cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Medical student, nursing student, and non-health care respondents' implicit attitudes toward doctors and patients: Development and a pilot study of a new implicit attitudes test (IAT).

Introduction Medical educators have been concerned that medical students may decline in empathy for patients during the course of their training, based on studies measuring clinical empathy using psychometrically strong self-report measures. Clinical empathy is a complex construct, incorporating attitudes toward patients but also other components, such as professional detachment. Triangulation of extant measures with instruments based on nonreactive methods could provide a better understanding of whether and how physician attitudes toward patients may be changing during training. We sought to develop and pilot-test such a nonreactive method. Methods We develop variations of an implicit association test (IAT) designed to measure attitudes toward physicians and patients based on speed of reaction to images of actors and positive and negative words. In the IATs, the same actors are photographed as doctors, clinic outpatients, hospitalized inpatients, and as a “general public” control. We examine preliminary evidence for their validity by collecting pilot data from internet participants (not involved in the health professions), medical students, and nursing students. Results Internet participants (n = 314) and nursing students (n = 31) had more negative associations (IAT scores) with doctors than did medical students (n = 89); nursing students and female internet participants had more positive associations with hospitalized patients than did medical students and male internet participants. Medical students’ associations with hospitalized patients varied by year of training. Discussion This IAT may provide insight into implicit attitudes among those who enter training for the health profession and changes in those attitudes that may be inculcated during that training.
Central Nervous System Infections in Patients Receiving Cancer Therapies

Despite evidence-based prophylactic regimens, advanced pathogen detection technologies, and organism-specific antimicrobial agents, central nervous system (CNS) infections continue to cause significant morbidity and mortality in patients receiving cancer therapies. More intense immunosuppression coupled with longer survival has changed the spectrum, pattern and timing of infections in several vulnerable populations. Patients at highest risk for CNS infection are hematopoietic cell transplant recipients and neurosurgical patients. The clinical presentation and radiographic appearance of infections in such patients may differ from those occurring in other populations, including HIVAIDS patients. Major deficits predisposing cancer patients to infection include neutropenia, barrier disruption, B-lymphocyte or immunoglobulin deficiency, and impaired T-lymphocyte-mediated immunity. Potential non-infectious mimics of CNS infection include posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES), immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), drug toxicity, and para-infectious antibody-mediated inflammatory syndromes. This chapter provides a practical clinical approach to potential CNS infections in patients receiving cancer therapies based on the most commonly affected patient groups, neuroanatomic site of disease, and laboratory tests. Clinical descriptions and general management recommendations are offered for bacterial infections, invasive fungal infections, and opportunistic viral infections including progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy.
Specifying an implementation framework for Veterans Affairs antimicrobial stewardship programmes: using a factor analysis approach

Author(s): Chou, Ann F; Graber, Christopher J; Zhang, Yue; Jones, Makoto; Goetz, Matthew Bidwell; Madaras-Kelly, Karl; Samore, Matthew; Glassman, Peter A | Abstract: Objectives:Inappropriate antibiotic use poses a serious threat to patient safety. Antimicrobial stewardship programmes (ASPs) may optimize antimicrobial use and improve patient outcomes, but their implementation remains an organizational challenge. Using the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARiHS) framework, this study aimed to identify organizational factors that may facilitate ASP design, development and implementation. Methods:Among 130 Veterans Affairs facilities that offered acute care, we classified organizational variables supporting antimicrobial stewardship activities into three PARiHS domains: evidence to encompass sources of knowledge; contexts to translate evidence into practice; and facilitation to enhance the implementation process. We conducted a series of exploratory factor analyses to identify conceptually linked factor scales. Cronbach's alphas were calculated. Variables with large uniqueness values were left as single factors. Results:We identified 32 factors, including six constructs derived from factor analyses under the three PARiHS domains. In the evidence domain, four factors described guidelines and clinical pathways. The context domain was broken into three main categories: (i) receptive context (15 factors describing resources, affiliations/networks, formalized policies/practices, decision-making, receptiveness to change); (ii) team functioning (1 factor); and (iii) evaluation/feedback (5 factors). Within facilitation, two factors described facilitator roles and tasks and five captured skills and training. Conclusions:We mapped survey data onto PARiHS domains to identify factors that may be adapted to facilitate ASP uptake. Our model encompasses mostly mutable factors whose relationships with performance outcomes may be explored to optimize antimicrobial use. Our framework also provides an analytical model for determining whether leveraging existing organizational processes can potentially optimize ASP performance.
Corporate Volunteering – Wirkung auf Mitarbeiter und Marke

In diesem Beitrag wird beschrieben, auf welcher Basis Corporate Volunteering in ein Unternehmen eingebunden sein sollte, welche Voraussetzungen wichtig sind, um Corporate Volunteering glaubwurdig umzusetzen, mit welcher Kraft das gesellschaftliche Engagement auf die Mitarbeiter wirkt und wie davon auch die Marke des Unternehmens profitieren kann.
3 – Behavioral Pharmacology of Cocaine and the Determinants of Abuse Liability

