cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mother-Child Interactive Behaviors and Cognition in Preschoolers Born Preterm and Full Term

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between child-mother interactive behaviors and cognition in preschoolers born preterm ( 37 weeks gestation; n = 53). Child-mother interactive behaviors were assessed during a videotaped free play session. Maternal education and neonatal medical factors were included as covariates. Although the preterm and full term groups showed some differences in child and mother interactive behaviors, we found that the child and mother behaviors associated with Verbal IQ (VIQ) and Performance IQ (PIQ) were the same for both children born preterm and full term and for both sexes. Child positive affect and quality of communication; and maternal responsiveness to verbal cues remained significantly associated with VIQ after controlling for sociodemographic variables. Children born preterm showed significantly less responsiveness to their mother and lower levels of play sophistication compared with children born full term. Mothers of children born preterm showed less emotional attunement, lower responsiveness to nonverbal cues, and lower quality of communication compared with mothers of children born full term. Models predicting VIQ and PIQ included maternal education, gestational age, maternal and child interactive behaviors, and one uniquely significant combined mother-child (interaction) term in each model. Child-mother interactive behaviors associated with VIQ and PIQ are the same for both children born preterm and full term and for both sexes, suggesting that similar interactive behaviors may be important in facilitating cognitive development.
Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems: A Path Toward Autonomous Vehicles

Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADASs) have become a salient feature for safety in modern vehicles. They are also a key underlying technology in emerging autonomous vehicles. State-of-the-art ADASs are primarily vision based, but light detection and ranging (lidar), radio detection and ranging (radar), and other advanced-sensing technologies are also becoming popular. In this article, we present a survey of different hardware and software ADAS technologies and their capabilities and limitations. We discuss approaches used for vision-based recognition and sensor fusion in ADAS solutions. We also highlight challenges for the next generation of ADASs.
Overview of Ertugliflozin.

Despite the availability of 12 different classes of medications, many people with type 2 diabetes struggle to maintain glycemic control (1). Among the many new antidiabetic medications to have emerged in recent years, sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have proved to be a particularly effective oral treatment for these patients (2). Since the approval of the first drug in this class, canagliflozin, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March 2013, a total of four SGLT2 agents have become available (both as single and fixed-dose combination formulas) (1). In 2017, an estimated 1.7 million patients received a dispensed prescription for an SGLT2 inhibitor from U.S. outpatient retail pharmacies (2). Ertugliflozin is the newest agent among these, having received FDA approval in December 2017 (3). Ertugliflozin is indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise for control of hyperglycemia in adults (≥18 years of age) with type 2 diabetes (4). It can be used as monotherapy in patients for whom metformin is contraindicated or not well tolerated. It can also be used in combination with other antidiabetic agents (most commonly metformin or a dipeptidyl peptidase 4 [DPP-4] inhibitor) to help reduce A1C. Currently, ertugliflozin is available as an oral tablet sold under the brand name Steglatro or in oral tablet combinations with the DPP-4 sitagliptin (brand name …
Category-Induced Transfer of Visual Perceptual Learning.

Summary Visual perceptual learning (VPL) refers to a long-term enhancement of visual task performance as a result of visual experience [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. VPL is generally specific for the trained visual feature, meaning that training on a feature leads to performance enhancement only on the feature and those in its close vicinity. In the meantime, visual perception is often categorical [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. This may partially be because the ecological importance of a stimulus is usually determined by the category to which the stimulus belongs (e.g., snake, lightning, and fish) [ 11 ]. Thus, it would be advantageous to an observer if encountering or working on a feature from a category increases sensitivity to features under the same category. However, studies of VPL have used uncategorized features. Here, we found a category-induced transfer of VPL, where VPL of an orientation transferred to untrained orientations within the same category as the trained orientation, but not orientations from the different category. Furthermore, we found that, although category learning transferred to other locations in the visual field, the category-induced transfer of VPL occurred only when visual stimuli for the category learning and those for VPL training were presented at the same location. These results altogether suggest that feature specificity in VPL is greatly influenced by cognitive processing, such as categorization in a top-down fashion. In an environment where features are categorically organized, VPL may be more generalized across features under the same category. Such generalization implies that VPL is of more ecological significance than has been thought.
Qualitative and quantitative variations in liver function thresholds among clinical trials in cancer: a need for harmonization.

