cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Recent experiments using geophysical tomography in fractured granite

This paper provides overviews of recent field experiments where the geophysical tomography method was used to investigate fractures between boreholes and an overview of factors pertinent to accuracy, resolution, and data interpretation. High-frequency electromagnetic waves (5-40 MHz) were used in the field to investigate a fractured granitic rock mass between boreholes separated by up to 30 m. Geophysical tomography images were reconstructed and compared with borehole geophysical data and hydraulic conductivity data. These comparisons suggest that the images are useful in identifying regions in the granite having a high moisture content due to fracture zones. A new technique involving the use of salt-water tracers to delineate fluid flow through fractures has been preliminarily evaluated. Image anomalies created by the tracer can be correlated with fracture data. This technique requires further evaluation because available fracture data are insufficient to delineate flow paths independently. When fractures are sampled from two boreholes, the resolution of the method is a function of the height-to-width ratio of the area investigated, the fracture location within this area, and the orientation of the fractures. The ratio of displacement to conduction currents, the variability of the refractive index in the rock, and the separation between transmitter and receiver are also important parameters affecting imaging results.
An experimental study of rotor-vortex interactions

A scheme for investigating general blade/vortex interactions (BVIs) has been used to obtain an unusual body of data. The scheme involves locating a vortex generator upstream of a nonlifting rotor so that the vortex interacts with the rotor at any desired forward azimuth. Parallel BVIs produced by this external vortex generator are shown to be nearly identical to those produced by the rotor alone operating in a normal descent mode. The test delineates various generic features of parallel and oblique BVIs. However, the dominant feature is the leading-edge pressure pulse. The effects of blade/vortex angle, and proximity (including head-on interactions) on this pulse are discussed. The effect of Mach number on the leading edge pressure variation is shown to be small even for supercritical interactions.
Evaluating Local Primary Dendrite Arm Spacing Characterization Techniques Using Synthetic Directionally Solidified Dendritic Microstructures

Microstructure characterization continues to play an important bridge to understanding why particular processing routes or parameters affect the properties of materials. This statement certainly holds true in the case of directionally solidified dendritic microstructures, where characterizing the primary dendrite arm spacing is vital to developing the process–structure–property relationships that can lead to the design and optimization of processing routes for defined properties. In this work, four series of simulations were used to examine the capability of a few Voronoi-based techniques to capture local microstructure statistics (primary dendrite arm spacing and coordination number) in controlled (synthetically generated) microstructures. These simulations used both cubic and hexagonal microstructures with varying degrees of disorder (noise) to study the effects of length scale, base microstructure, microstructure variability, and technique parameters on the local PDAS distribution, local coordination number distribution, bulk PDAS, and bulk coordination number. The Voronoi tesselation technique with a polygon-side-length criterion correctly characterized the known synthetic microstructures. By systematically studying the different techniques for quantifying local primary dendrite arm spacings, we have evaluated their capability to capture this important microstructure feature in different dendritic microstructures, which can be an important step for experimentally correlating with both processing and properties in single crystal nickel-based superalloys.
Variation in plant defense against invasive herbivores: evidence for a hypersensitive response in eastern hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis).

Herbivores can trigger a wide array of morphological and chemical changes in their host plants. Feeding by some insects induces a defensive hypersensitive response, a defense mechanism consisting of elevated H2O2 levels and tissue death at the site of herbivore feeding. The invasive hemlock woolly adelgid Adelges tsugae (‘HWA’) and elongate hemlock scale Fiorinia externa (‘EHS’) feed on eastern hemlocks; although both are sessile sap feeders, HWA causes more damage than EHS. The rapid rate of tree death following HWA infestation has led to the suggestion that feeding induces a hypersensitive response in hemlock trees. We assessed the potential for an herbivore-induced hypersensitive response in eastern hemlocks by measuring H2O2 levels in foliage from HWA-infested, EHS-infested, and uninfested trees. Needles with settled HWA or EHS had higher H2O2 levels than control needles, suggesting a localized hypersensitive plant response. Needles with no direct contact to settled HWA also had high H2O2 levels, suggesting that HWA infestation may induce a systemic defense response in eastern hemlocks. There was no similar systemic defensive response in the EHS treatment. Our results showed that two herbivores in the same feeding guild had dramatically different outcomes on the health of their shared host.
The Arbitrary Electromotive Double Layer in the Eccentric ``Heart'' of the Nonhomogeneous Circular Lamina

The potential is described everywhere for a nonhomogeneous circular lamina which simulates a transverse section through the chest at the ventricular level. The field is generated by an arbitrary electromotive double layer in the wall of the eccentric ``heart.'' The field may be made dipolar (or nondipolar) with or without axial symmetry. Specific resistivities may be assigned to ``heart-cavity blood,'' to ``heart wall,'' to ``pericardial fluid,'' to ``lung region,'' to ``torso-shell'' or ``chest wall'' and to the medium exterior to the ``body.'' The size of various regions is arbitrary as is the eccentricity of ``heart center.'' A particular case with axial symmetry is computed and the results are compared with appropriate model experimentation. The way is hereby opened to three-dimensional treatment.
p66shc Negatively Regulates Insulin-Like Growth Factor I Signal Transduction via Inhibition of p52shc Binding to Src Homology 2 Domain-Containing Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Substrate-1 Leading to Impaired Growth Factor Receptor-Bound Protein-2 Membrane Recruitment

