cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Non-response bias in student evaluations of teaching

Abstract For as long as colleges and universities have been conducting student evaluations of teaching (SET), faculty have questioned the validity of the information collected. Substantial effort has been expended to improve the SET process, and researchers have communicated a consistent understanding of why students evaluate teachers as they do. Most of these conclusions have been based on an analysis of SET data gathered at the end of the semester by a sample of students who may not represent all students enrolled in the class. This clearly creates the potential for a sample selection bias that puts into question much of what we have learned about why students evaluate their instructors as they do. In this paper, we gather a unique data set from individual students who provide either online SET forms or in-class SET forms. We use these responses to address the concerns regarding the validity of SET data which results from the low response rates often associated with online SET evaluations. The Heckman (1979) sample selection bias correction estimator is used to quantify the bias resulting from the low online response rate and finds this bias to be negligibly small.
High-speed rapid single-flux-quantum (RSFQ) Batcher-banyan switching core

We have carried out a paper feasibility study of the implementation of most common packet switching cores (crossbar, Batcher-banyan, time-division shared bus, and token ring) using the superconductor rapid single flux quantum (RSFQ) digital technology. According to our estimates, the best performance-to-complexity ratio may be obtained for the Batcher-banyan network. For example, a 128 by 128 switching core with self-routing (but without address translation, contention resolution, and broadcast features), consisting of about 180,000 Josephson junctions with the internal clock frequency of 60 GHz could handle a workload of 7.5 Tbps. This core could fit on a single 1 cm by 1 cm chip and dissipate as low as 45 mW. The estimated parameters are achievable using a simple 1.5-micrometer niobium- trilayer technology.
Polyethylene Wear Is Influenced by Manufacturing Technique in Modular TKA

Polyethylene insert backside surface wear is implicated in osteolysis and failure of total knee arthroplasty. Manufacturing and sterilization methods reduce articular-sided wear. We questioned whether manufacturing technique influences the severity of backside wear. We examined 39 explanted tibial bearings in a blinded fashion using visual, stereomicroscopic, and scanning electron microscopic techniques. We examined 26 direct compression molded components and 13 nondirect compression molded components and applied a new backside wear severity score. The score characterized the magnitude of the various modes of wear with severity ranging from 0 (no wear) to 27 (severe wear). Time in vivo, tibial baseplate material, and manufacturing technique were used as variables for comparison. Backside wear was related to polyethylene manufacturing process with direct compression molded implants having a wear score of 2.3 and nondirect compression molded a score of 5.7. Time in vivo influenced backside wear, although direct compression molded predicted decreased backside wear independent of time in vivo. The data suggest manufacturing technique influences backside wear in total knee arthroplasty polyethylene inserts.
Automatic Multi-Target Recognition From Two Classes Using Quadratic Correlation Filters

Correlation filters (CFs) can detect multiple targets in one scene making them well-suited for automatic target recognition (ATR) applications. Quadratic CFs (QCFs) can improve performance over linear CFs. QCFs are able to detect one class of targets and reject clutter. We present a method to increase the QCF capabilities to detect two classes of targets and reject clutter. We integrate the ATR tasks of detection, recognition, and tracking algorithms using the Multi-Frame Correlation Filter (MFCF) framework. Our simulation results demonstrate the algorithm's ability to detect multiple targets from two classes while rejecting clutter.
Retinoic acid regulation by CYP26 in vertebrate lens regeneration

Xenopus laevis is among the few species that are capable of fully regenerating a lost lens de novo. This occurs upon removal of the lens, when secreted factors from the retina are permitted to reach the cornea epithelium and trigger it to form a new lens. Although many studies have investigated the retinal factors that initiate lens regeneration, relatively little is known about what factors support this process and make the cornea competent to form a lens. We presently investigate the role of Retinoic acid (RA) signaling in lens regeneration in Xenopus. RA is a highly important morphogen during vertebrate development, including the development of various eye tissues, and has been previously implicated in several regenerative processes as well. For instance, Wolffian lens regeneration in the newt requires active RA signaling. In contrast, we provide evidence here that lens regeneration in Xenopus actually depends on the attenuation of RA signaling, which is regulated by the RA-degrading enzyme CYP26. Using RT-PCR we examined the expression of RA synthesis and metabolism related genes within ocular tissues. We found expression of aldh1a1, aldh1a2, and aldh1a3, as well as cyp26a1 and cyp26b1 in both normal and regenerating corneal tissue. On the other hand, cyp26c1 does not appear to be expressed in either control or regenerating corneas, but it is expressed in the lens. Additionally in the lens, we found expression of aldh1a1 and aldh1a2, but not aldh1a3. Using an inhibitor of CYP26, and separately using exogenous retinoids, as well as RA signaling inhibitors, we demonstrate that CYP26 activity is necessary for lens regeneration to occur. We also find using phosphorylated Histone H3 labeling that CYP26 antagonism reduces cell proliferation in the cornea, and using qPCR we find that exogenous retinoids alter the expression of putative corneal stem cell markers. Furthermore, the Xenopus cornea is composed of an outer layer and inner basal epithelium, as well as a deeper fibrillar layer sparsely populated with cells. We employed antibody staining to visualize the localization of CYP26A, CYP26B, and RALDH1 within these corneal layers. Immunohistochemical staining of these enzymes revealed that all 3 proteins are expressed in both the outer and basal layers. CYP26A appears to be unique in also being present in the deeper fibrillar layer, which may contain cornea stem cells. This study reveals a clear molecular difference between newt and Xenopus lens regeneration, and it implicates CYP26 in the latter regenerative process.
Cut Vertices and Degree One Vertices of Zero-Divisor Graphs

