cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Geography of Pinus elliottii Engelm. and Pinus palustris Mill. leaf life‐spans in the southeastern U.S.A.

Aim Past studies have investigated differences in leaf life-spans between deciduous and evergreen species. Environmental controls such as light, temperature, and nutrient and moisture availability explain differences in leaf life-spans between species. This study examined intraspecific leaf life-spans across climate and nutrient gradients within the geographical range of Pinus palustris Engelm (longleaf pine) and Pinus elliottii Mill. (slash pine). Location Five study areas in the southeastern United States were selected along the north–south geographical range of Pinus elliottii and Pinus palustris. Methods Leaf life-span was calculated based on stand inventories and annual litterfall totals for each site, and allometric relationships between d.b.h. and foliar biomass. Results Leaf life-span of P. elliottii ranged from 1.28 to 1.95 years between sites. Leaf life-span of P.palustris varied by nearly a factor of 5 between the study site with the lowest and highest value (0.58–2.49 years). anova indicated that leaf life-spans of P. elliottii were not significantly different among sites. In contrast, anova indicated a significant difference for P. palustris leaf life-spans among sites (P < 0.05). The Tukey multiple comparisons tests showed that 2 study areas were the only pair of P. palustris sites with a significant difference in leaf life-spans. Main conclusions The geographical variation in leaf life-spans between two species illustrates the different phenotypic responses to environmental controls. The variation in leaf life-spans by individuals of P. palustris across a geographical range illustrated in this study suggests that P. palustris may exhibit a greater phenotypic plasticity than P. elliottii.
Electronic dephasing in the quantum Hall regime

Summary form only given. We present the first investigation of electronic dephasing in the presence of two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in the Quantum Hall regime using four wave mixing (FWM). We observe a transition from Markovian to non-Markovian behavior and abrupt variation of the decay time with filling factor, which we interpret in terms of photoexcited electrons scattering with collective excitations of the 2DE-liquid in the lowest Landau level.
Phenomenology of the valence-fluctuation pairing mechanism: {Tc} systematics of cuprates, and evidence for this mechanism in other superconductors

The phenomenology of the cuprate superconductors is unconventional in many respects, in addition to the high Tc’s. A number of these features have recently been explained, qualitatively and even semi-quantitatively, by means of a valence-fluctuation mechanism. We now examine the extent to which this mechanism can account, at a qualitative level, for the Tc systematics of the many known cuprate superconductors. We find that this mechanism is consistent with some major features of the Tc systematics: the strong dependence on the hole-doping concentration x, the strong correlation with the Madelung potential of the apical oxygens, and a strong dependence on the number of apical oxygens per planar copper ion. We also argue that the same mechanism should be operating (together with phonons) in a number of other superconductors, in particular in the other “exotic” superconductors of Uemura. The evidence is that typical features of these exotics include extremely short coherence length, very high (and often T2) normalstate resistivity, a highly anomalous form of Hc2(T), a large London penetration depth, and an often obvious suitability for representation by an Anderson lattice form of model Hamiltonian. The frequently-encountered cluster and/or reduced-dimensionality aspects are argued to be features which help to justify the latter form of model Hamiltonian.
Determination of the Molecular Parameters and Studies of the Chain Conformation of Polybenzimidazole in DMAc/LiCl

Static light scattering has been used for the first time to obtain the molecular parameters and to study the chain conformation of a previously synthesized m-polybenzimidazole (m-PBI) sample in N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) with 4% (g/mL) LiCl. A weight-average molecular weight Mw = 199 200 g/mol; radius of gyration Rg = 44.0 nm and A2 = 0.0022 cm3 mol/g2 are reported. The chain conformation of m-PBI was studied as a function of (a) polymer concentration (0.1−20 mg/mL) at a fixed salt concentration of 4% LiCl and (b) salt concentration (0.05−7%) at a fixed polymer concentration of 0.3 mg/mL. As polymer or salt concentration was increased, the chains collapsed initially, and then underwent fluctuations in size without a significant decrease in their average size. The collapse was associated with a conformational transition from random coil to an “extended wormlike” chain at increasing polymer concentration. At polymer concentrations greater than 9 mg/mL, the average size of the polymer chain was relatively ...
Computational Thinking in Elementary and Secondary Teacher Education

Computational thinking (CT) is broadly defined as the mental activity for abstracting problems and formulating solutions that can be automated. In an increasingly information-based society, CT is becoming an essential skill for everyone. To ensure that students develop this ability at the K-12 level, it is important to provide teachers with an adequate knowledge about CT and how to incorporate it into their teaching. This article describes a study on designing and introducing computational thinking modules and assessing their impact on preservice teachers’ understanding of CT concepts, as well as their attitude towards computing. Results demonstrate that introducing computational thinking into education courses can effectively influence preservice teachers’ understanding of CT concepts.
Crystal growth, spectroscopy, and laser characteristics of Ti:Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/

