cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rats can make relative perceptual judgments about sequential stimuli

In their natural environment, animals often make decisions based on abstract relationships among multiple stimulus representations. Humans and other primates can determine not only whether a sensory stimulus differs from a remembered sensory representation, but also how they differ along a particular dimension. However, much remains unknown about how such relative comparisons are made, and which species share this capacity, in part because most studies of sensory-guided decision making have utilized instrumental tasks in which choices are based on very simple stimulus–response associations. Here, we used a two-stimulus-interval discrimination task to test whether rats could determine how two sequentially presented stimuli were related along the dimension of odor quality (i.e., what the stimulus smells like). At a central port, rats sampled and compared two odor mixtures that consisted of spearmint and caraway in different ratios, separated by a 2–4-s interval, and then entered the left or right reward port. Water was delivered at the left if the first mixture consisted of more spearmint than the second did, and at the right otherwise. We found that the difference in mixture ratio predicted choice accuracy. Control experiments suggest that rats were indeed basing their choices on a comparison of odor quality across mixtures and were not using associative strategies. This study is the first demonstration of the use of a sequential “more than versus less than” rule in rats and provides a well-controlled paradigm for studying abstract comparisons in a rodent model system.
Barriers to reporting medication errors: a measurement equivalence perspective

Objectives To demonstrate a statistical analysis for testing the measurement equivalence of a patient safety survey instrument. The survey instrument examined in the present study is the Medication Administration Error Reporting Survey. Methods Surveys were posted to a random sample of registered nurses in the State of Texas, with 435 nurses completing the survey. The surveys contained questions about various error reporting issues, including the 16-item, Medication Administration Error Reporting scale. Nurses were divided into one of two samples—calibration and holdout—to ensure replicability of the results. Within each sample, two groups were created based on nurse tenure on the job. Results Multiple Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis was conducted across nurses with varying levels of experience for the calibration and holdout samples. For each sample, a baseline model was estimated, where model parameters were allowed to vary across the nursing groups, and compared with more restrictive models. The results provided support for the factor structure of the Medication Administration Error Reporting System but yielded mixed results concerning the equivalence of the measure across nursing groups. Conclusions The present study provides an explanation of how to examine the measurement equivalence of survey instruments and demonstrated that the Medication Administration Error Reporting scale might not be equivalent across nurses who differ with respect to experience levels.
Thrombopoietin emerges as a new haematopoietic cytokine that confers cardioprotection against acute myocardial infarction.

Colony stimulating factors (CSFs), also called haematopoietic growth factors, are circulating cytokines that regulate the bone marrow production of red cells, white cells, and platelets. CSFs have also been reported to act on stem cells to regulate lineage-specific differentiation.1 Erythropoietin (EPO) controls red cell production and has been utilized in recombinant form for the treatment of anaemia in patients with end-stage renal disease since 1988. Granulocyte CSF (G-CSF) acts on haematopoietic stem cells to regulate neutrophil progenitor proliferation and differentiation. G-CSF is routinely used to mobilize stem cells in normal patients for transplantation of cells into patients with haematological malignancies, or in the patients themselves. Several recent reports have suggested that these cytokines possess properties that extend beyond their haematopoietic properties, such as the ability to protect the heart against injury caused by ischaemia and reperfusion (I/R).2,3 Baker et al. 4 now demonstrate for the first time in this issue of Cardiovascular Research that a third haematopoietic growth factor, thrombopoietin (TPO), is able to provide cardioprotection against myocardial I/R injury in a rat model by mechanisms independent of its haematopoietic properties. TPO affects nearly all aspects of platelet production, from self-renewal and expansion of haematopoietic stem cells, through stimulation of the proliferation of megakaryocyte progenitor cells, to support the maturation of these cells into platelet-producing cells.5 Since its purification in 1994, TPO has been used to treat thrombocytopenia caused by many conventional chemotherapy regimens.6 … *Corresponding author. Tel: +1 718 430 2645; fax: +1 718 430 8989. E-mail address : dlefer{at}aecom.yu.edu
Temperature, Demography, and Ectotherm Fitness

Temperature has profound effects on ectotherms such as plants, invertebrates, and lower vertebrates (Hochachka and Somero 1984; Cossins and Bowler 1987). The impact of temperature is often depicted graphically as a “thermal performance curve,” which plots performance as a function of body temperature (Huey and Stevenson 1979). Typically, performance increases gradually with temperature up to some maximal or optimal level but then declines precipitously as temperature approaches damaging levels and upper lethal limits. The impact of temperature on Darwinian fitness of ectotherms can be depicted similarly. However, one must first choose an appropriate measure of fitness (Stearns 1982). Several measures are available (Tuljupurkar 1990; Roff 1992; Stearns 1992; Carey 1993; Kozlowski 1993; Charlesworth 1994), but r (“intrinsic rate of increase”; see “Material and Methods”) and Ro (“net reproductive rate”; see “Material and Methods”) are by far the two most commonly used ones. The intrinsic rate of increase is the rate of population increase in a closed population, assuming constant age-specific schedules of death and reproduction and a stable age distribution, whereas the net reproductive rate is the average number of female offspring born to a female over her lifetime, again assuming constant agespecific schedules of death and reproduction (Carey 1993). Both measures estimate population growth rates, but r is scaled to time, whereas Ro is scaled per generation and is independent of time. Surprisingly, however, whether these
Felix Platter and a historical perspective of the meningioma

