cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Concussion induces gait inter-joint coordination variability under conditions of divided attention and obstacle crossing

This study investigated the effect of concussion on the pattern and variability of inter-joint coordination during level walking (Level), obstacle crossing (OB), and walking with a concurrent cognitive test (ATT). Gait analyses of 23 concussed and 23 matched healthy adults were performed. Continuous relative phase (CRP), derived from phase angles of two adjacent joints, was used to assess inter-joint coordination. Cross-correlation measures and root-mean-square (RMS) differences were used to compare CRP patterns of the Level condition to those of OB and ATT conditions, respectively. Deviation phase (DP) was used to evaluate variability of inter-joint coordination for each task. For hip-knee and knee-ankle CRP patterns, RMS differences between OB and Level and between ATT and Level in concussed subjects were significantly greater than those of healthy adults. No significant group differences were detected for the cross-correlation measures of hip-knee and knee-ankle CRP patterns. In stance phase, a significant task effect on DP values was detected in hip-knee inter-joint coordination. For knee-ankle inter-joint coordination, concussed subjects showed significantly greater DP values than healthy controls during OB and ATT. In swing phase, concussed individuals showed greater DP values in hip-knee and knee-ankle inter-joint coordination compared to healthy controls. The findings suggest that the ability to modulate inter-joint coordination patterns when accommodating to gait perturbations is affected by concussion.
Gap junction-mediated transfer of left-right patterning signals in the early chick blastoderm is upstream of Shh asymmetry in the node.

Invariant patterning of left-right asymmetry during embryogenesis depends upon a cascade of inductive and repressive interactions between asymmetrically expressed genes. Different cascades of asymmetric genes distinguish the left and right sides of the embryo and are maintained by a midline barrier. As such, the left and right sides of an embryo can be viewed as distinct and autonomous fields. Here we describe a series of experiments that indicate that the initiation of these programs requires communication between the two sides of the blastoderm. When deprived of either the left or the right lateral halves of the blastoderm, embryos are incapable of patterning normal left-right gene expression at Hensen9s node. Not only are both flanks required, suggesting that there is no single signaling source for LR pattern, but the blastoderm must be intact. These results are consistent with our previously proposed model in which the orientation of LR asymmetry in the frog, Xenopus laevis, depends on large-scale partitioning of LR determinants through intercellular gap junction channels (M. Levin and M. Mercola (1998) Developmental Biology 203, 90–105). Here we evaluate whether gap junctional communication is required for the LR asymmetry in the chick, where it is possible to order early events relative to the well-characterized left and right hierarchies of gene expression. Treatment of cultured chick embryos with lindane, which diminishes gap junctional communication, frequently unbiased normal LR asymmetry of Shh and Nodal gene expression, causing the normally left-sided program to be recapitulated symmetrically on the right side of the embryo. A survey of early expression of connexin mRNAs revealed that Cx43 is present throughout the blastoderm at Hamburger-Hamilton stage 2–3, prior to known asymmetric gene expression. Application of antisense oligodeoxynucleotides or blocking antibody to cultured embryos also resulted in bilateral expression of Shh and Nodal transcripts. Importantly, the node and primitive streak at these stages lack Cx43 mRNA. This result, together with the requirement for an intact blastoderm, suggests that the path of communication through gap junction channels circumvents the node and streak. We propose that left-right information is transferred unidirectionally throughout the epiblast by gap junction channels in order to pattern left-sided Shh expression at Hensen9s node.
A Breath of Fresh Air for Lung Transplant Recipients

Abstract Lung transplantation is a definitive therapy for the treatment of many end-stage lung diseases. However, because of donor-related morbidities, only 15% of donor lungs are suitable for transplantation, which leads to an increased risk of death for prospective patients waiting for this lifesaving procedure. A technique reported by Keshavjee’s group in this issue of Science Translational Medicine may help address this problem, not only by repairing donor lungs before transplant, but also by possibly preventing lung injury after transplantation.
Role of Betaig-h3 Gene in Carcinogenesis

Betaig-h3, as a secreted protein induced by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), has been shown to modulate cell adhesion, wound healing, apoptosis and tumorigenicity. Mutations of this gene result in single amino-acid changes in the Betaig-h3 protein and are related to the development of human corneal dystrophies. In addition, Betaig-h3 promoter is frequently silenced because of promoter methylation in human cancer cells. The data suggest that Betaig-h3 gene might play an important role in mediating the pivotal cellular functions of TGF-β signalings such as proliferation, apoptosis and anti-tumor activities.
Improved Channel Sounding Using Zero Correlation Zone Sequences

Direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) techniques are commonly used for characterizing RF communications channels. These techniques have relative immunity to interference and do not require a direct reference connection between the transmitter and receiver. Current DSSS propagation measurement systems use a pseudo noise (PN) sequence to probe the impulse response of the channel. However, the use of PN sequences can introduce noise into the measurements. This noise is caused by a bias term that is inversely proportional to the length of the PN-Sequence, and limits the dynamic range of the measurement system. In this paper it is shown that this bias term will not be present when zero correlation zone (ZCZ) sequences are used. Consequently the dynamic range of the measurement system is limited by the SNR instead of the sequence itself. This paper also provides test data to show the effects of the bias term and to compare and contrast the use of PN and ZCZ sequences.
Trifluoperazine inhibition of contraction in permeabilized skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscles.

