cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
ANATOMIC REPAIR OF CONGENITALLY CORRECTED TRANSPOSITION RESULTS IN EXCELLENT SURVIVAL AND FUNCTIONAL STATUS AT INTERMEDIATE TERM FOLLOW-UP

Background: Congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (CCTGA) is a rare cardiac malformation resulting from abnormal looping of the embryonic cardiac tube that results in atrioventricular and ventriculoarterial discordance. Surgical options include a physiologic repair (PR) or
Introduction: Behavior function Areas and Dimensions of Psychopathology

Human and animal behavior may be classified for study and teaching in many different ways. All classification systems are to some degree arbitrary, reflecting both the preconceptions and the interests of their creators. There are no truly “natural” systems of classification and no theoretical systems which are finally or absolutely correct. Such systems are judged not for their ultimate truth but for their usefulness in ordering the observed data in ways which provide satisfying explanations, permit some prediction and influence of future events, and foster new observations by raising additional questions. The usefulness of a classification or other theoretical system is itself a relative matter, depending in large part upon the particular purposes for which it is intended.
In Situ Fabrication of Fiber Reinforced Three-Dimensional Hydrogel Tissue Engineering Scaffolds

Hydrogels are an important class of biomaterials, but are inherently weak; to overcome this challenge, we report an in situ manufacturing technique to fabricate mechanically robust, fiber-reinforced poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) hydrogels. Here, a covalent PEO cross-linking scheme was implemented to derive poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) fiber reinforced PEO hydrogels from multilayer coextruded PEO/PCL matrix/fiber composites. By varying PCL fiber loading between ∼0.1 vol % and ∼7.8 vol %, hydrogel stiffness was tailored from 0.69 ± 0.04 MPa to 1.94 ± 0.21 MPa. The influence of PCL chain orientation and enhanced mechanics via uniaxial drawing of PCL/PEO composites revealed a further 225% increase in hydrogel stiffness. To further highlight the robust nature of this manufacturing process, we also derived rigid poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) fiber-reinforced PEO hydrogels with a stiffness of 8.71 ± 0.21 MPa. Fibroblast cells were injected into the hydrogel volume, which displayed excellent ingrowth, adhesion, and proli...
Radioactive colloidal chromic phosphate in the treatment of ovarian malignancies.

Little progress is being made in the early diagnosis and treatment of ovarian malignancy. To improve our survival rate, radioactive chromic phosphate was given to 33 patients with carcinoma of the ovary, and analysis showed it may be of value in the treatment of Stage I or Stage II ovarian malignancy, and also in the patient with malignant cells spilled into the abdomen at operation. However, the survival rate is influenced chiefly by the clinical stage, histogenic type, and pathologic grade of the carcinoma. Chemotherapeutic drugs are best for the treatment of residual tumor masses 3 cm. or greater in size and for the control of ascites.
Fibrinogen in the Nervous System: Glia Beware.

Re-myelination of CNS nerves after injury is ineffective. Here, Petersen et al. (2017) show that the blood clotting protein fibrinogen inhibits nerve repair by preventing oligodendrocyte progenitor cells from differentiating into myelinating oligodendrocytes. Targeting fibrinogen or its downstream BMP signaling pathway may help with CNS repair.
Investigating children's deep learning of the tree life cycle using mobile technologies

Abstract This study investigates children's problem-solving activities during mobile learning in an outdoor summer camp setting. We designed a mobile application to support children on trails at a nature center to apply strategies for decision making about tree life cycles. We analyzed video records of 10 groups (9 dyads and 1 triad) of children (ages 9–12) using primarily a thematic qualitative analysis of learning episodes. We analyzed how children used problem-solving strategies to identify and capture the tree cycle with the help of mobile tablets. We found that our mobile learning experience and its external representations supported the following: (1) engagement in deep learning in the natural setting as evidenced by coordinating decisions with photographic evidence; (2) use of procedural or tactical strategies to approach the problem; and (3) use of real-time decision making strategies about tree life cycles.
A Modern Proof of Bilirubin Structure Emerges

If it was not evident to many in the late 1800s that the pigments of bile, blood, and green leaves constituted attractive targets for establishing chemical structures, the perspective began to change in the early 1900s. The most attractive targets were the pigments of blood and leaves, which were far more available resources than the pigments of bile.
WEATHERING OF CRYSTALLINE MARBLE; NEW RESULTS

Marble and limestones are readily attacked by acid rain. The complex process of marble decay consists of dissolution around grains, release of internal stresses, cracking, dilating fabric, thermal cracking, moisture cracking. Ine visible features of marble decay are: Sanding, crumbling, cracking along thin ledges and bowing (scalloping) of thin veneer slabs.
Instructional improvement centers in higher education: A status report

A random sample of 72 instructional improvement centers in higher education were sent a questionnaire to determine their current status.
High Tc Thin Film Research at NRL

