cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transfer of synaptic vesicle antigens to the presynaptic plasma membrane during exocytosis

We have utilized immunofluorescence techniques to look for synaptic vesicle antigens on the plasma membrane of resting and active nerve terminals. Rabbit antiserum was raised against purified cholinergic synaptic vesicles from the electric organ of Narcine brasiliensis, a marine electric ray. Antibodies to synaptic vesicles were shown to bind selectively to nerve terminals in cryostat sections of frog nerve-muscle preparations. Binding was demonstrated indirectly by using fluorescein-labeled goat anti-rabbit antibodies. Structures in cross sections that bound antiserum were identified as nerve terminals because of their size, shape, and position and because they coincided with sites that bound rhodamine-conjugated alpha-bungarotoxin and had acetylcholine esterase activity. Presumably, sectioning gave antibodies access to binding sites within the nerve terminal. However, when antibodies to synaptic vesicles were added to the bathing medium of intact neuromuscular preparations prior to sectioning, antibody binding was marginal or undetectable, suggesting that few vesicle antigens were normally accessible on the outer surface of resting nerve terminals. When intact preparations were stimulated to release their vesicular acetylcholine by the addition of 1 mM LaCl3, antibody binding to the intact nerve terminals became striking. These findings suggest that the synaptic vesicle membrane and the synaptic terminal plasma membrane differ in composition. They also provide further support for the exocytotic hypothesis of neurotransmitter release, which predicts that vesicle markers should be exposed on the outside of nerve terminals when vesicles fuse with the plasma membrane during stimulation.
The Behavior of Unbounded Path-loss Models and the Effect of Singularity on Computed Network Interference

In this paper we address the utility of the unbounded path-loss model G1(x) = x-alpha in wireless networking research problems. It is known that G1(x) is not valid for small values of x due to the singularity at 0. We compare G1 to a more realistic bounded path-loss model, showing that the effect of the singularity on the total network interference power is significant and cannot be disregarded when the nodes are uniformly distributed over the network domain. In particular, we show that the interference probability density function becomes heavy- tailed under the unbounded path-loss model. However, it decays to zero exponentially fast under the bounded path- loss model. We also prove that a phase transition occurs in the interference behavior at a critical value alpha* of alpha. For alpha les alpha*, as the network size grows to infinity, interference converges (either in probability or in distribution) only if we scale it by an appropriate sequence of constants cnmiddot with cn rarr infin as n rarr infin. On the other hand, it naturally converges in distribution to a real valued random variable without needing any scaling constants for alpha > alpha*. All of our results are invariant under any finite node density lambda > 0.
Public Health Insurance Reform And Womens Labor Supply Decisions

The literature has explored the effects of welfare policy reforms on womens labor supply. However, a comprehensive analysis has not been conducted regarding the effects of individual policy instruments in public assistance programs. This paper examines whether policy instruments in the public health insurance program affect womens labor supply decisions, specifically, after we control for the effects of policy instruments in the welfare program. The results indicate that, on average, public health insurance policy instruments did not affect womens labor supply. Our analysis implies that, regarding the recent reform on public assistance programs, the crowd-out of private health insurance for public health insurance is less likely to arise via a reduced labor supply channel.
Visual Organization Test Performance in an African American Population With Acute Unilateral Cerebral Lesions

Controversy abounds as to whether the Hooper Visual Organization Test (VOT) is a measure of hemisphere-specific, region-specific, or non-specific brain damage. The present study examines this issue in a group of African Americans with acute unilateral brain damage and non-brain-injured controls. Consistent with the idea that the VOT is a measure of "organic" cerebral pathology, non-brain damaged controls earned significantly higher VOT scores than brain-damaged patients. While other studies have noted that the VOT is primarily sensitive to damage in the right parietal region of the brain, the present study shows that VOT performance is especially vulnerable to acute lesions in the right anterior quadrant of the brain. This latter finding supports the idea that VOT performance is differentially sensitive to regional cerebral pathology, but challenges the region specific claim of poorer VOT performance among patients with right posterior cerebral damage.
Simulating general-parameter LC-ladder filters for monolithic realizations with only transconductance elements and grounded capacitors

A generalized approach based on signal flow graph methods for designing continuous-time active signal processing circuits with only transconductance elements and grounded capacitors is presented. For generating active simulations of LC-ladder filters, the methods result in circuits where all transconductors except possibly one are identical, making the approach extremely convenient for monolithic realization with systematic design and dense layout. Although derived for single-ended devices, it is shown how the methods can be extended to designs based on differential input or even fully balanced transconductors. SPICE simulations demonstrate the validity of the approach and practical design aspects are discussed. >
Tissue cholesterol transport as modified by diet cholesterol and the nature of diet fat

