cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of radiographic predictors of left heart enlargement in dogs with known or suspected cardiovascular disease.

Radiographic assessment of heart size is important for clinical management of dogs with cardiovascular disease (CVDz). We sought to compare the ability of vertebral heart size (VHS), vertebral left atrial size (VLAS), and radiologists' assessment of left atrial size (RadLAE) to predict echocardiographic left atrial size (EchoLAE), an important marker of left heart disease severity. We also compared the ability of VHS and VLAS to predict echocardiographic criteria for ACVIM stage B2 (EchoB2) in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD). This prospective observational study enrolled 183 dogs with known or suspected CVDz that had an echocardiographic examination and thoracic radiographs obtained within 24 h. Compared to increased VHS, VLAS >2.3 was a more accurate predictor of EchoLAE (P = .002). VLAS >2.3 and RadLAE (both P 2.3 vertebrae (sensitivity [Sn] = 90.3%, specificity [Sp] = 73.6%) and >11.1 vertebrae (Sn = 75.8%, Sp = 76.0%), respectively. Diagnostic accuracy of VLAS (AUC 0.84, 95% CI 0.73-0.92) and VHS (AUC 0.78, 95% CI 0.66-0.88) to predict EchoB2 in dogs with subclinical MMVD (n = 64) were not significantly different (P = .17). Results demonstrate that VLAS and RadLAE were superior indicators of EchoLAE compared to VHS in dogs with known or suspected CVDz. Both VLAS and VHS are useful predictors of EchoB2 in dogs with subclinical MMVD. When echocardiography is unavailable, VLAS represents a useful radiographic measurement to aid clinical management of dogs with known or suspected CVDz.
Do Ethnicity and Occupational Status Interact to Influence Anxiety? An Investigation of Anxiety in Emergency Responders

Although anxiety is a universal emotion, some of the most severe job-related levels of anxiety are among emergency responder occupations, jeopardizing their well being and positive job performance. The literature suggests that certain ethnic groups report higher levels of anxiety than other ethnic groups. Using Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress, this study examines whether ethnicity predicts differing anxiety levels across occupations. We sampled emergency and non-emergency responders in the state of Texas in the USA. The strongest positive relationship between occupational status and anxiety was observed for Hispanics compared with non-Hispanics. However, the findings reveal no significant effect between Hispanic ethnicity and anxiety. Our findings show that ethnicity may explain the differences in experienced anxiety across occupations. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Efficient Nucleophilic Radiofluorination of Aryl Chlorides, Aryl Triflates and Nitroarenes with In-Situ NMe418F Under Ambient Air

1121 Objectives: We have developed a method for simple and efficient nucleophilic radiofluorination of aryl chlorides, aryl triflates and nitroarenes using in-situ generated tetramethylammonium 18F-fluoride (NMe418F) under ambient air. This method is compatible with a wide range of functional groups and applied to prepare 18F-labeled HQ-415 (a radioligand chelating metal-protein aggregates) for further preclinical PET studies. Methods: [18F]fluoride was produced from 18O-enriched target water via proton beam bombardment in the cyclotron, trapped on a QMA cartridge and eluted as K18F. Once azeotropically dried, a K18F solution was prepared. To a solution of aryl-X (X = Cl, OTf, NO2) with excessive tetramethylammonium salts (NMe4X), a K18F aliquot was added. The reaction vial was heated to form in situ NMe418F and to convert 30 different aryl-X substrates (including 2 bioactive molecules) to aryl-18F products under ambient conditions (Scheme 1). The reaction was showcased in the automated synthesis of 2-18F-quinoline (2-18F-Quin) and the manual synthesis of 18F-HQ415. Activity yield (AY), radiochemical purity (RCY), and molar activity (Am) were determined by Capintec-dose calibrator, radio-TLC, and analytical HPLC, respectively. Results: Nucleophilic radiofluorination of aryl-X (X = Cl, OTf, NO2) with in situ NMe418F generated aryl-18F products in up to 98% TLC RCY (n>3, 30 different aryl-X substrates, Scheme 1). Initial automated synthesis was conducted with 2-Cl-Quin and afforded 2-18F-Quin in 30 ± 3 % automated RCY (n=2) or, by incorporating semi-preparative HPLC purification, 14 ± 2 % isolated decay-corrected AY, and high Am (5.6 ± 1 Ci/µmol) (n=2). Subsequently the method was applied to the manual synthesis of 18F-HQ415. Subjecting Boc-protected Cl-HQ415 precurosr to the optimized radiofluorination conditions, followed by Boc-deprotection with 2M HCl, yielded 18F-HQ415 in 56 ± 3 % (n=3) RCY. Development of an automated synthesis of 18F-HQ415 and qualification of the synthesis for preclinical use is underway. Conclusions: We successfully developed a facile method for efficient nucleophilic radiofluorination of aryl chlorides, aryl triflates and nitroarenes using NMe418F. The NMe418F was easily generated in situ from K18F under ambient air. The method has been applied to a variety of pyridine and quinoline derived substrates including bioactive molecules such as the promising PET radioligand 18F-HQ415. Overall, this operationally simple and reliable process under ambient conditions has high potential for the late-stage radiofluorination of bioactive molecules. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by NIH (R01EB021155) and DOE (DE-SC0012484).
Peer preferences and characteristics of same-group and cross-group social interactions among autistic and non-autistic adolescents.

