cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Calcium-Sensing Receptor: A Key Target for Extracellular Calcium Signaling in Neurons

Though both clinicians and scientists have long recognized the influence of extracellular calcium on the function of muscle and nervous tissue, recent insights reveal that the mechanisms allowing changes in extracellular calcium to alter cellular excitability have been incompletely understood. For many years the effects of calcium on neuronal signaling were explained only in terms of calcium entry through voltage-gated calcium channels and biophysical charge screening. More recently however, it has been recognized that the calcium-sensing receptor is prevalent in the nervous system and regulates synaptic transmission and neuronal activity via multiple signaling pathways. Here we review the multiplicity of mechanisms by which changes in extracellular calcium alter neuronal signaling and propose that multiple mechanisms are required to describe the full range of experimental observations.
In primary prevention, the ACC/AHA risk-based approach predicted ASCVD better than trial-based or hybrid approaches.

Source Citation Mortensen MB, Afzal S, Nordestgaard BG, Falk E. Primary prevention with statins: ACC/AHA risk-based approach versus trial-based approaches to guide statin therapy. J Am Coll Cardiol...
Abstract B106: Noninvasive imaging of immune responses

Tumors are often surrounded and invaded by bone marrow-derived cells. Imaging the infiltration of such immune cells into tumors may therefore be an attractive means of detecting tumors or of tracking the response to anticancer therapy. We developed alpaca-derived antibody fragments specific for mouse class II MHC and CD11b products, expressed on the surface of a variety of myeloid cells. We validated these reagents by flow cytometry and two-photon microscopy to obtain images at cellular resolution. To enable noninvasive imaging of the targeted cell populations, we developed a method to site-specifically label VHHs [the variable domain (VH) of a camelid heavy-chain only antibody] with 18F or 64Cu. Radiolabeled VHHs rapidly cleared the circulation (t1/2 ~15min) and clearly visualized lymphoid organs. We used VHHs to explore the possibility of imaging inflammation in both xenogeneic and syngeneic tumor models, which resulted in detection of tumors with remarkable specificity. We also imaged the infiltration of myeloid cells upon injection of complete Freund9s adjuvant. Both anti-class II MHC and anti-CD11b VHHs detected inflammation with excellent specificity. Given the ease of manufacture and labeling of VHHs, we believe that this method could transform the manner in which antitumor responses and/or infectious events may be tracked. The ability to monitor the immune response in the course of therapy will enable early determination of the efficacy of treatment and will inform decisions as to whether treatment should be stopped or continued. Noninvasive monitoring could therefore change how therapies are applied and assessed, to the benefit of many patients. Citation Format: Mohammad Rashidian. Noninvasive imaging of immune responses. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR Inaugural International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; September 16-19, 2015; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2016;4(1 Suppl):Abstract nr B106.
Noninvasive carotid testing in threatened stroke. 2. Predictive performance.

PreviewAs discussed in part 1 (page 239) of this two-part article, numerous techniques have been developed for noninvasive study of the vasculature in the region of the carotid bifurcation. In part 2, Dr Anderson discusses the predictive performance of the tests—as judged by comparison with angiographic findings, surgical or pathologic observations, or the natural history—and the practical relevance of the tests' predictive performance.
Cultured human fibroblasts in the study of atherosclerosis.

Deranged lipoprotein metabolism as well as abnormally high rates of cholesterol synthesis have been implicated as likely causes of hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis. Metabolism and biological transport of specific serum lipoproteins and their lipid components and the environmental factors leading to the excessive intracellular accumulation of the latter have been studied in various mammalian cells, in culture, including the easily grown and maintained human skin fibroblasts. Progress in this field has been summarized and reviewed by a number of authors (e.g., 1,2,3).
Alternative Futures of the World Economy, 1986-2000

This article makes projections of the world economy for the period 1986-2000, using the latest version of the FUGI Global Model, giving due consideration to the complex international linkages which make for global interdependence. Directing attention to both (1) a “baseline” future scenario and (2) alternative policy mixes, the model forecasts that the real average growth rate of the world economy as a whole during 1986-2000 will likely be from around 3.3% (in the baseline projection) to 3.9% (with alternative policies).
Terahertz plasmon propagation on flat and corrugated metal surface

In the THz frequency range, surface plasmons may be as useful as in optics, but their properties are quite different because of huge value dielectric function of metals in far infrared. We use a typical THz time-domain spectroscopy setup in reflection configuration and shallow metal gratings to investigate THz SP properties on the metal grating: excitation, duration, propagation, reflection.
Can repetitive mental simulation of smoking engender habituation

