cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Improving cancer care for American Indians with cervical cancer in the Indian Health Service (IHS) system - Navigation may not be enough.

Abstract Objectives Patient navigation programs have been shown to positively impact cancer outcomes for minority populations. Little is known regarding the effects of these programs on American Indian (AI) populations. The purpose of this study is to characterize the impact of a patient navigation program on AI cervical cancer patients at a tertiary care center. Methods A retrospective review of all AI cervical cancer patients receiving navigation services and a cohort of AI patients treated prior to navigation services was performed. Additional comparisons were made between those with and without Indian Health Service (IHS) funding. Summary statistics were used to describe demographic, clinical characteristics, treatment, and survivorship across groups. Results Of 55 patients identified, 34 received navigation and 21 did not. In navigated patients, median age was 46years (27–80years) compared with 42years (17–68years) in pre-navigation patients ( p =0.53). There was no difference between stage at diagnosis ( p =0.73). No difference was noted in treatment received between groups ( p =0.48). Distance traveled for treatment between groups did not differ ( p =0.46). Median time to initiation of treatment was not different between groups, 30.5days vs. 27.5days ( p =0.18). Among patients with IHS funding, navigation services did not alter time to initiation of treatment ( p =0.57), and there was no difference in completion of prescribed therapy between groups (92% navigated vs 100% pre-navigation). Conclusions Navigation services for AI cervical cancer patients did not alter initiation or completion of treatment. Navigation programs may provide less tangible benefits to AI cervical cancer patients and further study is warranted.
Risk Assessment in Bariatric Surgery

The capability to carry out an individual patient-centered risk assessment is a major advance in bariatric surgery. The establishment of large clinical registries and the use of administrative databases have allowed for the discovery of patient factors that predict increased surgical risk. These discoveries enable bariatric programs to quantitate surgical risks utilizing risk scores and risk calculators. This capability improves surgical decision-making and informed consent. In addition, many of the comorbid conditions that predict risk are modifiable, which provides opportunity for the implementation of risk-reducing strategies. Early identification of high-risk patients will allow programs to allocate resources and plan management in order to control risk.
Normal Approximation on a Finite Wiener Chaos

The purpose of this note is to survey some recent developments in the applications of Malliavin calculus combined with Stein’s method to derive central limit theorems for random variables on a finite sum of Wiener chaos. Starting from the fourth moment theorem by Nualart and Peccati [23], we will discuss several related topics such as conditions for the convergence in total variation, absolute continuity of probability laws and uniform convergence of densities under suitable non degeneracy assumptions. The fact that the random variables belong to a fixed Wiener chaos (or to a finite sum of Wiener chaos) will play a fundamental role in the results.
Biology and genetics of hybrid resistance.

Publisher Summary The first complication of bone marrow transplantation noted was “homologous or secondary disease,” which usually occurs after the early recovery of hemopoietic cells and is because of a graft-versus-host reaction. In that disease, there is extensive proliferation of histiocytes and epithelioid cells, infiltration of various organs by lymphoid cells, and eventually the depletion of lymphoid and hemopoietic elements. In light of what is known about natural killer (NK) cell ontogeny, it is interesting to note that F1 mice become resistant to graft-versus-host disease at 3 weeks of age. The phenomenon of hybrid resistance to bone marrow cell and nonparenchymal liver cell grafts by irradiated F1 hybrid mice was declared earlier around 1960. The genetic laws of transplantation are based upon the assumption that histocompatibility antigens are inherited codominantly. Hence, F1 hybrid progeny mice of a mating between two mice of inbred strains must express all of the antigens of each parent. It was, therefore, impossible for an F1 hybrid to recognize a foreign antigen on parental strain cells; but reality turned up differently. The key to the success of the studies of hybrid resistance was based upon the decision to use a genetic as well as an immunological approach to the problem of hybrid resistance. Several attempts have been made to develop an in vitro method that reflects the immunogenetics and immunobiology of hybrid resistance to bone marrow or lymphoid cell grafts in vivo. This technique detected cytotoxic lymphoid cells from nonimmune mice that were present in the spleen, bone marrow, and lymph nodes, but not in the thymus. In fact, thymocytes inhibited the ability of lymph node cells (LNC) to lyse target cells. The effector cells were relatively radioresistant, did not require mitogens for activity, did require protein synthesis for the first 2 hours, were not sensitive to elimination by rabbit antilymphocytic serum, but were sensitive to cyclophosphamide.
Smart Form framework as a foundation for clinical documentation platform.

