cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Book Review: Are Class Actions Unconstitutional?

This is a book review of Martin Redish, Wholesale Justice: Constitutional Democracy and the Problem of the Class Action Lawsuit (Stanford U. Press, 2009). In Wholesale Justice, Redish argues that class actions are unconstitutional and must be significantly reformed. The argument he presents is one that will surely be debated in courtrooms as well as classrooms and is especially significant given that the Supreme Court is hearing four major class action cases in the October 2010 term. After summarizing Redish's arguments, the review demonstrates that class actions are both constitutional and consistent with ideals of democratic accountability. In the end, the question is not whether the class action is constitutional (it is) but whether class actions are socially beneficial. This is a policy issue, not a constitutional one. Nevertheless, a broader point in Redish's book deserves serious attention. Too often procedures and remedies stealthily prevent the vindication of substantive rights. The appropriate solution to this accountability problem is a more robust public discussion of the relationship between rights and remedies.
Faith and Spirituality: Supporting Caregivers of Individuals with Disabilities

The relationship between caregiving, supports for caregivers, spirituality, and faith/faith communities is both powerful and complex. The power has been evident in a simple question one can ask family caregivers of persons with disabilities: “Would you be willing to share your church (synagogue, temple, etc.) story?” or “Would you be willing to describe how your faith or spirituality has been impacted by your experience?”
Preference assessments and structured potential adopter-dog interactions increase adoptions

Abstract Previous research showed that lying down next to potential adopters and not ignoring their play initiations during interactions outside of the kennel correlate with increased likelihood of adoption in shelter dogs. In the present study, we experimentally assessed whether increasing these behaviors during interactions with potential adopters influenced adoption outcomes. In Experiment 1, we validated a brief play preference assessment in order to find individual preferences for toys in shelter dogs. We found that play with specific toys in the preference assessment predicted play in more naturalistic settings ( χ 2 =10.50, P n =20). We then used a modification of this assessment as part of the experimental intervention. In Experiment 2, we randomly assigned dogs to the experimental structured-interaction (Group SI) and control (Group C) groups and evaluated 160 interactions between these dogs and potential adopters. The experimental intervention consisted of conducting a play preference assessment prior to the interaction and structuring the interaction once a potential adopter expressed interest in the dog. The structured interaction involved Phase 1—in which the visitor was encouraged to allow the dog to eliminate, Phase 2—in which the experimenter encouraged play with the dog's preferred toy, and Phase 3—in which the experimenter encouraged the dog to lie down next to a potential adopter by restraining the dog with a short leash and luring into a down position with treats. A mixed-effects logistic regression model revealed that group membership, but not morphology of the dog, was predictive of adoption outcome ( χ 2 =3.95, P
Provider-to-Provider Communication during Transitions of Care from Outpatient to Acute Care: A Systematic Review.

Most research on transitions of care has focused on the transition from acute to outpatient care. Little is known about the transition from outpatient to acute care. We conducted a systematic review of the literature on the transition from outpatient to acute care, focusing on provider-to-provider communication and its impact on quality of care. We searched the MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases for English-language articles describing direct communication between outpatient providers and acute care providers around patients presenting to the emergency department or admitted to the hospital. We conducted double, independent review of titles, abstracts, and full text articles. Conflicts were resolved by consensus. Included articles were abstracted using standardized forms. We maintained search results via Refworks (ProQuest, Bethesda, MD). Risk of bias was assessed using a modified version of the Downs’ and Black’s tool. Of 4009 citations, twenty articles evaluated direct provider-to-provider communication around the outpatient to acute care transition. Most studies were cross-sectional (65 %), conducted in the US (55 %), and studied communication between primary care and inpatient providers (62 %). Of three studies reporting on the association between communication and 30-day readmissions, none found a significant association; of these studies, only one reported a measure of association (adjusted OR for communication vs. no communication, 1.08; 95 % CI 0.92–1.26). The literature on provider-to-provider communication at the transition from outpatient to acute care is sparse and heterogeneous. Given the known importance of communication for other transitions of care, future studies are needed on provider-to-provider communication during this transition. Studies evaluating ideal methods for communication to reduce medical errors, utilization, and optimize patient satisfaction at this transition are especially needed.
The bootstrap principle and equal-time commutators

Implications of the bootstrap principle for equal-time commutators of hadron-current operators are discussed. It is shown that current algebra is closely related to bootstrap theory.
The Treatment of Anxiety in Autism Spectrum Disorder (TAASD) Study: Rationale, Design and Methods

This paper describes the rationale, design, and methods of the Treatment for Anxiety in Autism Spectrum Disorders study, a three-site randomized controlled trial investigating the relative efficacy of a modular CBT protocol for anxiety in ASD (Behavioral Interventions for Anxiety in Children with Autism) versus standard CBT for pediatric anxiety (the Coping Cat program) and a treatment-as-usual control. The trial is distinct in its scope, its direct comparison of active treatments for anxiety in ASD, and its comprehensive approach to assessing anxiety difficulties in youth with ASD. The trial will evaluate the relative benefits of CBT for children with ASD and investigate potential moderators (ASD severity, anxiety presentation, comorbidity) and mediators of treatment response, essential steps for future dissemination and implementation.
“That’s Not Real India” Responses to Women’s Portrayals in Indian Soap Operas

