cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Syndromes dominated by apraxia of speech show distinct characteristics from agrammatic PPA

Objective: We assessed whether clinical and imaging features of subjects with apraxia of speech (AOS) more severe than aphasia (dominant AOS) are more similar to agrammatic primary progressive aphasia (agPPA) or to primary progressive AOS (PPAOS). Methods: Sixty-seven subjects (PPAOS = 18, dominant AOS = 10, agPPA = 9, age-matched controls = 30) who all had volumetric MRI, diffusion tensor imaging, F18-fluorodeoxyglucose and C11-labeled Pittsburgh compound B (PiB)-PET scanning, as well as neurologic and speech and language assessments, were included in this case-control study. AOS was classified as either type 1, predominated by sound distortions and distorted sound substitutions, or type 2, predominated by syllabically segmented prosodic speech patterns. Results: The dominant AOS subjects most often had AOS type 2, similar to PPAOS. In contrast, agPPA subjects most often had type 1 ( p = 0.01). Both dominant AOS and PPAOS showed focal imaging abnormalities in premotor cortex, whereas agPPA showed widespread involvement affecting premotor, prefrontal, temporal and parietal lobes, caudate, and insula. Only the dominant AOS and PPAOS groups showed midbrain atrophy compared with controls. No differences were observed in PiB binding across all 3 groups, with the majority being PiB negative. Conclusion: These results suggest that dominant AOS is more similar to PPAOS than agPPA, with dominant AOS and PPAOS exhibiting a clinically distinguishable subtype of progressive AOS compared with agPPA.
Achaete-Scute Homologue-1 Tapers Neuroendocrine Cell Differentiation in Lungs after Exposure to Naphthalene

The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor achaete-scute homologue-1 (ASH1) plays a critical role in regulating the neuroendocrine (NE) phenotype in normal and neoplastic lung. Transgenic (TG) mice that constitutively express human ASH1 (hASH1) under control of the Clara cell 10-kDa protein (CC10) promoter in non-NE airway lining cells display progressive epithelial hyperplasia and bronchiolar metaplasia or bronchiolization of the alveoli (BOA). However, little is known about the involvement of hASH1 in regeneration of the conducting airway. In this study, we investigated the impact of hASH1 on airway cell injury and repair in the TG mice following an intraperitoneal injection of naphthalene, which specifically ablates bronchiolar Clara cells and induces pulmonary NE cell hyperplasia. We discovered an overall attenuation of NE maturation coupled with increased proliferation in TG mice during post-naphthalene repair. In addition, BOA lesions revealed enhanced epithelial cell proliferation while preserving Clara cell markers CC10 and the principal naphthalene-metabolizing enzyme cytochrome P4502F2. These data suggest that ASH1 may play an important role in maintaining a progenitor phenotype that promotes renewal of both NE and epithelial cells. Moreover, ASH1 may propagate a stem cell microenvironment in BOA where epithelium becomes resistant to naphthalene toxicity.
Cowoven polypropylene/glass composites with polypropylene + polymer liquid crystal interlayers: Dynamic mechanical and thermal analysis

Simultaneous macroscopic and molecular reinforcement of polypropylene with glass fibers and Polymer Liquid Crystals (PLCs) is evaluated. Interlayers of polypropylene (PP) + poly(ethylene terephthalate) /0.6 p-hydroxybenzoic acid PLC blends are introduced between the cowoven polypropylene + glass fiber plies. Analysis was conducted using Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analysis (DMTA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). The results indicate that low fractions of PLC material in the composite have dual benefits of increased rigidity and toughness. The crystallization kinetics are influenced by the dual nucleating effects of both reinforcing agents. A decrease in crystallinity is associated with increasing PLC presence. Degradation kinetics of the composites demonstrate only one kinetic step in contrast to the interlayers alone.
Automated eye motion using texture synthesis

Modeling human eyes requires special care. The goal of this paper is to synthesize realistic eye-gaze and blink motion, accounting for any possible correlations between the two. The technique adopts a data-driven texture synthesis approach to the problem of synthesizing realistic eye motion. The basic assumption is that eye gaze probably has some connection with eyelid motion, as well as with head motion and speech. But the connection is not strictly deterministic and would be difficult to characterize explicitly. A major advantage of the data-driven approach is that the investigator does not need to determine whether these apparent correlations actually exist. If the correlations occur in the data, the synthesis (properly applied) will reproduce them.
Computer-based interventions to improve social and emotional skills in individuals with autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review.

