cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Beyond guanine quartets: cation-induced formation of homogenous and chimeric DNA tetraplexes incorporating iso-guanine and guanine.

Abstract Background: iso -Guanine ( iso -G) is the purine component of an isomeric Watson-Crick base pair that may have existed prebiotically. By comparing the abiotic molecular recognition properties of iso -G and its complement, iso -cytosine ( iso -C), with those of genomic nucleotide bases, it may be possible to explain the exclusion of the iso -G- iso -C base pair from modern genomes. Whether a nucleobase forms quartets may have a key role in determining its functionality. Biotically, nucleic acid tetraplexes have been implicated in cellular functions; prebiotically, tetraplexes would probably interfere with replication. Recently, in vitro selection has yielded receptors and catalysts that incorporate G quartets. The versatility of these structures could be enhanced by expanding the range of bases that can form the quartet motif. Results: Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of oligonucleotides bearing runs of iso-G provides strong support for tetraplex formation via cation-promoted DNA strand association. In particular, when strands of different lengths bearing the same iso-G tetrad recognition element were combined, five bands were observed after electrophoresis, corresponding to all possible heterotetraplexes with parallel strand alignment. An analogous experiment with a mixture of strands bearing iso-G or G tetrad recognition domains supports the existence of mixed iso-G/G tetraplexes with antiparallel strand alignment at chimeric junctions. iso-G tetraplex and quartet structure has also been probed by a photo-crosslinking experiment, ultra-violet spectroscopy and theoretical calculations. Conclusions: As iso -G and G both have a marked tendency to form tetraplexes, their tandem inclusion in genetic material may be problematic, leading to double-stranded DNA half composed of bases that have a tendency to auto-associate. The resulting density of ‘selfish' bases could undermine Watson-Crick pair formation, especially in a prebiotic context devoid of enzymes. Nevertheless, the ability of iso -G to form mixed quartets with G may provide a basis for altering the properties of tetraplexes in the domain of artificial receptors or catalysts from in vitro selections.
Detection of genetic markers related to high pathogenicity in influenza by SERS.

We have developed a method for the detection of genetic markers associated with high pathogenicity in influenza. The assay consists of an array of 5′-thiolated ssDNA oligonucleotides immobilized on the surface of a Ag nanorod substrate that serve as capture probes for the detection of synthetic RNA sequences coding for a genetic mutation in the influenza PB1-F2 protein. Hybridization of the DNA probes to their complementary RNA sequences was detected using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Multivariate statistical analysis was used to differentiate the spectra of the complementary DNA probe-RNA target hybrids from those of the non-complementary DNA probes containing a single base pair polymorphism. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was able to distinguish with 100% accuracy the spectra of the complementary DNA probe–RNA target from the spectra of the immobilized DNA probes alone, or the DNA probes incubated with non-complementary RNA sequences. Linearity of response and limits of sensitivity of the SERS-based assays were determined using a partial least squares (PLS) regression model; detection limits computed by PLS was determined to be ∼10 nM. The binding affinity of the DNA probes to their complementary RNA sequences was confirmed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); however, the detection limits observed using ELISA were approximately 10× higher (∼100 nM) than those determined by PLS analysis of the SERS spectra.
Effects of speaking rate on the vowel length distinction in Japanese

Abstract The issue of acoustic invariance was explored with the question of whether an absolute or relative duration value can be found to reliably classify the Japanese phonemic short and long vowels produced across different speaking rates. The stimuli were Japanese disyllabic non-words (Experiment 1) and real words (Experiment 2). Four native speakers produced these words in a carrier sentence at slow, normal, and fast rates. The duration of accented and unaccented short vowels in CVCV contexts and contrasting long vowels in CVVCV and CVCVV contexts, as well as word duration, was measured. Rate changes affected the duration of long vowels more than short vowels in such a way that the duration difference between short and long vowels was greater for slow than normal, and for normal than fast speech. In contrast with the absolute durations, the ratios of long-to-short vowels and three-mora (CVVCV or CVCVV) to two-mora (CVCV) words were less affected by rate changes. Furthermore, the proportion of the vowel to the total word duration was found to distinguish the two vowel length categories across three rates with high accuracy. The results support the view that “relational” acoustic invariance exists that remains stable across speakers and rates.
Relationships among parental reports of child, parent, and family functioning.

