cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Utilizing cash‐to‐cash to benchmark company performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show how the cash‐to‐cash (C2C) metric may be used to benchmark supply chain performance.Design/methodology/approach – The paper utilizes C2C variables as a means to benchmark company performance.Findings – Three case studies are offered where firms have benchmarked to: review their internal accounts payable policies; linked results of their benchmarking to profitability to help focus implementation efforts; and served as a call to action to proactively seek improvements with key trading partners. The models developed in this paper provide a benchmark approach to inter‐firm supply chain financial management. These models have direct application in a cost conscious economy and represent a non‐zero sum gain for cooperating corporations.Research limitations/implications – C2C variables are readily available for use in benchmarking.Practical implications – C2C benchmarking allows the firm to identify where to focus improvements with their supply chain trading partners...
A new method for rapid realization of the high-resolution extended-range holographic image-deblurring filter

Abstract The filter is photographically realized for its amplitude by two sandwiched components of combined extended-dynamic-range slope γ=1, and for its phase by a high-spatial-frequency range hologram recorded through them in a “triple-diffraction” arrangement.
Exact inflationary solution in induced-gravity cosmology

Abstract In induced gravity, the classical evolution of a universe is investigated. The exact inflationary solution in this model has been found. The period of inflation will be fairly short. The effective cosmological constant Λ eff tends to zero when inflation ends.
Recruitment and Retention of Sports Officials

Sabaini (2001) states that “virtually everyone with an interest in improving the numbers and quality of officials must become involved in recruitment and retention” (12). Once standards are set for recruiting and retaining hardworking, positive, and honest officials, management must find ways to evaluate and reward those officials to uphold the accountability of each individual performance at any sporting event. Managers need to reevaluate who, what, when, and where they are recruiting. They must be able to create clear, measurable, and significant goals for current officials such as making expectations clear, holding mandatory study sessions, demanding national and/or regional clinic attendance, creating standards for physical conditioning, and developing rules preparation and game performance expectations (Sabaini, 2003). These changes can only be accomplished by staying consistent with the idea that a change needs to be made.
A Novel Low-Profile Broadband Dual-Frequency Planar Antenna for Wireless Handsets

A new low-profile broadband dual-frequency planar antenna is developed for wireless handsets. The dual-frequency antenna consists of a two-strip monopole for the 2-GHz band and a planar monopole for the 5-GHz band. The developed antenna features a low profile due to the introduction of an S-strip and a T-strip which are separately printed on the two sides of a thin substrate (no via process is involved in the fabrication), forming the two-strip monopole. The bandwidth of the dual-frequency planar antenna is enhanced by taking advantage of the two-strip configuration and the mutual coupling between the planar monopole and the two-strip monopole. The dual-frequency planar antenna achieves a bandwidth of ~35% at the 2-GHz band (1.6-2.3 GHz) and ~15% at the 5-GHz band (5.0-5.9 GHz) with an antenna height of 7-8 mm, which may find applications in mobile/wireless communication devices. A theoretical analysis and verifying experimental results are presented.
Termite Resource Partitioning Related to Log Diameter

The termites Reticulitermes virginicus and R. flavipes are sympatric in forests along the eastern United States from Florida to Maryland. These congeners construct subterranean nests, forage on surface and buried wood, and appear to have very similar ecological requirements. In the present study, I examined host-wood selection by these species in a coastal forest over two years. Logs inhabited by R. virginicus had significantly greater diameters than those used by R. flavipes. It is not known whether this pattern resulted from species-specific differences in preference for host size or competition for preferred logs. Host-wood temperature did not differ for R. virginicus and R. flavipes.
Usefulness of translesional pressure gradient and pharmacological provocation for the assessment of intermediate renal artery disease.

Objective: We sought to determine the hemodynamic significance of intermediate RAS by measuring translesional systolic pressure gradients (TSPG), using a pressure-sensing guidewire at baseline and after acetylcholine (ACh) induced hyperemia, following selective renal artery angiography. Background: Renal artery stenosis (RAS) is a cause of reversible hypertension and nephropathy. Stenting effectively relieves RAS, however improvement in blood pressure control or renal function is variable and unpredictable. Hemodynamic significance is usually present with RAS when diameter stenosis is >75%, but is less predictable in intermediate (30%–75%) RAS. Methods: Twenty-two patients (26 renal arteries) with uncontrolled hypertension underwent invasive hemodynamic assessment because of intermediate RAS, defined as radiocontrast angiographic diameter stenosis (DS) between 30% and 75% (quantitative DS was measured prospectively). Translesional pressure gradients were measured using a 0.014” pressure-sensing wire. Hyperemia was induced by administration of intrarenal ACh. Results: Visual and measured angiographic lesion severity did not correlate with TSPG either at baseline (visual DS, R2 = 0.091, P = 0.13; measured DS, R2 = 0.124, P = 0.07) or with hyperemia (visual DS, R2 = 0.057, P = 0.24; measured DS, R2 = 0.101, P = 0.12). Baseline and maximal hyperemic gradient did correlate (R2 = 0.567; P 20 mm Hg) was found in 14/26 (54%) arteries (13 patients); 13 (60%) patients subsequently underwent renal artery stenting for hemodynamically significant RAS. At follow-up (at least 30 days), there was a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure (mean; 167 ± 24 vs. 134 ± 19 mm Hg; P < 0.001). Conclusions: Intrarenal administration of ACh induces hyperemia and can be used to unmask resistive renal artery lesions. Gradient measurement and induced hyperemia may be warranted in the invasive assessment of intermediate renal artery stenoses, rather than relying on stenosis severity alone. Further study is needed to determine whether translesional pressure gradients and pharmacological provocation predict clinical benefit after renal artery stenting. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Space-based estimate of the volcanic heat flux into the atmosphere during 2001 and 2002

