cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SEQUENTIAL GYROLESS ATTITUDE/ATTITUDE-RATE ESTIMATION USING INTEGRATED-RATE PARAMETERS

A sequential nonlinear algorithm is presented for gyroless satellite attitude and attitude-rate estimation using vector observations. The estimator is based on a third-order, minimal-parameter method for solving the attitude matrix kinematic equation. Possessing an extremely simple kinematics, the third-order parameters render the resulting estimator computationally efficient. Employing tracking theory concepts, the angular acceleration is modeled as an exponentially autocorrelated stochastic process, thus avoiding the use of the typically uncertain spacecraft dynamic model. An attitude matrix orthogonalization procedure, incorporated into the estimator's scheme, enhances its accuracy and robustness, yet retains reasonable simplicity. A numerical example is used to demonstrate the estimator's performance, by comparing it with the estimator implemented onboard the gyroless Solar, Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX) spacecraft.
A 24-YEAR LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGIOUS IDEAS

The religious ideas of 83 individuals were examined when they were college freshmen, seniors, and then as alumni 20 yr. later, using scales and items from the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values and the Omnibus Personality Inventory. Their religious ideas were related to other aspects of their values and personalities, as well as their careers and current activities. Analyses suggest that there were sizable changes in religious ideas toward more liberal and free-thinking positions during the college years, with relatively few further changes thereafter.
Solubility and biocompatibility of calcium hydroxide-containing root canal sealers

The solubility and biocompatibility of 2 commercially available calcium hydroxide-containing root canal sealers, CRGS and Sealapex, were studied. Four dogs were anesthetized and a sulcular incision was made to expose the vestibular surface of the mandble. Two rows of holes, 2 mm deep, 2 mm wide and 10 mm apart, were drilled into the mandible. Teflon cups with the same dimensions as the holes were filled with the experimental materials and placed in the cavities. For the purpose of comparison, Teflon cups filled with a traditional zinc oxide-eugenol sealer and a paste of calcium hydroxide and saline were implanted as well. After 90 days the animals were killed. The mandibles were dissected free, fixed in formalin and demineralized. Bone specimens containing 1 Teflon cup were then embedded in paraffin, sectioned longitudinally, and the sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and examined in the light microscope. The cups which originally contained the paste of calcium hydroxide and saline were completely filled with bone. Sealapex was partly missing from the cups and was generally replaced by ingrowth of connective tissue. Large amounts of the material were seen in macrophages and tissue outside the cups. CRCS and the traditional zinc oxide-eugenol sealer generally filled the cups well after 3 months. Tissue fluids were seen in the superficial layers of these materials, but ingrowth of tissue had not occurred. No macrophage reaction was seen with either of these materials, but a stronger inflammatory reaction was caused by CRCS than by the traditional zinc oxide-eugenol cement. CRCS appeared to be the most stable of the calcium hydroxide-containing sealers tested.
Distinct STAT Structure Promotes Interaction of STAT2 with the p48 Subunit of the Interferon-α-stimulated Transcription Factor ISGF3

Cells express a variety of STAT (signal transducer and activator of transcription) transcription factors that are structurally homologous and yet function specifically in response to particular cytokines. The functions of the individual STATs are dependent on distinct protein-protein interactions. STAT1 and STAT2 are activated by tyrosine phosphorylation in response to type I interferons-alpha/beta (IFN-alpha/beta) and subsequently form a multimeric transcription factor designated the IFN-alpha-stimulated gene factor 3 (ISGF3). ISGF3 is a unique STAT complex because it also contains a non-STAT molecule, p48, which is a critical DNA-binding component. We provide evidence that STAT2 specifically interacts with p48 in vivo before and after IFN-alpha stimulation. The specificity of ISGF3 formation is therefore a result of the distinct nature of the STAT2 molecule. Coimmunoprecipitation assays demonstrate p48 association with STAT2 but not STAT1. Hybrid STAT2. STAT1 molecules were used to identify a region of STAT2 which specifically associates with p48. The region of STAT2 interaction spans an amino-terminal region of two predicted coiled coils. The studies demonstrate the in vivo existence of a STAT2.p48 complex and a distinct STAT2.STAT1 complex after IFN-alpha stimulation. Data suggest that distinct bipartite complexes STAT2.p48 and STAT2.STAT1 translocate to the nucleus and associate on the DNA target site as ISGF3.
Implantable Defibrillators Are Preferable to Pharmacologic Therapy for Patients With Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias: An Antagonist's Viewpoint

