cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
UV-curable cycloaliphatic epoxide based on modified linseed oil : Synthesis, characterization and kinetics

Linseed oil was derivitized with 1,3-butadiene via a Diels-Alder reaction. The cycloaddition adduct was then epoxidized using a hydrogen peroxide/quaternary ammonium tetrakis(diperoxotungsto) phosphate system. The cyclohexene derivitized linseed oil (CLO) and the epoxidized cyclohexene derivatized linseed oil (ECLO) were characterized by 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, and FT-IR. In addition, 2D NMR measurements (COSY) were performed on CLO and ECLO to identify the cyclohexyl structures. Molecular weight was determined by ESI-MS and GPC. The ECLO was photopolymerized using UV-light, and the kinetics of the photocuring reactions was evaluated by real-time FT-IR and photo-DSC. All the characterizations supported the successful introduction of cyclohexyl structure to the backbone of linseed oil directly and indirectly. Real-time FT-IR and photo-DSC indicated the slightly improved reactivity of ECLO.
Paying for Someone Else's Mistake: The Effect of Bystander Negligence on Perpetrator Blame

The success of criminal acts can sometimes depend critically on the oversight or negligence of uninvolved bystanders (e.g., someone leaving a first-floor window open). Four studies examined how the contribution of a negligent bystander affects blame for the perpetrator of a crime. Although participants stated that discounting blame for the perpetrator was normatively inappropriate in this context, they expected that others would make this very “error.” Instead, across all four studies, bystander negligence amplified ascriptions of perpetrator blame. This amplification occurred because the bad action of the bystander provided an implicit standard of comparison for the perpetrator's act, framing it as more blameworthy. A variety of alternative mechanisms— that bystander negligence altered perceived crime avoidability, prompted spontaneous counterfactualizing, or increased victim empathy—were tested and ruled out. Implications for legal contexts are discussed.
Changes in terrestrial carbon storage in the United States. 2: The role of fire and fire management

1 Areas burned annually in the United States between 1700 and 1990 were derived from published estimates of pre-European burning rates and from wildfire statistics of the US Forest Service. Changes in live and dead vegetation following fire and fire exclusion were determined for 18 types of biomes and added to a book-keeping model to calculate the long-term effect of fire and fire management on carbon storage. 2 Over the 290-year period, burning declined by an estimated 98%, first, because wildlands were converted to agricultural lands, essentially eliminating fire from 236 × 106 ha and, secondly, because wildfires were excluded and suppressed in the remaining forests and non-forests. 3 Adding fire and fire management to an analysis of land-use change (companion paper) reduced the emissions of carbon over the period 1700–1990 by 25% (8 PgC). Less carbon was released because fire reduced the average biomass of forests cleared and burned, and because fire exclusion led to an increase in carbon storage in forests. 4 The wildfire statistics of the USDA were insufficient for addressing two kinds of change: fire exclusion before 1926 and changes in the burning of non-forest ecosystems. We estimate here that as much as 4 and 12 PgC, respectively, may have accumulated in vegetation as a result of these changes, but the estimates are uncertain and likely to be upper limits. 5 The maximum rate of carbon accumulation attributable to all changes in land use, including fire management, was 300–400 TgC/year and occurred around 1980. Less than half of this uptake was in forests. Uptake by forests was constrained by the fact that most forests were already accumulating carbon in response to earlier harvests. Fire exclusion added little to this uptake.
Touch behavior with different postures on soft smartphone keyboards

Text entry on smartphones is far slower and more error-prone than on traditional desktop keyboards, despite sophisticated detection and auto-correct algorithms. To strengthen the empirical and modeling foundation of smartphone text input improvements, we explore touch behavior on soft QWERTY keyboards when used with two thumbs, an index finger, and one thumb. We collected text entry data from 32 participants in a lab study and describe touch accuracy and precision for different keys. We found that distinct patterns exist for input among the three hand postures, suggesting that keyboards should adapt to different postures. We also discovered that participants' touch precision was relatively high given typical key dimensions, but there were pronounced and consistent touch offsets that can be leveraged by keyboard algorithms to correct errors. We identify patterns in our empirical findings and discuss implications for design and improvements of soft keyboards.
The 'ORC cycle': a novel pathway for regulating eukaryotic DNA replication.

