cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of K3T3 sarcomas on tissue concentrations of vitamin E

In this study, the effect of tumor presence on the concentration of vitamin E in the liver, spleen, and kidney of BALB/c mice was measured, and the influence of the degree of fat saturation was assessed. In mice fed diets deficient in vitamin E, the presence of a transplanted sarcoma in the thigh significantly increased the concentration of the vitamin in all 3 organs. This was true whether the fat was saturated or unsaturated (hydrogenated coconut oil [HCO] or corn oil [CO], respectively). The tumor itself was generally lower in tocopherol than were other tissues of the tumor-bearing host. In mice fed diets containing vitamin E, the tumor increased the vitamin content in some organs but not others. Only in the kidney of tumor-bearing mice fed the HCO +/- E diet was there a significantly decreased content of the vitamin. A comparison of the spleen tocopherol content with mitogenesis by concanavalin A revealed a positive correlation, which explains why the spleens of tumor-bearing mice fed a diet deficient in vitamin E exhibited higher mitogenic activity than the spleens of normal mice fed the same diet (namely, the spleens from tumor-bearing mice had a higher content of tocopherol).
Interactions between the Ebb-Tidal Delta and Landward Shoreline: Price Inlet, South Carolina

ABSTRACT Patterns of erosion and deposition along the shoreline of Price Inlet, South Carolina, are strongly influenced by ebb-tidal delta processes. The ebb delta goes through cycles of growth and decay (15-20% change in volume) which last from 4 to 7 years. In the growth phase, large intertidal bar complexes are formed on both sides of the main ebb channel by the coalescence of landward-migrating swash bars. During this stage, waves refracting around the southern bar complex produce a reversal in the longshore-transport direction on the downdrift shoreline. This results in little sediment escaping the inlet and delta system. The sand-trapping mechanism ceases and the delta reduces in volume when the bar complexes migrate onshore and attach to the beach. The inlet shoreline also goes through cycles of 7- to 42-years duration in which its offset configuration changes. The shift in shoreline alignment is controlled by the orientation of the main ebb channel and the resulting ebb-tidal delta morphology. When the inlet has a downdrift, offset configuration, the ebb-tidal delta is skewed along the updrift shoreline. In this position bar complexes preferentially accrete along the updrift beach causing a progradation of the shoreline. At the same time, the downdrift shoreline erodes due to little sediment bypassing the inlet. This pattern of sedimentation eventually produces an updrift, offset inlet. The erosional-depositional processes are reversed when the ebb flow in the channel thalweg is deflected off the prograding updrift, inlet shore ine. This causes a clockwise rotation of the main ebb channel and a shift in the ebb delta to a position along the downdrift shoreline. In this configuration the updrift shoreline erodes and the downdrift shoreline accretes. This study documents the close relationship that exists at Price Inlet, South Carolina, between the ebb-tidal delta and landward shoreline. Evidence is presented to show that this relationship may hold for other mixed-energy tidal inlets as well.
Descending facilitation maintains long-term spontaneous neuropathic pain.

Abstract Neuropathic pain is frequently characterized by spontaneous pain (ie, pain at rest) and, in some cases, by cold- and touch-induced allodynia. Mechanisms underlying the chronicity of neuropathic pain are not well understood. Rats received spinal nerve ligation (SNL) and were monitored for tactile and thermal thresholds. While heat hypersensitivity returned to baseline levels within approximately 35 to 40 days, tactile hypersensitivity was still present at 580 days after SNL. Tactile hypersensitivity at post-SNL day 60 (D60) was reversed by microinjection of 1) lidocaine; 2) a cholecystokinin 2 receptor antagonist into the rostral ventromedial medulla; or 3) dorsolateral funiculus lesion. Rostral ventromedial medulla lidocaine at D60 or spinal ondansetron, a 5-hydroxytryptamine 3 antagonist, at post-SNL D42 produced conditioned place preference selectively in SNL-treated rats, suggesting long-lasting spontaneous pain. Touch-induced FOS was increased in the spinal dorsal horn of SNL rats at D60 and prevented by prior dorsolateral funiculus lesion, suggesting that long-lasting tactile hypersensitivity depends upon spinal sensitization, which is mediated in part by descending facilitation, in spite of resolution of heat hypersensitivity. Perspective These data suggest that spontaneous pain is present for an extended period of time and, consistent with likely actions of clinically effective drugs, is maintained by descending facilitation.
Prophylactic antibiotics alter the bacteriology of infected necrosis in severe acute pancreatitis