Abstract Introduction Felix Platter is one of the pioneer anatomists and physicians of the 16th century who described various human diseases including meningioma. In this historical article, we present the details of Platter's life and his pioneering work on meningioma. First case of Meningioma In 1614, Dr. Platter described the first case of meningioma. He described the tumor as a round, fleshy mass shaped like an acorn and as large as a medium-sized apple, and full of holes. The tumor was covered with its own membrane, had no connection with the matters of the brain, and left behind a cavity after removal. This first clear description of an intracranial tumor is most consistent with encapsulated meningioma. The succeeding scholar, Harvey Cushing, coined the term “meningioma” for this tumor; neurosurgeons today describe the tumor as “parasagittal or falcine meningioma.” Other contributions In addition to his contribution to meningioma study, Dr. Platter was also the first to describe Dupuytren's disease, hypertrophy of the thalamus, and the retina as the sensory organ of the eye. He contributed to the germ theory of disease and gave substantial accounts of mental illnesses, gynecological disorders, and certain dermatological conditions. Publications Dr. Platter published numerous accounts on various diseases. In 1614 he reported the case of meningioma in the book entitled “Platerus Observations in Hominis”. Additionally, Dr. Platter published his work, ‘Praxeos Medicae,’ which contains his most important contribution on psychiatry and his classification of psychiatric diseases. Conclusion Because of his many contributions to neuroscience, particularly his identification of meningioma, Dr. Platter should be highly credited as a pioneer in the field of neurosurgery.
Clinical pain management techniques for cats

Although pain management is an emerging and popular topic in veterinary medicine, use of analgesics in cats has received little attention relative to their canine counterparts. Some of the difficulty lies in assessment of whether or not a cat is in pain. Simple observation of a cat in a cage relies upon overt expression of pain, and is often inaccurate. Pain scales have been developed that allow a semiquantitative evaluation of the degree of pain an animal may be experiencing. However, treating pain based upon observation of the painful state is less effective than anticipating and preemptively treating pain. This article reviews specific methods for preemptively treating and alleviating pain in the cat. The traditional approach to pain management involves drug administration. Specific categories of agents used in cats include opioids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, or alpha-2 agonists. Other modalities of pain management, which are also reviewed, include use of local anesthetic drugs for local and regional analgesia, as well as acupuncture.
Improvement of Moisture Estimation Accuracy of Vegetation-Covered Soil by Combined Active/Passive Microwave Remote Sensing

The measured effects of vegetation canopies on radar and radiometric sensitivity to soil moisture are compared to first-order emission and scattering models. The models are found to predict the measured emission and backscattering with reasonable accuracy for various crop canopies at frequencies between 1.4 and 5.0 GHz, especially at angles of incidence less than 30°. The vegetation loss factor L (?) increases with frequency and is found to be dependent upon canopy type and water content. In addition, the effective radiometric power absorption coefficient of a mature corn canopy is roughly 1.75 times that calculated for the radar at the same frequency. Comparison of an L-band radiometer with a C-band radar shows the two systems to be complementary in terms of accurate soil moisture sensing over the extreme range of naturally occurring soil-moisture conditions. The combination of both an L-band radiometer and a C-band radar is expected to yield soil-moisture estimates that are accurate to better than +/-30 percent of true soil moisture, even for a soil under a lossy crop canopy such as mature corn. This is true even without any other ancillary information.
Automated Road Sign Inventory System Based on Stereo Vision and Tracking

Detection, recognition, and positioning of road signs are critical components of a roadway asset management system. In this research, a stereo vision- based system is developed to conduct automated road sign inventory. The system in real time integrates and synchronizes the data streams from multiple sensors of high-resolution cameras, Differential Global Position- ing System receivers, Distance Measurement Instrument, and Inertial Measurement Unit. Algorithms are devel- oped based on data sets from the multiple positioning sensors to determine the positions of the moving vehi- cle and the orientation of the cameras. The key findings from the research include feature extraction and analysis that are applied for automated sign detection and recog- nition in the Right-of-Way (ROW) images, implementing a tracking algorithm of the candidate sign region among the image frames so the same signs are not counted more than once in an image sequence, and implementing stereo vision technique to compute the world coordinates of the road sign from the stereo-paired ROW images. Particu- lar techniques are employed to conduct all data acquisi- tion and analysis in real time onboard the vehicle. This system is an advanced alternative to traditional inventory methods in terms of safety and efficiency.
Thermal-aware voltage droop compensation for multi-core architectures