The vertical-gradient-freeze technique has been used to grow laser-quality Ti:Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ single crystals. Ti/sup 3+/-Ti/sup 4+/ pairs have been shown to be responsible for the residual infrared absorption. Room-temperature oscillator and amplifier experiments are reviewed. >
The effect of incentives and other instructor-driven strategies to increase online student evaluation response rates

Course evaluations (often termed student evaluations of teaching or SETs) are pervasive in higher education. As SETs increasingly shift from pencil-and-paper to online, concerns grow over the lower response rates that typically accompany online SETs. This study of online SET response rates examined data from 678 faculty respondents and student response rates from an entire semester. The analysis focused on those tactics that faculty employ to raise response rates for their courses, and explored instructor and course characteristics as contributing factors. A comprehensive regression model was evaluated to determine the most effective tactics and characteristics. Using incentives had the most impact on response rates. Other effective tactics that increase response rates include reminding students to take the evaluation, explaining how the evaluations would be used to improve instruction, sending personal emails and posting reminders on Blackboard®. Incentives are not widely used; however, findings suggest ...
A Technical Note on Corruption

This note defines and discusses the measurement of corruption, describes corruption's principal effects on firms and societies, and discusses its relevance of to managers and to the efforts of firms to promote higher living standards throughout the world.
MCPIP1 Selectively Destabilizes Transcripts Associated with an Antiapoptotic Gene Expression Program in Breast Cancer Cells That Can Elicit Complete Tumor Regression

The ability of cancer cells to evade apoptosis is dictated by a shift in the balance between proapoptotic and antiapoptotic gene expression programs. Monocyte chemotactic protein-induced protein 1 (MCPIP1) is a zinc-finger RNA binding protein with important roles in mediating inflammatory responses. Overexpression of MCPIP1 in different cancer cell types has been implicated in eliciting an antitumor response, but a direct role of MCPIP1 in apoptosis has not been established. In this study, we demonstrate that MCPIP1 functions as a potent tumor suppressor that induces apoptosis of breast tumor cells by selectively enhancing mRNA decay of antiapoptotic gene transcripts, including Bcl2L1, Bcl2A1, RelB, Birc3, and Bcl3. Mechanistically, MCPIP1 physically interacted with a stem-loop structure in the 3' untranslated region of these transcripts through its PIN domain, causing mRNA destabilization. Furthermore, we found that MCPIP1 expression was repressed in breast tumor cells, and overexpression of MCPIP1 induced apoptosis, whereas its depletion enhanced cancer cell proliferation. Moreover, MCPIP1 induction in vivo resulted in complete regression of established tumors and a significant reduction in metastatic disease. Notably, low MCPIP1 expression in tumor samples from breast cancer patients was strongly associated with poor survival over 13 years of follow-up. Collectively, our results highlight that MCPIP1 is a new tumor suppressor in breast cancer that induces cell death by tipping the balance in favor of proapoptotic gene expression.
Multilevel assessment of prenatal engagement in home visiting

Background Low engagement in prenatal home visiting may limit programme effectiveness to improve birth outcomes. Multiple factors may influence engagement. Methods A retrospective cohort study of first-time mothers enrolled in home visiting prenatally in southwest Ohio from 2007 to 2010. The primary outcome was enrolment by 20weeks’ gestation; a secondary outcome included home visit frequency. Two multilevel assessments were conducted using random intercept multilevel modelling; maternal covariates were nested first within the home visiting agency and then within the ZIP code. In the first model, variations attributable to individual agency and agency volume were assessed. In the second model nested within the ZIP code, violence rates by ZIP code and interaction terms between violence rates and maternal factors were evaluated. Results Of 837 women, 25.3% enrolled ≤20 weeks and 7.4% enrolled early and received ≥75% of expected visits. The first model demonstrated a significant variation in early enrolment based on clustering by agency (p Conclusions Prenatal home visiting engagement is related to maternal, agency and community factors, presenting multiple opportunities to optimise programme implementation.
Multiple Folded Plates with Various End Conditions

A simple method for the analysis of multiple folded-plate systems is presented based on the ordinary folded-plate theory. The procedure may be applied to any single-span system having any number of plates meeting at a given joint. Use of loading, moment, and deflection reference curves together with node-point computations allow various end support conditions and types of loading to be analyzed without applying deflection coefficients. The validity and the accuracy of the results are evaluated on the basis of holding force error curves. The method is also useful for warping-torsion problems. A Fortran computer program based on the method has been developed for the IBM 360/50 digital computer. The paper summarizes this program and demonstrates the method with several example plate systems.
Optimal Feedback Control of a Flexible Needle Under Anatomical Motion Uncertainty

