cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Predictors of Preventive Health Practices, Chronic Disease Burden and Health Status Among Underserved Bangladeshi Americans in Michigan

The Bangladeshi American community in Michigan is growing rapidly. Little is known about the correlates of health status and preventive health services among Bangladeshi Americans. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between demographic factors, preventive health practices, chronic conditions and health status of this population. Data were collected through self-administered surveys during community events in Hamtramck, Michigan and analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression. The surveys were completed by 166 Bangladeshi Americans. A majority reported not having an up-to-date physical/dental exams, colorectal, cervical, or breast cancer screening. The length of U.S. residency was associated with cancer screening utilization while employment status was correlated with self-reported health status. Our results demonstrate a need for development and implementation of language-appropriate and cultural interventions to address the unique healthcare needs of this growing population.
A high-resolution sedimentary charcoal- and geochemistry-based reconstruction of late Holocene fire regimes in the páramo of Chirripό National Park, Costa Rica

Multiproxy analysis of two sediment cores recovered from lagos Morrenas 3C and Ditkebi, located in the paramo of Costa Rica's Chirripo National Park, was undertaken to develop multidecadal-scale reconstructions of late Holocene fire regimes for the region. Analysis of macroscopic charcoal and sediment geochemistry (C%, N%, δ13C, δ15N, and C/N ratios) documents periodic burning of the paramo in Chirripo National Park during the past ~1700 yr. The charcoal records provide evidence of high fire frequency between AD ~560 and 720 and between AD ~980 and 1230. Severe fire episodes are reflected by a rapid increase in the flux of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) from the surrounding catchment because of the volatilization of paramo vegetation. Additionally, δ15N, which sharply increases following local fire events, captures postfire changes in nutrient loading and, likely, the decadal-scale rate of postfire recovery of paramo vegetation. The consistently high δ13C and C/N values observed between AD ~700 and 1100 suggest an expansion of Muhlenbergia, a native C4 grass growing near shore, suggesting that the interval between AD ~700 and 1100, broadly corresponding to the Terminal Classic Drought and Medieval Climate Anomaly, was characterized by a decrease in effective moisture and temperature.
The Psychometric Properties of the Session Rating Scale: A Narrative Review

Background: The Session Rating Scale (SRS) is a measure used in psychotherapy practice. Given its application and frequent use in clinical practice settings, several studies including primary validation studies as well as outcome studies reporting psychometric properties have examined the validity and reliability of the SRS. Because the SRS is designed to be used in clinical practice, demonstration of reliability and validity is ideal with clinical populations instead of non-clinical populations. To our knowledge, there have been no reviews evaluating the psychometric properties of the SRS with clinical populations.Purpose: The aim of this study was to review and synthesize the psychometric properties of the SRS by examining all relevant outcome and validation studies.Methods: We completed an electronic literature search of several online databases in order to identify relevant articles. We identified 12 articles that met our inclusion and analyzed the reliability and validity evidence for the SRS with clinical populations.Results: Findings showed high internal consistency for the SRS and support evidence that the underlying dimension is a measure of therapeutic alliance. Test-retest reliability estimates were reported in 4 of the 12 studies included in this review (ranging from .54 to .70). The SRS had low to moderate concurrent validity with other longer measures of therapeutic alliance (.29 with ORS; .48 with HAQ II; .57-.65 with WAI).Discussion: Clinicians should be aware of the limitations in validity evidence for the SRS that may result from its brevity. However, clinicians should also consider the relative stability of the SRS as a pragmatic global measure of the construct of therapeutic alliance. Future research efforts should focus on validation of the SRS with larger, more diverse samples and specific clinical populations with a wider range of symptom severity.
Unique Case of Recurrent Pelvic Congestion Syndrome Treated with Median Sacral Vein Embolization

Background Pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS) is defined as noncyclical pelvic pain or discomfort caused by dilated parauterine, paraovarian, and vaginal veins. PCS is typically characterized by ovarian venous incompetence that may be due to pelvic venous valvular insufficiency, hormonal factors, or mechanical venous obstruction. Methods We describe a case of a 38-year-old multiparous female with a history of pelvic pressure, vulvar varices, and dyspareunia. She underwent left gonadal vein coil embolization in 2014 for PCS that lead to symptomatic relief of her pain. Four years later, the patient returned for recurrent symptoms. Magnetic resonance venogram demonstrated dilated pelvic varices. The previously embolized left gonadal vein remained thrombosed, and there was no evidence of right gonadal vein insufficiency. However, catheter-based venography revealed a large, dilated, and incompetent median sacral vein. Results Pelvic venography demonstrated left gonadal vein embolization without any evidence of reflux. The right gonadal vein was also nondilated without reflux. Internal iliac venography showed large cross-pelvic collaterals and retrograde flow via a large, dilated median sacral vein. Coil embolization of the median sacral vein resulted in a dramatic reduction of pelvic venous reflux and resolution of symptoms. Conclusions Recurrence of PCS can occur after ovarian vein embolization through other tributaries in the venous network. The median sacral vein is a rare cause of PCS. We present an interesting case of a successfully treated recurrent PCS with coil embolization of an incompetent median sacral vein.
Distinct Protofilament-scale Dynamics Define the Differential Remodeling of Microtubule Arrays