As the rated performance of microprocessors increases, voltage droop emergencies become a significant problem. In this paper, two new techniques to combat voltage droop emergencies are explored. First, a direct connection between temperature and processor clock frequency modulation during voltage droops is established. In general, a higher temperature leads to a lower voltage droop with the same processor activity. Thus, processor frequencies can be reduced less at high temperature in an effort to prevent voltage emergencies. Through experimentation, the benefits of temperature-flexible frequency scaling are explored. Second, processor signatures consisting of performance statistics are used to identify when voltage droop compensation is needed in a multicore environment. The use of an independent on-chip interconnect network allows for the sharing of signatures across cores at run time. Signature sharing in combination with frequency throttling is shown to provide an improvement in average run-time performance in a number of cases for an eight-core multiprocessor.
Conjoint bending torsion fatigue — fractography

Abstract The fractography of conjoint bending torsion fatigue (CBTF) has been reported in this paper for a superalloy (Nimonic 75A) material used in gas turbine engines. The fracture surface features were characteristic of bending fatigue (BF), a distinct area of CBTF, and a region between the BF and CBTF, overloading (OL). Striations were documented in the two former regions, whereas ductile dimples were noted in the latter. The CBTF fracture comprised predominately 80% or more of the total fracture surface area. However, between these two cracked areas (BF and CBTF), another region experiences overloading, resulting in the failure of flange bolts. Fatigue striations were counted for the CBTF mode and crack growth rate as a function of crack length, and crack length is presented as a function of cumulative striations.
A leakage aware design methodology for power-gated programmable architectures

One popular technique to deal with increasing leakage current in modern FPGAs is to group logic into sleeper cells and isolate them from power rails whenever they are inactive in time and space. However, such architectures demand novel methodology to effectively layout the design, so that maximum sleeper cells can be shut down. In this work, we present a slicing tree based simulated annealing methodology that grooms the various blocks of a design, so that they can be put into power-down mode either in temporal or spatial domain. Our technique nicely fits into a power-aware design flow targeting standby/portable applications where substantial portion of the design sits idle for a long period of time. We also propose a novel technique to include BRAMs into the presented methodology. Our experiments shows up to a maximum 43% of leakage savings in some benchmarks
An Investigation of Mortality from Cancer and Other Causes of Death among Workers Employed at an East Texas Chemical Plant

The cause-specific mortality of 2,510 males employed at an east Texas chemical plant was examined in a historical prospective study to evaluate a suspected increase in deaths from multiple myeloma and brain cancer. Potential exposures from chemicals, either used in manufacturing processes or produced during the study period 1952-1977, included the fuel additive tetraethyl lead, ethylene dibromide and dichloride, inorganic lead, and vinyl chloride monomer. Overall mortality for all workers (156 observed vs. 211.14 expected) and for workers first employed between 1952 and 1959 (131 observed vs. 167.33 expected) when tetraethyl lead was the single major product was lower than expected when compared to the United States general population. There were no significant increases in mortality from malignancies or other causes of death. The deficits may be due to the small number of total deaths, and the low power for detecting excess risk of mortality from multiple myeloma (Z1-beta = 27, alpha = .05), brain cancer (Z1-beta = 31, alpha = .05), or other rare causes of death; lack of complete workplace exposure data for production workers; and the absence of historical measurements on the extent of environmental exposure to tetraethyl lead and other chemicals.
cDNA and Protein Sequence of a Major Form of P450, CYP2L, in the Hepatopancreas of the Spiny Lobster,Panulirus argus

A P450 fraction was previously isolated from spiny lobster hepatopancreas microsomes and shown in reconstitution experiments to be efficient in catalyzing the monooxygenation of benzphetamine, aminopyrine, benzo(a)pyrene, progesterone, and testosterone. In this study, N-terminal sequence information up to residue 39 was obtained from this P450 and used to design degenerate primers for screening a cDNA library constructed from hepatopancreas mRNA. Clones were obtained that contained part of the coding region of a P450 protein. Further exact primers were designed that permitted the isolation of clones containing coding information for other parts of the P450 sequence, as well as a clone that coded for the complete P450 protein sequence. The open reading frame of the complete coding region corresponded to a protein of 492 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence of this P450 was about 36% similar to individual mammalian P450s in the 2 family and did not show strong matches with other proteins in the data base. Based on sequence and the previously determined function, this spiny lobster P450 was assigned by the P450 nomenclature committee to a new P450 subfamily, CYP2L. This is the first description of a P450 primary sequence from a marine crustacean species and the first assignment of an invertebrate P450 into the 2 family.
Spatiotemporal Transition to Conduction Block in Canine Ventricle

