cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Genetic disorders of the pituitary.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To discuss pituitary development and function related to those factors in which molecular defects resulting in combined pituitary hormone deficiency have been described in humans, and to describe recently reported novel mutations in these factors (January 2010 to September 2011). RECENT FINDINGS: Novel mutations have been found in transcription factors involved in pituitary development, HESX1; LHX3; LHX4; SOX3; Prophet of Pit-1; and POU1FI, and in some of the signaling molecules expressed in the ventral diencephalon (fibroblast growth factor 8 and GLI2). There is phenotypic variability for the same mutation suggesting variable penetrance due to other genetic, epigenetic, or environmental factors. The incidence of mutations in these factors is low suggesting that other genes or environmental factors are responsible for the majority of cases of combined pituitary hormone deficiency. SUMMARY: Development of the pituitary gland and pituitary cell determination and specification depend on the expression and interaction of signaling molecules and transcription factors in overlapping, but distinct, spatial and temporal patterns. Studying genotype-phenotype correlations in patients with mutations in these factors give insight into the mechanisms involved in normal pituitary development and function.
Party political preferences of US Hispanics: The varying impact of religion, social class and demographic factors

Abstract The focus of this article is the pattern of party political preferences among the fast‐growing and increasingly politically significant Hispanic population. The source of our data is the 1990 City University of New York [CUNY] National Survey of Religious Identification, a nationally representative sample that includes 4,868 Hispanic adult respondents. One unique aspect of our large data set is that for the first time we disaggregate the one‐third who are Protestant and of No Religion from the Roman Catholic majority of Hispanics in order to see how religious identification affects political outlook. We found that Hispanics are most likely to be Democrats: 41 per cent, compared with 27 per cent who identified as Independents and 24 per cent as Republicans. Our research suggests that Hispanics are rapidly adopting mainstream American political characteristics. As a whole, the Hispanic population politically resembles non‐Hispanic white America more closely than it does black America. Among Hispani...
A Fifteen-Amino-Acid TVB Peptide Serves as a Minimal Soluble Receptor for Subgroup B Avian Leukosis and Sarcoma Viruses

The TVB receptor for subgroup B, D, and E avian sarcoma and leukosis viruses (ASLVs) is a tumor necrosis factor receptor-related protein that is most closely related to the TRAIL receptors. Here we show that the major subgroup B viral interaction determinants of TVB are contained within a linear 15-amino-acid peptide derived from the N-terminal region of the receptor. Moreover, this peptide was sufficient not only for binding to ASLV-B but also for activating viral entry into mammalian cells that lacked the cognate viral receptor. Peptide-dependent viral entry was blocked in the presence of bafilomycin A1, indicating that virions can be trafficked to an acidic endosomal fusion compartment without the need for physical attachment of the viral receptor to a cellular membrane.
Moisture and vegetation controls on decadal-scale accrual of soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in restored grasslands.

Revitalization of degraded landscapes may provide sinks for rising atmospheric CO{sub 2}, especially in reconstructed prairies where substantial belowground productivity is coupled with large soil organic carbon (SOC) deficits after many decades of cultivation. The restoration process also provides opportunities to study the often-elusive factors that regulate soil processes. Although the precise mechanisms that govern the rate of SOC accrual are unclear, factors such as soil moisture or vegetation type may influence the net accrual rate by affecting the balance between organic matter inputs and decomposition. A resampling approach was used to assess the control that soil moisture and plant community type each exert on SOC and total nitrogen (TN) accumulation in restored grasslands. Five plots that varied in drainage were sampled at least four times over two decades to assess SOC, TN, and C{sub 4}- and C{sub 3}-derived C. We found that higher long-term soil moisture, characterized by low soil magnetic susceptibility, promoted SOC and TN accrual, with twice the SOC and three times the TN gain in seasonally saturated prairies compared with mesic prairies. Vegetation also influenced SOC and TN recovery, as accrual was faster in the prairies compared with C{sub 3}-only grassland, and C{sub 4}-derived C accrualmore » correlated strongly to total SOC accrual but C{sub 3}-C did not. High SOC accumulation at the surface (0-10 cm) combined with losses at depth (10-20 cm) suggested these soils are recovering the highly stratified profiles typical of remnant prairies. Our results suggest that local hydrology and plant community are critical drivers of SOC and TN recovery in restored grasslands. Because these factors and the way they affect SOC are susceptible to modification by climate change, we contend that predictions of the C-sequestration performance of restored grasslands must account for projected climatic changes on both soil moisture and the seasonal productivity of C{sub 4} and C{sub 3} plants.« less
Combination of Fluticasone Furoate and Vilanterol for the Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination of fluticasone furoate/vilanterol (FF/VI) and compare it with other inhaled combination corticosteroid/long-acting β2-receptor agonists for maintenance treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Data Sources: A PubMed and EMBASE search in June 2013 using the MeSH terms fluticasone and vilanterol identified trials using this combination for COPD. Additional information was gathered from references cited in the identified publications, the manufacturer, and package insert as well as the ClinicalTrials.gov registry. Study Selection/Data Extraction: Preference was given to randomized controlled clinical trials. Data from animal trials, clinical trials for asthma, and non-English sources were excluded. Data Synthesis: Given once daily, FF/VI improves trough forced expiratory volume at 1 s by about 230 mL in a 28-day trial versus placebo. However, a more modest increase (100-130 mL) was seen in 2 longer 28-week trials. In the long...
Entropy rate as a measure of animal vocal complexity