The function of the ‘origin recognition complex’ (ORC) in eukaryotic cells is to select genomic sites where pre-replication complexes (pre-RCs) can be assembled. Subsequent activation of these pre-RCs results in bi-directional DNA replication that originates at or close to the ORC DNA binding sites. Recent results have revealed that one or more of the six ORC subunits is modified during the G1 to S-phase transition in such a way that ORC activity is inhibited until mitosis is complete and a nuclear membrane is assembled. In yeast, Cdk1/Clb phosphorylates ORC. In frog eggs, pre-RC assembly destabilizes ORC/chromatin sites, and ORC is eventually hyperphosphorylated and released. In mammals, the affinity of Orc1 for chromatin is selectively reduced during S-phase and restored during early G1-phase. Unbound Orc1 is ubiquitinated during S-phase and in some cases degraded. Thus, most, perhaps all, eukaryotes exhibit some manifestation of an ‘ORC cycle’ that restricts the ability of ORC to initiate pre-RC assembly to the early G1-phase of the cell cycle, making the ‘ORC cycle’ the premier step in determining when replication begins. q 2003 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.
Bio-logging as a Method for Understanding Natural Systems

Obtaining new information on the natural world involves direct observation, measurement and experimentation. However, this can be challenging for species that are very small, cryptic, sensitive, fragile, rare, dangerous or live in extreme environments. As a result, information on the life history, behavior, physiology, and ecology of many animals is scant or non-existent. The scientific field of bio-logging has existed for many years, but recent advances in electronic miniaturization and digital information processing and storage are providing new insights into the hidden lives of animals that can only be studied vicariously, that is, indirectly through the use of technology. Bio-logging generally involves an animal- borne instrument that monitors or records aspects of an animal's biology (e.g., behavior, movements, physiology) and its environment. For example, bio-logging instruments can record video or still images of animal behavior and record data from a variety of sensors that monitor location and locomotion (three-dimensional movement), physiology (body temperature, heart rate, blood oxygen concentration), and environmental variables (ambient temperature, light level, oxygen concentration, salinity, sound). This information is either stored for later recovery or transmitted immediately. In many cases, the initial challenge is locating the species, then attaching and recovering the instruments. However, as bio-logging technology becomes smaller and more data rich, we face the challenge of storing, classifying, analyzing, integrating, and disseminating the data and results. New methods of analysis will be necessary to handle the staggering volume of information. Creating data rich, virtual worlds in which to view and integrate data will require advanced computing capability. Data sharing and dissemination will enable broad collaboration, validation and interpretation of complex systems that attempt to understand, model and predict how animals function and interact with their environment at micro and macro scales and over time periods of seconds to centuries. The scientific field of bio-logging will provide basic knowledge on the function of free- ranging organisms at the individual and community level that will be needed to manage and conserve species and their habitats and to mitigate human impacts.
Optimal Testing of Digital Microfluidic Biochips

Digital microfluidic biochips (DMFBs) are rectangular arrays of electrodes, or cells, that enable precise manipulation of nanoliter-sized droplets of biological fluids and chemical reagents. Because of the safety-critical nature of their applications, biochips must be tested frequently, both off-line (e.g., postmanufacturing) and concurrent with assay execution. Under both scenarios, testing is accomplished by routing one or more test droplets across the chip and recording their arrival at the destination. In this paper, we formalize the DMFB-testing problem under the common objective of completion time minimization, including previously ignored constraints of droplet noninterference. Our contributions include a proof that the general version of the problem is NP-hard, tight lower bounds for both off-line and concurrent testing, optimal and approximation algorithms for off-line testing of commonly used rectangular shaped biochips, as well as a concurrent testing heuristic producing solutions within 23%--34% of the lower bound in experiments conducted on data sets simulating varying percentages of biochip cells occupied by concurrently running assays.
Breastfeeding Peer Counselors as Direct Lactation Care Providers in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

In 2005, the Level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Rush University Medical Center initiated a demonstration project employing breastfeeding peer counselors, former parents of NICU infants, as direct lactation care providers who worked collaboratively with the NICU nurses. This article describes the conceptualization, implementation, and evaluation of this program and provides templates for other NICUs that wish to incorporate breastfeeding peer counselors with the goal of providing quality, evidence-based lactation care.
Insulin and amino acids independently stimulate skeletal muscle protein synthesis in neonatal pigs

Infusion of physiological levels of insulin and/or amino acids reproduces the feeding-induced stimulation of muscle protein synthesis in neonates. To determine whether insulin and amino acids indep...
The Consistent Kinetics Porosity (CKP) Model: A Theory for the Mechanical Behavior of Moderately Porous Solids

A theory is developed for the response of moderately porous solids (no more than {approximately}20% void space) to high-strain-rate deformations. The model is consistent because each feature is incorporated in a manner that is mathematically compatible with the other features. Unlike simple p-{alpha} models, the onset of pore collapse depends on the amount of shear present. The user-specifiable yield function depends on pressure, effective shear stress, and porosity. The elastic part of the strain rate is linearly related to the stress rate, with nonlinear corrections from changes in the elastic moduli due to pore collapse. Plastically incompressible flow of the matrix material allows pore collapse and an associated macroscopic plastic volume change. The plastic strain rate due to pore collapse/growth is taken normal to the yield surface. If phase transformation and/or pore nucleation are simultaneously occurring, the inelastic strain rate will be non-normal to the yield surface. To permit hardening, the yield stress of matrix material is treated as an internal state variable. Changes in porosity and matrix yield stress naturally cause the yield surface to evolve. The stress, porosity, and all other state variables vary in a consistent manner so that the stress remains on the yield surface throughout any quasistatic interval of plastic deformation. Dynamic loading allows the stress to exceed the yield surface via an overstress ordinary differential equation that is solved in closed form for better numerical accuracy. The part of the stress rate that causes no plastic work (i.e-, the part that has a zero inner product with the stress deviator and the identity tensor) is given by the projection of the elastic stressrate orthogonal to the span of the stress deviator and the identity tensor.The model, which has been numerically implemented in MIG format, has been exercised under a wide array of extremal loading and unloading paths. As will be discussed in a companion sequel report, the CKP model is capable of closely matching plate impact measurements for porous materials.
Targeted capture massively parallel sequencing analysis of LCIS and invasive lobular cancer: Repertoire of somatic genetic alterations and clonal relationships.

