cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Incorporating Behavioral Techniques into a Serious Videogame for Children

Abstract Introduction: Little is known about how to design serious videogames for children. The purpose of this article is to describe how behavior change techniques promoting self-regulation were incorporated into a serious videogame to help children consume more fruits and vegetables (FVs) and the extent to which these techniques were used by players. A secondary goal is to contribute to the body of scientific knowledge regarding how to design effective serious videogames for children. Materials and Methods: This research examines the gameplay data from an effective 10-episode online serious videogame promoting FV consumption to preadolescent children in the United States (roughly 9–11-year-olds). Results: Children participated in the self-regulation components. Modifications to reduce potential cognitive overload and inform future game design were identified. Conclusion: This research provided suggestive evidence that behavior change techniques promoting self-regulation can be successfully integrated i...
The Violence of Nonviolence: Contextualizing the Movements of King and Gandhi

King and Gandhi: two names that have come to be synonymous with nonviolence. And yet, the movements they led responded to and, in some cases with, significant violence. In a recent paper (2016), August H. Nimtz analyzes the role of violence in the movement of Dr. King, concluding that violence played a significant role in the success of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Using Nimtz’s work as a starting point, this paper analyzes King’s movement and views, comparing definitions of “principled nonviolence” versus “pragmatic nonviolence.” From there, this paper analyzes the role of violence in the struggle for Indian independence from British colonialism and Gandhi’s own views on when, if ever, violence is appropriate. This paper concludes that, indeed, violence—that of sanctioned, state-sponsored violence and that of non-sanctioned actors—has had significant roles in both of these movements. In what way, then, could these movements be said to be nonviolent? Finally, this paper asks why there remains such an impetus to identify these movements, and their leaders, with “principled nonviolence.”
Laparoscopic Liver Ablation

Laparoscopic liver ablation is performed for primary hepatocellular carcinoma or for neuroendocrine or colorectal tumor metastatic to the liver. This chapter lists the indications, essential steps, common technical variations, and complications of the procedure. A detailed template operative dictation note is included.
Abstract 17379: Atrial Fibrillation Mutations in β3 Subunits Enhance DIII Voltage Sensing Domain Coupling to Channel Activation Which Inhibits Lidocaine Blockade

Background: Co-assembly of cardiac Na+ channels (Nav1.5) with β subunits modifies channel gating, expression, and post-translational modification. β subunit mutations have been linked to the Brugad...
Small Molecule Inhibitors of the Hedgehog Pathway in the Treatment of Basal Cell Carcinoma of the Skin

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common type of skin cancer, with rising incidence rates primarily attributed to an aging population and ultraviolet radiation exposure. While the majority of BCCs are localized and respond to standard therapies, a very small minority of these tumors become locally destructive or metastasize. These advanced BCCs may not be amenable to localized treatment with surgery and/or radiation therapy. Most BCCs result from mutations in key receptors in the Hedgehog (HH) signaling pathway. As a result, identification of drugs that inhibit the receptor Smoothened (SMO) in the HH pathway has resulted in novel therapeutic approaches to treating patients with advanced BCC. These HH-pathway inhibiting medications have shown efficacy in clinical trials, and two medications, vismodegib and sonidegib, have received FDA approval. However, several limitations of these drugs have been identified, including treatment-limiting adverse events, drug resistance, and the formation of additional malignancies. This paper aims to summarize the clinical trials leading to the approval of SMO inhibitors, as well as reviewing potential mechanisms driving tumor resistance and the formation of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas. Strategies to overcome some of these challenges, including the development of drugs that inhibit other downstream targets in the HH pathway, are the subject of ongoing clinical trials.
Trading financial indices with reinforcement learning agents

Abstract Intelligent agents are often used in professional portfolio management. The use of intelligent agents in personal retirement portfolio management is not investigated in the past. In this research, we consider a two-asset personal retirement portfolio and propose several reinforcement learning agents for trading portfolio assets. In particular, we design an on-policy SARSA (λ) and an off-policy Q(λ) discrete state and discrete action agents that maximize either portfolio returns or differential Sharpe ratios. Additionally, we design a temporal-difference learning, TD(λ), agent that uses a linear valuation function in discrete state and continuous action settings. Using two different two-asset portfolios, the first asset being the S&P 500 Index and the second asset being either a broad bond market index or a 10-year U.S. Treasury note (T-note), we test the performance of different agents on different holdout (test) samples. The results of our experiments indicate that the high-learning frequency (i.e., adaptive learning) TD(λ) agent consistently beats both the single asset stock and bond cumulative returns by a significant margin.
MPA Programs and Internet Education: Validation of Quality and Acceptance Despite Challenges Surrounding Online Delivery

Following tenuous beginnings in the 1990s, online education expanded dramatically as students “voted with a mouse,” resulting in even the most prestigious American universities adopting online cour...
Glycine: Its Metabolic and Possible Transmitter Roles in Nervous Tissue

