cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Relationship between performance on the NBME® Comprehensive Clinical Science Self-Assessment and USMLE® Step 2 Clinical Knowledge for USMGs and IMGs.

Background: The Comprehensive Clinical Science Self-Assessment (CCSSA) is a web-administered multiple-choice examination that includes content that is typically covered during the core clinical clerkships in medical school. Because the content of CCSSA items resembles the content of the items on Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK), CCSSA is intended to be a tool for students to help assess whether they are prepared for Step 2 CK and to become familiar with its content, format, and pacing. Purposes: This study examined the relationship between performance on the National Board of Medical Examiners® CCSSA and performance on the United States Medical Licensing Examination® Step 2 CK for U.S./Canadian (USMGs) and international medical school students/graduates (IMGs). Methods: The study included 9,789 participants who took CCSSA prior to their first Step 2 CK attempt. Linear and logistic regression analyses investigated the relationship between CCSSA performance and performance on Step 2 CK for both USMGs and IMGs...
Salvage of thrombosed dialysis access grafts with venous anastomosis stents

Salvage of thrombosed dialysis access grafts with venous anastomosis stents. Background Thrombosis of arteriovenous (AV) grafts caused by stenosis at the venous anastomosis is a well-described problem. Surgical thrombectomy and conventional angioplasty with mechanical thrombectomy have provided good success rates in achieving immediate graft patency but with generally dismal graft survival rates in the range of 11% to 36% at 6 months' follow-up. The role of intravascular stents in patients who have failed angioplasty or surgical revision at the venous anastomosis has not been fully elucidated, particularly in older grafts that have previously undergone multiple procedures. Methods In this series, 34 patients had self-expanding nitinol stents placed at the venous anastomosis following graft thrombectomy and angioplasty procedures. Patients were selected for stent placement if conventional angioplasty alone was unsuccessful due to immediate elastic recoil or residual stenosis. All patients were followed after stent placement and evaluated for duration of graft patency and need for repeated endovascular procedures. Results The average graft age at the time of stent placement was 17.9 months. Eight-eight percent of grafts were functioning at 6 months' follow-up, and 63% of the entire group had survived without the need for additional procedures. Among those with need for repeat interventions, 81% had new lesions outside of the stent, and 57% had new lesions within the stent. In 38% of cases, new stenoses were located both outside and within the stent. Among grafts no longer being used, only 19% of the time was it due to disease recurring within the stent. Conclusion Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) graft longevity is improved when venous anastomosis stenoses are treated with stents in selected cases of older grafts that would have normally undergone abandonment or surgical revision
Combining local and broad topic context to improve term detection

We aim to improve term detection performance by augmenting traditional N-gram language models with multiple levels of topic context. We demonstrate that incorporating complementary aspects of topicality leads to significant improvements in term detection accuracy. We represent broad topic context through document-specific latent topics inferred via a Bayesian topic model. We capture local topic context with a cache-based adaptive language model. Measured on four languages from from the IARPA Babel program, interpolating unigrams from the broad topic context improves term detection performance by up to 1% absolute via lattice re-scoring. Re-decoding with the same document-specific model improves accuracy by up to 2.1%. Adding local context via cached N-grams improves performance by up to 1.6%. A combined approach, re-decoding with latent topic information then re-scoring with the local cached N-grams gives an overall improvement of up to 2.4%. For all languages, combining broad and local topic information outperforms any individual method.
Cell-specific transgene expression from a widely transcribed promoter using Cre/lox in mice.

Mice carrying two or more transgenes are used frequently to evaluate oncogene interactions during carcinogenesis. However, neoplastic transformation typically results in reduced expression both of differentiation-specific genes and of transgenes that use their promoters. In contrast, the more widely expressed metallothionein (MT) gene remains expressed at a high level in certain neoplasms, including those developing in pancreas. We have developed a system to maintain high-level, tissue-specific transgene expression during pancreatic carcinogenesis that uses Cre recombinase and a lox site-containing target transgene. Cre was expressed in pancreatic acinar cells under control of the elastase promoter (EL). Cre-mediated target transgene recombination placed a previously silent open-reading frame, encoding rat transforming growth factor alpha (TGFalpha), under control of the MT gene promoter. As long as DNA rearrangement does not occur in other cell types that express MT, TGFalpha expression will be restricted to acinar cells. Development of an effective target transgenic mouse required evaluation of multiple lineages to identify one with sufficient TGFalpha expression to induce pancreatic lesions after transgene rearrangement.
Revisiting the lifetime of wireless sensor networks

Prolonging the lifetime of wireless sensor networks (WSN) is one of the most important goals in the sensor network research. A lot of work has been done to achieve this goal; however, current definition of lifetime is either superficial or impractical. In this paper, we take the first step to modeling the lifetime of a wireless sensor network by considering the relationship between the whole sensor network and individual sensors, as well as the importance of different sensors based on their positions. We envision that the proposed lifetime model can be used to evaluate energy-efficient protocols and algorithms, which is validated by simulation results.
The synthesis and biological activity of some diamino acid analogs.