Abstract To gain insights into the mechanism of the central helix of calmodulin and troponin-C in the Ca 2+ -regulation of force development in striated and smooth muscles, the present study was made of the TFP induced inhibition of contraction, and of the uptake of these proteins by skinned fibers. Calmodulin was four-fold more sensitive to TFP than TnC, but the inhibition was found to be identical for skeletal and cardiac muscles despite the differences in their troponin-C isoforms. Also, the results were comparable between fast-twitch fiber, when calmodulin was exchanged for troponin-C to act on TnI, and smooth muscle, where calmodulin acts on myosin light chain kinase. These findings indicate that the inhibition of force by TFP is entirely due to its binding to the hydrophobic sites in the central helix. The uptakes of troponin-C and calmodulin were also different, and this is explained by a TFP-independent domain in troponin-C that binds TnI.
The effect of biceps reattachment site.

Background We hypothesize that an anatomic repair of the distal biceps tendon would recreate native tendon moment arm and forearm rotation, while a nonanatomic insertion would compromise moment arm and forearm rotation. Methods Isometric supination torque was measured at 60° of pronation, neutral, and 60° of supination for the native distal biceps tendon and 4 repair points in 6 cadaveric specimens using a computer controlled elbow simulator. The slope of the regression line fitted to the torque versus biceps load data was used to define the moment arm for each attachment location. Range of motion testing was performed by incrementally loading the biceps, while measuring the supination motion generated using a digital goniometer. Results Tendon location and forearm position significantly affected the moment arm of the biceps ( P Conclusions Reattachment of the biceps to its anatomic location, as opposed to a more anterior central position, is critical in reestablishing native tendon biomechanics. Clinically, these findings would suggest that patients with a biceps repair might experience the most weakness in a supinated position without experiencing a deficit in the pronated forearm.
Hearing in the sea otter (Enhydra lutris): auditory profiles for an amphibious marine carnivore

In this study we examine the auditory capabili- ties of the sea otter (Enhydra lutris), an amphibious marine mammal that remains virtually unstudied with respect to its sensory biology. We trained an adult male sea otter to perform a psychophysical task in an acoustic chamber and at an underwater apparatus. Aerial and underwater audio- grams were constructed from detection thresholds for nar- rowband signals measured in quiet conditions at frequen- cies from 0.125-40 kHz. Aerial hearing thresholds were also measured in the presence of octave-band masking noise centered at eight signal frequencies (0.25-22.6 kHz) so that critical ratios could be determined. The aerial audiogram of the sea otter resembled that of sea lions and showed a reduction in low-frequency sensitivity relative to terrestrial mustelids. Best sensitivity was −1 dB re 20 µPa at 8 kHz. Under water, hearing sensitivity was significantly reduced when compared to sea lions and other pinniped species, demonstrating that sea otter hearing is primarily adapted to receive airborne sounds. Critical ratios were more than 10 dB higher than those measured for pinni- peds, suggesting that sea otters are less efficient than other marine carnivores at extracting acoustic signals from back- ground noise, especially at frequencies below 2 kHz.
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Mediates the Activity-Dependent Regulation of Inhibition in Neocortical Cultures

The excitability of cortical circuits is modulated by interneurons that release the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. In primate and rodent visual cortex, activity deprivation leads to a decrease in the expression of GABA. This suggests that activity is able to adjust the strength of cortical inhibition, but this has not been demonstrated directly. In addition, the nature of the signal linking activity to GABA expression has not been determined. Activity is known to regulate the expression of the neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and BDNF has been shown to influence the phenotype of GABAergic interneurons. We use a culture system from postnatal rat visual cortex to test the hypothesis that activity is regulating the strength of cortical inhibition through the regulation of BDNF. Cultures were double-labeled against GABA and the neuronal marker MAP2, and the percentage of neurons that were GABA-positive was determined. Blocking spontaneous activity in these cultures reversibly decreased the number of GABA-positive neurons without affecting neuronal survival. Voltage-clamp analysis of inhibitory currents demonstrated that activity blockade also decreased GABA-mediated inhibition onto pyramidal neurons and raised pyramidal neuron firing rates. All of these effects were prevented by incubation with BDNF during activity blockade, but not by neurotrophin 3 or nerve growth factor. Additionally, blockade of neurotrophin signaling mimicked the effects of activity blockade on GABA expression. These data suggest that activity regulates cortical inhibition through a BDNF-dependent mechanism and that this neurotrophin plays an important role in the control of cortical excitability.
The ethics of making the body beautiful: what cosmetic genetics can learn from cosmetic surgery

