cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pre-natal development of the adrenal gland in the mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos).

The differentiating nephrotome in the 10-day-old mallard duck embryo is able to synthesize corticosterone, aldosterone and deoxycorticosterone even though an adrenal anlage cannot be identified histologically until the 12th day of incubation. At this time, sudanophilic cells containing much smooth endoplasmic reticulum and numerous mitochondria with tubular cristae are located adjacent to the developing mesonephros. Chromaffm cells appear in this region on about the 14th day of embryogenesis. A discrete glandular structure containing measurable quantities of corticosteroids can be identified on the 15th day, and during the next 2 days the tissue becomes encapsulated. Concomitantly, the ACTH-inducible rates of corticosteroid hormone synthesis increase several fold. The corticotropic responsiveness of the developing adrenal steroidogenic tissue increases progressively during the remainder of embryogenesis.
Stability for two dimensional analytic potentials

In this paper we study mechanical systems with 2 degrees of freedom. Let the position of the system at time t be (x(t), y(t)). Let the kinetic energy be T = +[qti(t) + m$(t)] and the potential energy be r(x(t), y(t)) where m, and ms are given positive constants and z(x, y) is a given function defined and Cl in a neighborhood of (0,O). We also assume z-(0, 0) = 0 and Vn(0, 0) = (0,O). Then the unknown functions x(t) and y(t) satisfy
Energy substitution in agriculture in the United States

Abstract There appears to be the possibility of substitution between alternative types of energy in the agricultural sector in the United States. Whether, in fact, this has occurred is another matter. In this study, an appropriate model is developed and estimated to address this issue. The specific types of energy considered include motor gasoline, diesel fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, fuel oil, natural gas and electrical energy. The results for 1978 and 1980 data suggest that energy consumption was responsive to different relative prices and that substitution between energy types did occur. Additionally, when the question of the stability of the demand for the various types of energy was considered, the results indicate that the demand for the different energy types was stable for the 1978 and 1980 periods.
A rapid and convenient preparation of apocarbonic anhydrase.

Abstract A method for the rapid removal of Zn(II) from carbonic anhydrase using pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid is reported. Either flow dialysis or direct equilibration with the chelating agent followed by gel filtration permits removal of >97% of the Zn(II) in less than 2 hr. This represents an improvement of about two orders of magnitude over currently used methods in the time required for the preparation of apocarbonic anhydrase.
Illustrating the interface of family and peer relations through the study of child maltreatment

The developmental study of social adaptation in maltreated children provided the context for examining the linkages between family and peer relations. Participants included 115 school-age children; 59 were maltreated. Teachers and peers in the classrooms of the targeted children provided assessments of the social functioning of individual children. Mothers completed an assessment of their parenting practices. The results demonstrated that teachers perceived maltreated children, particularly physically abused children, as lower in social competence and social acceptance and higher in externalizing behavior problems. Peers were more likely to actively withdraw from or reject maltreated children. Patterns of peer-perceived aggression and withdrawal were examined, and maltreated children who were both aggressive and withdrawn were particularly deficient in social effectiveness. Maltreatment and parenting practices were related to differences in social effectiveness. Continuities in relationship disturbance from families to peers were discussed.
Development of Indicators to Assess Quality of Life within a Community: The 2006 Healthy Community Council Assessment:

The Healthy Community Council (HCC) is a group of numerous stakeholders that include both private and non-profit organizations that provide services to residents of the City of Harrisonburg and Roc...
Genotype and haplotype distributions of MTHFR 677C>T and 1298A>C single nucleotide polymorphisms: a meta-analysis

Common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; 677C>T and 1298A>C) in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene (MTHFR) decrease the activity of the enzyme, leading to hyperhomocysteinemia, particularly in folate-deficient states. We calculate herein the haplotype frequencies of the MTHFR 677 and 1298 polymorphisms in pooled general populations derived from published data. We selected 16 articles that provided reliable data on combined MTHFR genotypes in general populations (n = 5389). The combined data comprised the following totals for each genotype at nucleotide positions 677 and 1298: 838 CC/AA (i.e., 677CC/1298AA), 1225 CC/AC, 489 CC/CC, 1120 CT/AA, 1093 CT/AC, 8 CT/CC, 606 TT/AA, 10 TT/AC, and 0 TT/CC. The estimated haplotype frequencies, and the fractional contribution of each, were 677C/1298A, 0.37; 677C/1298C, 0.31; 677T/1298A, 0.32; and 677T/1298C, 0.0023 to 0.0034. Thus, a vast majority of 677T alleles and 1298C alleles are associated with 1298A alleles and 677C alleles, respectively. There may be an increased frequency of the very rare cis 677T/1298C haplotype in some parts of the United Kingdom and Canada, possibly due to a founder effect. Further studies on both SNPs are needed to determine their exact role in various clinical settings.
Modified technique of antegrade continence enema using a stapling device.