The liver is critically involved in drug metabolism pathways and the potential for hepatic toxicity is significant with specific cancer therapeutics. Variations in the definition of liver function thresholds that may generate heterogeneity of toxicity and efficacy outcomes across therapeutics trials in cancer require assessment. A random sample of therapeutic trials in cancer (n = 500, general category), trials using hepatotoxic drugs (abiraterone, pazopanib: n = 181), trials using drugs metabolized by the liver (doxorubicin, vincristine: n = 606), and therapeutic trials in hepatic dysfunction (n = 49) were each identified on clinicaltrials.gov. Definitions of liver function thresholds and their distribution were collated and categorized in each group. A third of all trials listed on clinicaltrials.gov across the four categories failed to provide an explicit definition of liver function. Among trials with an explicit definition, a combination of bilirubin and transaminase levels was used in 33–64%, whereas a miscellaneous combination of definitions (in the general category consisting of 11 unique liver function parameters creating 17 unique combinations) was used 29–58% of the time across the four categories of studies. The Child–Pugh or National Cancer Institute Organ Dysfunction Working Group (NCI-ODWG) criteria were rarely employed (0–12% studies). Allowance for Gilbert’s disease in bilirubin thresholds was identified in only 6–23% studies and for liver metastases in 2–15% of studies. There is a marked heterogeneity in the liver function definitions used across cancer clinical trials even when the potential for drug toxicity and altered drug metabolism is significant. Harmonization of criteria will streamline eligibility and mitigate variations in key outcomes across trials.
Cyber-Physical Testbed for Human-Robot Collaborative Task Planning and Execution

In this paper, we present a cyber-physical testbed created to enable a human-robot team to perform a shared task in a shared workspace. The testbed is suitable for the implementation of a tabletop manipulation task, a common human-robot collaboration scenario. The testbed integrates elements that exist in the physical and virtual world. In this work, we report the insights we gathered throughout our exploration in understanding and implementing task planning and execution for human-robot team.
Blind-Walking Behavior in the Dark Affected by Previewing the Testing Space.

Visual environments affect egocentric distance perceptions in full cue conditions. In this study, the effect of three spatial layouts was tested on the perceived location of a self-illuminated sing...
Beware quantum winter

Google's quantum breakthrough is the first step on a long road. Let's make sure we don't stumble, says Douglas Heaven
Information content of spatially distributed ground-based measurements for hydrologic-parameter calibration in mixed rain-snow mountain headwaters

Parameters in hydrologic models used in mixed rain-snow regions are often uncertain to calibrate and overfitted on streamflow. To contribute addressing these challenges, we used an algorithm that assesses modeling performances through time (Dynamic Identifiability Analysis) to quantify the information content of spatially distributed ground-based measurements for identifying optimal parameter values in the Precipitation Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) model. Including spatially distributed ground-based measurements in Identifiability Analysis allowed us to unambiguously estimate more parameter values than only using streamflow (seven parameters instead of two out of a pool of thirty-three). Peaks in information gain were obtained when using dew-point temperature to identify precipitation phase-partitioning parameters. Multi-attribute identifiability analysis also yielded optimal parameter values that were temporally less variable than those estimated using streamflow alone. Overall, identifying parameter values using ground-based measurements improved the simulation of key drivers of the surface-water budget, such as air temperature and precipitation-phase partitioning. However, parameters simulating surface-to-subsurface mass fluxes like snow accumulation and melt or evapotranspiration were poorly identified by any attribute and so emerged as key sources of predictive uncertainty for this distributed-parameter hydrologic model. This work demonstrates the value of expanded ground-based measurements for identifying parameters in distributed-parameter hydrologic models and so diagnosing their conceptual uncertainty across the water budget.
Zero-Crossing-Time-Difference Model for Stability Analysis of VCO-Based OTAs

This paper presents the Zero-Crossing-Time-Difference Model (ZCTDM) for a Voltage-Controlled-Oscillator based Operational Transconductance Amplifier (VCO-OTA). The small-signal, linear, discrete-time model provides output current impulses at equidistant time intervals, with their magnitude proportional to the time difference between the zero-crossings of the two VCOs in the VCO-OTA. Compared to the continuous-time phase-domain model (CT-PDM) and the impulse invariant transform model (IITM), ZCTDM accounts for both the high-frequency signal generated at the output near the VCO oscillation frequency and the high-frequency input response. ZCTDM thus captures the complete loop response for a VCO-OTA in a feedback configuration, as long as the output-voltage discharge rate is less than the system update rate, which is the case in most applications. The application of the model is demonstrated with two design examples. The frequency response of the system modeled with ZCTDM is within 0.5dBRMS of the response simulated with an extensive behavioral-model, whereas the results derived using CT-PDM and IITM deviate significantly both qualitatively and quantitatively.
Resource diversity promotes among‐individual diet variation, but not genomic diversity, in lake stickleback

Many generalist species consist of specialised individuals that use different resources. This within-population niche variation can stabilise population and community dynamics. Consequently, ecologists wish to identify environmental settings that promote such variation. Theory predicts that environments with greater resource diversity favour ecological diversity among consumers (via disruptive selection or plasticity). Alternatively, niche variation might be a side-effect of neutral genomic diversity in larger populations. We tested these alternatives in a metapopulation of threespine stickleback. Stickleback consume benthic and limnetic invertebrates, focusing on the former in small lakes, the latter in large lakes. Intermediate-sized lakes support generalist stickleback populations using an even mixture of the two prey types, and exhibit greater among-individual variation in diet and morphology. In contrast, genomic diversity increases with lake size. Thus, phenotypic diversity and neutral genetic polymorphism are decoupled: trophic diversity being greatest in intermediate-sized lakes with high resource diversity, whereas neutral genetic diversity is greatest in the largest lakes.
Measured Energy-Dependent Neutron Attenuation Through the Stacked Printed Circuit Boards

