cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The future of HPT depends on whether practitioners focus on foundations or fads

The future of human performance technology (HPT) will be bright or dismal depending on how well HPT practitioners focus on careful and practical answers to three pivotal questions: What is good practice in human performance technology? What are the differences between good practice and bad? What are the connections between good research and exemplary practice? The answers to all three questions involve two fundamental units of analysis: the three-term contingency and the Total Performance System. Examples in this article show what a unit of analysis is, why the two units are important, and how both should guide analysis, design, and implementation efforts. The future of HPT will be bright only if these units of analysis are used more often and more explicitly.
MET: an experimental system for Malicious Email Tracking

Despite the use of state of the art methods to protect against malicious programs, they continue to threaten and damage computer systems around the world. In this paper we present MET, the Malicious Email Tracking system, designed to automatically report statistics on the flow behavior of malicious software delivered via email attachments both at a local and global level. MET can help reduce the spread of malicious software worldwide, especially self-replicating viruses, as well as provide further insight toward minimizing damage caused by malicious programs in the future. In addition, the system can help system administrators detect all of the points of entry of a malicious email into a network. The core of MET's operation is a database of statistics about the trajectory of email attachments in and out of a network system, and the culling together of these statistics across networks to present a global view of the spread of the malicious software. From a statistical perspective sampling only a small amount of traffic (for example, .1 %) of a very large email stream is sufficient to detect suspicious or otherwise new email viruses that may be undetected by standard signature-based scanners. Therefore, relatively few MET installations would be necessary to gather sufficient data in order to provide broad protection services. Small scale simulations are presented to demonstrate MET in operation and suggests how detection of new virus propagations via flow statistics can be automated.
ENZYMATIC MODIFICATION OF BORAGE OIL: INCORPORATION OF EICOSAPENTAENOIC ACID

Borage oil (Borago officinalis L.) fatty acid composition was modified to incorporate eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), with an immobilized nonspecific SP435 lipase from Candida antarctica as biocatalyst. Transesterification, between borage oil and EPA ethyl ester (EEPA) was carried out in hexane. Incorporation increased with increasing concentration of EEPA. An enzyme concentration of 20% gave 31% EPA incorporation into borage oil. As the incubation time increased, EPA incorporation was also increased up to 36 h.
Brief Intervention and Follow-Up for Suicidal Patients With Repeat Emergency Department Visits Enhances Treatment Engagement

We implemented an innovative, brief, easy-to-administer 2-part intervention to enhance coping and treatment engagement. The intervention consisted of safety planning and structured telephone follow-up postdischarge with 95 veterans who had 2 or more emergency department (ED) visits within 6 months for suicide-related concerns (i.e., suicide ideation or behavior). The intervention significantly increased behavioral health treatment attendance 3 months after intervention, compared with treatment attendance in the 3 months after a previous ED visit without intervention. The trend was for a decreasing hospitalization rate.
Should we audit the fed

The U.S. Federal Reserve has been under fire lately for its policies and secrecy. Many critics are arguing that we need to audit the Fed-and legislation to that effect has been introduced in Congress and voted on. But should we audit the Fed? The authors take a close look at how the Fed works and the controversies that surround it. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Diagnostic and Therapeutic Problems in Spontaneous Cushing's Syndrome: A Review with Five Case Reports

Problems in diagnosis and therapy in Cushing's syndrome is discussed. Five typical cases (Cushing's disease 2; adrenal carcinoma 1; ectopic ACTH-syndrome 2) are presented. Steroid tests of value in the overall diagnosis of hypercorticism are estimations of basic values of 17-OHCS, 17-KGS, plasma cortisol and cortisol secretion rate. An absent C. R. of plasma cortisol and the increased adrenal response during the ACTH test is also of value; but the 1 mg-DST is probably the test of greatest reliability in the overall diagnosis. Although of only presumptive significance, the high dose DST of Liddle (1960), the metopirone test and the ACTH test is of great value in etiological diagnosis. Radiologic approach to adrenal disease, particularly selective angiography, is of supplementary diagnostic value.In Cushing's disease total bilateral adrenalectomy is generally preferable to pituitary irradation. In adrenal carcinoma total adrenalectomy and/or treatment with o, p'-DDD may be of some benefit. In ectopic ACTH-s...
Auditor Independence in Fact: Research, Regulatory, and Practice Implications Drawn from Experimental and Archival Research

SYNOPSIS: Notwithstanding various safeguards intended to enhance auditor independence in fact, regulators including the PCAOB have continued to express concerns that auditors, at times, are failing to maintain an appropriate level of independence. In this paper, we provide an analysis of selected academic studies related to auditor independence to offer readers a foundation on which to evaluate the substantial body of research in the area and to understand the mixed findings reported in experimental and archival studies. We discuss issues surrounding the research designs and methods used in prior work, highlighting challenges that face researchers. Subsequently, we take stock of what we have learned from our analysis and consider the research, regulatory, and practice implications of our conclusions. We also offer avenues for future research and highlight specific issues that warrant further investigation.
Conducting the ACTIVE randomized trial in hospice care: keys to success.