The author considers several recent ethical attitudes toward cosmetic surgery in order to anticipate and offer recommendations concerning the ethical challenges society will encounter when genetic therapies used for cosmetic purposes become a real option in the future.
In Defense of the Sensual: Meaning Construction in Ethnography and Poetics

Lack of closure in ethnography is less a problem of unknowables than plural “knowabilities” and the frustrations of choosing among them. Human beings are sensual and intellectual creatures who experience the world through that combination and whose corporeal existences are appropriated and molded by culture—the system of signs and meanings that defines for us the nature of the world and our place in it. Carving science or poetry out of this “made”universe requires heigh tenedsensitivity to its properties. Yet mostly, only poets write about experience consistently from a sensual perspective. Poetry is another way to encode and share the foundations of such experience; poetry can ground theories of the world that actually involve our interactions with it, not just abstractions from it. Thus, a more robust entrance point for modern ethnography may be best centered on some combination of humanistic and scientific design as artful-science, not on either extreme.
Information flow and its relation to the stability of the motion of vehicles in a rigid formation

It is known in the literature on automated highway systems that information flow can significantly affect the propagation of errors in spacing in a collection of vehicles. This paper investigates this issue further for a homogeneous collection of vehicles, where in the motion of each vehicle is modeled as a point mass. The structure of the controller employed by the vehicles is as follows: U/sub i/(s)=C(s)/spl Sigma/ /sub j/spl isin/si/(X/sub i/ - X/sub j/ - L/sub ij//s) where U/sub i/(s) is the (Laplace transformation of) control action for the i/sup th/ vehicle, L/sub ij/is the position of the i/sup th/ vehicle, L/sub ij/ is the desired distance between the i/sup th/ and the j/sup th/ vehicles in the collection, C(s) is the controller transfer function and S/sub i/ is the set of vehicles that the i/sup th/ vehicle can communicate with directly. This paper further assumes that the information flow is undirected, i.e., i/spl isin/S/sub j//spl harr/j/spl isin/S/sub i/, and the information flow graph is connected. We consider information flow in the collection, where each vehicle can communicate with a maximum of q(n) vehicles, such that q(n) may vary with the size n of the collection. We first show that C(s) cannot have any zeroes at the origin to ensure that relative spacing is maintained in response to a reference vehicle making a maneuver where its velocity experiences a steady state offset. We then show that if the control transfer function C(s) has one or more poles located at the origin of the complex plane, then the motion of the collection of vehicles will become unstable if the size of the collection is sufficiently large. These two results imply that C(0)/spl ne/0 and C(0) is well defined. We further show that if q(n)/sup 3//n/sup 2//spl rarr/0 as n /spl rarr//spl infin/ then there is a low frequency sinusoidal disturbance of at most unit amplitude acting on each vehicle such that the maximum errors in spacing response increase at least as O (/spl radic/(n/sup 2/)/q(n)/sup 3/). A consequence of the results presented in this paper is that the maximum of the error in spacing and velocity of any vehicle can be made insensitive to the size of the collection only if there is at least one vehicle in the collection that communicates with at least O(n/sup 2/3/) other vehicles in the collection.
Can digital GaAs be used in a space environment? A look at single event upset in GaAs

The vulnerability to SEU (single event upset) of devices produced by standard GaAs processes is too great to allow their use in space applications without some type of mitigation technique. GaAs foundries can provide solutions for the short term by providing SEU hardened designs incorporating redundancy for latches in standard cell families and gate arrays. As research progresses, techniques are expected to be found to reduce charge enhancement effects in GaAs FETs. Industry-developed solutions for sidegating and backgating effects may also improve SEU sensitivity. Designs intended for SEU environments can incorporate several mitigation techniques to provide satisfactory operation. However, hardening at the device may provide the best performance option. >
Who Do We Tell and Whom Do We Tell On? Gossip as a Strategy for Status Enhancement

College students ranked the interest value of 12 different gossip scenarios; likelihood of spreading the gossip; and the people to whom they would be most likely to tell the gossip, depending on whether the gossip was about male or female professors, relatives, friends, acquaintances, strangers, or a same-sex rival or a romantic partner. Damaging, negative news about rivals and positive news about friends and lovers was especially prized and likely to be passed on. Aside from romantic partners, males and females were more interested in information about same-sex others than about opposite-sex others. Overall, men were most likely to confide in their romantic partners, but females were equally likely to share gossip with their lovers and their same-sex friends. The universally important role played by gossip in human groups has led many researchers to propose that a human propensity for gossip is an evolved psychological adaptation that enabled individuals to be socially successful in our ancestral environments (Barkow, 1989, 1992; Dunbar, 1996; McAndrew & Milenkovic, 2002; Wilson, Wilczynski, Wells, & Weiser, 2000). Most research on gossip conducted from an evolutionary perspective has emphasized the social control function played by gossip in the life of groups. Specifically, gossip can be an efficient way to remind group members of the importance of the group’s norms and values; an effective deterrent to deviance; and a tool for punishing those who transgress (Barkow, 1992; Levin & Arluke, 1987; Merry, 1984). Research is suggesting increasingly that being able to effectively deal with cheaters is probably the dominant driving force in the evolution of much of our social behavior. For example, the emotional and behavioral reactions
QUIESCENT ISOLATION: THE EXTREMELY EXTENDED H I HALO OF THE OPTICALLY COMPACT DWARF GALAXY ADBS 113845+2008

