cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lipid metabolites in seeds of diverse Gossypium accessions: molecular identification of a high oleic mutant allele

Genetically diverse cottonseeds show altered compositions and spatial distributions of phosphatidylcholines and triacylglycerols. Lipidomics profiling led to the discovery of a novel FAD2 - 1 allele, fad2 - 1D - 1 , resulting in a high oleic phenotype. The domestication and breeding of cotton for elite, high‐fiber cultivars have led to reduced variation of seed constituents within currently cultivated upland cotton genotypes. However, a recent screen of the genetically diverse U.S. National Cotton Germplasm Collection identified Gossypium accessions with marked differences in seed oil and protein content. Here, several of these accessions representing substantial variation in seed oil content were analyzed for quantitative and spatial differences in lipid compositions by mass spectrometric approaches. Results indicate considerable variation in amount and spatial distribution of pathway metabolites for triacylglycerol biosynthesis in embryos across Gossypium accessions, suggesting that this variation might be exploited by breeders for seed composition traits. By way of example, these lipid metabolite differences led to the identification of a mutant allele of the D-subgenome homolog of the delta-12 desaturase (fad2-1D-1) in a wild accession of G. barbadense that has a high oil and high oleic seed phenotype. This mutation is a 90-bp insertion in the 3′ end of the FAD2-1D coding sequence and a modification of the 3′ end of the gene beyond the coding sequence leading to the introduction of a premature stop codon. Given the large amounts of cottonseed produced around the world that is currently not processed into higher value products, these efforts might be one avenue to raise the overall value of the cotton crop for producers.
Optimal Routing of Refuse Collection Vehicles

A simulation was developed to determine optimum routes for refuse collection vehicles. The program yields exact routes suitable for use by municipalities. Crew size, vehicle size, and pickup time may be varied to permit efficient labor and equipment usage. The program computes overtime, incentive time, vehicular capacity utilization, mileage traveled, weight hauled, and productive time.
PREPRINT: Molecular Modeling of the Microstructure Evolution during the Carbonization of PAN-Based Carbon Fibers

Development of high strength carbon fibers (CFs) requires an understanding of the relationship between the processing conditions, microstructure and resulting properties. We developed a molecular model that combines kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) and molecular dynamics (MD) techniques to predict the microstructure evolution during the carbonization process of carbon fiber manufacturing. The model accurately predicts the cross-sectional microstructure of carbon fibers, predicting features such as graphitic sheets and hairpin structures that have been observed experimentally. We predict the transverse modulus of the resulting fibers and find that the modulus is slightly lower than experimental values, but is up to an order of magnitude lower than ideal graphite. We attribute this to the perfect longitudinal texture of our simulated structures, as well as the chain sliding mechanism that governs the deformation of the fibers, rather than the van der Waals interaction that governs the modulus for graphite. We also observe that high reaction rates result in porous structures that have lower moduli.
A Retrospective Study of Patient Factors That Indicate Provider Nonadherence to an Institutional Clostridium difficile Treatment Guideline

Background:Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is treated most often with metronidazole or vancomycin. Both have been effective in treatment of mild to moderate infection. In more severe cases, vancomycin may be more effective.Objectives:The primary objectives were to quantify the severity of CDI and to describe overall adherence to the institutional CDI guideline. Secondary objectives were to assess factors associated with adherence to the guidelines.Methods:Retrospective analysis of the electronic medical record was used to evaluate adherence to institutional guidelines. Data collected included demographics and other factors potentially contributing to adherence: Charlson comorbidity index, severity of infection, recurrence, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, infectious diseases (ID) consult, total duration and number of antibiotics, alternative therapies, and acid suppression. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses were used to describe and compare factors associated with guideline adherence...
Degenerative Joint Disease of the Elbow

Degenerative joint disease of the elbow can be subclassified into osteoarthritis, post-traumatic arthritis, inflammatory arthritis, neuropathic arthritis, and septic arthritis. Radiographs are often sufficiently diagnostic, although CT scan is occasionally helpful. Non-operative measures include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, steroid injections, gentle range of motion activities, and activity modification. Osteoarthritis is most commonly seen in the dominant arm of male laborers. Post-traumatic arthritis occurs after many fractures about the elbow with treatment options dictated by the degree and location of arthritis. Inflammatory arthritis occurs more commonly in females, and treatment depends on patient’s degree of pain and whether instability is present. Septic arthritis requires a prompt diagnosis and treatment with immunocompromised patients more likely to experience the disorder and main sequelae after treatment being loss of function. Neuropathic arthritis is rare and poorly understood. Treatment depends on protecting the joint and preserving range of motion as pain is rarely a consideration and surgical procedures having a high failure rate.
Survey of Diplomates of the American Board of Veterinary Toxicology Regarding Perceptions of the Value of This Certification.

