cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spinal cord injury.

Purpose : This article is an overview of the newer therapeutic interventions employed in the care of the spinal cord injured individual and the theoretical rationale supporting them. Issue : Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) care was, until recently, a maintenance type treatment, addressing systems mostly affected by complications of the original injury (e.g. bladder, skin, spasiticity). Conclusion : With the recent advances in the neuroscience field, more aggressive interventions geared at secondary injury prevention, neuronal regeneration and functional restoration are emerging.
Contact tracing with a Real Time Location System: A Case Study of increasing Relative Effectiveness in the Emergency Department

Purpose: Children, especially neonates and infants, are the most vulnerable group to pertussis infection with adolescent and adults being the major source of infection. Pertussis may result in hospitalization with significant morbidities like pneumonia and acute respiratory distress. Therefore, the Centers for Disease Control provide extensive guidelines for early identification of potential pertussis exposures with proper contact tracing and subsequent management in healthcare settings. However, conventional contact tracing methods are time and …
Management of stage II endometrial cancer and subsequent oncologic outcomes: a National Cancer Database study.

Objective The management of stage II endometrial cancer (EC) is challenging due to the wide variation in surgical practice and adjuvant treatment recommendations. We sought to describe the treatment patterns for patients with stage II EC and to evaluate the association between surgical management and adjuvant therapy on survival outcomes in a large cohort of patients with stage II EC. Methods Using data from the National Cancer Database, we identified 9,690 women with stage II EC. We used logistic regression to identify association of sociodemographic and tumor characteristics with surgery type and receipt of adjuvant therapy. We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between adjuvant therapy, hysterectomy type, and overall survival. Results Almost 11% of the cohort underwent radical hysterectomy; however, there was no difference in survival between surgical types even when adjusted for adjuvant therapy (HR=0.94; 95% CI=0.82-1.07). Compared to no adjuvant treatment, radiation only (HR=0.66; 95% CI=0.61-0.73) and combination radiation and chemotherapy (HR=0.53; 95% CI=0.45-0.62) were associated with lower risk of death. There was no survival benefit of chemotherapy alone even when separated by histologic subtype (HR range, 0.55-1.46). Conclusions Women with stage II EC do not appear to benefit from routine radical hysterectomy though all patients appear to benefit from receipt of radiation therapy (RT), regardless of modality. Additionally, there may be an added survival benefit with the combination of computed tomography and RT in patients with non-endometrioid, high-risk histologies.
Grafted Cinnamoyl-Based Mechanophores for Self-Sensing and Photochemical Healing Capabilities in Epoxy

While understanding of failure mechanisms for polymeric composites has improved vastly over the recent decades, the ability to successfully detect and subsequently prevent early failure has consequ...
Comparison of a traditional systematic review approach with review-of-reviews and semi-automation as strategies to update the evidence

The exponential growth of the biomedical literature necessitates investigating strategies to reduce systematic reviewer burden while maintaining the high standards of systematic review validity and comprehensiveness. We compared the traditional systematic review screening process with (1) a review-of-reviews (ROR) screening approach and (2) a semi-automation screening approach using two publicly available tools (RobotAnalyst and AbstrackR) and different types of training sets (randomly selected citations subjected to dual-review at the title-abstract stage, highly curated citations dually reviewed at the full-text stage, and a combination of the two). We evaluated performance measures of sensitivity, specificity, missed citations, and workload burden The ROR approach for treatments of early-stage prostate cancer had a poor sensitivity (0.54) and studies missed by the ROR approach tended to be of head-to-head comparisons of active treatments, observational studies, and outcomes of physical harms and quality of life. Title and abstract screening incorporating semi-automation only resulted in a sensitivity of 100% at high levels of reviewer burden (review of 99% of citations). A highly curated, smaller-sized, training set (n = 125) performed similarly to a larger training set of random citations (n = 938). Two approaches to rapidly update SRs—review-of-reviews and semi-automation—failed to demonstrate reduced workload burden while maintaining an acceptable level of sensitivity. We suggest careful evaluation of the ROR approach through comparison of inclusion criteria and targeted searches to fill evidence gaps as well as further research of semi-automation use, including more study of highly curated training sets.
Modeling Exsolution of Pt from ATiO3 Perovskites (A = Ca/Sr/Ba) Using First-Principles Methods

Exsolution of transition metals from host perovskites has emerged as a unique synthesis method for designing catalysts for energy applications. Here, using accurate first-principles density functio...
Dimensional Change Card Sorting of American Children: Marginalization-Related Diminished Returns of Age.

