cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Does employment growth increase travel time to work?: An empirical analysis using military troop movements

Abstract Employment growth is a common public policy goal, but it can lead to a number of unwanted environmental, social, and economic costs – particularly in high growth communities – due to its impact on peak-hour traffic. This paper examines the short-run impacts of rapid employment growth on travel time to work. We exploit exogenous variation in employment levels resulting from movements of military troops during the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) in order to identify the effect of employment growth on travel time using difference-in-difference-in-differences and instrumental variable methods. Our results show that for each additional 10 workers added per square kilometer, travel time increases by 0.171 to 0.244 min per one-way commute trip per commuter in the short run, which equates to $0.07 to $0.20 in travel time cost per commuter per day. Our estimates imply that the annualized short-run congestion costs of the 2005 BRAC were $79 to $761 million per year (in constant 2005 dollars) for military commuters and $3.15 to $6.3 billion per year (in constant 2005 dollars) for civilian commuters in BRAC-affected areas.
Star-Forming Galaxies Significantly Contribute to the Isotropic Gamma-Ray Background

The origin of the isotropic gamma-ray background (IGRB)---the portion of the extragalactic gamma-ray sky that is not resolvable into individual point sources---provides a powerful probe into the evolution of the high-energy Universe. Star-forming galaxies (SFGs) are among the most likely contributors to the IGRB, though their contribution is difficult to constrain because their flux distribution is dominated by numerous faint sources. We produce a novel joint-likelihood analysis of the $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray emission from 584 SFGs, utilizing advanced statistical techniques to compare the distribution of low-significance excesses against the non-Poissonian $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray background fluctuations. We first examine the theoretically well-motivated relationship between the far-IR and $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray luminosities of SFGs, utilizing a model where the $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray luminosity is given by ${\mathrm{log}}_{10}({\mathrm{L}}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}/(\mathrm{erg}\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}))=\ensuremath{\alpha}{\mathrm{log}}_{10}({\mathrm{L}}_{\mathrm{IR}}/(10{^{10}\mathrm{L}}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}))+\ensuremath{\beta}$. We calculate best-fit parameters $\ensuremath{\alpha}=1.18\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.15$, $\ensuremath{\beta}=38.49\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.24$, with a log-normal dispersion in this relationship given by $\ensuremath{\sigma}=0.39\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.12$. The best-fit values of $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ and $\ensuremath{\beta}$ are consistent with previous studies. We find a larger dispersion in the far-IR to $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray correlation than previous studies. This dispersion is significant at the level of $5.7\ensuremath{\sigma}$. These results imply that SFGs significantly contribute to the IGRB, producing between ${61.0}_{\ensuremath{-}18.3}^{+30.2}%$ of the total IGRB intensity above an energy of 1 GeV. Along with recent works, this strongly indicates that multiple source classes provide comparable contributions to the IGRB intensity. We discuss the implication of these results for the interpretation of the IceCube neutrinos.
Effects of Zr, Ti, and Al Additions on Nonmetallic Inclusions and Impact Toughness of Cast Low-Alloy Steel

A microalloying of the low-carbon and low-alloy cast steel was conducted with Zr, Ti, and Al that were added to the steel in four combinations. After heat treatment, the samples were tested for impact toughness at room temperature using the Charpy method. The highest values of impact toughness were obtained in the group treated with Zr, while Zr-Ti and Zr-Ti-Al groups showed moderate toughness values; the lowest values were observed in the Zr-Al group. Difference among the treatment groups was observed in the fracture mechanisms, morphology, and area distribution of the inclusions. High toughness values achieved in the trials treated with zirconium corresponded with smooth ductile fracture. The metal treated with a combination of zirconium and titanium had a relatively small area occupied by inclusions, but its toughness was also moderate. Lowest impact toughness values corresponded with the larger area occupied by the inclusions in the trials treated with aluminum. Also, a connection between the solubility product [Al][N] and impact toughness was established. The study also provides a qualitative description and quantitative analysis of the nonmetallic inclusions formation as a result of microalloying treatment. The precipitation sequence of the inclusions was described based on the thermochemical calculations for the nonmetallic compounds discovered in the experimental steel. A description of the size distribution, morphology, and composition was conducted for the oxides, nitrides, sulfides, and multiphase particles.
Trajectory of phantom limb pain relief using mirror therapy: Retrospective analysis of two studies.

Abstract Background and purpose Research indicates that mirror therapy reduces phantom limb pain (PLP). Objectives were to determine when mirror therapy works in those who respond to treatment, the relevance of baseline PLP to when pain relief occurs, and what pain symptoms respond to mirror therapy. Methods Data from two independent cohorts with unilateral lower limb amputation were analyzed for this study (n = 33). Mirror therapy consisted of 15-min sessions in which amputees performed synchronous movements of the phantom and intact legs/feet. PLP was measured using a visual analogue scale and the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire. Results The severity of PLP at the beginning of treatment predicted when pain relief occurred. Those with low baseline PLP experienced a reduction (p Conclusion The degree of PLP at baseline predicts when mirror therapy relieves pain. Implications This article indicates that the degree of baseline PLP affects when mirror therapy relieves pain: relief occurs by session 7 in patients with low PLP but by session 21 in patients with high PLP. Clinicians should anticipate slower pain relief in patients who begin treatment with high levels of pain. ClinicalTrials.gov numbers: NCT00623818 and NCT00662415 .
Pilot test of a home-based program to prevent perceived insufficient milk.

