cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract NS 12: Caregiver-Provider Interactions Impact Preparedness of Family Caregivers of Stroke Survivors

Background and Purpose: Research illuminates the importance of integrating family caregivers of stroke survivors into the rehabilitation phase of the stroke trajectory. Despite this, caregivers continue to express insufficient preparation for post-discharge care duties, resulting in poor caregiver and survivor mental and physical health. The purpose of this study was to identify how caregivers experienced their interactions with healthcare providers during rehabilitation and how these interactions impacted their perceived preparedness for caregiving. Methods: We used grounded theory with a symbolic interactionist lens in a secondary analysis of pre-discharge and one-month follow-up interviews of 14 patient/family caregiver dyads from two inpatient rehabilitation facilities. Data were analyzed using card sort, axial coding, and constant comparative methods, focusing primarily on identifying and understanding how caregivers described their interactions with providers. Results: Caregivers described a circular process of both direct and indirect interactions with providers, each resulting in a level of awareness of preparedness which in turn impacted caregivers’ later interactions with providers. Interactions focused primarily on one of two outcomes - to improve survivor status/functional ability or to improve caregiver preparedness. Caregivers described providers as focused more on immediate survivor-specific outcomes while interactions to improve caregiver preparedness were often initiated by active caregivers. Caregivers who were more passive in their interactions with providers described a lower level of awareness of preparation for caregiving. Conclusions: Current interactions between family caregivers and healthcare providers in rehabilitation settings focus primarily on immediate stroke survivor outcomes. Although some caregivers are more active in advocating for more preparation of their new role, others are not being assessed or prepared for the care they are expected to provide post-discharge. Further research is warranted on the current state of caregiver assessment for caregiving tasks and level of preparation for care, with inclusion of data from both caregivers and healthcare providers.
Conflict Resolution and Membership Problem in Beeping Channels

Consider a group of nodes connected through multiple-access channels and the only observable feedback on the channel is a binary value: either one or more nodes have transmitted (busy), or no node has transmitted (idle). The channel model thus described is called Beeping Model and captures computation in hardware using a group of sequential circuit modules connected by a logic-OR gate. It has also been used to study chemical signaling mechanisms between biological cells and carrier-sensing based wireless communication.
Imperfectly grown periodic medium: absence of localized states

We consider a discrete model of the d-dimensional medium with Hamiltonian ∆ + v; the lattice potential v is constructed recursively on a nested sequence of cubes Qn obtained by successive inflations with integer coefficients. Initially, the potential is defined on the cube Q0. At the nth step the potential, which is already constructed on the cube Qn−1, gets extended Qn−1-periodically to the cube Qn; then its values at mn randomly chosen points of Qn are arbitrarily changed. This alternating process of periodic extension and introduction of impurities goes on, resulting in an (in general, unbounded) potential v. We show that if the size of the cube Qn grows fast enough with n while the sequence mn grows not too fast, then the Schrodinger operator ∆ + v almost surely does not have eigenvalues.
Aging and serum MCP-1 are associated with gut microbiome composition in a murine model

Introduction. Age is the primary risk factor for major human chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disorders, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases. Chronic, low-grade, systemic inflammation is associated with aging and the progression of immunosenescence. Immunosenescence may play an important role in the development of age-related chronic disease and the widely observed phenomenon of increased production of inflammatory mediators that accompany this process, referred to as “inflammaging.” While it has been demonstrated that the gut microbiome and immune system interact, the relationship between the gut microbiome and age remains to be clearly defined, particularly in the context of inflammation. The aim of our study was to clarify the associations between age, the gut microbiome, and pro-inflammatory marker serum MCP-1 in a C57BL/6 murine model. Results. We used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to profile the composition of fecal microbiota associated with young and aged mice. Our analysis identified an association between microbiome structure and mouse age and revealed specific groups of taxa whose abundances stratify young and aged mice. This includes the Ruminococcaceae, Clostridiaceae, and Enterobacteriaceae. We also profiled pro-inflammatory serum MCP-1 levels of each mouse and found that aged mice exhibited elevated serum MCP-1, a phenotype consistent with inflammaging. Robust correlation tests identified several taxa whose abundance in the microbiome associates with serum MCP-1 status, indicating that they may interact with the mouse immune system. We find that taxonomically similar organisms can exhibit differing, even opposite, patterns of association with the host immune system. We also find that many of the OTUs that associate with serum MCP-1 stratify individuals by age. Discussion. Our results demonstrate that gut microbiome composition is associated with age and the pro-inflammatory marker, serum MCP-1. The correlation between age, relative abundance of specific taxa in the gut microbiome, and serum MCP-1 status in mice indicates that the gut microbiome may play a modulating role in age-related inflammatory processes. These findings warrant further investigation of taxa associated with the inflammaging phenotype and the role of gut microbiome in the health status and immune function of aged individuals.
Action of Veratrine on Medullated Nerve