Our previous studies have indicated an essential role of p52shc in mediating IGF-I activation of MAPK in smooth muscle cells (SMC). However, the role of the p66 isoform of shc in IGF-I signal transduction is unclear. In the current study, two approaches were employed to investigate the role of p66shc in mediating IGF-I signaling. Knockdown p66shc by small interfering RNA enhanced IGF-I-stimulated p52shc tyrosine phosphorylation and growth factor receptor-bound protein-2 (Grb2) association, resulting in increased IGF-I-dependent MAPK activation. This was associated with enhanced IGF-I-stimulated cell proliferation. In contrast, knockdown of p66shc did not affect IGF-I-stimulated IGF-I receptor tyrosine phosphorylation. Overexpression of p66shc impaired IGF-I-stimulated p52shc tyrosine phosphorylation and p52shc-Grb2 association. In addition, IGF-I-dependent MAPK activation was also impaired, and SMC proliferation in response to IGF-I was inhibited. IGF-I-dependent cell migration was enhanced by p66shc knockdown and attenuated by p66shc overexpression. Mechanistic studies indicated that p66shc inhibited IGF-I signal transduction via competitively inhibiting the binding of Src homology 2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase-2 (SHP-2) to SHP substrate-1 (SHPS-1), leading to the disruption of SHPS-1/SHP-2/Src/p52shc complex formation, an event that has been shown previously to be essential for p52shc phosphorylation and Grb2 recruitment. These findings indicate that p66shc functions to negatively regulate the formation of a signaling complex that is required for p52shc activation in response to IGF-I, thus leading to attenuation of IGF-I-stimulated cell proliferation and migration.
The Tribolium homeotic gene Abdominal is homologous to abdominal-A of the Drosophila bithorax complex

The Abdominal gene is a member of the single homeotic complex of the beetle, Tribolium castaneum. An integrated developmental genetic and molecular analysis shows that Abdominal is homologous to the abdominal-A gene of the bithorax complex of Drosophila. abdominal-A mutant embryos display strong homeotic transformations of the anterior abdomen (parasegments 7-9) to PS6, whereas developmental commitments in the posterior abdomen depend primarily on Abdominal-B. In beetle embryos lacking Abdominal function, parasegments throughout the abdomen are transformed to PS6. This observation demonstrates the general functional significance of parasegmental expression among insects and shows that the control of determinative decisions in the posterior abdomen by homeotic selector genes has undergone considerable evolutionary modification.
Demand code paging for NAND flash in MMU-less embedded systems

NAND flash is preferred for code and data storage in embedded devices due to its high density and low cost. However, NAND flash requires code to be copied to main memory for execution. In inexpensive devices without hardware memory management, full shadowing of an application binary is commonly used to load the program. This approach can lead to a high initial application start-up latency and poor amortization of copy overhead. To overcome these problems, we describe a software-only demand-paging approach that incrementally copies code to memory with a dynamic binary translator (DBT). This approach does not require hardware or operating system support. With careful management, a savings can be achieved in total code footprint, which can offset the size of data structures used by DBT. For applications that cannot amortize full shadowing cost, our approach can reduce start-up latency by 50% or more, and improve performance by 11% on average.
Manifestation Determinations Under the New Individuals With Disabilities Education Act An Update

This article provides an update of a previous analysis of the case law concerning manifestation determinations culminating in the revised pertinent provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004. Specifically, the update consists of a synthesis of the legislative history, Office of Special Education Programs interpretations, and published hearing and review officer and court decisions that provide legal guidance as to the application of the manifestation provisions of IDEA 2004 and its 2006 regulations. The results reveal that thus far (a) the hearing and review officer and court decisions applying the new, causality criteria have continued at a higher but still modest rate (i.e., frequency per year) as the case law under the prior criteria; (b) the conduct in question remained focused primarily on drugs and, in various forms, violence; (c) specific learning disability and other health impairment (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) continued to predominate as the disabili...
Debris-fan reworking during low-magnitude floods in the Green River canyons of the eastern Uinta Mountains, Colorado and Utah

