cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Environmentally Concerned Citizen: Some Correlates

The present research is concerned with exploring individual environmental responsibility from the operational or deepened marketing perspective of private and public strategic decision-making. The theoretical foundation underlying the research design in this investigation is social responsibility (altruism, prosocial behavior, aiding, or helping) theory. More specifically, the relationship between the social responsibility correlates of internal-external control, social responsibility, social class, age, and income and multiple attitudinal and behavioral measures of environmental responsibility is examined. Differences between Sierra Club and/or Audubon Society subjects and general population on attitudinal and behavioral measures of environmental responsibility were found to be significant and in the predicted direction.
Damage by oat aphids (Rhopalosiphum padi L.) in cereals

Field isolate tests were carried out in winter wheat, rye, winter barley and winter oat to demonstrate direct damage and change in number of Rhopalosiphum padi. The greatest number of survived population was found in winter barley on June 10th and in winter oat and winter wheat on June 17th. As a result of spring settling rye and winter wheat showed the greatest aphids number on June 10th, winter oat and winter wheat on June 17th. As a result of the damage caused by aphids all the cereals showed a significant yield loss derived from the decrease of corn number per ear and their little mass. The level of yield loss was correlated with aphids number and period of damaging. Damage caused by anholocyclic winter surviving was greater than of egg form surviving. Depending on time of settling, aphids number and level of damage were different. Corn of winter wheat showed in spite of the damage caused by an extraordinary great number of aphids a good germinative ability, although one could see a lack of reserve nutriments at the growth of seedlings. Germination was nearly totally reduced as a result of aphids damage in winter oat. In the case of anholocyclic i. e. indirect winter surviving by aphids multiplying in a parthenogenetic way one can reckon with significant yield loss in growing winter cereals. Zusammenfassung Schaden an Getreidearten durch die Haferblattlaus (Rhopalosiphum padi L.) Veranderungen in der Individuenzahl und die Schaden durch Rhopalosiphum padi L. wurden in freien Isolationsversuchen in Winterweizen, Wintergerste und Winterhafer untersucht. Der Grad der Schadigung und die Veranderung in der Individuenzahl wurden nach dem Herbstaussetzen (12. 10. 1981) und nach dem Fruhjahrsaussetzen (20. 4. 1982) bestimmt. Die Aufnahmen der Individuenzahl der Blattlause auf den Pflanzen der Isolatoren wurden vom Fruhjahr 1982 bis zur Ernte durchgefuhrt. Die groste Zahl uberwinterter Individuen wurde in Roggen und Wintergerste (521–707) am 10. Juni und in Winterhafer und Winterweizen (423–806) am 17. Juni gefunden. Als Folge des Fruhjahrsaussetzens wurde die groste Individuenzahl am 10. Juni in Roggen und Wintergerste (68–82) und am 17. Juni in Winterhafer und Winterweizen (186–347) gefunden. Als Schaden ist ein bedeutender Ernteverlust entstanden, der auf Verminderung der Kornerzahl der Ahren und der Kornermasse beruhte. Die Kornerzahl der Ahre bzw. Rispe verminderte sich um 36–50% bei Winterweizen, 24–48% bei Roggen, 41–60% bei Wintergerste sowie 41–63% bei Winterhafer im Vergleich zur Kontrolle. Die Verminderung der Tausendkornmasse betrug 33–65% bei Winterweizen, 13–26% bei Roggen, 25–47% bei Wintergerste und 43–75% bei Winterhafer. Der Grad des Ernteverlustes korrelierte mit der Individuenzahl der Blattlause und mit der Schadensdauer. Winterweizenkorner zeigten trotz der Schadigung durch eine ungeheure Zahl Blattlause gute Keimfahigkeit, obwohl der Mangel an Reservenahrstoffen beim Wachstum der Keimpflanzen ersichtlich war. Dagegen verlor der Winterhafer seine Keimfahigkeit fast vollstandig.
miR-190-Mediated Downregulation of PHLPP Contributes to Arsenic-Induced Akt Activation and Carcinogenesis

The role of trivalent arsenic (As(3+)) on the regulation of the recently identified noncoding small RNAs, mainly microRNAs, has not been explored so far. In the present study, we provide evidence showing that As(3+) is a potent inducer for the expression of miR-190 in human bronchial epithelial cells. The induction of miR-190 by As(3+) is concentration dependent and associated with the expression of the host gene of miR-190, talin 2, a gene encoding a high-molecular-weight cytoskeletal protein. The elevated level of miR-190 induced by As(3+) is capable of downregulating the translation of the PH domain leucine-rich repeat protein phosphatase (PHLPP), a negative regulator of Akt signaling. Such a downregulation is occurred through direct interaction of the miR-190 with the 3'-UTR region of the PHLPP mRNA, leading to a diminished PHLPP protein expression and consequently, an enhanced Akt activation and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor, an Akt-regulated protein. Overexpression of miR-190 itself is able to enhance proliferation and malignant transformation of the cells as determined by anchorage-independent growth of the cells in soft agar. Accordingly, the data presented suggest that induction of miR-190 is one of the key mechanisms in As(3+)-induced carcinogenesis.
Detecting Deception: A Classroom Demonstration

Lie detection, a topic that most students of psychology find fascinating, can be demonstrated using an inexpensive, highly portable galvanic skin response (GSR) monitor. This demonstration can be used to touch on the current controversy surrounding the use of physiological measures in detecting deception and is relevant to other topics, such as emotion, perception, and industrial/organizational psychology.
Structural response of adult rat Sertoli cells to peritubular fibroblasts in vitro.

