cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Child temperament and common problems in schooling: Hypotheses about causal connections

Abstract While there has been substantial progress made in many areas of temperament research during the past 15 years, insufficient attention has been given to issues that clarify the mechanism by which temperament predisposes children to learning and behavior problems that are manifested in the school environment. After reviewing some contemporary literature that introduces the reader to the concept of temperament, this article addresses two sets of theoretical principles that seem particularly appropriate to clarifying the connection between temperamental dispositions and problematic school behavior. First, the theory of gene-environment correlation is used to explain how behavior patterns can become more stable over the life span. Second, diathesis-stress theory is used to clarify how the environment interacts with behavioral dispositions to result in problematic behavior. The purpose of this theoretical review is to provide psychologists with stronger etiological explanations for the problematic behaviors they encounter in schools.
Why Do Patients Seek an Alternative Channel? The Effects of Unmet Needs on Patients' Health-Related Internet Use

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer found among women in the United States. During the course of the illness, women diagnosed with breast cancer need information and support to cope with the illness. To understand what leads women with breast cancer to consult the Internet for health-related information, we examined how unmet needs—needs that have not been satisfied—in regards to information and emotional support determine patterns of cancer patients' health-related Internet use. Using data collected from 122 women diagnosed with breast cancer, we found that the higher the unmet need for information was, the more likely individuals were to spend time in specialized health information. Likewise, the higher the unmet need for emotional support was, the more likely individuals were to spend time in social support services such as discussion groups. Implications for future research on unmet needs and the use of the Internet were discussed.
USE OF SCREENING MAMMOGRAPHY AND CLINICAL BREAST EXAMINATIONS AMONG BLACK,HISPANIC, AND WHITE WOMEN

Abstract Background. Breast cancer screening can be an effective tool in the early detection of breast cancer but remains underused by women in the United States. Methods. We analyzed data from 22,657 women (2,068 black women, 707 Hispanic women, and 19,882 white women) who participated in the 1990 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance state-based telephone survey. Using the recommended guidelines of the American Cancer Society for breast cancer screening, we examined utilization rates by demographic and selected variables, stratified by ethnic groups. Results. Of the women included in the analysis, 47% of both black and Hispanic women and 50% of white women reported having had a recent mammogram, and 68% of black women, 59% of Hispanic women, and 66% of white women reported having had a recent clinical breast examination (CBE). Important predictors of the use of breast cancer screening procedures for each group were having had a routine examination in the past year, having seen an obstetrician or gynecologist or specialist during the last routine examination, and more than a high school education. Conclusions. Many women are not having mammography and CBEs. Efforts to increase screening must focus on encouraging providers to use CBEs as a screening tool and to recommend mammography. Strategies should be developed to increase the use of these procedures among women, particularly those of low income and low education levels.
Mean platelet volume and long-term mortality in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

Increased platelet activity is associated with adverse cardiovascular events. The mean platelet volume (MPV) correlates with platelet activity; however, the relation between the MPV and long-term mortality in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is not well established. Furthermore, the role of change in the MPV over time has not been previously evaluated. We evaluated the MPV at baseline, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years after the procedure in 1,512 patients who underwent PCI. The speed of change in the MPV was estimated using the slope of linear regression. Mortality was determined by query of the Social Security Death Index. During a median of 8.7 years, mortality was 49.3% after PCI. No significant difference was seen in mortality when stratified by MPV quartile (first quartile, 50.1%; second quartile, 47.7%; third quartile, 51.3%; fourth quartile, 48.3%; p = 0.74). For the 839 patients with available data to determine a change in the MPV over time after PCI, mortality was 49.1% and was significantly greater in patients with an increase (52.9%) than in those with a decrease (44.2%) or no change (49.1%) in the MPV over time (p
Autophagy in myocardium of murine hearts subjected to ischemia followed by reperfusion

Autophagy in myocardium has been thought to be cardioprotective, but its extent after transient or prolonged myocardial ischemia remains unclear. Accordingly, we characterized its magnitude in myocardium of murine hearts subjected to ischemia with or without reperfusion. Ten-week-old transgenic GFP-LC3 mice and C57Bl6 mice were subjected to coronary ligation for 1 or 4 h followed by 24 h of reperfusion (1HTL, 4HTL) or to 24 h of persistent ligation (24HPL). Their hearts were analyzed by fluorescence microscopy, electron microscopy, and by Western blotting. Fluorescent GFP-LC3 dots indicative of autophagy were absent in infarct zones and reduced markedly in the peri-infarct zones compared with dots in sham controls (p ≤ 0.05). The LC3-II/LC3-I ratio indicative of autophagy did not increase in LV homogenates from hearts following ischemia. Phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6 increased in LV homogenates in hearts from mice subjected to 4HTL and 24HPL (p ≤ 0.05). Virtually no autophagic cells recognizable by electron microscopy were evident in infarct or peri-infarct zones. Autophagy is virtually absent within 24 h in the center of zones of infarction and is decreased significantly in the peri-infarct zones compared with that in normal hearts.
Material Variability and Repetitive Member Factors for the Allowable Properties of Engineered Wood Products

