cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Polymer-based siRNA delivery: Perspectives on the fundamental and phenomenological distinctions from polymer-based DNA delivery

Gene therapy holds tremendous promise in the treatment of many genetic and acquired diseases. The future of gene therapy in humans, however, is contingent upon the discovery of safe and effective carriers of genetic material. Polymers represent a class of materials that can be extensively modified to meet the needs of a particular gene delivery system. A variety of polymer formulations have been proposed in the literature as potential carriers, most of which facilitate gene delivery by encapsulating, and in some cases, condensing nucleic acids into nano-sized particles which can then be taken up by cells. Crucial to successful delivery of the gene to a cell is the polymer's ability to protect its contents from degradation in the extracellular environment. A well-designed carrier will also promote cellular uptake and intracellular release of the nucleic acid. In the past, a common approach to gene therapy has been to transfect cells with a polymer-encapsulated DNA plasmid designed to replace a defective gene in the target-cell genome. Within the last few years, however, RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged as a novel therapeutic pathway by which harmful genes can be "silenced" by delivering complementary short interfering RNA (siRNA) to target cells. siRNA delivery facilitated by polymers, although very promising, suffers from many of the same limitations as DNA delivery. This review will (1) highlight the similarities and differences between these two methods of gene therapy and (2) discuss how some of the remaining challenges in siRNA delivery facilitated by polymers can be addressed by applying knowledge from the longer-studied problem of DNA delivery.
Extraction of shoreline and drainage patterns from aerial MSS thermal IR data over Cambay Basin, India—an attempt to automatize the threshold selection

Generalized threshold selection technique has been attempted on an aerial MSS thermal infrared imagery over the Cambay basin, India, to extract drainage patterns as well as shoreline contours dividing the land and the sea which are, as such, very subtle in the original imageries. To automatize the thresholding technique, a procedure has been developed by the authors which was first tested on another imagery which used edge detection technique, by template matching, for drainage pattern extraction. To test the validity of the technique, the same method has also been applied to a set of biomedical imageries successfully for extraction and continuous assessment of left ventricular shape of the human heart. Finally, a sharp delineation of both the drainage patterns and the shoreline contours could be made possible by optimum threshold selection as observed in the extracted imagery.
Advantages of standardizing vaccine and antibody nomenclature

Abstract In the late 1970s, practitioners struggled to legibly write generic names such as diphenylhydantoin and dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate. They were delighted when authorities switched to the simpler names (phenytoin and docusate sodium, respectively) that we use today. Unfortunately, a similar problem exists today with respect to vaccine names. Some of these have grown to cumbersome length, measured in words, not syllables. Some vaccine names could create misunderstanding and error due to inconsistencies or mistaken emphasis. Superfluous words clutter product labels, especially single-dose vials and prefilled syringes. If shorter names were available, font size could be increased, making visualization easier. Long names also make it more difficult to focus on what is important. This article summarizes my recent commentary in Pharmacopeial Forum that proposed a uniform nomenclature for vaccines and polyclonal antibodies.1 Review of nonproprietary vaccine and antibody names revealed several inadequacies. The names of vaccines licensed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inconsistently use the words “combined,” “inactivated,” “live,” and “virus” and terms designating antigenic valency, microbial strain, production media, and target population. Concepts such as adsorbed, recombinant, and conjugate could be revised to deliver more information in less space. Among polyclonal immune globulin products, however, few inconsistencies in nomenclature were noted.
A morphological approach to product design in a concurrent engineering environment

The development of product design in a concurrent engineering environment requires the consideration and inclusion of life cycle factors early in the design process. This paper proposes a product design framework where these factors are considered. The phases of product design in a concurrent engineering environment include: design requirements, design functions, design alternatives, design attributes, and design environments. A five-step algorithm is proposed by which the optimal design alternative, among all the feasible alternatives, is selected. In order to illustrate the proposed framework, the design of a braking system is presented in each phase. A morphological approach to product design is proposed that consists of two related morphologies. Morphology 1 addresses the innovative aspect of product design. Morphology 2 considers the computational and optimisation aspect of product design. In conclusion, an integrated approach which reconciles both morphologies is suggested.
The alteration of rhyolite in CO2 charged water at 200 and 350°C: The unreactivity of CO2 at higher temperature