We present new optical imaging and spectroscopy and H I spectral line imaging of the dwarf galaxy ADBS 113845 + 2008 (hereafter ADBS 1138). This metal-poor (Z ~ 30% Z ☉), post-starburst system has one of the most compact stellar distributions known in any galaxy to date (B-band exponential scale length = 0.57 kpc). In stark contrast to the compact stellar component, the neutral gas is extremely extended; H I is detected to a radial distance of ~25 kpc at the 1019 cm–2 level ( 44 B-band scale lengths). Comparing to measurements of similar giant disk dwarf galaxies in the literature, ADBS 1138 has the largest known H I-to-optical size ratio. The stellar component is located near the center of a broken ring of H I that is ~15 kpc in diameter; column densities peak in this structure at the ~3.5 × 1020 cm–2 level. At the center of this ring, in a region of comparatively low H I column density, we find ongoing star formation traced by Hα emission. We sample the rotation curve to the point of turn over; this constrains the size of the dark matter halo of the galaxy, which outweighs the luminous component (stars + gas) by at least a factor of 15. To explain these enigmatic properties, we examine inside-out and outside-in evolutionary scenarios. Calculations of star formation energetics indicate that feedback from concentrated star formation is not capable of producing the ring structure; we posit that this is a system where the large H I disk is evolving in quiescent isolation. In a global sense, this system is exceedingly inefficient at converting neutral gas into stars.
HCV Infection and Cryptogenic Cirrhosis are Risk Factors for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Among Latinos in New York City

Latinos in the US experience a 60% higher death rate from primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) when compared to Non-Latinos. The goal of this study was to examine risk factors that are associated with ethnic disparities among HCC patients seen at the transplant center of a metropolitan medical center in New York City. We compared HCC risk factors in 140 Non-Latino and 55 Latino patients that presented with HCC from 1995 to 2003. Surnames were used to define Latino and Non-Latino HCC patients in a retrospective analysis. Latino and Non-Latino HCC patients did not vary by gender or age at presentation (mean Latino age 60.8). Latino HCC patients had a higher frequency of presentation with advanced disease, defined as patients with unresectable HCC, than non Latino HCC patients (Latino 52.7%; 95% CI 39.1–66.3 vs. Non-Latino vs. 36.4%; 95% CI 28.3–44.4). Latinos were more likely than Non Latinos to have underlying HCV (34.5 vs. 22.1%, P < .0001; adjusted odds ratio [Siegel, 2008 #564], 3.69; 95% CI, 1.16–11.7) and cryptogenic liver diseases (7.2 vs. 3.5%, P < .0001; OR 8.86; 95% CI, 1.21–65.0) after adjusting for age, gender and alfa-fetoprotein levels. Although more advanced disease may signal delay in access to care or more aggressive disease, HCV infection and cryptogenic cirrhosis at presentation are likely key factors for the greater burden of HCC among Latinos in New York City.
Basic Properties of SS-PARSE Parameter Estimates

Single shot parameter assessment by retrieval from signal encoding (SS-PARSE) is a recently introduced method to obtain quantitative parameter maps from a single-shot (typically 65 ms) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signal. Because it explicitly models local magnetization decay and phase evolution occurring during the signal 1) it can provide quantitative estimates of local transverse magnetization magnitude and phase, frequency, and relaxation rate and 2) it is free of geometric distortion or blurring due to field nonuniformities within the tissues. These properties promise to be advantageous in functional brain MRI (fMRI) and other dynamic imaging applications. In this paper, the basic phenomena underlying the performance of SS-PARSE in practice are discussed. Basic sources of bias errors in the parameter estimates are discussed, and performance of the method is characterized in terms of parameter estimates from simulation, experimental phantoms, and in vivo studies. Characteristics of the sum-of-square-error cost function and the iterative search algorithm are discussed, and their relative roles in determining estimation accuracy are described. Practical guidelines for use of the method are presented and discussed. In vivo parameter maps are also presented.
Extracellular myocilin affects activity of human trabecular meshwork cells