An anonymous, online questionnaire was sent to active diplomates of the American Board of Veterinary Toxicology (DABVTs; n = 95) to determine the attitudes of veterinary toxicologists toward their ...
The perverse effect of sin taxes: the rise of illicit white cigarettes

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we define illicit white cigarettes as cigarettes that are legal in the country of production, but that are illegally smuggled into other markets without the payment of applic...
Learn From Breaking Up: The Effect of Acquisition Experience on Termination Fee Provisions

Research on acquisition experience has long debated whether and when this experience can improve acquisition performance. We contribute to this line of research by investigating learning that occurs in the strategic actions that acquirers take within the deal negotiation period. As an important tool to prevent breaking up with the target, we evaluated how acquirers use termination fee provisions in response to lessons learned from past success and failure as well as variations in the value of the target. Coding acquirer termination fee and target termination fee provisions from 3,974 agreements of U.S. public acquisitions from 1993 to 2014, we found that acquirers’ experience decreases the propensity to include both provisions in the agreement but this effect is driven by experiences with deals that are complete; a high proportion of experience with deals that are announced by not completed then increases the likelihood of using termination provisions. Moreover, when the target is more valuable, the negat...
Magnetic Resonance Microscopy

Publisher Summary Magnetic resonance (MRI) can produce three-dimensional images of foods non-invasively. The images represent true 3D information of the interior of the material. No slicing or sectioning of the material is necessary to prepare it for imaging, and the material may be subjected to processing conditions during imaging. Various techniques can be used to study different molecules with the same basic instrumentation. Advances in MRI technology have increased the spatial resolution of images, allowing for the microscopic study of small regions of interest. Magnetic resonance (MR) microscopy is the terminology used for these high-resolution MRI techniques that yield images with spatial resolution of 100 μ m or less. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of MR microscopy, including the theory and instrumentation behind the technology, as well as a summary of published studies and possibilities for future food applications.
What Shapes Civilian Beliefs about Violent Events? Experimental Evidence from Pakistan:

Why do civilians in warzones often hold widely divergent beliefs about what is happening in the fighting? While there is a burgeoning literature on the micro-dynamics of armed conflict, variation i...
Racial Discrimination and Acute Physiological Responses Among Black Young Adults: The Role of Racial Identity.

Abstract Purpose Racial discrimination has long-term consequences for cardiovascular health, potentially by dysregulating acute physiological responses. However, the role of psychological factors that may be protective or increase vulnerability for dysregulated responses, such as racial identity, remains unclear. This study examines the association between racial discrimination and acute parasympathetic responses, and the role of racial centrality, private regard, and public regard in this association. Methods Black young adults (N = 119, Mage = 19.45) recruited from a predominantly White institution in the southeastern United States completed an online survey (in which racial discrimination, racial identity, and control variables were reported) and a laboratory visit, during which they were exposed to a vignette of racial discrimination while their parasympathetic activity (indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia) was recorded. Results While racial discrimination was not associated with respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity or recovery, centrality moderated this association such that more frequent racial discrimination was associated with greater parasympathetic reactivity and recovery only among participants low in racial centrality. Neither private regard nor public regard emerged as significant moderators. Conclusions This study is the first to show that lower levels of racial centrality can mitigate the association between discrimination and acute parasympathetic responses, which has important implications for initiatives aimed at reducing cardiovascular risk for Black young adults.
Gendering the Scottish Nation: Rereading the Songs of Lady Nairne

ABSTRACTLady Nairne remains a somewhat peripheral figure in the emerging critical field of Scottish Romanticism. Despite widespread recognition of her extensive contributions to the Scottish ballad...
JPAE at 25: Looking back and moving forward on teaching evaluations

In many if not most colleges and universities in the United States, raw scores from Student Evaluations of Teaching (SETs) are the primary tool of teaching assessment, and teaching evaluations ofte...
Executive and Director Networks and IPO Underpricing

We examine the role of executive and director networks in IPO firms, and find that IPO firms experience significantly smaller underpricing when their executives and directors are more central in the social network. The mitigating effect of executive and director connections on underpricing is concentrated in smaller offers, geographically isolated issuers, and issuers with greater industry return volatility. Overall, our evidence is consistent with the notion that well-connected executives and directors help mitigate information asymmetry in IPO firms and hence reducing IPO underpricing.
Disturbances in quality of life among BRCA mutation carriers.

e12522 Background: The high risk for primary and secondary breast and ovarian cancer among BRCA mutation carriers, coupled with lifelong cancer surveillance, preventative surgical procedures and/or...
Strongly Additively Regular Rings and Graphs

