cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sex, Segments, and the Central Nervous System: Common Genetic Mechanisms of Cell Fate Determination

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the molecular mechanisms that are responsible for governing cell fate in sex determination, segmentation, and neurogenesis, and the significance of the reutilization and redundancy of transcription factors for these decisions. The theme emerging from the characterization of these pathways supports the tenet that diverse developmental pathways often employ similar molecules and may therefore employ similar mechanisms to determine cell fate. Furthermore, the evolutionary conservation of many of these molecules across a wide variety of species suggests that these principles may apply to cell fate determination in other organisms as well. The establishment of somatic sexual fate is one of the first pathways to generate cellular diversity in Drosophila. This simple binary decision (female vs. male) is reflected in the activity of the Sex-lethal (Sxl) gene that is ON in females and OFF in males. Furthermore, the identification of putative mammalian homologs of some of the genes discussed in this chapter and the implication of at least one of these homologs (AML-I) in oncogenic transformation (myelogenous leukemia) leads to the hope that the analysis of these invertebrate genes could provide important insights into the understanding and treatment of several diseases.
Baseline Screening Mammography: Performance of Full-Field Digital Mammography Versus Digital Breast Tomosynthesis.

OBJECTIVE. Baseline mammography studies have significantly higher recall rates than mammography studies with available comparison examinations. Digital breast tomosynthesis reduces recalls when compared with digital mammographic screening alone, but many sites operate in a hybrid environment. To maximize the effect of screening digital breast tomosynthesis with limited resources, choosing which patient populations will benefit most is critical. This study evaluates digital breast tomosynthesis in the baseline screening population. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Outcomes were compared for 10,728 women who underwent digital mammography screening, including 1204 (11.2%) baseline studies, and 15,571 women who underwent digital breast tomosynthesis screening, including 1859 (11.9%) baseline studies. Recall rates, cancer detection rates, and positive predictive values were calculated. Logistic regression estimated the odds ratios of recall for digital mammography versus digital breast tomosynthesis for patients undergo...
Investigating the glass transition temperature at the atom-level in select model polyamides: A molecular dynamics study

Abstract The molecular influence on glass transition temperature (Tg) of select model polyamides was investigated by atomistic modeling. These include nylon 6,6, nylon 6,12, a cycloaliphatic polyamide consisting of 4,4′-methylene-bis(cyclohexylamine) and dodecanedioic acid, as well as a corresponding aromatic counterpart consisting of 4,4′-methylenedianiline and dodecanedioic acid. For each model system, all-atom atomistic molecular dynamics simulations were used to discern and differentiate parameters such as free volume, hydrogen bonding, and chain rigidity. Simulations were able to predict the correct trend in Tg, where the model cycloaliphatic polyamide was shown to have the highest Tg followed by the aromatic polyamide. This is presumably due to the greater chain rigidity exhibited by the cycloaliphatic polyamide around the cyclohexyl ring, which was revealed through a calculation of the dihedral rotation free energy barrier associated with the methylene moiety between either the bis-cyclohexyl or bis-phenyl rings, despite the former having a higher extent of free volume.
Possible Genetic Origin of Limb-Body Wall Complex.

Limb body wall complex (LBWC) is characterized by multiple severe congenital malformations including an abdominal and/or thoracic wall defect covered by amnion, a short or absent umbilical cord with the placenta almost attached to the anterior fetal wall, intestinal malrotation, scoliosis, and lower extremity anomalies. There is no consensus about the etiology of LBWC and many cases with abnormal facial cleft do not meet the requirements for the true complex. We describe a series of four patients with LBWC and other malformations in an attempt to explain their etiology. There are several reports of fetuses with LBWC and absent gallbladder and one of our patients also had polysplenia. Absent gallbladder and polysplenia are associated with laterality genes including HOX, bFGF, transforming growth factor beta/activins/BMP4, WNT 1–8, and SHH. We postulate that this severe malformation may be due to abnormal genes involved in laterality and caudal development.
The ethics of infant dialysis

The proper treatment of an infant with end-stage renal disease depends upon a number of factors including parental willingness to take on the task, experience of the health-care team, local and regional resources, and society's willingness to accept this support as a standard of care. Whereas the ability to keep infants alive on peritoneal dialysis (PD) is obtainable, it is not without physical, financial, as well as emotional cost. In order for a family to agree to take on such a task, an understanding of the risks and long-term prognosis should be offered. This "informed consent" is difficult to obtain in such a highly charged situation when emotions often dictate choice independently of logic. Long-term outcome of infants on PD has improved over time, yet is still fraught with complications. Options of treatment or nontreatment are explored.
Factores histórico-sociales en la evolución de las ciudades latinoamericanas (1850-1950)

