cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
From Containment to Mitigation of COVID-19 in the US.

This Viewpoint discusses Kaiser Permanente in Northern California's transition from a containment strategy for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-isolation or quarantine of exposed or infected patients-to a mitigation strategy comprising elements such as droplet and airborne precautions, telemedicine, staffing protocol revisions, and equipment allocation planning
Perturbation of the human gastrointestinal tract microbial ecosystem by oral drugs to treat chronic disease results in a spectrum of individual specific patterns of extinction and persistence of dominant microbial strains.

Background Oral drugs can have side effects such as diarrhea that indicate the perturbation of the gut microbial community. To further understand the dynamics of perturbation, we have assessed the strain relatedness of samples from previously published data sets from pre and post bowel evacuation, episodes of diarrhea, and administration of oral drugs to treat diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. Methods We analyzed a total of published five data sets using our strain-tracking tool called Window-based Single Nucleotide Variant (SNV) Similarity (WSS) to identify related strains from the same individual. Results Strain-tracking analysis using the first data set from 8 individuals pre and 21-50 days post iso-osmotic bowel wash revealed almost all microbial strains were related in an individual between pre and post samples. Similarly, in a second study, strain-tracking analysis of 4 individuals pre and post sporadic diarrhea revealed the majority of strains were related over time (up to 44 weeks). In contrast, the analysis of a third data set from 22 individuals pre and post 3-day exposure of oral metformin revealed that no individuals had a related strain. In a fourth study, the data set taken at 2 and 4 months from 38 individuals on placebo or metformin revealed individual specific sharing of pre and post strains. Finally, the data set from 18 individuals with rheumatoid arthritis given disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs methotrexate or glycosides of the traditional Chinese medicinal component Tripterygium wilfordii showed individual specific sharing of pre and post strains up to 16 months. Conclusion Oral drugs used to treat chronic disease can result in individual specific microbial strain change for the majority of species. Since the gut community provides essential functions for the host, our study supports personalized monitoring to assess the status of the dominant microbial strains after initiation of oral drugs to treat chronic disease.
“Spiraling up”: Using ripple effect mapping to evaluate how an extension volunteer program increases community development capacity

Evaluation metrics that assess the impacts of Cooperative Extensionprogramming focus on quantifiable indicators that may overlookbroader community-level changes. This study addresses this by usingt...
Design Limits of In-Memory Computing: Beyond the Crossbar

Resistive random-access memory (RRAM)-based in-memory computing (IMC) architecture offers an energy-efficient solution for DNN acceleration. Yet, its performance is limited by device non-idealities, circuit precision, on-chip interconnection, and algorithm properties. Based on statistical data from a fully-integrated 65nm CMOS/RRAM test chip and a cross-layer simulation framework, we show that the IMC system's real bottleneck is not the RRAM device but the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) precision and the stability of DNN models. The results are summarized into a roofline model and demonstrated on CIFAR-10, SVHN, CIFAR-100, and ImageNet, helping understand RRAM-based IMC architectures' design limits.
Label Cleaning Multiple Instance Learning: Refining Coarse Annotations on Single Whole-Slide Images

Annotating cancerous regions in whole-slide images (WSIs) of pathology samples plays a critical role in clinical diagnosis, biomedical research, and machine learning algorithms development. However, generating exhaustive and accurate annotations is labor-intensive, challenging, and costly. Drawing only coarse and approximate annotations is a much easier task, less costly, and it alleviates pathologists' workload. In this paper, we study the problem of refining these approximate annotations in digital pathology to obtain more accurate ones. Some previous works have explored obtaining machine learning models from these inaccurate annotations, but few of them tackle the refinement problem where the mislabeled regions should be explicitly identified and corrected, and all of them require a - often very large - number of training samples. We present a method, named Label Cleaning Multiple Instance Learning (LC-MIL), to refine coarse annotations on a single WSI without the need of external training data. Patches cropped from a WSI with inaccurate labels are processed jointly with a MIL framework, and a deep-attention mechanism is leveraged to discriminate mislabeled instances, mitigating their impact on the predictive model and refining the segmentation. Our experiments on a heterogeneous WSI set with breast cancer lymph node metastasis, liver cancer, and colorectal cancer samples show that LC-MIL significantly refines the coarse annotations, outperforming the state-of-the-art alternatives, even while learning from a single slide. These results demonstrate the LC-MIL is a promising, lightweight tool to provide fine-grained annotations from coarsely annotated pathology sets.
Achieving Greater Homeland Security: Who Should Pay, and How?