BackgroundUntreated pain is common for patients at the end of life. Informal caregivers, often family or friends of patients, are responsible for working with hospice staff to provide pain manageme...
The evidence for emergency obstetric care

Purpose: We searched for evidence for the effectiveness of emergency obstetric care (EmOC) interventions in reducing maternal mortality primarily in developing countries. Methods: We reviewed population-based studies with maternal mortality as the outcome variable and ranked them according to the system for ranking the quality of evidence and strength of recommendations developed by the US Preventive Services Task Force. A systematic search of published literature was conducted for this review, including searches of Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Database and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register. Results: The strength of the evidence is high in several studies with a design that places them in the second and third tier in the quality of evidence ranking system. No studies were found that are experimental in design that would give them a top ranking, due to the measurement challenges associated with maternal mortality, although many of the specific individual clinical interventions that comprise EmOC have been evaluated through experimental design. There is strong evidence based on studies, using quasi-experimental, observational and ecological designs, to support the contention that EmOC must be a critical component of any program to reduce maternal mortality. D 2004 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Emotion, Aesthetics, and Persuasion: The Rhetorical Force of Galileo’s Argument

It was argued in a previous chapter that a book like Galileo’s Dialogue must have a type of content that can best be appreciated after its scientific-logical content has been analyzed. This is what may be called its rhetorical content, in a restricted sense of ‘rhetoric’, according to which the term refers to actual substance present in the book, and not to merely cosmetic verbal expressions of desires and intentions. The substance actually present in the book from this rhetorical point of view is a type of intellectual content, but one that plays upon feelings and emotions, either directly and explicitly by verbal expressions that have the desired emotive effect, or else indirectly and implicitly by emphatic identification with what is explicitly said or done.
Measurement of Λ 0 Polarization in Inclusive Λ 0 Production at 28.5 GeV/ c

${\ensuremath{\Lambda}}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ polarization in inclusive production by protons on iridium has been measured at 28.5 GeV/c over the region $0.55 \mathrm{GeV}/cl~{P}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}l~1.6 \mathrm{GeV}/c$. The polarization rises from (-12.6\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}5.5)% at 0.55 GeV/c to (-33.4\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}4.6)% at 1.6 GeV/c. Significant differences from previous measurements at other energies with different targets are observed, particularly at low ${P}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$.
Accelerating polygon clipping

Polygon clipping is a central part of image generation and image visualization systems. In spite of its algorithmic simplicity it consumes a considerable amount of hardware or software resources. Polygon clipping performance is dominated by two processes: intersection calculations and data transfers. The paper analyzes the prevalent Sutherland-Hodgman algorithm for polygon clipping and identifies cases for which this algorithm performs inefficiently. Such cases are characterized by subsequent vertices in the input polygon that share a common region, e.g. a common halfspace. The paper will present new techniques that detect such constellations and simplify the input polygon such that the Sutherland-Hodgman algorithm runs more efficiently. Block diagrams and pseudo-code demonstrate that the new techniques are well suited for both hardware and software implementations. Finally, the paper discusses the results of a prototype implementation of the presented techniques. The analysis compares the performance of the new techniques to the traditional Sutherland-Hodgman algorithm for different test scenes. The new techniques reduce the number data transfers by up to 90% and the number of intersection calculations by up to 60%.
The New Educational Accountability: Understanding the Landscape of Teacher Evaluation in the Post-NCLB Era

AbstractIn the past five years, teacher evaluation has become a preferred policy lever at the federal, state, and local levels. Revisions to teacher evaluation systems have made teachers individually accountable for student achievement to a greater extent than ever before. We describe and analyze the components, processes, and consequences embedded in new teacher evaluation policies in all fifty states, the twenty-five largest school districts, and Washington, DC. We contextualize these policies by basing our analysis in prior research on teacher evaluation, and examining key comparisons between state and district policies, including their treatment of teachers in tested and untested subjects with career and beginning teachers. We find notable differences in how states and the largest districts have structured evaluation policies for all teachers and, in particular, for early career teachers compared with their more veteran counterparts, and for teachers in nontested grades and subjects compared with thos...
Transient Kinetic Analysis of Hydrogen Sulfide Oxidation Catalyzed by Human Sulfide Quinone Oxidoreductase

