cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intraspecific variation in growth rate is a poor predictor of fitness for reef corals.

Genetic variation underlying differences in organism performance is subject to natural selection, and organisms with high values of genetically determined phenotypic measures of fitness should perform better than those that do not. Using small scleractinian corals (i.e., ≤40-mm diameter), this principle was tested with 20 yr of census data from St. John, US Virgin Islands. Using growth rate (change in diameter) as a measure of fitness, growth in one year was tested for association with growth and survivorship in the following two years, and this process was repeated over 20 yr using a 3-yr sliding window. Virtually all variation in growth was independent of colony size, and growth among pairs of years was highly variable, with corals that grew fast in one year rarely growing fast in the next 2 yr. While growth in some pairs of years was positively correlated, ≤4% of the growth variance was explained by growth in the preceding 2 yr. Survivorship was related positively to growth in the preceding year, but the association was weak, it did not extend over 3 yr, and was inconsistent over the study. These results demonstrate the importance of the environment in translating phenotypic measures of fitness into future performance, and for small Caribbean corals, they suggest that environmental conditions may preempt genotype in determining short-term success.
Parental perspectives on children’s use of portable digital devices

Small portable digital devices PDDs – tablets and smartphones – are becoming increasingly popular among children at early ages. In this qualitative study, we applied the theoretical frameworks of self-efficacy and othermothering to examine the perspectives of parents from rural areas regarding the role of PDDs in children of early and primary education age 4–7 years old. We conducted in-depth interviews with parents, observed children at home, and collected artefacts related to children’s PDDs use to capture daily habits, experiences, and attitudes from different angles. Data revealed that parents supported PDDs as entertainment and learning tools. Parents reported improvements in dexterity, memory, attention, and linguistic and mathematical skills, and believed that PDDs positively affect children’s cognitive development. During observations, children exhibited versatility and skill with app navigation for entertainment and educational purposes. Children completed tasks in an independent and efficacious manner that reinforced engagement. Parents seemed to unconsciously transfer to PDDs a cognitive and social role that created another parenting modality as in othermothering. Parents, meanwhile, appeared concerned with uncontrolled overuse of PDDs by children. These findings suggest that parents from rural areas view PDDs as tools that pose opportunities and challenges for entertainment and learning.
Immunohistochemical Staining for Uroguanylin, a Satiety Hormone, is Decreased in Intestinal Tissue Specimens From Female Adolescents With Obesity.

Gastrointestinal tract–secreted satiety hormones play a significant role in one of the largest health-care challenges for children and adults, obesity. Recent studies in mice identified a novel rol...
A New Strategy to Maximize Retirement Withdrawals Using TIPS and Longevity Insurance

Previous studies suggest that retirees face the risk of financial ruin even with (real) withdrawal rates as low as 4%. This paper proposes a new retirement investment strategy using Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) and longevity insurance products that would permit annual withdrawal rates in excess of 5% without any risk of ruin; this strategy does not require retirees to irrevocably commit their entire savings in an annuity at retirement. The strategy can be implemented at minimal cost by retirees and their financial advisers. Institutional providers can adapt this strategy to design and develop products that provide inflation adjusted lifetime annuities, while allowing retirees to retain control over most of their savings in retirement.
Shape-Tuned Junction Resistivity and Self-Damping Dynamics in Intense Pulsed Light Sintering of Silver Nanostructure Films.

Concurrently reducing processing temperature, electrical resistance, and material cost with scalable fabrication capabilities is critical for conductive elements of flexible and planar electronics....
Low Energy Barrier Nanomagnet Design for Binary Stochastic Neurons: Design Challenges for Real Nanomagnets With Fabrication Defects

Much attention has been focused on the design of low energy barrier nanomagnets (LBMs), whose magnetizations vary randomly in time owing to thermal noise, for use in binary stochastic neurons (BSNs) that serve as hardware accelerators for machine learning. The performance of BSNs depends on two important parameters: the correlation time τ c associated with the random magnetization dynamics in an LBM, and the spin-polarized pinning current I p , which stabilizes the magnetization of an LBM in a chosen direction within a chosen time. We show that common fabrication defects in LBMs make these two parameters unpredictable because they are strongly sensitive to the defects. That makes the design of BSNs with real LBMs very challenging. Unless the LBMs are fabricated with extremely tight control, the BSNs that use them could be unreliable or suffer from poor yield.
Quantitative Ultra-Widefield Angiographic Features and Associations with Diabetic Macular Edema.

