cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Homeless Alcoholic

Although homeless alcoholics constitute no more than 5% of the entire alcoholic population, no alcoholic subgroup has been studied more thoroughly over the past 50 years.1 Homeless alcoholics have been visited by social workers, sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists, doctors and psychiatrists, urban planners, and public health officers. They have been studied and observed in the streets and on skid rows, in bars, jails, drunk tanks, and “bottle gangs.” The body of literature resulting from these studies provides an extensive picture of the social, personal, and medical backgrounds of homeless alcoholics.2
Water quality management through community engagement in Costa Rica

Concerns about stream water quality are increasing in Latin America. Poor sanitation infrastructure coupled with a high demand from agricultural development, recreational use, drinking, and sanitation creates a strong need to balance water quality and quantity to meet these demands. Wastewater from various levels of development combined with changes in climate and rainfall patterns has created unique watershed management challenges. Ecologically, tropical river watersheds with their unique hydrology (wet and dry seasons), steep slopes, characteristically long shape, and rapidly changing life zones present management challenges. Sociologically, weak overall protective legislation, streambed manipulation, withdrawals, minimal wastewater treatment, and beliefs water is abundant have produced a lax attitude for protection. To assess these concerns, we studied three river watersheds within a biological corridor along a northern Pacific slope in Costa Rica. We characterized baseline river water quality and then paired biological and chemical parameters to develop an index of water quality. Results suggest agricultural inputs and withdrawal, greywater urban inputs, community water use, and natural features of the watershed including climate concerns must be managed together to improve water quality and provide adequate water resources. Community involvement, along with a water quality index useable by the general public, was a key to the overall success of the project.
Understanding the trilemma of fast charging, energy density and cycle life of lithium-ion batteries

Abstract Increasing energy density of Li-ion batteries (LiBs) along with fast charging capability are two key approaches to eliminate range anxiety and boost mainstream adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). Either the increase of energy density or of charge rate, however, heightens the risk of lithium plating and thus deteriorates cell life. The trilemma of fast charging, energy density and cycle life are studied systematically in this work utilizing a physics-based aging model with incorporation of both lithium plating and solid-electrolyte-interphase (SEI) growth. The model is able to capture the key feature of temperature-dependent aging behavior of LiBs, or more specifically, the existence of an optimal temperature with the longest cycle life. We demonstrate that this optimal temperature is a result of competition between SEI growth and lithium plating. Further, it is revealed that either the increase of charge rate or of energy density accelerates lithium plating induced aging. As such, the optimal temperature for cell life increases from ∼20 °C for a high-power cell at 1C charge to ∼35–45 °C with the increase of charge rate and/or energy density. It would be beneficial to further increase the charge temperature in order to enable robust fast charging of high energy EV cells.
Three strikes and you're out: culture, facilities, and participation among LGBTQ youth in sports.

School-based sports and physical education play an important role in the development of youth (Jones, Edwards, et al., 2017), but participation in athletics is unequal for lesbian, gay, bisexual, t...
Influence of N, P and K Fertilizer Interactions on Growth of Ilex crenata Thunb. ‘Helleri’

Ilex crenata ‘Helleri’ was greenhouse-grown in sand culture for 8 weeks at 4 levels of N, P and K in a factorial arrangement. Nitrogen and K levels were maintained at 0, 25, 75, and 200 ppm and P at 0, 5, 15, and 40 ppm in the irrigation water. The lowest level of each nutrient required for optimal growth was 75 ppm N, 5-15 ppm P and 25 ppm K. When levels of P were maintained at 40 ppm, then 200 ppm K was required for maximum growth. The same trend occurred for N and P in that higher levels of N were required to promote maximum growth when P levels were at 40 rather than 15 ppm.
Computer Science Problem Solving Course: Practical and Technical Thinking Skills for CS Majors

Solving problems in various current subfields of computer science improves student motivation and helps level the playing field for students who are less-likely to be exposed to such topics and tools outside of their coursework. The importance of student mindset is well studied in education, confident students who find course material useful and interesting are likely to be motivated and perform well. For several decades computer science educators have recognized the need for computer science students to enhance and practice their problem-solving skills. More recently, computer science educators have become attentive to barriers to student success, particularly barriers that impact students from groups that are underrepresented in the field. Students with more computing experience outside of their college coursework, such as high school coursework or extracurricular computing activities, have an advantage and the students who lack such experience are likely to be intimidated in addition to less skilled. This updated version of a Computer Science Problem Solving course still addresses the long-recognized need for undergraduates to improve metacognitive and problem-solving skills, but also improves student motivation and engagement by using current computer science tools and demystifying potentially intimidating topics such as version control, security, command line tools, web development and machine learning. In this poster the author reports on the philosophy and design of a newly updated Computer Science Problem Solving course for computer science majors and presents preliminary data regarding student mindset, metacognition and computing experience outside of coursework.
Portia goes to Washington: Shakespeare and Judge Kavanaugh