Most children with psychosocial problems do not present for treatment in mental health settings. They are managed by primary care physicians. Children with psychosocial problems often have parents and/or families with psychosocial distress. The present study measured associations between parental reports of child, parent, and family functioning in individuals in the general population. Participants were 226 parents of children, aged 2-16 years, who presented for routine primary care. Parents reported on the psychosocial functioning of themselves, their child, and their family. All correlations of measures were significant, ranging from .55 to .23. Similar to data from psychiatric samples, the psychological functioning of children, parents, and families were significantly correlated. Unlike in psychiatric settings, child mental health problems were not as closely related to parent or family distress as parent and family distress were related to each other and to child behavior problems.
Comparison of Low Fat and Low Carbohydrate Diets on Circulating Fatty Acid Composition and Markers of Inflammation

Abnormal distribution of plasma fatty acids and increased inflammation are prominent features of metabolic syndrome. We tested whether these components of metabolic syndrome, like dyslipidemia and glycemia, are responsive to carbohydrate restriction. Overweight men and women with atherogenic dyslipidemia consumed ad libitum diets very low in carbohydrate (VLCKD) (1504 kcal:%CHO:fat:protein = 12:59:28) or low in fat (LFD) (1478 kcal:%CHO:fat:protein = 56:24:20) for 12 weeks. In comparison to the LFD, the VLCKD resulted in an increased proportion of serum total n-6 PUFA, mainly attributed to a marked increase in arachidonate (20:4n-6), while its biosynthetic metabolic intermediates were decreased. The n-6/n-3 and arachidonic/eicosapentaenoic acid ratio also increased sharply. Total saturated fatty acids and 16:1n-7 were consistently decreased following the VLCKD. Both diets significantly decreased the concentration of several serum inflammatory markers, but there was an overall greater anti-inflammatory effect associated with the VLCKD, as evidenced by greater decreases in TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, E-selectin, I-CAM, and PAI-1. Increased 20:4n-6 and the ratios of 20:4n-6/20:5n-3 and n-6/n-3 are commonly viewed as pro-inflammatory, but unexpectedly were consistently inversely associated with responses in inflammatory proteins. In summary, a very low carbohydrate diet resulted in profound alterations in fatty acid composition and reduced inflammation compared to a low fat diet.
Too old for transplantation: think again

Comment on Palumbo et al, page [3052][1] The role of high-dose therapy in the management of multiple myeloma in patients older than 65 years has, to date, been uncertain. The current article establishes both survival benefit and improved response duration in patients up to the age of 70 years with
Bayesian estimation of intervention effect with pre- and post-misclassified binomial data.

We consider studies in which an enrolled subject tests positive on a fallible test. After an intervention, disease status is re-diagnosed with the same fallible instrument. Potential misclassification in the diagnostic test causes regression to the mean that biases inferences about the true intervention effect. The existing likelihood approach suffers in situations where either sensitivity or specificity is near 1. In such cases, common in many diagnostic tests, confidence interval coverage can often be below nominal for the likelihood approach. Another potential drawback of the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) method is that it requires validation data to eliminate identification problems. We propose a Bayesian approach that offers improved performance in general, but substantially better performance than the MLE method in the realistic case of a highly accurate diagnostic test. We obtain this superior performance using no more information than that employed in the likelihood method. Our approach is al...
Is engineering a viable profession in the US

There are many well-educated engineers in countries such as Russia, China, Romania, and India, who can do the work currently done by US-based engineers, and whose pay scales are less than 25% that of US pay scales. US companies exploit this situation by creating satellite operations in low-pay countries or by contracting out work to overseas companies. This extends to professional employees a process that has eliminated the jobs of millions of US factory workers.
Contesting Keweenaw: competing visions of landscape aesthetics at Keweenaw National Historical Park.

Keweenaw National Historical Park (hereafter KNHP) is one of a periodically growing list of partnership parks developed in response to changing ideals of what the National Park Service ought to preserve and interpret. Established in 1992, KNHP and some other newer parks are intended by Congress to be public–private partnerships. This paper illuminates how KNHP stakeholders used information vacuums to intensify competing narratives regarding landscapes in a partnership park. Ethnographic fieldwork illustrates that stakeholders’ competing narratives complicate KNHP's management. Furthermore, this case study highlights the need for historic preservation professionals to build trust and to communicate effectively with all stakeholders in communities with historic preservation programs. Within a social group, insiders’ knowledge construction guides ideas of landscape aesthetics.
Experimenting with artificial neural networks-artificial intelligence mini-tutorial. 3

For pt.1 see ibid., p.33-42; for pt.2 see ibid., p.43-4. To show how neural nets work, experiences in an experiment using them are described. The experiment involves using AI techniques to assist in the discovery of causal relationships between the variables existing in a large clinical trial database. A peripheral vascular disease database was used to acquire a feeling for the complexities involved in developing a distributed encoding scheme and to determine the computational resources required to train a neural net for the type of data used. By testing several models the effects of changes in the encoding scheme and the number of training iterations the system needed to predict the appropriate change needed could be determined. These results were compared to the information available from other analyses of the same data. The generative capabilities of the system were then tested by training it over one sample of cases and applying it to cases it had not encountered before. Some idea of the computational resources needed in terms of time and memory capacity was developed. >
Frictional processes and nuclear disassembly in very-heavy-ion collisions in the fermi energy regime

