cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Defining Heterogeneous Cognitive Trajectories in Bipolar Disorder: A Perspective.

ABSTRACT Bipolar disorder (BD) is a highly disabling mental illness that affects approximately 1% of the global population. Cognitive capacity is a strong predictor of "everyday" functional outcome in BD and should thus be considered a key treatment target. Interventions to improve cognition have been largely unsuccessful, likely due to the substantial heterogeneity inherent to the illness. It is known that 40%-60% of people with BD have cognitive impairment, yet impairment is not "one size fits all"; in fact, the literature supports discrete cognitive subtypes in BD (e.g., intact, globally impaired, and selectively impaired). Gaining a better understanding of these cognitive subtypes, their longitudinal trajectories, and their biological underpinnings will be essential for improving patient outcomes. The prevailing hypothesis for the development of cognitive impairment in BD postulates a stepwise cumulative effect of repeated mood episodes causing wear-and-tear on the brain. However, a paucity of data supports this idea at the group level. We propose that studying heterogeneity longitudinally will allow for clearer delineation of the natural history of cognitive trajectories in BD. In sum, parsing heterogeneity in BD will allow us to identify causal mechanisms and optimize treatment at the level of the individual.
Lowering HbA1c in Food Insecure Type 2 Diabetics through a Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program.

Background: Type 2 Diabetes is a costly and cumbersome disease afflicting millions of Americans. While the disease can be managed through diet and exercise, it seems to affect some populations more than others.The specific aim of this study is to examine the effect of a six-month Fruit and Vegetable Prescription (FVRx) program on the HbA1c levels of food insecure diabetics in rural Washington. Methods: Participants were screened and recruited by their Primary Care Provider and referred to the FVRx program coordinator. Participants met with a diabetes health educator monthly for nutritional education as well as SMART goal setting towards improving their diet. Food vouchers for local farmers’ markets valued at $1 per day per household member were dispersed during these visits. The number of food vouchers redeemed were tracked for each participant for data analysis. HbA1c levels were measured before (May) and after (November) the program. Findings: The average HbA1c change was -1.85% (p = 0.0004; 95% CI: -2.69, -1.01) after the six-month program was completed. After adjusting for participants’ pre-program HbA1c level, a $10 increase in the average amount redeemed per month was associated with a 1.4% (p-value: 0.006; 95% CI: 0.5, 2.4) decrease in HbA1c. Interpretation: The Skagit County FVRx program’s participants showed significant improvements in their HbA1c levels. The results reveal a strong relationship between improving food security and improving diabetes management. A study with a larger number of participants as well as additional HbA1c measurements is needed for a clearer picture of this relationship. Funding Statement: PeaceHealth Medical System was the sole source of funding for this study. PeaceHealth facilities were also used as the site of the patient visits and the participants were all PeaceHealth Primary Care patients. PeaceHealth had no other involvement in this study. Declaration of Interests: The authors of this study declare a potential conflict of interest regarding the $750 travel grant to cover the costs of traveling to and from the PeaceHealth Primary Care Facilities for this study. There are no other conflicts of interest to declare. Ethics Approval Statement: This study design was approved by the University of Washington Human Subjects Division Institutional Review Board.
Reflected cross-polarized light microscopy as a method for measuring collagen fiber crimp in musculoskeletal tissues.

Many musculoskeletal tissues are composed primarily of type I collagen, which takes on a periodic crimp morphology that allows large tensile strains in the tissue. The spatial period of collagen fiber crimp may be used to infer internal strains in a tissue and is typically measured using transmitted cross-polarized light imaging of thin slices. However, slicing may induce specimen distortion and precludes mechanical loading of the specimen during imaging. We hypothesized that reflected cross-polarized light imaging of thick tissue explants would yield crimp period measurements comparable to those obtained from transmitted light imaging of thin slices. We further hypothesized that these measurements would be sensitive to applied uniaxial strain in the fiber direction. These hypotheses were tested by imaging both intervertebral disc outer annulus fibrosus and medial collateral ligament tissue specimens. We found that both transmitted and reflected light yielded similar crimp period measurements for intervertebral disc tissue, with an overall average of 43.5 ± 11.5 μm. Reflected light yielded a significantly higher crimp period with lower variance than transmission through thin specimens (54.1 ± 10.6 μm versus 50.4 ± 16.0 μm) in the ligament. Upon application of axial tension, crimp periods in both fibers increased at a rate of approximately three times the applied strain (with 3.17% applied strain yielding a 9.64 ± 4.4% increase in crimp period in the disc and an 11.7 ± 3.7% increase in the ligament), indicating significant fibril sliding. In support of our hypotheses, these findings suggest that reflected cross-polarized light is a suitable method for measuring collagen fiber crimp in musculoskeletal tissues, both statically and under tension.
Development of the Oncology Opportunity Cost Assessment Tool: Item Generation and Content Validity Testing.