Social interaction is inherently bidirectional, but research on autistic peer interactions often frames communication as unidirectional and in isolation from the peer context. This study investigat...
Heterogeneous Integration of a Compact Universal Photonic Engine for Silicon Photonics Applications in HPC

One of the prominent challenges for widespread adoption of silicon photonics (SiPh) technology is the availability of an integration platform that can simultaneously meet a wide range of power, performance, and cost criteria in different applications. As a result, there is a diversity of SiPh integrated solutions proposed or demonstrated, but none is considered as a common solution. In this paper, we will first survey industry proposed photonic engine structures in monolithic and heterogeneous integration on their strengths and weaknesses. We will then propose a compact and universal PE structure - COUPE (COmpact Universal Photonic Engine) that could consolidate different requirements onto the same integration platform. COUPE has the electrical IC – photonic IC integration with the electrical interface designed to minimize the EIC-PIC coupling loss. Compared with industry proposed PE technology, COUPE can provide low insertion loss for both grating coupler (GC) and edge coupler (EC). For either GC or EC, the COUPE is a solid structure without cavities or mechanically weak parts, thus enabling low insertion loss without contamination or mechanical concerns. COUPE also has the flexibility to be integrated easily with host ASIC to form a co-package structure. The COUPE integration scheme can meet the most demanding system requirements and pave the way for SiPh-based wafer level system integration (WLSI) for high performance computing applications.
Theme-Based Book Review: Definition and Measurement

Accountability has long been a topic of interest in public administration circles. It is reasonable that the public should be aware of what government does; government agencies should be answerable...
Correlation symmetry analysis of electron nanodiffraction from amorphous materials.

Abstract Angular symmetry in diffraction reflects rotational symmetry in the sample. We introduce the angular symmetry coefficient as a method to extract local symmetry information from electron nanodiffraction patterns of amorphous materials. Symmetry coefficients are the average of the angular autocorrelation function at the characteristic angles of a particular rotational symmetry. The symmetry coefficients avoid non-structural features arising from Fourier transformation and Friedel symmetry breakdown that affect the angular power spectrum approach to determining angular symmetries in amorphous nanodiffraction. Both methods require thin samples to avoid overlapping diffraction from clusters of atoms separated in the thickness of the sample, but symmetry coefficients are more forgiving. Electron nanodiffraction experiments on a Pd-based metallic glass sample demonstrate both potentially misleading information in angular power spectrum and the utility of symmetry coefficients.
John Lydgate and the Making of Public Culture: Spectacular culture: the Roman triumph

In 1432, having been crowned in both England and France, Henry VI returned to his native soil to take up his reign as an adult. The minority, for which Lydgate had written so much and such varied verse, was officially over, though Henry VI would continue to be carefully supervised as he exercised his royal will. The citizens of London greeted their king with a lavish display as he processed through the streets, and unsurprisingly, one of the most vivid records we have of that occasion is a poem written by Lydgate, titled by MacCracken “Henry VI's Triumphal Entry into London.” The entry itself was one of the most splendid to have been mounted in England, in part as compensation for English losses in France, and in part to reassert the authority of the young king after a protracted absence. Lydgate's poem is a mediated account of the events of the day; most likely written after the fact, it describes in detail the various pageants and tableaux that Henry VI encountered in his procession through London. The poem has attracted a certain amount of critical attention, as scholars have come to recognize that the royal entry was a crucial means by which medieval kings represented themselves to their subjects, a highly ordered and sophisticated cultural practice through which monarchical power was elaborated and constructed.
Dose-response association of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity with cardiovascular biomarkers and all-cause mortality: Considerations by individual sports, exercise and recreational physical activities.

Abstract Background Previous research demonstrates that moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is associated with reduced all-cause mortality risk. Our understanding of whether individual physical activities are associated with all-cause mortality is less understood. Methods Data from the 1999–2006 NHANES were employed, with follow-up through 2011. 48 different individual physical activities (e.g., swimming, running, bicycling) were assessed, and total MVPA MET-min-month was calculated based on their responses to these 48 individual physical activities. Results Greater engagement in MVPA was associated with more favorable cardiovascular biomarkers, particularly for men. Even after adjustment for total MVPA, different individual physical activities were associated with cardiovascular biomarkers across gender. When compared to those not meeting guidelines (0–1999 MVPA MET-min-month), a dose–response association between MVPA and mortality was observed, with those engaging in 5 times the guideline level having the lowest risk of all-cause mortality (45% reduced risk). There was no evidence of a harmful effect of very high MVPA (e.g., 20,000 + MVPA MET-min-month). Conclusions Engaging in MVPA even below the minimum recommendation was associated with survival benefits, and the greatest survival effects occurred at a dose of approximately 5 times the minimum recommendation. Although very high levels (e.g., 10 times the minimum recommendation) of self-reported MVPA did not demonstrate the greatest survival effects, high levels of physical activity did not appear to have harmful effects.
Forensic geology exhumed