Objective: To review studies involving the use of computer-based interventions (CBI) to improve the social and emotional skills (e.g. emotional recognition) of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Methods: The use of computer-based intervention (CBI) in the treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) may offer some advantages to traditional one-to-one or group instruction including easier differentiation of instruction, decreased distractions and the incorporation of an individual’s relative visual learning strengths. However, the results of past research suggest varying outcomes for CBI with individuals with ASD. This review provides a systematic analysis of studies investigating CBI to improve social and emotional skills (e.g. emotion recognition) of individuals with ASD. Electronic database searches and ancestral searches were used to identify studies that met pre-determined inclusion criteria. The included studies were then summarized in terms of: (a) participant characteristics, (b) social and emotional skills targeted, (c) details of the CBI, (d) results, and (e) certainty of evidence. Results: The results of these studies indicated that CBI’s effect on social and emotional skills was mixed, with the majority of studies reporting unacceptable outcomes following intervention. Conclusions: Overall, this review suggests that the use of CBI to improve the social and emotional skills of individuals with ASD is a promising practice. A comparison of CBI plus tutoring and face-to-face social skills training suggests that CBI can be as effective as face-to-face instruction. Practitioners should carefully consider the preferences and existing abilities of individuals with ASD and the customizability of the software when deciding to use CBI and selecting a software program.
Maternal depression and infant cortisol: Influences of timing, comorbidity and treatment

Background: The current study examines the relationship between maternal depression and infant cortisol concentrations. The potential roles of comorbid maternal anxiety disorders, timing of maternal depression, and maternal treatment with psychotropic medications during pregnancy are addressed. Methods: Women with 6-month-old infants (105 boys and 84 girls) participated in a laboratory paradigm that included infant saliva collection at six points, noise burst and arm restraint stressor tasks, and a diagnostic interview of the mother. Results: Lifetime history of maternal depression was associated with increased baseline and mean (average) infant cortisol levels. Comorbidity with anxiety disorder was related to infant cortisol reactivity. Peripartum (prepartum and/or postpartum) maternal depression, rather than a pre-pregnancy history of disorder, was associated with higher infant cortisol reactivity. Prenatal and postnatal exposure to maternal disorder had similar effects, but prenatal maternal psychotropic medication treatment appeared to attenuate infant cortisol increases associated with prenatal maternal disorder exposure. Conclusions: These data suggest that exposure to maternal depression and anxiety during pregnancy and the postpartum period may increase infant salivary cortisol. This maternal depression–infant cortisol association is independent of the effects of delivery complications, and appears to be modulated by prenatal maternal psychotropic treatment. Keywords: Anxiety, cortisol, depression, infant, perinatal, prenatal, psychotropic, stress. A recent meta-analysis found that between 8.5% and 11.0% of women meet criteria for depression during pregnancy, while estimates of maternal depression
Limitations of prehospital predictors of acute myocardial infarction and unstable angina.

Studies have attempted to define predictive indicators of diagnosis and/or prognosis for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the emergency department and to identify the need for hospital admission in patients with chest pain. Because prehospital predictors have not been defined, dispatchers, paramedics, and base station physicians continue to triage based on patient history. We reviewed 401 patients presenting in one year to an urban paramedic system with chest pain, normal vital signs, and stable rhythms to identify predictors of AMI and unstable angina. Thirty-one percent (123) had a diagnosis of AMI, 26% (105) unstable angina, and 43% (173) "other" diagnoses. Two-hundred seventy-eight patients required nitroglycerin administration, 182 required IV morphine, 14 developed arrhythmias requiring lidocaine, and two suffered cardiac arrest in the field. Nine other patients had a cardiac arrest after arrival in the ED. When comparing AMI and unstable angina patients to the "others," 64% (132) versus 36% (74) had radiation of pain (P less than .003), 72% (95) versus 28% (37) had diaphoresis (P less than .0001). Neither difficulty breathing, nausea/vomiting, vital signs, initial rhythm, nor past history of myocardial infarction were helpful in discriminating AMI and unstable angina from others. Comparing AMI alone versus others, the presence of ST segment elevation on lead II was present in 15% (18) AMIs, 3% (3) unstable angina, and 8% (14) others (P = .005). Diaphoresis also was a predictor of diagnosis with 51% (63) of the AMIs and 25% (69) of others exhibiting this sign (P less than .001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Is It Possible to Build Financially Successful New Towns? The Milton Keynes Experience

The last generation of British new towns is being completed with the dissolution of the New Towns Development Corporations. As the final chapter of the new town movement in Britain draws to a close...
Noninvasive blood flow imaging for real-time feedback during laser therapy of port wine stain birthmarks.

Port wine stain (PWS) birthmarks are progressive vascular malformations that occur in ∼12,000 live births per year in the United States. The majority (∼90%) of PWS birthmarks occur on the head and neck regions, and thus are difficult to conceal. The psychosocial development of individuals with PWS birthmarks is adversely affected. Facial PWS lesions have been associated with increased incidence of glaucoma and seizures. The progressive nature of PWS skin may be due to lack of neuronal regulation of blood vessel size. Progressive development of the PWS results in a darker appearance, soft tissue hypertrophy, nodularity, and overall further disfigurement. Current treatment options have significant limitations in terms of efficacy and risk. With laser therapy, a reduction in size and degree of redness of PWS skin occurs in ∼60% of treated patients. After ten treatment sessions, complete disappearance of the PWS occurs in only ∼10% of treated patients. To reduce the financial burden and potential risks of repeated treatments under general anesthesia, there is a need for innovative, personalized methods to maximize the reduction in PWS redness per treatment session. Without addressing this need, the overall efficacy of PWS laser therapy will remain variable, because treatment protocols will remain based primarily on the subjective impression and overall experience of the treating surgeon. To address this need, we propose use of laser speckle imaging (LSI) to provide real-time, quantitative feedback during laser surgery.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Constitutive Expression of a Transcription Termination Factor by a Repressed Prophage: Promoters for Transcribing the Phage HK022 nun Gene