Abstract Background Use of appropriate prophylactic antibiotics has been shown to decrease infectious complications and mortality rate in patients with severe acute pancreatitis, but its influence on the bacteriology of secondary pancreatic infection is poorly defined. Study design Operative cultures from 61 consecutive patients with pancreatic necrosis treated during routine prophylactic antibiotic use (1993–2001) were compared with 34 consecutive patients with necrosis treated before routine antibiotic use (1977–1992). Results The two groups of patients were similar in demographics, etiology of pancreatitis, and severity of illness. All patients in the antibiotic group received prophylactic antibiotics compared with only 38% (13 of 34) in the control group. Routine broad-spectrum prophylactic antibiotics altered the bacteriology of secondary pancreatic infection in severe acute pancreatitis from predominantly gram-negative coliforms (56% versus 26%, p=0.005) to predominately gram-positive organisms (23% versus 52%, p=0.009) without a significant increase in either the rate of β-lactam resistance or fungal infections. The overall hospital stay in patients treated with prophylactic antibiotics was significantly reduced (61 ± 24 days versus 41 ± 28 days, p=0.002), and there was a trend toward a decline in mortality rate in the antibiotic treatment group. Conclusion Routine broad-spectrum prophylactic antibiotic use has altered the bacteriology of secondary pancreatic infection in severe acute pancreatitis from predominantly gram-negative coliforms to predominantly gram-positive organisms without altering the rate of β-lactam resistance or fungal superinfection.
Decay modes of 9Li and states of 9Be

The β-decay of the ^9Li nucleus and the subsequent particle decays of the unbound states of the ^9Be nucleus have been investigated with two complementary techniques, a recoil-particle method and a beta-neutron coincidence method. ^9Li nuclei were produced by the ^(18)O(^7Li, ^9Li) ^(16)O reaction at a bombarding energy of 20 MeV and by the ^3H(^7Li, ^9Li)p reaction with a 14 MeV bombarding energy. The energy spectrum of the delayed alphas and the time-of-flight spectrum of the delayed neutrons were obtained. The half-life was measured to be 177±3 ms. Besides the known decay branches to the ground state and to the 2.43 MeV state in ^9Be, a new decay branch to an unbound state in 9Be at an excitation energy of 2.78±0.12 MeV was observed. The branching ratios and the log ft values were found to be (65.0_(−2.4)^(+2.7)) %, (32.0_(−3.7)^(+2.7))%, (3.0_(−0.3)^(+2.7))% and 5.12_(−0.02)^(+0.01), 5.00_(−0.05)^(+0.04), 5.97_(−0.28)^(+0.05) to the ground state, the 2.43 MeV state and the 2.78 MeV state, respectively. The observed properties of the 2.78 MeV state favor an assignment of 1/2. This state decays mainly by neutron emission to the ground state of ^8Be and has a c.m. width of 1.10±0.12 MeV. The fraction of the decays of the 2.43 MeV state in ^9Be involving emission of a neutron to the ground state of ^8Be was found to be (6.4±1.2)%.
Photophysics of organic semiconductors: from ensemble to the single-molecule level

We present photophysical properties of functionalized anthradithiophene (ADT) and pentacene (Pn) derivatives, as well as charge and energy transfer properties of donor-acceptor (D/A) pairs of these derivatives. All molecules studied were fluorescent and photostable enough to be imaged on the single-molecule level in a variety of polymeric and in a functionalized benzothiophene (BTBTB) crystalline host using room-temperature wide- field epifluorescence microscopy. Flexibility of functionalization of both guest (ADT, Pn) and host (BTBTB or polymer) molecules can be used for systematic studies of nanoscale morphology and photophysics of D/A organic semiconductor bulk heterojunctions, as well as in applications relying on FRET, using single-molecule fluorescence microscopy.
Neutron source characterization and radiation damage calculations for material studies

Abstract In our quest to understand radiation damage in materials, it is vital that we characterize radiation sources in terms of neutron flux and spectra as well as the more fundamental displacement damage, gas production, and transmutation rates. Such data are crucial to correlations of materials property changes in different environments and to predictions of materials performance in inaccessible environments, such as fusion reactors. Dosimetry techniques have been developed to measure the neutron flux and spectra in diverse facilities including thermal, fast, and mixed reactors, T(d, n) and Be(d, n) accelerator sources, and high-energy spallation sources. Displacement damage cross-sections have been calculated for 36 elements spanning the periodic table. All of these exposure parameters can now be routinely measured with 10–15% relative accuracy at all existing radiation effect facilities.
Effectiveness of entertainment education in communicating health information: a systematic review

In this paper, we conducted a meta-analysis of published studies on the effects of entertainment education (EE) on health communication. A search of databases identified 22 studies (N = 19517) that met our inclusion criteria and contained relevant statistics. Analysis of the results suggested that overall, EE's effects on health outcomes – as measured by knowledge, attitudes, intention, and behaviors – was small but significant, with an average effect size (r) of .12, p < .001. Research designs (field studies vs. experiments) and exposure time (multiple episodes vs. one episode) were significant moderators of influence of EE in health communication. However, the impact of delivery channels, health issues, and study locations was not significant.
A new protecting group for amines. Synthesis of anticapsin from L-tyrosine

Abstract An acid and base-stable, nucleophile-resistant protecting group for primary amines and α-amino acids is described which has been used in a synthesis of the title compound.
Korean American College Students’ Language Practices and Identity Positioning: “Not Korean, but not American”

