cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Resveratrol Induces p53-independent, X-linked Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein (XIAP)-mediated Bax Protein Oligomerization on Mitochondria to Initiate Cytochrome c Release and Caspase Activation

Resveratrol, a naturally occurring phytoalexin, is known to induce apoptosis in multiple cancer cell types, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we show that resveratrol induced p53-independent, X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP)-mediated translocation of Bax to mitochondria where it underwent oligomerization to initiate apoptosis. Resveratrol treatment promoted interaction between Bax and XIAP in the cytosol and on mitochondria, suggesting that XIAP plays a critical role in the activation and translocation of Bax to mitochondria. This process did not involve p53 but required accumulation of Bim and t-Bid on mitochondria. Bax primarily underwent homo-oligomerization on mitochondria and played a major role in release of cytochrome c to the cytosol. Bak, another key protein that regulates the mitochondrial membrane permeabilization, did not interact with p53 but continued to associate with Bcl-xL. Thus, the proapoptotic function of Bak remained suppressed during resveratrol-induced apoptosis. Caspase-9 silencing inhibited resveratrol-induced caspase activation, whereas caspase-8 knockdown did not affect caspase activity, suggesting that resveratrol induces caspase-9-dependent apoptosis. Together, our findings characterize the molecular mechanisms of resveratrol-induced caspase activation and subsequent apoptosis in cancer cells.
Myocardial systolic strain is decreased after aortic valve replacement in patients with aortic insufficiency.

Background Left ventricular three-dimensional nonlinear systolic strain determinations have potential to detect small decrements in ventricular function in patients with aortic insufficiency before and after aortic valve replacement. Methods Magnetic resonance imaging with tissue-tagging was performed on 42 normal volunteers and 14 patients with chronic aortic insufficiency both before and 28 ± 11 months after aortic valve replacement. Preoperative and postoperative left ventricular volume, dimensions and ejection fraction were determined for all subjects. Left ventricular systolic radial, circumferential, longitudinal, and minimum principal strain were calculated for six left ventricular regions. Results After aortic valve replacement, left ventricular volume and dimensions decreased significantly ( p p = 0.096). Strain values in preoperative aortic insufficiency patients did not differ significantly from controls. At an average of 28 ± 11 months postoperatively, however, regional three-dimensional minimum principal and longitudinal strain was decreased in all six ventricular regions as well as globally ( p p Conclusions These magnetic resonance imaging–based techniques are sensitive enough to detect a previously unrecognized, significant decrease in both global and regional three-dimensional left ventricular systolic strain 2 years after aortic valve replacement for minimally symptomatic chronic aortic insufficiency despite improvement in ejection fraction and a decrease in left ventricular size. The reasons for a significant decline in left ventricular systolic strain after successful aortic valve replacement in minimally symptomatic chronic aortic insufficiency patients are not clear and warrant further investigation.
Monolithic Uncooled 8 × 8 Bolometer Arrays Based on Poly-SiGe Thermistor

This paper presents a monolithic uncooled 8 × 8 bolometer array with polycrystalline silicon-germanium (poly-SiGe) thermistors as active elements. The poly-SiGe films are deposited by ultrahigh vacuum vapor deposition (UHV/CVD) system and the dependence of the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) on annealing temperature has been investigated. To decrease the thermal conductance of the bolometer, the poly-SiGe thermistor was formed on a four leg suspended microbridge. The improved porous silicon micromachining techniques described here enable the integration of the bolometer array with the MOS readout circuitry. The measurements and calculations show that the mean responsivity is 1.07 × 104 V/W with an uncorrected uniformity of 10.5% and a thermal response time of 10.5 ms, and the detectivity of 3.75 × 108 cm Hz1/2/W is achieved at a chopping frequency of 30 Hz and a bias voltage of 5 V.
The Efficacy of All-Male Academies: Insights from Critical Race Theory (CRT)

This paper presents Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a theoretical framework for understanding the growing interest in establishing single-gender schools and classrooms for African American males in the United States. From a legal perspective, CRT proponents contend that single-gender education offers African Americans a viable strategy for addressing and reversing the systemic and cultural forces that limit the academic achievement, educational attainment and destinies of African American males. Both potential benefits and problematic aspects of single-gender education as a timely reform strategy to raise academic achievement and improve the lives and futures of African American males are discussed.
Professors' Perspectives on Their Teaching: A New Construct and Developmental Model

Building carefully on the college teaching and adult development literatures, this paper presents a model that describes the perspective of professors at various developmental positions with regard to their work as teachers. The model comprises five, interrelated positions: (a) three stable periods—Egocentrism (teacher-centeredness), Aliocentrism (learner-centeredness), and Systemocentrism (teacher/learner-centeredness); and (b) two transitional periods—one between each of the two potential movements from one stable period to the next. The model integrates the constructs of previous typologies, adds a significant new construct, and arranges the total array of perspectival constructs in a typical developmental sequence.
An approach to higher reliability using software components

