cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A structured approach to adopting agile practices: the agile adoption framework

Many organizations aspire to adopt agile processes to take advantage of the numerous benefits that it offers to an organization. Those benefits include, but are not limited to, quicker return on investment, better software quality, and higher customer satisfaction. To date however, there is no structured process (at least that is published in the public domain) that guides organizations in adopting agile practices. To address this situation, we present the Agile Adoption Framework and the innovative approach we have used to implement it. The framework consists of two components: an agile measurement index, and a 4-Stage process, that together guide and assist the agile adoption efforts of organizations. More specifically, the Sidky Agile Measurement Index (SAMI) encompasses five agile levels that are used to identify the agile potential of projects and organizations. The 4-Stage process, on the other hand, helps determine (a) whether or not organizations are ready for agile adoption, and (b) guided by their potential, what set of agile practices can and should be introduced. To help substantiate the “goodness” of the Agile Adoption Framework, we presented it to various members of the agile community, and elicited responses through questionnaires. The results of that substantiation effort are encouraging, and also suggest further avenues for improvement.
Sub-5-nm-nanogap metasurface for record-breaking surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy

We developed a metamaterial super absorber with sub-5-nanometer gaps and demonstrated its application for record-breaking surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy using its extremely enhanced localized field.
Research on Threatened Populations

The problems posed by threatened populations are stimulating innovative research in a variety of fields. We introduce four areas that have emerged over the past decade: descriptive genetics, captive breeding and reintroduction, population viability analysis, and decision analysis. The listing of endangered and threatened forms is based on existing named species and subspecies. Unfortunately, this taxonomic framework does not always reflect the true distribution of genetic variation and phylogenetic discontinuities within taxa of conservation concern. Descriptive genetic studies capitalizing on new genetic techniques are proving helpful in determining appropriate management units, but raise new issues regarding the definition of species and populations. Captive breeding and reintroduction is the most intensive and expensive form of management. The development of goals and methods for the cooperative genetic and demographic management of captive populations began in the early 1980’s and standard computer programs for a variety of pedigree analyses are now widely used. Research on artificially enhanced reproduction is an expanding field. Methods of ]reintroducing threatened populations, especially for captive-bred animals, are still poorly known. The concept of a single minimum viable population size, popular during the 1980’s, has evolved into population viability (or vulnerability) analysis (PVA). PVA produces a set of estimates for the probability that a specific population in a specific location will survive for a specified period of time. Ideally, a PVA should incorporate data on population dynamics, genetics, environmental variation, the risk of catastrophe, and metapopulation structure. However, the full suite of data desirable for a thorough PVA is rarely available. Long-term field studies of threatened populations to expand the data base, and efforts to develop methods that make the best use of existing data, are thus particularly valuable. Estimates of the population sizes required to ensure a high probability of long-term survival tend to increase as models become more realistic. Decision analysis is a formal process for making decisions in the face of uncertainty. It offers an explicit framework for evaluating the risks and probable benefits of alternative management strategies for a threatened population and focuses attention on value systems and the goals of conservation efforts. Attempts to adapt decision analysis to endangered species problems began in the 1980’s but there has been little exploration of the effects of alternative decision analysis procedures. Research on threatened populations is often neglected until a taxon is critically endangered. Time and species would be saved if adequate funding enabled research to be initiated at an earlier stage. Small, isolated areas of protected habitat will require intensive management, the success of which will depend upon the adequacy of the knowledge base derived from research. Thus, research, as well as habitat preservation, will be needed to preserve many threatened populations.
Colonial Terrorism, Global Capitalism and African Underdevelopment: 500 Years of Crimes Against African Peoples

This article critically explores the essence and ch aracters of European colonial terrorism and its main consequences on various African peoples during racial slavery, colonization, and incorporation into the European-dominated capitalist world system between the late fifteenth and twentieth centuries. It employs multidimensional, c omparative methods, and critical approaches to explain the dynamic interplay among social struc tures, human agency, and terrorism to critically explain the connections among all forms of violence, the emergence of globalization, and African underdevelopment. The piece focuses on four central issues: First, it conceptualizes and theorizes terrorism to clarify its roles in cre ating and maintaining the global system. Second, it focuses on the first wave of European colonial t errorism that was practiced via racial slavery by concentrating on the dialectical connections amo ng various forms of violence and genocide to demonstrate the processes and consequences of merchandising some young Africans. Third, the paper deals with the second wave of European colonial terrorism by explaining the processes of colonizing the whole continent by violently destroy ing African peoples and their institutions to enrich European colonialists and their African coll aborators and their governments and companies. The dehumanization, impoverishment, and perpetual underdevelopment of Africans and the African Diaspora groups in the West cannot be adequately understood outside of the parameters of European colonial terrorism and the i ncorporation of Africa into the global capitalist system.
The Role of Tunneling Models in Analyzing High-Resolution Spectra of Weakly Bound Molecular Complex