Sertoli cells were harvested from sexually mature rats and maintained in vitro for up to ten days (Sertoli cell-enriched cultures) or co-cultured with rat peritubular fibroblasts. Cultures were examined by differential light microscopy and by scanning or transmission electron microscopy. The presence of peritubular fibroblasts in co-culture greatly enhanced plating efficiency and viability of adult Sertoli cells. Sertoli cell aggregates preferentially adhered to peritubular cells, and by ten days had flattened and spread across these cells. Sertoli cells retained their characteristic ultrastructural features. Early in co-culture a collagen-like extracellular material was seen bridging Sertoli and peritubular cells, and its appearance was coincident with the presence of swollen rough endoplasmic reticulum in peritubular cells. Interperitubular cell spaces became engorged with a fibrillar material morphologically similar to the basal lamina of the seminiferous tubule wall. In the absence of peritubular cells, in culture medium “conditioned” by prior incubation with peritubular cells but not containing them, or when cultured with other fibroblastic cells, plating efficiency was low; Sertoli cells never flattened and cell ultrastructure progressively degenerated. The results indicate that peritubular cells support adult Sertoh cells in culture, possibly via extracellular material derived from peritubular cells, and suggest that Sertoli cells have an inductive effect on peritubular cell secretory activity.
Capital Markets Constrain Industry Scale

The paper considers an industry featuring agency problems between outside investors and entrepreneurs who manage the firms comprising the industry. In a range of circumstances, industry scale is independent of product market structure, and is determined solely by the amount of equity financing contributed by the entrepreneurs, and by the capital market’s response to possible managerial malfeasance. Thus, in the face of capital market constraints, a change in productmarket concentration has no effect on market performance unless it occasions a change in the amount of inside equity financing.
Oxidant and redox signaling in vascular oxygen sensing mechanisms: basic concepts, current controversies, and potential importance of cytosolic NADPH

Vascular smooth muscle (VSM) derived from pulmonary arteries generally contract to hypoxia, whereas VSM from systemic arteries usually relax, indicating the presence of basic oxygen-sensing mechanisms in VSM that are adapted to the environment from which they are derived. This review considers how fundamental processes associated with the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by oxidase enzymes, the metabolic control of cytosolic NADH, NADPH and glutathione redox systems, and mitochondrial function interact with signaling systems regulating vascular force in a manner that is potentially adapted to be involved in Po2 sensing. Evidence for opposing hypotheses of hypoxia, either decreasing or increasing mitochondrial ROS, is considered together with the Po2 dependence of ROS production by Nox oxidases as sensors potentially contributing to hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction. Processes through which ROS and NAD(P)H redox changes potentially control interactive signaling systems, including soluble guanylate cyclase, potassium channels, and intracellular calcium are discussed together with the data supporting their regulation by redox in responses to hypoxia. Evidence for hypothesized potential differences between systemic and pulmonary arteries originating from properties of mitochondrial ROS generation and the redox sensitivity of potassium channels is compared with a new hypothesis in which differences in the control of cytosolic NADPH redox by the pentose phosphate pathway results in increased NADPH and Nox oxidase-derived ROS in pulmonary arteries, whereas lower levels of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in coronary arteries may permit hypoxia to activate a vasodilator mechanism controlled by oxidation of cytosolic NADPH.
Adaptive CLEAN With Target Refocusing for Through-Wall Image Improvement

Signal processing techniques to improve building interior images are introduced. Specifically, an adaptive CLEAN algorithm is introduced in conjunction with target refocusing techniques to de-emphasize undesired signal effects from external walls, and thus more accurately image the lesser contrast objects. Instead of using the point spread function as in the conventional CLEAN algorithm, adaptive CLEAN incorporates a delay spread model found more appropriate for subtracting sidelobes that could obscure interior objects. Refocusing also allows for correcting target distortion and displacement due to through-wall propagation. It is shown that by combining adaptive CLEAN with target refocusing techniques, we are able to reconstruct interior targets (with minimal exterior wall distortion). The introduced processing techniques are demonstrated via simulations generated with a well validated high frequency ray tracing code, and with measured data.
Applying automation to spacecraft mission operations

This study was initially undertaken to understand how commonalities among the application of proven automation processes such as aircraft control, nuclear power generation, auto manufacturing, etc. could be applied to spacecraft operations at NASA. These industries applied automation to reduce human repetitive task and mitigate risk, rather than create complete "lights out" operations as was the goal at NASA.
Existence and universality of intermittent convective transport in magnetically confined devices

