cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Randomized Controlled Trial of a Home‐Based Walking Program to Reduce Moderate to Severe Aromatase Inhibitor‐Associated Arthralgia in Breast Cancer Survivors

Background In postmenopausal women diagnosed with breast cancer (BC), most BC tumors are hormone receptor positive and guidelines recommend adjuvant endocrine therapy that includes an aromatase inhibitor (AI). This study investigates the impact of a 6-week, home-based, self-directed walking program on the commonly reported side effect of AI-associated arthralgia (AIAA). Materials and methods In this phase II trial, consented BC patients were randomized to walking Intervention (n = 31) or Wait List Control (WLC; n = 31). Eligibility criteria included: stage 0-III BC, on AI for at least 4 weeks, ≥3 on a 5-point scale inquiring about joint symptom intensity "at its worst," and exercising ≤150 minutes per week. Outcomes were self-reported joint symptoms and psychosocial measures. Analyses comparing Intervention and WLC groups were conducted on an intention-to-treat basis to assess intervention impact at 6 weeks (postintervention) and at 6-months follow-up. Adjusted means were calculated to assess differences in two groups. Results In our final sample (n = 62), mean age was 64 years, 74% were white, and 63% had a body mass index of 30 or higher. At postintervention, Intervention group participants reported significantly increased walking minutes per week, reduced stiffness, less difficulty with activities of daily living (ADL), and less perceived helplessness in managing joint symptoms. At 6-months follow-up (postwalking period in both Intervention and WLC), walking minutes per week had decreased significantly; however, improvements in stiffness and difficulty with ADLs were maintained. Conclusion This study adds to the growing evidence base suggesting exercise as a safe alternative or adjunct to medications for the management of AIAA. Implications for practice Breast cancer survivors whose adjuvant endocrine treatment includes an aromatase inhibitor (AI) often experience the side effect of AI-associated arthralgia (AIAA). This study investigates the impact of a 6-week, home-based, self-directed walking program in the management of AIAA. Compared with Wait List Control, women in the Intervention group reported significantly increased walking minutes per week, reduced stiffness, less difficulty with activities of daily living, and less perceived helplessness in managing joint symptoms. This study adds to the growing evidence base suggesting exercise as a safe alternative or adjunct to medications for the management of AIAA.
Authors reply: statins and new onset of diabetes: which one outweighs risk or benefit?

I read carefully the letter sent by the authors regarding my paper entitled ‘New onset diabetes mellitus induced by statins: current evidence’ and I would like to respond to the issues they are rai...
Comida Mineira: A “Cultural Patrimony” of Brazil

In 2016, the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil passed a law declaring gastronomia mineira – the state’s cuisine – a “cultural patrimony” worthy of promotion and protection. The state’s goals of promoti...
Impact of Channel Deepening on Tidal and Gravitational Circulation in a Highly Engineered Estuarine Basin

Deepening of estuarine channels is a common practice to ensure navigation. Here, we investigate whether such deepening impacts physical processes such as the strength of the estuarine exchange flow, the horizontal salinity gradient, and tidal dynamics. We analyze recent and historical hydrodynamic observations in Newark Bay, New Jersey, to assess the effect of channel deepening on tides, circulation, and salinity. The Bay’s navigational channel has undergone significant deepening, from 3 to 10 m in the nineteenth century to ~16 m today. Observations presented here include sea-level data from the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first century, and moored Doppler current data and bottom salinity measurements made over the past 20 years. Results show a doubling of the estuarine exchange flow, a slight increase in salinity and in the horizontal salinity gradient, a decrease in tidal current amplitude, and a spatially variable change in the tidal range. The doubling of the exchange flow is consistent with the Hansen and Rattray scaling provided that the horizontal salinity gradient is unable to fully adjust landward because the dredging is limited to a short reach of the estuary. However, uncertainty in channel depth leaves open the possibility that the exchange flow is also augmented by an increase in the horizontal salinity gradient and/or a reduction in vertical mixing. Nevertheless, results demonstrate that a relatively small (15%) increase in depth appears to have doubled the exchange flow. We believe that this result is relevant to other systems where dredging is limited to a short reach of an estuary.
How Bad is Selfish Doodle Voting

Doodle polls allow people to schedule meetings or events based on the time preferences of participants. Each participant indicates on a web-based poll form which time slots they find acceptable and a time slot with the most votes is chosen. This is a social choice mechanism known as approval voting, in which a standard assumption is that all voters vote sincerely ---no one votes no on a time slot they prefer to a time slot they have voted yes on. We take a game theoretical approach to understanding what happens in Doodle polls assuming participants vote sincerely. First we characterize Doodle poll instances where sincere pure Nash Equilibria (NE) exist, both under lexicographic tie-breaking and randomized tie-breaking. We then study the quality of such NE voting profiles in Doodle polls, showing that the price of anarchy and price of stability are both unbounded, even when a time slot that many participants vote yes for is selected. Finally, we give some conditions under which the quality of the NE (and strong NE) is good.
Investigation of flashing and intensity characteristics for vehicle-mounted warning beacons.