As the number of large amplitude motions in a weakly bound molecular complex increases, the size of the vibration-rotation basis set necessary for carrying out accurate calculations with model potentials (and consequently the difficulty of the calculation) increases also. In this paper we shall discuss one alternative to such full-scale calculations, which can be used for assigning spectra in the broad class of problems where the large amplitude motions can be described as “tunneling” motions. The strong and weak points of the method, which uses group theory to derive phenomenological vibration-rotation-tunneling Hamiltonians, will be described together with some successful applications and some possibilities for future work.
Impact of an Infant Friendly Business Designation

In response to suboptimal breastfeeding rates, North Dakota added a provision to SB 2344 (public indecency legislation) creating an Infant Friendly business designation for employers providing specified lactation accommodations to employees. However, there has been no evaluation of this designation to determine effectiveness. The purpose of this article is to examine the impact of the Infant Friendly business designation in North Dakota on breastfeeding continuation rates within the context of the social ecological model (SEM). Between November 2016 and March 2017, an 85-item online questionnaire, designed using the SEM, was distributed to working women across the state using various sampling methods. T tests, analysis of variance, and regression were used to analyze results. Designated (intervention) and nondesignated (control) businesses were targeted. There was no statistically significant difference in breastfeeding duration between designated and nondesignated businesses. There was a 2-month difference in duration between continually designated businesses and those with lapsing designations. Twenty-eight percent of the women working for Infant Friendly businesses were aware that their businesses were designated, indicating a lack of awareness regarding the designation. The designation is a starting point for worksite breastfeeding support. A policy promotion plan based on the SEM targeting individual awareness and employee education may improve the designation's effectiveness.
Negative Events During Adulthood Are Associated With Symptom Severity and Altered Stress Response in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Background & Aims Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a stress-sensitive disorder associated with dysregulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. We studied the cumulative effect of events during adulthood on this pathway in patients with IBS. Methods We studied 129 patients with IBS, based on Rome III criteria (mean age 28.1 years, 66% women), and 108 healthy individuals (controls; mean age 29.8 years, 60% women) who completed the Life Experiences Survey from August 2013 to September 2017. Data were collected on the presence and effects of events since age 18, IBS severity scores, and IBS-related quality of life. For a subset of subjects, we measured serum cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) production in response to administration of corticotropin-releasing factor and ACTH. Results Compared with controls, patients with IBS perceived more adulthood life events as negative and had a significantly higher negative life event impact score (14.17 ± 12.04 vs 10.83 ± 9.98; P=.022). In patients with IBS, the presence of more-negatively perceived adulthood life events was associated with worse IBS symptom severity (β = 1.53, 95% CI, 0.21–2.84; P = .025) and IBS-related quality of life (β = –0.70; 95% CI, –1.02 to –0.38; P Conclusion In a study of more than 200 subjects, we associated more-negatively perceived events during adulthood with an increased risk for IBS, worse symptom severity and quality of life, and a dysregulated stress response. Understanding the effects of events that cause stress in adults and their perceived effects on IBS may help guide disease management.
Rates and Risk Factors for Revision Open and Arthroscopic Proximal Biceps Tenodesis.

Background:Biceps tenodesis may be performed for symptomatic tendinopathy or tearing of the long head of the biceps tendon. Biceps tenodesis is also commonly performed as an adjunctive procedure. However, the indications and prevalence of biceps tenodesis have expanded.Purpose:To establish the incidence and risk factors for revision biceps tenodesis.Study Design:Case-control study; Level of evidence, 2.Methods:The PearlDiver database of Humana patient data was queried for patients undergoing arthroscopic or open biceps tenodesis (Current Procedural Terminology [CPT] 29828 and CPT 23430, respectively) from 2008 through the first quarter of 2017. Patients without a CPT laterality modifier were excluded from analysis. Revision biceps tenodesis was defined as patients who underwent subsequent ipsilateral open or arthroscopic biceps tenodesis. The financial impact of revision biceps tenodesis was also calculated. Multivariate binomial logistic regression was performed to identify risk factors for revision bice...
CHRONIC TOTAL OCCLUSION CORONARY INTERVENTION THROUGH SNUFFBOX ACCESS: TWO CENTERS EXPERIENCE

The radial artery (RA) access has been used to perform chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention (CTO PCI) with similar success and safety to CTO PCI using the common femoral artery (CFA) access. Distal transradial access in the anatomical snuffbox is a challenging new access with
Left Ventricular Diastolic Function: Understanding Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Prognosis With Echocardiography.

