cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Gelatin as a Biostimulant Seed Treatment to Improve Plant Performance

The effect of gelatin, used as a biostimulant, was investigated on plant growth in greenhouse studies. Biostimulants are materials that stimulate plant growth, and gelatin, an animal protein hydrolysate, is classified as one type of biostimulant. Gelatin has a unique amino acid composition with a high percentage of proline and hydroxyproline. In a series of experiments gelatin capsules (#3 hard gelatin) containing 7.1 mg nitrogen each, were placed adjacent to seeds of different crop species, at sowing time in individual growing containers and several growth parameters were measured. Different types of hydrolyzed collagen, including granulated gelatin, gelatin hydrolysate, and amino acid mixtures simulating the composition of gelatin were compared on cucumber plant growth. In addition, amino acid mixtures without proline, hydroxyproline, or applied in combination were investigated on cucumber growth. All capsule treatments significantly enhanced crop growth compared to the non-treated control. The treatment with two gelatin capsules placed adjacent to each seed increased shoot dry weight of cucumber, pepper, broccoli, tomato, arugula, and field corn, by 138, 244, 50, 45, 41, and 18 percent, respectively. In an experiment with cucumber alone, there was a positive linear relationship between the number of gelatin capsules from 0 to 3 capsules on plant growth and plant nitrogen content. Cucumber growth and plant nitrogen content was greater from the hydrolyzed collagen treatment compared with the low molecular weight gelatin hydrolysate, a mixture of amino acids or urea and all treatments provided an equivalent amount of nitrogen. Proline and/or hydroxyproline were not responsible for the biostimulant effect. In summary, gelatin provided nitrogen that enhanced plant growth. Moreover, gelatin was an effective biostimulant as the plant growth and nitrogen content was greater from two gelatin capsules compared to amino acid mixture of the same proportion and amount as the gelatin.
ALLERGIC RHINITIS: Outcomes of Immunotherapy on Symptom Control

Because the effectiveness of immunotherapy does not occur independently of diagnostic methodology, a brief comment about allergy testing is germane to this discussion. The techniques of in vivo diagnostic allergy testing rely on the reactivity and sensitivity of mast cells that have been sensitized with specific IgE to reflect allergen sensitivity. The antigens may be applied as a challenge test in a controlled fashion directly upon nasal, oral, conjunctival, bronchial, or gastrointestinal mucosa. In the clinical setting, antigen more commonly is applied directly onto or into the skin in the form of scratch, prick, or intradermal tests. Skin tests have represented the primary diagnostic tool in IgE-mediated allergy, and have provided useful, confirmatory evidence for specific allergy, the diagnosis of which has been made on clinical grounds. Skin test techniques share the characteristics of simplicity, rapidity of performance, high sensitivity and specificity when properly performed, and low cost. Recent refinements in skin testing strategies have resulted from the quest for validity and reproducibility, and for quality control and assurance. Quantitation of skin test reactivity, whether by prick or intradermal, but particularly by intradermal testing that uses a dilution-titration technique, provides the most accurate assessment of the individual's hypersensitivity. Only those skin tests that can quantitate the sensitivity of the patient to each individual allergen will provide the information necessary to formulate a treatment program that gives optimal therapeutic results. 7,33 For an antigen to elicit a beneficial immunologic response, it must be given in high enough doses to stimulate a therapeutic response. Thus, skin testing methodology has a direct bearing upon the methodology of immunotherapy. Having said this, our attention will now be focused upon immunotherapy techniques, particularly newer research in oral (OIT), sublingual (SLIT), and local nasal (LNIT) immunotherapy.
Role-Based Evaluation of Principals: Developing an Appraisal System

Over the past decade, the perception that the public schools are failing has stimulated political debate over school reform in many nations. Much of this attention involves shifting decision-making power from state and district educational bureaucracies to the local school as the place where decisions about educational change are best made and implemented. Current policies to promote local school management, provide increased parent choice, or develop charter schools emphasize policymakers’ beliefs that schools may be manipulated and evaluated in terms of their effectiveness in educating students. Moreover, with fewer dollars in many state or national economies during the past several years, accountability has become a driving force in the process of allocating scarce economic resources to education.
Market-testing a smartphone application for family planning: assessing potential of the CycleBeads app in seven countries through digital monitoring.

