cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
CIRC/METS: a scholarship program to assist engineering transfer students to graduate and attain a graduate degree

The CIRC/METS project - collaborative interdisciplinary research community/maricopa engineering transition scholars is an academic scholarship program funded by the National Science Foundation to retain students in engineering degree programs and to create interest in pursuing an advanced degree in engineering. This pilot program targets women and underrepresented students who transferred from community colleges to four-year engineering degree programs to address their unique needs as transfer students. Many engineering schools have developed retention programs to assist entering engineering freshmen adjust to college life. However, little attention has been given to the community college transfer student entering a four-year engineering school. The goal of CIRC/METS is to provide students encouragement and support to complete an undergraduate degree in engineering with the goal that the students aspire to attain an advanced degree in engineering. The paper reports on the recruiting process for the program and on the CIRC/METS workshops (five per semester). The workshops concentrated on connecting students with ASU faculty to get research experience and on strategies for how to best present themselves when applying to graduate programs. The paper also reports on student feedback and what we have learned about strategies to motivate CIRC/METS students to pursue an advanced degree in engineering.
Bevacizumab is safe in acute relapses of neuromyelitis optica.

Objectives Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a relapsing autoimmune disease targeting the spinal cord and optic nerve leading to paralysis and blindness. Current treatment for acute NMO attacks is immunosuppression with high-dose corticosteroids and/or plasmapheresis. Preclinical animal studies suggest that bevacizumab might be beneficial in limiting the extent of inflammation during a NMO relapse by reducing the disruption of the blood–brain barrier.
Establishment of social reinforcers in two schizophrenic children on the basis of food

Abstract This paper presented a method for, and data pertaining to, the establishment and maintenance of social stimuli as reinforcers for certain behaviors of two schizophrenic children characterized as autistic. The experimental procedure consisted of two phases. The first phase was concerned with the establishment of the social stimulus as discriminative for food. The second phase involved the delivery of the social stimulus contingent upon a bar-pressing response, as a test of any reinforcing properties it might have acquired during the first phase. The results show that (a) the social stimulus acquired reinforcing properties for these children (several thousand responses were made to it), and (b) as long as the social stimulus was maintained as discriminative for food it showed no signs of losing its acquired reinforcing propertics.
Spectrum splitting photovoltaics: Materials and device parameters to achieve ultrahigh system efficiency

We describe an approach for spectrum splitting solar module design using 8 independently connected subcells with optimized band gaps. Modified detailed balance calculations using parameters to account for nonideal absorption and recombination behavior are used to identify the efficiency of spectrum splitting modules with 2 to 20 subcells. Potential optical designs for solar spectrum splitting among subcells are briefly described. Spectrum splitting improves use of the power in the solar spectrum by decreasing thermalization losses. A multijunction design utilizing independently connected subcells employed in a concentrator photovoltaic receiver allows flexibility in subcell selection, fabrication and operating power point optimization when a large number of subcells are employed.
Self-aligned ALD AlOx T-gate insulator for gate leakage current suppression in SiNx-passivated AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

A proof-of-concept metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistor (HEMT) that uses a self-aligned 10 nm AlO x gate insulator and SiN x passivation in the device access regions was investigated. Self-alignment of the gate insulator to metal was achieved by utilizing a submicron tri-layer photoresist pattern to lift-off sequentially-deposited AlO x dielectric and Ni/Au gate metal layers. By keeping the temperature low (100 °C) during the atomic-layer deposition (ALD) of AlO x , reflow of the photoresist pattern was prevented, which maintained the integrity of its re-entrant profile. After lift-off, the resulting transistor gate had a T-shaped profile with AlO x directly under the gate metal only. In a split wafer comparison, this experimental structure reduced reverse-bias gate leakage current after passivation by one to two orders of magnitude over Schottky gate devices. Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) SiN x passivation of the exposed AIGaN surface access regions of AlO x -insulated gate devices was found to produce pulsed I-V improvements that are similar to those observed in passivated Schottky gate devices. This fabrication technique has been successfully used to demonstrate insulated gate devices with gate lengths (L G ) as short as 160 nm with f T = 35 GHz and/max = 77 GHz small-signal performance. Substantial output conductance and f T · L c product roll-off were observed at short gate lengths for both AlO x insulated and Schottky gate devices.
Pakistan's Macroeconomic Adjustment and Resumption of Growth, 1999-2004

The main findings are as follows: (1) an increase in private national saving during 2001-03 was the key contributor to the turnaround in Pakistan`s external current account during this period; (2) while Pakistan`s growth was mainly export-led before 2003-04, it was largely led by domestic demand in 2004, especially consumer demand but also private and public investment; and (3) the structural reforms implemented in Pakistan during the past four years should make the observed strengthening in domestic savings and rise in domestic investment permanent, auguring well for accelerated growth within a sustainable external balance. The country`s growth prospects would be further enhanced by a more externally driven growth process, and by an acceleration of structural reforms to further improve productivity and the investment climate.
Preparing the Next Generation for Integrated Care in Medical Settings: Training in Primary Care as a Foundation