Theories about the spatial distribution of the population should consider historical factors explaning settlement growth patterns, geographic relationships between economic organizations and structures of domination. Urban concentration has been a region-wide phenomenon for one hundrer years, begining late XIX Century. However, the rol of the cities in the development processes has been more important in those countris where the oligarchy consolidated its domination earlier. Its role stems from the expansion of commercial and financial activities in detriment of artisan industries. In this sense they were parasite cities: the ruling classes were consimers rather than savers, rentists rather than producers. Two types of cities are considered in the paper: bastion cities and central cities. They were developed during the primary export period, from the middle of the las Century until the 1920s. In the bastion city the monetary economy was restricted to the city, economic surplus was spent or reinvented almost entirely in the city while the masses of the population were kept at subsistence levels in the rural areas. The ruling classes justified their domination as something functional to their self-assigned role of spreading the civilization over a "barbaric" national periphery. Thus the bastion city generated an authoritarian political structure. In other countries the central city gave place to a broader social demographic diffusion of modern values and a more dynamic and opener environment emerged. The oligarchies imposed themselves in a less authoritarian manner and did not opposed the growth of middle classes. A greater cultural and social continuity throughout a network of medium size and small cities spread towards the national peripheries. Industrialization policies that followed the crisis of the primary-export model implied subsidies to the major cities and therefore, encouraged the spatial concentration of population. Local life was undermined and the regions lost internal integration as a result of a reorganization of national territories imposed by the emerging industrial city. Industrialization processes implied a tacit social compromise between traditional social structures and the adoption of imported technologies, between the preservation of social thierarchies and pressures towards democratization. The timing of the industrial processes is a key factor in explaining the differences among countries with regard to social urban structures and to urban physical environment as shaped by the social elites, classes and masses. The later the industrial process occured the higher is the population density in the rural areas, the lesses is the initial rate of urbanization and the higher the rate of population growth in the large cities. Urban exploition accompanying the more recent industrialization processes in Latin America is often accompanied by social marginality and a caothic growth of the large cities.
Trade-offs between Trunk Flexion, Hip Flexion, and Knee Angle in Lifting below Waist Level

This study quantified trunk, hip and knee kinematics during realistic lifting to determine the influence of origin height on lifting style. Ten male participants lifted boxes from several origins ranging from the floor to waist height. The three-dimensional motions of the trunk, hip and knee were recorded. Maximum trunk flexion, knee flexion, and hip flexion increased as lift origin decreased (closer to the floor). Back, knee and hip sagittal angles showed significantly increased correlations as the origins became closer to the floor. Subjects appeared to coordinate their hips, back and knees during the lift for origins below knee height. For lifts above knee height, the lifting style resembled more of a stoop lift while lifts originating below knee height were more of a squat lift. As none of the conditions resulted in pure squat or stoop lifting, discretion is needed in applying the results of pure squat or pure stoop lifting studies to the workplace.
Facile Preparation of Nanogels Using Activated Ester Containing Polymers.

A facile methodology to prepare water-dispersible nanogels based on pentafluorophenyl acrylate and polyethylene glycol methacrylate random copolymer and diamine cross-linkers has been developed. The cross-linking reaction was characterized by FTIR and 19F NMR. We show that those nanogels are (i) water-dispersible; (ii) can conveniently encapsulate lipophilic guest molecules; (iii) can be prepared with different nanosizes; and (iv) are engineered to allow for surface decoration with additional functional groups.
One Hundred Years of Dasymetric Mapping: Back to the Origin

Paying the tribute to the 100 years anniversary of dasymetric mapping, this paper aims to provide a detailed inquiry into historical beginnings of this cartographic technique by working with literature and archival sources, primarily with the writings of the method’s inventor, Benjamin Semenov-Tian-Shansky. The paper confirms that the dasymetric method was first proposed in 1911 and its first cartographic products appeared in 1919. The paper reviews and discusses the dasymetric technique used by Semenov-Tian-Shansky in the 1920s to produce the ‘Dasymetric Map of European Russia’ that, perhaps, still remains one of the most extensive dasymetric mapping projects in the history of cartography. This research will help to continue reconstructing the history of dasymetric mapping and will aid in better understanding of the original technique itself and its relations with later achievements in cartography and GIScience.
Atmospheric stability in cell culture vessels

We have investigated the atmospheric stability in polystyrene and glass cell culture vessels by measuring the dissolved O2 and CO2 in the media of both seeded and unseeded culture vessels incubated at 37°C. There was no diffusion of either O2 or CO2 through glass vessels. At low partial pressures of oxygen (PO 2), oxygen diffused into the polystyrene flasks at a rate of 1 to 2 mm Hg per 24 hr, and at high PO 2, oxygen diffused slowly out of polystyrene flasks. CO2 diffused out of polystyrene flasks with a half-time of 260 hr resulting in a considerable elevation in pH. In seeded polystyrene flasks with the PO 2 ⩽ room air, cellular oxygen consumption was masked by the inward diffusion of oxygen. In addition, the fall in pH due to metabolic CO2 and organic acid production during cell growth in polystyrene flasks was buffered by the diffusion of CO2 out of the vessels.
Independent and Coordinated Functions of Replication Protein A Tandem High Affinity Single-stranded DNA Binding Domains