Abstract 3- and 4-Aminocyclohexanealanine, 4-aminocyclohexaneglycine, and the corresponding phenyl analogs have been prepared and studied as amino acid antagonists for Escherichia coli, Leuconostoc dextranicum, Lactobacillus casei, and Lactobacillus arabinosus. The compounds which were most effective include 3-aminocyclohexanealanine, m-aminophenylalanine, and p-aminophenylalanine. Growth inhibition effected by 3-aminocyclohexanealanine was reversed competitively over a range of inhibitor concentrations by increasing concentrations of lysine but not by phenylalanine, while the toxicity of the phenyl analogs was reversed over a broad range of inhibitor concentrations by phenylalanine but not by lysine. The inactivity of 4-aminocyclohexaneglycine suggests that either branching of the carbons at the β- rather than the γ-carbon sterically hinders its enzymic combination, or that the conformation of lysine on the inhibited enzyme exists in a manner such that the γ- and ϵ-carbons must be in a trans-like relationship, which is possible for the 3-aminocyclohexanealanine but not for the 4-aminocyclohexaneglycine.
Evaluating a two-step approach to sexual risk reduction in a publicly-funded STI clinic: rationale, design, and baseline data from the Health Improvement Project-Rochester (HIP-R).

Background Sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinics provide an opportune setting for HIV prevention efforts. This randomized controlled trial evaluated a unique, two-step approach to sexual risk reduction at a publicly-funded STI clinic.
S. cerevisiae has three pathways for DNA interstrand crosslink repair

Abstract Yeast mutants, snm1 (pso2-1), rev3 (pso1-1), and rad51, which display significant sensitivity to interstrand crosslinks (ICLs) have low relative sensitivity to other DNA damaging agents. SNM1, REV3, and RAD51 were disrupted in the same haploid strain, singly and in combination. The double mutants, snm1Δ rev3Δ, snm1Δ rad51Δ and rev3Δ rad51Δ were all more sensitive to ICLs than any of the single mutants, indicating that they are in separate epistasis groups for survival. A triple mutant displayed greater sensitivity to ICLs than any of the double mutants, with one ICL per genome being lethal. Therefore, Saccharomyces cerevisiae appears to have three separate ICL repair pathways, but no more. S-phase delay was not observed after ICL damage introduced by cisplatin (CDDP) or 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) during the G1-phase, in any of the above mutants, or in an isogenic rad14Δ mutant deficient in nucleotide excision repair. However, the psoralen analog angelicin (monoadduct damage) induced a significant S-phase delay in the rad14Δ mutant. Thus, normal S-phase in the presence of ICLs does not seem to be due to rapid excision repair. The results also indicate that monoadduct formation by CDDP or 8-MOP at the doses used is not sufficient to delay S-phase in the rad14Δ mutant. While the sensitivity of a rev3Δ mutant indicates Polζ is needed for optimal ICL repair, isogenic cells deficient in Polη (rad30Δ cells) were not significantly more sensitive to ICL agents than wild-type cells, and have no S-phase delay.
RESILIENCE IN ENTREPRENEURIAL TEAMS: DEVELOPING THE CAPACITY TO PULL THROUGH

ABSTRACT Resilience, or the capacity to rebound from adversity strengthened and more resourceful, is an important quality for entrepreneurial teams, yet we know little about how entrepreneurial teams can foster resilience. I develop and test hypotheses about the antecedents and mechanisms for resilience in entrepreneurial teams. I argue that communal schemas in entrepreneurial teams, which entail caring for team members’ needs, foster resilience through the mechanisms of trust and creativity. Moreover, I hypothesize that contracting practices that make expectations explicit and activities transparent facilitate resilience through the mechanisms of role clarity and accountability. The hypotheses are tested in a survey of 122 entrepreneurial teams. Results support the proposed framework. INTRODUCTION Most new ventures are started by entrepreneurial teams (Ruef et al., 2003). Resilience, or the capacity to rebound from adversity strengthened and more resourceful (Sutcliffe & Vogus, 2003), is an important quality for entrepreneurial teams. The need to maintain positive adjustment under challenging conditions comes from the near certainty that they will face road blocks, failures, and disappointments. Promises of funding fall through, technological launches fail, competitors reach the market first, or progress takes more time and money than anticipated. These contingenvcies are even more likely to happen in today’s vulnerable economy. Entrepreneurial teams have no slack resources and experience these near-disasters as stressful. In fact, resilience has been argued to be an appropriate measure of entrepreneurial performance in the early stages of a venture, when hard financial indicators are not available or appropriate (Cooper, 1991; Markman et al., 2005). This paper aims to contribute to our understanding of how entrepreneurial teams can develop this important capacity.
THYROXINE SECRETION RATE DURING INFANCY: EFFECT OF ESTROGEN.

