cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neuropsychological predictors of functional outcome in Cognitive Behavioral Social Skills Training for older people with schizophrenia

Cognitive Behavioral Social Skills Training (CBSST) is a 24-session weekly group therapy intervention to improve functioning in people with schizophrenia. In our prior randomized clinical trial comparing treatment as usual (TAU) with TAU plus group CBSST (Granholm, E., McQuaid, J.R., McClure, F.S., Auslander, L., Perivoliotis, D., Pedrelli, P., Patterson, T., Jeste, D.V., 2005. A randomized controlled trial of cognitive behavioral social skills training for middle-aged and older outpatients with chronic schizophrenia. Am. J. Psychiatry 162, 520-529.), participants with schizophrenia in CBSST showed significantly better functional outcome than participants in TAU. The present study was a secondary analysis of neuropsychological predictors of functional outcome in our prior CBSST trial. We examined (1) whether neuropsychological impairment at baseline moderated functional outcome in CBSST relative to TAU, and (2) whether improvement in neuropsychological abilities mediated improvement in functional outcome in CBSST. Attention, verbal learning/memory, speed of processing, and executive functions were assessed at baseline, end of treatment, and 12-month follow-up. Greater severity of neuropsychological impairment at baseline predicted poorer functional outcome for both treatment groups (nonspecific predictor), but the interaction between severity of neuropsychological impairment and treatment group was not significant (no moderation). Effect sizes for the difference between treatment groups on functional outcome measures at 12-month follow-up were similar for participants with relatively mild (d=.44-.64) and severe (d=.29-.60) neuropsychological impairment. Results also did not support the hypothesis that improvement in neuropsychological abilities mediated improvement in functioning in CBSST. Adding CBSST to standard pharmacologic care, therefore, improved functioning relative to standard care alone, even for participants with severe neuropsychological impairment, and this improvement in functioning was not related to improvement in neuropsychological abilities in CBSST.
Heterochromatin Formation Promotes Longevity and Represses Ribosomal RNA Synthesis

Organismal aging is influenced by a multitude of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, and heterochromatin loss has been proposed to be one of the causes of aging. However, the role of heterochromatin in animal aging has been controversial. Here we show that heterochromatin formation prolongs lifespan and controls ribosomal RNA synthesis in Drosophila. Animals with decreased heterochromatin levels exhibit a dramatic shortening of lifespan, whereas increasing heterochromatin prolongs lifespan. The changes in lifespan are associated with changes in muscle integrity. Furthermore, we show that heterochromatin levels decrease with normal aging and that heterochromatin formation is essential for silencing rRNA transcription. Loss of epigenetic silencing and loss of stability of the rDNA locus have previously been implicated in aging of yeast. Taken together, these results suggest that epigenetic preservation of genome stability, especially at the rDNA locus, and repression of unnecessary rRNA synthesis, might be an evolutionarily conserved mechanism for prolonging lifespan.
A Judge for Justice

This brief invited essay appears in a symposium devoted to honoring my former boss, Judge Michael Daly Hawkins, as he transitions to senior status on the Ninth Circuit. In the essay, I draw attention to a distinction that appears with some frequency in the tissue connecting punishment theory to policymaking. The distinction is the difference between shaming and being ashamed. More specifically, I am interested in the difference between judicially-ordered sanctions designed to humiliate or degrade an offender, as opposed to the incidental experience of shame one may feel upon enduring a non-shaming punishment, such as fines or non-visible probation conditions. The focus on and anxiety about (purposeful) shaming takes particular effect in a now well-known case, United States v. Gementera, and more precisely in the dissenting opinion authored by Judge Hawkins, where he argued that such purposeful shaming has no place in the halls of justice. After providing a few words about the Gementera case for background, I explain why I find Judge Hawkins' dissent quite powerful and convincing. Nonetheless, while I agree with the dissent on the merits, I do wonder about some of the issues that were not addressed in it, particularly as they relate to the issues of deference, disagreement, and democracy.
Design optimization of polysilicon ultrasonic micromotor

We studied the actuation, vibration and rotation properties of acoustically-driven surface-macromahcined ultrasonic micromotors with different stator dimensions to achieve optimized performances. The motors have been operating continuously in air for over six months without any visible wear. This very long lifetime operation, indicative of motor reliability, in possible by non-contact operation, where the vibration of the stator, which is driven by a die-attached PZT plate, is acoustically coupled to the rotor without contact. The contact is due to fluidic coupling between the rotor and stator. When the resonant frequency of the ont of the sator's vibration mode is close to PZT plate's thickness mode resonance (∼4.2MHz), rotating wave is generated on the stator. The rotational threshold and maximum rotation speed of the motor varies with the size of the stator. While larger stator (820µm) has lower rotation threshold (3.5V), its maximum rotation speed (180 rpm) is significantly lower than smaller stator (740µm), whose maximum rotation speed is over 320 rpm with rotation threshold of 8.5V.
The Case for the Regional Perspective

