cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sclerosing angiomatoid nodular transformation of the spleen: A case report of thrombocytopenia and a hypervascular splenic mass.

Abstract Introduction Sclerosing Angiomatoid Nodular Transformation of the spleen is a benign vascular lesion with no known etiology. Presentation of Case We report a new case in a symptomatic twenty-one-year old female with thrombocytopenia and a hypervascular splenic mass discovered on ultrasound. Two MRIs were performed prior to hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy. The specimen was sent for histopathologic analysis with confirmation of final diagnosis from an outside facility. Discussion Sclerosing Angiomatoid Nodular Transformation of the spleen is most often discovered incidentally as a solitary splenic mass. The presence of a spoke-wheel pattern should alert the radiologist to this as a possibility. Conclusion Ultrasound and MR imaging findings can be used to accurately diagnose cases of splenic Sclerosing Angiomatoid Nodular Transformation. Susceptibility artifact within the lesion may be directly related to the amount of iron deposition.
Donald J. Trump, the White Evangelicals, and Martin Luther: A Hypothesis:

At first consideration, it would appear that Donald Trump would be the least likely Republican presidential candidate to win the votes of conservative white Evangelicals. And yet the thrice married...
8-bit Precision In-Memory Multiplication with Projected Phase-Change Memory

In-memory computing is an emerging non-von Neumann approach in which certain computational tasks such as matrix-vector multiplication are performed using resistive memory devices organized in a crossbar array. However, the conductance variations associated with the memory devices limit the precision of this computation. Here, we demonstrate that the so-called projected phase-change memory (Proj-PCM) devices can achieve 8-bit precision while performing scalar multiplication. The devices were fabricated and characterized using electrical measurements and STEM investigation. They are found to be remarkably immune to conductance variations arising from structural relaxation, $1/f$ noise and temperature variations. Moreover, it is possible to compensate for the temperature-dependent conductance variations in a crossbar array using a simple model. Finally, we experimentally demonstrate a neural network-based image classification task involving 30 such Proj-PCM devices.
Term birth weight and ambient air pollutant concentrations during pregnancy, among women living in Monroe County, New York.

Increased ambient air pollutant concentrations during pregnancy have been associated with reduced birth weight, but the etiologically relevant pregnancy time window(s) is/are unclear. In 76,500 singleton births in Monroe County, NY (2005–2016), who were 37–42 gestational weeks at delivery, we used generalized linear models to regress term birth weight against mean gestational month pollutant concentrations, adjusting for mean temperature, and maternal, infant, and medical service use characteristics. Overall, there were no clear patterns of term birth weight change associated with increased concentrations of any pollutant across gestational months. However, among Hispanic women only, increases in all pollutants, except O3, in multiple gestational months, were associated with decreased term birth weight. Each 3.25 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 concentration in the 6th gestational month was associated with a −20.4 g (95% CI = −34.0, −6.8) reduction in term birth weight among Hispanic women, but a 4.1 g (95% CI = −2.5, 10.8) increase among non-Hispanic mothers (p for interaction < 0.001). Although ambient air pollutant concentrations during pregnancy were not associated with reduced term birth weight among women of all ethnicities living in Monroe County, this observed association in Hispanic mothers may be a result of less exposure misclassification and bias (due to closer residential proximity to the monitoring site).
Lung cyst and multinodular thyroid goiter: Keys to DICER1 syndrome diagnosis in a 16-year-old female

Pulmonary cysts and neoplasms, especially congenital or occurring at a young age, should be thoroughly investigated. Evaluation for DICER1 mutations should be performed if there is a family history of this syndrome, the lung cyst/neoplasm is a pleuropulmonary blastoma, or other clinical manifestations of this syndrome are present or develop.
Examining the Sentence of Life without Parole in Kentucky Homicide Cases

This study examines the issue of prosecutorial discretion and the decision to offer a plea of life without parole (LWOP) in Kentucky death-eligible homicide cases (2000–2016). Using focal concerns ...
The effect of expressive writing on sexual risk behavior among college women.

OBJECTIVE The current study tested an expressive writing intervention aimed at reducing alcohol use and sexual risk behavior among college women that consume alcohol. Methods: A 2 X 2 mixed between- within-subjects experimental design was utilized to test the effect of expressive writing on alcohol use and sexual risk behavior over time among college women that drink. Study participants completed baseline assessments of alcohol use and sexual risk behavior and were randomly assigned to either a control writing condition (first day of college) or an expressive writing condition (negative alcohol-related event). Participants completed baseline assessments 30 days later. Data for this study were collected in the Fall 2017 semester. Results: A significant interaction effect was found for writing condition over time on sexual risk behavior. Conclusion: Findings provide preliminary support for the use of expressive writing as mechanism to reduce sexual risk behavior among college women that consume alcohol.
Satellite Data Analysis of the Upper Ocean Response to Hurricane Dorian (2019) in the North Atlantic Ocean

