cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hearing loss among operating engineers in American construction industry

Objective: Occupational noise exposure and noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) among construction workers has long been recognized as a problem in the United States, yet little is known about the prevalence of NIHL among American construction workers. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of hearing loss among operating engineers (OEs) who operate heavy construction machinery. Method: As a part of hearing protection intervention, an audiometric test was conducted for both ears at frequencies 0.5 through 8 kHz in the soundproof booth. Prior to the audiometric test, a paper-pencil pre-hearing test questionnaire was administered and an otoscopic examination was completed. Prevalence of hearing loss was determined based on hearing threshold levels (HTLs) in the worst ear with a low fence of 25 dB. Result: A total of 623 workers were included in the analysis and they were predominantly middle-aged Caucasian males (mean age = 43 years, Caucasian = 90%, male = 92%). Over 60% of OEs showed hearing loss in the noise-sensitive higher frequencies of 4 and 6 kHz. The rate of hearing loss was particularly higher among workers who reported longer years of working in the construction industry. Workers showed significantly poorer hearing in the left ear, and a typical characteristic of NIHL, a V-notch at 4 or 6 kHz, was not shown in this population. Thirty-eight percent reported ringing/buzzing in the ear and 62% indicated having problems in understanding what people say in loud noise. Average reported use of hearing protection devices (HPDs) was 48% of the time they were required to be used. Significant inverse relationship was found between higher frequency (4–6 kHz) hearing loss and use of HPDs (r =−0.134, p < 0.001). Workers using HPDs more had significantly better hearing than those who did not. Conclusion: The study demonstrated a significant NIHL problem and low use of HPDs in OEs. An effective hearing conservation program, including a periodic audiometric testing and hearing protection intervention, for this study population should be in place.
Female response to filmed displays of Anolis nebulosus (Sauria, Iguanidae)

Abstract A film loop apparatus was devised to test a possible social function of the display of Anolis nebulosus . Films of a displaying male were projected onto translucent screens at both ends of an enclosure. One film loop portrayed the display typical of the lizard's population, while the other loop projected an altered version of the basic display. Female A. nebulosus were introduced singly into the centre of the enclosure. They gave a graded response to the film loops; an increasing proportion of females approached the ‘normal’ displaying image as the film loops of altered displays contained a greater number of changes. The various experimental techniques previously used to study the function of lizard displays are reviewed.
Complications of ICD Generator Change and Implantations

Although implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy can be lifesaving, complications are a possibility with implantation and during longterm follow-up. Though early ICDs, placed via open thoracotomy, were associated with a significant risk, the modern era of transvenous ICD implantation has reduced the surgical risk substantially. The conclusion of several decades of randomized clinical trials supporting the use of ICDs and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with moderate-to-advanced heart failure highlights an important paradox. Whereas nonthoracotomy ICD implantation can be performedwith fewercomplications thanearlydevices, the patients now considered for this therapy are generally more ill and often with advanced heart failure. The impact of significant cardiac disease and associated comorbid medical illness on complication rates must also be considered. This article reviews the available data reporting complications associated with ICD procedures. Adverse events associated with both the acute procedural risk as well as those events that occur later are examined.
Expression profiles of the MdACS3 gene suggest a function as an accelerator of apple (Malus × domestica) fruit ripening

Abstract Ethylene plays an important role in apple fruit development and its biosynthesis is catalyzed by the two enzymes ACS (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase) and ACO (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase). Within the apple ACS gene family, at least two members, MdACS1 and MdACS3, are expressed in apple fruit tissues. While MdACS1 expresses only at late ripening stages corresponding to a sudden increase of ethylene production, a typical feature of system-II ethylene biosynthesis, the expression of MdACS3 can be detected as early as 6 weeks before physiological maturity. The objective of this study was to characterize the cultivar-specific dynamics of MdACS3 expression at both preharvest and postharvest stages, its relationship with MdACS1 activation, and its roles in apple fruit ripening and quality. Based on the transcript profiles during 8-week on-tree maturation and ripening, two MdACS3 expression patterns could be clustered among 12 apple cultivars. Most of the cultivars in pattern 1 showed high level expression with a steadily increasing trend, and most of those in pattern 2 exhibited low level expression with a transient peak at or before physiological maturity. These two expression patterns appeared to correlate with fruit ripening season and fruit firmness change during ripening. Unlike MdACS1, the expression of MdACS3 was stimulated by 1-MCP treatment, indicating a negative feedback regulation mechanism.
Functional integrity of the T-tubular system in cardiomyocytes depends on p21-activated kinase 1.

