cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
IMPACT OF THE CMS ALGORITHM FOR DOOR-TO-BALLOON TIME PUBLIC REPORTING ON DOOR-TO-BALLOON TIME PERFORMANCE

CMS publically reported door to balloon times (D2BT) for each primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) center in the US over the past decade. The impact of patient exclusions on reported D2BT performance is unknown. We reviewed all cases of STEMI treated with PPCI at our center (1/1/11 to
CE: Malnutrition in Older Adults

: Older adults are at risk for compromised nutritional status because of physical changes associated with aging, as well as cognitive, psychological, and social factors such as dementia, depression, isolation, and limited income. Malnutrition negatively affects quality of life, increases health care costs, and increases the risk of short-term mortality. Nurses and other members of interdisciplinary health care teams play important roles in preventing malnutrition in community-dwelling older adults and in older adults in long-term care settings. This article provides an overview of screening tools and interventions nurses can use to minimize the risk of malnutrition in older adults.
The use of stereotactic radiosurgery for benign spinal tumors: single institution experience

Benign tumors of the spine pose unique challenges as they are typically located in proximity to the spinal cord and are relatively radio-resistant. Surgery is usually the first line of treatment, but recurrence can be common. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is an effective treatment for malignant spine lesions. However, patients with benign tumors generally have longer life expectancies and may develop long-term treatment side-effects. Our institutional experience in treating benign tumors with SRS is presented to display its utility for symptom and local control. A retrospective cohort analysis was performed at a single institution between 2001 and 2013. A total of 26 patients (61 vertebral levels) with benign spine tumors were treated. Electronic medical records were queried for clinical, neurological, and radiological examinations. Post-treatment pain, neurological, and radiographic control were the primary endpoints of this study. Five patients (19.2%) were deceased with a median survival time of 16.9 months. Follow-up to evaluate pain response was available for 23 (88%), neurological for 20 (77%), and radiographic for 23 patients (88%). Median follow-up time was 15.5 months. Total pain response was 82.6%. Neurological improvement and radiographic control were noted in 75 and 87% of patients. One case of radionecrosis of the sacrum and one case of axillary numbness were observed. The results of SRS for benign tumors of the spine appear to be promising, and as a result SRS may have a role in treating benign spinal tumors for patients who are not surgical candidates.
The herpesviruses--a biochemical definition of the group.

The first version of this paper was written to introduce new students and fellows of my laboratory to the mysteries of herpesviruses. Consonant with this design sections dealing with well documented data were trimmed to the bone whereas many obscure phenomena, controversial data and seemingly trivial observations were discussed generously and at length. There is some doubt as to whether it was meant to be published, but it was not a review. The objective of reviews is frequently to bring order. But alas, even the most fluent summation of credible data frequently makes dull reading and too much plausible order, like very little entropy in chemical reactions, is not the most suitable environment on which to nurture the urge to discover. This version is more charitable but not less inbalanced. The bibliography reflects the intent of the paper and was updated last in December of 1968. It should be obvious without saying that no single account such as this can do justice or injustice, as the case may be, to the several hundred papers published on herpesviruses each year or to the many thousand papers published on herpesviruses since the first of the members of the family was experimentally transmitted to a heterologous host more than half a century ago (Gruter, 1924).
Variation and Modulation of microRNAs in Prostate Cancer and Biological Fluids

VARIATION AND MODULATION OF MICRORNAS IN PROSTATE CANCER AND BIOLOGICAL FLUIDS By Sarah Joy Seashols, Ph.D. A dissertation) submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2013 Major Director: Zendra Elizabeth Zehner, PhD. Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Prostate cancer is the second-most diagnosed and fatal carcinoma for males in the United States, and better diagnostic markers and potential therapies are needed. microRNAs are small, single-stranded RNA molecules that affect protein expression at the translational level, and dysregulation can dramatically affect cell metabolism. Comparison of 736 microRNA expression levels between the poorly metastatic SV40T immortalized prostate epithelial cell line P69 to its highly tumorigenic and metastatic subline M12 identified 231 miRs that were overexpressed and 150 miRs that showed loss of expression in the M12 cell line. Further evaluation of fourteen identified miRs was accomplished using other prostate cell lines as well as laser-capture microdissected prostate samples. Inhibition of miR-147b was found to affect proliferative, migratory and invasive capabilities of M12 cells, and reduced tumour
Separation of metal and plastic wastes from wire and cable manufacturing for effective recycling

