cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
P16: Heat acclimation improves Hsps and NO bioavailability in a type 2 diabetic rodent model

Background Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is a disease that affects over 14.5 million Americans, leading to increased morbidity and ultimately mortality. During early stages of the disease, insulin is unable to move glucose into the body’s cells; this results in a buildup of glucose in the blood known as hyperglycemia. These detrimental effects lead to an imbalance of heat shock proteins (Hsps) and nitric oxide (NO), all of which contribute to vascular dysfunction. While both exercise and acute exposure to heat are known to improve the expression of Hsps and the bioavailability of NO, the role of combining the two is unclear during conditions of vascular dysfunction. In this research, we predict that a combination of heat and exercise (heat acclimation) will minimize harmful effects that occur in T2DM. Methods Using a type 2 diabetic rodent model (Goto-Kakizaki (GK)) and corresponding control rodent model (Wistar), animals were subjected to heat acclimation over a period of 14 days. Throughout the study, the animals were pair-fed, and NO availability (by way of plasma nitrite and nitrate) via Nitric Oxide Analyzer (NOA), Hsp expression via ELISA assay, blood glucose, and tail-cuff blood pressure were measured. Results While the blood pressure remained physiological in both the GK and Wistar rats, the GK-heat acclimated blood pressure was stabilized. Furthermore, the blood glucose was reduced. A significant increase in plasma nitrate ( p p Conclusion Heat acclimation has an influential effect on NO availability and Hsp expression in GK type 2 diabetic rodents, potentially improving vascular dysfunction. Disclosure Research supported by Research Initiation Program Grant at Winston Salem State University.
Defects and Transport in YBa2 Cu3 O7 − x

In an attempt to understand the role of stoichiometry in controlling the transport properties of the system YBa2Cu3O7−x (0 < x < 1), we have performed electrical conductivity (σ) and thermoelectric power (Q) measurements, in situ, as a careful function of temperature, oxygen partial pressure, and oxygen stoichiometry.
Value of pictorial embellishments in a tapeslide instructional program

RELEVANT RESEARCH An increasing emphasis on product research in education has raised many basic questions concerning the nature of stimulus properties needed for effective instructional materials. For instance, many decisions must be made by an individual who wishes to use visual materials in a programed instruction sequence. There is little clear evidence to guide his choices in the practical problems of what and how much to include in pictorial presentations. Should plain printed titles be employed or should verbal material be supplemented with illustrations and other embellishments? The investigation described herein attempted to assess the merits of pictorial embellishments in programed teaching materials. This assessment focused on affective criteria rather than the usually employed cognitive criterion measures. In most studies conducted to test the value of pictorial embellishments, the criterion has been cognitive and results have been mixed. Lumsdaine and Gladstone (2) reported an investigation in which, on a paired associate learning task, a simple printed visual treatment was compared with cartooned visuals supplemented by humorous comments and sound effects. Results favored
Polypeptide Hormones from Tissue Culture

Peptide hormones have played an important role in modern medicine including the use of insulin to treat diabetes and the therapeutic application of ACTH and growth hormone. Recently, radioimmunoassays (1) suitable for diagnostic and research applications have been developed for a number of peptide hormones, e.g., insulin, parathyroid hormone, growth hormone, luteinizing hormone, prolactin and thyroid stimulating hormone. However, the lack of a large supply of the various human hormones has hampered both their therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Although peptide hormones from animal sources have been used effectively in some applications they frequently lack sufficient biological and immunological crossreactivity to be useful. Even in the case of insulin, where both porcine and bovine insulin have been used clinically, the allergic response of the patient can cause serious complications. Thus, the production of human peptide hormones from human cells in culture would have important applications in medicine and biomedical research.
Attitudes of Physicians in New Mexico Toward Gay Men and Lesbians

Previous studies suggest that negative attitudes held by many physicians toward gay men and lesbians may adversely affect this population's health care. This study examined the attitudes of physicians toward homosexuality through a questionnaire mailed to 1949 physicians in New Mexico. The questionnaire included a validated attitudinal scale. Each respondent was categorized as homophilic, neutral, or homophobic based on their responses. We had a 53.6% response rate. Over 8% of male respondents had homophobic scores versus 1.6% of female respondents. Of those practicing in cities with populations between 25,000 and 50,000, 20.6% had homophobic scores versus 4.5% of those practicing in larger cities and 6.4% of those in more rural areas. Multivariate analysis showed that gender, specialty, community size, and personal experiences help determine whether a physician is likely to hold negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. Our study found less homophobia among physicians than reported previously; however, we found that negative attitudes toward homosexuality persist in medicine. This study is the first to measure homophobia among physicians working in smaller cities; this may affect the quality of care available to lesbians and gay men who reside in these areas.
Nonlinear Volterra Integral Equations