Background: The advent of new technological approaches to family planning has the potential to address unmet need in low- and middle-income countries. Provision of fertility awareness-based apps have the ability to provide accessible, direct-to-user fertility information to help women achieve their reproductive goals. The CycleBeads app, a digital platform for the Standard Days Method (SDM), a modern method of family planning, helps women achieve or prevent pregnancy, or track their cycles using the only their period start dates. Methods: Brief social marketing campaigns were launched by the app developer to monitor cost and distribution of the CycleBeads app, understand the user profile, and assess user experience. Monitoring and evaluation through in-app micro surveys occurred over a 6-cycle period in seven countries: Egypt, Ghana, India, Jordan, Kenya, Nigeria, and Rwanda. In-app micro-surveys were utilized to collect data around demographics, mode of use of the app, prior experiences with family planning, and satisfaction to better understand women’s interactions with the apps, and the possibility for meeting unmet need. Analyzes focused on women who were using the app to prevent pregnancy or track their cycles. Results: Social media campaigns proved to be an easy, low-cost approach to advertising the CycleBeads app. As a result, 356,520 women downloaded the app, and the cost to the advertiser per download ranged from $0.17–0.69. A majority of app users were between 20–29 years old, married or in exclusive relationships. Overall, 39.9% of users were using the app to prevent pregnancy, 38.5% to plan a pregnancy, and 21.6% were tracking their cycles. Among the users preventing pregnancy, 64.1% of women had not used a family planning method 3 months before downloading the CycleBeads app. One-third of users who were using the app to track their cycles, reported that they had not been using any form of family planning. In all seven countries, nearly 60% of women reported that they would definitely recommend the CycleBeads app to a friend, indicating their satisfaction with the app. Conclusions: Our main findings indicate that a social media campaign is a low-cost approach to making the CycleBeads app accessible to women. The app addresses multiple reproductive intentions and attracts a diverse demographic of users across different life stages. For many women the app was the first modern method they used in the last 3 months, showing that fertility awareness-based apps have the potential to address an unmet need. Future studies should focus on changes in behavior during the fertile window, partner communication, and future family planning intentions.
Evaluating How Mental, Physical, and Relational Health Are Tied to Ecological Issues

This chapter examines how our mental, physical, and relational health are tied to the health of the ecosystem. Many of the common presenting problems we see in therapy (e.g., alienation, depression, anxiety, a sense of meaninglessness, and relational conflict) are tied to three critical and often unrecognized factors: (1) the impact of nature-deficit; (2) an addiction to technology and other secondary sources; and (3) exposure to environmental toxicity. Examples are provided to help illuminate how many of the most common mental and physical health symptoms we see in therapy are linked to these three factors. The chapter outlines how therapists can assess and intervene to address common problems in ways that address the underlying influence of these three factors.
Eurasian Empires in Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages: Contact and Exchange between the Graeco-Roman World, Inner Asia, and China: Edited by Hyun Jin Kim, Frederik Juliaan Vervaet, and Selim Ferruh adali. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017. xvi + 333pp., contributors, notes, bibliographies, tables, illustrations, maps, and index. $99.99 (HB). ISBN 978-1-107-19041-2.

Although the title of this volume includes the term “contact and exchange,” the primary focus is on various aspects of Central Eurasia, along with comparative studies of cultural innovation, practi...
New Drugs 2019, part 4

This article reviews nine drugs recently approved by the FDA, including indications, precautions, adverse reactions, and nursing considerations.
Pathophysiology of Spinal Pain

Disorders of the spine are highly prevalent throughout the world and pose an enormous socioeconomic burden, costing billions of dollars in care annually in the United States alone. Treatments must be tailored to the specific spinal pain syndrome and its pathophysiological basis. Disc herniation or stenotic lesions causing nerve root compression will produce different symptoms than a degenerative arthropathy. In this chapter, we discuss the epidemiology, underlying etiology, pathology, and risk factors for a variety of common spinal disorders, including disc herniation, discogenic pain, spinal stenosis, facet arthropathy, and sacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain. We also highlight the cellular and molecular basis of spine pain secondary to metastatic cancer or primary rheumatological disorders, such as ankylosing spondylitis. Overall, we provide an overview of the pathophysiology underlying common conditions that affect patients with spine pain, with the hope that a firm understanding of the molecular, cellular, and physiological changes may prompt more specific therapy.
Veteran Affairs Partnership Improves Access to High Volume, Quality Heart Transplant Programs. It Ain't Broke!

Purpose Access to heart transplantation (HTX) within the Veteran Affairs Health Administration (VA) is an area of concern. In our study we examined the outcomes of veterans, often traveling great distances, undergoing HTX at Vanderbilt (VUMC) compared to non-veteran patients at the highest volume HTX VA-civilian partnership. Methods Statistical analysis was performed on data gathered retrospectively from the EMR of 287 adult patients (VA=51, VUMC=236) who underwent isolated heart transplant at VUMC between January 2015 and December 2018 (Table 1) Multiple ordinal or binary logistic regressions for hospital length of stay, intensive care length of stay, and primary graft dysfunction were performed while adjusting for patients’ age, preoperative VAD, PVR, donor ischemic times, and bypass time. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression were used to evaluate the differences in the hazard of mortality between the groups at 1 year. Results A total of 312 patients underwent heart transplant; 3 were combined heart/liver (1VA and 2 VUMC), 21 were combined heart/kidney (1VA and 20 VUMC), and 287 were isolated heart transplants. VA patients from 14 states traveled significantly greater distances than non-VA patients (Table 1a)[p=0.001]. Multiple logistic regression model did not demonstrate statistically significant differences in ICU LOS (OR=0.95, CI=0.55-1.66, p=0.87), LOS (OR=1.02, 95%CI=0.59-1.77, p=0.94) or PGD (OR=0.92, 95%CI=0.42-2.04, p=0.84) (Table 1c). Kaplan-Meier plot showed no significant survival difference between VA and VUMC. On Cox regression analysis, the HR (risk of death) for site (VUMC vs. VA) was 2.0 (95% CI=0.25-15.9; p=0.51). Conclusion Regionalization of care for cardiac transplantation within the VA system provides veterans with access to quality, specialized heart failure care that is comparable to the civilian population. Further analysis needs to be performed to determine if follow up patterns and long term survival differences exist between the two groups.
Temperature-dependent magnetic transitions in CoCrPt-Ru-CoCrPt synthetic ferrimagnets