A suite of satellite-derived data and high-resolution ocean model outputs were used to study the response of the upper ocean to Hurricane Dorian (2019), which impacted the Bahamas and the eastern coast of the United States in August and September of 2019. We observe enhanced upwelling that in conjunction with surface cooling from precipitation led to an approximate 4 °C drop in sea surface temperature (SST) along and slightly ahead of Dorian's path. The upwelling also increased the local coastal chlorophyll-a levels. Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) sea surface salinity (SSS) shows a clear eye and eye wall structure on September 4 (the day of peak intensity), which has never been seen due to the recency of the SMAP satellite's launch and the strength of Hurricane Dorian (2019). The initial forecast path of Hurricane Dorian was set to travel northward through central Florida; however, we can see from satellite observations that a high-pressure system in the north Atlantic redirects the path of the hurricane offshore. We show a clear upper ocean response to Hurricane Dorian using satellite observations and hope that this multiparameter approach can improve the current quantification of air-sea interactions during Category 5 conditions.
Epilepsy in Women

Women and men with epilepsy are different. A gender-specific approach is warranted for women with epilepsy as unique concerns must be considered in their management with respect to endocrinologic and reproductive health. In some women, their seizures are tightly linked to the occurrence of their menstrual cycle, otherwise known as catamenial epilepsy. Therapeutic options include pulse dose medication (i.e., acetazolamide) and hormonal supplementation. The rise in estrogen and fall in progesterone may aggravate seizures in hormonally sensitive women. It is helpful to maintain a seizure diary in girls and women with epilepsy. This will allow assessment of a potential relationship for some women with hormonal influences involved during menarche through menopause. Enzyme-inducing antiseizure medication may inactivate hormonal contraception and make an unexpected pregnancy more likely. In contrast, fertility may be compromised in women with epilepsy by chronic antiseizure medication and become associated with polycystic ovarian syndrome with systemic consequence on general health. The choice of antiseizure medication is an important factor in women with epilepsy from childhood into the elder years.
The psychological and economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on Latina mothers in primarily low-income essential worker families

The COVID-19 pandemic will have widespread health, economic, and psychological consequences Reports indicate the Latino community is particularly vulnerable to the economic and health risks of this pandemic as a consequence of systemic oppression Latina mothers, in particular, are navigating the pandemic from their racialized, gendered, and classed positions while caring for children and families These factors are likely to have a significant psychological toll The sample consisted of 70 Latina mothers The majority of the families (72%) contained at least one employed adult, of which 91 7% were essential workers Factors associated with stress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms during the initial March 20 to June 1, 2020, California "shelter in place" mandate were assessed via phone survey using validated measures and Likert-scale items created for the study Receipt of the federal stimulus check on stress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms was also assessed Due to the pandemic, 52 7% of the mothers reported being forced to engage in economic cutbacks Mothers' experiences of stress during the outbreak stem from worries about themselves contracting the virus and making economic cutbacks Economic cutbacks were also associated with greater reports of depressive and anxiety symptoms Receiving the stimulus payment did not reduce economic cutbacks, contract worries, stress, or depressive and anxiety symptoms Findings highlight the pandemic's immediate economic toll on Latino families Further, these economic implications seem to be having downstream effects on mothers' psychological well-being, which were not alleviated by the stimulus payment (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
The Social Cost of a Racially Targeted Police Encounter 1

This paper identifies the individual components of social harm associated with a hypothetical racially targeted police encounter. Individuals who believe they are being targeted by police because they are members of a racial minority may suffer from fear of physical harm and humiliation by the encounter itself. However, the very fact that individuals will be racially targeted for a police encounter also causes harm to other members of the minority group even if they are not directly subject to an unwarranted encounter. In addition to fear and anxiety over the risk of such an encounter, they will often undertake costly avoidance behaviors to reduce their risk, or to mitigate the risk of any harm if such an encounter occurs. In addition, other members of society who value a nondiscriminatory policing policy might be willing to pay to reduce such unwarranted police encounters, and hence suffer a loss from this policing policy. In addition to discussing possible methodologies for estimating these cost components, this paper raises several issues that must be resolved – such as how to deal with the difference between perceived and actual racially targeted police encounters.
Probing the lattice structure of dynamically compressed and released single crystal iron through the alpha to epsilon phase transition