Bevel-tip flexible needles allow for reaching remote/inaccessible organs while avoiding the obstacles (sensitive organs, bones, etc.). Motion planning and control of such systems is a challenging problem due to the uncertainty induced by needle-tissue interactions, anatomical motions (respiratory and cardiac induced motions), imperfect actuation, etc. In this paper, we use an analogy where steering the needle in a soft tissue subject to the uncertain anatomical motions is compared to the Dubins vehicle traveling in the stochastic wind field. Achieving the optimal feedback control policy requires solution of a dynamic programming problem that is often computationally demanding. Efficiency is not central to many optimal control algorithms that often need to be computed only once for a given system/noise statistics. However, intraoperative policy updates may be required for adaptive or patient-specific models. We use the method of approximating Markov chain to approximate the continuous (and controlled) process with its discrete and locally consistent counterpart. We examine the linear programming method of solving the imposed dynamic programming problem that significantly improves the computational efficiency in comparison to the state-of-the-art approaches. In addition, the probability of success and failure are simply the variables of the linear optimization problem and can be directly used for different objective definitions. A numerical example of the 2D needle steering problem is considered to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed method.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Relaxed dependence tracking for parallel runtime support

It is notoriously difficult to achieve both correctness and scalability for many shared-memory parallel programs. To improve correctness and scalability, researchers have developed various kinds of parallel runtime support such as multithreaded record & replay and software transactional memory. Existing forms of runtime support slow programs significantly in order to track an execution's cross-thread dependences accurately. This paper investigates the potential for runtime support to hide latency introduced by dependence tracking, by tracking dependences in a relaxed way---meaning that not all dependences are tracked accurately. The key challenge in relaxing dependence tracking is preserving both the program's semantics and the runtime support's guarantees. We present an approach called relaxed dependence tracking (RT) and demonstrate its potential by building two types of RT-based runtime support. Our evaluation shows that RT hides much of the latency incurred by dependence tracking, although RT-based runtime support incurs costs and complexity in order to handle relaxed dependence information. By demonstrating how to relax dependence tracking to hide latency while preserving correctness, this work shows the potential for addressing a key cost of dependence tracking, thus advancing knowledge in the design of parallel runtime support.
Neighborhood Ethnoracial Composition and Gentrification in Chicago and New York, 1980 to 2010:

This research examines the impact of neighborhood ethnoracial composition on the likelihood that neighborhoods that could gentrify do gentrify over time. Drawing on findings from the gentrification and residential preference literatures, we hypothesize that the percentage of Black and Latino residents in neighborhoods in 1980 is associated with the probability of gentrification, conditional on the racial composition of neighborhoods in 2010. We test these hypotheses with analyses of census data for tracts in the central cities of Chicago and New York in 1980 to 2010. We find that the percentage of Black residents in 1980 was negatively associated with gentrified White and positively associated with gentrified Black neighborhoods, and that percent Latino in 1980 was positively associated with gentrified Latino neighborhoods. Finally, we found strong evidence that gentrification in these cities was much more likely to occur in neighborhoods close to the central business district.
The Influence of Amine/Amide versus Bisamide Coordination in Nickel Superoxide Dismutase

Nickel superoxide dismutase (NiSOD) is a mononuclear nickel-containing metalloenzyme that catalyzes the disproportionation of superoxide by cycling between NiII and NiIII oxidation states. In the reduced NiII oxidation state, the metal center is ligated by two cysteinate sulfurs, one amide nitrogen, and one amine nitrogen (from the N-terminus), while in the oxidized NiIII state, an imidazole nitrogen coordinates to the metal center. Herein, we expand on a previous report in which we described a functional metallopeptide-based NiSOD model compound [NiII(SODM1)] (SODM1 = H2N-HCDLPCGVYDPA-COOH) by exploring how acylation of the N-terminus (producing [NiII(SODM1-Ac)]) influences the properties of the metallopeptide. Titration results, GPC data, and mass-spectrometry data demonstrate that NiII coordinates to SODM1-Ac in a 1:1 ratio, while variable pH studies show that NiII coordination is strong at a pH of 7.5 and above but not observed below a pH of 6.2. This is higher than [NiII(SODM1)] by ∼1.0 pH unit consi...
Comparing the Box-Jenkins Approach with the Exponentially Smoothed Forecasting Model Application to Hawaii Tourists:

This article compares the forecasting accuracy of two forecasting techniques: (1) Box-Jenkins, and (2) exponential smoothing. The comparison is made using the tourist to Hawaii time series. An anal...
Extracting Asteroidal Mass for Robotic Construction