Lysogens of phage HK022 are resistant to infection by phage λ. Lambda resistance is caused by the action of the HK022 Nun protein, which prematurely terminates early λ transcripts. We report here that transcription of the nun gene initiates at a constitutive prophage promoter, PNun, located just upstream of the protein coding sequence. The 5′ end of the transcript was determined by primer extension analysis of RNA isolated from HK022 lysogens or RNA made in vitro by transcribing a template containing the promoter with purified Escherichia coli RNA polymerase. Inactivation of PNun by mutation greatly reduced Nun activity and Nun antigen in an HK022 lysogen. However, a low level of residual activity was detected, suggesting that a secondary promoter also contributes to nun expression. We found one possible secondary promoter, PNun′, just upstream of PNun. Neither promoter is likely to increase the expression of other phage genes in a lysogen because their transcripts should be terminated downstream of nun. We estimate that HK022 lysogens in stationary phase contain several hundred molecules of Nun per cell and that cells in exponential phase probably contain fewer.
God’s Time and Relativistic Time

We have seen that for Newton God’s eternity and omnipresence were ontologically foundational for his views of time and space. Unfortunately in our secular age physicists and philosophers of space and time rarely, if ever, give careful consideration to the difference God’s existence makes for our conceptions of time and space. To borrow Sir Arthur Eddington’s words, “physics has in the main contented itself with studying the abridged edition of the book of nature.”1 Such indifference was characteristic of Einstein himself. Only after 1930 did he begin to refer more frequently in his non-scientific writings to religious questions. But he was, in Holton’s words, “quite unconcerned with religious matters during the period of his early scientific publications.”2 Einstein remarked that by the age of twelve he had lost his faith because of science and became a free-thinker.3 Thus, he did not consider what difference theism might make to one’s views of time and space.
Tortured beliefs: How and when prior support for torture skews the perceived value of coerced information

Abstract In the wake of recent revelations about US involvement in torture, and widespread and seemingly-growing support of torture in the US, we consider how people judge the value of information gained from informants under coercion. Drawing on past work on confirmation biases and moral judgments, we predicted, and found, that American torture supporters are more likely than opposers to see coerced information as relatively valuable and necessary in a scenario describing the foiling of an al-Qaeda terrorist attack. Judgments of coerced information value in the scenario also predicted endorsement of using the episode as a “success story” to justify torture in future cases. A second study shed light on an important boundary: Prior general support for torture predicted the perceived value of coerced information when the interrogated informant was an outgroup member (an al-Qaeda informant tortured by US operatives) but not when the informant was an ingroup member (an American soldier tortured by al-Qaeda). Overall, the results suggest that advocates for torture may readily interpret ambiguous evidence as implying the value and necessity of extreme interrogation techniques when used by the ingroup. Our findings also indicate that torture supporters often expect selective efficacy, whereby they see torture as more likely to yield valuable information when it is used by “us” compared to “them.”
Reliable multicast via satellites

Automatic repeat request (ARQ) is a well-known technique to provide error control. In reliable satellite multicasting, ARQ may reduce system throughput as the number of receivers increases since the satellite has to retransmit a packer until all receivers correctly receive it. This performance degradation might be alleviated substantially by conducting retransmissions through terrestrial paths from the sender to each receiver instead of through the multicast satellite link. However, this approach may not be possible when some receivers do not have terrestrial connections to the sender. Also, a large volume of feedback traffic from the receivers to the sender may cause a feedback implosion at the sender. In this paper, we propose a scalable framework to solve these problems. Our solution enables receivers to form groups to avoid unnecessary retransmissions as long as a correct packet call be found inside the group. Using analytical models, we demonstrate that the proposed solution can significantly improve system throughput.
George I. Finch and His Pioneering Use of Oxygen for Climbing at Extreme Altitudes

George Ingle Finch (1888–1970) was the first person to prove the great value of supplementary oxygen for climbing at extreme altitudes. He did this during the 1922 Everest expedition when he and hi...
All models are wrong

As the field of phylogeography has continued to move in the model-based direction, researchers continue struggling to construct useful models for inference. These models must be both simple enough to be tractable yet contain enough of the complexity of the natural world to make meaningful inference. Beyond constructing such models for inference, researchers explore model space and test competing models with the data on hand, with the goal of improving the understanding of the natural world and the processes underlying natural biological communities. Approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) has increased in recent popularity as a tool for evaluating alternative historical demographic models given population genetic samples. As a thorough demonstration, Pelletier & Carstens (2014) use ABC to test 143 phylogeographic submodels given geographically widespread genetic samples from the salamander species Plethodon idahoensis (Carstens et al. 2014) and, in so doing, demonstrate how the results of the ABC model choice procedure are dependent on the model set one chooses to evaluate.
Policing Police Technology: The False Hope of Fourth Amendment Adjudicatory Oversight

