cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Complex transitional flows in concentric annuli

Detailed measurements of radial variations of turbulence intensity were made with a hot film anemometer in a concentric annulus of aspect ratio Ri/Ro = 0.0416 for a Reynolds number range 1,200 ⩽ Re ⩽ 3,000 using a Newtonian polyglycol water solution. Measurements were also made of excess entrance pressure gradients and the axial variation of pressure gradients. Based on the results of these measurements, it is concluded that the proposition of Lea and Tadros (1931), Rothfus (1948) and others that a transitional flow regime develops with a zone of turbulence near the inner core surrounded by a zone of laminar flow near the outer wall is false. The two-critical Reynolds number transitional regime proposed by Hanks and Bonner (1971) is verified to exist but their mathematical model for the interpretation of its cause is disproved. It is shown that at the lower critical Reynolds number predicted by Hanks and Bonner (1971) and by Hanks (1980) a transition does occur. It is conjectured that the new flow may be a type of complex laminar bifurcation flow described by Joseph (1976), although the present data do not permit a definite conclusion to be reached. This complex laminar flow in turn undergoes a transition to turbulent flow at a second critical Reynolds number, higher than the first, in qualitative accord with Hanks and Bonner's (1971) and Hanks' (1980) predictions, although the latter are not quantitatively correct because they are based on inadequate models of the transitional flow field.
Chlamydia pneumoniae and the Risk of First Ischemic Stroke The Northern Manhattan Stroke Study

Background and Purpose —Serological evidence of infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae has been associated with cardiovascular disease in multiple epidemiological studies. The data on its association with ischemic stroke are limited. We sought to determine whether chronic C pneumoniae infection is associated with ischemic stroke in a multi-ethnic population. Methods —The Northern Manhattan Stroke Study contains a population-based, case-control study component. Cases had first ischemic stroke and matched control subjects were derived through random digit dialing. Titers of IgG, IgA, and IgM antibodies specific for C pneumoniae were measured with the use of microimmunofluorescence, and titers ≥1:16 were considered positive. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) after adjustment for medical, behavioral, and socioeconomic factors. Results —Eighty-nine cases and 89 control subjects were selected. Mean age among cases was 68.5±12.8 years; 53% were women and 15% of the subjects were white, 28% were black, and 54% were Hispanic. Elevated C pneumoniae IgA titers were significantly associated with risk of ischemic stroke after adjusting for other stroke risk factors (adjusted OR 4.51, 95% CI 1.44 to 14.06). IgG titers were less strongly associated with stroke risk (adjusted OR 2.59, 95% CI 0.87 to 7.75). The association of IgA with stroke risk was detected in both younger and older groups, in men and women, and in whites, blacks, and Hispanics. There was also a significant continuous increase in risk associated with the log-transformation of the titer for IgA (adjusted OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.66) but not IgG. Conclusions —Serological evidence of chronic infection with C pneumoniae is associated with risk of ischemic stroke in an urban, multi-ethnic population. IgA titers may be a better marker of this risk than are IgG titers. This association is independent of other vascular disease risk factors. Further prospective epidemiological studies of the effect of this infection on stroke risk are warranted.
The consistency strength of an infinitary Ramsey property

In this paper we study the consistency strength of the theory and we prove the consistency of this theory relative to the consistency of the existence of a supercompact cardinal and an inaccessible above it.
The Intrinsic Short-Distance Structure of Hadrons in QCD

A central problem of particle physics is to determine the composition of hadrons in terms of their fundamental quark and gluon degrees of freedom. The structure of hadronic bound-states in quantum chromodynamics plays a role in virtually every aspect of high energy and weak interaction phenomenology, including jet hadronization, heavy particle production processes at colliders, general exclusive and inclusive reactions, and electro-weak decay matrix-elements. Although the QCD Lagrangian has an elegant simplicity, the structure of its bound state solutions can be extraordinarily rich and complex. In these lectures I will focus on QCD phenomena which reflect the coherence and composition of hadron wave functions as relativistic many—body systems of quark and gluon quanta.1
Defining Morbidity of Robot-Assisted Radical Cystectomy Using a Standardized Reporting Methodology

Abstract Background Adverse event reporting is highly variable and nonstandardized in urologic literature, especially for robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC). Objective We sought to better characterize complications in patients after RARC using a standardized reporting methodology. Design, setting, and participants Using a prospectively maintained, single-institution database, we identified 156 consecutive patients who underwent RARC with at least 90 d of follow-up. Complications were analyzed and graded according to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) system and were defined and stratified by organ system. Measurements Logistic regression models were used to define predictors of complications. Cox proportional hazard modeling and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were used to correlate complications and 90-d mortality. Results and limitations Fifty-two percent (81 of 156) of patients experienced a complication within 90 d of surgery. Sixty-five percent (102 of 156) of patients experienced a postoperative complication at a median follow-up of 9 mo. The highest grade of complication was grade 1 in 30 patients (19%), grade 2 in 34 patients (22%), and grade 3–5 in 38 patients (24%). Twenty-one percent (33 of 156) of patients required hospital readmission. Gastrointestinal, infectious, and genitourinary complications were most common (31%, 25%, and 13%, respectively). The 90-d mortality rate was 5.8%. Conclusions When reported using strict guidelines, surgical morbidity after RARC is significant, but the majority of complications are low grade. Despite the high prevalence of low-grade complications, the mortality rate was acceptably low. Stringent reporting of complications after RARC is essential for counseling patients, assessing surgical quality, and allowing comparisons with open radical cystectomy and among institutions.
Using Avida-ED for Teaching and Learning About Evolution in Undergraduate Introductory Biology Courses