Experiments using broadband Laue x-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to examine the lattice structure of dynamically compressed [100]-oriented single crystal iron samples at the Dynamic Compression Sector at the Advanced Photon Source. These experiments used 1 μm thick iron single crystal samples sandwiched between a polyimide ablator and a polycarbonate window. A 100 J, 10 ns duration laser pulse incident on the polyimide ablator was used to shock compress the iron samples to initial stresses greater than 25 GPa, exceeding the ∼ 13 GPa alpha (body-centered-cubic or bcc structure) to epsilon (hexagonal-close-packed or hcp structure) phase transition stress. XRD measurements were performed at various times relative to the shock wave entering the iron sample: early times, <∼ 150 ps while the initial shock waves propagated through the iron; intermediate times, after the iron equilibrated with the ablator and window reaching a plateau stress state (12 or 17 GPa) lasting several nanoseconds; and late times, during uniaxial strain release. The early time measurements show that in < ∼ 150 ps, the high-pressure hcp phase is relaxed with a c / a ratio of 1.61, contrary to previous laser shock experiments where a c / a ratio of 1.7 was inferred. In the plateau stress state and partially released states, XRD measurements showed that the hcp structure retained a c / a ratio of 1.61 with no observable changes in the microstructure. Upon stress release at ∼ 1 GPa/ns release rate, the reverse phase transition (hcp to bcc) to the original single crystal orientation (implying a transformation memory effect) was observed to reach completion somewhere between 13 and 11 GPa, indicating little stress hysteresis under rapid uniaxial strain release. A similar memory effect for the reverse hcp to bcc transformation has been previously observed under hydrostatic compression. However, the bcc/hcp orientation relationships differ somewhat between dynamic and static compression experiments, implying that the transformation pathway under uniaxial dynamic strain differs from the Burgers mechanism.
Survivable Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors Placement against Single Link Failure

Empowered by the rapid advancement of fiber optic sensing techniques in recent years, network carriers are able to upgrade their network infrastructure beyond the basic communication services with extra sensing applications and services (e.g., monitoring traffic and road condition, leakage detection, etc.), thus evolving to a new era of Infrastructure-as-a-Sensor (IaaSr) or Network-as-a-Sensor (NaaSr). When network carriers upgrade their network infrastructures with distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS) technique to provide IaaSr services, there will arise a critical challenge: how to provide survivable (or reliable) IaaSr services against network failures (e.g., fiber cut). In this work, for the first time, we investigate the problem of survivable DFOS placement against single link failure. More specifically, we study where to place the primary and backup sensors and how to assign the primary and backup fiber sensing routes, with the objective of minimizing the number of sensors used. We formulate the problem using Integer Linear Programming (ILP) to facilitate the optimal solution. In addition, we propose a set of efficient heuristic algorithms to solve the problem in a fast manner. In particular, the proposed Shared-one algorithm provides a cost-efficient shared protection, through a one-step global optimization of the assignment of primary and backup DFOS placement. We conduct extensive simulations to evaluate the performance of the proposed solutions. We find out that Shared-one can achieve a close-to-optimal performance, compared to the ILP optimal results, while outperforming the other heuristic solutions with an average performance improvement by at least 16%.
Responding to a simulated disaster in the virtual or live classroom: Is there a difference in BSN student learning?

Abstract Aim This study aim was to investigate if prelicensure baccalaureate nursing students gained more knowledge from a live or virtual disaster simulation. The study goal was to inform the use of e-learning or traditional textbooks in undergraduate nursing population health courses. Background Weather-related disasters have increased in frequency and severity in the past ten years, with 2020 being the most active storm season ever seen ( National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, 2021 .) Even with advances in early warning systems and mitigation efforts, educating student nurses in disaster response remains a priority. Due to the impact of Covid-19 quarantine policies, many in-person student learning labs and clinical experiences were cancelled. However, virtual simulation offers an alternative to developing nursing student skills and clinical reasoning ability ( Aebersold, 2018 ; Fogg et al., 2020 ). Design A randomized quasi-experimental, repeated measures 2 × 2 crossover design ( Kim, 2018 ) was applied, which allowed students to participate in both the live and virtual simulations. Methods Analysis was conducted using paired samples t-test to evaluate knowledge gains. To measure students’ self-assessment of knowledge, Unver et al. (2018) 12-item survey was administered. To explore students’ own perceptions about the disaster simulations, semi-structured interview questions were offered through private Wiki postings. The responses were analyzed using Saldana’s in vivo coding (2015) and thematic analysis. Results Students retained more empirical knowledge following the virtual assignment as compared to the disaster simulation, except in two items addressing triage. Neither age, years of education, or GPA impacted test results. However, students’ own assessment of learning did not differ between live and virtual simulations. In all but three items, students perceived a significant increase (p In narrative responses, students overwhelmingly cited the benefit of an in-person simulation. However, they did not believe that they were prepared adequately for the live simulation. They also expressed that they would be more prepared if the simulation was repeated. Students expressed discomfort, even distress, regarding not being able to care adequately for everyone, even though it was a simulation (See Table 5). This highlighted that live simulations can affect students emotionally, and follow-up debriefing is essential to help in both acknowledging and processing student feelings. Conclusion These findings, which support the use of virtual disaster training in nursing education, are especially important in the light of Covid-19 and increasing threat of storm disasters.
Placental cadmium, placental genetic variations, and birth size.

