cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 3907: Differential effects of 1α, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 dose on keratinocyte proliferation and ΔNp63α stabilization

Proceedings: AACR 106th Annual Meeting 2015; April 18-22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA 1α, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (VD3) is a secosteriod that has been explored as an anti-cancer agent, but has also been shown to promote cell survival. Its receptor, Vitamin D Receptor (VDR), is a direct target of the oncogene ΔNp63α, which is overexpressed in non-melanoma skin cancers. The interconnection between VDR/VD3 signaling and ΔNp63α, led us to examine whether VDR/VD3 signaling promotes keratinocyte proliferation by regulating ΔNp63α levels. We show that VDR regulates ΔNp63α expression at both the transcript and protein level. Interestingly, while low doses of VD3 led to an increase in ΔNp63α protein levels and keratinocyte proliferation, high doses of VD3 failed to increase ΔNp63α protein levels and resulted in reduced proliferation. Increased levels of ΔNp63α by low dose VD3 was shown to be VDR dependent and critical for the pro-proliferative effects of VD3. Furthermore, VD3 mediated increases in ΔNp63α protein levels occur via p38 activation. Analysis of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and precursors to invasive SCC demonstrated a significant correlation between p63 and VDR levels when compared to normal skin samples. In this study we demonstrated a differential dose effect of VD3 on ΔNp63α stability, which directly resulted in differential effects on cell growth. Delineation of the mechanisms by which VD3 exerts its effect on ΔNp63α will be critical for determining the future of VD3 in cancer therapies. Citation Format: Natasha T. Hill, Jin Zhang, Mary K. Leonard, Miryoung Lee, Madhavi Kadakia. Differential effects of 1α, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 dose on keratinocyte proliferation and ΔNp63α stabilization. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 3907. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3907
Research at the Tip of the Spear

This essay is a personal story that spans a period of approximately 30 years, yet focuses on my time conducting behavioral health research during the war in Iraq. It is based on my memory and view of events that transpired before and during the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan—conflicts that I like to refer to as the Great Wars on Terror. While I have consulted my diary, that is my “little green” pocket memo books, while composing this essay, it is necessarily biased and prejudiced. I am not pretending, nor particularly interested in giving a balanced view, a politically correct view or a view in which every body look good. As a result, I may unintentionally (and in some cases intentionally) insult or anger folks. Furthermore, if the editors allow me to get away with it, I will not provide any references for this personal story. Like all personal stories, I will be the hero of my story.
Tipping Points in the Anthropocene: Crafting a Just and Sustainable Earth

The arrival of the Anthropocene entails an evolutionary tipping point that challenges basic precepts of political theory and modern science. Within this paper, emerging scholarship in political science, science and technology studies, and sustainability science are brought together to sketch out an approach for crafting more just and sustainable pathways in response to the crossing of critical thresholds in the Earth system. Accomplishing this task requires responding to the emerging reality of possibility, irreversibility, entanglement, and novelty that the Anthropocene and tipping points entail. I argue that grounding political projects in recognition of the unfolding and unpredictable terrain tipping points present allows for the opening of novel pathways toward a still possible just and sustainable planet.
Performance evaluation of material separation in a material recovery facility using a network flow model

Abstract In this paper, we model the recycling process for solid waste as performed in a material recovery facility. The intent is to inform the design and evaluation of a material recovery facility (MRF) in order to increase its profit, efficiency and recovery rate. We model the MRF as a multi-stage material separation process and develop a network flow model that evaluates the performance of the MRF through a system of linear equations. We estimate the parameters of the network flow model from historical data to find the best fit. We validate the model using a case-study of a light-packaging recovery section of an MRF in Spain. Additionally, we examine how uncertainty in the input material composition propagates through the system, and conduct a sensitivity analysis on the model parameters.
Stabilisation of a wave equation with localised memory term and boundary frictional damping

ABSTRACTThis paper is devoted to the study of uniform decay of a wave equation with dynamical boundary conditions, localised memory term and frictional dampings. We prove that a localised memory term combined with frictional dissipations is strong enough, via transmission process (u|Γ = v), to assure the asymptotic stability of the whole system.
ChromStruct 4 : A Python Code to Estimate the Chromatin Structure from Hi-C Data

A method and a stand-alone Python code to estimate the 3D chromatin structure from chromosome conformation capture data are presented. The method is based on a multiresolution, modified-bead-chain chromatin model, evolved through quaternion operators in a Monte Carlo sampling. The solution space to be sampled is generated by a score function with a data-fit part and a constraint part where the available prior knowledge is implicitly coded. The final solution is a set of 3D configurations that are compatible with both the data and the prior knowledge. The iterative code, provided here as additional material, is equipped with a graphical user interface and stores its results in standard-format files for 3D visualization. We describe the mathematical-computational aspects of the method and explain the details of the code. Some experimental results are reported, with a demonstration of their fit to the data.
Use of science in collaborative environmental management: Evidence from local watershed partnerships in the Puget Sound