It is well known that linear and nonlinear Volterra integral equations arise in many scientific fields such as the population dynamics, spread of epidemics, and semi-conductor devices. Volterra started working on integral equations in 1884, but his serious study began in 1896. The name integral equation was given by du Bois-Reymond in 1888. However, the name Volterra integral equation was first coined by Lalesco in 1908.
Auditory enhancement and the role of spectral resolution in normal-hearing listeners and cochlear-implant users

Detection of a target tone in a simultaneous multi-tone masker can be improved by preceding the stimulus with the masker alone. The mechanisms underlying this auditory enhancement effect may enable the efficient detection of new acoustic events and may help to produce perceptual constancy under varying acoustic conditions. Previous work in cochlear-implant (CI) users has suggested reduced or absent enhancement, due perhaps to poor spatial resolution in the cochlea. This study used a supra-threshold enhancement paradigm that in normal-hearing listeners results in large enhancement effects, exceeding 20 dB. Results from vocoder simulations using normal-hearing listeners showed that near-normal enhancement was observed if the simulated spread of excitation was limited to spectral slopes no shallower than 24 dB/oct. No significant enhancement was observed on average in CI users with their clinical monopolar stimulation strategy. The variability in enhancement between CI users, and between electrodes in a single CI user, could not be explained by the spread of excitation, as estimated from auditory nerve evoked potentials. Enhancement remained small, but did reach statistical significance, under the narrower partial-tripolar stimulation strategy. The results suggest that enhancement may be at least partially restored by improvements in the spatial resolution of current CIs.
An Idea to Explore: Understanding Redox Reactions in Biochemistry

Understanding redox reactions in biochemistry requires a clear grasp of three definitions: electron exchange, oxidation number, and oxygen atom insertion. Here, the electrochemical cell is explained for redox-active ions, introducing a new comparison between the measurement of midpoint potential and the measurement of initial velocity for enzymes. Oxygen atom insertion is shown to be of use in readily classifying oxidation states. Finally, the use of several of these ideas is combined into an explanation of proton motive force development in the mitochondrial respiratory chain. © 2018 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 47(1):25-28, 2018.
Survival outcome prediction in cervical cancer: Cox models vs deep-learning model.

Background Historically, the Cox proportional hazard regression model has been the mainstay for survival analyses in oncologic research. The Cox proportional hazard regression model generally is used based on an assumption of linear association. However, it is likely that, in reality, there are many clinicopathologic features that exhibit a nonlinear association in biomedicine. Objective The purpose of this study was to compare the deep-learning neural network model and the Cox proportional hazard regression model in the prediction of survival in women with cervical cancer. Study Design This was a retrospective pilot study of consecutive cases of newly diagnosed stage I–IV cervical cancer from 2000–2014. A total of 40 features that included patient demographics, vital signs, laboratory test results, tumor characteristics, and treatment types were assessed for analysis and grouped into 3 feature sets. The deep-learning neural network model was compared with the Cox proportional hazard regression model and 3 other survival analysis models for progression-free survival and overall survival. Mean absolute error and concordance index were used to assess the performance of these 5 models. Results There were 768 women included in the analysis. The median age was 49 years, and the majority were Hispanic (71.7%). The majority of tumors were squamous (75.3%) and stage I (48.7%). The median follow-up time was 40.2 months; there were 241 events for recurrence and progression and 170 deaths during the follow-up period. The deep-learning model showed promising results in the prediction of progression-free survival when compared with the Cox proportional hazard regression model (mean absolute error, 29.3 vs 316.2). The deep-learning model also outperformed all the other models, including the Cox proportional hazard regression model, for overall survival (mean absolute error, Cox proportional hazard regression vs deep-learning, 43.6 vs 30.7). The performance of the deep-learning model further improved when more features were included (concordance index for progression-free survival: 0.695 for 20 features, 0.787 for 36 features, and 0.795 for 40 features). There were 10 features for progression-free survival and 3 features for overall survival that demonstrated significance only in the deep-learning model, but not in the Cox proportional hazard regression model. There were no features for progression-free survival and 3 features for overall survival that demonstrated significance only in the Cox proportional hazard regression model, but not in the deep-learning model. Conclusion Our study suggests that the deep-learning neural network model may be a useful analytic tool for survival prediction in women with cervical cancer because it exhibited superior performance compared with the Cox proportional hazard regression model. This novel analytic approach may provide clinicians with meaningful survival information that potentially could be integrated into treatment decision-making and planning. Further validation studies are necessary to support this pilot study.
RECLASSIFICATION OF FUNDUS AUTOFLUORESCENCE PATTERNS SURROUNDING GEOGRAPHIC ATROPHY BASED ON PROGRESSION RATE: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Purpose:To reclassify fundus autofluorescence (FAF) patterns around geographic atrophy (GA) based on GA progression rates.Methods:MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Clinicaltrials.gov, and PubMed were searched for studies reporting GA progression rates among different FAF patterns, such as “None,” “
Landscape Patterns in Top‐Down Control of Decomposition: Omnivory Disrupts a Tropical Detrital‐Based Trophic Cascade

