cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reduced School Dropout Rates among Adolescent Mothers Receiving School-Based Prenatal Care

Background Adolescent pregnancy is associated with increased school dropout rates. Dropping out amplifies the probability of persistent social and economic disadvantage. Whether school-based health centers might help reduce school absenteeism and dropout rates in this group has not been well studied. Objective To examine the association of school-based prenatal services on school attendance and dropout rates. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, using school rosters from an alternative school, we identified adolescents aged 18 years or younger who delivered a baby between July 1, 1995, and August 30, 1997, in Baltimore, Md. We linked school records spanning 3 years with medical records and birth certificates. School variables such as attendance and dropout rates were examined in relation to the teen's year of pregnancy and prenatal care setting (school-based vs non–school-based). Hierarchical logistic regression was used to examine effects of school-based prenatal care on dropout and promotion or graduation rates, with adjustment for baseline group differences. Results We identified 431 predominantly African American, low-income adolescents who attended the alternative school in their pregnancy school year. In the year prior to pregnancy, most performed poorly in school and had significant absenteeism. During their pregnancy school year, teens receiving school-based prenatal care were absent 12 fewer days, as compared with those receiving non–school-based care ( P = .001), and their dropout rate was half that of those receiving non–school-based care (6% vs 15%; P = .02). Hierarchical logistic regression analyses, with adjustment for baseline prepregnancy differences, demonstrated that teens receiving school-based prenatal care were less likely to drop out of school during the pregnancy year (adjusted odds ratio, 0.39; 95% confidence interval, 0.15-0.99; P = .048). Conclusions Absenteeism and dropout rates were reduced for pregnant adolescents receiving prenatal care at a school-based health center in an urban alternative school. Findings underscore the importance of funding and evaluating school-based health centers and other interventions that may ameliorate negative outcomes among childbearing adolescents.
Verification of Uncertain Knowledge-Based Systems: An Empirical Verification Approach

A number of different tests and approaches are developed to determine the existence of potential anomalies in rule-based systems that employ MYCIN uncertainty factors weights. First, the distribution of weights is compared to other systems' distributions and weights are investigated as to their individual meanings, to determine whether any weights are unusual. Second, there is increasing evidence that people are not "good" at developing weights on rules, building in symmetries and redundancies that signal "usual" assumptions about the underlying probabilities. Accordingly, weight symmetries generated from rule pairs are analyzed to determine the existence of anomalies. Third, typically rule-based tools have been developed for application in specific domains, such as medicine. Unique aspects of those domains may limit application of the tools to other domains. Finally, ad hoc, rule-based approaches are suboptimal, and alternative formal probability approaches, such as Bayes' nets, more fully specify the probabilistic nature of knowledge. The paper is part of the empirical verification literature, where verification is done on an actual system and the system provides data that indicates the kinds of anomalies that can be expected. A case study is used to illustrate each of the verification tests and concerns.
Genetic Analysis of Netrin Genes in Drosophila: Netrins Guide CNS Commissural Axons and Peripheral Motor Axons

Two tandem Netrin genes in Drosophila are expressed at the midline of the developing CNS and in different subsets of neurons, muscles, and epidermal patches. In embryos carrying a small deficiency that deletes both genes, CNS axon commissures are partially missing or thinner. This phenotype is rescued by expressing either Netrin gene at the midline. Pan-neural expression of either gene causes disruption of commissural and longitudinal tracts, indicating that the pattern of Netrin expression is crucial and that Netrins function as instructive cues. The double mutant also shows defects in motor axon projections. Expression of either Netrin gene in all muscles also results in aberrant motor projections. Thus, Drosophila Netrins are required for the guidance of commissural axons at the midline, and of motor axons to their target muscles.
Photosynthesis response by phytoplankton to sunlight variability1

Photosynthetic oxygen evolution and solar irradiance have been measured for phytoplankton cultures kept in a south-facing window greenhouse. Sunrise-sunset periods are considered; measurement and analytical techniques allow examination of a frequency range of =0.23 cy * h-l, and, in one instance, up to 10 cy * h-‘. On sunny days there are morning maxima and afternoon depressions in photosynthesis. Photosynthesis closely tracks irradiance on cloudy and variable days. Cross-spectral analysis of data from variable days shows that photosynthesis responds to changes in irradiance (at l10 cy*h-‘) rather than integrating past irradiance values. A physiological explanation suggestcd for this behavior concerns the redox characteristics of electron carriers involved in noncyclic photosynthetic electron transport. The ecological significance of the time-dependent behavior of photosynthesis is that it compensates for the heterogeneous and uncertain light environment experienced by phytoplankton.
Characteristics of patient visits to nurse practitioners in hospital outpatient departments

