cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Association of Opioid Prescriptions From Dental Clinicians for US Adolescents and Young Adults With Subsequent Opioid Use and Abuse

Importance Through prescription writing, dental clinicians are a potential source of initial opioid exposure and subsequent abuse for adolescents and young adults. Objective To examine the association between index dental opioid prescriptions from dental clinicians for opioid-naive adolescents and young adults in 2015 and new persistent use and subsequent diagnoses of abuse in this population. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective cohort study examined outpatient opioid prescriptions for patients aged 16 to 25 years in the Optum Research Database in 2015. Prescriptions were linked by National Provider Identifier number to a clinician category. Exposures Individuals were included in the index dental opioid (opioid-exposed) cohort if they filled an opioid prescription from a dental clinician in 2015, had continuous health plan coverage and no record of opioid prescriptions for 12 months before receiving the prescription, and had 12 months of health plan coverage after receiving the prescription. Two age- and sex-matched opioid-nonexposed control individuals were selected for each opioid-exposed individual and were assigned a corresponding phantom prescription date. Main Outcomes and Measures Receipt of an opioid prescription within 90 to 365 days, a health care encounter diagnosis associated with opioid abuse within 365 days, and all-cause mortality within 365 days of the index opioid or phantom prescription date. Results Among 754 002 individuals with continuous enrollment in 2015, 97 462 patients (12.9%) received 1 or more opioid prescriptions, of whom 29 791 (30.6%) received prescriptions supplied by a dental clinician. The opioid-exposed cohort included 14 888 participants (7882 women [52.9%], 11 273 white [75.7%], with mean [SD] age, 21.8 [2.4] years), and the randomly selected opioid-nonexposed cohort included 29 776 participants (15 764 women [52.9%], 20 078 [67.4%] white, with mean [SD] age, 21.8 [2.4] years). Among the 14 888 individuals in the index dental opioid cohort, 1021 (6.9%) received another opioid prescription 90 to 365 days later compared with 30 of 29 776 (0.1%) opioid-nonexposed controls (adjusted absolute risk difference, 6.8%; 95% CI, 6.3%-7.2%), and 866 opioid-exposed individuals (5.8%) experienced 1 or more subsequent health care encounters with an opioid abuse–related diagnosis compared with 115 opioid-nonexposed controls (0.4%) (adjusted absolute risk difference, 5.3%; 95% CI, 5.0%-5.7%). There was only 1 death in each cohort. Conclusions and Relevance The findings suggest that a substantial proportion of adolescents and young adults are exposed to opioids through dental clinicians. Use of these prescriptions may be associated with an increased risk of subsequent opioid use and abuse.
Socioemotional selectivity and psychological health in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients and caregivers: a longitudinal, dyadic analysis

AbstractObjective: Socioemotional selectivity theory predicts that as the end of life approaches, goals and resources that provide immediate, hedonic reward become more important than those that pr...
Quantification of Voice Type Components Present in Human Phonation Using a Modified Diffusive Chaos Technique.

Purpose:Signal typing has been used to categorize healthy and disordered voices; however, human voices are likely comprised of differing proportions of periodic type 1 elements, type 2 elements tha...
The cross-sectional relationships between age, standing static balance, and standing dynamic balance reactions in typically developing children

Abstract Background Static balance performance is a common metric for evaluating the development of postural control in children. Less is known about the potentially independent development of dynamic balance performance. Research question How does age relate to static (i.e. postural sway) and dynamic (i.e. stepping thresholds) standing balance performance, and what is the relationship between postural sway and stepping thresholds? Methods Twenty-six typically developing children (12 males, 14 females; 5–12 years of age) were recruited for this cross-sectional study. Static balance performance was quantified as the total path length during a postural sway assessment using a force platform with conditions of eyes open and eyes closed. Dynamic balance performance was quantified using a single-stepping threshold assessment, whereby participants attempted to prevent a step in response to treadmill-induced perturbations in the anterior and posterior directions. Relationships between age and body-size scaled measures of static and dynamic balance performance were assessed using Spearman rank correlations. Results There was a weak correlation between age and postural sway (| r s | p > 0.68), but a moderate-to-strong correlation between age and single-stepping thresholds ( r s > 0.68, p r s | p > 0.39). Significance Dynamic, but not static standing balance performance, may improve with typical development between the ages of 5 and 12 years. Static and dynamic balance should be considered as unique constructs when assessed in children.
Minimally invasive mitral valve repair