Abstract The trend to recycle materials in industry has increased over the last few years as manufacturers seek ways to decrease material costs and reduce their environmental footprints. In the wire and cable manufacturing industry, excess wire and cable is shredded into a mixture commonly known as fluff. Because fluff is comprised of different metals as well as polymers of varying physical and chemical properties, it cannot be recycled into a usable product until the different components comprising fluff have been separated. Metallic components could possibly be used for recovery of metals from zinc-carbon and alkaline spent batteries. However, the amount of metals in fluff is low from the economical point of view. Polymeric components might be used in the production of aggregate in concrete – considered for this application together with fly ash. We have employed different concentrations and combinations of frothers, wetting agents, and inorganic materials, encouraging the separation of the different components of fluff by taking advantage of each component’s physical properties. An essential stage of the operation was separating metals from polymers. Among polymers, the main component of fluff was PVC – that we successfully reclaimed and then verified our results through the use of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Success in this endeavor would spell dramatic reductions in unrecyclable wire and cable waste, increase reclamation of materials, and further improve our understanding of the pros and cons of different density-based separation methods.
CFTR Heterozygotes Are at Increased Risk of Respiratory Infections: A Population-Based Study

Background Patients heterozygous for mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene may be more susceptible to respiratory infections than the general population. Methods We conducted a retrospective case-control study using health insurance claims. We identified patients as either highly likely to be CFTR heterozygotes (CF carriers diagnosed during genetic counseling, parents of children with a diagnosis of CF, and children of mothers diagnosed with CF) or likely CFTR heterozygotes (children of CF carriers diagnosed during genetic counseling and parents of CF carriers diagnosed during genetic counseling). Next, we examined the rates of respiratory infections and antimicrobial prescriptions between both groups of CFTR patients and only the highly likely subcohort, compared with age/sex-matched controls. We examined the presence of any claim using McNemar's test and the number of claims using the sign test. Results CFTR heterozygotes (the pooled highly likely and likely heterozygotes) were more prone to have at least 1 claim for a respiratory infection (odds ratio [OR], 1.28; P = .020) and to have a greater number of claims for respiratory infections (53.5%; P = .043) than controls. Patients in the highly likely cohort were also more prone to have at least 1 claim for a respiratory infection (OR, 1.30; P = .028) and more claims (54.3%; P = .039) than controls. In addition, the highly likely CFTR heterozygotes were more prone to be prescribed an antibiotic used to treat respiratory infections (OR, 1.34; P = .018) and to have more of these prescriptions (54.3%; P = .035) than controls. Conclusions Patients heterozygous for CFTR mutations are at higher risk for respiratory infections. Future work to describe clinical outcomes for CFTR heterozygotes is needed.
Influence of Self-Assessment on Dental Students' Performance on Technical Assessments in Periodontics.

Self-assessments were introduced into a third-year clinical periodontics course to enable dental students to self-assess and receive faculty feedback prior to technical assessment. The aims of this study were to determine if there was an improvement in the pass rate and average grade on the technical assessments following implementation of self-assessments and to analyze the accuracy of the student self-assessments by comparing them with faculty assessments. Scores from 106 third-year dental students for four periodontal procedures were included in the analysis. Faculty and student self-assessment scores, along with self-assessment and final technical assessments scores, were compared, as were the average number of self-assessment attempts for the various procedures and the pass rates. The average number of self-assessments per student was 6.5 compared to 4.2 for the technical assessments. There was no significant difference between students’ self-assessment scores and faculty scores (average difference=0.005; p=0.7894). However, there was a significant increase in overall scores between students’ self-assessments and technical assessments (average difference: 0.30 out of 5; p=0.0001). There was also a significant difference in pass rate between self-assessments and technical assessments (92.3% and 99.7%, respectively). The individual technical assessment with the greatest improvement was for scaling and root planing (average difference=0.47; p=0.0001), which also had significantly more self-assessments (2.3 vs. 1.2-1.7, p=0.0001). These results suggest that self-assessment and the subsequent faculty feedback provided students with information that enabled them to improve their performance on technical assessments.
Cognitive Flexibility and Generalized Anxiety Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Destructive Parent-Child Conflict Communication

The social skills deficit vulnerability model of psychosocial problems posits that individuals with low communication skills are at an increased risk for stressful events and psychological problems...
Longitudinal patient-reported symptom burden and treatment preference in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

e20687 Background: Clinicians have difficulty predicting longitudinal changes in patient symptom burden or treatment preference. The primary aim of this pilot study was to investigate how symptom b...
Pseudoaneurysm of the Second Dorsal Metatarsal Artery: Case Report and Literature Review

Pseudoaneurysms are a rare complication of foot and ankle surgeries that can potentially lead to serious sequelae, especially when there is delay in the diagnosis. Due to the rarity of this occurrence, guidelines for management are limited for orthopedic surgeons. Once diagnosed, the surgeon has to decide quickly on many options for how to best manage the patient. In this case report, we present the occurrence of a dorsal second metatarsal artery pseudoaneurysm that occurred after removal of hardware. We also discuss the most current literature on the subject to help guide other surgeons in the diagnosis and management of this condition.
Pembrolizumab: living up to expectations.