Detrital-based trophic cascades are often considered weak or absent in tropical stream ecosystems because of the prevalence of omnivorous macroconsumers and the dearth of leaf-shredding insects. In this study, we isolate top-down effects of three macroconsumer species on detrital processing in headwater streams draining Trinidad's northern mountains. We separated effects of different macroconsumers by experimentally manipulating their temporal access to isolated benthic habitat over the diel cycle. We found no evidence that omnivorous macroconsumers, including a freshwater crab (Eudaniela garmani) and guppy (Poecilia reticulata), increased leaf decomposition via consumption. By contrast, above a waterfall excluding guppies, the insectivorous killifish, Anablepsoides hartii, reduced the biomass of the leaf-shredding insect Phylloicus hansoni 4-fold, which consequently reduced leaf decomposition rates 1.6-fold. This detrital cascade did not occur below the barrier waterfall, where omnivorous guppies join the assemblage and reduce killifish densities; here killifish had no significant effects on Phylloicus or decomposition rates. These patterns of detrital processing were also observed in upstream-downstream comparisons in a landscape study across paired reaches of six streams. Above waterfalls, where killifish were present, but guppies absent, leaf decomposition rates and Phylloicus biomass were 2.5- and ~35-fold lower, respectively, compared to measurements below waterfalls. Moreover, the strength of top-down control by killifish is reflected by the 20- and 5-fold reductions in variability (±SE) surrounding mean Phylloicus biomass and leaf decomposition rates in upstream relative to downstream reaches where no top-down control was detected. Findings show a clear, detrital-based trophic cascade among killifish, a leaf-shredding insect, and leaf decomposition rates. Results also show how omnivorous guppies disrupt this cascade by depressing killifish densities, thereby releasing invertebrate shredders from predation, and significantly increasing decomposition rates. Moreover, this combination of direct and indirect trophic interactions drives patterns in decomposition rates in stream networks at a landscape scale, resulting in significantly lower rates of decomposition above vs. below barrier waterfalls. Our findings reveal that omnivory can result in significant indirect effects on a key ecosystem process, illustrating the importance of these hidden trophic pathways in detrital-based systems and suggesting that resource control in tropical systems may be even more complex than previously envisioned.
Mutual Influence of Distortive, Magnetic, and Electric Dipole Orderings in Jahn—Teller Elastics

One of the distinctive attributes of Jahn—Teller crystals is the fact that not only the interaction responsible for the ordering of local distortions and hence for the corresponding phase transition, but also interactions conducive to the ordering of magnetic moments, electric dipoles, or local distortions having a different symmetry can play a major role. The important mutual influence of these interactions is attributable to the presence of a group of lower energy levels (degenerate or nondegenerate), typical of Jahn—Teller ions, on whose basis the corresponding operators are defined. According to the way the interactions are related (magnitudes, commutative relations for the corresponding operators), phase transitions of one order or another or a phase with corresponding orderings of a different physical nature occurs in crystals. The present chapter deals with interactions between the orderings and their mutual influence. We note that this interaction is considered here for arbitrary relations between the interacting quantities. However, even when one of them prevails and a single phase transition occurs, interstitial correlations of some other nature have a strong effect on it. Another distinctive feature of Jahn—Teller crystals, namely the onset of various combinations of significant anomalies of various properties, is a consequence of the above interaction of distortive, electric dipole, and magnetic structures. In what follows we show that, in addition to the peculiar elastic anomalies considered in the preceding chapter, Jahn—Teller compounds are also characterized by very specific magnetic and dielectric properties. Combinations of the above properties depend on the particular type of structural ordering, whether of the ferro, antiferro, or ferri type. Various attendant physical situations are also discussed in this and subsequent chapters.
Dictionary Learning for Channel Estimation in Hybrid Frequency-Selective mmWave MIMO Systems

Exploiting channel sparsity at millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies reduces the high training overhead associated with the channel estimation stage. Compressive sensing (CS) channel estimation techniques usually adopt the (overcomplete) Fourier transform matrix as sparsifying dictionary. This may not be the best choice when considering hardware impairments in practical arrays. We propose two dictionary learning (DL) algorithms to learn the best sparsifying dictionaries for channel matrices from observations obtained with practical hybrid frequency-selective mmWave multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems. First, we optimize the combined dictionary, i.e., the Kronecker product of transmit and receive dictionaries, as it is used in practice to sparsify the channel matrix. This stage operates as a calibration phase, since all the hardware imperfections are embedded into the learnt dictionaries. Second, considering the different array structures at the transmitter and receiver, we exploit separable DL to find the best transmit and receive dictionaries. Once the channel is expressed in terms of the optimized dictionaries, various CS-based sparse recovery techniques can be applied for low overhead channel estimation. The effectiveness of the proposed DL algorithms under low SNR conditions has been corroborated via numerical simulations with different system configurations, array geometries and hardware impairments.
FDI, Trade and Economic Development in Pakistan