Evolution is a complex subject that requires knowledge of basic biological concepts and the ability to connect them across multiple scales of time, space, and biological organization. Avida-ED is a digital evolution educational software environment designed for teaching and learning about evolution and the nature of science in undergraduate biology courses. This study describes our backward design approach to developing an instructional activity using Avida-ED for teaching and learning about evolution in a large-enrollment introductory biology course. Using multiple assessment instruments, we measured student knowledge and understanding of key principles of natural selection before and after instruction on evolution (including the Avida-ED activity). Assessment analysis revealed significant post-instruction learning gains, although certain evolutionary principles (most notably those including genetics concepts, such as the genetic origin of variation) remained particularly difficult for students, even after instruction. Students, however, demonstrated a good grasp of the genetic component of the evolutionary process in the context of a problem on Avida-ED. We propose that: (a) deep understanding of evolution requires complex systems thinking skills, such as connecting concepts across multiple levels of biological organization, and (b) well designed use of Avida-ED holds the potential to help learners build a meaningful and transferable understanding of the evolutionary process.
Fully Canonical Pseudo-Elliptic Bandpass Filters on Multilayer Liquid Crystal Polymer Technology

Microstrip pseudo-elliptic bandpass filters, operating in the X-band, have been designed and implemented on multilayer liquid crystal polymer (LCP) technology for the first time. Folded open loop resonators printed on different dielectric surfaces and sharing the same ground plane are coupled through slots etched in the ground plane. Fully canonical filtering and modularity have been achieved through introduction of internal nonresonant nodes. Multilayer configuration is realized through thermocompression bonding of thin sheets of LCP. The designed fourth-order filter exhibits a low insertion loss of 3.2 dB at 9.9 GHz
A social model for health promotion for an aging population: initial evidence on the Experience Corps model.

This report evaluates whether a program for older volunteers, designed for both benerativity and health promotion, leads to short-term improvements inmultiple behavioral risk factors and positive effects on intermediary risk factors for disability and other morbidities. The Experience Corps® places older volunteers in public elementary schools in roles designed to meet schools’ needs and increase the social, physical, and cognitive activity of the volunteers. This article reports on a pilot randomized trial in Baltimore, Maryland. The 128 volunteers were 60–86 years old; 95% were African American. At follow-up of 4–8 months, physical activity, strength, people one could turn to for help, and cognitive activity increased significantly, and walking speed decreased significantly less, in participants compared to controls. In this pilot trial, physical, cognitive, and social activity increased, suggesting the potential for the Experience Corps to improve health for an aging population and simultaneously improve educational outcomes for children.
Morphometric age and mortality after liver transplant

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between morphometric age and posttransplant survival. DATA SOURCES Medical records of recipients of deceased-donor liver transplants (study population) and kidney donors/trauma patients (morphometric age control population). STUDY SELECTION A retrospective cohort study of 348 liver transplant patients and 3313 control patients. We assessed medical records for validated morphometric characteristics of aging (psoas area, psoas density, and abdominal aortic calcification). We created a model (stratified by sex) for a morphometric age equation, which we then calculated for the control population using multivariate linear regression modeling (covariates). These models were then applied to the study population to determine each patient's morphometric age. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS All analytic steps related to measuring morphometric characteristics were obtained via custom algorithms programmed into commercially available software. An independent observer confirmed all algorithm outputs. Trained assistants performed medical record review to obtain patient characteristics. RESULTS Cox proportional hazards regression model showed that morphometric age was a significant independent predictor of overall mortality (hazard ratio, 1.03 per morphometric year [95% CI, 1.02-1.04; P < .001]) after liver transplant. Chronologic age was not a significant covariate for survival (hazard ratio, 1.02 per year [95% CI, 0.99-1.04; P = .21]). Morphometric age stratified patients at high and low risk for mortality. For example, patients in the middle chronologic age tertile who jumped to the oldest morphometric tertile have worse outcomes than those who jumped to the youngest morphometric tertile (74.4% vs 93.2% survival at 1 year [P = .03]; 45.2% vs 75.0% at 5 years [P = .03]).
Synthesis and characterization of polyethylene-like polyurethanes derived from long-chain, aliphatic α,ω-diols

