cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Proteasomal inhibition-induced inclusion formation and death in cortical neurons require transcription and ubiquitination.

Abstract Increasing evidence suggests that proteasomal dysfunction plays a role in the pathogenesis of Lewy body diseases. We have used pharmacological inhibitors of the proteasome to model proteasomal dysfunction in cultured rat cortical neurons. Proteasomal inhibition induced apoptotic death and formation of cytoplasmic ubiquitinated inclusions, which were present only in viable neurons. Actinomycin D, but not a caspase inhibitor, prevented inclusion formation, whereas both agents inhibited cell death. α-Synuclein and thioflavin S staining were found within the inclusions. α-Synuclein, however, did not appear to be ubiquitinated or aggregated. A dominant-negative mutant of an E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, cdc34, prevented inclusion formation and attenuated cell death. Our results suggest that in cortical neurons: (a) proteasomal dysfunction plays a role in formation of ubiquitin/α-synuclein-positive inclusions, (b) inclusion formation is an active cell process requiring transcription, and (c) ubiquitination of certain proteins is required for inclusion formation and may participate in neuronal death.
Electric hexadecapole transition moments in 152, 154Sm☆

Abstract The E4 reduced matrix elements between the ground state and the 4+ rotational state in 152Sm and 154Sm have been determined by Coulomb excitation measurements. The results are 〈0 + | m ( E 4)|4 + 〉 = 0.35 ± 0.07 e b 2 for 152 Sm and 0.43 ± 0.08 e b 2 for 154 Sm . The B(E2;0+ → 2+) values measured are 3.39 ± 0.03 e 2 b 2 for 152 Sm and 4.30 ±0.03 e 2 b 2 for 154 Sm .
Rethinking marketing: Peter Drucker’s challenge

Just as Peter Drucker pointed out the importance of assessing whether a company’s “theory of business” is relevant, marketers need to consider whether the current “theory of marketing” still fits in a world of rapid change. The author examines how Drucker challenged the theory of business at financial services firm Edward Jones, helping to identify new market opportunities. For example, he urged the company to move into metropolitan areas, which now account for 60 percent of the firm’s business. The article then considers how the field of marketing needs to reexamine its own mental models. Finally, the article considers how Drucker’s seminal insights on marketing, particularly his emphasis on an interdisciplinary approach, might point the way to new approaches.
Where does the speedup go: Quantitative modeling of performance losses in shared-memory programs

Even fully parallel shared-memory program sections may perform significantly below the ideal speedup of P on P processors. Relatively little quantitative information is available about the sources of such inefficiencies. In this paper we present a speedup component model that is able to fully account for sources of performance loss in parallel program sections. The model categorizes the gap between measured and ideal speedup into the four components memory stalls, processor stalls, code overhead, and thread management overhead. These model components are measured based on hardware counters and timers, with which programs are instrumented automatically by our compiler. The speedup component model allows us, for the first time, to quantitatively state the reasons for less-than-optimal program performance, on a program section basis. The overhead components are chosen such that they can be associated directly with software and hardware techniques that may improve performance. Although general, our model is especially suited for the analysis of loop-oriented programs, such as those written in the OpenMP API. We have applied this model to compare three parallel code generation schemes for the Polaris parallelizing compiler. It helps us answer questions such as, what sources of inefficiencies are present in compiler-parallelized programs. To discuss the question we have also implemented an alternative, thread-based code generation method.
Subcortical structures and pathways involved in convulsive seizure generation.

Convulsive seizures in animal models usually involve one or more of the following components: (1) limbic motor seizures, (2) explosive running-bouncing clonic seizures, and (3) tonic extensor seizures. Each of these components depends on specific and experimentally separable anatomic substrates. Limbic motor seizures depend on forebrain structures for their initiation and propagation, with the prepiriform, piriform, and entorhinal cortices playing a prominent role in conjunction with hippocampus, amygdala, substantia innominata, and mediodorsal thalamus. In contrast, seizures involving running-bouncing clonus or tonic extension depend on neural substrates in the brainstem and do not appear to require the integrity of the forebrain for their development or expression. The inferior colliculus is a region from which running-bouncing seizures can be elicited by chemical or electrical stimulation. Tonic extensor seizures depend on the integrity of the nucleus reticularis pontis oralis, but a specific locus responsible for triggering these seizures has yet to be identified. Under conditions of chronic or repeated seizure activity over prolonged time periods, seizures evoked from the hindbrain can recruit forebrain circuits; conversely, repeated stimulation of forebrain limbic circuits (e.g., kindling) can modify susceptibility to brainstem convulsions. These long-term alterations may result from changes in the activity of seizure "gating" pathways, which are circuits that influence seizure susceptibility by modulating the threshold for the initiation and/or propagation of the seizures. In general, these pathways are not part of any core seizure propagation pathway per se. In many cases, the gating substrates are relatively nonselective as to the type of seizure they can influence. In this category, the substantia nigra and its related circuits within the basal ganglia serve a prominent role. In addition, ascending noradrenergic projections have been implicated in the regulation of seizure threshold. Other gating mechanisms involve thalamic circuitry and pathways originating in cerebellum.
Preconception care: a clinical case of “think globally, act locally”

