cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Regulation of extracellular calcium sensing in rat osteoclasts by femtomolar calcitonin concentrations

Certain eukaryotic cells can sense changes in their extracellular Ca2+ concentration through molecular structures termed Ca(2+)-sensing receptors (CaRs). We have shown recently that in the bone-res...
Financial Transmission Mechanism between Financial Centers and Peripheries

The causes of contagion effects during periods of crisis are still unable to be fully explained by fundamental factors. This paper focuses on non-fundamental explanatory factors such as inancial centers' shock ampliication effects induced by global portfolio investors and extends Kaminsky and Reinhart (2003)'s center-periphery framework by introducing three time zones for the analysis of conditional distribution of 37 countries' daily stock returns from 1994 to 2003, and accessibility of stock markets to investigate if inancial centers stabilize or amplify shocks. Centers such as U.S. and Germany played a vital role in propagating turmoil in G7 countries and spreading shocks to countries in other regions during periods of crisis, whereas Japan ampliied turmoil in Asian peripheries only within the same region. In contrast, an emerging center, Hong Kong, appears to have much stronger shock-ampliication effects on developing countries than the three centers. ");} // --> activate javascript
Determination of depletion and statistical distribution of morantel-related residues in bovine milk following administration of morantel tartrate to dairy cows.

Residue depletion studies were conducted in dairy cattle to monitor morantel-related residues in milk following oral administration of morantel tartrate (Rumate. Eleven lactating cows of various ages, periods of lactation, and known milk production were orally dosed with the bolus formulation of morantel tartrate with an actual dose range of 8.4-9.8 mg/kg body weight. Representative samples of milk were collected at 10-14 h intervals post-dose, and subsamples were assayed for the major and minor hydrolysis products of morantel-related residues, MAPA and CP-20,107. Residues assayed as precursors of MAPA peaked at the second milking (24 h post-dose) and were below 25 ppb (range: less than 12-24 ppb). Precursors of CP-20,107, which confirm the identity of morantel, also peaked at 24 h post-dose (range: 2.1-3.3 ppb) and declined rapidly thereafter. A statistical model was used to project the level of residues at the upper limit of 99% of the total target animal (i.e., dairy cattle) population with 95% confidence. The calculated peak levels from this model were 50 and 5.0 ppb for morantel-related residues convertible to MAPA and CP-20,107, respectively.
Confidence and Doubts about Assessing Averted Rampage Violence

In the study of averted incidents of school rampage, one of the most pertinent questions that must be addressed is whether or not the accused students actually intended to carry out their homicidal plans. No one but the perpetrators themselves can possess complete certainly about this vital question, though various forms of risk and threat assessment may provide insight.
The Extension of Legal Authority over Public and Private Bureaucracies

Government and corporate managers now control vast organizations that reach into the everyday lives of all modem citizens. Yet, these leaders are not elected, nor is their tenure limited. Of course, such bureaucrats are subject to constitutional and local law, but they have in many cases gained unique powers not regulated by the usual laws.
A universal assay for the detection of siderophore activity in natural waters.

Siderophores, a family of biogenic metal chelating agents, play critical roles in the biogeochemical cycling of Fe and other metals by facilitating their solubilization and uptake in circumneutral to alkaline oxic environments. However, because of their small concentrations (ca. nM) and large number of molecular structures, siderophore detection and quantification in environmental samples requires specialized equipment and expertise, and often requires pre-concentration of samples, which may introduce significant bias. The “universal” CAS assay, which was originally designed for use in bacterial cultures, quantifies the iron chelating function of a pool of siderophores but only at concentrations (>2 µM) well above the concentrations estimated to be present in marine, freshwater, and soil samples. In this manuscript, we present a high sensitivity modification of this universal assay (HS-CAS) suitable for detecting and quantifying siderophore activity in the nM concentration range, allowing for direct quantitation of siderophore reactivity in transparent aqueous samples.
Are Elevations in ADHD Symptoms Associated with Physiological Reactivity and Emotion Dysregulation in Children

The present study examined whether children with elevated attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms display a unique pattern of emotion dysregulation as indexed by both parent report and physiological reactivity during experiences of failure. A sample of 61 children (9 to 13 years; M = 11.62, SD = 1.29; 48 % male) with and without clinical elevations in ADHD symptoms participated. Parent and teacher report of ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms and parent report of internalizing problems were collected. Parents also provided ratings of children’s emotional negativity/lability and emotion regulation. Children’s physiological reactivity, based on changes in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and skin conductance level (SCL), were assessed while they completed a manipulated social rejection task and impossible puzzle task. Regression analyses indicated that ADHD symptoms were associated with higher parent-rated emotional negativity/lability and with blunted RSA withdrawal in response to social rejection; these effects were not accounted for by co-occurring ODD symptoms or internalizing problems. ODD symptoms also were uniquely associated with parent ratings of poor emotion regulation. Internalizing problems were uniquely associated with emotional negativity/lability, poor emotion regulation, and increased SCL activity in response to social rejection. Results suggest that there may be a pattern of emotion dysregulation that is specific to ADHD symptomatology. The importance of contextual factors when examining physiological reactivity to stress in youth with ADHD is discussed.
PARP1 and Sox2: An Unlikely Team of Pioneers to Conquer the Nucleosome