The potential importance of thin films of high temperature superconductors (HTS) has stimulated numerous approaches to thin film growth. At the Naval Research Lab, film growth of HTS is being studied by several methods: coevaporation1, flash evaporation2, chemical vapor deposition3, along with initial efforts at sputtering. In this paper I would like to summarize some of the work done by the first two efforts.
A Process-Oriented Framework for Knowledge-Centered Support in Field Experience Management

In this paper, the author discusses an exploratory study to provide IT support for field experience management using a process-oriented field experience knowledge management framework. This framework is structured around three sequential non-lineal phases: (1) before: preparing, searching and placement; (2) during: Supervising, tracking progress and providing feedback; and (3) after: Reflecting, assessment and reporting. Based on the proposed framework, the author constructed a knowledge-centered prototype system to support the field experience tracking and administration process. The paper also presents an evaluative performance of the system and discusses the implications. The results show that the proposed framework is valuable and can be used to guide and facilitate knowledge-center support system development in the area of field experience management.
Engineered Slippery Surface to Mitigate Gypsum Scaling in Membrane Distillation for Treatment of Hypersaline Industrial Wastewaters

Membrane distillation (MD) is an emerging thermal desalination process, which can potentially treat high salinity industrial wastewaters, such as shale gas produced water and power plant blowdown. The performance of MD systems is hampered by inorganic scaling, particularly when treating hypersaline industrial wastewaters with high-scaling potential. In this study, we developed a scaling-resistant MD membrane with an engineered “slippery” surface for desalination of high-salinity industrial wastewaters at high water recovery. A polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane was grafted with silica nanoparticles, followed by coating with fluoroalkylsilane to lower the membrane surface energy. Contact angle measurements revealed the “slippery” nature of the modified PVDF membrane. We evaluated the desalination performance of the surface-engineered PVDF membrane in direct contact membrane distillation using a synthetic wastewater with high gypsum scaling potential as well as a brine from a power plant blowdown. Resu...
Privacy-Aware Edge Computing in Social Sensing Applications Using Ring Signatures

Privacy on the Internet has become a major concern in recent years and is an ethical dilemma for Internet based applications. Social Sensing based Edge Computing (SSEC)is a category of distributed applications in which privately owned devices at the “edge” of the network participate in data collection and processing. Traditionally in SSEC, it has been difficult to manage privacy without making a tradeoff with performance or accuracy. In this paper, we present Privacy-aware Edge Computing (PEC), a framework that utilizes ring signatures for implementing social sensing applications with full privacy and without sacrificing data quality. Under PEC, privacy is managed by the edge devices without the need of a third party trusted authority. We evaluate the performance of PEC on a realworld edge computing platform and through extensive simulation studies. The results demonstrate that PEC achieves a high level of anonymity with a constrained cryptographic overhead.
A GENETIC ALGORITHM OPTIMIZATION MODEL FOR DIRECT PUMPING WATER SUPPLY INTAKES OPERATION

An optimization model for direct water supply intakes operation was created to maximize the rate of recovery of river bed, i.e. minimizing the effects pumping on river bed morphology. The model adopted constraints such as the water volume that should be pumped daily, minimum and maximum pumping intake capacity, and maximum time of pumping per day, while the objective function maximized is the rate of recovery of the river bed . The decision variables are selected as the pumping rate to river flow ratio, and the intake operation time to time of non-operation ratio. The model combines the Genetic Algorthim and the Artificial Neural Networks techniques to find the optimum solution. The application indicated that the required number of the randomly generated solutions and the number of cross over process for a stable optimum genetic algorithm solution are (100) and (1) respectively. Sensitivity analysis of the effect of number of cycles of operation and non-operation periods of the intake per day and the river flow indicates that these variables have no effect on the objective function.
Chicken fat for catalysis: a scaffold is as important for molecular complexes for energy transformations as it is for enzymes in catalytic function

In order to enable the widespread use of renewable energy from sources such as solar and wind, the energy needs to be stored for use when the renewable sources are not productive. Small molecules such as H2, O2, H2O, and CO2 for example, are excellent storage systems. Nature has evolved machinery, in the form of enzymes, to facilitate these interconversions, allowing the storage and release of electrons when the organism needs to store or release energy. Chemical conversion by metalloenzymes is completed with high selectivity, low energy input, and high efficiency, all with earth abundant metals and under mild conditions. Although these catalytic properties seem advantageous for industrial use, there are inherent drawbacks to the use of metalloenzymes for industrial applications. However, they provide significant inspiration for developing synthetic complexes that could be implemented broadly. A recent approach in metalloenzyme design has been to focus not only on the atoms immediately attached to the metal, but also the protein scaffold around the active site which has a significant effect on enzymatic catalysis. By taking multiple approaches, the design principles of the protein scaffold are starting to be understood and the essential features required, as well as those not needed, are also being revealed. In this review, we will discuss the effect of organic/peptidic scaffolds, along with medium as an extension of the scaffold, and their varying impacts on catalytic reactivity of energy relevant transformations.
FriendsQA: Open-Domain Question Answering on TV Show Transcripts