PURPOSE:The purpose of this study was to develop the Oncology Opportunity Cost Assessment Tool (OOCAT), a survey instrument to evaluate the opportunity costs patients experience when seeking medica...
The Analogical Origins of Errors in Problem Solving

We have been working on intelligent tutors to teach students problem solving skills in the domains of generating proofs in geometry (Anderson, Boyle, & Yost, 1985), writing LISP programs (Reiser, Anderson, & Farrell, 1985), and solving algebraic manipulation problems (Lewis, Milson, & Anderson, 1987). Student errors are the most important events in terms of guiding the tutorial dialogues. They are very good signals that the student is in need of help. Other cues do not seem so reliable. Latency of response and requests for help are the two other cues that we have considered in addition to errors. Long latencies may only mean that the student has been distracted and students are notoriously unwilling to ask for help. On the other hand an error comes close to being a necessary and sufficient condition for tutorial intervention. They are the primary signal used by almost all tutorial systems that have been built (e.g., consider Sleeman & Brown, 1982).
Information and Communication, Negotiation, and Mediation

It is through communication that bargainers reach settlements. Effective communication provides several positive benefits to bargainers. Communication can enable negotiators to exploit the cooperative elements present in bargaining. A communication of basic interests can permit bargainers to develop new alternatives that offer both sides gains. When several issues are present, communication can permit bargainers to exploit differences in preferences in designing agreements that beat other alternatives.
Proxy Searching of Non-Searchable and Poorly Searchable Open Access Archives of Digital Scholarly Journals

Many high quality, open access scholarly journals have been published on the Web. However, many of them do not offer a search program to find articles in their article archive. They provide access only via browsing through/digging down the volumes, issues, and table of content pages. Archives of many other open access scholarly journals do offer search options, but these have often very limited capabilities, lacking even such essential full-text search features as exact phrase searching. Both types of archives, however, can be searched using as a proxy the advanced options of some of the Web-wide search engines, such as Google, AllTheWeb and WiseNut, which spider the open access sites hosting the archives of full-text articles in HTML, Word and/or PDF format. The paper demonstrates the efficiency and – in case of directly searchable archives – the much higher precision and relevance of searching the archives by proxy.
NMR and isotopic exchange studies of the site of bond cleavage in the MutT reaction.

The MutT protein, which prevents AT—-CG transversions during DNA replication, hydrolyzes nucleoside triphosphates to yield nucleoside monophosphates and pyrophosphate. The hydrolysis of dGTP by the MutT protein in H(2)18O-enriched water, when monitored by high resolution 31P NMR spectroscopy at 242.9 MHz, showed 18O labeling of the pyrophosphate product, as manifested by a 0.010 +/- 0.002 ppm upfield shift of the pyrophosphate resonance, and no labeling of the dGMP product. This establishes that the reaction proceeds via a nucleophilic substitution at the beta-phosphorus of dGTP with displacement of dGMP as the leaving group. No exchange of 32P-labeled dGMP into dGTP was detected, indicating that water attacks dGTP directly or, less likely, an irreversibly formed pyrophosphoryl-enzyme intermediate. No exchange of 32P-labeled pyrophosphate into dGTP was observed, consistent with nucleophilic substitution at the beta-phosphorus of dGTP. Only six enzymes, all synthetases, have previously been shown to catalyze nucleophilic substitution at the beta-phosphorus of nucleoside triphosphate substrates. The MutT protein is the first hydrolase shown to do so.
Jewish artists and the bible in twentieth-century america, Baskind, Samantha

(2015). Jewish artists and the bible in twentieth-century america, Baskind, Samantha. Material Religion: Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 119-120.
A Review of “The Oxford Handbook of Slavery in the Americas”

This large volume includes thirty-three self-contained essays by thirty-eight different experts, all of whom have made significant contributions to the field of slavery studies. The editors of this...
Super-radiant plasmon mode is more efficient for SERS than the sub-radiant mode in highly packed 2D gold nanocube arrays

The field coupling in highly packed plasmonic nanoparticle arrays is not localized due to the energy transport via the sub-radiant plasmon modes, which is formed in addition to the regular super-radiant plasmon mode. Unlike the sub-radiant mode, the plasmon field of the super-radiant mode cannot extend over long distances since it decays radiatively with a shorter lifetime. The coupling of the plasmon fields of gold nanocubes (AuNCs) when organized into highly packed 2D arrays was examined experimentally. Multiple plasmon resonance optical peaks are observed for the AuNC arrays and are compared to those calculated using the discrete dipole approximation. The calculated electromagnetic plasmon fields of the arrays displayed high field intensity for the nanocubes located in the center of the arrays for the lower energy super-radiant mode, while the higher energy sub-radiant plasmon mode displayed high field intensity at the edges of the arrays. The Raman signal enhancement by the super-radiant plasmon mode was found to be one hundred fold greater than that by sub-radiant plasmon mode because the super-radiant mode has higher scattering and stronger plasmon field intensity relative to the sub-radiant mode.
SU-F-303-12: Implementation of MR-Only Simulation for Brain Cancer: A Virtual Clinical Trial

