cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Basal cell carcinoma with perineural invasion: reexcision perineural invasion?

Background: Perineural invasion (PI) in basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, especially of the head and neck, has been reported to indicate an increased morbidity. Reexcision perineural invasion (RPI), a benign mimic of tumoral perineural invasion, may present a difficult histologic differential diagnosis. Methods: We surveyed the medical literature for PI occurring in basal cell carcinomas to investigate the degree to which the reported cases occurred in reexcision specimens vs. primary biopsy specimens. Results: We found large retrospective studies of 14,120 basal cell carcinomas evaluated for PI in which 310 cases of PI were identified (2.2%), and 20 sporadic case reports of basal cell carcinomas with PI. Of 310 cases of basal cell carcinoma with PI, 196 (63%) were in reexcision specimens. Of 20 sporadic reports, 17 (85%) were in reexcision specimens. Conclusion: The high percentage of PI occurring in reexcision specimens vs. primary excisions may indicate that many of the reported cases of basal cell carcinomas with PI are actually examples of RPI. Bechert CJ, Stern JB. Basal cell carcinoma with perineural invasion: reexcision perineural invasion?
Importance of Montane Riparian Forest and Influence of Wildfire on Nest-Site Selection of Ground-Nesting Birds

We studied breeding populations of 2 coexisting ground-nesting birds, the red-faced warbler (Cardellina rubrifrons) and yellow-eyed junco (Junco phaeonotus), in high-elevation (.2,000 m) forested drainages of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona, USA. From 2004 to 2005, we 1) estimated density and nesting success of breeding populations of red-faced warblers and yellow-eyed juncos, 2) identified nest-site characteristics for each species (i.e., used sites vs. random plots), 3) compared nest-site characteristics between the 2 species, and 4) examined effects of a recent (2003) wildfire on distribution of nests of both species. In addition, we estimated the areal extent of montane riparian forest (the preferred breeding habitat of both species) within high-elevation forests of the Santa Catalina Mountains. We found that red-faced warblers and yellow-eyed juncos were the 2 most common ground-nesting birds within our study area with an average density of 2.4 and 1.4 singing males/ha, respectively, along drainage bottoms. Compared to random plots, most red-faced warbler and yellow-eyed junco nests were located close ( M m) to drainage bottoms within a strip of montane riparian forest characterized by abundant brush, small woody debris, ferns, and forbs (both species), high number and diversity of saplings and small trees (red-faced warblers), and abundant shrubs and downed logs and less canopy cover (yellow-eyed juncos). Although both species nested in close proximity within montane riparian forest, nest-site characteristics differed between the 2 species, especially at finer spatial scales. For example, most yellow-eyed juncos nested adjacent to grass (principally Muhlenbergia spp.), whereas red-faced warblers nested adjacent to a variety of plant species, including grass, bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum), white fir (Abies concolor), and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Both red-faced warblers and yellow-eyed juncos avoided nesting in areas burned during a recent wildfire. In addition, nesting success was low for red-faced warblers (13%) and yellow-eyed juncos (19%) following the wildfire, suggesting an indirect negative effect of fire on breeding populations in the short-term. Montane riparian forest appears to provide important breeding habitat for red-faced warblers and yellow-eyed juncos. However, little research or conservation planning has been directed toward montane riparian forest in the region, even though this forest type is limited in its areal extent (,11% of high-elevation forest in the Santa Catalina Mountains) and increasingly threatened by disturbance. Results from our study can be used to facilitate the management and conservation of breeding populations of red-faced warblers and yellow-eyed juncos in high-elevation forests of the southwestern United States.
Global Regulation of Hox Gene Expression in C. elegans by a SAM Domain Protein

Polycomb group (PcG)-mediated repression of C. elegans Hox genes has not been demonstrated, and genes homologous to components of one of the PcG complexes (PRC1) have not been identified in the C. elegans genome. We find that a mechanism of general Hox gene repression exists in C. elegans, carried out in part by SOP-2, a protein related to, but not orthologous with, any PcG protein. sop-2 mutations lead to widespread ectopic expression of Hox genes and homeotic transformations. SOP-2 contains a SAM domain, a self-associating protein domain found in other repressors, including a core component of PRC1 and ETS transcription factors. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that this domain is more closely related to those of the ETS family than to those of PcG proteins. The results suggest that global repression of Hox genes has been taken over by a different branch of the SAM domain family during the evolution of nematodes.
Surface salt bridges, double-mutant cycles, and protein stability: an experimental and computational analysis of the interaction of the Asp 23 side chain with the N-terminus of the N-terminal domain of the ribosomal protein l9.