Background: While age is associated with an increase in cognitive flexibility and executive functioning as a result of normal development during childhood, less is known about the effect of racial variation in children’s age-related cognitive development. The Marginalization-related Diminished Returns (MDRs) phenomenon suggests that, under racism, social stratification, segregation, and discrimination, individual-level economic and non-economic resources and assets show weaker effects on children’s development for marginalized, racialized, and minoritized families. Aim: We conducted this study to compare racial groups of children for age-related changes in their card sorting abilities. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 10,414 9-10-year-old American children. Data came from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. The independent variable was age, a continuous variable measured in months. The dependent variable was Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) score, which reflected cognitive flexibility, and was measured by the NIH Dimensional Change Card Sort. Ethnicity, sex, parental education, and marital status were the covariates. Results: Older age was associated with higher DCCS score, reflecting a higher card-sorting ability and cognitive flexibility. However, age showed a weaker association with DCCS for Black than for White children. This was documented by a significantly negative interaction between race and age on children’s DCCS scores. Conclusion: Age shows a weaker correlation with the cognitive flexibility of Black than of White children. A similar pattern can be seen when comparing low-income with high-income children. Conceptualizing race as a social factor that alters normal childhood development is a finding that is in line with MDRs. Marginalization due to social stratification and racism interfere with the normal age-related cognitive development of American children.
Cataract Surgery Outcomes in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Positive Patients at a Tertiary Care Academic Medical Center in the United States.

Purpose: To compare cataract surgery complications and visual outcomes in patients with and without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on eyes un...
Foreword to first issue of the Aresty Undergraduate Research Journal

A unique resource for the Rutgers University community, the Aresty Research Center promotes the integral value of research in undergraduate education.This inaugural issue of the journal expands the scope of research activities the Center offers to Rutgers undergraduates to include the peer-reviewed publication process – a crucial element of any structured research activity. Students can engage with the journal in a variety of roles that all professional researchers take at different times – those of the authors of scholarly publications, those of peer reviewers who ensure the quality and soundness of the published work, and those of editors who coordinate the review process.
Coarse-Graining of Observables

We first define the coarse-graining of probability measures in terms of stochastic kernels. We define when a probability measure is part of another probability measure and say that two probability measures coexist if they are both parts of a single probability measure. We then show that any two probability measures coexist. We extend these concepts to observables and instruments and mention that two observables need not coexist. We define the discretization of an observable as a special case of coarse-graining and show that these have \zeroone stochastic kernels. We next consider finite observables and instruments and show that in these cases, stochastic kernels are replaced by stochastic matrices. We also show that coarse-graining is the same as post-processing in this finite case. We then consider sequential products of observables and discuss the sequential product of a post-processed observable with another observable. We briefly discuss SIC observables and the example of qubit observables.
Getting old in the U.S. : Dilemmas of Indo-Americans

Adapting to old age is an arduous task in every society. For Asian immigrants because of drastically different value systems getting old in the U.S. poses a number of dilemmas. For the Indo-American elderly and their families a major dilemma is whether to expect and abide by the value orientation of collectivism or follow the main stream American value of individualism. In this study the ethnographic approach operationalized through Interpretive Interactionism for an understanding of the interaction between the elderly and their families and their overall coping and adaptation process in the United States is presented.
Chapter 12 – Applications

Detailed knowledge of the metabolic pathways brings tangible advances and benefits. Common genetic variants affect many, if not most, of the transporters, binding proteins, enzymes, and regulatory elements of nutrient metabolism and function. The delineation of optimal nutrient intake levels in health and disease is fraught by the sparse scientific information available and by many other uncertainties. A major source of such uncertainty about the health significance of intake levels is the fact that many nutrients interact with each other and work in concert. Procedures for setting recommended intake levels and for defining undesirably high consumption have been adopted by governmental organizations. Much more needs to be done to generate a meaningful evidence base of requirements for most nutrients. The systematic investigation of common modifiers of nutrient requirements in health and disease is particularly urgent. A rapidly growing number of databases list and link everything from the properties of nutritionally important chemicals to all kinds of metabolic and genomic information. These resources are critically important for most nutrition-related research and all serious students of nutrient metabolism need to be familiar with their availability.
Libraries of New York: The Bronx Institute Archives of Lehman College Library

The Bronx Institute Archives is a unique collection of primary and secondary sources assembled to document the history and development of the Bronx. This article describes its various collections, outreach and publicity methods, library support and collection use.
Simplification and abstraction of kinematic behaviors

Efficient problem-solving in any physical domain requires: (1) the ability to ignore irrelevant information by incorporating constraints and assumptions (simplification), and (2) the ability to ignore detail by reasoning at different levels of resolution (abstraction). Existing analysis methods for mechanical devices derive qualitative descriptions of a mechanism's kinematic behavior from the shapes and positions of its parts. Although qualitative, these descriptions provide a single level of abstraction which is exceedingly complex and detailed to automate common analysis and design tasks. This paper presents a set of operators to simplify and abstract kinematic descriptions derived from configuration spaces. The description hierarchy defined by these operators provides a basis for many reasoning tasks, such as mechanism comparison - determining when two mechanisms are kinematically equivalent.
Spasticity over time during acute rehabilitation: a study of patient and clinician scores.