Purpose: To perform a retrospective virtual clinical trial using an MR-only workflow for a variety of brain cancer cases by incorporating novel imaging sequences, tissue segmentation using phase images, and an innovative synthetic CT (synCT) solution. Methods: Ten patients (16 lesions) were evaluated using a 1.0T MR-SIM including UTE-DIXON imaging (TE = 0.144/3.4/6.9ms). Bone-enhanced images were generated from DIXON-water/fat and inverted UTE. Automated air segmentation was performed using unwrapped UTE phase maps. Segmentation accuracy was assessed by calculating intersection and Dice similarity coefficients (DSC) using CT-SIM as ground truth. SynCTs were generated using voxel-based weighted summation incorporating T2, FLAIR, UTE1, and bone-enhanced images. Mean absolute error (MAE) characterized HU differences between synCT and CT-SIM. Dose was recalculated on synCTs; differences were quantified using planar gamma analysis (2%/2 mm dose difference/distance to agreement) at isocenter. Digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs) were compared. Results: On average, air maps intersected 80.8 ±5.5% (range: 71.8–88.8%) between MR-SIM and CT-SIM yielding DSCs of 0.78 ± 0.04 (range: 0.70–0.83). Whole-brain MAE between synCT and CT-SIM was 160.7±8.8 HU, with the largest uncertainty arising from bone (MAE = 423.3±33.2 HU). Gamma analysis revealed pass rates of 99.4 ± 0.04% between synCT and CT-SIM for the cohort. Dose volume histogram analysis revealed that synCT tended to yield slightly higher doses. Organs at risk such as the chiasm and optic nerves were most sensitive due to their proximities to air/bone interfaces. DRRs generated via synCT and CT-SIM were within clinical tolerances. Conclusion: Our approach for MR-only simulation for brain cancer treatment planning yielded clinically acceptable results relative to the CT-based benchmark. While slight dose differences were observed, reoptimization of treatment plans and improved image registration can address this limitation. Future work will incorporate automated registration between setup images (cone-beam CT and kilovoltage images) for synCT and CT-SIM. Submitting institution holds research agreements with Philips HealthCare, Best, Netherlands and Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA. Research partially sponsored via an Internal Mentored Research Grant.
Photoionization of Excited Molecular States

Rapid advances in laser and detector technologies are making it possible to investigate molecular photophysics and photochemistry in powerful new ways. For example, resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) measurements, in which the total (or the mass selected) ion current is monitored as a function of laser wavelength, have yielded extensive and often novel information on the spectroscopy of the resonant intermediate states [1]. With the addition of photoelectron spectrometry (PES) to analyze the kinetic energy of the ejected electrons, it is possible to determine the branching ratios into different electronic, vibrational, and rotational levels of the product ion and to focus directly on both the dynamics of the multi photon ionization process and the photoionization of excited state species [2–9]. In the present paper, we report several REMPI/PES studies of H2 and N2. The results reflect both the spectroscopy and the dynamics of pnotoiomzation of excited molecular states and are discussed in terms of the selection rules for photoionization and the relative probabilities of photoionization from Rydberg and valence states. In some cases, in accordance with the Franck-Condon principle, the results demonstrate that resonant multi photon ionization through Rydberg states may be a powerful technique for the production of electronic, vibrational, and rotational state selected ions.
Fenno on the House Appropriations Committee's Success: (Or, How to Construct a Nash Equilibrium Without Really Trying)

Fenno's classic paper, "The Appropriations Committee as a Political System" (1962), focuses on the norms and institutions that are the foundations of House Appropriations Committee’s (HAC) success. The fundamental idea is that of committee integration, the degree to which committee members cooperate so as to capture the gains from cooperation. According to Fenno, cooperation requires procedures and norms for successful bargaining, first within committee then before the whole chamber. As Fenno reports, cooperation requires that committee members adhere to several norms: committee integration, the ability to make decisions without creating disorder; members specialize by subcommittee, focusing on matters before their subcommittee, not those matters before other subcommittees; committee members practice reciprocity, by which members not on a given subcommittee defer to and support the recommendations of that subcommittee; and members exhibit to subcommittee unity, the practice that, no matter what the disagreements in the subcommittee about the bill, all subcommittee members support the subcommittee’s recommendations in the full committee. This paper shows that Fenno constructs a Nash equilibrium of committee integration that explains why committee members had incentives to follow the HAC norms.
Tales from the front lines: the creative essay as a tool for teaching genetics.

