cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impedance Spectroscopy and the Role of Admixtures in the Hydration of Portland Cement Pastes

Measurements of the bulk electrical properties of cement pastes were made using impedance spectroscopy (IS) and are useful for studying hydration. Normalization of these quantities by dividing out changes in the pore fluid reveals information pertinent to the microstructural development of these materials. In this study, observations are made on the influence of accelerators, retarders and silica fume (SF) on pastes of white and ordinary portland cements (OPC). All systems show variations in the normalized electrical properties at the same degree of hydration, as compared to a control. Changes in the microstructure that are implied by these measurements are consistent with the observations of others.
Alcohol consumption effect on antiretroviral therapy and HIV-1 pathogenesis: role of cytochrome P450 isozymes

Introduction: Alcohol consumption, which is highly prevalent in HIV-infected individuals, poses serious concerns in terms of rate of acquisition of HIV-1 infection, HIV-1 replication, response to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and AIDS/neuroAIDS progression. However, little is known about the mechanistic pathways by which alcohol exerts these effects, especially with respect to HIV-1 replication and the patient's response to HAART. Areas covered: In this review, the authors discuss the effects of alcohol consumption on HIV-1 pathogenesis and its effect on HAART. They also describe the role of cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) in alcohol-mediated oxidative stress and toxicity, and the role of CYP3A4 in the metabolism of drugs used in HAART (i.e., protease inhibitors (PI) and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI)). Based on the most recent findings the authors discuss the role of CYP2E1 in alcohol-mediated oxidative stress in monocytes/macrophages and astrocytes, as well as the ro...
Peduncular hallucinations caused by brainstem compression

Peduncular hallucinations are associated with intrinsic lesions of the midbrain. We report transient peduncular hallucinations due to extrinsic compression of the midbrain by a cystic craniopharyngioma. The peduncular hallucinations resolved promptly after drainage of the cyst.
Electromagnetic core‐mantle coupling and paleomagnetic reversal paths

Calculations of electromagnetic torques between the fluid outer core and the heterogeneous lower mantle demonstrate that the geomagnetic field can lock with the mantle during polarity transitions. We show that the Virtual Geomagnetic Pole (VGP) is attracted toward mantle regions with low electrical conductivity and repelled from mantle regions with high conductivity. Using seismically-determined structure of the lower mantle to infer the pattern of conductivity variations at the base of the mantle, we find two preferred reversal routes for the VGP, one beneath the Americas and another beneath Asia. These paths, particularly the one beneath the Americas, lie close to the VGP paths seen in some sedimentary and lava records of polarity reversals, suggesting that the core and mantle are electromagnetically coupled during reversals.
Development of an integrated computerized scheme for metaphase chromosome image analysis: a robustness experiment

ABSTRACT Our integrated computer-aided detection (CAD) scheme includes three basic modules. The first module detects whether a microscopic digital image depicts a metaphase chromosome cell. If a cell is detected, the scheme will justify whether it is analyzable with a decision tree. Once an analyzable cell is detected, the second module is applied to segment individual chromosomes and to compute two important features. Specifically, the scheme utilizes a modified thinning algorithm to identify the medial axis of a chromosome. By tracking perpendicular lines along the medial axis, the scheme computes four feature profiles, identifies centromeres, and assigns polarities of chromosomes based on a set of pre-optimized rules. The third module is followed to classify chromosomes into 24 types. In this module, each chromosome is initially represented by a vector of 31 features. A two-layer classifier with 8 artificial neural networks (ANN) is optimized by a genetic algorithm. A testing chromosome is first classified into one of the seven groups by the ANN in the first layer. Another ANN is then automatically selected from the seven ANNs in the second layer (one for each group) to further classify this chromosome into one of 24 types. To test the performance and robustness of this CAD scheme, we randomly selected and assembled an independent testing dataset. The dataset contains 100 microscopic digital images including 50 analyzable and 50 un-analyzable metphase cells identified by the experts. The centromere location, the corresponding polarity, and karyotype for each individual chromosome were recorded in the truth file. The performance of the CAD scheme applied to this image dataset is analyzed and compared with the results in the true file. The assessment accuracies are 93% for the first module, 90.8% for centromere identification and 93.2% for polarity assignment in the second module, over 96% for six chromosome groups and 81.8% for one group in the third module, respectively. These accuracy levels are very comparable with those achieved during our previous studies to develop and optimize these CAD modules. Hence, the study demonstrates that our automated scheme can achieve high and robust performance in identification and classification of metaphase chromosomes. Keywords: Metaphase chromosomes, Computer-aided detection, Karyotyping, Performance assessment
Design space exploration for low-power channel decoder in embedded LDPC-H.264 joint decoding architecture

