cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Orthologs of the archaeal isopentenyl phosphate kinase regulate terpenoid production in plants

Terpenoids, compounds found in all domains of life, represent the largest class of natural products with essential roles in their hosts. All terpenoids originate from the five-carbon building blocks, isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and its isomer dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP), which can be derived from the mevalonic acid (MVA) and methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathways. The absence of two components of the MVA pathway from archaeal genomes led to the discovery of an alternative MVA pathway with isopentenyl phosphate kinase (IPK) catalyzing the final step, the formation of IPP. Despite the fact that plants contain the complete classical MVA pathway, IPK homologs were identified in every sequenced green plant genome. Here, we show that IPK is indeed a member of the plant terpenoid metabolic network. It is localized in the cytosol and is coexpressed with MVA pathway and downstream terpenoid network genes. In planta, IPK acts in parallel with the MVA pathway and plays an important role in regulating the formation of both MVA and MEP pathway-derived terpenoid compounds by controlling the ratio of IP/DMAP to IPP/DMAPP. IP and DMAP can also competitively inhibit farnesyl diphosphate synthase. Moreover, we discovered a metabolically available carbon source for terpenoid formation in plants that is accessible via IPK overexpression. This metabolite reactivation approach offers new strategies for metabolic engineering of terpenoid production.
Counting states of near extremal black holes

A six-dimensional black string is considered and its Bekenstein-Hawking entropy computed. It is shown that to leading order above extremality this entropy precisely counts the number of string states with the given energy and charges. This identification implies that Hawking decay of the near-extremal black string can be analyzed in string perturbation theory and is perturbatively unitary.
Employee rating systems and innovation

Creativity is the production of novel, appropriate ideas to a problem or opportunity presented, in any realm of human activity from science, to arts, to education, to business, to everyday life. People will be most creative when they are primarily intrinsically motivated by working on some thing they like, involving, exciting, and satisfying. About what they do, as well as with the extrinsically motivated like expected evaluation, surveillance, competition with peers, dictates from superiors, or the promise of rewards. Work environment , which is strongly influenced by management at all levels, can make the difference between the production of new, useful ideas for innovative business growth and the continuance of old, progressively less useful routines. Organization motivation, resources and management practices, appraisal system are the main components of organization creativity and innovation systems. This paper studies the impact of the appraisal system on employee's creativity in high technology corporations. The outcome recommendations depend on analysis of literature reviews and five interviews have been conducted with managers and a veteran engineer.
Paleohydrologic reconstruction based on n-alkane distributions in ombrotrophic peat

Proxies such as plant macrofossils, humification indices and testate amoebae have been developed to reconstruct past hydrological variability in ombrotrophic peatlands. Reconstructions based on these approaches have resulted in records of decadal- to centennial-scale moisture variability in regions of North America and elsewhere. Although the various peatland moisture proxies generally show significant temporal covariance, multi-proxy approaches can refine knowledge of the multivariate nature of climate change and increase confidence in interpretations. Here, we demonstrate that ratios of the abundances of n-alkanes provide a new and efficient way of reconstructing past peatland surface moisture change. We found strong correlations among n-alkane indices, humification indices and testate amoebae-inferred water table depths from a single core. Biogeochemical proxies can be used in paleohydrological reconstructions for ombrotrophic bogs to provide a new and complementary source of data from these under-utilized paleoclimate archives.
The Medical Analysis of Child Sexual Abuse Images

Analysis of child sexual abuse images, commonly referred to as pornography, requires a familiarity with the sexual maturation rating of children and an understanding of growth and development parameters. This article explains barriers that exist in working in this area of child abuse, the differences between subjective and objective analyses, methods used in working with this form of contraband, and recommendations that analysts document their findings in a format that allows for verbal descriptions of the images so that the content will be reflected in legal proceedings should there exist an aversion to visual review. Child sexual abuse images are a digital crime scene, and analysis requires a careful approach to assure that all victims may be identified.
Hybrid matrix minors from tableau applied to a multiport generalization of NDR related to stability

Grassmann coordinates and a generalization of Cramer's rule are used to express every minor of every well-defined hybrid H or other description matrix of a linear t-ported network as a quotient of tableau minors. We give a multiple port generalization Green and Willson's theory that relates the sign of differential resistance of one inserted port to how the DC operating point potential stability changes when the (short or open) termination of the inserted port is changed. The determinant of the hybrid matrix |H| here generalizes resistance. Second, a universal topological formula for all the miners of H (and other descriptions) is given. Matroid theory simplifies some proofs.
Topical Microbicides to Prevent HIV: Clinical Drug Development Challenges