Fromherz1 has recently investigated the effect of veratrine and other drugs upon the electrical response of medullated nerve, using a moving coil galvanometer as a measuring instrument. He detects little difference in response between normal and veratrinized nerve, if the nerve is suspended in oxygen throughout. If, however, veratrinized nerve be asphyxiated and allowed to recover in oxygen, he finds that the after-potential after a single shock or short tetanus may last as long as 10 minutes. We have reinvestigated the action of veratrine on the sciatic nerve of R. pipiens with the cathode ray oscillograph, and find that if the concentration is suitably adjusted to the temperature, typical veratrine after-potentials as measured out to one-half second can be obtained whether the nerve is in air or in oxygen. The results of Graham and Gasser2 are therefore not due to partially asphyxial conditions, as suggested by Fromherz1 and Hill.5In order to study the after-potential throughout its course we have modif...
Abstract LB-76: A study of neoadjuvant bevacizumab with standard chemoradiation versus chemoradiation alone in locally advanced rectal cancer

The anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibody bevacizumab is increasingly being tested with pre-operative (neoadjuvant) regimens in patients with localized cancer, but its effects on metastasis and survival remain unknown. This study examined the outcome of clinical stage II/III rectal cancer patients treated on a prospective phase II study of bevacizumab based chemoradiation and surgery to a contemporarily treated group of patients with standard chemoradiation and surgery at the same institution (Duke University Medical Center). Outcome analyses were performed on: 1. thirty-two patients treated prospectively from 2002 to 2008 with neoadjuvant bevacizumab, 5-fluorouracil and radiation therapy and surgery; versus 2. forty-two patients treated from 2004 to 2008 with capecitabine, radiation therapy and surgery. The current median follow-up is 3 years. While local control was 100% in both groups (i.e., there was no local recurrence), the patients treated with bevacizumab-based chemoradiation and surgery showed statistically significantly higher overall survival rates and a trend higher disease-free survival rates than patients treated with chemoradiation alone and surgery. No statistically significant differences were observed in local control or toxicity between the two groups. These data indicate that adding bevacizumab to neoadjuvant chemoradiation compares favorably to chemoradiation alone in a contemporary population of rectal cancer patients. The efficacy of neoadjuvant bevacizumab will have to be established prospectively in randomized studies, but bevacizumab with standard chemoradiation and surgery shows promising safety profiles and does not appear to increase metastasis after three years in locally advanced rectal cancer patients. This study was partially supported by NIH grants R21-CA99237, P01-CA80124, R01-CA115767, R01-CA85140, R01-CA126642 and Federal Share/NCI Proton Beam Program Income grants, and by the National Foundation for Cancer Research. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-76.
Reply to "Behavior of electric susceptibility and electroclinic coefficient near the chiral smectic A − C * transition"

Very near the chiral smectic-$A$\char22{}smectic-$C$ phase transition, the correlation length of the fluctuations in the smectic-$A$ phase is larger than the pitch of the helical structure within the fluctuations. Above this temperature regime near the transition, the electroclinic coefficient is a good approximation to the generalized susceptibility of the chiral smectic system. Present indications are that this temperature regime is on the order of 20 mK in extent.
Resistance of Sunflower Species to the Western Potato Leafhopper

Twenty-nine species of sunflower ( Helianthus ) and Viguiera porteri (Gray) Blake were evaluated in the laboratory for resistance to the western potato leafhopper, Empoasca abrupta DeLong. Leafhopper development was significantly (5% level) prolonged and survival was significantly decreased on most of the Helianthus species than on cultivated H. annuus L., hybrid variety 896 when plants were initially colonized by nymphs. Colonization of plants by adult leafhoppers resulted in significantly smaller (10% level) populations on 14 Helianthus species but significantly larger populations on 3 Helianthus species than on hybrid 896 1 month after the initial infestation. Injury to plants of most Helianthus species ranged from no symptoms to moderate chlorosis 7 days after infestation, but plants of 20 species exhibited moderate chlorosis to wilting after 1 month. Eight of the resistant Helianthus species could be utilized as a source of leafhopper resistance in cultivated sunflower quite readily because of their crossing compatibility.
61 EFFECT OF COLD ISCHEMIA ON THE FUNCTION AND SURVIVAL OF RENAL ALLOGRAFTS.

Use of kidneys from extended criteria donors (ECD) and donors after cardiac death (DCD) has increased due to scarcity of standard criteria donor (SCD) kidneys. DCD kidneys due to preprocurement ischemia and ECD kidneys due to marginal quality are likely to suffer from delayed graft function (DGF) and early graft loss. Any prolonged cold ischemia time (CIT) is likely to add to the injury, although this has not been specifically addressed. We examined the relationship between CIT and the function and survival of these kidneys and compared to SCD kidneys using the 2004 UNOS data set. In 2000, 9,469 (87%) kidneys were SCD, 165 (2%) were DCD, and 1,191(11%) were ECD. The donor age were 31 ± 14 years and 34 ± 17 years for SCD and DCD and higher at 60 ± 6 years for ECD kidneys (mean ± SD). CIT were similar: 18.6 ± 8.3 hours, 19.0 ± 8.4 hours, and 18.7 ± 8.3 hours. The HLA mismatches were not different, but the recipient age was higher for ECD (52 ± 13 years) than for DCD (48 ± 13 years) or SCD kidneys (43 ± 14 years) (p
Failure of the Jonas prosthesis.