Engineers often stack printed circuit boards (PCBs), populated with semiconductor devices, one behind the other in neutron beams to improve the error statistics in radiation-effects tests. As the neutron beam traverses through the boards, the neutron flux is both attenuated and the energy spectrum changes, which may have a significant impact on the results of such tests. We have developed a technique to measure the energy-dependent neutron attenuation due to the PCBs and to determine the energy-dependent effective cross section of neutron interactions with a single PCB. With this effective cross section, engineers can calculate the change in the neutron energy spectrum and the total neutron attenuation after any number of identical PCBs in the stack. This information will allow test engineers to partially correct inaccuracies in soft error tests.
Four-dimensional surface motions of the Slumgullion landslide and quantification of hydrometeorological forcing.

Landslides modify the natural landscape and cause fatalities and property damage worldwide. Quantifying landslide dynamics is challenging due to the stochastic nature of the environment. With its large area of ~1 km2 and perennial motions at ~10–20 mm per day, the Slumgullion landslide in Colorado, USA, represents an ideal natural laboratory to better understand landslide behavior. Here, we use hybrid remote sensing data and methods to recover the four-dimensional surface motions during 2011–2018. We refine the boundaries of an area of ~0.35 km2 below the crest of the prehistoric landslide. We construct a mechanical framework to quantify the rheology, subsurface channel geometry, mass flow rate, and spatiotemporally dependent pore-water pressure feedback through a joint analysis of displacement and hydrometeorological measurements from ground, air and space. Our study demonstrates the importance of remotely characterizing often inaccessible, dangerous slopes to better understand landslides and other quasi-static mass fluxes in natural and industrial environments, which will ultimately help reduce associated hazards. Landslides are damaging natural hazards and can often lead to unexpected casualties and property damage. Here, the authors conduct geodetic and hydrological data analyses of the Slumgullion landslide, Colorado, and quantify the mass movement to find it fits a power-law flow theory and responds to hydroclimatic variability.
Intravascular Hemolysis and Complications During Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

Venovenous and venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) remains a crucial lifesaving therapy for critically ill neonates with severe cardiorespiratory failure. Both the roller pump as well as the centrifugal pump are safe and efficient systems, and some red blood cell breakdown and hemolysis occurs in all ECMO systems. The roller pump functions by gravity whereas the centrifugal pump promotes the flow of blood by a magnetically driven spinning rotor to generate negative pressure. Extracorporeal Life Support Organization data indicate a significant increase in intravascular hemolysis in neonatal and pediatric patients receiving ECMO when the centrifugal pump is used compared with its use in adults. Risk factors for developing hemolysis during ECMO are small cannula size, high negative inlet pressure in the pump head, and thrombosis in the pump head and oxygenator. Excessive red blood cell breakdown and release of plasma free hemoglobin (pfHb) saturate physiologic neutralizing mechanisms such as haptoglobin and hemopexin. The increase in pro-oxidant and proinflammatory pfHb levels causes endothelial dysfunction in a dose-dependent manner. Hemolysis also increases the risk of in-hospital morbidities such as renal injury, direct hyperbilirubinemia, and thrombosis without an increase in mortality in patients receiving ECMO. Hemolysis is an unavoidable side effect of current ECMO technology and there are no approved treatments or treatment guidelines for the neonatal population. Therefore, increased vigilance, recognition of the severity of the hemolytic process, and prompt management are essential to prevent severe endothelial injury leading to proinflammatory and prothrombotic events.
Anticoagulation Management in Geriatric Orthopedic Trauma Patients

This article will review the perioperative management of geriatric patients on anticoagulants who present for non-elective orthopedic surgery. Our understanding of best practices in perioperative anticoagulation management has advanced significantly over the last 5 years. More patients are presenting for surgery on direct oral anticoagulants which require a different approach than the vitamin K antagonist, warfarin. We have come to better appreciate the importance of time to the operating room on outcomes, specifically in hip fracture surgery. Regional anesthesia now has standardized guidelines for preprocedure anticoagulation interruption. Prothrombin complex concentrate has increasing acceptance for warfarin reversal preoperatively. Reversal agents are now available for the direct oral anticoagulants but are not recommended for standard use preprocedure. And there has been a shift away from routine use of bridging anticoagulation periprocedure. A team-based approach with input from the surgical, anesthesia, and internal medicine or geriatric team preoperatively is critical to the management of perioperative anticoagulation.
A national window on critical thinking by dental educators following an ADEA webinar.