Abstract Aims The aims of this study were to describe spasticity trajectories as a function of time, gender, and diagnosis and to explore the correspondence between patient and clinician scores of spasticity. Background Discrepancy between examiner assessment and patient rating of spasticity exists. Assessments that include the patient perspective are critical for patient safety. This mixed-method study provided patient descriptors of spasticity integrated with clinical scales. Method Twenty-three participants provided spasticity descriptors and rated their spasticity based on Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) scores. A clinician evaluated spasticity daily using the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS). This resulted in 1976 points of data for analysis. Results Spasticity was highly variable over time. The empirical correspondence between the clinician-rated MAS and the patient-rated NRS revealed that patient and examiner understanding of spasticity were diverged considerably. Conclusions Clinical evaluation protocols should include patient reports on spasticity. Knowledge about patient word choice can enhance patient–provider communication.
A Review of: Recovery in Mental Illness: Broadening our Understanding of Wellness

In Recovery in Mental Illness: Broadening our Understanding of Wellness editors Ruth O. Ralph and Patrick W. Corrigan unite the perspectives of 19 mental health scholars in a volume that promotes a...
Correlation between insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-binding protein 5 and IGF-I gene expression during brain development

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-binding proteins (IGFBPs) potently modulate the interactions of IGF-I and -II with the IGF-I receptor. Previous studies have shown that IGFBP2 gene expression is localized in astroglia, where it is anatomically and temporally coordinated with neuronal IGF-I expression during postnatal brain development. The present study shows that IGFBP5 gene expression is also highly abundant during brain development and also demonstrates significant spatiotemporal correlation with IGF-I, but exhibits a neuroanatomical distribution that is entirely distinct from IGFBP2. IGFBP5 and IGF-I mRNAs are synchronously coexpressed in principal neurons of sensory relay systems, including the olfactory bulb, medial and dorsal lateral geniculate bodies, and ventral tier, cochlear, lemniscal, and vestibular nuclei. They are also transiently coexpressed in principal neurons of the anterodorsal nucleus, but IGF-I mRNA disappears from this structure shortly after birth, while IGFBP5 mRNA remains highly abundant here in the adult. IGFBP5 and IGF-I gene expression demonstrate a temporally coordinated laminar association in the developing cerebellar cortex and hippocampal formation. IGF-I mRNA is concentrated in Purkinje cells, while IGFBP5 mRNA is localized in the external germinal zone in the developing cerebellar cortex. IGFBP5 mRNA is transiently expressed in the retrosplenial and cingulate cortex, subiculum, Ammon's horn, and amygdala, while IGF-I mRNA is contemporaneously localized in large interneurons distributed throughout the hippocampal formation. IGFBP5 mRNA is localized in the lateral ventricular germinal zone at birth and remains in the subventricular zone into maturity. It is also detected in forebrain white matter tracts and olfactory nerve from the second week after birth into maturity. Thus IGFBP5, in addition to IGFBP2, may be a significant determinant of IGF action in the brain. Colocalization in some sites and paralocalization with IGF-I in other sites suggests the potential for autocrine and paracrine interaction between the binding protein and IGF-I in different settings. Arguments are advanced suggesting a role for IGFBPs in the targeting of IGF action to specific cell addresses during brain development.
The Demand for Housing Additions: An Empirical Analysis

Little is known of a household's decision to make a housing addition despite the large and growing size of these expenditures. This paper examines this decision in a two-step empirical process: first, those factors that influence the probability of a housing addition are determined, and second, the value of the addition made is analyzed. Preliminary results indicate that unmet housing consumption needs, but not the investment potential of housing additions, have a significant impact on both the probability of an addition and the value of an addition made. Furthermore, ceteris paribus, non-white households have a greater probability of making a housing addition, and on average, spend more on housing additions than do white households.
Globalisation and medicine in Trinidad

In a qualitative study of urban Trinidadians who work in the medical industry, the concept of medical globalization was provisionally analysed. Two research questions were addressed: what is globalization, in the context of mainstream medicine, and how is this process manifested in everyday practices? Four fundamental principles of medical globalization emerged from in-depth interviews and analysis of observational materials: (1) the notion of history as an autonomous force with globalization as the latest stage, (2) the expansion of 'Total Market' philosophy as a driving social force, (3) the fragmentation of society into atomistic, self-interested, and competitive individuals, and (4) the adoption of a 'centralised' set of ideals as the normative core necessary for social order. In this paper, findings from this investigation and their implications are discussed. In particular, medical globalization is linked with major themes in medical sociological theory including dualism and medicalization.
Operation and performance of the CMS silicon tracking detector

