cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Shedding new light on lipid biology with coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy

Despite the ubiquitous roles of lipids in biology, the detection of lipids has relied on invasive techniques, population measurements, or nonspecific labeling. Such difficulties can be circumvented by a label-free imaging technique known as coherent anti-Stokes Raman (CARS) microscopy, which is capable of chemically selective, highly sensitive, and high-speed imaging of lipid-rich structures with submicron three-dimensional spatial resolution. We review the broad applications of CARS microscopy to studies of lipid biology in cell cultures, tissue biopsies, and model organisms. Recent technical advances, limitations of the technique, and perspectives are discussed.
Structure and interactions of the cytoplasmic domain of the Yersinia type III secretion protein YscD.

ABSTRACT The virulence of a large number of Gram-negative bacterial pathogens depends on the type III secretion (T3S) system, which transports select bacterial proteins into host cells. An essential component of the Yersinia T3S system is YscD, a single-pass inner membrane protein. We report here the 2.52-A resolution structure of the cytoplasmic domain of YscD, called YscDc. The structure confirms that YscDc consists of a forkhead-associated (FHA) fold, which in many but not all cases specifies binding to phosphothreonine. YscDc, however, lacks the structural properties associated with phosphothreonine binding and thus most likely interacts with partners in a phosphorylation-independent manner. Structural comparison highlighted two loop regions, L3 and L4, as potential sites of interactions. Alanine substitutions at L3 and L4 had no deleterious effects on protein structure or stability but abrogated T3S in a dominant negative manner. To gain insight into the function of L3 and L4, we identified proteins associated with YscD by affinity purification coupled to mass spectrometry. The lipoprotein YscJ was found associated with wild-type YscD, as was the effector YopH. Notably, the L3 and L4 substitution mutants interacted with more YopH than did wild-type YscD. These substitution mutants also interacted with SycH (the specific chaperone for YopH), the putative C-ring component YscQ, and the ruler component YscP, whereas wild-type YscD did not. These results suggest that substitutions in the L3 and L4 loops of YscD disrupted the dissociation of SycH from YopH, leading to the accumulation of a large protein complex that stalled the T3S apparatus.
Seed Coat Morphology in Gentianopsis (Gentianaceae)

Abstract Seed coat morphology is examined in 16 taxa of Gentianopsis, Pterygocalyx, and Gentianella, including representatives from 14 taxa of Gentianopsis, to resolve inconsistencies in previous reports and make new observations using a low vacuum mode of SEM. Four characters are proposed to describe variation in seed coat morphology of this group: (1) the outer periclinal walls of testa; (2) sculpting of inner periclinal walls; (3) seed shape; and (4) seed length. The distinctive papillate seeds of many species of Gentianopsis are the result of inflated outer periclinal walls of testa cells. In some species, the outer periclinal walls of the testa are collapsed inwards, revealing previously unreported sculpting on the inner periclinal walls. Seeds are irregularly angular-ovate or fusiform in Gentianopsis and discoid in Pterygocalyx. Seed length varies from 0.22 to 1.0 mm. These data provide another line of evidence for phylogenetic relationships of Gentianopsis and Pterygocalyx to other members of Swert...
Some characteristics of protein precipitation by salts.

The solubilities of lysozyme, alpha-chymotrypsin and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were studied in aqueous electrolyte solution as a function of ionic strength, pH, the chemical nature of salt, and initial protein concentration. Compositions were measured for both the supernatant phase and the precipitate phase at 25 degrees C. Salts studied were sodium chloride, sodium sulfate, and sodium phosphate. For lysozyme, protein concentrations in supernatant and precipitate phases are independent of the initial protein concentration; solubility can be represented by the Cohn salting-out equation. Lysozyme has a minimum solubility around pH 10, close to its isoelectric point (pH 10.5). The effectiveness of the three salts studied for precipitation were in the sequence sulfate > phosphate > chloride, consistent with the Hofmeister series. However, for alpha-chymotrypsin and BSA, initial protein concentration affects the apparent equillibrium solubility. For these proteins, experimental results show that the compositions of the precipitate phase are also affected by the initial protein concentration. We define a distribution coefficient kappa(e) to represent the equilibrium ratio of the protein concentration in the supernatant phase to that in the precipitate phase. When the salt concentration is constant, the results show that, for lysozyme, the protein concentrations in both phases are independent of the initial protein concentrations, and thus kappa(e) is a constant. For alpha-chymotrypsin and BSA, their concentrations in both phases are nearly proportional to the initial protein concentrations, and therefore, for each protein, at constant salt concentration, the distribution coefficient kappa(e) is independent of the initial protein concentration. However, for both lysozyme and alpha-chymotrypsin, the distribution coefficient falls with increasing salt concentration. These results indicate that care must be used in the definition of solubility. Solubility is appropriate when the precipitate phase is pure, but when it is not, the distribution coefficient better describes the phase behavior.
Social Practice Theory and the Historical Production of Persons