PURPOSE Critical thinking is an essential skill for the dentist, yet little has surfaced to define the outcome, guide learning, and assess performance. On June 16, 2020, the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) sponsored a 1-hour webinar on Critical thinking with 600 attendees. To report input from a national cohort of dental educators responding to a model for critical thinking guidance. METHODS Critical thinking concepts with explicit skillsets were presented. Attendees gave Likert responses on importance and confidence defining outcome. At the end of the webinar, attendees were asked in an open-ended format what their "take away" was. RESULTS One hundred and five responded to a Likert scale question on how important critical thinking is, with 93% giving a 5. To the question on how well have you figured out how to define the outcome, guide learning, and assess performance, 53% gave a 3 and 21% gave a 2 (χ2 = 151; P < 0.01) From 121 "take away" responses, 79 reiterated the session's central theme with comments on emulating the thought process of the expert or articulating a skillset. In a separate classification of the same "take away," responses oriented to common domains of education nomenclature. No alternative critical thinking model for articulating the outcome, guiding learning, and assessing performance was evident in any of the 121 take away responses. CONCLUSIONS Results are interpreted as an opportunity moment for dental education to collectively develop additional critical thinking models.
Implications of Aggregating and Smoothing Daily Production Data on Estimates of the Transition Time Between Flow Regimes in Horizontal Hydraulically Fractured Bakken Oil Wells

The level to which data are aggregated or smoothed can impact analytical and predictive modeling results. This paper discusses findings regarding such impacts on estimating change points in production flow regimes of horizontal hydraulically fractured shale oil wells producing from the middle member of the Bakken Formation. Change points that signal transitions in flow regimes are important because they subsequently affect estimates of ultimate recovery from wells producing from shale plays. Extending our earlier work, we employ two different statistical approaches, Bacon–Watts Bayesian regression and nonlinear constrained least squares regression, and a designed computational experiment to estimate the time of transition from the transient to the boundary-dominated flow regime for 14 different wells using daily production data rather than aggregated monthly data, as previously considered. The daily data were also smoothed to reduce noise. Computational experiments suggest that both statistical approaches can lead to plausible estimates of the transition point under different data aggregation or smoothing regimes, but that daily data are likely too granular to produce credible estimates. Although the expected value of transition points using smoothed daily data and monthly disaggregated data are generally comparable, the confidence intervals bounding the estimates based on smoothed daily data are generally wider. Our results not only inform the operational practices of oil producers engaged in economic evaluation of their shale resources and additional play development activities, but also the activities of petroleum research groups, government agencies, and financial organizations seeking to improve the trustworthiness of resource projections.
Thermal stabilization of nucleic acid nanoparticles (NANPs) using light-assisted drying

Cold storage can be challenging and expensive for the transportation and storage of biologics. We are developing a new processing technique, light-assisted drying (LAD), to prepare biologics for anhydrous storage in a trehalose amorphous solid matrix. Nucleic acid nanoparticles (NANPs) are an example of new biological products that require refrigeration. DNA and RNA have emerged as building blocks for versatile biological drugs, called therapeutic nucleic acids (TNAs). NANPs have been developed to simultaneously deliver multiple TNAs and to conditionally activate TNAs and control their immunorecognition. The structural and chemical instability of NANPs over long-term storage at ambient temperatures is a challenge that may hamper broad use of this promising technology. In this work we apply the LAD technique to NANPs. NANPs suspended in a droplet of trehalose solution are irradiated with a near-IR laser to accelerate drying. As water is removed, the trehalose forms a protective matrix. The laser allows for careful control of sample temperature during processing. This is important as NANPs are thermally sensitive. In this study, RNA cubes (a type of NANP) were LAD processed and then stored for 1 month. Damage to LAD-processed NANPs was assessed after storage using gel electrophoresis and compared to unprocessed controls stored at 4°C. The thermal histories of samples were monitored during processing to determine the importance of temperature excursions on NANP viability after processing. The trehalose matrix was characterized using polarized light imaging to determine if crystallization occurred during storage, damaging embedded NANPs. These preliminary studies indicate that LAD processing can stabilize NANPs for dry-state storage at room temperatures.
A study of some physiological and hormonal criterion in males infected thalassemia

The current study was conducted in the Department of Biological Sciences / Faculty of Science / University of Al- Qadisiyah and in collaboration with the Genetic Diseases of the blood center in the city of Diwaniya for the period from (1/12/2017) until 1/6/2018, 30 male samples were taken and aged between 20 and 45 years were divided into two groups The first included 20 samples of males with thalassemia the second group consisted of (10) samples non-infected male representing the control group. (5ml) was withdrawn for the purpose of examining blood parameters and level (Ferritin) as well as measuring the level of male sex hormones Lh and Fsh for both the patient group and control. The results showed a significant decrease of p <0.05 for all blood and hormone parameters for the group of patients compared with the control group, with a significant increase in the level of iron stock for patients compared to control group.
Identification, characterization and quality management of natural textile fibres