The trabecular meshwork (TM), a specialized eye tissue, is a major site for regulation of the aqueous humor outflow. Malfunctioning of this tissue is believed to be responsible for development of glaucoma, a blinding disease. Myocilin is a gene linked to the most common form of glaucoma. The protein product has been localized to both intra and extracellular sites, but its function still remains unclear. This study was to determine whether extracellular myocilin presented in the matrix affects adhesion, morphology, and migratory and phagocytic activities of human TM cells in culture. Cell adhesion assays indicated that TM cells, while adhering readily on fibronectin, failed to attach on recombinant myocilin purified from bacterial cultures. Adhesion on fibronectin was also compromised by myocilin in a dose dependent manner. Myocilin in addition triggered TM cells to assume a stellate appearance with broad cell bodies and microspikes. Loss of actin stress fibers and focal adhesions was observed. TM cell migration on fibronectin/myocilin to scratched wounds was reduced compared to fibronectin controls. Myocilin, however, had little impact on phagocytic activities of TM cells. Cell attachment on fibronectin and migration of corneal fibroblasts, a control cell type, were not altered by myocilin. These results demonstrate that extracellular myocilin elicits anti-adhesive and counter-migratory effects on TM cells. Myocilin in the matrix of tissues could be exerting a similar influence on TM cells in vivo, impacting the flexibility and resilience required for maintenance of the normal aqueous outflow.
Community Reintegration Among Prisoners With Child Support Obligations: An Examination of Debt, Needs, and Service Receipt:

In line with emerging work on the role of fatherhood in prisoner reentry, this study directs attention to the financial obligations that connect fathers to their families in reentry. Specifically, the study provides a descriptive picture of soon-to-be-released male state prisoners with child support obligations using a multi-state, longitudinal dataset, and examines whether characteristics of incarcerated men with child support orders and associated debt are significantly different from incarcerated males without child support orders. Whether males attached to comprehensive reentry programs received more services related to their debt obligation after prison release compared with non-program participants is also analyzed. Findings show that although prisoners identify having substantial needs vis-a-vis child support obligations, few reported receiving assistance related to these needs upon release. However, reentry program participants received significantly more child support–related services than non-pr...
Optimal Annealing Conditions of InGaAs Films for Selective Area Epitaxy of Quantum Dots by Indium Segregation

The surface of strained InGaAs films on GaAs for selective regrowth of InAs nanostructures is investigated by atomic force microscopy and Rutherford backscattering. Various InxGa1-xAs films were annealed at temperatures between 400°C - 800°C. Significant indium desorption was found to occur at temperatures above 550°C.
Effect of novocain upon the susceptibility of the central nervous system to electroshock

1. Mit Hilfe der Elektrokrampfmethode wird die Wirkung des Novocainsaufdie Krampferregbarkeit mannlicher Meerschweinchen untersucht.
Potent odorants resulting from the peroxidation of lemon oil

The odorants of a lemon oil sample, which was peroxidized for 120 h at room temperature in the presence of light, were analysed by an aroma extract dilution procedure. On the basis of their FD factors carvone,p-methylacetophenone,p-cresol, 4-acetyl-1-methyl-1-cyclohexene and 4 hydroperoxides were identified as the most intense odorants. Changes in the concentrations of neral, geranial, linalool (odorants of the fresh lemon oil), carvone,p-methylacetophenone,p-cresol andp-cymene (dependent on the storage time) were determined and the odour units for these compounds were calculated.
Factors influencing experimental modification of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells.

SummaryA study was made of factors involved in modifying the semi-permeable nature of the cell membrane of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells. It was found that a minimum concentration of 0.1% nigrosin was necessary for accurate differential quantitation of modified and unmodified tumor cells. The cells were not visibly affected by hypotonic saline solutions as low as 3.0 mg NaCl/ml. Lower concentrations resulted in changes in membrane permeability, and lysis occurred at concentrations of 1.0 mg/ml, or less. Not all cells of a given population were affected similarly by experimental hypotonic shock.
Incremental maintenance of materialized XML views

We investigate the problem of incremental maintenance of materialized XML views. We are considering the case where the underlying database is a relational database and the view exposed to querying is a materialized XML view. Then, updates to the underlying database should be reflected to the stored XML view, to keep it consistent with the source data, without recreating the entire view from the database after each source update. Unlike related work that uses algebraic methods, we use source-to-source compositional transformations, guided by the database and view schemata. We first translate SQL updates to pure (update-free) XQuery expressions that reconstruct the entire database state, reflecting the updated values in the new state. Then, we synthesize the right-inverse of the XQuery view function, guided by the view schema. This inverse function is applied to the old view to derive the old database state, which in turn is mapped to the new database state through the update function, and then is mapped to the new view through the view function. The resulting view-to-view function is normalized and translated to XQuery updates that destructively modify the materialized view efficiently to reflect the new view values.
Cosmetic psychopharmacology and the goals of medicine.