Smoking cue exposure sensitizes smokers to cigarettes (i.e., increases cravings). Research examining the overlap between perception and mental imagery suggests that mentally simulating smoking a cigarette in a manner analogous to actually smoking should lead to habituation or a decrease in a smoker's motivation to smoke. The authors sought to determine whether repetitive mental simulation of smoking can engender habituation thereby reducing smoking cue-induced craving and shifts in mood, latency to smoke, and the hedonic response to smoking. These hypotheses were tested in nontreatment seeking smokers (n = 61; 24 women/37 men) ages 18-55 years old, who were not incentivized to quit. The authors used a 2 (in vivo cue: smoking, neutral) × 2 (imagery: repetitive, limited) within-subjects design. Results revealed that repetitive imagery altered the effect of cue type for negative mood and subjective cigarette reward as evidenced by significant Imagery × Cue interactions. Repetitive imagery after a smoking cue reduced negative mood more than limited imagery (β = -1.19, p = .004). Repetitive imagery also reduced the reward derived from smoking a cigarette more than limited imagery (β = -.41, p < .0001). Only main effects of cue type on craving (β = 3.39, p = .01) and positive mood (β = -1.18, p = .03) were found. Greater imagery strength predicted a longer latency to smoke (β = .76, p = .001). Cognitive strategies that directly engage cue-induced craving through repetitive smoking imagery may reduce smoking cue-induced increases in negative mood and reward from a cigarette lapse potentially preventing smoking relapse. (PsycINFO Database Record
Hypersomnia: an overlooked, but not overestimated, sleep disturbance in bipolar disorder.

ABSTRACT FROM: Steinan MK, Scott J, Lagerberg TV, et al . Sleep problems in bipolar disorders: more than just insomnia. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2016;133:368–77. Sleep disturbances are common across bipolar spectrum disorders. Reduced need for sleep, insomnia and hypersomnia (excessive sleep or sleepiness) are diagnostic features of illness episodes; these sleep disturbances persist into the interepisode period and are associated with functional impairment and risk for relapse.1 Few studies have investigated subtypes of sleep disturbances within bipolar spectrum disorders, and these have been limited to specific illness states (eg, depression)2 or to specific bipolar subtypes (eg, bipolar I disorder).3 This cross-sectional study recruited 563 inpatient and outpatient adults with bipolar disorder types I and II (BD I and BD II) across Norway. Two semistructured clinician-administered interviews, the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (IDS-C) and Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), were used to assess mood state. Sleep disturbance …
Identifying and Understanding the Health Information Experiences and Preferences of Caregivers of Individuals With Either Traumatic Brain Injury, Spinal Cord Injury, or Burn Injury: A Qualitative Investigation.

Background: In order to meet the challenges of caring for an injured person, caregivers need access to health information. However, caregivers often feel that they lack adequate information. Previous studies of caregivers have primarily focused on either their time and emotional burdens or their health outcomes, but the information needs of caregivers have not been thoroughly investigated. Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to identify the preferred sources of health information for caregivers supporting individuals with injuries and to explore how access to this information could be improved. Methods: A total of 32 caregivers participated in semistructured interviews, which were used in order to develop a more in-depth understanding of these caregivers’ information needs. Digital audio recordings of the interviews were used for analysis purposes. These audio recordings were analyzed using a thematic analysis or qualitative content analysis. All of participant’s interviews were then coded using the qualitative analysis program, Nvivo 10 for Mac (QSR International). Results: The caregivers endorsed similar behaviors and preferences when seeking and accessing health information. Medical professionals were the preferred source of information, while ease of access made the Internet the most common avenue to obtain information. The challenges faced by participants were frequently a result of limited support. In describing an ideal health system, participants expressed interest in a comprehensive care website offering support network resources, instructive services about the injury and caregiving, and injury-specific materials. Conclusions: According to the participants, an ideal health information system would include a comprehensive care website that offered supportive network resources, instructive services about the injury and caregiving, and materials specific to the type of patient injury. [J Med Internet Res 2017;19(5):e159]
The plot thickens: hidden outlines in Terence's prologues

The Vita Terenti , Suetonius' biography, presents Terence as the classic Republican self-made man. Born in Carthage on the margins of the empire, he is said to have been brought to Italy as part of the spoils of conquest (the very word for ‘spoils’, praeda , is used to describe him in the epigram or epitaph devoted to his memory in the Latin Anthology ). Here is a rags to riches to rags again story: the Cinderella figure reading out his first play on a humble bench, then invited to join Caecilius, the comic toast of the town, at his high table; the pretty boy-slave who mingled suspiciously closely with Scipio and Laelius. Six perfect plays later, and varying degrees of success, at the age of twenty-five Terence was pitched into decline: he withdrew, he retired, he went into voluntary exile to Asia or to darkest Greece, he drowned at sea, in the middle of a valiant last attempt to bring a suitcase of Menander's plays to Italy, or else he died of grief at the loss of his baggage. The details vary, but the stories always return him to the margins he emerged from, leaving behind his exemplary dramatic products and his solid influence on the school curriculum for centuries to come. Of course this narrative has its improbable side (Suetonius himself is sceptical about the various reports): the name Afer does not necessarily mean that Terence was African; Caecilius had died two years before Terence's first play was performed; the rumours about men in high places ghost-writing for him have been lifted straight from one of the prologues. But take it on its own terms and it is a tale based on the fluid opportunities of the expanding Roman world, a tale of suspicion, integration and then rejection. Terence begins and ends as part of the flotsam of empire.
The Role of Elites and Social Control