Working collaboratively, we and others have developed a historical, material theory of social practice that integrates the study of persons, local practice, and long-term historically institutionalized struggles. We have drawn on the work of Vygotsky, Bakhtin, and Mead to develop this approach to “history-in-person”. Social Practice Theory, like Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) takes activity as a central focus. But, in contrast to CHAT, social practice theory emphasizes the historical production of persons in practice, and pays particular attention to differences among participants, and to the ongoing struggles that develop across activities around those differences. Through Holland’s ethnographic work on environmental groups in the Southeastern United States, we show the integration of emotion, motivation, and agency into cultural-historical activity theory by means of Vygotskian and Bakhtinian inspired ideas concerning “history-in-person”. Lave’s research focuses on tension, conflict and difference in participation in cultural activities in an old port wine merchant community in Porto, and looks to both local and trans-local institutional arrangements and practices for explanations.
Teaching Mistakes or Teachable Moments

Gain a new perspective on the sharing of erroneous solutions in classroom discussions. Based on their research in grades four and six, the authors reveal how student-to-student correction of errors...
Rasch calibration of physical activity self-efficacy and social support scale for persons with intellectual disabilities

The purpose of this study was to investigate the construct validity of the Self-Efficacy/Social Support for Activity for persons with Intellectual Disability (SE/SS-AID) scales developed by Peterson, Peterson, Lowe, & Nothwehr (2009). A total of 146 participants with intellectual disabilities completed 6 self-efficacy (SE) items and 18 social support (SS) items. After applying the Rasch rating model, all SE items and 17 SS items fit the model and measured a single-construct. Thus, it was able to determine the item difficulty and person's level of SE and SS for physical activity by calculated logit scores. No items showed evidence for differential functioning by the level of intellectual disability. Model fit of SS subscales (e.g., staff, family, and peer) showed good-fit as well. In conclusion, SE and SS scales for physical activity can be measured more accurately for persons with intellectual disabilities by using the modified scales validated in this study.
Improving protein fold recognition and template-based modeling by employing probabilistic-based matching between predicted one-dimensional structural properties of query and corresponding native properties of templates

Motivation: In recent years, development of a single-method fold-recognition server lags behind consensus and multiple template techniques. However, a good consensus prediction relies on the accuracy of individual methods. This article reports our efforts to further improve a single-method fold recognition technique called SPARKS by changing the alignment scoring function and incorporating the SPINE-X techniques that make improved prediction of secondary structure, backbone torsion angle and solvent accessible surface area. Results: The new method called SPARKS-X was tested with the SALIGN benchmark for alignment accuracy, Lindahl and SCOP benchmarks for fold recognition, and CASP 9 blind test for structure prediction. The method is compared to several state-of-the-art techniques such as HHPRED and BoostThreader. Results show that SPARKS-X is one of the best single-method fold recognition techniques. We further note that incorporating multiple templates and refinement in model building will likely further improve SPARKS-X. Availability: The method is available as a SPARKS-X server at http://sparks.informatics.iupui.edu/ Contact: [email protected]
Imprisonment and Opportunity Structures: A Bayesian Hierarchical Analysis*

Comparative sociologists mostly ignore wide differences in criminality and incarceration rates among modern western societies; with notable exceptions, students of the prison take scant notice of research comparing political economies, welfare regimes, and patterns of inequality. This article outlines an opportunity structures model of imprisonment that bridges this gap by treating incarceration trends as byproducts of the institutional organization of opportunities over the life course. Using a sample of 15 rich democracies observed over four decades, empirical attention focuses on three levels of analysis: the capacities of alternative life course paths, the distribution of political power, and institutional differences in state structures and policy regimes. Hypothesized cross-level interactions call for the specification of a hierarchical model to be estimated within a Bayesian framework. Results conform to the expectations of the opportunity structures model and support many of its specific predictions.
Data Parallel Programming Model for Many-Core Architectures

Emerging accelerating architectures, such as GPUs, have proved successful in providing significant performance gains to various application domains. This is done by exploiting data parallelism in existing algorithms. However, programming in a data-parallel fashion imposes extra burdens to programmers, who are used to writing sequential programs. New programming models and frameworks are needed to reach a balance between programmability, portability and performance. We start from stream processing domain and propose GStream, a general-purpose, scalable data streaming framework on GPUs. The contributions of GStream are as follows: (1) We provide powerful, yet concise language abstractions suitable to describe conventional algorithms as streaming problems. (2) We project these abstractions onto GPUs to fully exploit their inherent massive data-parallelism. (3) We demonstrate the viability of streaming on accelerators. Experiments show that the proposed framework provides flexibility, programmability and performance gains for various benchmarks from a collection of domains, including but not limited to data streaming, data parallel problems, numerical codes and text search. This work lays a foundation to our future work to develop more general data parallel programming models for many-core architectures.
Comparison of Alternate Methods for Distributed Motion Planning of Robot Collectives within a Potential Field Framework