It has been argued that repetitive member allowable property adjustments should be larger for high-variability materials than for low-variability materials. We report analytic calculations and simulations that suggest that the order of such adjustments should be reversed, that is, given the manner in which allowable properties are currently calculated, as the coefficient of variation of the strength distribution of individual elements increases, the upward repetitive member adjustments (if any) of assemblies constructed from these elements should decrease.
Limitations to the Coleman-Weinberg mechanism of spontaneous mass generation

Abstract We point out that the second order phase transition of compact U(1) lattice gauge theory implies that a certain range of abelian Higgs models escapes the Coleman-Weinberg mechanism of spontaneous mass generation and suggest ways for a Monte Carlo investigation of the full range of its validity.
Pharmacodynamics of potassium channel openers in cultured neuronal networks

Article discussing pharmacodynamics of potassium channel openers in cultured neuronal networks.
The threads of writing

Threads run through documents and hold them together. What are the threads? Simply, threads are topics. They are found by compiling, in order, the (grammatical) subjects of neighboring sentences and clauses. For example, if you underline all the subjects within a paragraph, this assemblage will group into topics. Easy-to-follow writing usually has one, two, or, at most, three easy-to-identify threads running through and, possibly, interwoven within the paragraph. Disjointed, hard-to-follow writing has more and, here, more may include isolated threads (i.e., a subject that lacks threading to preceding or proceeding subjects), or no, or very little discernable thread structure. Identifying and unraveling the thread structure of a document and adjusting to make it consistent can be an important editing tool. Here is an example I adapted from the first paragraph of an article Physics Today (“Lorentz invariance on trial,” July 2004). To stress my point, I specifically chose a topic that can bring smart people to their knees—Einstein relativity and Lorentz invariance. Expecting to measure different speeds, in 1887 Michelson and Morley performed an experiment on light in different reference frames that gave null result. In terms of the physics concepts prevalent at that time, it was surprisingly difficult to explain these results; fundamental changes were required in the notions of space and time. Albert …
Organizational communication network analysis: The liaison communication role

Abstract A field study was conducted to test the utility of a procedure for describing and analyzing inclusive networks of communication in complex organizations. In particular, the role of liaison person was identified and operationally defined. Evidence is presented that supports the validity of employing a sociometric procedure for identifying liaison persons as individuals who perform a communication linking function among primary groups in a complex organization. Liaison persons among the 142 professional staff of a college faculty were compared with nonliaison persons on demographic, interactional and functional dimensions. Differences were found that lead to a more detailed and systematic understanding of the liaison role and the persons who occupy liaison roles.
Prediction of the temperature–time cooling curves for three-dimensional aluminum products during spray quenching

This study aims at developing a universal approach to predicting the temperature—time characteristics for three-dimensional aluminum parts during quenching with water sprays. The validity of correlations recently developed by one of the authors, which relate the local heat transfer rate to the spray hydrodynamic parameters, is examined for nonuniform sprays. A mathematical relation is presented for characterizing the spatial distributions of the hydrodynamic parameters. By combining the local heat transfer correlations with the spatial distribution equations of these parameters, it is shown how a spatial distribution of the surface heat transfer rate can be derived. This distribution provides the vital boundary conditions needed to numerically simulate the three-dimensional heat diffusion occurring in a spray cooled part and the resultant temperature—time cooling curve at every point in the part. The validity of this approach is demonstrated by comparing numerical predictions with experimental measurements on a three-dimensional rectangular aluminum block subject to a nonuniform spray cooling boundary.
Strain- and Donor-Related Differences in the Interaction of Mycobacterium avium with Human Monocytes and its Modulation by Interferon-γ

Mycobacterium avium is a cause of disseminated infection in AIDS patients. The pathogenicity of M. avium for human monocytes was examined in an in vitro model. Peripheral blood monocytes obtained from 13 healthy donors were precultured for 2 days before infection. Monocytes were infected with six AIDS-associated and three non-AIDS-associated strains and four strains of M. avium selected on the basis of colonial morphology. Uptake of M. avium detected by counting intracellular acid-fast bacilli differed according to colonial morphology: Bacteria with round and opaque colony forms were phagocytosed more readily than those with flat colonies. Virulence as defined by intracellular growth was also partly associated with colonial morphology. Some but not all bacilli with flat colony forms multiplied in human monocytes; strains of the round opaque colonial form did not. The effects of recombinant human interferon-gamma on M. avium infection also were examined. Pretreatment of monocytes suppressed phagocytosis. After infection, coculturing usually augmented mycobacterial growth inhibition by human monocytes, but these effects were variable from strain to strain. Overall, interferon-gamma produced a small but statistically significant inhibition of intracellular growth in three of four strains tested.
Studies on chymotrypsin-like catalysis by synthetic peptides