Purpose To examine the relationship between diabetic macular edema (DME) and quantitative ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography (UWFA) metrics of ischemia, leakage, and microaneurysms. Design Retrospective image analysis study. Participants Eyes with diabetic retinopathy that had undergone spectral-domain OCT, UWFA, and ultra-widefield fundus photography. Methods OCT images were analyzed to determine the presence or absence of DME, central subfield thickness (CST), and subretinal fluid. Using a semiautomated analysis platform, UWFA images were segmented for ischemia, leakage, and microaneurysms with manual correction as needed. Clinical variables, including age, gender, race, hemoglobin A1C levels, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, use of blood thinners, smoking status, and lens status also were evaluated. Main Outcome Measures Factors associated with the presence and severity of DME. Results A total of 304 eyes (156 right eyes, 148 left eyes) from 178 diabetic patients were analyzed in the study. Panretinal leakage index, microaneurysm count, and ischemic index were not significantly different between eyes with and without DME in univariate assessment. Zonal assessments of macular microaneurysms and macular leakage index values revealed that eyes with DME showed a significantly higher microaneurysm count (P = 0.001) and leakage index (P Conclusions Quantitative measures of leakage index and microaneurysm count in the posterior pole on UWFA images were associated with the presence and severity of DME. Panretinal analyses were not linked to DME as strongly. Additional research is needed to determine the role of quantitative UWFA in predicting DME development and characterizing patient prognosis.
The Development of an Instrument for Faculty to Assess Resident-Led Large Group Teaching.

Abstract Objective The Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education requires residents to teach and many residency programs assess resident teaching competency. While much formal resident-led teaching is for large groups, no corresponding published assessment instrument with validity evidence exists. We developed an instrument for faculty to assess pediatric resident-led large group teaching and gathered preliminary validity evidence. Methods Literature review and our experience leading resident-as-teacher curricula informed initial instrument content. Resident focus groups from 3 northeastern pediatric residency programs provided stakeholder input. A modified Delphi panel of international experts provided iterative feedback. Three investigators piloted the instrument in 2018; each assessed 8 video recordings of resident-led teaching. We calculated Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency and intraclass correlation (ICC) for inter-rater reliability. Results The instrument has 6 elements: learning climate, goals/objectives, content, promotion of understanding/retention, session management, and closure. Each element contains behavioral subelements. Cronbach's alpha was .844. ICC was excellent for 6 subelements, good for 1, fair for 1, and poor for 3. Conclusions We developed an instrument for faculty assessment of resident-led large group teaching. Pilot data showed assessed behaviors had good internal consistency, but inconsistent interrater reliability. With further development, this instrument has potential to assess resident teaching competency.
A Mobile Health Intervention System for Women With Coronary Heart Disease: Usability Study.

Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death and disability among American women. The prevalence of CHD is expected to increase by more than 40% by 2035. In 2015, the estimated cost of caring for patients with CHD was US $182 billion in the United States; hospitalizations accounted for more than half of the costs. Compared with men, women with CHD or those who have undergone coronary revascularization have up to 30% more rehospitalizations within 30 days and up to 1 year. Center-based cardiac rehabilitation is the gold standard of care after an acute coronary event, but few women attend these valuable programs. Effective home-based interventions for improving cardiovascular health among women with CHD are vital for addressing this gap in care. Objective: The ubiquity of mobile phones has made mobile health (mHealth) behavioral interventions a viable option to improve healthy behaviors of both women and men with CHD. First, this study aimed to examine the usability of a prototypic mHealth intervention designed specifically for women with CHD (herein referred to as HerBeat). Second, we examined the influence of HerBeat on selected health behaviors (self-efficacy for diet, exercise, and managing chronic illness) and psychological (perceived stress and depressive symptoms) characteristics of the participants. Methods: Using a single-group, pretest, posttest design, 10 women participated in the 12-week usability study. Participants were provided a smartphone and a smartwatch on which the HerBeat app was installed. Using a web portal dashboard, a health coach monitored participants’ ecological momentary assessment data, their behavioral data, and their heart rate and step count. Participants then completed a 12-week follow-up assessment. Results: All 10 women (age: mean 64.4 years, SD 6.3 years) completed the study. The usability and acceptability of HerBeat were good, with a mean system usability score of 83.60 (SD 16.3). The participants demonstrated statistically significant improvements in waist circumference (P=.048), weight (P=.02), and BMI (P=.01). Furthermore, depressive symptoms, measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, significantly improved from baseline (P=.04). Conclusions: The mHealth prototype was feasible and usable for women with CHD. Participants provided data that were useful for further development of HerBeat. The mHealth intervention is expected to help women with CHD self-manage their health behaviors. A randomized controlled trial is needed to further verify the findings.
Mix, Match, and Maize: A Synthetic System for Maize Nuclear Auxin Response Circuits

The phytohormone auxin plays a major part in nearly every plant process, including growth and development. Auxin performs these functions, in part, by eliciting context-specific nuclear responses mediated by a signaling network ([Leyser, 2018][1]). Each core component of this network belongs to a
Metastatic prostate carcinoma: A rare presentation initially misdiagnosed as a rib fracture

