cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Divergent and convergent evolution in metastases suggest treatment strategies based on specific metastatic sites

Background and objective: Systemic therapy for metastatic cancer is currently determined exclusively by the site of tumor origin. Yet, there is increasing evidence that the molecular characteristics of metastases significantly differ from the primary tumor. We define the evolutionary dynamics of metastases that govern this molecular divergence and examine their potential contribution to variations in response to targeted therapies. Methodology: Darwinian interactions of transformed cells with the tissue microenvironments at primary and metastatic sites are analyzed using evolutionary game theory. Computational models simulate responses to targeted therapies in different organs within the same patient. Results: Tumor cells, although maximally fit at their primary site, typically have lower fitness on the adaptive landscapes offered by the metastatic sites due to organ-specific variations in mesenchymal properties and signaling pathways. Clinically evident metastases usually exhibit time-dependent divergence from the phenotypic mean of the primary population as the tumor cells evolve and adapt to their new circumstances. In contrast, tumors from different primary sites evolving on identical metastatic adaptive landscapes exhibit phenotypic convergence. Thus, metastases in the liver from different primary tumors and even in different hosts will evolve toward similar adaptive phenotypes. The combination of evolutionary divergence from the primary cancer phenotype and convergence towards similar adaptive strategies in the same tissue cause significant variations in treatment responses particularly for highly targeted therapies. Conclusion and implications: The results suggest that optimal therapies for disseminated cancer must take into account the site(s) of metastatic growth as well as the primary organ.
Appearance management and cue fusion for 3D model-based tracking

This paper presents a systematic approach to acquiring model appearance information online for monocular model-based tracking. The acquired information is used to drive a set of complementary imaging cues to obtain a highly discriminatory observation model. Appearance is modeled as a Markov random field of color distributions over the model surface. The online acquisition process estimates appearance-based on uncertain image measurements and is designed to greatly reduce the chance of mapping non-object image data onto the model. Confidences about the different appearance driven imaging cues are estimated in order to adaptively balance the contributions of the different cues. The discriminatory power of the resulting model is good enough to allow long-duration single-hypothesis model-based tracking with no prior appearance information. Careful evaluation based on real and semi-synthetic video sequences shows that the presented algorithm is able to robustly track a wide variety of targets under challenging conditions.
Hospice and Health Care Reform: Improving Care at the End of Life

Health care reform focused on coverage of hospice care in significant ways. Specifically, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the Act) recognized the value in accessing hospice services as soon as possible by (1) immediately authorizing concurrent payment for curative and palliative care to children with Medicaid coverage and (2) authorizing a demonstration program to study the value of doing so with respect to Medicare beneficiaries. It also, however, imposed an additional requirement on physicians and nurse practitioners recertifying patients for hospice care eligibility, thus potentially over-regulating one aspect of hospice care. This Article lauds Congress for its position with respect to concurrent care but cautions that legal, regulatory, and medical professionals should carefully monitor the effects of the change Congress made to the recertification requirements. Without careful monitoring and calibration, the latter change could inappropriately chill hospice recertifications, thus negating part of the good accomplished through the former change.
Copper(II) complexes of bidentate ligands containing nitrogen and sulfur donors: Synthesis, structures, electrochemistry and catalytic properties

Abstract Two nitrogen and sulfur containing ligands, 1-methyl-4-((4-methylimidazol-5-yl)methylthio)benzene (NS-mim) (1) and 1-methyl-4-(2-pyridylmethylthio)benzene (NS-mpy) (2) were synthesized and a series of their Cu(II) complexes, 3–10, prepared. The imidazole-containing complexes (3–6) have the form [Cu(NS-mim)2(solvent)2](X)2 where X = ClO4, BF4and [Cu(NS-mim)2(Y)2] where Y = Cl or Br and the pyridine-containing complexes (7–10) have the form [Cu(NS-mpy)2]X2 (where X = ClO4, BF4) and [Cu2(NS-mpy)2Y4] (where Y = Cl or Br). These complexes were characterized by a combination of elemental analysis, FAB-MS and electrochemistry. The X-ray structure of the imidazole-containing [Cu(NS-mim)2(DMF)2](ClO4)2 (3) was determined and it showed the copper(II) coordinated only by the nitrogen donors while the sulfurs remain uncoordinated. In comparison, the X-ray structure of the pyridine-containing [Cu2(NS-mpy)2(Cl)4] (9) shows a dinuclear copper(II) complex with the nitrogens and the sulfurs coordinated along with a terminal chloride and two μ-chloro atoms bridging the coppers. Cyclic voltammetry studies indicated that the complexes undergo quasi-reversible one-electron reductions in acetonitrile at potentials between 0.31 and 0.51 V versus SCE. The complexes were found to be active for the oxidation of di-tert-butyl catechol (DTBC) with the rate dependent on the ligand and the counterion present.
MATCHING AND MAXIMIZING WITH VARIABLE‐TIME SCHEDULES