Purpose: We present a stapling technique for constructing an antegrade continence enema (ACE) conduit that is helpful in cases of insufficient appendiceal luminal length or when a concomitant appendiceal Mitrofanoff stoma is required.Materials and Methods: In 6 patients with a mean age of 9.5 years who required an ACE procedure the cecum was tubularized in continuation with the orthotopic appendix at its base, using a stapling device to construct an ACE conduit. The tubularized segment was imbricated with permanent suture material. In 3 cases appendiceal length after tubularization was sufficient to allow splitting for the concomitant creation of an appendiceal Mitrofanoff stoma.Results: Patients have been followed an average of 16.5 months. Stomal continence was achieved in all cases as well as reliable catheterization of the appendiceal cecostomy in 6 and the Mitrofanoff conduit in 3.Conclusions: This modification of the ACE procedure with cecal tubularization in continuation with the appendix using a s...
Investigation of the “Surface” and “Interphase” Composition of Adhesion Promoter/Thermoplastic Olefin Systems: The Effect of Adhesion Promoter Bake Temperature

Abstract The interfacial chemistry of model systems consisting of two adhesion promoting primers and a single Thermoplastic Olefin (TPO) substrate was examined. Two commercial adhesion promoter (AP) materials were applied to a commercially-available TPO material and either flash dried at room temperature or baked at 100°C. The surface composition of the AP films and TPO substrate, and the interfacial compositions of the AP/TPO systems were characterized using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The AP films studied were based upon a chlorinated polyolefin (CPO). For one adhesion promoter film (AP-1), no chlorine was present at the surface suggesting a nonhomogeneous system. For the second adhesion promoter film (AP-2), the surface composition was about 15% CPO and 85% AP matrix. No changes in AP surface composition were evident for the different bake conditions for either AP. Interfacial compositions of the room temperature flashed materials were found to be very similar for both AP/TPO systems, with ...
Diachronous dawn of Africa's Middle Stone Age: New 40Ar/39Ar ages from the Ethiopian Rift

The Middle Stone Age (MSA) of Africa, like the Middle Paleolithic of Europe, is thought to represent a time period wherein toolmakers acquired significant increases in cognitive abilities and physical dexterity. Existing data fail to resolve whether the MSA emerged gradually, abruptly, or discontinuously, and whether this industry reflects the activity of Homo sapiens. Here we present new 40 Ar/ 39 Ar geochronological data revealing that advanced MSA archaeology at two sites in the main Ethiopian Rift is older than 276 ka, much older than technologically comparable MSA archaeology from elsewhere. An age of 183 ka for a unit farther upsection, along with the technological stasis observed throughout the section, indicates that similar technology was used here for ~93 ka. These results suggest that MSA technology evolved asynchronously in different places, and challenge the notion of a distinct time line for either the appearance of the MSA or the disappearance of the earlier Acheulean. These and other recent results indicate that the oldest known MSA consistently predates fossil evidence for the earliest Homo sapiens.
Enzyme therapy. VI: Comparative in vivo fates and effects on lysosomal integrity of enzyme entrapped in negatively and positively charged liposomes.

Entrapment of enzyme in liposomes, biodegradable lipid vesicles, offers an intriguing strategy for the intracellular delivery of these macromolecules to the lysosomal apparatus for enzyme replacement endeavors in selected lysosomal storage diseases. Therefore, the in vivo tissue and subcellular fate and effect on the subcellular distribution of endogenous lysosomal hydrolases was determined following intravenous administration of β-glucuronidase entrapped in positively and negatively charged liposomes into C3H/HeJ β-glucuronidase-deficient mice. Enzyme entrapped in negatively charged liposomes was rapidly cleared from the circulation (t12 ≈ 4 min); maximal tissue recovery, 75% of dose, was detected in the liver at 1 h, was maintained for 48 h and then gradually declined to non-detectable levels by 8 days. A similar circulatory clearance and reciprocal hepatic uptake was observed for positively charged liposomes; however, the β-glucuronidase was retained in murine liver for 11 days. Significant activity, 15% of dose, was found in the kidneys up to 1 and 4 days post-injection of positively and negatively charged liposomes, respectively. No activity was recovered in neural or other visceral tissues except in spleen and lungs (s5% of dose). Exogenous β-glucuronidase activity administered in negatively charged liposomes was primarily localized in the lysosomally-enriched hepatic subcellular fraction, compared to the predominantly soluble localization of exogenous activity entrapped in positively charged liposomes. Administration of negatively charged liposomes caused no detectable change in the subcellular localization of several endogenous lysosomal hydrolase activities compared to their distribution in untreated mice. In contrast, a marked but temporary translocation of these hydrolase activities into the soluble fraction was observed following the administration of positively charged liposomes, identifying possible deleterious effects on cellular physiology.
R-MASTIF: robotic mobile autonomous system for threat interrogation and object fetch

