cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The role of the pH microenvironment in retinal diseases

Measurements and modeling of intraretinal (H)/sup +/ can provide information about the retinal microenvironment in disease. Here, the concentration of H/sup +/ in the outer retina was measured to understand the role of H/sup +/ in diabetic retinopathy, and simulations or H/sup +/ gradients were performed to understand the possible contributions of changing pH to the pathogenesis or age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). Intraretinal pH profiles were recorded in anesthetized diabetic cats using pH sensitive microelectrodes. During diabetes, there were changes in the inner retinal H/sup +/ gradient in some areas of the retina. Some pH profiles showed decreased H/sup +/ production in the outer retina. The pH changes in ARMD were investigated using simulations of a four-layer diffusion model. The effects of variable drusen size and choroidal blood flow (ChBF) were investigated. The pH profiles showed that there was increased H/sup +/ concentration in the outer retina with the introduction of drusen.
DNA methylation profiling in zebrafish.

Abstract DNA methylation on cytosine in vertebrates such as zebrafish serves to silence gene expression by interfering with the binding of certain transcription factors and through the recruitment of repressive chromatin machinery. Cytosine DNA methylation is chemically stable and heritable through the germline – but also reversible through many modes, making it a useful and dynamic epigenetic modification. Virtually all of the enzymes and factors involved in the deposition, binding, and removal of cytosine methylation are conserved in zebrafish, and therefore the organism an excellent model for understanding the use of DNA methylation in the control of gene regulation and other processes. Here, we discuss the main approaches to quantifying DNA methylation levels genome-wide in zebrafish: one is an established method for revealing regional methylation (methylated DNA immunoprecipitation (MeDIP)), and the other is an emerging method that reveals DNA methylation at base-pair resolution (shotgun bisulphite sequencing). We also introduce some of the analytical methods that are useful for identifying regions of hypo- or hyper-methylation, and ways to identify differentially methylated regions.
THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN STRESS AND DRINKING: MODIFYING EFFECTS OF GENDER AND VULNERABILITY

Aims: To assess the relationship between number and type of past-year stressful experiences and alcohol consumption, with a focus on how gender, poverty, and psychological vulnerability moderate this association. Methods: Data from 26 946 US past- year drinkers 18 years of age and over, interviewed in the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), were used to construct multivariate linear regression models predicting six measures of drinking pattern and volume. Results: There was a consistent positive relationship between number of past-year stressors experienced and all measures of heavy drinking. Frequency of heavy (5+ drinks for men; 4+ drinks for women) drinking increased by 24% with each additional stressor reported by men and by 13% with each additional stressor reported by women. In contrast, the frequency of moderate drinking (<5 drinks for men; <4 drinks for women) decreased as stress levels increased. Job-related and legal sources of stress were more strongly associated with alcohol consumption than were social and health-related stress. Men showed a stronger association than women between the number of stressors and the most consumption measures; they also responded more strongly to the presence of any legal and job-related stress. Having an income below the poverty level intensified the effects of job-related stress, but having a mood or anxiety disorder did not affect any of the associations between stress and consumption. Conclusions: Stress does not so much lead individuals to drink more often as to substitute larger quantities of alcohol on the days when they do drink. Treatment and brief interventions aimed at problem drinkers might benefit from addressing the issue of tension alleviation and the development of alternative coping mechanisms.
GROWTH OF TOXIC-SHOCK-SYNDROME STRAIN OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS AFTER ENZYMIC DEGRADATION OF 'RELY' TAMPON COMPONENT

beta-glucosidase, cellulase, alpha-mannosidase, beta-galactosidase, and N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase were tested for their ability to hydrolyse the carboxymethylcellulose contained in 'Rely' tampons (R-CMC). The end-products of the hydrolysis were determined by chromatography. Only beta-glucosidase and cellulase hydrolysed R-CMC and the major product detectable after enzymic degradation was glucose, as confirmed chromatographically and by the glucose oxidase test. The enzymic-degradation products of R-CMC were able to support the growth of a toxic-shock-syndrome strain of Staphylococcus aureus. This finding suggests that as it is degraded by enzymes in the vaginal cavity R-CMC may become an exogenous source of nutrients for pathogenic organisms.
Innovators, Imitators, and the Evolving Architecture of Problem-Solving Networks

Scientific progress is driven by innovation---which serves to produce a diversity of ideas---and imitation through a social network---which serves to diffuse these ideas. In this paper, we develop an agent-based computational model of this process, in which the agents in the population are heterogeneous in their abilities to innovate and imitate. The model incorporates three primary forces: the discovery of new ideas, the observation and adoption of these ideas, and the endogenous development of networks. The objective is to explore the evolving architecture of problem-solving networks and the critical roles that different agents play in the process. A central finding is that the emergent network takes a chain structure with innovators (those most skilled at generating new ideas) being the main source of ideas and those most skilled at imitating acting as connectors between the innovators and the masses. The impact of agent heterogeneity and environmental volatility on the network architecture is also characterized.
Detection of Hybrids between Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) and Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) Using PCR Primers Complementary to Interspersed Nuclear Elements