### Learning objectives Modified cardiopulmonary bypass techniques, including vacuum-assisted venous drainage, were introduced in 1995 and enabled safe and effective minimally invasive mitral valve (MV) surgery. Approaches have evolved since the first successful right parasternal, trans-sternal and right mini-thoracotomy heart valve surgeries.1–3 However, difficulties performing complex MV repair using two-dimensional vision and long-shafted instruments limited adoption. Development of the da Vinci Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, California) addressed this limitation and allowed surgeons to perform complex reconstructive operations using three-dimensional (3D) visualisation. Falk and colleagues reported on the first robotic system for valvular heart surgery.4 Soon thereafter, Carpentier and colleagues performed the first successful robotic MV repair using the da Vinci Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical).5 In 2000, Chitwood and colleagues carried out the first robotically assisted MV repair in the USA as part of the initial Food and Drug Administration clinical trial.6 The most important benefits of robotic MV surgery include enhanced surgical dexterity with precise movements of instruments in the closed chest, excellent visualisation of the subvalvular apparatus and quicker patient return to normal activity with superior cosmetic results compared with sternotomy approaches. In this review, we delineate different aspects of mini-thoracotomy and robotic approaches to MV repair. Over the past decade, there has been a growing body of data highlighting the deleterious consequences of uncorrected severe degenerative mitral regurgitation (MR). Evidence supporting early MV repair in patients with severe asymptomatic MR and preserved cardiac structure and function includes (1) reduced severity of degenerative MR with MV repair; (2) excess long-term mortality and risk of heart failure in patients with severe uncorrected MR …
Sarcoidosis presenting as facial and scalp ulceration with secondary bacterial infection of the skin.

A 67-year-old man with a medical history of multiorgan sarcoidosis was admitted to the hospital with skin ulceration and a superimposed polymicrobial infection that had failed outpatient management. The patient’s outpatient regimen included doxycycline, ciprofloxacin and moderate-dose prednisone therapy for a coinfection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus. The patient presented after a syncopal episode initially thought to be due to severe dehydration. Owing to concern for cardiac sarcoidosis as well as worsening skin lesions, he was admitted to the hospital for cardiac monitoring and intravenous antibiotics. On admission, we broadened antibiotic coverage and initiated high-dose steroids at 1 mg/kg/day of prednisone. He was discharged on intravenous antibiotics and a slow steroid taper 3 days later. At the patient’s 1-month and 5-month follow-up clinic visits, he demonstrated remarkable improvement of his scalp and facial wounds.
Role of adsorbed water in inducing electron accumulation in InN

Nominally undoped indium nitride (InN) is known to have an electron accumulation layer on its surface, and prior studies have shown this layer to be sensitive to chemical species. However, the exact roles of these species and the underlying mechanism of e− accumulation layer formation are not clear. In this work, it is shown that ambient adsorbed water on the InN surface strongly enhances the e− accumulation layer formed due to intrinsic surface states. Desorption of ambient physisorbates leads to a decrease in band bending, an increase in work function in undoped InN, and the observation of a p-type Mott-Schottky behavior in Mg:doped InN. The underlying mechanism of this surface-adsorbed water interaction may be through a process called “surface transfer doping,” which has previously been reported in hydrogenated diamond and other semiconductors such as GaN and ZnO.
Racial and Regional Disparities in Outcomes Among Veterans Initially Adherent to Oral Antidiabetic Therapies: an Observational Cohort Study

Adherence to prescribed medications is connected with, but is not a guarantee of, improved disease management and health outcomes. It remains unclear whether underlying health disparities exist among patients adherent to therapy and whether differences in outcomes vary by race and residential areas of the country. To determine the extent of racial and regional variation in outcomes within 5 years of oral antidiabetic drug initiation among veterans adherent to therapy. Retrospective cohort study of 83,265 US Veterans Health Administration data, 2002–2014 US veterans with uncomplicated diabetes and taking oral antidiabetic agents Veterans initially adherent to oral antidiabetic therapy were followed for up to 5 years, and comparisons focused on differences between non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black veterans across geographic region and residential type (urban or rural). Outcomes included composite cardiovascular events, composite cerebrovascular events, or all-cause mortality using Poisson and adjusted Cox proportional hazards models. Cardiovascular event and all-cause mortality rates differed by race and region, while urban/rural differences were evident for cerebrovascular events and all-cause mortality. For non-Hispanic Blacks, the mortality rate was half that compared to non-Hispanic Whites (6.5 [95% CI 5.8–7.2] versus 13.3 [95% CI 12.9–13.8], p < 0.0001). Compared to the Northeast, all other regions had higher adjusted hazards for cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events (with a single exception), but no regional differences in all-cause mortality were observed. Models with interactions demonstrated that racial differences in cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality were isolated to the Midwest (HR 1.99 [95% CI 1.301–3.06; HR 1.64 [95% CI 1.210–2.215]) and South (HR 1.69 [85% CI 1.347–2.131]; HR 1.27 [95% CI 1.095–1.470]). Despite adherence to therapy, differences in outcomes are likely among veterans with diabetes based on race and geography. Localized analyses may uncover specific social determinants contributing to differences in outcomes.
28P Enriched Molecular Function Signatures in Triple Negative and Hormone Receptor Positive Breast Cancer Associated with Metastasis