Abstract Purpose Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) has been proposed as a non-obligate precursor of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC). Here we sought to define the repertoire of somatic genetic alterations in pure LCIS and in synchronous LCIS and ILC using targeted massively parallel sequencing. Methods DNA samples extracted from microdissected LCIS, ILC and matched normal breast tissue or peripheral blood from 30 patients were subjected to massively parallel sequencing targeting all exons of 273 genes, including the genes most frequently mutated in breast cancer and DNA repair-related genes. Single nucleotide variants and insertions and deletions were identified using state-of-the-art bioinformatics approaches. Results The constellation of somatic mutations found in LCIS (n = 34) and ILC (n = 21) were similar, with the most frequently mutated genes being CDH1 (56% and 66%, respectively), PIK3CA (41% and 52%, respectively) and CBFB (12% and 19%, respectively). Among 19 LCIS and ILC synchronous pairs, 14 (74%) had at least one identical mutation in common, including identical PIK3CA and CDH1 mutations. Paired analysis of independent foci of LCIS from 3 breasts revealed at least one common mutation in each of the 3 pairs ( CDH1 , PIK3CA , CBFB and PKHD1L1 ). Conclusion LCIS and ILC have a similar repertoire of somatic mutations, with PIK3CA and CDH1 being the most frequently mutated genes. The presence of identical mutations between LCIS–LCIS and LCIS–ILC pairs demonstrates that LCIS is a clonal neoplastic lesion, and provides additional evidence that at least some LCIS are non-obligate precursors of ILC.
Research On Monetary Neutrality: Evidence From Exchange Rate And Trade Balance Of G-7 Countries

According to a recent paper by Fisher and Huh (200 2 ), in contrast to a long-run neutrality hypothesis, nominal shocks have long-run effects on a country’s real exchange rate and trade balance. However employing a similar method (VAR) with identical restrictions ( long-run neutrality and short-run recursive hypotheses ), this paper show s that the effects on the real exchange rate are much shorter in this G-7 country study than what Fisher and Huh (2002) contend. Further, the trade balance improves for a short period of time, from which it can conclude there is a shorter existence of the depreciation effect in response to expansionary monetary shocks, which supports the long-run neutrality hypothesis in an open macroeconomic framework .
QSAR Study of PAH Carcinogenic Activities: Test of a General Model for Molecular Similarity Analysis

Several QSAR methodologies have been developed which make use of hierarchical sets of molecular descriptors, coupled with multilinear regression analysis of physical or biological properties. Our procedures advance through enumerations of types of atoms and bonds (level 1), rings and functional groups (level 2), larger structural fragments and steric interactions (level 3), and end by testing the addition of level 4 descriptors based on the results of semiempirical or ab initio molecular orbital calculations. Experimental properties (e.g., logP, boiling points, etc.) are an additional possible source of descriptors, not tested in the present work. In general, the levels of hierarchical structural descriptors are augmented and tested sequentially to obtain information regarding the lowest levels of description that are necessary for statistically significant rectification of a particular dependent variable property. High quality, structure/property and structure/activity relationships are normally found that use significant terms from several descriptor levels.1–5 In previous work, we have also shown how various types of molecular structure codes or molecular descriptors can be used to calculate measures of molecular similarity.6–9
Appropriate use criteria to reduce underuse and overuse: striking the right balance.

“ We are what we repeatedly do . Excellence is not an act, but a habit .”Aristotle ([1][1]) Each physician caring for patients with obstructive coronary artery disease attempts daily to determine the patient's individualized risk for future cardiovascular events, the patient's symptom burden,
Chapter 27. Natural Killer Cells: Role in Cell-Mediated Immunity