In 1900 the life expectancy for a woman in the United States was 48.3 years; by 2004 that life expectancy had risen to 80.4 years.1 Most of the increase is attributable to improvements in nutrition sanitation and other public health efforts that are focused at the population level; however medical advances in secondary and tertiary prevention efforts that target individual patients also played a significant role. Despite evidence of the synergy between medicine and public health the full integration of these disciplines has never been realized. This dichotomy has fostered the perception that medicine cares for individuals and that public health cares for populations. At the clinical level health care practitioners often struggle with how to "translate" population-based risk data to the individual who is seated in front of them. To paraphrase the vernacular "think global act local" health care providers are grappling with the challenge to "think population treat individual." The concept and practice of preconception care epitomizes the difficulty and concurrent simplicity of translating population- based primary prevention data to individual patient care. (excerpt)
Reduced order observers for rotor position estimation of nonsalient PMSM

The paper discusses the problem of rotor position estimation for the nonsalient permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) and presents two reduced order observers that are based on the machine's model in the stationary reference frame. The first observer estimates the machine's stator flux linkages and then computes the rotor fluxes and the rotor position. The second observer estimates the back emfs of the PMSM and allows for direct calculation of the rotor angle. Both methods are developed under the assumption that the speed of the motor is known (the motor's speed is an input into the observers). The observers are designed in the framework of nonlinear control; their stability and rate of convergence is discussed. The methods proposed are directly applicable to rotor position estimation for sensorless nonsalient PMSM drives.
Zebrafish chemical screening reveals an inhibitor of Dusp6 that expands cardiac cell lineages

Zebrafish chemical screening reveals an inhibitor of Dusp6 that expands cardiac cell lineages
Glioma stem cell signaling: therapeutic opportunities and challenges.

†The field of cancer research has experienced significant momentum from the discovery that most malignant tumors harbor subpopulations of cancer cells with stem cell features. Consequently, identification and characterization of so-called ‘cancer-initiating cells’ or ‘cancer stem cells’ has also provided novel insights into the biology of malignant brain tumors. Despite an ongoing debate regarding the exact role and identity of cancer stem cells, several studies have suggested that this subpopulation is critical for tumor initiation, tumor progression, angiogenesis and resistance to available therapies. The study of signaling pathways critical to normal neural stem and progenitor cells has also increased our understanding of the mechanisms that drive cancer stem cell-associated tumorigenesis and tumor progression. Novel treatment strategies are being developed to selectively target the molecular pathways relevant to cancer stem cells. This review summarizes important signaling pathways employed by both normal and cancer stem cells and highlights promising molecular-targeted therapies interfering with those signaling pathways in malignant gliomas.
MMPI Assessment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Alcoholic Vietnam Veterans

Summary.-One hundred Vietnam-era male veterans in a Veterans Administration 28-day inpatient alcohol treatment program were classified into combat and noncombat groups according to whether they served in Vietnam or elsewhere during the Vietnam conflict. The MMPI scores of the cwo groups were compared according to a diagnostic decision-rule developed by Keane, Malloy, and Fairbank in 1984 for posttraumatic stress disorder. Chi-squared analysis showed that the combat group passed the decision-rule in significantly higher numbers than thz noncombat group. The results provide evidence chat the P-2-8 decision-rule to determine this diagnosis applies to alcoholic as well as nonalcoholic populations.
Bacterial CagA protein induces degradation of p53 protein in a p14ARF-dependent manner

Objective Infection with Helicobacter pylori is the strongest known risk factor for adenocarcinoma of the stomach. Tumorigenic transformation of gastric epithelium induced by H. pylori is a highly complex process driven by an active interplay between bacterial virulence and host factors, many aspects of which remain obscure. In this work, we investigated the degradation of p53 tumour suppressor induced by H. pylori . Design Expression of p53 protein in gastric biopsies was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Gastric cells were co-cultured with H. pylori strains isolated from high-gastric risk and low-gastric risk areas and assessed for expression of p53, p14ARF and cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA) by immunoblotting. siRNA was used to inhibit activities of ARF-BP1 and Human Double Minute 2 (HDM2) proteins. Results Our analysis demonstrated that H. pylori strains expressing high levels of CagA virulence factor and associated with a higher gastric cancer risk more strongly suppress p53 compared with low-risk strains in vivo and in vitro . We found that degradation of p53 induced by bacterial CagA protein is mediated by host HDM2 and ARF-BP1 E3 ubiquitin ligases, while the p14ARF protein counteracts H. pylori- induced signalling. Conclusions Our results provide novel evidence that tumorigenicity associated with H. pylori infection is linked to inhibition of p53 protein by CagA. We propose a model in which CagA-induced degradation of p53 protein is determined by a relative level of p14ARF. In cells in which p14ARF levels were decreased due to hypermethylation or deletion of the p14ARF gene, H. pylori efficiently degraded p53, whereas p53 is protected in cells expressing high levels of p14ARF.
Fossil Liposcelididae and the lice ages (Insecta: Psocodea)

