cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Future strategies in the diagnosis of patients with coronary artery disease – are we stenting the wrong coronary artery lesions?

More than 1 million people in the USA will suffer an acute myocardial infarction (MI) this year. This will be the first presentation of any form of heart disease for approximately 300,000 of these individuals who will never have an opportunity to seek medical care prior to the gripping chest pains accompanying this acute coronary obstruction. Some of these individuals will not survive this initial insult and will fall into the not uncommon category of sudden cardiac death. These sudden, unexpected, catastrophic events should come as no surprise. The Glacov model of coronary artery disease has demonstrated that diseased vessel walls initially undergo positive remodeling – an outward pathological process that does not obstruct the vessel lumen [1]. Studies consistently prove that infarct-related coronary arteries are frequently not the obstructed vessel, but a minimally obstructed lumen that was vulnerable to plaque rupture. Conventional cardiac imaging is limited by the necessity to demonstrate provokable ischemia prior to concluding coronary artery disease (CAD). With sophisticated, contemporary imaging currently available or on the horizon, this limitation may be lifted and these early, nonobstructive, vulnerable lesions may become detectable. Hence, a diagnostic paradigm shift is underway, which may have a huge impact on the health of our patients. The problem
Systems biology approach to identify transcriptome reprogramming and candidate microRNA targets during the progression of polycystic kidney disease

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is characterized by cyst formation throughout the kidney parenchyma. It is caused by mutations in either of two genes, PKD1 and PKD2. Mice that lack functional Pkd1 (Pkd1 -/- ), develop rapidly progressive cystic disease during embryogenesis, and serve as a model to study human ADPKD. Genome wide transcriptome reprogramming and the possible roles of micro-RNAs (miRNAs) that affect the initiation and progression of cyst formation in the Pkd1 -/- have yet to be studied. miRNAs are small, regulatory non-coding RNAs, implicated in a wide spectrum of biological processes. Their expression levels are altered in several diseases including kidney cancer, diabetic nephropathy and PKD. We examined the molecular pathways that modulate renal cyst formation and growth in the Pkd1 -/- model by performing global gene-expression profiling in embryonic kidneys at days 14.5 and 17.5. Gene Ontology and gene set enrichment analysis were used to identify overrepresented signaling pathways in Pkd1 -/- kidneys. We found dysregulation of developmental, metabolic, and signaling pathways (e.g. Wnt, calcium, TGF-β and MAPK) in Pkd1 -/- kidneys. Using a comparative transcriptomics approach, we determined similarities and differences with human ADPKD: ~50% overlap at the pathway level among the mis-regulated pathways was observed. By using computational approaches (TargetScan, miRanda, microT and miRDB), we then predicted miRNAs that were suggested to target the differentially expressed mRNAs. Differential expressions of 9 candidate miRNAs, miRs-10a, -30a-5p, -96, -126-5p, -182, -200a, -204, -429 and -488, and 16 genes were confirmed by qPCR. In addition, 14 candidate miRNA:mRNA reciprocal interactions were predicted. Several of the highly regulated genes and pathways were predicted as targets of miRNAs. We have described global transcriptional reprogramming during the progression of PKD in the Pkd1 -/- model. We propose a model for the cascade of signaling events involved in cyst formation and growth. Our results suggest that several miRNAs may be involved in regulating signaling pathways in ADPKD. We further describe novel putative miRNA:mRNA signatures in ADPKD, which will provide additional insights into the pathogenesis of this common genetic disease in humans.
Associations of decadal to multidecadal sea-surface temperature variability with Upper Colorado River flow

: The relations of decadal to multidecadal (D2M) variability in global sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) with D2M variability in the flow of the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) are examined for the years 1906-2003. Results indicate that D2M variability of SSTs in the North Atlantic, North Pacific, tropical Pacific, and Indian Oceans is associated with D2M variability of the UCRB. A principal components analysis (with varimax rotation) of detrended and 11-year smoothed global SSTs indicates that the two leading rotated principal components (RPCs) explain 56% of the variability in the transformed SST data. The first RPC (RPC1) strongly reflects variability associated with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and the second RPC (RPC2) represents variability of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, the tropical Pacific Ocean, and Indian Ocean SSTs. Results indicate that SSTs in the North Atlantic Ocean (RPC1) explain as much of the D2M variability in global SSTs as does the combination of Indian and Pacific Ocean variability (RPC2). These results suggest that SSTs in all of the oceans have some relation with flow of the UCRB, but the North Atlantic may have the strongest and most consistent association on D2M time scales. Hydroclimatic persistence on these time scales introduces significant nonstationarity in mean annual streamflow, with critical implications for UCRB water resource management.
Noise reduction for variance-based device-free localization and tracking