Vocal complexity is an important concept for investigating the role and evolution of animal communication and sociality. However, no one definition of ‘complexity’ appears to be appropriate for all uses. Repertoire size has been used to quantify complexity in many bird and some mammalian studies, but is impractical in cases where vocalizations are highly diverse, and repertoire size is essentially non-limited at realistic sample sizes. Some researchers have used information-theoretic measures such as Shannon entropy, to describe vocal complexity, but these techniques are descriptive only, as they do not address hypotheses of the cognitive mechanisms behind vocal signal generation. In addition, it can be shown that simple measures of entropy, in particular, do not capture syntactic structure. In this work, I demonstrate the use of an alternative information-theoretic measure, the Markov entropy rate, which quantifies the diversity of transitions in a vocal sequence, and thus is capable of distinguishing se...
Studying digital imagery of ancient paintings by mixtures of stochastic models

The paper addresses learning-based characterization of fine art painting styles. The research has the potential to provide a powerful tool to art historians for studying connections among artists or periods in the history of art. Depending on specific applications, paintings can be categorized in different ways. We focus on comparing the painting styles of artists. To profile the style of an artist, a mixture of stochastic models is estimated using training images. The two-dimensional (2D) multiresolution hidden Markov model (MHMM) is used in the experiment. These models form an artist's distinct digital signature. For certain types of paintings, only strokes provide reliable information to distinguish artists. Chinese ink paintings are a prime example of the above phenomenon; they do not have colors or even tones. The 2D MHMM analyzes relatively large regions in an image, which in turn makes it more likely to capture properties of the painting strokes. The mixtures of 2D MHMMs established for artists can be further used to classify paintings and compare paintings or artists. We implemented and tested the system using high-resolution digital photographs of some of China's most renowned artists. Experiments have demonstrated good potential of our approach in automatic analysis of paintings. Our work can be applied to other domains.
Incorporation of temporal masking effects into bark spectral distortion measure

The objective of this paper is to extend a promising objective speech distortion measurement method, the bark spectral distance (BSD) measure, with the auditory concepts of forward and backward temporal masking to improve its measurement accuracy. The results of this investigation show that automatic BSD-based speech quality ratings may be made to correlate better with existing MOS ratings by removing perceptually irrelevant areas of speech from the distance measure. The correlation between the objective BSD measure to the subjective MOS measure increases from 0.91 to 0.98. The best results were found with a window duration of 128 samples, use of exponential-slope filter characteristics for both forward and backward masking effects, forward masking delays up to 100 msec, and a backward masking time advance of 40 msec.
S-adenosylmethionine attenuates hepatic lipid synthesis in micropigs fed ethanol with a folate-deficient diet.

Background: To demonstrate a causative role of abnormal methionine metabolism in the pathogenesis of alcoholic steatosis, we measured the effects on hepatic lipid synthesis of supplementing ethanol and folate-deficient diets with S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), a metabolite that regulates methionine metabolism. Methods: Yucatan micropigs were fed folate-deficient diets as control, with ethanol at 40% of kcal, and with ethanol supplemented with SAM at 0.4 g/1,000 kcal for 14 weeks. Histopathology, triglyceride levels and transcripts, and protein levels of the regulatory signals of hepatic lipid synthesis were measured in terminal omental adipose and liver samples. Results: Feeding ethanol at 40% of kcal with folate-deficient diets for 14 weeks increased and supplemental SAM maintained control levels of liver and plasma triglyceride. Serum adiponectin, liver transcripts of adiponectin receptor-1 (AdipoR1), and phosphorylated adenosine monophosphate kinase-β (p-AMPKβ) were each reduced by ethanol feeding and were sustained at normal levels by SAM supplementation of the ethanol diets. Ethanol feeding activated and SAM supplementation maintained control levels of ER stress-induced transcription factor sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) and its targeted transcripts of lipid synthesizing enzymes acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), fatty acid synthase (FAS), and glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT). Conclusions: Ethanol feeding with a folate-deficient diet stimulates hepatic lipid synthesis by down-regulating adiponectin-mediated pathways of p-AMPK to increase the expression of nSREBP-1c and its targeted lipogenic enzymes. Preventing abnormal hepatic methionine metabolism by supplementing ethanol diets with SAM reduces liver triglyceride levels by up-regulation of adiponectin-mediated pathways to decrease fatty acid and triglyceride synthesis. This study demonstrates that ethanol-induced hepatic lipid synthesis is mediated in part by abnormal methionine metabolism, and strengthens the concept that altered methionine metabolism plays an integral role in the pathogenesis of steatosis.
High resolution Raman spectroscopy of gases with laser sources. IX.The rotational spectra of cycloheptane and cyclooctane