Highlights •LV diastolic function determines symptoms and predicts outcome in patients with cardiovascular disease. •Echocardiography is used to assess LV diastolic function, and estimate LV filling pressures. •Recent American Society of Echocardiography/European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging guidelines were validated against invasive gold standard, with superior accuracy in predicting outcomes. •LV and left atrial function novel indices and artificial intelligence have potential to advance this field.
Cognitive and Microbiome Impacts of Experimental Ancylostoma ceylanicum Hookworm Infections in Hamsters

Hookworms are one of the most prevalent and important parasites, infecting ~500 million people worldwide. Hookworm disease is among the leading causes of iron-deficiency anemia in the developing world and is associated with significant growth stunting and malnutrition. In humans, hookworms appear to impair memory and other forms of cognition, although definitive data are hard to come by. Here we study the impact of a human hookworm parasite, Ancylostoma ceylanicum, on cognition in hamsters in a controlled laboratory setting. We developed tests that measure long-term memory in hamsters. We find that hookworm-infected hamsters were fully capable of detecting a novel object. However, hookworm-infected hamsters were impaired in detecting a displaced object. Defects could be discerned at even at low levels of infection, whereas at higher levels of infection, hamsters were statistically unable to distinguish between displaced and non-displaced objects. These spatial memory deficiencies could not be attributed to defects in infected hamster mobility or to lack of interest. We also found that hookworm infection resulted in reproducible reductions in diversity and changes in specific taxanomic groups in the hamster gut microbiome. These data demonstrate that human hookworm infection in a laboratory mammal results in a specific, rapid, acute, and measurable deficit in spatial memory, and we speculate that gut alterations could play some role in these cognitive deficits. Our findings highlight the importance of hookworm elimination and suggest that finer tuned spatial memory studies be carried out in humans.
American Board of Thoracic Surgery 10-Year Maintenance of Certification Exam Improves and Validates Knowledge Acquisition.

Background Previous "high-stakes" examinations by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery (ABTS) required remote testing, were noneducational, and were not tailored to individual practices. Given the ABTS mission of public safety and diplomate education, the ABTS Maintenance of Certification (MOC) examination was revised in 2015 to improve the educational experience and validate knowledge acquired. Methods The ABTS-MOC Committee developed a web-based, secure examination tailored to the specialty-specific practice profile (cardiac, general thoracic, cardiothoracic, congenital) of the individual surgeon. After an initial answer to each question, an educational critique was reviewed before returning to the initial question and logging a second (final) response. Intraexam learning was assessed by comparing scores before and after reading the critique. Diplomate feedback was obtained. Results A total of 988 diplomates completed the 10-year MOC examination between 2015 and 2017. Substantive learning was demonstrated with an 18%, 17%, 20%, and 9% improvement in cardiac, general thoracic, cardiothoracic, and congenital final scores, respectively. This improvement was most notable among diplomates with the lowest initial scores. Fewer diplomates failed the new exam ( Conclusions The new MOC process demonstrates increased knowledge acquisition through a convenient, secure, web-based practice-focused examination. This approach provides feedback, identifies baseline knowledge gaps for individual diplomates, and validates new knowledge attained.
Imagerie multimodale en choriorétinopathie séreuse centrale aiguë et chronique

De nombreuses theories ont ete proposees concernant la pathophysiologie de la chorioretinopathie sereuse centrale (CRSC), sans consensus sur son etiologie exacte. La recherche a mene a diverses possibilites de traitement qui ciblent des mecanismes precis. L’imagerie multimodale, y compris l’autofluorescence du fond de l’œil (FAF), la tomographie par coherence optique (TCO), l’angiographie fluoresceinique et l’angiographie au vert d’indocyanine, identifie les alterations vasculaires et structurelles qui peuvent confirmer le diagnostic de CRSC et adapter efficacement le traitement pour aider a maximiser le pronostic visuel chez ces patients. Les caracteristiques d’imagerie de la CRSC et des exemples de cas seront explores.
Metabolic Effects of rhIGF-1 in Normal Human Subjects

The availability of human IGF-1 synthesized by recombinant DNA techniques has provided the impetus for a systematic assessment of rhIGF-1’s metabolic actions in vivo, Classic studies of Froesch and coworkers1,2 have established IGF-1 as the only other naturally occurring hypoglycemic hormone, besides insulin. In order to more precisely define the mechanism of IGF-1’s hypoglycemic effects, studies were performed in our laboratory in which rhIGF-1 was administered to awake, 24 hour fasted rats using the euglycemic clamp technique.3 The effects of rhIGF-1 were compared to those of insulin using doses of each hormone that produced a comparable stimulation of glucose uptake. Although rhIGF-1 and insulin increased glucose uptake and suppressed protein breakdown to a similar extent, their effects on hepatic glucose production (as measured by 3-3H-glucose) and circulating free fatty acids (FFA) were strikingly different (Fig. 1). In contrast to insulin, rhIGF-1 did not suppress hepatic glucose production in the rat during sustained euglycemia. Additionally, in the rat no effect on FFA levels was detected, a feature that further distinguished rhIGF-1 from insulin.3 Remarkably, infusion of rhIGF-1 also produced a profound reduction in circulating insulin in spite of maintenance of euglycemia. The concomitant portal hypoinsulinemia thus might have obscured effects of rhIGF-1 on the liver and fat cell.
Complementary Energy Method for Finite Deformation