Abstract In order to evaluate the quality of the raw material and its destination in the fibre processing to prevent adulteration, identification and characterization are important steps. Several identification and characterization methods are available, such as those based on visual inspection, sensitivity, solubility, heating/burning, chemistry, physics (elasticity, morphology, regain, porosity, density etc), colouring, microscopy, spectrophotometry (UV–visible, RMN, FTIR) and X-ray diffraction. There are also approaches for identifying and characterizing the biological properties of fibres such as the use of NIR spectroscopy in the identification of cashmere wool which is one of the most expensive natural textiles, sophisticated DNA analysis methods and characterization of end-use fabric properties. This chapter will also cover quality management methods used in the textile industry, applications of computer vision and aspects related to reducing concentration of dyes that are not attached to the fabric and are discarded as industrial effluent, consequently, affecting the cost of the process.
Rapid Response of a BRCA2/TP53/PTEN-Deleted Metastatic Uterine Leiomyosarcoma to Olaparib: A Case Report.

None Patients with metastatic uterine leiomyosarcoma (uLMS) have poor prognosis due to limited treatment options, especially when disease progresses on doxorubicin and gemcitabine-docetaxel regimens. Here we report a patient whose metastatic uLMS contains a BRCA2 deep deletion as well as TP53 and PTEN deep deletion. The patient responded rapidly to olaparib, a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor, after progressing on gemcitabine-docetaxel, doxorubicin, and temozolomide regimens. This case report shall be helpful to the treatment of other patients with metastatic uLMS that harbors a BRCA2 mutation or deletion.
Transformation: Malte Laurids Brigge, Second Part

Malte’s anxiety is something like an illness and something like a cure. It is exorcizing parts of his psyche that burden him and disallow him to produce creatively. This anxiety is historical and caused by the expectations of his class and also provides a model for how we experience reality as such. The ego, in this case Malte’s Adelshirn (aristocratic brain), clings to old structures that are no longer relevant, causing him to suffer. The way out of this suffering, or at least to mitigate it, is through creative labor. Malte is aware of this fact and cannot work how he would like, but is able to transform himself so that he can produce in a way that he does not expect.
A Communication Perspective on What Patient Advisory Boards Do: Action-Implicative Discourse Analysis and Negotiating Advice.

Stakeholder advisory boards are recognized as an essential and useful part of patient-centered research. However, such engagement can involve exchanges of diverse individual experiences, multiple opinions, and strong feelings in the face of researchers’ limitations, deadlines, and agendas. Yet, little work examines how these potential tensions occur and are resolved in actual advisory board meetings. This perspective article describes and employs a communication framework for analyzing a patient advisory council (PAC) for a comparative effectiveness study on acupuncture and pain counseling for inpatients with cancer. The framework, Action-Implicative Discourse Analysis (AIDA), is an observational method that examines challenges through recorded and transcribed, naturally occurring interaction. Our analysis focused on two short excerpts from the first PAC meeting to demonstrate members’ navigation of advice-giving and advice-receiving—one in which advice was ultimately implemented by the study team and another in which it was deemed unfeasible. Although advice is inherent to the work of all PACs, it often emerges unannounced as negotiated moments, made up of seemingly minor conversation moves. As a recurring event, advice can and should be analyzed and discussed within PACs to improve communication and team dynamics.
Pathobiology of the Flaviviruses

Among arthropod-borne and related viruses, the Flaviviridae are medically the most important group and biologically one of the most intriguing. Elucidation of perplexingly complex virus- and host-specified factors that underlie virulence and pathogenesis has lagged behind other areas of virology, and the available information is largely descriptive. Ultimately, flavivirus biology and pathogenesis will be understood in terms of viral gene expression, virus receptor—host cell membrane interactions, biochemical alterations in host cells, physiological responses, and immune and nonimmune mechanisms that control virus replication and virus spread, subjects to which other chapters in this book are devoted. There will remain, however, a need to understand and synthesize this information with observations relating to infection at the level of the intact organism (virus, vector, and host) and of populations of organisms in nature. It is at these levels that the phenomena that require explanation first present themselves.
A REVIEW OF NONLINEAR AND ACTIVE COCHLEAR MODELS

This paper reviews nonlinear and active cochlear models with special attention to the question whether a “second filter” is needed for modeling two-tone suppression below the characteristic frequency (CF). The concept of a unidirectionally coupled “second filter” is inconsistent with experimental evidence that major cochlear mechanical nonlinear phenomena are affected by alterations of the organ of Corti. A possible way of modeling the below-CF suppression is suggested in terms of an indirect effect mediated by a baseline shift of the cochlear partition.
Molecular characterization of the Escherichia coli htrD gene: cloning, sequence, regulation, and involvement with cytochrome d oxidase.