Abstract p21-activated kinase (Pak1), a serine-threonine protein kinase, regulates cytoskeletal dynamics and cell motility. Recent experiments further demonstrate that loss of Pak1 results in exaggerated hypertrophic growth in response to pathophysiological stimuli. Calcium (Ca) signaling plays an important role in the regulation of transcription factors involved in hypertrophic remodeling. Here we aimed to determine the role of Pak1 in cardiac excitation–contraction coupling (ECC). Ca transients were recorded in isolated, ventricular myocytes (VMs) from WT and Pak1 −/− mice. Pak1 −/− Ca transients had a decreased amplitude, prolonged rise time and delayed recovery time. Di-8-ANNEPS staining revealed a decreased T-tubular density in Pak1 −/− VMs that coincided with decreased cell capacitance and increased dis-synchrony of Ca induced Ca release (CICR) at individual release units. These changes were not observed in atrial myocytes of Pak1 −/− mice where the T-tubular system is only sparsely developed. Experiments in cultured rabbit VMs supported a role of Pak1 in the maintenance of the T-tubular structure. T-tubular density in rabbit VMs significantly decreased within 24 h of culture. This was accompanied by a decrease of the Ca transient amplitude and a prolongation of its rise time. However, overexpression of constitutively active Pak1 in VMs attenuated the structural remodeling as well as changes in ECC. The results provide significant support for a prominent role of Pak1 activity not only in the functional regulation of ECC but for the structural maintenance of the T-tubular system whose remodeling is an integral feature of hypertrophic remodeling.
Does lenalidomide plus dexamethasone improve outcome in patients with relapsed multiple myeloma

Does lenalidomide plus dexamethasone improve outcome in patients with relapsed multiple myeloma?
Simultaneously Monitoring Gene Expression Kinetics and Genetic Noise in Single Cells by Optical Well Arrays

An optical fiber based well array platform was used for simultaneous, dynamic gene expression monitoring from hundreds of individual live Escherichia coli cells carrying promoter-fluorescent reporter gene fusions. High information content about gene expression kinetics and cell-to-cell gene expression variability can be collected from a single experiment. These data are invaluable for investigating gene regulation and gene networks as well as for systems biology applications.
BISPECTRAL ANALYSIS OF RANDOMLY SAMPLED DATA

. A continuous time series is often observed or sampled at discrete intervals. Most literature has dealt with the case when the sampling intervals are equally spaced. For irregularly sampled data, most existing literature is concerned with second-order moments or anti-aliasing spectral estimations. We study the estimation of higher-order spectral density functions with the emphasis on the bispectral estimate when the continuous time series is sampled by a random point process. Estimates under the Poisson sampling scheme are studied in detail. Asymptotic bias and covariances are obtained. In particular, it is shown explicitly how the information of the sampling process comes into play in obtaining a consistent estimate of the bispectral density function of a continuous time series. In contrast to the second-order spectral density function estimation where the Poisson sampling scheme results in a constant correction term, a consistent bispectral density function estimate results in a nonlinear correction term even in the Poisson sampling scheme. A simple simulation example is presented for illustration.
Analysis of circulation controlled airfoils

Abstract : A self-contained analysis for arbitrary circulation controlled airfoils in incompressible flow is developed. The analysis predicts the blowing slot conditions required to produce a specified lift coefficient on a given airfoil with given free stream conditions. An iterative procedure is used to find the blowing slot conditions that allow the Thwaites condition of constant pressure in the separated region to be satisfied. With the input given, a potential flow analysis is performed using the Theodorsen method. Boundary layer analyses for the lower and upper surfaces then yield the separation pressure on the lower surface and the boundary layer properties at the slot on the upper surface. The flow is initially laminar and usually becomes turbulent. The Cebeci, Smith finite difference method is used and an eddy viscosity model is used for turbulent flow. Blowing slot values are assumed and a turbulent wall jet analysis is performed to determine the wall pressure at separation on the upper surface.
Anisotropic Positron Annihilation with the High-Momentum Components of the Conduction Band in Copper

High-precision measurements of the angular correlation of annihilation radiation from oriented single crystals of copper are reported, showing marked anisotropies even at large angles. A comparison with the predictions of a simple theoretical model indicates that most of the large-angle anisotropy can be attributed to positron annihilation with the high-momentum components of the conduction band in copper.
Contingency management is efficacious and improves outcomes in cocaine patients with pretreatment marijuana use.

Abstract Background Marijuana use is common in patients seeking treatment for cocaine use. Nevertheless, few studies have examined effects of marijuana use on treatment outcomes in general, and even fewer with respect to contingency management (CM) treatment, which has been criticized for potentially increasing non-reinforced drug use. Methods Data from three randomized clinical trials of CM versus standard treatment (ST) in cocaine-abusing patients were examined ( Petry et al., 2004 , Petry et al., 2005a , Petry et al., 2006a ; N = 393) to assess effects of pretreatment marijuana use on outcomes. Patients were divided into two groups: (1) no self-reported marijuana use (No Pre-M; n = 315) and (2) any self-reported marijuana use (Pre-M; n = 78) in the 30 days pretreatment. Results CM was especially efficacious in enhancing retention in Pre-M patients such that retention nearly doubled among Pre-M patients assigned to CM versus those assigned to ST. In contrast, CM exerted only modest benefits on retention in No Pre-M patients. Pretreatment marijuana use was not related to during-treatment abstinence from cocaine, opioids, and alcohol, or abstinence at a Month 9 follow-up. However, CM treatment and longest duration of abstinence achieved during treatment were significant predictors of Month 9 abstinence. Pre-M patients also evidenced more improvements in drug problems over time when randomized to CM. Conclusions CM was especially efficacious in facilitating retention and improving severity of drug-related problems in those who used marijuana in the month before initiating treatment.
Regularization and Inverse Problems in Viscoelasticity

