cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of WASH Implementation in Nama Sub-County

Villages that had underwent GlobeMed and MCHI water access, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions tended to exhibit better sanitation and hygiene practices compared to control villages. Survey participants were directly recruited from households in eight rural villages that had previously received community-based WASH interventions in Nama sub-county, Uganda. All participants were adults (above eighteen) of varying ages and genders. The other participants were directly recruited from two rural villages who had not received any WASH intervention within Nama sub-county and served as our control groups. Participants were surveyed on various topics including water source quality and distance, prevalence of sickness, latrine management, and sanitation and hygiene practices. The effectiveness of WASH programs in GlobeMed and MCHI sponsored villages compared to control villages was measured using t-tests and Pearson Correlation Coefficients (R). Improved safe water and hygiene practices are fundamental to improving quality of life. Improved WASH related practices not only correlate with health, they ameliorate other frequently encountered inequities—like low school attendance—as education is a major factor in economic growth and alleviating poverty. Addressing WASH related problems can be challenging as they affect people from diverse communities and demographics. However, the most promising solutions arise when collaboration emerges between NGOs, governments, communities, and individuals.
Challenges of interpreting patient reported outcomes from clinical trials.

As Bell et al . (1) indicated in their paper entitled “Statistical Controversies in Cancer Research: Using standardized effect size graphs to enhance interpretability of cancer-related clinical trials with patient reported outcomes,” Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs) are frequently being gathered in clinical trials. The primary challenge is that these outcomes are multidimensional; rarely is there a single outcome but rather a number of symptoms measures or components of quality of life or health status. While there are formal statistical procedures to insure that the conclusions from a trial about any single outcome is valid (not a false positive), it does not address the clinically relevant questions as to whether the intervention is generally beneficial across the multiple outcomes.
Impact of Verigene Multiplex PCR for Positive Blood Cultures and Gram Negative Bacteremia

AbstractBackgroundMany patients with bacteremia due to Gram-negative organisms are not treated appropriately. This has been linked to high rates of multi-drug resistant organisms, hospital costs, length of stay, and mortality. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of implementation of Verigene multiplex PCR on appropriate use of antibiotics, and the time to streamlining of therapy in this population.MethodsThis study included hospitalized patients with Gram-negative organisms isolated from blood cultures both six months before, and six months after the implementation of Verigene at a tertiary care academic medical center. An institutional review board approved this study. We excluded patients that had organisms isolated from autopsy sample and patients under the age of 18. Appropriate therapy was defined as any antibiotic therapy to which the organism was reported as being susceptible once susceptibility results were available. Streamlined therapy was defined as the narrowest antibiotic selection based off organism susceptibility. The primary outcome measure was the time to streamlining of therapy (before culture and susceptibility date were available). Data was compared by group (before and after Verigene implementation) using multiple logistic regression model in SAS.ResultsA total of 287 patients were included. 140 of the subjects were male (48.8%). Mean age in the pre-verigene group was 61.5 years (SD 17.1) and the mean age in the post-verigene group was 59.7 (SD 18.2). In 93 patients, cultures were collected in the ICU setting (32.4%). In nine post-verigene patients, ESBL with the CTX-M resistance marker was isolated. Six of these patients were switched from inappropriate therapy to a carbapenem. The time to appropriate antibiotics in the pre-verigene group was 0.4 days (SD 0.8) and in the post-verigene group 0.4 days (SD 1.0 P = 0.57). The time to streamlining of antibiotics following culture was improved in the post-verigene group (1.9 days, SD 1.3) compared with the pre-verigene group (2.6 days, SD 1.4 P = 0.01).ConclusionThe use of Verigene multiplex PCR was associated with improved time to streamlining of antibiotic therapy in patients with Gram-negative bacteremia.Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.
Crowding Out Effects of Well-Intended Environmental Policies

Sustainability involves the drive to ensure intergenerational fairness. However, the results of actions taken to achieve sustainability often lie far into the future and efforts to promote the welf...
A Structural Model and Manifesto for Data Justice for International Development

With growing use of data in international development, there is growing interest in data justice. One argument is that this must best be understood in terms of structural data justice (SDJ): the degree to which society contains and supports the data-related institutions, relations and knowledge systems necessary for realisation of the values comprised in a good life. But only hypothetical models of SDJ have been proposed to date. The purpose of this paper is to take one of the proposed SDJ models and revise it on the basis of experience with field studies of big data and other new data streams in India and Kenya. Those field studies produced three tests of a data justice model, asking whether it can encompass: the impact of social structure on data systems; the impact of data systems on social structure; and the role of datafication and related technological affordances. On the basis of the three tests, a revised and improved model of structural data justice is developed, which is commended as a conceptual frame to use in future research on data-intensive development. The model is shown to incorporate all types of data justice, and to be of particular value to critical data studies in understanding how both “power over” and “power to” are exercised in data-intensive development. The model is also the basis for derivation of a “Data-Justice-for-Development Manifesto”, which can be used to guide development policy and practice.
Assessing the Ongoing Psychological Impact of Terrorism