Shifting the focus of a psychology training program to an increased emphasis on knowledge and skills to work in a variety of medical settings requires willingness to try new training paradigms. New training sites must be identified. Supervisors with experience working in medical settings must be located. Then, making it happen necessitates strong, ongoing working relationships among key players (i.e., training directors, psychologists, medical providers) and respect and commitment to interdisciplinary training among the various disciplines involved. Financial support must be obtained for trainee stipends and benefits as well as for resources needed (e.g., assessment measures, psychoeducation materials, and treatment resources) and space. The final ingredient is a patient population that is open to new models of clinical service delivery. Thus, the current chapter focuses on the opportunities and challenges of training psychologists to work in medical settings. Most notably, examples are used of educational and training models within integrated care settings (subsequently referencing team-based treatment affording a patient at a minimum access to medical and psychological care concurrently) designed to prepare psychologists to operate within the patient-centered medical home (PCMH). The primary care setting is focused upon because changes in the health care system suggest that frequently psychologists may find themselves working in primary care. Additionally, training psychologists to work effectively in this setting not only prepares them for primary care but also specialty medical settings, as training in primary care serves as a solid foundation to build on for work in the health care system in general secondary to the complexity and diversity of patient-related issues seen. Similar to the primary care physician who must be prepared for all patient presentations (knowing their limitations and when to refer for specialized care), the psychologist integrated into primary care must be prepared for all presentations (knowing their limitations and when to refer for specialized care). Additionally, the psychologist in primary care must be a provider to the providers and able to impact the primary care system in which they are employed. Thus, training models must equip trainees to be self-reflective and critical thinkers, aware of the ethical dilemmas that present in primary care, prepared to interact with a culturally and individually diverse group of patients and providers, able to engage in program development, invested in advocacy, and display interprofessional professionalism in addition to clinical skills.
Quality factors and effective-average modal gain or loss in inhomogeneous spherical resonators: application to two-photon absorption

A method is presented for calculating the quality factors (Q's) and the effective-average gain and loss coefficients for the modes of a dielectric sphere which has a spatial perturbation of the imaginary part of the refractive index. The method is applicable to gain calculations in spherical lasers, to spatial hole burning and to stimulated Raman scattering in spheres. A time-independent perturbation method is also used to compute the Q's of the resonances. Results computed using both methods are compared with analytical results for layered spheres. The methods are used to compute the near-resonance backscattering by a sphere having an intensity-dependent (two-photon absorption) loss. >
Filming Eugenics: Teaching the History of Eugenics Through Film

In teaching eugenics to undergraduate students and general public audiences, film should be considered as a provocative and fruitful medium that can generate important discussions about the intersections among eugenics, gender, class, race, and sexuality. This paper considers the use of two films, A Bill of Divorcement and The Lynchburg Story , as pedagogical tools for the history of eugenics. The authors provide background information on the films and suggestions for using the films to foster an active engagement with the historical eugenics movement.
Effect of Benzothiadiazole on Transmission of X-Disease Phytoplasma by the Vector Colladonus montanus to Arabidopsis thaliana, a New Experimental Host Plant.

Bressan, A., and Purcell, A. H. 2005. Effect of benzothiadiazole on transmission of X-disease phytoplasma by the vector Colladonus montanus to Arabidopsis thaliana, a new experimental host plant. Plant Dis. 89:1121-1124. Colladonus montanus (Van Duzee), a leafhopper vector of X-disease phytoplasma (Xp), efficiently transmitted the pathogen to Arabidopsis thaliana Columbia wild type. During transmission trials, the phytoplasma was inoculated into 22-, 34-, and 40-day-old plants. Phytoplasma infections were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers specific for Xp. Symptoms in Xp-positive A. thaliana were overall stunting and reduced or no fruit (silques). All symptom-free plants were PCR negative. Leafhopper nymphs free of Xp that fed on diseased A. thaliana acquired and transmitted Xp to celery plants, a diagnostic host, causing typical Xdisease symptoms. Foliar spray applications of the plant resistance elicitor benzothiadiazole (BTH) to A. thaliana 1 week before phytoplasma inoculation significantly reduced phytoplasma infection, ranging from an infection rate of 73.7% for untreated plants to 50 and 35% for plants treated with 1.2 and 4.8 mM BTH, respectively. Vector leafhoppers survival was significantly reduced on BTH-treated A. thaliana compared with leafhoppers on nontreated plants, suggesting that systemic acquired resistance in this plant may have some detrimental effect on the leafhopper C. montanus. Additional keywords: mollicute, SAR
Causation From Perception