The magnitude and frequency of tributary debris flows and the historical range of main- stem river discharges are the main factors that create and modify rapids in the Colorado River system. Monitoring of two recently aggraded debris fans in the Green River canyons of the eastern Uinta Mountains shows that main-stem floods with magnitudes between 40% and 75% of the predam 2 yr flood cause significant reworking of fan deposits. Cutbanks formed at fan margins during both small and large flows, indicating that lateral bank erosion is an important reworking mechanism. Armoring of the debris-fan surface limited the degree of reworking by successive floods, even when subsequent flood magnitudes were similar to those that caused significant reworking. Peak discharges increased the width of the reworked zone, decreased fan constrictions, and lowered the water-surface elevation of the ponded backwater. Contrary to predam geomorphic evidence, monitoring indicated that eroded material from recently aggraded debris fans was deposited in bars adjacent to the downstream parts of both fans. This change in the organization of the fan-eddy complex has the potential to alter the location of recirculating eddies and associated areas of fine-grained sediment deposition and storage.
Innovations in Integrating Technology Into Student Teaching Experiences

AbstractThis study describes the implementation of a project designed to improve the preparation of Grade 3–8 mentor and student teachers to teach mathematics and science through the integration of multimedia technology and pedagogy. Project goals were implemented through (a) joint training, (b) ongoing support, and (c) provision of hardware and software. Both phases of the Interactive Video Project—the summer training institute and the fall semester implementation of the program—were evaluated. Based on the evidence, the project proved to be successful. Student teachers were better prepared to integrate technology in their classrooms. Mentor teachers changed the way they taught mathematics and the tools students used to find and present information in science.
Crafting Editorial Settlements

William Blake's experimental artistic technologies produced a formidably complex artistic legacy. The Blake Archive (www.blakearchive.org) set out on a mission to restore that legacy by digital means—an ecological effort to reintegrate dispersed and disaggregated textual and pictorial fragments. But more than a decade of collective experience has revealed that the Archive is concerned at least as much with recapitulation and recycling as with restoration, and as much with disciplined fragmentation as with integration. The best explanation for the Archive's place in the posthumous history of Blake's work is in terms of editorial settlements that are crafted, negotiated, and imposed by editors acting as the agents of posterity. Those settlements are active participants in dynamic systems. Through three distinguishable historical phases—radical normalization in the decades following Blake's death; consolidation and institutionalization in the twentieth century; and, most recently, a digital superconsolidation that is simultaneously progressive and conservative—the editorial history of Blake's art elucidates several fundamental characteristics of editorial theory and practice. It also reveals suggestive symptoms of an unsettled and unsettling future of work, hope, challenge, and compromise on the brink of the known editorial universe.
A system-level alternate test approach for specification test of RF transceivers in loopback mode

In this paper, a loop-back test scheme for RF transceivers using optimized periodic bit streams is presented. In this approach, optimized periodic bitstreams modulated at baseband are sent through RF transmit subsystem, and the transmitter output is looped back into the receiver using the proposed test architecture. The corresponding test response is captured in the baseband at the output of the receive subsystem. From the spectral content of the test response at the baseband, all the linear and the nonlinear specifications of the transmit and the receive subsystems are computed. The key contribution of the presented work is that, the subsystem specification values are decoupled and computed using the looped-back test response at the receiver baseband. This eliminates the need for expensive RF ATE instrumentation to probe high frequency access points. Hardware measurement and validation data for a 900MHz wireless GSM transceiver system are presented.
Fuzzy ARTMAP classification of global land cover from AVHRR data set

Phenological differences among broadly defined vegetation types can be a basis for global scale classification at a very coarse spatial scale. Using the annual sequence of composited Normalized Vegetation Index (NDVI) values in an AVHRR data set, DeFries and Townshend (1994) distinguished eleven global cover types and classified global land cover with a maximum likelihood classifier. The present research presents a neural network architecture called fuzzy ARTMAP to classify the same data set. Classification results are analyzed and compared with those obtained from DeFries and Townshend (1994). First, classification accuracy on the training data set is 100% compared with the corresponding accuracy of 86.8%. Second, when fuzzy ARTMAP is trained using 80% of data set and tested on the remaining (unseen) 20% data set, classification accuracy is more than 80%. Third, classification results vary with and without latitude as an input variable similar to those of DeFries and Townshend.
Modeling and validation of pipeline specifications

Verification is one of the most complex and expensive tasks in the current Systems-on-Chip design process. Many existing approaches employ a bottom-up approach to pipeline validation, where the functionality of an existing pipelined processor is, in essence, reverse-engineered from its RT-level implementation. Our validation technique is complementary to these bottom-up approaches. Our approach leverages the system architect's knowledge about the behavior of the pipelined architecture, through architecture description language (ADL) constructs, and thus allows a powerful top-down approach to pipeline validation. The most important requirement in top-down validation process is to ensure that the specification (reference model) is golden. This paper addresses automatic validation of processor, memory, and coprocessor pipelines described in an ADL. We present a graph-based modeling that captures both structure and behavior of the architecture. Based on this model, we present algorithms to ensure that the static behavior of the pipeline is well formed by analyzing the structural aspects of the specification. We applied our methodology to verify specification of several realistic architectures from different architectural domains to demonstrate the usefulness of our approach.
Electrophysiological Dissociation of Picture Versus Word Encoding: The Distinctiveness Heuristic as a Retrieval Orientation