The pure rotational Raman spectra of cycloheptane (C7H14) and cyclooctane (C8H16) vapor were photographed using a high resolution plane grating spectrograph. Both spectra resemble those of symmetric top rotors. The spectrum of cycloheptane has well developed R- and S-branches while for cyclooctane the R-branch lines are only just observable. The molecular constants obtained for these two molecules are for cycloheptane: B =0.099 3801±0.000 0047 cm−1 and DJ =(4.08± ±0.17) × 10−8 cm−1 while for cyclooctane: B0.073 221±0.000 039 cm−1 and DJ =(0.784±0.039) × 10−8 cm−1 where the quoted errors are one standard deviation. Since both molecules exist at room temperature in several conformations these constants are average values over the various conformers.
Hydrogen embrittlement of ferritic steels: Observations on deformation microstructure, nanoscale dimples and failure by nanovoiding

While hydrogen embrittlement of ferritic steels has been a subject of significant research, one of the major challenges in tackling hydrogen embrittlement is that the mechanism of embrittlement is not fully resolved. This paper reports new observations and interpretation of fracture surface features and deformation microstructures underneath the fracture surface, providing a mechanistic view of failure catalyzed by hydrogen. Linepipe grade ferritic steels were tested in air with electrochemically pre-charged hydrogen and in highpressure H2 gas. The fracture surface features were studied and compared using high-resolution surface-sensitive scanning electron microscopy, and the deformation microstructures just beneath the fracture surfaces were studied using transmission electron microscopy. Significant dislocation plasticity was observed just beneath both ductile and quasi-brittle fracture surfaces. Further, the dislocation activity just beneath the fracture surfaces was largely comparable with those observed in samples tested without hydrogen. Evidence for hydrogen-enhanced plastic flow localization and shear softening on the sub-micron scale was observed very near the final fracture surface (<2 lm) in the tensile samples. The quasi-brittle fracture surfaces were found to be covered with nanoscale dimples 5–20 nm wide and 1–5 nm deep. Based on analyses of conjugate fracture surfaces, most of the nanodimples appear to be “valley-on-valley” type, rather than “mound-on-valley” type, indicating nanovoid nucleation and growth in the plastically flowing medium prior to ultimate failure. Based on these observations, an alternative scenario of plasticity-generated, hydrogen-stabilized vacancy damage accumulation and nanovoid coalescence as the failure pathway for hydrogen embrittlement is proposed. 2012 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Thermal Modeling Analysis of SRS 70 Ton Cask

The primary objective of this work was to perform the thermal calculations to evaluate the Material Test Reactor (MTR) fuel assembly temperatures inside the SRS 70-Ton Cask loaded with various bundle powers. MTR fuel consists of HFBR, MURR, MIT, and NIST. The MURR fuel was used to develop a bounding case since it is the fuel with the highest heat load. The results will be provided for technical input for the SRS 70 Ton Cask Onsite Safety Assessment. The calculation results show that for the SRS 70 ton dry cask with 2750 watts total heat source with a maximum bundle heat of 670 watts and 9 bundles of MURR bounding fuel, the highest fuel assembly temperatures are below about 263 C. Maximum top surface temperature of the plastic cover is about 112 C, much lower than its melting temperature 260 C. For 12 bundles of MURR bounding fuel with 2750 watts total heat and a maximum fuel bundle of 482 watts, the highest fuel assembly temperatures are bounded by the 9 bundle case. The component temperatures of the cask were calculated by a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics approach. The modeling calculations were performed by considering daily-averaged solar heat flux.
Clinical applications of molecular genetic discoveries

Genome-wide association studies of complex traits have mapped >15,000 common single nucleotide variants (SNVs). Likewise, applications of massively parallel nucleic acid sequencing technologies often referred to as next-generation sequencing to molecular genetic studies of complex traits have catalogued a large number of rare variants (population frequency of <0.01) in cases with complex traits. Moreover, high-throughput nucleic acid sequencing, variant burden analysis, and linkage studies are illuminating the presence of large number of SNVs in cases and families with single-gene disorders. The plethora of the genetic variants has exposed the formidable challenge of identifying the causal and pathogenic variants from the enormous number of innocuous common and rare variants that exist in the population and in an individual genome. The arduous task of identifying the causal and pathogenic variants is further compounded by the pleiotropic effects of the variants, complexity of cis and trans interactions in the genome, variability in phenotypic expression of the disease, as well as phenotypic plasticity, and the multifarious determinants of the phenotype. Population genetic studies offer the initial roadmaps and have the potential to elucidate novel pathways involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. However, the genome of an individual is unique, rendering unambiguous identification of the causal or pathogenic variant in a single individual exceedingly challenging. Yet, the focus of the practice of medicine is on the individual, as Sir William Osler elegantly expressed in his insightful quotation: "The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease." The daunting task facing physicians, patients, and researchers alike is to apply the modern genetic discoveries to care of the individual with or at risk of the disease.
Enhanced Query Expansion in English-Arabic CLIR