A look at Pamela Bjorkland's critique of the use of psychoactive drugs to improve mood, a practice known as cosmetic psychopharmacology. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Risk and Surveillance of Cancers in Primary Biliary Tract Disease

Primary biliary diseases have been associated in several studies with various malignancies. Understanding the risk and optimizing surveillance strategy of these malignancies in this specific subset of patients are an important facet of clinical care. For instance, primary sclerosing cholangitis is associated with an increased risk for cholangiocarcinoma (which is very challenging to diagnose) and when IBD is present for colorectal cancer. On the other hand, primary biliary cirrhosis patients with cirrhosis or not responding to 12 months of ursodeoxycholic acid therapy are at increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. In this review we will discuss in detail the risks and optimal surveillance strategies for patients with primary biliary diseases.
Testing contesting theory: Conceptual metaphors and prosocial behavior

Abstract Objectives This investigation was conducted to determine whether contesting orientations add predictive utility for prosocial behavior, both in and out of sports, beyond other variables related to the component processes of moral action. Design Cross-sectional. Methods Intercollegiate US athletes (n = 2380; 56.4% male), from both individual and team sports, completed measures of contesting orientation, three moral variables (moral attentiveness, moral identity, integrity), three sport-specific variables (athletic identity, goal orientation, and fear of failure), and three outcome variables (sportspersonship, academic honesty, and prosocial helping). Data was analyzed using both correlational and regression analyses. Results Regression analyses demonstrated that contesting orientations were the best predictors of sportspersonship, but were insignificant predictors of nonsport forms of prosocial behavior. Conclusions Consistent with contesting theory, contesting orientation are salient and potent predictors of sportspersonship, but do not predict behavior outside of contest situations.
An investigation of the stability and variability in young children's self-regulated learning behaviors in kindergarten

ABSTRACTThe authors examined the relative stability and variability of self-regulated learning (SRL) in kindergartners across various contexts (teacher-directed activities, small-group work, and independent work). They assessed the role of temperament and context on children's use of SRL while seeking to identify if there are optimal contexts for promoting SRL in particular children. The results revealed that although temperament was not related to SRL, children's regulation strategy usage was heavily dependent on context, contradicting the idea that children are either high or low self-regulators. The relative stability of SRL varied by child, with some children showing more sensitivity to context than did others. Optimal contexts for eliciting SRL also differed by children, with some children exhibiting elevated regulation during small-group activities and others during teacher-directed activities.
An Intrinsic Mode of Interannual Variability in the Indian Ocean

AbstractAn intrinsic mode of self-sustained, interannual variability is identified in a coarse-resolution ocean model forced by an annually repeating atmospheric state. The variability has maximum loading in the Indian Ocean, with a significant projection into the South Atlantic Ocean. It is argued that this intrinsic mode is caused by baroclinic instability of the model’s Leeuwin Current, which radiates out to the tropical Indian and South Atlantic Oceans as long Rossby waves at a period of 4 yr. This previously undescribed mode has a remarkably narrowband time series. However, the variability is not synchronized with the annual cycle; the phase of the oscillation varies chaotically on decadal time scales. The presence of this internal mode reduces the predictability of the ocean circulation by obscuring the response to forcing or initial condition perturbations. The signature of this mode can be seen in higher-resolution global ocean models driven by high-frequency atmospheric forcing, but altimeter and...
Technology, Power, and Truth: Political and Epistemological Reflections on the Fourth Revolution

Talk about revolutions is easy. Revolutions are hard. On this occasion I have chosen to do the easy thing: to write about a revolution that is in the making, one that I shall call “the fourth revolution.” This obviously suggests that there were three others which preceded it, and in due course I will indicate which they were.
No Such Thing as Too Much Chocolate: Evidence Against Choice Overload in E-Commerce

E-commerce designers must decide how many products to display at one time. Choice overload research has demonstrated the surprising finding that more choice is not necessarily better?selecting from larger choice sets can be more cognitively demanding and can result in lower levels of choice satisfaction. This research tests the choice overload effect in an e-commerce context and explores how the choice overload effect is influenced by an individual's tendency to maximize or satisfice decisions. We conducted an online experiment with 611 participants randomly assigned to select a gourmet chocolate bar from either 12, 24, 40, 50, 60, or 72 different options. Consistent with prior work, we find that maximizers are less satisfied with their product choice than satisficers. However, using Bayesian analysis, we find that it's unlikely that choice set size affects choice satisfaction by much, if at all. We discuss why the decision-making process may be different in e-commerce contexts than the physical settings used in previous choice overload experiments.
Dress, Faith, and Medicine: Caring for the Body in Eighteenth-Century Spanish Texas

In the eighteenth century, new theories of human anatomy, disease, and illness intersected with Christian doctrines regarding spiritual well-being, Spanish imperial understandings regarding race and dress of colonizer and colonized, and culturally distinct medicinal practices for treating physical and spiritual sicknesses. To explore these admittedly complex entanglements of bodies, souls, and clothing, I place the physical and spiritual body at the center of analysis. My intent is to obtain a fuller understanding of the complete colonial body at the eighteenth-century Spanish presidio of Los Adaes. Located along the easternmost border of Spanish Texas, how did the multiethnic inhabitants of Los Adaes treat, mend, and cover their bodies through dress, practices of faith, and medicine? What artifacts (clothing, amulets, religious medals, and medicines), texts, and images were embodied when people from disparate backgrounds and life experiences cared for themselves and others at Presidio Los Adaes?
Generation of C6+ in a spark-discharge coupled laser plasma