Publisher Summary This chapter highlights the role of selected behavioral effects of cocaine and of contextual factors in experimental procedures to evaluate its abuse liability. The behavioral pharmacology of cocaine and other psychomotor stimulant drugs is elucidated by studies of the effects of drugs on learned behavior controlled by schedules of reinforcement. The results of few experiments provide strong evidence that response maintained by cocaine can be influenced by both— reinforcing and direct (either rate increasing or, at higher doses, rate-decreasing) effects of self-administered cocaine. Drug discrimination procedures are a mainstay in behavioral pharmacology and considerable effort is expended to study the discriminative stimulus effects of cocaine in relation to its abuse potential. This chapter illustrates the schedule of reinforcement playing a prominent role in the expression of the reinforcing effects of cocaine. An early study in rhesus monkeys, Grove and Schuster establishes that cocaine-maintained responding under a fixed-ratio schedule can be reduced by brief electric shocks that occur during the infusion of cocaine and that the degree of suppression depends both on shock intensity and the dose of cocaine.
Biotypes for Basic Personality Dimensions

The nineteenth-century “science” of phrenology proposed that each personality trait had a particular locus in the brain that shaped the skull above it. Today, we view this kind of brain localization as fallacious. But in the search for simplicity we may be creating a new kind of phrenology, one more in accord with real brain entities and modern neu-rophysiology, but still inaccurate. The new “phrenology” suggests that each personality trait is based on one particular brain structure or system or one biochemical.
Real-Time Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-Guided Intervention

Despite depicting only shadows, X-ray fluoroscopy is versatile and effective to guide endovascular interventions. We are developing real-time MRI catheter guidance to provide alternative soft tissue imaging with the expectation that it will enhance and expand the capabilities of catheter-based interventional procedures and avoid ionizing radiation exposure. To date using interventional cardiovascular MRI (iCMR), we have accomplished sophisticated catheter procedures in animals and rudimentary investigational procedures in humans.
Role of calcium and crossbridges in modulation of rates of force development and relaxation in skinned muscle fibers.

The influence of Ca2+ and force generating crossbridges on the kinetics of force development and relaxation was examined in skinned muscle fibers activated by photolytic release of Ca2+ from a caged calcium or inactivated by photolytic uptake of Ca2+ by a caged Ca2+ chelator. In frog fibers at 10°C, decreasing the Ca2+ released from caged calcium to an extent that resulted in 50% of maximum force development produced an approximate seven-fold decrease in the rate of contraction. In contrast decreasing the number of force generating crossbridges by partial extraction of troponin C (TnC) or addition of vanadate caused only minor changes in contraction rate. Thus the rate of force development decreases dramatically with decreases in the Ca2+ level which suggests that a step in the crossbridge cycle may be Ca2+ dependent. The kinetics of relaxation induced by photolysis of diazo-2 was: a) slowed by stabilization of the sarcomeres by repeated releases and re-stretches during contraction and b) accelerated when the amplitude of force development was decreased by decreasing the [Ca2+] which induced a steady contraction. The half time of relaxation decreased by approximately two- to three-fold, when 50% of maximum force was developed. One interpretation of these results is that decreasing the number of force generating crossbridges may speed relaxation by inducing a decreased affinity of TnC for Ca2+ and thus accelerating the Ca2+ dissociation rate from TnC and thereby increasing relaxation rate.
Digital Communications and a Smart World

This chapter is devoted to digital communications in a smart world. The authors examine turbo codes that are currently introduced in many international standards and implemented in numerous advanced communication systems, applied in a smart world, and evaluate the process of Extrinsic Information Transfer (EXIT). The convergence properties of the iterative decoding process, associated with a given turbo-coding scheme, are estimated using the analysis technique based on so-called EXIT charts. This approach provides a possibility to predict the Bit-Error Rate (BER) of a turbo code system with only the extrinsic information transfer chart. The idea is to consider the associated Soft-Input Soft-Output (SISO) stages as information processors, which map input a priori Log Likelihood Ratios (LLRs) onto output extrinsic LLRs, the information content being obviously assumed to increase from input to output and introduce them to the design of turbo systems without the reliance on extensive simulation. Compared with other methods, the suggested approach provides insight into the iterative behavior of linear turbo systems with substantial reduction in numerical complexity.
When more is less: End-of-life disparities among ovarian cancer patients.

e21517Background: Medical care at the end of life (EoL) is often aggressive late in life. We assessed racial disparities in EoL care among ovarian cancer (OC) patients. Methods: Using Texas Cancer ...
Designing Learning Experiences for Interactive Digital Narrative Literacy: A New Paradigm

Leveraging librarians’ expertise in the design and support of literacy programs, this workshop will provide a forum for educators and practitioners to critically examine the nature and role of interactive digital narrative literacy. Workshop participants will collaborate in the development of a framework of interactive digital narrative literacy competencies through critical examination of representative case studies.
The equilibrium size-frequency distribution of small craters reveals the effects of distal ejecta on lunar landscape morphology