Metastatic prostate carcinoma mainly occurs in bone as an osteoblastic lesion or lesions in the pelvis, spine, or chest wall. We present a unique case of a singular metastatic osteolytic lesion in the rib initially misdiagnosed as a fracture in a 61-year-old male. A single rib fracture in a patient with no history of trauma should raise suspicion for metastatic disease. We would encourage prostate cancer to be included in the differential diagnosis for an osteolytic lesion in a male over the age of 40. We review the current literature on this rare presentation of bone metastasis as well as the pathogenesis of metastatic prostate carcinoma as it relates to a solitary metastatic osteolytic lesion.
Sn doping of (010) β-Ga2O3 films grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

Sn doping of (010) β-Ga2O3 grown by conventional plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE) and via metal oxide catalyzed epitaxy (MOCATAXY) using a supplied indium flux during molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth was investigated. While high Sn concentrations were achievable over a range of growth conditions in conventional PAMBE, Sn doping less than 1019 cm−3 resulted in non-uniform doping profiles for constant Sn cell temperatures, as well as run-to-run variation in doping. Sn doping in MOCATAXY grown β-Ga2O3 allowed for sharp doping profiles and a wide range of donor concentrations from 3.9 × 1016 cm−3 to 2 × 1019 cm−3 and a maximum room temperature Hall mobility of 136 cm2/V s at 3.9 × 1016 cm−3. From temperature-dependent Hall measurements, Sn was found to have a relatively deep donor state at 77 meV below the conduction band edge. The samples showed low electron mobility at cryogenic temperatures, suggesting the existence of high background impurity levels in the MBE grown films and the need for impurity control in the oxide MBE growth environment.
Why Does Construct Validity Matter in Measuring Implementation Fidelity? A Methodological Case Study:

In reading intervention research, implementation fidelity is assumed to be positively related to student outcomes, but the methods used to measure fidelity are often treated as an afterthought. Fid...
The Duality of Data and Knowledge Across the Three Waves of AI

We discuss how, over the last 30–50 years, artificial intelligence (AI) systems that focused only on data have been handicapped and how knowledge has been critical in developing smarter, intelligent, and more effective systems. In fact, the vast progress in AI can be viewed in terms of the three waves of AI as identified by DARPA. During the first wave, handcrafted knowledge has been at the center, while during the second wave, the datadriven approaches supplanted knowledge. Now we see a strong role and resurgence of knowledge fueling major breakthroughs in the third wave of AI underpinning future intelligent systems as they attempt human-like decision making and seek to become trusted assistants and companions for humans. We find a wider availability of knowledge created from diverse sources, using manual to automated means both by repurposing as well as by extraction. Using knowledge with statistical learning is becoming increasingly indispensable to help make AI systems more transparent and auditable. We will draw a parallel with the role of knowledge and experience in human intelligence based on cognitive science, and discuss emerging neuro-symbolic or hybrid AI systems in which knowledge is the critical enabler for combining capabilities of the data-intensive statistical AI systems with those of symbolic AI systems, resulting in more capable AI systems that support more human-like intelligence.
The Thucydides' Trap, Rationalist Theories of War, and the China-US Relations

The key elements of the Thucydides Trap—the rise of Athens and the fear in Sparta—inspire two fundamental origins of war identified by the rationalist theories of war: the commitment problem and the information problem. The information problem focuses on war driven by uncertainty and the ineffectiveness of communication between states, whereas the commitment problem attributes the occurrence of war to large and rapid shifts in the distribution of power. Applying the rationalist theories of war, I argue that the recent development of China-US relations is unlikely to lead to war. First, because the current information problem between China and the US mainly comes from leadership turnover and the transformations of foreign policy associated with it, the mutual uncertainty is likely to decline after frequent interactions. Second, as the dimensions of power expand nowadays, the risk of war due to the commitment problem decreases, for states are less likely to experience "large and rapid shifts of power" simultaneously in multiple dimensions. As a result, the US may find it too costly to launch a preventive war and resort to other nonviolent tools, such as trade war, to slow down the process of power transition. The effects of the ongoing trade war remain unclear, further reducing the risk of war. Finally, I discuss how the current development of China-US relations enriches our understanding of the Thucydides’ trap and points out new directions in the rationalist theories of war.
Preparing Students for Automated IT Workflows

This poster discusses some efforts to develop student skills with current IT workflow tools and processes. These experiences have been introduced within the context of existing courses rather than trying to add an additional course to already crowded curricula.
Parenting moderates the etiology of callous-unemotional traits in middle childhood