The general belief that component reuse improves software reliability is based on the assumption that the prior usage has exposed the potential software faults. In reality, this is not necessarily true due to the inherent differences in the environments and usage of the component. To achieve a high reliability for a component-based software system, we need reliable components that interoperate properly in the new environment. In this paper, we present a unified approach to do an evaluation of the interoperablity of components. This involves a generic and systematic capture of the component behavior that expresses the various assumptions made by the designers about components and their interconnections explicitly. With the information captured at a semantic level, this approach can detect potential mismatches between components in the new environment and give guidance on how to resolve the mismatches to fit components in the new context. The capture of this information in an appropriate format and an automated analysis can show serious exposures to reliability in a component-based system, before it is integrated.
Regeneration and Recruitment Correlate with Stand Density and Composition in Long-Unburned Aspen Stands Undergoing Succession to Conifer in the Sierra Nevada, USA

Succession of aspen stands to conifer in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and Nevada, USA, is being interrupted by forest managers thinning conifers to sustain aspen stands in situ. However, patterns of stand density, species composition, and regeneration prior to management intervention have scarcely been described. We established a grid of sample plots throughout nine aspen stands encircling Lake Tahoe in the central Sierra Nevada. The degree of succession to conifer throughout each aspen stand was spatially heterogeneous. Patches of pure aspen were rare. Stand density index (SDI) reached an upper limit of 1700 in pure aspen. As composition shifted in favor of conifer, SDI approached or attained a maximum of 2500 in some plots. Stand density and species composition data were tested as predictors of conifer and aspen regeneration densities in each plot. Conifer seedlings had an average density of 3261 ha-1; they were most abundant in aspen-dominated areas of any density, and in conifer-dominated areas of higher density. Aspen regeneration had an average density of 3211 ha-1 and was one order of magnitude less frequent in areas of pure conifer versus areas of pure aspen, but remained relatively abundant in most areas. Aspen saplings were rare (average density of 42 ha-1 for saplings 10-15 cm DBH), especially at high stand densities or in areas where conifers dominated. Our findings suggest that forest managers interested in sustaining aspen stands in situ will need to control stand density to promote recruitment of younger aspen to the overstory.
Nano-Optics of Bismuth Nanowires

The optical absorption from an indirect L-T point valence band transition in bismuth nanowires is simulated based on a surface sensitive term, which is very weak in bulk bismuth, but effectively couples the L and T point bands in bismuth nanowires. The experimental Fourier transform infrared absorption spectra in the energy range 0.08 to 0.5 eV are compared to theoretical simulations for absorption resulting from indirect interband transitions between subbands at the L point valence band to subbands at the T point valence band as the polarization, tellurium doping, and wire diameter are varied. The simulated absorption from this indirect transition reproduces many of the experimentally observed trends and allows us to conclude that the dominant feature in the experimental absorption spectra of Bi nanowires results from an indirect L-T point transition which is enhanced in Bi nanowires.
Diu rîche vrouwe Dîdô (v. 7558): Dido as Exemplar in the Erec-Romance of Hartmann von Aue

Hartmann's narrator reports that Enite rides on an ornamental saddle engraved with scenes from the life of Aeneas, including his tragic liaison with Dido, the Carthaginian queen. A similar, but much truncated scene appears in Erec et Enide of Chretien de Troyes. Hartmann relies on a sophisticated audience, able to recognize analogies and to draw conclusions. He is indebted both to Ovid and to John of Salisbury, the former identifying Dido as an abandoned woman at the mercy of the wily Aeneas. According to the Ovidian interpretation, Dido's only crime is that she loves to excess. The latter views Dido as the very model of bad governance; she is a failed queen whose slide into amatory idleness has a profound negative effect on her subjects. Critics dispute the significance of the German Dido allusions, uncertain whether the ekphrastic fragments convey an overt message that is relevant to interpreting the text. Most believe that Hartmann aims here to create a resemblance between Enite and Dido; thus Aeneas and Erec would be analogically paired. I argue in this paper that the reverse is true. The images of Dido on Enite's saddle have direct application to Erec, heir to a kingdom, who is meant to learn from Dido's obsessive love what to imitate in her political career, and what to avoid. Erec, like Dido, confounds the public and private spheres, withdrawing after his marriage to Enite from the world of knighthood to a hermetic realm of regal inaction. Dido's image on Enite's saddle is meant to remind Erec of the time when he followed her into erotic idleness, and to point to the future when he, unlike Dido, will follow his sense of honor to thrive as an active monarch.
Attributions and personality as predictors of the road rage response