The method of constrained regularization is used to invert for retardation spectra and attenuation from the creep data of a commercial-grade lucite material. Four different criteria for choosing a regularization parameter in the solution of the first-kind integral equation are examined. Although the spectra are different, computations using each criterion give essentially the same attenuation curve for a range of frequencies. These results show that reliable estimates of the attenuation may be obtained from inversion of creep data using the method of constrained regularization. 9 references, 6 figures.
The Visibility of Feminist Thought in Family Studies

We assessed feminist visibility in family journals by tallying the feminist content of articles in Journal of Marriage and Family, Journal of Family Issues, and Family Relations. There was an increase in feminist visibility from 1972 to 1992, at which point the growth of visibility stalled. From 1992 to 2002, almost 1 out of 4 articles appeared to be influenced, at least minimally, by feminist scholarship when including in our tally a measure of articles' mentioning of gender in its abstract or title without a detectable feminist perspective in the article. Only about 6% of articles, however, involved an explicit feminist analysis. We offer explanations for this apparent glass ceiling for feminist visibility and make suggestions for future research.
Molecular mapping of the 8.12 sle-associated idiotype specificity at the single amino acid level

The 8.12 idiotype is expressed in elevated titer in the serum of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and is a marker for a subpopulation of anti-DNA antibodies that possess a V(lambda)II encoded light chain. This study utilized a eukaryotic expression system to identify the structural basis for expression of this idiotype. Reversion of the 8.12+ DSC light chain to the hslv215.23/DPL11 germline gene reveals that the 8.12 idiotype is encoded in the germline. The 8.12+ DSC and the 8.12 AS17 light chains, both belonging to the V(lambda)II family, were subjected to site directed mutagenesis, to localize amino acids important for expression of the 8.12 idiotype. Point mutations were performed in CDR1, CDR2, FR3 and CDR3, in positions where the 8.12+ DSC differs from the 8.12-AS17. Amino acids in CDR1 and the CDR2 proximal region of FR3, but not the J proximal region of CDR3, play a crucial role in 8.12 reactivity. The 3-D structure of Mcg, a human IgG1, with which DSC shares a sequence homology of 92.3% has been examined to visualize the effect of each of the mutations and to identify the surface on DSC that comprises the idiotype.
Immunocytochemical studies of substance P and leucine-enkephalin in Huntington's disease

Abstract The distribution of substance P and leucine-enkephalin in selected regions of brain obtained postmortem from patients with Huntington's disease and from neurologically normal persons has been studied with immunocytochemical techniques. In the normal brain, substance P immunoreactivity was identified in medium-sized neurons in the neostriatum, in neurons of the external segment of the globus pallidus, and in fine fibers in the neostriatum, inner segment of the globus pallidus, and in the pars reticulata of the substantia nigra. Huntington's disease brains all exhibited a marked decrease in substance P fiber density in the substantia nigra and globus pallidus. A few medium-sized neurons with substance P immunoreactivity remained in the neostriatal remnant. Leucine-enkephalin immunoreactive processes were present throughout the neostriatum of normal brain, and were densely packed in the external segment of the globus pallidus and in the substantia nigra. A uniform population of medium-sized neurons containing immunoreactive leucine-enkephalin was present in the caudate and putamen. By contrast, in the Huntington's disease brains there was a marked diminution of fiber staining in the globus pallidus and substantia nigra. A few medium-size neurons and sparse fibers with leucine-enkephalin immunoreactivity persisted in the atrophic neostriatum. These observations are consistent with previous reports of regional peptide concentrations in both normal and Huntington's disease brain. Cells containing substance P and leucine-enkephalin immunoreactivity persist in the basal ganglia in brains from patients with Huntington's disease, and we have no evidence that cellular content of one or the other peptide is associated with disproportionate cell death or survival.
Gene activity during zygote germination and early sporophyte germling development in the aquatic fungus, Allomyces macrogynus