Exclusive measurements of charged products and neutrons were performed for the reactions {sup 197}Au + (29 MeV/u) {sup 208}Pb and {sup 209}Bi + (28.2 MeV/u) {sup 136}Xe. The multiplicities of neutrons and charged particles are found to indicate collision impact parameters with different sensitivities. Characteristic correlations observed between massive products and light particles suggest the dominance of the damped-reaction mechanism in the Fermi energy domain. For central collisions, massive fragments are no longer observed, and a considerable fraction of the mass of the system is found disassembled into light particles and clusters. 75 refs., 19 figs.
Targeting Interleukin 6 Signaling Suppresses Glioma Stem Cell Survival and Tumor Growth

Glioblastomas are the most common and most lethal primary brain tumor. Recent studies implicate an important role for a restricted population of neoplastic cells (glioma stem cells (GSCs)) in glioma maintenance and recurrence. We now demonstrate that GSCs preferentially express two interleukin 6 (IL6) receptors: IL6 receptor alpha (IL6R alpha) and glycoprotein 130 (gp130). Targeting IL6R alpha or IL6 ligand expression in GSCs with the use of short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) significantly reduces growth and neurosphere formation capacity while increasing apoptosis. Perturbation of IL6 signaling in GSCs attenuates signal transducers and activators of transcription three (STAT3) activation, and small molecule inhibitors of STAT3 potently induce GSC apoptosis. These data indicate that STAT3 is a downstream mediator of prosurvival IL6 signals in GSCs. Targeting of IL6R alpha or IL6 expression in GSCs increases the survival of mice bearing intracranial human glioma xenografts. IL6 is clinically significant because elevated IL6 ligand and receptor expression are associated with poor glioma patient survival. The potential utility of anti-IL6 therapies is demonstrated by decreased growth of subcutaneous human GSC-derived xenografts treated with IL6 antibody. Together, our data indicate that IL6 signaling contributes to glioma malignancy through the promotion of GSC growth and survival, and that targeting IL6 may offer benefit for glioma patients.
Animal-Assisted Therapy and Depression in Adult College Students

AbstractThis study investigated the effects of animal-assisted therapy (A-AT) on self-reported depression in a college population. Forty-four participants were selected on the basis of scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). They then were assigned to one of three groups: A-AT in conjunction with psychotherapy (directive group), A-AT only (nondirective group), and control. Standardized regressed BDI posttest scores were used as dependent variables in one-way analysis of variance with treatment as the independent variable. Results revealed significant differences among groups, F(2,41)=3.69, p<.05. Duncan's Multiple Ranges Test indicated that standardized regressed BDI post-test scores differed significantly between nondirective (M=5.67) and control groups (M=10.18).
Magnetic storm-induced enhancement in neutral composition at low latitudes as inferred by O( 1 D) dayglow measurements from Chile

Abstract. We describe the effect of the 6 November 2001 magnetic storm on the low latitude thermospheric composition. Daytime red line (OI 630.0nm) emissions from Carmen Alto, Chile showed anomalous 2-3 times larger emissions in the morning (05:30-08:30 Local Time; LT) on the disturbed day compared to the quiet days. We interpret these emission enhancements to be caused due to the increase in neutral densities over low latitudes, as a direct effect of the geomagnetic storm. As an aftereffect of the geomagnetic storm, the dayglow emissions on the following day show gravity wave features that gradually increase in periodicities from around 30min in the morning to around 100min by the evening. The integrated dayglow emissions on quiet days show day-to-day variabilities in spatial structures in terms of their movement away from the magnetic equator in response to the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) development in the daytime. The EIA signatures in the daytime OI 630.0nm column-integrated dayglow emission brightness show different behavior on days with and without the post-sunset Equatorial Spread F (ESF) occurrence.
Robust dynamic average consensus of time-varying inputs

We consider the dynamic average consensus problem in which each agent in a network has access to its own local input signal, but it must compute and track the average of all such inputs. Each agent communicates only with neighbors in the network, and local communication, computation and memory requirements should be independent of the number of the agents in the network. The Proportional-Integral (PI) estimator in [1] guarantees zero steady-state error under constant inputs for constant, connected, and balanced networks, even in the presence of estimator initialization errors. In this work, we employ the internal model principle to generalize the PI estimator so that it achieves zero steady-state error for classes of time-varying inputs, including polynomial inputs of known order and sinusoidal inputs with known frequencies. Like the PI estimator, our new estimator is robust to initialization errors.
Differential Links Between Leisure Activities and Depressive Symptoms in Unemployed Individuals.