In this issue of Molecular Cell, Liu and Kraus (2017) demonstrate that the pioneer transcription factor Sox2 requires PARP1 to bind to a subset of its recognition motifs, which are located within nucleosomes across the genome.
Development of orientation-patterned GaP grown on foreign substrates for QPM frequency conversion devices

Thick hydride vapor phase epitaxially grown orientation-patterned gallium phosphide (OPGaP) is a leading material for quasi-phase matching (QPM) frequency conversion in the mid- and longwave infrared (IR). This is due to its negligible two-photon absorption (2PA) in the convenient pumping range 1 – 1.7 μm, compared with the 2PA of some traditional QPM materials, such as GaAs. In this paper, we describe homo- and heteroepitaxial growth techniques aimed to produce hundreds of microns thick OPGaP on: 1) OPGaAs templates fabricated using an improved wafer-fusion process; 2) OPGaAs templates fabricated by using a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) for sublattice polarity inversion, but one with and one without MBE regrowth after the inversion. Some of the advantages of the heteroepitaxial growth of OPGaP on OPGaAs templates include: 1) achieving good domain fidelity as a result of the significantly higher OPGaAs template quality; 2) eliminating the needs of using the poor quality commercially available GaP in the production of thick OPGaP material, and 3) suppression of the additional absorption band between 2 – 4 μm (which is due to incorporation of n-type impurities) and, in general, improvement of the IR transmittance in the entire IR region. Combining the advantages of the two most promising nonlinear materials, GaAs and GaP, will accelerate the development of high power, broadly tunable laser sources in the IR which, in addition, will be offered with higher device quality and at a reasonably lower unit cost.
Is there a role for communication studies in translational research

ABSTRACTAs a concept and as a form of practice in the biomedical sciences, “translational research” is both everywhere and yet nowhere, and the challenges to translational success are significant. This essay introduces the notion of translational research in its contemporary sociopolitical context and proceeds to identify problems of communication at the core of translational research. Widely discussed and yet poorly understood, even by those who conduct it, translational research would benefit from the sustained attention of scholars working at the intersection of medical/health humanities and health communication studies.
Hypothesis for cognitive effects of transcranial direct current stimulation: Externally- and internally-directed cognition

A comprehensive explanation is lacking for the broad array of cognitive effects modulated by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). We advanced the testable hypothesis that tDCS to the default mode network (DMN) increases processing of goals and stored information at the expense of external events. We further hypothesized that tDCS to the dorsal attention network (DAN) increases processing of external events at the expense of goals and stored information. A literature search (PsychINFO) identified 42 empirical studies and 3 meta-analyses examining effects of prefrontal and/or parietal tDCS on tasks that selectively required external and/or internal processing. Most, though not all, of the studies that met our search criteria supported our hypothesis. Three meta-analyses supported our hypothesis. The hypothesis we advanced provides a framework for the design and interpretation of results in light of the role of large-scale intrinsic networks that govern attention.
Intuition in nursing practice: sharing graduate students' exemplars with undergraduate students

Failure to acknowledge ways of knowing in nursing education curricula other than linear reasoning hinders the development of the full extent of mental abilities brought to learning situations by nursing students. Nurse educators are challenged to develop creative methods to facilitate nursing students' intuitive thinking. In this article, a teaching strategy is described in which graduate students' exemplars of intuition in clinical practice are shared with undergraduate nursing students. Implications of using this teaching approach to demystify the intuitive process and address its legitimacy are discussed.
Design optimization for NEM relays implemented in BEOL layers

This work discusses design considerations for a nano-electro-mechanical (NEM) relay implemented with a standard CMOS fabrication process utilizing the back-end-of-line (BEOL) metal layers. The quasi-static and dynamic performances of the relay are simulated using Coventor MEMS+. Various design trade-offs are discussed. A design optimization scheme for minimizing the energy-delay product is presented.
Phenoscape: Semantic analysis of organismal traits and genes yields insights in evolutionary biology

We thank all participants in the Phenotype Ontology Research Coordination Network (RCN) (NSF 0956049) for their vision, contributions, and commitment to developing shared and interoperable resources. During the course of this work the Phenoscape project has been supported by NSF awards 1062404, 1062542, 0641025, 1661529, and the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NSF 0905606 and 0423641). This manuscript is based in part on work done by P.M.M. while serving at the U.S. National Science Foundation. The views expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation or the United States 314 Government.
Lethal Haemophilus influenzae type b infection in mice

