cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
THE SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS ASSOCIATION: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

It is a privilege and pleasure to have the missioners of Agriculture. Activities at state uniopportunity to present the inaugural presiden- versities and state agricultural experiment tial address of the Southern Agricultural Eco- stations were soon recognized and these scinomics Association (SAEA). As I considered entists began participating in meetings of the alternative topics which might be candidates newly formed association. In 1907, the name for this presidential address, an intriguing ques- was modified to include "and Other Agricultural tion kept attracting my attention. Why are there Workers". In 1911, in Nashville, Tennessee the regional agricultural economics associations and name was changed to the Association of Southin particular why is there a Southern Agricul- ern Agricultural Workers and in 1972 the astural Economics Association? What services does sociation was renamed the Southern Association the SAEA provide to its membership that a na- of Agricultural Scientists (SAAS). tional association such as the American Agri- As early as the fourth annual convention of cultural Economics Association does not the Cotton States Association of Commissioners provide? Or possibly it is not what services a of Agriculture in 1902, economic topics such regional association provides but how and in as cooperative marketing of fruit, truck, and what kind of an environment the services are farm crops; building up the sugar cane industry provided to members. of the South; Georgia's industrial progress; and Delving into the history of the development Torrens systems of land registration and its efand formation of the SAEA seemed like a rea- fects on values of rural properties were dissonable starting point. The history of the SAEA cussed (Peterson). For more than 20 years does not necessarily provide a clear justification thereafter, there are bits and pieces of inforfor its existence but it certainly provides in- mation available which indicate that economic sights about why SAEA exists. SAEA has a rather topics were the focus of discussion of various unique and fascinating history and I will attempt sessions at the annual meetings of the ASAW. to share some aspects of it with you. In this The Agricultural Economics Section was formed address the focus is on three topics: (1) a brief in the mid-1920's and was listed as part of the history of SAEA, (2) a state of the association Association of Southern Agricultural Workers report on the present status of SAEA, and (3) program for the 1925 annual meeting. Peterson some potential future challenges for SAEA.
Quality Improvement Skills for Pediatric Residents: From Lecture to Implementation and Sustainability

Quality improvement (QI) skills are relevant to efforts to improve the health care system. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) program requirements call for resident participation in local and institutional QI efforts, and the move to outcomes-based accreditation is resulting in greater focus on the resulting learning and clinical outcomes. Many programs have enhanced practice-based learning and improvement (PBLI) and systems based practice (SBP) curricula, although efforts to actively involve residents in QI activities appear to be lagging. Using information from the extensive experience of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, we offer recommendations for how to create meaningful QI experiences for residents meet ACGME requirements and the expectations of the Clinical Learning Environment Review (CLER) process. Resident involvement in QI requires a multipronged approach that overcomes barriers and limitations that have frustrated earlier efforts to move this education from lectures to immersion experiences at the bedside and in the clinic. We present 5 dimensions of effective programs that facilitate active resident participation in improvement work and enhance their QI skills: 1) providing curricula and education models that ground residents in QI principles; 2) ensuring faculty development to prepare physicians for their role in teaching QI and demonstrating it in day-to-day practice; 3) ensuring all residents receive meaningful QI education and practical exposure to improvement projects; 4) overcoming time and other constraints to allow residents to apply their newly developed QI skills; and 5) assessing the effect of exposure to QI on resident competence and project outcomes.
The fate of nitrogen fixed by diazotrophs in the ocean

Abstract. While we now know that N2 fixation is a significant source of new nitrogen (N) in the marine environment, little is known about the fate of this N (and associated C), despite the importance of diazotrophs to global carbon and nutrient cycles. Specifically, does N fixed during N2 fixation fuel autotrophic or heterotrophic growth and thus facilitate carbon (C) export from the euphotic zone, or does it contribute primarily to bacterial productivity and respiration in the euphotic zone? For Trichodesmium, the diazotroph we know the most about, the transfer of recently fixed N2 (and C) appears to be primarily through dissolved pools. The release of N varies among and within populations and as a result of the changing physiological state of cells and populations. The net result of trophic transfers appears to depend on the co-occurring organisms and the complexity of the colonizing community. In order to understand the impact of diazotrophy on carbon flow and export in marine systems, we need a better understanding of the trophic flow of elements in Trichodesmium-dominated communities and other diazotrophic communities under various defined physiological states. Nitrogen and carbon fixation rates themselves vary by orders of magnitude within and among studies of Trichodesmium, highlighting the difficulty in extrapolating global rates of N2 fixation from direct measurements. Because the stoichiometry of N2 and C fixation does not appear to be in balance with that of particles, and the relationship between C and N2 fixation rates is also variable, it is equally difficult to derive global rates of one from the other. This paper seeks to synthesize what is known about the fate of diazotrophic production in the environment. A better understanding of the physiology and physiological ecology of Trichodesmium and other marine diazotrophs is necessary to quantify and predict the effects of increased or decreased diazotrophy in the context of the carbon cycle and global change.
Excitatory synaptic transmission in neostriatal neurons: regulation by cyclic AMP-dependent mechanisms