Near Earth Objects (NEOs) offer convenient low-gravity sources of the resources needed to extend a permanent human presence beyond earth, and build a Space-based economy. In previous work (Wanis 2005), we considered the concept of automatically forming closed wall shapes such as cylinders in Space from solid material of random shape and multidisperse size distribution, using “Tailored Force Fields”. This addresses the primary obstacle to building radiation-shielded, 1-G habitat modules in orbit. The mass required for long-term radiation shielding comes from low-gravity locations such as NEOs. Vanmali et al (2005) laid out requirements for such a mission to an NEO imagined to be at earth-sun L-4. Rangedera at al (2005) considered the conceptual design of a robotic machine to do surface excavation on a typical NEO. The present chapter is derived from Rangedera et al, presented at a Space Systems conference in Atlanta in 2005, but modified to consider returning the mass for processing to Earth orbit, instead of building habitats.
In Vivo Production of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora ‘Oswego’ (Rhabditida: Heterorhabditidae), a Potential Biological Control Agent for Soil-Inhabiting Insects in Temperate Regions

The ‘Oswego’ strain of Heterorhabditis bacteriophom has been demonstrated to be effective against several soil-inhabiting pests. This study examined factors affecting in vivo production of this entomopathogenic nematode in greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella , larvae. Timing of emergence of infective juveniles and total production was studied in relation to inoculum rate and host crowding. Nematode establishment increased with increasing inoculum rate in the range of 20–500 infective juveniles per host. However, total production per host was insensitive to inoculum rate within this range. Average number of infective juveniles produced was 336,000 per host. Production within environmental chambers was not influenced by crowding of hosts within production dishes, or crowding among dishes within the chamber. There was some evidence of a crowding effect within production dishes on total production when nematodes were reared in moderately fluctuating ambient laboratory temperatures (mean = 23.8°C). Large, late stage wax moth larvae produced 567,000 infective juveniles per host, twice as many as produced from small, late stage, wax moth larvae. Infective juveniles were produced in at least 3 emergence cycles, but the greatest proportion emerged in the 1st production cycle (82%). Median emergence time from inoculation to the midpoint of the 1st production cycle was 17 d at an inoculation rate of 20 infective juveniles per host. Median emergence time was 1-2 d faster at doses of 200 infective juveniles per host. Median emergence time also varied with location within the environmental chamber.
Stabilization of HfB12 in Y1-xHfxB12 under Ambient Pressure.

Alloys of metal dodecaborides—YB12 with HfB12—were prepared via arc-melting in order to stabilize the metastable HfB12 high-pressure phase under ambient pressure. Previously, HfB12 had been synthesized only under high-pressure (6.5 GPa). Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were used to confirm the purity and phase composition of the prepared samples. The solubility limit for HfB12 in Y1–xHfxB12 (cubic UB12 structure type) was determined to be ∼35 at. % Hf by PXRD and EDS analysis. The value of the cubic unit cell parameter (a) changed from 7.505 A (pure YB12) to 7.454 A across the solid solution range. Vickers hardness increased from 40.9 ± 1.6 GPa for pure YB12 to 45.0 ± 1.9 GPa under an applied load of 0.49 N for the Y1–xHfxB12 solid solution composition with ∼28 at. % Hf, suggesting both solid solution hardening and extrinsic hardening due to the formation of secondary phases of hafnium.
A Clinical Analysis of 168 Cases for Frenotomy with High-Frequency Electrotome in Young Children

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of high-frequency electrotome in the treatment of young children with ankyloglossia.Methods:We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 168 cases with ankyloglossia from Ocotober 2009 to May 2010.These children underwent frenotomy with high-frequency electrotome.Mean age was 3.8 years(range from 13 months to 7 years) Among the 168 patients,92 were male and 76 were female.Results:The operations were performed successfully in 167 of all 168 patients.Success rate was 99.4%.There were minor complications such as 2 patients with haemorrhage after the operations.After 2 weeks and 6 months of follow-up,1 patient needed a repeat procedure in the same way on another day.Conclusions:Clinic-based frenotomy using high-frequency electrotome is an efficacious,economical and safe treatment for young children.
Two paradigmatic approaches to borderline patients with a history of trauma : the expressive psychotherapy of otto kernberg and the trauma model of judith lewis herman.

A significant number of patients with the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder have a history of childhood trauma. This article attempts to integrate the treatment approach of Judith Herman to traumatized patients with the psychodynamic approach of Otto Kernberg to borderline patients. To facilitate paradigm shifts between these two approaches, they are presented side by side with one set of terms translated into the other. Aspects of the therapeutic relationship and process are compared and contrasted, and a preliminary attempt is made to integrate these two treatment models.
A Search for New Variable and Proper Motion Stars in the Galactic Disk

Mid-infrared observations of sections of the Galactic Plane with the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope at two widely spaced epochs (2004-5) and (2012-13) have opened up the possibility of a large-scale search for variable stars, proper motion stars, and transients. This has required developing a new research infrastructure to merge and compare the two epochs of observations, and has led to the discovery of a surprising number of variable sources (over 100,000) and high proper motion sources (over 400). We quantify the probability that a star observed in the mid-infrared will show variability at a certain amplitude. For stars with apparent infrared magnitude fainter than m = 10, stars have a 0.6% probability of varying by more than 0.25 magnitudes, but this probability increases to 14% for stars with m = 6. We also describe upcoming observations of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.
Protein, progesterone, and protease inhibitors in uterine and peritoneal fluids of women with endometriosis