ABSTRACT Triple negative (TN) breast cancers that lack expression of the estrogen (ER), progesterone (PR), and human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) receptors, convey a poor prognostic due in part to a lack of targeted therapies. To identify viable targets for the treatment of TN disease, we conducted a Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) on four different breast cancer genome expression data sets comparing TN vs ER + PR + HER2-(PPN). The discovery cohorts represent three genome expression platforms and show b-catenin binding proteins and steroid binding proteins as enriched in PPN tumors in all four cohorts. To investigate whether the expression levels of b-catenin or steroid binding proteins are associated with metastasis, an optimal molecular function gene signature was determined in a discovery cohort (GSE25055) and validated in two cohorts (GSE25065, E2100). In the cohort GSE25065 the hazard ratio (HR) of the b-catenin binding gene signature (AR, PXN, SMAD3, TBL1X, CALCOCO1, CHD8, GRIP1, DLG5, GLI3, SLC9A3R1) was 2.36 and in E2100 1.6. The b-catenin binding gene signature was tested in patients who are ER+ and resulted in a HR of 3.51 in GSE25065 and 1.9 in E2100 indicating it is an attribute associated with poor outcome in both TN and ER+ patients. The optimized steroid binding gene signature has a HR = 2.25 in GSE25065 but was not shown to be prognostic in E2100 or the corresponding ER+ patients. Identifying a prognostic gene signature associated with a common molecular function may implicate a mechanism of action in breast cancer. The down regulation of b-catenin binding proteins could increase the b-catenin levels available to drive transcription of b-catenin target genes and mitigate the Wnt-regulatory pathway. To determine a possible transcription factor driver of differential expression of b-catenin binding proteins, promoter analysis was done using the gene set (AR, ESR1, GLI3, LEF1, PTPRT, SLC9A3R1 and SLC9A3R2), all shown to be enriched in PPN in four cohorts. The enriched genes share common promoters associated with ETS1 family of transcription factors that are involved in stem cell development, cell senescence and death, and tumorigenesis. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Why School Prayer Matters

Recently President Trump has been emphasizing the importance of school prayer and promising “big action” on the subject. Although the President’s understanding and intentions are difficult to discern, his statements provide an occasion for remembering the audacity of the Supreme Court’s school prayer decisions, and their transformative significance not only for the jurisprudence of church and state but for the national self-understanding.
Aneuploidy, Polyploidy and Structural Rearrangement of Chromosomes in Mammals Other Than Man

The modern techniques of cytogenetics have provided scientists with a valuable tool for the investigation of many types of chromosome disorders. Although, to date, man has received the greatest degree of attention, there is an increasing number of reports of chromosome aberrations in subhuman species. Most of these studies have dealt principally with descriptions of the chromosomes and the associated clinical abnormalities. This paper will deal primarily with some of the mechanisms that might account for various types of chromosome aberrations. Although certain cases will be utilized to illustrate various points, it should be clear that this report does not encompass a large review of the literature or, in fact, that the example necessarily arose by the mechanism it serves to illustrate. It is obvious that certain aberrations may arise by more than one means and, as we view only the results of the change and not the actual occurrence, we may only speculate upon the actual series of events that have transpired in the production of a chromosome aberration. In the interest of simplicity only the more common or relatively uncomplicated mechanisms are discussed. The imaginative reader will undoubtedly be able to think of many other possibilities.
Age-related molecular changes in the lumbar dorsal root ganglia of mice: Signs of sensitization, and inflammatory response.

Aging is a major risk factor for numerous painful, inflammatory, and degenerative diseases including disc degeneration. A better understanding of how the somatosensory nervous system adapts to the changing physiology of the aging body will be of great significance for our expanding aging population. Previously, we reported that chronological aging of mouse lumbar discs is pathological and associated with behavioral changes related to pain. It is established that with age and degeneration the lumbar discs become inflammatory and innervated. Here we analyze the aging lumbar dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) and spinal cord dorsal horn (SCDH) in mice between 3 and 24 months of age for age-related somatosensory adaptations. We observe that as mice age there are signs of peripheral sensitization, and response to inflammation at the molecular and cellular level in the DRGs. From 12 months onwards the mRNA expression of vasodilator and neurotransmitter, Calca (CGRP); stress (and survival) marker, Atf3; and neurotrophic factor, Bdnf, increases linearly with age in the DRGs. Further, while the mRNA expression of neuropeptide, Tac1, precursor of Substance P, did not change at the transcriptional level, TAC1 protein expression increased in 24-month-old DRGs. Additionally, elevated expression of NFκB subunits, Nfkb1 and Rela, but not inflammatory mediators, Tnf, Il6, Il1b, or Cox2, in the DRGs suggest peripheral nerves are responding to inflammation, but do not increase the expression of inflammatory mediators at the transcriptional level. These results identify a progressive, age-related shift in the molecular profile of the mouse somatosensory nervous system and implicates nociceptive sensitization and inflammatory response.
Kinetically Stable Oxide Overlayers on Mo3P Nanoparticles Enabling Lithium–Air Batteries with Low Overpotentials and Long Cycle Life