Despite their intuitive appeal, implantable cardioverter defibrillator s (ICDs) will require testing in randomized studies to establish their relative value as compared with antiarrhythmic drugs in patients with life-threatening ventricular tachyarrhythmias (ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation [VT/VF]). In these studies, only total mortality is an acceptable primary end point. Lessons from recent drug studies (CAST, ESVEM, CASCADE) have shown that class-III/beta-receptor antagonist therapy is superior to class-I drugs selected by electrophysiologic or Holter monitor testing. Thus, sotalol or amiodarone should now be considered first-line drugs for VT/VF therapy. Advantages of contemporary drug therapy for VT/VF include wide experience among clinicians, progressively better drugs, lower cost, universal availability, greater flexibility in use (easy to start, titrate, and stop), ability to suppress (not just terminate) events, and favorable effect on disease progression (eg, beta-blockade effects in cardiomyopathy and ischemic heart disease). Recent matched observational studies and a small randomized experience (CASH) suggest near equivalence in total mortality in ICD and drug-treated groups. Until or unless modified by the results of large, ongoing, randomized trials (AVID, CIDS), contemporary antiarrhythmic drug therapy has much to be recommended as first-line, standard treatment for patients with VT/VF. Even in patients receiving ICDs, added drug therapy is frequently indicated.
Economic Security, Social Cohesion, and Depression Disparities in Post-Transition Societies: A Comparison of Older Adults in China and Russia

Although both China and Russia have experienced several decades of market reform, initial evidence suggests that this structural change has compromised mental and physical health among the Russian population but not the Chinese population. Using data from the World Health Organization Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health (2007-2010), this study examines the factors associated with the disparity in depression between older adults in China and their Russian counterparts, all of whom experienced market transition in the prime of their lives (N = 10,896). Results show that the lower level of depression among Chinese respondents is attributable to higher levels of economic security and social cohesion as well as stronger effects of economic and social resources on depression, while health-rating style is likely a minor factor. The study advances the sociological understanding of global/comparative mental health by considering the effects of macrolevel political, economic, social, and cultural conditions.
A new and presumably extinct species of Ptychochromoides (Teleostei: Perciformes: Cichlidae) from central Madagascar

Ptychochromoides itasy, new species, is described from material collected from Lake Itasy and environs in the central highlands of Madagascar. The new species is distinguished from congeners by the presence of a pronounced occipital hump, regardless of size, sexual maturity, or sex, and also by a shorter predorsal length, more elongate terminal dorsal-fin spine, and shorter snout. Although reportedly once abundant in Lake Itasy, specimens referable to the new species have not been collected from the lake or surrounding region in several decades and the species is presumed to be extinct.
Portfolio Choice Problems

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the econometric treatment of portfolio choice problems. The goal is to describe, discuss, and illustrate through examples the different econometric approaches proposed in the literature for relating the theoretical formulation and solution of a portfolio choice problem to the data. In focusing on the econometrics of the portfolio choice problem, this chapter is at best a cursory overview of the broad portfolio choice literature. Much of the discussion is focused on the single-period portfolio choice problem with standard preferences, normally distributed returns, and frictionless markets. There are many recent advances in the portfolio choice literature. The econometric techniques discussed in this chapter can be applied to realistic formulations. It also discusses a number of modeling issues and extensions that arise in formulating the problem.
Wolbachia infections and arthropod reproduction

Wolbachia is an intracellular bacterium that is almost exclusively maternally transmitted, and its reproductive effects favor transmission of the intracellular bacterial agent at the expense of the arthropod population that is not infected. Wolbachia can cause cytoplasmic incompatibility, parthenogenesis and feminization in many arthropods.
Cutting Edge: Resident Memory CD8 T Cells Express High-Affinity TCRs

Tissue-resident memory T (TRM) cells serve as vanguards of antimicrobial host defense in nonlymphoid tissues, particularly at barrier epithelia and in organs with nonrenewable cell types (e.g., brain). In this study, we asked whether an augmented ability to sense Ag complemented their role as early alarms of pathogen invasion. Using mouse polyomavirus, we show that brain-resident mouse polyomavirus-specific CD8 T cells, unlike memory cells in the spleen, progressively increase binding to MHC class I tetramers and CD8 coreceptor expression. Using the two-dimensional micropipette adhesion-frequency assay, we show that TRM cells in brain, as well as in kidney, express TCRs with up to 20-fold higher affinity than do splenic memory T cells, whereas effector cells express TCRs of similar high affinity in all organs. Together, these data demonstrate that TRM cells retain high TCR affinity, which endows them with the high Ag sensitivity needed for front-line defense against infectious agents.
A successful cord blood transplant in a child with second accelerated phase chronic myeloid leukemia following lymphoid blast crisis

