cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Self-healing liquid metal composite for reconfigurable and recyclable soft electronics

Soft electronics and robotics are in increasing demand for diverse applications. However, soft devices typically lack rigid enclosures which can increase their susceptibility to damage and lead to failure and premature disposal. This creates a need for soft and stretchable functional materials with resilient and regenerative properties. Here we show a liquid metal-elastomer-plasticizer composite for soft electronics with robust circuitry that is self-healing, reconfigurable, and ultimately recyclable. This is achieved through an embossing technique for on-demand formation of conductive liquid metal networks which can be reprocessed to rewire or completely recycle the soft electronic composite. These skin-like electronics stretch to 1200% strain with minimal change in electrical resistance, sustain numerous damage events under load without losing electrical conductivity, and are recycled to generate new devices at the end of life. These soft composites with adaptive liquid metal microstructures can find broad use for soft electronics and robotics with improved lifetime and recyclability. There is growing interest in flexible electronic devices, though their soft nature can make them vulnerable to damage. Here, a liquid metal-elastomer composite is shown to self-heal, can be stretched 1200% with limited change in electrical resistance, and the conductive circuit can be reconfigured.
Pandemics, Perception, and Risk

This chapter argues that intersectional attitudes rhetorically influence perceptions of risk in disease outbreaks in the United States. Our examination of media reporting during the 2016 Zika epidemic reveals how public reaction to those outbreaks was manipulated through reification of socially constructed narratives of race, gender and class. Using intersectionality as a theoretical lens offers a means of understanding how public perception of the risks of contracting Zika was downplayed by a variety of media frames that reinforced white, male hegemonic views of pregnancy and motherhood. The concerns of white, privileged women were both ridiculed and oversimplified, while the most likely victims of Zika--non-white, lower-income women--were “symbolically annihilated” and subject to erasure. Although the risk of contracting Zika has diminished significantly since 2016, the paper concludes that the framing of risk during Zika can begin to explain the reluctance of a significant proportion of the population to take seriously the risk of COVID-19.
A “Dummy Corpse Full of Bones and Entrails”: Staging Dismemberment in the Early Modern Playhouse

Decapitated heads, dismembered hands, severed legs, detached noses, castrated tongues, false eyes, and even a cleaved heart are listed as stage directions in early modern plays. Scholarship has largely focused on how the fragmented body is reducible to a moveable physical object, exploring the relationship between part and whole, self and Other, and subject and object, but has yet to explore the materiality of the disarticulated prop itself. This chapter traces the materiality of these dismembered body parts in humoral terms, first outlining how severed body parts were constructed, and then considering their humoral agency on stage. The materials used to stage dismemberment—wax, straw, wood, and paint—were imbued with humoral attributes that had an impact on the body of the actor in the theater.
Progress in Range Improvement

Publisher Summary This chapter presents developments in the field of range management, emphasizing its importance, and showing progress of research. Management of ranges or pastures refers to the manner in which livestock is handled on grazing lands. In specific, it can be defined as the science and art of planning and directing range use so as to obtain maximum livestock production consistent with conservation of range resources. It is observed that proper range management assumes many specific aspects. It includes adequate development and wise use of improved range lands. It also requires revegetation of depleted areas, establishment of sown or reseeded pastures, and construction of adequate facilities for retaining, spreading, and impounding water. It provides control of troublesome plant, insect, and animal pests and fire. Range management requires appropriate attention to all phases of animal husbandry, including the best class of livestock during proper seasons and the integrated use of growing and harvested feeds as well as minerals and other supplements.
Calculated high frequency performance of an npn Si/sub 1-x/Ge/sub x/ HBT

The authors calculate the performance of an Si/sub 1-x/Ge/sub x//Si HBT (heterojunction bipolar transistor), including effects of major importance such as bandgap narrowing and collector high injection. A description of the mobility model used is included. The results indicate that very high performance is achievable in these devices, particularly with respect to figures of merit such as f/sub max/, which are strongly influenced by the base resistance. For devices with 1- mu m geometry, the authors predict f/sub max/=81 GHz and f/sub T/=71 GHz. Such devices should also offer excellent performance in digital circuits in which low base resistance is essential. >
What Makes Companies Behave? An Analysis of Criminal and Civil Penalties Under Environmental Law

This analysis examines civil and criminal actions against companies and their employees. Using data on all EPA federal regulatory actions against US companies for violations of environmental law from 1970 to 1997, a nonparametric approach is employed to estimate recidivism probabilities and impacts of various types of regulatory actions. The analysis suggests that, at current monetary fine levels, civil lawsuits against firms are not more effective at reducing repeat offenses (recidivism) than administrative actions which carry much lower fines. In contrast, criminal lawsuits signifcantly reduce recidivism. There is also evidence of a dynamic liability effect where civil lawsuits against companies with one or more priors carry higher fines and signifcantly reduce recidivism. Since traditional models are not equipped to address such issues, a model of company behavior under regulation is presented. Downward pressure on the level of the regulated activity emerge due to; risk asymmetry between owner and manager, legal liability, and limited contracting. In particular, limits on owners' ability to contract with employees in the event of criminal action may serve as an explanation for the apparent power of such enforcement over future company behavior. Several models of regulator behavior and their implications for regulatory effectiveness are also considered.
ANALYSIS OF NEUROMUSCULAR DISORDERS IN POLIOMYELITIS