Summary form only given, as follows. We show that the SOL statistical properties are similar in four extremely different confinement devices, that are, PISCES linear plasma device, the Tore Supra tokamak, the Alcator C-Mod tokamak and the MAST spherical tokamak. This is performed for the probability distribution function, the power spectra, and using the conditional averaging technique.
Optimal Scheduling of Methotrexate and 5-Fluorouracil in Human Breast Cancer

We have shown previously that methotrexate pretreatment of murine leukemia and human colon carcinoma cell cultures results in augmented intracellular accumulation of 5-fluorouracil metabolites. Both of these drugs are commonly used for the treatment of women with breast cancer; thus, sequencing of methotrexate before 5-fluorouracil was evaluated in vitro using a human mammary carcinoma cell line, 47-DN. Intracellular 5-fluorouracil accumulation was maximally increased 4-fold in cultures pretreated with 10 µm methotrexate for 24 hr. This enhancement of 5-fluorouracil metabolism was associated with increased intracellular levels of 5-phosphoribosyl 1-pyrophosphate, resulting from the antipurine effect of methotrexate. Brief exposure to exogenous hypoxanthine at physiological concentrations reversed the biochemical synergism between methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil. Other antimetabolites associated with elevations of 5-phosphoribosyl 1-pyrophosphate enhanced intracellular accumulation of 5-fluorouracil up to 2.5-fold. In cloning assays, 18 hr of methotrexate pretreatment followed by 5-fluorouracil resulted in optimal synergistic cytotoxicity, which could be prevented if high concentrations of leucovorin were given between methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil administration. Since these results indicated that optimal breast tumor toxicity in vitro was achieved by 18- to 24-hr sequencing of methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil, a clinical toxicity study was carried out to assess whether this drug schedule could be tolerated. Seven patients with advanced cancer were treated with 21 courses of sequential therapy. No toxicity occurred with 38% of treatment courses; mild to moderate leukopenia and mucositis occurred with 29 and 38% of courses, respectively. Toxicity was related to retreatment interval and not cumulative drug dose or elevated serum methotrexate levels. These clinical results suggest that Phase II studies evaluating 24-hr-sequenced methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil in breast cancer are warranted.
Subunit-specific contribution of pore-forming domains to NMDA receptor channel structure and gating.

N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are ligand-gated ion channels that contribute to fundamental physiological processes such as learning and memory and, when dysfunctional, to pathophysiological conditions such as neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, and mental illness. NMDARs are obligate heteromultimers typically composed of NR1 and NR2 subunits with the different subunits underlying the functional versatility of NMDARs. To study the contribution of the different subunits to NMDAR channel structure and gating, we compared the effects of cysteine-reactive agents on cysteines substituted in and around the M1, M3, and M4 segments of the NR1 and NR2C subunits. Based on the voltage dependence of cysteine modification, we find that, both in NR1 and NR2C, M3 appears to be the only transmembrane segment that contributes to the deep (or voltage dependent) portion of the ion channel pore. This contribution, however, is subunit specific with more positions in NR1 than in NR2C facing the central pore. Complimentarily, NR2C makes a greater contribution than NR1 to the shallow (or voltage independent) portion of the pore with more NR2C positions in pre-M1 and M3-S2 linker lining the ion-conducting pathway. Substituted cysteines in the M3 segments in NR1 and NR2C showed strong, albeit different, state-dependent reactivity, suggesting that they play central but structurally distinct roles in gating. A weaker state dependence was observed for the pre-M1 regions in both subunits. Compared to M1 and M3, the M4 segments in both NR1 and NR2C subunits had limited accessibility and the weakest state dependence, suggesting that they are peripheral to the central pore. Finally, we propose that Lurcher mutation-like effects, which were identified in and around all three transmembrane segments, occur for positions located at dynamic protein–protein or protein–lipid interfaces that have state-dependent accessibility to methanethiosulfonate (MTS) reagents and therefore can affect the equilibrium between open and closed states following reactions with MTS reagents.
Aging, Society, & the Life Course:

Aging, Society, & the Life Course is a comprehensive textbook and timely edition with updates on a number of contemporary issues affecting our aging society including an increased focus on baby boomers as they approach retirement and critical issues on global aging. The authors provide in-depth discussions on how societal forces influence the aging process and examine these from personal, familial, community, societal, and global perspectives. The book also integrates theories with context to help readers better understand the diversity of the older population, and aging and the life course as social phenomena. This text is ideal not only for both undergraduate and graduate courses but also for practitioners to better understand how aging is much more than an individual journey through time, and is also a complex social process that will affect our field. The life course perspective also helps inform new research and theoretical developments in the field of gerontology.
Brief report: Validation of a reinforcer survey for use with geriatric patients