Smart Form – a condition-driven documentation tool with integrated advanced decision support – is built on a flexible framework and is evolving into a platform for a variety of Web-based clinical documentation systems.
Total Diet Studies in the Republic of Korea

The Korean Food and Drug Administration total diet study (KTDS) for pesticide residues and mycotoxins as well as food contaminants has provided assurance that foods in the Republic of Korea are safe for consumers. The exposure assessment presented in KTDS represents the most reliable estimate of dietary exposure for the Korean population using the available data. Specifically described is the creation of a representative food list that includes the most important foods for the general population, foods relevant to population subgroups, and those of specific concern for contaminant content. The description of the preparation of food samples to a ‘table-ready’ state before analysis is also provided.
The effect of parents’ education appreciation on intergenerational inequality

Abstract The core question for this study is - how can we explain gaps in educational attainment of families with the same initial socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds? This study draws from human capital theory to examine the likely effect of parental attitudes towards the educational attainment of their children, and the implications for intergenerational educational inequality. I utilized longitudinal historical narratives to explore two families in Nigeria with identical socioeconomic backgrounds. The findings suggest that 1.) The perceptions of, and attitudes towards education by the first parents of each family have a lingering impact on the educational attainment of their first, second and third generation. 2.) Children of parents with high value and appreciation to education recorded higher educational achievement and socioeconomic mobility than did those with a lower appreciation of education. This study concludes that in addition to other socioeconomic factors, parents' perception and value of education is fundamental to children's educational attainment, which also determines socioeconomic mobility. This study contributes to our understanding of intergenerational transmission and socioeconomic mobility. It also has implications for policy framing, as well as substantial scope for methodological improvement.
Life cycle recurrent embodied energy calculation of buildings: A review

Abstract Buildings use approximately 48% of global energy each year in their construction and operation as embodied and operating energy. The embodied energy is used directly through onsite and offsite construction and related processes, and indirectly through the use of materials and equipment. The embodied energy used in a building's construction is called initial embodied energy (IEE), whereas the energy embodied in the recurring processes of maintenance, repair, and replacement is termed recurrent embodied energy (REE). To effectively optimize a building's life cycle embodied energy, both the REE and IEE must be evaluated collectively. However, a building's REE depends on multiple parameters, which can cause significant variations of REE results across studies. A thorough investigation of parameters specific to REE calculation is currently lacking. The REE parameters may introduce significant uncertainties in the life cycle embodied energy calculations. In this paper, we perform a systematic review of literature to identify key parameters affecting REE calculations. We also propose a framework to identify and quantify the uncertainties resulting from these parameters. The findings of this study will help streamline the process of life cycle embodied energy calculation.
Predictors of BRCA mutation in male breast cancer.

1538 Background: Breast cancer is uncommon among men. Male breast cancer accounts for less than 1% of all male tumors. Among affected men, it is estimated that 10% have a genetic predisposition for...
Interracial Marriage and Divorce in Kansas and the Question of Instability of Mixed Marriages

Some critical comments on studies of interracial marriage are offered, and caution is urged in using information purporting to disclose the nature of the interracial marriage phen omenon, including...
Homelessness and inequality in the U.S.: Challenges for community disaster resilience

Abstract This chapter explores processes of neoliberalization and marginalization that exacerbate inequality and increase the disaster vulnerability of homeless communities. It incorporates findings from qualitative fieldwork conducted with homeless flood survivors, staff from homeless-serving organizations, and other community stakeholders following the 2013 Colorado floods in Boulder County, Colorado. Drawing upon social vulnerability and political ecology literature, this chapter uses concepts such as marginalization, neoliberal citizenship, and social protection to understand ways in which homeless and low-income communities are made increasingly vulnerable to disaster. At the same time that these processes and conditions worsen inequities and vulnerabilities, they also hinder efforts to build community disaster resilience.
Lack of apolipoprotein A1 impairs optimal regulatory T cell homeostasis at steady state due to impaired IL-2 signaling

ABSTRACT Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1), the major constituent of the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) molecule, exhibits anti-inflammatory properties. Our laboratory has previously shown that ApoA1 protects against switching of regulatory T (Treg) cells to atherogenic T follicular helper cells in Western diet-fed mice. However, the role of ApoA1 in modulating Treg cell homeostasis in the absence of atherosclerosis remains uncharacterized. Here, we show that ApoA1 is required for normal Treg cell homeostasis and functioning at steady state. Specifically, lack of ApoA1 decreased the numbers of both natural and induced Treg cells and also lowered Treg cell-based homeostatic proliferation and suppressive functions. Importantly, these changes occurred without affecting other T cell populations. Finally, we determined that the observed phenotypes were caused by changes to cholesterol content and reduced interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor signaling in ApoA1-deficient Treg cells. Overall, our results show that ApoA1-HDL is necessary for Treg cell homeostasis and functioning.
The Usefulness of Instagram Posts Tagging Hand Surgery Conditions

