cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Diagnostic and Modeling Study of the Two Basic Modes of Surface Air Temperature and Its Variation in China

Because of its particular geographical condition,the climate of China vary from one region to another.Thus,studies of the spatial patterns of temperature variance in the context of global warming in the past one hundred years are very meaningful.Using the constructed and observational data, we obtained a series of surface temperature anomaly over Eastern China in four seasons during the period of 1880-2004.EOF analysis was applied on this sequence,and it is found that two basic spatial patterns,which are independent of seasonal cycle,dominate the variation of surface temperature in China.The two leading EOF eigenvectors are:(1) Eastern China experiences a consistent change;(2) Northeastern China exhibits an opposite change compared with the rest parts of China.Moreover,detailed analysis shows that the warming since the 1980s in China is chiefly caused by the persistently increasing in positive phase of EOF1 mode since 1976.The warming during the period of the 1920s-1940s can be mainly attributed to the positive phase of EOF-2 mode.Besides the diagnostic analysis,the results from an ensemble numerical simulation were also examined,using the same methods and approaches as above.It should be noted that the first mode can be captured by an Atmospheric General Circulation Model forced by observational sea surface temperature and sea ice data.However,this model failed to present the second mode except for boreal winter(DJF).Furthermore,because of the relatively steady performance of the two modes in winter,the circulation patterns in 500 hPa level for these two modes were investigated by composite analysis on both the observational and modeled data.The results from the two kinds of data show conformably that the positive phase of the first mode corresponds to the enhanced zonal circulation in winter,which leads to the warming in eastern China,while the negative phase corresponds to the circulation structure that the East Asia trough is deepening,which leads to the coherent cold in Eastern China.The second mode is affected by the large scale of high level anomaly centers.The positive phase corresponds to the situation that from northern East Asia to Aleutian is controlled by negative geopotential height anomaly and from East Asia to northern Pacific Ocean in middle latitude is covered by positive anomaly,resulting in the cold anomaly on surface in northeast and warm anomaly in the rest parts.The circulation pattern of the negative phase is almost in the opposite condition.
Study of the Efficacy of Ovotransferrin-Iron(III)-Preparation on the Anemic Mice

The efficacy of Ovotransferrin-Iron(Ⅲ)-preparation was examined in this paper.The content of RBC,SOD activity in blood serum and MDA activity in liver,from anemic mice which were fed with Ovotransferrin-Iron(Ⅲ)-preparation,were tested.After 10 days'feeding,it was found that the content of RBC of the experimental control group was 1.40×1012/L,which was close to the positive control group I,but observably higher than the negative control group.SOD activity in blood serum of the experimental control group was 29.69 U/mg prot,observably higher than other groups.MDA content in liver of the experimental group was 4.34 nmol/ml,which was the lowest.So it was proved that Ovotransferrin-Iron(Ⅲ)-preparation showed obrious efficacy with great antioxidant and lipotropism.It has the better potential bioavailability as an iron supplement.
Sukumar, R. 2003. The Living Elephants: Evolutionary Ecology, Behavior, and Conservation. Oxford University Press, New York, 478 pp. ISBN 0-19-510778-0, price (hardbound), $74.50

R. Sukumar, 2003. The Living Elephants: Evolutionary Ecology, Behavior, and Conservation. Oxford University Press, New York, 478 pp. ISBN 0-19-510778-0, price (hardbound), $74.50. Elephants are perhaps the most recognized of the charismatic megafauna, and studies of these animals have broad appeal to both scientists and the general public. In Living Elephants , Raman Sukumar sought to provide a broad synthesis of elephant biology within the framework of modern evolutionary theory. He succeeded admirably; this book is an excellent compilation of the latest data generated for both Asian and African elephants. Components of taxonomy, evolutionary ecology, behavior, and conservation are included in the book and synthesized in a very useful way. Our understanding of the evolution and taxonomy of elephants has rapidly expanded with the discovery of new fossils as well as through DNA studies. In the 1st chapter, both paleontological and genetic data are employed to describe the evolutionary history of the order Proboscidea. Proboscideans 1st appeared in the fossils of the late Paleocene and included some 160 species ranging from giant forms to dwarf island populations. Details …
Assessment of nonoperative management of blunt spleen and liver trauma.

An 8-year analysis of nonoperative management (NOM) of spleen and liver trauma was done in a level 1 trauma center. Spleen and liver trauma was diagnosed in 279 patients: 93 children (<18), 137 younger adults (18-54), and 49 older adults (≥ 55). Nineteen patients who failed resuscitations died within 0-60 minutes of arrival and were excluded from treatment analysis. Operative management (OM) was done in 39 (15%) and NOM in 221 (85%) patients with failure (NOMF) in 11 (5%). NOM and NOMF was 82 per cent and 5.6 per cent in spleen, 74 per cent and 14.3 per cent in combined spleen/liver, and 96 per cent and 1.5 per cent in liver trauma (P value <0.001). NOM was done in 99 per cent of children, 81 per cent of younger adults, and 68 per cent of older adults with 0 per cent, 8 per cent, and 10 per cent NOMF. Higher grades of splenic trauma and CT fluid had higher OM rate. NOM success rates were 93.8 per cent in grade 3 and 90.3 per cent in higher grades of spleen trauma. There was no NOMF in higher grades of liver trauma. CT fluid grade had no impact on NOMF. Female patients had higher mean injury severity score, age, and mortality compared to cohorts. NOM should be attempted in hemodynamically stable patients. Age over 55, higher grades of injury, and large hemoperitoneum were not predictors of failure of NOM.
Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease: An Exuberant Localized T Cell Activation Arrested By Histiocytes?

Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease, or histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis, is a relatively new disease entity seen in the U.S. that primarily affects young women. Originally discovered in 1972 in Japan, it is now seen in the U.S. By 1993 approximately 200 cases had been reported. The disease is a self-limiting process of unknown etiology.
Antiepileptic Drug Monitoring

The appropriateness of antiepileptic drug (AED) level monitoring was assessed in a tertiary care center performing more than 10,000 AED level determinations per year and reported from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA.
ProliNONOate Alters Fibrin Clot Formation Through Peroxynitrite Formation and Protein Oxidation

When a blood clot forms, the protein thrombin cleaves fibrinogen into fibrin that polymerizes into a branched network of fibers that forms the structure of the clot. The kinetics of fiber formation affect fiber diameter, fiber network density, rate of clot lysis and potentially clot stiffness. We previously showed that exposure to nitric oxide, an important regulator of blood flow, alters the characteristics of these fibrin clots. The addition of ProliNONOate to fibrinogen or thrombin together or separately lead to a decreased the rate of fiber formation, increased the time the clot took to gel, increased fiber diameters, and decreased clot density. We hypothesize the effects of nitric oxide on the fibrin clots are due to oxidation of the proteins due to the creation of peroxynitrite. Peroxynitrite is created when nitric oxide reacts with superoxide anion and is known to cause nitration of tyrosine resides and oxidation of methionine and cysteine residues. Therefore, we measured carbonyl formation and tyrosine nitration upon exposure to ProliNONOate. Here we show the addition of the peroxynitrite scavenging ferric porphyrin complex, Iron(III)-5,10,15,20-tetrakis94-sulonatophenyl) porphyrinato chloride (FeTPPS) to the samples immediately prior to the addition of proliNONOate reduces protein oxidation. The addition of FeTPPS reduced or eliminated protein carbonyl formation. Previously we reported the formation of 880 ± 480 mmol of carbonyls per mole of fibrinogen after the addition of ProliNONOate however, with the addition of FeTPPS no carbonyls were detected. Carbonyls detected on thrombin exposed to ProliNONOate were reduced from 390 ± 80 mmol/mol thrombin to 18 mmol/mole thrombin with the addition of FeTPPS. FeTPPS abrogated the changes to the rate of fibrin formation. When FeTPPS was added to fibrinogen before the addition of ProliNONOate there was no significate change in the rate of fiber formation. Without FeTPPS we previously reported a decreased rate of clot formation. Here we show the exposure of blood clot proteins fibrinogen and thrombin to NO donor ProliNONOate lead to peroxynitrite formation which caused the previously reported protein oxidation and altered fibrin fiber formation kinetics and thereby altered various fibrin clot properties.
Serologic Screening for Genital Herpes Infection

C.D. is a 23-year-old woman who presents to your office for her first prenatal visit. She is in the eighth week of her first pregnancy. She tested negative for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) two years ago, and she has not had a new sex partner since that time. Although she reports no symptoms or history of an STI, she asks to be tested for “everything.”
Modeling of Average Current Mode Control in PWM DC/DC Converters

Abstract In this paper, an improved averaging technique for average current mode controlled (ACMC) pulse width modulated (PWM) DC/DC converter is proposed. The modeling procedure provides a ripple estimation and improves switching time calculation for ACMC PWM DC DC converters. As an application of the theory, an ACMC boost converter witjh two proportional-integral (PI) controllers for both current loop and voltage loop is presented. Results confirm that the new averaged models are more accurate than conventional averaged models.
Stochastic Flow Shops

When job parameters are uncertain or unpredictable, new types of policies become possible. Besides static policies, we now should consider dynamic policies, with or without preemption. Objectives too have more variety. The makespan, for example, is now random; we usually choose to minimize its expectation.
NOx formation in post-flame gases from syngas/air combustion at atmospheric pressure