Abstract Long-chain aliphatic α,ω-diols containing up to 32 consecutive methylene groups were synthesized by several methods and characterized. 1,22-Docosanediol HO–(CH 2 ) 22 –OH and 1,32-dotriacontanediol HO–(CH 2 ) 32 –OH both exhibited a solid–solid phase transition before melting. The α,ω-diols HO–(CH 2 ) m –OH, where m =12, 22, or 32, were reacted in the melt with much shorter aliphatic α,ω-diisocyanates OCN–(CH 2 ) n –NCO, where n =4, 6, 8, or 12, producing a series of linear, aliphatic, and increasingly polyethylene-like m , n -polyurethanes. Characterization (by DSC, TGA, and SAXS) of the m , n -polyurethane series showed that when the aliphatic segments were increased, and the hydrogen-bonding densities thus decreased, the polymers displayed physical and thermal properties (for example, solubility and melting temperature) typical of polyethylene.
Frailty in Older Adults Evidence for a Phenotype

Background: Frailty is considered highly prevalent in old age and to confer high risk for falls, disability, hospitalization, and mortality. Frailty has been considered synonymous with disability, comorbidity, and other characteristics, but it is recognized that it may have a biologic basis and be a distinct clinical syndrome. A standardized definition has not yet been established. Methods: To develop and operationalize a phenotype of frailty in older adults and assess concurrent and predictive validity, the study used data from the Cardiovascular Health Study. Participants were 5,317 men and women 65 years and older (4,735 from an original cohort recruited in 1989-90 and 582 from an African American cohort recruited in 1992-93). Both cohorts received almost identical baseline evaluations and 7 and 4 years of follow-up, respectively, with annual examinations and surveillance for outcomes including incident disease, hospitalization, falls, disability, and mortality. Results: Frailty was defined as a clinical syndrome in which three or more of the following criteria were present: unintentional weight loss (10 lbs in past year), self-reported exhaustion, weakness (grip strength), slow walking speed, and low physical activity. The overall prevalence of frailty in this community-dwelling population was 6.9%; it increased with age and was greater in women than men. Four-year incidence was 7.2%. Frailty was associated with being African American, having lower education and income, poorer health, and having higher rates of comorbid chronic diseases and disability. There was overlap, but not concordance, in the cooccurrence of frailty, comorbidity, and disability. This frailty phenotype was independently predictive (over 3 years) of incident falls, worsening mobility or ADL disability, hospitalization, and death, with hazard ratios ranging from 1.82 to 4.46, unadjusted, and 1.29-2.24, adjusted for a number of health, disease, and social characteristics predictive of 5-year mortality. Intermediate frailty status, as indicated by the presence of one or two criteria, showed intermediate risk of these outcomes as well as increased risk of becoming frail over 3-4 years of follow-up (odds ratios for incident frailty = 4.51 unadjusted and 2.63 adjusted for covariates, compared to those with no frailty criteria at baseline). Conclusions: This study provides a potential standardized definition for frailty in community-dwelling older adults and offers concurrent and predictive validity for the definition. It also finds that there is an intermediate stage identifying those at high risk of frailty. Finally, it provides evidence that frailty is not synonymous with either comorbidity or disability, but comorbidity is an etiologic risk factor for, and disability is an outcome of, frailty. This provides a potential basis for clinical assessment for those who are frail or at risk, and for future research to develop interventions for frailty based on a standardized ascertainment of frailty.
Engineering baselines in system development: using ASCII files, two-column index piles, and system numbers, engineering tags, and change set numbers

A new paradigm for use in system development is described: engineering baselines. This new paradigm enables controlled visibility and traceability into the complete development effort. One of the primary features of the engineering baseline paradigm is its comprehensiveness and feasibility: its simplicity and usability by everyone involved at all levels. It is recognized that no matter how good an approach may be otherwise, unless it is one that all engineers can readily apply, on-the-spot at their desks or benches, if on balance falls short of the need. Engineering baselines have three principal unique features that sustain both its comprehensiveness and feasibility: (1) establishment of all system descriptions in plain ASCII files for universal machine processing, with each system element as a standalone entity bulleted descriptions concatenated with the lead in information, for example; (2) application of three types of numbers: a unique system number for all system elements, an engineering tag to establish links among system elements, and change set numbers; (3) use of plain ASCII two-column index files for all paired link among system elements. The basic ASCII files, the three number types and the two-column ASCII index files enable the tracking and linking [and reuse] by any and all engineers, as well as in speciality database-oriented applications of all system elements, including system specifications, designs, test cases hardware components, software code, work breakdown structures, development milestones, and user documentation.
3R STANDARDS IMPLEMENTATION

The Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 increased the Federal funding for highway improvements by well over 50%. In that act, Congress also directed that a large portion of the non-Interstate funds be used for resurfacing, restoring, rehabilitating and reconstructing (3R/4R) existing highways and bridges in a manner which would enhance highway safety. The extent of appropriate safety improvements on 3R/4R projects varies depending on a number of factors. Appropriate safety improvements include better skid resistance quality of the pavement; cross-slope changes to improve drainage; superelevation corrections; better signing, marking and delineation; regrading of roadside slopes; removal or upgrading of roadside hardware; and removal or mitigation of hazardous roadside features. Designing the rehabilitation of a highway is a greater challenge to the skills of highway designers than is the designing of a new highway. For a 3R project, designers cannot simply lay a template on the paper and proceed. They need to use accident and traffic data and all that is known about safety design to custom tailor safety into the remodeled highway.
Experimental Compaction of Ooids Under Deep-burial Diagenetic Temperatures and Pressures

ABSTRACT Modern ooid sand particles were experimentally compacted at two different temperatures: 150°, 200°C, and at pressures varying between 824 and 1,565 kg/cm2, consistent with overburden of 3.5 to 6.5 km. Bulk-volume reduction, under the above experimental conditions, was more substantial than usually believed: 21 to 26 percent. Particle breakage and deformed particle contacts developed that are comparable to those reported for oolites from the rock record. Pressure solution can be successfully produced by compaction of ooid sand particles. This supports the conclusion that initial pore-volume reduction through mechanical grain adjustments and ultimate pressure solution are major processes in the diagenetic evolution of limestones. This appears to contribute to the solution of the mass balance problem involved in the large porosity reduction that occurs when carbonate sediments lithify. Additionally, ooids were noted to have been plastically deformed, giving rise to longitudinal and concavo-convex contacts.
Enhance Teamwork Outcomes Through Guanxi

According to a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education (April 2011), team assignments are increasingly prevalent in business schools. Not only are they ubiquitous, they are critically important, as our university’s strategic plan states, “collaboration and teamwork are the keys to creating successful leaders.” 1 Despite this prominence, teamwork assignments are often flawed, particularly by students who free-ride on the efforts of others and neither contribute nor learn from the projects. We suggest faculty seek insight from the Asian concept, guanxi, to improve the quality of team dynamics and project outcomes.
Re-Examination of the Traditional Yoruba Cultural Traditions of Morality and Their Implication for Abundant Life

This paper is a critical re-examination of the ways the ancient Yoruba conceive of morality and how that conception affects their inter-subjective relations and their notion of abundant life. The paper addresses the pertinent questions, such as what does it mean for the Yoruba people to have abundant life? What are those modes of behaviours that constitute for the Yoruba morality and how and where are those notions derived from? How Yoruba cultural society transmits those patterns of moral behaviours such as: generosity/hospitality, kindness, respect for life, truthfulness and, etc. to individuals as a system of inherited conceptions from generation to generation? How have those conceptions changed in modern times? What role can religion play in informing, coordinating, synthesizing and moderating individuals and the collectives to conform to the culturally perceived moral abundant life? The paper uses anthropological and descriptive phenomenological methods of enquiries to argue that in the modern day Yoruba world, traditional Yoruba conception of moral virtues would still need to be revisited.
Inverse problems for hyperbolic equations

We present a new approach to the unique determination of the coefficients of the second order hyperbolic equations modulo diffeomorphisms and gauge transformations, assuming that the time-dependent Dirichlet-to-Neumann operator is given on a part of the boundary. We consider also the case of multi-connected domains with obstacles. The interest in this case is spurred by the Aharonov-Bohm effect.
Activation of a retinoblastoma-protein-dependent pathway by sphingosine.

The retinoblastoma protein (Rb) is a tumour suppressor that is activated by dephosphorylation the function of which appears to be mediated, at least partly, through the inhibition of several transcription factors, such as E2F. We have recently described sphingosine, a sphingolipid-breakdown product, as a potent and specific inducer of Rb dephosphorylation resulting in inhibition of cell growth and a specific arrest in the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle. Here we examine the role of Rb and its interaction with E2F in mediating the effects of sphingosine on cell growth. Sphingosine potently inhibited growth of lymphoblastic leukaemic cells, Molt-4, at submicromolar concentrations but showed a 10-fold reduced potency in inhibiting growth of retinoblastoma cells, WERI-Rb-1, which lack functional Rb. In addition, sphingosine9s ability to inhibit growth of mink lung epithelial cells was significantly attenuated in cells overexpressing simian virus 40 large T antigen which binds Rb and related proteins. Sphingosine treatment of Molt-4 cells, but not WERI-Rb-1 cells, resulted in the loss of the specific E2F bands produced by the interaction of E2F and its specific DNA sequence element on gel-shift assays. The concentration (submicromolar) and kinetics (4 h) of sphingosine treatment were identical with those required to induce Rb dephosphorylation. In addition, at similar concentrations, sphingosine caused c-myc down-regulation in Molt-4 cells starting at 6 h after treatment. These results demonstrate that activation of Rb by sphingosine leads to sequestration of E2F by the active (hypophosphorylated) form of Rb with the resultant loss of its DNA-binding and genetranscribing abilities. A functional Rb is required to mediate the specific effects of sphingosine on growth arrest.
Walking the tightrope in educational research and evaluation: maintaining a strong research agenda while upholding research ethics via an on-site Institutional Review Board

