cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Information-seeking behaviors and response to the H1N1 outbreak in Chinese limited-English proficient individuals living in King County, Washington.

Objectives: To investigate the information seeking behaviors and response to the H1N1 outbreak by limited- English proficient (LEP) Chinese speakers. Methods: We conveniently sampled 100 adult Chinese LEP individuals between June 2 and June 11, 2009, during the time the World Health Organization (WHO) declared global pandemic alert level at phase 6 and the development of a H1N1 vaccine was still underway. Results: Participants demonstrated a basic understanding of the disease and were unconcerned by the outbreak. Major channels for H1N1 information included watching TV (81 percent), reading Chinese newspaper (69 percent), and community-based organization (30 percent). Only 2 percent obtained information from a public health system or hotline.The odds of being informed of timely H1N1 information were significantly higher for participants who did not speak English at all than those who reported speaking English “not well” (OR = 2.65; CI:1.04, 7.01). Conclusions: LEP Chinese speakers seem acknowledged for this outbreak. However, scarce use of the local public health system to obtain H1N1 information suggests more work needs to be done to reach out to the LEP community to enhance their capacity to respond to future outbreaks.
Planning for Resilient Coastal Communities: Emerging Practice and Future Directions

In this chapter the author argues that resilience must be the primary goal for coastal communities in the future, as they face a series of daunting challenges and future shocks. The chapter examines what resilience means in practice, and identifies a variety of measures and strategies by which coastal communities can become more resilient.
Perioperative management of massive fat embolism syndrome presenting as refractory status epilepticus

Fat embolism syndrome (FES) most commonly can occur after trauma in patients with long bone fractures. While the majority of FES cases present as a mild decrease in mental status, some may manifest as seizure activity. We describe a case of a young patient with traumatic fractures who developed FES leading to refractory status epilepticus and simultaneously required damage controlled orthopedic surgery. The role of imaging modalities including magnetic resonance imaging, transcranial Doppler, and transesophageal echocardiography in diagnosis is discussed, and a multidisciplinary approach to successful perioperative management is described.
Solving (CGLP)k on the LP Simplex Tableau

The major practical consequence of the correspondence established in Theorems 8.4A/8.4B is that the cut generating linear program (CGLP)k need not be formulated and solved explicitly; instead, the procedure for solving it can be mimicked on the linear programming relaxation (LP) of the original mixed 0-1 problem.
Guest editor's introduction: reimagining disability and accessibility in technical and professional communication

This special issue asks us to refl ect on the transformative potential of disability studies to reimagine technical and professional communication (TPC). Informing this special issue is the notion that disability "enables insight---critical, experiential, cognitive, sensory, and pedagogical insight" (Brueggemann, 2002, p. 795). Rather than consider questions of access from the margins---e.g. after we receive a letter of accommodation from a student, when we need to satisfy a legal mandate, or when we turn to our organization's web accessibility checklist---disability studies places disability and difference at the center of our practices and pedagogies (p. 814).
Patterns of soft tissue and cellular preservation in relation to fossil bone tissue structure and overburden depth at the Standing Rock Hadrosaur Site, Maastrichtian Hell Creek Formation, South Dakota, USA

Abstract Recovery of soft tissues and cells from fossil bones is becoming increasingly common, with structures morphologically consistent with vertebrate osteocytes, blood vessels, fibrous/collagenous matrix, and potential intravascular contents now recognized from specimens dating back to the Permian. However, it largely remains unclear how bone tissue structure, early diagenetic regimes, and many other taphonomic variables influence or control the preservation potential of soft tissues in vertebrate fossils. To explore the influence of a few of these factors, we tested a suite of fossils from the Standing Rock Hadrosaur Site, a vast Edmontosaurus annectens bonebed in the Maastrichtian Hell Creek Formation of South Dakota, for preservation of cellular and tissue components. Demineralization of bone samples from each specimen yielded abundant microstructures morphologically consistent with vertebrate osteocytes, blood vessels, and collagenous matrix. This includes the first recovery of osteocytes and vessels from a fossil vertebral centrum and ossified tendons. Perhaps surprisingly, no correlation was found between soft tissue/cellular recovery and either bone tissue structure type (cortical vs. cancellous) or overburden depth at the time of discovery. A traditional taphonomic survey of the site, conducted in parallel and reported previously, affords a clear and detailed history of these remains, both pre- and postburial. Cumulative taphonomic evidence indicates the Edmontosaurus individuals died in a mass mortality event and their disarticulated remains were buried rapidly in a shallow floodplain pond during a crevasse splay event. Oxygenated flood waters and/or groundwater oxidized initially sideritic concretions to goethite during early diagenesis, facilitating rapid cementation of portions of the sediment that likely aided stabilization of soft tissues by shielding regions of the bones from prolonged exposure to pore fluids. Our findings support cancellous bone as a viable target for cellular analyses, corroborate previous propositions that iron-rich environments and rapid burial facilitate soft tissue preservation, and provide new details into early diagenetic environments conducive to such preservation.
Early Biomarkers of Acute and Chronic Pancreatitis