Experimental and theoretical double-mutant cycles have been used to investigate a salt bridge in the N-terminal domain of the protein L9. Aspartic acid 23 is the only acidic residue involved in a well-defined pairwise interaction, namely, a partially solvent-exposed salt bridge with the protonated N-terminus of the protein. Mutations were studied in which Asp 23 was substituted by alanine, asparagine, and nitrile alanine. Interactions with the N-terminus were probed by comparisons between proteins with a protonated and acetylated N-terminus. The mutants were all folded, and the structures were unchanged from wild type as judged by CD and 2-D NMR. The coupling free energy between the N-terminus and the side chain of Asp 23 measured through double-mutant cycle analysis was favorable and ranged from −0.7 to −1.7 kcal mol-1, depending upon the set of mutants used. This relatively large coupling free energy for a surface salt bridge likely arises from geometric factors that reduce the entropy loss associated w...
Analysis of Laminated and Sandwich Composite Structures Using Solid-like Shell Elements

A new solid-like shell element was formulated which is suitable for analysis of laminated and sandwich composite structures. Then, a multiscale analysis technique was implemented to the shell element formulation so that micro-level stresses and strains (i.e. stresses and strains in reinforcing fibers and the binding matrix) in those structures can be computed. The shell element has three displacement degrees of freedom per node like a 3-D solid element. Therefore, the shell elements can be stacked easily on top of one another like 3-D solid elements in order to represent multiple layers through the thickness of laminated and sandwich structures. The effect of a thin resin or adhesive layer in laminated and sandwich composite structures was investigated on both static and the dynamic responses of the structures using the developed shell elements. The study showed an apparent effect of the resin/adhesive layer even though it is very thin. As a result, the present shell element can be used effectively to include those thin layers in finite element analysis models of laminated and sandwich composite structures.
Chemopreventative Activity of Chlorophyllin: Inhibition of Mutagenicity and Covalent DNA Binding of Benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-dihydrodiol-9,10-epoxide

A variety of plant and vegetable constituents have been found to possess substantial inhibitory effects against some chemical carcinogens and mutagens. One of the major antimutagenic factors in plant and vegetable extracts is chlorophyll. Because of the insolubility of chlorophyll, its water soluble sodium/copper salt, chlorophyllin (CHL), has been used as an alternative in studying the biological effects of chlorophyll. CHL strongly inhibits the genotoxicity of certain environmental mutagens. However, mechanisms by which CHL exerts its antimutagenic effects remain unclear.
Out-of-order instruction fetch using multiple sequencers

Conventional instruction fetch mechanisms fetch contiguous blocks of instructions in each cycle. They are difficult to scale since taken branches make it hard to increase the size of these blocks beyond eight instructions. Trace caches have been proposed as a solution to this problem, but they use cache space inefficiently. We show that fetching large blocks of contiguous instructions, or wide fetch, is inefficient for modern out-of-order processors. Instead of the usual approach of fetching large blocks of instructions from a single point in the program, we propose a high-bandwidth fetch mechanism that fetches small blocks of instructions from multiple points in a program. In this paper, we demonstrate that it is possible to achieve high-bandwidth fetch by using multiple narrow fetch units operating in parallel. Our mechanism performs as well as a trace cache, does not waste cache space, is more resilient to instruction cache misses, and is a natural fit for techniques that require fetching multiple threads, like multithreading, dual-path execution, and speculative threads.
Transcriptional Regulation of Endothelial Cell and Vascular Development

The establishment and maintenance of the vascular system is critical for embryonic development and postnatal life. Defects in endothelial cell development and vessel formation and function lead to embryonic lethality and are important in the pathogenesis of vascular diseases. Here, we review the underlying molecular mechanisms of endothelial cell differentiation, plasticity, and the development of the vasculature. This review focuses on the interplay among transcription factors and signaling molecules that specify the differentiation of vascular endothelial cells. We also discuss recent progress on reprogramming of somatic cells toward distinct endothelial cell lineages and its promise in regenerative vascular medicine.
The influence of biopreservatives on the bacterial level of refrigerated vacuum packaged beef

Pediocin AcH (1,400 AU/g), nisin (1,400 AU/g), Nisaplin (500 IU/g). MicrogardTM (2%) or Na-lactate (2%) were added to refrigerated vacuum-packaged beef to determine their antibacterial properties. The influence of carbon monoxide treatment on meat color prior to biopreservative treatment was also studied. Pediocin AcH, Nisaplin and nisin had an immediate bactericidal effect on Leuconostoc inoculates. All biopreservatives kept bacterial populations in vacuum-packaged beef within log10 6/g for up to 8 weeks at 3C. Lactate was the most and MicrogradTM the least effective in maintaining low bacterial concentrations during an 8 week storage period. The color of fresh beef treated with 10% CO + 90% N2 for 60 min was stable for up to 4 weeks at 3C; however, beef treated with 100% CO retained its bright red color during 8 week of storage in the vacuum package.
The significance of retinal image contrast and spatial frequency composition for eye growth modulation in young chicks