Abstract The magnetic orientations and switching fields of a CoCrPt-Ru-CoCrPt synthetic ferrimagnet with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy have been studied in the temperature range from 2 K to 300 K. It was found that two sets of magnetic transitions occur in the CoCrPt-Ru-CoCrPt ferrimagnet across this temperature range. The first set exhibits three magnetic transitions in the 50 K–370 K range, whereas the second involves only two transitions in the 2 K and 50 K range. The observed magnetic hysteresis curves of the synthetic ferrimagnet are explained using the energy diagram technique framework pioneered by Koplak et al. [1] which accurately describes the competition between interlayer exchange coupling energy, Zeeman energy, and anisotropy energy in the system. In this work we expand the framework to include synthetic ferrimagnets (SFMs) comprising higher perpendicular magnetic anisotropy materials and large (4X) interlayer exchange coupling energies which are promising for the development of ultrafast (ps) magnetic switching free layers in MTJ structures. Furthermore, we apply the analysis to predict SFM magnetic hysteresis curves in a temperature regime that includes temperature extrema that a synthetic ferrimagnet would be expected to reliably operate at, were it to be utilized as a free layer in a memory or sensor spintronic device.
A two-step approach to testing overall effect of gene-environment interaction for multiple phenotypes

While gene-environment (GxE) interactions contribute importantly to many different phenotypes, detecting such interactions requires well-powered studies and has proven difficult. To address this, we combine two approaches to improve GxE power: simultaneously evaluating multiple phenotypes and using a two-step analysis approach. Previous work shows that the power to identify a main genetic effect can be improved by simultaneously analyzing multiple related phenotypes. For a univariate phenotype, two-step methods produce higher power for detecting a GxE interaction compared to single step analysis. Therefore, we propose a two-step approach to test for an overall GxE effect for multiple phenotypes. Using simulations we demonstrate that, when more than one phenotype has GxE effect (i.e., GxE pleiotropy), our approach offers substantial gain in power (18% – 43%) to detect an aggregate-level GxE effect for a multivariate phenotype compared to an analogous two-step method to identify GxE effect for a univariate phenotype. We applied the proposed approach to simultaneously analyze three lipids, LDL, HDL and Triglyceride with the frequency of alcohol consumption as environmental factor in the UK Biobank. The method identified two independent genome-wide significant signals of an overall GxE effect on the vector of lipids.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.View Full Text
Safety and Effectiveness of Yttrium-90 Radioembolization around the Time of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors for Unresectable Hepatic Metastases.

Abstract Purpose To assess the safety and effectiveness of yttrium-90 radioembolization and checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy within a short interval for the treatment of unresectable hepatic metastases. Materials and Methods This single-institution retrospective study included 22 patients (12 men; median age, 65 y ± 11) with unresectable hepatic metastases and preserved functional status (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0/1) who received immunotherapy and radioembolization within a 15-month period (median, 63.5 d; interquartile range, 19.7–178.2 d) from February 2013 to March 2018. Primary malignancies were uveal melanoma (12 of 22; 54.5%), soft tissue sarcoma (3; 13.6%), cutaneous melanoma (3; 14%), and others (4; 18.2%). Studies were reviewed to March 2019 to assess Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events grade 3/4 toxicities, disease progression, and death. Results There were no grade 4 toxicities within 6 mo of radioembolization. Grade 3 hepatobiliary toxicities occurred in 3 patients (13.6%) within 6 months, 2 from rapid disease progression and 1 from a biliary stricture. Two patients (9.1%) experienced clinical toxicities, including grade 4 colitis at 6 months and hepatic abscess at 3 months. Median overall survival (OS) from first radioembolization was 20 mo (95% confidence interval [CI], 12.5–27.5 mo), and median OS from first immunotherapy was 23 months (95% CI, 15.9–30.1 mo). Within the uveal melanoma subgroup, the median OS from first radioembolization was 17.0 months (95% CI, 14.2–19.8 mo). Median time to progression was 7.8 months (95% CI, 3.3–12.2 mo), and median progression-free survival was 7.8 mo (95% CI, 3.1–12.4 mo). Conclusions Checkpoint immunotherapy around the time of radioembolization is safe, with a low incidence of toxicity independent of primary malignancy.
Phenoxodiol phase Ib/II study in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer that are resistant to ≥ second line chemotherapy