Abstract Advanced stages of chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancers (PCs) are very serious diseases with very poor prognosis. Therefore, identification of reliable and specific biomarker(s) at early stages of the diseases could be key to their early prevention and therapy. In this chapter, currently used and putative biomarkers of acute and chronic pancreatitis and PC are summarized. Total serum lipase and/or amylase are most widely used biomarkers of acute pancreatitis; lipase assay being more sensitive and specific than that of amylase. Imaging technologies provide key support for the diagnosis of both acute and chronic pancreatitis. Biomarkers of chronic pancreatitis are poorly developed and remain challenging because of impaired secretory components of exocrine pancreas. The focus of future clinical diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis and PC lies in identification of biomarkers using omics and microRNA arrays along with imaging technologies in well-defined experimental models and their validation in patients diagnosed with various stages of chronic pancreatitis and PC.
Use of Commercial Virtual Reality Technology to Assess Verticality Perception in Static and Dynamic Visual Backgrounds.

OBJECTIVES The Subjective Visual Vertical (SVV) test and the closely related Rod and Disk Test (RDT) are measures of perceived verticality measured in static and dynamic visual backgrounds. However, the equipment used for these tests is variable across clinics and is often too expensive or too primitive to be appropriate for widespread use. Commercial virtual reality technology, which is now widely available, may provide a more suitable alternative for collecting these measures in clinical populations. This study was designed to investigate verticality perception in symptomatic patients using a modified RDT paradigm administered through a head-mounted display (HMD). DESIGN A group of adult patients referred by a physician for vestibular testing based on the presence of dizziness symptoms and a group of healthy adults without dizziness symptoms were included. We investigated degree of visual dependence in both groups by measuring SVV as a function of kinematic changes to the visual background. RESULTS When a dynamic background was introduced into the HMD to simulate the RDT, significantly greater shifts in SVV were found for the patient population than for the control population. In patients referred for vestibular testing, the SVV measured with the HMD was significantly correlated with traditional measures of SVV collected in a rotary chair when accounting for head tilt. CONCLUSIONS This study provides initial proof of concept evidence that reliable SVV measures in static and dynamic visual backgrounds can be obtained using a low-cost commercial HMD system. This initial evidence also suggests that this tool can distinguish individuals with dizziness symptomatology based on SVV performance in dynamic visual backgrounds.
TEG Platelet Mapping and Impedance Aggregometry to Predict Platelet Transfusion During Cardiopulmonary Bypass in Pediatric Patients

Background: Cardiopulmonary bypass-related platelet dysfunction can increase the risk of intra- and post-operative bleeding in children undergoing cardiac surgery. More accurate laboratory tests that identify acquired platelet abnormalities could allow for rapid identification of patients at risk of bleeding and provide therapies that could reduce bleeding and platelet transfusions. We hypothesized that thromboelastography with platelet mapping (TEG-PM) and multiple electrode impedance aggregometry (MEIA) as functional measures of platelet function would predict who will require platelet transfusion. Our secondary hypothesis was that platelet aggregation at both arachidonic acid (AA) and adenosine diphosphate (ADP) receptors would correlate between TEG-PM and MEIA results. Methods: In this prospective study from August 2013 to December 2015, children from newborn to 5 years of age with congenital heart disease undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass had blood samples collected and analyzed at four time points: pre-bypass, post-bypass, post-operatively on arrival to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, and 24 h after arrival. Results: Of the 44 patients analyzed, the 10 patients who received peri-operative platelet transfusion were significantly younger (p = 0.05), had higher STAT (Society of Thoracic Surgeons-European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery) Mortality Categories (p < 0.002) and longer cardiopulmonary bypass times (p = 0.02). In univariate analysis, four variables were associated with peri-operative platelet transfusion: pre-operative age [OR 0.95 (0.93, 0.98), p = 0.03], cardiopulmonary bypass time [1.5 (1.31, 1.68), p = 0.008], STAT Mortality Category [3.64 (3.40, 3.87), p < 0.001], and TEG-PM ADP [0.79 (0.65, 0.93), p = 0.04]. ROC analysis demonstrated moderate predictive value of TEG-PM ADP with AUC of 0.745 (0.59, 0.91). A TEG-PM ADP value of less than or equal to 21 had 85% sensitivity and 70% specificity for platelet transfusion. In the multivariate analysis, only STAT Mortality Category predicted platelet transfusion. TEG-PM and MEIA results correlated for the AA receptor at all 4 time points, but the same tests at the ADP receptors did not correlate. Conclusions: TEG-PM ADP may provide more clinically relevant information regarding platelet function compared to the MEIA at the ADP receptor in children requiring cardiopulmonary bypass. There was limited correlation between TEG-PM and MEIA results which raises a concern about the accuracy of these tests at the ADP receptor. Lower pre-operative TEG-PM ADP MA may predict intra-operative platelet transfusions; however, larger studies are needed to determine the utility of TEG-PM and MEIA in guiding platelet transfusions in this population.
“We can and we must”: The scientificity of trade-union history-writing in the Soviet Union in the 1920s