This study was undertaken to determine whether women with endometriosis have altered protein, progesterone (P), and protease inhibitor concentrations in their uterine fluid and peritoneal fluid (PF) compared with controls at different phases of the menstrual cycle. Uterine flushings (UFs), PF, and blood were obtained during the follicular and luteal phases of the cycle from 29 normal women and 16 women who were diagnosed as having endometriosis. Protein content in UF did not change significantly throughout the cycle in either group. However, PF protein in patients with endometriosis was significantly (P
The roots of the question: Surprise Valley, Alyawarra, and the early development of James F. O’Connell’s ethnoarchaeology☆

Abstract James F. O’Connell is one of the most influential ethnoarchaelogists, especially so for his contributions to the development of behavioral ecology in anthropology. His scholarship in Australian archaeology and his ethnographic work with Hadza hunter-gatherers are probably best known. However, his intellectual development in the archaeology of Western North America and commitment to Australian ethnography remain underappreciated. Here I trace details of his ethnoarchaeological roots – from his background in Great Basin archaeology through his early ethnographic work in Australia – to demonstrate the maturation of an increasingly relevant and important approach to understanding human-environmental interactions.
Quantifying the potential impacts of China's power-sector policies on coal input and CO2 emissions through 2050: A bottom-up perspective

Abstract This study evaluates four recent policies for China's power sector—mandatory renewable targets, green dispatch, carbon capture and sequestration development, and coal-fired generation efficiency improvements—and quantifies their energy and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduction potential through 2050 using bottom-up energy modeling and scenario analysis. We find renewable targets and green dispatch have crucial interlinked impacts on energy and CO2 emissions that could change the shape and peak year of China's power-sector emissions outlook. Without either renewable targets or green dispatch, coal will likely continue dominating China's power mix and could delay the power-sector CO2 emissions peak to the late 2030s.
Labeling and Label-Free Shotgun Proteomics Quantification in the Research of Cardiovascular Diseases

Shotgun proteomics, comprising of labeling and label-free strategies, have expanded rapidly in the past decade and substantially advanced cardiovascular research. Employing liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry as the tool, shotgun proteomics enables unbiased, high-throughput quantitative analysis of proteome-wide alterations in protein abundance, and therefore contributes significantly to the elucidation of the mechanisms underlying cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and the discovery of potential cardiac biomarker candidates. Promising though, further technical improvements are desirable for overcoming technical challenges and ensuring successful application in cardiovascular medicine. Here we elaborate technical aspects of both labeling and label-free shotgun proteomics, including fundamental rationales, limitations, and considerations in CVD proteomics research. Several major challenges and corresponding solutions are also discussed regarding the application of shotgun proteomics in CVD research. Furthermore, we illustrate the applications of shotgun proteomics in cardiovascular research with the emphasis on disease biomarker discovery and mechanism investigation on both subcellular and whole tissue levels, post-translational modification (PTM) characterization.
Free Trade and Women in Business in the Americas— What Role Should Women’s Organizations Play?

Our objective in this paper is to bring to the attention of businesswomen's organizations in Latin America the importance of collecting data on the increasing participation of women in the economy as entrepreneurs and managers. Why is collecting this data important? As we discuss in this paper, there are two reasons why having this data matters. First, we anticipate that women's gains in education and the labor market should put them in a good position to benefit from business opportunities opened by free trade. Second, women's organizations in Canada and the United States have collected data about the impact of women in business on the economy to successfully lobby legislators to pass policies that benefit women in business. We focus on Chile and the largest countries within the NAFTA and MERCOSUR free trade areas: the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina.
Importance of strain lineages for Group B streptococcal survival.

Streptococcus agalactiae, also known as Group B Streptococcus (GBS), is an encapsulated Gram-positive bacterium that commensally colonizes the lower gastro-intestinal tract, and in females, the low...
Factors Associated with the Use of Hyaluronic Acid and Corticosteroid Injections among Patients with Radiographically Confirmed Knee Osteoarthritis: A Retrospective Data Analysis.

