cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mexican Americans’ Lucky Few and Baby Boom Cohorts: How Is Relative Cohort Size Related to the Likelihood of Being Out-of-Poverty?

Generational cohorts influence individuals’ economic life chances. Retrospective analysis has found that the “Lucky Few” generation had better life chances than previous generations. We focus on Mexican Americans in the United States and offer a prospective analysis to explore how relative cohort size plays a role in the odds of their being out-of-poverty. Using Public Use Microdata Sample files from 1990, 2000, and 2010, we test the hypothesis by comparing Early Baby Boom (those born between 1946 and 1955) and Late Baby Boom (those born between 1956 and 1965) cohorts to the Lucky Few (born between 1936 and 1945) cohort. Models predicting the odds of being out-of-poverty during the peak wage-earning years indicate that belonging to the Lucky Few cohort affords Mexican Americans no economic advantage. Our findings demonstrate that the relative cohort size hypothesis may not always be generalized to Mexican American minority samples.
Responsible Conduct of Research Measure: Initial Development and Pilot Study

Although much discussion has been focused on research misconduct (RM) and questionable research practices, to date no self-report measures exist to examine this phenomenon. To help fill this void, the authors developed the Responsible Conduct of Research Measure (RCRM) through multiple pilot study waves involving researchers in the social and behavioral sciences. Preliminary results reveal adequate validity and reliability. The authors discuss limitations of the study as well as some possible directions for future research on this topic.
Overview Of Coating Techniques

There is a bewildering array of processes that can be used for the production of thin films. A list that is certainly far from complete is given in Table 1 simply with the intention of demonstrating this fact. Many of the processes listed there have not been or are not normally used for optical purposes and so their potential is largely unknown. Those that are used are not necessarily suitable for all types of optical coatings. An exhaustive survey is impossible within the constraints of this paper and so we deal with only a few of them. We choose those that are most commonly employed together with some that although currently uncommon appear to have considerable future potential. Although this conference is aimed at excimer lasers, it would be too restrictive to limit the discussion to only those processes that have been already used for the production of excimer laser coatings. It must be recognized that much pioneering work on the processes to be described has been carried out for applications other than optics. This account is heavily biased towards optical applications and so optical references have been selected and cited wherever possible in preference to other, even prior, work.
Gender, race/ethnicity, and poverty in later life

Abstract A feminization of poverty among the elderly, as among the general population, of the United States has been documented both with aggregate and with individual-level data. Several scholars have recently argued that this feminization is not homogeneous by race/ethnicity. Using individual-level data from a survey representative of the resident population aged 55 or older in Florida, we examine the intersections of gender and race/ethnicity in the distribution of poverty risk at older ages. While the analyses offer some detailed specification of the conditions of poverty, they offer no evidence of gender-race/ethnic interactions in the likelihood of poverty.
Visualization of herpes simplex virus type 1 attachment to target cells using staphylococcus aureus as a morphologic tag

Staphylococcus aureus was used as a morphologic tag to allow light microscopic localization of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) binding and attachment to HEp-2 target cells. The virus was bound to S. aureus through an anti-HSV-1 linkage. The complex was stable and the attached virus still infectious.
Physics of the detached radiative divertor regime in DIII-D

This paper summarizes results from a two-dimensional (2D) physics analysis of the transition to and stable operation of the partially detached divertor (PDD) regime induced by deuterium injection in DIII-D. The analysis [1] shows that PDD operation is characterized by a radiation zone near the X-point at -15 eV which reduces the energy flux into the divertor and thereby also reduces the target plate heat flux, an ionization zone below the X-point which provides a deuterium ion source to fuel parallel flow down the outer divertor leg, an ion-neutral interaction zone in the outer leg which removes momentum and energy from the flow and finally a volume recombination zone above the target plate which reduces the particle flux to the low levels measured on the plates and thereby also contributes to reduction in target plate heat flux.
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia after bone marrow transplantation for aplastic anaemia.

Summary An 11 · 5-year-old girl developed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia 7 months after bone marrow transplantation for severe aplastic anaemia. Before transplantation there were neither morphologic nor cytogenetic abnormalities to suggest preleukaemia. The conditioning regimen consisted only of cyclophosphamide. At the time of development of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, chromosome analysis showed the blasts to be of host origin with clonal abnormalities including monosomy 7. Such a preleukaemic syndrome presenting as severe aplastic anaemia is a very rare event (the case reported here is the only one of 436 patients in Seattle) and cannot be reliably excluded before transplantation.
Distance education: what the literature says works

The distance education literature is dominated by media comparison studies in which students learning at a distance are compared to students learning in a traditional classroom. Although newer, more technologically advanced media are hyped as facilitating more effective instruction the research clearly indicates that all media of instruction are equally effective. Researchers can more profitably devote their energies to examining the truly critical factor in determining student achievement: instruction itself.
Values in a Science of Social Work: Values-Informed Research and Research-Informed Values