Microbicides, substances applied topically to prevent sexual HIV infection, are needed to empower receptive sexual partners with effective prevention methods. Several large microbicide trials, however, failed to demonstrate efficacy, thus motivating a reevaluation of the current microbicide development paradigm, which has been largely empirically based. Microbicide use occurs in a highly complex environment involving multi-level interactions, behavioral and biochemical, among host, virus, and drug, yet many details of these interactions remain unknown. Fundamental information regarding virus and drug distribution over time in sexually receptive body compartments that is necessary to design a microbicide able to outdistance and outlast the virus is largely absent. Recent efforts have been made to establish a simple conceptual framework for obtaining the knowledge that is likely to inform a more mechanistic, model-based development paradigm. These efforts have also advanced the development of numerous methodological approaches to obtain the knowledge needed to improve microbicide development.
Effects of Fire, Competition and Soil Disturbances on Regeneration of a Carnivorous Plant (Drosera capillaris)

Abstract Although chronically low soil fertility is widely recognized as an important selection pressure on carnivorous plants, the effects of other potentially important selection pressures, such as natural disturbances, have largely been ignored. In this study, I examined the effects of fire and removal of live plants and litter on seedling establishment of Drosera capillaris (pink sundew), a small insectivorous plant common to wet, nutrient-poor pine savannas of the southeastern United States. I also examined the effects of soil disturbances associated with crayfish burrows on mortality. Fires occurring during the winter of 1996/1997 increased the density, growth and establishment of seedlings during the growing season of 1997. In addition to fires, local removal of established plants and their associated litter greatly increased seedling density and growth within savannas. The proportion of rosettes that flowered at sites not burned recently (>1 year before) was nearly twice that at sites burned more ...
Managing Your Own Mood Lability: Use of Mood Stabilizers and Antipsychotics in Pregnancy

The management of psychiatric disorders during the perinatal period can be difficult; psychiatric decompensation during pregnancy can affect not only the mother but also the fetus and neonate. It is imperative that psychiatric providers proactively discuss pregnancy planning, and be able to thoughtfully weigh the risks of untreated psychiatric illness and psychotropic medications in pregnancy and breast-feeding. With the exception of valproate and carbamazepine, several mood stabilizers and antipsychotics can be utilized during pregnancy with minimal risk to the fetus and neonate in terms of major malformations; there is a growing body of evidence regarding the risk profile of use of these medications in pregnancy. Key Points Preconception planning is very helpful when it can be done; consider discussion and documentation of risks at time of administration of psychotropic medications for any reproductive-aged women, regardless of plans for conception. Continued psychiatric stability through the perinatal period is imperative; the risks of an untreated psychiatric disorder are just as important, if not more so important, than the risks of psychotropic medication exposure. Exposure to one psychotropic medication is safer than exposure to multiple medications. Utilize lowest effective dose of medication; most risks are not dose dependent, therefore would typically prefer higher dose of medication, rather than emergence of psychiatric symptoms, in order to avoid exposure of the fetus to both psychotropic medications and psychiatric symptoms. General recommendations are to avoid valproate and carbamazepine in reproductive-aged women. With close monitoring, lithium can be safely utilized in pregnancy. Preliminary data regarding use of atypical antipsychotics is reassuring in regards to major malformations; however, larger numbers of participants are needed to provide more complete reproductive safety data with this class. Clearly document risks of an untreated psychiatric illness as well as risks of psychotropic medication management to the mother and developing fetus/neonate.
Kinetic analysis of electrogenic 2 Na+-1 H+ antiport in crustacean hepatopancreas

Na+ uptake by short-circuited brush-border membrane vesicles of the hepatopancreatic epithelium from the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii was Cl- independent, amiloride sensitive, and stimulated by a transmembrane proton gradient ([H+]i greater than [H+]o). Na+ influx (3-s uptake) was a sigmoidal function of [Na]o (2.5-150 mM), when pHi = 6.0, pHo = 8.0, and followed the Hill equation for binding cooperativity [maximal Na+ influx (Jm) = 140.6 nmol mg-1s-1; affinity constant (K') = 82.2 mM Na+; Hill coefficient (n) = 2.07]. Influx kinetic analyses at physiological conditions suggested two external cation-binding sites shared by Na+ and H+ (proton dissociation constant Pk1 = 5.7; Pk2 = 4.0) and a single internal cation site used only by H+ (Pk = 6.5). Amiloride was a competitive inhibitor of Na+ transport at both external binding sites (Ki1 = 50 microM; Ki2 = 1,520 microM). Electrogenic Na+-H+ exchange by these vesicles was demonstrated using an equilibrium-shift method of analysis and a transmembrane electrical potential difference as the only driving force for transport. In addition, electrogenic net Na+ influx (3-s uptake) was observed in vesicles loaded with 5 mM 22Na at pH 7.0 and exposed to media containing several 22Na or proton concentrations. Results suggest the following exchange model: low [Na]o, (1 Na+ and 1 H+)-1 H+; high [Na+]o, 2 Na+-1 H+. This antiport mechanism may account for two major functional operations of the gastrointestinal tract in these animals: 1) proton secretion against considerable concentration gradients leading to stomach luminal acidification, and 2) Na+ absorption from lumen to cytoplasm potentially making a significant contribution to organismic ion balance.
Management of Postblepharoplasty Dry Eye