Human motion in the vicinity of a wireless link causes variations in the link received signal strength (RSS). Device-free localization (DFL) systems, such as variance-based radio tomographic imaging (VRTI) use these RSS variations in a wireless network to detect, locate and track people in the area of the network, even through walls. However, intrinsic motion, such as branches moving in the wind, rotating or vibrating machinery, also causes RSS variations which degrade the performance of a DFL system. In this paper, we propose and evaluate a subspace decomposition method subspace variance-based radio tomography (SubVRT) to reduce the impact of the variations caused by intrinsic motion. Experimental results show that the SubVRT algorithm reduces localization root mean squared error (RMSE) by 41%. In addition, the Kalman filter tracking results from SubVRT have 97% of errors less than 1.4 m, a 65% improvement compared to tracking results from VRTI.
Purine Nucleotide- and Sugar Phosphate-Induced Inhibition of the Carboxyl Methylation and Catalysis of Protein Phosphatase-2A in Insulin-Secreting Cells: Protection by Divalent Cations

Recently, we demonstrated that the 36 kDa catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2Ac) undergoes methylation at its C-terminal leucine in normal rat islets, human islets and isolated β cells; this modification increases the catalytic activity of PP2A [Kowluru et al. Endocrinology. 137:2315–2323, 1996]. Previous studies have suggested that adenine and guanine nucleotides or glycolytic intermediates [which are critical mediators in β cell function] also modulate phosphatase activity in the pancreatic β cell. Therefore, we examined whether these phosphorylated molecules specifically regulate the carboxyl methylation and the catalytic activity of PP2A in β cells. Micromolar concentrations of ATP, ADP, GTP or GDP each inhibited the carboxyl methylation of PP2Ac and, to a lesser degree, the catalytic activity of PP2A. Likewise, the carboxyl methylation of PP2Ac and its catalytic activity were inhibited by [mono- or di-] phosphates of glucose or fructose. Additionally, however, the carboxyl methylation of PP2Ac was significantly stimulated by divalent metal ions (Mn2+ > Mg2+ > Ca2+ > control). The nucleotide or sugar phosphate-mediated inhibition of carboxyl methylation of PP2Ac and the catalytic activity of PP2A were completely prevented by Mn2+ or Mg2+. These data indicate that divalent metal ions protect against the inhibition by purine nucleotides or sugar phosphates of the carboxyl methylation of PP2Ac perhaps permitting PP2A to function under physiologic conditions. Therefore, these data warrant caution in interpretation of extant data on the regulation of phosphatase function by purine nucleotides.
Well-posedness and generalized plane waves simulations of a 2D mode conversion model

Certain types of electro-magnetic waves propagating in a plasma can undergo a mode conversion process. In magnetic confinement fusion, this phenomenon is very useful to heat the plasma, since it permits to transfer the heat at or near the plasma center. This work focuses on a mathematical model of wave propagation around the mode conversion region, from both theoretical and numerical points of view. It aims at developing, for a well-posed equation, specific basis functions to study a wave mode conversion process. These basis functions, called generalized plane waves, are intrinsically based on variable coefficients. As such, they are particularly adapted to the mode conversion problem. The design of generalized plane waves for the proposed model is described in detail. Their implementation within a discontinuous Galerkin method then provides numerical simulations of the process. These first 2D simulations for this model agree with qualitative aspects studied in previous works.
Stress-Induced Cellular Transcription Factors Expressed in Trigeminal Ganglionic Neurons Stimulate the Herpes Simplex Virus 1 ICP0 Promoter

Alphaherpesvirinae family members can reactivate from latency following stress. The synthetic corticosteroid dexamethasone induces certain cellular transcription factors in murine and bovine trigeminal ganglionic neurons. Three dexamethasone-induced transcription factors, Kruppel-like factor 15, Slug, and SPDEF, stimulated the herpes simplex virus type 1-infected cell protein 0 (ICP0) promoter more than 150-fold. Conversely, other viral promoters (VP16 and ICP4) were not strongly stimulated, suggesting that the ICP0 promoter is preferentially activated by dexamethasone-simulated stress.
Putting Outcome Measurement in Context: A Rehabilitation Psychology Perspective

This article provides an overview of topics related to health care measurement as applied to medical rehabilitation. Described are conceptual models of health outcome measurement in rehabilitation and their utility for researchers and clinicians, the application of contemporary measurement approaches to rehabilitation outcome measurement, and accrediting organizations’ efforts to implement performance indicators for rehabilitation. The discussion situates participation as a key interest of rehabilitation psychologists and other stakeholders. Reviewed are examples of instruments designed to operationalize participation, advances in measurement theory, and methods that allow outcome indicators to be measured more accurately and easily, including item response theory. This introduction concludes by considering how public disclosure of outcomes can help consumers make more informed choices and help accrediting organizations’ efforts to promote outcome disclosure. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of key components of health care quality measurement that guide ways of discussing and improving outcomes. The article also describes conceptual models of outcomes in rehabilitation and their utility for researchers and clinicians, situates participation as a key outcome for rehabilitation psychologists, describes the application of contemporary measurement approaches to rehabilitation outcome measurement, and discusses accrediting organizations’ efforts to implement performance indicators for rehabilitation. Table 1 provides a summary of key terms.
Visualization of Three Phases in Porous Media using Micro Computed Tomography