Abstract Nurse practitioners (NPs) are the largest and the fastest growing groups among nonphysician practitioners in the United States. However, there has been lack of studies on the supply, demand, and use of nurse practitioners in hospital outpatient departments (OPDs) across the nation. Using the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (1997–2000), this study describes patient visits to NPs in general medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics/gynecology clinics in hospitals across the nation. The percentage of patient visits involving NPs increased from 5.9 percent in 1997 to 7.3 percent in 2000. NPs have greater roles in hospital OPDs in nonmetropolitan areas than in metropolitan areas. Regional difference in patient visits to NPs supports the relationship between the practice environment and the use of NPs. As expected, NPs continue to serve the health care needs of women and children in hospital OPDs. Of all OPD visits with a NP service, NPs saw patients with no presence of a physician in 82 percent of these visits. As the role of the NP evolves in the U.S. health care delivery system, further studies on the clinical practice of NPs in hospital OPDs can help evaluate the impact of NPs in providing quality of patient care at minimum cost.
Poorly Numerate Patients in an Inner City Hospital Misunderstand the American Urological Association Symptom Score

OBJECTIVES To hypothesize that numeracy may also predict patient misunderstanding of the American Urological Association symptom score (AUA-SS). Health literacy consists of document and prose literacy, both considered "traditional" literacy. But, health literacy also comprises quantitative literacy or numeracy. We previously reported that document literacy independently predicts misunderstanding of the AUA-SS. However, the AUA-SS consists of written and numeric information. METHODS Prospective cohort study of male patients who completed a validated, 3-question numeracy test once and the AUA-SS twice, which were self-administered and then interviewer-assisted. These 2 responses were compared with assessed patient understanding of the AUA-SS. Multivariate logistic regression analyses examined the association between patient characteristics and poor understanding of the symptom score, defined as understanding fewer than half of the questions, by calculating the odds ratios and corresponding 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS A total of 571 patients completed the study, with an average age and education level of 58 and 13.5 years, respectively. On the numeracy test, 16%, 18%, 35%, and 31% correctly answered 3, 2, 1, and 0 questions, respectively. After adjusting for the highest educational level completed, written literacy, and demographics, completely innumerate respondents (score = 0 points) were more than 3 times as likely (odds ratio = 3.55; 95% confidence interval: 1.58-7.99; P = .002) to misrepresent their AUA-SS compared with those who had some numeracy (1-3 points). CONCLUSIONS Regardless of educational or literacy status, a significant number of patients self-report AUA-SS scores that are different from interviewer-assisted scores, which may severely limit their access to appropriate care.
A comparative study of the complications of surgical tracheostomy in morbidly obese critically ill patients

Introduction There is little objective comparative information about the postoperative complications of tracheostomy in morbidly obese patients. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and severity of complications associated with open tracheostomy in critically ill morbidly obese patients during hospitalization.
Water Channels: Aquaporins

Aquaporins are members of an ancient family of intrinsic membrane proteins that form pores or channels for water, and so facilitate the flow of water through cellular membranes in the presence of osmotic or hydrostatic gradients. Keywords: membrane channel; membrane pore; MIP family; vasopressin
The effect of nickel on the mechanical behavior of molybdenum P/M steels

This study has examined the effects of nickel alloying additions on the microstructural characteristics and mechanical properties of Fe–xNi–0.85Mo–0.4C-base steels that were powder processed using double-press double-sinter processing to maximize density. The steels were examined in the as-processed condition as well as in a quench-and-temper heat treated condition. Tensile behavior indicates that while nickel content (at levels of 2,4, and 6%) increased tensile strength in the as-sintered condition, it did not significantly affect tensile strength in the quenched and tempered condition. In both conditions increasing Ni content decreased elongation to fracture. The 4% Ni steel, which tended to have the smallest maximum pore size, also exhibited the greatest fatigue strength. 11 12 13 14 15 16
The Prospect of Losing Benefits and the Work Decisions of Participants in Disability Programs A Cross-Program Comparison

Participants in public disability programs face the loss of benefits if they work and earn at substantial levels. Policy makers, researchers, and advocates have suggested that the prospect of benefit loss is, at least in part, an explanation for the low levels of earnings and work participation among disability program participants; however, research on the actual effects is very limited. The authors estimate the prospect of benefit loss effects on work participation and earnings of participants in four disability programs using a unique survey. The findings strongly suggest that the prospect of benefit loss decreases earnings and work participation among disability program participants. Unexpectedly, the authors found little variation in the size of the prospect of benefit loss effects across programs even though there is substantial cross-program variation in the actual benefit loss that occurs with work participation and increased earnings.
Dogwood Anthracnose (Discula destructiva): Effects of and Consequences for Host (Cornus florida) Demography