Geochemical and hydrologic modeling indicates that geothermal waters in the T > 270{degrees}C reservoirs beneath Yellowstone National Park have HCO{sub 3} {much_lt} Cl and contrast with waters in reservoirs at lower temperatures which attain HCO{sub 3} about equal to Cl. Experiments reacting rhyolite with 0.5 molal solutions of CO{sub 2} at 200{degrees} and 350{degrees}C were carried out to test the hypothesis of Fournier to explain the chemistry of these springs: that CO{sub 2} is relatively unreactive with volcanic rocks at temperatures >270{degrees}C. The experimental results strongly support this hypothesis. Extent of alteration is twenty-seven times greater at 200{degrees}C than at 350{degrees}C. The dominant process in the experiments appears to be the alteration of the albitic component of the rhyolite by dissolved CO{sub 2} to form a kaolinite-like alteration product plus quartz: 2NaAlSi{sub 3}O{sub 8} + 2CO{sub 2} + 3H{sub 2}O = 2Na{sup +} + 2HCO{sub 3}{sup -} + Al{sub 2}Si{sub 2}O{sub 5}(OH){sub 4} + 4SiO{sub 2}. CO{sub 2} reacts with water to form H{sub 2}CO{sub 3} which dissociates to H{sup +} and HCO{sub 3}{sup -}, more so at lower temperatures. Kinetic and thermodynamic considerations suggest that the reactivity of H{sub 2}CO{sub 3} with wallrocks is at its maximum between 150{degrees}more » and 200{degrees}C, consuming most of the H{sup +} and liberating equivalent amounts of cations and bicarbonate. Wallrocks in higher temperature reservoirs are relatively unreactive to dissolved CO{sub 2} which is eventually lost from the system by boiling. These observations also offer a possible explanation for the change in chemical sediments from chloride-dominated to bicarbonate-dominated salts found in the stratigraphic section at Searles Lake, California, the terminus of the Owens River which derives its dissolved load from hot springs of the Long Valley caldera. 21 refs., 5 figs., 2 tabs.« less
Bicycle spoke injuries of the foot and ankle in children: An underestimated “minor” injury

Abstract Bicycle spoke injuries to the lower extremeties, especially the malleoli, of children present a significant problem in management because of the "minor" appearance of the initial injury. Treatment is frequently casual because the extent of the injury is not recognized and its potential harm not appreciated. Injury usually results from the sudden, forceful trapping of the foot between the spokes and frame of a bicycle. It is probably a common injury, since more than 150,000 pedal bicycle injuries occur in the United States of America each year. 1 Our experience in the past 4 years with 60 cases under 14 years of age prompts us to call attention to this entity as injury that requires special consideration.
Back‐table renal allograft angioscopy and thrombolysis

Poor back-table perfusion of a renal allograft may occur as a result of intravascular thrombosis of the renal artery branches. We herein report such a case where back-table angioscopy was performed to confirm the diagnosis, followed by successful thrombolysis using urokinase under hypothermic conditions.
Evaluating Potential Bias in Media Coverage of the Public Debate Over Acid Rain and Chlorofluorocarbons in the 1980s

This study evaluates media coverage of two important environmental issues from the 1980s (acid rain and chlorofluorocarbons), providing historical context for current media coverage analysis. Focusing on popular magazine articles, this study identifies key characteristics of content and presentation. Content-related characteristics are inclusion of predictions, consequences, and the source (human-induced, natural) of the problem. Presentation-related characteristics describe the overall tone (environmental, industrial), intention of the author (positive, normative), and observable opinions on relevant legislation. Our results suggest magazine genre strongly impacts what is reported, but in almost all cases, reporting on environmental issues tends to have an environmental tone.
Completeness and other properties of input-output based finite approximations

We consider discrete-time plants that interact with their controllers via fixed discrete alphabets in the absence of exogenous inputs. For this class of systems, we revisit a general procedure for constructing a sequence of finite state approximate models starting from finite length sequences of input and output signal pairs. After providing intuition for the proposed construction, we show that it satisfies the desired properties of ρ/μ approximations. We then propose a readily verifiable sufficient condition for ensuring finiteness of the approximation error gain. Finally, we show that the proposed construct satisfies an interesting 'completeness' property, making it attractive as a medium for studying fundamental limitations of finite state approximation and state observation under coarse sensing.
Late-onset bacteremia in uncomplicated pediatric liver-transplant recipients after a febrile episode.