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States have broadened the public sector’s role in providing “protective goods and services” to include homeland security in addition to national security and public safety (e.g. police and fire protection). Although it is acknowledged that the federal government has a clear responsibility for taking the lead in shaping homeland security policies, the provision of greater homeland security involves significant participation by state and local governments, and the private sector, in addition to the national government. This paper briefly summarizes why private markets are likely to under-invest in homeland security, leading to a need for public action. It provides an overview of both the range of budgetary and non-budgetary tools used by the United States (U.S.) federal government to “finance” the provision of homeland security, and the budgetary and non-budgetary cost of these federal actions. The paper also identifies and discusses some of the principle challenges faced in ensuring federal homeland security dollars are “well-spent.” While the analysis focuses on the United States, the tools of government employed are applicable to all sovereign nations.
Climate Change, Sustainable Development, and the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report

What does climate change mean for sustainable development? According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its Fifth Assessment Report, climate change threatens sustainable development goals. The Fifth Assessment Report represents a first strong international consensus caution that failure to address climate change may well undermine the pursuit of sustainable development. As such, the Fifth Assessment Report subtly underscores the critical importance of a functional environment and ecological systems to human thriving — and perhaps even to human survival — a reality that sustainable development in practice often ignores.
Chromatin disruption in the promoter of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 during transcriptional activation

Chromatin organization of eukaryotic promoters is increasingly recognized as an important factor in the regulation of transcription in vivo. To determine the role of chromatin in HIV-1 expression, we have examined the nucleosome organization of the promoter of HIV-1 under low and high transcription rates. Independently of the cell line examined, nucleosomes are precisely positioned in the viral 5' long terminal repeat (5' LTR) and define two large nucleosome-free regions encompassing nt 200-450 and 610-720. A nucleosome positioned between these two regions, immediately after the transcription initiation site (nuc-1), is disrupted following TPA or TNF-alpha treatment. The disruption of nuc-1 from DNA is independent of DNA replication since it is completed in 20 min and independent of transcription as it is alpha-amanitin insensitive. A model is proposed in which nuc-1 plays an organizing role in the HIV-1 promoter to bring in close proximity factors bound to DNA in the two nucleosome-free regions, upstream and downstream of the site of transcription initiation. These results define chromatin as an integral component of the HIV-1 transcriptional regulatory machinery and identify a chromatin transition associated with activation of viral gene expression.
Temperament and Personality through the Life Span

This chapter on temperament and personality through the life span discusses: I. Concepts, including definitions, dimensions of temperament and personality, distinctions between temperament and personality, and measurement and contextual issues; II. Consistency and Change in Temperament and Personality, including various concepts of change, and empirical evidence regarding consistency and change in temperament and personality during different developmental eras; and III. Links between Personality and Adjustment, including discussion of mechanisms underlying associations between temperament/personality and adjustment, such as temperament-by-environment interactions and temperament-by-temperament interactions. The chapter identifies eras of and factors contributing to consistency and change. It also discusses genetic contributions to temperament and personality, and the mutual influences of temperament/personality and the environment on each other. Keywords: temperament; personality; life span; development; adjustment; psychopathology
Influence of laserotherapy on the lipid metabolism of the patients with primary hypothyroidism and ishemic heart disease

Hypothyroidism (HT) is the most frequent after diabetes cause of the secondary dislipidemia which in its turn is one of major factors of cardiovascular diseases risk. Today, the low-intensive laser therapy (LILT) for the removal of dislipidemia is used more frequent. Nevertheless, reports about the application of LILT for the treatment of dislipidemia at the patients with primary hypothyroidism and the concomitant ishemic heart disease (IHD) don't exist. In our research, we studied the efficiency of the low-intensive laser therapy on the lipid metabolism of the patients with HT and ishemic heart disease (IHD).
The square-root game

In this work I give an elementary proof of the following : "The absolute 1/2 moment of the beta (1/4,1/4) distribution about t is independent of t for 0 < t < 1.
Indoor human navigation system on smartphones using view-based navigation

We present a new human navigation system on smartphones for indoor environments. The conventional systems have required specific positioning infrastructures installed in buildings. In contrast, the proposed system is not to need such requirements because it can determine the position of a user by image matching to process the images from a smartphone camera indoors like a certain corridor. Although a number of personal positioning methods based on image processing have been proposed, it has been difficult in processing cost to apply them just like that to the proposed system. From this point of view, we have focused on the view-based navigation which has been developed as an indoor positioning method for robots due to its simple algorithm by only one monocular camera. By devising the techniques for applying this view-based navigation to a smartphone, we can visually provide the user having a smartphone the positional and directional information to a destination. This paper describes the algorithm of the view-based navigation speeded up for smartphones and shows experimental results for human navigation performed with usually walking in an indoor corridor.
An approach to a new class of selenosugars: a convenient synthesis of glycosyl isoselenocyanates