In contrast to the more typical mock grant proposals or literature reviews, we describe the use of the creative essay as a novel tool for teaching human genetics at the college level. This method has worked well for both nonmajor and advanced courses for biology majors. The 10- to 15-page essay is written in storylike form and represents a student's response to the choice of 6–8 scenarios describing human beings coping with various genetic dilemmas. We have found this tool to be invaluable both in developing students' ability to express genetic concepts in lay terms and in promoting student awareness of genetic issues outside of the classroom. Examples from student essays are presented to illustrate these points, and guidelines are suggested regarding instructor expectations of student creativity and scientific accuracy. Methods of grading this assignment are also discussed.
Managing Large Diverse Germplasm Collections

International Agricultural Research Centers and a number of countries have assembled large collections of genetic resources managed in ex situ genebanks. In addition, some countries are managing in situ collections of selected germplasm. Pressure to reduce public funding of all government activities continues to force genebank managers to be more efficient and effective while maintaining quality factors such as high germinability, genetic integrity, and freedom from diseases and insect damage. Quality seed begins in the field at pollination time when flowers of allogamous species are bagged or caged to exclude foreign pollen. Complete seed maturation and drying before harvest provides material that will have optimal storage life. Properly maintained cold room conditions (4°C and 25-30% RH for most seeds) will ensure maximum longevity and reduce the number of regenerations necessary for each accession.
Cutting legal loops

riverrun, past EVE and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodious vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Enviorns.*****A way a lone a last a loved a long the Joyce, FINNEGANS WAKE 1, 628 (1955)Recursion is the act of defining an object or solving a problem in terms of itself. A careless recursion can lead to an infinite regress. We avoid the bottomless circularity inherent in this tactic by demanding that the recursion be stated in terms of some “simpler” object, and by providing the definition or solution of some trivial base case. Properly used, recursion is a powerful problem solving technique, both in artificial domains like mathematics and computer programming, and in real life. Friedman & Felleisen,THE LITTLE LISPER ix (1986)
Uniformly Hyper-Efficient Bayes Inference in a Class of Nonregular Problems

We present a tractable class of nonregular continuous statistical models where 1) likelihoods have multiple singularities and ordinary maximum likelihood is intrinsically unavailable, but 2) Bayes procedures achieve convergence rates better than n−1 across the whole parameter space. In fact, for every p>1, there is a member of the class for which the posterior distribution is consistent at rate n−p uniformly in the parameter.
Efimov resonances in atom-diatom scattering

We have investigated three identical bosons with very large pairwise scattering lengths. Normally such a situation is associated with Efimov states, where the three-body system has a set of very loosely bound states close to the three-body threshold. In the limit of infinite scattering length, the three-body system has infinitely many bound states. If, however, the two-body subsystems have deep lying two-body bound states, the Efimov states lie over the corresponding thresholds for breakup. We have calculated the positions and widths of these Feshbach resonances for some simple potentials numerically and have extracted the systematics. We explore the possibility of observing such Efimov resonances in atom-diatom scattering experiments with alkali atoms.
An historical perspective on lignan biosynthesis: Monolignol, allylphenol and hydroxycinnamic acid coupling and downstream metabolism

This review describes discoveries from this laboratory on monolignol, allylphenol and hydroxycinnamic acid coupling, and downstream metabolic conversions, affording various lignan skeleta. Stereoselective 8-8′ coupling (dirigent protein-mediated) of coniferyl alcohol to afford (+)-pinoresinol is comprehensively discussed, as is our current mechanistic/kinetic understanding of the protein’s radical-radical binding, orientation and coupling properties, and insights gained for other coupling modes, e.g. affording (−)-pinoresinol. In a species dependent manner, (+)- or (−)-pinoresinols can also undergo enantiospecific reductions, catalyzed by various bifunctional pinoresinol-lariciresinol reductases (PLR), to afford lariciresinol and then secoisolariciresinol. With X-ray structures giving a molecular basis for differing PLR enantiospecificities, comparisons are made herein to the X-ray structure of the related enzyme, phenylcoumaran benzylic ether reductase, capable of 8-5′ linked lignan regiospecific reductions. Properties of the enantiospecific secoisolariciresinol dehydrogenase (also discovered in our laboratory and generating 8-8′ linked matairesinol) are summarized, as are both in situ hybridization and immunolocalization of lignan pathway mRNA/proteins in vascular tissues. This entire 8-8′ pathway thus overall affords secoisolariciresinol and matairesinol, viewed as cancer preventative agent precursors, as well as intermediates to cancer treating substances, such as podophyllotoxin derivatives. Another emphasis is placed on allylphenol/hydroxycinnamic acid coupling and associated downstream metabolism, e.g. affording the antiviral creosote bush lignan, nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), and the fern lignans, blechnic/brainic acids. Regiospecific 8-8′ allylphenol coupling is described, as is characterization of the first enantiospecific membrane-bound polyphenol oxidase, (+)-larreatricin hydroxylase, involved in NDGA formation. Specific [13C]-labeling also indicated that Blechnum lignans arise from stereoselective 8-2′ hydroxycinnamic acid coupling. Abbreviations: CD – circular dichroism; e.e. – enantiomeric excess; DP – dirigent protein; ESI-MS – electrospray ionization mass spectrometry; MALDI -TOF – matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight; MALLS – multiangle laser light scattering; PLR – pinoresinol lariciresinol reductase; SDH – secoisolariciresinol dehydrogenase.
Hispanic Immigrant Women Talk About Family Planning