This paper examined the relationship between FDI, imports, exports, terms of trade and investment in Pakistan for the period 1990-2015. Results show that an increase in all these factors will contribute significantly to FDI flows that may help the Pakistan’s economy. FDI has negative and significant impact on GDP. Exports have an insignificant effect that may imply that historically economy had led exports more than the exports led the economy. More important fact is that world economic conditions play a crucial role in the macroeconomic performance. When these conditions are favorable, not only the economy but also the trade grow. Though global financial crisis did not seriously affect Pakistan’s economy, Pakistan faced multifaceted challenges on external and internal fronts notably fight against extremism, energy crisis and uncertain external inflows. There is a need to pay more attention to domestic situation than to look abroad for financial assistance since FDI is not an unmixed blessing.
Neutrality, Accommodation, and Conscience Clause Legislation

Various states are considering or have enacted conscience clause legislation that is allegedly designed to protect religious liberty. Many of these statutes are constitutionally suspect in light of both establishment and equal protection guarantees, because of the way that they privilege certain religious beliefs and impose a burden solely on a politically unpopular group. While the religious accommodation jurisprudence does not always follow a clear path, these statutes simply cannot pass muster in light of the current jurisprudence.
Management of Perioperative Pain and Sedation for Interventional Radiology Procedures

Interventional radiology is especially well positioned to succeed in an ambulatory surgery center. While minimally invasive procedures can often be performed with local analgesia and conscious sedation administered by the performing interventionalist, as procedures become increasingly complex or life-threatening, the use of regional nerve blocks, deep sedation, monitored anesthesia care (MAC), or general anesthesia (GA) can improve procedural success rates and patient-perceived experiences. Post-procedural discomfort is a common indication for admission. Effective pain management/anesthesia can be cost-effective by increasing same-day discharge rates. A thorough history and physical exam is necessary before any interventional procedure. High-risk populations include those patients with obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), coronary artery disease, chronic renal failure, patients with drug addiction, and elderly/pediatric. Special pre-procedure considerations include risk of bleeding, contrast-induced nephropathy, adverse reactions to contrast, patient-positioning, breath-holding, vascular access site, and recovery planning. Additional considerations are based on the specific procedure planned and the imaging modality utilized.
LYTACs that engage the asialoglycoprotein receptor for targeted protein degradation.

Selective protein degradation platforms have afforded new development opportunities for therapeutics and tools for biological inquiry. The first lysosome-targeting chimeras (LYTACs) targeted extracellular and membrane proteins for degradation by bridging a target protein to the cation-independent mannose-6-phosphate receptor (CI-M6PR). Here, we developed LYTACs that engage the asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR), a liver-specific lysosome-targeting receptor, to degrade extracellular proteins in a cell-type-specific manner. We conjugated binders to a triantenerrary N-acetylgalactosamine (tri-GalNAc) motif that engages ASGPR to drive the downregulation of proteins. Degradation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) by GalNAc-LYTAC attenuated EGFR signaling compared to inhibition with an antibody. Furthermore, we demonstrated that a LYTAC consisting of a 3.4-kDa peptide binder linked to a tri-GalNAc ligand degrades integrins and reduces cancer cell proliferation. Degradation with a single tri-GalNAc ligand prompted site-specific conjugation on antibody scaffolds, which improved the pharmacokinetic profile of GalNAc-LYTACs in vivo. GalNAc-LYTACs thus represent an avenue for cell-type-restricted protein degradation. Lysosome-targeting chimeras (LYTACs) based on glycan ligands of the asialoglycoprotein receptor facilitate the cell-specific targeting and turnover of proteins by lysosomal enzymes, expanding the scope of LYTAC-mediated targeted protein degradation.
Oral PI3K-δ,γ Inhibitor for the Management of People with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma: A Narrative Review on Duvelisib

The development of highly effective targeted therapies has led to a new treatment paradigm in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL). Despite these advances, many patients will eventually require alternative treatment strategies due to the emergence of tolerability issues or resistance to these novel agents. Duvelisib is a first-in-class, potent oral agent with dual inhibitor activity against the δ and γ isoforms of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3Kδ and PI3Kγ), which are specific to the hematopoietic system. Dysregulation of the PI3K/PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathway has been implicated in cancer cell growth, survival and metabolism and has been the subject of cancer drug development in recent years. Duvelisib demonstrated activity in CLL/SLL in early trials, leading to further evaluation in the Phase 3 DUO trial that compared duvelisib against ofatumumab in patients with relapsed/refractory CLL/SLL. This trial led to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the treatment of adult patients with CLL/SLL after at least two prior lines of therapy. The major reason for therapy discontinuation is the development of serious adverse events, which include severe infections and diarrhea/colitis, precluding its widespread use. Ongoing clinical trials are evaluating duvelisib in combination strategies and with alternate dosing schedules in patients with CLL/SLL. With close monitoring, duvelisib can be a promising drug for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory CLL/SLL. This review summarizes the relevant clinical data from recent clinical advances in CLL and aims to interpret the duvelisib trials while exploring strategies to improve its use and adverse event management in the era of novel targeted agents.
Racial/ethnic disparities among women receiving intrauterine transfusions for alloimmunization at a single fetal treatment center.