While social work must be evaluative in relation to its diverse areas of practice and research (i.e., values-informed research), the purpose of this article is to propose that values are within the...
Movement of (RS)-Abscisic Acid in the Cotton Explant

The movement of abscisic acid in the cotton explant was investigated by bioassay and radioisotope techniques. The rate of movement was 20 to 30 millimeters per hour with most of the abscisic acid moving unchanged through the explant into the basal agar. The rate of movement was the same through the abscission zone as through petiole tissue. Patterns of accumulation and metabolic products are discussed.
Extension of the Munsell Renotation System to Very Dark Colors

By using the same principles by which the OSA Subcommittee on the Spacing of the Munsell Colors extended the definition of the ideal Munsell system beyond the gamut of the colors actually observed, this definition has been further extended to Munsell renotation values less than 1/. These principles conform to the logical requirement that the constant-chroma locus for any chroma, however small, must extend beyond the spectrum locus (and the straight line connecting its extremes) as Munsell renotation value approaches 0/ if the Munsell renotation chroma is to correlate with the saturation of the color perception of the specimen viewed against a neutral background of Munsell value greater than 5/.
Empirical Information Metrics for Prediction Power and Experiment Planning

In principle, information theory could provide useful metrics for statistical inference. In practice this is impeded by divergent assumptions: Information theory assumes the joint distribution of variables of interest is known, whereas in statistical inference it is hidden and is the goal of inference. To integrate these approaches we note a common theme they share, namely the measurement of prediction power. We generalize this concept as an information metric, subject to several requirements: Calculation of the metric must be objective or model-free; unbiased; convergent; probabilistically bounded; and low in computational complexity. Unfortunately, widely used model selection metrics such as Maximum Likelihood, the Akaike Information Criterion and Bayesian Information Criterion do not necessarily meet all these requirements. We define four distinct empirical information metrics measured via sampling, with explicit Law of Large Numbers convergence guarantees, which meet these requirements: Ie, the empirical information, a measure of average prediction power; Ib, the overfitting bias information, which measures selection bias in the modeling procedure; Ip, the potential information, which measures the total remaining information in the observations not yet discovered by the model; and Im, the model information, which measures the model’s extrapolation prediction power. Finally, we show that Ip + Ie, Ip + Im, and Ie — Im are fixed constants for a given observed dataset (i.e. prediction target), independent of the model, and thus represent a fundamental subdivision of the total information contained in the observations. We discuss the application of these metrics to modeling and experiment planning.
Resistance to cleavage cracking and subsequent shearing of high-angle grain boundary

In a previous experimental study, it was observed that the break-through process of a cleavage front across a high-angle grain boundary can be highly nonuniform. While the central part of the boundary can be cleaved quite smoothly, the rest parts must be sheared apart. In this paper, the trapping effect of grain boundary shearing is analyzed in considerable detail. Before the shearing is completed, the crack flanks are locally pinned together and a bridging stress must be provided. The bridging stress has a negative contribution to the local stress intensity at the cleavage front segment that penetrates across the grain boundary, and thus the crack growth driving force must be increased. A closed-form equation is derived to relate the overall fracture resistance to the fracture mode through an energy analysis.
Comparison of gallium-67 versus indium-111 monoclonal antibody (96.5, ZME-018) in detection of human melanoma in athymic mice.

We compared the biodistribution of two radiolabeled, whole, tumor selective monoclonal antibodies (( /sup 111/In)96.5, (/sup 111/In)ZME-018) to /sup 67/Ga in nude mice bearing a human melanoma known to express p97 antigen. Localization of gallium was determined 48 hr following i.v. injection. Localization of the radiolabeled antibodies was determined at 3 days and 7 days following i.v. injection. All agents showed more or less similar absolute tumor uptake which varied between 22% and 36% of the injected dose per gram of tumor. Only the tumor uptake of (/sup 111/In)96.5 antibody at 7 days was significantly lower than the /sup 67/Ga uptake at 48 hr. However, uptake in normal tissues was generally higher for both antibodies at 3 and 7 days than for /sup 67/Ga uptake at 48 hr. Therefore, the tumor-to-blood ratio for /sup 67/Ga was tenfold higher than that for either antibody, the tumor-to-muscle ratio was twofold higher. Bone was the only organ in which the tumor-to-organ ratio was consistently higher with radiolabeled antibody than with /sup 67/Ga. The tumor-to-liver and tumor-to-intestine ratios were comparable. Localization of the two tumor selective antibodies was greater than a nonspecific control antibody (( /sup 111/In)CEA) and change in specific activity from 0.17more » mCi/mg to 3.3 mCi/mg did not influence localization. From these animal data it may be anticipated that tumor imaging with (/sup 111/In)96.5 or (/sup 111/In)ZME-018 will not be superior to imaging with 67Ga for detection of melanoma.« less
Front and Backstage Processes of an Organizational Restructuring Effort