A principle of stationary complementary energy is developed for statically loaded structures with finite displacements, rotations, and strains, made of material with linear or nonlinear elasticity. The principle is based on a vectorial definition of complementary work analogous to the vectorial definition of ordinary work. It is used to solve two illustrative truss problems, including one in which even the infinitesimal deformations cannot be determined by the conventional complementary energy method. The principle is shown to include the conventional complementary energy theorem for infinitesimal deformations as a special case.
What do the upwardly mobile think they deserve, and why? A multi-method investigation

Abstract We ask how upward intra-generational occupational mobility affects the incomes people believe they deserve, as well as their satisfaction with their current incomes. We argue that the upwardly mobile feel that they deserve lower incomes, relatively to those who experience no mobility or horizontal mobility, as a result of a relative deprivation process. We test this argument with two different studies. The first study uses representative data from the United States to demonstrate that upward occupational mobility is associated with depressed deserved incomes. The second study is an experiment designed to manipulate the experience of upward, downward and horizontal occupational mobility and to test the proposed causal mechanism. Results support the hypotheses, including the prediction that the impact of intra-generational upward mobility on satisfaction with one’s income is mediated by a sense of relative deprivation. We conclude with a discussion of implications, including the role that experiments can play in research on stratification and mobility.
Facing the Music: Performance Implications of Working with Music in the Background

Multitasking is a subfield of Human-Computer Interaction that addresses people performing multiple tasks on one or more devices. While there is a significant body of work on interleaved multitasking, where people start a task, switch to a different task, and then continue the original task, few studies have examined parallel multitasking, where two or more tasks are happening at the same time, on a single device. Listening to music while working on a computer or mobile-based task falls into this latter category. Music is more prevalent in our society at this point than at any other point in history. People now have the ability to stream music from their mobile devices while performing any task. Gathering a deeper understanding of how music affects performance on different tasks will help further our understanding of parallel multitasking. In order to examine how music impacts performance we created an Android application where participants perform five different types of cognitive tasks on a mobile device: mental arithmetic, memory, reading comprehension, concentration, and spatial abilities. Participants were divided into three conditions: music with lyrics, music without lyrics (instrumental music) and no music. We found that, except for spatial tasks where music helped performance, generally music had a negative impact on performance in our modules. This implies that listening to music while completing tasks is another form of multitasking and can lead to negative results.
A bag-of-words feature engineering approach for assessing health conditions using accelerometer data

Abstract Widespread use of wearable technologies offers great opportunities to objectively monitor human movements seamlessly and remotely over time. This, in turn, may provide data critical for next-generation healthcare decision-making and consequently help physicians and healthcare providers to diagnose health hazards in early stages. Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder impacting gait and movement. Patients with Parkinson's disease suffer from a variety of motor function impairments and their gait is different from their healthy age-matched counterparts. In this work, we introduce and develop a bag-of-words feature engineering approach for analyzing movement data and differentiating between patients with pathology and healthy individuals. The first step is to divide each time series into subsequences using an overlapping sliding window. In the second step, similar patterns in the collected data are identified and a vocabulary is generated using the identified patterns. Then, word features are calculated based on the similarity of each subsequence to the vocabulary's patterns. We evaluated this method and compared it with a statistical feature representation method for discriminating between patients with Parkinson's disease and their healthy age-matched counterparts. Our results show that the bag-of-words approach outperforms the epoch-based statistical approach. The proposed method along with decision tree classifiers provide the highest accuracy, precision, and recall among the methods tested. Although we evaluated the bag-of-words method for Parkinson's disease, this method can be expanded for diagnosis and prognosis of other health conditions.
Training Special Education Teachers through Computer Simulations: Promoting Understanding of the Experiences of Students with Disabilities

In increasingly diverse schools, teachers are challenged to effectively instruct students with a wide range of disabilities. Yet, preservice training and hands on experience in instructing students with disabilities are limited; many new teachers report a lack of sufficient training in working with diverse students. Frequent opportunities for practice are important in successfully preparing preservice teachers; however, budget and time constraints make ample opportunities for practice difficult. Simulations can provide a safe and controlled environment for teachers to engage in frequent practice and receive immediate feedback. The simulations in this article cover a wide variety of disabilities that educators could encounter with students in the classroom. These simulations can help raise empathy, awareness, and improve student-teacher relationships while helping teachers create a classroom environment that is conducive to learning for all students.
Given that the detailed original criteria for deliberate practice have not changed, could the understanding of this complex concept have improved over time? A response to Macnamara and Hambrick (2020).