We describe a 5-year-old girl with Ph(+) CML who received a cord blood transplant in a second accelerated phase after a very early lymphoid blast crisis. She was induced into CR by ALL-directed chemotherapy and then maintained with IFN-alpha2b together with weekly rotational chemotherapy. Nineteen months after diagnosis, her mother gave birth to an HLA-compatible sibling, whose cord blood was cryopreserved. The patient's second acceleration occurred 22 months after the CML diagnosis. The subsequent conditioning regimen included busulfan 16 mg/kg, Ara-C 12 g/m2 and melphalan 140 mg/m2. In order to prevent GVHD, CsA alone was administered, 3 mg/kg i.v. per day for a total of 40 days. The total number of nucleated cells infused was 0.8 x 108/kg, with CD34+ cells 1.8 x 106/kg and CFU-GM 1 x 104/kg. Engraftment occurred on day +35. Respiratory distress, severe VOD and grade II acute gastrointestinal GVHD complicated the post-transplant period. No chronic GVHD occurred. The girl is alive 23 months after transplantation with complete donor chimerism; both Ph chromosome and bcr/abl RNA are negative. Bone Marrow Transplantation (2000) 25, 213-215.
Structural Characteristics of Transitional Capillary Flow

The maturation of ∞ow in microscale capillaries from a laminar to a fully-turbulent state is studied via extensive microscopic particle image velocimetry measurements spanning the Reynolds-number range 1900 < Re < 4500. Consistent with transitional wall-bounded ∞ows at the macroscale, transitional capillary ∞ow is found to contain patches of increasinglydisordered motion with increasing Re bounded by nominally laminar ∞ow. The intensity of these disordered motions grows with Re and quadrant analysis supports a gradual maturation of the instantaneous Reynolds-shear-stress-producing events as the ∞ow transitions toward a fully-turbulent state. Proper orthogonal decomposition of the transitional datasets indicates that large-scale structures play a vital role in the transport of both kinetic energy as well as Reynolds shear stress and visualization of these large-scale structures reveals spatial signatures consistent with hairpin vortex packets.
Studies of malformation syndromes of man XXXIX: a craniosynostosis-craniofacial dysostosis syndrome with mental retardation and other malformations: "craniofacial dyssynostosis".

We report clinical findings in 2 sisters and 5 sporadic cases with a “new” type of craniosynostosis/craniofacial dysostosis and shortness of stature. Premature closure of lambdoid sutures and posterior part of sagittal suture causes a posteriorly narrow, dolichocephalic skull with small, flat or bulging occiput and protuberance of the forehead; disturbance of the growth of basal skull structures leads to craniofacial dysostosis and (secondary) anomalies of the face. In one patient the coronal suture was also involved. One of the patients had a congenital heart defect. Four untreated patients had mental retardation; 3 had craniosynostectomy with more or less normal psychomotor development afterwards. Some patients had hydrocephalus and 1 had a brain malformation (agenesis of the oorpus callosum with presumed interventricular lipoma). The observation of sisters with the same condition suggests autosomal recessive inheritance. This etiologic hypothesis is supported by the fact that 4 of 7 patients are of Spanish, Mexican, or Puerto Rican ancestry; this population probably has a rather high gene frequency and the trait should be relatively common in areas occupied by this population and their descendants. The condition has been designated craniofacial dyssynostosis.
Summary of Summer 2009 ASIANetwork Freeman Student-Faculty Fellows Program and Final Reports

As ASIANetwork awaits receipt of preliminary reports from the 12 mentors who led summer 2010 ASIANetwork Freeman Student-Faculty Fellows undergraduate research endeavors throughout Asia, it is the appropriate time to provide members of the consortium with a brief summary of the achievements of the summer 2009 fellows, based on final reports received from them in mid-May 2010.
Interventions to Support Caregiver Well-Being

Millions of family members will take on the responsibility to provide care to someone with dementia providing person-centered in-home care to the great benefit of the care recipient and healthcare system. Unfortunately the costs of this role can be quite significant in terms of the caregiver’s physical, psychological, social and financial health. The goal of this chapter is to highlight the recent research detailing role-related changes and the potential interventions that might ameliorate or reverse those changes.
Inhibition of aortic chemoreceptor discharge by pressor response to muscular contraction

We have examined the effect of static contraction of the hindlimb muscles on the discharge of aortic chemoreceptors in chloralose-anesthetized cats. The responses of the chemoreceptors to contraction were dependent on the arterial pressure response to this maneuver. When contraction reflexly evoked a pressor response of at least 20 mmHg, the discharge of 26 chemoreceptors was reduced from control levels by 53% (P less than 0.01). The contraction-induced inhibition of chemoreceptor discharge was prevented by phentolamine, an alpha-adrenergic antagonist that also attenuated the contraction-induced pressor response. In addition, the inhibition evoked by contraction was simulated by injection of phenylephrine and inflation of an aortic balloon, both of which evoked pressor responses. However, when contraction failed to significantly change arterial pressure, the discharge of 20 aortic chemoreceptors was not significantly changed from control levels. We conclude that the reflex pressor response to static contraction inhibits the discharge of aortic chemoreceptors. This inhibition of discharge needs to be considered when interpreting the effects of aortic barodenervation on the cardiovascular responses to exercise.
Grindhouse Nostalgia: Memory, Home Video and Exploitation Film Fandom