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to investigate the neural processes underlying the distinctiveness heuristic—a response mode in which participants expect to remember vivid details of an experience and make recognition decisions based on this metacognitive expectation. One group of participants studied pictures and auditory words; another group studied visual and auditory words. Studied and novel items were presented at test as words only, with all novel items repeating after varying lags. ERP differences were seen between the word and picture groups for both studied and novel items. For the novel items, ERP differences were largest in frontal and central midline electrodes. In separate analyses, the picture group showed the greatest ERP differences between item types in a parietally based component from 550 to 1000 msec, whereas the word group showed the greatest differences in a frontally based component from 1000 to 2000 msec. The authors suggest that the distinctiveness heuristic is a retrieval orientation that facilitates reliance upon recollection to differentiate between item types. Although the picture group can use this heuristic and its retrieval orientation on the basis of recollection, the word group must engage additional postretrieval processes to distinguish between item types, reflecting the use of a different retrieval orientation.
Cellular responsiveness to growth factors correlates with a cell's ability to express the transformed phenotype

Five random subclones of the rat fibroblast line F2408 vary in their frequency of transformation by the unrelated Kirsten murine sarcoma virus and Abelson murine leukemia virus. The same pattern of sensitivity is displayed when the cells are induced to anchorage-independent growth (transformed) by epidermal, platelet-derived, and sarcoma growth factors, or by whole serum. Our results demonstrate that a growth factor's ability to render cells anchorage independent is not unique to transforming growth factors, but common to many growth factors; anchorage-independent growth is a function of the total growth factor concentration in the medium; cells vary in their inherent responsiveness to growth-factor-induced anchorage-independent growth; and cells resistant to growth-factor-induced anchorage-independent growth are also resistant to transformation by a variety of tumor viruses. We conclude that the way a cell responds to growth factors plays a central role in the expression of the transformed phenotype.
A microfabricated suspended-tube chemical reactor for thermally efficient fuel processing

We present a suspended-tube chemical reactor/heat exchanger for high-temperature fuel processing in micro energy conversion systems, primarily for hydrogen production in portable fuel cell systems. This reactor, designed to thermally isolate a high-temperature reaction zone, consists of four free-standing silicon nitride tubes comprising two independent U-shaped fluidic channels. Portions of the tubes are encased in silicon to enable heat exchange between the fluids in these channels. A thin-film platinum resistor is embedded for localized heating and temperature sensing. This paper describes the design and fabrication process for the MEMS fuel processor. Fluidic testing, thermal characterization up to 825/spl deg/C, and preparation of catalyst washcoats in the reactor microchannels are discussed. In addition, results from catalytic autothermal butane combustion and ammonia cracking in the reactor are presented.
Dynamical Properties of Error Statistics in a Shallow-Water Model

Abstract Numerical ocean diagnoses and predictions rely on two types of information: model information and data information. Sequential estimation theory shows that the most probable state is a linear combination of the two, weighted according to their error statistics. A Kalman filter technique is applied to a one-layer reduced-gravity linear ocean model in a rectangular midlatitude basin. The model reproduces the main features of the subtropical wind-driven gyre; the filter is used to study the dynamical behavior of the error statistics. On a midlatitude f plane, the error-correlation patterns among the state variables revealed by the Kalman filter are isotropic and homogeneous and satisfy a geostrophic relation. Introducing the β effect breaks the isotropy and homogeneity of the correlations, inducing behavior that is in agreement with two observational facts: 1) the latitudinal dependence of horizontal correlations and 2) the elliptic correlation shape of the mass field, elongated along the southwest–...
The Relationship Between the Mid-Level Leader and Follower Commitment

The major goal of this research was to determine whether the mid-level leader’s emotional competence as perceived by followers influenced commitment. This quantitative research study attempted to establish whether follower commitment, influenced by follower perceptions of the leader’s emotional competence impacted change strategies. Correlation testing of the data indicated a strong relationship between the mid-level leader’s emotional competence and follower commitment. Results of the research suggest that as organizations continue to experience high levels of change, modifications in how the psychological contract is negotiated between mid-level leaders and their followers have created the need for a new paradigm shift. This justified shift may be needed to move from archaic forms of organizational commitment theory to a follower commitment theory that encourages higher levels of follower involvement in and commitment to leader-led vision and goals.
Mechanosensitive channel MSL8 regulates osmotic forces during pollen hydration and germination.