In their commentary, Macnamara and Hambrick (Psychol Res, 2017) accused my colleagues and me of systematically changing the definition of the concept of deliberate practice. Deliberate practice was the result of a search for characteristics of effective practice in the laboratory that was shown to improve expert professional performance in domains, such as music. In this reply, I will first describe five different criteria that defined the original concept of deliberate practice and each of them is presented with directly supporting quotes from Ericsson, Krampe, and Tesch-Romer (Psychol Rev 100:396–406, 10.1037/0033-295X.87.3.215, 1993) paper. Unfortunately, Macnamara, Hambrick, and Oswald (Psychol Sci 25:1608–1618, 10.1177/0956797614535810, 2014) misinterpreted our concept of deliberate practice, and defined it much more broadly: “as engagement in structured activities created specifically to improve performance in a domain” (p. 914). This definition led them to include activities, such as attending lectures, studying alone by students, and group activities led by a coach, where each activity does not meet one or more of our criteria for deliberate practice. In this commentary, I will argue that Macnamara and Hambrick (2020) became aware of some of the original criteria for deliberate practice, such as the role of individualized training by a teacher, and these discoveries misled them to assume that we had changed our definition. The intended meaning of sentences that Macnamara and Hambrick (2020) had carefully selected is shown to have an appropriate interpretation in Standard English that is consistent with our original definition of deliberate practice. In conclusion, I will give a proposal for how the different perspectives can be reconciled.
The health impact of obesity

Abstract Obesity is a significant risk factor for morbidity and mortality from multiple diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disorders, and cancer. Obesity was first acknowledged as a disease by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1984 and was initially consider a disease of industrialized countries. However, there is a growing body of evidence describing the rising prevalence of obesity throughout the world. This represents 18% of overall health expenditures, and much of the cost of obesity comes from related comorbidities.
Geotechnical considerations in the design of borehole heat exchangers

The use of ground source heat pumps to transfer heat to and from the ground via borehole heat exchangers (BHEs) is among the most energy efficient techniques for space heating and cooling. Broader ...
Does Ultrasonic Data Format Matter for Deep Neural Networks

Received ultrasonic data are carrier-modulated broadband signals and are converted to different formats depending on the application. Common formats extracted from the raw radio-frequency (RF) data include a complex-valued analytic signal, the envelope/magnitude, demodulated in-phase and quadrature (IQ) components, and the phase angle. Deep neural networks (DNNs) have been applied to a variety of ultrasound signal processing tasks, yet how the format of input data affects DNN results has not been well-characterized. Here, we investigate how the data format affects DNN performance and robustness for two tasks: speckle reduction and displacement estimation. Simulated data were used for training, and multiple networks were trained for each task and each input format. Network loss was compared on test data with either added white noise or a different imaging frequency. For speckle noise reduction, networks using magnitude or IQ data were more robust to changes in imaging frequency than those using the carrier-modulated RF or analytic signals. Networks using magnitude were the least robust against added white noise. For displacement estimation, networks required an input data format with phase information to perform well. Performance for all input formats were equally affected by added noise, but the RF and analytic signals were the most robust to changes in center frequency.
The Value Surgical Services Bring to Critical Access Hospitals.

Purpose Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) serve rural populations and receive government subsidies to compensate for their relatively high overhead costs and low occupancy rates. Twenty-nine percent of all hospitalizations in the United States include a surgical procedure, and hospitalizations involving surgery accounted for nearly half of all hospital revenue in 2011. This study aims to determine the value surgical services bring to CAHs and their impact on the viability of these facilities. Methods Public access data from the American Hospital Directory (AHD) was analyzed about each hospital's revenue and surgical services offered. Excel was utilized to randomly select 300 CAHs from a pool of 1350 CAHs based on a 95% confidence interval and a 5% margin of error. Linear regression models were fit to the data evaluating the association of net income with the number of surgical services offered per hospital and the association of total margin with the number of surgical services offered per hospital. Models were adjusted for location, occupancy rate, and case mix index. Findings The linear regression model demonstrated that for every additional surgical service provided by a CAH, the hospital net income increased by $630,528 (p=0.0032). A similar trend was observed when modeling profitability. The total margin increased 0.73% for each additional surgical service added, albeit without statistical significance (p=0.1342). CAHs providing two or three surgical services showed tighter group variance than those not offering surgery or only offering one surgical service. Conclusions Net income was significantly correlated to the number of surgical services offered at CAHs. Furthermore, CAHs offering more surgical services seem to have more predictable profits than those offering less surgical services. CAHs would financially benefit from offering more or expanding surgical services at their facilities.
Do Inattention/Hyperactivity and Motor Timing Predict Children's Virtual Road-Crossing Performance?