Beginning with the research of Albert Michotte, investigators have identified simple perceptual events that observers report as causal. For example, suppose a square moves across a screen and comes to a halt when it makes contact with a second square. If the second square then begins moving in the same direction, observers sometimes report that the first square “pushed” the second or “caused it to move.” Based on such reports, Michotte claimed that people perceive causality, and a number of psychologists and philosophers have followed his lead. This article examines Michotte’s hypothesis by comparing it with its chief rival: Observers possess representations of pushings, pullings, and other events in long-term memory. A Michottean display triggers one of these representations, and the representation classifies the display as an instance of pushing (or pulling, etc.). According to this second explanation, recognizing an event as a pushing is similar to classifying an object as a cup or a dog. Data relevant...
Identifications and Quantification of Edible Plant Foods in the Upper (Nama) Karoo, South Africa

More than 18 000 archaeological sites have been identified, and a dozen rock shelter sites investigated in the Zeekoe Valley, Upper Karoo, South Africa, but no work has been performed to date regarding edible plant remains. A baseline for understanding potential contribution of plants to the Zeekoe Valley diet is crucial for developing models of land use and mobility patterns for Late Stone Age (LSA) inhabitants, particularly since ethnographically known foragers in Botswana, some 800 km to the north, are as much as 80% dependent on plant foods for their survival. Since native foraging groups are long extinct in this semi-arid region with abundant natural springs, a rigorous investigation of botanical and ethnohistoric literature forms the groundwork for field investigations where direct ethnographic observation is no longer an option. First, edible species in the study area are identified in the literature. They are then sought on the ground with the aid of local informants whose families have resided in the valley for generations. It appears as though some knowledge of local plants gained from native foragers 150 years ago or more has remained in Afrikaans families passed down from landowning parent to child. On the ground, collection and middle range experimentation was followed by basic nutritional analysis. These measures were then used to compare foraging efficiency to measures from extant foraging groups. While dozens of edible species were identified, five plant species formed the focus of this study: Slymstock Uintjie (Albuca canadensis); Boesman Uintjie (Cyperus usitatus, Cyperus fulgens); Jakkalsbosberry (Diospyros austro-africana); Rooi wortel (Pelargorium sidoides); and Osbossie (Talinum caffrum). Results suggest native foraging groups, now extinct in the vicinity, may have been 60% or more dependent on plant food resources, despite abundance of game in the area and in the archaeological record.
The cerebellar channelopathy of multiple sclerosis.

Clinical abnormalities in multiple sclerosis (MS) have traditionally been attributed to inflammation, demyelination, or degeneration of axons within the brain and spinal cord. Among those symptoms, clinical deficits due to cerebellar dysfunction, including loss of coordination, ataxia, tremor, and dysarthria, can reduce function substantially, are less likely to remit, and are more likely to be associated with progressive MS in the future.1 Interestingly, cerebellar signs and symptoms are sometimes seen in patients in whom structural lesions or inflammation of the cerebellum cannot be detected. These symptoms can be paroxysmal, similar to trigeminal neuralgia in patients with MS, which preferentially responds to sodium channel blockers. What is the basis for these clinical deficits?
Angiogenesis Links Chronic Inflammation with Cancer

Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from existing vessels, is tightly linked to chronic inflammation and cancer. Angiogenesis is one of the molecular events bridging the gap between inflammation and cancer. One of the events linking inflammation and cancer is an increase in cellular adhesion molecules that are expressed on the luminal surface of endothelium upon inflammation. Cellular adhesion molecules are involved in leukocyte recruitment and subsequently lead to extravasation of leukocytes to the injury site. These adhesion molecules are known to be shared by some cancer cells and have the ability to contribute to metastasis. Thus, an elevation of these molecules in chronic inflammation may be a risk factor for metastasis. In this chapter, we discuss the method used to determine the adhesion molecules expressed on endothelium, and leukocyte adhesion to endothelium.
Spinal muscular atrophy patient-derived motor neurons exhibit hyperexcitability

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) presents severe muscle weakness with limited motor neuron (MN) loss at an early stage, suggesting potential functional alterations in MNs that contribute to SMA symptom presentation. Using SMA induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), we found that SMA MNs displayed hyperexcitability with increased membrane input resistance, hyperpolarized threshold, and larger action potential amplitude, which was mimicked by knocking down full length survival motor neuron (SMN) in non-SMA MNs. We further discovered that SMA MNs exhibit enhanced sodium channel activities with increased current amplitude and facilitated recovery, which was corrected by restoration of SMN1 in SMA MNs. Together we propose that SMN reduction results in MN hyperexcitability and impaired neurotransmission, the latter of which exacerbate each other via a feedback loop, thus contributing to severe symptoms at an early stage of SMA.
The One True Religion in the Military