The first step in the mitochondrial sulfide oxidation pathway is catalyzed by sulfide quinone oxidoreductase (SQR), which belongs to the family of flavoprotein disulfide oxidoreductases. During the catalytic cycle, the flavin cofactor is intermittently reduced by sulfide and oxidized by ubiquinone, linking H2S oxidation to the electron transfer chain and to energy metabolism. Human SQR can use multiple thiophilic acceptors, including sulfide, sulfite, and glutathione, to form as products, hydrodisulfide, thiosulfate, and glutathione persulfide, respectively. In this study, we have used transient kinetics to examine the mechanism of the flavin reductive half-reaction and have determined the redox potential of the bound flavin to be −123 ± 7 mV. We observe formation of an unusually intense charge-transfer (CT) complex when the enzyme is exposed to sulfide and unexpectedly, when it is exposed to sulfite. In the canonical reaction, sulfide serves as the sulfur donor and sulfite serves as the acceptor, forming thiosulfate. We show that thiosulfate is also formed when sulfide is added to the sulfite-induced CT intermediate, representing a new mechanism for thiosulfate formation. The CT complex is formed at a kinetically competent rate by reaction with sulfide but not with sulfite. Our study indicates that sulfide addition to the active site disulfide is preferred under normal turnover conditions. However, under pathological conditions when sulfite concentrations are high, sulfite could compete with sulfide for addition to the active site disulfide, leading to attenuation of SQR activity and to an alternate route for thiosulfate formation.
Examination of the reliability and validity of the Mindful Eating Questionnaire in pregnant women.

Abstract Objective Mindfulness is theorized to affect the eating behavior and weight of pregnant women, yet no measure has been validated during pregnancy. Methods This study qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated the reliability and validity of the Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ) in overweight and obese pregnant women. Participants completed focus groups and cognitive interviews. The MEQ was administered twice to measure test-retest reliability. The Eating Inventory (EI) and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) were administered to assess convergent validity, and the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS) assessed discriminant validity. Results Participants were 20 ± 8 weeks gestation (mean ± SD), 30 ± 2 years old, and 55% were obese. The MEQ total score had good test-retest reliability (r = .85). The total score internal consistency reliability was poor (Cronbach's α = .56). The external cues subscale (ECS) was not internally consistent (α = .31). Other subscales ranged from α = .59–.68. When the ECS was excluded, the MEQ total score internal consistency was acceptable (α = .62). Convergent validity was supported by the MEQ total score (with and without ECS) correlating significantly with the MAAS and the EI disinhibition and hunger subscales. Discriminant validity of the MEQ was supported by the MEQ and NEWS total scores and subscales not being significantly correlated. The quantitative results were supported by the qualitative context and content analysis. Conclusion With the exception of the ECS, the MEQ's reliability and validity was supported in pregnant women, and most of the subscales were more robust in pregnant women than in the original sample of healthy adults. The MEQ's use with overweight and obese pregnant women is supported.
Miscellaneous Issues in Computer Graphics for Modeling

This chapter represents two important computer graphics techniques used in modeling software and hardware.
Influence of the Grain Size of Fully Lamellar Structure on the Mechanical Properties of a TiAl Based Alloy

A preliminary investigation was conducted for developing a thermomechanical procedure to refine the lamellar colony size of a fully lamellar structure and improve the balance of the mechanical properties of TiAl based alloys. The main experimental results are as follows: 1) The lamellar colony size in a fully lamellar structure can be reduced to 50 μm using a proper thermomechanical procedure. 2) The influence of colony size on the compressive yield stress of the fully lamellar structure is complex. In the large colony size region, the yield stress can be described by the Hall-Petch relation. In the small colony size region, the yield stress decreases as the colony size decreases. 3) The TiAl alloy, with a fine fully lamellar structure, has the best balance of tensile properties and fracture toughness.
SPIDERS Bi-Directional Charging Station Interconnection Testing

The Smart Power Infrastructure Demonstration for Energy Reliability and Security (SPIDERS) program is a multi-year Department of Defense-Department of Energy (DOE) collaborative effort that will demonstrate integration of renewables into island-able microgrids using on-site generation control, demand response, and energy storage with robust security features at multiple installations. Fort Carson, Colorado, will be the initial development and demonstration site for use of plug-in electric vehicles as energy storage (also known as vehicle-to-grid or V2G).
CCAAT/Enhancer-binding Protein α (C/EBPα) Is Important for Osteoclast Differentiation and Activity

CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBPα) can appoint mouse bone marrow (MBM) cells to the osteoclast (OC) lineage for osteoclastogenesis. However, whether C/EBPα is also involved in OC differentiation and activity is unknown. Here we demonstrated that C/EBPα overexpression in MBM cells can promote OC differentiation and strongly induce the expression of the OC genes encoding the nuclear factor of activated T-cells, c1 (NFATc1), cathepsin K (Cstk), and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5 (TRAP) with receptor activator of NF-κB ligand-evoked OC lineage priming. Furthermore, while investigating the specific stage of OC differentiation that is regulated by C/EBPα, our gene overexpression studies revealed that, although C/EBPα plays a stronger role in the early stage of OC differentiation, it is also involved in the later stage. Accordingly, C/EBPα knockdown drastically inhibits osteoclastogenesis and markedly abrogates the expression of NFATc1, Cstk, and TRAP during OC differentiation. Consistently, C/EBPα silencing revealed that, although lack of C/EBPα affects all stages of OC differentiation, it has more impact on the early stage. Importantly, we showed that ectopic expression of rat C/EBPα restores osteoclastogenesis in C/EBPα-depleted MBM cells. Furthermore, our subsequent functional assays showed that C/EBPα exhibits a dispensable role on actin ring formation by mature OCs but is critically involved in bone resorption by stimulating extracellular acidification and regulating cell survival. We revealed that C/EBPα is important for receptor activator of NF-κB ligand-induced Akt activation, which is crucial for OC survival. Collectively, these results indicate that C/EBPα functions throughout osteoclastogenesis as well as in OC function. This study provides additional understanding of the roles of C/EBPα in OC biology.
Correlates of Mental Health Service Use Among Young Adults With Mental Illness: Results From the National Survey on Drug Use and Health