Previous animal models of invasiveHaemophilus influenzae type b (HITB) infection are characterized by a low mortality rate. We produced a highly lethal infection in CF1 mice using mouse passage, mucin, and hemoglobin to enhance infectivity. Infection by the intraperitoneal route was followed by progressive peritonitis and bacteremia with subsequent HITB infection of the brain and meninges, and death. Death occurred between eight and 72 hours after infection and was associated with 106 to 109 HITB per ml of blood and with 102 to 105 HITB per g of brain. Mucin-hemoglobin did not augment HITB growth, but impaired macrophage adherence to glassin vitro, without decreasing cellular viability.In vivo, mucin-hemoglobin decreased the rate of disappearance of51Cr-labelled HITB from the blood by impairment of hepatic clearance. This technically simple and inexpensive model is useful for the study of HITB infections in which bacterial multiplication, invasion and host lethality are desired features.
Evolutionary Behavior Genetics

It has often been said that behavior is one of the most labile traits in animal evolution. Whether this is so remains to be demonstrated, but it is clear that rather minor genetic changes can sometimes have profound effects on behavior without affecting morphology (Ehrman and Parsons 1981). It is also common for closely related species to be reproductively isolated by premating isolating mechanisms alone, indicating that genes affecting behavior often may be the first and most important components of the genome to undergo divergence in speciation. Although I recognize that in some taxa sterility barriers and other postcopulatory factors are important in some modes of speciation, I would like to focus my attention today on the contribution that behavior genetics can make to our understanding of the evolution of reproductive isolation and speciation, and explore where this approach is likely to take us.
Uniform Field Eddy Current Probe: Experiments and Inversion for Realistic Flaws

Uniform field eddy current (UFEC) probes operate by interrogating flaws with a spatially uniform electromagnetic field. Their use in quantitative NDE is particularly attractive because theoretical models of the field-flaw interaction are greatly simplified by the assumption of a uniform field. This in turn leads to much simpler inversion protocols for determining flaw sizes from measurements.
Digital Image Capture of Musical Scores.

Musical scores have small details and complex markings, and are difficult to digitally capture and deliver well. All capture decisions should be made with a clear idea of the purpose of the resulting digital images, but master images must be flexible enough to fulfill unanticipated future uses. In order to provide a framework for decision-making in musical score digitization projects, best practices for detail and color capture are presented. Recommendations for file formats for archival storage, web delivery and printing of musical materials are presented.
An introduction to the My Body is Fit and Fabulous at home (MyBFF@home): a community-based weight loss intervention study among Malaysian housewives

The national prevalence of overweight and obesity in Malaysia has been increasing in the past 10 years and many efforts have been implemented by the Malaysian government to combat obesity problem among the Malaysian population. The aim of this paper was to describe the background of the My Body is Fit and Fabulous at home (MyBFF@home) study (Phase II). The MyBFF@home (Phase II) was a quasi-experimental study and it was conducted among overweight and obese housewives living in the urban areas in Malaysia. In this phase, the study involved a weight loss intervention phase (6 months) and a weight loss maintenance phase (6 months). The intervention group received a standard weight loss intervention package and the control group received group seminars related to women’s health. Measurements of weight, height, waist circumference, body composition, fasting blood lipids, dietary intake, physical activity, health literacy, body pain and quality of life were conducted during the study. Overweight and obese housewives from 14 People’s Housing/Home Project (PHP) in Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (Klang Valley) were selected as control and intervention group (N = 328). Majority of the participants (76.1%) were from the low socioeconomic group. Data were analysed and presented according to the specific objectives and the needs for the particular topic in the present supplement report. MyBFF@home is the first and the largest community-based weight loss intervention study which was conducted among overweight and obese housewives in Malaysia. Findings of the study could be used by the policy makers and the researchers to enhance the obesity intervention programme among female adults in Malaysia.
Evaluation of the leadership strengths of the officers serving within an APhA-ASP chapter: Implications for the profession

Abstract Background and purpose To evaluate the strengths of the officers who recently served within an American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) chapter and to discuss the potential impacts of these strengths upon the pharmacy profession. Educational activity and setting The chapter officers from the Classes of 2010–2016 (n = 67; 66% female) voluntarily participated in a variety of leadership development programs created by the chapter advisors. Each of these programs included activities based upon the book, Strengths Based Leadership, and the determination of each officer's top five strengths using the StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment. For this study, all of the officer's top five strengths were compiled (n = 335) and evaluated based upon their individual frequencies and their association with each of the strengths based leadership domains (i.e. executing, influencing, relationship building, and strategic thinking). Findings All 67 officers completed the StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment with the five most frequently identified strengths being achiever (n = 27), harmony (n = 27), learner (n = 26), input (n = 19), and individualization (n = 17). In addition, the officer's strengths most frequently corresponded to the leadership domain of relationship building (35%), followed by the domains of executing (28%), strategic thinking (26%), and influencing (11%). Summary These findings may help explain why the profession continues to succeed with respect to implementing collaborative patient-centered care, but continues to be challenged with respect to maximizing professional advocacy.
A Neuroeconomic Theory of Mental Time Travel.