This article continues to examine cut vertices in the zero-divisor graphs of commutative rings with 1. The main result is that, with only seven known exceptions, the zero-divisor graph of a commutative ring has a cut vertex if and only if the graph has a degree one vertex. This naturally leads to an examination of the degree one vertices of zero-divisor graphs.
Perceptual challenges to computer-aided diagnosis

We review the motivation and development of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) in diagnostic medical imaging, particularly in breast cancer screening. After briefly describe in generic terms of typical CAD methods, we focus on the question of whether CAD helps improve diagnostic accuracy. We review both studies that support the notion that CAD helps improve diagnostic accuracy and studies that do not. We further identify difficulties in conducting this type of evaluation studies and suggest areas of perceptual challenges to applications of CAD.
On the effectiveness of functional language features: NAS benchmark FT

In this paper we investigate the effectiveness of functional language features when writing scientific codes. Our programs are written in the purely functional subset of Id and executed on a one node Motorola Monsoon machine, and in Haskell and executed on a Sparc 2. In the application we study – the NAS FT benchmark, a three-dimensional heat equation solver – it is necessary to target and select one-dimensional sub-arrays in three-dimensional arrays. Furthermore, it is important to be able to share computation in array definitions. We compare first order and higher order implementations of this benchmark. The higher order version uses functions to select one-dimensional sub-arrays, or slices, from a three-dimensional object, whereas the first order version creates copies to achieve the same result. We compare various representations of a three-dimensional object, and study the effect of strictness in Haskell. We also study the performance of our codes when employing recursive and iterative implementations of the one-dimensional FFT, which forms the kernel of this benchmark. It turns out that these languages still have quite inefficient implementations, with respect to both space and time. For the largest problem we could run (323), Haskell is 15 times slower than Fortran and uses three times more space than is absolutely necessary, whereas Id on Monsoon uses nine times more cycles than Fortran on the MIPS R3000, and uses five times more space than is absolutely necessary. This code, and others like it, should inspire compiler writers to improve the performance of functional language implementations.
A Sociocultural Perspective on ESOL Teachers' Linguistic Knowledge for Teaching

Abstract Within a sociocultural frame, teacher knowledge finds its origin in the entirety of teachers’ lived experiences, not just those experiences within teacher preparation. Teachers’ biographies, including their experiences as language learners, shape their knowledge base for teaching English to speakers of other languages (ESOL). This study interrogates one element of that knowledge base: teachers’ linguistic knowledge for teaching. Cases studies of two early career ESOL teachers with similar language learner biographies, that of first language (L1) Center English speakers with limited second language (L2) learning experience, provided insight into the ways participants’ language biographies informed their linguistic knowledge for teaching. Findings indicated that participants’ L1 knowledge of English did not provide them with the linguistic knowledge they needed for ESOL teaching. Implications for ESOL teacher education include better attuning teacher preparation programs to teacher candidates’ biographies.
A funny thing happened on the way to the market: thoughts on extending dependency ideas

Despite the efforts of the editor to cast the theoretical net as widely as possible—to include an eclectic mix of structural and behavioral dimensions of the concept of dependence—the bulk of the writings in this volume respond in some fashion to what I have elsewhere called “the dependency way of framing the question of development and underdevelopment.” It could hardly be otherwise, for the majority of authors represented here have had their primary research experience in or on Latin America. And it is out of the Latin American developmental experience—and its multiple failures and frustrations—that the main body of dependency ideas has grown.
Expert Benchmarks for Student Academic Performance: The Case for Gifted Children.

A discussion of the use of expert performance as the basis for inferring assessment scoring criteria is presented. Characteristics of experts are discussed, leading to a consideration of the appropriateness of using adult experts' performance to measure children's performance. The use of a priori classifications of children is explored, and the suggestioh for examining the use of gifted students' performances as benchmarks is presented. Both positive and negative consequences are described.
The PedsQL™ as a patient-reported outcome in children and adolescents with fibromyalgia: an analysis of OMERACT domains

