cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cigarette stick as valuable communicative real estate: a content analysis of cigarettes from 14 low-income and middle-income countries.

Background The current cigarette market is heavily focused on low-income and middle-income countries. Branding of tobacco products is key to establishing and maintaining a customer base. Greater restrictions on marketing and advertising of tobacco products create an incentive for companies to focus more on branding via the product itself. We consider how tobacco sticks are used for communicative purposes in 14 low-income and middle-income countries with extensive tobacco markets. Methods In 2013, we collected and coded 3232 cigarette and kretek packs that were purchased from vendors in diverse neighbourhoods in 44 cities across the 14 low-income and middle-income countries with the greatest number of smokers. A single stick from each pack was assessed for branding, decorative and communicative elements using a common coding framework. Stick communication variables included brand name, brand image/logo, brand descriptor, colour and design carried through from pack, ‘capsule cigarette’ symbol, and embellishment of filter end. Results Communication and branding on the stick is essentially ubiquitous (99.75%); 97% of sticks include explicit branding (brand name or logo present). Colour is commonly carried through from the pack (95%), and some sticks (13%) include decorative elements matching the pack. Decorative elements can be found anywhere on the stick, including the filter tip (8%), and ‘convertible’ cigarettes include a symbol to show where to push. Conclusions Cigarette sticks are clearly valuable ‘real estate’ that tobacco companies are using for communicative purposes. Across all countries and brands, the stick communicates branding via text, colour and imagery.
Cultural Adaptation of Dialectical Behavior Therapy for a Chinese International Student With Eating Disorder and Depression

Limited information exists on the application of evidence-based treatments for eating disorders among diverse populations. An increasing number of international and immigrant clients provides a pressing need for culturally responsive treatments. This case study highlights an eating disorder treatment that incorporates dialectical behavior therapy and cultural adaptation guidelines. This study explicates a culturally adapted dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) treatment of a 24-year-old female Chinese international student suffering from an eating disorder, depression, and cultural adjustment issues. In particular, this case addresses Chinese cultural values, including conformity, interdependence, and filial piety, and how these values intersect with the client’s presenting issues and treatment. Cultural modifications made to the case conceptualization and dialectical behavior therapy are discussed. The client reported a significant decrease in distress, an increase in the quality of social relationships, a...
Prediction of hERG Liability - Using SVM Classification, Bootstrapping and Jackknifing.

Drug-induced QT prolongation leads to life-threatening cardiotoxicity, mostly through blockage of the human ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG) encoded potassium ion (K+) channels. The hERG channel is one of the most important antitargets to be addressed in the early stage of drug discovery process, in order to avoid more costly failures in the development phase. Using a thallium flux assay, 4,323 molecules were screened for hERG channel inhibition in a quantitative high throughput screening (qHTS) format. Here, we present support vector classification (SVC) models of hERG channel inhibition with the averaged area under the receiver operator characteristics curve (AUC-ROC) of 0.93 for the tested compounds. Both Jackknifing and bootstrapping have been employed to rebalance the heavily biased training datasets, and the impact of these two under-sampling rebalance methods on the performance of the predictive models is discussed. Our results indicated that the rebalancing techniques did not enhance the predictive power of the resulting models; instead, adoption of optimal cutoffs could restore the desirable balance of sensitivity and specificity of the binary classifiers. In an external validation set of 66 drug molecules, the SVC model exhibited an AUC-ROC of 0.86, further demonstrating the utility of this modeling approach to predict hERG liabilities.
Listen Carefully: Positional Cloning of an Audiogenic Seizure Mutation May Yield Frings Benefits

Neurologists have long sought to understand what precipitates individual seizures in epileptic patients. Studies of reflex epilepsies seem well suited to this task. In this issue of Neuron, Skradski et al. describe a mutation in a novel gene underlying audiogenic seizures in the Frings mouse, providing a valuable resource for elucidating the pathophysiological mechanisms of this inherited form of reflex epilepsy.
Development of known-fate survival monitoring techniques for juvenile wild pigs (Sus scrofa)