Forensic geology binds applied geology to the world of legal controversy and action. However, the term “forensic” is often misconstrued. Although even some attorneys apply it only to the marshalling of evidence in criminal cases, it has a much broader definition. One dictionary defines it as “pertaining to, connected with, or used in courts of law or public discussion and debate.” The American Geological Institute's Glossary of Geology defines forensic geology as “the application of the Earth sciences to the law.” The cited reference to Murray and Tedrow [1975], however, deals mostly if not exclusively with the gathering and use of evidence in criminal cases, despite the widespread involvement of geologists in more general legal matters. It seems appropriate to “exhume” geology's wider application to the law, which is encompassed by forensic geology.
Induction of Lipomyces starkeyi Dextranase.

Lipomyces starkeyi ATCC 20825 is a derepressed mutant derived from L. starkeyi ATCC 12659. It requires the presence of an inducer before it produces dextranase. This study was undertaken to determine the most efficient, commercially feasible method for inducing this enzyme. The following compounds induced dextranase synthesis: 1-O-β-methyl-glucopyranoside, 1-O-α-methyl-glucopyranoside, dextran, isomaltopentose, isomaltotetraose, isomaltotriose, and isomaltose. 1-O-β-Methyl-glucopyranoside was found to be a gratuitous inducer. Early in the growth phase, cells produced higher specific levels of enzyme than they did in late log phase. The length of exposure of the yeast cells to the inducer also affected the amount of dextranase produced. The maximum amount of enzyme was produced after 12 h of exposure to the inducer. The saturation concentration was the same for all inducers tested, i.e., approximately 1 mg of inducer for every 2 × 108 cells.
A Tutorial on Pronunciation Modeling for Large Vocabulary Speech Recognition

Automatic speech recognition (ASR) research has progressed from the recognition of read speech to the recognition of spontaneous conversational speech in the past decade, prompting some in the field to re-evaluate ASR pronunciation models and their role of capturing the increased phonetic variability within unscripted speech. Two basic approaches for modeling pronunciation variation have emerged: encoding linguistic knowledge to pre-specify possible alternative pronunciations of words and deriving alternatives directly from a pronunciation corpus. This tutorial is intended to ground the reader in the basic linguistic concepts in phonetics and phonology that guide both of these techniques and to outline several pronunciation modeling strategies that have been employed through the years. The chapter will conclude with a summary of some promising recent research directions.
Coring Social Studies within Corporate Education Reform: The Common Core State Standards, Social Justice, and the Politics of Knowledge in U.S. Schools

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) have been adopted in 45 U.S. states. Driven by a wide coalition that includes both major U.S. political parties, the business elite, for-profit education corporations, cultural conservatives, and both major U.S. teachers’ unions, the CCSS have mainly garnered glowing praise in mainstream U.S. media and widespread acceptance amongst political figures and public school districts nationwide. This paper undertakes a critical analysis of the origins and political tensions found within the CCSS, arguing that the CCSS will inevitably lead to restrictive high-stakes, standardized testing similar to that associated with No Child Left Behind. Further this paper specifically examines the treatment of the social studies within the context of CCSS and questions the likely outcomes of the recently drafted College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards within the current political and cultural context of the United States.
Relationships among Some Conservative Discretization Methods

Relationships among various mass-conservative discretization techniques for equations of the type -Δ. Krp = q on distorted logically rectangular meshes are discussed. The case of heterogeneous, anisotropic K is important for applications to subsurface porous media, in particular the groundwater flow equation and the pressure equation of petroleum reservoir simulation. Some methods are based on K itself, others on K -1. Within one of these groups, mass lumping and quadrature can be keys to understanding connections between methods; incomplete inversion of the mass matrix is useful in relating one group to the other.
The Uncoupling of Photophosphorylation by Valinomycin and Ammonium Chloride

Abstract 1. Ammonium chloride is a poor uncoupler of photophosphorylation in subchloroplast particles. In the presence of valinomycin the inhibition of photophosphorylation by NH4Cl is greatly enhanced. 2. The enhancement of the ammonium chloride uncoupling of phosphorylation by valinomycin was less pronounced in chloroplasts than in subchloroplast particles. 3. The light-dependent uptake of ammonium ions by chloroplasts was abolished by valinomycin which also caused a rapid release of the ions accumulated during illumination. The uptake of ammonium ions in subchloroplast particles was only 5 to 10% of that in chloroplasts, whereas phosphorylation in subchloroplast particles was generally about 50% of that in chloroplasts. 4. The light-dependent uptake of hydrogen ions by chloroplasts, assayed in the presence or absence of ammonium chloride, was not affected by valinomycin. In subchloroplast particles, valinomycin had no effect on hydrogen ion uptake in the absence of ammonium chloride. In the presence of this uncoupler, valinomycin enhanced hydrogen ion uptake. 5. The uncoupling of ferricyanide-dependent phosphorylation in subchloroplast particles by ethylamine was not affected by valinomycin. In the presence of valinomycin, the inhibition of phosphorylation by ammonium chloride was partly relieved by ethylamine. 6. These results are interpreted in view of the chemiosmotic theory of oxidative phosphorylation. It is proposed that phosphorylation in chloroplasts is dependent upon a hydrogen ion gradient. In subchloroplast particles, however, a membrane potential may be required for adenosine triphosphate synthesis.
An introduction to nonlinear analysis of fuzzy control systems