Fibromyalgia is a chronic health condition characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, multiple tender points on physical examination, generalized muscular aching, stiffness, fatigue, nonrestorative sleep pattern, cognitive dysfunction, and mood disturbance. Recently, the Outcome Measures in Rheumatoid Arthritis Clinical Trials (OMERACT) Fibromyalgia Syndrome Workshop ranked and prioritized the domains that should be consistently measured in fibromyalgia clinical trials, specifically, pain, generic health-related quality of life, fatigue, sleep quality, and physical function. The focus of these deliberations was exclusively on adult patients, and to our knowledge, these domains have not been previously tested within a multidimensional framework in children and adolescents with fibromyalgia. An analysis to determine the feasibility, reliability, and validity of the PedsQL™ 4.0 (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™) Generic Core Scales, PedsQL™ Multidimensional Fatigue Scale, and PedsQL™ Rheumatology Module Pain and Hurt Scale as patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures for pediatric patients with fibromyalgia. The PedsQL™ Scales were completed by 59 families in a pediatric rheumatology clinic in a large children's hospital. The PedsQL™ evidenced minimal missing responses (0.53% patient self-report, 0.70% parent proxy-report), achieved excellent reliability for the Generic Core Scales Total Scale Score (α = 0.88 patient self-report, 0.87 parent proxy-report), the Multidimensional Fatigue Scale Total Scale Score (α = 0.94 patient self-report, 0.94 parent proxy-report), and acceptable reliability for the 4-item Rheumatology Module Pain and Hurt Scale (α = 0.68 patient self-report, 0.75 parent proxy-report). The PedsQL™ Generic Core Scales and Multidimensional Fatigue Scale significantly distinguished between pediatric patients with fibromyalgia and healthy children. Pediatric patients with fibromyalgia self-reported severely impaired physical and psychosocial functioning, significantly lower on most dimensions when compared to pediatric cancer patients receiving cancer treatment, and significantly lower on all dimensions than pediatric patients with other rheumatologic diseases. Patients with fibromyalgia self-reported significantly greater pain and fatigue than pediatric patients with other rheumatologic conditions, and generally more fatigue than pediatric patients receiving treatment for cancer. The results demonstrate the excellent measurement properties of the PedsQL™ Scales in fibromyalgia. These PedsQL™ Scales measure constructs consistent with the recommended OMERACT Fibromyalgia Syndrome Workshop domains. The findings highlight the severely impaired HRQOL of pediatric patients with fibromyalgia. Regular monitoring of pediatric patients with fibromyalgia will help identify children and adolescents at risk for severely impaired HRQOL. These PedsQL™ Scales are appropriate outcome measures for clinical trials and health services research for pediatric patients with fibromyalgia.
Decreased cardiac excitability secondary to reduction of sodium current may be a significant contributor to reduced contractility in a rat model of sepsis.

Introduction Multisystem organ failure remains a poorly understood complication of sepsis. During sepsis, reduced excitability contributes to organ failure of skeletal muscle, nerves and the spinal cord. The goal of this study was to determine whether reduced excitability might also contribute to cardiac failure during sepsis.
The effects of chronic sidestream cigarette smoke exposure on eicosanoid production by tracheal epithelium.

Environmental exposure to sidestream cigarette smoke (SSCS) has been associated with an increased incidence of pulmonary infection and bronchospasm. Chronic exposure to SSCS could modify the release of bronchoreactive eicosanoids by tracheal epithelium, the site of initial contact by lung with inhaled toxins. To assess this possibility, New Zealand white rabbits were placed in an environmental chamber flushed with 3 L of SSCS, 15 min/day for 20 days. Eighteen hours after the last exposure the animals were sacrificed and the tracheas were explanted. At 7 days, the epithelial cell outgrowths were exposed to media containing endotoxin (10 μg/mL) or acrolein (50 μM), an aldehyde commonly found in smoke, or to control media. After a 2-h exposure, media were assayed for eicosanoids by radioimmunoassay. PGE, was produced in epithelium from normal animals (5.7 ± 1.3 ng/106 cells), and was not significantly different in SSCS-exposed epithelium. When incubated in medium containing acrolein, PGE, production increase...
Examination of the Utility of Psychotherapy for Patients with Treatment Resistant Depression: A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVE To examine the utility of psychotherapy in managing treatment resistant depression.
Student attitudes toward David Duke before and after seeing the film “Who is David Duke?”

Both before and after seeing the Public Broadcasting System film “Who is David Duke?” 94 college students indicated like or dislike of Duke and indicated whether or not they thought he was a racist. The film provided evidence of Duke’s current racism, anti-Semitism, and pro-Nazi leanings. Nevertheless, the majority of the students did not change their attitudes after watching the film. As in a previous study (Eisenman, 1992), just over 50% of the students liked David Duke. All black students were anti-Duke. Of those who did change their attitudes after seeing the film, 23% of the women but only 8% of the men became more negative toward Duke. Other findings are discussed, and the reason for the popularity of Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, is considered.
Gaia mobility: extending active space boundaries to everyday devices

In this paper we introduce an architecture for extending the reach of ubiquitous computing environments, or active spaces, to resource-stripped mobile devices, cell phones, and wearable computers. The architecture allows lightweight output and/or input elements of ubiquitous applications to run on the mobile devices, allowing users to interact with active spaces remotely while using minimal processing, power, and network bandwidth.
A PCR primer bank for quantitative gene expression analysis