This study examined the ability of attributions and personality traits to predict the emotional and behavioural components of the road rage response. Participants recalled a recent time when they experienced three different anger-provoking events when driving. They then rated their behaviours and emotions during the event, and their attributions for why the event occurred. Participants also completed a battery of personality questionnaires designed to predict their responses to the situations. Attributing causality for the anger-arousing event to a stable factor in the offending driver was uniquely related to aggressive behaviour and anger in all three situations. Hostile and blame attributions predicted aggressive behaviour and anger in different situations. In addition to dispositional measures of aggressiveness and anger predicting aggressive behaviour and anger in each of the anger-provoking situations, other personality variables were also related to aspects of the road rage response (e.g. conscientiousness, agreeableness, narcissism, and extraversion). Attributions and personality traits accounted for unique variance in the outcomes, and there were only sporadic effects of attributions partially mediating the relationships between personality variables and responses to the anger-provoking situations. Therefore, it is unlikely that the relationships between personality traits and responses to anger-provoking situations are completely mediated by attributional processing.
Social Validation of Adolescent Social Skills by Teachers and Students

This study investigated the social validation of adolescent social skills by teachers and students. A total of 183 general and special education secondary teachers responded to a social skills survey that assessed teacher perceptions of the importance of social skills under three adjustment domains: relating to others, relating to adults, relating to yourself. Four hundred thirty-seven nonhandicapped and handicapped students, enrolled in the participating teachers' classes, responded to a student version of the same survey. Results indicated high levels of stability and internal consistency for the teacher survey. Only internal consistency was assessed for the student survey, and it exceeded .90 for each section of the survey. Much higher agreement levels were obtained on the survey social skills among teacher groups and among student groups than between teacher and student respondent groups. The one area of moderate agreement obtained between teachers and students dealt with the social skills necessary t...
Notch in the intestine: regulation of homeostasis and pathogenesis.

The small and large intestines are tubular organs composed of several tissue types. The columnar epithelium that lines the inner surface of the intestines distinguishes the digestive physiology of each region of the intestine and consists of several distinct cell types that are rapidly and continually renewed by intestinal stem cells that reside near the base of the crypts of Lieberkuhn. Notch signaling controls the fate of intestinal stem cells by regulating the expression of Hes genes and by repressing Atoh1. Alternate models of Notch pathway control of cell fate determination are presented. Roles for Notch signaling in development of the intestine, including mesenchymal and neural cells, are discussed. The oncogenic activities of Notch in colorectal cancer, as well as the tumor suppressive activities of Atoh1, are reviewed. Therapeutic targeting of the Notch pathway in colorectal cancers is discussed, along with potential caveats.
The Location of U.S. States' Overseas Oces

Forty U.S. states operated an overseas office in 2002. Treating overseas offices as sales offices, I modify Holmes (2005) so oces facilitate exports by reducing the transaction cost of selling abroad. From theory, states operate an office if aggregate savings outweigh operating costs. Exploiting the differences in where states locate offices in the data, and controlling for aggregate characteristics, I estimate the impact of exports on the probability of an office existing. In addition, I find the average state savings from an office is 0.005%--0.009% of exports with a cut-off threshold of $1.0--1.4 billion.
ATTITUDES AND PERSONALITY PATTERNS OF HUNGARIAN REFUGEES

Here is a study of attitudes and personality factors against the background of participation in the Hungarian uprising of 1957, as revealed by male Hungarian refugees in the United States. Dr. Henry Gleitman is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Swarthmore College. Dr. Joseph J. Greenbaum is Associate Professor of Psychology at the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research in New York.
Equivalence of robust delay-fault and single stuck-fault test generation

A link between the problems of robust delay-fault and single stuck-fault test generation is established. In particular, it is proved that all the robust test vector pairs for any path delay-fault in a network are directly obtained by all the test vectors for a corresponding single stuck-fault in a modified network. Since single stuck-fault test generation is a well solved problem, this result yields an efficient algorithm for robust delay-fault test generation. Experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed technique. >
Design benefits, emotional responses, and brand engagement

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to develop a better understanding of brand engagement by examining two of its antecedents: design benefits and consumer emotions. The authors explore the relationship between design and brand engagement and advance a model with emotional responses as mediator. Design/methodology/approach – This paper integrates a range of theoretical works across design and marketing, including concepts of product design, types of design benefits, brand engagement, and brand communities. Findings – The authors propose a conceptual model where emotional arousal, which differs across design benefits, mediates the relationship between design benefits and brand engagement. Brand engagement intensifies with emotional arousal as design benefits change from functional, to hedonic, to symbolic. Research limitations/implications – The conceptual model proposed in this paper can have significant applications in the areas of product design, branding strategies, and brand communications. Howev...
Expectations Among Academic Clinicians of Inpatient Imaging Turnaround Time: Does it Correlate with Satisfaction?