Too often dismissed as nothing more than 'trash cinema' exploitation films have become both earnestly appreciated cult objects and home video items that are more accessible than ever. In this wide-ranging new study, David Church explores how the history of drive-in theatres and urban grind houses has descended to the home video formats that keep these lurid movies fondly alive today. Arguing for the importance of cultural memory in contemporary fan practices, Church focuses on both the re-release of archival exploitation films on DVD and the recent cycle of 'retrosploitation' films like Grindhouse, Machete, Viva, The Devil's Rejects, and Black Dynamite. At a time when older ideas of subcultural belonging have become increasingly subject to nostalgia, Grindhouse Nostalgia presents an indispensable study of exploitation cinema's continuing allure, and is a bold contribution to our understanding of fandom, taste politics, film distribution, and home video.Key Features: The first in-depth critical examination of the recent and ongoing "retrosploitation" cycle *Expands a growing body of research on the importance of home video as containers of material history *Unites cultural memory studies and fan studies in productive ways for understanding a broad range of fan investments *Restores questions of affect and non-ironic reception to understandings of exploitation cinema's continuing appeal
TR-Spark: Transient Computing for Big Data Analytics

Large-scale public cloud providers invest billions of dollars into their cloud infrastructure and operate hundreds of thousands of servers across the globe. For various reasons, much of this provisioned server capacity runs at low average utilization, and there is tremendous competitive pressure to increase utilization. Conceptually, the way to increase utilization is clear: Run time-insensitive batch-job workloads as secondary background tasks whenever server capacity is underutilized; and evict these workloads when the server's primary task requires more resources. Big data analytic tasks would seem to be an ideal fit to run opportunistically on such transient resources in the cloud. In reality, however, modern distributed data processing systems such as MapReduce or Spark are designed to run as the primary task on dedicated hardware, and they perform badly on transiently available resources because of the excessive cost of cascading re-computations in case of evictions. In this paper, we propose a new framework for big data analytics on transient resources. Specifically, we design and implement TR-Spark, a version of Spark that can run highly efficiently as a secondary background task on transient (evictable) resources. The design of TR-Spark is based on two principles: resource stability and data size reduction-aware scheduling and lineage-aware checkpointing. The combination of these principles allows TR-Spark to naturally adapt to the stability characteristics of the underlying compute infrastructure. Evaluation results show that while regular Spark effectively fails to finish a job in clusters of even moderate instability, TR-Spark performs nearly as well as Spark running on stable resources.
Forest cover is important across multiple scales for bird communities in vacant lots

Urban vacant lots can vary considerably in their vegetation structure, from dense, shrubby habitats to wooded remnant fragments that may provide habitat for a variety of birds. By identifying which features promote diverse bird communities, we can determine at which scale management practices should focus and the necessary habitat structure and composition features. We surveyed 150 vacant lots throughout Baltimore, Maryland for their bird communities, lot vegetation, and landscape-level forest cover. An ordination of the bird community indicated a response to a gradient of canopy cover and canopy height at the vacant lot. We also found that forest cover within 100 m of the vacant lot was the most important predictor of abundance for five bird species of interest. Species richness was spatially autocorrelated among sites, indicating that bird communities may also be driven by species’ dispersal and environmental gradients across the city. Overall, bird communities are responding to habitat features across multiple scales, from the vacant lot vegetation, to landscape-level forest cover, to city-wide dynamics. Thus, we recommend management practices to focus on increasing city-wide forest cover in order to increase species richness, yet with awareness regarding where the lot occurs within the city.
Was Hobbes a crank

Much as I appreciate any attempt to explore the fact that an encounter with mathematics can turn on the light of reason, I was astonished – and even a little alarmed – by Robert P Crease's choice of Thomas Hobbes as an exemplar (January p15). Hobbes, indeed, presents us with the other side of the coin. His famous discovery of the art of mathematical inference (assuming that his biographer John Aubrey got the facts straight) is a perfect illustration of how, for a person with more enthusiasm than talent, such an encounter can produce not a mathematician, but a crank.
Essential amino acid ingestion alters expression of genes associated with amino acid sensing, transport, and mTORC1 regulation in human skeletal muscle

