cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Probing Single Molecules and Single Nanoparticles by Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering

Optical detection and spectroscopy of single molecules and single nanoparticles have been achieved at room temperature with the use of surface-enhanced Raman scattering. Individual silver colloidal nanoparticles were screened from a large heterogeneous population for special size-dependent properties and were then used to amplify the spectroscopic signatures of adsorbed molecules. For single rhodamine 6G molecules adsorbed on the selected nanoparticles, the intrinsic Raman enhancement factors were on the order of 10 14 to 10 15 , much larger than the ensemble-averaged values derived from conventional measurements. This enormous enhancement leads to vibrational Raman signals that are more intense and more stable than single-molecule fluorescence.
A familial canine globoid cell leukodystrophy ("Krabbe Type").

— —Three cases of “Krabbe Type” globoid cell leukodystrophy are described in young Cairn Terriers, which were from three different litters out of the same dam, and with father and son as sires. The pedigree of both parents also revealed a common ancestral relationship several generations removed. The gross and histological lesions are described and comparisons are made with the condition in man. Several criteria are listed to aid in the antemortem diagnosis of this disease in dogs. Resume— —Trois cas de leucodystrophie de cellules globoides de “Type Krabbe” sont decrits dans de jeunes terriers Cairn, qui provenaient de trois litieres differentes de la meme mere, avec le pere et le fils comme peres. Le pedigre des deux parents revela un rapport ancestral commun remontant a plusieurs generations. Les lesions sommaires et histologiques sont decrites et des comparaisons sont etablies par rapport a des etats dans l'homme. Plusieurs criteres sont enumeres pour aider a l‘etablissement d'un diagnostic avant la mort dans le cas de cette maladie chez les chiens. Zusammenfassung— —Drei Falle von “Krabben Typus” globoidzelliger Leukodystrophie bei jungen Cairn Terriers werden beschrieben, welche letzteren aus drei verschiedenen Wurfen ein-und derselben Hundin stammten, wobei Vater und Sohn als Zuchttiere dienten. Der Zuchtstamm beider Eltern zeigte gleichfalls eine gemeinschaftliche Abstammungsverwandschaft bei mehreren, fruheren Generationen. Die allgemeinen und histologischen Veranderungen werden beschrieben und Vergleiche mit solchen Zustanden bei Menschen gemacht. Mehrere Kriterien werden zur Unterstutzung der antemortem Diagnose dieser Hundekrankheit aufgezeichnet.
The Hype and Reality of Social Media Use for Work Collaboration and Team Communication

This article describes the growing adoption of enterprise social networking platforms by organizations in an attempt to foster better team communication and collaboration. To examine current views of these social networking tools, survey results from 227 business professionals are presented that address three areas: frequency of use of social networking for team communication compared to other communication channels, perceived effectiveness of social networking tools for team communication compared to other communication channels, and attitudes toward social networking for team communication. Generally, the results show that traditional communication channels are used more frequently and considered more effective for team communication. However, the results also indicate that Gen X and Gen Y business professionals are quite likely to consider that social networking tools will be the primary tools for team communication in the future. The article concludes with recommendations for how business communicatio...
Solid state electrochemical studies of mixed nickel-iron hexacyanoferrates with the help of abrasive stripping voltammetry

Abstract The electrochemical behaviour of hexacyanoferrates containing different ratios of iron and nickel, attached mechanically to a graphite electrode, has been studied using cyclic voltammetric techniques. The results have shown that mixed crystals of FeNi hexacyanoferrates are formed, with the nitrogen-coordinated iron being replaced by nickel in the lattice as the percentage of nickel increases, whilst retaining the lattice symmetry. X-ray diffraction data confirmed this theory.
A causal Locally Competitive Algorithm for the sparse decomposition of audio signals

While current inference methods can decompose audio signals, they require the entire signal upfront and are therefore ill-suited for real-time applications requiring causal processing. We propose a neurally-inspired, causal, sparse inference scheme based on the Locally Competitive Algorithm (LCA) over a temporal-spectral neighborhood. We demonstrate that this causal inference scheme can achieve lower sparsity levels and better signal fidelity than current filter and threshold approaches. Additionally, for some regimes, the sparsity level approaches those of Matching Pursuit while still maintaining signal integrity.
The yvaJ Gene of Bacillus subtilis Encodes a 3′-to-5′ Exoribonuclease and Is Not Essential in a Strain Lacking Polynucleotide Phosphorylase

Studies of Bacillus subtilis RNases that are involved in mRNA degradation reveal a different pattern from that of Escherichia coli. A strain lacking polynucleotide phosphorylase, the major 3′-to-5′ exoribonuclease activity in cell extracts, is viable. Here, we show that the B. subtilis yvaJ gene encodes a second 3′-to-5′ exoribonuclease. A strain lacking both of these RNases grows slowly but is viable. The existence of another, as yet unknown, 3′-to-5′ exoribonuclease in B. subtilis is suggested.
Influence of Reverse Osmosis on Milk Lipolysis