Change processes in organizations involve the formal expectations of change agents and administrators, but social processes taking place in the organization also may generate different, sometimes conflicting, outcomes. This study examines a planned restructuring effort that attempted to get people in an organization to work more closely together. The authors hypothesize that individuals seek influence in the organization by acting as brokers between others who are not connected to each other. These brokers gain influence by connecting the otherwise disconnected and have no incentive to connect others to each other. The contradictory forces pushing for connection and the exploiting of disconnections between actors are examined in a school undergoing a change effort during the course of a year.
A comparison of sexual dimorphism and range of variation inPapio cynocephalus andGorilla gorilla dentition

The dentitions of 48 baboons (Papio cynocephalus) and 242 gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) are compared metrically and the baboons are found to have a greater range of variation, and greater sexual dimorphism than the gorillas. This is explained in terms of the different ecologies of these species: life on the African savannah, with its sharp seasonal changes in available food, seems to have given selective advantage to broader niches than life in the rain forest. Further, the historic continuity of the savannah has provided fewer chances for allopatric speciation than the rain forest. These contrasts between forest and savannah speciation should provide insights into hominid evolution. In trying to judge whether australopithecines, probable savannah residents, can be lumped into one or several species, based upon dental variability, a comparison with baboons should be more informative than the now frequently used contrast with gorillas.
Fiber-optic acoustic sensors with increased sensitivity by use of composite structures

Fiber-optic acoustic sensors having sensitivity nearly 2 orders of magnitude greater than that of sensors using bare fiber are reported. These new devices utilize a composite structure wherein the fiber is embedded in a material of lower elastic modulus that serves to increase the stress, and hence the optical phase shift, in the fiber for a given pressure.
Dietary Phosphatidylcholine Intake and Type 2 Diabetes in Men and Women

Recent studies have related plasma levels of gut microbiota metabolites of dietary phosphatidylcholine to risk of cardiovascular disease (1,2). Choline from dietary phosphatidylcholine can be converted by gut microbes to form trimethylamine, which is then absorbed and oxidized in the liver to form trimethyamine oxidase (3). Diet is the primary source of gut microbiota metabolites; however, little is known about the association between dietary phosphatidylcholine and risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). We extracted data with dietary intake from three ongoing cohorts: the Nurses' Health Study (NHS), NHS II, and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS). We excluded participants with diabetes ( n = 5,466), cardiovascular disease ( n = 3,655), cancer ( n = 8,675), or implausible dietary data ( n = 4,009) at baseline, leaving 203,308 men and women for analysis (NHS: 73,128; NHS II: 88,516; HPFS: 41,664). Dietary phosphatidylcholine was estimated by a valid food-frequency questionnaire (4), with approximately 130 food items administered every 2 or 4 years combined with the phosphatidylcholine contents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture database (http://www.ars.usda.gov/ba/bhnrc/ndl) and from values published by …
The relationship between quadriceps muscle force, knee flexion, and anterior cruciate ligament strain in an in vitro simulated jump landing.

BackgroundAn instrumented cadaveric knee construct was used to quantify the association between impact force, quadriceps force, knee flexion angle, and anterior cruciate ligament relative strain in...
Time and frequency domain analysis of integral decoupling capacitors

Decoupling capacitors have been designed and included in high-speed packaging systems to avoid voltage drops across the power supply caused by interconnect inductance. They are also used to reduce simultaneous switching noise between the power supply and device I/O buffers. This paper will review three different measurement methods by which these capacitors were analyzed. It will discuss the possible detriments when making both low frequency and high frequency measurements on electronic packages and surface mount chip components using commercial instruments and fixtures. Two different types of high performance electronic packages with integral decoupling capacitors were analyzed. The models derived from the measurements were included in a circuit simulation to determine the effectiveness of decoupling noise between the device drivers and the system power supply. The results will provide insight into the effectiveness or these types of capacitors used within a high-speed electronic system.
Neoliberal associations: Property, company, and family in the Argentine oil fields

The transformation of Argentina's state-owned oil company into a transnational joint-stock corporation and a series of worker-owned subcontracting microenterprises in northwestern Patagonia provides an example of an actually existing neoliberal project. In this article, I illustrate how this project was as much a process of sustaining affective relationality as it was a process of fostering calculative rationality. The privatization process generated corporate subjects attached through familial associations of property, company, and family. Kinship sentiment was also the crucial force that incorporated former state oil workers into the inequitable circuits of the global petroleum industry. I argue that this neoliberal process was effective inasmuch as it worked affectively. [neoliberal, kinship, property, affect, corporations, structural adjustment, petroleum, Argentina]
Selective Integration of Linguistic Knowledge in Adult Second Language Learning