The synthetic peptide Chymohelizyme-1 (CHZ-1) exhibits esterase activity against carbobenzoxytyrosinep-nitrophenyl ester (ZTONP), carbobenzoxyalaninep-nitrophenyl ester (ZAONP), andt-butyloxycarbonyltyrosinep-nitrophenyl ester (BocTONP). However, earlier reports of catalytic activity against less labile esters and amides have proven to be incorrect. The major reason for the errors appears to have been the omission of certain controls in the previous work. Although the catalytic triad does not appear to be functioning as designed, the catalytic activity of CHZ-1 does depend on the integrity of its primary structure. The pH dependence of hydrolysis of ZTONP points to general-base catalysis, whereas a preference for hydrophobic substrates suggest that the structure of CHZ-1 is performing some other role in assisting catalysis.
Macromolecular components of tomato fruit pectin

Abstract Chelate and alkaline-soluble pectin extracted from cell walls of pericarp tissue from mature green, turning, and red ripe ( Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) fruit (cv. Rutgers), were studied by high-performance size-exclusion chromatography. Computer-aided curve fitting of the chromatograms to a series of Gaussian-shaped components revealed that pectin from all fractions was composed of a linear combination of five macromolecular-sized species. The relative sizes of these macromolecules as obtained from their radii of gyration were 1:2:4:8:16. Dialysis against 0.05 m NaCl induced partial dissociation of the biopolymers. Apparently, the weight fraction of smaller sized species increased at the expense of larger ones. Also, the dissociation produced low-molecular-weight fragments. Behavior in the presence of 0.05 m NaCl led to the conclusion that cell wall pectin acted as if it were an aggregated mosaic, held together at least partially through noncovalent interactions.
The value of preoperative pharmacologic stress testing before vascular surgery using ACC/AHA guidelines: a prospective, randomized trial☆

Abstract Objective To evaluate the validity of preoperative cardiac stress testing using clinical predictors from the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guidelines on Perioperative Evaluation before Noncardiac Surgery in patients undergoing vascular surgery. Design Prospective, randomized pilot study. Setting Academic medical center. Participants Patients undergoing elective abdominal aortic, infrainguinal, and carotid vascular surgery. Interventions After stratification by American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) Guideline parameters, 99 patients were randomized to preoperative cardiac stress testing or to no stress testing and followed for up to 12 months postoperatively for adverse cardiac outcomes. Measurements and main results Before hospital discharge of 46 patients who underwent preoperative stress testing, 7 (15%) had inducible ischemia with no adverse postoperative cardiac outcomes, whereas only 1 (3%) of 39 patients (85%) with no ischemia had a nonfatal adverse cardiac outcome (p = not significant). Of 53 patients without preoperative stress testing, only 2 (4%) had a nonfatal adverse postoperative cardiac outcome. There were no cardiac deaths. At 12-month follow-up in 79 (80%) patients, there was 1 nonfatal adverse cardiac outcome (no stress test) and 1 cardiac death (abnormal stress test), reflecting a 1% 12-month cardiac morbidity and mortality. Conclusion In this small prospective, randomized study evaluating the validity of preoperative cardiac stress testing using ACC/AHA Guidelines before major vascular surgery, preoperative cardiac stress testing offered no incremental value for determining postoperative adverse cardiac outcomes. Larger randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings.
Memories: array-like records for ACL2

We have written a new records library for modelling fixed-size arrays and linear memories. Our implementation provides fixnum-optimized O(log2n) reads and writes from addresses 0, 1,..., n - 1. Space is not allocated until locations are used, so large address spaces can be represented. We do not use single-threaded objects or ACL2 arrays, which frees the user from syntactic restrictions and slow-array warnings. Finally, we can prove the same hypothesis-free rewrite rules found in misc/records for efficient rewriting during theorem proving.
Public Company Auditing: What Has Happened?

Something has changed in public company auditing, and it's not a good trend. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Development of a high-speed profilometer for manufacturing inspection

Optical digital-imaging techniques offer a fast, high-resolution, and wide-range metrology capability for measuring semi-transparent and transparent polymer-based devices during manufacture. This work presents novel instrumentation for in-process statistical control and metrology capable of measuring a complete macroscale part (~25 mm) down to its microscale features (~50 μm). The high speed 2.5D profilometer has generated contour plots with 0.4 μm lateral and 1 μm vertical resolution. The instrument has an estimated data rate of 8 million 3D data points per second, approximately 270 times faster than conventional white light interferometry.
Chromosome homology in the climbing rats, genus Tylomys (Rodentia: Cricetidae).