Abstract Species concentration measurements specifically those associated with nitrogen oxides (NO x ) can act as important validation targets for developing kinetic models to predict NO x emissions under syngas combustion accurately. In the present study, premixed combustion of syngas/air mixtures, with equivalence ratio (Φ) from 0.5 to 1.0 and H 2 /CO ratio from 0.25 to 1.0 was conducted in a McKenna burner operating at atmospheric pressure. Temperature and NO x concentrations were measured in the post-combustion zone. For a given H 2 /CO ratio, increasing the equivalence ratio from lean to stoichiometric resulted in an increase in NO and decrease in NO 2 concentration near the flame. Increasing the H 2 /CO ratio led to a decrease in the temperature as well as the NO concentration near the flame. Based on the axial profiles above the burner, NO concentration increases right above the flame while NO 2 concentration decreases through NO 2 -NO conversion reactions according to the path flux analysis. In addition, the present experiments were operated in the laminar region where multidimensional transport effects play significant roles. In order to account for the radial and axial diffusive and convective coupling to chemical kinetics in laminar flow, a multidimensional model was developed to simulate the post-combustion species and temperature distribution. The measurements were compared against both multidimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and one-dimensional burner-stabilized flame simulations. The multidimensional model predictions resulted in a better agreement with the measurements, clearly highlighting the effect of multidimensional transport.
Double Replication of Silica Colloidal Crystal Films

Inverse opals made by polymerizing vinyl monomers inside a colloidal crystal have lattice dimensions that are contracted relative to the original hard template. This effect was studied in order to investigate the possibility of making double replicas of varying pore sizes from different materials, and to gain a better understanding of the polymer contraction behavior during replication. The degree of lattice contraction was measured using colloidal crystal films formed from silica spheres with diameters in the range 33–225 nm, and polymers pEDMA [poly(1,2-ethanediol dimethacrylate)], pDVB [poly(divinylbenzene)], pHDMA [poly(1,6-hexanediol dimethacrylate)], pBDMA [poly(1,4-butanediol dimethacrylate)], and a 5:4 copolymer mixture of pEDMA/pDVB. The degree of lattice contraction depended on the alkyl chain length of the monomer, as well as the degree of cross-linking, with up to 32% contraction observed for pEDMA when the silica template was removed. However, filling the polymer inverse opals with silica or ...
Initiation, Elongation, and Termination of Bacterial Cellulose Synthesis

Cellulose is the major component of the plant cell wall and composed of β-linked glucose units. Use of cellulose is greatly impacted by its physical properties, which are dominated by the number of...
Medical and Interventional Outcomes in Pediatric Lone Atrial Fibrillation.

Abstract Objectives The goal of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics of pediatric patients with lone atrial fibrillation (LAF) and their treatment outcomes. The authors focused on patients who underwent ablation and compared the recurrence after ablation of supraventricular tachycardia substrates as presumed triggers versus pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). Background LAF in pediatrics is rare, and outcomes remain poorly defined. Current guidelines on ablation are based on a few small studies, and we present outcomes from the largest cohort of patients after ablation. Methods This retrospective review included patients ≤21 years of age diagnosed with LAF from 2004 to 2015. Relevant clinical data, including recurrence rates after treatment, were tracked and analyzed with a focus on patients who underwent ablation procedures. Results Sixty-two patients were identified with LAF; 88% were male, and 63% were athletes. Of the 33 patients taking antiarrhythmic medication, 20 (61%) experienced recurrence. Overall, 16 patients (26%) underwent ablation: PVI in 10 (62.5%), ablation of an accessory pathway in 3 (19%), and modification of the slow atrioventricular nodal pathway in 3 (19%). One-half of patients who underwent PVI experienced documented recurrence. Of those who solely underwent supraventricular tachycardia substrate ablation, one-half also had symptomatic or documented recurrence. Conclusions Ablation recurrence within this pediatric cohort was higher than expected. These recurrence rates may be demonstrative of the technical challenge of pediatric ablation compared with adult counterparts, characteristics of these patients such as athletic conditioning, or inherent differences in their atrial tissue, rendering it more refractory to substrate modification.
Antarctic and global climate history viewed from ice cores

A growing network of ice cores reveals the past 800,000 years of Antarctic climate and atmospheric composition. The data show tight links among greenhouse gases, aerosols and global climate on many timescales, demonstrate connections between Antarctica and distant locations, and reveal the extraordinary differences between the composition of our present atmosphere and its natural range of variability as revealed in the ice core record. Further coring in extremely challenging locations is now being planned, with the goal of finding older ice and resolving the mechanisms underlying the shift of glacial cycles from 40,000-year to 100,000-year cycles about a million years ago, one of the great mysteries of climate science.
Femtosecond Laser Development

Advances in ultrashort-pulse laser technology have led to few-cycle-duration optical pulses, with octave-spanning spectra, generated directly from laser oscillators at high repetition rates. These new laser systems promise to be reliable sources of carrier-envelope-phase-stabilized femtosecond pulse trains and highly stable laser frequency combs. In this chapter, we review the pulse and carrier-envelope phase dynamics of these laser sources and discuss different laser designs based on prismless cavities and cavities including prism pairs for dispersion compensation.
Use and abuse of RQD in underground mine design