This paper describes a Geriatric Reinforcer Survey (GRS) which expands upon a previous Reinforcement Survey Schedule (RSS) developed by Cautela and Kastenbaum (1967). The GRS, an instrument designed to quickly assess reinforcer preference in geriatric populations, has two formats, one for individuals over 65 years of age who are still able to comprehend and write, and one designed to be filled out by relatives and staff familiar with an individual over 65 years of age who can no longer comprehend or write well. Reinforcer preference was determined by giving the GRS to a total of 107 geriatric persons in both home and institutional settings. Test-retest reliability was assessed on a subsample of 71 individuals over a 10-14-day period and was found to be rs = 0.608, p <0.01 using the Spearman Rank-Order Correlation Coefficient. This indicated that the GRS had reasonable test-retest reliability. The validity of having a relative or familiar staff person fill out the GRS for a specific individual was also tested. Results of 43 administrations of the GRS to relatives of a geriatric person, using the Spearman Rank-Order Correlation Coefficient, showed a correlation of rs = 0.488, p <0.01 when the responses of that person were compared to those of the individual. Results of 17 administrations of the GRS to staff familiar with a particular patient were rs = 0.436, p < 0.05 when compared to responses made by the individual. This indicates that the GRS might be useful in structuring interventions for individuals who are incapacitated, and groups of geriatric persons. The GRS also has the potential to be a valuable research tool.
Vegetation Biomass Dynamics and Patterns of Sexual Reproduction in a Northern Mixed-Grass Prairie

Abstract The sustainability of natural grasslands is in large part dependent upon the successful ingress and propagation of alien plant species. We attempted to characterize the propagation potential of the dominant plant species of a southeastern Montana mixed-grass prairie community including two introduced grasses, Bromus japonicus and B. tectorum. Aboveground standing crops and densities of seeds were estimated on 10 dates between September 1991 and August 1993 and seedling densities were estimated on 21 dates between September 1991 and July 1993. Total aboveground standing crop ranged from about 110 to 340 g m−2 and was dominated by three grasses: Bouteloua gracilis, a warm-season, perennial; Pascopyrum smithii, a cool-season, perennial; and B. japonicus, a cool-season, annual grass. Seed production was dominated by B. japonicus (∼10,400 seeds m−2). Bouteloua gracilis and P. smithii seed production was negligible with maximum densities of about 120 and 25 seeds m−2, respectively. Density of seedlings...
OBSERVATIONS OF SALT NUCLEI OVER THE MIDWESTERN UNITED STATES

Abstract The concentrations of salt particles over central Illinois are being monitored through the use of a sodium flame-counter and an impactor. The number of large particles as determined by the impactor has been found to average about two per cubic meter, and high concentrations of the magnitude found over oceans have never been detected. It is concluded that these large salt particles are not found over mid-continents in sufficient numbers to initiate precipitation through a process of condensation and coalescence unless the chain-reaction process is also operative. There is no evidence that these large particles are necessarily carried inland from an oceanic source region.
H2O2 and ·OH Radicals in Radiation Inactivation of Bacterial Spores

SummarySuspensions of Bacillus megaterium spores, when irradiated in the presence of N2O and limiting concentrations of ethanol, produce bi-phasic response curves with the high-dose line showing increased sensitivity. Experiments correlating sensitivity to concentrations of H2O2 implicate this chemical species as one sensitizing agent. H2O2 is not sensitizing, however, in the absence of ·OH, suggesting that two actions involving both species must take place for inactivation to occur. A chemical mechanism competent to explain these facts is presented. Sensitization seen in O2-saturated solutions may not be explained by this mechanism.
Medical Parasitology: Update on Diagnostic Techniques and Laboratory Safety

In this article, we address in greater depth some of the topics covered in “Diagnostic Parasitology: An Overview of Topics,” the first part of this series, which appeared in the January issue. Diagnostic techniques are described, and updated information on laboratory safety issues is reviewed.
Numerical Investigation of a Supersonic Cavity Flameholder

Simulation results are presented for non-reacting flow within a supersonic cavity flameholder. The freestream is air at Mach 2. A case is simulated with no fuel injection, and two cases are simulated with different rates of ethylene fuel injected through holes located on the back face of the cavity. The simulations correspond to a series of experiments for which particle image velocimetry measurements of two velocity components were made within the cavity. The flow within the cavity is computed using unsteady hybrid Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes/large-eddy simulation, as well as steady-state Reynolds-averaged NavierStokes simulations. A thorough grid resolution study is presented in which the resolution required to resolve the flow within the cavity is determined. The effects of wall temperature and the thickness of the oncoming turbulent boundary on the solutions is examined and found not to affect the mean velocity and turbulence, and to affect mean mixing only slightly. For steady-state Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes simulations, several turbulence models are used and compared to the hybrid Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes/large-eddy simulation results, and the effects of the turbulent Schmidt number, are investigated. The influence of the side walls are investigated by comparing simulations of the full-width duct to simulations of a partial-width duct that uses periodic boundary conditions. The results of the simulations are also compared to the velocity measurements from the experiments, and the hybrid Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes/large-eddy simulation results are found to compare well with the experiment in most locations.
Alterations in Resting State Networks in a Mouse Model of Glioma Growth