This study examined the development of integrated knowledge or automatic competence in adult SLA. Automatic competence was operationalized in terms of the participants’ sensitivity to grammatical errors in a self-paced reading task. Their sensitivity was determined by observing whether there was a delay in reading ungrammatical sentences. Native and nonnative speakers of English read grammatical and ungrammatical sentences that contained errors involving plural ‐s and verb subcategorization. Their reading times were measured and compared. The results showed that native speakers were sensitive to errors involving both structures, but nonnative speakers were only sensitive to errors involving verb subcategorization. The results confirmed that the development of second language automatic competence or integrated knowledge is selective. Alternative explanations of this selectivity are discussed.
Identification of C6-ceramide-interacting proteins in D6P2T Schwannoma cells

Ceramide is a bioactive molecule involved in numerous cell signaling pathways that are associated with cell cycle control, differentiation, senescence, and apoptosis. Although substantial knowledge about ceramide-regulated pathways has accumulated in the past decade, molecular mechanisms of ceramide action remain poorly understood, primarily due to limited information about ceramide-binding proteins. In the present study, we used affinity purification with a synthetic biotin-conjugated C6-ceramide analogue and LC-MS/MS to identify potential ceramide-interacting proteins in D6P2T Schwannoma cells. The purification resulted in identification of 97 unique proteins. The identified proteins are involved in various cellular processes, including apoptosis, cellular stress, cell cycle, cell differentiation, signaling, transcription, translation, protein biogenesis, metabolism, and transport.
Phenology of the Larger European Pine Shoot Beetle Tomicus piniperda (L.) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) in Relation to Native Bark Beetles and Natural Enemies in Pine Stands

Abstract Tomicus piniperda (L.), a Eurasian scolytid first discovered in North America in 1992, is established in at least 12 north central and northeastern states and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The expanding range of T. piniperda, its ability to develop and shoot-feed in most North American pine species, and its relatively early spring activity have generated questions about its potential interactions with native competitors and natural enemies. Our objectives were to compare phenology of T. piniperda with native phloem-feeding insects and to evaluate phenological synchrony between T. piniperda and native predators in red pine forest stands. We monitored adult beetle activity using baited funnel traps and observations of insect activity on freshly cut red pine logs in four to eight stands in southwestern and northern lower Michigan during two field seasons. Logs were periodically returned to the laboratory and individually caged. Phloem-feeders, predators and parasitoids emerging from ...
Abstract 11608: Risk Factors for Atrial Arrhythmia and Thromboembolic Events in D-Transposition of the Great Arteries

Introduction: Atrial arrhythmia (AA) is an important problem in patients with adult congenital heart disease (ACHD). Relatively little is known about the prevalence and risk factors for thromboembolic events (TE) in patients with D-TGA and AA and further prospective study on this subpopulation of ACHD patients is difficult. Therefore, we sought to define the prevalence of AA and TE in a large, national sample of patients with D-transposition of the great arteries (D-TGA). Methods: Retrospective analysis of health insurance claims data for a national sample of privately insured patients over the years 2008-2011. Individuals were included in the study cohort if they had a claim submitted for D-TGA at any time over the study period. The primary endpoints were claims submitted for AA, TE, and bleeding events; multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify independent variables associated with AA and TE. Results: 3,414 patients were included in the final cohort, 253 (7.4%) had an AA, 38 (1.1%) had ...
Reframing public housing in Richmond, Virginia: Segregation, resident resistance and the future of redevelopment

Abstract This paper is a three-part assessment of the history of public housing in Richmond, Virginia and an account of current efforts to create a progressive model for public housing redevelopment in the city. Part One provides a short history of Richmond's creation of nearly exclusively African-American public housing in the East End of the city in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, and describes a regional context in which virtually all public housing in the entire metropolitan area is located within a central city that is home to just one-sixth of the overall metro population. Part Two provides an account of the Blackwell public housing complex in Richmond under the Hope VI program, beginning in the late 1990s, and an account of the tenant activism that arose in response to the many problems and shortcomings with that project. That activism later resulted in the tenant-led coalition Residents of Public Housing in Richmond Against Mass Evictions (or RePHRAME). Together non-profit and tenant activists in RePHRAME have collaborated over the past several years to challenge redevelopment practices that threaten to diminish the number of public housing units in the city. Part Three is an in-progress report on an effort we are each personally involved in that includes participation by RePHRAME members as well as several community organizations and leaders that have been part of the RePHRAME coalition: to create a new resident-driven, progressive redevelopment process for the city. This process aims to build consensus among city policymakers and many tenants that redevelopment of the city's highly concentrated public housing units for the sake of improving opportunities and living conditions for residents is a moral imperative. Recognizing and articulating the history of segregation, mismanagement, and deep distrust between residents and public authorities, this process takes seriously the deep-seated and legitimate concerns of tenants with the aim of assuring much more positive outcomes in future redevelopment processes.
The Neuropsychology of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive degenerative brain disorder that results in a profound global dementia characterized by severe amnesia with additional deficits in language, “executive” functions, attention, and visuospatial and constructional abilities (Corkin, Davis, Growdon, Usdin, & Wurtman, 1982; Katzman, 1986). Because dementia is associated with more than 50 different causes of brain dysfunction (Haase, 1977; Katzman, 1986) and because there are no known peripheral markers for AD, the disease can only be definitively diagnosed by histopathological verification of the presence of characteristic neurodegenerative abnormalities (i.e., neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles; Khachaturian, 1985). However, documentation of the presence of dementia and the exclusion of all other known potential causes allows probable or possible AD to be clinically diagnosed during life with some certainty (Galasko et al., 1994; Kawas, 1990; McKhann et al., 1984).
A Simplified Low-${Q}$ Electrically Small Magnetic Dipole Antenna

