cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Technical Grade Manganese Sulfate on Vitamin Stability

Abstract MINERALS are known to have a deleterious effect on vitamin stability (Kamstra et al., 1953; Halverson and Hart, 1950; and Halverson and Hendrick, 1955); however, little information is available on manganese compounds. Miller et al. (1942) reported that manganese sulfate destroyed vitamin D when a level of .5% was in cluded in a diet containing 9.2% cod liver oil. The vitamin A was not destroyed. When manganese sulfate was added to a commercial feed, no measurable loss of vitamin D occurred. Halverson and Hendrick (1955) concluded that manganese sulfate alone did not affect stability of vitamin A. EXPERIMENTAL Barred Plymouth Rock chicks were used in the growth phases of this experiment. They were brooded in electrically heated starting batteries for the first 4 weeks, then transferred to finishing batteries. Feed and water were supplied ad libitum. All vitamin assays were made by methods approved by the Association of Vitamin Chemists…
Multiharmonic tracking using sigma-point Kalman filter

Several groups have proposed the state-space approach to track time-varying frequencies ofmulti-harmonic quasi-periodic signals contaminated with white Gaussian noise. We compared the extended Kalman filter (EKF) and sigma-point Kalman filter (SPKF) algorithms on this problem. On average, the SPKF outperformed the EKF and more accurately tracked the instantaneous frequency over a wide range of signal-to-noise (SNR) ratios.
Renormalization of bilinear quark operators for overlap fermions

We present nonperturbative renormalization constants of fermionic bilinears on the lattice in the quenched approximation at $\ensuremath{\beta}=6.1$ using an overlap [H. Neuberger, Phys. Lett. B 417, 141 (1998)] fermion action with hypercubic (HYP)-blocked links. We consider the effects of the exact zero modes of the Dirac operator and find they are important in calculating the renormalization constants of the scalar and pseudoscalar density. The results are given in the RI' and $\overline{MS}$ schemes and compared to perturbative calculations.
Campylobacter jejuni Cytolethal Distending Toxin Causes a G2-Phase Cell Cycle Block

Cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) from the diarrheagenic bacterium Campylobacter jejuni was shown to cause a rapid and specific cell cycle arrest in HeLa and Caco-2 cells. Within 24 h of treatment, CDT caused HeLa cells to arrest with a 4N DNA content, indicative of cells in G2 or early M phase. Immunofluorescence studies indicated that the arrested cells had not entered M phase, since no evidence of tubulin reorganization or chromatin condensation was visible. CDT treatment was also shown to cause HeLa cells to accumulate the inactive, tyrosine-phosphorylated form of CDC2. These results indicated that CDT treatment results in a failure to activate CDC2, which leads to cell cycle arrest in G2. This mechanism of action is novel for a bacterial toxin and provides a model for the generation of diarrheal disease by C. jejuni and other diarrheagenic bacteria that produce CDT.
27.2: Single Dopant p‐i‐n White Organic Light Emitting Devices

We demonstrate efficient, low operating voltage white organic light-emitting devices (WOLEDs) employing an emissive region containing a single phosphorescent dopant, platinum(II)(2-(4′,6′-difluorophenyl)pyridinato-N, C2′)(2,4-pentanedionato). The WOLED exhibited peak external quantum and power efficiencies of (4.8±0.5)% and (11±1.0)lm/W, respectively, and had color coordinates of (0.34, 0.43) and a color rendering index value of 71.
The effect of immediate postpartum compared to delayed postpartum and interval etonogestrel contraceptive implant insertion on removal rates for bleeding.

Abstract Objective To determine whether the discontinuation rate of the etonogestrel contraceptive implant due to irregular vaginal bleeding among women with immediate postpartum insertion is increased compared to delayed postpartum and interval placement. Study Design This retrospective cohort study compared women who underwent immediate postpartum etonogestrel contraceptive implant insertion (within 96h of delivery) to delayed postpartum (6 to 12weeks postpartum) and interval insertion between January 2008 and December 2010. Charts were reviewed for date and reason for removal. A chi-squared test was used to compare discontinuation due to bleeding between cohorts. Baseline characteristics predictive of implant removal were evaluated by simple logistic regression. Results There were 259 women in the immediate postpartum group, 49 in the delayed postpartum group and 106 in the interval group. Average age at insertion was 22.6 (±5.5) years. Overall, 19.3% of women in the immediate postpartum group requested removal due to irregular bleeding compared to 18.4% in the delayed postpartum group [odds ratio (OR) 1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.48–2.33] and 20.8% in the interval group (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.52–1.60). There was no difference between groups in premature removal rates for any side effect. There were no sociodemographic or clinical characteristics predictive of removal in any group. Conclusion One-fifth of etonogestrel contraceptive implant users requested premature removal due to irregular bleeding. Immediate postpartum implant insertion does not lead to increased removal rates and may help reduce unintended pregnancy. Mechanisms to help women manage irregular bleeding due to the implant are needed. Implications Immediate postpartum insertion of the etonogestrel contraceptive implant does not lead to increased removal rates due to vaginal bleeding compared to delayed postpartum or interval insertion. Immediate postpartum implant insertion may increase uptake of long-acting reversible contraception and help reduce short interpregnancy intervals and unintended pregnancy.
Autonomous Flight in Unknown Indoor Environments