Glycine is found in most tissues. Its synthesis has been demonstrated in animals, plants, and microorganisms. It has been shown to be present in large amounts in central nervous tissue.(1-4) Although glycine is the simplest amino acid from a structural point of view, its intermediary metabolism is far from simple and involves a rather complex series of reactions. However, few of these metabolic steps have been elucidated in the nervous system. Recently it has been discovered that glycine is probably a chemical transmitter in the cat spinal cord.(2,3,5-8) This transmitter function was found as a result of a combined neurochemical and neurophysiological approach directed to the problem of the identification of CNS transmitters(9,10) It was made possible both by methodological advances in allied disciplines and by the convergence of several lines of biochemical and physiological effort—namely, the great impetus given to the study of amino acids in small amounts of nervous tissue by the application of ion-exchange chromatography, and the development of iontophoresis and equilibrium potential measurements as tools to study the effects of biochemical compounds applied onto synaptic membranes.
Reconceiving the Family: Back to the Future: The Perils and Promise of a Backward-Looking Jurisprudence

The ALI Principles of Family Dissolution delight in the existential uncertainty of arrangements whose legal consequences cannot be fixed until the point at which a relationship dissolves. They strive to suspend judgment, moral and practical, long enough to create a private space for the creation of relationships free from the historical weight of family regulation. When families break down, however, the Principles do not hesitate to intervene, to secure protection of the vulnerable and to provide a foundation for family members to continue on the basis of what has come before. This paper critiques the ALI's "backward looking" jurisprudence, arguing that it is backward looking in three respects: 1) it literally looks backward toward the parties' circumstances over the course of their relationship to determine the consequences of dissolution; 2) it adopts an explicitly ex post rather than an ex ante perspective, focusing on the "costs of dissolution" rather than the terms of engagement; and 3) it is more determined to reject historical approaches to family governance than to articulate a new regime. The paper concludes that while the ALI approach may succeed as part of a family law of transition, to succeed more permanently in forging a new basis for family obligation will require making the terms of commitment clear at the beginning, and not just the end, of relationships.
Design of Compensated Multi-Channel Dynamic-Range Compressor for Hearing Aid Devices using Polyphase Implementation

Dynamic-range compression (DRC) is widely used in hearing aid devices (HADs) to reduce the wide dynamic range of input speech signal to match the residual dynamic range of people with hearing loss. Most compression systems use multi-channel compression to provide more effective and accurate solutions to match input signal with hearing-impaired people’s audiogram. However, multi-channel compression introduces distortion to the system, and increases computational complexity. It limits the sampling rate and results in systems latency, hence, introduces difficulty realizing it in real-time. In this paper, a compensation filter is proposed to reduce the distortion, and polyphase implementation is applied to reduce the computational complexity. Objective and subjective tests are conducted to evaluate the quality and intelligibility of the output audio (speech) signal under different noise types and signal to noise ratios (SNRs).
Trackr: Reliable UI Element Tracking for Application Refactoring Based Mobilization of Enterprise Web Applications

Mobilizing enterprise applications enable employees to perform their job functions on their smartphones, even when away from a Desktop. Among the different strategies used to mobilize web enterprise applications, application refactoring based services are gaining popularity due to their ease of deployment. Refactoring involves hosting the application as-is on the enterprise cloud and allowing a user to interact with it through a smartphone-optimized UI. These services require APIs provided by the applications to accurately map the smartphone UI to the web application UI.Of the strategies available to APIfy applications, a front-end only approach based on intelligent screen scraping is particularly attractive as it can APIfy a host of applications without any support from the applications themselves. Front-end strategies, however, rely on being able to accurately and reliably identify UI elements within the application. In this paper, we show that simple approaches which rely on graphical coordinates or the position of an element with respect to a fixed anchor in the application layout are not robust enough for APIfication. In this context, we present Trackr, an algorithm that relies on the notion of quorum fingerprinting to track elements. We then discuss several optimizations to this baseline version. We show through analysis of changes to real-world web-applications that Trackr has considerable benefits. We demonstrate the usage of Trackr through a Dashboard smartphone app that monitors values across different websites within one mobile app.
PERFORMANCE TESTING IN PEOPLE WITH LOWER LIMB AMPUTATION: INTERVIEWS WITH PROSTHETISTS, PHYSICAL THERAPISTS, AND PHYSICIANS