Objective Unemployment has consistently been linked to an elevated risk for depression. Exercise, specifically leisure-based physical activities, has received increasing attention as alternative treatment options. However, because leisure activities are pursued during discretionary time, it is unclear if the mental health benefits of physical and leisure activities apply during times of unemployment as well. Method Depressive symptoms and participation in recreational activities were assessed in 142 employed and 158 unemployed participants (age = 34 ± 11 years; male = 150). Results Independent of employment status, all recreational activities were inversely associated with depressive symptoms. However, social (employed: ηp2 = .21; unemployed: ηp2 = .11) and self-focused (employed: ηp2 = .19; unemployed: ηp2 = .10) recreational activities were more strongly related to depressive symptoms than exercise (employed: ηp2 = .12; unemployed: ηp2 > .05). Conclusion These findings highlight the strong mental health associations of recreational activities and suggest that, particularly for unemployed individuals, promoting recreational activities, rather than exercise, may leverage the stronger negative relationship with risk of depression.
Pollen-Derived Haploids of Nicotiana Knightiana, N. raimondii, and N. attenuata

Haploid plantlets were obtained in large numbers in three diploid, 24-chromosome species of Nicotiana by culture of anthers at or just past the first pollen mitosis. The three species were N. Knightiana, N. raimondii, and N. attenuata. Efficiency of haploid production varied from about 10 per cent in N. attenuata cultures to 30 and 38 per cent respectively in cultures of N. raimondii and N. Knightiana. H-medium without hormones and standard cultural con ditions were used. N. Knightiana appeared to be especially suitable for haploid studies on account of its high plantlet productivity, low chromosome number, and distinctive karyotype.
Unifying simulation and optimization of strategic sourcing and transportation

Proposed and developed is a framework and an extensible library of simulation modeling components for strategic sourcing and transportation. The components include items, suppliers, volume-discount schedules, aggregators, procurement rules, and less-than-truck-load delivery. Service models are classes in the Java programming language extended with decision variables, assertions, and business objective constructs. The optimization semantics of the framework is based on finding an instantiation of real values into the decision variables in the service object constructor, that satisfies all the assertions and leads to the optimal business objective. The optimization is not done by repeated simulation runs, but rather by automatic compilation of the simulation model in Java into a mathematical programming model in AMPL and solving it using an external solver.
GIS visualization and analysis of river operations impacts on endangered species habitat

Many river systems include natural and manmade backwater areas providing habitat for a diverse community of aquatic and aviary species, including several listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Concern has been raised over ecological impacts of river operations on these species and their habitat in these backwater areas. A methodology is presented that utilizes a geographic information system (GIS) in association with a numerical hydraulic model to assess these impacts. The GIS provides geostatistical estimates of water surface elevations within the backwaters during passage of a hydrograph created by reservoir releases, and then quantifies and provides animated visualization of the changes in habitat for many species dwelling in these areas. This generalized tool is applied to a portion of the Lower Colorado River in Arizona/California, which includes several dams and diversion structures controlling flow for a variety of important purposes. It is demonstrated that this GIS-based tool provides effective support for river system operators in assessing the impacts of operations on endangered species habitat and evaluating remedial measures.
The Decoherence of Phase Space Histories

In choosing a family of histories for a system, it is often convenient to choose a succession of locations in phase space, rather than configuration space, for comparison to classical histories. Although there are no good projections onto phase space, several approximate projections have been used in the past; three of these are examined in this paper. Expressions are derived for the probabilities of histories containing arbitrary numbers of projections onto phase space, and the conditions for the decoherence of these histories are studied.
Status of research on vitamin D supplementation in treating or preventing liver fibrosis

Fibrosis represents a disease state with excess deposition of extracellular matrix components such as collagen and fibronectin in a given tissue (1–3). In fact, fibrosis can occur in every parenchymal organ, including the liver, kidney, lung, heart, or pancreas, contributing to abnormal function of each affected organ (1). Indeed, it has been estimated that fibrotic disorders account for up to 45% of deaths in developed countries (4 and references within).
Effects of Greenhouse Pesticides on the Soil-Dwelling Predatory Mite Stratiolaelaps scimitus (Acari: Mesostigmata: Laelapidae) Under Laboratory Conditions

Abstract Knowledge of the effects of pesticides on biological control agents is required for the successful implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) programs in greenhouse production systems. Laboratory assays were conducted to assess the effects of an acaricide (dicofol), two insecticides (chlorpyrifos and pyriproxyfen), and two fungicides (fosetyl-Al and mefenoxam) on Stratiolaelaps scimitus (Womersley), a soil-dwelling predatory mite widely marketed in North America under the name Hypoaspis miles (Berlese) as a biological control agent of dark-winged fungus gnats (Bradysia spp.). Eggs, larvae, protonymphs, deutonymphs, and adult male and female mites were first assayed using dicofol, an acaricide used in the experiments as a positive control, applied to filter paper in an enclosed arena. Protonymphs were assayed for lethal and sublethal effects against the remaining pesticides at maximum label-recommended rates applied to filter paper, by using dicofol as a positive control and water as a neg...
Female Song in New World Wood-Warblers (Parulidae)

