cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Animal Models of Herpes Skin Infection: Guinea-pig

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a guinea pig model of herpes skin infection. The animals used in this model are female Hartley outbred albino guinea pigs, of 500 g each. Each of them are injected with about 0.24 ml of 50 mg ketamine/ml plus 10 mg xylazine/ml, subcutaneous (s.c.), high on the back between the shoulder blades, by using a tuberculin syringe with a 25 G 5/8 in needle. After 5–10 minutes, the animals are sedated. The dorsal skin of the anesthetized animals are infected with HSV-1 in four quadrants with 10 well-spaced activations of a vaccination instrument in each quadrant. Ideally, the infection in each quadrant develops over the course of four days into 10 small, well-spaced circles of six lesions in each circle for a total of 60 lesions per area. The virus is harvested from the skin and the amount present is determined in a plaque assay. The clinical parameters for each drug versus placebo pair are total lesion number, total lesion area, and virus titer. Histology of a cutaneous HSV-1 lesion, 72 hours after inoculation of the skin, shows that the infection primarily involves the epidermal layer in the skin with focal epidermal destruction, leukocytic infiltration of the epidermis and adjacent dermis, and cytologic changes in infected epidermal cells typical for HSV. The infection is confined to the skin of the animal's back. Food and water intake are normal and general health is maintained. Any lethargy or abnormal behavior on the part of a guinea pig is usually associated with an overdose of or reaction to anesthesia rather than systemic infection.
ARE SUPPRESSOR CELLS RESPONSIBLE FOR TOLERANCE TO A SOLUBLE ANTIGEN

Publisher Summary This chapter presents experiments that determine whether suppressor cells are responsible for tolerance to a soluble antigen. In the early experiments, it was determined whether any activation of lymphocytes, detectable by stimulation of DNA, RNA, or protein synthesis in vitro, occurred during tolerance induction. An in vivo system is also examined to detect specific suppressor cell activity in tolerance. At present time tolerodominant pathway to tolerance in human system is either not through specific suppressor cells or, if caused by suppressors, they do not act at the level of hapten-carrier cell cooperation. The possibility that there are quantitative strain differences in the levels of suppressors is presently being investigated.
Transoral robotic surgery for the treatment of laryngeal chondrosarcoma: A case report.

Abstract Importance Transoral robotic surgery has revolutionized the practice of head and neck surgery over the past decade, with indications now expanding to include laryngeal pathology. Although laryngeal chondrosarcoma is a rare entity, trends in otolaryngology literature suggest that it can frequently be managed with conservative approaches. We hope to inspire other head and neck surgeons to consider transoral robotic surgery for the treatment of such tumors so that outcomes data can be collected and studied. Observation An 87-year-old male presented with a left-sided supraglottic mass that was found incidentally on imaging performed for an unrelated reason. Flexible fiberoptic laryngoscopy revealed a cystic-appearing supraglottic mass with near complete obstruction of the glottis airway. Internal review of the imaging demonstrated a 3.5 by 2.3 by 2.8 cm centrally hypodense lesion with a rim of calcification in the left paraglottic space, with resultant narrowing of the laryngeal airway. Intervention The patient underwent awake tracheostomy and transoral robotic subtotal resection of the mass using the Da Vinci surgical system (Intuitive Surgical Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, USA). The vocal folds, ventricular mucosa, and arytenoid cartilage were grossly preserved. Final pathology revealed a low-grade cartilaginous neoplasm consistent with low-grade chondrosarcoma. Conclusions and relevance Chondrosarcoma of the larynx is a rare entity that accounts for roughly 1% of laryngeal neoplasms. Recent trends in otolaryngology literature and practice suggest that low-grade chondrosarcomas can be effectively treated with organ-preserving, conservative surgery. Transoral robotic surgery offers numerous advantages over both open and endoscopic approaches. To our knowledge, this is the first report in the literature describing the successful use of transoral robotic surgery for the resection of a laryngeal chondrosarcoma.
Religion, Adversity and Age: Religious Experiences of Low-Income Elderly Women

Elders throughout the world turn to religious organizations and rely on religious beliefs to cope with both the routine challenges of daily life and the hardships brought on by severe adversity. Hundreds of studies have documented a positive association between health or well-being and religious participation. Yet few have examined religious experiences of the elderly themselves. In-depth consideration of these experiences might shed light on the contribution of religion to individual lives. This study examines religious experiences of women living in poverty in the United States. Results underscore the deep-seated religious commitment of this group. The dominant theme, mentioned more often than any other, was gratitude. Respondents view the Lord as the source of all that is good, and are grateful for life, good fortune, help in times of hardship, and material goods. This view of an all-powerful God contrasts with some respondents' views of themselves as weak or irrelevant. Finally, one-third of respondents who mentioned church attendance reported that ill health or functional limitations restricted their ability to go to church regularly. So, while religion may be good for one's health, good health may facilitate participation in church-related activities.
Sampling Weights, Model Misspecification and Informative Sampling: A Simulation Study