While the design methodology for fuzzy controllers has proven itself in certain commercial and industrial applications, there is a significant need to perform mathematical analysis of fuzzy control systems prior to implementationc (i) to verify and certify their behavior so that, for example, instabilities can be avoided for applications demanding highly reliable operation such as aircraft and nuclear reactor control, and (ii) to provide insight to the expert on how to modify the fuzzy controller to guarantee that performance specifications are met (e.g., to guarantee a specified rise-time or the absence of steady state tracking error). In this paper we provide a survey of, and an introduction to the area of nonlinear analysis of fuzzy control systems. We begin by overviewing several approaches to stability analysis including Lyapunov's Direct and Indirect Methods, and the Circle Criterion. We provide examples to illustrate how to design stable fuzzy control systems and test for stability, including an application of Lyapunov's direct method to Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy systems. Next, we introduce the idea of analyzing the steady state tracking error of a class of fuzzy control systems and provide examples of how to predict and reduce steady state error. Finally, we provide an introduction to the use of the describing function technique for the prediction of the existence, frequency, amplitude, and stability of limit cycles. We provide examples of limit cycle analysis and show how to design fuzzy controllers to avoid limit cycles. While our primary objective is to provide a control-theoretic introduction to, and survey of approaches to nonlinear analysis of fuzzy control systems where we utilize several existing results and provide useful tutorial examples, in the process we actually make contributions by providing, for example, the first results that show how to analyze steady state tracking error for fuzzy control systems.
Fluorine‐19 NMR

The chemical shifts and spin–spin coupling constants of fluorine are described. The theoretical calculations of fluorine NMR parameters are reviewed. The special experimental requirements of fluorine NMR are considered. Applications of fluorine NMR spectroscopy to the study of biochemical, and pharmaceutical problems are discussed. Keywords: chemical shifts; spin–spin coupling; polymers; pharmaceuticals; 2-D methods; isotope effects; imaging; biochemical tracers
A structure-based method for derivation of all-atom potentials for protein folding.

A method for deriving all-atom protein folding potentials is presented and tested on a three-helix bundle protein, as well as on hairpin and helical sequences. The potentials obtained are composed of a contact term between pairs of atoms, and a local density term for each atom, mimicking solvent exposure preferences. Using this potential in an all-atom protein folding simulation, we repeatedly folded the three-helix bundle, with the lowest energy conformations having a Cα distance rms from the native structure of less than 2 Å. Similar results were obtained for the hairpin and helices by using different potentials. We derived potentials for several different proteins and found a high correlation between the derived parameters, suggesting that a potential of this form eventually could be found that folds multiple, unrelated proteins at the atomic level of detail.
A knowledge-based system for fault diagnosis and maintenance of advanced automated systems

Abstract A knowledge-based system for diagnosis & maintenance of robotic systems has been designed which may also serve as a training tool for maintenance personnel. The system uses a Group Technology (GT) approach for fault classification and analysis. A simple user interface leads the user through a consultation phase in order to arrive at a diagnosis. It then recommends corrective actions and a simple test procedure to verify that the robot will perform satisfactorily after the repairs.
Associative storage of multiple image patterns in a feedback neural network

A feedback neural network (FBNN) can be triggered by ANY input analog pattern vector. Then depending on the domain-of-convergence (or domain-of-attraction in the languages of nonlinear systems) that this triggering pattern falls into, the FBNN will go around and around the feedback loop and finally settle down at one of the few designated patterns associatively stored in the connection matrix. This recalled (or the settle-down) pattern will stay at the output even when the input triggering pattern is removed because of the self-sustained feedback action of the FBNN. The triggering pattern does not have to be the same as the stored pattern that it recalls. It can be a noise-affected pattern. But as long as it falls within the designated noise range (or the designated domain of convergence) of an accurately stored pattern, that accurate pattern will be recalled and permanently appear at the output even when the input triggering is removed. This paper derives, from the principle of NONITERATIVE LEARNING, the basic design method of this FBNN with controlled domains-of-convergence taken into account in the design.© (2003) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Experiential learning: Lean team at Virginia Tech