The terror attacks of 9/11/2001 dealt a serious blow to the sense of security, well-being, and economic stability of Americans, and altered the mental health landscape for those within the United States and other parts of the world. Paralleling this, new threats to emotional and psychological well-being have materialized in the form of anticipatory, prospective fears of future terrorist attacks. In light of this evolving environment, the present chapter seeks to augment the current science by presenting an assessment paradigm relevant to terrorist events specifically. This approach to psychological assessment expands on current models which focus on the impact of discrete events by also evaluating the impact of prospective fears of future attacks. Reflecting this paradigm shift, we introduce the Terrorism Catastrophizing Scale (TCS) as a means of evaluating the ongoing impact of terrorism on psychological functioning.
Impact of breast MRI in women eligible for breast conservation surgery and intra-operative radiation therapy.

Abstract Purpose The current standard of care for women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer is breast-conserving surgery (BCS) followed by external beam radiation therapy, commonly delivered over 3–6 weeks. As an alternative, select patients can undergo intra-operative radiation therapy (IORT) at the time of BCT. This technique delivers a single fraction of radiation at the time of surgery, enabling patients to undergo both surgery and radiation in a single session. Our current study analyzed the value of incorporating breast MRI into the routine work-up of patients deemed eligible for IORT, to quantify the impact on patient eligibility and requirement for additional work-up. Materials and methods We retrospectively identified patients treated by a single surgeon who were eligible for IORT based on institutional eligibility criteria which included: women age ≥55, grades 1–2, size Results A total of 215 women were identified who met all eligibility criteria. MRI detected additional abnormalities in the breast in 89 patients (41%). Sixty-eight women underwent additional biopsies, with a total of 117 separate lesions biopsied. Of these, pathology was benign in 61 (52.1%), atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) in 21 (18%), ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS) in 17 (14.5%) and invasive disease in 18 (15.4%). Six patients had MRI-detected abnormalities in the contralateral breast only, with biopsies identifying invasive disease (3), DCIS (1) and benign (2) findings. MRI showed abnormalities in both breasts in 6 patients and 18 additional lesions were biopsied which reveled invasive carcinoma (6), DCIS (7), ADH (3) and benign findings (2). Fifteen patients had either multifocal/multicentric disease or index lesion >3 cm on MRI and were deemed ineligible for IORT. Based on either MRI size or biopsy results, management was ultimately changed for 27 patients (12.5%). Extramammary findings were observed in 17 patients and 11 of these patients underwent further imaging studies all of which returned negative results. Conclusion Preoperative bilateral breast MRI is a valuable tool in the proper selection of patients best suited for IORT. Even in highly selected, favorable risk patients, MRI detected additional lesions that changed surgical and radiation therapy recommendations in 12.5% of patients. However, the cost/benefit ratio needs to be taken into consideration given the high frequency of benign biopsies and additional radiological work-up.
Alanine Aminotransferase as a Monitoring Biomarker in Children with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Secondary Analysis Using TONIC Trial Data.

Background: Validated noninvasive biomarkers to assess treatment response in pediatric nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are lacking. We aimed to validate alanine aminotransferase (ALT), a monitoring biomarker for change in liver histology. Methods: A retrospective analysis using data from the TONIC trial. NAFLD histologic assessments were defined by: Fibrosis score, NAFLD activity score (NAS), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and a combination of NASH resolution and fibrosis (NASH + fibrosis). Analysis was performed using classification and regression trees (CART) as well as logistic regression. Results: Mean ALT for the child over 96 weeks and percent change of ALT from baseline to 96 weeks were significant predictors of progression of NAFLD for each histologic assessment (p < 0.001 for fibrosis score, NASH, and NASH + fibrosis and p < 0.05 for NAS). Mean ALT adjusted for age, sex and ethnicity was a better predictor for change in NASH (81.8 (11.0) ROC (receiver operating characteristic curve) mean (SD (Standard derivation))) and NASH + fibrosis (77.8 (11.2)), compared to change in NAS (63 (17.7)) and fibrosis (58.6 (11.1)). Conclusion: Mean ALT over 96 weeks is a reasonable proxy of histologic improvement of NASH and NASH + fibrosis. These findings support ALT as a valid monitoring biomarker of histologic change over time in children with NASH and fibrosis.
Long Term Complications of Therapy

The treatment of children and adolescents with the common malignant solid tumors has become increasingly successful. With the prolonged survival of these patients, complications related to the therapy which was received have been identified. Some complications appear at the the present time to be unavoidable if long-term survival is to be achieved. Other complications, however, may be avoidable in certain groups of patients. Increasingly, pediatric oncologists must determine whether the risk of a certain therapy, in terms of acute and long-term toxicity, is offset by an equivalent or greater benefit as measured by long-term, relapse-free survival.
Non-enzymatic Glycation of Type I Collagen: Effects of Aging