Abstract The science-policy nexus has long puzzled scholars and managers working across diverse public policy areas, including environment. The rise of science-based management, especially in an era of big data, assumes science can improve environmental policy. At the same time, increasing attention to stakeholder engagement provides avenues for non-scientists to participate in collaborative environmental management, which might displace science in decision-making processes. Prior research points to a variety of factors thought to affect the degree to which science is used in collaborative partnerships. Drawing on such research, we examine the use of science across 9 collaborative partnerships structured and resourced from the top-down by a state government agency. All of these partnerships are working in the U.S.’s second largest estuary, the Puget Sound in Washington State. Data from partnership meeting minutes indicates that science is scarcely discussed in executive committee meetings, but is more commonly discussed in technical committee meetings. We thus might expect that the ecosystem management plans produced by these technical committees would be closely informed by science. Results indicate these plans include few citations to peer-reviewed scientific studies, but they do draw consistently on scientific information from grey literature including scientific and technical reports from federal and state agencies. These results raise important questions about government efforts to foster the use of science in collaborative partnerships, including the benefits and drawbacks of using grey literature rather than scientific articles directly, the interaction of science with other forms of knowledge, and local actors’ capacity to understand and access science.
Empowering Democratic Citizenship: The Welfare State as Constitutional Rights and Government Spending

Scholars traditionally have defined the welfare state either in terms of government’s affirmative duty to provide for the people’s social welfare needs or in terms of the actual public social expenditures on welfare programs. What has been missing in the study of the welfare state is focus on both conceptions of the welfare state as constitutional rights and as government spending. This paper attempts to provide that focus by asking the following questions: what is the relationship between the welfare state defined as constitutional rights and as government spending‘ Does constitutional affirmation of welfare rights precede and/or promote higher levels of government spending on social welfare programs, is it the reverse, or is there little relationship between the welfare state defined constitutionally and in terms of government spending. In addition to exploring these issues, the authors also examine the relationship between the welfare state and civic engagement. The “policy feedback” literature suggests that government spending on social programs positively affects political attitudes, such as trust and confidence in government, and social tolerance, and political behavior, such as voter turnout, participation in political organizations, and volunteer activity in community groups and other social organizations. But to what extent does the welfare state defined as constitutional rights and/or as government spending promote civic engagement and empower democratic citizenship? To answer these questions, the authors examine the constitutions of 28 OECD countries for provisions of social welfare rights, compare government spending on various social welfare programs in these countries over time, and attempt to determine whether some forms of the welfare state are better than others in empowering democratic citizenship.
Current Issues and Advances in Dissociated Cell Culturing on Nano-and Microfabricated Substrates

Publisher Summary The future for microstructuring of surfaces for cell culture is expanding, and generating considerable cross-disciplinary collaborations between molecular biology labs, microfabrication centers, and materials science groups. Investigators have found that such technology has the potential to address many physiologically relevant questions. A major area of research in the coming years is controlled design of three-dimensional scaffolds for tissue engineering. Understanding the effects of cell shape and orientation on cell function aids in the advancement of tissue engineering and artificial organ research. Conventional scaffolds are fabricated using methods, such as emulsion freeze-drying processes, and although these scaffolds can be incorporated with proteins for sustained delivery during implantation, control of the porosity is rather difficult. Conventional scaffolds are fabricated using methods, such as emulsion freeze-drying processes, and although these scaffolds can be incorporated with proteins for sustained delivery during implantation, control of the porosity is rather difficult.
Exploring Antidepressant Adherence at a Student-Run Free Mental Health Clinic

Minority groups experience higher depression but lower treatment rates. Student-run free mental health (MH) clinics, such as the East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP) MH clinic, address this disparity. This study scrutinized EHHOP MH’s depression treatment by measuring adherence to antidepressants. Pharmacy data from seventy-nine patients were reviewed according to HEDIS criteria. Results compare EHHOP MH to New York State (NYS) Medicaid and NYS commercial insurance providers. In the acute treatment phase, EHHOP MH performed similarly to NYS Medicaid. In all other comparisons, EHHOP MH had lower adherence rates. Physician notes were reviewed to identify reasons for low adherence.
Toward an analysis of Contemporary Child Abuse

Three theoretical perspectives on child abuse are criticized for their inadequacies: the cyclical theory, for its inability to deal with change ; the “man kind-endemic” theory , for failing to cons...
Trial-by-trial source-resolved EEG responses to gait task challenges predict subsequent step adaptation

