cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Generation of watt-level single-longitudinal-mode output from cladding-pumped short fiber lasers.

We generate as much as 1.6?W of continuous-wave 1550?nm single-longitudinal-mode output from a cladding pumped Er–Yb codoped phosphate fiber laser. This power is to our knowledge among the highest in single-longitudinal-mode fiber lasers. The narrowband fiber Bragg grating output coupler is demonstrated to be an effective element for providing the single-longitudinal-mode selection.
Steady-state creep behavior of hot isostatically pressed niobium carbide

Abstract Polycrystalline NbC 0.740 having a density of 99.7% of theoretical has been produced from powder of a specially prepared and sintered mixture of NbC 0.97 and Nb by hot isostatic pressing at 2063K for 2h under ≅ 20MPa pressure. Kinetic data, derived from constant stress creep experiments in the temperature and stress ranges of 1730K – 2100K and 16MPa–70MPa, respectively coupled with TEM information have been used to determine the mechanisms of deformation. At 1730K, steady-state creep was controlled by either the Peierls stress or cross slip. Increasing the temperature to 1830K and 1930K caused the single dislocations and dipoles present at lower temperatures to form into apparent subboundaries of straight dislocations on (111) planes. The controlling mechanism of creep did not change. Deformation at 2100K under low stress was also controlled by glide; at elevated stresses it was controlled by climb.
Divalent cation effects on interactions between multiple Arabidopsis 14-3-3 isoforms and phosphopeptide targets.

Oscillations in cellular divalent cation concentrations are key events that can trigger signal transduction cascades. Common cellular divalent cations, such as calcium and magnesium, interact with 14-3-3 proteins. The metal ion interaction causes a conformational change in the 14-3-3 proteins, which is manifested as an increase in hydrophobicity. In this study, the effect of divalent cations on the interaction between 14-3-3 proteins and target peptides was investigated using surface plasmon resonance and isothermal titration calorimetry. The binding between ten recombinant Arabidopsis 14-3-3 isoforms and two synthetic target peptides was observed in the presence of various physiologically relevant concentrations of calcium or magnesium, from 1 μM to 1 mM or from 1 μM to 5 mM, respectively. The synthetic target peptides were based on sequences from Arabidopsis nitrate reductase (NR2) and the plasma membrane proton pump (AHA2) representing fundamentally different target classes. Isoforms representing every...
A Flood of Opioids, a Rising Tide of Deaths

Faced with an epidemic of drug abuse and overdose deaths, the FDA has proposed a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy for prescription opioid pain relievers, involving improved education for physicians and patients about risks associated with long-acting opioids.
EFFECTS OF THREE EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS ON PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S ABILITY TO COORDINATE VISUAL PERSPECTIVES

Summary.--60 3-, 4-, and 5-yr.-old children were asked to coordinate visual perspectives in three conditions: (1) Piaget and Inhelder's "Three Mountain Task," (2) identify objects a doll could see against the side of two intersecting walls, and (3) choose a picture which represented which objects the doll could see. Both condition and age effects were significant. For all age groups there were significant differences between the "Three Mountain Task" and the other two tasks, with significantly more children responding correctly on the two object-identification conditions. No significant differences between the two obiect-identification conditions were found. While 5-yr.-olds performed significantly better on both object-identification conditions, no differences were found between the 3- and 4-yr.-olds on these tasks. No age effect was found on the "Three Mountain Task." Children of all groups found this task too difficult. 3-, 4-, and 5-yr.-olds seem better at coordinating visual perspectives than suggested .earlier. Greater success on present tasks may be due to the reduced number of visual cues that represented alternate visual perspectives. Differences in cognitive demands of each condition were analyzed.
Iron pentacarbonyl decomposition over grafoil: II. Effect of sample outgassing on decomposition kinetics

Abstract Mossbauer spectroscopy and volumetric gas phase measurements have been used to study the thermal decomposition (at 383 K) of Fe(CO) 5 on Grafoil subjected to different outgassing pre-treatments. Mossbauer spectroscopy showed that only two iron-containing surface species exist during the entire decomposition process: Fe(CO) 5 and metallic iron particles. Furthermore, the Mossbauer spectra suggest that the metallic iron particles on the surface have a high surface to volume ratio, consistent with the presence of thin metallic rafts. These findings are supported by volumetric gas phase measurements which show that following complete decomposition of Fe(CO) 5 , one molecule of CO is adsorbed on the sample for every two atoms of metallic iron deposited on the Grafoil. Kinetic measurements indicate that after the initial stages of reaction, the decomposition is a first-order process. This is interpreted in terms of the nucleation and growth of metallic iron particles at edges, steps or other defects on the Grafoil surface. The rate of decomposition increased as the outgassing temperature was increased up to 773 K. Concomitant consideration of Mossbauer and kinetic results suggests that outgassing increases the reactivity of the graphite surface not by significantly increasing the number of nucleation and growth sites but rather by altering the reactivity of existing sites and/or the mobility of Fe(CO) 5 on Grafoil.
Inhibition of inflammatory bone erosion by constitutively active STAT‐6 through blockade of JNK and NF‐κB activation

