cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio associated with prognosis of lung cancer.

Many studies recently focus on complicated and expensive genomic tests, but the prognostic values of biochemical markers which are easily obtained in clinics are largely overlooked and without further exploration. This study assesses the association of neutrophil–lymphocyte-ratio (NLR) with prognosis of lung cancer patients. In 1032 patients with histologically confirmed lung cancer, the association of pretreatment NLR values with overall survival (OS) was evaluated using a Cox proportional hazards model and the temporal relationship of longitudinal NLR was assessed using a mixed effects model. Compared to the patients with a low pretreatment NLR value, those with elevated NLR exhibited a statistically significant worse OS with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.50 (P < 0.0001) after adjusting for age, gender, race, smoking status, drinking status, tumor stage, tumor grade, histology, and treatments. A significant trend of increasing HRs along with increasing NLR values was observed. The increased risk of death conferred by pretreatment NLR values reached a peak level around 2 years after diagnosis. Moreover, in longitudinal analysis, we observed a trend of dramatically increased NLR values in patients who died during follow-up, but stable NLR values in those who were still alive, with a significant interaction of death–alive status with follow-up time (P < 0.0001). Elevated NLR is a potential biomarker to identify lung cancer patients with poor prognosis and should be validated in a future clinical trial.
Structural Changes in Molybdenum Single Crystals Due to Cold Rolling

The structural changes accompanying the cold-rolling of single crystals of molybdenum at very low rates of reduction have been studied for various initial rolling orientations. The lattice rotations for various degreas of rolling were observed. Based upon these observations, the relationships*between initial and end orientations have been analyzed.
Self-reported Use of Eye Care Among Adult Chinese Americans: The Chinese American Eye Study

Purpose To identify the prevalence and determinants of self-reported eye care use among Chinese Americans. Design Population-based, cross-sectional study. Participants A total of 4582 Chinese Americans 50 years and older residing in Monterey Park, California. Methods Multivariable logistic regression analyses based on Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Services Use were conducted to identify predisposing, enabling, and need variables associated with self-reported eye care use. Main Outcome Measures Prevalence of self-reported use assessed as eye care visit in the past 12 months, dilated eye examination in the past 12 months, and ever having had a dilated examination, and odds ratios for factors associated with these measures. Results Overall, 36% of participants reported an eye care visit and 21% reported a dilated examination in the past 12 months. Forty-eight percent reported ever having had a dilated eye examination. Older age, female sex, preference for English, more education, health and vision insurance, a usual place for health care, currently driving, a greater number of comorbidities, and lower vision-specific quality-of-life (NEI VFQ-25) scores were associated with higher odds of reporting use of eye care. Conclusions Use of eye care among Chinese Americans was found to be as low as what is reported for African Americans and Hispanics, and lower than what is reported for whites. Multiple modifiable factors are associated with use of eye care among the rapidly growing Chinese American population. Culturally sensitive interventions targeting these factors should be a priority. Further research is needed to investigate how findings from this group of Chinese Americans reflect other Asian Americans that are different in language and ethnicity.
Trends in Engineering Management Education From 2011–2015

The American Society for Engineering Education provides comprehensive data on enrollment and graduation rates for all engineering fields at the Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD levels. In addition, da...
Non-Intrusive Air Leakage Detection in Residential Homes

Air leakages pose a major problem in both residential and commercial buildings. They increase the utility bill and result in excessive usage of Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, which impacts the environment and causes discomfort to residents. Repairing air leakages in a building is an expensive and time intensive task. Even detecting the leakages can require extensive professional testing. In this paper, we propose a method to identify the leaky homes from a set, provided their energy consumption data is accessible from residential smart meters. In the first phase, we employ a Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) technique to disaggregate the HVAC data from total power consumption for several homes. We propose a recurrent neural network and a denoising autoencoder based approach to identify the 'ON' and 'OFF' cycles of the HVACs and their overall usages. We categorize the typical HVAC consumption of about 200 homes and any probable insulation and leakage problems using the Air Changes per Hour at 50 Pa (ACH50) metric in the Dataport datasets. We perform our proposed NILM analysis on different granularities of smart meter data such as 1 min, 15 mins, and 1 hour to observe its effect on classifying the leaky homes. Our results show that disaggregation can be used to identify the residential air-conditioning, at 1 min granularity which in turn helps us to identify the leaky potential homes, with an accuracy of 86%.
Determination of the defining features of texts written in isolation with a Naive Bayesian Classifier