AbstractA total of 27 patients received the standard Jonas silicone-silver penile prosthesis. The procedure was done at 3 separate hospitals by 2 surgical teams. Four patients who were reported on previously presented consecutively to our clinic with failed penile rigidity and complete multiple wire fractures were found at reoperation. Therefore, the remaining 23 patients were reviewed and 7 had positive findings suggesting fracture, including decreased penile rigidity, crackling that was audible or palpable and/or evidence of fracture on an x-ray. Seven patients had completely negative evaluations and 9 were lost to followup. Two patients with suspicious x-ray findings and 1 with negative x-ray findings but who reported less rigidity have since had the prostheses removed, and all had multiple wire fractures.Radiographs of fractured prostheses, both in the penis and explanted, attest to the limited reliability of x-ray in the diagnosis of wire fracture.
The points for pacing.

In this issue of the Journal , the study by Higgins et al. [(1)][1]from the trial of resynchronization therapy provides the opportunity to assess the current status of both the application of biventricular pacing and the construction of trial end points for new therapies in heart failure (HF). The
Blunt Urinary Tract Trauma: Identifying Those Patients Who Require Radiological Diagnostic Studies

AbstractWe evaluated prospectively 506 consecutive patients who presented with a history of blunt trauma and hematuria. All patients initially underwent excretory urography and cystography. Of the 506 patients 25 had detectable urinary tract injuries that were confirmed either by the initial studies or by computerized tomography, angiography or direct intraoperative inspection. Diagnoses included 7 renal contusions, 7 renal lacerations (1 major and 6 minor), 1 renal artery injury, 3 intraperitoneal and 5 extraperitoneal bladder ruptures, and 2 urethral injuries. Of the 25 patients 21 presented with gross hematuria, including all of those with lower tract injuries. One of the 4 patients who presented with microhematuria was hospitalized in shock. Of the remaining 3 patients with microhematuria and no shock 1 had a minor renal laceration and 2 had renal contusions. All 3 patients were managed conservatively and all 3 were hospitalized chiefly for associated nonurological injuries. If the patients who presen...
On the Error Floor of MC-CDMA Systems over Rayleigh Fading Channels: Uplink vs. Downlink

The paper studies the error floor performance of uplink and downlink multicarrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA) over Rayleigh fading channels. Error floor is investigated for MC-CDMA systems with equal gain combiner (EGC) and minimum mean square error combiner (MMSEC). An integrated theoretical-numerical method is proposed to evaluate the error floor for EGC. Curve fitting approach is used to find a closed form expression for the error floor of MMSEC. These closed form expressions help designers to study the impact of error floor in the uplink without running time consuming simulations. The results depict that MC-CDMA performance is highly degraded in the uplink compared to the downlink.
Experimental Demonstration of Reflection and Refraction of Optical Pulses from Temporal Boundaries

We experimentally implement the proposal of Plansinis et al.[PRL 115, 183910 (2015)] using slow light in Rubidium vapor. Time-dependent frequency shifts on probe pulses behave like angles in the analogous spatial reflection and refraction from classical optics.
Requirement for CD4 Help for Optimal GVL Effects of Alloreactive T Cells Given to Established Mixed Chimeras but Not Freshly Irradiated Mice.

Abstract Donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) may lead to lymphohematopoietic graft-versus-host (GVH) reactions without graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD). The graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effect of DLI is greater in mixed chimeras than in full chimeras following fully MHC-mismatched bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Some studies showed, following MHC-mismatched BMT, that only CD8+ T cells are involved in GVL effects of DLI against MHC class I+ class II− tumors, but others showed that the GVL effect of DLI is dependent on both CD8+ and CD4+ T cells. Previously, we have observed that GVL against EL4 is mediated by CD8+ T cells but not CD4+ T cells following DLI in freshly irradiated mice treated with cytokines to reduce GVHD mortality in fully MHC-mismatched BMT. The exact contribution of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells to the GVL effects of DLI in established mixed chimeras is not known. We hypothesized that lethal conditioning leads to the production of many proinflammatory cytokines which may help to generate a CD4 cell-independent, CD8 cell-mediated anti-tumor effect. However, in delayed DLI recipients, CD4+ helper T cells might be needed to induce CD8+ anti-tumor effector cells. We evaluated the role of T-cell subsets in GVL effects of DLI following fully major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-mismatched BMT in freshly irradiated mice and mixed chimeric delayed DLI recipients. While GVL effects of delayed DLI given to established mixed chimeras were dependent on both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells did not contribute to GVL effects in freshly irradiated mice. Consistent with this, MHC class II expression on host antigen-presenting cells (APCs) was needed to optimize GVL effects of DLI in established mixed chimeras. To address whether cross-presentation of tumor antigens (Ag) via class I would permit GVL responses in full chimeras, we generated full chimeras in which donor and recipient shared a class I locus. However, there were no GVL effects of delayed DLI in full chimeras, providing no evidence that cross-presentation of tumor Ag through class I molecules shared by donor and the tumor led to anti-tumor effects in this model. We conclude that following delayed DLI to established mixed chimeras, the GVL response requires extensive MHC disparity, MHC class II expression on host APCs and the presence of CD4+ T cells. In contrast, the requirement for CD4+ T cells can be bypassed in freshly irradiated recipients, but this occurs at the expense of a greater risk of GVHD. Administration of delayed DLI to mixed chimeras permits achievement of optimal GVL effects because large numbers of GVH-reactive T cells can be administered without inducing GVHD.
Rural-Urban Differences in Access to Preventive Health Care Among Publicly Insured Minnesotans