Museums, zoos and aquariums are increasingly carrying out educational research and evaluation. Many seek to bring their research and evaluation projects ethically in line with academic researchers, although not always legally required to do so. In the United States, ethical review for human-subjects research falls under the purview of an Institutional Review Board (IRB). If using an IRB, institutions may choose to partner with a university, hire an external IRB or form an IRB on-site. On-site IRBs allow for flexibility in the timing of project review and foster an institutional culture focused on the welfare of human subjects, although they may also create challenges that impact data collection and use. Each institution must decide which approach best fits with the mission and values of their organization. It is anticipated that in future there will be an increased need for reliance on IRBs.
Effect of Inorganic and Organic Phosphates on Formation of Hemoglobin-Phosphate Complexes as Determined by Electrophoresis.∗:

SummaryAddition of tri-, tetra-, and hexa-phosphates to hemolysates of aged red cells or to purified hemoglobin solutions increases the concentration of a slow-moving electro-phoretic component (B). The hexametaphosphate causes a particularly large increase in the Component B concentration. Pyridoxal-5-phosphate was found to be effective in increasing the amount of the hemoglobin-organic phosphate complex.
Adjusting to Reality: A Sustainable Capability-Driven Approach for NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is currently in a period of transition following the end of the Space Shuttle program. The path forward—at least in human spaceflight—is still undetermined due to lack of consensus behind the 2010 compromise to pursue both commercial human spaceflight systems for low-Earth orbit servicing and a NASA-led human expedition to an asteroid by 2025. One thing that is agreed upon by numerous blue-ribbon panels and space policy experts is that NASA’s budget and strategic policy objectives are misaligned, and many have suggested reducing NASA’s purview in an attempt to realign the agency with budget realities and put the agency on a sustainable trajectory. One potential solution is shifting the agency toward a capabilitydriven strategy instead of mission-driven one. This paper examines the outcomes, both positive and negative, that could potentially emerge out of pursuing both mission-driven and capability-driven approaches. The report also analyzes previous programs and transitional periods in NASA’s history in an attempt to gain insights about the different policy elements that will be needed for NASA to execute its mission sustainably. Finally, the report defines one possible implementation strategy for a capability-driven approach.
Tolerance to Cypermethrin and Endosulfan in Field Populations of the Bollworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) from Texas

Responses to insecticides in bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), males collected from 1988 to 1994 in sex-pheromone baited traps in the Brazos Valley near College Station, TX, varied during each season with tolerance being highest in midseason. Significant tolerance occurred with cypermethrin in 1988 and 1989, and with endosulfan in 1994. Tests in 1994 with profenofos or methomyl showed no significant tolerance to these insecticides. We found significant variations between trap sites in responses of field bollworms to cypermethrin, suggesting that increased tolerance may be a localized phenomenon. Tests with cypermethrin plus piperonyl butoxide indicated significant synergism in bollworms collected from the field, suggesting that enhanced metabolic degradation may be a factor in pyrethroid tolerance in this species. Diagnostic concentrations for monitoring tolerance in field-collected bollworm males were determined for all insecticides tested. The results reported here validate use of the adult vial test to monitor for tolerance to insecticides in the bollworm, and provide information useful for the development of a resistance management strategy intended to extend the efficacy of insecticides used to control the bollworm.
Quality of Life in Children with Hearing Impairment: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

ObjectiveTo determine the impact of pediatric hearing loss (HL) on quality of life (QOL).Data SourcesA qualified medical librarian conducted a literature search for relevant publications that evaluate QOL in school-aged children with HL.Review MethodsStudies were assessed independently by 2 reviewers for inclusion in the systematic review and meta-analysis.ResultsFrom 979 abstracts, 69 were identified as relevant; ultimately, 40 articles were included in the systematic review. This review revealed that children with HL generally report a lower QOL than their normal-hearing peers and that QOL improves after interventions. The extent of these differences is variable among studies and depends on the QOL measure. Four studies using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) had sufficient data for inclusion in a meta-analysis. After studies were pooled, statistically and clinically significant differences in PedsQL scores were found between children with normal hearing and those with HL, specifically in...
Tree algorithm for solving assignment problem

A tree algorithm for solving assignment problem is introduced in the paper.The tree algorithm develops communication between assignment project and tree branch,and each assignment project is corresponding to a branch.It discussed all the possible assignment projects by drawing assignment tree and eventually got optimal assignment project after comparison.The algorithm is easy to get known and master,and it's able to search out all of assignment projects and apt to program.
Study on improving rice wine acidity

Acid is an important part composing rice wine body.Six ways to improve the acidity of rice wine was proposed through practices:(1) improving cooked rice acidity;(2) selecting wine yeast that can produce suitable acid to cultivate seed starter;(3) choosing the fermentation form of "first quick,then slow";(4) controlling the maturity of fermented broth;(5) improving the quality of water used in fermentation;(6) adding edible organic acid after mixing with acidic wine.
Peripheral intravenous therapy-related phlebitis rates in an adult population.

