cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Industrial Revolution and Birth of the Anti-Mercantilist Idea:Epistemic Communities and Global Leadership

This paper seeks to offer a new perspective on the linkage between global leadership and the role of epistemic communities in international relations. The issue of bilateral trade liberalization between Great Britain and its trading partners rose to prominence on the global agenda in the 1700s by the efforts of British political economists and merchants. These efforts were prompted by changes in economic relations brought about by the Industrial Revolution and its impact on the mercantile system. While this group was small in number and its interactions rudimentary by 20th Century standards, it nonetheless met the qualifications specified by many scholars. It is further argued that such communities are linked to the exercise of global leadership in the long cycle model's phases of agenda setting and coalition building. They arc started and based in the global leader, and arc nurtured by the relatively open social and political structures of that leader. Evidence supporting this argument strengthens the long cycle model's explanatorypower with regard to agenda setting, coalition creation, and the role of innovative solutions to global problems, and makes preeminence in knowledge -based communities another dimension of global leadership.
FDG-PET versus Thallium-201 SPECT in the evaluation of putative CNS lymphoma in AIDS patients

1537 Background: The evaluation of CNS lesions in AIDS patients is challenging as both CNS lymphoma and non-neoplastic lesions can have similar clinical presentations and imaging findings. Both Tl-...
Abstract 48: Cd73 Regulation of Netrin-1 Expression in Brain Ischemia

Focal cerebral ischemia is accompanied by inflammation, which further exacerbates injury. CD73 is an ectoenzyme with 5’-nucleotidase activity, which generates anti-inflammatory adenosine, from precursor AMP. In the CNS, CD73 is located on the choroid plexus cuboidal epithelium and on leptomeninges, two critical entry ports for anti- (M2) and pro-inflammatory (M1) macrophages, respectively. We previously showed that acute brain ischemia (48h) in CD73-/- mice resulted in larger infarct volumes related to greater influx of M1 macrophages. Netrin-1 (Ntn-1) is secreted protein with leukorepulsive and neurite outgrowth- promoting properties. We hypothesized that macrophage influx is regulated by CD73 through its modulation of Ntn-1 expression after stroke. We examined the Ntn-1 expression in acute (24h) and delayed phases (7days) after induction of brain ischemia in wild type (WT) and CD73-/- mice after photothrombotic middle cerebral artery occlusion. We demonstrated that Ntn-1 mRNA and protein expression was ...
Teaching Politics in the National Parks.

Other than trips to government offices, political science has generally not used field experiences as part of the undergraduate curriculum. To illustrate the possibilities of such experiences, we discuss field-based courses and curricular units at three sites. Each uses a national park to teach students about environmental politics and policy issues. The course designs use experiential education theory to define learning objectives and the means to achieve them. We provide evidence from students’ self-reported academic and nonacademic outcomes that is consistent with the expectations of experiential theory. Not surprisingly, course evaluations are high. More important for experiential curricula, students report high levels of motivation in these courses, whether the experience is long or short, whether advertised in advance or not. Though self-selection may explain some of the positive outcomes, two before-and-after surveys suggest that experiential outcomes exceed expectations in interesting ways. In sho...
Effects of dietary protein intake on body composition changes after weight loss in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Context: The impact of dietary protein on body composition changes after older adults purposefully lose weight requires systematic evaluation . Objective : This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the effects of protein intake (<25% vs ≥25% of energy intake or 1.0 g/kg/d) on energy restriction–induced changes in body mass, lean mass, and fat mass in adults older than 50 years. Data Sources : PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched using the keywords “dietary proteins,” “body composition,” “skeletal muscle,” and “muscle strength.” Study Selection: Two researchers independently screened 1542 abstracts. Data Extraction: Information was extracted from 24 articles. Data Synthesis : Twenty randomized control trials met the inclusion criteria. Conclusion : Older adults retained more lean mass and lost more fat mass during weight loss when consuming higher protein diets.
Nonvalence Correlation-Bound Anion States of Spherical Fullerenes

We present a one-electron model Hamiltonian for characterizing nonvalence correlation-bound anion states of fullerene molecules. These states are the finite system analogs of image potential states of metallic surfaces. The model potential accounts for both atomic and charge-flow polarization and is used to characterize the nonvalence correlation-bound anion states of the C60, (C60)2, C240, and C60@C240 fullerene systems. Although C60 is found to have a single (s-type) nonvalence correlation-bound anion state, the larger fullerenes are demonstrated to have multiple nonvalence correlation-bound anion states.
“The Mask Is the Face”: Personae in Teaching Multi-Ethnic American Literature

At the outset, one must assume that the importance of the interrelationship of ethnicity and pedagogy lies in an oft expressed tenet of the Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States. It is the belief that all people living in our multi-cultural society should learn the American Literature which comprises all cultural strands. An implied outcome of such learning is the increased sensitivity each child, teen, and adult will have for the cultural background of each of us. There is also the assumption (unfortunately, not a reality) that multi-ethnic literature in the United States should be taught at all levels. It is a misconception of many misguided mandarins that multiethnic curricula should be made up of exotic, esoteric, or highly specialized courses given at only the higher levels of academe. I am here concerned with pedagogy at the lower division levels (freshman and sophomore) of college. The ideas and the methods discussed, I feel, can be adapted and modified at the high school level, as well as at the elementary school level. Related to this goal and of crucial concern is the training of teachers in multi-ethnic American literature. Hopefully, a study, national in scope, should be made to determine what courses, if any, are taught in the area in the fifty states. One method which I have used in the classroom and that I feel has
Changing trends in bariatric surgery.