Abstract Small craters of the lunar maria are observed to be in a state of equilibrium, in which the rate of production of new craters is, on average, equal to the rate of destruction of old craters. Crater counts of multiple lunar terrains over decades consistently show that the equilibrium cumulative size-frequency distribution (SFD) per unit area of small craters of radius >r is proportional r−2, and that the total crater density is a few percent of so-called geometric saturation, which is the maximum theoretical packing density of circular features. While it has long been known that the primary crater destruction mechanism for these small craters is steady diffusive degradation, there are few quantitative constraints on the processes that determine the degradation rate of meter to kilometer scale lunar surface features. Here we combine analytical modeling with a Monte Carlo landscape evolution code known as the Cratered Terrain Evolution Model to place constraints on which processes control the observed equilibrium size-frequency distribution for small craters. We find that the impacts by small distal ejecta fragments, distributed in spatially heterogeneous rays, is the largest contributor to the diffusive degradation which controls the equilibrium SFD of small craters. Other degradation or crater removal mechanisms, such cookie cutting, ejecta burial, seismic shaking, and micrometeoroid bombardment, likely contribute very little to the diffusive topographic degradation of the lunar maria at the meter scale and larger.
MetaBMF: a scalable binning algorithm for large-scale reference-free metagenomic studies.

Motivation Metagenomics studies microbial genomes in an ecosystem such as the gastrointestinal tract of a human. Identification of novel microbial species and quantification of their distributional variations among different samples that are sequenced using next-generation-sequencing technology hold the key to the success of most metagenomic studies. To achieve these goals, we propose a simple yet powerful metagenomic binning method, MetaBMF. The method does not require prior knowledge of reference genomes and produces highly accurate results, even at a strain level. Thus, it can be broadly used to identify disease-related microbial organisms that are not well-studied. Results Mathematically, we count the number of mapped reads on each assembled genomic fragment cross different samples as our input matrix and propose a scalable stratified angle regression algorithm to factorize this count matrix into a product of a binary matrix and a nonnegative matrix. The binary matrix can be used to separate microbial species and the nonnegative matrix quantifies the species distributions in different samples. In simulation and empirical studies, we demonstrate that MetaBMF has a high binning accuracy. It can not only bin DNA fragments accurately at a species level but also at a strain level. As shown in our example, we can accurately identify the Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli O104: H4 strain which led to the 2011 German E.coli outbreak. Our efforts in these areas should lead to (i) fundamental advances in metagenomic binning, (ii) development and refinement of technology for the rapid identification and quantification of microbial distributions and (iii) finding of potential probiotics or reliable pathogenic bacterial strains. Availability and implementation The software is available at https://github.com/didi10384/MetaBMF.
Mutations of the Bacillus subtilis YidC1 (SpoIIIJ) insertase alleviate stress associated with σM-dependent membrane protein overproduction

In Bacillus subtilis, the extracytoplasmic function σ factor σM regulates cell wall synthesis and is critical for intrinsic resistance to cell wall targeting antibiotics. The anti-σ factors YhdL and YhdK form a complex that restricts the basal activity of σM, and the absence of YhdL leads to runaway expression of the σM regulon and cell death. Here, we report that this lethality can be suppressed by gain-of-function mutations in yidC1 (spoIIIJ), which encodes the major YidC membrane protein insertase in B. subtilis. B. subtilis PY79 YidC1 (SpoIIIJ) contains a single amino acid substitution in a functionally important hydrophilic groove (Q140K), and this allele suppresses the lethality of high σM. Analysis of a library of YidC1 variants reveals that increased charge (+2 or +3) in the hydrophilic groove can compensate for high expression of the σM regulon. Derepression of the σM regulon induces secretion stress, oxidative stress and DNA damage responses, all of which can be alleviated by the YidC1Q140K substitution. We further show that the fitness defect caused by high σM activity is exacerbated in the absence of the SecDF protein translocase or σM-dependent induction of the Spx oxidative stress regulon. Conversely, cell growth is improved by mutation of specific σM-dependent promoters controlling operons encoding integral membrane proteins. Collectively, these results reveal how the σM regulon has evolved to up-regulate membrane-localized complexes involved in cell wall synthesis, and to simultaneously counter the resulting stresses imposed by regulon induction.
Agreement of stall-side and laboratory major crossmatch tests with the reference standard method in horses.

Background Crossmatching is used to prevent life-threatening transfusion reactions in horses. Laboratory methods are laborious and technically challenging, which is impractical during emergencies. Hypothesis/objectives Evaluate agreement between a stall-side crossmatch kit (KIT) and a laboratory method (LAB) in horses with known and unknown blood types. Animals Twenty-four blood-typed and alloantibody-screened healthy adult horses (Aim 1) and 156 adult horses of unknown blood type (Aim 2). Methods Prospective, blinded study. Expected positive (n = 35) and negative (n = 36) crossmatches among 24 antibody and blood-typed horses were used to determine sensitivity and specificity of KIT and LAB against the reference method. Agreement in 156 untyped horses was evaluated by reciprocal crossmatch (n = 156). Results Sensitivity (95% confidence interval [CI]) for LAB and KIT compared with expected reactions was 77.1% (59.9%-90.0%) and 91.4% (77.0%-98.2%), and specificity 77.8% (60.9%-89.9%) and 73.5% (55.6%-87.1%), respectively. The KIT was 100% sensitive for Aa reactions; LAB was 100% sensitive for Qab; and both were 100% sensitive for Ca. Cohen's κ agreement for LAB and KIT with expected positive and negative reactions (n = 71) was moderate (0.55 [0.36-0.74]) and substantial (0.65 [0.47-0.82]), respectively. Agreement was fair comparing LAB with KIT in Aim 1 (0.30 [0.08-0.52]) and in untyped horses in Aim 2 (0.26 [0.11-0.41]). Conclusions and clinical importance Agreement between KIT and LAB with expected reactions was blood type dependent. Performance of both methods depends on blood type prevalence.
Experimental performance of a single stage superfluid Stirling refrigerator using a small plastic recuperator