The US Air Force Academy has drawn national media attention since 2004 with regards to alleged pervasive religiosity at the institution. Although there have been many explanations for the issues that have arisen, a systems perspective looking at high personnel turnover, a higher than expected proportion of evangelical Christian chaplains and greater tenure for faculty and senior leadership offer insights as to how to transform the culture to one of inclusion and respect. The Oath of Equal Character is suggested as a first step in establishing a level the playing field where all within the rank and file recognize and believe that every individual has the equal opportunity to succeed and excel.
Performance Bounds of MLSE in Intensity Modulated Fiber Optic Links

Theoretical bounds for maximum likelihood sequence estimation (MLSE) for intensity modulated fiber-optic links using an integrate and dump receiver structure are derived. These bounds are used to compare performance of different modulation formats. We show that while significant performance differences exist when bit-by-bit detection is used, the performance differences between modulation formats are less significant when using a MLSE receiver structure.
Data Science and Online Education

We discuss the Data Science program at Indiana University, which is offered in both traditional residential and online formats. We describe Data Science, our chosen curriculum and its motivation. We describe experience in online delivery for both traditional lectures and online programming laboratories, and discuss implications for the technology used.
The marginal possibilities of realizing organic production for school establishments.

The aim of this article is to explore the possibility of increasing the sale of organic products through supplying schools and school canteens. Potential of this way of commercialization of organic production is assessed based on the survey on preschools and elementary schools and among parents of children attending the surveyed schools. The article is based on the local survey in the district of Ceske Budějovice and additionally on the results of a national survey that have, however, omitted the region of South Bohemia. Only about one fifth of pre-schools and elementary schools have already experienced the involvement of organic food in the school meals preparation. Some of them are not interested in organic food but most of them fear the strong increase of the school meal’s price when using ingredients originated from organic farming. Most parents are interested in inclusion of organic food in the school meals but they also worry about the price. Model cases proved, however, that the increase of the price is not so dramatic, and the real increase of the price corresponds with most parents’ willingness to pay higher prices for meals with organic food content.
Management of interstitial lung disease associated with connective tissue disease

The lung is a common site of complications of systemic connective tissue disease (CTD), and lung involvement can present in several ways. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) and pulmonary hypertension are the most common lung manifestations in CTD. Although it is generally thought that interstitial lung disease develops later on in CTD it is often the initial presentation (“lung dominant” CTD). ILD can be present in most types of CTD, including rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosus, polymyositis or dermatomyositis, Sjogren’s syndrome, and mixed connective tissue disease. Despite similarities in clinical and pathologic presentation, the prognosis and treatment of CTD associated ILD (CTD-ILD) can differ greatly from that of other forms of ILD, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) can present as a primary vasculopathy in pulmonary arterial hypertension or in association with ILD (PH-ILD). Therefore, detailed history, physical examination, targeted serologic testing, and, occasionally, lung biopsy are needed to diagnose CTD-ILD, whereas both non-invasive and invasive assessments of pulmonary hemodynamics are needed to diagnose pulmonary hypertension. Immunosuppression is the mainstay of treatment for ILD, although data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to support specific treatments are lacking. Furthermore, treatment strategies vary according to the clinical situation—for example, the treatment of a patient newly diagnosed as having CTD-ILD differs from that of someone with an acute exacerbation of the disease. Immunosuppression is indicated only in select cases of pulmonary arterial hypertension related to CTD; more commonly, selective pulmonary vasodilators are used. For both diseases, comorbidities such as sleep disordered breathing, symptoms of dyspnea, and cough should be evaluated and treated. Lung transplantation should be considered in patients with advanced disease but is not always feasible because of other manifestations of CTD and comorbidities. Clinical trials of novel therapies including immunosuppressive therapies are needed to inform best treatment strategies.
Epoch Persistence: Safe, Efficient, On-demand Rendering for Streaming Data

Streaming data is always changing. Incremental results are incomplete, but often useful in their own right. Data analysis and rendering compete with each other for computational resources and access to core data structures because they are executing concurrently. This paper presents a set of data structures that ensures a visualization is internally consistent, and therefore interpretable. The data structures are based on persistent data structures, as commonly found in functional programming, but made more efficient by incorporating computational epochs. This paper also provides a definition for "consistency" that can be applied to visualizations. These data structures are used in the Stencil visualization system, which is used to benchmark the impact of epoch consistency. The net result of employing these data structures is that internally consistent incremental results are displayed as often as hardware allows without significantly impeding data loading.
When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It?: Abortion, Personhood, and the Jurisprudence of Neutrality