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether cAMP-dependent mechanisms regulated excitatory synaptic transmission in the neostriatum. A brain slice preparation was utilized for intracellular recordings of the excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) evoked by electrical stimulation. Bath application of forskolin, an activator of adenylate cyclase, enhanced the EPSP amplitude and duration. This potentiation was dose dependent and did not occur with the inactive analog 1,9-dideoxyforskolin. Forskolin potentiation was unaltered by treatment with the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline. Furthermore, two inhibitors of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), Rp-cAMPS and IP20-amide, attenuated forskolin's enhancement of the EPSP. In addition, the PKA activator Sp-cAMPS enhanced excitatory synaptic transmission. Interestingly, treatment with PKA inhibitors alone depressed while the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid enhanced the synaptic response. These results suggest a role for tonic kinase and phosphatase activity in regulating excitatory synaptic transmission in the neostriatum. Finally, forskolin was found to enhance the responses of neostriatal neurons to glutamate receptor agonists. This potentiation, which occurred in the presence of tetrodotoxin, provides at leas part of the explanation for the cAMP/PKA-dependent regulation of the EPSP. Overall, these results suggest a role for the adenylate cyclase cascade in the regulation of excitatory synaptic transmission in the neostriatum.
An exploratory study of community awareness of impacts and agreement to sustainable tourism development principles

Before informed, active, full, or meaningful participation can be achieved, tourism planners need to evaluate stakeholder level of awareness and perception of tourism, the tourism process, impacts, and principles of sustainability. Framed with stakeholder theory, this study developed and piloted the Stakeholder Understanding of Sustainable Tourism Development Index (SUSTDI), a tool that assesses awareness of tourism impacts and agreement to principles of sustainable tourism development. The results produced a six-factor solution (α = .93); resource preservation, environmental education, stakeholder inclusion, economic planning, cultural awareness, and community resource identification. Differences between community groups were also examined. Though continued validation of the SUSTDI is needed, this is an initial step in providing a tool for tourism planners to assess a community’s level of awareness and agreement as a precursor to developing education and training programs to increase understanding and kn...
Toward an Integrative Psychotherapy for Maladaptive Anger

This chapter adopts the psychoevolutionary position that anger, like any emotion, is part of a repertoire for handling various adaptational demands. However, it is explained that anger can become maladaptive in terms of the current conceptualization of what constitutes a psychological disorder. In such instances, the treatment options range from philosophico-religious approaches to standalone techniques. Shadowing recent trends in psychotherapy, a case is made for the integration of techniques to regulate anger. As shown, these are sequentially ordered according to phases for prevention, intervention, and postvention of anger. This parallels the course of anger from its onset, through its progression, to its resolution. As illustrated, the prevention phase is primarily behavioral, the intervention phase centers around cognitive strategies, and the postvention phase invokes affective therapies. The resulting cognitive–behavioral affective therapy (CBAT) is programmatic in the additional sense that there is a built-in contingency with which techniques are used. CBAT is more expansive in scope than CBT and in step with the current renaissance of affect as a topic of study within psychology and other disciplines. Preliminary empirical data are reported on the outcome of this program. The large effect sizes obtained are supportive of the absolute and relative efficacy of CBAT in regulating anger. Further research is encouraged for the implementation and evaluation of this integrative program in diverse populations.
Physical Basis For Korean Boundaries

tOREA is well recognized as a distinct political unit. The country has a definite area on the surface of the earth and is delimited from the surrounding areas by definite boundaries. These boundaries of water and land have certain characteristics and functions which merit description. Moreover, within Korea geographic divisions are recognized. The provinces have well defined physical boundaries which have been important in compartmentalizing Korea. With the collapse of Japan, Korea was divided between American and Russian military zones by a purely artificial line, the thirty-eighth parallel, North. This imposition of a new boundary within Korea may affect the future activities of the people. The description of its physical character reveals its inadequacies as a boundary. Political boundaries are significant geographic phenomena and important factors in international relations.1 Much has been written about "good" and "bad" boundaries. For example, there has been a general feeling that physical barriers to land travel make "good" boundaries. But in these days of air travel there are no such things as sustained physical barriers. Boundaries have a constantly changing nature; a river which acted as a barrier to travel may, as technology advances, become an avenue of commerce. The core of boundary problems lies less in their physical character than in their functioning. The United States-Canadian boundary is an example of a boundary which has almost every conceivable base, yet it functions well because of the desires of the people on both sides to live at peace. The boundaries of and in Korea will be "good" boundaries so long as there are desires on the part of those in authority on both sides to make them "good." However, the physical character of these boundaries must be recognized and should the boundaries continue to exist will play a part in the political geography of Korea. It is with these physical aspects that most of this discussion deals.
Photochemical reactivity of a binuclear Fe(I)–Fe(I) hydrogenase model compound with cyano ligands