Interruption of periodic wave propagation by the nucleation and subsequent disintegration of spiral waves is thought to mediate the transition from normal sinus rhythm to ventricular fibrillation. This sequence of events may be precipitated by a period doubling bifurcation, manifest as a beat-to-beat alternation, or alternans, of cardiac action potential duration and conduction velocity. How alternans causes the local conduction block required for initiation of spiral wave reentry remains unclear, however. In the present study, a mechanism for conduction block was derived from experimental studies in linear strands of cardiac tissue and from computer simulations in ionic and coupled maps models of homogeneous one-dimensional fibers. In both the experiments and the computer models, rapid periodic pacing induced marked spatiotemporal heterogeneity of cellular electrical properties, culminating in paroxysmal conduction block. These behaviors resulted from a nonuniform distribution of action potential duration alternans, secondary to alternans of conduction velocity. This link between period doubling bifurcations of cellular electrical properties and conduction block may provide a generic mechanism for the onset of tachycardia and fibrillation.
A handoff scheme with probability-based channel borrowing in integrated wireless mobile networks

We propose and analyze a handoff scheme with channel borrowing in integrated wireless mobile networks. Channels in each cell are divided into two parts and pre-allocated to real-time and non-real-time services. Each type of service is allowed to borrow channels from the other under certain conditions. A non-real-time service call can borrow an unused channel assigned to real-time service but it can be preempted by a real-time service call. A real-time service call borrows a channel from non-real-time service with a certain probability which depends on the number of available idle non-real-time service channels. We model the system by a six-dimensional Markov chain and compute the system performance in terms of blocking probability of originating calls, forced termination probability of real-time service calls, and average transmission delay of non-real-time service calls. The proposed scheme maximizes the resource utilization and keeps a certain quality of service (QoS) for each service at the time of congestion.
Communications architecture for space-based sensor networks

Numerous planned and proposed future space exploration missions employ multiple spacecraft that perform multipoint sensing. Distributed space-based sensing missions can significantly benefit from incorporation of cross-link communications capabilities, thereby forming space-based networks, by enabling continuous access to any/all spacecraft via a single ground contact, real-time coordinated observations, and autonomous in situ processing within a spatial neighborhood of spacecraft. We present a communications architecture for space-based sensor networks. Because of the large inter-spacecraft distances, directional antennas are used, with a single half-duplex transceiver per spacecraft to achieve low cost. Orbital motion induces a dynamic albeit predictable geometry (and topology) among the spacecraft. Primary offered traffic is sensor telemetry destined to the Earth ground station, although other traffic patterns are also treated. We present a technique that derives the link activation schedule (transmit/receive mode and communications neighbor selection) and routes used for efficient traffic relay through the network, leveraging the Florens and McEliece algorithm for tree networks. An illustrative example is presented, and throughput and latency performance are evaluated. An extension to the networking method is described that is traffic adaptive.
Metamaterials, gamma-ray bursts, quantum gravity, and the search for the missing half of the maxwell equations

Although microwave metamaterials may seem unrelated to gamma-ray astrophysics, it is shown that both phenomena may be expressed using left-handed extensions to Maxwell's equations. For metamaterials, such extensions represent the left-handed behavior of materials. For gamma-ray bursts, such extensions represent unknown dispersive processes, such as quantum gravity, where GeV gamma rays commonly arrive significantly later than low-energy photons. Recent quadratic gamma-ray dispersion models then lead to modified Helmholtz equations and concomitant extensions to Maxwell's equations. The resulting differential equations are shown to be identical to certain metamaterial models, with right-handed low-frequency behavior, a forbidden band, and left-handed high-frequency behavior.
Does feeding tube placement predict for long-term swallowing disability after radiotherapy for head and neck cancer?

Purpose. To evaluate feeding tube use. Materials and Methods. Nine hundred thirty-four patients were treated with radiotherapy (RT). Results. Feeding tubes were placed in 235 patients (25%): 212 patients (22.5%) for acute toxicity, 18 patients (2%) for late effects, and 5 patients (0.5%) for both. Median duration of tube dependence for acute toxicity was 3.8 months. Multivariate analysis revealed that feeding tube placement for acute toxicity was increased with higher RT dose (p < .0001), adjuvant chemotherapy (p = .0002), advanced age (p = .0002), and the presence of neck disease (p = .0045). The risk of a feeding tube for late effects was 2% at 5 years. The likelihood of feeding tube placement for late effects was greater for women (p = .0293), higher RT dose (p = .0345), and primary sites, including the hypopharynx and multiple synchronous primary tumors (p = .0360). Feeding tube placement for late effects was unrelated to tube placement for acute toxicity. Conclusion. Likelihood of long-term feeding tube dependence was low and unrelated to placement for acute effects. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 25: 741–747, 2003
Proteomic Patterns of Colonic Mucosal Tissues Delineate Crohn’s Colitis and Ulcerative Colitis