Yogi Berra is no Aristotle. But his unintentionally humorous aphorisms recently collected by him and his family teach us something about the nature of philosophical reasoning and jurisprudence in particular that in some ways reveals more of what we know about the way reality or knowledge operates than lets say the skeptical stipulations of professional philosophers. We laughed the first time we heard Yogi quoted as saying "When you come to a fork in the road take it." We laugh because we know that you must go down one road or the other; the fork which is merely a shorthand way to describe the point at which the two roads meet at their termination is not an option. You cant take a fork; you must take a road. Yet the logical absurdity of Yogis aphorism does not become less absurd if we were to apply it to the issue of abortion and substitute the two divergent roads with two contrary views of what it means for a human being to merit the protection of the law. One view picks out a decisive moment in human development--e.g. viability sentience self-consciousness-- before which a human being has no standing as a person under the law while another view affirms that because a human being maintains absolute identity through change and thus endures as the same being over time --from conception to viability and until natural death--the law should protect human beings as long as they exist. According to the latter view the actualization of a human beings potentials--that is her "human" appearance achievement of viability and/or the exercise of her rational and moral powers as an adult--carry no moral and thus no legal weight for they are merely the public presentation of functions latent in every human being from the moment she comes into being that she may lose and regain throughout her life without ceasing to be herself. However when an esteemed jurist instructs us that his court opinion takes no position on which of these two views is correct even though that opinion marks off one set of human beings as objects that may be killed without justification and marks off another set of human beings as subjects that may do the killing with the laws permission he is no different than Yogi Berra saying "when you come to a fork in the road take it." Despite protestations to the contrary the law is in fact drawing a line and instructing us who is and who is not a being entitled to the protections accorded by our political community. (excerpt)
Physiological Responses to Shifts in Multiple Environmental Stressors: Relevance in a Changing World

Population response to global change will depend on responses to a multivariate set of changes in abiotic habitat characteristics and biotic interactions. Organismal biologists seeking to make ecological inferences about the impacts of global change by studying physiological performance have traditionally performed carefully controlled experimental studies that examine one variable at a time. Those studies, while of high value, may not lead to accurate predictions of organismal responses in the natural habitat, where organisms experience concomitant changes in multiple environmental factors. The symposium "Physiological Responses to Simultaneous Shifts in Multiple Environmental Stressors: Relevance in a Changing World" focused on physiological studies in which multiple environmental variables were simultaneously examined and brought together an international group of early-career and established speakers with unique perspectives on studies of multistressors. In doing so, the objective of the symposium was to frame the necessary next steps for increasing predictive capacity of organismal responses to environmental shifts in the natural habitat, establish novel collaborations among researchers actively investigating physiological responses to a multivariate environment, and broaden the number of researchers conducting such studies.
Going to the Dogs: Greyhound Racing, Animal Activism, and American Popular Culture Gwyneth Anne Thayer. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2013.

Going to the Dogs: Greyhound Racing, Animal Activism, and American Popular Culture Gwyneth Anne Thayer. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2013.This book tackles the complexity of the history, development, and controversies over greyhound racing within a broader consideration of the evolving role of the dog and the race itself in American culture. As attitudes toward greyhound racing shifted, Thayer argues for a causal role for a shift in American consciousness toward the idea that "greyhound racing was unequivocally wrong and needed to be eliminated entirely" (4). Going to the Dogs provides historical background on greyhound coursing, including some strikingly cruel uses of the dogs for rabbit killing and other pursuits that were perhaps related more to bloodsports than to racing. She does not spare the human involvement in rabbit drives which often led to the beating deaths of enormous numbers of animals. Thayer pays careful attention to the class and ethnic basis of coursing, a theme she will follow throughout the book when discussing the clear class aspects evident in modern variants of greyhound racing.The mechanical rabbit was developed in the United States by Owen Patrick Smith at the start of the twentieth century as a measure to reduce animal cruelty. Thayer argues that the mechanical rabbit in fact "was also, in a sense, a cultural metaphor" which "represented the influence of the nascent animal protection movement" (21). This innovation in turn laid the basis for dog racing on a commercial and profitable scale, starting in California and soon flourishing around the country and especially in Florida, which is the subject of a whole chapter. The new tracks and technology allowed for more dogs, greater numbers of spectators, and the rise of gambling in the form of parimutuel wagering. New leisure time, the rise of sport fandom, the development of spectator and tourist cultures, and the rapid spread of the automobile all played a part in helping greyhound racing become popular. Thayer explains how the sport matured and then stayed relatively stable throughout the profitable twentieth century, albeit with some extremely odd developments in the 1930s like the rise of monkey jockeys. It was not uncommon for the monkeys, strapped to the dogs, to die from shaking during these races. With the development of new leisure and touristic pursuits, shifts in class attitudes, and the rise of new ideas of animal welfare, greyhound racing began to fade. …
Cotton water-deficit stress, age, and cultivars as moderating factors of cotton fleahopper abundance and yield loss