Abstract Reverse osmosis concentration of subpasteurized whole milk may cause excessive shearing of milk fat globules and increase lipolytic cleavage of fatty acids from milk triglycerides. Free fatty acid content of subpasteurized milk was increased during reverse osmosis. The type of device used for pressure regulation in the reverse osmosis unit was a key factor that was related to increase of free fatty acids. Use of either a high pressure throttle valve or a diaphragm valve caused substantial increases of free fatty acids. Pressure regulation by various lengths of milk retentate exit pipes of small diameter were evaluated as a replacement for a valve. Pressure regulation could be accomplished by appropriate reduction of the diameter of retentate exit pipe. This method of pressure regulation allowed concentration of subpasteurized whole milk by reverse osmosis without causing an increase of concentration of free fatty acids.
Downstream implicit schemes for advection

Downstream-weighted implicit difference schemes for pure advection are stable for Courant numbers λ ≥ 1. They are numerically diffusive when λ > 1.
Sickle cell disease: Wheeze or asthma?

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common life-limiting genetic disease among African Americans, affecting more than 100,000 people in the United States. Respiratory disorders in patients with sickle cell disease have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Associations between asthma and pain, acute chest syndrome (ACS), and even death have long been reported. More recently wheezing, even in the absence of an asthma diagnosis, has gained attention as a possible marker of SCD severity. Several challenges exist with regards to making the diagnosis of asthma in patients with SCD, including the high prevalence of wheezing, evidence of airway obstruction on pulmonary function testing, and/or airway hyperresponsiveness among patients with SCD. These features often occur in isolation, in the absence of other clinical criteria necessary for an asthma diagnosis. In this review we will summarize: 1) Our current understanding of the epidemiology of asthma, wheezing, airway obstruction, and airway responsiveness among patients with SCD; 2) The evidence supporting associations with SCD morbidity; 3) Our understanding of the pathophysiology of airway inflammation in SCD; 4) Current approaches to diagnosis and management of asthma in SCD; and 5) Future directions.
Elastic and Inelastic Buckling of Portal Frames

The critical vertical and horizontal loads that will cause sidesway buckling of an inelastic portal frame hinged at the base are determined. The elastic portal frame subjected to both lateral and vertical loads is shown to be similar to the elastic beam column in that it would not buckle. Similar to the inelastic beam column, the inelastic portal frame has well-defined vertical and lateral buckling loads. A trial method incorporating the numerical integration procedure for inelastic columns was developed for obtaining the sidesway deflection under given loadings. The effects of various loadings on the frame are shown, as related to the design criteria. For various loadings, the current (1963) AISC design specifications are shown to vary from accurate to slightly unsafe.
Foveal structure defined by spectral domain optical coherence tomography correlates with visual function after macular hole surgery.

PURPOSE To study the correlation between final visual acuity after successful anatomic macular hole repair and features on spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). METHODS Retrospective review of charts of patients who underwent macular hole surgery. Data collection included pre- and postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central subfield foveal thickness (CSFT), and presence or absence of inner segment-outer segment (IS-OS) line changes on SD-OCT. Data collected from SD-OCT were correlated with Snellen BCVA, which was converted to logMAR score. Subjects were divided into 2 groups: group I had improvement in BCVA of 2 lines or more and group II improved less than 2 lines or had worsening of BCVA. RESULTS A total of 35 eyes of 32 patients had successful anatomic closure, which was documented both clinically and on SD-OCT. Mean age of the patients was 74.1 years and 71.2% (23/32) of patients were female. Overall, the mean BCVA changed from 1.01+/-0.38 preoperatively to 0.89+/-0.48 postoperatively (p=0.33). Based on the postoperative visual outcome, 16 eyes belonged to group I and 19 eyes belonged to group II. On the SD-OCT, the mean CSFT was 252.7+/-69.1 microm. No correlation was found between the mean CSFT and BCVA in either group. All the 16 patients in group I had a continuous IS-OS line on SD-OCT at the fovea in contrast to 26.3 % (5/19) of patients in group II (p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS Establishment of continuity of IS-OS line is an important indicator of visual recovery in eyes with successful anatomic closure of macular hole.
Flight Habits of the Maize Weevil as Related to Field Infestation of Corn

Tests indicate that the maize weevil does not move from a release point to the cornfield beyond a distance of ¼ mile. After the field is infested, there may be maize weevil movement from the filed back to the storage area.
Sharing raw data from clinical trials: what progress since we first asked “Whose data set is it anyway?”