Abstract The experiments now operating at the CERN Large Hadron Collider all include large, state of the art silicon detector systems for measuring the trajectories of charged particles from the proton–proton collisions. The CMS silicon tracking detector is the largest silicon tracking detector every built, with almost 10 million microstrip sensor elements and 66 million pixels. It has been operating very successfully since collisions began in late 2009 and the performance is very consistent with the design goals. Results from the early operation will be shown and comments made on the challenges of designing and constructing such systems.
The analysis ofCis-trans fatty acid isomers using gas-liquid chromatography

The geometric isomers of many unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters can be separated using high-resolution gas-liquid chromatography on polyester or Apiezon columns. Separations reported for the geometric isomers of monounsaturated, ricinoleic, linoleic, conjugated, and epoxy fatty acids are reviewed here. New data is presented on the resolution of linolenate geometric isomers on both polyester and Apiezon columns. The separation of methyl oleate and methyl elaidate on a polyester column has also been accomplished. Techniques for preparing and using the high-resolution columns necessary for these separations are reviewed.
WHAT'S IN A NAME? SOME CONFUSIONS AND CONCERNS ABOUT CONSTRUCTIVISM

As discussions about so-called ‘epistemology’ have receded within family therapy, discussions about te doctrine of constructivism have emerged to carry on the underlying impulse of those earlier discussions. This article contends that a constructivist epistemology is not a new doctrine in family therapy, but, rather, reflects a shift in emphasis in that discipline from a nontraditional use to the traditional use of the term “epistemology” uses that coexisted during the ‘epistemology’ debates of the early 1980s and that were the source of many confusions and logical contradictions. The articale also demonstrates how recent articulations of cosnstructivism have resulted in the same logical contradictions tht were committed during the earlier ‘epistemology’; debates. The logic and utility of applying constructivism in particular, and epistemological analysis in general, to the practice of psychotherapy are questioned and considered.
Viral factories in rotavirus-infected cells: interactions between protein and RNA components

Evaluation of: Jiang X, Jayaram H, Kumar M, Ludtke SJ, Estes MK, Prasad BVV: Cryoelectron microscopy structures of rotavirus NSP2-NSP5 and NSP2-RNA complexes: implications for genome replication. J. Virol. 80(21), 10829–10835 (2006). Rotavirus infection leads to the formation of large electron-dense inclusion bodies within the cytoplasm. These inclusions, termed viroplasms, represent viral factories in which the segmented double-stranded RNA genome of rotavirus is replicated and packaged into virion precursors. The two essential building blocks of the viroplasm are the nonstructural protein (NSP)2 octamer, a doughnut-shaped structure with RNA-binding and nucleoside-triphosphatase activities and dimers of the NSP5 phosphoprotein. Through the use of single-particle cryoelectron microscopy and 3D reconstruction, Jiang and colleagues obtained subnanometer images revealing that the two ligands, NSP5 and RNA, competitively bind to deep grooves spanning the surface of the NSP2 octamer. These results represent a ...
DNA base composition and nucleotide distribution among fifteen species of teleostean fishes

Abstract 1. 1. Genomic DNAs were isolated from 15 species of teleostean fishes and examined for % GC (guanine—cytosine base pair) values and nucleotide distributions using thermal denaturation. 2. 2. The % GC values among the species ranged from 37.3 to 41.6; compositional heterogeneity values were relatively uniform and ranged from 8.8 to 13.5; asymmetry values were generally low. 3. 3. Discrete melting components, indicative of blocks of repeated DNA sequences and identified by the presence of shoulders or minor peaks in differential melting rate profiles, were found in only two species. 4. 4. Based on comparable data from other major vertebrate groups, it appears that fish genomes may be organized differently from other vertebrates and that genome evolution in fishes may have proceeded at a slower rate.
Cyclic Colonization in Predictably Ephemeral Habitats: A Template for Biological Control in Annual Crop Systems