Purpose Although Crohn's colitis (CC) and ulcerative colitis (UC) share several clinical features, they have different causes, mechanisms of tissue damage, and treatment options. Therefore, the accurate diagnosis is of paramount importance in terms of medical care. The distinction between CC/UC is made on the basis of clinical, radiologic, endoscopic, and pathologic interpretations but cannot be differentiated in up to 15% of inflammatory bowel disease patients. Correct management of this “indeterminate colitis” depends on the accuracy of future, and yet not known, destination diagnosis (CC/UC). Experimental design We have developed a proteomic methodology that has the potential to discriminate between UC/CC. The histologic layers of 62 confirmed UC/CC tissues were analyzed using MALDI-MS for proteomic profiling. Results A Support Vector Machine algorithm consisting of 25 peaks was able to differentiate spectra from CC and UC with 76.9% spectral accuracy when using a leave-20%-out cross-validation. Application of the model to the entire dataset resulted in accurate classification of 19/26 CC patients and 36/36 UC patients when using a 2/3 correct cutoff. A total of 114 peaks were found to have Wilcoxin rank sum p-values of less than 0.05. Conclusion and clinical relevance This information may provide new avenues for the development of novel personalized therapeutic targets.
Mass fluxes in New Mexico mountain thunderstorms from radar and aircraft measurements

We have obtained the vertical and detrained mass fluxes through the life cycles of four thunderstorms using measurements from four Doppler radars and an instrumented aircraft. The storms formed over the Magdalena Mountains of central New Mexico, and remained near the mountains through their entire life. Updraughts appeared to entrain a certain amount of surrounding radar-invisible air. Thermodynamic considerations suggest that this air came from neighbouring towering cumulus clouds rather than directly from the environment. Entrained air did not immediatly mix with cloud-base air, but tended to maintain its own identity in ascent. Levels with decreasing parcel buoyancy induced significant detrainment from the updraught. Downdraughts were confined primarily to levels below 7–8 km above mean sea level. The net mass flux entering or leaving the underside of the thunderstorms equalled that supplied by the mountain upslope flow. Since this net flux is a combination of updraughts and downdraughts, unstable air at low levels is gradually replaced by stable downdraught air, thus ensuring the demise of the storm.
Estimating mean particle diameter in free-fall granular particle flow using a Poisson model in space

The mean diameters of particles in a free-falling flow regime were estimated using a combination of theory and measurements. The flow regime consisted of an intermittent sequence of clumps of particles separated by spacings among them. The objective of this research was to determine the mean diameters of particles in the flow, based on measurement of the lengths of the clumps and spacings. The model used to calculate the diameter estimate was based on the assumption that the flow forms a Poisson process, where particles arrive at a time-of-flight sensor independently in space. This assumption implies that the flow density in particles per metre can be obtained by taking the reciprocal value of the mean length of the spacings among clumps of particles. This facilitated the derivation of a method for estimating the theoretical mean particle diameter. Discrepancies between the measured data and its theoretical counterpart could be caused by (1) the Poisson assumption not being valid and (2) measurement errors. To isolate these effects the Poisson assumption was tested. The result was that among 40 datasets, grouped into 10 replicates taken at four different fall heights causing four different flow densities, 30 were assumed to be Poisson driven. The 10 remaining datasets had a high density at which point the Poisson assumption appeared to break down. Subsequently, using only the 30 experiments which were assumed Poisson driven, the sensor was characterised by equalising predicted clump and spacing lengths with their measured equivalents. This yielded two sensor characteristic constants, which were used in the measurement model to estimate the mean diameter of the particles among a range of flow densities. The diameter of 4.5 mm particles was estimated using the 30 datasets assumed to form a Poisson process, with a mean value of 4.50 mm and a standard deviation of 0.044 mm (1% coefficient of variation) in a flow density range from 67 particles m −1 to 167 particles m −1 . The maximum and minimum values were 4.57 mm (+1.6% error) and 4.42 mm (−1.8%), respectively.
Cold exciton gases in coupled quantum well structures

Cold exciton gases can be implemented in coupled quantum well structures. In this contribution, we review briefly the recent works on spontaneous coherence of cold excitons and on trapping of cold excitons with laser light.
Structural, electronic and acid/base properties of [Ru(bpy(OH)2)3]2+ (bpy(OH)2 = 4,4′-dihydroxy-2,2′-bipyridine)