Amino acid availability stimulates protein synthesis via the mTORC1 (mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1) signaling pathway. In response to an increase in cellular amino acid availability, translocation of cytosolic mTORC1 to the lysosomal surface is required to stimulate mTORC1 kinase activity. However, research elucidating the amino acid responsive mechanisms have thus far only been conducted in in vitro models. Our primary objective was to determine whether an increase in amino acid availability within human skeletal muscle in vivo would alter the expression of genes associated with amino acid sensing, transport and mTORC1 regulation. Our secondary objective was to determine whether an acute perturbation in lysosomal function would disrupt the normal pattern of muscle amino acid responsive gene expression. We recruited 13 young adults into one of two groups: The first group ingested 10 g of essential amino acids (EAA). The second group ingested 10 g of EAA in the presence of chloroquine (CQ), a lysosomotropic agent. The subjects from each group had biopsies of the vastus lateralis taken before and after EAA ingestion. We determined the relative mRNA expression of 51 potential amino acid responsive genes using RT-qPCR. There was a differential mRNA expression for 22 genes, with 15 mRNAs significantly changing (P < 0.05) in response to EAA ingestion (e.g., REDD1: +209 ± 35%; SLC38A9: +31 ± 9%; SLC38A10: +57 ± 15%). In the CQ group, EAA ingestion resulted in a differential expression as compared to EAA alone (i.e., 11 out of the 22 genes were different (P < 0.05) between the two groups.) Expression of several amino acid sensing, transport, and mTORC1 regulatory genes in human skeletal muscle are responsive to an increase in amino acid availability. Furthermore, potential acute disruption of lysosomal function by ingestion of chloroquine interferes with the normal pattern of gene expression following feeding. Our in vivo data in humans provide preliminary support for the in vitro work linking amino acid sensing pathways to mTORC1 translocation to the lysosome. NCT00891696 . Registered 29 April 2009.
Event risk, covenants, and bondholder returns in leveraged buyouts

Abstract Prebuyout bondholders, on average, suffer statistically significant wealth losses in leveraged buyouts. Bonds with strong covenant protection, however, gain value, while those with no protection lose value. The disposition of bonds after buyouts, e.g., remained outstanding, called, tendered, defeased, is also strongly linked to type of covenant protection. We also document that covenant use declines for bonds issued after 1980. Finally, the losses to bondholders are small compared with the gains accruing to shareholders.
Chapter 9 - Reconciliation Approaches to Determining HGT, Duplications, and Losses in Gene Trees

Abstract Bacterial genome content varies greatly, even between closely related species, due to processes such as gene duplication, loss, and horizontal gene transfer (HGT). New genes derived from duplication or HGT give rise to new molecular functions within microbial genomes. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of gene family evolution is fundamental to bacterial genome annotation and gene function prediction. The genomic content of ancestral bacterial species is also of interest. This unit provides a general introduction to gene and genome history reconciliation, as implemented in various statistical frameworks. Several real data analysis problems are used to illustrate the principles of different reconciliation techniques. Explicit analysis protocols for use with various software programs are included with the chapter.
Overweight, Obesity, and Lung Function in Children and Adults—A Meta-analysis

Background There is conflicting evidence on the effect of obesity on lung function in adults and children with and without asthma. We aimed to evaluate the relation between overweight or obesity and lung function, and whether such relationship varies by age, sex, or asthma status. Methods We searched PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Cochrane, and EMBASE for all studies (in English) reporting on obesity status (by body mass index) and lung function, from 2005 to 2017. Main outcomes were forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC, forced expiratory flow between 25th and 75th percentile of the forced vital capacity (FEF25-75), total lung capacity (TLC), residual volume (RV), and functional residual capacity (FRC). Random-effects models were used to calculate the pooled risk estimates; each study was weighed by the inverse effect size variance. For each outcome, we compared overweight or obese ("obese") subjects with those of normal weight. Results All measures of lung function were decreased among obese subjects. Obese adults showed a pattern (lower FEV1, FVC, TLC, and RV) different from obese children (more pronounced FEV1/FVC deficit with unchanged FEV1 or FVC). There were also seemingly different patterns by asthma status, in that subjects without asthma had more marked decreases in FEV1, TLC, RV, and FRC than subjects with asthma. Subjects who were obese (as compared with overweight) had even further decreased FEV1, FVC, TLC, RV, and FRC. Conclusions Obesity is detrimental to lung function, but specific patterns differ between children and adults. Physicians should be aware of adverse effects of obesity on lung function, and weight control should be considered in the management of airway disease among the obese.
Efficacy of a Web-based Intervention for Concerned Spouses of Service Members and Veterans with Alcohol Misuse

Concerned partners (CPs) of service members and veterans who misuse alcohol face help-seeking barriers and mental health problems. We used multiple regression to evaluate the efficacy of Partners Connect, a four-session web-based intervention (WBI) to address military CPs' mental health and communication. We randomized 312 CPs to the WBI or a control group. Five months later, WBI CPs reported significant reductions in their anxiety and increases in their social support compared to control CPs. Intervention dose was also associated with improved WBI CP outcomes. Partners Connect appears to fill a need for families who face help-seeking barriers and provides an alternative to traditional care for those who may not otherwise seek help.
Effects of adhesion layer composition on the environmental durability of protected silver mirrors

While various layer schemes have been developed to protect thin film silver mirrors from tarnish and corrosion, the mechanisms by which these protective layers improve mirror durability are not fully understood. Mixed flowing gas exposure of plasma beam sputtered silver mirrors was used to investigate how the composition of the very thin adhesion layer changes the mechanism of corrosion feature growth. Two model mirror coatings were analyzed in which the composition of the base layer below the silver and the adhesion layer above were varied. Optical measurements and microscopy, SEM, TEM, and EDS were used to characterize the compositional and chemical effects at the layer interfaces. Large circular corrosion features formed along the silver-chromium interfaces; the addition of nickel to the layers on either side of the silver limited the growth of these features, but resulted in the corrosive attack of the silver itself.
The use of case studies in teaching undergraduate neuroscience.