A commutative ring R is said to be additively regular if for each pair of elements \(f,g\in R\) with f regular, there is an element \(t\in R\) such that \(g+ft\) is regular. For any commutative ring R, the polynomial ring \(R[{\scriptstyle \mathrm {X}}]\) is additively regular, moreover if \(deg(g)<n\), then \(g+f{\scriptstyle \mathrm {X}}^n\) is regular when \(f\in R[x]\) is regular. We introduce several stronger types of additively regular rings where the choice for t is restricted: R is strongly additively regular if for each pair of elements \(f,g\in R\) with f regular and g a zero divisor, there is a regular element \(t\in R\) such that \(g+ft\) is regular; R is very strongly additively regular if for each pair of elements \(h,k\in R\) with h regular, there is a regular element \(s\in R\) such that \(k+hs\) is regular. Even stronger are strongly u-additively regular and very strongly u-additively regular, for these the “t” is further restricted to being a unit of R.
EARLY AND ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS OF PREGNANCY OF UNKNOWN LOCATION: A QUALITY IMPROVEMENT INITIATIVE

Objectives This quality improvement project sought to streamline diagnosis and management of women with a pregnancy of unknown location (PUL) by applying the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines (2012) for the management of PUL. Methods A retrospective review of 30 charts with the diagnosis of PUL was conducted at the early pregnancy assessment clinic at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada. Outcomes including services provided, ER visits, number of ultrasounds, beta-hCG measurements, methotrexate use and surgical intervention were compared to the NICE guidelines. Process measures included adherence to the NICE PUL protocol. Balancing measures included measurement of increased risk of ruptured ectopic or surgical procedures with expectant management. An additional 30 charts were reviewed following the implementation of the NICE guidelines for the same outcome variables listed above. Results Prior to NICE guideline implementation, a 37% compliance rate with respect to ultrasound follow up, beta-hCG measurements and instructions for follow up was determined. It was found that 80% of patients were discharged from the clinic with a positive beta-hCG and 10% of women received methotrexate without a definitive diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy. Following NICE guideline implementation, compliance increased to 100% with respect to protocol and discharge criteria and there was no inappropriate methotrexate use or surgical procedures prior to diagnosis. Utilization of blood work and ultrasound resources remained unchanged. Conclusions Implementation of a standardized management algorithm for patients with a PUL can decrease unsafe management strategies, including inappropriate methotrexate use and premature follow up discharge.
Self-weighing behavior in individuals with binge-eating disorder.

This study examined self-weighing behaviors and correlates in patients with BED. Hypotheses: (1) women would weigh more frequently than men, (2) > weekly weighers would have higher restraint scores...
On the Shoulders of Giants

In a letter to Robert Hooke in 1675, Isaac Newton made his most famous statement: “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants”. This statement is now often used to symbolize scientific progress.Robert Merton examined the origin of this metaphor in his On the Shoulders of Giants(Merton, 1965). The shoulders-of-giants metaphor can be traced to the French philosopher Bernard of Chartres, who said that we are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they, and things at a greater distance, not by virtue of any sharpness of sight on our part, or any physical distinction, but because we are carried high and raised up by their giant size.
Ending the War on Drugs Requires Decriminalization. Does It Also Require Legalization

Brian Earp and his colleagues argue in this issue’s target article that racial justice requires ending the War on Drugs (Earp, Lewis, and Hart 2021). In this they are absolutely correct. Indeed, de...
Fantasy sports and beyond: Complementary digital experiences (CDXs) as innovations for enhancing fan experience

Abstract The sports industry has eagerly embraced digital technologies that have the potential to create and nurture compelling fan experiences. In this study, we investigate how and why complementary digital experiences (CDXs)—touchpoints in the customer journey that affect the value of a core brand experience, transforming it into a technology-enhanced experience—enhance the sport fan’s experience and journey, and in what ways they may be limited. We root our inquiry in the fantasy football context and analyze data from 26 in-depth interviews to reach our findings, which explain the 5Cs of CDX (i.e., control, camaraderie, continuation, competition, and customization) as influential design elements in the innovation of digital touchpoints in the sports customer journey. Our study makes theoretical and practical contributions to the field of sports innovation, and joins conversations about fantasy football and digital touchpoints in the customer journey. In doing so, it creates bridges between these areas of scholarship.
Retroactive analysis of single cell transcriptome profiles using next-generation algorithms revised the identification of several resilient retinal ganglion cell types

Mammalian central nervous system (CNS) projection neurons do not regenerate axons damaged by an injury or disease, and certain CNS neurons, such as retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), eventually die by retrograde degeneration. Recently, RGCs types that are more resilient or susceptible to death after axonal injury were identified. Investigating the differences between these RGC types could help identify neuroprotective and risk genes for therapeutic targeting. Therefore, accurate identification of the resilient or susceptible RGC types is critical, not only for advancing fundamental neurobiological knowledge, but also for guiding the studies which rely on this knowledge. Here, using a next-generation integration algorithm for analyzing single cell transcriptome profiles, we were able to identify the types of injured RGCs that the original algorithm could not identify. Unexpectedly, the majority of these cells originated from only a few RGC types, and consequently the re-analysis resulted in a substantially different determination of the resilient and susceptible RGC types. We also provide a website for comparing the gene expression in atlas RGC clusters to the re-analyzed injured RGC clusters. Additional bioinformatics analyses also revealed singe gene cluster markers for RGC types and contributed new insights into the global characteristics of RGC types and how axonal injury affects them, showing how the extent of variance between transcriptomes of RGC types increases differentially during maturation and after injury, and that specific global properties of the transcriptome are associated with several resilient RGC types.
Between a rock and a hard place: The failure of the attraction effect among unattractive alternatives