Three-phase flow in porous media is a common phenomenon in hydrocarbon reservoirs. This study presents quantitative maps of fluid distribution in a granular porous medium using micro computed tomography (MCT). The study was done in an effort to determine the position, distribution and saturation of each phase at the pore-scale level. Quartz sand was used as the porous media. The fluids used were water (doped with NaI), benzyl alcohol (BA) and decane (doped with iodo-dodecane). The three fluids and the solid phase were mapped in images that were acquired at a single energy setting. Single-phase, two-phase and three-phase saturation distributions were developed. The intermediate phase was detected by direct observation of the phase distribution in the porous medium thus confirming calculations using interfacial tensions and the spreading coefficient. The results obtained from this research showed that micro computed tomography (MCT) is a useful technique to study multi-phase flow mechanisms in porous media. This work provided three-dimensional maps of fluid saturations at the pore level and should allow the reconsideration and adjustment of pore-scale modeling. This method provides the possibility to obtain three-dimensional saturation data that can be used for simulator development and calibration of models.
The mercury vapour pumping effect for 3He, 4He, H2, D2, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, N2, O2, CO2, CH4, C2H4, and C2H6: its precise measurement and convenient application in McLeod gauge metrology

The McLeod gauge, an amplifying device for the mercury column, has been used since its inception in 1874 as the basic instrument for measurement of pressure or number density of gases at pressures below 1 Torr (1 Torr ≈ 133.32 Pa). In practically all cases for direct pressure measurement or for use in calibration of other gauges it must be used with a trap to remove mercury. In the 1960s it became generally known that the movement of mercury vapour from the gauge toward the trap increases the permanent gas pressure beyond the trap above that at the McLeod gauge, and that if this is overlooked the pressures assigned to the working region under common laboratory conditions may be in gross error, of a magnitude of up to hundreds of times the probable error of reading the gauge. We have found it quite impossible to gather from the literature the means for accurate correction of the McLeod pressure readings adequate for use in our clean surface thermal accommodation work, so have undertaken much more extensive sets of measurements than have previously been available. These are described in this paper. A new apparatus and method has been applied under carefully controlled conditions to supply 250 mercury pumping pressure measure­ments in 27 sets involving 14 gases over relevant ranges of pressure, temperature, and pumping tube radius and length. A semi-empirical equation has been developed for calculating the mercury pumping pressures for any set of conditions and has been thoroughly tested over the ranges and the gases used against our measurements, and comparison of results is made with other selected papers. The result of the work for us has been renewed confidence in the ability of the McLeod-gauge—cold-trap system to render precisely known pressures and, when applied in our measurements of thermal accommodation coefficients, it constitutes a ‘break-through’ in the accuracy and consis­tency of the measurements. Because of this, the paper is presented here as a necessary preliminary to two experimental papers on clean surface accommodation coefficients, which we intend to offer shortly in honour of and as an extension of the work of J. K. Roberts (1930), who first emphasized the importance of controlling surface conditions and first undertook bare surface measurements in this area. Our expression of appreciation for the work of Roberts belongs with these papers to follow.
Urban Flood Resilience in New York City, London, Randstad, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Taipei

Making cities resilient to natural disasters has become a priority for many policy makers. However, few studies of global cities analyze environmental vulnerability, disaster resilience, or urban flood resilience. This article analyzes global cities’ disaster resilience to flooding: New York City, London, Randstad, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Taipei. Case studies of those global cities will assist cities world-wide to prepare for the future. Results indicate that a hurricane could leave approximately 25% of New York City with severe economic losses by 2050. In London, 15% of the land is located in flood-prone areas. The Thames Barrier began to operate to protect London from flooding in 1982. However, this also encouraged housing development closer to the river, and resulted in higher exposure and vulnerability of flooding. Randstad has approximately 40% of its land areas in flood-prone areas, but Randstad is well prepared for flood risk reduction by land-use and environmental planning. In Tokyo, extensive urbanization suffers from severe damages once flooding occurs. In Shanghai, approximately 50% of its land is in flood-prone areas. Shanghai is the most vulnerable to floods of the coastal cities. Shanghai is still not well prepared in land-use and environment planning for urban flood resilience. In Taipei, flood-prone areas account for approximately 41% of its total land area in an extreme weather scenario. Among these six global cities, Asian cities should focus more on urban flood resilience since most of flooding hotspots by 2025 will be located in Asian nations with having weak policies and actions, inadequate risk information, insufficient budgets and poor implementation capacities (UNISDR 2013). This research suggests that global cities, particularly Asian cities, should promote policies of urban flood resilience, focusing on land-use and environmental planning for resilience as well as strengthening their organizations and funding to reduce disaster risk, maintain up-to-date risk and vulnerability assessment. Urban policies should include environmentally responsible development in the face of continued population and economic growth, and being resilient regarding natural disasters. Cities can also adopt a growth management policy to direct development away from flooding hotspots. Urban regeneration policy should require developers to improve storm sewers, water retention ponds, and permeable surfaces. Planning more space for rivers, more constructed wetlands, and more ecological ponds to accommodate water is important. Cities can promote an actuarially fair flood insurance program which can reflect actual flood risks. A bottom-up community resilience plan would assist achieving urban resilience.
Stability study of Ultrasound-Switchable Fluorescence contrast agents: ICG-encapsulated poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) nanoparticles