Background Callous-unemotional (CU) traits are associated with chronic and escalating trajectories of antisocial behavior. Extant etiologic studies suggest that heritability estimates for CU traits vary substantially, while also pointing to an environmental association between parenting and CU traits. Methods We used twin modeling to estimate additive genetic (A), shared environmental (C), and nonshared environmental (E) influences on CU traits, measured with the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) and its subscales. Our sample included 600 twin pairs (age 6-11, 230 monozygotic) from neighborhoods with above-average levels of family poverty, a risk factor for antisocial behavior. We examined the extent to which correlations between parenting, measured via parent and child report on the Parental Environment Questionnaire, and CU traits reflected genetic versus environmental factors. Then, we tested whether parenting moderated the heritability of CU traits. Results In the context of lower-income neighborhoods, CU traits were moderately to highly heritable (A = 54%) with similar moderate-to-high nonshared environmental influences (E = 46%). Bivariate models revealed that associations between CU traits and warm parenting were genetic (rA = .22) and environmental (rE = .19) in origin, whereas associations between CU traits and harsh parenting were largely genetic in origin (rA = .70). The heritability of CU traits decreased with increasing parental warmth and decreasing harshness. Conclusions Callous-unemotional traits are both genetic and environmental in origin during middle childhood, but genetic influences are moderated by parenting quality. Parenting may be an important target for interventions, particularly among youth with greater genetic risk.
Modeling Cyclic Change

Database support of time-varying phenomena typically assumes that entities change in a linear fashion. Many phenomena, however, change cyclically over time. Examples include monsoons, tides, and travel to the workplace. In such cases, entities may appear and disappear on a regular basis or their attributes or location may change with periodic regularity. This paper introduces an approach for modeling cycles based on cyclic intervals. Intervals are an important abstraction of time, and the consideration of cyclic intervals reveals characteristics about these intervals that are unique from the linear case. This work examines binary cyclic relations, distinguishing sixteen cyclic interval relations. We identify their conceptual neighborhood graph, showing which relations are most similar and demonstrating that this set of sixteen relations is complete. The results of this investigation provide the basis for extended data models and query languages that address cyclically varying phenomena.
A Review of: “Dispute Settlement in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea”

The assessment of effectiveness of a treaty's dispute settlement mechanism is no easy task. The factors that must be considered include not only the technical features of dispute settlement machine...
Requirements for Facilities and Measurement Techniques to Support CFD Development for Hypersonic Aircraft

The design of a hypersonic aircraft poses unique challenges to the engineering community. Problems with duplicating flight conditions in ground based facilities have made performance predictions risky. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been proposed as an additional means of providing design data. At the present time, CFD codes are being validated based on sparse experimental data and then used to predict performance at flight conditions with generally unknown levels of uncertainty. This paper will discuss the facility and measurement techniques that are required to support CFD development for the design of hypersonic aircraft. Illustrations are given of recent success in combining experimental and direct numerical simulation in CFD model development and validation for hypersonic perfect gas flows.
Development of a High Vacuum, High Temperature Movable Limiter Support

The Advanced Limiter Test-II is a full toroidal belt pump limiter for the Tokamak Experiment for Technology Oriented Research (TEXTOR), consisting of eight curved blade segments that extend around the full circumference of the machine. The blades are supported at their ends from TEXTOR's Inconel liner by 16 worm gear screw jacks, which allow the positions of the limiter blades to be adjusted relative to the plasma centerline. Mechanical linkages and rotary feedthroughs link each jack to a drive motor outside the vacuum vessel. This allows the TEXTOR operators to adjust the positions of the blades remotely without opening the machine to the atmosphere. The lubricants and materials normally used in mechanical drive components are unacceptable in the tokamak environment. A prototype jack mechanism was designed and built with a Type 316L stainless steel housing and two sets of moving parts. The first set consisted of Nitronic 60 parts running against parts of aluminum bronze (CDA 642). The second set was made entirely of Nitronic 60. All running surfaces were coated with Dicronite, a WS/sub 2/ solid film lubricant. High vacuum, high temperature tests of these are reported in this paper.
Adenoma of the rete body

Abstract The normal structure and relationships of the rete ovarii and medullary tubules are reviewed. The second definite adenoma of the rete ovarii-medullary tubule complex is reported. The possible similarity between adenoma of the rete ovarii-medullary tubule complex and the adenoma tubular testiculare of Pick is mentioned.
Interrelationships among Mechanics Numerical Analysis, Compensated Compactness, and Oscillation Theory

This paper is the written version of my lecture delivered at the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications workshop on Oscillation Theory, Computation, and Methods of Compensated Compactness. As both the titles of the workshop and this paper suggest, I believe there is a continuum of ideas and methods relating these topics. Perhaps the unifying word is “regularization” for it is a goal of applied mathematics to understand the analytical and physical meanings of the various regularizations of the conservation laws of continuum mechanics. In particular the ability to pass to the limit as the regularization parameters vanish has been a long standing problem and it seems that major progress has been made on this question recently (indeed by several of the participants of this I.M.A. workshop).
Why Do Investors Trade