Abstract Dogwood anthracnose is a disease caused by Discula destructiva, a fungus of probable exotic origin that is a serious threat to natural populations of Cornus florida in the eastern United States. This epidemic provides an interesting opportunity for the study of the ecology of a highly virulent pathogen and its host. We present evidence that dead dogwoods tend to have larger neighboring conspecifics than do living dogwoods, that smaller trees have higher levels of foliar infection than larger trees and that in trees of reproductive size, higher levels of anthracnose infection are associated with lower fruit production. In contrast to our data on mortality, proximity to conspecifics did not account for significant variation in the severity of foliar anthracnose infection among live dogwoods. These patterns of infection suggest that D. destructiva could severely impair the ability of this important component of the forest understory to regenerate itself.
Surgery for Adrenocortical Carcinoma

Surgery is the mainstay of therapy for adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC). It is thought that the first technically successful resection of an ACC was performed in 1889 by Thornton [1] (see Thompson history). Although reported as a sarcoma, it is likely this was an ACC based on the description of size (>20 pounds), accompanying hirsutism, and recurrence of disease with death 2 years later.
Minor urbanism: everyday entanglements of technology and urban life

In the complicated intercourse between technology and culture, the models and metaphors we deploy in projecting visions for how this relationship will – or should – evolve are essential to the process. The tendency towards envisioning stable, seamless, uniform and universally available media, communications and information systems, and infrastructures is as old as the field of ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) itself, as are critiques identifying the blind spots of these visions. As an alternative to the most recent iteration of these visions – cloud computing – I introduce the notion of ‘minor urbanism’, a conceptual vehicle for understanding the complex assemblages of actors, practices and situations brought into being by real-world ubicomp. I then describe the emergence of ‘white-label’ ATMs as an example of such an assemblage, one that articulates an alternate ontology for describing contemporary entanglements of people, technology and space in the context of everyday urban life. I conclude by introducin...
A Double-Blind Clinical Trial of Prophylactic Antibiotics in Hip Fractures

Antibiotics were given for prophylaxis in hip-fracture patients to a randomized group of patients with hip fractures (417) treated by operation at the Massachusetts General Hospital during three years. After excluding those patients with history of penicillin sensitivity, and those patients already receiving antibiotics at the time of fracture, 348 patients were randomly assigned to a treatment (sodium nafcillin) or control (glucose) group. Either antibiotic or placebo was given before, during, and after operation. The incidence of postoperative wound infection was seven in 145 (4.8 per cent) in the control group, and one in 135 (0.8 per cent) in the treatment group, a statistically significant difference (P = 0.041). The incidence of postoperative wound hematomas was high in each group, possibly because of the routine use of sodium warfarin. Subsequent infection developed in a few of these hematomas, with similar incidence in the control (four in 145) and treatment (six in 135) groups.
The Hidden Legacy of Palsgraf: Modern Duty Law in Microcosm

The elements of the debate between Judges Cardozo and Andrews in Palsgraf are canonical: (1) What is the nature of duty — is it relational or act-centered?; (2) Is plaintiff-foreseeability a duty inquiry or an aspect of proximate cause?; (3) Is court or jury the proper arbiter of foreseeability? An exhaustive examination of the case law on these questions reveals a deep disconnect between what most of us learned in law school and what is playing out in modern courts. Close scrutiny of Palsgraf’s present-day incarnations also lends an invaluable birds-eye view of duty law, an area so rife with inconsistency and contradiction that it often bears more resemblance to constitutional law than the quintessential common-law doctrine that we expect from tort cases. This article melds the doctrinal with the theoretical. It is the first comprehensive survey of Palsgraf since Prosser’s Palsgraf Revisited, in 1953, and it is also a bottom-up inquiry into the “meaning” of duty in today’s courts. The most significant findings of the article are as follows: (1) Most courts have not bought into Cardozo’s relational view of duty — instead, courts are nearly unified in the view that duty is, at its core, a multi-factor policy analysis, although courts do not agree on the relevant factors; (2) Cardozo has overwhelmingly won the day on plaintiff-foreseeability’s place in duty versus proximate cause — a fact which contradicts Palsgraf’s common treatment in law school classrooms as well as the Restatement (Third) of Torts — although Cardozo’s directive that foreseeability is to be decided categorically has not been broadly adopted; and (3) In a bizarre twist, a majority of courts leave duty-foreseeability’s determination to the jury. This final discovery provides important insight into a hidden tension that has smoldered in courts’ negligence jurisprudence at least since Palsgraf was decided eighty-three years ago.
Regional variation exists in patient selection and treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Objective Significant regional variation in surgical rates has been identified following multiple surgical procedures. However, limited data have examined the regional variability in patient selection and treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). This study aimed to evaluate regional variation in patient selection, perioperative management, and operative approach for the repair of AAAs. Methods All patients undergoing open repair or endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) of an AAA in the Vascular Quality Initiative from 2009 to 2014 were identified. All regional groups were deidentified, and those with fewer than 100 open repairs were combined into a single region. Results We identified 17,269 elective repairs (EVAR, 13,759; open, 3510) and 1462 ruptured AAAs (EVAR, 749; open, 713). There was significant regional variation in the use of EVAR for elective repair (range, 66%-88%; P P P P P P P P P P P = .01]) and the frequency of stress tests (EVAR, 33%-64% [ P P P P P Conclusions Significant regional variation exists in patient selection, perioperative management, and operative approach for the repair of AAA. Definitive evidence is lacking in many aspects of operative care, including the use of the retroperitoneal approach and renal protective strategies. However, this variation emphasizes the importance of research to determine best practice in the areas of greatest variation. Furthermore, where current clinical process measures exist and data are clear, such as the use of statin and antiplatelet agents, the high degree of variation should serve as an impetus for regional quality improvement projects.
The HIV Workforce in New York State: Does Patient Volume Correlate with Quality?