Summary Groups of rats were fed purified diets ad libitum for 10 weeks after weaning. Three diets contained no fat, 20 % safHower oil or 20 % stripped tallow respectively. Three corresponding diets contained 1 % cholesterol in addition. Five animals in each group were sacrificed at each of 1/2 periods between and 96 hours after intraperitoneal injection of [1- 14 C]-sodium acetate and gastric intubation of tritium-labeled cholesterol. Examination of the tissues led to the following conclusions: Diet cholesterol and fat each play roles in the transport of cholesterol in serum and other tissues. The roles, however, are different. Diet cholesterol decreases the concentration of high-density lipoproteins and S f 0–12 low-density lipoproteins but increases the concentration of the S f 12–20 and S f 20–400 fractions. At the same time serum cholesterol concentration increases. It is postulated that this is a result of the inhibition of cholesterol synthesis by diet cholesterol: the exogenous cholesterol transported on the low-density lipoproteins and chylomicrons replaces the endogenous, the synthesis of which may be related to high-density lipoprotein origins. Diet fat, both tallow and safflower oil, in the cholesterol-free diets increases the S f 0–12 lipoproteins. Only tallow increases the S f 20–400 fraction also. In diets containing cholesterol, tallow and safflower oil increase the S f 12–20 and Sf 20–400 fractions while tallow decreases and safflower oil increases the S f 0–12 fraction. Diet fat has no direct effect on serum cholesterol levels but enhances the responses to diet cholesterol, probably by increasing its degree of absorption. In addition, however, diet fat also decreases the time required for exogenous cholesterol to reach maximum levels in tissues, unsaturated fat being more effective than saturated. Diet fat also affects tissue cholesterol half-life, unsaturated fat reducing it and saturated fat increasing it. Low levels of tissue exogenous cholesterol radioactivities on low fat as compared to high fat diets are explained as being due to diversion of labeled acetate to fat synthesis rather than to relatively low levels of cholesterol synthesis. The aorta synthesizes cholesterol and such synthesis is not inhibited by dietary cholesterol, in contrast to the liver but similar to the intestinal mucosa.
Freeze‐Thaw Resistance of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites Adhesive Bonds with Underwater Curing Epoxy

A prefabricated fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite shield or jacket was developed to repair wood piles in the field. Cylindrical E-glass/vinyl ester composite shells were bonded underwater to encase damaged wood piles. The resistance to freeze–thaw cycles of an underwater curing epoxy adhesive was evaluated. The standard test procedure for single-lap shear adhesion for FRP composite bonding, ASTM D5868, was selected. A standard procedure for freeze–thaw cycling exposure was adopted. The effect of freeze–thaw cycling exposure on the performance of the adhesive bond was discriminated by comparing the lap shear strength and the mode of failure of control and exposed samples. It was found that the lap shear strength is substantially reduced by exposure to freezing and thawing cycles. A change in the mode of failure from predominantly adhesive type to combined adhesive/cohesive type was noticed after exposure.
A meta-(re)analysis of the effects of cognitive therapy versus 'other therapies' for depression

Abstract Background: Cognitive therapy (CT) for depression has been found to be efficacious for the treatment of depression. In comparison to other psychotherapies, CT has been shown to be approximately equal to behavior therapies, but sometimes superior to ‘other therapies.’ The latter comparison is problematic given that ‘other therapies’ contain bona fide treatments as well as treatments without therapeutic rationale for depression. Method: A meta-analysis was conducted for studies that compared CT to ‘other therapies’ in an earlier meta-analysis, except that in this meta-analysis ‘other therapies’ were classified as bona fide and non-bona fide. Results: The benefits of CT were found to be approximately equal to the benefits of bona fide non-CT and behavioral treatments, but superior to non-bona fide treatments. Conclusions: The results of this study fail to support the superiority of CT for depression. On the contrary, these results support the conclusion that all bona fide psychological treatments for depression are equally efficacious.
Jagged Peak: The Case For Going Direct

This case explores the opportunities and challenges confronting Jagged Peak during its first decade in operation. For nearly ten years, Jagged Peak had grown at a rapid pace despite the absence of a defined competitive strategy or formal marketing plan. Today, Jagged Peak management faces strategic decisions that impact the company’s future success and perhaps position the organization as a pioneer in an already saturated e-commerce solutions marketplace. The company does not have a definitive strategy for obtaining or retaining customers. The team that struggled to define their company mission and vision is faced with the challenge of identifying their value proposition and target market. A task that is typically completed during the formation of a business was being re-evaluated nearly ten years after the company’s inception -- to define their position in the market.
Sudden Infant Death

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is a postmortem diagnosis that identifies an infant, usually less than 1-year-old, who dies a sudden and unexpected natural death during sleep, and the cause of death is not apparent after autopsy. The differential diagnosis of SIDS from other causes of infant death is often difficult. Even after an adequate autopsy, approximately 85 % of cases of sudden death in infants (including SIDS) remain unexplained; the other 15 % comprise a variety of explained disorders.
Decay of Sc 47