This study examined the portrayal of women on Indian soap operas through content analysis. Quotes from in-depth interviews of 100 Asian Indians (50 couples) from five major metropolitan areas, NY, DC, SF, Chicago, and Houston, who watch Indian television (imported from India) via the satellite dish or cable, were used in this study. Researchers uncovered specific themes, such as Portrayal of women, Heterosexual Romance and Intimacy, and Joint Family, and analyzed these themes against the theoretical framework of cultural proximity. The authors explained that the role of Indian women being created in Indian serials did not reflect the image of Indian women the participants remembered when they migrated to the United States in the 1960s. The image of Indian women that was being portrayed was that of a “vamp” or someone manipulative and not family-oriented. Therefore, the cultural proximity of the Indian soap operas was disrupted by the negative portrayal of Indian women to a particular generation of Indian ...
Studies of Si Surface Chemistry and Epitaxy Using Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy

We apply scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS) to study the reaction of NH3 with Si(111)-(7×7), and the epitaxial growth of CaF2 on Si(11). By a combination of topographs and atom-resolved spectra we can follow the spatial distribution of the reaction and changes in electronic structure with atomic resolution. We find that there are strong site-selectivities for the NH3 reaction on the 7×7 surface. We also observe the initial stages of the CaF2 deposition and even are able to image insulating multi-layer CaF2 films.
Differential Equations of Non-Integer Order

In §1, we define a differential-integral operator, which for positive real indices is commonly known as the Liouville-Riemann generalized integral. For positive integer indices, we obtain an iterated integral. For negative real indices we obtain the Riemann-Holmgren (5; 9) generalized derivative, which for negative integer indices gives the ordinary derivative of order corresponding to the negative of such an integer. Following M. Riesz (10) we extend these ideas to include complex indices.
Children's reasoning about distributive and retributive justice across development

Research on distributive justice indicates that preschool-age children take issues of equity and merit into account when distributing desirable items, but that they often prefer to see desirable items allocated equally in third-party tasks. By contrast, less is known about the development of retributive justice. In a study with 4- to 10-year-old children (n = 123) and adults (n = 93), we directly compared the development of reasoning about distributive and retributive justice. We measured the amount of rewards or punishments that participants allocated to recipients who differed in the amount of good or bad things they had done. We also measured judgments about collective rewards and punishments. We found that the developmental trajectory of thinking about retributive justice parallels that of distributive justice. The 4- to 5-year-olds were the most likely to prefer equal distributions of both rewarding and aversive consequences; older children and adults preferred deservingness-based allocations. The 4- to 5-year-olds were also most likely to judge collective rewards and punishments as fair; this tendency declined with increasing age. Our results also highlight the extent to which the notion of desert influences thinking about distributive and retributive justice; desert was considered equally when participants allocated reward and punishments, but in judgments about collective discipline, participants focused more on desert in cases of punishment compared with reward. We discuss our results in relation to theories about preferences for equality versus equity, theories about how desert is differentially weighed across distributive and retributive justice, and the literature on moral development and fairness.
Peritoneal fluid fractions from patients with endometriosis do not promote two-cell mouse embryo growth

Peritoneal fluid (PF) from 10 infertile patients with endometriosis, obtained during the follicular phase of the cycle during laparoscopy, did not promote two-cell mouse embryo growth to the extent observed by fluid obtained from seven normal controls. Five molecular weight (MW) fractions were obtained by ultrafiltration, and each was used as media supplement in the assay and compared with PF fractions from normal controls. All fractions of PF from patients with endometriosis inhibited mouse embryo growth to a greater extent than did normal controls. However, the MW fractions > 100,000 daltons showed greater inhibition of embryo development than did fractions 100,000 daltons that is inhibitory on mouse embryo growth.
The Orienting Reflex and Functional Stability of the Nervous System

The primary thesis of this presentation is that V.D. Nebylitsyn’s concept of functional stability of the central nervous system (CNS) (Nebylitsyn, 1964) may provide a potential neurobiological basis for the intellectual dimension of human behavior. Evidence is presented in support of the proposition that individuals whose CNS is more functionally stable have higher measured IQs, while those whose CNS is less functionally stable have lower IQs.
Assessment of Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, OCD, and Depression in Young Children

This chapter examines assessment of anxiety and related disorders in young children. It begins with description of risk factors for these disorders, including temperament characteristics and parent/family influences. Next, the chapter provides general background regarding anxiety and related problems in younger children. The author covers research literature and diagnostic and classification information for specific problems including fears/phobias, separation anxiety disorder/school refusal, selective mutism, PTSD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression. In addition, specific measures/instruments for these problems are discussed. The chapter concludes with a discussion of implications for practitioners, including a summary of assessment principles and links to interventions.
Vaginal Testosterone for Management of Aromatase Inhibitor-Related Sexual Dysfunction: An Integrative Review.