Autonomous robotic “fetch” operation, where a robot is shown a novel object and then asked to locate it in the field, re- trieve it and bring it back to the human operator, is a challenging problem that is of interest to the military. The CANINE competition presented a forum for several research teams to tackle this challenge using state of the art in robotics technol- ogy. The SRI-UPenn team fielded a modified Segway RMP 200 robot with multiple cameras and lidars. We implemented a unique computer vision based approach for textureless colored object training and detection to robustly locate previ- ously unseen objects out to 15 meters on moderately flat terrain. We integrated SRI’s state of the art Visual Odometry for GPS-denied localization on our robot platform. We also designed a unique scooping mechanism which allowed retrieval of up to basketball sized objects with a reciprocating four-bar linkage mechanism. Further, all software, including a novel target localization and exploration algorithm was developed using ROS (Robot Operating System) which is open source and well adopted by the robotics community. We present a description of the system, our key technical contributions and experimental results.
Use of Monoclonal Antibody in an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay to Detect the Presence of Trichoplusia ni (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) S Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus Polyhedrin in T. ni Larvae

A sandwich type of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) incorporating monoclonal antibody and rabbit immune serum was used to detect polyhedrin in Trichoplusia ni S nuclear polyhedrosis virus (TSN)-infected T. ni (Hubner) larvae. Polyhedrin, the major component of nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) polyhedra, is coded for by the virus, and its presence in larvae indicates the presence of NPV or an NPV infection. The ELISA and the judgment of a trained observer were compared with regard to detecting NPV or NPV disease in larvae exposed to high, medium, and low doses of TSN. The ELISA was the more sensitive diagnostic technique of the two, and detected the presence of NPV 2 to 3 days in advance of the observer. At the medium and high dosages, the ELISA detected polyhedrin in or on larvae 2 h after exposure to the virus, before any protein amplification could have taken place, indicating a high degree of assay sensitivity.
Political Science and Post-Tenure Review

Accountability, assessment, and productivity funding are realities confronting growing numbers of tenured faculty throughout the country. Tenured faculty are no longer immune from the calls for "reengineering" so common in the business world. Adverse consequences, including termination, for tenured faculty members no longer judged productive by their institutions are a real possibility at an increasing number of American colleges and universities. In fact, in 1997, in response to increasing legislative and societal dissatisfaction with the practice of tenure at American universi-
Detectability of supernova neutrinos with an existing proton decay detector.

The 8000-ton water IMB nucleon decay detector has good sensitivity to the neutrino burst associated with the collapse of stars. It is particularly sensitive to the ve charged current interactions with protons but can also record other neutrino interactions through ve scattering. Signal, noise, physics objectives, and detector modifications that would enhance burst detection are discussed. The objectives include astrophysical questions about the pulse structure and power. It also may be possible with a distant source to study neutrino masses and neutrino oscillations.
New physics-based preconditioning of implicit methods for non-equilibrium radiation diffusion

This note presents an extension of previous work on physics-based preconditioning of the non-equilibrium radiation diffusion equations. The new physics-based preconditioner presented in this manuscript is a minor modification to the operator-split preconditioner presented previously. Results show that the new preconditioner is more effective on test problems that are more nonlinear.
CAB: A Cellular Automata-Based Key Management Scheme for Wireless Sensor Networks

We develop a cellular automata (CA) based key management scheme for wireless sensor networks termed CAB. Our proposed scheme allows sensors to establish pairwise keys during any stage of the network operation using pre-loaded CAs. Additionally, CAB has the following nice properties: i) it is computationally efficient because operation can be as simple as bitwise OR and XOR; ii) it achieves quasi-perfect resilience against node compromise because the computed pairwise keys are unique with high probability; iii) it is the first scheme that inherently provides rekeying capabilities.
Including all staff in an alternative school’s effort to reduce violence.

Interview data from non-teaching staff at Garfield alternative school revealed how the entire staff-including custodians, secretaries, and hall monitors-contributed to the success of the school's violence prevention efforts. The school functioned democratically: non-teaching staff attended violence prevention workshops offered to all staff; the non-teaching staff's opinions about students' behavior were constantly solicited by teachers and administrators. By employing the skills and cultural competence of all staff members, the school's administrators encouraged democratic, non-hierarchical behavior among the staff in order to reduce violence in the students' lives. The authors recommend studies be conducted at other schools to expand our knowledge of the ways non-teaching staff may enhance a whole school approach to violence prevention. Language: en
Children's Mental Health in Families Experiencing Multiple Sclerosis:

A resiliency framework was used for this study. The research question was "Which parent and family factors discriminate between children who are at risk and those who are not at risk for a mental health problem?" The 174 families included in this substudy werefrom a longitudinal investigation in whichfamilies were recruited from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Families were selected if they had children ages 7 to 17 years and one of the two parents had multiple sclerosis. Through discriminant analysis, the variables that statistically maximized differences between two groups of children-those defined as clinically at risk or those not at riskfor a mental health problem-were obtained. Children who were not at riskfor a mental health problem tended to live infamilies who were more adaptable, had more adequate finances, and had more marital agreement. Implications for future empirical and interpretive investigations are discussed.
Toward a More Useful Economic History