This study seeks to identify differences between textual samples written in isolation and controls. Isolation is the state of deprivation of one's typical level of social interaction and falls into three categories: prison, seclusion, and isolation. We coded a Naive Bayesian Classifier using the Python package NLTK and ran it with different training to test set ratios and a Leave One Out with authors. The results yielded that accuracy is proportional to training set size. Currently we are analyzing the key features the classifier used to sort the texts and calculating a chance value for the classifier. This is a highly relevant area of study because we hope to elucidate key differences in the thoughts and cognitive states of isolated people, which could predict behavior for socially isolated people.
Prolonged use of eptifibatide as a bridge to maintain drug-eluting stent patency in a patient receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Background:Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) has been used as a bridge to cardiac recovery in patients following a major cardiac event. There is a lack of literature surrou...
An Overview of Active Materials Utilized in Smart Structures

This chapter provides a brief overview of working principles, physical properties, constitutive models and the practical applications of a few select active materials as the building blocks of many smart structures. More specifically, the following active materials are discussed in this chapter: piezoelectric and pyroelectric materials, electrorheological and magnetorheological fluids, electrostrictive and magnetostrictive materials, and finally shape memory alloys (SMA). In order not to disturb the focus of the book, only selective but essential materials are reviewed in this chapter. We refer interested readers to cited references and other dedicated books on smart materials and structures (e.g., Srinviasan and MacFarland 2001; Culshaw 1996; Gandhi and Thompson 1992; Banks et al. 1996; Clark et al. 1998; Suleman 2001; Leo 2007; Preumont 2002; Janocha 1999; Tzou and Anderson 1992; Gabert and Tzou 2001), vibration control (Moheimani and Fleming 2006; Gawronski 2004; Tao and Kokotovic 1996), sensors and actuators (Busch-Vishniac 1999) and piezoelectric (Yang 2005; Moheimani and Fleming 2006; Ballas 2007).
Heterogeneous Reactions of Char and Carbon

The combustion or gasification of coal may be thought of as occurring in several steps. First, the coal is heated at high rates, and rapid devolatilization occurs. The volatiles then react in the gas phase. (These processes are discussed in detail in Chapters 8 and 10.) The char remaining after devolatilization consists primarily of carbon, together with the major part of the ash components and some volatile matter. The heterogeneous reactions of the char with oxidizing gases (oxygen, steam, carbon dioxide, etc.) account for the majority of time required for particle burnout. In addition, in the case of gasification, the reaction of char with hydrogen may also become important, especially for high hydrogen partial pressures.
Lie Groups and Lie Algebras

The theory of differential equations had flourished to such a level by the 1860s that a systematic study of their solutions became possible. Sophus Lie, a Norwegian mathematician, undertook such a study using the same tool that was developed by Galois and others to study algebraic equations: group theory. The groups associated with the study of differential equations, now called Lie groups, unlike their algebraic counterparts, are uncountably infinite, and, as such, are both intricate and full of far-reaching structures. It was beyond the wildest dream of any 19th-century mathematician to imagine that a concept as abstract as Lie groups would someday find application in the study of the heart of matter. Yet, three of the four fundamental interactions are described by Lie groups, and the fourth one, gravity, is described in a language very akin to the other three.
Abstract 310: Mechanistic Insights into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy-Associated Cardiomyopathy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked neuromuscular disorder resulting from a mutation in the dystrophin gene. Loss of dystrophin function leads to progressive muscle wasting and cardiom...
Predictors of hospital-associated complications prolonging ICU stay in patients with low-grade aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Objective The authors sought to determine the predictors of late neurological and hospital-acquired medical complications (HACs) in patients with low-grade aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). Methods The authors conducted a retrospective study of 424 patients with low-grade aSAH admitted to their institution from 2008 to 2015. Data collected included patient comorbidities, Hunt and Hess (HH) grade, ICU length of stay (LOS), and complications. A logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the predictors for neurological and hospital-associated complications. Results Out of 424 patients, 50 (11.8%) developed neurological complications after the first week, with a mean ICU stay of 16.3 ± 6.5 days. Of the remaining 374 patients without late neurological complications, 83 (22.2%) developed late HACs with a mean LOS of 15.1 ± 7.6 days, while those without medical complications stayed 11.8 ± 6.2 days (p = 0.001). Of the 83 patients, 55 (66.3%) did not have any HACs in the first week. Smoking (p = 0.062), history of cardiac disease (p = 0.043), HH grade III (p = 0.012), intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) (p = 0.012), external ventricular drain (EVD) placement (p = 0.002), and early pneumonia/urinary tract infection (UTI)/deep vein thrombosis (DVT) (p = 0.001) were independently associated with late HACs. Logistic regression showed early pneumonia/UTI/DVT (p = 0.026) and increased HH grade (p = 0.057) to be significant risk factors for late medical complications. Conclusions While an extended ICU admission allows closer monitoring, low-grade aSAH patients develop HACs despite being at low risk for neurological complications. The characteristics of low-grade aSAH patients who would benefit from early discharge are reported in detail.
How Shall We Teach Column Addition? Some Evidence.