In the 1920s, the young Soviet Republic, rejecting the old social system, turned to the study of the past. Instead of engaging with professional historians, the new regime initiated a whole range of large-scale participatory projects incorporated into political and public institutions to produce new, revolutionary history. In this article, instead of approaching this topic in terms of ideology and memory I put it in the context of history of science. Focusing on the case of trade unions, I suggest considering the early Soviet non-academic history-writing as a form of radical citizen science. Even though trade unionists had no special education, they dared to use scientific methods in their research that ended with positive results. This story allows us to question the opposition between amateurs and professionals in the field of citizen science.
Probabilistic Prediction of Geomagnetic Storms and the K$_{\textrm{p}}$ Index

Geomagnetic activity is often described using summary indices to summarize the likelihood of space weather impacts, as well as when parameterizing space weather models. The geomagnetic index $\text{K}_\text{p}$ in particular, is widely used for these purposes. Current state-of-the-art forecast models provide deterministic $\text{K}_\text{p}$ predictions using a variety of methods -- including empirically-derived functions, physics-based models, and neural networks -- but do not provide uncertainty estimates associated with the forecast. This paper provides a sample methodology to generate a 3-hour-ahead $\text{K}_\text{p}$ prediction with uncertainty bounds and from this provide a probabilistic geomagnetic storm forecast. Specifically, we have used a two-layered architecture to separately predict storm ($\text{K}_\text{p}\geq 5^-$) and non-storm cases. As solar wind-driven models are limited in their ability to predict the onset of transient-driven activity we also introduce a model variant using solar X-ray flux to assess whether simple models including proxies for solar activity can improve the predictions of geomagnetic storm activity with lead times longer than the L1-to-Earth propagation time. By comparing the performance of these models we show that including operationally-available information about solar irradiance enhances the ability of predictive models to capture the onset of geomagnetic storms and that this can be achieved while also enabling probabilistic forecasts.
Using Dyadic Interviews to Explore Recovery as Collaborative Practices: Challenging the Epistemic Norm of the Single Person Perspective:

The method dyadic interviews involves interviewing a pair of participants, focusing explicitly on the interaction between them and how it develops data. Dyadic interviews with persons who are invol...
Abstract 109: Aerosol Generation During Chest Compression and Defibrillation in a Swine Cardiac Arrest Model

Introduction: Respiratory infections can occur through the transmission of virus-containing aerosols from infected individuals. It remains unclear whether cardiac arrest (CA) resuscitation generate...
Trends and risk factors in the antibiotic management of skin and soft tissue infections in the United States.

The aim of this study was to examine the trends and risk factors of antibiotic treatment for skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs), in the United States. We conducted a retrospective analysis of ...
What are the clinical effects of the different emergency department imaging options for suspected renal colic? A scoping review.

Objectives Clinicians have minimal guidance regarding the clinical consequences of each radiologic imaging option for suspected renal colic in the emergency department (ED), particularly in relation to patient-centered outcomes. In this scoping review, we sought to identify studies addressing the impact of imaging options on patient-centered aspects of ED renal colic care to help clinicians engage in informed shared decision making. Specifically, we sought to answer questions regarding the effect of obtaining computed tomography (CT; compared with an ultrasound or delayed imaging) on safety outcomes, accuracy, prognosis, and cost (financial and length of stay [LOS]). Methods We conducted a comprehensive search using Pubmed, EMBASE, Web of Science conference proceedings index, and Google Scholar, identifying studies pertaining to renal colic, urolithiasis, and ureterolithiasis. In a prior qualitative study, stakeholders identified 14 key questions regarding renal colic care in the domains of safety, accuracy, prognosis, and cost. We systematically screened studies and reviewed the full text of articles based on their ability to address the 14 key questions. Results Our search yielded 2570 titles, and 68 met the inclusion criteria. Substantial evidence informed questions regarding test accuracy and radiation exposure, but less evidence was available regarding the effect of imaging modality on patient-oriented outcomes such as cost and prognosis (admissions, ED revisits, and procedures). Reviewed studies demonstrated that both standard renal protocol CT and low-dose CT are highly accurate, with ultrasound having lower accuracy. Several studies found that ureterolithiasis diagnosed by ultrasound was associated with overall reduced radiation exposure. Existing studies did not suggest choice of imaging influences prognosis. Several studies found no substantial differences in monetary cost, but LOS was found to be shorter if a diagnosis was made with point-of-care ultrasound. Conclusion There is a plethora of data related to imaging accuracy. However, there is minimal data regarding the effect of CT on many patient-centered outcomes. Further research could improve the patient-centeredness of ED care.
Spatial sensitivity of human circadian response: Melatonin suppression from on-axis and off-axis light exposures.