Ne Il mercante di Venezia, William Shakespeare invita il lettore/spettatore a percepire l'ipocrisia di una societa veneziana nella quale la moralita e la legge servono a tutelare i privilegi ed a l...
On-Board SiC MOSFET Degradation Monitoring Through Readily Available Inverter Current/Voltage Sensors

In this paper, a monitoring method is proposed for SiC MOSFETs based power converter/inverter topologies. Device's drain current and drain-source resistance in the saturation region are selected as the aging precursors. By applying fixed low V gs within microseconds at system start-up, on-board SiC MOSFET degradation monitoring can be achieved by excluding device junction temperature effect. In this study, readily available inverter current and dc bus voltage sensors are used to measure drain-source resistance shift throughout device degradation, and no extra sensing circuit is required. In order to verify the proposed method, power cycling tests are applied to devices under test (DUT) to observe progressive degradation and corresponding parameter shifts. Based on the identified aging signatures, the effect of variables like saturation gate voltage, pulse duration on the proposed technique are evaluated and discussed by means of single pulse test. The proposed degradation monitoring method is then experimentally validated in the context of a 3-phase inverter for case study. It is shown in the experimental results that device drain-source resistance in saturation region shows increasing trend over aging, can be used to monitor progressive SiC MOSFET degradation within microseconds at system start-up.
Interaction Between Psychiatric Symptoms and History of Mild TBI When Evaluating Postconcussion Syndrome in Veterans.

Introduction Symptoms of postconcussive syndrome (PCS) after mild TBI (mTBI) have been shown to resolve quickly, yet new research raises questions about possible long-term effects of this condition. It is not clear how best to address assessment and treatment when someone reports lingering symptoms of PCS. One self-report measure used by the VA and the DoD is the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI), but this measure may be affected by underlying psychiatric symptoms. We investigated whether the NSI is sensitive to mTBI after considering a number of psychiatric and demographic factors. Methods This study examined which factors are associated with NSI scores in a Veteran sample (n = 741) that had recently returned from deployment. Results Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression accounted for most of the variance on the NSI. Although history of mTBI was initially related to NSI, this association was no longer significant after other covariates were considered. Conclusions The NSI score was primarily explained by symptoms of PTSD and depression, suggesting that the NSI is not specific to the experience of a brain injury. We recommend cautious interpretation when this measure is used in the chronic phase after mTBI, especially among patients with comorbid depression or PTSD.
Historical comparisons of body size are sensitive to data availability and ecological context.

Historical comparisons of body size often lack pertinent details, including information on the sampling protocol and relevant ecological covariates that influence body size. Moreover, historical estimates of body size that rely on museum specimens may be biased towards larger size classes because of collector preferences, and thus size thresholds have been used to focus attention on maximum body size. We tested the consequences of sampling design, ecological covariates, and size thresholds on inferences of body-size change using field-contextualized historical records, rather than museum specimens. In 2014-2015, we revisited historical (1947-1963) size-frequency distributions of three gastropods (Tegula funebralis, Lottia digitalis/L. austrodigitalis, Littorina keenae) in the context of population density and tidal height. In general, gastropods declined in size. However, our inferences regarding body-size decline were tempered when the variation between sampling units was taken into consideration, resulting in greater uncertainty around the estimate of proportional change in body size. Gastropod size was correlated with population density and tidal height, and these relationships varied over time. Finally, the magnitude and direction of body-size change varied with the amount of data available for analysis, demonstrating that the use of size thresholds can lead to incomplete conclusions.
Book Review: Adventure and Society

A book review of Beames, S., Mackie, C., & Atencio, M. (2019). Adventure and society. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-96062-3Reviewed byRobert P. WarnerDepartment of Health, Kinesiology, & Recreation,University of Utah
Symmetry crossover in layered M PS 3 complexes ( M = Mn , Fe , Ni ) via near-field infrared spectroscopy

Author(s): Neal, SN; Kim, HS; O'Neal, KR; Haglund, AV; Smith, KA; Mandrus, DG; Bechtel, HA; Carr, GL; Haule, K; Vanderbilt, D; Musfeldt, JL | Abstract: We employ synchrotron-based near-field infrared spectroscopy to reveal the vibrational properties of bulk, few-sheet, and single-sheet members of the MPS3 (M=Mn, Fe, Ni) family of materials and compare our findings with complementary lattice dynamics calculations. MnPS3 and the Fe analog are similar in terms of their symmetry crossovers, from C2/m to P3¯1m, as the monolayer is approached. These states differ as to the presence of a C3 rotation around the metal center. On the other hand, NiPS3 does not show a symmetry crossover, and the lack of a Bu symmetry mode near 450 cm-1 suggests that C3 rotational symmetry is already present, even in the bulk material. We discuss these findings in terms of local symmetry and temperature effects as well as the curious relationship between these symmetry transformations and those that take place under pressure.
THE MOSDEF SURVEY: DYNAMICAL AND BARYONIC MASSES AND KINEMATIC STRUCTURES OF STAR-FORMING GALAXIES AT 1.4 ≤ z ≤ 2.6