The findings for the human remains support the concerns discussed in Chap. 3 with the concept of peace as used by various archaeologists because it is a relative term that is defined differently across cultures. This chapter will summarize how the human remains recovered from Chaco Canyon and the other Southwest sites help to further our understanding of the complex nature of peace and violence. Finally, the chapter briefly explores the relevance of the findings for understanding cycles of conflict today.
Why we write (nuclear) history.

Nuclear history always compels. Scholars (and readers) can immerse themselves in the existential threat posed by the atomic bomb and its successor weapons, the tantalizing prospect of carbon-free energy, or the study of a natural phenomenon deeply at odds with our everyday experience of the world. There is thus always something profound at stake when we write nuclear history – be it physical, economic or intellectual. And while it may seem that the end of the Cold War should have diminished the academic attention accorded to the subject, it actually just allowed the historiography to evolve. To the wealth of technical and political studies that once dominated nuclear history, we can now add a host of excellent cultural, environmental, literary and transnational studies. Those of us who entered the field shortly after the break-up of the Soviet Union have been able to follow these developments first-hand, from the initial uncertainty of where nuclear history would go without its original raison d’etre to seeing the possibilities opened up in a post-Cold War world. The books under review here provide important and timely additions to this historiography. Luis A. Campos's Radium and the Secret Life provides a rigorous and compelling account of the uses of radium in early twentieth-century biology; Timothy J. Jorgensen's Strange Glow: The Story of Radiation offers an accessible and illuminating analysis of the benefits and risks of radiation. The books also make for a fascinating juxtaposition. They complement each other well, but also contain some intriguing differences that allow us to reflect on the nature of nuclear history in the early twenty-first century.
“In Killing You Changed Death to Life”: Transformation of the Self in St. John of the Cross and Carl Jung

In this paper, we shall examine the ways that visionary experience acts to transform the self, in the writings of St John of the Cross (often called the most psychological of the mystics) and Carl Jung (often called the most mystical of the psychologists). While each of these theorists works within a different model of the self, both processes involve the destruction and remaking of the psyche. This paper will describe seven stages in each process.
Promoting Scholarship in Faculty Development: Relevant Research Paradigms and Methodologies

Prior research on faculty development has been overly constrained by adherence to the positivist research paradigm and a mechanistic view of how faculty development programs impact participants, their learners, and patient care. We propose a broader conceptual framework for research on faculty development that encompasses examination of two communities: the one created in the faculty development activity and the one that exists in the workplace where participants are educators, researchers, and clinician/scientists. Using this expanded framework, we argue that future research will need to incorporate four research paradigms : positivist, post-positivist, interpretivist, and critical theory, using their associated research methodologies. Each paradigm and methodology is described along with examples from research on faculty development. Three less well-known research methodologies are also included: educational design research, success cases, and sustainability narratives. We conclude by showing how readers might begin to undertake scholarship in this area.
Developing an Undergraduate Course Curriculum on Information Security

The teaching of Information Security has well-known difficulties. On one hand, security issues can arise in a broad spectrum of fields, and it is challenging to chose a subset of topics to fit into one (undergraduate) course as well as maintain a clear flow among the chosen topics. On the other hand, given the rapid advancement in the field of Information Security, it requires a continuous and pro-active effort to keep the course up-to-date. In addition, our prior teachings have also witnessed other challenges when teaching Information Security for undergraduate students. First, students are naturally interested in security skills with an attacking nature. A course design that favors the coverage of defensive skills thus may not be able to strongly stimulate the students' learning. Second, the job market places a large weight on certificates, which, should also be strongly tied to and reflected in the course curriculum of Information Security. To address above issues, we design a new course curriculum for an undergraduate level Information Security course. Our design possesses a few major features and novelties. First, we organize the covered security topics in a security spectrum and strike a balance of theory and practice among the topics. Second, we introduce modules to add build-in natures for actively keeping the covered security topics current. Third, we develop a group of labs that have equal emphasis on offensive and defensive skills to stimulate the critical thinking and interests of the students while addressing the associated legal and ethical implications. Fourth, we incorporate key knowledge set from entry level certification into the curriculum to assist students in obtaining security certificates.
Predictions and constructing explanations: an investigation into introductory chemistry students’ understanding of structure–property relationships