Abstract A new class of selenosugars—glycosyl isoselenocyanates—has been prepared via reaction of the corresponding glycosyl isocyanides with elemental Se under the catalytic influence of triethylamine. 2,3,4,5,6-Penta-O-acetyl-D-gluconyl isoselenocyanate was also prepared in moderate yield by reaction of 2,3,4,5,6-penta-O-acetyl-D-gluconyl chloride with potassium selenocyanate in anhydrous acetone. The isoselenocyanate structure is ascertained by physical (13C-NMR, IR) and chemical methods—formation of selenoureas, and radical induced fragmentation by reaction with tri-n-butyltin hydride via intermediate isocyanide, to 1,5-anhydro-D-hexitols.
Baptists and Church-State Advocacy: An Analysis of the Effects of Membership Opinion on Lobbying the Supreme Court

Interest groups provide an opportunity for citizen interests to be represented before the Supreme Court. In recent decades, numerous religious advocacy organizations have formed, seeking to influence the Court. Among these groups, advocacy organizations connected to religious denominations have structural advantages, as they can easily overcome the collective action problem. They have advantages in resources, membership numbers, and leadership autonomy. However, they are constrained because their members do not join for ideological incentives, as denominational group membership comes as a byproduct of their affiliation with a local church. This may reduce their ability to gain influence. Two denominational groups, the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and the Baptist Joint Committee (BJC), serve as a useful case study to analyze how the structure of denomination advocacy groups affects political decisions, particularly lobbying the Supreme Court and taking positions on constitutional issues. Using the Baylor Religion Study, this study compares the activities of the BJC and ERLC on church-state issues, evaluating the congruence between their members’ opinions on church-state issues and the groups’ official church-state positions and amicus brief filings. It finds that the members of both the BJC and the ERLC prefer government support and accommodation of religion. These opinions differ from the actions that the groups take, especially the BJC. The BJC takes positions and actions that are incongruent with the policy opinions of its membership, and the ERLC takes positions more in line with the views of its membership, though it does not support accommodation as much as its members do. I argue that it is the structure of these denominational groups that allows the members to take positions that are incongruent with the positions of the membership. Particularly, denominational leaders have increased autonomy, because the members do not join for the benefits that the group offers, the members cannot easily leave the group, and the group leaders do not depend on membership dues. This study has implications for the tactics that groups targeting the Court may take and citizen representation before the Court. It also describes the opportunities and constraints of religious denominational advocacy groups, which differ from the opportunities and constraints of other citizen religious groups.
Role of chondroitin-4-sulfate in pregnancy-associated malaria.

Publisher Summary Many pathogenic microorganisms use glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) as receptors for cell‐ or tissue‐specific invasion, causing infection. In the case of pregnancy‐associated malaria, Plasmodium falciparum ‐infected red blood cells (IRBCs) adhere in the placenta, leading to a number of clinical manifestations. A uniquely low‐sulfated extracellular chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG) localized in the intervillous space of the placenta is the receptor for the IRBC adherence. Chondroitin‐4‐sulfate (C4S) chains of the CSPG specifically mediate the IRBC adherence, and the optimal IRBC binding involves a C4S dodecasaccharide motif comprising two 4‐sulfated and four nonsulfated disaccharides. The sulfate and hydroxyl groups at C‐4 of N ‐acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) and the carboxyl group of uronic acid are critical for the IRBC adhesion, whereas the N ‐acetyl group of GalNAc is not involved. P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein‐1, a member of the parasite var gene family of proteins that is expressed on the surface of IRBCs, has been proposed as the ligand for IRBC adherence. In malaria endemic areas, pregnant women produce IRBC antiadhesion antibodies in a pregnancy stage‐specific manner, which protect against placental malaria.
Modeling and Simulating Transmission Lines Using Fractional Calculus

Transient analysis of transmission lines has recently been received more attention because operating speeds in high - speed digital electronics are increasing. This paper presents a new direction for transient analysis of the transmission lines. The laws of the voltage or current wave transmits in the transmission line obey to diffusion phenomenon. Transmission line equations are hyperbolic partial differential equations, firstly changing transmission line equations into diffusion equations. This paper discusses the transient responses of the voltage or current wave in the transmission line using fractional calculus. We present the analytic solution for the diffusion equations with the help of the boundary condition and the input-output behavior of the transmission line can be modeled by a fractional operator with a parameter of the value of the derivation order [0, 1]. Finally the paper computes transient response of transmission line with two typical input functions. Numerical result shows that this approach is an effective way.
Concurrent split cord malformation and teratoma: Dysembryology, presentation, and treatment

