cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
How Does Membrane Oxidation Affect Cell Delivery and Cell Killing

The biophysical properties of cellular membranes intimately influence the delivery of cargoes into cells by cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) and the bactericidal activity of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Here, we discuss how lipid oxidation creates important chemical and biophysical changes in membranes, and hypothesize about the observed synergy between oxidized membranes and membrane-active peptides.
Methods and Strategies for Working with International Students Learning Online in the U.S.

With the increase of internationalization and globalization in higher education, more international students are arriving at U.S. higher education institutions, especially from China. At the same time, the increase in online courses and programs at U.S. colleges and universities has led to many of the international Chinese students taking online courses while in the U.S., whether voluntarily or involuntarily. This article discusses methods and strategies for working with international students in online courses and ways to effectively teach them (with a stronger focus on Asian learners) based on existing literature and the results of a phenomenological study of six international graduate students. There is a demonstrated need for the instructors to be more culturally aware when teaching to improve the online learning experiences of international students although the international students themselves also need to be more prepared for online courses. Recommendations are provided for instructors as well as international students.
Field Quality From Tolerance Analyses In Eight-Piece Quadrupole Magnet

Quadrupole magnets are used extensively in particle accelerators, synchrotrons, and storage rings all over the world. Excellent field quality is needed in these magnets, which requires machining the magnet parts to high precision. An eight-piece quadrupole design and assembly method is developed that produces the desired magnetic field quality by accurately positioning the pole tips. In this magnet design, all the parts need to be machined only within standard machining tolerances. This paper presents the magnetic and mechanical tolerance analyses of this quadrupole design. We performed mechanical tolerance stack-up analyses using the Teamcenter Variation Analysis software to evaluate the relationship of part-level machining tolerances to final magnet assembly errors. We then performed finite element analyses using OPERA to estimate the effect of assembly errors on magnetic field quality; and in turn to set the acceptable machining tolerances for parts to achieve the desired magnetic performance. We conclude from our tolerance analyses that a 0.025-mm symmetry in pole tip gaps and pole tip diagonal gaps can be achieved with 0.050-mm standard machining tolerances, resulting in improved field quality. The analysis results are compared to the magnetic measurements in an R&D eight-piece quadrupole magnet.
Appropriate Use Criteria for Paediatric Echocardiography in an Outpatient Practice: A Validation Study

BACKGROUND Although transthoracic echocardiography is the dominant imaging modality in CHD, optimal utilisation is unclear. We assessed whether adherence to the paediatric Appropriate Use Criteria for outpatient transthoracic echocardiography could reduce inappropriate use without missing significant cardiac disease. METHODS Using the Appropriate Use Criteria, we determined the indication and appropriateness rating for each initial echocardiogram performed at our institution during calendar year 2014 (N=1383). Chart review documented ordering provider training, patient demographics, and study result, classified as normal, abnormal, or abnormal motivating treatment within a 2-year follow-up period. We tested whether provider training level or patient age correlated with echocardiographic findings or appropriateness rating. RESULTS We found that 83.9% of echocardiograms were normal and that 66.7% had an appropriate indication. Nearly all abnormal results and all results motivating treatment were in appropriate studies, giving an odds ratio of 2.73 for an abnormal result if an appropriate indication was present (95% confidence interval 1.92-3.89, p<0.001). None of the remaining initial abnormal results with less than appropriate indications became significant, resulting in treatment over 2 years. Results suggest a potential reduction in imaging volume of as much as 33% with application of the criteria. Cardiologists ordered nearly all studies resulting in treatment but also more echocardiograms with less appropriate indications. Most examinations were in older patients; however, most abnormal results were in patients younger than 1 year. CONCLUSIONS The Appropriate Use Criteria can be used to safely reduce echocardiography volume while still detecting significant heart disease.
A prospective study of cancer survivors and risk of sepsis within the REGARDS cohort.

Abstract Background Hospitalized cancer patients are nearly 10 times more likely to develop sepsis when compared to patients with no cancer history. We compared the risk of sepsis between cancer survivors and no cancer history participants, and examined whether race was an effect modifier. Methods We performed a prospective analysis of data from the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort. We categorized participants as “cancer survivors” or “no cancer history” derived from self-reported responses of being diagnosed with any cancer, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer. We defined sepsis as hospitalization for a serious infection with ≥2 systemic inflammatory response syndrome criteria. We performed Cox proportional hazard models to examine the risk of sepsis after cancer (adjusted for sociodemographics, health behaviors, and comorbidities), and stratified by race. Results Among 29,693 eligible participants, 2959 (9.97%) were cancer survivors, and 26,734 (90.03%) were no cancer history participants. Among 1393 sepsis events, the risk of sepsis was higher for cancer survivors (adjusted HR: 2.61, 95% CI: 2.29–2.98) when compared to no cancer history participants. Risk of sepsis after cancer survivorship was similar for Black and White participants (p value for race and cancer interaction = 0.63). Conclusion In this prospective cohort of community-dwelling adults we observed that cancer survivors had more than a 2.5-fold increased risk of sepsis. Public health efforts should attempt to mitigate sepsis risk by awareness and appropriate treatment (e.g., antibiotic administration) to cancer survivors with suspected infection regardless of the number of years since cancer remission.
Tetraploidy and the Evolution of the Catostomid Fishes