Problem identification Women taking aromatase inhibitors (AIs) as part of the management of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer experience more symptoms of sexual dysfunction, including vaginal atrophy, as opposed to postmenopausal women and women treated with tamoxifen (Nolvadex®). Vaginal testosterone could be an alternative to estrogen, which is contraindicated in this population. . Literature search A systematic review was completed by searching PubMed and Scopus databases. . Data evaluation 64 search results were reduced to a final sample of 3 articles after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. . Synthesis Published results suggest that vaginally applied testosterone doses of 150 mcg and 300 mcg improve symptoms of sexual dysfunction in women taking AIs. Minimal side effects are observed, and estradiol levels are not affected by vaginally applied testosterone. Additional research is needed to evaluate vaginal testosterone in women taking AIs. . Conclusions Vaginal testosterone shows preliminary promise as an option to manage sexual side effects of AI therapy in postmenopausal cancer survivors; however, available data are too limited to draw practice-changing conclusions. . Implications for research Large-scale randomized, controlled trials need to be completed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of vaginal testosterone in women taking AIs.
Memory accessibility shapes explanation: Testing key claims of the inherence heuristic account

People understand the world by constructing explanations for what they observe. It is thus important to identify the cognitive processes underlying these judgments. According to a recent proposal, everyday explanations are often constructed heuristically: Because people need to generate explanations on a moment-by-moment basis, they cannot perform an exhaustive search through the space of possible reasons, but may instead use the information that is most easily accessible in memory (Cimpian & Salomon 2014a, b). In the present research, we tested two key claims of this proposal that have so far not been investigated. First, we tested whether-as previously hypothesized-the information about an entity that is most accessible in memory tends to consist of inherent or intrinsic facts about that entity, rather than extrinsic (contextual, historical, etc.) facts about it (Studies 1 and 2). Second, we tested the implications of this difference in the memory accessibility of inherent versus extrinsic facts for the process of generating explanations: Does the fact that inherent facts are more accessible than relevant extrinsic facts give rise to an inherence bias in the content of the explanations generated (Studies 3 and 4)? The findings supported the proposal that everyday explanations are generated in part via a heuristic process that relies on easily accessible-and often inherent-information from memory.
Radiation damage studies of new intrinsically radiation-hard scintillators

Following the development of intrinsically radiation-hard scintillators, we exposed various scintillators tiles to gammas from a 137Cs source at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics up to 1.4 and 14 Mrad. The results are within expectations and exhibit sufficiently high performance for implementations in the future/upgrade hadron/lepton collider detectors. Here we report on the nature of the irradiation tests and present the results of the laboratory measurements performed continuously for more than 60 days following the irradiation under various recovery conditions.
Genetic Algorithms and Adaptation

Genetics provides us with a canonical example of a complex search through a space of ill-defined possibilities. The basic problem is one of manipulating representations — the chromosomes — so as to search out and generate useful organization — the functional properties of the organism.
Against Some Recent Arguments for ‘Ought’ Implies ‘Can’: Reasons, Deliberation, Trying, and Furniture

Many philosophers claim that ‘ought’ implies ‘can’. In light of recent empirical evidence, however, some skeptics conclude that philosophers should stop assuming the principle unconditionally. Streumer, however, does not simply assume the principle’s truth; he provides arguments for it. In this article, we argue that his arguments fail to support the claim that ‘ought’ implies ‘can’.
The use of virtual clients for training behavioral health providers: Promises, challenges and the way ahead

Providing opportunities for training behavioral health providers in clinical practice remains a challenge within the helping professions. To date, the field has relied mostly on role-playing and the use of standardized actors to provide realistic clinical simulations to students. Although highly utilized, both methods come with significant challenges. As technology rapidly develops, so does its role and application within the framework of behavioral health training. One such role is its potential use in providing realistic clinicalsimulations to develop clinicalskills. Along with reviewing the application as well asadvantagesand challenges to the current training models used to mimic clinical interactions, role play, and standardized actor patients, the purpose of this concept article is to present an alternate clinical skills training model, the use of a virtual client. Described is the use of virtual clients in behavioral health training, including how virtual clients work and their current applications, the advantages and challenges associated with their use and the way forward with their use in behavioral health training. Authors conclude virtual clients have potential as an impactful tool in the development of clinical skills.
CPP-E1A fusion peptides inhibit CtBP-mediated transcriptional repression.