INTRODUCTION A variety of performance-based tests are available to assess mobility in people with lower limb amputation (LLA)1. Selection of a specific test is likely to be guided by the clinical value of tasks patients perform; the space and equipment available to administrator the test; and/or the time required to set up, administer, score, and interpret the test results. The aim of this study was to collect information about the clinical value of performance tests, and the space, equipment, and time available to rehabilitation specialists who provide care to people with LLA (i.e., prosthetists, physical therapists (PTs), and physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) physicians). Abstract PDF Link: https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/cpoj/article/view/32018/24437 How to cite: Balkman G, Morgan S, Gaunaurd I, Kristal A, Amtmann D, Gailey R, Hafner B.J. PERFORMANCE TESTING IN PEOPLE WITH LOWER LIMB AMPUTATION: INTERVIEWS WITH PROSTHETISTS, PHYSICAL THERAPISTS, AND PHYSICIANS. CANADIAN PROSTHETICS & ORTHOTICS JOURNAL, VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2, 2018; ABSTRACT, POSTER PRESENTATION AT THE AOPA’S 101ST NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, SEPT. 26-29, VANCOUVER, CANADA, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v1i2.32018 Abstracts were Peer-reviewed by the American Orthotic Prosthetic Association (AOPA) 101st National Assembly Scientific Committee. http://www.aopanet.org/
Cleavage Region Thyrotropin Receptor Antibodies Influence Thyroid Cell Survival In Vivo.

Background: Graves' disease is associated with thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) antibodies of variable bioactivity. Recently, antibodies have been characterized that bind to the cleavage region of the TSHR ectodomain (C-TSHR-Ab), and their ability to induce thyroid cell apoptosis in vitro via excessive cell stress involving multiple organelles was demonstrated. Methods: To investigate the in vivo effects of C-TSHR-Ab, first a murine monoclonal antibody (mAb) directed against residues 337 to 356 of the TSHR cleavage region was developed, and then it was injected into mice. Results: These injections caused reduced serum total triiodothyronine and thyroxine and increased TSH levels compared to control mAb-injected mice. The C-TSHR-mAb induced histological evidence of endoplasmic reticulum stress, mitochondrial stress, and apoptosis in the thyroid glands. C-TSHR-mAb-mediated apoptosis was associated with cellular infiltrates consisting mostly of macrophages, dendritic cells, and neutrophils, while T- and B-lymphocytes were scarce. In addition, in the treated mouse thyroid tissue, hyper-citrullination of histone H3 was also found. This is known to occur via peptidylarginine deiminase 4 and plays an important role in the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps, which are likely to be partly responsible for thyroid infiltration, as seen in many autoimmune diseases. Examination of thyroid tissue from patients with Graves' disease also showed increased stress and some thyrocyte apoptosis compared to normal thyroid tissues. Conclusions: The fact that the C-TSHR-mAb induced accumulation of macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells indicates that innate immunity plays a central role in shaping the adaptive immune response to the TSHR. In addition, this study provides further evidence that the hinge region of the TSHR ectodomain is intimately involved in the immune response in autoimmune thyroid disease.
Synthesis of Imidazo[4,5-b]pyridines and Imidazo[4,5-b]pyrazines by Palladium- Catalyzed Amidation of 2-Chloro-3-aminoheterocycles.

The process allows a quick access to various natural products and biologically interesting title compounds with substituents at N-1 and C-2.
Neural muscle activation detection: A deep learning approach using surface electromyography.

Abstract The timing of muscles activation which is a key parameter in determining plenty of medical conditions can be greatly assessed by the surface EMG signal which inherently carries an immense amount of information. Many techniques for measuring muscle activity detection exist in the literature. However, due to the complex nature of the EMG signal as well as the interference from other muscles that is observed during the measurement of the EMG signal, the accuracy of these techniques is compromised. In this paper, we introduce the neural muscle activation detection (NMAD) framework that detects the muscle activation based on deep learning. The main motivation behind using deep learning is to allow the neural network to detect based on the appropriate signal features instead of depending on certain assumptions. Not only the presented approach significantly improves the accuracy of timing detection, but because of the training nature, it can adapt to operate under different levels of interference and signal-to-noise ratio.
RISEC: Rotational Invariant Segmentation of Elongated Cells in SEM Images with Inhomogeneous Illumination

Detection of Clostridioides difficile cells in scanning electron microscopy images is a challenging task due to the challenges of cell rotation and inhomogeneous illumination. Currently, orientation-invariance in deep ConvNets is achieved by data augmentation. However, training with all possible orientations increases computational complexity. Furthermore, conventional illumination-invariance models include pre-processing illumination normalization steps. However, illumination normalization algorithms remove important texture information which is critical for the analysis of SEM images. In this paper, RISEC (Rotational Invariant Segmentation of Elongated Cells in SEM images with Inhomogeneous Illumination) is proposed to address the challenges of cell rotation and inhomogeneous illumination. First, a generative adversarial network segments the candidate cell regions proposals, addressing the inhomogeneous illumination. Then, the region proposals are passed to two capsule layers where a rotation-invariant shape representation is learned for every cell type via dynamic routing. Our experiments indicate that RISEC outperforms the state of the art models (e.g., CapsNet, and U-net) by at least 11% improving the dice score.
XM : A Schema for Encoding Queer Identities in Qualitative Research