BACKGROUND Knowledge of care practices among clinicians who annually treat <20 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients with antiretroviral therapy (ART) is insufficient, despite their number, which is likely to increase given shifting healthcare policies. We analyze the practices, distribution and quality of care provided by low-volume prescribers (LVPs) based on available data sources in New York State. METHODS We communicated with 1278 (66%) of the LVPs identified through a statewide claims database to determine the circumstances under which they prescribed ART in federal fiscal year 2009. We reviewed patient records from 84 LVPs who prescribed ART routinely and compared their performance with that of experienced clinicians practicing in established HIV programs. RESULTS Of the surveyed LVPs, 368 (29%) provided routine ambulatory care for 2323 persons living with HIV/AIDS, and 910 LVPs cited other reasons for prescribing ART. Although the majority of LVPs (73%) practiced in New York City, patients living upstate were more likely to be cared for by a LVP (odds ratio, 1.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-1.9). Scores for basic HIV performance measures, including viral suppression, were significantly higher in established HIV programs than for providers who wrote prescriptions for <20 persons living with HIV/AIDS (P < .01). We estimate that 33% of New York State clinicians who provide ambulatory HIV care are LVPs. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that the quality of care associated with providers who prescribe ART for <20 patients is lower than that provided by more experienced providers. Access to experienced providers as defined by patient volume is an important determinant of delivering high-quality care and should guide HIV workforce policy decisions.
MECHANISM AND RESEARCH OF DUST CONTROL DEVICES

To improve the efficiency of collecting dust system,it quotes the swirl control technology.It analysises the relationship among the swirl,the distance from head-on,the pressure pumping,and the efficiency of dust control;Through a series of tests,it proves that the technology can effectively prevent the spread of dust,so the effect of collecting dust collector get better result.
The link between stress and illness. Do our coping methods influence our health

Stress is an important fact of everyday life that can have a major effect on emotional and physical well-being. Stress is best defined as the adaptation response by the body to a stressor (ie, the perceived stimulus). Psychoneuroimmunology is the study of the ways in which psychosocial interactions cause neuroendocrine responses and, at times, physical changes. An increasing body of evidence suggests a causative role for acute and chronic stress in many medical disorders and psychiatric states. Methods of measuring and assessing stress factors need to also evaluate patients' coping and adaptive mechanisms.
Community Participation in Tourism Development: Case Study of Sananrak Municipal,Thanyaburi District, Prathumthani Province, Thailand

The objective of this research is to study and compare the involvement of Sananrak Municipal’s community (Thanyaburi District, Prathumthani Province, Thailand) in tourism development based on residential domiciles such as gender, community tourism awareness and duration of stay in the community. 380 resident participants were selected through common random sampling from the total Sananrak Municipal population of 22,278. Structured questionnaire was distributed to the respondents and results were collected and computed using SPSS. Further statistical analysis of average, standard deviation, t-test and one-way ANOVA was conducted to know the outcomes. The study found that the community’s participation in tourism development, in overall view, is in high level. However, in community participation in tourism development by domiciles, this research found that people who live inside the area have higher participation for community tourism development than people who live outside the area with a statistical significance level of
Der Anti-CD20-Antikörper bei primär kutanen B-Zell-Lymphomen Erste Erfahrungen in der dermatologischen Anwendung

Hintergrund und Fragestellung. Primar kutane B-Zell-Lymphome (pCBCL) sind eher seltene extranodale Non-Hodgkin-Lymphome, die sich entweder als follikulare Keimzentrumszelllymphome am Stamm oder als groszellige pCBCL am Bein manifestieren. Die zz. praktizierte Therapie dieser Lymphome (Exzision und/oder Radiotherapie, Anwendung von Interleukin 2 und Interferon α2a, lokale Applikation von Cisplatin, CHOP-Chemotherapie) ist bei multilokolarer Manifestation des pCBCL unzureichend, weshalb sich der fur Non-Hodgkin-Lymphome zugelassene, gentechnisch hergestellte, chimare, monoklonale anti-CD20-Antikorper Rituximab® in der Behandlung von pCBCL anbietet Patienten/Methodik. Es werden 4 Patienten mit pCBCL, lokalisiert am Stamm oder Kopf, vorgestellt, bei denen Rituximab® angewendet wurde (375 mg/kg KG/Woche i.v. fur 4 oder 8 Wochen, Erhaltungstherapie 1-mal alle 4 Wochen fur 6 Monate). Ergebnisse. Alle 4 Patienten haben bei geringen Nebenwirkungen auf die Therapie angesprochen (2/4 partielle Remission, 2/4 komplette Remission). Schlussfolgerungen. Rituximab® ist ein alternatives Immuntherapeutikum bei der Behandlung von pCBCL. Die ersten dabei gewonnenen Erfahrungen werden hier dargestellt und diskutiert.
Early childhood experiences and their link to the life trajectories of children