Abstract We used four pairs of polymerase chain reaction primers complementary to the ends of interspersed nuclear elements to amplify markers that differentiate bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) and brook trout (S. fontinalis) and allow the identification of hybrids between these species. We identified 21 DNA fragments in bull trout that are absent from brook trout and 13 DNA fragments in brook trout that are absent from bull trout. This PCR-based test gave results that are consistent with results from allozyme loci known to be diagnostic for these species. Similar interspersed elements are found in all eukaryotes, making this a potentially useful technique for species identification in many taxa.
Life-Cycle Cost Evaluation of Conventional and Corrosion-Resistant Steel for Bridges

AbstractSteel bridges that are under severe chloride exposure due to deicing salts or marine environmental effects require frequent maintenance and repair activities to extend their service life and maintain an adequate performance level. In addition to the direct maintenance cost, these maintenance actions may lead to indirect costs associated with traffic delays and environmental effects that can significantly increase the life-cycle cost of the bridge under consideration. The use of more sustainable materials, such as maintenance-free steel, may increase the initial cost of the structure; however, the life-cycle cost, including the maintenance actions during the service life and their associated indirect effects, can be significantly reduced. This paper presents the computational approach and results of an analytical investigation to quantify the life-cycle cost of a steel bridge constructed using conventional painted carbon steel and to compare this cost to that of the same bridge constructed using ma...
Contrast-Induced Nephropathy.

A 48-year-old man presents to the Emergency Department and complains of new onset of chest pain with exertion. He has a history of tobacco use, hypercholesterolemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and chronic renal disease (baseline serum creatinine concentration [SCr] 1.7 mg/dL; estimated glomerular function [eGFR] 47 mL/min per 1.73m2). Initially, he undergoes coronary computed tomography (CT) angiography, which demonstrates >75% narrowing of the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery. The next day he undergoes coronary catheterization with successful drug-eluting stent placement to an 80% stenosis of the left anterior descending coronary artery. He receives a total of 211 mL contrast agent (320 mgI/mL; 67.52 g iodine) from both examinations. His SCr level increases to a peak of 2.4 mg/dL at 48 hours after percutaneous intervention, returning to baseline over the next 72 hours. He recovers uneventfully. The treating physicians diagnose him with postinterventional contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN). After the introduction of iodinated contrast agents in the last century, their use was promptly linked to acute kidney injury (AKI).1 The presumed causal relationship between contrast medium (CM) exposure and AKI has since been axiomatic in clinical care, with substantial implications for patient management in the context of contrast-enhanced imaging. Indeed, fear of contrast-induced AKI is one of the most frequent reasons why CM is withheld from patients and thus frequently compromises the diagnostic information gained from imaging. Despite the nearly universal concern about the risks of CIN, several recent large-scale studies have questioned the general concept of CIN and the relationship between CM administration, AKI, and worsened clinical outcome.2,3 In fact, AKI may occur at similar rates in matched control groups of patients undergoing CT scanning with and without CM administration.4,5 Therefore, a clear differentiation between AKI due to other causes and true CIN …
"Authentic hybrids" in the balkan borderlands

This article critiques prevalent assumptions about hybridity through analysis of identity in a quintessentially hybrid site, the western borderlands of the former Yugoslavia. Drawing on the case of a contemporary regionalist movement embracing a hybrid identity in the Istrian peninsula, it demonstrates the ways in which the hybridity concept replicates, both conceptually and in everyday life, the logics it ostensibly opposes. It does so by revealing the mutual constitution of discourses of purity and hybridity within the context of historical statebuilding projects in the region. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that understandings of difference and forms of exclusion grounded in both nature and culture have long histories along the eastern Adriatic. The operation of an avowedly culturalist conception of identity that nonetheless naturalizes and territorializes/grounds culture through horticultural and vegetative imagery foreshadows the cultural fundamentalism identified by Stolcke as a feature of cont...
Parameterized Programming

Parameterized programming is a powerful technique for the reliable reuse of software. In this technique, modules are parameterized over very general interfaces that describe what properties of an environment are required for the module to work correctly. Reusability is enhanced by the flexibility of the parameterization mechanism proposed here. Reliability is further enhanced by permitting interface requirements to include more than purely syntactic information. This paper introduces three new ideas that seem especially useful in supporting parameterized programming: 1) theories, which declare global properties of program modules and interfaces; 2) views, which connect theories with program modules in an elegant way; and 3) module expressions, a kind of general structured program transformation which produces new modules by modifying and combining existing modules. Although these ideas are illustrated with some simple examples in the OBJ programming language, they should also be taken as proposals for an Ada1 library system, for adding modules to Prolog, and as considerations for future language design efforts. OBJ is an ultra-high level programming language, based upon rewrite rules, that incorporates these ideas, and many others from modern programming methodology.
Complex, 3D Photonic Crystals Fabricated by Atomic Layer Deposition