Abstract The Escherichia coli htrD gene was originally isolated during a search for new genes required for growth at high temperature. Insertional inactivation of htrD leads to a pleiotropic phenotype characterized by temperature-sensitive growth in rich medium, H2O2 sensitivity, and sensitivity to cysteine. The htrD gene was cloned and sequenced, and an htrD::mini-Tn10 insertion mutation was mapped within this gene. The htrD gene was shown to encode a protein of approximately 17.5 kDa. Expression of the htrD gene was examined by using an phi (htrD-lacZ) operon fusion. It was found that htrD is not temperature regulated and therefore is not a heat shock gene. Further study revealed that htrD expression is increased under aerobic growth conditions. Conversely, under anaerobic growth conditions, htrD expression is decreased. In addition, a mutation within the nearby cydD gene was found to drastically reduce htrD expression under all conditions tested. These results indicate that htrD is somehow involved in aerobic respiration and that the cydD gene product is necessary for htrD gene expression. In agreement with this conclusion, htrD mutant bacteria are unable to oxidize the cytochrome d-specific electron donor N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine.
Peak effect as a precursor to vortex lattice melting in single crystal YBa2Cu3O7- delta.

We present direct evidence of a "peak effect" as a precursor to vortex lattice melting in a single crystal of $\mathrm{Y}{\mathrm{Ba}}_{2}{\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{7\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\delta}}$ containing only two twin planes. The peak effect occurs just below the vortex liquid to solid phase transition in a narrow field region between 0.3 and 1.5 T for $H\ensuremath{\parallel}\mathbf{c}$ and is clearly observed as a function of both magnetic field and temperature. We demonstrate that the peak effect is due to enhanced vortex pinning by the twin boundaries, indicative of lattice softening prior to melting. In addition, we show evidence for a non-Ohmic behavior in the vortex liquid state due to depinning of the vortices from the two twin boundaries with increasing Lorentz force.
Mutator gene studies in Escherichia coli.

An Escherichia coli mutator gene, mutT, has been shown by P1-mediated crosses to map between the leucine and azide loci. The mutT1 and azi-r alleles cotransduce with a frequency of >92%. In mutT1/mutT+ merodiploids, the mutT1 phenotype is recessive; in mutT1/F′trp or mutT1/F′lac merodiploids, the mutT1 allele has a trans effect. The gene can mutate λ and T7 phage but not T1, T3, T4, T5, and S13.
Subinertial variability in the deep ocean near the East Pacific Rise between 9° and 10°N

[1] The subinertial variability of deep-ocean currents near the crest of the East Pacific Rise in the tropical East Pacific is examined using observations from a collection of moored instruments augmented with sea-surface height data. The moored velocity observations reveal low-frequency currents with characteristic time scales of 1–3 months and maximum speeds up to 10 cm/s. Directly over the ridge axis, the subinertial motions are dominated by the along-axial (meridional) velocities, which are coherent in phase and amplitude along the entire length of the ridge segment between 9°and 10°N. With increasing distance from the ridge crest the low-frequency currents become weaker and less dominated by the along-axial flow component. Lag-correlations between the velocity records indicate westward signal propagation with a speed on the same order as the speed of westward-propagating sea-surface height anomalies, which are also associated with characteristic time scales of 1–3 months. As, furthermore, the subinertial velocities at depth are significantly correlated with geostrophic near-surface currents estimated from sea-surface height data, we conclude that the subinertial velocity field near the EPR crest is mainly a superposition of velocities associated with eddies propagating westward across the ridge and “topographic flows”, such as trapped waves and boundary currents.
A Review of “Photography A Critical Introduction Fourth Edition”

Many primary texts in postmodern theory—particularly the works of such European thinkers as Benjamin, Barthes, Baudrillard, Foucault, Lyotard, et al.—prove forbidingly difficult for the first-time ...
Hierarchical waveform matching: a new feature-based stereo technique

A feature-based stereo matching system that is based on an algorithm for one-dimensional waveform matching is described. It is intended for use in automated cartography, to generate an accurate three-dimensional model of man-made structures and natural terrain. Each epipolar line in the stereo pair is represented as a one-dimensional intensity waveform. The waveform is described as a collection of features, such as peaks and valleys, and represented across a set of hierarchical levels, computed by approximation from the original waveform. These features are matched using an evaluation function that factors similarity of waveform shape, intensity, and symbolic feature description. Waveform matches at coarse resolution are used to constrain matches at finer levels. Intra/inter-scanline corrections are applied and the actual position of the stereo match is adjusted by using the gradient representation of the original waveform. Some representative results are presented for a complex urban scene. >
A Culturally Adapted Telecommunication System to Improve Physical Activity, Diet Quality, and Medication Adherence Among Hypertensive African–Americans: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Hypertension is more prevalent and clinically severe among African–Americans than whites. Several health behaviors influence blood pressure (BP) control, but effective, accessible, culturally sensitive interventions that target multiple behaviors are lacking.
P-002 Carotid stenting in acute stroke