Blocking programmed death 1 (PD-1) signaling in relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma results in high response rates,1-3 and Chen et al, in this issue of Blood, report the outcome of patients treated with pembrolizumab with 2 years of follow-up.4 They confirm that responses in patients treated with this PD-1–blocking antibody are durable and find that patients continue to tolerate PD-1 blockade well with extended treatment.
Skap2 Regulates Atherosclerosis through Macrophage Polarization and Efferocytosis

ABSTRACT Rationale Atherosclerosis causes more deaths than any other pathophysiologic process. It has a well-established inflammatory, macrophage-mediated component, but important and potentially protective intracellular macrophage processes in atherosclerosis remain enigmatic. Src Kinase-Associated Phosphoprotein 2 (Skap2) is a macrophage-predominant adaptor protein critical for cytoskeletal reorganization, and thereby, for macrophage migration and chemotaxis. The role of macrophage Skap2 in atherosclerosis is unknown and deserves exploration. Objective To establish the critical role of Skap2 in macrophage-mediated atherosclerotic plaque homeostasis. Results In human arterial gene expression analysis, Skap2 expression is enriched in macrophage-containing areas of human atheroma, and the transcript level varies with plaque characteristics. We have discovered that deletion of Skap2 accelerates atherosclerosis by threefold in ApoE-/- mice on standard diet. Skap2 expression is switched on only as monocytes differentiate into macrophages, so Skap2-/- monocytes have no defect in infiltrating the atheroma. On the other hand, once they fully differentiate, Skap2-deficient macrophages cannot polarize efficiently into alternatively-activated, regulatory cells, and instead they preferentially polarize toward the classical pro-inflammatory phenotype both ex vivo and within the developing atheroma. This defect extends to polarized effector functions, as ex vivo analysis of macrophage phagocytosis of dying foam cells indicates that Skap2 is required for the regulatory process of efferocytosis. Conclusions Taken together, our findings support a model in which Skap2 drives a regulatory, efferocytic mode of behavior to quell atherosclerosis. CONDENSED ABSTRACT / SUMMARY Skap2—a macrophage protein found in the human atheroma—is atheroprotective. Skap2-null mice, whose foam cells do not migrate well due to a defect in integrin-induced cytoskeletal rearrangement, have accelerated atherosclerosis. Skap2 is not expressed in monocytes but becomes important once they reach the atheroma and become macrophage foam cells, at which point it drives toward a regulatory, anti-inflammatory polarization state required for efficient efferocytosis of dying foam cells. Thus, Skap2 drives a protective, regulatory mode of behavior, supporting the fact that macrophages are not solely deleterious in atherosclerosis, and further pointing to efferocytosis as a target for therapy. There are no relationships to disclose.
Modeling the dynamics of resource exchange networks

Understanding the evolution of large-scale cooperation is important for the social welfare and stability of economic and social networks. Therefore, there is a need to model real-world scenarios that involve a trade-off between self-interest and social welfare with minimal artificial assumptions or constraints in a versatile framework. In this paper, we build an agent-based model to simulate the dynamics of a multi-agent, bilateral, resource-exchange network. We analyze how various strategies employed by communities can improve or hurt community payoffs as well as the overall social welfare of the network. We also analyze the role of common knowledge in inducing cooperation in the network. Our experimental evidence from simulations confirms that carefully-designed trading mechanisms can indeed encourage cooperation among communities with various motivations.
What are the Expectations for Length of Stay after Pediatric Heart Transplantation

Purpose Pediatric lung transplantations (LTx) consists of a relatively small but significant population. Without pooling of multi-institutional data, setting expectations for length of stay (LOS) is difficult. This study aims to investigate the LOS in LTx over the last 20 years to help benchmarking and quality improvement work. Methods The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database was used to identify patients ages 0-18 at time of listing for LTx between 2000 and 2019. This timeframe was divided into two eras: first (2000-2009) and second (2010-2019) eras. LOS was defined as number of days from LTx to discharge. Results 905 LTx were identified. 471 transplantations occurred in the first era and 434 in the second. Overall length of stay [median days (IQR)] was 19 (13-31) and comparable between the eras [18 (13-29) vs 20 (14-35), p=0.082]. Specifically by age, LOS for infants was 44 (29-80), for ages 2-11 was 21 (13-37), and for ages 12-18 was 17 (12-26). Compared to patients who did not have each of the following, LOS was increased in patients on ECMO (p Conclusion Over the past two decades, lung transplantation patients who are younger or who have pre- or post-transplantation end-organ dysfunction consistently have longer LOS. With these stable patterns, healthcare moving towards a bundled-care system, and an increase in UNOS required & institutional Quality Improvement projects, establishing benchmarks and expectations in pediatric post-lung transplant LOS is important.
Rebar Repair of Radial Meniscus Tears: A Reinforced Suture Technique