Background and Aims:Bariatric surgery is considered the only long-lasting treatment for morbid obesity. Techniques and procedures have changed dramatically. We report on some of the major changes in the field.Materials and Methods:We reviewed some of the major changes in trends in bariatric surgery based on some landmark paper published in the literature.Results:We identified three major phases in the evolution of bariatric surgery. The pioneer phase was mostly characterized by discovery of weight loss procedures serendipitously from procedures done for other purposes. The second phase can be identified with the advent of laparoscopic techniques. This is considered the phase of greatest expansion of bariatric surgery. The metabolic phase derives from the improved understanding of the mechanisms of actions of the bariatric operations at the hormonal and molecular level.Conclusions:Bariatric surgery has changed significantly over the years. The safety of the laparoscopic approach, along with the better unde...
The aggressin-like action of anaphylatoxin

In the course of experiments upon the repeated injection of anaphylatoxin into guinea-pigs the writers noticed a phenomenon which suggested to them that the anaphylatoxic substances may possibly possess properties similar to those described by Bail for his “aggressins.” In the earlier experiments the anaphylatoxins were prepared with typhoid bacilli by emulsifying one slant of the bacteria in 8 c.c. of fresh guinea pig complement and allowing the emulsion to remain in the incubator for 6 hours. At the end of this time centrifugation for one to two hours at high speed was used to throw down the bacteria.Although the supernatant fluid after such centrifugation was clear, nevertheless it appeared in many cases that not all the bacteria were thrown down. Intraperitoneal injection of the anaphylatoxin occasionally resulted in the rapid death of the guinea-pigs with extensive proliferation of typhoid bacilli in the peritoneal exudate and presence of the organisms in the heart's blood.Since the lethal dose of th...
Application of Virtual Network in the Construction of Network Laboratory

With the rapid development of digital information,the network has been extensively used in every profession.As well as cultivating high quality network talents,it provides higher requirements for the cultivation environment.However,high price and maintenance cost of network equipments limit the further development of the construction of network experiment courses.In this study,we discuss the setup of virtual network equipments to microcomputer,which can provide an almost real network environment and save abundant funds used for purchasing and maintaining equipments in the construction of network experiment courses.
On the Value of Collaboration in Location Estimation

Recently, extensive simulation-based research has shown a benefit to collaboration in wireless location estimation. However, an open question is “Is collaboration always inherently beneficial for location estimation?” In this paper, we answer this question affirmatively under very general conditions and prove that the Cramer–Rao lower bound (CRLB) is strictly decreasing when nodes attempting to determine their locations collaborate, with very mild restrictions. More specifically, for a network of arbitrary size, we establish the value of collaboration in node positioning problems by proving that the inclusion of an additional collaborator strictly reduces the CRLB of the original network nodes' position estimates. Previous work has shown a related result, but only for 1-D and 2-D positioning using pairwise observations. We generalize previous work in several ways: 1) by presenting results that apply to any dimensionality; 2) by generalizing to any observation types, including allowing for mixed observation types and models; and 3) by including nuisance parameter estimation. Several mild conditions arise during the derivation of the proof, which must be satisfied to claim a strictly decreasing lower bound, and these are discussed. Additionally, the results of our analysis allow us to draw further insights into the value of collaboration for the individual nodes in the original network and for the newly introduced collaborator. The theoretical results are supported by numerical results, considering the special case of time-of-arrival (TOA)-based positioning in both line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight conditions. Finally, we draw some qualitative insights into the factors that affect the value of collaboration.
Potato intake and incidence of hypertension: results from three prospective US cohort studies

Objective To determine whether higher intake of baked or boiled potatoes, French fries, or potato chips is associated with incidence of hypertension. Design Prospective longitudinal cohort studies. Setting Healthcare providers in the United States. Participants 62 175 women in Nurses’ Health Study, 88 475 women in Nurses’ Health Study II, and 36 803 men in Health Professionals Follow-up Study who were non-hypertensive at baseline. Main outcome measure Incident cases of hypertension (self reported diagnosis by healthcare provider). Results Compared with consumption of less than one serving a month, the random effects pooled hazard ratios for four or more servings a week were 1.11 (95% confidence interval 0.96 to 1.28; P for trend=0.05) for baked, boiled, or mashed potatoes, 1.17 (1.07 to 1.27; P for trend=0.001) for French fries, and 0.97 (0.87 to 1.08; P for trend=0.98) for potato chips. In substitution analyses, replacing one serving a day of baked, boiled, or mashed potatoes with one serving a day of non-starchy vegetables was associated with decreased risk of hypertension (hazard ratio 0.93, 0.89 to 0.96). Conclusion Higher intake of baked, boiled, or mashed potatoes and French fries was independently and prospectively associated with an increased risk of developing hypertension in three large cohorts of adult men and women.
Ratio of polyclonal-monoclonal prostate-specific antigen levels. Discrimination of nodal status in prostate tumors that produce low marker levels.