Abstract A better understanding of the spatial sensitivity of the human circadian system to photic stimulation can provide practical solutions for optimized circadian light exposures. Two psychophysical experiments, involving 25 adult participants in Experiment 1 (mean age = 34.0 years [SD 15.5]; 13 females) and 15 adult participants in Experiment 2 (mean age = 43.0 years [SD 12.6]; 12 females), were designed to investigate whether varying only the spatial distribution of luminous stimuli in the environment while maintaining a constant spectrally weighted irradiance at the eye could influence nocturnal melatonin suppression. Two spatial distributions were employed, one where the luminous stimulus was presented On-axis (along the line of sight) and one where two luminous stimuli were both presented Off-axis (laterally displaced at center by 14°). Two narrowband LED light sources, blue (λmax = 451 nm) for first experiment and green (λmax = 522 nm) for second experiment, were used in both the On-axis and the Off-axis spatial distributions. The blue luminous stimulus targeting the fovea and parafovea (On-axis) was about three times more effective for suppressing melatonin than the photometrically and spectrally matched stimulus targeting the more peripheral retina (Off-axis). The green luminous stimulus targeting the fovea and parafovea (On-axis) was about two times more effective for suppressing melatonin than the photometrically and spectrally matched stimulus targeting the more peripheral retina (Off-axis).
Feminine Hygiene Products and Volatile Organic Compounds in Reproductive-Aged Women Across the Menstrual Cycle: A Longitudinal Pilot Study.

Background: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been detected in feminine hygiene products (FHPs), especially in tampons and sanitary pads. However, little is known about whether menstrual produ...
NASSR Caucus: Introduction

This year, the European Romantic Review and the North American Society for the Study of Romanticism confronted an unprecedented challenge: how to assemble an issue of the journal linked to the annu...
The Transformation of the Workers' Party in Brazil, 1989–2009

Drawing on historical institutionalism and strategic frameworks, this book analyzes the evolution of the Workers' Party between 1989, the year of Lula's first presidential bid, and 2009, when his second presidential term entered its final stretch. The book's primary purpose is to understand why and how the once-radical Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) moderated the programmatic positions it endorsed and adopted other aspects of a more catch-all electoral strategy, thereby increasing its electoral appeal. At the same time, the book seeks to shed light on why some of the PT's distinctive normative commitments and organizational practices have endured in the face of adaptations aimed at expanding the party's vote share. The conclusion asks whether, in the face of these changes and continuities, the PT can still be considered a mass organized party of the left.
Some Additional Theories of Nonequilibrium Processes

This chapter examines several theories of nonequilibrium processes. The principal theory discussed for chemical reactions is the activated complex theory, in which it is assumed that the reactants in an elementary process form an activated complex that can be assumed to be at chemical equilibrium with the reactants. The chapter presents a case history of the gas-phase chemical reaction, which has been extensively studied on the molecular level, but is still a subject of ongoing research. The activated complex theory has also been applied to diffusion in liquids, in which the motion of a molecule from one “cage” into an adjacent cage is treated similarly to motion along a reaction coordinate of a chemical reaction, and during which an activated complex is assumed to form.The chapter also discusses the nonequilibrium electrochemistry, along with electrical conduction in metals in terms of the Drude model. In the Drude model electrical resistance is assumed to be due to collisions of conducting electrons with atomic cores.
The Physical System

Every society has had to face the problems of water management, although some civilizations have faced it more than the others. Water management involves manipulating the hydrologic cycle. This chapter focuses on the physical side of water management and reviews early ideas about the hydrologic cycle. It covers water measurement including dimensions and units and discusses the major components and processes of the hydrologic cycle. The chapter introduces the concept of a water balance and examines some water-related issues associated with the potential human alteration of the Earth's climate. Changes in established climate patterns could have profound impacts on water availability and established socioeconomic systems. The chapter proposes that one cannot answer the question with confidence as to whether climate is changing, or, if it is changing, whether the change is natural or driven by human action..
Language and Gender

Language and Gender is an introduction to the study of the relation between gender and language use, written by two leading experts in the field. This new edition, thoroughly updated and restructured, brings out more strongly an emphasis on practice and change, while retaining the broad scope of its predecessor and its accessible introductions which explain the key concepts in a non-technical way. The authors integrate issues of sexuality more thoroughly into the discussion, exploring more diverse gendered and sexual identities and practices. The core emphasis is on change, both in linguistic resources and their use and in gender and sexual ideologies and personae. This book explores how change often involves conflict and competing norms, both social and linguistic. Drawing on their own extensive research, as well as other key literature, the authors argue that the connections between language and gender are deep yet fluid, and arise in social practice.
Diffraction phenomena with co-axial plane piston transducers

Using an exact theory of Beissner an experimental methodology is developed to accurately measure the effective radii of unfocused, circular plane piston transducers. The transient and steady-state diffraction concepts described by Lord are also used to propose an extension of the definition of the AIUM/NEMA pulse intensity integral to properly analyze cw and tone burst data
Organizational Trustworthiness: An International Perspective