Measurements of thyroxine secretion rate have been conducted by the thyroid I131 blockage method in 17 premature infants. The infants were 24–65 days of age at the beginning of the study; normal thyroid function was indicated by normal initial radioiodine uptake studies. Mean daily thyroxine secretion rate in 13 infants determined by calculation of the regression line of daily thyroidal radioiodine release on increasing doses of thyroxine was 18.6 μg thyroxine/kg/day. The regression lines were not significantly different with and without perchlorate administration, indicating that recycling of radioiodine does not produce significant error. The thyroxine secretion rate of 18.6 μg/kg/day is considerably higher than adult human values by the serum specific activity method. In 5 infants given estradiol benzoate with a concomitant thyroid blocking dose of sodium l-thyroxine, stimulation of radioiodine released occurred. This stimulation was associated with increasing BEI values, suggesting an increase in TBG ...
Problems of S's Motivation in a Behavioral Program for Reduction of Cigarette Smoking

An experimental program is described for the reduction of cigarette smoking, using three principles of learning: successive approximations (stimulus hierarchies), counterconditioning, and self-reinforcement. The failure to differentiate between experimental and control groups is discussed in terms of problems of dropouts and observation of extinction effects when treatment elements are withdrawn.
Treatment of hemolytic streptococcal infections

Summary It might be re-emphasized that bacterial chemotherapy has revolutionized the prognosis and treatment of certain acute beta hemolytic streptococcus infections. There is already reason to believe that the advent of chemotherapy has ushered in a period of therapeutic advance even greater than that which marked the introduction of diphtheria antitoxin forty years before. In general, patients will always have a better prospect of recoveryif treated scientifically. In addition to having the requisite knowledge of clinical and laboratory aspects of disease processes, it is necessary to be fully conversant with the pharmacology of the individual chemotherapeutic substances. Because of the lifesaving results in certain severe streptococcic diseases or in serious complications of the less severe infections, the clinician is justified fully in starting chemotherapy on the basis of clinical diagnosis without waiting for the bacteriologic reports. On a pragmatic basis, one patient cured gives greater satisfaction than a number of fully investigated dead ones. Severe illness justifies the incurring of certain risks, and therefore the fear of toxic manifestations must not be allowed to interfere with the employment of full and effective dosage. The new method, however, is still subject to many limitations, and westill do not possess perfect chemical agents that will destroy the bacteria while leaving the body cells completely unaffected. Therefore, in the treatment of a mild disease, or in attempts at prevention, there is hardly justification in incurring greater risks than are present in the condition itself. One does not use a duck gun on sparrows. It even may be conceded that with newer studies and developments in the field of chemotherapy, many of the present most sanguine hopes from therapy and prophylaxis may be realized, but we lay ourselves open to criticism if we depart from scientific method and critical approach. It would seem that at this time, members of a group like ours may well grasp whatever opportunity is afforded us to set up controlled clinical studies of sufficient size and scope to give the profession trustworthy indications.
A Hybrid Radial Basis Function-Pseudospectral Method for Thermal Convection in a 3-D Spherical Shell

A novel hybrid spectral method that combines radial basis function (RBF) and Chebyshev pseudospectral (PS) methods in a “2+1” approach is presented for numerically simulating thermal convection in a 3-D spherical shell. This is the first study to apply RBFs to a full 3D physical model in spherical geometry. In addition to being spectrally accurate, RBFs are not defined in terms of any surface based coordinate system such as spherical coordinates. As a result, when used in the lateral directions, as in this study, they completely circumvent the pole issue with the further advantage that nodes can be “scattered” over the surface of a sphere. In the radial direction, Chebyshev polynomials are used, which are also spectrally accurate and provide the necessary clustering near the boundaries to resolve boundary layers. Applications of this new hybrid methodology are given to the problem of convection in the Earth’s mantle,which is modeled by a Boussinesq fluid at infinite Prandtl number. To see whether this numerical technique warrants further investigation, the study limits itself to an isoviscous mantle.Benchmark comparisons are presented with other currently used mantle convection codes for Rayleigh number 7 · 103 and 105. The algorithmic simplicity of the code (mostly due to RBFs)allows it to be written in less than 400 lines of Matlab and run on a single workstation. We find that our method is very competitive with those currently used in the literature.
CUDA-NP: realizing nested thread-level parallelism in GPGPU applications

