cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
INCIDENCE OF BREAST LYMPHEDEMA AND PREDICTORS OF ITS DEVELOPMENT IN PATIENTS RECEIVING WHOLE BREAST RADIATION THERAPY AFTER BREAST-CONSERVATION SURGERY

One common adverse effect following breast-conservation surgery and adjuvant radiation is lymphedema. While lymphedema of the arm has been well-characterized, there has been less investigation into lymphedema of the breast. We sought to characterize rates of breast lymphedema (BLE) in women with early-stage breast cancer and identify potential predictors in its development. Two hundred and thirty consecutive patients treated with lumpectomy and adjuvant whole breast radiation therapy (WBRT) from January 2016 - June 2017 were included. All patients were seen in our lymphedema monitoring clinic for baseline and at least one follow-up lymphedema measurement. BLE grades were assigned by trained nurses in the lymphedema clinic. Data regarding patient demographic and treatment factors were extracted from the electronic medical record. Comparisons between groups were made using Chi-Square analysis performed in SAS. The median age of the sample was 62 (range 31-90). Median follow-up from surgery was 15.3 months. Forty-three patients were diagnosed with lymphedema of the breast (18.7%). Rates of grade 1 and 2 BLE were 93% and 7%, respectively; there were no cases of severe lymphedema. Sixty-three percent of cases resolved by last follow-up with treatment recommendations. There was no association between development of BLE and patient factors investigated, including age, T stage, radiation dose and fractionation, lymph node biopsy, number of lymph nodes removed, development of arm lymphedema, and use of chemotherapy. Tumor subtype was found to be significant (P = 0.04) and there was a trend towards significance for receipt of trastuzumab (P = 0.09). BLE is a distinct entity from arm lymphedema and is a common finding in women treated with breast-conserving surgery and adjuvant WBRT. It is a generally mild and self-limiting process. There were no treatment or patient-related factors that correlated with increased risk of lymphedema development in our sample except for HER-2 positive disease and receipt of trastuzamab.
Wright Maps (Part 3 and Counting...)

Wright Maps have revolutionized how researchers and practitioners evaluate tests and survey and how such information is communicated. This chapter makes use of the two introductory chapters to Wright Maps presented in Rasch Analysis in the Human Sciences (Chap. 6 Wright Maps: First Steps, Chap. 7 Wright Maps: Second Steps). In this chapter, we present summaries of numerous Wright Maps that have been presented in the literature. We provide a commentary of the pros and cons of each presentation technique of each map, and we discuss the strengths and weakness of the manner in which the maps are described in the body of articles as well as through figure captions. Importantly, we present some common errors made by researchers when constructing their Wright Maps and authoring Wright Map figure captions.
Contact Effect in High-Temperature Conjugated Polymer Transistors

Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are usually unstable at high temperature (above 150 °C), reportedly due to the disrupting charge transport pathways in the channel. Here, we demonstrate tha...
Expectations for ‘natural’ ways of talking: A context-dependent perspective on fixedness in conversation:

This article aims to expand the concept of fixedness in language from stable autonomous structures to socially shared patterns of communication. The study examined conversational utterances that so...
When tax incentives drive illicit behavior: The manipulation of fuel economy in the automobile industry

Abstract This study examines and identifies the underlying incentives for falsifying fuel economy on the part of the automobile industry. Using novel microdata on on-road fuel consumption in Japan, we find a discontinuous increase in the fuel economy gap—the disparity between official test results and real-world fuel economy—of 6 percent at the tax-incentive eligibility thresholds. Further evidence suggests that much of the observed gap remains unexplained by driver or vehicle characteristics, and that no gap is observed at similar levels of fuel economy when they are not tied to the large tax-incentive eligibility. Our findings suggest that feebates, large incentive schemes based on fuel economy levels, may in turn incentivize automakers to “cook the books” on fuel economy figures.
Is Transfer Learning Necessary for Protein Landscape Prediction

Recently, there has been great interest in learning how to best represent proteins, specifically with fixed-length embeddings. Deep learning has become a popular tool for protein representation learning as a model's hidden layers produce potentially useful vector embeddings. TAPE introduced a number of benchmark tasks and showed that semi-supervised learning, via pretraining language models on a large protein corpus, improved performance on downstream tasks. Two of the tasks (fluorescence prediction and stability prediction) involve learning fitness landscapes. In this paper, we show that CNN models trained solely using supervised learning both compete with and sometimes outperform the best models from TAPE that leverage expensive pretraining on large protein datasets. These CNN models are sufficiently simple and small that they can be trained using a Google Colab notebook. We also find for the fluorescence task that linear regression outperforms our models and the TAPE models. The benchmarking tasks proposed by TAPE are excellent measures of a model's ability to predict protein function and should be used going forward. However, we believe it is important to add baselines from simple models to put the performance of the semi-supervised models that have been reported so far into perspective.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Academic Community Results from a survey conducted at University of Massachusetts Amherst