In this paper, we evaluate the performance of two candidate formulations for distributed motion planning of robot collectives within an Artificial Potential Field (APF) framework. We exploit the parallel between the formulation of motion planning for group of robots coupled by constraints and the forward dynamics simulation of constrained multibody systems to develop the candidate approaches. We compare and contrast these approaches on the basis of ease of formulation, distribution of computation and overall computational accuracy. Traditionally penalty formulations have enjoyed a prominent position in motion planning of robot collectives due to their ease of formulation, decentralization and scalability. However, the instabilities introduced in the form of “formulation stiffness” at the algorithm development stage have the potential to hinder the subsequent control. Representative results from the distributed motion planning for a group of 3 point-mass robots moving in formation to a desired target location are used to highlight the differences.
Different Sensitivities of Bromodomain Factors 1 and 2 to Histone H4 Acetylation

The histone code hypothesis proposes that covalently modified histone tails are binding sites for specific proteins. In vitro evidence suggests that factors containing bromodomains read the code by binding acetylated histone tails. Bromodomain Factor 1 (Bdf1), a protein that associates with TFIID, binds histone H4 with preference for multiply acetylated forms. In contrast, the closely related protein Bdf2 shows no preference for acetylated forms. A deletion of BDF1 but not BDF2 is lethal when combined with a mutant allele of ESA1 (a histone H4 acetyltransferase) or with nonacetylatable histone H4 variants. Bromodomain point mutations that block Bdf1 binding to histones disrupt transcription and reduce Bdf1 association with chromatin in vivo. Therefore, bromodomains with different specificity generate further complexity of the histone code.
A small signal model for average current mode control based on describing function approach

A small signal model for average current mode control based on describing function method is proposed. Modeling of average current mode control is more complicated than peak current mode control due to the additional current compensator. In this paper, two commonly used current compensators are considered as examples. The structure of average current mode control is compared with V2 control to find the similarity. Previous modeling result about V2 control is borrowed and modified for average current mode control. The proposed small signal model can be accurate up to switching frequency. The proposed model is verified using Simplis simulation and measurement.
Local-regional control according to surrogate markers of breast cancer subtypes and response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients undergoing breast conserving therapy

Breast cancers of different molecular subtypes have different survival rates. The goal of this study was to identify patients at high risk for local-regional recurrence according to response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surrogate markers of molecular subtypes in patients undergoing breast conserving therapy (BCT). Clinicopathologic data from 595 breast cancer patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and BCT from 1997 to 2005 were identified. Estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression determined by immunohistochemistry were used to construct the following subtypes: ER+ or PR+ and HER2- (hormone receptor (HR)+/HER2-; 52%), ER+ or PR+ and HER2+ (HR+/HER2+; 9%), ER- and PR- and HER2+ (HR-/HER2+; 7%) and ER- and PR- and HER2- (HR-/HER2-; 32%). Actuarial rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. Cox proportional hazards models were used for multivariate analysis (MVA). After a median follow-up of 64 months, the five-year local-regional recurrence (LRR)-free survival rate for all patients was 93.8%. The five-year LRR-free survival rates varied by subtype: HR+/HER2- 97.0%, HR+/HER2+ 95.9%, HR-/HER2+ 86.5% and HR-/HER2- 89.5% (P = 0.001). In addition to subtype, clinical stage III disease (90% vs. 95% for I/II, P = 0.05), high nuclear grade (92% vs. 97% with low/intermediate grade, P = 0.03), presence of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) (89% vs. 95% in those without LVI, P = 0.02) and four or more positive lymph nodes on pathologic examination (87% vs. 95% with zero to three positive lymph nodes, P = 0.03) were associated with lower five-year LRR-free survival on univariate analysis. On MVA, HR-/HER2+ and HR-/HER2- subtypes and disease in four or more lymph nodes were associated with decreased LRR-free survival. A pathologic complete response (pCR) was associated with improved LRR-free survival. Patients with HR+/HER2- and HR+/HER2+ subtypes had excellent LRR-free survival regardless of tumor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Patients with HR-/HER2+ and HR-/HER2- subtypes with poor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy had worse LRR-free survival after BCT. Additional study is needed to determine the impact of trastuzumab on local-regional control in HER2+ tumors. Our data suggest that patients with HR-/HER2- subtype tumors not achieving pCR may benefit from novel strategies to improve local-regional control.
Old Age Mortality in Japan Does the Socioeconomic Gradient Interact With Gender and Age