SUMMARY The intrinsic dynamic instability of microtubules and their control by associated enzymes, such as depolymerases, are essential for the organization of complex multi-microtubule arrays like spindle and axoneme. However, existing optical or electron-microscopy methods lack the spatial-temporal resolution to observe the dynamics of individual microtubules within arrays. We use Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to image depolymerizing arrays at single microtubule and protofilament resolution. We discover previously unseen modes of microtubule destabilization by conserved depolymerases. The kinesin-13 MCAK mediates asynchronous protofilament depolymerization and lattice-defect propagation, whereas the kinesin-8 Kip3p promotes synchronous protofilament depolymerization. Unexpectedly, MCAK can depolymerize axonemal doublets but Kip3p cannot. We propose that distinct protofilament-level activities underlie the functional dichotomy of depolymerases, resulting in either large-scale destabilization or length regulation of microtubule arrays. Our work establishes AFM as a powerful strategy to visualize microtubule dynamics and reveals how nanometer-scale substrate specificity leads to differential remodeling of micron-sized cytoskeletal structures.
Not always a demand: A look at between-supervisor differences as resources in rotational supervision

In rotational supervision structures, multiple shift supervisors rotate responsibility for supervising a shared group of subordinates. That is, subordinates report to different supervisors each shi...
Peripheral optical coherence tomography assisted by scleral depression in retinopathy of prematurity

Objective: To determine whether handheld widefield optical coherence tomography (OCT) can be used to document retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) stage while using scleral depression to improve peripheral views. Design: Prospective observational study. Participants: Consecutive neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in a single academic medical center who also met criteria for ROP screening and consented for research imaging. Methods: Scleral depression was combined with widefield OCT using an investigational 400-kHz, 55-degree field of view handheld OCT during ROP screening from October 28, 2020 to March 03, 2021. Main Outcome Measures: Acquisition of en face and B-scan imaging of the peripheral retina to objectively assess early vitreoretinal pathology, including the demarcation between vascularized and anterior avascular retina, the presence of early ridge formation, and small neovascular tufts. Results: Various stages of ROP were detected using a rapid acquisition OCT system. In one neonate, serial OCT imaging over a five-week period demonstrated accumulation of neovascular tufts with progression to stage 3 ROP with extraretinal fibrovascular proliferation along the ridge. Videography of this technique is included in this report for instructional purposes. Conclusions: Serial examinations using widefield OCT and scleral depression may improve detection and documentation of ROP disease progression. Earlier detection of ROP-related proliferation may prevent vitreoretinal traction, retinal detachment, and blindness.
Leadership in International Contexts: Changing Worldview Through Immersion in African Cultures

This paper presents a qualitative analysis of a change of worldview experienced by graduate students as a consequence of taking Leadership in International Contexts (of Africa). The course begins with seminars in the United States, then takes students to an African country for a two-week immersion, and ends with closure presentations in the States. The focus is to assist students achieve cross-cultural success, address serious issues in culturally relevant ways, and to gain a peak learning experience that can propel them toward relevant action. In Africa students exchange insights with national, regional and local leaders who have been instrumental in advancing the welfare of their country and are recognized for their efforts. To assess students change of worldview, the course uses a version of the Global Competence Aptitude Assessment (GCAA) (Stuart, 2009) consisting of three stages: 1) flushing out own preconceptions about Africa; 2) producing 10 journal entries on topics relevant to course objectives; 3) assessing potential individual takeaways from Africa. How does the fieldwork in Africa enhance students worldview? Findings reveal that student immersion in African culture and leadership results in various individual, social and professional courses of action.
Eugenic Feminism: Mental Hygiene, the Women's Movement, and the Campaign for Eugenic Legal Reform, 1900-1935