Satellite remote sensing offers a convenient way to monitor changes in the thermal budgets of Earth’s subaerially active volcanoes. By using data acquired by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer, we have calculated the amount of heat released into the atmosphere by 45 volcanoes active during 2001 and 2002, in order to quantify the contribution active volcanism makes to Earth’s energy budget. We report that the amount of heat radiated into the troposphere by these volcanoes, as detected from space, was ;5.34 3 10 16 and 5.30 3 10 16 J/yr during 2001 and 2002, respectively. This energy flux is three orders of magnitude less than the amount of energy consumed by the United States of America for residential, manufacturing, and transportation purposes during 1999.
The effect of daily ingestion of caffeine on the microsomal enzymes of rat liver

The effect of repeated ingestion of caffeine on rat-liver microsoma Jenzymes was studied. In the rat, ingestion of 20-24 mg caffeine/kg/day in the drinking water for more than 2 wk inhibited aminopyrine N-demethylase activity. This loss of activity approached 60 ~o at the end of an 8-wk dosing schedule. Acetanilide-hydroxylating activity of rat-liver microsomal enzyme was initially stimulated, with a peak (145 + 11 ~ of control) at 2 wk, and returned to normal levels at the end of 8 wk. Caffeine-treated rats did not respond to the phenobarbitone stimulation of microsomal enzymes to the same extent as did rats treated with phenobarbitone alone.
Putting critical theoretical perspectives to work in educational policy

The focus of this special issue is critical policy analysis (CPA). Although quantitative methods remain dominant in policy research and federal policy initiatives in the United States have privileg...
A Physiologically Based Toxicokinetic Model for Dermal Absorption of Organic Chemicals by Fish

A physiologically based toxicokinetic model was developed to describe dermal absorption of waterborne organic chemicals by fish. The skin was modeled as a discrete compartment into which compounds diffuse as a function of chemical permeability and the concentration gradient. The model includes a countercurrent description of chemical flux at fish gills and was used to simulate dermal-only exposures, during which the gills act as a route of elimination. The model was evaluated by exposing adult rainbow trout and channel catfish to hexachloroethane (HCE), pentachloroethane (PCE), and 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (TCE). Skin permeability coefficients were obtained by fitting model simulations to measured arterial blood data. Permeability coefficients increased with the number of chlorine substituent groups, but not in the manner expected from a directly proportional relationship between dermal permeability and skin:water chemical partitioning. An evaluation of rate limitations on dermal flux in both trout and catfish suggested that chemical absorption was limited more by diffusion across the skin than by blood flow to the skin. Modeling results from a hypothetical combined dermal and branchial exposure indicate that dermal uptake could contribute from 1.6% (TCE) to 3.5% (HCE) of initial uptake in trout. Dermal uptake rates in catfish are even higher than those in trout and could contribute from 7.1% (TCE) to 8.3% (PCE) of initial uptake in a combined exposure.
Synthesizing the face-to-face experience: e-learning practices and the constitution of place online

In this article, I observe the relational produc- tion of place online through the mobile practices of an e- learning course that combined interactions in physical and online environments. I use actor-network theory as ana- lytical framework to explore element interrelations of this e-learning course, an International Cooperation project or- ganized by Capacity Building International (InWEnt). The course involved participants from African, Asian, Euro- pean, and Latin American countries. This transnational pro- gram included travel from different continents to Germany and South Africa for the participation in face-to-face work- shops as well as online interactions. Face-to-face encoun- ters strongly affected e-learning interactions. I show how course participants introduced face-to-face experiences on- line through associative impulses. I identify these associa- tions that were contributed as texts to online forums as en- actments of Law and Mol's concept of "fire space". Fire spatial impulses functioned as compensatory practices with respect to scarce sensory and symbolic information in online environments. Social cues associated with the sensory and symbolic information from physical spaces that learners in- troduced online highlighted the decisive role of face-to-face social stimuli in the constitution of online places. Results are based on ethnographic participation in the observed e- learning course.
Testing Macro Organizational Theories in Laboratory Experiments