Objectives. There is limited knowledge concerning how the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) on mortality interact with gender and age. In addition, current studies are largely based on data from the Western nations. The validity of prior observations needs to be further evaluated. This research examines socioeconomic inequalities in old age mortality in Japan, with a special emphasis on how inequalities interact with gender and age. Methods. Data came from a 5-wave panel study of a national probability sample of 2,200 elderly Japanese conducted between 1987 and 1999. Hazard rate models involving time-varying covariates were used to ascertain the direct and indirect effects of SES. In addition, interaction effects involving SES variables with age and gender were evaluated. Results. In contrast to prior findings from the Western developed nations, there is an educational crossover effect on mortality among older men, in that, at advanced age, those with less education live longer than those with higher education. On the other hand, there is some evidence that educational differences in the risk of dying tend to converge in the 70-79 age group. More interestingly, there is a crossover in the effect of education among the 80 and older age group. Discussion. The observation that educational crossover exists only among elderly men may be because of gender and SES differences in causes of death, morbidity, and health behavior. On the other hand, possible explanations for age differences in the educational crossover include selective survival and cohort effects.
Mixed Pd-Au and Pt-Au Cluster Compounds

A large number of bimetallic transition metal-gold cluster compounds have been synthesized (see for example New. J. Chem.. 1988, 12, 505). These clusters are stabilized by phosphine ligands and range in size from two to ten metal atoms. The details of the syntheses and structures of some of these compounds will be presented. Recently, we have been successful in synthesizing the first Pd-Au clusters. For example, [PdAu6(PPh3)7]2+ and [PdAu8(PPh3)8]2+ were made in high yield and characterized by NMR and FABMS. The latter cluster and its CO adduct have also been characterized by x-ray crystallography. Analogous Pt-Au clusters have been made and will also be presented. Some of these compounds show interesting reactivity and in several cases catalytic behavior has been observed.
No More Playing in the Dark: Twenty-First Century Citizenship, Critical Race Theory, and the Future of the Social Studies Methods Course

In this chapter we explain how, through drawing on concepts of critical race theory, the secondary methods course can be structured to promote critical understanding among teacher candidates about the role and place of race in contemporary social studies curricular content. We conclude with broad descriptions of learning activities that can facilitate teacher candidates’ critical understanding of foundation concepts in critical race theory.
All-passive nonreciprocal metastructure

One-way propagation of light, analogous to the directional flow of electrons in the presence of electric potential difference, has been an important goal in the wave-matter interaction. Breaking time-reversal symmetry in photonic flows is faced with challenges different from those for electron flows. In recent years several approaches and methods have been offered towards achieving this goal. Here we investigate another systematic approach to design all-passive relatively high-throughput metastructures that exhibit nonreciprocal properties and achieve wave-flow isolation. Moreover, we build on those findings and propose a paradigm for a quasi-two-dimensional metastructure that mimics the nonreciprocal property of Faraday rotation without using any magnetic or electric biasing. We envision that the proposed approaches may serve as a building block for all-passive time-reversal symmetry breaking with potential applications for future nonreciprocal systems and devices.
Quantification of the ciliary muscle and crystalline lens interaction during accommodation with synchronous OCT imaging

Abstract: Two SD-OCT systems and a dual channel accommodation target were combined and precisely synchronized to simultaneously image the anterior segment and the ciliary muscle during dynamic accommodation. The imaging system simultaneously generates two synchronized OCT image sequences of the anterior segment and ciliary muscle with an imaging speed of 13 frames per second. The system was used to acquire OCT image sequences of a non-presbyopic and a pre-presbyopic subject accommodating in response to step changes in vergence. The image sequences were processed to extract dynamic morphological data from the crystalline lens and the ciliary muscle. The synchronization between the OCT systems allowed the precise correlation of anatomical changes occurring in the crystalline lens and ciliary muscle at identical time points during accommodation. To describe the dynamic interaction between the crystalline lens and ciliary muscle, we introduce accommodation state diagrams that display the relation between anatomical changes occurring in the accommodating crystalline lens and ciliary muscle.
Targeted therapy of human malignant glioma in a mouse model by 2-5A antisense directed against telomerase RNA

Telomerase is the RNA-protein complex which elongates telomeric DNA (TTAGGG)n and appears to play an important role in cellular immortalization. The almost exclusive expression of telomerase in tumor cells, and not in most normal cells, offers an exciting opportunity for therapy by inhibiting its function. Here, we have investigated the effect of inhibition of telomerase on the growth and survival of human malignant glioma cells in vitro and in vivo by using a 19-mer antisense oligonucleotide against human telomerase RNA linked to a 2',5'-oligoadenylate (2-5A). 2-5A antisense functions by activating the endoribonuclease, RNase L, resulting in the degradation of single stranded, targeted RNA. We have shown that the 2-5A antisense treatment effectively suppressed tumor cell growth and survival in vitro. Furthermore, treatment of tumors grown in nude mice with the antisense oligonucleotide inhibited survival of the tumor cells. TUNEL assays suggest that this effect is mediated through the induction of apoptosis. Targeting telomerase RNA with 2-5A antisense, therefore, may represent an effective and novel approach for treatment of a broad range of cancers.
Toxicity of Phosphine and Methyl Bromide at Various Temperatures and Exposure Periods to the Four Metamorphic Stages of Trogoderma variabile

Laboratory tests were conducted to determine the toxicity of phosphine and methyl bromide to the eggs and postembryonic stages of Trogoderma variabile Ballion at various temperatures and exposure periods. Results indicated that both fumigants were more effective as the exposure time and/or the temperature increases. Young eggs were more tolerant to phosphine than the other stages. The most tolerant postembryonic stage to phosphine was the mature larva. There was very little difference in the susceptibility of eggs, mature larvae, or pupae to methyl bromide.
Treatment of bone cysts with methylprednisolone acetate. A 9 to 11 year follow-up.