Disparities are prevalent in numerous areas of healthcare. We sought to investigate whether there were racial/ethnic disparities among pregnant women with the most severe form of alloimmunization who require intrauterine transfusions (IUT). We reviewed patients who underwent IUT for alloimmunization at a single fetal treatment center between 2015 and 2020. This "IUT cohort" was compared to an "Alloimmunization cohort": patients seen at our institution with a diagnosis of alloimmunization during pregnancy, who did not receive IUT. We collected maternal demographics including self-identified race/ethnicity and primary language, transfusion, and antibody characteristics. The cohorts were compared using unpaired t-tests, Mann-Whitney tests, and Fischer's exact tests, as appropriate. The IUT cohort included 43 patients and the alloimmunization cohort included 1049 patients. Compared to the alloimmunization cohort, there were significantly more patients of Latina descent in the IUT cohort (23.3% vs. 3.4%, p < .0001), and more non-English speakers (18.6% vs. 4.6%, p = .001). Twenty-one percent (9/43) of patients had immigrated to the United States, all of whom had pregnancies or miscarriages in their country of origin. A third of patients had new antibodies identified on serial screens during the current pregnancy. Significantly more women of Latina ethnicity and non-English speakers required IUTs compared to the cohort of women with alloimmunization. Insufficient access to care prior to arriving in the United States and among racial and ethnic minorities in the United States may contribute to these findings. Providers should be cognizant of potential, racial, and ethnic inequalities among women receiving intrauterine transfusions.
Quad Gate-Driver Controller with Start-Up and Shutdown for Cascaded Resonant Switched-Capacitor Converter

A modular quad gate-driver and controller chip for use with cascaded 2:1 switched-capacitor (SC) resonant dc-dc converters is presented. The solution integrates the controller, level-shifters, active bootstrap and gate-drivers along with start-up and shutdown assist peripherals for standalone operation of a hybrid SC cell with four power switches. Significant size reduction of auxiliary components is demonstrated, yielding improved efficiency and power density. The modularity of the approach is demonstrated with a three-stage resonant converter prototype with 8:1 conversion ratio from 48V DC bus to 6V DC intermediate bus, with peak efficiency of 97.8% and 30A load capability. The quad gate-driver is integrated in a 180nm BCD process with external bootstrap capacitors.
Synchrotron studies of functional interfaces and the state of the art: A perspective

The dramatic improvements in synchrotron light sources across the world imply tremendous opportunities for interface science. In this Perspective, we describe a variety of current scattering and spectroscopic techniques with an eye toward how these will evolve, particularly with the advent of diffraction-limited sources. We also note the importance of in situ and operando methods for both understanding interface creation and interface evolution in different environments. As interfaces are often where critical processes occur, whether in regard to energy/chemical/materials/quantum information science, understanding the utility of these x-ray techniques will be of considerable importance to the cultivation of next-generation scientists.
Noise in São Paulo (1950s–1970s):

Between the 1950s and 1970s, as the Sao Paulo population inflated from a little over two million to more than eight million, residents and public officials proposed a set of regulatory measures to control noise. This article examines shifts in noise-related problems and solutions as a thread to understand thepolitics of collective living in Brazil’s largest city. Focusing on the noise generated by two major infrastructural projects (the Congonhas Airport and the Minhocao elevated expressway), I argue that noise debates went through three major changes in the 1950s–1970s. First, the noise generated by transportation systems galvanized residents and audio experts into a call for the city to tackle noise as an infrastructural issue rather than a “nuisance.” Second, as cities became entangled in environmental pollution debates, the city administration attempted to approach urban planning as a broader issue that included noise. Finally, the increasing presence of acousticians and engineers in the city facilitated the reframing of noise as a measurable problem that could only be solved with their techno-scientific input.
Virtual Pharmacopedia: An online educational database housing student-developed, expert-reviewed modules for PharmD curricular expansion.

Abstract Introduction The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of Virtual Pharmacopedia, an online educational resource that houses student-developed, expert-reviewed modules designed to supplement the elective pharmacy curriculum. Methods Student volunteers were randomly assigned to one of two groups: those who created module content (creators) and potential utilizers (consumers). Modules on necrotizing fasciitis and ventricular arrhythmias were piloted and evaluated by experts before releasing to consumers. Learning was evaluated pre- and post-module creation via multiple-choice quizzes, and perceptions were evaluated afterward via survey. Perceived need for and utility of the modules were also evaluated for consumers using survey items analyzed using a five-point Likert type scale. All data were analyzed descriptively. Results Most participating students (n = 95, 32% response rate) agreed they would use Virtual Pharmacopedia (96%), that module content enhanced understanding (88%), and that it would be a helpful resource (94%). Consumer quiz scores significantly improved from pre- to post-module for consumers who completed the module (n = 31) compared to those who did not (n = 89). Creator survey data (n = 10, 100%) revealed increased knowledge and application from pre- to post-module. Conclusions As a platform for self-directed learning, Virtual Pharmacopedia provides abbreviated national licensing examination review, rotation preparation, and exposure to unfamiliar content. Virtual Pharmacopedia increased learning and application of knowledge for both module creators and consumers, suggesting that Virtual Pharmacopedia can be a useful resource with potential for practical utility in pharmacy education.
Understanding Subpopulations on Mechanical Turk