Abstract A growing body of evidence indicates a pivotal role of cognition and in particular executive function in gait control and fall prevention. In a recent gait study using electroencephalographic (EEG) imaging, we provided direct proof for cortical top-down inhibitory control in step adaptation. A crucial part of motor inhibition is recognizing stimuli that signal the need to inhibit or adjust motor actions such as steps during walking. One of the EEG signatures of performance monitoring in response to events signaling the need to adjust motor responses, are error-related potential (error-ERP) features. To examine whether error-ERP features may index executive control during gait adaptation, we analyzed high-density (108-channel) EEG data from an auditory gait pacing study. Participants (N = 18) walking on a steadily moving treadmill were asked to step in time to an auditory cue tone sequence, and then to quickly adapt their step length and rate, to regain step-cue synchrony following occasional unexpected shifts in the pacing cue train to a faster or slower cue tempo. Decomposition of the continuous EEG data by independent component analysis revealed a negative deflection in the source-resolved event-related potential (ERP) time locked to ‘late’ cue tones marking a shift to a slower cue tempo. This vertex-negative ERP feature, localized primarily to posterior medial frontal cortex (pMFC) and peaking 250 ms after the onset of the tempo-shift cue, we here refer to as the step-cue delay negativity (SDN). SDN source, timing, and polarity resemble other error-related ERP features, e.g., the Error-Related Negativity (ERN) and Feedback-Related Negativity (FRN) in (seated) button press response tasks. In single trials, SDN amplitude varied with the magnitude of the cue latency deviation (the time interval between the expected and actual cue onsets). Regression analysis also identified linear coupling between SDN amplitude and the subsequent speed of gait tempo adaptation (as measured by the increase in length of the ensuing adaptation step). The SDN in this paradigm thus seems both to index the perceived need for and the subsequent magnitude of the immediate gait adjustment, consistent with performance-monitoring models. Future research might investigate relationships of these control processes to the impairment of gait adjustment in motor disorders and cognitive decline, for example to develop a biomarker for fall risk prediction in early-stage Parkinson's.
The Real Challenge of Plato's Republic

Glaucon's Challenge at the beginning of Book 2 of Plato's Republic has long prompted interpretive difficulties, due to a misunderstanding of its central aspect. The task of this essay is to correct...
Discrete viral E2 lysine residues and scavenger receptor MARCO are required for clearance of circulating alphaviruses.

Viruses transmitted by blood-feeding insects, such as mosquitoes and ticks, cause serious human diseases. In recent years these viruses (also known as arboviruses) have re-emerged at an unprecedented scale, leading to global outbreaks of diseases such as Zika or chikungunya fever. The severity of these diseases and how easily they can be transmitted depends, in part, on the level of virus in the host’s bloodstream following infection. The more viral particles present in the blood, the easier it is for other insects that bite the host to become infected and help spread the disease. Yet, the mechanisms that hosts use to control the amount of virus present in the blood and how long it persists are poorly understood. To investigate this further, Carpentier et al. used a combination of molecular and genetic techniques to study how mice clear particles of arbovirus from their bloodstream. Surgically removing the spleen from infected mice revealed that this organ, which filters out unwanted or damaged materials from blood, is not required to clear some arbovirus particles. Carpentier et al. found that removing these arboviruses from the blood instead required Kupffer cells, a type of immune cell found in the liver. Genetically manipulating mice so they no longer produced a protein on the surface of Kupffer cells known as MARCO revealed that this receptor is needed to clear chikungunya viral particles. When MARCO was genetically deleted this led to an increase in the number of viral particles in the mice’s bloodstream, and allowed the virus to spread more rapidly throughout the bodies of the mice. Further experiments on three different types of arboviruses showed that in order to be cleared by MARCO, each of these viruses needed a lysine residue – one of the building blocks that makes up proteins – at defined positions within their protein sequence. These findings reveal a previously unknown mechanism for how hosts remove arbovirus particles from their bloodstream. Future studies could use this information to identify new ways to control the transmission and reduce the severity of these viral diseases.
Association Between Participant Contact Attempts and Reports of Being Bothered in a National, Longitudinal Cohort Study of ARDS Survivors

Background Participant retention is a major challenge in clinical research, especially in studies with multiple, longitudinal research assessments. Despite the importance of retention methods, there is little empirical research on how cohort retention efforts are perceived by study participants. Research Question To evaluate the association between the number of attempts undertaken to contact participants for research assessments in a longitudinal cohort study and participants' feeling of being bothered regarding such contact attempts. Study Design and Methods Secondary analysis of 315 ARDS survivors participating in a prospective study using comprehensive strategies for participant follow-up at 6 and 12 months that achieved > 95% participant retention. After completing a 242-question research assessment lasting 20 to 40 min, participants were surveyed for feedback. Results At 6 and 12 months, only 5% and 8% of participants, respectively, reported being bothered "more than a little bit" by the study contact attempts, with an OR of 1.06 (95% CI, 1.02-1.10) for each contact attempt. Participants' mental health symptoms at follow-up assessment were not associated with reports of being bothered. Interpretation Comprehensive cohort retention efforts can achieve > 95% retention rates in a national longitudinal study, with most participants reporting little or no bother by contact attempts. Despite a high frequency of mental health symptoms in this population, such symptoms were not associated with participant feedback regarding contact attempts. Careful training of research staff may be important in achieving such results.
Chemical abundances in active galaxies