Abstract Problem Although the World Health Organization and American Academy of Pediatrics recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, only 22% of U.S. mothers do so. Mothers’ perceived insufficient milk (PIM) is the primary reason for breastfeeding discontinuation globally. There are two changeable causes of PIM: (1) mothers’ misinterpretation of their infant’s behavior, and (2) mothers’ lack of confidence in their ability to breastfeed. Aim The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-term effect of a home-based intervention designed to prevent and/or reduce PIM. Methods A mixed-methods, single-group, pretest-midtest-posttest design was used for evaluating a home-based breastfeeding program. The program was implemented during three 1.0- to 1.5-h home intervention sessions at 6, 13, and 27 days postpartum, delivered to 14 dyads of breastfeeding mothers and their full-term singleton infants. Findings We found significant increases over time in mothers’ sensitivity to infant behavior and breastfeeding self-efficacy as well as significant decreased attribution of infant crying to PIM. Exit interviews indicated that the program was accepted by participating mothers. Discussion This is the first intervention study that has directly targeted the causes of PIM. The home-based intervention has the potential to add to maternal competencies both in correctly assessing their infants’ behavior, thereby preventing erroneous attribution of infant behavior to PIM, as well as simultaneously bolstering maternal confidence in breastfeeding skills. Conclusion By building maternal competencies, the home-based intervention has a longer-range potential to prevent breastfeeding discontinuation. Further evaluation is warranted.
Tumors of the Sacrum: Diagnosis, Management, and Surgical Techniques

Latin for “sacred bone” and so named for its recurrent role in ancient Greek and Egyptian mythology [1], the os sacrum remains the subject of much discourse and scholarship in modern-day musculoskeletal oncology. While certain sacral tumors, including hematologic malignancies, giant cell tumors, and the majority of metastatic lesions, may be managed medically, chordomas, chondrosarcomas, and other primary malignancies typically warrant resection. The surgical treatment of these tumors demands careful attention to the complex interplay of anatomic, biomechanical, and oncologic factors. However, with meticulous preoperative planning and input from a specialized multidisciplinary team, good functional and oncologic results can be obtained.
A novel ensemble approach on regionalized neural networks for brain disorder prediction

With the advance in neuraimaging technology, such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), more brain image data become available, and mining the brain images emerges as a hot area in data mining communities. In contrast to ordinary images extensively studied in computer vision communities, brain images can be parcellated into different Regions of Interest (ROIs) due to the underlying functional and structural organization of human brain. Distinct diseases are highly relevant to a specific set of ROIs. In this paper, in order to leverage regional patterns to predict diseases and identify relevant ROIs, we present a novel Ensemble Approach on Regionalized Neural Networks (EARNN). EARNN is of a two-stage learning architecture. Its first stage consists of training a set of Regionalized Neural Network models, each of which learns from a brain region by using a proposed stochastic pooling operation. Its second stage adopts an effective EM algorithm to ensemble a mixture of Regionalized Neural Networks and iteratively estimate the mixing coefficients. We test our model on two real fMRI datasets. Experiments demonstrate that by effectively exploiting regional patterns and structural information, EARNN achieves the superior performance in comparison to previous approaches. In addition, according to our domain knowledge, EARNN successfully identifies relevant ROIs of diseases.
The Association Between Natural Environments and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents Living in the United States

Abstract Purpose Exposure to nature and natural environments may be beneficial for mental health; however, most population-based studies have been conducted among adults whereas few have focused on adolescents. We aimed to investigate the relationship between both greenness (vegetation) and blue space (water), and depressive symptoms among teenagers in the United States. Methods The study population included 9,385 participants ages 12–18 in the 1999 wave of the Growing Up Today Study. We characterized greenness exposure using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index at a 250-m and 1,250-m radius around a subject's residence using data from the moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer onboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Terra satellite. Exposure to blue space was defined as the presence of blue space within a 250-m and 1,250-m radius and distance to the nearest blue space. We used logistic regression models to examine associations with high depressive symptoms, measured using self-reported responses to the McKnight Risk Factor Survey. Results An interquartile range higher peak greenness in the 1,250-m buffer was associated with 11% lower odds of high depressive symptoms (95% confidence interval .79–.99). Although not statistically significant, this association was stronger in middle school students than in high school students. No such association was seen for blue spaces. Conclusions Surrounding greenness, but not blue space, was associated with lower odds of high depressive symptoms in this population of more than 9,000 U.S. adolescents. This association was stronger in middle school students than in high school students. Incorporating vegetation into residential areas may be beneficial for mental health.
STRATOSPHERE/TROPOSPHERE EXCHANGE & STRUCTURE | Global Aspects