Pigeons were offered choices between a variable-time schedule that arranged reinforcers throughout the session and a variable-time schedule that arranged reinforcers only when the pigeon was spending time on it. The subjects could maximize the overall rate of reinforcement in this situation by biasing their time allocation towards the latter schedule. This arrangement provides an alternative to concurrent variable-interval variable-ratio schedules for testing whether animals maximize overall rates or match relative rates, and has the advantage of being free of the asymmetrical response requirements present with those schedules. The results were contrary to those predicted by maximizing: The bias it predicts did not appear.
Understanding fuse ratings

Selecting a fuse is more than just about trip current. Proper fuse performance depends on many aspects of a fuse's design. Selecting the correct fuse requires determining the types of faults for which the fuse will provide protection. Selecting the correct trip current is only the start of the process of finding the correct fuse. Different applications will need consideration for the trip time delay, temperature rating, AC voltage rating, DC voltage rating and interrupt capacity. Fuse selection may also depend on the circuit into which a product is connected. Differences between North American and European classifications for fuses may further complicate the selection. Attention to all of the details of a design will help ensure that the fuse provides the proper protection for circuitry.
Marketing Mardi Gras: Commodification, Spectacle and the Political Economy of Tourism in New Orleans

Recent urban scholarship on the rise of the tourism industry, place marketing and the transformation of cities into entertainment destinations has been dominated by four major themes: the primacy o...
RARE EGG CAPSULE PRODUCTION IN THE INVASIVE TERRESTRIAL PLANARIAN BIPALIUM KEWENSE

Abstract The invasive terrestrial planarian Bipalium kewense is found worldwide in tropical and warm temperate zones. The rate of spread and ecological impact of the flatworm will depend in part on its reproductive strategies. Members of this species reproduce primarily by fission of posterior body fragments. Herein we report, for only the second time in over 120 years of international study, the production of a fertile egg capsule by B. kewense. The capsule was produced by a flatworm from Texas, hatched in 21 days, and it contained 7 juveniles. Although the capsule structure, incubation period, and litter size were similar to those characteristic of the sexual species, B. adventitium, the B. kewense capsule was larger (112 mg) and produced larger offspring.
Toxicity of Pesticides Used in Citrus to Aprostocetus vaquitarum (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), an Egg Parasitoid of Diaprepes abbreviatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Abstract Twelve pesticides used in citrus were tested for their contact toxicity to Aprostocetus vaquitarum Wolcott (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) a parasitoid of Diaprepes abbreviatus (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Sevin® 80 WSP, Malathion 5 EC, and Imidan® 70 WSB resulted in the most rapid death of A. vaquitarum adults. Admire® 2F, Danitol® 2.4EC, and Surround® WP were also very detrimental. Kocide® 101 WP, Citrus Soluble Oil, Micromite® 80 WGS, Acramite® 50 WS, Micromite® 80 WGS + Citrus Soluble Oil, Aliette WDG, and Agrimek® 0.15 EC + Citrus Soluble Oil were slightly to non-toxic to A. vaquitarum. The relative toxicity of the pesticides was consistent up to four weeks after application. Significantly fewer adult A. vaquitarum emerged from D. abbreviatus eggs laid on foliage treated in the field with Sevin® XLR and Imidan® 70 WSB than emerged from the water treated control. Field residues of Sevin® XLR remained toxic for seven days while the effects of Imidan® 70 WSB were no longer significant after one ...
Evidence of Impact: Examination of Evaluation Studies Published in the "Journal of Extension".

Research was conducted to explore the level of evidence of impact collected through program evaluation (outcome studies) by Extension as published in JOE. Articles reviewed were those listed under the headings of "Feature Articles" and "Research in Brief" in 5-year increments (1965-69, 1975-79, 1985-89, 1995-99, and 2005-09). The design used a form of quantitative content analysis. The data indicate that 88.5% of the articles documented evidence above the level of participation and that almost two-thirds were measuring outcomes; however, only 5.6% documented long-term outcomes. The findings have implications for improving Extension's public value through documented evidence of impact.
EFFECTS OF VENOUS PRESSURE ON CORONARY CIRCULATION AND INTRAMYOCARDIAL FLUID MECHANICS