In the first four decades of the twentieth century, the eugenics movement assembled a powerful coalition of hereditarian theorists, social workers, scientists, judges, legislators, and feminist reformers to advocate an agenda of eugenic legal reform. This agenda centered on the belief that many undesirable traits are hereditary and that the law should be designed to remove those traits from the racial stock. Far from deferring to the formulation of eugenics prescribed by the coalition, feminists redefined the science to create a unique “eugenic feminism.”Despite this important contribution to the eugenics movement, however, historical accounts have failed to recognize the unique perspectives of feminist reformers and their influence on eugenic theory. Leading studies contend that the involvement of feminist reformers in the eugenics movement was consistent with their support for a class-based program of social control. Other contemporary works suggest that some feminist reformers gradually abandoned their interests in promoting the social or economic status of women and instead promoted purely eugenic reforms.These accounts all suggest that there was nothing contradictory or distinctive about feminist support for eugenics. These accounts, however, fail to explain why feminist articulations of eugenics were significantly different from the explanations of eugenic law and science offered by eugenicists themselves. In fact, the writings of feminists involved in the eugenics reform movement show that they did not defer to traditional eugenic science, but redefined it. In doing so, these feminists created a unique theory that this article will call “eugenic feminism.”Several different visions of eugenic feminism were articulated between 1890 and 1930, but each found commonality in the argument that the eugenic decline of the race could be prevented only if women were granted greater political, social, sexual, and economic equality. This argument correlated gender equality with racial improvement: eugenic science and law had to guarantee some form of substantive gender equality in order to improve the race.Thus, in the years between 1915 and 1935, eugenic feminism existed distinct from, and in increasing tension with, mainstream eugenic science and policy. Ultimately, leading eugenic feminists could neither change the minds of a majority of the eugenic coalition nor resolve the contradictions inherent in their own eugenic theories. While they often argued that their reforms should be supported primarily as means to achieve a eugenic end, each leader held on to the very kinds of rights and equality-based arguments that mainstream eugenicists rejected. This contradiction contributed significantly to the decline and disappearance of eugenic feminism in the early and mid-1930s.
A screen for genes that function downstream of Ras1 during Drosophila eye development.

Cell-fate specification of the R7 photoreceptor cell is controlled by the sevenless receptor tyrosine kinase (SevRTK) and Ras1, the Drosophila homologue of mammalian H-ras, K-ras and N-ras oncogenes. An activated form of Ras1 expressed under control of the sevenless enhancer/promoter (sev-Ras1(V12)) induces production of supernumerary R7 photoreceptor cells, which causes the eye to become rough in appearance. To isolate mutations in genes functioning downstream of Ras1, we carried out a screen for dominant suppressors and enhancers of this rough eye phenotype. Approximately 850,000 mutagenized flies were screened, and 282 dominant suppressors and 577 dominant enhancers were isolated. Mutations in the Drosophila homologues of Raf, MEK, MAPK, type I Geranylgeranyl Transferase and Protein Phosphatase 2A were isolated, as were mutations in several novel signaling genes. Some of these mutant genes appear to be general signaling factors that function in other Ras1 pathways, while one seems to be more specific for photoreceptor development. At least two suppressors appear to function either between Ras1 and Raf or in parallele to Raf.
Descriptors of natural thermal regimes in streams and their responsiveness to change in the Pacific Northwest of North America

SUMMARY 1. Temperature is a major driver of ecological processes in stream ecosystems, yet the dynamics of thermal regimes remain poorly described. Most work has focused on relatively simple descriptors that fail to capture the full range of conditions that characterise thermal regimes of streams across seasons or throughout the year. 2. To more completely describe thermal regimes, we developed several descriptors of magnitude, variability, frequency, duration and timing of thermal events throughout a year. We evaluated how these descriptors change over time using long-term (1979–2009), continuous temperature data from five relatively undisturbed cold-water streams in western Oregon, U.S.A. In addition to trends for each descriptor, we evaluated similarities among them, as well as patterns of spatial coherence, and temporal synchrony. 3. Using different groups of descriptors, we were able to more fully capture distinct aspects of the full range of variability in thermal regimes across space and time. A subset of descriptors showed both higher coherence and synchrony and, thus, an appropriate level of responsiveness to examine evidence of regional climatic influences on thermal regimes. Most notably, daily minimum values during winter–spring were the most responsive descriptors to potential climatic influences. 4. Overall, thermal regimes in streams we studied showed high frequency and low variability of cold temperatures during the cold-water period in winter and spring, and high frequency and high variability of warm temperatures during the warm-water period in summer and autumn. The cold and warm periods differed in the distribution of events with a higher frequency and longer duration of warm events in summer than cold events in winter. The cold period exhibited lower variability in the duration of events, but showed more variability in timing. 5. In conclusion, our results highlight the importance of a year-round perspective in identifying the most responsive characteristics or descriptors of thermal regimes in streams. The descriptors we provide herein can be applied across hydro-ecological regions to evaluate spatial and temporal patterns in thermal regimes. Evaluation of coherence and synchrony of different components of thermal regimes can facilitate identification of impacts of regional climate variability or local human or natural influences.
Stigma, Concealment and Symptoms of Depression as Explanations for Sexually Transmitted Infections among Gay Men

This study examined how perceived sociocultural factors influenced the relationship between psychosocial variables and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among gay men. A cross-sectional brief street-intercept survey was administered to 594 gay men. Analyses examined how well stigma, concealment and symptoms of depression explained variation in participants' histories of STIs. Results suggested that concealment partially mediated the relationship between stigma and depression and depression partially mediated the relationship between concealment and STIs. Controlling for sociodemographic factors, symptoms of depression explained more varied histories of STIs; however, concealment was negatively related to STIs. Implications for STI and HIV interventions are discussed.
Recovery of DNA-dependent RNA polymerase activities from L cells after mengovirus infection.