Laboratory experiments provide the most rigorous method of testing scientific theories. However, their current use in organizational research is primarily limited to testing micro organizational theories where actors are individuals. I suggest the conditions under which one can test macro organizational theories in laboratory experiments, using human subjects in the role of organizations. I discuss two sequential stages of behavior (decision making and execution) and two different types of groups (democratic and dictatorial). I argue that the process of decision making in democratic groups is the only place where a logical justification is necessary for the use of human subjects in testing macro organizational theories. Using the Condorcet Jury Theorem, I demonstrate that, when four conditions are met, laboratory experiments with human subjects representstatistically conservativetests of macro theories. The four conditions are: (1) two alternative choices; (2) mean individual competence greater than .5; (3) individual decisions not too highly positively correlated; and (4) simple majority decision rule. I illustrate my argument with Hannan and Carroll's (1992) density dependence theory of organizational foundings and delineate one potential experimental design for testing the theory.
Expectations in giving and receiving help among nurses and Russian refugees

Abstract Stimulated by the emergence of a new refugee group that is unknown and vulnerable to misunderstanding by health care providers, and the exigency in nursing to understand potential variance in nurse and client assumptions about helping, this paper reports exploratory research comparing helping orientations of Russian Protestant Pentecostal refugees ( N = 28) with professional nurses ( N = 32) in the United States. Findings based on the Brickman et al. (1982) theory of helping, which addresses attribution of responsibility in helping interactions, indicated differences among the nurse and Russian orientations. Contrasting with the nurses' primary selection of the moral orientation, which assumes high individual responsibility for the causes and solutions of problems, the Russian refugee group's first selection was the medical orientation, which assumes low individual responsibility for the causes and solutions of problems. The two groups' differing orientations are considered in the context of nurseclient interactions and divergent cultural values bearing on assumptions of individual responsibility.
Immunopathogenesis of Graves’ ophthalmopathy: the role of the TSH receptor

Graves' ophthalmopathy is an inflammatory autoimmune disorder of the orbit. The close clinical and temporal relationships between Graves' hyperthyroidism and ophthalmopathy have long suggested that both conditions derive from a single systemic process and share the thyrotropin receptor as a common autoantigen. This receptor is expressed not only in thyroid follicular cells, but also in orbital fibroblasts with higher levels measured in orbital cells from ophthalmopathy patients than in cells from normal individuals. Recent studies from several laboratories have shown that thyrotropin receptor activation in orbital fibroblasts enhances hyaluronic acid synthesis and adipogenesis, both cellular functions that appear to be upregulated in the diseased orbit. The phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt signaling cascade, along with other effector pathways including adenylyl cyclase/cAMP, appears to mediate these processes. Future therapies for this condition may involve inhibition of thyrotropin receptor signaling in orbital fibroblasts.
Bronchial and Arterial Anomalies with Drainage of the Right Lung into the Inferior Vena Cava

Three cases of anomalous pulmonary venous return to the inferior vena cava are presented and 18 previously reported cases are also analyzed. The clinical, radiographic, circulatory and pulmonary function, and anatomic features are carefully detailed. In particular, associated vascular and bronchial anomalies in the lungs were found by preparation of vinylite casts of the pulmonary vessels and bronchial casts; they are of great significance in planning and executing surgical therapy.
Medicines and Drug Testing in the Workplace

Abstract Drug testing at work is rapidly becoming the standard in the United States. For drug testing to fulfill its promise as a vital part of the effort to end the drug abuse epidemic, it is essential that the tests be reliable so that people who are not using drugs are not falsely accused and that legitimate medical use of controlled substances not expose employees to harassment or labeling as drug abusers. To merit employee confidence, workplace drug testing needs to be made part of a program that includes these basic elements: (1) a clear and comprehensive policy; (2) secure collection; (3) chain-of-custody procedures; (4) retained positive samples; (5) an initial screening test; (6) a sophisticated confrrrnatory test; (7) a medical review officer; (8) a retest of retained positive samples in disputed cases; and (9) a system of quality control. In addition, this drug testing program needs to be built on a solid foundation that distinguishes between legitimate use of prescribed medicines and nonmedica...
Management of Cervical Spine Trauma: Can a Prognostic Classification of Injury Determine Clinical Outcomes?