Objective NF-κB and JNK signaling pathways play key roles in the pathogenesis of inflammatory arthritis. Both factors are also activated in response to osteoclastogenic factors, such as RANKL and tumor necrosis factor α. Inflammatory arthritis and bone erosion subside in the presence of antiinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-4 (IL-4). We have previously shown that IL-4 inhibits osteoclastogenesis in vitro through inhibition of NF-κB and JNK activation in a STAT-6–dependent manner. This study was undertaken to investigate the potential of constitutively active STAT-6 to arrest the activation of NF-κB and JNK and to subsequently ameliorate the bone erosion associated with inflammatory arthritis in mice. Methods Inflammatory arthritis was induced in wild-type and STAT-6–null mice by intraperitoneal injection of arthritis-eliciting serum derived from K/B×N mice. Bone erosion was assessed in the joints by histologic and immunostaining techniques. Cell-permeable Tat-STAT-6 fusion proteins were administered intraperitoneally. Cells were isolated from bone marrow and from joints for the JNK assay, the DNA-binding assays (electrophoretic mobility shift assays), and for in vitro osteoclastogenesis. Results Activation of NF-κB and JNK in vivo was increased in extracts of cells retrieved from the joints of arthritic mice. Cell-permeable, constitutively active STAT-6 (i.e., STAT-6-VT) was effective in blocking NF-κB and JNK activation in RANKL-treated osteoclast progenitors. More importantly, STAT-6-VT protein significantly inhibited the in vivo activation of NF-κB and JNK, attenuated osteoclast recruitment in the inflamed joints, and decreased bone destruction. Conclusion Our findings indicate that the administration of STAT-6-VT presents a novel approach to the alleviation of bone erosion in inflammatory arthritis.
New Perspectives on Value Change Response to Lafferty and Knutsen, Savage, and Böltken and Jagodzinski

This article responds to two central questions about value change that are raised by other articles in this volume: (1) Are political cleavages in Western society gradually being transformed from the traditional pattern based on social class and religion, toward one that increasingly reflects the polarization between materialist and postmaterialist goals? (2) Has an intergenerational value shift been taking place in recent decades—or do the observed differences between the priorities of old and young simply reflect an unchanging life cycle pattern? Cohort analysis based on more than 140,000 interviews carried out at numerous time points from 1970 through 1984 demonstrates that a long-term process of intergenerational value change was taking place, based on strong intercohort differences that persisted throughout the tumultous economic ups and downs of the past 14 years. Additional evidence indicates that this process has had a major impact on political cleavages, changing the political meaning of left and...
Single Center Results following Proton Beam Therapy in Children with Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumors of the Central Nervous System

Abstract Purpose: Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor is a rare, embryonal, central nervous system tumor seen predominantly in infancy and childhood. Outcomes are generally dismal, with median survival estimated at 6 months to a year. The purpose of this study was to evaluate proton beam therapy (PBT) outcomes in this population. Materials and Methods: Sixteen patients with a diagnosis of atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor were treated from November 2007 to January 2013 at the Indiana University Health Proton Therapy Center. All patients were treated with PBT. Fraction sizes of 1.8 Gy/fraction were used to deliver 28 to 33 fractions. Seven patients received craniospinal PBT. There were 12 male and 4 female patients. The median age at diagnosis was 18.5 months (range, 5 months to 39 years). Eight had metastatic disease at diagnosis. Fourteen patients underwent surgery. Fifteen patients received chemotherapy. Results: Median survival follow-up time was 3.18 years (or 38.2 months). The mean overall survival was e...
The prenatal stress syndrome: current status.

Exposure of female rats to stressors during the last week of pregnancy results in a selective feminization and demasculinization of adult sexual behaviors in the male offspring. No behavioral abnormalities are detectable in the female offspring, and reproductive morphological structures appear normal in both sexes. Existing data suggest that the mechanism mediating the so called Prenatal Stress Syndrome in male rats is an alteration in fetal testicular enzyme activity. This, in turn, leads to abnormal levels of testosterone, the hormone believed to masculinize sexual behavior potentials at critical stages of perinatal development. Specifically, the activity of the steroidogenic enzyme Δ3-3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in fetal Leydig cells and plasma titers of testosterone are low in prenatally stressed males on days 18 and 19 of gestation, a time when both of these substances reach maximal levels in control males. The implications of this model for sexual behavior differentiation in higher organisms is explored.
A test for allocative efficiency in the local public sector