Arabic is a language with a particularly large vocabulary rich in words with synonymous shades of meaning. Modern Standard Arabic, which is used in formal writings, is the ancient Arabic language incorporated with loanwords derived from foreign languages. Different synonyms and loanwords tend to be used in different writings. Indeed, the Arabic composition style tends to vary throughout the Arab countries (Abdelali, 2004). Relevant documents could be overlooked when the query terms are synonyms or related to the ones used in the document collection. This could deteriorate the performance of a cross lingual information retrieval (CLIR) system. Query expansion (QE) using the document collection is the usual approach taken to enrich translated queries with context related terms. In this study, QE is explored for an English-Arabic CLIR system in which English queries are used to search Arabic documents. A thesaurus-based disambiguation approach is applied to further optimize the effectiveness of that technique. Indeed, experimental results show that QE enhanced by disambiguation gives an improved effectiveness.
Second Language Acquisition: Cultural, Cognitive, and Clinical Considerations for Counseling Practice

The non-English-speaking population of the United States has increased by 140% since 1980 (Shin & Kominski, 2010). To serve this growing population, it is important that counselors increase their multicultural and multilingual competence. Through the lens of multicultural theory and relational-cultural theory, we analyze potential benefits of second language acquisition to counseling practice, such as cognitive benefits and increased access to services. Implications for counseling practice and future research are discussed.
Water cocatalysis in the polymerization of benzene by ferric chloride

The influence of change in water cocatalyst concentration on polymer yield and composition, and on reaction rate was investigated in the benzene-ferric chloride system. For short reaction times, polymer yield passes through a maximum at a H2O/FeCl3 molar ratio of 1. The most rapid rate of hydrogen chloride evolution was observed at this same ratio. The data suggest that ferric chloride monohydrate constitutes the active catalyst-cocatalyst complex. With more prolonged reaction times, the yield maximum shifted to lower values of H2O/FeCl3, accompanied by a progressive increase in polymer yield. As evidenced by the C/(H + Cl) atomic ratio, p-polyphenyl formation is favored by short reaction times at H2O/FeCl3 ratios of 0, 1, and 2. Longer reaction times, gave C/(H + Cl) ratios greater than 1.5 for the polymer, indicating the presence of polynuclear structures. An increase in chlorine content attended the rise in C/(H + Cl) ratio. Interpretations of the data are presented.
Antidromic Activation Reveals Tonotopically Organized Projections From Primary Auditory Cortex to the Central Nucleus of the Inferior Colliculus in Guinea Pig

The inferior colliculus (IC) is highly modulated by descending projections from higher auditory and nonauditory centers. Traditionally, corticofugal fibers were believed to project mainly to the extralemniscal IC regions. However, there is some anatomical evidence suggesting that a substantial number of fibers from the primary auditory cortex (A1) project into the IC central nucleus (ICC) and appear to be tonotopically organized. In this study, we used antidromic stimulation combined with other electrophysiological techniques to further investigate the spatial organization of descending fibers from A1 to the ICC in ketamine-anesthetized guinea pigs. Based on our findings, corticofugal fibers originate predominantly from layer V of A1, are amply scattered throughout the ICC and only project to ICC neurons with a similar best frequency (BF). This strict tonotopic pattern suggests that these corticofugal projections are involved with modulating spectral features of sound. Along the isofrequency dimension of the ICC, there appears to be some differences in projection patterns that depend on BF region and possibly isofrequency location within A1 and may be indicative of different descending coding strategies. Furthermore, the success of the antidromic stimulation method in our study demonstrates that it can be used to investigate some of the functional properties associated with corticofugal projections to the ICC as well as to other regions (e.g., medial geniculate body, cochlear nucleus). Such a method can address some of the limitations with current anatomical techniques for studying the auditory corticofugal system.
Developing Cultural Competency with Evangelical Christians

Cultural competency with people of faith is stipulated in the profession's ethical standards. Yet, in spite of growing interest in spirituality and religion, a paucity of material has appeared in the literature with the express purpose of developing cultural competency with evangelical Christians, the nation's largest spiritual minority. To address this gap in the literature, salient aspects of the Evangelical cultural narrative are reviewed, which in turn provides the context for a discussion of various practice interventions. More specifically, information is presented on general practice suggestions, clinically oriented spiritual interventions, strategies for school social workers, and national and international social justice issues of concern to all social workers.
Phylogenetic relationships among New Mexico Astragalus mollissimus varieties and Oxytropis species by restriction fragment analysis