Recently we have demonstrated the potential of Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) for the fabrication of advanced luminescent photonic crystal (PC) structures based on the inverse opal architecture.[1-3] PC's offer efficiency enhancement, decreased threshold, and other enhancements that improve phosphor performance. 3D PC structures are being extensively modeled, revealing that changes in the structures such as shifting the distribution of dielectric material can significantly improve photonic band gap (PBG) properties. For example, in the inverted “shell” structure, the width of the PBG can be increased from 4.25% to 8.6%.[4] Similarly, the PBG width can also be increased to 9.6% by formation of a non-close-packed structure.[5] Using the FDTD method, we have found that the PBG in a TiO2 non-closed packed structure can be as high as 5%. The performance of these structures depends critically on precisely and accurately placed high dielectric material. Using ALD, we have demonstrated infiltration of TiO2 films with extremely smooth surfaces (0.2–0.4 nm RMS roughness) while maintaining a high level of control over the infiltration coating thickness, enabling formation of composite infiltrated and inverse opals with nano-scale precision. Here we report progress in fabrication of multi-layered and non-close packed PCs using ALD. Two and three-layer inverse opals were formed by the deposition of thin layers of ZnS:Mn and TiO2 in stacked configuration, each exhibiting luminescence when excited by UV light. Evidence for modification of the emission characteristics by high order PBGs (gaps other than between the 2nd and 3rd bands) has been observed. In addition, non-close packed inverse opals have been formed by infiltrating heavily sintered silica opals with TiO2, etching the spheres with hydrofluoric acid, and backfilling the resulting inverse opal. Resulting structures were characterized using specular reflectance and transmission, photoluminescence, and SEM. This work demonstrates the enormous potential that ALD offers for the realization of high performance photonic crystal structures.
Collagen organization in wound healing after myocardial injury.

Our understanding of what constitutes “normal” collagen organization in wound healing after myocardial injury and how such organization is achieved is still in its infancy. However, once this knowledge has been obtained, it may suggest methods of enhancing or even optimizing healing, and thus provide us with the possibility of modifying the structural problems responsible for infarct expansion and rupture.
Lithium Diffusion in Layered Li x CoO2

The results of a first principles investigation of lithium diffusion within the layered form of are presented. Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations predict that lithium diffusion is mediated through a divacancy mechanism between and and with isolated vacancies at infinite vacancy dilution. The activation barrier for the divacancy migration mechanism depends strongly on lithium concentration resulting in a diffusion coefficient that varies within several orders of magnitude. We also argue that the thermodynamic factor in the expression of the chemical diffusion coefficient plays an important role at high lithium concentration. ©2000 The Electrochemical Society
Proteome Analysis of the Total Protein in Vibrio cholerae by 2-DE

Objective To establish of two dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) for proteome analysis of Vibrio cholerae(V.cholerae). Method Total cellular protein was extracted from V.cholerae, and proteins were separated by 2-DE under immobilized pH gradients(IPG),then electrophoregrams were obtained by Coomassie brilliant blue staining, and analyzed by ImageMaster 2D Elite 5.0. Result High quality and reproducible 2-DE maps were obtained. 2-DE and image analysis revealed (1081±16) protein spots, and pI value was mainly ranged from 4.24 to 7.20. The matching spots were (1057±28) in two repeat electrophoregrams, with matching rate of 97.85%. Conclusion 2-DE of V.cholerae has been successfully established with high quality and resolution, which is valuable for proteomics research of V.cholerae.
Patterns of Failure in Salvage Therapy for Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