Postblepharoplasty dry eye can be quite troublesome to the patient. Preoperative evaluation is critical. If dry eye develops after surgery, many supportive measures are available to help repair the patient’s tear film. Identifying the specific layer of the tear film which is symptomatic can help guide treatment.
Two Modes are Better Than One: a Multimodal Assessment Framework Integrating Student Writing and Drawing

We are beginning to see the emergence of advanced automated assessment techniques that evaluate expressive student artifacts such as free-form written responses and sketches. These approaches have largely operated individually, each considering only a single mode. We hypothesize that there are synergies to be leveraged in multimodal assessments that can integrate multiple modalities of student responses to create a more complete and accurate picture of a student’s knowledge. In this paper, we introduce a novel multimodal assessment framework that integrates two techniques for automatically analyzing student artifacts: a deep learning-based model for assessing student writing, and a topology-based model for assessing student drawing. An evaluation of the framework with elementary students’ writing and drawing assessments demonstrate that 1) each of the framework’s two modalities provides an independent and complementary measure of student science learning, and 2) together, the multimodal framework significantly outperforms either uni-modal approach individually, demonstrating the potential synergistic benefits of multimodal assessment.
Optimizing Bandwidth Density and Power Efficiency with Silicon Photonic Interconnections

We motivate the need for energy-efficient silicon-based optical interconnects to the chip and review recent progress in the development of ultra-low-power, high-density silicon photonic wavelength-division multiplexed link components. Article not available.
State Amplification

We consider the problem of transmitting data at rate over a state-dependent channel with state information available at the sender and at the same time conveying the information about the channel state itself to the receiver. The amount of state information that can be learned at the receiver is captured by the mutual information between the state sequence and the channel output . The optimal tradeoff is characterized between the information transmission rate and the state uncertainty reduction rate , when the state information is either causally or noncausally available at the sender. In particular, when state transmission is the only goal, the maximum uncertainty reduction rate is given by . This result is closely related and in a sense dual to a recent study by Merhav and Shamai, which solves the problem of masking the state information from the receiver rather than conveying it.
The Ferax Group of the Genus Saprolegnia

Nees von Esenbeck ('23) first separated the then known forms of water molds into two genera, Achlya and Saprolegnia, but, until the time of de Bary's first paper ('52) in I852, this distinction was not recognized by subsequent workers; de Bary revived the classification of the older author. Meanwhile all forms of water molds had been called Saprolengia ferax or Achlya prolifera, without any clear distinction being made between these genera. In I850, Thuret ('50) described the swarm spores of a form that he called S. ferax Kiitz., and he figured, for the first time, the oogonia. Later de Bary ('8I) referred to this figure when he renamed S. ferax, S. Thureti. In 1857 Pringsheim (57) contributed to the literature the description of S. monoica with excellent figures; other forms of Saprolegnia, those without antheridial branches, he considered as belonging to S. ferax. In 1873 he stated that further observation had convinced him that there was no true specific distinction between the forms with an antheridium on every oogonium and those in which the antheridia are almost or quite wanting. They differ, he says, "only in the relative number of antheridia." He therefore grouped all forms of Saprolegnia with round, pitted, many spored oogonia into the "ferax" group. In I88I, there appeared a paper by de Bary ('8I) in which he united S. monoica, S. torulosa, and S. Thureti (S. ferax) into a group which he called the ferax group. He had not yet distinguished S. mixta. In his description of S. monoica, de Bary followed Pringsheim, but added that in some cases the antheridial branches arise from hyphae remote from the oogonium, or, in other words, are not androgynous. 1 Contribution from the Botanical Laboratory of the LTniv. of Mich. No. I47. 307
The Effect of Damage Density Profile on Moving specles in Ion-Induced Reactions

We present evidence in this study that the moving species under ion mixing conditions are affected by the implantation damage distribution in the sample. This observation holds for metal-semiconductor, metal-metal and semiconductorsemiconductor systems. The direction of thermal annealing and atomic transport appears to play a role in ion-mixing as well. When these two factors are in the same direction, only one dominant moving species is observed. When these two factors are in opposite directions, both constituents can contribute to the atomic transport in ion mixing.
Motherhood and the Market: Mothering and Employment Opportunities among Mexicana, African-American and Euro-American Family Day Care Workers