This article explores the intersection between language practices and ethnic identity for 8 second-generation Korean American learners who were participating in a Korean-as-a-foreign-language (KFL) class at a U.S. university. This study aims to examine the fluid nature of ethnic identity by examining how Korean heritage learners negotiate, construct, and position themselves in the landscape of American-ness and Korean-ness, through language practices. The data are drawn from observations, semistructured interviews, and audio-recorded classroom interaction during one academic year in a college-level KFL class. Findings show that the heritage learners employ the two available codes for different communicative purposes: English is used as a primary communication tool, and Korean is associated with their childhood memories, food, and kinship. Furthermore, their use of linguistic devices, such as pronouns, indexes their ever-changing relational positioning of themselves in a third culture, where they have take...
Evidence in vivo for elevation of intracellular free Ca2+ in the liver after diquat, acetaminophen, and CCl4.

Abstract Several hepatotoxic agents with varied chemical mechanisms of toxicity (acetaminophen, diquat, and CCl4) depress membrane calcium pumps and/or enhance the permeability of membranes to calcium. To probe the relevance of these findings to maintenance of calcium homeostasis after toxins in vivo, we measured the activity of glycogen phosphorylase a, as an index of cytosolic free [Ca2+], in freeze-clamped liver samples obtained at several times after the toxin dose. Both acetaminophen and diquat caused significant increases of phosphorylase a activity, and activity remained elevated for several hours after the dose. Significantly, the administration prior to diquat of desferrioxamine, which offers protection against the liver necrosis and depression of microsomal Ca2+ accumulation observed after diquat alone (Tsokos-Kuhn et al., Mol Pharmacol34: 209–214, 1988), decreased phosphorylase activation. Activation of phosphorylase was observed also after CCl4 administration, as previously reported by Long and Moore (Biochem Pharmacol 35: 4131–4137,1986). We conclude that perturbations in liver membrane Ca2+ regulation observed after administration of these hepatotoxins in vivo correlate directly with phosphorylase a activity, thereby providing additional in vivo evidence for an alteration of Ca2+ homeostasis early in the development of the liver damage produced by these chemicals.
Rapid evolution of human pseudoautosomal genes and their mouse homologs.

Comparative studies of genes in the pseudoautosomal region (PAR) of human and mouse sex chromosomes have thus far been very limited. The only comparisons that can presently be made indicate that the PARs of humans and mice are not identical in terms of gene content. Here we describe additional comparative studies of human pseudoautosomal genes and their mouse homologs. Using a somatic cell hybrid mapping panel, we have assigned the mouse homolog of the human pseudoautosomal inter-leukin 3 receptor alpha subunit (IL3RA) gene to mouse Chromosome (Chr) 14. Attempts to clone the mouse homolog of the human pseudoautosomal adenine nucleotide translocase-3 (ANT3) gene resulted in the isolation of the murine homologs of the human ANT1 and ANT2 genes. The mouse Ant1 and Ant2 genes are very similar in sequence to their human homologs, and we have mapped them to mouse Chromosomes (Chrs) (8 and X respectively) that exhibit conserved synteny with the chromosomes on which the human genes are located. In contrast, the homolog of ANT3 appears to be either very divergent or absent from the mouse genome. Southern blot analysis of DNA from a variety of mammalian species shows restricted conservation of human pseudoautosomal genes, a trend that also applies to the two cloned mouse homologs of these genes and to neighboring human genes in distal Xp22.3. Our observations combined with those of other workers lead us to propose a model for the evolution of the PAR that includes both rapid sequence evolution and the incremental reduction in size of the region during mammalian evolution.
Have statins changed the natural history of atheromatous disease and its treatment