The advent of cytosine arabinoside and daunorubicin into clinical practice in the late 1960s converted acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) from an incurable to a potentially curable disease [1]. In the last 20 years, the complete remission rates for combinations of therapy as initial induction regimens have been of the range of 50%–80% [2–4]. Despite a variety of postremission strategies, the majority of patients who enter remission relapse with a median of 12–15 months [2–5]. Between 20% and 30% of patients appear to be cured of their disease if they achieve a remission as they remain free of disease for periods in excess of 5 years. Treatment of patients who either fail to achieve a complete remission (primary refractory) or who relapse following a remission (relapsed patients) is unsatisfactory. The majority of studies which are reported are conducted on selected patients with a variety of combinations. For similar regimens such as high-dose cytosine arabinoside, the response rates vary from 25% to 60% [6–8]. While this may be a result of the chemotherapy offered to these patients, an alternate explanation is that the characteristics of the patients entered on studies is different. Very few comparative trials of various regimens have been conducted in salvage therapy for AML so that the best approach to reinduction therapy has not been established. With the advent of new agents such as amsacrine, mitoxantrone, etoposide, and idarubicin and various schedules of high-dose cytosine arabinoside, a variety of treatment programs are now being recommended for management of refractory or relapsed AML patients [9–11].
MicroRNA-23a downregulates the expression of interferon regulatory factor-1 in hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Abstract Interferon regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1) is a tumor-suppressor gene induced by interferon-γ (IFNγ) and plays an important role in the cell death of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC tumors evade death in part by downregulating IRF-1 expression, yet the molecular mechanisms accounting for IRF-1 suppression in HCC have not yet been characterized. Previous studies have shown that microRNA-23a (miR-23a) can suppress apoptosis by targeting IRF-1. Therefore, we hypothesized that miR-23a promotes HCC growth by downregulating IRF-1. For the in vivo studies, 7 cases of resected HCC and adjacent liver samples were analyzed. For the in vitro studies, IRF-1 mRNA and protein were examined in HepG2 and Huh-7 HCC cells after IFNγ stimulation by real-time PCR and western blotting, respectively. To determine the role of miR-23a in regulating IRF-1, HepG2 cells were transfected with an miR-23a mimic or inhibitor, and IRF-1 expression was examined. Binding of miR-23a was assessed by cloning the 528-bp human IRF-1 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR) into luciferase reporter plasmid pMIR-IRF-1-3'UTR. The results showed that IRF-1 mRNA expression was downregulated in the human HCC tumor tissues compared to that in the adjacent background liver tissues. IFNγ-induced IRF-1 protein was less in the HepG2 tumor cells compared to that in the primary human hepatocytes. miR-23a expression was inversely correlated with IRF-1, and addition of the miR-23a inhibitor increased basal IRF-1 mRNA and protein. Likewise, the miR-23a mimic downregulated IFNγ-induced IRF-1 protein expression, while the miR-23a inhibitor increased IRF-1. Furthermore, the miR-23a mimic repressed IRF-1-3'UTR reporter activity, while the miR-23a inhibitor increased the reporter activity. These results demonstrated that IRF-1 expression is downregulated in human HCC tumors compared to that noted in the background liver. miR-23a downregulates the expression of IRF-1 in HCC cells, and the IRF-1 3'UTR has an miR‑23a binding site that binds miR-23a and decreases reporter activity. These findings suggest that the targeting of IRF-1 by miR-23a may be the molecular basis for IRF-1 downregulation in HCC and provide new insight into the regulation of HCC by miRNAs.
99mTechnetium penicillamine scans: an index of differential renal function.

AbstractThe relative renal accumulation of 99mtechnetium penicillamine was evaluated as an index of differential renal function. Regions of interest were assigned over each kidney with a computer and the renal uptake of 99mtechnetium penicillamine was determined. A simple background correction was made by subtracting the renal activity at 10 minutes from that at 25 minutes. The percentage of 99mtechnetium penicillamine accumulation in the left kidney was correlated with the percentage of the total effective renal plasma flow to the left kidney. Effective renal plasma flow was determined after the intravenous injection of 1311 hippuran using a highly sophisticated computerized technique that has been validated in patients by comparison with traditional split renal function studies. The correlation coefficient between the 2 measurements was 0.97. In addition to its use as an index of differential effective renal plasma flow 99mtechnetium penicillamine is an excellent cortical imaging agent and the relative ...
Melatonin: reproductive effects.

N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine, melatonin, is synthesized within and secreted from the pineal gland. Although the concentration of this constituent in the blood is diminished after surgical removal of the pineal gland it does not completely disappear. Other potential contributors to blood titers of melatonin include the retinas, the Harderian glands and the gastro-intestinal tract. Melatonin has a potent antigonadotrophic action in the Syrian hamster ( a highly photosensitive species) provided the indole is given during a restricted portion of the light phase of the light-dark cycle. This so-called sensitive period falls late in the light phase; melatonin acutely administered at other times has virtually no inhibitory influence on the reproductive physiology of hamsters. When melatonin is continuously available (from a subcutaneous deposit) it counteracts the antigonadotrophic influence of the pineal gland in light restricted or blinded hamsters, i.e., it causes a "functional pinealectomy". Furthermore, chronically available melatonin negates the antigonadotrophic capability of acute melatonin injections.
Management of Bone Disease in Candidates for Organ Transplant