This investigation examined the interaction between right heart pressure (RHP), coronary perfusion pressure (CPP), intramyocardial tissue pressure (IMP), and coronary flow mechanics, including partitioning of coronary effluent in the isolated Krebs-Henseleit perfused rabbit heart. The major new finding was a parallel shift in the IMP-inflow relationship to a higher tissue pressure level in response to an increase in RHP. Accompanying the rise in RHP from 0 to 15 and 25 mmHg, IMP at zero coronary inflow in the beating (and arrested) heart increased from 5.8 +/- 1.0 (7.7 +/- 1.2) to 16.3 +/- 1.2 (17.9 +/- 1.3) and 28.6 +/- 1.7 (26.4 +/- 2.0) mmHg, respectively. A concomitant parallel shift in the CPP-inflow relation to higher pressures was consistently observed. The fraction of total coronary flow drained by the right heart was not constant. A higher partition of coronary outflow to the left heart (7.8 +/- 3.8, 34.3 +/- 3.0, and 47.9 +/- 4.3%, respectively) accompanied the increase in RHP. Intramyocardial partitioning of coronary outflow pathways mediates the effects of venous pressure modulation on coronary circulation. The interaction between coronary venous pressure and the extravascular environment modifies the effective back pressure to arterial inflow.
Wang-Landau Monte Carlo simulation of capillary forces at low relative humidity in atomic force microscopy

AbstractA lattice gas model is used with Wang-Landau Monte Carlo sampling to predict the capillary force between a model of an atomic force microscopy (AFM) probe and a smooth surface as a function of separation, relative humidity (RH), and tip hydrophilicity. Completely wetting AFM tips exhibit a maximum in the capillary force as the RH increases, while the magnitude of the capillary force in the presence of partially wetting and partially drying tips is relatively independent of the RH. Capillary forces can also be significant in low RH environments and should not be discounted in AFM studies involving hydrophilic surfaces.
Enhancing Wound-Débridement Skills Through Simulated Practice

The use of simulations as an adjunct to didactic instruction has become increasingly popular in health education. Simulations provide the student with the opportunity to practice skills in the context of reality without risk to patients.1 Simulations may vary greatly in the extent to which they reflect the realities of the situations they are designed to imitate; however, a well-designed simulation need provide only a model of those elements that are the most salient to the immediate objective. Simulations are useful particularly for enhancing psychomotor skills that require practice under conditions of considerable feedback when practice of such skills in real-life situations might be unsafe or inconvenient.2 The performance of wound debridement requires skills in the psychomotor domain for which a practice simulation may be appropriate.3 Debridement of open wounds and burns requires manual dexterity skills that are achieved and improved with practice.…
Abstract 1127: Dysregulation of tumor suppress gene LKB1 in pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading causes of cancer-related death in USA and the most common seen neoplsams in Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS). PJS is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by gastrointestinal hamartoma and predisposition to cancer. Patients with PJS have a 100-fold higher risk for development of pancreatic cancer than the general population. Tumor suppressor LKB1 is the causative gene for PJS. LKB1 mutations have also been observed in a significant proportion of sporadic pancreatic cancer, suggesting a role for LKB1 in pancreatic cancer although the underlying mechanism has not been elucidated yet. To evaluate the role of LKB1 in pancreatic tumorigenesis, we extracted RNA from our unique collection of fifty-three tumor/normal pairs of snap frozen pancreatic cancer and adjacent normal tissue from the same patient. RT-PCR results showed that LKB1 is downregulated in ∼74% of the cancer tissue compared to adjacent normal pair, and in ∼40% of pairs the downregaulation is greater than 2 folds. To confirm our result, we analyzed the publically available gene expression microarray data on 36 pancreatic cancer samples and 12 normal controls. We observed downregulation of LKB1 in these data and the difference in LKB1 expression levels in pancreatic cancer vs normal was statistically significant (p=0.0003). LKB1 has been reported to negatively regulate mTOR signaling. Therefore, we further analyzed whether there was correlation between the expression of LKB1 and key protein in mTOR signaling pathway. Our results showed that the expression of LKB1 is inversely correlated with that of EIF4A and EIF4E, which are translation initiation factors. These findings suggest that dysregulation of LKB1 and its downstream signaling pathway may play an important role in pancreatic tumorigenesis. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1127.
Inactivation of oxytocin by homogenates of uteri and other tissues from normal and pregnant rats.

SummaryHomogenates of rat tissues have been tested for their ability to inactivate neurohypophyseal oxytocin. There is striking increase in oxytocinase activity in uterine muscle during pregnancy.
Making technical communication a real-world exercise: a report of classroom and industry-based research

Cet article presente un projet de recherche sur l'evolution des communications techniques, pour lesquelles l'ecrit cede la place a l'oral et aux echanges interpersonnels. L'auteur commente les resultats d'une enquete aupres d'etudiants en communication technique
Monitoring of disinfection effect in nursery and infant institutions of Gaozhou city

Objective To know the disinfection present situation in nurseries and infant institutions of Gaozhou city , and promotes theirs disinfect system to strengthen and bring into practice . Method To monitoring the disinfection quality of nursery and infant institu- tions , and put the data to the statistics analysis . Result Altogether sampling 429 ,examined eligible 163 , the eligible rates is 38.00% .the eligible rates of which surfaces of objects 50. 90% higher than indoor air 14.00% ,the difference has the high remarkable ( P0.01 ) .Pressing the branch in region ,the eligible rates of the city 43.33% ,rural area for 35.13%,the difference has not the remarkable ( p0.05 ) ;According to running a school the quality branch , the eligible rates public owned 63.33% ,individual 36.09% ,and the difference has the remarkable ( P0.01 ). Conclusion The quality of sanitary disinfection in nursery and infant institutions of Gaozhou city, thepublic_owned was better than the individual,the quality of sanitary disinfection remaining to raise
Development and testing of the Nursing Role Model Competence Scale (NRMCS).