Statins are among the most widely prescribed medications in the world and there are now numerous clinical trials demonstrating the beneficial effects of these medications on the natural history of atheromatous disease and its treatment. There is now voluminous data to show that patients treated by vascular surgeons benefit from statins and that these medications do effect the natural history of atheroma, its consequences, and treatment. This article will attempt to summarize the more relevant data that highlights the beneficial effects of statins in patients with peripheral arterial disease and how use of these drugs affects cardio-, peripheral, and cerebrovascular risk.
Gait speed as a measure of functional status in COPD patients.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease associated with dyspnea, fatigue, and exercise intolerance. The degree of functional debility and level of exercise capacity greatly influences quality of life and mortality in patients with COPD, and the measures of exercise capacity are to be an integral part of patient assessment but often not feasible in routine daily practice, resulting in likely suboptimal care. There is a need for simple ways to identify functional decline in the clinical setting in order to guide resources to preventive interventions or proper care, including palliative care. Gait speed, or measuring how long it takes for a patient to walk a short distance, takes very little time and space, and can serve as a candidate measure of physical function in COPD. Gait speed has been shown to be an indicator of disability, health care utilization, and survival in older adults. It is a simple, reliable, and feasible measure to perform in the clinic and has been promoted as the next vital sign, providing insight into patients’ functional capacity. Gait speed is mainly determined by exercise capacity but reflects global well-being as it captures many of the multisystemic effects of disease severity in COPD rather than pulmonary impairment alone. It is an excellent screening measure for exercise capacity and frailty; in COPD, the usual gait speed (4-m course with rolling start) has been very accurate in identifying clinically relevant benchmarks of the 6-minute walk test, poor (<350 m) and very poor (<200 m) 6-minute walk test distances. A specific cut-off point of 0.8 m · s−1 had a positive predictive value of 69% and negative predictive value of 98% in predicting very poor exercise capacity. The increasing evidence on gait speed is promising as a simple test that can inform the clinician about many important functional aspects of the COPD patient. Further work will likely show the strength of gait speed as a predictive marker of hospitalizations, re-admissions, and mortality. Instead of relying on the “eyeball test” regarding the patient’s frailty or exercise capacity, a gait speed in its simplicity represents a much more solid assessment. Furthermore, repeat measures over serial clinic visits may show a pattern and further guide a change in therapy, whether it be medications, rehabilitation, or even initiation of palliative care discussions.
Focused and fired up: Narrowed attention produces perceived proximity and increases goal-relevant action

Insufficient physical activity contributes to rising obesity rates. We tested one social cognitive strategy aimed at increasing physical activity in the environment. Specifically, we tested whether attentional narrowing can shift people’s perceptual representations of the environment and improve exercise behavior. Participants who adopted a narrow focus of attention, compared to participants who looked around the environment as they naturally would, perceived a target as physically closer (Studies 1, 2). In addition, narrowed attention reduced the time required to walk to a finish line and increased subjective ease of physical task performance, two markers of improved exercise (Study 2). We discuss implications of attentional strategies for perception and action in regards to health and fitness.
Simulations of mixing for a confined co-flowing planar jet

Abstract Simulations are performed for the evolution of a mixing layer in a channel with two splitter plates at the inlet. The effect of three different velocity ratios are studied for a channel flow configuration. Solutions are obtained from the time-dependent incompressible Navier–Stokes equations by means of an artificial compressibility formulation with dual-time stepping. The transport of a conserved passive scalar is examined to assess the mechanisms of entrainment and mixing within the shear flow. Scalar probability density functions are evaluated to trace the evolution of the mixing layer along the streamwise direction. It is seen that better mixing is obtained at higher velocity ratios.
Photoperiodic Effects on Steroid Negative Feedback in Female Prairie Voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

Abstract Breeding in prairie voles is mainly restricted to the autumn and winter of most years. The organization of estrus in female prairie voles is unusual because behavioral estrus is induced by chemosensory stimuli from the mine of adult conspecific males. Isolated females exhibit undetectable levels of estradiol and never display estrous behavior, yet exposure to male urine causes a cascade of endocrine changes that evoke estrogen secretion from the ovaries and estrous behavior within 24 hr. In the prairie vole, the extreme dependence of estrus on chemosensory stimuli raises the possibility that their ovaries may be less prominent in the regulation of gonadotropin secretion than in species with more endogenously organized estrous cycles. The present study examined the contribution of the ovaries in luteinizing hormone (LH) regulation in prairie voles. Females were maintained for 9 weeks in either long (LD 16:8) or short (LD 8:16) photoperiodic conditions, a blood sample was obtained and then animals were either ovariectomized or received a sham procedure. Another blood sample was obtained a week later and assayed for serum LH. Blood serum LH levels were significantly reduced in short-day voles, compared to long day animals. After ovariectomy both long-day and short-day voles exhibited equivalent elevations in LH levels. This study provides evidence that photoperiod is measured in female voles and the ovaries appear to produce sufficient steroids to suppress LH release.
The challenge of altering elementary school teachers' beliefs and practices regarding linguistic and cultural diversity in science instruction

This study examined the impact of a professional development intervention aimed at helping elementary teachers incorporate elements of students' home language and culture into science instruction. The intervention consisted of instructional units and materials and teacher workshops. The research involved 43 third- and fourth-grade teachers at six elementary schools in a large urban school district. These teachers participated in the intervention for 2 consecutive years. The study was conducted using both quantitative and qualitative methods based on focus group interviews, a questionnaire, and classroom observations. The results indicate that as teachers began their participation in the intervention, they rarely incorporated students' home language or culture into science instruction. During the 2-year period of the intervention, teachers' beliefs and practices remained relatively stable and did not show significant change. Possible explanations for the limited effectiveness of the intervention are addressed, and implications for professional development efforts are discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 1269–1291, 2007
Difference information in brightness perception

Contour information generated by moving retinal images has been shown by others to be the principal determinant of perceived color. The data presented here show that, for brightness, this information reflects only differences between adjacent stimulus areas. The entire distribution of difference information from contours in the visual field must be specified in order to predict the brightness at any point.
Conditional Extended Kalman Filter for Battery Model Parameter Identification