The climbing rats (Tylomys spp.) have diploid numbers of 52 (T. panamensis), 42 (T. nudicaudus), 40 (T. n. gymnurus) and 36 (T. n. villai). Using G-band analysis we found that the variations are mainly of the Bobertsonian type, and practically all changes can be traced. G-banding also revealed that biarmed chromosomes with similar morphology may be composed of different components. Such conclusions were verified also by analysis of the chromosomes of interspecific hybrids. C-band staining showed that the constitutive heterochromatin of Tylomys is mainly located in the centromeric regions and the sex chromosomes, a situation similar to that of Microtus agrestis. In one specimen of T. panamensis, however, an additional terminal heterochromatic segment was found in one member of the large metacentric pair. Our data underline that in mammalian cytotaxonomy studies both C- and G-band (or C- and Q-band) techniques must be applied to gain maximal information.
Use of an Antibacterial Envelope is Associated with Reduced Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device Infections in High-Risk Patients

Introduction The incidence of cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) infections has risen rapidly since 2004. A commercially available minocycline and rifampin impregnated antibacterial envelope has been associated with a low CIED infection rate. We performed a retrospective cohort study analyzing CIED infection rates in patients receiving an antibacterial envelope. Methods Prospectively applied criteria for use of the antibacterial envelope included ≥2 of the following: diabetes, renal insufficiency, anticoagulation, chronic corticosteroid use, fever or leukocytosis at the time of implantation, prior CIED infection, ≥3 leads (cardiac resynchronization therapy or abandoned leads), pacemaker dependence, or early pocket reentry. CIED infection rate was compared to a cohort of patients with matched risk factors and a CIED implanted prior to use of the antibacterial envelope. Results A total of 260 antibacterial envelopes were implanted from November 1, 2009 to April 30, 2012. The mean number of CIED infection risk factors was 2.8 ± 1.2. The control cohort (N = 639) was matched for mean number of CIED infection risk factors (2.8 ± 1.2), though individual risk factors differed. After a minimum of 90 days of follow-up, there was one CIED infection among patients who received an antibacterial envelope (0.4%), compared to 19 (3%) in controls (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] 0.13 [0.02–0.95], P = 0.04). This difference persisted after adjustment for covariates (0.09 [0.01–0.73], P = 0.02) and propensity score matching (0.11 [0.01–0.85], P = 0.04). Conclusions In patients prospectively identified at high risk for CIED infection, use of a commercially available antibacterial envelope was associated with a marked reduction in CIED infections when compared to a matched control cohort.
Autonomous robots and emergent behavior: a set of primitive behaviors for mobile robot control

In order for a robot to act autonomously over a wide range of tasks and environments, it must be capable of exhibiting a variety of different behaviors. In this paper, the authors examine different types of behavioral patterns that can exist for a mobile robot when one is limited to constructing such behavior from computational devices which contain no internal state. They construct a set of primitive reflexive behaviors, each of which causes the robot to exhibit a specific behavioral pattern in response to external and/or internal stimuli. Each primitive behavior models a simple form of reflex behavior. In addition, they discuss how each primitive reflexive behavior results in motion of the robot, illustrate different types of primitive reflexive behaviors, and provide graphic representations of the resulting behavioral patterns. >
PML-FDTD in cylindrical and spherical grids

Perfectly matched layers (PMLs) are derived for cylindrical and spherical finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) grids. The formulation relies on the complex coordinate stretching approach. Two-dimensional (2-D) cylindrical and three-dimensional (3-D) spherical staggered-grid FDTD codes are written based on the time-domain versions of the equations. Numerical simulations validate the formulation by showing very good agreement between the perfectly matched layer-finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) results and the free-space analytic solutions.
Enhancing Motivation to Complete Math Tasks Using the High-Preference Strategy:

Designed to enhance the completion of math tasks, high-preference strategy consists of presenting math tasks that students prefer, to enhance their interest in completing difficult math tasks. In this article, a brief review of the literature related to the use of the high-preference strategy is provided along with directions on how to implement the strategy with students with learning and behavior disabilities.
Plasmon-resonant gold nanorods provide spectroscopic OCT contrast in excised human breast tumors

Plasmon-resonant gold nanorods have been demonstrated recently as contrast agents for optical coherence tomography (OCT). To evaluate their ability to produce contrast in a structurally heterogeneous environment, nanorods were injected at discrete locations into an excised sample of human breast invasive ductal carcinoma. The distribution of nanorods within the tissue was revealed using spectroscopic OCT imaging techniques, by analyzing the evolution of the backscattered light spectrum over tissue depth. We compare a variety of signal processing methods including spatial averaging and least-squares fitting to the a priori extinction spectrum of the nanorods, with the goal of optimizing the detection sensitivity to the nanorods in these tissues. Because nanorods can be conjugated with proteins specific to biomolecular targets, they may potentially be used with these imaging methods to provide molecular contrast in human tissues.
Environmental control of amnesic effects of various agents in goldfish