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the recent findings with the most extensively studied and characterized effector cell that mediates natural immunity natural killer (NK) cells It discusses the characteristics of NK cells, the regulation of their cytotoxic potential, the role of NK cells in immune reactivity, and the potential widespread clinical relevance of the modulation of NK activity. Emphasis is placed on the role of NK cells as anti-tumor effector cells in resistance against malignant disease. Natural killer cells, a specific lymphoid subpopulation comprised of large granular lymphocytes, appear to play an important role as a natural effector cell against primary and metastatic tumor cells. Rapid advances and widespread interest in this area of cell-mediated immunity promises to fully define the role of NK cells in anti-tumor immune reactivity in the near future. Recent studies exploring the role of NK cells in a number of disease state, such as X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome, multiple sclerosis, atopic dermatitis, as well as studies examining the in vivo reactivity of NK cells against a number of microbial agents including herpes viruses, cytomegalovirus, hepatitis virus, Babesia microti , malaria, cryptococcus, and various bacterial infections, suggests that the NK cells and natural immunity are likely to continue to receive substantial experimental and clinical attention during the next few years. Studies dealing with the role of NK cells in bone marrow transplantation reinforce this view.
Preliminary Evaluation of a Modified STarT Back Screening Tool Across Different Musculoskeletal Pain Conditions

Background The STarT Back Screening Tool is a validated multidimensional screening measure and risk stratification tool for people with low back pain. Objective The study objective was to compare relationships between a modified STarT Back Screening Tool (mSBT) and clinical and psychological measures in people with low back, neck, shoulder, and knee pain. The hypothesis was that the relationships between mSBT scores and clinical and psychological measure scores would be similar across the included musculoskeletal pain conditions. Design A cross-sectional, secondary analysis was done in this study. Methods Participants with low back (n=118), neck (n=92), shoulder (n=106), or knee (n=111) pain were recruited, and an mSBT was developed for use across the pain conditions. Separate hierarchical linear regression models were developed, with clinical (health status, pain intensity, and disability) and psychological (kinesiophobia, catastrophizing, fear avoidance, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and self-efficacy) measures as dependent variables. Demographic and pain region variables were entered in the first step, mSBT scores were entered in the second step, and pain region × mSBT interactions were entered in the last step. Results In the final models, no interactions were identified, suggesting that dependent measure scores did not differ by pain region. The strongest contributor for all dependent variables was mSBT scores (β=|0.32|–|0.68|); higher mSBT scores were associated with poorer health status and self-efficacy and with higher levels of pain intensity, disability, kinesiophobia, catastrophizing, fear avoidance, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Limitations Generalizability was restricted to physical therapy outpatients with the included pain conditions. The mSBT used in this study is not ready for clinical implementation. Conclusions The results of this study support the feasibility of using a single measure for concise risk assessment across different musculoskeletal pain conditions. Further longitudinal studies are needed to better direct the clinical use of an mSBT in people with low back, neck, shoulder, and knee pain.
Murine Macrophage Mannose Receptor Promoter Is Regulated by the Transcription Factors PU.1 and SP1

The mannose receptor (MR) is a transmembrane protein that functions primarily as a phagocytic receptor for a wide range of microorganisms. Its expression appears to be restricted to tissue macrophages and Langerhans cells. To gain an understanding of the regulation of the gene, we have isolated the 5′ flanking sequence of the murine MR gene and have analyzed a 536-bp sequence upstream of the ATG start site for transcriptional activity. This sequence lacks a TATA box but contains an initiator (Inr) consensus element overlapping the single transcriptional start site. Transcription factor binding sites contained within this sequence include PU.1, Sp1, ETS, GATA, and MYB motifs. Serial 100-bp deletions of this promoter fragment fused to a luciferase reporter gene showed various patterns of activity when transfected into different cell types. In myeloid cells, sequence elements upstream of bp −300 appeared to have a silencing effect on promoter activity. Of the four potential PU.1 binding sites contained within the fragment, one site (at −164) bound the PU.1 factor most strongly, whereas the adjacent PU.1 site (at −177 bp) bound PU.1 to a lesser degree. Mutations of these sites decreased transcriptional activity but did not abolish it. However, promoter activity was abrogated when both the −164 bp PU.1 site and the adjacent −177 bp PU.1 site were mutated. In addition, mutation of the Sp1 site also significantly reduced promoter activity. Cotransfection studies in Drosophila Schneider cells indicated that PU.1 and Sp1 may function synergistically in transactivating the murine MR. This study indicates that MR gene expression is regulated in part by the interaction between the ubiquitously expressed factor Sp1 and the lymphoid/myeloid factor PU.1 and provides a basis for studying the regulation of this gene.
Can NGDP Targeting be Too Loose

This paper examines whether the "market monetarism" prescribing a 5% yearly NGDP growth rate was too much between the dot-com and the subprime mortgage crises. To do this I search for evidences of monetary disequilibrium in other variables such as trend deviations, the behavior of intermediate prices, and interest rates. I find evidences that suggest that the 5% growth of NGDP in the years prior to the crisis might have been excessive. Although this observation does not question the principle behind NGDP targeting, it suggests that the target should be carefully chosen. This result is also consistent with the interpretation that monetary policy was too loose for too long from 2002 to 2007 following other indicators such as the Taylor Rule.
Structural changes in platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa by plasmin: determinants and functional consequences