Maria said, "I add on each number as I look down the column; 9, 16, 24, 28." Jose said, "I look for sums that make ten; 3 + 7 = 10, 6 + 4 = 10, 10 + 10 = 20, 20 + 8 = 28." The methods used by Maria and Jose differ greatly. Maria used a procedure that required no decision making. She simply added each new number to the partial sum. On the other hand, Jose had to formulate a plan. He first surveyed the column for combinations that added to ten. Then he decided which numbers to use and in what order. Finally, he added the remaining numbers.
Characteristics of Recent Vehicle-Related Fatalities during Active Precipitation in the United States

AbstractData from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database were used to identify vehicle-related fatalities that occurred duri...
Surgical Needs of Refugee Populations in the European Union: Implications for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

In 2015, hundreds of thousands of refugees decided to take up the dangerous and oftentimes deadly crossing into countries of the European Union (EU). Many of them were already living in dismal situations. Millions have been trapped. This situation deteriorated throughout the year. Due to the war in Syria, but also other humanitarian situations and developmental crises, including harsh poverty and social deprivation, the EU is currently facing a very high inflow of refugees and other migrants, with many children among them.1,2 Civil unrest and armed conflicts generate vital and complex needs in emergency medicine, surgery, and rehabilitation. Health conditions of refugee populations vary greatly based on origin, geographic location, underlying medical, and nutritional status, and the events causing the initial relocation. The humanitarian condition of refugees can have progressed over a long time. The years in the conflict region or refugee camps might have marked them with relative malnutrition, and insufficient access to medical services so that some may present with diseases which are uncommon under normal conditions. As the humanitarian crisis progresses, malnutrition and disease prevalence increases making a population more susceptible to illness with compromised immune systems and poorer wound healing mechanisms. During a crisis situation, resources are limited and the utilization of expensive resources for patients that will not survive is unwarranted and wasteful.1,2 While recent action on surgical care for refugees tended to focus on the acute phase of the crisis situations, this paper posits that a substantial burden of non-acute morbidity amenable to surgical intervention among refugees and other migrants upon arrivals falls upon the host countries, and their societies. Drawing on past experience in humanitarian crisis situations is crucial to understand the complexity of treating patients presenting with injuries with a long time lag, as not only humanitarian conditions prevent patients from seeking surgical treatment, but also financial, structural as well as cultural barriers exist.3 EU Member States are challenged with the medical needs of refugees upon arrival, in particular surgical needs. Large inflows of people overstretch health services available to refugees and to others of the affected countries. Although infectious diseases, malnutrition and diarrhea account for the vast majority of deaths in many crisis situations, many individuals suffer from 1. Department of Plastic Surgery, Klinikum Bogenhausen Teaching Hospital, Technical University Munich, Germany; 2. Data and Population Analysis Department, United Nations Population Fund, Technical Division, Population and Development Branch, United Nations, New York, NY, USA
Proof vs Provability: On Brouwer’s Time Problem

Is a mathematical theorem proved because provable, or provable because proved? If Brouwer’s intuitionism is accepted, we’re committed, it seems, to the latter, which is highly problematic. Or so I ...
Body, Sexuality, and Passive Victimhood in the Post-1989 Reimagining of the Polish City of Wałbrzych:

This article explores how the changes in commemorative culture in postcommunist Poland, namely, the loss of status of the traditional self-sacrificial martyr/hero at the expense of the passive vict...
Melodrama and the Production of Empathy in Manuel Puig’s El Beso de la mujer araña

Manuel Puig’s 1974 novel, El Beso de la mujer arana, investigates how empathy can be incrementally learned through a melodramatic storytelling pratice and, eventually, mobilized to effect political and social change. As Molina and Valentin, the two protagonists, coinhabit the same jail cell in Buenos Aires, Puig uses the sentimental, aesthetic and formal qualities of nineteenth-century melodrama, seen primarily through the Hollywood B-film, Cat People, to structure the reader’s understanding of how political, sexual, and class-based empathy is constructed inside Argentina’s first “Dirty War novel.” Puig employs the structure of melodrama as a means of mobilizing empathy vis-a-vis the psychological and physical body of the other. What develops in El Beso is a model for narrative empathy centering on the body as a vehicle for empathetic connection. Empathy, therefore, becomes a space for political action. This empathy is constructed through reading and the excess of identification, which in turn diminishes the self/other divide, and enables the surrender to touch and desire which subsequently shapes a new identity.
What Are COVID-19 Vaccines?

COVID-19 is a serious disease that can have a range of symptoms, from very mild to severe. It has caused over 2,500,000 deaths worldwide and over 500,000 deaths in the US since it was first identified in 2019. To date, three vaccines have been developed and authorized for use in the US to help prevent COVID-19. These new vaccines will help prevent illness and may prevent spread of the virus. Additional vaccines are being developed and considered. Other public health measures such as social distancing, avoiding crowds, wearing face coverings, and hand washing still need to be done by everyone to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
Temperature-Controlled Assembly and Characterization of a Droplet Interface Bilayer.