OBJECTIVE The goal of this investigation was to examine how individual variation in inattention and hyperactivity is related to motor timing difficulties and whether children's performance on simple laboratory timing tasks is related to their performance on a virtual road-crossing task using a head-mounted virtual reality display system. METHODS Participants were a community sample of 92 9- to 11-year-old children. Parents completed questionnaires assessing their child's inattention and hyperactivity. Children completed two simple motor timing tasks (duration discrimination and synchronization-continuation) and crossed roads with continuous traffic in a head-mounted VR system. RESULTS Higher parent-reported inattention and hyperactivity predicted poorer performance in the duration discrimination and synchronization-continuation tasks, but not the virtual pedestrian road-crossing task. Children with higher tap onset asynchrony in the synchronization-continuation task had poorer timing of entry into the gap in the virtual pedestrian road-crossing task. CONCLUSIONS The findings provide further evidence that timing deficits are associated with individual differences in inattention and hyperactivity and that timing difficulties may be a risk factor for functional difficulties in everyday life.
Sequencing Cell Free DNA in the Maternal Circulation to Screen for Down Syndrome and Other Common Aneuploidies

Currently, an estimated 72 % of all pregnancies in the USA receive first and/or second trimester screening for Down syndrome based on combinations of maternal age, biochemical markers, and ultrasound findings. The current “best” test can identify about 90 % of cases at a 2 % false positive rate. In 1997, circulating cell free DNA from the fetus was reported to constitute up to 10 % of all circulating cell free DNA in maternal plasma, after 10 weeks of gestation. Since that time, four commercial laboratories in the USA have performed external validation studies documenting the performance of laboratory developed next-generation sequencing tests for maternal plasma aimed at identifying Down syndrome and other common trisomies. Overall, the sensitivity for Down syndrome is higher (99 % or more), with fewer false positive results (0.2 % or less). In addition, some of these tests can reliably identify trisomy 18 and trisomy 13, along with select sex chromosome abnormalities. Testing occasionally (1–5 %) fails to provide a clinically useful result. This chapter also discusses potential future developments, such as the identification of large deletion/duplication syndromes, and current implementation issues (testing in twins and pregnancies conceived using assisted reproductive technologies).
Engineering Applications Software Development: Using Fortran 77

Computer fundamentals the FORTRAN language FORTRAN subprograms FORTRAN input and output programming style debugging portability software design concepts qualities of optimum software design software design strategies.
Intractable diarrhea of infancy due to intestinal coccidiosis

Intestinal coccidiosis in a 6-mo-old infant terminated fatally after 30 wk of continuous total parenteral nutrition, and proved refractory to treatment with antibiotics, hydrocortisone, and antimetabolic agents. Intestinal biopsies obtained at laparotomy revealed flattened mucosa infiltrated with coccidia at various stages of the parasites' life cycle. The course was characterized by severe diarrhea due to a cholera-like hypersecretion of intraluminal fluid. This case suggests that intestinal coccidiosis may be included among the small number of conditions responsible for authentic "intractable diarrhea of infancy."
The Amino Acid Sequence of β-Galactosidase II. TRYPTIC PEPTIDES OF THE MALEYLATED PROTEIN AND SEQUENCES OF SOME TRYPTIC PEPTIDES

Abstract A tryptic digest of maleylated β-galactosidase has yielded peptides accounting for about 900 of the 1170 residues in the subunit. The peptides were separated into fractions soluble and insoluble in dilute acetic acid. The soluble fraction contained 35 peptides obtained earlier from a tryptic digest and 9 different peptides. One of these was an overlap peptide. The insoluble fraction was subjected to countercurrent distribution which resulted in the isolation of eight large peptides accounting for 10 lysines, 12 arginines, and 481 residues. The sequences of 42 peptides from the tryptic digest have been completely determined and three have been partially determined, accounting for 350 residues.
Mental Health and Rehabilitative Services in the Juvenile Justice System: System Reforms and Innovative Approaches

Current efforts to treat youth in the juvenile justice system can be understood in terms of historical trends in the treatment of delinquents, as well as system reforms occurring in both the children's mental health and juvenile justice systems. We first discuss reforms in, and changing conceptualizations of, the children's mental health and juvenile justice systems. We then review recent innovations in the delivery of mental health services within the juvenile justice system that have occurred in response to these reforms. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these systems reforms and innovative treatment approaches for service delivery.
Dancing across Borders / Danzas y Bailes Mexicanos

Reviewed Medium: book Year: 2009 Pages: 472 Publisher: University of Illinois Press ISBN: 978-0-252-03409-1 (hard cover).
Fine Structure and Host-Virus Relationship of a Marine Bacterium and Its Bacteriophage

Valentine, Artrice F. (Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.), and George B. Chapman. Fine structure and host-virus relationship of a marine bacterium and its bacteriophage. J. Bacteriol. 92: 1535–1554. 1966.—The fine structure of a gram-negative marine bacterium, Cytophaga marinoflava sp. n., has been revealed by ultrathin sectioning and electron microscopy. Stages in the morphogenesis of the bacterial virus NCMB 385, which has been shown to be highly specific for this organism, were also demonstrated in bacterial cells fixed according to the Kellenberger technique. The bacterium possessed a cell wall, cytoplasmic membrane, and nuclear and cytoplasmic regions typical of bacterial cells. Both the cell wall and the cytoplasmic membrane showed a tripartite structure, i.e., each was composed of two dense layers separated by a low-density zone. Intracytoplasmic membrane systems were also observed, especially in dividing cells and in cells in which new viruses were being formed. As many as 18 hexagonally shaped, empty phage heads (membranes only) were observed in untreated, infected bacterial cells. Phage heads, intermediate in density to empty heads and fully condensed ones, possibly representing stages in the morphological development of the virus, were also seen. Images
A Review of “Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys”