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted academic life in the United States and beyond. To gain a better understanding of its impact on the academic community, we conducted a large-scale survey at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. We collected multifaceted data from students, staff, and faculty on several aspects of their lives, such as mental and physical health, productivity, and finances. All our respondents expressed mental and physical issues and concerns, such as increased stress and depression levels. Financial difficulties seem to have the most considerable toll on staff and undergraduate students, while productivity challenges were mostly expressed by faculty and graduate students. As universities face many important decisions with respect to mitigating the effects of this pandemic, we present our findings with the intent of shedding light on the challenges faced by various academic groups in the face of the pandemic, calling attention to the differences between groups. We also contribute a discussion highlighting how the results translate to policies for the effective and timely support of the categories of respondents who need them most. Finally, the survey itself, which includes conditional logic allowing for personalized questions, serves as a template for further data collection, facilitating a comparison of the impact on campuses across the United States.
High safety and long-life lithium batteries with low leakage and high wettability ceramic-polymer electrolyte

The development of ceramic-polymer electrolyte with high mechanical and electrochemical properties is the key to address the safety issue of high-performance lithium batteries due to the use of flammable organic liquid electrolytes. In this work, we designed and synthesized a flexible low liquid leakage and high wettability ceramic-polymer electrolyte (CPE) based on poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-γ-Al2O3 membrane with excellent mechanical and thermal stability. After being wetted by a very small amount of LiPF6-based liquid electrolyte, symmetrical Li, Li/LiFePO4 (LFP), and LFP/Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) cells with this PVDF/PEO-γ-Al2O3-LiPF6 CPE displayed much better cycling stabilities than that of commercial Celgard 2320 separator with a sufficient amount of liquid electrolyte. The CPE requires only a small amount of liquid electrolyte to achieve the desired electrochemical performance of lithium batteries. Its low liquid leakage characteristic also enhances the safety of lithium batteries, with the potential to replace the commercial separators.
Increasing the resilience of critical infrastructure networks through the strategic location of microgrids: A case study of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico

Abstract We develop a methodology to evaluate the potential of microgrids to increase the resilience of critical infrastructure (CI) networks, and mitigate the impact of catastrophic failure in disaster situations. The methodology uses an optimization model to strategically locate microgrids and a network robustness analysis to determine the benefits of the new reinforced network. The location of microgrids seeks to ensure that a community's most important facilities have adequate power to provide services in the event of power grid failure. The analysis of network robustness evaluates the reinforced network in the event of the failure of increasingly larger sections of the network. The methodology was used to evaluate the installation of microgrids on ciciCIs in Puerto Rico, where the 2017 hurricane season caused catastrophic grid failure. The research team conducted data collection and fieldwork research in Puerto Rico, including interviews with disaster responders and CI managers. Prior to the installation of microgrids, small disruptions could completely cripple the power distribution system. In fact, our numerical experiments show that the destruction of 30% of the network in Puerto Rico was sufficient to result in a complete blackout. On the other hand, strategically adding microgrids to 30% of critical infrastructure can ensure functionality of the system even when 80% of the nodes in a power distribution network have been destroyed. These results show the potential benefits of strengthening the power grid with microgrids in relation to the robustness and resilience of CIs.
A Look Inside: Oral Sampling for Detection of Non-Oral Infectious Diseases.

Efforts to control transmissible infectious diseases rely on the ability to screen large populations, ideally in community settings. These efforts can be limited by the requirement for invasive or logistically difficult collection of patient samples such as blood, urine, stool, sputum, and nasopharyngeal swabs. Oral sampling is an appealing, non-invasive alternative that could greatly facilitate high-throughput sampling in community settings. Oral sampling has been described for the detection of dozens of human pathogens, including pathogens whose primary sites of infection are outside of the oral cavity, such as the respiratory pathogens Mycobacterium tuberculosis and SARS-CoV-2. Oral sampling can demonstrate active infections as well as resolving or previous infection, the latter through the detection of antibodies. Its potential applications are diverse, including improved diagnosis in special populations (e.g. children), population surveillance, and infectious disease screening. In this minireview, we address the use of oral samples for the detection of diseases that primarily manifest outside of the oral cavity. Focusing on well-supported examples, we describe applications for such methods and highlight their potential advantages and limitations in medicine, public health, and research.
Human Body–Electrode Interfaces for Wide-Frequency Sensing and Communication: A Review

Several on-body sensing and communication applications use electrodes in contact with the human body. Body-electrode interfaces in these cases act as a transducer, converting ionic current in the body to electronic current in the sensing and communication circuits and vice versa. An ideal body-electrode interface should have the characteristics of an electrical short, i.e., the transfer of ionic currents and electronic currents across the interface should happen without any hindrance. However, practical body-electrode interfaces often have definite impedances and potentials that hinder the free flow of currents, affecting the application's performance. Minimizing the impact of body-electrode interfaces on the application's performance requires one to understand the physics of such interfaces, how it distorts the signals passing through it, and how the interface-induced signal degradations affect the applications. Our work deals with reviewing these elements in the context of biopotential sensing and human body communication.
Detection and quantification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen CFP10 in serum and urine for the rapid diagnosis of active tuberculosis disease.