The experimental performance of the first superfluid Stirling refrigerator (SSR) to use a plastic recuperator is reported. This SSR is a single stage machine, has a total internal volume of 83 cm3, and uses a 3 cm3Kapton heat exchanger. Operating from a high temperature of 1.0 K and with a 1.5%3He–4He mixture, this SSR achieves a low temperature of 344 mK and delivers net cooling powers of 1.86 mW at 750 mK, 358 μW at 500 mK, and 97 μW at 400 mK. Cooling power versus cold piston temperature for various frequencies of operation and for two piston stroke configurations are provided.
Office Housework, Burnout, and Promotion: Does Gender Matter?

In The New York Times, Grant and Sandberg (2015) made the case that women perform more office housework and experience more burnout, yet receive fewer career benefits, from performing office housework than do men. However, this claim has not been formally tested. Based on gender role theory, conservation of resources theory, and shifting standards, we test the relationships between gender, office housework, burnout, and promotion. Results revealed that women performed more office housework overall than did men. More specifically, women engaged in more social maintenance OHW, while men engaged in more object maintenance OHW. Contrary to the popular press claim, results showed no significant relationship between office housework and burnout. Moreover, office housework did not mediate the relationship between gender and burnout. In addition, gender moderated the relationship between office housework and promotion such that the relationship was statistically significant for men, but not statistically significant for women. This study contributes to the literature by introducing office housework as a specific form of organizational citizenship behavior and empirically investigating the popular press claim related to office housework.
Personality differences in the selection of dynamic refugia have demographic consequences for a winter-adapted bird

For overwintering species, individuals' ability to find refugia from inclement weather and predators probably confers strong fitness benefits. How animals use their environment can be mediated by their personality (e.g. risk-taking), but does personality mediate how overwintering species select refugia? Snow cover is a dynamic winter characteristic that can influence crypsis or provide below-the-snow refugia. We explored how wintering ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) selected snow roosting sites, a behaviour that reduces stress and cold exposure. We linked selection for approximately 700 roosts with survival of 42 grouse, and showed that grouse generally selected deeper snow and warmer areas. Grouse found in shallow snow were less likely to survive winter. However, individuals that selected deep snow improved their survival, suggesting that demographic consequences of selecting winter refugia are mediated by differences in personality. Our study provides a crucial, and seldom addressed, link between personality in resource selection and resulting demographic consequences.
Applicability of Rytov’s Full Effective-Medium Formalism to the Physical Description and Design of Resonant Metasurfaces

Periodic photonic lattices constitute a fundamental pillar of physics supporting a plethora of scientific concepts and applications. The advent of metamaterials and metastructures is grounded in a ...
Ne 20 ( α , 2 α ) O 16 reaction at 78.6 MeV

The $^{20}\mathrm{Ne}(\ensuremath{\alpha},2\ensuremath{\alpha})^{16}\mathrm{O}$ reaction has been measured at symmetric and asymmetric sets of angles at ${E}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}=78.6$ MeV. The data indicate that quasifree $\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\alpha}$ scattering and, consequently, $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ clustering plays a dominant role for pairs of angles favoring quasifree scattering. The data have been compared with the plane-wave impulse approximation using a radial cutoff. This calculation does not give a good fit to data for non-quasifree angles. The reaction goes predominantly to the $^{16}\mathrm{O}$ ground state with a small yield to the 6.92-7.12-MeV doublet in $^{16}\mathrm{O}$.[NUCLEAR REACTIONS $^{20}\mathrm{Ne}(\ensuremath{\alpha},2\ensuremath{\alpha})^{16}\mathrm{O}$, $E=78.6$ MeV; measured (${E}_{L},{E}_{R},{\ensuremath{\theta}}_{L},{\ensuremath{\theta}}_{R}$). PWIA analysis.]
Health and Wellness as Resistance: Tactical Folk Medicine

Accessing medical resources has not always been easy for marginalized communities. This article addresses a series of barriers trans African American patients experience. We examine two sites of re...
The Undead Past: How Collective Memory Configures Trade Wars