Abstract Iron–iron hydrogenase model compounds have potential as hydrogen producing catalysts that are inexpensive and environmentally friendly. Many of these model compounds are dependent on light for activity but little is know about the photochemical intermediates or products that are formed and catalytically important. The photochemistry of μ-pdt-[Fe(CO) 2 CN] 2 2− ( 2 ) is explored in acetonitrile and spectral changes in the IR support lost of CN−. UV–Vis spectroscopy was used to determine quantum yields for the disappearance of 2 , which was found to be 0.38 ± 0.04 in acetonitrile when irradiated with 365 nm light under nitrogen.
Influence of keratin on native cellular fluorescence of human skin

Cellular differentiation is a characteristic that defines normal and neoplastic tissue. Epithelial tumors express keratins that are quantitatively and qualitatively different from normal tissue. Therefore, a study was designed to test the hypothesis that native cellular fluorescence (NCF) can be used to detect in vivo differentiation changes associated with higher keratin content in epidermal thick skin and callus when compared with non-keratinized forearm skin. Nineteen control subjects (males, N equals 12; females, N equals 7) were tested using a xenon based fluorescence spectrophotometer (Mediscience Corp.). Seven emission and five excitation spectra were recorded from two sites on each subject: the ventral forearm and palmar hand at the metacarpal-phalangeal joint. Wavelength ratios were used to quantitate three emission and three excitation scans. Two sample t-test analysis was performed for forearm (FA) vs. hand thick skin (HTS) and callus (CAL). The emission scans ((lambda) Ex 300 nm, (lambda) Em 320 - 580 nm; (lambda) Ex 340 nm, (lambda) Em 360 - 660 nm; (lambda) Ex 365 nm, (lambda) Em 400 - 700 nm) are statistically significant (P less than 0.0001) at the wavelength ratios 340 nm/440 nm, 420 nm/540 nm, and 440 nm/540 nm, respectively. The excitation scans ((lambda) Ex 200 - 320 nm, (lambda) Em 340 nm; (lambda) Ex 200 - 360 nm, (lambda) Em 380 nm; (lambda) Ex 270 - 500 nm, (lambda) Em 520 nm) are statistically significant (P less than 0.0001) at the wavelength ratios 260 nm/290 nm, 290 nm/340 nm, and 320 nm/345 nm, respectively. In vivo tissue fluorescence can be used to detect the influence of keratin on the spectral profiles of the epidermis.
Spinal injury in a U.S. Army light observation helicopter.

All accident reports involving U.S. Army OH-58 series helicopters were analyzed to determine vertical and horizontal velocity change at impact and the relationship of this kinematic data to the production of spinal injury. This analysis determined that spinal injury is related primarily to vertical velocity change at impact and is relatively independent of horizontal velocity change. The dramatic increase in the rate of spinal injury occurring just above the design sink speed of the aircraft landing gear (3.7 m/s) suggests that the fuselage and seat provide little additional impact attenuation capability above that of the gear alone. It is concluded that if this aircraft were modified to provide protection to the occupants for impacts up to 9.1 m/s (30 ft/s), approximately 80% of all spinal injury incurred in survivable accidents could be substantially mitigated. The incorporation of energy absorbing seats is recommended.
Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigen 3 (EBNA3) Proteins Regulate EBNA2 Binding to Distinct RBPJ Genomic Sites