We have synthesized the complex [Ru(bpy(OH)2)3]2+ (bpy(OH)2 = 4,4′-dihydroxy-2,2′-bipyridine) containing ligands that can be readily deprotonated. Both experimental and computational techniques were utilized to perform a thorough analysis of the structural and electronic properties of the complex in both the protonated and deprotonated state. The complex [Ru(bpy(OMe)2)3]2+ (bpy(OMe)2 = 4,4′-dimethoxy-2,2′-bipyridine) was also synthesized and studied, because the bpy(OMe)2 ligand has electron-donating properties like bpy(OH)2, but does not contain deprotonatable groups. Cyclic voltammetry of [Ru(bpy(OH)2)3]2+ yields a reversible RuIII/II wave that shifts 1.43 V to lower energy upon deprotonation of the complex. UV/Visible absorbance spectroscopy reveals several Metal-to-Ligand Charge Transfer (MLCT) transitions that shift to lower energy upon deprotonation of the complex. This observation is in contrast to mixed-ligand systems containing deprotonatable groups, such as [Ru(bpy)2(bpy(OH)2)]2+ (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine) that demonstrate different types of electronic transitions assigned as mixed Metal-Ligand to Ligand Charge Transfer (MLLCT). The more symmetrical nature of the tris-bpy(OH)2 complex most likely prevents the metal molecular orbitals from significantly mixing with the molecular orbitals of the deprotonated ligand. Luminescence studies were carried out on [Ru(bpy(OH)2)3]2+ and reveal a shift to lower energy and quenching of the excited state upon deprotonation in accordance with the energy gap law.
The Effect of Gender Stereotype Assimilation and Contrast on Entrepreneurial Intention

We examined how implicit and explicit activation of gender stereotypes affect entrepreneurial intentions of men and women. Based on stereotype activation theory, we hypothesized that men and women would confirm gender stereotypes about entrepreneurs when they are activated implicitly, but they would disconfirm the stereotypes when activated explicitly. Results supported our hypothesis for masculine but not feminine stereotypes. Further results indicated that men had higher entrepreneurial intentions compared to women when presented with no stereotypical information, confirming an underlying societal masculine stereotype about entrepreneurs, although men and women had similar entrepreneurial intentions when presented with gender-neutral information about entrepreneurs, suggesting that gender stereotypes can be nullified. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Enhancing “Gero-Interest” Among Health Education Graduate Students Is “Adding on” Aging to International Service Learning Effective?

With the proportions and numbers of older adults increasing rapidly in the United States and worldwide, there is acute need for professionals with “gero-competency” and “gero-interest” in the spect...
Survivors and scientists : Hiroshima, Fukushima, and the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, 1975-2014

In this article, I reflect on the Radiation Effects Research Foundation and its ongoing studies of long-term radiation risk. Originally called the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (1947–1975), the R...
Quantitative Evaluation of 4 Computer Keyboards: Wrist Posture and Typing Performance

The present study focuses on an ergonomic evaluation of 4 computer keyboards, based on a quantitative analysis of wrist posture and typing performance and on subjective analyses of operator comfort...
The Effects of Repeated Reading on Reading Fluency for Students With Reading Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis

The purpose of this research was to systematically review the effects of repeated reading (RR) interventions on reading fluency to provide instructional strategies for students with reading disabilities (RD). Correct words per minute were coded as an outcome variable in a search that yielded 34 RR intervention studies from 1990 to 2014 for students with RD in K-12. The estimated overall Hedges' g of the 39 independent effect sizes indicated the positive effects of RR on gains in reading fluency for students with RD, especially at the elementary grade level. The current findings also suggested that a combination of RR and a listening passage preview would be the most effective method for students with RD.
Reassessment of the Role of Adjunctive Surgical Therapy in the Treatment of Advanced Germ Cell Tumors

We treated 30 patients for stage B3 or B3C germ cell tumors between December 1978 and December 1983. After initial, high dose, platinum-based combination chemotherapy, all patients underwent adjunctive resection of all clinically evident residual disease. Residual malignant elements were found in the retroperitoneum in 35 per cent of 26 nonseminomatous germ cell tumor patients and in 40 per cent of those with residual lesions beyond the retroperitoneum following chemotherapy. After additional chemotherapy, including platinum plus etoposide for patients with residual malignant elements, 80 and 75 per cent of those with stages B3 and B3C disease, respectively, achieved a complete sustained remission at a mean followup of 30 to 38 months, respectively. The strongest predictors of ultimate treatment failure were the presence of extensive pulmonary disease at presentation and the finding of residual malignant elements in resected lesions. Of 4 patients with seminoma 3 achieved sustained complete remission, while 1 died of recurrent embryonal carcinoma. These data support the role of adjunctive resection of clinically evident residual lesions following initial platinum-based chemotherapy in advanced metastatic germ cell tumors, and demonstrate the efficacy of additional platinum-etoposide-based chemotherapy in the 35 to 40 per cent of patients who harbor residual malignant disease in resected lesions.
Retroviral vector design for long-term expression in murine hematopoietic cells in vivo