Abstract While previous research identifies the ideology of the full-time, at-home mother as a primary force that influences women's entry into family day care work, this study reveals a more complex relationship between motherhood and women's paid labor. This study is based on field research including in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 16 family day care workers of diverse racial / ethnic, cultural and class backgrounds (African-American, Mexicana and Euro-American). While the responsibilities of unwaged caregiving do draw women in this study into family day care work, the practices, responsibilities and opportunities of motherhood vary greatly among these workers due to their racial / ethnic identity, cultural identity and social class. As such, we see these women's entry into family day care as a result of multiple forces and responsibilities, not the least of which is opportunities existing in a market economy shaped by racial / ethnic, gender and class relations.
Microphase Separatxon of Charged Diblock Copolymers

The microphase segregation properties of diblock copolymers composed of a neutral polymer joined to a polyelectrolyte are described. For weakly charged diblocks under melt conditions, we have constructed a theory of weak concentration fluctuations and have used it to study the spinodal instabiity to microphase separation that is driven by incompatibility of the polyion and neutral blocks. As in polyelectrolyte melts, the charging has a strong compatibilizing effect because of the large counterion entropy cost of phase separation. The electrostatic interactions also introduce a new length scale, the Debye screening length, which competes with the free chain radius to determine the microphase wavelength. A scaling theory of the strongly-segregated phase indicates that the salt-free microphases cannot have sharp interfaces beyond a threshold number of charges per chain.
Diagnosis,treatment and prevention of invasive fungal infection in preterm infants

Invasive fungal infection is one of the main causes of death and disability in premature infants.In recent years,there is an increasing number of reports related to invasive fungal infections in China.This review described the progress in epidemiology,diagnosis,treatment and prevention of invasive fungal infections in preterm infants.
QwikMD — Integrative Molecular Dynamics Toolkit for Novices and Experts

The proper functioning of biomolecules in living cells requires them to assume particular structures and to undergo conformational changes. Both biomolecular structure and motion can be studied using a wide variety of techniques, but none offers the level of detail as do molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Integrating two widely used modeling programs, namely NAMD and VMD, we have created a robust, user-friendly software, QwikMD, which enables novices and experts alike to address biomedically relevant questions, where often only molecular dynamics simulations can provide answers. Performing both simple and advanced MD simulations interactively, QwikMD automates as many steps as necessary for preparing, carrying out, and analyzing simulations while checking for common errors and enabling reproducibility. QwikMD meets also the needs of experts in the field, increasing the efficiency and quality of their work by carrying out tedious or repetitive tasks while enabling easy control of every step. Whether carrying out simulations within the live view mode on a small laptop or performing complex and large simulations on supercomputers or Cloud computers, QwikMD uses the same steps and user interface. QwikMD is freely available by download on group and personal computers. It is also available on the cloud at Amazon Web Services.
Review: Screening mammography reduces risk for breast cancer mortality but increases other risks in women 40 to 49 years of age

Source Citation Armstrong K, Moye E, Williams S, Berlin JA, Reynolds EE. Screening mammography in women 40 to 49 years of age: a systematic review for the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern...
Reseña/Review (Beilin, Katarzyna Olga, "In search of an alternative biopolitics: anti-bullfighting, animality, and the environment in contemporary Spain", Comlumbus: State University Press, 308 págs. 2015)

Book Review: Beilin, O.K. (2015). In Search of an Alternative Biopolitics. Anti-Bullfighting, Animality, and the Environment in Contemporary Spain. Columbus: State University Press.
Reassignment of the n→π* Transitions of Phthalazine

We have measured the dipole‐moment changes for excitation to different vibronic levels of the near ultraviolet, 4200 A, absorption bands of phthalazine (2, 3‐diazanaphthalene). The value of |Δμ| is found to be 3.05 ± 0.10 D (for Ec′ = 0.54 Eeff) for all vibronic transitions including bands associated with the so‐called second nπ* state. Armed with this new information we have revised the previous analysis and show that the main bands belong to just one nπ* state (1A2) and not to two nπ* states as previously asserted. The analysis leads us to some new ideas on nonradiative processes in azines, especially 1,2‐diazines.
Containers in Research: Initial Experiences with Lightweight Infrastructure

HPC environments have traditionally existed installed directly on hardware or through virtual machine environments. Linux Containers, and Docker specifically, have gained extensive popularity; we believe this current trend toward containers and microservices can be applied to HPC to improve efficiency and quality of development and deployment. User interest in Docker is rising, with several communities planning production deployments. We describe some of our site's experiences, along with an autoscaling web cluster and an autoscaling PBS-based computational cluster we have developed that are currently in a pre-production testing phase. Some basic performance tests are covered, comparing network and filesystem performance between a native Docker environment and a traditional Red Hat-based environment. In our tests, we noticed negligible differences in computational performance when run out of the box, approximately 0.4%, but we required some minor tweaking in the form of additional docker plugins to achieve similar or better performance in the network and filesystem tests. While additional testing is needed for some aspects of computational clusters, particularly RDMA performance, we believe initial testing indicates Docker containers are ready for broader adoption at larger-scale production environments.
Pigouvian Taxation with Costly Administration and Multiple Externalities