In this paper a conditional Extended Kalman Filter is applied to battery model parameter and state estimations. A decision logic, based on battery input and output data, is designed such that parameter update is stopped when persistent excitation conditions are not met. Persistent excitation conditions are represented by a simpler, easier to implement set of calibrations. Examples, both from desktop simulation, and real world vehicle testing, have been provided to support the validity of this algorithm. The proposed strategy has been successfully deployed in production FHEV/PHEV vehicles.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Gender bias and individualism: Responses to case vignettes among psychologists, professors, and students

This study examined the extent to which psychologists, when compared to university professors and evening school students, employ individualist values differentially in their responses to vignettes describing males and females. The participants responded to 6 vignettes by choosing initial hypotheses that reflected either utilitarian (tradition-ally masculine) or expressive (traditionally feminine) themes. Two vignettes involved a sex of client manipulation, but neither resulted in a sex of client effect. An analysis of the responses to the remaining 4 vignettes indicated a marked preference for the masculine form of individualism for males, but were evenly divided for females in all three groups. These results suggest that psychologists were just as likely to engage in bias as others.
The logic of YinYang and the science of TCM: An eastern road to the unification of nature, agents and medicine

Many wonder whether Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is science; many TCM practitioners are eager to fit TCM into western medicine for acceptance; some TCM scholars suggested to abandon YinYang in favour of western tradition; some researchers suggested to avoid relativistic and quantum theories in TCM research in favour of established scientific theories. Faced with these tough choices, this paper unveils the salient nature of YinYang related to Greek philosophy and identifies its critical role in logic, TCM, and modern science. Surprisingly, it is shown that YinYang bipolar relativity has opened an eastern road toward quantum gravity – Einstein's unfinished scientific unification of general relativity and quantum mechanics. Furthermore, it is shown that not only does YinYang bipolar quantum gravity constitute a physical theory but also a mental, logical, social, and biological quantum theory.
Multinational clinical trial in Japan and Korea on detrusitol

A randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active comparator-controlled study was conducted in 69 centers to compare detrusitol and oxybutynin with placebo in Japanese and Korean patients with an overactive bladder (OAB). Detrusitol had similar efficacy but was better tolerated than oxybutynin in Japanese and Korean patients with OAB. The study result was acknowledged as pivotal data in the clinical data package when NDA was filed and successfully approved both in Japan and Korea. Some differences were found in the efficacy and safety of the drug between the Japanese and Korean data, though. We therefore investigated the differences through stratified analysis; however exact causes could not be identified. This study is positioned as a first multinational clinical trial conducted in East Asia. From the aspects of utilization of interoperable data obtained from such multinational clinical trials for NDA filing and earliest possible registration of drugs in the participating countries, we believe it is important to accumulate more experiences in conducting multinational clinical trials. At this time, it is our prime task to minimize the "drug lag" in Japan; I think improving the speed of clinical trials is one of the factors to solve the issue. Global clinical trials involving Western and Asian countries make it possible to use the study data effectively and commonly in many countries. Moreover, from the viewpoint of revitalization of clinical trials, conducting global clinical trials is critically important; so we intend to continue accumulation of our experiences in global clinical trials.
EFFECT OF ORAL HYPOGLYCEMIC AGENTS ON SERUM INSULIN-LIKE ACTIVITY OF PATIENTS WITH VARIOUS DEGREES OF CARBOHYDRATE INTOLERANCE.

Abstract The effect of chlorpropamide or phenformin on blood glucose and serum insulin-like activity (ILA) was investigated in patients with various degrees of carbohydrate tolerance. Blood glucose and ILA were measured fasting and 3 hours after an oral glucose load before and after therapy had been instituted. Both chlorpropamide and phenformin produced improvement in carbohydrate tolerance, and in each patient the fall in glucose concentration was accompanied by a decrease in previously elevated levels of ILA.
Describing Learning in an Advanced Online Case-Based Course in Environmental Science

Researchers increasingly embrace online courses to compensate for lack of access to educational opportunities otherwise available in traditional school settings. Researchers also recommend alternat...
Event-based estimation of interacting Markov chains with applications to electrocardiogram analysis

The problem of estimating the state of a distributed finite-state Markov process consisting of several interacting finite-state systems each of whose transition probabilities are influenced by the states of the other processes is examined. The observations on which the estimation procedure is based are continuous signals containing signatures indicative of the occurrence of particular events in the various finite-state systems. The problem of electrocardiogram analysis serves both as the primary motivation for this investigation and as the source of a case study we describe. The principal focus of the paper is on the development of an approach that overcomes the combinatorial explosion of truly optimal estimation algorithms. We accomplish this by constructing a systematic design methodology in which the resulting estimator consists of several interacting estimators, each focusing on a particular sub-process, Important questions that we address concern the way in which these estimators interact and the met...
Value and Cancer Care: Toward an Equitable Future