This paper presents FriendsQA, a challenging question answering dataset that contains 1,222 dialogues and 10,610 open-domain questions, to tackle machine comprehension on everyday conversations. Each dialogue, involving multiple speakers, is annotated with several types of questions regarding the dialogue contexts, and the answers are annotated with certain spans in the dialogue. A series of crowdsourcing tasks are conducted to ensure good annotation quality, resulting a high inter-annotator agreement of 81.82%. A comprehensive annotation analytics is provided for a deeper understanding in this dataset. Three state-of-the-art QA systems are experimented, R-Net, QANet, and BERT, and evaluated on this dataset. BERT in particular depicts promising results, an accuracy of 74.2% for answer utterance selection and an F1-score of 64.2% for answer span selection, suggesting that the FriendsQA task is hard yet has a great potential of elevating QA research on multiparty dialogue to another level.
Dynamic subcellular translocation of V-type H+ -ATPase is essential for biomineralization of the diatom silica cell wall.

Diatom cell walls, called frustules, are main sources of biogenic silica in the ocean and their intricate morphology is an inspiration for nanoengineering. Here we show dynamic aspects of frustule biosynthesis involving acidification of the silica deposition vesicle (SDV) by V-type H+ ATPase (VHA). Transgenic Thalassiosira pseudonana expressing the VHA B subunit tagged with enhanced green fluorescent protein (VHAB -eGFP) enabled subcellular protein localization in live cells. In exponentially growing cultures, VHAB -eGFP was present in various subcellular localizations including the cytoplasm, SDVs and vacuoles. We studied the role of VHA during frustule biosynthesis in synchronized cell cultures of T. pseudonana. During the making of new biosilica components, VHAB -eGFP first localized in the girdle band SDVs, and subsequently in valve SDVs. In single cell time-lapse imaging experiments, VHAB -eGFP localization in SDVs precluded accumulation of the acidotropic silica biomineralization marker PDMPO. Furthermore, pharmacological VHA inhibition prevented PDMPO accumulation in the SDV, frustule biosynthesis and cell division, as well as insertion of the silicalemma-associated protein SAP1 into the SDVs. Finally, partial inhibition of VHA activity affected the nanoscale morphology of the valve. Altogether, these results indicate that VHA is essential for frustule biosynthesis by acidifying the SDVs and regulating the insertion of other structural proteins into the SDV.
An Application of the Social Cognitive Career Theory Model of Career Self-Management to College Athletes’ Career Planning for Life After Sport

Drawing on Lent and Brown (2013) recently developed Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) model of Career Self-Management (CSM), we aimed to determine the key predictors and underlying theoretical mechanisms of college athletes' career planning processes for life after sport. Ten variables were operationalized (i.e., career planning for life after sport, career decision self-efficacy, career goals, perceived career planning support from coaches, perceived career planning barriers, conscientiousness, openness, extraversion, neuroticism, and agreeableness) to assess the hypothesized CSM model. A survey design was utilized on a sample of 538 NCAA Division I college athletes in the United States to test the model. The measurement and hypothesized models were tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The measurement model demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity for all measures. Several significant direct, indirect, and moderating relationships of the cognitive, contextual, and personality variables on career planning were observed. The CSM model was found to be a useful theoretical framework that explained 62.7% of the variance on career planning. The model, along with the validated measures that support it, can help both researchers and practitioners to leverage facilitating (i.e., self-efficacy, career goals, conscientiousness, openness, and extraversion) and impeding (i.e., career barriers) factors of the career planning processes in their work.
One Health for Food Safety, Food Security, and Sustainable Food Production

Globally, our society faces an enormous challenge to feed, house and provide a healthy life for the growing human population while preserving the environment and natural resources for the benefit of future generations. In order to meet these challenges, sustainable food production and environmental stewardship is paramount and will require a One Health approach. One Health is the concept that the health of humans, animals, and the environment are inextricably linked. This approach can be applied to food safety, sustainable food production and environmental stewardship by bringing together interdisciplinary teams to create a One Health network to address these challenges. Farmers, consumers, researchers, government agencies, and consumer advocacy groups play an important role in influencing food safety policies and sustainable food production practices. To make progress towards improving food safety and best practices for sustainable food production, scientific research is vital to shape and inform policies, practices and advance technological applications to increase food production, improve sustainable practices, and assess environmental impact in order to meet global health challenges, safeguard the environment, and provide an economic benefit to agriculture producers. Incorporating One Health education into curriculum for medical, veterinary, and scientific programs to develop one health competencies and networks is needed for improving public health, food safety and sustainable agriculture.
The Love of Aerial Practice: Art, Embodiment, Phronesis