Latent infection of B lymphocytes by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in vitro results in their immortalization into lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs); this latency program is controlled by the EBNA2 viral transcriptional activator, which targets promoters via RBPJ, a DNA binding protein in the Notch signaling pathway. Three other EBNA3 proteins (EBNA3A, EBNA3B, and EBNA3C) interact with RBPJ to regulate cell gene expression. The mechanism by which EBNAs regulate different genes via RBPJ remains unclear. Our chromatin immunoprecipitation with deep sequencing (ChIP-seq) analysis of the EBNA3 proteins analyzed in concert with prior EBNA2 and RBPJ data demonstrated that EBNA3A, EBNA3B, and EBNA3C bind to distinct, partially overlapping genomic locations. Although RBPJ interaction is critical for EBNA3A and EBNA3C growth effects, only 30 to 40% of EBNA3-bound sites colocalize with RBPJ. Using LCLs conditional for EBNA3A or EBNA3C activity, we demonstrate that EBNA2 binding at sites near EBNA3A- or EBNA3C-regulated genes is specifically regulated by the respective EBNA3. To investigate EBNA3 binding specificity, we identified sequences and transcription factors enriched at EBNA3A-, EBNA3B-, and EBNA3C-bound sites. This confirmed the prior observation that IRF4 is enriched at EBNA3A- and EBNA3C-bound sites and revealed IRF4 enrichment at EBNA3B-bound sites. Using IRF4-negative BJAB cells, we demonstrate that IRF4 is essential for EBNA3C, but not EBNA3A or EBNA3B, binding to specific sites. These results support a model in which EBNA2 and EBNA3s compete for distinct subsets of RBPJ sites to regulate cell genes and where EBNA3 subset specificity is determined by interactions with other cell transcription factors. IMPORTANCE Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent gene products cause human cancers and transform B lymphocytes into immortalized lymphoblastoid cell lines in vitro. EBV nuclear antigens (EBNAs) and membrane proteins constitutively activate pathways important for lymphocyte growth and survival. An important unresolved question is how four different EBNAs (EBNA2, -3A, -3B, and -3C) exert unique effects via a single transcription factor, RBPJ. Here, we report that each EBNA binds to distinct but partially overlapping sets of genomic sites. EBNA3A and EBNA3C specifically regulate EBNA2's access to different RBPJ sites, providing a mechanism by which each EBNA can regulate distinct cell genes. We show that IRF4, an essential regulator of B cell differentiation, is critical for EBNA3C binding specificity; EBNA3A and EBNA3B specificities are likely due to interactions with other cell transcription factors. EBNA3 titration of EBNA2 transcriptional function at distinct sites likely limits cell defenses that would be triggered by unchecked EBNA2 prooncogenic activity.
Marital Status, Home Environments, and Family Strain: Complex Effects on Preschool Children's School Readiness Skills

The current study examined the complex associations among marital status, home environments, and family strain (i.e. income, maternal depressive symptoms, social support, and parenting stress), as they predict preschool children's pre-academic and social skills at 36 and 54 months. Findings from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 897) showed that the home learning environment, which was significantly lower among single-parent families, worked as a mediator to explain the relationship between single-parent families and children's pre-academic skills at 36 and 54 months. Additionally, parenting stress, which was significantly higher among single-parent families, worked as a mediator to explain the relationship between single status and the home learning environment. Finally, moderation analyses showed that family income is important for improving the home social environment, and the home social environment is strongly associated with children's social skills in single-parent families, but not in cohabiting families. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Biologic significance of quantitative estrogen receptor immunohistochemical assay by image analysis in breast cancer

The authors assayed 209 stage I and II mammary carcinomas for the estrogen receptor (ER) with an immunocytochemical assay (ICA) and quantitated the nuclear stain with the SAMBA 4000 Cell Image Analysis System (Imaging Products International, Inc., Chantilly, VA). The cases had been followed for 54-214 months (average, 64 months). The results were correlated with the patients' overall and disease-free survival times. Three of the parameters obtained from the quantitative analysis were evaluated: labeling index, mean optical density, and quick score. Statistical analysis was performed with the Kaplan-Meier product limit estimator for quantitated values and Cox regression for risk of mortality and disease progression. Mean optical density of the nuclei at a cut-off value of 10 produced the strongest association between quantitative ERICA and overall and disease-free survival times in discriminating high- and low-risk groups (P = .016 and P = .018, respectively). When the mean optical density results were categorized into ranges of values of potential biologic significance according to overall survival times, patients with mean optical density greater than 15 were found to be at lowest risk; patients with values between 5 and 15 had a statistically significant intermediate risk; and the group with values less than 5 had the worst outcome (P = .018). The probability of disease-free survival also was statistically significant (P = .038) among the three groups with cut-off points of less than 10, 10-35, and greater than 35. These results showed that quantified optical density has better discriminating power for risk prediction than that obtained by the biochemical assay for ER at a cut-off value of 10 or 20 fmol/mg. Estrogen receptor ICA has been adequately shown to be as or more accurate than ligand-binding assays. Our results corroborate those studies and support the utility of ICA assays for ER by showing that quantitation performed by image analysis is an objective and reproducible method yielding clinical prognostic information of higher reliability than that given by the dextran-coated charcoal ER assay.
The Trypanosoma cruzi Diamine Transporter Is Essential for Robust Infection of Mammalian Cells

Trypanosoma cruzi is incapable of synthesizing putrescine or cadaverine de novo, and, therefore, salvage of polyamines from the host milieu is an obligatory nutritional function for the parasite. A high-affinity diamine transporter (TcPOT1) from T. cruzi has been identified previously that recognizes both putrescine and cadaverine as ligands. In order to assess the functional role of TcPOT1 in intact parasites, a Δtcpot1 null mutant was constructed by targeted gene replacement and characterized. The Δtcpot1 mutant lacked high-affinity putrescine-cadaverine transport capability but retained the capacity to transport diamines via a non-saturable, low-affinity mechanism. Transport of spermidine and arginine was not impacted by the Δtcpot1 lesion. The Δtcpot1 cell line exhibited a significant but not total defect in its ability to subsist in Vero cells, although initial infection rates were not affected by the lesion. These findings reveal that TcPOT1 is the sole high-affinity diamine permease in T. cruzi, that genetic obliteration of TcPOT1 impairs the ability of the parasite to maintain a robust infection in mammalian cells, and that a secondary low-affinity uptake mechanism for this key parasite nutrient is operative but insufficient for optimal infection.
Succinic acid production from lignocellulosic hydrolysate by Basfia succiniciproducens.