4457 Introduction: Resistance to apoptosis is a critical step in cancer development and chemoresistance. Apoptosis-based tumor therapy represents a new and promising approach for the treatment of cancer. Recently we have shown that Phenoxodiol (Ph) selectively removes blockers of apoptosis in chemo resistant ovarian cancer cells and inhibits tumor growth in vivo. Phase I studies with Ph have shown no-toxicity in patients with solid tumors. The objective of this study was to evaluate the toxicity and preliminary efficacy of Ph in recurrent ovarian cancer. Methods: Forty patients with documented recurrence after second line chemotherapy and histologically confirmed epithelial ovarian, fallopian or primary peritoneal cancer were eligible for this study. Patients were randomized at four dose levels (1, 3, 10, 20 mg/kg), ten patients per dose, and received treatment consisting of bolus Ph weekly on 2 consecutive days. Toxicity was scored according to NCI criteria. Response was defined according to Recist criteria in patients with measurable disease or Rustin criteria in evaluable patients with CA125 criteria. Results: To date, we have completed enrollment of this trial and data is currently available for the twenty patients in the first two dose levels (1and 3 mg/kg). The median number of prior chemotherapy regiments was 5 (range: 2 –10). 18 patients were platinum refractory or resistant and 2 patients could not be assessed. 18/20 patients had measurable disease. There were no toxicities related to Ph therapy. In the first dose strata (1 mg/kg), 7/10 patients completed 12 weeks of treatment and 2 patients had stable disease at 12 weeks. 6/7 patients are alive (303 ± 15 days) and under different treatment. In the second dose strata (3 mg/kg), 6/10 patients completed 12 weeks of treatment and 3 patients had stable disease at 12 weeks. 5/6 patients are alive (268± 20 days) and under different treatment. Conclusion: Phenoxodiol was found to be very well tolerated at the dose levels reported here in, with no documented toxicities. In these heavily pre-treated patients, stable disease was documented in 25% of patients. No objective responses were observed. We expect the data on the third and fourth dose levels to be available shortly. A clinical protocol is currently being designed to combine Phenoxodiol with standard chemotherapies.
Evaluating a Longitudinal Cohort of Clinics Engaging in the Family Planning Elevated Contraceptive Access Program: Study Protocol for a Comparative Interrupted Time Series Analysis.

BACKGROUND Access to high-quality, comprehensive contraceptive care is an inherent component of reproductive human rights. However, hindrances to specific aspects of contraceptive provision, including availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality, continue to perpetuate unmet needs. The state of Utah has recently passed a series of contraceptive policies intended to improve contraceptive access. Despite these positive changes to theoretical access, fiscal appropriations to support the implementation of these policies have been minimal, and many individuals still struggle to access contraception. OBJECTIVE The Family Planning Elevated Contraceptive Access Program (FPE CAP), part of a larger statewide contraceptive initiative, specifically aims to improve contraceptive access within health clinics. This paper describes the study protocol for evaluating the success of FPE CAP. METHODS Health clinics apply for membership in the FPE CAP. On acceptance in the program, they receive a cash grant for clinical supplies, equipment, and personnel expenses; reimbursement for contraceptive services and methods for eligible clients; technical support, training, and proctoring on counseling and providing all methods of contraception; method stocking of intrauterine devices and implants; and demand generation activities, including local media campaigns, to inform community members about the FPE CAP and possible eligibility. FPE collects monthly service delivery reports from participating clinics for evaluation purposes. The primary outcomes of FPE CAP are level and trend changes in contraceptive service delivery among individuals earning ≤138% federal poverty level (FPL) following membership in FPE CAP and among FPE CAP clients earning between 139% and 250% FPL (including those ineligible for Medicaid) compared with historical data and control clinics. To assess this, we will conduct comparative interrupted time series analyses assessing the level and trend changes in intervention and control clinics 12 months before the intervention, for the 2-year duration of the intervention, and for the subsequent 12 months following the intervention. RESULTS We found that the study is adequately powered (>80% power) with our planned number of clinics and the number of months of data available in the study. To date, we have successfully completed the recruitment and enrollment of 8 of the expected 9 health organizations and 4 of the control clinics. Completed health organization enrollment for both intervention and control organizations is expected to be completed in December 2020. CONCLUSIONS The study aims to provide insight into a new approach to contraceptive initiatives by addressing comprehensive aspects of contraceptive care at the health system level. Ongoing state policy changes and implementation components may affect the evaluation outcomes. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/18308.
« L’Exclusif » in Theory and Practice: French Guiana and the Eighteenth Century Atlantic Economy

This paper documents the importance of French Guiana within the Modern World and the influence of this colony, considered as marginal, on the Atlantic trading networks of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. To reconstruct French Guiana’s commercial network, a material culture analysis of six archaeological collections and records of the boats reaching Cayenne annually during the Ancien Regime were juxtaposed. Through the lens of microhistory, this method led to a revisitation of the Eurocentric economic theories of the Ancien Regime, notably the protectionist policy of l’Exclusif, to better appreciate how the decisions of French Guiana authorities outmaneuvered the imperial power and had a tangible impact on the Atlantic economy by operating outside of the economic precepts of mercantilism.
Divided discourse: Establishing a methods-centered approach to latrinalia research:

Past research on bathroom graffiti (latrinalia) has utilized disparate collection and analysis methodologies. Here, we seek to devise a rigorous, unified methodological framework for the collection...
Calcium‐permeable AMPA receptor activity and GluA1 trafficking in the basolateral amygdala regulate operant alcohol self‐administration

Addiction is viewed as maladaptive glutamate-mediated neuroplasticity that is regulated, in part, by calcium-permeable AMPA receptor (CP-AMPAR) activity. However, the contribution of CP-AMPARs to alcohol-seeking behavior remains to be elucidated. We evaluated CP-AMPAR activity in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) as a potential target of alcohol that also regulates alcohol self-administration in C57BL/6J mice. Operant self-administration of sweetened alcohol increased spontaneous EPSC frequency in BLA neurons that project to the nucleus accumbens as compared with behavior-matched sucrose controls indicating an alcohol-specific upregulation of synaptic activity. Bath application of the CP-AMPAR antagonist NASPM decreased evoked EPSC amplitude only in alcohol self-administering mice indicating alcohol-induced synaptic insertion of CP-AMPARs in BLA projection neurons. Moreover, NASPM infusion in the BLA dose-dependently decreased the rate of operant alcohol self-administration providing direct evidence for CP-AMPAR regulation of alcohol reinforcement. As most CP-AMPARs are GluA1-containing, we asked if alcohol alters the activation state of GluA1-containing AMPARs. Immunocytochemistry results showed elevated GluA1-S831 phosphorylation in the BLA of alcohol as compared with sucrose mice. To investigate mechanistic regulation of alcohol self-administration by GluA1-containing AMPARs, we evaluated the necessity of GluA1 trafficking using a TET-ON AAV encoding a dominant-negative GluA1 c-terminus (GluA1ct) that blocks activity-dependent synaptic delivery of native GluA1-containing AMPARs. GluA1ct expression in the BLA reduced alcohol self-administration with no effect on sucrose controls. These results show that CP-AMPAR activity and GluA1 trafficking in the BLA mechanistically regulate the reinforcing effects of sweetened alcohol. Pharmacotherapeutic targeting these mechanisms of maladaptive neuroplasticity may aid medical management of alcohol use disorder.
HLA-DR cancer cells expression correlates with T cell infiltration and is enriched in lung adenocarcinoma with indolent behavior

Lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) is a heterogeneous group of tumors associated with different survival rates, even when detected at an early stage. Here, we aim to investigate whether CyTOF identifies cellular and molecular predictors of tumor behavior. We developed and validated a CyTOF panel of 34 antibodies in four ADC cell lines and PBMC. We tested our panel in a set of 10 ADCs, classified into long- (LPS) (n = 4) and short-predicted survival (SPS) (n = 6) based on radiomics features. We identified cellular subpopulations of epithelial cancer cells (ECC) and their microenvironment and validated our results by multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) applied to a tissue microarray (TMA) of LPS and SPS ADCs. The antibody panel captured the phenotypical differences in ADC cell lines and PBMC. LPS ADCs had a higher proportion of immune cells. ECC clusters (ECCc) were identified and uncovered two ADC groups. ECCc with high HLA-DR expression were correlated with CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, with LPS samples being enriched for those clusters. We confirmed a positive correlation between HLA-DR expression on ECC and T cell number by mIF staining on TMA slides. Spatial analysis demonstrated shorter distances from T cells to the nearest ECC in LPS. Our results demonstrate a distinctive cellular profile of ECC and their microenvironment in ADC. We showed that HLA-DR expression in ECC is correlated with T cell infiltration, and that a set of ADCs with high abundance of HLA-DR+ ECCc and T cells is enriched in LPS samples. This suggests new insights into the role of antigen presenting tumor cells in tumorigenesis.
Use of low-fidelity models with machine-learning error correction for well placement optimization.

Well placement optimization is commonly performed using population-based global stochastic search algorithms. These optimizations are computationally expensive due to the large number of multiphase flow simulations that must be conducted. In this work, we present an optimization framework in which these simulations are performed with low-fidelity (LF) models. These LF models are constructed from the underlying high-fidelity (HF) geomodel using a global transmissibility upscaling procedure. Tree-based machine-learning methods, specifically random forest and light gradient boosting machine, are applied to estimate the error in objective function value (in this case net present value, NPV) associated with the LF models. In the offline (preprocessing) step, preliminary optimizations are performed using LF models, and a clustering procedure is applied to select a representative set of 100--150 well configurations to use for training. HF simulation is then performed for these configurations, and the tree-based models are trained using an appropriate set of features. In the online (runtime) step, optimization with LF models, with the machine-learning correction, is conducted. Differential evolution is used for all optimizations. Results are presented for two example cases involving the placement of vertical wells in 3D bimodal channelized geomodels. We compare the performance of our procedure to optimization using HF models. In the first case, 25 optimization runs are performed with both approaches. Our method provides an overall speedup factor of 46 relative to optimization using HF models, with the best-case NPV within 1% of the HF result. In the second case fewer HF optimization runs are conducted (consistent with actual practice), and the overall speedup factor with our approach is about 8. In this case, the best-case NPV from our procedure exceeds the HF result by 3.8%
Psychotropic Treatment Pattern in Medicaid Pediatric Patients With Concomitant ADHD and ODD/CD.