BACKGROUND Maternal cadmium (Cd) burden has been associated with offspring birth size measures, yet associations of placental Cd with birth size are less clear. Further, the role of genetics in these associations has not been examined. We investigated associations of placental Cd with birth size and placental genotypes. We also examined the potential role of placental genotypes as modifiers of placental Cd and birth size associations. METHODS Participants were 490 mother-child pairs from the Omega and Placenta Microarray studies based in Seattle, WA. Placental Cd was measured using Agilent 7500 ICP-MS. The birth size was characterized using birth weight (BW), ponderal index (PI), and head circumference (HC). Eleven placental single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to metal transport, growth regulation, endocrine response, and cell signaling were genotyped. Adjusted multivariable linear regression models were used to examine overall and sex-specific associations of placental Cd with birth size (BW, PI and HC), as well as associations of placental genotypes with placental Cd. Effect modification of placenta Cd and birth size associations by placental SNPs was examined using interaction terms and stratified analyses. RESULTS Mean maternal age was 33.6 years (SD = 4.4). Mean and median placental Cd levels were 4.0 ng/g tissue (SD = 2.7 ng/g tissue) and 3.6 ng/g (IQR 2.5 - 5.2 ng/g), respectively. Overall, compared with infants in the lowest quartile for placental Cd, infants in the second (s = -102.8 g, 95% CI: -220.7, 15.1), third (s = -83.2 g, 95% CI: -199.3, 32.9) and fourth (s = -109.2 g, 95% CI: -225.4, 7.1) quartiles had lower BW, though associations were not statistically significant (all p-values > .05, trend p-value = .11). Among male infants, infants in the second (s = -203.3 g, 95% CI: -379.7, -27.0) and fourth quartiles (s = -198.3 g, 95% CI: -364.2, -32.5) had lower BW compared with those in the first quartiles (p-values < .05, trend p-value = .08). Similar relationships were not observed among female infants, though infant sex-placental Cd interaction terms were not significant. Similarly, male, but not female, infants had marginally significant positive associations between placental Cd and ponderal index (trend p-value = .06). The minor rs3811647 allele of the placental transferrin gene (NCBI Gene ID: 7018) was associated with an increase in Cd among all infants (p-value = .04). We did not find differences in associations of placental Cd with birth size markers among infants stratified by rs3811647 genotype. CONCLUSIONS Placental Cd was inversely associated with BW among male infants. The rs3811647 SNP of the transferrin gene was associated with placental Cd.
INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS FOR INTERSECTION COLLISION AVOIDANCE

This paper will describe conceptual outlines of possible infrastructure intersection collision avoidance systems. The infrastructure concepts represent countermeasures for crossing path crashes at intersections. Crossing path crashes involve one vehicle cutting across the path of another, both initially traveling from either perpendicular or opposite directions, in such a way that they collide. Infrastructure-based intersection collision avoidance systems use roadside sensors, processors, and warning devices; roadside-vehicle communication devices; and traffic signals to provide driving assistance to motorists.
Evaluation of Behavioral Distress Tolerance Task Stability Across Settings

EVALUATION OF BEHAVIORAL DISTRESS TOLERANCE TASK STABILITY ACROSS SETTINGS By Cassie Overstreet, BA A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015. Major Director: Ananda Amstadter, Ph.D. Affiliate Associate Professor of Psychology Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Human and Molecular Genetics Distress tolerance (DT) is considered to be a trait-like factor encompassing an individual’s behavioral and/or perceived ability to withstand negative affective states. Behavioral measures of DT are being increasingly utilized, however, these tasks have been implemented in studies prior to thoroughly establishing the psychometric properties. The present study aimed to evaluate the reliability of two DT behavioral tasks (Breath-Holding Task [BHT], computer-based Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task [PASAT-C]) in different settings (laboratory, online) among a sample of college students. Participants completed the tasks during two sessions, approximately one week apart. 52 participants were in the laboratory condition, and 65 were in the online condition. There were three main findings: a) test-retest reliability estimates were within acceptable ranges for both the BHT and PASAT-C, b) BHT performance differed significantly by modality while PASAT-C performance did not, c) number of distractors endorsed was not significantly associated with quit latency on either task.
Resveratrol ameliorates TNFα-mediated suppression of erythropoiesis in human CD34(+) cells via modulation of NF-κB signalling.

Overexpression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), has been implicated in the pathogenesis of anaemia of inflammation. TNFα suppresses erythroid colony formation via both direct and indirect effects on haematopoietic progenitors, often involving activation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB signalling resulting in downregulation of transcription factors critical for erythropoiesis. There is a dearth of effective and safe therapies for many patients with inflammatory anaemia. Resveratrol is a flavanol found in red wine grapes that possesses potent anti-inflammatory properties, but studies of its impact on human erythropoiesis have proven contradictory. We investigated whether resveratrol ameliorates TNFα-mediated suppression of erythropoiesis in human CD34+ haematopoietic progenitors. We found that resveratrol partially reverses the erythroid suppressive effects of TNFα, leading to significant recovery in burst forming unit-erythroid colony formation in human CD34+ cells. CD34+ cells pre-incubated with resveratrol for 72 h in the presence of TNFα inhibited NF-κB activation via decreased NF-κB nuclear localization without altering total NF-κB protein levels and independent of IκB degradation. Resveratrol also significantly restored the baseline expression of erythroid transcription factors NFE2 and the GATA1/GATA2 ratio in CD34+ cells treated with TNFα. In conclusion, resveratrol may inhibit TNFα-mediated NF-κB activation and promote erythropoiesis in primary human CD34+ cells.
Improving Long-Term Renal Allograft Survival via a Road Less Traveled By