Author(s): Price, SH; Kriek, M; Shapley, AE; Reddy, NA; Freeman, WR; Coil, AL; Groot, LD; Shivaei, I; Siana, B; Azadi, M; Barro, G; Mobasher, B; Sanders, RL; Zick, T | Abstract: We present Ha gas kinematics for 178 star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 2 from the MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field survey. We have developed models to interpret the kinematic measurements from fixed-angle multi-object spectroscopy, using structural parameters derived from Cosmic Assembly Near-Infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey Hubble Space Telescope/F160W imaging. For 35 galaxies, we measure resolved rotation with a median of (V/σV,0 )RE 2.1 ( s ) = . We derive dynamical masses from the kinematics and sizes and compare them to baryonic masses, with gas masses estimated from dust-corrected Ha star formation rates (SFRs) and the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation. When assuming that galaxies with and without observed rotation have the same median (V/σV,0 )RE, we find good agreement between the dynamical and baryonic masses, with a scatter of σrms = 0.34 dex and a median offset of log10 M 0.04 dex D = . This comparison implies a low dark matter fraction (8% within an effective radius) for a Chabrier initial mass function (IMF), and disfavors a Salpeter IMF. Moreover, the requirement that Mdyn/Mbaryon should be independent of inclination yields a median value of (V/σV,0 )RE = 2.1 for galaxies without observed rotation. If, instead, we treat the galaxies without detected rotation as early-type galaxies, the masses are also in reasonable agreement (δlog10 M = 0.07 dex D = - , σrms = 0.37 dex). The inclusion of gas masses is critical in this comparison; if gas masses are excluded, there is an increasing trend of Mdyn/M∗ with higher specific SFR (SSFR). Furthermore, we find indications that V s decreases with increasing Ha SSFR for our full sample, which may reflect disk settling. We also study the TullyFisher relation and find that at fixed stellar mass S0.5 0.5V2.2 + σ V2,0 2 )1/2 was higher at earlier times. At fixed baryonic mass, we observe the opposite trend. Finally, the baryonic and dynamical masses of the active galactic nuclei in our sample are also in excellent agreement, suggesting that the kinematics trace the host galaxies.
Impact of salinity on seed germination and seedling performance of tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L. ) cv KC-1

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of salt stress on seed germination and seedling performance of Solanum lycopersicum L. (tomato) cv KC-1 under controlled environment and also to select salt tolerant seedlings for plant regeneration. This experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with three replications. Uniform seeds of tomato cv KC-1 were surface sterilized and placed on sterilized filter paper in the petridishes. Subsequently they were wetted with 5 ml of distilled water as a control or one of the NaCl (sodium chlorite) salt solutions (0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 mM NaCl. Seed germination percentage were calculated and seedling growth attributes were recoreded after seeding. Results showed that germination percentage decreased with increasing salinity levels (0 mM, 20 mM, 40 mM, 60 mM, 80 mM). Germination percentage was less than 50% for seed treated with NaCl above the level of 40 mM. Minimum value (18.3%) was recorded in 80 mM of salinity. Shoot and root lengths, dry and fresh weights of shoots and roots, relative water content and total dissolved salt content of first leaves (cotyledons) were significantly affected (P<0.001) by salt stress after 12 days of seeding. Salinity levels had a considerable effect on all parameters tested in this study. Salt content of first leaves increased with increasing NaCl concentrations. Germination and early seedling growth of Tomato cv. KC-1 was greatly affected in salt concentrations above 40 mM NaCl levels under controlled environmental conditions.
Online Methods in Adolescent Self-Injury Research: Challenges and Recommendations.

Online methods hold promise as effective research tools for adolescent psychopathology research. Such methods may be the most effective way to reach large, representative samples of adolescents and...
Influence of counteranion and humidity on the thermal, mechanical and conductive properties of covalently crosslinked ionenes

Abstract Thiol-ene photopolymerization was used to generate a series of covalently crosslinked, imidazolium-containing ionene networks. A variety of counteranions were chosen so as to investigate the influence of size and basicity on the thermal, mechanical and conductive properties of the resulting networks. Anhydrous conductivities at 20 °C were found to be on the order of 10−6 to 10−10 S/cm and correlated to some degree with Tg; however, Tg-normalization of the curves indicated that this relationship between polymer structure and conductivity was more complex. VFT fitting, along with free ion concentration and ion mobility data, were investigated in order to provide additional insight. Also of interest in this study was the influence of humidity on ionic conductivity. Hydrophilic networks with anions such as [Cl], [NO3] or [OMs] were found to exhibit 3- to 5-orders of magnitude enhancement in ionic conductivity (up to 10−3 S/cm) when the relative humidity was increased to 70% while the more hydrophobic networks ([PF6] and [NTf2]) were not influenced. Further experimentation (water uptake, DSC) indicated that the observed enhancements in conductivity were likely due to a combination of plasticization and water-assisted ion transport.
Cognitive maps and novel inferences: a flexibility hierarchy

Cognitive maps come in all shapes and sizes. Here, we review the literature on cognitive maps and their role in novel inferences during decision making, focusing on the representations and computations in the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, and ventral prefrontal cortex. We suggest that cognitive maps can be seen as balancing representational complexity and online computational demand. Recent evidence suggests the hippocampal formation and orbital frontal cortex both form and use cognitive maps along this spectrum, ranging from simple elementary associations to explicit maps of 2D relational spaces that leverage structural inference. These representations can be conceptualized in terms of the degrees of behavioral flexibility they afford.
Successful Treatment With Baricitinib in a Patient With Refractory Eosinophilic Fasciitis.