Outside of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, tuberculosis is the leading cause of infectious disease mortality globally. Currently, there is no commercially available point-of-care diagnostic that is rapid, inexpensive, and highly sensitive for the diagnosis of active tuberculosis disease. Here we describe the development and optimization of a novel, highly sensitive prototype bioelectronic tuberculosis antigen (BETA) assay to detect tuberculosis-specific antigen, CFP10, in small-volume serum and urine samples. In this proof-of-concept study we evaluated the performance of the BETA assay using clinical specimens collected from presumptive tuberculosis patients from three independent cohorts. Circulating CFP10 antigen was detected in ALL serum (n = 19) and urine (n = 3) samples from bacteriologically confirmed tuberculosis patients who were untreated or had less than one week of treatment at time of serum collection, successfully identifying all culture positive tuberculosis patients. No CFP10 antigen was detected in serum (n = 7) or urine (n = 6) samples from individuals who were determined to be negative for tuberculosis disease. Additionally, antigen quantification using the BETA assay of paired serum samples collected from tuberculosis patients (n = 8) both before and after treatment initiation, indicate consistently declining within-person levels of CFP10 antigen during treatment. This novel, low-cost assay demonstrates potential as a rapid, non-sputum-based, point-of-care tool for the diagnosis of tuberculosis disease.
The RING study: A Randomized Controlled Trial of GCSF-stimulated Granulocytes in Granulocytopenic Patients

Bacterial and fungal infections continue to be a major clinical problem in patients with prolonged severe neutropenia due to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or aggressive chemotherapy. Although early controlled trials suggested that granulocyte transfusions were modestly effective in this setting, the doses of granulocytes provided in these studies were considered to be inadequate. Renewed interest in this therapy came with the possibility of greatly increasing the dose transfused by administering granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) ± dexamethasone to normal granulocyte donors. Subsequent studies showed that three to four times as many granulocytes could be collected from such donors, that these cells circulated in neutropenic recipients, and that the cells appeared to function normally both in vitro and in vivo. The evidence for clinical efficacy of this high-dose therapy has been inconclusive. The RING study is a recently completed randomized controlled study examining the efficacy of high-dose granulocyte transfusion therapy, carried out as part of the NHLBI Transfusion Medicine/Hemostasis Clinical Trials Network. Fourteen clinical sites participated. Subjects eligible for the study were those with neutropenia (ANC 0.99) on Intention to Treat analysis, and 49% (17/35) and 41% (16/39), respectively, for subjects who adhered to their assigned treatments (Per Protocol analysis; p=0.64). Overall, patient infections were 36% invasive fungal, 27% invasive bacterial, 11% fungemia, and 26% bacteremia. Differences in primary endpoint success rates for granulocyte and control arms were not statistically significantly different for any infection type whether analyzed by Intention to Treat or Per Protocol. Because of the low accrual, the power of this study to detect a 20% difference in the overall success rates was reduced to approximately 40%; it is thus possible that a true effect was missed, particularly if the effect is limited to certain subject subsets. Disclosures Off Label Use: In the study being discussed, G-CSF is administered to normal blood donors. This is an off-label use of G-CSF. .
Automatic Counting and Classification of Bacterial Colonies Using Hyperspectral Imaging

Detection and counting of bacterial colonies on agar plates is a routine microbiology practice to get a rough estimate of the number of viable cells in a sample. There have been a variety of different automatic colony counting systems and software algorithms mainly based on color or gray-scale pictures although manual counting is still common. In microbiology, identification of presumptive-positive colonies on agar plates is predominantly done manually, which is laborious and time-consuming. This paper addresses a problem related to automatic colony segmentation and classification that can count the number of colonies according to their types. Hyperspectral imaging was used to develop a colony segmentation algorithm for detecting non-O517 Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) pathogens on Rainbow agar. Hyperspectral absorbance image analysis in the visible and near-infrared spectral range from 400 to 1000 nm showed that colony morphology including size and texture was dependent on wavelength. The non-O157 STEC colonies showed dome-like absorbance profiles with local absorbance maxima. Touching colonies, causing problems for accurate counting and identification, were separated by optimally tessellating the mesh structure of local maximal points. The 428 nm was determined as the optimal wavelength for non-O157 STEC colony segmentation. The accuracy of the colony segmentation and counting algorithm was over 99 %. The average of the colony classification algorithm using automated colony segments was 92.5 %.
Comparison of grid-based algorithms for computing upslope contributing area