The production of chemicals alongside fuels will be essential to enhance the feasibility of lignocellulosic biorefineries. Succinic acid (SA), a naturally occurring C4-diacid, is a primary intermediate of the tricarboxylic acid cycle and a promising building block chemical that has received significant industrial attention. Basfia succiniciproducens is a relatively unexplored SA-producing bacterium with advantageous features such as broad substrate utilization, genetic tractability, and facultative anaerobic metabolism. Here B. succiniciproducens is evaluated in high xylose-content hydrolysates from corn stover and different synthetic media in batch fermentation. SA titers in hydrolysate at an initial sugar concentration of 60 g/L reached up to 30 g/L, with metabolic yields of 0.69 g/g, and an overall productivity of 0.43 g/L/h. These results demonstrate that B. succiniciproducens may be an attractive platform organism for bio-SA production from biomass hydrolysates.
Magnetic merry signal processing of steel cable core rubber belt base on wavelet conversion

According to the complicated working environment features of the steel cable core rubber belt,a wavelet conversion was provided to pre-treat the magnetic merry signals of the steel cable core rubber belt.The maximum modulus method of the wavelet conversion was applied to the singularity detection of the signal and the noise removing treatment.During the signal noise removing,the singularity information of the signal could be effectively kept.With the alternative projection method to reconstruct the signal,the reconstructed error could be highly reduced.The experiment results showed that the real-time measured magnetic merry signal of the steel cable core belt would have great noises.After the wavelet conversion treatment,the signal would be more smooth and the singularity information of the signal would be effectively kept.All above could provide the theoretical bases to the fault detection of the steel cable core rubber belt.
A Short Introduction to Intuitionistic Logic

Introduction. I: Intuitionistic Propositional Logic. 1. Preliminaries. 2. Natural Deduction for Propositional Logic. 3. Negative Translation: Glivenko's Theorem. 4. Program Interpretation of Intuitionistic Logic. 5. Computations with Deductions. 6. Coherence Theorem. 7. Kripke Models. 8. Gentzen-type Propositional System LJpm. 9. Topological Completeness. 10. Proof-Search. 11. System LJpm. 12. Interpolation Theorem. II: Intuitionistic Predicate Logic. 13. Natural Deduction System NJ. 14. Kripke Models for Predicate Logic. 15. Systems LJm, LJ. 16. Proof-Search in Predicate Logic. References. Index.
Data replicating the factor structure and reliability of commonly used measures of resilience: The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Resilience Scale, and Scale of Protective Factors.

The data presented in this article are related to the article entitled “Assessing Resilience in Emerging Adulthood: The Resilience Scale (RS), Connor Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and Scale of Protective Factors (SPF)” (Madewell and Ponce-Garcia, 2016) [1]. The data were collected from a sample of 451 college students from three universities located in the Southwestern region of the United States: 374 from a large public university and 67 from two smaller regional universities. The data from the three universities did not significantly differ in terms of demographics. The data represent participant responses on six measurements to include the Resilience Scale-25 (RS-25), Resilience Scale-14 (RS-14), Connor Davidson Resilience Scale-25 (CD-RISC-25), Connor Davidson Resilience Scale-10 (CD-RISC-10), Scale of Protective Factors-24 (SPF-24), and the Life Stressor Checklist Revised (LSC-R).
No Indictment on Canfield Drive

On March 4, 2015, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) ruled that Ferguson, Missouri had a race problem. In the aftermath of Michael Brown’s death, the DOJ released two incriminating reports, one substantiating this claim. The city of Ferguson had for years exhibited systemic racial bias in the municipal sector. The police department, which at the time of Brown’s death had 50 white officers and only 3 black officers, displayed a pattern of harassing, bullying, and arresting black citizens. Then once in the system, the court further exacerbated frivolous charges against them in order to issue fines and generate city revenue. In addition, the investigators of the DOJ report found evidence of racist jokes sent by email between police officers and court officials. The subsequent release of the report led the Municipal Judge, Ronald Brockmeyer, City Manager, John Shaw, and Police Chief, Thomas Jackson, to resign.
Forest leaf litter quantity and seedling occurrence along an urban-rural gradient