The early childhood years lay the foundation for the life trajectories of children. Appropriate and quality health, care, and education compose a trio of basic needs for children to assist them in a strong start in school and in life. Children who do not have basic needs met in these areas may suffer consequences long beyond the early childhood years related to deficits experienced during the years of birth through age 8. Children living in poverty are particularly vulnerable to the effects of early childhood deprivation. The importance of appropriate healthcare, childcare, and education are vital to the growing child. Developmentally appropriate ways of meeting the child and his needs are also important to the nurturance of young children’s intellect and developing personalities.
Offenders, Victims, and Situational Characteristics of the Hate Crime Incident

An understanding of the offender, victim, and situational characteristics surrounding the hate crime incident is critical to devising prevention and intervention strategies. Understanding the nature of the offender’s bias and the victim’s vulnerability may assist in the detection of difficult mixed bias and non-bias motivated incidents. A review of the offender and victim characteristics derived from NIBRS and NCVS studies is presented to illuminate the most prevalent category and types of hate crime incidents. Most importantly, these studies are able to delineate dates, time, places significantly associated with the hate incident. Mission, thrill-seeking, defensive, and retaliatory bias motivated offenders are also described to compare similarities and differences in culpability and characteristics of hate-motivated violences. Finally, the mixed and peripherally bias motivated offender is discussed as an addition to the original and revised McDevitt typology to illustrate the kinds of dilemmas first level responding police officers encounter attempting to investigate obscure bias motives.
Pharmacologically Counteracting a Phenotypic Difference in Cerebellar GABAA Receptor Response to Alcohol Prevents Excessive Alcohol Consumption in a High Alcohol-Consuming Rodent Genotype.

Cerebellar granule cell GABAA receptor responses to alcohol vary as a function of alcohol consumption phenotype, representing a potential neural mechanism for genetic predilection for alcohol abuse (Kaplan et al., 2013; Mohr et al., 2013). However, there are numerous molecular targets of alcohol in the cerebellum, and it is not known how they interact to affect cerebellar processing during consumption of socially relevant amounts of alcohol. Importantly, direct evidence for a causative role of the cerebellum in alcohol consumption phenotype is lacking. Here we determined that concentrations of alcohol that would be achieved in the blood after consumption of 1–2 standard units (9 mm) suppresses transmission through the cerebellar cortex in low, but not high, alcohol consuming rodent genotypes (DBA/2J and C57BL/6J mice, respectively). This genotype-selective suppression is mediated exclusively by enhancement of granule cell GABAA receptor currents, which only occurs in DBA/2J mice. Simulating the DBA/2J cellular phenotype in C57BL/6J mice by infusing the GABAA receptor agonist, 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoxazolo-[5,4-c]pyridine-3-ol hydrochloride, into cerebellar lobules IV–VI, in vivo, significantly reduced their alcohol consumption and blood alcohol concentrations achieved. 4,5,6,7-Tetrahydroisoxazolo-[5,4-c]pyridine-3-ol hydrochloride infusions also significantly decreased sucrose consumption, but they did not affect consumption of water or general locomotion. Thus, genetic differences in cerebellar response to alcohol contributes to alcohol consumption phenotype, and targeting the cerebellar GABAA receptor system may be a clinically viable therapeutic strategy for reducing excessive alcohol consumption. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Alcohol abuse is a leading cause of preventable death and illness; and although alcohol use disorders are 50%–60% genetically determined, the cellular and molecular mechanisms of such genetic influences are largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that genetic differences in cerebellar granule cell GABAA receptor responses to recreational concentrations of alcohol are the primary determinant of alcohol9s impact on cerebellar processing and that pharmacologically modifying such responses alters alcohol consumption. These data highlight the cerebellum as an important neuroanatomical region in alcohol consumption phenotype and as a target for pharmacological treatment of alcohol use disorders. The results also add to the growing list of cognitive/emotional roles of the cerebellum in psychiatric disease and drug abuse.
Transient Nonlinear Refraction of Organic Solvents in Liquid and Gas Phase

The nonlinear refractive transients of organic solvents are measured. The response functions derived from liquids are used to predict pulsewidth dependent n2,eff . Comparisons are made between the second hyperpolarizabilities measured in liquid and gas phases.
THE STEM BORER INFESTATION ON RICE CULTIVARS AT THREE PLANTING TIMES