Split cord malformation (SCM) is a rare form of spinal dysraphism in which the spinal cord is divided in the sagittal plane, forming a double neural tube. In addition to being associated with a variety of malformations, SCM may occur with spinal cord tumors, with only exceptional cases involving teratomas. As only eight patients with a teratoma associated with SCM have been reported, their presentation characteristics and treatment are currently unclear. We review the literature of all patients with SCM with concurrent spinal teratoma, discuss the potential dysembryology, and report the first case of SCM with concurrent spinal teratoma in an elderly patient. The mean age of those with concurrent SCM and teratomas was 39.4 years, with 55.6% occurring in females. The lumbar spine was the most frequent location for teratomas (66.7%), with the Type II malformation more commonly occurring with these tumors (75%). The duration of symptoms varied widely, ranging from 1 month to 5 years, with the average duration being nearly 2 years. Back pain (87.5%) and lower extremity weakness (75%) were the most common presenting symptoms. As SCM may be associated with progressive neurological deterioration and teratomas can contain immature or malignant components, surgery should be attempted with the goal of gross total resection. Nonetheless, in patients with a concurrent tumor and spinal dysraphism, spinal teratomas should be considered in the differential diagnosis. Gross total resection of these lesions may be safely achieved even in the presence of SCM using intraoperative electrophysiologic monitoring.
Social indicators of perceived life quality

Modern societies in both developing and developed countries have real and legitimate concerns about the enhancement, maintenance, and redistribution of individual well-being. Indicators of perceived well-being provide direct measures of what societies are trying to achieve, permit cross-sector comparisons, can indicate the adequacy of coverage of ‘objective’ indicators, and can contribute to social policy making. in both the long and short run. Some commentators, however, have suggested perceptual indicators suffer from methodological weaknesses associated with their validity, interpretability, completeness, and utility. Each of these possible weaknesses is addressed in some detail. New research evidence and certain philosophical perspectives are presented, and it is concluded that none of these presumed weaknesses is sufficient to invalidate the development and use of perceptual indicators. Suggestions are made concerning methodological research needed to support the development of indicators of perceived well-being. It is noted that the materials and results developed in the author's research on Americans' perceptions of life quality may be useful for suggesting approaches to the development of indicators of perceived life quality relevant to other cultures.
Sampling and Analytical Characteristics of an Electrically Vaporized Thin-Film Plasma in an External Magnetic Field:

A magnetic field of a few kilogauss oriented normal to the electric field in the plasma generated by a capacitive discharge through a thin silver film is used to obtain an ExB drift motion of the plasma. The plasma current is used to generate the magnetic field in a coil surrounding the plasma. The plasma drift motion is used to confine the plasma to the region near the surface of the plastic substrate which originally supported the thin film and the powder or solution residue sample. The result is greater interaction of the plasma with the sample, as illustrated by more rapid vaporization of the sample, reduced effects of particle size on analyte radiation intensity, and significantly improved shot-to-shot reproducibility. While analyte line intensities frequently are lower in the ExB plasma, line-to-background intensity ratios may be greater if an optical mask is used to block radiation near the substrate surface.
Glacial migrations of plants: island biogeographical evidence.

Analyses of the floras of the high north Andean habitat islands (paramos) and the Galapagos Islands show that plant species diversity conforms to the MacArthur and Wilson model of island biogeography but that immigration occurred primarily during glacial periods. Modern plant species diversity is more significantly correlated with area and distance measures of the glacial forms of the islands than with similar measures of the present-day islands.
Equilibrium and Local Redistribution in an Urban Economy when Households Differ in both Preferences and Incomes

Abstract This paper studies equilibrium and redistribution in a system of local jurisdictions when households differ by both preferences and income. Differences in preferences may be either idiosyncratic or associated with differing demographic characteristics. Households are free to move among communities that offer different tax-expenditure packages. Within communities, households vote on the tax-expenditure package the community provides. Heterogeneity of preferences, as well as incomes, gives rise to an allocation of households across communities in which stratification by income no longer holds. In most previous models, complete income stratification is a necessary condition for equilibrium. The partial, but not complete, sorting of households by income that arises in our model is in better accord with observed allocations of households across jurisdictions in U.S. metropolitan areas.
Normal goods and the expenditure function

Abstract A simple necessary and sufficient condition for a good to be normal is given in terms of the second derivatives of the expenditure function. That condition is easily interpreted as requiring that, with utility held constant, an increase in the price of the good in question decrease the marginal utility of income. This can only happen if the consumer plans to buy more of the good if income increases.
Prognostic value of hMLH1 methylation and microsatellite instability in pancreatic endocrine neoplasms.

Abstract Background The aberrant promoter methylation of the mismatch repair gene, hMLH1, is associated with microsatellite instability (MSI) in cancer cells and often is associated with a favorable prognosis. Methods Pancreatic endocrine neoplasms (PENs) were obtained from 48 patients who underwent surgical resection. Methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction was used to detect methylation in the hMLH1 promoter. Tumor MSI at loci BAT26, BAT25, D2S123, D5S346, and D17S250 was determined with microsatellite polymerase chain reaction. Results Hypermethylation of the hMLH1 promoter was present in 11 of 48 PENs (23%). Five of the 11 hMLH1-methylated PENs were found to be microsatellite unstable, and MSI was restricted to PENs with hMLH1 hypermethylation. Tumor recurrence at 2 years after surgical resection was significantly less common among the hMLH1-methylated PENs (11%), compared with the unmethylated PENs (35%; P = .038). Patients with hMLH1-methylated PENs experienced improved 5-year survival (100%) compared with patients with unmethylated tumors (56%; P = .010). Likewise, MSI-positive PENs were associated with improved survival compared with MSI-negative tumors (100% vs 59%; P = .017) at 5 years. Conclusion As in hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer in which MSI is associated with improved survival, methylation of hMLH1 leads to MSI in PENs and affords a favorable prognosis.
Prospective image planning in radiation therapy for optimization of image quality and reduction of patient dose.