Abstract Purpose Despite the rapid proliferation of hyaluronate (HA) and corticosteroid (CO) injections and clinical guidelines regarding their use in osteoarthritis (OA), information on the characteristics of people receiving these injections is scarce. We describe the use of injections among adults with radiographically confirmed knee OA and identify factors associated with injection use. Methods We used publicly available data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI), an international collaboration sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, and included participants with ≥1 radiographically confirmed knee OA (Kellgren-Lawrence grade ≥2 [definite osteophytes and possible joint space narrowing (JSN) on anteroposterior weight-bearing radiograph]) at baseline. We matched 415 participants who received at least 1 HA and/or CO injection during the 6-month interval before 1 of the first 7 annual follow-up assessments to 1841 injection nonusers by randomly selecting a study visit to match the distribution observed in the injection users. Multinomial logistic regression models were used for identifying factors associated with injection use, including sociodemographic and clinical/functional factors. Findings Eighteen percent of the 2256 patients identified as having knee OA had received at least 1 injection (years 1–7, 16.9%, 13.7%, 16.6%, 13.5%, 15.9%, 13.5%, and 9.9%, respectively), most commonly with CO (68.4%). HA and CO were more commonly injected in those with a higher annual household income (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] [95% CI] with HA, US ≥$50,000 vs Implications The receipt of HA or CO injection may be associated with higher socioeconomic positioning and indicators of greater disease severity in patients with knee OA.
Abstract 469: Vitamin D Deficiency Potentiates Restenosis Following Coronary Angioplasty in Hypercholesterolemic Swine

Introduction: Vitamin D is a sectosteroid that functions through vitamin D receptor (VDR), a transcription factor, which regulates various downstream signaling pathways and controls the transcription of many targets genes. Vitamin D deficiency is associated increased risk of incident congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, and cardiovascular disease mortality. However, most of the studies which identified an association between lower vitamin D intake or lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D and increased risk of cardiovascular disease are observational or cross-sectional studies. There has been no careful study evaluating the effect of vitamin D supplementation on coronary artery disease outcome following coronary intervention. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of vitamin D deficiency and vitamin D supplementation on coronary artery restenosis following balloon angioplasty in hypercholesterolemic Yucatan microswine. Methods: Twelve female microswine were fed vitamin D-deficient or vitamin D-sufficient high cholesterol diet. At six months, animals underwent coronary angioplasty. Following coronary intervention swine in the vitamin D-sufficient high cholesterol diet group received supplementation of 1,000 IU or 3,000 IU of vitamin D3. Six months later, angiogram was performed followed by optical coherence tomography to monitor the development of intimal hyperplasia and restenosis. At the end of 12 months animals were euthanized, coronary arteries were harvested and morphological and histological studies were performed. Results: Findings from the optical coherence tomography and histomorphometric studies showed a significant decrease in neointimal hyperplasia, increase in in-segment lumen diameter, and decrease in the intima-media ratio in coronary arteries following balloon angioplasty in swine with vitamin D supplementation compared to the animals with vitamin D-deficient status. In the in-vitro studies, calcitriol inhibited proliferation of coronary artery smooth muscle cells. Conclusion: These data suggest that vitamin D deficiency increases intimal hyperplasia and restenosis following coronary balloon angioplasty in hypercholesterolemic swine. Since vitamin D inhibits smooth muscle cell proliferation, supplementation of non-secosteroidal VDR ligands prior to coronary intervention could help in preventing the neointimal formation and restenosis.
Comprehensive Observations of a Solar Minimum Coronal Mass Ejection with the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory

We perform the first kinematic analysis of a coronal mass ejection (CME) observed by both imaging and in situ instruments on board the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO). Launched on 2008 February 4, the CME is tracked continuously from initiation to 1 AU using the imagers on both STEREO spacecraft, and is then detected by the particle and field detectors on board STEREO-B on February 7. The CME is also detected in situ by the Advanced Composition Explorer and Solar and Heliospheric Observatory at Earth's L1 Lagrangian point. This event provides a good example of just how different the same event can look when viewed from different perspectives. We also demonstrate many ways in which the comprehensive and continuous coverage of this CME by STEREO improves confidence in our assessment of its kinematic behavior, with potential ramifications for space weather forecasting. The observations provide several lines of evidence in favor of the observable part of the CME being narrow in angular extent, a determination crucial for deciding how best to convert observed CME elongation angles from Sun-center to actual Sun-center distances.
Metformin to Augment Strength Training Effective Response in Seniors (MASTERS): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Muscle mass and strength are strong determinants of a person’s quality of life and functional independence with advancing age. While resistance training is the most effective intervention to combat age-associated muscle atrophy (sarcopenia), the ability of older adults to increase muscle mass and strength in response to training is blunted and highly variable. Thus, finding novel ways to complement resistance training to improve muscle response and ultimately quality of life among older individuals is critical. The purpose of this study is to determine whether a commonly prescribed medication called metformin can be repurposed to improve the response to resistance exercise training by altering the muscle tissue inflammatory environment. Individuals aged 65 and older are participating in a two-site, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial testing the effects of metformin or placebo on muscle size, strength, and physical function when combined with a progressive resistance training program. Participants consume 1700 mg of metformin per day or placebo for 2 weeks before engaging in a 14-week progressive resistance training regimen, with continued metformin or placebo. Participants are then monitored post-training to determine if the group taking metformin derived greater overall benefit from training in terms of muscle mass and strength gains than those on placebo. Muscle biopsies are taken from the vastus lateralis at three time points to assess individual cellular and molecular adaptations to resistance training and also changes in response to metformin. The response of aged muscles to a resistance training program does not always result in a positive outcome; some individuals even experience a loss in muscle mass following resistance training. Thus, adjuvant therapies, including pharmacological ones, are required to optimize response to training in those who do not respond and may be at increased risk of frailty. This is the first known metformin repurposing trial in non-diseased individuals, aimed specifically at the resistance exercise “non-responder” phenotype present in the aging population. The overall goal of this trial is to determine if combined exercise-metformin intervention therapy will benefit older individuals by promoting muscle hypertrophy and strength gains, thereby maintaining functional independence. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02308228 . Registered on 25 November 2014.
Influence of Temperature on the Reproductive and Developmental Biology of Ontsira mellipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae): Implications for Biological Control of the Asian Longhorned Beetle (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae).