An electrically small wire cage antenna is presented as an alternative to previously proposed spherical split-ring (SSR) antennas, which achieve ${Q}$ 's near the lower limit defined by Chu. This design is targeted to approach the same lower bound, but constructed in a manner more economical for production. The proposed dual-polarized wire cage structure is produced using a standard dielectric substrate which is patterned front and back with copper, using well-defined and reproducible etching procedures. The thin interdigitated structure is then placed over a ground plane using rigid conducting elements that help to suspend the dielectric substrate while completing the wire cage. A parameterized HFSS model was used to optimize performance. Measurements were made on fabricated prototypes that demonstrate performance consistent with simulated results, confirming that SSR antennas and their derivatives are capable of approaching Chu's limit on the radiation efficiency of electrically small antennas.
Reflections on the Justice of Urban and Rural Residents Development under the Background of Balance Urban and Rural Development——Learning the "Decision" in the Third Plenum of the 17th CPCC

To balance urban and rural development is a must balance to realize the urban and rural economic society's coordinated development,more importantly,to realize the Justice of urban and rural residents development.The Justice development of urban and rural residents is to realize the right the city and countryside residents develop to be fair,the development opportunity is fair,the development rule is fair,the development achievement assignment is fair.
Mechanism of action of bleomycin—I: Bacterial growth studies

Abstract Experiments have been carried out demonstrating the inhibition of Bacillus subtilis with bleomycin. The antibiotic was highly inhibitory to non-proliferating cells as well as growing cells. A recombination-deficient (rec−) strain of B. subtilis behaved differently in the presence of bleomycin than did the respective wild type organism. The wild type cells were able to recover from lower levels of bleomycin while the rec− strain was not. A bleomycin-resistant strain of B. subtilis was isolated and found to be cross-resistant to mitomycin C but not to daunomycin.
Genome-Wide Mapping of DNase I Hypersensitive Sites in Plants

Genomic regions associated with regulatory proteins are known to be highly sensitive to DNase I digestion and are termed DNase I hypersensitive sites (DHSs). DHSs can be identified by DNase I digestion followed by high-throughput DNA sequencing (DNase-seq). DNase-seq has become a powerful technique for genome-wide mapping of chromatin accessibility in eukaryotes with a sequenced genome. We have developed a DNase-seq procedure in plants. This procedure was adapted from the protocol originally developed for mammalian cell lines. It includes plant nuclei isolation, digestion of purified nuclei with DNase I, recovery of DNase-trimmed DNA fragments, DNase-seq library development, Illumina sequencing and data analysis. We also introduce a barcoding system for library preparation. We have conducted DNase-seq in both Arabidopsis thaliana and rice, and developed genome-wide open chromatin maps in both species. These DHS datasets have been used to detect footprints from regulatory protein binding and to reveal genome-wide nucleosome positioning patterns.
Mechanisms of Change in the ARC Organizational Strategy: Increasing Mental Health Clinicians’ EBP Adoption Through Improved Organizational Culture and Capacity

The development of efficient and scalable implementation strategies in mental health is restricted by poor understanding of the change mechanisms that increase clinicians' evidence-based practice (EBP) adoption. This study tests the cross-level change mechanisms that link an empirically-supported organizational strategy for supporting implementation (labeled ARC for Availability, Responsiveness, and Continuity) to mental health clinicians' EBP adoption and use. Four hundred seventy-five mental health clinicians in 14 children's mental health agencies were randomly assigned to the ARC intervention or a control condition. Measures of organizational culture, clinicians' intentions to adopt EBPs, and job-related EBP barriers were collected before, during, and upon completion of the three-year ARC intervention. EBP adoption and use were assessed at 12-month follow-up. Multilevel mediation analyses tested changes in organizational culture, clinicians' intentions to adopt EBPs, and job-related EBP barriers as linking mechanisms explaining the effects of ARC on clinicians' EBP adoption and use. ARC increased clinicians' EBP adoption (OR = 3.19, p = .003) and use (81 vs. 56 %, d = .79, p = .003) at 12-month follow-up. These effects were mediated by improvement in organizational proficiency culture leading to increased clinician intentions to adopt EBPs and by reduced job-related EBP barriers. A combined mediation analysis indicated the organizational culture-EBP intentions mechanism was the primary carrier of ARC's effects on clinicians' EBP adoption and use. ARC increases clinicians' EBP adoption and use by creating proficient organizational cultures that increase clinicians' intentions to adopt EBPs.
Quail-Chick Chimeras and Eye Development