[1] Terrain attributes based on upslope contributing area, A, are used widely in distributed hydrologic models. Several grid-based algorithms are available for estimating A. In this study, five algorithms (D8, ρ8, MFD, DEMON, and D∞) were compared quantitatively on two undulating agricultural fields (63 and 109 ha) in northeastern Colorado. Global positioning system (GPS) data (0.02-m accuracy) were used to generate grid digital elevation models (DEMs) at 5-, 10-, and 30-m cell sizes. Relative differences between A values estimated using single- and multiple-direction algorithms increased with decreasing grid cell size. Relative differences were greatest along ridges and side slopes, and differences decreased where the terrain became more convergent. Multiple-direction algorithms (MFD, DEMON, and D∞), allowing for flow divergence, are recommended on these undulating terrains for 5- and 10-m grids where A is most sensitive to the algorithm selection.
The family meal as a culturally relevant nutrition teaching aid.

Abstract From the results of nutritional research amongst adolescents as well as experience in food and nutrition education, it is argued that the family meal, because of its culturally defined structural components, provides an excellent model for teaching healthy eating patterns to children, especially adolescents. The use of meal patterning in established nutrition education programs is reviewed and a case study is given of the process of adapting meal pattern information to a high-school nutrition education program. Possibilities for adapting nutrition education programs to meet educational goals in the future are explored and a plea is made to have more faith in teenagers’ relationship with food.
El espacio de aprendizaje en las aulas para el aprendizaje activo apoyado en tecnologías del MIT ("TEAL Classrooms")

Tratamos la naturaleza del espacio de aprendizaje utilizado en las clases de introduccion a la fisica del MIT. Estos espacios educativos se han disenado para la interaccion, tanto en terminos de experimentos de escritorio, planteamiento y resolucion de problemas en clase aprovechando las pizarras colocadas en el perimetro de la sala, y "preguntas sobre conceptos" que se responden ´de forma anonima durante los periodos de formacion. Exponemos los resultados de la evaluacion de esta forma de ensenar comparados al formato tradicional de clases magistrales en la ensenanza de la fisica en el MIT. Tambien tratamos los cambios que estamos contemplando en el formato de clase TEAL a la luz de una gran inversion del MIT y del compromiso con el aprendizaje online a traves de edX y MITx .
Outer membrane proteins of Escherichia coli. I. Effect of preparative conditions on the migration of protein in polyacrylamide gels.

Abstract Outer membrane protein of Escherichia coli prepared for polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis by solubilization of the membrane in an organic solvent followed by dialysis into sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solution or by solublization of the membrane directly in SDS solution followed by dialysis into a SDS-urea solution and brief heating at 100 °C resulted in a simple polypeptide profile on SDS-containing gels. This polypeptide pattern was characterized by a single major protein band migrating with an apparent molecular weight of about 42,000 daltons which accounted for about 70% of the total protein on the gel. However, if the outer membrane protein is dissolved in SDS solution without urea and heated at 70 °C, major bands are observed in three regions of the gel: A broad band or group of bands near the top of the gel with an apparent molecular weight of much greater than 42,000 daltona (peak A), a second band with the same mobility as the 42,000-dalton band in boiled samples (peak B), and a third, faster-migrating band with an apparent molecular weight of less than 42,000 daltons (peak C). Elution of protein from A or C followed by heating at 100 °C converts this protein to a form migrating with peak B. If the outer-membrane protein is dissolved in SDS solution at 37 °C with no further heating and applied to gels, peak B dissappears completely and A and C increase. These can be partially converted to peak B by urea treatment. Protein from peaks A and C was isolated by chromatography on Sephadex in the presence of SDS, and the intrinsic viscosity of this protein was measured before and after boiling. The intrinsic viscosity of protein from peak A was 35 cc/g both before and after boiling, while the intrinsic viscosity of protein from peak C was 28 cc/g before boiling and 35 cc/g after boiling. These results are best explained by assuming that the protein in peak A represents aggregates of a 42,000-dalton species which are dissociated by boiling or solvent treatment and that the protein in peak C represents a monomeric form of the 42,000-dalton protein which is not fully reacted with SDS and which is converted to the “rigid rod” conformation characteristic of protein-SDS complexes only upon boiling or solvent treatment.
Intake of Caffeine from All Sources Including Energy Drinks and Reasons for Use in US College Students

We surveyed caffeine consumption of college students (N=1,248) at 5 US universities. Since the lifestyle of college students differs from the general population, their caffeine use may differ. Surv...
Modeling terror attacks: A cross-national, out-of-sample study