The chief disorders resulting from infantile paralysis have been considered in this paper. The principal and most crippling symptoms are muscle paralysis and paresis. This is the result of lesions of the anterior-horn cells. In the affected muscles, neuromuscular degeneration can be accurately determined by chronaxia. The degree and the extent of the injury are evaluated by this test; this aids in the diagnosis and the prognosis. Inflammation of the sensory protoneurons is not necessarily found at exactly the same level as the injuries to the anterior-horn cells. Therefore, pain and tenderness of muscles are found in non-paralyzed as well as in affected muscles. Pain might be explained as a referred pain which is usually increased by the stretching of the muscles. The Kenny concept is fundamentally different. Three cardinal symptoms are described,—muscle "spasm", "mental alienation", and "incoordination". To test this concept, a series of investigations have been carried out, since obviously a clear understanding of the symptoms is of great importance for the diagnosis, the prognosis, and the treatment of any disease. The various parts of the concept have been considered. 1. "Spasm" is not "the most damaging symptom of the disease"; it is a complex and ill-defined phenomenon, under which several different conditions are included. "Spasm" does not lead to neuromuscular degeneration. 2. In paralytic and paretic muscles called "alienated", our observations showed that there was always some degree of neuromuscular degeneration. Among these muscles, some were partially denervated; these have a good chance to recover. Some others were totally denervated, and, therefore, will not recover. 3. There is no clinical evidence of "incoordination" in the ordinary sense. The patient attempts voluntarily or involuntarily to use a stronger muscle for a weak or paralyzed one. This abnormal use of an extremity is substitution and not "incoordination".
When the State Speaks, What Should it Say? Freedom of Expression and Democratic Persuasion

Hate groups are often thought to reveal a paradox in liberal thinking. On the one hand, such groups challenge the very foundations of liberal thought, including core values of equality and autonomy. On the other hand, these same values underlie the rights such as freedom of expression and association that protect hate groups. Thus a liberal democratic state that extends those protections to such groups in the name of value neutrality and freedom of expression may be thought to be undermining the values on which its legitimacy rests. In this paper, I suggest how this apparent paradox might be resolved. I argue that the state should protect the expression of illiberal beliefs, but that the state (along with its citizens) is also obligated to criticize publicly those beliefs. Distinguishing between two kinds of state action - coercive and expressive - I contend that such criticism should be pursued through the state's expressive capacities in its roles as speaker, educator, and spender. Here I extend the familiar idea that law, to be legitimate, must be widely publicized; I contend that a proper theory of the freedom of expression obligates the legitimate state to publicize the reasons that underlie rights, in particular reasons that appeal to the entitlement of each citizen subject to coercion to be treated as free and equal. My theory of freedom of expression is thus “expressive” in two senses: it protects the entitlement of citizens to express any political viewpoint, and it emphasizes a role for the state in explaining these free-speech protections and persuading its citizens of the value of the entitlements that underlie them.
Hierarchical mixed-order tangential vector finite elements for tetrahedra

The finite element method-boundary integral method (FE-BI) is known to be very accurate when analyzing antennas with fine geometrical details. A set of hierarchical mixed-order tangential vector finite elements (TVFE) up to and including order 2.5 is implemented for the tetrahedral elements using an exact FE-BI formulation. A simple patch antenna problem was considered to test the accuracy of the mixed order elements. S/sub 11/ at the input port is calculated and compared with reference data. The effects of using lower and higher order hierarchical mixed-order TVFE selectively were also investigated.
Sympatric speciation in phytophagous insects: moving beyond controversy?

▪ Abstract Sympatric speciation is the splitting of one evolutionary lineage into two without the occurrence of geographic isolation. The concept has been intimately tied to entomology since the 1860s, when Benjamin Walsh proposed that many host-specific phytophagous insects originate by shifting and adapting to new host plant species. If true, sympatric speciation would have tremendous implications for our understanding of species and their origins, biodiversity (25–40% of all animals are thought to be phytophagous specialists), insect-plant coevolution, community ecology, phylogenetics, and systematics, as well as practical significance for the management of insect pests. During much of the twentieth century sympatric speciation was viewed as much less plausible than geographic (allopatric) speciation. However, empirical field studies, laboratory experiments, developments in population genetics theory, and phylogenetic and biogeographic data have all recently combined to shed a more favorable light on t...
Individual Cerebellar Purkinje Cells Express Different cGMP Phosphodiesterases (PDEs): In Vivo Phosphorylation of cGMP-Specific PDE (PDE5) as an Indicator of cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) Activation