Objective:This study examined correlates of use of outpatient and inpatient mental health services and psychotropic medication in a large, nationally representative sample of young adults ages 18–26 with mental illness (N=22,600).Methods:Data were from the 2008–2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual nationally representative survey of the civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. population. Separate logistic regression models examined past-year use of three mental health service types (outpatient services, inpatient services, and psychotropic medication). Correlates included demographic characteristics, factors developmentally relevant to young adults, and general medical and mental health status.Results:Within this sample of young adults with mental illness, 20.4% used outpatient services, 3.6% used inpatient services, and 25.4% used psychotropic medication. Variables associated with use of one or more types of mental health services included being female (outpatient and medication), one to tw...
Three-dimensional direct cell patterning in collagen hydrogels with near-infrared femtosecond laser

We report a methodology for three-dimensional (3D) cell patterning in a hydrogel in situ. Gold nanorods within a cell-encapsulating collagen hydrogel absorb a focused near-infrared femtosecond laser beam, locally denaturing the collagen and forming channels, into which cells migrate, proliferate, and align in 3D. Importantly, pattern resolution is tunable based on writing speed and laser power, and high cell viability (>90%) is achieved using higher writing speeds and lower laser intensities. Overall, this patterning technique presents a flexible direct-write method that is applicable in tissue engineering systems where 3D alignment is critical (such as vascular, neural, cardiac, and muscle tissue).
Development of Disability Measures for Surveys: The Washington Group Extended Set on Functioning

The first task of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics was to develop a set of questions for use on national censuses. Constraints inherent in the census format placed limits the number and complexity of questions included. It was decided that for each domain of functioning included in that short set, only a single question could be asked. While in some cases a single question can capture all, or most, of the information that is needed to define the continuum of functioning in a domain (seeing for example); other domains of functioning are more complex and require additional questions in order to allow for the establishment of a finer gradient of difficulty from minor to severe.
Feed My Heart or Eat It: miR-22 Decides.

If we live well, eat right, do not smoke, and by so doing avoid the usual diseases that end life prematurely, we will get old. More of us are doing so every year. Thus, for selfish and scientific reasons, the physical, biochemical, and molecular changes provoked by aging merit attention. A
Behavior and conservation, conservation and behavior

Links between animal behavior and anthropogenically driven environmental change fall into three separate categories: descriptions of changes in behavior in response to human activities, animal behavior research that may have use in captive breeding and reintroduction programs, and behavioral solutions to the major concerns of conservation practitioners. Only within the context of the third category does animal behavior have a chance of contributing significantly to solving conservation problems. If animal behaviorists can devise practical solutions to habitat fragmentation, exploitation, pollution, invasive species or climate change, they will have opportunities to make real contributions to conservation.
Evaluation of Basal Serum or Plasma Cortisol Concentrations for the Diagnosis of Hypoadrenocorticism in Dogs.

Background Previous studies that included limited numbers of affected dogs have suggested basal cortisol concentrations ≤55 nmol/L (2 μg/dL) are sensitive, but nonspecific, for a diagnosis of hypoadrenocorticism. A detailed assessment of the diagnostic utility of basal cortisol concentrations is warranted. Hypothesis/Objectives To evaluate the utility of basal cortisol concentrations for the diagnosis of hypoadrenocorticism in a large number of dogs, including those with and without serum electrolyte abnormalities. Animals Five hundred and twenty-two dogs, including 163 dogs with hypoadrenocorticism, 351 dogs with nonadrenal gland illness, and 8 dogs with equivocal results. Methods Retrospective study. Basal and post-ACTH cortisol concentrations and sodium and potassium concentrations were collected from medical records. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed for basal cortisol concentrations by standard methodologies. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were determined for various cut-points. Results The area under the ROC curve was 0.988 and was similarly excellent regardless of serum electrolyte concentrations. At the most discriminatory cut-point of 22 nmol/L (0.8 μg/dL), sensitivity and specificity were 96.9 and 95.7%, respectively. A basal cortisol concentration of ≤55 nmol/L (2 μg/dL) resulted in a sensitivity of 99.4%. Conversely, a basal cortisol concentration of ≤5.5 nmol/L (0.19 μg/dL) resulted in a specificity of 99.1%. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Similar to findings in previous studies, basal cortisol concentrations >55 nmol/L (2 μg/dL) are useful in excluding a diagnosis of hypoadrenocorticism. Interestingly, excellent specificities and positive predictive values were observed at lower cut-point cortisol concentrations.
Routine use of sentinel lymph node surgery in patients undergoing prophylactic mastectomy: A decision analysis model