Although gene expression profiling by microarray analysis is a useful tool for assessing global levels of transcriptional activity, variability associated with the data sets usually requires that observed differences be validated by some other method, such as real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR). However, non-specific amplification of non-target genes is frequently observed in the latter, confounding the analysis in approximately 40% of real-time PCR attempts when primer-specific labels are not used. Here we present an experimentally validated algorithm for the identification of transcript-specific PCR primers on a genomic scale that can be applied to real-time PCR with sequence-independent detection methods. An online database, PrimerBank, has been created for researchers to retrieve primer information for their genes of interest. PrimerBank currently contains 147 404 primers encompassing most known human and mouse genes. The primer design algorithm has been tested by conventional and real-time PCR for a subset of 112 primer pairs with a success rate of 98.2%.
An algorithm for nanopipelining of RTD-based circuits and architectures

In this study, an algorithm to postprocess a register-transfer-level architecture to enable gate-level pipelining or nanopipelining is presented. Nanopipelining is well suited for the nanotechnology based on resonant-tunneling diodes (RTDs) and offers the opportunity to obtain massive throughput and, therefore, has applications in data-intensive algorithms such as digital signal processing. Since RTDs are a self-latching nanoscale device, nanopipelining is an implicit property that should be exploited for this technology. This study explores and addresses the benefits of nanopipelining and presents an algorithm for architectural nanopipelining.
Characterizing the Impact of Prefetching on Scientific Application Performance

In order to better understand the impact of hardware and software data prefetching on scientific application performance, this paper introduces two analysis techniques, one micro-architecture-centric and the other application-centric. We use these techniques to analyze representative full-scale production applications from five important Exascale target areas. We find that despite a great diversity in prefetching effectiveness across and even within applications, there is a strong correlation between regions where prefetching is most needed, due to high levels of memory traffic, and where it is most effective. We also observe that the application-centric analysis can explain many of the differences in prefetching effectiveness observed across the studied applications.
Correction of hypoalphalipoproteinemia in LDL receptor- deficient rabbits by lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), a disease caused by a variety of mutations in the low density lipopro- tein receptor (LDLr) gene, leads not only to elevated LDL- cholesterol (C) concentrations but to reduced high density lipoprotein (HDL)-C and apolipoprotein (apo) A-I concen- trations as well. The reductions in HDL-C and apoA-I are the consequence of the combined metabolic defects of in- creased apoA-I catabolism and decreased apoA-I synthesis. The present studies were designed to test the hypothesis that overexpression of human lecithin:cholesterol acyl- transferase (hLCAT), a pivotal enzyme involved in HDL metabolism, in LDLr defective rabbits would incr ease HDL-C and apoA-I concentrations. Two groups of hLCAT transgenic rabbits were established: 1 ) hLCAT 1 /LDLr het- erozygotes (LDLr 1 / 2 ) and 2 ) hLCAT 1 /LDLr homozygotes (LDLr 2 / 2 ). Data for hLCAT 1 rabbits were compared to those of nontransgenic (hLCAT 2 ) rabbits of the same LDLr status. In LDLr 1 / 2 rabbits, HDL-C and apoA-I con- centrations (mg/dl), respectively, were significantly greater in hLCAT 1 (62 6 8, 59 6 4) relative to hLCAT 2 rabbits (21 6 1, 26 6 2). This was, likewise, the case when hLCAT 1 / LDLr 2 / 2 (27 6 2, 19 6 6) and hLCAT 2 /LDLr 2 / 2 (5 6 1, 6 6 2) rabbits were compared. Kinetic experiments dem- onstrated that the fractional catabolic rate (FCR, d 2 1 ) of apoA-I was substantially delayed in hLCAT 1 (0.376 6 0.025) versus hLCAT 2 (0.588) LDLr 1 / 2 rabbits, as well as in hLCAT 1 (0.666 6 0.033) versus hLCAT 2 (1.194 6 0.138) LDLr 2 / 2 rabbits. ApoA-I production rate (PR, mg ? kg ? d 2 1 ) was greater in both hLCAT 1 /LDLr 1 / 2 (10 6 2 vs. 6) and hLCAT 1 / LDLr 2 / 2 (9 6 1 vs. 4 6 1) rabbits. Significant correlations ( P , 0.02) were obser ved be- tween plasma LCAT activity and HDL-C ( r 5 0.857), apoA-I FCR ( r 5 2 0.774), and apoA-I PR ( r 5 0.771), while HDL-C correlated with both apoA-I FCR ( 2 0.812) and PR (0.751). In summary, these data indicate that hLCAT overexpression in LDLr defective rabbits increases HDL-C and apoA-I concentrations by both decreasing apoA-I catab- olism and increasing apoA-I synthesis, thus correcting the metabolic defects responsible for the hypoalphalipopro- teinemia observed in LDLr deficiency.— Brousseau, M. E., J. Wang, S. J. Demosky, Jr., B. L. Vaisman, G. D. Talley, S. San- tamarina-Fojo, H. B. Brewer, Jr., and J. M. Hoeg. Correction of hypoalphalipoproteinemia in LDL receptor-deficient rab- bits by lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase. J. Lipid. Res. 39: 1558-1567.
Surgical treatment of colon cancer