Torn between divergent disciples, economic history needs to prove its usefulness as well as its scholarly virtuosity. Innovations in method and data have carried the field forward, but perhaps not fulfilled the claims of their champions. To economics in particular, economic history contributes a richer sense of space and time, and the importance of demographic factors. Three vignettes attempt to illustrate that useful economic history can result from confrontations of past and present that improve our understanding of both. Finally, emerging developments in the underlying fields may herald a more central future role for our discipline.
Inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis in cervical carcinoma cells by retinoids: Implications for chemoprevention

The effects of retinoids including all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), 13-cis-retinoic acid (13CRA), and N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide (4-HPR) on several cervical carcinoma cell lines in culture were investigated as a prelude to investigating the mechanisms underlying the chemopreventive potential of retinoids in cervical cancer. We found that when used at a concentration of 1 μM, 13CRA and ATRA inhibited the proliferation of three cell lines (ME-180 [HPV 68], SiHa [HPV 18], and HT-3 [HPV−]) by about 80% after a seven-day treatment. Three other cell lines (MS-751 [HPV 18], HeLa [HPV 18], C-33A [HPV−]) were moderately inhibited (30–48%), and two (C-4 II [HPV 18], CaSki [HPV 16]) responded poorly (< 25% inhibition). 4-HPR failed to inhibt the growth of any of these cell lines when used at 1 μM; however, when used at 5 or 10 μM, it induced apoptosis as evidenced DNA fragmentation in several of the cell lines and was more potent in this effect than 10 μM ATRA. Retinoids that induce apoptosis in malignant cells may be able to exert similar effects on premalignant cells. Such retinoids would be expected to exhibit greater potency as chemopreventive agents than retinoids that exert only cytostatic effects.
Doctor Rush's Eye Water and the Opening of the American West

It has now been almost 200 years since Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out from St. Louis on their successful western exploration in search of a practical overland and water route to the Pacific Ocean. Prior to their departure, Lewis traveled to Philadelphia to seek advice from the famous Dr. Benjamin Rush and others. Rush provided him with an elementary medical education, a liberal supply of his famous purgative pills, a chest of medical instruments, and a recipe for a lead acetate eye wash, together with the chemicals needed for its manufacture. In their journals, Lewis and Clark make frequent allusions to various eye afflictions suffered by their own troops and by the Native Americans encountered on their journey. Although herbal remedies were in common use, Rush's eye water proved very popular among the Native Americans for relief of their pain. It was so popular, in fact, that the explorers were able to make good use of it as diplomatic currency.
Measurement of isolated myocyte volume using the Coulter® models Z2 and ZM/C256 : A comparison of instrument function

Changes in cardiac structure that depart from normal have generally been termed "remodeling". Assessment of ventricular remodeling at the cellular level should include measurement of myocyte dimensions. A well-established and reliable method to assess myocyte remodeling uses isolated cells and the Coulter Counter/Channelyzer system. The new Coulter Model Z2 has numerous modifications and improvements from the Model Z predecessor(s) interfaced to a pulse-height analyzer (e.g., channelyzer). Improvements of the Model Z2 over older instruments include: (i) elimination of the mercury manometer with accompanying oil-displacement pump; (ii) reduced size and weight; (iii) a higher degree of mechanization and automation; (iv) inclusion of an advanced comprehensive statistical package and (v) a substantial reduction in cost. The purpose of this study was to determine if the newly modified instrument produces the same results as the previous instrument combinations, which were shown to produce reliable cell volume data from irregularly shaped cells such as cardiac myocytes.
Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine among Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study examined the prevalence of the use of different types of conventional, complementary and alternative therapies by children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Of 112 families surveyed, 74% were using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for their child with ASD. CAM use was most strongly associated with parent report of child's diagnosis. Most CAM was reported by families to be either helpful or without effect, but not harmful. The main reasons for choosing CAM were related to concerns with the safety and side effects of prescribed medications. Conventional health care providers should be aware of the high prevalence of use among children with ASD and be prepared to discuss the use of CAM with families.
Sex Differences During the Early Separation-Individuation Process: Implications for Gender Identity Formation:

Observations made in a nursery setting of 22 infants 9 to 12 months old suggest that girls become aware of psychological separateness earlier than do boys. The nature of the infant's means of coping, the relation to mother and to play objects, and maternal handling differences are also reported. Implications for gender identity formation are discussed.
An iterative framework for improving the accuracy of intraoperative intensity-based 2D/3D registration for image-guided orthopedic surgery