The aim of this study was to analyze the incidence and risk factors of bacteremia after a febrile episode in uncomplicated pediatric recipients more than 2 months after liver transplantation, which has not previously been studied. This cross-sectional study was conducted over a 4-year period. Patients with known risk factors for sepsis at the time of admission were excluded from the study. Seventy-one patients were hospitalized on 128 occasions, with bacteremia occurring in the case of 11 admissions (8.6%). No laboratory tests were predictive of bacteremia. The bacteremic group most frequently presented with ill appearance (P<0.001), lethargy (P<0.01), decreased physical activity, and a history of early-onset bacteremia after transplantation and segmental graft (P<0.05). This study identified a significant incidence of bacteremia in uncomplicated patients many months after liver transplantation.
Near-infrared theranostic photoimmunotherapy (PIT): repeated exposure of light enhances the effect of immunoconjugate.

Armed antibody-based targeted molecular therapies offer the possibility of effective tumor control with a minimum of side effects. Photoimmunotherapy (PIT) employs a monoclonal antibody–phototoxic ...
Development and Practical Use of a High Performance Preparative Liquid Chromatographic System

Abstract The application of an analytical high performance liquid chromatograph to preparative tasks is discussed. Large capital Investments are the nom when purchasing modern high performance liquid chromatographic equipment. In many cases an analytical HPLC system can be made to du double duty by also serving as a preparative liquid chromatograph. Often, with a small additional capital Investment and minor equipment modifications a more versatile chromatograph is obtained. This paper will briefly review the process required to convert an analytical liquid chromatograph into a preparative liquid chromatograph. The resulting unit is fully automated and is capable of continuous unattended operation for periods of up to several weeks. Finally, the use of this system is illustrated by showing the scale up of a separation from an analytical to a preparative mode resulting in the isolation of high-purity standard materials.
A patent system ontology for facilitating retrieval of patent related information

The recent years have seen a tremendous growth in research and developments in science and technology, and an emphasis in obtaining Intellectual Property (IP) protection for one's innovations. Information pertaining to IP for science and technology is siloed into many diverse sources and consists of laws, regulations, patents, court litigations, scientific publications, and more. Although a great deal of legal and scientific information is now available online, the scattered distribution of the information, combined with the enormous sizes and complexities, makes any attempt to gather relevant IP-related information on a specific technology a daunting task. This paper describes a knowledge-based software framework to facilitate retrieval of patents and related information across multiple diverse and uncoordinated information sources in the US patent system. The document corpus covers issued US patents, court litigations, scientific publications, and patent file wrappers in the biomedical technology domain.
Central station thermal energy storage for peak and intermediate load power generation

Abstract The application of thermal energy storage to central station power plants allows baseload power-generating technologies to provide peak and intermediate load electric power. DOE has provided funding for a study to investigate the technical and economic feasibility of using molten nitrate salt thermal energy storage in conjunction with pulverized-coal-fired and integrated gasification combined-cycle power plants. The results suggest that the use of thermal energy storage is technically feasible and can reduce the cost of generating peak and intermediate load electric power from coal by between 5% and 20%.
The pointwise-local-global principle for solutions of generic linear equations

Abstract The problem studied in this paper is to determine some conditions on a matrix A over a ring R which will insure that the matrix equation Au = f is solvable over R if it is solvable over the residue field ( ) for every ∈ Spec R . If R is a regular local ring (containing a field), a polynomial ring over an algebraically close field, or the ring of holomorphic functions on a Stein manifold, then a sufficient condition on A for pointwise solvability to imply global solvability is that A be generic, a concept which is defined in the paper. For the rings of functions, pointwise solvability will mean solvability over R / M for a certain set of maximal ideals. The relationship between this notion of pointwise solvability and solvability over ( ) for all prime ideals is studied by introducing various types of closure operations on submodules. Mather has previously proved a theorem similar to the main result of this paper for the case of rings of smooth real valued functions on open subsets of Euclidean space.
Response to the missing medullary sponge kidney