Over 100,000 Americans are diagnosed each year with colon cancer and approximately 90% are treated surgically. Most undergo a curative intent resection, but 30 to 50 percent will have a recurrence of their disease. While much of the variability in outcomes depends on the stage of the disease and other tumor variables, it is now clear that surgeon variables such as caseload and training affect both local recurrence and patient survival. Operative techniques including laparoscopic and other minimally invasive procedures and surgical decisions including choice of operative procedure, management of cancer arising in polyps and treatment of metastatic disease affect outcomes. The role of postoperative surveillance for recurrence remains controversial.
A Methodology and Tutorial for Thermal Modeling with PC Spreadsheets

Personal computer spreadsheet programs are widely recognized for their business applications but are also well suited for performing numerical thermal analysis. Following a description of the basic steps in numerical thermal modeling, the methodology of implementing spreadsheet solutions is presented. Memory requirements, iteration time, and the structure for parametric studies are discussed. Three techniques for deriving the nodal equations used in numerical thermal modeling are given in detail, Included are the finite-difference approach, the energy balance approach, and the thermal resistance approach. The paper concludes with a detailed example showing how to implement a spreadsheet numerical solution for two-dimensional heat flow through a plate. Heat flux, insulated, isothermal, and convecting boundaries are illustrated.
Market Power and Emissions Trading: Theory and Laboratory Results

Policymakers are concerned with market power being exploited by dominant firms in emission permit markets. Two types of market power may emerge: simple and exclusionary manipulation. Simple manipulation should result in reduced pollution-control cost relative to command-and-control regulation. Exclusionary manipulation may result in increased cost. The paper reports results of an economic experiment to determine whether (i) such opportunities are successfully exploited when a dominant firm has the opportunity to do so, and (ii) the resulting outcomes are serious enough to merit consideration by regulators. Market power outcomes emerge and market efficiency is far below predicted levels.
IBM's University Programs

As IBM looks forward to the coming decade, it pauses to reflect on its history of academic partnerships.
The 'I' of the beholder: studying the 'self' across the humanities and neuroscience

Long debated within the humanistic tradition, the concept of 'self' has recently been embraced as a subject of investigation by cognitive neuroscience. Tracing parallels between ancient philosophical ideas and current-day scientific research on the 'self', the author proposes that contemporary knowledge based on empirical neuroscientific evidence may inform novel perspectives on-and draw inspiration from-notions grounded in ancient intuitions and traditionally falling within humanistic fields of enquiry. Further, the author suggests that the 'self', as a major object of philosophical and psychological enquiry, as well as a central component of human motivation, cognition, affect and social identity, is an inherently cross-disciplinary research topic, which, by virtue of its pervasive and defining presence in human existence, lends itself-and demands-to be approached both from scientific (objective) and phenomenological (subjective) vantage points. On this premise, the author proposes that the study of the 'self' provides both neuroscientists and humanists with a fertile ground for cross-disciplinary research, and with the challenge and the opportunity to rethink the relationship of science to knowledge.
Does your result checker really check

A result checker is a program that checks the output of the computation of the observed program for correctness. Introduced originally by Blum, the result-checking paradigm has provided a powerful platform assuring the reliability of software. However, constructing result checkers for most problems requires not only significant domain knowledge but also ingenuity and can be error prone. In this paper we present our experience in validating result checkers using formal methods. We have conducted several case studies in validating result checkers from the commercial LEDA system for combinatorial and geometric computing. In one of our case studies, we detected a logical error in a result checker for a program computing max flow of a graph.
Political Elites in Afghanistan: Rentier State Building, Rentier State Wrecking

The study of revolutions now deals as much with states and structures as it does with revolutionaries and their ideologies, in contrast to an older school, which sought their origins in the accumulation of individual grievances. This latter approach inspired many studies of revolutionary “counter-elites,” comparing them in particular to the ruling elites. The new importance placed on structural factors for the genesis and success or failure of revolutions does not render these older studies irrelevant, but it should change the way we understand their results.Revolutionaries,Theda Skocpol argued, are above all would-be state builders, and their origins show as much. In France, Russia, and China they “precipitated out of the ranks of relatively highly educated groups oriented to state activities or employments …[a]and from among those who were somewhat marginal to the established classes and governing elites under the Old Regimes.” ' Studies of many other countries have also found that revolutionary leaders combine an unusually high level of education with a modest social status that blocks their ascent to power under the prevailing regime.2 Revolutionaries are also more likely to have a cosmopolitan or international orientation that inclines them to be critical of their own societies. This orientation at least partly derives from the high incidence of foreign education and travel among them. Higher education and foreign travel provide revolutionaries with links to "fields of power" in the state and the international system.3
High temperature InGaN solar cell modeling