The catostomid fishes provide an excellent opportunity to follow the evolutionary fates of duplicate genes. The genomes of these fish are still in a state of flux owing to polyploidization some 50 million years ago. The time of origin of these fish is advantageous in understanding the overall picture of genome evolution in eukaryotes. Catostomids, or the suckers, are not so recent in origin that duplicate genes are identical in structure and regulation, yet not so old that most homologies have been erased by the passage of time. This chapter will explore the many facets of tetraploidy as they effect the evolution in the catostomids, and further, to view the catostomids as a model for genome evolution in other taxa, including the early vertebrates. Finally, I will outline directions that promise to be fruitful in extending the model in the future.
A Pathways Approach to Cancer

In past decades, cancer was often viewed as a death sentence. Today, the diagnosis of cancer often heralds not sudden death but a transformed mode of living, and a challenge to manage the many adverse effects of treatment, the uncertainty of one’s future, and a challenge to quality of life. Cancer survivors frequently report depression and anxiety. Chemotherapy often produces recurring nausea and lingering cognitive deficits. A growing body of research provides evidence that many self-regulation skills, dietary changes, and lifestyle changes can assist cancer survivors to cope with the presence of their diagnosis, manage the adverse effects, and sustain quality of life. This chapter provides a case study of Ellen, illustrating how a Pathways Model can be applied for patients with a cancer diagnosis. Initially, the Pathways Model enabled her to assume self-management of her illness and enhanced coping with the adverse effects of her oncology treatments. When Ellen suffered malignant metastases and required renewed chemotherapy, her efforts to utilize Pathways skills to manage resurgent adverse effects illustrate the adaptation of the Pathways Model for longer term conditions.
TCT-538 Bleeding Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Combined TAVR/PCI: Time for an Adjustment to the CathPCI Bleeding Model?

Bleeding complications are among the most frequent complications following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with rates of ∼5%. For patients who receive transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), bleeding risk is much higher owing to comorbidities and larger bore access. However, for
Min-Max Differential Dynamic Programming: Continuous and Discrete Time Formulations

In this work, the first min-max Game-Theoretic Differential Dynamic Programming (GT-DDP) algorithm in continuous time is derived. A set of backward differential equations for the value function is ...
Effects of Initial Age and Severity on Cranial Remolding Orthotic Treatment for Infants with Deformational Plagiocephaly.

The aim of this study is to review the effects of an infant’s presenting age and severity of deformation on cranial remolding orthotic (CRO) treatment outcomes for patients with deformational plagiocephaly. This study is a retrospective chart review of 499 infants with non-synostotic plagiocephaly who completed CRO treatment. Data collected included age at start of treatment, head shape measurements before and after treatment, total months of CRO treatment, and other factors such as presence/absence of prematurity. The infants were divided into subgroups according to age and severity at initiation of treatment and data for subgroups was analyzed to track the change in head shape over the course of treatment, review overall treatment duration, and discuss the rate of change of cranial deformation. Overall, treatment times tended to statistically increase with increasing initial severity and age. Posttreatment asymmetry measurements statistically trended to greater residual deformation in infants who began treatment in the older or more severe subcategories. This indicates that younger and less severe infants have shorter treatment durations and less residual cranial deformation after CRO treatment. Therefore, clinical consideration may need to be taken to treat infants at younger ages or prior to progression of the cranial deformity.
SnO2 Transparent Printing Pastes from Powders for Photon Conversion in SnO2‐Based Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

Tin oxide (SnO2 ) is the most attractive alternative to titanium oxide (TiO2 ) with the aim of identifying a more positive conduction band material for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). This study puts forward a protocol based on grinding, sonication, and centrifuge to generate transparent SnO2 pastes to minimize light reflectance losses from the metal oxide. Under optimized conditions, a highly transparent film with substantially enhanced light penetration depth through active layer SnO2 is realized for efficient light harvesting from two different commercially available powders (18 and 35 nm nanoparticle sizes). A ruthenium sensitizer (B11) and two organic sensitizers (NL3 and MK2) are shown to achieve higher or comparable photocurrent densities with SnO2 relative to standard TiO2 -based DSCs. SnO2 -based DSCs show minimum recombination losses, comparable charge collection efficiencies, and minimal photovoltage losses relative to TiO2 DSCs. Thus, the option of a transparent metal oxide, which can facilitate high photocurrents (>16 mA cm-2 observed) and lower recombination rates than TiO2 is an attractive material for DSC applications.
Benefits and Barriers to Collaboration and Co-Teaching: Examining Perspectives of Gifted Education Teachers and General Education Teachers:

This article examines collaboration in the context of how gifted education teachers co-plan and co-teach with general education teachers. Perspectives of the benefits and barriers to collaboration ...
Genomic and pathological heterogeneity in clinically diagnosed small cell lung cancer in never/light smokers identifies therapeutically targetable alterations

Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) occurs infrequently in never/former light smokers. We sought to study this rare clinical subset through next-generation sequencing (NGS) and by characterizing a representative patient-derived model. We performed targeted NGS, as well as comprehensive pathological evaluation, in 11 never/former light smokers with clinically diagnosed SCLC. We established a patient-derived model from one such patient (DFCI168) harboring an NRASQ61K mutation and characterized the sensitivity of this model to MEK and TORC1/2 inhibitors. Despite the clinical diagnosis of SCLC, the majority (8/11) of cases were either of nonpulmonary origin or of mixed histology and included atypical carcinoid (n = 1), mixed non-small-cell lung carcinoma and SCLC (n = 4), unspecified poorly differentiated carcinoma (n = 1), or small-cell carcinoma from different origins (n = 2). RB1 and TP53 mutations were found in four and five cases, respectively. Predicted driver mutations were detected in EGFR (n = 2), NRAS (n = 1), KRAS (n = 1), BRCA1 (n = 1), and ATM (n = 1), and one case harbored a TMPRSS2-ERG fusion. DFCI168 (NRASQ61K ) exhibited marked sensitivity to MEK inhibitors in vitro and in vivo. The combination of MEK and mTORC1/2 inhibitors synergized to prevent compensatory mTOR activation, resulting in prolonged growth inhibition in this model and in three other NRAS mutant lung cancer cell lines. SCLC in never/former light smokers is rare and is potentially a distinct disease entity comprised of oncogenic driver mutation-harboring carcinomas morphologically and/or clinically mimicking SCLC. Comprehensive pathologic review integrated with genomic profiling is critical in refining the diagnosis and in identifying potential therapeutic options.
3.14 – Constructed Wetlands

Wetlands may be applied to treat most pollutants that occur in waters. Such treatment wetlands have become popular because of both a ‘green’ image and the low operating costs for the passive treatment technology. They have been applied extensively not only to domestic wastewater but also to stormwater, agricultural waters, industrial sources, mine water, and for water reclamation from impacted natural waters. There are two major types of wetlands, free water surface and subsurface flow. Subsurface flow wetlands may be designed as horizontal or vertical flow. In any design, the wetland should follow a settling process to prevent clogging from quickly causing problems. The removal mechanisms in wetlands are similar regardless of design: solids are removed by filtration as well as some settling; biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is decreased as organics are consumed by microbes; and ammonia is microbially oxidized near the water surface, and the resulting nitrate can be removed in anoxic metabolism deeper in the wetland. Phosphorus is not biologically removed in wetlands, but some sediment materials may sorb phosphate. Somewhat surprisingly, plants have a minimal direct impact on pollutant removal. Plants do have a proven impact on treatment because they provide surfaces for microbial attachment, insulate and shade the water surface, and affect redox potential in the wetland sediment. Compared to other treatment technologies, the design and performance of wetlands involve much higher variability. Wetlands have a comparatively low volumetric activity and thus are impacted strongly by local conditions. The day-to-day performance of the highly complex system is thus ‘noisy’, and design equations cannot yet capture this variability. This does not mean performance is poor; well-sized wetlands produce water low in solids, BOD, nitrogen, and pathogens. Rather, the design of wetlands is overly simplistic, generally using zero-order areal loading values. This chapter reviews the removal mechanisms, performance, and design of wetlands. The focus is on domestic wastewater, but other applications are also addressed in terms of mechanisms and performance.
Photo elicitation as a tool for expanded participation in community archaeology

Photography can be a useful and distinct method for community engagement and collaboration, especially when used as a tool to add depth to oral history or ethnographic interviews. In particular, 36...
Thallium behavior during high-pressure metamorphism in the Western Alps, Europe