Ten years ago, one of the first papers published in Trials was a commentary entitled “Whose data set is it anyway?” The commentary pointed out that trialists routinely refused requests for data sharing and argued that this attitude was a community standard that had no rational basis. At the time, there had been few calls for clinical trial data sharing and certainly no institutional support. Today the situation could not be more different. Numerous organizations now recommend or require raw data to be made available, including the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, which recently proposed that clinical trial data sharing be a “condition of … publication.” Furthermore, the literature is replete with papers covering an enormously wide variety of topics on data sharing. But despite a tectonic shift in attitudes, we are yet to see clinical trial data sharing become an unquestioned norm, where a researcher can readily download a data set from a trial almost as easily as they can now download a copy of the published paper. The battle over the next few years is to go beyond changing minds to ensuring that real data sets are routinely made available.
Surface-Enhanced Resonance Raman Spectroscopy of Reaction Centers Adsorbed on Silver Electrodes

Reaction centers are pigment-protein complexes which undergo highly efficient photoinduced charge separation in the primary step of energy storage in photosynthetic bacteria and green plants The complex contains four bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) molecules, two of which comprise the special pair, two bacteriopheophytin (BPh) and one-two quinone molecules. These chromophores are “buried” within a protein matrix containing two to three polypeptide units. Upon photoexcitation of the special pair an electron is transferred within 3 ps to one of the BPh and subsequently to a quinone. Although the structural arrangement of the reaction center complex is known from x-crystallography the details of the electron transfer process and the role of the protein matrix are not known.
On Translational Clouds for a Convex Body

For a d-dimensional convex body K let C(K) denote the minimum size of translational clouds for K. That is, C(K) is the minimum number of mutually non-overlapping translates of K which do not overlap K and block all the light rays emanating from any point of K. In this paper we prove the general upper bound $$C(K) \leqslant 6^{d^2 + o(d^2 )}$$ . Furthermore, for an arbitrary centrally symmetric d-dimensional convex body S we show $$C(S) \leqslant 3^{d^2 + o(d^2 )}$$ . Finally, for the d-dimensional ball Bd we obtain the bounds $$2^{0.599d^2 - o(d^2 )} \leqslant C(B^d ) \leqslant 2^{1.401d^2 + o(d^2 )}$$ .
Isolation of Pectinolytic Aeromonas hydrophila and Yersinia enterocolitica from Vacuum-Packaged Pork 1.

A survey was made of commercially available vacuum-packaged fresh pork held at 5 C for 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. Also, four vacuum-packaged leg roasts were stored for 21 days at 5 C then for 90 days at -18 C before sampling. Surface cores of meat were enriched in sorbitol bile broth 21 days at 5 C to enhance recovery of Yersinia enterocolitica on pectin agar. Of the 54 samples surveyed, 20% yielded highly pectinolytic colonies of Aeromonas hydrophila that were cytotoxic to Y1 and HeLa cells, 6% yielded Y. enterocolitica and 6% yielded Yersinia intermedia . Yersinia was recovered from both fresh and frozen samples. This is believed to be the first report of pectinolysis by A. hydrophila and recovery of cytotoxic A. hydrophila from vacuum-packaged pork.
Patients as Observers and Reporters in Support of Systems and Patient Safety

When patients and families observe and report their healthcare experiences, they can play important roles in promoting safety and improving quality. This chapter begins with the case of a busy, well regarded medical professional associated with a patient complaint. The complaint is a means by which patients and families can be “safety promoters”. While barriers to this role exist, they may be reduced or eliminated when organizations commit to assessing their readiness to invite and address patient concerns, and build a robust infrastructure to support the effort. This chapter discusses our experience using unsolicited (voluntary) patient complaints to address unsafe systems and behaviors. We use the physician and the physician’s practice group to illustrate implementation and outcomes of interventions designed to reduce unnecessary variation in healthcare professionals’ behavior and performance that undermine a healthcare organization’s culture of safety. The chapter concludes with guidance to hospital and healthcare systems on how best to develop, implement and sustain a patient and family experience program.
Mental health, substance use, and offending patterns among Native American youth in juvenile detention

ABSTRACTResearch has shown that youthful offenders in the juvenile justice system report an array of substance use and emotional and other mental health needs. The current study closely examined these issues in a large national sample (n = 539) of Native American youth drawn from the Survey of Youth in Residential Placement. Results demonstrated that frequent substance use was associated with the likelihood of being detained for a drug offense, while emotional and mental health needs were associated with detention for the most serious offenses. These results highlight the need for comprehensive substance use and other mental health assessments for Native American youth in the juvenile justice system.
Environmental justice along product life cycles: importance, renewable energy examples and policy complexities