Abstract Fish given a single electroconvulsive shock or intracranial administration of puromycin, acetoxycycloheximide, or KCl immediately following shock avoidance training show amnesia on retraining days later. When the treatments are given 24 hr after training no amnesia develops. But amnesia can be obtained 24 hr after training with KCl, puromycin and acetoxycycloheximide, if the fish are replaced in the intertrial environment for a brief period just prior to injection. Implications of these results to the consolidation hypothesis of memory formation are discussed. Previously unreported results on the amnesic effects of intracranial KCl in goldfish are also described.
Real-Time Logics

The theory of the natural numbers with linear order and monadic predicates underlies propositional linear temporal logic. To study temporal logics that are suitable for reasoning about real-time systems, we combine this classical theory of infinite state sequences with a theory of discrete time, via a monotonic function that maps every state to its time. The resulting theory of timed state sequences is shown to be decidable, albeit nonelementary, and its expressive power is characterized by ?-regular sets. Several more expressive variants are proved to be highly undecidable. This framework allows us to classify a wide variety of real-time logics according to their complexity and expressiveness. Indeed, it follows that most formalisms proposed in the literature cannot be decided. We are, however, able to identify two elementary real-time temporal logics as expressively complete fragments of the theory of timed state sequences, and we present tableau-based decision procedures for checking validity. Consequently, these two formalisms are well-suited for the specification and verification of real-time systems.
DETERMINATION OF PALEO HEAT-FLUX FROM FISSION SCAR TRACKS IN APATITE

Three methods are presented for determining paleo heat-flux from fission scar tracks in detrital apatite collected from wells. The annealing of the fission scar tracks is modelled using time-temperature integrals assuming first-order kinetics in agreement with the laboratory experiments over the last fifteen years.
Acat1 Gene Ablation in Mice Increases Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell Proliferation in Bone Marrow and Causes Leukocytosis

Objective— To investigate the role of acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase 1 (ACAT1) in hematopoiesis. Approach and Results— ACAT1 converts cellular cholesterol to cholesteryl esters for storage in multiple cell types and is a potential drug target for human diseases. In mouse models for atherosclerosis, global Acat1 knockout causes increased lesion size; bone marrow transplantation experiments suggest that the increased lesion size might be caused by ACAT1 deficiency in macrophages. However, bone marrow contains hematopoietic stem cells that give rise to cells in myeloid and lymphoid lineages; these cell types affect atherosclerosis at various stages. Here, we test the hypothesis that global Acat1 −/− may affect hematopoiesis, rather than affecting macrophage function only, and show that Acat1 −/− mice contain significantly higher numbers of myeloid cells and other cells than wild-type mice. Detailed analysis of bone marrow cells demonstrated that Acat1 −/− causes a higher proportion of the stem cell–enriched Lin−Sca-1+c-Kit+ population to proliferate, resulting in higher numbers of myeloid progenitor cells. In addition, we show that Acat1 −/− causes higher monocytosis in Apoe −/− mouse during atherosclerosis development. Conclusions— ACAT1 plays important roles in hematopoiesis in normal mouse and in Apoe −/− mouse during atherosclerosis development. # Significance {#article-title-23}
Impact of subsurface drainage on streamflows in the Red River of the North basin

summary The debate about subsurface drainage effects on streamflows has been reignited in the Red River of the North basin in North America, after a decades-long abnormally wet weather pattern in the region. Our study evaluated the applicability of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in modeling subsurface drainage in a cold environment; we then employed streamflow response analyses to assess the potential impacts of the extensive subsurface drainage development in the Red River Valley (RRV) on streamflows in the Red River. The results showed that extensive subsurface drainage in the RRV would likely increase the magnitude of smaller peak flows while decreasing the magnitude of larger peak flows. Discharge reduction of large peak flows was mainly caused by reducing the flow volumes rather than increasing the time-to-peak of the hydrograph. Our analysis also suggested that extensive subsurface drainage could move more water from the watershed to the rivers in the fall season, creating more storage capacity in the soils. However, such increase in storage capacity in soils would have a negligible effect in reducing the monthly flow volumes in the following spring. The proposed method of coupling a watershed model with streamflow response analysis can be readily adopted by other researchers to evaluate the streamflow impact of land-use and climate changes around the world.
Perspectives on the neuroendocrinological concomitants of chronic osteoarthritis pain

Suzan Khoromi† & Marc R Blackman †Author for correspondence National Institute of Mental Health, Section on Developmental Genetic Epidemiology, 35 Convent Drive, Building 35, Rm 1A110 (MSC-3720), Bethesda, MD 20814, USA Tel.: +1 301 435 5776; khoromisu@mal.nih.gov ‘...exposure to chronic stress in the form of OA-related pain may be associated initially with elevations in stress hormones, which lead subsequently to receptor downregulation and return of hormone levels to baseline.’
Limiting risk in environmental problems: Corporate budget constraints and minimum involvement