Experiential learning has not yet found the attention it deserves in academic teaching. This paper describes a successful way to teach students highly complex subjects using experiential learning methods. To teach Lean, Virginia Tech students have created a student-driven, faculty supported team who conducts lean transformation events at cooperating companies, conducts industry workshop to teach Lean, and uses self-guided learning to improve team member performance and knowledge. Results show that students are highly motivated and become self-driven agents through the opportunity to be a member of a high performing team and to contribute to the team's success. When graduating, students remain connected to the team and continue to contribute and participate in the team's activities.
Secret Science Fiction

Science fiction prototypes let us explore the futures we want to live in, but, more importantly, they help us explore the futures we want to avoid. The Web extra at http://youtu.be/W8zNDErnq_o is a video segment in which author Brian David Johnson expands on his Science Fiction Prototyping column, in which he discusses how the world of secret science fiction, the science fiction stories you will never be allowed to read. In this podcast, Johnson dives deeper into this world in an extended conversation with Ari Popper, founder and CEO of SciFutures, a company that uses science fiction to explore innovation for Fortune 500 companies.
Relative Flatness and Coherence

ABSTRACT For a fixed given right R-module M, so-called M-flat left R-modules are investigated, which are flat relative to short exact sequences in the subcategory σ[M] subgenerated by M. The properties of M-flat modules lead naturally to a concept of an M-coherent module and M-coherent ring R. Various properties and characterizations of M-coherent modules and rings are proven. Communicated by R. Wisbauer
Solvent Influence on Atomic Spectra: The Effect of Finite Size

Time dependent Hartree theory is used to determine the solvent effect on atomic spectra for a given solvent configuration. Configuration averaging is performed as in the mean spherical approximation, resulting in an upper bound to the polarizability. Comparisons are made with previous, more approximate theories, including path integral treatments. It is found that deviations from previous theories can be significant in certain regimes.
An investigation of the timing pattern of childbearing

This paper reports an investigation of the relation between the number of live births during a woman's reproductive life-cycle and her ages at those births. Four samples of women from the United States and from the Philippines are used. The timing patterns of childbearing in these samples display several striking regularities. In all samples childbearing tends to occur in the centre of the fecund period irrespective of the number of children, so that the mean age at childbearing is essentially independent of final parity. In addition, the timing patterns are symmetric around the mean age at childbearing. Most important of all, the patterns are very alike in the different samples examined, despite large differences between average family size, methods used to regulate fertility, and economic, social, and cultural characteristics in the different populations.
Behavioral-Economic Nudges and Performance Measurement Models

ABSTRACT: We describe the context wherein a Fortune 500 company's performance measurement model (PMM) has endured and evolved over a 15-year period. The PMM's tenure and continued importance refute the alleged faddish nature of PMMs such as the Balanced Scorecard, at least in this case, and allow identification of factors that add to theory about PMM longevity. We use a behavioral-economic framework and qualitative and quantitative data to examine the mechanisms behind this successful PMM. Aspects of the way the PMM is designed and implemented appear to enable the company using the PMM to exploit or mitigate common behavioral heuristics and biases in decision-making. The PMM helps manage cognitive load in a way that is consistent with the company's priorities, and it manages biases by allowing the company to frame performance information in ways that nudge managers toward strategically important results and risks. The behavioral-economic connection might be a reason why this PMM, and perhaps others, endur...
How Should Educators Respond to Academic Dishonesty in College

Whether or not institutions need to respond to academic dishonesty is certainly not an ethical dilemma, but the type of response deserves thoughtful consideration.
Parallel classification for data mining on shared-memory multiprocessors

Presents parallel algorithms for building decision-tree classifiers on shared-memory multiprocessor (SMP) systems. The proposed algorithms span the gamut of data and task parallelism. The data parallelism is based on attribute scheduling among processors. This basic scheme is extended with task pipelining and dynamic load balancing to yield faster implementations. The task-parallel approach uses dynamic subtree partitioning among processors. Our performance evaluation shows that the construction of a decision-tree classifier can be effectively parallelized on an SMP machine with good speedup.
Migration assisted diffusional creep by grain-boundary diffusion

Diffusional creep by interface diffusion in multicomponent systems with stationary interfaces is controlled by the slowest diffusing species along its fastest path. The concentration gradients along the interfaces are always biased against the faster diffusing species and tend to eliminate any differences in diffusional fluxes of various species due to different mobilities. These gradients are reduced drastically when the interface migrates and leaves in its wake an alloyed or de-alloyed zone. Diffusional creep in this case is controlled by the fastest diffusing species and is significantly faster. The transition to migration assisted diffusional creep may give rise to a threshold behavior corresponding to the on-set of migration. It is possible for diffusional creep of this type with attendant boundary migration to achieve large strains by maintaining an equiaxed grain shape, a feature characteristic of superplasticity. The effect is also closely related to several other observations in ceramics and geology.
In vivo flow cytometry of circulating clots using negative photothermal and photoacoustic contrasts