The quail-chick chimera is a stable and precise labeling technique that allows tracing of definite cells and their progeny without interfering with normal development of two related avian species. This technique utilizes the transplantation of quail tissues into chick embryo or vice versa. The region of interest (graft) is removed from the donor and replaced in the stage-matched host embryo. The quail-chick chimeras can be analyzed by immunolabeling donor-derived cells with species-specific antibodies, or by differential staining of the nucleus. The use of the quail-chick chimera technique is valuable to eye development studies since its formation involves coalition of tissues from different embryonic origins: the ectoderm, neuroectoderm, and neural crest cells derived from the interaction between the ectoderm and neural ectoderm. This chapter describes the protocols for using quail-chick chimeras to identify neural crest- and ectoderm-derived components of the eye. This technique can be used in combination with molecular biology techniques in functional studies to determine the cellular and tissue interactions involved in eye development.
Methionine-enkephalin concentrations correlate with stage of disease but not pruritus in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis

OBJECTIVE Opiate antagonist agents ameliorate pruritus in some patients with cholestatic liver disease, suggesting that endogenous opioids may mediate pruritus in cholestasis. However, the endogenous opioids potentially responsible for pruritus remain unknown. Methionine-enkephalin is an endogenous opioid synthesized in numerous tissues including the gastrointestinal tract, and released into the portal circulation. Serum methionine-enkephalin concentrations are elevated in patients with chronic liver disease, making this opioid a candidate for opioid-mediated pruritus in cholestatic liver disease. The aim of our study was to determine whether elevated circulating methionine-enkephalin concentrations are associated with pruritus. METHODS Serum concentrations of methionine-enkephalin were measured in 54 consecutive, untreated patients with primary biliary cirrhosis and 20 healthy controls. There was a direct correlation between methionine-enkephalin concentrations and total serum bilirubin (r = 0.42, p < 0.05) and the Mayo risk score (r = 0.5, p < 0.005). Methionine-enkephalin concentrations were significantly higher in histological stages 3 and 4 (48 +/- 4 pg/ml, n = 44), compared with stages 1 and 2 (29 +/- 12 pg/ml, n = 10, p < 0.05). Methionine-enkephalin concentrations in both histological groups were significantly higher than those in 20 healthy controls (16 +/- 4 pg/ml, p < 0.005). RESULTS There was no significant correlation between methionine-enkephalin concentrations and the presence of pruritus (46 +/- 25 pg/ml with pruritus vs. 40 +/- 22 pg/ml without pruritus, n = 20). CONCLUSIONS Increased serum methionine-enkephalin concentrations in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis were not associated with pruritus.
Recurrent lumbosacral herpes simplex virus infection

We present the case of a 54-year-old white woman with episodic lumbosacral lesions that she had been treating as psoriasis. Evaluation revealed classic herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection. The discussion reviews the significance and potential complications of recurrent lumbosacral HSV infection.
Mechanisms of urinary continence: an animal model to study urethral responses to stress conditions.

Abstract Under conditions of stress, the urethral sphincteric mechanism has to compensate a passive bladder pressure rise induced by increase in intraabdominal pressure. To evaluate the various closure mechanisms contributing to urethral response to stress, we subjected a female dog model to the physiologic stress condition triggered by sneezing. Vesical, rectal and 4 urethral pressures during sneezing were recorded simultaneously under various experimental situations: in the intact animal, after transection of the bladder and urethra, and with the abdomen open. The effects of the Crede maneuver and of manual squeezing of the surgically exposed bladder were also recorded. The data obtained support the existence of a 2-component urethral closure mechanism under stress: the proximal closure mechanism of the smooth muscular, intrapelvic urethra is from passive transmission of abdominal pressure. It is apt to balance a passive increase in bladder pressure and thus maintain proximal closure pressure during stress. The distal closure pressure mechanism reflects active reflex contraction of the intrinsic external sphincter and pelvic floor muscles, which is capable of exceeding passive increase in bladder pressure and thus augments closure pressure during stress.
Misguided cells: the genesis of human cancer.

age. We have not yet learned how to keep peace, to restore the poor, or to arrest the decline of our planet. But in building science, we have found a way to understand ourselves and the world around us in ever increasing depth and detail. Scientists could not have done this without lavish support from their fellow citizens. So it is only natural-indeed, it is obligatory-that we of science should share the joy of our discoveries and the grandeur of the puzzles that remain. Can this be done? Is it possible for those of us schooled and practiced for decades in the ways and means of science to explain the world to our friends in other spheres? Great figures in the history of science have had no doubt about this:
Duration of Left Ventricular Assist Device Support Does Not Impact Survival After US Heart Transplantation