In an effort to discover what can improve family planning services for recently immigrated Hispanic women and to foster cultural competence among health care providers in this arena, the authors conducted four focus groups of recently immigrated Hispanic women in a medium-sized Midwestern community. The focus group discussions covered such topics as health care, knowledge of birth control, domestic life, and economic issues in the United States. The participants demonstrated knowledge of and support for the concept of family planning and specific birth control methods. They also identified issues that challenge the use of birth control at the individual, family, system, and cultural levels.
Language Variation and Score Variation in the Testing of English Language Learners, Native Spanish Speakers

We investigated language variation and score variation in the testing of English language learners, native Spanish speakers. We gave students the same set of National Assessment of Educational Progress mathematics items in both their first language and their second language. We examined the amount of score variation due to the main and interaction effect of student (s), item (i), rater (r), and language (l). We observed a considerable score variation due to the interaction, s × i × l, which indicates that each item has a unique set of linguistic challenges in each language and each student has a unique set of strengths and weaknesses in each language. Parallel results were obtained with samples of students tested across dialects of their native language.
Histopathologic and ultrastructural analysis of congenital corneal staphyloma.

Although the visual prognosis for eyes with congenital corneal staphyloma has been considered hopeless, we successfully treated a 1-month-old girl with this condition. We performed two penetrating keratoplasties, operating on the left eye first and then, one week later, on the right eye. During each procedure, we totally resected the staphyloma and excised the iris which was adherent to the posterior surface of the cornea. We then sutured an 11-mm corneal button into place with 34 interrupted 10-0 nylon sutures. Light and transmission electron microscopy of the excised corneal button demonstrated a complete absence of Descemet's membrane and endothelium. The left eye had two rejection episodes and underwent a second penetrating keratoplasty. The graft in this eye is now opaque. The child follows objects well with her right eye.
Notes on Mexican Grasses VIII. Miscellaneous Chromosome Numbers 2

Chromosome numbers are reported for 105 collections which represent 59 species belonging to 35 genera. For two of these genera:Blepharoneuron andTriniochloa no documented chromosome counts have been published to date. Records for the following species:Aristida arizonica, A. pansa, A. schiedeana, Blepharoneuron tricholepis, Deschampsia pringlei, Eragrostis palmeri,Leptochloa viscida, Munroa squarrosa, Panicum vaseyanum, Setaria grisebachii, andTriniochloa stipoides are the first for these taxa. Counts of 2n = 28 forAgrostis perennans, 2n = 20 forAegopogon cenchroides, 2n = 20 forBuchloE dactyloides, 2n = 54 forDigitaria filiformis, 2n = 60 and 2n = ca. 74 forEragrostis intermedia, 2n = 32 forErioneuron grandiflorum andE. pilosum, 2n = 44 forHilaria cenchroides, 2n = 38 and 2n = ca. 180 forHilaria mutica, 2n = 40 forPereilema crinitum, 2n = 28 forScleropogon brevifolius, 2n = ca. 108 forSetaria leucopila, and 2n = 36 forOplismenus burmannii are different from any published report for these species. Cytological information on Mexican material of the following ten species:Agrostis perennans, Aristida hamulosa,Bouteloua aristidoides, Eragrostis cilianensis, Sporobolus nealleyi, Tridens muticus,Digitaria filiformis, Hackelochloa granularis, Oplismenus burmannii, andPennisetum ciliare is here presented for the first time.
Through the Web: door to academic libraries

The Web sites of 125 academic libraries were searched during the summer of 1999 to find information about the libraries. These sites were accessed from their respective research universities, with the finding that it is often difficult to locate the library from the university home page. Information that is essential on any library Web site includes postal addresses with zip codes, names of directors with e‐mail addresses, phone numbers with area codes and a Webmaster e‐mail contact when this information is not readily available. It was found that academic library sites are often confusing and difficult to navigate when seeking information about the library itself. Factual information should be provided in a logical, organized manner, with easy navigation and predictive headings.
The pagetoid variant of urothelial carcinoma in situ

The frequency, distribution, and clinical significance of pagetoid changes in urothelial carcinoma in situ (CIS) were studied in over 600 tissue slides from 102 patients followed for a mean period of over 4 years. Results indicate that pagetoid changes are unusual, randomly distributed, and never widespread. These changes occur in a histologic setting of CIS and apparently never appear as the initial lesion, even in cases in which CIS is the primary or only neoplasm. Patients manifesting pagetoid CIS had essentially the same progression and survival rates as patients without pagetoid changes. Our data suggest that this histologic pattern represents a peculiar reaction to injury confined to small areas of urothelium in susceptible hosts.
Influence of peripheral chemodenervation on the complexity of respiratory patterns during early maturation.