Conventional photothermal (PT) and photoacousic (PA) imaging, spectroscopy, and cytometry are preferentially based on positive PT/PA effects, when signals are above background. Here, we introduce PT/PA technique based on detection of negative signals below background. Among various new applications, we propose label-free in vivo flow cytometry of circulating clots. No method has been developed for the early detection of clots of different compositions as a source of thromboembolism including ischemia at strokes and myocardial infarction. When a low-absorbing, platelet-rich clot passes a laser-irradiated vessel volume, a transient decrease in local absorption results in an ultrasharp negative PA hole in blood background. Using this phenomenon alone or in combination with positive contrasts, we demonstrated identification of white, red, and mixed clots on a mouse model of myocardial infarction and human blood. The concentration and size of clots were measured with threshold down to few clots in the entire circulation with size as low as 20 μm. This multiparameter diagnostic platform using portable personal high-speed flow cytometer with negative dynamic contrast mode has potential to real-time defining risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, and for prognosis and prevention of stroke or use clot count as a marker of therapy efficacy. Possibility for label-free detection of platelets, leukocytes, tumor cells or targeting themby negative PA probes (e.g., nonabsorbing beads or bubbles) is also highlighted.
Variations in Microbial and Biochemical Components of Four-Day Plaque During a Four-Week Controlled Diet Period

Variation in microbial and biochemical components of human four-day plaque was studied in seven subjects who were maintained on a high-sucrose diet during a four-week period. Significant changes in populations of lactobacilli dextranase-producing organisms, Streptococcus mutans, and S sanguis occurred during this period.
A Question of Genocide: Armenians and Turks at the End of the Ottoman Empire. Edited by Ronald Grigor Suny , Fatma Müge Göçek , and Norman M. Naimark . (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2011. Pp. xix, 434. $34.95.)

This volume represents the culmination of a decade's worth of meetings of the Workshop on Armenian‐Turkish Scholarship, or WATS. The fifteen chapters that make up this collection draw on a wide arr...
Types and characteristics of addicts in the community

This study examines both the status and behavior while addicted of 230 White and 230 Black male narcotic addicts. Following a presentation of antecedent behaviors and characteristics, an addict typology is developed based on illicit income, perception of adequacy of income to meet needs, and employment. The resulting six types are then described in terms of treatment experiences, criminality, social activities, and psychopathology. The discussion includes suggestions of a treatment perspective for each type.
Strengthening Clinical Preparation: The Holy Grail of Teacher Education

Efforts to improve teacher education have recently focused in on the importance of well-supervised clinical practice as a critical element of effective preparation. This article outlines the challenges to creating productive clinical experiences for prospective teachers, and identifies strategies that have been found successful in confronting these challenges. These include the development of professional development school relationships that strengthen practice in partner schools and the use of teacher performance assessments that focus attention on pulling together practical skills and providing feedback to candidates and programs.
Advertising Emergency Department Wait Times

Advertising emergency department (ED) wait times has become a common practice in the United States. Proponents of this practice state that it is a powerful marketing strategy that can help steer patients to the ED. Opponents worry about the risk to the public health that arises from a patient with an emergent condition self-triaging to a further hospital, problems with inaccuracy and lack of standard definition of the reported time, and directing lower acuity patients to the higher cost ED setting instead to primary care. Three sample cases demonstrating the pitfalls of advertising ED wait times are discussed. Given the lack of rigorous evidence supporting the practice and potential adverse effects to the public health, caution about its use is advised.
Extraversion, neuroticism and appraisal of stressful academic events

Abstract The present research was conducted to assess the relationship between personality and appraisal of stressful events as threats or as challenges. Appraisals are thought to arise from an evaluation of resources available to cope with events. Evaluation of resources as being relatively more inadequate or adequate should lead to relatively greater threat or challenge appraisals, respectively. Because high neurotic individuals' resources are taxed by negative cognitions, they should evaluate available resources to be inadequate, leading to a positive relationship between Neuroticism (N) and threat. Stable individuals should appraise stressors as challenges. Moreover, thinking of N as sensitivity to punishment and Extraversion (E) as sensitivity to reward suggests that Extraverts should appraise stressful events as challenges because these individuals should see situations as opportunities for reward, not for punishment. Thus, N should be positively related to threat appraisals and negatively related to challenge appraisals, while E should be positively related to challenge appraisals, but not related to threat appraisals. The hypotheses were supported. Future research should consider the process underlying the observed relationships.
Analysis of Factor XIII Substrate Specificity Using Recombinant Human Factor XIII and Tissue Transglutaminase Chimeras