We propose a theoretical model that places attention at the center of mental time travel ability. This theory predicts that attention promotes a memory-based process that encodes memories of unexpected events, facilitates accurate recollection of information of such events during mental time travel, and optimizes subsequent decision-making. This process coexists with a habitual process that governs all other events and treats them equally. Our theory demonstrates that the memory-based process is useful when the environment features novel experiences that are likely to be relevant in future decision-making, hence worth remembering accurately. By contrast, the habitual process is optimal in environments that either do not change significantly, or have a small chance of being repeated in the future. This may explain why the ability to mentally travel in time has developed differently in humans than in other species. Implications are discussed in the context of decision-making.
Unsettling Transcription Through “Event Memory”: Problem and Possibility in Exploring the Phenomenological Question:

This article works to unsettle the use of transcription in qualitative inquiry by troubling the truth claims of transcribed text. Building on the hermeneutic phenomenology of Van Manen, it explores...
Influence Propagation for Social Graph-based Recommendations

Social networking is an inevitable behavior of humans living in a society. In recent years, and with the rise of online social networks, personalized recommendations that leverage the social aspect have become a very intriguing domain for researchers. In this work, we explore how influence propagation and the decay in the cascading effect of influence from influential users can be leveraged to generate social graph-based recommendations. Understanding how influence propagates within a social network is itself a challenging problem. Few researchers have considered influence propagation and even fewer have considered decay in the cascading effect of influence in a social network. In this work we model the decay in influence propagation in directed graphs, utilizing the structural properties of the social graph to measure the propagated influence beyond one-hop. We then employ this influence propagation model to form social recommendations, and present our experimental results using real-life datasets.
Migration and Political Change: WWII Displacement and Attitudes Toward EU Integration

The role of migration and increasing diversity in di ffusion and transformation of political attitudes and behaviors is a growing topic in the literature. So is the global phenomenon of displacement due to political coercion, natural disasters, and civil wars. This paper uses archival data to examine the long-term e ffects of major post-WWII population transformation in Poland on attitudes toward European integration. At the end of the war, Polish national borders were shifted westward. The newly acquired land was almost completely depopulated and then resettled anew by ethnic Poles arriving from the Soviet Union, the former Polish territories in Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania, as well as from Western Europe and Central Poland. As a result, western and northern Poland wound up strikingly diverse in norms, values, and dialects - a natural experiment that allows isolating the long-term eff ects of diversity on political attitudes and behaviors. I argue that managing diversity in the 1950s has promoted national identity open to multiculturalism, which explains the strong pro-European vote of the resettled regions in the 2003 EU referendum. More speci cally, the focus on identity in domestic political debates and the limited experience with the market economy contributed to the prevalence of identity-based evaluations of EU integration by the electorate. Historical legacies made the population in some parts of Poland less likely to embrace the right-wing nationalist rhetoric by instilling multiculturalist values in these populations. Paradoxically, the experience of adjusting to cultural diversity under communism prepared the voters in the resettled countries for supporting European integration half a century later.
Hopping transport in SrTi O 3 / N d 1 − x Ti O 3 / SrTi O 3 heterostructures

Electronic transport near the insulator-metal transition is investigated in the molecular beam epitaxy-grown $\mathrm{SrTi}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$/$\mathrm{N}{\mathrm{d}}_{1\text{\ensuremath{-}}x}\mathrm{Ti}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$/$\mathrm{SrTi}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ heterostructures using temperature dependent magnetotransport measurements. It was found that Nd vacancies introduce localized electronic states resulting in variable range hopping transport at low temperatures. At a fixed Nd-vacancy concentration, a crossover from Mott to Efros-Shklovskii variable range hopping transport was observed with decreasing temperature. With increasing disorder, a sign reversal of magnetoresistance from positive to negative was observed revealing interplay between intra-state interaction and the energy dependence of the localization length. These findings highlight the important role of stoichiometry when exploring intrinsic effects using heterostructure and interfaces in addition to offering broad opportunities to tailor low temperature transport using nonstoichiometry defects.
When You Can't Walk a Mile: Walking Limitation Prevalence and Associations Among Middle-Aged and Older US Adults with Arthritis: A Cross-Sectional, Population-Based Study.