The purpose of this paper is to describe the rebar repair as a technique for repair of radial meniscus tears and compare the rebar technique with current techniques used for meniscus repairs. This technique consists of 4 sutures placed with the inside-out technique. First, the vertical mattress reinforcement sutures are placed anteriorly and posteriorly to the tear. Then, 2 parallel horizontal sutures are placed directly in juxtaposition to the vertical sutures, ensuring the needles pass on the side of the reinforcing stitch away from the tear. This technique is less technically challenging than other meniscus repair techniques that require drilling of a transtibial tunnel. Overall, the rebar technique offers a more optimal way for stabilizing the meniscus by using 2 reinforcement sutures that run with the circumferential fibers to help restore the natural hoop stress of the meniscus. Also, the placement of the vertical mattress sutures in the rebar technique offers more direct reinforcement to the horizontal mattress sutures as compared with other techniques, which reduces the risk of pull-out tears.
A Revised Ecological Model of Occupational Stress: Applications to 9-1-1 Telecommunicators:

Background: A cohesive body of scientific evidence has documented the adverse impacts of occupational stress on worker health and safety and, to a lesser extent, on organizational outcomes. How such adverse impacts may be prevented and/or ameliorated are important to understand, but progress has been limited due to the lack of a robust and comprehensive theoretical model of occupational stress. Methods: Building on a review of existing theoretical models of occupational stress and an ecological framework, a multilevel conceptual model of occupational stress and strain is proposed that identifies various and potentially interacting sources of occupational stressors as well as potential protective factors. Results: The revised ecological model proposed herein embraces a broad conceptualization of outcomes and includes an individual worker, work unit (team) performance as well as organizational level outcomes; for example, resilience/dysfunction. Conclusion/Application to Practice: This model provides occupational health nurses with an improved understanding of occupational and worker health as well as guidance in developing targeted interventions and generating new lines of occupational stress research.
Deuterium-tritium beta-layering within a national ignition facility scale polymer target in the lanl cryogenic pressure loader

Beta-layering, the process of beta-decay heat-driven mass redistribution, has been demonstrated in a deuterium-tritium (D-T)-filled polymer sphere of the type required for fusion ignition experiments at the National Ignition Facility. This is the first report, to the best of the authors' knowledge, of a D-T layer formed in a permeation-filled sphere. The 2-mm-diam sphere was filled with D-T by permeation; cooled to cryogenic temperatures while in the high-pressure permeation vessel; and, while cold, removed to an optical axis where the D-T was frozen, melted, and beta-layered in a series of experiments over several weeks' time. This work was performed in the Los Alamos National Laboratory cryogenic pressure loader system. The beta-layering time constant was 24.0 {+-} 2.5 min, less than the theoretical value of 26.8 min, and not showing the significant increase due to build-up of {sup 3}He often observed in beta-layered samples. Supercooling of the liquid D-T was observed. Neither the polymer target nor its tenting material showed visual signs of degradation after 5 weeks of exposure to D-T. Small external thermal gradients were used to shift the D-T material back and forth within the sphere.
The future of low-temperature carbon dioxide electrolysis depends on solving one basic problem

Carbonate formation is the primary source of energy and carbon losses in low-temperature carbon dioxide electrolysis. Realigning research priorities to address the carbonate problem is essential if this technology is to become a viable option for renewable chemical and fuel production. Low-temperature carbon dioxide electrolysis is an attractive process for sustainable fuel synthesis, but current systems suffer from low efficiency. In this comment, authors discuss the limitations arising from the reaction between carbon dioxide and hydroxide, highlighting the need for new research to address this fundamental problem.
Assessing ADL Routine Variability from High-dimensional Sensing Data using Hierarchical Clustering

Irregular patterns of Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) are associated with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) of older adults. Measuring the variability of ADL routines using various non-intrusive sensors in smart home environments presents a great opportunity for early diagnosis of MCI. However, existing studies mostly rely on supervised learning approaches to recognize ADLs and measure their variabilities, which requires large efforts in human observation and manual annotation for constructing training datasets for each home environment. In this context, this study proposes an unsupervised hierarchical clustering method to capture ADL clusters and measure their variabilities. In particular, this study focuses on addressing the challenge in employing data from multiple heterogenous sensors. The results show that the proposed method can capture the variability of ADL routines using high-dimensional non-intrusive sensing data.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Action: Planning, Leadership, and Programming. Christine Bombaro, ed. Chicago, IL: ALA Editions, 2020. 208p. Paper.