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has proved to be a powerful resource for understanding the physical properties and chemical composition of star-forming galaxies in the local universe. The SDSS population of active galactic nuclei (AGN) remains as of yet less explored in this capacity. To extend the rigorous study of \ion{H}{ii} regions in the SDSS to AGN, we adapt methods for computing direct-method chemical abundances for application to the narrow-line regions (NLR) of AGN. By accounting for triply-ionized oxygen, we are able to more completely estimate the total oxygen abundance. We find a strong correlation between electron temperature and oxygen abundance due to collisional cooling by metals. Furthermore, we find that nitrogen and oxygen abundances in AGN are strongly correlated. From the metal-temperature relation and the coupling of nitrogen and oxygen abundances, we develop a new, empirically and physically motivated method for determining chemical abundances from the strong emission lines commonly employed in flux-ratio diagnostic diagrams (BPT diagrams). Our approach, which for AGN reduces to a single equation based on the BPT line ratios, consistently recovers direct-method abundances over a 1.5 dex range in oxygen abundance with an rms uncertainty of 0.18 dex. We have determined metallicities for thousands of AGN in the SDSS, and in the process have discovered an ionization-related discriminator for Seyfert and LINER galaxies.
A Virtual Space Vector-Based Model Predictive Control for Inherent DC-Link Voltage Balancing of Three-Level T-Type Converters

The finite-control-set model predictive control (FCS-MPC) has been widely studied to control voltage source converters (VSCs) due to its fast-dynamic response and robustness. To design an FCS-MPC for a three-level VSC, it is necessary to design a multiobjective cost function, which usually consists of a term dedicated to control the neutral-point voltage (NP-V) of the VSC dc link. Nevertheless, selecting weighting factors for the multiple control objectives is time consuming. To address this issue, this article proposes a new FCS-MPC, which only uses voltage vectors and virtual voltage vectors that do not affect the NP-V, such that an inherent dc-link voltage balancing can be achieved. The proposed approach not only simplifies the controller design by using a simplified cost function, which significantly reduces the execution time of the MPC, but also eliminates the voltage and current sensors for the dc link. Moreover, the proposed MPC can improve the quality of VSC output waveforms. The simulation studies are carried out to verify the superiority of the proposed MPC over the existing ones. The effectiveness of the presented FCS-MPC is also experimentally validated on a T-type converter prototype.
p-value Problems? An Examination of Evidential Value in Criminology

This study aims to assess the evidential value of the knowledgebase in criminology after accounting for the presence of potential Type I errors. The present study examines the distribution of 1248 p-values (that inform 84 statistically significant outcomes across 26 systematic reviews) in meta-analyses on the topic of crime and justice published by the Campbell Collaboration (CC) using p-curve analysis. The distribution of all CC p-values have a significant cluster of p-values immediately below 0.05, which is indicative of p-hacking. Evidential value (right skewed p-curves) is detected in most meta-analytic topic areas but not motivational interviewing (substance use outcome), sex offender treatment (sexual/general recidivism), police legitimacy (procedural justice), street-level drug law enforcement (total crime), and treatment effectiveness in secure corrections (juvenile recidivism). More studies, especially carefully designed and implemented randomized experiments with sufficiently large sample sizes, are needed before we are able to affirm the presence of evidential value and replicability of studies in all CC topic areas with confidence.
A community-based positive psychology group intervention to promote physical activity among people with metabolic syndrome: Proof of concept results to inform a pilot randomized controlled trial protocol

Abstract Background Community-based physical activity interventions can offset the burden of developing chronic diseases. Positive psychology (PP) interventions may improve health behaviors, but little is known about their effectiveness in community-based prevention settings. A multilevel PP-based intervention has never been studied in people at risk for chronic diseases. Purpose The aim of the trial is to demonstrate feasibility, acceptability, and improve physical activity. The purpose is to describe the theory, design, and rationale of the randomized controlled trial (RCT) phase of an iteratively developed physical activity intervention for metabolic syndrome. The feasibility results of the proof-of-concept phase are presented. Methods Participants are adult primary care patients at community health centers with metabolic syndrome and low physical activity (target n = 64). The 8-week group intervention consists of weekly physical activity goal-setting and self-monitoring, positive psychology activities, and neighborhood walks. Participants rate feasibility and acceptability of sessions. Pre-post-intervention, and 24 weeks later, participants complete accelerometers, questionnaires, and biometrics. Feasibility results Eight participants enrolled and seven completed. The median number of group sessions attended was 7 out of 8. Average ease and usefulness of sessions were rated as 7.0 (±0.5)/10 and 8.1 (±1.0)/10, respectively, indicating feasibility and acceptability. Average pre-post physical activity increased by 2152 steps and 29.25 min of MVPA/week. Discussion This proof-of-concept trial demonstrated high feasibility and acceptability, with increased physical activity. These positive findings suggest that the RCT phase will show high feasibility, acceptability, and initial impact on physical activity.
Impact of European Union–U.S. Organic Equivalency Arrangement on U.S. Exports