Abstract This paper develops a test for Pareto-efficiency in the local public sectorusing the analytical result that aggregate property value is maximized at the public output level which satisfies the Samuelson condition for efficiency. By using cross-section data, it is possible to deduce whether a representative community provides its public goods in a property-value-maximizing (and hence efficient) fashion. The empirical results show no systematic tendency to either under- or over- provide public goods in a sample of Massachusetts communities.
A Computational Validation of Turbine Nozzle Guide Vane Aerodynamic Experiments in an HP Turbine Stage

A computational validation study related to aerodynamic loss generation mechanisms is performed in an axial flow turbine nozzle guide vane (NGV). The 91.66 cm diameter axial flow turbine research facility has a stationary nozzle guide vane assembly and a 29 bladed HP turbine rotor. The NGV inlet and exit Reynolds numbers based on midspan axial chord are around 300000 and 900000, respectively. The effect of grid structure on aerodynamic loss generation is investigated. GAMBIT and TGRID combination is used for unstructured grid, whereas GRIDPRO is the structured grid generator. For both cases, y+ values are kept below unity. The finite-volume flow solver ANSYS CFX with SST k–ω turbulence model is employed. Experimental flow conditions are imposed at the boundaries. The flow transition effect and the influence of corner fillets at the vane-endwall junction are also studied in this paper. Grid independence study is performed with static pressure coefficient distribution at the mid-span of the vane and the total pressure coefficient at the NGV exit. The velocity distributions and the total pressure coefficient at the NGV exit plane are in very good agreement with the experimental data. This validation study shows that the effect of future geometrical modifications on the endwalls and the vane will be predicted reasonably accurately. The current study shows that an accurately measured turbine stage geometry, a properly prepared block structured/body fitted grid, a state of the art transitional flow implementation, and realistic boundary conditions coming from high resolution turbine experiments are all essential ingredients of a successful NGV aerodynamic loss quantification via computations.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Differences in emotional personality traits and stress between sustained hypertension and normotension.

Differences in emotional personality traits and stress between sustained hypertension and normotension
From the Web to the Wireless Web: Technology Readiness and Usability

The mobile-phone industry cannot rely solely on growth in subscriber demand for voice service. Rather, a potential new source of revenue - mobile data services - is being introduced. Carriers and content providers have made significant investments and advances to enable next generation data or "wireless Web" services and mobile, "m", - commerce. In this paper, we focus on two areas related to the m-commerce experience: the technology readiness (TR) of consumers and wireless Web interface usability. We propose that TR - the propensity of consumers to embrace and use new technologies - may provide explanations of consumer needs and desires as related to usability. We present the results of a study in which we examine this relationship as well as how TR affects web and wireless Web site evaluations. Ultimately, a deeper understanding of the TR-usability relationship may facilitate the efforts of carriers and content providers regarding mobile data marketing and design strategies.
Vision‐based path following by using a neural network Guidance System

This article describes a neural network controller for guidance of a robot arm, used to model some aspects of autonomous vehicle technology. The controller uses video images with adaptive view-angles for the sensory input, and the system was configured to simulate an autonomous vehicle guidance system on a flat terrain using a high-contrast guiding path. To demonstrate the feasibility of using neural networks in this type of application, an Intelledex 405 robot fitted with a video camera and associated vision system was used. Phase I of the project consisted of a single-speed implementation and limited network training. Phase II featured a multi-speed implementation using adaptively varied view-angles based on robot arm velocity. It was shown that the neural network controller was able to control the robot arm along a path composed of path segments unlike those with which it was trained. In addition it was shown that a multi-speed implementation with adaptive view angles improved system performance. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The Origin of State Societies in South America

▪ Abstract The earliest states developed in the central Andean highlands and along the central Pacific coast of western South America. The consensus in the archaeological literature is that state societies first developed in the central Andes in the early part of the first millennium C.E. A minority opinion holds that first-generation states developed as early as the late second millennium B.C.E. in the same area. The Andean region constitutes one of a few areas of first-generation state development in the world. This area therefore represents an important case study for the comparative analysis of state formation. This article outlines the arguments for state formation in South America, presents the evidence, analyzes the underlying assumptions about these arguments, and assesses the South American data in terms of contemporary anthropological theory of state evolution.
Evidence of Commonality between Canine and Human Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli Strains That Express papG Allele III