Context Wild pigs are an invasive species linked to numerous negative impacts on natural and anthropogenic ecosystems in many regions of the world. Robust estimates of juvenile wild pig survival are needed to improve population dynamics models to facilitate management of this economically and ecologically important invasive species. Despite this critical knowledge gap, to date no successful known-fate study of wild piglet survival (<5 months of age) has been conducted, due to a lack of appropriate method for this species. Aims To aid in locating and tagging neonates, we piloted the use of vaginal implant transmitters (VITs) in adult wild pigs and evaluated average retention times of stud ear-tag transmitters, clip ear-tag transmitters, sutured and epoxied transmitters, harness transmitters, and surgically implanted transmitters to monitor known-fate survival of piglets. Methods We captured pregnant female pigs and implanted them with VITs. We tagged subsequently located neonates and piglets captured in traps with the aforementioned transmitters and monitored them to determine retention times and feasibility of each method. Key results VITs were effectively used to determine the location and time of wild pig parturition, allowing counting and tagging of neonate wild pigs. Stud ear-tag and abdominal implant transmitters were well retained by piglets weighing ≥3kg, in contrast to the other tested transmitters. Conclusions Stud ear-tag and abdominal implant transmitters allowed known-fate monitoring of juvenile wild pigs, although, of these, stud ear-tag transmitters may be more practical as they do not require field surgery on piglets. Due to their relatively large size, the stud ear tag transmitters were infeasible for monitoring of true neonates (~1kg); however, this application method may be suitable for neonates upon development of lighter-weight transmitters. The other transmitter attachment methods we tested were ineffective for monitoring of piglet survival, due to poor retention of transmitters. Implications The techniques piloted in this study will facilitate research into the reproductive ecology of wild pigs and known-fate studies of piglet mortality to aid in population modelling and evaluation of cause-specific mortality and factors affecting survival of these often-invasive animals.
Essential Mechanisms of Differential Activation of Eosinophils by IL-3 Compared to GM-CSF and IL-5

Compelling evidence has demonstrated that the eosinophils bring negative biological outcomes in several diseases, including eosinophilic asthma and hypereosinophilic syndromes. Eosinophils produce and store a broad range of toxic proteins and other mediators that enhance the inflammatory response and lead to tissue damage. For instance, in asthma, a close relationship has been demonstrated between increased lung eosinophilia, asthma exacerbation, and loss of lung function. The use of an anti-IL-5 therapy in severe eosinophilic asthmatic patients is efficient to reduce exacerbations. However, anti-IL-5-treated patients still display a relatively high amount of functional lung tissue eosinophils, indicating that supplemental therapies are required to damper the eosinophil functions. Our recent published works suggest that compared to IL-5, IL-3 can more strongly and differentially affect eosinophil functions. In this review, we summarize our and other investigations that have compared the effects of the three β-chain receptor cytokines (IL-5, GM-CSF and IL-3) on eosinophil biology. We focus on how IL-3 differentially activates eosinophils compared to IL-5 or GM-CSF.
Immunoglobulin structure--function correlates: antigen binding and idiotypes.

During the past few years our understanding of the mechanisms involved in the generation of antibody diversity has greatly increased from studies of monoclonal antibodies (hybridomas) and the use of recombinant DNA technology. While much attention has appropriately been focused on these developments, it is nonetheless surprising how little we actually know about the function of these molecules at the molecular level. Since we assume that the primary role of antibodies is to bind antigens, it is obvious that a detailed analysis of this process is essential to an understanding of the mechanisms by which antibodies carry out their biological functions.
Ultrastructure and function in an insect heart

The heart of the adult moth Hyalophora cecropia fulfils in several ways the requirements of a model myocardium on which to study fundamental mechanisms of cardiac physiology. The gross structure of the tubular heart appears less complex than that of the vertebrates and thereby allows an evaluation of the role of morphologically specialized tissues. The unusual ionic milieu that constitutes the cellular environment presents unique problems in itself and further serves to test widely held concepts of the ionic requirements for bioelectrogenesis. The phase of diastole is an active period in the sense that reexpansion of the heart following systole is mediated by the contraction of alary muscle fibers, an extra-cardiac device that may provide a convenient system for investigating cell-to-cell communication. The phenomenon of beat reversal, the sporadic shift in location of impulse origination, with a concomitant change in direction of wave propagation, provokes questions basic to our understanding of the factors that initiate and control pacemaker activity and that provide for preferred directions of conduction.
Mormonism and Private Aid

States constantly engage in international relations through the means of foreign aid. Literature in the field has focused on bilateral aid, direct aid given by a donor state to a recipient, and multilateral aid, involving several states and often an international organization. The literature has effectively glossed over, however, the importance of foreign aid given by private entities. In fact, private groups in the U.S. give $35 billion annually. This substantial investment by private entities dilemmas: first, what motivates the private entity?; and second, given the substantial investment of the into aid giving across borders presents two important U.S. government in its aid program, why does it allow private entities to enter this arena and develop influence the government itself could have? Using a case study of the humanitarian arm of the LDS Church, I suggest two models on private aid giving to answer these dilemmas.
Life Space Social Work: A New Level of Practice:

As social work becomes more professional, bureaucratization increases, while resources are lost. The authors advocate, as a supplementary resource, early intervention in the client environment by u...
Ultrafast Control of Phase and Polarization of Light Expedited by Hot-Electron Transfer