Abstract The phylogenetic relationships within two major locoweed genera, Astragalus and Oxytropis, and among varieties of woolly loco found in New Mexico were analyzed by comparing their chloroplast rpoC1 and rpoC2 gene sequences. Nucleic acids from locoweed species and varieties collected from different geographical locations in New Mexico were amplified using specific primer sets and subjected to restriction fragment analyses. Identity of the amplicons was confirmed by determining the 5′-end sequences from pea and woolly loco var. matthewsii. The amplified sequences from all samples were digested with 16 different restriction enzymes. Presence or absence of individual restriction fragments was scored as binary characters and used to develop a similarity coefficient matrix for cladistic analyses to determine the phylogenetic relationships. The target sequence was conserved, yielding 7% polymorphic data. Oxytropis species were monophyletic and, as expected, formed a clade distinct from Astragalus. The av...
Mass Correction Applied to Semi-Lagrangian Advection Scheme

A simple mass correction is proposed for the semi-Lagrangian scheme using forward trajectories. The procedure includes (a) constructing the Lagrangian network induced by the motion of the fluid from the Eulerian network and finding the intersections of the networks by a general interpolation from the irregularly distributed Lagrangian grid to the regularly distributed Eulerian grid, (b) applying the spatial filter to remove the unwanted short waves and the values beyond the constraints, and finally (c) introducing a polynomial or sine function as the correction function that conserves mass while inducing the least modification to the results obtained from (a) and (b). Numerical simulations of pure advection, rotation, and idealized cyclogenesis show that the mass correction function does not degrade the accuracy of the results.
Paradigms and Paradoxes:Estimation of the Enthalpies of Formation of Some Common, Solid-Phase Compounds of Considerable Theoretical Importance

The enthalpies of formation of the following solid-state species are estimated: calcium carbonate, muscovite, graphite, cellulose, and silicon, which, as found in chalk, slate, pencil lead, paper, and integrated circuits, are key reagents in numerous theoretical studies. Agreement between theory and experiment is within 40 kJ mol−1.
Advanced practice nursing in the neonatal intensive care unit

The advanced practice roles of clinical nurse specialist and neonatal nurse practitioner have enjoyed challenge and success in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). This article provides a historic perspective and role descriptions of advanced practice roles in the NICU, describes a theoretical framework for development of the graduate neonatal nurse practitioner, and uses this framework to describe the neonatal advanced practice nurse of the future.
Between Institutional Politics an Insurgencies: Evolution of Social Movements

I build a theory of movement cycles that explains under what conditions social movements either become radical insurgencies or are incorporated into institutional politics. Synthesizing from various social movement frameworks, I theorize that radicalization of social movements is heavily conditioned by three key variables: repression type, protest tactics, and the emergent pattern of interaction between the two. The type of repression against an early movement heavily conditions whether the movement diffuses along preexisting networks or fractures internally. At the same time, subsequent protest tactics can either legitimate or delegitimate the initial repression used by the state. This paper finds that governments can address emergent movements to increase the prospects of stable political competition. For instance, even radical movements can be induced to use institutional channels by selective accommodation and repression. It may be costly in the short run, results from the model suggest that suppressing early movements often radicalizes activists and increases public support for militant means of protest.
Out, Out — Making Amyloid’s Candle Briefer

Two decades ago, a young British woman with systemic immunoglobulin-light-chain (AL) type amyloidosis, hepatomegaly, Howell–Jolly bodies on blood smear, 10% kappa-restricted marrow plasma cells, and a kappa band on urine immunofixation came to Boston for stem-cell transplantation. The kappa light-chain protein was encoded by the IGKV1-16 germline gene,1 as is the kappa light-chain protein in 17 of 131 AL amyloidosis kappa cases in the Amyloid Light Chain Database (ALBase) (http://albase.bumc.bu.edu); in contrast, kappa protein is encoded by IGKV1-16 in only 1 of 107 myeloma kappa cases in the ALBase (relative risk of amyloidosis, 13.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.9 to 102.7; . . .
Improved Stall Prediction for Swept Wings Using Low-Order Aerodynamics.