Abstract Purpose: This study sought further insight into the stimulus dependence of form deprivation myopia, a common response to retinal image degradation in young animals. Methods: Each of 4 Bangerter diffusing filters (0.6, 0.1, Results: Only the 0.05), and only small myopic shifts in refraction ( Conclusions: Our results are consistent with emmetropization being tuned to mid-spatial frequencies. They also imply that form deprivation is not a graded phenomenon.
An Overview of Autophagy and Yeast Pseudohyphal Growth: Integration of Signaling Pathways during Nitrogen Stress

The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae responds to nutritional stress through the regulated activities of signaling pathways mediating autophagy and other conserved cellular processes. Autophagy has been studied intensely in yeast, where over 30 autophagy-related genes have been identified with defined roles enabling the formation of autophagic vesicles and their subsequent trafficking to the central yeast vacuole. Much less, however, is known regarding the regulatory mechanisms through which autophagy is integrated with other yeast stress responses. Nitrogen limitation initiates autophagy and pseudohyphal growth in yeast, the latter being a fascinating stress response characterized by the formation of multicellular chains or filaments of elongated cells. An increasing body of evidence suggests an interrelationship between processes responsive to nitrogen stress with cAMP-dependent PKA and the TOR kinase complex acting as key regulators of autophagy, pseudohyphal growth, and endocytosis. In this review, we will summarize our current understanding of the regulatory events controlling these processes. In particular, we explore the interplay between autophagy, polarized pseudohyphal growth, and to a lesser extent endocytosis, and posit that the integrated response of these processes in yeast is a critical point for further laboratory experimentation as a model of cellular responses to nitrogen limitation throughout the Eukaryota.
Of Savagery and Civil Society: Pierre Clastres and the Transformation of French Political Thought

This essay examines the thought of the French anthropologist Pierre Clastres (1938–1977). It situates his once-famous depiction of savage politics as a premonitory rejection of the state at the crossroads of several traditions, long- and short-term. First, Clastres's thought resonates with the primitivistic appeal by French “moralists” since the early modern period to the lifestyle of prehistoric societies; second, it casts light on the history of French anthropology in the crisis years of structuralism; and third, it reflects the revival of Friedrich Nietzsche in French thought of the era. Above all, however, the essay explains Clastres's thought as an attempt to resist and to overcome the well-known communist allegiances of postwar French intellectuals. Early in rejecting communism, Clastres owed his prominence to the 1970s popularization of the critique of “totalitarianism.” The so-called “passing of an illusion” of communism, one version of which Clastres pioneered, is often interpreted as the replacement of confusion with truth. It is more interesting, the essay suggests, to situate it in its time, as a complex achievement as defective as it was creative, if Clastres's thought is taken as an example. In closing, the essay suggests some legacies, often unintentional, Clastres left behind in French political thought of the years since his death.
Successful spread of a biocontrol agent reveals a biosecurity failure: elucidating long distance invasion pathways for Gonatocerus ashmeadi in French Polynesia

Invasive species are generally detected in new ecosystems long after their first arrival, making it difficult to elucidate pathways leading to successful invasion. In this study, the dispersal of a classical biological control agent, the mymarid egg parasitoid Gonatocerus ashmeadi, was monitored across ten islands in three major island groups in French Polynesia from the exact moment of its introduction into Tahiti to combat the invasive pest Homalodiscavitripennis. Within 10 months, the parasitoid spread quickly from Tahiti to widely separated islands (up to 1,400 km from Tahiti); presumably through the transportation of plant material containing parasitized H. vitripennis eggs. Gonatocerus ashmeadi thus functioned as a “biomarker”, providing an informal audit of the effectiveness of inter-island quarantine measures designed to curb the accidental spread of noxious organisms. Survey results suggest that invasive organisms, like deliberately released biological control agents, can be unintentionally and rapidly transmitted across vast distances by humans. Furthermore, even remote islands appear to experience relentless pressure from invasive propagules associated with human travel. Implications of survey work documenting the spread and impact of G. ashmeadi are discussed within the context of biological control programs, non-target impacts, and biosecurity initiatives.
Cognitive radio as a mechanism to manage front-end linearity and dynamic range

Most of the consideration of the benefits and applicability of dynamic spectrum access has been focused on opportunities associated with spectrum availability. This article describes the use of DSA to resolve challenges in achieving wireless and cognitive radio operation in dense or energetic spectrum. It also demonstrates that the use of DSA can significantly reduce requirements for linearity and dynamic range in the radio front-end, and reduce the intermodulation induced noise floor through integration of DSA with the selection of front-end filter settings. This approach could enable DSA and cognitive radios to be more affordable than conventional radios, and addresses spectrum issues that are not practically manageable through manual approaches.
D‐cycloserine facilitates extinction of cocaine self‐administration in rats