This paper presents our solution for enabling a quadrotor helicopter, equipped with a laser rangefinder sensor, to autonomously explore and map unstructured and unknown indoor environments. While these capabilities are already commodities on ground vehicles, air vehicles seeking the same performance face unique challenges. In this paper, we describe the difficulties in achieving fully autonomous helicopter flight, highlighting the differences between ground and helicopter robots that make it difficult to use algorithms that have been developed for ground robots. We then provide an overview of our solution to the key problems, including a multilevel sensing and control hierarchy, a high-speed laser scan-matching algorithm, an EKF for data fusion, a high-level SLAM implementation, and an exploration planner. Finally, we show experimental results demonstrating the helicopter's ability to navigate accurately and autonomously in unknown environments.
Risk and resilience factors for posttraumatic stress symptomatology in Gulf War I veterans

What factors distinguish war-exposed veterans who experience posttraumatic stress symptomatology (PTSS) from those who do not? This study used structural equation modeling procedures to examine the complex interplay among predeployment, war-zone, and postdeployment factors as they relate to PTSS in a sample of Gulf War I veterans. A primary goal was to determine to what extent previously documented associations among Vietnam veterans would replicate in this more contemporary veteran cohort. Results supported a multivariate etiological perspective on PTSS, with war-zone factors accounting for the largest proportion of variance in PTSS. The majority of hypothesized associations held, suggesting that the mechanisms underlying PTSS may be similar across veteran cohorts.
Developing an academia-based public health observatory: the new global public health observatory with emphasis on urban health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Health observatories may differ according to their mission, institutional setting, topical emphasis or geographic coverage. This paper discusses the development of a new urban-focused health observatory, and its operational research and training infrastructure under the academic umbrella of the Department of Epidemiology and the Institute of Urban Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH) in Baltimore, USA. Recognizing the higher education mission of the BSPH, the development of a new professional training in public health was an important first step for the development of this observatory. This new academia-based observatory is an innovative public health research and training platform offering faculty, investigators, professional epidemiology students and research partners a physical and methodological infrastructure for their operational research and training activities with both a local urban focus and a global reach. The concept of a public health observatory and its role in addressing social health inequalities in local urban settings is discussed.
The Most Entrepreneurial Metropolitan Area

Research has established a link between young firms and job creation. This has generated great levels of interest about entrepreneurship in local areas and questions about where are startups located in the United States. That is, what city is the most entrepreneurial? Is it Silicon Valley? New York? Boston? Seattle? Perhaps Austin? These cities are the common answers. In truth, up until now we haven’t really known the answer, because the hard data were not available. Startup data were available for the U.S. states, but for cities, we had to use proxies like self-employment or data on small businesses. Data about startups at the local level did not have an empirical signature - there simply has not been data about firms and their age to this point. However, available to the public for the first time, federal government data now allows us to look at startups at the metropolitan area level. In this paper, we identify forty metropolitan areas, each some of the largest of their type, with high startup densities, and discuss their trends over the past two decades. Some of the metros are the usual suspects, like parts of Silicon Valley and New York, but we wager there are many areas in the United States that many have overlooked. The measure we use makes it difficult to identify high-impact startups, or the popular high-tech sectoral focus. There is other work we point to for these sorts of analyses, mainly work with the Inc. 500 and recent work on startup density in the tech sectors. For our purposes, though, this data gives us a broad picture of startups and a look at entrepreneurship at a level of granularity never before available.
The Development of Plant Hormone Research in the Last 60 Years

The development of ideas traced by Dr. Heslop-Harrison turned out to be the forerunner of a real revolution in our concepts of how the higher plant is integrated and organized. It will not be possible to enter on such a detailed enquiry as the previous speaker, because the field has become so much broader. The concept of a growth hormone arose directly out of the work of Arpad Paal and, like the work of Darwin and Boysen-Jensen before him, was founded firmly on the nature of tropisms. (The 1909 work of Fitting on the post-floration phenomena in orchids, caused by a postulated “pollenhormon,” was quite separate and is an exception to the clear line that can be traced through tropisms, especially phototropism.) Unlike the early developments in animal hormone studies, the plant hormone concept depended from the first on the idea of a quantitative response, i.e., some proportional relationship between the quantity of hormone and the intensity of the response. By contrast, gastric secretion, thyroid action, male and female sexual development (e.g., comb formation in cockerels) were observed rather as all-or-none phenomena, at least at first; later, of course, bio-assays were developed whose quantitative nature allowed the beginnings of chemical isolation.
Partial Obstruction of the Endotracheal Tube by the Plastic Coating Sheared from a Stylet