Parallel programs consist of series of code sections with different thread-level parallelism (TLP). As a result, it is rather common that a thread in a parallel program, such as a GPU kernel in CUDA programs, still contains both se-quential code and parallel loops. In order to leverage such parallel loops, the latest Nvidia Kepler architecture intro-duces dynamic parallelism, which allows a GPU thread to start another GPU kernel, thereby reducing the overhead of launching kernels from a CPU. However, with dynamic parallelism, a parent thread can only communicate with its child threads through global memory and the overhead of launching GPU kernels is non-trivial even within GPUs. In this paper, we first study a set of GPGPU benchmarks that contain parallel loops, and highlight that these bench-marks do not have a very high loop count or high degrees of TLP. Consequently, the benefits of leveraging such par-allel loops using dynamic parallelism are too limited to offset its overhead. We then present our proposed solution to exploit nested parallelism in CUDA, referred to as CUDA-NP. With CUDA-NP, we initially enable a high number of threads when a GPU program starts, and use control flow to activate different numbers of threads for different code sections. We implemented our proposed CUDA-NP framework using a directive-based compiler approach. For a GPU kernel, an application developer only needs to add OpenMP-like pragmas for parallelizable code sections. Then, our CUDA-NP compiler automatically gen-erates the optimized GPU kernels. It supports both the reduction and the scan primitives, explores different ways to distribute parallel loop iterations into threads, and effi-ciently manages on-chip resource. Our experiments show that for a set of GPGPU benchmarks, which have already been optimized and contain nested parallelism, our pro-posed CUDA-NP framework further improves the perfor-mance by up to 6.69 times and 2.18 times on average.
Extraneural Prion Neuroinvasion without Lymphoreticular System Infection

While prion infection of the lymphoreticular system (LRS) is necessary for neuroinvasion in many prion diseases, in bovine spongiform encephalopathy and atypical cases of sheep scrapie there is evidence to challenge that LRS infection is required for neuroinvasion. Here we investigated the role of prion infection of LRS tissues in neuroinvasion following extraneural inoculation with the HY and DY strains of the transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME) agent. DY TME agent infectivity was not detected in spleen or lymph nodes following intraperitoneal inoculation and clinical disease was not observed following inoculation into the peritoneum or lymph nodes, or after oral ingestion. In contrast, inoculation of the HY TME agent by each of these peripheral routes resulted in replication in the spleen and lymph nodes and induced clinical disease. To clarify the role of the LRS in neuroinvasion, the HY and DY TME agents were also inoculated into the tongue because it is densely innervated and lesions on the tongue, which are common in ruminants, increase the susceptibility of hamsters to experimental prion disease. Following intratongue inoculation, the DY TME agent caused prion disease and was detected in both the tongue and brainstem nuclei that innervate the tongue, but the prion protein PrP Sc was not detected in the spleen or lymph nodes. These findings indicate that the DY TME agent can spread from the tongue to the brain along cranial nerves and neuroinvasion does not require agent replication in the LRS. These studies provide support for prion neuroinvasion from highly innervated peripheral tissues in the absence of LRS infection in natural prion diseases of livestock.
Neurodevelopmental MRI brain templates for children from 2 weeks to 4 years of age

Spatial normalization and segmentation of pediatric brain magnetic resonance images (MRI) data with adult templates may impose biases and limitations in pediatric neuroimaging work. To remedy this issue, we created a single database made up of a series of pediatric, age-specific MRI average brain templates. These average, age-specific templates were constructed from brain scans of individual children obtained from two sources: (1) the NIH MRI Study of Normal Brain Development and (2) MRIs from University of South Carolina's McCausland Brain Imaging Center. Participants included young children enrolled at ages ranging from 8 days through 4.3 years of age. A total of 13 age group cohorts spanning the developmental progression from birth through 4.3 years of age were used to construct age-specific MRI brain templates (2 weeks, 3, 4.5, 6, 7.5, 9, 12, 15, 18 months, 2, 2.5, 3, 4 years). Widely used processing programs (FSL, SPM, and ANTS) extracted the brain and constructed average templates separately for 1.5T and 3T MRI volumes. The resulting age-specific, average templates showed clear changes in head and brain size across ages and between males and females, as well as changes in regional brain structural characteristics (e.g., myelin development). This average brain template database is available via our website (http://jerlab.psych.sc.edu/neurodevelopmentalmridatabase) for use by other researchers. Use of these age-specific, average pediatric brain templates by the research community will enhance our ability to gain a clearer understanding of the early postnatal development of the human brain in health and in disease.
Leading Group Meetings: Supervisors’ Actions, Employee Behaviors, and Upward Perceptions

This study focuses on a common-yet-understudied group process: supervisor-led group meetings at work. Specifically, the study explores the relationships among employees’ perceptions and reported behaviors with regard to such meetings. Respondents are 291 adults working in different organizations. Structural equation modeling of the data largely supports the hypothesized model. Employee perceptions of relationship quality with their supervisors (leader–member exchange) fully mediates the relationship between perceptions of supervisors’ fairness (interactional justice) in group meetings and perceived organizational support. Leader–member exchange also fully mediates the relationship between interactional justice perceptions and meeting citizenship behaviors—a new construct describing extra-role behaviors that support meeting processes—and between good meeting practices by the supervisors and meeting citizenship behaviors. Leader–member exchange partially mediates the relationship between good meeting practi...
NOBLE METAL SILICIDE FORMATION IN METAL/SI STRUCTURES DURING OXYGEN ANNEALING : IMPLICATIONS FOR PEROVSKITE-BASED MEMORY DEVICES