We propose and estimate a structural model of daily stock market activity to test competing theories of trading volume. The model features informed rational speculators and uninformed agents who trade either to hedge endowment shocks or to speculate on perceived information. To identify the model parameters, we exploit enormous empirical variation in trading volume, market liquidity, and return volatility associated with regular and extended-hours markets as well as news arrival. We find that the model matches market activity well when we allow for overconfidence. At plausible values of overconfidence and risk aversion, overconfidence--not hedging--explains nearly all uninformed trading, while rational informed speculation accounts for most overall trading. Without overconfident investors, over 99% of trading volume disappears even when informed rational traders disagree maximally. These findings illustrate that modest overconfidence can help explain stark patterns in stock market activity.
Abraham's sacrifice in the Qur'an: beyond the body

It has been stated that the body has overtly or latently been a focal point in the history of the three Abrahamic religions’. However, Islam’s scripture, the Qur’an, does not say that Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) binds his son’s body, nor is the body the focal point of the story—nor, indeed, is it of more than passing interest in Muslim history. This has lead me to question the tendency to homogenize the narrative of Abraham’s sacrifice and, by extension, the religions that claim their descent from him. There is no denying their family resemblance of course, but while the family may be Abraham’s, Abraham himself is not identical in the Qur’an and the Bible and neither are his trials. The term ‘Abrahamic religions’ is not very helpful here since, in spite of its linguistic pluralism, it obscures this crucial distinction between a genealogy that is shared and depictions of a common ancestor that are not. Nonetheless, it is more accurate than the standard alternative, ‘the Judeo-Christian tradition’, a phrase that papers over the fissures in this tradition while also excising Islam from what is surely an ‘interreligiously shared’ world. The author suggests that the only way to include Islam in this world does not have to be through an assimilative embrace that stifles its individuality; one could, instead, find ways to honour both the plurality of the Abrahamic tradition as well as the specificity of Islam within. The author recites the Qur’anic story of Abraham, as a way to unbind the lessons of his sacrifice from the body and also to illustrate the inappropriateness of using Isaac’s bound body as a universal template for all the Abrahamic religions.
Coping Self‐Efficacy Moderates the Association Between Severity of Partner Violence and PTSD Symptoms Among Incarcerated Women

Previous research indicates self-efficacy may function as a protective factor for survivors of partner violence (PV), including coping self-efficacy specific to domestic violence. We hypothesized that domestic violence coping self-efficacy would moderate the association between recent PV and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in a sample of incarcerated women, such that the association between PV and PTSD would be strongest at low levels of domestic violence coping self-efficacy. Participants (N = 102) were incarcerated women who reported PV in the year prior to incarceration. They were aged 19-55 years (M = 33.57, SD = 9.32), identified predominantly as European American (84.3%), American Indian (15.7%), and Hispanic (14.7%), with 80.4% completing high school or more in terms of education. Participants responded to self-report measures of PV, trauma history, domestic violence coping self-efficacy, and current PTSD symptoms. In a series of sequential regression analyses, PV (β =.65, sr(2) =.06, p =.017) was significantly associated with current PTSD symptoms above and beyond past trauma history (β =.37, sr(2) =.14, p Language: en
Appearance of wet dog shake behavior during cobalt experimental epilepsy in the rat and its suppression by reserpine.

Rats rendered chronically epileptic by the implantation of cobalt in the right parietal cortex were simultaneously prepared with permanent cortical and temporalis muscle electrodes for longitudinal EEG and EMG recording. Animals treated similarly with glass rods served as the controls. Wet dog shakes were quantified by counting the characteristic artifacts produced in the EEG tracings upon their appearance. The number of wet dog shakes exhibited by the control rats remained at a low and constant level over 18 days of recording. In contrast, wet dog shakes in the chronically epileptic rats began to increase by the fourth day after cobalt placement and remained significantly elevated up to the 18th day. Administration of reserpine to naive rats or to cobalt epileptic rats on days 7 and 9 after implantation resulted in an almost complete suppression of wet dog shakes which endured over a period of 3–5 days. These results suggest that the abnormally elevated wet dog shake response of the cobalt-epileptic rats and the spontaneous wet dog shake behavior of normal rats may be mediated by common neural pathways.
Soluble-starch-synthesizing and sucrose-degrading enzymes in Onoclea spores

Abstract Sucrose degradation and starch accumulation in imbibed spores of Onoclea sensibilis occur slowly in the dark and are accelerated two- to four-fold when irradiated with low fluence of red light. The accelerated rates of starch accumulation and sucrose degradation begin 4–6 hr after irradiation and precede the completion of germination. The effect of 5 min of red irradiation on the extractable activities of the enzymes involved in starch and sucrose metabolism was investigated as a possible means by which light accelerates the flux of metabolites through these pathways. The accumulation of starch from exogenous sucrose in unirradiated spores and the specific radioactivity of newly synthesized starch in irradiated and unirradiated spores were determined to see if the lack of sucrose degradation and starch synthesis in unirradiated spores is due to limited availability of substrates. Irradiation did not increase the maximum catalytic activities of the soluble starch synthesizing or soluble sucrose degrading enzymes during the 24 hr period following irradiation when compared with those in the unirradiated spores. Incubation of unirradiated spores on exogenous sucrose increased starch accumulation to a level comparable to that in irradiated spores incubated on distilled water suggesting that enzymes for sucrose catabolism and starch anabolism are active in situ in unirradiated spores. Irradiation caused a decrease in the specific radioactivity of starch without decreasing the incorporation of label. Therefore, light regulation of starch synthesis and sucrose degradation in Onoclea spores is not a result of enhanced activity of the soluble enzymes investigated. With respect to starch synthesis, irradiation causes an increase in availability of substrates that can be utilized for starch synthesis.
Intracellular Chloride Accumulation and Subcellular Elemental Distribution During Atrial Fibrillation