This study uses the synthetic control method to investigate the impact of the 2012 bilateral organic equivalency arrangement between the European Union and the United States, the two largest organic markets in the world. Employing the newly-available USDA Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS) data on organic trade, we collectively analyze 23 products of U.S. organic exports representing fresh produce, coffee, and tomato sauce, at the quarterly level during the 2011–2014 period. We find that the policy generates an increase of 9.1% in the organic exports of these products to the European Union each quarter.
Status update of LLAMAS - A wide field-of-view visible passband IFU for the 6.5m Magellan telescopes

The Large Lenslet Array Magellan Spectrograph (LLAMAS) is an NSF-funded facility-class Integral Field Unit (IFU) spectrograph under construction for the 6.5-meter Magellan Telescopes. It covers a 37" x 37" solid angle with 2,400 optical fibers efficiently coupled by a double-sided microlens-array, producing R = 2, 000 spectra with 0.7511 spatial resolution. Its broad passband from λ = 350 970nm offers access to line and continuum measurements over a wide range in redshift. Light is multiplexed by the IFU into 8 compact, carbon-fiber bench mounted spectrographs utilizing VPH grisms. We employed several trades on cost-performance ratio while optimizing LLAMAS’ system design including: (a) Splitting the passband between 3 fast all-refractive camera systems with modest entrance pupils, (b) limiting the fibers per unit (i.e. slit length) and building more spectrographs to leverage on production volume, and (c) using a commercial CCD camera built around a common detector (e2v 42-40) and thermoelectric + liquid cooling. To boost blue throughput and achieve high-quality sky subtraction the spectrograph cluster is mounted next to the focal plane on a folded Cassegrain port with gravity-invariant support. This also allows the instrument to deploy quickly, and be fully accessible within 10 minutes on any night, serving as a facility unit for observing astrophysical transients. A sub-sized IFU (169 fibers), mounted in a full-sized front end package with a single spectrograph (2 cameras) was delivered to Magellan in March 2020. We present as-measured laboratory performance from this prototype, though on-sky commissioning was unfortunately cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This contribution therefore focuses on subsequent design evolution and status of the full facility instrument.
Outside the Thorax: Doege-Potter Syndrome Presenting as a Retroperitoneal Abdominal Mass.

Objective We present a case of refractory hypoglycemia, weight loss, and retroperitoneal solitary fibrous tumor. Case report. A 68-year-old female presented with symptomatic hypoglycemia, weight loss, and abdominal mass identified on CT scan of the abdomen. Blood work during symptomatic hypoglycemia was consistent with an IGF-2-producing tumor. The abdominal mass pathology was consistent with solitary fibrous tumor surrounding the adrenal gland, and resection resulted in complete resolution of hypoglycemia. Discussion. Understanding the biochemical mechanisms behind glucose regulation is necessary to diagnose and adequately treat Doege-Potter syndrome, a paraneoplastic syndrome observed in patients with solitary fibrous tumors. Solitary fibrous tumors can be characterized by specific histologic and immunohistochemical studies. Conclusion This report describes the clinical workup of a patient presenting with hypoglycemia and a retroperitoneal tumor. This case is unique because of its presentation with severe, refractory hypoglycemia and the tumor's location in the retroperitoneum, given the majority of solitary fibrous tumors are found in the lungs originating from the pleura.
Towards Automatic Actor-Critic Solutions to Continuous Control.

Model-free off-policy actor-critic methods are an efficient solution to complex continuous control tasks. However, these algorithms rely on a number of design tricks and many hyperparameters, making their applications to new domains difficult and computationally expensive. This paper creates an evolutionary approach that automatically tunes these design decisions and eliminates the RL-specific hyperparameters from the Soft Actor-Critic algorithm. Our design is sample efficient and provides practical advantages over baseline approaches, including improved exploration, generalization over multiple control frequencies, and a robust ensemble of high-performance policies. Empirically, we show that our agent outperforms well-tuned hyperparameter settings in popular benchmarks from the DeepMind Control Suite. We then apply it to new control tasks to find high-performance solutions with minimal compute and research effort.
Racial Profiling in the Medical School Curriculum