Linear mixed-effects (LME) models analyze data that contain complex patterns of variability, specifically involving different nested layers. While LME models can match well the stratification and clustering of survey data, it is not clear how sampling weights should be incorporated into LME estimates. This report uses twelve simulation studies to compare two published methods of inserting sampling weights into LME estimates, Pfeffermann, et al. (1998), denoted PSHGR, and Rabe-Hesketh and Skrondal (2006), denoted RHS. There are five main conclusions based on these simulations. 1) The PSHGR and RHS point estimates are very similar, with differences due to numerical instabilities in the estimation procedures. 2) Confidence intervals based on the sandwich estimator and the design based estimator of the variances provide similar coverage when there is no model misspecification. However, when there is model misspecification, the design-based variance estimator has unexpectedly large coverage, implying that the variance estimates are too large. 3) When there is model misspecification that does not induce informative sampling, weighted estimates do not reduce bias of the estimators. 4) When there is informative sampling, the weighted estimators do reduce the bias of the point estimates, though they do not eliminate it. 5) The unweighted estimate has the smallest variance. When there is informative sampling, the unweighted estimates are biased. The weighted unscaled estimate corrects the bias in the fixed effects, but produces more bias in the random effects. The scaled 1 weightings remove the bias in the fixed effects, and overcorrect for the weighted unscaled bias in the random effects. The scaled 2 weightings remove the bias in the fixed effects and are in between the weighted unscaled and weighted scaled 1 bias in the random effects.
A History of Causal Analysis in the Social Sciences

In this chapter we provide an overview of the history of causal analysis in the social sciences. We review literature published from the mid-1800s to the present day, tracing the key strains of thought that lead to our current understandings of causal analysis in the social sciences. Given space limitations, we focus on three of the most important strands of causal analysis – those based on (1) constant conjunction and regularity accounts, (2) correlational and path analytic techniques, and (3) potential outcomes and counterfactual frameworks. We then return to the complexity of a Weberian approach, which contains nearly all of the elements of these three major frameworks into a single case-oriented method to causal analysis. We conclude by speculating on the future of causal analysis in the social sciences.
Embedded chipless RFID measurement methodology for microwave materials characterization

The use of chipless RFID is rapidly growing with applications for both identification and sensing purposes. In existing chipless RFID technology for identification purposes, radar cross-section (RCS) vs. frequency information is often used to create a unique identification (binary) code of 1's and 0's. In contrast, for purposes such as environmental sensing (i.e., temperature, humidity, gas concentration, etc.), a shift in the RCS frequency response is then correlated to the sought-for information. In this paper the utility of embedding chipless RFID sensors in various dielectric materials is investigated, where changes in the material properties cause a shift in the RFID frequency response and the changes are translated to a change in its original binary code. To illustrate the efficacy of this unique technique for materials characterization, electromagnetic simulations and measurements were conducted, the result of which are presented in this paper.
Dysfunction of the Methyl-CpG-Binding Protein MeCP2 in Rett Syndrome

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a neurodevelopmental disorder predominantly occurring in females with an incidence of 1:10,000 births and caused by sporadic mutations in the MECP2 gene, which encodes methyl-CpG-binding protein-2, an epigenetic transcription factor that binds methylated DNA. The clinical hallmarks include a period of apparently normal early development followed by a plateau and then subsequent frank regression. Impaired visual and aural contact often leads to an initial diagnosis of autism. The characterization of experimental models based on the loss-of-function of the mouse Mecp2 gene revealed that subtle changes in the morphology and function of brain cells and synapses have profound consequences on network activities that underlie critical brain functions. Furthermore, these experimental models have been used for successful reversals of RTT-like symptoms by genetic, pharmacological, and environmental manipulations, raising hope for novel therapeutic strategies to improve the quality of life of RTT individuals.
Incorporating Research into Undergraduate Paleontology Courses: Or a Tale of 23,276 Mulinia

Research-led, research-oriented, and research-based teaching incorporate research into teaching to different degrees. Research-led teaching focuses on content and informs students about current research findings, while research-oriented teaching focuses on techniques and often occurs in research methods courses. In research-based teaching, students participate in research. Through this involvement, they benefit from improved content knowledge, research skills, and life skills, as well as enhanced personal development. Research-embedded courses can make such benefits available to a wide range of students. Best practices in experiential learning and the incorporation of research in teaching include intentionality, planning, authenticity, reflection, training, monitoring, assessment, and acknowledgment. In this Element, these principles of best practice are illustrated by courses with embedded student research. Guidelines are presented for how to plan and execute a semester-long course-embedded research project, as well as alternative and shorter-term approaches. Research-based teaching provides challenges for students and faculty, but the benefits for all stakeholders are strong.
Combined use of cutinase and high-resolution mass-spectrometry to query the molecular architecture of cutin