This paper investigates the potentially undesirable noble metal silicide formation reactions that may occur in noble metal electrodes deposited directly on silicon without an intervening diffusion barrier. Metal (90–100 nm)/Si structures of Pt/Si, Rh/Si, Ir/Si, and Ir/Ti/Si were annealed in oxygen or nitrogen ambients at temperatures of 640–700 °C. Metalysilicon reactions and phase formation were studied by Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and electrical resistance measurements. While complete silicidation was observed in the Rh/Si, Pt/Si, and Ir/Si samples after 640 °C/6 min anneals in nitrogen, some Pt and most of the Ir remained after equivalent anneals in oxygen. More detailed studies of the Ir/Si samples indicated that some Ir is left unsilicided even after a 700 °C/6 min anneal in O2, and that the iridium silicide formed is the semiconducting IrSi1.75. The formation of this silicide can be delayed, but not prevented, with the use of a 5 nm Ti adhesion layer between the Ir and Si.
Information seeking and social support in online health communities: impact on patients' perceived empathy

Objective Many healthcare organizations (HCOs) including Kaiser Permanente, Johns Hopkins, Cleveland Medical Center, and MD Anderson Cancer Center, provide access to online health communities as part of their overall patient support services. The key objective in establishing and running these online health communities is to offer empathic support to patients. Patients' perceived empathy is considered to be critical in patient recovery, specifically, by enhancing patient's compliance with treatment protocols and the pace of healing. Most online health communities are characterized by two main functions: informational support and social support. This study examines the relative impact of these two distinct functions—that is, as an information seeking forum and as a social support forum—on patients' perceived empathy in online health communities. Design This study tests the impact of two variables that reflect the above functions of online health communities—information seeking effectiveness and perceived social support—on perceived empathy . The model also incorporates the potential moderating effect of homophily on these relationships. Measurements A web-based survey was used to collect data from members of the online health communities provided by three major healthcare centers. A regression technique was used to analyze the data to test the hypotheses. Results The study finds that it is the information seeking effectiveness rather than the social support which affects patient's perceived empathy in online health communities run by HCOs. The results indicate that HCOs that provide online health communities for their patients need to focus more on developing tools that will make information seeking more effective and efficient.
Neuronal Apoptosis and Autophagy Cross Talk in Aging PS/APP Mice, a Model of Alzheimer's Disease

Mechanisms of neuronal loss in Alzheimer's disease (AD) are poorly understood. Here we show that apoptosis is a major form of neuronal cell death in PS/APP mice modeling AD-like neurodegeneration. Pyknotic neurons in adult PS/APP mice exhibited apoptotic changes, including DNA fragmentation, caspase-3 activation, and caspase-cleaved α-spectrin generation, identical to developmental neuronal apoptosis in wild-type mice. Ultrastructural examination using immunogold cytochemistry confirmed that activated caspase-3-positive neurons also exhibited chromatin margination and condensation, chromatin balls, and nuclear membrane fragmentation. Numbers of apoptotic profiles in both cortex and hippocampus of PS/APP mice compared with age-matched controls were twofold to threefold higher at 6 months of age and eightfold higher at 21 to 26 months of age. Additional neurons undergoing dark cell degeneration exhibited none of these apoptotic features. Activated caspase-3 and caspase-3-cleaved spectrin were abundant in autophagic vacuoles, accumulating in dystrophic neurites of PS/APP mice similar to AD brains. Administration of the cysteine protease inhibitor, leupeptin, promoted accumulation of autophagic vacuoles containing activated caspase-3 in axons of PS/APP mice and, to a lesser extent, in those of wild-type mice, implying that this pro-apoptotic factor is degraded by autophagy. Leupeptin-induced autophagic impairment increased the number of apoptotic neurons in PS/APP mice. Our findings establish apoptosis as a mode of neuronal cell death in aging PS/APP mice and identify the cross talk between autophagy and apoptosis, which influences neuronal survival in AD-related neurodegeneration.
Complex effects of channelization and levee construction on western Tennessee floodplain forest function

Data on vegetation composition and structure, soil and leaf nutrient pools, soil redox potential, and surface water hydrologic connectivity were collected from floodplains along six river reaches in western Tennessee to examine the effects of channel modifications on associated riparian systems. Comparisons among channelization treatments (non-channelized reaches, channelized and leveed reaches, channelized but non-leveed reaches) and floodplain geomorphology (depression and nondepressional sites) showed that hydrologic connectivity was affected by channelization treatments, particularly leveeing. The disconnected floodplains were drier, maintained higher nutrient pools, and had greater herbaceous biomass than floodplains still connected to channel hydrology. Runoff onto floodplains from the agriculturally dominated landscape of channelized and leveed tributaries, and flooding stress in the form of scour on floodplains along streams without levees may explain the observed pattern. Channel and floodplain hydrologic processes were most strongly connected for unchannelized streams. Unchannelized streams were varied in soil redox potential, water table, and nutrient pools. Vegetation composition reflects both historical hydrologic regimes and disturbances, and thus complex relationships to channel modifications. Results suggest both the subsidy (i.e., nutrient inputs) and the stress of flood events have been altered by anthropogenic activities, but these alterations were greatest in channelized systems compared to unchannelized systems.
Barriers to Success in Parent Training for Young Children With Developmental Delay The Role of Cumulative Risk