Introduction The objective of this study was to assess the usefulness of Instagram posts for users seeking information about common hand conditions. Materials and Methods An internet-based study was performed of the top 200 trending posts on Instagram for each of the tags #carpaltunnel and #triggerfinger. The trending position (1 through 200), number of likes (for all posts), and number of views (for video posts only) were recorded. Each post was assessed to determine whether it would be useful for a user seeking medical information. Useful and not useful posts were further classified into thematic categories. Results Useful posts comprised only 21% of #carpaltunnel posts and 12% of #triggerfinger posts. #carpaltunnel had a significantly higher proportion of useful posts than #triggerfinger. For both #carpaltunnel and #trigger finger, useful posts were not associated with trending position or number of likes. Useful posts commonly provided a clinical image or an anatomical diagram. Posts that were not useful were generally irrelevant to the hand condition, but a minority provided information not supported by evidence or were solely advertising material. Conclusion Hand surgery patients can be educated that, in its current form, Instagram is not a source of useful information about common hand conditions.
A new method of isotope enrichment and separation: preferential embedding of heavier isotopes of Xe into amorphous solid water

In this paper, we examine a new method for isotope separation involving the embedding of atoms and molecules into ice. This method is based upon isotope dependent embedding, i.e. capture, in a cryogenic matrix which exhibits excellent single-pass enrichment as demonstrated successfully for selected isotopes of Xe. This is a totally new method that holds significant promise as a quite general method for enrichment and purification. It is based upon exploiting the energetic and momentum barriers that need to be overcome in order to embed a given isotope or isotopologue into the capture matrix, initially amorphous ice. From our previous experiments, we know that there is a strong dependence of the embedding probability with incident momentum. Using supersonic molecular beam techniques, we generated Xe atomic beams of controlled velocities, relatively narrow velocity distributions due to supersonic expansion, and with all of the entrained isotopes having identical velocities arising from the seeded molecular beam expansion. As we had postulated, the heavier isotope becomes preferentially absorbed, i.e., embedded, in the ice matrix. Herein we demonstrate the efficacy of this method by comparing the capture of 134Xe and 136Xe to the reference isotope, 129Xe. Enrichment of the heavier isotopes in the capture matrix was 1.2 for 134Xe and 1.3 for 136Xe greater than that expected for natural abundance. Note that enriched isotopic fractions can be collected from either the condensate or the reflected fraction depending on interest in either the heavier or lighter isotope, respectively. Cycling of these single-step enrichment events for all methods can lead to significantly higher levels of purification, and routes to scale-up can be realistically envisioned. This method holds significant promise to be quite general in applicability, including both atomic isotopes or molecular isotopologues across a wide range of particle masses spanning, essentially, the periodic table. This topic has profound implications and significant potential impact for a wide-variety of isotope-based technologies in the physical and biological sciences, medicine, advanced energy and energetic systems, including isotopically-purified materials that exhibit high-performance electronic and thermal characteristics, as well as isotopically purified spin-free materials for use in quantum information science platforms.
The Distorting Slant in Quantitative Studies of Judging

The study of judicial politics using empirical methods to .gain insight into the process of judicial decision making has, until recently, belonged exclusively to political scientists. Now, however, the field of study is quickly gaining traction in the legal academy. Using judicial decisions and data about the judges making them could help expose judges who are overly political and help maintain the integrity of the legal system. Unfortunately, because political scientists bought into a false story about the legal community—that judges and legal scholars believe judicial decision making is a mechanical application of law to facts leading to a necessary result. Consequently, judicial politics studies are aimed at proving politics has some affect on judicial decision making, rather than trying to determine how much it affects decision making and at what point it becomes problematic. This Article demonstrates that judges have openly acknowledged that politics and personal preferences influence judicial decision making, but only rarely and to a limited extent, something borne out by judicial politics studies once the question becomes how much, not whether.
Evaluation of the Video Ocular Counter-Roll (vOCR) as a New Clinical Test of Otolith Function in Peripheral Vestibulopathy.