Cutin is a complex, highly cross-linked polyester consisting of hydroxylated and epoxidated acyl lipid monomers. Because of the complexity of the polymer it has been difficult to define the chemical architecture of the polymer, which has further limited the ability to identify the catalytic components that assemble the polymer. Analogous to methods that define the structure of oligosaccharides, we demonstrate a strategy that utilizes cutinase to generate cutin subfragments consisting of up to four monomeric units, whose structure and spatial distribution in the polymer is revealed by high-resolution mass spectrometry. Moreover, the application of mass-spectrometric fragmentation and labelling of the end of the oligomers, one is able to define the order of monomers in the oligomer. The systematic application of this strategy can greatly facilitate understanding the chemical architecture of this complex polymer. The chemical architecture of plant cutin is dissected by coupling an enzymatic system that deconstructs the polymer into subfragments consisting of dimers, trimers and tetramers of cutin monomers, with group-specific labeling and mass spectrometry. These subfragments can be generated with one of over 1200 of cutinases identified from diverse biological sources. The parallel chemical labeling of the polymer with dansyl, alkyl or p-dimethylaminophenacyl reagents can identify the chemical distribution of non-esterified hydroxyl- and carboxyl-groups among the monomers. This combined strategy is applied to cutin isolated from with apple fruit skins, and a combination of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) MS is used to determine the order of the monomers in the cutinase-generated subfragments. Finally, we demonstrate the use of matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization-MS to determine the spatial distribution of the cutinase-generated subfragments. Our experimental results demonstrate an advancement to overcome the current limitations in identifying cutin oligomeric structure and allows one to more efficiently address new biological questions about cutin biosynthesis. We submit that the systematic application of these methods will enable the construction of more accurate architectural models of cutin, which is a prerequisite to identifying cutin-biosynthetic components.
The Case of Abigail Nunce: The Weight of Medical Training

Feeding and eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, as well as other eating and body image issues, are relatively prevalent in the medical trainee population, due to age and other characteristics of this group of individuals. Problematic eating can lead to significant impairment in emotional and physical health; in the medical trainee, such as a medical student or resident, this can have implications on career development and future thriving in all spheres of life. The clinician working with a medical trainee will want to be attentive to screening, and developing appropriate management strategies for eating disorders, including a comprehensive psychological, behavioral, nutritional, and medical approach to the symptoms. Being aware of common themes and pitfalls that arise in the management of the medical trainee with an eating-related condition will be useful for the psychiatrist treating this patient.
The Specificity Site of Trypsin

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the specificity site of trypsin. Understanding the mechanism of action of an enzyme such as trypsin must include knowledge of its specificity site. Functional groups of the trypsin hydrolytic apparatus have been identified, namely, the familiar serine and histidine side-chains. However, the part of its structure that is responsible for the binding of a macromolecular substrate part of the specificity site now appears to have been located, namely, the functional group responsible for the characteristic preference of trypsin for the side-chains of basic amino acids. In modifying the specificity site of trypsin, there was the likelihood of retaining some of the catalytic properties of the enzyme. Chemical modification studies of trypsin have given new, strong evidence that a carboxyl group is spatially situated at the active center in the region expected for specificity function, and that specificity can be eliminated by carboxyl modification. The properties and structure of pseudotrypsin provide actual functional evidence that aspartic-177 is probably the specificity site carboxyl group.
Disability and Maternal and Child Health

Before exploring the relationship between disability and maternal and child health, it is useful to note that there are both a capital “MCH” world and a lower case “mch” world. In the former, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, part of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, has responsibility for setting a national agenda to improve health of mothers and children and distributing federal funds to support that agenda. In the lower case “mch” world, the term “maternal and child health” is used more loosely to include almost anything to do with the health of mothers, babies, children or teens.
A review of psychopathy and Cluster B personality traits and their neural correlates in female offenders

Although men commit more crime and are incarcerated at higher rates than women, women represent the fastest growing segment of the justice system. Empirical work suggests that psychopathy and Cluster B disorders are implicated in antisocial behavior across gender, and that neurobiological correlates of personality may inform such behavior. This review utilizes a gendered perspective to discuss psychopathy and Cluster B disorders in relation to antisocial behavior and incorporates work on neural correlates of personality disorders. Co-morbidity across these conditions may be partly explained by similar frontal deficits, reflective of disinhibition. Affective processing abnormalities appear to be characterized by distinct deficits in limbic/paralimbic regions, reflecting differential etiological underpinnings and behavioral outcomes. This review underscores the utility in examining personality pathology together with neurobiological and environmental factors. Methodological issues and clinical implications are also discussed.
Population Health and Trauma-Informed Practice: Implications for Programs, Systems, and Policies