Background of study: Given the importance of movement and low exercise adherence among young adults, it is imperative to understand reasons for the love of movement. Objective: The purpose of this phronetic, qualitative study was to examine if the values of aerial practice encompassed elements of embodiment, techne (art), and phronesis (practical wisdom). Method: Participants were 13 undergraduate college students in an aerial practice class. Individual-based interview topics included exercise behavior and the values and meaning of aerial practice. Results: All participants were active regardless of aerial practice classification (e.g., beginners vs advanced). Beyond aerial practice, other exercises included dancing, yoga and aerial yoga, Pilates, aerobic activities (e.g., running and spinning classes), rock climbing and hiking, weight lifting, somatics and acrobatics. Based on the first theme, the love of aerial practice, techne aspects reflected fitness, skill improvement; challenging, infinite learning and determination. Art, performativity, fluidity included techne and embodiment, while the sensation of whole-body movement encompassed an embodied element for the love of aerial silks. A combination of phronetic and embodied elements were sense of community and inclusivity; novelty; it fits me. Embodied qualities of the second theme, challenges with aerial practice, included fear, injuries, bruises, pain. Fitness, skill, performance and the struggle to learn new movements linked to techne and the integral parts of movement. Phronetic categories regarding situation-specific reflections were time on the silk and unhealthy competition in the business world (territorial traits and lack of sharing). The third theme was future exercise plans and its categories included phronetic (decision-related) elements: practice and/or teach aerial silks; keep exercising. Conclusion: Artistic, embodied, and phronetic approaches in movement education can enhance the value and pursuit of movement.
Association of 24-Hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Patterns with Cognitive Function and Physical Functioning in CKD.

Background and objectives Hypertension is highly prevalent in patients with CKD as is cognitive impairment and frailty, but the link between them is understudied. Our objective was to determine the association between ambulatory BP patterns, cognitive function, physical function, and frailty among patients with nondialysis-dependent CKD. Design, setting, participants, & measurements Ambulatory BP readings were obtained on 1502 participants of the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort. We evaluated the following exposures: (1) BP patterns (white coat, masked, sustained versus controlled hypertension) and (2) dipping patterns (reverse, extreme, nondippers versus normal dippers). Outcomes included the following: (1) cognitive impairment scores from the Modified Mini Mental Status Examination of Results Mean age of participants was 63±10 years, 56% were male, and 39% were black. At baseline, 129 participants had cognitive impairment, and 275 were frail. Median SPPB score was 9 (interquartile range, 7–10). At baseline, participants with masked hypertension had 0.41 (95% CI, −0.78 to −0.05) lower SPPB scores compared with those with controlled hypertension in the fully adjusted model. Over 4 years of follow-up, 529 participants had incident frailty, and 207 had incident cognitive impairment. After multivariable adjustment, there was no association between BP or dipping patterns and incident frailty or cognitive impairment. Conclusions In patients with CKD, dipping and BP patterns are not associated with incident or prevalent cognitive impairment or prevalent frailty.
Early out-of-hospital experience with an impedance-compensating low-energy biphasic waveform automatic external defibrillator.

Impedance-compensating low-energy biphasic truncated exponential(BTE) waveforms are effective in transthoracic defibrillation ofshort-duration ventricular fibrillation (VF). However, the BTE waveform hasnot been examined in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) with patients inprolonged VF often associated with myocardial ischemia. The objective ofthis study was to evaluate the BTE waveform automatic externaldefibrillator (AED) in the out-of-hospital setting with long-duration VF.AEDs incorporating a 150-J BTE waveform were placed in 12 police squad carsand 4 paramedic-staffed advanced life support ambulances. AEDs were appliedto arrested patients by first-arriving personnel, whether police orparamedics. Data were obtained from PC Data Cards within the AED.Defibrillation was defined as at least transient termination of VF. Tenpatients, 64 ± 14 years, were treated for VF with BTE shocks.Another 8 patients were in nonshockable rhythms and the AEDs,appropriately, did not advise a shock. Five of the 10 VF arrests werewitnessed with a 911 call-to-shock time of 6.6 ± 1.7 minutes. VFdetection and defibrillation occurred in all 10 patients. Spontaneouscirculation was restored in 3 of 5 witnessed arrest patients and 1 survivedto discharge home. Fifty-one VF episodes were converted with 62 shocks. Presenting VF amplitude and rate were 0.43 ± 0.22 (0.13-0.86) mV and232 ± 62 (122-353) beats/min, respectively, and defibrillation wasachieved with the first shock in 7 of 10 patients. Including transientconversions, defibrillation occurred in 42 of 51 VF episodes (82%)with one BTE shock. Shock impedance was 85 ± 10 (39-138) ohms.Delivered energy and peak voltage were 152 ± 2 J and 1754 ±4 V, respectively. The average number of shocks per VF episode was 1.2± 0.5 (1-3). More than one shock was needed in only 9 episodes; nonerequired >3 shocks to defibrillate. Impedance-compensating low-energyBTE waveforms terminated VF in OHCA patients with a conversion rateexceeding that of higher energy monophasic waveforms. VF was terminated inall patients, including those with high impedance.
Recently-explored top electrode materials for transparent organic solar cells