607 Background: Patients with invasive carcinoma identified following prophylactic mastectomy (PM) require axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) for nodal staging as standard surgical treatment. Si...
Rewiring the taste system

In mammals, taste buds typically contain 50-100 tightly packed taste-receptor cells (TRCs), representing all five basic qualities: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami. Notably, mature taste cells have life spans of only 5-20 days and, consequently, are constantly replenished by differentiation of taste stem cells. Given the importance of establishing and maintaining appropriate connectivity between TRCs and their partner ganglion neurons (that is, ensuring that a labelled line from sweet TRCs connects to sweet neurons, bitter TRCs to bitter neurons, sour to sour, and so on), we examined how new connections are specified to retain fidelity of signal transmission. Here we show that bitter and sweet TRCs provide instructive signals to bitter and sweet target neurons via different guidance molecules (SEMA3A and SEMA7A). We demonstrate that targeted expression of SEMA3A or SEMA7A in different classes of TRCs produces peripheral taste systems with miswired sweet or bitter cells. Indeed, we engineered mice with bitter neurons that now responded to sweet tastants, sweet neurons that responded to bitter or sweet neurons responding to sour stimuli. Together, these results uncover the basic logic of the wiring of the taste system at the periphery, and illustrate how a labelled-line sensory circuit preserves signalling integrity despite rapid and stochastic turnover of receptor cells.
The Global Family Patents of Multinational Corporations

Building on insights from the multi-market competition and knowledge management literatures, this paper explores how firm and competitor scope of activities influences the timing and extent of knowledge diffusion by MNCs. Using a newly created panel of US MNCs and their worldwide operations that I have merged with the Derwent global family patent data, I identify three mutually exclusive types of family patents based on when (or whether) firm knowledge is diffused, including: single-country patents, foreign equivalent family patents and born global family patents. Comparisons across the three family patent categories show that higher firm and competitor scope encourages firms to diffuse their knowledge more quickly, but also reveals that the category with the quickest diffusion (born global patents) are on average less valuable than single country patents. Overall, this paper contributes to our understanding of the global knowledge generation and global knowledge diffusion by providing a comprehensive loo...
The Unromantic West: Labor, capital, and struggle

A gang of historians has gunned down the “romantic West.” They have dismissed the notion of the West as a frontier of opportunity for all comers. The American West has been redefined as an arena of struggle involving complex relations of class, gender, ethnicity, and race. Western work camps and company towns existed as extensions of a global economy centered on the eastern United States. From the mid-19th century through the first decades of the 20th century, capital and people flowed into the West from Europe, Asia, and Mexico. In this internal periphery of U.S. capitalism, workers experienced the same type of exploitation and engaged in the same struggles as their brethren in other parts of the United States. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in the coalfields of Colorado. The work camps and company towns that archaeologists excavate were loci of struggle, and historians cannot claim to understand them without considering these conflicts.
Single Coronary Ostium in the Aorta

When there is a single coronary arterial ostium in the Ao, two anatomic possibilities exist. The first is that the entire coronary arterial system arises from the Ao, a condition that may be termed single coronary artery.
Online porous graphic carbon chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry for post-translational modification analysis.

RATIONALE Porous graphic carbon chromatography (PGC) has a different mechanism in the retention of tryptic peptides compared with reversed-phase chromatography and in this study we show that coupling PGC with tandem mass spectrometry offer advantages for the quantitation of phosphorylation stoichiometry and characterization of site-specific glycosylation. METHODS Digests of protein standards (horse myoglobin, bovine fetuin and β-casein) were analyzed with a capillary liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) system by coupling an Agilent 1100 HPLC system to a Synapt G2-Si HDMS (Waters). Peptides were separated using a HyperCarb PGC column (300 μm i.d. × 100 mm) packed with 3 μm particles. MS/MS data were collected in data-dependent mode and three MS/MS scans were acquired after the full MS scan. RAW data were transformed to .mgf by PLGS (Waters) and searched against the Swissprot database by Mascot. Chromatograms and MS/MS spectra of identified compounds were extracted with Masslynx (Waters) and imported to Origin for analysis. Glycan composition and peptide sequence were manually annotated. RESULTS PGC/MS/MS enabled accurate quantitation of the stoichiometry of specific phosphorylation sites from β-casein by efficient separation of the phosphopeptide and its non-phosphorylated counterpart, which cannot be achieved by reversed-phase chromatography. PGC/MS/MS also enabled comprehensive characterization of protein sialoglycosylation as isomeric glycopeptides with different combinations of α2-3- and α2-6-linked sialic acids can be separated and the ratios of each combination were verified by exoglycosidase digestion. CONCLUSIONS PGC has demonstrated superior separation of peptides with phosphorylation and glycosylation and can be used as an alternative in the proteomic characterization of post-translational modifications (PTMs) by polar groups.
Racial and Socioeconomic Factors Associated with the Use of Complementary and Alternative Modalities for Pain in Cancer Outpatients: An Integrative Review.