Although dogs have been proposed as carriers of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) with infectious potential for humans, presumed host species-specific differences between canine and human ExPEC strains have cast doubt on this hypothesis. The recent discovery that allele III of papG (the P fimbrial adhesin gene) predominates among human cystitis isolates and confers an adherence phenotype resembling that of canine ExPEC prompted the present reevaluation of the canine-human ExPEC connection. Sixteen paired pap-positive urine and rectal E. coli isolates from dogs with urinary tract infection were studied. papG (adhesin) and papA (pilin) allele type, agglutination phenotypes, virulence factor genotypes, and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis fingerprints were analyzed and compared with those of human ExPEC controls. The 16 canine strains contained predominantly papG allele III. Agglutination phenotypes segregated strictly according to papG allele status and were homogeneous among strains with the same papG allele profile irrespective of their human versus canine origin. Canine and human PapG variant III peptide sequences were highly homologous, without host species-specific differences. The most prevalent canine papA allele was F48, a novel variant recently identified among human urosepsis isolates. In addition to pap, human ExPEC-associated virulence genes detected among the canine strains included sfa/focDE, sfaS, fyuA, hlyA, cnf1, cdtB, kpsMT-II and -III, rfc, traT, ompT, and a marker for a pathogenicity-associated island from archetypal human ExPEC strain CFT073. Molecular fingerprinting confirmed the fecal origin of all but one canine urine isolate and showed one pair of O6 canine urine and fecal isolates to be extremely similar to an O6 human urosepsis isolate with which they shared all other genotypic and phenotypic characteristics analyzed. These data demonstrate that canine ExPEC strains are similar to, and in some instances essentially indistinguishable from, human ExPEC strains, which implicates dogs and their feces as potential reservoirs of E. coli with infectious potential for humans.
Cost-Justification of a Clinical Pharmacist-Managed Anticoagulation Clinic

A cost-benefit evaluation of a clinical pharmacist-managed anticoagulation clinic (AC) was performed. Outpatient and hospital records were examined for 26 patients in the treatment group with an AC clinic and 26 patients in the control group. Therapeutic prothrombin times were maintained within the treatment group to a significantly greater extent than within the control group (p less than 0.001). The AC was successful in preventing hospitalizations resulting from hemorrhage or thromboembolism (p less than 0.01). The abnormal prothrombin times on admission in the control group correlated with hemorrhagic and thromboembolic admissions (p less than 0.05, p less than 0.005, respectively). Patients were hospitalized 3.22 days and .048 days per patient-treatment-year in the control and treatment groups, respectively. The net savings in reduced hospitalization costs per year in the treatment group was $211776. The benefit:cost ratio (B:C) was 6.55, suggesting the program is socially valuable. This clinical pharmacist-managed AC was effective in maintaining therapeutic prothrombin times, and reducing the incidence of hospitalization resulting from anticoagulation complications, and can be cost-justified based on a cost-benefit analysis.
Correction of logistic regression relative risk estimates and confidence intervals for systematic within-person measurement error

Errors in the measurement of exposure that are independent of disease status tend to bias relative risk estimates and other measures of effect in epidemiologic studies toward the null value. Two methods are provided to correct relative risk estimates obtained from logistic regression models for measurement errors in continuous exposures within cohort studies that may be due to either random (unbiased) within-person variation or to systematic errors for individual subjects. These methods require a separate validation study to estimate the regression coefficient lambda relating the surrogate measure to true exposure. In the linear approximation method, the true logistic regression coefficient beta* is estimated by beta/lambda, where beta is the observed logistic regression coefficient based on the surrogate measure. In the likelihood approximation method, a second-order Taylor series expansion is used to approximate the logistic function, enabling closed-form likelihood estimation of beta*. Confidence intervals for the corrected relative risks are provided that include a component representing error in the estimation of lambda. Based on simulation studies, both methods perform well for true odds ratios up to 3.0; for higher odds ratios the likelihood approximation method was superior with respect to both bias and coverage probability. An example is provided based on data from a prospective study of dietary fat intake and risk of breast cancer and a validation study of the questionnaire used to assess dietary fat intake.
Functional alveolar reconstruction in a patient with total mandibular replacement

Alveolar reconstruction in a case of total mandibular replacement is presented. The placement of hydroxylapatite bone substitute and the staple bone plate into a previously grafted area demonstrates that the properties of transplanted bone are similar to natural bone. Furthermore, the safety and effectiveness of the utilization of these biomaterials in areas of previous osseous reconstruction is documented. An awareness of biologic tissue response may have also contributed to successful functional restoration. In addition, a major question about the functions of the muscles of mastication arises.
A novel family of atherogenic oxidized phospholipids promotes macrophage foam cell formation via the scavenger receptor CD36 and is enriched in atherosclerotic lesions.