Recent work concerning the effects of aging on nonenzymatic glycation of collagen have focused on regulation of this process in vivo. In the present review, recent studies from our laboratory investigating regulation and modulation of nonenzymatic glycation of type I collagen in rodents are discussed. Caloric restriction has been found to decrease the accumulation of advanced glycation products in several tissues in both rats and mice; however, such effects are not apparent until late in the life span. Collagen content of the specific Maillard product pentosidine was found to be lower in calorie-restricted rats aged 157 weeks, but not in mice, which have a shorter life span. Additional studies of dietary manipulation have shown that carbohydrate source also affects life span independently of caloric restriction. Rats that were fed sucrose and restricted to 60% of ad libitum intake were found to have longer mean and median life spans than restricted starch-fed rats. Preliminary data suggest that values for collagen-associated fluorescence and pentosidine were lower in restricted sucrose-fed rats after only 5 months of this dictary regimen, while no changes were observed in restricted starch-fed rats. Dietary manipulation does not, however, affect sites of adduct formation, and it appears that site-specificity of glycation remains controlled predominantly by primary structure. These studies provide further evidence that a complex interrclationship exists between aging, life span, and the accumulation of Maillard products on matrix macromolecules.
Adjuvant therapeutic strategies for resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Of all patients diagnosed with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, only 15–20% present with resectable disease. Despite curative-intent resection, the prognosis remains poor with the majority of patients recurring, prompting the need for adjuvant therapy. Historical data support the use of adjuvant 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) or gemcitabine, but recent data suggest either gemcitabine plus capecitabine or modified FOLFIRINOX can improve overall survival when compared to gemcitabine alone. The use of adjuvant chemoradiation therapy remains controversial, primarily due to limitations in study design and mixed results of historical trials. The ongoing Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG)-0848 trial hopes to further define the role of adjuvant chemoradiation therapy. Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) and adjuvant immunotherapy represent additional possibilities to improve outcomes, but evidence supporting their use is limited. This article reviews adjuvant therapeutic strategies for resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma, including chemotherapy, chemoradiation therapy, IORT and immunotherapy.
Can malpractice pressure compel a physician to relocate

Abstract Existing literature considers the effect of changes in malpractice pressure by focusing on physician supply, and concludes that changes in tort laws have limited but some impact on physician movement. Using a panel dataset which follows a random sample of 28,227 family medicine physicians in the United States from 1992–2007, this paper evaluates whether changes in malpractice premiums impact a physician's decision to relocate their practice. Our findings suggest that even large premium growth has no impact on the physician relocation decision. Generally, these results suggest that family medicine physicians do not use relocation as a strategy to avoid malpractice pressure. However, some physicians are more inclined to relocate than others. Results indicate that group and hospital practice physicians are more likely to move to another state when premiums are high compared to solo and partnership practice physicians.
Marginalization: Conceptualizing patient vulnerabilities in the framework of social determinants of health—An integrative review

Scientific advances in health care have been disproportionately distributed across social strata. Disease burden is also disproportionately distributed, with marginalized groups having the highest risk of poor health outcomes. Social determinants are thought to influence health care delivery and the management of chronic diseases among marginalized groups, but the current conceptualization of social determinants lacks a critical focus on the experiences of people within their environment. The purpose of this article was to integrate the literature on marginalization and situate the concept in the framework of social determinants of health. We demonstrate that social position links marginalization and social determinants of health. This perspective provides a critical lens to assess the societal power dynamics that influence the construction of the socio-environmental factors affecting health. Linking marginalization with social determinants of health can improve our understanding of the inequities in health care delivery and the disparities in chronic disease burden among vulnerable groups.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Super-fund Innovative Technology Evaluation of Pneumatic Fracturing ExtractionSM

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in cooperation with Accutech Remedial Systems (ARS) and the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), performed a field demonstration of Pneumatic Fracturing Extraction (PFE)SM for the removal of chlorinated-volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from vadose zones of low permeability. The demonstration was conducted in the fall of 1992 at an industrial park in Somerville, New Jersey, where removal of VOC contamination in shale bedrock was required to comply with New Jersey’s Environmental Cleanup Responsibility Act (ECRA). During the demonstration, airflow and contaminant concentrations were monitored to establish a database against which the developer’s claims about the technology were evaluated. The developer contended that PFE would increase extracted airfkiw rates from the subsurface formation by at least 100 percent and would increase the mass removal rate for the key contaminant, trichloroethene (TCE), by at least 50 percent. Also, during the demonstration...
Where are they headed next?: modeling emergent displaced camps in the DRC using agent-based models

The paper describes a prototype agent-based model used to predict the spontaneous settlements that can arise among internally displaced forced migrants in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The internally displaced persons---in the real-world and the model---are constrained by geographic and social forces that dictate their ability to locate and reach organized camps run by humanitarian organizations or instead group with others to establish small temporary settlements. This research is of interest to humanitarian response stakeholders who try to locate self-settlements in order to administer humanitarian assistance and prevent further loss of human life.
Frequency of Utilization of Beta Blockers in Patients With Heart Failure and Depression and Their Effect on Mortality