Abstract Objectives Racial and ethnic disparities in pain management are widely documented in the United States. The 2016 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for opioid prescribing have generated new imperatives for using complementary and alternative medicine approaches (CAM) to manage chronic pain, including cancer pain. This review's purpose was to explore the prevalence of CAM use for cancer-related pain among racial and ethnic minorities and to organize these findings according to the CAM modalities proposed by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). Design An integrative review of the literature published between 2007 and 2017. Data Sources PubMed and SCOPUS databases (2007-2017). Review/Analysis Methods Articles were included if they engaged in explicit analysis of racial or ethnic differences in CAM use for cancer pain in the outpatient setting, yielding 13 articles for final analysis. Results and Conclusions Overall, CAM use for any modality ranged from 51% to 83%. Mind–body therapies were reported most, and energy therapies the least. Differences in CAM use were most often attributable to socioeconomic status (SES), with those of higher SES associated with greater use of practitioner-assisted CAM therapies and those of lower SES with greater use of free therapies. This difference has implications for achieving adequate and consistent pain relief among subgroups of patients with cancer. This review also identifies a literature gap regarding racial/ethnic disparities in access to CAM for cancer pain, and a need for validated measures to assess CAM use.
A review of the threat of oil exploitation to mangrove ecosystem: Insights from Niger Delta, Nigeria

Abstract Mangroves supply various goods and provide invaluable ecological services to humanity. They serve as habitat to different species of fishes, provide a variety of plant products, improve water quality, provide fish and shellfish for local communities, ensure coastal stabilization, provide food chain support for near-shore fisheries, and undertake carbon sequestration. They also serve as source of fuel, medicinal ornaments, and honey for the local population. Despite these socio-economic and environmental benefits of mangroves, its depletion is a continuous practice in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. This is caused primarily by anthropogenic activities, including over exploitation, oil spills, and crude oil exploratory activities. These activities have destroyed livelihood structures, affected global warming control measures, and affected the coastal system stabilization of the Niger Delta region. This paper reviews existing literature and analysed identified gaps. The review indicated a lack of participatory framework for mangrove conservation in coastal communities in the Niger Delta despite the desperate need given the level of mangrove degradation in the region. In addition, mangrove conservation policies exclude community participation and negates co-management frameworks for mangrove conservation and protection in the region. This paper reviews the impacts of land contamination on mangrove ecosystems and socio-economic activities of local communities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. A framework for mangrove conservation in the coastal communities is also proposed, with emphasis on the need to develop the capacity of a critical mass of locals and provide low-to medium-level manpower in mangrove restoration in the Niger Delta region.
Adverse events following quadrivalent meningococcal diphtheria toxoid conjugate vaccine (Menactra®) reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), 2005-2016.

Abstract Background Post marketing safety evaluations of quadrivalent meningococcal diphtheria-toxoid conjugate vaccine (MenACWY-D) have focused on post-vaccination risk of Guillain Barre syndrome (GBS), adverse events (AEs) after maternal vaccination, and comparative studies with the newer quadrivalent meningococcal CRM197 conjugate vaccine (MenACWY-CRM). To provide an updated general safety assessment, we reviewed reports of AEs following MenACWY-D submitted to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Methods VAERS is a national spontaneous reporting vaccine safety surveillance system co-administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. We searched the VAERS database for U.S. reports of AEs after administration of MenACWY-D from January 2005 through June 2016. We conducted clinical reviews of serious reports after MenACWY-D administered alone, reports of MenACWY-D use during pregnancy, and reports of selected pre-specified outcomes. We screened for disproportionate reporting of AEs after MenACWY-D using empirical Bayesian data mining. Results VAERS received 13,075 U.S. reports after receipt of MenACWY-D; most (86%) described vaccination in adolescents, were classified as non-serious (94%), and described AEs consistent with pre-licensure studies. We did not find any evidence that reported deaths were related to vaccination. In serious reports, GBS and meningococcal infection were the most commonly reported medical conditions. Many reports of MenACWY-D use during pregnancy described inadvertent vaccination; most (61%) did not report any AE. Conclusions Findings from our comprehensive review of reports to VAERS following MenACWY-D are consistent with data from pre-licensure studies and provide further reassurance on the safety of MenACWY-D.
Solitude Is Conducive to Work and Contemplation

The self-isolation and lockdowns that were forced by the Covid-19 pandemic brought life to a standstill and had a devastating effect on education, travel, business, and our day to day lives. But mathematical research being contemplative in nature, would not have been affected since solitude is conducive to contemplation. I describe briefly how my own work continued at a steady pace during this year of isolation.
A Preliminary Thermal Model of the Conduction-Cooled SCAPE Cryostat