Although the management of cervical spine trauma is relatively complex, multiple classification systems have attempted to simplify it through the use of descriptive terms. Most historical classification systems failed to yield sufficient prognostic information to guide clinical treatment until the Subaxial Injury Classification system was developed. This classification system takes into account the injury morphology, discoligamentous complex, and the most important prognostic factor, neurologic status. The early results of this classification system have been encouraging and it is expected to improve spinal trauma care through enhancing more uniform nomenclature and communication for surgeons managing spinal trauma.
Comparison of Two Oral Reading Feedback Strategies in Improving Reading Comprehension of School-Age Children with Low Reading Ability:

This study compared the effects of two oral reading feedback strategies in improving the reading comprehension of eight school-age children with low reading ability. Participants were assigned to one of two intervention groups matched on age, grade, gender, and general reading performance. Intervention 1 (I1) used traditional decoding-based feedback, and Intervention 2 (I2) used communicative reading strategies (CRS), meaning-based feedback. After 10 hours of reading intervention, participants in I2 performed significantly better than the I1 group on a formal measure of reading comprehension and on story-related comprehension questions. Moreover, the I2 group retained comprehension of story details over a longer period of time than did the I1 group. No significant differences were found between I1 and I2 in the ability to answer story-related locative, descriptive, or inferential detail questions.
Mapping the critical service needs of adolescent children of prisoners.

This study explores the service needs of adolescent children of prisoners by collecting information directly from the youth. The conceptual and empirical literature focused on children of prisoners generally attempts to describe or understand the effects of parental incarceration on prisoners' offspring but frequently fails to include data gathered directly from youth or include their voices in the litany of suggested programs and services. This study employed concept mapping technology to investigate the service needs of 14 adolescent children of prisoners living in an urban city in the Midwest. The findings revealed perceptions of unmet physical, emotional, psychological, and social needs divided into six thematic clusters. The findings also suggest that a single-service focus such as mentoring or tutoring may fail to meet the multiple and varied needs that these youth identified, especially those related to basic care such as food and clothing. Participants were asked to rate the themes on importance, ...
Is idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis an environmental disease

Several sources of evidence, including investigations of pathogenesis and observational studies, support the hypothesis that environmental agents may have an etiologic role in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Since 1990, six case-control studies have been conducted in three countries and have consistently demonstrated increased risk of IPF with exposures to a number of environmental and occupational agents. In a meta-analysis of these studies, six exposures were significantly associated with IPF (summary odds ratios [95% confidence intervals]), including ever smoking (1.58 [1.27-1.97]), agriculture/farming (1.65 [1.20-2.26]), livestock (2.17 [1.28-3.68]), wood dust (1.94 [1.34-2.81]), metal dust (2.44 [1.74-3.40]), and stone/sand (1.97 [1.09-3.55]). Although there are a number of limitations of the case-control design and these results alone do not establish a causal link, an assessment of all of the available evidence strongly suggests that IPF may be a heterogeneous disorder caused by a number of environmental and occupational exposures.
A preposterior analysis to predict identifiability in the experimental calibration of computer models

ABSTRACTWhen using physical experimental data to adjust, or calibrate, computer simulation models, two general sources of uncertainty that must be accounted for are calibration parameter uncertainty and model discrepancy. This is complicated by the well-known fact that systems to be calibrated are often subject to identifiability problems, in the sense that it is difficult to precisely estimate the parameters and to distinguish between the effects of parameter uncertainty and model discrepancy. We develop a form of preposterior analysis that can be used, prior to conducting physical experiments but after conducting the computer simulations, to predict the degree of identifiability that will result after conducting the physical experiments for a given experimental design. Specifically, we calculate the preposterior covariance matrix of the calibration parameters and demonstrate that, in the examples that we consider, it provides a reasonable prediction of the actual posterior covariance that is calculated ...
Tracking the fate of her4 expressing cells in the regenerating retina using her4:Kaede zebrafish

The Basic-Helix-Loop-Helix-Orange (bHLH-O) transcription factor Hairy-related 4 (her4) is a downstream effector of Notch-Delta signaling that represses expression of typically pro-neural genes in proliferative domains of the central nervous system. Notch-Delta signaling in the retina has been shown to increase in response to injury and influences neuroprotective properties of Muller glia. In contrast to mammals, teleost fish are able to regenerate retinal neurons in response to injury. In zebrafish, her4 is upregulated in the regenerating neural retina in response to both acute and chronic photoreceptor damage, but the contribution of her4 expressing cells to neurogenesis following acute or chronic retinal damage has remained unexplored. Here we investigate the role of her4 in the regenerating retina in a background of chronic, rod-specific degeneration as well as following acute light damage. We demonstrate that her4 is expressed in the persistently neurogenic ciliary marginal zone (CMZ), as well as in small subsets of slowly proliferating Muller glia in the inner nuclear layer (INL) of the central retina. We generated a transgenic line of zebrafish that expresses the photoconvertible Kaede reporter driven by a her4 promoter and validated that expression of the transgene faithfully recapitulates endogenous her4 expression. Lineage tracing analysis revealed that her4-expressing cells in the INL contribute to the rod lineage, and her4 expressing cells in the CMZ are capable of generating any retinal cell type except rod photoreceptors. Our results indicate that her4 is involved in a replenishing pathway that maintains populations of stem cells in the central retina, and that the magnitude of the her4-associated proliferative response mirrors the extent of retinal damage.
Ritual Components of Black Friday