In the context of a SEALS Discussion Group concerning technology and the Fourth Amendment, this short essay explores why even the most elegantly drawn decision rules for applying the Fourth Amendment in today’s technological age will be rendered moot by a pervasively diminished remedial regime reflected in the Court’s recent Fourth Amendment jurisprudence – in particular the exclusionary rule decisions in Herring v. United States, Davis v. United States, and a series of constitutional tort decisions deepening the protection of qualified immunity and narrowing the scope of municipal liability. It concludes that efforts at refashioning the substance of Fourth Amendment doctrine will ultimately bear little fruit in the functional project of constitutional adjudication – though they may be essential to important task of building a popular and political culture of valuing the Fourth Amendment.
The Communitarian Deficit

The integration and centralization of the European Union (EU) has thus far proceeded without the level of community building necessary to sustain a full-fledged fiscal union. At issue is not the absence of a political union or a ‘democratic deficit’, but the very limited post-national community building, a communitarian deficit. The insufficient sharing of values and bonds - not the poor representative mechanisms - is a major cause of alienation from ‘Brussels’ and limits the normative commitment to make sacrifices for the common good. Major community building measures, in normative intensive areas such as education and language, must take place if the proposed steps towards significantly greater economic unity are to succeed. But, it is precisely these areas where community building is most absent. Hence, it is likely that the current crisis will lead to a scaling back of the EU as administrative state, rather than to ever higher levels of integration.
A state-space approach to incorporating environmental effects on recruitment in an age-structured assessment model with an application to southern New England yellowtail flounder

The state-space model framework provides a natural, probabilistic approach to stock assessment by modeling the stochastic nature of population survival and recruitment separately from sampling unce...
Scanner-Based Protocol-Driven Ultrasound: An Effective Method to Improve Efficiency in an Ultrasound Department.

OBJECTIVE. For ultrasound, a wide variation is often observed among the number and sequence of images acquired for a particular examination type. Scanner-based protocols are preset pathways in the ultrasound machine that guide a sonographer through the required study images. These protocols can streamline image acquisition by improving consistency and efficiency of ultrasound examinations. This study evaluated whether implementation of scanner-based protocol-driven ultrasound improves efficiency by decreasing the scanning duration and number of images acquired. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Retrospective evaluation of 437 carotid Doppler examinations, 395 complete abdominal ultrasound examinations with Doppler imaging, and 413 bilateral lower extremity venous Doppler examinations for deep venous thrombosis (DVT) performed by five sonographers before and after implementation of scanner-based protocol-driven ultrasound was performed. The scanning duration and number of images acquired for each study were recorded....
Visual-Attention-Based Background Modeling for Detecting Infrequently Moving Objects

Motion is one of the most important cues to separate foreground objects from the background in a video. Using a stationary camera, it is usually assumed that the background is static, while the foreground objects are moving most of the time. However, in practice, the foreground objects may show infrequent motions , such as abandoned objects and sleeping persons. Meanwhile, the background may contain frequent local motions, such as waving trees and/or grass. Such complexities may prevent the existing background subtraction algorithms from correctly identifying the foreground objects. In this paper, we propose a new approach that can detect the foreground objects with frequent and/or infrequent motions. Specifically, we use a visual-attention mechanism to infer a complete background from a subset of frames and then propagate it to the other frames for accurate background subtraction. Furthermore, we develop a feature-matching-based local motion stabilization algorithm to identify frequent local motions in the background for reducing false positives in the detected foreground. The proposed approach is fully unsupervised, without using any supervised learning for object detection and tracking. Extensive experiments on a large number of videos have demonstrated that the proposed approach outperforms the state-of-the-art motion detection and background subtraction methods in comparison.
Additional Tests with Insecticides for the Control of the Tropical Horse Tick on Horses in Florida

In limited tests topical applications of 0.3% Ciodrin® ( alpha -methylbenzyl 3-hydroxycrotonate dimethyl phosphate) in cottonseed oil or water, or 5% Ciodrin dust; 0.1% Shell Compound 4072 (2-chloro-l-(2,4-dichlorophenyl) vinyl diethyl phosphate) in cottonseed oil or water, or 5% Shell Compound 4072 dust; 0.25% Imidan® ( O, O -dimethyl S -phthalimidomethyl phosphorodithioate) in cottonseed oil or water; and 0.25% coumaphos in cottonseed oil or water, or 5% coumaphos dust, were highly effective in killing all stages of Dermacentor nitens Neumann in ears of horses. Dri-die® (silicon dioxide plus ammonium silicofluoride to extent of 3% fluorine) failed to control the ticks. A treatment of 1% lindane in corn oil was less effective in preventing reinfestation of ears by larvae than the same concentration of insecticide in cottonseed, mineral, or olive oil. Of 15 treatments administered to horses in feed to systemically control the ticks, only trichlorfon at 20 mg/kg per day for 10 days was completely effective. Treatments administered for shorter periods failed to kill ticks in molting periods.
AN EMPIRICAL FORMULA OF STABILITY FOR PLATE ROLLING