Rationale and Objectives Imaging report turnaround time (RTAT) is an important measure of radiology performance and has become the leading priority in customer satisfaction surveys conducted among nonradiologists, who may not be familiar with the imaging workflow. Our aim was to assess physicians' expected RTAT for commonly ordered studies and determine if satisfaction correlates with met expectations. Materials and Methods Retrospective review of inpatient imaging was conducted at a single academic institution, and RTAT for 18,414 studies was calculated. Examinations were grouped by study type, priority, and time of day. A cross-sectional survey instrument was completed by 48 internal medicine and surgery resident physicians with questions regarding RTAT and their level of satisfaction with various examinations. Results Actual RTAT ranged from 1.6 to 26.0 hours, with chest radiographs and computed tomographies generally faster than magnetic resonance images and ultrasounds. Urgent (STAT) examinations and those ordered during business hours have shorter RTAT. The time for image interpretation largely contributed to the RTAT because of the lack of night-time radiology coverage. Referring physician expectations were consistently shorter than actual RTAT, ranging from 30 minutes to 24 hours. Overall satisfaction scores were inversely correlated with RTAT, with a strong correlation to the time from study order to imaging (r 2 = 0.63) and a weak correlation to the image interpretation time (r 2 = 0.17). Satisfaction scores did not correlate with whether the actual RTAT met expectations (r 2 = 0.06). Conclusions Referring physician satisfaction is likely multifactorial. Although RTAT has been reported as a priority, shortening turnaround time alone may not directly improve clinician satisfaction.
Alternative Measurement Paradigms for Measuring Executive Functions: SEM (Formative and Reflective Models) and IRT (Rasch Models)

The authors of the Focus article pose important questions regarding whether or not performance-based tasks related to executive functioning are best viewed as reflective or formative indicators. Mi...
Novel Dual-Band Microwave Filter Using Dual-Capacitively-Loaded Cavity Resonators

We present a novel design concept for low-loss dual-band cavity filters based on dual-capacitively-loaded (DCL) cavity resonators. The relatively independent control over the center frequencies, inter-resonator and external coupling coefficients makes the DCL resonator an ideal building block for dual-band filters with widely separated passbands. The high unloaded quality factor (Qu) of the DCL cavity resonator ensures a low insertion loss. An example 2-pole dual-band filter at 2.4 and 5.0 GHz is demonstrated with an insertion loss of 1.47 dB at 2.4 GHz, 1.01 dB at 5.0 GHz and a bandwidth of 24.8 MHz (~1%) at 2.4 , and 51.2 MHz (~1%) at 5.0 GHz.
Efficiently computed reduced-parameter input-aided MMSE equalizers for ML detection: a unified approach

A unified approach for computing the optimum settings of a length-N/sub f/ input-aided equalizer that minimizes the mean-square error between the equalized channel impulse response and a target impulse response of a given length N/sub b/ is presented. This approach offers more insight into the problem, easily accommodates correlation in the input and noise sequences, leads to significant computational savings, and allows us to analyze a variety of constraints on the target impulse response besides the standard unit-tap constraint. In particular, we show that imposing a unit-energy constraint results in a lower mean-square error at a comparable computational complexity. Furthermore, we show that, under the assumed constraint of finite-length filters, the relative delay between the equalizer and the target impulse response plays a crucial role in optimizing performance. We describe a new characterization of the optimum delay and show how to compute it. Finally, we derive reduced-parameter pole-zero models of the equalizer that achieve the high performance of a long all-zero equalizer at a much lower implementation cost.
Mutual information driven Inverse Consistent nonlinear registration

A fully symmetric nonlinear viscoelastic image registration method, under the demons paradigm is developed. The symmetric cost function includes mutual information (MI) as a similarity measure, regularization of the transformation, and inverse consistent constraint (ICC). Alternative strategy is used to minimize the divergent terms with different properties in the cost function to avoid the difficulties in balancing between the performance of registration and low Inverse Consistency Error (ICE). The diffeomorphism of the registration is achieved by the composition scheme. Validation studies show that the proposed method provides sub-voxel ICE. The improvement of registration performance is also demonstrated.
Research Updates on Type 2 Diabetes in Children

Major research trials have provided insight into the scope of type 2 diabetes in youth. The National Diabetes Education Program offers resources to help school nurses support children with or at risk for type 2 diabetes.
Extreme Hyperpyrexia in Childhood: Presentation Similar to Hemorrhagic Shock and Encephalopathy

The authors report the cases of five previously well children, aged 8 to 33 months, who were seen over a 14-year period, with admission temperatures in excess of 42.0°C (107.6°F). Four of the patients died. Each child had a similar clinical illness in which the hyperpyrexia played a critical role. Negative blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and stool cultures excluded bacterial sepsis as a possible etiology. This illness is similar, if not identical, to the newly described syndrome of hemorrhagic shock and encephalopathy (HSES) reported in European and American infants.
Chemotherapy for advanced cancers.