Abstract Many projects in the digital humanities utilize eXtensible Markup Language (XML) in order to create scholarly editions or to transform text into data. Although XML has been used extensively under the valence of a heteronormative perspective, it also has potential as a queer methodology. This methodology paper presents a queer XML language called XM and demonstrates the possibilities of a “QueerOS” - a system that thinks in queer ways, with LGBTQ+ concerns in mind. As a case study of interview data drawn from a study of LGBTQ+ writing center tutors demonstrates how a non-heteronormative system for encoding texts opens possibilities to encode a queer discoursal identity. In doing so, XM allows identity to thrive instead of being lost to the heteronormative ecology it would otherwise exist in.
Oscillatory entrainment mechanisms and anticipatory predictive processes in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

ABSTRACT Anticipating near-future events is fundamental to adaptive behavior, whereby neural processing of predictable stimuli is significantly facilitated relative to non-predictable inputs. Neural oscillations appear to be a key anticipatory mechanism by which processing of upcoming stimuli is modified, and they often entrain to rhythmic environmental sequences. Clinical and anecdotal observations have led to the hypothesis that people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may have deficits in generating predictions in daily life, and as such, a candidate neural mechanism may be failure to adequately entrain neural activity to repetitive environmental patterns. Here, we tested this hypothesis by interrogating rhythmic entrainment both behaviorally and electrophysiologically. We recorded high-density electroencephalography in children with ASD (n=31) and Typically Developing (TD) age- and IQ-matched controls (n=20), while they reacted to an auditory target as quickly as possible. This auditory event was either preceded by predictive rhythmic visual cues, or not. Results showed that while both groups presented highly comparable evoked responses to the visual stimuli, children with ASD showed reduced neural entrainment to the rhythmic visual cues, and altered anticipation of the occurrence of these stimuli. Further, in both groups, neuro-oscillatory phase coherence correlated with behavior. These results describe neural processes that may underlie impaired event anticipation in children with ASD, and support the notion that their perception of events is driven more by instantaneous sensory inputs and less by their temporal predictability.
Changes and significance of lymphocyte subsets in children with severe aplastic anemia

Objective To study the changing characteristics of T-lymphocyte subsets in children with severe aplastic anemia(SAA).Methods Flow cytometry was used to detect the peripheral blood T-lymphocyte subsets of 28 cases of SAA(treatment group)and 30 cases of normal children(control group),and the results were compared.Results The numbers of CD3 + cells increased(P＜0.05)andCD8 + cells increased significantly(P＜0.01),CD4 + cells reduced(P＜0.05),and CD4 +/CD8 + cells ratio decreased obviously(P＜0.01)in treatment group.Conclusions Patients with AA have great changes in peripheral blood T-lymphocyte subsets.Detection of the changes is important for evaluation of the cellular immune function condition,making auxiliary diagnosis and guiding therapy in children with SAA. Key words: Children with severe aplastic anemia; T-lymphocyte subsets
Differences in Proteomic Profiles Between Caries Free and Caries Affected Children

Objective: To determine if there are differences in protein profiles in saliva depending if children of caries-free versus caries affected. Material and Methods: A cohort of 91 children with ages between 6 and 19 years, along clinical status of caries experience. Protein profiles in saliva were determined using electrophoresis and the calculation of the percentage of a specific band at a specific molecular weight in relationship to the total protein in that sample (% of total) using molecular weight standards. This quantification was repeated for each protein band across a range of molecular weights for each sample . Chi-square, Fisher’s exact, and Student t-tests were used to compare the distributions between caries-free and caries affected children ( α =0.05). Results: Histatin was more likely to be non-detectable or reduced in caries-free children (OR=7.56; 95% CI 1.62-35.13) and these children had on average one less gel band detected by the assay we used . Conclusion: We have found differences in proteins between caries affected and caries-free children, suggesting that this line of investigation holds the promise of providing new tools for caries management.
How Should History of Physician Involvement in the Holocaust Inform How Physicians Approach Employers

In response to a case involving an advertisement for a physician to work in a private detention center housing asylum seekers and immigrants, this commentary considers ethical obligations of physicians responsible for detainees' health care. The commentary also suggests key points a physician should make during a job interview at a detention center and concerns a physician might articulate about caregiving practices for detainees.
Implementation Status of Health Management Information System in Hospitals of South West Shoa Zone, Oromia, Central Ethiopia.