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study is to assess the ability of a theoretically motivated statistical model to accurately forecast annual, national counts of terror attacks out-of-sample. Methodology/approach Bayesian multi-level models, classification analysis, marginal calibration plots Findings We find that the model forecasts reasonably well, but conclude that its overall performance suggests that it is not ready for use in policy planning. This is likely due to the coarse temporal and spatial aggregation of the data. Research limitations/implications The implications of this study are that social scientists should devote more effort into evaluating the predictive power of their statistical models, and that annual, national data on violent conflict are probably too coarse to provide useful information for policy planning. Originality/value of paper The primary value of our modeling effort is to provide a baseline against which to evaluate the performance of more region- and country-specific models to be developed in the future.
Influence of Side-Chain Substituents on the Position of Cleavage of the Benzene Ring by Pseudomonas fluorescens

Pseudomonas fluorescens was grown on mineral salts media with phenol, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, p-hydroxy-phenylacetic acid, or p-hydroxy-trans-cinnamic acid as sole carbon and energy source. Each compound was first hydroxylated, ortho to the hydroxyl group on the benzene ring, to give catechol, protocatechuic acid (3,4-dihydroxy-benzoic acid), homoprotocatechuic acid (3,4-dihydroxy-phenylacetic acid), and caffeic acid (3,4-dihydroxy-trans-cinnamic acid), respectively, as the ultimate aromatic products before cleavage of the benzene nucleus. Protocatechuic acid and caffeic acid were shown to be cleaved by ortho fission, via a 3,4-oxygenase mechanism, to give beta-substituted cis, cis-muconic acids as the initial aliphatic products. However, catechol and homoprotocatechuic acid were cleaved by meta fission, by 2,3-and 4,5-oxygenases, respectively, to give alpha-hydroxy-muconic semialdehyde and alpha-hydroxy-gamma-carboxymethyl muconic semialdehyde as initial aliphatic intermediates. Caffeic acid: 3,4-oxygenase, a new oxygenase, consumes 1 mole of O(2) per mole of substrate and has an optimal pH of 7.0. The mechanism of cleavage of enzymes derepressed for substituted catechols by P. fluorescens apparently changes from ortho to meta with the increasing nephelauxetic (electron donor) effect of the side-chain substituent.
Experimental concretes for sealing radioactive-waste repositories in evaporite strata

Abstract Rock fractions form a sequence of evaporite strata have been used as aggregate in cement-based composites, prepared to simulate materials for sealing a geologic repository for radioactive waste. Five types of coarse aggregate simulated mined-out backfill for normally mixed or preplaced-aggregate concrete. Geochemical properties of evaporite strata were considered in choosing the brine, rocks, and cement formulation for these experiments. Adequate values (>35 MPa) were obtained for compressive strengths of concrete cast with dolostone and anhydrite aggregate; these samples also had very low permeabilities to brine, 10−7 or 10−8 μm2 (darcy). Tests of samples with halite aggregate are promising. A strong bond apparently was formed between the grout and the various rocks, evidenced by breakage0 through aggregate particles in tests of compressive strength. From these experiments, acceptability criteria have been developed for simulated shaft-sealing composites.
Exploring the Link Between Preservice Teachers' Conception of Proof and the Use of Dynamic Geometry Software

This case study investigated how secondary preservice mathematics teachers perceive the need for and the benefits of formal proof when given geometric tasks in the context of dynamic geometry software. Results indicate that preservice teachers are concerned that after using dynamic software high school students will not see the need for proofs. The participants stated that multiple examples are not equivalent to a proof but, nonetheless, questioned the value of formal proof for high school students. Finally, preservice teachers found the greatest value of geometric software to be in helping students understand key relationships within a problem or theorem. Participants also tended to study a problem more deeply with the software than without it.
An experimental study on the effect of hydrogen enrichment on diesel fueled HCCI combustion

Abstract This paper experimentally investigates the influence of hydrogen enrichment on the combustion and emission characteristics of a diesel HCCI engine using a modified Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine. Three fuels, n-heptane and two middle distillates with cetane numbers of 46.6 and 36.6, are studied. The results show that hydrogen enrichment retards the combustion phasing and reduces the combustion duration of a diesel HCCI engine. Besides, hydrogen enrichment increases the power output and fuel conversion efficiency, and improves the combustion stability. However, hydrogen enrichment may narrow the operational compression ratio range and increase the knocking tendency. Both the overall indicated specific CO emissions (isCO) and CO emissions per unit burned diesel fuel mass are reduced by hydrogen enrichment. Although hydrogen enrichment decreases the overall indicated specific unburned hydrocarbon emissions (isHC), it does not significantly affect the HC emissions per unit burned diesel fuel mass.
The Position of Sagittarius A* at the Galactic Center