Abstract Infection of L cells with mengovirus results in rapid inhibition of DNA-dependent RNA polymerase II activity in isolated nuclei and a slower decrease in RNA polymerase I activity. However, when the RNA polymerase enzymes from infected cells or nuclei are solubilized and fractionated, all the enzyme activities are recovered at control levels and give DEAE-Sephadex elution patterns of RNA polymerases I, II, and III indistinguishable from those of the enzymes isolated from uninfected L cells. Treatment of uninfected L cells with the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide results in a rapid decay of the RNA polymerase I activity in isolated nuclei, while the polymerase II activity is stable for several hours. Nevertheless, complete recovery of all the RNA polymerase activities is obtained when the enzymes are solubilized from the cycloheximide treated cells.
Diabetic Dyslipidemia and Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is the primary cause of death in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and it seems to be closely related to a specific cluster of lipid abnormalities, including low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, increased numbers of small dense low-density lipoprotein particles, and elevated triglyceride levels. Each of these abnormalities is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This review describes the atherogenic dyslipidemia that characterizes type 2 DM, the causes of this so-called diabetic dyslipidemia, and pharmacologic approaches to normalizing the lipid profile in these patients. The management of patients with type 2 DM usually centers on glycemic and blood pressure control. Most of the commonly used antidiabetic agents have neutral or only mildly beneficial effects on diabetic dyslipidemia; thus, achieving better glycemic control may only slightly improve the lipid profile. Treatment of dyslipidemia usually requires pharmacotherapy to achieve major improvements in lipid profiles, yet current management of diabetic dyslipidemia generally is not optimal. Even when treated with statins, patients with type 2 DM frequently exhibit a residual risk for cardiovascular disease; therefore, additional treatment options that use mechanisms of action that differ from those of statins are needed. New agents such as ezetimibe, along with the more traditional treatments of statins, fibrates, and nicotinic acid, may potentially improve the lipid profiles of patients with diabetic dyslipidemia.
Localized grain-boundary electronic states and intergranular fracture.

The appearance of localized grain-boundary electronic states is shown to provide a reliable indication of intergranular fracture in polycrystalline materials. Representative densities of states are presented for some $L{1}_{2}$ intermetallic compounds by use of polyhedral models of grain-boundary structure. The role of certain segregated impurities as inhibitors of intergranular brittleness is briefly discussed and suggestions are made for direct experimental verification of our model.
New neural theory of migraine

Insufficient attention has been given to reports in the literature describing patients with symptomatic migraine who, in addition to, or instead of, the well-recognized zones of hypofusion, have zones of hyperperfusion, which can be interpreted as hypermetabolism due to neuronal activation. A new neural theory of migraine is proposed in which it is hypothesized that migraine is an electrical disease of the brain in which abnormally-functioning serotonergic pacemaker cells in the raphe nuclei inappropriately activate and inhibit wide areas of the brain. Excessive neuronal activation could cause migraine stroke by excitotoxicity and could explain the association of migraine with epilepsy. The serotonergic nuclei are positioned to mediate stress-induced migraine.
Individuals with Single Versus Multiple Suicide Attempts Over 10 Years of Prospective Follow-Up

Abstract Background The study attempted to identify characteristics that differentiate multiple suicide attempters from single attempters in individuals with personality disorders (PDs) and/or major depression. Method Participants were 431 participants enrolled in the Collaborative Longitudinal Study of Personality Disorders from July 1996 to June 2008. Suicide attempts were assessed with the Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation at 6 and 12 months, then yearly through 10 years. Logistic regression was used to compare single attempters to multiple attempters on Axis I and II psychiatric disorders and personality trait variables. Results Twenty-one percent of participants attempted suicide during the 10 years of observation, with 39 (9.0%) reporting a single suicide attempt and 54 (12.5%) reporting multiple suicide attempts. Although no significant differences in were found in baseline Axis I disorders, multiple attempters were significantly more likely to meet criteria for borderline personality disorder and to have higher impulsivity scores than single attempters. Conclusion These results underscore the importance of considering both personality disorders and traits in the assessment of suicidality.
Stability of Transmembrane Regions in Bacteriorhodopsin Studied by Progressive Proteolysis