All-optical modulation is an entangled part of ultrafast nonlinear optics with promising impacts on tunable optical devices in the future. Current advancements in all-optical control predominantly offer modulation by means of altering light intensity, while the ultrafast manipulation of other attributes of light have yet to be further explored. Here, we demonstrate the active modulation of the phase, polarization, and amplitude of light through the nonlinear modification of the optical response of a plasmonic crystal that supports subradiant, high Q, and polarization-selective resonance modes. The designed mode is exclusively accessible via TM-polarized light, which enables significant phase modulation and polarization conversion within the visible spectrum. To tailor the device performance in the time domain, we exploit the ultrafast transport dynamics of hot electrons at the interface of plasmonic metals and charge acceptor materials to facilitate an ultrafast switching speed. In addition, the operating...
Decoding the Genomics of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Summary A key aspect of genomic medicine is to make individualized clinical decisions from personal genomes. We developed a machine-learning framework to integrate personal genomes and electronic health record (EHR) data and used this framework to study abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), a prevalent irreversible cardiovascular disease with unclear etiology. Performing whole-genome sequencing on AAA patients and controls, we demonstrated its predictive precision solely from personal genomes. By modeling personal genomes with EHRs, this framework quantitatively assessed the effectiveness of adjusting personal lifestyles given personal genome baselines, demonstrating its utility as a personal health management tool. We showed that this new framework agnostically identified genetic components involved in AAA, which were subsequently validated in human aortic tissues and in murine models. Our study presents a new framework for disease genome analysis, which can be used for both health management and understanding the biological architecture of complex diseases. Video Abstract Download : Download video (25MB)
Acute Serum Cartilage Biomarker Response after Walking and Drop Landing.

INTRODUCTION An in-depth understanding of the healthy cartilage response to activities of daily living is needed to better understand the complex relationship between cartilage health and loading. The purpose was to assess the role of loading on the acute serum cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) response in recreationally active individuals. METHODS Forty individuals without previous lower extremity injury participated in this repeated-measures study in which each participant completed all conditions during independent data collection sessions separated by at least 1 wk. An antecubital blood draw was performed before and after walking, drop-landing, and control (i.e., sitting) conditions. Commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays measured COMP concentration. The acute COMP response was quantified as the percent change of COMP concentration from before to after each condition. A one-way, repeated-measures ANOVA compared the acute COMP response between conditions. Post hoc Pearson product-moment correlation and chi-square analysis determined the relationship between the walking and drop-landing acute COMP response within individuals. RESULTS Acute COMP response was greater after walking (+4.2, P = 0.008) and drop landing (+4.6%, P = 0.002) compared with control (-2.3%), but did not differ between the walking and drop-landing conditions (P = 0.596). The magnitudes of the acute COMP response during walking and drop landing were correlated (r = 0.56, P < 0.001). However, the direction (i.e., either increase or decrease) of COMP was not the same after the walking and drop-landing conditions (χ1 = 0.870, P = 0.351). CONCLUSIONS Walking and drop landing produced a greater acute COMP response when compared with a control condition in healthy individuals, but the acute COMP response was similar between the two physical activity conditions, although the conditions differed in magnitude and frequency of loading.
Tobacco cessation mobile app intervention (Just Kwit! study): protocol for a pilot randomized controlled pragmatic trial.

Adolescence and young adulthood are critical times of initiation and progression to daily use of tobacco. However, it is difficult to recruit young adults to traditional smoking cessation and retention rates are typically low. Smartphone cessation applications (apps) can provide real-time responses to smoking urges and related cues, which are known to be important factors in lapse and relapse. Given the popularity of smartphones among young adults and the considerably higher download rates of commercially developed apps compared to research-based apps, there is a need to design pragmatic studies that evaluate commercial tobacco cessation apps. The aims of this pilot study are to assess the impact on tobacco cessation of using a smartphone app compared with usual care and to generate feasibility data to inform a future fully powered clinical trial. We will conduct an open randomized controlled trial with parallel groups. Participants will be selected from hospitalized patients and must be aged 18–30 years, interested in cessation, smoked > 5 cigarettes/day over the past 30 days, and own an Apple or Android smartphone. Participants who are eligible will be randomized to either a smartphone experimental group or patient-initiated follow up (usual care). As this study seeks to assess feasibility, the primary data will include (1) recruitment rates, (2) retention rates, and (3) adherence, measured through user engagement with the app. This pilot trial will be the first to evaluate a commercially available smartphone app for tobacco cessation in a hospitalized setting. Data generated by this study can be used for larger fully powered trials such as comparative effectiveness studies against apps developed by academics or health scientists based on behavioral theories, or cost-effectiveness analyses of mobile interventions. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03538678 . Registered on 28 May 2018.
Transcription factor YcjW controls the emergency H 2 S production in E. coli