The ability of low-order aerodynamic prediction methods, such as the vortex lattice method, to predict the force and moment characteristics of arbitrary wing geometries, including those with sweep, is well established for pre-stall conditions. Approaches to augment such methods by modeling the flow separation as an effective reduction in camber has allowed extension of the predictive capability to stall and post-stall conditions for unswept wings. Such approaches assume locally two-dimensional flow and use airfoil lift curves for the wing sections to provide the decambering corrections. For swept wings, spanwise pressure gradients cause tipward transport of the separated flow, resulting in modified stall behavior, with attached flow in the inboard regions and excessively separated flow outboard. As a result of this behavior, use of airfoil lift curves in the application of the decambering approach to swept wings results in poor prediction of stall characteristics. This paper explores the use of modified lift curves for the sections of swept wings, with modifications derived from analysis of RANS computational results. When these modified lift curves are used in the decambering approach, the low-order predictions for the swept wings are seen to agree well with RANS CFD predictions. The results indicate that the strip-theory approach is still applicable for swept wings provided the effect of spanwise redistribution of flow separation is correctly taken into consideration. This success provides impetus to develop an entirely predictive version of the low-order method.
Geopolitics, Economic Niches, and Gendered Social Capital among Recent Caribbean Immigrants in New York City:

This article examines the different socio-economic consequences of migration for Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Cubans, Jamaicans and Haitians in the context of New York City. Migration outcomes are structured by a range of influences, including geopolitics, class selectivity, de-industrialization, ethnic niches and the timing of settlement. Emphasis is placed on the importance of variations in the household structures and gender strategies of these groups for understanding their different socioeconomic situations in the 1990s. Differences in the labor force participation patterns of the women in these communities and the employment traditions upon which they draw have significant consequences for the well-being of the five groups. These cases also question the common assumption that high rates of female headed-households inevitably lead to high rates of poverty, a pattern found among Dominicans and Puerto Ricans but not among Jamaicans and Haitians.
The Precipitation of Nickel and Copper at Grain Boundaries in Silicon

The precipitation of copper and nickel at grain boundaries in cast polycrystalline silicon is investigated. The metals are diffused into the specimens from a surface source between 800 - 1000 °C and the precipitation after cooling is studied by TEM. Copper precipitates in form of colonies containing hundreds of particles with a size between 5 - 6 nm. In the grain boundary they nucleate preferentially at dislocations and steps. The distribution and size of the precipitates depend on the cooling rate after the diffusion. Nickel forms only few large (micrometer size) plate-like or three dimensional precipitates at and near grain boundaries. The main features of the results and the differences between the two elements are explained under the assumption that the precipitation requires the transport of native point defects.
Measurement and Evaluation on Workplace Non-Steady Noise Exposure

[Objective]To measure and evaluate the eight-hour continuous equivalent A-weighted sound levels(LAeq.8h),one-minute continuous equivalent A-weighted sound levels(LAeq.1min),and continuous equivalent A-weighted sound levels over a work day(LAeq.T) of non-steady noise at work.[Methods]LAeq.8h was determined by personal noise dosimeter.LAeq.1min was measured by environmental noise dosimeter.LAeq.T was calculated with LAeq.1min.A Total of 239workers exposed to non-steady noise in a pipeline manufacturing factory and a household appliance factory were investigated using LAeq.8h.Workplace noise levels were measured using LAeq.1min and LAeq.T.[Results]The averages of LAeq.8h in the two factories[(89.7±3.8)dB(A) and(90.5±5.7)dB(A)]were significantly higher than the averages of LAeq.T [(88.0±2.4)dB(A) and(89.2±3.6)dB(A)(P0.05 or P0.01)].Sampling time errors of the values of LAeq.1min were observed as compared with the values of LAeq.8h.The differences between the mean values of LAeq.1min and LAeq.8h at most of the work locations were greater than 3dB(A).The differences between the mean values of LAeq.T and LAeq.8h at all work locations were less than 3.0dB(A).[Conclusion]LAeq.8h is able to measure the non-steady noise level of workers.LAeq.T reflects actual noise levels of workers.LAeq.1min may underestimate or overestimate noise levels.
A study of stress distribution in maxillary central incisor restored with post-and-core crown by three dimensional finite element method

Objective: To investigate the role of dental collar and post length in determining the stress distribution indentin. Methods: A computer model of the central incisor was established and a 100N static load was applied at 45 degreeto the long axis of the tooth at incisal 1/3.The three dimensional finite element method was adopted to study the changesof stress in dentin when the post length varies in the tooth with a dental collar of 0mm and 2mm respectively. Results: Thedeeper the post was inserted into the root, the greater the tensile and Von Mises stress occoured in dentin. In case of thesame post length, the Von Mises stress decreased as the height of the dental collar increased. Conclusions: Decreasing thepost length and increasing the dental collar have the effect of reducing stress levels in dentin.
Non-mydriatic fundus photography: a practical review for the neurologist

Declining proficiency in direct ophthalmoscopy by non-ophthalmologists has spurred a search for alternative methods of ocular fundus examination. Recent technological advances have improved the ease of use and quality of non-mydriatic fundus photography, increasing its suitability for clinical care. As the availability of this technology continues to improve, neurologists will need to be familiar with its advantages, limitations and potential applications in the clinical care of patients with neurological conditions.
New developments in enteric bacterial toxins.