The SCAPE (Superconducting Arbitrarily Polarizing Emitter) undulator is under development at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) as a part of the APS upgrade at Argonne National Laboratory. This new undulator requires a cryostat to handle the heat load on the beam chamber at a level of 182 W – much higher than in APS planar superconducting undulators. These challenges require careful thermal analysis of the SCAPE cryostat. Despite relatively large heat loads, a cryostat that does not contain any cryogen is a desirable option. Based on the experience on demo scale tests on SCAPE, a cryocooler-based cryogen-free cryostat is proposed. A detailed thermal model of such a cryostat has been created in Thermal Desktop. This paper presents the calculated heat load and temperatures profile of this cryostat under the static and dynamic heat loads
Inference without compatibility: Using exponential weighting for inference on a parameter of a linear model

We consider hypotheses testing problems for three parameters in high-dimensional linear models with minimal sparsity assumptions of their type but without any compatibility conditions. Under this framework, we construct the first n-consistent estimators for low-dimensional coefficients, the signal strength, and the noise level. We support our results using numerical simulations and provide comparisons with other estimators.
IL-4 Promotes the Migration of Circulating B Cells to the Spleen and Increases Splenic B Cell Survival

We report that IL-4 causes a redistribution of B cells and modestly increases B cell life span. Intravenous injection of a long-acting formulation of IL-4 induces increases in both spleen cell number and the percentage of splenic B cells. These effects are observed within 1 day of IL-4 administration and plateau after approximately 3 days if IL-4 treatment is continued. The increase in splenic B cell number is IL-4 dose dependent, CD4+ T cell independent, FcgammaRII/FcgammaRIII independent, and Stat6 independent. Decreases in the number of B cells in the blood and the percentage of mature B cells in the bone marrow, concomitant with the increase in splenic B cell number, suggest that redistribution of circulating B cells to the spleen is partially responsible for IL-4 induction of splenic B cell hyperplasia. Considerable reduction in the effect of 5 days of IL-4 treatment on splenic B cell number when B lymphopoiesis is blocked with anti-IL-7 mAb suggests that generation of new B cells is also involved in IL-4-induced splenic B cell hyperplasia. 5-Bromo-2'-deoxyuridine labeling experiments demonstrate that IL-4 modestly prolongs the life span of newly generated splenic B cells, and experiments that measure B cell HSA (CD24) expression as an indicator of B cell age suggest that IL-4 may also prolong the life span of mature splenic B cells. Thus, IL-4 increases splenic B cell number through two Stat6-independent effects: increased net migration of circulating B cells to the spleen and increased B cell life span. Both effects may promote Ab responses to a systemic Ag challenge.
Isolation and Identification of β-Lysine as an Intermediate in Lysine Fermentation

Abstract Clostridium SB4 ferments lysine to acetate, butyrate, and 2 moles of ammonia. The fermenting system appears to be typical of those studied previously (1–7), except that α-ketoglutarate is required for fermentation by cell extracts rather than pyruvate. The omission of all required cofactors except α-ketoglutarate and coenzyme A results in the accumulation of a basic amino acid. The amino acid has been isolated in gram quantities and shown to be l-β,e-diaminocaproic acid (l-β-lysine). The conversion of l-lysine to l-β-lysine is readily reversible; the equilibrium constant (k = [β-lysine]/ [lysine]) is 5.7. The level of α-ketoglutarate influences both the rate and extent of conversion of lysine to β-lysine, but the system does not require substrate levels of α-ketoglutarate. Pyridoxal phosphate can be substituted for α-ketoglutarate when crude cell extracts are used, and α-ketoglutarate can be deleted from reaction mixtures without loss of activity when dialyzed extracts are used. A sulfhydryl compound, i.e. glutathione or mercaptoethanol, and coenzyme A are required for maximal rates of conversion of lysine to β-lysine when dialyzed cell extracts are used. Pyridoxal phosphate has a stimulating effect with such extracts. β-Lysine is fermented more rapidly than lysine by Clostridium SB4 extracts, and the addition of lysine does not inhibit β-lysine fermentation. Apparently β-lysine lies on or very close to the path of lysine fermentation.
The acute effect of hysterectomy on ovarian function.