Purpose Reduced access to care and barriers have been shown in rural populations and in publicly insured populations. Barriers limiting health care access in publicly insured populations living in rural areas are not understood. This study investigates rural-urban differences in system-, provider-, and individual-level barriers and access to preventive care among adults and children enrolled in a public insurance program in Minnesota. Methods This was a secondary analysis of a 2008 statewide, cross-sectional survey of publicly insured adults and children (n = 4,388) investigating barriers associated with low utilization of preventive care. Sampling was stratified with oversampling of racial/ethnic minorities. Results Rural enrollees were more likely to report no past year preventive care compared to urban enrollees. However, this difference was no longer statistically significant after controlling for demographic and socioeconomic factors (OR: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.00-1.88). Provider- and system-level barriers associated with low use of preventive care among rural enrollees included discrimination based on public insurance status (OR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.34-2.38), cost of care concerns (OR: 1.72, 95% CI: 1.03-2.89) and uncertainty about care being covered by insurance (OR: 1.70, 95% CI: 1.01-2.85). These and additional provider-level barriers were also identified among urban enrollees. Conclusions Discrimination, cost of care, and uncertainty about insurance coverage inhibit access in both the rural and urban samples. These barriers are worthy targets of interventions for publicly insured populations regardless of residence. Future studies should investigate additional factors associated with access disparities based on rural-urban residence.
Weill Cornell Medicine: A History of Cornell’s Medical School

Discovering the history of not only Cornell’s Medical School, but also its hospital and the evolution of these institutions and their place in medical history promised to be an engaging read.
Impact of cell adhesion and migration on nanoparticle uptake and cellular toxicity

In vitro cell-nanoparticle (NP) studies involve exposure of NPs onto the monolayer cells growing at the bottom of a culture plate, and assumed that the NPs evenly distributed for a dose-responsive effect. However, only a few proportion of the administered dose reaches the cells depending on their size, shape, surface, and density. Often the amount incubated (administered dose) is misled as a responsive dose. Herein, we proposed a cell adhesion-migration (CAM) strategy, where cells incubated with the NP coated cell culture substrate to maximize the cell-NP interaction and investigated the physiological properties of the cells. In the present study, cell adhesion and migration pattern of human breast cancer cell (MCF-7) and mouse melanoma cell (B16-F10) on cell culture substrate decorated with toxic (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB) and biocompatible (poly (sodium 4-styrenesulphonate), PSS) gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) of different sizes (5 and 40nm) were investigated and evaluated for cellular uptake efficiency, proliferation, and toxicity. Results showed enhanced cell adhesion, migration, and nanoparticle uptake only on biocompatible PSS coated AuNP, irrespective of its size. Whereas, cytotoxic NP shows retard proliferation with reduced cellular uptake efficiency. Considering the importance of cell adhesion and migration on cellular uptake and cytotoxicity assessment of nanoparticle, CAM strategy would hold great promises in cell-NP interaction studies.
Faculty-Librarian Collaboration: Meeting the Information Technology Challenges of Distance Education

AbstractInformation technology and distance learning are growing dramatically in the new millennium. Given the multidisciplinary nature of public administration and the constant growth of electronic information, the value of forming faculty-librarian partnerships is amplified for distance education courses in public affairs. This article describes just such a partnership between a faculty member and a librarian in developing course-specific library research tutorials for online courses. It begins by identifying and summarizing a variety of online resources that are useful for public administration research and provides a general description of how librarians can provide support. This is followed by a discussion of the collaborative effort, including the decision points, the content of the modules, and the mechanics of online collaboration. To offer a complete picture of the collaboration process, the article concludes with the perceptions of a graduate student who completed the program, survey data from s...
Holograph versus maximum-intensity projection display of neurovascular anatomy and pathology

We compared the commonly used maximum-intensity projection (MIP) algorithm for extracting information for three-dimensional (3D) rendering with a holographic technique for true 3D volume display. The holographic technique uses all the data generated by magnetic resonance angiography, whereas MIP selects only certain data to create a rendering.
Mechanistic Concepts in Androgen-dependence of Prostate Cancer