Importance Video-oculography (VOG) goggles have been integrated into the assessment of semicircular canal function in patients with vestibular disorders. However, a similar bedside VOG method for testing otolith function is lacking. Objective To evaluate the use of VOG-based measurement of ocular counter-roll (vOCR) as a clinical test of otolith function. Design, setting, and participants A case-control study was conducted to compare vOCR measurement among patients at various stages of unilateral loss of vestibular function with healthy controls. The receiver operating characteristic curve method was used to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the vOCR test in detecting loss of otolith function. Participants were recruited at a tertiary center including the Johns Hopkins outpatient clinic and Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland. Participants included 56 individuals with acute (≤4 weeks after surgery), subacute (4 weeks-6 months after surgery), and chronic (>6 months after surgery) unilateral vestibular loss as well as healthy controls. A simple bedside maneuver with en bloc, 30° lateral tilt of the head and trunk was used for vOCR measurement. The study was conducted from February 2, 2017, to March 10, 2019. Intervention In each participant vOCR was measured during static tilts of the head and trunk en bloc. Main outcomes and measures The vOCR measurements and diagnostic accuracy of vOCR in detecting patients with loss of vestibular function from healthy controls. Results Of the 56 participants, 28 (50.0%) were men; mean (SD) age was 53.5 (11.4) years. The mean (SD) time of acute unilateral vestibular loss was 9 (7) days (range, 2-17 days) in the acute group, 61 (39) days (range, 28-172 days) in the subacute group, and 985 (1066) days (range 185-4200 days) in the chronic group. The vOCR test showed reduction on the side of vestibular loss, and the deficit was greater in patients with acute and subacute vestibular loss than in patients with chronic loss and healthy controls (acute vs chronic: -1.81°; 95% CI, -3.45° to -0.17°; acute vs control: -3.18°; 95% CI, -4.83° to -1.54°; subacute vs chronic: -0.63°; 95% CI, -2.28° to 1.01°; subacute vs control: -2.01°; 95% CI, -3.65° to -0.36°; acute vs subacute: -1.17°; 95% CI, -2.88° to 0.52°; and chronic vs control: -1.37°; 95% CI, -2.96° to 0.21°). The asymmetry in vOCR between the side of vestibular loss and healthy side was significantly higher in patients with acute vs chronic loss (0.28; 95% CI, 0.06-0.51). Overall, the performance of the vOCR test in discriminating between patients with vestibular loss and healthy controls was 0.83 (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve). The best vOCR threshold to detect vestibular loss at the 30° tilt was 4.5°, with a sensitivity of 80% (95% CI, 0.62%-0.88%) and specificity of 82% (95% CI, 0.57%-1.00%). Conclusions and relevance The findings of this case-control study suggest that the vOCR test can be performed with a simple bedside maneuver and may be used to detect or track loss of otolith function.
Sobreviviendo Sin Sacrificando (Surviving without Sacrificing)– An intersectional DisCrit Testimonio from a tired mother-scholar of color

This paper is my testimonio of being a Latina mother-scholar trying to complete a doctorate while managing a chronic condition. I draw on intersectionality and DisCrit to share how my social identi...
Revision of the Amphilius jacksonii complex (Siluriformes: Amphiliidae), with the descriptions of five new species

The Amphilius jacksonii complex is revised, and five new species are described: A. ruziziensis n. sp. from the Ruzizi River drainage and northeastern tributaries of Lake Tanganyika; A. pedunculus n. sp. from the Malagarasi River drainage, Lake Rukwa basin, and upper Great Ruaha River drainage, Rufiji basin; A. frieli n. sp. from the upper Congo basin; A. crassus n. sp. from the Rufiji and Wami basins; and A. lujani n. sp. from the Lake Kyogo drainage, northeastern tributaries of Lake Victoria, and the Lake Manyara basin.
Measurement of the chi^(2) Tensors of KTiOPO4, KTiOAsO4, RbTiOPO4, and RbTiOAsO4 Crystals

We use the separated-beams method to measure the second-order nonlinear optical tensors of the crystals KTiOPO4, KTiOAsO4, RbTiOPO4, and RbTiOAsO4 for second-harmonic generation of 1064-nm light. Our results agree well with most previous measurements but have improved precision.
Signal extraction using Compressed Sensing for passive radar with OFDM signals

Passive radar is a concept where possibly multiple non-cooperative illuminators are used in a multi-static setup. A freely available signal, like radio or television, is decoded and used to identify moving airborne targets based on their Doppler shift. New digital signals, like Digital Audio/Video Broadcast (DAB/DVB), are excellent candidates for this scheme, as they are widely available, can be easily decoded, and employ orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM), a multicarrier transmission scheme based on channel equalization in the frequency domain using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). After successfully decoding the digital broadcast, the channel estimates can be used to estimate targetspsila bi-static range and range-rate by separating different multi-path components by their delay and Doppler shift. While previous schemes have simply projected available measurements onto possible Doppler shifts, we employ Compressed Sensing, a type of sparse estimation. This way we can enhance separation between targets, and bypass additional signal processing necessary to determine the actual target within a ldquoblotchrdquo of signal energy smeared across different delays and Doppler frequencies.
Selective medium for isolating Phanerochaete chrysosporium from soil

Abstract A selective medium was developed that is capable of isolating Phanerochaete chrysosporium from soil. This medium contains 15 ppm of benomyl (15 μg g−1) and 550 ppm of streptomycin sulfate in 2% malt agar and is held at 39°C after inoculation. P. chrysosporium was isolated from three nonsterile forest soils to which the fungus had been added. These soils contained large microbial populations.
Under-resolution and Diagnostics in Spectral Simulations of Complex-Geometry Flows

Large-scale simulations are often under-resolved at some level, but they are still useful in extracting both qualitative and quantitative information about the flow. In order to use such results effectively we need to characterize the numerical uncertainty of under-resolved simulations. However, different numerical methods exhibit different behavior, and spectral — based methods in particular may over-predict fluctuations both in amplitude and frequency due to their very low artificial dissipation in contrast with finite differences. In this chapter, we provide insight into under-resolved spectral simulations and document several diagnostic signs of under-resolution for spectral/hp element methods. We first review the state-of-the art in direct numerical simulation and present a new class of spectral methods on unstructured grids for handling complex-geometry compressible and in compressible flows. We then focus on the effects of under-resolving the nonlinear contributions, and finally we present prototype cases for both transitional and turbulent flows.
Incremental Frictional Abrasion Part I: Effects on Fiber Characteristics