The droplet interface bilayer (DIB) method for assembling lipid bilayers (i.e., DIBs) between lipid-coated aqueous droplets in oil offers key benefits versus other methods: DIBs are stable and often long-lasting, bilayer area can be reversibly tuned, leaflet asymmetry is readily controlled via droplet compositions, and tissue-like networks of bilayers can be obtained by adjoining many droplets. Forming DIBs requires spontaneous assembly of lipids into high density lipid monolayers at the surfaces of the droplets. While this occurs readily at room temperature for common synthetic lipids, a sufficient monolayer or stable bilayer fails to form at similar conditions for lipids with melting points above room temperature, including some cellular lipid extracts. This behavior has likely limited the compositions—and perhaps the biological relevance—of DIBs in model membrane studies. To address this problem, an experimental protocol is presented to carefully heat the oil reservoir hosting DIB droplets and characterize the effects of temperature on the lipid membrane. Specifically, this protocol shows how to use a thermally conductive aluminum fixture and resistive heating elements controlled by a feedback loop to prescribe elevated temperatures, which improves monolayer assembly and bilayer formation for a wider set of lipid types. Structural characteristics of the membrane, as well as the thermotropic phase transitions of the lipids comprising the bilayer, are quantified by measuring the changes in electrical capacitance of the DIB. Together, this procedure can aid in evaluating biophysical phenomena in model membranes over various temperatures, including determining an effective melting temperature (TM) for multi-component lipid mixtures. This capability will thus allow for closer replication of natural phase transitions in model membranes and encourage the formation and use of model membranes from a wider swath of membrane constituents, including those that better capture the heterogeneity of their cellular counterparts.
Dyadic Influences on Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Use and Attitudes Among Male Couples

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) affords an opportunity to significantly reduce the risk of HIV infection among male couples. We used cross-sectional dyadic data from 382 concordant-negative male couples to examine demographic and relationship characteristics associated with current PrEP use, willingness to use PrEP in the future, and perceived ability to adhere to PrEP using Actor–Partner Independence Models. Few partnered men reported currently using PrEP (16.4%) and 57.7% of non-users reported being unlikely to use PrEP in the future. Actor and partner perceptions of PrEP stigma significantly reduced PrEP use and perceptions of willingness to use PrEP or the ability to adhere to PrEP, while perceiving a higher prevalence of HIV among men was associated with significant increases in PrEP use, willingness and perceived ability to adhere. Perceptions that more friends would support PrEP use were also significantly associated with increases in willingness and perceived ability to adhere to PrEP. Dyadic interventions are needed to provide couples the skills to communicate about HIV risk and prevention, and address myths around the protective effect of relationships against HIV acquisition.
The embers underneath the CoV-2 pandemic: a semblance of the persistent burn of health inequities and disparities in the United States.

Could we have predicted that the second deadliest pandemic encountered since the influenza pandemic of 1918 would result in the highest mortality and adverse health outcomes among minority and underserved populations in the United States? Given the abundant evidence documenting the disproportionately high burden of preventable disease, disability, and injury among these underserved groups, our answer should echo a resounding ‘yes’.
For claims problems, compromising between the proportional and constrained equal awards rules

For the problem of adjudicating conflicting claims, we define a family of two-claimant rules that offer a compromise between the proportional and constrained equal awards rules. We identify the members of the family that satisfy particular properties. We generalize the rules to general populations by requiring “consistency”: The recommendation made for each problem should be “in agreement” with the recommendation made for each reduced problem that results when some claimants receive their awards and leave. We identify which members of the two-claimant family have consistent extensions, and we characterize these extensions. Here too, we identify which extensions satisfy particular properties. Finally, we propose and study a “dual” family.
A study of microwave leakage through perforated flat plates.

A simple formula useful for predicting leakage through a circular hole array in a metallic flat plate is presented. A correction is given for plate thickness. The formula is applicable to arrays having either a 60-deg (staggered) or 90-deg (square) hole pattern, but is restricted to the case of (1) an obliquely incident plane wave with the E field polarized normal to the plane of incidence, and (2) large transmission loss. When theoretical values were compared to experimental data obtained on test samples having transmission losses greater than 20 dB, the agreement between theory and experiment was typically better than 1 dB at S band and 2 dB at X band.
The New Police Science: The Police Power in Domestic and International Governance. Edited by Markus D. Dubber and Mariana Valverde

This paper seeks to illustrate those features of the criminal process that reflect its foundation in the power to police.
Hydrolysis of 2-Hydroxy-4-(Methylthio)Butanoic Acid Dimer in Two Model Systems