Androgen blockade is the mainstay of therapy in the clinical management of advanced prostate cancer. Recent progress on two fronts – the development of newer xenograft and transgenic models and a greater understanding of nuclear receptor signaling – has provided new insight into mechanisms of androgen-dependence in prostate cancer. This review centers on the concept that perturbations in androgen receptor signaling are likely to occur early in prostate cancer and play a critical role in progression to end stage hormone-refractory disease.
An efficient synthesis of trace amine‐associated receptor agonist [1‐14C]tyramine

The 2-step synthesis of [1-14 C]tyramine hydrochloride is described with the product being characterized by TLC, HPLC, and UV spectroscopy. Several methods are provided to purify [1-14 C]tyramine hydrochloride, and its storage and stability are also discussed.
Sex differences in hedonic and homeostatic aspects of palatable food motivation

Feeding behaviors can be modified via homeostatic and hedonic mechanisms. Homeostasis, while primarily concerned with maintaining energy balance via food consumption and energy expenditure, can alter food reward and motivation in response to food deprivation. Alternatively, reward and motivation of food is also driven by its palatability or hedonic nature, and this process can be augmented by opioid receptor activation. The present study examined sex differences in the motivational properties of sucrose pellets through manipulation of homeostatic and hedonic processes via acute food deprivation and acute systemic administration of morphine, respectively. The results showed that regardless of sex, systemic injections of morphine did not alter the motivation to obtain a sucrose pellet on a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement but does significantly increase consumption of sucrose pellets when freely available. Male and female rats demonstrated similar increased consumption of sucrose pellets under free feeding conditions following acute (24-hours) food deprivation, compared to the non-deprived conditions. Overall, the findings from these experiments indicate that female rats work harder in order to obtain a sucrose pellet (under a Progressive Ratio (PR) schedule of reinforcement) and consume more sucrose pellets than males. However, while acute morphine administration causes similar increases on feeding in males and females, it does not alter motivation as measured by breakpoint on a PR schedule of reinforcement.
Navigation Based Path Planning by Optimal Control Theory

Previous studies have shown that implementing trajectory optimization can reduce state estimations errors. These navigation based path planning problems are often diffcult to solve being computationally burdensome and exhibiting other numerical issues, so former studies have often used lower- delity methods or lacked explanatory power.This work utilizes indirect optimization methods, particularly optimal control theory, to obtain high-quality solutions minimizing state estimation errors approximated by a continuous-time extended Kalman lter. Indirect methods are well-suited to this because necessary conditions of optimality are found prior to discretization and numerical computation. They are also highly parallelizable enabling application to increasingly larger problems.A simple one dimensional problem shows some potential obstacles to solving problems of this type including regions of the trajectory where the control is unimportant. Indirect trajectory optimization is applied to a more complex scenario to minimize location estimation errors of a single cart traveling in a 2-D plane to a goal location and measuring range from a xed beacon. This resulted in a 96% reduction of the location error variance when compared to the minimum time solution. The single cart problem also highlights the importance of the matrix that encodes the linearization of the vehicle's measurement with respect to state. It is shown in this case that the vehicle roughly attempts to maximize the magnitude of its elements. Additionally, the cart problem further illustrates problematic regions of a design space where the objective is not signi cantly affected by the trajectory.An aircraft descent problem demonstrates the applicability of these methods to aerospace problems. In this case, estimation error variance is reduced 28.6% relative to the maximum terminal energy trajectory. Results are shown from two formulations of this problem, one with control constraints and one with control energy cost, to show the bene ts and disadvantages of the two methods. Furthermore, the ability to perform trade studies on vehicle and trajectory parameters is shown with this problem by solving for di erent terminal velocities and different initial locations.
Aqueous systems at high temperature—X: Investigations on the systems UO3CuOSO3D2O, UO3NiOSO3D2O, and UO3CuONiOSO3D2O, 260–410°C; liquid-liquid immiscibility and critical phenomena

Abstract With the use of the synthetic method, some phase boundaries of liquid-liquid immiscibility and critical phenomena (where L ≏ V ) were determined for the condensed systems UO3CuOSO3D2O, UO3NiOSO3D2O and UO3CuONiOSO3D2O at temperatures from 280 to 410°C, at SO3 concentrations varying from 0·02 to 1·0 molal, and at varying molal ratios, UO3:CuO:NiO. With some of these results, combined with previous data, three-dimensional models were constructed which specified the saturating phases or critical phenomena, and the variation in phase boundaries as a function of temperature (260–430°) and composition (0·02-1·0 molal SO3) for the four-component systems UO3CuOSO3D2O and UO3NiOSO3D2O. In the system containing CuO the second liquid phase predominated as a saturating phase at the higher temperatures and extended from the system UO3SO3D2O to CuOSO3D2O whereas, for the system containing NiO the solid, NiSO4·D2O, was the predominant saturating phase. In both systems a critical surface was defined over which maximum molal ratios, Σ (metallic oxide):SO3, varying from 0·3 to 0·5 were observed. In the two liquid phase regions, as an approximation, CuO, NiO, or both can be stoicheiometrically substituted for UO3 in small amounts in a particular composition without changing appreciably the temperature of liquid-liquid immiscibility.
Al x In 1-x As y Sb 1-y Separate Absorption, Charge, and Multiplication Avalanche Photodiodes for 2-μm Detection