Abstract Field experiments were conducted in 2012 and 2013 during drought conditions in South Texas and the Texas High Plains to test whether cotton water-deficit stress, age, and cultivars are moderating and interacting factors that affect cotton fleahopper, Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter) (Hemiptera: Miridae), abundance and yield loss. Irrigation and sequential plantings of several cultivars were used to simulate a range of water stress, plant ages, and cultivar variability. Cotton grown under these experimental conditions were exposed to cotton fleahopper using natural and artificial infestation. Cotton cultivars had a strong influence on cotton fleahopper abundance, with higher densities on Stoneville cultivar 5458 B2RF, which is relatively pubescent, than on the Phytogen cultivar 367 WRF, which is relatively glabrous, in South Texas ( p p > 0.05), whereas cotton fleahopper densities increased on older cotton grown under no water stress in 2013 in South Texas ( p p p p
122 Maternal-infant pairs comparative study and discussion on the rubella antibody level

Objective To analyze the rubella antibody level of comparison in maternal-infant pairs,and provide scientific basis for controlling and preventing congenital rubella syndrome(CRS).Methods Newborn and their mothers were collected as object from No.2 hospital attached Jilin University in 2011.Their serum samples were tested by the method of ELISA,and the data were analyzed for the rubella antibody level from some way by statistic software.Results The positive rate of rubella antibody IgG was 77.8% in mothers,the positive rate of rubella antibody IgG was 82.6% in infants.Rubella antibody IgM was positive in one mother and the maternal-infant rubella antibody IgG were more than 2500 IU/ml.With age increasing,the positive rate decreased.Maternal-transferred rubella antibody IgG increased 1.5-fold and also maternal-transferred rubella antibody IgG decreased 2.0-fold.Conclusion The effective way to reduce the congenital rubella syndrome is to test rubella antibody IgG and IgM on time in pregnant women and infants,and establish good vaccinate strategies for women at childbearing age.
Patients' Experiences Using a Brief Screening Tool for Medication-Related Problems in a Community Pharmacy Setting.

Objectives:The objective of this study was to explore patient perceptions and the practical implication of using a brief 9-item scale to screen for medication-related problems in community pharmaci...
Novel PET tracers for molecular imaging of Alzheimer’s disease

412 Objectives Alzheimer9s disease (AD) diagnosis at prodromal stages continues to be a challenging undertaking, and an unmet goal. Development of sophisticated neuroimaging techniques could have a profound impact on improving early diagnosis, monitoring disease progression, and assessing therapeutic response. While several PET tracers are under development, Avid45, GE-067 and AZD4694 have been recently approved by FDA for Aβ imaging. These agents show high levels of nonspecific white matter retention, low biological half lives and are unable to detect diffuse Aβ plaques, a preclinical manifestation of the disease. To supplement an existing armamentarium of FDA approved agents, we have discovered a small organic molecule that shows characteristics of translatable imaging agents to enable molecular imaging of AD. Methods The multiphoton imaging, binding assays with fibrils and AD homogenates, biodistribution, PET imaging in mice, immunohistochemistry in mice and humans have been performed using literature procedures. Results The novel heterocyclic agent shows a concentration dependent and saturable binding with AD homogenates (Kd=1.70±0.05nM). The F-18 counterpart demonstrates high first pass extraction into brains (8.86 % ID/g; 2 min) of normal mice, followed by clearance over 60 min. Additionally, the agent exhibits distinct labeling of fibrillar and diffuse plaques in the parenchymal region of brain sections in live APP/PS1 mice and the hippocampal tissue sections of a neuropathologically confirmed AD patient. Preliminary multiphoton real-time imaging shows its ability to traverse the blood-brain barrier and label Aβ plaques in brains of transgenic mice and blood vessels (CAA), within minutes post-intravenous injection. Compared to other neurodegenerative diseases, the agent is highly specific for AD. Conclusions In summary, the lead agent demonstrates characteristic features of translatable imaging agents and provides a platform scaffold for further optimization and development of Aβ-targeted probes.
Limited role for methane in the mid-Proterozoic greenhouse.

Abstract Pervasive anoxia in the subsurface ocean during the Proterozoic may have allowed large fluxes of biogenic CH4 to the atmosphere, enhancing the climatic significance of CH4 early in Earth’s history. Indeed, the assumption of elevated pCH4 during the Proterozoic underlies most models for both anomalous climatic stasis during the mid-Proterozoic and extreme climate perturbation during the Neoproterozoic; however, the geologic record cannot directly constrain atmospheric CH4 levels and attendant radiative forcing. Here, we revisit the role of CH4 in Earth’s climate system during Proterozoic time. We use an Earth system model to quantify CH4 fluxes from the marine biosphere and to examine the capacity of biogenic CH4 to compensate for the faint young Sun during the “boring billion” years before the emergence of metazoan life. Our calculations demonstrate that anaerobic oxidation of CH4 coupled to SO42− reduction is a highly effective obstacle to CH4 accumulation in the atmosphere, possibly limiting atmospheric pCH4 to less than 10 ppm by volume for the second half of Earth history regardless of atmospheric pO2. If recent pO2 constraints from Cr isotopes are correct, we predict that reduced UV shielding by O3 should further limit pCH4 to very low levels similar to those seen today. Thus, our model results likely limit the potential climate warming by CH4 for the majority of Earth history—possibly reviving the faint young Sun paradox during Proterozoic time and challenging existing models for the initiation of low-latitude glaciation that depend on the oxidative collapse of a steady-state CH4 greenhouse.
No Denying It: Medicinal Chemistry Training Is in Big Trouble.