Abstract Biological control strategies that were developed for orchards and forests have had limited success in controling pests in annual crop systems (ACSs). In this paper I will argue that an accurate characterization of the habitat template of ACSs will be a key feature for developing new strategies of biological control for field crops. I argue that ACSs are “predictably ephemeral” habitats that present a selective environment that is different from that commonly envisioned for disturbed or early successional habitats. By drawing on examples from natural ecosystems that are predictably ephemeral, I characterize the types of life cycles and life-history traits that are common in insects that thrive in these types of environments. “Fugitive” or “colonizing” species that evolve in unpredictably disturbed environments usually allocate resources to numerous dormant or vagile propagules at the expense of parental survival. In contrast, many insects that exploit predictably ephemeral habitats respond to disturbance by dispersing to permanent refugia where they delay reproduction, overwinter, and then recolonize the following year. I refer to this strategy as “cyclic colonization” and document its ubiquity in natural and agroecosystems. Cyclic colonizers typically exhibit between-generation developmental flexibility in life-history traits. In many species, “establishment generations” have small or no wings, are behaviorally sedentary, grow rapidly, reproduce at an early age, and have high fecundities. In contrast, “overwintering generations” are well adapted for dispersal to and from permanent habitats (long wings, behavioral tendency for flight, reproductively immature) and for winter survival. Cyclic colonizers are not, necessarily “r-selected,” but rather have generations that alternate between relatively r- and K-selected life-history traits. Cyclic colonization explicitly relies on spatial heterogeneity, and therefore, effective biological control strategies in ACSs must include a landscape ethic that provides an abundance of permanent habitats that can act as reservoirs for indigenous and introduced enemies. The development of an optimal agricultural landscape for biological control in ACSs will require a metapopulation approach that focuses on annual cycles of colonization between permanent refugia and a patchwork of crop fields. Finally, given the ubiquity of cyclic colonization in ACSs, it seems that effective biological control will depend on an increased information base about the seasonal cycles, dispersal behavior, and overwintering ecology of indigenous and introduced natural enemies.
Point Processes and Completely Monotone Set Functions

Inherent in the proof of Renyi's Theorem [9] (as observed by Kallenberg [4] and M6nch [8]) is the fact that the distribution of an orderly point process (a process without multiple points) is determined by the zero probability function 4)(B)--P{N(B)=O} (N(B)=number of points in B). It is natural to ask what set functions ~b can arise as zero probability functions of point processes. In this paper we characterize these set functions in terms of a property that can naturally be called complete monotonicity. In his classical paper on capacities [1], Choquet studies a class of set functions which he calls alternating capacities of order infinity. Based on the integral representation of these functions in terms of extremal functions, Choquet observes that a class of these functions can be interpreted as giving the probability that sets intersect a random compact set. The extremal functions are of the form
Effects of multiple courses of antenatal corticosteroids on regional brain and somatic tissue water content in ovine fetuses.

To study the effects of single and multiple courses of antenatal corticosteroids on tissue water content in ovine fetuses. After chronic catheterization of the ewes and fetuses, the ewes were randomly assigned to receive single or multiple courses of dexamethasone or placebo beginning at 104–106 or 76-78 days’ gestation, respectively. In the single course groups, the ewes received dexamethasone (6mg, n = 6) or placebo (n = 6) as four intramuscular injections every 12 hours over 48 hours. The fetal tissues were harvested for water content determination 66 hours after the first injection of dexamethasone or placebo was given. In the multiple-course groups, the ewes received the same treatment (dexamethasone, n = 10, or placebo, n - 8), once a week for 5 weeks starting at 76–78 days’ gestation. In these groups, the tissues were harvested 66 hours after the first the injection of the fifth and last treatment course. In both groups, tissues were harvested at 106-107 days’ gestation. Tissue water content was determined by wet-to-dry weight ratio in brain (cerebral cortex, caudate nucleus, cerebellum, midbrain, and medulla) and somatic tissues (kidney, liver, muscle, and skin). Water content in the brain regions (cerebellum and medulla) was lower (P <.05) in fetuses of dexamethasone-treated ewes than placebo-treated ewes after the multiple course but not the single course. Water content of somatic tissue was lower (P <.05) in fetuses of dexamethasone-treated ewes than placebo-treated ewes after the multiple courses, and in the liver after a single course. Dexamethasone treatment of ewes at 70% of gestation results in decreased regional brain water content in the fetuses after multiple but not single treatment courses, in somatic tissues (kidney, liver, muscle, and skin) after multiple courses, and in the liver after a single course. (J Soc Gynecol Investig 2004;11:166-74)
Development of alcohol/O2 biofuel cells using salt-extracted tetrabutylammonium bromide/Nafion membranes to immobilize dehydrogenase enzymes

Abstract Quaternary ammonium bromide salt-treated Nafion membranes provide an ideal environment for enzyme immobilization. Because these quaternary ammonium bromide salt-treated Nafion membranes retain the physical properties of Nafion and increase the mass transport of ions and neutral species through the membrane, they are also ideal for modifying electrodes. Therefore, high current density bioanodes are formed from poly(methylene green) (an electrocatalyst for NADH) modified electrodes that have been coated with a layer of tetrabutylammonium bromide salt-treated Nafion with dehydrogenase enzymes immobilized within the layer. Ethanol/O2 biofuel cells employing these bioanodes have yielded power densities of 1.16 mW/cm2 with a single-enzyme system (alcohol dehydrogenase) and 2.04 mW/cm2 with a double-enzyme system (alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase) in the polymer layer. Methanol/O2 biofuel cells employing these bioanodes have yielded power densities of 1.55 mW/cm2 and open circuit potentials of 0.71 V.
Reversed-phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatographic procedure for determination of histamine and its metabolites in rat urine