Abstract Many important decisions that consumers face involve choosing between options that are unattractive or undesirable—the proverbial “lesser of two evils.” Consumers, who face budget or geographical constraints, for example, end up with mostly undesirable consideration sets; yet a choice is necessary. We examine the role of option set desirability in the context of the well-established attraction effect. In five studies, we show that the attraction effect occurs in desirable domains but is eliminated when all the options are undesirable (Experiments 1–4). We further find that this asymmetric effect is consistent with a shift in decision makers' processing styles. Decision makers show more vigilant processing when making choices among undesirable (vs. desirable) domains (Experiments 3A and 3B), which results in an attenuated attraction effect (Experiment 4). Our results indicate that the attraction effect might not be as robust as generally thought and establishes (un)desirability as an important boundary condition.
National Outcomes of Cataract Extraction: Increased Risk of Retinal Complications Associated with Nd.-YAG Laser Capsulotomy

Purpose: The authors studied 57,103 randomly selected Medicare beneficiaries who underwent extracapsular cataract extraction in 1986 or 1987 to determine the possible association between performance of neodymium (Nd):YAG laser capsulotomy and the risk of subsequent retinal break or detachment. Methods: Cases of cataract surgery were identified from Medicare claims submitted in 1986 and 1987 and were followed through the end of 1988. Episodes of cataract surgery, posterior capsulotomy, and retinal complications were ascertained based on procedure and diagnosis codes listed in physician bills and hospital discharge records. Lifetable and Cox's proportional hazards models were used to analyze the risk of retinal detachment or break in patients undergoing and not undergoing capsulotomy during the period of observation. Results: Of the 57,103 persons identified as having undergone extracapsular cataract extraction in 1986 or 1987, 13,709 subsequently underwent Nd:YAG laser cap=sulotomy between 1986 and 1988. A total of 337 persons had aphakic or pseudophakic retinal detachments between 1986 and 1988 and an additional 194 underwent repair of a retinal break. Proportional hazards modeling shows a 3.9-fold increase in the risk of retinal break or detachment among those who underwent capsulotomy (95% confidence interval: 2.89 to 5.25). Younger patient age, male sex, and white race also were associated with increased risk of retinal complications after extracapsular cataract extraction. Conclusion: The authors conclude that there is a statistically significant increase in the risk of retinal detachment or break in those patients who undergo capsulotomy after cataract extraction. Therefore, capsulotomy should be deferred until the patient's impairment caused by capsular opacification warrants the increased risk of retinal complications associated with performance of capsulotomy.
Enhancing software quality estimation using ensemble-classifier based noise filtering

This paper presents a technique that improves the accuracy of classification models by enhancing the quality of training data. The idea is to eliminate instances that are likely to be noisy, and train classification models on "clean" data. Our approach uses 25 different classification techniques to create an ensemble classifier to filter noise. Using a relatively large number of base-level classifiers in the ensemble filter helps achieve different levels of desired noise removal conservativeness with several possible levels of filtering. It also provides a high degree of confidence in the noise elimination procedure as the results are less likely to get influenced by (possible) inappropriate learning bias of a few algorithms with 25 base-level classifiers than with a relatively smaller number of base-level classifiers. An empirical case study with software measurement data of a high assurance software project demonstrates the effectiveness of our noise elimination approach in improving classification accuracies. The similarities among predictions from the 25 classifiers are also investigated, and preliminary results suggest that the 25 classifiers may be effectively reduced to 13.
Evidence That Different Cation Chloride Cotransporters in Retinal Neurons Allow Opposite Responses to GABA

GABA gating an anion channel primarily permeable to chloride can hyperpolarize or depolarize, depending on whether the chloride equilibrium potential (E Cl ) is negative or positive, respectively, to the resting membrane potential (E rest ). If the transmembrane Cl − gradient is set by active transport, those neurons or neuronal regions that exhibit opposite responses to GABA should express different chloride transporters. To test this, we immunostained retina for the K-Cl cotransporter (KCC2) that normally extrudes chloride and for the Na-K-Cl cotransporter (NKCC) that normally accumulates chloride. KCC2 was expressed wherever E Cl is either known or predicted to be negative to E rest (ganglion cells, bipolar axons, and OFF bipolar dendrites), whereas NKCC was expressed wherever E Cl is either known or predicted to be positive to E rest (horizontal cells and ON bipolar dendrites). Thus, in the retina, the opposite effects of GABA on different cell types and on different cellular regions are probably primarily determined by the differential targeting of these two chloride transporters.
Column Settling Tests for Flocculant Suspensions