Reducing the potential for crashes involving front line service workers and passing vehicles is important for increasing worker safety in work zones and similar locations. Flashing yellow warning beacons are often used to protect, delineate, and provide visual information to drivers within and approaching work zones. A nighttime field study using simulated workers, with and without reflective vests, present outside trucks was conducted to evaluate the effects of different warning beacon intensities and flash frequencies. Interactions between intensity and flash frequency were also analyzed. This study determined that intensitiesof 25/2.5 cd and 150/15 cd (peak/trough intensity) provided the farthest detection distances of the simulated worker. Mean detection distances in response to a flash frequency of 1 Hz were not statistically different from those in response to 4 Hz flashing. Simulated workers wearing reflective vests were seen the farthest distances away from the trucks for all combinations of intensity and flash frequency.
The synthesis of basement membrane by the corneal epithelium in bullous keratopathy

With the aid of the electron microscope, the ultrastructural changes associated with bullous keratopathy were studied in corneal specimens from a patient with congenital hereditary corneal dystrophy and from one with congenital glaucoma. Within the subepithelial bullae of both specimens, infoldings of the basal plasma membrane of the basal epithelial cells could be observed to contain basement-membrane-like material accompanied by hemidesmosomes. Morphologically identical membranous infoldings and short segments of basement membrane were found along the basal epithelial surface of rabbit corneas in which basement membrane regeneration had been induced by superficial keratectomy. On the basis of these ultrastructural similarities, it is therefore suggested that the formation of subepithelial bullae with the concomitant interruption of the basement membrane induces the corneal epithelium to attempt restoration of the integrity of this layer by the synthesis and deposition of new basement membrane material.
Student perceptions of the clinical laboratory science profession.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to describe the attitudes and perceptions among college biology and CLS/CLT students. These students were on selected college campuses at Texas universities in Houston, Dallas and the Austin/San Antonio areas for the Spring 2007 semester. Specifically, students were questioned on factors that influence their choice of field of study, career expectations, legislative measures which might be used to attract individuals to the career, and factors that will be required to keep them in the field of practice. DESIGN: This study was part of a larger qualitative study which included exploratory discovery and inductive logic regarding the attitudes of four focus groups in Texas. SETTING: Focus groups took place on college campuses or in hotel conference rooms. PARTICIPANTS: 1) junior/senior-level college biology students and 2) junior/senior-level students currently enrolled in CLS/CLT programs. INTERVENTIONS: Focus group discussions using a standard set of questions; group sessions lasted about 45 minutes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: This study was a qualitative study which included exploratory discovery and inductive logic regarding the attitudes of two groups in Texas. RESULTS: College biology and CLS/ CLT students find the clinical laboratory science profession to be interesting and exciting as a career prospect, however, many do not see themselves remaining in the profession and perceive it does not have good prospects for career advancement. The majority of students must work to support themselves through their college education and would welcome additional grants, scholarships and loan forgiveness programs as incentives to study the clinical laboratory sciences. Students believe that additional recruitment on high school and college campuses is needed to increase the visibility of the field as career choice. CONCLUSION: The majority of students who are entering the clinical laboratory science profession do not see the profession as their final career choice, but rather a stepping stone to another career field in healthcare or a related field. The perception that the profession lacks a career ladder is a critical detriment to the retention of CLS/CLT professionals. The clinical laboratory science profession continues to suffer from a lack of knowledge about the field by the general public, college advisors, and even healthcare workers. State and national programs involving grants/scholarships or loan forgiveness programs offered by healthcare institutions would be beneficial in attracting students to study the clinical laboratory sciences. ABBREVIATIONS:BLS = Bureau of Labor Statistics; CLS/CLT = clinical laboratory science/clinical laboratory technician; US = United States
Switching Characteristics of $\hbox{Ru/HfO}_{2} \hbox{/TiO}_{2-x}\hbox{/Ru}$ RRAM Devices for Digital and Analog Nonvolatile Memory Applications

We report the switching characteristics of RRAM devices consisting of Ru/HfO2/TiO2-x/Ru stacks with and without an external access device. In addition to bistable switching, we also achieved an analog reconfiguration of resistance by controlling the compliance current or the reset voltage to achieve a low-resistance state (LRS) or a high-resistance state (HRS), respectively. All intermediate states were nonvolatile in nature. The transport studies using temperature-dependent I-V measurement indicated the mechanism of conduction to be ionic in LRS and Frenkel-Poole in both HRS and virgin resistance state of a device.
The Role of EUS in Subepithelial Lesions