Although contact with appropriate role models is considered essential for adequate professional socialization, no instruments exist for the measurement of role modeling or role model competence in nursing. The aim of this study was to develop and test a measure of perceived role model competence. Initial item sources for the Nursing Role Model Competence Scale (NRMCS) were literature-based. Twenty nine items were compiled for content validity assessment by two panels of persons identified as clinical and educational role models. Eight additional items were added as a result of the expert review and mailed to 2,000 baccalaureate and higher degree nurses in a southwestern state. Of the 1,053 respondents, 951 provided complete data on the NRMCS. Psychometric evaluation of the NRMCS included item-total correlations (.42-.70), principal axis factor analysis with varimax rotation (51% of the variance accounted for), reliability estimation using alpha and theta estimates (> .77) and item-factor correlations (.41-.70). The four NRMCS factors--Positive Regard, Competence, Assertive Leader and Professional Advocate--were statistically compared, with five of the six comparisons resulting in significant differences. Respondents with higher professional scores were found to rate their role models as more competent on the NRMCS factors.
Leukemia or lymphoma occurring subsequent to an autoimmune disease.

Abstract Ribonuclease has been partially purified from human leukocytes and its properties investigated. The enzyme has a pH optimum between 6 and 6.5. It is equally active with RNA prepared from various sources, attacking phosphodiester bonds adjacent to pyrimidine bases. Activity in myeloblasts or lymphocytes is about one-tenth that of mature granulocytes.
The Great Debate Between Musgrave and Buchanan

James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock were the first to discuss what had been the traditional domain of political scientists within the realm of economic theory. They did so by considering government decisionmaking not as a monolith, but rather as representing a spectrum of interests.
Earth Abundant Element Type I Clathrate Phases

Earth abundant element clathrate phases are of interest for a number of applications ranging from photovoltaics to thermoelectrics. Silicon-containing type I clathrate is a framework structure with the stoichiometry A8-xSi46 (A = guest atom such as alkali metal) that can be tuned by alloying and doping with other elements. The type I clathrate framework can be described as being composed of two types of polyhedral cages made up of tetrahedrally coordinated Si: pentagonal dodecahedra with 20 atoms and tetrakaidecahedra with 24 atoms in the ratio of 2:6. The cation sites, A, are found in the center of each polyhedral cage. This review focuses on the newest discoveries in the group 13-silicon type I clathrate family: A₈E₈Si38 (A = alkali metal; E = Al, Ga) and their properties. Possible approaches to new phases based on earth abundant elements and their potential applications will be discussed.
An interactive pattern story on designing the architecture of Clotho

Clotho is a software platform tailored for the synthetic biology domain and it offers functionalities to develop domain-specific "Apps" to ease engineering novel biological systems. Clotho's current version---Clotho 2.0---has several shortcomings regarding its architecture and the extensibility of its data model. In this paper, we report on the design process of architecting Clotho's new version --- Clotho 3.0 --- tackling the drawbacks of Clotho 2.0 and newly emerging quality and functional requirements. We tell an interactive pattern story that reflects our design decisions and chosen pattern-based solutions. To illustrate the architecture of Clotho 3.0 we exemplify a Data-Flow View through the architecture's components using a typical design activity of synthetic biologists.
The Influence of Successive Thermals on Entrainment and Dilution in a Simulated Cumulus Congestus

AbstractCumulus clouds are frequently observed as comprising multiple successive thermals, yet numerical simulations of entrainment have not investigated this level of detail. Here, an idealized simulated cumulus congestus consisting of three successive thermals is used to analyze and understand their role in maintaining the high liquid water content in the core of the cloud, which past 1D modeling studies have suggested can ultimately determine its ability to precipitate. Entrainment and detrainment are calculated directly at the edge of the cloud core at frequent time intervals. Entrainment maxima occur at the rear of the toroidal circulation associated with each thermal and thus are transient features in the lifetime of multithermal clouds. The evolution of the least diluted parcels within each thermal shows that the entrainment rates alone cannot predict the erosion of the high liquid water content cores. A novel analysis of samples of entrained and detrained air within each successive thermal illustr...
Nickel-Catalyzed C-H Arylation of Benzoxazoles and Oxazoles: Benchmarking the Influence of Electronic, Steric and Leaving Group Variations in Phenolic Electrophiles.