Leaf litter, by modifying microenvironmental conditions, can alter plant population distributions and is considered to be a major force in structuring many plant communities. Comparative studies of urban, suburban, and rural forests in the New York City (NYC) metropolitan area have identified numerous biotic and abiotic differences among these forests, including several involved in leaf litter decomposition. These differences in decomposition among the forests could result in differences in litter quantity on the forest floor and hence microenvironmental conditions and safe sites for germination of different plant species. We conducted a survey of forest floor leaf litter quantity in forests located along an urban-to-rural land-use gradient originating in urban NYC and extending to rural Connecticut. Mean litter depth, mass, and density increased significantly with increased distance of the forest from NYC.
The Impact of Intragastric Balloons on Obesity-Related Co-Morbidities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The Impact of Intragastric Balloons on Obesity-Related Co-Morbidities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
An evaluation of survival of ovarian cancer patients with clear cell carcinoma versus serous carcinoma treated with platinum therapy: A Gynecologic Oncology Group experience.

5534 Background: We examined disparities in prognosis between patients with ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) and serous epithelial ovarian cancer (SOC). Methods: Data from stage I-IV epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients who participated in 12 randomized GOG protocols using platinum-based chemotherapy were reviewed. Proportional hazards models adjusted for age and stratified by protocol, treatment arm, stage, performance status (PS), and race were used to compare progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) by cell type (clear cell versus serous). Results: There were 10,803 patients enrolled, 1272 were not eligible: leaving 9,531, of whom 544 (6%) had OCCC, 7,054 (74%) had SOC, and 1,933 (20%) had other; only the OCCC and SOC are considered here. OCCC were significantly younger, more often of Asian race, stage I, good PS, and optimally surgically debulked than SOC patients. Prior to adjustment, OCCC had better PFS and OS due to better prognostic factors. There was no significant differe...
Effects of prior influenza virus vaccination on maternal antibody responses: Implications for achieving protection in the newborns.

Abstract Background In the US, influenza vaccination is recommended annually to everyone ≥6 months. Prior receipt of influenza vaccine can dampen antibody responses to subsequent vaccination. This may have implications for pregnant women and their newborns, groups at high risk for complications from influenza infection. Objective This study examined effects of prior vaccination on maternal and cord blood antibody levels in a cohort of pregnant women in the US. Study design Influenza antibody titers were measured in 141 pregnant women via the hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) assay prior to receipt of quadrivalent influenza vaccine, 30 days post-vaccination, and at delivery (maternal and cord blood). Logistic regression analyses adjusting for age, BMI, parity, gestational age at vaccination, and year of vaccination compared HAI titers, seroprotection, and seroconversion in women with versus without vaccination in the prior year. Results Compared to those without vaccination in the previous year (n = 50), women with prior vaccination (n = 91) exhibited higher baseline antibody titers and/or seroprotection rates against all four strains after controlling for covariates. Prior vaccination also predicted lower antibody responses and seroconversion rates at one month post-vaccination. However, at delivery, there were no significant differences in antibody titers or seroprotection rates in women or newborns, and no meaningful differences in the efficiency of antibody transfer, as indicated by the ratio of cord blood to maternal antibody titers at the time of delivery. Conclusion In this cohort of pregnant women, receipt of influenza vaccine the previous year predicted higher baseline antibody titers and decreased antibody responses at one month post-vaccination against all influenza strains. However, prior maternal vaccination did not significantly affect either maternal antibody levels at delivery or antibody levels transferred to the neonate. This study is registered with the NIH as a clinical trial (NCT02148874).
Balance of Power, Domestic Violence, and Health Injuries: Evidence from Demographic and Health Survey of Nepal

Summary A large literature has documented a complex and interdependent relationship between domestic violence, women empowerment, domestic risk factors, and violence-related health injuries. In this paper, we evaluate this relationship using data drawn from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey, 2011. We simultaneously estimate the impact of women empowerment and domestic risk factors on domestic violence, and the impact of domestic violence on health consequences. Specifically, an IV ordered probit regression strategy is used, which addresses both the endogenous nature of domestic violence and the ordinal nature of health outcome variables. Our study finds evidence that it is not the autonomous power of women, but a cooperative decision-making environment in a marital relationship that reduces violence. Additionally, education decreases domestic violence and domestic risk factors, including alcohol and multiple unions exacerbate domestic violence. Finally, in terms of adverse health outcomes, we find that domestic violence has a non-linear impact on health injuries. At low levels of violence, the likelihood of injuries is low and injuries are generally not threatening, and as the level of violence increases, it considerably increases the probability of multiple and more serious health injuries.
Lower Extremity Venous Ultrasound

Venous thromboembolism is a common condition found in patients of all walks of life, whether idiopathic, secondary to a clotting disorder, or provoked due to recent surgery, trauma, or supplemental hormone use. Point-of-care ultrasound allows for rapid screening and diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis in patients who may present in the outpatient setting with a painful or swollen leg or those immobilized in the intensive care unit. While there are multiple different causes of a painful and/or swollen leg such as cellulitis, thrombophlebitis, injury, lymphadenopathy, etc., deep venous thrombosis can become life-threatening if the clot propagates toward the heart and enters the pulmonary arteries causing a pulmonary embolism. For this reason, diagnosing and treating deep venous thrombosis is of great importance. This chapter will review basic lower extremity venous anatomy, image acquisition, normal ultrasound anatomy, and interpretation of pathology.
Clinical studies in the selection of patients for coronary artery surgery.