This work presents TCAD simulation for InGaN solar cell at high temperature. 1J solar cells, n-i-p structure based tunnel junctions and a 2J tandem solar cell are investigated. Tunneling and thermionic emission models are included to assist current to transport through hetero-interface. We also introduce a step layer at hetero-interface to relax band offset and polarization, which is more practical compared with Indium composition grading layer for the sake of fabrication. The theoretical conversion efficiency of the best devices can be 30% at 450 °C with an incident solar radiation concentration of 200 suns. This proposed solar cell is promising for concentrated solar-power hybrid systems.
N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Catalyzed Reaction of Chalcone and Cinnamaldehyde To Give 1,3,4-Triphenylcyclopentene Using Organocatalysis To Form a Homoenolate Equivalent

In this experiment, students carry out a modern organocatalytic reaction using IMes·HCl and NaOH to catalyze the formation of 1,3,4-triphenylcyclopentene from cinnamaldehyde and chalcone in water. Deprotonation of IMes·HCl with NaOH forms the N-heterocyclic carbene IMes that reacts with cinnamaldehyde to form a homoenolate equivalent of cinnamate, which undergoes a conjugate addition to chalcone followed by an intramolecular aldol reaction to form a cyclopentane. Formation of a β-lactone and decarboxylation leads to 1,3,4-triphenylcyclopentene. This reaction introduces students to both organocatalysis and the use of carbonyl anion and homoenolate equivalents in synthesis. This novel and interesting chemistry was first reported in 2006, and the reaction was modified to be carried out in water under an air atmosphere in 2013. The very nonpolar product is easily purified chromatographically. The aliphatic protons form a somewhat complex pattern due to allylic and homoallylic coupling, but with no overlap, so...
A modified assay of neutrophil function: use of lysostaphin to differentiate defective phagocytosis from impaired intracellular killing.

Abstract A modified assay of neutrophil function, which utilizes lysostaphin, is described. Lysostaphin is a rapid-acting muralytic enzyme specific for S. aureus . Lysostaphin does not penetrate the neutrophils and can be rapidly inactivated. Exposure of the neutrophil bacteria suspension to lysostaphin results in the elimination of a high number of extracellular bacteria in minutes. This technique differentiates defective phagocytosis from impaired intracellular killing more efficiently than other known assay methods.
miR-671-5p inhibits epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition by downregulating FOXM1 expression in breast cancer

// Xiaohui Tan 1 , Yebo Fu 1 , Liang Chen 1 , Woojin Lee 1 , Yinglei Lai 2 , Katayoon Rezaei 3 , Sana Tabbara 3 , Patricia Latham 3 , Christine B. Teal 4 , Yan-Gao Man 5 , Robert S. Siegel 6 , Rachel F. Brem 7 , Sidney W. Fu 1 1 Department of Medicine (Division of Genomic Medicine), The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA 2 Department of Statistics, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA 3 Department of Pathology, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA 4 Department of Surgery, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA 5 Research Lab and International Collaboration, Bon Secours Cancer Institute, Bon Secours Health System, Richmond, VA, USA 6 Department of Medicine (Division of Hematology/Oncology), The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA 7 Department of Radiology, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA Correspondence to: Sidney W. Fu, e-mail: sfu@gwu.edu Keywords: breast cancer, miR-671-5p, tumor suppressor, FOXM1, EMT Received: August 31, 2015 Accepted: November 11, 2015 Published: November 18, 2015 ABSTRACT MicroRNA (miRNA) dysfunction is associated with a variety of human diseases, including cancer. Our previous study showed that miR-671-5p was deregulated throughout breast cancer progression. Here, we report for the first time that miR-671-5p is a tumor-suppressor miRNA in breast tumorigenesis. We found that expression of miR-671-5p was decreased significantly in invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) compared to normal in microdissected formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues. Forkhead Box M1 (FOXM1), an oncogenic transcription factor, was predicted as one of the direct targets of miR-671-5p, which was subsequently confirmed by luciferase assays. Forced expression of miR-671-5p in breast cancer cell lines downregulated FOXM1 expression, and attenuated the proliferation and invasion in breast cancer cell lines. Notably, overexpression of miR-671-5p resulted in a shift from epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) to mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET) phenotypes in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and induced S-phase arrest. Moreover, miR-671-5p sensitized breast cancer cells to cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and epirubicin exposure. Host cell reactivation (HCR) assays showed that miR-671-5p reduces DNA repair capability in post-drug exposed breast cancer cells. cDNA microarray data revealed that differentially expressed genes when miR-671-5p was transfected are associated with cell proliferation, invasion, cell cycle, and EMT. These data indicate that miR-671-5p functions as a tumor suppressor miRNA in breast cancer by directly targeting FOXM1. Hence, miR-671-5p may serve as a novel therapeutic target for breast cancer management.
The Trail Smelter, is What's Past Prologue? Epa Blazes a New Trail for Cercla