This paper presents a low-power design scheme to lower baseband energy consumption using joint source decoding and dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS). This scheme combines unequal error protection (UEP) developed for error resilient video coding with a variable iteration low density parity check (LDPC) decoder to trade off performance against energy consumption. Using the proposed method, we determine LDPC decoding configurations that achieve minimum energy consumption while satisfying pre-specified image quality at the receiver. The implementation results yield 17%, 37%, 52% power reductions with 0, 0.3, 1.1 dB peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) degradation at 3.6 dB SNR in Foreman test stream respectively.
Contraceptive Polypeptide from Hamster Embryos: Sequence of Amino Acids in the Compound

The contraceptivepolypeptidefrom two-cellzygotes in the golden hamster has been analyzed and found to consist of four amino acids.The sequence of the amino acids,determined by Edman degradation and subsequent dansylationwith thin-layerchromatography, ispresented.
Pathophysiology of asthma

1Our understanding of asthma and its therapy has changed markedly over the last few years, particularly with the application of molecular and cell biology and the discovery of new and more specific pharmacological tools. 2Many inflammatory cells participate in the inflammatory process in asthma and mediate a complex mixture of mediators. Cytokines are of particular importance as mediators of chronic inflammation and the means by which cytokines amplify and perpetuate the inflammatory process is now emerging. Airway epithelial cells may be a particularly important source of cytokines and other mediators, such as nitric oxide and endothelin, and may be a major target cell for inhaled steroids, which are the most effective therapy for asthma currently available. 3The inflammatory process in asthma results not only in bronchoconstriction, but also plasma exudation, the activation of neural mechanisms, mucus secretion. The chronic inflammation may lead to structural changes, including an increase in airway smooth muscle and fibrosis, that are essentially irreversible. There is increasing evidence that transcription factors, such as NF-κB, play a pivotal role in the expression of inflammatory genes in asthma and may be the major molecular target for glucocorticoids.
CNT infrared detectors using Schottky barriers and p-n junctions based FETs

Carbon nanotube (CNT) Schottky barriers and p-n junctions based photovoltaic photodiodes have been demonstrated they were able to detect infrared (IR) signals. However, how to optimize the performances of these one dimensional (1D) detectors is not clear due to the variation of the properties of as-made CNTs. We investigated the photocurrent variation by modulating the depletion regions through electrostatic doping from a gate of the CNT field effect transistor (FET). It showed that the photocurrent from the Schottky diodes between Au and CNT can be maximized by applying a moderate negative gate voltage, indicating widest depletion width in that state. By introducing a small Aluminum gate underneath and partially couple to a CNT, two inversely connecting p-n junctions will be formed with an appropriate positive gate voltage. As a result, dark current was suppressed around 3 orders and photocurrent was enhanced, resulting in a high on/off ratio photocurrent and a ∽0.1V open circuit voltage. The experiment results show that electrostatic doping using CNTFETs can improve the performances of the 1D photodiodes. The CNTFET based IR detector may have substantial potential for further nano-optoelectronics.
Maximum weight matching with hysteresis in overloaded queues with setups

We consider a system of parallel queues where arriving service tasks are buffered, according to type. Available service resources are dynamically configured and allocated to the queues to process the tasks. At each point in time, a scheduler chooses a service configuration across the queues, in response to queue backlogs. Switching from one service configuration to another incurs a setup time, during which idling occurs and service bandwidth is lost. Such setup times are inherent in manufacturing and computer systems. Frequent switchings can significantly compromise the service capacity of such systems. A maximum weight matching (MWM) scheduler, which is known to maximize throughput in the absence of setups, can easily become unstable with setups, even under low load. To remedy this problem, we propose a new MWM-H scheduler which utilizes a controller introduced hysteresis and achieves maximum throughput even with setups, without requiring knowledge of arrival rates and average traffic loads. During prolonged traffic bursts, the queues may become overloaded and the issue becomes how to reasonably distribute the growing backlog under MWM-H. It is shown that by appropriately selecting the MWM-H parameters, one can control the backlog among the individual queues in order to achieve a desired balance.
Regulation of nitric oxide synthesis by oxygen in vascular endothelial cells

Vascular endothelial cells synthesize nitric oxide (NO) in response to agonists that elevate cytosolic free Ca2+ concentrations. Once activated, NO synthase (NOS) requires arginine, NADPH, and O2 as cosubstrates. In this study, we investigated the role of O2 in regulating endothelial NOS activity in intact bovine aortic endothelial cells by measuring the rate of nitrite (NO2-) and nitrate (NO3-) production after conversion of NO2- to S-nitrosoglutathione before analysis or after reduction of NO2- and NO3- to NO using acidic vanadium chloride. The basal rate of NO2- production was 6.5 +/- 0.8 pmol.min-1.mg protein-1. Thapsigargin (TG, 1 microM) elevated free cytosolic Ca2+ concentration and increased the rate of NO2- synthesis. At maximal concentrations of TG, the rate of stimulated NO2- production was linear for at least 20 min and was eightfold higher than the basal rate (53.5 +/- 1.8 pmol.min-1.mg protein-1). Incubation of cells in gas mixtures chosen to produce PO2 values in the physiological range led to a progressive fall in the rate of TG-stimulated NO2- production, as O2 concentrations were reduced from that of room air. The half-maximal effective concentration for NO2- production by intact cells was found to occur at 38 Torr. PO2 values higher than that of room air did not lead to a change in the rate of TG-stimulated NO2- production. To confirm that measurement of NO2- accurately reflects total NO production, both NO2- plus NO3- were measured in buffer samples from cells incubated in either room air or N2. The sum of these NO oxidation products was inhibited similarly by hypoxia. These findings suggest that O2 is an important determinant of NOS activity in hypoxic tissues or in vascular beds such as the pulmonary arterial or fetal circulation where PO2 values in the range of 40 Torr are encountered normally.
Stem Cell Therapies for Treatment of Liver Disease