The initial high affinity binding of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) by replication protein A (RPA) is involved in the tandem domains in the central region of the RPA70 subunit (RPA70AB). However, it was not clear whether the two domains, RPA70A and RPA70B, bind DNA simultaneously or sequentially. Here, using primarily heteronuclear NMR complemented by fluorescence spectroscopy, we have analyzed the binding characteristics of the individual RPA70A and RPA70B domains and compared them with the intact RPA70AB. NMR chemical shift comparisons confirmed that RPA70A and RPA70B tumble independently in solution in the absence of ssDNA. NMR chemical shift perturbations showed that all ssDNA oligomers bind to the same sites as observed in the x-ray crystal structure of RPA70AB complexed to d(C)8. Titrations using a variety of 5'-mer ssDNA oligomers showed that RPA70A has a 5-10-fold higher affinity for ssDNA than RPA70B. Detailed analysis of ssDNA binding to RPA70A revealed that all DNA sequences interact in a similar mode. Fluorescence binding measurements with a variety of 8-10'-mer DNA sequences showed that RPA70AB interacts with DNA with approximately 100-fold higher affinity than the isolated domains. Calculation of the theoretical "linkage effect" from the structure of RPA70AB suggests that the high overall affinity for ssDNA is a byproduct of the covalent attachment of the two domains via a short flexible tether, which increases the effective local concentration. Taken together, our data are consistent with a sequential model of DNA binding by RPA according to which RPA70A binds the majority of DNA first and subsequent loading of RPA70B domain is facilitated by the linkage effect.
Ethical leadership and ethical decision making: A meta-analysis of research related to ethics education

Ethical leadership and ethical decision making in organizations have been the focus of many concerns related to ethics, especially in light of high-profile corporate scandals. The importance of educational preparation for ethical leadership has been highlighted in the general literature and the library and information science literature. This article is based on a meta-analysis of research related to ethics education in business. The meta-analysis considers issues of research design, methodologies used, populations studied and other data analyzed, the nature of the researchers, and the dissemination of the research in the journal literature. It is intended to inform the study of ethics and ethics education in general and in other professional disciplines, such as library and information science. The research results indicate the limited number of research methodologies that have been used in the study of ethics education. Past research has largely focused on undergraduates, particularly in relation to the impact of ethics curricula on their learning/cognitive development and on measures of perceptions and changes in perceptions of ethical issues.
Potential Molecular Targets for Translational Stroke Research

The stroke research community is currently at a crossroads, and a shift in focus is necessary to propel basic research forward to develop clinically effective therapeutics. In-depth analysis of the past failures and imposing more stringent standards on future basic research experiments will greatly improve the success of translational research. The purpose of this review is to outline proposed revisions in basic research criteria and offer attractive molecular candidates to mitigate brain damage after cerebral ischemia. A major pitfall encompassing translational stroke research is that a majority of clinical trials conducted have focused on agents involving recanalization of vessels and on excitotoxicity to reduce neuronal death in the penumbra.1 Recanalization using tissue plasminogen activator only modestly improves patient outcome, and inhibiting excitotoxicity has shown no clinical benefit.2 The short duration of excitotoxicity after ischemia does not provide an adequate time window for effective stroke therapy in clinical practice because the exact onset of stroke is often indeterminate and a majority of patients do not seek medical treatment for many hours after the insult. A more reasonable therapeutic window, and hence a greater potential for clinical success, is likely to be attained by placing emphasis on ameliorating the effects of the synergistic processes of programmed cell death (PCD) and inflammation that are active for hours to days after ischemia.3 In addition, it is necessary to identify molecular mediators of ischemic neuroprotection suitable for translation to human clinical trials. Accordingly, more stringent criteria for selection of targets are required. The following criteria will facilitate development of translatable …
A laboratory study of microalgae-based ammonia gas mitigation with potential application for improving air quality in animal production operations.

Ammonia gas emission is a major concern in concentrated animal production operations. It not only reduces the manure value as fertilizer due to nitrogen loss, but also has considerable environmental consequences for both animals and ecosystem. In this work, a microalgae culture system was developed as an ammonia gas bioscrubber to reduce ammonia gas emission. The green algae Scenedesmus dimorphus was grown in a flat-panel photobioreactor aerated with ammonia-laden air. A continuous culture was performed at different operational conditions including dilution rate (D = 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 day−1), ammonia gas loading rate (9.4, 19.3, 28.9, 39.9, 55.6 mg/L-day), and medium pH (5, 6, 7, and 8). The alga culture at 0.1 day−1 dilution rate, 39.9 mg/L-day ammonia gas loading rate, and pH 7 resulted in the highest cell density and biomass productivity. In order to provide a wide spectrum evaluation of the algae-based ammonia mitigation system, four parameters were determined, including ammonia removal rate, ov...
Human microvascular endothelial cell growth and migration on biomimetic surfactant polymers.