Abstract Introduction CT simulation data in image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) provides patient-specific subject contrast. This information can be exploited to establish, a priori, a suitable imaging goal and to select patient-specific imaging acquisition parameters that optimize the similarity between reference and daily set-up images and reduce imaging dose. This study aims to describe and clinically validate a computerized algorithm designed to provide such optimization. Material and methods An image planning system (IPS) was developed to assist in planar kV imaging technique selection for radiation therapy. The system's patient-specific image quality and dose reduction capabilities were validated herein. Anthropomorphic phantom and clinical data were acquired. Mutual information (MI) was used to compare simulated and measured images in both phantom and clinical tests. Variations in contrast resolution resulting from imaging panel underexposure, saturation and a contrast plateau were investigated. For evaluation of patient-specific imaging dose reduction, the IPS was used to modify acquisition settings for six patients. Results Phantom data confirmed the IPS's predictive capability regarding image contrast. Measured and simulated images showed similar progressions from under-exposure, image quality peak, and loss of contrast due to detector saturation. Clinical data demonstrated that contrast resolution and imaging dose could be prospectively improved without loss of image contrast. The algorithm reduced imaging dose by an average of 47%, and a maximum of 80%. Conclusions Loss of image contrast resulting from under-exposure or over-exposure, as well as a contrast plateau can be predicted by use of a prospective image planning algorithm. Image acquisition parameters can be predicted that reduce patient dose without loss of useful contrast.
Controlled porous structures of graphene aerogels and their effect on supercapacitor performance

The design and optimization of 3D graphene nanostructures are critically important since the properties of electrochemical energy storages such as supercapacitors can be dramatically enhanced by tunable porous channels. In this work, we have developed porous graphene aerogels from graphene suspensions obtained via electrochemical exfoliation and explored their application as supercapacitor electrodes. By adjusting the content of the electrolyte in the exfoliation process, the aspect ratio of graphene sheets and the porosity of the graphene network can be optimized. Furthermore, the freezing temperature in the freeze drying step is also found to play a critical role in the resulting pore size distributions of the porous networks. The optimized conditions lead to meso- and macroporous graphene aerogels with a high specific surface area, extremely low densities and superior electrical properties. As a result, the graphene aerogel supercapacitors exhibit a specific capacitance of 325 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and an energy density of 45 Wh kg−1 in a 0.5 M H2SO4 aqueous electrolyte with high electrochemical stability and electrode uniformity required for practical usage. This research provides a practical method for lightweight, high-performance and low-cost materials in the effective use of energy storage systems.
Extended shared-variable sessions

This paper proposes two extensions to make shared variables of APL more useful: Shared variables that persist across APL sessions, and a facility to reject incoming offers.
A frequency-duty cycle equation for the ACGIH hand activity level

A new equation for predicting the hand activity level (HAL) used in the American Conference for Government Industrial Hygienists threshold limit value® (TLV®) was based on exertion frequency (F) and percentage duty cycle (D). The TLV® includes a table for estimating HAL from F and D originating from data in Latko et al. (Latko WA, Armstrong TJ, Foulke JA, Herrin GD, Rabourn RA, Ulin SS, Development and evaluation of an observational method for assessing repetition in hand tasks. American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal, 58(4):278–285, 1997) and post hoc adjustments that include extrapolations outside of the data range. Multimedia video task analysis determined D for two additional jobs from Latko's study not in the original data-set, and a new nonlinear regression equation was developed to better fit the data and create a more accurate table. The equation, , generally matches the TLV® HAL lookup table, and is a substantial improvement over the linear model, particularly for F>1.25 Hz and D>60% jobs...
Phosphatase activity in rat adipocytes: effects of insulin and insulin resistance.