It has become cliche to state that improvements in early renal allograft survival over the past two decades have not led to increased long-term renal allograft survival. However, it is not clear how long-term graft survival can be improved. Here, we present the viewpoint that the road forward does not involve searching for new and more ideal immunosuppressive regimens, but rather detailed patient follow-up to identify specific causes of late renal allograft loss and the development of new therapy designed to address these problems before allograft damage becomes irreversible.
Attitudes Regarding Action Learning: Undergraduate Vs. Graduate Business Students

Previous research in our Action Learning Program demonstrated that although undergraduates preferred the Action Learning mode to the traditional lecture and discussion mode of instruction, they missed the familiar structure of the more traditional pedagogy. Consequently increased structure was implemented in both an undergraduate and graduate marketing course utilizing the Action Learning mode. Students’ reactions to the modified courses were assessed. Although both undergraduate and graduate approval of these courses was high, the reasons for the approval were quite different. The undergraduates placed significant emphasis on the pedagogical issues while graduate students focused on skills they obtained in the course and the fact that the course related to their career/job. These results have had significant impact on the redesign of both courses.
Towards Building Resilient Scientific Applications: Resilience Analysis on the Impact of Soft Error and Transient Error Tolerance with the CLAMR Hydrodynamics Mini-App

In this paper, we present a resilience analysis of the impact of soft errors on CLAMR, a hydrodynamics miniapp for high performance computing (HPC). Leveraging the conservation of mass law, we design a fault detection mechanism and checkpoint/restart fault tolerance approach to enhance the resilience of CLAMR. Overall, our approach can detect up to 88.3% of faults that propagate into SDC or crashes with minimal (less than 1%) overhead for the optimal configuration. We show that CLAMR's fault-tolerance depends on when a fault is injected into the simulation and we also evaluate the frequency of detection and checkpointing on performance.
An antibody directed against the carboxyl-terminal decapeptide of the alpha subunit of the retinal GTP-binding protein, transducin. Effects on transducin function.

An antibody (AS/7) prepared against the carboxyl-terminal decapeptide of the alpha subunit of transducin (alpha T) has been used in various reconstitution studies aimed at characterizing the role of the carboxyl-terminal domain in the different functional activities of transducin. The peptide-specific antibody is a potent inhibitor of the rhodopsin-stimulated GTPase activity in phospholipid vesicle systems containing pure rhodopsin and pure holo-transducin, or rhodopsin and the purified alpha T and beta/gamma (beta gamma T) subunit components, with the highest levels of inhibition (80-95%) occurring under conditions where the molar ratio of holo-transducin (or alpha T) to AS/7 approximately equal to 1. The inhibition of the receptor-stimulated GTPase does not represent an interference in the interactions between the alpha T subunit and the beta gamma T complex, since essentially identical levels of inhibition are observed when AS/7 is preincubated with either free alpha T, holo-transducin, or alpha T in the presence of excess beta gamma T, prior to assay. The AS/7-induced inhibition also does not appear to reflect an alteration in the ability of alpha T to bind or hydrolyze GTP and, in fact, the incubation of alpha T with AS/7 results in a stimulation of the intrinsic GTPase activity for alpha T alone (i.e. in the absence of rhodopsin). Thus, we conclude that the inhibition of the rhodopsin-stimulated GTPase activity by AS/7 is due to the direct blocking (by the antibody) of rhodopsin-alpha T interactions. While AS/7 is capable of uncoupling rhodopsin-transducin interactions, it appears to promote the stimulation of the cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase (PDE) by an activated alpha T subunit. Specifically, when the pure alpha T-guanosine 5-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (alpha TGTP gamma S) species is preincubated with AS/7 prior to its addition to an assay solution containing PDE, there is at least a 4-fold increase in the resultant cyclic GMP hydrolysis relative to the activities measured with alpha TGTP gamma S, alone, or with alpha TGTP gamma S preincubated with nonimmune (control) rabbit IgG. The AS/7-induced promotion is specific for the active form of alpha T; the inactive alpha TGDP species does not stimulate PDE activity either in the presence or absence of the antibody. The different effects by AS/7 on the various activities of the alpha T subunit highlight the existence of distinct functional domains on alpha T.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Worm and attack early warning: piercing stealthy reconnaissance