A series of retroviral vectors containing the human glucocerebrosidase (GC) cDNA driven by various promoters have been constructed in an attempt to discover which vector design can most efficiently transduce murine hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and drive expression of the transferred gene in hematopoietic cells of mice reconstituted with the transduced stem cells. The simplest vector, LG, in which the GC gene is driven by the viral LTR, was the most efficient vector at infecting HSCs, with an average viral copy number in hematopoietic tissues of 3 copies/cell in recipient mice. In general, the viral vectors that contained any additional promoters or enhancers to drive expression of either the GC gene or a selectable marker gene (Neo) had lower titers and/or transduced HSCs at a lower efficiency. This was seen most markedly when the human phosphoglycerate (PGK) promoter was used to drive the human GC cDNA. Despite repeated attempts to obtain a high titer producer clone, this virus consistently produced low titers and subsequently resulted in the lowest proviral copy numbers in long-term reconstituted mice. Only the viral LTR and PGK promoter were capable of driving significant levels of human GC RNA in hematopoietic cells of long-term reconstituted mice, with a much lower level of RNA generated by an internal herpes TK or SV40 immediate early promoter. Insertion of the internal transcription unit in the opposite orientation relative to the viral LTRs had a detrimental effect on gene expression. The levels of RNA generated by a hybrid LTR containing the myeloproliferative sarcoma virus enhancer were higher in bone marrow-derived macrophages than in nonadherent cells of the bone marrow when compared with the LG vector. The presence of an internal promoter to drive expression of the human GC cDNA did not seem to have a detrimental effect on expression levels from the viral LTR. In fact, in the presence of an internal TK or PGK promoter expression from the LTR was increased despite the presence of lower proviral copy numbers. Insertion of a second gene (Neo) into the vector had a negative impact on long-term expression in hematopoietic cells in vivo; however, this seems to be due solely to the lower transduction efficiency of this vector. Overall, the highest levels of GC activity in macrophages of long-term reconstituted mice were generated by the LG vector; however, these levels were variable.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Prophylactic Mastectomy with Immediate Reconstruction for the High-Risk Woman

Prophylactic mastectomy should provide the woman at high risk for breast cancer with some degree of assurance that the surgical procedure is of benefit in preventing the occurrence of cancer. The so-called subcutaneous mastectomy fails because too much breast parenchyma is left to preserve the blood supply to the undisturbed nipple-areola complex. The procedure of choice described here removes the nipple-areola complex, thins and cores it, and replaces it as a free graft when the breast parenchyma is removed. A high-profile silicone breast implant is inserted into a pocket made of pectoralis major muscle, serratus anterior muscle, and a deepithelialized skin flap.
A new set of potential energy surfaces for HCO: Influence of Renner-Teller coupling on the bound and resonance vibrational states

It is commonly understood that the Renner-Teller effect can strongly influence the spectroscopy of molecules through coupling of electronic states. Here we investigate the vibrational bound states and low-lying resonances of the formyl radical treating the Renner-Teller coupled X2A′ and A2A″ states using the MultiConfiguration Time Dependent Hartree (MCTDH) method. The calculations were performed using the improved relaxation method for the bound states and a recently published extension to compute resonances. A new set of accurate global potential energy surfaces were computed at the explicitly correlated multireference configuration interaction (MRCI-F12) level and yielded remarkably close agreement with experiment in this application and thus enable future studies including photodissociation and collisional dynamics. The results show the necessity of including the large contribution from a Davidson correction in the electronic structure calculations in order to appreciate the relatively small effect of the Renner-Teller coupling on the states considered here.
Abstract PR06: Empowering Latina breast cancer patients to make informed decisions about clinical trials: A multicommunication approach