Three pairs of matched fabrics, 100% cotton broadcloth, 50% polyester/50% cotton broadcloth, and 65% polyester/ 35% cotton printcloth, were abraded in an Accelerotor. One fabric of each pair had a pure finish and one had a creaseresistant finish. Eight levels of abrasion were used in the study. Fiber length distributions and fiber tensile properties were analyzed before and after abrasion to determine the effect of the abrasion on these fiber properties and to determine the mechanism by which any damage occurred. The cotton fibers tended to break into shorter lengths as a result of abrasion. This tendency was most pronounced in the resin-finished polyester/cotton printcloth, which lost virtually all of its cotton fiber content. It appeared to be least pronounced in the resin-finished cotton broadcloth, which lost many of its shortest fibers but showed no significant decrease in the number of longer fibers. The polyester fibers in the blended broadcloths showed some reductions in fiber length as a result of abrasion, while those in the printcloths did not. There were progressively greater losses in strength of the remaining fibers for both polyester and cotton fibers as a result of increasing levels of abrasion. However, much of the abrasion damage sustained by the resin-finished blended fabrics appeared to be caused by cotton fiber fracture within the internal structure of the yarn because of the unequal elongation characteristics of the cotton and polyester fibers.
Experience with Iarocci tubes produced on a large scale

Abstract To date close to half a million Iarocci tubes have been built. They are used in almost every multiparticle spectrometer being constructed for collider experiments. Despite their common use, they exhibit features which are not well understood and which have given rise to concern over the longevity of these tubes. In this paper the use, properties and experience gained in the large-scale production and testing of Iarocci tubes are reviewed.
A Study of the First Evangelical Magazines, 1740–1748

The religious revival during the 1740s, in Britain and the American colonies, resulted in a vast output of printed matter. A comparison of the literature printed before, with that printed after this period, shows the impact of a single decade on both the form and content of evangelical literature. In particular, the revival was responsible for launching a new literary genre—the evangelical newspaper and magazine. Where there had been no specifically evangelical periodical publication in the first forty years of the century, by the last forty years such literature had become a normal means of communication and propagation for several denominations.
Exchange of gulf stream water with North Carolina shelf water in Onslow Bay during stratified conditions

Abstract Three shipboard experiments are described that verify the importance of bottom intrusions of Gulf Stream Water in exchange processes on the continental shelf of Cape Hatteras. Preliminary evidence indicates that onshore flow of Gulf Stream Water at the bottom is compensated by offshore flow of Shelf Water at the surface. A schematic model of the exchange process during stratified summer conditions indicates that vertical mixing between Shelf Water and Gulf Stream Water accross weakened portions of the pycnocline can account for the cool dense lens of bottom water often observed in the mid-shelf region south of Cape Hatteras.
A Transmission Line Modeling Program Written in C

LINEMOD is a transmission line modeling program that takes a line configuration (including possibly bridged taps) and generates the input impedance, attenuation versus frequency, and impulse response. It is written in C, a modern structured programming language, and utilizes sophisticated data structures, dynamic storage allocation, and recursion to achieve flexibility and economy of storage. As such, it illustrates the value of C as an implementation language for modeling programs of this type. It also emphasizes a shortcoming of C for this purpose, which is the absence of built-in complex arithmetic.
Switching and phase-slip centers in charge-density-wave conductors.

We demonstrate that switching in the charge-density-wave (CDW) conductors ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{x}\mathrm{Nb}{\mathrm{Se}}_{3}$ and Nb${\mathrm{Se}}_{3}$ is associated with a division of the CDW condensate into distinct macroscopic regions with independent CDW depinning fields and independent CDW drift velocities. These well-defined regions are separated by localized phase-slip centers. We explicitly determine the location within the crystalline bulk, and the spatial extent, of the phase-slip interface. Switching results from initial phase breaking at either side of the phase-slip center.
The "Unknown" Marx's Capital, Volume I: The French Edition of 1872-75, 100 Years Later:

None of the existing English editions of Marx's Capital, Vol. I, including the new Ben Fowkes translation published by Penguin in 1976, fully incorporate the text as revised by the author for his 1872-75 French edition. These omitted or alternate texts cover the subjects of the role of private property in capitalism, alienation and unskilled factory work, capitalist crises, unemployment, and imperialism. Finally, the French edition of Capital is viewed briefly in the overall context of the writings of Marx's last decade, 1873-1883.
Treating patients with medically unexplained symptoms in primary care.