Thermal-sensitive nanoparticles have been developed for ultrasound-switchable fluorescence (USF) , which could achieve high spatial resolution in deep tissue. We synthesized and characterized unique NIR USF contrast agents with good switching properties and long shelf life.
Enantiomeric Resolution of Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal Intermediates via Liquid Chromatography I. Alkyl or Alkoxy Butyric Acids

Une methode est mise au point en chromatographie HPLC en phase normale. Utilisation de la spectrometrie RMN du carbone 13
Design and Development of Data Management System for Live Detection

Live detection provides strong support for the stable and secure operation of power grids. However, traditional live detection systems have problems such as inconvenience and data delay. This paper introduces a solution for designing and developing a flexible and extensible data management system for live detection. The system is structured into an intranet Web side and an offline Client side. Through design optimization by decoupling modeling and XML interaction, the system is made highly flexible, secure and extensible. Moreover, information integration and data mining lead the live detection application into a more practical and intellitized stage.
Cataloging antineoplastic agents according to their effectiveness against platinum-resistant and platinum-sensitive ovarian carcinoma cell lines

Although epithelial ovarian cancers (EOCs) are initially treated with platinum-based chemotherapy, EOCs vary in platinum responsiveness. Cataloging antineoplastic agents according to their effectiveness against platinum-resistant and platinum-sensitive EOC cell lines is valuable for development of therapeutic strategies to avoid platinum inefficacy and to exploit platinum sensitivity. TOV-21G devoid of FANCF expression, OV-90 and SKOV-3 were employed as examples of platinum-sensitive, platinum-intermediate and platinum-resistant cell lines, respectively. Antineoplastic agents examined included mitomycin C, doxorubicin, etoposide, gemcitabine, chlorambucil, paclitaxel, triapine and X-rays. Their effectiveness against cell lines was analyzed by clonogenic assays. Cytotoxic profiles of mitomycin C and carboplatin were similar, with mitomycin C exhibiting greater potency and selectivity against TOV-21G than carboplatin. Cytotoxic profiles of doxorubicin, etoposide and X-rays overlapped with that of carboplatin, while OV-90 overexpressing Rad51 was more resistant to chlorambucil than SKOV-3. The efficacy of paclitaxel and triapine was independent of platinum sensitivity or resistance. Consistent with these cytotoxic profiles, cisplatin/mitomycin C, triapine, and paclitaxel differed in the capacity to induce phosphorylation of H2AX, and produced unique inhibitory patterns of DNA/RNA syntheses in HL-60 human leukemia cells. Paclitaxel and triapine in combination produced additive antitumor effects in M109 murine lung carcinoma. In conclusion, mitomycin C is potentially more effective against Fanconi anemia pathway-deficient EOCs than carboplatin. Doxorubicin and etoposide, because of their overlapping cytotoxic properties with carboplatin, are unlikely to be efficacious against platinum-refractory EOCs. Paclitaxel and triapine are effective regardless of platinum sensitivity status, and promising in combination for both platinum-sensitive and platinum-refractory EOCs.
Conformational changes in low molecular weight kininogen alters its ability to bind to endothelial cells

The plasma kininogens, high (HK) and low (LK) molecular weight kininogens, are the parent proteins for bradykinin, a potent vasoactive peptide that locally influences vascular biology. Binding of both HK and LK to the endovascular wall contributes to bradykinin delivery. Recently, we found one preparation of LK (LKd) which had reduced inhibition of biotin-HK binding to endothelium. The functional defect in LKd was not merely due to bradykinin loss because two preparations of bradykinin-free LK blocked biotin-HK binding. However, using two different particular monoclonal antibodies to bradykinin, LKd, but no other preparation of LK, had its epitope to bradykinin exposed on non-reduced samples on immunoblot. These data suggested that LKd had an altered conformation which exposed the amino terminal arginine of bradykinin to antigenic detection. The altered conformation of LKd allowed it to be more susceptible to trypsin proteolysis. On circular dichroism, the percentage of alpha-helix was significantly increased, indicating an alteration in the protein. This alteration in LKd was not due to a loss of molecular mass of the protein. On laser desorption mass spectroscopy, the molecular mass of LKd was similar to the other preparations of LK. Investigations were performed to ascertain the mechanism by which LKd had altered ability to bind to cells. LKd was found to be proteolyzed by an unknown protease at the beginning of domain 2 between threonine119 and alanine120. Reduction of functional LK with dithiothreitol to expose its bradykinin epitope did not produce the LKd defect. Proteolysis of functional LK with plasma kallikrein, elastase followed by plasma kallikrein, chymotrypsin, or bromelain also did not produce the defect seen in LKd. These combined data indicated that LK maintains a particular conformation that allows the protein to orient itself such that it can bind to endothelial cells. Proteolysis in the surface exposed region between domains 1 and 2 probably allows for the protein to unfold and contributes to its lost ability to bind to endothelial cells.
The emergence of digital government: international perspectives