To determine the incidence of peripheral intravenous therapy-related phlebitis in an adult population, 305 peripheral i.v. catheter sites were observed from the time of admission of the patient (or initiation of the first peripheral i.v. catheter) to the time of the participant's discharge from the facility (or 48 hours after the removal of the final catheter). Parameters monitored included patient demographics, diagnosis, i.v. fluids and medications, type of peripheral catheter, dwell time, and dressing integrity. Results showed that of the 10 cases of phlebitis found in nine study subjects, all were associated with catheters indwelling less than 72 hours. In three cases, although the catheter site was clear at the time of catheter removal, postinfusion phlebitis developed within 24 hours. Catheter site locations, diagnoses, medications, and i.v. fluids in these cases were varied.
Deep Barbiturate Anesthesia in the Multi-Staged Treatment of Large Deep AVMs

Surgical treatment of large AVMs (greater than 4 cm in diameter) of the cerebral hemisphere which are associated with significant arteriovenous shunting can lead to the occurrence of sudden catastrophic cerebral swelling and/or hemorrhage with resultant morbidity and mortality. In order to reduce the incidence of this unfavorable outcome, multi-stage excision of large AVMs has evolved. Even though the incidence of malignant swelling and/or hemorrhage has been reduced and the outcome of treatment has improved, sudden swelling and/or hemorrhage nevertheless does occasionally occur. In these situations, the emergent administration of high doses of barbiturates has been most effective in reducing increased intra-cranial pressure. Even then, severe impairment of the extruded cerebrum can ensue leading to marked disability. In order to prevent and protect the brain from these insults, we developed and instituted the use of an anesthetic technique consisting of the elective administration of high dose barbiturate combined with moderate hypothermia. The intent was to achieve the lowest possible cerebral blood flow and cerebral blood volume at the time of AVM resection so as to minimize vascular engorgement and the magnitude of any sudden hemodynamic changes in the AVM and the surrounding tissues. With the institution of this anesthetic regimen, the incidence of sudden cerebral swelling/hemorrhage has been reduced. The attendant treatment results have also improved suggesting that the use of elective, high dose barbiturate anesthesia may have a role in the surgical treatment of large high flow AVMs.
Evaluation of Prenatal and Pediatric Group Visits in a Residency Training Program

BACKGROUND: It is well established that group visits offer an appropriate alternative to individual care with respect to efficiency, clinical effectiveness, and patient and provider satisfaction and are feasible in the training setting. The purpose of this paper is to describe resident educational outcomes from participation in prenatal and well-child group visits over the last 6 years. METHODS: We surveyed the 48 physicians who graduated from the University of North Carolina Family Medicine Residency from 2006 through 2011 regarding their current scope of practice, the number of group visits they experienced, and the educational value of group visits. RESULTS: Thirty-four (71%) of graduates responded. Twelve respondents (35%) include prenatal care in their current practice, 29 (85%) include pediatric care, and five (15%) include group visits. As residents, all respondents participated in group visits. Respondents most valued what they learned in group visits from patient questions, from the exposure to a bolus of patients at the same stage of development, and from faculty role modeling. CONCLUSIONS: Group visits are a potentially valuable adjunct to the standard training experience, with benefits for learning efficiency, scope of practice, and the promotion of patient-centered care that can be carried forward into practice.
Anomalous Like-Sign Dimuon Charge Asymmetry

I present an updated measurement of the anomalous like-sign dimuon charge asymmetry A b for semi-leptonic b-hadron decays in 9.0 fb 1 of pp collisions recorded with the D0 detector at a center-of-mass energy of p s = 1.96 TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. The D0 collaboration obtains A b = ( 0.787± 0.172 (stat)± 0.093 (syst))%. This result differs by 3.9 standard deviations from the prediction of the standard model and provides evidence for anomalously large CP violation in semi-leptonic neutral B decay. The dependence of the observed asymmetry on the muon impact parameter is consistent with the hypothesis that it originates from semi-leptonic b-hadron decays.
What Does Society Owe Political Cartoonists

Political cartoonists challenge the government, question societal norms, and contribute to public discussion. They may show the public instances of injustice and help society to understand our own roles and responsibilities within the community. Yet, cartoonists are facing significant challenges in modern society. As the newspaper industry has struggled financially, fewer news organizations have continued to maintain a staff cartoonist. The shootings at France’s satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo served as a reminder of the dangers that cartoonists can face if they publish controversial cartoons. Through applications of John Rawls’ political liberalism and communitarianism, this paper examines what cartoonists contribute to societal justice and their role in the community. It argues that society owes cartoonists the liberties that they need to continue upholding justice, but that cartoonists have responsibilities to the community.
Agent-based modeling to simulate the dynamics of urban water supply: Climate, population growth, and water shortages