Recent advances have revealed that female birdsong is widespread and multifunctional. Female song was likely ancestral among songbirds and persists in many lineages today. Nevertheless, many species lack female song, and researchers are interested in understanding the selective factors that promote and counter the persistence of this trait. Female song is associated with life-history traits including year-round territoriality, non-migratory behavior, sexual monochromatism, and monogamy. Most studies examining these relationships have looked at clades with a migratory ancestor and have found that gains of migratory behavior are strongly correlated with losses of female song (and duetting). Here we ask if the reverse pattern exists: in a large clade of songbirds with a migratory ancestor, do losses of migratory behavior correlate with gains of female song and visual signaling traits? We investigated correlations between female song, migration and dichromatism in 107 species of New World Warblers (Family Parulidae). All of these species are predominantly monogamous and territorial when breeding, 50 (47%) are migratory, 49 (46%) are monochromatic, and 25 (23%) show female song. On a robust genetic phylogeny maximum likelihood methods recover migration and monochromatism as the ancestral state in warblers. Female song is generally not reconstructed as present in any deep nodes of the phylogeny, indicating that most extant species with female song evolved this trait independently and relatively recently. Gains of female song do not correlate with losses of migration. Losses of dichromatism do correlate with losses of migration. Thus, in this clade, visual signals are associated with sedentary versus migratory lifestyles, but female acoustic signals are not. Our results show a different pattern from that seen in similar studies and support the hypothesis that losses, but not gains, of female song are driven by life history.
Hospital delirium treatment: Continuation of antipsychotic therapy from the intensive care unit to discharge.

Purpose The rate of continuation of antipsychotics for the management of delirium during hospital transitions of care in a tertiary care medical center was investigated. Methods A retrospective chart review was conducted for adult patients admitted to the medical intensive care unit (MICU) between June 1, 2011, and May 31, 2012, who were initiated on antipsychotic therapy at least 24 hours before transfer out of the MICU. The primary outcome evaluated was the percentage of patients initiated on an antipsychotic in the MICU who were continued on therapy after transfer to a medical ward. Secondary outcomes included the appropriateness of continuing antipsychotic therapy during transitions of care and the percentage of patients continued on an antipsychotic after hospital discharge. Results Of the 87 patients who met the study inclusion criteria, 23 (26%) were continued on antipsychotic therapy after their transfer from the MICU to the medical ward. Of the 23 patients continued on antipsychotic therapy, 9 (39%) were discharged from the hospital with an antipsychotic. Fourteen of the 23 patients were eligible for assessment of inappropriate antipsychotic continuation upon transfer from the MICU. Of these 14 patients, 9 (64%) were inappropriately continued on an antipsychotic. Patients continued on antipsychotic therapy at hospital discharge were more likely to be discharged to a facility (rehabilitation, skilled nursing facility, or healthcare institution) ( p = 0.049). Future areas for study should include (1) prospective analysis to understand the clinical decision-making of providers when treating delirium, (2) evaluation of the long-term impact of continuing antipsychotic therapy for delirium, and (3) ways to improve communication of medication regimens during transitions of care. Plans to reduce antipsychotic continuation could involve reassessing patients on the medical wards, improving documentation of the indication for use in the medical record, or developing protocols to taper off antipsychotics before patients are discharged from the hospital. Conclusion The continuation of antipsychotics for the management of delirium during transitions of care was a common practice at a tertiary care medical center. Patients receiving antipsychotics for treatment of delirium in the MICU were inappropriately continued on these agents when transferred from the MICU to the medical floor or discharged from the hospital.
Clinical Failure Caused by Corrosion of a Vitallium Plate

A case of clinical failure of a surgical implant (a Thornton plate and Smith-Petersen nail) caused by crevice corrosion of the plate is presented. In this implant which was composed of wrought and cast Vitallium it was the wrought Vitallium that showed the most significant changes. The metals involved and the corrosion products were analyzed and crevice corrosion studies were carried out using a testing method applicable to the metals from this case and to any metals used for similar applications. Experiments performed in our laboratory are reviewed in which it was shown that superior resistance to crevice corrosion and superior strength and ductility can be imparted to the currently used cast cobalt-chromium alloy, Haynes Stellite 21, by alteration of fabrication methods, thereby giving it over-all superiority as a surgical implant material.
Internal and external resources of competitive advantage for small business success: validation across family ownership

The current study reviews both internally-driven strategic factors such as entrepreneurial orientation and firm capital and externally-driven factors such as social capital and community social responsibility and their effects on business performance across family-owned small businesses. Under a resource-based view of the firm framework, the sample was analysed using structural equation modelling. Results suggested that entrepreneurial orientation, firm capital, and corporate social responsibility reflect a significant positive relationship with business performance. Testing of relationship effects based upon ownership type (family versus non-family owned) showed no significant differences. Implications and future research directions for practitioners and academics were provided.
Studies on methylazoxymethanol synthesis of 14C and 3H labelled methylazoxymethyl-acetate