Although trust has been widely recognized as a vital component ofrelationships and a critical element to the success of organizations,the literature describing trust and trustworthiness is known for itsvarying perspectives and its inconsistencies. Trustworthiness has beenidentified as a condition precedent to the development of trust.Building upon the established constructs of interpersonaltrustworthiness, we propose a related model containing the sevenconstructs of Competence, Legal Compliance, Responsibility to Inform,Quality Assurance, Procedural Fairness, Interactional Cour-tesy, andFinancial Balance. Citing evidence from trust-related literature, weidentify the utility of these seven constructs in encompassingorganizational trustworthiness as a subjectively perceived aspect oforganizational effectiveness. We analyzed questionnaire data andconducted comparative world-region analyses.
Design of optimally sparse dosing strategies for neural pharmacology

Modeling the actions of neuroactive drugs has typically been limited to two classes of mathematical descriptions: the so-called pharmacokinetics model, which describes the diffusion of the drug from the administration site to the effect site, i.e., the brain; and the pharmacodynamics model, which describes the mapping between effect site concentration and behavioral phenotype. Often, a desired behavioral outcome occurs at the end of the admissible concentration range such as unconsciousness induced via a general anesthetic. Here, we develop a dynamical systems-based modeling and design paradigm to optimally construct pharmacologic regimes, i.e., drug selection and dose schedules, to meet phenotypic objectives while minimizing costs and adverse effects. Our framework focuses less on the kinetics of the drug from infusion to effect site, and more on the explicit descriptions of the affinity of the drugs to their respective molecular targets. Through this paradigm, we use methodologies embedded in formal optimal control theory to show how one can, in a principled manner, optimize selection and dosing of synergistic drugs to efficiently achieve a particular phenotype while mitigating paradoxical or undesired states that might otherwise be encountered.
Vitreous Humor Cocaine and Metabolite Concentrations: Do Postmortem Specimens Reflect Blood Levels at the Time of Death?

The interpretation of postmortem cocaine concentrations is made in an attempt to estimate drug concentrations present at the time of death and thus infer not only drug presence but drug toxicity. Previous data suggest that changes in postmortem blood cocaine concentrations over time are not predictable and interpretation of cocaine levels should be done with caution. However, these data come from autopsy case series where vital information, such as blood cocaine concentration at the time of death, dose and time since last use, and postmortem interval is often not known. The purpose of this study was to characterize postmortem changes in cocaine and metabolite concentrations relative to premortem concentrations over time at two anatomic sites: peripheral blood and vitreous humor, in a controlled, large animal model. Juvenile swine were given cocaine HCl 10 mg/kg as an IV bolus which resulted in seizures and wide complex tachycardia. Five minutes after cocaine administration, animals were euthanized. At time of death and eight hours postmortem, femoral venous blood and vitreous humor (VH) samples were obtained for quantitation of cocaine, benzoyl ecgonine (BE), and ecgonine methyl ester (EME) by GC/MS. There were no significant increases over time in mean femoral vein concentrations of cocaine or BE. However, a large interanimal variability in direction and magnitude of concentration changes was seen. Mean EME concentrations at the femoral site increased significantly over 8 hours (P < 0.03). Mean VH cocaine concentrations at time of death were significantly lower than corresponding blood concentrations (P < 0.02).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
End-Triassic nonmarine biotic events

Abstract The Late Triassic was a prolonged interval of elevated extinction rates and low origination rates that manifested themselves in a series of extinctions during Carnian, Norian and Rhaetian time. Most of these extinctions took place in the marine realm, particularly affecting radiolarians, conodonts, bivalves, ammonoids and reef-building organisms. On land, the case for a Late Triassic mass extinction is much more tenuous and has largely focused on tetrapod vertebrates (amphibians and reptiles), though some workers advocate a sudden end-Triassic (TJB) extinction of land plants. Nevertheless, an extensive literature does not identify a major extinction of land plants at the TJB, and a comprehensive review of palynological records concluded that TJB vegetation changes were non-uniform (different changes in different places), not synchronous and not indicative of a mass extinction of land plants. Claims of a substantial perturbation of plant ecology and diversity at the TJB in East Greenland are indicative of a local change in the paleoflora largely driven by lithofacies changes resulting in changing taphonomic filters. Plant extinctions at the TJB were palaeogeographically localized events, not global in extent. With new and more detailed stratigraphic data, the perceived TJB tetrapod extinction is mostly an artifact of coarse temporal resolution, the compiled correlation effect. The amphibian, archosaur and synapsid extinctions of the Late Triassic are not concentrated at the TJB, but instead occur stepwise, beginning in the Norian and extending into the Hettangian. There was a disruption of the terrestrial ecosystem across the TJB, but it was more modest than generally claimed. The ecological severity of the end-Triassic nonmarine biotic events are relatively low on the global scale. Biotic turnover at the end of the Triassic was likely driven by the CAMP (Central Atlantic Magmatic Province) eruptions, which caused significant environmental perturbations (cooling, warming, acidification) through outgassing, but the effects on the nonmarine biota appear to have been localized, transient and not catastrophic. Long-term changes in the terrestrial biota across the TJB are complex, diachronous and likely climate driven evolutionary changes in the context of fluctuating background extinction rates, not a single, sudden or mass extinction.
Arrestins as Regulators of Kinases and Phosphatases