A new empirical formula to calculate the optimum plate crown and roll camber was derived as y=4P/a~2c (x~2+(B/2)x) It was fairly verified by production practice.
Simulation analysis for squad technologies

The Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA) looks to achieve infantry squad overmatch through the incorporation of advanced technology in their Squad-X Program. In terms of an infantry squad, overmatch is the ability to immediately overwhelm an opposing force and continue on with its mission. Furthermore, DARPA is seeking specific technological information and innovative ideas that can be used to inform a potential new program focused on demonstrating the advantages of an organically digitized and interconnected dismounted squad. Our team is engineering simulation solutions for analysis of the effectiveness of potential technologies. Through use of simulation programs, such as IWARS, OneSAF, COMPOSER, and VBS2 simulation programs, the team is able to incorporate Squad-X technologies into battlefield simulations in order to target specific gaps in a squad's ability to achieve overmatch.
Impella left ventricular assist device in cardiac arrest after spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section

Cardiac arrest after neuraxial anaesthesia is very well described. Inhibition of the sympathetic efferent system and vagal activation leading to decrease preload and severe bradycardia results in cardiac arrest. Pregnant patients undergoing spinal anaesthesia are at increased risk for vasovagal events due to aortocaval compression and higher level of spinal block. A 36-year-old pregnant woman at 39 weeks presented for an elective caesarean section. She underwent spinal anaesthesia. Immediately after, she had severe bradycardia followed by asystole cardiac arrest. She had spontaneous return of circulation. The patient was in cardiogenic shock causing pulmonary oedema and required four vasopressors to maintain her blood pressure. An Impella 2.5 percutaneous microaxial left ventricle (LV) support device was inserted to support her haemodynamics. She fully recovered and was discharged in stable condition. To the best of our knowledge, this is first case report of the use of an LV-assist device in a patient postcardiac arrest from spinal anaesthesia.
Cortical bone fracture analysis using XFEM – case study

We aim to achieve an accurate simulation of human cortical bone fracture using the extended finite element method within a commercial finite element software abaqus. A two-dimensional unit cell model of cortical bone is built based on a microscopy image of the mid-diaphysis of tibia of a 70-year-old human male donor. Each phase of this model, an interstitial bone, a cement line, and an osteon, are considered linear elastic and isotropic with material properties obtained by nanoindentation, taken from literature. The effect of using fracture analysis methods (cohesive segment approach versus linear elastic fracture mechanics approach), finite element type, and boundary conditions (traction, displacement, and mixed) on cortical bone crack initiation and propagation are studied. In this study cohesive segment damage evolution for a traction separation law based on energy and displacement is used. In addition, effects of the increment size and mesh density on analysis results are investigated. We find that both cohesive segment and linear elastic fracture mechanics approaches within the extended finite element method can effectively simulate cortical bone fracture. Mesh density and simulation increment size can influence analysis results when employing either approach, and using finer mesh and/or smaller increment size does not always provide more accurate results. Both approaches provide close but not identical results, and crack propagation speed is found to be slower when using the cohesive segment approach. Also, using reduced integration elements along with the cohesive segment approach decreases crack propagation speed compared with using full integration elements. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Biomechanics I: Stress singularities in the elastic analysis of the tibial component of orthopedic implant

Artificial joints have been used to replace arthritic or degenerated joints for a number of years. A particular problem is the fixation of porous coated metal components to the bone in which they are implanted. The surface of a knee prosthesis is pressed into the tibial plateau with short pegs that anchor the prosthesis into the bone. The peg-plate boundary contains ninety degree corners which will produce disruptions in the stress field of the surrounding bone. The Airy stress function with an assumed singularity was used to find the stress magnitudes near the regions of high stress potential. The local effect of the resulting stress gradients are critical to understanding the bone remodeling and ingrowth that takes place around the prosthesis.
Unlike History, Should a Simulator Not Repeat Itself?

The concept of simulator repeatability and a means for quantifying it are introduced by Cumin, Chen, and Merry in this issue.1 The authors evaluated different methods of objectively evaluating simulator output repeatability and recommended the Median Absolute Performance Error (MDAPE) method based on their analysis; two simulators, a screen-based simulator (Anesthesia Simulator, Anesoft), and a high-integration mannequin patient simulator (Human Patient Simulator, HPS, CAE/METI) were evaluated for repeatability.
Do Varying Aquatic Plant Species Affect Phytoplankton and Crustacean Responses to a Nitrogen-Permethrin Mixture?