Subepithelial masses are often encountered when performing endoscopy. The differential diagnosis for subepithelial masses includes lesions that are benign, premalignant, or malignant. Evaluation of subepithelial lesion with EUS allows further characterization of the lesion by ultrasound imaging, providing valuable information to help guide further management.
The Organization of Cerebral Tissue in Transaction and Storage of Information

Studies of functions of the brain on a behavioristic basis, divorced in greater or lesser degree from associated activity in brain systems, has afforded the psychologist a broad field of endeavor in the past decade, with manipulation of schedules of reinforcement dependent on both peripheral and central stimuli. Although it has been claimed for these studies that they have yielded information about brain organization in perception and learning, with disclosure, for example, of specific brain regions that constitute “centers,” this notion itself has little place in the physiologists current scheme of cerebral functions. For whatever may be the apparent dominance of one brain region in the behavioral expression of a particular function, our enthusiasm must be tempered by knowledge of profoundly influential, wide-ranging and substantially reciprocal pathways involving such centers; of continuous activity in neuronal firing patterns related complexly and in stochastic ways to sensory stimuli; and of brain substance organized in a series of tissue compartments, each contributing functionally to the whole, and carrying with them the keys to that most unique function of brain tissue, the storage of information.
HEAT TRANSFER WITH NONUNIFORM SURFACE HEAT FLUX AND THERMAL-HYDRAULIC DESIGN OF THE PLASMA-FACING COMPONENTS OF FUSION REACTORS

Convective heat transfer with circumferentially varying heat flux as encountered in plasma-facing components in fusion reactors is analyzed numerically. The flow is assumed non-MHD and fully-developed laminar and turbulent in a circular tube. A strong circumferential variation of Nusselt number with the possibility of negative values is observed. The Nusselt number is always lowered at the point of maximum heat flux. This reduction can be as much as 38%, 62% and 37% for the laminar Poiseuille, laminar slug and turbulent flows, respectively. Implications of this reduction in Nusselt number for the design of the plasma-facing components of a fusion reactor are shown by an example using the recently completed ARIES-I conceptual tokamak fusion reactor.
The role of neighborhoods in household food insufficiency: Considering interactions between physical disorder, low social capital, violence, and perceptions of danger.

Abstract Rationale Food insecurity is a significant public health concern, with implications for community and individual health and well-being. Although a growing body of literature points to the role of neighborhoods in household food insecurity, studies using nationally representative samples to explore interactions between neighborhood risks – including violence and danger – are lacking. Objective The present study examines whether interactions between physical disorder, low social capital, and violence/danger in the neighborhood have significant implications for the risk of household food insufficiency using a large, nationally representative sample of U.S. children and their families. Method Data are from the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health, a survey of a cross-sectional weighted probability sample of U.S. children from 0 to 17 years of age. Multinomial logistic regression techniques were used to analyze the data. Results Neighborhood risk factors interacted to predict household food insufficiency, with the confluence of low social capital and violence/danger yielding the strongest effects. Conclusions Our findings suggest that food hardship should be addressed within the context of neighborhood revitalization. The risk of food insufficiency among children and families in especially high-risk ecological contexts might be ameliorated with the provision of informal and formal sources of nutrition assistance and support.
Multi-modal neuroimaging of dual-task walking: Structural MRI and fNIRS analysis reveals prefrontal grey matter volume moderation of brain activation in older adults.

Abstract It has been well established over the last two decades that walking is not merely an automatic, motoric activity; it also utilizes executive function circuits, which play an increasingly important role in walking for older people and those with mobility and cognitive deficits. Dual-task walking, such as walking while performing a cognitive task, is a necessary skill for everyday functioning, and has been shown to activate prefrontal lobe areas in healthy older people. Another well-established point in healthy aging is the loss of grey matter, and in particular loss of frontal lobe grey matter volume. However, the relationship between increased frontal lobe activity during dual-task walking and loss of frontal grey matter in healthy aging remains unknown. In the current study, we combined oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2) data from functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), taken during dual-task walking, with structural MRI volumetrics in a cohort of healthy older subjects to identify this relationship. We studied fifty-five relatively healthy, older participants (≥65 years) during two separate sessions: fNIRS to measure HbO2 changes between single-task (i.e., normal walking) and dual-task walking-while-talking, and high-resolution, structural MRI to measure frontal lobe grey matter volumes. Linear mixed effects modeling was utilized to determine the moderation effect of grey matter volume on the change in prefrontal oxygenated hemoglobin between the two walking tasks, while controlling for covariates including task performance. We found a highly significant interaction effect between frontal grey matter volume and task on HbO2 levels (p
381) Examining the Role of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Multidisciplinary Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Outcomes