The discovery that, in addition to mediating G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) desensitization and endocytosis, arrestins bind to diverse catalytically active nonreceptor proteins and act as ligand-regulated signaling scaffolds led to a paradigm shift in the study of GPCR signal transduction. Research over the past decade has solidified the concept that arrestins confer novel GPCR-signaling capacity by recruiting protein and lipid kinase, phosphatase, phosphodiesterase, and ubiquitin ligase activity into receptor-based multiprotein "signalsome" complexes. Signalsomes regulate downstream pathways controlled by Src family nonreceptor tyrosine kinases, mitogen-activated protein kinases, protein kinase B (AKT), glycogen synthase kinase 3, protein phosphatase 2A, nuclear factor-κB, and several others, imposing spatial and temporal control on their function. While many arrestin-bound kinases and phosphatases are involved in the control of cytoskeletal rearrangement, vesicle endocytosis, exocytosis, and cell migration, other signals reach into the nucleus, affecting cell proliferation, apoptosis, and survival. Indeed, the kinase/phosphatase network regulated by arrestins may be fully as diverse as that regulated by heterotrimeric G proteins.
ACCELERATION OF NUCLEAR GROWTH AND ADVANCED INITIATION OF MITOSIS IN u.v.- IRRADIATED PLASMODIA OF PHYSARUM POLYCEPHALUM.

In the multinucleated plasmodia of Physarum polycephalum the intermitotic period lasts from 2.5-5 days on diluted (1:8) growth medium and 3-7 days on non-nutrient balanced salt solution. When such plasmodia were irradiated with u.v. light approx. 15-20 h after mitosis, the next mitosis was considerably advanced and the intermitotic period lasted only between 36-48 h. During this time, numerous nuclei became pyknotic and disappeared, while the others became larger than in unirradiated controls. It is proposed that the abbreviation of the intermitotic period preceding the first post-irradiation mitosis was caused by incorporation into the surviving nuclei of a substance(s) which was released from the degenerating nuclei.
Pracademia: The Future of the Lifelong Learner

M. D. Wilson bridges the practical and the academic with the “pracademic,” his answer to engaging students in the learning process.
A trail-based deadlock-free routing scheme in wormhole-routed networks

This paper focuses on deadlock-free routing in wormhole-routed networks. A trail-based model is proposed to support deadlock-free routing in any networks with node degree no less than four. Basically, given a graph G representing an interconnection network, a walk in G is a finite sequence of edges. The trail-based model generalizes the trip-based model proposed earlier and it eliminates the need for virtual channels. Fundamentals of this model, including the necessary and sufficient condition of constructing a special trail for deadlock-free routing are investigated. The potential of this model is illustrated by applying it to meshes and hypercubes.
Male aggression toward females as a function of traditional vs nontraditional cues and visibility of the target.

An aggression paradigm, disguised as a competitive reaction time task, was designed to investigate aggression by males toward a female who deviated from traditionally expected properties of a femal...
Animal–visitor interactions in the modern zoo: Conflicts and interventions

Animal welfare, education, conservation, research, and entertainment are major goals of modern zoos, but they can be in conflict. For example, visitors enjoy learning about and observing natural behavior in captive animals, but visitors often want to observe and interact with the animals in close proximity. Unfortunately, proximity to and social interactions with humans induce stress for many species, particularly primates. We review two general classes of research examining animal–visitor interactions in zoos: (1) effects of exhibit design and the behavior of the animals on zoo visitors, and (2) effects of zoo visitors on the behavior of exhibited animals. We suggest that interventions based on careful attention to exhibit design, species characteristics, and visitor education can increase positive animal–visitor interactions and facilitate the multiple goals of modern zoos.
Evaluation and Management of Transient Ischemic Attacks

The risk for disabling stroke is greatest in the period immediately following a transient ischemic attack (TIA), thus, TIA is a medical emergency. A universities medical center's emergency department—based TIA evaluation and management program is presented as an example of the pragmatic enactment of current guidelines for TIA evaluation and management. A discussion of modifications that can be made for an outpatient setting evaluation and a review of the literature follow.
Unexpected functional redundancy between Twist and Slug (Snail2) and their feedback regulation of NF-κB via Nodal and Cerberus