Fossilized, winged adults belonging to the psocopteran family Liposcelididae are reported in amber from the mid-Cretaceous (ca 100 Myr) of Myanmar (described as Cretoscelis burmitica, gen. et sp. n.) and the Miocene (ca 20 Myr) of the Dominican Republic (Belaphopsocus dominicus sp. n.). Cretoscelis is an extinct sister group to all other Liposcelididae and the family is the free-living sister group to the true lice (order Phthiraptera, all of which are ectoparasites of birds and mammals). A phylogenetic hypothesis of relationships among genera of Liposcelididae, including fossils, reveals perfect correspondence between the chronology of fossils and cladistic rank of taxa. Lice and Liposcelididae minimally diverged 100 Myr, perhaps even in the earliest Cretaceous 145 Myr or earlier, in which case the hosts of lice would have been early mammals, early birds and possibly other feathered theropod dinosaurs, as well as haired pterosaurs.
The Interface between Epidemiology and Molecular Biology in the Search for the Causes of Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus

Epidemiological techniques have been utilized to accumulate new knowledge about insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), leading to important insights into the disease process and the alteration of these mechanisms when viewed from a geographic or population base. More recently, highly powerful and sophisticated techniques of molecular biology have been added to the research arsenal, extending the knowledge on the genetic basis for IDDM and the probable environmental factors involved. The development and growth of the new discipline of epidemiological genetics promises exciting new developments for the future of our field as well as that of other major medical problems having a genetic base, but significantly influenced by environmental factors. This review stresses the importance of carefully validated diabetes registries in the study of the epidemiology of IDDM. The Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center have spearheaded the development of such registries, w...
The temporary permanence of Dominican bodegueros in Philadelphia: neighbourhood development in an era of transnational mobility.

The relationship between ‘neighbourhood’ and ‘community’ is contentious: while neighbourhoods are spatially based, communities are more amorphous institutions that are connected to local places through far-flung transnational networks. Dominican corner-store owners (bodegueros) in Philadelphia, USA, understand their role in their local neighbourhood community as a form of ‘temporary permanence’ because their economic development model involves building networks between the US and the Dominican Republic. The mobility practices of grocers and interviews with community leaders in Philadelphia are used to make two propositions about constructions of place-based ‘neighbourhood communities’ in the US: the mobility of the grocers highlights the spatial entrapment experienced by other urban residents and thus their embrace of place-based communities; and, in the mobility of the grocers and conversations with some neighbourhood leaders, we see actualised a more fluid and expansive understanding of the concept of a...
An individualized intervention to overcome patient‐related barriers to pain management in women with gynecologic cancers

Concerns about reporting pain and using analgesics ultimately can contribute to poor pain management for many individuals. A nursing intervention to address these "patient-related barriers" was developed based on Johnson's self-regulation theory. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether provision of individually tailored sensory and coping information about analgesic side effects and specific information to counter misconceptions would enhance pain management in a sample of 43 women with gynecologic cancers. It was hypothesized that at 1-month post-test and 2-month follow-up, those subjects randomized to the information condition would (a) have lower barriers scores; (b) use more adequate analgesic medication; (c) have lower analgesic side effect scores; (d) have lower pain intensity scores; and (e) experience less pain interference with life and better overall quality of life compared to those in the care-as-usual control group. There was no main effect for group on any of the dependent variables. Rather, all women reported a decrease in barriers between baseline and 2-month follow-up (p<.05); all subjects experienced a decrease in pain interference with life scores between baseline and 1-month post-test (p<.05); and there was a significant shift of women from unacceptable pain management at baseline to acceptable pain management at 1-month post-test (p<.05). In addition, the majority of women reported that the intervention contained novel and useful information that helped them to feel more comfortable taking pain medication, to be less concerned about addiction, and helped them talk more openly about pain with a doctor or nurse.
LFSR based deterministic hardware for at-speed BIST

A deterministic test pattern generator for BIST, based on linear feedback shift registers is discussed. A method of designing the test pattern generator in order that it generates deterministic as well as pseudo random patterns is presented. One application of this method is illustrated where deterministic at-speed testing of C-testable ILAs, covering all possible single and multiple combinational faults is achieved. Response analysers are discussed including one with zero aliasing probability. The algorithms for synthesizing the small amount of BIST hardware are explained. >
Trade-off's in the computation of mono- and multi-dimensional DCT's