SUMMARY The preliminary data we present in this report suggest that the ratio of polyclonal-monoclonal serum prostate-specific antigen levels may add clinically useful information to that obtained using serum prostate-specific antigen levels alone. We hypothesize that the diversity of prostate-specific antigen ratios observed in our data reflects a diversity in the antigenic and structural attributes of prostate-specific antigen molecules found in the sera of patients with prostate cancer. Further, this heterogeneity of molecules is a reflection of the diverse and altered metabolic state of human prostate cancer and appears to be related to biologic behavior in individual patients.
The influence of family studies on the treatment of schizophrenia.

(1969). The Influence of Family Studies on the Treatment of Schizophrenia. Psychiatry: Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 237-251.
Against Ag Biotech (1994)

When Francis Bacon declared his intent to torment and interfere with nature, he probably did not envision sickly experimental hogs with human genes. But the Baconian desire to understand nature and place “her” at our command has entrenched itself in our collective psyche, and the bioengineering epoch has enabled us to impose our desires in ways Bacon could not have imagined. In so doing, have we stepped over the bounds of decency?
Neuroendocrine and Behavioral Adaptations Following Reproductive Experience in the Female Rat

This chapter presents clinical data regarding the long-term psychological effects of prior reproductive experience. Researchers used the female rat to explore the neural and endocrine consequences of parity. The use of this animal model has provided insights into the influence of reproductive experience on both hormones and behavior. Overall, the current findings indicate that reproductive experience can significantly alter behavioral expression. Moreover, these behavioral adaptations are often conditional, depending on the females' reproductive status. Pregnancy and mothering both appear to play a role in the manifestation of these parity effects. Long-term alterations in hormone secretion and a shift in the sensitivity of neuroendocrine parameters following reproductive experience likely underlie the behavioral adaptations. Finally, the medial and cortical nuclei of the amygdala may be critical for the integration of endocrine and sensory stimuli in modifying the behavior of parous females. The chapter proposes that these changes enhance the reproductive competency of the female and increase her chances of future reproductive success.
Enigma of H3+ in Diffuse Interstellar Clouds

H 3 + is of fundamental importance to interstellar chemistry both because it is a hydrogenic species (and >9O% of all nuclei in the universe are hydrogen nuclei; see Fig. 1) and because it serves as the universal protonator, initiating a chain of ion-neutral reactions that is responsible for the formation of most interstellar molecules.
Endocytosis, Metastasis and Beyond: Multiple Facets of SNX9

Sorting nexin (SNX)9 was first discovered as an endocytic accessory protein involved in clathrin-mediated endocytosis. However, recent data suggest that SNX9 is a multifunctional scaffold that coordinates membrane trafficking and remodeling with changes in actin dynamics to affect diverse cellular processes. Here, we review the accumulated knowledge on SNX9 with an emphasis on its recently identified roles in clathrin-independent endocytic pathways, cell invasion, and cell division, which have implications for SNX9 function in human disease, including cancer.
The Value of Voice (to Managers): Employee Identification and the Content of Voice

Previous research on employee voice has aimed to understand the antecedents and outcomes of the frequency of speaking up. Yet, how these antecedents translate into outcomes may depend on what emplo...
Multicenter Trial of Photopheresis in Early Stage Mycosis Fungoides

Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) has been approved for 20 years for patients with erythrodermic MF or Sezary syndrome (SS) with circulating atypical T-cells. The response rate of 54% was based on 25% improvement in erythema. ECP has not widely been used to treat patients with early stage MF. The objective of this multicenter single-arm open-label study was to determine the efficacy of UVAR ® XTSO Photopheresis System in early stage MF with measurable skin lesions. Patients were eligible at stage IA if there was with minor blood involvement (B1), or at IB- IIA MF with or without minor blood involvement (B1). Patients had to be refractory to at least one treatment for early MF such as PUVA, electron beam, oral or topical high potency steroids, topical mustragen, oral methotrexate, alpha interferon, or bexarotene. Two photopheresis treatments were given on successive days every 4 weeks for six months. There were 13 evaluable patients treated with ECP (4 males/9 females; 12 Caucasians, 1 African-American) whose median age was 61 yrs (range 46–85). Their stages were IA (n=3), IB (n=8) and IIA (n=2). Patients received a median of 12 ECP sessions (range 4–42+) over a median of 6 months (range 5–22). The overall response rate of 54% (7 of 13) required a ≥50% improvement in the baseline body surface area involved with patches or plaques. The median time to response was 6 months (range 3–8 months) and median duration of response was 6 mos (range 2–30 mos). The protocol allowed additional therapy if patients failed to improve by month 3. ECP alone was effective in four of ten patients (40%) and the other three patients had partial response with combined therapy: two with low dose bexarotene (150 mg) added at 4 or 6 mos and a third with bexarotene, interferon, and PUVA at 6 mos. Only 2 of 13 patients progressed and four had stable disease. There were no photopheresis related adverse events other than mild post-ECP erythema in one patient. One patient developed central right arterial occlusion with left eye visual defect unrelated to the ECP. In conclusion, photopheresis had a 54% response rate for all 13 patients and a 40% response rate to ECP alone in 10 early stage MF patients without adverse side effects suggesting it could be successfully used to treat early MF patients.
Paschen's law studies in cold gases