Ontsira mellipes Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a North American parasitoid species that develops on the invasive pest, Anoplophora glabripennis (Moltschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), under laboratory conditions and is currently being considered as a potential new-association biocontrol agent. To develop mass-rearing protocols and field-release strategies for this parasitoid, information on its reproductive biology in relation to temperature is needed. We determined the effect of temperature (10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 °C) on development, survivorship, and sex ratio, and its effect on the longevity, fecundity, and host attack rates (parasitism) of adults. Developmental time for parasitoid eggs to pupae decreased from 26.7 d to 6.1 d as temperature increased from 10 °C to 30 °C. While no pupae eclosed as adults at 10 °C, time of adult emergence from pupae decreased from 39.7 d to 12.2 d as temperature increased from 15 °C to 30 °C. Based on estimated lower development temperature threshold (11.1 °C), the degree-days required for one generation was estimated at 342.9. When female parasitoids were provided with host larvae, parasitism occurred at all temperatures and was maximized at 25 °C. Additionally, increasing temperatures significantly reduced the preoviposition period and longevity of female O. mellipes. In addition, combining these results with temperature data from areas in the United States currently infested with A. glabripennis, we estimated that O. mellipes can complete 1.2-3.7 generations per year. Findings from this study may be considered for the future development of effective mass rearing and augmentative release strategies of O. mellipes for biological control of A. glabripennis.
Increasing Quality Improvement Capability in a Hemophilia Treatment Center

Introduction Persons with hemophilia require complex medical care by a multi-disciplinary team throughout life. There are opportunities for Hemophilia Treatment Centers (HTC) to enhance the care of persons with hemophilia through participation in quality improvement (QI) initiatives. Maintaining comprehensive care and excellent health outcomes are national priorities for Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the American Thrombosis and Hemostasis Network (ATHN), the National Hemophilia Program Coordinating Center (NHPCC). Rady Children9s Hospital San Diego (RCHSD) HTC participated in the NHPCC Dartmouth Improvement Program pilot program with the aim to develop QI capabilities within the HTCs to enhance the care of persons with hemophilia. Methods RCHSD participated in the NHPCC Dartmouth Improvement Program starting in December 2015. A QI team was established including the HTC medical director, nurse case managers, pediatric social worker and the social worker of the collaborating adult HTC. The QI team was coached by an expert TDIMA coach and a "coach in training" from another HTC. The team learned QI methods through in person training, web-based training and weekly team meetings with the coaches. The team assessed HTC data (The 5Ps-purpose, patients, professionals, processes, and patterns) to gain system knowledge and insights to determine a QI theme, global aim, specific aims and associated PDSA cycles. Results The RCHSD HTC QI team established a QI theme to focus on the transfer from pediatric to adult care. The Global Aim of the team is to improve autonomous communication in RCHSD HTC. The process begins with the 12 year old comprehensive clinic visit and ends with a new patient visit at an adult HTC. By working on the process, we expect patients to have the communication skills to be able to arrange medical insurance, call the home care company to order factor and to communicate their health and personal care needs to adult health care providers. We developed four specific aims which are in various stages of testing in PDSA cycles (Table 1). For Aim 1, we found that patients have only basic knowledge of insurance information. For Aim 2, we found that we needed to adjust our clinic process to make sure that patients receive their "after visit summary" that includes the insurance information prior to leaving clinic. Conclusions We developed a QI program within RCHSD HTC focused on improving transfer of care. Once we have completed the specific aim PDSA cycles we will standardize the new and improved procedures. We will continue to develop the program based on internal needs assessment and family input. This training model may be adapted by other HTCs to enhance patient care. Disclosures Thornburg:Mast Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Bayer Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Shire: Consultancy; Biogen Idec: Other: Data Safety Monitoring Board; Bluebird inc: Other: Data Safety Monitoring Board.
Vascular Causes of Syncope: An Emergency Medicine Review.