Hydrolysis of 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid (HMB) dimer was observed in two model systems that were designed to emulate in vivo conditions. A physiologically feasible rate of hydrolysis of this methionine precursor has not previously been demonstrated in vivo. In the first model, simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) was used, and in the second model, sections of chick small intestine were incubated in vitro with the compound under study. When HMB dimer was incubated with SIF, hydrolysis was very rapid until half of the dimer was hydrolyzed. Subsequent hydrolysis was negligible in that model system. In contrast, hydrolysis neared completion when sections of small intestine were incubated with HMB dimer. These results indicate that studies of HMB dimer cleavage must include consideration of enzymatic hydrolysis factors.
The Imagined Death: Looking to the Past for Relief from the Present:

In the recent social theory and historiography, scholars have challenged us to scrutinize the ways that we use history in forming our concepts and constructing explanation. This article explores the hazards entailed in writing an oppositional history of death and dying, where we search for relief from the chaotic present by looking to an orderly past. It is argued that in sociology, bioethics, and history, the past is presented in terms of the present, through both the imposition of our current ideological preoccupations and our culturally biased categories. The result is a depiction of history that separates us from them, an idealized communal past from modern forms of social life; the community in contrast to the isolated and anonymous individual. This article encourages scholars to revisit the historical and ethnographic record with the aim of discovering the actual historical events, ruptures, and continuities that form, dissolve, and reform death events.
Digital Control of Power Amplifiers for Wireless Communications

The advance of CMOS-based digital circuits enables new strategies for optimisation of wireless transmitters. Co-design of DSP algorithms and power amplifier characteristics can lead to improved efficiency and linearity through a variety of strategies, including: a) DSP control over bias conditions, particularly the power supply voltage; b) predistortion, in simple amplifiers, and in compound architectures such as LINC and Doherty amplifiers; and c) DSP generation of digital input signals for switching amplifiers. We envision for the future a generation of "smart power amplifiers" in which DSP optimization of amplifier parameters is carried out for changing environments.
A hotspot mitigation protocol for ad hoc networks

Abstract Hotspots represent transient but highly congested regions in wireless ad hoc networks that result in increased packet loss, end-to-end delay, and out-of-order packets delivery. We present a simple, effective, and scalable hotspot mitigation protocol (HMP) where mobile nodes independently monitor local buffer occupancy, packet loss, and MAC contention and delay conditions, and take local actions in response to the emergence of hotspots, such as, suppressing new route requests and rate controlling TCP flows. We use analysis, simulation, and experimental results from a wireless testbed to demonstrate the effectiveness of HMP in mobile ad hoc networks. HMP balances resource consumption among neighboring nodes, and improves end-to-end throughput, delay, and packet loss. Our results indicate that HMP can also improve the network connectivity preventing premature network partitions. We present analysis of hotspots, and the detailed design of HMP. We evaluate the protocol’s ability to effectively mitigate hotspots in mobile ad hoc networks that are based on on-demand and proactive routing protocols.
Toward the development of podocyte-specific drugs

Most kidney diseases that ultimately lead to end-stage renal failure originate within the glomerulus and are associated with proteinuria. Treatment options are unspecific and offer partial cures at best because available therapies do not primarily treat glomerular cells but rather act systemically and thus cause many side effects. Most glomerulopathies directly stem from injury to podocytes, cells that have a key role in the maintenance of the glomerular filter. Thus, these cells constitute an obvious and promising target for the development of novel kidney-protective drugs. During the last decade, enormous advances have been made in the understanding of podocyte structure and function. A number of pathways that are altered during glomerular diseases may be targeted by novel small- and large-molecule drugs as well as biologicals that have been identified in nephrology and other areas of drug development. Cultured podocytes provide a valuable model for high-throughput drug screening assays. Furthermore, podocytes have been shown to possess many features that make them particularly good target cells for renal protection. This mini-review discusses some of the most recent promising data related to potential drug therapy for proteinuria and kidney disease through direct podocyte targeting.
Alterations of MAPK activities associated with intestinal cell differentiation.

Three distinct groups of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) have been identified in mammalian cells (i.e., ERK, JNK, and p38) which play an important role in the differentiation and apoptosis of various cells. The purpose of our present study was to determine MAPK activity and levels associated with sodium butyrate (NaBT)-mediated differentiation and apoptosis in the human colon cancer cell lines Caco-2 and HT29. Intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) activity, a marker of intestinal differentiation, was increased at 48 h after NaBT treatment followed by cell death at 72 h. ERK activity was decreased in differentiated Caco-2 cells either induced with NaBT or allowed to differentiate spontaneously and in HT29 cells treated with NaBT. The combination of the MEK inhibitor, PD98059, with NaBT further increased IAP activity and cell death compared with NaBT alone. In contrast to ERK, JNK1 activity and c-Jun phosphorylation was increased 8 h after NaBT treatment suggesting a role for the JNK pathway in intestinal cell differentiation and apoptosis. p38 activity was increased at 24 and 48 h after NaBT treatment. Taken together, our results suggest that alterations in MAPKs (i.e., ERK inhibition and JNK induction) contribute to the differentiation and apoptotic pathways in intestinal cells.
Mutation Affecting the 12th Amino Acid of the c-Ha-ras Oncogene Product Occurs Infrequently in Human Cancer