An overview of some alternative algorithms for one- and two-dimensional DCTs (discrete cosine transforms) is given. Operation counts are derived for typical examples useful in image processing. It is shown that it is possible to generalize the 2-D schemes to 3-D DCTs as well. The result is that a 3-D DCT can be obtained from a 3-D DFT (discrete Fourier transform) of the same size on reals at the cost of permutations and O(3/2N/sup 3/) multiplications. The scheme involves rotations on eight output points at a time. Improvements through scaling are discussed, and implementation issues (both in hardware and software) are addressed. >
High-power microwave gas discharge in high-Q evanescent-mode cavity resonators and its instantaneous/long-term effects

This paper presents the first experimental and theoretical investigation of high-power RF gas discharge as applied to RF front-end filters with critical air gaps in the 10s of μm. Specifically, a strongly-coupled high-Q evanescent-mode resonant cavity is utilized as a vehicle in this study. This cavity tends to concentrate the resonant electric field in a small volume between its loading post and top wall. Both experiments conducted up to 45.3 dBm at 6.5 GHz and molecular-dynamics-based modeling suggest that, as the input power is increased, gas ionization leads to increasing gas discharge inside this volume. In addition to the measured RF data, surface analysis of the cavity post and top wall lead to the same conclusion. Besides the observed instantaneous effects on the resonator's RF performance, the impact of gas discharge in its long-term performance and potential failure is analyzed.
The use of allograft in joint-preserving surgery for ankle osteochondral lesions and osteoarthritis

The surgical management of young patients with large osteochondral lesions of the talus or end-stage osteoarthritis of the ankle joint presents a challenge to the orthopedic surgeon because these are well-recognized sources of pain and dysfunction. Procedures designed to address these disorders either have a limited role because of poor success rates or have significant implications, such as with the total ankle arthroplasty. Fresh osteochondral allografts allow defective tissue to be anatomically matched and reconstructed through transplantation. This article presents an overview of fresh osteochondral allografts, as well as potential concerns with their use, and summarizes the current literature.
Determination of Equilibrium Moisture Content of Building Materials: Some Practical Difficulties

Though the definition of equilibrium moisture content of porous materials is straightforward from the point of view of equilibrium thermodynamics, experimental determination of this quantity may not always be easy. Many factors play roles from an experimentalist's point of view. Hysteresis, the reference dry state, the initial moisture content, the history of the test specimen, the size of the test specimen, the drying technique, and drying temperature—all influence the value that is arrived at by an experimentalist. This paper reports results from several series of measurements on gypsum board, eastern white pine, aerated concrete, and calcium silicate brick using the ASTM Standard C 1498 in the hygroscopic ranges and pressure plate techniques above the hygroscopic range of equilibrium moisture content. These results show the ambiguities that may surround the experimental definition of equilibrium moisture content. The results presented in the paper demand a few refinements in the existing ASTM Standard C 1498 as well as in the procedure that is used in the pressure plate method. The paper proposes a few refinements for both. The need for the development of an ASTM standard for the pressure plate technique is identified.
Vulnerability markers in the schizophrenia spectrum: implications for phenomenology, genetics, and the identification of the schizophrenia prodrome.

A continuum of symptoms between "normality" and overt psychosis has been documented in relatives of schizophrenia patients, SPD, and individuals who may be in the early stages of a psychotic illness with "subsyndromal" symptoms. The empirically derived criteria for SPD have been refined to define a clinical phenotype that is linked to schizophrenia. The clinical SPD symptoms define a heterogeneous group of individuals who are often comorbid for Axis I and II disorders, may or may not have a family history of schizophrenia, and are at risk for developing schizophrenia themselves. SPD subjects have similar abnormalities to those observed in schizophrenia patients on various psychophysiologic paradigms designed to study central inhibition, including P50 event-related potential suppression, PPI of the startle response, and the antisaccade task. Because SPD subjects do not have many of the confounding variables observed in schizophrenia patients (i.e., medication effects), these paradigms might represent vulnerability markers that are possible endophenotypes for schizophrenia spectrum illness. Questions still remain as to whether SPD is genotypically linked to schizophrenia but has genes of lesser penetrance, fewer affected genes, lack of a second hit, or perhaps protective factors. It is also possible that SPD, like schizophrenia, is a common final pathway that can come about because of several etiologic factors that affect crucial neurodevelopmental periods. Future directions in SPD work might include the use of vulnerability markers to essentially subtype schizophrenia spectrum patients and create simpler endophenotypes to understand the phenomenologic and neurobiologic substrate. The use of vulnerability markers along with clinical symptoms may help to improve the predictive power for identifying individuals at risk for schizophrenia for early intervention. Finally, genetic studies have yet to be performed in SPD.
Outcomes After Urothelial Recurrence in Bladder Cancer Patients Undergoing Radical Cystectomy