The relationship between brain tumor growth and alterations in resting state networks is poorly understood. Functional connectivity optical intrinsic imaging enables assessment of resting state alterations in a mouse model of glioma growth.
Efficacy of classification-specific treatment and adherence on outcomes in people with chronic low back pain. A one-year follow-up, prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial

Background It is unknown if low back pain (LBP) outcomes are enhanced by classification-specific treatment based on the Movement System Impairment classification system. The moderating effect of adherence to treatment also is unknown.
On the Mechanism of Hb F Elevations in the Baboon by Erythropoietic Stress and Pharmacologic Manipulation

Maximal fetal hemoglobin (Hb F) elevations in the baboon subsequent to phenyl hydrazine-induced hemolytic anemia, bleeding, bleeding plus hydroxyurea (HU), or cytosine arabinoside were two to three times lower than those achieved with bleeding plus 5-azacytidine (azaC). Because, in the baboon, maximal elevations in F cell numbers occurred with bleeding alone, changes in the levels of Hb F in hemolysates and in Hb F per F cell could be considered to be due to the administered drugs. Erythropoietic toxicity of azaC was minimal, making it unlikely that the marked elevations of Hb F were due to shifts in the population of erythroid progenitors and precursors and more likely that they were related to a biochemical effect of the drug on DNA. The data indicate marked DNA hypomethylation. This was also found to be associated, but to a much lesser extent, with the modest Hb F elevations after bleeding, hemolysis, and treatment with HU. This drug had greater erythroid toxicity than azaC, and it appeared that the Hb F elevations occurred mainly on the rebound from the early cytotoxicity. The explanation of the molecular DNA changes with this drug and in erythropoietic stress alone remains unknown.
Vignettes of Family Caregiving

This chapter presents several detailed examples of different situations of caregiving by family members, discussing the options available including limited finances and limited number of family members to provide care.
The Mixed Case of the Direct Image Theorem and its Applications

In these lectures we will discuss the so-called mixed case of the direct image theorem and its applications. The starting point of the direct image theorem is the following finiteness theorem.
Credit Risk Determinants in Banking Sector: A Comparative Analysis of the PIB (Pakistan, India and Bangladesh)

The aim of the empirical study is to investigate credit risk determinants in banking sectors across three kinds of South Asian economies. An accumulated sample of 105 unbalanced panel data of financial firms over the period of 2000-2015, by applying General Method of Moment (GMM) estimation techniques one-step at the difference in order to identify factors influencing credit risk. This study is inspired by two broad categories of explanatory variables which are bank-specific and macroeconomic. Bank-specific factors influencing unsystematic risk, while macroeconomic factors promoting systematic risk. The study uses a proxy of non-performing loans for credit risk in banking sectors of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. The empirical results have been found aligned with theoretical arguments and literature as expected. In comparison, NPLs in Pakistan is greater than India and Bangladesh, while India has the lowest ratio of non-performing loans. The study documents that bank-specific factors (inefficiency, profitability, capital ratio and leverage) have a significant contribution towards credit risk. Further, the study also finds a significant impact of macroeconomic variables on non-performing loans. While, the result in the case of Bangladesh predict contradictions, that have no significant effect on non-performing loans at various level. The overall results indicate that credit risk is not influenced by only external factors but also affect by internal factors like bad management and skimping etc.
Antigenic Variation in Viruses

Persistent virus Infections represent an immunologlcal paradox, in that viruses persist in the face of normal immune responses. The classical serological studies on viruses causing acute Infections established a remarkable degree of antigen and structural uniformity within each virus type. The obvious exception has been Influenza which, because of changes in specific antigenic determinants, is able to generate a variety of antigenic variants which can elude the immune responses of hosts previously infected with slightly differing viruses. The phenomenon of high mutability and antigenic variation previously associated uniquely with influenza virus, appears to be a more general one. Recent studies indicate that many viruses, long thought to be antlgenlcally stable, are known to exist in multiple antigenic forms, both in the laboratory and in nature. Data will be presented here that this is true as well of measles virus, thought previously to be the most antlgenlcally stable of any of the common acute viruses. The biological implications and possible role of viral antigenic changes in human disease, particularly in relation to persistent infections, will be discussed in this article.
Trends in hysterectomy rates among women veterans in the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