The carboxyl-terminal binding proteins (CtBP) are transcriptional corepressors that regulate the expression of multiple epithelial-specific and pro-apoptotic genes. Overexpression of CtBP occurs in many human cancers where they promote the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, stem cell-like features, and cell survival, while knockdown of CtBP in tumor cells results in p53-independent apoptosis. CtBPs are recruited to their target genes by binding to a conserved PXDLS peptide motif present in multiple DNA-binding transcription factors. Disrupting the interaction between CtBP and its transcription factor partners may be a means of altering CtBP-mediated transcriptional repression and a potential approach for cancer therapies. However, small molecules targeting protein-protein interactions have traditionally been difficult to identify. In this study, we took advantage of the fact that CtBP binds to a conserved peptide motif to explore the feasibility of using peptides containing the PXDLS motif fused to cell-penetrating peptides (CPP) to inhibit CtBP function. We demonstrate that these peptides disrupt the ability of CtBP to interact with its protein partner, E1A, in an AlphaScreen assay. Moreover, these peptides can enter both lung carcinoma and melanoma cells, disrupt the interaction between CtBP and a transcription factor partner, and inhibit CtBP-mediated transcriptional repression. Finally, the constitutive expression of one such peptide, Pep1-E1A-WT, in a melanoma cell line reverses CtBP-mediated oncogenic phenotypes including proliferation, migration, and sphere formation and limits tumor growth in vivo. Together, our results suggest that CPP-fused PXDLS-containing peptides can potentially be developed into a research tool or therapeutic agent targeting CtBP-mediated transcriptional events in various biological pathways.
Association of RB/p16-Pathway Perturbations with DCIS Recurrence: Dependence on Tumor versus Tissue Microenvironment

The prevalence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) diagnoses has significantly increased as a result of active radiographic screening. Surgical resection and hormone and radiation therapies are effective treatments, but not all DCIS will progress to invasive breast cancer. Therefore, markers are needed to define tumors at low risk of recurrence and progression that can be treated by surgery alone rather than by adjuvant therapies. Initial analyses indicate that retinoblastoma (RB)-pathway perturbations occur at high frequency in DCIS and mirror the molecular alterations observed in invasive breast cancer. Particularly, the elevated expression of p16ink4a in DCIS was associated with loss of RB function and estrogen receptor–negative biology. Furthermore, high expression of p16ink4a in conjunction with Ki-67 was associated with increased risk of DCIS recurrence and progression to invasive disease in multivariate analyses. These data are consistent with a functional role for RB in modulating the invasive behavior of mammary epithelial cells. The tissue microenvironment is particularly relevant to the behavior of DCIS, and, surprisingly, elevated expression of p16ink4a in nonproliferative stroma was observed in a substantial fraction of cases. In this tissue compartment, p16ink4a expression was strongly associated with disease recurrence, independent of standard histopathologic features. Together, the data herein describe dual aspects of RB-pathway biology that are associated with disease recurrence through the epithelial or stromal compartment of DCIS.
1-, 2-, 3-Factor Crosses

A genetic marker (or factor) is a DNA nucleotide sequence whose transmission to progeny of a genetic cross can be monitored. In a genetic cross, one, two, or three (or more) markers may distinguish the parents from each other.
Study Designs, Lessons Learned and Future Research Directions to Assess Health Effects of Air Quality

Introduction: Over the last several decades there has been extraordinary growth and advances in research efforts to explore and understand the health effects of air pollution. A major part of this ...
Inducing Optimal Quality Under Price Caps: Why, How, and Whether

Quality of postal service is of concern around the world, and was a subject of proceedings in the US to assess the performance of price-cap regulation (PCR) of “market-dominant” services. Although PCR does not imply minimizing quality, work by Sappington implies that quality will be below the optimal level at the regulated price. Mechanisms to get regulated firms to internalize this quality externality, consistent with information limitations justifying PCR, provide no benefits to postal customers. Negotiated arrangements between a postal operator and its regulator to set and incentivize quality of service are likely the best available option.
Once-Per-Visit Alerts: A Means to Study Alert Compliance and Reduce Repeat Laboratory Testing.

BACKGROUND: Clinical decision support alerts for laboratory testing have poor compliance. Once-per-visit alerts, triggered by reorder of a test within the same admission, are highly specific for unnecessary orders and provide a means to study alert compliance. METHODS: Once-per-visit alerts for 18 laboratory orderables were analyzed over a 60-month period from September 2012 to October 2016 at a 1200-bed academic medical center. To determine correlates of alert compliance, we compared alerts by test and provider characteristics. RESULTS: Overall alert compliance was 54.5%. In multivariate regression, compliance correlated with length of stay at time of alert, provider type, previous alerts in a patient visit, test ordered, total alerts experienced by ordering provider, and previous order status. CONCLUSIONS: A diverse set of provider and test characteristics influences compliance with once-per-visit laboratory alerts. Future alerts should incorporate these characteristics into alert design to minimize alert overrides.
Unmanaged climate risks to spent fuel from U.S. nuclear power plants: The case of sea-level rise