Abstract A reversed-phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatographic procedure for quantitative determination of histamine and its metabolites in rat urine is described. This method allows simultaneous analysis of five major histamine metabolites. Good separations were obtained by using 1-epntanesulfonic acid as the ion-pair reagent. A gradient elution program was used; the total elution time was less than 22 min. Linear standard curves with high correlation coefficients were obtained. This procedure has the advantage of requiring little sample preparation time and handling, and therefore maximizes the recovery of metabolites.
Image Quality For Discrete-Element Displays: Variables , Metrics And Measurements

Several techniques have been developed and successfully used to measure the imaging quality of cathode ray tubes but, unfortunately, there are no generally accepted techniques for measuring the imaging quality of discrete element displays. This tutorial style paper considers the historical and state-of-the-art aspects of both raster-scanned type displays and discrete-element type displays in an attempt to delineate the metrics used to specify the required static and dynamic characteristics of electro-optical displays. At the theoretical level as well as the practical level, there seems to be only a few metrics which are not applicable to both types of displays. Therefore, the basic recommendation is that a technology-independent methodology be pursued for specifying and measuring the imaging quality of electro-optical displays. The basis for such a methodology is proposed which uses empirical, psychophysical and direct techniques, or a combination thereof, for the metrics and measurement.
Ephrin A2 may play a role in axon guidance during hair cell regeneration.

Objective: Hair cell regeneration in the avian cochlea is accompanied by frequency specific reinnervation and recovery of physiologic function. The molecular cues that guide ganglion cells to tonotopically appropriate new hair cells have not been identified. We investigated the potential of ephrin A2 in this process. Study Design: Ephrin A2 expression was characterized in acoustic ganglion cells of normal and gentamicin-treated early post hatch chicks. Methods: Ephrin A2 expression was determined by Western analysis of total protein isolated from acoustic ganglia in normal animals. Protein localization was characterized by fluorescence immunohistochemisty in sections of acoustic ganglia of normal and gentamicin treated animals. Patterns of ephrin A2 expression in acoustic ganglia were determined and quantified during hair cell regeneration. Results: Ephrin A2 expression was found in acoustic ganglia by Western analysis. Localization of this protein by immunofluoresence revealed its presence in acoustic ganglion cells in normal chicks. After gentamicin treatment, ephrin A2 expression was lost in a subset of acoustic ganglion cells. The spatial and temporal pattern of ephrin A2 loss coincides with the pattern of hair cell loss and regeneration. Conclusions: The changes in ephrin A2 immunoreactivity in acoustic ganglion cells during cochlear damage and regeneration suggests that ephrin A2 may be involved in the guidance of ganglion cells to tonotopically appropriate hair cell targets during regeneration. Ephrin A2 in hair cell regeneration.
Fungal Morphogenesis: Cell Wall Construction in Mucor rouxii

An autoradiographic study revealed two different patterns of cell wall constructioni associated with two types of morphogenesis in Mucor rouxii. In hyphae, the cell wall was preferentially synthesized in the apical region; these cylindrical walls seemed to be generated by a sharply descending gradient of wall synthesis radiating from the apex. In spherical cells (germinating spores, yeast cells), wall formation occurred largely, if not entirely, in uniformly dispersed fashion over the entire cell periphery.
Spectral-spatial two-dimensional EPR imaging

Abstract EPR imaging with one spectral dimension and one spatial dimension can be achieved by obtaining spectra at a series of magnetic field gradients, followed by the use of a convoluted back-projection image reconstruction algorithm. The concept is demonstrated with samples of organic radicals, including those that exhibit hyperfine structure in the fluid solution EPR spectra.
A flow pattern that sustains an edge flame in a straining mixing layer with finite thermal expansion

Abstract The role of thermal expansion in diffusion edge flames is investigated numerically in the strained mixing layer configuration. We are able to access both the positive as well as the negative edge flame speed regime when density variation, and therefore full hydrodynamic coupling, is present. The computational approach employs a homotopy method to gradually map the solutions from the computationally simpler constant-density flow to the more challenging variable-density case. Particular attention is paid to the role of boundary conditions and how they, in turn, can induce an undesirable streamwise pressure gradient in the trailing diffusion flame that affects the edge flame speed. A new approach is designed to eliminate this adverse pressure gradient. Previous studies observe that the ratio of the edge flame speed to the premixed stoichiometric laminar flame velocity scales approximately as the square root of the ratio of the cold stream density to the stoichiometric density (which is lower). At least for the small set of parameters investigated here, it is found that the speedup of the normalized edge flame velocity might be superlinear on the density ratio, a fact we attribute to the lack of pressure gradient behind the edge flame. This result is new and complements previous results, for different boundary conditions, which strongly suggest that the edge flame speed is a strong function of the particular hydrodynamic boundary conditions employed in the simulations.
Positive cotranscriptional regulation of intestinal calbindin-D28K gene expression by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and glucocorticoids.