From the perspective of New World archaeology a regional approach to Old World hunter-gatherer archaeology makes much sense. Archaeology in the Americas has had a long-standing involvement with culture area conceptions of the ethnographic world. Growing up with this ethnological perspective, Americanist archaeology has taken for granted the large-scale culture/geographical units that are the hallmark of culture areas. Because these units have served as a robust frame for much comparative research, New World archaeologists have been at ease with and have taken for granted the utility of all types of comparisons.
Sequential source coding with side information for sensor networks

In this paper we consider the problem of estimating a vector source in a sensor network, where each sensor in the network makes a local observation of this vector source. We assume that the local observations are distorted and noise corrupted versions of the original signal source, i.e., the observation of m-th sensor ym and the signal source x are related through ym = Hmx+nm where the matrix Hm represents the distortion (filtering) effect and nm denotes the additive noise. Each sensor encodes its observation separately and sends the encoded message to a central processor (CP), whose task is to form an estimate of source x. Our objective is to design quantizers such that the distortion in the source estimate formed by the CP is minimized, subject to the sum quantization rate constraint. Realizing the resemblance of this problem to the classical CEO problem in multiterminal source coding, and inspired by the work in [S. C. Draper and G. W. Wornell, "Side information aware coding strategies for sensor networks," IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Comm., Vol.22, No.6, pp 966-976, August 2004.], we propose a successive coding and decoding strategy, based on Wyner-Ziv coding concept. Numerical evaluation of the sum rate-distortion performance of the proposed algorithm reveals an interesting trade off between sum rate, target distortion, and number of sensor nodes which are participating in the sequential coding.
Combating Defamation of Religions

The idea of combating the defamation of religions, though morally sound, is difficult from a legislative viewpoint and will pose serious drafting challenges. The idea, however, poses no greater problems than prohibiting hate speech against racial, ethnic, or religious groups - a law adopted in almost all countries of the world except the United States. One key function of law is to make distinctions and draw balance between competing rights. In the complex realm of human affairs, no right is absolute, not even free speech or the dignity of religion. Accordingly, the law against defamation of religions may be constructed in a way that does not abridge legitimate speech, including artistic freedom, and yet protects the dignity of religion.
THE ROLE OF OYSTERS IN HABITAT USE OF OYSTER REEFS BY RESIDENT FISHES AND DECAPOD CRUSTACEANS

Abstract To assess the role of live oysters in providing habitat, community metrics of resident fishes and decapod crustaceans were compared among 3 habitat treatments: live oyster clusters; cleaned, articulated shell and sand bottom. Sampling was conducted during three seasonally wet and three seasonally dry months using 1-m2 lift nets deployed on an intertidal oyster reef in the Caloosahatchee estuary, Florida. Metrics used to assess relative habitat value included organism density, biomass and species richness. Species-specific comparisons were also made. Results indicate that organism density, biomass and richness were all greater for treatments with shell (live oyster clusters or cleaned, articulated shell) compared with the sand-bottom (no-shell) treatment. Two patterns emerged from species-specific comparisons: (1) species found in live and articulated shell (e.g., flatback mud crab, green porcelain crab) might require shelter; and (2) species found in association with articulated, cleaned shell (i...
A Simulation Model to Assist in Managing the HIV Epidemic: IMAP2

The Interactive Model for AIDS Prediction (IMAP2) is a large simulation program for predicting the spread of HIV in the United States and for testing the effects on that spread of various perturbations to the model inputs. IMAP2 is constructed on a transmission-based epidemiological model for the sexual transmission of HIV and a dynamic population model for transmission of HIV by intravenous (injecting) drug abuse. The intent of IMAP2 is to facilitate comparative case studies, rather than absolute predictions for the future course of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and in its intended role it is proving useful.Perturbations to the input data might represent influences of government social policies, improved information gathering, etc., and make the model a vehicle for testing hypotheses. Example hypotheses include: (1) practices which might change the latency period of the disease; and (2) managed patterns of use and efficacy of male and female condoms.We begin by describing the algorithmic core of the model. We p...
Protein synthesis inhibition as a potential strategy for metabolic down-regulation

Summary Objective This pilot study tested the potential of puromycin (PUR) to inhibit protein synthesis and reduce oxygen utilization in a non-hibernating, whole animal preparation. Methods After anesthesia and instrumentation, male rats received a single dose of PUR or 0.9% saline (control), followed 60 min later with [35S] methionine/cysteine radiolabeling. Thirty minutes after isotope injection, organ biopsies were taken for quantification of de novo protein synthesis. Arterial and central venous blood gases were obtained at baseline and 60 min after injection of PUR or 0.9% saline. Temperature, mean arterial pressure (MAP), and heart rate were recorded continuously. Results Animals receiving PUR demonstrated significant reductions in protein synthesis in all organ systems sampled (p Conclusions These results demonstrate that PUR is capable of reducing whole body protein synthesis significantly within a relatively short duration of time. This appears to decrease whole body oxygen utilization as evidenced by an increase in ScvO2 and a decrease in O2ER. Protein synthesis inhibition may reduce metabolic demands and should be tested for its potential to improve outcomes where oxygen demands exceed oxygen delivery.
Tumor Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Studies in Patients With Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer or Head and Neck Cancer Treated With Monoclonal Antibody RG 83852