The synthesis of 14C and 3H labelled methylazoxymethylacetate, ( MAM- O Ac), a hepatotoxic and carcinogenic compound, was accomplished by the incorporation of a radioisotope labelled methyl group into N,N′ -dimethylhydrazine with methyl iodide instead of dimethyl sulfate. Monosodium dibenzoylhydrazine was methylated with labelled methyl iodide and the second methyl group was subsequently added with unlabelled dimethyl sulfate to produce N,N′ -dimethylhydrazine. This modification made it possible to prepare labelled N,N′ -dimethylhydrazine with a small amount of total radioactivity and avoid an excessive waste of the methyl label. The labelled compound was then used in the synthesis of MAM-OAc by a previously published procedure. The incorporation of radioactivity into N,N′-dimethylhydrazine was in the range of 75-95 %. Better yields were obtained for 3H than for 14C MAM-OAc.
Questions of Ethics and Loyalty An Assistant Principal’s Tale

Inspired by real-life events, this case describes the dilemma of a novice assistant principal who must balance her role as an administrator at her high school campus where a cousin’s son, Eddie, recently enrolled and is proving to be disruptive the first month of school. Troubled by questions of ethics and loyalty, the issue is complicated after Eddie’s father Rick engages in what might be considered disruptive or inappropriate behaviors on campus. Coincidentally, Rick seeks the assistant’s help, as he believes Eddie’s basketball coach is utilizing questionable discipline practices with the team. The administration is left to investigate the issue.
The potential effects of sex, posture and living condition on lateralized behaviors in ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta)

This research explores the effects of posture, sex, and living condition on hand and side preferences of semi-free-ranging, adult ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) housed at the Duke University Primate Center in Durham, NC. Data were collected on 11 adult individuals (five females and six males) during normal daily activities over a ten-week period from May–July 2001. Variables analyzed in this study include unimanual behaviors (i.e., reach, hold, and limb used to start locomotion) and other potentially lateralized behaviors that do not involve handuse (i.e., whole-body turning and tail position). The data were analyzed to investigate potential individual and population level side biases for each behavior; potential sex biases in side preference for each behavior; and for ‘reach’, potential effects of posture (sitting, tripedal stance, or bipedal stance) on individual hand preferences. Additionally, to investigate potential effects of living condition on lateral biases, the data from this study were compared to data collected on the same individual Lemurs living under more restrictive living conditions during the previous year. Largely, as predicted based on available literature, we found that there was a significant sex difference across all hand-use categories and for whole-body turning, and that posture was a significant factor in the expression of hand preference for reaching. Contrary to previous research, the effect of living condition on lateral preferences was minimal, and no side preferences were found at the population level for any of the behaviors analyzed.
Methodological Note on Measuring Selection in Differential Migration

polemics and rhetoric in sociology, particularly in social problems courses. E. Concepts as vehicles for wish projection. Finally, the concepts which have ego-involvement for a particular individual are sometimes the vehicles for wish projection. This is particularly manifest when a student or scholar presents a verbalconceptual picture of what he observes or predicts consistent with his own ideals and wishes. In many instances, it is not naive subjectivity, for it may occur in the works of the erudite (e.g., Arnold Toynbee, Karl Marx) who are quite adept with high level abstractions. This type of conceptual fault lies at the heart of the genetics controversy in Soviet Russia and is the basis of Lysenko's position. IV
The Lactol Route to Fesoterodine: An Amine-Promoted Friedel–Crafts Alkylation on Commercial Scale

We report the discovery and optimization of an amine-promoted Friedel–Crafts alkylation of cinnamaldehyde with 4-hydroxymethyl phenol. This reaction has been used successfully on commercial scale (200 kg) in the context of the manufacture of fesoterodine, a muscarinic antagonist used for the treatment of overactive bladder. Reductive aminations of diisopropylamine and lactol 4 are also discussed, as well as the resolution of the racemic amine rac-2 into its enantiomerically pure form.
Protons, Thiols and Coupling Factor 1 in Relation to Photophosphorylation

The H+-ATPase of thylakoids catalyzes ATP synthesis and, in some conditions, hydrolysis in a manner that is linked to proton fluxes. The H+-ATPase consists of two readily separable parts: coupling factor 1 (CF1), a hydrophilic, multisubunit enzyme that is extrinsic to the membrane, and F0, a collection of more hydrophobic proteins that are intrinsic to the membrane. CF1 contains the active sites of the H+-ATPase and is composed of five different subunits, labeled α-e in order of decreasing molecular weight. F0 constitutes a proton channel and provides specific sites for the attachment of CF1 to the membrane.
Evaluation of inert tracers in a bedrock fracture using ground penetrating radar and thermal sensors