Background Prior studies demonstrate a higher prevalence of hysterectomy among veterans compared with nonveterans. While studies identify overall decreasing hysterectomy rates in the United States, none report rates of hysterectomy among women veterans. Given the increasing numbers of women veterans using Veterans Affairs health care, there is an ongoing need to ensure high-quality gynecology care. Therefore, it is important to examine current hysterectomy trends, including proportion of minimally invasive surgeries, among veterans using Veterans Affairs health care. Objective Our objective was to describe hysterectomy trends and utilization of minimally invasive hysterectomy in the Veterans Affairs healthcare system. Study Design This longitudinal study used Veterans Affairs clinical and administrative data from fiscal year 2008 to 2014 to identify hysterectomies provided or paid for by Veterans Affairs. Crude and age-adjusted hysterectomy rates were calculated by indication (benign or malignant), mode (abdominal, laparoscopic, vaginal, robotic assisted, unspecified), and source of care (provided vs paid for by Veterans Affairs). Mode and indication for hysterectomy were classified using International Classification of Diseases , ninth revision, codes. The distribution of hysterectomy mode in each year was calculated by indication and source of care. Results Between fiscal year 2008 and fiscal year 2014, the total hysterectomy rate decreased from 4.0 per 1000 to 2.6 per 1000 unique women veteran Veterans Affairs users. Age-adjusted rates of abdominal hysterectomy for benign indications decreased over the study period from 1.54 per 1000 (95% confidence interval, 1.40–1.69) to 0.77 per 1000 (95% confidence interval, 0.69–0.85) for procedures provided by Veterans Affairs and 0.77 per 1,000 (95% confidence interval, 0.69–0.85) to 0.29 per 1,000 (95% confidence interval, 0.23–0.34) for those paid for by Veterans Affairs. Among hysterectomies for benign indications provided by (n = 5296) or paid for (n = 2610) by Veterans Affairs, the percentage of hysterectomies performed abdominally decreased from 67.2% to 46.8% and from 68.9% to 57.6%, respectively. Conclusion These findings suggest that gynecology care provided within Veterans Affairs has kept pace with national trends in reducing hysterectomy rates and increasing utilization of minimally invasive surgical techniques.
A case report: Urolithiasis, hydronephrosis, and acute kidney injury in pregnancy.

Hydronephrosis is common in late pregnancy but rarely results in acute kidney injury (AKI). We describe a woman who presented at 27 weeks of gestation with renal colic, hydronephrosis, and AKI.A 33...
Book Review: No Turning Back: The Future of Ecumenism

No Turning Back: The Future of Ecumenism. By Margaret O'Gara. Edited by Michael Vertin. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2014. xxvi + 253 pp. $29.95 (paper).This collection of essays is posthumous testament to Margaret O'Gara's commitment to ecumenism. O'Gara planned this volume as a sequel to her earlier work, The Ecumenical Gift Exchange (1998), and chose many of the essays prior to her passing. Edited by Michael Vertin, her spouse and colleague at St. Michael's College, Toronto, the essays range from addresses at ecumenical gatherings to scholarly articles, with a mixture of previously published and newly available work.The volume is divided into two sections. The first intends a broad audience, and introduces the work of ecumenism through the lens of O'Gara's personal experience. In clear, accessible writing, she portrays ecumenical dialogue as a process of transformation rooted in relationships. For example, O'Gara describes the importance of friendship among dialogue partners, which establishes a context of collaboration rather than competition, provides a pathway for insight into another's perspective, and helps to sustain participants in their dialogue: "Friends working in ecumenism share the same poignant experience of love for their own church traditions and restlessness within them, a cognitive and affective dissonance peculiar to ecumenists. Friends from diverse church communions offer one another intellectual and emotional hospitality on the journey toward full communion" (pp. 35-36). Ecumenism is also envisioned as an ascetical practice involving occasional fasting "from celebrations of the eucharist when not in full communion with the presider," careful study that only gradually yields understanding, painful review of the trespasses committed and experienced by one's own communion, and awareness that one's labors "are feared or suspected" by others within one's communion (p. 35).O'Gara provides insight into the process of ecumenical dialogue as a spiritual endeavor shaped by prayer. She writes: "Listening to the prayers of others is a bit like listening to other languages, and of course sometimes we begin to learn the language of our ecumenical partners as well-we learn a second language-and the ear of our heart is opened" (pp. 24-25). Learning the language of one another's prayers is an entree to receiving and joining in the richness of doxology, which O'Gara finds is essential to the shared discovery of truth. Conversion of hearing through prayer is complemented by new vision through memory: "When the historical memoiy of Christians is purified a new vision of oneself and the other church traditions emerges, dialogue becomes an experience not just of information but of transformation, of conversion" (p. …
Swift Creek at a human scale

The interpretive potential of Swift Creek pottery, widely produced throughout Georgia, eastern Alabama, and northern Florida during the Middle and Late Woodland periods between ca. cal AD 100 and 800, has been apparent for many years. Much research has been focused on identifying paddle designs from the impressions left on sherds. Less attention has been devoted to the carving of the wooden paddles and its social context. Drawing inferences from our work on Swift Creek pottery in southern Georgia and Florida, and drawing inspiration from the career of Mark Williams, we consider Swift Creek paddle production “at a human scale.” Extrapolating from the number of paddle designs identified in our sample, we argue that paddle manufacture was an infrequent occurrence, probably conducted by specialists and intended to commemorate major life events.
“their Happiness Is My Happiness”--- Chinese Visiting Grandparents Grandparenting In The Us