Human factor XIII (FXIII) and tissue transglutaminase (tTG) are homologous proteins. FXIII requires thrombin for activation and cross-links the gamma chains of fibrin(ogen) more efficiently than the Aalpha chains. On the other hand, tTG is thrombin-independent and forms predominantly Aalpha and Aalpha-gamma chain complexes. Previous work from this laboratory demonstrated that amino acid residues within exon 7 of FXIII were important for catalysis (Hettasch, J. M., and Greenberg, C. S. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 28309-28313). To determine to what extent the primary amino acid sequence within exon 7 defines substrate specificity, exon 7 of FXIII was replaced with the corresponding exon of tTG using gene splicing by overlap extension. Other work from this laboratory (Achyuthan, K. E., Slaughter, T. F., Santiago, M. A., Enghild, J. J., and Greenberg, C. S. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 21284-21292) using synthetic peptides identified two other domains that might play a role in substrate recognition (located in exons 3 and 5). Therefore, recombinant chimeras of FXIII/tTG were also created in which these two exons were exchanged. FXIII, tTG, and chimeras 3, 5, and 7 were expressed in Escherichia coli, purified, and the nature of the fibrin cross-linking pattern of these five proteins was determined by immunoblot analysis. FXIII preferentially formed the gamma-gamma dimer, whereas tTG formed Aalpha-gamma complexes. Chimera 7 formed Aalpha-gamma complexes that resembled the cross-linking pattern of tTG. This finding demonstrates that the primary amino acid sequence of exon 7 of tTG confers some of the specificity for the Aalpha and Aalpha-gamma cross-link pattern characteristic of tTG. Chimera 5 exhibited reduced cross-linking activity (50% of FXIII activity) but still retained preference for formation of the gamma-gamma dimer, whereas chimera 3 was not active. In conclusion, exchanging the primary amino acid sequence of the active site exon of human FXIII with that of human tTG modifies the enzyme such that the fibrin cross-linking pattern more closely resembles that of tTG (Aalpha and Aalpha-gamma complexes) instead of FXIII (gamma-gamma dimers).
Asynchronous Rotation as a Rapid and Sensitive Technique for Quantifying Cell Growth Dynamics

The ability to monitor physical parameters of cell growth dynamics on an increasingly sensitive scale is of great interest. Nonlinear rotation of cell-coated magnetic microspheres is an exciting new technique for rapid cell detection and measurement. Previous explorations of this approach primarily involved bacteria and other prokaryotes, but new methods demonstrate it is possible to extend this model to the world of eukaryotes, specifically simple yeasts.In this experiment, Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells were coated in biotin and covalently linked to a streptavidin-coated magnetic microsphere. With their cell membranes bound to the sphere, the unit was rotated asynchronously in a magnetic field. As the cells grow, the viscous drag experienced by the cell-bearing microsphere increases, counteracting the magnetic driving force, yielding a steady overall increase in rotational period. The rotation rate is actively monitored by specialized computer software using the voltage output of a laser and photodiode.Current data reinforces the success of dynamic asynchronous rotation as a valid means for rapid and sensitive growth detection. In the future it is believed this technique may be further extended to the study of increasingly complex organisms, including mammalian cells.View Large Image | View Hi-Res Image | Download PowerPoint Slide
Low-dose naltrexone targets the opioid growth factor–opioid growth factor receptor pathway to inhibit cell proliferation: mechanistic evidence from a tissue culture model

Naltrexone (NTX) is an opioid antagonist that inhibits or accelerates cell proliferation in vivo when utilized in a low (LDN) or high (HDN) dose, respectively. The mechanism of opioid antagonist action on growth is not well understood. We established a tissue culture model of LDN and HDN using short-term and continuous opioid receptor blockade, respectively, in human ovarian cancer cells, and found that the duration of opioid receptor blockade determines cell proliferative response. The alteration of growth by NTX also was detected in cells representative of pancreatic, colorectal and squamous cell carcinomas. The opioid growth factor (OGF; [Met(5)]-enkephalin) and its receptor (OGFr) were responsible for mediating the action of NTX on cell proliferation. NTX upregulated OGF and OGFr at the translational but not at the transcriptional level. The mechanism of inhibition by short-term NTX required p16 and/or p21 cyclin-dependent inhibitory kinases, but was not dependent on cell survival (necrosis, apoptosis). Sequential administration of short-term NTX and OGF had a greater inhibitory effect on cell proliferation than either agent alone. Given the parallels between short-term NTX in vitro and LDN in vivo, we now demonstrate at the molecular level that the OGF-OGFr axis is a common pathway that is essential for the regulation of cell proliferation by NTX.
Sensitive detection of enzyme activity by multi photon nonlinear laser spectroscopy

Multi-photon laser wave mixing is an unusually sensitive nonlinear spectroscopic method that offers excellent sensitivity levels in the detection of enzyme activity levels. Coherent interactions between two crossed laser beams inside an absorbing medium generate dynamic gratings which in turn diffract off incoming photons to create a coherent laser-like signal beam. Since the signal beam is generated only in the presence of an absorbing medium, it yields very low background noise levels. Enzyme activity is measured by monitoring the change in the signal intensity as the absorbing compound is consumed or produced as a result of the enzyme catalyzed reactions. Optical setup for this one-color multi-photon method is simple compared to other multi-photon methods. Unlike fluorescence methods, wave mixing offers virtually 100% signal collection efficiency. Wave mixing is also less susceptibility to quenching and it allows analysis of both fluorescing and non-fluorescing labels. Since the laser wave-mixing signal has a quadratic dependence on analyte absorptivity, this method is more sensitive to small changes in the composition of the solution as compared to conventional detection methods. In addition, the use of nanoliter or picoliter probe volumes allows sensitive detection of small samples with high spatial resolution. Thermal and other physical properties of condensed-phase analytes can be advantageously used to enhance the sharpness of the laser-induced gratings and, hence, the analytical signal.
THE ROLE OF BIOMANIPULATION IN FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