The steroid hormone 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25-(OH)2D3] induces expression of the gene encoding calbindin- D28K, a protein involved in intestinal Ca2+ transport. Glucocorticoids stimulate intestinal development and function, and presumed interaction with 1,25-(OH)2D3 has been intensively studied. Most studies involved administration of high doses of glucocorticoids in vivo, which inhibits intestinal Ca2+ transport by an unknown mechanism. However, it is now known from studies of the duodenal organ culture model that low concentrations of glucocorticoids enhance l,25-(OH)2D3-dependent calbindin- D28K biosynthesis and Ca2+ transport. High concentrations mimic the action of administered glucocorticoids in vivo, suggesting that a distinct pharmacological or toxic mechanism causes inhibition of Ca2+ absorption. This report further shows that dexamethasone (DEX) rapidly enhanced calbindin-D28K gene expression, that is de novo calbindin-D28K mRNA biosynthesis. DEX also markedly reduced the actions of RNA and...
Catalytic defects at molybdenum disulfide “edge” planes

Abstract Chemical and physical studies of molybdenum disulfide show that the extreme anisotropy which dominates the bulk properties of this layered compound is also very important in the understanding of surface properties. We observe that the basal surfaces in single crystals are chemically and optically inert. The edge surfaces are highly reactive to both oxygen and metallic impurities. Photoemission spectroscopy and optical absorption show that the edge surfaces have electronic states within the forbidden gap. The density of these surface defects is correlated with the hydrodesulfurization catalytic activity.
GROWTH, ROOT ALTERATION, AND NUTRIENT UPTAKE OF NEEM TREE (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) SEEDLINGS IN RESPONSE TO VESICULAR-ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI AND PHOSPHORUS NUTRITION

SUMMARY Growth and nutrient uptake of neem tree (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) seedlings were studied in response to vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi Glomus intraradices Schenck and Smith, and 2 levels of phosphorus (P). Extensive VAM colonization in neem roots occurred at both P levels: 0.65 and 1.30 mM P. Growth of VAM plants at both P levels was similar, while growth of noncolonized (Non-VAM) plants increased with increasing P supply. At the low P level, VAM plants had greater leaf area, shoot, root and leaf dry weight, and a greater root: shoot ratio than Non-VAM plants. Low P, VAM plants had a greater leaf area and root dry weight and a comparable leaf and shoot dry weight and root: shoot ratio, when compared with high P, Non-VAM plants. VAM inoculation also altered dry mass partitioning to root systems resulting in greater root length and dry weight of suberized roots in VAM plants. The length of nonsuberized roots increased with increasing P supply regardless of VAM inoculation. VAM inocu...
Compressive failure strengths and modes of woven S2-glass reinforced polyester due to quasi-static and dynamic loading

Abstract The failure strengths and modes of the woven S2-glass reinforced polyester thick laminate are characterized through a comprehensive set of experiments. Compression strength tests in different directions were performed, and optical and scanning electron microscopy studies of the fractured specimen surfaces were conducted. The failure modes are complex involving a combination of failure mechanisms. The failure stresses and strains in the ply lay-up direction were higher than those in the plane of the lamina. The material's dynamic response was determined using both the split Hopkinson pressure bar and the direct disk impact techniques. The material was found to be significantly strain rate sensitive.
Classification of Pathogenic Escherichia coli According to Serotype and the Production of Virulence Factors, with Special Reference to Colonization-Factor Antigens

Multiple criteria are required to classify Escherichia coli isolates according to pathogenic grouping. There are three groups associated with intestinal illness. Acute watery diarrhea is the hallmark of enterotoxigenic E. coli, the majority of which belong to a small set of specific serotypes harboring plasmids encoding for the production of heat-stable enterotoxin and/or heat-labile enterotoxin and also for a fimbrial colonization-factor antigen. Bacterial dysentery is caused by specific, nonmotile Shigella-like E. coli serogroups identifiable by the property of tissue invasiveness. Specific virulence factors have not been defined for the traditional enteropathogenic E. coli serogroups, although the ability to colonize and overgrow the intestine appears to be of primary importance in this group. E. coli associated with extraintestinal infections generally belong to serogroups and serotypes other than those noted above; the virulence factors of these E. coli include polysaccharide capsular antigens, hemolysin, and fimbrial colonization factors that are antigenically complex and different from those of the enterotoxigenic E. coli.
Some things cannot be separated: intersectionality in the lives of black women activists in Salvador, Brazil