Population studies indicate that trauma exposure is ubiquitous and has a significant impact on health. Trauma-informed practice seeks to address the health consequences of trauma through integrative responses that incorporate an understanding of the effects of trauma, the multiple pathways to recovery, and the potential for re-traumatization. Current trauma-informed practice considers trauma exposure an individual clinical problem rather than a societal problem with population health consequences. Population health refers to the aggregated health status of individuals who share some characteristic, such as trauma exposure, and includes the study of determinants that shape the distribution of health outcomes in specific populations. In this paper, we describe a population health perspective for trauma-informed practice that complements the current clinical perspective, and then discuss implications of that perspective for programs, systems, and policies. We summarize essential concepts about trauma over the life course and describe principles of population health science relevant to trauma-informed practice. We then discuss implications of these principles by identifying four priorities for trauma-informed practice from a population health perspective: (a) adopting trauma-informed policies to prevent trauma exposure and to foster resilience in the aftermath of trauma; (b) infusing trauma-informed practice into everyday activities so it is a routine part of interpersonal transactions; (c) incorporating trauma-informed practices into existing service systems; and (d) adapting existing treatments to incorporate trauma-informed principles for population health impact.
Innate Immune Mechanism of Hemarthrosis in Hemophilia-a Mice

Hemarthrosis is a chronic arthropathy responsible for irreversible joint damage, disability, and acute joint pain in hemophilia patients. Hemarthrosis is caused by spontaneous or traumatic bleeding into joints, which when recurrent, leads to synovial inflammation and cartilage degeneration. Although release of erythrocyte-derived damage associated molecular pattern molecules (eDAMPs) is believed to promote sterile inflammation in the synovium, the innate immune mechanism of hemarthrosis remains poorly understood and the current therapy is limited to factor replacement and pain management. Here, we use factor 8 total knock-out (F8TKO) hemophilia A mice (C57BL/6J background) that manifest a complete deletion of the F8 coding region, expressing no detectable F8 mRNA and exhibiting a severe hemophilia phenotype. Right knee joint capsules of F8TKO mice were punctured with a 30-g needle below the patella between the anterior portions of the femur and tibia, followed by assessment of bleeding severity score and histological analysis one-week post injury. Intravital multiphoton excitation fluorescence microscopy of injured synovium was performed to assess the role of thrombo-inflammatory events in promoting hemarthrosis. Neutrophil, platelets, and blood vessels were visualized by intravenous administration of fluorescent anti-Ly6G mAb, anti-CD49b mAb, and dextran, respectively. Protein and mRNA levels of proinflammatory cytokines were measured in plasma, joint, synovium, and cartilage tissue using Real-Time PCR and ELISA, respectively. F8TKO but not wild-type (WT) control (C57BL/6J) mice manifested unresolved joint bleeding, cartilage degeneration and synovitis leading to impaired mobility and high bleeding severity scores. Significantly more recruitment of neutrophils and neutrophil-platelet aggregates as well as elevated IL-1b levels were observed in the synovium of F8TKO compared to WT mice. These results are the first to suggest that sterile inflammation contributing to hemarthrosis in hemophilia involves enhanced neutrophil-platelet recruitment to the synovium. Currently, experiments are underway to identify the role of eDAMPs (heme and hemoglobin) mediated activation of TLR4 and inflammasome pathway in promoting IL-1b generation, neutrophil-platelet aggregation, and progression of joint injury in F8TKO mice Disclosures Ragni: OPKO: Research Funding; Sangamo: Research Funding; Shire/Takeda: Other: Advisory Board, Research Funding; Spark Therapeutics: Other: Advisory Board, Research Funding; Alnylam/Sanofi: Other: Advisory Board, Research Funding; BioMarin: Other: Advisory Board, Research Funding; Bioverativ/Sanofi: Other: Advisory Board, Research Funding. Gladwin: Globin Solutions, Inc: Patents & Royalties: Provisional patents for the use of recombinant neuroglobin and heme-based molecules as antidotes for CO poisoning; Bayer Pharmaceuticals: Other: Co-investigator; United Therapeutics: Patents & Royalties: Co-inventor on an NIH government patent for the use of nitrite salts in cardiovascular diseases .
Linking Trade, Intellectual Property and Investment in the Globalizing Economy: The Interrelated Roles of FTAs, IP and the United States

This chapter introduces readers to the United States’ trade policy-making system and the constitutional, executive, legislative and judicial institutions that participate in the process, as well as the many (and changing) political policies involved. It clarifies the complexities involved in the recently concluded and future Free Trade Agreements, and introduces non-U.S. readers to the political realities associated with the U.S. internal/domestic process of “fast-track” or “Trade Promotion Authority”. It also identifies some of the future intellectual property issues in Asian FTAs and suggests some possible consequences.
Trained Synthetic Features in Boosted Decision Trees with an Application to Polish Bankruptcy Data