Beta blockers reduce mortality and morbidity in patients with heart failure. Early reports linking β-blockers with depression may have limited their use in heart failure patients with co-morbid depression. Although more recent studies have challenged the association between β-blocker therapy and depression, patient and physicians remain concerned. The goal of this study is to evaluate the utilization and outcomes of β-blocker therapy in heart failure patients with depression. This is a retrospective cohort study of patients at a multicenter integrated healthcare system with a diagnosis of heart failure from 2008 to 2014. Among 6,915 patients with heart failure with left ventricular ejection fraction of
Creating Dialectics to Learn: Infrastructures, Practices, and Challenges

We have been investigating the proposition that framing and developing debates about issues, concepts, methods, and theories is a general approach to learning. Instructors, of course, do use debating, but not typically as a pervasive or core activity in a course curriculum. And there are many examples of debate as an informal learning activity, such as debating teams and scientific debates. Indeed, framing debate as a core pedagogical activity can be traced to the Greeks, and the idea is central to modern dialectical constructivism. We have been developing this idea by (1) investigating instances of debating-for-learning practices in the wild, (2) supporting debate and dialectic in university classes with various kinds of tool support that we have appropriated or created, and (3) characterizing what is going on in debating-for-learning, and how students experience such approaches and outcomes. With respect to (1), we are studying the online debate community Kialo.com. The Kialo community addresses a wide range of topics and is actively developing community practices for dialectical knowledge collaboration. With respect to (2), we have investigated Piazza.com, Kialo.com, Canvas.com, and our purpose-built tool Critical Thinker as platforms for dialectical constructivist university courses. Our experiences help to articulate a design space of infrastructures and learning activities. With respect to (3), we reflect on our own lessons learned and try to identify research questions for future investigations. In this chapter, we pull together a series of prior papers with reports of recent/current work that is not yet published into an integrative essay format, identifying issues, approaches, and what we have learned about creating dialectics to learn.
Activation of Cdc2 contributes to apoptosis in HPV E6 expressing human keratinocytes in response to therapeutic agents

1067 Infection with human papillomaviruses (HPV) is strongly associated with the development of cervical cancer. The HPV E6 induces cell proliferation and apoptosis in cervical cancer precursor lesions. Although inactivation of the tumor suppressor p53 plays an important role for E6 to promote cell growth, the molecular basis of E6-induced apoptosis is poorly understood. While it is expected that inactivation of p53 by E6 should lead to a reduction in apoptosis, numerous studies demonstrated that E6 could in fact sensitize cells to apoptosis. In the present study, we demonstrated that expression of E6 in human keratinocytes rendered sensitization to chemotherapeutic agents. The cell death was shown to be apoptosis involving caspase activation and the mitochondria pathway. To explore mechanisms involved in sensitization of E6 expressing cells to apoptosis, we used a proteomic approach to identify proteins differentially expressed in E6 expressing and control keratinocytes. Among nearly a thousand proteins examined, Cdc2 was demonstrated to be the most dramatically up-regulated protein in E6 expressing cells and was therefore further characterized. Using genetic, pharmacologic, and siRNA strategy, a role of Cdc2 in E6 expression-conferred apoptosis was demonstrated. Thus these results have important therapeutic implications in enhancing the efficacy of chemotherapy.
Optimizing the Doherty Amplifier: Design of a 3-GHz GaN Doherty Amplifier Achieving 60% Efficiency

The Doherty amplifier, invented by William H. Doherty, has been around since 1936 [1]-[3]. The amplifier has seen a resurgence in recent times, in part due to the work of Steve Cripps [4]. The Doherty?s ability to achieve high efficiency over a wide band of frequencies and its high linearity characteristics make it an effective architecture for applications ranging from telecommunications to cellular base stations to the defense industry. The Doherty amplifier formed the basis of design for the author's entry in the 2019 IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society International Microwave Symposium (IMS2019) High-Efficiency Power Amplifier Student Design Competition (SDC) [5].
Higher-Order and Coupled ODEs

This chapter is dedicated to solving higher-order and coupled ODEs numerically. In general, the procedures used to solve higher-order ODEs and coupled systems of ODEs are similar to the ones used for second-order ODEs except for the additional steps required for new variables while rewriting the given higher-order ODEs as a system of first-order ODEs.
Titanium Surfaces and Detoxification Procedures: Effects of Bacterial Biofilm and Citric Acid Exposure on Oxide Layer Behavior