This article critically examines gender within black movement organizations in Salvador, Bahia Brazil. Based upon interviews conducted with black activists in 1998 and subsequent conversations, the article discusses black women's experiences within anti-racist, black movement organizations. In discussions on formative racial experiences, female activists – more often than male activists – directly linked race and gender and maintained that ‘some things cannot be separated’. These women came into their political consciousness because of the intersectionality of race, class, and gender and more specifically because of their experiences and particular locations as black, primarily poor, females. Black female activists critique anti-racist social movements and male activists in particular when they do not address racism and sexism simultaneously
Evaluation of need for salvage continence procedures after failed modern staged repair.

Objectives To assess our experience with salvage continence procedures in patients with bladder exstrophy. Methods We retrospectively reviewed our surgical records of patients with bladder exstrophy who had undergone failed modern staged repair elsewhere and underwent salvage continence operations at our institute from 1996 to 2008. Results A total of 16 patients had undergone salvage continence operations. Bladder augmentation was performed in 11 patients (68.8%); 14 children (87.5%) received a continent, catheterizable stoma. In 6 children (37.5%) bladder neck injections were done. Three patients (18.8%) underwent bladder neck closure combined with other reconstructive procedures. A total of 49 continence procedures were performed, with an average of 3.06 per patient. We included all 16 children >5 years. After these operations, 13 of 16 (81.3%) became continent. Two children were able to void spontaneously and were dry day and night (12.5%). Of the remaining 14 patients, all of whom used clean intermittent catheterization, 11 (68.7%) were continent during the day and night with augmentation and/or a catheterizable stoma. Three patients were incontinent (18.7%). Conclusions Although the need to perform salvage continence procedures after failed bladder modern staged repair is high, when patients are appropriately selected, continence can be achieved eventually.
The Emergence of a Greater China and Its Impact on World Trade: A Computable General Equilibrium Analysis

This article investigates the effects of economic integration of the Chinese Economic Area (CEA), embracing Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China by a 16-region, 21-sector computable general equilibrium model for world production and trade. The simulation results demonstrate that the three Chinese economies would benefit greatly from further integration by means of liberalizing trade policies. The opportunity cost of isolating the United States from East Asia is high for both the United States and the three Chinese economies and suggests that an economically integrated and politically stable CEA is in the long-term strategic interest of the United States. J. Comp. Econ., September 2002, 30(3), pp. 531–566. School of Computational Sciences, George Mason University, 1800 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036-5831; and Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, 300 Humphery Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455. © 2002 Association for Comparative Economic Studies. Published by Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: C68, D58, F02.
“Microcanals” for micropipette access to single cells in microfluidic environments

We demonstrate the fabrication and operation of “microcanals” (i.e. open-air microfluidic channels without a roof), which enable micropipette manipulation and probing of cells within a microfluidic environment. The microcanal devices are fabricated in PDMS on glass substrates using a PDMS membrane transferring technique. Here we show patch-clamp electrophysiological recording and intracellular dye injection performed on cells seeded in microcanals.
Palladium-catalyzed methylation of aryl C-H bond by using peroxides.

A novel Pd(OAc)2-catalyzed methylation reaction by dicumyl peroxide via aryl C−H bond activation was discovered. Various 2-phenylpyridine and acetanilides can be used as reactants in these reactions. Peroxide was used as both the methylating reagent and the hydrogen acceptor.
Determination of 3-mercaptopyruvate in rabbit plasma by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract Accidental or intentional cyanide poisoning is a serious health risk. The current suite of FDA approved antidotes, including hydroxocobalamin, sodium nitrite, and sodium thiosulfate is effective, but each antidote has specific major limitations, such as large effective dosage or delayed onset of action. Therefore, next generation cyanide antidotes are being investigated to mitigate these limitations. One such antidote, 3-mercaptopyruvate (3-MP), detoxifies cyanide by acting as a sulfur donor to convert cyanide into thiocyanate, a relatively nontoxic cyanide metabolite. An analytical method capable of detecting 3-MP in biological fluids is essential for the development of 3-MP as a potential antidote. Therefore, a high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS-MS) method was established to analyze 3-MP from rabbit plasma. Sample preparation consisted of spiking the plasma with an internal standard (13C3-3-MP), precipitation of plasma proteins, and reaction with monobromobimane to inhibit the characteristic dimerization of 3-MP. The method produced a limit of detection of 0.1 μM, a linear dynamic range of 0.5–100 μM, along with excellent linearity (R2 ≥ 0.999), accuracy (±9% of the nominal concentration) and precision (