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the preventive measures that can reduce the risk of bone disease in candidates of organ transplant. In a high proportion of organ transplant recipients, metabolic abnormalities overwhelm the ability of the bone to respond to stress, which results in structural failure and fractures. Transplant recipients who don't appear to have many risk factors may nevertheless experience fractures, and those who do have “traditional” risk factors have an even greater chance of suffering from a fracture. Therefore, it is important to check these patients for both major and minor risk factors, and to correct those that are amenable to treatment. Because it is easier to prevent bone loss than it is to restore bone, optimization of factors that relate to bone health should be done as soon as possible. Transplant candidates frequently have multiple risk factors for bone fragility. These complex patients present a challenge to their physicians. In addition to the risk factors defined by epidemiological studies of the general population, the transplant candidates have risk factors depending on which organ has failed. Therapeutic choices may be limited or ineffective, and side effects may be more pronounced. Definitive studies on the benefits of preventive treatment in transplant candidates are lacking. Attention to all the cumulative risk factors and treatment within the available options will hopefully result in stronger bones with fewer fractures.
On g ―Evaluations with L p Domains under Jump Filtration

Given p ∈ (1, 2), the unique Lp solutions of backward stochastic differential equations with jumps (BSDEJs) allow us to extend the notion of g−evaluations, in particular g−expectations, to the jump case with Lp domains. We explore many important properties of the extended g−evaluations including optional sampling, upcrossing inequality, Doob-Meyer decomposition, generator representation and Jensen’s inequality. Most of these results are important for the further development of jump-filtration consistent nonlinear expectations with Lp domains.
Lived Religion: Signposts of Where We Have Been and Where We Can Go from Here

This chapter focuses on the concept of “lived religion” – a potential vehicle for transcending the division between the institutionalized facticity implied by grounding religious research too strongly in official definitions and codes, while ignoring participant actors as part of religions as living structures. Historically, for example, much social scientific study of religion took the norms articulated by religious bodies as “the” religion, rather than looking at how religious people actually lived their lives both in respect to specific religious duties and beliefs but also in respect to an articulation between these and other aspects of their lives. By looking at religion as a set of institutionalized norms and officially sanctioned practitioners and practices, sociology can actually serve the reverse purpose of its intent: that is, it can avoid actually describing what religious people do as religious people while instead investigating what religious people don’t do over against formal norms articulated (largely in print media) by religious bodies as corporate structures and not necessarily engaged in some details even by the corporate actors themselves, though these same corporate actors might affirm them as details that ought to be observed, both by themselves and others.
Risk, affect, and policy support: public perception of air pollution in China

Air pollution is a critical environmental problem that has spurred great public concern in China. This study examines how issue salience, environmental value, risk perception, and affective respons...
Marijuana use among adolescent multiple tobacco product users and unique risks of dual tobacco and marijuana use.

Abstract Background Adolescence is a peak time for uptake of both tobacco and marijuana (dual use). This study aimed to identify clusters of lifetime tobacco and marijuana use patterns and associated risk factors, and to determine whether dual tobacco and marijuana use is uniquely associated with greater risk than use of either tobacco or marijuana alone. Method High school students participated in a survey during Fall 2014 (N = 976; 68% Hispanic; 57% parental education Results Latent Class Analysis identified three clusters of lifetime tobacco use patterns (no tobacco, one or two products, and more than two products), each with a correspondingly distinct profile of risk behaviors; risk escalated with use of more tobacco products. Multinomial modeling characterized personal, environmental, and behavioral correlates of dual lifetime tobacco and marijuana use, including lower parental monitoring, lower grades, higher guilt, higher lifetime alcohol and drug use, and more substance use by friends, in reference to single lifetime use of either tobacco or marijuana. Conclusion Broader use of tobacco (i.e., more products) was associated with numerous risk factors. Dual lifetime use of tobacco and marijuana was associated with numerous risks compared to single use of either tobacco or marijuana. Longitudinal work is needed to understand temporal relationships between risk variables to determine optimal timing for interventions to reduce harmful behaviors.
Help me Feel Better! Ecological Momentary Assessment of Anxious Youths’ Emotion Regulation with Parents and Peers

Anxious youth often have trouble regulating negative affect (NA) and tend to over-rely on parents when faced with challenges. It is unclear how social interactions with parents or peers actually helps or hinders anxious youths' success in regulating NA. The aim of this study was to examine whether the success of anxious youths' emotion regulation strategies differed according to social context. We compared the effectiveness of co-ruminating, co-problem solving and co-distracting with parents/peers for regulating anxious youth's NA in response to stress in their daily lives. We also examined the benefit of attempting each strategy socially vs. non-socially (e.g., co-ruminating vs. ruminating). One-hundred-seventeen youth (9-14) with a current diagnosis of Separation Anxiety Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and/or Social Phobia completed an ecological momentary assessment (14 calls over 5 days), reporting on recent stressors, their affective state, presence of others, and emotion regulation strategies within the prior hour. Mixed linear models revealed that co-distracting was the most effective social strategy for reducing NA, but only for boys. Co-rumination was the least effective social strategy for regulating NA. Regarding social context, only co-distracting was more effective for regulating NA over distracting alone, but only among anxious boys. Results suggest that co-rumination is an ineffective use of social support for regulating NA. Anxious boys may benefit from social support by co-distracting with parents/peers, but improper use may reflect avoidance and contribute to long-term anxiety maintenance. Results extend research on gender differences in interpersonal relationships and emotion regulation.
Food preparation in colonial America. A Bicentennial study.