Detoxification with citric acid is an effective method of biofilm removal from titanium (Ti) dental implant surfaces affected by peri-implantitis, but its effects on Ti surface properties is not well understood. This study aimed at evaluating the surface characteristics and biological response to Ti after bacterial biofilm formation followed by citric acid detoxification. Ti specimens were immersed with oral bacteria under aerobic (Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sanguinis, Streptococcus salivarius and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans) and anaerobic (aerobic polyculture with Fusobacterium nucleatum and Porphyromonas gingivalis) conditions for 4 h or 7 days (n = 3). Immersion was followed by rubbing treatment with 0.9% saline or 40% citric acid for 8 min. Post-treatment, the surface morphology and microstructure were studied by optical microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. Osteoblast viability after 3 days on Ti post-treatment was assessed. Electrochemical testing revealed corrosion behavior post-treatment while X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated oxide layer state. While signs of pitting and corrosion attack on Ti exposed to bacteria and/or detoxification were evident, no surface oxide phase changes were detected. Samples treated with citric acid had lower polarization resistance and higher corrosion rate after aerobic and anaerobic immersion. Samples exposed to bacteria and citric acid treatment had higher oxide thickness under aerobic but not anaerobic immersion after 4 h and 7 days. Osteoblast viability was not significantly affected by immersion and treatment. Within the study’s limitations, citric acid detoxification on Ti post-bacterial exposure is not expected to adversely change oxide composition, thickness, and corrosion behavior while maintaining host cell growth.
Idle-Time Garbage-Collection Scheduling: Taking advantage of idleness to reduce dropped frames and memory consumption

Google’s Chrome web browser strives to deliver a smooth user experience. An animation will update the screen at 60 FPS (frames per second), giving Chrome around 16.6 milliseconds to perform the update. Within these 16.6 ms, all input events have to be processed, all animations have to be performed, and finally the frame has to be rendered. A missed deadline will result in dropped frames. These are visible to the user and degrade the user experience. Such sporadic animation artifacts are referred to here as jank. This article describes an approach implemented in the JavaScript engine V8, used by Chrome, to schedule garbage-collection pauses during times when Chrome is idle. This approach can reduce user-visible jank on real-world web pages and results in fewer dropped frames.
TRPM8 modulates temperature regulation in a sex-dependent manner without affecting cold-induced bone loss

Trpm8 (transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily M, member 8) is expressed by sensory neurons and is involved in the detection of environmental cold temperatures. TRPM8 activity triggers an increase in uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1)-dependent brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis. Bone density and marrow adipose tissue are both influenced by rodent housing temperature and brown adipose tissue, but it is unknown if TRPM8 is involved in the co-regulation of thermogenesis and bone homeostasis. To address this, we examined the bone phenotypes of one-year-old Trpm8 knockout mice (Trpm8-KO) after a 4-week cold temperature challenge. Male Trpm8-KO mice had lower bone mineral density than WT, with smaller bone size (femur length and cross-sectional area) being the most striking finding, and exhibited a delayed cold acclimation with increased BAT expression of Dio2 and Cidea compared to WT. In contrast to males, female Trpm8-KO mice had low vertebral bone microarchitectural parameters, but no genotype-specific alterations in body temperature. Interestingly, Trpm8 was not required for cold-induced trabecular bone loss in either sex, but bone marrow adipose tissue in females was significantly suppressed by Trpm8 deletion. In summary, we identified sex differences in the role of TRPM8 in maintaining body temperature, bone microarchitecture and marrow adipose tissue. Identifying mechanisms through which cold temperature and BAT influence bone could help to ameliorate potential bone side effects of obesity treatments designed to stimulate thermogenesis.
Gut Malabsorption and Enzyme Deficiencies

This chapter covers the following conditions: gut malabsorption, enzyme deficiencies, lactase deficiency, lactase, vitamin B12, vitamin B12 deficiency, pernicious anemia, and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. This chapter includes drug class, brand/trade names, manufacturer, dosage, indications, contraindications/cautions, adverse effects, drug interactions, pregnancy advice, lactation safety, relative cost of rifaxamin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, neomycin, tetracycline, doxycycline, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, metronidazole, probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, short bowel syndrome, proton pump inhibitors, octreotide, histamine-2 receptor antagonists, clonidine, tincture of opium, teduglutide, cholestyramine, somatropin, and exenatide. This chapter includes convenient algorithms for the treatment of small bowel bacterial overgrowth and short bowel syndrome.
Investagting Streamer Propagation Physics in 2D and 3D Pin-To-Plane Geometries Using a PIC-DSMC Code