Abstract Transparent photovoltaics placed on the additional surface area of buildings, including windows and siding, have the potential to transform renewable energy generation. In contrast to their inorganic, silicon-based counterparts, organic solar cells (OSCs) have high absorption coefficients and can also be flexible, light-weight, and low-cost. However, the use of OSCs as transparent solar cells requires developing a compatible active material alongside a suitable top conductive electrode (TCE) that maintains both high transparency and low resistivity. This mini-review will explore materials for the TCE of organic solar cells, examining the properties, advantages, challenges, and recent progress of such electrodes in the last five years (2016–2020). The performance characteristics of these materials in transparent and semi-transparent organic solar cells, including power conversion efficiency, average visible transmittance, and color-rendering index are noted. The TCEs studied encompass transparent conductive oxides; carbon-based conductive polymers, graphene, and carbon nanotubes; metallic nanowires, nanomeshes, and nanogrids; in addition to ultrathin metals and composite electrodes. The investigation of these top conductive electrodes for transparent organic solar cells offers promise toward more versatile photovoltaics and thus a more sustainable energy future.
Risk Profile of Thanksgiving Gatherers and Subsequent SARS-CoV2 Testing and Diagnosis

BackgroundDuring Fall 2020 in the United States (U.S.), despite high COVID-19 case numbers and recommendations from public health officials not to travel and gather with individuals outside ones household, millions of people gathered for Thanksgiving. The objective of this study was to understand if individuals behaviors and risk perceptions influenced their decision to gather, and if they did gather, their subsequent test seeking and diagnoses. MethodsParticipants were part of the CHASING COVID Cohort study - a U.S. national prospective cohort. The study sample consisted of participants who completed routine questionnaires before and after Thanksgiving. Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) use informed behavioral risk scores and a score of perceived risk of COVID-19 were assigned to each participant. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to assess the association between higher risk behaviors and gathering with other households, and the association of gathering with subsequent testing and test positivity. ResultsA total of 1,932 (40.5%) cohort participants spent Thanksgiving with individuals from at least one other household. Participants with higher behavioral risk scores had greater odds of gathering with one other household (aOR: 2.35, 95% CI: 2.0, 2.7), two other households (aOR: 4.54, 95% CI: 3.7, 5.6), and three or more other households (aOR: 5.44, 95% CI: 4.1, 7.2). Participants perceiving COVID-19 as a low-risk to themselves and others had greater odds of gathering with one other household (aOR: 1.12, 95% CI: 0.97, 1.3), two other households (aOR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.1, 1.7), and three or more other households (aOR: 1.86, 95% CI: 1.4, 2.4). Those who spent Thanksgiving with one or more other households had 1.23 times greater odds (95% CI: 1.1, 1.4) of having a COVID-19 test afterward. There was no association between gathering for Thanksgiving and subsequent COVID-19 test positivity or developing COVID-19 symptoms. ConclusionsThose who gathered with other households for Thanksgiving tended to engage in higher-risk activities. Thanksgiving gathering with other households was not associated with subsequently testing positive for COVID-19, but only a small proportion obtained post-travel testing. Public health messaging should emphasize behavior change strategies that promote safer gathering.
The Use of Viewpoint Invariance

Chapter 3 described the properties of the image formation process that determine which image groupings will occur significantly more often than by chance. In particular, only those image groupings that are present over a substantial range of viewpoints of a scene will occur often enough to be reliably separated on statistical grounds from accidental occurrences of the same image features. In addition to determining which image groupings are detectable, these viewpoint invariance conditions lead to specific inferences regarding three-space relations from the two-dimensional image groupings. Figure 5-1 illustrates this form of inference, which can provide some of the same three-dimensional information as processes such as stereo or shape-from-motion. In this chapter we will also consider other forms of imaging invariance, such as the invariance of certain shadow features with respect to positions of the light sources that illuminate the scene.
Religion and Public Education: Rival Liberal Conceptions

Current liberal thought concerning the study of religion in public schools is divided. On the one hand there are thinkers like Warren Nord who argue that it is important to show respect toward religion in public schools, and that by not including the study of religion in public schools in a particular way, religion is grossly disrespected. On the other hand there are thinkers who appeal to John Rawls’s theory of political liberalism and argue for the exclusion of the study of religion in public schools. This view also holds that it is important to show respect toward religion; however, it contends that showing respect need not extend to the inclusion of the study of religion in public schools. Though both of these views sit comfortably underneath the liberal umbrella, neither view is one liberals ought to support. In both cases the kind of treatment they think religion must be accorded in public schools in order to show it respect is seriously flawed in ways that not only undermine their projects of treating religion respectfully, but also undermine any serious commitment to individual autonomy.
Increased Slc12a1 expression in β-cells and improved glucose disposal in Slc12a2 heterozygous mice.