This paper generalizes corrective taxation to settings with costly administration and many externalities. If administrative cost varies only with the pollution generating activity, the optimal tax is equal to the externality added to the marginal administrative cost, and the private market fully internalizes the externality and administrative cost. If, due to the nature of enforcement, administrative cost varies with tax rates, then optimal policy leaves some portion of externalities uncorrected. As a result, using taxes to modify complement and substitute activities will be welfare increasing. Optimal policy may include subsidizing some harmful activities in order to reduce levels of even more harmful substitutes. Similarly, if the optimal activity mix changes with the scale of production and if higher scales of production use less harmful activity mixes, subsidizing the output of a harmful production process may be optimal.
Importance of Model Resolution on Discriminating Rapidly and Non-rapidly Intensifying Atlantic Basin Tropical Cyclones

Abstract The ability to discriminate rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones (TCs) from their non-rapidly intensifying counterparts remains a major forecasting challenge in operational meteorology. Primarily, approaches to this forecast problem utilize dynamic model data as input into either numerical weather prediction models or statistical algorithms. Recent work suggested higher spatial resolution dynamic simulations will have greater success in distinguishing rapid intensification (RI) of TCs from those that do not, owing to the dynamic model's ability to depict smaller scale features explicitly within the simulation. Despite these preliminary findings, this approach has not been tested with a statistical modeling approach. As such, the scope of this work was to identify the importance of spatial resolution on the ability to forecast the onset of RI and non-RI TCs at 24 hour lead times. To accomplish this, 8 storms of each type were simulated using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model at varying spatial resolutions (54km, 18km, and 6km). Meteorological fields from the WRF were used as input into a support vector machine classification algorithm trained to discriminate RI and non-RI TC environments.
Miscellaneous ODE Transformations

This chapter discusses miscellaneous ordinary differential equations (ODE) transformations. If y ( x ) is defined by the ordinary differential equation d 2 y / dx 2 = f ( x ) y , and the dependent variable changed by w(ζ) = √(ζ'( x ) y ( x ) then d 2 y / dx 2 = f ( x ) y becomes d 2 w / d ζ 2 = [ x 2 f ( x ) − ½{ x ,ζ}]w where dots denote differential with respect to ζ, then { x , ζ} is the Schwarzian derivative of x with respect to ζ. The chapter discusses a transformation which removes the ( n −l)th derivative term in an n -th order ordinary differential equation. The chapter also discusses the method for changing the general third order linear homogenous ordinary differential equation y “' + p 1 ( x ) y “ + p 2 ( x ) y ' + p 3 ( x ) y = 0, to the canonical form w “' + 2 Aw ' + ( A ' + b ) w = 0.
Introduction: Defining the Role of Statistics in Business

We begin this chapter with an overview of the competitive advantage provided by a knowledge of statistical methods, followed by some basic facts about statistics and probability and their role in business. Statistical activities can be grouped into five main activities (designing, exploring, modeling, estimating, and hypothesis testing), and one way to clarify statistical thinking is to be able to match the business task at hand with the correct collection of statistical methods. This chapter sets the stage for the rest of the book, which follows up with many important detailed procedures for accomplishing business goals that involve these activities. Next follows an overview of data mining of Big Data (which involves these main activities) and its importance in business. Then we distinguish the field of probability (where, based on assumptions, we reach conclusions about what is likely to happen—a useful exercise in business where nobody knows for sure what will happen) from the field of statistics (where we know from the data what happened, from which we infer conclusions about the system that produced these data) while recognizing that probability and statistics will work well together in future chapters. The chapter concludes with some words of advice on how to integrate statistical thinking with other business viewpoints and activities.
Authoring conversational narratives in games with the Chimeria platform.

Conversations between characters are important aspects of many videogames. However, most such conversational interactions in videogames are quite limited in how they take into account the identities of those characters. Conversation in videogames typically varies, if at all, based only on one aspect of the character such as a non-player character (NPC) referring to the character by race, class, or a gendered pronoun. In this paper, we present an approach to developing conversational narratives that addresses such limitations. Toward this end, we present the Chimeria platform, which uses a cognitive science-grounded model of social category membership to customize how conversational narratives unfold. We also present a playable interactive conversational scenario called “Chimeria:Gatekeeper” authored using the Chimeria Platform. This scenario demonstrates how the system considers multiple aspects of a character’s identity and degree of membership with, and between, social group categories in generating conversational dialog between a player character (PC) and an NPC. Using this scenario we illustrate how our approach allows the construction of conversational narratives that convey social identity phenomena such as stigma and discrimination.
Experience-based training of students on concretes reinforced by recycled carbon fibers