Cell therapy is an emerging form of treatment for several liver diseases, but is limited by the availability of donor livers. Stem cells hold promise as an alternative to the use of primary hepatocytes. We performed an exhaustive review of the literature, with a focus on the latest studies involving the use of stem cells for the treatment of liver disease. Stem cells can be harvested from a number of sources, or can be generated from somatic cells to create induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Different cell lines have been used experimentally to support liver function and treat inherited metabolic disorders, acute liver failure, cirrhosis, liver cancer, and small-for-size liver transplantations. Cell-based therapeutics may involve gene therapy, cell transplantation, bioartificial liver devices, or bioengineered organs. Research in this field is still very active. Stem cell therapy may, in the future, be used as a bridge to either liver transplantation or endogenous liver regeneration, but efficient differentiation and production protocols must be developed and safety must be demonstrated before it can be applied to clinical practice.
Directly Measuring the Complete Stress–Strain Response of Ultrathin Polymer Films

The inherently fragile nature of ultrathin polymer films presents difficulties to the measurement of their mechanical properties, which are of interest in packaging, electronics, separations, and other manufacturing fields. More fundamentally, the direct measurement of ultrathin film mechanical properties is necessary for understanding changes in intrinsic material properties at reduced size scales, for example, when the film thickness alters the equilibrium configuration of the polymer chains. We introduce a method for ultrathin film tensile testing that stretches a two-dimensionally macroscopic, yet nanoscopically thin, polymer film on the surface of water. For polystyrene films, we observe a precipitous decrease in mechanical properties (Young’s modulus, strain at failure, and nominal stress at failure) for film thicknesses down to 15 nm, less than the characteristic size of an individual polymer chain, yielding new insights into the changes in polymer chain entanglements in confined states.
Experimental Infection of Blue Rockfish (Sebastes mystinus)with Larval Anisakid Nematodes

Five hundred and sixty blue rockfish (Sebastes mystinus) from central California were found to have no larval anisakid nematodes. The diet and presence of larval anisakids in S. mystinus are compared to five other species of rockfishes form the same kelp forest. Sebastes mystinus was successfully infected with larval anisakids in laboratory experiments. It is suggested that host diet plays an important role in limiting natural infections.
Health Care Information Technology, Work Organization, and Nursing Home Performance

The authors investigate whether electronic medical record (EMR) systems are associated with higher levels of nursing home performance. Their difference-in-differences analysis is based on a survey ...
An Electron Microscope Study of the Distal Portion of the Hypopharynx of Female Aedes aegypti

Electron micrographs of transverse sections of the distal portion of the hypopharynx of female yellow-fever mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti (L.), showed a structural articulation between this stylet and a lacinia within 1 μ, of their distal tips, and an interdigitation of 3 edges that produced a functional closure of the dorsal wall of the salivary duct. Two regions in the cuticle can be distinguished on the basis of their electron density and surface topography.
Rail Head Abrasion Monitoring System based on figure technology

Instead of conventional mechanical calipers, the System could monitor the abrasion of rail head automatically.The abrasion in vertical and horizontal direction could be got by the two sensors, and the overall abrasion could be got bycalculation. The rotary encoder memoried the location. The data was saved in the relational database and was accessed by ADOoperation and SQL language, which could increase the speed to access and improve the security. It could give the abrasion trendby analyzing the data. At last, it gave us the figure of abrasion and its trend. It was easy to operate the monitoring system whichcould eliminate the error brought by operator. So the outcome was accurate and it made us easy to communicate with computerand offered us a directly outcome.
Empirical Analysis on Influencing Factors of Vegetable Industrial Chain Model Choice:Based on Survey of Northwest Hebei

Based on the survey data of 432 farmer households,this paper analyzed the influencing factors of farmers' choice of vegetable industrial chain model from the aspects of production costs,transaction costs and market demand. And it also analyzed factors' corresponding impact by using the Logit model. Results showed that the market positioning was the dominant factor influencing farmers' choice of vegetable industry chain model,for which the basic policy goal of the vegetable industrial development should be to achieve the efficient use of region's scarce resources,develop the special market with high-profit space and the industrial chain model in favor of farmer incomes increase and exert the complementary role among different industrial chain models, and support more investors to seek market opportunities to enhance the value of vegetable industrial chain.
Abstinence Length in Acamprosate-treated Alcoholics and Variability in Glycine and Glutamate Signaling Gene Sets