This chapter gives an overview of the extent to which e-government has been adopted internationally by reviewing major comparative studies and case studies by international organizations. The characteristics of the five stages of e-government-- emerging, enhanced, interactive, transactional, and seamless are outlined and international examples of the innovative practices and potential obstacles faced. Of particular interest are studies on countries that have implemented transactional e-government strategies with service-delivery to citizens as the main priority. Currently adoption of e-government strategies worldwide is varied; however, many countries are making rapid progress in implementing their strategies.
Active solar water heating systems

Abstract Active solar water heating (SWH) systems comprise five main elements: a collector or collectors that capture solar radiation, a pump to activate working fluid circulation, a storage system for the hot water, an auxiliary or back-up water heating system for use when sufficient hot water cannot be supplied by the solar system, and a set of controls to regulate the operation of the total system. When sunlight heats one or more collectors sufficient for heating, sensors and a controller activate the pump to circulate either water from the storage tank or antifreeze solution. When antifreeze solution is used, the solar heat is transferred to water in the storage tank through a heat exchanger (HX). The hot fluid can be used directly for hot water needs or space-heating/cooling needs. The heated energy can also be stored in a proper storage tank for use in the hours when sunlight is not available. It is essential that the storage tank and the piping connections from the collector to the tank are well insulated to prevent heat loss. The amount of solar heat produced depends on the collector design, the surface area of collector tubes, the type of working fluid, and the local climate and site conditions. SWH systems are designed to meet a particular load by utilizing a combination of properly sized collector-storage units and auxiliary energy source. It is desired to deliver hot water for most of the year. Thus during the winter when freezing temperatures occur, antifreeze chemicals are used as well as auxiliary energy to meet sufficient hot water needs. In addition, auxiliary energy can be supplied either by a gas or electric booster within the water tank or at the water exit of the tank. On the other hand, during summer, if no energy is withdrawn over a sufficiently long period of time, overheating could occur. In such conditions, a control system is essential to turn off the circulating pump. SWH has gained wide applications in the building sector all over the world [1] . This chapter covers a detailed overview on various types of solar-assisted water heating systems and their market potential.
New Paradigms on the Nature of Solid Electrolyte Interphase Formation and Capacity Fading of Hard Carbon Anodes in Na-Ion Batteries

Capacity fading in Na/C half-cells has long been attributed to the continuous formation of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). The SEI is often assumed to grow thicker on the carbon anode surface during cycling, eventually rendering it electrochemically inactive. However, the findings here shed new light on this assumption. It is shown that SEI has an inward progression into the anode material, not an outward one. Additionally, it is also reported that the Na-metal counter electrode is hardly an inactive component in the Na/C half-cell. Contrarily, it is a primary source of electrolyte degradation. It is then shown that the combination of SEI formation, along with electrolyte degradation leads to severe kinetic problems at the electrolyte/anode interface, resulting in poor electrochemical performances. However, it is also demonstrated that such negative effects in a Na/C half-cell are easily reversible. By either drastically reducing the current rate, or pairing the carbon electrode with new electrolyte and new Na-metal counter electrode a carbon material with a 70% capacity loss can recover its original performances. These conclusions bring forth valuable insight. This shows that in a Na/C half-cell setting, long-term fading is not due to the carbon material, but caused by electrolyte degradation stemming from interface phenomenon.
Posttraumatic Rumination: Content, Correlates, and Processes

Objective Trauma-related rumination (i.e., repetitive and recurrent thinking about trauma and its consequences) has shown to predict the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, though little is known about its characteristics. The purpose of this study was to examine trauma-related ruminative content, correlates, and processes during a trauma-specific repetitive thinking interview. Method A total of 63 female survivors of violence completed questionnaires assessing trauma-related pathology and participated in a trauma-specific repetitive thinking interview, which was qualitatively coded. Results Most participants expressed problematic (i.e., assimilated and overaccommodated) trauma beliefs during the interview, which were associated with baseline posttraumatic sequelae. Reexperiencing symptoms mediated the relation between a brooding response style and expressed problematic trauma beliefs. State negative emotions were associated with ruminative processes during the interview and predicted negative emotions after the interview. Conclusion Maladaptive trauma-related rumination is characterized by perseveration on problematic trauma beliefs. Implications for treatment are discussed.
Functional two/three-dimensional assembly of monolayer WS2 and nickel oxide