A point mutation alters the 12th amino acid of the c-Ha-ras oncogene product p21 in a human bladder cancer cell line. This is, at present, the only mutation known to result in a human transforming gene. This mutation may therefore represent a possible target for mutagenesis leading to carcinogenesis in humans. By means of restriction enzyme analysis, 29 human cancers, including 20 primary tumor tissues, derived from organs commonly exposed to environmental carcinogens, were tested for the presence of this mutation. None of ten primary bladder carcinomas exhibited the mutation; nor did nine colon carcinomas or ten carcinomas of the lung. Thus the point mutation affecting the 12th amino acid of the c-Ha-ras gene product, while a valuable model for carcinogenesis, does not appear to play a role in the development of most human epithelial cancers of the bladder, colon, or lung.
A 7-year-old girl with cerebral palsy and multiple warts.

HISTORY OF PRESENT ILLNESS The patient was the full-term product of a normal pregnancy and delivery. She had good growth and development in the first year of life, but her mother always thought that her muscle tone was decreased. She sat unsupported at 6 months, crawled at 8 months, and pulled to stand at 10 months. She didn’t walk alone until 17 months of age, never quite achieving normal gait and falling several times a day. At age 2 years she underwent an extensive neurologic evaluation, including brain CT and MRI scans, myelogram, as well as blood and urine tests to screen for known metabolic disorders. No structural or metabolic explanation for abnormal gait was found, and she was given a diagnosis of choreoathetoid cerebral palsy. She continued to make slow progress with motor milestones, walking up steps at 3.5 years and riding a tricycle at 7 years. Cognitive development was within normal limits but she had difficulty with fine motor skills. She babbled at 6 months, spoke 1 word at 12 months, and 3-word sentences by 3 years. Over the past 2 years, the parents have noted slurred speech and drooling. She always had difficulty putting puzzles together and her drawings were awkward. Psychologic testing, performed at 6.5 years documented a WISC verbal score of 123, a performance score of 86 and full scale score of 105. She is presently in a regular second grade class in school. Review of systems was generally unremarkable. The patient had a history of chronic/recurrent otitis media from 1 to 3 years of age, that resolved. She had been treated 4 times for sinusitis over the past 12 months. Multiple warts had been present on the hands for 6 months. She never had been hospitalized, and was taking no medications. She had received all age-appropriate childhood immunizations. There was no family history of cerebral palsy or other neurologic disorders, chronic infections, or immunodeficiency. Her parents were of German and Swiss origin, and were not consanguineous. The patient had 2 healthy siblings, a 15-year-old sister and an 11-year-old brother.
Emergency Preparedness: Concept Development for Nursing Practice

Emergency preparedness is a concept frequently referred to within medical and psychological literature and in local, state, and federal documents, yet it is not well defined. There is no published theoretical or operational definition of the term, and no conceptual analysis of the phenomena of emergency preparedness exists within the literature.Because nursing is the single largest health professional resource for response, work toward further refinement of the concept of emergency preparedness has relevance for nursing practice. This article examines and attempts to clarify the concept of emergency preparedness,especially as it applies to nursing.
Predation by “shooting” in archer fish, Toxotes jaculatrix: Accuracy and sequences

Four adult shooting archer fish (Toxotes jaculatrix) were studied in a captive situation. The accuracy with which they “shot” for prey and the sequences that they performed during shooting were analyzed. The animals were successful in shooting at suspended prey 25.50/0 of the time. Shooting was preceded by a series of six acts. The “typical” sequence, based on an analysis of transition probabilities was: Orient, Swim, Rotate Vertically, Shoot. Leaping out of the water and a second vertical rotation were observed also.
Cost-effectiveness of Advair: fluticasone propionate and salmeterol combination.