Previous studies in humans have revealed that, during development, the fetus/neonate may be susceptible to environmental perturbations such as overheating, smoking, hypercapnia and hypoxia (Lewis andBosque, 1995;Maskery, 1995). In particular, alterations in behavioural states during early development can result in permanent alterations in their organisational states and subsequent abnormalities in the regulation of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. The influence of the peripheral chemoreceptor afferent input on the approximate entropy (complexity) of the phrenic neurogram in the piglet was investigated in three different age groups: 3–7 days (n-7), 10–16 days (n=6) and 25–31 days (n=4). The phrenic neurogram was recorded from piglets during control (40% O2) and severe hypoxia (gasping) (5–10% O2), before and after peripheral chemodenervation, and was analysed using the approximate entropy (ApEn) method. The results show that the complexity values of the phrenic neurogram during eupnea and gasping did not change significantly before and after chemodenervation, regardless of postnatal age. The complexity values during gasping were not significantly influenced by the carotid chemodenervation for the 3–7 day-old group, but they were significantly decreased by the carotid chemodenervation for the 10–16 day-old age group (p<0.01) and the 25–31 day-old age group (p<0.05). However, the complexity values significantly decreased when the O2 concentration was shifted from eupnea to gasping (p<0.001), both before and after the chemodenervation (p<0.001), regardless of the postnatal age. These results suggest that the peripheral chemodenervation reduces the complexity of the phrenic neurograms during gasping only for the 10–16 day-old and 25–31 day-old age groups, and it has no significant influence on the 3–7 day-old age group. Therefore it is speculated that the peripheral chemoreceptors may be inactive for the first seven days of postnatal life and become more active after seven days.
Characterization of the microstructure evolution in a nickel base superalloy during continuous cooling conditions

The solidification characteristics of the γ phase from the liquid and the subsequent decomposition of the γ phase control the evolution of the microstructure in nickel–base superalloy welds. The precipitation of the γ′ phase from the γ phase during continuous cooling conditions (0.17–75 K s−1) from the solutionizing temperature was characterized in a directionally solidified CM247DS alloy with thermomechanical simulator, and by transmission electron microscopy, atom probe field ion microscopy and atom probe tomography. The number density increased; size decreased and morphology of the γ′ precipitates changed with an increase in cooling rate. Under rapid water-quenched conditions, complex partitioning of the alloying elements between γ and γ′ phases was observed. Atom probe tomography on samples subjected to slower cooling rates showed different partitioning behavior compared to that of water-quenched samples and the presence of secondary γ′ precipitates in the samples subjected to a cooling rate of 1 K s−1.
Adaptive signal estimation using projection libraries

Many results in approximation theory, nonparametric regression, and adaptive signal representation assume that the signal is a smooth function or nonstationary in some smooth sense. These assumptions are not always applicable and perhaps even more importantly the times where the signal is not smooth are themselves important features to preserve in the signal representation. Previously, computationally efficient methods were developed to implement these approaches for the relatively simple problem of estimating multiple change points from a piecewise constant signal. In this paper, this approach is presented in the modern framework of waveform dictionaries, bases libraries, and atomic decomposition.
Comparison and evaluation of laboratory performance on a method for the determination of perchlorate in fertilizers.

This report details the interlaboratory validation of a method for the determination of perchlorate in fertilizers. In this method (EPA/600/R-01/026), a solid sample of fertilizer is ground. Subsequently, the ground material is either leached with deionized water to dissolve any perchlorate salt in the case of minimally soluble fertilizers (e.g. supertriplephosphate or timed-release products), or simply dissolved in the case of highly soluble fertilizers (e.g. urea, NaNO3 or KCl). The resulting aqueous solution is then subjected to ion chromatography with suppressed conductivity detection. Four laboratories applied the method to field samples of 48 different products (commodity chemicals) and to seven quality control samples prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Additional tests were conducted by three other laboratories on specific materials. Recovery (81-111%) was demonstrated on spikes of known concentration, and a preliminary assured reporting level was determined for each fertilizer matrix by each laboratory. Injection-to-injection precision was satisfactory: generally less than 15% difference, and always less than 25%. All of the laboratories used Dionex IonPac AG16 guard and AS16 separation columns with NaOH or KOH as eluent. Detection was by suppressed conductivity. The method was shown to be sufficiently robust for the screening of fertilizers for perchlorate, but performance was low on a mixture of siliceous minerals (kaolinite and bentonite). Both laboratory performance and method performance are validated.
SUPPLEMENTARY SCORE TEST IN MIXTURE MODEL

ABSTRACT In this paper, the testing problem for homogeneity in the mixture exponential family is considered. The model is irregular in the sense that each interest parameter forms a part of the null hypothesis (sub-null hypothesis) and the null hypothesis is the union of the sub-null hypotheses. The generalized likelihood ratio test does not distinguish between the sub-null hypotheses. The Supplementary Score Test is proposed by combining two orthogonalized score tests obtained corresponding to the two sub-null hypotheses after proper reparameterization. The test is easy to design and performs better than the generalized likelihood ratio test and other alternative tests by numerical comparisons.
Spectrophotometric determination of iron in highly alkaline solution with 4-hydroxy-1,10-phenanthroline.