Christine Bombaro’s edited volume, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Action: Planning, Leadership, and Programming , is thoughtful, useful, and timely. Bombaro, associate director at the Dickinson College library, introduces this compilation by framing as a moral problem the gap between academic librarianship’s stated goals around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and its actual record. She argues that we must move beyond “merely trying our best” to actually “getting it right” (xii). Bombaro’s introduction and the first chapter serve to ground the book with historical and theoretical context around DEI in academic libraries and argue persuasively that we must move past dialogue to taking action. The chapters that follow offer case studies by academic library practitioners who describe actions taken in their institutions. Each chapter follows a similar structure, with literature reviews, case details, discussion, and careful footnoting. This book covers topics that include organizational goals and plans around DEI, developing cultural competencies for library staff, barriers to workforce diversity, and the development of models for how libraries can better serve the diverse communities with whom we work.
Emotions on the Job: Supporting and Threatening Face in Work Organizations

Publisher Summary Complications aside, a face-supportive work environment promotes pride and happiness among workers, and a face-threatening work environment generates aggravation and humiliation. We examine the production of emotions in work situations, focusing on two aspects of individual's face important in the management literature: moral character and job competency. This chapter acquired respondents' emotional responses to 54 vignettes in which one or the other aspect of respondent's face was supported or threatened by an interaction partner of higher, lower, or equal rank, in the context of either a consultancy firm or a hospital. Ratings of self feelings from respondents participating in simulated activities of a bookselling firm are acquired, wherein a considerate, average, or quarrelsome manager supported or threatened one or the other aspect of respondent's face. Having face supported induced pleasant emotions, and unpleasant emotions resulted from having face threatened. The specific kind of emotion depended on whether moral character or job competency was involved, on the rank of the interaction partner, on organizational context, and on interactions of all these.
Promoting Protective Factors and Strengthening Resilience

Protective factors are qualities of individuals and conditions in families and communities that serve to preserve and promote child and family well-being. They function as buffers, mitigating risk for child abuse and neglect and promoting resilience, which is the ability to successfully and positively adapt to circumstances that threaten well-being. In this chapter, the authors draw on literature from within and beyond the field of child maltreatment prevention to present findings that can inform prevention efforts. The chapter addresses: (1) the emergence of protective factors and resilience as a focus of practice and research, (2) the growing evidence of the importance of focusing on protective factors and resilience in child maltreatment prevention, (3) examples of innovative programming and research efforts that specifically focus on strengthening families by promoting protective factors and enhancing resilience, (4) how these types of promotional approaches can be taken to scale, and (5) research and policy initiatives with the potential to inform program planning.
Up-front polytherapy for ALK-positive lung cancer

A new study identifies the RAS-MAPK pathway to be an Achilles' heel of EML4-ALK fusion-positive lung cancer and suggests that up-front combination therapy directed against both pathways can achieve sustained suppression of tumor growth.
Transition Practices: Findings from a National Survey of Kindergarten Teachers

designed to overcome the discontinuities that may disThe “ready school” movement is attempting to shift rupt children’s learning and development” (p. 9). Alnational attention away from children’s readiness for though high-quality experiences prior to the beginning school and onto schools’ readiness for incoming kinderof school and a high-quality kindergarten program are gartners (National Education Goals Panel, 1998). One critical to child success, some attention must also be feature of “ready schools” is that they engage in pracgiven to the discontinuities between the settings. Rimmtices that are effective in helping children and families Kaufman and Pianta (2000) conclude that the system of as they make the transition into kindergarten. “Ready relationships among social contexts (including teachers, schools,” according to Pianta, Cox, Taylor, and Early parents, and preschool care providers) is a critical pre(1999), have three characteristics: (a) they reach out, dictor of successful transitions. Effective communicalinking families, preschool settings, and communities tion and regular contact among the various social conwith schools; (b) they reach backward in time, making texts engender connectedness and flexibility, thereby connections before the first day of school, and (c) they promoting an optimal transition. reach with appropriate intensity. The practices that Pianta et al. (1999) used the National Center for teachers employ as they help children and families make Early Development and Learning’s (NCEDL) Transition the transition to school are one important aspect of the Practices Survey, a nationally representative survey of school’s readiness for the incoming children. Thus, unkindergarten teachers, to describe the specific practices derstanding the school, teacher, and classroom characteachers use in facilitating the transition to kindergarten teristics that are linked to optimal transition practices is and the barriers they perceive to additional transition important as educators work to improve transitions for practices. They found that while almost all teachers reyoung children. This paper aims to elucidate these imported some practices aimed at facilitating children’s portant links. transitions into kindergarten, practices that would be Information is currently lacking to inform us as to most effective—those that reach out, backward in time, which practices are most beneficial in aiding children as and with appropriate intensity—are relatively rare. they make this transition; however, there are some Group-oriented practices occurring after the beginning strong, theoretically based indications. Love, Logue, of the school year (e.g., open houses) are the most comTrudeau, and Thayer (1992) argue that key ingredients mon, while practices that involve one-to-one contact to a successful transition are “activities and events (over with children and families and those occurring prior to
Elections and Distributive Politics in Mubarak’s Egypt