Objective We examined walking limitations and associated characteristics among middle-aged and older US adults with arthritis, overall, and by sex. Methods Using 2005-2006 Arthritis Conditions and Health Effects Survey (ACHES) data (n = 1793), we estimated "a lot" and "any" ("a lot" or "a little" combined) walking limitation for more than 1 mile (1.6 km) among US adults 45 years or older with arthritis and examined associations (sociodemographics, arthritis symptoms and effects, psychosocial measures, and physical health) with walking limitations in unadjusted and multivariable (MV) adjusted logistic regression models using prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals, accounting for the complex survey design. Results Respondents frequently reported "a lot" (48%) and "any" (72%) limitation for more than 1 mile. Women reported higher prevalence of all levels of walking limitation versus men (eg, 51% vs 42% for "a lot" overall); additionally, the gap for walking limitations between women and men widened with age. Limitation was high for both sexes at all ages, affecting 1-in-3 to 4-in-5, depending on level of walking limitation. The strongest MV associations for "a lot" of walking limitation among all respondents included substantial and modest arthritis-attributable life interference (PR = 2.5 and 1.6, respectively), age 75 years or older (PR = 1.5), and physical inactivity and fair/poor self-rated health (PR = 1.4 for both). Conclusion Walking limitations among middle-aged and older adults are substantial. Existing proven interventions that improve walking ability and physical function may help this population to reduce and delay disability.
Two New Models for Epidemics with Application to the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States, Italy, and the United Kingdom

The Distributed Logistic Model and the Adaptive Logistic Model of epidemics are formulated and used to study the course of cases and deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. The distributed model is designed to account for a spread of initiation times of hot spots across a country; it does especially well at capturing the initial and linear phases of epidemics. The adaptive model accounts for the development of social mitigation factors, and does especially well at capturing the declining phases of epidemics. The historical data for the U.S., Italy, and the U.K. are analyzed in detail. The parameters of the fits to the two models provide complementary information about the pandemic. The initial infection rate constant was r0 ≈ 0.29 per day for each country, and the effective infection rate constants evolved with time in essentially the same way for each. This suggests that mitigation effects were equally effective in all three countries. Analysis with the distributed model suggests that it took somewhat different times T for the epidemic to spread across each country, with T(US) ≈ 50 days significantly greater than the T9s of Italy or the U.K. The mortality ratio in the U.S. was about 0.061 while in Italy and U.K. it was much larger at about 0.15.
Feedback Control of Dynamic Artificial Neural Networks Using Linear Matrix Inequalities

An approach is proposed for the design of feedback controllers for processes described by dynamic artificial neural networks (DANNs) using linear matrix inequalities. This approach uses the fact that DANNs are subsets of the standard nonlinear operator form. We then reformulate the DANN written in standard nonlinear operator form as a diagonal norm-bounded linear differential inclusion. The latter formulation is applied to linear matrix inequality-based optimizations derived using the Lyapunov method for analysis and controller synthesis. The approach is demonstrated for the design of a feedback control system for a highly nonlinear pH control problem.
Impact of broad categorization on statistical results: How underrepresented minority designation can mask the struggles of both Asian American and African American students

When looking at statistical outcomes, using a broad classification of students as under-represented minorities can hide important trends within subgroups.
Provocative growth hormone testing in children: how did we get here and where do we go now?