Background We recently identified association between GRIN2B rs2058878 variant and abstinence length in acamprosate-treated alcoholics (Karpyak et al. 2014). Here we present results of additional analyses exploring associations in the same sample (225 alcoholics treated with acamprosate for three months) at the gene and gene-set levels, for 12 genes involved in glycine signaling, 4 genes involved in glutamate reuptake, synthesis and degradation and 7 genes encoding NMDA receptor subunits. Methods After adjustment for relevant covariates, gene-level tests were performed using principal components (PC) analysis. Gene-set analyses were performed using the PC-Gamma approach with varying soft truncation threshold (STT) for the Gamma method for combining gene-level p-values. Results Shorter abstinence was associated with increased intensity of alcohol craving and lower number of days between last drink and initiation of acamprosate treatment. After adjustment for covariates, we observed nominally significant association of abstinence length with variation in the AMT (p=0.024), GRIN3A (p=0.016) and SHMT2 (p=0.039) genes, and marginally significant evidence for association with the GRIN2B (p=0.067) and GLRB (p=0.060) genes. At the gene-set level, association of abstinence length with variation in the glycine pathway was nominally significant (p=0.042 with STT=0.37). Marginal evidence of association with abstinence length was also observed for variation in the NMDA-receptor subunits (p Discussion Our findings suggest association of abstinence length in acamprosate-treated alcoholics with variation in the glycine signaling pathway and genes encoding NMDA receptor subunits. Investigation of the mechanisms underlying these associations and their usefulness for individualized treatment selection should follow.
New Severn Watercolours from the Voyage to Italy with Keats

The rediscovery of three of Joseph Severn's watercolours from his 1820 journey to Italy with Keats provides an important visual counterpart to his famous journal-letters. Together with a number of other sketches he made onboard the Maria Crowther, these works offer us a new perspective on the voyage. The watercolours form part of the Charles Lee Smith Papers at Wake Forest University, an archive that also contains other significant Keatsiana, including an inventory of Keats manuscripts and relics which were found in Severn's room after his death. The provenance of the watercolours lends us a fascinating glimpse into the lives of Lady Maureen Watson and her daughters as they flee the threat of Hitler's invasion and try to establish a new life in North Carolina.
Birth order and injury-related infant mortality in the U.S.

Introduction The purpose of this study was to evaluate the risk of death during the first year of life due to injury, such as unintentional injury and homicide, by birth order in the U.S. Methods Using national birth cohort–linked birth–infant death data (births, 2000–2010; deaths, 2000–2011), risks of infant mortality due to injury in second-, third-, fourth-, and fifth or later–born singleton infants were compared with first-born singleton infants. Risk ratios were estimated using log-binomial models adjusted for maternal age, marital status, race/ethnicity, and education. The statistical analyses were conducted in 2016. Results Approximately 40%, 32%, 16%, 7%, and 4% of singleton live births were first, second, third, fourth, and fifth or later born, respectively. From 2000 to 2011, a total of 15,866 infants died as a result of injury (approximately 1,442 deaths per year). Compared with first-born infants (2.9 deaths per 10,000 live births), second or later–born infants were at increased risk of infant mortality due to injury (second, 3.6 deaths; third, 4.2 deaths; fourth, 4.8 deaths; fifth or later, 6.4 deaths). The corresponding adjusted risk ratios were as follows: second, 1.84 (95% CI=1.76, 1.91); third, 2.42 (95% CI=2.30, 2.54); fourth, 2.96 (95% CI=2.77, 3.16); and fifth or later, 4.26 (95% CI=3.96, 4.57). Conclusions Singleton infants born second or later were at increased risk of mortality due to injury during their first year of life in the U.S. This study’s findings highlight the importance of investigating underlying mechanisms behind this increased risk.
The Challenges of Aesthetic Populism: An Interview with Jean- Pierre Bekolo