Abstract Thallium (Tl) is a highly incompatible element which can be redistributed during various igneous and hydrothermal events such as mineral dehydration and low-temperature hydrothermal alteration. Despite the strong influence fluid-rock interactions can have on Tl redistribution and the importance of fluids in subduction-zone volatiles cycling, the geochemical behavior of Tl during high-P/T metamorphism has not yet been quantified. Here we provide new Tl isotope composition (e205Tl) and concentration ([Tl]) data for a suite of 18 metapelite and metacarbonate rocks from the Schistes Lustres Complex and the nearby Lago di Cignana exposure in the western Alps. This suite represents metamorphism over a range of peak metamorphic P-T conditions of 300–550 °C and 1.5–3.0 GPa (similar to the range of P-T experienced in most modern subduction zones). With increasing metamorphic grade, [Tl] shows no statistical variation while e205Tl initially remains fairly constant (in order of increasing grade, Fraiteve (unit A) e205Tlavg = −2.1 (± 0.3); Assietta (unit B) e205Tlavg = −1.6 (± 0.6); Albergian (unit C) e205Tlavg = −1.9 (± 0.5)) before shifting to more negative values during higher grade metamorphism (Finestre (unit D) e205Tlavg = −2.4 (± 0.3); Cignana (unit E) e205Tlavg = −3.5 (± 0.3)). Although it appears likely that Tl is largely retained in such rocks to depths approaching those of arc magma generation, the mineralogical hosts for Tl change during prograde devolatilization. This may contribute to a significant shift in e205Tl related to fractionation induced by only minor amounts of loss due to fluid-mineral partitioning. Prograde metamorphism results in the breakdown of chlorite and other minor mineralogical constituents, releasing chlorite-borne Tl that could be in part incorporated into phengite and in part lost to fluids. This study emphasizes the need for prograde mineral reaction history to be considered in studies of the retention or loss of trace elements such as Tl.
Volunteers, Victims, and Vicarious Liability: Why Tort Law Should Recognize Altruism

The article examines the history of vicarious liability and the modern phenomena of holding principals liable for the actions of volunteers.
An Epitaph for Traditional Copyright Protection of Network Features of Computer Software

This article describes the evolution of copyright protection for computer software. It shows how the courts successfully deployed and adapted copyright doctrines in a manner that protected software against piracy while at the same time allowing for competition and innovation.
Role of the Pediatrician in Patient Education

Although most pediatricians agree on the importance of teaching parents and children about health care, they may not succeed in patient education because of a lack of the requisite communication skills, inadequate printed materials to augment personal involvement, a tendency to substitute such materials for personal involvement, and inadequate compensation. Physician recognition of an obligation to teach is a requisite for effective education. Adjustment of current practices is essential: use of educational materials must be systematically incorporated, educational efforts must make effective use of time and be cost-effective. Information should be readily understood, parents given an opportunity to ask questions, and effectiveness of the education evaluated. Pediatricians must have a constant source of supplementary material to use in patient education. Videotapes and interactive computer programs should be considered for more effective communication. Residency programs must teach future pediatricians how to educate parents and children.
Dee Anna Willis: An Appreciation

SITE was founded to create a professional academic home to foster cross-disciplinary scholarship and collaborative relationships associated with technology and teacher education. Dee Anna and Jerry Willis, the founders of SITE and JTATE, provided an exemplar of a collaborative professional relationship that was itself a microcosm of the larger institution. Jerry is a typical academic entrepreneur, daring to dream great thoughts while simultaneously visionary and impatient with details. Dee Anna grounded the great enterprise that they jointly attempted in reality. She is at the same time warm, welcoming, and practical. Our first memory of Dee Anna is at the small group of academicians gathered at the first SITE conference. As we were headed toward the luncheon line, she motioned with a friendly beckoning invitation, "Come join us!" As a consequence, what might have become another routine academic conference became an academic home as we joined a group excitedly exploring the potential of technology to transform teaching and teacher education. Over the years SITE has explored many innovations designed to welcome newcomers and encourage interaction and dialog -- welcoming sessions and briefings at the start of the conference, birds-of-a-feather sessions and special interest groups, and other methods intended to convey the message that everyone with an interest in technology and teacher education is welcome. However, no single method has been as effective as Dee Anna's greetings as SITE's ambassador extraordinaire. We have vivid visual memories of Dee Anna surrounded by visitors in the lobby of the conference hotel moments after her arrival, in a scene akin to a stream of bumblebees traveling to and from a flower as successive groups entering the lobby spot Dee Anna and are warmly greeted, catching up on news and events. During the early years SITE was begun on a fiscal shoestring, compensated for through "sweat equity" (as Jerry terms it). Often the person who publicly proposes an innovation receives a lion's share of recognition, with correspondingly less public awareness of partners who implement the concept and make it a reality. Few realized that founding SITE was a full-time job for Dee Anna, involving considerable sacrifice in the early years. This encompassed a range of activities that included planning and preparing for the conference, ensuring that the SITE Technology and Teacher Education Annual was completed and published on time each year, following up and responding to correspondence in a timely fashion, and myriad other tasks. To his credit, Jerry has always taken pains to publicly acknowledge that SITE would not have been possible without Dee Anna's contributions. In truth, it is virtually impossible to unravel their joint contributions, since both were essential. When it became clear that SITE could no longer be administered by two visionary faculty members and overworked graduate students, a meeting was held to identify a professional administrative arm. …
Executive Function Correlates with Walking Speed in Older Persons: The InCHIANTI Study