Objective: To describe psychotropic treatment pattern and evaluate the association of socio-demographic factors and psychotropic combination therapy in children with ADHD and oppositional defiant d...
Exercise hyperaemia: is anything obligatory but the hyperaemia?

Exercise can increase skeletal muscle blood flow by 100-fold over values observed at rest. As this value was 3 to 4 times higher than so-called ‘textbook’ values at the time it raised a number of issues about cardiovascular control. However, there is a continuing inability to identify the factor or combination of factors that explain this substantial increase in muscle blood flow. Moreover, these governing mechanism(s) must also explain the precise matching of muscle blood flow to metabolic demand and oxygen use or need. The difficulties identifying the mechanisms for exercise hyperaemia are especially disappointing due to the essentially concurrent discovery in the 1980s that the vascular endothelium was a key site of vasomotor control and that nitric oxide (NO) potentially released from nerves, endothelial cells, directly from tissues such as skeletal muscle, or perhaps released from red blood cells, might participate in vascular control in a way that would permit blood flow and metabolism to be closely matched.
Heat transfer and friction for laminar flow of gas in a circular tube at high heating rate: Solutions for hydrodynamically developed flow by a finite-difference method

Abstract An implicit finite difference scheme is developed for solving the problem of laminar flow of gases in heated (or cooled) circular tubes with an unheated entrance section, under conditions where large variations of gas properties occur. The solution is based on the boundary-layer equations, the validity of which for the present problem has been verified from the numerical solutions. Numerical examples are worked out for air including (i) pure forced convection with different rates of uniform heating; (ii) pure forced convection with uniform wall temperature with heating as well as cooling of the gas ; and (iii) superimposed forced and natural convection with uniform heat flux. For pure forced convection approximate expressions for the local Nusselt number and the friction factor are given.
Double Outlet Right Ventricle with Pulmonic Stenosis and Anteriorly Positioned Aorta (Taussig-Bing Variant) Report of a Case and Surgical Correction

An 11 year old girl, markedly cyanotic and symptomatic with double outlet right ventricle, infundibular pulmonic stenosis and anteriorly positioned aorta (Taussig-Bing variant) underwent successful surgical correction. The procedure involved construction of a Dacron tunnel from the ventricular septal defect to the aortic orifice and infundibular resection. To our knowledge an identical case with a similar type of surgical correction has not previously been reported. Diagnostic features of double outlet right ventricle, including the Taussig-Bing anomaly, are discussed. Angiocardiography differentiated our case from complete transposition of the great arteries with pulmonic stenosis and from tetralogy of Fallot.
The effect of apolipoprotein E deficiency on islet amyloid deposition in human islet amyloid polypeptide transgenic mice.

Abstract Aims/hypothesis. Islet amyloid deposits are present in over 85% of Type 2 diabetic patients and have been suggested to be pathogenic. The mechanism that converts islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP), the unique component of these deposits, into amyloid fibrils in vivo is not known. The amino acid sequence of IAPP is critical but insufficient for beta-pleated sheet formation. As apolipoprotein E (apoE), another component of islet amyloid deposits, plays a critical role in amyloid formation in Alzheimer's disease, we hypothesised that apoE could play an important role in islet amyloid formation. Methods. Transgenic mice expressing the human form of IAPP (hIAPP +/0 ) were crossbred with apoE deficient (apoE –/– ) mice and followed for 12 months, at which time the prevalence and severity of islet amyloid, as well as plasma glucose, hIAPP, immunoreactive insulin (IRI) and lipid concentrations were measured. Results. The prevalence and severity of islet amyloid after one year of follow up were comparable among hIAPP +/0 mice that were apoE +/+ , apoE +/– or apoE –/– . Differences in glucose tolerance, lipid abnormalities or changes in pancreatic content or plasma concentrations of hIAPP and/or IRI did not account for these findings. Conclusion/interpretation. Our data shows that, unlike in the localized amyloidosis in the brain characteristic of Alzheimer's disease, apoE is not critical for islet amyloid formation in a transgenic mouse model of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. These results indicate that the mechanisms of localised amyloid formation probably vary among different amyloid-associated disorders. Therefore, therapeutic strategies targeting apoE might not apply equally to patients with different amyloid associated diseases.
Choosing to Integrate Schools