In the early 1990s a young Cameroonian director, Jean-Pierre Bekolo, stormed the annals of African filmmaking with a stylish urban comedy, Quartier Mozart. This fast-paced story about sexual politics in a Yaounde neighborhood was edited on the template of the musical video, a genre in which Bekolo had worked briefly before turning to filmmaking. Quartier Mozart was widely praised for its iconoclastic attitude in a filmmaking tradition which had formalized cultural identity and the politics of self-representation into aesthetic concerns. The form of Bekolo's work encouraged critics to compare him to the Senegalese Djibril Diop Mambety (d. 1998), another filmmaker who, twenty-years earlier, had similarly redefined African cinema with the magnificent Touki-Bouki (1973), his first work. The film was also so reflexive in its awareness of contemporary cinema that further comparisons with the style of the black American director, Spike Lee, became moot. Such critical comments did not produce an "anxiety of influence" in the young director: he openly and repeatedly declared his interest in the works of Mambety (about whom Bekolo shot a documentary film, Grandmother's Grammar, 1996). Four years after Quartier Mozart, Bekolo produced and directed Aristotle's Plot (1996), his commissioned entry in the series sponsored by the British Film Institute to mark the centenary of cinema. Other directors in the series included Stephen Frears, Bernardo Bertolucci, Martin Scorcese, and Jean-Luc Godard. In this film, Bekolo sets up the genre of action film to question the rationale of mimesis, the Aristotle's plot of the title, which has overdetermined the practice of storytelling, in Hollywood and elsewhere. The confident mix of aesthetic populism and critical, even auterish staging of conceptual issues in African and contemporary filmmaking has become Bekolo's style. For him, a film has to entertain in the traditional sense but without sacrificing an awareness of its place in a vast, diverse but persistent effort to form and transform the practice of African filmmaking. This is a complex but productive intellectual position within an artistic tradition noted for its divisions, factions, and labels. The commitment is pursued further in Les Saignantes (2005), a beautifully photographed film about two femme fatales who set out to rid their country of its corrupt and sexually obsessed male politicians. It is a hybrid sci-fi-action-horror film set in the year 2025, and again, the director uses the opportunity to discursively explore the forms of cinema and of African politics. Bekolo's other directorial credits include Boyo (1988), Un pauvre blanc (1989), and Mohawk People (1990). This interview was conducted on April 29, 2006, in New York City.
How to Assess Teachers

Sometimes, the efficiency of a class is assessed by assessing the amount of knowledge that the students have after taking this class. However, this amount depends not only on the quality of the class, but also on how prepared were the students when they started taking this class. A more adequate assessment should therefore be value-added, estimating the added value that the class brought to the students.
Laser speckle modeling and simulation for biophysical dynamics: influence of sample statistics

Laser speckle is a statistical phenomenon and should be treated as such when establishing experimental parameters for using laser speckle techniques to infer information about the dynamics of a coherently illuminated medium, such as biological tissue. Herein, we demonstrate that when sampling (imaging) speckle patterns, it is critical that the sampled speckle patterns are unbiased estimators of the underlying random speckle field. If this condition is not met, the quality of the results will be compromised. Specifically, this study examines the effects of first and second order spatial statistics of speckle intensity images on laser speckle contrast imaging results. Finally, it is recommended that when using speckle techniques such as laser speckle contrast imaging, investigators should examine the first and second order spatial statistics of a speckle image prior to collecting actual data. If this examination reveals that the imaged speckle intensity image is not an unbiased estimator of the underlying random speckle field, then adjustments should be made to ensure that the images taken are unbiased estimators of the true speckle field.
RESPONSES TO CATECHOLAMINES IN PYRIDINE NUCLEOTIDE [NAD(P)H] LEVELS FOLLOWING ELECTRICAL FIELD STIMULATION

ABSTRACT Measurements of changes in NAD(P)H steady state levels following electrical pulse stimulation indicate that a component of brain cortex intermediary metabolism can be affected in vitro by dopamine and β- but not α-adrenergic agents. Acute morphine treatment inhibits this β-adrenergic response.
Toward Simulation and Risk Assessment of Weather-Related Outages

Weather and environmental factors have played significant roles in historical major outages and blackouts in interconnected power systems and should be considered in simulation and risk assessment of outages. This paper proposes a method for the risk assessment of weather-related outages. An outage rate model considering weather conditions and line conductor temperatures is proposed based on the analysis of historical outage records and weather-dependent outage mechanisms of power lines. Accordingly, an analytical form of line outage probabilities is derived. Then the risk assessment is implemented based on a Markovian tree search method. The influences of different weather and environmental factors on the outage rates are tested and analyzed on an example line segment model. The effectiveness of the risk assessment method is demonstrated on an NPCC 140-bus system model with winter and summer scenarios.
Endoplasmic reticulum stress is transmissible in vitro between cells of the central nervous system

Improper protein folding and trafficking are common pathological events in neurodegenerative diseases that result in the toxic accumulation of misfolded proteins within the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). While low-level stimulation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) is protective, sustained UPR activation resulting from prolonged ER stress can promote neurotoxicity. The cell-autonomous mechanisms of the UPR have been extensively characterized. However, the cell-extrinsic role of the UPR under physiological and pathological states in the CNS remains to be elucidated. To begin to address this, we evaluated if transferring conditioned media between ER-stressed astrocytes and neurons could modulate their functional characteristics. Our results indicate that ER-stressed astrocytes and neurons secrete a molecule(s) with lipid characteristics which regulates both inflammatory and ER stress responses in other astrocytes, neurons, and microglia in vitro. Initial exposure to this stress factor(s) confers resistance against subsequent ER stress to neurons. However, persistent exposure to this unidentified mediator(s) suppresses the initial protective effect and becomes cytotoxic. Overall, these findings provide insight into the cell non-autonomous influence of ER stress on cells of the central nervous system. OPEN SCIENCE BADGES: This article has received a badge for *Open Materials* because it provided all relevant information to reproduce the study in the manuscript. The complete Open Science Disclosure form for this article can be found at the end of the article. More information about the Open Practices badges can be found at https://cos.io/our-services/open-science-badges/.
The Rapid Deployments to Wildfires Experiment (RaDFIRE): Observations from the Fire Zone