We report separate absorption, charge, and multiplication (SACM) avalanche photodiodes (APDs) in the Al x In 1-x As y Sb 1-y material system for 2-μm detection. Gain, dark current, and low excess noise are demonstrated.
Oral muzzle pressure effects in underwater communication

Abstract: Most underwater communication systems require that a diver-talker speak into an oral muzzle arrangement, and with an air pressure higher than the surrounding water pressure. This investigation studied the effect of varying ambient pressure in the muzzle upon intelligibility of words. There was a systematic relationship between decreased intelligibility scores and increases in ambient pressures. An analysis of phoneme distortions showed that errors of “place” were most common for a group of listeners, and that nasal consonants tended to be heard as fricatives or plosives.
Women & the Vote

There are four contexts in which women have won voting rights: as part of a universal reform for all citizens (15 percent of countries that granted women suffrage); imposed by a conqueror or coloni...
Feeling Your Way Around: Assessing the Perceived Utility of Multi-Scale Indoor Tactile Maps

Tactile maps of indoor spaces have great potential for supporting pre-journey spatial learning by blind travelers. Due to the limited resolution of tactile sensing, though, only a limited amount of spatial detail can be embossed in a map at a certain scale. We conducted a focus group with blind participants in order to obtain some insight on the perceived utility of using multiple maps at different spatial scales, and thus different levels of detail, to represent the interior of a building.
Prediction of blood-based biomarkers and subsequent design of bisulfite PCR-LDR-qPCR assay for breast cancer detection

Interrogation of site-specific CpG methylation in circulating tumor DNAs (ctDNAs) has been employed in a number of studies for early detection of breast cancer (BrCa). In many of these studies, the markers were identified based on known biology of BrCa progression, and interrogated using methyl-specific PCR (MSP), a technique involving bisulfite conversion, PCR, and qPCR. In this report, we are demonstrating the development of a novel assay (Multiplex Bisulfite PCR-LDR-qPCR) which can potentially offer improvements to MSP, by integrating additional steps such as ligase detection reaction (LDR), methylated CpG target enrichment, carryover protection (use of uracil DNA glycosylase), and minimization of primer-dimer formation (use of ribose primers and RNAseH2). The assay is designed to for breast cancer-specific CpG markers identified through integrated analyses of publicly available genome-wide methylation datasets for 31 types of primary tumors (including BrCa), as well as matching normal tissues, and peripheral blood. Our results indicate that the PCR-LDR-qPCR assay is capable of detecting ~ 30 methylated copies of each of 3 BrCa-specific CpG markers, when mixed with excess amount unmethylated CpG markers (~ 3000 copies each), which is a reasonable approximation of BrCa ctDNA overwhelmed with peripheral blood cell-free DNA (cfDNA) when isolated from patient plasma. The bioinformatically-identified CpG markers are located in promoter regions of NR5A2 and PRKCB, and a non-coding region of chromosome 1 (upstream of EFNA3). Additional bioinformatic analyses would reveal that these methylation markers are independent of patient race and age, and positively associated with signaling pathways associated with BrCa progression (such as those related to retinoid nuclear receptor, PTEN, p53, pRB, and p27). This report demonstrates the potential utilization of bisulfite PCR-LDR-qPCR assay, along with bioinformatically-driven biomarker discovery, in blood-based BrCa detection.
Characterization of the Yb-doped glass Anderson localizing optical fiber (Conference Presentation)

Rare-earth-doped glass Anderson localizing optical fibers (g-ALOF) have great potential for novel power, coherence, and spectral properties as the gain medium in fiber lasers. We report on our investigation of the optical properties of Yb-doped g-ALOF near the peak absorption wavelength, especially the localization, and lasing- and gain-related parameters. These include the fluorescence lifetime, emission cross-section, absorption cross-section, saturation power, gain, scattering loss, and background absorption. We also elaborate on several new measurement techniques that were required to obtain these parameters, mainly due to the substantial structural difference between g-ALOFs and conventional fibers.
Aquinas and the Market: Toward a Humane Economy: by Mary L. Hirschfeld. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2018. Pp. 268. $45 (hard-cover edition), ISBN 978-0674986404

In this clearly written and thoughtful book, Mary Hirschfeld draws upon her training as an economist and theologian to provide a new model by which theology can helpfully engage with economics. Spe...
Early-life environment and human capital: evidence from the Philippines