Allomyces macrogynus is a water mold which reproduces both asexually and sexually. The environment of the zygote can be manipulated experimentally to maintain the zygotes as actively motile cells which undergo no visible morphological change or, alternatively, to induce them to germinate synchronously into sporophyte germlings. Upon transfer to a medium that supports their development, the zygotes cease their motility and encyst within 2–5 min. Germination is completed with the emergence of the rhizoidal germ tube approximately 25 min thereafter. This is followed by the emergence of the hyphal germ tube 40–60 min later. Measurable RNA synthesis is first detected at about 30 min, which is the time of emergence of the rhizoidal germ tube. The first class of RNA synthesized is 4 S in size. Newly synthesized mature species of ribosomal RNA are first observed at about 1 h. Newly synthesized RNA is an absolute requirement for continued development during the elongation of the rhizoidal germ tube (45 min). However, newly synthesized protein is required for the emergence of the rhizoidal germ tube (30 min). Thus, early protein synthesis and development are independent of concurrent transcription, indicating the presence in the zygote of Allomyces of all of the necessary informational and functional RNAs required for early development.
A globally convergent method for finding zeros of smooth functions

Computing a zero of a smooth function is an old and extensively researched problem in numerical computation. While a large body of results and algorithms has been reported on this problem in the literature, to the extent we are aware, the published literature does not contain a globally convergent algorithm for finding a zero of an arbitrary smooth function. In this paper we present the first globally convergent algorithm for computing a zero (if one exists) of a general smooth function. After presenting the algorithm and a proof of global convergence, we also clarify the connection between our algorithm and some known results in topological degree theory.
Comparison of physical activity in adolescents with cystic fibrosis versus age-matched controls

The aims of this study were to compare self-reported vigorous physical activity and participation in sports among adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF) to those of age matched peers from the general population, and to determine which CF patient characteristics are associated with regular physical activity. One hundred and sixteen of 141 (82%) adolescents aged 12-19 years identified through North Carolina CF Care Center registries confidentially completed a self-administered questionnaire (the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey) addressing health-compromising and health-enhancing behaviors, including physical activity. They were age- and gender-matched to adolescents from North Carolina schools who completed the same survey. Adolescents with CF did not differ significantly from their matched peers with regard to participating three or more times a week in activities that "make you sweat or breathe hard" (63% vs. 67%, P = 0.37), physical education class (59% vs. 61%, P = 0.81), or team sports (52% vs. 61%, P = 0.10). For all categories of activity, participation declined among adolescents aged 17 years or older. After adjusting for gender and health status, early (14 years or younger) and middle (15-16 years) adolescents were more likely to participate in all three types of activity than older adolescents with CF. Like their peers in the general population, adolescents aged 17 and older are much less likely to report regular physical activity, or participation in physical education class or in team sports. Healthcare providers should be aware of this decline in activity in late adolescence and should consider efforts to maintain physical activity among older teenagers and young adults.
Comment on “Relativistic Aharonov-Bohm effect in the presence of planar Coulomb potentials”

It is shown that the principal results of a recent work by Khalilov are incorrect. These errors are attributable to the author's insistence that wave functions must be regular at the origin even when the relevant potential is singular at that point.
Efficacy of side airbags in reducing driver deaths in driver-side car and SUV collisions

Objective. To estimate the efficacy of side airbags in preventing driver deaths in passenger vehicles struck on the driver side. Methods. Risk ratios for driver deaths per driver-side collision were computed for side airbag-equipped cars and SUVs, relative to vehicles without side airbags. Driver fatality ratios also were calculated for the same vehicles in front and rear impacts, and these were used to adjust the side crash risk ratios for differences in fatality risk unrelated to side airbags. Risk ratios were calculated separately for side airbags providing torso-only protection and side airbags with head protection; almost all head protecting airbags also had airbags protecting the torso. Results. Car driver death risk in driver-side crashes was reduced by 37 percent for head protecting airbags and 26 percent for torso-only side airbags. Car driver death risk was reduced for older and younger drivers, males and females, and drivers of small and midsize cars, and when the striking vehicle was an SUV/pi...
Recent progress on LASOR optical router and related integrated technologies

In this talk we review the latest progress on the DOD-N LASOR optical router project. Architectural studies including design and buffering will be discussed as well as prototype node performance. Recent results in integration in InP and Si/InP platforms will be described.
Detection and quantitation of chicken antibodies to streptococcal carbohydrate by high-salt reverse radial immunodiffusion

Abstract A comparative study was made of the reverse radial immunodiffusion technique and quantitative precipitin analysis for determining the amount of precipitating chicken anti-streptococcal carbohydrate antibodies in ‘high-salt’ buffers. For most immune sera the two techniques gave similar values but with some the reverse radial immunodiffusion technique underestimated the antibody content. In most cases this was correlated with the presence of considerable polymeric (IgM and IgA) immunoglobulin antibody. As little as 45 μg/ml of anti-carbohydrate antibody could be detected using this method. This ‘high-salt’ radial immunodiffusion technique is also useful for detecting chicken antibodies to bovine serum albumin, dinitrophenylated proteins, blood group substances and gamma globulins.
Electrochemistry, spectroscopy, and electrogenerated chemiluminescence of silole-based chromophores.