AbstractThe Rapid Deployments to Wildfires Experiment (RaDFIRE) was a meteorological field campaign aimed at observing fire–atmosphere interactions during active wildfires. Using a rapidly deployab...
A Framework for Understanding Consumer Choices for Others

Although most research on consumers’ choices, and resulting insights, have focused on choices that consumers make solely for themselves, consumers often make choices for others, and there is a growing literature examining such choices. Theoretically, how can this growing literature be integrated, and what gaps remain? Practically, why should marketers, consumers, and policy makers care when choices are made for others, and what should they do differently? A 2 × 2 framework of consumers’ choices for others addresses these questions. This framework has two fundamental dimensions: the chooser’s social focus (relationship vs. recipient oriented) and the chooser’s consideration of consumption preferences (highlight the recipient’s preferences vs. balance the recipient’s preferences with the chooser’s preferences). These dimensions generate four cells that represent prototypical choosing-for-others contexts: gift-giving (relationship focus, highlighting recipient’s preferences), joint consumption (relationship focus, balancing recipient’s and chooser’s preferences), everyday favors/pick-ups (recipient focus, highlighting recipient’s preferences), and caregiving (recipient focus, balancing recipient’s and chooser’s preferences). This framework captures most choosing-for-others situations, and each cell involves a distinct profile of motives, ultimately affecting choices. This framework integrates the choosing-for-others literature, which we hope will guide future research, and it also offers practical implications for marketers, consumers, and policy makers.
Detection of extranodal and spleen involvement by FDG-PET imaging predicts adverse survival in untreated follicular lymphoma.

Predicting early clinical failure in patients with untreated follicular lymphoma (FL) is important but difficult. This study aimed to determine the incidence and patterns of extranodal (EN) and spleen disease using PET/CT, and assess their utility in predicting early clinical failure. PET/CT images from 613 cases of untreated FL (2003-2016) were reviewed. The location and number of EN sites, patterns of bone involvement, and splenic involvement were recorded. Outcomes were assessed using event-free survival (EFS), overall survival (OS), and early clinical failure at 24 months (EFS24). So, 49% (301/613) of patients had PET/CT-detected EN involvement, and 28% (171/613) had spleen involvement. The presence of ≥2 EN sites, spleen, bone or soft tissue involvement all predicted failure to achieve EFS24. Presence of ≥2 EN sites and bone involvement pattern were also predictive of OS in a univariate analysis. In a multivariate analysis with FLIPI-2 factors, spleen involvement, pattern of bone involvement, and soft tissue involvement independently predicted a lower EFS (HR 1.49 (1.11-2.00), P = .007; HR 1.71 (1.10-2.65), P = .017; and HR 1.67 (1.06-2.62), P = .026, respectively). When the multivariate analysis was performed using PRIMA-PI factors (marrow and B2M), the number of EN sites was an independent prognostic factor for inferior OS (HR 2.28; P = .05). Baseline PET/CT identifies EN involvement in nearly half of patients with untreated FL. The presence of ≥2 EN sites, bone, soft tissue, or splenic involvement predicts early clinical failure. These results, when combined with other factors, may better identify high-risk patients and guide therapy.
Discharge destination following rectal cancer resection: an analysis of preoperative and intraoperative factors.

Rectal cancer resections can be associated with long and complicated postoperative recoveries. Many patients undergoing these operations are discharged to rehabilitation or skilled nursing facilities. The purpose of this study was to identify preoperative and intraoperative factors associated with increased risk for non-home discharge after rectal cancer resection. Rectal cancer resections were identified in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Targeted Proctectomy Dataset (years 2016 through 2017) by ICD code. Patients with unknown discharge destination or who experienced in-hospital mortality were excluded. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify preoperative and intraoperative variables associated with non-home discharge destination. Multiple imputation was used to account for missing values. Among the 3637 patients comprising the study sample, 292 (8.0%) patients were discharged to rehabilitation, skilled care, or acute care facilities. Preoperative factors associated with non-home discharge on multivariate analysis included older age, non-independent functional status, insulin-dependent diabetes, and hypoalbuminemia (all p < 0.05). Having received neoadjuvant chemotherapy was associated with home discharge (OR 0.625, 95% CI 0.427–0.914, p = 0.015). Intraoperative factors associated with non-home discharge on multivariate analysis were concurrent cystectomy (p = 0.004) and myocutaneous flap reconstruction (p < 0.001). Patients discharged to non-home facilities had longer initial lengths of stay (14.1 versus 7.0 days, p < 0.001) and higher reoperation rates (12.7 versus 5.0%, p < 0.001), but similar readmission rates (14.7 versus 15.0%, p = 1.0). Several preoperative and intraoperative factors are associated with increased risk for non-home discharge after rectal cancer resection. These data can aid in perioperative planning and discharge optimization.
Impact of Personality on Choice of Instructional Delivery and Students’ Performance