Plasmin exposure modulates platelet aggregation responses, but a direct effect of plasmin on the platelet fibrinogen receptor, glycoprotein IIb/IIIa (GPIIb/IIIa), has never been conclusively shown in a plasma milieu. To examine this issue, we incubated platelets in platelet-rich plasma with plasmin and measured the effect of this treatment on platelet aggregation, fibrinogen binding, and the structural integrity of GPIIb/IIIa. Plasmin treatment reduced maximal reversible fibrinogen binding in a dose-dependent fashion, and this reduction in binding was accompanied by a correlative reduction in the maximal rate of aggregation. Immunoblots performed with polyclonal antibodies against GPIIb/IIIa showed that GPIIIa had been cleaved by plasmin, but this cleavage was detected only after subsequent degradation of the solubilized GPIIb/IIIa with Staphylococcus aureus V8 (Glu-C) endoprotease. Peptide sequence analysis showed that cleavage occurred at the lys444-pro445 bond in the first cysteine-rich repeat domain of GPIIIa a unique proteolytic event observed only in the presence of plasma fibrinogen. These observations suggest that plasmin modifies GPIIIa by a unique proteolytic event in plasma that is dependent on fibrinogen binding and, consequently, is accompanied by significant reductions in fibrinogen binding and aggregation response.
An Interview with Valerie D. Willetts, RN, BSN, CCRA

> V alerie D. Willetts, RN, BSN, CCRA, is well known to many ACRP members through her long-term and significant contributions as a volunteer on many committees, including her year as chair of the Board of Trustees in 2011. She is currently a senior clinical research associate with PAREXEL
DEFINING THE GOVERNMENT'S DEBT AND DEFICIT: DEFINING THE GOVERNMENT'S DEBT AND DEFICIT

Although the budget deficit and the public debt feature prominently in political debate and economic research, there is no agreement about how they should be measured. They can be defined for different sets of public institutions, including the nested sets corresponding to central government, general government, and the public sector, and, for any definition of government, there are many measures of the debt and deficit, including those generated by four kinds of accounts (cash, financial, full accrual, and comprehensive), which can be derived from four nested sets of assets and liabilities. Each debt and deficit measure says something about public finances, but none tells the whole story. Each is also vulnerable to manipulation, and is likely to be manipulated if it is subject to a binding fiscal rule or target. Narrow definitions of government encourage the shifting of spending to entities outside the defined perimeter of government. Narrow definitions of debt and deficit encourage operations involving off-balance-sheets assets and liabilities, while broad measures are susceptible to the mismeasurement of on-balance-sheet assets and liabilities. Reviewing the literature on these issues, the paper concludes that governments should publish several measures of the debt and deficit in a form that clearly reveals their interrelationships.
Reappraising Clinical Features of Bacterial Endocarditis

New knowledge plus an apparent change in the natural history of bacterial endocarditis has altered our concepts of the disease. Staphylococcal endocarditis is being recognized more and more often and should be considered in every case of staphylococcal bacteremia, even if there is an obvious source of infection. A striking feature is the absence of demonstrable preexisting heart disease in many patients with endocarditis.
Pesticide, metal, and other chemical residues in adult total diet samples. XIII: August 1976-September 1977

Since 1964, the Food and Drug Administration has reported residues of pesticides and other chemicals in the average diet of the United States' heartiest eater, the young adult male, through the Total Diet Study. This report is the thirteenth in the series and includes results of analyses for 25 market basket samples collected from August 1976 through September 1977 in 20 different cities throughout 4 geographical areas. All food items were divided into 12 different composite food classes, and 25 composites, 1 from each market basket, were prepared and analyzed for each food class. Averages and ranges of pesticide and chemical residues are presented in various formats, together with results for the following heavy metals: zinc, cadmium, lead, mercury, arsenic, and selenium. Individual items making up the dairy composites and the meat-fish-poultry composites were analyzed separately for 4 market baskets and are presented as a part of this report. Recovery studies of pesticides and chemicals added to each of the various food classes are also included.
Electromyographic analysis of gluteus medius subdivisions during hip abductor strengthening exercises

BACKGROUND: The gluteus medius (GM) which functions mainly in weight-bearing to stabilize the pelvis in a unilateral stance against gravity has been described as having several anatomic subdivisions. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the activation of the three GM subdivisions (anterior, medial, and posterior) during four weight bearing exercises. METHODS: This study investigated GM activation in 15 healthy adult males during four weight-bearing exercises; hip fire hydrant, standing forward bent-horizontal hip abduction (SFB-HHA), wall press and pelvic drop. Muscle activations in the three GM subdivisions were measured using electromyography (EMG) and compared using a repeated one-way ANOVA. RESULTS: All GM subdivisions showed higher activation during high position exercises (pelvic drop, SFB-HHA, wall press exercise) than during the low position exercise (hip fire hydrant). The anterior subdivision showed higher activity during pelvic drop exercise than during SFB-HHA and wall press exercises. Higher posterior subdivision activity was observed during SFBHHA compared to wall press and pelvic drop exercises, posterior subdivision activity was higher during wall press compared to pelvic drop. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that pelvic drop is the appropriate exercise to activate the anterior subdivision of the GM, whereas SFB-HHA is the best exercise to activate the posterior subdivision.
THE VALUE OF CERTIFICATION IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT: THE BIRTH OF A PROFESSION?