Rock Quality Designation, RQD, was introduced by Deere as a form of modified core recovery index which could be used to describe the quality of a rock mass. RQD has since been used to predict cavability of rock mass, determine support requirements for tunnels and drifts, and generate functional relationships with other physical properties of rock masses. The difficulty in generalizing the use of RQD (often without exercising due caution) is that RQD as an index may not be robust, that is, not all variables of which RQD is a function may be impacting on the core-drilling phenomenon. Specific examples of the problems involving RQD include the use of RQD for characterizing rock masses for cavability and the influence of core breakage on RQD.
Angular Momentum in the Earth System

Angular momentum is a fundamental conserved property of dynamic systems. Applying the principle of conservation of angular momentum to the Earth allows the causes of the observed changes in the rotation of the solid Earth to be investigated. After reviewing the application of this principle to the study of observed changes in the Earth’s rotation, it is used to investigate the influence of the atmosphere and oceans on the Earth’s rotation during 1985–1995. Although atmospheric winds are the dominate process causing the Earth’s rate of rotation to change on time scales of a few days to a few years, the redistribution of mass within the atmosphere and oceans is shown to be important in causing polar motion on these time scales.
Performance Evaluation of NDN Applications in Low-Interference Mobile Ad Hoc Environments

A mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is an infrastructure-free network where mobile devices are connected wirelessly and can move in arbitrary directions. Mobile ad hoc networks can be utilized in many applications, ranging from sensor networks, autonomous vehicles, battlefield communication, to disaster rescue operations, etc. However, existing TCP/IP based Internet architecture that supports MANET has many limitations, such as dependency on end-to-end IP address-based communication and out-of-band security mechanisms, to enable it to work in an efficient and secured manner. The emerging Named Data Networking (NDN) architecture can help address many such problems fundamentally. NDN is a new information centric network architecture that features name-based data, in-network caching, and built-in security. To test and verify the features of this new paradigm, in this paper, we set up several real and low-interference mobile ad hoc environments using Raspberry Pi-based mini cars and built NDN applications on top of the infrastructure. We examined the performance of the NDN applications with various network settings in both static and mobile modes and demonstrated the effectiveness of NDN architecture in terms of in-network caching and information centric features.
An open trial of an anger management treatment in a correctional facility: preliminary effectiveness and predictors of response

Despite the prevalence of anger management programs in correctional settings, there is mixed support for their effectiveness, and little is known about who benefits most. This preliminary study aim...
PAC, an evolutionarily conserved membrane protein, is a proton-activated chloride channel

Severe local acidosis causes tissue damage and pain, and is one of the hallmarks of many diseases including ischemia, cancer, and inflammation. However, the molecular mechanisms of the cellular response to acid are not fully understood. We performed an unbiased RNA interference screen and identified PAC (TMEM206) as being essential for the widely observed proton-activated Cl− (PAC) currents (ICl,H). Overexpression of human PAC in PAC knockout cells generated ICl,H with the same characteristics as the endogenous ones. Zebrafish PAC encodes a PAC channel with distinct properties. Knockout of mouse Pac abolished ICl,H in neurons and attenuated brain damage after ischemic stroke. The wide expression of PAC suggests a broad role for this conserved Cl− channel family in physiological and pathological processes associated with acidic pH.
Tap your hand if you feel the beat: differential effects of tapping in melodic intonation therapy

Background: Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT) is a structured, intensive therapy for recovery of verbal output in people with nonfluent, Broca’s type, aphasia. Stemming from the observation that peo...
ESEEM spectroscopy — probing active site structures of metalloproteins

Electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) spectroscopy is a pulsed EPR method useful for the elucidation of structure in the vicinity of paramagnetic metal centers and free radicals, based on measurement of weak hyperfine interactions. In the two examples provided, Cu(II) and Co(II) coordinated to imidazole, we show how the measurement of nuclear quadrupole and weak nuclear hyperfine interaction provides a basis for understanding how local changes in a protein structure are transmitted to metal binding sites.
Presenting Relaxation Techniques to Pregnant Adolescents

Teens present a unique challenge for the childbirth educator. A committed educator must find creative teaching strategies that will ease an adolescent's tension and provide a safe environment where a teen can "own" the message of her body's ability to give birth. The author of this column presents one of her own strategies for teaching relaxation techniques to adolescents.
P126 Changes in Frequency of Cooking, Eating Out and the Relationship with Food Consumption of East Asian International Students in New York

Background During 2017-2018, East Asian international students accounted for 46% (n = 466, 265) of total international students in the US. Upon arrival here, they tend to face challenges regarding cooking and eating out while focusing on academic achievement and navigating a different food environment. However, how the transition takes place and how it links to current food consumption have not been explored. Objective To examine East Asian international students' changes in frequency of cooking and eating out upon arrival to the US, and the relationship with food consumption. Study Design, Settings, Participants A cross-sectional survey administered to East Asian international students (n = 511; female 67.1%; mean age 24.8 years;) at four universities in New York State. Measurable Outcome/Analysis A 14-item food frequency questionnaire using nine-point Likert scale was used to measure food consumption. Comparison between cooking and eating out in their home country and in the US were measured by descriptive statistics and t-test. Multiple regression analysis was performed to analyze how current cooking and eating out, and weekly expenditure, were related to current food consumption. Results Students cooked more frequently in the US than in their home countries (t = -19.74; P Conclusion While students tend to spend more on eating out due to busy academic schedules, cooking more often would help them eat more whole foods and less processed foods, leading to healthy food consumption while they stay here. Funding None.
Oxidative stress regulates expression of VEGFR1+ in myeloid cells: Link to angiogenesis and tumor-induced immune suppression in renal cell carcinoma