We studied the electrochemical and spectroscopic properties of a series of extended silole-based chromophores to understand the effect of structure on behavior. By changing the substituents attached to the chromophore, we observed large variations in luminescence quantum efficiency (ca. 0−0.6), λmax for absorbance and photoluminescence (PL), and radical ion stability. The differences are related to the motion in the 2,5-substituents and the steric protection of both the chromophore and the reactive parts of the substituents. For several compounds the electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) spectrum was also compared to the photoluminescence spectrum. In all cases, the ECL λmax and the PL λmax were about the same.
Pediatric Pituitary Adenomas

Previous series of pediatric pituitary adenomas have been small and have not been analyzed by age group. We analyzed the frequency, manifestation, course, and biology of these tumors before, during, and after puberty in 136 children younger than 20 years old at surgery, identified by review of 2230 patients treated from 1969 to 1993. Tumors were classified by clinical phenotype. Adrenocorticotropic hormone-releasing adenomas were most common before puberty, and prolactinomas were most common during and after. The frequencies of adrenocorticotropic hormone-releasing adenomas, prolactinomas, and endocrine-inactive adenomas differed from those in adults. Growth arrest was common with all types except growth hormone (GH)-releasing adenomas; menstrual irregularities were common with all but adenomas causing Nelson syndrome. Among girls with prolactinomas, the preoperative duration of primary amenorrhea was longer than that of other symptoms. Tumor size differed by adenoma type. Serum hormone levels shortly after surgery correlated with the recurrence of prolactinomas and GH-releasing adenomas. The prolactinoma size correlated with the maximum preoperative serum prolactin level; boys had larger tumors and higher preoperative and postoperative prolactin levels. We conclude that pediatric pituitary adenomas vary in size, age at symptom onset, and frequency before, during, and after puberty. Most adenomas can cause menstrual irregularities, and primary amenorrhea should prompt investigation of the sella. Growth arrest is common with all adenomas except GH-releasing adenomas. Serum prolactin and GH levels measured at 1 to 5 days after surgery indicate the risk of recurrence of prolactinomas and GH-releasing adenomas, respectively.
Non-orthogonal subsampling and anti-alias filtering for multiscopic 3D displays

Multiview passive 3-D displays, such as those based on lenticular or parallax-barrier technologies, require multiplexing of views into a single same-size RGB image. Thus, multiplexing of N views necessitates N :1 sub-sampling of each view and must be preceded by suitable lowpass filtering to prevent, or at least reduce, aliasing. Without such filtering, objectionable "jagged" edges, distorted textures, or Moire patterns are perceived although, admittedly, these effects are not as disturbing as in the case of single-view sub-sampling without multiplexing with other views. In this paper, unlike in our previous work, we consider anti-alias filtering derived from a non-orthogonal lattice. First, we approximate pixel layout for each view (sampling pattern) by a two-dimensional lattice; we find parameters of the lattice by minimizing a mismatch error between lattice and single-view points. Then, based on lattice parameters, we find frequency-domain specifications of the anti-alias filter. The filter has hexagonal passband and thus is non-separable. Although previously we designed such filters for floating-point implementations, here we opt for the more practical fixed-point arithmetic; the resulting filters can be easily implemented on ubiquitous fixed-point DSP chipsets. The fixed-point filters slightly depart from the desired magnitude specifications, but when applied to actual multiview images they produce almost indistinguishable results from those obtained by floating-point counterparts.© (2004) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Increased Attention to Spatial Context Increases Both Place Field Stability and Spatial Memory

The hippocampal formation is critical for the acquisition and consolidation of memories. When recorded in freely moving animals, hippocampal pyramidal neurons fire in a location-specific manner: they are "place" cells, comprising a hippocampal representation of the animal's environment. To explore the relationship between place cells and spatial memory, we recorded from mice in several behavioral contexts. We found that long-term stability of place cell firing fields correlates with the degree of attentional demands and that successful spatial task performance was associated with stable place fields. Furthermore, conditions that maximize place field stability greatly increase orientation to novel cues. This suggests that storage and retrieval of place cells is modulated by a top-down cognitive process resembling attention and that place cells are neural correlates of spatial memory. We propose a model whereby attention provides the requisite neuromodulatation to switch short-term homosynaptic plasticity to long-term heterosynaptic plasticity, and we implicate dopamine in this process.
A simple and reliable method to extract and measure iodine in soils