A NF-kappaB-Twist-Snail network controls axis and mesoderm formation in Drosophila. Using translation-blocking morpholinos and hormone-regulated proteins, we demonstrate the presence of an analogous network in the early Xenopus embryo. Loss of twist (twist1) function leads to a reduction of mesoderm and neural crest markers, an increase in apoptosis, and a decrease in snail1 (snail) and snail2 (slug) mRNA levels. Injection of snail2 mRNA rescues twist's loss of function phenotypes and visa versa. In the early embryo NF-kappaB/RelA regulates twist, snail2, and snail1 mRNA levels; similarly Nodal/Smad2 regulate twist, snail2, snail1, and relA RNA levels. Both Twist and Snail2 negatively regulate levels of cerberus RNA, which encodes a Nodal, bone morphogenic protein (BMP), and Wnt inhibitor. Cerberus's anti-Nodal activity inhibits NF-kappaB activity and decreases relA RNA levels. These results reveal both conserved and unexpected regulatory interactions at the core of a vertebrate's mesodermal specification network.
Heat Transfer Within a Concrete Slab Applying the Microwave Decontamination Process

Decontamination of a radioactive contaminated concrete surface is a new technology for the treatment of radioactive waste. In this paper, concrete decontamination using microwave technology is investigated theoretically. A plane wave assumption of microwave propagation has been employed to estimate the microwave field and power dissipation within the concrete. A one-dimensional, unsteady heat conduction model with microwave heat dissipation resulting from microwave-material interaction has been used to evaluate frequency, steel reinforcement within the concrete, and thermal boundary conditions are also considered in the present model. Four commonly used microwave frequencies of 0.896, 2.45, 10.6, and 18.0 GHz have been utilized in the analysis. The results revealed that as the microwave frequency increases to, or higher than 10.6 GHz, the microwave power dissipation shifts toward the front surface of the concrete. Furthermore, it was observed that use of a higher frequency microwave could reduce power intensity requirements needed to raise the temperature difference or thermal stress to the same value in the same period of time. It was found that the presence of reinforcing steel mesh causes part of the microwave energy to be blocked and reflected. Thus, the temperature or thermal stress of the concrete increases before the reinforcement, andmore » decreases after the reinforcement. 16 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs.« less
Lymph node involvement in carcinoma of the head of the pancreas area

A prospective study to determine the lymph node involvement in 33 pancreatectomy specimens (regional pancreatectomy 18, total pancreatectomy 7, Whipple partial pancreatectomy 8) was undertaken. There were 22 patients with pancreas duct adenocarcinoma, 6 with ampullary carcinoma, 3 with duodenal adenocarcinoma, 1 bile duct carcinoma and 1 of undetermined site of origin. Peripancreatic lymph nodes were divided into 5 main groups with subgroups. They are 1) Superior, Superior Head, Superior Body and Gastric; 2) Inferior: Inferior Head and Inferior Body, 3) Anterior: Anterior Pancreaticoduodenal, Pyloric and Mesenteric, 4) Posterior: Posterior Pancreaticoduodenal, Common Bile Duct, and 5) Splenic: lymph nodes at hilum of spleen and at the tail of pancreas. The average number of lymph nodes found in different types of surgical specimens was: regional pancreatectomy 70, total pancreatectomy 41, and Whipple procedure 33. The average number of lymph nodes involved with metastatic tumor in these specimens was, respectively, 5, 3 and 1. The most common sites of metastasis were in the Superior Head and in the Posterior Pancreaticoduodenal groups. Pancreatic duct adenocarcinoma tended to me-tastasize to multiple lymph nodes of the Superior Head, Superior Body and Posterior Pancreaticoduodenal lymph nodes (88% of patients). Ampullary adenocarcinoma metastasized less often (33%), usually to fewer nodes and to one adjacent periampullary group. Since in 33% of patients nodal metastases of duct adenocarcinoma of the head of the pancreas were present in groups not usually removed in the Whipple procedure, it would appear that this operation is inadequate for surgical eradication of pancreas duct adenocarcinoma of the head of the pancreas.
Scalability and parallel execution of warp processing: dynamic hardware/software partitioning

Warp processors are a novel architecture capable of autonomously optimizing an executing application by dynamically re-implementing critical kernels within the software as custom hardware circuits in an on-chip FPGA. Previous research on warp processing focused on low-power embedded systems, incorporating a low-end ARM processor as the main software execution resource. We provide a thorough analysis of the scalability of warp processing by evaluating several possible warp processor implementations, from low-power to high-performance, and by evaluating the potential for parallel execution of the partitioned software and hardware. We further demonstrate that even considering a high-performance 1 GHz embedded processor, warp processing provides the equivalent performance of a 2.4GHz processor. By further enabling parallel execution between the processes and FPGA, the parallel warp processor execution provides the equivalent performance of a 3.2 GHz processor.
Crocetin inhibits beta-amyloid fibrillization and stabilizes beta-amyloid oligomers.