283 Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is associates with overproduction of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) due mutation/inactivation of VHL tumor suppressor gene. Here we demonstrate that implantation of human RCC tumor cells into nude mice promotes up-regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VEGFR1) in peripheral blood specifically in CD11b myeloid cells. Avastin-mediated VEGF neutralization was capable of significant reducing the numbers of circulating VEGFR1-positive cells in tumor-bearing mice. Conversely, up-regulation of VEGFR1 in myeloid cells also could be achieved in vitro by co-culturing of bone marrow cells with RCC-conditioned medium, or by short-term exposure of naive myeloid cells to the oxidative stress. Treatment myeloid cells with H2O2, or lipid peroxidation product 4-HNE or inhibitor of thioredoxin reductase all resulted in increased expression of VEGFR1. Furthermore, after exposure to oxidative stress, myeloid cells have acquired the immunosuppressive features and become capable of inhibiting T cell proliferation. Obtained data suggest that tumor-induced oxidative stress may promote both VEGFR1 up-regulation and immunosuppressive function in bone marrow-derived myeloid cells. Analysis of tumor tissue and peripheral blood from patients with metastatic RCC revealed that VEGFR1-positive cells can be also found in cancer patients. Restoration of immunocompetence in metastatic RCC patients by pharmacological elimination of VEGFR1-positive cells may have a significant impact on the therapeutic efficacy of cancer vaccines or other immune-based therapies.
Time accurate unsteady simulation of the stall inception process in the compression system of a US army helicopter gas turbine engine

The operational envelope of gas turbine engines such as those employed in the Army Blackhawk helicopter is constrained by the stability limit of the compression system. Technologies developed to improve the stable operating range of gas turbine compressors lack a fundamental understanding beneficial to design guidance. Improved understanding of the stall inception process and how stall control technologies mitigate such will provide compressors with increased tolerance to stall, thereby expanding the operational envelope of military gas turbine engines. Compressors which consist of multiple stages of stationary and rotating blade rows can include shocks, vortices, separations, secondary flows, shock/boundary layer interactions, and turbulent wakes, all of which grow in severity as a compressor approaches stall. As a compressor nears stall the flow field is no longer periodic from passage to passage so all blade passages must be computed. For a typical multistage compressor this becomes a formidable computational challenge requiring access to massively parallel machines in order to meet the computational and memory demands of the problem. We are using a time-accurate CFD code to simulate the unsteady stall inception process, both with and without stall control technology, in the compression system of the T700 engine which is employed in the Army Blackhawk Helicopter. This work provide the first-ever 3-dimensional viscous time-accurate simulation of the stall inception process in a multistage compressor, providing insight into the causal link between compressor blade design parameters and the stable operating limit, which will be used to guide new design practices leading to compressor designs with increased tolerance to stall. This paper presents progress to date on this DoD Challenge Project.
Boundary Objects and Public Deliberation: Analyzing the Management of Boundary Tensions in the Consensus Conference

Consistent with studies on inclusive management, this paper adopts the concept of “boundary object” and therefore an emergent approach to explain the collaboration of heterogeneous social actors in public deliberation. My long-term participant observation of the consensus conferences in Taiwan from 2002 through 2005 in general and the transcript of a national consensus conference on prenatal examination in 2005 in particular form the data sources. The identification of a series of boundary objects in the consensus conferences led me to conclude that, on the one hand, the consensus conference is a boundary infrastructure that fosters the establishment of a community of participation and thereby facilitates diverse parties’ deliberation on sensitive issues. On the other hand, whereas a newly formed collective identity is emerging in public deliberation, boundary tensions and the differences between diverse social actors are managed and halted temporarily instead of eliminated permanently by boundary objects. That is, collaboration in public deliberation is always an achievement “in the making” by all parties.
Identity-Based Roles in Rhizomatic Social Justice Movements on Twitter

Contemporary social justice movements can be understood as rhizomatic, growing laterally without a central structure. In this mixed methods study, we investigated the roles that activists develop based on their personal and professional identities and carry with them through the dynamic landscape of rhizomatic social justice movements on Twitter. We conducted interviews with self-identified social justice activists and analyzed seven weeks of their Twitter timeline and retweets. We found three activist roles–organizer, storyteller and advocate–and described the identities, approaches to activism, behaviors on Twitter, and the relationship to social justice movements for each role. We used these roles as a lens to better understand how movement identities are constructed, laid out an agenda for future research on roles in rhizomatic social justice movements and suggested design directions.
Expansion of social assistance: Does politics matter?