Abstract. We draw on the drift hypothesis and latent deprivation model to guide comparisons between such workers on Amazon's crowdsourcing platform Mechanical Turk, known as Turkers, who report no ...
Fuzzy Sets and Fuzzy Differential Equations

Solution of real world problems often rely on solutions of mathematical models of empirical phenomena. It is well known that the precision and exactness necessary during the construction and solution of such models are not always true in real situations. The major difficulty encountered by a model builder is to express imprecise notions in a seemingly precise form. Conventional mathematics is not equipped to handle vagueness. As researchers and mathematical model builders continue their efforts to construct intelligent systems they are coming to grip with the issue of uncertainty in human knowledge and reasoning. As new fields of study like general system theory, robotics, artificial intelligence and language theory continue to grow, we are forced to specify imprecise notions and analyze them. In 1965, Zadeh [31] introduced a modification of set theory known as fuzzy set theory to study notions with prescribed vagueness.
Performance and Acceptance Testing of Scintillation Cameras for SPECT

This is the third in a series of four continuing education articles related to the characteristics of the scintillation camera. Upon completion of this article, the reader should be able to: 1) understand the principles and the necessity of performance testing; 2) have the basic information to establish and conduct a routine testing program; and 3) effectively ensure the installation and performance of a SPECT system.
Life-Cycle Portfolio Allocation for Disappointment Averse Agents

I solve the life-cycle portfolio allocation problem of a disappointment averse (DA) agent with labor income risk. DA preferences overweight disappointing outcomes and are consistent with behavior highlighted by the Allais paradox. I show that unlike constant relative risk aversion (CRRA) investors, DA investors drastically cut their allocation to stocks when they retire. This result is consistent with empirical evidence on portfolio shares and with the allocation rules of target-date retirement funds. I also show that sufficiently disappointment averse agents abstain from stocks after retirement, which is consistent with the observed low rates of stock market participation among retirees. I further show that when crashes are possible, agents with low levels of wealth invest little (or nothing) in the stock market.
Performance Characteristics of Endoscopic Ultrasound in the Staging of Pancreatic Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Context The optimal approach to pre-operative imaging assessment of pancreatic cancer is unknown. Objective The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess accuracy and performance characteristics of EUS in determining nodal staging, vascular invasion, and prediction of resectability of pancreatic cancer. A secondary aim was to perform head to head comparison of performance characteristics between EUS and CT for nodal staging, vascular invasion and resectability. Design Data from EUS studies were pooled according to bivariate generalized random effects model. Pooled estimates for CT were obtained from studies which performed head to head comparison between EUS and CT. Patients Patients with pancreatic cancer undergoing pre-operative imaging assessment. Intervention EUS. Main outcome measure Pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of EUS for nodal staging, vascular invasion and resectability. Results Forty-nine studies were considered of which 29 met inclusion criteria with a total of 1,330 patients. Pooled summary estimates for EUS-nodal staging were 69% for sensitivity and 81% for specificity. For vascular invasion, sensitivity was 85% and specificity was 91%. The sensitivity and specificity for resectability was 90% and 86%, respectively. CT scan showed lower sensitivity than EUS for nodal staging (24% vs . 58%) and vascular invasion (58% vs . 86%); however, the specificities for nodal staging (88% vs . 85%) and vascular invasion (95% vs . 93%) were comparable in studies where both imaging techniques were performed. The sensitivity and specificity of CT in determining resectability (90% and 69%) was similar to that of EUS (87% and 89%). Conclusions EUS is an accurate pre-operative tool in the assessment of nodal staging, vascular invasion and resectability in patients with pancreatic cancer. Image: SROC of CT vs . EUS in assessing vascular invasion.
Media as Social Partners: The Social Nature of Young Children's Learning from Screen Media.

Television has become a nearly ubiquitous feature in children's cultural landscape. A review of the research into young children's learning from television indicates that the likelihood that children will learn from screen media is influenced by their developing social relationships with on-screen characters, as much as by their developing perception of the screen and their symbolic understanding and comprehension of information presented on screen. Considering the circumstances in which children under 6 years learn from screen media can inform teachers, parents, and researchers about the important nature of social interaction in early learning and development. The findings reviewed in this article suggest the social nature of learning, even learning from screen media.
DNA probes. Fruits of the new biotechnology.