Objectives: To study the association between performance on psychological tests of executive function and performance on lower extremity tasks with different attentional demands in a large sample of nondemented, older adults. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Community-based. Participants: Nine hundred twenty-six persons aged 65 and older, without dementia, stroke, parkinsonism, visual impairment, or current treatment with neuroleptics, enrolled in a large epidemiological study. Measurements: Trail Making Test (TMT) parts A and B and two performance-based measures of lower extremity function that require different executive/attentional-demanding skills: walking speed on a 4-m course at usual pace and walking speed on a 7-m obstacle course at fast pace. A difference score (Delta TMT), obtained by subtracting time to perform part A from time to perform part B of the TMT, was used as an indicator of executive function. Based on Delta TMT, subjects were divided into poor performance, intermediate performance, and good performance. Results: After adjustment, no association between Delta TMT and 4-m course usual-pace walking speed was found. Participants with poor Delta TMT and with intermediate Delta TMT performance were more likely to be in the lowest tertile for 7-m obstacle course walking speed. Conclusion: In nondemented older persons, executive function is independently associated with tasks of lower extremity function that require high attentional demand.
Characterization and Control of Object Acquisition with a Sensored Robot Hand

This paper presents the thoughts, results and on-going research directed at the characterization, understanding and control of object acquisition using a robot positioned sensored-based hand. The paper overviews the current literature relating to robot hand design, and addresses the questions of: * object characterization, * principles which govern object acquisition, * control design considerations for object acquisition. Preliminary results are presented which show forces associated with uncontrolled object acquisition, finger and object material influence on the transient acquisition forces, and a design for velocity and position control during object acquisition.
A Look at the Free Electron Laser and Its Potential

Optical radiation is amplified in a Free Electron Laser (FEL) at the expense of the kinetic energy of a relativistic electron beam. This article will begin with a discussion of the manner in which this energy exchange takes place. Following this, we will present some scaling laws based on linear accelerator technology which can be used to predict the performance of simple single-pass FEL’s. Finally, we shall take a very rudimentary look at some of the advantages to be gained through the use of storage rings instead of linear accelerators to provide the electron beam.
Self-Defense and the Limits of WMD Intelligence

During the 2008 presidential campaign, then-candidate Barack Obama stated: “Sometimes, the preventive use of force may be necessary, but rarely. The experience of Iraq underscores that often, perceived threats are not as real [as] they may seem, and our intelligence may be imperfect. But, when our intelligence is good and defensible we should not rule out the use of force.” This chapter examines ways of assessing legally whether that intelligence is sufficiently good and defensible. It argues that an objective reasonable necessity approach to WMD capability assessments can serve long-term peace and security objectives and, more specifically, how the law governing use of force might evolve to guide capability assessments. A reasonable necessity approach, combined with an objective standard of assessing WMD capability and operating as a narrow legal alternative to formal U.N. Security Council authorization, can best balance and allocate competing risks in an environment of significant capability uncertainty. Moreover, the substantive evidentiary issues forced to the surface through objective reasonableness analysis are critical to managing some of the dangers of operating outside explicit U.N. Security Council authority, and are critical to the effective operation of the legal processes that the strict UN Charter constructionists advocate.
REGULATION OF DAUNORUBICIN PRODUCTION IN STREPTOMYCES PEUCETIUS BY THE DNRR2 LOCUS

Sequence analysis of the dnrR2 locus from the cluster of daunorubicin biosynthesis genes in Streptomyces peucetius ATCC 29050 has revealed the presence of two divergently transcribed open reading frames, dnrN and dnrO. The dnrN gene appears to encode a response regulator protein on the basis of conservation of the deduced amino acid sequence relative to those of known response regulators and the properties of the dnrN::aphII mutant. Surprisingly, amino acid substitutions (glutamate and asparagine) at the putative site of phosphorylation (aspartate 55) resulted in a reduction rather than a complete loss of DnrN activity. The deduced DnrO protein was found to be similar to the Streptomyces glaucescens tetracenomycin C resistance gene repressor (TcmR) and to two Escherichia coli repressors, the biotin operon repressor (BirA) and the tetracycline resistance gene repressor (TetR). The dnrN::aphII mutation was suppressed by introduction of the dnrI gene on a plasmid. Since the introduction of dnrN failed to restore antibiotic production to a dnrI::aphII mutant, these data suggest the presence of a regulatory cascade in which dnrN activates the transcription of dnrI, which in turn activates transcription of the daunorubicin biosynthesis genes.
Increased Binding of [3H]GABA to Striatal Membranes Following Ischemia

Sodium-independent binding of [3H]gamma-aminobutyric acid ([3H]GABA) to membranes prepared from ischemic-damaged rat striatum was studied by kinetic and time-course analysis. Three days after 40 min of ischemia, [3H]GABA binding increased fourfold over control values. Scatchard analysis of the binding showed that ischemia significantly increased the affinity (KD) and the total number of binding sites (Bmax) for the high-affinity GABA receptor. These results support the conclusion that transient forebrain ischemia damages striatal GABAergic neurons.
What the Child Neurologist Should Know About Neurocutaneous Conditions

At the completion of the general phase of neurological training, the child neurologist cannot be expected to have at the fingertips a comprehensive knowledge of the broad field and complex field of neurocutaneous disorders. The curiosity to seek out neurocutaneous features, especially where they may be relevant to a problem upon which a patient or family is consulting, is to be expected. So is acquaintance with clinical findings and neurological manifestations of certain conditions that assume particular importance because of they are particularly prevlaent or particularly serious.
Hearing loss, quality of life, and academic problems in long-term neuroblastoma survivors: a report from the Children's Oncology Group.