The settling of flocculant suspensions can not be described mathematically with the commonly used formulations of Newton and Stokes, because the coalescense of settling particles changes the velocity behavior during the settling trajectory. For this reason batch column settling tests have been employed for basin design or performance evaluation when flocculant suspensions are involved. Forty-eight column settling tests were conducted to evaluate the settling test procedure and for the purpose of recommending a standard batch column settling test.
ABVD alone and a PET scan complete remission negates the need for radiologic surveillance in early-stage, nonbulky Hodgkin lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Patients with early-stage, nonbulky classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) undergo intensive posttreatment radiologic surveillance despite having a low risk of disease recurrence. The current study attempted to evaluate the risk of disease recurrence and the value of radiologic surveillance in patients treated with the combination of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) alone who achieved a complete remission (CR) as noted on posttreatment positron emission tomography (PET). METHODS: Forty-seven patients who underwent therapy with interim and/or posttreatment PET scans were evaluated for disease recurrence during ≥ 24 months of follow-up. Their presenting characteristics and imaging results were assessed and interpreted in relation to clinical outcome. RESULTS: All 47 patients were eligible for analysis. The majority of patients were female (35 patients) with a median age of 28 years (range, 17 years-65 years.). The nodular sclerosing subtype was the predominant histology (41 patients). A total of 34 patients were staged with IIA disease, 6 with IA disease, 6 with IIB disease, and 1 with IIEA disease (lung) (according to Cotswolds modification of the Ann Arbor staging system). All patients completed 6 cycles of planned ABVD therapy and achieved a CR. Two had a positive PET scan (1 interim scan and 1 posttreatment scan); both were biopsy-proven sarcoidosis. Two patients developed disease recurrence at 7 months and 24 months, respectively, after negative interim and posttreatment imaging. One case of recurrence was identified through surveillance imaging and the other was identified simultaneously by the patient and surveillance scan. A total of 45 patients experienced a durable CR; 21 had additional unscheduled imaging/workup during surveillance to investigate symptoms or imaging signs of concern. CONCLUSIONS: Because of a low risk of disease recurrence, posttreatment radiologic surveillance appears to be unnecessary in patients with early-stage, nonbulky (CD20 negative) cHL who achieve a PET-detected CR with the ABVD combination alone. This will reduce cumulative radiation exposure and health care costs in a predominantly young patient population. Cancer 2013. © 2012 American Cancer Society.
Novel intrapulmonary model for orthotopic propagation of human lung cancers in athymic nude mice.

A major impediment to the study of human lung cancer pathophysiology, as well as to the discovery and development of new specific antitumor agents for the treatment of lung cancer, has been the lack of appropriate experimental animal models. This paper describes a new model for the propagation of human lung tumor cells in the bronchioalveolar regions of the right lungs of athymic NCr-nu/nu mice via an intrabronchial (i.b.) implantation procedure. Over 1000 i.b. implantations have been performed to date, each requiring 3 to 5 min for completion and having a surgery-related mortality of approximately 5%. The model was used successfully for the orthotopic propagation of four established human lung cancer cell lines including: an adenosquamous cell carcinoma (NCI-H125); an adenocarcinoma (A549); a large cell undifferentiated carcinoma (NCI-H460), and a bronchioloalveolar cell carcinoma (NCI-H358). When each of the four cell lines was implanted i.b. using a 1.0 X 10(6) tumor cell inoculum, 100 +/- 0% (SD) tumor-related mortality was observed within 9 to 61 days. In contrast, when the conventional s.c. method for implantation was used at the same tumor cell inoculum, only minimal (2.5 +/- 5%) tumor-related mortality was observed within 140 days (P less than 0.001). Similarly, when a 1.0 X 10(5) or 1.0 X 10(4) cell inoculum was used, a dose-dependent, tumor-related mortality was observed when cells were implanted i.b. (56 +/- 24% or 25 +/- 17%) as compared with the s.c. method (5 +/- 5.7% or 0.0 +/- 0%) (P less than 0.02 and P less than 0.05, respectively). Most (greater than 90%) of the lung tumors propagated by i.b. implantation were localized to the right lung fields as documented by necropsy and/or high-resolution chest roentgenography techniques which were developed for these studies. The intrapulmonary model was also used for establishment and propagation of xenografts derived directly from enzymatically digested, fresh human lung tumor specimens obtained at the time of diagnostic thoracotomy and representing all four major lung cancer cell types as well as a bronchioloalveolar cell carcinoma. Approximately 35% (10 of 29) of the fresh primary human lung tumor specimens and 66% (2 of 3) of tumors metastatic to the lung were successfully propagated i.b. at a 1.0 X 10(6) tumor cell inoculum, whereas only 20% (1 of 5) of the specimens were successfully grown in vivo via the s.c. route from a 1.0 X 10(7) tumor cell inoculum.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Therapeutic Recruitment of Thermoregulation in Humans by Selective Thermal Stimulation along the Spine