1. Introduction 2. Political and economic change since 1952 3. Elections and elite management 4. The politics of infrastructure provision 5. Electoral budget cycles and economic opposition 6. Vote buying, turnout, and spoiled ballots 7. Elections and elite corruption 8. Elections and the Muslim brotherhood 9. Liberal intellectuals and the demand for democratic change 10. Foreign pressure and institutional change 11. Egypt in comparative perspective 12. Conclusion.
A New Method to Grow Sic: Solvent-Laser Heated Floating Zone

The solvent-laser heated floating zone (solvent-LHFZ) growth method is being developed to grow long single crystal SiC fibers. The technique combines the single crystal fiber growth ability of laser heated floating zone with solvent based growth techniques (e.g. traveling solvent method) ability to grow SiC from the liquid phase. Initial investigations reported in this paper show that the solvent-LHFZ method readily grows single crystal SiC (retains polytype and orientation), but has a significant amount of inhomogeneous strain and solvent rich inclusions.
Organization of adult motor cortex representation patterns following neonatal forelimb nerve injury in rats

Somatotopic representation patterns in the motor cortex (MI) of rats that had a unilateral forelimb amputation on the first postnatal day were examined after 2–4 months of survival. Intracortical electrical stimulation and recording techniques were used to map the somatic representation in MI and in the somatic sensory cortex (SI). In normal rats, vibrissa, forelimb, and hindlimb areas comprise the bulk of the MI representation. Stimulation within the forelimb area elicits elbow, wrist, or digit movements at the lowest current intensities. The proximal limb representation appears to be contained within the distal forelimb area, since shoulder movements are nearly always evoked by stimulating at higher current intensities at some distal forelimb sites. In agreement with previous studies, the distal forelimb representation overlapped the adjacent part of the granular SI cortex. Following removal of the forelimb at birth, 3 novel features of MI organization were observed. First, the areas from which stimulation evoked movements of the vibrissa or the shoulder musculature were larger than normal. Stimulation thresholds were lower than those required for comparable movements in normal rats throughout these areas, suggesting that nerve section had not simply unmasked a high- threshold representation. Second, vibrissa movements were more commonly paired with movements of the proximal forelimb muscles at the same site. Third, stimulation in the adjacent granular SI cortex failed to evoke shoulder or trunk movements, although receptive-field mapping in this region showed that cells were responsive to cutaneous stimulation of the trunk and shoulder region. These results indicate that several organizational features develop differently in MI following perinatal nerve injury: certain remaining muscle groups have enlarged cortical representations, there is a strengthening of some normally weak connections from MI to the proximal musculature, and muscles are grouped in unusual combinations. These data demonstrate that the formation of MI representation patterns is strongly influenced by nerve injury during the perinatal period.
Multiple chromosomes in bacteria: structure and function of chromosome II of Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1T.

Although multiple chromosomes occur in bacteria, much remains to be learned about their structural and functional interrelationships. To study the structure-function relationships of chromosomes I and II of the facultative photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1T, auxotrophic mutants were isolated. Five strains having transposon insertions in chromosome II showed requirements for p-aminobenzoic acid (pABA)-dihydroxybenzoic acid (dHBA), serine, thymine, uracil, or histidine. The His, Thy, and pABA-dHBA mutants reverted to prototrophy at low frequency and concordantly lost their transposon insertions from the genome. The Ser, Ura, and pABA-dHBA mutants were complemented by cosmids that carried the region of chromosome II where the transposon insertions were located. The cosmids used for complementation analysis were selected, on the basis of map position, from a set of overlapping clones that had been ordered by a combination of hybridization and restriction endonuclease mapping. These experiments provide the basis for detailed studies of the structure, function, and interaction between each chromosome, and they demonstrate at this early stage of investigation that no fundamental differences exist between each chromosome. Images
Polynucleotides. XIV. Photochemical evidence for an extrahelical, solvent-accessible environment of non-complementary residues in polynucleotide helices.