This article discusses the unmet need for widespread certification and professionalization of those involved in public procurement. Through original data analysis, differences in perceptions regarding the value and benefits of certification among public sector procurement practitioners are examined. Findings indicate that there is growing awareness by both those holding certification and those who are not certified that certification leads to advanced knowledge and skills within the procurement area. Further, job advancement and occupational growth is perceived to be directly related to certification, and that certification holders enjoy special privilege within occupational norms.
Quantitative MRI of kidneys in renal disease

To evaluate the reproducibility and utility of quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences for the assessment of kidneys in young adults with normal renal function (eGFR ranged from 90 to 130 mL/min/1.73 m2) and patients with early renal disease (autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease). This prospective case–control study was performed on ten normal young adults (18–30 years old) and ten age- and sex-matched patients with early renal parenchymal disease (autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease). All subjects underwent a comprehensive kidney MRI protocol, including qualitative imaging: T1w, T2w, FIESTA, and quantitative imaging: 2D cine phase contrast of the renal arteries, and parenchymal diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), magnetization transfer imaging (MTI), blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) imaging, and magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). The normal controls were imaged on two separate occasions ≥24 h apart (range 24–210 h) to assess reproducibility of the measurements. Quantitative MR imaging sequences were found to be reproducible. The mean ± SD absolute percent difference between quantitative parameters measured ≥24 h apart were: MTI-derived ratio = 4.5 ± 3.6%, DWI-derived apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) = 6.5 ± 3.4%, BOLD-derived R2* = 7.4 ± 5.9%, and MRE-derived tissue stiffness = 7.6 ± 3.3%. Compared with controls, the ADPKD patient’s non-cystic renal parenchyma (NCRP) had statistically significant differences with regard to quantitative parenchymal measures: lower MTI percent ratios (16.3 ± 4.4 vs. 23.8 ± 1.2, p < 0.05), higher ADCs (2.46 ± 0.20 vs. 2.18 ± 0.10 × 10−3 mm2/s, p < 0.05), lower R2*s (14.9 ± 1.7 vs. 18.1 ± 1.6 s−1, p < 0.05), and lower tissue stiffness (3.2 ± 0.3 vs. 3.8 ± 0.5 kPa, p < 0.05). Excellent reproducibility of the quantitative measurements was obtained in all cases. Significantly different quantitative MR parenchymal measurement parameters between ADPKD patients and normal controls were obtained by MT, DWI, BOLD, and MRE indicating the potential for detecting and following renal disease at an earlier stage than the conventional qualitative imaging techniques.
Las ciudades en la cuba socialista

Las ciudades en Cuba siguen sufriendo el inmpacto de la herencia capitalista del pais. La Habana sigue siendo la ciudad mas grande y mias importante en lo cultural, lo administrativo, lo demografico y, en algunos aspectos, en lo ecoiiomico. Sus residentes aun parecen gozar de un nivel de vi da mas alto y de una indumentaria mas a la moda que la gente de la provilncia. Ademas, gran parte de su arquitectura, en especial en el centro de la ciudad, es anterior a la ascension de Castro al poder. Los edificios coloniales y los modernos de estilo occidental est'an intactos y alguncs han sido rehabilitados recienitemente. Tambien hay viviendas en la ciudad que se parecen fisicamenite a aquellas en Mexico tan intensamente descritas por Oscar Lewis, 1 aunque las peores han sido demolidas despues de 1959.
Reconciling the differences between a bottom-up and inverse-estimated FFCO 2 emissions estimate in a large US urban area

The INFLUX experiment has taken multiple approaches to estimate the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) flux in a domain centered on the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. One approach, Hestia, uses a bottom-up technique relying on a mixture of activity data, fuel statistics, direct flux measurement and modeling algorithms. A second uses a Bayesian atmospheric inverse approach constrained by atmospheric CO 2 measurements and the Hestia emissions estimate as a prior CO 2 flux. The difference in the central estimate of the two approaches comes to 0.94 MtC (an 18.7% difference) over the eight-month period between September 1, 2012 and April 30, 2013, a statistically significant difference at the 2-sigma level. Here we explore possible explanations for this apparent discrepancy in an attempt to reconcile the flux estimates. We focus on two broad categories: 1) biases in the largest of bottom-up flux contributions and 2) missing CO 2 sources. Though there is some evidence for small biases in the Hestia fossil fuel carbon dioxide (FFCO 2 ) flux estimate as an explanation for the calculated difference, we find more support for missing CO 2 fluxes, with biological respiration the largest of these. Incorporation of these differences bring the Hestia bottom-up and the INFLUX inversion flux estimates into statistical agreement and are additionally consistent with wintertime measurements of atmospheric 14 CO 2 . We conclude that comparison of bottom-up and top-down approaches must consider all flux contributions and highlight the important contribution to urban carbon budgets of animal and biotic respiration. Incorporation of missing CO 2 fluxes reconciles the bottom-up and inverse-based approach in the INFLUX domain.
Radiology Readiness™, Research and Relationship Development