The main drawbacks of today's state-of-the-art lithium-air (Li-air) batteries are their low energy efficiency and limited cycle life due to the lack of earth-abundant cathode catalysts that can drive both oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORR and OER) at high rates at thermodynamic potentials. Here, inexpensive trimolybdenum phosphide (Mo3 P) nanoparticles with an exceptional activity-ORR and OER current densities of 7.21 and 6.85 mA cm-2 at 2.0 and 4.2 V versus Li/Li+ , respectively-in an oxygen-saturated non-aqueous electrolyte are reported. The Tafel plots indicate remarkably low charge transfer resistance-Tafel slopes of 35 and 38 mV dec-1 for ORR and OER, respectively-resulting in the lowest ORR overpotential of 4.0 mV and OER overpotential of 5.1 mV reported to date. Using this catalyst, a Li-air battery cell with low discharge and charge overpotentials of 80 and 270 mV, respectively, and high energy efficiency of 90.2% in the first cycle is demonstrated. A long cycle life of 1200 is also achieved for this cell. Density functional theory calculations of ORR and OER on Mo3 P (110) reveal that an oxide overlayer formed on the surface gives rise to the observed high ORR and OER electrocatalytic activity and small discharge/charge overpotentials.
Effects of Collagen Peptides on Recovery Following Eccentric Exercise in Resistance-Trained Males-A Pilot Study.

The authors sought to determine whether consuming collagen peptides (CP) enhances musculoskeletal recovery of connective tissues following a damaging exercise bout. Resistance-trained males consumed 15 g/day of CP (n = 7) or placebo (n = 8), and after 7 days, maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), countermovement jump height, soreness, and collagen turnover were examined. Five sets of 20 drop jumps were performed and outcome measures were collected 24, 48, and 120 hr postexercise. Countermovement jump height was maintained in the CP group at 24 hr (PRE = 39.9 ± 8.8 cm vs. 24 hr = 37.9 ± 8.9 cm, p = .102), whereas the CP group experienced a significant decline at 24 hr (PRE = 40.4 ± 7.9 cm vs. 24 hr = 35.5 ± 6.4 cm, p = .001; d = 0.32). In both groups, muscle soreness was significantly higher than PRE at 24 hr (p = .001) and 48 hr (p = .018) but not at 120 hr (p > .05). MVIC in both legs showed a significant time effect (left: p = .007; right: p = .010) over the 5-day postexercise period. Neither collagen biomarker changed significantly at any time point. CP supplementation attenuated performance decline 24 hr following muscle damage. Acute consumption of CP may provide a performance benefit the day following a bout of damaging exercise in resistance-trained males.
Political Theology, Pastoral Power, and Resistance

Foucault’s genealogy of pastoral power as “a power of care” challenges us to think of modern medical institutions and practices in terms of political theology by emphasizing their continuities with...
A Means to Many Ends: Promoting Faculty Diversity in Christian Higher Education through the Institutionalization of Service-Learning

The demographics of higher education, including Christian higher education, are changing as campuses are experiencing an increase in enrollment of African, Latino(a), Asian, and Native American (AL...
Revisiting Bias in Odds Ratios

Ratio measures of effect, such as the odds ratio (OR), are consistent, but the presumption of their unbiasedness is founded on a false premise: The equality of the expected value of a ratio and the ratio of expected values. We show that the invalidity of this assumptions is an important source of empirical bias in ratio measures of effect, which is due to properties of the expectation of ratios of count random variables. We investigate ORs (unconfounded, no effect modification), proposing a correction that leads to "almost unbiased" estimates. We also explore ORs with covariates. We find substantial bias in OR estimates for smaller sample sizes, which can be corrected by the proposed method. Bias correction is more elusive for adjusted analyses. The notion of unbiasedness of OR for the effect of interest for smaller sample sizes is challenged.
Association between habitual snoring, middle ear disease, and speech problems in young children with non-syndromic cleft palate anomalies.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between habitual snoring (HS), middle ear disease (MED), and speech problems in children with cleft palate. This cross-sectional study included children aged 2.0–7.9 years with non-syndromic cleft palate anomalies. Parents completed the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire and a questionnaire about MED. Audiograms and speech assessment were also conducted. Ninety-five children were enrolled; 15.2% of families reported HS, 97.6% MED, and 17.1% speech problems. HS (37.5% vs 10.3%, P = 0.007) and early episodes of MED (92.3% vs 58.2%, P = 0.021) were more likely to be reported for children with isolated cleft palate when compared to those with cleft lip and palate. Children with cleft lip and palate had a higher frequency of MED with effusion compared to those with Robin sequence (86.4% vs 57.1%, P = 0.049). The odds ratio for HS in children with ≥1 episode of MED in the last year was 7.37 (95% confidence interval 1.55–35.15, P = 0.012). There was a trend for children with speech problems reported by parents to have HS (30.8% vs 11.5%, P= 0.076). Anatomical factors play a role in the frequency of upper airway symptoms in children with cleft palate. A recent history of at least one episode of MED was associated with an increased frequency of HS.
Hybridity and Christian identity

A hybrid identity, which results from an amalgamation of different cultures, different religious traditions and ideologies, and different social locations, with each having varying degrees of impor...
Development and implementation of a clinical decision support-based initiative to drive intravenous fluid prescribing.