Abstract Electronic, steric and leaving group effects for Ni-catalyzed direct arylations using C−O electrophiles were benchmarked. The scope of arylations with pivalates was general with respect to both the electronics on the electrophile and the azoles. Furthermore, the arylation of azoles with tosylates, mesylates and carbamates with varying electronics was explored, and showed electronic trends similar to those of the pivalate reactions. Finally, the relative rate of arylation of 5-methyl benzoxazole with two electronically-similar electrophiles bearing different leaving groups was established. The results from these studies implicate the following order of relative reactivity: mesylates>pivalates>carbamates.
Hiring Non-MLS Librarians: Trends and Training Implications

Non-MLS librarian hires may be anathema to some, but survey data indicate significant level of acceptance among academic and public library directors. Primary reasons for not requiring the degree include the need to expand applicant pools and the nature of the work for academic libraries and budget constraints for public libraries. The types of positions least likely to forgo the degree requirement for both types of libraries include Administration/Management, Cataloging/Bibliographic Control, Collection Development/Management, and Reference. Distinctions made between librarians and library professionals are tenuous and not consistent across libraries.
Distributed cyber-physical algorithms for wide-area control of power systems

With the number of Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) in the North American power grid scaling up into the thousands, system operators are gradually inclining towards distributed cyber-physical architectures for executing wide-area monitoring and control operations using Synchrophasors. Traditional centralized approaches, in fact, are anticipated to become untenable soon due to various factors such as data volume, security against single point of failure, communication overhead, and failure to adhere to real-time deadlines. In this talk I will propose a distributed communication and computational architecture, and its associated distributed optimal control algorithms, for one of the most critical applications run by utility companies - namely, wide-area control of power flow oscillations following small-signal and large-signal disturbances in the grid. In this architecture, Synchrophasor data from PMUs located at the terminal buses of generators are first transmitted to the local control center for that particular balancing region, and thereafter to a set virtual computers in a local cloud computing network. Depending on the correlation between the generator states in terms of the modal content of the measured signals, a distributed communication strategy is chosen and established between these virtual computers in the cloud. A real-time model-predictive control design is then implemented using this distributed communication network, assuming synchronous communication. I will present simulations that highlight some interesting convergence and accuracy trade-offs for the real-time implementation of the wide-area controller, and also illustrate their architectural resiliency against denial-of-service and data-manipulation attacks using case studies from the recently federated DETER-WAMS testbed between NC State and University of Southern California.
Estudio de las competencias digitales en el espectador fan español

There are several studies nowadays that address the analysis of participatory cultures and, more specifically, the fan audience of movies or television series. Henry Jenkins, moving away from the stereotype of brainless consumers and social misfits who dedicate their lives to developing “useless knowledge,” marks a turning point by suggesting a fan profile that corresponds to educated people. From this moment, fan studies are living their golden age with different researchers or aca-fans who study and analyze the phenomenon in their different countries of origin. The general objective of this research is to take an x-ray, study and describe the Spanish fan audience regarding their digital skills. There are also two secondary objectives: to make a comparison between fan audience and non-fan audience according to their digital skills and to analyze the correlation degree between the level of digital skills of the fan audience and the number of series and movies of which they consider themselves to be fans. To address these objectives, an ad hoc online questionnaire was administered, involving 1003 audiovisual fiction consumers, whose data were analyzed using a quantitative methodology. Descriptive and comparative analyzes allowed us to conclude that, first of all, the practice that fan audience control is the search for information. Second, the fan audience has greater digital skills than nonfan audience. And, finally, that the level of skills in the content interaction and editing elements in fans is directly proportional to the number of products of which the audience consider themselves to be fans.
Nigeria: Views from the Hegemon in West Africa on the Obama Administration

Nigeria has been a steadfast ally of the US even throughout the country’s 29 years of military rule and certainly following its transition to democraticy. Despite Nigeria’s size, regional importance, and political standing, some Nigerian presidents, diplomats, politicians, journalists, and citizens view the relations with the US as uneven and condescending. They had trusted that the election of Barack Obama, whose father is Kenyan, would usher in a new era of improved and balanced Nigeria–US relations. This did not come to fruition. Instead, the language of advising Nigeria about the rule of law, good governance, anti-corruption, and cooperation in America’s fight against terrorism remained. This chapter examines Nigerians’ perceptions of the Obama administration during the administrations of Umaru Yar’Adu, Goodluck Jonathan, and Muhammad Buhari to determine if these perceptions remained consistent or were there changes with each administration.
What Do African American Ninth Graders Discuss during Individual School Counseling Sessions? A National Study

To investigate the topics that African American ninth graders discuss during individual counseling sessions, we used the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009. Results showed that ninth-grade Afri...
Intimate Partner Violence: The Legacy of Marvin Wolfgang’s Thinking