Trained synthetic features are created through the application of optimized learning criteria to the collection of predictors. The trained synthetic features are added to the training data and used to create a decision tree. Boosting creates an ensemble of decision trees; at each boosting iteration, the newly weighted observations lead to a new collection of trained synthetic features. As a result, the trained synthetic features evolve along with the ensemble to explore regions of the predictor space containing difficult to classify observations.
Timeliness of Care for High-acuity Conditions at Hospital-affiliated Freestanding Emergency Departments

Background Hospital-affiliated freestanding emergency departments (FREDs) are rapidly proliferating in some states and have been the subject of recent policy debate. As FREDs' role in acute care delivery is expanding in certain regions, little is known about the quality of care that they provide for their sickest patients. Our aim was to compare timeliness of emergent care at FREDs and hospital-based EDs (HEDs) for patient visits with selected high-acuity and time-sensitive conditions. Methods We performed a retrospective observational analysis of adult patient visit data from 19 FREDs and five HEDs from one health system over a 1-year period. Median times to events and hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated via Cox regression. Results The median time to electrocardiogram for visits with chest pain was 10 minutes at FREDs and 9 minutes at HEDs (HR = 0.91 [CI = 0.87 to 0.96]). Time to cardiac catheterization lab for visits with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) was 78 minutes at FREDs, inclusive of transfer time, and 31 minutes at HEDs (HR = 0.41 [CI = 0.24 to 0.71]). Time to computed tomography for visits with stroke was 37 minutes at FREDs and 29 minutes at HEDs (HR = 0.42 [CI = 0.31 to 0.58]). Among visits with sepsis, FREDs had longer times to lactate collection (HR = 0.41 [CI = 0.30 to 0.56]), blood culture collection (HR = 0.24 [CI = 0.11 to 0.51]), and antibiotic administration (HR = 0.61 [CI = 0.26 to 1.42]). Beta agonists were administered for visits with asthma exacerbations in 24 minutes at FREDs and 44 minutes at HEDs (HR = 2.50 [CI = 2.34 to 2.68]), with similar times for anticholinergic and corticosteroid administration. Conclusions Freestanding EDs provided more timely care than HEDs for visits with asthma exacerbation and less timely care for acute chest pain, stroke, and sepsis, although absolute differences were small. Even though STEMI patients at FREDs required transfer for catheterization, they tended to receive care in line with national guidelines.
Transformation of plants via the shoot apex

We have transformed petunia byAgrobacterium tumefaciens containing genes for kanamycin resistance and beta-glucuronidase using isolated shoot apices from seedling tissue. Regeneration of transformed plants in this model system was rapid. The technique of shoot apex transformation is an alternative for use inAgrobacterium-mediated transformation of dicotyledonous crop species for which a method of regeneration via protoplasts, leaf disks, or epidermal strips does not exist. This approach offers direct and rapid regeneration of plants and low risk of tissue-culture-induced genetic variation.
A Deep Generative Model for Non-Intrusive Identification of EV Charging Profiles

The proliferation of electric vehicles (EVs) brings environmental benefits and technical challenges to power grids. An identification algorithm which can accurately extract individual EV charging profiles out of widely available smart meter measurements has attracted great interests. This paper proposes a non-intrusive identification framework for EV charging profile extraction, which is driven by deep generative models (DGM). First, the proposed DGM is designed as a representation layer embedded into the Markov process and used to model the joint probability distribution of available time-series data. A novel contribution is to approximate posterior distributions by neural networks whose parameters are obtained by variational inference and supervised learning. Second, the EV charging status is inferred from the DGM via dynamic programming. Lastly, the desired EV charging profile can be reconstructed by the rated power of EV models and inferred status. Compared with the benchmark Hidden Markov Models, the proposed framework can better handle noise in data with less computational complexity and better overall accuracy performances with smaller recall. The proposed framework is validated by numerical experiments on the Pecan Street dataset.
Risk Factors for Early Recurrence Following Ablation for Accessory Pathways: The Role of Consolidation Lesions.