The long-term results are reported of the treatment of bone cysts by means of the injection of methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) into the bony cavity using Scaglietti's technique. Eighteen patients were reviewed at a follow-up of 9–11 years from the beginning of the treatment. The results confirm the value of this technique and show a high percentage of recovery. During the growth period, a recurrence of osteolytic activity in the lesion may be observed after complete healing, though this does not happen frequently. In these cases further prompt treatment with MPA injected into the small osteolytic areas brings about their complete resolution. These observations lead us to conclude that a bone cyst can never be considered completely healed before complete skeletal maturity is reached. Regular radiological reviews must be carried out in order to recognise and treat promptly the first signs of a recurrence of cystic activity.
Synthesis and Redox Characterization of Phosphazene Terpolymers with Pendant Ferrocene Groups

The synthesis, characterization, and electrochemistry of a series of five ferrocene-containing phosphazene terpolymers derived from the poly(alkyl/arylphosphazene) random copolymer, [(Ph)(Me)PN]0.6[Me2PN]0.4, 5, are described. The new terpolymers, 6 {[(Ph)(Me)PN]0.6[Me2PN]0.4}x{[(Ph){FcCH(OH)CH2}PN]0.6[(Me){FcCH(OH)CH2}PN]0.4}y, where Fc = (η5-C5H5)Fe(η5-C5H4) (6a, x = 0.50, y = 0.50; 6b, x = 0.60, y = 0.40; 6c, x = 0.65, y = 0.35; 6d, x = 0.70, y = 0.30; and 6e, x = 0.85, y = 0.15), were prepared by deprotonation–substitution reactions and were characterized by NMR spectroscopy, elemental analyses, gel permeation chromatography, and thermal analysis. The redox properties are described by electrochemistry performed in dichloromethane solutions and evaporatively cast films. In solution, cyclic voltammograms of these polymers display a one-electron reversible (ΔEp ca. 60 mV) wave in the range of 433–492 mV (vs Ag/AgCl) combined with adsorption, depending on the degree of substitution with Fc groups. The ads...
Why and Where the Money Flows: An ERGM Analysis of Shared Donors Among Presidential Candidates

Some of the most important, and least understood, actors in the pre-primary stages of the presidential nomination process are campaign donors (Adkins and Dowdle 2002; Christenson and Smidt 2011). A number of work utilizing survey research have helped shed light on their behavior from the viewpoint on donors at the individual level (Brown, Powell and Wilcox 1995; Francia et al. 2005). While we would know much about what motivates donors to give (i.e., the push to participate), we know less about why they give to certain types of candidates (i.e., the pull of one candidacy as opposed to another). Recent scholarship has applied network theory to explain how some of the other elements within political parties aggregate during the exhibition season (Noel 2009; Dowdle et al. 2013; Song et al. forthcoming). We utilize an ERGM analysis that allows us to measure the impact of multiple variables upon clusters of donors. We find most that most major Democratic donors fell inside or near one cluster while their GOP counterparts grouped into two factions. However none of the measures such as poll position, ideology or geography explain why voters contribute to multiple candidates within either faction.
Survival of Manure-borne Escherichia coli and Fecal Coliforms in Soil: Temperature Dependence as Affected by Site-Specific Factors

Understanding pathogenic and indicator bacteria survival in soils is essential for assessing the potential of microbial contamination of water and produce. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of soil properties, animal source, experimental conditions, and the application method on temperature dependencies of manure-borne generic , O157:H7, and fecal coliforms survival in soils. A literature search yielded 151 survival datasets from 70 publications. Either one-stage or two-stage kinetics was observed in the survival datasets. We used duration and rate of the logarithm of concentration change as parameters of the first stage in the two-stage kinetics data. The second stage of the two-stage kinetics and the one-stage kinetics were simulated with the model to find the dependence of the inactivation rate on temperature. Classification and regression trees and linear regressions were applied to parameterize the kinetics. Presence or absence of two-stage kinetics was controlled by temperature, soil texture, soil water content, and for fine-textured soils by setting experiments in the field or in the laboratory. The duration of the first stage was predominantly affected by soil water content and temperature. In the model dependencies of inactivation rates on temperature, parameter estimates were significantly affected by the laboratory versus field conditions and by the application method, whereas inactivation rates at 20°C were significantly affected by all survival and management factors. Results of this work can provide estimates of coliform survival parameters for models of microbial water quality.
Construction of China Local Aging Sports Association: Status Quo,Problems and Promote Countermeasures