A preterm with gestational age of 24 weeks was intubated at day of life 16. The intubation was done in a routine manner with the use of a stylet. It took a significant effort from the clinician to pull the stylet out after intubation. After intubation the respiratory status of the neonate deteriorated requiring significantly greater support. When ventilating and oxygenating the infant was getting progressively difficult, the decision was made to change the endotracheal tube (ETT). The cause for deterioration of respiratory status was then determined to be a sheared piece of plastic from the sheath of the stylet which was lodged in the lumen of the ETT. After removal of the plastic particle, the condition of the infant improved significantly.
Evaluating Comparative Judgment as an Approach to Essay Scoring

ABSTRACTAs an alternative to rubric scoring, comparative judgment generates essay scores by aggregating decisions about the relative quality of the essays. Comparative judgment eliminates certain scorer biases and potentially reduces training requirements, thereby allowing a large number of judges, including teachers, to participate in essay evaluation. The purpose of this study was to assess the validity, labor costs, and efficiency of comparative judgments as a potential substitute for rubric scoring. An analysis of two essay prompts revealed that comparative judgment measures were comparable to rubric scores at a level similar to that expected of two professional scorers. The comparative judgment measures correlated slightly higher than rubric scores with a multiple-choice writing test. Score reliability exceeding .80 was achieved with approximately nine judgments per response. The average judgment time was 94 seconds, which compared favorably to 119 seconds per rubric score. Practical challenges to fu...
Suppression of mycorrhizal growth response of big bluestem by non-sterile soil.

Inoculum potential of Glomus mosseae and Glomus etunicatum was reduced significantly in pasteurized soil amended with a sieved suspension from non-sterile soil. Regardless of mycorrhizal fungus inoculum dosage, dry weight and root colonization of plants grown in pasteurized soil with non-sterile soil sievings never equalled those of plants grown in pasteurized soil alone. However, plants exposed to non-sterile soil were more colonized and grew faster than plants in pasteurized soil alone. Only after 13 wk were plants in pasteurized soil significantly more colonized, and after 16 wk larger in dry weight than their counterparts in non-sterile soil or pasteurized soil with sievings. Apparently, loss of inoculum potential alone cannot fully explain the suppression of plant growth observed in non-sterile soil. The suppressive effects of non-sterile soil may be best related to microbial mediation of nutrient availability in soil.
Monodisperse polymer beads as packing material for high-performance liquid chromatography : fine control of pore structure of macroporous beads

A novel approach to monodispersed porous polymer beads allowing accurate control over a broad range of pore size distribution has been developed. It involves the use of monodispersed template particles which are used as polymeric porogens in the suspension polymerization of monomers such as styrene and divinylbenzene. The size uniformity of the template particles is retained by the final porous beads. The porous properties of the final beads are determined in large part by the characteristics of the porogenic mixture such as its composition, the molecular weight of the polymeric porogen, as well as the relative amount of monomers, polymeric and low molecular weight porogens used.
A More Balanced Design Approach for Preserving the Usability of a Peruvian Cookstove

Over the past decade, a large amount of research has been dedicated to improving the efficiency and reducing the emissions of biomass cookstoves. The trade-off from placing such an emphasis on these two objectives is that improved cookstoves are often not as functional or desirable to the end user in comparison to their traditional cookstove. Thus, users often abandon their new improved cookstoves and sustained use is not achieved. In order for improved cookstoves to be more impactful, a different design approach is needed; improved cookstoves must be designed for usability, even at the expense of higher efficiencies or lower emissions. This paper explores the benefits of this alternative approach, which is demonstrated in the design of a replacement biomass cookstove for residents living in the Tambogrande region of Peru. The heavy use of biomass cookstoves in this small collection of villages, has resulted in many health and environmental problems for the residents. Recent field studies revealed that residents were pleased with the functionality of their traditional channel stove, yet also desired to have a stove that cooks faster, consumes less fuel, and emits less smoke. The resulting design includes a set of adaptable, inexpensive pot skirts that can be integrated with their current channel stove. These pot skirts allow for varying sizes and number of pots, as well as allow traditional fuels to be used. Despite a usability focused design approach, the pot skirts still improved the technical performance of the cookstove by improving thermal efficiency by 25.8%, decreasing time to boil by 26.0%, and decreasing fuel consumption by 24.7%. These results demonstrate that a usability focused design can still yield significant performance improvements while achieving a high level of user functionality.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Malignant plasmacytoma of the lung with metastases.

Summary This is a case report of a 67-year-old man who presented with a pulmonary mass, which, on excision, proved to be a neoplastic pulmonary plasmacytoma with lymph node metastasis. Despite absence of radiologic evidence of bone involvement, serum protein electrophoresis demonstrated a myeloma band. The patient died of unrelated disease 4 months after excision of the pulmonary tumor, and autopsy showed involvement only of one hilar lymph node and a lumbar vertebra. This is the first reported case of a malignant pulmonary plasmacytoma, with distant metastasis, presenting as the initial manifestation of multiple myeloma.
Intact soluble P-glycoprotein is secreted by sinonasal epithelial cells.