Objectives Provocative growth hormone (GH) tests are widely used for diagnosing pediatric GH deficiency (GHD). A thorough understanding of the evidence behind commonly used interpretations and the limitations of these tests is important for improving clinical practice. Content To place current practice into a historical context, the supporting evidence behind the use of provocative GH tests is presented. By reviewing GH measurement techniques and examining the early data supporting the most common tests and later studies that compared provocative agents to establish reference ranges, the low sensitivity and specificity of these tests become readily apparent. Studies that assess the effects of patient factors, such as obesity and sex steroids, on GH testing further bring the appropriateness of commonly used cutoffs for diagnosing GHD into question. Summary and outlook Despite the widely recognized poor performance of provocative GH tests in distinguishing GH sufficiency from deficiency, limited progress has been made in improving them. New diagnostic modalities are needed, but until they become available, clinicians can improve the clinical application of provocative GH tests by taking into account the multiple factors that influence their results.
EcoEvoApps: Interactive Apps for Teaching Theoretical Models in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Theoretical models are fundamental in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), but they can be difficult to teach in undergraduate classrooms because students come in with inconsistent mathematical training and varying attitudes towards mathematics. A promising way to make these models more approachable is to use active learning exercises that allow model exploration and simulation. Thus, we present EcoEvoApps, a collection of free, open-source interactive web apps that simulate various theoretical EEB models. By surveying students who used these apps in two remote undergraduate Ecology courses in the U.S.A., we found that using the apps led to considerable gains in students9 confidence and understanding of the focal models and underlying concepts. We envision EcoEvoApps as a widely available, equitable tool for students around the globe. Consequently, we have developed EcoEvoApps as a fundamentally collaborative platform, with an aim to build an international community of EEB researchers, educators, and students.
A Priori Knowledge of Maximum Achievable Organ at Risk Sparing: Impact on Organ Doses and Patient Reported Outcomes.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S) IMRT planning is challenging, at least in part, due to the essentially-infinite number of possibilities, and since the planner is never sure that they have gotten "the best", or at least "nearly the best" achievable plan. We prospectively assessed the impact of providing IMRT planners with a priori knowledge of the maximum achievable dose sparing for organs at risk (OARs) for patients on both dosimetric and clinical endpoints. We hypothesized that a priori knowledge of maximum achievable sparing would improve dosimetric and clinical (i.e., patient reported outcome) measures. MATERIALS/METHODS We examined patients receiving IMRT for oropharynx cancer on prospective clinical trials from 2012-2019 at our institution. A tool that generates estimates of maximum achievable dose sparing for organs at risk was used starting July 2016. Patients treated pre-implementation (i.e., baseline) and post-implementation (i.e., experimental) were compared for the endpoints: (1) Doses received by various OARs MINUS doses achievable (per the tool), termed the 'excess of feasible dose'; (2) Plan quality metrics (e.g., target homogeneity and conformity), and (3) Patient reported outcomes (PRO) per questionnaires completed at 3-, 6- and 12-months post-treatment. RESULTS 139 patients were analyzed (60-baseline cohort, 79-experimental). (1) The excess of feasible dose was lower in the experimental (vs baseline) cohort, for the contralateral parotid (9.6 vs 5.5 Gy; P < 0.001), the ipsilateral parotid (17.6 vs 6.8 Gy; P < 0.001), larynx (12.5 vs 8.2 Gy; P = < 0.001), oral cavity by (15.8 vs 14.3 Gy; P = 0.002), and contralateral submandibular gland (17.4 vs 17 Gy; P = 0.40). Lesser variation of excess of feasible dose (i.e., more consistent sparing) was seen in the experimental (vs. baseline) cohort for the parotid and contralateral submandibular glands (P < 0.05). (2) Some small differences in target homogeneity and conformity were observed but not felt to be clinically significant. (3) The average post-RT PROs were significantly better in the experimental cohort vs baseline at 6 months post-RT. Dry mouth severity, sticky saliva, meal enjoyment, severity of pain, and EAT10 composite (swallowing) were all significantly improved; P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Clinical plans aided by an a priori estimate of maximum achievable dose sparing for OARs was associated with improved (and more consistent) OAR sparing and better clinical outcomes (i.e., better post-RT PROs). Clinical implementation of this tool can yield quantifiable dosimetric and patient benefits.
Dietary supplementation with L-arginine between days 14 and 25 of gestation enhances NO and polyamine syntheses and the expression of angiogenic proteins in porcine placentae.

Dietary supplementation with 0.4 or 0.8% l-arginine (Arg) to gilts between days 14 and 25 of gestation enhances embryonic survival and vascular development in placentae; however, the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. This study tested the hypothesis that Arg supplementation stimulated placental expression of mRNAs and proteins that enhance angiogenesis, including endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), placental growth factor (PGF), GTP cyclohydrolase-I (GTP-CH1), ornithine decarboxylase (ODC1), and vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1 and 2 (VEGFR1 and VEGFR2). Beginning on the day of breeding, gilts were fed daily 2 kg of a corn–soybean meal-based diet supplemented with 0.0 (control), 0.4, or 0.8% Arg. On day 25 of gestation, gilts were hysterectomized to obtain uteri and conceptuses for histochemical and biochemical analyses. eNOS and VEGFR1 proteins were localized to endothelial cells of maternal uterine blood vessels and to the uterine luminal epithelium, respectively. Compared with the control, dietary supplementation with 0.4 or 0.8% Arg increased (P < 0.05) the amounts of nitrite plus nitrate (NOx; oxidation products of NO) and polyamines in allantoic and amniotic fluids, concentrations of NOx, tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4, an essential cofactor for all NOS isoforms) and polyamines in placentae, as well as placental protein abundances of GTP-CH1 (the key enzyme for BH4 production) and ODC1 (the key enzyme for polyamine synthesis). Placental mRNA levels for GTP-CH1, eNOS, PGF, VEGF, and VEGFR2 increased in response to both 0.4% and 0.8% Arg supplementation. Collectively, these results indicate that dietary Arg supplementation to gilts between days 14 and 25 of pregnancy promotes placental angiogenesis by increasing the expression of mRNAs and proteins for angiogenic factors as well as NO and polyamine syntheses.
The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative phase 2: Increasing the length, breadth, and depth of our understanding