We propose an iterative refinement framework that improves the accuracy of intraoperative intensity-based 2D/3D registration. The method optimizes both the extrinsic camera parameters and the object pose. The algorithm estimates the transformation between the fiducials and the patient intraoperatively using a small number of X-ray images. The proposed algorithm was validated in an experiment using a cadaveric phantom, in which the true registration was acquired from CT data. The results of 50 registration trials with randomized initial conditions on a pair of X-ray C-arm images taken at 32° angular separation showed that the iterative refinement process improved the translational error by 0.32 mm and the rotational error by 0.61 degrees when compared to the 2D/3D registration without iteration. This tool has the potential to allow routine use of image guided therapy by computing registration parameters using only two X-ray images.
Determinants of Inward Foreign Direct Investment: A Dynamic Panel Study

Most recent studies of the factors that determine flows of foreign direct investment have focused on bilateral flows of FDI using a wide array of possible variables. Recent studies of the aggregate flows of FDI (flows from all sources) have been limited in the type and number of countries included. This study adds to these results by using a panel data set that includes 74 countries for the period 1980–2008 over a wide-range of countries. An important result of this study is that the relationship between FDI and measures of market size and income is non-linear. To study the effects of country specific characteristics this study looks at the relationship between the average country residual from the panel estimates and various measures of business climate.
Diagnostic Performance of the (1→3)-β-d-Glucan Assay for Invasive Fungal Disease

Background Diagnosis of invasive fungal disease (IFD) is challenging, and it remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. The (1-->3)-beta-D-glucan (BG) assay may be a useful adjunct, but its diagnostic performance is not well characterized. Methods We retrospectively assessed the diagnostic indices of the BG assay in patients at risk of IFD who had a compatible clinical syndrome for the diagnosis of IFD a week after initial BG testing and at the end of the hospitalization associated with the first BG value. Patients with IFD were classified according to current European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer-Mycoses Study Group criteria, independent of BG results. Results A total of 1308 BG assays were performed for 871 patients. One hundred twelve proven or probable IFD cases were diagnosed within 1 week after initial testing, and 116 cases were diagnosed by the end of hospitalization. Sensitivity of an initial BG level 80 pg/mL for IFD at 1 week was 0.64 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.55-0.73), specificity was 0.84 (95% CI, 0.81-0.86), the positive likelihood ratio was 3.93 (95% CI, 2.94-5.26), and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.43 (95% CI, 0.31-0.59). Albumin, intravenous immunoglobulin, and hemodialysis were associated with elevated BG levels in patients without IFD (odds ratio, 4.78; 95% CI, 2.59-8.80). After excluding patients with these factors, specificity and the positive likelihood ratio of an initial BG level 80 pg/mL increased slightly. Empirical systemic antifungal treatment did not reduce overall BG sensitivity. Sensitivity was slightly lower among patients with hematologic malignancy or stem cell transplantation. Consideration of BG results would have increased the diagnostic certainty to probable in 54% of possible IFD cases. Conclusions BG level appears to be a fair diagnostic adjunct for IFD in patients with appropriate pretest probability and a suggestive clinical syndrome, especially when checked serially in patients not receiving factors associated with an elevated BG level in the absence of IFD.
Ligand binding properties of binary complexes of heparin and immunoglobulin-like modules of FGF receptor 2.

Epithelial cells, which express FGFR2IIIb, bind and respond to FGF-1, FGF-7 and FGF-10, but not FGF-2. Stromal cells, which bind and respond to FGF-1 and FGF-2, but not FGF-7 and FGF-10, express FGFR2IIIc or FGFR1IIIc. Here we show that when both isolated FGFR2betaIIIb and FGFR2betaIIIc or their common Ig module II are allowed to affinity select heparin from a mixture, the resultant binary complexes bound FGF-1, FGF-2, and FGF-7 with nearly equal affinity. In addition, FGF-2 and FGF-7 bound to both heparin-Ig module IIIb and IIIc complexes, but FGF-1 bound to neither Ig module III. The results show that in isolation both Ig modules II and III of FGFR2 can interact with heparin and that each exhibits a binding site for FGF. We suggest that the specificity of FGFR2IIIb and FGFR2IIIc is dependent on the cell membrane environment and heparin/heparan sulfate. Ig modules II and III cooperate both within monomers and across dimers with cellular heparan sulfates to confer cell type-dependent specificity of the FGFR complex for FGF.
Treebase: an R package for discovery, access and manipulation of online phylogenies

Summary 1. The TreeBASE portal is an important and rapidly growing repository of phylogenetic data. The R statistical environment has also become a primary tool for applied phylogenetic analyses across a range of questions, from comparative evolution to community ecology to conservation planning. 2. We have developed treebase, an open-source software package (freely available from http://cran.r-project. org/web/packages/treebase) for the R programming environment, providing simplified, programmatic and interactive access to phylogenetic data in the TreeBASE repository. 3. We illustrate how this package creates a bridge between the TreeBASE repository and the rapidly growing collection of R packages for phylogenetics that can reduce barriers to discovery and integration across phylogenetic research. 4. We show how the treebase package can be used to facilitate replication of previous studies and testing of methods and hypotheses across a large sample of phylogenies, which may help make such important reproducibility practices more common.
Living Wage Politics in the U.S. States: Understanding Race, Labor, and Party Politics