Functional assemblies of materials can be realized by tuning the work function and band gap of existing materials. Here we demonstrate the structural assembly of two- and three-dimensional (2-D) and (3-D) nanomaterials and investigate the optical and electronic properties of an assembly of monolayer WS2 on a rough polycrystalline NiO surface. Monolayer WS2 (2-D material) was transferred onto the NiO surface using a polymer-assisted transfer technique and resulted in a surface roughness about 30× greater than that of WS2 on SiO2. Raman maps of WS2 transferred onto NiO display a spatial nonuniformity of the E2g1 (∼352 cm−1) and A1g (∼418 cm−1) peak intensities, indicating that regions of the WS2 exist in a strained condition on the 3-D NiO surface. Kelvin probe force microscopy measurements show that the WS2-SiO2 assembly has a surface potential 62±5 mV lower than that of SiO2, whereas that of WS2-NiO is 11±5 mV higher than NiO, indicating that a monolayer of WS2 is sufficient to modify the surface potential by acting as either an electron donor or acceptor with the underlying surface. Thus, 2-D and 3-D materials can be organized into functional assemblies with electron flow controlled by the WS2 either as the electron donor or acceptor.
Breast Cancer Screening Beliefs Among Older Chinese Women in Chicago's Chinatown.

Background Chicago's Chinatown is home to a sizeable community of first-generation Chinese American immigrants. This qualitative study seeks to describe the attitudes toward, and barriers and facilitators of, breast cancer screening among Chinese women in Chicago's Chinatown to inform strategies for future interventions. Methods We conducted six focus groups among Chinese-speaking adult women aged 45 and older. Focus groups were transcribed, coded, and analyzed for emergent themes. Results Forty-seven women participated in focus groups; 10 (21%) had received a breast cancer diagnosis in their lifetime, all participants were foreign-born, and 80% have resided in the United States for over 10 years. Participants expressed a range of breast cancer beliefs, attitudes toward screening, barriers encountered, and facilitators. Some differences were noted between women with cancer and those without. Barriers described include language, time, not wanting to burden their adult children, and transportation. Navigation services and physician recommendation were suggested facilitators to screening. Conclusions Our findings have important implications for development of interventions and policies to bolster breast cancer screening among Chinese women. We highlight the need to connect Chinese older adults with resources to navigate the health care system and present opportunities for community stakeholders, researchers, health professionals, and policy makers to improve the health of Chinese Americans.
Changing Tides: Mothers' Supportive Emotion Socialization Relates Negatively to Third-Grade Children's Social Adjustment in School.

Parents’ supportive reactions to children's negative emotions are thought to promote children's social adjustment. Research heretofore has implicitly assumed that such reactions are equally supportive of children's adjustment across ages. Recent findings challenge this assumption, suggesting that during middle childhood, socialization practices previously understood as supportive may in fact impede children's social adjustment. We explored this possibility in a sample of 203 third-grade children and their mothers. Using structural equation modeling, we tested associations between mothers’ supportive (i.e., problem- and emotion-focused) reactions to children's negative emotions and children's social skills and problems as reported by mothers and teachers. Mothers’ supportive reactions predicted greater social adjustment in children as reported by mothers. Inverse associations, however, were found with teachers’ reports of children's social adjustment: mothers’ supportive reactions predicted fewer socioemotional skills and more problem behaviors. These contrasting patterns suggest potential unperceived costs associated with mothers’ supportiveness of children's negative emotions for third-grade children's social adjustment in school and highlight the importance of considering associations between socialization practices and children's various social contexts. The findings also highlight a need for greater consideration of what supportiveness means across different developmental periods.
Considerations for pediatric burn sedation and analgesia

Burn patients experience anxiety and pain in the course of their injury, treatment, and recovery. Hence, treatment of anxiety and pain is paramount after burn injury. Children, in particular, pose challenges in anxiety and pain management due to their unique physiologic, psychologic, and anatomic status. Burn injuries further complicate pain management and sedation as such injuries can have effects on medication response and elimination. Burn injuries further complicate pain management and sedation as such injuries can have effects on medication response and elimination. The purpose of this review is to describe the challenges associated with management of anxiety, pain, and sedation in burned children and to describe the different options for treatment of anxiety and pain in burned children.
Photo-induced force vs power in chiral scatterrers

We study isotropic chiral polarizable particles in the interaction with circularly polarized travelling electromagnetic waves. We derive the expressions for the scattered and extinct power of such particles in terms of their polarizabilities for incident waves with opposite handedness i.e., right or left handed circular polarization. Moreover, we extract similar expressions for the exerted force on such particles induced by the proposed incidences. Based on our theoretical results, we present the link between the calculated power and force and demonstrate how these two different physical observables give rise to equivalent understanding of properties of chiral inclusions. This paves the way to formulate two alternatives to perform either the photo-induced force microscopy or power spectroscopy based on the merits of each. We also provide an original method to measure the magnetoelectric polarizability of isotropic chiral particles.
Viewpoint: Medical Etiquette

(1995). Viewpoint: Medical Etiquette. Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings: Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 7-10.
Twenty-four-hour cortisol secretory patterns in depressed and manic patients.