Streamer propagation physics is investigated in 2D and 3D pin-to-plane geometries at atmospheric pressures using a PIC-DSMC code with an air model comprised of standard Townsend breakdown (electron-neutral elastic, excitation, ionization, attachment, and detachment collision chemistry and secondary electron emission) and streamer mechanisms (photoionization and ion-neutral collisions)1 via tracking excited state neutrals which can then either quench through collisions or spontaneously emit based on transition-specific Einstein-Acoefficients2,3. Here we model a 100 $\mu \mathrm{m}$ hemispherical pin electrode (at 10 kV) 1.5 mm from a planar cathode at ground. The gap is filled with air at 760 Torr and a 0.5 eV, 1020m-3 plasma is used to seed the simulation domain. Prior studies have shown that the reduced electric field (E/n) can have a significant impact on streamer evolution4,5 and here we investigate how the approximate inverse (2D) and inverse-square (3D) falloff in field effects streamer evolution. To reduce computational costs, the 3D computational domains are wedges. We sweep the wedge angle from 10 to 45 degrees to examine the influence of wedge angle on streamer branching and propagation. Other parameters of interest include streamer velocity and inception cloud formation.
Pollen-record formation processes, interdisciplinary archaeology, and land use by mill workers and managers: The Boott Mills Corporation, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1836–1942

The pollen content of a soil profile is altered by natural processes that destroy pollen and move it downward in the profile. This downward movement separates older pollen from younger in slowly accumulating profiles and produces a spectrum with larger concentrations of pollen at the top of the profile and more pollen that appears degraded at the bottom. Archaeological site formation processes may be evaluated by comparison with this natural spectrum. When this pattern appears in an archaeological profile, cultural deposition has been slow. In places where there was more human activity, soil compression and faster sediment deposition preclude pollen percolation. These soil compression and fast sedimentation processes produce pollen concentrations that correlate with shifts in pollen types and reflect the relative density of vegetation. Reversals of the natural pollen concentration and degradation patterns and pollen concentrations shifting abruptly without clear stratigraphic boundaries in the soil reflect buried and exposed episodic fills and soil disturbance of several kinds. These pollen-record formation processes are used to define the nature and intensity of residential land use by mill workers and mill managers in 19th-century Lowell, Massachusetts.
The Main Trends in the Foundations of Geometry in the 19th Century

Publisher Summary The best-known chapter in the history of mathematics is the history of non-Euclidean geometry. The reception of non-Euclidean geometry started with three contemporary events: (1) Helmholtz's “Uber die Thatsachen, die der Geometrie zum Grunde liegen,” (2) Beltrami's interpretation of non-Euclidean geometry in differential geometry, and (3) J. Houel's translations and re-editions of texts on non-Euclidean geometry. After spreading awareness among mathematicians for non-Euclidean geometry, F. Klein discovered in Cayley's famous “Sixth Memoir upon Quantics,” a model of non-Euclidean geometry. Yet this discovery did not contribute to clarifying the foundations of geometry. The digression at the beginning of the 19th century from the Euclidean to the projective approach was one of the historical presuppositions of the axiomatization of geometry that was to be achieved at the end of the century. Euclidean geometry is a logically involved structure. As long as axiomatic thinking had not grown into a habit, it could not be easy to draw up a complete system of the axioms of geometry.
Models and Mechanisms of High-Fat Diet (HFD) Promotion of Pancreatic Cancer

There is epidemiologic evidence that obesity increases the risk of cancers. Several underlying mechanisms, including inflammation and insulin resistance, are proposed. However, the driving mechanisms in pancreatic cancer are poorly understood. In this chapter, we discuss models and mechanisms of diet-induced obesity and pancreatic cancer development. The focus is on a state-of-the-art mouse model, the conditional KrasG12D mouse model. High-fat, high-calorie diet-fed animals showed early pancreatic neoplasia and important clinical features of human obesity, including weight gain and metabolic disturbances such as hyperinsulinemia, hyperglycemia, hyperleptinemia, and elevated levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1). Consequently, the signal transduction pathways initiated by insulin/IGF-induced in pancreatic cancer cells, including the PI3K/Akt/mTORC1, are discussed. The high-fat, high-calorie diet-fed conditional KrasG12D mouse model will provide the basis for more robust studies attempting to unravel the mechanisms underlying the cancer-promoting properties of obesity, as well as to evaluate dietary- and chemo-preventive strategies targeting obesity-associated pancreatic cancer development.
A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Excess Comovement of Stock Returns

In the presence of limits to arbitrage, cross-sectional variation in periodic investor demand should be related to the degree of comovement of returns. I exploit the unusual weighting system of the Nikkei 225 index in Japan to identify cross-sectional variation in periodic demand for index stocks. Relative to their weights in a value weighted index, some stocks in the Nikkei are overweighted by a factor of ten or more. Using overweighting as an instrument for the proportionality between demand shocks for index stocks, I find a strong positive relation between overweighting and the comovement of a stock with other stocks in the index, and a negative relationship between index overweighting and comovement with stocks outside of the index. Put simply, overweighted stocks have high betas. The results suggest that excess comovement of stock returns is a consequence of an institutionalized commonality in trading behavior, rather than inefficiencies related to the speed at which index stocks incorporate economy-wide information.
Retinoic acid and sodium butyrate attenuate renal fibrosis and inflammation in guanylyl cyclase-A/natriuretic peptide receptor-A gene-targeted mice (796.13)