Background and Purpose Acute ischemic stroke due to extracranial carotid occlusion can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. It is unclear whether acute endovascular stenting of the carotid artery is efficacious and useful in improving overall outcomes. Previous and on-going thrombectomy studies have generally evaluated intracranial occlusions. We undertook this study to determine if acute carotid artery stenting can lead to successful revascularization and good clinical outcomes in this population with acute ischemic strokes at our institution. Methods A retrospective review of all acute cervical ICA occlusions treated within 8 h of time last seen normal time was performed. 12 patients were treated between May 2008 and March 2010. Records were reviewed for an NIHSS before stent placement, and clinical outcome was determined via NIHSS and mRS at discharge, and at 60–90 days. All imaging and angiographic data were also reviewed to analyze preprocedural ischemic volumes, tandem occlusions, pre and post procedural TICI reperfusion scores, and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (defined by radiographic evidence of hemorrhage and a decline in NIHSS by >4 points). Results 12 patients with a mean age of 69 (range 55–88) and a median NIHSS of 16 (range 12–23) were identified. Nine patients had tandem lesions with cervical occlusion and intracranial thrombus. The cervical occlusions were due to atherosclerosis (10 patients) or dissection (2 patients). All patients had initial stent placement followed by the use of an approved thrombectomy device to treat intracranial thrombus in the nine patients with intracranial thrombus. 11 of the 12 patients (92%) were successfully revascularized (TICI 2A or better). One patient was lost to follow-up. Following revascularization there were two patients with symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage. Four of the remaining 11 patients (36%) had a mRS of 3 was 74 (range 55–88). The median initial NIHSS of patients with a mRS of 3 was 17. Conclusion Emergent carotid stenting for acute ICA occlusion has a high rate of revascularization in our cohort of patients and may improve outcomes in a select group of patients with acute ischemic stroke. Patients who were younger and had lower initial NIHSS appear to have more favorable outcomes.
Rock varnish evidence for latest Pleistocene millennial-scale wet events in the drylands of western United States

Rock varnish from late to latest Pleistocene geomorphic features in the drylands of the western U.S. provides evidence of nine millennial-scale wet events from 11,500–18,000 calendar yr B.P., represented by regionally replicable and approximately evenly spaced manganese- and barium-rich dark bands in varnish microstratigraphy. Preliminary radiometric age calibration indicates that these events appear to be broadly coeval with millennial-scale cooling events identified in the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP2) ice core record. Six of these wet events are associated with the cold intervals of the Younger Dryas and Heinrich event H1, and the other three with the short-lived cooling phases of the Intra-Allerod Cold Period, the Older Dryas, and the Oldest Dryas. These results, combined with our previous documentation of millennial-scale wet events in the Holocene varnish record for the same region, indicate that such wet oscillations in the western U.S. may be parts of regionally widespread manifestation of well-documented, pervasive millennial-scale cycles of the North Atlantic climate.
Neglected voices: consumers with serious mental illness speak about intensive case management.

This study explores early alliance formation between adult consumers with schizophrenic-spectrum disorders and their case managers from the consumers’ perspectives using a prospective, cohort design. While quantitative studies have demonstrated positive links between the alliance and some client outcomes, such methods cannot reveal in concrete and authentic ways what consumers want in the case management relationship. This study finds that consumers can provide tangible and insightful information about the specifics of their case management relationships, confirming previous findings about the desire for connection with others, while extending it to include the desire for connection to the social world through the case manager relationship.
High-resolution NMR of anisotropic samples with spinning away from the magic angle

High-resolution NMR of samples in the solid state is typically performed under mechanical sample spinning around an axis that makes an angle, called the magic angle, of 54.7 degrees with the static magnetic field. There are many cases in which geometrical and engineering constraints prevent spinning at this specific angle. Implementations of in-situ and ex-situ magic angle field spinning might be extremely demanding because of the power requirements or an inconvenient sample size or geometry. Here we present a methodology based on switched angle spinning between two angles, none of which is the magic angle, which provide both isotropic and anisotropic information. Using this method, named Projected Magic Angle Spinning, we were able to obtain resolved isotropic chemical shifts in spinning samples where the broadening is mostly inhomogeneous.
Scientific components are coming

Reliability is even more of an issue for scientific programmers than it is for other programmers. Since the correctness of a program is relative to its specification, the greatest difficulty of scientific programming is that the specification for a program is almost always an abstract mathematical or physical statement, not something specific. The way scientific programmers most frequently verify that their programs are correct is to examine their results on a series of problems that have known solutions. Since the program must be prepared to solve a general problem, it produces only an approximate answer to a specific problem. It takes judgment to decide whether the program is operating correctly-that is, if the differences between the actual and desired answer are a result of numerical noise, the approximations chosen, inaccurate models of physical properties, or actual coding errors. Many bugs are indistinguishable from errors in modeling or deficiencies in numerical techniques. At worst, a bug may cause us to make an erroneous decision to revise a model or abandon a certain approach. At best, bugs can be found only through considerable effort. Scientists are slowly coming to appreciate the merits of OO languages, unit testing, sophisticated source control systems, and other modern techniques. From a scientist's perspective, the most important thing about reusing a component is not the time saved, but the reliability gained.
Petrogenesis of Archean lamprophyres in the southern Vermilion Granitic Complex, northeastern Minnesota, with implications for the nature of their mantle source