The products of the Slc12a1 and Slc12a2 genes, commonly known as Na(+)-dependent K(+)2Cl(-) co-transporters NKCC2 and NKCC1, respectively, are the targets for the diuretic bumetanide. NKCCs are implicated in the regulation of intracellular chloride concentration ([Cl(-)]i) in pancreatic β-cells, and as such, they may play a role in glucose-stimulated plasma membrane depolarization and insulin secretion. Unexpectedly, permanent elimination of NKCC1 does not preclude insulin secretion, an event potentially linked to the homeostatic regulation of additional Cl(-) transporters expressed in β-cells. In this report we provide evidence for such a mechanism. Mice lacking a single allele of Slc12a2 exhibit lower fasting glycemia, increased acute insulin response (AIR) and lower blood glucose levels 15-30 min after a glucose load when compared to mice harboring both alleles of the gene. Furthermore, heterozygous expression or complete absence of Slc12a2 associates with increased NKCC2 protein expression in rodent pancreatic β-cells. This has been confirmed by using chronic pharmacological down-regulation of NKCC1 with bumetanide in the mouse MIN6 β-cell line or permanent molecular silencing of NKCC1 in COS7 cells, which results in increased NKCC2 expression. Furthermore, MIN6 cells chronically pretreated with bumetanide exhibit increased initial rates of Cl(-) uptake while preserving glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Together, our results suggest that NKCCs are involved in insulin secretion and that a single Slc12a2 allele may protect β-cells from failure due to increased homeostatic expression of Slc12a1.
Histamine 4 Receptor Activation Induces Recruitment of FoxP3+ T Cells and Inhibits Allergic Asthma in a Murine Model

Histamine has an important role in regulation of immune response which is mediated by differential expression of four distinct receptors, H1R–H4R. H1R and HR2 have previously been shown to be involved with modulation of lung inflammation. H4R is also expressed on inflammatory cells; therefore, we investigated the potential role of H4R in development of allergic asthma in a murine model. We determined that the H4R agonist 4-methylhistamine when delivered intratracheally before Ag challenge mitigated airway hyperreactivity and inflammation. This was associated with an increase in IL-10 and IFN-γ, but not TGF-β or IL-16, as well as a decrease in IL-13 in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. We also observed that H4R agonist instillation resulted in accumulation of FoxP3+ T cells suggesting a direct effect on T regulatory cell recruitment. To investigate this further, we determined the in vitro effect of H4R stimulation on human T cell migration. The H4R agonist induced a 2- to 3-fold increase in T cell migration, similar to that seen for H1R agonists. Cells transmigrating to the H4R agonist, but not H1R, were skewed toward a CD4 cell expressing CD25 and intracellular FoxP3. H4R-responsive cells suppressed proliferation of autologous T cells, an effect that was dependent on IL-10 production. We conclude that H4R stimulation enriches for a regulatory T cell with potent suppressive activity for proliferation. These findings identify a novel function for H4R and suggest a potential therapeutic approach to attenuation of asthmatic inflammation.
The structured interview: a selection device.

This study is a first step in evaluating the value of a structured interview in the selection of students for a six-year joint bachelor's-medical degree program. Specifically, the structured interview results were related to the admissions decision. The predictive utility of the interview will be explored in subsequent studies. 73 candidates were interviewed for 40 openings in the first year of the program and 132 candidates were interviewed for 36 openings in the third year of the program. Each candidate was interviewed both by a physician and by a non-physician. Each interviewer rated each interviewee on several traits plus making an over-all recommended admissions decision. Interviewers responded mainly in terms of over-all global impressions of candidates. Correlations between physician and non-physician ratings of the same candidates were low. The influence on admissions decisions of interviewer recommendations (by both physicians and non-physicians) was also low. There was some suggestion that physi...
Synthesis and properties of fluorine-containing heterocyclic compounds. I. trifluoromethyl quinolines†

The condensation of ethyl trifluoroacetoacetate with various aromatic amines, in polyphosphoric acid at 150°, gave substituted 2-trifluoromethyl-4-quinolinols. The structure of these compounds was established from a study of their infrared and ultraviolet spectra and, in some cases, by independent synthesis and cyclization of the intermediate 3-arylaminocrotonates. The 2-trifluoromethyl-4-quinolinols were converted to 2-trifluoromethyl-4-chloroquinolines which were subjected to hydrogenolysis with Raney nickel to yield 2-trifluoromethylquinolines and to treatment with an excess of hydrazine to give the corresponding hydrazino derivatives. The diazotization of 2 - trifluoromethyl -4-hydrazinoquinolines yielded azides which were unusually stable. The infrared and ultraviolet spectra of some of the compounds prepared are discussed.
Abstract LB-371: Altered vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA stability may lead to cancer development following immunosuppressive therapy