Each year, just as the Halloween moon is setting, retailers are preparing for what has become the single highest grossing retail day in America, Black Friday. Throughout November, as stores are filling their stock rooms, shoppers from Connecticut to California are readying their lists and honing their bargain hunting skills, in preparation for the biggest shopping day of the year. The Christmas season, and its abundance of shopping, is typically seen as a boon for retailers and a well needed boost to a struggling economy.
Abnormal Brain Glucose Metabolism in Alzheimer’s Disease, as Measured by Positron Emission Tomography

Resting glucose metabolism in the association neocortices, measured with positron emission tomography (PET), is disturbed early and throughout the course of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), whereas resting metabolism in the primary sensory and motor neocortices is relatively spared. Neocortical metabolic asymmetries precede and predict appropriate deficits in neocortically-mediated cognitive functions in the initial course of disease, Indicating that PET can be used for the early diagnosis and characterization of AD. Metabolic abnormalities of the neocortices in late-stage AD correlate with regional densities of neurofibrillary tangles but not of senile plaques post mortem, suggesting that tangle formation is important in disease pathogenesis.
The effect of aspect ratio on the near-wake flow of rectangular wings

The near-wake flow at mid-span of low-aspect-ratio rectangular wings (A = 1–2.5) at a chord-based Reynolds number of Re = 8 × 10 is investigated experimentally. The angle of attack is ranged from zero to stall. The reattachment of the leading-edge shear layer for sufficiently small aspect ratios is explained by the corresponding tip vortices rolling up trailing-edge spanwise vorticity and converting it to streamwise vorticity, thereby increasing their strength and effectiveness to provide additional momentum (e.g. downwash) to reattach the flow; this process is also aided by an increase in angle of attack. These concepts are evinced in the current data through the time-averaged vorticity fields and streamlines for A = 1, which show that the trailing-edge shear layer actually decreases in strength and the wake narrows with increasing incidence above 15◦, all while maintaining reattached flow. Complimentary to this idea is an increase in the turbulent kinetic energy of the trailing-edge shear layer, which increases as fully separated, stalled flow is approached for largerAs. Instantaneous vorticity fields show that near-wake vortex shedding is a complex process with shear-layer instabilities, mutual shear layer interaction, and indistinct shear layer segments being shed irregularly into the near-wake.
When your patient doesn't want to leave.

atients who leave a hospital against medical advice pose a liability risk for the hospital and the health care providers caring for them. On the other hand, a patient who doesn't want to leave the hospital or refuses to leave the hospital once discharged (the "holdover patient") also exposes the hospital and providers to risk-and raises a difficult question: When is a patient legally discharged? To avoid legal risks-and possible ethical dilemmas-hospitals' policies and procedures must address as many potential problems as possible concerning holdover patients. This article identifies how to handle such situations when that patient is a competent adult.
Path Planning of Aircrafts Under Threat Netting

In usual threat modeling,the information exchange among the threats is often ignored. To solve the problem,a target instruction probability model was established. On which basis,a threat netting model based on detection probability was built up. Common path cost function was improved by using the threat netting model. The Differential Evolution Algorithm( DEA) was introduced,and analysis was made to the effect of threat netting on threat intensity and threat cost of waypoint by using the method. Simulation was made to the effect of the threat netting model on path planning,which shows the necessity and feasibility of threat netting model.
Paraneoplastic Itch Management

Paraneoplastic itch occurs as the result of a systemic reaction to an underlying malignancy. Paraneoplastic itch is most commonly associated with lymphoproliferative malignancies and solid tumors that result in cholestasis. Paraneoplastic itch may occur in the absence of a primary rash or in association with dermatologic conditions such as erythroderma, acanthosis nigricans, dermatomyositis, Grover's disease, and eruptive seborrheic keratosis. Treatment of paraneoplastic itch is centered on targeting the underlying malignancy responsible for the systemic reaction. In cases of malignancy that are refractive to treatment, other therapies have been found to be effective for paraneoplastic itch, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, mirtazapine, gabapentin, thalidomide, opioids, aprepitant, and histone deacetylase inhibitors.
Polarization of Skylight