This article is reproduced from the previous edition, volume 5, pp 2137–2143, © 2003, Elsevier Ltd.
Resonance and Feedback Stabilization

Abstract It is shown that no resonance and small time local controllability for an n-dimensional, real analytic, single input affine control system imply many standard necessary conditions for the existence of a continuous, asymptotically stabilizing (state) feedback control (ASFC). Furthermore, no resonance means there exist local coordinates in which the drift vector field is linear, yielding a canonical form for the study of sufficient conditions and construction of an ASFC. The roles of resonance and the Kawski necessary condition are examined in detail.
Isolation and Characterization of Compound-Resistant Isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

This chapter describes the isolation and characterization of spontaneous resistant mutants of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The overall objective of resistant mutant isolation is to determine the mode of action and/or cellular targets of new antimycobacterial agents. Whole-genome sequencing of resistant mutants can identify targets of antimycobacterial drugs and mechanisms of resistance, such as efflux, changes in drug permeability, or drug recognition. Mutants allow insight into in vivo biological processes and can help elucidate the number and identity of genes in a given pathway. Resistant mutant characterization can also lay the groundwork for structure/function studies, especially in conjunction with binding studies and X-ray crystallography.
Validation of the Dynamics of a Parts Feeding System Using Augmented Reality Technology

An augmented reality (AR) environment was developed to validate the 3D dynamic simulation of a parts feeding system by augmenting virtual objects with real images of an experimental background. By means of Taguchi’s orthogonal arrays, the possible contributing factors for the collision simulation were analyzed to align virtual objects with real systems and reduce the position mismatches made by the simulator. In case studies, simulation of a parts feeding system was conducted using a commercial simulator and was subsequently visualized in the AR environment to compare with images from the physical experiments. This technology also sets a procedure to calibrate and fine-tune augmented systems with precision requirements.
Dietary intakes of female college athletes: the need for nutrition education.

At Ohio State University (OSU), coaches of the women's swimming and field hockey teams expressed interest in providing nutrition education to their respective teams. They were particularly concerned with the overall nutritional adequacy of the athletes' self-selected diets. A study was conducted to assess the current dietary intakes of the athletes and to compare their intakes with those of non-athlete college women
Does Geographic Proximity Change the Passiveness of Equity Ownership by Bank Trust

We provide evidence that while concentrated bank trust ownership is passive with distant firms, it is nonpassive with local firms and reduce their risk‐taking. Concentrated local bank trust ownership is associated with (i) lower future firm equity beta and (ii) less uncertain corporate policies. The results cannot be explained by private information alone, are not driven by local bank trusts as a mixed debt‐equity holder, and are robust to various tests for endogeneity. We also explore channels through which local bank trusts could exert their influence, including their stabilizing function during crisis periods and joining force with local independent directors.
Transitive joins: a sound and efficient online deadlock-avoidance policy

We introduce a new online deadlock-avoidance policy, Transitive Joins (TJ), that targets programs with dynamic task parallelism and arbitrary join operations. In this model, a computation task can asynchronously spawn new tasks and selectively join (block) on any task for which it has a handle. We prove that TJ soundly guarantees the absence of deadlock cycles among the blocking join operations. We present an algorithm for dynamically verifying TJ and show that TJ results in fewer false positives than the state-of-the-art policy, Known Joins (KJ). We evaluate an implementation of our verifier in comparison to prior work. The evaluation results show that instrumenting a program with a TJ verifier incurs geometric mean overheads of only 1.06× in execution time and 1.09× in memory usage, which is better overall than existing KJ verifiers. TJ is a practical online deadlock-avoidance policy that is applicable to a wide range of parallel programming models.
Abstract WMP31: Integration of MRA and CTA for Brain Aneurysm Follow up

Introduction: Because MR does not involve ionizing radiation and may be used without contrast, recently there has been a trend towards monitoring aneurysms primarily with MRA and then use CTA as ne...
Sequential tests of promise with discrete time-to-event data.

Abstract We introduce a family of sequential test procedures in the context of a futility study design, or as we prefer to call it, a formal test of promise, suitable for use with time-to-event data. The procedures are motivated by an actual trial that was undertaken to test the promise of very early antiretroviral therapy to achieve viral remission in infants with perinatally-acquired HIV. Important gains in efficiency are illustrated in terms of early stopping and statistical power compared with other methods such as Simon's two-stage design with binary outcomes. We show how to calculate the operating characteristics of the proposed sequential tests of promise and provide optimal or near-optimal boundaries for small or medium size samples which provide the typical context for the tests under consideration. The design features discussed in this article are also of immediate pertinence to trials designed to test disease cures which may require treatment interruption and small numbers of participants.
Secondary structure of caveolins: a mini review.