Background The aim of this study was to determine whether the duration of left ventricular device support (LVAD) influenced outcomes after orthotopic heart transplantation in a modern, bridge to transplant national cohort. Methods The United Network for Organ Sharing database, which has recently made pretransplant LVAD duration available, was queried for all adult bridge to transplant patients between January 2011 and December 2012. Three LVAD duration cohorts were generated, as follows: short (less than 90 days), intermediate (90 to 365 days), and prolonged (more than 365 days). Recipient, donor, and transplant-specific characteristics were compared among the duration cohorts. Unadjusted short-term and long-term survivals were estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method. Risk-adjusted models were also constructed to determine the independent impact of device duration on mortality. Results Of the 1,332 patients who met criteria for inclusion, 9.8% (n = 130), 54.7% (n = 729), and 35.5% (n = 473) were classified as short, intermediate, and prolonged, respectively. Although the performance status across each cohort was similar at listing ( p = 0.38), more patients in the intermediate and prolonged cohorts were considered functionally independent before orthotopic heart transplantation (32% and 37%, respectively, versus 18%; p 0.001). Additionally, despite worse baseline renal function in the intermediate and prolonged cohorts relative to the short cohort (glomerular filtration rate, 57 and 57 versus 69, p p = 0.41). There was also no difference in 30-day survival (98%, 96%, 95%, p = 0.51), 6-month survival (93%, 92%, 92%, p = 0.93), or 1-year survival (91%, 89%, 89%, p = 0.78) across the cohorts. After risk adjustment, duration did not independently predict mortality at any timepoint. Conclusions In the largest, non–industry sponsored study of a modern bridge to transplant cohort, we demonstrated that duration of LVAD support before orthotopic heart transplantation does not influence posttransplant morbidity or mortality. In subanalysis, support for 90 days or more is associated with improvements in pretransplant functional performance.
Cell Membrane Potential in Tissues Undergoing Bacterial Hypersensitivity

The time course of bacterially induced hypersensitive reaction (HR) was studied by measuring changes of membrane potential (Em), potassium content, and electrolyte leakage in cotton cotyledons (Gossypium hirsutum) inoculated with Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci. The energy-dependent portion of Em, the diffusion potential, and the Nernst potential of K+ already decreased 2 h after inoculation. This alteration was observed also in tissues treated with fusicoccin, a specific activator of electrogenic pump. An increase in electrolyte leakage followed the changes in Em 4–6 h postinoculation. Our results suggest that not the proton-extrusion pump at the plasmalemma, which maintains the energy-dependent Em, but rather the diffusion potential is primarily altered at the onset of HR.
ALS mutant SOD1 interacts with G3BP1 and affects stress granule dynamics

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease. Mutations in Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) are responsible for approximately 20 % of the familial ALS cases. ALS-causing SOD1 mutants display a gain-of-toxicity phenotype, but the nature of this toxicity is still not fully understood. The Ras GTPase-activating protein-binding protein G3BP1 plays a critical role in stress granule dynamics. Alterations in the dynamics of stress granules have been reported in several other forms of ALS unrelated to SOD1. To our surprise, the mutant G93A SOD1 transgenic mice exhibited pathological cytoplasmic inclusions that co-localized with G3BP1-positive granules in spinal cord motor neurons. The co-localization was also observed in fibroblast cells derived from familial ALS patient carrying SOD1 mutation L144F. Mutant SOD1, unlike wild-type SOD1, interacted with G3BP1 in an RNA-independent manner. Moreover, the interaction is specific for G3BP1 since mutant SOD1 showed little interaction with four other RNA-binding proteins implicated in ALS. The RNA-binding RRM domain of G3BP1 and two particular phenylalanine residues (F380 and F382) are critical for this interaction. Mutant SOD1 delayed the formation of G3BP1- and TIA1-positive stress granules in response to hyperosmolar shock and arsenite treatment in N2A cells. In summary, the aberrant mutant SOD1–G3BP1 interaction affects stress granule dynamics, suggesting a potential link between pathogenic SOD1 mutations and RNA metabolism alterations in ALS.
An ounce of prevention: A pre-randomization protocol to improve retention in substance use disorder clinical trials

Abstract Background Missing data in substance use disorder (SUD) research pose a significant threat to internal validity. Participants terminate involvement or become less likely to attend intervention and research visits for many reasons, which should be addressed prior to becoming problematic. During a 9-month study targeting stimulant abuse, early dropouts and participant reported attendance barriers led to implementing a structured, pre-randomization protocol with participants about retention and solution-focused strategies (the “Fireside Chat”). Our aim is to outline this approach and present data on intervention participation and research visit attendance after implementation. Methods/design STimulant Reduction using Dosed Exercise (STRIDE) was a two-arm, multisite randomized clinical trial testing treatment-as-usual for stimulant abuse/dependence augmented by Exercise or Health Education. For both groups, study intervention visits at the site were scheduled 3/week for 12 weeks followed by 1/week for 24 weeks. During The Chat, research staff thoroughly reviewed participants' expectations, and barriers and solutions to retention. Fifteen participants were randomized (to Exercise or Health Education) prior to and fourteen were randomized after Chat implementation. Intervention and monthly follow-up attendance (before and after implementation) were compared at the site (N = 29) that developed and rigorously implemented The Chat. Results Individuals who participated in The Chat (n = 14) attended significantly more intervention visits during weeks 1–12 ( p p p Discussion Proactive discussion of expectations and barriers prior to randomization was associated with greater study attendance. SUD researchers should consider tailoring this approach to suit their needs. Further investigation is warranted.
Grasp taxonomy based on force distribution