OBJECTIVES. Among a cohort of long-term neuroblastoma survivors, our aims were to (1) assess the association between treatment intensity and parent-reported hearing loss in the child, (2) evaluate the strength of the association between hearing loss and parent-reported academic and psychosocial difficulties in the child, and (3) examine the association between parent-reported academic and psychosocial difficulties in the child and the child9s self-reported quality of life. PATIENTS AND METHODS. Through a mailed survey that included the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 and an outcomes questionnaire for parents, we evaluated 137 children (aged 8–17 years) who were previously enrolled in 1 of 2 Children9s Cancer Group neuroblastoma clinical studies. RESULTS. Childhood survivors of neuroblastoma who had prevalent hearing loss, as reported by their parents, had at least twice the risk of an identified problem with reading skills, math skills, and/or attention and a similarly higher risk of a general learning disability and/or special educational needs than did neuroblastoma survivors without hearing loss. Consistent with this finding, hearing loss was associated with a 10-point-lower mean score in the school-functioning scale of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0. We also observed a clear pattern of poorer self-reported quality-of-life scores among children with parent-reported academic and psychosocial problems compared with those without such problems, particularly with school functioning, even after controlling for reported hearing loss. CONCLUSIONS. We found evidence that long-term neuroblastoma survivors, especially those with hearing loss, are at elevated risk for academic learning problems and psychosocial difficulties. We also found strong concordance between parent-reported learning problems in the child and indications of distress in the child9s self-reported quality of life.
Ionization energies of liquids from energy distribution, quantum yield and second derivative curves

Abstract The energies of the lowest ionization band of eight liquids of low vapor pressure are determined from energy distribution curves (EDC), quantum yield spectra (collected electrons per incident photon as a function of photon energy), and second derivative curves (SDC) of retarding potential curves. Threshold energies from EDCs and quantum yield spectra agree if one takes into account a 0.15 e V shift caused by the spectrometer's rather low resolution and a small difference (0.15 eV or less) resulting from the use of approximate extrapolation methods. Threshold energies from EDCs and SDCs agree to within 0.1 eV after correction for the half-width of the high-energy branch of SDCs. Multiple ionization bands are exhibited by the SDCs of some of the liquids, and the observed splittings agree well with the results from gas-phase UPS spectra. A new spectrometer for the measurement of EDCs of liquids is described. The liquids studied are 6-chloro-1-hexanol, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, ethylene cyanohydrin, ethylene glycol, 1,5-pentanediol, tetraglyme, triethylene glycol and tetraethylene glycol.
Radiofrequency Identification for Inventory in Neurointerventional Practice

Implementations of radiofrequency identification (RFID) systems within hospital settings are not unique or without controversy. To date, little consideration has been given to use of this technology in clinical interventional radiologic practice. The potential financial advantages coupled with benefits to quality and safety and increases in staff satisfaction are considerable. The authors outline these advantages by enabling readers to broadly consider the systemic perspective of implementing RFID technology with an associated vision toward downstream growth. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate the benefits of RFID technology integration in reducing cost and increasing quality assurance and the on-time delivery of services. Implementing RFID requires commitment from frontline technologist staff members to work collaboratively with management and external vendors. Ultimately, the authors believe this technology can positively influence patient care.
Calcium Looping Process (CLP) for Enhanced Steam Methane Reforming

Carbon dioxide (CO2) capture using calcium-based sorbents for post- and pre-combustion applications has the potential to become a viable technology. When applied to a pre-combustion system, the presence of calcium sorbents facilitates process intensification by combining the CO2 removal step with the reactions generating the fuel gas [syngas, hydrogen (H2), etc.] in a single step. Such a process is also capable of producing a high-purity sequestration-ready CO2 stream. The enhanced steam methane reforming (SMR) using the Calcium Looping Process (CLP) has been investigated in this work. The CLP comprises three reactors: the carbonation reactor or carbonator where the thermodynamic constraint of the reforming and water gas shift (WGS) reaction is overcome by the incessant removal of the CO2 product resulting in the production of high-purity H2, the calciner where the calcium sorbent is regenerated and a sequestration-ready CO2 stream is produced, and the hydrator where the regenerated sorbent is reactivated...
Dioxin: Research needs for risk assessment

Abstract This paper contains excerpts from the Plenary Address given by the first author at the Ninth International Symposium on Chlorinated Dioxins and Related Compounds.
Pulmonary effects of sulfur dioxide and respirable carbon aerosol.