BackgroundP-glycoprotein (P-gp) is a 170 kDa transmembrane efflux pump, which is upregulated in chronic rhinosinusitis. Studies of leukemia demonstrated that P-gp may also be secreted in an intact ...
Wireless network virtualization for enhancing security: Status, challenges and perspectives

Virtualization is emerging as an efficient resource utilization method that eliminates dedicated physical devices. Virtualization has been widely used in computer systems such as virtual memory, virtual storage access network and wired networks - and most recently in cloud computing - to enhance the network performance, resource utilization and energy efficiency, and to achieve performance isolation between different parties. Inspired by this, several techniques for network and wireless virtualization have been proposed in the literature in order to improve the network performance and security. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive study of network and wireless virtualization for enhancing overall network security. We also outline current state of the research and future perspectives. With this paper, readers can have a more thorough understanding of wireless virtualization for network security and the research trends in this area.
Perceived and actual noise levels in critical care units.

Summary Purpose To compare the noise levels perceived by critical care nurses in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to actual noise levels in the ICU. Methods Following a pilot study ( n =18) and revision of the survey tool, a random sample of nurses were surveyed twice in a 3-day period ( n =108). Nurses perception of noise was compared to the actual sound pressure level using descriptive statistics. Major Results Nurses perceived the ICUs to be noisier than the actual values. The ICU was louder than the recommended noise level for resotrative sleep. This finding raises the question of how we can assist nurses to reduce what they perceive to be a loud environment. Application Future work is needed to develop interventions specifically for nurses to raise awareness of noise in the ICU and to provide them with skills to assist in noise reduction.
Hydrologic controls on aperiodic spatial organization of the ridge–slough patterned landscape

Abstract. A century of hydrologic modification has altered the physical and biological drivers of landscape processes in the Everglades (Florida, USA). Restoring the ridge–slough patterned landscape, a dominant feature of the historical system, is a priority but requires an understanding of pattern genesis and degradation mechanisms. Physical experiments to evaluate alternative pattern formation mechanisms are limited by the long timescales of peat accumulation and loss, necessitating model-based comparisons, where support for a particular mechanism is based on model replication of extant patterning and trajectories of degradation. However, multiple mechanisms yield a central feature of ridge–slough patterning (patch elongation in the direction of historical flow), limiting the utility of that characteristic for discriminating among alternatives. Using data from vegetation maps, we investigated the statistical features of ridge–slough spatial patterning (ridge density, patch perimeter, elongation, patch size distributions, and spatial periodicity) to establish more rigorous criteria for evaluating model performance and to inform controls on pattern variation across the contemporary system. Mean water depth explained significant variation in ridge density, total perimeter, and length : width ratios, illustrating an important pattern response to existing hydrologic gradients. Two independent analyses (2-D periodograms and patch size distributions) provide strong evidence against regular patterning, with the landscape exhibiting neither a characteristic wavelength nor a characteristic patch size, both of which are expected under conditions that produce regular patterns. Rather, landscape properties suggest robust scale-free patterning, indicating genesis from the coupled effects of local facilitation and a global negative feedback operating uniformly at the landscape scale. Critically, this challenges widespread invocation of scale-dependent negative feedbacks for explaining ridge–slough pattern origins. These results help discern among genesis mechanisms and provide an improved statistical description of the landscape that can be used to compare among model outputs, as well as to assess the success of future restoration projects.
Token-ring local area network

Abstract A local area network (LAN) should be easily accessible, extremely reliable, and extendable in both function and physical size. The star/ring wiring topology with token-access control has emerged as a technology that can meet all of these objectives. The requirements of small networks with just a few terminals, as well as those of very large networks with thousands of terminals, can be achieved through this one architecture. The paper is a summary of the fundamental aspects of the architecture, physical components, and operation of a token-ring LAN.
Lights, building, action: Impact of default lighting settings on occupant behaviour

Occupant behaviour and their interactions with building systems could significantly influence energy consumption in buildings. Studies suggest “default setting” techniques could be used as intervention strategies as people's preferences are dramatically influenced by minor variations in settings. With the goal to reduce lighting-related energy consumption, we studied the effects of default lighting settings on occupants' rate of lighting adjustments in a single occupancy office space. Through the use of immersive virtual environments, we analysed 160 participants' data in a virtual office space. Based on the results, people are significantly more likely to keep the lighting settings if the default condition had some or maximum daylighting available. Additionally, the participants reading speed and comprehension were respectively faster and more accurate in conditions where simulated daylight was available. By using default settings, we can influence occupant behaviour towards more energy efficient choices in their daily interactions with building's lighting and shading systems.
Which dipole are you studying in lab

We explore the similarities and differences between the electric dipole studied in introductory physics and the purportedly equivalent elementary experiment in which the electric potential is measured on a conductive sheet as a current flows. The former is a three-dimensional electrostatic dipole while the latter is a two-dimensional steady-state dipole. In spite of these differences, and as shown in this work, the potentials due to these dipoles look very similar. This may be misleading to either students or unaware instructors.
Dynamical effects of calcium-sensitive potassium currents on voltage and calcium alternans.