The Acknowledgment regarding the report "Tumor Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Studies in Patients With Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer or Head and Neck Cancer Treated With Monoclonal Antibody RG 83852" (J Clin Oncol 12:730–739, 1994) should have read as follows: "We thank Dr Chris Tarr, Rhone-Poulenc/Rorer, and Dr Jon Holmlund, National Cancer Institute, for supplying RG 83852; Trupti Shah, Lora B. Thompson, Margaret Janus, Marc Lewis, and M. Perez for skillful technical assistance; and Kevin Flynn for editorial assistance."
Del Nido Cardioplegia can be safely administered in high-risk coronary artery bypass grafting surgery after acute myocardial infarction: a propensity matched comparison

Del Nido (DN) cardioplegia solution provides a depolarized hyperkalemic arrest lasting up to 60 minutes, and the addition of lidocaine may limit intracellular calcium influx. Single-dose DN cardioplegia solution may offer an alternative myocardial protection strategy to multi-dose cold whole blood (WB) cardioplegia following acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We retrospectively reviewed 88 consecutive patients with AMI undergoing coronary artery bypass (CABG) surgery with cardioplegic arrest between June 2010 to June 2012. Patients exclusively received WB (n = 40, June 2010-July 2011) or DN (n = 48, August 2011-June 2012) cardioplegia. Preoperative and postoperative data were retrospectively reviewed and compared using propensity scoring. No significant difference in age, maximum preoperative serum troponin level, ejection fraction, and STS score was present between DN and WB. A single cardioplegia dose was given in 41 DN vs. 0 WB patients (p < 0.001), and retrograde cardioplegia was used 10 DN vs. 31 WB patients (p < 0.001). Mean cardiopulmonary bypass and cross clamp times were significantly shorter in the DN group versus WB group. Tranfusion rate, length of stay, intra-aortic balloon pump requirement, post-operative inotropic support, and 30-day mortality was no different between groups. One patient in the WB group required a mechanical support due to profound cardiogenic shock. DN cardioplegia may provide equivalent myocardial protection to existing cardioplegia without negative inotropic effects in the setting of acute myocardial infarction.
Measurement of protein metabolism in epidermis and dermis.

We found that, in the rabbit ear, the dermal protein contains 75.5% of cutaneous phenylalanine and 97.9% of cutaneous proline; the remaining 24.5% of phenylalanine and 2.1% of proline are in the ep...
Sentenced to Life: Penal Reform and the Most Severe Sanctions

The explosion since the 1970s in the number of prisoners in the United States serving life sentences is a dramatic change in US penal policy. The United States remains deeply attached to widespread use of life sentences despite mounting evidence that lengthy sentences have minimal impact on reducing the crime rate and enhancing public safety. The political and legal obstacles to seriously reconsidering the extensive use of life sentences in the United States are formidable. Moreover, some of the recent successes of penal reformers, including opponents of capital punishment and foes of the war on drugs, may have come at the cost of reinforcing the country's strong attachment to meting out life sentences and sentences of life without the possibility of parole (LWOP).
Kaldor’s Theory of Distribution - An Information-Theoretic Approach

Based on the assumptions of the neo-Keynesian distribution theory and using an information-theoretic approach this paper derives the distribution of income between income units. This makes it possible for the theory of functional distribution to handle more complicated social relations and savings behavior. This also helps us understand the savings behavior of individual households and the ways in which they aggregate over the entire population to produce national saving.
Shear strength behavior of human trabecular bone

The shear strength of human trabecular bone may influence overall bone strength under fall loading conditions and failure at bone-implant interfaces. Here, we sought to compare shear and compressive yield strengths of human trabecular bone and elucidate the underlying failure mechanisms. We analyzed 54 specimens (5-mm cubes), all aligned with the main trabecular orientation and spanning four anatomic sites, 44 different cadavers, and a wide range of bone volume fraction (0.06–0.38). Micro-CT-based non-linear finite element analysis was used to assess the compressive and shear strengths and the spatial distribution of yielded tissue; the tissue-level constitutive model allowed for kinematic non-linearity and yielding with strength asymmetry. We found that the computed values of both the shear and compressive strengths depended on bone volume fraction via power law relations having an exponent of 1.7 (R2=0.95 shear; R2=0.97 compression). The ratio of shear to compressive strengths (mean±SD, 0.44±0.16) did not depend on bone volume fraction (p=0.24) but did depend on microarchitecture, most notably the intra-trabecular standard deviation in trabecular spacing (R2=0.23, p<0.005). For shear, the main tissue-level failure mode was tensile yield of the obliquely oriented trabeculae. By contrast, for compression, specimens having low bone volume fraction failed primarily by large-deformation-related tensile yield of horizontal trabeculae and those having high bone volume failed primarily by compressive yield of vertical trabeculae. We conclude that human trabecular bone is generally much weaker in shear than compression at the apparent level, reflecting different failure mechanisms at the tissue level.
Transduction of bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells by using lentivirus vectors pseudotyped with modified RD114 envelope glycoproteins

Bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have attracted considerable attention as tools for the systemic delivery of therapeutic proteins in vivo, and the ability to efficiently transfer genes of interest into such cells would create a number of therapeutic opportunities. We have designed and tested a series of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-based vectors and vectors based on the oncogenic murine stem cell virus to deliver and express transgenes in human MSCs. These vectors were pseudotyped with either the vesicular stomatitis virus G (VSV-G) glycoprotein (GP) or the feline endogenous virus RD114 envelope GP. Transduction efficiencies and transgene expression levels in MSCs were analyzed by quantitative flow cytometry and quantitative real-time PCR. While transduction efficiencies with virus particles pseudotyped with the VSV-G GP were found to be high, RD114 pseudotypes revealed transduction efficiencies that were 1 to 2 orders of magnitude below those observed with VSV-G pseudotypes. However, chimeric RD114 GPs, with the transmembrane and extracellular domains fused to the cytoplasmic domain derived from the amphotropic Moloney murine leukemia virus 4070A GP, revealed about 15-fold higher titers relative to the unmodified RD114 GP. The transduction efficiencies in human MSCs of HIV-1-based vectors pseudotyped with the chimeric RD114 GP were similar to those obtained with HIV-1 vectors pseudotyped with the VSV-G GP. Our results also indicate that RD114 pseudotypes were less toxic than VSV-G pseudotypes in human MSC progenitor assays. Taken together, these results suggest that lentivirus pseudotypes bearing alternative Env GPs provide efficient tools for ex vivo modification of human MSCs.
Endoparasites of the Spotted Dusky Salamander, Desmognathus conanti (Caudata: Plethodontidae), from Southern Arkansas, U.S.A

Twenty-six spotted dusky salamanders (Desmognathus conanti) were collected from 2 counties of south-central Arkansas and examined for endoparasites. Only 3 (12%) were infected; 1 with the digene Brachycoelium salamandrae, 1 with a tetrathyridium of the cestode Mesocestoides sp., and 1 with a larval nematode, Porrocaecum sp., and an acanthocephalan cystacanth. The prevalence of infection for each helminth species was 4%. We document new host records for Mesocestoides sp., Porrocaecum sp., and an echinorhynchid acanthocephalan cystacanth. This is also the first time that Porrocaecum sp. has been reported from a salamander, and only the fourth time Mesocestoides sp. has been reported from salamanders.
Relative renal blood flow measurements with Rb-82 and a hybrid gamma camera using a pig model

We have successfully demonstrated with chronically implanted blood flow probes in a pig model that Rb-82 is indeed able to reflect acute alterations in renal blood flow. Two flow probes were placed around the left and right renal arteries in a surgical procedure nine weeks before the first Rb-82 measurements. Together with the flow probes, a flow restrictor was implanted around the left renal artery. This enabled us to regulate the flow to the left kidney and use the right kidney as a control for comparison. Single bolus infusions of 6 mCi Rb-82 were used to study the uptake in the kidneys approximately 7 minutes apart in hybrid-image limited-angle acquisitions (stationary camera heads posterior and anterior of the pig) while changing the flow to the left kidney between acquisitions. Acquisitions were repeated four times, each approximately a week apart. The acquired data were reconstructed into 7.5-second frames using a Maximum Likelihood (ML) list-mode reconstruction algorithm exploiting timing signals inserted into the list every 0.25 sec. Attenuation compensation was not done except for experiment 4 to study its effect in limited angle tomography. Reconstructed data were orientated to coronal views before regions of interest (ROI's) were drawn over both kidneys with a separate background region for each. The data represented are noisy due to the reconstructed 7.5-second frames, and the total imaging time of 5 minutes (or 8 Rb-82 half-lives). We were able to show a steady decline in uptake of Rb-82 in the left kidney with decreased flow. In addition, there is a difference in uptake when comparing the left and right kidney. This was also evident when we studied the Rb-82 uptake to the rabbit kidneys. During our intervention period of about 40 minutes, the restricted blood flow to the left kidney does not seem to affect the Rb-82 uptake to the right kidney adversely. However, comparing the baseline renal blood flow of the left kidney obtained before and after the intervention, indicate that some ischemia persists after blood flow was restored. Attenuation compensation better described the shape of the kidney but only scale the time activity curve without changing its shape.
Intracoronary imaging: see more, better or worse?