This chapter describes the impetus and process of project design for improving radiology services as part of global health development projects. The “radiology divide” between locations with high resources and locations with low resources contributes to disparities in healthcare access, availability, and quality. Designing programs and projects to ameliorate these disparities requires a stepwise, evidence-based approach. The 16-part Radiology Readiness™ approach developed by RAD-AID International is one such approach. The Radiology Readiness™ approach emphasizes the importance of relationship-building, background research, data collection and analysis, development of goals and objectives, and continuous reassessment during project execution. By using this approach, RAD-AID has had success developing sustainable radiology-related health development projects in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
How the Distribution of Member Expectations Influences Cooperation and Competition in Groups: A Social Relations Model Analysis of Social Dilemmas:

Group outcomes are difficult to model and predict using individual-level metrics. We use shared cognition concepts and the social relations model to predict cooperative group outcomes in two social dilemmas to test whether social projection or consensus among group members would best predict cooperation. Group-level variance components derived from the social relations model were used as indices of social projection and consensus. Groups played five rounds of two social dilemmas and predicted their partners' behavior on the following round. Results demonstrate that participants expect other group members to respond to the situation like the participant will and that shared expectations predict less competitive group behavior, but only when group members' expectations have little to no variance. This article demonstrates the utility of the social relations model in predicting group-level outcomes from individual inputs, as well as providing novel findings regarding the complex effects of shared expectations on collective outcomes.
Regression and Hierarchical Regression Models

Linear regression is the most commonly used statistical method for quantifying the relationships between variables and for using one or more variables to predict unobserved values of other variables. This chapter concerns Bayesian linear regression as well as more general multivariate methods—generalized linear models and hierarchical regression models.
Environmental Justice and Transportation Investment Policy

Environmental justice is concerned with a variety of public policy efforts to ensure that adverse human health or environmental effects of governmental activities do not fall disproportionately upon minority populations and low-income populations. In the realm of transportation, environmental justice means that transportation system changes such as road improvements are studied carefully to determine the nature, extent, and incidence of probable impacts, both favorable and adverse. The objective of this project has been to develop a series of practical indicators of economic, social, and environmental impacts related to transportation system changes. Comparing the spatial incidence of these impacts with the locations of low-income populations and minority populations, it is possible to assess whether the impacts would adversely and disproportionately affect these populations. Our intent is to help make it possible for everyone who is likely to be affected by a particular transportation system change to understand the expected types and magnitudes of anticipated impacts. The objective of such an understanding is to enable those who would be affected to determine which impacts would be most important to them.
Control of unstable nonlinear and nonstationary systems using LAMSTAR neural networks

The paper discusses the employment of the LAMSTAR neural network (NN) as an intelligent controller that requires no identifier, to control time-varying and nonlinear (NL), possibly unstable systems of unknown and parameters. In contrast to other neural networks, such as Backpropagation (BP), the LAMSTAR NN requires no search for initialization of weights. Search for initialization of weights, even when using fast BP-initialization algorithms, prevents controlling systems of unknown parameters that that may be unstable, since by the time an initialization seed is found the system may have already blown up. Similarly, parameter identification, for linear or nonlinear systems of a-priori unknown parameters, requires considerable time to converge before parameters can be used for control purposes, and by that time the system may again blow up. The present LAMSTAR-based NN design, requires no parameter identification per-se, since implicit identification is integrated into the NN-control. Computed results are presented for the LAMSTAR-NN control of SISO unstable time-varying and nonlinear third and fourth order systems whose parameters and orders are unknown to the NN.
Predicting eye movement patterns from fMRI responses to natural scenes

Eye tracking has long been used to measure overt spatial attention, and computational models of spatial attention reliably predict eye movements to natural images. However, researchers lack techniques to noninvasively access spatial representations in the human brain that guide eye movements. Here, we use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to predict eye movement patterns from reconstructed spatial representations evoked by natural scenes. First, we reconstruct fixation maps to directly predict eye movement patterns from fMRI activity. Next, we use a model-based decoding pipeline that aligns fMRI activity to deep convolutional neural network activity to reconstruct spatial priority maps and predict eye movements in a zero-shot fashion. We predict human eye movement patterns from fMRI responses to natural scenes, provide evidence that visual representations of scenes and objects map onto neural representations that predict eye movements, and find a novel three-way link between brain activity, deep neural network models, and behavior.
Agriculture and Inefficient Water Use