Prokaryotes and eukaryotes alike endogenously generate the gaseous molecule hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Bacterial H2S acts as a cytoprotectant against antibiotics-induced stress and promotes redox homeostasis. In E. coli, endogenous H2S production is primarily dependent on 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (3MST), encoded by mstA. Here, we show that cells lacking 3MST acquire a phenotypic suppressor mutation resulting in compensatory H2S production and tolerance to antibiotics and oxidative stress. Using whole genome sequencing, we identified a non-synonymous mutation within an uncharacterized LacI-type transcription factor, ycjW. We then mapped regulatory targets of YcjW and discovered it controls the expression of carbohydrate metabolic genes and thiosulfate sulfurtransferase PspE. Induction of pspE expression in the suppressor strain provides an alternative mechanism for H2S biosynthesis. Our results reveal a complex interaction between carbohydrate metabolism and H2S production in bacteria and the role, a hitherto uncharacterized transcription factor, YcjW, plays in linking the two.
Endomorphisms of regular rooted trees induced by the action of polynomials on the ring ℤd of d-adic integers

We show that every polynomial in ℤ[x] defines an endomorphism of the d-ary rooted tree induced by its action on the ring ℤd of d-adic integers. The sections of this endomorphism also turn out to be...
Individual Differences in Cognitive and Social Problem-Solving Skills as a Function of Intelligence

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of problem-solving performance in mentally retarded individuals. It discusses the models of problem solving and their implications for mentally retarded individuals. The chapter also describes individual differences in problem solving, methods of assessment, and remedial techniques. Theoretical models of cognitive development approach the study of problem solving from either a macroscopic level or a microscopic level. The multidimensional approach appears to be useful for illustrating why individual differences in problem solving and learning may arise; they argue that successful problem solving and academic learning are largely dependent on the formation of an effective alliance among the cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational skills of the learner. Individual differences in problem-solving performance for normally achieving students appear to be largely a function of cognitive ability. The mentally retarded subjects must not only be given the opportunity to engage in self-regulated learning so that effective alliances can be formed, but also opportunities must be presented so that their self-regulatory skills can be gradually shaped to ensure that faulty alliances do not develop.
Frequency and Predictors of Polypharmacy in US Medicare Patients: A Cross-Sectional Analysis at the Patient and Physician Levels

Polypharmacy in older patients increases the risk of medication-related adverse events and can be a marker of unnecessary care. The aim of this study was to describe the frequency of polypharmacy among patients 65 years of age or older and identify factors associated with the occurrence of patient-level and physician-level polypharmacy. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 100% Medicare claims data from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016. All patients with continuous Medicare coverage (Parts A, B, and D) throughout 2016 who were 65 years of age or older and who were prescribed at least one medication for at least 30 days were included in the analysis. Each patient was attributed to the primary care physician who prescribed them the most medications. Physicians treating fewer than ten patients were excluded. We defined polypharmacy based on the highest number of concurrent medications at any point during the year. We used hierarchical linear regression to study patient- and physician-level characteristics associated with high prescribing rates. We identified 25,747,560 patients attributed to 147,879 primary care physicians. The patient-level mean [standard deviation (SD)] concurrent medication rate was 5.6 (3.3), and the physician-level mean (SD) was 5.6 (1.1). A total of 6108 physicians (4.1% of sample) had a mean concurrent number of medications greater than two SDs above the physician-level mean. At the patient level in the adjusted model, a history of HIV/AIDS, diabetes mellitus, solid organ transplant, and systolic heart failure were the comorbidities most strongly associated with polypharmacy. The relative difference in number of medications associated with these comorbidities were 1.89, 1.39, 1.32, and 1.06, respectively. At the physician level, increased time since medical school graduation and smaller practice size were associated with lower rates of polypharmacy. Patterns of high prescribing to older patients is common and measurable at the physician level. Addressing high outlier prescribers may represent an opportunity to reduce avoidable harm and excessive costs.
Manganese, Arsenic, and Carbonate Interactions in Model Oxic Groundwater Systems.