The decision to treat with chemotherapy in advanced cancers is a complex process that requires oncologists to weigh the indications and benefits. Treatment of patients with advanced cancer is typically multidimensional and should ideally include oncologists in coordination with palliative care specialists. When the intent of chemotherapy for patients with advanced neoplasms is no longer curative, palliative care can and should be delivered simultaneously with antineoplastic agents. Often, chemotherapy for advanced cancers is delivered in an attempt to palliate symptoms, and therefore improve quality of life (QOL). The role of palliative chemotherapy should be continually reevaluated throughout the trajectory of the patient’s illness. When chemotherapy is no longer controlling the disease or helping symptoms, the role of chemotherapy should be reconsidered. This review aims to provide a foundation for discussions about treatment of patients with advanced malignancies.
The Cardiac Autoimmune System: VII. Heart Specific Auto-Antibodies Produced in Rabbits Immunized with Human Heart

Rabbit antiserum to human heart, which revealed at least twelve cardiac “tissue” antigens after absorption with human plasma, was further absorbed with human kidney and skeletal muscle. The resulting antiserum reacted only with human heart extracts in immunodiffusion tests. One antigen restricted to heart tissue was found regularly, while a second one was visualized occasionally. The former was also detected in extracts of rabbit and rat hearts. The protein involved was identified as auto-antigen B, as seen earlier, in the complex patterns found with rabbit anti-rabbit heart auto-antibodies. “Tteactions of identity” were also found with rat anti-rat heart auto-antibodies. The same immune system was seen with several other heterologous anti-heart sera, including duck anti-rabbit heart. The auto-antigen B protein was found to have a molecular weight of about 160,000 and an isoelectric point of pH 5.2.
ATOM: Automated tracking, orchestration and monitoring of resource usage in infrastructure as a service systems

We present ATOM, an efficient and effective framework to enable automated tracking, monitoring, and orchestration of resource usage in an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) system. We design a novel tracking method to continuously track important performance metrics with low overhead, and develop a principal component analysis (PCA) based approach with quality guarantees to continuously monitor and automatically find anomalies based on the approximate tracking results. Lastly, when potential anomalies are identified, we use introspection tools to perform memory forensics on virtual machines (VMs) to identify malicious behavior inside a VM. We deploy ATOM in an IaaS system to monitor VM resource usage, and to detect anomalies. Various attacks are used as examples to demonstrate how ATOM is both effective and efficient to track and monitor resource usage, detect anomalies, and orchestrate system resource usage.
Fungal recognition by Dectin-1 on dendritic cells induces IL-10 producing CD4+ T cells by GATA3 / C/EBP-β pathway (MPF4P.733)

C. Albicans is known to dramatically transit its morphology between the yeast and hyphal form, depending on its environment. In order to show how these two types of C. Albicans may induce T cell responses, naive T cells were stimulated with bone marrow-derived dendritic cells in the presence of either form of this organism. The cells stimulated with the hyphal form produced high amount of immunosuppressive IL-10, but not when stimulated with the yeast form. As C. Albicans expresses various innate receptor ligands, T cells were stimulated in presence of both Dectin-1- and/or TLR2-specific ligands. The T cells produced IL-10 when stimulated with Dectin-1 ligand alone, but not when stimulated with both Dectin-1 and TLR2 ligands. This suggests that the hyphal form predominantly express Dectin-1 ligands whereas the yeast form express both Dectin-1 and TLR2 ligands. In accompanying molecular studies, we found that Dectin-1 stimulation (but not Dectin-1 plus TLR2 stimulation) leads to IL-4 production and that Dectin-1-stimulated IL-4-, STAT6-, and GATA3-deficient CD4+ T cells produce greatly reduced amounts of IL-10. Furthermore, CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein beta (C/EBP-β) KO CD4+ T cells were also deficient in IL-10 production. Finally, we found that C/EBP-β interacts with GATA3 and influences its function. Thus, Dectin-1-induced IL-10 production stimulated by certain fungal forms is set in motion by a GATA3 / C/EBP-β mediated effect on IL-10 transcription.
Preventative treatment for migraine and tension-type headaches : do drugs having effects on muscle spasm and tone have a role?