The break-through voltage behavior over small gaps has been investigated for differing gap distances, gas pressures, and gas temperatures in nitrogen, neon, argon and xenon gases. A deviation from Paschen's law at micro gap distances has been found. At lower temperatures, a significant shift of the curve relative to the results at room temperature was observed. This behavior can be explained by combining Paschen's law and the ideal gas law.
Abstract 5839: Androgen receptor (AR): A novel target for radiosensitization in triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC)

Purpose: Increased rates of local recurrence (LR) have been observed in TNBC despite chemotherapy and radiation (RT). Thus, approaches that result in radiosensitization in TNBC are critically needed. We characterized the RT response of 21 breast cancer cell (BCC) lines using clonogenic survival assays and paired this with high-throughput drug screen data, identifying AR as a top target for radiosensitization. We demonstrate that AR inhibition confers radiosensitization in vitro and in vivo, identified a biomarker of response, and characterize the mechanism of AR-mediated radiosensitization in TNBC. Materials/Methods: Clonogenic survival assays determined the intrinsic RT sensitivity of 21 BCC lines. IC50 values were determined for 130 clinical compounds and correlation coefficients were calculated using IC50 values and SF-2Gy. Gene and protein expression was measured using RNA Seq and RPPA arrays, respectively, in tumor samples (n=2,061) and BCC lines (n=51). AR function was assessed using gene knockdown (KD) or functional inhibition with anti-androgen drugs. We measured in vivo tumor growth with varying control and treatment groups (16-20 tumors/group). Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to estimate local control. A Cox proportional hazards model and MVA were used to determine variables associated with LRF survival. Results: Our unbiased drug radiosensitizer screen nominated bicalutamide as an effective drug in treating RT-resistant BCC lines (R2= 0.46, p-value 2000 human breast tumor samples and 51 BCC lines and found heterogeneity in AR expression with strongly correlated expression of protein and RNA levels in TNBC (R2=0.89, p-value Conclusion: Our results implicate AR as a mediator of radioresistance in breast cancer and support the rationale for developing clinical strategies, including clinical trials, to inhibit AR as a novel radiosensitizing target in TNBC. Citation Format: Benjamin C. Chandler, Corey W. Speers, Shuang G. Zhao, Meilan Liu, Kari Wilder-Romans, Eric Olsen, Shyam Nyati, Daniel Spratt, Daniel Wahl, Daniel Hayes, Felix Y. Feng, Lori J. Pierce. Androgen receptor (AR): A novel target for radiosensitization in triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5839. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5839
Imaging Cranial Base Chordoma and Chondrosarcoma

Abstract This image-rich chapter discusses the role that imaging plays in diagnosing primary chordoma and chondrosarcoma of the skull base. It describes the optimal cross-sectional imaging sequences to use, reviews the common symptoms and demographics of patients presenting for imaging evaluation, illustrates the distinguishing magnetic resonance and computed tomographic features for each tumor, and briefly presents the common pitfalls on imaging that can lead to diagnostic confusion.
Estimation of skew angle in text-image by SLIDE : subspace-based line detection

A new signal processing method is developed for estimating the skew angle in text document images. Detection of the skew angle is an important step in text processing tasks such as optical character recognition (OCR) and computerized filing. Based on a recently introduced multiline-fitting algorithm, the proposed method reformulates the skew detection problem into a special parameter-estimation framework such that a signal structure similar to the one in the field of sensor array processing is obtained. In this framework, straight lines in an image are modeled as wavefronts of propagating planar waves. Certain measurements are defined in this virtual propagation environment such that the large amount of coherency that exists between the locations of the pixels on parallel lines is exploited to enhance a subspace in the space spanned by the measurements. The well-studied techniques of sensor array processing (e.g., the ESPRIT algorithm) are then exploited to produce a closed form and high-resolution estimate for the skew angle.
Human Rights, Capital, or Capabilities? Narrowing Race and Income Gaps in Educational Opportunity:

The author presents an understanding of how human capital and human rights have influenced educational policies and the persistence of inequitable opportunities for students. As an alternative appr...
Loneliness 5 years ante-mortem is associated with disease-related differential gene expression in postmortem dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Subjective social isolation, loneliness, is associated with poor mental and physical health, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we analyzed loneliness data collected on average 5 years ante-mortem and RNA gene expression at death in postmortem dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) from 181 participants in the Rush Memory and Aging Project (MAP), a longitudinal, prospective cohort study of common chronic conditions of aging. Our analytic protocol controlled for biographical variables (age, sex, education), psychological and health variables (depressive symptoms, interval between assessment and autopsy, slope of cognitive decline, AD pathology, presence of infarcts) and RNA integrity. Our results are based on a pre-ranked Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) at FDR-corrected q-values <0.05, using these collections from the Molecular Signatures Database (v6.0 MSigDB): (1) Hallmarks, (2) Canonical, (3) Gene Ontology (GO), (4) Chemical and Genetic Perturbations, (5) Immunologic Signatures, (6) Oncogenic Signatures, and (7) Cancer Modules. We now report on 337 up-regulated and 43 down-regulated gene sets, among which the most significant ones were associated with Alzheimer’s disease, psychiatric illness, immune dysfunction, and cancer. These gene sets constitute attractive targets for future studies into the molecular mechanisms by which loneliness exacerbates a wide range of neurodegenerative, psychiatric, and somatic illnesses.
Severity of mental health concerns in pediatric primary care and the role of child psychiatry access programs.

Abstract Objective To describe the clinical severity of patients for whom Primary Care Providers (PCPs) requested consultation from Maryland's Child Psychiatry Access Program (CPAP), and examine the proportion and associated characteristics of severe cases being managed alone by PCPs versus co-managed with mental health specialists. Methods Data were collected for 872 cases based on calls received between October 2012 and December 2016. Severity was measured by consultant-assigned Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) score. The unadjusted odds of a PCP managing a case alone for select patient and provider characteristics was calculated in a sub-sample of 229 severe cases. Results 73.8% of cases were categorized as mild-moderate (CGI-S 1–4) and 26.3% as severe (CGI-S 5–7). 67.3% of severe cases were managed by a PCP alone; 32.8% were co-managed. The unadjusted odds of a severe case managed alone was lower for cases with greater numbers of psychotropic medications (OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.6, 0.96), prescription of antidepressants (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.28, 0.95), or antipsychotics (OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.22, 0.94) compared to co-managed cases. Conclusions PCPs manage patients with severe mental health concerns, often without assistance from specialists. CPAPs should systematically consider how to support the PCPs' role managing clinically severe cases.
Impedances of the inner and middle ear estimated from intracochlear sound pressures in normal human temporal bones

For almost a decade, we have measured intracochlear sound pressures evoked by air conducted (AC) sound presented to the ear canal in many fresh human cadaveric specimens. Similar measurements were also obtained during round window (RW) mechanical stimulation in multiple specimens. In the present study, we use our accumulated data of intracochlear pressures and simultaneous velocity measurements of the stapes or RW to determine acoustic impedances of the cochlear partition, RW, and the leakage paths from scala vestibuli and scala tympani, as well as the reverse middle ear impedance. With these impedances, we develop a computational lumped-element model of the normal ear that illuminates fundamental mechanisms of sound transmission. To calculate the impedances for our model, we use data that passes strict inclusion criteria of: (a) normal middle-ear transfer function defined as the ratio of stapes velocity to ear-canal sound pressure, (b) no evidence of air within the inner ear, and (c) tight control of the pressure sensor sensitivity. After this strict screening, updated normal means, as well as individual representative data, of ossicular velocities and intracochlear pressures for AC and RW stimulation are used to calculate impedances. This work demonstrates the existence and the value of physiological acoustic leak impedances that can sometimes contribute significantly to sound transmission for some stimulation modalities. This model allows understanding of human sound transmission mechanisms for various sound stimulation methods such as AC, RW, and bone conduction, as well as sound transmission related to otoacoustic emissions.
Computations of Ground State and Excitation Energies of Poly(3-methoxy-thiophene) and Poly(thienylene vinylene) from First Principles

Ground state and excitation energies of poly(3-methoxy-thio-phene) (PMT) and poly(thienylene vinylene) (PTV) conjugated polymers are studied by first principles density functional theory (DFT). Two basic approaches of computational chemistry and physics are compared: time dependent DFT (TDDFT) of clusters and ab initiopseudopotentials within a standard DFT (PP-DFT) of infinite polymer chains. We demonstrate that series of excitation energies of PMT calculated by TDDFT with increased unit numbers converge well to the real experimentally measured energy gaps. Combination of TDDFT cluster method with PP-DFT approach for infinite chain provides single-gap quasiparticle correction value needed for optical calculations. Infinite chain model is used to calculate optical absorption of PTV.
Campbell Interest and Skill Survey: Review and Critique