Abstract The spatial distribution of fracture/matrix heat exchange was measured while hot water was circulated through a single bedding plane fracture in shallow bedrock. The field site is interpreted here as a simple model for a geothermal reservoir. Thermal breakthrough was recorded at the production well and Fiber-Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) monitored temperature in the rock matrix. Conservative tracer tests revealed that the reservoir fluid volume in two separate experiments were nearly identical. Thermal breakthrough measurements, however, revealed that reservoir fluid volume did not correlate to thermal performance because the two experiments encountered different effective areas of heat transfer along the fracture. Ground Penetrating Radar imaging of subsurface tracer transport and DTS corroborate these findings.a cold reservoir
Enantioselective γ-borylation of unsaturated amides and stereoretentive Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling

The rhodium-catalyzed, directed catalytic asymmetric hydroboration of γ,δ-unsaturated amides affords a direct route to chiral acyclic secondary γ-borylated carbonyl derivatives in high enantiomeric purity. In contrast to a similar β-borylated amide derivative, the γ-borylated amide undergoes Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling with stereoretention. The utility of the boronic ester products is further illustrated by other stereospecific C–B bond transformations leading to γ-amino acid derivatives, 1,4-amino alcohols, and 5-substituted-γ-lactone and γ-lactam ring systems.
Femoral Nerve Catheters Improve Home Disposition and Pain in Hip Fracture Patients Treated With Total Hip Arthroplasty

Abstract Background Opioids have been the mainstay of treatment in the physiologically young geriatric hip fracture patient undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA). However opioid-related side effects increase morbidity. Regional anesthesia may provide better analgesia, while decreasing opioid-related side effects. The goal of this study was to examine the effect of perioperative continuous femoral nerve blockade with regards to pain scores, opioid-related side effects and posthospital disposition in hip fracture patients undergoing THA. Methods Twenty-nine consecutive geriatric hip fracture patients (22 women/7 men) underwent THA. Average follow-up was 8.3 months (6 weeks-39 months). Fifteen patients were treated with standard analgesia (SA). Fourteen patients received an ultrasound-guided insertion of a femoral nerve catheter after radiographic confirmation of a hip fracture. All complications and readmissions that occurred within 6 weeks of surgery were noted. Results Continuous femoral nerve catheter (CFNC) patients were discharged home more frequently than SA patients (43% for CFNC vs 7% for SA; P = .023). CFNC patients reported lower average pain scores preoperatively ( P P = .005) and postoperative day 2 ( P = .037). Preoperatively, CFNC patients required 61% less morphine equivalent ( P = .007). CFNC patients had a lower rate of opioid-related side effects compared with SA patients (7% vs 47%; P = .035). Conclusion CFNC patients were discharged to home more frequently. Use of a CFNC decreased daily average patient-reported pain scores, preoperative opioid usage, and opioid-related side effects after THA for hip fracture. Based on these data, we recommend routine use of perioperative CFNC in hip fracture patients undergoing THA.
Quantifying transient stability of generators by basin stability and Kuramoto-like models

Conventional approach of power system transient stability analysis use time-domain simulation and detailed system information. Recent efforts on non-uniform Kuramoto oscillators and basin stability have revealed new ways to address stability problems on power systems. In this paper, we introduce a method that can quantify how likely a generator remains synchronized after a disturbance. We show that by changing transmission line reactance, the basin stability of the system will change accordingly. Single-node basin stability can provide a relative node stability ranking for the system. This work helps bridge the gap between conventional transient stability analysis and non-linear oscillator analysis from the complex network perspective. Simulations on a two-area, four-machine system and a 16-machine, 68-bus system are provided.
Weakly holomorphic modular forms on $$\Gamma _{0}(4)$$ Γ 0 ( 4 ) and Borcherds products on unitary group $$\mathrm{U}(2,1)$$ U ( 2 , 1 )

In this note, we construct canonical bases for the spaces of weakly holomorphic modular forms with poles supported at the cusp $$\infty $$ for $$\Gamma _{0}(4)$$ of integral weight k for $$k\le -1$$ , and we make use of the basis elements for the case $$k=-1$$ to construct explicit Borcherds products on unitary group $$\mathrm{U}(2,1)$$ .
On Developing Comparative Nonprofit-Sector Theory: A Reply to Steinberg and Young, and Ragin