The nitric oxide (NO)-cGMP pathway has been implicated as playing a crucial role in the induction of cerebellar long-term depression (LTD). The amplitude and duration of the cGMP signal is controlled by cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs). Here we identify PDE5 and PDE1B as the two major cGMP-hydrolyzing PDEs specifically and differentially expressed in the Purkinje neurons of mouse cerebellum. PDE5 was found in all Purkinje neurons, whereas PDE1B was detected only in a subset of these cells, suggesting that individual Purkinje cells may differentially regulate cGMP, depending on the PDE isozymes expressed. Although expression of guanylate cyclase and/or cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) in Purkinje cells have been reported, neither cGMP accumulation nor PKG activation in these cells in vivo has been demonstrated. To determine if changes in PKG activation and PDE5 regulation occur in vivo we have examined the phosphorylation of PDE5 in mouse cerebellar Purkinje cells by immunocytochemistry and Western blot analyses using a phosphospecific PDE5 antibody. Injection of sodium nitroprusside or selective PKG activators into the lateral ventricle of mouse brain induced PDE5 phosphorylation in vivo, but was completely missing in Purkinje cell-specific PKG I knock-out mice. In cerebellar slices, treatment with sildenafil or IBMX led to different levels of phospho-PDE5 accumulation and activation of PDE5. These results suggest that phosphorylation of PDE5 in Purkinje neurons after cGMP-PKG activation performs a critical role in the termination of the cGMP signal during LTD progression; moreover, PDE5 phosphorylation may be used as an in vivo indicator for PKG activation.
Toward a better raft model: modulated phases in the four-component bilayer, DSPC/DOPC/POPC/CHOL.

The liquid-liquid (Ld + Lo) coexistence region within a distearoyl-phosphatidylcholine/dioleoyl-phosphatidylcholine/palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine/cholesterol (DSPC/DOPC/POPC/CHOL) mixture displays a nanoscopic-to-macroscopic transition of phase domains as POPC is replaced by DOPC. Previously, we showed that the transition goes through a modulated phase regime during this replacement, in which patterned liquid phase morphologies are observed on giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). Here, we describe a more detailed investigation of the modulated phase regime along two different thermodynamic tielines within the Ld + Lo region of this four-component mixture. Using fluorescence microscopy of GUVs, we found that the modulated phase regime occurs at relatively narrow DOPC/(DOPC+POPC) ratios. This modulated phase window shifts to higher values of DOPC/(DOPC+POPC) when CHOL concentration is increased, and coexisting phases become closer in properties. Monte Carlo simulations reproduced the patterns observed on GUVs, using a competing interactions model of line tension and curvature energies. Sufficiently low line tension and high bending moduli are required to generate stable modulated phases. Altogether, our studies indicate that by tuning the lipid composition, both the domain size and morphology can be altered drastically within a narrow composition space. This lends insight into a possible mechanism whereby cells can reorganize plasma membrane compartmentalization simply by tuning the local membrane composition or line tension.
Sediment-water exchange of Mn, Fe, Ni and Zn in Galveston Bay, Texas

In-situ benthic flux studies were conducted at three stations in Upper Galveston Bay twice during March 1996 to directly measure release rates of dissolved Mn, Fe, Ni and Zn from the sediments. Results showed reproducible increases with time in both replicate light and light–dark benthic chambers, resulting in average fluxes of −1200±780, −17±12, −1.6±0.6 and −2.4±0.79 μmol m−2 day−1 for Mn, Fe, Ni and Zn, respectively. Sediment cores collected during 1994–1996 showed that surficial pore water concentrations were elevated compared to overlying water column concentrations, suggesting diffusive release from the sediments. Diffusive flux estimates of Mn and Zn agreed in direction with chamber fluxes measured on the same date, but only accounted for 5–38% of the measured flux. Diffusive fluxes of Fe agreed with measured fluxes at the near Trinity River station but overestimated actual release in the mid and outer Trinity Bay regions, possibly due to inaccurate determination of the Fe pore water gradients or rapid oxidation processes in the overlying water at these stations. In general, measured fluxes of Mn and Ni were higher in the mid Trinity Bay region and suggested a mechanism for the elevated trace metal concentrations previously reported for this region of Galveston Bay. However, the fluxes of Fe were highest in close proximity to the Trinity River, supporting the elevated Fe concentrations measured in this region during this and other studies, and decreased towards middle and outer Trinity Bay. Trace metal turnover times were between 0.1 and 1.2 days for Mn, between 1.3 and 4.6 days for Fe, and between 27 and 100 days for Ni and 12–20 days Zn, and were considerably shorter than the average Trinity Bay water residence time (1.5 years) for this period. Comparing area averaged benthic inputs to Trinity River inputs shows the sediments to be a significant source of trace metals to Galveston Bay. However, while benthic inputs of trace metals were measured, water column concentrations remained low despite rapid turnover times for Mn and Fe, suggesting removal of these metals from the water column after release from the sediments.
The short physical performance battery as a predictor for long term disability or institutionalization in the community dwelling population aged 65 years old or older