ABSTRACTEnvironmental justice is critical to our efforts to preserve the human habitat from the degradation of pollution and climate change because of the need for cooperation and due to our ignorance of how the intertwined effects of our actions in one locality affect the quality of life in other localities across the world. While environmental justice questions are often focused on the location choices for specific activities that pollute, another important perspective is environmental justice over the life cycle of the production of products. Upon close examination renewable energies, critical alternatives to the fossil fuels which induce climate change, have environmental justice issues over their life cycles. Formal, statutory national law is not sufficient to address environmental justice problems along product life cycles in a world in which production is globalised and environmental effects pass beyond political borders. The responses to this challenge must draw on an interacting combination of in...
Exosomes, blood–brain barrier, and cognitive dysfunction in pediatric sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea is a relatively prevalent condition in children, usually related to enlarged upper airway lymphadenoid tissues, and further aggravated by concurrent obesity. Similar to adults, children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) are at increased risk for developing end-organ morbidities usually encompassing cardiometabolic and neurobehavioral and cognitive functions. Although the probability of such end-organ morbidities increases with the severity of SDB, the proportion of unaffected children is still high in very severe cases, thereby prompting exploration of the mechanism underlying such divergent phenotypes as potential biomarkers or therapeutic targets. In this context, we here describe a hypothetical framework, whereby SDB leads to release of circulating exosomes, and their cargo will differ in patients with and without neurocognitive deficits. Furthermore, we propose that exosomes of patients with SDB and measurable neurocognitive alterations will readily disrupt the blood brain barrier (BBB). Such BBB disruption then mediates the cascade of pathophysiological events in vulnerable brain regions within the CNS, ultimately leading to gray matter losses and disrupted neural networks in regions underlying typically affected functions such as attention, executive, and memory. Thus, exosomal cargo may not only provide biomarker indicators of neurocognitive risk in children suffering from SDB, but also guide putative therapeutic targets aimed at preventing or palliating such important morbidity.
History of Polyolefins

Polyolefins are, by far, the world’s most widely used synthetic polymers. As shown in subsequent chapters, these ubiquitous macromolecules are used as coatings, fibers, elastomers and plastics. Yet, commercial polyolefins were essentially nonexistent prior to World War II. The history of the genesis of these versatile polymers illustrates the inherent genius and good as well as misfortunes of the pioneers in the science and technology of polyolefins.
Temporal Regulation of fim Genes in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli during Infection of the Murine Urinary Tract

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) adhere to cells in the human urinary tract via type 1 pili that undergo phase variation where a 314-bp fimS DNA element flips between Phase-ON and Phase-OFF orientations through two site-specific recombinases, FimB and FimE. Three fim-lux operon transcriptional fusions were created and moved into the clinical UPEC isolate NU149 to determine their temporal regulation in UPEC growing in the urinary tract. Within murine urinary tracts, the UPEC strains demonstrated elevated transcription of fimA and fimB early in the infection, but lower transcription by the fifth day in murine kidneys. In contrast, fimE transcription was much lower than either fimA or fimB early, increased markedly at 24 h after inoculation, and then dropped five days after inoculation. Positioning of fimS was primarily in the Phase-ON position over the time span in UPEC infected bladders, whereas in UPEC infected murine kidneys the Phase-OFF orientation was favored by the fifth day after inoculation. Hemagglutination titers with guinea pig erythrocytes remained constant in UPEC growing in infected murine bladders but fell substantially in UPEC infected kidneys over time. Our results show temporal in vivo regulation of fim gene expression in different environmental niches when UPEC infects the murine urinary tract.
Considerations for institutional instructional technology decision-making

Instructional technologies have become mission critical elements of higher education institutional infrastructure. Faculty not only are presented with many choices when selecting instructional technologies for their individual courses, but are also sought to give input into institutional decisions regarding instructional technology selection, adoption, implementation, and retention. In this paper, an overview of current emerging instructional technologies on the horizon is provided along with a set of practical considerations and recommendations for higher education faculty who have opportunity to guide the instructional technology decision making process at their institution.
Žižek and Australian Masculinity: Perceiving Gender Violence in David Williamson’s The Removalists

Published in 2008, Slavoj Žižek’s Violence: Six Sideways Reflections provides critical insight into the structures of power which dictate our perception and comprehension of violence in society. In particular, Žižek’s conception of the distinction between the subjective and objective modes of perceiving violence is particularly illuminating. This paper utilizes Žižek’s distinction to recontextualize and reframe a classic of Australian theatre, David Williamson’s The Removalists . [i] This approach puts Žižek’s seminal work on violence to task, teases out new meanings from Williamson’s text, and most broadly, explores new methods for understanding the playing out of violence on stage.
SIMS Analysis of Wide Bandgap Semiconductors

Publisher Summary Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analysis of insulators poses a special issue of charging of the dynamic surface being sputtered by the incident primary ion beam. Charging is less serious for low extraction voltage instruments such as quadrupole instruments. Mixing of atoms in the dynamic surface being sputtered by the incident energetic ions and the equilibration/stabilization time/depth are issues that must always be addressed. Depth resolution in SIMS profiles is important for defining the structure of sharp interfaces and superlattices. Often, information is desired from SIMS profiling of unwanted impurity species (elements) in various materials. Some of the common impurity species are from the ambient vacuum or heated components of materials growth machines. The same ambient vacuum species exist in a SIMS instrument. The lower the ambient vacuum, the lower the sputtered secondary ion intensities of these species. Higher the sputtering rate during SIMS profiling, lower the adsorbed density of ambient species and the lower is their sputtered secondary ion intensities. SIMS is a powerful analysis technique, but to be quantitative, a quantification system is required that relates the measured relative intensities of the secondary ions to absolute concentrations of the elements in the host matrix, as well as the accurate relative amounts of the matrix elements themselves.
Anoxic Injury of Central Myelinated Axons: Nonsynaptic Ionic Mechanisms