I agree with Stratta et al.1 that the association of various malformative disorders with medullary sponge kidney (MSK) is interesting, yet challenging. These various associations have led to the hypothesis that embryological nephronal maldevelopment may participate in the pathogenesis of this disease.2 However, as stated in a very recent article published in this journal, the pathogenesis of MSK has not yet been fully elucidated.2 Although multiple candidate genes have been proposed to play a role in the process of embryological development, none have been revealed to be directly involved in uteric-bud/metanephric-blastema interface disruption.3, 4, 5 This notion is supported by a study on the kidneys of pre-term infants showing an abundance of calcification-promoting molecules, specifically osteopontin and hyaluronan, expressed at the luminal side of the renal tubular differentiating cells.6
The smart pipe: RFID and the oil and gas industry

This article explores the prospects for radio frequency identification (RFID) to be utilised by firms throughout the oil and gas industry. The article first provides the reader with an overview of RFID technology, how it works and how it is being applied in various settings. The present research found that innovative companies around the world are finding that RFID can improve their business intelligence and streamline their safety, inspection and supply operations. The article concludes with a look at the potential return on investment (ROI) for oil and gas exploration, extraction and servicing firms to make use of this game-changing technology. [Received: February 21, 2009; Accepted: April 21, 2009]
The effect of morphine tolerance dependence and abstinence on immunoreactive dynorphin (1–13) levels in discrete brain regions, spinal cord, pituitary gland and peripheral tissues of the rat

The effect of morphine tolerance dependence and protracted abstinence on the levels of dynorphin (1-13) in discrete brain regions, spinal cord, pituitary gland and peripheral tissues was determined in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Of all the tissues examined, the highest level of dynorphin (1-13) was found to be in the pituitary gland. Among the brain regions and spinal cord examined, the levels of dynorphin (1-13) in descending order were: hypothalamus, spinal cord, midbrain, pons and medulla, hippocampus, cortex, amygdala and striatum. The descending order for the levels of dynorphin (1-13) in peripheral tissues was: adrenals, heart and kidneys. In morphine tolerant rats, the levels of dynorphin (1-13) increased in amygdala but were decreased in pons and medulla. In morphine abstinent rats, the levels of dynorphin (1-13) were increased in amygdala, hypothalamus and hippocampus. The levels of dynorphin (1-13) were increased in pituitary but decreased in spinal cord and remained so even during protracted abstinence. The levels of dynorphin (1-13) in the peripheral tissues of morphine tolerant rats were unaffected. However, in the heart and kidneys of morphine abstinent rats, the levels of dynorphin (1-13) were increased significantly. It is concluded that both morphine tolerance and abstinence modify the levels of dynorphin (1-13) in pituitary, central and peripheral tissues. Morphine abstinence differed from non-abstinence process in that there were additional changes (increases) in the levels of dynorphin (1-13) in brain regions (hypothalamus and hippocampus) and peripheral tissues (heart and kidneys) and may contribute to the symptoms of the morphine abstinence syndrome.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The barrier reef sediment apron: Tobacco Reef, Belize