This article provides a summary and critique of the technical development of the Campbell Interest and Skill Survey (D. P. Campbell, S. A. Hyne, & D. L. Nilsen, 1992).
NATURAL MECHANISMS OF PROTECTION OF A BLUE-GREEN ALGA AGAINST ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT

Lyngbya is a very common genus of blue-green algae, often the surface component of algal mat communities. Our studies show that the uv tolerance of Lyngbya sp. can be extended from the lethal value (1.46 x 103 ergs/mm2, or 10 min at 2537°A) to at least 24 hr (2.0 x 105 erg/mm2) of continuous uv irradiation. Protection is conferred (in the absence of conditions permitting photoreactivation) by the addition to the media during irradiation of sodium nitrate and nitrite salts (which have strong uv absorption properties). Several days of protection against potentially lethal uv can be achieved simply by adjusting inoculum weight (from 1.1 to 9.1 mg), i.e., taking advantage of the colonial matting habit of the microorganism. It is possible that nitrateand nitrite-mediated ultraviolet light protection preadapted Precambrian microorganisms for the anaerobic respiration of these substances, thus leading to the origin of nitrite and nitrate reduction. (The end products of these metabolic pathways are nitrogen and nitrous oxide which presumably would have been eliminated into the atmosphere.)
Ultrasound Role in Embryo Transfers

The goal of embryo transfer (ET) is to achieve a successful pregnancy after in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. A quick, atraumatic, and anatomically properly placed embryo transfer (ET) has always been regarded as quintessential for the achievement of high IVF pregnancy rates (PR). Several factors that may affect the success of an ET have been studied: ease of the transfer, the location of the embryo deposition, the pre-ET trial transfer, the type of catheter used, the value of resting after ET, and the experience of the physician performing the transfer. The use of ultrasound guidance for ET has been shown in prospective randomized studies as well as meta-analysis to significantly increase embryo implantation, clinical pregnancy and live birth rate, and the easy transfer rates over clinical touch ET. Ultrasound guidance had no effect on multiple and ectopic pregnancy rates as well as on miscarriage rates. The optimal area of embryo deposition in the uterine cavity is probably 1.0–1.5 cm from the fundus resulting in higher PR. US guidance allows accurate visualization of the mid-fundal desirable area. The use of either transabdominal or transvaginal US imaging results in similar PRs. US observation of the marker bubbles has an obvious psychological value to the patient and her spouse. US visualization of post-ET bubble markers reaffirms optimal embryo deposition, but the embryos do move within the uterine cavity after transfer. In addition to the obvious advantages of live US during ET, this technique enables physicians to teach ET without a decline in PR. The disadvantages of US guidance ET are the need for an assistant and the inconvenience for patients of the full bladder. This chapter will review the data available today on the important role of US in ET.
Monitoring Blood Biomarkers and Training Load Throughout a Collegiate Soccer Season

Huggins, RA, Fortunati, AR, Curtis, RM, Looney, DP, West, CA, Lee, EC, Fragala, MS, Hall, ML, and Casa, DJ. Monitoring blood biomarkers and training load throughout a collegiate soccer season. J Strength Cond Res 33(11): 3065-3077, 2019-This observational study aimed to characterize the responses of a comprehensive panel of biomarkers, observed ranges, training load (TL) metrics, and performance throughout the collegiate soccer season (August-November). Biomarkers (n = 92) were collected before the start of pre-season (PS), in-season weeks (W)1, W4, W8, and W12 in NCAA Division I male soccer players (n = 20, mean ± SD; age = 21 ± 1 years, height = 180 ± 6 cm, body mass = 78.19 ± 6.3 kg, body fat = 12.0 ± 2.6%, VO2max 51.5 ± 5.1 ml·kg·min). Fitness tests were measured at PS, and W12 and TL was monitored daily. Changes in biomarkers and performance were calculated via separate repeated-measures analysis of variance. Despite similar fitness (p > 0.05), endocrine, muscle, inflammatory, and immune markers changed over time (p 0.94 mg·dL). Oxygen transport and iron metabolism markers remained unchanged except for HCT (W1 vs. PS) and total iron binding capacity (W8-W12 vs. W1). Hepatic markers albumin, globulin, albumin:globulin, and total protein levels were elevated (p < 0.05) at W12 vs. W1, whereas aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels were elevated at W1-W12 and W8-W12 vs. PS, respectively. Vitamin E, zinc, selenium, and calcium levels were elevated (p < 0.05) at W12 vs. W1, whereas Vitamin D was decreased (p < 0.05). Fatty acids and cardiovascular markers (omega-3 index, cholesterol:high-density lipoprotein [HDL], docosahexenoic acid, low-density lipoprotein [LDL], direct LDL, non-HDL, ApoB) were reduced at W1 vs. PS (p ≤ 0.05). Immune, lipid, and muscle damage biomarkers were frequently outside clinical reference ranges. Routine biomarker monitoring revealed subclinical and clinical changes, suggesting soccer-specific reference ranges. Biomarker monitoring may augment positive adaptation and reduce injuries from stressors incurred during soccer.
Designing Unmanned Aircraft Systems