As we enter the 21st Century, an ever-growing body of research continues to demonstrate an inordinate level of violence among intimate partners throughout American society. Estimates of intimate partner violence involving women as victims indicate that one in four were victimized during their lifetime (Tjaden and Thoennes, 2000). While the prevalence of women who are victimized by violence is no longer a surprise to researchers, policymakers and activists, it is important to note that prior to the 1970’s, little research on spousal and intimate partner violence existed. Most research on family violence before that time was concerned with child abuse. Historically, the widespread prevalence of gender inequality meant that the culturalconstruction of intimate partner violence was defined in male terms and viewed largely as a private matter to be dealt with outside of law enforcement sanctions.
Electronic Raman Scattering in High Temperature Superconductors

Electronic Raman scattering (ERS) in the high temperature superconductors is dominated by a broad continuum that does not fit any of the conventional effects in metals. We review the normal state properties of this continuum in Yttrium-Barium-Copper-Oxide (YBCO) and Bismuth-StrontiumCalcium-Copper-Oxide (BSCCO) and present recent results on YBCO from 0–1000 cm−1. The results are conveniently parametrized using a modified relaxational form suggested by marginal Fermi liquid theory. At low temperatures the continuum in Tc = 90K YBCO redistributes into a broad maximum suggestive of a 2Δ gap feature. In Tc = 60K YBCO, this feature exists above Tc, perhaps indicating precursor fluctuations of a pairing nature.
The Value of Voice

Many online courses provide text and optional audio of someone reading the text in a well-modulated voice. Can this audio track deliver any pedagogical value?
Evaluation of response to hormonal therapy in prepubertal gilts of different genetic lines.

Research was conducted to determine the effect of genetic line on hormonally induced puberty. Two studies were conducted, the first to evaluate estrus response (n = 120 gilts) and the second to evaluate follicular development (n = 24 gilts). Gilts were allotted to treatments in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement. Gilts from two genetic lines (Age at Puberty x Yorkshire [APY] and Relaxed Selection x Yorkshire [RSY] received either P.G. 600 [symbol: see text] (P) or no injection (C). The percentage in estrus within 5 d after treatment was greater (P < .05) for P than for C gilts. However, no difference was detected for the percentage of P or C gilts that had ovulated within 14 d. For the APY line, P gilts had greater (P < .05) ovulation rates than C gilts. However, for the RSY line, P and C gilts did not differ in ovulation rate. More P gilts than C gilts had follicular cysts (P < .05). At 48 h after onset of estrus, plasma progesterone concentration tended to be greater (P = .13) for P gilts than for C gilts. In Exp. 2, gilts were ovariectomized 18 h after the onset of estrus. Ova were dissected from follicles on one ovary, and follicular fluid was aspirated from the other ovary. No differences were detected for the percentages of ova in various stages of meiosis. For APY gilts, follicular fluid estradiol concentration for P gilts tended to be lower (P = .12) than that for C gilts; however, no differences were detected for RSY gilts. Progesterone concentration in follicular fluid tended (P = .14) to be greater in P gilts than in C gilts. These results indicate that the effect of genetic line on age at puberty should be considered when inducing puberty.
Effect of a Positive Psychological Intervention on Pain and Functional Difficulty Among Adults With Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance Positive psychological interventions for improving health have received increasing attention recently. Evidence on the impact of such interventions on pain, and racial disparities in pain, is limited. Objective To assess the effects of a positive psychological intervention on pain and functional difficulty in veterans with knee osteoarthritis. Design, Setting, and Participants The Staying Positive With Arthritis Study is a large, double-blinded randomized clinical trial powered to detect race differences in self-reported pain in response to a positive psychological intervention compared with a neutral control intervention. Data were collected from 2 urban Veterans Affairs medical centers. Participants included non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic African American patients aged 50 years or older with a diagnosis of osteoarthritis. Mailings were sent to 5111 patients meeting these criteria, of whom 839 were fully screened, 488 were eligible, and 360 were randomized. Enrollment lasted from July 8, 2015, to February 1, 2017, with follow-up through September 6, 2017. Interventions The intervention comprised a 6-week series of evidence-based activities to build positive psychological skills (eg, gratitude and kindness). The control program comprised similarly structured neutral activities. Programs were delivered via workbook and weekly telephone calls with interventionists. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcomes were self-reported pain and functional difficulty measured using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC; range 0-100). Secondary outcomes included affect balance and life satisfaction. Results The sample included 180 non-Hispanic white patients and 180 non-Hispanic African American patients (mean [SD] age, 64.2 [8.8] years; 76.4% were male). Mean (SD) baseline scores for WOMAC pain and functional difficulty were 48.8 (17.6) and 46.8 (18.1), respectively. Although both decreased significantly over time (pain: χ23 = 49.50,P Conclusions and Relevance The results of this randomized clinical trial do not support the use of positive psychological interventions as a stand-alone treatment for pain among white or African American veterans with knee osteoarthritis. Adaptations are needed to identify intervention components that resonate with this population, and the additive effect of incorporating positive psychological interventions into more comprehensive pain treatment regimens should be considered. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02223858
Replisome Dynamics and Their Functional Relevance upon DNA Damage through the PCNA Interactome