Eosinophilic fasciitis (EF), or Shulman disease, is a rare sclerosing skin disorder1 treated with corticosteroids (CS) and additional immunosuppressive agents2. A 37-year-old man was diagnosed with EF by full-thickness skin biopsy. Complete blood count revealed absolute eosinophil count of 2800. Peau d’orange was present with a “groove sign” on raising forearms. Initial treatment comprised intravenous (IV) methylprednisolone (1000 mg/day × 3 days) followed by prednisone (60 mg) and methotrexate (MTX) 25 mg weekly for 3 months. Mycophenolate mofetil 2 g/day …
Treadmill exercise promotes retinal astrocyte plasticity and protects against retinal degeneration

Abstract Exercise has been shown to be an effective neuroprotective intervention that preserves retinal function and structure in several animal models of retinal degeneration. However, retinal cell morphology and cell types governing exercise-induced retinal neuroprotection remain elusive. Previously, we found that the protective effects of exercise in animal models of retinal disease were accompanied by increased levels of circulating and retinal brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and required intact signal transduction with its high-affinity receptor, tropomyosin kinase B (TrkB). Studies of neurodegenerative diseases in the brain demonstrate that neurons and astrocytes express BDNF and TrkB. Additionally, astrocytes have been shown to alter their morphology in response to exercise. Here, we have investigated the role of retinal astrocytes as mediators of exercise-induced retinal neuroprotection in a light-induced retinal degeneration mouse model (LIRD). We found that treadmill exercise in both our dim (control maintenance light levels) and LIRD groups promote increased retinal astrocytic population, GFAP expression, branching and endpoints, dendritic complexity, and promotes BDNF-astrocyte interaction. In contrast, LIRD animals that were inactive had significant reductions in all measured parameters. Our findings indicate that exercise is sufficient to rescue retinal astrocyte morphology in a LIRD model maintaining branching and dendritic arborization similar to retinal astrocytes that are not undergoing degeneration. These studies provide essential information to current knowledge gaps in regards to exercise-induced neuroprotection and will additionally provide knowledge in exercise intervention optimization as a rehabilitative method. Significance statement This study represents an essential step in determining the cell-types governing and morphological alterations elicited from exercise which may provide neural repair and protection. Similar to astrocytes in the brain, retinal astrocytes alter their morphology in response to exercise. Our studies demonstrate exercise promotes increased interactions between retinal astrocytes and neural growth factors in healthy retinas as well as in retinas undergoing degeneration, which may ultimately protect dying retinal neurons. These studies provide insight into the potential neuroprotective role astrocytes play in neurodegenerative diseases.
Deep Learning Analysis of Polaritonic Wave Images.

Deep learning (DL) is an emerging analysis tool across the sciences and engineering. Encouraged by the successes of DL in revealing quantitative trends in massive imaging data, we applied this appr...
Japanese Adult Women and their General Perceptions of Sex Role Portrayals in Japanese Advertisements

This study examines the perceptions of a sample of 100 Japanese adult women regarding their general perceptions of sex role portrayals in advertising. The findings indicate that: 1) Japanese women are not critical of their role portrayals in Japanese advertisements, although they also do not necessarily believe that they are accurate, 2) Japanese women would develop a negative image of a company which used offensive depictions in its advertisements, and 3) Japanese women would not necessarily boycott the products of a company which used offensive advertisements.
WHALE SHARkS OF THE WESTERN CARIBBEAN: AN OVERVIEW OF CURRENT RESEARCH ANd CONSERVATION EFFORTS ANd FUTURE NEEdS FOR EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF THE SPECIES

Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are seasonal visitors to four sites in the Western Caribbean, 3 of which are encompassed by the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Predictable encounters with the world's largest fish have raised this species' profile globally and led to several research and conservation efforts that aim to elucidate the need for information for the species management and balance the growing demand for highly lucrative encounter tour- ism. Tagging studies have demonstrated that the whale shark population is relatively small and likely forms a single population. Individuals move throughout the region between 3 of 4 known feeding sites and are capable of timing their movements to pulses of productivity. Whale shark tourism's dramatic growth has led to a range of protective measures and scientific studies both precautionary and reactionary that require better harmonization throughout the region to be effective. This paper will provide an overview of the status of whale shark research and conservation efforts in the Western Caribbean and identify future management needs to minimize anthropogenic impacts and enable continued whale shark visitation at key feeding sites. RESUMEN Los tiburones ballenas son visitantes estacionales a cuatro sitios en el Caribe occidental, tres de los cuales se ubican en el arrecife Mesoamericano. Encuentras previsibles con el pez mas largo del mundo han elevado el perfil de esta especie globalmente y ha llevado a la implementacion de varios esfuerzos cientificos y conserva- doras quienes tratan de dilucidar la demanda creciente y economicamente lucrativo por el turismo de encuentro. Estudios de marcaje han demostrado que la poblacion de tiburones ballenas es relativamente pequena y probable- mente forma una sola poblacion. Individuos se mueven a lo largo de la region entre 3 de 4 sitios conocidos de alimentacion, mostrando una habilidad para sincronizar sus movimientos a pulsos de productividad. El desarrollo dramatico del turismo de tiburon ballena ha llevado a la implementacion de medidas de proteccion y estudios cienti- ficos de naturaleza precaucionarias y reaccionarias que requieren mejor harmonizacion en la region para ser efec- tivos. Este articulo proveera una perspectiva de conjunto de la situacion de tiburon ballena en el Caribe occidental e identificara las necesidades de manejo futuras para ayudar en minimizar impactos antropogenicos y permitir que las visitaciones a los sitios alimenticios claves sigan siempre.
Search for the Determiners of Food Quality Ratings — Description of Methodology with Application to Blueberries

The object of this study is to relate qualitative and quantitative ratings as expressed by judges and to relate sensory responses to physical measurements and gas chromatograms. Judges were asked to rate acceptability, flavor, and mouthfeel of blueberries on a five-point scale in a darkened room. With another specimen, they were asked to judge appearance and color without, however, tasting these berries. The judges were also asked to complete a questionnaire describing, in qualitative terms, the characteristics of each specimen. Varieties were subjected to analysis by physical and chemical measurements, and gas chromatograms were prepared. Contingency analysis and analysis of variance were performed to relate qualitative and quantitative ratings. The relationship between physical measurements or chromatograms and ratings is displayed in tables of means; although these numbers can be expressed as single correlations, using a random model, a single measure based on just four products was deemed to be less informative than a tabulation of correspondence.
The Transformation of the Value of Life: Dispossession as Torture.

Workers at the oldest maternity hospital in Colombia experienced the privatization of health care and the flexibilization of their labor. Drawing on their experience, I illustrate how neoliberalism transforms the value of life. This transformation occurs first in terms of its moral worth: the worth of life changes over time, as people and public hospitals are stigmatized as the ‘living memory’ of the old. Second, the hospital buildings, the land on which they sit, and the roles of workers within the hospital are all transformed. Both similarities and differences emerge between a type of systemic or chronic violence that is inherent to the capitalist system and modern practices of torture. Examining how capitalist forces transform the value of life opens up new fields of inquiry to study links between critical political economy and subjectivity.
Radio-frequency-assisted current startup in the Fusion Engineering Device

Auxiliary radio-frequency (RF) heating of electrons before and during the current rise phase of a large tokamak, such as the Fusion Engineering Device (FED) (R/sub 0/ = 4.8 m, a = 1.3 m, sigma = 1.6, B(R/sub 0/) = 3.62 T), is examined as a means of reducing both the initiation loop voltage and resistive flux expenditure during startup. Prior to current initiation, 1 to 2 MW of electron cyclotron resonance heating power at about90 GHz is used to create a small volume of high conductivity plasma (T /sub e/ approx. = 100 eV, n /sub e/ approx. = 10/sup 19/ m/sup -3/) near the upper hybrid resonance (UHR) region. This plasma conditioning, referred to as preheating, permits a small radius (a/sub 0/ approx. = 0.2 to 0.4 m) current channel to be established with a relatively low initial loop voltage (less than or equal to 25 V as opposed to about 100 V without rf assist). During the subsequent plasma expansion and current rise phase, a combination of rf heating (up to 5 MW) and linear current ramping leads to a substantial savings in voltseconds by (a) minimizing the resistive flux consumption and (b) producing broad current density profiles.more » (With such broad profiles, the internal flux requirements are maintained at or near the flat profile limit.)« less
Cytokine activation of vascular endothelium. Effects on tissue-type plasminogen activator and type 1 plasminogen activator inhibitor.

Regulation of the fibrinolytic system of cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) by recombinant interleukin 1 beta (rIL-1 beta) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (rTNF alpha) was investigated. Functional and immunologic assays indicated that both cytokines decreased HUVEC tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) and increased type 1 plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Maximal effects (50% decrease in tPA antigen; 300-400% increase in PAI-1 activity) were achieved with 2.5 units/ml rIL-1 beta and 200 units/ml rTNF alpha. Combinations of rIL-1 beta and rTNF alpha were not additive at these maximal concentrations. After a 24-h pretreatment with rIL-1 beta, HUVECs secreted tPA at one-quarter of the rate of control cells and released PAI-1 at a rate that was 5-fold higher than controls. Neither the basal rate of PAI-1 release nor the increased rate of release of PAI-1 in response to rIL-1 beta was affected by subsequently treating the cells with secretagogues (e.g. phorbol myristate acetate) suggesting that PAI-1 is not contained within a rapidly releasable, intracellular storage pool. Northern blot analysis using a PAI-1 cDNA probe indicated that the cytokines increased the steady-state levels of the 3.2- and 2.3-kb PAI-1 mRNA species, but with a preferential increase in the larger mRNA form. The fact that both rIL-1 beta and rTNF alpha act in a similar manner strengthens the hypothesis that the local development of inflammatory/immune processes could reduce endothelial fibrinolytic activity.
The cancer stem cell niche in medulloblastoma.