Abstract Introduction The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) is a multisite study designed to characterize the trajectories of biomarkers across the aging process. We present ADNI Biostatistics Core analyses that integrate data over the length, breadth, and depth of ADNI. Methods Relative progression of key imaging, fluid, and clinical measures was assessed. Individuals with subjective memory complaints (SMC) and early mild cognitive impairment (eMCI) were compared with normal controls (NC), MCI, and individuals with Alzheimer's disease. Amyloid imaging and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) summaries were assessed as predictors of disease progression. Results Relative progression of markers supports parts of the amyloid cascade hypothesis, although evidence of earlier occurrence of cognitive change exists. SMC are similar to NC, whereas eMCI fall between the cognitively normal and MCI groups. Amyloid leads to faster conversion and increased cognitive impairment. Discussion Analyses support features of the amyloid hypothesis, but also illustrate the considerable heterogeneity in the aging process.
The efficacy of x-ray pelvimetry

Comparison is made of x-ray pelvimetry use on a public and private service in 1974 with experience in 1979, when the clinic service did no x-ray pelvimetry while the private service continued as before. It is concluded that the use of x-ray pelvimetry is inadequate as a predictor of cesarean section because of cephalopelvic disproportion, does not improve neonatal mortality, and poses potential hazards to the mother and fetus. Its use in the management of breech presentations is not currently established by our data. Guidelines are presented for the management of patients in labor without using x-ray pelvimetry.
Energy Loss and Aggregation Processes in Low Speed Collisions of Ice Particles Coated with Frosts or Methanol/Water Mixtures

At low speeds, the energy loss in collisions and the adhesion (sticking) between particles depends strongly on the surface layer composition and morphology. In this paper we review our measurements of the coefficient of restitution in low speed collisions for a variety of surface coatings, for speeds in the range 0.01- 2 cm/s, and also the investigations of sticking forces (under both dynamic and static conditions), including the conditions for which sticking contacts have been observed. These results are compared with a few other similar measurements, and with theoretical models for energy loss in collisions. Specific applications to the dynamics of Saturn’s rings and to the formation of planetesimals in the early solar nebula, which motivated these studies, are also discussed.
Effect of lowered N, P, K or FE levels on the growth of regenerable maize and soybean callus cultures

Abstract Regenerable callus cultures of Zea mays L. (maize) and organogenic callus cultures of Giycine max (L.) Merr. (soybean) were grown on media with decreased levels of N, P, K or Fe for three successive transfers on the same concentration. The soybean callus was generally more sensitive than maize to decreased levels of the elements. After three transfers soybean callus growth was completely inhibited with 1/3 of the normal Fe level and was reduced to 6 to 19% of the control growth with 1/30 of the normal medium levels of N, P or K. The maize callus growth was most sensitive to decreases in N with complete growth inhibition with 1/30 of the normal N concentration. When the P, K or Fe concentrations were 1/30 of normal, the maize callus growth was from 18 to 36% of the control. In most cases the growth decreased progressively from the first to the third transfer on the deficient media. These studies define the N, P, K and Fe concentrations which can be used for screening the maize and soybean callus s...
Multi-stage schemes for the Euler and Navier-Stokes equations with optimal smoothing

there was a local preconditioning matrix that removes the spread among the characteristic speeds as much as The effect of a recently derived local preconditioning possible. It achieves what can be shown to be the matrix [I] on discretizations of the spatial Euler operator is a strong concentration of the pattern of eigenvalues in the complex plane. This makes it possible to design multi-stage schemes that systematically damp most highfrequency waves admitted by the particular discrete operator. The resulting schemes are not only preferable as solvers in a multi-grid strategy, they are also superior single-grid schemes, as the preconditioning itself already accelerates the convergence to a steady solution, and the high-frequency damping provides robustness. In this paper, we describe the optimization technique, use it to obtain the optimal sequence of time-step values for upwind Euler discretizations, and present some convergence results for numerical integrations performed with the new schemes. Furthermore, the extension to discrete Navier-Stokes operators is treated.
The influence of stress on murine leukemia virus infection.

SummaryNonspecific or psychological stressors were shown to alter the host response to Rauscher leukemia virus. Infected mice subjected to sound or avoidance-learning stress developed significantly smaller spleens than nonstressed infected mice. Stress applied before viral injection had no influence on spleen size, while stress given after the virus markedly retarded splenic enlargement. This phenomenon was not seen in adrenalectomized mice. Death rates were slightly lower in stressed mice. The stress response had no influence on the action of antitumor drugs.
Familial Mutations and the Thermodynamic Stability of the Recombinant Human Prion Protein