Using social investigation and literature review methods,this paper studied on construction of China local aging sports association from the aspects of organization,site facility and activity for the purposes of summarizing its basic condition,founding its existing problems and proposed appropriate countermeasures. The results showed that activity of current local aging sports association is lacking of institutional work environment and existing fund,site facility and human resource problems at the same time. These problems are as follows: 1) It has not a clear nature orientation and lack of institutional work environment. 2) The association is much influenced by government attitude and the authorized size problem causes lack of human resource. 3) There are many differences in fund input which is reliant on government. Lack of fund is a popular problem. 4) Lack of facility. Most activities focus on competition but not daily exercise. This study provided some countermeasures from the aspects of making and improving relevant policies,changing fiscal input system,utilizing limited means rationally,and strengthening ability construction. This paper hoped to provide decision basis for government policies on aging sports association cultivation and support.
Active vaccination against early summer meningoencephalitis

TBE is a rather rare disease (incidence in Switzerland 0.46/1,000,000 population per year). Acquisition occurs only in well known endemic areas through bites of infected ticks. The course of the disease is not trivial: 0.5-2% of cases are fatal, 2.7% have persistent serious paralysis and some 33% a postencephalitic syndrome. There is no specific therapy. An active vaccine is commercially available which is reliably immunogenic (99% of vaccinated persons develop protective antibodies) and involve only a few mild side effects. Mass vaccination seems not to be cost-effective but would be epidemiologically efficient, as a vaccination campaign in Austria has shown. Because of the increasing importance of leisure-acquired TBE infections, the Swiss recommendations could be formulated more liberally: active vaccination is recommended for everyone who regularly spends time in forests in an endemic area, be it for work or leisure.
Beyond Shape: An Open Conclusion

Tax Day. I was on my way to the RHCJC for interviews for the next cycle of youth court. Feeling a bit tired, I stopped at a bodega near the Smith and Ninth Street subway station in Brooklyn for a cup of coffee. As I stepped up to the register to pay, Clayton and Isaac, current RHYC members, entered the bodega. “Hey, there’s Avi,” Isaac said.
Transnasal Endoscopic Eustachian Tube Surgery

The purpose of this article is to give a contemporary review of transnasal endoscopic surgery for Eustachian tube disorders. The authors' perspective of the relevant anatomy, pathophysiology, and evaluation of Eustachian tube disorders as related to surgical intervention also is provided.
Conclusion: Present and Future Prospects

It is a commonplace that the relations of nation-states are amoral at best. It is less commonplace to note that national leaders nevertheless cloak their deeds in the language of high moral purpose. If hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue, it is worth asking why leaders think the tribute needs to be paid and why there is so little prospect of word passing into deed.
Chapter 3 Taking Place in Love Poems

Stein’s landscape writing is a spatial solution to a temporal problem she sought to address in conventional plays, and in this chapter, Voris identifies emergent spatial strategies in love poems immediately preceding Stein’s landscape plays. In “A Sonatina Followed By Another” (1921) and “Didn’t Nelly And Lilly Love You” (1922), Stein examines the displacements of representation and tries instead to express intimacy, even that of long duration, with immediacy and directness. Through close reading, Voris demonstrates that as precursors of “the problem of time in relation to emotion,” these poems participate in the compositional task of the landscape period. Seeking to make love poems convey both immediacy and continuity over time, she experiments with equivalent and multiple arrangements that anticipate the spatial formation of her landscape writing.
Right Ventricle and Exercise Capacity: More Than a Passive Conduit.

Almost 3 quarters of a century ago, an experimental dog model, involving the electrocautery ablation of the free wall of the right ventricle (RV), served as the basis for the contention that the RV serves functionally as a passive conduit.1 Clearly, our understanding of the RV has evolved over subsequent decades, and the prognostic significance of RV dysfunction is now recognized in a wide array of disorders including left heart dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension2 among others. Despite significant strides in elucidating the role of the RV in overall cardiac function on the one hand and in disease states on the other, both quantification and qualification of RV function remain challenging because of several inter-related factors. First, the RV has a complex geometry; second, the role of ventricular interaction in overall pump performance remains unclear; third, assessment of RV diastolic function is challenging and far from routine in a typical echocardiographic laboratory; and fourth, the role of the pericardium in pump performance, especially that of pericardial constraint during exercise, also influences the ability to both qualify and quantify RV function. The challenges in noninvasively assessing RV function at rest are only compounded when attempting to evaluate performance with exercise. See Article by Kim et al Exercise capacity is a robust prognostic variable that predicts total and cardiac mortality.3 In clinical practice exercise capacity is most commonly derived from the peak exercise workload and estimated in metabolic equivalents (METs) from published tables. However, the most accurate method of determining exercise capacity is directly measuring the amount of oxygen consumed during a graded maximal exercise test, referred to as maximal …
Ovarian effects of prenatal exposure to benzo[a]pyrene: Roles of embryonic and maternal glutathione status