Background Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) is an information system for health management and planning at district, regional, and national levels. Problems of data collection and processing, poor information use, lack of identifying information required at specific levels, and inadequacy of resources are hindering the implementation of the program. Objective To assess the implementation status of Health Management Information System (HMIS) in hospitals of South West Shoa Zone, Oromia, Central Ethiopia. Methods The assessment was conducted in South West Shoa Zone hospitals using a cross-sectional study design. Using three dimensions, namely, availability of resources, compliance to guideline, and utilization of information were studied. All hospitals in the zone were included and 210 health workers were included in the study. Quantitative data were entered into Epi-data and analyzed using SPSS.v.23. Descriptive summery was done using the proportion and frequencies and qualitative results were analyzed thematically. The study was conducted from February 20, 2020, to March 20, 2020. Results All hospitals have at least one computer specifically assigned for HMIS, while none of the hospitals have an allocated budget for HMIS. Regarding service training, 82% of the respondents had received HMIS training. The overall Implementation status of HMIS was 58%, which showed as a judgment parameter of "poor" implementation. Particularly, availability (58%) and compliance (55%) dimensions are categorized as "poor" implementation, whereas the information utilization dimension is categorized as a judgment parameter of "fair" implementation. Conclusion The overall implementation status of HMIS in the study area was poorly implemented according to the preset criteria with stakeholders. Therefore, allocation of budget specifically for HMIS, strengthening capacity building activities such as training and supportive supervision with written feedbacks are recommended for effective implementation of the Health Management Information System.
Comparing the Performances of MPPT Techniques for DC-DC Boost Converter in a PV System

The paper presents a comparison in terms of the performance of 3 maximum power point tracking methods used to achieve maximum output power from a photovoltaic system under varying irradiance. The maximum power point techniques considered in this study were Perturb and Observe, Incremental Conductance and Fuzzy logic. A literature review of related studies was conducted and a photovoltaic module modeling was presented. Moreover, a detailed theory of boost converter was also given. These 3 methods were discussed in detail and their flowcharts were presented. Simulation results from MATLAB/SIMULINK demonstrated a comparison between the 3 maximum power point tracking strategies. Results of current, voltage, and power from the photovoltaic module and the boost converter showed that the Fuzzy logic maximum power point tracking method had the best performance compared with other techniques.
Technical and practical tips for performing brain magnetic resonance imaging in premature neonates.

Abstract MR imaging of premature neonates is challenging due to their small size, need for temperature support and monitoring, and immature central nervous system. Use of MR compatible incubators and MR compatible monitoring apparatus, careful selection of imaging protocols, and real time review of images by a radiologist can streamline the imaging process and improve image quality. Imaging should be focused upon (1) the child's biorhythms (imaging during sleep cycles), (2) minimizing delays during transport and (3) delaying noisy MR sequences until the end of an examination. Successful imaging of premature neonates requires teamwork: advanced planning, careful communication among neonatologists, nurses, and radiologists, established imaging protocols, and coordination among team members during all aspects of the process.
Brief Report: Case Comparison of Therapy With the Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Vorinostat in a Neonatal Calf Model of Pulmonary Hypertension

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is an incurable condition in humans; driven by pulmonary vascular remodeling partially mediated by epigenetic mechanisms; and leading to right ventricular hypertrophy, failure, and death. We hypothesized that targeting chromatin-modifying histone deacetylases may provide benefit. In this Brief Report we describe case comparison studies using the histone deacetylase inhibitor vorinostat (suberanilohydroxamic acid, 5 mg/kg/day for the first 5 study days) in an established model of severe neonatal bovine PH induced by 14 days of environmental hypoxia. Echocardiographic, hemodynamic, and pharmacokinetic data were obtained in hypoxia-exposed (one each, vorinostat-treated vs. untreated) and normoxic vorinostat-treated control animals (n = 2). Echocardiography detected PH changes by day 4 and severe PH over 14 days of continued hypoxic exposure. RV dysfunction at day 4 was less severe in vorinostat-treated compared to untreated hypoxic calves. Cardioprotective effects were partially maintained following cessation of treatment through the duration of hypoxic exposure, accompanied by hemodynamic evidence suggestive of reduced pulmonary vascular stiffening, and modulated expression of HDAC1 protein and genes involved in RV and pulmonary vascular remodeling and pathological RV hypertrophy. Control calves did not develop PH, nor show adverse cardiac or clinical effects. These results provide novel translation of epigenetic-directed therapy to a large animal severe PH model that recapitulates important features of human disease.
Results of a Rapid Hepatitis C Virus Screening and Diagnostic Testing Program in an Urban Emergency Department

Study objective We describe the results of an emergency department (ED) hepatitis C virus testing program that integrated birth cohort screening and screening of patients with a history of injection drug use, as well as physician diagnostic testing, according to national guidelines. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data collected as part of clinical care. The primary outcome was the hepatitis C virus prevalence among tested patients. We evaluated factors associated with testing positive with logistic regression. Results Of the 26,639 unique adults aged 18 years or older and presenting to the ED during the 6-month study, 2,581 (9.7%) completed hepatitis C virus screening (2,028) or diagnostic testing (553), of whom 267 were antibody positive (10.3% prevalence). Factors associated with testing positive for hepatitis C virus included injection drug use (38.4% prevalence; odds ratio [OR] 10.8; 95% confidence interval [CI] 7.5 to 15.5), homeless (25.5% prevalence; OR 3.1; 95% CI 1.5 to 6.8), diagnostic testing (14.8% prevalence; OR 2.6; 95% CI 1.7 to 3.9), birth cohort (13.7% prevalence; OR 3.6; 95% CI 2.4 to 5.3), and male sex (12.4% prevalence; OR 1.4; 95% CI 1.0 to 2.0). Of the 267 patients testing positive for hepatitis C virus antibody, 137 (51%) had documentation of result disclosure and 180 (67%) had confirmatory ribonucleic acid testing performed, of whom 126 (70%) had a positive result. Follow-up appointments at the hepatitis C virus clinic were arranged for 57 of the 126 (45%) patients with confirmed positive results, of which 30 attended. Conclusion This ED screening and diagnostic testing program found a high prevalence of hepatitis C virus antibody positivity across all groups. Challenges encountered with hepatitis C virus screening included result disclosure, confirmatory testing, and linkage to care. Our results warrant continued efforts to develop and evaluate policies for ED-based hepatitis C virus screening.
Electrophysiology of Cardiac Arrhythmias