Previous research has indicated that d-cycloserine [DCS; a N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) partial agonist] facilitates the extinction of conditioned fear as well as the extinction of cocaine conditioned place preference. Sprague Dawley rats were first trained to self-administer cocaine and then we compared their extinction behavior (lever pressing) following treatment with vehicle; 15 mg/kg DCS; or 30 mg/kg DCS. We showed that 30 mg/kg DCS, but not 15 mg/kg significantly accelerated extinction of cocaine self-administration behavior when compared with saline by almost half (4 days vs. 9 days). At 2 weeks when all animals had extinguished, there were no longer differences between the groups. The present findings support of the potential of NMDA partial agonists as prospectively valuable in facilitating the extinction of cocaine-seeking behavior. More specifically, we demonstrate that 30 mg/kg DCS was effective at significantly accelerating the extinction of cocaine self-administration behavior in rats. These results provide further support for the potential of DCS as a treatment strategy for addiction.
OK Computer: The Fourth Amendment and Searches of Seized and Imaged Electronic Evidence

In 1916, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts addressed a novel question in Massie v. Barker: How does the standard for negligence previously applied to walkers apply to drivers? For the court, the answer was clear: “The law as to drivers of motor vehicles is not different from that which governs other persons. The standard required is that of the reasonably prudent person under all the circumstances.” In its 2012 opinion in United States v. Metter, the Eastern District of New York also addressed a question of first impression: How long may the government retain seized and imaged electronic evidence before conducting a review of that evidence to determine whether any of it falls outside the scope of a search warrant?Many advances in technology have forced courts to reconsider existing constitutional tests and standards given the brave new digital world in which we live. Other technological advances have not caused such legal retrofitting as courts have found that existing tests and standards can adequately accommodate some new innovations. This article argues that the problem confronted by the Metter court falls into this second category.
Two mechanisms of cell resistance to repeated stimulation of interferon.

SummaryHuman fibroblasts treated with the synthetic interferon-stimulating polymer polyinosinate:polycytidylate (I:C) became resistant (or “tolerant”) to a subsequent stimulation of interferon by either I:C or Newcastle disease virus (NDV). Tolerance to I:C reached a maximum around the time of termination of the first interferon response. After this time the cells gradually recovered some sensitivity to a second stimulation of interferon by I:C. In contrast, tolerance to NDV persisted and increased after termination of the primary interferon response by I:C. Treatment of human fibroblasts with interferon inhibited the subsequent production of interferon by NDV but not by I:C. When human fibroblasts were pretreated with a moderate dose of actinomycin D, tolerance to I:C was not observed. Furthermore, tolerance to I:C was significantly diminished when cells were only briefly exposed to I:C, although high levels of interferon were produced by this treatment. A model is proposed by which cells develop resista...
The fifteenth-century episcopate: careers and bequests

In this paper I wish to show a possible line of relationship between the careers of some fifteenth-century English bishops and their deathbed bequests. This attempt to correlate episcopal secularity, as revealed by the ‘careerism’ of the bishops, and episcopal sanctity, as revealed by their philanthropy, touches three major themes of historical inquiry. One of these is gift-giving. Anthropologists have taught us to see how the giving of gifts in pre-industrial societies can illuminate the role of symbolic relationships, of ties between lineages, of the bonds of social solidarity, status and hierarchy. Medieval historians know from their own work the importance of gift-giving in the economic sphere. I am also attempting to carry out a ‘group study’, one particular form of sociological history. The purpose of such endeavours is not, as Elton asserts, to reopen the quarrel as to whether history is or is not scientific. It is rather to ask questions about the past which the people of that day did not think to ask about themselves. As such I believe it to be a legitimate and proper form of historical inquiry. Lastly, I seek to shed some light on a particular aspect of medieval espiscopal activity. Anything we can learn about the ecclesiastical elite is that much more known about medieval people and medieval society.
Low Temperature Oxidation and Spalling of Electrodeposited and Vapour-Deposited Copper

Thermal cycling of silicon solar cells heated with incandescent light or using an in-situ heating stage on an optical microscope caused unexpectedly rapid oxidation of the electrodeposited copper current collecting grid. Unusually fine buckling and spai ling of the oxide film also occurred at temp. as low as 180°C. These effects appear to stem from the very fine columnar grains and high defect content of the copper ribbons and some Cl residue from the electrolyte. With vapour-deposited Cu, similar relatively rapid oxidation and spalling were also observed. Origins of the high oxidation rates, the large compressive stresses within the oxide and the low-temperature spalling are discussed.
Evaluation of the methods to predict total serum lipids and to determine 22 POPs in the serum of pregnant women.