The macrophage scavenger receptor CD36 plays an important role in binding and uptake of oxidized forms of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), foam cell formation, and lesion development during atherosclerosis. The structural basis of CD36-lipoprotein ligand recognition is an area of intense interest. In a companion article we reported the characterization of a structurally conserved family of oxidized choline glycerophospholipids (oxPCCD36) that serve as novel high affinity ligands for cells stably transfected with CD36, mediating recognition of multiple oxidized forms of LDL (Podrez, E. A., Poliakov, E., Shen, Z., Zhang, R., Deng, Y., Sun, M., Finton, P., Shan, L., Gugiu, B., Fox, P. L., Hoff, H. F., Salomon, R. G., and Hazen, S. L. (July 8, 2002) J. Biol. Chem. 277, 10.1074/jbc.M203318200). Here we use macrophages from wild-type and CD36 null mice to demonstrate that CD36 is the major receptor on macrophages mediating recognition of oxPCCD36 species when presented (+/− plasma) in pure form, within PC bilayers in small unilamellar vesicles, and within liposomes generated from lipid extracts of native LDL. We also show that oxPCCD36 promote CD36-dependent recognition when present at only a few molecules per particle, resulting in macrophage binding, uptake, metabolism, cholesterol accumulation, and foam cell formation. Finally, using high performance liquid chromatography with on-line electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI/MS/MS), we demonstrate that oxPCCD36 are generated in vivo and are enriched in atherosclerotic lesions. Collectively, our data suggest that formation of this novel family of oxidized phospholipids participates in CD36-mediated recognition of oxidized lipoproteins and foam cell formation in vivo.
Range of practical validity of the debye and the rayleigh equations for determining molecular weights from light scattering and methods allowing a limited extension of this range

Using the equivalence of the Rayleigh and the Debye equations on light scattering as a basis, the per cent error in molecular weight committed on using the latter is evaluated by comparing results with those derived from the exact Mie scattering functions. The variable is, by necessity, the quantity MV/λ3 as long as the radiation diagram is symmetrical, where M is the molecular weight, V the partial specific volume of the solute, and λ the wave length in the medium. The errors committed are consequential only if the dissymmetry is finite. A possible method is outlined for correcting M values obtained from the Debye equation outside of its range of practical validity. It may be applied as long as the dissymmetry does not exceed about 30%. The possibility of determining from light scattering the approximate degree of swelling of latex particles and the size of clusters of spheres is discussed briefly.
A battery state-of-charge indicator for electric wheelchairs

Deep-discharge-type lead-acid batteries used in most electric wheelchairs require acurrate battery state-of-charge indication to prevent stranding and to provide economical operation of the wheelchair. A monitoring technique combining the open-circuit voltage and the coulometric measurements had been previously implemented on a microcomputer-based circuit. This adaptive monitoring technique enables the monitor to adjust to different battery sizes as well as the aging process. Several improvements are reported. A technique has been developed to enhance the acurracy and reduce the required rest period of the open-circuit voltage measurement. The open-circuit voltage recovery curve is approximated by two asymptotes on a semilog scale. The open-circuit voltage is then extrapolated from the slope of the first asymptote before it fully stabilizes. The accuracy of the monitor has been verified in field tests, and comparison with a commercial battery monitor shows it to be superior in several respects. >
Level Set Reconstruction for Sparse Angularly Sampled Data

We propose an iterative tomographic reconstruction algorithm from sparse angularly sampled projections for applications where the underlying data is well approximated as a piecewise constant function. We impose this a priori constraint of the underlying data by using the multiphase level set framework introduced by Vese et al. As a result, level set method is incorporated into the updates of the proposed iterative reconstruction algorithm. Using our proposed algorithm, we reconstruct from 13 projections of a numerical chest phantom uniformly sampled over 180deg and compare it with reconstructions by unfiltered backprojection, filtered backprojection, and maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) algorithm. Results show that there is no loss of reconstruction quality for the noise-free case and improved image quality for the noisy case. Our results are promising for a broad spectrum of applications where the number of projections are inherently limited.
Decomposition Methods for Integer Programming

This article reviews both traditional and integrated decomposition methods for solving mixed-integer linear programs. These methods attempt to exploit tractable substructures of the problem in order to obtain improved solution procedures. The goal is to derive improved methods of bounding the optimal solution value, which can then be used to drive a branch-and-bound algorithm. Such methods are the preferred solution approaches for a wide range of important models. To expose the desired substructure, a common approach is to relax a set of complicating constraints. This is the approach taken by the Dantzig–Wolfe decomposition, Lagrangian relaxation, and cutting-plane methods. Substructure can also be exposed by relaxing the values of a set of variables, that is, considering restrictions of the original problem. This is the approach taken by Benders' decomposition. This article reviews decomposition methodologies based on relaxation of constraints and examines how they are used to solve mixed-integer linear programs. Keywords: Lagrangian relaxation; cutting-planes; column generation; Dantzig–Wolfe decomposition; branch-and-price; relax-and-cut
The Persuasive Effects of Emotive Visual Imagery: Superficial Manipulation or the Product of Passionate Reason?