${\mathrm{Sc}}^{47}$ was milked from ${\mathrm{Ca}}^{47}$, prepared by proton irradiation of CaO, and its radiations were studied by coincidence and gamma-ray spectrometry. ${\mathrm{Sc}}^{47}$ was found to decay with the emission of beta rays of 0.46\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.02 and 0.62\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.03 Mev maximum energy. 66\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}3% of the decay is accompanied by a 0.157\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.007 Mev gamma ray in coincidence with the 0.46-Mev beta rays.
The Waters Edge Apartments: Capital Budgeting In Real Estate Development

The Water’s Edge Apartments case provides intermediate finance students with an opportunity to apply capital budgeting analysis and decision- making techniques to a real estate development situation. The objective is to give students practice in identifying and estimating project cash flows to make a decision regarding the project. Students are encouraged to include basic sensitivity analysis in their recommendation.
The Metamorphosis of the Digestive Tract of Aedes Dorsalis Meigen

Members of the family Culicidae, because of their peculiar method of metamorphosis, are of great interest to the entomologist. The individuals within this group hatch from eggs, and the larvae, like those of all holometabolous insects, represent a post-embryonic life stage peculiarly specialized for feeding and growth. The larvae are aquatic and during warm weather may be found in shallow stagnant water in practically all localities. The pupae, in contrast with the corresponding stage in most other forms, are active—thus presumably protecting themselves from the numerous predators common to aquatic life. Despite their active existence and enormous energy requirements the pupae do
Construct Validity of a Modification of the Flexed Arm Hang Test.

Despite the ubiquitous use of the flexed arm hang (FAH) as a field test of muscular fitness, evidence for the construct validity of it is lacking. The strongest validity coefficients (r) to date are 0.71 and 0.72 found by correlating modified versions of the FAH (i.e., 90 and 180° of elbow extension, respectively) with relative dynamic strength (i.e., 1 repetition maximum [1RM] lat pull downs × body mass). Considering a significant portion of all FAH and modified flexed arm hang (MFAH) performances are isometric, the test may be more correlated with the construct of relative isometric strength (RIS) rather than relative dynamic strength. The purpose of this study was to determine if the construct validity of the 90° MFAH might be strengthened by correlating it with either absolute isometric strength (AIS) (i.e., maximum volitional isometric contraction [MVIC]) or RIS (i.e., MVIC × body mass). Thirty-one college-aged women participated in the study. Inter-rater reliability coefficients for two 90° MFAH tests were determined using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC): F1,30 = 1.356, ICC = 0.99; F1,30 = 0.675, ICC = 0.99. In addition, test-retest reliability was also found to be excellent: F1,30 = 3.809; ICC = 0.98. Pearson product moment correlation (r) was used at an adjusted alpha level of 0.025 to examine construct validity of the 90° MFAH with both AIS (MVIC) and RIS (MVIC × body mass). Results indicated no significant relationship with AIS (r = 0.096, p = 0.606); however, a strong significant relationship emerged with RIS (r = 0.878, p = 0.000). It was concluded that 90° MFAH scores alone were not related to absolute strength; however, they were found to be a valid and reliable estimate of the construct of RIS.
Physical Therapy Documentation Using a Format for the Word Processor

Report writing and documentation is one of the most time-consuming and critical aspects of providing patient-care services. Domenech et al collected data on personnel time use in a general hospital and found that physical therapists spent 9.56 percent of their time in activities related to preparing and keeping records.1 Health-care professionals continually seek methods to facilitate report writing and documentation. Such methods must be flexible to accommodate different writing styles and allow for individualization of reports among staff members.2 The purpose of this article is to present a method of report writing that is both efficient and flexible. Physical therapists and occupational therapists at a major developmental evaluation center designed the method. This format for a word processor was originally prepared for pediatric assessment, but it is easily adapted for use in other settings.
Predictive variables in reoperation for coronary artery disease.

Seventy-one consecutive patients undergoing reoperation for coronary artery disease (1968 to 1976) were evaluated. Clinical indication for reoperation was recurrent angina pectoris in all patients. The cause of recurrent symptoms was related to occlusion of previously placed bypass grafts in 59 patients (83 percent) and to progressive atherosclerosis or the presence of previously unbypassed lesions in 12 patients (17 percent). Complete follow-up (mean 2.2 years) demonstrated symptomatic improvement in 42 patients (59 percent); 19 patients (27 percent) were relieved of angina entirely. Two patients (2.8 percent) died in the perioperative period. Technical problems anticipated with reoperation, such as inability to identify target vessels and excessive bleeding, were not encountered. Preoperative clinical status and coronary anatomic data, including the distribution of coronary disease, individual vessel size and degree of atherosclerotic involvement, indication for reoperation, and the completeness of the initial revascularization procedure, were analyzed and correlated with postoperative clinical status. Favorable coronary anatomy, defined as adequate vessel size (≥2.0 mm.) and a proximal distribution of atherosclerotic involvement, was the one factor which showed a significant correlation (p
Platelet-activating factor-induced polymorphonuclear neutrophil priming independent of CD11b adhesion