Caveolae are 50-100 nm invaginations found within the plasma membrane of cells. Caveolae are involved in many processes that are essential for homeostasis, most notably endocytosis, mechano-protection, and signal transduction. Within these invaginations, the most important proteins are caveolins, which in addition to participating in the aforementioned processes are structural proteins responsible for caveolae biogenesis. When caveolin is misregulated or mutated, many disease states can arise which include muscular dystrophy, cancers, and heart disease. Unlike most integral membrane proteins, caveolin does not have a transmembrane orientation; instead, it is postulated to adopt an unusual topography where both the N- and C-termini lie on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane, and the hydrophobic span adopts an intramembrane loop conformation. While knowledge concerning the biology of caveolin has progressed apace, fundamental structural information has proven more difficult to obtain. In this mini-review, we curate as well as critically assess the structural data that have been obtained on caveolins to date in order to build a robust and compelling model of the caveolin secondary structure.
Spectrum Measurement and Management for Future Spectrum-sharing Networks

Mobile wireless networks are at a tipping point. While traditionally they have been a key enabler of distributed Internet applications, in recent years they have become throttled by heterogeneous and bandwidth-hungry applications such as immersive virtual reality and the Internet of Things. The rapid growth of the number of connected devices and the volume and diversity of traffic they generate calls for a fundamental rethink in wireless network design and operation. In addition, future wireless networks have to be conceived with an outlook towards inclusiveness to equally cater to infrastructure-challenged environments such as rural and post-disaster areas. This talk will introduce our work on future networks with Dynamic Spectrum Access. We will begin by discussing the speed and latency requirements of future applications. We will then talk about our work on automating the measurement and management of the radio spectrum for future spectrum-sharing applications. In the second part of the talk, we will discuss challenges that inhibit mobile wireless network advances in infrastructure-challenged areas and discuss the advantages of shared spectrum access for such environments. We will talk about several of the systems we have developed to bridge the connectivity gap in rural areas and discuss their applicability in rural emergency preparedness and response.
Tesseract: Real-Time Cryptocurrency Exchange Using Trusted Hardware

We propose Tesseract, a secure real-time cryptocurrency exchange service. Existing centralized exchange designs are vulnerable to theft of funds, while decentralized exchanges cannot offer real-time cross-chain trades. All currently deployed exchanges are also vulnerable to frontrunning attacks. Tesseract overcomes these flaws and achieves a best-of-both-worlds design by using a trusted execution environment. The task of committing the recent trade data to independent cryptocurrency systems presents an all-or-nothing fairness problem, to which we present ideal theoretical solutions, as well as practical solutions. Tesseract supports not only real-time cross-chain cryptocurrency trades, but also secure tokenization of assets pegged to cryptocurrencies. For instance, Tesseract-tokenized bitcoins can circulate on the Ethereum blockchain for use in smart contracts. We provide a demo implementation of Tesseract that supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, and similar cryptocurrencies.
HIV Testing Behaviors among Black Rural Women: The Moderating Role of Conspiracy Beliefs and Partner Status Disclosure

Objective: This study investigated whether HIV testing attitudes, HIV conspiracy beliefs, and reported sexual partner disclosure of HIV/STI status related to one-month self-report HIV testing outcomes following a brief intervention among Black women aged 18-25 years residing in rural Mississippi. Participants: Black women (N=119; M age =19.90, SD=1.81) recruited in rural Mississippi completed an online assessment before a brief HIV prevention intervention and a one month follow-up assessment dur­ing January to November 2016. Main Outcome Measures: Self-reported HIV testing 30-days following the interven­tion, partner HIV/STI status disclosure, beliefs in HIV conspiracy theory, and HIV testing attitudes in pre- and post-interven­tion assessments. Bivariate and multivariate analyses tested associations with HIV testing behaviors following the intervention. Results: Moderated moderation was used to examine whether HIV conspiracy beliefs and partner disclosure status both moder­ated the relationship between pre-interven­tion attitudes toward HIV testing and HIV testing at 1-month follow-up. It was found that both HIV conspiracy beliefs and partner disclosure moderated the relationship between attitudes and HIV testing at one-month follow-up. When partner disclosure was low, women with more negative at­titudes toward testing and higher conspiracy beliefs were less likely to get tested than those with negative attitudes and lower conspiracy beliefs; conspiracy beliefs did not relate to testing outcomes when testing attitudes were positive. Conclusion: Findings suggest that interven­tions may benefit from accounting for con­spiracy beliefs and the dyadic status disclo­sure when encouraging young rural women to test for HIV. Ethn Dis. 2020;30(2):251- 260; doi:10.18865/ed.30.2.251
Mitigating Chemical Paths to Capacity Fade in Organic Flow Batteries

In this issue of Chem, Michael Aziz, Roy Gordon, and collaborators report soluble, functionalized anthraquinones that serve to deactivate and recover from chemical reactions that lead to capacity fade in organic redox flow battery electrolytes. The result is an unprecedented low rate of capacity fade of
Medicaid Expansion Resulted in Decreased Odds of Frequent Emergency Department Use Among Medicaid Beneficiaries and the Uninsured in New York