The relationship between chemical structure and physical and chemical properties is essential to chemistry. Studies have shown that students have difficulty using structural representations to predict properties, which is not surprising because of the sequence of inferences that are required for sense-making. However, obtaining a nuanced model of students’ understanding depends on how information is elicited. This study investigated how the phrasing of the question prompt may elicit students’ understanding of structure–property relationships. Students were given a two-part assessment: (1) four multiple-choice questions assessing students’ self-reported abilities to predict structure–property relationships, and (2) three questions requiring students to predict, argue, and explain a boiling point trend. Two groups of students were selected to determine the sensitivity of the instrument (one with less explicit instruction of structure–property relationships and one with more explicit instruction). We found that Part I of the assessment was able to differentiate between these two groups of students. The group with more explicit instruction was further analyzed to determine how their prediction on a boiling point task connected to their arguments and explanations of the phenomenon. Even though 64% of students answered the boiling point ranking task correctly, the students typically provided less complete arguments as to why that structure had a higher boiling point. However, after scaffolding (i.e., providing relevant information for the phenomenon) and asking for an explanation, students’ responses began to include a much more mechanistic understanding, suggesting that having students provide explanations instead of constructing an argument would display their reasoning at a deeper level.
A Hierarchical Spectrum Access Scheme for TV White Space Coexistence in Heterogeneous Networks

Among current techniques for dynamic access to television (TV) white space (TVWS), geolocation database-based access provides a promising performance in protecting the TV-band incumbents from interference that cannot be efficiently achieved in other license-exempt models. However, in heterogeneous wireless networks, most portable devices do not have such access and may cause interference to TV incumbents. We propose a hierarchical model for spectrum sharing in TVWS that includes a wide range of fixed and portable devices. In the first tier, the TV broadcaster can lease the spectrum bands to local fixed users based on a soft license agreement. The fixed users are allowed to share access to this spectrum with some mobile users in their proximity in exchange for cooperative relaying. We consider a practical scenario, where only partial channel state information (CSI) is available at the users’ transmitters, and we propose a robust algorithm against such uncertainties in CSI values. We also propose a reputation-based relay selection mechanism to identify selfish portable users. The proposed spectrum sharing framework can provide a practical model for TVWS-coexistence that prevents undesired interference to the incumbents while restricting interference among the unlicensed devices. The simulation results show the enhancement of fixed users’ rate compared with alternative relay selection methods.
Overlapping, Masquerading, and Causative Cervical Spine and Shoulder Pathology: A Systematic Review.

Study Design:Systematic review.Objective:To assess the current literature regarding the relationship between the shoulder and the spine with regard to (1) overlapping pain pathways; (2) differentia...
Transparent, mechanically strong, thermally insulating cross-linked silica aerogels for energy-efficient windows

Silica aerogels are transparent and excellent thermal insulators; however, application in energy-efficient windows has been elusive. The main reason is fragility that renders handling and processing extremely difficult. One way to overcome the fragility issue of silica aerogels is via cross-linking technology, in which a polymer is applied conformally over their entire skeletal framework. Extremely strong materials may be obtained by that approach; however, the penalty is loss of transparency. This study was designed to reach a compromise among those competing requirements. Aerogels based on co-gelation of tetramethylorthosilicate (TMOS) and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) were prepared and were cross-linked with a triisocyanate (Desmodur N3200A). The two independent variables, the total silane concentration in the sol and the concentration of the monomer in the cross-linking bath, were varied according to a full-factorial model. The nanostructure was characterized with SEM and SAXS. The porous structure with N2 sorption. Properties of interest with respect to the intended application were the thermal conductivity, the elastic modulus, and the haze. The latter has two components, from the bulk and the surface. Cross-linking places the polymer inside secondary aggregates that behave as core–shell particles with increased scattering, due to refractive index mismatch. Surface haze can be minimized by molding with clean glass plates and careful handling. Guided by our statistical model, we demonstrate optimal samples with bulk densities in the range of 0.25–0.33 g cm−3, porosities in the range of 76–83% v/v, bulk haze around 10%, Young’s modulus in the range of 30–70 MPa, and thermal conductivities in the range of 18–22 mW m−1 K−1. Those samples were strong enough to be machined with conventional tools (band saws, diamond cutters), they displayed sufficient clarity, and their thermal conductivity was lower than that of still air.
Effect of Early Weightbearing Following Open Reduction and Internal Fixation of Unstable Ankle Fractures on Wound Complications or Failures of Fixation.