Hereditary forms of human prion disease are linked to specific mutations in the PRNP gene. It has been postulated that these mutations may facilitate the pathogenic process by reducing the stability of the prion protein (PrP). To test this hypothesis, we characterized the recombinant variants of human PrP(90–231) containing point mutations corresponding to Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease (P102L), Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (E200K), and fatal familial insomnia (M129/D178N). The first two of these mutants could be recovered form from the periplasmic space of Escherichia coli in a soluble form, whereas the D178N variant aggregated into inclusion bodies. The secondary structure of the two soluble variants was essentially identical to that of the wild-type protein. The thermodynamic stability of these mutants was assessed by unfolding in guanidine hydrochloride and thermal denaturation. The stability properties of the P102L variant were indistinguishable from those of wild-type PrP, whereas the E200K mutation resulted in a very small destabilization of the protein. These data, together with the predictive analysis of other familial mutations, indicate that some hereditary forms of prion disease cannot be rationalized using the concept of mutation-induced thermodynamic destabilization of the cellular prion protein.
Condensed-matter physics: Magnetic spins that last for ever

Phase transitions occurring at a temperature of absolute zero — quantum phase transitions — are hard to measure. A new type of quantum phase transition is now predicted to occur in two dimensions, rather than three.
Pharmacokinetics and lung distribution of a humanized anti-RAGE antibody in wild-type and RAGE-/- mice

A neutralizing antibody to the receptor for the advanced glycation end products (anti-RAGE Ab) was developed as a potential treatment of acute and chronic inflammatory conditions. Previous pharmacology studies demonstrated efficacy of the anti-RAGE antibody in the mouse model of sepsis. We examined pharmacokinetics and lung distribution of [125I]anti-RAGE Ab in RAGE-/- and wild-type (129S5) mice following single IV administration. Serum pharmacokinetics of [125I]anti-RAGE Ab was similar in RAGE-/- and 129S5 mice, with the total body clearance of 0.3 mL/hr/kg and the elimination half-life of 11-12 days, suggesting the target expression had limited impact on overall elimination of [125I]anti-RAGE Ab from mice. [125I]Anti-RAGE Ab accumulated in the lung of 129S5 mice, with ~4% of total dose retained in the lung at days 6-27 and the lung AUC0-∞ of ~300% of that in serum. The SDS-PAGE analysis suggested that most of retained lung radioactivity was attributed to intact antibody. No accumulation of radioactivity...
The influence of leadership style on co‐operation in channels of distribution

The manufacturer depends on channel members for the performance of marketing functions. Therefore, the channel participants need to co‐operate with one another while simultaneously pursuing independent as well as systemic goals. Examines how co‐operation among distribution channel members can be fostered through the use of participative, supportive and directive leadership styles foster channel member co‐operation and assesses the relationship between co‐operation and channel member performance. Develops a conceptual model and empirically tests the linkages among the variables on data drawn from a survey of key informants in a sample of automobile dealerships. Shows that participative, supportive and directive leadership styles are directly related to channel member co‐operation, which, in turn, is positively associated with channel member performance.
The National Bureau of Standards and its contributions to geophysics

Sixty-five is a customary age of retirement. The National Bureau of Standards, however, celebrated its 65th year by moving from now outmoded quarters in Washington, D. C., to a magnificent new facility at Gaithersburg, Maryland. The new site, which was formally dedicated on November 15, 1966, consists of 15 major buildings on 565 acres in a rural environment (Figure 1). Included in the new complex are 7 general purpose laboratories, an 11-story administration building, and special purpose buildings for a nuclear reactor, a linear accelerator, engineering mechanics, and shops. Yet to come are buildings for sound and fluid mechanics research, a hazards laboratory, a building for the study of concreting materials, and an industrial building.
QoSMap: QoS aware Mapping of Virtual Networks for Resiliency and Efficiency

We describe QoSMap, an efficient and flexible mechanism for constructing virtual networks on a shared Internet substrate for applications having stringent QoS and resiliency requirements. Applications specify desired overlay topology and weighted network characteristics which serve as resource constraints desired by the application in meeting the QoS expectations. QoSMap uses these constraints to select an overlay consisting of high quality direct paths between nodes from a pool of candidate nodes and paths. In addition to the required overlay topology constructed from direct paths between nodes, QoSMap provides path resiliency by constructing alternate one-hop overlay routes via intermediary nodes having paths that meet or exceed the resource constraints. As a case study, we utilized QoSMap to form an overlay for an application requiring constraints on message delay and loss rates. We describe the design of QoSMap and show that it leads to higher quality and more resilient overlays than does a mechanism which addresses only the minimum QoS requirements of the application.
Using regression splines to assess the impact of information technology investments on productivity in the health care industry

Abstract. This paper explores the impact of information technology (IT) investments on productivity using a new technique, multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS). We believe that it provides additional insights on the nature of the impact of IT investments on productivity. The results from our study are compared with findings from a previous study that has also used the same data set. While the results of a previous study indicate that IT investments have a positive but uniform impact on productivity, our study suggests that the impact of IT on productivity is not uniform but is contingent on other complementary factors. Our findings describe that the complementary relationship exists between IT and non-IT related investments. Thus, improved organizational productivity cannot be expected from investment in IT alone but only together with non-IT investments. Our findings also point out that further investment may not necessarily bring on higher organizational productivity.