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of cumulative risk on dropout and treatment outcome in parent training. Participants were 44 families of young children (mean age of 49.59 months...
Provider Portrayals and Patient–Provider Communication in Drama and Reality Medical Entertainment Television Shows

Portrayals of physicians on medical dramas have been the subject of research attention. However, such research has not examined portrayals of interactions between physicians and patients, has not compared physician portrayals on medical dramas versus on medical reality programs, and has not fully examined portrayals of physicians who are members of minority groups or who received their education internationally. This study content-analyzes 101 episodes (85 hours) of such programs broadcast during the 2006-2007 viewing season. Findings indicate that women are underrepresented as physicians on reality shows, though they are no longer underrepresented as physicians on dramas. However, they are not as actively portrayed in patient-care interactions as are male physicians on medical dramas. Asians and international medical graduates are underrepresented relative to their proportion in the U.S. physician population, the latter by almost a factor of 5. Many (but certainly not all) aspects of patient-centered communication are modeled, more so on reality programs than on medical dramas. Differences in patient-provider communication portrayals by minority status and gender are reported. Implications for public perception of physicians and expectations regarding provider-patient interaction are discussed.
Asymmetric flapping for a robotic fly using a hybrid power-control actuator

This paper continues the exploration of the design space for an insect-sized autonomous flapping-wing MAV with the goal of stable hovering. Previous work has focused on the use of a large primary power actuator to generate flapping motion and smaller “control” actuators to asymmetrically alter wing kinematics. Here a new iteration of this concept is presented, merging the two actuator types to create a “hybrid” power-control actuator. Kinematic and dynamic models for wing motion are presented, and the predictions of these models are compared to experimental results from a prototype design. Controllable asymmetry in wing kinematics can be mapped into controllable body torques via an aerodynamic model, and this information can be used for the generation of control laws for stable hover and eventually highly agile aerial vehicles.
Bent-beam strain sensors

We examine a new class of sensitive and compact passive strain sensors that utilize a pair of narrow bent beams with an apex at their mid-points. The narrow beams amplify and transform deformations caused by residual stress into opposing displacements of the apices, where vernier scales are positioned to quantify the deformation. An analytical method to correlate vernier readings to residual stress is outlined, and its results are corroborated by finite-element modeling. It is shown that tensile and compressive residual stress levels below 10 MPa, corresponding to strains below 6/spl times/10/sup -5/ can be measured in a 1.5-/spl mu/m-thick layer of polysilicon using a pair of beams that are 2 /spl mu/m wide, 200 /spl mu/m long, and bent 0.05 radians (2.86/spl deg/) to the long axis of the device. Experimental data is presented from bent-beam strain sensors that were fabricated from boron-doped single crystal silicon using the dissolved wafer process and from polycrystalline silicon using surface micromachining. Measurements from these devices agree well with those obtained by other methods.
Command Shaping for Automated Convoy Vehicles

This paper investigates the effects of command shaping techniques originally developed for flexible systems on the vehicle spacing and velocity control of automated vehicle convoys. The proposed approach is based on distance measurements between platoon vehicles. The lead vehicle longitudinal control is developed to follow a reference velocity. The follower vehicles maintain the desired spacing using only distance measurement to the preceding vehicle. When a command shaper is used to modify the reference velocity, errors in vehicle spacing are reduced. Additionally, this approach leads to more physically realizable controller efforts for the follower vehicles and helps maintain and improve string stability.
Language acquisition: The lexicon and syntax.

This chapter deals with language acquisition, in which, the lexicon and syntax are intertwined. Syntax in children's language emerges as part and parcel of their lexical knowledge. Each word carries with it a specification not only of its meaning but also its syntax—the range of constructions in which it can occur. Children learn not only the meanings of words, but also their syntactic range, along with their internal morphological structure, and their phonological shape. To know a word, children need to have represented all kinds of information about it. They may also have one representation for comprehension and one for production, as is the case for the majority of terms in everyday use. The importance of the lexicon stems in part from the conventional meanings it expresses, and in part from its role in the combinations of lexical items used to express further meanings. In the latter, the lexicon exemplifies the structure of a language and makes syntax audible, in the same way that words themselves make morphological structure and phonological shape audible.
Lens Differentiation from Embryonic Stem (ES) and Induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) Cells