Stem borer is the second important rice pest after rats in Indonesia. A field trial was conducted in Karawang, West Java in dry season of 2003 to study the effect of planting time on the stem borer infestation on seven rice cultivars. The rice cultivars tested were Fatmawati (new plant type cultivar), Gilirang (semi-new plant type cultivar), Maro and Intani 3 (hybrid rice cultivars), and IR72, Cilosari and IR62 (inbreed rice cultivars). The three planting times (PT) were: (1) the early PT, 14 days before farmer’s PT, (2) the common PT, simultaneously with farmer’s PT, and (3) the late PT, 14 days after farmer’s PT. The trial was arranged in a split plot design with four replications. Planting time is the main plot and rice cultivar is the subplot. Fourteen-day old rice seedlings were transplanted at 25 cm x 25 cm planting distance in a 5 m x 6 m plot size. Species and fluctuation of rice stem borer were determined by using water traps containing four synthetic sex pheromone lures of rice stem borer species as attractant. Results showed that the dominant species of stem borer was yellow stem borer (Scirpophaga incertulas Wlk.). Degree of stem borer infestation depended upon the planting time. Stem borer infestation at the first planting time was higher (average 37.90%) compared to those found at the second and third planting time, i.e. 0.65% and 0.54%, respectively. Rice yields of Fatmawati, Gilirang, Maro, Intani-3, and Cilosari cultivars correlated with the degree of stem borer infestation, but did not correlate with planting time. Cilosari cultivar showed the most tolerant under heavily stem borer infestation. The present study implies that adjustment of planting time is the most feasible effort to reduce stem borer infestation because none of the seven rice cultivars tested were able to minimize damage under heavily infestation of yellow stem borer.
Validation of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory multiple myeloma module.

Background: The symptom burden associated with multiple myeloma (MM) is often severe. Presently, no instrument comprehensively assesses disease-related and treatment-related symptoms in patients with MM. We sought to validate a module of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) developed specifically for patients with MM (MDASI-MM). Methods: The MDASI-MM was developed with clinician input, cognitive debriefing, and literature review, and administered to 132 patients undergoing induction chemotherapy or stem cell transplantation. We demonstrated the MDASI-MM’s reliability (Cronbach α values); criterion validity (item and subscale correlations between the MDASI-MM and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the EORTC MM module (QLQ-MY20)), and construct validity (differences between groups by performance status). Ratings from transplant patients were examined to demonstrate the MDASI-MM’s sensitivity in detecting the acute worsening of symptoms post-transplantation. Results: The MDASI-MM demonstrated excellent correlations with subscales of the 2 EORTC instruments, strong ability to distinguish clinically different patient groups, high sensitivity in detecting change in patients’ performance status, and high reliability. Cognitive debriefing confirmed that the MDASI-MM encompasses the breadth of symptoms relevant to patients with MM. Conclusion: The MDASI-MM is a valid, reliable, comprehensive-yet-concise tool that is recommended as a uniform symptom assessment instrument for patients with MM.
Design, synthesis and biological evaluations of N-Hydroxy thienopyrimidine-2,4-diones as inhibitors of HIV reverse transcriptase-associated RNase H.

Abstract Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reverse transcriptase (RT) associated ribonuclease H (RNase H) is the only HIV enzymatic function not targeted by current antiviral drugs. Although various chemotypes have been reported to inhibit HIV RNase H, few have shown significant antiviral activities. We report herein the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of a novel N -hydroxy thienopyrimidine-2,3-dione chemotype ( 11 ) which potently and selectively inhibited RNase H with considerable potency against HIV-1 in cell culture. Current structure-activity-relationship (SAR) identified analogue 11d as a nanomolar inhibitor of RNase H (IC 50 = 0.04 μM) with decent antiviral potency (EC 50 = 7.4 μM) and no cytotoxicity (CC 50 > 100 μM). In extended biochemical assays compound 11d did not inhibit RT polymerase (pol) while inhibiting integrase strand transfer (INST) with 53 fold lower potency (IC 50 = 2.1 μM) than RNase H inhibition. Crystallographic and molecular modeling studies confirmed the RNase H active site binding mode.
Miniature ion thruster ring-cusp discharge performance and behavior

Miniature ion thrusters are an attractive option for a wide range of space missions due to their low power levels and high specific impulse. Thrusters using ring-cusp plasma discharges promise the highest performance, but are still limited by the challenges of efficiently maintaining a plasma discharge at such small scales (typically 1–3 cm diameter). This effort significantly advances the understanding of miniature-scale plasma discharges by comparing the performance and xenon plasma confinement behavior for 3-ring, 4-ring, and 5-ring cusp by using the 3 cm Miniature Xenon Ion thruster as a modifiable platform. By measuring and comparing the plasma and electron energy distribution maps throughout the discharge, we find that miniature ring-cusp plasma behavior is dominated by the high magnetic fields from the cusps; this can lead to high loss rates of high-energy primary electrons to the anode walls. However, the primary electron confinement was shown to considerably improve by imposing an axial magnetic ...
Brockenbrough-Braunwald-Morrow Sign: An Evaluative Hemodynamic Maneuver for Left Ventricular Outflow Tract Obstruction.