The author describes some aspects of the Worminator project (http://worminator.cs.columbia.edu), a collaboration of academic institutions pursuing RD specifically network observables, that are precursors to malicious activities during a later attack stage. The project aims to measure and significantly increase the warning time for a zero-day attack (an attack against an unreported vulnerability) to give security analysts and decision makers time to take preventive steps and for automated adaptive response mechanisms to reconfigure IT infrastructures to minimize the impact and losses.
Modulation of Drosophila Slowpoke Calcium-Dependent Potassium Channel Activity by Bound Protein Kinase A Catalytic Subunit

Drosophila Slowpoke (dSlo) calcium-dependent potassium channels bind directly to the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKAc). We demonstrate here that coexpression of PKAc with dSlo in mammalian cells results in a dramatic decrease of dSlo channel activity. This modulation requires catalytically active PKAc but is not mediated by phosphorylation of S942, the only PKA consensus site in the dSlo C-terminal domain. dSlo binds to free PKAc but not to the PKA holoenzyme that includes regulatory subunits and is inactive. Activators of endogenous PKA that stimulate dSlo phosphorylation, but do not produce detectable PKAc binding to dSlo, do not modulate channel function. Furthermore, the catalytically inactive PKAc mutant does bind to dSlo but does not modulate channel activity. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that both binding of active PKAc to dSlo and phosphorylation of dSlo or some other protein are necessary for channel modulation.
Teaching Science in Higher Education: Faculty Professional Development and Barriers to Change

The focus of this research was to better understand the change processes necessary for university science teaching reform to be successful. The professional development processes involved faculty cognitive perceptions of learning, teaching skills, and pedagogical knowledge, as well as faculty culture in teaching science courses. A series of faculty development programs were conducted at nine U.S. locations to explore, develop strategies, and implement changes in science classrooms. A review of research and these professional development experiences provided a base to carry out research activities related to understanding change in science faculty. Faculty participants in the program from 30 institutions were selected to be involved in the study. Ethnographic and case study approaches were used to collect and analyze data. Many faculty members encountered in this study had conceptions of the change process that inhibited successful action. These research efforts provide a predictive model for assisting faculty change and help determine which faculty professional development efforts may be successful in overcoming barriers to change in undergraduate science classrooms.
Resilience after 9/11: Multimodal neuroimaging evidence for stress-related change in the healthy adult brain

Exposure to psychological trauma is common and predicts long-term physical and mental health problems, even in those who initially appear resilient. Here, we used multimodal neuroimaging in healthy adults who were at different distances from the World Trade Center on 9/11/01 to examine the neural mechanisms that may underlie this association. More than 3 years after 9/11/01, adults with closer proximity to the disaster had lower gray matter volume in amygdala, hippocampus, insula, anterior cingulate, and medial prefrontal cortex, with control for age, gender, and total gray matter volume. Further analysis showed a nonlinear (first-order quadratic) association between total number of traumas in lifetime and amygdala gray matter volume and function in the whole group. Post hoc analysis of subgroups with higher versus lower levels of lifetime trauma exposure revealed systematic associations between amygdala gray matter volume, amygdala functional reactivity, and anxiety that suggest a nonlinear trajectory in the neural response to accumulated trauma in healthy adults.
Ligands and electrons and haem proteins

The crystal structure of the liganded form of a cytochrome c' shows significant structural changes that may be connected with dimer dissociation while NMR studies show how a single electron can cause a large repositioning of a cytochrome P450 substrate.
Effects of fuel Lewis number on nitric oxide emission of diluted H2 turbulent jet diffusion flames

Abstract Results are reported on the effect of fuel Lewis number ( Le F ) in turbulent jet diffusion flames of diluted H 2 fuels. The results include the flame temperature, the emission index of nitric oxides (EINO x ), and the Damkohler number ( Da ) scaling of EINO x ( EINO x /[ L f 3 /d F 2 U F ] = Da n , where L f , d F , and U F are flame length, jet diameter, and jet exit velocity, respectively), which has been previously established. The effect of Le F was found to exist, although diminished in turbulent flames. Depending on the level and the type of dilution, the diluent that resulted in a lower value of Le F also had a higher flame temperature and produced larger values of both EINO x and the normalized emission index EINO x /[ L f 3 /d F 2 U F ], which is also considered as the global NO formation rate of the flame. The exponent n = −1/2 was reproduced for the present He-diluted flames whose Le F ≈ 1.0. For Ar- and CO 2 -diluted flames with Le F ≥ 1.0 (20% and 40% dilution), n = −1/2 was also preserved. For dilution with 60% Ar or CO 2 , whose Le F are 0.68 and 0.528, respectively, the exponent n was found to be positive. These results suggest the significant effects of Le F on NO x emission from turbulent diffusion flames.
The Modeling Enterprise and Security Studies