The pathophysiology of stroke and central nervous system (CNS) trauma can now be effectively studied at a molecular level. This research is concerned with understanding how cells in the brain, devoid of oxygen and/or metabolic substrates, are injured and ultimately destroyed. The reasonable presumption is that knowledge about the fundamental mechanisms of cell injury will yield clinically applicable insights relevant to how the brain may be protected during periods of disrupted perfusion or metabolism. This work can be subdivided into the study of how each of the major cellular compartments in the brain, i.e., neuronal cell bodies and dendrites, axons and glial cells, are injured by anoxia/ischemia. While great progress has been made in analyzing the mechanisms of neuronal injury in gray matter (GM) areas such as cortex, much less is known about how anoxia/ischemia damages glial cells and axons. We have been interested in the pathophysiology of CNS axonal injury and have developed a reliable model system for studying the basic mechanisms of injury to CNS-myelinated axons caused by anoxia (Stys et al. 1990a; Ransom et al. 1993). The nonsynaptic ionic mechanisms which are critical in the development of irreversible anoxic injury in white matter (WM) are the focus of this review.
Succinylcholine-Induced Rhabdomyolysis in Adults: Case Report and Review of the Literature:

Purpose:A case of succinylcholine (SCh) and sevoflurane as a probable cause of rhabdomyolysis in an adult is presented, along with a review of the relevant literature and strategies for prevention....
Charge Recombination with Fractional Reaction Orders in Water-Splitting Dye-Sensitized Photoelectrochemical Cells.

In water-splitting dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells (WS-DSPECs), charge recombination competes with catalytic water oxidation to determine the overall efficiency of the system. The kinetics of these processes have been difficult to understand because transient absorbance (TA) experiments typically show nearly complete charge recombination on the submillisecond time scale; in contrast, electrochemical measurements such as open circuit photovoltage decay suggest a charge recombination time scale that is 2–3 orders of magnitude longer. Here we explore these processes with dye-sensitized nanocrystalline TiO2 and TiO2/Ta2O5 core–shell photoanodes in aqueous electrolytes using TA spectroscopy, intensity-modulated photovoltage spectroscopy (IMVS), and photoelectrochemical impedance spectroscopy (PEIS). The fast recombination rates measured by TA result from strong laser excitation that leads to high electron occupancy in TiO2, whereas IMVS modulates the concentration of charge-separated states near sola...
Intramuscular dimethyl trisulfide: efficacy in a large swine model of acute severe cyanide toxicity.

Background: Cyanide is a deadly compound used as a terrorist agent. Current FDA approved antidotes require intravenous administration, limiting their utility in a mass casualty scenario. Dimethyl t...
Non-Lagrangian Gauge Field Models are Physically Excluded

Abstract While non-action-generated, but identically conserved, abelian/YM gauge vectors exist, they are unsuitable for building alternate field equations, because they have no stress-tensor, hence do not permit Poincare generators and, most physically, cannot consistently couple to gravity. Separately, their geometric analogues, covariantly conserved non-Lagrangian symmetric tensors, probably do not even exist, but their weak field, abelian, counterparts do, and share the vector fields' absence of generators.
Disparities in hepatitis A virus (HAV) vaccination coverage among adult travelers to intermediate or high-risk countries: The role of birthplace and race/ethnicity.

Abstract Background While the hepatitis A virus (HAV) vaccine is recommended for United States (US) travelers to endemic regions, vaccination rates are lower among non-US-born adults and some racial minority groups. Purpose We aimed to examine the relationship between birthplace, race and their interaction as predictors of self-reported HAV vaccination among adult travelers to high-risk countries (HRCs) through analysis of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), 2012–2015. Methods The study included 36,872 US adult participants in the 2012–2015 NHIS who traveled to countries where HAV is endemic. The main outcome was self-reported HAV vaccination (≥2 doses). Complex survey methods were applied to all models to provide statistical estimates that were representative of US adults. Multivariable logistic regression models adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, medical, and access-to-care characteristics were fitted to examine the association between birthplace, race, race-by-birthplace (for interaction) and vaccination status. Results For adult travelers to HRCs, the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of HAV vaccination was lower for non-US-born compared to US-born adults, AOR 0.86 (95% CI; 0.76, 0.98). For Hispanics, the AOR of HAV vaccination was 0.80 (95% CI; 0.70, 0.91) as compared to non-Hispanic-Whites. Furthermore, a significant qualitative interaction between birthplace and race was found (P-value 0.0005). Among non-Hispanic Blacks, the adjusted odds of HAV vaccination for non-US-born adults were 1.35 (95% CI; 1.06, 1.72) times the odds for US-born adults. In contrast, the AORs of HAV vaccination of non-US-born versus US-born adults were 36% (95% CI; 17%, 51%) and 30% (95% CI; 12%, 44%), lower for Asians and Hispanics, respectively. Conclusions The association between birthplace and HAV vaccination status differs by race among travelers to HRCs, with US-born non-Hispanic Black and non-US-born Asian and Hispanic adults having lower odds of vaccination. Health care resources should be focused on these target populations to improve travel vaccination compliance.
G649(P) Exploring empathy in year 4 medical students