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the patterns of cortisol secretion in depressed and manic patients. The 24-hr secretory pattern of cortisol is significantly disturbed in both severely depressed and severely manic patients. With regard to the depressed patients, it appears that the hypersecretion cannot be accounted for entirely by generalized stress or arousal factors alone, and may well reflect a central neuroendocrine abnormality associated with the illness. There are several reasons for suspecting that 24-hr hormonal secretory patterns might be affected in the depressive and manic depressive illnesses. Many clinical features of depressive illness suggest hypothalamic involvement—particularly, disturbances in mood, appetite, sexual and aggressive drives, and autonomic function. Hypothalamic neuroendocrine regulation might well be involved as well. In addition, depressive illness is usually associated with significant sleep disturbance, and often with a diurnal variation in the intensity of symptomatology, clinical features that might well find their correlates in altered 24-hr secretory patterns of those hormones closely associated with circadian and sleep-wake cycles.
Conclusion: The Essence of Peace? Toward a Comprehensive and Parsimonious Model of Sustainable Peace

The excellent chapters in this book offer a vast array of psychosocial conditions and processes which have been linked to sustainable peace. This concluding chapter offers a summary and synthesis of this research; highlighting the basic commonalities of the construct of sustainable peace that underlay the many aspects discussed in the book, and offering a more parsimonious model of sustainable peace, informed by dynamical systems theory, which conceptualizes the effects of the many component parts on increasing and decreasing the probabilities of stable dynamics of destructive conflict and peace.
What Justices Want: Goals and Personality on the U.S. Supreme Court

The most sophisticated theories of judicial behavior depict judges as rational actors who strategically pursue multiple goals when making decisions. However, these accounts tend to disregard the possibility that judges have heterogeneous goal preferences - that is, that different judges want different things. Integrating insights from personality psychology and economics, this book proposes a new theory of judicial behavior in which judges strategically pursue multiple goals, but their personality traits determine the relative importance of those goals. This theory is tested by analyzing the behavior of justices who served on the US Supreme Court between 1946 and 2015. Using recent advances in text-based personality measurement, Hall evaluates the influence of the 'big five' personality traits on the justices' behavior during each stage of the Court's decision-making process. What Justices Want shows that personality traits directly affect the justices' choices and moderate the influence of goal-related situational factors on justices' behavior.
Color masking improves classification of celiac disease in videocapsule endoscopy images.

Abstract Background Videocapsule endoscopy images are useful to detect pathologic alterations, including villous atrophy, in the small intestinal mucosa, which is helpful for diagnosing celiac disease. In prior work, quantitative videocapsule analysis was found useful to classify celiac versus control images. However, the effect of dark/extraneous substances on classification efficacy requires remediation. Method For quantitative analysis, data from the Medtronic SB2 and SB3 systems were pooled. Videocapsule images of the distal duodenum/proximal jejunum were acquired from 13 celiac and 13 control patients. Dark regions, extraneous fluids, and air bubbles were mostly removed by utilizing color masking. Two different red-green-blue (RGB) color masks were constructed from 20 to 30 reference pixels obtained from mucosal and from extraneous regions. Each image pixel was accepted or rejected for subsequent analysis based on whether its distance was closest to a mucosal or to an extraneous reference in RGB space. Four images were then randomly selected from each videoclip for processing (52 images from each group). After masking, celiac versus control images were plotted in a three-space consisting of mean and standard deviation in pixel brightness, and surface area remaining after masking. A linear discriminant function was used for classification. The paradigm was repeated with a second random data set for validation. Results Masking improved classification of celiac versus control images to nearly 80% accuracy as compared to 70–77% without masking. Celiac disease patients tended to have lesser mean pixel brightness and greater variability in brightness, in accord with prior work, and more masking was needed to remove extraneous features. Conclusions Color masking is useful to remove dim/extraneous features from videocapsule images and it results in improved classification/assessment to distinguish celiac with villous atrophy from control videocapsule image. This can be helpful to detect and map regions of pathology, to screen for celiac disease, and to determine the efficacy of a gluten free diet.
Simple Analytics and Empirics of the Government Spending Multiplier and Other

Factor supply increases (depresses) output for many of the same reasons that the government spending multiplier might be less (greater) than one. Data from three 2008-9 recession episodes - the labor supply shifts associated with the seasonal cycle, the 2009 federal minimum wage hike, and the collapse of residential construction spending - clearly show that markets absorb an increased supply of factors of production by increasing output. The findings contradict the "paradox of toil" and suggest that the government spending multiplier is less than one, even during the recession.
A Community-based Pulmonary Nodule Clinic: Improving Lung Cancer Stage at Diagnosis.