This editorial refers to ‘Optical coherence tomography imaging during percutaneous coronary intervention impacts physician decision-making: ILUMIEN I study’, by W. Wijns et al ., on page doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehv367. The field of intracoronary imaging emerged to overcome the drawbacks of coronary angiography. The visual evaluation of lesion severity of coronary stenosis by angiography remains insufficient for accurate diagnosis of the vessel indices and its estimate of functional significance.1 Intracoronary imaging was introduced to optimize the outcome of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), aiming to reduce short- and long-term cardiovascular events. Intracoronary imaging systems, such as intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT), offer an inside look into the artery, which enables precision in evaluation of the vessel dimension, plaque composition, and degree of narrowing, and allows optimization of management by selecting the appropriate method of intervention, such as pre-dilatation with balloon vs. direct stenting, use of atheroablative devices,2 stent sizing, and optimization of stent deployment and lesion coverage. IVUS-guided PCI has been in use for over two decades and has demonstrated a major contribution in regard to the importance of stent expansion and apposition that resulted in reduction of stent thrombosis. Overall, numerous studies showed that intracoronary imaging is safe and feasible for guidance of coronary interventions.3,4 However, the lack of adequately powered randomized clinical trials to support improvement in outcome, difficulties in image interpretation, and cost limited its utilization to guide routine PCI. Nevertheless, a few meta-analyses suggest that IVUS-guided stent placement could improve clinical outcome5 by reducing stent thrombosis, restenosis, and repeat revascularization.6 Other indications such as assessment of intermediate lesions by IVUS showed only modest correlation to fractional …
Ruth Brunyate Wiemer: A Political Force

Occupational therapy leader Ruth Brunyate Wiemer (1916–2008), an energetic woman with a razor sharp wit and quick mind, died October 14, 2008. Characterizing herself as shy, she was a political for...
Investigating the Effects of Judicial Legitimacy on Micro-Level Opinion

A number of studies suggest that the U.S. Supreme Court – wielding a high level of popular legitimacy – can persuade Americans who are made aware of its legal decisions to support their policy outcomes. In spite of this evidence, the endorsement effect – the ability of judicial institutions to draw on their popular standing to persuade – remains under-examined. The theory suggests a micro-level mechanism underpinning responses to rulings; namely, that individuals who place the most trust in the Court should evince the largest increases in support for the policies it upholds. But this may not be the case. This paper offers one of the first examinations of institutional trust and policy-specific opinion at the individual level. It uses panel data to trace opinion changes in response to high profile rulings. It also employs experimental data to demonstrate how contextual forces lessen the influence that judicial trust has on policy-specific attitudes.
Corporate Restructuring and the Master Limited Partnership

This note defines and discusses the concept of the Master Limited Partnership (MLP). Special attention is given to the economic analysis of MLPs: tax-related inducements, nontax benefits, attributes of firms likely best to exploit these benefits, cost benefit analysis, and a brief review of evidence about spin-offs.
Radiations from Sb 122

The radiations from ${\mathrm{Sb}}^{122}$ were investigated by use of a magnetic solenoid spectrometer, a coincidence scintillation spectrometer, and a proportional counter spectrometer. Three ${\ensuremath{\beta}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$-groups are present with end-points 1970\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}5, 1400\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}10 740\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}20 kev. The highest energy $\ensuremath{\beta}$-groups exhibits an $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-shape and the two lower $\ensuremath{\beta}$-groups have allowed Kurie plots. Gamma-ray investigations showed that four gamma rays of energies 566\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}4, 686\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}4, 1137\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}6 and 1260\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}6 kev could be associated with the decay of ${\mathrm{Sb}}^{122}$. Coincidence techniques related the 1150-kev $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray with the $K$-capture side and also showed that the 566 and 686-kev $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-rays are in cascade. The ratio of ($K+L$) capture relative to total ${\ensuremath{\beta}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$-emission was found to be 3.1 percent. The ratio of $K$-capture to the excited state of ${\mathrm{Sn}}^{122}$ and $K$-capture to the ground state was found to be 1:2.1. The intensities of all radiations are listed and the $\mathrm{ft}$-values for various transitions calculated. An upper limit of ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$ is placed on the positron emission.
Splanchnic and somatic afferent convergence on cervical spinal neurons of the rat

The rostral cervical spinal cord is increasingly being considered the source of important propriospinal regulation. To better understand the substrate for this function, we investigated the effects of stimulation of the greater splanchnic nerve (GSN) and both thoracic and cervical somatic afferents on the activity of cervical spinal neurons. Extracellular single-neuron recordings were made in the C2-C5 spinal segments of chloralose-anesthetized, paralyzed, and artificially ventilated rats. Neurons were classified according to their responses to GSN stimulation. Neurons were inhibited by this stimulation as frequently as they were excited. We then studied the characteristics of cervical and thoracic convergent somatic input to each class of neurons. Although all cervical neurons that responded to GSN stimulation responded to electrical stimulation of the iliohypogastric nerve (IHN), only the few neurons that exhibited whole body receptive fields (RF) responded to natural thoracic somatic stimuli. Responses to electrical stimulation of the GSN and IHN were similar for most neurons; most exhibited nociceptive cutaneous RFs in cervical dermatomes. These data indicate that input from cervical somatic afferents and from both thoracic visceral and thoracic somatic afferents converge on individual splanchnic-receptive cervical neurons. Although these neurons exhibited the predicted cervical somatic RFs, responses from thoracic levels did not exhibit discrete RFs, requiring instead more synchronous or more spatially convergent input.
On the size-dependent elasticity of penta-twinned silver nanowires