Abstract Background Syncope is a common emergency department (ED) complaint, accounting for 2% of visits annually. A wide variety of etiologies can result in syncope, and vascular causes may be deadly. Objective This review evaluates vascular causes of syncope and their evaluation and management in the ED. Discussion Syncope is defined by a brief loss of consciousness with loss of postural tone and complete, spontaneous recovery without medical intervention. Causes include cardiac, vasovagal, orthostatic, neurologic, medication-related, and idiopathic, and most cases of syncope will not receive a specific diagnosis pertaining to the cause. Emergency physicians are most concerned with life-threatening causes such as dysrhythmia and obstruction, and electrocardiogram is a primary means of evaluation. However, vascular etiologies can result in patient morbidity and mortality. These conditions include pulmonary embolism, subclavian steal, aortic dissection, cerebrovascular disease, intracerebral hemorrhage, carotid/vertebral dissection, and abdominal aortic aneurysm. A focused history and physical examination can assist emergency physicians in determining the need for further testing and management. Conclusions Syncope is common and may be the result of a deadly condition. The emergency physician, through history and physical examination, can determine the need for further evaluation and resuscitation of these patients, with consideration of vascular etiologies of syncope.
Gradual Information Diffusion in the Stock Market: Evidence from U.S. Multinational Firms

Using the corresponding industry return in the foreign countries, I show that the foreign operations information of multinational firms is slowly incorporated into stock prices. A trading strategy based on this effect generates an abnormal return of approximately 0.8% per month, or 9.6% per year, controlling for risk-based factors. The return predictability is not driven by U.S. industry momentum, global industry momentum or foreign country-specific industry momentum. The predictability becomes more pronounced for smaller and more opaque firms, and firms with lower fraction of foreign operations and more geographic segments. I also find that stock prices respond more to foreign operations information around quarterly earnings announcements or when there is more foreign news relative to domestic news appearing in the media. In addition, information about firms’ operations in Asia is delayed more than information about operations in Europe and English-speaking countries. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that news about multinational firms’ foreign operations diffuses gradually, indicating investors’ limited attention and processing capacity for foreign information.
Autophagy activation, not peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α, may mediate exercise-induced improvements in glucose handling during diet-induced obesity.

New Findings What is the central question of this study? What are the individual and combined effects of muscle-specific peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) overexpression and physical activity during high-fat feeding on glucose and exercise tolerance? What is the main finding and its importance? Our main finding is that muscle-specific PGC-1α overexpression provides no protection against lipid-overload pathologies nor does it enhance exercise adaptations. Instead, physical activity, regardless of PGC-1α content, protects against high-fat diet-induced detriments. Activation of muscle autophagy was correlated with exercise protection, suggesting that autophagy might be a mediating factor for exercise-induced protection from lipid overload. The prevalence of glucose intolerance is alarmingly high. Efforts to promote mitochondrial biogenesis through peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) to mitigate glucose intolerance have been controversial. However, physical activity remains a primary means to alleviate the condition. The aim of this study was to determine the combined effects of muscle-specific overexpression of PGC-1α and physical activity on glucose handling during diet-induced obesity. Wild-type (WT, ∼20) and PGC-1α muscle transgenic (MCK-PGC-1α, ∼20) mice were given a Western diet (WD) at 8 weeks age and allowed to consume food ab libitum throughout the study. At 12 weeks of age, all animals were divided into sedentary (SED) or voluntary wheel running (VWR) interventions. At 7, 11 and 15 weeks of age, animals underwent glucose tolerance tests (GTT) and graded exercise tests (GXT). At 16 weeks of age, tissues were collected. At 11 weeks, the MCK-PGC-1α animals had 50% greater glucose tolerance integrated area under the curve compared with WT. However, at 15 weeks, SED animals also had greater GTT integrated area under the curve compared with VWR, regardless of genotype; furthermore, SED animals demonstrated reduced exercise capacity compared with earlier time points, which was not seen in VWR animals. Voluntary distance run per day was correlated with GTT in VWR-WT, but not VWR-MCK-PGC-1α mice. Voluntary wheel running and genotype independently resulted in a greater LC3II/LC3I ratio, suggesting enhanced autophagosome formation, which was correlated with exercise-induced improvements in GTT. In conclusion, artificially increasing mitochondrial content does not protect from lipid-induced pathologies nor does it augment exercise adaptations. Physical activity ameliorates the effects of lipid overload-induced glucose intolerance, an effect that appears to be related to enhanced activation of autophagy.
Outlook for mobile biometrics

Mobile biometrics is an emerging research area with some unique capabilities compared to the traditional biometrics. One aim of this book is to provide some unique views and experience from industrial partners. Their experience in developing mobile sensors or devices, algorithms, and systems could be useful and valuable to academic researchers. The angle from industry to view mobile biometrics may be different from academia, but the rich information and unique experience from industrial experts could inspire academic researchers greatly with some fresh ideas. In this book, there are five chapters from the industry experts, about one-third of the whole book. Progress can also be made faster in industrial mobile biometrics product development, given that important challenges and relevant issues are addressed by the academic researchers in a timely manner.