Baclofen, tizanidine and botulinum toxin A, agents used to treat disorders of muscle tone, have been studied as potential preventative treatments for migraine, tension-type headache and other related disorders. The most extensive work has been completed with botulinum toxin A. However, there is still a paucity of well controlled, clinical trials with this agent, and overall there have been conflicting and oftentimes equivocal results: studies of its use in migraine headache have suggested efficacy, whereas those of tension-type headache have not shown significant evidence of efficacy. There were few significant adverse events associated with the use of botulinum toxin A in these trials. The mechanism by which botulinum toxin A may work to prevent headache is not clear. Although changes in muscle tone may play a role in the effect of the drug, central mechanisms such as effects on neuropeptides involved in the pathogenesis of migraine may also be relevant. Further clinical trial work is in progress to help determine optimal administration schedules and choice of injection locations with botulinum toxin A for specific headache disorders. There has been limited study of the use of baclofen, an agent that acts centrally via GABA(A) receptors, in migraine and cluster headache, with only two open trials conducted to date. Both of these studies support the use of baclofen in the preventive treatment of headache.Tizanidine, which may have both a peripheral and a central mechanism in the locus ceruleus in migraine headache, has been studied in several clinical trials. Although the primary mechanism of action of this agent is, like clonidine, as an alpha-adrenoceptor agonist, it has little antihypertensive effect. Open trials of tizanidine have shown it to be useful in chronic headache. One well controlled trial, conducted as a follow-up to an open-label trial in the preventive treatment of chronic daily headache, reported tizanidine as having a statistically significant benefit over placebo. Also of interest is its use in conjunction with a long-acting NSAID to aid in the treatment of rebound headache accompanying the discontinuation of overused acute migraine therapies. In conclusion, though limited, the studies suggest the efficacy of botulinum toxin A, baclofen and tizanidine in primary headache disorders.
Patient-oriented dialyzer selection and design.

In the design and selection of a dialyzer for individual patient use, there are really three basic considerations: Functional requirements, individual operational features, and other consumer-oriented considerations. It is obvious that functionality must not be compromised and that differences among the various dialyzers available for use today lie in their operational and consumer-oriented features. With the present state of the art, it is obvious that improvements in these latter design features can be made. However, with regard to functional improvements in dialyzer design, it is important that a better understanding of the biochemical aspects of uremia be known and necessary solutes to be removed be identified, so that improved designs and/or therapy can be developed. It must also be recognized that even with present dialyzer designs, the function can be altered based upon the mode of dialyzer operation.
Boll Weevil Development in Mass Rearing: Effects of Temperature

This study was made to determine whether a temperature could be found that would cause laboratory (mass) reared boll weevil, Anthonomus gradis grandis Boheman, to develop at an uniform rate (85% or more of insects pupated at the beginning of adult emergence) from eggs to adults in 11–12 days and to obtain an 85% or larger emergence of adults during a 3 day or less period but not have a decrease in yield of weevils. Three tests were conducted in which 7 developmental-period temperature regimens were used. When the rearing-medium temperature was held constant at 30.0°C for the entire development period (egg to adult stage), the total development period was 2 days shorter than with the other temperature regimens studied, but the yield of adults was lower than with some of the other temperature regimens. None of the temperatures studied resulted in uniform insect development.
Optimierung von Abgasanlagen mit gekoppelter 1D/3D-Simulation

In der Entwicklung von Abgasanlagen werden bei Arvin Meritor Emission Technologies zahlreiche Simulationsprogramme zur Optimierung von Sound, Ladungswechsel und Gegendruck eingesetzt. Die Kopplung der 1D-Simulationstechnik mit der 3D-Simulationstechnik bietet die Moglichkeit, die Vorteile beider Methoden zu kombinieren, wodurch die Qualitat der Simulationsergebnisse verbessert und gleichzeitig Entwicklungszeiten und -kosten reduziert werden konnen.
Viral vector-mediated expression of K + channels regulates electrical excitability in skeletal muscle

Viral vector-mediated expression of K + channels regulates electrical excitability in skeletal muscle
FasL — Too much of a good thing?

Transplanted grafts of pancreatic islet cells engineered to express Fas ligand are destroyed not protected by the immune system (pages 738–743).
Watts Up? Pro AC Power Meter for Automated Energy Recording: A Product Review

The purpose of the present paper is to review the Watts up? Pro AC power meter. Evaluations of the meter's reliability for measuring energy consumption by consumer electronics yielded acceptable levels of reliability. Implications and limitations for the use of this product in behavior analytic research and practice are discussed.
Assigning Educational Videos at Appropriate Locations in Textbooks.