Colonial meals, although of necessity adapted to availability of foods and equipment, were not as sparse as is generally believed.
Contextualizing School Psychology Practice: Introducing Featured Research Commentaries

What is the essential attribute of school psychology? That question does not ask about the characteristics of an effective school psychologists, it asks about what it is that makes the field unique...
Back Breaking Work: Implementing a Spine Registry in an Orthopedic Clinic

Chris Ryan sighed as he opened an email seeking assistance for yet another technical issue. It was much more than Chris had anticipated when he started the American Spine Registry (ASR) project as a first year medical student 10 months earlier. He had learned a painful lesson through this research experience: implementing a clinical data collection project is anything but simple. Even though Chris had adequate funding and the support of department administration, the project had taken months longer than expected, and each week, it was becoming increasingly more frustrating. At the outset, there were no spoken expectations of technical (computer) expertise or human resource management skills, yet these aspects had consumed more time than any “research” component of the project did. Chris had begun to wonder if he would see this project through to fruition.
Multi-modal telephony services in hometalk

HomeTalk platform is a multi-modal interaction framework. It uses speech recognition and computer vision to model new generation of interfaces in the residential environment. In this paper we focus particularly on telephony aspect of the overall multimodal platform. We discuss vision of future telephony applications in home environment. The vision is based on the use of simple visual clues and speech interaction. We suggest the method of how to implement such applications using general platform. We provide short description of the platform and we demonstrate platform use on several telephony applications. The applications have been developed for trials and used by several groups of people in real life situations. The trials provided valuable feedback both to application and platform design.
Magical beliefs and rituals in young children.

Thirty-one children were administered a structured interview that assessed their beliefs about magic, tricks and wishes. Children were also presented with demonstrations of magic tricks/illusions, and asked to offer explanations as to how they worked. Parents completed the Childhood Routines Inventory (CRI), a 19-item parent report measure that assesses children's rituals, habits and sensory-perceptual experiences that we have termed “compulsive-like” behavior. Results indicated that children's rituals and compulsions were positively related to their magical beliefs, and inversely related to their uses of concrete, physical explanations to describe various phenomena. In particular, children's beliefs about the effects of wishing were most consistently correlated with their compulsive-like rituals and routines. The findings extended the work on magical beliefs and obsessive-compulsive phenomena to the normative manifestation of compulsive behaviors found in typical development.
Contract Structure and Performance of University-Industry Technology Transfer Agreements

I examine the relationship between the payment structure of contracts and the likelihood of termination using a sample of patented technologies licensed by Harvard University to for-profit enterprises. For early stage technologies such as these, non-contractible effort and investment is typically required from both inventor and licensing firm to bring the technology to market. In this double-sided moral hazard setting, the payment structure stipulated in the contract affects the incentives of firms to invest in and of inventors to provide on-going support for the development of the technology. The analysis shows that for large licensees, the use of (larger) contingent payment terms is associated with lower hazard rates of termination, whereas for small licensees the positive and negative incentives generated by contingent payments cancel each other out. The difference in the impact of incentives between small and large firms is consistent with the literature that suggests that agency problems may be less severe in small firms. An instrumental variables approach is used to account for potentially endogenous relationship between contract structure and performance.
Improving Accuracy of Data Collection on a Psychiatric Unit for Children Diagnosed With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Data collection is a hallmark of effective behavior-analytic therapy. Collecting accurate data permits a behavior analyst to evaluate the effectiveness of behavioral treatment. The current study evaluated the use of a clicker, simplified observation, and a timer to improve accuracy of data collection on a psychiatric unit for children diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Experiment 1, conducted within a combined multiple-baseline across-participants and reversal design, was an evaluation to identify an intervention package for four participants employed by the psychiatric unit. Interventions yielding the highest interobserver agreement (IOA) were highly individualized. Thus, we selected the most comprehensive intervention and exposed four additional participants to this intervention during Experiment 2. Results showed that this intervention improved IOA for these additional participants as evaluated within a multiple-baseline across-participants design. Results of the current study will be discussed to assist other behavior analysts in improving data-collection practices in hospital or school settings.
How to Build a Behavior.