This paper examines the significance of politics in the rise of social assistance programmes in developing countries in the last decade on the basis of case studies of India, Brazil and South Africa. Most of the literature on social assistance is focused on design and outcomes, but ignores the politics of it. Politics influences social assistance programmes in a two-way process. Politics is crucial to the adoption, design and implementation of social assistance programmes, but the latter also have a feedback effect on local and national politics. A comparative perspective helps identify some key parameters in the politics of social ssistance.
Racial/ethnic disparities in weight or BMI change in adulthood and pancreatic cancer incidence: The multiethnic cohort

Introduction Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, Japanese Americans, Native Hawaiians, and African Americans have higher incidences of pancreatic cancer (PCa) that are not entirely explained by rates of obesity but may be explained by weight changes throughout adulthood. Methods The multiethnic cohort is a population-based prospective cohort study that has followed 155,308 participants since its establishment between 1993 and 1996. A total of 1,328 incident cases with invasive PCa were identified through 2015. We conducted separate multivariable Cox proportional hazards models for self-reported weight-change and BMI-change (age 21 to cohort entry) to determine the association with PCa risk, adjusting for potential confounders including weight or BMI at age 21. Results The mean age at cohort entry was 59.3 years (SD 8.9). An increased risk of PCa was associated with: 1) weight (HR per10 lbs = 1.06; 95% CI = 1.03-1.09) or BMI (HR per kg/m2 = 1.04; 95% CI = 1.02-1.05) at age 21; and 2) weight (HR per 10 lbs = 1.03; 95% CI = 1.01-1.05) or BMI (HR = 1.02; 95% CI = 1.00-1.03) at cohort entry. We found increased risk of PCa between weight (HR per 10 lbs = 1.03; 95% CI = 1.01-1.05) and BMI (HR per 5 kg/m2 = 1.08; 95% CI = 1.01-1.15) change from age 21 to baseline. There were significant interactions between race/ethnicity and weight (p = 0.008) or BMI (p = 0.03) at baseline, and weight (p = 0.02) or BMI (p = 0.02) change. Weight and BMI change through adulthood significantly increased the risk of PCa for Japanese Americans and Latinos, but not for African American, White, or Hawaiian participants. Conclusion Our findings indicate that weight or BMI gain has a significant and independent impact on PCa risk, specifically among Latinos and Japanese Americans.
The Milieu Souterrain Superficiel (MSS) as hibernation habitat for bats: implications for white-nose syndrome

Recent studies have revealed that western populations of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) in North America exhibit different hibernation behavior than their eastern counterparts. Understanding these differences is essential for assessing the risk white-nose syndrome (WNS) poses to western bat populations. We used acoustic monitoring and radiotelemetry to study the overwintering behavior of little brown bats near Juneau, Alaska during 2011–2014. Our objectives were to identify the structures they use for hibernation, measure the microclimates within those structures, and determine the timing of immergence and emergence and the length of the hibernation season. We radiotracked 10 little brown bats to underground hibernacula dispersed along two ridge systems. All hibernacula were ≤ 24.2 km from where the bats were captured. Eight bats hibernated in the “Milieu Souterrain Superficiel” (MSS), a network of air-filled underground voids between the rock fragments found in scree (talus) deposits. Two bats hibernated in holes in the soil beneath the root system of a tree or stump (rootball). At least two hibernacula in the MSS were reused in subsequent years. Average MSS and rootball temperatures were warmer and more stable than ambient temperature and were well below the optimal growth range of the fungus that causes WNS. Temperatures in the MSS dropped below freezing, but MSS temperatures increased with depth, indicating bats could avoid subfreezing temperatures by moving deeper into the MSS. Relative humidity (RH) approached 100% in the MSS and under rootballs and was more stable than ambient RH, which also was high, but dropped substantially during periods of extreme cold. Acoustic monitoring revealed that bats hibernated by late October and began emerging by the second week of April; estimates of minimum length of the hibernation season ranged from 156 to 190 days. The cold temperatures, dispersed nature of the hibernacula, and close proximity of hibernacula to summering areas may slow the spread and reduce the impacts of WNS on local populations of little brown bats.
The effect of health prompts on product consideration, attention to information, and choice in large, online product assortments: The case of fiber

Abstract Health-focused point-of-decision prompts (PDPs) influence consumers to purchase healthier food products, but how PDPs work has not been established. We examined how a PDP focused on fiber consumption, an under-consumed nutrient, influences consumers to select healthier products. US-based participants (n = 753), randomly assigned to a PDP or control condition, completed a simulated online shopping experience that included features of real-world retail settings, such as the ability to examine subsets of products and to choose to access nutrition information. In each condition, participants made choices in cereal, bread, and cracker categories. Participants could choose to view all or subsets of products before making a selection and reported the nutrient information they examined. We used mediation analysis to examine direct and indirect pathways through which the PDP affected the fiber content and healthiness rating of choices. Indirect pathways were whether the set of products the participant considered included healthy options (HCS) and attention to fiber information (AFI) when making choices. The PDP increased fiber content and Guiding Stars (GS) ratings of product choices by a total of 0.53 g dietary fiber/serving and 0.25 GS, respectively. This increase resulted from direct and indirect influences from the PDP. The direct effect increased fiber (GS) by 0.19 g dietary fiber/serving (0.072 GS). The indirect influence of the PDP through HCS increased 0.21 g dietary fiber/serving (0.104 GS) and through AFI increased 0.13 g dietary fiber/serving (0.035 GS). The PDP engendered healthier purchases by influencing consumer behavior at multiple points in the decision-making process.
Impact of an online multicomponent very-low-carbohydrate program in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a pilot study