Background:There is a growing trend toward early weightbearing as tolerated (WBAT) after open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of ankle fractures. To date, studies have excluded fractures wit...
Electrode scale and electrolyte transport effects on extreme fast charging of lithium-ion cells

Abstract A combination of cell testing and electrochemical-thermal modeling is used to investigate extreme fast charging (XFC) performance for cells with a low loading of 1.5 mAh.cm−2 and moderate loading of 2.5 mAh.cm−2. Cells with a low loading of 1.5 mAh.cm−2 withstand XFC performance remarkably well even up to 9C constant current (CC) charging with high charge capacity, high coulombic efficiency and very little apparent lithium plating. For a moderate loading of 2.5 mAh.cm−2, the 6C CC charge capacity is poor with significant amounts of visually observed lithium plating. Simulated electrolyte transport properties are revealed to be insufficient and majorly set limitations for XFC performance in case of the moderate and the only simulated higher loadings (>2.5 mAh.cm-2). Charging at elevated temperature is shown to be an effective strategy for moderate loading cells enabling good 10-min charge capacity, high coulombic efficiency, and mitigating lithium plating. Lastly, an electrochemical model is used to investigate strategies for enabling 4–6C CC charging for cells incorporating loading beyond 3 mAh.cm−2. As a result, the combination of an increased cell temperature, reduced electrode tortuosity, and enhanced ion-transport in the electrolyte are most likely required to facilitate XFC for state of the art and future high energy lithium-ion batteries.
Benzalkonium Chloride in Albuterol Solutions: Time for a Change?

* Abbreviations: BAC — : benzalkonium chloride NaCl — : sodium chloride UD — : unit dose Benzalkonium chloride (BAC), a quaternary ammonium compound, is a common antimicrobial agent used in many everyday household products. It kills on contact most bacteria, fungi, and some viruses, with a relatively long duration of action. It has surfactant qualities and can penetrate bilipid membrane layers, allowing for deeper penetration of medicines delivered dermally. In high concentrations (>7.5%), BAC can be caustic and, if ingested, can cause severe gastrointestinal injury, respiratory depression, and neurologic toxicity.1 Even at lower concentrations, BAC can be a skin, eye, and oral mucosa irritant. However, when used as a preservative in medicinals, BAC is so dilute that such effects are usually not an issue. Children’s airways have a limited repertoire of physiologic mechanisms (eg, edema, inflammation, and bronchoconstriction) to deal with exogenous chemicals, resulting in coughing, wheezing, and difficulty breathing. Introducing any chemical into a child’s airways should entail careful scrutiny, weighing both risks and benefits. For many years, BAC has been employed as a preservative in some inhalant albuterol solutions used in the management of wheezing in asthma despite previous reports of its ability to precipitate bronchospasm.2–5 In this month’s issue of Pediatrics , Pertzborn et al6 further investigate the risk … Address correspondence to Alan D. Woolf, MD, MPH, Pediatric Environmental Health Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115. E-mail: alan.woolf{at}childrens.harvard.edu
How to read a published clinical trial: A practical guide for clinicians

Over the last 5 years, there have been more than 140 new drug approvals in the field of Oncology alone, all based on newly published clinical trials. These approvals have led to an ongoing change in clinical practice, offering new therapeutic options for patients. Therefore, it is important for healthcare providers to be able to appraise a clinical trial and determine its validity, understand its results, and be able to apply such results to their patients. In this guide, we provide a simplified approach tailored to practicing clinicians and trainees. The same concepts and principles apply to other medical specialties.
Determinants of Dietary Choice in the US: Evidence from Consumer Migration

I study the evolution of the quality of grocery purchases among migrants to learn how changes in the environment affect dietary choice. Using detailed household level panel data on food purchases I find that healthfulness of grocery purchases is very persistent in the short-run. Three to four decades after moving, however, households have closed about half of the gap in healthfulness between the origin and destination area. The results suggest that dietary habits are highly persistent, but may eventually shift in the face of different local environments.
Circulation dynamics of small-amplitude pitching airfoil undergoing laminar-to-turbulent transition

Abstract This study is motivated by the non-linear behavior of the lift response of a pitching airfoil with a small amplitude and frequency where a linear behavior is expected. The validated γ − R e θ transition model coupled with k − ω S S T (shear stress transport) turbulence model was utilized to solve the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes ( U R A N S ) equations for a harmonically pitching NACA 0012 at Reynolds numbers 75 × 1 0 3 , 200 × 1 0 3 and reduced frequencies 0 . 05 − 0 . 3 . First, the numerical setup was validated against experimental results for a pitching airfoil undergoing laminar-to-turbulent transition. Then, the circulation dynamics were investigated following an exact derivation of the Kutta condition. Unlike the classical Kutta condition which assumes a vanishing pressure loading at the sharp trailing-edge, it is shown that the transition induces non-linearity in the lift dynamics by creating a significant pressure variation across the boundary layer in the vicinity of the trailing-edge, affecting the development of the bound circulation around the airfoil. Moreover, the effects of reduced frequency, pitching amplitude and Reynolds number on the circulation dynamics were studied in both frequency and time domains. The results shed light on the further enhancement of potential flow-based solutions to capture non-linearity in the lift dynamics due to transition.
Relational database support for graphics and CAD