Aggregation of a peptide, beta-amyloid (Aβ), is a hallmark molecular process found in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). During Aβ aggregation, oligomeric and fibrillar Aβ are formed, and these molecular self-assembly steps are implicated in generation of toxic effects in AD. Crocetin is a natural carotenoid dicarboxyl acid displaying various pharmaceutical effects and may be co-localized with Aβ mediated by human serum albumin. In the study presented here, we examined the effects of crocetin on Aβ aggregation in three different molecular pathways. Our results demonstrate that crocetin inhibited Aβ fibril formation and destabilized pre-formed Aβ fibrils. Moreover, crocetin caused stabilization of Aβ oligomers and prevented their conversion into Aβ fibrils. Our study reveals potential pathological and pharmaceutical implication of crocetin in AD and suggests possible application of crocetin for currently limited structural studies on unstable Aβ oligomers.
Automated, on-line quantification of left ventricular dimensions and function by echocardiography with backscatter imaging and lateral gain compensation.

Abstract To provide on-line quantification of left ventricular cavity dimensions and function by echocardiography 60 control subjects and 10 patients with cardiac dysfunction were studied. A novel, ultrasound imaging system was used which was developed to detect and track, in real time, ventricular endocardial blood boundaries based on quantitative assessment of acoustic properties of tissue. In addition, lateral gain compensation, a robust and novel image enhancement procedure, was used to provide instantaneous measurement and display of cavity areas and functional indexes on a beat-by-beat basis within regions of interest drawn around the blood pool cavity. In control subjects, shortaxis end-diastolic area averaged 13.1 ± 3.7 cm2 (SD), end-systolic area 5.9 ± 2.7 cm2, and fractional area change 55.6 ± 11.2%. Apical views yielded corresponding values of 23.8 ± 4.5 cm2, 15.5 ± 3.4 cm2 and 34.7 ± 7.8%. Instantaneous peak rate of cavity area change approximated 50 cm2/s in systole and 60 cm2/s in diastole in each view. Serial measurements of area and functional index were reproducible over intervals of 2 to 3 weeks. Patients with dilated ventricles exhibited average apical view area values of 49.1 ± 6.1 cm2 and 43.1 ± 4.9 cm2 in diastole and systole with a fractional area change of 12.2 ± 3.0%. Thus, results with on-line echocardiographic backscatter imaging-assisted automated edge detection are reproducible and capable of delineating cardiac dysfunction conveniently, promptly and serially at the bedside.
Weighting schemes for charges and fields to control self-force in unstructured finite element Particle-in-Cell codes

Summary form only given. Particle-in-Cell (PIC) is a powerful technique for simulating physical processes where discrete objects exert forces on each other. In the context of this talk we are examining electrostatic plasmas where the particles represent electrons or ions which are free to move around the system and the electric fields are defined on the mesh. While this talk focuses on electrostatics, the techniques discussed are generalizable to other domains. In traditional structured codes symmetry between the weighting operators which map the particles charge to the mesh and the electric field from the mesh back to the particle results in no self-force. In the unstructured finite element world the traditional approaches result in a self-force which causes a particle to push itself and to violate Newton's laws of motion. This talk focuses on a novel approach in controlling the selfforce of particles in PIC codes. This approach chooses a weighting scheme which closely reproduces the exact potential at grid nodes both near a charged particle and for the long range effects. This potential can then be differenced to compute an electric field at particle locations allowing for a exact cancellation up to the tolerance which the exact solution is reproduced at grid locations. This algorithm can be combined with a particle-particle--particle-mesh (P3M) approach to cancel all local effects and compute the N2 terms directly for a local patch resulting in reduced self-force and superior spatial resolution. This talk will present the details of this algorithm, lower self-force on a single particle, better Coulomb collisions for a few particles, and accurate results for highly under-refined meshes while maintaining the geometric flexibility of unstructured grids.
Incorporating the dynamics of epidemics in simulation models of healthcare systems

Abstract A growing concern among healthcare planners is the ability to determine the capacity of medical resources in various potential situations and prepare accordingly. In this study, we consider uncertain situations such as epidemic diseases that could affect the patient flow in a healthcare system by developing a discrete-event simulation model for a local community health clinic in Lubbock, Texas. Conventionally, in these healthcare system models, patients are assumed to arrive at the system based on a schedule, along with some random entries to represent walk-in patients; we propose an additional level of uncertainty based on the dynamics of an epidemic. After developing the simulation model for the baseline probability of the clinic, we simulate the susceptible-infected-recovery (SIR) process to generate epidemic patients for the model developed for the clinic. Ideally, this shows how epidemic diseases could affect the flow of patients which in turn affects the performance of the clinic. We examine eleven epidemic scenarios with different levels of disease outbreak. Our performance measures include the conditional expected value of the length of stay (LoS) of patients and the system throughput. The incorporated model reveals how the various epidemic scenarios affect the performance measures of the clinic. Moreover, based on the statistics of LoS and system throughput, we examine different alternative clinic designs for each epidemic scenario. We consider two views of analyzing the alternative designs, scenario-oriented and design-oriented views, to obtain the six best alternatives and evaluate the costs and benefits of each to find the best design.