Manganese and arsenic both threaten groundwater quality globally, but their chemical behavior leads to both co-contamination and separation of these contaminants from individual well to regional sc...
The Emergence of Amish Genetic Studies: A Brief History of Collaboration and Reciprocity

Since the 1960s, Amish genetic studies has become a significant arena of collaboration between medical researchers and Old Order Anabaptists. This article describes the origins of and early actors in this field of research and pushes beyond the handful of cursory accounts that focus exclusively on Dr. Victor McKusick, central though he was, to include the critical contributions of other researchers, physicians, and Amish liaisons. The collective work of these individuals quickly pointed to four areas of ongoing inquiry: the cultural context of health and illness, documentation of known but very rare conditions, identification of previously undocumented conditions and diseases, and demography. A remarkable feature of this early research was its interdisciplinary nature and its collaborative engagement with Amish people. That collaboration resulted not only in numerous medical breakthroughs, but also in expanded settlement directories and updated family genealogies, which Amish communities embraced, replicated, and came to regard as valuable community resources.
The Gig Economy Comes to Academia: Job Satisfaction among Adjunct Faculty.

Colleges and universities in the United States have embraced the “gig” economy with use of non-tenure track and part-time faculty. However, much of the work on job satisfaction in academia focuses ...
In-line Phosphoramidite Identification by FTIR to Support Real-Time Oligonucleotide Sequence Confirmation

A classification method was developed for the identification of antisense oligonucleotide phosphoramidite starting materials to support sequence confirmation in real-time during solid-phase oligonu...
Importing set-theoretic tools into quantitative research: the case of necessary and sufficient conditions

In this article, we import set-theoretic methods from the qualitative research tradition into the quantitative research tradition. We focus specifically on set-theoretic methods designed to analyze the extent to which a condition is necessary and is sufficient for an outcome of interest. We use these methods to reanalyze four major studies from the quantitative tradition. We find that set-theoretic methods call attention to asymmetrical patterns in the data that otherwise go unnoticed and unanalyzed. We develop a general set-theoretic framework for the study of necessity and sufficiency. We conclude that the use of this framework can enrich existing and future quantitative research in the social sciences.
Air pollution and the pandemic: Long-term PM 2.5 exposure and disease severity in COVID-19 patients.

Background and objective Ecological studies have suggested an association between exposure to particulate matter ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5 ) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity. However, these findings are yet to be validated in individual-level studies. We aimed to determine the association of long-term PM2.5 exposure with hospitalization among individual patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Methods We estimated the 10-year (2009-2018) PM2.5 exposure at the residential zip code of COVID-19 patients diagnosed at the University of Cincinnati healthcare system between 13 March 2020 and 30 September 2020. Logistic regression was used to determine the odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI for COVID-19 hospitalizations associated with PM2.5 , adjusting for socioeconomic characteristics and comorbidities. Results Among the 14,783 COVID-19 patients included in our study, 13.6% were hospitalized; the geometric mean (SD) PM2.5 was 10.48 (1.12) μg/m3 . In adjusted analysis, 1 μg/m3 increase in 10-year annual average PM2.5 was associated with 18% higher hospitalization (OR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.11-1.26). Likewise, 1 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 estimated for the year 2018 was associated with 14% higher hospitalization (OR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.08-1.21). Conclusion Long-term PM2.5 exposure is associated with increased hospitalization in COVID-19. Therefore, more stringent COVID-19 prevention measures may be needed in areas with higher PM2.5 exposure to reduce the disease morbidity and healthcare burden.
Updating The Accuracy of Administrative Claims for Identifying Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction Among Patients with Heart Failure

Introduction: Left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) is an important factor for treatment decisions for heart failure. The EF is unavailable in administrative claims. We sought to evaluate the predictive accuracy of claims diagnoses for classifying heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) versus heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) with International Classification of Disease-Tenth Revision codes. Methods: We identified HF diagnoses for VA patients between 2017-2019 and extracted the EF from clinical notes and imaging reports using a VA natural language processing algorithm. We classified sets of codes as HFrEF-related, HFpEF-related, or non-specific based on the closest EF within 180 days. We selected a random heart failure diagnosis for each patient and tested the predictive accuracy of various algorithms for identifying HFrEF using the last 1 year of heart failure diagnoses. We performed sensitivity analyses on the EF thresholds, the cohort, and the diagnoses used. Results: Between 2017-2019, we identified 358,172 patients and 1,671,084 diagnoses with an EF recording within 180 days. After dividing diagnoses into HFrEF-related, HFpEF-related, or non-specific, we found using the proportion of specific diagnoses classified as HFrEF-related had an AUC of 0.76 for predicting EF≤40% and 0.80 for predicting EF<50%. However, 23.3% of patients could not be classified due to only having non-specific codes. Predictive accuracy increased among patients with ≥4 HF diagnoses over the preceding year. Discussion: In a VA cohort, administrative claims with ICD-10 codes had moderate accuracy for identifying reduced ejection fraction. This level of specificity is likely inadequate for performance measures. Administrative claims need to better align terminology with relevant clinical definitions.
The surgical technique of the convergent procedure.