There has been little consensus between the pharmaceutical industry and academic communities concerning the best approach to train medicinal chemists for drug discovery. For decades the pharmaceutical industry has shown preference for synthetic organic graduates over candidates with degrees from medicinal chemistry programs on the assumption that medicinal chemistry expertise will be acquired on the job. However, ongoing changes to pharmaceutical drug discovery organizations and practices threaten to undermine this training model. There is a compelling argument to be made for establishment of a strong industry–academic partnership to train new candidates with sophisticated knowledge of contemporary drug design concepts and techniques to ensure that the future needs of both industry and academic drug discovery research can be served.
Relinquishment coherence for enhancing directory efficiency in chip multiprocessors

A directory-based chip multiprocessor (CMP) suffers from excessive directory area overhead when its size grows. This work leverages novel relinquishment coherence and superior directory efficiency (RECODE) to lower area overhead. Relinquishment coherence boosts the utilization of a hash-based, set-associative table which holds distinct present-bit vectors (PVs), as it transforms a conflict PV to its variations after sharer relinquishment for hashing alternative sets. Superior directory efficiency is resulted from both boosted table utilization and table width shrunk via dropping “runs of zeros” commonly found in PVs. RECODE Table utilization is elevated by relinquishment coherence, which transforms a conflict PV to its variations after sharer relinquishment for hashing alternative sets. RECODE maintains “exact” directory representations for simple coherent logics and low coherent traffic. RECODE is found to enjoy 3.21× more storage efficiency than conventional bit-tracking directories for a CMP with 64 cores and it is 2.64× more storage efficient than the best directory SCD known so far.
Correlations, trends and potential biases among publicly accessible web-based student evaluations of teaching: a large-scale study of RateMyProfessors.com data

AbstractStudent evaluations of teaching are widely adopted across academic institutions, but there are many underlying trends and biases that can influence their interpretation. Publicly accessible web-based student evaluations of teaching are of particular relevance, due to their widespread use by students in the course selection process and the quantity of data available for analysis. In this study, data from the most popular of these websites, RateMyProfessors.com, is analysed for correlations between measures of instruction quality, easiness, physical attractiveness, discipline and gender. This study of 7,882,980 RateMyProfessors ratings (from 190,006 US professors with at least 20 student ratings) provides further insight into student perceptions of academic instruction and possible variables in student evaluations. Positive correlations were observed between ratings of instruction quality and easiness, as well as between instruction quality and attractiveness. On average, professors in science and e...
Reproductive considerations in the setting of chronic viral illness.

Special considerations must be taken when patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B, or hepatitis C desire to become pregnant. Patients with chronic viral illnesses desire to have children at rates similar to the general population, and options are available to decrease both vertical transmission and viral transmission between partners. Preconception counseling or consultation with fertility specialists is imperative in patients with HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C so that reproductive goals can be addressed and optimized. In couples in which one partner has HIV, the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy or preexposure prophylaxis can significantly reduce the risk of transmission between serodiscordant partners. The use of density gradient sperm-washing techniques and intrauterine insemination or in vitro fertilization results in an apparent lack of transmission of HIV between partners when the male partner is HIV-positive. Vertical transmission of HIV from mother to child can be reduced by use of highly active antiretroviral therapy regimens throughout pregnancy or by cesarean delivery in the setting of high maternal viral load. Transmission of hepatitis B between partners can be eliminated by vaccinating the uninfected partner. Vertical transmission from a hepatitis B−infected mother to a child can be reduced by vaccinating neonates with the standard hepatitis B vaccine series as well as hepatitis B immune globulin. Recent data have shown the antiviral medication tenofovir to be an effective way to reduce vertical transmission in the setting of high maternal viral load or the presence of hepatitis B e antigen. There are multiple antiviral medications available to treat chronic hepatitis C, although access to these medications often is limited by cost. Similar to HIV-positive patients, in settings in which the male partner is infected with hepatitis C, density gradient sperm washing can be used before intrauterine insemination or in vitro fertilization to reduce transmission of hepatitis C between partners. No safe and effective method exists to reduce vertical transmission of hepatitis C once a woman becomes pregnant, highlighting the importance of treatment of hepatitis C before pregnancy.
Social interactions shape the timing of spawning migrations in an anadromous fish