In medical school, we are taught the differential diagnosis: to rule things in and rule things out based on how likely or unlikely a disease, syndrome, or condition may be in an individual. In class and in preparation for board exams, we are taught to suspect malaria or sickle cell disease in a Black patient, nasopharyngeal carcinoma caused by Epstein-Barr Virus in a Chinese man, or a lysosomal storage disease in Ashkenazi Jewish descendant. While I do not doubt the prevalence of certain diseases and conditions in some populations, I find myself questioning whether or not memorizing these associations is the correct way to go about my medical education and learning to form a differential diagnosis. It seems that we are pushed to develop reflex reactions to certain conditions, situations, or buzzwords. If we are influenced by our education to slap “likely” diagnosis on certain populations, do we not run the risk of missing the less prevalent “real” diagnosis? We may also run the risk of insidious propagation of implicit bias among newly trained physicians. Further, in 2020 with globalization and the extensive movement of people and goods, is it still accurate to teach students to suspect various diseases based on a person’s ethnic background, race, or sexual orientation? For example, studies have shown that for diagnoses such as cancer where environmental factors play a major role, cancer profiles of immigrant individuals begin to more closely mirror that of their new country rather than their former one. With the anti-vaxxer movement in the United States, should we not suspect a measles infection to be as likely in a White American child as in a generic “immigrant” child, such as the ones presented in exam questions and textbooks? To say there is much to learn in medical school would be an understatement and to say that it is easy to teach medicine to medical students would be an even larger one. However, the racial profiling that we are taught in patient cases has become increasingly apparent and warrants discussion.
Alcohol–Chemokine Interaction and Neurotransmission

Chemokines are a large family of small, structurally related proteins (molecular weights ranging from 8 to 14 kDa) that are members of the cytokine family of immune factors. Chemokines share gene and amino acid sequence homology including conserved amino acids that are important for establishing their 3-dimensional or tertiary structure. Chemokines were initially identified in the immune system where they play an important role as mediators of directed cell migration, referred to as chemotaxis [1]. Chemotaxis plays a critical role in host defense against injury and disease and in normal processes of tissue maintenance or development. Chemokines that act to recruit cells of the immune system to a site of injury or infection are considered to be proinflammatory chemokines, whereas chemokines that are involved in chemotaxis during normal processes of tissue maintenance or development are considered to be homeostatic in function.
Psychotherapy for histrionic personality disorder

The author uses a configurational analysis method for case formulation and to establish links between individualized formulation and treatment techniques. A prototype of formulation for the histrionic personality disorder is presented, using theories for formulation about states of mind, defensive control processes, and person schemas. A phase-oriented prototype of a treatment plan is linked to these levels of formulation. The result can provide a guideline for clinicians and a teaching document for trainees.
Maritime Energy Security

Energy is essential to a nation’s security, economic stability, and global trade, yet is particularly vulnerable to attacks and disruption in the maritime environment. Ensuring the safe and timely passage of energy represents a challenging, yet unifying thread for enhanced partnering as well as regional and international security action.Maritime energy security is a vital component of energy security and requires effectively confronting illicit activity and disruptions across a vast operating space. More than two-thirds of the world’s surface is covered by salt-water and approximately 80 percent of global trade moves on water. This paper discusses existing international frameworks to protect the maritime transport of energy and provides specific recommendations to better enable the expeditious and safe flow of energy on the water.
Tools for Parallel Computing: A Performance Evaluation Perspective

To make effective use of parallel computing environments, users have come to expect a broad set of tools that augment parallel programming and execution infrastructure with capabilities such as performance evaluation, debugging, runtime program control, and program interaction. The rich history of parallel tool research and development reflects both fundamental issues in concurrent processing and a progressive evolution of tool implementations, targeting current and future parallel computing goals. The state of tools for parallel computing is discussed from a perspective of performance evaluation. Many of the challenges that arise in parallel performance tools are common to other tool areas. I look at four such challenges: modeling, observability, diagnosis, and perturbation. The need for tools will always be present in parallel and distributed systems, but the emphasis on tool support may change. The discussion given is intentionally high-level, so as not to exclude the many important ideas that have come from parallel tool projects. Rather, I attempt to present viewpoints on the challenges that I think would be of concern in any performance tool design.
Exchange Rate Policy Options for South America: Making the Case for Flexibility

This article calls for more serious attention to the benefits of flexible exchange rates and to the long-term problems of fixed exchange rates and monetary unions. The case of Argentina's peg to the dollar (1991–2002) demonstrates that short-term benefits come with long-term challenges and costs. The Argentine lesson has serious implications for current policy options. Although there is little consensus on the advantages and disadvantages of particular currency regimes, this article, focusing on South America, suggests that a flexible exchange rate will avoid the inevitable pitfalls of hard pegs and allow countries to address their particular internal and external economic needs. Este articulo sugiere que se preste mas atencion a los beneficios de las tasas flexibles de cambio y a los problemas a largo plazo implicitos en las tasas fijas y las uniones monetarias. El caso de Argentina y la paridad con el dolar (1991–2002) demuestra que los beneficios a corto plazo vienen con retos y costos a largo plazo. La leccion argentina tiene serias implicaciones para las actuales opciones de politica. Aunque existe poco acuerdo respecto a las ventajas y desventajas de regimenes cambiarios de uno u otro tipo actuales en particular, este articulo, con enfoque en Sudamerica, sugiere que una tasa de cambio flexible evitaria los problemas ineludibles de paridades rigidas y permitiria a los paises enfrentar sus necesidades internas y externas particulares.
Effect of Heat Treatment on Ruminal Degradation and Escape, and Intestinal Digestibility of Cottonseed Meal Protein