Abstract Mammals and birds that regulate the core body temperature have an elaborate and highly effective thermoregulatory system. This system depends on the ability to move heat between the body core and surface via the convection of blood. Glabrous areas of skin, located in humans primarily on the palms, soles, ears, and selected facial sites, contain a vascular network with large-bore shunt vessels called arteriovenous anastomoses (AVAs) that have a highly dynamic and specialized control. Under conditions of core energy conservation, AVAs tightly vasoconstrict. Under conditions of core heat rejection, they vasodilate so that a significant fraction of the cardiac output can flow through them to exchange heat with the environment. A primary site of control is the preoptic anterior hypothalamus (POAH). This paper presents evidence that humans have a parallel controller peripheral to the POAH lying along the spinal cord, consistent with prior evidence in other mammalian and avian species. The ability to thermally access the spinal controller simply and safely provides an opportunity to exercise management of the body core temperature independent of the POAH to induce therapeutic hypothermia, which can have life-saving consequences for multiple medical conditions. Data are presented demonstrating the efficacy of selective thermal stimulation (STS) to the spinal cord as a means to regulate blood flow to the AVAs on demand. STS can be used in combination with dedicated heat exchangers placed onto glabrous skin to produce large heat fluxes into and out of the body for therapeutic purposes. This technology provides the basis for a new generation of medical heat transfer devices.
Laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication assessment: task analysis as a model for the development of a procedural checklist.

Learning an advanced laparoscopic procedure is a complex process that requires clinical exposure, direct teaching, and deliberate practice. Expert surgeons automate their knowledge, making it difficult to teach incremental steps. Our aim was to deconstruct the steps of a laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication (LNF) and develop a procedural checklist assessment instrument. A behavioral task analysis was conducted with five experts using the Delphi technique to identify all steps of a LNF. The Delphi survey included video analysis of expert performance, two electronic iterative rounds and final group interview to reach consensus. The created checklist was then used to assess the performance of 14 general surgery residents. Participants viewed a brief instructional video and performed a LNF on a porcine model. Laparoscope video recordings were evaluated by a blinded investigator using the created LNF checklist. The task analysis produced a 65-step procedural checklist with six major components (patient positioning and port placement, dissection of crura and esophagus, closure of crura, mobilization of fundus, orientation of fundoplication, and creation of fundoplication). Thirteen of 14 participants completed the procedure. Median score for all residents was 31 (range 13–38) with senior residents (36, 34–38) having significantly higher scores than junior residents (30, 13–36) (p = 0.0162). Most residents attempted the major components of the procedure; 13 of 14 dissected the crura and created the fundoplication, 12 closed the crura, and 11 mobilized the fundus. However, residents frequently failed to complete key elements such as protection of the vagus nerve or mediastinal mobilization of the esophagus. The task analysis and Delphi technique was successful in reaching expert consensus on the procedural steps of a LNF and in creating a valid checklist. By capturing automated knowledge in a checklist form, we can scaffold resident learning and improve feedback for an advanced laparoscopic case.
Mercurial Diuretics: The Replacement of Parenteral Administration by a New Oral Preparation in Ambulatory Patients with Chronic Congestive Heart Failure

Improvement in the usage of an effective therapeutic agent is highly desirable especially when the method of administration is simplified, the total dosage reduced, the toxicity of the drug diminished and the cost of medical care lessened. The replacement of parenteral injections of the mercurial diuretics by an oral preparation in ambulatory patients in chronic congestive heart failure represents a step forward in the management of this type of patient.
Risk Aversion for Variational and Multiple-Prior Preferences ∗

Abstract The objective of this paper is to identify variational preferences and multiple-prior (maxmin) expected utility functions that exhibit aversion to risk under some probability measure from among the priors. Risk aversion has profound implications on agents’ choices and on market prices and allocations. Our approach to risk aversion relies on the theory of mean-independent risk of Werner (2009) . We identify necessary and sufficient conditions for risk aversion of convex variational preferences and concave multiple-prior expected utilities. The conditions are stability of the cost function and of the set of probability priors, respectively, with respect to a probability measure. The two stability properties are new concepts. We show that cost functions defined by the relative entropy distance or other divergence distances have that property. Set of priors defined as cores of convex distortions of probability measures or neighborhoods in divergence distances have that property, too.
Effects of Selenium on Colonic Fermentation in the Rat