Background: Atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia is common in children. Catheter ablation is increasingly used as a first-line therapy with a high acute success rate, but recurrence during follow...
License to Sue

Courts, commentators and practitioners have for too long viewed intellectual property law as a discrete discipline, without putting it into the proper theoretical context of general jurisprudence. Intellectual property law cannot and must not exist on its own, outside the normative framework of overlapping legal institutions. Even within the rubric of intellectual property, courts have overlooked the potential for cross-applying relevant doctrines between patent, copyright, and trademark law. Certainly, when intellectual property disputes touch on other disciplines, such as civil procedure, contract, or tort law, courts have tended to overlook their synergies, focusing instead on only one of several important policies or principles. The result has gone beyond missed opportunities. It has led to judicial mistakes, including in the very recent, and broad-based 2007 U.S. Supreme Court case of MedImmune v. Genentech. The Court's errors have far-reaching implications for the future of the law and its practice. This article examines the intersection of normative values between intellectual property and contract law. Utilizing graphic illustrations in tables and diagrams, the article proposes a more appropriate interdisciplinary framework for cases involving intellectual property licensing. Courts, litigants, and license negotiators may employ this matrix in order to reach more rational and informed decisions.
Muslims in Post-War Sri Lanka: An Opportunity Lost for Conflict Transformation

This paper examines the post-war Sri Lankan conditions among Sri Lanka Muslims, also known as Moors. The article will attempt to argue that state concessions to Muslim political leaders who supported the successive Sri Lanka’s ruling classes from independence through the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, have meant an isolation of the community from the other two main ethnic communities. The concessions that the Muslim community has won actively helped the Muslim community to be proactive in their religious practices and thus paved the way for exclusive social and political choices. The rise of Islamic movements and mosques in the post-1977 period galvanized Muslims. In time this isolation has been reinforced by socio-religious revival among Muslims whose ethnic identity has been constructed along the lines of the Islamic faith by Muslim elites. Despite this revival it has been clear that the Muslim community has been reluctant to use Islamic traditions and principles for peace building, which could have helped to ease tensions, brought about by the 30 year old ethnic conflict. On the other hand this paper will briefly discuss some reactions from the majority Sinhalese to Islamic revival as well as some issues between the Tamils and Muslims and the reintegration of Muslims in the North. Finally, some pragmatic ways to ease tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims in the greater discipline of conflict resolution are explored using traditions within Islam.
Improving Test-Taking Effort in Low-Stakes Group-Based Educational Testing: A Meta-Analysis of Interventions

Four decades of research have shown that students’ low test-taking effort is a serious threat to the validity of score-based inferences from low-stakes, group-based educational assessments. This me...
Interpreter Use for Limited English Proficiency Patients/Families: A QI Study.

BACKGROUND Communication is fundamental to high-quality health care. Despite federal requirements to provide interpreters and growing evidence favoring the benefits of interpreter use, providers’ use of interpreters remains suboptimal. In acute care settings, where decisions need to be made rapidly on the basis of changing clinical circumstances, this has proven to be challenging. METHODS We designed a quality improvement project using the model for improvement methodology for patients admitted to the pediatric hospital medicine service. A multidisciplinary team developed interventions focused on provider education and leveraging health information technology (IT). We used health IT to improve the identification of families with limited English proficiency, improve access to various modalities of interpreting, standardize workflow to request face-to-face (F2F) interpreters, and create a designated place in the electronic health record for interpreter use documentation. The use of all forms (telephone, video, and F2F) of interpreter service, documentation of interpreter uses, and F2F interpreter overload were tracked monthly for 3 years. RESULTS The baseline use of interpreter services for the pediatric hospital medicine inpatient service was 64%. After starting the project, the use of interpreter service increased to 97% and has sustained for more than a year since the project’s completion. The use of F2F interpreters also increased from a baseline of 20% to 54% post intervention. CONCLUSIONS We successfully achieved and sustained our goals of improving interpreter use through supportive leadership and a multidisciplinary approach using quality improvement methodology. Future efforts should be focused on defining and standardizing metrics for families with limited English proficiency across institutions and using health IT to improve care.
Laminar Frictional Resistance with Pressure Gradient

T E increasing importance of an extended laminar flow region in reducing the total frictional drag of a body has stimulated investigation of the effect of various influences, including the pressure (velocity) gradient outside of the boundary layer. In addition to altering the Reynolds Number of transition, pressure gradient has considerable influence on the coefficient of local friction, for the calculation of which a simple method is highly desirable. For the purpose of conducting a fundamental investigation of the effect of pressure gradient, a boundary layer research tunnel, sponsored by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, was constructed a t the Massachusetts Inst i tute of Technology. Test data from this tunnel for zero pressure gradient (constant potential velocity) have been discussed recently by Peters.
Parasites and Fishes in a Deep-Sea Environment