Proteinase K digestions of bacteriorhodopsin were carried out with the aim of characterizing the membrane-embedded regions of the protein. Products of digestions for two, eight or 24 hours were separated by high-pressure liquid chromotography. A computerized search procedure was used to compare the amino acid analyses of peptide-containing peaks with segments of the bacteriorhodopsin sequence. Molecular weight distributions of the products were determined by sodium dodecylsulfate-urea polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The structural integrity of the protein after digestion was monitored through the visible absorption spectrum, by X-ray diffraction of partially dried membranes, and by following release of biosynthetically-incorporated 3H leucine from the digested membranes. During mild proteolysis, bacteriorhodopsin was cleaved near the amino and carboxyl termini and at two internal regions previously identified as being accessible to the aqueous medium. Longer digestion resulted in cleavage at new sites. Under conditions where no fragments of bacteriorhodopsin larger than 9000 mol wt were observed, a significant proportion of the digested membranes retained diffraction patterns similar to those of native purple membranes. The harshest digestion conditions led to complete loss of the X-ray diffraction patterns and optical absorption and to release of half the hydrophobic segments of the protein from the membrane in the form of small soluble peptides. Upon cleavage of aqueous loop regions of the protein, isolated transmembrane segments may experience motion in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the membrane, allowing them access to protease.
Fractional quantum Hall effect in multilayer electron systems

Abstract We present several novel quasi-two-dimensional electron systems with an additional degree of freedom. These include systems which contain two or more layers of electrons in close proximity so that interlayer Coulomb interactions are strong, and thick-layer electron systems in wide parabolic wells. The magneto-transport data in these systems exhibit new phenomena: examples include the observation of a fractional quantum Hall state at the even-denominator v= 1 2 filling and an insulating phase reentrant around the v=1/3 fractional state in a double-layer electron system in a wide quantum well.
Use of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) on Autonomous Weather Buoys for Maritime Domain Awareness Applications

The United States Coast Guard (USCG), as part of the Department of Homeland Security, is responsible for a wide variety of missions in the maritime domain. In order to support the accomplishment of these missions, the USCG needs to collect as much information as possible on activities occurring in the maritime domain. A large part of maritime activity relates to the movement of vessels. Therefore, detection, classification, identification and monitoring of vessels are a key component of what is known as Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA). The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is a technology that is used primarily as a tool for maritime safety, including vessel collision avoidance and as a means for coastal nations' Vessel Traffic Services (VTSs) to get information on vessels operating near their coasts. AIS equipment aboard vessels continuously and autonomously transmits information about the vessel including its identity, position, course, and speed to enhance safety. These transmissions can be received by other vessels or by land-based stations equipped with AIS receivers. The USCG sees the capability AIS provides, particularly for vessel tracking, as a major contributor to MDA and VTS. To extend the capability of USCG land-based AIS monitoring stations further offshore, the USCG Maritime Domain Awareness Program Integration Office sponsored the development of a near real-time, autonomous automatic identification and telemetry system based on AIS technology for installation on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather buoys through the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) and its technical support contractor, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).
Putting Understanding the Changing Planet in Context: A Response

Understanding the Changing Planet was commissioned by the National Research Council to assess, for an audience of policymakers and funding agencies, key ways in which the “geographical sciences” can help address pressing issues facing society. In keeping with the charge, the report shows how particular empirically focused research initiatives in the geographical sciences can advance understanding of a set of selected major societal issues. Although constrained by a charge focused on the geographical sciences, the committee took an ecumenical approach to science, highlighted many mixed-methods studies, and framed questions that cut across traditional subdisciplinary divisions. It is important to take the report on its own terms and not to view it either as an assessment of the entire discipline of geography or to see it as an effort to encourage geographers to adopt a particular methodological or theoretical stance. Instead, the report should be seen as a study demonstrating, for a broad audience, the type...
Young Children's Acquisition of the Handshape Aspect of American Sign Language Signs: Parental Report Findings.

The acquisition of the handshape aspect of American Sign Language signs was examined longitudinally in nine young children of deaf parents. In monthly home visit sessions, the parents demonstrated on videotape how their children formed the different signs in their lexicons. According to these parental reports, handshapes were produced accurately in 49.8% of the children's different signs. Accuracy of handshape production typically improved with the children's increasing age and vocabulary size. Four basic handshapes (/5, G, B, A/) predominated in the children's early sign productions. Measures of the children's handshape production accuracy, ordinal position of initial production, and frequency of production were used to describe the order in which handshapes were most often acquired. It was also observed that the part of the hand involved in contacting a sign's location often affected the accuracy of the handshapes being produced.
Progressive delamination analysis of composite materials using XFEM and a discrete damage zone model