Hydraulically connected wetland microcosms vegetated with either Typha latifolia or Myriophyllum aquaticum were amended with an NH4NO3 and permethrin mixture to assess the effectiveness of both plant species in mitigating effects of the pollutant mixture on phytoplankton (as chlorophyll a) and Hyalella azteca. Phytoplankton grew in response to increased NH4NO3 in the presence of all plant species, but was unaffected by exposure to permethrin. H. azteca responses occurred rapidly (0.17 days), was mitigated within 1-2 days, and aqueous toxicity was unaffected by plant species type. A toxic unit model approach ascertained primary toxicity was permethrin with minimal additional toxicity from NH4NO3. Varying aquatic plant species had only modest influences on phytoplankton responses and no observable influence on animal responses during nitrogen-permethrin mixture exposures. As a result, both T. latifolia and M. aquaticum can be used as part of an effective agricultural best-management practice system for mitigating pollutant impacts of agricultural run-off.
Higher-spin structures in 21 F and 25 Na

Excited states were investigated in $^{21}\mathrm{F}$ and $^{25}\mathrm{Na}$ using the $^{9}\mathrm{Be}(^{14}\mathrm{C},pn\ensuremath{\gamma})$ reaction at 30, 35, and 45 MeV and the $^{9}\mathrm{Be}(^{18}\mathrm{O},pn\ensuremath{\gamma})$ reaction at 35 MeV. Protons were detected and identified in an $E\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}E$ telescope at ${0}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ in coincidence with one or more $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ radiations in the FSU Compton-suppressed Ge detector array. Many new levels and electromagnetic decays were observed, especially among the higher spin states. Angular distributions and mean lifetimes were measured wherever possible in both nuclei. The energy levels of the positive-parity states in the two nuclei agree rather well with shell model calculations using both the USDA and WBP interactions up to the highest spins observed of $13/2\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\hbar}$. Both a weak coupling approximation and shell model calculations using the WBP interaction generally reproduce the negative-parity states in $^{21}\mathrm{F}$. The shell model calculations reproduce relatively well the measured $M1$ and $E2$ transitions in both nuclei, but overpredict the parity-changing $E1$ transitions in $^{21}\mathrm{F}$, the only nucleus in which negative-parity states were observed in the present experiment.
Systematic Diabetes Screening Using Point-of-Care HbA1c Testing Facilitates Identification of Prediabetes

This prospective longitudinal study compares diabetes screenings between standard practices vs systematically offered point-of-care (POC) hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) tests in patients aged 45 years or older. Systematically screened participants (n = 164) identified 63% (n = 104) with unknown hyperglycemia and 53% (n = 88) in prediabetes. The standard practice (n = 324) screened 22% (n = 73), most commonly by blood glucose (96%); 8% (n = 6) and 33% (n = 24) were found to have diabetes and prediabetes, respectively. The association between screening outcome and screening method was statistically significant (P = 0.005) in favor of HbA1C HbA1c may be the most effective method to identify patients unknowingly living in hyperglycemia. Point-of-care tests further facilitate screening evaluation in a timely and feasible fashion.
Smoke Gets in Their Eyes? Third-Person Effects of Electronic Cigarette Advertising

ABSTRACTThis study examined the relationship between smoker status and attitudes toward e-cigarette usage, third-person perceptions of e-cigarette advertising, and support for regulation of e-cigarette advertising within the context of a media-saturated environment. Survey results (n = 615) indicated that participants perceived e-cigarette advertisements as having a more powerful effect on others than on themselves and that nonsmokers perceived this more strongly than did smokers. Nonsmokers were found to have more negative attitudes toward e-cigarette use than smokers. Mediation analysis indicated support for a serial indirect effect of smoker status on support for regulation through attitudes toward e-cigarettes and third-person perceptions.
Outpatient desensitization in selected patients with platinum hypersensitivity reactions

Platinum-based chemotherapies are a standard treatment for both initial and recurrent gynecologic cancers. Given this widespread use, it is important to be aware of the features of platinum hypersensitivity reactions and the subsequent treatment of these reactions. There is also increasing interest in the development of desensitization protocols to allow patients with a history of platinum hypersensitivity to receive further platinum based therapy. In this review, we describe the management of platinum hypersensitivity reactions and the desensitization protocols utilized at our institution. We also describe the clinical categorizations utilized to triage patients to appropriate desensitization protocols.
Development of a fast and efficient method for hepatitis A virus concentration from green onion