ABSTRACTThis study described the experiences of Chinese visiting grandparents caring for their grandchildren in the US and the implications of these experiences for grandparents’ well-being. We use...
Effects of Social Priming on Social Presence with Intelligent Virtual Agents

This paper explores whether witnessing an Intelligent Virtual Agent (IVA) in what appears to be a socially engaging discussion with a Confederate Virtual Agent (CVA) prior to a direct interaction, can prime a person to feel and behave more socially engaged with the IVA in a subsequent interaction. To explore this social priming phenomenon, we conducted an experiment in which participants in a control group had no priming while those in an experimental group were briefly exposed to an engaging social interaction between an IVA and a nearby CVA (i.e. a virtual actor). The participants primed by exposure to the brief CVA-IVA interaction reported being significantly more excited and alert, perceiving the IVA as more responsive, and showed significantly higher measures of Co-Presence, Attentional Allocation, and Message Understanding dimensions of social presence for the IVA, compared to those who were not primed.
Modeling and simulation methodology for reconnaissance in VSW minefields with multiple autonomous vehicles

Modeling and simulation is an important tool for the evaluation of new concept systems. In particular, new system concepts are being developed for minefield reconnaissance and neutralization using robot vehicles. Also, with an emphasis on low cost, these systems are begin focussed on multi-robot capabilities using fleets of similar and dissimilar vehicles in cooperative behaviors. The problems of operating in the very shallow water areas (VSW) are increased by the action of waves and currents and uneven bottom topography. This paper will discuss the elements of modeling and simulation methodology for the study of system performance analysis in minefield reconnaissance and object mapping in VSW environments. Crawling and swimming vehicles are considered, although the focus is on the first. Vehicle locomotion models are proposed. Wave and current models are discussed by reference to other ongoing research. The modeling of object detection sensors, and vehicle navigation sensor are also given. Using these principles given above, reference is made to the importance of two types of simulator - a graphics based visualization simulator that views the interactive behavior of robots and environmental objects, and a Monte Carlo low resolution simulator that allows the study of system effectiveness. In an example of a VSW operation with crawling vehicles, results are given that illustrates the effect of control logic parameters, on the time it takes to complete the reconnaissance missions. Also, other control parameters are studied including the effect of changes in the detection range of the primary sensor.© (1999) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
A perfect storm: Increased colonization and failure of vaccination leads to severe secondary bacterial infection in influenza virus-infected obese mice

Obesity is a risk factor for developing severe disease following influenza virus infection; however, the comorbidity of obesity and secondary bacterial infection, a serious complication of influenza virus infections, is unknown. To fill this gap in knowledge, lean and obese C57BL/6 mice were infected with a nonlethal dose of influenza virus followed by a nonlethal dose of Streptococcus pneumoniae Strikingly, not only did significantly enhanced death occur in obese coinfected mice compared to lean controls, but also high mortality was seen irrespective of influenza virus strain, bacterial strain, or timing of coinfection. This result was unexpected, given that most influenza virus strains, especially seasonal human A and B viruses, are nonlethal in this model. Both viral and bacterial titers were increased in the upper respiratory tract and lungs of obese animals as early as days 1 and 2 post-bacterial infection, leading to a significant decrease in lung function. This increased bacterial load correlated with extensive cellular damage and upregulation of platelet-activating factor receptor, a host receptor central to pneumococcal invasion. Importantly, while vaccination of obese mice against either influenza virus or pneumococcus failed to confer protection, antibiotic treatment was able to resolve secondary bacterial infection-associated mortality. Overall, secondary bacterial pneumonia could be a widespread, unaddressed public health problem in an increasingly obese population.IMPORTANCE Worldwide obesity rates have continued to increase. Obesity is associated with increased severity of influenza virus infection; however, very little is known about respiratory coinfections in this expanding, high-risk population. Our studies utilized a coinfection model to show that obesity increases mortality from secondary bacterial infection following influenza virus challenge through a "perfect storm" of host factors that lead to excessive viral and bacterial outgrowth. In addition, we found that vaccination of obese mice against either virus or bacteria failed to confer protection against coinfection, but antibiotic treatment did alleviate mortality. Combined, these results represent an understudied and imminent public health concern in a weighty portion of the global population.
The eggshell of insects: differentiation-specific proteins and the control of their synthesis and accumulation during development.