Abstract The sustainability of water resources depends on the dynamic interactions among the environmental, technological, and social characteristics of the water system and local population. These interactions can cause supply-demand imbalances at diverse temporal scales, and the response of consumers to water use regulations impacts future water availability. This research develops a dynamic modeling approach to simulate supply-demand dynamics using an agent-based modeling framework that couple models of consumers and utility managers with water system models. Households are represented as agents, and their water use behaviors are represented as rules. A water utility manager agent enacts water use restrictions, based on fluctuations in the reservoir water storage. Water balance in a reservoir is simulated, and multiple climate scenarios are used to test the sensitivity of water availability to changes in streamflow, precipitation, and temperature. The framework is applied to the water supply system in Raleigh, North Carolina to assess sustainability of drought management plans. Model accuracy is assessed using statistical metrics, and sustainability is calculated for a projected period as the satisfaction or deficit of meeting municipal demands. Multiple climate change scenarios are created by perturbing average monthly values of historical inflow, precipitation, and evapotranspiration data. Results demonstrate the use of the agent-based modeling approach to project the effectiveness of management policies and recommend drought policies for improving the sustainability of urban water resources.
Efficacy of partially hydrolyzed corn syrup solids as a replacement for lactose in manufactured liquid diets for neonatal pigs.

Feeding manufactured liquid diets to early-weaned pigs improves growth performance and reduces days to market weight compared with pigs receiving pelleted dry feed. Few alternative dietary ingredients are utilized in manufactured liquid diets other than byproducts of the dairy industry, especially for sources of carbohydrates. This experiment was designed to evaluate the efficacy of starch from partially hydrolyzed corn syrup solids (CSS), at two different levels of hydrolyzation, as a replacement for lactose in manufactured liquid diets. Forty-eight pigs were removed from sows at 1 d of age and randomly assigned to one of three treatments: 1) control with lactose as the carbohydrate source, 2) lactose replaced (gram for gram) with CSS (dextrose equivalent [DE]-20), and 3) lactose replaced with DE-42. In addition, 10 pigs were randomly removed from several litters to provide estimates of initial body composition and small intestinal variables. Twenty-four pigs were removed from the study on d 10 of treatment, and the remaining 24 pigs were removed on d 20 of treatment. Pigs averaged 9,845 +/- 191 g at d 20 of treatment regardless of dietary treatment (P > 0.20). No differences in ADG, ADFI, or feed efficiency were detected between treatment groups from d 0 to 20 (P > 0.19). Whole-body water, protein, lipid, and ash accretion rates were unaffected by dietary treatment from d 0 to 10 or from d 0 to 20 (P > 0.20). The replacement of lactose with CSS did not affect intestinal villi height or width, or crypt depth (P > 0.10). Pigs fed lactose tended to have greater lactase activity on d 10 than pigs fed CSS (P 0.12). Plasma urea nitrogen concentrations were unaffected by diet on d 10 and 20 of treatment. In addition, dry matter digestibility of the diets averaged approximately 85.6 +/- 0.8% and was unaffected by dietary treatment or day of treatment. These results suggest that partially hydrolyzed CSS can be used as a replacement for lactose in manufactured liquid diets for neonatal pigs.
Histologically defined intratumoral sequencing uncovers evolutionary cues into conserved molecular events driving gliomagenesis.

Background Glioblastoma represents an archetypal example of a heterogeneous malignancy. To understand the diverse molecular consequences of this complex tumor ecology, we analyzed RNA-seq data generated from commonly identified intratumoral structures in glioblastoma enriched using laser capture microdissection. Methods Raw gene-level values of fragments per kilobase of transcript per million reads mapped and the associated clinical data were acquired from the publicly available Ivy Glioblastoma Atlas Project database and analyzed using MetaboAnalyst (v3.0). The database includes gene expression data generated from multiple structural features commonly identified in glioblastoma enriched by laser capture microdissection. Results We uncovered a relationship between subtype heterogeneity in glioblastoma and its unique tumor microenvironment, with infiltrating cells harboring a proneural signature while the mesenchymal subtype was enriched in perinecrotic regions. When evaluating the tumors' transcriptional profiles in the context of their derived structural regions, there was a relatively small amount of intertumoral heterogeneity in glioblastoma, with individual regions from different tumors clustering tightly together. Analyzing the transcriptional profiles in the context of evolutionary progression identified unique cellular programs associated with specific phases of gliomagenesis. Mediators of cell signaling and cell cycle progression appear to be critical events driving proliferation in the tumor core, while in addition to a multiplex strategy for promoting angiogenesis and/or an immune-tolerant environment, transformation to perinecrotic zones involved global metabolic alterations. Conclusion These findings suggest that intratumoral heterogeneity in glioblastoma is a conserved, predictable consequence to its complex microenvironment, and combinatorial approaches designed to target these unequivocally present tumor biomes may lead to therapeutic gains.
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and fire effects on flowering diversity of tallgrass prairie forbs1