As we commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the St. Louis school desegregation litigation, a natural question is how current education reform efforts impact the status of and potential for school integration. This Article examines how the push for school choice impacts school desegregation in Missouri specifically and the United States generally. The evidence reveals that while our student population is becoming more diverse and the prevalence of all-white schools is diminishing, the pattern of high-poverty, high-minority, low-performing schools persists. Charter schools — the most common form of school choice — actually exacerbate the segregation of poor and minority school children. As a first step in rectifying the segregative impact of charter schools, this Article proposes that the federal government require more inclusionary practices by charter schools for states to receive federal funding for their charter schools. Otherwise, we once again allow current reform efforts to continue our history of segregated, unequal schooling.
Two-Unicast Wireless Networks: Characterizing the Degrees of Freedom

We consider two-source two-destination (i.e., two-unicast) multihop wireless networks that have a layered structure with arbitrary connectivity. We show that, if the channel gains are chosen independently according to continuous distributions, then, with probability 1, two-unicast layered Gaussian networks can only have 1, 3/2, or 2 sum degrees of freedom (unless both source-destination pairs are disconnected, in which case no degrees of freedom can be achieved). We provide sufficient and necessary conditions for each case based on network connectivity and a new notion of source-destination paths with manageable interference. Our achievability scheme is based on forwarding the received signals at all nodes, except for a small fraction of them in at most two key layers. Hence, we effectively create a “condensed network” that has at most four layers (including the sources layer and the destinations layer). We design the transmission strategies based on the structure of this condensed network. The converse results are obtained by developing information-theoretic inequalities that capture the structures of the network connectivity. Finally, we extend this result and characterize the full degrees of freedom region of two-unicast layered wireless networks.
Cell cycle regulation of H2b histone octamer DNA-binding activity in Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts.

Abstract The promoter regions of H2b histone genes contain a 14-base-pair element which includes the octamer ATTTGCAT. Mutational analysis has implicated the octamer element in the cell cycle-dependent expression of H2b histone genes. In this report, we address the question of whether the DNA-binding activity of the octamer transcription factor is itself cell cycle regulated. By using a gel mobility shift assay, we measured the relative amounts of octamer-binding activity during various phases of the cell cycle in serum-synchronized Chinese hamster fibroblasts. We found that the activity increased approximately fivefold between late G1 phase and early S phase and then decreased threefold between late S phase and G2 phase. These cell cycle-dependent changes in octamer DNA-binding activity may in part account for the selective transcription of H2b histone genes in late G1 and S phases.
Geographies of E-waste: Towards a Political Ecology Approach to E-waste and Digital Technologies

The production and circulation of electronic waste, or e-waste, has garnered significant popular and academic attention over the last decade and a half. While much of this work has come from the fields of waste management, engineering, chemistry, and public policy, geographers have made significant contributions to understanding this uniquely modern problem in a number of areas: mapping e-waste flows at multiple scales; exploring informal e-waste economies through ethnographic fieldwork; and critically engaging with development schemes and policies designed to mitigate the many hazards associated with electronics recycling. The main body of the paper charts how these empirical contributions have advanced broader debates about global economic linkages and governance. In the concluding section of the paper, I outline a few directions for future research that can continue to push the e-waste literature beyond a managerial focus towards a broader problematization of the social and ecological foundations of digital technologies and economies. I suggest that geographers, particularly those who identify with the questions, methods, and modes of explanation found in political ecology, are well-suited to such a task.
Unusual Psammoma Bodies in an Extracranial Syncytial Meningioma from a Dog A Light and Electron Microscopic Study

An epidural neoplasm was removed from the right side of the third cervical vertebra of a Blue Tick Hound dog. By light microscopy the tumor was classified as a syncytial meningioma containing psammoma bodies that were histochemically positive for calcium salts, but negative for reticulum fibers and collagen. Ultrastructurally, the tumor cells had numerous processes and desmosomes. Cytoplasmic fibrils were sparse. Coated cytoplasmic vesicles frequently were fused with plasma membranes. The psammoma bodies were not within the cytoplasm, but were in spaces continous with the extracellular space. The bodies were composed of a medium electron-dense matrix; a crystalline, highly electron-dense center; and, sometimes, short fibrils embedded in the glanular matrix.
Short-term memory with different organizations of prose paragraphs

Proactive inhibition and release phenomena were explored using four-sentence paragraphs with each sentence containing a key word for recall after a rehearsal-interference task. Each paragraph described a particular member of a class of items on each of four semantically unrelated attributes. Repetition of paragraphs describing items on the same attributes at first produced slight improvement and then decrement. Shifts to paragraphs using different attributes resulted in somewhat better recall, which again improved over early trials with repetition of the changed materials, and then declined. Findings of facilation were discussed in terms of organization learning, decrements in terms of proactive inhibition.
Modelling and simulation of a heat exchanger

Two models for the two different control schemes for a parallel flow heat exchanger are developed. By spatially lumping a heat exchanger model, a good approximate model which has a high system order is produced. Model reduction techniques are applied to these to obtain low-order models that are suitable for dynamic analysis and control design. The simulation method is discussed. >
Mechanistic explanation for a subharmonic bifurcation and variations in behaviour in the voltammetric oxidations of ethanol, 1-propanol and 1-butanol