Case studies have been the cornerstone of many discoveries in neurology and continue to be an indispensable source of knowledge. Attaching a name, face, and story to the study of neurological disorders makes them more “real” and memorable. This article describes the value of the case study methodology and its advantages as a pedagogical approach. It also illustrates how the seminal case of H.M. can be used to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the case study methodology. Three exercises are described for incorporating case studies into neuroscience courses. The first exercise requires students to conduct a literature review regarding their assigned case and then design an experiment to address a lingering question regarding that neurological disorder. Survey results of 90 students provide quantitative and qualitative support for this approach. The vast majority of students indicated this exercise was a valuable learning experience; sparked interest in the topic and in biopsychology; increased their knowledge and stimulated critical thinking. The second exercise discusses how students might conduct their own case studies. The third exercise emphasizes the use of case studies as a platform to examine competing hypotheses regarding neurological conditions and their treatment. A table listing case studies appropriate for undergraduate neuroscience courses is included. Cases are categorized by the type of neurological disorder and notes regarding the nature of and content of each case are provided.
Native American Adult Lifespan Perspectives: Where Power Moves

The purpose of this chapter is to present information summarizing research findings on strengths and challenges to mental health in Native adult populations. This will be accomplished by offering a comprehensive overview and understanding of this population through discussion of (a) basic demographic information, (b) strengths that contribute to the resilience of Native adults, (c) significant challenges Native adults face in maintaining mental health, and finally (d) a discussion linking strengths and challenges at the level of research and/or policy in order to better understand how the strengths and resilience of Native adults can be used for the betterment of this population.
FRI0676 Responsiveness of patient reported outcomes measurement information system (PROMIS®) computerized adaptive tests (CATS) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)

Background: The accurate measurement of patient reported outcomes is a priority for patient-centered care in SLE, a chronic systemic disease with significant impact on quality of life. PROMIS CATs are precise measures of physical, mental, and social health with construct validity in SLE. The longitudinal responsiveness (sensitivity to change) of PROMIS CATs in SLE patients is unknown. Objectives: To evaluate the responsiveness of PROMIS CATs in SLE outpatients using patient and physician-derived anchors. Methods: Adult SLE patients were recruited from an SLE Center of Excellence. Subjects completed 14 selected PROMIS CATs at two visits a minimum of one month apart. SLE disease activity was measured with a patient global assessment of change, a physician global assessment and the physician-derived SELENA-SLEDAI. Responsiveness of PROMIS scores was evaluated using known-groups validity. Effect sizes were compared across groups of patients who differed in their patient global assessment of change, physician global assessment, and SELENA-SLEDAI using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Results: A diverse cohort of 228 SLE patients, including 45 (19.8%) patients flaring by SELENA-SLEDAI, completed baseline surveys. Follow up surveys were completed by 190 (83%). There was poor agreement between patient and physician global assessments (weighted kappa statistic [95% CI]=0.16 [0.04–0.28]. Using the patient-based anchor, Anger, Pain Interference, and Physical Function CATs showed low to moderate responsiveness (table 1). Using the physician global assessment, only Anxiety CAT showed low to moderate responsiveness (effect size -0.27, -0.17, and 0.06 [p=0.03] with ≥0.5 point decrease, Conclusions: PROMIS CATs showed modest responsiveness to patient-reported, but generally not physician-derived changes in lupus health status in domains of anger, pain interference, and physical function. These data suggest that certain PROMIS CATs are precise and sensitive tools which may be used to measure and monitor important aspects of the patient experience of lupus not captured by physician-derived metrics. Further studies are needed to evaluate the responsiveness of PROMIS CATs in populations with greater SLE disease activity and more regular follow up. Acknowledgements: Funding was provided by the Rheumatology Research Foundation Scientist Development Award. Disclosure of Interest: None declared
High-Performance Transition Metal-Doped Pt3Ni Octahedra for Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Pt3Ni octahedral nanoparticles supported on carbon black are prepared from solutions of Pt(acac)2 and Ni(acac)2 in DMF and benzoic acid as structure directing agent.
HiPER-V: A High Precision Radio Frequency Vehicle for Aerial Measurements