Cardiac alternans is a precursor to life-threatening arrhythmias. Alternans can be caused by instability of the membrane voltage (Vm), instability of the intracellular Ca (Cai) cycling, or both. Vm dynamics and Cai dynamics are coupled via Ca-sensitive currents. In cardiac myocytes, there are several Ca-sensitive potassium (K) currents such as the slowly activating delayed rectifier current (IKs) and the small conductance Ca-activated potassium (SK) current (ISK). However, the role of these currents in the development of arrhythmias is not well understood. In this study, we investigated how these currents affect voltage and Ca alternans using a physiologically detailed computational model of the ventricular myocyte and mathematical analysis. We define the coupling between Vm and Cai cycling dynamics (Cai→Vm coupling) as positive (negative) when a larger Ca transient at a given beat prolongs (shortens) the action potential duration (APD) of that beat. While positive coupling predominates at baseline, increasing IKs and ISK promote negative Cai→Vm coupling at the cellular level. Specifically, when alternans is Ca-driven, electromechanically (APD-Ca) concordant alternans becomes electromechanically discordant alternans as IKs or ISK increase. These cellular level dynamics lead to different types of spatially discordant alternans in tissue. These findings help to shed light on the underlying mechanisms of cardiac alternans especially when relative strength of these currents becomes larger under pathological conditions or drug administrations. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Growth Differentiation Factor-15–Induced Contractile Activity and Extracellular Matrix Production in Human Trabecular Meshwork Cells

Purpose To determine the role and regulation of growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15), a TGF-β-related cytokine in human trabecular meshwork (TM) cells in the context of aqueous humor (AH) outflow and IOP. Methods Regulation of expression by external cues, and the distribution and secretion of GDF-15 by human TM primary cell cultures, and the effects of recombinant (r) GDF-15 on TM cell contractile characteristics, actin cytoskeleton, cell adhesion, extracellular matrix (ECM), α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA), SMAD signaling, and gene expression were determined by immunoblot, immunofluorescence, mass spectrometry, cDNA microarray, and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analyses. Results Growth differentiation factor-15, a common constituent of ECM derived from the human TM cells, was confirmed to be distributed throughout the conventional aqueous humor outflow pathway of the human eye. Growth differentiation factor-15 protein levels were significantly increased in human TM cells in response to TGF-β2, dexamethasone, endothelin-1, lysophosphatidic acid, TNF-α, IL-1β treatment, and by cyclic mechanical stretch. Stimulation of human TM cells with rGDF-15 caused a significant increase in the formation of actin stress fibers and focal adhesions, myosin light chain phosphorylation, SMAD signaling, gene expression, and the levels of αSMA and ECM proteins. Conclusions The results of this study, including a robust induction of GDF-15 expression by several external factors known to elevate IOP, and rGDF-15-induced increase in contractility, cell adhesion, and the levels of ECM proteins and αSMA in TM cells, collectively suggest a potential role for GDF-15 in homeostasis and dysregulation of AH outflow and IOP in normal and glaucomatous eyes, respectively.
Professor Neil B. Pride (1931-2016).

Neil Blair Pride, Emeritus Professor of Respiratory Medicine at Imperial College, died in Ealing on November 12th 2016 aged 85 years. He was a world-renowned respiratory physician and physiologist, who made enormous contributions to our understanding of common lung diseases. Professor Neil B. Pride MD, FRCP, FERS Born in Croydon on July 29th 1931, to a general practitioner father, he was educated at Bryanston School, Dorset. He studied preclinical medicine at Christ's College, Cambridge and continued to clinical studies at St Mary's Medical School, London before qualifying as a doctor in 1956. In 1962, after clinical training posts in London and Cambridge, he went to work with Solbert Permutt in the Department of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. It was here that he developed his physiological research, and he and Sol published a landmark paper on the determinants of maximal expiratory flow from the lung [1 …
Building Bridges between Technology and Content Literacy in Special Education: Lessons Learned from Special Educators' Use of Integrated Technology and Perceived Benefits for Students.

ABSTRACTThis single-site case study describes the outcomes and lessons learned from the implementation of a technology professional development initiative aimed at helping three special education teachers from an urban elementary school learn how to infuse technology in their content literacy instruction. Three types of qualitative data were collected: (a) researcher`s anecdotal notes during the professional learning sessions; (b) teachers’ reflection blog entries; and (c) student artifacts (i.e., digital exit tickets, student work samples). The impact of the technology professional development on teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge for content literacy instruction, changes in teachers’ content literacy instructional and assessment practices, and the influence of teachers’ technology professional development on the content literacy learning of students with disabilities are discussed. Recommendations for future professional development programs focused on techno...
No one size fits all-Shortening duration of therapy with direct-acting antivirals for hepatitis C genotype 1 infection.