OBJECTIVE Studies suggest superior outcomes with use of intravenous (IV) balanced fluids compared to normal saline (NS). However, significant fluid prescribing variability persists, highlighting the knowledge-to-practice gap. We sought to identify contributors to prescribing variation and utilize a clinical decision support system (CDSS) to increase institutional balanced fluid prescribing. MATERIALS AND METHODS This single-center informatics-enabled quality improvement initiative for patients hospitalized or treated in the emergency department included stepwise interventions of 1) identification of design factors within the computerized provider order entry (CPOE) of our electronic health record (EHR) that contribute to preferential NS ordering, 2) clinician education, 3) fluid stocking modifications, 4) re-design and implementation of a CDSS-integrated IV fluid ordering panel, and 5) comparison of fluid prescribing before and after the intervention. EHR-derived prescribing data was analyzed via single interrupted time series. RESULTS Pre-intervention (3/2019-9/2019), balanced fluids comprised 33% of isotonic fluid orders, with gradual uptake (1.4%/month) of balanced fluid prescribing. Clinician education (10/2019-2/2020) yielded a modest (4.4%/month, 95% CI 1.6-7.2, p = 0.01) proportional increase in balanced fluid prescribing, while CPOE redesign (3/2020) yielded an immediate (20.7%, 95% CI 17.7-23.6, p < 0.0001) and sustained increase (72% of fluid orders in 12/2020). The intervention proved most effective among those with lower baseline balanced fluids utilization, including emergency medicine (57% increase, 95% CI 0.7-1.8, p < 0.0001) and internal medicine/subspecialties (18% increase, 95% CI 14.4-21.3, p < 0.0001) clinicians and substantially reduced institutional prescribing variation. CONCLUSION Integration of CDSS into an EHR yielded a robust and sustained increase in balanced fluid prescribing. This impact far exceeded that of clinician education highlighting the importance of CDSS.
Diagnostic Testing for SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Given the rapid development of diagnostic approaches to test for and diagnose infection with SARS-CoV-2, many options are available to assess infection. Multiple established diagnostic companies are now providing testing platforms whereas initially, testing was being performed with simple PCR-based tests using standard laboratory reagents. Additional testing platforms continue to be developed but challenges with testing, including obtaining testing reagents and other related supplies, are frequently encountered. With time, the testing supply chain will improve and more companies will be providing materials to support these testing efforts. In the USA, the need for rapid assay development and subsequent approval through attainment of emergency use authorization (EUA) has superseded the traditional arduous diagnostic testing approval workflow mandated by the FDA. It is anticipated that the USA will be able to continue to significantly increase its testing capabilities to address this pandemic; however, challenges remain due to the diversity of the performance characteristics of tests being utilized. This review provides an overview of the current diagnostic testing landscape, with pertinent information related to SARS-CoV-2 virology and antibody responses, that is available to diagnose infection.
Domestic Politics and Family Absence : The Correspondence (1588–1621) of Robert Sidney, First Earl of Leicester, and Barbara Gamage Sidney, Countess of Leicester

Contents: General editor's preface Acknowledgements Abbreviations Illustrations, Sidney family tree Sidney family alliances reflected in correspondence Introduction Letters about accounts Principles of modernization A note on the text General description of the De L'Isle and Dudley letters The letters Persons and places Appendix: 'To Penshurst' Index.
The antibody response to influenza vaccination is not impaired in type 2 diabetics.

Background Diabetics are considered to be at high risk for complications from influenza infection and type 2 diabetes is a significant comorbidity of obesity. Obesity is an independent risk factor for complications from infection with influenza. Annual vaccination is considered the best strategy for protecting against influenza infection and it's complications. Our previous study reported intact antibody responses 30 days post vaccination in an obese population. This study was designed to determine the antibody response to influenza vaccination in type 2 diabetics. Methods Subjects enrolled were 18 or older without immunosuppressive diseases or taking immunosuppressive medications. A pre-vaccination blood draw was taken at time of enrollment, the subjects received the influenza vaccine and returned 28–32 days later for a post-vaccination blood draw. Height and weight were also obtained at the first visit and BMI was calculated. Antibody levels to the vaccine were determined by both ELISA and hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) assays. Results As reported in our previous work, obesity positively correlates with the influenza antibody response (p = 0.02), while age was negatively correlated with antibody response (p < 0.001). In both year 1 and year 2 of our study there was no significant difference in the percentage of the type 2 diabetic subjects classified as seroprotected or a responder to the influenza vaccine compared to the non-diabetic subjects. Conclusions These data are important because they demonstrate that diabetics, considered a high risk group during influenza season, are able to mount an antibody response to influenza vaccination that may protect them from influenza infection.
Researching Leadership for Social Justice: Are Some Methods Better than Others?

This chapter links a concern with social justice, in general, and leadership for social justice, in particular, with choices about research methodology. The first part of the chapter demonstrates how the methodological debate about qualitative and quantitative research that occurred in the United States during the final three decades of the twentieth century helped keep a concern for promoting social justice front and center in the field of education. Specific benefits of both the qualitative research that these debates legitimated and the thinking that was used to legitimate the use of qualitative methods are also discussed.
Vocal atypicalities of preverbal autistic children.