Several systems have been built in the last few years that use a relation database system to manage the data for interactive graphics applications. Many proposals are being made for extensions to the relational model to allow it more easily to handle graphical data for such applications as CAD. This paper surveys existing systems and discusses proposed extensions to the relational model for graphics and CAD applications. It also discusses problems created by differences between the relational data model and the internal data structures in typical interactive graphics packages and shows that the proposed PHIGS graphics standard will greatly reduce these problems.
Metastatic neuroblastoma masquerading as infantile hemangioma in a 4‐month‐old child

Introduction Diffuse liver lesions in an infant have a differential diagnosis including infantile hemangioma (IH), which is common in the first year of life, and neuroblastoma (NBL) which presents at a median age of 18 months. Results We describe the case of a 4-month-old girl with a known superficial/deep IH who presented with new axillary nodules and hepatosplenomegaly, initially suspected to reflect IH but later determined to be widely metastatic NBL. Conclusion Hepatic IH and metastatic NBL can present similarly. Clinicians must maintain a broad differential when evaluating new findings in a patient with previously diagnosed IH.
Striae in the Antarctic scallop Adamussium colbecki provide environmental insights but not reliable age increments

Subannual growth increments in bivalves provide insight into past seasonal seawater conditions at high temporal resolution. The Antarctic scallop Adamussium colbecki (Smith 1902) accretes putatively fortnightly surficial growth lines (striae) and interstrial growth increments have the potential to archive sea ice variations. Cycles of paired groups of wide and narrow striae are sometimes used to determine ontogenetic age in these scallops, but previous quantitative work describing strial grouping and formation is limited to a few months of juvenile growth. Here, we analyze striae patterns in A. colbecki collected from two sites on western McMurdo Sound, Antarctica that differ by sea ice duration: Explorers Cove with multi-annual sea ice and Bay of Sails with annual sea ice. At both sites, visual analysis of striae groups and cycles (using the methods of previous authors) and wavelet analysis of interstrial increments suggest that striae groups are too variable to age A. colbecki. Only ~ 40% of striae groups and cycles conformed to expectations from annual cycles of fortnightly growth increments (~ 26 striae per cycle). Moreover, only one scallop from each study site displayed consistent periodicity at ~ 26 striae throughout juvenile growth in wavelet analysis. Though striae grouping was inconsistent, analysis of concurrent growth of juvenile scallops from Explorers Cove suggested strong environmental control on interstrial increment size and thus that strial increments are suitable for further analysis as sea ice proxies. Finally, the multi-annual sea ice site had smaller interstrial growth increments and less valve wear than the annual sea ice site, indicating overall slower growth and possibly lower metabolic activity.
Reclaiming the reservation: histories of Indian sovereignty suppressed and renewed: by Alexandra Harmon, Seattle, University of Washington Press, 2019, viii + 410 pp., US$35.00 (Paperback), ISBN 9780295745855

By design, few Americans have any real understanding of the history of federal Indian law. Despite vast historical records that account for multitudinous campaigns of genocide against Indigenous Fi...
Walnut intake, cognitive outcomes and risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Walnuts contain nutrients that are associated with improved cognitive health. To our knowledge, no review has systematically examined the effects of walnuts on cognitive function and risk for cogni...
Is Capital Reallocation Really Procyclical

Aggregate reallocation is procyclical. This empirical observation is puzzling given the documented fact that the benefits to reallocation are countercyclical. I show that this procyclicality is entirely driven by reallocation of bundled capital, which is highly correlated with market valuation and bears no consistent relation to measures of productivity dispersion. Reallocation of unbundled capital, on the contrary, is countercyclical and highly correlated with dispersion in productivity growth, both within industry and across industries. To rationalize these facts, I propose a heterogeneous agent model of investment featuring two distinct used-capital markets and a sentiment component. In equilibrium, unbundled capital is reallocated for productivity gains only, whereas bundled capital is also reallocated for real, or perceived synergies in the equity market. While equity overvaluation negatively affect total factor productivity (TFP) by encouraging excessive trading of capital, such an adverse impact is largely offset by eased frictions to reallocation in the unbundled capital market.
Telehealth Interventions and Outcomes Across Rural Communities in the United States: Narrative Review.