Females deficient in the glutamate cysteine ligase modifier subunit (Gclm) of the rate-limiting enzyme in glutathione synthesis are more sensitive to ovarian follicle depletion and tumorigenesisby prenatal benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) exposure than Gclm+/+ mice. We investigated effects of prenatal exposure to BaP on reproductive development and ovarian mutations in Kras, a commonly mutated gene in epithelial ovarian tumors. Pregnantmice were dosed from gestational day 6.5 through 15.5 with 2mg/kg/day BaP or vehicle. Puberty onset occurred 5 days earlier in F1 daughters of all Gclm genotypes exposed to BaP compared to controls. Gclm+/- F1 daughters of Gclm+/- mothers and wildtype F1 daughters of wildtype mothers had similar depletion of ovarian follicles following prenatal exposure to BaP, suggesting that maternal Gclm genotype does not modify ovarian effects of prenatal BaP. We observed no BaP treatment or Gclm genotype related differences in ovarian Kras codon 12 mutations in F1 offspring.
Abstract P610: Alterations in 20-HETE Production Contribute to End Organ Damage in Dahl S Rats

It is well documented that a sexual dimorphism exists in the regulation of blood pressure in both the human population as well as experimental animal models, such that males have higher blood pressures than females of the same age. While there is a clear disparity in the development of hypertension and progression of renal injury in many rodent models, evidence of a sex difference is lacking in the Dahl S rat. While the current reports present conflicting data, we hypothesize that alterations in CYP450 expression and 20-HETE production contributes to the relative resistance of female Dahl S rats to target organ damage compared to males. Consistent to what we have previously reported, the time course for the development of proteinuria and renal injury were significantly reduced in female Dahl SSJr rats challenged with a high salt diet relative to male rats. In addition, renal cortical 20-HETE production was elevated in female (120.8±4.2 pmol/min/mg) versus male rats (45.1±11.78 pmol/min/mg), while no difference was noted in the outer medulla (19.6±1.8 vs 17.15± 3.9 pmol/min/mg). Introgression of the CYP4A1 gene into the Dahl S genetic background, resulted in significant elevations in 20-HETE production both on low salt and high salt diets. Furthermore the rise in mean arterial pressure was attenuated in CYP4A1 overexpressing rats in both sexes (Δ19mmHg in CYP females vs 61mmg in Dahl S females; 20mmHg in CYP males vs 50mmHg in Dahl S males). Moreover, the degree of glomerular injury was reduced in CYP rats, both male and female, compared to Dahl S rats in response to a high salt diet. Therefore, increases in the CYP gene expression and 20-HETE production prevent the rise in mean arterial pressure and kidney injury in male Dahl S rats. AHA 14SDG20160020
Differences in Word and Phoneme Recognition in Quiet, Sentence Recognition in Noise, and Subjective Outcomes between Manufacturer First-Fit and Hearing Aids Programmed to NAL-NL2 Using Real-Ear Measures

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and American Academy of Audiology (AAA) have created Best Practice Guidelines for fitting hearing aids to adult patients. These guidelines recommend using real-ear measures (REM) to verify that measured output/gain of hearing aid(s) match a validated prescriptive target. Unfortunately, approximately 70–80% of audiologists do not routinely use REM when fitting hearing aids, instead relying on a manufacturer default “first-fit” setting. This is problematic because numerous studies report significant differences in REM between manufacturer first-fit and the same hearing aids using a REM or programmed-fit. These studies reported decreased prescribed gain/output in the higher frequencies for the first-fit compared with the programmed fit, which are important for recognizing speech. Currently, there is little research in peer-reviewed journals reporting if differences between hearing aids fitted using a manufacturer first-fit versus a programmed-fit result in significant differences in speech recognition in quiet, noise, and subjective outcomes. To examine if significant differences were present in monosyllabic word and phoneme recognition (consonant-nucleus-consonant; CNC) in quiet, sentence recognition in noise (Hearing in Noise Test; HINT), and subjective outcomes using the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) and the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing (SSQ) questionnaires between hearing aids fit using one manufacturer’s first-fit and the same hearing aids with a programmed-fit using REM to National Acoustic Laboratories Nonlinear Version 2 (NAL-NL2) prescriptive target. A double-blind randomized crossover design was used. Throughout the study, one investigator performed all REM whereas a second investigator measured speech recognition in quiet, noise, and scored subjective outcome measures. Twenty-four adults with bilateral normal sloping to moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss with no prior experience with amplification. The hearing aids were fit using the proprietary manufacturer default first-fit and a programmed-fit to NAL-NL2 using real-ear insertion gain measures. The order of the two fittings was randomly assigned and counterbalanced. Participants acclimatized to each setting for four weeks and returned for assessment of performance via the revised CNC word lists, HINT, APHAB, and SSQ for the respective fitting. (1) A significant median advantage of 15% (p Improved word and phoneme recognition for soft and words for average speech in quiet were reported for the programmed-fit. Seventy-nine percent of the participants preferred the programmed-fitting versus first-fit. Hearing aids, therefore, should be verified and programmed using REM to a prescriptive target versus no verification using a first-fit.
African American perceptions of early palliative care in oncology.