Pollen grains undergo dramatic changes in cellular water potential as they deliver the male germ line to female gametes, and it has been proposed that mechanosensitive ion channels may sense the resulting mechanical stress. Here, we identify and characterize MscS-like 8 (MSL8), a pollen-specific, membrane tension–gated ion channel required for pollen to survive the hypoosmotic shock of rehydration and for full male fertility. MSL8 negatively regulates pollen germination but is required for cellular integrity during germination and tube growth. MSL8 thus senses and responds to changes in membrane tension associated with pollen hydration and germination. These data further suggest that homologs of bacterial MscS have been repurposed in eukaryotes to function as mechanosensors in multiple developmental and environmental contexts.
Trichomonas vaginalis vaginitis

Abstract 1. Arsenamide, an effective trichomonacide in vitro, seems no better clinically than other preparations for the treatment ofTrichomonas vaginalis vaginitis or infestation, during pregnancy. Four weeks' therapy does not increase the cure rate found after one week of treatment. 2. Infestation of the urinary bladder of women withTrichomonas vaginalis seems to be successfully eradicated by the instillation of a 1 per cent buffered solution of Arsenamide. 3. Arsenamide seems to cause vaginal irritation in a small number of patients.
A comment on “Selenite adsorption and desorption in main Chinese soils with their characteristics and physicochemical properties.” J Soils Sediments 15(5):1150–1158 (2015), doi:10.1007/s11368-015-1085-7

Dear Editors-in-Chief: I would like to point out chemical inconsistency errors in the paper entitled BSelenite adsorption and desorption in main Chinese soils with their characteristics and physicochemical properties^ by Z. Li, N. Man, S. Wang, D. Liang, and J. Liu published in the Journal of Soils and Sediments (2015; 15(5):1150–1158) which invalidate almost the entire paper starting with the title. The authors assert that they were studying Se(IV) not Se(VI) adsorption, yet they prepared their Se solutions from Na2SeO4, clearly a hexavalent Se(VI) salt. Therefore, the authors were, in fact, studying the adsorption of Se(VI). Required corrections start with the title where the word Bselenite^ must be replaced by the word Bselenate^ or Bselenium^ to correctly reflect the chemistry of the Se solutions that were used in the investigation. The authors did not speciate their experimental Se solutions, but instead analyzed for total Se using hydride generation–atomic fluorescence spectrophotometry. If a Se speciation analysis had been carried out, the error in redox state would have become apparent. Throughout the manuscript, the authors compared their Se(VI) adsorption measurements to literature data for Se(IV) adsorption. Such comparisons are clearly invalid, especially since the adsorption behavior of Se(VI) on soils has been shown to be very different from that of Se(VI) by various authors (Neal et al. 1987a, b; Neal and Sposito 1989; Goldberg et al. 2008; Gabos et al. 2014; Goldberg 2014). Several of these investigations were cited by the authors in their current work. While the experimental data of Se(VI) adsorption on Chinese soils is valid and may potentially be publishable, especially given the small number of Se(VI) sorption studies currently in the literature, the title, figure captions, and virtually all discussion in the current publication are invalidated by the mislabeling of the Se species . The cur ren t manuscr ip t i s not va l id . Publication of an erratum will be insufficient to address these issues. The required corrections are so extensive that a new manuscript is warranted, necessitating the retraction of the current publication. The new manuscript must clearly state throughout that selenate Se(VI) adsorption is being investigated. Since the tables and figures in the current paper refer to elemental Se, they can be retained in the corrected submission.
Walking a Mile in the User's Shoes: Customer Journey Mapping as a Method to Understanding the User Experience

This article introduces using Customer Journey Maps (CJM) in libraries and the role mapping can play in visualizing the user's journey in order to help library staff better understand and optimize the user's experience. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the importance and relevance of the mapping process for any library user experience. The article will also review findings from the Reed College Library use of mapping discovered during our own review of services and resource usage.
Regulation of pelvic patch water flow in Bufo marinus : role of bladder volume and ANG II

This report examines the importance of bladder volume in regulating cutaneous water uptake (Jv, cm3.cm-2.s-1 x 10(-7)) across the ventral pelvic patch and examines the role of angiotensin II (ANG II) and circulation as the regulatory mechanism. Jv in empty-bladder Bufo marinus (bladder volume 3.89 +/- 1.49%, n = 7) was 1,671 +/- 68 (n = 7). Injection of Ringer solution into the bladder (12.8 +/- 2.2%, n = 7) decreased Jv to 1,025 +/- 202 (n = 7). ANG II injected into toads with filled bladders increased Jv in a dose-dependent manner. At 5 micrograms/100 g toad Jv increased by 136 +/- 63 (n = 6), at 50 micrograms/100 g toad by 432 +/- 82 (n = 7), and at 200 micrograms/100 g toad by 620 +/- 142 (n = 5). Saralasin (200 micrograms/100 g toad) completely inhibited the response to ANG II (50 micrograms/100 g toad) and at 1 mg/100 g toad decreased Jv in empty-bladder toads. These experiments indicate that 1) bladder volume participates in the regulation of Jv in the ventral pelvic patch; 2) ANG II increases the Jv in toads with full bladders; 3) saralasin inhibits the high Jv in empty bladder toads; 4) the high Jv, associated with an empty bladder, requires an intact circulation to be maintained; 5) without an intact circulation, the high water flow associated with an empty bladder causes the Na+ content of the tissue in the ventral patch to be reduced; and 6) ANG II causes only a minimal increases in water permeability in the isolated pelvic patch skin.
A Prospective Evaluation of an Outpatient Assessment of Postural Instability to Predict Risk of Falls in Patients with Parkinson's Disease Presenting for Deep Brain Stimulation