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute guidelines for the treatment of asthma suggest that inhaled corticosteroids, with the addition of a long-acting bronchodilator, may be the most effectiv...
Disabusing negative self-efficacy expectations via experience, feedback, and discrediting

After receiving deliberately inaccurate negative feedback from a female confederate on role-play performance, with resultant decrease in efficacy expectations, subjects were assigned to one of four groups: (a) additional role-play with no feedback, (b) additional role-play and experimenter discrediting of the initial negative feedback, (c) additional role-play with positive feedback from confederate, and (d) experimenter discrediting. The no-feedback group showed significantly less recovery than the other conditions on two of the three efficacy measures, whereas the role-play with positive feedback and the experimenter discrediting groups demonstrated comparable recovery on all efficacy measures. No significant differences were found on the third measures of efficacy expectations. Also, the role-play with positive feedback group anticipated greater role-play “ease” than the role-play with no feedback and the role-play with discrediting conditions. Positive correlations were found between clarity of subjects' attributions for initial negative feedback and the “strength” of their efficacy ratings for future performance. Efficacy expectations also correlated positively with external ratings of self-expressiveness, but not with friendliness and self-assuredness. Results are discussed in light of recent studies on schematic biases and their disabuse.
From Guilford to Creative Synergy: Opening the Black Box of Team-Level Creativity

Previous research, from Guilford's founding tradition to more modern research on individual creativity and general group processes, falls short of adequately describing team-level creativity. Alhough researchers have addressed brainstorming in groups with mixed findings, little is known about how creative minds interact in group processes. In this article, we examine the specific group processes and dynamics that may affect team-level creative production and present a description of the ways in which diversity and different types of conflict in groups may affect the creative process. Finally, we offer suggestions for future research on creativity as a dynamic, team-level process.
Dance/movement therapy impacts mood states of adolescents in a psychiatric hospital

Abstract Although dance/movement therapy (DMT) is often used in conjunction with traditional therapies for treating children with psychiatric disorders, the evidence base for this therapy is currently small. The goal of this retrospective research is to examine whether DMT, embedded within larger psychiatric therapeutic programs, affects changes in mood states of adolescents suffering from a variety of psychiatric illnesses. Participants include 402 predominately white, non-Hispanic patients (14–21 years old, with a mean age of 14.56 ± 1.70 years) who completed 671 mood measures between August 2010 and December 2011. Participants completed the Fast Assessment of Children's Emotions before and after a group DMT session. When controlling for pre-mood scores, there was a significant change in all mood states and a significant odds of a change in total mood score, per unit increase in pre-total mood score, after one DMT session (odds ratio = 1.84; p ≤ .01). There was no significant association between patient characteristics and changes in individual or total mood scores, indicating that DMT may be useful for a wide range of patients. The results from this formative study will help researchers develop prospective studies focusing on therapeutic effects of DMT for a wide range of patients.
Inhibition of fructose bisphosphatase and stimulation of phosphofructokinase by a stable isosteric phosphonate analog of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate.

Abstract We describe the synthesis of a mixture of d -manno- and d -gluco-2,5-anhydro-1-deoxy-1-phosphonohexitol 6-phosphate via a Horner-Emmons reaction of 2,3,5-tri-O-benzyl-β- d -arabinofuranose followed by phosphorylation of the equivalent 6-position and subsequent deprotection. This mixture inhibits fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase; the concentration required for half-maximal effect in the presence of 25 μ m AMP is approximately 6 μ m . The mixture of analogs also stimulates 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase from rabbit liver; the concentration required to reach one-half Vmax was found to be ca. 25 μ m at 0.25 m m fructose 6-phosphate and 50 μ m AMP. These analogs have replaced the labile anomeric phosphate of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate with a stable methylenephosphonate, and could be of great interest due to their appropriate physiological effects and their chemical Stability.
Towards reliable multimodal sensing in aware environments

A prototype system for implementing a reliable sensor network for large scale smart environments is presented. Most applications within any form of smart environments (rooms, offices, homes, etc.) are dependent on reliable who, where, when, and what information of its inhabitants (users). This information can be inferred from different sensors spread throughout the space. However, isolated sensing technologies provide limited information under the varying, dynamic, and long-term scenarios (24/7), that are inherent in applications for intelligent environments. In this paper, we present a prototype system that provides an infrastructure for leveraging the strengths of different sensors and processes used for the interpretation of their collective data. We describe the needs of such systems, propose an architecture to dealwith such multi-modal fusion, and discuss the initial set of sensors and processes used to address such needs.
Flexibility for specificity

Different types of T lymphocytes play a key role in many immune responses, such as killing virally infected or cancerous cells directly, inducing high-affinity antibody responses in B cells, and increasing or decreasing responses from other immune cells. This multiplicity of roles may relate to their recognition properties, which are very difficult to evade. Moreover, cells are very diverse—for CD4+ T cells alone, there are at least six distinct subtypes. This raises the question of just how these different T cells are produced. Early evidence indicated that the type of T cell that dominates the response was dependent on the type of pathogen and route of entry ( 1 , 2 ). However, over the past several years, more and more flexibility has been observed in a T cell's phenotype ( 3 , 4 ). On page 400 of this issue, Becattini et al. ( 5 ) show that this flexibility is more the rule rather than the exception.
Stereoselection in designed three-helix bundle metalloproteins