Four-hour individual and combined exposures to 1.0 ppm sulfur dioxide (SO/sub 2/) and 0.5 mg/m/sup 3/ (1.5 ..mu..m mass median diameter) activated carbon aerosol (ACA) were studied in 20 healthy nonsmoking subjects to determine if activated carbon as a carrier aerosol can augment the pulmonary response to SO/sub 2/. Fifteen-minute exercise stints (V/sub E/ = 35 liters/min) were performed at commencement and completion of each 4-hr period. Significant increases in nose or throat irritation occurred with the SO/sub 2/ and SO/sub 2/ + ACA exposures and in eye irritation with the SO/sub 2/ + ACA exposure. Small, statistically significant decrements in spirometric function were observed following the first exercise (t = 17 min) for both the SO/sub 2/ and SO/sub 2/ plus ACA exposures: no significant changes were associated with the ACA exposure. Comparing function changes between the SO/sub 2/ and the SO/sub 2/ + ACA exposures demonstrated no statistically significant differences, thus a lack of SO/sub 2/ response enhancement by the carbon aerosol. The determination that the activated carbon sorbed only 1% of the SO/sub 2/ challenge concentration could explain the observed lack of SO/sub 2/ response enhancement.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and opioids: safety and usage concerns in the differential treatment of postoperative orofacial pain.

Management of acute postsurgical pain is essential to adequately treat oral and maxillofacial surgery patients. Although some practitioners develop their own treatment regimens by combining previous experience, guidance by mentors, and drug detailing by pharmaceutical company representatives, several professional organizations have established guidelines for the management of pain after elective oral and maxillofacial surgery procedures (see the article by Zuniga on p 4 of this supplement). Postsurgical pain can be managed effectively by using specific treatment methods that are well justified by current research. These methods include the following:
On the application of traffic engineering over bluetooth ad hoc networks

The seamless communication of data and voice over short-range, point-to-multipoint wireless links between mobile and/or stationary devices is becoming a reality by newly introduced Bluetooth radio technology for Wireless Personal Area Networking, which can support only up to 1 Mbps of nominal bandwidth. It is based on a master-slave model where double the resources are allocated for any slave-to-slave communication via the master. In addition, it does not have any mechanism to serve demands exceeding this capacity. In this paper, we employ the concepts of Internet Traffic Engineering to maximize the channel utilization and optimize the performance of QoS-sensitive applications, with minimum possible interference. We introduce two novel techniques of Pseudo Role Switching (PRS) and Pseudo PaRtitioning (PPR) to alleviate bottlenecks in the existing schemes in a proactive manner. We propose a two-layered approach wherein we first achieve the maximum possible throughput in existing network using PRS technique, and then dynamically partition piconets using the PPR to satisfy the increased demands. It has been observed that combining both PRS and PPR drastically enhances the aggregate network throughput while minimizing the interference. Through extensive performance evaluations, we show that our proposed schemes reduce up to 50% of the network overhead and increase the overall throughput by 200%.
Reversal of Maladaptive Gene Program in Left Ventricular Myocardium of Dogs with Heart Failure Following Long-Term Therapy with the Acorn Cardiac Support Device

Progressive left ventricular (LV) dilation is a characteristic feature of heart failure and is associated with poor long-term prognosis. One of the characteristic changes that occur in the failing heart is a change in gene expression wherein fetal genes that were turned off shortly after birth are re-activated in heart failure and may play a key role in the progressive worsening of the heart failure state. This review discusses reversal of maladaptive gene expression in dogs with chronic heart failure treated long-term with the Acorn Cardiac Support Device (CSD); a passive mechanical device designed to prevent progressive LV enlargement and to restore normal LV chamber geometry. Studies in our laboratories have shown that, in addition to preventing LV dilation and improving LV ejection fraction, long-term therapy with the CSD reverses the maladaptive gene program observed in LV myocardium of dogs with heart failure. Therapy with the CSD was associated with up-regulated mRNA expression for alpha-myosin heavy chain and down-regulated mRNA expression of A- and B- type natriuretic peptides, cytokines and favorably modulated cytoskeletal proteins. These findings provide an explanation for mechanisms that may be partly responsible for the improvement in LV systolic and diastolic function seen in dogs with heart failure after long-term CSD therapy.
Does Social Work Need a “Practice Doctorate”?