This study was designed to evaluate the nature of early vocal behaviors in young children with autism. Recent methodological and conceptual advances in the study of infant preverbal vocalizations were used to provide a detailed examination of the vocal behavior of young preverbal children with autism and comparison children with developmental delays. Results revealed that children with autism did not have difficulty with the expression of well-formed syllables (i.e., canonical babbling). However, children with autism did display significant impairments in vocal quality (i.e., atypical phonation). Specifically, autistic children produced a greater proportion of syllables with atypical phonation than did comparison children. Consistent with prior reports, the children with autism also displayed a deficit in joint attention behaviors. Furthermore, the atypicalities in the vocal behavior of children with autism appeared to be independent of individual differences in joint attention skill, suggesting that a multiple process model may be needed to describe early social-communication impairments in children with autism. Data are discussed in terms of their implications for future theoretical and applied research, including efforts to enhance the specificity of early diagnostic procedures.
3-D Numerical Investigation of the Mantle Dynamics Associated with the Breakup of Pangea

Three-dimensional finite element calculations in spherical geometry are performed to study the response of the mantle with platelike blocks at its surface to an initial condition corresponding to subduction along the margins of Pangea. The mantle is treated as an infinite Prandtl number Boussinesq fluid inside a spherical shell with isothermal, undeformable, free-slip boundaries. Nonsubducting rigid blocks to model continental lithosphere are included in the topmost layer of the computational mesh. At the beginning of the numerical experiments these blocks represent the present continents mapped to their approximate Pangean positions. Asymmetrical downwelling at the margins of these nonsubducting blocks results in a pattern of stresses that acts to pull the supercontinent apart. The calculations suggest that the breakup of Pangea and the subsequent global pattern of seafloor spreading was driven largely by the subduction at the Pangean margins.
The cosmic web and microwave background fossilize the first turbulent combustion

The weblike structure of the cosmic microwave background CMB temperature fluctuations are interpreted as fossils of the first turbulent combustion that drives the big bang 1,2,3 . Modern turbulence theory 3 requires that inertial vortex forces cause turbulence to always cascade from small scales to large, contrary to the standard turbulence model where the cascade is reversed. Assuming that the universe begins at Planck length 10 -35 m and temperature 10 32 K, the mechanism of the big bang is a powerful turbulent combustion instability, where turbulence forms at the Kolmogorov scale and mass-energy is extracted by 113 Pa negative stresses from big bang turbulence working against gravity. Prograde accretion of a Planck antiparticle on a spinning particle-antiparticle pair releases 42% of a particle rest mass from the Kerr metric, producing a spinning gas of turbulent Planck particles that cascades to larger scales at smaller temperatures (10 -27 m, 10 27 K) retaining the Planck density 1097 kg m -3 , where quarks form and gluon viscosity fossilizes the turbulence. Viscous stress powers inflation to ~ 10 m and ~ 10 100 kg. The CMB shows signatures of both plasma and big bang turbulence. Direct numerical simulations support the new turbulence theory 6 .
An ultra-wideband 15–35 GHz phase-shifter for beamforming applications

An ultra-wideband Ku-, K- and Ka-band phase-shifter for beamforming applications is presented in this paper. A novel inductive load single ended input poly-phase filter is used for high I/Q accuracy quadrature generation. Sign-selection and vector addition is performed in two stages to lower supply voltage. The proposed phase-shifter is fabricated in 0.18 μm SiGe BiCMOS process and occupies an area of 520μm×370μm.The rms gain error is less than 2.2 dB and rms phase error is less than 12 ° over 15-35 GHz. The phase-shifter thus achieves a full 360 ° phase-shift range with 22.5 ° phase resolution. The total power consumption is 14 mA from a 1.8 V power supply. The phase shifter achieves an input P1dB of -6.25 dBm. The measured phase-shifting fractional bandwidth of 87% is the highest reported so far in literature for a SiGe BiCMOS implementation.
Absence of ordering in quadrupolar systems of restricted dimensionality

Ordering in systems with quadrupolar interactions is studied. Some properties of the anisotropic model are presented. The Bogoliubov inequality is applied to the isotropic model to show there is no ordering in one- or two-dimensional systems.
Sulfolipid I of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, strain H37Rv. II. Structural studies.

Abstract Degradative studies have led to an elucidation of the core structure of the principal sulfolipid class (Sulfolipid I) elaborated by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Strain H37Rv. In the intermediate stages of alkali-catalyzed ethanolysis of sodium sulfolipid I, a complex mixture of substances is produced which appears to contain the entire gamut of sulfolipids seen in the original crude extracts. At least four carboxylic esters, readily separatable in thin-layer chromatography but not yet characterized, were recovered. From the reaction mixture a semi-crystalline substance was obtained and identified as α,α-trehalose 2-sulfate. Alkaline ethanolysis of desulfated ammonium sulfolipid I affords crystalline α,α-trehalose directly. Permethylation of the desulfated lipid followed by saponification gave a tetramethyl trehalose; on acidic cleavage this afforded, among traces of other substances, essentially equal quantities of 4-O- methyl - d - glucose and 2,3,4-tri- O-methyl- d -glucose . Thus the principal sulfolipid produced by Strain H37Rv is a 2,3,6,6'-tetraacyl-α,α-trehalose 2'-sulfate. The relation of this structure to the chemical and physiological properties of ammonium sulfolipid I is discussed.
Multilayer Nanoreactors for Metallic and Semiconducting Particles