A case of a 77-year-old woman with a history of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) presented with intermittent episodes of exertional dyspnea and chest discomfort. Her coronary angiogram revealed normal coronary arteries but with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy with an increasing left ventricular-aortic gradient on isoproterenol provocation. Likewise, an intensified gradient was observed after a premature ventricular contraction (PVC) that is distinguished as the Brockenbrough-Braunwald-Morrow sign substantiating confirmation of left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction. Cardiol Res. 2018;9(3):180-182 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/cr676w
Experiences with Implementation and Adoption of Integrated Pest Management in Northeastern USA

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has been adopted to varying extents in the northeastern United States. In this region, IPM encompasses a wide range of activities ranging from IPM in agriculture to school and urban IPM. With global and regional trends in population growth and demands to keep food production sustainable, safe, economic, and socially acceptable, IPM continues to gain momentum in all agricultural operations. There is a growing awareness among consumers about IPM as they begin to recognize products that feature IPM as part of their production. Consumer awareness stimulates growers to practice even more IPM. Each state in the northeast region has an IPM coordinator housed in the state’s leading land grant university, who is charged with supporting and promoting IPM in that state and serving as a liaison to the federal government. IPM programs are often carried out on a collaborative basis between states within the region, and the IPM coordinators meet annually to discuss topics of common interest and also to discuss how successful programs have been implemented. The 12 states in the northeast region have research and extension programs that address IPM. There is also an IPM Center intended to reach out to a broader stakeholder base to facilitate IPM efforts by various role players in the discipline. Often times, IPM involves multiple disciplines, and to carry out successful multidisciplinary programming efforts in research and outreach certain obstacles may be faced. This chapter provides a broad overview related to implementation of successful IPM programs in the northeast region of the United States, and discusses several specific success stories in individual states as well as some of the challenges faced today.
In Defense of the Halstead–Reitan Battery—Revisited

In this critique of Reitan’s work in the Halstead–Reitan Battery, Lezak with two other editors, Howieson and Loring (2004), have taken a somewhat new approach. They still use the archaeological fallacy of examining ancient norming of the procedure, rather than recent norming, to discredit it. They spend considerable space on Halstead’s original norming and on a chapter Reitan wrote in 1966. Reitan’s chapter was primarily a description of Reitan’s research methodology, which these authors confused with his clinical methodology. Consequently, many of their statements are simply wrong. They also confuse Reitan’s method with methods used by other people that were derived from Reitan’s work. When this is taken into consideration, almost nothing for which they criticize Reitan is correct. This is also true of the HRNES. Apparently, they did not know it had been revised as the HRNES–R. Finally, they criticize Reitan’s methodology and the HRNES–R while their book provides no validation or test of studies of Lezak’s method.
Rise and fall of Specifications as Indicators of Instrument Performance

The past ten years have witnessed great changes in scientific instrumentation largely as a consequence of the microprocessor. The major impacts of the microcomputer have been in the areas of automation, data manipulation and data storage. These attributes have allowed new approaches to the way instruments operate and have even changed the character of the tasks attempted. Unfortunately, the specifications describing the performance of instruments have not kept abreast of the changing technology. Complicating this situation is the trend toward use of instruments by scientists and technicians who have little knowledge or interest in the instrumentation itself, but need the information it provides. Without an intimate understanding of instrumentation one can easily misinterpret specifications as they are written today.
Best Practices for Maintaining Diverse Laboratories

Civil rights laws have been enacted and updated for over a half century to protect workers of diverse groups. However, rather than relying on laws to force employers and academic leaders to choose fairness, workplaces can take steps to proactively encourage diversity and thereby increase workplace satisfaction and productivity. They can begin by clearly outlining in company handbooks the plan to enforce laws that establish and maintain inclusivity. Universities and employers can take further steps to instill a positive environment by including all employees and students when recognizing holidays and important commemorative occasions. Employers and academic institutions can organize or encourage participation in celebratory walks or runs and it can recommend or require diversity training by its employees or students. Health care facilities, above all, should lead efforts to support diversity in the workplace since health is about humanity as a whole and not about select groups. There are numerous organizations, websites, events, and other ideas that can help universities and employers seeking to better understand diverse populations and to encourage understanding among students and employees. ABBREVIATIONS:CE - Continuing education, NEA - National Education Association
Brain O2 reserve in sickle cell disease