Research Objective Frequent emergency department (ED) use has been often cited as a marker of fragmented health care provision and is an indicator of poor quality of care. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) attempted to address the rising costs related to the utilization of ED services, among others, by expanding insurance coverage, by fortifying primary care, by supporting the development of integrated health care delivery models, and by introducing alternative quality‐adjusted payment models. The objective of this study is to describe and to compare frequent ED users before and after the Medicaid expansion under the ACA and to estimate the policy’s effect on the likelihood of frequent ED utilization in New York.
Holistic, long-term soundscape monitoring in Upstate New York using convolutional long short-term memory deep neural networks

As part of a long-term bioacoustics monitoring project, audio data containing both anthrophony and biophony was collected 24/7 in a residential area of upstate NY for ten months of the 2019–2020 year. To analyze the ecological content of the data with as little manual intervention as possible, the data is automatically classified using deep learning techniques. First, the data is segmented and fed through a binary CNN long short-term memory network to separate “signal” from “silence.” Next, a small subset of the dataset is manually annotated via visual inspection of log-mel spectrograms to train a multiclass CNN-LSTM—a method which reaches testing accuracies of over 90%. Algorithm performance on this manually annotated dataset is compared to performance on unabridged, “real world” audio data, and strategies to handle issues such as lack of training data, multi-label classification, and the “none of the above” class are also explored. The classification results are ultimately used to generate long-term seasonal sound maps which are cross-referenced with local weather data.
A Comparison of United States Marine Corps Physical Fitness Test and Combat Fitness Test Results.

The United States Marines Corps (USMC) have installed a Physical Fitness Test (PFT) to measure physical fitness levels and a Combat Fitness Test (CFT) to assess a Marine’s functional fitness as it relates to the demands of combat operations. The PFT involves three events; pull-ups/push-ups (PU), two-minute abdominal crunches/sit-ups (AC), and a timed three-mile run (RUN). The CFT also involves three events; Movement to Contact (MTC), two-minute Ammunition Lift (AL), and Maneuver-Under-Fire (MANUF). It is of interest to determine if the PFT and CFT are both necessary. As such, the purpose of this study was to determine the degree of relationships between PFT (PU, AC, RUN, and total) and CFT (MTC, AL, MANUF, and total) scores of active duty Marines. The PFT and CFT scores from 19,678 active duty enlisted USMC males (age 22.5±1.3 years, height 1.77±0.07 m, body mass 79.4±10.3 kg) were analyzed. Pearson correlation coefficients (r) were calculated between the PFT and CFT total scores as well as individual events. The PFT mean±sd scores were as follows: PU=18.0±5.0 (pull-ups), AC=111.2±9.0 (repetitions), RUN=1377.0±131.4 sec, PFT total=249.6±29.6. The CFT mean±sd scores were as follows: MTC=172.5±16.3 sec, AL=113.2±10.4 repetitions, MANUF=138.3±17.2 sec, CFT total=271.6±25.6. Moderate significant (p<0.01) correlations were found between: the PFT total and MTC (r=−0.47), PFT total and MANUF (r=−0.42), PFT total and CFT total (r=0.50), RUN and MTC (r=0.46), RUN and CFT total (r=−0.43), & PU and CFT total (r=0.41). Other correlations between variables yielded “no to low” association but were also significant due to the large sample size. Within the parameters of this study, PFT and CFT event scores demonstrated no to moderate correlations suggesting that different fitness characteristics are being assessed and supports the need for both the PFT and CFT assessments.
Associations between culture of health and employee engagement in social enterprises: A cross-sectional study

Introduction The aging of staff and skill shortage are major challenges for social enterprises. Nurturing a workplace culture of health and fostering employee engagement could be starting points to combat these challenges. The associations between these two factors have received comparatively little attention from the scientific community, in particular with regard to social enterprises. Hence, this study aims to examine those associations, drawing on the job demands-resources theory and the social-ecological workplace culture of health model. It is hypothesized that employees' self-rated health acts as a mediator in the relationship between culture of health and employee engagement and that health as personal value works as a moderator. Method The study used the Workplace Culture of Health scale to measure culture of health in social enterprises and UWES-9 to assess employee engagement. Data was collected administering a quantitative online survey among employees of social enterprises in Germany. The dataset for analyses comprised N = 172 employees in total. Data analyses included Pearson's correlations, regression analysis, as well as mediation, moderation and moderated mediation analyses. Results Culture of health is a predictor of employee engagement in social enterprises. The analyses demonstrate a moderate association between culture of health and employee engagement. Indications were found that employees' self-rated health acts as a mediator and that health as personal value acts as a moderator between culture of health and employee engagement in social enterprises. Discussion This study suggests that fostering a culture of health in social enterprises does not only have a positive effect on employee health, but also on employee engagement. This applies in particular when employees attribute great value to their health, which is to be expected even more in future. Hence, nurturing a culture of health becomes a pivotal management task in social enterprises. Moreover, a comprehensive assessment of the benefits of health promotion programs in social enterprises should not only consider their health-related outcomes, but also factor in their impact on employee engagement.
Modeling elevated blood lead level risk across the United States