Objective To identify factors prognostic for survival after urothelial recurrence after radical cystectomy for bladder cancer. Methods Of the 2029 patients with bladder cancer who underwent radical cystectomy at our institution, 80 (3.9%) patients experienced recurrence in the urothelium (upper urinary tract or urethra) and had sufficient follow-up for further analysis. Clinicopathologic characteristics were analyzed by univariate and multivariable analyses to identify factors prognostic for postrecurrence disease-specific (PRDSS) and overall (PROS) survival. Results At median follow-up of 12 years, 25 (31.3%) and 55 (68.7%) patients experienced recurrence in the upper tract and urethra, respectively. Median time to recurrence, PRDSS, and PROS were 25.9, 58.4, and 48.7 months, respectively. Older age (P = .018), patients with tumors that were upstaged at cystectomy compared with their clinical stage (P = .049), and positive surgical margins (P = .022) were associated with a lower PROS. The presence of symptoms at follow-up was associated with a poor PRDSS (P = .028), which was confirmed by multivariable analysis. Patients experiencing urothelial recurrence within 2 years of cystectomy had a lower PRDSS (P = .002) and PROS (P = .003), which was confirmed by multivariable analysis. Site of urothelial recurrence did not influence time to recurrence (P = .87), PRDSS (P = .72), or PROS (P = .57). Conclusion Urothelial cancer relapse in the upper urinary tract or urethra has a comparable clinical course, and may be cured with extirpative surgery, with median PROS of 48.7 months after recurrence. Patients experiencing early urothelial recurrence face worse prognosis and should be considered candidates for adjuvant therapy.
A method for updating a cyclic redundancy code

The contents of error-protected frames can be intentionally altered as the frames traverse through a digital network. The check bits must be recomputed to conform with the altered text. A method is described for updating the check bits of a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) code, based on knowledge of the altered bits and their position in the frame. Unlike previous methods, its complexity is independent of the frame size. >
On the thickness and arboricity of a graph

We prove that the thickness and the arboricity of a graph with e edges are at most ⌊e3 + 32⌋ and ⌈e2⌉, respectively, and that the latter bound is best possible.
Robustness analysis of commonly used adaptive control structures

Three commonly used adaptive control structures, the model reference control structure, the pole placement control structure, and the linear quadratic control structure, are considered. The robustness properties of these control structures with respect to a large class of dynamical plant perturbations is analyzed. The analysis gives an upper bound on the size of the uncertainty that can be tolerated by a particular control structure and provides a benchmark against which to compare the robustness margins of adaptive schemes obtained from these control structures. >
Porting a Network Cryptographic Service to the RMC2000

This chapter describes our experience porting a transport-layer cryptography service to an embedded microcontroller. We describe some key development issues and techniques involved in porting networked software to a connected, limited resource device such as the Rabbit RMC2000 we chose for this case study. We examine the effectiveness of a few proposed porting strategies by examining important program and run-time characteristics.
Characterizing Community Health Workers on Research Teams: Results From the Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities.

Objectives. To quantify the characteristics of community health workers (CHWs) involved in community intervention research and, in particular, to characterize their job titles, roles, and responsibilities; recruitment and compensation; and training and supervision.Methods. We developed and administered a structured questionnaire consisting of 25 closed- and open-ended questions to staff on National Institutes of Health–funded Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities projects between March and April 2014. We report frequency distributions for CHW roles, sought-after skills, education requirements, benefits and incentives offered, and supervision and training activities.Results. A total of 54 individuals worked as CHWs across the 18 research projects and held a diverse range of job titles. The CHWs commonly collaborated on research project implementation, provided education and support to study participants, and collected data. Training was offered across projects to bolster CHW capacity to assi...
Epidemiology of Lung Cancer

Lung cancer continues to be one of the most common causes of cancer death despite understanding the major cause of the disease: cigarette smoking. Smoking increases lung cancer risk 5- to 10-fold with a clear dose-response relationship. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke among nonsmokers increases lung cancer risk about 20%. Risks for marijuana and hookah use, and the new e-cigarettes, are yet to be consistently defined and will be important areas for continued research as use of these products increases. Other known environmental risk factors include exposures to radon, asbestos, diesel, and ionizing radiation. Host factors have also been associated with lung cancer risk, including family history of lung cancer, history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and infections. Studies to identify genes associated with lung cancer susceptibility have consistently identified chromosomal regions on 15q25, 6p21 and 5p15 associated with lung cancer risk. Risk prediction models for lung cancer typically include age, sex, cigarette smoking intensity and/or duration, medical history, and occupational exposures, however there is not yet a risk prediction model currently recommended for general use. As lung cancer screening becomes more widespread, a validated model will be needed to better define risk groups to inform screening guidelines.
PREDATION PRESSURE AND GASTROPOD FORAGING: A TROPICAL-TEMPERATE COMPARISON.