Objective To study the impact of a very-low-carbohydrate (VLC) diet for 16 weeks in overweight or obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Design Single-arm prospective pilot study. Setting We recruited participants using medical records from an academic medical center. Patient(s) Twenty-nine overweight or obese women (body mass index, 25–50 kg/m2) with PCOS. Intervention(s) We taught participants to follow a VLC diet and provided information about a variety of behavioral skills including mindfulness and positive affect using an online 16-week intervention. Main Outcome Measure(s) Changes in body weight, glycated hemoglobin, and PCOS-related quality of life. Result(s) The intervention led to positive health outcomes including decreases in percent weight (mean difference = −7.67, SD = 6.10) and glycated hemoglobin level (mean difference = −0.21%, SD = 0.27), an increase in sex hormone binding globulin level (mean difference = 9.24 nmol/L, SD = 16.34), and increases in PCOS-related quality of life measures, including menstrual predictability (mean difference = 2.10, SD = 2.76) and body hair (mean difference = 1.14, SD = 1.04). The low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level increased (mean difference = 0.23 mmol/L, SD = 0.49). Conclusion(s) The results suggest that a VLC dietary intervention has potential to promote both weight loss and glycemic control in overweight and obese adults with PCOS, two key components in the prevention of type 2 diabetes. Trial Registration Number NCT03987854.
The effect of perceptual processing fluency and value on metacognition and remembering.

Previous research has indicated that perceptual processing fluency significantly affects metacognitive predictions of performance but not learning outcomes. In the present study, we examined the differential impact of perceptual processing fluency and an item’s value on metacognition and recall. We presented participants with words visually and audibly, with each word paired with a point value counting towards participants’ scores if recalled. The words were either highly perceptually fluent (large font, loud volume) or less perceptually fluent (small font, low volume). Results revealed that both metacognitive monitoring (JOLs) and recall were sensitive to perceptual processing fluency as well as value, but the magnitude of the effect of value was significantly greater than that of font size. Specifically, high-value words were better remembered than low-value words, regardless of fluency, and participants’ judgments mapped onto their selectivity for valuable information. Thus, the current study revealed the differential effects of intrinsic and extrinsic cues on metacognitive monitoring and later remembering such that the cues that can influence monitoring in certain encoding conditions become less impactful when pitted against other intrinsic cues in different encoding conditions.
Self-Management in Chronic Illness

1. Self-management is a core component of all chronic disease. All patients self-manage, some more effectively than others. 2. The most effective strategy for chronic disease management comes from an activated team, a team whose “captain” is in fact the person with the chronic illness. 3. When caring for your patients, you should consider reframing your role to that of a health “coach.” A coach: a. Helps guide patients to specifi c, self-generated, achievable goals b. Assesses patients for their readiness to change and provides appropriate educational resources that match the patients’ needs c. Helps patients develop problem-solving skills d. Understands the relevance of “importance” and “confi dence” from the patients’ points of view, particularly when it comes to recommended lifestyle changes e. Understands the need to probe for barriers, including common comorbid conditions such as depression and social/fi nancial problems that can easily derail the most effective, evidence-based clinical guidelines 4. One of the goals when working with patients around self-management is to empower patients to manage their health by emphasizing their central role in their own health care. 5. Everything you can do in your practice to support/promote selfmanagement for your patients will likely have a substantial return on your investment. 6. Some of the tools that you can use to support/promote selfmanagement are the following: a. Team approach with the patient as “captain” b. Assistance with behavior change using the Transtheoretical Model
On Fusion in 2-Sylow Intersections

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses fusion in 2-Sylow intersections. The theorem described in this chapter concerns a hypothesis: let z be an involution that lies in the center of some 2-Sylow subgroup of a finite group G. Suppose z is isolated in every proper 2-Sylow intersection that contains it—that is, if S and S g are two distinct 2-Sylow subgroups f G, then |z G ⋂ S ⋂ S g | ≤ 1. This hypothesis occurs in various places. For example, M. Herzog considered groups G containing an involution lying in the center of a 2-Sylow subgroup, but which lies in no proper 2-Sylow intersections of G. A Sylow intersection is called “central” if it is a proper Sylow intersection that is either order one or contains a central involution.
Ionization Detector for Cabrera’s Monopole Experiments

Twenty-one months have elapsed since Cabrera detected a solitary current change in a ring detector consistent with a passing magnetic monopole of Dirac charge.1 No similar event has since been seen in either his now-retired or new-improved detector.2 The previously detected smaller current changes, which could be interpreted as near-miss events, occur in only one of the three rings, and then with a reduced frequency of once every other week.3 Further, no other experiment has produced evidence for monopoles. So, if monopoles exist they are rarer than we thought in spring 1982.
Control of low density lipoprotein receptor gene promoter activity. Ketoconazole inhibits serum lipoprotein but not oxysterol suppression of gene transcription.