Around 1811, Arago discovered the partial polarization of the light from a clear sky during his extensive studies of the polarization of light. He found the polarized component to be either perpendicular (positive polarization) or parallel (negative polarization) to the plane defined by the directions from the observer to sun and from the observer to point observed, and to reach its maximum intensity at about 90° from the sun. In the sun vertical on the antisolar side Arago found a point separating the region with positive polarization (toward the zenith) from the region with negative polarization (close to the horizon). The light from this point was neutral. The position of this point later called “Arago neutral point” varied with meteorological conditions, as did the maximum polarization. In 1840 two other neutral points were discovered in the sun vertical, above the sun by Babinet, and below the sun by Brewster.
Simultaneous Shear/Pressure Antenna Sensor

This paper presents a simultaneous shear and pressure sensor for prosthetic socket monitoring. Based on the principle of multi-layer microstrip patch antenna, the shear/pressure sensor consists of a microstrip patch antenna and a U-shaped director. The U-shaped director is separated from the radiation element of the patch antenna using a soft dielectric material. We demonstrated that the shear and pressure displacements of the U-shaped director can be simultaneously measured from the two fundamental frequencies of the microstrip antenna.
An Unusual Presentation of Congenital Dyserythropoietic Anemia Type II (CDAII) Associated with Severe Anemia in a Patient with a Novel Mutation of the SEC23B Gene

Abstract 990 CDAII is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by ineffective erythropoiesis, anemia, hemolysis, hepatosplenomegaly and morphologic abnormalities. While rare, more than 300 cases of CDAII have been described worldwide, making it the most common form of congenital dyserythropoietic anemia. In patients with CDAII, bone marrow specimens often demonstrate hypercellularity, erythroid hyperplasia and the presence of 10–45% bi- and multinucleated erythroid precursors. Generally, all patients will have a positive serum acid hemolysin test. The clinical picture includes a mild to moderate anemia and hemolysis with typical hemoglobin levels that range from 8 to 11 g/dL. In less than 10 percent of reported cases, severe anemia is seen requiring frequent red blood cell transfusions. Mutations in SEC23B are the underlying defect in the majority of patients with CDAII. SEC23B encodes an essential component of coat protein complex II coated vesicles, resulting in ineffective trafficking of secretory proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus. Here we report a patient with a severe presentation of CDA II associated with a novel nonsense mutation in the SEC23Bgene. Our patient was born at 36 weeks estimated gestational age with IUGR and hypospadias. The family history included a brother born with severe anemia, severe hypospadias and hydrops fetalis who died at 4 days of life. Parents were of nonconsanguinious Samoan decent. The initial hemoglobin was 7 g/d; red blood cell transfusions were required on days of life 1, 10 and 15. Total bilirubin peaked at 3.3 and phototherapy was unnecessary. Now 20 months of age, he continues to be transfusion-dependent. Reticulocytopenia is pronounced with absolute reticulocyte counts consistently Exome sequencing was performed using Illumina hybrid capture, HiSeq sequencing and a full analysis pipeline. Sequencing revealed compound heterozygosity for two mutations in the SEC23B gene: c.53G>A (p.Arg18His) and c.1507C>T (p.Arg503X). The p.Arg18His has been previously reported in patients with CDAII. The p.Arg503X is a novel nonsense mutation that is expected to be pathogenic, likely resulting in nonsense-mediated decay of the mRNA. These mutations were confirmed clinically by Sanger sequencing and each parent was found to carry one mutation. Compound heterozygosity including a nonsense mutation in SEC23B has been reported to result in a more severe phenotype with reticulocytopenia, a finding consistent with the presentation of our patient. This case demonstrates that exome sequencing, with confirmatory dideoxy sequencing of the affected individual and the parents, can be a powerful new diagnostic approach in inherited hematologic disorders that feature genetic heterogeneity. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Drugs of abuse: An overview

According to the National Survey of Drug Use and Health, an estimated 22.5 million Americans are current users of illicit drugs, and marijuana is the most commonly abused drug. Unfortunately, some drugs such as certain amphetamines, benzodiazepines, opioids, and marijuana (limited use) are also prescribed by physicians for treating certain conditions and these prescription drugs are widely abused by individuals who have access to such drugs (stealing from grandma’s medicine cabinet). This chapter will provide an overview of commonly abused drugs in the United States, focusing on hazards of such drug abuse as well as Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the US government guidelines for drugs of abuse testings. In addition, this book will also address guidelines of the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drugs Addiction with an emphasis on prevention of drug testing.
Who to Trust? Applying Trust to Social Commerce

ABSTRACTOrganizations have recognized the revenue potential for social commerce (purchasing products via social networks), but such transactions only comprise a small percentage of revenue. Companies have yet to determine the factors that contribute to social commerce failure. In social networking, trust is established when two parties have a history of trustworthy interactions. Acknowledging that social commerce represents a fundamentally different purchasing environment than typical business transactions, we examine the role of trust in determining consumers’ decisions to engage in social commerce for their purchases. We apply trust transfer theory to the social commerce context to assess whether trust in known entities can be transferred to business transactions facilitated through a social network with unknown parties. Using a field survey, we found that trust in the Internet and trust in firms significantly influence consumers’ trust and ultimately their intention to engage in social commerce. Implic...
MeDIP-seq and nCpG analyses illuminate sexually dimorphic methylation of gonadal development genes with high historic methylation in turtle hatchlings with temperature-dependent sex determination