Prior research has revealed a high rate (over 80%) of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the outpatient pediatric chronic pain population. Furthermore, the sub-population of youth with chronic pain reporting a history of ACEs shows increased psychosocial impairment (e.g., anxiety, depression). However, the treatment outcomes of youth with chronic pain and a history of ACEs have not been well examined. The current study investigates the effect of ACEs on psychosocial and pain-related treatment outcomes of youth (N=305) engaged in a multidisciplinary pediatric pain rehabilitation program. Outcome measures (e.g., anxiety, depression, functional disability) were given at baseline and discharge from the rehabilitation program. The average stay in the program was four weeks. In the current sample, 59% of youth with chronic pain reported a history of ACEs with 21% reporting two or more ACEs. During the baseline assessment, the youth who reported a history of ACEs also reported significantly higher somatic symptoms (F(2,281)=4.660,p .05). Additionally, the interaction effect of ACEs-by-Time was not found to be significant across baseline and discharge for any outcome (all p's>.05). Results of the current study indicate that a history of ACEs does not negatively affect pain rehabilitation outcomes for this population. However, it is important to note that the rate of patients reporting ACEs in the current study was significantly lower (p
The Polyanilines: Recent Advances in Chemistry and Processing

Until relatively recently, “polyaniline”, probably the oldest known synthetic organic polymer, consisted of an illdefined class of materials, obtained by the chemical or electrochemical oxidative polymerization of aniline. Early studies were fraught with problems of uncertain compositions, and it was not until the mid-1980’s, with the advent of better characterized materials, that significant physical studies became possible.
Understanding the Binding of Aromatic Hydrocarbons on Rutile TiO2(110)

The adsorption of cyclohexane, benzene, and alkyl-substituted benzene derivatives is studied on rutile TiO2(110) by a combination of molecular beam dosing, temperature-programmed desorption, and density functional theory (DFT). An inversion analysis is used to extract the coverage-dependent desorption energies from TiO2(110). The values of the suitable prefactors are derived from simple statistical mechanical models assuming different limits in the adsorbate mobility on the surface. The prefactor values determined using the vibrational frequencies from DFT calculations corroborate this analysis and show that the adsorbates are mobile in one or two dimensions on a corrugated TiO2(110) surface. The adsorption of benzene derivatives is found to be dominated by the dative Lewis acid–base interactions of the π system with the surface Ti ions. While the desorption energy generally increases with increasing the length and the number of substituents, the difference between the desorption energies decreases as the...
Reducing Time Headway in Homogeneous CACC Vehicle Platoons in the Presence of Packet Drops

In this paper, we study the effect of packet losses in Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication on string stability of a platoon of vehicles employing a Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) system. Such vehicles employ a Constant Time Headway Policy (CTHP) and utilize communicated information of the acceleration of preceding vehicle in the string. This communication is subject to packet losses in a realistic wireless system and we model the packet loss phenomenon as a binomial random process characterized by a packet reception probability. We assume that the platoon is homogeneous and derive the inverse relationship between the minimum string stable time headway and the packet reception probability. Numerical simulations corroborate the results presented in this paper.
Optimal Design Methodology for High Frequency GaN Based Step-up LLC Resonant Converter

LLC resonant converter is widely used due to its high efficiency and high power density capability. The design methodology for it has been addressed in many literatures. However, most of them focus on the step-down LLC converter due to its high-output current applications such as data center. In this paper, the optimal design methodology for high frequency GaN based step-up LLC converter for solid-state transformer application is discussed. An accurate model for deadtime operation is derived. From the model, the approach for device selection for both primary and secondary sides and the magnetizing inductance design to have zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) are presented. To verify the design methodology, LTSPICE simulation is performed. Besides, a 1 MHz 1.8 kW step-up LLC converter prototype is designed and tested. With the proposed design methods, the efficiency can achieve 98.75%.
From slippery slopes to steep hills: Contrasting landscapes of economic growth and public spending for health.

Identifying ways to increase public spending on health is critical for the achievement of universal health coverage. While policymakers and donors often look at available options for increasing public spending for health in the medium-term, examining trends and drivers of past growth can help countries elucidate important lessons and to anticipate changes in the future. This note analyzes trends in inflation-adjusted per capita public spending for health vis-a-vis economic growth within and across a sample of 150 countries over the 2000-2017 period. Since 2000, per capita public spending for health across low- and middle-income countries has more than doubled. Less than one-fifth of this increase, however, resulted from a higher priority for health in government budgets. The remainder was largely due to conducive macroeconomic conditions such as economic growth and increases in total public spending. Furthermore, across most countries, a single time trend does not adequately capture the evolution either of economic growth or of per capita public spending on health. Instability in growth rates is large for both indicators, revealing distinct episodic patterns.
Navigating High Performance Computing for Geospatial Applications