Eukaryotic cells use copious measures to ensure accurate duplication of the genome. Various genotoxic agents pose threats to the ongoing replication fork that, if not efficiently dealt with, can result in replication fork collapse. It is unknown how replication fork is precisely controlled and regulated under different conditions. Here, we examined the complexity of replication fork composition upon DNA damage by using a PCNA-based proteomic screen to uncover known and unexplored players involved in replication and replication stress response. We used camptothecin or UV radiation, which lead to fork-blocking lesions, to establish a comprehensive proteomics map of the replisome under such replication stress conditions. We identified and examined two potential candidate proteins WIZ and SALL1 for their roles in DNA replication and replication stress response. In addition, our unbiased screen uncovered many prospective candidate proteins that help fill the knowledge gap in understanding chromosomal DNA replication and DNA repair.
Diverse Bloodstream Pathogens Are Identified in the Gut Microbiome Prior to Infection in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Recipients

Abstract Recipients of hematopoietic stem cell transplantion (HCT) are at high risk for bloodstream infections (BSI); culture-based and marker gene sequencing approaches have been previously applied to interrogate the intestine as a reservoir of these pathogens. Identifying the source of bloodstream infections can impact infection control and prevention practices such as removing central venous catheters and placing patients in isolation. To evaluate the genomic concordance of bloodstream pathogens and bacterial strains within the intestinal microbiome, we developed StrainSifter (Figure 1), a streamlined bioinformatic pipeline using whole genome shotgun sequencing to compare nucleotide variation between bacterial isolate strains and metagenomes. We applied StrainSifter to bloodstream isolates and stool metagenome samples from a cohort of 30 HCT recipients with bloodstream infections at a single academic center. StrainSifter is designed to 1) identify single nucleotide variants (SNVs) between isolate and metagenomic short reads aligned to assembled draft genomes using stringent alignment, coverage, and variant frequency criteria, and 2) output both phylogenetic trees and SNV counts for clinical and epidemiologic strain typing and comparison. Using StrainSifter, we identified enteric BSI isolates - including Enterococcus faecium, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus mitis - that were identical or nearly identical with those in the gut microbiota. We also identified highly concordant strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa between the bloodstream and gut microbiome, an unexpected finding for typically non-enteric organisms. Although intestinal domination by pathogenic bacteria preceded BSI with E. faecium and E. coli as previous studies have demonstrated, we found significant heterogeneity in the relative abundance of pathogens prior to infection for other bacteria. These findings demonstrate the utility of StrainSifter in strain matching between isolate and metagenomic sequencing data, and provide a more precise and comprehensive investigation of the intestine as a potential reservoir of diverse pathogens capable of causing bloodstream infections in HCT recipients. These findings may have implications for the tracking and prevention of BSI previously classified as central-line associated bloodstream infections. Download : Download high-res image (261KB) Download : Download full-size image Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
“I should summarize this whole paragraph”: Shared processes of reading and writing in iterative integrated assessment tasks

Abstract Researchers do not yet fully understand the complex processes linking reading and writing in a second language. A number of recent studies have focused on reading to write integrated tasks in language assessment, with an eye toward eliciting the underlying construct of reading-writing integration. To extend this conversation, we designed an iterative integrated task (writing-reading-writing) including a pre-writing task, reading passages, reading-based questions, and a sourced-based writing task. This task was used to explore the processes shared by reading and writing. Eleven second language writers of English completed this iterative integrated task, followed by a questionnaire and an interview. All writers performed concurrent (non-stop) verbal reporting while completing the task. Data were analyzed qualitatively to identify categories and patterns related to reading, writing, and shared overlapping processes. The processes that appeared during both reading and writing stages included the following: (1) focusing at the word level, (2) drawing on background knowledge, (3) metacognitive monitoring for comprehension, (4) rereading, and (5) summarizing. These five process categories provide insight into the reciprocal nature of second language reading and writing skills in integrated assessment tasks.
Immunogenicity Risks for Naturally Derived Complex Drugs

Naturally derived complex drugs (NDCD) can elicit undesired immune responses that impact on the safety and efficacy of therapeutic products. In recent years, our understanding of the product- and patient-related factors that impact on the immunogenicity of therapeutics has grown considerably. Despite this and the continuous improvement of bioanalytical and immunological methods, it is not yet possible to predict with certainty whether a product will be immunogenic, identify the subset of patients at risk, and foresee how the immune response will impact the clinical outcome. The question of immunogenicity risk is particularly complex for the development and regulation of NDCD where the identity and contribution of individual product components to the product immunogenicity is largely unknown. This chapter describes the clinical considerations of product immunogenicity and provides an overview of known patient- and product-related risk factors emphasizing the unique complexities of NDCD.
Threshold Knot Selection for Large-Scale Spatial Models With Applications to the Deepwater Horizon Disaster.