This study reevaluates the persuasive impact of emotional visual appeals within politics and examines two different explanations for their effects. One possibility is that the effects of emotive visual images are essentially superficial in nature, consistent with the view that feelings aroused by an affective image are transferred somewhat mechanically to a political candidate or cause with which it is paired. This transfer-of-affect explanation suggests that emotional appeals may work best among the least informed voters or those paying the least attention to a persuasive political message. The second possibility is that emotional appeals work via passionate reason, in which affective responses to an emotive image are integrated with, and potentially bias, reasoned thought about the accompanying message. This integrated approach leads to the counterintuitive prediction that individuals who are most highly involved in an issue (and who know the most about it) are most influenced by emotional imagery. This prediction arises from growing evidence that people highly involved in value-laden social issues generate the strongest emotional responses to issue-related persuasive appeals. These two models were tested in a study in which undergraduate students were presented with a picture of a cute or an ugly animal and a flyer from an organization advocating a pro- or anti-environment stance with respect to preserving the animal's habitat. The responses showed that emotive imagery was most persuasive among the most involved environment supporters, providing clear evidence of passionate reasoning.
Who Bought the Drinks? Juror Perceptions of Intoxication in a Rape Trial

In this study, the perceptions of victim intoxication and the drinking context (i.e., who purchased the drinks) were investigated. Men and women mock jurors (N = 158) read a rape trial summary in which the victim was intoxicated or sober, and either the victim or the perpetrator purchased the drinks. Overall, participants who perceived a victim as intoxicated were less likely to render guilty verdicts and made lower ratings of victim credibility. In addition, when the perpetrator purchased the drinks, participants were more likely to render guilty verdicts and made more negative judgments about the defendant than when the victim bought the drinks. Mediation analyses explained the relationship between the independent variables and verdict. The results are discussed in terms of the factors that influence juror perceptions of rape cases in court.
Animals as Sentinels: Using Comparative Medicine To Move Beyond the Laboratory

The comparative medicine approach, as applied to the study of laboratory animals for the betterment of human health, has resulted in important medical and scientific progress. Much of what is known about the human health risks of many toxic and infectious hazards present in the environment derives from experimental studies in animals and observational (epidemiological) studies of exposed human populations. Yet there is a third source of "in vivo" knowledge about host-environment interactions that may be underused and -explored: the study of diseases in naturally occurring animal populations that may signal potential human health threats. Just as canaries warned coal miners of the risk of toxic gases, other nonhuman animals, due to their greater susceptibility, environmental exposure, or shorter life span, may serve as "sentinels" for human environmental health hazards. Traditionally, communication between human and animal health professionals about cross-species sentinel events has been limited, but progress in comparative genomics, animal epidemiology, and bioinformatics can now provide an enhanced forum for such communication. The "One Health" concept involves moving toward a comparative clinical approach that considers "shared risks" between humans and animals and promotes greater cooperation and collaboration between human and animal health professionals to identify and reduce such risks. In doing so, it also creates new opportunities for the field of comparative medicine that can supplement traditional laboratory animal research.
Probing the active site tryptophan of Staphylococcus aureus thioredoxin with an analog.

Genetically encoded non-canonical amino acids are powerful tools of protein research and engineering; in particular they allow substitution of individual chemical groups or atoms in a protein of interest. One such amino acid is the tryptophan (Trp) analog 3-benzothienyl-l-alanine (Bta) with an imino-to-sulfur substitution in the five-membered ring. Unlike Trp, Bta is not capable of forming a hydrogen bond, but preserves other properties of a Trp residue. Here we present a pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase-derived, engineered enzyme BtaRS that enables efficient and site-specific Bta incorporation into proteins of interest in vivo. Furthermore, we report a 2.1 A-resolution crystal structure of a BtaRS•Bta complex to show how BtaRS discriminates Bta from canonical amino acids, including Trp. To show utility in protein mutagenesis, we used BtaRS to introduce Bta to replace the Trp28 residue in the active site of Staphylococcus aureus thioredoxin. This experiment showed that not the hydrogen bond between residues Trp28 and Asp58, but the bulky aromatic side chain of Trp28 is important for active site maintenance. Collectively, our study provides a new and robust tool for checking the function of Trp in proteins.
The Moderating Role of Peer Problems on the Relationship Between Substance Use and Mental Health