Abstract Climate change and its accompanying sea-level rise is set to create risks to the United States’ stockpile of spent nuclear fuel, which results largely from nuclear power. Coastal spent fuel management facilities are vulnerable to unanticipated environmental events, as evidenced by the 2011 tsunami-related flooding at the Fukushima plant in Japan. We examine how policy-makers can manage climate risks posed to the coastal storage of radioactive materials, and identify the coastal spent fuel storage sites that will be most vulnerable to sea-level rise. A geospatial analysis of coastal sites shows that with six feet of sea-level rise, seven spent fuel sites will be juxtaposed by seawater. Of those, three will be near or completely surrounded by water, and should be considered a priority for mitigation: Humboldt Bay (California), Turkey Point (Florida), and Crystal River (Florida). To ensure policy-makers manage such climate risks, a risk management approach is proposed. Further, we recommend that policy-makers 1) transfer overdue spent fuel from cooling pools to dry casks, particularly where located in high risk sites; 2) develop a long-term and comprehensive storage plan that is less vulnerable to climate change; and 3) encourage international nuclear treaties and standards to take climate change into account.
Overutilization of Endoscopic Surveillance in Barrett's Esophagus: The Perils of Too Much of a Good Thing

A cost-utility analysis in the current issue of AJG examines the ramifications of the overuse of surveillance endoscopy in Barrett's esophagus (BE). This study suggests that excess surveillance is expensive, increasing costs by 50% or more, with only nominal increases in quality-adjusted life expectancy. This study joins a growing literature of cost-utility analyses that suggest that more is not likely better when it comes to surveillance endoscopy. Given the plentiful literature showing overutilization of surveillance endoscopy in BE, the authors argue for a focus on the quality of endoscopy rather than increased frequency of surveillance to improve returns on our healthcare investment.
Small bowel obstruction caused by primary adenocarcinoma arising from an ileal tubular type foregut duplication cyst

Abstract Small bowel obstruction is a surgical emergency commonly caused by adhesions, hernia, intussusception and volvulus. Less often, it can be caused by neoplasms. Small intestine adenocarcinoma is an uncommon malignancy, while its occurrence from foregut duplication cyst is extremely rare. Herein we reported a case of complete small bowel obstruction caused by ileal adenocarcinoma arising from a tubular-type foregut duplication cyst. A 49-year-old man with history of inguinal hernia presented with vomiting, abdominal pain and distention, and constipation for 3 days. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan showed high-grade distal small bowel obstruction with a transition point in the terminal ileum near the ileocecal valve. Emergency exploratory laparotomy revealed a 4 × 5 cm circumferential mass at the terminal ileum. Right hemicolectomy was performed. Gross examination demonstrated a 2.5 cm long circumferential ileal stricture. Histologically, the stricture contained moderately to poorly differentiated invasive adenocarcinoma arising from ectopic foregut duplication cysts lined by mixed cuboidal and ciliated respiratory epithelial cells with focal low- and high-grade dysplasia. Peritoneal implants developed four months post surgery despite post-operative chemotherapy. Foregut duplication cyst and its derivative neoplasm should be taken into consideration in encountering adult patients with small bowel obstruction.
Insertion state of modular protein nanopores into a membrane.

Abstract In the past decade, significant progress has been made in the development of new protein nanopores. Despite these advancements, there is a pressing need for the creation of nanopores equipped with relatively large functional groups for the sampling of biomolecular events on their extramembranous side. Here, we designed, produced, and analyzed protein nanopores encompassing a robust truncation of a monomeric β-barrel membrane protein. An exogenous stably folded protein was anchored within the aqueous phase via a flexible peptide tether of varying length. We have extensively examined the pore-forming properties of these modular protein nanopores using protein engineering and single-molecule electrophysiology. This study revealed distinctions in the nanopore conductance and current fluctuations that arose from tethering the exogenous protein to either the N terminus or the C terminus. Remarkably, these nanopores insert into a planar lipid membrane with one specific conductance among a set of three substate conductance values. Moreover, we demonstrate that the occurrence probabilities of these insertion substates depend on the length of the peptide tether, the orientation of the exogenous protein with respect to the nanopore opening, and the molecular mass of tethered protein. In addition, the three conductance values remain unaltered by major changes in the composition of modular nanopores. The outcomes of this work serve as a platform for further developments in areas of protein engineering of transmembrane pores and biosensor technology.
Credentialing and Privileging for Robotic Surgery in the United States

The granting of robotic surgery privileges is the responsibility of the institution at which the surgery is performed. Although general guidelines have been created for credentialing committees to determine robotic surgical competency, no national standard exists, nor do the tools exist by which competency can be ensured prior to clinical operations being done. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the American Board of Medical Specialties are responsible for residency training and board certification and are working on specific curricula criteria to ensure adequate training.
Texture Discrimination Using a Neuromimetic Asynchronous Flexible Tactile Sensor Array with Spatial Frequency Encoding