Mass migrations are found throughout the animal kingdom and are often undertaken by coordinated social groups. However, surprisingly little is known about how social interactions influence migratory timing. Anadromous fishes such as salmon make extensive breeding migrations between marine and freshwater ecosystems. Returning adult salmon tend to move in discrete temporal pulses, which are typically thought to be triggered by abiotic environmental stimuli (e.g. changes in river flow or temperature). However, most studies reveal only weak correlations between abiotic factors and the timing of spawning runs. Here, we demonstrate that social interactions provide a plausible alternative or additional explanation for such patterns. We first provide an example of the phenomenon using 20 years of data on sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka , ascending a stream in pulses in the absence of any obvious environmental triggers. Next, we present a model that reproduces the pulses observed in the data, simply by including social interactions among individuals. Deviations between the empirical data and the social model results suggest that salmon may alter their individual behaviour in response to annual fluctuations in density. We hope our results, demonstrating the role that social influence can play on migration timing, will motivate further studies exploring how social interactions may shape the movements of other migratory taxa. Understanding how individuals integrate social information with internal and exogenous drivers of migratory behaviour is vital, particularly in the face of a changing climate, which is changing both the cues used for, and the optimal timing of, migrations.
Peri-orificial rash in an infant

A 6 month old girl was brought to the paediatric dermatology outpatient clinic with a rash, irritability, and poor weight gain for two months. She was born at 32 weeks’ gestation with intrauterine growth restriction as a result of placental insufficiency. She was exclusively breastfed. There was no family history of skin disorders. On examination, she had scaly erythematous plaques around her eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and neck (fig 1⇓). Fig 1 Scaly erythematous plaques around the eyes, nostril, mouth, ears, and neck She had been recently prescribed mild topical corticosteroids to treat presumed atopic dermatitis, but there had been no improvement. Skin swab and scraping for bacterial and fungal microscopy and culture were taken. The serum zinc level of the child and her mother, and the full blood count and liver function tests for the child were obtained.
Polaronic transport in Ag-based quaternary chalcogenides

Low temperature resistivity measurements on dense polycrystalline quaternary chalcogenides Ag2+xZn1-xSnSe4, with x = 0, 0.1, and 0.3, indicate polaronic type transport which we analyze employing a two-component Holstein model based on itinerant and localized polaron contributions. Electronic structure property calculations via density functional theory simulations on Ag2ZnSnSe4 for both energetically similar kesterite and stannite structure types were also performed in order to compare our results to those of the compositionally similar but well known Cu2ZnSnSe4. This theoretical comparison is crucial in understanding the bonding that results in polaronic type transport for Ag2ZnSnSe4, as well as the structural and electronic properties of both crystal structure types. In addition to possessing this unique electronic transport, the thermal conductivity of Ag2ZnSnSe4 is low and decreases with increasing silver content. This work reveals unique structure-property relationships in materials that continue to ...
Coyote diet patterns in the Mojave Desert: implications for threatened desert tortoises

Coyotes (Canis latrans) are generalist predators and are ubiquitous in North America. Occasionally, predation by coyotes can pose a threat to populations of rare species. We assessed diet patterns of coyotes over a 5-year period (2009–14) in a region of the Mojave Desert where high predation rates on threatened desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) had been reported. Our goal was to identify primary food items for coyotes and to assess the importance of desert tortoises in the diet. Coyotes primarily consumed rabbits and rodents with rabbits being consumed preferentially and rodents, along with secondary foods including various birds, reptiles, arthropods, and fruits, being consumed more opportunistically. In response to low annual precipitation in the last three years of the study, dietary diversity increased, as did use of anthropogenic food items by coyotes. However, coyotes did not seem to be dependent upon anthropogenic items. Remains of desert tortoises occurred in coyote scats at low frequencies (<6%) in all years and seasons, and use of tortoises appeared to be opportunistic as use varied with tortoise abundance. In the portion of the study area where 571 translocated desert tortoises had been released in 2008, the frequencies of tortoise remains in coyote scats were markedly higher in the two years following the releases (7.5% and 8.8%, respectively). The high predation rates on tortoises reported in this area may have resulted from focussed coyote foraging efforts due to the availability of vulnerable individuals (e.g. disoriented and displaced tortoises) as well as higher tortoise densities.
Photophysical characterization of a highly luminescent divalent-europium-containing azacryptate

We report a new luminescent EuII-containing complex. The complex is excited with visible light, leading to emission centered at 447 nm with a lifetime of 1.25 μs. Computational studies suggest that the steric bulk of the ligand is a major factor influencing the wavelength of emission.