We studied the effect of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann) browsing and fire on diversity and number of prairie-forb flowering stems in a remnant tallgrass prairie in northern Illinois. Our study included two plots protected from deer browsing since 1992 and two unprotected plots. All plots were burned twice in late April of 1990 and 1991. Deer densities of 32–50 km−2 (1992–96) declined to 7–9 km−2 in 1998 and 1999 after controlled hunting. Similarity between protected and unprotected plots was initially 82%, declined to 49% during the period of high deer density, and increased to 68% in 2001 with managed hunting. Flowering stems for all forbs were tallied in 1998–2001. Diversity (Shannon index [H′] and effective number of stems [HO]) of flowering stems was higher on protected than on unprotected plots for all study years. Differences in composition and diversity between protected and unprotected plots were associated with interactions between fire and protection from deer browsing as measured by total number of flowering stems, which was significantly higher on protected than on unprotected plots in nonburn years (3.4–3.5-fold) but not in burn years (1.0–1.2-fold). The two leading species on protected plots (ashy sunflower [Helianthus mollis Lam.] and Culver's root [Veronicastrum virginicum (L.) Farw.]) tended to have fewer flowering stems in burn years and always had them in protected plots (54-fold and 70-fold higher in protected plots for the two species, respectively). For the second leading species on unprotected sites (wild quinine [Parthenium integrifolium L.]), the number of flowering stems was significantly higher in burn years (27-fold); however, there was no significant difference in the number of stems between protected and unprotected plots. These results show strong interactions between fire and deer-browsing disturbances in communities recovering from deer overabundance.
TREM2 deficiency attenuates neuroinflammation and protects against neurodegeneration in a mouse model of tauopathy

Variants in the gene encoding the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) were recently found to increase the risk for developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the brain, TREM2 is predominately expressed on microglia, and its association with AD adds to increasing evidence implicating a role for the innate immune system in AD initiation and progression. Thus far, studies have found TREM2 is protective in the response to amyloid pathology while variants leading to a loss of TREM2 function impair microglial signaling and are deleterious. However, the potential role of TREM2 in the context of tau pathology has not yet been characterized. In this study, we crossed Trem2+/+ (T2+/+) and Trem2-/- (T2-/-) mice to the PS19 human tau transgenic line (PS) to investigate whether loss of TREM2 function affected tau pathology, the microglial response to tau pathology, or neurodegeneration. Strikingly, by 9 mo of age, T2-/-PS mice exhibited significantly less brain atrophy as quantified by ventricular enlargement and preserved cortical volume in the entorhinal and piriform regions compared with T2+/+PS mice. However, no TREM2-dependent differences were observed for phosphorylated tau staining or insoluble tau levels. Rather, T2-/-PS mice exhibited significantly reduced microgliosis in the hippocampus and piriform cortex compared with T2+/+PS mice. Gene expression analyses and immunostaining revealed microglial activation was significantly attenuated in T2-/-PS mice, and there were lower levels of inflammatory cytokines and astrogliosis. These unexpected findings suggest that impairing microglial TREM2 signaling reduces neuroinflammation and is protective against neurodegeneration in the setting of pure tauopathy.
Molecular Mechanisms for CFIm-Mediated Regulation of mRNA Alternative Polyadenylation

Alternative mRNA processing is a critical mechanism for proteome expansion and gene regulation in higher eukaryotes. The SR family proteins play important roles in splicing regulation. Intriguingly, mammalian genomes encode many poorly characterized SR-like proteins, including subunits of the mRNA 3'-processing factor CFIm, CFIm68 and CFIm59. Here we demonstrate that CFIm functions as an enhancer-dependent activator of mRNA 3' processing. CFIm regulates global alternative polyadenylation (APA) by specifically binding and activating enhancer-containing poly(A) sites (PASs). Importantly, the CFIm activator functions are mediated by the arginine-serine repeat (RS) domains of CFIm68/59, which bind specifically to an RS-like region in the CPSF subunit Fip1, and this interaction is inhibited by CFIm68/59 hyper-phosphorylation. The remarkable functional similarities between CFIm and SR proteins suggest that interactions between RS-like domains in regulatory and core factors may provide a common activation mechanism for mRNA 3' processing, splicing, and potentially other steps in RNA metabolism.
Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

This chapter will discuss the epidemiology, workup, and management of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, with an emphasis on external beam radiotherapy technique and published evidence.
Personal and contextual factors related to teachers’ experience with stress and burnout

Teaching has been characterised as a stressful profession that is prone to burnout. Less is known about the specific ways in which teachers experience and navigate stressors associated with their w...