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the animal parasites of fishes and presents a few examples of fishes and their parasites from the inshore and offshore epipelagic zone. These examples, ranging from tide pool species to cod that move from offshore shallow water to the mesopelagic zone, show that fishes in these habitats harbor many kinds of parasites, often in large numbers. In the deep marine environments, the chapter focuses on the benthopelagic and benthic habitats and on a comparison between them and the strikingly different midwater zones. The chapter provides an ecological discussion of parasite–host relationships in marine fishes. It discusses environmental factors that influence the variety of parasites and incidences of infection in deep-sea animals. It lists the characteristics of deep ocean waters––namely, (1) physical features, (2) plankton and the food supply, and (3) metabolism in the deep sea. These characteristics are the chief factors that determine the kinds, numbers, and behavior of the organisms living in these waters. Differences in parasite patterns between two groups of fishes are correlated with differences in food and migratory habits, life histories, body size, length of life, physical environmental features, and energy relationships.
Understanding the Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of IL-27

The recent identification of IL-27 (IL-27p28/EBV-induced gene 3) and IL-27R (WSX-1/gp130) has provided new insights for the biology of IL-6/IL-12 family cytokines. Initial studies indicated that IL-27 can directly regulate T cell functions and suggested an important role for it in promoting Th1 type responses. However, subsequent studies have revealed that IL-27R signaling influences a variety of immune cell types and can inhibit either Th1 or Th2 type responses. Though elucidation of the Jak/STAT signaling pathways activated by IL-27R ligation has unveiled some of the molecular mechanisms used by IL-27 to promote inflammation, little is known about the anti-inflammatory activities of this cytokine. Thus, the aim of this review is to discuss the pleotropic nature of the IL-27/IL-27R interaction and attempt to reconcile the pro- and anti-inflammatory properties of this immunomodulator.
Artificial Neural Networks

The learning technique of artificial neural networks (ANNs, or just neural networks or NNs) is the focus of this chapter. The development of ANNs evolved in periodic “waves” of research activity. ANNs were influenced by the fortunes of the fields of artificial intelligence and expert systems, which sought to answer questions such as: What makes the human brain such a formidable machine in processing cognitive thought? What is the nature of this thing called “intelligence” ? And, how do humans solve problems?
Antiestrogenic Effects of 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin Are Mediated by Direct Transcriptional Interference with the Liganded Estrogen Receptor CROSS-TALK BETWEEN ARYL HYDROCARBON- AND ESTROGEN-MEDIATED SIGNALING

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) ligands have diverse biological effects including striking antiestrogenic activity. We have investigated at the molecular level the antiestrogenic activity of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). We show that the previously documented TCDD-mediated decrease in estradiol-inducible gene products such as cathepsin D (cat D) is due to a sharp decline in mRNA accumulation despite any change in estrogen receptor (ER) mRNA levels. The decline in cat D mRNA level is most likely due to a decrease in transcription of the cat D gene since TCDD blocks the ability of ER to transactivate from an estrogen response element. AhR is required for this activity as TCDD is no longer antiestrogenic in a mutant cell line that is deficient in functional AhR. We provide evidence that the loss of transactivation potential by ER in the presence of TCDD is due to a sharp decrease in its ability to bind to an estrogen response element. Reciprocally, estradiol treatment blocked TCDD-induced accumulation of CYP1A1 mRNA and AhR-mediated activation of the CYP1A1 promoter. This is due to the ability of liganded ER to interfere with the binding of AhR to the xenobiotic response element. These results provide a molecular mechanism for the antiestrogenic effects of TCDD and demonstrate the presence of a two-way cross-talk between the intracellular signaling pathways involving estrogens and aryl hydrocarbons.
Learning by adapting representations in genetic programming

Machine learning aims towards the acquisition of knowledge, based either on experience from the interaction with the external environment or by analyzing the internal problem-solving traces. Genetic programming (GP) has been effective in learning via interaction, but so far there have not been any significant tests to show that GP can take advantage of its own search traces. This paper demonstrates how an analysis of the evolution trace enables the genetic search to discover useful genetic material and to use it in order to accelerate the search process. The key idea is that of genetic material discovery which enables a restructuring of the search space so that solutions can be much more easily found. >
Methods of transmitting a wideband signal through an electrically small antenna

in this paper, two different methods are introduced to radiate a wideband signal through an electrically small antenna. One method shifts the resonant frequency of the antenna and radiates a frequency modulated signal while the other presents a feeding mechanism to radiate an amplitude modulated signal. Both methods are categorized under antenna direct modulation and take advantage of transient properties of electrically small antennas. It is shown that the bandwidth of the radiated signal can be independent of the bandwidth of the antenna.
On-line data acquisition system using an appleTm computer: ISI and PST histograms

Abstract A combined hardware/software system for the study of the temporal distributions of spike data is described. Through extensive use of assembly language subroutines the program is able to simultaneously acquire, analyze and display the incoming data. Production of a “Temporal Memory Map” makes possible the examination of acquired data at a wide variety of different bin widths. Interaction with the user is made extremely simple. Provisions are included for the labelling and printing of the output histograms and for the compact storage of data onto floppy disks. Maximum temporal resolution is 0.1 millisecond and maximum total acquisition width is 12.8 minutes. Hardware requirements beyond the basic computer consist of an external signal conditioning circuit and a slot-independent peripheral card containing two integrated circuits. The system has been successfully used in the analysis of neural and EMG evoked responses and should be widely useable in other applications.
The misdiagnosis of acute cervical spine injuries and fractures in infants and children: the 12-year experience of a level I pediatric and adult trauma center.