Since the passage of welfare reform in 1996, the federal government has been increasingly inactive in sustaining income support for working adults and their families. Twenty-nine states have responded to federal inactivity by increasing their state minimum wage standards or enacting and expanding earned income tax credits. This paper investigates the roles that state-level public opinion, Democratic party strength, union membership and labor lobbying, and ethnic diversity have played in creating support for state living wage policies. Having a Democratic governor, Democratic legislative strength, and state initiative and referenda provisions all positively contribute to state living wage standards.
Metaphor Identification as Interpretation

Automatic metaphor identification and interpretation in text have been traditionally considered as two separate tasks in natural language processing (NLP) and addressed individually within computational frameworks. However, cognitive evidence suggests that humans are likely to perform these two tasks simultaneously, as part of a holistic metaphor comprehension process. We present a novel method that performs metaphor identification through its interpretation, being the first one in NLP to combine the two tasks in one step. It outperforms the previous approaches to metaphor identification both in terms of accuracy and coverage, as well as providing an interpretation for each identified expression.
Food Versus Fuel

Although biofuels had been used for many years (from 1980 to mid-2007, an estimated 2 trillion miles were driven on ethanol-blended fuels in the United States), it was not until the late 20th and early 21st centuries, with dwindling oil supplies, the threat of global warming, and unrest in the oil-rich Middle East that people began thinking of them seriously as alternatives to petroleum-based fuel. Biofuels were also considered better for the environment than gasoline because they produced far less carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter, and fewer toxic contaminants, hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds. This note describes biofuel production and the many effects its increasing use had on the energy supply, agriculture, and the environment. The use of biofuels was not without controversy, and this note is a good starting point for students who can be asked to research further and identify and discuss the issues presented by biofuel use.
Economics of Space Transportation for the 21st Century

One of the key issues in the space arena today is the future of space transportation. Getting to low-Earth orbit remains an expensive undertaking. Adding the risk to human life of sending people into orbit makes the effort even more expensive. With the bleak forecast for commercial launch services associated with the need to market foreign launchers for non-proliferation purposes, nations emphasize the need to renew space transportation policies. The back-up partnership between Arianespace, Sea Launch and Mitsubishi is a significant debut. Space exploration could provide an opportunity to rationalize the size of the current fleet of expendable launch vehicles.
Simultaneous Excretion of Goproporphyrin I and III in a Case of Chronic Porphyria

In the urine and stool of normal individuals there is a small amount of coproporphyrin I present. In many pathological conditions, however, the amount excreted is considerably increased.1,4 and in some conditions, notably lead poisoning, coproporphyrin III is excreted rather than the normal coproporphyrin I. Although it is probable that both types of porphyrins are produced in various diseases, the predominance of one type has made the isolation of both types difficult. In the case described below both coproporphyrin I and coproporphyrin III could be isolated from the feces of a woman suffering from chronic porphyria. Thus, the simultaneous formation of these 2 isomers is established.The patient in whom this condition occurred was found in the psychiatric ward of the Strong Memorial Hospital. Since exogenous causes, such as lead and drugs, could be excluded, the condition is one of chronic porphyria. The patient was not anemic, did not suffer from abdominal colic and was not photosensitive; there was no e...
Elementary School Environmental Education Suited to Local Conditions: Practice and Considerations: Taking the Lesson “Story of the Lake” as an Example

This article discusses some of the elementary school environmental education activities initiated in China's Yunnan province by the China Program of an international environmental nongovernmental organization (NGO), The Nature Conservancy. Reflecting on one such environmental activity, “The Story of the Lake,” it is clear that NGO-led environmental education should emphasize local cultural and ecological circumstances and incorporate the involvement and training of local educators.
Studies on an Oncogenic Avian Adenovirus (CELO) I. Biophysical Characterization

SummaryCELO virus, from infected allantoic fluids, was treated with 1.0% sodium deoxycholate and 0.01% trypsin and centri-fuged to equilibrium in a rubidium chloride gradient. Two bands, at densities of approximately 1.34 and 1.29 g/cm3, were consistently found. Plaque titrations indicated that the band at 1.34 g/cm3contained the majority of infectious virus. Both hemagglutinating and CF activities were associated with these bands; however, soluble CF antigens were also present in the less dense regions of the gradients. The infectivity of purified CELO virions was heat stable and the virions did not contain the adenovirus group antigen.
Vitamin D Status and Tooth Loss in Postmenopausal Females: The Buffalo Osteoporosis and Periodontal Disease (OsteoPerio) Study