State-of-the-art tactile sensing arrays are not scalable to large numbers of sensing units due to their raster-scanned process. This interface process results in a high degree of wiring complexity and a tradeoff between spatial and temporal resolution. In this paper, we present a new neuromimetic tactile sensing scheme that allows for single-wire signal transduction and asynchronous signal transmission - without the incorporation of electronics into each sensing element. A prototype device with spatial frequency encoding was developed using flexible fabric-based e-textile materials, and the ability of this new sensing scheme was demonstrated through a texture discrimination task. Overall, the neuromimetic spatial frequency encoded sensor array had comparable performance to the state-of-the-art tactile sensor array and achieved a classification accuracy of 86.58%. Future tactile sensing systems and electronic skins can emulate the spatial frequency encoding architecture presented here to become dense and numerous while retaining excellent temporal resolution.
The effects of a one year school-based comprehensive lifestyle intervention among Chinese kids against obesity (CLICK-obesity) in Nanjing, China

Limited data regarding the effects of school-based obesity prevention programs focusing on the changes in obesity-related knowledge and behaviors in China are available. The objective of this paper was to evaluate the effects of a school-based comprehensive lifestyle intervention among Chinese kids against obesity (CLICK-Obesity) in primary schools in Nanjing. We designed a cluster randomized controlled trial in eight randomly selected urban primary schools among 4th graders between May 2011 to April 2012 in Jianye, an urban district of Nanjing. Each school was randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group (four schools in each group). Mixed regression models and generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to adjust for individual-level covariates under cluster randomization. In this study, 1178 students (96.2%; 665 boys and 513 girls, 544 in control and 634 in intervention) participated in the baseline survey with mean age 10.2 ± 0.5 years. At the end of one-year intervention, 1125 students (91.8%; 628 boys and 497 girls, 513 in control and 612 in intervention) were reassessed. Notably, we found that the intervention group improved the knowledge and awareness of obesity-related risk factors, presented a lower increase of consumption of red/white meat (with a mean difference of −180.9 g/week, 95% CI: −350.6 to −11.2, p = 0.040), a larger increase in the time spent playing ball (with a mean difference of 24.2 min/week, 95% CI: −5.3 to 53.7, p = 0.090), and a significant reduction in screen time (with a mean difference of −71.0 min/week, 95% CI: −125.3 to −16.6, p = 0.020) compared to the control group after cluster (school) adjustment. The school-based integrated intervention was successful to modify unhealthy lifestyle behaviors and had a potential effect on childhood obesity prevention in urban China. However, the long-term effects and cost-effectiveness need to be evaluated in through further study.
Alloantigen-specific type 1 regulatory T cells suppress through CTLA-4 and PD-1 pathways and persist long-term in patients.

Type 1 regulatory T (Tr1) cells are inducible, interleukin (IL)-10+FOXP3− regulatory T cells that can suppress graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantat...
High-bandwidth absorption-spectroscopy measurements of temperature, pressure, CO, and H $$_2$$ 2 O in the annulus of a rotating detonation rocket engine

The development and application of two laser-absorption-spectroscopy diagnostics capable of performing high-bandwidth measurements of (1) temperature, pressure, and CO, and (2) temperature and H $$_2$$ O in the annular combustion chamber of a rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) are presented. The mid-infrared (MIR) diagnostic utilized a quantum-cascade laser (QCL) to measure absorbance spectra of three CO absorption transitions near 2008.5 cm $$^{-1}$$ at 750 kHz using scanned-wavelength direct absorption. Measurements of gas temperature, pressure, and CO partial pressure were obtained from the QCL diagnostic using a nonlinear fitting routine to fit simulated CO absorbance spectra to measured absorbance spectra. The near-infrared (NIR) diagnostic utilized two tunable diode lasers (TDLs) emitting near 7185.6 and 6806.0 cm $$^{-1}$$ which were modulated at 35 and 45.5 MHz, respectively, and scanned over the linecenters of their respective H $$_2$$ O absorption transitions to obtain measurements of WMS-4f/2f and WMS-2f/1f signals. WMS-4f/2f measurements were used to infer the collisional-broadening full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the H $$_2$$ O transitions, and the WMS-2f/1f signals were then used to infer the gas temperature and H $$_2$$ O partial pressure at up to 1 MHz. The diagnostics were packaged in single-ended sensor assemblies to enable measurements in the annulus of a methane–oxygen RDRE, and results are presented for a test case with the RDRE operating at an equivalence ratio of 1.15 and a total propellant mass flow rate of 0.6 lb/s.
New measures of stereotypical beliefs about older workers' ability and desire for development: Exploration among employees age 40 and over