Penta-twinned metallic NWs have recently received much attention due to their excellent mechanical properties. However, their elasticity size effect remains not well understood due to the large discrepancy in the reported experimental and simulation results. This paper reports an experimental effort to address the discrepancy about the size-dependent Young’s modulus of penta-twinned Ag NWs. Two independent experiments on the same NW, in-situ resonance test and tensile test in a scanning electron microscope, were used to measure the Young’s moduli. The cross-sectional shape of the Ag NWs was found to transit from pentagon to circle with decreasing NW diameter, which can modify the Young’s modulus as much as 8% (for resonance test) and 19% (for tensile test) for the tested diameter range. This work confirmed that the Young’s modulus of penta-twinned Ag NWs increases with decreasing NW diameter.
Evaluation of Yellowjacket Abatement in the United States

Greater use of recreational facilities plus continued encroachment of residential and resort developments into natural habitats have greatly increased man's contact with yellowjacket wasps. Thus far, the problem of stinging Hymenoptera has been addressed by Fluno (1%1) while Grant (1963) first discussed needs and potential for yellowjacket control. Please refer to Fluno's paper for a detailed account of the effects of yellowjackets on man. Here we offer an evaluation of existing yellowjacket abatement strategies discussed in view of recent advances in our understanding of the biology of Nearctic species.
Talking with Me or Talking at Me? The Impact of Status Characteristics on Doctor-Patient Interaction:

Over the last two decades, the way doctors and patients interact has changed. There has been a shift away from what Talcott Parsons described as a paternalistic model of interaction to a more colla...
The Impact of Fuel Price on Airline Fuel Efficiency and Operations

Jet fuel prices have increased significantly during the past decade, resulting in fuel cost becoming airlines’ primary operating cost. Given the relevance of the air transport system for the economy, it is important that industry and policy makers are informed of past changes and likely future impacts driven by increased fuel prices. The prominence of this issue for policy makers is highlighted by the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, which explicitly required the execution of a fuel price impact study. Moreover, future market-based carbon constraint policies may further increase the effective price of jet fuel. Understanding the operational impact of fuel price increase may inform such policies. This analysis found that fuel price increase after 2004 is correlated to airline fuel efficiency improvement. Although fuel efficiency gains from new, more fuel efficient, aircraft appear to be limited between 2004 and 2010, data analysis and interviews provide evidence for a number of operational changes, such as cruise speed reduction, which may have led to improved airline fuel efficiency. It was found that increasing fuel price may have reduced short stage length traffic. However, there appears to be little impact on network structure and airport connectivity. Simulation of a number of future fuel price scenarios indicate that increasing fuel price would reduce the rate of growth of airline operations, but total operations would continue to grow through to 2025. Simulation results also demonstrate an important link between GDP and fuel price in relation to airline operations. GDP growth can increase fuel price, but also dampen the impact on airlines of fuel price increase, relative to a reduced GDP growth scenario. A key finding of this paper is that increased fuel price appears to lead to improved airline fuel efficiency, but slow investment in new aircraft in the short term.
Baryon Number, Lepton Number, and Operator Dimension in the Standard Model

Abstract We prove that for a given operator in the Standard Model (SM) with baryon number ΔB and lepton number ΔL, that the operator's dimension is even (odd) if ( Δ B − Δ L ) / 2 is even (odd). Consequently, this establishes the veracity of statements that were long observed or expected to be true, but not proven, e.g., operators with Δ B − Δ L = 0 are of even dimension, Δ B − Δ L must be an even number, etc. These results remain true even if the SM is augmented by any number of right-handed neutrinos with Δ L = 1 .
AXIS: Generating Explanations at Scale with Learnersourcing and Machine Learning

While explanations may help people learn by providing information about why an answer is correct, many problems on online platforms lack high-quality explanations. This paper presents AXIS (Adaptive eXplanation Improvement System), a system for obtaining explanations. AXIS asks learners to generate, revise, and evaluate explanations as they solve a problem, and then uses machine learning to dynamically determine which explanation to present to a future learner, based on previous learners' collective input. Results from a case study deployment and a randomized experiment demonstrate that AXIS elicits and identifies explanations that learners find helpful. Providing explanations from AXIS also objectively enhanced learning, when compared to the default practice where learners solved problems and received answers without explanations. The rated quality and learning benefit of AXIS explanations did not differ from explanations generated by an experienced instructor.
Analysis of the situation and characteristics of new type drugs use among 515 drug users in compulsory rehabilitation center