Abstract 4-Hydroxy-1,10-phenanthroline forms a stable tris-chelate with iron(II) in the range of alkalinity from pH 10 to 2 M sodium hydroxide, with molar absorptivity 1.19 × 10 4 l.mole −1 .cm −1 at 545 nm. The determination of iron is performed by adding the phenanthroline, stannous chloride, and iron-free sodium hydroxide to the sample to give pH > 13; stannite is the active reductant. Beer's law is obeyed over the iron concentration range from 1 × 10 −5 to 8 × 10 −5 M . Advantages over existing methods are the use of stannous chloride instead of sodium dithionite, which avoids the problem of turbidity, and the stability of the iron(II) chelate towards oxidation by air. The conditional reduction potential at pH 11 for the iron(III)/iron(II) complex couple is 0.39 V.
Adjunct drugs in liver transplantation

S INCE 1963 when first performed in humans, liver transplantations have made spectacular developments due to improved liver preservation techniques, surgical techniques, and drug therapy. Because of its complex metabolism the liver can cause a complex pathophysiology and for liver transplantations this requires the use of adjunct perioperative drugs that have to be carefully balanced with each other to avoid negative side effects. As one of the largest of all abdominal operations, liver transplantations are a challenge for surgeons and anesthesiologists alike. This article will provide an overview of adjunct drugs used in this procedure.
Changing Hearts and Minds: The Quest for Open Talk about Race in Educational Leadership.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to seek to conceptualize a theory of self‐contribution as a framework for understanding and demonstrating the dispositions and skills academics and educational leaders need to break the silence and engage in constructive talk about race across color lines.Design/methodology/approach – Brian Fay's framework for critical theory provided the guideposts for the construct of self‐contribution. To address false consciousness, the authors turned to Mezirow's unlearning. The work of Tatum, and Parker and Shapiro clarified the social crisis and the educative components used the voice of color thesis (Delgado and Stefancic), Pillow's race‐based epistemologies, Horsford's research using counternarratives, and Argyris' work on defensive behaviors,. Finally, to address transformative actions the authors turned to Follett's principles of unifying, and Laible's loving epistemology.Findings – The use of race‐based theories to center the discourse about race in mixed race settings ha...
CT angiography in pediatric extremity trauma: preoperative evaluation prior to reconstructive surgery.

Computed tomographic angiography (CTA) is a noninvasive modality for evaluating the vascular system and planning treatment strategies. The goal of this study was to validate the clinical utility of CTA in assessment of suspected pediatric extremity traumatic vascular injury, prior to emergent and delayed reconstructive surgery. A retrospective review was performed of all operative patients under 18 years of age who underwent multidetector-row CTA for evaluation of suspected extremity vascular injury. Parameters investigated included age, type of injury, referral source, temporal relationship between the injury and the CTA, CTA findings, operations performed, intraoperative findings, and clinical outcome. Between January 2002 and September 2005, 10 pediatric patients (6 males/4 females; mean age 8 years old, range 3–17) sustained either blunt (N = 8) or penetrating (N = 2) trauma and underwent CTA of the upper (N = 5) or lower extremities (N = 5). A total of 30% (3/10) of patients were referred from the emergency department acutely, 50% (5/10) were referred from the inpatient wards subacutely, and 20% (2/10) were referred from the outpatient clinics electively. Half (N = 5) underwent CTA to evaluate need for vascular repair, whereas half (N = 5) underwent CTA to evaluate local vasculature for flap reconstruction. Overall, 40% (4/10) of CTA findings were normal, whereas 60% (6/10) revealed traumatic vascular injuries. Pertinent nonvascular findings included soft tissue defects (60%, 6/10), fractures (40%, 4/10), and contracture deformities (20%, 2/10). In all cases, procedures were completed without complications, and intraoperative findings confirmed those from CTA. At a mean follow-up of 28 months, all injuries have healed without complications. CTA is a reliable noninvasive modality to evaluate pediatric patients with suspected traumatic extremity vascular injury and to plan treatment strategies for both vascular repair and extremity reconstruction.
Real World Design Challenge (RWDC) – An Overview