For a given opportunity in which a company can invest to perform environmental remediation for profit, the influences of value, cost, success probability, and corporate risk tolerance provide an optimal working interest (OWI) that should be taken to maximize the risk-adjusted value (RAV). When several opportunities are available, but when the total budget is insufficient to take OWI in each, an analytical procedure is undertaken for optimizing the RAV of the total portfolio; the relevant working interests are also derived based on a cost-exposure constraint. Several numerical illustrations will exhibit the use of the method under different budget conditions and with different numbers of available opportunities. The result is that the computations of portfolio balancing can be done quickly using the analytical expressions presented here, thereby providing rapid assessments of environmental opportunities and their worth.
Impact of hepatitis E virus seropositivity on chronic liver disease in cancer patients with hepatitis C virus infection

AIM Immunocompromised patients can develop chronic hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection and progress to cirrhosis. Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected cancer patients who have received chemotherapeutic agents experience accelerated liver fibrosis progression. Our aim was to investigate the prevalence and impact of HEV seropositivity on liver-related outcomes in HCV-infected cancer patients. METHODS As part of a prospective study of HCV-infected cancer patients conducted at our center, we investigate the characteristics associated with progression of their liver disease. RESULTS Of the 115 patients tested, 13 (11%) were positive for HEV immunoglobulin G. HEV seropositivity was associated with advanced age (P = 0.004), race (P = 0.02), place of birth outside the USA (P = 0.021), cirrhosis (P = 0.027), history of reused needles/syringes during massive vaccination campaigns (P = 0.015) and coronary artery disease (P = 0.039). Overall, 47 (41%) of the patients had cirrhosis. Factors independently associated with cirrhosis were male sex (odds ratio [OR], 2.8; P = 0.028) and HEV seropositivity (OR, 4.1; P = 0.032). CONCLUSION HEV seropositivity is present in 11% of HCV-infected cancer patients and seems to be associated with cirrhosis. Our results suggest that HEV screening should be implemented in HCV-infected patients with cancer.
Fishing failure and success in the Gulf of Maine: lobster and groundfish management

This article examines the reasons management of the New England groundfishery has failed, while management of the Maine lobster industry has succeeded. After 35 years of management, groundfish stock sizes and catches are lower than ever while lobster stocks are at record high levels. We argue that the New England groundfishing industry is caught in a prisoner's dilemma from which it has failed to escape. That dilemma is due to the interaction of social, political and economic variables that have lowered the benefits of investing in rules to conserve fish stocks. The lobster industry, once marked by a piracy ethic, has been able to escape from its dilemma and, over time, develop a strong conservation ethic and institutions. Our evolutionary game theory model indicates that three sets of factors are involved in this cultural transformation of the lobster industry, which has led to support for better conservation rules and for law enforcement.
Design and modeling of nanocrystalline iron core resonant transformers for pulsed power applications

A high power resonant three phase switch mode power supply has been constructed at University of Wisconsin to drive a klystron tube. Utilization of a resonant transformer with loosely coupled secondaries allows generation of high boost ratios exceeding the turns ratio while providing high efficiency. Use of nanocrystalline iron cores provides high volt seconds while maintaining low loss at high switching frequencies. Analytic models are developed and compared to measured data from two different size resonant transformers and effects of turns ratio, load resistance, and primary are examined and compared to theory.
Designing effective healthcare quality improvement training programs: Perceptions of nursing and other senior leaders

Objective: This study focused on best practices for designing effective quality improvement (QI) training programs for nursing leaders and other senior leaders in a health care organization. Background: Leadership models for quality improvement in healthcare are underdeveloped. Challenged by a wide range of professional roles and responsibilities, nursing leaders are less likely than health professional trainees to have formal training in QI or patient safety. We highlight the experiences that nursing leaders, as well as other senior leaders, from a large health care organization had in participating in a quality improvement training program. Methods: Qualitative methods were used to assess senior leaders’ perceptions and recommendations for creating effective QI training programs. Semi-structured interviews with nursing leaders and other senior health care leaders were conducted to explore participants’ experiences with the training program and their perceptions about whether information gained from the program has the potential to transfer into clinical practice. Participants’ pre and post course knowledge tests were also analyzed to assess overall QI knowledge improvement. Results: Findings suggest that QI knowledge gains for nursing leaders and others were strongest for vocabulary and major concepts, as well as specific QI tools. Additionally, nursing leaders overwhelming appreciated the opportunity to design a QI project, where learning how to write a proper aim statement, was among the biggest benefit to this exercise. Participants in the QI course felt that it was a good investment of their time. The training program also served as a helpful reminder of the importance of quality improvement as well as an awareness of the organization’s commitment to it. Nursing leaders recommended that QI training programs be tailored to their level of existing QI knowledge, their availability and preferences for learning styles, as well as interest in translating QI projects to practice for the purpose of sustaining QI interventions. Conclusions: The findings from this research provide strong evidence that senior QI leadership training programs are important investments for health care organizations. Results indicate that nursing leaders and others in leadership positions can be effectively trained, become very knowledgeable about QI terms and skills, and apply these skills to support staff initiatives to improve outcomes.
Resonances and Scattering Poles