Background— Ion channel remodeling occurs during atrial fibrillation (AF); however, the extent of alteration in the subcellular distribution of elements (Na, K, Cl, Ca, Mg, P) is unknown. Electron probe microanalysis was used to determine the total (free+bound) in vivo subcellular concentration of these elements during AF. Methods and Results— The left atrial appendage (LAA) was snap-frozen in situ after pacing (640 bpm) for 3 minutes (n=5 dogs), 30 minutes (n=3), or 48 hours (n=5). Dogs in sinus rhythm (n=3) served as controls. Whole-cell, cytosolic, and mitochondrial elemental concentrations were measured in cryosections. LAA effective refractory period (ERP) was measured before and after pacing. LAA ERP decreased significantly after 48 hours (116±3 to 88±10 ms, P=0.02). Whole-cell Cl increased by 9.0 mmol/L and 17 mmol/L after 3 and 30 minutes of pacing, respectively (P<0.0001), without a concomitant increase in Na. However, at 48 hours, whole-cell Na was reduced by 51% (P<0.01). Cytosolic Ca increased...
Phenylephrine as a simulated intravascular epidural test dose in pediatrics: a pilot study

SummaryBackground A test dose is used to detect intravascular injection during neuraxial block in pediatrics. Accidental intravascular epidural local anesthetic injection might be unrecognized in anesthetized children leading to potential life-threatening complications. In children, sevoflurane anesthesia blunts the hemodynamic response when intravascular cathecolamines are administered. No studies have explored the hemodynamics and the criteria for a positive test dose result following phenylephrine in sevoflurane anesthetized children. Methods Healthy children undergoing minor procedures were randomly assigned to receive intravenous placebo, or 5 μg∙kg−1 phenylephrine (n = 11/group) during sevoflurane anesthesia. Hemodynamic response was assessed using electrocardiography, pulse oxymetry and non-invasive blood pressure monitoring for 5 min following drug administration in anesthetized patients. Results All patients receiving phenylephrine showed a decreased heart rate (HR) but not all of them met the positive criterion for test dose response. Overall, at 1 min, patients receiving phenylephrine showed a 25% decrease in HR from the baseline while an increase in blood pressure was noticed in 54% of patients receiving phenylephrine. Discussion Phenylephrine might be a future indicator of positive intravascular test dose. Further investigation is needed to find out the phenylephrine dose that elicits a reliable hemodynamic response and whether phenylephrine needs to be dose age-adjusted in order to appreciate relevant hemodynamic changes in children receiving neuraxial blocks undergoing general anesthesia.
Competitive ability in male house mice (Mus musculus): genetic influences.

Conspecifics of many animal species physically compete to gain reproductive resources and thus fitness. Despite the importance of competitive ability across the animal kingdom, specific traits that influence or underpin competitive ability are poorly characterized. Here, we investigate whether there are genetic influences on competitive ability within male house mice. Additionally, we examined if litter demographics (litter size and litter sex ratio) influence competitive ability. We phenotyped two generations for a male’s ability to possess a reproductive resource––a prime nesting site––using semi-natural enclosures with mixed sex groupings. We used the “Animal Model” coupled with an extensive pedigree to estimate several genetic parameters. Competitive ability was found to be highly heritable, but only displayed a moderate genetic correlation to body mass. Interestingly, litter sex ratio had a weak negative influence on competitive ability. Litter size had no significant influence on competitive ability. Our study also highlights how much remains unknown about the proximal causes of competitive ability.
In Vitro Adsorption of Doxorubicin Hydrochloride on Insoluble Calcium Phosphate

The adsorption of doxorubicin hydrochloride, a potent antitumor agent, on solid tribasic calcium phosphate was studied in vitro. A Langmuir adsorption isotherm at pH 7.4 and the maximum adsorption capacity of tribasic calcium phosphate were established. Tribasic calcium phosphate was chosen as a model for solid bone samples, which are stained with doxorubicin in patients who have received long-term doxorubicin therapy.
Efficient sorting with CCD's and magnetic bubble memories