Insulin regulates the activity of both protein kinases and phosphatases. Little is known concerning the subcellular effects of insulin on phosphatase activity and how it is affected by insulin resistance. The purpose of this study was to determine insulin-stimulated subcellular changes in phosphatase activity and how they are affected by insulin resistance. We used an in vitro fatty acid (palmitate) induced insulin resistance model, differential centrifugation to fractionate rat adipocytes, and a malachite green phosphatase assay using peptide substrates to measure enzyme activity. Overall, insulin alone had no effect on adipocyte tyrosine phosphatase activity; however, subcellularly, insulin increased plasma membrane adipocyte tyrosine phosphatase activity 78 +/- 26% (n = 4, P < 0.007), and decreased high-density microsome adipocyte tyrosine phosphatase activity 42 +/- 13% (n = 4, P < 0.005). Although insulin resistance induced specific changes in basal tyrosine phosphatase activity, insulin-stimulated changes were not significantly altered by insulin resistance. Insulin-stimulated overall serine/threonine phosphatase activity by 16 +/- 5% (n = 4, P < 0.005), which was blocked in insulin resistance. Subcellularly, insulin increased plasma membrane and crude nuclear fraction serine/threonine phosphatase activities by 59 +/- 19% (n = 4, P < 0. 005) and 21 +/- 7% (n = 4, P < 0.007), respectively. This increase in plasma membrane fractions was inhibited 23 +/- 7% (n = 4, P < 0. 05) by palmitate. Furthermore, insulin increased cytosolic protein phosphatase-1 (PP-1) activity 160 +/- 50% (n = 3, P < 0.015), and palmitate did not significantly reduce this activity. However, palmitate did reduce insulin-treated low-density microsome protein phosphatase-1 activity by 28 +/- 6% (n = 3, P < 0.04). Insulin completely inhibited protein phosphatase-2A activity in the cytosol and increased crude nuclear fraction protein phosphatase-2A activity 70 +/- 29% (n = 3, P < 0.038). Thus, the major effects of insulin on phosphatase activity in adipocytes are to increase plasma membrane tyrosine and serine/threonine phosphatase, crude nuclear fraction protein phosphatase-2A, and cytosolic protein phosphatase-1 activities, while inhibiting cytosolic protein phosphatase-2A. Insulin resistance was characterized by reduced insulin-stimulated serine/threonine phosphatase activity in the plasma membrane and low-density microsomes. Specific changes in phosphatase activity may be related to the development of insulin resistance.
Synthesis of alkoxy-substituted ortho-phenylene ethynylene oligomers.

This Letter describes the first published synthesis and characterization of alkoxy-substituted ortho-phenylene ethynylene (o-PE) oligomers. Sonogashira coupling was used to assemble discrete chain lengths, using a key monomer with orthogonal groups. Deprotection or activation allowed stepwise coupling to produce the dimer, trimer, and tetramer, while convergent coupling of appropriately substituted trimers produced the hexamer. The placement of alkoxy side chains renders these oligomers soluble in common organic solvents permitting solution characterization. Absorption and emission spectra of the trimer, tetramer, and hexamer are provided.
Dictionary Use in Foreign Language Writing Exams: Impact and Implications by EAST, MARTIN

The article reviews the book "Dictionary Use in Foreign Language Writing Exams: Impact and Implications," by Martin East.
Amsacrine treatment of patients with supraventricular arrhythmias and acute leukemia

Three patients with a history of supraventricular arrhythmia presented with relapse of acute leukemia. Two of the three patients were in sinus rhythm, receiving digoxin and/or verapamil daily. The third patient was in atrial fibrillation, but her heart rate was controlled with daily digoxin. All three patients received amsacrine without the occurrence of cardiac events. Although amsacrine may cause ventricular arrhythmias in the setting of hypokalemia, correction of the electrolyte abnormality permits its use in patients with a history of supraventricular arrhythmias.
Note on the torsional rigidity of cylinders of circular sector cross-sections

Fur 16 besondere Kreisausschnittwinkel wird die Drillungssteifigkeit eines Stabes mit Kreissektor-Querschnitt durchL-Funktionen ausgedruckt.
ON ADAPTIVE SYNCHRONIZATION AND CONTROL OF NONLINEAR DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS

In this paper, we study the synchronization of two coupled nonlinear, in particular chaotic, systems which are not identical. We show how adaptive controllers can be used to adjust the parameters of the systems such that the two systems will synchronize. We use a Lyapunov function approach to prove a global result which shows that our choice of controllers will synchronize the two systems. We show how it is related to Huberman-Lumer adaptive control and the LMS adaptive algorithm. We illustrate the applicability of this method using Chua's oscillators as the chaotic systems. We choose parameters for the two systems which are orders of magnitude apart to illustrate the effectiveness of the adaptive controllers. Finally, we discuss the role of adaptive synchronization in the context of secure and spread spectrum communication systems. In particular, we show how several signals can be encoded onto a single scalar chaotic carrier signal.
Quality Measures: A Call to Action

This supplement to the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing (CJON) marks a significant milestone in the sustained efforts of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) to improve the quality of cancer care-a core component of the ONS mission. The lead article by Fessele, Yendro, and Mallory on pages 7-11 of this supplement summarizes the ONS Foundation-supported Breast Cancer Care (BCC) and Breast Cancer Survivorship (BCS) Quality Measures project. ONS leaders recognized that efforts to improve performance and patient outcomes were limited by the lack of a core set of reliable and valid patient-centered measures. A grant from the Breast Cancer Fund of the National Philanthropic Trust to the ONS Foundation supported a partnership with the Joint Commission and the development of two sets of measures for patients with breast cancer. These patient-centered measures span the treatment and the survivorship phases of cancer care, and are sensitive to nursing practice. This pioneering work is a direct outcome of ONS's strategic initiatives related to quality and builds on the extensive foundation for promoting evidence-based practice through the Putting Evidence Into Practice (PEP) initiative.
Early pregnancy with an intrauterine device in place