This chapter discussed the problems associated with inefficient agricultural water use, including critical groundwater declines, saltwater intrusion, and competition for water among water users, including power generation, drinking water supplies, and minimum stream flows among the effects caused by the lack of efficiency in agricultural water use.
MicroRNA-1-Mediated Inhibition of Cardiac Fibroblast Proliferation Through Targeting Cyclin D2 and CDK6

MicroRNA-1 (miRNA-1) has been long viewed as a muscle-specific miRNA and plays a critical role in myocardium and cardiomyocytes by controlling myocyte growth and rhythm. We identified that miRNA-1 is expressed in cardiac fibroblasts, which are one of the major non-muscle cell types in myocardium and are responsible for cardiac fibrosis in pathological conditions. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect and mechanism of action of miRNA-1 on cardiac fibroblast proliferation. Subcutaneous angiotensin II (Ang II) infusion via osmotic minipumps for 4 weeks was used to induce myocardial interstitial fibrosis in male Sprague-Dawley rats. MiRNA-1 expression was significantly down-regulated by 68% in freshly isolated ventricular fibroblasts from Ang II-infused rats than that from control rats. Similar results were obtained in adult rat ventricular fibroblasts that were stimulated in culture by Ang II or TGFβ for 48 h. Functionally, overexpression of miRNA-1 inhibited fibroblast proliferation, whereas knockdown of endogenous miRNA-1 increased fibroblast proliferation. We then identified and validated cyclin D2 and cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6) as direct targets of miRNA-1 in cardiac fibroblasts using biochemical assays. Moreover, we showed that the inhibitory effects of miRNA-1 on cardiac fibroblast proliferation can be blunted by overexpression of its target, cyclin D2. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate miRNA-1 expression and regulation in adult ventricular fibroblasts, where it acts as a novel negative regulator of adult cardiac fibroblast proliferation that is at least partially mediated by direct targeting of two cell cycle regulators. Our results expand the understanding of the regulatory roles of miRNA-1 in cardiac cells (i.e., from myocytes to a major non-muscle cells in the heart).
An online tool for calculating initial rates from continuous enzyme kinetic traces

Abstract A computer program was developed for semi-automated calculation of initial rates from continuous kinetic traces during the evaluation of Michaelis-Menten and EC50/IC50 kinetic parameters from high-throughput enzyme assays. The tool allows users to interactively fit kinetic traces using convenient browser-based selection tools, ameliorating tedious steps involved in defining linear ranges in general purpose programs like Microsoft Excel while still maintaining the simplicity of the “ruler and pencil” method of determining initial rates. As a test case, we quickly and accurately analyzed over 500 continuous enzyme kinetic traces resulting from experimental data on the response of Sirt1 to small-molecule activators. For a given titration series, our program allows simultaneous visualization of individual initial rates and the resulting Michaelis-Menten or EC50/IC50 kinetic model fit. In addition to serving as a convenient program for practicing enzymologists, our tool is also a useful teaching aid to visually demonstrate in real-time how incorrect initial rate fits can affect calculated steady-state kinetic parameters. For the convenience of the research community, we have made our program freely available online at https://continuous-enzyme-kinetics.herokuapp.com/continuous-enzyme-kinetics.
Is Anybody There? Exploring the Role of Social Presence in an Online Political Science Research Methods Class

Social presence, or the “being there” and “being real” presence of others in an online learning environment, is widely considered to have a positive impact on student motivation and participation, actual and perceived learning, course and instructor satisfaction, and retention in online courses (Richardson et al. 2017; Oh et al. 2018). Several aspects of social presence remain understudied however, such as how gender, class rank, and other demographical characteristics may influence perceptions of social presence and condition the relationship between perceptions of social presence and academic performance or course satisfaction. Furthermore, although studies of the impact of social presence abound, few studies examine the impact of perceptions of social presence on academic performance and course satisfaction across modalities – sections of online and face-to-face classes.
Chapter 35 – Krabbe Disease

Publisher Summary This chapter outlines the history of Krabbe disease, followed by its clinical manifestations, pathology, analytical biochemistry, pathophysiology, molecular genetics, treatment approaches, and animal models. Clinical phenotype of the classical infantile Krabbe disease is relatively stereotypic. The steady and rapidly progressive clinical course is divided into three stages. The first stage is characterized by generalized hyperirritability, hyperesthesia, episodic fever of unknown origin, and some stiffness of the limbs. The child, apparently normal for the first few months after birth, becomes hypersensitive to auditory, tactile, or visual stimuli and begins to cry frequently without apparent cause. Slight retardation or regression of psychomotor development, vomiting with feeding difficulty, and convulsive seizures may occur as initial clinical symptoms. The second stage involves rapid and severe motor and mental deterioration develops. There is marked hypertonicity, with extended and crossed legs, flexed arms, and backward-bent head. The final stage is the “burnt-out” stage, sometimes reached within a few weeks or months. The infant is decerebrate and blind, and has no contact with the surroundings. Deafness may appear. Patients rarely survive for more than two years.