The emergence of tablet devices, cloud computing, and abundant online multimedia content presents new opportunities to transform traditional paper-based textbooks into tablet-based electronic textbooks. Towards this goal, techniques have been proposed to automatically augment textbook sections with relevant web content such as online educational videos. However, a highly relevant video can be created at a granularity that may not mimic the organization of the textbook. We focus on the video assignment problem: Given a candidate set of relevant educational videos for augmenting an electronic textbook, how do we assign the videos at appropriate locations in the textbook? We propose a rigorous formulation of the video assignment problem and present an algorithm for assigning each video to the optimum subset of logical units. Our experimental evaluation using a diverse collection of educational videos relevant to multiple chapters in a textbook demonstrates the efficacy of the proposed techniques for inferring the granularity at which a relevant video should be assigned.
Bleeding Disorders in Cancer Patients

Bleeding disorders are common in patients with cancer. The vasculature, platelet number and function and coagulation system may all be adversely affected by the malignancy and/or its treatments. While the cause of bleeding may be straightforward in patients with anatomic lesions or chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia, more often a careful clinical assessment, including a thorough understanding of the underlying cancer and its therapy, judicious use of laboratory studies including specialized coagulation assays, examination of the peripheral blood smear, and occasionally invasive procedures such as a bone marrow biopsy, is required. Treatment is highly dependent on the underlying etiology and may involve the use of local therapies, platelet or plasma product transfusion, factor replacement, antifibrinolytic agents, and/or treatment of the underlying malignancy.
“Pain Is What the Patient Says It Is”: Nurse–Patient Communication, Information Seeking, and Pain Management:

Nurse-patient conversations about pain management are complex. Given recent increases in prescription pain pill abuse, such interactions merit scholarly attention. In-depth interviews with 21 nurses were conducted to explicitly explore nurses' information seeking about pain. The participants in this study gathered pain information from patients through a variety of means and reported facing challenges and dilemmas when communicating with patients about pain management and medicinal preferences. These results have important implications for nurses, patient outcomes, and the broader health-care system and imply that continued educational and intervention efforts are essential in this complicated communicative context.
Na-H Exchange Function in Colonic Epithelial Cells

Epithelial cells of the mammalian colon have multiple functions but are primarily responsible for the absorption and secretion of fluid and electrolytes (1). Normally, fluid, Na and Cl are absorbed and K and HCO3 are secreted by colonic epithelial cells, while multiple factors including hormones and diet may modify absorptive and secretory processes both qualitatively and quantitatively. There are several unique features of colonic epithelial cells with significant heterogeneity in their function. Epithelial cell function both of the proximal and distal segments and of the surface and crypt cells of the colon are not identical, while the mechanism of Na and Cl transport may differ in several species. In contrast to small intestinal epithelial cells that are critical for nutrient absorption, colonic epithelial cells absorb only fluid, electrolytes and short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and do not participate in the absorption of carbohydrates, amino acids and fat except in the neonatal period.
Direct numerical simulation of microcavitation processes in different bio environments

Laser-induced microcavitation refers to the rapid formation and expansion of a vapor bubble inside the bio-tissue when it is exposed to intense, pulsed laser energy. With the associated microscale dissection occurring within the tissue, laserinduced microcavitation is a common approach for high precision bio-surgeries. For example, laser-induced microcavitation is used for laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) to precisely reshape the midstromal corneal tissue through excimer laser beam. Multiple efforts over the last several years have observed unique characteristics of microcavitions in biotissues. For example, it was found that the threshold energy for microcavitation can be significantly reduced when the size of the biostructure is increased. Also, it was found that the dynamics of microcavitation are significantly affected by the elastic modules of the bio-tissue. However, these efforts have not focused on the early events during microcavitation development. In this study, a direct numerical simulation of the microcavitation process based on equation of state of the biotissue was established. With the direct numerical simulation, we were able to reproduce the dynamics of microcavitation in water-rich bio tissues. Additionally, an experimental setup in deionized water and 10% PAA gel was made to verify the results of the simulation for early micro-cavitation formation for 10% Polyacrylamide (PAA) gel in deionized water.
Bone Disorders in Cancer

As life expectancy steadily increases, osteoporosis and cancer are becoming concurrent diseases in an aging population. According to the American Cancer Society, among the over 1.5 million new cancer cases diagnosed each year, some 80 % occur in people over 55. Osteoporosis most commonly affects individuals aged 50 and above, with the current number estimated at 54 million over the age of 50; the older a person gets, the greater the risk becomes. The recent prevalence of osteoporosis and low bone mass in the United States based on bone mineral density at the femoral neck and lumbar spine. In cancer as in other diseases, patients and survivors are susceptible to primary osteoporosis caused by the aging process and other detrimental lifestyle factors. This chapter will focus on the secondary osteoporosis brought about by three types of cancer: hematologic malignancies (leukemias, lymphomas, myelomas), solid bone tumors that metastasize to bone (breast, prostate, lung, kidney), and primary bone tumors (osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma). It will also consider prevailing cancer treatments ranging from medications including corticosteroids to radiation therapy which can be causal factors for osteoporosis.
A new mechanism for warm-season precipitation response to global warming based on convection-permitting simulations