DNA methylation alters gene expression but not DNA sequence and mediates some cases of phenotypic plasticity. Temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) epitomizes phenotypic plasticity where environmental temperature drives embryonic sexual fate, as occurs commonly in turtles. Importantly, the temperature-specific transcription of two genes underlying gonadal differentiation is known to be induced by differential methylation in TSD fish, turtle and alligator. Yet, how extensive is the link between DNA methylation and TSD remains unclear. Here we test for broad differences in genome-wide DNA methylation between male and female hatchling gonads of the TSD painted turtle Chrysemys picta using methyl DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing, to identify differentially methylated candidates for future study. We also examine the genome-wide nCpG distribution (which affects DNA methylation) in painted turtles and test for historic methylation in genes regulating vertebrate gonadogenesis. Turtle global methylation was consistent with other vertebrates (57% of the genome, 78% of all CpG dinucleotides). Numerous genes predicted to regulate turtle gonadogenesis exhibited sex-specific methylation and were proximal to methylated repeats. nCpG distribution predicted actual turtle DNA methylation and was bimodal in gene promoters (as other vertebrates) and introns (unlike other vertebrates). Differentially methylated genes, including regulators of sexual development, had lower nCpG content indicative of higher historic methylation. Ours is the first evidence suggesting that sexually dimorphic DNA methylation is pervasive in turtle gonads (perhaps mediated by repeat methylation) and that it targets numerous regulators of gonadal development, consistent with the hypothesis that it may regulate thermosensitive transcription in TSD vertebrates. However, further research during embryogenesis will help test this hypothesis and the alternative that instead, most differential methylation observed in hatchlings is the by-product of sexual differentiation and not its cause.
Engineering Osteoinductive Biomaterials by Bioinspired Synthesis of Apatite Coatings on Collagen Hydrogels with Varied Pore Microarchitectures.

Biomaterial controlled osteoinduction is influenced by the porous microenvironment and the composition of incorporated calcium orthophosphate (CaPi) polymorphs, however, for the design of materials that rival the efficacies of natural grafts a systematic approach to assessing the physicochemical properties that affects cellular differentiation is needed. In this research, we introduce a bioinspired synthetic approach to the mineralization of preformed porous collagen hydrogel scaffolds with tunable apatite coatings. Initially, collagen scaffolds are mineralized with dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD) by alternate immersion in Ca2+ and HPO42- salt solutions. Utilizing classic DCPD conversion chemistry, the surface coatings are selectively transformed to apatite by immersion of the DCPD-collagen substrate in Tris buffer at pH 7.4, 37°C, for 5 days. The composition and morphology of the deposited mineral coatings are characterized by XRD, SEM, and AFM. Variations in the porous microarchitecture of the collagen hydrogel substrate, pore size (9.5 ± 5 μm, 165 ± 50 μm) and pore alignment altered the morphology of the deposited apatite particles. Intrafibrillar and extrafibrillar mineralization of the collagen templates were observed for both investigated pore sizes. However, templates with aligned pores of both sizes were observed to restrict intrafibrillar mineralization resulting in the exclusive deposition of surface coatings. The osteoinductive activity of the apatite-collagen materials with varied pore microarchitectures was evaluated by in vitro culture of human mesenchymal stem cells for 28 days based on cellular proliferation, alkaline phosphatase activity, and the expression of RUNX2. The combined effects of apatite coatings, reduced pore size, and pore alignment contributed to reductions in cellular proliferation. However, the apatite mineral coating was determined to induce high levels of RUNX2 expression in the absence of additional osteoinductive agents, indicative of biomaterial-induced osteogenesis. This work establishes a versatile synthetic platform for the preparation of bone-like apatite collagen materials with osteoinductive activity.
Intimacy and Equality in the Sharing Economy

This Chapter explores a key shift in the role of intimacy in the sharing economy and its relationship to equality. From the start, intimacy was a critical part of sharing-economy transactions. Because these transactions tended to occur in more personal spaces, and because firms emphasized personal relationships to enhance trust, the workers and consumers themselves—and their identities—were made central to these transactions. Amid concerns of race and sex discrimination, a number of major sharing-economy firms responded by depersonalizing their transactions, shifting towards a more arms-length approach. This Chapter traces this shift, and discusses some of the costs of achieving equality by reducing intimacy, not only for intimacy and the benefits it brings, but also—and especially—for equality itself.
Homelessness in the United States