Publisher Summary Developments since the mid-1950s showing the secretory effects of culture filtrates of Vibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli and the cytotoxic and neurotoxic effects of ShigeIlu and botulinum toxins have increasingly demonstrated the major roles of many bacterial toxins in disease. This chapter reviews certain recent developments in the understanding of selected enteric bacterial toxins and what they are teaching about cell signaling as well as their potential roles in the pathophysiology of human disease. Analysis of the function of certain bacterial enterotoxins has led to an increased understanding of many important cell regulatory systems involved in transmembrane signal transduction and protein synthesis. New insights into the function of other, more recently described enteric bacterial toxins should help elucidate other important regulatory systems involved with immune cell function, cell cytoskeletal organization, and a variety of intracellular second messenger systems.
Varieties of Olive Branch

While such factors as the actual state of the conflict or the existing relationship between the adversaries form part of the context working for (or against) conciliation and are powerful influences on the effective use of conciliatory gestures and their development into accommodative sequences, a second set of influences clearly arises from the nature of the initiative itself. The contrast between Anwar Sadat’s conditional offer to reopen the Suez Canal and his later personal visit to Israel is obvious, as is the different impact these initiatives had upon the prospects for a resolution of the Egyptian-Israeli conflict. It is almost tempting to start consideration of this particular influence on successful conciliation by proposing a general rule of thumb that the more ‘dramatic’ the gesture, the more likely it is to have the initiator’s desired effect, although the number of conciliatory gestures, even some of those containing elements of high drama, that have failed to move forward a peace process, or even begin cautious accommodative moves, warns against easy generalisation. While dramatic gestures may achieve a high degree of recognisability, the key issue is whether they invariably achieve similarly high levels of credibility and respondability with members - and particularly leaders - of an adversary; and whether ‘drama’, however defined, is a necessary characteristic of successful conciliatory gestures.
Single-reviewer electronic phenotyping validation in operational settings

Display Omitted A single-reviewer validation process can be used in an operational setting.Detailed electronic results increase accuracy and reduces expense of chart review.We recommend using a mix of phenotype validation strategies. ObjectiveDevelop evidence-based recommendations for single-reviewer validation of electronic phenotyping results in operational settings. Material and methodsWe conducted a randomized controlled study to evaluate whether electronic phenotyping results should be used to support manual chart review during single-reviewer electronic phenotyping validation (N=3104). We evaluated the accuracy, duration and cost of manual chart review with and without the availability of electronic phenotyping results, including relevant patient-specific details. The cost of identification of an erroneous electronic phenotyping result was calculated based on the personnel time required for the initial chart review and subsequent adjudication of discrepancies between manual chart review results and electronic phenotype determinations. ResultsProviding electronic phenotyping results (vs not providing those results) was associated with improved overall accuracy of manual chart review (98.90% vs 92.46%, p<0.001), decreased review duration per test case (62.43 vs 76.78s, p<0.001), and insignificantly reduced estimated marginal costs of identification of an erroneous electronic phenotyping result ($48.54 vs $63.56, p=0.16). The agreement between chart review and electronic phenotyping results was higher when the phenotyping results were provided (Cohens kappa 0.98 vs 0.88, p<0.001). As a result, while accuracy improved when initial electronic phenotyping results were correct (99.74% vs 92.67%, N=3049, p<0.001), there was a trend towards decreased accuracy when initial electronic phenotyping results were erroneous (56.67% vs 80.00%, N=55, p=0.07). Electronic phenotyping results provided the greatest benefit for the accurate identification of rare exclusion criteria. DiscussionSingle-reviewer chart review of electronic phenotyping can be conducted more accurately, quickly, and at lower cost when supported by electronic phenotyping results. However, human reviewers tend to agree with electronic phenotyping results even when those results are wrong. Thus, the value of providing electronic phenotyping results depends on the accuracy of the underlying electronic phenotyping algorithm. ConclusionWe recommend using a mix of phenotyping validation strategies, with the balance of strategies based on the anticipated electronic phenotyping error rate, the tolerance for missed electronic phenotyping errors, as well as the expertise, cost, and availability of personnel involved in chart review and discrepancy adjudication.
Anti-TNFα therapy in inflammatory lung diseases

Increased levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α have been linked to a number of pulmonary inflammatory diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), sarcoidosis, and interstitial pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). TNFα plays multiple roles in disease pathology by inducing an accumulation of inflammatory cells, stimulating the generation of inflammatory mediators, and causing oxidative and nitrosative stress, airway hyperresponsiveness and tissue remodeling. TNFα-targeting biologics, therefore, present a potentially highly efficacious treatment option. This review summarizes current knowledge on the role of TNFα in pulmonary disease pathologies, with a focus on the therapeutic potential of TNFα-targeting agents in treating inflammatory lung diseases.
RACIAL MINORITIES IN U.S. HISTORY TEXTBOOKS: A CASE FOR A MORE SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO TEXTBOOK EVALUATION

A few decades ago, textbook adoption proceedings were relatively dull affairs. Present at these meetings were political, business, and labor interest group representatives who were primarily concerned with the treatment their constituencies received in textbooks, especially social studies texts. Expressing common concerns, board members and traditional interest group representatives only occasionally debated what ought to be included in social studies texts. The dealings rarely bordered on the sensational and, in most cases, resulted in minimal discussion and acceptance of texts recommended for adoption by a board9s textbook committee.
Safety Culture and Mortality after Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Study of Medicare Beneficiaries at 171 Hospitals.