The advent of shorter duration, highly effective and well tolerated interferon-free therapy now provides an opportunity for virtually all HCV infected individuals to be cured. However, there continues to be a need to simplify and shorten treatment duration. Shortening therapy to 8 weeks with sofosbuvir and ledipasvir can be considered in treatment patients with HCV genotype 1 infection and low baseline viral load. A number of other 8 week dual and triple therapy direct acting antiviral (DAA) regimens are in advanced clinical development. Several small studies have further demonstrated the feasibility of 6 weeks of sofosbuvir therapy in combination with an NS5A inhibitor and a protease inhibitor for HCV genotype 1. Four weeks of therapy with various combinations of the currently available DAAs appears to be sub-optimal with poor response rates observed in phase 2 trials. Response guided therapy is another promising tool that may allow for shorter therapy but require further research. Shortening therapy and retreating relapsers may be a viable cost-saving measure, but requires further cost-benefit analysis and more data on the impact of resistance on re-treatment options. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Improved Outcomes with an Outpatient Multidisciplinary Intensive Feeding Therapy Program Compared with Weekly Feeding Therapy to Reduce Enteral Tube Feeding Dependence in Medically Complex Young Children.

The prevalence of feeding disorders in medically complex children is estimated to be as high as 80%. Enteral tube nutrition (ETN) is commonly used for nutritional support in children with feeding disorders. Adverse consequences of ETN include medical complications, psychosocial problems, and higher healthcare costs. We used a retrospective cohort controlled study design to compare outcomes of our outpatient multidisciplinary intensive feeding therapy (IFT) program to our traditional therapy (TT) of single-discipline, once weekly feeding therapy to reduce ETN dependence in medically complex young children. Children in the IFT cohort experienced a median reduction in ETN dependence of 49% (34.5–58.5%) compared with a median reduction of 0% (0–25%) for TT (p > 0.0001). Almost half of the IFT cohort no longer required ETN by the conclusion of the 5-week program. Medically complex young children (median age 26 months) successfully reduce or eliminate ETN in an outpatient multidisciplinary intensive feeding program.
Magnetic structure and magnetization of helical antiferromagnets in high magnetic fields perpendicular to the helix axis at zero temperature

The zero-temperature angles of magnetic moments in a helix or sinusoidal fan confined to the xy plane, with respect to an in-plane magnetic field Hx applied perpendicular to the z axis of a helix or fan, are calculated for commensurate helices and fans with field-independent turn angles kd between moments in adjacent layers of the helix or fan using the classical J0-J1-J2 Heisenberg model. For 0 < kd < $4\pi/9$, first-order transitions from helix to a fan structure occur at fields Ht as previously inferred, where the fan is found to be approximately sinusoidal. However, for $4 \pi/9$ < kd < $\pi$, different behaviors are found depending on the value of kd and these properties vary nonmonotonically with kd. In this kd range, the change from helix to fanlike structure is usually a crossover with no phase transition between them, although first-order and second order transitions are found. We also calculated the average x-axis moment per spin $\mu_{x ave}$ versus Hx for helices and fans with crossovers and phase transitions between them. When smooth helix to fanlike crossovers occur in the range $4\pi/9$ < kd < $\pi$, $\mu_{x ave}$ exhibits an S-shape behavior with increasing Hx. This predicted behavior is consistent with $\mu_{x ave}$(Hx) data previously reported by Sangeetha, et al. [Phys. Rev. B 94, 014422 (2016)] for single-crystal EuCo2P2 possessing a helix ground state with kd = $0.85\pi$. The low-field magnetic susceptibility and the ratio Ht/Hc are calculated analytically or numerically versus kd for helices.
Functionalization of MgZnO nanorod films and characterization by FTIR microscopic imaging

Metal organic chemical vapor deposition grown films consisting of MgxZn1-xO (4% < x < 5%) nanorod arrays (MgZnOnano) were functionalized with 11-azidoundecanoic acid (1). The MgZnOnano was used instead of pure ZnO to take advantage of the etching resistance of the MgZnOnano during the binding and subsequent sensing device fabrication processes of sensor devices, while the low Mg composition level ensures that selected ZnO properties useful for sensors development, such as piezoelectricity, are retained. Compound 1 was bound to the MgZnOnano surface through the carboxylic acid group, leaving the azido group available for click chemistry and as a convenient infrared spectroscopy (IR) probe. The progress of the functionalization with 1 was characterized by FTIR microscopic imaging as a function of binding time, solvents employed, and MgZnOnano morphology. Binding of 1 was most stable in solutions of 3-methoxypropionitrile (MPN), a non-protic polar solvent. This occurred first in μm-scale islands, then expanded to form a rather uniform layer after 22 h. Binding in alcohols resulted in less homogenous coverage, but the 1/MgZnOnano films prepared from MPN were stable upon treatment with alcohols at room temperature. The binding behavior was significantly dependent on the surface morphology of MgZnOnano.
Relational Contracting at the Bottom of Global Garment Value Chains: Lessons from Mewat