The book entitled Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys was written by Victor Rios. It is based on a three-year study of 40 minority youths, 30 of whom were previously arrested, in ...
Osterix and NO66 histone demethylase control the chromatin of Osterix target genes during osteoblast differentiation.

Commitment of Runx2-expressing precursor osteoblasts to functional osteoblasts and then to osteocytes is triggered by Osterix (Osx), which activates its target genes in those cells during bone formation. It is not yet known whether Osx has a role in remodeling the chromatin architecture of its target genes during the transition from preosteoblast to osteoblast. In testing the hypothesis that Osx is indispensable for active chromatin architecture, we first showed that in Osx-null calvarial cells occupancy of the transcriptional activators, including lysine 4 methyl transferase (Wdr5), c-Myc, and H2A.Z, at the Osx target gene Bsp was very markedly decreased. The levels of methylation of lysines 4 and 36 and acetylation of histone H3, markers for active chromatin, were also reduced at the Bsp gene in these cells. In contrast, occupancy of the transcriptional repressors HP1 and the nucleolar protein 66 (NO66), a histone demethylase previously identified as an Osx-interacting protein, was increased at the Bsp gene in Osx-null calvarial cells. Furthermore, the Bsp promoter was hypermethylated in embryonic stem (ES) cells and in embryonic day 9.5 (E9.5) embryos but was markedly hypomethylated in the calvaria of E18.5 embryos, coinciding with robust Bsp expression. In contrast, CpG methylation in the Bsp promoter remained high in Osx-null calvaria compared to Osx–wild-type calvaria. Our data also revealed that NO66 interacted with DNA Methyltransferase 1A (DNMT1A), histone deacetylase 1A (HDAC1A), and HP1, which are known to control histone and DNA methylation. In addition, HP1 stimulated the demethylase activity of NO66 for its substrates “trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 4” (H3K4me3) and “trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 36” (H3K36me3). Our findings strongly suggest that in the absence of Osx, the chromatin of Osx target genes is transcriptionally inactive. We propose that Osx is a molecular switch for the formation of an active chromatin state during osteoblast differentiation, whereas NO66 helps gene repression through histone demethylation and/or formation of a repressor complex, resulting in multilayered control of the chromatin architecture of specific osteoblast genes. © 2014 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Electrophoretic karyotyping of typical and atypical Candida albicans.

Electrophoretic karyotypes of atypical isolates of Candida albicans, e.g., strains that were germ tube negative, failed to express proteinase activity, demonstrated low virulence for mice, formed hyperchlamydoconidia, produced hyperhyphae, or were sucrose negative (including the type strain of Candida stellatoidea), were compared with those of typical C. albicans. Karyotypes of whole-cell DNA of classical C. albicans examined with transverse alternating-field electrophoresis under specific conditions were composed of seven DNA bands with a specific migration pattern. Certain atypical strains and representatives of the three serotypes of C. stellatoidea produced discrete karyotypes with 5 to 10 bands. All isolates demonstrated a significant degree of DNA relatedness, suggesting their conspecificity. Densitometric tracings of DNA bands provided an objective and standardized method for comparing bands within the gels.
A geometrical view of blind equalization

A geometrical analysis of the equalization problem is presented. The input signal forms an (m+L)-dimensional hypercube that is mapped via a convolution matrix to an m-D parallelotope, where L is the order of the channel and m is the order of the transversal equalizer. The properties of this mapping are discussed, and a criterion for equalization called the minimum width criterion is proposed. Virtually all of the standard equalizer schemes can be viewed as special cases of this minimum width criterion, including the L/sub infinity /, L/sub 1/, MSE (mean square error), LS (least squares), Sato, Godard, and kurtosis methods. It is possible to build new equalization algorithms by combining the basic distance elements uncovered by this geometric analysis. >
William P. Foster’s Promises for Educational Leadership: Critical Idealism in an Applied Field

In 1986, William P. Foster added another measure of insight to the growing awareness that traditional approaches to explaining leadership phenomena in schooling had proven more illusion than illumination. With the publication of Paradigms and Promises: New Approaches to Educational Administration (1986), Foster’s scrutiny on market-bound and orthodox views of organizations challenged conventional scholarship on schooling and leadership. His promotion of a dialectically engaged and dynamic construction of education and educational leadership provided yet another impetus for the ensuing decades of reform in scholarship, preparation, and practices of the field. Upon the first anniversary of his death, Educational Administration Quarterly dedicates this edition to recognize and probe Foster’s scholarly legacy in addition to celebrating his generosity as a colleague and mentor.
Structural components in Sorghum stem biomass