Multilayer thin films of sequentially adsorbed polyelectrolytes were utilized as nanoreactors for both metallic (Ag) and semiconductor nanoparticles (PbS). Polyelectrolyte multilayers with a controlled content of free carboxylic acid binding groups were fabricated with weak polyelectrolytes via suitable pH adjustments of the processing solutions. These groups were then used to bind various inorganic ions that were subsequently converted into nanoparticles. Spatial control (at the nanoscale) over the growth of the nanoparticles was achieved via the use of multilayer heterostructures that also contain bilayer blocks that are not able to bind inorganic ions. These “nonbinding” bilayers were fabricated from strong polyacids such as poly(styrene sulfonic acid). TEM imaging of the nanoparticles within the multilayer thin films indicates that the polycation and polyanion layers of these films are highly interpenetrated.
Association of transforming growth factor-β1 with prostate cancer: An immunohistochemical study

Abstract Prostate tissue samples from patients with prostatic carcinoma (PC) and/or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) were examined for expression of transforming growth factor- β 1 (TGF- β 1 ) using an immunohistochemical technique. Tissues were stained with CC and LC antisera, which react with extracellular and intracellular TGF- β 1 , respectively. All PC and BPH tissues showed positive extracellular staining; however, CC-immunoreactive material was significantly more extensive in PC compared with BPH, the average positively staining areas being 59% and 26%, respectively. This differential staining pattern was evident in cases in which areas of PC were located adjacent to areas of BPH. LC staining was identified exclusively intracellularly involving both stromal and epithelial cells in cases of PC as well as BPH. However, while stromal cell staining was more pronounced in BPH, epithelial cell staining tended to be more extensive and more intense in PC. The findings suggest that TGF- β 1 may be biologically important in the development of PC and BPH.
Equilibrium solutions in the mechanical theory of fluid microstructures

Abstract A mechanical-molecular theory for fluid microstructures is outlined. It is assumed that average molecular densities and forces vary continuously across the fluid microstructure in accordance with the mechanical principles of conservation of mass and momentum. To account for the large density gradients, and therefore for the long-range molecular interactions, it is also assumed that the molecular forces can be represented in terms of the gradients of the molecular densities. In contrast to previous theories of fluid microstructures, which are seriously restricted by the use of classical thermodynamic structure within the spinodal region, the mechanical theory is free of thermodynamics. We confine attention to equilibrium, and prove that the differential equation governing a one-dimensional fluid microstructure has only three types of solutions possible: transitions, reversals, and oscillations. Physically, they correspond to liquid-vapor interfaces, thin films, and layered structures.
ArgosV2: a flexible many-antenna research platform

Many-antenna base stations are a rapidly growing field in wireless research. A plethora of new theoretical techniques have been recently proposed for many-antenna base stations and networks. However, without experimental validation, it is difficult or impossible to predict the practicality and performance of these techniques in real hardware, under complex, rapidly varying, real-world conditions. Indeed, there is a significant demand for a flexible many-antenna research platform which supports rapid prototyping and validation of new massive-MIMO techniques. Leveraging our experience building Argos, a 64-antenna base station prototype, we have designed and built ArgosV2, a compact, powerful, and scalable many-antenna research platform based on WARP. In addition to the physical hardware and mechanical design, we are developing a software framework, ArgosLab, which will provide synchronization and channel estimation, greatly reducing the development effort for a wide range of massive-MIMO techniques. ArgosV2 is intended to provide ultimate scalability and programmability for experimental massive-MIMO research. The modular architecture and real-time capability of ArgosV2 can support up to 100s of base station antennas and 10s of users with streaming applications. For our demonstration, we will unveil a 96-antenna base station which supports real-time streaming applications to 32 users simultaneously.
The cost of inflated planned lead times in MRP systems

Abstract Much of the current literature in the field of production and inventory control systems stresses the need to revise traditional forms of thinking regarding production processes, the role of inventories for work in process, and the need for reduced lead times or flow times. Group technology, manufacturing cells, and other means of incorporating repetitive manufacturing techniques into traditional job-shop settings constitute the leading edge in system development. Still, there is resistance to these dramatic changes, and traditional “business as usual” methods still predominate. This study attempts to illustrate graphically the cost justification associated with reduction in lead times which generally results from these new concepts. In most job shops today, lead times are much longer than they need to be due to inflation of lead time estimates. Actual lead times for the manufacture of fabricated and assembled products have been shown to be a direct consequence of the planning lead times used in the MRP planning process—a form of self-fulfilling prophesy. The research employs a simulation model of a factory using MRP as a planning tool in a multiproduct, multilevel production environment. Manufacturing costs constitute the dependent variable in the experiments, defined as the sum of material costs (including expedite premiums), direct labor costs (including overtime premiums), inventory carrying costs, and overhead costs. The independent variable being manipulated is the planned lead time offset used in the MRP planning process. Twenty values of planned lead time are evaluated ranging from a value that includes no slack time at all (pure assembly line) up to a value that allows 95% slack (queue) time which, unfortunately, is not uncommon in many job shops today. Stochastic variables in the model include customer demand and actual processing times—the sum of set-up and run times. The result of the study is a cost curve formed over the range of independent lead time variables that is constructed using nonlinear regression techniques. The conclusions from the resultant graph clearly indicate the cost consequences of long lead times, with exponential cost increases beyond the 80–90% queue time level. Total costs are 41% higher at the maximum lead time allowance compared to the minimum. Clearly, this study demonstrates the need for lead time reduction, either through downward adjustment of MRP planned lead times or by introducing new manufacturing concepts.
Biochemical degradation of tetrachloroethylene using generator columns containing residual DNAPL