Abstract A procedure was developed for the extraction of iodine from soil samples by alkaline ashing. After the extraction, the iodine was measured using gas chromatography. The method was validated using NIST Standard Reference Materials: San Joaquin Soil (SRM 2709), Montana Soil (SRM 2711) and Buffalo River Sediment (SRM 2704). The method gave consistently reproducible results that are in good agreement with the noncertified iodine concentrations reported by NIST, which were measured using neutron activation analysis. The method presented here requires relatively low cost equipment and can be performed in most environmental measurement laboratories. Also, since it has been demonstrated to be reliable for soils, it may help in the development of NIST certified soil standards for iodine.
Cyclic AMP, Glucocorticoid, and Retinoid Modulation of in Vitro Keratinocyte Growth

The hypothesis that an imbalanced cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP ratio was central to the cutaneous expression of psoriasis prompted the design of a series of in vitro experiments. The aim of these studies was to describe the functional effects of increased intracellular cyclic AMP and of drugs therapeutic in psoriasis on epidermal keratinocyte growth. Epidermal basal cells trypsinized from neonatal mouse and adult and neonatal human skin were grown on plastic or on gelled collagen surfaces. These were used to study the effect of cyclic AMP analogues and cholera toxin (an irreversible stimulator of cyclic AMP synthesis) on keratinocyte growth. Greatly increased intracellular cyclic AMP levels, that is, 60-fold to 70-fold, stimulated neonatal mouse keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation; these same doses were cytotoxic to both neonatal and adult human cells. However, modest increases in intracellular cyclic AMP did stimulate adult human keratinocyte proliferation. The glucocorticoid triamcinolone acetonide inhibited neonatal mouse keratinocyte proliferation for approximately 1 week; the cells then became refractory to the triamcinolone acetonide effect. Triamcinolone acetonide did not apparently act through cyclic AMP-mediated events, In fact, this glucocorticoid inhibited cyclic AMP- stimulated epidermal keratinocyte proliferation. Likewise, vitamin A analogues, including the psoriasis therapy drug Ro 10-9359 inhibited neonatal mouse keratinocyte proliferation and specific differentiation events; the retinoids therapeutic in psoriasis apparently did not act via cyclic AMP-mediated events and inhibited cyclic AMP-stimulated functions. Our results indicated that cyclic AMP is a mitogenic signal for epidermal keratinocytes. This cyclic nucleotide may be important in regulating epidermal hyperproliferation. A central role for cyclic AMP in the cutaneous expression of psoriasis, however, is yet to be proven.
The Transcription Factor KLF2 Restrains CD4+ T Follicular Helper Cell Differentiation

T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are essential for efficient B cell responses, yet the factors that regulate differentiation of this CD4(+) T cell subset are incompletely understood. Here we found that the KLF2 transcription factor serves to restrain Tfh cell generation. Induced KLF2 deficiency in activated CD4(+) T cells led to increased Tfh cell generation and B cell priming, whereas KLF2 overexpression prevented Tfh cell production. KLF2 promotes expression of the trafficking receptor S1PR1, and S1PR1 downregulation is essential for efficient Tfh cell production. However, KLF2 also induced expression of the transcription factor Blimp-1, which repressed transcription factor Bcl-6 and thereby impaired Tfh cell differentiation. Furthermore, KLF2 induced expression of the transcription factors T-bet and GATA3 and enhanced Th1 differentiation. Hence, our data indicate KLF2 is pivotal for coordinating CD4(+) T cell differentiation through two distinct and complementary mechanisms: via control of T cell localization and by regulation of lineage-defining transcription factors.
A mechanism for homeostatic plasticity.

Neurons adapt to sustained alterations in activity by changing their intrinsic excitability. A form of this plasticity in hippocampal pyramidal neurons involves calcineurin-dependent dispersion and change in gating of K+ channels, reducing the cell's excitability.
Strategies for Prevention of Neonatal Chronic Lung Disease

Chronic lung disease (CLD) of prematurity remains a substantial problem despite modern perinatal and neonatal care. CLD remains related to gestational age and lung immaturity, although it has become clear that severe initial lung disease is not a prerequisite for CLD to develop. Attempts to prevent CLD to date have not adequately addressed the multifactorial nature of the complex pathophysiology that leads to CLD. Thus, results have been modest at best. Prevention of CLD will require a multifaceted approach with specific interventions and care practices focused on different aspects of the pathway that leads to CLD. This review considers new information related to causation of CLD and the magnitude of the effect of prevention strategies tested to date. This article also advances the hypothesis that CLD is preventable with a global strategy of minimizing inciting events, optimizing management, and specific therapies aimed at intrinsic vulnerabilities.
Treatment summaries, follow-up care instructions, and patient navigation: could they be combined to improve cancer survivor’s receipt of follow-up care?