The objectives of this study were to determine the suitability of total serum lipid (TSL) concentrations, which were calculated by three different formulae, for pregnant women and to optimize the improved matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) method. The results showed that the TSL predicted by the three formulae were significantly correlated to our measured values (sums of the total cholesterol, triglycerides and phospholipids contents). In particular, one of formulae was the most statistically suitable for pregnant women. Meanwhile, an improved MSPD method was developed to extract 22 POPs. The developed MSPD method was compared with SPE and EPA (8081 & 8082) to evaluate the performance of each extract method. The method validation showed that the results obtained using the improved MSPD method were closest to the actual concentration (adjusted by lipids), and the dispersion of the data was minimal.
Face behind makeup

In this work, we propose a novel automatic makeup detector and remover framework. For makeup detector, a locality-constrained low-rank dictionary learning algorithm is used to determine and locate the usage of cosmetics. For the challenging task of makeup removal, a locality-constrained coupled dictionary learning (LC-CDL) framework is proposed to synthesize non-makeup face, so that the makeup could be erased according to the style. Moreover, we build a stepwise makeup dataset (SMU) which to the best of our knowledge is the first dataset with procedures of makeup. This novel technology itself carries many practical applications, e.g. products recommendation for consumers; user-specified makeup tutorial; security applications on makeup face verification. Finally, our system is evaluated on three existing (VMU, MIW, YMU) and one own-collected makeup datasets. Experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness of DL-based method on makeup detection. The proposed LC-CDL shows very promising performance on makeup removal regarding on the structure similarity. In addition, the comparison of face verification accuracy with presence or absence of makeup is presented, which illustrates an application of our automatic makeup remover system in the context of face verification with facial makeup.
Purification and properties of a phenol sulphotransferase from Euglena using l-tyrosine as substrate

A purification procedure based on (NH4)2SO4 precipitation, and chromatography on Affi-Gel Blue, DEAE-cellulose, hydroxyapatite and Bio-Gel P-60 yields a stable 6400-fold-purified active monomeric phenol (tyrosine) sulphotransferase of 26 kDa from W10BSmL, an aplastidic mutant of Euglena gracilis var. bacillaris. The apparent Km for adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'-phosphosulphate (PAPS) is 15 microM (60 microM tyrosine as substrate); adenosine 5'-phosphosulphate is inactive. L-Tyrosine gave the lowest apparent Km (33 microM) (with PAPS at 30 microM), but tyrosine esters, tyrosinamide, L-p-hydroxyphenylglycine and a number of tyrosine dipeptides were also active, with higher Km values. Nitrophenols (m- and p-) and chlorophenols (o-, m- and p-) were active, with higher Km values than for tyrosine. D-Tyrosine was inactive as a substrate, as was D-p-hydroxyphenylglycine and a number of other tyrosine derivatives lacking the carboxy carbonyl or the amino group, or having extra ring substituents or the hydroxy group in the wrong position. Adenosine 3',5'-bisphosphate and tyrosine O4-sulphate, products of the enzyme reaction with PAPS and tyrosine as substrates, showed competitive (Ki = 20 microM) and uncompetitive (Ki = 500 microM) inhibition kinetics respectively. This appears to be the first phenol sulphotransferase to accept tyrosine as substrate. This membrane-bound enzyme may be involved in tyrosine transport as well as detoxification.
Childhood abuse and reduced cortical thickness in brain regions involved in emotional processing

Background Alterations in gray matter development represent a potential pathway through which childhood abuse is associated with psychopathology. Several prior studies find reduced volume and thickness of prefrontal (PFC) and temporal cortex regions in abused compared with nonabused adolescents, although most prior research is based on adults and volume-based measures. This study tests the hypothesis that child abuse, independent of parental education, predicts reduced cortical thickness in prefrontal and temporal cortices as well as reduced gray mater volume (GMV) in subcortical regions during adolescence. Methods Structural MRI scans were obtained from 21 adolescents exposed to physical and/or sexual abuse and 37 nonabused adolescents (ages 13–20). Abuse was operationalized using dichotomous and continuous measures. We examined associations between abuse and brain structure in several a priori-defined regions, controlling for parental education, age, sex, race, and total brain volume for subcortical GMV. Significance was evaluated at p < .05 with a false discovery rate correction. Results Child abuse exposure and severity were associated with reduced thickness in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (PFC), right lateral orbitofrontal cortex, right inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus (PHG), left temporal pole, and bilateral inferior, right middle, and right superior temporal gyri. Neither abuse measure predicted cortical surface area or subcortical GMV. Bilateral PHG thickness was inversely related to externalizing symptoms. Conclusions Child abuse, an experience characterized by a high degree of threat, is associated with reduced cortical thickness in ventromedial and ventrolateral PFC and medial and lateral temporal cortex in adolescence. Reduced PHG thickness may be a mediator linking abuse with externalizing psychopathology, although prospective research is needed to evaluate this possibility.
Effect of hypohydration on thermoregulatory responses in men with low and high body fat exercising in the heat