Abstract Successful engineering of a tissue-incorporated vascular prosthesis requires cells to proliferate and migrate on the scaffold. Here, we report on a series of “ECM-like” biomimetic surfactant polymers that exhibit quantitative control over the proliferation and migrational properties of human microvascular endothelial cells (HMVEC). The biomimetic polymers consist of a poly(vinyl amine) (PVAm) backbone with hexanal branches and varying ratios of cell binding peptide (RGD) to carbohydrate (maltose). Proliferation and migration behavior of HMVEC was investigated using polymers containing RGD: maltose ratios of 100:0, 75:25 and 50:50, and compared with fibronectin (FN) coated glass (1 μg/cm 2 ). A radial Teflon fence migration assay was used to examine HMVEC migration at 12 h intervals over a 48 h period. Migration was quantified using an inverted optical microscope, and HMVEC were examined by confocal microscopy for actin and focal adhesion organization/ arrangement. Over the range of RGD ligand density studied (∼0.19–0.6 peptides/nm 2 ), our results show HMVEC migration decreases with increasing RGD density in the polymer. HMVEC were least motile on the 100% RGD polymer (∼0.38–0.6 peptides/nm 2 ) with an average migration of 0.20 mm 2 /h in area covered, whereas HMVEC showed the fastest migration of 0.48±0.06 mm 2 /h on the 50% RGD surface (∼0.19–0.30 peptides/nm 2 ). In contrast, cell proliferation increased with increasing surface peptide density; proliferation on the 50% RGD surface was 1.5%±0.06/h compared with 2.2%±0.07/h on the 100% RGD surface. Our results show that surface peptide density affects cellular functions such as growth and migration, with the highest peptide density supporting the most proliferation but the slowest migration.
Physiology of carotid endarterectomy with ocular pneumoplethysmography

Objective documentation of the quantitative physiologic changes associated with the repair of carotid lesions of hemodynamic consequence was obtained in 701 procedures by a comparison of pre- and postoperative ocular pneumoplethysmographic tests (OPG-Gee). The results of repair of severe stenoses depended on the status of the carotid artery opposite the repaired vessel. If the vessel opposite the carotid artery repaired was functionally patent, severely stenosed, or totally occluded, the ocular blood flow improvement on the side of repair was 16%, 27%, and 47%, respectively. Only in the latter group was improvement in ocular blood flow observed on the side opposite the carotid repair (13%). Ocular blood flow, the bulk of which (choroid) is not autoregulated, is a much more sensitive indicator of carotid lesions of hemodynamic consequence than is the autoregulated cerebral blood flow. OPG-Gee is presented as a simple noninvasive test that reliably and reproducibly assesses the quantitative physiologic changes associated with the repair of carotid lesions of hemodynamic consequence. The latter represent 84% of all carotid endarterectomies at this institution.
Optimizing the use of laser alignment thermal sensitive paper for a 1.54 micron Er-glass laser

Laser alignment thermal sensitive paper can be used for laser applications such as spot size measurements, beam characteristics, and determining beam mode. Thermal sensitive paper interactions with a 1.54 micron, 35 ns, 3.75 J, Er-Glass laser produced spots that had three concentric zones of response. These spots interact with each other if a minimum distance between exposures is not maintained. The distance needed between spots is directly related to the energy density incident upon the paper. Although there was no lot designation for the box of thermal sensitive papers used in this research, we were able to determine that the response of different papers in the same box could vary under constant laser exposure parameters. Therefore, investigators need to be cautious when extrapolating experimental data from exposures using this type of laser alignment paper.
Theory of near-resonant charge-exchange in gas-surface reactions

Abstract A theory is presented for describing near-resonant charge-exchange processes occurring in gas-surface collisions. The surface is represented by a cluster of atoms and its electronic properties are obtained from the Diatomics in Molecules procedure. The Polyatomics in Molecules approach is used to calculate the gas-surface interaction potentials and couplings. Trajectories for the transition probabilities and nuclear variables are obtained from the common eikonal formalism. Preliminary results are presented for Na scattering from a W(110) surface. The surface consists of five W atoms. The approach of the sodium atom is perpendicular to the surface and it collides with the center W atom. Generally, it is found that the probability of electron transfer increases with the initial kinetic energy of the sodium atom (5–60 eV) and can attain values larger than 40%.
Coca-Cola douches and contraception.