The modeling of progressive delamination by means of a discrete damage zone model within the extended finite element method is investigated. This framework allows for both bulk and interface damages to be conveniently traced, regardless of the underlying mesh alignment. For discrete interfaces, a new mixed-mode force---separation relation, which accounts for the coupled interaction between opening and sliding modes, is proposed. The model is based on the concept of Continuum Damage Mechanics and is shown to be thermodynamically consistent. An integral-type nonlocal damage is adopted in the bulk to regularize the softening material response. The resulting nonlinear equations are solved using a Newton scheme with a dissipation-based arc-length constraint, for which an analytical Jacobian is derived. Several benchmark delamination studies, as well as failure analyses of a fiber/epoxy unit cell, are presented and discussed in detail. The proposed model is validated against available analytical/experimental data and is found to be robust and mesh insensitive.
Examining Deficiencies in Florida Pedestrian Crash Data

In Florida, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles serves as the repository for state traffic crash data collected by law enforcement officers. These state data, which are collected on traffic crash reports, limit the type and the extent of the analysis that can be performed because of constraints and errors in the data. Florida state databases lack information from crash narratives and diagrams, which are not mined for data. In addition, crash report data are shown to contain errors. An analysis was initiated to investigate data from 318 fatal crashes involving pedestrians in which detailed traffic homicide reports and other data sources were consulted. The integrity of the state-maintained data for their accuracy and completeness was investigated. Alcohol usage, fault, speed limits, vehicle speeds, and citations were the leading data fields with errors. In the case of pedestrian alcohol test results, state database records were found to be in error more than half the time. Emphasis is given to the methods that can be used to create a quality crash data set and to highlighting the additional insights that can be gained from the homicide reports and other resources, especially for the accurate determination of fault and crash causation.
Feature point detection utilizing the empirical mode decomposition

This paper introduces a novel contour-based method for detecting largely affine invariant interest or feature points. In the first step, image edges are detected by morphological operators, followed by edge thinning. In the second step, corner or feature points are identified based on the local curvature of the edges. The main contribution of this work is the selection of good discriminative feature points from the thinned edges based on the 1D empirical mode decomposition (EMD). Simulation results compare the proposed method with five existing approaches that yield good results. The suggested contour-based technique detects almost all the true feature points of an image. Repeatability rate, which evaluates the geometric stability under different transformations, is employed as the performance evaluation criterion. The results show that the performance of the proposed method compares favorably against the existing well-known methods.
Group Method of Data Handling: A New Method for Stock Identification

Abstract The group method of data handling (GMDH) is described and applied to the problem of fish stock separation (classification). The method, which increases model complexity in a stepwise fashion, finds an empirical polynomial model of a complex system that satisfies any of several optimality criteria. By basing the model's structure largely on the data, rather than a priori assumptions, GMDH can reduce the number of assumptions that must be made about the system under study. I analyzed data from two previously published data sets with GMDH to arrive at stock identification models for American shad Alosa sapidissima and striped bass Morone saxatilis. Each model was verified with data not used in model construction. The GMDH-based models were as good as conventional discriminant models at classifying the verification samples of fish. In addition, GMDH was able to identify excellent models that used fewer characteristics (features) of the samples.
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Acts Primarily via Platelet-Derived Growth Factor Receptor α to Promote Proliferative Vitreoretinopathy

Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) is a nonneovascular blinding disease and the leading cause for failure in surgical repair of rhegmatogenous retinal detachments. Once formed, PVR is difficult to treat. Hence, there is an acute interest in developing approaches to prevent PVR. Of the many growth factors and cytokines that accumulate in vitreous as PVR develops, neutralizing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) A has recently been found to prevent PVR in at least one animal model. The goal of this study was to test if Food and Drug Administration–approved agents could protect the eye from PVR in multiple animal models and to further investigate the underlying mechanisms. Neutralizing VEGF with aflibercept (VEGF Trap-Eye) safely and effectively protected rabbits from PVR in multiple models of disease. Furthermore, aflibercept reduced the bioactivity of both experimental and clinical PVR vitreous. Finally, although VEGF could promote some PVR-associated cellular responses via VEGF receptors expressed on the retinal pigment epithelial cells that drive this disease, VEGF's major contribution to vitreal bioactivity occurred via platelet-derived growth factor receptor α. Thus, VEGF promotes PVR by a noncanonical ability to engage platelet-derived growth factor receptor α. These findings indicate that VEGF contributes to nonangiogenic diseases and that anti–VEGF-based therapies may be effective on a wider spectrum of diseases than previously appreciated.
Antiulcer activity of the calcium antagonist propyl-methylenedioxyindene—II. Effects on acid secretion and gastric emptying in rats