The effect of heat treatment of ruminal protein degradation and escape was studied using in vitro incubations with autoclaved and commercial cottonseed meal (CSM) samples. Incubations using high ratios of protein to ruminal fluid appeared to overestimate ruminal degradation of CSM protein relative to casein. A biexponential model, assuming CSM contained two protein fractions degraded at two different rates, was used to interpret data from in vitro incubations conducted using ratios of protein to ruminal fluid similar to those expected in vivo. The first fraction was degraded at rates (0.68-1.19/hour) which were 2--3 1/2 times greater than that of casein (0.34/hour). Degradation rates of the second fraction were much slower (0.011-0.093/hour). The effect of heat treatment was to decrease the proportion of the rapidly degraded fraction and to both increase the proportion and to decrease the degradation rate of the more slowly degraded fraction. Estimated ruminal escape increased with each increment of heat treatment. Intestinal protein digestibility (ruminal escape times true digestibility) increased to maximum at 60 minutes autoclaving, and then declined. Estimates of intestinal protein digestibility averaged 30.6 and 50.3% for solvent-extracted and screw-press CSM, respectively. These and previous results suggest heat treatment decreases ruminal degradation partly by blocking reactive sites for microbial proteolytic enzymes and partly by reducing protein solubility.
Natural killer cell education and tolerance

Natural killer (NK) cells play a key role in the immune response to certain infections and malignancies by direct cytolysis of infected or transformed cells and by secretion of potent immune mediators. NK cells express an array of activating receptors that recognize self-molecules. If not restrained by inhibitory receptors recognizing major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I proteins on the surface of self cells, NK cells are able to kill normal, healthy cells. Not all NK cells express inhibitory receptors for self-MHC class I; thus, other tolerance mechanisms are necessary to prevent NK cell-mediated autoimmunity. Here we review the major mechanisms of NK cell education and tolerance.
Genetics of IgCH (Allotype) Locus in the Mouse

The mouse is particularly useful in studies of the immunogenetics of immunoglobulins because of the availability of (1) many inbred strains [60], (2) many allotype congenic strains that genetically resemble the parental strains except for selected allotype genes [40], (3) strains in which genes regulating VH structural expression have been identified that are linked or not linked to the IgCH allotype [4, 12, 38, 39, 41, 42], (4) allotype recombinant strains in which crossing over of VH and CH genes has occurred [38, 57], (5) strains in which plasmacytomas producing homogeneous immunoglobulins can be experimentally induced [50], (6) strains in which the major histocompatibility locus (H-2) has been well characterized [30], and finally, (7) strains in which specific Ir and Ia genes have been identified [30]°
Habitat and distribution of the Wyoming pocket gopher (Thomomys clusius)

Abstract The Wyoming pocket gopher (Thomomys clusius) is among the least understood species of Geomyidae. It was petitioned for listing under the United States Endangered Species Act in 2007, but found not warranted for listing because of the poor state of knowledge. As of 2008, it was only known from a handful of specimens and a coarse, qualitative assessment of the landscape from which they were collected. To begin resolving this problem, we investigated the distribution and habitat use of T. clusius by conducting pocket gopher surveys across its known range and the adjacent, previously unsurveyed, landscape. We compared habitat features at sites occupied by T. clusius to unoccupied sites and those occupied by the common northern pocket gopher (T. talpoides). We found that T. clusius was uncommon throughout a very limited range that was completely encompassed by T. talpoides, and that habitat occupied by the 2 species differed. In contrast to T. talpoides, T. clusius was more restricted to areas with Ga...
Gravity-driven flow of liquid films and droplets in horizontal tube banks

Abstract Liquid films falling over banks of internally cooled horizontal tubes are often used to absorb mass from a surrounding vapor. This arrangement is particularly suitable for absorption processes where the vapor has a high heat of absorption and where high transfer rates and low pressure drops are required, as is the case of absorption heat pumps and other chemical processes. When the liquid film presents a significant resistance to heat and mass transfer, understanding the motion of the film is critical. However, mathematical models of these types of systems in the literature have generally made use of many simplifying assumptions about the behavior of the falling liquid. The formation, detachment, and impact of droplets and the associated waves and film disturbances can all affect the mixing of the liquid and can enhance transfer rates accordingly. The objective of this paper is to identify and visually document these deviations from idealized film behavior and discuss their implications on the heat and mass transfer processes, which are important to consider in the development of mechanistic models of the absorption process.
Use of Pre-Operative Tc99m-Sestamibi Scintigraphy and Intraoperative Parathyroid Hormone Monitoring to Eliminate Neck Exploration in Mediastinal Parathyroid Adenocarcinoma