Mice lacking functional guanylyl cyclase/natriuretic peptide receptor-A (GC-A/NPRA) gene (Npr1) exhibit hypertension, kidney disease, and heart failure. The objective of the present study was to elucidate the effect of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and histone deacetylase inhibitor, sodium butyrate (NaBu) on attenuation of renal fibrosis and remodeling in Npr1 gene-targeted mutant mice. Mice (24-week old) were injected intraperitonealy with ATRA (0.5 mg/Kg/day), NaBu (0.5 mg/Kg/day), and ATRA-NaBu (1.0 mg/Kg/day) for 2-week. The results showed that Npr1 gene-disrupted heterozygous (1-copy; +/-) mice exhibited renal fibrosis and augmented levels of proinflammatory cytokines compared with wild-type (2-copy; +/+) and gene-duplicated heterozygous (3-copy; ++/+) mice. Retinoic acid and NaBu treatment significantly lowered systolic blood pressure in 1-copy mice and increased plasma cGMP levels in Npr1 gene dose-dependent manner with pronounced effects in 1-copy mice. Treatment with ATRA-NaBu combination synerg...
A Simple Procedure for the Numerical Solution of Discrete Time Linear Two-Point Boundary-Value Problems with Finite Horizon and its use for Simul ating Discrete Time Linear Models under Perfect Foresight*

This paper presents a simple procedure for the numerical solution of discrete time linear two-point boundary-value problems with finite horizon. The paper illustrates its use for simulating discrete time linear models under perfect foresight. For that purpose two simple models were chosen from the standard macroeconomic literature.The outstanding feature of the proposed procedure is its simplicity.
Computational study of the thermodynamic stabilities of hydrogen-bonded complexes in solution

Understanding of the multiple H-bonding arrays of heterocyclic compounds is essential to design effective building blocks of supramolecular polymers. We have carried out a comprehensive computational study on the thermodynamic stabilities of thirty-six H-bonded complexes with all possible H-bonding arrays in the gas phase and chloroform solvent by using M06-2X, SMD calculations and cc-pVDZ basis set. The multiple H-bonding arrays include donor acceptor–acceptor donor (DA–AD), DD–AA for the doubly H-bonded pairs, and DAD–ADA, DDA–AAD and DDD–AAA for the triply H-bonded pairs. The computational results have provided insights into the geometrical, energetic and solvation effects on the stabilities of these H-bonded complexes. The calculated free energies of association for the DD–AA (8–9) and the DDD–AAA (33–35, 36–35) H-bonded complexes are found to be inconsistent with the experimental measurements and observations that these complexes are the most strongly doubly and triply H-bonded pairs in solution, respectively, while the calculated binding free energies for all other H-bonding arrays are in good agreement with experimental values. The computational protocol can be used by practical chemists and undergraduate researchers as an efficient and state-of-the-art tool to study H-bonding interactions in supramolecular chemistry.
Substituent Effects on the Reaction Rates of Copper-Catalyzed Cyclopropanation and Aziridination of para-Substituted Styrenes†

Relative rates of cyclopropanation and aziridination of a series of para-substituted styrenes have been determined using Tp‘Cu(C2H4) (Tp‘ = hydridotris(3,5-dimethyl-1-pyrazolyl)borate) as the copper precatalyst in combination with N2CHCO2CH2CH3 and C6H5INSO2C6H4CH3 (PhINTs), respectively. For the cyclopropanation reaction, a linear plot of the experimental data is obtained by means of the Hammett equation, log(kX/kH) = ρσ (ρ = −0.85 ± 0.07). This correlation supports earlier mechanistic proposals of an electrophilic metal−carbene complex intermediate. In the case of the aziridination reaction, the experimental data can be fit with a two term equation of the type log(kX/kH) = ρ+σ+ + ρ•σ• (σ• are Jackson's radical substituent constants) leading to the values ρ+ = −0.28 ± 0.06 (polar contribution) and ρ• = +0.34 ± 0.13 (radical contribution). A paramagnetic copper nitrene species which behaves as an electrophilic, nitrogen-centered radical is proposed as the intermediate for the aziridination reaction.
Organizational encodings in the serial learning of prose

E. Martin and D. L. Noreen ( Cognitive Psychology , 1974, 6 , 421–435) concluded that the serial learning of arbitrary sequences of words involves the idiosyncratic organization of word subsequences. In the present study, an attempt was made to identify comparable subjective subsequences in the serial learning of a prose passage and to examine the relationship of such organizational encodings to the variable of structural importance. Following the partial serial learning of a prose passage, the learners attempted free recall and backward anticipation. The results indicated that learners associatively organized the individual prose subunits into subjective subsequences. Additional analysis provided evidence that the associative organization of the subsequences was related to the rated structural importance of the prose units within the subsequence.
Developments in holography

Optical Holography: Principles, Techniques and Applications. By P. Hariharan. Cambridge University Press: 1984. Pp. 319. £35, $69.50.
Effect of nicotine on the level of extracellular amino acids in the hippocampus of rat