Abstract 1. 1. Propyl-methylenedioxyindene (pr-MDI) is an intracellularly acting calcium antagonist which protects against cold/restraint-induced stress ulcers in rats. The doses of pr-MDI which produce antiulcer activity (10–30 mg/kg i.p.) are significantly lower than those which exhibit cardiovascular effects. 2. 2. Two potential mechanisms for the antiulcer action of pr-MDI were investigated in this study: the effects on hydrochloric acid secretion and on gastric motility (gastric emptying). 3. 3. Bethanechol-induced hydrochloric acid secretion in acutely pylorus-ligated rats was significantly obtunded by pr-MDI (30 mg/kg i.p.), but the effect was significantly weaker than that produced by verapamil (16 mg/kg i.p.) or cimetidine (10 mg/kg i.p.). Since 30 mg/kg pr-MDI produces greater antiulcer activity than the very high dose of 16 mg/kg verapamil, it is unlikely that inhibition of acid secretion plays more than a contributory role in the antiulcer mechanism of action of pr-MDI. 4. 4. pr-MDI (10–30 mg/kg i.p.) produced a dose-dependent slowing of gastric emptying in rats fed a methylcellulose/Phenol Red test meal, and this effect correlated well with the antiulcer action. Verapamil (16 mg/kg i.p.) did not affect gastric emptying. 5. 5. The results indicate that a reduction of gastric motility plays a major role in the mechanism of the antiulcer action of pr-MDI.
Carcinoid of the Rectum Risk Stratification (CaRRS): A Strategy for Preoperative Outcome Assessment

Predicting rectal carcinoid behavior exclusively on the basis of tumor size is imprecise. We sought to identify factors associated with outcome and incorporate them into a preoperative risk stratification scheme. Seventy patients with rectal carcinoid evaluated at our institution were identified. Demographic, clinical, and histopathologic data were collected and correlated with recurrence and survival. The mean age of our cohort was 53.6 years. Fifty-seven percent of patients were women. The mean tumor size was 1.3 cm (range, .1–5 cm). Twenty-five percent of patients had deeply invasive tumors (into the muscularis propria or deeper); an equal percentage had tumors with lymphovascular invasion (LVI) or an increased mitotic rate (two or more mitoses per 50 high-power fields). Eleven patients (17%) had distant metastases at presentation. Sixty-one patients were followed for a median of 22 months (range, 2–308 months), during which seven patients developed recurrence and seven died of disease (including two of seven whose disease recurred). Poor outcome was associated with large tumor size, deep invasion, presence of LVI, and increased mitotic rate. These factors were incorporated into a Carcinoid of the Rectum Risk Stratification (CaRRS) score. CaRRS predicted recurrence-free and disease-specific survival better than any single factor alone. Poor prognostic features of rectal carcinoids include large size, deep invasion, LVI, and increased mitotic rate. The CaRRS score incorporates these features and accurately predicts outcome. Because the CaRRS score is based on values available by preoperative biopsy, it can identify patients with favorable prognosis and those with poor prognosis who may benefit from additional staging or surveillance.
Squeezed states and quantum-mechanical parametric amplification.

The relation of a previous paper on the parametric amplification of a quantum oscillator to squeezed states is described. In particular, we show that in general the amplification factor is also the ``squeezing factor'' of the final state.
Astrocyte barriers to neurotoxic inflammation

Astrocytes form borders (glia limitans) that separate neural from non-neural tissue along perivascular spaces, meninges and tissue lesions in the CNS. Transgenic loss-of-function studies reveal that astrocyte borders and scars serve as functional barriers that restrict the entry of inflammatory cells into CNS parenchyma in health and disease. Astrocytes also have powerful pro-inflammatory potential. Thus, astrocytes are emerging as pivotal regulators of CNS inflammatory responses. This Review discusses evidence that astrocytes have crucial roles in attracting and restricting CNS inflammation, with important implications for diverse CNS disorders.
How does calmodulin let go of its ions

Abstract The structures of calmodulin with and without its Ca2+ cations are compared to ascertain whether or not enough energy is saved by side chain reorganization to compensate for the loss of four divalent cations. We conclude that not enough energy is so liberated, and that other conformational changes must take place to account for the dissociation of this molecule.
Affinity chromatographic separation of secreted alkaline phosphatase and glucoamylase using reactive dyes

A single-step dye affinity chromatographic separation method was developed to separate secreted alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) and glucoamylase produced in CHO cell culture and Aspergillus niger fermentation, respectively. The reactive dye, Procion® Green H-E4BD, was found to have a good binding capacity for SEAP, whereas Procion® Blue H-ERD was the best dye ligand for glucoamylase. However, these dyes have a relatively low selectivity for the target protein. Consequently, elution of the adsorbed proteins by KCl solution resulted in a product with many impurity proteins as evident by the multiple protein bands on SDS-PAGE. However, elution of SEAP by its substrate, phosphate, produced a relatively pure protein with a high specific enzyme activity because of the competition for active site between the substrate and the dye ligand. Also, a high-purity glucoamylase product was obtained by elution with a borate solution. The relatively inexpensive dye affinity chromatography thus can be used for purifying enzymes from cell culture and fermentation broths. The adsorption of SEAP on the dye-ligand affinity resin followed the Langmuir isotherm. An axial dispersion model with external mass transfer limitation was developed to simulate the breakthrough curve in the chromatographic column. This mathematical model can be used to scale up the protein adsorption process.
Summer Habitat Use by Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout in Jocassee Reservoir