The purpose of this communication is to present an analysis of a series of patients who have undergone coronary bypass surgery to determine if certain parameters influence the surgical results. The parameters are: (1) anatomic distribution of disease (2) left ventricular function
Oligosaccharide Signalling for Proteinase Inhibitor Genes in Plant Leaves

Plants have evolved a variety of strategies to defend themselves against the multitude of pests and predators that can infect or ingest them.1 The various defenses that plants employ, often found in combinations, range from physical barriers, such as the cuticle,2 to a host of toxic or antinutritional chemicals that can be either constitutively synthesized to effective levels or can be induced to accumulate in response to attacking pests.3 The diversity and complexity of induced plant defensive systems has made it difficult to obtain clear evidence that specific chemicals are responsible for defending the plants against specific intruders. It is only within the past few years that such evidence has begun to emerge, and only a few constitutive or inducible defensive systems have been extensively studied at the biochemical or molecular biological levels. Evidence from studies of inducible plant defenses now strongly implicates a possible role for oligosaccharide fragments derived from fungal and plant cell walls in signalling localized and systemic defensive responses.4,5,6 Beginning with experiments in the laboratory of Albersheim in the mid-1970s, in which β-glucan components of fungal cell walls were shown to be powerful elicitors of phytoalexin antibiotic synthesis in soybean cotyledons,7 a concept has emerged from studies in several laboratories that oligosaccharide fragments from fungi and plant cell walls, as well as from insect cuticles, can induce defensive systems of plants when released from sites of pest attacks.
Radiologic evaluation of foreign bodies.

Summary The correct selection of a radiologic imaging modality along with knowledge of indirect radiologic findings can help determine the presence and location of a foreign body. Plain radiographs should be the initial screening modality for a suspected foreign body. Whereas most metal and glass foreign bodies are detectable on radiographs, many foreign bodies, including wood, are not. We do not advocate using xeroradiography for the detection of foreign bodies. When a suspected superficial foreign body is not delineated on radiographs, ultrasonography should be the next modality of choice. CT should be reserved for deep foreign bodies or when foreign bodies are not seen on radiographs or ultrasonography but are suspected.
Perioperative outcomes following reoperation for recurrent insular gliomas.

OBJECTIVE Greater extent of resection (EOR) improves overall survival and progression-free survival for patients with low- and high-grade glioma. While resection for newly diagnosed insular gliomas can be performed with minimal morbidity, perioperative morbidity is not clearly defined for patients undergoing a repeat resection for recurrent insular gliomas. In this study the authors report on tumor characteristics, tumor EOR, and functional outcomes in patients undergoing reoperation for recurrent insular glioma. METHODS Adult patients with insular gliomas (WHO grades II-IV) who underwent index resection followed by reoperation were identified through the University of California San Francisco Brain Tumor Center. Treatment history and functional outcomes were collected retrospectively from the electronic medical record. Pre- and postoperative tumor volumes were quantified using software with region-of-interest analysis based on FLAIR and T1-weighted postgadolinium sequences from pre- and postoperative MRI. RESULTS Forty-four patients (63.6% male, 36.4% female) undergoing 49 reoperations for recurrent insular tumors were identified with a median follow-up of 741 days. Left- and right-sided tumors comprised 52.3% and 47.7% of the cohort, respectively. WHO grade II, III, and IV gliomas comprised 46.9%, 28.6%, and 24.5% of the cohort, respectively. Ninety-five percent (95.9%) of cases involved language and/or motor mapping. Median EOR of the insular component of grade II, III, and IV tumors were 82.1%, 75.0%, and 94.6%, respectively. EOR during reoperation was not impacted by Berger-Sanai insular zone or tumor side. At the time of reoperation, 44.9% of tumors demonstrated malignant transformation to a higher WHO grade. Ninety-day postoperative assessment confirmed that 91.5% of patients had no new postoperative deficit attributable to surgery. Of those with new deficits, 3 (6.4%) had a visual field cut and 1 (2.1%) had hemiparesis (strength grade 1-2/5). The presence of a new postoperative deficit did not vary with EOR. CONCLUSIONS Recurrent insular gliomas, regardless of insular zone and pathology, may be reoperated on with an overall acceptable degree of resection and safety despite their anatomical and functional complexities. The use of intraoperative mapping utilizing asleep or awake methods may reduce morbidity to acceptable rates despite prior surgery.
Transitioning From the Military to Teaching: Two Veterans’ Journeys Through the Entry Year