ABSTRACT Biomanipulation is a relatively new approach toward managing lakes. As a result, few data support its use, and many fisheries managers are reluctant to apply this technology. However, the results of biomanipulation and fisheries renovation programs are often the same: reduced populations of nuisance algae and improved water transparency. In this paper, the relative roles of rough fish elimination and restructuring the plankton–fish mix (biomanipulation) are compared as mechanisms in improving water transparency in lakes. Fisheries survey records from 13 renovated or winterkilled Indiana lakes are used to quantify these relationships. A statistically significant inverse relationship between Secchi disk transparency and percent of planktivorous fish exists for the lakes studied. Possible mechanisms for change are discussed, and recommendations for fisheries management are advanced.
Publication Guidelines for Improvement Studies in Health Care: Evolution of the SQUIRE Project

In 2005, draft guidelines were published for reporting studies of quality improvement as the initial step in a consensus process for development of a more definitive version. The current article contains the revised version, which we refer to as Standards for QUality Improvement Reporting Excellence (SQUIRE). This narrative progress report summarizes the special features of improvement that are reflected in SQUIRE and describes major differences between SQUIRE and the initial draft guidelines. It also explains the development process, which included formulation of responses to informal feedback, written commentaries, and input from publication guideline developers; ongoing review of the literature on the epistemology of improvement and methods for evaluating complex social programs; and a meeting of stakeholders for critical review of the guidelines' content and wording, followed by commentary on sequential versions from an expert consultant group. Finally, the report discusses limitations of and unresolved questions about SQUIRE; ancillary supporting documents and alternative versions under development; and plans for dissemination, testing, and further development of SQUIRE.
The International Adoption Project: Population-based Surveillance of Minnesota Parents Who Adopted Children Internationally

To conduct the first population-based surveillance in the United States of parents who adopted children from countries outside of the United States. A 556-item survey was mailed to 2,977 parents who finalized an international adoption in Minnesota between January 1990 and December 1998; 1,834 (62%) parents returned a survey. Eighty-eight percent of the parents reported transracial adoptions (97% of the parents were white); 57% of the adopted children were Asian; 60% were female; and on average, the children were 18 months-old at the time of placement. Only 15% of the parents reported household annual incomes less than $50,000 and 71% reported they had college educations. Sixty-one percent traveled to their child’s country of birth prior to the adoption. Almost three-quarters involved their children in experiences related to their birth countries and 98% would recommend international adoption. Three-quarters of the parents believe that parental leave was an issue for them as they adopted. This is the first population-based survey of U.S. parents who have adopted internationally. The adoptive parents were socioeconomically different than birth parents in Minnesota and their families are most likely to be transracial. Because international adoption has become more prevalent, it is important to understand the strengths and needs of families that are created through this unique form of migration.
On the Distinction of Suicide Ideation Versus Attempt in Elderly Psychiatric Inpatients

A study of selected elderly psychiatric inpatients admitted for depression suggests that suicidal ideation may initiate a process of smoldering when the patient, family, and professionals interact in such a way as to dampen apparent distress. Suicidal thoughts and mood may be masked by affective or cognitive constriction, camouflaged by anxiety and external agitation, and "tranquilized" by anti-anxiety agents. Depression may go undetected. Distinguishing factors between attempters and ideators are presented.
Morphology of Pt-Rh alloy crystallites on amorphous SiO2*1

High-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy is used to examine the structures of 20- to 200-A-diameter Pt-Rh alloy particles on planar amorphous SiO2 substrates following treatment in N2 and air at one atmosphere and temperatures up to 1000 °C. Heating in N2 produces only alloy particles at all temperatures, while heating particles in air above 400 °C produces a rhodium oxide layer around each particle. As temperature is increased above ~600 °C the oxide appears to migrate onto the SiO2 substrate to form a thin oxide layer surrounding the metal core. The oxide is identified as Rh2O3 by electron diffraction, and dark field imaging confirms the morphology postulated. Pure Rh particles are completely oxidized by 600 °C and remain stable to at least 1000 °C. Continuous 10-A-thick films of Rh or Pt-Rh cannot be broken up into particles below ~700 °C by heating in air because the oxide film is stable and adheres strongly to the SiO2. This alloy system is quite different than Pt-Pd in that the oxide forms as a thin Rh2O3 layer around each particle for Rh, while for Pd, a PdO crystallite nucleates at the side of the metal crystallites. Both oxides adhere strongly to SiO2, but the nucleation and growth of Rh2O3 is evidently much different than PdO.