ABSTRACTUnderstanding the interaction of peer problems with substance use influence on psychiatric symptoms has important clinical implications. We tested the hypothesis that peer problems moderate the relationship between substance use and psychiatric symptoms on a sample of 280 adolescents receiving psychiatric treatment. Age, race, and gender served as covariates. Our model accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in psychiatric symptoms (R2 = .379, p < .001). A significant moderating effect of peer problems x substance use on psychiatric symptoms was found (p < .05). Next, we estimated the conditional effect of substance use on psychiatric symptoms as a function of low, moderate, and high levels of peer problems. Significant effects for low-level peer problems emerged, such that as peer problems increase by one unit, the effect of substance use on psychiatric symptoms increases by one half unit. Implications for peer-based interventions are discussed.
Stiff and Transparent Multilayer Thin Films Prepared Through Hydrogen‐Bonding Layer‐by‐Layer Assembly of Graphene and Polymer

Due to their exceptional orientation of 2D nanofillers, layer-by-layer (LbL) assembled polymer/graphene oxide thin films exhibit unmatched mechanical performance relative to any conventionally produced counterparts with similar composition. Unprecedented mechanical property improvement, by replacing graphene oxide with pristine graphene, is demonstrated in this work. Polyvinylpyrrolidone-stabilized graphene platelets are alternately deposited with poly(acrylic acid) using hydrogen bonding assisted LbL assembly. Transmission electron microscopy imaging and the Halpin-Tsai model are used to demonstrate, for the first time, that intact graphene can be processed from water to generate polymer nanocomposite thin films with simultaneous parallel-alignment, high packing density, and exfoliation. A multilayer thin film with only 3.9 vol% of highly exfoliated, and structurally intact graphene, increases the elastic modulus (E) of a polymer multilayer thin film by 322% (from 1.41 to 4.81 GPa), while maintaining visible light transmittance of ≈90%. This is one of the greatest improvements in elastic modulus ever reported for a graphene-filled polymer nanocomposite with a glassy (E > 1 GPa) matrix. The technique described here provides a powerful new tool to improve nanocomposite properties (mechanical, gas transport, etc.) that can be universally applied to a variety of polymer matrices and 2D nanoplatelets.
Some Notes on the Nest of the Ant Prenolepis Imparis Say

One of the very few ants to show activity throughout the winter, in the region of the writer's home at Greenville, Tennessee, is Prenolepis imparis Say. During the mild days in winter these ants can be seen at the opening of their formicaries and they even do some excavating if the weather is very mild. Their small craters show that the excavations extend rather deep into the subsoil (red clay in this area) which is unusual for an ant so small. I decided to dig out some nests in order to study the make up of the nest and to determine how deep the nest extended.
PIV Measurements of Turbulent Flows Over Single and Dual Rectangular Cavities

Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was used to measure the turbulent flow fields over single and dual rectangular cavities. Four sets of PIV measurements were acquired, corresponding to two Reynolds numbers per each cavity configuration. The cavity depth based Reynolds number was varied between 21,000 and 42,000, while the cavity length-to-depth ratio was fixed at four. Galilean decomposition is used to present instantaneous velocity fields. Turbulent velocity fields are presented using Reynolds decomposition into mean and fluctuating components. Characteristics of the instantaneous and time-averaged velocity fields corresponding to a single cavity configuration are in agreement with the observations from previous studies. All mean flow field results display a large vortical structure spanning the entire length and height of each cavity. In the case of a dual cavity configuration, the free shear layer and trailing edge regions of the second cavity were found to always display higher streamwise and crosswise flow fluctuations in comparison with the first cavity. Furthermore, a wider free shear layer region is observed in the second cavity, in comparison with the first cavity.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Cognitive differences between Sprague-Dawley rats selectively bred for sensitivity or resistance to diet induced obesity

Epidemiological studies have shown strong correlations between high fat diets, diet-induced obesity and cognitive impairment, primarily focusing on cognitive defects after the onset of obesity. A remaining question is whether cognitive impairment precedes obesity in individuals metabolically prone to diet-induced obesity. The inbred diet-induced obesity sensitive (DIO) and resistant (DR) strains of Sprague-Dawley rats serve as models for human polygenic obesity. DIO rats become overweight on a standard rat chow and have metabolic symptoms similar to overweight humans. We hypothesized that cognitive impairment pre-exists in adult male DIO rats prior to exposure to high fat diet. Male DIO and DR rats were fed a standard rat chow diet from 4 through 20 weeks of age and subjected to the Morris water maze at 12 weeks of age. At 5 and 20 weeks of age, brains of DIO and DR males were examined for indices of inflammation, lipid peroxidation and neuroproliferation. DIO rats showed significant memory impairment on water maze and increased indices of hippocampal inflammation at 20 weeks of age compared to DR rats. At 5 weeks of age, DIO rats exhibited significantly less neural progenitor cell (NPCs) proliferation in the dentate gyrus and increased hippocampal lipid peroxidation compared to DR rats. Therefore, we conclude that DIO rats exhibit early post-weaning indices of hippocampal inflammation, lipid peroxidation and decreased NPC proliferation, as well as impaired hippocampal dependent memory by early adulthood suggesting that inherent metabolic differences predispose the DIO strain to cognitive deficit prior to exposure to high fat diet and/or obesity.
Pandemic influenza preparedness: bridging public health academia and practice.