High performance computing, as an important component of state-of-the-art cyberinfrastructure, has been extensively applied to support geospatial studies facing computational challenges. Investigations on the utility of high performance computing in geospatially related problem-solving and decision-making are timely and important. This chapter is an introduction to geospatial applications of high performance computing reported in this book. Summaries of all other chapters of this book, adapted from contribution from their authors, are highlighted to demonstrate the power of high performance computing in enabling, enhancing, and even transforming geospatial analytics and modeling.
The Reference Activity Plan: Collaborative, Agile Planning for NASA's Europa Clipper Mission

Activity planning efforts on planetary exploration missions must effectively translate high-level scientific objectives into command products that execute onboard the spacecraft. In prior flagship-class orbiter missions, this process has been implemented using two approaches: activity plans are either systematically created from scratch for each orbit via a linear planning process, or future orbit plans are developed far in advance and carefully iterated upon to ensure maximum science return. These approaches have been effective, particularly for projects whose science observation strategies vary over the course of the mission, but require a number of operational constraints. Large team sizes, difficulty in relating detailed plans to qualitative science objectives, and the fragile nature of pre-planned activity sets allow limited opportunity for flexibility and optimization of plans during development. The baseline trajectory design for the Europa Clipper mission uses a suite of 45 low-altitude, short-period flybys of Europa at varying geometries to globally map the surface of the moon. In order to effectively integrate the activities of the spacecraft and its ten science instruments into a valid plan on the cadence necessitated by the trajectory design, mission operations engineers have developed a collaborative, agile uplink planning architecture. The foundational product of this planning architecture is the Reference Activity Plan (RAP), a full-mission activity plan that leverages the project's largely repeatable science observation patterns to create a template for planning at both strategic and tactical levels. Activities in the RAP are codified using a common schema and can be placed in the plan using constraint-based scheduling software that is driven by objective and quantifiable science measurement requirements. This approach enables dynamic modification of the whole mission plan in large or small segments, which allows planners to react to new science information or incorporate flight system performance characteristics into future orbit activities. The RAP also allows planners to understand the impact of their activity changes on the rest of the plan; since each subject matter expert has visibility into the entire set of planned activities, and the impact of their proposed changes upon the full plan is simulated, they can more effectively collaborate with the rest of the operations team to develop a conflict-free plan with less iteration. This paper examines unique operations considerations that drove the design of the Reference Activity Plan, the composition and proposed implementation of the RAP, and how the use of a single authoritative activity plan allows collaborative, flexible planning during uplink plan development.
COVID-19 in a patient with end-stage renal disease on chronic in-center hemodialysis after evidence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies. Reinfection or inaccuracy of antibody testing

A patient with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis with a previous positive SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody was diagnosed with severe COVID-19. Issues regarding reinfection, the potential lack of antibody protection after asymptomatic infection, the possibility of antibody dependent enhancement and careful interpretation of antibody test results are discussed.
No-till is challenged: Complementary management is crucial to improve its environmental benefits under a changing climate

Abstract Tillage is the most common agricultural practice dating back to the origin of agriculture. In recent decades, no-tillage (NT) has been introduced to improve soil and water quality. However, changes in soil properties resulting from long-term NT can increase losses of dissolved phosphorus, nitrate and some classes of pesticides, and NT effect on nitrous oxide (N2O) emission remains controversial. Complementary management that enhances the overall environmental benefits of NT is therefore crucial. By incorporating cover crops, nutrient cycling and nutrient use efficiency in NT fields could be improved given the nutrient supplying capacity of some cover crops. Cover crops could also offset the need for occasional tillage of NT cropland, an operation whose effect is only temporary in reducing, for example, soil compaction associated with NT management. When used in combination with NT, cover crop termination methods, using agrochemicals, should be carefully considered to prevent further jeopardy to water quality. Compared to herbicides, the use of roller crimping could potentially result in production cost saving while minimizing soil disturbance and export of agrochemicals. Future research should focus on various combinations of cover crop traits (e.g., decomposition rate) and management (e.g., timing of cover crop termination) that account for site- and cash crop-specific requirements.
Extreme Outliers in Lower Stratospheric Water Vapor Over North America Observed by MLS: Relation to Overshooting Convection Diagnosed From Colocated Aqua‐MODIS Data

Convectively injected water vapor (H2O) in the North American (NA) summer lowermost stratosphere results in significant outliers in the 100-hPa H2O measurements from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS). MLS statistics from 15 years confirm that the NA region contains over 60% of global 100-hPa H2O > 12 ppmv, despite having only ∼1.8% of all MLS observations. A profile sampled in August 2019 stands out, with H2O=26.3 ppmv, far exceeding the prior record and the median ∼4.5-ppmv abundance in NA. This particular outlier is associated with a large overshooting convective event (OCE) that spanned multiple U.S. states and persisted for several hours. Colocation of the MLS data over NA with cloud observations from Aqua's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) reveals the unique character of this case, as only 2.3% of MLS profiles are as close to an OCE and only 0.024% of OCEs cover as large an area within a 500-km perimeter of a profile.
Routine use of gemtuzumab ozogamicin in 7 + 3-based inductions for all 'non-adverse' risk AML.

Gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO) is an antibody–drug conjugate (ADC) linking a semi-synthetic derivative of calicheamicin, a DNA damage-inducing agent, to a humanized monoclonal antibody specific for CD3...
(il)legality and Psychosocial Well-Being: Central Asian Migrant Women in Russia

Legal status has shown far-reaching consequences for international migrants’ incorporation trajectories and outcomes in Western contexts. In dialogue with the extant research, we examine the implic...
Abductive Reasoning in Organic Chemistry

This commentary provides an overview of abduction, also known as Inference to the Best Explanation, and argues that the term and relevant problem-solving methods should be adopted by chemistry educators. Abductive reasoning, especially within the context of science and medicine, continues to be an active area of exploration for philosophers and others as well is a skill actively employed by expert chemists. The utility of abductive reasoning as a problem-solving approach in the classroom is already beginning to show evidence of improved student learning.
Area- and Individual-Level Correlates of Self-Rated Health: Implications for Geographic Health Disparities.

BACKGROUND Self-rated health (SRH) is a common measure of overall health. However, little is known about multilevel correlates of physical and mental SRH. METHODS Patients attending primary care clinics completed a survey before their appointment, which we linked to community data from American Community Survey and other sources (n = 455). We conducted multilevel logistic regression to assess correlates of excellent/very good versus good/fair/poor physical and mental SRH. RESULTS 43.9% of participants had excellent/very good physical SRH, and 55.2% had excellent/very good mental SRH. Physical SRH was associated with age (odds ratio[OR] = 0.82 per 10 years; 95% confidence interval[CI] = 0.72-0.93) and community correlates, including retail establishment density (OR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.90-0.99) and percent of students eligible for free/reduced lunch (OR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.08-2.38) (all P < .05). Mental SRH was not associated with any characteristics. CONCLUSIONS Practitioners in public health, social work, and medicine could use zip codes to intervene in patients and communities to improve physical SRH.
Oral Chromium Exposure and Toxicity

Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is a known carcinogen when inhaled. However, inhalational exposure to Cr(VI) affects only a small portion of the population, mainly by occupational exposures. In contrast, oral exposure to Cr(VI) is widespread and affects many people throughout the globe. In 2008, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) released a 2-year study demonstrating that ingested Cr(VI) was carcinogenic in rats and mice. The effects of Cr(VI) oral exposure are mitigated by reduction in the gut; however, a portion evades the reductive detoxification and reaches target tissues. Once Cr(VI) enters the cell, it ultimately gets reduced to Cr(III), which mediates its toxicity via induction of oxidative stress during the reduction while Cr intermediates react with protein and DNA. Cr(III) can form adducts with DNA that may lead to mutations. This review will discuss the potential adverse effects of oral exposure to Cr(VI) by presenting up-to-date human and animal studies, examining the underlying mechanisms that mediate Cr(VI) toxicity, as well as highlighting opportunities for future research.
Hippocampal lesions impair rats’ performance of a nonspatial matching-to-sample task

In the present study, we attempted to develop a nonspatial delayed match-to-sample task that would aid in assessing the role of the hippocampus in memory. It is difficult to compare directly the results of many past studies of hippocampal function because studies using different species often use very different tasks to assess the same theoretical constructs. Rodent studies typically have used spatial tasks, such as the radial arm maze, with or without delays, whereas primate studies typically have used match-to-sample (MTS) tasks. In the present study, we examined the performance of hippocampal-lesioned rats on nonspatial simultaneous matching-to-sample (SMTS) and delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS) in a cross maze. Postoperatively, the hippocampal-lesioned subjects were unable to reacquire the SMTS task they had learned preoperatively. The results suggest that this approach may provide a useful tool for probing the role of the hippocampus in memory, and that the configurai relationships between stimuli and events or the conditional nature of a learning/memory task may be especially important aspects for determining the impact of hippocampal damage.
Comparison of multiuser detectors for synchronous flat Rayleigh fading CDMA channels

Studies the performance of several multiuser detection schemes for synchronous CDMA frequency non-selective Rayleigh fading channels. In the first part of the paper, the asymptotic multiuser efficiency (AME) of the ideal decision-feedback detector is shown to be unity for any number of users. In the second part, the effect of channel estimation errors on the performance of multiuser detectors is investigated. The average BERs of the two-stage detector and the decorrelator in the presence of channel mismatch are evaluated through analysis and simulations. >
Parametric representation of custom masks for compliance tests of high-speed optical transmitters