Abstract Ultraviolet photohydration and photodimerization reactions have been used to characterize the local environment of non-complementary uridine residues that are either isolated or clustered within the copolymer strand of poly(A,U) · poly(U) double helices. The initial photoreaction kinetics, measured from absorbance changes, are independent of the wavelength of measurement, and contain a fast-reacting component, absent in the analogous perfect helix, which corresponds quantitatively to the non-complementary residues. These results are consistent with an unstacked conformation of all non-complementary residues in these complexes. The initial kinetics demonstrate further that the bases are extrahelical and fully accessible to solvent, since their rate of photohydration is the same as for UMP. Photodimerization of these extrahelical U residues does not appear to occur within clusters of less than five residues, suggesting that neighboring extrahelical bases within smaller loops are stereochemically constrained from cyclobutane bond formation. Modification of extrahelical residues does not significantly disrupt adjacent helical secondary structure. Hence, the stoichiometric proportions of U residues that are intrahelical and extrahelical could be confirmed from the relation of hypochromicity to percentage photomodification. The resistance to photomodification of helical segments within the homopolymer-copolymer complexes (in sufficiently high counterion) is equivalent to that of the perfect analogue; the local environment of helical U residues within helices-with-loops and the perfect helix must, therefore, be essentially the same.
Blood Standards and Failed Fluids: Clinic, Lab, and Transfusion Solutions in London, 1868–1916

It seems obvious that blood itself is the most appropriate fluid to replace blood, and there is no doubt as to its efficacy. On the other hand, to my surprise, it has not shown itself, experimentally, to be so much superior to certain artificial solutions, such as gum arabic, as I expected.
A Theoretical Study of Sporadic-E Structure in the Light of Radio Measurements

Abstract The theoretical aspects of the mechanisms of sporadic-E reflections are described from both the standpoint of a thin layer and a scattering model. For the thin-layer model, thin dielectric layers which have various distributions of electron density are considered. It is also pointed out that the scattering theory for which an auto-correlation function of the fluctuation of electron density is given by modified Bessel functions of the fourth through the seventh order is an available model for sporadic-E scatter. Moreover blobs of ionization which have a horizontal scale of the order of 200 m and a vertical scale of about 50 m are considered for sporadic-E scatter. The frequency and distance dependences of the oblique v.h.f. propagation by means of the sporadic-E layer are discussed by comparing the theoretical results with experimental evidence.
Factors associated with successful decrease and discontinuation of antegrade continence enemas (ACE) in children with defecation disorders: a study evaluating the effect of ACE on colon motility

Background Antegrade continence enemas (ACE) have been used in the treatment of defecation disorders in children; little is known on their effect on colon motility and the utility of the colon manometry (CM) predicting long-term ACE outcomes. Methods Retrospective review of children with constipation undergoing CM before and after ACE to evaluate CM changes and their utility on predicting ACE outcome. Key Results A total of 40 patients (mean age 8.8 SD 3 years and 53% female patients) were included; 39 of 40 responded to the ACE. Of these 39, 14 (36%) were dependent and 25 (64%) had decreased it (11 of those or 28% discontinued it). On repeat CM we found a significant increase in the fasting (P < 0.01) and postprandial (P = 0.03) motility index, number of bisacodyl-induced high amplitude propagating contractions (HAPCs) (P = 0.03), and total HAPCs (P = 0.02). Gastrocolonic response to a meal, propagation and normalization of HAPCs improved in 28%, 58%, and 33%, respectively, with CM normalizing in 33% of patients. The baseline CM did not predict ACE outcome. The presence of normal HAPCs on the repeat CM was associated with ACE decrease. Progression and normalization of HAPCs (P = 0.01 and 0.02, respectively) and CM normalization (P = 0.01) on repeat CM were individually associated with ACE decrease. No CM change was associated with ACE discontinuation. Multivariate analysis showed that older age and HAPC normalization on CM predict ACE decrease and older age is the only predictor for ACE discontinuation. Conclusions & Inferences Colon motility improves after ACE and the changes on the repeat CM may assist in predicting ACE outcome.
Fully consistent diffusion synthetic acceleration of linear discontinuous SN transport discretizations on unstructured tetrahedral meshes

We recently presented a method for efficiently solving linear discontinuous discretizations of the two-dimensional P1 equations on rectangular meshes. The linear system was efficiently solved with ...
Immunoaffinity purification of bovine factor VII

Factor VII has been purified to homogeneity from bovine plasma by a procedure that includes affinity purification on an immunoadsorbent column. Recovery was determined by both coagulant assay and liquid scintillation counting, using 3H-factor VII as an internal standard. The purification factor calculated by both methods was approximately 120,000-fold, with a final yield of approximately 18%. Homogeneity was assessed by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The material migrated as a single polypeptide chain of 53,000 daltons, and following activation by factor Xa, the one-chain zymogen was quantitatively converted to two-chain factor VIIa. Conversion of affinity-purified factor VII to factor VIIa resulted in up to a 119-fold activation of the coagulant activity, which is 2.7-4 times greater than the activatability reported for factor VII prepared by other methods. Zur et al. calculated that pure factor VII, uncontaminated by traces of factor VIIa, would be activated 123-fold upon conversion to factor VIIa. The close agreement between observed activatability of affinity-purified factor VII and the theoretical prediction suggests that we have isolated factor VII essentially free of factor VIIa. The purification data from three lots of bovine plasma yield an estimate for the plasma concentration of factor VII from 10.1 nM to 18.5 nM.
Controlling the morphology of nanocrystal-polymer composites for solar cells