Sedimentological and biological surveys of the back-reef sediment apron of Tobacco Reef, a continuous segment of the Belizean Barrier Reef, reveal five distinct biogeological zones: (1) coralline-coral-Dictyota pavement, (2) Turbinaria-Sargassum rubble, (3) Laurencia-Acanthophora sand and gravel, (4) bare sand and 95 Thalassia sand. These zones parallel the entire 9-km reef. The distribution of these zones is related to the spatial patterns of fish herbivory, the size of bottom sediments, and the stability of the substrate. Sedimentological and hydrodynamic studies indicate that most of the sediments in this area are transported from the reef crest and fore reef during periods of storm or hurricane activity and that their size distribution is largely the result of differential transport by high bottom-water velocities during those periods.
MRI-based treatment planning with pseudo CT generated through atlas registration.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based treatment planning using pseudo CTs generated through atlas registration. Methods: A pseudo CT, providing electron density information for dose calculation, was generated by deforming atlas CT images previously acquired on other patients. The authors tested 4 schemes of synthesizing a pseudo CT from single or multiple deformed atlas images: use of a single arbitrarily selected atlas, arithmetic mean process using 6 atlases, and pattern recognition with Gaussian process (PRGP) using 6 or 12 atlases. The required deformation for atlas CT images was derived from a nonlinear registration of conjugated atlas MR images to that of the patient of interest. The contrasts of atlas MR images were adjusted by histogram matching to reduce the effect of different sets of acquisition parameters. For comparison, the authors also tested a simple scheme assigning the Hounsfield unit of water to the entire patient volume. All pseudo CT generating schemes were applied to 14 patients with common pediatric brain tumors. The image similarity of real patient-specific CT and pseudo CTs constructed by different schemes was compared. Differences in computation times were also calculated. The real CT in the treatment planning system was replaced with the pseudo CT, and the dose distribution was recalculated to determine the difference. Results: The atlas approach generally performed better than assigning a bulk CT number to the entire patient volume. Comparing atlas-based schemes, those using multiple atlases outperformed the single atlas scheme. For multiple atlas schemes, the pseudo CTs were similar to the real CTs (correlation coefficient, 0.787–0.819). The calculated dose distribution was in close agreement with the original dose. Nearly the entire patient volume (98.3%–98.7%) satisfied the criteria of chi-evaluation (<2% maximum dose and 2 mm range). The dose to 95% of the volume and the percentage of volume receiving at least 95% of the prescription dose in the planning target volume differed from the original values by less than 2% of the prescription dose (root-mean-square, RMS < 1%). The PRGP scheme did not perform better than the arithmetic mean process with the same number of atlases. Increasing the number of atlases from 6 to 12 often resulted in improvements, but statistical significance was not always found. Conclusions: MRI-based treatment planning with pseudo CTs generated through atlas registration is feasible for pediatric brain tumor patients. The doses calculated from pseudo CTs agreed well with those from real CTs, showing dosimetric accuracy within 2% for the PTV when multiple atlases were used. The arithmetic mean process may be a reasonable choice over PRGP for the synthesis scheme considering performance and computational costs.
Determination of free charge carrier distribution and micro-segregation of dopants in n-type GaAs

Abstract An experimental approach to the rapid determination of the micro-distribution of free charge carriers in n-type GaAs is reported. Computer based video processing techniques are used to determine the IR absorption characteristics of wafers with a spatial resolution of less than 10 μm and to convert this data after calibration into charge carrier density. The application of this technique to microsegregation analysis of Te-doped GaAs is demonstrated.
Evolution of interference competition by individual, family, and group selection

Abstract The necessary conditions for the evolution of social behaviors in a population with three levels of biological organization are derived by using a population genetic model (one locus, two alleles, random mating, discrete generations). Total selection on the behavior, Δq, is partitioned into the sum of three components: (i) ΔqI, selection between individuals within families; (ii) ΔqF, selection between families within groups; and (iii) ΔqG, selection between groups of families. I show that any level of selection can be made to operate in concert with or in opposition to any other, depending upon the fitness effects of the behavior. The implications of the model are discussed in relation to those adaptive explanations of phenotypic traits that generally consider selection to operate only between individuals.
Dynamic correlations in the spin-conserving two-dimensional kinetic ising model

We present in this paper the application of the real-space dynamic renormalization-group method to a two-dimensional kinetic Ising model with a conserved order parameter. We obtain the diffusion coefficient as a function of the temperature in the conventional approximation. We show that our renormalization procedure automatically preserves the conservation laws upon iteration. We present recursion relations and results for the time-dependent correlation functions, with particular emphasis put on the evaluation of those dynamic correlations which are obtainable in field-emission experiments. The proper hydrodynamic behavior is obtained at long times.
Electronic structure and charge ordering in magnetite: implications for the Fe3O4 (001)–water interface

Electronic structure calculations on atomistic models of magnetite (Fe3O4) provide valuable insight into the structure and properties that dictate the behaviour of magnetite under environmental conditions. The charge ordering in the bulk oxide controls the reactivity of the exposed surfaces, but it has been difficult to measure experimentally or predict theoretically. We use spin-polarised density functional theory to calculate the structure of bulk Fe3O4 and its (001) and (111) surface terminations. We then present an ab initio thermodynamics approach to determine the most energetically favourable clean and hydroxylated surface terminations of Fe3O4 (001). We present results on molecular water adsorption and heterolytic dissociation at both quarter- and half-monolayer coverage for Fe3O4 (001). Our calculations suggest that the tetrahedral (001) surface termination is the most energetically stable across all oxygen chemical potentials, and that water molecules preferentially dissociate at the surface. The...
Lemon complaints: When online auctions go sour