The emergence of recombinant DNA technology in the 1970sgiven rise to new diagnostic techniques based on DNA probes. The Food and Drug Administratitration'shese probes stems from its regulatory responsibilities regarding DNA probes as medical devices. The agency also sees DNA probes as valuable tools in meeting its mission of identifying, preventing, and resolving public health problems, especially in the area of food safety. The development of DNA probes for genetic diseases is raising medical and ethical questions that must be addressed by the medical community, whose ultimate responsibility must be to see that this new technology is used wisely, appropriately, and correctly. ( JAMA 1987;258:2404-2406)
Structural mechanism of WASP activation by the enterohaemorrhagic E. coli effector EspF(U).

During infection, enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) takes over the actin cytoskeleton of eukaryotic cells by injecting the EspFU protein into the host cytoplasm1,2. EspFU controls actin by activating members of the Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) family1,2,3,4,5. Here we show that EspFU binds to the autoinhibitory GTPase binding domain (GBD) in WASP proteins and displaces it from the activity-bearing VCA domain (for verprolin homology, central hydrophobic and acidic regions). This interaction potently activates WASP and neural (N)-WASP in vitro and induces localized actin assembly in cells. In the solution structure of the GBD–EspFU complex, EspFU forms an amphipathic helix that binds the GBD, mimicking interactions of the VCA domain in autoinhibited WASP. Thus, EspFU activates WASP by competing directly for the VCA binding site on the GBD. This mechanism is distinct from that used by the eukaryotic activators Cdc42 and SH2 domains, which globally destabilize the GBD fold to release the VCA6,7,8. Such diversity of mechanism in WASP proteins is distinct from other multimodular systems, and may result from the intrinsically unstructured nature of the isolated GBD and VCA elements. The structural incompatibility of the GBD complexes with EspFU and Cdc42/SH2, plus high-affinity EspFU binding, enable EHEC to hijack the eukaryotic cytoskeletal machinery effectively.
The Effects of Gain Versus Loss Message Framing and Point of Reference on Consumer Responses to Green Advertising

An experiment was employed to determine the effect of gain versus loss message framing, point of reference (i.e., self vs. environment), and product involvement on the effectiveness of green advertising. Results indicate that in the context of green advertising for consumer products, gain frames and self appeals elicit more favorable responses than loss frames and environment appeals. However, when combined, a self/loss framing is more persuasive than an environment/loss framing. This difference was muted for the high product involvement condition, possibly due to more message elaboration occurring under this condition. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
URETERAL SCIATIC HERNIA DEMONSTRATED ON RETROGRADE UROGRAPHY AND SURGICALLY REPAIRED WITH BOARI FLAP TECHNIQUE

A 62-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital with the chief complaints of abdominal pain, nausea and decreased appetite 5 days in duration. Initial vital signs and laboratory tests, including urinalysis, were normal. Excretory urography (IVP) showed significant hydronephrosis and hydroureter from the level of the mid pelvis. Abdominal computerized tomography (CT) revealed obstruction of the distal left ureter with herniation into the sciatic foramen (fig. 1). The patient underwent retrograde ureteroscopy, which revealed acute narrowing and 180-degree tortuosity with posterior deviation behind the acetabulum (fig. 2). Attempted passage of a ureteral catheter would not negotiate the acute tortuosity. Left Gibson and muscle splitting incisions were made retroperitoneally to the dilated left ureter. The left ureter was isolated and dissected down to the sciatic foramen, where the ureter invaginated into the foramen. At this point the ureter was markedly fibrotic, tortuous and angulated at 180 degrees. This segment of ureter was excised and taken down to the ureterovesical junction. The proximal ureter was reimplanted into the bladder using a Boari flap technique (fig. 3). No attempt was made to close the hernia because it was covered with omentum. Convalescence was uneventful and the patient was discharged from the hospital 4 days postoperatively. DISCUSSION
Effect of postinjury intravenous or intrathecal methylprednisolone on spinal cord excitatory amino-acid release, nitric oxide generation, PGE2 synthesis, and myeloperoxidase content in a pig model of acute spinal cord injury.

Effect of postinjury intravenous or intrathecal methylprednisolone on spinal cord excitatory amino-acid release, nitric oxide generation, PGE 2 synthesis, and myeloperoxidase content in a pig model of acute spinal cord injury
Legal and ethical challenges in brain death.