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) can cause serious liver disease and even death. HAV outbreaks are associated with the consumption of raw or minimally processed produce, making it a major public health concern. Infections have occurred despite the fact that effective HAV vaccine has been available. Development of a rapid and sensitive HAV detection method is necessary for an investigation of an HAV outbreak. Detection of HAV is complicated by the lack of a reliable culture method. In addition, due to the low infectious dose of HAV, these methods must be very sensitive. Current methods rely on efficient sample preparation and concentration steps followed by sensitive molecular detection techniques. Using green onions which was involved in most recent HAV outbreaks as a representative produce, a method of capturing virus particles was developed using carboxyl-derivatized magnetic beads in this study. Carboxyl beads, like antibody-coated beads or cationic beads, detect HAV at a level as low as 100 pfu/25g of green onions. RNA from virus concentrated in this manner can be released by heat-shock (98°C 5min) for molecular detection without sacrificing sensitivity. Bypassing the RNA extraction procedure saves time and removes multiple manipulation steps, which makes large scale HAV screening possible. In addition, the inclusion of beef extract and pectinase rather than NP40 in the elution buffer improved the HAV liberation from the food matrix over current methods by nearly 10 fold. The method proposed in this study provides a promising tool to improve food risk assessment and protect public health.
The causal ambiguity paradox: Deliberate actions under causal ambiguity:

Causal ambiguity describes a lack of understanding of cause-and-effect interactions between resources and competitive advantage. As a central construct in strategic management, causal ambiguity con...
High Pressure Processing of High Technology Ceramics

More than six decades have passed since Bridgman and co-workers established the exciting field of high pressure science and technology. Since that time research in this area has been primarily dominated by physicists, geologists and more recently by chemists. Except for the synthesis of diamond in 1954, ceramists in general have not taken advantage of the role very high pressure can play as an important thermodynamic parameter in ceramic processing. In this paper the science and technology of very high pressure as a long overdue but emerging process in the development of high technology ceramics is discussed and examples given.
Screening Mammography Utilization and Medicare Beneficiaries' Perceptions of Their Primary Care Physicians.

Rationale and Objectives To assess associations between screening mammography utilization and Medicare beneficiaries' relationships with, and impressions of, their primary care physicians. Materials and Methods Using the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey Access to Care Public Use File, we retrospectively studied responses from a national random cross section of Medicare beneficiaries surveyed in 2013 regarding perceptions of their primary care physicians and their screening mammography utilization. Statistical analysis accounted for subject weighting factors to estimate national screening utilization. Results Among 7492 female Medicare beneficiaries, 62.0% (95% confidence interval 59.8%–64.2%) underwent screening mammography. Utilization was higher for beneficiaries having (vs. not) a regular medical practice or clinic (63.2% vs. 34.6%) and a usual physician (63.8% vs. 50.3%). Utilization was higher for beneficiaries very satisfied (vs. very dissatisfied) with the overall quality of care they received (66.0% vs. 35.8%), their ease of getting to a doctor (67.7% vs. 43.2%), and their physician's concerns for their health (65.7% vs. 53.4%), as well as for beneficiaries strongly agreeing (vs. strongly disagreeing) that their physician is competent (66.0% vs. 54.1%), understands what is wrong (66.3% vs. 47.1%), answers all questions (67.0% vs. 46.7%), and fosters confidence (66.0% vs. 50.6%). Independent predictors of screening mammography utilization (P Conclusions Screening mammography utilization is higher among Medicare beneficiaries with established primary physician relationships, particularly when those relationships are favorable. To optimize screening mammography utilization, breast imagers are encouraged to support initiatives to enhance high-quality primary care relationships.
Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats-Based Genome Surgery for the Treatment of Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa

Purpose To develop a universal gene therapy to overcome the genetic heterogeneity in retinitis pigmentosa (RP) resulting from mutations in rhodopsin ( RHO ). Design Experimental study for a combination gene therapy that uses both gene ablation and gene replacement. Participants This study included 2 kinds of human RHO mutation knock-in mouse models: Rho P23H and Rho D190N . In total, 23 Rho P23H/P23H , 43 Rho P23H/+ , and 31 Rho D190N/+ mice were used for analysis. Methods This study involved gene therapy using dual adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) that (1) destroy expression of the endogenous Rho gene in a mutation-independent manner via an improved clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-based gene deletion and (2) enable expression of wild-type protein via exogenous cDNA. Main Outcome Measures Electroretinographic and histologic analysis. Results The thickness of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) after the subretinal injection of combination ablate-and-replace gene therapy was approximately 17% to 36% more than the ONL thickness resulting from gene replacement-only therapy at 3 months after AAV injection. Furthermore, electroretinography results demonstrated that the a and b waves of both Rho P23H and Rho D190N disease models were preserved more significantly using ablate-and-replace gene therapy ( P Conclusions As a proof of concept, our results suggest that the ablate-and-replace strategy can ameliorate disease progression as measured by photoreceptor structure and function for both of the human mutation knock-in models. These results demonstrate the potency of the ablate-and-replace strategy to treat RP caused by different Rho mutations. Furthermore, because ablate-and-replace treatment is mutation independent, this strategy may be used to treat a wide array of dominant diseases in ophthalmology and other fields. Clinical trials using ablate-and-replace gene therapy would allow researchers to determine if this strategy provides any benefits for patients with diseases of interest.
The Politics of Racial Symbolism: Deval Patrick and His Discourse of Education:

This article assesses the link between racial symbolism and corporate education reform through the political discourse of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick between 2007 and 2010. Where many obse...
Sustaining Racially, Ethnically, and Economically Diverse Communities