Over the last two decades, theories of species diversity (Huston, 1979), antipredation phenomena (Vermeij, 1978) and reproductive effort (Cody, 1966) have involved a temperate-tropical gradient in predation. Comparative tropical-temperate observations in a number of systems support the case for an increase in predation intensity with a decrease in latitude (Cody, 1966; Bakus, 1974; Jeanne, 1979; Palmer, 1979); however, no experimental evidence has been presented. One of the stronger cases for a latitudinal gradient in predation pressure has been made for littoral gastropods (Vermeij, 1978, and included references). Intertidal gastropods are exposed to shellbreaking predation from two major feeding guilds: fishes and bottom-dwelling Crustacea (Vermeij, 1978; Palmer, 1979; Bertness and Cunningham, 1981). Crustaceans may either crush or peel prey shells. Small snails are generally crushed, while larger shells are grasped and pieces of apex or lip are chipped away until the molluscan soft parts are reached (Zipser and Vermeij, 1978; Bertness and Cunningham, 1981). Fish that feed on snails crush their prey and do not inflict the apical and aperture damage characteristic of crustacean related injury (Zipser and Vermeij, 1978; Palmer, 1979; Bertness, 1981). Birds are also known to feed on intertidal gastropods, but their overall effect seems minor (Gibb, 1956; Feare, 1971; Vermeij, 1978; Zach, 1978). 1 Present address: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, APO Miami, Florida 34002. Vermeij (1978) presented evidence indicating that the frequency of gastropod shell characteristics such as narrow or occluded apertures, low spires, thickened shells and strong shell sculpture increases from temperate to tropical seas. These morphological characteristics have been shown to defend gastropods from some kinds and sizes of predators (Vermeij, 1976, 1978; Zipser and Vermeij, 1978; Palmer, 1979; Bertness and Cunningham, 1981). In addition, tropical shell-crushing crabs are more efficient and specialized predators than their temperature equivalents (Shoup, 1968; Zipser and Vermeij, 1978). Palmer (1979) suggested that species of teleost fish and rays that crush gastropods are not only found more commonly in tropical oceans, but also are more specialized on a gastropod diet than their temperate relatives. Gastropod shell characteristics that appear to deter predation by fish are almost exclusively tropical in occurrence (Vermeij, 1978; Palmer, 1979). These lines of evidence strongly suggest that shell-crushing predation is greater on tropical than on temperate shells. The prevalence of shell-crushing predators in tropical waters has led to speculation and experimentation on the architectural defenses of gastropods against shell-crushing predators (Reynolds and Reynolds, 1977; Zipser and Vermeij, 1978; Palmer, 1979; Bertness and Cunningham, 1981). However, there have been no efforts to quantitatively compare the direct effects of crushing predation
Radiatio Damaae Growth Models for the Interpretation of Radiation Effects on Nuclear Waste Form Leaching

Two approaches for modeling radiation damage growth are presented and evaluated in the light of existing data. It results that purely geometric and statistical considerations about the distribution and overlap of damage are insufficient for accounting for the differences observed in leaching data from ion implantation and actinide doping experiments. It is shown, however, that the incorporation of effects such as those induced by the proximity of a free surface and the directionality of the irradiation into the kinetics of radiation damage in growth has the capability for accounting for the differences. 16 references, 3 figures.
Increasing importance of genetics in nursing

Abstract Objectives To examine the empirical literature related to the incorporation of genetic research and genetic competency needed by the nurse in practice. Design Literature review. Data Sources This article will explore published research within the past seven years of 2008–2015 that address the need for the increased incorporation of genetic content in nursing practice in addition to the need for the nurse to effectively screen the patient at risk of a genetic disorder. This literature review specifically focuses on the inadequacy of nurses in addressing genomic health compromise and serving as advocates for patients and families facing genetic disorders. Methods A review of the literature published from 2008 to 2015 related to the incorporation of genetics in nursing practice and the role of the nurse as a patient advocate for families facing genetic disorders with resulting genomic health compromise. Results The research exposes the lack of adequate preparation of nurses to incorporate and utilize the recent advances in genomic healthcare. Practicing nurses lack understating and skill in the application of genetics and genomic technologies to patient care. The nursing profession, including nursing academia, need to enhance the integration of genetic and genomic content into nursing curriculum and practice. Conclusion Practicing nurses are inadequately prepared to apply genetic advancements in screening at risk patients and addressing the needs of the patient or family facing a genomic health compromise.
Diabetes in the Elderly

The number of older adults with diabetes is increasing in the United States and worldwide due to increased lifespan and the increased prevalence of diabetes in the geriatric population. One-third of the U.S. population over 65 years old has diabetes with a projection of two-fold increased prevalence for those 65-74, and four-fold increased prevalence for those >75 years of age from 2005 to 2025. Diabetes is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in this population, with the latter largely attributable to macrovascular complications. Older diabetics also carry a disproportionate burden of microvascular complications, presumably related to longer duration of diabetes. This chapter reviews goals of diabetes care and how to achieve these goals in the geriatric population. For complete coverage of all related areas of Endocrinology, please visit our on-line FREE web-text, WWW.ENDOTEXT.ORG .
Scalability analysis of distributed search in large peer-to-peer networks