Studies were conducted to determine the effects of dietary selenium (Se) on the hindgut microbial activity in rats. Selenium was fed asl-selenomethionine (SeMet) at either 0 or 2 ppm Se in the presence or absence of wheat bran (WB, 10%), a known substrate for the enteric microflora. Wheat bran feeding caused the greatest fermentation, measured by the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) along the entire intestinal tract and feces; however, its effects were suppressed by SeMet in the proximal large bowel, cecum, and colon. Selenium significantly enhanced fermentation in the colon and rectum, but not in the cecum or feces. Selenium was found in association with the bacterial cell fractions of gut contents and feces: 40–46% of the total Se was associated with colonic microbes and 58% in fecal microbes. Increased acetate and reduced butyrate production were driven by the addition of Se regardless of whether WB was fed.
When Does Institutional Investor Activism Increase Shareholder Value?: The Carbon Disclosure Project

This paper presents the first empirical test of the financial impacts of institutional investor activism towards climate change. Specifically, we study the conditions under which share prices are increased for the Financial Times (FT) Global 500 companies due to participation in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a consortium of institutional investors with $57 trillion in assets. We find no systematic evidence that participation, in and of itself, increased shareholder value. However, by making use of Russia’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, which caused the Protocol to go into effect, we find that companies’ CDP participation increased shareholder value when the likelihood of climate change regulation rose. We estimate the total increase in shareholder value from CDP participation at $8.6 billion, about 86% of the size of the carbon market in 2005. Our findings suggest that institutional investor activism towards climate change can increase shareholder value when the external business environment becomes more climate conscious.
Effect of thermal environment upon transplanted tumors and growth of mice

Abstract Ehrlich ascites tumor cells were inoculated subcutaneously in the dorsal, interscapular region of three groups of mice that were subsequently maintained in normo-, hypo- or hyperthermic environments. The controls, mice that had homologous whole spleens or thymic glands implanted in the same location, were maintained in a normothermic environment. Number of tumors established, their weights and volumes, and weights of animals were compared as well as tumor temperature, which was compared to brown fat and core temperatures. (1) The percentage of animals developing tumors was independent of environment. (2) Mice with tumors, and mice in which tumors did not take, gained more weight at the normothermic temperatures (21 °C) than at either 31 or 5 °C. (3). When the weight and volume of tumors are expressed per gram of mouse body weight, there is no difference between the hypo- and normothermic environments, but the weights and volume of tumors in a hyperthermic environment are only 36 and 58% respectively of the tumors in normothermic animals. (4) Tumor temperatures are about 1 °C cooler than the underlying brown fat regardless of environment, and brown fat was 0.5 °C cooler than the core temperature. (5) Transplanted thymus glands and spleens become encysted after 31 days; they proved to be cooler than the malignant tumors.
Socioeconomic Status Differences in Hormone Therapy

Socioeconomic status (SES) is a significant sociodemographic correlate of noncontraceptive hormone therapy, yet multiple dimensions of SES have not been examined systematically in previous studies of hormone therapy. This study examined the lifetime incidence of noncontraceptive hormone therapy, how usage varied by type of reproductive organ surgery, and the bivariate and net associations between a large array of SES indicators and the likelihood of ever using hormones by age 53-54 years in a population sample (n = 3,612) of non-Hispanic white female participants in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (1957-1993). Approximately half of the women had ever used noncontraceptive hormones; 38.5% were current users. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, the most robust SES predictor of hormone therapy was a woman's husband's occupational status (higher status associated with higher rates of use), after adjustment for all other measured sociologic and biomedical factors (e.g., other SES measures, other health behaviors, menopausal symptoms, age at menopause, health insurance). The association of hormone therapy with education differed between women who underwent hysterectomy and/or oophorectomy (higher odds for less educated women) and those with intact reproductive organs (lower odds for less educated women). Additionally, a woman's own earnings and household net worth were positive net correlates of noncontraceptive hormone therapy.
Endogenous Opioid Peptides Modulate the Effect of Corticotropin-Releasing Factor on Gonadotropin Release in the Primate*