Cell differentiation is the consequence of differential gene expression in space and in time. Differential expression in turn depends on cellular differences, initially established through inheritance of non-chromosomal, cytoplasmic determinants from a polarized progenitor, or through interactions with neighboring cells. Determination, the process of setting up and maintaining the control mechanisms underlying differential gene activity, is obviously of ultimate biological interest. Although a molecular description of determination in eukaryotes is beyond our present grasp, a rigorous biochemical description of differential gene expression is certainly possible. This is easiest with highly differentiated cells, i.e., with cells which, at some point in their life, become specialized for the large-scale production of one or a few cell-specific protein products. Their methodological advantages have been enumerated elsewhere (Kafatos, 1972a). Highly differentiated cells are conceptually relatively simple systems—at least, in terms of quantification of synthesis and accumulation of the characteristic protein products and their mRN A templates. We can be confident that such quantifications will soon enable us to infer at what levels of information flow differential gene expression is controlled in particular systems. We suspect that highly differentiated cells may be simple in another, even more fundamental sense: production of “luxury” proteins (those not required for maintenance) may be devoid of a whole intricate network of homeostatic regulation.
Toward Complex 3D Nanophotonics by the Assembly of Building Blocks

Directed nanoparticle assembly provides a way to fabricate complex heteroge-nous 3D nanophotonic devices. We present rapid optimization-based design methods and experimentally investigate the limits on attainable assembly speed using optical tweezers.
The Seal of Biliteracy: Adding students’ voices to the conversation

The Seal of Biliteracy (SoBL) is a policy that recognizes biliterate high school graduates with an emblem placed on their diploma or transcript signifying proficiency in two or more languages. The ...
Dynamics of C2+ Oxygenates Formation from the Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis over Rh-based Catalysts

A pulse 13 CO transient incorporated with in situ infrared technique has been used to study CO hydrogenation over Rh/Si0 2 catalysts. Increasing reaction temperature decreases TCH 4 (residence time of intermediates leading to methane); however, increasing reaction pressure increases TCH 4 High TCH 4 at high pressure allows the insertion of CO into CHX to occur leading to the formation of acetaldehyde.
Adverse Reactions to Iodinated Radiographic Contrast Media

Mild adverse reactions to iodinated radiographic contrast media are encountered in as many as 3.7% of patients receiving intravenous injections of low-osmolality and 12.7% of patients receiving intravenous injections of high-osmolality ionic contrast agents (Katayama et al. 1990). Fortunately, the majority of these reactions are mild and clinically insignificant. Severe and very severe reactions (the latter requiring hospitalization) have been noted much less frequently, in only 0.04% and 0.004% of patients receiving intravenous injections of low-osmolality contrast media and 0.22% and 0.04% of patients receiving intravenous injections of high-osmolality contrast media, respectively (Katayama et al. 1990). The vast majority of patients who have severe, even potentially life-threatening, reactions respond to rapid and aggressive treatment (Hartman et al. 1982). Fatal reactions to both types of contrast media are exceedingly rare, having been encountered in as few as 1:170000 patients injected with either agent (Katayama et al. 1990).
Four Reservations on Civil Rights Reasoning by Analogy: The Case of Latinos and Other Nonblack Groups

The protection of civil rights in the United States encompasses remedies for at least five separate groups. Native Americans have suffered extermination, removal, denial of sovereignty, and destruction of culture; Latinos, conquest and the indignities of a racially discriminatory immigration system. Asian Americans suffered exclusion, wartime internment, and discriminatory labor laws. Middle Eastern people suffer from suspicion that they are terrorists. Blacks suffered slavery and Jim Crow. Yet our system of civil rights derives, in large part, from the experience of only Blacks, and aims to redress a single, momentous harm, namely slavery and its lingering effects. This is particularly true of the Thirteenth Amendment, which aims to abolish slavery and other conditions reminiscent of it.American case law, particularly in connection with matters of race, proceeds largely through a process of analogy in which courts compare the case before them to a previous decision or statute. Nonblack groups sometimes have been able to analogize their predicaments to ones that Blacks suffer, but often this has proven difficult. Thus, afflictions that visit few Blacks, such as wartime internment and language discrimination, can easily go unremedied under American law.This Essay discusses a number of obstacles that lie in the way of protecting Latinos and other nonblack minority groups under the current framework of statutory and constitutional civil rights, including the Thirteenth Amendment. After discussing drawbacks associated with a system of civil rights protection still inflected with the rhetoric and norms of the 1960s civil rights movement, the Essay closes by arguing that an increasingly multiracial society such as this one needs to develop a broader, more inclusive framework and -- with Latinos in mind -- sketches one.
I Want to Buy a Black Pot

Cooking pots made by craft specialists in a neighborhood in a small city in the Philippines are hand made, using the paddle and anvil technique, and then slipped with an iron-rich clay and polished with a marine shell. They are fired in an open fire, removed while very hot, and immersed in a bed of rice chaff. The result is a shiny black pot that is easily recognized in the market as being the product of this neighborhood. Such pots are valued by consumers as more beautiful and durable compared with pots made elsewhere. To see if the iron and carbon surface treatments improve the performance of the cooking pots, 50 pots were commissioned, with surfaces that varied from no treatment to slip only or carbon only as well as both carbon and slip. This collection was tested at the University of Arizona, and results clearly indicate that heating effectiveness is improved with both slip and carbon present. The surface treatments of red slip and smudge also affect the performance of pots for water permeability. However, our tests show no obvious relationships between strength and different surface treatments. The project illustrates the power of combining ethnoarchaeology with experimental studies in understanding artifact design.