Objective The objective was to determine the frequency of acute cervical spine injuries and fractures that were misdiagnosed in infants and children (≤14 years) initially evaluated at a pediatric and adult urban level I trauma center.
Gastric involvement by omental cakes: radiographic findings.

Six cases of malignancy (3 ovarian, 1 endometrial, 1 cecal, and 1 breast) were collected in which upper gastrointestinal (UGI) examinations revealed mass effect, nodularity, flattening, and/or spiculated mucosal folds on the greater curvature of the stomach due to contiguous spread of tumor from the greater omentum. Carcinoma of the transverse colon invading the stomach via the gastrocolic ligament may produce identical radiographic findings. In 3 cases, however, barium enema (BE) examinations revealed simultaneous involvement of the transverse colon by omental tumor as well as other evidence of intraperitoneal seeding. When a UGI examination suggests gastric involvement by omental metastases or so-called omental “cakes,” a BE should be performed to demonstrate associated colonic involvement and to rule out a carcinoma of the transverse colon as the cause of these radiographic findings.
Alloy Chemical Comparison of the Refractory Metal — Noble Metal Phase Diagrams T5-T10 (T5 = V, Nb, Ta; T10 = Pd, Pt)

The six T5-Tl0 metal alloy phase diagrams containing Pd or Pt have now all been established. The alloy phases occurring in these systems are tabulated and reviewed here with respect to their structures.
Bacterium Melaninogenicum from Normal and Pathologic Tissues

Oliver and Wherry,' in a brief note, originally described and named the nonspore-bearing, black pigment producing anaerobic microorganism Bacterium melaninogenicum. They cultured it from the throat and elsewhere on human blood agar slants made anaerobic by the pyrogallic acid method, on which characteristic dark brown or black colonies became visible within one to two weeks in primary cultures. They stated that "pure subcultures yield a confluent, black, dry layer of growth. As the growth increases the hemoglobin throughout the agar slant disappears, until finally the medium appears like a slant of plain agar." The bacterium was described as a somewhat polymorphic, gramnegative, nonmotile rod, in size about 0.8, x 1.O, to 3.0. These authors apparently did not use plating methods for isolation and purification of their cultures and it seems probable from their description that they did not obtain strictly pure cultures. In the study of numerous cultures during several months I have found that this organism exhibits to a marked degree the habit of growing in very intimate mixture with other bacteria, and that strictly pure cultures are obtained with considerable difficulty. Growth of pure cultures is uncertain, slow, and usually meager. Hemolysis is slight, and the complete destruction of the hemoglobin throughout a slant or plate does not occur. But a very few contaminating organisms, so few that they are easily overlooked, suffice to accelerate the rate of development, and to increase the degree of hemolysis very markedly. It is probable, also, that the authors did not observe the pigmentproducing bacterium in its most typical form. In a large number of cultures studied by me the organism found constantly associated with pigmented colonies appeared most commonly as very tiny paired cells, which might be designated as either cocci or bacilli. Most typically they were seen as somewhat elongated diplococci, the pairs averaging 1.0 long and 0.4p, wide. Bacillus forms reaching a length of 3.0Qt to 4.0tE and
A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CIRCUMFERENCE AND WEIGHT IN TREES AND ITS BEARING ON BRANCHING ANGLES

Observation reveals a linear relationship between the logarithm of the circumference of a tree, branch, or leaf stem, and the logarithm of the weight of the tree, branch, or leaf. The bearing of this on the angles of branching in trees is discussed.
Cell Cycle-dependent Phosphorylation and Ubiquitination of a G Protein α Subunit

A diverse array of external stimuli, including most hormones and neurotransmitters, bind to cell surface receptors that activate G proteins. Mating pheromones in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae activate G protein-coupled receptors and initiate events leading to cell cycle arrest in G1 phase. Here, we show that the Gα subunit (Gpa1) is phosphorylated and ubiquitinated in response to changes in the cell cycle. We systematically screened 109 gene deletion strains representing the non-essential yeast kinome and identified a single kinase gene, ELM1, as necessary and sufficient for Gpa1 phosphorylation. Elm1 is expressed in a cell cycle-dependent manner, primarily at S and G2/M. Accordingly, phosphorylation of Gpa1 in G2/M phase leads to polyubiquitination in G1 phase. These findings demonstrate that Gpa1 is dynamically regulated. More broadly, they reveal how G proteins can simultaneously regulate, and become regulated by, progression through the cell cycle.