Human grasp has been studied extensively and many taxonomies have been developed to classify different grasp types. In this work, we collect a comprehensive list of grasp types and investigate the force distribution patterns among them. We conduct a human study and collect force data in various grasp types. Data collection is performed by utilizing a data glove that has seventeen force sensors. We analyze the measured forces and identify different patterns in force distribution. Employing voting technique over various clustering methods, we propose a robust clustering for the force patterns, namely the grasp taxonomy in force domain. The proposed grasp taxonomy can be exploited in designing robotic prosthetic hands, designing grasp controllers and action recognition in human-robot interaction.
Copula regression models for discrete and mixed bivariate responses

ABSTRACTEstimation of the dependencies between bivariate discrete or mixed responses can be difficult. In this article, we propose a copula-based model with latent variables associated with discrete margins to account for correlations between bivariate discrete responses. Furthermore, we generalize this strategy for jointly modeling the dependencies between mixed responses in regression mixed models. The proposed method allows the adoption of flexible discrete margins and copula functions for various types of data. Maximum likelihood is used for model estimation; particularly, the estimation for bivariate responses in copula-based regression mixed models can be implemented using the SAS PROC NLMIXED procedure via adaptive Gaussian quadrature. In addition, a mixed model with non-Gaussian random effects can also be easily fitted using the same SAS procedure after reformulating the likelihood function by multiplying and dividing by a Gaussian density. Simulation results show good performance for bivariate di...
Exploring Expressive Communication Skills in a Cross-Sectional Sample of Children and Young Adults With Angelman Syndrome.

Purpose This study explores data on expressive communication skills of 300 individuals aged 0.0–21.11 years with Angelman syndrome (AS). These data provide a composite portrait of communication ski...
Toward a Northeast Asian Security Community: Implications for South Korea's Economic Growth

At the beginning of the 1990s, there was a period when most people expected North Korea to collapse soon. To the contrary, North Korea has survived. There remain just a few experts now that argue for North Korea’s downfall in the near future; even with its economy fallen, the North has managed its regime since the 1990s.
The Role of Leadership in Organizational Implementation and Sustainment in Service Agencies

Implementation is posited as a multiphasic process, influenced by a range of factors, within a multilevel context. While there appears to be a general consensus that every implementation initiative...
Well-Being in Rural Appalachia: Age and Gender Patterns Across Five Indicators

Psychological studies often include indicators of physical and mental health as outcomes. However, researchers are now beginning to include a wide range of measures of well-being. The current study uses a cross-sectional community sample from rural Appalachia to examine age and gender trends in traditional outcome measures and in subjective measures of well-being, including health-related quality of life, mental health, positive self-regard, spiritual well-being, and posttraumatic growth. Analyses revealed that while health-related quality of life tends to be lower for older participants, mental health and spiritual well-being tend to be higher for older participants. Positive self-regard showed no significant effects for either age or sex. Curvilinear age effects were seen for health-related quality of life (cubic), spiritual well-being (quadratic), and posttraumatic growth (quadratic), suggesting possible turning points across the lifespan for these indicators of well-being. Significant main effects for sex were seen in health-related quality of life, mental health, and posttraumatic growth, with males reporting better physical and mental health and females reporting higher levels of posttraumatic growth. Intervention and prevention efforts might aim to promote aspects multiple aspects of well-being throughout the lifespan, particularly those aspects that are most stable across age and sex (such as a positive self-regard), and future research could expand upon these patterns to include an older population.
Evaluating the Interface

The hidden-operator experiments described in Chapter 3 tested the underlying behavioral assumptions of our model for language adaptation. The experiments demonstrated that an ideal realization of the model could: 1. Capture the within-user consistency that arises from the frequent user’s natural, self-bounded language. 2. Accommodate the across-user variability arising from idiosyncratic preferences with a single, general, recovery and adaptation mechanism. 3. Provide a more responsive environment than that provided by a static interface with its fixed subset of natural language. Recall, however, that the model itself leaves many aspects of any implementation unspecified; it makes no commitment to a particular generalization method, set of knowledge structures, grammar decomposition, or set of inference procedures. Nor does the model require us to confront the computational complexities that lead to the Single Segment Assumption or the Maximal Subsequence Heuristic.