AbstractBackground: The short physical performance battery (SPPB) is a physical performance measure that has been used to predict long term disability and/or future institutionalization in adults aged 65 years old or older. The test involves three dedicated physical performance activities, scored from 0 to 4, with a summated score of 12. Higher scores reflect higher levels of function.Objectives: The purpose of this systematic literature review was to investigate the ability of the SPPB to predict long term disability or future institutionalization in community dwellers aged 65 years old or older living in the United States.Methods: This review used the search engines PubMed, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library, and investigated all articles that studied the SPPB as a predictor of either long term disability or future institutionalization. Studies were included if each incorporated the SPPB, involved a community dwelling population, was written in English, was a longitudinal trial, and reported on functional...
Modulation of hand aperture during reaching in persons with incomplete cervical spinal cord injury

The intact neuromotor system prepares for object grasp by first opening the hand to an aperture that is scaled according to object size and then closing the hand around the object. After cervical spinal cord injury (SCI), hand function is significantly impaired, but the degree to which object-specific hand aperture scaling is affected remains unknown. Here, we hypothesized that persons with incomplete cervical SCI have a reduced maximum hand opening capacity but exhibit novel neuromuscular coordination strategies that permit object-specific hand aperture scaling during reaching. To test this hypothesis, we measured hand kinematics and surface electromyography from seven muscles of the hand and wrist during attempts at maximum hand opening as well as reaching for four balls of different diameters. Our results showed that persons with SCI exhibited significantly reduced maximum hand aperture compared to able-bodied (AB) controls. However, persons with SCI preserved the ability to scale peak hand aperture with ball size during reaching. Persons with SCI also used distinct muscle coordination patterns that included increased co-activity of flexors and extensors at the wrist and hand compared to AB controls. These results suggest that motor planning for aperture modulation is preserved even though execution is limited by constraints on hand opening capacity and altered muscle co-activity. Thus, persons with incomplete cervical SCI may benefit from rehabilitation aimed at increasing hand opening capacity and reducing flexor-extensor co-activity at the wrist and hand.
Quality evaluation of health answers in social Q&A: Socio-emotional support and evaluation criteria

The quality of health information shared in the context of social and emotional support is of critical concern, but little is known about the quality of health information in community contexts and about socio-emotional factors that impact evaluation of the quality of health information. This poster reports on a study of the quality of health answers in social Q&A sites, focusing on the socio-emotional reactions of and evaluation criteria discussed by three groups of evaluators: librarians, nurses, and site users. Forty participants from each group evaluated 10 answers each drawn from the Health categories of Yahoo! Answers. Results from qualitative analysis of responses to open-ended questions identified five common expressed emotions: fear or concern, confidence (or lack thereof), surprise, trust, and empathy. Five evaluation criteria and indicators were also identified: sources, subjectivity, style, completeness, and accuracy. Our results illuminate key differences in social and emotional factors across the three groups and the need for appropriate balance in educational efforts for evaluation of and the provision of health information.
Accuracy of administrative data in trauma: splenic injuries as an example.

Background: Accurate data are needed to evaluate clinical outcomes, therapeutic modalities, and quality of care in trauma. Administrative data, usually used for billing, have been used to evaluate performance and assess therapy in other medical specialties. This study was performed to determine whether administrative databases are accurate in the recording of information about trauma patients with splenic injuries. Methods: Patients who had blunt splenic injuries were identified using a state trauma registry. The medical records of those patients were reviewed. The data collected by chart review were compared with data in the statewide administrative database of patients who had splenic injuries at the same four Level I and II trauma centers in the same 5-year period. Age, sex, admission date, and hospital were matched to assure comparison of the identical cohort. X 2 analysis was used to compare dichotomous data and Student's t test continuous data. Results: The administrative database identified 641 and the trauma registry identified 529 patients with a diagnosis of splenic injury. A total of 401 patients were found in both databases. Of these, 120 (22.7%) patients were not recorded in the administrative database. Injury Severity Score was underreported by the administrative database (25.74 ± 14.7 vs. 19.52 ± 11, p < 0.0001). The administrative database underreported orthopedic, chest, and head injuries (317 vs. 215, 325 vs. 228, and 234 vs. 155, respectively; all p < 0.0001). Use of abdominal computed tomographic scan and diagnostic peritoneal lavage were also underreported (260 vs. 56 and 104 vs. 17, both p < 0.0001). The number of operations on the spleen and number of orthopedic procedures were underreported (259 vs. 225, p < 0.014 and 147 vs. 94, p < 0.0001). Complications were markedly underreported by the administrative database (200 vs. 47, p < 0.0001) Conclusion: This study shows that administrative data lack accuracy in the recording of associated injuries, injury severity, diagnostics, procedures, and outcomes data in patients with splenic injuries. Whether these data should be used to evaluate treatment modalities or quality of care in trauma is questionable.
Glucose tolerance and plasma lipid distributions in rats fed a high-sucrose, high-cholesterol, low-chromium diet.

Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either a low-chromium (60 to 100 μg per kg of diet) or chromium-supplemented (5 mg per kg of diet), high-sucrose, high-cholesterol diet from weaning until age 18 months. Rats that were pair- and meal-fed the low-chromium diet had higher one-hour postprandial plasma glucose concentrations that their supplemented partners at ages 4 and 8 months (P < 0.05), but not at age 12 months. One-hour postgavage (250 mg glucose/100 g body wt) glucose concentrations did not differ between dietary groups at 12 months. Plasma cholesterol concentrations increased up to age 12 months, but neither they nor postprandial triglyceride concentrations differed significantly between dietary groups. Ad libitum feeding of the low-chromium and chromium-supplemented diets was initiated at age 14 months in order to determine whether there were differences due to dietary chromium content which might not be manifest on the pair-feeding regimen. Animals of both dietary groups had significant weight gains by age 16 months, but their one-hour postgavage plasma glucose concentrations did not differ significantly. Plasma cholesterol concentrations increased significantly following institution of ad libitum feedings, but neither they nor lipoprotein cholesterol or triglyceride distributions differed significantly between dietary groups. Experimental conditions, methods, and results from this study and previous studies are compared and critically examined. We suggest that other factors in addition to dietary chromium content may contribute to the differences in glucose tolerance and plasma cholesterol concentrations described in such studies and that there is a need for improved documentation of glucose intolerance and tissue chromium concentrations in this animal model.
Recent Developments in Braid and Link Theory

This article is about the theory of braids and the geometry of links in the 3-sphere and new interconnections between them. We are particularly interested in the family of polynomial invariants of link type discovered by Vaughan Jones in 1984 and its recent generalizations.
Relationship of left atrial volume to pulmonary artery and wedge pressures in mitral stenosis.

The significance of left atrial volume has been studied in 20 consecutive patients with mitral stenosis. Cardiac catheterization was performed and resting pressures in the right atrium, right ventricle, and pulmonary artery, as well as wedge pressure, were determined. Angiocardiography was performed immediately after cardiac catheterization. On the basis of these data the relationship between the estimated left atrial volume and these pressures is stated.
CHANGES IN PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE HIGH-Tc SUPERCONDUCTOR Y-Ba-Cu-O DUE TO Cu DEFICIENCY

Stoichiometry of the well-known high-Tc compound YBa2Cu3Oy is modified by varying the Cu concentration in the system, and changes in the oxygen content and superconducting properties are investigated. The oxygen content shows a nonlinear dependence on the Cu concentration. For Cu deficiency up to 20%, the transition temperature Tc remains at a nearly constant value of 93 K. X-ray diffraction measurements show that the compound is orthorhombic in this range of stoichiometric variation, and the Cu-deficient superconductor is single phase. The room temperature resistivity increases exponentially while the critical current density decreases exponentially with increasing Cu deficiency. These results indicate that the predominant mechanism for high-Tc superconductivity is closely related to the local structure around the Cu and O atoms.
Temperature and spectral dependence of the nonlinear index of ruby via nondegenerate two-wave mixing

Abstract We have studied the nonlinear index of refraction of pink ruby between 565 nm and 610 nm using nondegenerate two-wave mixing at 77 K and 294 K. Our new results support the model originally proposed by Venkatesan and McCall based on the large cross section of the transition from the Kramers doublets to the charge transfer band. In addition, we show that two-wave mixing can be used for accurate determination of the 2 E lifetime under conditions where radiation trapping makes fluorescence decay measurements difficult.
Anomalous behaviour of an allyl alcohol in reaction with iron pentacarbonyl

Abstract [(6,7,8,9-η)-Bicyclo[3.2.2]nona-2,6,8-trien-4-ol]tricabonyliron (6) rearranges in the presence of Fe(CO)5 to [(2,3,6,7-η)-bicyclo[3.2.2]nona-2,6,8-trien-4-one] tricarbonyliron (7); rather than [(6,7,8,9-η)-bicyclo-[3.2.2]nona-6,8-dien-2-one] tricarbonyliron (9), the product expected on the basis of known organoiron chemistry and previously proposed mechanisms. The starting material 6 is stable in the absence of Fe(CO)5, which leads to the conclusion that some iron-containing species derived from fe(CO)5 is responsible for bringing about rearrangement. Since the usual mechanism for iron carbonyl-induced rearrangement in olefins cannot be operating here, a mechanism involving an ion pair with [HFe(CO)4]- is suggested.
An analysis of the need for anesthetic interventions with differing concentrations of labor epidural bupivacaine: an observational study.