The normal cardiac cycle is initiated by electrical events that precede cardiac contraction. Abnormalities in the initiation and propagation of cardiac impulses may result in a variety of arrhythmias. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the cellular mechanisms responsible for normal impulse formation and conduction, and to review the clinical consequences when these mechanisms are perturbed.
Systematic review of sonographic findings of placental mesenchymal dysplasia and subsequent pregnancy outcome

Objective To describe the sonographic features and pregnancy outcomes of placental mesenchymal dysplasia (PMD), an entity often misdiagnosed as molar pregnancy. Methods We reviewed PMD cases from our institution and performed a systematic review of the existing literature. Inclusion criteria for the review were diagnosis of PMD as defined by placental pathology, description of placental morphology on antenatal ultrasound and reporting of pregnancy outcomes. Results We found three cases of PMD at our institution. Patient 1 had elevated human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and an enlarged, hydropic placenta at 13 weeks, suggestive of a molar pregnancy. Patient 2 also had elevated hCG with large, vascular placental lakes on ultrasound suggesting placenta accreta or molar pregnancy. Case 3 involved placentomegaly and fetal anomalies suggestive of Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome. From the literature review, 61 cases met the inclusion criteria. The most common sonographic features included enlarged (50%) and cystic (80%) placenta with dilated chorionic vessels. Biochemical aneuploidy screening abnormalities were relatively common as were fetal anomalies, Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome and other genetic abnormalities. Pregnancy complications included intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR; 33%), intrauterine fetal death (IUFD; 13%), and preterm labor (33%). Pregnancies without fetal anomalies, IUGR, IUFD or preterm labor had normal neonatal outcomes despite PMD (9%). Conclusions The differential diagnosis of PMD includes molar pregnancy and other placental vascular anomalies. PMD is associated with adverse pregnancy outcome, so heightened surveillance with genetic evaluation, serial growth scans and third-trimester assessment of wellbeing should be considered. PMD must be differentiated from gestational trophoblastic disease because management and outcomes differ. Copyright © 2012 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Activation of the beta 1 isozyme of phospholipase C by alpha subunits of the Gq class of G proteins.

MANY hormones, neurotransmitters and growth factors, on binding to G protein-coupled receptors or receptors possessing tyrosine kinase activity, increase intracellular levels of the second messengers inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and 1,2-diacylglycerol. This is due to activation of phosphoinositide-specific phospho-lipase(s) C (PLC), the isozymes of which are classified into groups, α, β, γ and δ (refs 1, 2). The β, γ and δ groups themselves contain PLC isozymes which have both common and unique structural domains3. Only the γl isozyme has been implicated in a signal transduction mechanism4. This involves association with, and tyrosine phosporylation by, the ligand-bound epidermal growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor receptors5–7, probably by means of the PLC-γl-specific src homology (SH2) domain8. Because EGF receptor-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation of PLC-γ1 stimulates catalytic activity in vitro9 and G proteins have been implicated in the activation of PLC10, we investigated which PLC isozymes are subject to G protein regulation. We have purified11 an activated G protein α subunit that stimulates partially purified phospholipase C and now report that this G protein specifically activates the β1 isozyme, but not the γ1 and δ1 isozymes of phospholipase C. We also show that this protein is related to the Gq class of G protein α subunits12.
Supreme Court Amici Brief of Law Professors in Support of Petitioners in Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, No. 08-861

A group of corporate and securities law professors submitted this brief as amici curiae to the United States Supreme Court in Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Amici support Congress’s decision in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to establish a new regulator to oversee the auditors of public companies. But amici express concern that the particular design chosen by Congress accords the PCAOB substantial discretion and autonomy without imposing constitutionally sufficient accountability. Specifically, the brief argues that the PCAOB's structure is unconstitutional because it violates the Appointments Clause and the doctrine of separation of powers. With a focus on statutory analysis, legislative history, and the securities industry’s self-regulatory organization (SRO) model on which the PCAOB was patterned, the brief challenges the D.C. Circuit’s conclusion that the PCAOB is merely 'a heavily controlled component' of the SEC. The brief argues instead that the PCAOB is an independent regulatory entity subject to oversight and enforcement by the SEC, another independent regulatory entity, and that this double-decker independence stretches the Constitution’s text and precedents too far. Amici curiae: Stephen Bainbridge, Robert Bartlett, William Birdthistle, Timothy Canova, Lawrence Cunningham, James Fanto, Theresa Gabaldon, Lyman Johnson, Roberta Karmel, Donna Nagy, Lydie Pierre-Louis, Adam Pritchard, Margaret Sachs, Gordon Smith, Kellye Testy
Evaluation of improved land use and canopy representation in BEIS v3.61 with biogenic VOC measurements in California