"Lemon" complaints reveal that online auction experiences can turn sour. Theory on information asymmetry explains how "lemons" could drive high quality items away from a market leaving a dominance of poor quality goods. In this paper we analyze "lemon" complaints using content analysis and hierarchical logistic regression. In the data collection of 306 complaints from 8 product categories in online auctions, the results show that compared to standard products "lemons" are much more likely if the product category is for functional items, such as computers and consumer electronics; non-standard items with product description complexity, such as collectibles; and fragile items, such as pottery and glassware. Contrary to expectations, clothing and jewelry, representing sensory products, did not have a statistically significant impact on the frequency of "lemons". Although two seller negative feedback rating measures did predict non-receipt of goods, seller and buyer ratings and experience did not predict "lemons".
Atrial fibrillation-associated Connexin40 mutants make hemichannels and synergistically form gap junction channels with novel properties

Mutations of Cx40 (GJA5) have been identified in people with lone chronic atrial fibrillation including G38D and M163V which were found in the same patient. We used dual whole cell patch clamp procedures to examine the transjunctional voltage (Vj) gating and channel conductance properties of these two rare mutants. Each mutant exhibited slight alterations of Vj gating properties and increased the gap junction channel conductance (γj) by 20–30 pS. While co-expression of the two mutations had similar effects on Vj gating, it synergistically increased γj by 50%. Unlike WTCx40 or M163V, G38D induced activity of a dominant 271 pS hemichannel.
Characterization of placental lactogen release from perifused human trophoblast cells

The dynamics of the release of human placental lactogen (hPL) under basal conditions and response to various secretogogues has been studied in perifused enriched hPL-producing cells from term placentae prepared by the isopycnic centrifugation of collagenase/hyaluronidase-dispersed placental cells on Percoll gradients. Under basal conditions, the perifused cells released hPL at a relatively constant rate for up to 24 h in culture. The mean rates of hPL release from cells (5 x 10(6) cells) from 18 normal full-term placentae varied from 1.8 to 20.2 ng/5 min (mean 7.7 ng/5 min). The cells from term placentae, however, did not release detectable amounts of chorionic gonadotrophin or the cytosolic enzymes lactic dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase. The amounts of hPL released by the perifused cells were inversely related to cell density with mean rates of hPL release by 2, 5, and 10 x 10(6) cells of 15.8, 8.6, and 5.7 ng/10(6) cells/0.5 h. The perifused cells responded to provocative stimuli (high-density lipoproteins (HDL), apolipoproteins AI, AII, and CI, partially purified hPL-releasing factor, phorbol esters, sn-1,2-diacylglycerol, and cAMP) in a manner qualitatively similar to enriched trophoblast cells and placental explants in static culture. Release of hPL in response to HDL, apoproteins AI, AII, and CI, and partially purified hPL-releasing factor was dose-dependent and occurred within 5 min of exposure. Basal and stimulated hPL release by perifused trophoblast cells that had been previously frozen at -70 degrees C for four weeks was identical to that of freshly dispersed cells from the same placenta. These experiments indicate that perifused trophoblast cells may be used as a model system to examine the dynamics of hPL release under basal conditions and in response to provocative stimuli.
Effectiveness of a Primary Care Intervention to Support Reading Aloud: A Multicenter Evaluation

Objective.—Failure to read at grade level predicts life-long economic and social disability. Early exposure to reading aloud may prevent reading problems. This study seeks to determine whether institution of Reach Out and Read (ROR) programs is associated with increased reading aloud in a national sample. Design.—Before-after intervention study: separate convenience samples were studied before and after institution of ROR programs at multiple sites. Participants and Setting.—A convenience sample of parents of children age 6–72 months seeking routine health care at 19 clinical sites in 10 states. Interventions.—The ROR model incorporates anticipatory guidance about reading aloud and distribution of free picture books at health supervision visits from 6 months through 5 years as well as reading aloud in the waiting room. Main Outcome Measures.—Parents were interviewed about their attitudes and practices related to reading aloud, using questions drawn from validated instruments. Results.—The sample included 1647 subjects (730 intervention, 917 comparison). After controlling for multiple potential confounding factors, significant associations were found between exposure to ROR and reading aloud as a favorite parenting activity (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] 1.6, P Conclusions.—In a national sample, implementation of ROR programs was associated with increased parental support for reading aloud. This study provides evidence of the effectiveness of a primary care intervention strategy to promote reading aloud to young children.
Baseline eating disorder severity predicts response to an acceptance and commitment therapy-based group treatment