Year 4 medical students undertake a ‘Long Term Conditions’ week as part of their Child Health block. Our aims were to help students develop cognitive empathy by appreciating the impact of chronic illness on patients and their families; whilst also exploring student understanding of healthcare system organisation. Students completed an activity called ‘24 hours as a Diabetic’ where they experienced carbohydrate counting and imagined scenarios including: insulin administration and hypoglycaemia. Throughout the week they practised history-taking, examinations and observing patient-clinician interactions in outpatient clinics. upon completion of the week they each gave a case presentation, using multi-media to share their experiences. 65 students filled in either a ‘pre’ or ‘post’ week questionnaire and 31 students completed both. Prior to starting students reported feeling ‘unsure of how to offer help/advice’ and ‘somewhat confident’ in talking to paediatric patients. Table 1: Recurring themes drawn from questionnaires at the start of the week. Table 2: Recurring themes drawn from questionnaires at the end of the week. In students who completed both questionnaires, 65% had ‘some more understanding’ of how healthcare is organized and 93% felt ‘more confident’ to explore patient feelings. Whilst empathy as a concept is difficult to measure reliably, the work and discussions generated allowed us to explore and develop student understanding. With the drive for ‘caring, commitment and compassion’in hospitals and evidence suggesting multiple benefits related to empathy, this is a quality we feel aspiring doctors need to cultivate. This work demonstrates how we maximised the opportunities within the curriculum to explore empathy, increase student understanding of healthcare systems and augment confidence in their clinical practice. Empathy can be challenging for clinicians to teach and we believe more research is needed in how to do this effectively.
Why It is Important to Consider Social Support When Assessing Organ Transplant Candidates

“Because donated organs are a severely limited resource, the best potential recipients should be identified. The probability of a good outcome must be highly emphasized to achieve the maximum benef...
Detection of SARS-CoV-2 by Use of the Cepheid Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 and Roche cobas SARS-CoV-2 Assays.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel coronavirus responsible for a December 2019 outbreak in Wuhan, China, causes a syndrome characterized by fever, cough, and dyspnea progressing to acute respiratory distress syndrome ([1][1]). SARS-CoV-2 quickly spread to other
A 91% efficient 30V hybrid boost-SC converter based backlight LED driver in 180nm CMOS

This paper presents a new hybrid boost converter architecture for improving the efficiency of LED drivers used in mobile applications. By cascading a low-switching frequency time-interleaved series-parallel SC-stage with an inductive boost converter, we facilitate the use of lower voltage rated switches, thus greatly reducing the switching losses. Charge-sharing losses of the SC stage are minimized by soft-charging flying capacitors with the inductor of the boost stage. Fabricated in 180nm BCD process, the prototype converter generates 30V output voltage from a Li-ion battery source and can provide a load current in the range of 0 to 100mA with an excellent peak power efficiency of 91.15% at 30mA. Compared to state-of-the-art designs, the proposed converter achieves a 3 % improvement in peak power efficiency.
Global patterns of population genetic differentiation in seed plants

Evaluating the factors that drive patterns of population differentiation in plants is critical for understanding several biological processes such as local adaptation and incipient speciation. Previous studies have given conflicting results regarding the significance of pollination mode, seed dispersal mode, mating system, growth form and latitudinal region in shaping patterns of genetic structure, as estimated by FST values, and no study to date has tested their relative importance together across a broad scale. Here, we assembled a 337-species data set for seed plants from publications with data on FST from nuclear markers and species traits, including variables pertaining to the sampling scheme of each study. We used species traits, while accounting for sampling variables, to perform phylogenetic multiple regressions. Results demonstrated that FST values were higher for tropical, mixed-mating, non-woody species pollinated by small insects, indicating greater population differentiation, and lower for temperate, outcrossing trees pollinated by wind. Among the factors we tested, latitudinal region explained the largest portion of variance, followed by pollination mode, mating system and growth form, while seed dispersal mode did not significantly relate to FST . Our analyses provide the most robust and comprehensive evaluation to date of the main ecological factors predicted to drive population differentiation in seed plants, with important implications for understanding the basis of their genetic divergence. Our study supports previous findings showing greater population differentiation in tropical regions and is the first that we are aware of to robustly demonstrate greater population differentiation in species pollinated by small insects.
Image Quality and Complexity Metric for Smart CMOS Image Sensors