In this paper, the Real World Design Challenge (RWDC) competition is discussed in detail. This paper highlights the need, history, and approach taken for the design of the challenge. The authors discuss how this challenge promotes Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and provides opportunities for high school students to acquire knowledge and experience beyond their traditional curriculum. The challenge is based around a real world problem. Students are asked to work in teams to find feasible solutions for the identified problem. The process for developing the challenge, student engagement, learning opportunities, student evaluations, publicity and recruitment efforts, design objective and timeline, and assessment metrics are some of the topics discussed. In this paper, the lessons learned from developing and running the challenge are also addressed.
Signaling pathways in odorant detection

The application of molecular genetic techniques has led to the identification of olfactory-specific proteins that represent each component in a second messenger cascade. Our current understanding of signaling in the olfactory system suggests that receptor proteins of a large family, responsible in part for the specificity of the system, converge on a relatively small number of second messenger systems. The ability to express these elements in heterologous systems should allow for the reconstitution of the signaling cascade and provide insight into the specificity of ligand binding, pathway activation, and signal termination.
Standard reference materials (SRMs) for determination of organic contaminants in environmental samples

For the past 25 years the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed certified reference materials (CRMs), known as standard reference materials (SRMs), for determination of organic contaminants in environmental matrices. Assignment of certified concentrations has usually been based on combining results from two or more independent analytical methods. The first-generation environmental-matrix SRMs were issued with certified concentrations for a limited number (5 to 10) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Improvements in the analytical certification approach significantly expanded the number and classes of contaminants determined. Environmental-matrix SRMs currently available include air and diesel particulate matter, coal tar, marine and river sediment, mussel tissue, fish oil and tissue, and human serum, with concentrations typically assigned for 50 to 90 organic contaminants, for example PAHs, nitro-substituted PAHs, PCBs, chlorinated pesticides, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs).
Ozone generator for microanalysis.

A small ozone generator useful for locating double bonds inμg amounts of organic compounds is easily constructed from an inexpensive vacuum tester. The unit is also useful for micro-preparative purposes.
Isotopic, Isotonic, and Shell Closure Effects on the Large-Angle Scattering of Polarized Protons

Detailed measurements on the elastic scattering of 14Mev polarized protons out to 170 nif- in the laboratory reference frame are reported. The nuclides studied are in the mass region 50-70 and encompass closed shells of neutrons and protons. The measurements comprise left-right asymmetries that are related to the polarization that would result from the elastic scattering of an unpolarized proton beam. Results obtained on a series of isotopes and isotones from Cr to 2n are given. (C.E.S.)
Estimation of chest-wall-induced diffused wave distortion with the assistance of ultrasound.

The chest-wall layer underneath breast tissue consists of muscles and bones, which induce distortion in near-infrared diffused waves measured at distant source–detector pairs when reflection geometry is used. A priori information on chest-wall depth obtained from coregistered real-time ultrasound can be used to assist in the removal of distant measurements. We applied Monte Carlo simulation to a simple two-layer model consisting of breast tissue and a chest wall to investigate chest-wall-induced distortion. The Monte Carlo method indicates that, when more than 50% of the received photons travel through the breast tissue layer before being detected, the detected signal may be useful for image reconstruction. The results of phantom experiments obtained from the two-layer model further validate the distortion problem and demonstrate imaging improvement after distant measurements have been filtered out. Clinical examples have shown similar imaging improvements on reconstructed absorption maps. Clinical data obtained from 20 patients with the chest-wall depths of less than 2 cm from the skin surface suggest that the cutoff distances of distorted measurements are largely related to the chest-wall depth and are relatively independent of the optical properties of tissue.
Specific Oxidative Cleavage of Carotenoids by VP14 of Maize

The plant growth regulator abscisic acid (ABA) is formed by the oxidative cleavage of an epoxy-carotenoid. The synthesis of other apocarotenoids, such as vitamin A in animals, may occur by a similar mechanism. In ABA biosynthesis, oxidative cleavage is the first committed reaction and is believed to be the key regulatory step. A new ABA-deficient mutant of maize has been identified and the corresponding gene, Vp14 , has been cloned. The recombinant VP14 protein catalyzes the cleavage of 9- cis -epoxy-carotenoids to form C 25 apo-aldehydes and xanthoxin, a precursor of ABA in higher plants.
Density functional transition states of organic and organometallic reactions

Baker’s transition state (TS) locating algorithm was incorporated into the density functional (DF) program deMon. Using this TS locating procedure TSs for several model organic and organometallic reactions were located using both the local density approximation (LDA) and nonlocal (NL) gradient corrected methods. The predicted geometries and relative energetics for the reactions were examined and compared to those of Hartree–Fock HF, post HF, and semiempirical calculations. These calculations indicate that the LDA level of DF theory is not reliable in estimating some reaction barriers and TS structures. However, the NL level of DF theory gave results of the same quality as post HF calculations. Our results clearly demonstrate that DF methods can be used to obtain information as accurate as that obtained using similar quality HF based methods for organic and organometallic systems.