Objective To understand the situation and characteristics of new type drugs use among the drug users in compulsory rehabilitation center,and to provide a basis for prevention of drug abuse.Methods Questionnaire interview with face to face was carried out,and the data and characteristics of new type drugs among drug users in compulsory rehabilitation center were collected and analyzed.Results Of the 515 new drug addicts,49.9% had only used the traditional drugs,and the proportion of using heroin is 79.0%.50.1% had used the new type drugs,and 13.6% had used the traditional drugs combining with new type drugs.These new type drugs included crystal methamphetamine,K flour,and so on.There was significant difference in demography characteristics between the three groups(P﹤0.05).The place of new type drug using was diversity and private.The most of users showed the state of excitement after using the new type of drugs.Conclusion The situation of the new type of drugs abuse is serious among drug users and we should pay more attention to this problem.
How to Manage the Deliverable Item Quality of New Automotive Product Development Project

The management of deliverable item quality is an important point in the management of new automotive product development project and is closely related to whether the project is successful or not.The paper holds that the application of GVDP and PQRR which manage and control deliverable items at key stages can guarantee the quality of deliverable items so that the fixed goal can be achieved on schedule.
Screening of yeast strains forquick fermentation in Chinese rice wine brewing

Using Lin-fan rice wine starter as the source of yeast strains,the strain named as GY-9 which has the ability of quick fermentation was isolated by TTC,CO2 weightlessness and rice wine brewing tests.The alcohol degree of mechanized rice wine was increased when it was brewed with GY-9,and the fermentation time was shortened.The GY-9 was identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae by molecularmethod.
Sunlight, Ultraviolet Radiation, Vitamin D and Skin Cancer

Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin for good reason. During exposure to sunlight, the UV B photons enter the skin and photolyze 7-dehydrocholesterol to previtamin D3 which in turn is isomerized by the body’s temperature to vitamin D3 Most humans have depended on sun for their vitamin D requirement. Skin pigment, sunscreen use,aging, time of day,season and latitude dramatically affect previtamin D3 synthesis. Vitamin D deficiency was thought to have been conquered, but it is now recognized that more than 50% of the world’s population is at risk for vitamin D deficiency. This deficiency is in part due to the inadequate fortification of foods with vitamin D and the misconception that a healthy diet contains an adequate amount of vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency causes growth retardation and rickets in children and will precipitate and exacerbate osteopenia, osteoporosis and increase risk of fracture in adults. The vitamin D deficiency has been associated pandemic with other serious consequences including increased risk of common cancers, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases and cardiovascular disease. There needs to be a renewed appreciation of the beneficial effect of moderate sunlight for providing all humans with their vitamin D requirement for health.
Ethical and Selected Medical Aspects of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis

In the United States, two government commissions, the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects1 and the President’s Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research,2 recognized three ethical principles that basically influence the formulation of public policy. The first is the respect owed to all persons, acknowledging their rights to autonomous choices, while simultaneously protecting the incompetent. The second principle is to secure the welfare of others and provide protection from harm. The third — that of equity or justice, requires fair treatment and equal access. Both commissions emphasized the goal of common good rather than a utilitarian one in which people may be used for the benefit of society.
Dielectric Properties of Selected Food Materials

The dielectric properties of foods are important in understanding and modeling their behavior in radio-frequency (RF) and microwave processing, heating, and cooking of food materials. They are important because they influence the absorption of energy from the high-frequency electric fields and the conversion to heat. Thus, they are also important in the design of RF and microwave processing equipment and in the design of foods and meals intended for microwave preparation. Some food materials were selected to illustrate the behavior of their dielectric properties with respect to frequency, temperature, and moisture content. Included are ground wheat; fresh fruits such as banana, apple, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, and watermelon; some food ingredients; and fresh chicken meat. The importance of dielectric relaxation and ionic conduction is discussed in explaining the behavior of food dielectric properties with respect to frequency and temperature.
Moral Concerns About Responsibility Denial and the Quarantine of Violent Criminals

Some contemporary philosophers maintain we lack the kind of free will that makes us morally responsible for our actions. Some of these philosophers, such as Derk Pereboom, Gregg Caruso, and Bruce Waller, also argue that such a view supports the case for significant reform of the penal system. Pereboom and Caruso explicitly endorse a quarantine model for dealing with dangerous criminals, arguing that while not responsible for their crimes such criminals should be detained in non-harsh conditions and offered the opportunity for rehabilitation. Waller does not explicitly endorse the quarantine model, but his view is similar in significant respects. I argue that such views can too easily lead to the endorsement of legal policies which would result in more frequent punishment of innocent persons for crimes they have not committed. Thus, we should have deep moral reservations about such views.
Spreadsheet-based program for alignment of overlapping DNA sequences.