A 22-year-old female presented with the complaint of vaginal bleeding 1 week after a positive pregnancy test. An emergency department bedside transvaginal ultrasound revealed an early intrauterine pregnancy (IUP) in the presence of an intrauterine device (IUD). While a rare event, pregnancy can occur in the presence of an IUD. The emergency physician should be aware of the complications of this obstetrical condition.
Molecular Genetic Analysis of Distal Mouse Chromosome 6 Defines Gene Order and Positions of the deafwaddler and opisthotonos Mutations

Two neurological mutants deafwaddler (dfw) and opisthotonos (opt) and a cluster of three Shaker-like potassium (K) channel genes Kcna1, Kcna5, and Kcna6 were all independently mapped to distal mouse chromosome six (Chr 6). In this study, genetic and molecular techniques were employed to assess directly the linkage of the two mutants and to investigate the likelihood that a mutation in one of the three K channel genes may underlie dfw and/or opt. Genetic crosses testing for allelism showed that the dfw and opt mutations complement each other. Additional crosses demonstrated that the mutants are separated by a recombination distance of 3.1 +/- 1.8 cM. Microsatellite marker analysis of the crossover chromosomes recovered from the opt, dfw recombination study indicated that opt maps centromeric to dfw. The location of the K channel genes relative to the dfw mutation was determined by mapping these genes and 15 microsatellite markers in an intersubspecific backcross (IB) segregating for dfw [(CAST/Ei-+/+ x C3HeB/FeJ-dfw/dfw) x C3HeB/FeJ-dfw/dfw]. Analysis of the backcross progeny positioned the dfw locus in the interval between the microsatellite markers D6Mit11 and D6Mit55, D6Mit63. The K channel cluster maps telomeric to dfw. This study establishes the gene order cen-opt-dfw-Rho (D6Mit44)-Kcna1, Kcna5, Kcna6 on distal mouse Chr 6 and suggests that the neurological mutants opt and dfw affect two different genes, neither of which is caused by a mutation in any one of the three clustered K channels.
The Life-Course and Human Development: An Ecological Perspective

A life-course perspective is applied to the study of human development in ecological context. Three meanings of age (developmental, social, and historical) represent key elements of this perspectiv...
Comparison of ECV measurements during equilibrium between IR- and SR-based Cardiac T1Mapping

Background Cardiac T1 and extracellular volume fraction (ECV), derived from preand post-contrast cardiac and blood T1 measurements, are emerging imaging biomarkers of diffuse cardiac fibrosis. The most frequently used cardiac T1 mapping pulse sequence is MOLLI [1]. However, MOLLI is known to be sensitive to rapid heart rate and irregular rhythm, because it is based on inversion-recovery (IR) of magnetization preparation. In response, we developed an arrhythmia-insensitive-rapid (AIR) cardiac T1 mapping pulse sequence based on B1insensitive saturation-recovery (SR) of magnetization preparation [2]. Our prior study [2] showed that AIR (scan time = 2-3 heart beats) is faster and yields more accurate cardiac T1 measurements than MOLLI (scan time = 17 heart beats). We sought to compare ECV measurements between SR-based AIR and IR-based MOLLI cardiac T1 mapping at 3T.
Using standards to enable the transformation to smarter cities

This paper explores how standards will play a critical role in facilitating the creation of smarter cities with systems that are optimized by using a comprehensive information view from pervasive instrumentation. The underlying premise is that the combination of standards, models, and a new suite of design tools and techniques will be needed to address various challenges and make significant progress toward the creation of smarter cities, as defined in this paper. We start by giving examples of where standards have enabled the transformation of large-scale industry systems, such as banking. Drawing from these insights, this paper shows how standards are applicable to the creation, adoption, and management of diverse hierarchies of systems found in cities. In addition, we provide a perspective on key standards currently deployed in cities and areas of development required to address inefficiencies that will help guide the design of new city-wide systems.
Reactions of the CN radical with benzene and toluene: product detection and low-temperature kinetics.