Background Postural instability (PI) and falls, major causes of morbidity in patients with PD, are often overlooked. DBS is a mainstay therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD) and has been purported to both worsen and improve PI. An effective PI evaluation that can predict fall risk in patients with PD presenting for DBS is needed. Methods Forty-nine consecutive patients with PD were enrolled. Self-reported falls were the gold standard. Tests evaluated were the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed-Up-and-Go (TUG), Pull Test, and Biodex Balance System Sway Index on firm (SI-FIRM) and soft (SI-SOFT) surfaces. Results The best single tests for fall risk were the BBS and SI-FIRM, each with sensitivities of 79% and specificities of 60% and 65%, respectively. When the evaluation was combined into a composite measure requiring four positive tests out of five, the sensitivity was 72% and specificity was 80%. Conclusions A simple, efficient outpatient physical therapy assessment is effective in diagnosing fall risk in patients with PD.
Contribution of 3,4-dichlorophenylhydroxylamine in propanil-induced hemolytic anemia.

The methemoglobinemia and hemolytic anemia observed in experimental animals given aniline has been shown to be mediated by its N-oxidation metabolite, phenylhydroxylamine (Harrison, J.H. et al., 1987; Harrison, J.H. et al., 1986). The aniline derivative, propanil (3,4-dichloropropionanilide), is a widely used arylamide herbicide that has been shown to induce methemoglobinemia in experimental animals following conversion of the parent amide to one or more oxidized metabolites (Singleton, S > D. et al., 1973; Chow, A.Y.K. et al., 1975). Two methemoglobinemic metabolites of propanil have been identified, 3,4-dichlorophenylhydroxylamine (N-hydroxy-3,4-dichloroaniline) and 6-hydroxy-3,4-dichloroaniline (McMillan, D.C. et al., 1990). In view of the hemolytic activity of phenylhydroxylamine, we have examined the hemolytic potential of propanil and its metabolites in rats.
Factors Associated With HIV Testing Among Men in Haiti: Results From the 2012 Demographic and Health Survey:

HIV testing serves as the gateway to HIV prevention and treatment. However, research examining men's HIV testing behaviors in the Caribbean remains limited. The Andersen Behavioral Model of Health Services Utilization was used to examine factors associated with HIV testing among 7,354 men who participated in the 2012 Demographic and Health Survey conducted in Haiti. Few men (35%) reported having ever been tested for HIV. Logistic regression analyses revealed that HIV testing increased with education and wealth. Marital status was associated with HIV testing, with married men more likely to have been tested (adjusted odds ratio: 2.57, 95% CI [2.07, 3.19]) than unmarried men. Positive attitudes toward people living with HIV, indicated by willing to care for a relative who has HIV/AIDS, was also correlated with higher odds of having been tested (adjusted odds ratio: 1.28, 95% CI [1.08, 1.51]). Men who reported condom use during last sex were more likely to have been tested (odds ratio: 1.58, 95% CI [1.33, 1.88). The findings indicate that HIV testing rates remain low among men in Haiti and more efforts are needed to increase HIV testing among men who are not married, have low level of education, and engage in unprotected sex.
Making the Familiar Strange: Thinking Visually in a Study Abroad Course in Professional Communication

Business and professional communicators increasingly rely on visual thinking and design strategies to create effective messages. The workplace need for such thinking, however, is not readily accomm...
Hierarchically structured free-standing hydrogels with liquid crystalline domains and magnetic nanoparticles as dual physical cross-linkers.

Here we report a modular strategy for preparing physically cross-linked and mechanically robust free-standing hydrogels comprising unique thermotropic liquid crystalline (LC) domains and magnetic nanoparticles both of which serve as the physical cross-linkers resulting in hydrogels that can be used as magnetically responsive soft actuators. A series of amphiphilic LC pentablock copolymers of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), poly(5-cholesteryloxypentyl methacrylate) (PC5MA), and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) blocks in the sequence of PAA–PC5MA–PEO–PC5MA–PAA were prepared using reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. These pentablock copolymers served as macromolecular ligands to template Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), which were directly anchored to the polymer chains through the coordination bonds with the carboxyl groups of PAA blocks. The resulting polymer/MNP nanocomposites comprised a complicated hierarchical structure in which polymer-coated MNP clusters were dispersed in a micro...
Precise and Accurate Doping of Nanoporous Silica Gel for the Synthesis of Trace Element Microanalytical Reference Materials