Background: In rural communities, there are gaps in describing the design and effectiveness of technology interventions for treating diseases and addressing determinants of health. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate literature on current applications, therapeutic areas, and outcomes of telehealth interventions in rural communities in the United States. Methods: A narrative review of studies published on PubMed from January 2017 to December 2020 was conducted. Key search terms included telehealth, telemedicine, rural, and outcomes. Results: Among 15 included studies, 9 studies analyzed telehealth interventions in patients, 3 in health care professionals, and 3 in both patients and health care professionals. The included studies reported positive outcomes and experiences of telehealth use in rural populations including acceptability and increased satisfaction; they also noted that technology is convenient and efficient. Other notable benefits included decreased direct and indirect costs to the patient (travel cost and time) and health care service provider (staffing), lower onsite health care resource utilization, improved physician recruitment and retention, improved access to care, and increased education and training of patients and health care professionals. Conclusions: Telehealth models were associated with positive outcomes for patients and health care professionals, suggesting these models are feasible and can be effective. Future telehealth interventions and studies examining these programs are warranted, especially in rural communities, and future research should evaluate the impact of increased telehealth use as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minimizing embodied energy of reinforced concrete floor systems in developing countries through shape optimization

Abstract Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs) are struggling to meet the demand for affordable housing in their growing cities. There are several reasons for this, but a major constraint is the high cost of construction materials. In India, which needs over 20 million urban housing units by 2022, material costs can constitute 60 to 80% of the total cost of residential construction. Nonetheless, their construction mimics the materially inefficient practices of the More Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs), which were developed to reduce labor over material costs. As a result, prismatic beams and flat slabs are often used despite their structural inefficiency. The mounting use of steel-reinforced concrete structures in LEDC cities also raises concern for the environmental costs of construction; for example, construction accounts for 22% of India’s carbon emissions. At the building scale, at least 50% of the structural mass and embodied energy is just in the horizontal spanning elements. This research addresses these challenges with a flexible methodology for the design and engineering of materially efficient structural floor systems that can reduce the economic and environmental costs of urban construction. Construction costs and embodied energy are direct products of material choice and quantity. In response, this paper presents a strategy for the numerical shape optimization of ribbed one-way concrete floor slabs. Designed for the constraints of India, the elements are optimized to reduce the embodied energy associated with the slab’s concrete and reinforcing steel while resisting the same loads of an equivalent solid flat slab. The optimization method includes a novel approach to 3D shape parameterization, as well as a decoupled analytical engineering analysis method that accounts for the key failure modes and constraints of reinforced concrete design. The result of this work is a shaped slab design method that can reduce the embodied energy of one-way concrete floors by 48–64%.
Intraspecific Competition and the Promotion of Ecological Specialization

The evolution of ecological specialization can be summed up in a single question: why would a species evolve a more-restricted niche space? Various hypotheses have been developed to explain the promotion or suppression of ecological specialization. One hypothesis, competitive diversification, states that increased intraspecific competition will cause a population to broaden its niche breadth. With individuals alike in resource use preference, more individuals reduce the availability of preferred resources and should grant higher fitness to those that use secondary resources. However, recent studies cast doubt on this hypothesis with increased intraspecific competition reducing niche breadth in some systems. We present a game-theoretic evolutionary model showing greater ecological specialization with intraspecific competition under specific conditions. This is in contrast to the competitive diversification hypothesis. Our analysis reveals that specialization can offer a competitive advantage. Largely, when facing weak competition, more specialized individuals are able to acquire more of the preferred resources without greatly sacrificing secondary resources and therefore gain higher fitness. Only when competition is too great for an individual to significantly affect resource use will intraspecific competition lead to an increased niche breadth. Other conditions, such as a low diversity of resources and a low penalty to specialization, help promote ecological specialization in the face of intraspecific competition. Through this work, we have been able to discover a previously unseen role that intraspecific competition plays in the evolution of ecological specialization.
Emphasis on Cardiovascular Fitness as a Barrier toward Mobilizing the Sedentary Individual

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to investigate the view that in efforts to mobilize the sedentary individual too much emphasis has been placed on developing and maintaining cardiovascular fitness. Instead, encouraging low level physical activity may be the first step in mobilizing the sedentary individual as well as favorably altering their heart disease risk factor profile. Second, the view that the major barriers in adapting physical activity of any intensity are partly a result of the beliefs held toward cardiovascular fitness is presented. Finally, suggestions on how these beliefs may be altered as well as suggestions for future research are proposed.
Teoría, método y compromiso. Algunas reflexiones en torno al legado de Guillermo O’Donnell

Este articulo resalta algunas contribuciones de O’Donnell para la disciplina en general y para los estudiantes de ciencia politica en particular. Entre ellas, destaca la necesidad de focalizar las preguntas de nuestras investigaciones en problemas sustantivos, relevantes; la centralidad de la teoria para responder a ellas y para comprender un caso o pocos casos; y el rol de las herramientas, que no deben determinar las preguntas ni las respuestas, sino que deben ser elementos que ayuden a llegar a ellas.
A Unified Variational Approach to Denoising and Bias Correction in MR