Deborah Anderson explains why women really shouldn’t rely on Coca-Cola for family planning
Parkin and alpha-synuclein: opponent actions in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease.

Dominant mutations in the gene for •-synuclein, a small presynaptic protein, can cause Parkinson’s disease. Although there is still substantial debate about the precise mechanisms, •-synuclein is toxic to vulnerable neurons, probably as a result of its tendency to aggregate. Opposing this is another gene product that, when mutated, causes a recessive form of parkinsonism, parkin. Parkin has been recently shown to protect cells against •-synuclein toxicity. However, the precise details of the mechanism are unclear. This review will discuss the concept that there are multiple neuronal functions that are targeted by mutant •-synuclein, and in many cases, there is evidence that parkin can protect cells against damage to the same systems. The authors will also discuss ways in which to test some of these ideas, by using newly identified genes such as DJ-1 that cause similar phenotypes.
Green tea catechins such as (−)-epicatechin and (−)-epigallocatechin accelerate Cu2+-induced low density lipoprotein oxidation in propagation phase

Effects of (−)-epicatechin (EC) and (−)-epigallocatechin (EGC) on Cu2+-induced low density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation were studied in initiation and propagation phases. When 1.5 μM EC or EGC was added to the mixture of isolated human LDL and Cu2+ in the initiation phase, the oxidation of LDL was inhibited in agreement with previous findings. In contrast, in the propagation phase, 1.5 μM of EC or EGC worked as an accelerator of the oxidation, and acceleration ratios (maximum about 6 times) were modified depending on the concentrations of catechin used and the oxidation process in the propagation phase. The evidence was obtained from formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), detecting conjugated diene measured by absorbance at 234 nm and investigating fragmentation of apoprotein B (apo B) in LDL. Even in the propagation phase of LDL oxidation, the elevated concentrations of EC or EGC worked as inhibitors: after 40 min incubation of LDL with Cu2+, 10.0 μM EC or 2.0 μM EGC inhibited LDL oxidation. Yet, nitric oxide (NO) released from 5 μM zwitterionic polyamine/NO adducts had an inhibitory in all phases of LDL oxidation. These results indicate that catechins such as EC and EGC can act as free radical terminators (reducing agents) or accelerators (oxidizing agents) under oxidation circumstances, which is a different character from NO. From the above evidence, further investigations are needed on many natural flavonoids, the most potent antioxidative compounds in foods.
2nd international workshop on user evaluations for software engineering researchers (USER 2013)

We have met many software engineering researchers who would like to evaluate a tool or system they developed with real users, but do not know how to begin. In this second iteration of the USER workshop, attendees will collaboratively design, develop, and pilot plans for conducting user evaluations of their own tools and/or software engineering research projects. Attendees will gain practical experience with various user evaluation methods through scaffolded group exercises, panel discussions, and mentoring by a panel of user-focused software engineering researchers. Together, we will establish a community of like-minded researchers and developers to help one another improve our research and practice through user evaluation.
Estimates of the relative magnitudes of the isotropic and anisotropic magnetic-dipole hyperfine interactions in alkali-metal–noble-gas systems

We present a detailed theoretical analysis of the noble-gas nuclear-spin relaxation due to the anisotropic magnetic-dipole hyperfine interaction between the noble-gas nucleus and alkali-metal valence electron vis \`a vis the already well-understood (spin-conserving) isotropic magnetic-dipole hyperfine interaction in alkali-metal--noble-gas systems. We find that, for all pairs in which the noble gas is not helium, the predicted spin-relaxation rate from the anisotropic interaction does not exceed 2.5% of the rate from the isotropic interaction, thereby not appreciably limiting the maximum noble-gas nuclear polarization attainable via spin-exchange collisions with polarized alkali-metal atoms. For alkali-metal--helium pairs, we predict that the anisotropic interaction has a slightly larger relative effect, perhaps limiting the nuclear polarization to $\ensuremath{\sim}95%$ of the electronic polarization in the Rb-${}^{3}\mathrm{He}$ system; however, our confidence in the helium results is limited by a lack of knowledge of the interatomic potentials necessary for the calculation.
Cell surface glypicans are low-affinity endostatin receptors

Endostatin, a collagen XVIII fragment, is a potent anti-angiogenic protein. We sought to identify its endothelial cell surface receptor(s). Alkaline phosphatase- tagged endostatin bound endothelial cells revealing two binding affinities. Expression cloning identified glypican, a cell surface proteoglycan as the lower-affinity receptor. Biochemical and genetic studies indicated that glypicans' heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycans were critical for endostatin binding. Furthermore, endostatin selected a specific octasulfated hexasaccharide from a sequence in heparin. We have also demonstrated a role for endostatin in renal tubular cell branching morphogenesis and show that glypicans serve as low-affinity receptors for endostatin in these cells, as in endothelial cells. Finally, antisense experiments suggest the critical importance of glypicans in mediating endostatin activities.
The molecular genetic approach to familial alzheimer's disease

Abstract There is indeed a strong case to be made for locating the genetic defect underlying at least some proportion of AD cases. A strategy involving linkage analysis with DNA markers has already been implemented and has good prospects for success. The ultimate identification of a linked marker could, however, be hastened by the identification, documentation, sampling and banking, of additional large kindreds in which AD appears to inherit as an autosomal dominant defect.
Hospitalist workload and resident evaluations.