5640 Recent data from our group and those of others indicate that glial and neuroectodermal brain tumors are maintained by rare fractions of cancer stem cells (CSC) that express the neural stem cell markers CD133 and Nestin (Singh SK et. al., Nature, 2004; Taylor MD et. al. , Cancer Cell 2005). In the normal brain, neural stem cells lie within a vascular niche in which endothelial cells release soluble factors that stimulate stem cell self-renewal and inhibit differentiation. Here, we show that endothelial cells similarly maintain the self-renewal capacity and undifferentiated phenotype of medulloblastoma (MB) stem cells and that these cells are closely associated with tumor capillaries in vivo . We further show that ERBB2 signaling, an indicator of poor prognosis in MB patients, promotes VEGF production, vascular endothelial cell proliferation and angiogenesis in tumors and that these processes can be effectively inhibited in vitro and in vivo . These data show that endothelial cells provide a critical component of the cancer stem cell niche in MB and identify this niche as an important new target for novel therapeutic approaches.
Coated vesicles in absorptive cells of Hydra.

The apical cytoplasm of absorptive cells in hydra gastroderm contains numerous vesicles having a discoidal shape, an asymmetrical membrane and a peculiar coat firmly attached to the luminal surface of the membrane. The coat of these ‘discoidal coated vesicles’ consists of a highly ordered array of subunits made up of ‘pegs’ and globules. That these vesicles are involved in selective absorption and transport of materials from the gastrovascular cavity can be seen readily using ferritin as tracer. They are also involved in the uptake of particulate glycogen and the phagocytosis and possibly the subsequent digestion of complex food droplets. It may reasonably be supposed that the array of the coat subunits indicates a similar array of the molecular constituents of the membrane to which it is attached. In tangential sections of the membrane a compressed hexagonal lattice is seen which could fit the coat array.
Escape from in vivo restriction of Moloney mink cell focus-inducing viruses driven by the Mo+PyF101 long terminal repeat (LTR) by LTR alterations.

Abstract Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV is a variant Moloney murine leukemia virus containing polyomavirus F101 enhancers inserted just downstream from the M-MuLV enhancers in the long terminal repeat (LTR). The protein coding sequences for this virus are identical to those of M-MuLV. Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV induces T-cell disease with a much lower incidence and longer latency than wild-type M-MuLV. We have previously shown that Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV is defective in preleukemic events induced by wild-type M-MuLV, including splenic hematopoietic hyperplasia, bone marrow depletion, and generation of recombinant mink cell focus-inducing viruses (MCFs). We also showed that an M-MCF virus driven by the Mo+PyF101 LTR is infectious in vitro but does not propagate in mice. However, in these experiments, when a pseudotypic mixture of Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV and Mo+PyF101 MCF was inoculated into newborn NIH Swiss mice, they died of T-cell leukemia at times almost equivalent to those induced by wild-type M-MuLV. Tumor DNAs from Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV-Mo+PyF101 MCF-inoculated mice were examined by Southern blot analysis. The predominant forms of Mo+PyF101 MCF proviruses in these tumors contained added sequences in the U3 region of the LTR. The U3 regions of representative tumor-derived variant Mo+PyF101 MCFs were cloned by polymerase chain reaction amplification, and sequencing indicated that they had acquired an additional copy of the M-MuLV 75-bp tandem repeat in the enhancer region. NIH 3T3 cell lines infected with altered viruses were obtained from representative Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV-Mo+PyF101 MCF-induced tumors, and mice were inoculated with the recovered viruses. Leukemogenicity was approximately equivalent to that in the original Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV-Mo+PyF101 MCF viral stock. Southern blot analysis on the resulting tumors now predominantly revealed loss of the polyomavirus sequences. These results suggest that the suppressive effects of the PyF101 sequences on M-MuLV-induced disease and potentially on MCF propagation were overcome in two ways: by triplication of the M-MuLV direct repeats and by loss of the polyomavirus sequences.
Predicting work-related incidence of lateral and medial epicondylitis using the strain index