The physical concept of resonance refers to the disproportionate response of an oscillating system driven by an external force at a frequency that is close to one of its natural frequencies of vibration. For example, an external tone will cause a strong sympathetic vibration in a violin string if the frequency matches the tuning of the string.
Considerations of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza physiology in breeding for enhanced mineral uptake by plants

Because vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi can increase uptake of P and other immobile minerals, plant breeding programs aimed at improving the efficiency of mineral uptake should take VAM associations into account. The effectiveness of a fungal isolate in enhancing P uptake apparently depends primarily on its ability to form an extensive network of hyphae beyond the root’s zone of depletion at a stage in the plant’s growth when demand for P is high. Plants which partition relatively little energy to root production are most likely to benefit from VAM associations. and VAM may present less demand for photosynthate than equivalently effective root systems. VAM formation is closely correlated with rates of root exudation. These observations suggest that breeding for less extensive root systems with high rates of root exudation, combined with inoculation with effective strains of VAM fungi would provide for a high ratio of P uptake/photosynthate cost.
VEGETABLE MONSTERS: MAN-EATING TREES IN FIN-DE-SIÈCLE FICTION

Gothic stories and fictionalized travel accounts featuring dangerous exotic plants appeared throughout the nineteenth century and were especially prevalent at the fin de siecle. As the century progressed and the public's fascination with these narratives grew, fictional plants underwent a narrative evolution. By the end of the Victorian period, deadly plants had been transformed from passive poisoners into active carnivores. Stories about man-eating trees, among the most popular of the deadly plant tales, reflect this narrative progression. The trope of the man-eating tree developed out of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century accounts of a much less dangerous plant: the Javanese upas. Tales about the upas described the tree as having a poisonous atmosphere which killed every living thing within a several mile radius. The existence of this plant was first reported by a Dutch surgeon named Foersch in a 1783 article published in the London Magazine, and the story was recounted several times throughout the century (“The Valley of Poison” 46). A typical account of the popular tale would highlight the exotic location and the mysterious power of the tree: Somewhere in the far recesses of Java there is, according to Foersch, a dreadful tree, the poisonous secretions of which are so virulent, that they not only kill by contact, but poison the air for several miles around, so that the greater number of those who approach the vegetable monster are killed. Nothing whatever, he tells us, can grow within several miles of the upas tree, except some little trees of the same species. For a distance of about fifteen miles round the spot, the ground is covered with the skeletons of birds, beasts, and human beings. (“The Upas Tree of Fact and Fiction” 12) Even though more credible adventurers revealed the inaccuracies of Foersch's report and thoroughly discredited the fantastic powers attributed to the upas, the story nonetheless took hold of the Victorian imagination. As a result of Foersch's widely-circulated narrative, the word “upas” was rapidly incorporated into the English lexicon; writers such as Erasmus Darwin, Thomas Carlyle, Charlotte Bronte, and Charles Dickens use the upas as a metaphor for a person, object, or idea that has a poisonous, destructive atmosphere. The upas was even a subject for nineteenth-century art, as evidenced by Francis Danby's 1820 gothic painting of a solitary upas tree in the midst of a desolate rocky landscape. Although the myth of the upas focuses on the tree's lethal powers, it is important to note that the upas is, relatively speaking, a very passive “vegetable monster.” The plant is potentially dangerous, but stationary; extremely isolated, it is only harmful to those who rashly ignore the warning signs and wander within the area of its poisonous influence. Even in these exaggerated accounts, the upas is a non-carnivorous monster that grows in a remote, uninhabited area of Java.
The Effects of a Leading Edge Rotating Cylinder on the Performance of a NACA 0015 Airfoil at High Angles of Attack

One of the primary factors in an aircraft’s aerodynamic efficiency is the effect of the main wing. More specifically, the effects of lift and drag forces at various stages of flight have a profound contribution on the overall performance. This study implements a rotating cylinder at the leading edge of a symmetric airfoil to serve as an active control device of the boundary layer and delay airflow separation, thereby increasing the airfoil’s lift. The rotational speed of the cylinder and the angle of attack of the airfoil were the two primary test variables. Using this method of control, the stall angle of the test airfoil was increased from its original 11 degrees and the lift to drag ratio was improved by a factor of at least 1.48. Furthermore, we determined the optimal relationship between flow velocity and cylinder rotational speed to be approximately .94 at an angle of attack of 15 degrees. These initial conjectures were proven through acquired load force data, visualization analysis, and particle image velocimetry, giving validity to the design as an effective method for improved aerodynamic efficiency.
Cumulative Disadvantage Effects of Early Career Childcare Issues on Faculty Research Travel