The development of cancer is an increasing and major problem in immunosuppressed patients, particularly after solid organ transplantation. In part, the increased cancer risk is associated with the use of immunosuppressive agents, especially calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs). The CNIs are used to prevent inflammatory diseases and allograft rejection. However, little is known about the mechanism(s) underlying their ability to promote the development and recurrence of cancer. We have recently demonstrated that CNI can mediate the transcriptional activation of the angiogenic cytokine vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and promote a rapid progression of human renal cancer. In contrast, the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin (RAPA), which is thought to have anti-cancer effects, has been reported to decrease VEGF expression. Here, we investigated whether the CNI cyclosporine (CsA) and RAPA could alter the mRNA stability of VEGF in 786-0 and Caki-1 renal cancer cells. By using actinomycin-D, we observed that CsA increased, while RAPA decreased the VEGF mRNA stability as observed by real time PCR. It is established that the mRNA-binding protein HuR may play a critical role in VEGF mRNA stability. By using HuR-siRNA, we found that the knockdown of HuR significantly decreased the CNI-induced VEGF mRNA stability. By Western blot analysis, it has been observed that CNI treatment induced the translocation of HuR from the nucleus to the cytoplasm; CNI also induced the association between HuR and protein kinase C (PKC)-δ, and promoted the phosphorylation of HuR. Interestingly, there was no significant change in the cytoplasmic translocation of HuR following RAPA treatment. Finally, we found that the inhibition of PKC-δ using a dominant-negative plasmid significantly decreased the CsA-induced cytoplasmic translocation of HuR and the VEGF mRNA stability. Together, we suggest that targeting the pathways that promote the transcription as well as the mRNA stability (post-transcriptional modification) of VEGF in response to CNI might serve as novel therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of cancer in immunosuppressed patients. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-371.
A Reexamination of the Persistence of Accruals and Cash Flows

We reexamine prior studies' conclusion that accruals are less persistent than cash, focusing on two aspects of persistence that are crucial to determining its properties. The first (time specificity) refers to the fact that persistence describes how current-period shocks to income translate into next-period income. Traditional measures of accruals are, however, functions of current- and non-current-period transactions. We show that the inclusion of non-current-period transactions leads to a downward (upward) bias on the persistence of accruals (cash flows). We develop alternative measures of accruals and cash flows that are not misaligned and show that the differential persistence of cash flows over accruals is more than 70% smaller using these measures. The second aspect of persistence is firm-specificity. Specifically, we evaluate persistence using firm-specific estimations and find that more than 85% of firms show no evidence that accruals are less persistent than cash flows.
CYTOCHEMICAL OBSERVATIONS ON CHANGES IN RNA CONTENT AND ACID PHOSPHATASE ACTIVITY DURING THE MEIOTIC PROPHASE IN THE ANTHER OF COSMOS BIPINNATUS CAV.

SUMMARY Cytophotometric methods have been used to demonstrate a fall in the acetic-alcohol fixable RNA of the cytoplasm of the meiocytes of Cosmos bipinnatus during the meiotic prophase. The decline occurs between zygotene and pachytene, and is probably attributable to a reduction in the ribosome population comparable with that already known to occur in Lilium and Trillium. Cytoplasmic acid phosphatase activity, estimated by cytochemical methods using naphthyl phosphates as substrates, rises from a low value in the preleptotene period to a maximum in zygotene and then subsequently declines. The possibility is suggested that the change in naphthyl cytochemically detectable acid phosphatase may be connected with the “autodigestive” processes concerned in ribosome elimination.
Training Graduate Student Clinicians to Use Preschool Peer Interaction Strategies

Abstract Playing with peers is an important part of childhood—what children learn from interacting with one another has enormous impact on both their social and language development. Although many ...
Why we need to rethink the strategy and time frame for achieving health-related Millennium Development Goals

Targets and interventions for the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) related to reducing hunger (MDG 1) and child mortality (MDG 4) have ignored the role of intergenerational influences on health. In this study, the comparative importance of intergenerational and contemporaneous factors for achieving MDGs 1 and 4 targets was evaluated. A database of 735 970 children from 109 Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 1991 and 2008 in 54 countries was compiled. Modified Poisson regression models were used to estimate the association between child mortality/undernutrition and maternal education, wealth and height. Stochastic simulations of regression results were then used to evaluate changes in maternal height, education and wealth required to halve stunting and underweight and to reduce mortality by two-thirds. At mean height, 25 years of education were needed to achieve a two-thirds reduction in mortality, and halving the prevalence of stunting and underweight required 23 years and 17 years of education, respectively, for the poorest wealth quintile. When height was increased from the mean by 25 cm, the prevalence of both growth outcomes was halved, even for those with no education and in the poorest wealth quintile. These results indicate that contemporaneous interventions will achieve MDG targets more readily in populations with greater accumulated health stock.
Shining a Light on Germinal Center B Cells