The convergent procedure is a newly developed hybrid ablation procedure that involves extensive epicardial ablation of the posterior left atrial wall followed by endocardial mapping and addition of pulmonary vein isolation. It is a team-based approach that provides a promising option for patients with persistent and permanent atrial fibrillation. In this manuscript, we present a detailed description of the surgical component of this procedure and include potential pitfalls based on our experience in performing it. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Revisiting sustainable development Goal 4 in the context of COVID-19 Pandemic: A case study of online teaching in Algerian higher education institutions

The unanticipated transition from traditional/on-campus to distance learning has not only posed challenges in different contexts at the global level, but it also caused disparity in terms of access to education. As a mandate, Goal 4 of Sustainable Development Goals states that by 2030 all member states should work to "ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all" (UNESCO, 2015). In practice, however, the responses of different international education institutions during the Covid-19 confinement indicate that the achievement of this equity plan at the global level is rather unfeasible. To address this issue from a local lens, this study seeks to examine the plan implemented for online teaching in the Algerian higher education institutions. It draws on a key body of literature on online infrastructure and pedagogy to explore (1) the different online teaching models that were implemented, (2) Algerian higher education teachers' practices within the framework of this new model of teaching, and (3) the different challenges encountered by teachers during this transition. To achieve this end, a qualitative study that is based on an analysis of teachers' interviews is conducted to explore teachers' practices in different higher education institutions in Algeria. The results of this research will not only highlight the prevailing disparities, but will also serve to offer recommendations that could be relevant to future teachers' professional development programs.
Progenitor translatome changes coordinated by Tsc1 increase perception of Wnt signals to end nephrogenesis.

Mammalian nephron endowment is determined by the coordinated cessation of nephrogenesis in independent niches. Here we report that translatome analysis in Tsc1+/− nephron progenitor cells from mice with elevated nephron numbers reveals how differential translation of Wnt antagonists over agonists tips the balance between self-renewal and differentiation. Wnt agonists are poorly translated in young niches, resulting in an environment with low R-spondin and high Fgf20 promoting self-renewal. In older niches we find increased translation of Wnt agonists, including R-spondin and the signalosome-promoting Tmem59, and low Fgf20, promoting differentiation. This suggests that the tipping point for nephron progenitor exit from the niche is controlled by the gradual increase in stability and possibly clustering of Wnt/Fzd complexes in individual cells, enhancing the response to ureteric bud-derived Wnt9b inputs and driving synchronized differentiation. As predicted by these findings, removing one Rspo3 allele in nephron progenitors delays cessation and increases nephron numbers in vivo. The cessation of nephrogenesis determines nephron endowments in mammals. Here the authors show that differential translation of Wnt antagonists versus agonists determines the tipping point from self-renewal to differentiation of nephron progenitors during nephrogenesis, using mutant mice with elevated nephron numbers.
Neuropathological Dynamics of Magnetic, Auditory Steady-State Responses in Alzheimer’s Disease

The steady-state auditory mid-latency response in humans is maximal in amplitude and sinusoidal in form in response to repetitive auditory stimulation between 35 and 45 Hz (Galambos et al., 1981). This has been reported in both, EEG and MEG studies. MEG data reported single dipoles in the temporal lobe of cortex in humans after an auditory 40Hz stimulation (Maekelae and Hari, 1987), which were believed to be a part of a thalamo-cortical loop becoming resonant at 40 Hz (Weinberg et al., 1988). Recently, our EEG/MEG studies suggested two dipoles in thalamo-cortical areas, indicating that more than one generator must be involved in the 40Hz response (Ribary et al., 1989a and 1989b). Moreover, these dipoles seemed to be more rigerously in phase in controls than those observed in psychiatric patients.
Religious Experience and the Modernist Novel: Virginia Woolf and the disenchantment of the world

In February 1928, soon after T. S. Eliot had converted to Anglo-Catholicism, Virginia Woolf wrote to her sister Vanessa Bell: “Then I have had a most shameful and distressing interview with poor dear Tom Eliot, who may be called dead to us all from this day forward. He has become an Anglo-Catholic, believes in God and immortality, and goes to church. I was really shocked. A corpse would seem to me more credible than he is. I mean, there's something obscene in a living person sitting by the fire and believing in God.” These words were strong but not atypical, for Woolf expressed passionate hostility toward all forms of traditional Christianity. Woolf endows some of her characters with her horror of churchgoing and religious belief, which clearly relates to the problem of mortality. (Because he believes in immortality, Eliot is “dead to us,” less credible than “a corpse.”) Woolf directs her strongest sense of disgust, however, not at generalized religious feeling but at what she calls “this old savage,” God. In A Room of One's Own (1929), Woolf writes of the necessity for women writers to escape from “Milton's bogey” – a phrase that explicitly refers to Milton himself (whom Woolf seems, incidentally, to have associated with her own father), but also conjures Milton's portrait of God, the ultimate patriarch. Yet, if Woolf found the more dogmatic and intolerant aspects of religion to be repugnant, she also understood the uses of enchantment.
Step treadmill exercise training and blood pressure reduction in women with mild hypertension.