Health care expenses in the United States are increasing inexorably. At the current rate of growth, it is anticipated that 20% of the gross national product will consist of health-related expenditures within the next decade. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, and it is increasing in prevalence because of the aging of the population and the limited number of successful prevention strategies. As the biological characteristics of cancer come into sharper focus, targeted therapies are being developed that offer the promise of increased clinical benefit with fewer toxicities than are associated with conventional treatment. Although spectacular successes are infrequent with this approach, to date, the majority of targeted therapies are modestly effective at best, and extremely costly. This observation suggests that a broadly acceptable definition of value in a cancer therapeutic agent is not at hand, but is sorely needed from the vantage points of the patient and society. A corollary issue of enormous import is how to equitably distribute the health care dollar in the service of achieving the greatest good for the greatest number. Although cancer is responsible for only 5% of the health care budget, its cost is increasing and it can be viewed as paradigmatic when contemplating the problem of equity in health care. Here, a number of concepts are discussed that focus on this goal and its implications for the cancer patient and society at large.
Modulation of Synaptic Strength: Subunit Expression Controls the Critical Period. Focus on “Viral Delivery of NR2D Subunits Reduces Mg2+ Block of NMDA Receptors and Restores NT-3–Induced Potentiation of AMPA-Kainate Responses in Maturing Rat Motoneurons”

Proper function of the nervous system is critically dependent on precise synaptic connectivity among the constituent neurons. For the neuronal circuit mediating the simple stretch reflex, for example, sensory axons supplying stretch-sensitive spindles in skeletal muscles (Ia axons) make direct
Lewis acidic organoboron polymers

We have developed a highly efficient new method for the introduction of Lewis acidic boron centers into the side chains of organic polymers. Our methodology involves three steps: (i) the controlled polymerization of a functional monomer, (ii) the exchange of the functional group for Lewis acidic boron centers, and (iii) the fine-tuning of the Lewis acidity of the individual centers through substituent exchange reactions with nucleophiles. This approach gives access to a family of new well-defined organoboron polymers including moderately Lewis acidic poly(arylboronates) and the first examples of highly Lewis acidic fluorinated triarylborane polymers.
Quantitative comparison and analysis of species-specific wound biofilm virulence using an in vivo, rabbit-ear model.

Background Although bacterial biofilm is recognized as an important contributor to chronic wound pathogenesis, differences in biofilm virulence between species have never been studied in vivo. Study Design Dermal punch wounds in New Zealand white rabbit ears were inoculated with Klebsiella pneumoniae , Staphylococcus aureus, or Pseudomonas aeruginosa , or left uninfected as controls. In vivo biofilm was established and maintained using procedures from our previously published wound biofilm model. Virulence was assessed by measurement of histologic wound healing and host inflammatory mediators. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and bacterial counts verified biofilm viability. Extracellular polymeric substance (EPS)-deficient P aeruginosa was used for comparison. Results SEM confirmed the presence of wound biofilm for each species. P aeruginosa biofilm-infected wounds showed significantly more healing impairment than uninfected, K pneumoniae , and S aureus (p P aeruginosa demonstrated a reduced impact on the same quantitative endpoints relative to its wild-type strain (p Conclusions Our novel analysis demonstrates that individual bacterial species possess distinct levels of biofilm virulence. Biofilm EPS may represent an integral part of their distinct pathogenicity. Rigorous examination of species-dependent differences in biofilm virulence is critical to developing specific therapeutics, while lending insight to the interactions within clinically relevant, polybacterial biofilms.
Toward a Humanistic Learning Environment: Addressing Resident Mistreatment

While we find the results of the study by Mullan et al1 in the March 2013 issue of the Journal of Graduate Medical Education alarming, the findings sadly do not come as a surprise. The authors administered an anonymous questionnaire to more than 500 interns at Partners Healthcare, Boston, MA, during 2010 and 2011. Of the nearly 400 participants, 93% had experienced “disruptive behavior” during internship, including condescending behavior, berating, exclusion from decision-making, inappropriate jokes, abusive language, and gender bias. Even more concerning is the fact that 54% of the interns reported experiencing these behaviors once a month or more.1 A culture of disrespect in medical training is certainly not a recent development: Rosenberg and Silver commented on the pervasiveness of verbal abuse and humiliation in medical training nearly 30 years ago.2 Fifteen years later, Kassebaum and Cutler described a similar climate of learner abuse in US medical schools, and they advocated for medical educators to “tidy up the environment for learning.”3 Though there is a paucity of data regarding perceived learner mistreatment in the US graduate medical education programs over the past decade, there continue to be reports of learner mistreatment in the undergraduate medical education community. In the 2012 Association of American Medical Colleges Graduation Questionnaire, medical students reported that interns and residents are nearly as likely as faculty to be the source of student mistreatment.4 This is concerning as it perpetuates a phenomenon in child abuse when those “abused” become the “abusers.” In fact, Silver related abused medical students to abused children in his 1982 commentary in the Journal of the American Medical Association.5 The board of directors of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) recently charged the Council of Review Committee Residents (CRCR) with defining the scope and magnitude of the problem of resident mistreatment in the clinical learning environment. The CRCR is currently working to further clarify what types of learner mistreatment behaviors are occurring in the graduate medical education learning environment, the prevalence of these behaviors, and the consequences of learner mistreatment. Moving forward, it should be our objective to ensure a humanistic clinical learning environment for current and future trainees. We anticipate that the Next Accreditation System of the ACGME will provide a model structure to encourage this lasting cultural change. We need to better understand the root causes of hostility, harassment, and the culture that creates “disruptive behaviors,” such as between interns and critical clinical team members such as nurses who were highlighted by Mullan et al.1 Solutions should be sought that maximize the ideals of professionalism in service to our patients and to us, as the future of medicine.
An Improved Model for the Flow in an Electromagnetically Stirred Melt during Solidification