The use of sorting in various computer-related applications such as database management, is well established. Normally, sorting is implemented by employing a combination of hardware and software techniques. In this correspondence the authors examine the utility of serial-shifting nature of the charge coupled device (CCD) and the magnetic bubble memories for achieving low-cost sorting within the secondary storage. The radix-sort method has been found to be very suitable for this purpose. Five different memory organizations implementing radix sort have been described in detail and their relative merits are also outlined.
A phenomenological model for failure waves in glass

A phenomenological continuum-mechanical model for phase transitions in solids is applied to the description of failure waves in glass. Several predictions of the model are in qualitative agreement with experimental observations.
Covariations of adolescent weight-control, health-risk and health-promoting behaviors.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of dieting and investigate clusters of risk behaviors among adolescents. METHODS: Data were secured from a random sample of adolescents (4,636) and analyzed using bivariate methods and logistic regression. RESULTS: From the survey sample, 19.2% adolescents were classified as extreme, 43.2% as moderate dieters, 37.2% as nondieters. Extreme dieters were more likely to use alcohol, cigarettes, and/or marijuana and to attempt suicide and less likely to practice vigorous exercise. Moderate dieters were less likely to use cigarettes, marijuana and more likely to engage in vigorous exercise, with differences across gender-race categories. CONCLUSIONS: Results have relevance for developing multicomponent programs for adolescents. Language: en
Experience-dependent compartmentalized dendritic plasticity in rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons

Dendritic excitability is a plastic property of neurons. This study shows that exposure to an enriched environment increases propagation of dendritic sodium spikes in a subset of dendritic branches in CA1 pyramidal neurons. This effect is mediated by localized downregulation of A-type potassium channel function. The excitability of individual dendritic branches is a plastic property of neurons. We found that experience in an enriched environment increased propagation of dendritic Na+ spikes in a subset of individual dendritic branches in rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons and that this effect was mainly mediated by localized downregulation of A-type K+ channel function. Thus, dendritic plasticity might be used to store recent experience in individual branches of the dendritic arbor.
Prevalence and correlates of asthma in children with internalizing psychopathology.

Our objective was to determine the prevalence rate of parent-reported asthma in children with internalizing disorders seeking psychological treatment, and to study the level of internalizing and externalizing problems in these patients compared to patients without asthma. Participants were 367 children (ages 5–18 years) with internalizing disorders seeking psychological treatment. Children's psychiatric diagnosis was established with the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-IV—Child and Parent versions. Parents reported on their child's asthma diagnosis, medical history, and medication usage. Child psychopathology was assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist and by child self-report with the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children and the Children's Depression Inventory. We assessed internalizing psychopathology of the mothers with the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale. An additional diagnosis of parent-reported asthma was established for 15% of the children diagnosed with an Axis I internalizing disorder, a prevalence rate markedly higher than reported for current parent-reported childhood asthma in the U.S. population. Patients with asthma showed higher levels of internalizing problems than their nonasthmatic counterparts. Internalizing psychopathology was not higher for mothers of patients with asthma. Asthma is a significant problem within the population of patients with childhood internalizing disorders. It can be accompanied by a greater severity of internalizing problems and may require specific precautions in the treatment protocol. Though parent report of asthma diagnosis is commonly used in surveys of childhood asthma, our findings have to be viewed in the light of its limitations. Depression and Anxiety 23:502–508, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Power spectrum of many impurities in a d -wave superconductor

Recently the structure of the measured local density of states power spectrum of a small area of the Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 surface has been interpreted in terms of peaks at an ‘‘octet’’ of scattering wave vectors determined assuming weak, noninterfering scattering centers. Using analytical arguments and numerical solutions of the Bogoliubov‐de Gennes equations, we discuss how the interference between many impurities in a d-wave superconductor alters this scenario. We propose that the peaks observed in the power spectrum are not the features identified in the simpler analyses, but rather ‘‘background’’ structures which disperse along with the octet vectors. We further consider how our results constrain the form of the actual disorder potential found in this material.
Mechanism of renal phosphate retention during growth

We have previously demonstrated that the retention of phosphate required for growth is due to a a high Vmax of the Na(+)-Pi cotransport system located in the brush border membrane of the proximal tubule. Because of this and other similarities between adaptation of the kidney to a high Pi demand (growth) and that to low Pi supply, we measured the levels of NaPi-2 mRNA and cDNA present in kidney cortex of 3- and > 12-week-old rats. Like in Pi depletion, Western blots revealed that a 80 to 85 kDa protein recognized by a polyclonal antibody directed against the N-terminal region of the NaPi-2 protein was 2.3-fold more abundant in renal microvilli of the young than of adult animals. However, unlike in Pi depletion, Northern blot analysis failed to reveal a significant difference between mRNA levels at the two ages. Furthermore, suppression of NaPi-2 mRNA activity by annealing with antisense oligomers, or removal of the NaPi-2 transcripts by subtractive hybridization did not affect the rate of Na(+)-Pi cotransport induced in oocytes by polyA RNA of rapidly growing animals, while abolishing the ability of the renal cortical polyA RNA of adult rats to encode for Na(+)-Pi cotransport. RT-PCR of subtracted polyA RNA using primers specific for a region conserved in NaPi type II (Pi modulated) cotransporters yielded a product that was 98% homologous with that region, despite the absence of NaPi-2 cDNA. The results of these experiments demonstrate that the polyA RNA from kidneys of young animals contains unique mRNA transcripts able to encode for a NaPi protein homologous to, but distinct from NaPi-2.
Commentary on Kearns's “Place and Health: Toward a Reformed Medical Geography”