AbstractOver the last two decades, thousands of U.S. military veterans have entered teaching as a second career. This study documents the first year of teaching as experienced by two teachers recen...
Multi-Paragraph Segmentation of Expository Text

This paper describes TextTiling, an algorithm for partitioning expository texts into coherent multi-paragraph discourse units which reflect the subtopic structure of the texts. The algorithm uses domain-independent lexical frequency and distribution information to recognize the interactions of multiple simultaneous themes. Two fully-implemented versions of the algorithm are described and shown to produce segmentation that corresponds well to human judgments of the major subtopic boundaries of thirteen lengthy texts.
Acute Problems during Hemodialysis

The outcomes of chronic hemodialysis have improved greatly during the last 15 years. This improvement has taken place without any real “breakthrough” in our understanding of performance of dialysis. It seems to represent the cumulative results of small technical improvements, the “shuffling of details,” and the tendency to increase the frequency of dialysis from 2 to 3 times weekly. The improvement is very real. The first-year mortality has decreased from 50% to 14% (Table 1). This is astounding, particularly as mean patient age has increased markedly and the percentage of patients with systemic complicated diseases has increased markedly.
Surgical Treatment of the Zygomaticotemporal Nerve

The temporal area is one of the most common trigger sites for migraine headache. Accurate trigger point diagnosis, in general, and specifically within the temporal region is critical for optimal outcomes following migraine surgery. Surgical anatomy, anatomic landmarks, and fine points in surgical approach all play important roles in the safety and efficacy of surgical deactivation of these trigger points.
Induction of defensive proteins in Solanaceae by salivary glucose oxidase of Helicoverpa zea caterpillars and consequences for larval performance

Salivary glucose oxidase (GOX) is one of the most abundant salivary proteins in generalist caterpillar Helicoverpa zea. GOX has been hypothesized to benefit H. zea by modulating direct defense responses of plants. Although the function of this protein has been studied, its role remains unclear. The study aims to test the hypothesis that GOX induces similar defensive responses among Solanaceous plants, and has similar consequences for larval performance of H. zea. Using six different plants in Solanaceae, including tomato (Solanum lycopersicum cv. Better Boy and S. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme), bell pepper (Capsicum annuum cv. Revolution), habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense), tomatillo (Physalis philadelphica cv. Tamayo), and tobacco (N. benthamiana), we tested the impact of GOX on induction of two common defense proteins, trypsin protease inhibitors (TPI) and polyphenol oxidases (PPO), and on relative growth rate of H. zea larvae. We found that GOX specifically induced TPI activity in tomato and habanero pepper, and the level of defense protein depended on leaf location. In addition, prior application of GOX did not increase the performance of H. zea in any plant tested. Changes in performance in tomato and habanero pepper matched the induction of TPI. In summary, our findings indicate that GOX induces similar defense responses in some Solanacean plants, but largely depends on species/genotype of plant, and that the presence of GOX did not benefit larval H. zea by modulating direct defense responses of plants. Other mechanisms must be involved in driving the evolution of this salivary protein.
Sharing of weak signals of positive selection across the genome

Selection in humans often leaves subtle signatures at individual loci. Few studies have measured the extent to which these signals are shared among human populations. Here a new method is developed to compare weak signals of selection in aggregate across the genome using the 1000 Genomes Phase 3 Data. Results presented here show that selection producing weak selection serves to increase population differences around coding areas of the genome.
Recent Theoretical Developments in Gyrotron Research

An electromagnetic radiation mechanism1-3 known as the “electron cyclotron maser” has been the basis of a new class of radiation devices, called the gyrotrons, capable of generating coherent millimeter and submillimeter radiation at unprecedented power levels. The cyclotron maser interaction takes place between the electromagnetic waves of a cavity or waveguide structure and an electron beam in which the individual electrons move along helical trajectories in the presence of an applied magnetic field. Theory and development of various types of gyrotrons can be found in recent review articles4-8 and the references cited therein.
Elements of External Validity: Framework, Design, and Analysis

External validity of randomized experiments is a focus of long-standing debates in the social sciences. While the issue has been extensively studied at the conceptual level, in practice, few empirical studies have explicit analysis aimed towards externally valid inferences. In this article, we make three contributions to improve empirical approaches for external validity. First, we propose a formal framework that encompasses four dimensions of external validity; X-, T-, Y -, and C-validity (units, treatments, outcomes, and contexts). The proposed framework synthesizes diverse external validity concerns that arise in practice. We then distinguish two goals of generalization. To conduct effect-generalization — generalizing the magnitude of causal effects, we introduce three estimators of the target population causal effects. For sign-generalization — assessing whether the direction of causal effects is generalizable, we propose a novel multiple-testing procedure under weaker assumptions. We illustrate our methods through three applications covering field, survey, and lab experiments.