The absolute position of the compact radio source at the dynamical center of the Galaxy, Sagittarius A*, was known only to an accuracy of 02 in spite of its accurate location with respect to near-IR stellar sources to within 30 mas. To remedy this poor positional accuracy, we have selected 15 high-resolution, high-frequency VLA observations of Sgr A* carried out in the last 13 years and determined the weighted average position with the average epoch 1992.4 to be at α, δ(1950) = 17h42m293076±00007, -28°59(2000) = 17h45m400383±00007, -29°00'28069±0014, which agrees with earlier published values to within the 02 error bars of the earlier measurements. An accurate absolute position of Sgr A* can be useful for its identification with sources at other wavelengths, particularly in soft and hard X-rays, with implications for the models of a massive black hole at the Galactic center.
The feasibility of a brief evaluation of mental state at the time of the offense

If psychological evaluations of criminal defendants could be performed in the community on an outpatient basis rather than in a distant state hospital on an inpatient basis, substantial savings could result and defendants' rights to speedy trial, bail, and the least restrictive alternative would more likely be respected. The authors thus developed a protocol, the mental state at the time of the offense screening evaluation (MSE), designed to enable outpatient evaluatiors to “screen out,” in the course of a brief interview, those defendants whose alleged criminal conduct clearly was not caused by “significant mental abnormality.” They tested the validity of the MSE by having pairs of mental health professionals use the MSE to evaluate 36 criminal defendants. The professionals' conclusions were then compared with the conclusions of state hospital professionals who performed a comprehensive evaluation of each defendant. They were also compared to court adjudications of the defendant's criminal charges. They found that the MSE screened out a large proportion of defendants (sufficient to suggest an improvement in cost-efficiency) without prejudice to those defendants who might have a valid legal defense.
Initial Functional and Structural Analysis of Plant Mechanosensitive Channel MSL10

MSL10 is the first mechanosensitive channel from Arabidopsis thaliana to be electrophysiologically characterized. MSL10 is a member of the MscS family of which there are 10 in Arabidopsis. Though MSL10 is topologically different from known bacterial MS channels, its most C-terminal TM helix shows moderate homology with E. coli MscS's pore-lining domain. MSL10 mechanosensitivity has been shown both in exogenous (Xenopus oocytes) and endogenous systems. However, nothing was known about the structure and organization of any eukaryotic MscS homolog. Using mutational analysis, electrophysiology, and in planta assays, we identify residues important for MSL10 function, concentrating on its cytoplasmic N-terminus, 6 cysteine residues located both on cytoplasmic and extracellular sides and in TM helices, and the putative pore-lining domain. Recently we have identified MSL10's N-terminus as a multiple phosphorylation site, which suggests its importance for channel regulation. A set of mutants mimicking either phosphorylated or non-phosphorylated forms of the MSL10 protein was tested by patch-clamp when expressed in Xenopus oocytes and simultaneously studied in planta. According to our model, phosphorylation of the N-terminus alone does not affect channel function. Instead, it mediates an unknown step in cell death signaling. MD simulations have suggested an impact of phosphorylation on the structure of MSL10's cytoplasmic N-terminus. We have also demonstrated that cysteine pairs on the cytoplasmic (C205, C283) and on the extracellular (C95, C581) side of the channel do not form bonds critical for channel assembly and gating. And finally, mutations introduced into MSL10's putative pore-lining domain (V549S, F553S; F553L and F563L) allowed us to identify residues that affect channel gating and stability. Therefore, this work has revealed several important structure-function relations for the newly characterized family of MS channels in plants.
Are people's notions of maleness more stereotypically framed than their notions of femaleness?

In the present research, 400 undergraduates were asked to describe their various construals of the male and female stereotypes using a modified form of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ; Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1974). Half of these subjects described their construals in terms of personality trait-adjectives and half described their construals in terms of appearance trait-adjectives. One-fourth of each subject pool were females describing males, one-fourth were females describing females, one-fourth were males describing females, and one-fourth were males describing males. All construals were scored such that each was depicted by a single score of stereotypicality ranging from nonstereotypic to extremely stereotypic. The scores from the various construals of the male and female stereotypes were averaged within subject and target groups, and the group means were compared for significant patterns of difference. Regardless of whether the subjects described the stereotypes in terms of personality trait-adjectives or in terms of appearence trait-adjectives, construals of maleness were framed more stereotypically than were construals of femaleness. In addition, construals of maleness were framed in particularly more stereotypic terms by females when the descriptions were phrased in terms of appearance trait-adjectives. Finally, the social construal of the male stereotype (“How does society view males?”) was more stereotypically framed by females using both personality and appearance adjectives, while the ideal construal male stereotype (“Describe your ideal male”) was more stereotypically framed by males using both personality and appearance adjectives.
Molecular dynamics study of orientational order and rotational melting in clusters of TeF 6