Large spatial datasets are typically modelled through a small set of knot locations; often these locations are specified by the investigator by arbitrary criteria. Existing methods of estimating th...
Real-time visualization of dynamic fractures in porcine bones and the loading-rate effect on their fracture toughness

Abstract We visualized, in real time, the dynamic fracture behaviors in porcine cortical bone from humerus and porcine trabecular bone from nasal bone at a high loading rate using high-speed synchrotron X-ray phase-contrast imaging (PCI). Dynamic three-point bending loading was applied on notched bone specimens by a modified Kolsky compression bar and images of the entire fracture events were recorded with an ultra-high-speed camera. Experiments at a quasi-static loading rate on material testing system (MTS) were also performed to identify the loading-rate effects on the fracture toughness of the two types of bone. Three-dimensional synchrotron X-ray computed tomography was conducted to examine the initial microstructures in the bone specimens before mechanical loading. At the dynamic loading rate, the onset locations of crack initiation were found to be independent from the bone types. The deleterious effect of dynamic loading rate on bone's fracture toughness was verified in this study and the crack was found to propagate at higher speeds in cortical bone than in trabecular bone. In a comparison of the observed more torturous crack paths at the quasi-static loading rate, cracks in dynamically loaded bone specimens generally followed the paths with less in-plane deflections and out-of-plane twists. However, our experimental results also indicated that, although the extent was diminished at dynamic loading rate, the crack deflections at osteon cement lines still played a role as a major toughening mechanism to dynamic fractures in transversely orientated cortical bone.
Perplexing Public Attitudes Toward Consent: Implications for Sex, Law, and Society

The role of consent in sexual relations is a matter of great legal importance, considerable public debate, and current political controversy. The shifting landscape of rape law and of cultural expectations regarding sex make public attitudes toward consent worth studying empirically. This series of studies investigates lay perceptions of when consent has been granted, particularly in situations in which agreement to sex is obtained under conditions of deception or coercion. In Study 1, respondents were presented with scenarios in which sex is obtained via deception — that is, where one party is deceived about a fact material to her consent and agrees to sex under those circumstances. The results reveal that large majorities of participants regard such encounters as consensual, defying the canonical legal and philosophical view that deception vitiates consent. These findings hold true even when the perpetrator in the vignette knows that his lie is crucial to securing the victim’s acquiescence. In Study 2, the same pattern of responses is observed in non-sexual contexts. Most strikingly, a patient whose doctor deceives him in order to get him to agree to a surgical procedure is seen as giving consent — despite the fact that the surgeon lies about a fact he knows is important to the patient’s decision-making. The same result is found with regard to a research subject who is fraudulently induced to participate in a study by an investigator who seeks to recruit her for his research. Follow-up studies indicate that when judging consent, respondents pay attention both to what the individual patient cares about, and to what it would be reasonable for a patient to care about. They also put enormous weight on the distinction between saying “no” and saying “yes” — even when the “yes” is clearly the product of deceitful manipulation. Study 3 builds on these surprising findings by experimentally manipulating the type of interference — deception versus coercion — that leads the victim to agree to sex. Results indicate that whereas participants perceive high levels of consent when agreement is obtained via deception, they perceive low levels of consent when agreement is obtained via coercion. These findings carry implications for the debate among rape scholars over how to treat sex-by-deception cases. More broadly, these findings raise questions about the public’s commitment to the principle of sexual autonomy, widely believed to be gaining traction among activists, reformers, and lawmakers. Beyond sex, the concept of consent is ubiquitous in law. These study results document, for the first time, that the canonical legal view is at odds with lay intuitions about when consent has been undermined. As I will argue, this incongruity carries ramifications for the public — for their ability to assert their rights, as well as their ability to serve competently as fact-finders in legal cases involving consent.
Evaluation of Patient Factors That Influence Predictive Formulas for Determining Ureteral Stent Length When Compared to Direct Measurement.

Objectives: To compare direct ureteral length measurements with predictive formulas used for the preoperative assessment of ureteral length, and to evaluate patient factors that impact the accuracy...
Hesitation While Posting: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Sensitive Topics and Opinion Sharing on Social Media

This paper explores the habits of people when posting on several topics on social media platforms. We recruited 160 college-level students to participate in an online survey. Our survey asked respondents to indicate their likelihood to post on seven topics, as well as indicate why they may be hesitant to post on these topics. Self-identity, politics, health and mental health, finance and business, and science and technology emerged as sensitive topics which give rise to some level of self-censorship. Many respondents reported various reasons explaining their hesitation, including fear of negative responses or that a friend or family member might see the post. We also observed several differences between men and women respondents, especially on the topics of education and health. Our efforts could inform future research on the Spiral of Silence theory as it provides new topic-based evidence on selective posting habits.