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce new measures of stereotypical beliefs about older workers' ability and desire for learning and development and test relationships with key antecedents and outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – In a sample of workers over 40 years of age from across the US workforce, a two‐wave survey study was unique in that it examined stereotypes held by aging workers themselves in relation to their own behavior. Findings – The psychometric qualities of the scales were positive and findings tied the stereotype measures to important outcome constructs involving retirement, interest in development, and self‐efficacy/concept for development. Relationships of the stereotype measures also existed with antecedent variables, including experience with the stereotyped behavior and general beliefs about changes with aging. Research limitations/implications – These are critical constructs for managerial psychology in the coming decades, and the findings and measures presented here can contribute to future research, not only on older workers themselves but also on younger workers' stereotypes and behavior toward older workers, which were not addressed here. Practical implications – The measures can be used as diagnostic tools and the findings offer potential ideas for organizational policy or interventions to target stereotypes. Originality/value – Because employee development is increasingly important and the workforce is rapidly aging, there is a need to understand development behavior by aging workers. While stereotypes can be a problem in this area, there is a lack of measures of these stereotypes and there is no research on the stereotypes by aging workers themselves.
Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

Foreign language teaching and learning have changed from teacher-centered to learner/learning-centered environments. Relying on language theories, research findings, and experiences, educators developed teaching strategies and learning environments that engaged learners in interactive communicative language tasks. A shift in foreign language pedagogy from a specific foreign language method to the measurement of language performance/competency has resulted in a change in the role of the teacher from one of authority/expert to that of facilitator/guide and agent of change. Current developments point to public pedagogy, social media, and action research as additional ways to foster intercultural competence and language learning.
A Review of “Living with Fire: Fire Ecology and Policy for the Twenty-First Century”: Sara E. Jensen and Guy R. McPherson. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. ix and 180 pp., diagrams, photos, notes, and index. $29.95 cloth (ISBN 978-520-25589-0)

Introduction to Fire in California. David Carle. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. xv and 195 pp., maps, diagrams, photos, online resources, glossary, references, and index. $18.95 cl...
Logit versus discriminant analysis: A specification test and application to corporate bankruptcies

Abstract Two of the most widely used statistical techniques for analyzing discrete economic phenomena are discriminant analysis (DA) and logit analysis. For purposes of parameter estimation, logit has been shown to be more robust than DA. However, under certain distributional assumptions both procedures yield consistent estimates and the DA estimator is asymptotically efficient. This suggests a natural Hausman specification test of these distributional assumptions by comparing the two estimators. In this paper, such a test is proposed and an empirical example involving corporate bankruptcies is provided. The finite-sample properties of the test statistic are also explored through some sampling experiments.
Current and emerging therapy for improving outcomes in patients with intraocular retinoblastoma

Introduction: Survival for patients with intraocular retinoblastoma (RB) is excellent. Over the past two decades, the focus of therapy has shifted to emphasize ocular salvage and vision preservation. The combination of chemoreduction and aggressive focal therapies has formed the new standard approach to most patients with advanced intraocular RB. However, seeding of the vitreous cavity continues to be the primary reason for treatment failure in these patients.Areas covered: Local delivery methods, including periocular injections, intra-ophthalmic artery infusions, and intravitreal injections, have been developed in the hope of controlling disease in advanced cases. This review highlights the current approach to therapy for patients and discusses these new local delivery techniques and the discovery of novel therapeutics that may help to further improve ocular outcomes for patients with intraocular RB.Expert opinion: Due to the rarity of this childhood disease, clinical efforts to improve ocular salvage an...
America's New Street People: Implications for the Human Services

■ This article describes the new street people—young, affluent establishment dropouts—who have rejected traditional American values and are either denied or refuse conventional health and welfare services. In addition, an alternative health service model is described in terms of the Long Beach (California) Free Clinic, which provides not only medical services, but also individual and group therapy and draft, abortion, drug, and welfare counseling. ■
Clinical cardiotoxicity following anthracycline treatment for childhood cancer: the Pediatric Oncology Group experience.

PURPOSETo determine the incidence of clinical cardiotoxicity from anthracycline chemotherapy in children with cancer and to identify associated risk factors.PATIENTS AND METHODSThe study population consisted of 6,493 children with cancer who had received anthracycline chemotherapy on Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) protocols from 1974 to 1990. Cardiotoxicity, defined as congestive heart failure not due to other causes, abnormal measurements of cardiac function that prompted discontinuation of therapy, or sudden death from presumed cardiac causes, was determined by a review of protocol records.RESULTSCardiotoxicity was confirmed in 106 patients (1.6%): 58 had congestive heart failure, 43 had changes in measures of cardiac function that prompted the discontinuation of therapy, and five died suddenly from presumed cardiac causes. In a multivariate analysis, factors that contributed to the relative risk (RR) of toxicity were a cumulative anthracycline dose > or = 550 mg/m2 of body-surface area (RR = 5.2), maxi...
Microwave flash pyrolysis.