A 66-year-old white woman was found to have an elevated serum calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH) on routine health evaluation. Physical examination was unremarkable as was ultrasonography of the neck. A sestamibi parathyroid scan revealed abnormal uptake in the anterior mediastinum. Computed tomography of the chest demonstrated an anterior mediastinal mass compatible with a parathyroid adenoma but no neck masses. The patient underwent mediastinoscopy that was converted to a median sternotomy to fully access the mass. The mass was completely resected with surrounding thymus gland. Frozen section confirmed that excised tissue was parathyroid gland in origin. An intraoperative PTH obtained 20 minutes after specimen removal showed a decrease of more than 50% from preoperative levels. The strategy for initial surgery for hyperparathyroidism when a sestamibi scan is "positive" in the mediastinum (only) is a point of some controversy. Traditional recommendations have been to "clear the neck" of abnormal parathyroid tissue before undertaking a more morbid sternotomy. Mediastinoscopy was attempted to remove the mediastinal lesion and to avoid a sternotomy. Preoperative Tc99m sestamibi scintigraphy, frozen section histology, and intraoperative PTH monitoring permitted the authors to conclude that neck exploration was unnecessary.
The stability of long-run money demand in five industrial countries

Abstract This study provides strong evidence for the stability of long-run demand functions for narrowly defined money (M1) in five industrial countries (U.S., Japan, Canada, U.K., and West Germany) using post-war quarterly data. Evidence of stability is examined using two different estimation techniques and through a formal test of parameter constancy designed specifically for cointegrating vectors. In the majority of these countries, the key to stability is the imposition of a unitary long-run income elasticity that is rarely rejected by the data.
Anterior pituitary levels of FSH, LH, ACTH and prolactin after mating in female rabbits.

SummaryAnterior pituitary levels of LH, FSH, ACTH and prolactin were determined at 0, 0.25, 0.75, 3, 7, or 11 hours after mating in 96 female rabbits. Levels of LH, ACTH and prolactin decreased rapidly after mating to low levels which persisted from 0.75 to 7 hours after mating, but copulatory levels of these tropins were largely restored within 11 hours after mating. Pituitary FSH was not significantly influenced by copulation. The results indicate that the mating stimulus is not specific for ovulating hormone release and suggest that other pituitary tropins may affect reproductive function near the time of ovulation.
X-ray excited states (``excitons'') and width of valence band in KC1

Abstract A combination of (a) P arratt and J ossem 's experimental X-ray emission and absorption curves for potassium and chlorine in KC1 and (b) M uto and O kuno 's recent theoretical calculations on “exciton” structure (one-electron approximation) provides semi-theoretical values of the effective dielectric constant and of the effective mass for the potassium 1 s first excited state in KC1. (The term “1 s first excited state” is used to replace the term “X-ray lowest exciton”). A “reasonable” small increase in this value of the dielectric constant gives a tentative value for the chlorine 1 s first excited state. Then, resorting again to the combination of experiment and theory, one is led to the conclusion that the C1- 3 p valence band in KC1 is much narrower than the 4.2 eV base width previously deduced, is perhaps 2 eV wide. However, since the series limit of X-ray excited states may well be above the bottom of the continuum, it is further proposed that the base width of the valence band may be of the order of 1 eV (or even less) and the full width at halfmaximum of the density-of-states curve of this band may be about 0.3 eV.
Gender and sex-role differences in intimacy of self-disclosure.

The present study examined the relationship of gender and sex-role type to intimacy of self-disclosure. Participants wrote descriptions of themselves which were supposedly to be given to another person, whom they were led to believe they would later meet. Women were significantly more intimate in their self-disclosures than were men. Differences in intimacy of disclosure were also found for different sex-role types, but contrary to expectations, femininity was not positively related to disclosure. Instead, masculinity was negatively related to intimacy of self-disclosure.
Physician Knowledge and Practices in the Evaluation of Coagulopathies in Stroke Patients

Background and Purpose— Coagulopathies are a rare cause of ischemic stroke. Prior studies demonstrate that current physician test-ordering practices for the evaluation of these conditions in patients with ischemic stroke is not optimal. We sought to determine neurologists’ views regarding their use of specialized coagulation testing to better understand the possible reasons for these practices. Methods— A survey with multiple-choice and open-ended questions regarding knowledge of and approaches to the evaluation of coagulopathies was sent to a convenience sample of 79 neurologists (26 academic neurology faculty, 24 residents/fellows, and 29 community-based practitioners). Results— Fifty-nine (75%) surveys were completed (response rates: faculty 73%, residents/fellows 88%, and community-based practice 66%). Specialized coagulation tests were reported to infrequently influence stroke patient management (<25% of the time or never for 95% of respondents). Factors reported to increase test-ordering included yo...