We study decentralized searches in large-scale, self-organized peer-to-peer networks and investigate the influences of network size and degree distribution (neighborhood size) on search efficiency. Experimental results show that searches are efficient and scalable in large networks, especially with large neighborhood sizes (degrees). Analysis of the data supports a proposed scalability model, in which search path length L (efficiency) is proportional to a poly-logarithmic function of network size N, with degree d m (majority neighborhood size) as the log base. The model explains 90% (R2) of variances in search path lengths. Search time (search path length) predicted by the model shows great potential for efficient searches in real-scale networks of up to a billion distributed systems.
Nematode exclusion and recovery in experimental soil microcosms

Abstract Experimental manipulations of soil fauna are a powerful tool for assessing causal relationships between belowground biodiversity and key ecosystem properties. However, preparing soil microcosm treatments without soil fauna for ecological experiments can be problematic. Methods to exclude nematodes, a ubiquitous and functionally important component of terrestrial ecosystems, have been developed for a few specific ecosystems, some of them involving the application of nematicides that may have interactive effects throughout the soil food web. Our goal was to develop a method to remove nematodes from soils of three Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) grassland sites, ranging from desert to moist, without use of chemicals and with moderate disturbance. Moreover, we aimed at testing whether the nematode removal would remain effective up to several weeks later. The following treatments were applied to ∼3-kg soil microcosms in the laboratory: (1) a 72 h heating (65 °C) - freezing (−20 °C) - heating (65 °C) cycle using soil maintained at its original water content, and pre-wetting soil 24 h before heating (65 °C) for either (2A) 48 h or (2B) 24 h. We measured treatment effects on total abundance and trophic structure of the nematode community. To investigate whether nematodes would recolonize eight weeks after treatments, we conducted a greenhouse experiment where individual seedlings of the dominant grass species for each ecosystem were transplanted to treated and non-treated (control) soils. A heat-freeze-heat cycle of 72 h using soil in its original field water content killed 60, 95, and 99% of the nematodes for the desert, semi-arid, and moist tallgrass prairie soils, respectively. Pre-wetting soil before heating increased mortality to 99% for all ecosystems after only 24 h at 65 °C. Root-feeders were the most resistant nematode trophic group. Eight weeks after treatments, there was no significant nematode recolonization for the pre-wetted 48 h heated soils from the three sites, while for the semi-arid and moist sites there was a slight recovery in abundance in soil from the 24 h heating treatment. Therefore, a treatment at 65 °C for 48 h using pre-wetted soil is recommended for eight-week long manipulative experiments in order to assure the effectiveness of the nematode removal throughout the experiment.
Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound Use in Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury

Transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) is an inexpensive portable diagnostic tool commonly available within most healthcare systems. A team of trained individuals perform and interpret the test to inform patient care management. The benefit of TCD is well established in adult patients with traumatic brain injury. However, in children with TBI, it is still considered exploratory and its use is not a part of the standard of care. This article describes what TCD is, its use in children, and how TCD measurements apply to children and adolescents in an effort to establish criteria for the use of TCD for children with TBI. The benefit of TCD in pediatric TBI is illustrated by 2 cases of children who participated in a TBI research study. Early indications are that the use of TCD in pediatric cases of TBI may produce unexpected real-time data about the cerebral vasculature and circulation characteristics in children with TBI. Transcranial Doppler ultrasound has the potential for playing an informative diagnostic role in future pediatric TBI management. Ultimately the goal to promote best outcomes after a TBI requires insights into the multi-dynamic nature of the injury and TCD has the ability to support these efforts.
Development of a complex patient identification process for the CMS’ Oncology Care Model.

32Background: The CMS’ Oncology Care Model (OCM) provides practices with enhanced monthly payments for beneficiaries with cancer receiving chemotherapy. While the program will distribute a retrospective beneficiary list, practices need to track and identify eligible patients upfront to initiate care management and financial counseling processes and to bill for the enhanced payment. The eligibility criteria require information that many practices do not have. We describe a stepwise approach to patient identification that can be used by other OCM practices. Methods: We ran a report that identified patients with Medicare who received an OCM-eligible drug. We classified drugs into four categories: IV chemo confirmed by our own billing, oral specialty tracked and/or filled by our specialty pharmacy, general prescriptions filled at offsite pharmacies, and oral drugs billed under Medicare Part B. Because patients on general oral drugs receive 11 refills when first prescribed, we could not rely on a new prescript...
Numerical analyses of three-dimensional fixed reaction bed for thermochemical energy storage