The present study investigated whether more severe baseline eating pathology (e.g. baseline symptomatology, previous hospitalizations, and low weight in anorexia nervosa) moderated the effect of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-based group treatment. Participants were 140 women who were admitted to an inpatient facility for eating disorders. Women were categorized as anorexia nervosa spectrum or bulimia nervosa spectrum at intake and completed measures of eating pathology. All participants received comprehensive treatment, and those in the treatment-as-usual plus ACT condition received twice weekly ACT group treatment. At post-treatment (i.e., at discharge from the facility), participants completed measures again. Severity of self-reported eating symptomatology moderated treatment such that those with more severe symptoms at baseline showed greater improvements in eating disorder symptomatology in the ACT condition than in the treatment-as-usual condition. Additionally, trends showed similar patterns for those with more previous hospitalizations and those on the anorexia nervosa spectrum who had lower body weights. The magnitude of differences was modest, but indicates that an acceptance-based treatment may be a beneficial for patients with more severe eating disorder pathology.
Categories of modules over an affine Kac–Moody algebra and finiteness of the Kazhdan–Lusztig tensor product

Abstract To each category C of modules of finite length over a complex simple Lie algebra g , closed under tensoring with finite dimensional modules, we associate and study a category AFF ( C ) κ of smooth modules (in the sense of Kazhdan and Lusztig [D. Kazhdan, G. Lusztig, Tensor structures arising from affine Lie algebras, I, J. Amer. Math. Soc. 6 (1993) 905–947]) of finite length over the corresponding affine Kac–Moody algebra in the case of central charge less than the critical level. Equivalent characterizations of these categories are obtained in the spirit of the works of Kazhdan and Lusztig [D. Kazhdan, G. Lusztig, Tensor structures arising from affine Lie algebras, I, J. Amer. Math. Soc. 6 (1993) 905–947] and Lian and Zuckerman [B.H. Lian, G.J. Zuckerman, BRST cohomology and noncompact coset models, in: Proceedings of the XXth International Conference on Differential Geometric methods in Theoretical Physics, New York, 1991, 1992, pp. 849–865; B.H. Lian, G.J. Zuckerman, An application of infinite dimensional Lie theory to semisimple Lie groups, in: Representation Theory of Groups and Algebras, in: Contemp. Math., vol. 145, 1993, pp. 249–257]. In the main part of this paper we establish a finiteness result for the Kazhdan–Lusztig tensor product which can be considered as an affine version of a theorem of Kostant [B. Kostant, On the tensor product of a finite and an infinite dimensional representation, J. Funct. Anal. 20 (1975) 257–285]. It contains as special cases the finiteness results of Kazhdan, Lusztig [D. Kazhdan, G. Lusztig, Tensor structures arising from affine Lie algebras, I, J. Amer. Math. Soc. 6 (1993) 905–947] and Finkelberg [M. Finkelberg, PhD thesis, Harvard University, 1993], and states that for any subalgebra f of g which is reductive in g the “affinization” of the category of finite length admissible ( g , f ) modules is stable under Kazhdan–Lusztig's tensoring with the “affinization” of the category of finite dimensional g modules (which is O κ in the notation of [D. Kazhdan, G. Lusztig, Tensor structures arising from affine Lie algebras, I, J. Amer. Math. Soc. 6 (1993) 905–947; D. Kazhdan, G. Lusztig, Tensor structures arising from affine Lie algebras, II, J. Amer. Math. Soc. 6 (1994) 949–1011; D. Kazhdan, G. Lusztig, Tensor structures arising from affine Lie algebras, IV, J. Amer. Math. Soc. 7 (1994) 383–453]).
Low power amplifier for piezoelectric actuator in wireless smart sensor applications

As wireless sensor has emerged as a promising technology in recent years, active sensing which integrates actuation capability in a wireless sensor unit for detecting localized damage has been brought into sight in structural health monitoring. However, the inefficiency of conventional energy conversion system is a major constraint for the utilization of reactive actuator, such as piezoelectric, in the wireless sensor unit since power source is limited. This paper proposes a highly efficient low power switching amplifier to drive piezoelectric disc in the high frequency for wireless sensor applications.