Climate models project increasing precipitation intensity but decreasing frequency as greenhouse gases increase. However, the exact mechanism for the frequency decrease remains unclear. Here we investigate this by analyzing hourly data from regional climate change simulations with 4 km grid spacing covering most of North America using the Weather Research and Forecasting model. The model was forced with present and future boundary conditions, with the latter being derived by adding the CMIP5 19-model ensemble mean changes to the ERA-interim reanalysis. The model reproduces well the observed seasonal and spatial variations in precipitation frequency and histograms, and the dry interval between rain events over the contiguous US. Results show that overall precipitation frequency indeed decreases during the warm season mainly due to fewer light-moderate precipitation (0.1 10 mm/h) events increase. Dry spells become longer and more frequent, together with a reduction in time-mean relative humidity (RH) in the lower troposphere during the warm season. The increased dry hours and decreased RH lead to a reduction in overall precipitation frequency and also for light-moderate precipitation events, while water vapor-induced increases in precipitation intensity and the positive latent heating feedback in intense storms may be responsible for the large increase in intense precipitation. The size of intense storms increases while their number decreases in the future climate, which helps explain the increase in local frequency of heavy precipitation. The results generally support a new hypothesis for future warm-season precipitation: each rainstorm removes ≥7% more moisture from the air per 1 K local warming, and surface evaporation and moisture advection take slightly longer than currently to replenish the depleted moisture before the next storm forms, leading to longer dry spells and a reduction in precipitation frequency, as well as decreases in time-mean RH and vertical motion.
Recreational Activity in Assisted Living Communities: A Critical Review and Theoretical Model

Background and objectives This paper critically reviewed the scientific literature on recreational activity (RA) behaviors in assisted living (AL) communities. Research design and methods A search of three databases yielded 70 quantitative, qualitative, and observational articles that met criteria for inclusion. Results AL residents participated in various types of RA, however, did so infrequently. Individual, interindividual, environmental, and relocation factors influenced RA behaviors, and participation may relate to positive consequences for residents and AL communities. This review identified multiple limitations in the literature related to construct definitions, measurement protocols, and incomplete or absent theoretical frameworks. Discussion and implications To address these limitations, the current review proposes a multivariate measurement model and an interdisciplinary theoretical model of factors relating to RA, consistent with an ecological framework. The proposed models appreciate individual psychological factors that influence the multiple facets of human choice and behavior, as well as the interaction between individuals and the unique sociophysical environment of AL. This paper concludes with recommendations for future research, emphasizing studies that have applied implications for practice and policy.
Digital governance success factors and barriers to success in prague

In 2010 a series of case studies were conducted in Prague, Czech Republic, examining the implementation and management of digital governance. These best practice case studies were chosen from among Prague's twenty-two administrative districts and through those findings this article discusses critical success factors and barriers to successful implementation of digital government initiatives. A qualitative review of both critical success factors and barriers is discussed at the individual, organizational, and strategic levels and the paper concludes by highlighting strategies managers can take to increase e-government performance. When considered together, the critical success factors, barriers to implementation, and key factors identified in the case studies further add to the growing literature of digital governance and performance management.
Evaluating Report Text Variation and Informativeness: Natural Language Processing of CT Chest Imaging for Pulmonary Embolism

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to quantify the variability of language in free text reports of pulmonary embolus (PE) studies and to gauge the informativeness of free text to predict PE diagnosis using machine learning as proxy for human understanding. Materials and Methods All 1,133 consecutive chest CTs with contrast studies performed under a PE protocol and ordered in the emergency department in 2016 were selected from our departmental electronic workflow system. We used commercial text-mining and predictive analytics software to parse and describe all report text and to generate a suite of machine learning rules that sought to predict the "gold standard" radiological diagnosis of PE. Results There was extensive variation in the length of Findings section and Impression section texts across the reports, only marginally associated with a positive PE diagnosis. A marked concentration of terms was found: for example, 20 words were used in the Findings section of 93% of the reports, and 896 of 2,296 distinct words were each used in only one report's Impression section. In the validation set, machine learning rules had perfect sensitivity but imperfect specificity, a low positive predictive value of 73%, and a misclassification rate of 3%. Conclusion Use of free text reporting was associated with extensive variability in report length and report terms used. Interpretation of the free text was a difficult machine learning task and suggests potential difficulty for human recipients in fully understanding such reports. These results support the prospective assessment of the impact of a fully structured report template with at least some mandatory discrete fields on ease of use of reports and their understanding.
Let them eat fruit

Detailed biochemical, structural and growth studies reveal how Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron coordinates a complex enzymatic response to deconstruct pectins — complex dietary components that comprise a tremendous diversity of monosaccharide units and glycosidic linkage combinations.
Nationalism in Central Asia: a biography of the Uzbekistan–Kyrgyzstan boundary

Bicycling a handful of times between Ferghana Valley villages in the summer of 1994, I accompanied my neighbour from Uzbekistan to Kyrgyzstan. As I interviewed him about differences between his Sov...