Petrogenetic modeling of major and trace element and isotopic data is used: 1. to define probable modes of petrogenesis of Archean spessartitic lamprophyric rocks in the southern portion of the Vermilion Granitic Complex (VGC) of northeastern Minnesota, and 2. to place constraints on the nature of the mantle source of these rocks. The lamprophyres range from olto qtz-normative and are associated with cumulate hornblendites and pyroxenites. The silica-rich lamprophyres are shown to be the result of low-pressure fractionation upon emplacement. On the other hand, the composition range of the ol-normative lamprophyres is explained by approximately 40% polybaric fractionation of elinopyroxene + olivine yielding ne-normative liquids. The fractionation explains low Cr, Ni and Sc concentrations compared to primary mantle-derived melts. Modeling of the lamprophyre MgO−FeO compositions using the olivine saturation surface (Hanson and Langmuir 1978) suggests that the 0.42 to 0.55 Mg/(Mg+Fe) ratios of most of the lamprophyres can be explained by the high-pressure fractionation. The model parent melt composition is similar to sanukitoid-type rocks found in Japan and elsewhere in the Superior Province. The lamprophyres have e Nd 2700 values of +1.4 to +2.0, indicating derivation from a depleted mantle source. Growth curves on an e Nd vs. age diagram are consistent with the extraction of the lamprophyres from a depleted source (Sm/Nd>chondrite) just prior to 2700 Ma, the accepted age of the VGC. The lamprophyres have fractionated REE patterns (Ce/Ybn=10–15) that indicate genesis by a) 1% to 3% fusion of a pristine garnet lherzolite or b) ∼10% fusion of an enriched mantle source. However, consideration of the pressure of melting and elemental plots of Al and Ti indicate that garnet was not a residual phase during lamprophyre genesis. Thus, the enrichment of the LREE (80–100 x chondrite), Sr (580–1400 ppm), and Ba (590–1600 ppm) indicate derivation from an enriched mantle. These apparently contradictory chemical characteristics can be reconciled if the source region of the lamprophyres was depleted over a period of time but subsequently enriched just prior to genesis of the lamprophyre magmas. It is suggested that the source of the enriched component may have been fluids derived from dehydration of a subducting ocean crust.
Characterization of natural pyrolusite by electron microscopy

A manganese-bearing mineral characterized by a black hair-like surface crystal growth, and somewhat unique to the Socorro County, New Mexico Area, has been referred to as psilomelane or pseudo-pyrolusite. X-ray diffraction measurements indicated the structure to be the tetragonal (a=4.42 A, c=2.87A) MnO2 (pyrolusite) structure; with α-Mn enrichment. Detailed examinations of the mineral specimens made in the scanning and transmission electron microscopes showed the fiber crystals to be pseudo-fluted as a result of an apparent stacking of long needles to form continuous single-crystral bundles oriented along the x-axis These crystals were shown by selected-area electron diffraction to be composed of extended superstructure cells, and these to be commposed of as many as 10 MnO2 unit cells stacked along the x-axis; interrupted by a stacking fault shear of the basic MnO2 lattice resulting in stacking faults. Individual whisker crystals were observed to be terminated by crystallographic facets which is indicative of solution growth expected on considering their geological and mineralogical environment.
Covert Hepatic Encephalopathy: Not as Minimal as You Might Think

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a serious neuropsychiatric and neurocognitive complication of acute and chronic liver disease. Symptoms are often overt (confusion, disorientation, ataxia, or coma) but can also be subtle (difficulty with cognitive abilities such as executive decision-making and psychomotor speed). There is consensus that HE is characterized as a spectrum of neuropsychiatric symptoms in the absence of brain disease, ranging from overt HE (OHE) to minimal HE (MHE). The West Haven Criteria are most often used to grade HE, with scores ranging from 0–4 (4 being coma). However, it is a challenge to diagnose patients with MHE or grade 1 HE; it might be practical to combine these entities and name them covert HE for clinical use. The severity of HE is associated with the stage of liver disease. Although the pathologic mechanisms of HE are not well understood, they are believed to involve increased levels of ammonia and inflammation, which lead to low-grade cerebral edema. A diagnosis of MHE requires dedicated psychometric tests and neurophysiological techniques rather than a simple clinical assessment. Although these tests can be difficult to perform in practice, they are cost effective and important; the disorder affects patients' quality of life, socioeconomic status, and driving ability and increases their risk for falls and the development of OHE. Patients with MHE are first managed by excluding other causes of neurocognitive dysfunction. Therapy with gut-specific agents might be effective. We review management strategies and important areas of research for MHE and covert HE.