This paper demonstrates that NRZ and RZ masks can be represented in terms of a compact set of parameters closely related to the measurement tolerances enforced during compliance tests of high-speed optical transmitters. The adoption of parametric representations as the representation of choice for standard RZ masks deserves serious consideration. Besides conferring meaning to the mask description and mask creation process, the resulting representation allows the interactive definition of custom masks through a graphical interface: the manipulation of mask parameters is far easier and more efficient than the direct manipulation of polygons, as typically required. Agilent's Infiniium DCA supports the interactive creation of NRZ and RZ custom masks, as well as the automatic derivation of mask boundaries and margins based on the mask parameter specifications.
Aromatic DNA Adducts in Adjacent Tissues of Breast Cancer Patients: Clues to Breast Cancer Etiology

The etiology of the majority of human breast cancers is unknown. Environmental factors have long been suspected to play a role, but no specific causative agent has been identified. If the hypothesis that environmental carcinogen exposure contributes to human breast cancer is true, carcinogen-DNA adducts would be expected to be present in human breast tissues. To address this possibility, aromatic DNA adducts were measured in 87 surgical specimens of normal human breast tissues from 87 breast cancer patients undergoing mastectomy using the nuclease P1-enhanced version of the 32P postlabeling assay. Breast tissue samples from 29 noncancer patients undergoing reduction mammoplasty served as controls. Whereas aromatic DNA adducts were detected in all tissue samples examined, the total adduct levels in cancer patients were significantly higher than that in noncancer controls [mean +/- SEM, 97.4 +/- 23.4/10(9) nucleotides (range, 3.8-1737.1) versus 18.1 +/- 11.6/10(9) nucleotides (range, 5.6-56.7), respectively; P 100/10(9) nucleotides) in 5 patients (4 nonsmokers and 1 smoker) and moderately high (> 10/10(9) nucleotides) in 13 other patients (8 nonsmokers and 5 smokers). One patient exhibited this adduct at a level of 1500/10(9) nucleotides, which is comparable to the highest level of total adducts reported in human tissues related to carcinogen exposure (e.g., cigarette smoking). In contrast, this adduct was absent (< 1/10(9) nucleotides) in all of the control tissues. Cochromatography and rechromatography analysis of DNA samples from human breast tissues and from MCF-7 cells treated with BP revealed that this adduct could be generated by BP exposure but is not the major BP 7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide-deoxyguanine adduct detected previously in animal tissues and human mammary epithelial cells. These findings support the hypothesis that environmental carcinogen exposure, in addition to cigarette smoking, may be associated with the etiology of human breast cancer.
The effect of course sequence on the retention of freshmen engineering students: when should the intro engineering course be offered?

ECE 100, Introduction to Engineering Design, is required of all students in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) students at Arizona State University (ASU), USA. Due to space and staffing constraints, approximately half of the students entering in the fall take the course during their first semester and the other half does so during their second semester in the Spring. Most of the students who take ECE 100 in the Spring do not take any engineering course in their first semester. Studies done when the introductory course was in a different format suggested that if engineering students took the introductory engineering course during their first semester, their rate of retention was higher than for those who took the course in the Spring. In a recent study, it was shown that the retention rate of the fall 95 first-time, full-time freshmen (FFF) in ECE 100 their first semester had a higher retention rate one year later than the average FFF in the CEAS. ECE 100 students were surveyed in the Fall 95 and Spring 96 semesters. Surprisingly, for all groups-men, women and minority students-retention was higher after two years for those students who took ECE 100 in the Spring. This difference was significant for the male students. Among FFF students, while men did better taking ECE 100 in the Spring, women and minority students showed a trend of higher retention by taking ECE 100 in the Fall. This trend would suggest that special programs for FFF women and minority students, not in ECE 100 in the Fall, might help increase retention.
The Dependence of Eddy Diffusivity on the Fluid Prandtl Number

Publisher Summary This chapter attempts to predict the shape of the energy spectrum F (k) for isotropic velocity fluctuations in an incompressible fluid. It discusses the analysis of isotropic temperature fluctuations in an isotropic turbulence. It was also suggested that the rate of transfer of temperature fluctuation “energy” through wave number with an apparent coefficient of heat conductivity.
Novel Polymeric Materials from Biological Oils

A variety of novel polymeric materials ranging from elastomers to tough, rigid plastics have been prepared by the cationic copolymerization of regular soybean oil, low-saturation soybean oil, or conjugated low-saturation soybean oil with various alkene commonomers. Using appropriate compositions and reaction conditions, 70–100% of the soybean oil is covalently incorporated into the cross-linked polymer networks, contributing significantly to cross-linking during copolymerization. The resulting thermosets exhibit thermophysical and mechanical properties that are competitive with those of their petroleum-based counterparts. In addition, good damping and shape memory properties have been obtained by controlling the degree of cross-linking and the rigidity of the polymer backbone. New materials with similar characteristics have also been produced from other biological oils, including tung, and fish oils using the same technique. The new, more valuable properties of these bioplastics suggest numerous promising applications of these novel polymeric materials.
Closure Temperature, Cooling Age and High Temperature Thermochronology