Mr Gostin in his Viewpoint1 argued that “All states have followed the model act, although 2 states—New Jersey and New York—require hospitals to consider the family’s religious or moral views in determining a course of action after brain death.” However, the New Jersey statute and New York regulation require consideration of the individual’s belief, not the family’s. Furthermore, these states require determining death not by neurological criteria (and thus not after brain death) but solely upon the basis of cardiorespiratory criteria
Dynamics of oxygen species on reduced TiO 2 ( 110 ) rutile

Using density functional theory calculations, we have investigated the adsorption and diffusion of oxygen species on the reduced ${\mathrm{TiO}}_{2}(110)$ surface. We have found that molecular ${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ strongly binds not only to O vacancies, but also to $\mathrm{Ti}(5c)$ neighbors, due to delocalization of unpaired electrons arising from removal of neutral bridging oxygen. Our results show that molecular ${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ can jump across an oxygen vacancy and diffuse along a $\mathrm{Ti}(5c)$ row with moderate barriers. On the other hand, atomic O diffusion along a $\mathrm{Ti}(5c)$ row is rather unlikely at low temperatures $(l300\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K})$, because of the relatively higher probability of O-O formation from interaction with an adjacent bridging $\mathrm{O}(2c)$ atom. Based on our calculation results, we discuss the diffusion and healing of O vacancies associated with ${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ adsorption.
Forecasting in business schools: A follow-up survey

Abstract This article reports the results of a follow-up survey designed to determine whether changes have occurred in the area of forecasting education since 1983. The survey instrument was sent to member institutions of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The results of this survey were similar to those for the 1983 study. Differences were found in computer usage and the number of schools planning to offer forecasting courses in the future.
Integration of information in a visual discrimination task

The integration of information model of signal detection theory (SDT) was tested in a multiple observation tilt-discrimination task. Improvement in discriminability with additional observations was consonant with theory over two observations, but observations beyond the second yielded less improvement than predicted by the integration model. Analyses of operating characteristics lent some support to the applicability of SDT to the tilt-discrimination task.
Somatic, metabolic and endocrine correlates of set point recovery in food-restricted and ad lib-fed weanling rats with dorsomedial hypothalamic lesions

Male Sprague-Dawley rats received either electrolytic lesions in the dorsomedial hypothalamic nuclei (DMNL rats) or sham-operations (CON), and were fed lab chow ad lib for 41 post-operative (POP) days. Subsequently one lesioned (DMNL-AL) and one control group (CON-AL) continued to receive lab chow ad lib unitl the end of the experiment (POP day 78). A second lesioned (DMNL-RE) and control group (CON-RE) were given 80% of the amount of food eaten by their ad lib-fed counterparts for 28 days. At this time several rats from each group were killed. The remaining animals were then given lab chow ad lib for nine days and then also killed. Both DMNL-RE and CON-RE recovered their lowered body weight, food intake and feeding efficiency and showed the same pattern and relative magnitude as their ad lib-fed counterparts. Similarly, carcass lipid, epididymal fat pad lipid, incorporation of glucose-U-C 14 into fat pad saponifiable lipid, total lipid, total glycogen (DPM/protein), liver protein, incorporation of glucose into liver CO 2 and concentrations of plasma glucose, glycerol, triglycerides and free fatty acids normalized on refeeding to the same extent and in the same pattern in DMNL-RE as in CON-RE. In contrast to previous studies, plasma insulin was lower in DMNL-AL than in CON-AL but DMNL-RE and CON-RE had similar levels on refeeding. Also on refeeding, both DMNL-RE and CON-RE showed the same enhanced glucose incorporation into liver total lipid. The data show that DMNL rats, although smaller in size and hypophagic in absolute terms, recovered lost body weight-at least under our relative mild reduction of 80% of their ad lib-fed controls-with the same competence and in the same time interval as sham-operated controls. It is quite possible that a more severe restriction of body weight would have uncovered some deficits in DMNL rats, however. Under the constraints of the present experimental arrangement, the data strengthen previous evidence for the existence in DMNL rats of an “organismic” set point that makes for a “scaled-down” but homeostatically normal animal.
The Nursing Home and Training in Geropsychiatry

Although the elderly have a higher incidence of mental illness than other groups, their need for psychiatric services is not being met adequately. This situation could be improved by providing psychiatrists with a broader education in aging and more extensive supervised experience in treating mentally ill old people at an early stage of their training. The Bronx-Lebanon Hospital established a program for this purpose in cooperation with the Daughters of Jacob Geriatric Center. Second-year residents in psychiatry are given regular assignments, under supervision, in this multiservice nursing home. They become knowledgeable about the aging process, gain a better understanding of the effect of physical, emotional and social factors on mental health in late life, and acquire a special competence and greater interest in treating the mentally ill aging. The success of the program suggests its value as a means of encouraging psychiatrists to take a more active and responsible role toward the aging.
Theory Versus Experiment for the Rotordynamic Coefficient of Labyrinth Gas Seals: Part II—A Comparison to Experiment

An experimental test facility is used to measure the leakage and rotordynamic coefficients of teeth-on-rotor and teeth-on-stator labyrinth gas seals. The test results are presented along with the theoretically predicted values for the two seal configurations at three different radial clearances and shaft speeds to 16,000 cpm. The test results show that the theory accurately predicts the cross-coupled stiffness for both seal configurations and shows improvement in the prediction of the direct damping for the teeth-on-rotor seal. The theory fails to predict a decrease in the direct damping coefficient for an increase in the radial clearance for the teeth-on-stator seal.