104Background: While ASCO guidelines recommend early palliative care (PC) for patients with metastatic cancer, few African Americans (AA) have participated in PC trials and little data exist on the acceptability and effect of early PC in this population. Using the ADAPT-ITT framework for culturally tailoring evidence-based interventions, we assessed perceptions of PC and its early introduction in oncology in AAs. Methods: We conducted four focus groups with AAs from community centers in Miami. We enrolled adults without a history of cancer to approximate the knowledge and beliefs of someone with newly diagnosed cancer. Focus groups explored knowledge of PC, value of different components of early PC, and perceptions about introducing PC early after cancer diagnosis. We recorded and transcribed the focus groups, performing thematic analysis with NVivo. Results: Thirty-seven AAs participated. Over half were female (24/37), and median age was 54 years old (range 35-71). Participants had little to no knowledge...
Some Aspects of Mechanisms of Inflammatory Demyelination

The most extensively studied inflammatory demyelinating diseases are multiple sclerosis (MS) and the animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (RAE). Both are characterized by perivascular inflammation, edema, demyelination and reactive gliosis. In MS the formation of the lesion, which contains T-lymphocytes and macrophages, is generally acknowledged to be related to a cell-mediated immune (CMI) response, and it is known that EAE involves CMI mechanisms requiring T-cell sensitization to a central nervous system antigen. For the past dozen years we have used EAE to explore mechanisms by which such CMI reactions might initiate inflammation, edema and demyelination.
Reactionary Deconversion from Mormonism: Polarization of Ideological and Behavioral Religiosity Among Active and Former Mormons

In contrast to a growing body of literature examining the experiences and trends of those who leave their faith tradition—particularly among Christian denominations—relatively little is known about those who specifically disaffiliate from Mormonism, although some evidence suggests that former Mormons may be especially likely to embrace secularity or irreligion rather than other religious beliefs and practices. Pursuant to empirically investigating this reactionary dynamic, the current study compared the relative religiosity and secularity of an online sample of active Mormons (n = 194) and former Mormons (n = 109) using the Abbreviated Religiousness Measure (ARM), an updated questionnaire of multidimensional religiosity. Results supported the ARM’s improved psychometrics and its hypothesized three-factor structure with both subsamples. Additionally, multivariate and univariate results indicated that active and former Mormon participants from our sample, significantly polarized in their self-reported level of religious beliefs, rituals, and influence on daily behaviors, with active Mormon reporting high religiosity and former Mormons reporting low religiosity or high secularity. Although these results comport with reactionary deconversion dynamics found in other high cost religions, limits to generalizability are discussed. Reasons for and implications of this reactionary phenomenon are also posited.
Funding agencies can prevent harassment.

Harassment and lack of physical safety in fieldwork and laboratories exists across a range of disciplines ([ 1 ][1], [ 2 ][2]). Editorials and #MeToo stories have recently highlighted that research is often conducted under “macho” conditions in which harassment, bullying, and unsafe work
Illuminating the ‘Face’ of Justice: A Meta-Analytic Examination of Leadership and Organizational Justice

A significant body of research has described effective leader behaviours and has connected these behaviours to positive employee outcomes. However, this research has yet to be systematically integrated with organizational justice research to describe how leader behaviours inform justice perceptions. Therefore, we conduct a meta‐analysis (k = 166, N = 46,034) to investigate how three types of leader behaviours (task, relational, and change) inform four dimensions of organizational justice (procedural, distributive, interpersonal, and informational) referenced to the leader and to the organization. Further, we examine the joint impact of leader behaviours and justice perceptions on social exchange quality (i.e., leader–member exchange), task performance, and job satisfaction. Our results suggest that leader behaviours differentially inform leader‐ and organization‐focused justice perceptions, and the joint effect of leader behaviours and justice perceptions offer more nuanced explanations for outcomes.
Retention Effects of an Outdoor Orientation Program at a Midwestern University.

Outdoor orientation programs are not a new idea. They date back to programs at Dartmouth College in 1935. Since then, these programs have continued to expand to now include over 191 programs at private and public institutions. The effects of these programs, including developing emotional autonomy, mature relationships with peers, a sense of place, and social support, have also been well researched. Beyond student development, the benefits for the university, including improved retention and persistence of first-year students participating in the programs, have also been well established. This paper seeks to add to the established research pattern of the effectiveness of these programs while examining the structure of one such program and its possible contributions to the retention success of its students. Results for the retention of students engaged in the outdoor orientation program for first to second year ranged from a low improvement of 11.9% over university retention rates to a high improvement of 16.3%. For retention across all years, results ranged from 3.9% to 20.9% improvement over university retention. Structural components of the course that research has shown to support its effectiveness included the combination of a weeklong outdoor experience with a formal semester-long classroom course, as well as the inclusion of professional staff/faculty on each experience to increase student support during the return to campus. Subscribe to JOREL