Low-temperature rate coefficients are measured for the CN + benzene and CN + toluene reactions using the pulsed Laval nozzle expansion technique coupled with laser-induced fluorescence detection. The CN + benzene reaction rate coefficient at 105, 165, and 295 K is found to be relatively constant over this temperature range, (3.9−4.9) × 10−10 cm3 molecule−1 s−1. These rapid kinetics, along with the observed negligible temperature dependence, are consistent with a barrierless reaction entrance channel and reaction efficiencies approaching unity. The CN + toluene reaction is measured to have a rate coefficient of 1.3 × 10−10 cm3 molecule−1 s−1 at 105 K. At room temperature, nonexponential decay profiles are observed for this reaction that may suggest significant back-dissociation of intermediate complexes. In separate experiments, the products of these reactions are probed at room temperature using synchrotron VUV photoionization mass spectrometry. For CN + benzene, cyanobenzene (C6H5CN) is the only product ...
Respiration rates of red pine along a gradient of gamma radiation following eight years of exposure

Eleven-year-old red pine trees that had lived for eight yr along a gradient of gamma radiation changed little in respiration rates between exposure rates of 1·0–4·0 rads/day. Between 4·0–6·0 rads/day, respiration rates increased by an average of 54 per cent, and between 6·4 and 6·8 rads/day, respiration rates decreased by an average of 26 per cent. The increase in respiration rates may be due to oxygen consuming repair mechanisms. The decrease in respiration rates may result from reduced rates of cell division or reduced activity of growth hormones. The decrease probably did not result from dead tissue comprising part of the sample.
The Last 30,000 Years of Faunal History within the Grand Canyon, Arizona

The vertebrate fauna of the last 30,000 radiocarbon years in the Grand Canyon is reviewed. Faunas accompanied with 92 14C dates have been analyzed from nine cave sites (four systematically excavated) and 50 packrat middens. Reasonably precise chronological and environmental data of late Pleistocene and Holocene age were obtained through dung studies in Rampart, Muav, and Stanton's Caves; from the numerous packrat middens; and from a ringtail refuse deposit in Vulture Cave. The desert tortoise, 8 species of lizards, 12 species of snakes, 68 species of birds, and 33 species of mammals are identified. Extinct animals include the avian carrion feeder, Teratornis merriami, and the mammalian herbivores, Oreamnos harringtoni, Camelops cf. hesternus, Equus sp., and Nothrotheriops shastense. There is no apparent abrupt end to the late Pleistocene as observed in the Grand Canyon fossil faunal or floral record. Animal and plant taxa of the Grand Canyon responded individually to the changes in climate of the last 30,000 yr. Both animal and plant fossil assemblages indicate that a pre-full glacial, a full glacial, and a late glacial woodland community with many less dominant desert taxa were slowly replaced by a Holocene desert community. All woodland taxa were absent from the lower elevations of the Grand Canyon by 8500 yr B.P.
Punishing Disloyalty?: Treason, Espionage, and Transgression of Political Boundaries

This Article examines the idea of betraying or being disloyal to one’s own country as a matter of criminal law. First, the Article defines crimes of disloyalty as involving failures to prioritize one’s own country’s interests through participating in efforts to directly undermine core institutional resources the country requires to protect itself or otherwise advance its interests by force. Second, this Article canvasses various potential arguments for the existence of a duty not to be disloyal to one’s own country and argues that they fail. Finally, this Article argues that we should interpret the wrong of disloyalty crimes as involving not betrayal or infidelity, but transgression of political boundaries. That is, the relevant wrong here is rooted in the ideas of separation of powers and assignments of roles between citizens and the state, and we should thus conceive crimes of disloyalty as crimes of usurpation and evaluate the moral rights and wrongs of such crimes accordingly.
Is Y1Ba2Cu3O7 stiff or soft

Using several measured and calculated physical properties, we argue that the high-Tc metal-oxide superconductor Y1Ba2Cu3O7 is elastically soft compared with BaTiO3 or SrTiO3. We conclude that the bulk modulus equals approximately 107 GPa, despite several high-pressure x-ray diffraction studies that report values up to approximately 200 GPa. Part of the argument uses an ionic-crystal-model calculation of the bulk modulus.
Ward v. Wilbanks: Counselor Educators Respond

This article investigated 71 counselor educators' perspectives and pedagogical practices related to Ward v. Wilbanks (2009) and the American Counseling Association (ACA) response to the case. The authors used qualitative content analysis to identify 6 themes from survey data: (a) views on gatekeeping and student training; (b) perceptions of Julea Ward and Eastern Michigan University; (c) values, skills, and competency; (d) reactions to ACA policy on referral; (e) initiation of ethical responsibility to client; and (f) Ward v. Wilbanks: impact on the profession.
Reflexivity, Fixed Points, and Semantic Descent; How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Reflexivity

For most of the major philosophers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, human cognition was understood as involving the mind’s reflexive grasp of its own contents. But other important figures have described the very idea of a reflexive thought as incoherent. Ryle notably likened the idea of a reflexive thought to an arm that grasps itself. Recent work in philosophy, psychology, and the cognitive sciences has greatly clarified the special epistemic and semantic properties of reflexive thought. This article is an attempt to give an explicit characterization of the structure of reflexive thoughts that explains those properties and avoids the complaints of its critics.