Background. Our previous studies have implicated phospholipase A 2 -dependent platelet-activating factor (PAF) production in the genesis of polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN)-Mediated tissue injury after gut ischemia-reperfusion. Further, these studies have suggested a discordance of PMN sequestration and tissue injury. CD11 B -dependent PMN-endothelial cell adhesion has been purported to play a dominant role in PMN-mediated tissue injury. We therefore undertook this study with the hypothesis that PAF-induced PMN superoxide production requires CD11 B -Mediated PMN-endothelial cell adherence. Methods. Human PMNs, isolated by Percoll gradient centrifugation, were exposed to PAF (10 ng/ml)
The Material Inventory of the Portuguese Colony

Those we use are made 5 feet broad and 6 high and as many in length and 4 feet beneath the arches. But in order to show you exactly how they are built I will make you a plan of it here.… Here is the kiln raised as far as the arches, where the floor is made in which different methods are followed. Many cut out the slabs which extend from one arch to another … others are accustomed to contrive these vents by leaving the bricks a little apart one from another.
Lattice Instabilities in Heavy Fermion Superconductors

Heavy Fermion superconductors are a subclass of the socalled Heavy Fermion (HF) systems, a class of intermetallic compounds with rare earth or actinide component characterized by an enormous value of the electronic specific heat coefficient γ(T) = C (T)/T in the Helium temperature range and below, where it can become larger than 1 J/mole K2 1. A somewhat arbitrary limit of γ > 0.4J/mole K2 distinguishes these systems1 from a much larger number of compounds with similar constituents whose specific heat is also still very large compared with ordinary metals like copper (γ = 0.65 mJ/mole K2). For the following we shall call such compounds with say 0. 4 J/mole K2 > γ > 0.04 J/mole K2 Bantam Fermion (BF) systems. The large γ is thought to be a measure of the inverse width wf of an extremely narrow band of f states, which intersects the Fermi energy at T = 0. Interest in HF systems became intense after superconductivity was discovered in some of them2,3,4, because contrary to all previous experience, according to which narrow f states at the Fermi level strongly suppress superconductivity, in the HF superconductors they seemed to cause it.
Normal and Aberrant T-Cell Receptor Protein Expression in T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Mature human T lymphocytes recognize self and non-self through two distinct types of T-cell antigen receptors (TCR), TCRαβ and TCRγδ, that are expressed on the cell surface membrane in association with CD3 molecules (reviewed by Davis and Bjorkman 1988; Brenner et al. 1988). Inappropriate pairing of TCR chains, e.g. βδ, or surface expression of single chains apparently does not occur in normal T cells, although such phenomena have been described as rare events in leukemic cell lines (Hochstenbach and Brenner 1989).
The perception of team engagement reduces stress induced situation awareness overconfidence and risk-taking

Abstract Much research has examined how stress restricts objective Situation Awareness (SA). Little research, however, has focused on SA overconfidence, the notion that an individual may grasp a situation when in fact they do not. Even less SA research has examined the motivational and emotional states of individuals operating in teams in stressful environments. Expanding on recent data suggesting that stress creates SA overconfidence, not simply SA loss, the present experiment manipulated stress levels and the perception of team engagement, which is thought to be a positive motivational state of task-related well-being. Teams of Soldiers were tested in a virtual combat scenario testing shared risk-taking, objective (i.e., collaborative ability to answer SA probes), and subjective SA. Results indicated that the mere perception of above average team engagement reduced stress induced SA overconfidence and risk-taking of teams. These results suggest simple, virtually costless strategies for improving elements of SA that may impact the behavior of teams and potentially improve their decision-making.
Visceral Feedback and the Taste Signal

Visceral feedback after eating a meal modifies the taste of the food and drink by psychological processes which are of special interest to students of biofeedback. For simplicity, consider an unlimited amount of a tasty fluid placed before a hungry subject. The taste of the fluid is the perceptual signal, ingestion is the process to be controlled and homeostatic well-being is the state to be achieved. If the fluid is a creamy substance, rich in calories, it tastes delicious at the beginning of the meal and the subject drinks heartily. As the caloric mass accumulates in the gut, satiety is achieved before tissue needs are redressed, as if the viscera has sensing devices which accurately estimate the amount of food needed to achieve the ultimate homeostatic balance (Novin, 1976; Schachter, 1971; McHugh, Moran, & Barton, 1975).
The Long-Term Promise of Evolutionary Psychology for the Law

This Article is about one branch of the modern psychological sciences — evolutionary psychology — and why this branch is of particular long-term importance to the law. As with any behavioral science, the value to the law might seem obvious: since the primary objective of the law — the point of the whole thing — is to manage human behavior, a more complete understanding of the causal mechanisms of human behavior can only improve the institution that seeks to manage it. But to make the idea more concrete, this Article will trace a brief sketch of what evolutionary psychology in particular brings to legal analysis, and why this approach has considerable lasting promise.
Finance for Normal People: How Investors and Markets Behave (Introduction)