This study was designed to investigate how college students’ personality characteristics relate to their choice of instructional delivery (online or face-to-face) and whether this choice mediates t...
Biofluid Barrier Materials and Encapsulation Strategies for Flexible, Chronically Stable Neural Interfaces

Implantable bioelectronics that can serve as high-performance neural interfaces for electrophysiological sensing and stimulation are essential for fundamental biomedical research and clinical medicines. A critical challenge for developing advanced bioimplants as interfaces to the brain and other nervous system is the synthesis and deposition of interface materials that can enable long-term and intimate coupling to the biotissues within targeted operational timescales. This chapter summarizes recent progresses in this research field, with a focus on the science and engineering of thin-film materials which can serve as barrier materials against biofluids and sensing/stimulation interfaces for neural electrodes. This chapter begins with a brief overview of recent innovations in flexible bioimplants for neuroscience and neuroengineering, followed by a discussion on advantages and limitations of conventional thin-film materials as biofluid barriers. The next section focuses on a class of monocrystalline Si-based thin-film materials for the encapsulation of actively multiplexed transistor arrays in the context of electronic recordings with high spatiotemporal resolution across large areas in the nervous system, with an emphasis on the chemical and physical interactions between water/ions in biofluids and the thin-film materials. Finally, the conclusion section summarizes the remaining challenges in this field and provides perspectives on future directions in materials research for electronic platforms that support advanced diagnostics and therapeutics across a variety of applications for fundamental research and advanced healthcare.
Delivering Oracles from God: The Nature of Christian Communication in 1 Peter 4:11a

In 1 Pet 4:11a, those who exercise χαρίσματα involving speech acts are instructed to carry out their tasks ὡσ λόγια θeοῦ. Two interpretations of this phrase have gained prominence within Petrine scholarship. Some claim that Scripture is being referenced to establish a standard for regulating the use of communicative gifts in the church. Others contend that the verse sets up a hypothetical comparison designed to emphasize the appropriate manner in which the spoken word should be performed. The problem is that both of these positions have left crucial questions unattended. The purpose of this study is to provide a close examination of the three issues that most significantly impact the interpretation of 1 Pet 4:11a: (1) the meaning of λόγια; (2) the reconstruction of verbal elision; and (3) the Petrine author’s view of divine revelation through human mediation. In the end, I suggest that the verse is intended to convey a direct correspondence between the comparative image (i.e., one who delivers oracles from God) and the ministry of those who exercised speaking gifts within the Anatolian congregations. That is, when Christians rendered service to the community through various forms of verbal communication, they were understood to be dispensing divine revelation.
Singing in the suburbs: point count surveys efficiently reveal habitat associations for nocturnal Orthoptera across an urban-to-rural gradient

As evidence for global insect population declines continues to amass, several studies have indicated that Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids) are among the most threatened insect groups. Understanding Orthoptera populations across large spatial extents requires efficient survey protocols, however, many previously established methods are expensive and/or labor-intensive. One survey method widely employed in wildlife biology, the aural point count, may work well for crickets and katydids (suborder: Ensifera) because males produce conspicuous, species-specific mating calls. We conducted repeated point count surveys across an urban-to-rural gradient in central Pennsylvania. Occupancy analyses of ten focal species indicated that, although detection probability rates varied by species from 0.43 to 0.98, detection rates compounded over five visits such that all focal species achieved cumulative > 0.90. Factors associated with site occupancy varied among species with some positively associated with urbanization (e.g., Greater Anglewing, Microcentrum rhombifolium), some negatively associated with urbanization (e.g., Sword-bearing Conehead, Neoconocephalus ensiger), and others exhibiting constant occupancy across a habitat gradient (e.g., Common True Katydid, Pterophylla camellifolia). Our community-level analysis revealed that different species’ habitat associations interacted such that intermediate levels of urbanization (i.e., suburbs) hosted the highest number of species. Ultimately, our analyses clearly support the concept that aural point counts paired with static occupancy modeling can serve as an important tool for monitoring night-singing Orthoptera populations. Applications of point count surveys by both researchers and citizen scientists may improve our understanding Ensifera populations and help in the global conservation of these threatened insects.
An Innovative Model of Behavior Management to Address Behavioral Emergencies in the Acute Medical Inpatient Setting: Pilot Data