There is a growing interest towards enabling practical, dynamic and agile wireless applications by systems of independent or cooperative mobile agents such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Such mobile UAVs are often constrained on resources like storage, power and radio capabilities and require accurate position information to facilitate many of these wireless applications. In this paper, we introduce HiPER-V, which is a generalized UAV prototype platform to enable a broad range of applications in wireless communications using a single UAV or can be extended to a swarm of UAVs. We implement HiPER-V by using an UAV, equipped with resource constrained radio devices, and high precision position information available via RTK-GPS modules, achieving a median position accuracy of 3.8 cm. The details of implementation of HiPER-V and its applicability to a wide variety of applications in wireless communications are presented in this paper. With minimal payload and simple software modification, our solution can be ported to any UAV platform and extended to multiple UAV testbeds that enable an array of research in wireless applications using UAVs.
The Impact of Mortality Salience on College Students' Intent to Help Older Adults

Terror Management Theory (TMT) states that the awareness of one’s own death causes humans to experience intense anxiety, which must be continuously managed. The mortality salience hypothesis posits that when a person is reminded of their death, they will rely more heavily on psychological resources in order to cope. Much of the research on TMT and subsequent human behavior has been focused on negative outcomes, rather than prosocial behavior. America is encountering a growing aging population who, in the coming years, will need the public’s attention more than ever. This shift in the population will demand that professionals in healthcare, communication, technology, and human services are appropriately trained in geriatrics. The present study recruited 107 participants from American University. They were randomly assigned to the mortality salience (MS) condition, where they were primed with two questions about their own death, or the control condition, where they were given identical questions with the words “death and dying” replaced with “dental pain”. Participants completed self-reports of ageism. After the study seemed to end, participants were given a disguised measure of helping behavior, which they believed to be an interest survey for a student volunteer group. The results, though marginal, indicated that there was a trend such that those in the MS condition were more willing to be contacted to volunteer with kids than being contacted to volunteer with older adults and that those in the MS condition were more likely to be contacted to volunteer with kids than those in the control condition. This reflects the importance of focused efforts on encouraging young people to identify with older adults and on promoting prosocial behavior.%%%%Psychology%%%%Ageism, Mortality Salience, Prosocial Behavior, Terror Management Theory%%%%Psychology%%%%Degree Awarded: M.A. Psychology. American University
Measured Distributions of the Instantaneous Envelope Amplitude and Instantaneous Frequency of Carriers Plus Thermal and Atmospheric Noise

Abstract Distributions of the instantaneous envelope amplitude and instantaneous frequency as a function of ratio of carrier-to-noise level have been obtained for both thermal and atmospheric noise conditions. The envelope amplitude distribution of carrier plus thermal noise is found to agree well with that predicted by mathematical analysis, and the carrier-to-atmospheric noise distributions are observed to differ appreciably from the thermal noise conditions as might be anticipated from the distributions of the atmospheric noise envelope by itself. The instantaneous frequency distributions are observed to depart appreciably from the normal distribution. Under carrier plus atmospheric noise conditions, the shape of the instantaneous frequency distribution is found to be rather similar to that obtained with carrier plus thermal noise.
Overview of stem cell therapy for acute respiratory distress syndrome with focus on covid 19

Objective There are as yet no effective strategies to treat the novel COVID-19 and to stem its symptoms, including ARDS. This review examines recent research studies in humans to determine whether mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may be used effectively and safely to target potentially deadly lung damage that may follow infection. Methods A literature search was conducted to find published manuscripts on the treatment of ARDS and COVID-19 symptoms, disease presentation, and available treatment regimens. Electronic data bases of scientific articles and records of printed documents of JAMA journals were searched to find research publications on MSC treatment of ARDS and COVID-19. Outcome variables included mortality over varying time periods, hospital days, days on ventilator, and biological factors. Results Two randomized double-blind clinical trials, 2 pilot studies, and 2 case reports described MSC use to treat ARDS with specific focus on COVID-19 and lung symptoms of cytokine storm. The MSCs were well-tolerated across studies. No significant differences in treatment outcome were found in randomized double-blind trials; however, results of 1 pilot study and 1 case report showed that MSCs led to lung symptom resolution and survival in severely ill treatment patients. Conclusions There is little published research on disease and survival outcomes among patients suffering severe lung disease associated with ARDS and COVID-19, and studies available are limited by lack of consistency in design and numerous flaws and limitations. Comparisons across studies are difficult. Nevertheless, it is documented that 8 ARDS patients with COVID-19 experienced symptom recovery and survival subsequent to MSC administration. MSCs are potentially life-saving treatment approaches for some patients who exhibit severe lung distress and have not responded to standard treatments. This is an obviously exciting research and treatment option for COVID-19 and other life-threatening diseases.
Implementation of a Postoperative Electronic Health Record Alert for Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device Patients.