This is the first known investigation to compare thermoregulatory responses to exercise heat stress between men with high and low body fat (BF) in a physiologically uncompensable environment while ...
Evidence to Support the Use of the Retrospective Pretest method to Measure Dietary and Physical Activity Behavior and Self-Efficacy in Adolescents

This study compared the retrospective pretest-posttest method to the traditional prospective pretest-posttest method assessing adolescents’ dietary and physical activity, self-efficacy and behaviors. Participants were 7th and 8th grade students at a rural K-8th grade elementary school in Northern California (n=188). All participants completed an evaluation instrument (traditional pretest), followed by a 9-lesson dietary and physical activity intervention. Upon completion of the intervention, participants completed a second and identical evaluation instrument which served as a traditional posttest. The following day, participants completed another evaluation tool, this time formatted as a retrospective pretest. Analysis included sample t tests comparing the means of each method. Participants (n = 154) with a mean age of 13 ± .7 years old were included in the analyses (52% female). Paired sample t tests reported non-significant differences between the two methods for dietary behavior and dietary self-efficacy, yet significant differences were found for physical activity behavior (p < .05) and physical activity self-efficacy (p < .01). We conclude that the retrospective pretest-posttest method was as good a measure of dietary self-efficacy and behavior as the traditional prospective pretest-posttest method and may be better at attenuating response-shift bias when assessing physical activity self-efficacy and behavior.
Faculty Reflections at the Intersection of Digital Storytelling and Community Engagement

Drawing on a decade of extensive digital storytelling at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), experienced faculty practitioners have expanded story work beyond traditional personal narratives into community engagement and public scholarship projects. While social and civic aspirations have been present in the work of Joe Lambert and the Center for Digital Storytelling (now the Story Center) since its early days, there is increasing interest in digital stories, conceived broadly, and their intersection with renewed campus commitments in US higher education’s democratic purposes and the continued development of civically engaged, public scholarship. UMBC’s faculty reflections on recent projects at the intersection of digital storytelling and civic engagement provoke our discussion of collaborative, inclusive knowledge production, disseminating stories and nurturing public scholarship, and the contributions of this engaged story work to changing campus cultures. We conclude with recommendations from experienced practitioners for launching and sustaining community-engaged story work across disciplines and communities.
Diet as risk and therapy for cancer

This article provides a brief overview of the scientific rationale for dietary guidelines that may reduce the risk of some types of cancers--breast, colon, and prostate in particular. Dietary modification clinical trials currently sponsored by the National Cancer Institute are described. Other topics include the role of total parenteral nutrition in cancer therapy and low-fat dietary interventions as an adjunct to breast cancer treatment.
An insight into the effect of buffer layer on the electrochemical performance of MgF2 coated magnesium alloy ZK60

Abstract Magnesium (Mg) has emerged as potential implant material owing to its property of biodegradation. The roadblock to the commercial use of Mg as implant material is its fast degradation in body fluids. The degradation of the Mg and its alloys can be retarded by surface coatings. In this work, the potential of MgF2 coating on the surface of Mg alloy ZK60 (Mg-6.9Zn-0.8Zr) was evaluated for its corrosion properties. Two-step chemical conversion process was used to coat MgF2 on the surface of ZK60 alloy. In the first step, a secondary layer of Mg(OH)2 was introduced by boiling the samples in NaOH solution. In the second step, these samples were immersed in hydrofluoric acid to obtain MgF2 coating. SEM, IR Spectroscopy, and XRD were employed to confirm the formation of Mg(OH)2 and MgF2. The wettability tests showed an increase in surface hydrophobicity as a result of conversion treatment. The potentiodynamic polarization tests exhibited an improvement in the corrosion potential from −1.52 V vs. SCE to −1.49 V vs. SCE after two-step conversion treatment. Moreover, coated sample witnessed a noticeable drop in hydrogen evolution compared to untreated ZK60. For a better insight, the results were compared to the MgF2 coatings achieved on the surface of ZK60 without any buffer layer. The coating of MgF2 with a buffer layer of Mg(OH)2 on the surface of ZK60 exhibited a noble corrosion potential, controlled degradation, and nominal hydrogen evolution compared to the untreated ZK60.
Emotional Memory and Adaptive Personalities

Believable agents designed for long-term interaction with human users need to adapt to them in a way which appears emotionally plausible while maintaining a consistent personality. For short-term interactions in restricted environments, scripting and state machine techniques can create agents with emotion and personality, but these methods are labor intensive, hard to extend, and brittle in new environments. Fortunately, research in memory, emotion and personality in humans and animals points to a solution to this problem. Emotions focus an animal’s attention on things it needs to care about, and strong emotions trigger enhanced formation of memory, enabling the animal to adapt its emotional response to the objects and situations in its environment. In humans this process becomes reflective: emotional stress or frustration can trigger reevaluating past behavior with respect to personal standards, which in turn can lead to setting new strategies or goals. To aid the authoring of adaptive agents, we present an artificial intelligence model inspired by these psychological results in which an emotion model triggers case-based emotional preference learning and behavioral adaptation guided by personality models. Our tests of this model on robot pets and embodied characters show that emotional adaptation can extend the range and increase the behavioral sophistication of an agent without the need for authoring additional hand-crafted behaviors.
Development of Squeak and Rattle Countermeasures Through Up-Front Designs