Behavioral finance presented in Finance for Normal People is a second generation behavioral finance. The first generation, starting in the early 1980s, largely accepted standard finance’s notion of people’s wants as “rational” wants – restricted to the utilitarian benefits of high returns and low risk. That first generation commonly described people as “irrational” - succumbing to cognitive and emotional errors and misled on their way to their rational wants. The second generation describes people as normal. It begins by acknowledging the full range of people’s normal wants - hope for riches and freedom from the fear of poverty, nurturing our children and families, being true to our values, gaining high social status, playing games and winning, and more. It distinguishes normal wants from errors, and offers guidance on using shortcuts and avoiding errors on the way to satisfying normal wants. People’s normal wants, even more than their cognitive and emotional shortcuts and errors, underlie answers to important questions of finance, including saving and spending, portfolio construction, asset pricing, and market efficiency. These are presented in this book. We often hear that behavioral finance is nothing more than a collection of stories about irrational people misled by cognitive and emotional errors, that it lacks the unified structure of standard finance. Yet today's standard finance is no longer unified because wide cracks have opened between its theory and the evidence. This book offers behavioral finance as a unified structure that incorporates parts of standard finance, replaces others, and includes bridges between theory, evidence, and practice.
Regulation of cardiac muscle function in the hypertensive heart.

The heart and vasculature of chronically hypertensive patients at any age exhibit cardiovascular changes that occur with aging in individuals whose arterial pressure is within clinically defined normal range. These changes include left ventricular hypertrophy (1–7), a diminution in resting left ventricular early diastolic filling rate (1,2,8,9), increased vascular stiffness (10–16) and aortic impedance (17,18), an increase in peripheral vascular resistance, a diminution in the baroreceptor reflex (19) and a diminished response to catecholamines (20–28).
Features of Illness Versus Features of Romantic Relationships as Predictors of Cognitive and Behavioral Coping Among Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes.

For individuals with a chronic illness, such as type 2 diabetes, a multitude of factors may influence the ways people cope with their condition. This study compares characteristics of the illness a...
HLA DQB1*0602 is Associated With Cataplexy in 509 Narcoleptic Patients

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder associated with HLA DR15 (DR2) and DQB1*0602. We HLA typed 509 patients enrolled in a clinical trial for the drug modafinil and analyzed the results in relation to cataplexy, a symptom of narcolepsy characterized by muscle weakness triggered by emotions. The patients were either subjects with cataplexy who had a mean sleep latency (SL) of less than 8 minutes and two or more sleep onset rapid eye movement (REM) periods (SOREMPs) during a multiple sleep latency test, or narcoleptic patients without cataplexy but with a mean SL shorter than 5 minutes and two or more SOREMPs. The respective values of DRB1*15 (DR2) and DQB1*0602 as markers for narcolepsy were first compared in different ethnic groups and in patients with and without cataplexy. DQB1*0602 was found to be a more sensitive marker for narcolepsy than DRB1*15 across all ethnic groups. DQB1*0602 frequency was strikingly higher in patients with cataplexy versus patients without cataplexy (76.1% in 421 patients versus 40.9% in 88 patients). Positivity was highest in patients with severe cataplexy (94.8%) and progressively decreased to 54.2% in patients with the mildest cataplexy. A voluntary 50-item questionnaire focusing on cataplexy was also analyzed in 212 of the 509 HLA-typed patients. Subjects with definite cataplexy as observed by an experienced clinician were more frequently HLA DQB1*0602-positive than those with doubtful cataplexy, and the manifestations of cataplexy were clinically more typical in DQB1*0602-positive patients. These results show that the HLA association is as tight as previously reported (85-95%) when cataplexy is clinically typical or severe. We also found that patients with mild, atypical, or no cataplexy have a significantly increased DQB1*0602 frequency (40-60%) in comparison with ethnically matched controls (24%). These results could be explained by increased disease heterogeneity in the noncataplexy group or by a direct effect of the HLA DQB1*0602 genotype on the clinical expression of narcolepsy.
Lost in transition: Patient-identified barriers to adult urological spina bifida care.