Workplace violence in healthcare is a significant and costly problem. The majority of violent events that occur in the medical inpatient setting are perpetrated by patients against staff and occur during a behavioral emergency. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an innovative model of behavior management on occurrence of behavioral emergencies and staff comfort and competence in managing difficult patient behaviors. This model consists of primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions provided by a clinical psychologist which include proactive training for hospital staff and consultation-liaison services for behavior management. Forty-six staff at the University of Virginia Medical Center completed a 1-h training on preventing and managing difficult patient behavior. Self-report data on comfort and competence in managing challenging patient behaviors was collected at baseline, immediately following the intervention, and one and three months post-intervention. Behavioral emergencies were tracked for the intervention unit and a comparison unit. The occurrence of behavioral emergencies decreased by 50% in the three months following the intervention compared to a 142% increase on the comparison unit. Staff reported the greatest increase in confidence from baseline to three months post-intervention on caring for patients with psychiatric illnesses, managing verbal abuse, being supported by medical center leadership, having clear roles and responsibilities, and effectiveness of the skills and strategies used to manage difficult patient behavior. The results of this study provide preliminary support for the use of a comprehensive model for managing the behavioral needs of medical inpatients.
IREα-XBP1s activation in leukocytes is associated with the level of exposure to paclitaxel in CIPN patients

Chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common side effect of chemotherapy drugs; such as paclitaxel. Our laboratory is investigating the role of IRE1α-XBP1s arm of the endoplasmic reticulum stress response in immune cells under CIPN conditions. We have found that IRE1α-XBP1s in monocytes determines the development of CIPN induced by paclitaxel, and that its pharmacological inhibition prevents pain related behaviors in paclitaxel CIPN animals. However, we do not know whether IREα-XBP1s is altered in immune cells in human cancer patients experiencing CIPN. We would like to test this in patients with breast or cervical cancer treated with paclitaxel through the following aim, determine the levels of XBP1s mRNA (qPCR) and protein (immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy) in peripheral leukocytes from patients exposed to paclitaxel at early (4-8 cycles) and later stages of treatment (8-16 cycles). We observed that the levels of XBP1s mRNA were significantly increased in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from CIPN patients that received 8-16 cycles when compared to their levels at early stages of treatment (4-8 cycles). Similarly, when we followed a patient receiving four cycles of paclitaxel, we observed an increase in XBP1s mRNA as paclitaxel exposure progressed. We also observed similar findings in skin biopsies of patients with paclitaxel treatment (early and late exposure). Using IHC we observed an increase in XBP1s protein in parallel to an increase in IBA1 expressing cells (macrophages), and an increase in IBA1 cells co-expressing XBP1s in samples obtained after 8-16 cycles of paclitaxel when compared to earlier exposure (4-8 cycles). We conclude that paclitaxel exposure is associated with the activation of the IRE1α-XBP1s in immune cells in patients with CIPN. Our data provides a translational foundation that support the value of this molecular pathway as a potential target and/or biomarker for disease progression. Department of Anesthesiology-Wake Forest School of Medicine Funds, Comprehensive Cancer Center-Wake Forest School of Medicine Funds, NIDA R21CA248106, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)-NIH through Grant Award Number UL1TR001420. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
Impact of Left-sided Lesions in Pediatric Patients Having Surgery for Ebstein Anomaly

Purpose: Pediatric patients undergoing tricuspid valve intervention for Ebstein anomaly (EA) are at risk for post-operative morbidity and mortality. The impact of left-sided abnormalities (LSA), including left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) as well as abnormalities of the mitral and aortic valves, on early cardiac post-operative outcomes is unknown. We sought to determine factors that impact early post-operative outcomes in pediatric patients undergoing cone repair (CR) for EA. Methods: We performed a retrospective review …
Bespoke nanostars: synthetic strategies, tactics, and uses of tailored branched gold nanoparticles

Interest in branched colloidal gold nanosystems has gained increased traction due to the structures' outstanding optical and plasmonic properties, resulting in utilization in techniques such as surface-enhanced spectroscopy and bioimaging, as well as plasmon photocatalysis and photothermal therapy. The unique morphologies of nanostars, multipods, urchins, and other highly branched nanomaterials exhibit selective optical and crystallographic features accessible by alterations in the respective wet-chemical syntheses, opening a vast array of useful applications. Examination of discriminatory reaction conditions, such as seeded growth (e.g., single-crystalline vs. multiply twinned seeds), underpotential deposition of Ag(I), galvanic replacement, and the dual use of competing reducing and capping agents, is shown to reveal conditions necessary for the genesis of assorted branched nanoscale gold frameworks. By observing diverse approaches, including template-directed, microwave-mediated, and aggregation-based methods, among others, a schema of synthetic pathways can be constructed to provide a guiding roadmap for obtaining the full range of desired branched gold nanocrystals. This review presents a comprehensive summary of such advances and these nuances of the underlying procedures, as well as offering mechanistic insights into the directed nanoscale growth. We conclude the review by discussing various applications for these fascinating nanomaterials, particularly surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, photothermal and photodynamic therapy, catalysis, drug delivery, and biosensing.
The African Diaspora and the Disciplines

Reviewed Medium: book Year: 2010 Pages: 376 Publisher: Indiana University Press ISBN: 978-0-253-35464-8 (hard cover).