Stepping as an exercise modality has gained increasing popularity. The step treadmill is an exercise machine which simulates actual stair-climbing. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a 16-week supervised aerobic step treadmill exercise training protocol in reducing resting blood pressure in women with unmedicated mild hypertension. During the training protocol, subjects exercised during a self-selected appointment three times a week on the step treadmill, increasing from 20 minutes up to 60 minutes per session, at a target heart rate corresponding to 70-80% heart rate reserve for 16 weeks. Utilizing paired t-test analysis, mean resting systolic blood pressure decreased from 142.2 +/- 9.1 to 132.7 +/- 8.2 mm Hg (p < .01) and mean resting diastolic blood pressure decreased from 93 +/- 4.9 to 87.4 +/- 5.4 mm Hg (p < .01) during the 16-week protocol. Mean maximal oxygen uptake was significantly increased, whereas mean body weight did not change significantly over the 16-week period. Large scale trials are needed to further delineate the effectiveness of stepping as a health care intervention in adults with unmedicated mild hypertension, especially in women.
The Long and Winding Road

I can’t remember a time during my precollege education when I didn’t think that teaching would be a great profession for me. I was always the kid who enjoyed helping my classmates with their work, or the children I babysat with their homework. I also remember getting very frustrated if I didn’t understand something as quickly as I thought I should be able to. I can see all of these traits at play as I’ve made my way from high school through college and graduate school and back to the classroom as a professor.
The one-step-late PXEM algorithm

The EM algorithm is a popular method for computing maximum likelihood estimates or posterior modes in models that can be formulated in terms of missing data or latent structure. Although easy implementation and stable convergence help to explain the popularity of the algorithm, its convergence is sometimes notoriously slow. In recent years, however, various adaptations have significantly improved the speed of EM while maintaining its stability and simplicity. One especially successful method for maximum likelihood is known as the parameter expanded EM or PXEM algorithm. Unfortunately, PXEM does not generally have a closed form M-step when computing posterior modes, even when the corresponding EM algorithm is in closed form. In this paper we confront this problem by adapting the one-step-late EM algorithm to PXEM to establish a fast closed form algorithm that improves on the one-step-late EM algorithm by insuring monotone convergence. We use this algorithm to fit a probit regression model and a variety of dynamic linear models, showing computational savings of as much as 99.9%, with the biggest savings occurring when the EM algorithm is the slowest to converge.
A Study of Explanation-Based Methods for Inductive Learning

This paper formalizes a new learning-from-examples problem: identifying a correct concept definition from positive examples such that the concept is some specialization of a target concept defined by a domain theory. It describes an empirical study that evaluates three methods for solving this problem: explanation-based generalization (EBG), multiple example explanation-based generalization (mEBG), and a new method, induction over explanations (IOE). The study demonstrates that the two existing methods (EBG and mEBG) exhibit two shortcomings: (a) they rarely identify the correct definition, and (b) they are brittle in that their success depends greatly on the choice of encoding of the domain theory rules. The study demonstrates that the new method, IOE, does not exhibit these shortcomings. This method applies the domain theory to construct explanations from multiple training examples as in mEBG, but forms the concept definition by employing a similarity-based generalization policy over the explanations. IOE has the advantage that an explicit domain theory can be exploited to aid the learning process, the dependence on the initial encoding of the domain theory is significantly reduced, and the correct concepts can be learned from few examples. The study evaluates the methods in the context of an implemented system, called Wyl2, which learns a variety of concepts in chess including “skewer” and “knight-fork.”
Enclosings of λ‐Fold 5‐Cycle Systems: Adding One Vertex

A k-cycle system of a multigraph G is an ordered pair (V, C) where V is the vertex set of G and C is a set of k-cycles, the edges of which partition the edges of G. A k-cycle system of is known as a λ-fold k-cycle system of order V. A k-cycle system of (V, C) is said to be enclosed in a k-cycle system of if and . We settle the difficult enclosing problem for λ-fold 5-cycle systems with u = 1.
Proceedings of the 33rd ACM SIGPLAN Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation

It is our great pleasure to welcome you to Beijing for PLDI 2012, the 33rd ACM SIGPLAN Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation. PLDI is the leading research conference about programming languages and their implementations. The PLDI 2012 program includes research papers, keynotes, a Student Research Competition, and several workshops, tutorials, and other colocated events. This year's conference received a record 255 submissions. These submissions were reviewed in two phases. Each paper received 3 initial reviews in phase 1, after which authors were given an opportunity to respond to these reviews. Based on the initial reviews and author responses, additional reviews were solicited for approximately 70% of the submissions in a second phase of reviewing. Of these papers that made it to phase 2, 88 were discussed during the PC meeting, which took place from January 28-29, in Philadelphia. More than 1000 reviews were written, of which most (62.9%) came from the thirty-one member Program Committee (PC). The forty-seven member External Review Committee (ERC) contributed with most of the other evaluations (32.1%). However, 92 other reviewers also participated in the evaluation process and provided expertise in some highly specialized areas. Papers submitted by Program Committee members were evaluated by the External Review Committee and the decisions on these papers was made by consensus. After careful evaluation, 48 papers were accepted for presentation at the conference. As a result, PLDI'12 will once again have a dual-track program.
The regulation of interleukin‐6 implicates skeletal muscle as an integrative stress sensor and endocrine organ

Skeletal muscle has been identified as an endocrine organ owing to its capacity to produce and secrete a variety of cytokines (myokines) and other proteins. To date, myokines have primarily been studied in response to exercise or metabolic challenges; however, numerous observations suggest that skeletal muscle may also release myokines in response to certain categories of internal or external stress exposure. Internal stress signals include oxidative or nitrosative stress, damaged or unfolded proteins, hyperthermia or energy imbalance. External stress signals, which act as indicators of organismal stress or injury in other cells, employ mediators such as catecholamines, endotoxin, alarmins, ATP and pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumour necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β. External stress signals generally induce cellular responses through membrane receptor systems. In this review, we focus on the regulation of interleukin-6 (IL-6) as a prototypical stress response myokine and highlight evidence that IL-6 gene regulation in muscle is inherently organized to respond to a wide variety of internal and external stressors. Given that IL-6 can initiate protective, anti-inflammatory or restorative processes throughout the organism during life-threatening conditions, we present the argument that skeletal muscle has a physiological function as a sensor and responder to stress. Furthermore, we hypothesize that it may comprise a fundamental component of the organism's acute stress response.
Mechanizing a Programming Logic for the Concurrent Programming Language microSR in HOL

This paper presents our current effort to formally derive, using HOL, a sound Hoare logic for the concurrent programming language microSR, a derivative of SR. Our methodology is built on Gordon's work on mechanizing programming logics for a small sequential programming language. The constructs of microSR include those basic to common sequential programming languages, in addition to an asynchronous send statement, a synchronous receive statement, a guarded communication input statement, and a co statement for specifying concurrent execution. This language has the appearance of a high-level system programming language that supports distributed applications. The Hoare logic for microSR with concurrency features presented in this paper has been formally proven to be sound within HOL. The logic we derived allows one to reason and state formal assertions about concurrently executing processes that do not share any data objects, but communicate through shared channels.
Pheromone component patterns of moth evolution revealed by computer analysis of the Pherolist

Summary 1 The Pherolist internet site listing moth sex pheromone components reported in the literature was downloaded and processed by a basic program into a database with 2931 combinations of 377 unique chemical names of sex pheromone attractants used by 1572 moth species in 619 genera and 49 families. Names of pheromone compounds were analysed for aliphatic chain length, unsaturation position, geometric configuration, functional group (aldehyde, alcohol, acetate, epoxide, methyl-branched and hydrocarbon) and number of instances such combinations are used by species and families. 2 The analyses revealed pheromone blends of species ranged from one to eight components (45% species with one component, 36% two, 12% three, 5% four, 1% five, ≤ 0·5% for ≥ six). The numbers of different components of various chain lengths and functional groups, the numbers of instances such compounds are used by species and the numbers of species using such compounds are presented. 3 The average number of pheromone components per species increased as the number of species in a family increased based on linear regression of components in the 10 largest families, with species numbers ranging from 19 to 461. Pooling the four largest families gave a mean of 1·96 components per species that was significantly greater than the mean of the next 14 smaller families (1·63). Because related species in a large family would need more communication channels, this suggests that these species on average evolved to produce and detect more components in their pheromone blends to achieve a unique communication channel than was needed by species in smaller families. 4 Speciation in moths would entail evolutionary changes in both pheromone biosynthetic and sensory systems that avoided competition for communication channels of existing species. Regression analysis indicated that the more species in a family the more unique pheromone components, but the increase diminishes progressively. This suggests that, as the number of components increases with species number in a family, new species are more likely to evolve a unique blend comprising a communication channel from among existing components of the family.