Abstract. Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) participate in reactions that can lead to secondarily formed ozone and particulate matter (PM) impacting air quality and climate. BVOC emissions are important inputs to chemical transport models applied on local to global scales but considerable uncertainty remains in the representation of canopy parameterizations and emission algorithms from different vegetation species. The Biogenic Emission Inventory System (BEIS) has been used to support both scientific and regulatory model assessments for ozone and PM. Here we describe a new version of BEIS which includes updated input vegetation data and canopy model formulation for estimating leaf temperature and vegetation data on estimated BVOC. The Biogenic Emission Landuse Database (BELD) was revised to incorporate land use data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land product and 2006 National Land Cover Database (NLCD) land coverage. Vegetation species data are based on the US Forest Service (USFS) Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) version 5.1 for 2002–2013 and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2007 census of agriculture data. This update results in generally higher BVOC emissions throughout California compared with the previous version of BEIS. Baseline and updated BVOC emission estimates are used in Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) Model simulations with 4 km grid resolution and evaluated with measurements of isoprene and monoterpenes taken during multiple field campaigns in northern California. The updated canopy model coupled with improved land use and vegetation representation resulted in better agreement between CMAQ isoprene and monoterpene estimates compared with these observations.
The Anthropology of Economy: Community, Market, and Culture.

The Anthropology of Economy: Community, Market, and Culture. Stephen Gudeman. Williston, VT: Blackwell Publishers, 2001.189 pp.
Are we missing the tail (and the tale) of residence time distributions in watersheds

[1] Residence times provide vital information on hydrological, geochemical, and ecological processes in watersheds. The common perception is that mean residence times in watersheds are very short, on the order of days to years. However, there is growing concern that longer residence times of centuries to millennia are not being captured by traditional surface water age-dating methods. We hypothesize that if mean residence times are biased short, then weathering rates calculated from mean residence times will be forced unrealistically high to match observed solute concentrations. We test this hypothesis by calculating weathering rates from springs based upon residence times estimated using three different age-dating methods. Observed solute concentrations require unrealistically large weathering rates if typical short residence times are employed as compared to rates derived from longer residence times. Residence time distributions in watersheds have substantially longer tails than previously thought, with implications for age-dating methods and their interpretation to infer process behavior.
Genetic and informatic resources for multi-scale brain research

The mammalian brain is a highly complex system with levels of organization that extend from nucleotides to large networks that generate adaptive behavior. To test our understanding of brain function we need to assemble and model interactions across levels. We are doing this for a genetically diverse family of BXD strains. This family has been densely genotyped and phenotyped for thousands of brain-related behavioral, cellular, and molecular traits making this population particularly amenable to multi-scale analysis. Here we provide an example of this type of analysis starting with a well defined trait-cholinergic interneuron number in the dorsal striatum. We show strong associations between cholinergic neuron numbers and alcohol and drug response phenotypes among the BXD population and map part of the variation in coexpression to chromosomes1 and 12. Polymorphisms in Lrfn5 may be responsible for trait variation that maps to the chromosome 12 locus.
A morphological polynomial transform

It is shown that, using grayscale morphology and a set of functions related to orthogonal polynomials-defined on a window-as structuring elements, a signal representation analogous to the polynomial transform can be developed. The geometric decomposition of a signal is achieved by windowing and using a morphological opening operation to approximate the windowed signal with each of the structuring elements. The resulting representation is made to resemble an orthogonal expansion by constraining the result of opening to be equal to the structuring function. Properties of the recursive decomposition algorithm make it possible to develop an algorithm for calculating a set of coefficients used in the reconstruction. The analysis and synthesis of one-dimensional signals are illustrated with an image data compression example. >
Minimum variance cross hedging under mean‐reverting spreads, stochastic convenience yields, and jumps: Application to the airline industry

Exchange traded futures contracts often are not written on the specific asset that is a source of risk to a firm. The firm may attempt to manage this risk using futures contracts written on a related asset. This cross hedge exposes the firm to a new risk, the spread between the asset underlying the futures contract and the asset that the firm wants to hedge. Using the specific case of the airline industry as motivation, we derive the minimum variance cross hedge assuming a two-factor diffusion model for the underlying asset and a stochastic, mean-reverting spread. The result is a time-varying hedge ratio that can be applied to any hedging horizon. We also consider the effect of jumps in the underlying asset. We use simulations and empirical tests of crude oil, jet fuel cross hedges to demonstrate the hedging effectiveness of the model. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 29:736–756, 2009
Expression of vimentin by cultured astroglia and oligodendroglia.