Stress can induce endocrine abnormalities and menstrual dysfunction in the primate. Here, we examine the effects that CRF, the principal neurohormone in control of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, exerts on pulsatile gonadotropin secretion and the role that the endogenous opioid peptides may play in this phenomenon. Ovariectomized rhesus monkeys were given a 5-h continuous iv infusion of physiological saline (2 ml/h), human CRF (100 micrograms/2 ml . h), or hCRF plus the opiate receptor antagonist naloxone (2 mg/2 ml/h; 5 mg in two experiments; n = 7 experiments/group). LH and FSH concentrations were measured at 15-min intervals for a 3-h preinfusion baseline control, during the 5-h infusion, and during a 2-h postinfusion observation period, while cortisol concentrations were measured at frequent intervals during the entire experiment. CRF infusion produced a progressive and significant decrease in both LH and FSH. Mean areas (+/- SE) under the LH and FSH curves during the 5-h CRF infusion, expressed as a percentage of preinfusion baseline, were 59.9 +/- 4.6% and 83.0 +/- 3.1% (+/- SE), respectively (P less than 0.001 and P less than 0.01 vs. saline controls). Large amplitude LH pulses were abolished during the CRF infusion. However, after cessation of CRF infusion, there was a rapid resumption of LH pulsatile release in four of the seven experiments. Addition of naloxone to CRF prevented the CRF-mediated suppression of LH and FSH release. Mean areas for LH and FSH during the 5-h combined infusion were 100.3 +/- 6.6% and 99.6 +/- 4.3% of the preinfusion baseline, respectively (P less than 0.001 and P less than 0.05 vs. CRH alone; NS vs. saline), and pulsatile LH secretion was maintained. Regardless of whether naloxone was administered, CRF increased cortisol levels significantly. Mean cortisol levels at the end of the CRF and CRF plus naloxone infusions were 48.2 +/- 10.4 and 52.9 +/- 7.4 micrograms/dl (+/- SE), respectively, compared to 21.0 +/- 3.0 with saline (P less than 0.05). These results demonstrate that in the ovariectomized rhesus monkey, CRF suppresses the secretion of both LH and FSH, and this effect can be sustained. They also indicate that the CRF inhibitory action on gonadotropin is primarily mediated by endogenous opioid peptides, independent of glucocorticoid levels.
Sex differences in acute ethanol withdrawal severity after adrenalectomy and gonadectomy in Withdrawal Seizure-Prone and Withdrawal Seizure-Resistant mice

Recent findings suggest that the ability of ethanol (EtOH) to increase the levels of neurosteroids with potent γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic properties can influence measures of EtOH sensitivity. Earlier studies determined that removal of the adrenals and gonads diminished the steroidogenic effect of EtOH and significantly increased acute EtOH withdrawal severity in two inbred mouse strains that differed in withdrawal severity, suggesting the contribution of anticonvulsant GABAergic steroids to acute withdrawal in intact animals. Thus, the goal of the present studies was to investigate the consequence of steroid removal on acute EtOH withdrawal through excision of the adrenals and gonads, in another genetic animal model of EtOH withdrawal differences, the Withdrawal Seizure-Prone (WSP) and -Resistant (WSR) selected lines. Male and female WSP and WSR mice underwent surgical removal of the adrenals and gonads or no organ removal (SHAM). One to two weeks later, baseline handling-induced convulsions (HICs) were assessed, mice were given a 4 g/kg dose of ethanol, and HICs were measured hourly for 12 hours and then at 24 hours. The combination surgery significantly increased EtOH withdrawal in WSP and WSR female mice, as measured by area under the curve (AUC) and peak HIC scores. AUC was significantly positively correlated with plasma corticosterone levels and significantly negatively correlated with progesterone levels. In contrast, surgical status did not alter withdrawal severity in male WSP and WSR mice. Overall, the increase in acute ethanol withdrawal severity in female WSP and WSR mice following adrenalectomy and gonadectomy corroborate our recent evidence that withdrawal from a high dose of EtOH can be modulated by anticonvulsant steroids produced in the periphery.
Pictrotoxin-induced seizures modified by morphine and opiate antagonists

Abstract The effects of naloxone, Tyr-MIF-1, and MIF-1 on morphine-mediated changes in susceptibility to picrotoxin-induced seizures were studied. Rats were pretreated with naloxone, MIF-1, Tyr-MIF-1, or saline. At 15-min intervals, they received a second pretreatment of morphine or saline and then were tested for seizures following a convulsant dose of picrotoxin. Several parameters of specific categories of seizures were scored. Morphine increased the number of focal seizures episodes, duration of postseizure akinesis, and incidence of generalized clonic seizures. Naloxone tended to block the morphine-mediated changes in susceptibility. Tyr-MIF-1 had effects similar to naloxone on duration of postseizure immobility but tended to potentiate the effects of morphine on focal seizure episodes. The effects of morphine and the opiate antagonists on focal seizure episodes and postseizure duration suggest the general involvement of several types of opiate receptors in these picrotoxin-induced behaviors. However, the observation of antagonistic effects for Tyr-MIF-1 on immobility but agonistic effects for local seizures suggests that the type of effect exerted by opiate agents may depend upon other neuronal variables.
Modeling and analysis of a biomorph piezoelectric energy harvester for railway bridge monitoring

Wireless sensor network is one of prospective methods for railway bridge health monitoring. It has drawn much attention due to the long-term operation and low-maintenance performances. However, how to provide power to wireless sensors is a big issue. In railway health monitoring, the idea of converting ambient vibration energy from the vibration of railway track induced by passing train to electric energy has made it an efficient way for powering the wireless sensor networks. In this paper, a bimorph piezoelectric energy harvester from base excitation was investigated in the laboratory, and the energy output of the bimorph energy harvester was predicted by an equivalent single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) model. Reasonable results have been found between the tested and predicted data. Based on the theoretical model, further works on optimization of the bimorph piezoelectric energy harvester will be performed in future.