This study presents an experimental procedure to fabricate high-purity silica glass containing a selected element at a specified mass fraction. The procedure was used to prepare glasses doped with trace-level mass fractions of Ti with the goal of improving analytical confidence when measuring trace elements in quartz. Systematic tests were performed to determine the ideal conditions and procedures for doping nanoporous silica gel with the highest efficiency of dopant recovery. Silica gel was cleaned in concentrated HCl, immersed in a non-polar doping medium at a controlled pH and doped with precise quantities of ICP-MS standard solution. Using liquids composed of longer chain molecules as the doping medium diminishes recovery, suggesting that large molecules could obstruct nanopores to inhibit capillary uptake of the dopant. A control experiment using crystalline quartz reinforced the effectiveness of nanoporous silica gel for doping with trace-level precision. Layered aggregates of silica gel doped with different Ti mass fractions were hot-pressed to create multi-layered reference materials that were analysed with multiple techniques at a variety of spatial scales. Analyses at the intra-grain scale (cathodoluminescence scanning electron microscopy, electron probe microanalysis), at the single grain scale (SIMS), at the sample layer scale (EPMA, laser ablation-ICP-MS) and at the bulk scale (ICP-OES) demonstrated acceptable homogeneity at sample volumes characteristic of most microanalysis techniques and show that nanoporous silica gel holds promise as a highly retentive doping substrate for preparing reference materials for laser-, electron- and ion-beam microanalysis.
Analysis on Data of HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing(VCT) in Heping District of Tianjin during 2008-2009

[Objective]To analyze the data of HIV voluntary counseling and testing(VCT) in Heping district during 2008-2009,provide the reference data for AIDS prevention and control.[Methods]HIV antibody screening was conducted in 277 voluntary participants with informed consent,and statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 13.0.[Results]Among 277 voluntary participants,77.3% were male,57.85 were 2040 years old,60.6% were unmarried,66.8% had college education or above,and 56.3% visited the hospital because of non-marriage heterosexual behavior.One case of HIV infection was detected with the positive rate of 0.4%.[Conclusion]The sexual transmission is the important way of HIV infection,and majority of voluntary participants are unmarried male young adults with high education level.It is necessary to strengthen education in high-risk population,accelerate the building of VCT room to play the role of VCT counseling and testing.
Social Order: Old Problems, New Challenges, and Reusable Solutions

This book is about the role of reputation in the achievement of social order. In the writers’ view, reputation is an agent property that results from transmission of beliefs about how the agents are evaluated with regard to a socially desirable conduct. This desirable conduct represents one or another of the solutions to the problem of social order and may consist of cooperation or altruism, reciprocity, or norm obedience.
Association between payments from manufacturers of pharmaceuticals to physicians and regional prescribing: cross sectional ecological study

Objective To examine the association between payments made by the manufacturers of pharmaceuticals to physicians and prescribing by physicians within hospital referral regions. Design Cross sectional analysis of 2013 and 2014 Open Payments and Medicare Part D prescribing data for two classes of commonly prescribed, commonly marketed drugs: oral anticoagulants and non-insulin diabetes drugs, overall and stratified by physician and payment type. Setting 306 hospital referral regions, United States. Participants 45 949 454 Medicare Part D prescriptions written by 623 886 physicians to 10 513 173 patients for two drug classes: oral anticoagulants and non-insulin diabetes drugs. Main outcome measures Proportion, or market share, of marketed oral anticoagulants and non-insulin diabetes drugs prescribed by physicians among all drugs in each class and within hospital referral regions. Results Among 306 hospital referral regions, there were 977 407 payments to physicians totaling $61 026 140 (£46 174 600; €54 632 500) related to oral anticoagulants, and 1 787 884 payments totaling $108 417 616 related to non-insulin diabetes drugs. The median market share of the hospital referral regions was 21.6% for marketed oral anticoagulants and 12.6% for marketed non-insulin diabetes drugs. Among hospital referral regions, one additional payment (median value $13, interquartile range, $10-$18) was associated with 94 (95% confidence interval 76 to 112) additional days filled of marketed oral anticoagulants and 107 (89 to 125) additional days filled of marketed non-insulin diabetes drugs (P<0.001). Payments to specialists were associated with greater prescribing of marketed drugs than payments to non-specialists (212 v 100 additional days filled per payment of marketed oral anticoagulants, 331 v 114 for marketed non-insulin diabetes drugs, P<0.001). Payments for speaker and consulting fees for non-insulin diabetes drugs were associated with greater prescribing of marketed drugs than payments for food and beverages or educational materials (484 v 110, P<0.001). Conclusions and study limitations Payments by the manufacturers of pharmaceuticals to physicians were associated with greater regional prescribing of marketed drugs among Medicare Part D beneficiaries. Payments to specialists and payments for speaker and consulting fees were predominantly associated with greater regional prescribing of marketed drugs than payments to non-specialists or payments for food and beverages, gifts, or educational materials. As a cross sectional, ecological study, we cannot prove causation between payments to physicians and increased prescribing. Furthermore, our findings should be interpreted only at the regional level. Our study is limited to prescribing by physicians and the two drug classes studied.
Design and Synthesis of Novel and Selective Phosphodiesterase 2 (PDE2a) Inhibitors for the Treatment of Memory Disorders