The modeling enterprise is a way of trying to improve our understanding of empirical phenomena. Models serve in this enterprise as a tool for disciplining our thinking about the world, and formal models instill a particular type of discipline. Formalization provides a kind of “accounting standard” that can often help us think through some issues more carefully than ordinary-language arguments can. Just as good accounting standards make a arm’s anancial situation more transparent to those inside the arm and those outside it, formalization makes arguments more transparent to those making them and to those to whom they are made. When mathematical models are well constructed, they offer us a relatively “clear and precise language for communicating ideas and intuitions.” 1 The contribution that such a standard has to offer to security studies is likely to appear small to those who believe that nonformal or traditional work has already proved its power by amassing a large number of well-established empirical regularities and theoretical explanations of them. By contrast, the beneat of a more transparent standard will seem much higher to those who believe that security studies, like much of international relations theory, has established few robust empirical regularities; to those who have been frustrated to see that almost any outcome can be “explained” after the fact in a way that makes it consistent with existing theories; and to those who have repeatedly tried to formalize many widely held ordinary-language arguments in international relations theory (e.g., anarchy induces a concern for relative gains, anarchy leads to a tendency to balance, and a balance of power is more stable than a preponderance of power), only to and that these arguments are, at best, seriously incomplete and in need of signiacant qualiacation.
Genetic Evidence Confirms the Presence of Pygmy Rabbits in Colorado

Abstract The pygmy rabbit Brachylagus idahoensis is a sagebrush-obligate species of conservation concern that occurs in the Great Basin and adjacent intermountain areas in the western United States...
Changes in health status subsequent to nursing home closure

Despite the negative nomenclature used to describe interinstitutional relocation of elders—such as relocation stress—research on the detrimental effects of these relocations has so far provided equivocal results. In our analyses we use six years of data from the Minimum Data Set and 301 nursing home residents. We determine some detrimental effects of interinstitutional relocation on changes in cognitive performance, depression, and social engagement. The effects identified were small. Nonetheless, the changes in outcomes identified may be important in the nursing home setting and we believe the continued study of the effects of interinstitutional relocation is important.
More Than Four In Five Office-Based Physicians Could Qualify For Federal Electronic Health Record Incentives

Our analyses of federal survey data show that more than four in five office-based physicians could qualify for new federal incentive payments to encourage the adoption and "meaningful use" of electronic health records, based on the numbers of Medicare or Medicaid patients they see. The incentives are thus likely to accelerate the spread of electronic health records. However, our analyses also indicate that eligibility for the incentives is likely to vary by specialty: 90.6 percent of physicians working in general or family practice or internal medicine could qualify for incentives, but fewer than two-thirds of pediatricians, obstetrician-gynecologists, and psychiatrists may qualify. Eligibility and use will also vary by factors such as size and type of practice; physicians in solo practice are much less likely to use electronic health records than physicians in other practice settings. We suggest actions that policy makers can take to lessen disparities and increase the adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records.
Personal preferences and intensification of land use: their impact on southern Cameroonian slash-and-burn agroforestry systems

Where long forest-fallows are no longer practiced, productivity declines in the absence of input substitution, as does the ability of subsistence farmers to earn an adequate livelihood from shifting cultivation. Land availability, population density and productivity-related factors such as soil fertility and labour requirements are not the only factors that affect fallow length and land use intensification in shifting cultivation agroforestry systems. Households surveyed indicated that various other decision criteria (e.g., proximity to other fields and the protection of land use rights) are important in land use decisions. Even though one quarter of households reported insufficient land resources to maintain soil fertility, few actually indicated that their choices were constrained by land availability. In fact, many cleared much younger fallows than strictly necessary based on the age of fallows available in their land holdings – even those with fallows of sufficient age to maintain long-term productivity. This paper outlines an approach to quantify information about the household preferences that influence land use decisions, discusses the implications of these decision criteria for land use intensification and uses them to model household decision-making in a way that effectively simulates the spatial and dynamic mosaic of land use characteristic of shifting cultivation. Not only are non-productivity related decision criteria important in land use decisions in general; they also have a significant impact on land use intensification. In fact, the research described here demonstrates that both household-specific preferences and household-specific initial conditions can lead to intensification of land use apart from that arising due to increasing population density.
Computer evaluation of gas chromatographic profiles for the correlation of quality differences in cold pressed orange oils

Abstract Cold pressed orange-peel oils were evaluated by essential-oil experts and analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography. The chromatographic data were correlated using a computer program that determined mathematical combinations of peak areas that served to distinguish between the samples. A set of sample component ratios was ascertained which, when calculated for each sample, yielded values that ranked the samples in the same order as the experts.
Minimizing the average cost of paging under delay constraints

Efficient paging procedures help minimize the amount of bandwidth expended in locating a mobile unit. Given a probability distribution on user location, it is shown that the optimal paging strategy which minimizes the expected number of locations polled $E[L]$ is to query each location sequentially in order of decreasing probability. However, since sequential search over many locations may impose unacceptable polling delay, D, optimal paging subject to delay constraints is considered. It is shown that substantial reductions in E[L] can be had even after moderate constraints are imposed on acceptable D (i.e., D \leq 3). Since all methods of mobility management eventually reduce to considering a time-varying probability distribution on user location, this work should be applicable to a wide range of problems in the area. most notably those with additive cost structures.
Understanding communicative cues of infants with down syndrome: Effects of mothers' experience and infants' age