Abstract Numerical analyses are performed to study thermo-chemical energy storage in a three-dimensional reaction bed. This study is aimed at investigating heat and mass transfer characteristics of a rectangular shaped fixed reaction bed packed with Ca(OH) 2 /CaO powders. A reversible reaction with endothermic decomposition of Ca(OH) 2 and exothermic hydration of CaO is used to achieve charging and discharging of the module respectively. Heat is transferred indirectly to and from the bed through side walls using a flat plate heat exchanger. A set of coupled nonlinear equations governing reaction kinetics, heat and mass transports is solved numerically using a finite element based software. Mathematical models and the numerical method employed are validated by comparing present simulation results against experimental results. Our results agree reasonably well with results of experimental measurements. It is noted that the heat and mass transport within the reaction bed is strongly three-dimensional in case of low bed porosity. The results of this study provide detailed insight to the heat storage and heat release processes occurring in fixed bed of fine Ca(OH) 2 /CaO particles. The study helps designing and optimizing high temperature thermo-chemical energy storage modules for power generation applications.
Submerged Aquatic Vegetation, Topography and Flow Characteristics in the Upper, Tidal Hudson River: Progress Toward a Predictive Habitat Model

Abstract Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) plays a critical role in biogeochemical cycling, primary productivity, sediment dynamics and current flow within the systems they inhabit. SAV communities in the Upper Hudson River Estuary are comprised of species assemblages dominated by two very morphologically distinct species: the native Vallisneria americana, which has wide-strap shaped leaves that are completely submerged underwater, and the invasive Trapa natans, which produces leaf rosettes that float at the water’s surface. Using characteristics of modeled tidal/riverine flow, we examined the distribution and composition of the predominant SAV in the estuary. SAV habitat space was, on average, well described by depth and flow. From a hydrodynamic standpoint however, the two species occupied very similar niche spaces. Species-specific distribution patterns and co-occurrence rates did not appear to be strongly controlled by physical tolerances of topography or flow. Other ecological drivers such as disturbance regimes, dispersal strategies, plant-animal interactions, and sediment chemistry and composition might explain distribution patterns and T. natans expansion more accurately, rather than hydrodynamics alone. Sixty years after reaching the Hudson River Estuary, T. natans appears unable to fully displace V. americana, despite significant overlap in habitat space and spatial distribution. Future management of the exotic T. natans should consider its role as an ecosystem engineer, adding to overall habitat diversity, rather than the current focus on its perceived invasibilty.
Investigation of a New Method for Synchronous Generator Loss of Excitation Protection

Loss of field (LOF) is detrimental to generator operation and, in some case, may lead to blackouts. Conventional loss of field protection schemes may not protect the generator under all operating conditions and are difficult to set. A recent study based on the polarities detection of $\boldsymbol{V}, \boldsymbol{Q}$ , and $\delta(\boldsymbol{V}\boldsymbol{Q}\delta)$ shows good promise; however, it is still based on software simulation and not fully tested. In this study, the $\boldsymbol{V}\boldsymbol{Q}\delta$ detection method is further explored, modified, and tested on the IEEE 9 bus system using a Real Time Digital simulator. A detection index has been calculated based on these new modifications. Two methods are used to estimate the rotor angle and both provide a similar estimation. The first method depends on the integration of the rotor speed over time, while the second method is based on equations presented in the published literature. The modified algorithm was tested under different loading as well as stable power swing (SPS) conditions. The algorithm has a shortcoming when the system is strong and able to supply reactive power to the generator. Under strong system conditions, the voltage may not drop below the threshold value to initiate calculations. Moreover, even when eliminating such a condition the index may not exceed its threshold value for a sufficient time period to allow the algorithm to detect the LOF event. The advantages and drawbacks of the published algorithm are discussed in this work.
Emergency Department Frequent Users for Acute Alcohol Intoxication

Introduction: A subset of frequent users of emergency services are those who use the emergency department (ED) for acute alcohol intoxication. This population and their ED encounters have not been previously described. Methods: This was a retrospective, observational, cohort study of patients presenting to the ED for acute alcohol intoxication between 2012 and 2016. We collected all data from the electronic medical record. Frequent users for alcohol intoxication were defined as those with greater than 20 visits for acute intoxication without additional medical chief complaints in the previous 12 months. We used descriptive statistics to evaluate characteristics of frequent users for alcohol intoxication, as well as their ED encounters. Results: We identified 32,121 patient encounters. Of those, 325 patients were defined as frequent users for alcohol intoxication, comprising 11,370 of the encounters during the study period. The median maximum number of encounters per person for alcohol intoxication in a one-year period was 47 encounters (range 20 to 169). Frequent users were older (47 years vs. 39 years), and more commonly male (86% vs. 71%). Frequent users for alcohol intoxication had higher rates of medical and psychiatric comorbidities including liver disease, chronic kidney disease, ischemic vascular disease, dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, history of traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Conclusion: In this study, we identified a group of ED frequent users who use the ED for acute alcohol intoxication. This population had higher rates of medical and psychiatric comorbidities compared to non-frequent users.