The mechanisms of B cell selection in lymphoid tissues are poorly understood. In this issue, Victora et al. (2010) use imaging of photoactivatable green fluorescent protein to define the movements of B cells in germinal centers and provide evidence that antibody affinity maturation is driven by competition for T cell help.
Rousseau and Geneva: From the First Discourse to The Social Contract, 1749-1762

Acknowledgments Note on translation List of abbreviations Introduction. Rousseau in a Genevan context 1. The formation of a 'citizen of Geneva' 2. Rousseau becomes Rousseau, 1751-4: Geneva, doux commerce, and Rousseau from the First to the Second Discourse 3. Rousseau and natural law: the context 4. Rousseau and natural law: the Second Discourse 5. The 'invisible chain': Rousseau and Geneva from the Second Discourse to the Social Contract 6. The Social Contract Epilogue Select bibliography Index.
Navigating heterogeneous processors with market mechanisms

Specialization of datacenter resources brings performance and energy improvements in response to the growing scale and diversity of cloud applications. Yet heterogeneous hardware adds complexity and volatility to latency-sensitive applications. A resource allocation mechanism that leverages architectural principles can overcome both of these obstacles. We integrate research in heterogeneous architectures with recent advances in multi-agent systems. Embedding architectural insight into proxies that bid on behalf of applications, a market effectively allocates hardware to applications with diverse preferences and valuations. Exploring a space of heterogeneous datacenter configurations, which mix server-class Xeon and mobile-class Atom processors, we find an optimal heterogeneous balance that improves both welfare and energy-efficiency. We further design and evaluate twelve design points along the Xeon-to-Atom spectrum, and find that a mix of three processor architectures achieves a 12× reduction in response time violations relative to equal-power homogeneous systems.
Quantitative Measure of Mercury Vapor Emission from Setting Dental Amalgam

The rate of mercury vapor emission from setting dental amalgam was measured by use of an ultraviolet light absorption technique under nondiffusion-controlled conditions. An average of 0.3 X 10-6 gm mercury per square centimeter was emitted at the experimental temperature. At 37 C, this amount was estimated to be 1.2 × 10 -6 gm/ cm2.
Vibrio vulnificus Oysters: Pearls and Perils

Vibrio vulnificus is a naturally occurring bacterium found ubiquitously in coastal waters. Infection with this organism, which is often associated with eating raw oysters, is the leading cause of seafood-related deaths in the United States. This article reviews the current scientific literature on this potentially lethal pathogen and discusses the prognosis, treatment, and prevention of V. vulnificus infections.
Improved characterization of tribometric test results

As with measurements in general, there is inherent variability in tribometric test results. This variability stems from point-to-point variation in the test surface, from changes in the test foot over time and tests, and from the inherent variability of the measuring process. The friction between the tested foot and tested surface is typically characterized by the sample mean of a number of test replications. The acceptability of the foot/surface combination is typically given with reference to a specified threshold value. This paper discusses the limitations of using such a single-point characterization in determining the acceptability of a given foot/surface combination. Two useful techniques for accommodating the variability in a given tribometer/test-foot/test-surface combination are (1) histogram-based, single and multi-point characterization and (2) ranking methods. This paper will discuss the weaknesses of single-point characterization of tribometric results, how to set multi-point acceptance thresholds, and how to use rank-based characterization for slip-resistance.
Validity of Two Methods for Assessing Oral Health Status of Populations

Objective: This investigation assessed two methods for estimating epidemiologic indicators of oral health status among children: (1) a visual-only screening, performed independently by a dental hygienist and a registered nurse; and (2) a parent- or guardian-completed questionnaire. The indicators included dichotomous variables measuring dental caries and treatment needs, presence of sealants, injuries to the anterior teeth, and dental fluorosis. Methods: Following training and calibration, data were collected over an eight-day period in April 1994 among 632 elementary schoolchildren (aged 5 to 12 years) in Monticello, Georgia. Both screening and questionnaire findings were compared pairwise with results from visual-tactile examinations done by a dentist. Validity, represented by sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values, was assessed for screening results from the dental hygienist, the nurse, and the parent-completed questionnaire. Results: Validity was high for screening for caries and treatment needs (>90% for sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values in a sample having 30% to 40% prevalence). Less valid data — mainly an effect of false negatives — were obtained for fluorosis, injuries, and presence of sealants. No significant difference in validity was observed between the nurse and the dental hygienist. One-third of respondents to the questionnaire did not know if their children needed fillings (a proxy for untreated decay) or had received sealants; only knowledge of restorations was comparable to results from screening. Intraexaminer reliability for the two screeners ranged from 85 to 100 for percent agreement and 0.70 to 0.93 for kappa scores. Conclusions: Screening by dental hygienists or nurses can provide valid data for surveillance of dental caries and treatment needs. Training for visual assessment of fluorosis and injuries must be improved to diminish the proportion of false negatives. A parent-completed questionnaire is less effective than visual screening for evaluating oral health status in children.