Using microdialysis, we compared intracerebral and subcutaneous administration of nicotine for the effect on the levels of extracellular amino acids in the hippocampus of anesthetized rats. Administration by microdialysis of 10 mM nicotine, resulting in a nicotine concentration of 0.134 mumol/g in the hippocampus, increased the extracellular levels of aspartic acid, glutamic acid, and serine by 26-60%. At 50 mM nicotine the increases in the levels of aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine, glycine, and glutamine were between 76% and 141%. Subcutaneous administration of nicotine at a dose of 6 mumol/kg caused a 57% increase in the extracellular level of glutamic acid. After a dose of 12 mumol/kg that resulted in a nicotine level of 0.015 mumol/kg in the hippocampus, the extracellular level of glutamic acid was increased by 100%, and that of aspartic acid by 24%. Thus, higher cerebral nicotine levels were needed with intracerebral than with subcutaneous administration to obtain similar amino acid changes. Prior administration of mecamylamine or L-kynurenine prevented the subcutaneous nicotine-induced elevation of the extracellular levels of aspartic acid and glutamic acid. Our results indicate that receptor interactions modulate nicotine effects and that both nicotinic cholinergic and NMDA/glycine glutamatergic receptors participate in the action of nicotine in increasing extracellular amino acid levels.
Neighborhood-Level Racial/Ethnic Residential Segregation and Incident Cardiovascular Disease: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Background—Previous research suggests that neighborhood-level racial/ethnic residential segregation is linked to health, but it has not been studied prospectively in relation to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Methods and Results—Participants were 1595 non-Hispanic black, 2345 non-Hispanic white, and 1289 Hispanic adults from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis free of CVD at baseline (aged 45–84 years). Own-group racial/ethnic residential segregation was assessed by using the Gi* statistic, a measure of how the neighborhood racial/ethnic composition deviates from surrounding counties’ racial/ethnic composition. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to estimate hazard ratios for incident CVD (first definite angina, probable angina followed by revascularization, myocardial infarction, resuscitated cardiac arrest, coronary heart disease death, stroke, or stroke death) over 10.2 median years of follow-up. Among blacks, each standard deviation increase in black segregation was associate...
Targeting cancer with 'smart bombs': equipping plant virus nanoparticles for a 'seek and destroy' mission.

This article discusses plant virus nanoparticles as a weapon in the war on cancer. The successes and failures of numerous nanoparticle strategies are discussed as a background to consideration of the plant virus nanoparticle approach. To have therapeutic benefit, the advantages of the targeted nanoparticle must outweigh the problems of colloidal stability, uptake by the reticuloendothelial system as well as the requirement for clearance from the body. Biodegradable nanoparticles are considered to have the most promise to address these complex phenomena. After justifying the choice of biodegradable particles, the article focuses on comparison of micelles, liposomes, polymers and modified plant viruses. The structural uniformity, cargo capacity, responsive behavior and ease of manufacturing of plant virus nanoparticles are unique properties that suggest they have a wider role to play in targeted therapy. The loading of chemotherapeutic cargo is discussed, with specific reference to the advantage of reversib...
A Holistic View of the Magnetic Field in the Eridanus/Orion Region

We present observations of 21 cm emission-line Zeeman splitting at 217 positions in the Orion/Eridanus loop region and incorporate them with stellar polarization data in a partially successful attempt to develop a holistic interpretation of the magnetic field structure on small and large size scales. We develop the "paraboloidal model" to describe the idealized perturbation to ambient magnetic field lines expected for a worm/chimney structure. We compare the magnetic field data to this model and find fair agreement for part of the region. On the small scale of one of the molecular clouds, previous interpretations invoke a helical field; in contrast, our interpretation invokes the Eridanus shock and its interaction with dense molecular clouds, in which the observed reversal in the line-of-sight field occurs naturally.
SYBR Green real-time telomeric repeat amplification protocol for the rapid quantification of telomerase activity

The sensitive telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) permits telomerase detection in mammalian cell and tissue extracts with very low telomerase activity levels. Unfortunately, conventional TRAP assays require complex post-amplification procedures, such as polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and densitometry, to measure telomerase products. Therefore, a real-time quantitative TRAP assay (RQ-TRAP) was optimized in the present study and evaluated in comparison with a commercially available quantitative TRAP kit and by monitoring telomerase activity in human hepatocyte cultures, human hepatoma cell lines and telomerase reconstitution experiments. The novel real-time telomerase detection method has many advantages. Other than sample extraction and real-time cycling, no additional time-consuming steps have to be performed for telomerase quantification; reliable and linear telomerase quantification is possible down to single-cell dilutions without the interference of primer-dimer artifacts, and the costs are less. Moreover, the precision is similar to other amplification-based telomerase quantification assays and the results are comparable to data obtained with two commercially available assays. The closed-tube system reduces the risk of carryover contamination and supports high throughput. In conclusion, RQ-TRAP provides a new tool for the rapid and reliable quantification of telomerase activity.