How can labour standards be diffused beyond formal factories to those involved in informal work in the lowest tiers of global subcontracting? This question has vexed analysts and policy-makers in the face of broad agreement that private voluntary regulation is not enough to reach the most vulnerable workers in global value chains. This paper documents an alternative arrangement of relational ties at the base of the global garment chain in Mewat, India. The arrangement involved a novel place-based partnership between a leading global buyer, Gap Inc., the government, exporters, local home-based embroidery workers and an embedded nonprofit that connected them all. This networked contracting system helped secure, for a period of time, good working conditions, decent wages and improved livelihoods for previously unprotected workers. The experiment’s success however bred its own challenges and the network continues to transform. The case highlights two points: first, that focusing beyond the factory-floor, on workers in place based territorial labour markets might be an important complement to sectoral strategies of workforce protection. Second, the case also suggests that diffusing good labour standards down and beyond firms within value chains will require an active and mediating role of the decentralized state. Such a state both regulates, learns and collaborates, and holds open a space for relational mediation among firms, labour, and civic actors to jointly reach workers in the lowest tiers of global subcontracting systems.
Kinematic Steering Law for Conically Constrained Torque-Limited Spacecraft Attitude Control

A novel algorithm for attitude control of a spacecraft subjected to conically constrained inclusion and exclusion regions using a kinematic steering law and a rate-based attitude servo system is pr...
Rotating Online Behavior Change Interventions Increases Effectiveness But Also Increases Attrition

Behavior change systems help people manage their time online and achieve many other goals. These systems typically consist of a single static intervention, such as a timer or site blocker, to persuade users to behave in ways consistent with their stated goals. However, static interventions decline in effectiveness over time as users begin to ignore them. In this paper, we compare the effectiveness of static interventions to a rotation strategy, where users experience different interventions over time. We built and deployed a browser extension called HabitLab, which features many interventions that the user can enable across social media and other web sites to control their time spent browsing. We ran three in-the-wild field experiments on HabitLab to compare static interventions to rotated interventions. We found that rotating between interventions increased effectiveness as measured by time on site, but also increased attrition: more users uninstalled HabitLab. To minimize attrition, we introduced a just-in-time information design about rotation. This design reduced attrition rates by half. With this research, we suggest that interaction design, paired with rotation of behavior change interventions, can help users gain control of their online habits.
Homeless Veterans and Mental Health

Veterans are more likely than the general civilian population to become homeless (Veteran homelessness: a supplemental report to the annual homeless assessment report to Congress, US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Department of Veterans’ Affairs, 2009). While veterans represent 8% of the US population, in 2010, 17% of the homeless were veterans. Nearly 50% of homeless veterans experience mental illness, and two-thirds meet the criteria for substance use disorders (National Survey of Homeless Veterans in 100,000 Homes Campaign Communities, 100,000 Homes, November 2011). Additionally, veterans on average spend nearly 6 years homeless, compared with 4 years for non- veterans. This chapter will summarize the mental health challenges of working with homeless veterans, as well as the initiatives that have recently been implemented to reduce homeless, prevent loss of housing, and address the risk factors associated with veteran homelessness.
Head Start Children at Risk for Emotional or Behavioral Disorders: Behavior Profiles and Clinical Implications of a Primary Prevention Program

This article examines the utility of the Early Screening Project (ESP; Walker, Severson, & Feil, 1995) for early detection and outcome of Head Start children at risk for emotional and behavioral di...
South African and American sales managers: A comparative study

The relatively unique socio-political and economic environment in South Africa frequently leads to the assertion that South African managers are very different when compared to their overseas counterparts. As far as could be ascertained, no studies have been conducted to test this presumption in the sales management area. In a recent study of two randomly selected groups of sales managers, one in South Africa and the other in the USA, it was established that there was substantial similarity between the two groups with respect to a number of areas of managerial behaviour.
Controlling O 2 Reactivity in Synthetic Analogues of [NiFeS]- and [NiFeSe]-Hydrogenase Active Sites

Strategies for limiting, or reversing, the degradation of air-sensitive, base metal catalysts for the hydrogen evolution/oxidation reaction on contact with adventitious O2 are guided by nature′s de...
Some Genetic Aspects of Morphometric Variation

Increased understanding about the form or shape of biological structures is a common goal of biologists, irrespective of whether it involves a DNA or protein molecule, a plant leaf, or the skull of a primate. Whatever the structure, biologists are interested in the origin and underlying determination of the form of an object, its function, and the way the form has or will change as a result of various developmental or evolutionary processes.
Perceived Risk and Willingness to Provide Loan to Smallholder Farmers in Ghana

In this article, we investigate whether lending institutions perceive smallholder (individual) farmers as riskier borrowers than farm cooperatives. Our research results show that individual farmers...
Reduced allergic lung inflammation and airway responsiveness in mice lacking the cytoskeletal protein gelsolin.