Fiber reinforcement increases many properties of the concretes, such as toughness, strength, abrasion, and resistance to corrosion. Use of recycled carbon fibers from industrial waste offers many advantages because it will reduce the waste, contribute the economy, protect natural resources and improve the property of structural units. The City of Wichita, KS is known to be “Air Capital of the World” where many aircraft companies have been producing aircraft, parts and components. Due to the superior properties of composites (e.g., light weight, low density, high impact resistance), they have been highly used by aircraft industry. Prepreg is the most preferred combination of the fiber and resin due to the easy application, but it has a limited shelf life (e.g., three months to one year at most) and scrap has no use after all in the same industry. Every year tons of un-used prepreg or after use scrap are being collected in Wichita, KS. Recycling prepreg from the post-consumer waste offers great advantages of waste reduction and resource conservation in the city. Reusing the carbon fibers obtained from outdated prepreg composites for concrete reinforcement will offer double advantages for our environment and concrete structures. In this study, recycled carbon fibers of the outdated prepreg composites were collected, and then incorporated with concretes at different ratios prior to the molding and mechanical testing. An undergraduate student was involved in the project and observed all the process during the laboratory studies, as well as data collection, analysis and presentation. We believe that experience based learning will enhance the students’ skills and interest into the scientific and engineering studies.
The Essential Role of Communication in Behavioural Change

The use of a processed weaning food in a public health programme should never proceed without an effective programme of communication for behavioural change. There is a long and largely unsuccessfu...
Residential mobility and dynamic neighborhood change during the transition to adulthood

Abstract This article examines the neighborhood attainment outcomes of individuals transitioning out of adolescence and into adulthood. Given the dynamic nature of this period, we may expect significant upward and downward changes in young adult residential environments relative to the adolescent neighborhood. Using U.S. data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we examined movement across matrices of neighborhood poverty and quality. While, as expected, there is stickiness on the diagonal, that is movement which extends inequality, we found large groups of young adults making upward and downward moves, particularly Hispanics. The study points to life course events related to human capital, income and household formation as important factors shaping significant movement up and down the neighborhood poverty and quality distributions.
Two New Classes of Periodic Trojan Librations in the Elliptic Restricted Problem and Their Stabilities

In the ordinary restricted problem, the well-known long- and short-period solutions of the frequencies n l and n s exist for small oscillations about the equilateral points L 4 and L 5, for sufficiently small values of the mass parameter μ. In the elliptic restricted problem, two new classes of periodic librations about L 4 and L 5 exist (at least for sufficiently small eccentricities e of the basic elliptic motion of the two primaries), for two associated infinite series of specific, discrete values of μ. The orbital frequencies (in the nonuniformly rotating reference frame of the elliptic problem) are n l and N-n s, respectively, where N is the basic mean angular motion of the primaries. In both classes, a twofold infinite number of periodic librations exists for each admissible value of μ, because e as well as the initial mean anomaly Mo of ‘Jupiter’ remain arbitrary. The stability analysis reveals the existence of four essentially different characteristic exponents for each class of periodic solutions, in contrast to the two for periodic librations in the ordinary restricted problem. For e → 0, the associated four oscillation frequencies for motions deviating from the new periodic solutions tend to N-n s, n l, N-n l, and n s, respectively. All exponents are purely imaginary, indicating first-order stability for both classes of periodic librations. The only exception occurs for the critical μ c = 0.029437, where, with n l = N-n l = N/2, no periodic solution exists for e ≠ 0. While the results of this first-order analysis are valid only for librations of infinitesimal size, additional numerico-analytical findings indicate the existence of both classes of orbits also at finite amplitudes, but for μ-values differing from those of the infinitesimally small solutions, in accordance with the additional dependence of n l (μ) and n s (μ) on amplitude.
Gardening and age-related weight gain: Results from a cross-sectional survey of Denver residents.

Abstract This study examined whether gardening modifies the association between age and body mass index (BMI). We used data from the Neighborhood Environments and Health Survey, which was conducted in Denver (N = 469) between 2006 and 2007. We fit two general linear mixed models. The base model had BMI in kg/m2 as the outcome, and age, an indicator variable for non-gardening status and the age-by-non-gardening status interaction as predictors. The adjusted model included as covariates the potential confounders of education, ethnicity and self-reported health. We assessed self-selection bias and confounding. BMI was 27.18 kg/m2 for non-gardeners, 25.62 kg/m2 for home gardeners, and 24.17 kg/m2 for community gardeners. In the base model, a statistically significant association was observed between age and BMI for non-gardeners but not for the combined community and home gardening group (F = 9.27, ndf = 1, ddf = 441, p = 0.0025). In the adjusted model, the association between age and BMI in non-gardeners was not statistically significant (F = 1.72, ndf = 1, ddf = 431, p = 0.1908). Gardeners differed on social and demographic factors when compared to non-gardeners. The results from the base model are consistent with the hypothesis that gardening might offset age-related weight gain. However, the cross-sectional design does not permit differentiation of true causal effects from the possible effects of bias and confounding. As a follow-up study, to remove bias and confounding, we are conducting a randomized clinical trial of community gardening in Denver.
Resident Duty Hours in Surgical Education