A mathematical model for simulating the electromagnetic field and the evolution of the temperature and velocity fields during solidification of a molten metal subjected to a time-varying magnetic field is described. The model is based on the dual suspended particle and fixed particle region representation of the mushy zone. The key feature of the model is that it accounts for turbulent interactions with the solidified crystallites in the suspended particle region. An expression is presented for describing the turbulent damping force in terms of the turbulent kinetic energy, solid fraction, and final grain size. Calculations were performed for solidification of an electromagnetically stirred melt in a bottom chill mold. It was found that the damping force plays an important role in attenuating the intensity of both the flow and turbulent fields at the beginning of solidification, and strongly depends on the final grain size. It was also found that turbulence drops significantly near the solidification front, and the flow becomes laminarized for solid fraction around 0.3.
PGD2 DP1 receptor stimulation following stroke ameliorates cerebral blood flow and outcomes.

Abstract Stroke is a leading cause of death and morbidity worldwide, yet effective treatments are lacking. The association of prostaglandin D2 and its DP1 receptor with vasculature and blood propelled us to examine whether the clinically tested DP1 receptor agonist BW245C had beneficial effects following stroke. To determine if BW245C affects basal cerebral blood flow (CBF), C57BL/6 WT and DP1−/− mice were given a single i.p. injection of vehicle or BW245C, and CBF was recorded for 2 h. To test the effect of BW245C on stroke, WT and DP1−/− mice were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion followed by a single i.p. injection of vehicle or 0.02, 0.2, or 2.0-mg/kg BW245C immediately before reperfusion. Functional and anatomical outcomes were determined at 96 h. We also determined the effect of BW245C on CBF in peri-infarct and core during occlusion and reperfusion. Furthermore, we tested the effect of BW245C on bleeding time and ex vivo coagulation. BW245C treatment increased the basal CBF significantly in WT but not in DP1−/− mice. The BW245C treatment also significantly improved functional outcome and lowered infarction volume. The multisite CBF monitoring by laser-Doppler flowmetry shows that BW245C significantly increased the CBF in peri-infarct, with a significant inverse correlation between infarction and CBF. The significantly higher infarction volume in DP1−/− mice remained unchanged with BW245C treatment. Moreover, BW245C preserves hemostasis in non-stroke conditions. Combined, these data suggest that the DP1 receptor is an endogenous target that can rescue the brain following stroke by regulating CBF and hemostasis.
Distinct cortical networks activated by auditory attention and working memory load

Auditory attention and working memory (WM) allow for selection and maintenance of relevant sound information in our minds, respectively, thus underlying goal-directed functioning in everyday acoustic environments. It is still unclear whether these two closely coupled functions are based on a common neural circuit, or whether they involve genuinely distinct subfunctions with separate neuronal substrates. In a full factorial functional MRI (fMRI) design, we independently manipulated the levels of auditory-verbal WM load and attentional interference using modified Auditory Continuous Performance Tests. Although many frontoparietal regions were jointly activated by increases of WM load and interference, there was a double dissociation between prefrontal cortex (PFC) subareas associated selectively with either auditory attention or WM. Specifically, anterior dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) and the right anterior insula were selectively activated by increasing WM load, whereas subregions of middle lateral PFC and inferior frontal cortex (IFC) were associated with interference only. Meanwhile, a superadditive interaction between interference and load was detected in left medial superior frontal cortex, suggesting that in this area, activations are not only overlapping, but reflect a common resource pool recruited by increased attentional and WM demands. Indices of WM-specific suppression of anterolateral non-primary auditory cortices (AC) and attention-specific suppression of primary AC were also found, possibly reflecting suppression/interruption of sound-object processing of irrelevant stimuli during continuous task performance. Our results suggest a double dissociation between auditory attention and working memory in subregions of anterior DLPFC vs. middle lateral PFC/IFC in humans, respectively, in the context of substantially overlapping circuits.
Disease Resistance: What's Brewing in Barley Genomics.