Abstract The acute effect of abdominal and vaginal hysterectomy on the ovarian production of estradiol-17-beta (E 2 ) and progesterone (P) was studied in a group of patients undergoing hysterectomy for various gynecologic indications. Plasma levels of steroids as well as gonadotropins (FSH and LH) were measured by RIA. There was a significant but transient drop of plasma E 2 during the follicular phase and of plasma E 2 and P during the luteal phase, following hysterectomy. No significant variations in the steroid plasma levels were found in a control group of patients undergoing laparoscopy for diagnostic purposes. No changes were noted in either group in the plasma levels of gonadotropins. The changes seen appear to be related to the surgical manipulation in the ovarian region rather than to the type of hysterectomy performed or the sress of surgery.
Abstract 221: Regional Vulnerability within White Matter tracts to White Matter Hyperintensities: a Diffusion Tensor Imaging Tractography Study

Background: Characterizing the impact of cerebral white matter (WM) damage on age related cognitive decline is of growing interest. White matter hyperintensities (WMH) and reduced microstructural WM integrity, as expressed by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), have been associated with increased risk of clinically cognitive decline in the elderly, but the regional vulnerability within certain WM tracts to WMH is not well understood. Characterizing the implication and interactions of microstructural integrity and WMH within specific WM tracts would further elucidate mechanisms of cognitive decline in normal aging. Methods: 410 cognitively normal individuals from the Offspring Framingham Heart Study, aged 72.5±7.5 ([54.2; 104.9]), received a comprehensive clinical evaluation and brain MRI including FLAIR and DTI sequences. WM tractography was performed from DTI using FSL tools, resulting in 27 fiber tracts maps for each subject. WMHs were detected on FLAIR scans using a standardized protocol and coregistered to the subject DTI space. The mean fractional anisotrophy (mFA) within each tract was computed. Superimposition of WMH masks onto fiber tracts maps was used to calculate the overlap ratio of WMH (WMHor) within each tract. For each tract, mFA was regressed against the age and tract size and resulting residuals related to WMHor using a linear regression model. Results: The highest rates of WMHor were found within the thalamic radiations (range: [0- 28%]) and the inferior longitudinal fasciculi ([0- 29%]). Lower mFA was independently associated with larger WMHor within almost all association and projection fibers (p values<0.05). Correcting for the overall WMH burden did not significantly alter the results. Discussion: Regional mean FA has been previously associated with the overall WMH burden. We extended this finding by showing that, independently of the overall WM injury, microstructural WM integrity was associated with WMH within specific fiber tracts. Further investigations are needed to detangle the impact of specific tract disruption from that of more generalized subtle WM injury on cognitive decline.
Multi-agent Fuzzy Logic Resource Manager

A fuzzy logic expert system has been developed that automatically allocates resources in real-time over a collection of autonomous agents. Genetic algorithm based optimization is conducted to determine the form of the membership functions for the fuzzy root concepts. The resource manager is made up of four trees, the isolated platform tree, the multi-platform tree, the fuzzy parameter selection tree and the fuzzy strategy tree. The isolated platform tree provides a fuzzy decision tree that allows an individual platform to respond to a threat. The multi-platform tree allows a group of platforms to respond to a threat in a collaborative self-organizing fashion. The fuzzy parameter selection tree is designed to make optimal selections of root concept parameters. The strategy tree is a fuzzy tree that an agent uses to try to predict the behavior of an enemy. Finally, the five approaches to validating the expert system are discussed.
Quiet start and autotasking for PARMELA

The simulation code PARMELA has been widely used in the accelerator community for many years. Because of its simplicity, it is still used in many laboratories. When used to simulate the space charge in high current density electron bunches however, the results for the emittance and the other beam parameters can differ considerably from those obtained with PIC codes. This discrepancy comes in part from the noise introduced by the point to point space charge calculation used in PARMELA, when the particle distribution is not uniform. Here we present a new loading scheme which makes the initial distribution in the phase spaces more uniform and reduces greatly the noise introduced by artificial local bunching. At the same time, the code has been slightly modified in order to permit autotasking and vectorization on CRAY computers; the speed up factor obtained for the calculation time is proportional to 4 times the number of CPU available on the computer. Preliminary-simulations of a 17 GHz RF Gun with the PIC code MAGIC and PARMELA show relatively good agreement considering that PARMELA does not handle Wakefields and radiations. >
Diels–alder polymer of N‐(2‐anthryl)maleimide

Preparation par trois methodes: chauffage direct dans le toluene, reaction a temperature ambiante en presence d'un acide de Lewis ou indirectement par reaction de l'amino-2 anthracene avec l'anhydride maleique dans le DMF a haute temperature
Human Dorsal and Ventral Auditory Streams Subserve Rehearsal-Based and Echoic Processes during Verbal Working Memory

To hear a sequence of words and repeat them requires sensory-motor processing and something more-temporary storage. We investigated neural mechanisms of verbal memory by using fMRI and a task designed to tease apart perceptually based ("echoic") memory from phonological-articulatory memory. Sets of two- or three-word pairs were presented bimodally, followed by a cue indicating from which modality (auditory or visual) items were to be retrieved and rehearsed over a delay. Although delay-period activation in the planum temporale (PT) was insensible to the source modality and showed sustained delay-period activity, the superior temporal gyrus (STG) activated more vigorously when the retrieved items had arrived to the auditory modality and showed transient delay-period activity. Functional connectivity analysis revealed two topographically distinct fronto-temporal circuits, with STG co-activating more strongly with ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and PT co-activating more strongly with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These argue for separate contributions of ventral and dorsal auditory streams in verbal working memory.