Summary Background Most academic hospitalists fulfil the role of clinician educator and have many opportunities for the bedside clinical teaching of resident physicians; however, hospitalists are promoted at lower rates than traditional internal medicine faculty staff. The conflict between the demands of clinical productivity and time to teach may be central to understanding the lower rates of academic promotion seen in hospitalists. This investigation explores the relationship between clinical productivity and learner evaluations of hospitalist clinician educators. Methods A retrospective review of clinical productivity and learner evaluations of hospitalists by residents was collected during the 2009–2012 academic years at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. Correlation analysis between annual work relative value units (wRVUs), patient encounters and duty days with resident evaluations of faculty staff in the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education core competencies was performed. Results Forty-one annual data sets, representing 18 individual hospitalists, were analysed. No significant correlations between clinical productivity, in terms of annual work RVUs, patient encounters and duty days, and resident learner evaluation scores was found. This investigation explores the relationship between clinical productivity and learner evaluations of hospitalist clinician educators Discussion This study found no significant influence of measures of annual clinical service workload on resident learner evaluations of hospitalist clinical educators. These results are consistent with data reported for emergency medicine doctors and anaesthesiologists. These results may have significant implications for the staffing requirements for academic hospitalists.
Advanced embedded active assemblies for extreme space applications

This work describes the development and evaluation of advanced technologies for the integration of electronic die within membrane polymers. Specifically, investigators thinned silicon die, electrically connecting them with circuits on flexible liquid crystal polymer (LCP), using gold thermo-compression flip chip bonding, and embedding them within the material. Daisy chain LCP assemblies were thermal cycled from −135 to +85°C (Mars surface conditions for motor control electronics). The LCP assembly method was further utilized to embed an operational amplifier designed for operation within the Mars surface ambient. The embedded op-amp assembly was evaluated with respect to the influence of temperature on the operational characteristics of the device. Applications for this technology range from multifunctional, large area, flexible membrane structures to small-scale, flexible circuits that can be fit into tight spaces for flex to fit applications.
Similar DNA recognition properties of alternatively spliced Drosophila POU factors

Interaction of POU-IV class proteins with DNA. (A) Binding of I-POU, tI-POU, and Brn-3.0 POU-domain GST-fusion proteins to an oligonucleotide containing an internal 16 base pair random sequence. Each EMSA shown used a similar amount of active POU-protein, as determined by binding to a specific oligonucleotide (Site 1, below). (B) Specific sites tested for binding to POU-IV class proteins. Site 1 is an optimal Brn-3.0 recognition element determined by random oligonucleotide selection, and Sites 2–12 are systematic mutations of this sequence. Octamer (oct) and octamer/heptamer (o/h) elements are derived from Oct-2 recognition sequences in the IgG heavy chain promoter (23). (C) Competition EMSAs of I-POU, tI-POU, and Brn-3.0 binding to specific recognition sites. Each assay contains 1.25 nM of 32P-labeled Site 1, 50 nM of the stated cold competitor oligo, and an equal amounts of the appropriate bacterially expressed POU-protein. Loss of signal indicates effective competition and thus high affinity binding by the competitor. For example, Site 1 competitor abolishes binding to the radiolabeled Site 1, but the oct site does not compete effectively. An artifact appears below the EMSA band in I-POU, lane 4.
Perceptual learning of co-articulation in speech

Four experiments investigated the novel issue of learning to accommodate the co-articulated nature of speech. Experiment 1 established a co-articulatory mismatch effect for a set of vowel–consonant (VC) syllables (reaction times were faster for co-articulation matching than for mismatching stimuli). A rhyme judgment training task on words (Experiment 2) or VC stimuli (Experiment 3) with mismatching information was followed by a phoneme monitoring task on a set of VC stimuli; training and test stimuli contained physically identical (same condition) or new (different condition) mismatching co-articulatory information (along with a set containing matching co-articulatory information). A third group received no training. A co-articulatory mismatch effect was found without training but not when the same mismatching tokens were used at training and test. Both word (Experiment 2) and syllable (Experiment 3) training stimuli eliminated the mismatch effect; overall reaction times were somewhat slower when the training stimuli were words. Perceptual learning generalized to new tokens only when the acoustic manifestation of the critical co-articulatory information in the training stimuli was sufficiently large (Experiments 3 and 4). The results are discussed in terms of speech processing and perceptual learning in speech perception.
Mossy fiber synaptic reorganization in the epileptic human temporal lobe.