Lead exposure adversely affects child health and continues to be a major public health concern in the United States (US). Lead exposure risk has been linked with older housing and households in poverty, but more studies of neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and lead exposure risk over large and diverse geographic areas are needed. In this paper, we combined lead test result data over many states for a majority of the US ZIP Codes in order to estimate its association with many SES variables and predict lead exposure risk in all populated ZIP Codes in the US. The methods used for estimation and prediction of lead risk included the Vox lead exposure risk score, random forest, weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression, and a Bayesian SES index model. The results showed that the Bayesian index model had the best overall performance for modeling elevated blood lead level (EBLL) risk and therefore was used to create a lead exposure risk score for US ZIP Codes. There was a statistically significant association between EBLL risk and the SES index and the most important SES variables for explaining EBLL risk were percentage of houses built before 1940 and median home value. When mapping the lead exposure risk scores, there was a clear pattern of elevated risk in the Northeast and Midwest, but areas in the South and Southwest regions of the US also had high risk. In summary, the Bayesian index model was an effective method for modeling EBLL risk associated with neighborhood deprivation while accounting for additional heterogeneity in risk using lead test result data covering a majority of the US. The resulting lead exposure risk score can be used for targeting public health intervention efforts.
Septins: Cytoskeletal Filaments with Structural and Regulatory Functions

Dubbed as the fourth component of the cytoskeleton, septins comprise a network of nonpolar hetero-polymeric filaments, which assemble in a guanosine nucleotide-dependent manner. Septins are structurally and functionally interdependent with cell membranes, microtubules, and actin microfilaments. The primary function of septins is to control the spatial organization of membrane and cytoplasmic proteins by forming diffusion barriers and scaffolds. Thus, septins play key structural and regulatory roles in many of the functions and processes of the eukaryotic cell. Importantly, aberrations in septin expression and function are linked to the pathogenesis of many disease states.
The Banking System in Cyprus: Time to Rethink the Business Model? †

Cyprus has a large banking system compared to its economy (total assets of 896% of Gross Domestic Product or GDP in 2010), relative to the average for the EU and the Eurozone (357% and 334% respectively in 2009). Even if one excludes the overseas operations of domestically-owned banks, the size of the banking system is still large and exceeds 7 times GDP. However, Cyprus is not unique in that respect: several other EU countries have similar or even larger banking systems (Figure 1). These systems grew significantly over the past decade (Figure 2) as a result of an accommodating global environment and policy measures by national authorities to promote them as international financial centers. It is only recently that financial crisis-induced deleveraging of internationally active banks and slowdown in cross-border capital flows have halted that trend.
Smoothly time varying systems and Toeplitz least squares problems

This paper explores the implications of assuming a system to be smoothly time-varying for least squares based system identification, as well as conditions under which least squares solutions are smoothly time-varying. By requiring persistent excitation and that the order of the model be chosen appropriately, using a standard singular value based scheme, it is shown that the subspace tracking, least squares and total least squares problems all yield smooth solutions. Specific tracking bounds are given, which-show that any smooth system which realizes the input/output relation with small error must be close to the least squares solution. This indicates that if smoothness is desired, the least squares estimate is a reasonable choice. The underlying matrix problem has Toeplitz structure which can be exploited in the algorithmic implementation.
An upstream region of the rat luteinizing hormone β gene binds estrogen receptor and confers estrogen responsiveness

Abstract Regulation of gonadotropin gene expression by sex steroids may occur via direct effects on the pituitary and/or by indirect effects of steroid on the hypothalamus. To study direct estrogen regulation of the rat luteinizing hormone beta (LH beta) gene, we performed estrogen receptor-DNA binding studies and transient expression gene transfer experiments. Nitrocellulose filter binding studies were performed with purified estrogen receptor from calf uterus and labeled fragments of the LH beta gene. Dose-dependent specific binding to receptor occurred only with LH beta gene fragments containing a common 284-base region from -1388 to -1105 bases upstream from the transcriptional start site. This DNA region contained a 15-base imperfect palindromic region (GGACACCATCTGTCC) with sequence similarity to other estrogen-responsive elements. Biological function was tested by inserting portions of the 5'-flanking region of the gene next to the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase promoter fused to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene (LH beta-tkCAT) and performing gene transfer experiments with the pituitary GH3 cell line. Promoter activity in LH beta-tkCAT constructs containing LH beta gene sequences from bases -2013 to -613, or from bases -1388 to -613 in either orientation, exhibited stimulation with 17 beta-estradiol (E2) treatment; in contrast, constructs containing bases -885 to -613 were not regulated by E2. Positive regulation by E2 exhibited dose- and time-dependent stimulation, with a maximum 2- to 6-fold effect achieved after 48 h of treatment with 10(-8) M E2. The estrogen receptor appeared to be required for this biological response. Stimulation of LH beta-tkCAT constructs did not occur in L cells with undetectable levels of E2 receptor, but did occur after cotransfection of an LH beta-tkCAT construct and an expression vector containing the human estrogen receptor cDNA. These studies demonstrate that a 5'-flanking region of the rat LH beta gene can bind to the estrogen receptor and that this region can confer hormonal responsiveness to a heterologous promoter. Thus, positive steroid regulation of luteinizing hormone may occur directly on the pituitary at the level of the LH beta gene.
Fuel Economy Improvements with Friction-Modified Engine Oils in Environmental Protection Agency and Road Tests