(1994). Commentary on Kearns's “Place and Health: Toward a Reformed Medical Geography”. The Professional Geographer: Vol. 46, No. 4, pp. 504-505.
Etching models for A {111} diamond surface: Calculation of trigon slopes

A mathematical analysis of the etching of {111} diamond surfaces is developed. The slopes of etch pit faces are computed in terms of the specific rate constants, k2 and k3, for removal of two- and three-bonded atoms along 〈110〉 steps and the specific rate constant, kd, for step nucleation at the central initiating defect. Interactions between neighboring steps are neglected. Two limiting etching regimes are found, i.e., one in which the step velocity increases linearly with step length and a regime of constant step velocity. If kd is limited by a no overhang criterion, i.e., nucleation of a new step cannot occur until the prior step has moved out of the way, kd and etch pit slope are functions of the size of the initiating defect. This allows etch pits of vastly different slope to be formed at the same k2k3 ratio. Point bottom pits with shallow (less than 2°) slopes form from small initiating defects, e.g., dislocation outcrops. At the same k2k3 ratio flat bottom pits with steep (70° 32') outer faces are formed by etching from large shallow defects, e.g., ring cracks or inclusions. Some preliminary conclusions are drawn about the chemical environment present during the latter stages of diamond genesis.
Life-Long Well Being: Applying Animal Welfare Science to Nonhuman Primates in Sanctuaries

Nonhuman primates have become common in sanctuaries, and a few such facilities even specialize in their care. Sanctuaries can improve the well being of many unwanted primates, especially in terms of housing and socialization. However, diverse facilities call themselves sanctuaries, and they have varying conditions, care programs, and restrictions. In addition, a general lack of regulation of sanctuaries for nonhuman animals creates problems in enforcing even minimal standards. The application of animal welfare science in the sanctuary setting can help foster high standards and empirically based decision making. Sanctuaries offer excellent environments for studying primates without the limitations inherent in breeding, exhibition, and medical research facilities. However, some sanctuaries avoid scientific study. Many sanctuaries have little opportunity to study animal welfare in a systematic manner due to financial considerations or a lack of specific expertise among staff and volunteers. Most published sanctuary research involves reintroduction procedures at sanctuaries in source countries. Nevertheless, one chimpanzee sanctuary's successes in performing long-term studies and using simple evaluation methods, such as check sheets, have demonstrated the benefits of applying animal welfare science to sanctuary-housed nonhuman primates.
Digital Epidermalization: Race, Identity and Biometrics

This article considers the ways in which what Paul Gilroy terms ‘epidermal thinking’ operates in the discourses surrounding certain surveillance practices and their applications, with a focus on identification documents and biometric technologies in particular. My aim is not to re-ontologize race, but instead to outline the notion of digital epidermalization, stemming from Frantz Fanon’s concept of epidermalization, as it allows for thinking through race, ontological insecurity and the ways in which the body materializes with and against biometric technologies. I examine key research in surveillance studies, governmental policy documents concerning biometric enabled identification documents and the 2003 ‘deportation’ to India of a Canadian citizen through the issuance of an expedited removal order by the US Immigration and Naturalization Services. By interrogating how digital epidermalization gains meaning and is put into practice, this article seeks to posit a space for refusals of such epidermal thinkin...
The effect of imbalance in life satisfactions and frustrations upon illness behavior in college students.

Abstract Numerous studies have demonstrated a significant correlation between multiple recent life change and altered health states, yet illness is not the inevitable consequence of such change. The capacity of an individual to cope with change is thought to be the intervening variable which determines the health response. In this study the Heimler Scale of Social Functioning (HSSF) is examined as a possible measure of coping skill among a group of college students who reported high recent life change and whose illness experience was carefully documented throughout the following school year. Significant predictive power was demonstrated for the HSSF singly as well as in combination with other psychological measurements.
Bounds and asymptotic results for the uniform parallel processor weighted flow time problem

Lower and upper bounds are derived for the NP-hard problem of scheduling n jobs on m parallel processors of different speed with an objective of minimizing weighted flow time. The bounds, which generalize well-known bounds for the identical processor problem, are helpful for understanding asymptotic properties. Asymptotic results for a deterministic model and a stochastic model of the uniform parallel processor weighted flow time problem are noted.