Molecular dynamics simulations of the behavior of molecules in crystalline clusters of TeF6 were carried out on systems of 100, 150, 250, and 350 molecules. Several diagnostic functions were applied to investigate whether rotational melting occurred before translational melting. These functions included the coefficient of rotational diffusionD θ(T), the “orientational Lindemann index” δθ(T), the “orientational angular distribution function”Q(θ,T), and the “orientational pair-correlation function”g θ(r, T). All indicators implied that rotational melting occurred before translational melting, that it began with the outermost molecules, and that its onset for smaller clusters was at lower temperatures than for larger clusters. Results also showed that the rotational transition coincided with the transition from a lower symmetry phase (monoclinic) to cubic, a phenomenon that had been noted by others to occur with some regularity for systems of globular molecules.
AN XPS STUDY OF THE OXIDATION AND REDUCTION OF THE RHENIUM-PLATINUM SYSTEM UNDER ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS

Abstract The oxidation and reduction of the platinum-rhenium system has been studied by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Rhenium films about 10 layers thick were formed by evaporation onto a platinum foil under vacuum. These samples were sequentially exposed to 1 atm of oxygen at different temperatures and then reduced with 1 atm of H2. XP spectra were taken after each high pressure experiment. A mixture of rhenium oxides was formed after oxidation at above 475 K, and depletion of the surface rhenium due to the formation of the volatile Re2O7 was observed after treatments above 575 K. Subsequent hydrogen treatment did not completely reduce these oxides, and a remaining low oxidation state rhenium, perhaps ReO, could be detected by XPS. The behavior of alloys of platinum-rhenium after similar treatments was also studied. Oxidation for this system was even more facile than for the rhenium overlayers, but almost complete reduction to the metallic state was achieved by hydrogen treatment of the oxides, indicating that platinum may catalyze this rhenium reduction step.
OPTIMAL ECONOMIC GROWTH

This paper attempts to derive several economic conservation laws and to test the validity of the optimal growth models using the income/wealth ratios for the United States, Japan, and other OECD countries. Conservation laws vary with the type of the objective function depicted, such as the maximization of the aggregate consumption or the maximization of per-capita consumption. The operational concept of “wealth-like quantity” is identified, although the Goldsmith-Kendrick standard definition of “net national wealth” should not always be used. The last section of the paper takes up an empirical analysis to determine how different economies have achieved long-term (optimal) growth. The U.S. economy has been operating rather efficiently, whereas the Japanese economy, after the oil shocks of the 1970's, has behaved differently, leading into the bubble period of the early 1990's.
Gradient-index lens optical backplane

An optical backplane design based on gradient-index lenses is described. This design is based on a tapped bus architecture and offers an affordable and efficient card-to-card communication method. It was found that the use of gradient-index lenses reduced the alignment tolerances by a factor of 10 over an equivalent free-space model. Results from simulation and from the construction of a five-node, proof-of-concept demonstration unit are presented. The excess loss measured for the 25 different combinations varied from a low of 0.7 dB to a high of 4.0 dB.
Analysis of chicken bile by gel precipitation reactions using a lectin in the place of antibody

Abstract A lectin obtained from black turtle beans (BTB) was precipitated with IgA in chicken bile samples in various forms of agarose gel systems. Ouchterlony-type double-diffusion (ODD) precipitation patterns between the lectin, bile IgA, and heavy chain-specific antibody contained spurs of the type suggestive of partial immunologic identity. The immunoelectrophoresis precipitation patterns between the same three reactants were mirror images and fused on the cathodic side of the immunoelectrophoresis origin. In addition to use in ODD-type gels, BTB could also be incorporated into agarose gels suitable for Mancini (radial immunodiffusion) or Laurell-type rocket electrophoresis. Bile samples obtained from Cornell lines OS and C, broiler breeder males, and University of California-Davis congenic lines were investigated using BTB- and antibody-based methods. The results of this study indicated that IgA was the most frequently detected isotype in bile, occurring in 139 of 156 (89%) samples. Most bile samples (128/156; 82%) also contained IgG, whereas fewer (19/156; 12%) contained IgM. Cornell lines appeared to differ from broiler breeders, having a higher frequency of IgM-positive samples. Of the total bile samples studied, 11% (17/156) of samples from broiler breeders and the Cornell lines appeared to be devoid of IgA; the bile of one broiler breeder was found to be devoid of all three isotypes. Instances were found in which bile samples shown to be negative for IgA by antibody-ODD were shown to be positive by BTB-ODD. Thus BTB appears to be a suitable adjunct to antibody for the study of IgA.
Impact of time past exercise testing on prognostic variables in heart failure.