Resident duty hours have recently come to the forefront of resident education and nowhere is this more acutely felt than in the surgical disciplines. Our past was marked by duty hours that were draconian by most standards and associated with emotional, psychological, and physical damage to the trainees. Changes in this system began to occur once the impact of these long hours was seen to negatively impact patient care and outcomes; unfortunately, especially in surgery, it was felt that the education of competent, knowledgeable, and prepared surgeons was sacrificed as a result. Recently, high-quality studies of this issue that incorporate both patient outcomes, resident education, and resident well-being have been conducted to provide rational data to drive the discussion. With this, some of these restrictions in duty hours for surgical residents have been relaxed to allow residents themselves to honor their obligation to their patients and their craft while maintaining a safe working environment. In this chapter, we aim to review the past, present, and foreseeable future as it applies to surgical trainees.
Pancharatnam-Berry phase and kinetic magnetoelectric effect in trigonal tellurium

We study the kinetic magnetoelectric effect (current-induced magnetization including both the orbital and spin contributions) in three-dimensional conductors, specializing to the case of $p$-doped trigonal tellurium. We include both intrinsic and extrinsic contributions to the effect, which stem from the band structure of the crystal, and from disorder scattering, respectively. Specifically, we determine the dependence of the kinetic magnetoelectric response on the hole doping in tellurium, and show that the intrinsic and extrinsic effects dominate for low and high levels of doping, respectively. The results of this work imply that three-dimensional helical metals are promising for spintronics applications, in particular, they can provide robust control over current-induced magnetic torques.
Role of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) in Treatment of Addiction and Related Disorders: A Systematic Review.

Background Addiction and related disorders are devastating with their tremendous social, psychological, and physical consequences for which development of optimally effective treatments is long overdue. Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) is relatively safe and is becoming an emerging therapeutic tool for these conditions. Methods This systematic review was conducted using PubMed, PsycINFO, PsychiatryOnline and Cochrane Library ranging from year 2001 to 2017. Results Our search selected 70 related articles of which, based on the Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy (SORT) guidelines, 11 indicated Level-1 study quality and class-B strength of recommendation for rTMS in nicotine addiction (effective in 218/289 subjects who received rTMS as found in 11 studies). Level-2/Class-B evidence was found for alcohol and cocaine addictions (Alcohol: effective in 126/193 subjects who received rTMS as found in 8 studies; Cocaine: effective in 86/128 subjects, as found in 5 studies). For food cravings, Level-3/Class-B evidence was noted (effective in 134/169, found in 7 studies). However, the evidence was limited to Level-3/Class-C for heroin (10/20 subjects received active rTMS, effective in 1 study), methamphetamine (33/48 subjects received active rTMS, effective in 2 studies), cannabis (18/18 subjects received active rTMS, effective in 1 study), and pathological gambling (31/31 subjects received active rTMS, effective in 2 studies). Conclusion rTMS may serve as an emerging therapeutic option for addiction and related disorders. The major lacunae include important methodological limitations and dearth of knowledge about precise mechanism of action that need to be addressed in the future studies.
SELECTIVE INDUCTION BY PEPTIDE GROWTH FACTORS OF THE SYNTHESIS OF SECRETED PROTEINS IN 3T3 CELLS

Publisher Summary The changes in cellular metabolism needed for the initiation of DNA synthesis in quiescent cells require the synthesis of new proteins and probably involve the activation of genes. It has been found that peptide mitogens, such as epidermal growth factor and fibroblast growth factor, selectively increase the extracellular appearance of two glycoproteins secreted by 3T3 cells. These proteins are mitogen-regulated protein (MRP) and major excreted protein (MEP). The mitogens regulate at transcription or translation, not at glycosylation or secretion. It is speculated that these mitogen-induced proteins could participate in the regulation of cell growth in one of several ways. MEP or MRP could be internal growth regulating proteins. These proteins, being secreted, could be communicatory molecules for coordinating the growth of a tissue.
Kinetics of Flavor Formation during Maillard Browning

It is well recognized that the Maillard reaction plays an important role in the formation of aroma compounds during the thermal processing of foods. Early flavor studies on this reaction focused on identifying the aroma compounds that were formed through the heating of model systems. This work provided some insight into the relationships between aroma precursors and thermal processing conditions and the formation of individual aroma compounds. Subsequent work has focused on determining chemical pathways to explain the formation of these aroma compounds. Some of the most recent studies in this area have included quantitative aspects which has permitted kinetic analysis of the data. This kinetic work has demonstrated how sensitive the Maillard reaction is to both compositional and processing changes. Additionally, we have found that the formation of volatiles can be extremely interdependent and unpredictable. One can generate kinetic data for volatile formation in a simple model system, include another precursor that should have no direct effect on the kinetics of interest and find major kinetic changes. This presentation will include an overview of the published kinetic data and discuss some of the unexpected anomalies observed.
Relationships between Electrolyte Concentration and the Supercapacitive Swing Adsorption of CO2.