In the past few years, new “practice doctorate” programs have been mounted by some schools of social work with traditional Ph.D. programs. This trend is explored in relation to the purposes of doctoral education, specifically preparing stewards of the discipline as compared to “stewards of the enterprise.” Arguments advanced for and against this development in social work education are reviewed in the context of the emergence of practice doctorates in psychology, nursing and public health. Characteristics of these new doctoral programs in social work, which all focus on clinical social work, are described. Wider discussion of the concept and purposes of the “practice doctorate” in social work is needed in order to safeguard the gains made in research education at the doctoral level and to advance practice-based knowledge and scholarship for the future.
Some Background Correlates of Personality and Social Attitudes

(1953). Some Background Correlates of Personality and Social Attitudes. The Journal of Social Psychology: Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 233-240.
A He-diffraction investigation of the p(2×2) and c(2×2) phases of oxygen on Ni(100)

It has been suggested that the p(2×2) and c(2×2) phases of oxygen on Ni(100) represent the radical and oxidic chemisorption states. He diffraction shows that a transition from the radical to the oxidic state, which should be accompanied by an inward movement of the oxygen cores, would require a blowing up of the oxygens from the covalent to the ionic radius, which is excluded by other experiments.
Fabricate and assemble: an alignment and integration method for next generation x-ray telescopes

Future X-ray telescopes invariably require much higher angular resolutions and/or much larger effective areas than those already flown, and they will typically be designed and built with mirror segments, in contrast with the typical past X-ray telescope of complete shells. While the segmented approach has many advantages, it has one significant disadvantage: its complexity and difficulty associated with mirror segment alignment and integration. In this paper, we outline an approach, named "Fabricate and Assemble," that directly addresses this disadvantage. We will describe the necessary components, their fabrication, and their integration into a mirror assembly. The salient features of this approach include: (1) it fully realizes the optical performance potential of each mirror segment, (2) it leaves each mirror in a stress-free or minimally stressed state, resulting in a stress-free and therefore stable mirror assembly, (3) it assembles the mirror segment while it is supported so as to minimize or even eliminate the effect of gravity, and (4) it is highly amenable to being implemented as part of a sequential production line.
The electroretinogram of the isolated rat retina.

Abstract Normal electroretinograms (ERG), consisting of a - and b -waves and wavelets, were recorded from isolated rat retinae which were mounted in a chamber and continuously perfused with a modified extracellular medium. The normal steady-state characteristics of the ERG were observed. The effects of altering the temperature, pH, and oxygen concentration on the ERG were reported. The receptor potential ( a -wave) was isolated by exposing the retina to high (20 mM) magnesium solutions. Except at low concentrations, the amplitude of the a -wave varied in proportion to the logarithm of the external sodium concentration and in inverse proportion to the logarithm of the external potassium concentration. A decrease of external chloride was without effect on the a -wave. Calcium depletion increased the amplitude of the a -wave. Deficiencies in glucose and oxygen produced a decrease in a -wave amplitude. It was concluded that the primary effect of light is to cause a decrease of the sodium conductance of the photoreceptor membrane. An electrical model of the receptor cell's outer and inner segments was proposed to explain the effects of ionic concentration changes.
The Role of the Carbohydrate in the Stabilization, Processing, and Packaging of the Glycosylated Adrenocorticotropin-Endorphin Common Precursor in Toad Pituitaries

The neurointermediate lobes of dark adapted toads, Xenopus laeuis, were incubated for 30 min in [3H]arginine, [3H]arginine plus [14C]glucosamine, or [3H]glucosamine and then chased for various time periods ranging from 1–3 h. The labeled polypeptides synthesized and secreted by the lobes were analyzed by acid-urea polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A glycosylated ACTH-endorphin precursor (32,000 mol wt) was synthesized during the pulse and identified by immunoprecipitation by ACTH-(11-24) antiserum. During the chase, this precursor was processed to various glycopeptides and peptides, including ACTH, β-lipotropin, and α-MSH, which were subsequently secreted into the medium. An immunoprecipitable ACTH-related glycoprotein (approximately 150,000 mol wt) and other nonimmunoprecipitable glycoproteins (approximately 80,000–100,000 mol wt) were also synthesized and secreted by the neurointermediate lobe. The secretion of these glycoproteins and peptides was inhibited by dopamine. The significance of glycosylati...
Study of Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Movements during a New York City Marathon

Series of measurements of the motion of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge during the November 7, 2004, New York City Marathon were made to evaluate the level of vibrations during the race. This paper presents details of the testing protocols and recorded data analyses as related to the bridge and the runners’ level of vibration perception. From the analysis of the recorded data, the excited local mode of the bridge deck within the range of the runners’ step frequency was identified. In addition, the computed bridge global response using observed runner density and estimated weight showed excellent agreement with the bridge measured response. It was also found that based on the analyses of the recorded data, the bridge deck vibration level during the marathon was within the acceptable range for the runners.
A Middle Miocene Age for the Rosarito Beach Formation in Northwestern Baja California, Mexico

The discovery of new fossil localities in Baja California near La Mision has established a middle Miocene age for the Rosarito Beach Formation and a basis for the correlation of the marine and nonmarine stages of the middle Miocene. Diverse assemblages consisting of diatoms, radiolarians, foraminifers, mollusks, sharks, rays, bony fish, marine mammals, birds, and a camelid have been identified from beds within the Rosarito Beach Formation.