Abstract Background Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is considered a standard of care in heart failure (HF). The impact that duration of time post-evaluation has on the prognostic value of CPET, however, has not been explored. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the ability of peak oxygen consumption (VO 2 ) and the minute ventilation–carbon dioxide production (VE/VCO 2 ) slope to predict cardiac-related events at different time intervals post CPET. Methods Two hundred fifty-eight subjects diagnosed with HF underwent CPET. The ability of peak VO 2 and VE/VCO 2 slope to predict cardiac-related events without a time limit, one year post CPET and greater than one year post CPET was examined. Results: Both peak VO 2 and VE/VCO 2 slope were significant predictors of cardiac-related mortality and hospitalization during the no time constraint and one year post CPET tracking scenarios (Hazard Ratio Range: 3.5–12.4, p 2 was no longer a significant predictor of mortality greater than one year post CPET. Generally, as time following CPET surpassed one year, the prognostic sensitivity of both variables slightly increased (∼5%) while specificity sharply decreased (∼20%). Conclusions Both peak VO 2 and VE/VCO 2 slope are significant predictors of cardiac-related events in HF. However, the prognostic characteristics of these variables following CPET appear to be time-sensitive.
CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES FOR INITIATING A NURSING FACILITY PRACTICE

PURPOSE: To provide a summary analysis of five case reports describing the challenges and strategies of nurse practi-tioners' (NPs') first-year experiences on initiating an effective role in a nursing facility practice. DATA SOURCES: Original qualitative research analyzing written journals of five NPs and written notes from two loosely struc-tured group discussions among project participants. CONCLUSIONS: Two broad themes emerged: Figuring it Out and Responding/Getting a Handle on Things. Common sense and good resources were identified as critical. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Strategies to promote ease of role transition are essential for NPs in the nursing facility. Further, in addition to a focus on care of frail older adults, emphasis on the culture of and strategies for nursing facility visits, ethical issues, and ethical decision making are important components of NP educational programs.
Protofit: A program for determining surface protonation constants from titration data

Determining the surface protonation behavior of natural adsorbents is essential to understand how they interact with their environments. ProtoFit is a tool for analysis of acid-base titration data and optimization of surface protonation models. The program offers a number of useful features including: (1) enables visualization of adsorbent buffering behavior; (2) uses an optimization approach independent of starting titration conditions or initial surface charge; (3) does not require an initial surface charge to be defined or to be treated as an optimizable parameter; (4) includes an error analysis intrinsically as part of the computational methods; and (5) generates simulated titration curves for comparison with observation. ProtoFit will typically be run through ProtoFit-GUI, a graphical user interface providing user-friendly control of model optimization, simulation, and data visualization. ProtoFit calculates an adsorbent proton buffering value as a function of pH from raw titration data (including pH and volume of acid or base added). The data is reduced to a form where the protons required to change the pH of the solution are subtracted out, leaving protons exchanged between solution and surface per unit mass of adsorbent as a function of pH. The buffering intensity function Q"a"d"s^* is calculated as the instantaneous slope of this reduced titration curve. Parameters for a surface complexation model are obtained by minimizing the sum of squares between the modeled (i.e. simulated) buffering intensity curve and the experimental data. The variance in the slope estimate, intrinsically produced as part of the Q"a"d"s^* calculation, can be used to weight the sum of squares calculation between the measured buffering intensity and a simulated curve. Effects of analytical error on data visualization and model optimization are discussed. Examples are provided of using ProtoFit for data visualization, model optimization, and model evaluation.
Age at menarche and cognitive functioning

This investigation sought to determine if a relationship between rate of pubertal development and cognitive styles, previously observed in early adolescents, holds over time. In contrast to reports that early and late maturers, as early adolescents, have different patterns of cognitive abilities, two studies failed to confirm a relationship between maturation rate, indexed by age at menarche, and (1) spatial ability, (2) verbal fluency, or (3) relative degree of spatial versus verbal fluency in late-adolescent women. The results suggest a developmental instability of maturation-rate/cognition relationships, at least among females.
Shape-preserving, multiscale fitting of univariate data by cubic L 1 smoothing splines

Abstract A new class of C 1 -smooth univariate cubic L 1 smoothing splines is introduced. The coefficients of these smoothing splines are calculated by minimizing the weighted sum of the l 1 norm of the residuals of the data-fitting equations and the L 1 norm of the second derivative of the spline. Cubic L 1 smoothing splines preserve shape well for arbitrary data, including multiscale data with abrupt changes in magnitude and spacing. Extensions to higher-degree and higher-dimensional smoothing splines are outlined.
Wireless physical layer security enhancement with buffer-aided relaying

We consider utilizing a buffer-aided relay to enhance security for two-hop half-duplex relay networks with an external eavesdropper. We propose a link selection scheme that adapts reception and transmission time slots based on the channel quality, while considering both the two-hop transmission efficiency and the security. Closed-form expressions for the secrecy throughput and the secrecy outage probability (SOP) are derived, and the selection parameters are optimized to maximize the secrecy throughput or minimize the SOP. We also study two sub-optimal link selection schemes that only require a line search to solve the optimization problem. Numerical results show that buffer-aided relaying provides a significant improvement in security compared to conventional unbuffered relaying.