Background The Strain Index (SI) has been developed to evaluate the risk for developing a distal upper extremity disorder. The objective of this study is to determine if the SI predicts incidence cases of work-related lateral, medial, or any epicondylities (LEPI, MEPI, and EPI). Methods Six hundred seven workers were followed for up to 3.5 years, 70 developed EPI on the dominant side (44 LEPI, 13 MEPI, and 13 both). Survival analyses were conducted adjusting for demographic, psychosocial, and work organizational factors, with the SI as time-dependent variable. Results High exposure (SI > 5), older age, and self-perceived poor general health were associated with incidence of LEPI and EPI, but not MEPI. There was a significant relationship between higher scores of SI and LEPI, hazard ratio (HR) 2.00 (95% CI 1.04–3.87) for SI 5.1–12, HR 2.12 (95% CI 1.11–4.05) for SI > 12. Conclusions The SI can effectively identify jobs with increased risk of developing incidence of LEPI. Am. J. Ind. Med. 57:1319–1330, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Correction for Eddy Current-Induced Echo-Shifting Effect in Partial-Fourier Diffusion Tensor Imaging

In most diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies, images are acquired with either a partial-Fourier or a parallel partial-Fourier echo-planar imaging (EPI) sequence, in order to shorten the echo time and increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). However, eddy currents induced by the diffusion-sensitizing gradients can often lead to a shift of the echo in k-space, resulting in three distinct types of artifacts in partial-Fourier DTI. Here, we present an improved DTI acquisition and reconstruction scheme, capable of generating high-quality and high-SNR DTI data without eddy current-induced artifacts. This new scheme consists of three components, respectively, addressing the three distinct types of artifacts. First, a k-space energy-anchored DTI sequence is designed to recover eddy current-induced signal loss (i.e., Type 1 artifact). Second, a multischeme partial-Fourier reconstruction is used to eliminate artificial signal elevation (i.e., Type 2 artifact) associated with the conventional partial-Fourier reconstruction. Third, a signal intensity correction is applied to remove artificial signal modulations due to eddy current-induced erroneous T2(∗) -weighting (i.e., Type 3 artifact). These systematic improvements will greatly increase the consistency and accuracy of DTI measurements, expanding the utility of DTI in translational applications where quantitative robustness is much needed.
Controlled tissue expansion in reconstructive surgery

Abstract Controlled soft tissue expansion by encouraging the development of tissues which are ideally matched in colour, texture and hair-bearing qualities to a given donor defect, offers a new, safe and widely applicable technique in reconstructive surgery. Over the past four years we have used this technique to reconstruct "difficult" defects in many parts of the body. When necessary, synthetic implants or bone grafts have been successfully implanted beneath the expanded tissues.
Business Improvement Districts: A New Organizational Form in Metropolitan Governance

Business improvement districts (BIDs) are defined as self-assessment districts that are initiated and self-governed by property or business owners and authorized by governments to operate in design...
Solar Sensor Subsystems Alignment Check Using Solar Scans For The Halogen Occultation Experiment

The alignment of a dual-axes sun sensor subsystem to a telescope having a multiple sensor subsystem is described. The sun sensor consists of two analog and one digital silicon detectors. The analog detectors are shadow mask type operating in the visible spectrum. The detectors are mounted for azimuth and elevation positioning of biaxial gimbals. The digital detector is a linear diode array that operates at a spectral position of 0.7 micron and is used for elevation positioning. The position signals correspond to relative angles between the sun sensor and the solar disk. These three detectors are aligned on an Invar structure which is mounted to a Cassegrain telescope. This telescope relays solar radiance to an eight channel detector subsystem operating in the infrared range from 2 to 10 microns. The test technique and results to check the boresight alignment of these two subsystems by scanning the solar disk will be reported. The boresight alignment for both the azimuth and elevation axes of the two detector subsystems is verified using this technique.
EMINENT PAPER SERIES — WHY DO INVENTORIES RISE WHEN DEMAND FALLS IN HOUSING AND OTHER MARKETS?

Inventories and price changes are correlated. The inverse relation is most obvious in housing where inventories build in low-demand markets and shrink in high-demand markets. This is a puzzle. Symmetry of information among buyers and sellers would seem to imply that sellers would change their reservation value by the amount that buyers change their offers. Because there is heterogeneity among buyers in the valuation of a given house, sellers set prices strategically. When demand falls, sellers rationally lower their prices, but not by enough to keep the probability of sale constant. As a result, inventories grow.
Solution procedures for the service system design problem

This article studies a service system design problem that involves locating service facilities, determining their number and capacities and assigning user nodes to those facilities. The goal is to minimize total costs made of the costs of accessing facilities by users and waiting for service at these facilities as well as the cost of setting up and operating the facilities. This problem arises mainly in the area of telecommunication network design. But the problem is quite general and can be encountered in several planning contexts such as transportation planning, siting of emergency service facilities and refuse collection and disposal in public sector. The article represents a significant improvement over previous research by presenting a unified model of the problem that includes the number, locations, and capacities of service facilities as variables to be determined in the model and incorporates in the total cost to be minimized the user waiting time (queueing) cost. An integer programming formulation of the problem with a nonlinear objective function is presented. Two heuristic solution procedures based on a Lagrangean relaxation of the problem are developed. Extensive computational results across a variety of problem structures are reported. These results indicate that the second solution procedure is a very effective for a wide range of problem structures and traffic loads.
Phenomenology, Longitudinal Course, and Outcome of Children and Adolescents with Bipolar Spectrum Disorders

Pediatric bipolar disorder (BPD) significantly affects the normal emotional, cognitive, and social development. The course of children and adolescents with BPD is manifested by frequent changes in symptoms polarity showing a dimensional continuum of bipolar symptoms severity from subsyndromal to mood syndromes meeting full DSM-IV criteria. Thus, early diagnosis and treatment of pediatric bipolar is of utmost importance.
Abdominal wall urinoma: a complication of anterior urethral injury.