Many algorithms have been developed for complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors (CIS) to speed-up analog-to-digital (A-to-D) conversion of captured images. However, there is no objective and blind image quality (IQ) metric available to compare and quantify the quality and effectiveness of these speed-up algorithms. Besides, an IQ metric is needed for intelligently control and adjust performance parameters of CIS. In this work, we present a bounded and reference-free image quality and complexity metric for these purposes. Proposed IQ metric is called conversion complexity metric (CCM). CCM is designed to quantify how complex the captured scene is, and to predict how much time and power is needed for A-to-D conversion of a captured image. The CCM concept is explained, and test results are presented for linearity, monotonicity, and percentage response to linearly changing distortion. It was found that CCM is monotonic, accomplishes 99% linearity and very responsive (316%) to distortions, providing a computationally efficient reference-free image quality metric that no other existing IQ metrics provide for CIS to intelligently adjust and optimize on-chip analog and digital signal processing operations.
Money and status or clear conscience and clean air – should we vary the marketing interventions depending on tourist’s cultural background?

The purpose of this research is to identify cultural values underpinning eco-friendly tourism choices. Based on grounded theory study of tourists’ perceptions of their relationship with nature gath...
“Expanding Ethical Pedagogy in Technical Communication: Learning from Killer Nanobots”

Attention to the ethical dimension in technical and professional communication (TPC) is paramount, especially when dealing with new, emerging technologies. Such technologies frequently rest within ...
IgG4-Mediated Neurologic Autoimmunities: Understanding the Pathogenicity of IgG4, Ineffectiveness of IVIg, and Long-Lasting Benefits of Anti-B Cell Therapies.

Background and Objectives Describe the unique functions of immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) in IgG4-neurologic disorders (IgG4-ND) and explain why, in contrast to their IgG1-counterparts, they respond poorly to intravenous immune globulin (IVIg) but effectively to anti–B cell therapies. Methods The IgG4 structure and isotype switch, B cells and plasmablasts relevant to IgG4 production, and IgG4-induced disruption of the targeted antigens are reviewed and compared with IgG1-mediated autoimmune ND, where IVIg inhibits IgG1-triggered inflammatory effects. Results The main IgG4-ND include muscle-specific kinase myasthenia; nodal/paranodal chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy with antibodies to neurofascin-155, contactin-1/caspr-1, or pan-neurofascins; antileucine-rich, glioma-inactivated-1 and contactin-associated protein-like 2 associated-limbic encephalitis, Morvan syndrome, or neuromyotonia; and anti-IgLON5 disorder. The IgG4, because of its unique structural features in the hinge region, has noninflammatory properties being functionally monovalent and bispecific, unable to engage in cross-linking and internalization of the targeted antigen. In contrast to IgG1 subclass which is bivalent and monospecific, IgG4 does not activate complement and cannot bind to inhibitory Fcγ receptor (FcγRIIb) to activate cellular and complement-mediated immune responses, the key functions inhibited by IVIg. Because IVIg contains only 0.7%–2.6% IgG4, its idiotypes are of IgG1 subclass and cannot effectively neutralize IgG4 or sufficiently enhance IgG4 catabolism by saturating FcRn. In contrast, rituximab, by targeting memory B cells and IgG4-producing CD20-positive short-lived plasma cells, induces long-lasting clinical benefits. Discussion Rituximab is the preferred treatment in IgG4-ND patients with severe disease by effectively targeting the production of pathogenic IgG-4 antibodies. In contrast, IVIG is ineffective because it inhibits immunoinflammatory functions irrelevant to the mechanistic effects of IgG4 and contains IgG-1 idiotypes that cannot sufficiently neutralize or possibly catabolize IgG4. Controlled studies with anti-CD19/20 monoclonals that also activate FcγRIIb may be more promising in treating IgG4-ND.
Fatty acid composition of Aerobacter aerogenes.

The fatty acid composition of the whole cell and cell wall ofAerobacter aerogenes was studied employing column and gas-chromatographic technique. The cell wall contained a greater percentage of total lipid, complex lipid, and free fatty acids compared to the whole cell. Palmitic acid and oleic acid were the most abundant fatty acids found in the free fatty acid and complex lipid fractions. A saturated C17 fatty acid and small quantities of a branched C16 and iso and anteiso C12 fatty acids were detected. The glyceride fractions of the whole cell and cell wall contained very few fatty acids.
Service Convenience: On-Line versus Brick and Mortar Bookstores

In this research, the authors assess the applicability of the SERVCON model to the e-commerce (e-service) environment in the context of student textbook purchases. Following a literature review, a survey was developed based on previous scales; items were modified to fit the e-commerce environment. The survey was administered to college students in business courses, and 281 usable responses were received. Factor analysis resulted in several items being dropped, but the six factor SERVCON model was validated in the online environment. The validated model was used to compare service convenience perceptions between students purchasing books online and students purchasing books by traditional methods (brick-and-mortar). The service convenience measures for online purchases than brick-and-mortar purchases for decision, access, benefit, transaction, and postbenefit convenience. The study validates the SERVCON model in the e-service environment, and extends work that explains consumer behavior in e-services. Traditional bookstores need to explore options to improve services in the brick-and-mortar environment. Online vendors can improve their web sites to provide better service convenience to their customers.
Autonomous oscillation in supramolecular assemblies: Role of free energy landscape and fluctuations