The concept and analytical formulations of mean closure temperature \(\left( {{{\bar T}_c}} \right)\) and closure temperature profile in cooling geochronological systems have been reviewed along with a discussion of their limitations. The conventional approach of retrieving the average cooling rate of a rock from \({\bar T_c}\) vs cooling age data of multiple geochronological systems, which are applied to the same sample, suffers from the problem of circular logic in that the \({\bar T_c}\) of a given decay system itself depends on the cooling rate, especially when it falls below 10°C/Myr for many systems. It is, however possible to retrieve cooling rate of a sample, without any knowledge of \({\bar T_c}\) directly from (a) the extent of resetting of average mineral age during cooling and (b) the difference between the average ages of a central segment of a mineral grain and the bulk grain itself, as determined by a specific decay system. On the other hand \({\bar T_c}\) for a specific system, grain size and geometry can be retrieved from the inferred cooling rate. These recent developments between the cooling age and cooling rate relations are reviewed in this paper.
Aligning biomolecular networks using modular graph kernels

Comparative analysis of biomolecular networks constructed using measurements from different conditions, tissues, and organisms offer a powerful approach to understanding the structure, function, dynamics, and evolution of complex biological systems. We explore a class of algorithms for aligning large biomolecular networks by breaking down such networks into subgraphs and computing the alignment of the networks based on the alignment of their subgraphs. The resulting subnetworks are compared using graph kernels as scoring functions. We provide implementations of the resulting algorithms as part of BiNA, an open source biomolecular network alignment toolkit. Our experiments using Drosophila melanogaster, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Mus musculus and Homo sapiens protein-protein interaction networks extracted from the DIP repository of protein-protein interaction data demonstrate that the performance of the proposed algorithms (as measured by % GO term enrichment of subnetworks identified by the alignment) is competitive with some of the state-of-the-art algorithms for pair-wise alignment of large protein-protein interaction networks. Our results also show that the inter-species similarity scores computed based on graph kernels can be used to cluster the species into a species tree that is consistent with the known phylogenetic relationships among the species.
Supplementation with vitamin E and vitamin C inversely alters mitochondrial copy number and mitochondrial protein in obese, exercising rats (1030.5)

Controversy exists as to whether supplementation with the antioxidants vitamin E (VE) and vitamin C (VC) blocks adaptation to exercise. Exercise is a first-line means to treat obesity and its compl...
Teratogens associated with congenital contractures in humans and in animals

An evaluation of over 350 patients in a study of congenital contractures of the joints (arthrogryposis) included a review of family, pregnancy, and delivery histories for teratogenic exposures. Fifteen out of the total 350 patients studied had a possible teratogenic exposure: an infectious agent (viral or bacterial), maternal drug or toxin ingestion, chronic maternal neurologic or muscular illness, or a direct physical insult such as a structural uterine anomaly. Literature was reviewed for all human and animal cases reported with congenital contractures of the joints with an associated teratogenic insult. Those findings are discussed here.
Use of genetic programming to diagnose venous thromboembolism in the emergency department

Pulmonary thromboembolism as a cause of respiratory complaints is frequently undiagnosed and requires expensive imaging modalities to diagnose. The objective of this study was to determine if genetic programming could be used to classify patients as having or not having pulmonary thromboembolism using exhaled ventilatory and gas indices as genetic material. Using a custom-built exhaled oxygen and carbon dioxide analyzer; exhaled flows, volumes, and gas partial pressures were recorded from patients for a series of deep exhalation and 30 s tidal volume breathing. A diagnosis of pulmonary embolism was made by contrast-enhanced computerized tomography angiography of the chest and indirect venography supplemented by 90-day follow-up. Genetic programming developed a series of genomes comprising genes of exhaled CO2, O2, flow, volume, vital signs, and patient demographics from these data and their predictions were compared to the radiological results. We found that 24 of 178 patients had pulmonary embolism. The best genome consisted of four genes: the minimum flow rate during the third 30 s period of tidal breathing, the average peak exhaled CO2 during the first 30 s period of tidal breathing, the average peak of the exhaled O2 during the first 30 s period of tidal breathing, and the average peak exhaled CO2 during the fourth period of tidal breathing, which immediately followed a deep exhalation. This had 100% sensitivity and 91% specificity on the construction population and 100% and 82%, respectively when tested on the separate validation population. Genetic programming using only data obtained from exhaled breaths was very accurate in classifying patients with suspected pulmonary thromboembolism.