The formation of lens progenitor cells and differentiated lens tissue in cell culture conditions presents a number of experimental challenges, even though lens lineage formation and lens fiber cell differentiation are among the best characterized model systems at both genetic and molecular levels. Lens differentiation from ES cells in vitro appears to be a feasible goal. This chapter describes the significance of using ES and iPS cells for better understanding of embryonic lens development and formation of congenital cataracts. A discussion of how iPS cells can help studies of age-related cataract is also included. The chapter summarizes the current data on lentoid body formation from human and primate ES cells, and the molecular basis of directed differentiation of human ES cells into lens progenitor cells and lentoid bodies. Finally, current gaps in lens research and future directions to address these problems are discussed.
Schottky Diodes and Ohmic Contacts for the III-V Semiconductors

In this chapter a review of the electrical properties of metal-semiconductor contacts to the III-V semiconductors is given. Metal-semiconductor structures play an important role in devices based on the III-V compound semiconductors in the form of Schottky-barrier diodes or ohmic contacts. Important III-V devices utilizing Schottky-barrier junctions include solar cells, microwave mixer diodes, and metal semiconductor field-effect transistors (MESFETs) and their associated integrated circuits. Schottky diodes also find widespread use for III-V semiconductor materials characterization, including carrier concentration profiling and deep-level identification. Ohmic contacts with low resistance are necessary for high performance in many III-V devices. For example, the efficiency of light-emitting diodes and lasers is strongly influenced by contact resistance, and the noise behavior and the gain of an FET are significantly affected by the character of ohmic contacts. In all of these cases, the metal-semiconductor interface is formed on a chemically etched, as compared to an atomically clean, semiconductor surface. Thus, in this chapter the properties of Schottky diodes and ohmic contacts prepared by chemically etching the III-V semiconductors are emphasized, while the previous chapter dealt with metal-semiconductor interface formation on atomically clean surfaces.
Herausforderungen des digitalen Gestern – Kommunikationsgeschichte und die Quellen einer gegenwärtigen Zukunft

Die Beschaftigung mit Quellen, die fur eine zukunftige Kommunikationsgeschichtsschreibung erforderlich sein konnten, ist in mehrerlei Hinsicht herausfordernd. Eine dieser Herausforderungen besteht in der Schnelllebigkeit und Fluchtigkeit des digitalen Materials, mit dem man es dabei zu tun haben wird, die nicht nur das Quellenmaterial als solches, sondern zugleich auch jene Fundbehelfe betrifft, die zum effektiven Auffinden und Nutzen von solchen Quellen eingesetzt werden konnen. Diese Schnelllebigkeit mochte ich gerne vorab durch eine Anekdote verdeutlichen.
Uncle Sam Wants You! … To Evacuate With Your Pets

“This is a message from the Emergency Broadcast System....”The sound of a distinctive buzzer, followed by these words, indicates that an area is threatened by some kind of natural disaster—wildfire...
Rubbish DNA: The Functionless Fraction of the Human Genome

Because genomes are products of natural processes rather than “intelligent design,” all genomes contain functional and nonfunctional parts. The fraction of the genome that has no biological function is called “rubbish DNA.” Rubbish DNA consists of “junk DNA,” i.e., the fraction of the genome on which selection does not operate, and “garbage DNA,” i.e., sequences that lower the fitness of the organism but exist in the genome because purifying selection is neither omnipotent nor instantaneous. In this chapter, I (1) review the concepts of genomic function and functionlessness from an evolutionary perspective, (2) present a precise nomenclature of genomic function, (3) discuss the evidence for the existence of vast quantities of junk DNA within the human genome, (4) discuss the mutational mechanisms responsible for generating junk DNA, (5) spell out the necessary evolutionary conditions for maintaining junk DNA, (6) outline various methodologies for estimating the functional fraction within the genome, and (7) present a recent estimate for the functional fraction of our genome.
Longitudinal Antarctica: A Continent in the Abstract

The history of the Antarctic is one of hypothesis and abstraction. Aristotle and James Cook, both prominent figures in Antarctic historiography, never laid eyes on the continent. Despite further exploration and accurate mapping of the continent during the “Heroic Age” of the early twentieth century, competing territorial claims continued to render Antarctica in the abstract. The continent became a space of contested ideology, serving as a canvas for both nationalist pride and imperial might.
Integrating Runoff Generation and Flow Routing in Susquehanna River Basin to Characterize Key Hydrologic Processes Contributing to Maximum Annual Flood Events