We quantitatively investigate the influence of the NaCl electrolyte concentration on the adsorptive and energetic characteristics of supercapacitive swing adsorption (SSA) for the separation of CO2...
Making connections: Implementing a community-based learning experience in green chemistry

Abstract Community-based learning has become a powerful tool by which chemists can affect both pedagogical and social changes. This chapter introduces the design and implementation of a community-based learning experience in a green chemistry course. The students engage in hands-on active learning group projects in collaboration with a community partner. Two community-based learning projects are discussed, where students analyze water quality of a local river in the first project and then develop curricular activities for a middle school science unit in the second project. These projects provide students with the opportunity to learn the process of scientific discovery, to improve scientific literacy and communication skills, and to explore real-life applications based on community needs.
High fat diet consumption results in mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and oligodendrocyte loss in the central nervous system

Metabolic syndrome is a key risk factor and co-morbidity in multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological conditions, such that a better understanding of how a high fat diet contributes to oligodendrocyte loss and the capacity for myelin regeneration has the potential to highlight new treatment targets. Results demonstrate that modeling metabolic dysfunction in mice with chronic high fat diet (HFD) consumption promotes loss of oligodendrocyte progenitors across the brain and spinal cord. A number of transcriptomic and metabolomic changes in ER stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress pathways in HFD-fed mouse spinal cords were also identified. Moreover, deficits in TCA cycle intermediates and mitochondrial respiration were observed in the chronic HFD spinal cord tissue. Oligodendrocytes are known to be particularly vulnerable to oxidative damage, and we observed increased markers of oxidative stress in both the brain and spinal cord of HFD-fed mice. We additionally identified that increased apoptotic cell death signaling is underway in oligodendrocytes from mice chronically fed a HFD. When cultured under high saturated fat conditions, oligodendrocytes decreased both mitochondrial function and differentiation. Overall, our findings show that HFD-related changes in metabolic regulators, decreased mitochondrial function, and oxidative stress contribute to a loss of myelinating cells. These studies identify HFD consumption as a key modifiable lifestyle factor for improved myelin integrity in the adult central nervous system and in addition new tractable metabolic targets for myelin protection and repair strategies.
Predicting Opioid Responsiveness in Pediatric Patients

The use of opium and opium derivatives, opioids, dates back to ancient times. Despite existing for centuries, the medical community still has a great deal to learn about the efficacious and safe use of these analgesic therapies. The 1990s saw a paradigm shift in medicine toward the aggressive management of pain. With this new focus on pain management, the United States saw an increase in opioid prescribing. An unfortunate consequence of this era has been a rise in opioid-related morbidity and mortality and an increase in opioid addiction, misuse, and abuse. In response to these negative sequelae, which many refer to as the “opioid epidemic,” the government has raised a call to action to combat this public health crisis. In response to this call to action, the healthcare community is prioritizing the study of comprehensive analgesic management of pain, with attention to patient safety, and the minimization of risk. The variability in patient response to standard doses of opioids has a direct impact on patient safety. Recent work has revealed key clinical factors that can predict patterns of variation in addition to genetic factors that are responsible for differences in a patient’s pharmacodynamic response to opioids. This chapter will discuss the genetic factors underlying the variability in opioid response and the genetics of addiction and their potential areas of clinical application.
Geriatric Social Work: Opportunities for Practitioners.

Mary Kaplan’s The Practice of Social Work With Older Adults: Insights and Opportunities for a Growing Profession, published by Health Professions Press, seeks to inspire readers to the field of ger...
Gold(I)-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions of Arenediazonium Salts with Alkynoic Acids

The reaction of simple alkynoate salts with isolated arenediazonium tetrafluoroborate salts that had been pre-conditioned with the gold(I) catalyst AuCl(Me2S) led to the formation of cross-coupled products via a decarboxylative Sonogashira reaction process in modest yield and under mild conditions. The major by-product is a defunctionalized aryl moiety stemming from the diazonium salt, which competitively forms via hydrodediazonation. Good functional group tolerance and reaction site selectivity were attained in this limited investigation.
Transforming Interprofessional Roles During Virtual Health Care: The Evolving Role of the Medical Assistant, in Relationship to National Health Profession Competency Standards.

Introduction:Medical assistants (MAs) were once limited to obtaining vital signs and office work. Now, MAs are foundational to team-based care, interacting with patients, systems, and teams in many...