Conventional narratives explicate the recent trade war between the United States and China in realist terms, such as a hegemonic struggle symbolized by the “Thucydides’ trap.” Yet this universalist heuristic fatally omits ideational factors, such as beliefs, which are capable of contextualizing a particular foreign affair. The U.S.-China economic conflicts of today are characterized as much by past convictions as by simple power politics. This Article aims to remedy this analytical blind spot by employing the concept of “collective memory.” The central claim is that the particular ways and forms in which the U.S. elites and the public remember, and evoke, momentous economic conflicts of the past elucidate a recidivistic pattern of exceptionalist trade policies of the United States. While drawing from the past, collective memories manifest themselves in the present tense for the present purpose. Three decades ago, the Cold War and Japan-Bashing planted collective memories on economic warfare in the minds of the U.S. policymakers and the public. Those collective memories, this Article argues, shape how the Trumpian trade war is waged in the present time. The Article also warns that false analogies triggered by such collective memories may seriously distort the legal and economic reality of the contemporary global sphere. This Article concludes that the United States needs to be more susceptible to external opinions different from its own, thereby cultivating counter-memories that can disabuse the United States of those myths subscribed to by its power elites.
Ubiquitin ligase Wwp1 gene deletion attenuates diastolic dysfunction in pressure-overload hypertrophy

Heart failure with a preserved left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (HFpEF) often arises from a prolonged LV pressure overload (LVPO) and is accompanied by abnormal extracellular matrix (ECM) ac...
Healing after tooth extraction and alveolar ridge preservation using demineralized cortical allograft particles in a dehiscence type defect: clinical, radiographic and histomorphometric case report

Aim The present article reports clinical, radiographic, and histological healing of a case of alveolar ridge preservation treated with a cortical bone allograft and a bioabsorbable collagen wound dressing membrane for the reconstruction of a damaged extraction socket with a buccal bone dehiscence. Case report In the case reported, alveolar ridge preservation technique was applied in an extraction site with a buccal dehiscence type defect, using an allograft bone substitute and a bioabsorbable collagen wound dressing membrane followed by a successful implant placement at a later stage. Conclusion This case report showed that alveolar ridge preservation technique in a damaged socket with buccal dehiscence, using a freeze dried bone allograft covered with a fast resorption collagen membrane, can lead to new bone formation, of up to 53.53%, and ultimately allow safe implant placement.
The Tale of Iranian Entrepreneurs in the United States

In practice and in theory, as the findings of this research reveal, the Iranian business community is a new and different, nonconforming immigrant group in the United States. This study explores certain aspects of the Iranian business community in light of a survey done by the author.The article compares and contrasts findings of the survey with those of existing literature that has been written about the business communities of various ethnic groups.The results of this study disagree with the literature in most areas. One difference is that the Iranian business community in the United States does not fit into the general understanding that ethnic groups have economic enclaves and niches. They are dispersed in all 48 contiguous states, and their businesses cover practically any possible line of entrepreneurial activity.These entrepreneurs are highly educated, and 76 percent of them are between 30 and 50 years old.Among them, 84 percent are male, a typical American profile.
Structural studies on ruthenium carbonyl hydrides: XIV. Synthesis, characterization, and crystal structure of (μ-H)2Ru3(η3-η2-CHC(O)OCH3)(CO)8(PPh3). An example of cis-labilization by an oxygen donor ligand

Abstract The reaction of PPh 3 with (μ-H( 2 Ru 3 (μ 3 -η 2 -CHC(O)OCH 3 )(CO) 9 displaces a CO ligand, rather than the coordinated oxygen atom of the acyl moiety, thereby generating (μ-H) 2 Ru 3 (μ 3 -η 2 -CHC(O)OCH 3 )(CO) 8 (PPh 3 ). A single-crystal X-ray study of (μ-H) 2 Ru 3 (η 3 -η 2 -CHC(O)OCH 3 )(CO) 8 (PPh 3 ) has been performed. This complex crystallizes in the triclinic space group P 1 with a 9.360(1), b 11.442(1), c 15.192(1) A, α 84.554(7), β 78.729(8), γ 83.023(3)°, V 1579.6(3) A 3 and Z = 2. Data for 2θ 5.0–50.0° (Mo- K α ) were collected on a Syntex P2 1 automated four-circle diffractometer and the structure was refined to R F 4.6% for all 5601 reflections ( R F 3.4% for those 4962 reflections with | F ° | > 3σ(| F °| ). The crystal structure establishes that PPh 3 substitution occurs cis to the coordinated oxygen in that equatorial site which is trans to the non-hydrido-bridged RuRu bond. The high rate of CO displacement from (μ-H) 2 Ru 3 (μ 3 -η 2 -CHC(O)OCH 3 )(CO) 9 , as compared with that for (μ-H) 3 Ru 3 (μ 3 -CC(O)OCH 3 )(CO 9 , is attributed to cis labilization by the oxygen donor atom.
High-reflection Si/SiO 2 Bragg reflector via membrane transfer printing

High reflection Si/SiO 2 quarter-wavelength Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) is reported. The structure is composed of alternate single crystal Si and thermally-grown SiO2. Si Nanomembrane (Si NM) transfer and subsequent thermal oxidation achieves high reflection throughout the broad IR spectrum.
Writing with Dyslexia: The Education and Early Work of Wendy Wasserstein

While there are several studies on the relationship between learning disabilities and creativity, there is no conclusive scientific proof of a direct relationship between the two at this time. Like several of the case studies available, Wendy Wasserstein's life and work provide examples of the effect a learning disability like dyslexia can have on career choice and an individual's ability to develop and implement novel ideas. This article examines Wasserstein's education, early work, and the role dyslexia played in choices she made related to her decision to become a writer, and her creative process. It also considers the advantage of reframing the way a learning disability can be viewed in relation to career choice and creativity. Keywords: dyslexia, learning disability, creativity
Unexpected thymic hyperplasia in transgenic mice harboring a neuronal promoter fused with simian virus 40 large T antigen.