This study examines how human capital develops in response to early-life weather and pollution exposures in the Philippines. Both pollution and weather are examined in relation to short- and long-term human capital outcomes. We combine a three-decade longitudinal survey measuring human capital development, a database of historical weather, and multiple databases characterizing carbon monoxide and ozone in the Philippines during the 1980s. We find evidence that extreme precipitation and temperature affect short-term anthropometric outcomes, but long-term outcomes appear unaffected. For long-term cognitive outcomes, we find that early-life pollution exposures negatively affect test scores and schooling. These long-term responses to early-life pollution exposures extend to the labor market with reduced hours worked and earnings. The implication is that a 25 per cent reduction in early-life ozone exposure would increase per person discounted lifetime earnings by 2.05 billion at the national level (or 2 per cent of 2005 GDP).
Communication: Maximum caliber is a general variational principle for nonequilibrium statistical mechanics

There has been interest in finding a general variational principle for non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. We give evidence that Maximum Caliber (Max Cal) is such a principle. Max Cal, a variant of maximum entropy, predicts dynamical distribution functions by maximizing a path entropy subject to dynamical constraints, such as average fluxes. We first show that Max Cal leads to standard near-equilibrium results—including the Green-Kubo relations, Onsager’s reciprocal relations of coupled flows, and Prigogine’s principle of minimum entropy production—in a way that is particularly simple. We develop some generalizations of the Onsager and Prigogine results that apply arbitrarily far from equilibrium. Because Max Cal does not require any notion of “local equilibrium,” or any notion of entropy dissipation, or temperature, or even any restriction to material physics, it is more general than many traditional approaches. It also applicable to flows and traffic on networks, for example.
SEPARATION STRESS MANAGEMENT AND SMOOTH TRANSITION IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN AND PARENTAL COUNSELING - THEORY AND RESEARCH

Many children and their families experience the state of transition from their family's environment to the school which is the official institution of the organized state. Through the school, the wider socialization, child’s education is taking place at a time characterized by special requirements and needs and with a profound effect on the psych emotional balance of family and child who is in the early stages of their development. Through this paper, an effort is made to record the concerns that family has during the period of the children's transition to school, the preparation made by the family for the transition to an organized educational framework, the expectations of teachers during the transition, the need for a counselling process between school and family and of course, proposals for improvement in managing children's transition from family to school. Article visualizations:
How Did Safety-Net Reform Affect the Education of Adolescents from Low-Income Families?

Abstract Roughly 25 years ago, the US safety net was substantially reformed. Here we ask how those reforms affected the educational attainment of youths who were teens at the time those reforms took place. We take a difference-in-difference approach, following adolescents from two generations roughly 20 years apart. In each generation, we compare two groups, one which was more likely to have been affected by safety-net reform, and one which was less likely to have been affected. Under some assumptions, our approach identifies the joint, or bundled, effects of the constituent policy changes that make up safety-net reform. We find evidence that safety-net reform may have reduced educational attainment for women, and had small positive effects on education for men. We offer suggestions as to why our findings differ from those of previous studies of the components of safety net reform.
The Environment Has Effects on Infrared Temperature Screening for COVID-19 Infection.

Infrared temperature measurement is a common form of mass screening for febrile illnesses such as COVID-19 infection. Efficacy of infrared monitoring is debated, and external factors can affect accuracy. We determine that outside temperature, wind, and humidity can affect infrared temperature measurements and partially account for inaccurate results.
Oreo: Scaling Clone Detection Beyond Near-Miss Clones.

With recent advancements in the field of code clone detection, researchers have made it possible to scale large datasets. The scope of scalable and accurate clone detection, however, was limited to Type-1, Type-2, and near-miss Type-3 clones. Most clone detectors fail to detect clones beyond the near-miss Type-3 category as it becomes hard to detect such clones in a scalable manner. There are two main challenges in identifying clones beyond the Type-3 category: (1) Syntactical similarity is low between such complex clones and (2) comparing code snippets leads to prohibitive quadratic comparisons, which causes candidate explosion and leads to scalability issues. Oreo introduces a novel semantic filter named Action filter which filters out a large number of code pairs that do not share semantic similarities, thereby addressing the candidate explosion issue. Moreover, the candidates that pass this filter have high semantic similarity which leads to the detection of complex and semantically similar clones. As many semantically similar candidates may not be clones, Oreo uses a deep learning model to validate the structural similarity between the semantically similar candidates, which leads to greater accuracy in clone detection. Oreo demonstrated broader range of clone detection, high recall, precision, speed, and ability to scale to a large inter-project repository (250MLOC) using a standard workstation. This chapter aims to describe the design decisions and concepts which enabled Oreo to take scalable and accurate clone detection beyond the near-miss clones.
Boyer, Schulman, and Glassick at Brigham Young University–Hawaii, 2012

Excerpt: This essay begins with a discussion of traditional university faculty evaluation and leads into the reconsideration of the breadth, credibility, and structure of this faculty evaluation as proposed by Boyer (1990). It concludes with a taxonomy that would help one to validate Boyer-type scholarship products as meeting the requirements for acceptable faculty scholarship excellence.
Fragmentation of quark and gluon jets in proton-antiproton collisions at center-of-mass energy of 1.8-TeV