How are complicated behavioral sequences executed? In this issue of Neuron, Duistermars et al. (2018) deconstruct neural control schemes underlying threats in flies, finding a small collection of neurons in which varying levels of activation lead to the performance of different movements.
Multi-objective-optimization-based control parameters auto-tuning for aerial manipulators:

The aerial manipulator has recently attracted much research attention due to its wide applications such as aerial cleaning, aerial transportation, and aerial manipulation. It is important to design...
Surgical Outcomes in Idiopathic Recurrent Facial Nerve Paralysis: A Rare Clinical Entity

Objective To evaluate the postoperative facial nerve dysfunction, audiometric outcomes, and long-term quality-of-life outcomes of patients with idiopathic recurrent facial nerve paralysis (RFP) after middle cranial fossa (MCF) microsurgical decompression. Methods Retrospective chart analysis of 11 (mean age 37.0 years, range 5 to 67) patients at an academic tertiary referral center who underwent MCF facial nerve decompression. Data analysis included evaluation of pre- and postoperative House-Brackmann (HB) score, pre- and postoperative pure-tone average (PTA), pre-and postoperative word recognition scores (WRS), and postoperative Facial Clinimetric Evaluation survey. Results Mean number of preoperative facial paralysis episodes was 3.5 (range 2 to 6), and preoperative HB score was 4.5 (range 1 to 6). Postoperatively, 0 patients had further episodes of facial nerve paralysis at an average of 6.5 years (range 0.1 to 17.6) (P = 0.005), and the average postoperative HB score was 2.1 (range 1 to 3) (P = 0.011). Postoperative audiometry was stably maintained as assessed with PTA and WRS scores. Conclusion Microsurgical facial nerve decompression for idiopathic RFP may be a reliable therapeutic modality to prophylactically decrease the number of facial nerve paralysis episodes and may also help to improve facial nerve functional status. Level of evidence 4 Laryngoscope, 130:200-205, 2020.
Gluteal Burns from a Car Seat Heater in a Neurologically Intact Patient: A Case Report

Abstract Background Car seat heaters are an increasingly common amenity in vehicles in the United States, but they have been shown to place neurologically impaired patients at risk for significant burns. Case Report We discuss the case of a neurologically intact and otherwise healthy 49-year-old man who presented to the Emergency Department with second-degree gluteal and posterior upper thigh burns after using a car seat warmer for 8 consecutive hours. At no point during the course of his drive did he experience discomfort beyond feeling slightly warm. The patient was treated with supportive therapy and standard wound care, and he had a full recovery after 10 days. We review the pathophysiology of burns and discuss how seat heaters can place even neurologically intact patients at risk for significant burn injuries. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? Our case is the first published report of a neurologically intact patient sustaining significant burns from the use of a car seat heater. This case illustrates that burn injuries can develop after prolonged exposure even at low temperatures. Emergency physicians should perform a careful skin examination on all patients presenting with gluteal discomfort in whom a history of car seat warmer use is obtained.
Switching on a Nontraditional Enzymatic Base—Deprotonation by Serine in the ent-Kaurene Synthase from Bradyrhizobium japonicum

Terpene synthases often catalyze complex carbocation cascade reactions. It has been previously shown that single residue switches involving replacement of a key aliphatic residue with serine or threonine can "short-circuit" such reactions, presumed to act indirectly via dipole stabilization of intermediate carbocations. Here a similar switch was found in the structurally characterized ent-kaurene synthase from Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Application of a recently developed computational approach to terpene synthases, TerDockin, surprisingly indicates direct action of the introduced serine hydroxyl as a catalytic base. Notably, this model suggests alternative interpretation of previous results, and potential routes towards reengineering terpene synthase activity more generally.
Beta-blocker Use is Associated with a Reduction in Opioid Use 30 Days After Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Background Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) can lead to chronic pain and prolonged postoperative opioid use. There are few evidence-based interventions to prevent these outcomes. Recently, beta-blockers have emerged as possible novel analgesics. Objectives The objective of this study was to determine whether perioperative beta-blocker use is associated with reduced prolonged postoperative opioid use after TKA. Study design This study used a retrospective cohort design. Setting The research took place within Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals in the United States between April 2012 and April 2016. Methods Patients: IRB approval was obtained to examine the records of Veterans Affairs (VA) patients undergoing TKA. Patients using opioids 60 days before surgery were excluded. Intervention The intervention being investigated was perioperative beta-blocker use, overall and by class. Measurement Oral morphine equivalent usage through postoperative day 1 and prescription opioid refills through 30, 90, and 365 days after TKA were recorded. Adjusted models were created controlling for relevant demographic and comorbidity covariates. A secondary analysis examined the same outcomes separated by beta-blocker class. Results The cohort was 93.8% male with a mean age of 66 years. Among the 11,614 TKAs that comprised the cohort, 2,604 (22.4%) were performed on patients using beta-blockers. After adjustment, beta-blocker use was associated with reduced opioid use through 30 days after surgery (odds ratio [OR] 0.89 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.80-0.99], P = .026). Selective beta-blockers were associated with reduced opioid use at 30 days (OR 0.88 [95% CI, 0.78-0.98], P = .021), and nonselective beta-blockers were associated with reduced oral morphine equivalent usage through postoperative day 1 (beta = -17.9 [95% CI, -29.9 to -5.8], P = .004). Limitations Generalizability of these findings is uncertain, because this study was performed on a cohort of predominantly white, male VA patients. This study also measured opioid use, but opioid use is not a perfect surrogate for pain. Nevertheless, opioid use offers value as an objective measure of pain persistence in a national cohort for which patient-reported outcomes are otherwise unavailable. Conclusions Perioperative beta-blocker use was associated with reduced prescription opioid use at 30 days after surgery. Both selective and nonselective beta-blockers were associated with reduced opioid use when analyzed individually. Key words Analgesics, opioid, arthroplasty, replacement, knee, adrenergic beta-antagonists, pain management.
State Sovereignty and Citizen Agency: The Nationalist-Islamic Discourse of Shaykh Muhammad Mahdi Shams al-Din