BACKGROUND: There are no proven, comprehensive treatments in primary care for patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) even though these patients have high levels of psychosocial distress, medical disability, costs, and utilization. Despite extensive care, these common patients often become worse. OBJECTIVE: We sought to identify an effective, research-based treatment that can be conducted by primary care personnel. DESIGN: We used our own experiences and files, consulted with experts, and conducted an extensive review of the literature to identify two things: 1) effective treatments from randomized controlled trials for MUS patients in primary care and in specialty settings; and 2) any type of treatment study in a related area that might inform primary care treatment, for example, depression, provider-patient relationship. MAIN RESULTS: We developed a multidimensional treatment plan by integrating several areas of the literature: collaborative/stepped care, cognitive-behavioral treatment, and the provider-patient relationship. The treatment is designed for primary care personnel (physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners) and deployed intensively at the outset; visit intervals are progressively increased as stability and improvement occur. CONCLUSION: Providing a comprehensive treatment plan for chronic, high-utilizing MUS patients removes one barrier to treating this common problem effectively in primary care by primary care personnel.
T helper cell differentiation: on again, off again

Recent studies raise the possibility that T helper (Th) polarization may be attributable to generalized activation and regulated silencing rather than regulated activation of target cytokine genes. The binding of transcription factors GATA-3 or T-bet to specific enhancers does recruit transcription factors such as NFAT-1 to IL-4 or IFNγ promoters, respectively; however, GATA-3 also intrinsically suppresses T-bet and vice versa. Silencing of GATA-3/T-bet, which is influenced by factors such as cytokines, is associated with irreversible Th polarization. For the first few divisions (perhaps reflecting the situation in lymph nodes), naive Th cells retain pluripotency; after further cell divisions (perhaps under the influence of an inflammatory cytokine milieu) they may become polarized appropriately to respond to the specific environment.
Twenty years of research on reclamation of salt-affected soils in Romanian rice fields

Abstract The physiological particularities of rice enable this plant to obtain its necessary oxygen for the roots through stems. This characteristic permits the use of rice during the reclamation of salt-affected soils with ponded flooding. This paper presents some results of twenty years of research in Romania, on the reclamation of saline and sodic soils under rice, including requirements for soil drainage, soil amendments, and salt leaching, at different stages of the reclamation period. Specific data are provided on the tolerance of rice to salinity, crop rotation in rice fields, fertilization, and irrigation practices.
Mod 3 cohomology algebras of finite H-spaces

Let X be a 3 local, finite, simply connected H-space with associative homology ring $H_* (X ; \mathbb F_3)$ . Some known examples are the Lie group $E_8$ , Harper's H-space X(3) and any odd dimensional sphere $S^{2n+1}$ . We prove the cohomology algebra $H^* (X; \mathbb F_3)$ is isomorphic to the cohomology algebra of a finite product of $E_8 s, X(3) s$ and odd dimensional spheres.
Perception of synthetic vowel exemplars of 4-year-old children and estimation of their corresponding vocal tract shapes.

Formant scalings for vowel exemplars of American 4 year olds who were imitating adult production were used along with published data of American adult male vowel production to synthesize /ɑ, ae, u, i/. Other vowel exemplars were also synthesized. Adult listeners were asked to categorize these synthetic vowels in a forced choice task. With some exceptions, the formant frequencies preferred for the vowels /ɑ, ae, u, i/ were close to the published data. In order to gain insight on children’s articulation during imitation of vowels /ɑ, ae, u, i/, a five-tube model was used in an algorithm to infer vocal tract shape from the first three formant frequencies of the adult productions, the formant frequencies derived for 4 year olds by scaling, and formant frequencies for 4 year olds derived based on the listening experiments. It was found that the rear tube length for the children, in proportionate terms, was nearly always greater than that of the adult. The rear tube length was proportionately twice as long in children compared to adults for the vowel /u/. Tongue root flexibility and the oblique angle between the pharynx and mouth may be more important than pharynx length in determining formant scalings for 4 year old children.
Federalist No. 85: Has the National Government Become an “Awful Spectacle”?

Federalist No. 85 offers a synopsis of the overall case for the Constitution. Describing the dangers of a nation without a national government as an “awful spectacle,” the paper provides a rebuttal to the active opposition to ratification. Focusing entirely on the operations of government, this essay examines contemporary challenges to faithfully executing the laws and offers an analysis of comprehensive reforms for creating greater accountability, efficiency, and productivity.
The Akt pathway in human breast cancer : a tissue-array-based analysis