As the United States and other highly industrialized nations become increasingly diverse, a key question is whether they will be societies of diverse communities or contested lands of unequal and competing segregated communities. In 2000, the United States was 69.1 percent non-Hispanic white, 12.5 percent Hispanic, 12.1 percent non-Hispanic African American, 3.6 percent Asian, 0.7 percent Native American, and 1.8 percent non-Hispanic other or multiracial (Grieco and Cassidy, 2001, p. 10).1 The U.S. Bureau of the Census projects that by the year 2050 over half of the U.S. population will be “minority,” (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004) calling into question the use of the term itself. Indeed, four states are already classified as “majority minority” states—states where no one racial or ethnic group represents a majority.2 The growth of diversity has been fueled by increased immigration from Latin America and Asia, as well as by the fact that many immigrant families are young families that contribute to natural population increases.
Malignancy in the tracheal bronchus: A case series and review of the literature

Background/aims The tracheal bronchus is a rare congenital abnormality with incidence reported in a range of 0.1%-2%. Infrequently, malignancy has been reported as occurring in the tracheal bronchus. In order to ascertain a relationship between malignancy and the tracheal bronchus, we performed a literature review and present a case series. Methods We reviewed 21 case reports of malignancy occurring in the tracheal bronchus. Conclusion Although the number of cases is limited, it appears that bronchoscopy is the most frequently utilized diagnostic tool. Surgery portends the best clinical results even in higher stages of malignancy. Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common type of malignancy to occur in the tracheal bronchus.
Identifying Multiple Sclerosis in Patients with Systemic Sarcoidosis (P06.214)

OBJECTIVE: To compare the incidence of multiple sclerosis (MS) and neurosarcoidosis (NS) diagnoses among patients with systemic sarcoidosis and subsequent neurologic symptoms. BACKGROUND: For sarcoidosis patients who develop neurologic symptoms, accurate diagnosis may be confounded and biased toward neurosarcoidosis. While NS is a reasonable element of differential diagnosis in these cases, other concurrent neurologic conditions such as multiple sclerosis may occur independently. DESIGN/METHODS: We retrospectively examined records of 302 patients referred to the Neurosarcoidosis and MS clinics at Johns Hopkins Hospital between 2000 and 2011. These patients were referred for neurologic complaints suspected to be related to sarcoidosis. We categorized the patients based on the presence or absence of systemic sarcoidosis, central and peripheral neurologic symptoms, and final diagnosis. RESULTS: Of the 302 patients referred, 132 were ultimately diagnosed with NS (with degrees of confidence: possible, probable, or definite). However, 26 patients with prior sarcoidosis were found to have concurrent CNS disease that was not neurosarcoidosis. Among these 26 patients, six had MS as determined by clinical and MRI features. These six MS cases represented 4.8% of the patients with neurologic complaints following previously diagnosed systemic sarcoidosis. Of the remaining patients with systemic sarcoidosis, 22 had peripheral neuropathy and 77 did not have neurologic dysfunction. Forty-five patients had evidence of CNS inflammation without systemic symptoms or other confirmed diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: A previous diagnosis of systemic sarcoidosis does not necessarily imply that subsequent CNS disease is neurosarcoidosis. Multiple sclerosis and other neurologic conditions can occasionally occur after or simultaneously with systemic sarcoidosis. Accurate diagnosis is essential as treatment and management options differ for these conditions. Disclosure: Dr. Kimbrough has nothing to disclose. Dr. Reyes-Mantilla has nothing to disclose. Dr. Jimenez Arango has nothing to disclose. Dr. Pardo-Villamizar has nothing to disclose.
Thrombin and Platelets in Pulmonary Hypertension: A Lot More Than Clot

This article is intended to deliver a clinically relevant overview about the role of coagulation factors and platelets in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension. After summarizing the available...
Changes in the allosteric site of human liver pyruvate kinase upon activator binding include the breakage of an intersubunit cation–π bond

Human liver pyruvate kinase (hLPYK) converts phosphoenolpyruvate to pyruvate in the final step of glycolysis. hLPYK is allosterically activated by fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (Fru-1,6-BP). The allosteric site, as defined by previous structural studies, is located in domain C between the phosphate-binding loop (residues 444-449) and the allosteric loop (residues 527-533). In this study, the X-ray crystal structures of four hLPYK variants were solved to make structural correlations with existing functional data. The variants are D499N, W527H, Δ529/S531G (called GGG here) and S531E. The results revealed a conformational toggle between the open and closed positions of the allosteric loop. In the absence of Fru-1,6-BP the open position is stabilized, in part, by a cation-π bond between Trp527 and Arg538' (from an adjacent monomer). In the S531E variant glutamate binds in place of the 6'-phosphate of Fru-1,6-BP in the allosteric site, leading to partial allosteric activation. Finally, the structure of the D499N mutant does not provide structural evidence for the previously observed allosteric activation of the D499N variant.