Abstract By coupling a spark discharge into a laser-generated carbon plasma, fully-stripped carbon ions with a relatively low laser pulse energy are observed. When spark-discharge energy of ∼ 750 mJ is coupled to the carbon plasma generated by ∼ 50 mJ laser pulse (wavelength 1064 nm, pulse width 8 ns, intensity 5 × 1 0 9 W ∕ cm 2 ), enhancement in the total ion charge by a factor of ∼ 6 is observed, along with the increase of maximum charge state from C 4 + to C 6 + . Spark coupling to the laser plasma significantly reduces the laser pulse energy required to generate highly-charged ions. Compared to the laser carbon plasma alone, the spark discharge increases the intensity of the spectral emission of carbon lines, the electron density n e , and the electron temperature T e . The effective ion plasma temperature associated with translational motion along the plume axis T i e f f is calculated from the ion time-of-flight signal.
Clinical Applications of Biomarkers in Atrial Fibrillation

While biomarkers have greatly impacted the diagnosis and management of myocardial infarction and heart failure, the use of biomarkers has been slow to permeate management of atrial fibrillation. Guideline recommendations on the use of biomarkers in atrial fibrillation were virtually nonexistent until the 2016 European Society of Cardiology guidelines on atrial fibrillation offered a class IIb recommendation to consider using biomarkers such as high-sensitivity troponin and natriuretic peptide to further refine stroke and bleeding risk in atrial fibrillation patients. Biomarker levels have been associated with incident atrial fibrillation, postoperative atrial fibrillation, acute atrial fibrillation, diagnosis of myocardial infarction and heart failure in atrial fibrillation, and prognosis in atrial fibrillation. This review will offer an in-depth survey of current evidence on the use of biomarkers in atrial fibrillation and propose clinical algorithms to aid the internist in using biomarkers in atrial fibrillation management.
Sexual Dysfunction in Lesbian Women: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

Over the past two decades, a growing body of literature has demonstrated the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in heterosexual women. Few, if any, studies have investigated sexual problems specifically in women who identify as lesbian. The aim of this article is to systematically review data on sexual dysfunction in lesbian women. We performed a systematic review of the literature searching MEDLINE via Ovid, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Database of Controlled Trials, SCI-EXPANDED, SSCI, CPCI-S, CPCI-SSH, and Web of Science from inception through March 2017. We included all studies assessing sexual dysfunction or sexual problems in lesbian women. Heterosexual, bisexual, and transsexual groups were excluded. Of the 1,822 articles identified, 20 articles met inclusion criteria, 1 of which was a population-based probability study. These studies included 16 cross-sectional studies, 1 case–control study, 1 qualitative interview study, and 1 review of the literature. Sexual dysfunction is prevalent in lesbian women and may differ from sexual dysfunction experienced by heterosexual women. Available data are limited by small convenience samples and varied outcome measures. Current validated surveys may be applicable to this subgroup. There is need for population-based studies with harmonized measures of sexual function to guide an evidence-based approach to sexual dysfunction in lesbian women.
Some Autonomic Deficits of Acute or Chronic Cervical Spinal Contusion Reversed by Interim Brainstem Stimulation.

Abstract Prolonged electrical stimulation of the hindbrain's nucleus raphe magnus (NRM) or of its major midbrain input region, the periaqueductal gray (PAG), was previously found in rats to promote recovery from sensory-motor and histological deficits of acute thoracic spinal cord injury (SCI). Here, some visceral deficits of acute and chronic midline cervical (C5) contusion are similarly examined. Cranially implanted wireless stimulators delivered intermittent 8 Hz, 30–70 μA cathodal pulse trains to a brainstem microelectrode. Injured controls were given inactive stimulators; rats without injuries or implants were also compared. Rectal distension or squeezing of the forepaws caused an exaggerated rise in mean arterial pressure in injured, untreated rats under anesthesia on post-injury week 6, probably reflecting autonomic dysreflexia (AD). These pressor responses became normal when 7 days of unilateral PAG stimulation was started on the injury day. Older untreated injuries (weeks 18–19) showed normal pre...
"I'm Having a Little Struggle With This, Can You Help Me Out?": Examining Impacts and Processes of a Social Capital Intervention for First-Generation College Students.

Social capital plays a key role in college and career success, and research indicates that a dearth of on-campus connections contributes to challenges first-generation college students face in effectively navigating the college environment. This study investigates a novel intervention that focuses on the development of skills and attitudes to empower first-generation college students to cultivate social capital and on-campus connections during the transition to college. A mixed methods, explanatory design was used to evaluate impacts and processes of the intervention among first-generation college students (n = 164) in the context of an ethnically diverse, urban, public university in the Northeast. Results indicated that students who participated in the intervention demonstrated improved attitudes and behaviors around seeking support in college, closer relationships with instructors, and higher GPAs at the end of their first year in college. These results suggest the potential benefits of a relatively scalable approach to supporting the needs of first-generation college students.
COPD and Physical Activity: A Call to Action for Respiratory Therapists and Patients.