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Innovative Approach to Online Argumentation and Models for Structuring the Arguments

Researchers have stressed the importance of argumentation among small groups of students in STEM courses to help them develop deep understanding. But it is not widely used in college courses due to such challenges as finding time in already packed courses, effective organization of argumentation in large classrooms, etc. This paper presents a novel online approach to enable argumentation to be adopted widely.One interesting question we investigated in a junior-level computing course concerned the structure of such arguments. Common experience with online forums in courses suggests that a handful of students dominate them while others hardly participate. So we expected that round-based discussions where each student in the group made one submission in each round, the submission not being available to the others until the start of the next round, would be more effective than forum-based discussions where students made as many submissions as they wished and whenever they wished to, and saw each submission as soon as it was made. But to our surprise, the results showed that both were equally effective! We present the details of our approach, the unexpected results from our course, some hypotheses that may explain the results, and future plans to investigate this further.
Iron concentration and the physical processes of dynamic oxidation in an alkaline earth aluminosilicate glass

Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy was used to investigate the persistence of cation-diffusion-limited oxidation in three, low-Fe{sup 2+}-bearing MgO-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-SiO{sub 2} glasses (base glass compositions along the enstatite-cordierite-liquid cotectic; total Fe levels of 0.04, 0.19, and 0.54 at%). The glasses were reacted in air at temperatures of 700--850 C ({approximately}T{sub g}), and changes in the composition of the near-surface region ({le}2.5 {micro}m) of the glass resulting from oxidation were characterized. The reaction morphology produced by oxidation at temperatures above 800 C, for all of the glasses studied regardless of Fe concentration, was consistent uniquely with an oxidation process dominated by diffusion of Fe{sup 2+} cations to the free surface that was charge compensated by a (counter) flux of electron holes into the material. In the high-Fe material (0.54 at{degree}), the activation energy for the cation-diffusion-limited reaction was estimated at {approximately}475 kJ/mol. Below 800 C, the two glasses with lowest Fe concentration displayed a reaction morphology consistent with oxidation occurring by the motion of an oxygen species. High levels of transition metal cations are not required to ensure the dominance of cation-diffusion-limited oxidation reaction in silicate glasses and melts; thus monitoring internal Fe{sup 3+}:Fe{sup 2+} equilibrium, even at trace amounts, seems untenablemore » as an indicator of the diffusion behavior of molecular or ionic oxygen.« less
Direct muscle neurotization with long acellular nerve allograft: A case report.

Nerve repair and nerve transfer are the optimal approaches to restore function to denervated muscle. When the distal-most portion of the nerve entering the muscle is compromised, these are not possible and direct muscle neurotization (DMN) is considered. We describe the first reported case of DMN with acellular nerve allograft. The patient is a 25 year old male who sustained a blast injury to the patient's proximal leg with segmental injury to the deep peroneal nerve resulting in complete foot drop with 0/5 dorsiflexion and toe extension. Given complete obliteration of the distal nerve, we performed direct neurotization of the tibialis anterior muscle with a 7 cm acellular nerve allograft coapted to the proximal stump of the deep peroneal nerve. At 3 years after surgery, the patient regained 5/5 strength with dorsiflexion and toe extension and normal gait. This case supports the use of acellular nerve allografts to restore function to denervated muscle when the distal nerve stump is not available for nerve repair or transfer and there is a desire to avoid the morbidity of autologous nerve graft harvest.
Self-employment earnings premiums/penalties and regulations: evidence from developing economies

This paper investigates the relationship between countries’ regulatory environment, as measured through business, credit, labor and trade regulations, and the wage premium or penalty associated with self-employment over the period of 1970 to 2011. When considering all self-employed workers, there is no evidence that labor market regulations are associated with overall earnings penalties or premiums. However, stricter business regulations and bureaucratic red tape that restrict starting, operating, or closing a business are associated with increased earnings penalties for non-professional own-account self-employed workers, as well as premiums for employers and own-account professionals. Both more regulated trade and increased credit availability are correlated with increased earnings penalties for all self-employed workers. The association is consistently larger and more robust for female self-employed workers compared to men. These findings are consistent with regulatory restrictions on business entry and access discouraging more productive workers, particularly women, from entering non-professional own-account self-employment.
Abstract 197: Transcription Factor Interactome in Human iPS-derived Cardiac Progenitors is Enriched for Proteins Associated With Congenital Heart Disease

Congenital heart disease (CHD) affects ~1% of live births and remains the leading cause of mortality in infants. While large-scale genetic studies have uncovered genes associated with CHD, distingu...
A collection of forcefield precursors for metal─organic frameworks