Objectives To investigate the association between hospital safety culture and 30-day risk-adjusted mortality for Medicare patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a large, diverse hospital cohort. Subjects The final analytic cohort consisted of 19,357 Medicare AMI discharges (MedPAR data) linked to 257 AHRQ Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture surveys from 171 hospitals between 2008 and 2013. Study Design Observational, cross-sectional study using hierarchical logistic models to estimate the association between hospital safety scores and 30-day risk-adjusted patient mortality. Odds ratios of 30-day, all-cause mortality, adjusting for patient covariates, hospital characteristics (size and teaching status), and several different types of safety culture scores (composite, average, and overall) were determined. Principal Findings No significant association was found between any measure of hospital safety culture and adjusted AMI mortality. Conclusions In a large cross-sectional study from a diverse hospital cohort, AHRQ safety culture scores were not associated with AMI mortality. Our study adds to a growing body of investigations that have failed to conclusively demonstrate a safety culture–outcome association in health care, at least with widely used national survey instruments.
Effects of Acoustic Scattering at Rough Surfaces on the Sensitivity of Ultrasonic Inspection

Ultrasonic inspection of ordinary samples with more or less rough surfaces is an everyday problem in industrial NDE. Contact techniques require flat or other regular (e. g., cylindrical) surfaces of negligible roughness with respect to the acoustic wavelength. Immersion techniques are less susceptible to surface topography, but they still require that the surface radius be larger than the beam diameter and the surface roughness be comparable or less than the wavelength in the immersion fluid. This difference is due to the fact that in immersion inspection surface irregularities do not significantly reduce the energy transmission into the specimen but rather randomize the field through incoherent scattering. Figure 1 shows the schematic diagram of ultrasonic inspection of a rough specimen by the immersion method. The probability of detection of a given flaw is ultimately limited by the signal-to-noise ratio produced at the receiver. The flaw signal results from coherent reflection from a single, relatively large and strong scatterer. In comparison, the noise is incoherent scattering from a large number of randomly distributed, relatively small and weak scatterers such as material inhomogeneities or geometrical irregularities. Surface roughness can substantially reduce the signal-to-noise ratio with respect to an otherwise similar smooth sample. First, surface roughness attenuates the coherent flaw signal much more than the incoherent material noise [1,2]. Second, surface roughness increases the overall noise level by adding another incoherent component to the material noise. This paper discusses the adverse effect of the excess surface noise on ultrasonic flaw detection in rough samples.
Microfluidic detection of movements of Escherichia coli for rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing

Various nanomechanical movements of bacteria provide a signature of bacterial viability. Most notably, bacterial movements have been observed to subside rapidly and dramatically when the bacteria are exposed to effective antibiotics. Thus, monitoring bacterial movements, if performed with high fidelity, could offer a path to various clinical microbiological applications, including antibiotic susceptibility tests. Here, we introduce a robust and ultrasensitive electrical transduction technique for detecting the nanomechanical movements of bacteria. The technique is based on measuring the electrical fluctuations in a microfluidic channel, which the bacteria populate. The swimming of planktonic bacteria and the random oscillations of surface-immobilized bacteria both cause small but detectable electrical fluctuations. We show that this technique provides enough sensitivity to detect even the slightest movements of a single cell; we also demonstrate an antibiotic susceptibility test in a biological matrix. Given that it lends itself to smooth integration with other microfluidic methods and devices, the technique can be developed into a functional antibiotic susceptibility test, in particular, for urinary tract infections.
Impact of multi- versus single finger proximal interphalangeal joint arthroplasty: analysis of 249 fingers treated in 15 years:

We retrospectively reviewed and compared the outcomes and complications associated with 81 single digit and 168 multi-digit proximal interphalangeal joint arthroplasties performed from 1998 to 2012 in 136 patients. Clinical outcomes were assessed with an average follow-up of 5.3 years for single digit and 5.9 years for multi-digit proximal interphalangeal joint arthroplasty. Comparing single versus multi-digit proximal interphalangeal joint arthroplasty, the reoperation-free survival was 67% and 68% at 5 years and 56% and 67% at 10 years, respectively. Furthermore, in comparison of single versus multi-digit proximal interphalangeal joint arthroplasty, the revision-free survival was 80% and 86% at 5 years and 80% and 85% at 10 years, respectively. Given the similar, or even slightly improved, rates of complications, reoperation, and revision surgery, proximal interphalangeal joint arthroplasty performed on multi-digits results in no worse outcomes compared with single digit proximal interphalangeal joint a...