Cereal crops pose a substantial challengeto gene discovery. Except for rice and sor-ghum, most have large, complex genomes,the bulk of which consist of repetitive se-quences and retrotransposons (7,53). Thus,much of the early research relating to themolecular study of plant disease resistancehas occurred in species with smallgenomes, such as Arabidopsis, rice, andtomato. The knowledge acquired fromthese model species has facilitated similarefforts in cereal crops. The goal of thisreport is to summarize the current toolsavailable and to outline selected exampleswhere these tools have been useful for theinvestigation of disease resistance in barley(Hordeum vulgare L.). Because molecularinvestigations have focused primarily onfungal pathogens, they will be the subjectof this review.
Commentary: a call for culture change in academic medicine.

AbstractDisappointed by the lack of progress in the advancement of women and underrepresented minority faculty to senior positions and leadership roles in academic medicine and concerned by the prospect that these valuable faculty resources were being lost, a group of five medical school deans agree
Electronic health records improve clinical note quality

Background and objective The clinical note documents the clinician's information collection, problem assessment, clinical management, and its used for administrative purposes. Electronic health records (EHRs) are being implemented in clinical practices throughout the USA yet it is not known whether they improve the quality of clinical notes. The goal in this study was to determine if EHRs improve the quality of outpatient clinical notes. Materials and methods A five and a half year longitudinal retrospective multicenter quantitative study comparing the quality of handwritten and electronic outpatient clinical visit notes for 100 patients with type 2 diabetes at three time points: 6 months prior to the introduction of the EHR (before-EHR), 6 months after the introduction of the EHR (after-EHR), and 5 years after the introduction of the EHR (5-year-EHR). QNOTE, a validated quantitative instrument, was used to assess the quality of outpatient clinical notes. Its scores can range from a low of 0 to a high of 100. Sixteen primary care physicians with active practices used QNOTE to determine the quality of the 300 patient notes. Results The before-EHR, after-EHR, and 5-year-EHR grand mean scores (SD) were 52.0 (18.4), 61.2 (16.3), and 80.4 (8.9), respectively, and the change in scores for before-EHR to after-EHR and before-EHR to 5-year-EHR were 18% (p<0.0001) and 55% (p<0.0001), respectively. All the element and grand mean quality scores significantly improved over the 5-year time interval. Conclusions The EHR significantly improved the overall quality of the outpatient clinical note and the quality of all its elements, including the core and non-core elements. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that the EHR significantly improves the quality of clinical notes.
Effects of Chern-Simons gravity on bodies orbiting the Earth

One of the possible low-energy consequences of string theory is the addition of a Chern-Simons term to the standard Einstein-Hilbert action of general relativity. It can be argued that the quintessence field should couple to this Chern-Simons term, and if so, it drives in the linearized theory a parity-violating interaction between the gravito-electric and gravitomagnetic fields. In this paper, the linearized spacetime for Chern-Simons gravity around a massive spinning body is found to include new modifications to the gravitomagnetic field that have not appeared in previous work. The orbits of test bodies and the precession of gyroscopes in this spacetime are calculated, leading to new constraints on the Chern-Simons parameter space due to current satellite experiments.
Hydrogen Passivation Induced Dispersion of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

A method combining hydrogen passivation and ultrasonication was developed for the first time to disperse multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in ethanol solution and epoxy resin. Excellent dispersion of MWCNTs was achieved in both media. Three-point bending tests of the MWCNT/epoxy nanocomposites revealed a remarkable increase in elastic modulus with increasing MWCNT content.
A systems approach to medical decision aiding

Disease diagnosis, therapeutic interventions and epidemiology involve increasingly complex information processing and decision-making schemes. The principle conceptual obstacles encountered by these efforts are briefly discussed and the framework of an approach is outlined that effectively overcomes them. In clinical practice the traditional schemes are phenomenologically based. In medical research extensive use of sophisticated mathematically-based model is made. The author outlines an approach that combines these schemes in a system architecture that offers powerful computer-based decision-making aids. >
Response of a subsonic nozzle to acoustic and entropy disturbances

The one-dimensional response of a subsonic nozzle flow to small pressure and entropy disturbances is calculated. The response is expressed in terms of transmitted acoustic waves (which propagate from the nozzle in the same direction as the disturbance wave) and reflected acoustic waves (which propagate from the nozzle in the direction opposite to that of the disturbance wave) for three independent disturbances: a downstreampropagating acoustic wave impinging upon the nozzle inlet, an upstream-propagating wave impinging upon the nozzle exit, and an entropy wave convecting through the nozzle. The solution for high frequency disturbances is discussed and used with the compact (long wavelength disturbance) solution to normalize several numerical calculations. The normalization shows that the transmitted waves created by the two acoustic disturbances may be represented by the same function offrequency for a given inlet and exit nozzle Mach number. The same is seen to be true for the reflected waves created by the two acoustic disturbances. The normalization allows results for a wide range of nozzle Mach number distributions and disturbance frequencies to be presented concisely.