Airway smooth muscle hyperresponsiveness associated with chronic airway inflammation leads to the typical symptoms of asthma including bronchoconstriction and wheezing. Asthma severity is associated with airway inflammation; therefore reducing airway inflammation is an important therapeutic target. Gelsolin is an actin capping and severing protein that has been reported to be involved in modulation of the inflammatory response. Using mice genetically lacking gelsolin, we evaluated the role of gelsolin in the establishment of house dust mite (HDM) antigen-induced allergic lung inflammation. The genetic absence of gelsolin was found to be protective against HDM sensitization, resulting in reduced lung inflammation, inflammatory cytokines and Muc5AC protein in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. The number of eosinophils, lymphocytes and interstitial macrophages in the BAL were increased after HDM sensitization in wild type mice, but were attenuated in gelsolin null mice. The observed attenuation of inflammation may be partly due to delayed migration of immune cells, because the reduced eosinophils in the BALs from gelsolin null mice compared to controls occurred despite similar amounts of the chemoattractant eotaxin. Splenic T cells demonstrated similar proliferation rates, but ex vivo alveolar macrophage migration was delayed in gelsolin null mice. In vivo, the reduced lung inflammation after HDM sensitization in gelsolin null mice was associated with significantly diminished airway resistance to inhaled methacholine compared with HDM-treated wild type mice. Our results suggest that modulation of gelsolin expression or function in selective inflammatory cell types that modulate allergic lung inflammation could be a therapeutic approach for asthma.
Diversity of kindling of limbic seizures after lateral fluid percussion injury in the rat.

Lateral fluid percussion injury (LFPI) in rats is used to model post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE), with spontaneous seizures occurring in up to ½ of the subjects. Using the kindling paradigm, we examined whether animals without detectable seizures had an altered seizure susceptibility. Male Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to LFPI. Seven-nine months later, spontaneous seizures were monitored for two weeks. Afterward, the animals underwent kindling of basolateral amygdala. For kindling outcomes, the animals were categorized based on the 95% confidence intervals of mean number trials to kindling (ie 3 consecutive stage 4-5 seizures). Spontaneous seizures were detected in 7 out of 24 rats. There was no correlation between the severity of LFPI and either baseline afterdischarge properties, or kindling rates. Six LFPI rats kindled at a rate comparable to those in sham-LFPI (n = 10) and in naive (n = 7) subjects. Ten LFPI rats kindled faster and 8-slower than controls. None of slow-kindling rats had spontaneous seizures during the prekindling monitoring. During the same period, six fast-kindling and three normal-kindling rats had been seizure-free. Thus, kindling reveals a diversity to seizure susceptibility after LFPI beyond an overt seizure symptomatology, ranging from the increased susceptibility to the increased resistance.
Consent, dissent, and patriotism

Democratic governments are able to elicit, legally and legitimately, both money and men from their populations. Certainly there is tax evasion, draft evasion, and even outright resistance; yet to a remarkable extent citizens acquiesce and even actively consent to the demands of governments, well beyond the point explicable by coercion. This is a puzzle for social scientists, particularly those who believe that individuals are self-interested, rational actors who calculate only the private egoistic costs and benefits of possible choices. The provisions of collective good should never justify a quasi-voluntary tax payment and the benefits of a war could not possibly exceed the cost of dying. This book explains the institutionalization of policy in response to anticipated and actual citizen behaviour and the conditions under which citizens give, refuse and withdraw their consent. Professor Levi claims that citizens' consent is contingent upon the perceived fairness of both the government and of other citizens. Most citizens of democracies, most of the time, are more likely to give their consent if they believe that government actors and other citizens are behaving fairly toward them.
Schroedinger revisited:How the time-dependent wave equation follows from the Hamilton-Jacobi equation

It is shown how using the classical Hamilton-Jacobi equation one can arrive at the time-dependent wave equation. Although the former equation was originally used by E.Schroedinger to get the wave equation, we propose a different approach. In the first place, we do not use the principle of least action and, in addition, we arrive at the time-dependent equation, while Schroedinger (in his first seminal paper) used the least action principle and obtained the stationary wave equation. The proposed approach works for any classical Hamilton-Jacobi equation. In addition, by introducing information loss into the Hamilton-Jacobi equation we derive in an elementary fashion the wave equations (ranging from the Shroedinger to Klein-Gordon, to Dirac equations). We also apply this technique to a relativistic particle in the gravitational field and obtain the respective wave equation. All this supports 't Hooft's proposal about a possibility of arriving at quantum description from a classical continuum in the presence of information loss.