A series of potent and selective [1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine PDE2a inhibitors is reported. The design and improvement of the binding properties of this series was achieved using X-ray crystal structures in conjunction with careful analysis of electronic and structural requirements for the PDE2a enzyme. One of the lead compounds, compound 27 (DNS-8254), was identified as a potent and highly selective PDE2a enzyme inhibitor with favorable rat pharmacokinetic properties. Interestingly, the increased potency of compound 27 was facilitated by the formation of a halogen bond with the oxygen of Tyr827 present in the PDE2a active site. In vivo, compound 27 demonstrated significant memory enhancing effects in a rat model of novel object recognition. Taken together, these data suggest that compound 27 may be a useful tool to explore the pharmacology of selective PDE2a inhibition.
The Charles Schepens Lecture: Management Options for Vitreomacular Traction: Use an Individualized Approach.

Purpose To present the management options for vitreomacular traction (VMT) and to recommend an individualized approach to treatment selection. Design Presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, 2016, Chicago, October 15, 2016 (The Charles Schepens Lecture). Participants None. Methods Review of published literature and clinical trials. Main Outcome Measures Visual and anatomic outcomes of various treatment options for VMT were reviewed. Results The management options for VMT include pars plana vitrectomy, pneumatic vitreolysis, enzymatic vitreolysis, and observation. The surgical management using pars plana vitrectomy offers the most effective approach for VMT, but there are inherent risks and cost issues. Pneumatic vitreolysis is reported to be cost-effective and may be an anatomically successful nonsurgical option for management. Enzymatic vitreolysis with intravitreal ocriplasmin is another nonsurgical option, but both short- and long-term side effects may occur. Observation in selected patients can be associated with stable visual outcomes during long-term follow-up. Conclusions The final management decision should be individualized for specific patients depending on the patient's clinical findings, potential risks, probable benefits, and costs of each option.
Medical students' engagement in interprofessional collaborative communication during an interprofessional observed structured clinical examination: A qualitative study

Abstract Background Effective communication is essential for interprofessional collaborative practice; however, a conceptual framework of interprofessional collaborative communication (ICC) has not been proposed. Purpose Develop and apply a conceptual framework of ICC. Methods Literature on interprofessional collaboration and interprofessional communication informed framework development; we then applied it to analyze medical student communication with a standardized nurse (SN). We identified prototypical ways that students engaged in two of the ICC framework constructs. Nurses provided feedback on our framework. Discussion The ICC conceptual framework consisted of four constructs. Higher rated students engaged in more bidirectional information exchange and solicited the SN's input into the care plan. Prototypes ranged from less collaborative (i.e. closed-ended) to more collaborative exchanges inviting the SN to share knowledge and suggestions. Six nurses endorsed the framework. Conclusions Bidirectional information exchange and soliciting input into decision-making may be particularly important for ICC. This novel ICC framework can inform curriculum development and learner assessment.
Russell and the Temporal Contiguity of Causes and Effects

There are some necessary conditions on causal relations that seem to be so trivial that they do not merit further inquiry. Many philosophers assume that the requirement that there could be no temporal gaps between causes and their effects is such a condition. Bertrand Russell disagrees. In this paper, an in-depth discussion of Russell’s argument against this necessary condition is the centerpiece of an analysis of what is at stake when one accepts or denies that there can be temporal gaps between causes and effects. It is argued that whether one accepts or denies this condition, one is implicated in taking on substantial and wide-ranging philosophical positions. Therefore, it is not a trivial necessary condition of causal relations and it merits further inquiry.
Bridging the Gap: Facilitating Genealogical Research

Libraries can help support genealogy research in our communities by providing resources and expertise. Reaching out to local family historians and presenting useful information can be one of the be...
Results of Open Mesenteric Reconstructions

Our management of patients with CMI has evolved over the years. Currently over 70 % of the patients are treated with mesenteric angioplasty and stent placement. This option is preferred in the high-risk group and is also considered in low-risk patients with ideally suited lesions. Open mesenteric revascularization continues to have an important role in the endovascular era. Surgical bypass or, rarely, endarterectomy may be required because of unfavorable anatomy (flush or extensive occlusions, severe calcification, tandem lesions, small-sized vessels, or occluded stents) and younger patients with non-atherosclerotic lesions. Recent reports have shown that mesenteric bypass can be done safely in the hands of experienced surgeons with mortality rates that compare favorably to endovascular treatment. Open revascularization should focus on mesenteric artery revascularization as the primary goal and should avoid, if possible, extensive aortic or renal artery reconstruction. Anatomically, low-risk patients with flush or long-segment occlusions or stenosis, heavily calcified lesions, or atheromatous debris may be better suited for open repair. Young patients or women with small vessels may also be better candidates for open repair. Our preference in these patients has been a supra-celiac aorta to celiac and SMA bypass.