Abdominal wall urinoma is a rare complication of anterior urethral injury because most patients present shortly after the traumatic event. 1 Therefore, to our knowledge this particular complication of anterior urethral injury has not been previously addressed in the literature. We discuss the management of a large abdominal wall urinoma after anterior urethral injury. CASE REPORT T. B., an 11-year-old boy, sustained a straddle injury on playground equipment and did not initially report the injury. However, the following day massive scrotal swelling was noticed and he presented to the emergency room with complaints of severe suprapubic pain and the inability to urinate. Abdominal cellulitis extended to the umbilicus. The genitalia, including the penis and scrotum, were massively edematous. The perineal area demonstrated classic butterfly hematoma, suggesting anterior urethral injury. Retrograde urethrography confirmed anterior urethral injury and no contrast material entered the bladder. Broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics were started. The patient underwent open suprapubic cystotomy. A large urinoma was identified between Scarpa’s fascia and the external oblique fascial layers. Portions of this urinoma were not adequately drained by the cystotomy incision due to the extent of urinary extravasation. To drain the whole urine collection 2 additional incisions were made in the anterior abdominal wall through Scarpa’s fascia (see figure). Two small Penrose drains were placed to facilitate drainage postoperatively. Bilateral scrotal incisions were also made to drain a large scrotal urinoma but the perineal collection was not drained due to small size. Abdominal wall cellulitis resolved by postoperative day 2 and all drains were removed by postoperative day 3. The small perineal collection required operative drainage on postoperative day 12 due to abscess formation. The suprapubic tube remained in place for 8 weeks. Voiding cystourethrography before suprapubic tube removal revealed a normal urethra without stricture. At 6 months of followup the patient continues to void normally. DISCUSSION
Effects of Tape-Recorded Aural Models on Sight-Reading and Performance Skills:

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of using tape-recorded aural models for home practice on selected sight-reading and performance skills of sixth-grade clarinet students. The experimental design was a pretest-posttest control-group design with an additional posttest measure. It was predicted that students in the experimental group would do significantly better than students in the control group with regard to pitch reading, rhythm reading, tempo accuracy, and intonation accuracy as measured by the sight-reading and performance tests. It was also projected that students in the experimental group would complete more music exercises during the study than students in the control group. The statistical analysis indicated no significant difference between the experimental and control groups with regard to either the skills measured or the number of music exercises completed during the study. These results appear to indicate that tape-recorded aural models used in this study had no observed...
Effect of Temperature on Structure and Performance of In-House Cobalt-Tungsten Carbide Catalyst for Dry Reforming of Methane

The bimetallic carbide catalyst Co6W6C has been shown to be useful for the reforming of methane to synthesis gas (methane dry reforming). With use of material manufactured by Nanodyne, work in this laboratory has indicated that the catalyst is converted to a more stable form, containing Co, WC, and C, and this form is active and stable for the production of synthesis gas. Further, in-house preparation can yield Co6W6C with similar catalytic properties. In this work, the in-house catalyst was used for dry reforming at temperatures ranging from 500 °C to 850 °C, and then back down to 500 °C. The fresh and spent catalysts were characterized by BET, XRD, SEM, and EDS. The catalyst was found to be ineffective below 850 °C. However, once the catalyst is exposed to reactants at that temperature, the activity is much greater at lower temperatures than the activity before exposure at 850 °C. XRD, SEM, and EDS indicate that the low-temperature catalyst is different from that exposed to 850 °C. However, after return...
The 60-Day Temperature-Dependent Degradation of Midazolam and Lorazepam in the Prehospital Environment

AbstractBackground. The choice of the optimal benzodiazepine to treat prehospital status epilepticus is unclear. Lorazepam is preferred in the emergency department, but concerns about nonrefrigerated storage limits emergency medical services (EMS) use. Midazolam is increasingly popular, but its heat stability is undocumented.Objective. This study evaluated temperature-dependent degradation of lorazepam and midazolam after 60 days in the EMS environment.Methods. Lorazepam or midazolam samples were collected prior to (n = 139) or after (n = 229) 60 days of EMS deployment during spring–summer months in 14 metropolitan areas across the United States. Medications were stored in study boxes that logged temperature every minute and were stored in EMS units per local agency policy. Mean kinetic temperature (MKT) exposure was derived for each sample. Drug concentrations were determined in a central laboratory by high-performance liquid chromatography. Concentration as a function of MKT was analyzed by linear regre...