Locate one of the world's largest metal smelters 10 miles north of the U.S.-Canada border and allow it to dump millions of tons of hazardous by-products, including heavy metals and mercury, into the Columbia River, where they are flushed downstream into the United States. Posit that downstream is a popular National Recreation Area where over a million visitors a year come to recreate on the shores and in the waters of the Columbia River, most of whom have no idea that the beckoning black sand beaches are really contaminated slag discharged from the upstream smelter, and that these shores and the river bottom comprise one of the nation's most contaminated hazardous waste sites. The impacted areas are also the historical homelands of several Indian Tribes who today use the areas for hunting, fishing, recreation and spiritual renewal. For good measure, throw in the fact that the very smelter in question was, in the 1930's, at the center of one of the most celebrated international environmental cases, the Trail Smelter Arbitration - a case that is heralded as having established the principle that no nation may use its land to cause harm to another nation. Add to the mix the curious fact that in the face of stiff opposition from the smelter's owner, the mining and energy industries and the Government of Canada, the Bush Administration acts forcefully to hold the smelter responsible for cleaning up the mess that its foreign discharges created in the United States. When the smelter refuses to comply, two citizens, both enrolled members of a local Indian Tribe, file a citizens suit to enforce EPA's order, and the State intervenes in support of the plaintiffs. These are the facts underlying a case currently pending in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Pakootas v. Teck Cominco Metals Ltd. Pakootas represents the United States' first use of CERCLA to address the cleanup of a hazardous waste site created by discharges that originated outside the United States. In addition to discussing this matter of first impression, this Article uses the Pakootas case as a lens through which to view the larger issues of transboundary pollution, and just as importantly the extraterritorial application of U.S. law. The Article begins with a detailed historical narrative to provide context for the current dispute and respond to Canada's repeated calls for a return to historical precedents and procedures. The Article then analyzes the arguments for and against the application of U.S. law to hold the polluter, rather than the taxpayers, responsible for the costs of cleanup. Finally, in response to the critics of the United States' position who argue that retaliation is inevitable, the Article argues that a race to the top should be welcomed and would be consistent with long established international environmental law norms as well as the policies and laws of both Canada and the United States.
3-Factor Versus 4-Factor Prothrombin Complex Concentrate for Warfarin Reversal in Severe Bleeding: A Multicenter, Retrospective, Propensity-Matched Pilot Study.

Current guidelines recommend 4-factor prothrombin complex concentrate (4PCC) for emergent reversal of bleeding secondary to warfarin. While current research has demonstrated superiority of 4PCC over plasma, direct comparisons with 3-factor PCC (3PCC) are lacking. The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy and safety of 3PCC and 4PCC. We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients who received PCC at one of four medical centers. All patients in the 3PCC group were treated at one center that utilizes a fixed, weight-based dosing protocol. After evaluation of all patients meeting inclusion criteria, propensity-score matching was used to adjust for differences in treatment characteristics. There was no difference in the primary outcome of INR ≤ 1.4 between 3PCC and 4PCC in both the unmatched (85.7 vs. 90.6 %; p = 0.37) and matched (84.2 vs. 92.1 %; p = 0.48) analyses. There was a significant difference in goal INR achieved favoring 4PCC (56.3 vs 90.0 %; p 4.0. A total of three thrombotic events were documented, all in the 4PCC group. We found no difference in the rate of INR reversal in those treated with 3PCC and 4PCC. However, those with a baseline INR > 4.0 may experience more successful INR reversal with 4PCC.
Protein-directed self-assembly of gold nanoparticles

We have employed protein-protein interactions for controlled assembly of gold nanoparticles. Stoichiometric 1:1 protein:nanoparticle conjugates were prepared for proteins known to strongly interact with each other and these interactions were used to self-assemble nanoparticles. Mixing equivalent amounts of the antigen-nanoparticle and antibody-nanoparticle conjugates resulted in the formation of nanoparticle dimers with a yield of about 60%. Trimers (yield ∼30%) can be obtained by mixing 2:1 antigen-nanoparticle with 1:1 antibody-nanoparticle conjugates in a molar ratio of 1:2. The structures are destroyed at low pH when the antibody-antigen complex dissociates.
Effects of penetration enhancers on in vitro percutaneous permeation of tea polyphenols liniment

Objective:To study effects of azone(AZ) and propylene glycol(PG) as penetration enhancers on in vitro percutaneous permeation of tea polyphenols(TP) liniment in order to provide experimental data for the recipe of this preparation.Methods:Isolated mouse skin was used as permeation barrier.The permeation-enhancing effect of AZ and PG was investigated in Frantz diffusion cell by determining EGCG,a main active ingredient of TP,in receptor solution.Results:The cumulative permeation quantity of 1% TP+2% AZ+10% PG,1% TP+2% AZ and 1% TP+10% PG were found to be 5.86,5.02 and 1.18 times as much as that of 1% TP without any enhancer.Conclusion:10% PG has permeation-enhancing effect,2% AZ has significant enhancing effect.The combination of the two enhancers produces additive enhancing effect.The permeation kinetic behavior could be described by Higuchi equation.
The Effect of Cigarette Smoking on Penile Erection