Abstract Sorghum vegetative biomass is a renewable resource for energy production and forage. Twelve sorghum entries were evaluated for stem quality by determining concentrations of the structural components (SC), hemicellulose (HC), lignin (LG), and cellulose (CL), within the stem and distribution between the rind and pith. Ranges of concentrations for the total stem were 205·9–299·8, 47·8–78·0 and 258·8–317·3 mg g −1 of stem dry matter for HC, LG, and CL, respectively. Cellulose was the predominant component in the rind, whereas HC was the major component of the pith in most entries. Hemicellulose was more evenly distributed between the pith and rind than either CL or LG. Stems from six of the entries were used to isolate HC and two types, designated A and B, were found. Levels of hemicellulose A (HCA) were approximately twice those of hemicellulose B (HCB). Hemicellulose A contained more xylose than HCB, but less glucose, galactose, and arabinose. Both types of HC contained uronic acids, but melibiose appeared to also be a component of HCA. More component differences were present for HCB than HCA among entries. Structural components are not homogeneously distributed between the rind and pith of sorghum stems. It may be desirable to consider SC variability among lines and hybrids for utilization of the vegetative biomass in energy conversion processes.
Reduced anxiety and depression-like behavior in synaptotagmin IV (−/−) mice

Synaptotagmin IV (Syt IV) is a secretory vesicle protein that is broadly expressed in brain and may function as a presynaptic regulator of synaptic release. Because Syt IV and abnormalities in neurotransmission have been implicated in psychiatric disease, we examined Syt IV (-/-) mice in animal models of mood-related behavior. We report that Syt IV (-/-) mice display lower levels of anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze and enhanced locomotion in the open field. Syt IV (-/-) mice also exhibit reduced depression-like behavior and are highly sensitive to the effects of the anti-depressant imipramine in a modified Porsolt forced swim test. However, the physical restraint-induced stress hormone response is normal in Syt IV (-/-) mice. As judged by immunohistochemical criteria, the synaptic structure and connectivity of the hippocampus and raphe nucleus in Syt IV (-/-) mice are indistinguishable from wild-type littermates. These results indicate that Syt IV plays a role in rodent mood-related behavior and suggests Syt IV regulates synaptic function in the neuronal networks that modulate these behaviors.
Role of gastric mast cells in the regulation of central TRH analog-induced hyperemia in rats

RX 77368 (RX) increases gastric mucosal blood flow by a vagal cholinergic mechanism. The relative roles of mucosal and connective tissue mast cells (MMC and CTMC) were investigated in RX-injected rats. Blood flow and mast cell degranulation were measured after intracisternal RX. RX significantly increased gastric mucosal blood flow, and sequentially degranulated CTMC and MMC. Ketotifen or doxantrazole inhibited the hyperemic response. Ondansetron, RS-039604-90, or famotidine, but not ketanserin or pyrilamine, reduced hyperemia. Mast cells mediate RX-induced gastric hyperemia via 5-HT3, 5-HT4, and H2 receptors; initial increase depends upon CTMC whereas MMC contributes to the later response.
Antenna-coupled THz quantum cascade lasers for high-power emission

A distributed antenna-coupling scheme for THz quantum cascade lasers is introduced. Single-mode emission in a narrow beam pattern, with an order of magnitude increase in output power is predicted compared to previous distributed-feedback schemes.
Chemical characterization and antioxidant evaluation of muscadine grape pomace extract

Abstract Concentrated muscadine pomace extract was chromatographically analyzed for its individual phenolic, flavonoid, and anthocyanidin compounds. This extract was also characterized regarding its total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidative activities in terms of scavenging DPPH free radicals, reducing ferric, and chelating Fe 2+ . The TPC of this product was 34.1 ± 1.8 mg of gallic acid equivalents(GAE)/g of extract, and TFC was 3.0 ± 0.3 mg of quercetin equivalents/g of extract. Some phenolic compounds including ellagic acid, gallic acid, (−)-epicatechin, (−)-epigallocatechin, catechin, myricetin, quercetin, and kaempferol were identified. Some anthocyanidins including delphinidin, cyanidin, petunidin, peonidin, and malvidin were also identified in the extract by using a combination of retention and spectral properties on a reverse-phase HPLC–PDA. In addition, 3,3′,4,4′5,5′-hexahydroxystilbene-a resveratrol analogue present in the extract was identified for the first time by LC–MS. The results from this study demonstrate that the muscadine pomace extract is rich of natural antioxidants such as phenolics, flavonoids and anthocyanins, and possesses strong antioxidant properties. Besides, the developed methods can be used for routine quality control of the muscadine products for manufacturing efficiency and consistency.