Fuel economy with experimental and commercial friction-modified engine oils has been measured in EPA 55/45 and road tests. Fuel economy improvements provided by the additives averaged 1.2 percent in road tests. Adding molybdenum disulfide to both the engine oil and rear axle lubricant improved EPA 55/45 test fuel economy 4.6 percent. Three commercial friction-modified engine oils were evaluated. In EPA and road tests, fuel economy with these oils improved an average 2.9 and 4.1 percent, respectively, over that obtained using the nonfriction-modified engine oils. Of these oils, the two containing soluble additives were most effective in improving fuel economy under warmed-up operation, whereas the graphite-containing oil was most effective during engine warm-up.
Update: Causes and symptoms of sudden cardiac death in young athletes

Abstract Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the leading cause of death during exercise. While initial reports suggested that the most common cause of SCD in young athletes was due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a critical review of investigations in several populations (athletes, non-athletes, military, national, and international) supports that the most common finding at autopsy of young individuals with SCD is actually a structurally normal heart (SNH). This information is vital for sports medicine clinicians, especially with regard to the pre-participation evaluation (PPE) since cardiac death associated with a SNH is likely attributed to disorders such as arrhythmia or ion channel diseases. This comprehensive review explores the causes of SCD, along with the symptoms preceding death, which ultimately may help refine the PPE and maximize the ability to detect potentially lethal disease prior to competition.
Nature of Nuclear Acceptor Sites for Glucocorticoid- and Estrogen-Receptor Complexes

Abstract In cell-free systems, glucocorticoid receptor-dexamethasone complexes from hepatoma tissue culture (HTC) cells bind to HTC cell nuclei, and estrogen receptor-estradiol complexes from immature uteri bind to uterine nuclei. The binding is specific in that it is of high affinity (apparent Kd = 2 to 3 x 10-10 m) and involves a limited number of acceptor sites (about 3850 per haploid genome). Furthermore, nonradioactive receptor-steroid complexes inhibit the binding of the homologous receptors complexed with tritiated steroid. In each case, the maximum number of complexes bound to isolated nuclei is very similar to the number found in the nuclear fraction of intact cells exposed to saturating concentrations of steroid. Receptor-glucocorticoid complexes also bind with high affinity (apparent Kd = 2.6 x 10-10 m) to about 2150 acceptor sites (per haploid genome) in isolated uterine nuclei, even though the immature uterus is devoid of glucocorticoid receptors. The uterine acceptor sites for glucocorticoid receptors are different from those for estrogen receptors. Thus, the binding of one class of receptor-steroid complex is not inhibited by the other type. The acceptor sites for glucocorticoid receptors in both uterine and HTC cell nuclei are destroyed by DNase, whereas those for estrogen receptors are resistant. Nuclear-bound receptor-dexamethasone complexes are released from both uterine and HTC cell nuclei at a lower concentration of NaCl than is required to release bound receptor-estradiol complexes. Finally, acceptors for estrogen receptors are not found in HTC cell nuclei. It is concluded that nuclear acceptors for glucocorticoid receptors are not restricted to target tissues and therefore nuclei from certain cells are able to bind more than one class of steroid receptor. Where this occurs, however, the results show that each type of nuclear acceptor site binds only one of the two classes of receptor-steroid complex examined. Glucocorticoid and estrogen acceptor sites differ chemically and physically, possibly reflecting differences in the molecular mechanisms of action of these hormones.
Fresh and nonfibrillar amyloid β protein(1–40) induces rapid cellular degeneration in aged human fibroblasts: evidence for AβP-channel-mediated cellular toxicity

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is primarily nonfamilial or sporadic (SAD) in origin, although several genetic linkages are reported. Tissues from AD patients contain fibrillar plaques made of 39 to 43 amino acid-long amyloid beta peptide (AβP), although the mechanisms of AβP toxicity are poorly understood. AβP1–40 is the most prevalent AβP present in the neuronal and non-neuronal tissues from SAD patients. AβP1–40 toxicity has been examined mainly after prolonged incubation and correlates with the age and fibrillar morphology of AβP1–40. Globular and nonfibrillar AβPs are released continually during normal cellular metabolism; they elevate cellular Ca2+ and form cation-permeable channels. However, their role in cellular toxicity is poorly understood. We have used an integrated atomic force and light fluorescence microscopy (AFM-LFM), laser confocal microscopy, and calcium imaging to examine real-time and acute effect of fresh and globular AβP1–40 on cultured, aged human, AD-free fibroblasts. AFM images show tha...
In Vivo Toxicity and Immunological Characterization of Detoxified Recombinant Botulinum Neurotoxin Type A