Summary Introduction It has been established that patients with congenital diseases, including spina bifida (SB) are often lost to routine medical care in young adulthood. While the reasons for this observation are not entirely defined, many believe it is multifactorial. Objective This study sought to characterize self-reported barriers to transition among adults with SB who failed to transition to adult urological care. Study design This study, conducted at two tertiary centers with established adult myelomeningocele multidisciplinary clinics, enrolled patients with SB who had not been seen in >18 months. A visit was scheduled and upon arrival patients were provided a questionnaire with 22 yes/no questions about barriers to arranging a visit and eight questions regarding their health issues. Questions were categorized as relating to patient factors, provider factors, and system factors. To facilitate targeted areas of improvement, patient factors were further subdivided into self-management/support (SMS), preferences, and education, and provider factors into knowledge, communication, and location. System factors included only questions related to insurance issues. The questionnaire was uncomplicated, which eliminated the need for assistance when answering the questions. Results There were 27 questionnaires collected. Overall, a total of seven patients (26%) identified no barriers to follow-up, eight identified one barrier (30%), and 12 (44%) identified more than one barrier. Patient factors made up approximately 52% (28 of 54 total “Yes” responses) of all barriers, with Preference being the largest contributor (30%, 16/54) (Fig.). Provider factors accounted for about 37% (20/54) of all barriers, with the Communication (26%, 14/54) subcategory making up the vast majority. System factors contributed only 11% (6/54) of all barriers. The majority of patients (18/27, 67%) reported having a new health issue since their last visit to their pediatric urologist, with only five of 18 (28%) seeking urological care. Discussion This study demonstrated that the decision to pursue adult urologic care is multifactorial. The questionnaire may not have captured all of the reasons SB patients are lost to follow-up, as a quarter of patients did not identify a barrier. Limitations of this study include the small number of participants, use of only two study locations, and the closed-ended nature of the questionnaire. Conclusion Multiple factors contribute to the SB patient's decision to pursue adult urologic care. Targeted areas of improvement include provider communication at both the pediatric and adult level, as well as education regarding patient preferences and SMS. Download : Download high-res image (118KB) Download : Download full-size image Figure . Overall proportion of barriers to establishing follow-up among adults with spina bifida. SMS = self-management/support.
Inspection of plate weldments through an interposed layer of viscoelastic material using an elastic-electromagnetic scanning method.

In this article, an elastic-microwave based non-destructive evaluation method is presented to inspect for cracks in weldments and thinning of coated steel plates. The approach uses a microwave interferometer operating at 94 GHz to record the total surface displacement of a coated steel plated as it is driven by an incident elastic field. These spatiotemporal data coupled with wavefield processing algorithms provide powerful detection and localization capabilities. From these wavefield data sets, a plate thickness mapping capability has been demonstrated that can detect thickness changes on the order of 0.79 mm (1/32 in.). It is also shown that a topological energy analysis of the wavefield data can detect and locate small flaws on the order of 5–10 mm (0.19–0.40 in.) in the welded joint. Note, all of these results are obtained through a 50.8 mm (2 in.) thick viscoelastic coating without disturbing the coating or the coating bond. At present the algorithm cannot resolve individual flaws within a grid space, just their cumulative effect. Even with the current limitations, this detection approach appears to be a promising alternative to traditional phased array imaging methods where the coating layer must be removed prior to inspection.In this article, an elastic-microwave based non-destructive evaluation method is presented to inspect for cracks in weldments and thinning of coated steel plates. The approach uses a microwave interferometer operating at 94 GHz to record the total surface displacement of a coated steel plated as it is driven by an incident elastic field. These spatiotemporal data coupled with wavefield processing algorithms provide powerful detection and localization capabilities. From these wavefield data sets, a plate thickness mapping capability has been demonstrated that can detect thickness changes on the order of 0.79 mm (1/32 in.). It is also shown that a topological energy analysis of the wavefield data can detect and locate small flaws on the order of 5–10 mm (0.19–0.40 in.) in the welded joint. Note, all of these results are obtained through a 50.8 mm (2 in.) thick viscoelastic coating without disturbing the coating or the coating bond. At present the algorithm cannot resolve individual flaws within a grid space...
The Causes of the Helpless People and the Measures to Help them

The problem of the helpless people which will affect the social stabilization is one of the important problems which our government is paying attention to nowadays. This article analyses the causes why the helpless people appear, and offers the detailed measures to help them.
Proximal Policy Gradient: PPO with Policy Gradient.

In this paper, we propose a new algorithm PPG (Proximal Policy Gradient), which is close to both VPG (vanilla policy gradient) and PPO (proximal policy optimization). The PPG objective is a partial variation of the VPG objective and the gradient of the PPG objective is exactly same as the gradient of the VPG objective. To increase the number of policy update iterations, we introduce the advantage-policy plane and design a new clipping strategy. We perform experiments in OpenAI Gym and Bullet robotics environments for ten random seeds. The performance of PPG is comparable to PPO, and the entropy decays slower than PPG. Thus we show that performance similar to PPO can be obtained by using the gradient formula from the original policy gradient theorem.
Heroes, villains, or something in between? How “Right to Work” policies affect teachers, students, and education policymaking

Abstract Although the Janus v. AFCSME (2018) decision fundamentally changed the institutional context for U.S. teachers’ unions by placing all public school teachers in a “Right to Work” (RTW) framework, little research exists to conceptualize the effects of such policies that hinder unionization. To fill this gap, I exploit the different timing across states in the passage of RTW policies in a differences-in-differences framework to identify how exposure to a RTW policy affects students, teachers, and education policymaking. I find that RTW policies lead to declines in teachers’ union power, but contrary to what many union critics have argued, I find that efforts to weaken unions did not result in political opportunities for education reforms nor did they improve student achievement outcomes.
Impact of service line replacement on lead, cadmium, and other drinking water quality parameters in Flint, Michigan