Abstract We have examined the effects of ketoconazole, a drug which inhibits enzymes involved in cholesterol biosynthesis and metabolism, on the suppressive effects of serum lipoproteins and 25-hydroxycholesterol on low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor gene promoter activity. A LDL receptor promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) fusion gene construct (pLDLR-CAT 6500) was transfected into JEG-3 choriocarcinoma cells, and the transfected cells were cultured in the absence or presence of serum, LDL, or serum and 25-hydroxycholesterol. Serum, LDL, and serum + 25-hydroxycholesterol reduced chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity in cells transfected with pLDLR-CAT 6500, whereas these treatments had no effect upon enzyme activity in cells transfected with a control construct (pSV2CAT). Ketoconazole (50 microM) overcame the effects of serum and LDL on suppression of pLDLR-CAT 6500 expression, but could not override the combination of serum + 25-hydroxycholesterol. Ketoconazole had no significant effect on expression of pSV2CAT. The drug inhibited cholesterol side chain cleavage enzyme in the cells, but appeared to have no impact on the ability of cells to take up LDL-carried lipids. Our observations are consistent with the idea that serum lipoprotein cholesterol is metabolized to an effector substance which acts to suppress LDL receptor gene transcription. The generation of this effector seems to be sensitive to ketoconazole.
INCINERATE, RECYCLE, OR WASH AND REUSE?

What is the best way to minimize the environmental impact of using a product such as paper? Three debating teams were formed within a university class. One team advocated increased recycling of paper. Another team pointed to evidence showing reduced environmental impact and lower net CO2 emissions if the paper is incinerated rather than recycled. A third team advocated the replacement of paper by items such as porcelain plates and video screens, cutting costs and reducing waste by multiple reuse.
Ethnoburb versus Chinatown : Two Types of Urban Ethnic Communities in Los Angeles

I am truly grateful to Jennifer Wolch who provided substantive critiques on the paper ; organizers and participants of the "Symposium on Cultural Approaches in Geography" who provided opportunities for me to present an earlier version of this paper ; Chris Seidel who offered editorial assistance ; and all those who participated the Chinatown surveys and whom I interviewed. Ethnic settlement patterns and their relationships with ethnic identity have long been important issues for ethnic studie...
Bridging the gap between Gen X and Gen Y

The implications of the generational diversity inherent in the fabric of the current workforce have been a topic of much discussion, exploration, and debate among organizational scholars and researchers. What are the leadership implications of this generational diversity, and what forms of leadership can be used constructively to achieve performance outcomes that foster a positive and constructive relationship between generations? We turn to the theoretical developments associated with the Authentic Leadership model to synthesize learning lessons from the theory, research, and practice of authentic leadership. We illustrate how the components of authentic leadership can help in overcoming some of the leadership challenges that result due to the differences between Gen Xers and Gen Yers.
APC germline mutations in individuals being evaluated for familial adenomatous polyposis: a review of the Mayo Clinic experience with 1591 consecutive tests.

Inactivating APC mutations cause familial adenomatous polyposis, classically characterized by hundreds to thousands of adenomatous colorectal polyps and cancer. Historically, 98% of pathogenic alterations in APC are nonsense or frameshift mutations; however, few reported series have used techniques that test for large deletions or duplications. Splice site mutations are only rarely documented. Consecutive cases (n = 1591) submitted for complete APC gene analysis during a 4-year period were reviewed. Testing included mutation screening (Sanger sequencing or conformation sensitive gel electrophoresis and protein truncation testing) with reflex confirmation sequencing. Gene deletion or duplication analysis was performed in 1421 cases by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification. Testing yielded 411 pathogenic, 20 likely pathogenic, 15 variant of uncertain significance, 140 likely benign, and 1005 negative reports. Identified were 168 novel variants (103 pathogenic, 5 likely pathogenic, 12 variant of uncertain significance, and 48 likely benign). Of the 431 pathogenic or likely pathogenic mutations, frameshift, nonsense, splice site, and large deletion or duplication mutations represented 43%, 42%, 9%, and 6% of cases, respectively. This is the largest report of clinical APC testing experience with concurrent multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification. In addition to nonsense and frameshift mutations, large deletions or duplications and canonical splice site mutations are a significant cause of familial adenomatous polyposis. Despite technological advances, broad allelic, locus, and phenotypic heterogeneity continue to pose challenges for genetic testing of patients with colorectal adenomatous polyposis.