Objective Pulmonary nodules (PNs) are a common incidental finding and are often how lung cancer is discovered. Our goal was to determine if establishing a pulmonary nodule clinic (PNC) in a community healthcare setting would lead to an earlier stage at diagnosis. Methods A single healthcare system retrospective review was conducted of all PNC patients from 2010-2015 diagnosed with lung cancer. The stage at diagnosis was analyzed and compared to lung cancer patients in our healthcare system outside the PNC and to national data. Five-year survival rates for PNC patients from 2010-2012 were also analyzed. Results A total of 119 patients and 127 lung cancers were diagnosed through the PNC from 2010-2015. There were 990 lung cancers, with a known stage, diagnosed outside the PNC in our healthcare system from 2010 to 2015. Two hundred and eighty one (28.4%) cancers were Stage I, compared to 69 (54.3%) (p <0.0001) through the PNC; 110 (11.1%) cancers were diagnosed at Stage II compared to 17 (13.4%) through the PNC (0.4471); 277 (25.7%) cancers were diagnosed at Stage III, compared to 21 (16.5%) through the PNC (p 0.0060); 598 (60.4%) cancers were diagnosed at Stage IV, compared to 20 (15.7%) through the PNC (p <0.0001). Five-year survival rates for patients diagnosed in 2010 were 80% (four of five patients), 79.2% (19/24) in 2011, and 62.2% (23/37) in 2012. Conclusions Lung cancer survival is directly related to the stage at diagnosis. Establishment of our PNC has led to an earlier stage at diagnosis compared to the general lung cancer population in our community.
Reference speaker selection for kinematic-independent acoustic-to-articulatory-inversion

This paper investigates the most effective reference speaker set for the Parallel Reference Speaker Weighting (PRSW) algorithm for kinematic-independent acoustic-to-articulatory inversion. To obtain the adaptation weights for estimating the articulatory model, different reference speaker accent types and quantities have been acquired. The reference speaker sets have been selected not only based on their performance in speaker-dependent kinematic-inversion but also based on the type of accent. The experiments have been conducted on parallel Acoustic-Articulatory data, the Marquette Electromagnetic Articulography corpus of Mandarin Accented English (EMA-MAE) consisting of 20 native English speakers and 19 native Mandarin speakers of English. A comparison is made between different types of target speakers and reference speakers with results indicating that the accuracy of the adapted model increases when we select balanced distributed accents of English and lower number of speakers. This paper investigates the most effective reference speaker set for the Parallel Reference Speaker Weighting (PRSW) algorithm for kinematic-independent acoustic-to-articulatory inversion. To obtain the adaptation weights for estimating the articulatory model, different reference speaker accent types and quantities have been acquired. The reference speaker sets have been selected not only based on their performance in speaker-dependent kinematic-inversion but also based on the type of accent. The experiments have been conducted on parallel Acoustic-Articulatory data, the Marquette Electromagnetic Articulography corpus of Mandarin Accented English (EMA-MAE) consisting of 20 native English speakers and 19 native Mandarin speakers of English. A comparison is made between different types of target speakers and reference speakers with results indicating that the accuracy of the adapted model increases when we select balanced distributed accents of English and lower number of speakers.
Specific Anatomic Considerations for Tricuspid Interventions

This review discusses the normal anatomy and pathology of the tricuspid valve (TV) and right side of the heart. Emphasis is on those anatomic and pathologic features relevant to interventions intended to restore normal function to the TV in disease states. TV pathology is less common than aortic and mitral valve pathology, and treatment and outcomes for interventions face considerable hurdles. New innovations and early data showing safety and efficacy in transcatheter interventions have transformed TV interventions into the next frontier in cardiac valve disease treatment. Certain features of the TV and right heart have presented themselves as potential targets, as well as impediments, for TV intervention. The causes of TV pathology and the anatomy of the TV and right heart bring unique challenges to intervention. Approaches to intervention will continue to progress and change the way we view and treat TV pathology.
Actinomyces neuii: a case report of a rare cause of acute infective endocarditis and literature review

Infective endocarditis caused by Actinomyces spp. is extremely rare. However, cases by new species of Actinomyces have been increasingly reported due to advances in laboratory techniques, and many of these species do not cause classic presentations of actinomycosis. Actinomyces neuii is reported to have a tendency to cause endovascular infection. The course of infective endocarditis caused by Actinomyces spp. is usually indolent. A 61-year-old man with history of infective endocarditis, end stage renal disease, and monoclonal gammopathy was admitted for an abrupt fever, confusion, dysarthria, and facial droop after hemodialysis. Echocardiogram showed vegetations on both the aortic and mitral valves. Two sets of blood culture grew A. neuii. Brain MRI showed multiple bilateral cerebral infarcts consistent with septic emboli. The patient recovered after valvular surgery and prolonged intravenous and oral antibiotic therapy. This case illustrates an unusually acute presentation of A. neuii infective endocarditis. As with other Gram-positive bacilli, Actinomyces spp. isolates are often regarded as a result of contamination. One should keep it in mind as a cause of infective endocarditis in vulnerable patient populations.