Purpose Cancer survivors require follow-up care to ensure early detection of recurrence, management of late/long term effects, preventive screening for early detection of second primary malignancies, as well as other forms of preventive care. But not all survivors receive necessary follow-up care. Combining survivorship care plans and patient navigation may be a successful strategy to improve survivor’s receipt of necessary follow-up care.
An inter-professional 'advocacy and activism in global health': module for the training of physician-advocates

Medical students typically learn about the role of physicians as health advocates through a component of the health professionalism curriculum. Recently, there has been a call for increased exposure to health advocacy in undergraduate medical education so that students can develop the interest, knowledge, skills, and attitudes that they will utilize throughout their careers as physician-advocates. We developed a four-session Advocacy and Activism training module that consisted of formal didactic teaching, training in basic skills, debate and discussion, and the development and presentation of advocacy projects. There were several uniquely innovative aspects of this module, including its structure, content, and inter-professional approach that included students of medicine, nursing, and public health. However, this approach also resulted in some important and unexpected limitations. We were encouraged by the quality of student participation during the module, as well as specific feedback regarding the format and content. The module was a low-cost, easy-to-implement, and academically rigorous model that can be implemented by interested students and faculty at other schools. We plan to continue to develop this program in the future, and we believe that other medical institutions should consider a similar model for introducing students to their future role as health advocates.
Preliminary results of a freshmen capstone project to design educational modules for teachers in the dominican republic

Mission trips from Ohio Northern University to the Dominican Republic during the past three years have involved running engineering workshops for teachers in secondary-level schools. These workshops included design challenges often found in a first year engineering course, discussions on learning styles, and methods of integrating an engineering mindset into the Dominican curriculum. Given the great desire on the part of the Dominican teachers to have access to continuing education, it was determined that methods of bringing content to the teachers through online modules would be investigated, as it has a great potential to make a large impact without incurring considerable expenditures. The proposed methodology involved modifying an existing assignment in a second semester introductory programming course (where a team of students develop an educational game) to create a term project which primarily incorporates internationally-focused STEM lesson plans designed by an upper-level engineering education elective course. It was found that online modules can be developed to be cost-effective, interactive, and educational for both the developers and audience. This paper will present the "first generation" of modules and student work. Possible alterations to this assignment and methods of implementing successful modules will also be discussed.
Brote de queratoconjuntivitis epidémica en un Servicio de Oftalmología

Se describe un brote nosocomial de queratoconjun-tivitis epidemica en la Policlinica de Oftalmologia del Hospital Carlos Van Buren, que afecto a 150 pacientes, durante los meses de agosto y septiembre de 2006. Este brote se presento en el contexto de un brote en la ciudad de Valparaiso que afecto a otros 681 pacientes. Aun cuando no se logro aislar adenovirus (ADV) en los casos nosocomiales, se aislo ADV en pacientes del brote comunitario, por lo que el diagnostico de los casos nosocomiales se baso en criterios clinicos y epidemiologicos. La tasa de ataque del brote nosocomial fue de 5,2% considerando la poblacion consultante del periodo. La evaluacion de practicas de atencion directa mostro que los factores de riesgo de los casos serian la medicion de la tension ocular mediante tonometro en la Policlinica de Oftalmologia (sin desinfeccion del tonometro entre paciente y paciente), contaminacion de superficies de trabajo (equipos, mobiliario) y bajo cumplimiento de la higienizacion de manos. Las medidas de control fueron limpieza, desinfeccion del tonometro, equipos y superficies de trabajo, junto a reforzamiento de lavado de manos. Con estas medidas se logro controlar el brote intrahospitalario a pesar de mantenerse las consultas provenientes del brote en la comunidad.
Strategies For Sustaining Competitive Advantage Through Product Development: A System Engineering Framework

Competitive advantage in an industry can be achieved by strategically entering a marketplace at the right time with a product that has the appropriate cost and operational capability to match the needs and maturity of the marketplace. In products (such as software-based products) where the cost and time-to-market are primarily a function of the “intellectual” engineering process, the product development function is the source of competitive advantage. This paper introduces a system engineering framework that describes the relationship between product operational capability, development cost, and development cycle-time (time-to-market). Analysis of this relationship yields four strategies for achieving and sustaining competitive advantage through product development.
A topology of Twitter research: disciplines, methods, and ethics

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to engage in a systematic analysis of academic research that relies on the collection and use of Twitter data, creating topology of Twitter research that details the disciplines and methods of analysis, amount of tweets and users under analysis, the methods used to collect Twitter data, and accounts of ethical considerations related to these projects. Design/methodology/approach – Content analysis of 382 academic publications from 2006 to 2012 that used Twitter as their primary platform for data collection and analysis. Findings – The analysis of over 380 scholarly publications utilizing Twitter data reveals noteworthy trends related to the growth of Twitter-based research overall, the disciplines engaged in such research, the methods of acquiring Twitter data for analysis, and emerging ethical considerations of such research. Research limitations/implications – The findings provide a benchmark analysis that must be updated with the continued growth of Twitter-based ...
Vortex core structure and global properties of rapidly rotating Bose-Einstein condensates