Application of cyclic voltammetry to the oxidations of ethanol, 1-propanol and 1-butanol at a rotating Pt disk in alkaline solution reveals qualitatively different responses among the alcohols. At low concentrations, cyclic voltammograms (CVs) for each alcohol display a peak in the Pt oxide region. Only 1-butanol CVs display this peak at high concentrations. Increasing the alcohol concentration causes an instability for ethanol and 1-propanol. Beyond the instability a different stable response ensues in which the current-potential curve requires two potential cycles to retrace itself, a period-two CV. The period-two CV arises because of the dual role of the surface species that we call PtOH. A substantial amount of PtOH is transformed to Pt oxides during one cycle of the period-two CV. During the other cycle, most of the PtOH reacts with an intermediate of the oxidation process. Other high-order periodic CVs appear at points of instability for ethanol but not for 1-propanol. It is concluded that the domain in constraint space for instabilities decreases with increasing length of the carbon backbone.
Deformation of the Arctic Ocean ice cover after the 2007 record minimum in summer ice extent

Abstract We examine the deformation of the Arctic Ocean sea ice cover after the record minimum in summer extent in 2007. The period spans ~ 2.5 months between September 15 and December 1. Ice drift and deformation inside the ice edge, within a domain that initially covers ~ 0.76 × 106 km2 of the western Arctic, are derived from high-resolution RADARSAT imagery from the Alaska Satellite Facility. Poleward of 80°N, we find a net convergence of more than 14% over the period. This large convergence is associated with the strength, location, and persistence of the Beaufort high-pressure pattern that led to prevailing on-shore winds north of Ellesmere Island and Greenland. This can be contrasted to the nearly 25% divergence of the ice cover, accompanied by a large regional vorticity of − 0.93 (or a clockwise rotation of ~ 53°) south of 80°N. The same atmospheric pattern produced openings as the ice cover drifts southwest towards the unconstrained ice-free part of the southern Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. These sustained strain rates, especially convergence, impacts the area and thickness distribution of the sea ice cover in the Arctic Basin. If unaccounted for, this deformation-induced decrease in ice coverage (in this region with predominantly multiyear ice) could be incorrectly ascribed to ice export with a concurrent decrease in Arctic sea ice volume, when in fact the ice volume is conserved but with a local redistribution in thickness.
Complications associated with limited macular translocation

Abstract PURPOSE: To report the ocular complications associated with the limited macular translocation procedure. METHODS: Retrospective review of 153 consecutive eyes of 151 patients that had the limited macular translocation procedure for subfoveal choroidal neovascularization between April 1996 and February 1999. The major study variables investigated included the incidence of specific ocular complications and their impact on visual acuity at 3 months after the surgery. In addition, baseline patient characteristics and operative factors were evaluated to determine whether they were significant risk factors for the development of an ocular complication. The existence of a surgical procedure learning process was investigated. RESULTS: One hundred forty-one (92.15%) of 153 eyes achieved at least 3-month follow-up. At least one complication occurred in 53 of 153 eyes (34.6%) and in 51 of these 53 eyes (96.22%) the complications occurred before 3 months of postoperative follow-up. The intraoperative and postoperative complications included retinal detachment (17.4%), retinal breaks (13.4%), macular holes (7.8%), macular fold (4.6%), and intraocular hemorrhage (vitreous, subretinal, or choroidal; 9.2%). Eyes that developed retinal detachment, subretinal hemorrhage, and macular fold had significantly more loss of visual acuity than eyes without each of these complications ( P = .0001, P = .038, and P = .027, respectively). The presence of predominantly classic choroidal neovascularization, the occurrence of an intraoperative retinal break, any intraocular hemorrhage, or macular fold formation were significantly associated with retinal detachment ( P = .021, P = .025, P = .013, and P = .014, respectively). The incidence of any complication, retinal detachment, and hemorrhage significantly decreased during the study period, suggesting a learning process ( P = .03, P = .006, P = .027, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: A variety of ocular complications can occur during or after limited macular translocation, and some are associated with reduced postoperative visual acuity. Improved surgical techniques and experience may significantly reduce the incidence of these complications.
Circular polarization in 1612 MHz OH maser emission from OH/IR stars

In order to study the incidence of circular polarization in the 1612 MHz OH emission from envelopes of OH/IR stars, the Arecibo radio telescope was used to obtain high-resolution, high signal-to-noise 1612 MHz spectra in both circular polarizations for several OH/IR stars. The method of Troland and Heiles (1982) was used to estimate the intensities of magnetic fields in the envelopes. The fields appear to have complex structures, and intensities on the order of 1-100 microG. The spectra are weakly polarized, probably as a result of weakly polarized emission from individual emitting elements. Integration over the Stokes parameter V yields nonzero results for three of the stars, suggesting that another polarizing mechanism (in addition to simple Zeeman splittings) is at work.