In April 2014, Flint, MI switched its drinking water source from water treated in Detroit to Flint River water without applying corrosion control. This caused lead and other metals to leach into drinking water. To mitigate lead exposure, Flint began to replace lead service lines and galvanized iron service lines in March 2016. In this study, the short- and long-term impact of service line replacement on Flint drinking water quality was investigated. In particular, lead and other metal concentrations, chlorine residual, and levels of select microbial populations were examined before and two and five weeks after SL replacement in water collected from 17 Flint homes. Overall, lead levels in premise plumbing water did not change significantly within five weeks of replacement, however, significant reductions were observed two weeks after service line replacement in flushed samples representative of distribution system water (pre-replacement median = 0.98 μg L−1; two-week post-replacement median = 0.11 μg L−1). Multiple sequential samplings from one Flint residence before and 11 months after service line replacement revealed large reductions in lead levels in all samples, indicating long-term benefits of service line replacement. Cadmium was also detected at levels at or above the federal maximum contaminant level. Microbial analyses established that 100%, 21%, and 52% of samples had quantifiable concentrations of total bacteria, Legionella spp., and Mycobacterium spp. as measured by quantitative PCR, while Legionella pneumophila was not detected in any samples. Our results provide evidence that both lead service line and galvanized service line replacement benefit consumers in the long term by reducing drinking water lead concentrations, while short-term advantages of service line replacement in sites with prior lead seeding of in-home plumbing are less apparent.
Expanding studies of chromosome structure and function in the era of T2T genomics.

The recent accomplishment of a truly complete human genome has afforded a new view of chromosome structure and function that was limited 30 years ago. Here, we discuss the expansion of knowledge from the early cytological studies of the genome to the current high resolution genomic, epigenetic, and functional maps that have been achieved by recent technology and computational advances. These studies have revealed unexpected complexities of genome organization and function and uncovered new views of fundamental chromosomal elements. Comprehensive genomic maps will enable accurate diagnosis of human diseases caused by altered chromosome structure and function, facilitate development of chromosome-based therapies, and shape the future of preventative medicine and healthcare.
Pod save you: assisting the transition to audio-based asynchronous learning

Background : In 2017, an academic health sciences library in Utah developed a multimedia studio for students, faculty, and academic staff. Educational projects needing video, audio, and lecture capture could utilize a one-button studio for recording video sessions, microphones for audio, and various screen capture software for lectures. Since the pandemic, this service has seen rapid growth due to academic lectures going exclusively online. In response, the library launched a dedicated podcasting suite to accommodate the increase in students and faculty needing to record lectures or podcasts for others in the medical profession. Description : This article will outline the process of creating the podcasting suite and provide equipment rosters and methods other libraries may consider for establishing their own studio. Administrating duties of the studio will also be included, such as handling reservations and user assessment. An instructional guide for users is also included to assist patrons in accomplishing their podcast creations. Conclusion : Podcasts created in the space range from topics about teaching strategies in medicine to diagnoses and treatments of skin disorders. A podcasting suite is another way libraries can provide valuable services for asynchronous learning and student projects. Students, staff, and faculty have appreciated the ease of the service and the support behind it. A feedback loop was developed to further improve the space to meet the needs of users.
Higgs boson from the metastable supersymmetric breaking sector

We construct a calculable model of electroweak symmetry breaking in which the Higgs doublet emerges from the metastable SUSY breaking sector as a pseudo Nambu-Goldstone boson. The Higgs boson mass is further protected by the little Higgs mechanism, and naturally suppressed by a two-loop factor from the SUSY breaking scale of 10 TeV. Gaugino and sfermion masses arise from standard gauge mediation, but the Higgsino obtains a tree-level mass at the SUSY breaking scale. At 1 TeV, aside from new gauge bosons and fermions similar to other little Higgs models and their superpartners, our model predicts additional electroweak triplets and doublets from the SUSY breaking sector.
Cytogenetic alignment of the bovine chromosome 13 genome map by fluorescence in-situ hybridization of human chromosome 10 and 20 comparative markers.

A bovine bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library was screened for the prescence of six genes (IL2RA, VIM, THBD, PLC-II, CSNK2A1 and TOP1) previously assigned to human chromosomes 10 or 20 (HSA10 or HSA20). Four of the genes were found repesented in the bovine BAC library by at least one clone. The identified BAC clones were used as probes in single-color fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) to determine the chromosomal band location of each gene. As predicted by the human/bovine comparative map and comparative chromosome painting analysis, the four genes mapped to bovine chromosome 13 (BTA13). Dual-color FISH was then used to integrate these four type I markers into the existing BTA13 genome map. These FISH results anchor the BTA13 genome map from bands 14–23, and confirm the presence of a conserved HSA10 homologous synteny group on BTA13 centromeric to a HSA20 homologous segment.
Chemical and Swelling Evaluations of Amino Group Crosslinking in Gelatin and Modified Gelatin Matrices