The stereochemical consequences of the metal-ion assisted self-assembly of parallel three-helix peptide bundles are investigated. Chiral induction in the self-assembly of systems containing extensive protein secondary structure is compared with the racemic synthesis of short metallopeptides. Isolation and characterization of the individual stereoisomers of an exchange-inert metalloprotein provide structural insights into analogous exchange-labile systems. Chirality 10:35–40, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss,Inc.
Future directions for The Spine Journal: managing and reporting conflict of interest issues

Future directions for The Spine Journal: managing and reporting conflict of interest issues Eugene J. Carragee, MD, Eric L. Hurwitz, DC, PhD*, Bradley K. Weiner, MD, Christopher M. Bono, MD, David J. Rothman, PhD Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Stanford Medicine Outpatient Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Redwood City, CA 94063, USA Office of Public Health Studies, Department of Public Health Sciences, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, M anoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA Department of Social Medicine and Department of History, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032, USA Received 11 August 2011; accepted 18 August 2011
Black Collegians at a Rural Predominantly White Institution: Toward a Place-Based Understanding of Black Students’ Adjustment to College

This study examines adjustment differences between in-state Black students who are familiar with rural and predominantly White environments versus out-of-state Black students who mainly come from segregated, Black neighborhoods and larger cities. Focus group discussions highlight the role of students’ residential backgrounds, especially racial composition and rural status, in understanding their social adjustment and perceptions of divisions within the Black student population on campus. With regard to geographic divisions, students reported: 1) differences in their comfort levels in predominantly White environments; 2) perceptions of in-state Blacks “acting White” (out-of-state students equating urban residence of origin with authentic Blackness); and 3) perceptions of differences between the two groups in provincialism versus sophistication. We conclude that while race is often seen as unifying Black students at predominantly White colleges, students also have strong place identities that are tied to th...
Processes and continuous change in a SAT-based planner

The TM-LPSAT planner can construct plans in domains containing atomic actions and durative actions; events and processes; discrete, real-valued, and interval-valued fluents; reusable resources, both numeric and interval-valued; and continuous linear change to quantities. It works in three stages. In the first stage, a representation of the domain and problem in an extended version of PDDL+ is compiled into a system of Boolean combinations of propositional atoms and linear constraints over numeric variables. In the second stage, a SAT-based arithmetic constraint solver, such as LPSAT or MathSAT, is used to find a solution to the system of constraints. In the third stage, a correct plan is extracted from this solution. We discuss the structure of the planner and show how planning with time and metric quantities is compiled into a system of constraints. The proofs of soundness and completeness over a substantial subset of our extended version of PDDL+ are presented.
Impedance controlled twisted string actuators for tensegrity robots

We are developing impedance controlled twisted string actuators (TSA) for use in tensegrity robots, as an alternative to traditional spooled cable actuation. Tensegrity robots are composed of continuous tension and discontinuous compression elements, with no rigid joints between elements, which give them unique force distribution properties. The use of tensegrity robots is strongly motivated by biological examples, and they are capable of locomotion and manipulation by changing lengths of their continuous network of tensional elements, which is also the primary pathways for load transfer through the structure. TSA show the potential to address some of the unique engineering challenges faced by tensegrity structures, and provide unique qualities well suited to an actively controlled tension system, such as compact, light-weight mechanical structures, inherent compliance, variable “gearing”, and the ability to transmit high forces with a very low input torque. The inherent variable compliance of impedance control is essential for tensegrity robots to move through and manipulate the environment, and is a natural match to the unique qualities of TSA. This paper briefly introduces the tensegrity robots in the NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics Group and an overview of their future application to space planetary exploration. Then the effectiveness and robustness of TSA are verified through the performance of impedance control modes.
Device Performance of Heterojunction Tunneling Field-Effect Transistors Based on Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Monolayer

The ballistic device performances of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide (MX2) tunneling field-effect transistors (TFETs) and the drive current enhancement via heterojunction are investigated in this letter via the nonequilibrium Green's function formulism. The ultrathin 2-D body and the direct and designable bandgap by choosing a proper MX2 material are advantageous for the performance of TFETs. Through introducing a common- X heterojunction at the source-channel interface, the ION at the same ION/IOFF ratio can be further enhanced by an order for both n- and p-type TFETs.
Post-traumatic stress disorder following a suicide attempt

How commonly does a suicide attempt lead to post-traumatic stress disorder? The terrifying nature of events before and after many suicide attempts and the increasing rates of suicide attempts in the general population suggest that PTSD as a result of a suicide attempt should not be a rare occurrence. However, a thorough review of the literature revealed no reports. We provide one case report and discuss the theoretical, clinical, and research questions linking traumatic suicide attempts to subsequent PTSD.