We propose a novel bias correction method for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging that uses complementary body coil and surface coil images. The former are spatially homogeneous but have low signal intensity; the latter provide excellent signal response but have large bias fields. We present a variational framework where we optimize an energy functional to estimate the bias field and the underlying image using both observed images. The energy functional contains smoothness-enforcing regularization for both the image and the bias field. We present extensions of our basic framework to a variety of imaging protocols. We solve the optimization problem using a computationally efficient numerical algorithm based on coordinate descent, preconditioned conjugate gradient, half-quadratic regularization, and multigrid techniques. We show qualitative and quantitative results demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed method in producing debiased and denoised MR images.
Is Free Basic Education in Egypt a Reality or a Myth

Abstract Egypt has made enormous progress in increasing access to education. While school is theoretically free, families must often spend substantial sums in order for their children to succeed in school. The question that this paper investigates is whether students can succeed in Egypt's basic education system, regardless of their family circumstances, and without additional spending. The paper begins by examining inequality in completing basic education and then investigates the use of supplements, such as private tutoring. Outcomes are examined by socio-economic status, to illustrate how the need to supplement publicly provided basic education contributes to unequal opportunities for young Egyptians.
Pre-mRNA Splicing in Eukaryotic Cells

Gene expression in eukaryotic cells is a collective outcome of transcription, RNA processing, and protein translation. In this chapter, I focus on the mechanism and regulation of gene expression at the level of RNA metabolism. I begin with the introduction of different kinds of RNA expressed in mammalian cells, including mRNAs, rRNAs, tRNAs, small RNAs, miRNAs, and RNAs of unknown function. Realizing that the RNA world is a big topic, which is beyond the scope of a single chapter, I am forced to concentrate on the pathway and regulation of pre-mRNA processing, which is arguably the most important step in gene expression and regulation. Readers are referred to outstanding reviews on other RNA categories for detailed information. Key features in this chapter also include the discussion on integration of RNA processing with other critical nuclear events and on genomics of splicing in the current post-genome era. Most of the information covered here is a condensed version of a number of lectures given annually to graduate students in Beijing and Shanghai as part of the Molecular and Cell Biology course contributed by members of the Ray Wu society.
The Nature and Implications of Acquisition Goodwill

We investigate the conditions under which the accounting‐based acquisition goodwill disclosed by U.S. filers appropriately represents an asset to the firm — specifically, whether accounting - based acquisition goodwill is representationally faithful to the underlying economics of the transaction as required under the FASB’s conceptual framework. Analysis of financial statements for a sample of 2,123 merger transactions completed during 2002 — 2006 suggests that although 41% of these transactions have a negative net present value, the acquirer did not write‐off goodwill at the time of acquisition as required under U.S. GAAP. When we adjust the recorded goodwill to be consistent with SFAS #141, we find that it is a better predictor of future operating performance. As a thought experiment, we also adjust recognized goodwill for the other 59% of the sample with positive net present value acquisitions to reflect the estimated fair value of goodwill and similarly find that this goodwill construct is also a better predictor of future operating performance than recognized acquisition accounting goodwill.
The use of renal scintigraphy in assessing the potential for recovery in the obstructed renal tract in children.

Objective To assess the value of renal scintigraphy with 99mTc-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) in predicting functional recovery after the surgical relief of obstructed kidneys in children. Patients and methods Forty-three children underwent surgery to relieve upper urinary tract obstruction; 37 had pelvi-ureteric junction obstruction and six had vesico-ureteric junction obstruction. The indication for surgery was a combination of an obstructed renogram with symptoms of either pain or pyelonephritis. Most children (41) had 55%). In all patients intravenous urography before surgery showed hydronephrosis, and a micturating cystogram was used to exclude coexisting reflux in the presence of an associated megaureter. Diuretic renography (using 99mTc-mercaptoacetyl triglycine or 123I-hippuran) and DMSA scintigraphy were both carried out before surgery and the renography repeated 6 months afterward. Results The renographic drainage curves improved from obstructed to unobstructed or ‘dilated unobstructed’ on all postoperative studies. Regression analysis showed that preoperative DMSA scan was an excellent predictor of outcome (P < 0.001) whilst the preoperative renogram was a relatively poor predictor of the functional result. In four patients where the initial renographic function was < 10%, DMSA scintigraphy predicted correctly the capacity for recovery in three and the inability to improve in the fourth. Conclusion Before surgery, DMSA scintigraphy in children with upper urinary tract obstruction is a more useful estimate of probable long-term renal function than value from diuresis renography. If there is doubt about the desirability of reconstructive surgery, a DMSA scan may eliminate the need for more invasive methods of estimating recovery, e.g. a period of nephrostomy drainage.