A double-mutant E224A/E262A full-length botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) Type A with structural similarity to native BoNT/A but lacking the endopeptidase activity provides an ideal surrogate for testing pharmacokinetics and immunochemical characteristics of BoNT. We determined lethality (LD50) of deactivated recombinant botulinum neurotoxin (drBoNT/A) to be 24.0 μg by intraperitoneal route (i.p). The polypeptide drBoNT/A labeled with near infra-red dye 800 (NIR 800) was used to examine its distribution to different organs using whole body imaging when administered to mice via intravenous (i.v) or i.p route. Also, drBoNT/A was used to evaluate its immunogenicity in Balb/C mice model. drBoNT/A was found to be highly immunogenic when tested under various in vivo conditions in Balb/C mice model. For the first time we have demonstrated that a full length 150 kDa drBoNT/A, by administering via inhalation route in mice model, has evoked both circulating immunoglobulin levels of IgG and secretory IgA at the mucosal surface. The immunoglobulin levels were sufficient enough to protect against the challenge dose of native BoNT toxin in mice model. Tissue distribution of drBoNT/A seems to be similar to that of native toxin. Based on the characteristics described in this report this nontoxic holotoxin protein will assist us to explore the window of opportunity available for therapeutic treatment in case of unnatural poisoning, and also it can be an effective vaccine candidate.
Hprt mutant frequency and p53 gene status in mice chronically exposed by inhalation to benzene.

Abstract Hprt mutant frequency and p53 gene status were assessed in wild-type and p53 heterozygous ( p53 +/−) mice exposed chronically by inhalation to benzene. Benzene exposures to 100 ppm for 6 h on Monday–Friday, 100 ppm for 10 h on Monday–Wednesday–Friday, or 200 ppm for 5 h on Monday–Wednesday–Friday yielded the same total exposures (concentration × time) of 3000 ppm × h/week. Hprt mutations in splenic T-lymphocytes were significantly increased in all benzene groups, ranging from 3.8- to 8.0-fold greater than control values. Wild-type and p53 +/− mice were equally susceptible to benzene mutagenesis. Hprt wild-type and mutant isolates from control and exposed animals were examined for TCR gene rearrangements (as markers of in vivo clonality) and for loss of p53 wild-type or mutant alleles. Moderate clonal amplifications were observed among the Hprt mutant but not Hprt wild-type isolates but was not sufficient to account for the increases in Hprt mutant frequencies. Most isolates, whether Hprt wild-type or mutant, retained both p53 alleles in the benzene-exposed p53 +/− animals (54% and 63%, respectively, for the Hprt wild-type and mutants). However, 37% of the Hprt wild-type isolates and 46% of the Hprt mutant isolates lost the p53 mutant allele. Only a small percentage of either type of isolate lost the p53 wild-type allele, and this was always in isolates that that previously lost the p53 mutant allele. Loss of the p53 mutant allele was independent of benzene exposure, Hprt status, or 6-thioguanine selection. These findings contrast with the p53 status of thymic lymphomas that had preferentially lost the wild-type p53 allele in some of these same mice. Possible reasons for loss of the mutant p53 allele in the Hprt mutant and wild-type isolates are discussed.
A framework for modeling and analysis of dynamical properties of spiking neurons

Author(s): Phillips, S; Sanfelice, RG | Abstract: A hybrid systems framework for modeling and analysis of robust stability of spiking neurons is proposed. The framework is developed for a population of n interconnected neurons. Several well-known neuron models are studied within the framework, including both excitatory and inhibitory simplified Hodgkin-Huxley, Hopf, and SNIPER models. For each model, we characterize the sets that the solutions to each system converge to. Using Lyapunov stability tools for hybrid systems, the stability properties for each case are established. An external stimuli is introduced to the simplified Hodgkin-Huxley model to achieve a global asymptotic stability property. Due to the regularity properties of the data of the hybrid models considered, the asserted stability properties are robust to small perturbations. Simulations provide insight on the results and the capabilities of the proposed framework. © 2014 American Automatic Control Council.
Mastery: The Key to Childbirth Satisfaction? A Study

ABSTRACT: The authors present research findings which show that prenatal expectations towards childbirth participation are somewhat predictive of three-week postpartum descriptions of childbirth experiences. In a comparison of prenatal to postnatal scores on the scale of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire measuring instrumentality, group mean was shown to increase significantly in the postnatal measure. These gain scores were found to correlate significantly with women's perceived mastery behavior during childbirth, thus indicating support of a model in which mastery is described as the. key to childbirth satisfaction.