment of female infertility and contraceptive vaccine development.
PHLAME: Hierarchical Locality Exploitation Using the PGAS Model

Parallel computers are becoming deeply hierarchical. Locality aware programming models allow programmers to control locality at one level through establishing affinity between data and executing activities. This, however, does not enable locality exploitation at other levels. Therefore, we must conceive an efficient abstraction of hierarchical locality and develop techniques to exploit it. Techniques applied directly by programmers, beyond the first level, burden the programmer and hinder productivity. In this work, we propose the Parallel Hierarchical Locality Abstraction Model for Execution (PHLAME). PHLAME is an execution model to abstract and exploit machine hierarchical properties through locality-aware programming and a runtime system that takes into account machine characteristics, data sharing and communication profile of the underlying application. This paper presents and experiments with concepts and techniques that can drive such runtime system in support of PHLAME. Our experiments show that our techniques scale to 1024 cores and achieve performance gains of up to 88%.
Fused silica aperture thermospray sample introduction to inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

Abstract A thermospray nebulizer using a fused silica capillary with a short length of small internal diameter tubing laser-fused at the exit end is described as a means to provide high performance thermospray at low liquid pump pressures with moderately high liquid flow rates (1–2 ml min ), while also providing high chemical robustness and low background contamination. The smaller exit diameter provides higher sensitivity than an identical capillary without the aperture. For the elements reported, both sensitivity and limits-of-detection were enhanced by factors between 15 and 19 with a 50 μm fused silica aperture system, compared to conventional pneumatic sample introduction. The system is also able to operate with high dissolved solids levels without problems of capillary clogging. The fused silica system provides high chemical stability and low background contamination for metals. Reduction of the exit diameter of the capillary using this approach also provides smaller primary aerosols which reduce transport losses and matrix interferences due to high dissolved solids with desolvation systems.