In 2006, the Alabama Department of Public Health, through the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s South Central Center for Public Health Preparedness, sponsored a series of infectious disease outbreak exercises in Alabama’s six hospital planning regions. The six exercises were conducted in rural and metropolitan areas and were designed to be full-scale assessments of multiagency and multijurisdictional responses to an infectious disease outbreak. This article details the lessons learned from the exercises and collaborations of academia with the public health practice and emergency response communities. We provide the results for our qualitative assessment with the hope that this information can identify trends and potential issues applicable to regions and future disasters outside of Alabama. Thus, while these exercises took place in one state, the trends we observed may be generalizable to other locales as well.
Eradication and palliation of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgical therapy

Between April, 1977, and March, 1981, 86 unselected patients with proved squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus were treated with a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy followed by operation whenever feasible. The preoperative chemotherapeutic agents used initially were 5-fluorouracil, and mitomycin C. After December, 1979, cis-platinum was used instead of mitomycin C. Radiotherapy (3,000 rads) of the tumor was begun at the same time as the chemotherapy. An esophagectomy was performed on suitable candidates 3 to 4 weeks after the chemotherapy and radiotherapy were completed. The mucosal lesion disappeared in 69 of the 86 patients, and dysphagia was relieved at least temporarily in 57 of 62 patients. Recurrent dysphagia resulting from fibrosis at the tumor site caused a secondary stenosis in 11 patients. Excellent palliation was obtained in five patients with bronchoesophageal fistulas who had an initial substernal gastric bypass followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Of the 48 patients who had an esophagectomy, 15 (31%) had no tumor in the resected specimen. Eleven of these 15 patients are still alive with no evidence of disease. All patients with a lesion less than 5.0 cm in length had complete regression of the tumor. We believe that this combination of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgical therapy provides excellent palliation, increases resectability, and has a potential for cure.
External Fixation of PIP Joint Dorsal Fracture-Dislocations.

Dorsal PIP joint fracture-dislocations are challenging injuries. Dynamic external fixation devices are ideal to restore congruency and stability and to allow for early controlled motion, particularly in the settings of dorsal fracture-dislocations, pilon fractures, and selected complex middle phalanx fractures. This technique may be used as an adjunctive treatment to open or percutaneous fixation. Contraindications include chronic injury, certain fractures involving P1 or P2 head/neck, poor skin coverage, and significant preexisting arthritis. Dynamic wire-form traction with rubber band technique (Suzuki) and without rubber band technique (push traction) are both illustrated. Reverse push traction is also demonstrated. The authors demonstrate the tips and techniques and pearls of application of traction/external fixation.
Hutchinson–Zaharescu parabolas and Ford circles

Abstract In this note, we study properties of certain parabolas which were recently defined by Hutchinson and Zaharescu in their paper on parabolas infiltrating the Ford circles. We examine this connection between Ford circles and these parabolas. In particular, we characterize the intersection points of these parabolas in terms of tangent Ford circles. Further, we provide a finer analysis of area under the arcs of these parabolas with end points joining the centers of two neighboring Ford circles, than discussed in their paper.
Comment on Harlan. Islet Transplantation for Hypoglycemia Unawareness/Severe Hypoglycemia: Caveat Emptor. Diabetes Care 2016;39:1072-1074.

Harlan (1) states that the benefits of islet transplantation in type 1 diabetes (T1D) are limited to patients already taking immunosuppressive agents because of having received a kidney transplant. We strongly disagree. The Clinical Islet Transplantation Consortium phase 3 trial (CIT-07) demonstrated the effectiveness of islet transplantation in restoring near normoglycemia, hypoglycemia awareness, and protection from severe hypoglycemic events in T1D patients with persistent severe hypoglycemic episodes (SHE) who are immunosuppressed only for the purpose of protecting the islet graft from rejection and autoimmune recurrence (2). The position of Harlan (1) seems to be that the morbidity and mortality of T1D complicated by persistent and unpredictable SHE are not sufficiently high to justify the immunosuppressive risks associated with an islet transplant–based approach. We disagree, and we feel that consideration of the risks and benefits of islet transplantation will result in a net benefit for some carefully selected patients. That evaluation and decision must be made on an individual basis, by a patient and …
INFLUENCE OF SNAP BEAN PHENOLOGY ON HELIOTHIS ZEA (BODDIE) (LEPIDOPTERA: NOCTUIDAE) OVIPOSITION

In greenhouse preference tests Heliothis zea (Boddie) moths oviposited significantly more eggs on blooming snap bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L., than on pre-blooming plants. When moths were held in cag...