The distribution of the mossy fiber synaptic terminals was examined using the Timm histochemical method in surgically excised hippocampus and dentate gyrus from patients who underwent lobectomy of the anterior part of the temporal lobe for refractory partial complex epilepsy. The dentate gyrus of epileptic patients demonstrated intense Timm granules and abundant mossy fiber synaptic terminals in the supragranular region and the inner molecular layer. In contrast, the dentate gyrus of presenescent nonepileptic primates demonstrated no Timm granules in the supragranular region. In nonepileptic senescent primates, occasional very sparse supragranuler Timm granules were observed that were easily distinguished from the dense pattern observed in association with human epilepsy. The results are morphological evidence of mossy fiber synaptic reorganization in the temporal lobe of epileptic humans, and suggest the intriguing possibility that mossy fiber sprouting and synaptic reorganization induced by repeated partial complex seizures may play a role in human epilepsy.
Reforming Telecom Regulation: An Essay Review of Nuechterlein and Weiser's Digital Crossroads †

The U.S. telecom industry has long been evolving from regulated monopoly to competition in various services such as telephony and video. This trend is accelerating with the spread of digital transmission and the Internet. Digital Crossroads provides a timely and sweeping treatment of the entire industry, focusing on the interaction between regulatory policy and competition – lessons from the past, and the challenges ahead. This essay review synthesizes and extends the book’s contributions around two central policy prescriptions: adopt a high intervention threshold before mandating “nondiscriminatory” access to perceived bottleneck facilities, and eliminate a host of outdated and arbitrary regulatory distinctions.
Crystallinity evaluation of tacrolimus solid dispersions by chemometric analysis

Abstract Different destructive and nondestructive analytical methods, namely powder X-ray diffractometry (PXRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Raman and near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and imaging, to detect and characterize tacrolimus trace crystallinity in an amorphous solid dispersion (SD) using chemometric analysis were developed. The SD was spiked with different percentages of the crystalline drug to construct an array of SDs with different crystallinity percentages. Partial least square (PLS) regression analysis was employed to compare the performance of the calibration models created using these analytical methods. The obtained results indicated a significant interaction between tacrolimus and the employed polymer and a drug dissolution dependency on the crystalline fraction within the SDs. Using two PLS factors, these analytical methods were ranked according to its specificity to detect the trace crystallinity of SDs as NIR > PXRD > Raman > DSC. Through the application of PLS, root-mean-squared error of calibration values of 2.91%, 5.36%, 7.07% and 11.58% were calculated for the calibration models constructed by NIR, PXRD, Raman and DSC, respectively. Having a prediction error of 2.1% and a correlation coefficient of 0.99, it is demonstrated that combined NIR imaging and chemometric analysis outperformed the other methods in detecting trace crystallinity in tacrolimus amorphous systems. The spatial distributions of amorphous and crystalline drug were also obtained in order to allow for studying the crystallization dissemination in the solid dispersions. Consequently, NIR and NIR imaging coupled with chemometry was shown to be a powerful tool for the prediction of drug crystallinity within SDs.
The Effect of Cigarette Taxation on Prices: An Empirical Analysis Using Local-Level Data

This paper combines new, author-collected tax data with data both from the American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association (ACCRA) cost of living index (COLI) and from the Tax Burden on Tobacco (TBT) to measure the relative effects of city, county and state excise cigarette taxation on cigarette prices. The results indicate that a $1 increase in the state excise cigarette tax increases cigarette prices between $1.10 and $1.14, but that a $1 increase in a city or county-level excise tax increases prices by $1.07. These findings are similar between premium and generic cigarette brands. Additionally, urban areas located near states with lower cigarette taxes tend to have lower cigarette prices relative to urban areas located near states with the same or higher tax rates.
Mental health services expenditures among children placed in out-of-home care

This study examined Florida Medicaid mental health expenditures for children in out-of-home care. Child welfare and Medicaid administrative databases were analyzed using two-part models to identify characteristics associated with expenditures. Mental health expenditures were higher for older children, boys, children who were abused or lost their caregivers, or with a longer length of stay in out-of-home care. In contrast, African American children were less likely to have positive expenditures than White children, but among youth with positive expenditures, African Americans had higher expenditures. In addition, among youth with positive expenditures, substance use and affective disorders were associated with higher expenditures.
A Generalized Approach to Linear Transform Approximations with Applications to the Discrete Cosine Transform