Female faculty may experience disproportionate caregiving-type responsibilities in the academy and at home. A web-based survey inquired about the impact of childcare responsibilities on research-re...
Introduction: Childhood Obesity: Media, Advertising, Community, and Advocacy

Childhood obesity is a global public health problem. The prevalence of childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the USA and in other nations around the world, including both developing and developed countries, particularly in regions where the adoption of Westernized food consumption and sedentary lifestyles are evident (World Health Organization (WHO), 2010). About 155 million children worldwide are classified as either overweight or obese (Hossain, Kawar, & El Nahas, 2007). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the proportion of children (ages 2–11) and adolescents (ages 12–17) in the USA who are obese has increased threefold or more during the past three decades (Ogden & Carroll, 2010). Nearly one-third (32 %) of children and adolescents over 2 years of age are either overweight or obese, where approximately 17 % (or 12.5 million) of those are obese (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, et al., 2012). The obesity epidemic is nondiscriminating; it affects both boys and girls, across all states and socioeconomic lines and among all racial and ethnic groups, yet in disproportionate ways (Kumanyika & Grier, 2006; Ogden, Lamb, Carroll, et al., 2010; Singh, Kogan, & van Dyck, 2010; Wang & Zhang, 2006). Four out of 10 African-American and Mexican-American girls between the ages of 12 and 19 are considered overweight or obese (Ogden et al., 2012). Obesity prevalence is exacerbated among youth (ages 2–17) residing in economically distressed urban neighborhoods, in remote, isolated areas such as American-Indian reservations, and in areas of the Deep South and Appalachia, which includes the states of Mississippi, Georgia, Kentucky, and Louisiana, where concentrated poverty exists (Ogden, Lamb, et al., 2010; Singh et al., 2010; Story, Evans, Fabsitz, et al., 1999).
Liftoff of the 18 May 1980 surge of Mount St. Helens (USA) and the deposits left behind

The distance that ground-hugging pyroclastic density currents travel is limited partly by when they reverse buoyancy and liftoff into the atmosphere. It is not clear, however, what deposits are left behind by lofting flows. One current that was seen to liftoff was the surge erupted from Mount St. Helens on the morning of 18 May 1980. Before lofting, it had leveled a large area of thick forest (the blowdown zone). The outer edge of the devastated area—where trees were scorched but left standing (the scorched zone)—is where the surge is thought to have lifted off. Deposits in the outer parts of the blowdown and in the scorched zone were examined at 32 sites. The important finding is that the laterally moving surge traveled through the scorched zone, and hence, the change in tree damage does not mark the runout distance of the surge. Buoyancy reversal and liftoff are thus not preserved in the deposits where the surge lofted upwards. We propose, based on interpretation of eyewitness accounts and the impacts of the surge on trees and vehicles, that the surge consisted of a faster, dilute “overcurrent” and a slower “undercurrent,” where most of the mass (and heat) was retained. Reasonable estimates for flow density and velocity show that dynamic pressure of the surge (i.e., its ability to topple trees) peaked near the base of the overcurrent. We propose that where the overcurrent began to liftoff, the height of peak dynamic pressure rose above the trees and stopped toppling them. The slower undercurrent continued forward, however, scorching trees, but lacked the dynamic pressure needed to topple them. Grain-size variations argue that it slowed from ∼30 m s−1 when it entered the scorched zone to ∼3 m s−1 at the far end.
58: Hyperferritinemia: Most Common Causes Revisited

Hyperferritinemia can be the result of inflammation, infection, chronic iron overload, or more uncommon and serious pathologies, including hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). However, the diagnosticity (ability to differentiate between disorders) of extreme hyperferritinemia (ferritin level > 10,000 ng/mL) has been questioned of late in the literature. We performed retrospective analysis that identified 65,536 serum …
Understanding Why Customers Choos to Abuse or Not to Abuse, Return Policies: The Customer’S Return is Not Always Legitimate!

In this research, we develop and test a research model that investigates the effects of consumer emotional intelligence (EI) on three coping strategies (active, expressive, and denial) and explore the mediating role of self-efficacy in this process. We further examine effects of coping strategies on consumer desire to complain. Australian consumers (n = 252) responded to a scenario-based questionnaire about a service failure in a hotel setting.
Parametric study for post-tensioned composite beams with external tendons:

Strengthening of bridge superstructures composite beams with external post-tensioned tendons is a good technique for strengthening the existing structures. In this study, a numerical model is illus...