Background Labor epidural analgesia techniques using lower concentrations of bupivacaine are designed to maintain pain control with fewer side effects such as hypotension and motor block. However, the increase in sensation may allow breakthrough pain resulting in the need for additional interventions. We examined the number of interventions, both for analgesia and for treatment of side effects, required when using three concentrations of bupivacaine. Methods Retrospective observational investigation examining 4493 women who received epidural analgesia during two periods. In the first period, higher concentrations of bupivacaine were used (0.125% and 0.0625%, both with fentanyl 2 μg/mL). In the second period, a very low concentration was used (0.04% plus fentanyl 1.7 μg/mL and epinephrine 1.7 μg/mL). Outcomes were compared using univariate tests, and multivariate Poisson regression was used to identify independent factors influencing interventions. Results The frequencies of interventions were similar for women receiving bupivacaine concentrations of 0.04% (1.4±2.0) and 0.125% (1.5±2.0), while women receiving the 0.0625% solution required more interventions (1.8±2.3; P P P Conclusions Neither the total interventions nor intervention rate per hour varied significantly with the concentrations of bupivacaine used in this study. Lower concentrations produced fewer side effects including hypotension, while the higher concentration resulted in less breakthrough pain.
Challenges faced by research ethics committees in El Salvador: results from a focus group study.

Objective: To identify perceived barriers to capacity building for local research ethics oversight in El Salvador, and to set an agenda for international collaborative capacity building. Methods: Focus groups were formed in El Salvador which included 17 local clinical investigators and members of newly formed research ethics committees. Information about the proposed research was presented to participants during an international bioethics colloquium sponsored and organized by the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in collaboration with the National Ethics Committee of El Salvador and the University of El Salvador. Interviews with the focus group participants were qualitatively analyzed. Results: Participants expressed the need to tailor the informed consent process and documentation to the local culture; for example, allowing family members to participate in decision-making, and employing shorter consent forms. Participants indicated that economic barriers often impede efforts in local capacity building. Participants valued international collaboration for mutual capacity building in research ethics oversight. Conclusions: Research ethics committees in El Salvador possess a basic knowledge of locally relevant ethical principles, though they need more training to optimize the application of bioethical principles and models to their particular contexts. Challenges increase the value of collaborative exchanges with ethics committee members in the United States. Further research on facilitating communication between host country and sponsor country ethics committees can maximize local research ethics expertise, and thus raise the standard of protecting human participants involved in international research.
Neuroimaging and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.

The detrimental effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on the developing brain include structural brain anomalies as well as cognitive and behavioral deficits. Initial neuroimaging studies of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirmed previous autopsy reports of overall reduction in brain volume and central nervous system (CNS) disorganization, with specific structural abnormalities of the corpus callosum, cerebellum, caudate, and hippocampus. Advances in neuroimaging techniques have allowed detection of regional increases in cortical thickness and gray matter volume along with decreased volume and disorganization of white matter in individuals with FASD. In addition, functional imaging studies have found functional and neurochemical differences in those prenatally exposed to alcohol. Behavioral alterations noted in individuals with FASD are consistent with the findings noted in the brain imaging studies. Continued neuroimaging studies are needed to further advance understanding of the neuroteratogenic effects of alcohol.
Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Coverage Among Females Aged 11 to 17 in Texas Counties: An Application of Multilevel, Small Area Estimation

Abstract Background Local data are often used to plan and evaluate public health interventions and policy. With increasingly fewer public resources to collect sufficient data to support direct estimation of local outcomes, methods for deriving small area estimates are vital. The purpose of this study is to describe the county-level geographic distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine coverage among adolescent females in Texas using multilevel small area estimation. Methods Multilevel (individual, county, public health region) random-intercept logit models were fit to HPV vaccination data (≥1 dose Gardasil) from the 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Using the parameter estimates from the final model, we simulated 10,000 data sets for each regression coefficient from the normal distribution and applied them to the logit model to estimate HPV vaccine coverage in each county. Results County-level coverage estimates ranged from 7% to 29%, compared with the state average of 18% (95% confidence interval [CI], 13.59–21.88). Many Southwestern border and metropolitan counties exhibited high coverage estimates. Low coverage estimates were noted in the Panhandle, Southeastern border region, and Northeast. Significant correlations were observed between HPV vaccination and Hispanic ethnicity, county poverty, and public health region poverty. Conclusion Harnessing the flexibility of multilevel small area models to estimate HPV vaccine coverage at the county level, we have provided data that may inform the development of health education programs/policies, the provision of health services, and the planning of new research studies. Additionally, we have provided a framework for modeling other health outcomes at the county level using national survey data.
A Potent Polymer/Pyridoxamine Enzyme Mimic

An enzyme mimic consisting of pyridoxamines covalently linked to polyethyleneimine carrying long-chain alkyl groups converts pyruvic acid to dl-alanine with as much as an 8000-fold acceleration relative to the reaction with simple pyridoxamine at the same pyridoxamine concentration. The acceleration by polymer is a strong function of the length of the alkyl chains that are appended. The polymer furnishes acid and base groups to catalyze the proton transfers that are involved in transamination.
Diagnosis of zonal mean relative humidity changes in a warmer climate.