Abstract Eighty mothers, half with Down syndrome (DS) infants and half with non-handicapped (NH) infants, were asked to watch videotaped segments of infants, half of whom were DS and half of whom were NH. Infants were matched for mental ages (MA) of 7, 10, and 16 months. Mothers were instructed to push a button whenever infants acted in a way they found salient, a measure which we believe reflects infant readability. Controlling for maternal education, mothers of DS infants noted more acts overall than mothers of NH infants. Only at 7 months MA were DS infants seen as less readable than NH infants. All mothers found infants, both DS and NH, more readable with age. These results provide justification for intervening early with parents of DS infants, helping parents identify the more subtle nature of the preverbal cuing of their young infants.
Contribution of conduction to total infant energy expenditure

Abstract Two methods were compared to determine the conductive heat loss in ten healthy newborn infants; (1) direct use of heat flux meters, and (2) indirect calculation by infrared thermographic calorimetry (ITC). ITC uses an infrared camera and heat theory equations to determine heat loss in humans. No significant difference was found between the two methods for determining conductive heat loss (p>0.05). Instantaneous conductive heat loss was found to be as high as 53% of total energy expenditure when infants were initially placed on a room temperature mattress, with an exponential decline to steady state after 10 min. Conductive heat loss at steady state was 1.06±0.45 kcal/h, or 6.0±2.05% of total energy expenditure.
Fatty acid synthetases from Euglena gracilis.

Abstract Fatty acid synthetases catalyzing the TPNH-dependent incorporation of acetyl-CoA and malonyl-CoA into long-chain fatty acids have been isolated from both etiolated and green cells of Euglena gracilis , strain Z. Conditions for growing the phytoflagellate determine the type of enzyme activity. Synthetase isolated from dark-grown Euglena is a complex of high molecular weight that produces in the main palmitate and shorter-chain acids and does so in the absence of added acyl carrier protein. By contrast, cells grown in the light on a mineral medium yield two distinct and separable fatty acid synthetases. One has the same properties as the synthetase found in the dark-grown cells. The second enzyme system present in extracts of green Euglena depends for activity on added acyl carrier protein and appears to be composed of individual, nonaggregating enzymes. Stearate and longer-chain acids are the main products of this second system.
In situ stereocomplexing polymerization of methyl methacrylate by diastereospecific metallocene catalyst pairs

This contribution reports the first in situ stereocomplexing polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) using a pair of diastereospecific coordination polymerization catalysts for rapid, high-yield, ambient-temperature production of crystalline stereocomplex poly(methyl methacrylate), sc-PMMA, with high Tm up to 217 °C. The diastereospecific catalyst pair is conveniently generated by in situ activation of a mixture of C2- and Cs-ligated metallocene bis(ester enolate)s with [Ph3C][B(C6F5)4], which is highly active, stereospecific, and controlled for coordination–addition polymerization of MMA to afford crystalline sc-PMMA in typically high to quantitative yields within only minutes of reaction. The isotactic/syndiotactic (it/st) composition of the sc-PMMA materials can be modulated by simply adjusting the relative ratio of the diastereospecific catalysts derived from pre-catalysts such as C2-ligated rac-(EBI)ZrMe[OC(OiPr)CMe2] and Cs-ligated [Ph2C(Cp)(2,7-tBu2-Flu)]Zr[OC(OiPr)CMe2]2; such catalysts have also been used separately to produce highly stereoregular it- and st-PMMAs and their corresponding sc-PMMA transparent film that exhibits nearly idealized characteristics: Mn = 44.2 kDa (vs. the calculated 40.1 kDa), PDI = 1.14, Tg = 96 °C, Tm = 213 °C, mm = 29.2%, rr = 62.3% (it/st ≈ 1/2), and visible transmittance = 92–95%. The in situ PMMA stereocomplexation can also occur in an it/st ratio deviating from the commonly recognized ratio of 1/2. Analysis of two such sc-PMMA materials with it/st ≈ 1/1 and ≈ 1/3 by wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) has revealed essentially the same WAXS profile with nearly identical crystalline diffraction peaks attributed to sc-PMMA. The dynamic light scattering (DLS) results of the in situ stereocomplexing polymerization by a diastereospecific catalyst pair, obtained by monitoring the reaction in real time with DLS, indicate that stereocomplexation occurs as the diastereomeric PMMA chains are continuously growing. The presence of nanocages such as POSS and C60, which can be encapsulated by st-PMMA, in the stereocomplexing MMA polymerization system can completely disrupt or have no effect on the stereocomplexation, or enable both stereocomplexation and inclusion complexation processes to occur, depending on the type of nanocage employed.