The Akt pathway, an important regulator of cell proliferation and survival, is deregulated in many cancers. The pathway has achieved considerable importance due to the development of kinase inhibitors that are able to successfully reduce tumor growth. This study was conducted to determine the status of the Akt pathway in human breast cancers and to study the relationship between the different component proteins. Expression levels of PTEN, phosphorylated forms of the constituent proteins (Akt, FKHR, mTOR, and S6) and cyclin D1 were evaluated by immunohistochemistry, on consecutive sections from a tissue microarray containing 145 invasive breast cancers and 140 pure ductal carcinomas in-situ. Aberrant expression was correlated statistically with tumor characteristics and disease outcome. The Akt pathway was found to be activated early in breast cancer, in the in-situ stage. In all, 33, 15, 32, and 60% of ductal carcinoma in-situ showed overexpression of Akt, FKHR, mTOR, and cyclin D1. PTEN loss did not correlate statistically with expression of AKT or any of the other proteins with the exception of S6, indicating that Akt activation was not a result of PTEN loss. Expression levels of PTEN and S6 were significantly different in in-situ and invasive cancers, indicating association with disease progression. Loss of PTEN was noted in 11% of in-situ as compared to 26% of invasive cancers, while S6 overexpression was seen in 47% in-situ and in 72% invasive cancers. High-grade carcinomas were associated with PTEN loss, while low-grade carcinomas with good prognostic features showed cyclin D1 overexpression and were associated with longer disease free survival. Additionally, cancers with mTOR overexpression showed a three times greater risk for disease recurrence. Overall, a large proportion of in-situ and invasive breast cancers overexpressed cyclinD1 and S6. Our results may have significant implications in the development and application of targeted therapy.
Moment Approach to Deriving a Unified Parallel Viscous Stress in Magnetized Plasmas

In the moment approach, a parallel heat flux and a viscous stress are derived for arbitrary collisionality, which is becoming increasingly important in emerging concept devices. This derivation improves upon previous derivations by using the full linearized collision operators instead of the pitch-angle scattering operator and also by including the ion-electron collision operator. The parallel viscous stress can be computed by integrating thermodynamic drives along a magnetic field line weighted by kernel functions that are simple linear combinations of exponential functions. The convergence of the ion viscous stress is verified for sinusoidally varying drives with increasing number of moments.
The lure & dangers of extremist rhetoric

Daedalus Fall 2007 In a democracy, controversy is healthy.1 Complex issues as far-ranging as immigration, health care, military interventions, taxation, and education seldom lend themselves to simple, consensual solutions. The public interest is well served by robust public argument. But when disagreements are so driven and distorted by extremist rhetoric that citizens and public of1⁄2cials fail to engage with one another reasonably or respectfully on substantive issues of public importance, the debate degenerates, blocking constructive compromises that would bene1⁄2t all sides more than the status quo would. Like many scholars, American citizens today discern a link between the impoverished, divisive discourse that pollutes our politics and culture, and the diminished capacity of America’s political system to address intelligently, let alone solve, our most challenging problems–from health care to global warming, from public education to Social Security, from terrorism to this country’s eroding competitive advantage in the global economy. To help us understand the nature of this link between extremist rhetoric and political paralysis, let us begin with an example of extremist rhetoric in entertainment, where it is even more common and far less controversial than in politics. Many Americans over the age of forty may remember the weekly “Point/Counterpoint” segment from 60 Minutes, which pitted the liberal Shana Alexander against the conservative James J. Kilpatrick. Even more will recall the spoof of “Point/Counterpoint” from Saturday Night Live, where Dan Ackroyd resorted to a show of verbal pyroAmy Gutmann
Towards a Theory of Suicide: The Case for Modern Fatalism

This paper explores the empirical relationship between fatalism and suicide in a population of youthful victims. Content analysis of case histories and suicide notes was conducted for 132 individua...
Do Children Prefer Mentalistic Descriptions

ABSTRACT Against a long tradition of childhood realism (Piaget, 1929), A. S. Lillard and J. H. Flavell (1990) found that 3-year-olds prefer to characterize people by their mental states (beliefs, desires, emotions) than by their visible behaviors. In this exploratory study, we extend this finding to a new cohort of 3-year-olds, examine how these preferences change from 3–4 years, and explore relationships with theory of mind and parental mind-mindedness. The results showed a developmental change and a possible cohort difference: at 3 years, children in the sample preferred behavioral descriptions, although by 4 years of age, they preferred mentalistic ones. Interestingly, mentalistic preferences were unrelated to theory of mind or parental mind-mindedness, concurrently or over time. Perspective-taking skills at 3 years, however, predicted an increase in mentalistic responses from 3 years to 4 years. Possible explanations for each finding are discussed.
Reconfigurable bandstop filter with tunable center frequency and bandwidth using piezoelectric transducer

A reconfigurable bandstop filter with tunable center frequency and bandwidth using a piezoelectric transducer (PET) is presented. The proposed reconfigurable bandstrop filter consists of a PET and two quarter-wavelength open-stub microstrip lines. Tuning center frequency and bandwidth are achieved by varying the dielectric constants of a quarter-wavelength open-stub microstrip line using a controlled dielectric perturber under a PET in two quarter-wavelength open-stub microstrip lines. The proposed filter has a 8.7% tuning range at center freuqnecy from 4.62 to 5.06 GHz and 29% tuning range of bandwidth (>25 dB) from 990 to 1280 MHz with varied DC voltages. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:2670–2672, 2013
Algorithmic framework for X-ray nanocrystallographic reconstruction in the presence of the indexing ambiguity