Background: Vitamin D is hypothesized to reduce risk for tooth loss via its influence on bone health, inflammation, and the immune response. The association between plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations and prevalence and 5-year incidence of tooth loss in a cohort of postmenopausal females was examined.Methods: Participants underwent oral examinations at study baseline (1997 to 2000) and follow-up (2002 to 2005) to determine the number of missing teeth and 5-year incidence of tooth loss, respectively. At both visits, females self-reported reasons for each missing tooth. At baseline, 152 females reported no history of tooth loss, and 628 were categorized as reporting a history of tooth loss as a result of periodontal disease (n = 70) or caries (n = 558) (total n = 780). At follow-up, 96, 376, 48, and 328 females were categorized into the aforementioned categories related to tooth loss (total n = 472). Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals ...
Effectiveness of transdermal fentanyl combined with clodine for pain control of acute herpes zoster

[Objective] To observe the therapeutic effect of transdermal fentanyl in patients with acute Herpes Zoster and the incidence of Postherpetic Neuralgia(PHN).[Methods] Sixty patients were devided randomly into transdermal fentanyl group(F group,n=31) and transdermal fentanyl combined with Clodine group(C group,n=29),both groups were treated with transdermal fentanyl initially(25 μg/ h),a higher dose(50 μg/ h) was given only when the pain of patients was not cont rolled well.Clodine(20 mg,bid,po) was given beside fentanyl patch in C group.The analgesic effect,and the side effects and incidence of PHN were observed.[Results] Compared with F group,highly effective,total effective rate of C group is significantly higher(P0.05);complications and incidence of PHN significantly decreased in C group.[Conclusion] Transdermal fentanyl combined with Clodine could provide excellent pain relief for the patients with acute herpes zoster and decrease the incidence of complications and PHN.
Call RVUs: One Way to Make Call More Equitable

By acknowledging that not all call is created equal, one group has made its call schedule less contentious.
Measuring Semantic Similarity in Short Texts through Greedy Pairing and Word Semantics.

We propose in this paper a greedy method to the problem of measuring semantic similarity between short texts. Our method is based on the principle of compositionality which states that the overall meaning of a sentence can be captured by summing up the meaning of its parts, i.e. the meanings of words in our case. Based on this principle, we extend word-to-word semantic similarity metrics to quantify the semantic similarity at sentence level. We report results using several word-to-word semantic similarity metrics, based on word knowledge or vectorial representations of meaning. Our approach performs better than similar approaches on the tasks of paraphrase identification and recognizing textual entailment, which are two illustrative semantic similarity tasks. We also report the role of word weighting and of function words on the performance of the proposed method.
Research Funding and Academic Entrepreneurship: A Meta-Analytical Examination

Academic entrepreneurship, defined as the commercialization of innovations developed at universities, is critical for economic growth and wealth creation. In this study, we investigate a critical a...
Habitat quality of the coastal southeastern Bering Sea for juvenile flatfishes from the relationships between diet, body condition and prey availability

Abstract The distribution and body condition of juvenile northern rock sole (NRS), Lepidopsetta polyxystra , and yellowfin sole (YFS), Limanda aspera , were studied in relation to prey availability across the coastal shelf at the Alaska Peninsula boundary of the eastern Bering Sea (EBS) to assess spatial variability in habitat quality. Juveniles of ≤ 20 cm and adults of ≥ 30 cm total length were collected from bottom trawl catch samples at stations located 10 to 120 km from the Alaska Peninsula coast, and in bottom depths of 28 to 85 m. Stomach contents and stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen from muscle tissue were analyzed to describe diet composition. The quantity and quality of prey did not significantly affect the distribution of juvenile NRS and YFS. Spatial mismatch between the diet composition and the infauna prey assemblage suggested that prey availability was not limiting across the area, allowing fish to select for prey, presumably to maximize net energy gain. The body condition of juvenile NRS was higher in the eastern section of the area (Bristol Bay) – where they shared spatial and dietary niches with juvenile YFS, than in the west section (Unimak Island) where juvenile YFS were largely absent. A difference in body condition suggests that habitat quality may be higher in Bristol Bay. For NRS, stomach contents and stable isotopes in muscle tissue indicated an ontogenetic diet shift from amphipods to polychaetes from juvenile to adult stages. In contrast, for YFS, amphipods seemed to remain the primary prey and polychaetes the least important prey from juvenile to adult stage. Given that the high prey availability found in this south coastal area of EBS extends to areas across the EBS shelf, favorable habitat for juvenile flatfishes should be extensive. However, much of this potential juvenile habitat is underutilized by NRS, which were mainly limited to Bristol Bay and the Alaska Peninsula, whereas YFS did extend north over 500 km from Bristol Bay along the inner shelf domain (≤ 50 m deep). Abiotic factors, particularly ocean currents and water temperature, may be more significant than prey availability in the spatial distribution of juveniles. Thus, changes in the hydrographic and thermal regime of the EBS are likely to impact juvenile flatfish distribution and habitat productivity.
Viral MicroRNAs Identified in Human Dental Pulp.