In this issue of Blood , Fields and colleagues demonstrate that patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) on hydroxyurea have lower cerebral oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) than similar patients not receiving disease-modifying therapy. 1 Although hydroxyurea has become the standard of care for young children with SCD, its ability to protect the white matter from silent strokes remains unknown. In the Creteil cohort, SCD patients had access to regular TCD screening since birth, and hydroxyurea was routinely administered to children with frequent vasoocclusive crises. Despite this, the prevalence of silent strokes was 37.4% by the age of 14 in this cohort. 2 With the increasing use of hydroxyurea, in lieu of transfusion therapy, for SCD patients with abnormal transcranial Doppler results, 3 there is appropriate anxiety about hydroxyurea’s cerebral protection.
Comparing measures of the concentration of crime at places

The primary objectives of this research are (1) to introduce summary measures of concentration that are relatively new to our field; (2) compare four concentration measures to determine whether there are reasons to use one in favor of the others; and (3) apply the measures to a real-case data to further understand the concentration phenomenon. Using the crime data of Cincinnati, we compare four commonly used social science measures of concentration: Gini, Simpson, Shannon, and Decile indices. For some purposes, the measures are interchangeable, while for other purposes the measures may suggest different interpretations for the same set of data. This paper is the first quantitative comparison of multiple measures of crime place concentration. We describe the benefits and limitations of each index and the circumstances for which each is most useful. We also answer the question: is crime within street segments spread along the segment or is it concentrated at a few addresses, as most place-based crime studies have overlooked the interior variability of crime on street segments.
War On…The Fallout of Declaring War on Social Issues: Symposium Article: The Ticking Sex-Offender Bomb

Much like the ticking-time-bomb scenario in the public debate about torture, the belief that sex offenders generally, and child molesters specifically, will inevitably commit new offenses has come to effectively frame societal understanding. The concept of the sex offender who is a ticking time bomb waiting to molest more children has served as the basis for sex-offender registration, residency restrictions, community notification, and civil commitment. Relying on strongly held myths about stranger danger, sex-offender recidivism, and sex-offender homogeneity, the criminal war against sex offenders shows little sign of abating. This Symposium Article explores the rhetoric and reality of the War on Sex Offenders and how the ticking-time-bomb metaphor reshaped the debates and policies surrounding sexual violence.
Direct chairside fabrication of a two-piece brachytherapy appliance

This article reviews the prosthodontic steps in the direct chairside fabrication of a two-piece custom brachytherapy appliance consisting of an intraoral and extraoral component. This technique is described through the treatment of a 77-year-old patient with a T1N0M0 squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip vermillion, referred for the most expeditious fabrication of a brachytherapy appliance because of the urgency of beginning brachytherapy. Fabrication of the appliance consisted of an expedited clinic visit in which both intraoral and extraoral components were fabricated chairside. A traditional indirect laboratory-based fabrication of such an appliance would have been more time-consuming, thereby delaying delivery of radiation treatment of the rapidly progressing malignancy.
Stair negotiation made easier using low-energy interactive stairs

Abstract Here we show that novel, energy-recycling stairs reduce the amount of work required for humans to both ascend and descend stairs. Our low-power, interactive, and modular steps can be placed on existing staircases, storing energy during stair descent and returning that energy to the user during stair ascent. Energy is recycled through event-triggered latching and unlatching of passive springs without the use of powered actuators. When ascending the energy-recycling stairs, naive users generated 17.4 ± 6.9% less positive work with their leading legs compared to conventional stairs, with the knee joint positive work reduced by 37.7 ± 10.5%. Users also generated 21.9 ± 17.8% less negative work with their trailing legs during stair descent, with ankle joint negative work reduced by 26.0 ± 15.9%. Our low-power energy-recycling stairs have the potential to assist people with mobility impairments during stair negotiation on existing staircases.
Brief Report: Relationship Between Cotinine Levels and Peripheral Endogenous Concentrations of Oxytocin, β-Endorphin, and Orexin in Individuals With Both Alcohol and Nicotine Use Disorders.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES In this secondary analysis of a pilot clinical trial with individuals with alcohol and nicotine use disorders, we investigate the relationship between serum concentrations of oxytocin, β-endorphin, melatonin, α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, substance P, and orexin, with objective biomarkers (salivary cotinine and serum γ-glutamyl transferase [GGT]) as well as with self-reported smoking and alcohol drinking. METHODS Biomarkers for a total of N = 19 participants were analyzed using multiplexed, competitive format immune-assay (peptides) and enzyme competitive immunoassay (saliva). A regression analysis using Pearson's correlation coefficient was utilized to determine correlations. We controlled for multiple comparisons, checked for collinearities, and ran two-sided statistical tests. RESULTS We found significant positive correlations for cotinine and oxytocin (P = .002), β-endorphin (P = .008), and orexin (P < .001), but not for either GGT or self-reported smoking or alcohol drinking. CONCLUSION AND SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE These preliminary results suggest a relationship between cotinine and oxytocin, β-endorphin, and orexin, which opens up new potential hypotheses on the potential role of these endocrine pathways in tobacco smokers. (Am J Addict 2021;30:88-91).