In a microwave reactor, graphite heats rapidly to high surface temperatures; applications of graphite thermal “sensitization” have been described previously. We report here that microwave thermal sensitization with graphite, carbon nanotubes, or silicon carbide can be used to carry out reactions more typically accomplished by flash vacuum pyrolysis (FVP) and which usually require temperatures much higher than the nominal limit of a microwave reactor. The graphite-sensitized microwave reaction of azulene in the solid phase at temperatures of 100 to 300 °C affords rapid rearrangement to naphthalene, a reaction typically observed by FVP at 700−900 °C. Multiwall carbon nanotubes give similar results when used as a thermal sensitizer. Other graphite-sensitized reactions that we have observed include the following: conversion of 2-ethynylbiphenyl to phenanthrene, fragmentation of phthalic anhydride to benzyne, cleavage of iodobenzene to phenyl radical, aryl−aryl bond cleavage, and a variety of cycloaromatizatio...
Synaptic Homeostasis on the Fast Track

Synaptic homeostasis is a phenomenon that prevents the nervous system from descending into chaos. In this issue of Neuron , Frank et al. overturn the notion that synaptic homeostasis at Drosophila NMJs is a slow developmental process. They report that postsynaptic changes are offset within minutes by a homeostatic increase in neurotransmitter release that requires the presynaptic Ca 2+ channel Cacophony.
Decreased insulin action and insulin secretion predict the development of impaired glucose tolerance

The relative importance of insulin resistance and abnormal insulin secretion as risk factors for the development of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) is controversial. Few prospective data are available on metabolic precursors of IGT. We examined the relation of fasting serum insulin level (as a marker of insulin resistance) and change in insulin/glucose ratio (ΔI30/ΔG30) over the first 30 min after glucose ingestion (as a marker of insulin secretion) as predictors of the 7-year development of IGT in 839 Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites with normal glucose tolerance at baseline from the San Antonio Heart Study. IGT eventually developed in 148 subjects. When modelled separately, fasting serum insulin (odds ratio (OR)=2.60,95 % confidence interval (CI)=1.58,4.28,p<0.005), but not ΔI30/ΔG30 (OR=0.80, 95 % CI=0.50,1.27,p=0.339) predicted the development of IGT. However, when both variables were included in the same logistic regression model, fasting serum insulin (OR=3.50, 95 % CI=1.97,6.21,p<0.001) and low ΔI30/ΔG30 (OR=0.48, 95 % CI=0.28,0.82,p=0.008) both predicted IGT. These results were basically unchanged after further adjustment for obesity, body fat distribution and fasting plasma glucose level. We conclude that both decreased insulin secretion (as assessed by low ΔI30/ΔG30) and increased insulin resistance (as assessed by fasting serum insulin) predict the development of IGT and are thus early precursors of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus; further studies of insulin secretion should take into account the level of basal insulin resistance.
Behavior of the nonunique terms in general DAE integrators

Abstract Differential algebraic equations (DAEs) are implicit systems of ordinary differential equations F ( y ′, y , t ) = 0. DAEs arise in many applications and a variety of numerical methods have been developed for solving DAEs. Numerical methods have been proposed for integrating general higher index DAEs and successfully applied to test problems. These methods require solving a nonlinear system of equations which is larger than the original DAE at each time step. For fully implicit problems part of the solution of the nonlinear system is not uniquely determined. This poses questions about the effects of predictors and also a possible instability in the growth of these terms during a numerical integration. In this paper it is shown that the nonunique component is actually the numerical solution of an auxiliary DAE which depends not only on the original DAE but also on the predictor being used in the Gauss-Newton iteration. As an important consequence we both establish a basis for the design of low order integrators for high index DAEs and develop guidelines for the use of predictors in integrating general high index DAEs.
The determination of glutathione-4-hydroxynonenal (GSHNE), E-4-hydroxynonenal (HNE), and E-1-hydroxynon-2-en-4-one (HNO) in mouse liver tissue by LC-ESI-MS

Glutathione (GSH) conjugation of 4-hydroxy-2(E)-nonenal (HNE) is an efficient means of cellular detoxification. HNE is a byproduct of lipid peroxidation which has shown toxicity but also signaling roles. E-1-hydroxynon-2-en-4-one (HNO) is another byproduct of lipid peroxidation which has the same molecular weight as HNE. This study presents the LC-MS detection of GS-HNE, HNE, and HNO in tissue samples without derivatization and with minimal sample preparation. Tissue samples were taken from wild-type mice and knock-out mice, which have been bred without the RLIP76 transfer protein. Extraction procedures were developed to determine GS-HNE and HNE levels in the mouse liver tissue. A gradient elution LC-MS method was developed for GS-HNE analysis using electrospray ionization and selected ion monitoring (SIM). The HNE/HNO method involves isocratic elution due to instability issues. Higher levels of GSHNE, HNE, and HNO were found in the knock-out animals, due to the absence of the RLIP76 transport mechanism.
Similarities Are Not Enough: A Response to Schneider and Wilheim Stanis About Coping and Leisure Constraint Negotiation

Schneider and Wilhelm Stanis propose that researchers would be better able to study leisure constraints and constraint negotiation if they drew upon a model of stress and coping. Specifically, they...