Abstract The hypothalamic peptide growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF) regulates the secretion and production of growth hormone from the anterior pituitary (M. C. Gelato and G. R. Merriam, Annu. Rev. Physiol. 48:569-591). To study GRF gene regulation, transgenic mice were generated that harbor the human GRF promoter fused to the coding sequences from the simian virus 40 early region. These mice had normal hypothalamic functions but unexpectedly suffered from severe thymic hyperplasia. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that large T antigen was expressed in the thymic epithelial cells. These cells have endocrine properties and are known to produce thymic hormones [corrected]. The thymic hyperplasia was the apparent consequence of inappropriate production of T-cell maturation factors by epithelial cells and could involve increased self renewal of apparently normal T stem cells in the thymus.
Effect of Avian Myeloblastosis Virus in the Japanese Quail

Abstract Moscovici, Carlo (University of Colorado Medical Center, Denver), and E. H. Macintyre. Effect of avian myeloblastosis virus in the Japanese quail. J. Bacteriol. 92:1141–1149. 1966.—Avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV) induced a spectrum of neoplasms in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) which was similar to that observed in the chicken, with one exception: the total absence of acute myeloblastic leukemia in quail. Studies in vivo as well as in vitro suggested that the cause for this difference may be ascribed to the heterogeneity of AMV and to the genetic makeup of the quail cell.
Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis in the Emergency Department: Retrospective Analysis of 17 Cases and Review of the Literature

Background: Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is a rare but serious cause of neurologic impairment. Due to its relative rarity, there is limited research that describes the incidence and clinical features of CVST in the emergency department (ED). Objectives: To describe the demographic, clinical, and historical characteristics of patients with CVST who were initially seen in the ED. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of all patients presenting to three urban, tertiary care hospitals between January 2001 and December 2005 who were diagnosed with CVST. Patients were excluded if they were transferred from other hospitals, or admitted directly to the hospital without evaluation in the ED. We use one representative case to describe the presentation, evaluation, and treatment of CVST. Results: Seventeen patients met the inclusion criteria. Patients had a mean age of 42 years. Presenting complaints included headache (70%), focal neurologic complaints (numbness, weakness, aphasia) (29%), seizure (24%), and head injury (12%). Ninety-four percent of patients had a focal neurologic finding in the ED. A likely contributing cause of thrombosis was identified in all but one patient. More than half of the patients had been evaluated in the ED in the previous 60 days. Two patients died, both as a result of their thrombosis and resulting cerebral infarctions and edema. Of the patients who survived, 80% had a good functional outcome. Conclusions: CVST is rare, but it can have significant associated morbidity and mortality. Whereas the clinical outcome and functional outcomes of treated patients can vary, prompt recognition of the disease is important.
Antibiosis of forage soybean as an ecological alternative for the control of corn earworm

The present study is the first to document some antibiosis type of resistance in forage soybeans. The production of forage soybean is increasing in the United States where about 500 000 acres are now grown annually in various soybean growing areas. However, production is limited by the corn earworm Helicoverpa zea Boddie, which is a major insect pest of soybean. An in vitro study of field grown soybean leaves was conducted to select forage soybean genotypes for antibiosis type resistance to corn earworm. The feeding tests were conducted on excised leaf material from a randomized complete block design. The results showed significant differences in the weight of corn earworm larvae, which were allowed to feed on different genotypes of fodder soybean. The mean larval weights on genotypes Tara, 7P116 and 8 GH 85-2 were 245.8, 242.1, and 169.3 mg, respectively. These genotypes were found to be most susceptible to corn earworm while the tall growing vegetable cultivar Moon Cake with the mean larval weight of 94.8 showed some antibiosis types of resistance.
Patch-Clamp Analysis of Mitochondrial Ca2+ Uniporter in Different Tissues

The mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake has been recognized as a central player in cellular pathophysiology for decades. Pathways of Ca2+ transport across the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) were investigated indirectly with biochemical techniques and most recently by applying the patch clamp technique to mitoplasts isolated from mammalian systems. Patch-clamp recording of the IMM have proved to provide an unambiguous picture of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake under strictly controlled conditions.In this study, we evaluated and compared the biophysical properties of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake in different mouse tissues. Freshly isolated mitoplasts from mouse heart, skeletal muscle, liver, kidney, spleen and brown adipose tissue were patch clamped in the whole-mitoplast configuration. Voltage step and ramp protocols covering the whole range of physiological potentials were applied to elicit the inwardly rectifying Ca2+current sensitive to RuR known as MCU. The distribution of MCU current densities between tissues was as follows: spleen > brown adipose tissue ≈ skeletal muscle > kidney > liver >> heart. Interestingly, MCU current density in heart was about 10 times smaller than in skeletal muscle. Our results support the view of a differential tissue activity of MCU, which can be explained by either a different distribution of MCU channel and/or by a different expression of its regulatory subunits confering various modes of physiological regulation.Further on, in order to investigate the putative direct contribution of Uncoupling Protein Isoform 2 and 3 (UCP2/3) to the uniporter, we investigated MCU properties in wild type (WT) mouse tissues where these two proteins have been found to have a major role and compared its properties in the correspondent tissues of UCP2 and UCP3 KO mice. We found no significant differences in calcium currents of any of the WT tissues studied compared to their UCP2/3 KO counterparts.
Applications of Heider's p‐o‐x balance model to classroom situations

Some selected principles of Heider's balance theory are presented and the p-o-x model is explained as a theoretical framework for predicting responses to interpersonal situations in which the participants are in attitudinal agreement or disagreement. Concrete classroom situations are cited in which application of the model provides the basis for suggestions concerned with adaptive patterns of interaction with students.
Bacterial microcompartments: their properties and paradoxes.

Many bacteria conditionally express proteinaceous organelles referred to here as microcompartments (Fig. 1). These microcompartments are thought to be involved in a least seven different metabolic processes and the number is growing. Microcompartments are very large and structurally sophisticated. They are usually about 100–150 nm in cross section and consist of 10,000–20,000 polypeptides of 10–20 types. Their unifying feature is a solid shell constructed from proteins having bacterial microcompartment (BMC) domains. In the examples that have been studied, the microcompartment shell encases sequentially acting metabolic enzymes that catalyze a reaction sequence having a toxic or volatile intermediate product. It is thought that the shell of the microcompartment confines such intermediates, thereby enhancing metabolic efficiency and/or protecting cytoplasmic components. Mechanistically, however, this creates a paradox. How do microcompartments allow enzyme substrates, products and cofactors to pass while confining metabolic intermediates in the absence of a selectively permeable membrane? We suggest that the answer to this paradox may have broad implications with respect to our understanding of the fundamental properties of biological protein sheets including microcompartment shells, S-layers and viral capsids. BioEssays 30:1084–1095, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Surrogate Model Development for Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines

The fuels used in internal-combustion engines are complex mixtures of a multitude of different types of hydrocarbon species. Attempting numerical simulations of combustion of real fuels with all of the hydrocarbon species included is highly unrealistic. Thus, a surrogate model approach is generally adopted, which involves choosing a few representative hydrocarbon species whose overall behavior mimics the characteristics of the target fuel. The present study proposes surrogate models for the nine fuels for advanced combustion engines (FACE) that have been developed for studying low-emission, high-efficiency advanced diesel engine concepts. The surrogate compositions for the fuels are arrived at by simulating their distillation profiles to within a maximum absolute error of ∼4% using a discrete multi-component (DMC) fuel model that has been incorporated in the multi-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, KIVA-ERC-CHEMKIN. The simulated surrogate compositions cover the range and measured concen...
EGF receptor down-regulation attenuates ligand-induced second messenger formation

Epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced increases in cytosolic Ca2+ and inositol polyphosphate production were compared in a human hepatocellular carcinoma-derived cell line, PLC/PRF/5, and in an EGF receptor-overexpressing subline, NPLC/PRF/5. Formation of these second messengers was correlated to EGF receptor display at the cell surface by monitoring ligand-induced EGF receptor down-regulation. Both cell lines exhibited a strikingly similar cytosolic Ca2+ increase upon exposure to EGF. The initial inositol phosphate responses were also similar in the two cell lines; inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate increased within 10-15 s and returned to prestimulatory values after 2 min in both cell lines, while inositol tetrakisphosphate and inositol 1,3,4-trisphosphate were elevated after a 2-min exposure to EGF. At later times the responses were markedly different; NPLC/PRF/5 cells exhibited prolonged production of inositol 1,3,4-trisphosphate and inositol tetrakisphosphate (maximum at 1-3 h) but PLC/PRF/5 cells showed decreased levels of these isomers after 10 min and a return to basal values by 1 h. Exposure of PLC/PRF/5 cells to EGF caused a progressive decrease in the amount of EGF receptor at the cell surface whereas such treatment did not change the surface receptor levels in NPLC/PRF/5 cells. Kinetic analysis of EGF receptor down-regulation showed that receptor internalization was rapid enough to account for the transient nature of the inositol phosphate response in PLC/PRF/5 cells. Thus, the divergent patterns of signaling exhibited by the two cell lines may reflect differences in the efficiency of EGF-induced down-regulation of surface receptors.
Role of Dipicolinic Acid in Resistance and Stability of Spores of Bacillus subtilis with or without DNA-Protective α/β-Type Small Acid-Soluble Proteins