X-ray nanocrystallography allows the structure of a macromolecule to be determined from a large ensemble of nanocrystals. However, several parameters, including crystal sizes, orientations, and incident photon flux densities, are initially unknown and images are highly corrupted with noise. Autoindexing techniques, commonly used in conventional crystallography, can determine orientations using Bragg peak patterns, but only up to crystal lattice symmetry. This limitation results in an ambiguity in the orientations, known as the indexing ambiguity, when the diffraction pattern displays less symmetry than the lattice and leads to data that appear twinned if left unresolved. Furthermore, missing phase information must be recovered to determine the imaged object’s structure. We present an algorithmic framework to determine crystal size, incident photon flux density, and orientation in the presence of the indexing ambiguity. We show that phase information can be computed from nanocrystallographic diffraction using an iterative phasing algorithm, without extra experimental requirements, atomicity assumptions, or knowledge of similar structures required by current phasing methods. The feasibility of this approach is tested on simulated data with parameters and noise levels common in current experiments.
Precambrian volcanics associated with the taum Sauk Caldera, St. Francois Mountains, Missouri, U.S.A.

Petrological studies of 12 volcanic rock units in the northeast segment of the Taum Sauk Caldera, the major structural feature in the western part of the St. Francois Mountains, indicate that they were probably derived from the same magma chamber. These calc-alkalic rocks become progressively silica and alkali rich and calcium poor from the base to the top of the stratigraphic column. In the part of the northeast segment of the caldera studied in detail, the extrusives are over 5 thick and have a volume of over 500 km3. Rock units consisting of ash-flow tuffs, bedded airfall tuffs and lava flows were apparently deposited within a single episode of volcanic activity, since no signs of extensive erosion were observed among them. Although the rocks are completely devitrified, the preservation of pyroclastic and flow features is excellent. These volcanics are exposed representatives of a 1.3–1.4 b.y. old belt of volcanics and associated plutons which extends from southern Ohio to the Texas Panhandle any may represent a belt of continental accretion.
T cell tolerance in the chicken. II. Lack of evidence for suppressor cells in tolerant agammaglobulinemic and normal chickens.

Tolerance to human γ-globulin (HGG) at the T cell level was readily induced in both normal and bursectomized FP and EL 6 strain chickens by intravenous injection of 5 to 50 mg of soluble HGG. T cells from tolerant chickens, subsequently immunized with HGG in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA), failed to cooperate in the adoptive immune response to 2, 4, 6-trinitrophenylated (TNP) HGG with TNP-immune spleen cells. However, suppressive activity could not be demonstrated when cells from tolerant chickens were combined with cells from HGG and CFA-sensitized chickens in the recipients, even at a 5 : 1 ratio. HGG-specific helper activity could be induced, both in bursectomized FP and in intact EL6 spleen cells, but neither tolerant bursectomized nor tolerant intact chicken spleen cells showed suppressor activity in this assay. Such tolerant cells also failed to inhibit formation of helper cell activity upon transfer to intact or bursectomized recipients subsequently exposed to HGG and CFA. Cells mediating delayed hypersensitivity (TDH cells) were also tolerized by intravenous injection of soluble HGG. Injection of cyclophosphamide (CY), 100 mg/kg intraperitoneally, two days prior to the HGG did not interfere with this tolerance induction. CY also failed to augment the DH reactivity of immunized bursectomized animals, although it did increase the reactivity of intact animals. Thus, a CY-sensitive suppressor cell did not appear to be responsible for induction of the tolerant state. Moreover, spleen or thymus cells from tolerant bursectomized or intact animals, transferred into normal chickens, were unable to prevent sensitization of the TDH cells in recipients. This was true in both bursectomized and intact recipients and was also not affected by treatment of recipients with CY, used to facilitate entry of tolerant donor cells into recipients' lymphoid tissue. Tolerance was also readily induced in thymectomized chickens. It was considered unlikely that the generation of suppressor cells was responsible for induction of tolerance to HGG at the T cell level in bursectomized or intact chickens. Since antibody formation could be excluded as a factor in the bursectomized birds, these results were in favor of a T cell deletion model of tolerance. Various ways in which deletion of TDH cells might be achieved are discussed.
Ovotestes in B6-XXSxr sex-reversed mice.

The sex-reversed mutation Sxr results in XX males. In the absence of any other mutations, testis differentiation in XXSxr fetuses is essentially normal and only one report of an XXSxr fetus with ovotestes is in the literature. We report that 84% (21/25) of 13 days postcoitum XXSxr fetuses on the B6 inbred genomic background have ovotestes. Ovotestes were found in fetuses from both Sxra and Sxrb variants. Examination of fetuses older than 13 dpc suggests that the presence of ovotestes is transient in most fetuses. However, one overt hermaphrodite was identified after birth. The development of ovotestes is associated with the inbred background and is exacerbated by the dominant spotting oncogene allele KitW-42J. We propose that spreading of X-inactivation into the Sxr region resulting in loss of Sry expression is more extensive in B6-Sxr strains.