Molecular biology laboratories frequently face the challenge of aligning small overlapping DNA sequences derived from a long DNA segment. Here, we present a short program that can be used to adapt Excel® spreadsheets as a tool for aligning DNA sequences, regardless of their orientation. The program runs on any Windows® or Macintosh® operating system computer with Excel 97 or Excel 98. The program is available for use as an Excel file, which can be downloaded from the BioTechniques Web site. Upon execution, the program opens a specially designed customized workbook and is capable of identifying overlapping regions between two sequence fragments and displaying the sequence alignment. It also performs a number of specialized functions such as recognition of restriction enzyme cutting sites and CpG island mapping without costly specialized software.
Clinical outcomes of patients with limited brain metastases treated with hypofractionated (5 × 6 Gy) conformal radiotherapy

Abstract Background and purpose Hypofractionated conformal radiotherapy (hfCRT) is used for larger brain metastases or metastases near critical structures. We investigated hfCRT outcomes for newly diagnosed brain metastases. Materials and methods We identified 195 patients with 1–3 brain metastases who underwent 5×6Gy hfCRT for 231 lesions from 2007 to 2013. Associations among clinical factors, local control (LC), distant brain control (DC) and overall survival (OS) were tested using univariate and multivariate (MVA) Cox regression analysis and Kaplan–Meier method. Results Median follow-up was 12.8months. One hundred forty-three (62%) lesions were treated with hfCRT post-operatively, and 88 (38%) with definitive hfCRT. LC for all lesions was 83% at 1year. For lesions treated with post-operative hfCRT, tumor size (HR=4.7, p =0.04) and subtotal resection (HR=2.7, p =0.02) were predictive of local failure on MVA. For lesions ≥2.8cm in size, LC was 61% at 12months for lesions status-post subtotal resection, compared to 84% status-post gross total resection ( p =0.004). Extracranial disease presence was associated with worse DC (HR=1.8, p =0.008) and OS (HR=3.1, p Conclusions We showed 5×6Gy hfCRT provides acceptable LC at 1year for limited brain metastases. For large lesions not grossly resected, more aggressive strategies can be considered to improve LC.
Charcot–Leyden crystals: do they exist in veterinary species? A case report and literature review:

The Charcot-Leyden crystal (CLC) is a major human eosinophil protein that readily crystallizes; these crystals are common in eosinophilic diseases. Although anecdotal existence of these crystals is known in veterinary pathology, definitive reports do not exist, to our knowledge. We identified eosinophilic crystals in a laryngeal myxosarcoma from a 2-y-old, spayed female, Labrador Retriever dog that were tentatively interpreted as CLCs. However, Ziehl-Neelsen acid-fast stain was negative, arguing against CLCs. The crystals stained red with Masson trichrome, precluding collagen. Periodic acid-Schiff and alcian blue were negative. The crystals stained positively with Okajima, and no myoglobin immunoreactivity was detected, supporting their identity as hemoglobin crystals. In the absence of a hematologic abnormality, these crystals were interpreted to be abnormal hemoglobin breakdown products. Protein sequence comparison was pursued to determine whether a protein similar to CLC exists in mammals. Only 3 nonhuman primate species, the Sumatran orangutan ( Pongo abelii), rhesus macaque ( Macaca mulatta), and cynomolgus monkey ( Macaca fascicularis), had a sequence similarity of >80%. Of the crystal-forming residues, 12 of 54 (22%) were different in the Sumatran orangutan and 15 of 54 (28%) were different in the Macaca spp., which may affect the crystallization process. The lack of reports of CLCs in nonhuman species and our results collectively suggest that CLCs are human-specific.
*Calvarial Defects: Cell-Based Reconstructive Strategies in the Murine Model

Calvarial defects pose a continued clinical dilemma for reconstruction. Advancements within the fields of stem cell biology and tissue engineering have enabled researchers to develop reconstructive strategies using animal models. We review the utility of various animal models and focus on the mouse, which has aided investigators in understanding cranial development and calvarial bone healing. The murine model has also been used to study regenerative approaches to critical-sized calvarial defects, and we discuss the application of stem cells such as bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells, adipose-derived stromal cells, muscle-derived stem cells, and pluripotent stem cells to address deficient bone in this animal. Finally, we highlight strategies to manipulate stem cells using various growth factors and inhibitors and ultimately how these factors may prove crucial in future advancements within calvarial reconstruction using native skeletal stem cells.
Modeling Menu Bundle Designs of Crowdfunding Projects

Offering products in the forms of menu bundles is a common practice in marketing to attract customers and maximize revenues. In crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter, rewards also play an important part in influencing project success. Designing rewards consisting of the appropriate items is a challenging yet crucial task for the project creators. However, prior research has not considered the strategies project creators take to offer and bundle the rewards, making it hard to study the impact of reward designs on project success. In this paper, we raise a novel research question: understanding project creators' decisions of reward designs to level their chance to succeed. We approach this by modeling the design behavior of project creators, and identifying the behaviors that lead to project success. We propose a probabilistic generative model, Menu-Offering-Bundle (MOB) model, to capture the offering and bundling decisions of project creators based on collected data of 14K crowdfunding projects and their 149K reward bundles across a half-year period. Our proposed model is shown to capture the offering and bundling topics, outperform the baselines in predicting reward designs. We also find that the learned offering and bundling topics carry distinguishable meanings and provide insights of key factors on project success.