The zonal mean relative humidity response to a doubling of CO2 in a climate model is examined using a global climate model and an offline tracer transport model. Offline tracer transport model simulations are driven by the output from two configurations of the climate model, one with 1979 concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases and one with doubled CO2. A set of last saturation tracers is applied within the tracer transport model to diagnose the dynamics responsible for features in the water vapor field. Two different methods are used to differentiate the effects of circulation and transport shifts from spatially inhomogeneous temperature changes. The first of these uses the tracer transport model and is achieved by decoupling the input temperature and circulation fields; the second uses the reconstruction of humidity from the last saturation tracers and is achieved by decoupling the tracer concentrations from their saturation specific humidities. The responses of the tropical and subtropical relative humidities are found to be largely dependent on circulation and transport changes, particularly a poleward expansion of the Hadley cell, a deepeningof the height of convective detrainment,a poleward shift of the extratropical jets, and an increase in the height of the tropopause. The last saturation tracers are used to illustrate the influence of changes in transport pathways within the GCM on the zonal mean relative humidity, particularly in the tropical upper troposphere and subtropical dry zones. Relative humidity changes near the extratropical tropopause and in the lower troposphere are largely dependent on changes in the distribution and gradients of temperature. Increases in relative humidity near the extratropical tropopause in both hemispheres are coincident with increases in the occurrence of local saturation and high cloud cover.
The nature of interactions that contribute to postzygotic reproductive isolation in hybrid copepods

Deleterious interactions within the genome of hybrids can lower fitness and result in postzygotic reproductive isolation. Understanding the genetic basis of these deleterious interactions, known as Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities, is the subject of intense current study that seeks to elucidate the nature of these deleterious interactions. Hybrids from crosses of individuals from genetically divergent populations of the intertidal copepod Tigriopus californicus provide a useful model in which to study Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities. Studies of the basis of postzygotic reproductive isolation in this species have revealed a number of patterns. First, there is evidence for a breakdown in genomic coadaptation between mtDNA-encoded and nuclear-encoded proteins that can result in a reduction in hybrid fitness in some crosses. It appears from studies of the individual genes involved in these interactions that although this coadaptation could lead to asymmetries between crosses, patterns of genotypic viabilities are not often consistent with simple models of genomic coadaptation. Second, there is a large impact of environmental factors on these deleterious interactions suggesting that they are not strictly intrinsic in nature. Temperature in particular appears to play an important role in determining the nature of these interactions. Finally, deleterious interactions in these hybrid copepods appear to be complex in terms of the number of genetic factors that interact to lead to reductions in hybrid fitness. This complexity may stem from three or more factors that all interact to cause a single incompatibility or the same factor interacting with multiple other factors independently leading to multiple incompatibilities.
How local factors affect the exponents of forced polymer translocation through a nano-pore

Abstract We study polymer translocation through a narrow pore driven by a bias present inside the pore with an aim to compare predictions of the existing theoretical results with those that we obtain using Langevin dynamics simulation in three dimensions(3D). We find that the translocation exponent α ( 〈 τ 〉 ∼ N α ) decreases from 1.35 to 1.2 as the width of the pore is decreased from 1.5 σ to 1.1 σ . The exponent ℵ = 1.2 (extracted from chain lengths up to N = 256 ) not only violates the lower limit 1 + ν proposed by Kantor and Kardar (Y. Kantor and M. Kardar, Phys. Rev. E, 69, 021806 (2004)) earlier but also lower than the more recently proposed lower limit ( 1 + 2 ν ) / ( 1 + ν ) by Vocks et al. (H. Vocks, D. Panja, G. T. Barkema, and R. C. Ball, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 20, 095224 (2008)). We find that the average 〈 R g 〉 calculated during the entire translocation process is dominated by the equilibrium configurations at the cis side and therefore, relatively insensitive to the pore width and approximately described by the equilibrium Flory exponent ν . The velocity of the center of mass of the translocating chain on the contrary exhibits a systematic variation. Therefore, if we assume ( 〈 τ 〉 ∼ 〈 R g 〉 / 〈 v C M 〉 ) , the dependence of 〈 v C M 〉 on the pore width appears to be the primary factor that affects the translocation exponent.
Molecular shock waves in the BN-KL region of Orion