Background: Without adequate minority representation in clinical trials, researchers cannot assess differential effects in outcomes or ensure the safety of therapies across a range of biological and genetic characteristics among groups, nor can they ensure generalizability of trial results. In response, this theory-based educational intervention aims to empower Latinas to make informed decisions about breast cancer clinical trials (BCCTs) by enhancing their knowledge, attitudes, skills and self-efficacy required to support discussion of BCCTs as a treatment option with doctors and family members. Methods: This is a cohort study with random assignment of 112 Latina breast cancer patients eligible to participate in a BCCT at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The intervention includes: participation in a culturally sensitive, individually tailored, computer-based BCCTs video; a bilingual, low-literacy booklet; and assistance from a patient navigator. The control includes usual care clinical trial information materials for eligible patients. Results: Preliminary analysis showed that participants exposed to the intervention had significant higher awareness of clinical trials, particularly understanding their purpose and requirements, benefits and risks and their potential as an appropriate treatment for a serious disease, than participants in the usual care control group. In addition, patients in the intervention group showed significant changes between baseline and post intervention on stages of change compared to the control group. In the intervention group the percentage of women in preparation increased from 26.4% at baseline to 62.3% at post-intervention and the proportion of those in action rose from 35.8% to 67.9% at post-intervention. Conclusion: Computer-based videos if specifically tailored to Latinos may be a cost-effective strategy to effectively address awareness, cultural and attitudinal barriers and decision making skills needed to make informed decisions about clinical trial participation. The study is funded by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure (Award No. SAB08-00005) and the Cancer Therapy & Research Center (Grant No. P30 CA054174). This abstract was also presented as Poster A5. Citation Format: Patricia Chalela, Edgar Munoz, Kipling J. Gallion, Anand Karnad, Amelie G. Ramirez. Empowering Latina breast cancer patients to make informed decisions about clinical trials: A multicommunication approach. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Seventh AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 9-12, 2014; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2015;24(10 Suppl):Abstract nr PR06.
Race and Religious Beliefs Are Associated With Communication Regarding Reproductive Health and Preconception Counseling in Young Women With Diabetes

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between selected internal and external characteristics and communication (intended and actual) with health care providers (HCPs) about reproductive health and preconception counseling among adolescent females with diabetes.MethodsA descriptive, correlational design was employed to conduct a secondary analysis of baseline data from a multisite, randomized controlled trial. Participants were 110 female adolescents (92% type 1 diabetes). Analysis included multiple linear regression and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses to examine the association of internal characteristics (age, race, religion, and religious beliefs) and external characteristics (ever sexually active, social support, and type of routine HCP).ResultsParticipants were from 13.3 to 20.0 years of age, 82% were Caucasian, 80% had never been sexually active, and 58% perceived low to moderate amounts of social support. For both internal and external characteristics, no ...
Hospital Variation in Utilization of Life-Sustaining Treatments among Patients with Do Not Resuscitate Orders

Objective To determine between-hospital variation in interventions provided to patients with do not resuscitate (DNR) orders. Data Sources/Setting United States Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, California State Inpatient Database. Study Design Retrospective cohort study including hospitalized patients aged 40 and older with potential indications for invasive treatments: in-hospital cardiac arrest (indication for CPR), acute respiratory failure (mechanical ventilation), acute renal failure (hemodialysis), septic shock (central venous catheterization), and palliative care. Hierarchical logistic regression to determine associations of hospital “early” DNR rates (DNR order placed within 24 hours of admission) with utilization of invasive interventions. Data Collection/Extraction Methods California State Inpatient Database, year 2011. Principal Findings Patients with DNR orders at high-DNR-rate hospitals were less likely to receive invasive mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory failure or hemodialysis for acute renal failure, but more likely to receive palliative care than DNR patients at low-DNR-rate hospitals. Patients without DNR orders experienced similar rates of invasive interventions regardless of hospital DNR rates. Conclusions Hospitals vary widely in the scope of invasive or organ-supporting treatments provided to patients with DNR orders.
Exergo-economic competitiveness criteria for hybrid power cycles using multiple heat sources of different temperatures

Abstract Hybrid power generation systems using multiple heat sources of different temperatures are gaining strong interest, especially because of their ability to incorporate efficiently the use of low temperature heat sources such as renewable and waste heat, and thus also reduce specific emissions and depletion of fossil fuels and improve energy security. Past studies focused only on the exergo-economic analysis of specific thermal hybrid systems but no general theory about the performance of this class of hybrid systems was developed. This paper developed the general theory and equations for exergo-economic evaluation of such hybrid power generation systems (based on thermodynamics and the SPECO method), discusses the results, and draws conclusions about their possible improvements. Major types of power generation cycles were studied, including hybrid Rankine cycles (with and without reheat and regeneration), hybrid Brayton cycles (with and without intercooling, reheat and regeneration) and hybrid combined cycles. Positive and negative prices of externalities were included. The study found that for all the types of hybrid power cycles studied, the difference between the levelized electricity costs (LEC-s) of the hybrid system and the corresponding single heat source reference system can be generalized by two equations: one for the fuel-saving mode when the additional heat sources (AHS, beyond one) are used to save fuel, and the other for power-boost mode when the AHS is added to generate more power. These equations can be, and were, used to find he fuel price and the values of the price-beneficial externalities at which the LEC of the hybrid system becomes lower than that of the reference system. Considering that the price of the non-renewable fuel will increase in the long run, that the cost of AHS equipment will decrease as technologies improve, and that the cost of undesirable externalities will be increased, the LEC of the hybrid systems will become lower. The results also show that higher carbon and other environmental taxes/penalties will boost the economic competitiveness of the hybrid systems and provide guidance for government in determining their magnitudes.