Purpose. To determine the extent of amino group crosslinking in gelatin matrices by chemical assay, and to compare these results to crosslinking evaluations from swelling measurements. Methods. Matrices crosslinked with a water soluble carbodiimide (EDC/G), glutaraldehyde (GTA/G), as well as a GTA crosslinked matrix prepared from gelatin modified to contain 230% greater crosslinking sites (GTA/Mod) were evaluated. Crosslinking extent, X c, was determined by a UV assay of uncrosslinked amino groups before and after crosslinking, and was used to obtain crosslinking densities. Equilibrium swelling ratios, Q m at 37°C in isotonic pH 7.4 were used to calculate crosslinking degree from the Flory equation for swelling of ionic polymers for comparison to the chemically determined crosslinking densities. Results. Of the original 33 × 10−5 moles e-amino groups/g gelatin, 91 to 95% were crosslinked in EDC/G and GTA/G. GTA/Mod lost 95% of the original 108 × 10−5 moles amino groups/g gelatin. Crosslinking densities were 4.1 × 10−4 and 4.2 × 10−4 moles/mL for EDC/G and GTA/G, respectively. The value for GTA/Mod increased to 14.2 × 10−4 moles/mL. Values of Q m followed the same trend. The Flory crosslinking degrees for both gelatin matrices were 12 × 10−4 and 13 × 10−4 moles/mL, respectively. The value for the more extensively crosslinked GTA/Mod was 280 × 10−4moles/mL. Conclusions. The swelling and chemical evaluations of crosslinking are in general agreement for matrices with the lower of two crosslinking levels. The chemical determination appears suitable for evaluating amino group crosslinking in gelatin and it may be suitable for other proteinaceous materials.
Developmental regulation of the hypothalamic metabotropic glutamate receptor mGluR1

The expression of the metabotropic glutamate receptor mGluR1 was studied with Northern and Western blot analysis, with immunocytochemistry, and with Ca2+ digital imaging in the developing rat hypothalamus. mGluR1 is coupled to a G protein and activation by glutamate and related agonists leads to intracellular phosphotidylinositol hydrolysis and Ca2+ mobilization. mGluR1 RNA could be detected in embryonic hypothalamus, and by the day of birth and prior to the primary period of synaptogenesis, both mGluR1 RNA and protein were strongly expressed. In parallel experiments with digital imaging of cultured hypothalamic cells, some embryonic day 18 hypothalamic neurons and many astrocytes after 3 d in vitro showed Ca2+ responses to quisqualate and t-ACPD, and to glutamate in the absence of extracellular Ca2+. A greater number of embryonic neurons responded to NMDA than to agonists of the metabotropic receptor. With increased development time in culture, the number of neurons that responded to metabotropic glutamate receptor agonists increased. In the adult hypothalamus, mGluR1-immunoreactive neurons were widespread, and particularly dense in the dorsomedial, lateral, and anterior hypothalamus/preoptic areas, and in the mammillary body. Strongly immunoreactive cells were interspersed among neurons with no immunoreactivity. In developing neurons a diffuse immunostaining appeared along dendrites and somata. With time, beginning in the first week after birth, strongly stained puncta appeared, possibly associated with synaptic specializations. These puncta were numerous on dendrites of some adult neurons, and were the most strongly stained regions of neurons. Neurons developing in vitro at low neuron densities showed a development of mGluR1 immunoreactivity similar to that of neurons in vivo, but with a delayed progression of immunostaining. We found no obvious staining of axons or of astrocytes. A strong expression of mGluR1 protein was found in the hypothalamus during the first 2 postnatal weeks; this expression was partially reduced in adults. In contrast, cerebellum showed no reduction in mGluR1 protein in adults. Together these data suggest a complex regulation of mGluR1 during development, with sufficient expression of functional receptors in the developing hypothalamus to modulate morphogenesis and synaptogenesis, and later to play a role in transduction of glutamate signals in the adult. Different regions of the brain showed dramatic differences in the way each expresses mGluR1 during development.
WHAT KIND OF PHILOSOPHER WAS LOCKE ON MIND AND BODY

The wide range of conflicting interpretations that exist in regard to Locke's philosophy of mind and body (i.e. dualistic, materialist, idealistic) can be explained by the general failure of commentators to appreciate the full extent of his nominalism. Although his nominalism that focuses on specific natural kinds has been much discussed, his mind-body nominalism remains largely neglected. This neglect, I shall argue, has given rise to the current diversity of interpretations. This paper offers a solution to this interpretative puzzle, and it attributes a view to Locke that I shall describe as nominal symmetry.
Towards a denotational semantics for TimeML

The XML-based markup language TimeML encodes temporal and event-time information for use in automatic text processing. The TimeML annotation of a text contains information about the temporal intervals that are mentioned in the text as well as the relationship of these temporal intervals to the times and events mentioned in the text. We provide here a formal denotational semantics for TimeML, addressing problems of operator scope that arise in the context of a "flat" representation language and providing a sketch of an intensional extension to the main extensional semantics.
Increased TCA cycle intermediates in response to diet with Deanna protocol in ALS mouse model (578.3)

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting motor neurons and is characterized by progressive muscle weakness, paralysis, and, eventually, death. There is no cure ...