The H2, CO, and OH IR emission-line intensities in the BN-KL region of Orion are modeled by shock waves traveling at 36 km/s with respect to an ambient gas of density 200,000 per cu cm, ionization fraction of less than 3 x 10 to the -7th, CO abundance of approximately 0.0003, and transverse magnetic field of 0.45 milligauss. A global model is considered in which the shock waves are driven by strong winds emanating from KL. The mass-loss rate has been not less than 0.003 solar mass per year for approximately 1000 years. The total wind energy released from the star is not less than 5 x 10 to the 47th ergs. The total ejected momentum is approximately 10 to the 41st g cm/S, sufficient to disrupt the dense cloud surrounding BN-KL.
Product class involvement and purchase intent

While much has been written trying to define product-class involvement, little has been done to explore its impact on marketing tools or models. This study empirically examines the impact of product-class involvement on a cognitive-based model (the cognitive-consistency model). Results suggest that the predictive ability of cognitive-consistency type models will decrease under low product-class involvement.
Fracture of the hamate hook

Twenty-one cases of hamulus fracture are presented. Diagnosis depends on clinical acuity. The most common symptom is pain in the palm that is aggravated by grasp. Weakness of grasp and dorsal wrist pain are also common. Ulnar nerve paresthesia or weakness and mild carpal tunnel syndrome are frequently present. Tenderness directly over the hamulus is always present, and grip strength typically is diminished. Tenosynovitis, tendon fraying, or tendon rupture may be demonstrated in 25% of the cases and is not related to the use of steroids. Lateral trispiral tomography is clearly superior to the other diagnostic methods. Excision produced generally excellent results, particularly in patients with an athletic injury or with no associated additional injury. A nonathletic injury or the presence of associated trauma adversely affected results. Immediate immobilization of acute fractures may result in fracture healing and obviate operative intervention. Open reduction and internal fixation is feasible but offers little advantage over excision.
Random Voting Effects in Social-Digital Spaces: A Case Study of Reddit Post Submissions

At a time when information seekers first turn to digital sources for news and opinion, it is critical that we understand the role that social media plays in human behavior. This is especially true when information consumers also act as information producers and editors by their online activity. In order to better understand the effects that editorial ratings have on online human behavior, we report the results of a large-scale in-vivo experiment in social media. We find that small, random rating manipulations on social media submissions created significant changes in downstream ratings resulting in significantly different final outcomes. Positive treatment resulted in a positive effect that increased the final rating by 11.02% on average. Compared to the control group, positive treatment also increased the probability of reaching a high rating >=2000 by 24.6%. Contrary to the results of related work we also find that negative treatment resulted in a negative effect that decreased the final rating by 5.15% on average.
Disorders of coagulation misdiagnosed as nonaccidental bruising.

Two cases of idiopathic thrombocytopenia and one case of hemophilia with unexplained bruising are presented. The children were all initially thought to be victims of nonaccidental trauma until coagulation disorder screening tests were returned with abnormal values. A review of the literature of similar cases is presented. It is recommended that any child with unexplained or implausible bruising receive a screen for coagulation disorders consisting of a complete blood count with platelet count, prothrombin time, a partial thromboplastin time, and a bleeding times. Language: en
Inactivation of staphylococcal penicillinase by reaction with resistant penicillins.

WHILE studying the kinetics of penicillinase inactivation of various penicillins, it became evident that a penicillinase-susceptible penicillin, such as benzyl-penicillin, behaved differently from resistant penicillins, such as methicillin (2,6-dimethoxyphenyl penicillin) or oxaoillin (5-methyl-3-phenyl-4-isoxazolyl penicillin). (The trade name of Bristol Laboratories, Division of Bristol Myers Co., for methicillin is ‘Staphcillin’ and for oxacillin is ‘Prostaphlin’,) The former was decomposed at a constant rate for the greater part of the reaction while the rate of decomposition of the resistant penicillins progressively decreased and only a small fraction of the penicillin was finally destroyed under the conditions of this experiment.
Immunoglobulin A nephropathy: insights and progress.

D iseases of the kidney filter, the glomerulus, are generally recognized by clinical signs of hematuria and proteinuria. Many of these diseases can progress to cause kidney dysfunction, hypertension, andmultiple complications. In this issue of Translational Research, investigators from northeastern China present data from a large population of individualswith immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) in an effort to evaluate a new pathologic classification and to evaluate other disease markers. IgAN is the most common primary glomerular disease throughout the world, and it contributes significantly to the burden of chronic and end-stage kidney disease. First described in 1968 by Berger and Hinglais, IgAN is defined by predominant immunoglobulin (Ig) A antibody deposition in the glomerular mesangium with associated proliferation. Various populations have been studied, but rates of progressive kidney disease in affected individuals range from 5% to 40%. IgAN usually presents in late childhood or early adulthood, typically asymptomatically as microscopic