AbstractThe Susquehanna River basin (SRB) is the largest U.S. watershed (71,250 km2) draining to the Atlantic Coast. It encompasses portions of New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Given that annual maximum flood events commonly result from either rain-on-snow or hurricanes/tropical storms, determining the potential impacts of climate change on flooding behavior is especially challenging. This paper presents a modeling system that captures these dominant flooding processes, which is well-suited for future research investigating the impacts of regional climate change. For this study, a coupled hydrologic-hydraulic model is developed and used to estimate hourly streamflow for the period from 2000 to 2008, capturing a range annual maximum discharge phenomenon (e.g., rain-on-snow, localized convective events, and hurricanes/tropical storms). The three-layer variable infiltration capacity (VIC-3L) model is used to generate surface runoff and the vertical flux of water through the root zone at a scale of 0.02...
Studies in the Nitrogen Metabolism of Bacteria

The experiments here recorded were undertaken with the idea of gaining some information, if possible, as to the materials which usually serve as a source of nitrogen to bacteria, the actual form in which the nitrogenous substances are absorbed, and whether all simple dialyzable protein decomposition products are of equal usefulness in building up the cell substance. The bulk of investigations of proteolysis in the past has had to do with the identification or determination of end-products. The early researches using mixed cultures on putrescible materials, although not usually controlled as to the exact chemical constituents of the medium, or the strains of bacteria employed, showed that the formation of certain substances such as ammonia, hydrogen sulphid, skatol, and so forth is characteristic of putrefaction irrespective of the precise nature of the protein or the particular varieties of organisms present. Productive of much more knowledge of actual bacterial metabolism was the long list of researches using pure cultures and mediums of known composition, making tests to determine the nature of the compounds formed. The indol test is the best known and most useful result of the investigations carried out on peptones or other tryptophanecontaining medium.
Heart Mountain and South Fork fault systems: Architecture and evolution of the collapse of an Eocene volcanic system, northwest Wyoming: COMMENT

We would like to begin by paying tribute to Ed Beutner who passed away in 2008. Ed made significant contributions to the continuing debate over one of the most enigmatic features on the surface of the Earth, the Heart Mountain slide block. Ed will be greatly missed and we wish that he were here to respond to our discussion of his most recent paper—we are certain his comments would have been insightful and of interest to all working on the Heart Mountain problem. In lieu of having Ed's response, we are confident that Tom Hauge will provide a vigorous defense picking up the mantle so aptly held by Ed. We have a number of concerns about the slow/fast model presented by Beutner and Hauge (2009). In our view, many of their arguments supporting slow or incremental movement of the Heart Mountain slide block are not supported by the evidence. In addition, we wish to correct certain erroneous statements and omissions about previous work. In reference to the “phreatomagmatic-hydraulic” model of Straw and Schmidt (1981a, b), Beutner and Hauge (2009, p. 159) state that “… Aharonov and Anders (2006) provided a refined version of the last model.” The Aharonov and Anders model is not a “refined version” of the Straw and Schmidt model as presented in their 1981a and 1981b abstracts. Straw and Schmidt (1981a) wrote: “eruptive centers exerted explosive pressure on water in the regional fracture system” and that the groundwater “exceeded normal lithostatic stress and ‘lift’ the upper plate.” Aharonov and Anders (2006) proposed that the intrusion of dikes heated trapped ground water and reduced pore space via the Skempton effect (Skempton, 1954), thus causing elevated basal pore pressure, enabling sliding of the upper plate along the extremely low 2° gradient. These two models are only …
Defective endothelium-mediated control of coronary circulation in conscious dogs after heart failure.

The goal of this study was to determine whether coronary endothelial function was altered after pacing-induced heart failure in conscious dogs. Fourteen mongrel dogs were chronically instrumented f...
#BlackLivesMatter: This Generation's Civil Rights Movement

2 Research Questions 3 Introduction 4 Methodology 7 Literature Review 8 Race Theories 8 History of Racial Formation in the U.S. 10 Racist Ideology Pre-Civil Rights Movement 10 Racist Ideology Post-Civil Rights Movement 11 Colorblind Racism and the Criminal Justice System 13 All Lives Matter Response 16 Black Lives Matter 18 Conclusion 22 References 24
Selective therapeutic embolization of renal cell carcinoma in solitary kidneys.

AbstractWe report 3 cases of renal cell carcinoma in a solitary kidney treated by selective tumor embolization. Embolization resulted in occlusion of the majority of the vascular supply of the tumor, with preservation of normal renal parenchyma and sufficient renal function. Selective tumor embolization is a good therapeutic alternative in patients in whom partial nephrectomy cannot be performed. Owing to the limited availability of bucrylate, absolute ethanol is recommended as the preferred embolic agent.
Addressing Teacher Diversity in Theory and Practice

This chapter synthesizes comparative findings across participant groups of faculty and teacher candidates of color, and explores the challenges and promises inherent in the design of culturally responsive teacher education programs. Typologies of the critically conscious, critically blind, and critically emergent teacher educators are developed to highlight key pedagogical distinctions between teacher educators, and the relationship between these pedagogical practices and teacher candidates’ of color views of racial/ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity. The possibilities for developing culturally responsive teacher education models are explored by considering theoretical, pedagogical, and research implications for addressing the preparation needs of teacher candidates of color in the future.