Abstract Introduction MicroRNAs (miRs) are a family of noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression. They are ubiquitous among multicellular eukaryotes and are also encoded by some viruses. Upon infection, viral miRs (vmiRs) can potentially target gene expression in the host and alter the immune response. Although prior studies have reported viral infections in human pulp, the role of vmiRs in pulpal disease is yet to be explored. The purpose of this study was to examine the expression of vmiRs in normal and diseased pulps and to identify potential target genes. Methods Total RNA was extracted and quantified from normal and inflamed human pulps ( N = 28). Expression profiles of vmiRs were then interrogated using miRNA microarrays (V3) and the miRNA Complete Labeling and Hyb Kit (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA). To identify vmiRs that were differentially expressed, we applied a permutation test. Results Of the 12 vmiRs detected in the pulp, 4 vmiRs (including those from herpesvirus and human cytomegalovirus) were differentially expressed in inflamed pulp compared with normal pulp ( P Conclusions These data suggest that miRs may play a role in interspecies regulation of pulpal health and disease. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms by which vmiRs can potentially modulate the host response in pulpal disease.
Resource exploitation and relatedness: implications for offspring size variation within broods

Much of the theory on offspring size variation within a brood relies on unequal maternal allocation of resources to each embryo. However, maternal allocation strategies are subject to an inherent conflict between mothers and offspring: individual offspring, being more closely related to themselves than to their siblings, should always prefer a larger share of the available resources than that which is optimal from their mother's perspective. Thus, in species where mothers cannot unilaterally impose a resource allocation strategy, offspring can respond to this conflict by competing for more resources than is maternally optimal. Here we show that variation in offspring size within a brood can arise as a by-product of competition between siblings over a common resource, even when 1) there are no competitive inequalities within families, and 2) maternal investment per brood is fixed. Moreover, we show that size variance among offspring increases with increasing levels of competition, brought about by decreasing relatedness among siblings. Conflict thus offers a simple, testable and, potentially general, explanation for the wide variability in offspring size seen in nature. This extends explanatory hypotheses for offspring size variation beyond those of maternal effects, under which most explanations have been subsumed to date.
Challenges, Perspectives, and Directions in the Study of Religion: Reassessing Theoretical and Professional Assumptions

Editor's introduction to this issue of the Bulletin for the Study of Religion, an issue that includes a set of articles on the Swiss academic study of religion, specifically on theory-building, and another set of articles responding to Kate Daley-Bailey's Open Letter to the American Academy of Religion on contingent/adjunct faculty.
Perceptions of sexuality in individuals with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and their treating clinicians.

Introduction Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) may not affect an individual's sexual function directly, but it can indirectly impact their sexual activity. Sexual partners often become caregivers, diminishing sexuality within a relationship. This can result in decline of quality of life. Objective The study aimed to explore the perspectives of individuals with ALS and their treating clinicians regarding the importance of sexuality in rehabilitation within a multidisciplinary ALS center. We hypothesize that individuals with ALS will express the need for sexuality-related discussions as a therapy. Method Electronic 11-item questionnaires were anonymously completed by individuals with ALS (n = 21) and ALS healthcare professionals (n = 81) between August 2014 to June 2016. Descriptive statistics were performed in STATA 14. Results Majority (90%, n = 92) of respondents stated that ALS impacts the sexuality of an individual with ALS, and agreed that sexuality-related discussion is needed as a complementary therapy. Over 75% of clinicians reported they were not familiar with any strategies or interventions to help the patients. Conclusion ALS indirectly affects sexuality, thus confirming the need for promoting awareness regarding sexuality-related topics among individuals with ALS and healthcare professionals. ALS multidisciplinary clinics need to improve their delivery of care to address sexual rehabilitation as a complementary therapy.
Ultra-sensitive paper-based biosensor for cortisol sensing in human saliva with electrical impedance analyzer

Cortisol, a hormone commonly released upon increased stress level, is a biomarker for numerous diseases and plays an important role in the regulation of various physiological processes. Normally a cortisol level is elevated in oral saliva during the time of anxiety and depression. A portable biosensor device could provide an interesting digital instrument to the patients and people who desire precautionary onsite cortisol diagnosis without visiting psychiatrists and/or physicians. We have developed disposable paper-based biosensor chip to monitor cortisol with a wide range of detection (RoD) from 1pg/mL to 10ng/mL with regression R2=0.9777. Ultra-sensitivity of the sensor with limit of detection (LoD) of 1 pg/mL has been achieved using nanocomposite of graphene nanoplatelet and diblock-co-polymer (poly(styrene)-block-poly(acrylic acid)) (PS-b-PAA) coated on filter paper followed by deposition of micro-Au electrodes. Standard cortisol in aqueous solution and human saliva samples were successfully tested by interfacing the sensor chip with programmable handheld impedance based analyzer. Results are finally compared with the standard ELISA and are in good agreement with R2=0.9386. We anticipate that this handheld electrochemical sensing technology has promising application to monitor psychological stress in POC setting.