Abstract Temperature, dissolved oxygen, and depth preferences of Jocassee Reservoir rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and brown trout Salmo trutta implanted with temperature-sensing radio transmitters were determined during July, August, and September 1994–1998. Specific knowledge of these preferences was needed to verify habitat criteria designed to assist in the management of water quality in this reservoir for trout survival in late summer and early fall. Rainbow trout exhibited temperature, dissolved oxygen, and depth preferences in the ranges 8.3–13.4°C, 2.9–8.7 mg/L, and 30.0–52.0 m, respectively, while brown trout exhibited preferences in the ranges 7.5–21.9°C, 4.2–10.0 mg/L, and 14.0–54.0 m, respectively. Even though rainbow trout selected cooler water temperatures and greater depths than brown trout, both species generally exhibited preferences for water 20°C or cooler and containing 5.0 mg/L or more of dissolved oxygen. Maintenance of these criteria in Jocassee Reservoir should ensure adequate h...
Network Analyzer Studies of Electromagnetic Cavity Resonators

Studies are described in which equivalent circuits for the Maxwell field equations, considered in a companion paper, are set up on an alternating-current network analyzer. These correspond to several simple electromagnetic cavities for which results are known. Comparisons made between the known theoretical results and field distributions measured from the equivalent circuits are used for verification of the equivalent circuits, for evaluation of the usefulness of present network analyzers in high-frequency-field problems, and for suggestions of desirable features for analyzers constructed especially for the study of field problems.
A Strong Genetic Determinant of Hyperoxia-Related Retinal Degeneration on Mouse Chromosome 6

PURPOSE. Hyperoxia-related retinal degeneration (HRRD) is a model system in the mouse in which elevated oxygen levels are used to induce retinal degeneration. The hypothesis for the present study was that strain differences in HRRD susceptibility are due to allelic variants of one or more genes in the mouse genome whose human orthologues should be important targets for research and drug development. METHODS. C57BL/6J, A/J, or B.A-Chr6 mice were exposed to 75% oxygen (hyperoxia) or room air for 14 days. After death, one eye was fixed and processed for outer nuclear layer (ONL) thickness measurements. The retina and RPE/choroid were separately dissected from the fellow eye and processed for microarray analysis. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis for transcribed sequences from the C57BL/6J and A/J genomes was conducted using the NIH genome site. RESULTS. C57BL/6J mice developed a significant retinal degeneration in the inferior hemisphere after 14 days of hyperoxia. Under identical conditions, A/J mice exhibited only minor changes. A significant genetic effect was located on chromosome 6. SNP analysis of known transcribed sequences on chromosome 6 combined with microarray expression analysis yielded 33 candidate genes. CONCLUSIONS. A significant genetic effect of susceptibility to HRRD is located on chromosome 6. In silico analysis of transcribed sequences results in a fairly small number of candidate genes. (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2007;48:405‐411) DOI: 10.1167/iovs.06-0854
State generators and complex neural memories

The mechanism of self-indexing for feedback neural networks that generates memories from short subsequences is generalized so that a single bit together with an appropriate update order suffices for each memory. This mechanism explains how stimulating an appropriate neuron can recall a memory. Although information is distributed in this model, yet our self-indexing mechanism makes it appear localized. Also a new complex valued neuron model is presented to generalize McCulloch-Pitts neurons.
Effect of velocity cross-relaxation and mode separation upon the power spectrum of a chemical oxygen-iodine laser resonator

A gain model for optical extraction from the CW chemical oxygen-iodine laser medium is described. It uses a simplified, temperatuire-dependent, chemical kinetics package which consists of several reactions between molecular oxygen, atomic and molecular iodine, water, and helium. The Heidner I2 dissociation mechanism is included to allow for incomplete dissociation. Gas flow is treated using a premixed, one-dimensional stream-tube model which accounts for gas expansion and heat release in the cavity. Collisional cross-relaxation effects upon the Doppler-broadened line are treated using a Fokker-Planck diffusion model of the velocity distribution of the upper and lower laser levels. This model, in conjunction with geometric optics, multimode model of an unstable standing-wave confocal resonator, is used to examine the influence of incomplete velocity cross-relaxation and longitudinal mode separation upon the output power and mode spectrum of the laser. It is shown that lasing will occur on all available modes even when the mode separation is less than the collision linewidth.