Using the discourse of Shaykh Muhammad Mahdi Shams al-Din, this article examines the contestation of sovereignty in Lebanon. His discourse on questions of sovereignty and agency offers an alternative vision of modernity that is part of an evolving struggle in the Lebanese political system. Lebanon’s consociational democratic system of structured political sectarianism necessitated an enmeshed and interactive theological, organizational, and political response. The article asks how political and ideational challenge – in the sense of empowering a disempowered group – occurs within a dominant political system of democratic exclusion? In addition, the geo-political reality of diminished state-level sovereignty, both vis-a-vis regional and international powers and domestically, in state institutions, functions, and relations, begs the question of how conditions of structured exclusion affect the state’s ability to act autonomously and in the interests of the majority of its citizens? I argue that Shams al-Din’s discourse sought to reform the status quo by emphasizing a post-sectarian accommodative vision. The essence of this vision emphasized the role of the resistant struggle (al-muqawama) for truth, justice, and inclusiveness as integral to the achievement of muwatana or citizenship (ownership / voice in the nation-state) as well as nationalist sovereignty, both of which he contextualized historically and politically within open and constructive relationships with their broader Arab, Islamic, and Human milieus. Shams al-Din’s idealistic but politically-engaged vision drew on the Sunni concept of (consultation) shura and traditional Shi‘i texts to frame just rule as an aspirational struggle and as a post-sectarian framework for political and societal organization based on taqrib (drawing closer, searching for commonalities) that stretches beyond borders. This vision outlined an interactive and interdependent relationship whereby national sovereignty is fortified for being embedded in its society and in the agency of its citizens, and vice versa.
Chalk, Cheese, and Cloth: The Settling of Quaker Communities in Seventeenth-Century Wiltshire

The underlying geology of Wiltshire was responsible for the county's contrasting farming and settlement patterns of the seventeenth century, and gave rise to its distinctive north-south 'chalk and cheese' divide. These particular characteristics, which also shaped the road networks and the location of the cloth-producing industry, played a significant role in determining the way in which the early Quaker movement developed within the county. This paper not only places the develop­ ment ofWiltshire Quakerism within the context of the county's topography but also identifies the influence of other factors, such as patronage and the presence of other religious groups, on the settling of the network of Quakers' Meetings.
Tapering Long-Term Opioid Therapy.

My patient is a 54-year-old construction worker who has been taking prescribed opioids for more than a decade for chronic knee and back pain.
Milestones in the History of Rice Improvement in Sri Lanka

The recorded history of rice breeding in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) dates back to the British colonial era (1815–1948). The Ceylon Agricultural Society (CAS) was involved in promoting rice production in the country until the early twentieth century, a responsibility that was taken over by the Department of Agriculture (DOA), since its inception in 1912. Though no specific details of breeding procedures adopted are available, a variety named ‘improved Hatiel’, which takes 7 months to mature from planting, appears in the literature in the early nineteenth century. This would have been developed by seed selection, which was the procedure adopted then to purify rice varieties. During the early twentieth century, the targeted national average yield was 0.75 t/ha. Pure-line selection began in the 1920s, and 16 pure lines were identified by the end of the 1940s for cultivation under different agro-ecological conditions. As pure-line paddies failed to fulfil the anticipations, a scheme for paddy production improvement was drafted in 1945 to alleviate the food situation as two-thirds of the country’s rice requirement had to be imported. Exotic rice varieties were introduced to fulfil the gap. The rice breeding strategies took a new turn in the late 1950s where hybridization of different varieties was employed to create a new genetic variability for the selection of genotypes with better fertilizer responses and disease tolerance. A series of ‘H’ varieties of different growth durations was developed and recommended. Improved plant type was conceptualized in the 1960s for Indica rice varieties, and new improved semidwarf varieties emerged thereafter. Pest and disease tolerance appeared as an important breeding objective in the 1970s with the change of the microclimate surrounding the plant and increased use of fertilizer. Resistance to rice blast, bacterial blight, gall midge and brown planthopper became a major issue in rice varietal improvement. Resistant varieties were developed to combat these pest problems. Grain quality aspects were given prominence in varietal improvement since the 1990s as the country was reaching self-reliance.