An estimated 15 million people in the United States have been told they have COPD by a healthcare provider.[1][1] COPD is the third leading cause of death[2][2] and accounts for more than 800,000 hospitalizations per year.[3][3] A robust proportion (10–20%) of individuals with COPD are readmitted
Placental Transfusion: Current Practices and Future Directions

Over the past decade, the benefits of placental transfusion have been established in neonates. The evidence for this practice in various groups of newborns is reviewed. In addition, multiple professional organizations have recently issued guidelines for delayed cord clamping and cord milking. These recommendations are discussed.
Getting to Dry

Article, see p 1671 Heart failure (HF) hospitalization presents a substantial burden to patients, hospitals, and payors. Hospitals face competing incentives from government payors because prolonged lengths of stay risk unreimbursed costs beyond the fixed reimbursement, whereas premature discharge increases the risk of 30-day readmission, for which hospitals can be penalized on a much broader scale. Clinicians have struggled to define the objective criteria regarding readiness for discharge from a HF hospitalization, which should address not only relief of congestion, but also evaluation of etiology, enhancement of guideline-directed therapies, review of disease trajectory, and consolidation of outpatient management. Once gaps in the transition process have been closed, the major cause of readmission is recurrent congestion. Regardless of how congestion is documented,1–3 patients who go home “wet” are likely to return “wetter”. Quality improvement and cost containment efforts are converging to design care pathways that begin early during hospitalization to ensure adequate decongestion by discharge. Employment of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels as targets for therapy arose naturally from the robust predictive value of BNP levels and changes in levels, further supported by their close relationship with elevated cardiac filling pressures4,5 and recognized as a hemodynamic determinant of outcomes. Utility of a biomarker as a target for therapy requires not only clinical relevance, but also timely responsiveness to the therapy titration, and unique information beyond usual clinical assessments. Multiple trials have used natriuretic peptides as targets for adjustment of chronic outpatient therapy with neurohormonal antagonists6–10 (Figure). When uptitration was aggressive in response to persistently high levels of natriuretic peptides, outcomes were better than without such uptitration.9 However, when the design encouraged vigorous …
A New Technique of Dielectric Characterization of Liquids

Quasi-optical dielectric resonators (QDR) with conducting endplates (CEP) are proposed and justified for measurement of complex permittivity of liquids. The structure of electromagnetic fields in the form of whispering gallery (WG) modes is calculated accurately in terms of Maxwell equations which allow one to characterize liquids from the first principles. A radially two-layered QDR has been shown to be rather convenient for microwave characterization of liquids including ones with large microwave loss. For experimental studies of a number of liquids in Ka-band the QDR in the form of a Teflon disk sandwiched between the duralumin CEP was used. Here, water has shown an unusual property. The sign of the frequency shift indicates that properties of the resonator with water layer adjacent to the solid state dielectric become nearly the same as with metal layer. The proposed measurement technique can be used also for studies of nonlinear properties of liquids.
Local Antibiogram Predicts Appropriate Antibiotic Selection for Prostate Biopsy Prophylaxis

AbstractIntroduction:We evaluated our local antibiogram to determine the accuracy of its use in antibiotic augmentation before transrectal prostate biopsy.Methods:We analyzed pre-transrectal prosta...
Evaluation of glycerol encapsulated with alginate and alginate-chitosan polymers in gut environment and its resistance to rumen microbial degradation.

OBJECTIVE To determine the effect of gut pH and rumen microbial fermentation on glycerol encapsulated in alginate and alginate-chitosan polymers. METHODS Glycerol was encapsulated at 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, or 10% (w/w) with sodium alginate (A) and alginate-chitosan (AC) polymers. Surface morphology and chemical modifications of the beads were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. Encapsulation efficiency was determined at the 5% glycerol inclusion level in two experiments. In experiment 1, 0.5 g of alginate-glycerol (AG) and alginate-chitosan glycerol (ACG) beads were incubated for 2 h at 39°C in pH 2 buffer followed by 24 h in pH 8 buffer to simulate gastric and intestinal conditions, respectively. In experiment 2, 0.5 g of AG and ACG beads were incubated in pH 6 buffer at 39°C for 8 h to simulate rumen conditions. All incubations were replicated four times. Free glycerol content was determined using a spectrophotometer and used to assess loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency. An in vitro experiment with mixed cultures of rumen microbes was conducted to determine effect of encapsulation on microbial fermentation. Data were analyzed according to a complete block design using the MIXED procedure of SAS (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA). RESULTS For AG and ACG, loading capacity and efficiency were 64.7%, 74.7%, 70.3%, and 78.1%, respectively. Based on the FTIR spectra and scanning electron microscopy, ACG treatment demonstrated more intense and stronger ionic bonds. At pH 6, 36.1% and 29.7% of glycerol was released from AG and ACG, respectively. At pH 2 minimal glycerol was released but pH 8 resulted in 95.7% and 93.9% of glycerol released from AG and ACG, respectively. In vitro microbial data show reduced (p<0.05) fermentation of encapsulated glycerol after 24 h of incubation. CONCLUSION The AC polymer provided greater protection in acidic pH with a gradual release of intact glycerol when exposed to an alkaline pH.