We have shown recently that the use of high-aspect-ratio inorganic nanorods in conjunction with conjugated polymers is a route to obtaining efficient solar cells processed from solution. Here, we demonstrate that the use of binary solvent mixtures in which one of the components is a ligand for the nanocrystals is effective in controlling the dispersion of nanocrystals in a polymer. By varying the concentration of the solvent mixture, phase separation between the nanocrystal and polymer could be tuned from micrometer scale to nanometer scale. In addition, we can achieve nanocrystal surfaces that are free of surfactant through the use of weak binding ligands that can be removed through heating. When combined, the control of film morphology together with surfactant removal result in nanorod–polymer blend photovoltaic cells with a high external quantum efficiency of 59 % under 0.1 mW cm–2 illumination at 450 nm.
NHC-catalyzed dehydrogenative self-coupling of diphenylsilane: A facile synthesis of octaphenylcyclotetra(siloxane)

A unique application of the CuIPr N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) to the dehydrogenative self-coupling of diphenylsilane has been discovered. This transformation is carried out open to air at room temperature, yielding octaphenylcyclotetra(siloxane) quantitatively in one hour. This preparation constitutes a significant improvement over existing methods for the preparation of this compound and demonstrates a novel mode of reactivity for CuIPr. The diphenylsilanone tetramer is the precursor to a number of industrially significant polymers.
An MIMD strategy for quantum mechanical reactive scattering calculations

This article describes a multiprocessor parallel computer program for quantum mechanical reactive scattering calculations by the linear algebraic outgoing wave variational principle. Two aspects of the parallelization are emphasized: (i) domain-based parallelization of multidimensional integrals and (ii) multithreaded and message passing strategies for parallelizing large, dense matrix operations.
Duality between discounted and undiscounted models of optimal growth for a class of utility functions

Abstract Optimal growth theory has restricted comparison between optimal programs from discounted and undiscounted models to the case where the discount factor is arbitrarily close to unity. This paper extends the comparison to any value of the discount factor by demonstrating the following duality for the class of homogeneous felicity functions: if there exists an optimal program in the discounted utility model, then the discounted version of the optimal program is optimal in the catching up sense in a transformed undiscounted utility model.
IgE regulates T helper cell differentiation through FcγRIII mediated dendritic cell cytokine modulation

Asthma and allergy are characterized by dysregulation of inflammatory responses toward Th2 responses and high serum levels of IgE. IgE plays a role in the effector phase by triggering the degranulation of mast cells after antigen-crosslinking but its role in the induction of helper T cell differentiation is unknown. We have previously shown lymphotoxin is required for maintaining physiological levels of serum IgE which minimize spontaneous Th1-mediated airway inflammation, suggesting a physiological role for IgE in the regulation of T helper cell differentiation. We describe the mechanism in which IgE modulates inflammation by regulating dendritic cell cytokine production. Physiological levels of IgE suppress IL-12 production in the spleen and lung, suggesting IgE limits Th1 responses in vivo. IgE directly stimulates dendritic cells through FcgammaRIII to suppress IL-12 in vitro and influences APC to skew CD4+ T cells toward Th2 differentiation. We demonstrate a novel role for IgE in regulating differentiation of adaptive inflammatory responses through direct interaction with FcgammaRIII on dendritic cells.
Scattering theory of the short channel MOSFET

A simple, physical approach for modeling ultrasubmicron MOSFETs is introduced. The approach, based on scattering probabilities, produces analytical results that reduce to conventional ones for long channel devices but which apply to ballistic MOSFETs as well. The new model is related to conventional models, and issues such as the role of inversion layer mobility, velocity overshoot, and identifying the maximum saturated drain current, are addressed.
What's in a name?: naming practices in online video games

Recent research suggests that participation in online video games allows players to create an "idealized self" through their characters, that is, a character perceived to be more attractive or interesting than the player. However, our research indicates that players use carefully created character names to develop a persistent, pragmatic identity to maintain social relationships across games and related sites, and to express their personalities by incorporating elements of popular culture, literary references, and aspects of their own personal histories. Identity in gaming is thus more complex than identification with the physical representation of the character.
A leaded apron for use in panoramic dental radiography

The leaded aprons currently available for use during dental radiography do not protect the thyroid gland from radiation. Conventional aprons may produce artifacts when used with panoramic dental x-ray units. This study measures the dose reduction obtained with an experimental leaded apron designed for use with panoramic dental x-ray units. Skin exposures measured at the thyroid and at the sternum were reduced with the use of the apron. Films produced during the study were free from apron artifacts.