Abstract The goal of this project was to study the feasibility of cleaning up solvents present in residual amounts in the saturated zone using an in situ biochemical treatment. Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) was chosen as a model compound because it is the most commonly found organic groundwater contaminant. A mixture of vitamin B12 with titanium citrate was pumped as the remedial solution through a column containing 100 μL of PCE residual. The rate of reaction was found to be first order with respect to the concentration of PCE and to the concentration of vitamin B]2. At 10 ppm B12, more than 85% PCE was degraded to trichloroethylene (TCE) and dichloroethylene (DCE) in two hours. The major advantages of the biochemical system over the use of anaerobic bacteria are: There is no need for the careful balance of nutrients or the addition of an extraneous carbon source. There is no restriction in the concentration range of the compound to be treated, because there is no problem with toxicity, and The delivery of t...
Toxicity of photodynamic therapy with photofrin in the normal rat brain

The widespread acceptance of photodynamic therapy (PDT), a potential adjuvant brain tumor therapy under clinical evaluation since 1980, has been partially restrained by its potential toxicity toward normal brain tissue. This study examined PDT-produced injury of normal rat brain as a function of photosensitizer dose. Brain injury was characterized by correlating measurements of the area of cerebral edema using T2-weighted magnetic resonance images, measurement of brain water content at the lesion site, microscopic examination of histological sections through the PDT lesion, and by evaluation of the area of blood brain barrier (BBB) disruption using computerized morphometric analysis of the region of Evans blue (EB) dye-labelled albumin extravasation. Monochromatic red light (630 nm) was delivered intracerebrally using a 5-mm-long cylindrical, diffusion-tip optical fiber at a constant energy dose of 15 joules. A Photofrin dose of 2 mg/kg of body weight produced a transient breakdown in the blood brain barrier around the site of the implanted optical fiber demonstrated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), extravasation of EB dye and pallor on hematoxylin and eosin-stained microscopic tissue sections. A much larger area of BBB disruption was seen at a dose of 4 mg/kg of Photofrin, and this drug dose resulted in significant permanent brain injury. In this model, a Photofrin dose of 4 mg/kg body weight is not tolerated by the normal brain.
An improved volumetric impinger for pollen counting.

T HE first studies of atmospheric pollen concentrations were conducted by Scheppegrell in 1917. He attempted to derive a formula for converting the number of pollens on a square centimeter of slide to a volumetric equivalent by applying Stokes’s law for small falling bodies.2 Using this formula, Scheppegrel arrived at a factor of 1.8 for converting the number of ragweed pollens on a square centimeter of slide to a cubic yard equivalent. This remained the basis for counting and converting atmospheric equivalents until 1937, when Cocke3T 4 pointed out some difficulties in these formulas. In the first place, Stokes’s law pertained to smooth, spherical bodies in still air; pollens are, for the most part, spiculated and aspherical, and the air is usually in motion. Second, it is necessary to determine accurately the rate of fall, the specific gravity, and the size of each pollen before one is able to apply Stokes’s law. One would then obtain a separate factor for each pollen. Third, Cocke pointed out that Scheppegrel had erred in his original calculations and had used the diameter and not the radius of the pollen in calculating his factor for ragweed. Dahl and Ellis5 reported on pollen concentrations of the atmosphere in 1942. Durham+I2 did monumental work in conducting pollen surveys in this country and in developing a standard method of pollen counting. The major portion of this work was done by the gravity-slide method, utilizing pollen shelters of varying construction. The advantages of this method were its simplicity and the rapidity with which one could obtain the desired information. No further refinements were made in the procedure of pollen counting until 1946 when Durham, I1 dissatisfied with Scheppegrel’s formula, ran parallel gravity-slide and volumetric studies. This work formed the basis for the adoption of standard apparatus, counting procedure, and conversion factor by the Pollen Survey Committee of the American Academy of Allergy’:’ in 1947. The conversion factor adopted for ragweed was 3.6, just double th(s previous one. At that time it was the feeling of the members of the Committee that the gravimetric method, even with the revised conversion factor. was unsatisfactory and that a volumetric method, if available, would be more accurate and preferable. Among the factors which prevent an accurate conversion from the gravity slide to the volumetric equivalent are such va.riables as the location of the shelter, wind velocity, wind direction, wind direction in rela.tion to the source of the pollen, and convection and deflection currents.