Dipicolinic acid (DPA) comprises approximately 10% of the dry weight of spores of Bacillus species. Although DPA has long been implicated in spore resistance to wet heat and spore stability, definitive evidence on the role of this abundant molecule in spore properties has generally been lacking. Bacillus subtilis strain FB122 (sleB spoVF) produced very stable spores that lacked DPA, and sporulation of this strain with DPA yielded spores with nearly normal DPA levels. DPA-replete and DPA-less FB122 spores had similar levels of the DNA protective alpha/beta-type small acid-soluble spore proteins (SASP), but the DPA-less spores lacked SASP-gamma. The DPA-less FB122 spores exhibited similar UV resistance to the DPA-replete spores but had lower resistance to wet heat, dry heat, hydrogen peroxide, and desiccation. Neither wet heat nor hydrogen peroxide killed the DPA-less spores by DNA damage, but desiccation did. The inability to synthesize both DPA and most alpha/beta-type SASP in strain PS3664 (sspA sspB sleB spoVF) resulted in spores that lost viability during sporulation, at least in part due to DNA damage. DPA-less PS3664 spores were more sensitive to wet heat than either DPA-less FB122 spores or DPA-replete PS3664 spores, and the latter also retained viability during sporulation. These and previous results indicate that, in addition to alpha/beta-type SASP, DPA also is extremely important in spore resistance and stability and, further, that DPA has some specific role(s) in protecting spore DNA from damage. Specific roles for DPA in protecting spore DNA against damage may well have been a major driving force for the spore's accumulation of the high levels of this small molecule.
Cdk1 modulation ensures the coordination of cell-cycle events during the switch from meiotic prophase to mitosis.

Summary Background Budding yeast cells that enter the developmental path of meiosis do not commit to finishing meiosis until after prophase I and the realization of such meiosis-specific events as pairing of homologous chromosomes and initiation of recombination. If the meiosis-inducing signal is withdrawn prior to commitment, cells exit meiosis and return to mitosis. The timing of this transition poses a singular problem for maintaining genome integrity. Cells in meiotic prophase have already replicated their DNA, but they have not undergone the morphological changes intrinsic to mitosis, including budding. Successful re-entry into mitosis requires that these cells bud but not rereplicate their DNA, reversing the normal order of mitosis. This study focuses on the cellular mechanisms that permit this dramatically altered order of cell-cycle events. Results By developing a microfluidics assay to monitor individual cells, we show that the successful transition from meiotic prophase to mitosis requires the modulation of Cdk1 activity to coordinate cell-cycle events. The S. cerevisiae Wee1 homolog Swe1 prevents the formation of multinucleate cells by restraining M phase CDK activity to allow bud formation prior to nuclear division. The remaining S phase CDK activity promotes bud formation and prevents origin licensing so that DNA cannot rereplicate between bud formation and nuclear division. Once a bud has formed, M phase CDK drives cells through a normal mitotic division. Conclusions Our study uncovers the essential requirement of Swe1 to modulate CDK activity to coordinate cell-cycle events and maintain genome integrity during the transition from meiotic prophase to mitosis.
Reductive and oxidative dna damage by photoactive platinum(II) intercalators

Several photoactive platinum R-diimine intercalators have been prepared to develop new probes of DNA oxidation and reduction chemistry. Five water-soluble bis(mes')Pt(II) complexes (mes') N,N,N,3,5-pentamethylaniline) with various aromatic α-diimine ligands (dppz= dipyridophenazine, np = naphtha[2,3-f][1,ω]phenanthroline, CN-np = naphtho[2,3-f][1,10]phenanthroline-9-carbonitrile, CN_2-np = naphtho[2,3-f][1,10]phenanthroline-9,14-dicarbonitrile, and bp = benzo-[f][1,10]phenanthroline) were synthesized. The complex [(np)Pt(mes')_2]Cl_2 was also characterized by X-ray crystallography, and the crystal structure shows that the ortho-methyl groups of the mes' ligands conveniently block substitution at the vacant sites of platinum without overlapping with the intercalating α-diimine ligand. The Pt(II) complexes were found to have excited-state oxidation and reduction potentials of -0.6 to -1.0 and 1.0 to 1.5 V versus NHE, respectively, making them potent photoreductants as well as photooxidants. Many of the complexes are found to promote the photooxidation of N^2-cyclopropyldeoxyguanosine (d^(Cp)G). Photoexcited [(dppz)Pt(mes')_2]^(2+) is found to be most efficient in this photooxidation, as well as in the photoreduction of N^4-cyclopropylcytidine (^(Cp)C); these modified nucleosides rapidly decompose in a ring-opening reaction upon oxidation or reduction. Photoexcited [(dppz)Pt(mes')_2]Cl_2, upon intercalation into the DNA π stack, is found, in addition, to promote reductive and oxidative damage within the DNA duplex, as is also probed using the kinetically fast electron and hole traps, ^(Cp)C and ^(Cp)G. These Pt complexes may therefore offer useful reactive tools to compare and contrast directly reductive and oxidative chemistry in double helical DNA.