Squeak and rattle are one of the major quality concerns in vehicle design for customer satisfaction. Squeak is a high frequency noise due to local parts in frictional contact and rattle a high frequency noise due to impact contact. Traditionally, problems are found and fixed locally using countermeasures such as anti-squeak coatings, flocked tapes or foams, etc. These fixes are generally applied at a relatively late design stage and result in cost and weight penalties. Extensive research at Ford indicates that squeak and rattle performance depends on not only local designs but also global ones. This paper discusses generic root causes of squeak and rattle problems and development of squeak and rattle counter measures through up-front designs in contrast to traditional downstream “find & fix” approaches.
Creativity as Dissent and Resistance: Transformative Approach Premised on Social Justice Agenda

The idea in this paper is to lodge the creativity construct within the project of understanding human development as having to do, at the very core, with its transformative rather than adaptive, conformist nature. This project is also, and non-coincidentally, about ascertaining fundamental equality of all human beings. In the transformative activist stance (TAS) approach, there are no impenetrable walls separating any one person from the most prolific “giants” history has ever known. The gist of this anti-elitist view is that all humans can be credited with the amazingly creative, transformative agency and creativity in their seemingly—only seemingly!—mundane and ordinary lives. The core of creativity, like freedom, is about dissent, resistance, discord, challenge, critique, and ultimately, about acts of moving beyond what is given, a process that transcends (or deconstructs) the status quo and its entrenched structures, phenomena, and elements. Every human encounter and action are always novel, unrepeatable, and creative. Along these lines, creativity studies, which too often comply with the canons of mainstream approaches, potentially can be revolutionized to challenge the many myths of its own creation.
The Labor of Literature: Democracy and Literary Culture in Modern Chile by Jane D. Griffin

Griffin, Jane D. The Labor of Literature: Democracy and Literary Culture in Modern Chile . Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2016.
Working stiff(s): a theory of live audience labor disputes

Recent work on the political economy of media has drawn on Smythe, complicating the relationship between audience as consumers and producers. Smythe’s focus on audiences as a commodity through adve...
Smarter Markets: Bringing Intelligence into the Exchange

Billions of dollars in financial securities exchange hands every day in independent continuous double auctions. Although the auctions are automated, fast, open 24-7, and have worldwide scope and massive scale, the underlying auction rules have not changed much for over 100 years. Advertisement auctions, on the other hand, have rapidly evolved, incorporating optimization and machine learning directly into their allocation rules. The downside is a less-transparent auction, but the upsides for efficiency and expressiveness are tremendous. The trend toward smarter markets will expand into finance and well beyond, pervading how markets are designed. I will discuss markets that optimize and learn, using prediction markets and advertising markets as key examples.
The Current State of Physics in Cuba: A Personal Perspective

After 40 years of absence I returned twice to Cuba, in January and December of 2000, to participate as a guest lecturer in two international scientific meetings. The first dealt with physics education, and the second with current issues related to quantum mechanics. In addition to a few participants from Europe, the US and Latin America, the two meetings were well attended by Cuban physicists.
Polymer additive controlled morphology for high performance organic thin film transistors.

Solution-crystallizable small-molecule organic semiconductors, such as 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene (TIPS pentacene), 5,11-bis(triethylgermylethynyl)anthradithiophene (diF-TEG-ADT), 2,7-dioctyl[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene (C8-BTBT), and N,N′-1H,1H-perfluorobutyl dicyanoperylenecarboxydiimide (PDIF-CN2), demonstrate various practical advantages including high mobility, air stability and solution processibility. In this article, we review various polymer additive based approaches to control the crystal morphology and the resultant charge transport of some bench-mark, high performance, solution crystallizable, small-molecule organic semiconductors. The polymer additives are discussed under the categories of non-conjugated polymers and conjugated polymers. The approaches and structure-performance correlations that we discussed here may be applied far beyond the examples shown in this review and have important implications for high performance organic semiconductors in general.
Proteome profile changes during poly-hydroxybutyrate intracellular mobilization in gram positive Bacillus cereus tsu1