Homelessness has now been a fixture on the political scene in the United States for three decades. The scope of the problem has not been debated for more than a decade, thanks to regular nationwide counts and prevalence estimates. Progress is being made on reducing and ending homelessness, using several approaches that have been evolving since 2000, some more recently than others, amid continuing debate. This article examines definitions of homelessness in the United States and how useful estimates of population size and dynamics have been established since 2007. It then provides basic descriptive information about homelessness in the United States, looks at its patterns and antecedents, describes the growth of homeless-specific service programs, and reviews research on the costs of homelessness. It ends with probable future directions for homeless research and policy.
The Role of Mixtures and Variation in the Production of Terpenoids in Conifer-Insect-Pathogen Interactions

The regulation of natural populations was debated intensively during the 1950s and 1960s, and continues to be an important topic of investigation. Although several treatises on this subject could be cited, one of the most important to the area of plant-herbivore-pathogen interactions was published by Hairston, Smith, and Slobodkin.1 In this stimulating paper the authors put forward three tenants, the third of which states that “Herbivores are seldom food-limited, appear most often to be predator-limited, and therefore are not likely to compete for common resources.” Contributing to this conclusion is the disparity between plants and herbivores in mobility, generation times, and the ability of insects and pathogens to adapt to host trees. Generation times of the myriad of insect herbivores that use woody plants are short, and the insects are highly mobile and depend upon host plants for most life processes.2 Alternatively, woody perennials are long-lived, immobile, and seemingly at the mercy of their natural enemies. This explicit yet sweeping scenario provided a major impetus toward investigations that have led to our current knowledge of plant-herbivore-pathogen interactions at the population, community, and ecosystem levels. Five years later a seminal paper by Ehrlich and Raven3 enhanced the field of plant-herbivore interactions and chemical ecology with a provocative discussion of the coevolution between butterflies and host plants. Now the field has advanced to investigations at the tritrophic level; and the linking thread among tritrophic interactions is to a large extent the natural products produced by plants.4
The Control of Sexual Behaviour in the Female Hamster

While in the lordosis posture, the female hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) responds to tactile stimulation of the perineum with a variety of postural adjustments. The direction and intensity of the postural adjustments depends on the location and intensity of the stimulus (Noble 1979a,b). These responses play an important role in both the initiation and maintenance of male copulatory behaviour, as well as in the occurrence of insertion during a mount (Noble 1980).
Case 24: Difficulty in Extubation

A 14-year-old boy (120 lb) is scheduled for an emergency appendectomy. His history is unremarkable. The patient has no previous anesthesia/surgery, and his family history is negative for anesthesia-related complications. The patient is taking no medication and is classified as an American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I (ASA 1). General anesthesia is induced with a rapid-sequence technique including thiopental and succinylcholine after all necessary monitoring equipment is placed on the child (electrocardiogram [ECG], pulse oximeter, noninvasive blood pressure [BP], and precordial stethoscope). After the child is asleep, the trachea is intubated with a cuffed 5-mm internal diameter (i.d.) endotracheal tube (ETT). Breath sounds are equal bilaterally, and the ETT is securely taped. Anesthesia is maintained with isoflurane and nitrous oxide in oxygen, meperidine, and vecuronium. The operation proceeds uneventfully, and at the end of the surgery the neuromuscular blockade is reversed. Spontaneous respiration returns, but the patient is unable to follow commands. He is therefore transported to the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) recovery room with the ETT still in place.
A new species of Anathallis (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae) from Brazil

Anathallis luteola is newly described and illustrated from the state of Bahia, northeast Brazil. It is similar to A. guarujaensis from which it can be distinguished by the smaller flowers, the successive two- flowered raceme, and shape of its floral segments. A note on the latter species is also provided.
What Has Happened to Hysteria

This article traces the history of the diagnosis of hysteria from the earliest medical formulations in the 17th century to the present, including the presence of this diagnosis in the five iterations of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association. Several different types of hysteria are discussed, with alternative causal explanations. Research focusing on this disorder is summarized.
Juggling work and home selves: Low identity integration feels less authentic and increases unethicality

Abstract This research investigates the effect of individuals’ subjective perceptions of the overlap among different identities on their feelings of authenticity and the likelihood of engaging in unethical behavior. Across four studies we found that low (vs. high) identity integration led to greater feelings of inauthenticity and a higher likelihood of engaging in unethical behavior. Manipulation of low (vs. high or control) identity integration led to higher feelings of inauthenticity (Study 1) and greater cheating behavior (Study 2). Feelings of inauthenticity mediated the causal effect of low identity integration on dishonesty (Study 3). In a field survey, using supervisor–employee dyads, we replicated the results from the lab to show that employees who reported lower identity integration felt more inauthentic and were more likely to behave unethically as measured by their supervisors’ report of interpersonal and organizational deviance (Study 4). Our results demonstrate that the manner in which individuals view their multiple identities influences feelings of inauthenticity and unethical behavior.