The author reports the first model independent measurement of charged particle multiplicities in quark and gluon jets, N{sub q} and N{sub g}, produced at the Tevatron in p{bar p} collisions with center-of-mass energy 1.8 TeV and recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. The measurements are made for jets with average energies 41 and 53 GeV by counting charged particle tracks in cones with opening angle of {theta}{sub c} = 0.28, 0.36, and 0.47 rad around the jet axis. The corresponding jet hardness Q = E{sub jet}{theta}{sub c} varies in the range from 12 GeV to 25 GeV. At Q = 19.2 GeV, the ratio of multiplicities r = N{sub g}/N{sub q} is found to be 1.64 {+-} 0.17, where statistical and systematic uncertainties are added in quadrature. The results are in agreement with re-summed perturbative QCD calculations and are consistent with recent e{sup +}e{sup -} measurements.
Endogenously Incomplete Markets: Macroeconomic Implications

Endogenously incomplete models derive restrictions on asset trading from primitive constraints on the enforcement and monitoring technologies available to societies. They have been applied to a wide variety of macroeconomic problems. This essay reviews some of these applications and the models that underpin them.
ATM in lymphoid development and tumorigenesis.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses various applications of the ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) mouse model, the Atm -/- mice, to elucidate the basis of lymphoid defects and tumorigenesis in A-T. Immune defects in A-T patients are characterized by thymic hypoplasia or absence of thymus, reduced circulating T cells, and a selective deficiency of immunoglobulin isotypes, including IgA, IgE, IgG2, and IgG. Genetic evidence suggests that ataxia-telangiectasia mutation (ATM) plays a crucial role in the regulation of V(D)J recombination and abnormality that could contribute to the genetic instability and tumorigenesis in ATM -/- lymphocytes. Therefore, the elucidation of the exact mechanism of such potential functions of ATM is crucial for the understanding of the A-T lymphoid tumorigenesis. The V(D)J recombination process involves the introduction of DNA double-stranded breaks by RAG-1/2 at the recombination signal sequences flanking the V(D)J gene segments. Subsequently, the recombination signaling sequences are precisely joined to form signal joints and the coding ends are usually imprecisely joined to form coding joints, sometimes with the addition of N regions. ATM might play two possible roles during V(D)J recombination. Based on its structural similarity to DNA-PKcs that is essential in the joining processes of the DNA double-stranded break repair, ATM might perform a similar function in the joining processes of the V(D)J gene segments.
Reticulocyte hemoglobin content does not differentiate true from functional iron deficiency in dogs

Background True and functional iron deficiency can result in anemia. Current tests to assess iron status often do not allow differentiation between these entities, which can affect optimal treatment. Previous work suggested low reticulocyte hemoglobin content (CHr) may be an early indicator of iron deficiency. Objective This study aimed to correlate several inflammation markers with CHr values in dogs. We hypothesize that dogs with low CHr values have hematologic and biochemical evidence of inflammation. Methods Animals with CHr values below the reference interval were included in the low CHr group, while dogs with normal or increased CHr were included in the control group. HCT, MCV, CHr, reticulocyte mean cell volume (MCVr), concentrations of serum iron, C-reactive protein (CRP), ferritin, and ceruloplasmin, and total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), percent transferrin saturation (% sat), and total WBC, neutrophil, and monocyte counts were determined. Nonparametric tests were performed; median values and percentage of abnormalities between each group were compared. Results Relative to control dogs, animals in the low CHr group had higher median values for CRP, ferritin, ceruloplasmin, and WBC concentration (P ≤ .05), and lower median values for HCT and MCV (P ≤ .0001). Higher frequencies of abnormalities for CRP, ferritin, WBC, neutrophil, and monocyte concentrations (P ≤ .02) were present in the low CHr group. Conclusions Dogs with low CHr values often have evidence of inflammation, but low CHr did not reliably predict Fe deficiency. Additional diagnostic tests are needed to differentiate true and functional iron deficiency.
Metalloporphyrin Synergizes with Ascorbic Acid to Inhibit Cancer Cell Growth Through Fenton Chemistry

Abstract Ascorbic acid (AA) has been reported to inhibit tumor cell growth through the generation of extracellular hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). However, the clinical utility of AA has been limited by relatively low potency and in vivo efficacy. This study reports that the metalloporphyrin, Mn(III) tetrakis(N-methylpyridinium-2-yl)porphyrin5+ (MnTMPyP), has a potent synergistic cytotoxic effect when combined with AA in a variety of cancer cell lines. In the presence of MnTMPyP, the concentration of AA required to inhibit cancer cell growth was markedly reduced. In vitro (cell-free) experiments demonstrated that AA alone enhanced the Fenton reaction that produces cytotoxic hydroxyl radical (HO•); however, this reaction was limited by the low rate by which AA generates H2O2 (Fenton reaction substrate) from O2. MnTMPyP catalyzed H2O2 generation through the AA-facilitated Mn(II ⇔ III)TMPyP redox cycle and thereby markedly potentiated the Fenton reaction. Accordingly, MnTMPyP and AA resulted in increased cellular ...