Clinical observations suggest that cigarette smoking impairs erectile function in patients with moderate arterial insufficiency. To evaluate the effects of smoking on the physiology of erection, we studied six healthy adult mongrel dogs in which bipolar cuff electrodes were implanted around the cavernous nerves. After threshold stimulation parameters for penile erection were established, cigarette smoke collected in a 60-ml. syringe was released slowly near the dog's mouth, to be inhaled by natural breathing. Stimulation of the cavernous nerve was repeated and blood samples for nicotine, cotinine and blood gases were obtained before and after each cigarette. The systolic and intracorporeal pressure, flow through the internal pudendal artery, and venous flow from the corpora cavernosa were recorded at baseline and with each electrostimulation after smoke inhalation. Five of the six dogs were unable to achieve full erection after inhalation of smoke from two to three cigarettes. Some decrease of flow through the internal pudendal artery occurred and the venous restriction ability was almost completely abolished by smoking. Further, when nicotine was injected intravenously into two additional dogs, the same phenomenon was observed. These findings support the idea that cigarette smoking may contribute to impotence in some patients.
Intention survey of target population with regard to H1N1 influenza vaccination

2009年9月2日由我国自行研制生产的首批甲型H1N1流感疫苗获得国家食品药品监督管理局批准注册.为配合疫苗上市后的大规模使用,北京市疾病预防控制中心(CDC)受卫生部委托对优先接种人群进行了甲型H1N1流感疫苗的接种意向调查,现将结果报道如下。
Computer-Aided Diagnosis of Breast Cancer on MR Imaging

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for American women today. The key to increasing the survival rate is early detection and treatment. Medical imaging is essential to breast cancer screening and diagnosis. Currently, x-ray mammography is the primary screening modality for breast cancer. Mammography is a radiographic examination technique that uses x rays to image breast tissue to detect breast pathology. Denser tissue absorbs more x rays and results in a bright region on the image. Mammography attempts to identify structural or morphological differences that can indicate presence of cancer, such as masses, microcalcifications, and architectural distortions. Traditionally, the image has been recorded on film. Recently, digital mammography techniques have been adopted that record the image in digital format. Mammography is a well-developed technology that offers high-quality images at low radiation doses for the majority of patients. Unfortunately, 10â30% breast cancers are not detected on mammography and the positive predictive value (PPV) of mammography is less than 35%. Consequently, other imaging modalities are used in conjunction with x-ray mammography for detection and diagnosis. Moreover, following the diagnosis of cancer, medical imaging is used for treatment planning, monitoring treatment progress, and surveillance for disease recurrence. The most widely used adjunctive modality for breast imaging is ultrasound. Ultrasound is routinely used to further evaluate suspicious abnormalities identified on screening mammography or a clinical exam. Ultrasound is particularly valuable for distinguishing between cysts and solid lesions and for examining younger women with dense breasts. The roles of other imaging modalities in breast cancer detection and diagnosis are rapidly evolving. Tomosynthesis, newer ultrasound methods such as 3D ultrasound, nuclear medicine methods such as sestamibi breast scintigraphy and positron emission tomography (PET), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are all exciting areas of development in breast cancer care. Each of these alternatives are being sought in order to overcome at least one of the two major inherent limitations of x-ray mammography: the information loss of visualizing a 3D structure in 2D projections and the lack of functional insight regarding the biological processes of the breast tissue imaged.
Functionally Graded Solid-State Laser Gain Media Fabricated by Direct Ink Write and Ceramic Processing

Transparent ceramic fabrication can offer a route to functionally structured solid-state laser gain media. We report here on high transparency, fully-dense transparent optical ceramics with compositional gradients, fabricated by direct ink write (DIW) methods.
Retention of the “first-trial effect” in gait-slip among community-living older adults

“First-trial effect” characterizes the rapid adaptive behavior that changes the performance outcome (from fall to non-fall) after merely a single exposure to postural disturbance. The purpose of this study was to investigate how long the first-trial effect could last. Seventy-five (≥ 65 years) community-dwelling older adults, who were protected by an overhead full body harness system, were retested for a single slip 6–12 months after their initial exposure to a single gait-slip. Subjects’ body kinematics that was used to compute their proactive (feedforward) and reactive (feedback) control of stability was recorded by an eight-camera motion analysis system. We found the laboratory falls of subjects on their retest slip were significantly lower than that on the novel initial slip, and the reactive stability of these subjects was also significantly improved. However, the proactive stability of subjects remains unchanged between their initial slip and retest slip. The fall rates and stability control had no difference among the 6-, 9-, and 12-month retest groups, which indicated a maximum retention on 12 months after a single slip in the laboratory. These results highlighted the importance of the “first-trial effect” and suggested that perturbation training is effective for fall prevention, with lower trial doses for a long period (up to 1 year). Therefore, single slip training might benefit those older adults who could not tolerate larger doses in reality.