A host of important performance properties for metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and other complex materials can be calculated by modeling statistical ensembles. The principle challenge is to develop accurate and computationally efficient interaction models for these simulations. Two major approaches are (i) ab initio molecular dynamics in which the interaction model is provided by an exchange–correlation theory (e.g., DFT + dispersion functional) and (ii) molecular mechanics in which the interaction model is a parameterized classical force field. The first approach requires further development to improve computational speed. The second approach requires further development to automate accurate forcefield parameterization. Because of the extreme chemical diversity across thousands of MOF structures, this problem is still mostly unsolved today. For example, here we show structures in the 2014 CoRE MOF database contain more than 8 thousand different atom types based on first and second neighbors. Our results showed that atom types based on both first and second neighbors adequately capture the chemical environment, but atom types based on only first neighbors do not. For 3056 MOFs, we used density functional theory (DFT) followed by DDEC6 atomic population analysis to extract a host of important forcefield precursors: partial atomic charges; atom-in-material (AIM) C6, C8, and C10 dispersion coefficients; AIM dipole and quadrupole moments; various AIM polarizabilities; quantum Drude oscillator parameters; AIM electron cloud parameters; etc. Electrostatic parameters were validated through comparisons to the DFT-computed electrostatic potential. These forcefield precursors should find widespread applications to developing MOF force fields.
The space of convolution identities on divisor functions

We consider convolutions of divisor functions in arbitrary length with modular congruence restrictions, and introduce the notion of a space of convolution identities over the rational numbers. As a main result, we introduce a conjecture on the connection between the dimension of the space of convolution identities and the number of partitions of a positive integer into exactly three parts, and prove the conjecture for 15 cases. We also prove convolution identities in arbitrary length.
Quantifying bias of COVID-19 prevalence and severity estimates in Wuhan, China that depend on reported cases in international travelers

Risk of COVID-19 infection in Wuhan has been estimated using imported case counts of international travelers, often under the assumption that all cases in travelers are ascertained. Recent work indicates variation among countries in detection capacity for imported cases. Singapore has historically had very strong epidemiological surveillance and contact-tracing capacity and has shown in the COVID-19 epidemic evidence of a high sensitivity of case detection. We therefore used a Bayesian modeling approach to estimate the relative imported case detection capacity for other countries compared to that of Singapore. We estimate that the global ability to detect imported cases is 38% (95% HPDI 22% - 64%) of Singapore's capacity. Equivalently, an estimate of 2.8 (95% HPDI 1.5 - 4.4) times the current number of imported cases, could have been detected, if all countries had had the same detection capacity as Singapore. Using the second component of the Global Health Security index to stratify likely case-detection capacities, we found that the ability to detect imported cases relative to Singapore among high surveillance locations is 40% (95% HPDI 22% - 67%), among intermediate surveillance locations it is 37% (95% HPDI 18% - 68%), and among low surveillance locations it is 11% (95% HPDI 0% - 42%). Using a simple mathematical model, we further find that treating all travelers as if they were residents (rather than accounting for the brief stay of some of these travelers in Wuhan) can modestly contribute to underestimation of prevalence as well. We conclude that estimates of case counts in Wuhan based on assumptions of perfect detection in travelers may be underestimated by several fold, and severity correspondingly overestimated by several fold. Undetected cases are likely in countries around the world, with greater risk in countries of low detection capacity and high connectivity to the epicenter of the outbreak.
Kethoxal-assisted single-stranded DNA sequencing captures global transcription dynamics and enhancer activity in situ

Transcription is a highly dynamic process that generates single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) in the genome as ‘transcription bubbles’. Here we describe a kethoxal-assisted single-stranded DNA sequencing (KAS-seq) approach, based on the fast and specific reaction between N3-kethoxal and guanines in ssDNA. KAS-seq allows rapid (within 5 min), sensitive and genome-wide capture and mapping of ssDNA produced by transcriptionally active RNA polymerases or other processes in situ using as few as 1,000 cells. KAS-seq enables definition of a group of enhancers that are single-stranded and enrich unique sequence motifs. These enhancers are associated with specific transcription-factor binding and exhibit more enhancer–promoter interactions than typical enhancers do. Under conditions that inhibit protein condensation, KAS-seq uncovers a rapid release of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) from a group of promoters. KAS-seq thus facilitates fast and accurate analysis of transcription dynamics and enhancer activities simultaneously in both low-input and high-throughput manner. KAS-seq applies N3-kethoxal to label guanines along single-stranded DNA in live cells, enabling characterization of ssDNA-involved transcription dynamics with as little as 1,000 cells.
CT Scan Surprise in a Potential Kidney Donor

### Case Answer A 53-year-old woman presented for evaluation as a potential living donor to her cousin. She did not have any prior medical history. Serum chemistry was unremarkable with serum creatinine of 0.75 and an iothalamate clearance of 110 ml/min. Urine microscopy was normal with no proteinuria or hematuria. As part of donor evaluation, she underwent computed tomography angiogram of abdomen/pelvis (Figure 1), which revealed a normally positioned right kidney with the left kidney attached to the inferior pole of the right kidney and midline …