This paper aims to develop a generalized framework to systematically trade off computational complexity with output distortion in linear transforms such as the DCT, in an optimal manner. The problem is important in real-time systems where the computational resources available are time-dependent. Our approach is generic and applies to any linear transform and we use the DCT as a specific example. There are three key ideas: (a) a joint transform pruning and Haar basis projection-based approximation technique. The idea is to save computations by factoring the DCT transform into signal-independent and signal-dependent parts. The signal-dependent calculation is done in real-time and combined with the stored signal-independent part, saving calculations. (b) We propose the idea of the complexity-distortion framework and present an algorithm to efficiently estimate the complexity distortion function and search for optimal transform approximation using several approximation candidate sets. We also propose a measure to select the optimal approximation candidate set, and (c) an adaptive approximation framework in which the operating points on the C-D curve are embedded in the metadata. We also present a framework to perform adaptive approximation in real time for changing computational resources by using the embedded metadata. Our results validate our theoretical approach by showing that we can reduce transform computational complexity significantly while minimizing distortion.
THE TREATMENT OF STOKES-ADAMS SYNDROME IN HEART BLOCK.

Summary Complete heart block associated with Stokes-Adams disease now appears to be controllable by an electronic cardiac pacemaker. The operative procedure is not particularly complex; difficulties are rarely encountered if surgery is carried out with the patient's heart under the positive control of an electrode catheter introduced into the right ventricle via a superficial vein, and an external transistorized pacemaker. The postoperative course is usually smooth. A much clearer sensorium was noted in 5 of our older patients. The external control circuit has proved a valuable aid in a number of situations. Patients treated by an external pacemaker with wires or a catheter electrode passed through the skin are constantly concerned with having close at hand and protecting the unit which literally keeps them alive. On the other hand, patients with an implanted pacemaker, of which the main reminder is a moderate bulge on the abdomen, tend to forget about the problem. It is heartening to observe their changed outlook with improved cardiac output and release from the anxiety of impending Stokes-Adams attacks. (Typical ECG's of patients in our series appear in fig. 5). With the new twin lead, which seems far more dependable than the earlier types, the pacemaker may well return to useful activity many persons who would otherwise succumb to heart block with Stokes-Adams disease.
Evolutionary medicine: from dwarf model systems to healthy centenarians?

Restriction of the number of calories consumed extends longevity in many organisms. In rodents, caloric restriction decreases the levels of plasma glucose and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-1) and postpones or attenuates cancer, immunosenescence, and inflammation without irreversible side effects. In organisms ranging from yeast to mice, mutations in glucose or IGF-I–like signaling pathways extend life-span but also cause glycogen or fat accumulation and dwarfism. This information suggests a new category of drugs that could prevent or postpone diseases of aging with few adverse effects.
The effect of the nuclear medium on s-wave pion absorption

Abstract It is shown that the effects of the nuclear medium on the pion propagator and the renormalization of the πNN interaction, described in terms of excitation of virtual isolar-hole pairs can enhance the predicted absorption rates for pions at threshold to values close to the empirical ones.
Evaluation of global land cover maps for cropland area estimation in the conterminous United States

Global land cover data could provide continuously updated cropland acreage and distribution information, which is essential to a wide range of applications over large geographical regions. Cropland area estimates were evaluated in the conterminous USA from four recent global land cover products: MODIS land cover (MODISLC) at 500-m resolution in 2010, GlobCover at 300-m resolution in 2009, FROM-GLC and FROM-GLC-agg at 30-m resolution based on Landsat imagery circa 2010 against the US Department of Agriculture survey data. Ratio estimators derived from the 30-m resolution Cropland Data Layer were applied to MODIS and GlobCover land cover products, which greatly improved the estimation accuracy of MODISLC by enhancing the correlation and decreasing mean deviation (MDev) and RMSE, but were less effective on GlobCover product. We found that, in the USA, the CDL adjusted MODISLC was more suitable for applications that concern about the aggregated county cropland acreage, while FROM-GLC-agg gave the least deviat...
Effects of Diammonium Citrate in Practical-Type Broiler Diets

Abstract In two experiments, adding diammonium citrate (DAC) to a low-protein (15%) corn-soybean meal diet did not improve gains or feed conversion of broiler chicks. When the DAC was added at 3.88%, gains were reduced significantly in both experiments.
Disseminated aspergillosis and pacemaker endocarditis.

Clinical and pathologic findings in a 65-year old woman with fever of unknown origin are described in this report. Generalized aspergiliosis with endocarditis was demonstrated at autopsy. The patient had no recognized risk factors for the development of fungal infection. A functional transvenous pacemaker lead, inserted 2 years previously, was completely encased in a Jarge infected thrombus and may have been the initial site of infection. Septicemia and endocarditis are rare but well-described complications of cardiac pacing, and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of fever of unknown origin in patients with pacemakers.