Abstract Purpose Approximately 2% of surgical patients have an existing cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED). Perioperative device reprogramming requires postoperative care to ensure that device settings are restored. Electronic health record (EHR) alerts have been shown to improve communication between providers and decrease time to necessary interventions in other areas of medicine. The aim of this quality improvement project was to create an EHR alert for postoperative CIED patients who require device reprogramming to help clinicians track, remember, and document the timely and safe restoration of device settings. Design This project used a pre-post observational design. Methods This project was conducted at a major academic medical center using a pre-post observational design. To prevent anesthesia providers from closing an encounter in the EHR before postoperative restoration of device settings, an alert was developed and embedded within the intraoperative EHR to track preoperative device reprogramming, and alert anesthesia providers to perform and document postoperative restoration of safe settings. Findings The postimplementation group (n = 272) had fewer unknown or undocumented preoperative CIED interventions (12.9% vs 30.9%), a 7.3% shorter device suspension time (median = 165 minutes vs 178 minutes), 6.8% improvement in documentation of postoperative re-enabling of device therapies (78.8% vs 72.0%), and a 72.48% decrease in length of stay (median = 625 hours vs 172 hours) when compared with the preimplementation group (n = 132). Conclusion Electronic prompts effectively captured patients who received preoperative CIED reprogramming and provided a process for reprogramming devices to safe settings, both significant steps in preventing negative patient outcomes associated with undocumented CIED interventions. Perioperative CIED documentation improved, and length of stay decreased after project implementation.
Access to risk-appropriate hospital care and disparities in neonatal outcomes in racial/ethnic groups and rural-urban populations.

Abstract Variations in infant and neonatal mortality continue to persist in the United States and in other countries based on both socio-demographic characteristics, such as race and ethnicity, and geographic location. One potential driver of these differences is variations in access to risk-appropriate delivery care. The purpose of this article is to present the importance of delivery hospitals on neonatal outcomes, discuss variation in access to these hospitals for high-risk infants and their mothers, and to provide insight into drivers for differences in access to high-quality perinatal care using the available literature. This review also illustrates the lack of information on a number of topics that are crucial to the development of evidence-based interventions to improve access to appropriate delivery hospital services and thus optimize the outcomes of high-risk mothers and their newborns.
The Utilization Effects of Powered Wearable Orthotics in Improving Upper Extremity Function in Persons with SCI: A Case Study

Persons with upper extremity (UE) impairments due to spinal cord injury (SCI) have limited capacity to move or perform basic activities of daily living (ADL). Such movement limitations significantly reduce a patient’s quality of life (QOL) and level of independence. Restoration of UE motor function in people with SCI remains a high priority in rehabilitation and in the field of assistive technology. UE myoelectric powered wearable orthoses (UE-MPWO) specifically designed to restore wrist/hand movements may help fill the gap by increasing strength of the participating muscles, range of motion (ROM) of the joints, and ability to perform daily tasks involving using wrist/hand in persons with SCI. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of the UE-MPWO (MyoPro) in ameliorating wrist/hand/UE movement capability, and increasing ADL and QOL in people with SCI.
Power, Sex, and Friendship in Academia

Any sexual offer by a professor to a student is morally problematic. An explicit disclaimer about grading issues will not change the fact that the professor has power over the student’s grades, and no assurance that the student can offer can evade the communicative difficulties created by the power differential. It is possible that there will be a sufficient development of trust that these communication problems are superseded, but it is again extremely difficult to be sure that this is so. Given this difficulty, the criterion for whether the sexual offer is permissible should be whether it is in fact misinterpreted, and the risk that it will be is entirely assumed by the offeror. Even if a fully voluntary sexual relationship is possible, duties to third parties make it improper to enter into such a relationship where the professor has power over a student’s grades or career prospects. This essay is available in Essays in Philosophy: http://commons.pacificu.edu/eip/vol2/iss2/8 Essays in Philosophy file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/gilm5276/Desktop/Essays%20HTML/golash.html[9/18/2009 5:08:03 PM] Essays in Philosophy
Microdiversity and evidence for high dispersal rates in the marine actinomycete 'Salinispora pacifica'.

In July of 2006 and January of 2008, a total of 671 marine sediment samples were collected at depths from 5 to 2012 m throughout the Fijian islands and selectively processed for the cultivation of marine actinomycetes belonging to the genus Salinispora. The primary objectives were to assess the diversity, distribution and phylogeny of 'S. pacifica', the least well studied of the three species in the genus. Employing a sequential screening method based on antibiotic sensitivity, RFLP patterns, and 16S rRNA and ITS sequence analyses, 42 of 750 isolates with Salinispora-like features were identified as 'S. pacifica'. These strains represent the first report of 'S. pacifica' from Fiji and include 15 representatives of 4 new 'S. pacifica' 16S rRNA sequence types. Among the 'S. pacifica' strains isolated, little evidence for geographical isolation emerged based on 16S, ITS or secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene fingerprinting. The inclusion of isolates from additional collection sites and other Salinispora spp. revealed a high degree of dispersal among 'S. pacifica' populations and phylogenetic support for the delineation of this lineage as a third species.