We develop an approach for calculating stationary states of rotating Bose-Einstein condensates in harmonic traps which is applicable for arbitrary ratios of the rotation frequency to the transverse frequency of the trap ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$. Assuming the number of vortices to be large, we write the condensate wave function as the product of a function that describes the structure of individual vortices times an envelope function varying slowly on the scale of the vortex spacing. By minimizing the energy, we derive Gross-Pitaevskii equations that determine the properties of individual vortices and the global structure of the cloud. For low rotation rates, the structure of a vortex is that of an isolated vortex in a uniform medium, while for rotation rates approaching the frequency of the trap (the mean-field lowest-Landau-level regime), the structure is that of the lowest $p$-wave state of a particle in a harmonic trap with frequency ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$. The global structure of the cloud is determined by minimizing the energy with respect to variations of the envelope function; for conditions appropriate to most experimental investigations to date, we predict that the transverse density profile of the cloud will be of the Thomas-Fermi form, rather than the Gaussian structure predicted on the assumption that the wave function consists only of components in the lowest Landau level for a regular array of vortices.
Home health care workers' attitudes toward the elderly.

This study examined home health care workers' attitudes toward the elderly and their elderly clients. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 106 home health care workers in South Central Florida in October 1994, using the Attitudes Toward the Elderly Questionnaire (ATE). Estimated internal consistency reliability of the scale was .60, using Cronbach's alpha. Findings suggest that home health care workers have positive attitudes toward the elderly, their elderly clients, and provide a reasonable level of service for them. Also, findings suggest that overall the attitudes and perceptions among urban and rural home health care workers are similar.
Level structure of 47Ti

Abstract The 48 Ti( 3 He, α) 47 Ti, 47 Ti(p, p'γ) 47 Ti and 45 Sc( 3 He, p) 47 Ti reactions have been studied at 13.0, 6.5 and 12.0 MeV bombarding energies, respectively, with the MIT multiple-gap spectrograph. Transitions from the ( 3 He, α) reaction were observed up to an excitation energy of 8.757 MeV, including the isobaric analogues of three states in 47 Sc. Data for the (p, p'γ) reaction were taken for states up to 1.545 MeV excitation energy. Five transitions from the 45 Sc( 3 He, p) 47 Ti reaction were studied in the first 3.5 MeV of excitation. The results for the transfer reactions were analysed in the distorted-wave Born approximation.
Design, Synthesis, and Characterization of Urokinase Plasminogen-Activator-Sensitive Near-Infrared Reporter

The urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) plays a critical role in malignancies, and its overexpression has been linked to poor clinical prognosis in breast cancer. The ability to noninvasively and serially map uPA expression as a biomarker would thus have significant potential in improving novel cancer therapies. Here, we describe the development of a selective uPA activatable near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent imaging probe. The probe consists of multiple peptide motifs, GGSGRSANAKC-NH2, terminally capped with different NIR fluorochromes (Cy5.5 or Cy7) and a pegylated poly-L-lysine graft copolymer. Upon addition of recombinant human uPA to the probe, significant fluorescence amplification was observed, up to 680% with the optimized preparation. No activation with negative control compounds and uPA inhibitors could be measured. These data indicate that the optimized preparation should be useful for imaging uPA in cancer.
Visible light-cured composite resins: An alternative for anterior provisional restorations

An alternative technique for making custom anterior provisional crowns has been presented. This approach, using a microfilled composite resin, should produce time-saving, long-lasting, and esthetic provisional restorations.
Decay of 159Dy: L-subshell X-ray fluorescence and Coster-kronig yields at Z = 65; branching ratio, and K-conversion of the 58 keV transition in 159Tb

Abstract Ultra-high resolution Ge(Li) and Si(Li) detectors have been used to study L-subshell X-ray fluorescence and Coster-Kronig yields in Tb from the EC decay of carrier-free 159Dy. From singles and L X-ray spectra in coincidence with Kα1 and Kα2 X-rays, the following L-subshell quantities were obtained: ω3 = 0.188±0.016, ω2 = 0.160±0.018, f23 = 0.090±0.014, v1 = 0.29±0.08, v2 = 0.177±0.019, s2 = 0.204±0.024, s3 = 0.170±0.024, and ωKL = 0.184 ±0.016. Corrections for nuclear cascading were made experimentally using an L X-ray spectrum gated by Kβ X-rays. Angular correlation effects were taken into account. Taking a theoretical value of s1 = 0.270, the present experiment allows estimates to be made of the following L1 subshell quantities: ω1 = 0.18±0.04, ƒ 12 = 0.41±0.36 and ƒ 13 = 0.43±0.28 . K X-ray spectra in coincidence with K X-rays and with the 58.0 keV γ-ray were taken to determine the EC branching to the 58.0 keV level (26.8±1.4%) and the K-conversion coefficient of the 58.0 keV transition, αK = 9.3±0.5, which agrees with the theoretical value for an M1 + 1.4% E2 transition.