The objective of this study was to determine whether vimentin expression by process-bearing astroglia and oligodendroglia cultured from neonatal rat cerebral cortex resembled that in brain where vimentin is common in immature astroglia and a few subpopulations of mature astroglia, but is absent in oligodendroglia. Vimentin expression was detected by immunofluorescence microscopy using a monoclonal antibody (V9) against porcine lens vimentin in combination with either antiserum against the astroglial marker, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), or with antiserum against the oligodendroglial marker, galactocerebroside (GC). Specificity of the antivimentin antibody was indicated on immunoblots of process-bearing cell proteins separated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Enrichment of cultures for either GFAP+ astroglia or GC+ oligodendroglia was achieved by supplementation of the culture medium with fetal calf serum at 10% or 0.5%, respectively. Process-bearing cells maintained in 10% serum exhibited heterogeneity in their expression of GFAP and vimentin. Approximately half of the cells were GFAP+/vimentin+ throughout the 2-week culture period examined. GFAP+/vimentin− cells were a minor population at early times (3–4 days) in culture, but accounted for 40% of process-bearing cells after 2 weeks. Cultures maintained in reduced (0.5%) serum and stained for GC and vimentin also exhibited heterogeneity. Both GC+/vimentin+ and GC+/vimentin− cells were observed, with vimentin+ cells composing two-thirds and one-half of the GC+ population after 3 and 6 days, respectively, in reduced serum. The high incidence of vimentin expression by process-bearing astroglia and oligodendroglia suggests that these cultures contain glia in a relatively early stage of development. The decrease in vimentin expression with time in culture suggests that the specific developmental processes which lead to a reduction in vimentin in brain during maturation may be exhibited by process-bearing glia in vitro.
Probability conservation in theories of collisional ionization and detachment

The semiclassical local-complex-potential theory has been widely used to describe detachment and ionization in atom-atom and ion-atom collisions. However, it has been shown that the resulting formulas do not conserve probability. In this paper, we show that the problem arises from the inconsistent treatment of the effects of interference, tunneling, and diffraction. A more complete theory is based upon the close-coupling expansion, which leads to an infinite set of coupled equations. A method for solving such sets of equations was developed in earlier work. Here we implement that method using a new iterative numerical scheme, and we show that the iteration converges to results in which probability is conserved.
Technological Literacy Learning With Cumulative and Stepwise Integration of Equations Into Electrical Circuit Diagrams

Technological literacy education involves the teaching of basic engineering principles and problem solving, including elementary electrical circuit analysis, to non-engineering students. Learning materials on circuit analysis typically rely on equations and schematic diagrams, which are often unfamiliar to non-engineering students. The goal of this experimental study was to investigate the effects of the integration of equations into circuit diagrams on the learning of non-engineering undergraduate students. This experimental study compared three integration designs. In the cumulative integrated design, as each practice problem solution progressed, the equations were cumulatively integrated into the circuit diagram. In the stepwise integrated design, only those equations relevant to the present step of the problem were integrated into the circuit diagram; previously displayed equations were moved to an adjacent frame and recorded there. The nonintegrated design recorded all equations in the adjacent frame throughout each of the problems. Student learning was measured with a problem-solving near-transfer and far-transfer post-test. Students rated the helpfulness of the diagrams and difficulty of the instructional program. Results indicated that participants in the cumulative integrated condition scored significantly higher on the near-transfer post-test and marginally significantly higher on the far-transfer post-test compared to the stepwise and nonintegrated conditions. Findings indicate that circuit analysis instruction for non-engineering students should integrate equations into circuit diagrams in a cumulative fashion so as to avoid the split-attention effect for both the previously displayed equations as well as the equations for the present problem step.
Radioimmunoassay technique for measuring cortisol in milk.

Abstract A sensitive radioimmunoassay procedure for measurement of cortisol has been developed for use in whole or skim milk. Cortisol concentrations were similar in whole and skim milk indicating that this steroid is not associated with milk lipids. Because of this relationships, the use of skim milk provides a faster and much simplified approach to the study of cortisol in milk. Mean and standard errors of cortisol concentrations in skim milk samples collected at 2400 and 1200 h from seven cows for 1 wk were .71 ± .05 and .69 ± .70 ng/ml. Cortisol in colostrum averaged 1.59 ± .07 ng/ml.
Moderate-resolution two-photon spectrum of the naphthalene crystal and naphthalene in durene

Abstract The two-photon absorption spectra at ∼ 5 cm −1 resolution are presented for the naphthalene crystal and naphthalene in durene at 2°K in polarized light. A rich vibronic spectrum of the 1 B 2u (3200 A) naphthalene state is observed and some of the strongest vibronic origins are from in-plane vibrations.