Responding to comments on “Social Origins of Civil Society,” an article published in this issue of Voluntas, this article focuses on three critical issues that underlie cross-national theory building and theory testing in the field of nonprofit studies: the issue of definitions, the challenge of operationalizing key theoretical concepts, and the nature of the tests available to verify results. Regarding the first, the article defends the structural-operational definition used in The Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project against suggestions by the commentators that it either be expanded or narrowed, arguing that the alternative is either to broaden the focus beyond what is manageable or to make the basic yardstick vulnerable to changing political and policy shifts—a sure prescription for confusion. Regarding the question of operationalization, the article concedes that better measures of some key features of prevailing theories might be imaginable, but, since few of these are available, it cautions against letting the best become the enemy of the good in cross-national nonprofit theory testing. Finally, the article finds, in suggestions that multivariate techniques be used in testing various nonprofit theories, confirmation of its central argument that a contextual analysis of the sort embodied in the authors' “social origins” approach is needed to come to terms with the reality of the nonprofit sector cross-nationally. Taken together these comments underline the need to continue the kind of systematic data gathering and theory testing that the authors have undertaken, to utilize an interdisciplinary approach, and to link the study of the nonprofit sector to social analysis more generally.
'Only a Sith Thinks Like That': Llewellyn's 'Dueling Canons,' Seventeen to Twenty

This is the fourth installment in a series of articles examining the famous twenty eight pairs of “dueling canons” left to us in 1950 by Karl N. Llewellyn, “Remarks on the Theory of Appellate Decision and the rules or Canons of about how Statutes are to be Construed,” 3 VANDERBILT L.REV. 395 (1950). After more than half a century, Llewellyn’s assault on the legitimacy of canons remains an imposing landmark in statutory interpretation scholarship. The first three installments of this study, covering pairs 1 through 16, showed that Llewellyn’s thesis that to every canon of construction there was another to opposite effect did not stand up to examination. This study of pairs 17 through 20 continues the pattern. Both Thrust #17 and thrust #18 are very weak presumptive principles, easily countermanded by other principles such as that the legislature should be presumed to have acted consistently (Parry #17), constitutionally (Ashwander), rationally, or to some purpose (Parry #18). Only a determination to deny legislative intention in favor of interpretive formulae can save the contrariety of these pairs. Pair #19 is a complete failure of comparability and contrariety. Thrust #20 is the great (and much maligned) paradigm of canons, expressio unius est exclusio alterius. But it too is merely a presumption, in opposition to Llewellyn’s chosen Parry #20 only if given an unreasonably wooden and universal authority.
Evoked endogenous taurine release from cultured cerebellar neurons.

The functional role(s) of taurine in the CNS has not yet been determined unambiguously. However, its absence is known to have a negative impact on brain development, and it has also been implicated in osmotic regulation, neuromodulation and neurotransmission (Huxtable, 1989). Many of these studies have utilized a variety of in vitro preparations from which the release or efflux of preloaded radiolabeled taurine has been monitored in response to a variety of stimuli. The focus of this chapter is on work done in this laboratory following HPLC analysis of the excitatory amino acid agonist evoked release of endogenous taurine from cultured cerebellar neurons containing a mixture of approximately 90% excitatory granule cells and 57% inhibitory (GABAergic) interneurons.
Interstitielle oder Zwischenzellen

Im Raume zwischen den einzelnen Muskelfasern des Herzens verlaufen Gefase und liegen Zellen, von denen hier die Rede sein soll.
Recurrent diffuse lung disease due to surfactant protein C deficiency.

Abstract Surfactant protein C (SP-C) deficiency causes diffuse lung disease with variable prognosis and severity that usually presents in infancy. We present the case of a patient with diffuse lung disease who was successfully treated with hydroxychloroquine and steroids in infancy, who presented again as a young adult with respiratory symptoms. Exome sequencing identified a novel de novo SFTPC mutation (c.397A > C p.S133R). Mutated SP-C accumulates and leads to injury of alveolar type II cells, which normally replenish alveolar type I cells after injury. This may explain the symptom recurrence after lung injury in young adulthood. Although hydroxychloroquine has been hypothesized to interfere with mutated SP-C accumulation, data on long term outcome remains limited.
Twelve years' experience with fascia lata autograft to replace complicated anterior vaginal mesh.

To report 12-year experience with replacing transvaginal mesh (TVM) with fascia lata autograft. This was a chart review of TVM removal and replacement with a fascia lata autograft placement by a single surgeon between 2005 and 2017. The Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) system before and 1 year following the procedure, patient-reported recurrence of symptoms, changes in the POP-Q examination and complication rates are analyzed. Twenty-four patients were included. Mean age was 57.2 (95% CI 53.2–61.2) years. Mean number of days to Foley catheter removal was 3.2 days (95% CI 1.6–4.9) and mean number of days to drain removal was 10.9 days (95% CI 9.9–12.0). Following the surgery, no leg seroma, infection or numbness was reported. UTI occurred in four (16.7%) of the participants postoperatively. At 3-month follow-up, mild urinary symptoms were reported in five participants (20.8%). At 1-year follow-up, one participant was symptomatic of pelvic organ prolapse. Paired t-test analysis revealed statistically significant retraction of Aa and Ba vaginal points (p < 0.001). C, GH and PB points were also statistically significantly retracted. Fascia lata autograft for anterior compartment reconstruction due to TVM complications is associated with high safety and efficacy rates.