Abstract Molecular dynamics studies demonstrated that a supramolecular assembly can express autonomous structural oscillations about equilibrium. It is demonstrated here that for nanosystems such oscillations can result from the interplay of free energy landscape and structural fluctuations. Furthermore, these oscillations have intermittent character, reflecting the conflict between a tendency to oscillate due to features in the free energy landscape, and the Second Law’s repression of perpetual oscillation in an isothermal, equilibrium system. The demonstration system is a T = 1 icosahedral structure constituted of 12 protein pentamers in contact with a bath at fixed temperature. The oscillations are explained in terms of a Langevin model accounting for interactions among neighboring pentamers. The model is based on a postulated free energy landscape in the 24-dimensional space of variables describing the centrifugal and rotational motion of each pentamer. The model includes features such as basins of attraction and low free energy corridors. When the system is driven slightly out of equilibrium, the oscillations are transformed into a limit cycle, as expressed in terms of power spectrum narrowing.
Ameloblastomas in children. Report of a case.

Abstract The thirty-first case of ameloblastoma in a child under 9 years of age has been reported. The comment is made that the ameloblastomas diagnosed in children might well be a different type of lesion from those seen in adults. Local excision of such tumors appears to be the treatment of choice. The need for close postoperative observation is stressed.
Economic growth and urbanization: A cross-section and time-series analysis of thirty-five developing countries

In this paper, we discuss the influence of urbanization and urban primacy on the economic growth rates of developing nations. Included in the paper is preliminary evidence, from cross-section and time-series analyses, that while urbanization is an inevitable product of economic development, the process of urbanization is best achieved when the urbanization is managed and gradual. Time-series and cross-section analyses indicate a negative relationship between urbanization and urban primacy and economic growth. However, further cross-section analysis shows that all industrialized economies are highly-urbanized. The dichotomy is explained in that urbanization is inevitable with economic growth, but the pace and character of urbanization also matters. We present a basic model that predicts the economic growth rates of developing nations. The tests performed could only follow the general tone of the model because of the limitations of the data sources. (JEL: O10, O18, O40)
Remotely triggered microearthquakes and tremor in central California following the 2010 Mw 8.8 Chile earthquake

[1] We examine remotely triggered microearthquakes and tectonic tremor in central California following the 2010 Mw 8.8 Chile earthquake. Several microearthquakes near the Coso Geothermal Field were apparently triggered, with the largest earthquake (Ml 3.5) occurring during the large-amplitude Love surface waves. The Chile mainshock also triggered numerous tremor bursts near the Parkfield-Cholame section of the San Andreas Fault (SAF). The locally triggered tremor bursts are partially masked at lower frequencies by the regionally triggered earthquake signals from Coso, but can be identified by applying high-pass or matched filters. Both triggered tremor along the SAF and the Ml 3.5 earthquake in Coso are consistent with frictional failure at different depths on critically-stressed faults under the Coulomb failure criteria. The triggered tremor, however, appears to be more phase-correlated with the surface waves than the triggered earthquakes, likely reflecting differences in constitutive properties between the brittle, seismogenic crust and the underlying lower crust.
Fiber antenna for wireless body area networks

In this paper, a novel monopole antenna based on a special type of fiber is fabricated and measured around the 2.4 GHz frequency band. The measured return loss and radiation pattern are compared with those of a conventional monopole antenna made by copper wires. This novel concept of device based on fiber is a good candidate for wireless body area networks for its ease of flexible-antenna formation and potential for on-body proximity sensing.
A multibanded system architecture for ultra-wideband communications

The FCC ruling in 2002 allowing for the unlicensed deployment of ultra-wideband (UWB) devices for communications purposes in the 3.1-10.6 GHz band has sparked great interest in the industry. In particular, the IEEE 802.15.3a task group is currently developing a standard for high-rate, short-range wireless communication systems that is expected to use UWB technology. One of the main challenges for UWB system design is minimizing the possible interference to other narrowband systems, while, at the same time, dealing with the large interference that may be coming from these narrowband systems into the UWB receiver. Traditional UWB systems have used very short time impulses that occupy several giga-hertz of bandwidth. This approach makes it difficult to efficiently avoid other system that may be sharing the same band. This paper will describe a channel model that has been adopted by the industry to evaluate the merits of different UWB physical layer approaches and introduce an alternate approach to a high-rate UWB system that is based upon the concatenation of multiple narrower band UWB waveforms.
Clinical and experimental studies with 8-methoxypsoralen in vitiligo.

Reports on the effective treatment of vitiligo have created great interest among physicians. El Mofty (1, 2) found that the use of crystalline constituents of the plant Ammi Majus Linn., together with ultraviolet light exposure, resulted in repigmentation of vitiliginous areas in over 75 per cent of patients with this disorder.