Bacillus cereus is a bacterial species which grows efficiently on a wide range of carbon sources and accumulates biopolymer poly-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) up to 80% cell dry weight. PHB is an aliphatic polymer produced and stored intracellularly as a reservoir of carbon and energy, its mobilization is a key biological process for sporulation in Bacillus spp. Previously, B. cereus tsu1 was isolated and cultured on rapeseed cake substrate (RCS), with maximum of PHB accumulation reached within 12 h, and depleted after 48 h. Fore-spore and spore structure were observed after 24 h culture. Quantitative proteomic analysis of B. cereus tsu1 identified 2952 quantifiable proteins, and 244 significantly changed proteins (SCPs) in the 24 h:12 h pair of samples, and 325 SCPs in the 48 h:12 h pair of samples. Based on gene ontology classification analysis, biological processes enriched only in the 24 h:12 h SCPs include purine nucleotide metabolism, protein folding, metal ion homeostasis, response to stress, carboxylic acid catabolism, and cellular amino acid catabolism. The 48 h:12 h SCPs were enriched into processes including carbohydrate metabolism, protein metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, and formation of translation ternary structure. A key enzyme for PHB metabolism, poly(R)-hydroxyalkanoic acid synthase (PhaC, KGT44865) accumulated significantly higher in 12 h-culture. Sporulation related proteins SigF and SpoEII were significantly higher in 24 h-samples. Enzymes for nitrate respiration and fermentation accumulated to the highest abundance level in 48 h-culture. Changes in proteome of B. cereus tsu1 during PHB intracellular mobilization were characterized in this study. The key enzyme PhaC for PHB synthesis increased significantly after 12 h-culture which supports the highest PHB accumulation at this time point. The protein abundance level of SpoIIE and SigF also increased, correlating with sporulation in 24 h-culture. Enzymes for nitrate respiration and fermentation were significantly induced in 48 h-culture which indicates the depletion of oxygen at this stage and carbon flow towards fermentative growth. Results from this study provide insights into proteome profile changes during PHB accumulation and reuse, which can be applied to achieve a higher PHB yield and to improve bacterial growth performance and stress resistance.
Network recall among older adults with cognitive impairments.

Abstract Although it is widely accepted that personal networks influence health and illness, network recall remains a major concern. This concern is heightened when studying a population that is vulnerable to cognitive decline. Given these issues, we use data from the Social Network in Alzheimer Disease project to explore similarities and discrepancies between the network perceptions of focal participants and study partners. By leveraging data on a sample of older adults with normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, and early stage dementia, we explore how cognitive impairment influences older adults’ perceptions of their personal networks. We find that the average individual is more likely to omit weaker, peripheral ties from their self-reported networks than stronger, central ties. Despite observing only moderate levels of focal-partner corroboration across our sample, we find minimal evidence of perceptual differences across diagnostic groups. We offer two broad conclusions. First, self-reported network data, though imperfect, offer a reasonable account of the core people in one’s life. Second, our findings assuage concerns that cognitively impaired older adults have skewed perceptions of their personal networks.
Does Congress Still Care about Fraud, Waste, and Abuse: Yes, A Descriptive Analysis of Bills and Hearings, 1993–2016

Public administration scholars have taken up the study of fraud, waste, and abuse, but typically from an executive or bureaucratic perspective. The aim of this paper is to deepen what we know about...
“Rapid Response to IR!”:Three Case Studies Reviewed

Abstract Rapid Response Systems (RRSs) have significantly evolved since they were introduced in the early 1990s. Today, in many healthcare institutions, Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) are activated at the first sign of clinical deterioration to provide appropriate expertise and resources to prevent negative patient outcomes. Interventional radiology departments around the world perform a wide range of procedures, both simple and complex. These procedures, although medically necessary, are performed with known risks and can be further complicated by the patient’s comorbidities. When complications and emergencies occur, activating a Rapid Response Team allows for the necessary medical, surgical, nursing, and pharmaceutical management of the patient and ensures proper escalation and transfer of care. This article presents three clinical case studies of patients that underwent routine interventional radiology procedures but ultimately experienced clinical deterioration causing the activation of the Rapid Response System. Complications are explored, radiology nursing care considerations are reviewed, and the history, benefits, and application of Rapid Response Systems are discussed.
Conceptual Approach to the Ideas of Middle School Algebra

This chapter begins by demonstrating how the basic ideas of algebra can be integrated into the curriculum at the early elementary level by teaching young children to use letters as descriptors of actions or objects on which actions have been carried out. These descriptors play the role of vicarious (informal) variables—the building blocks of algebraic equations which serve as mathematical models of simple real-life situations. Even at the kindergarten level, children are introduced to what may be called early algebra by learning to describe visual patterns using letters as they refer to visual representation of the AB pattern symbolism. Another approach to early algebra is through solving word problems without using formal mathematical actions on variables (see Sect. 9.8). Typically, solving a middle school word problem involves constructing a linear equation or a system of linear equations and using algebraic transformations to find the unknown(s). That is, a formal problem-solving strategy in middle school algebra is to move from equations to unknowns with the goal to replace unknowns by numbers.