cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abnormal Myocardial Contraction in α1A– and α1B–adrenoceptor double-knockout mice

Abstract We used double-knockout mice (ABKO) lacking both predominant myocardial α1–adrenergic receptor (AR) subtypes (α1A and α1B) to determine if α1–ARs are required for normal myocardial contraction. Langendorff-perfused ABKO hearts had higher developed pressure than wild type (WT) hearts (123 ± 3 mmHg n = 22 vs. 103 ± 3 mmHg, n = 38, P 0.05), suggesting ABKO myocardium had increased myofilament Ca2+–sensitivity. This conclusion was supported by measuring the Ca2+–force relationship using tetanization. Increased myofilament Ca2+–sensitivity was not explained by intracellular pH, which did not differ between ABKO and WT (7.41 ± 0.01 vs. 7.39 ± 0.02, n = 4–6, P > 0.05; from BCECF fluorescence). However, ABKO displayed impaired troponin I phosphorylation, which may have played a role. In contrast to increased submaximal force, ABKO trabeculae had lower maximal force than WT at high extracellular [Ca2+] (29.6 ± 1.9 vs. 37.6 ± 1.4 mN/mm2, n = 7, P 0.05), suggesting ABKO myocardium had impaired myofilament function. Finally, ABKO myocardium had decreased responsiveness to β-AR stimulation. We conclude: α1–ARs are required for normal myocardial contraction; α1–ARs mediate long-term trophic effects on contraction; loss of α1–AR function causes some of the functional abnormalities that are also found in heart failure.
Predictors of Scholarly Productivity, Pursuit of Fellowship, and Academic Practice Among Urology Residents Using Medical Student Application Materials

Abstract Objective To evaluate predictors of urology resident scholarly productivity, pursuit of fellowship, and an academic career using medical student application materials. Methods We reviewed the Mayo Clinic experience with 49 urology residents who matriculated between 2000 and 2011 and graduated between 2006 and 2016. In 2005, the duration of residency was changed from 6 to 5 years. The number of peer-reviewed original publications before and during residency was obtained via Scopus. Associations of features from the medical student application with number of publications, pursuit of fellowship, and an academic career were evaluated with logistic regression. Results Among the 49 graduates, 19 (39%) had a peer-reviewed publication before residency. The mean (standard deviation) and median (range) number of publications during residency was 9.0 (9.4) and 6 (1-41), respectively. In a multivariable analysis, the only feature significantly associated with ≥6 publications during residency was a 6 vs 5 year residency program (odds ratio 5.71; P = .018). Twenty five (51%) residents pursued a fellowship, and the only feature significantly associated with this was female gender (odds ratio 7.33, P = .018). Seventeen (35%) residents pursued an academic career, and the only feature from the medical school record that was significantly associated with an academic career was ≥1 publication before residency (odds ratio 3.65; P = .040). Conclusion A research year during urology residency is significantly associated with scholarly productivity. While women are more likely to pursue fellowships, the only significant predictor of an academic career using medical student application materials was a publication before residency.
Constructive Advocacy: Positivity and Solutions-Based Information in Activist Communication

Drawing from positive psychology and journalism studies, this article proposes constructive advocacy as a theoretical and methodological arena for public interest communications. Through a case study of a transnational advocacy network, this research employs a thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 40 activists, exploring positivity and solutions-based information for social change. This study contributes to the new body of literature on public interest communications, opening up theoretical and methodological arenas in understanding how activists plan and execute strategic communication.
Gritty Philosophical Thinking about Food Justice Doing

First paragraphs: What do academics who work in the humani­ties and social sciences have to offer to food justice, if anything? An academic colleague and friend in civic studies once posed this question to me. The 33 editors and contributing authors who produced this book aim to offer concrete examples of potential answers to this question. However, none of these authors, my civic studies colleague, nor I are in a good position to lead Sustainable Agricultural Systems proposals for USDA’s Agricultural and Food Research Initiative (USDA AFRI). This new program area, announced in April 2018, will fund US$10-million, five-year projects that aim, for example, to increase use efficiency of three crop inputs (water, nitrogen and phosphorus) by 50%, reduce crop losses by 20%, or reduce food-borne illnesses to 8.5 cases per 100,000 Americans each year.[1] These technical goals have clear and practical food production applications. The first two also attend to the right of future generations to have enough to eat. However, today they do little or nothing to promote food justice. Sufficient food supply is not a problem yet. However, inequitable distribution of the means of food production, exchange, and consumption are current problems; and within the U.S., this maldistribution closely, and unjustly, follows lines of class, gender, and race. [1] https://nifa.usda.gov/sites/default/files/rfa/FY-2018-AFRI-SAS.pdf; https://nifa.usda.gov/resource/afri-sas-faq#ChallengeAreas See the press release for this article.
Mitochondrial genome and functional defects in osteosarcoma are associated with their aggressive phenotype

Osteosarcoma (OSA) is an aggressive mesenchymal tumor of the bone that affects children and occurs spontaneously in dogs. Human and canine OSA share similar clinical, biological and genetic features, which make dogs an excellent comparative model to investigate the etiology and pathogenesis of OSA. Mitochondrial (mt) defects have been reported in many different cancers including OSA, although it is not known whether these defects contribute to OSA progression and metastasis. Taking a comparative approach using canine OSA cell lines and tumor tissues we investigated the effects of mtDNA content and dysfunction on OSA biology. OSA tumor tissues had low mtDNA contents compared to the matched non-tumor tissues. We observed mitochondrial heterogeneity among the OSA cell lines and the most invasive cells expressing increased levels of OSA metastasis genes contained the highest amount of mitochondrial defects (reduced mtDNA copies, mt respiration, and expression of electron transport chain proteins). While mitochondria maintain a filamentous network in healthy cells, the mitochondrial morphology in OSA cells were mostly "donut shaped", typical of "stressed" mitochondria. Moreover the expression levels of mitochondrial retrograde signaling proteins Akt1, IGF1R, hnRNPA2 and NFkB correlated with the invasiveness of the OSA cells. Furthermore, we demonstrate the causal role of mitochondrial defects in inducing the invasive phenotype by Ethidium Bromide induced-mtDNA depletion in OSA cells. Our data suggest that defects in mitochondrial genome and function are prevalent in OSA and that lower mtDNA content is associated with higher tumor cell invasiveness. We propose that mt defects in OSA might serve as a prognostic biomarker and a target for therapeutic intervention in OSA patients.
Zombie Cinderella and the Undead Public Domain

This Article takes a recent case from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board as the basis for an argument that trademark doctrine needs stronger protection against the exclusive commercial appropriation of characters that are in the public domain. In that case, a new doll company sought to register the mark “Zombie Cinderella” for dolls. The examining attorney initially refused registration because “Zombie Cinderella” dolls were found to be confusingly similar to “Walt Disney’s Cinderella” dolls. This ruling would have implied that Disney had the exclusive right to market dolls using the “Cinderella” name, a name that carries with it the long legacy of a canonical fairy tale, beloved since at least its first print publication in the seventeenth century. The T.T.A.B. overturned the refusal to register on appeal, but it largely relied on doctrine that characterized the “Cinderella” part of Disney’s trademark as a “conceptually weak” indicator of Disney as the source of the dolls, in part because of other participants in the doll market using the word “Cinderella” to describe their dolls. This doctrine on some level denies Disney exclusive rights to the word “Cinderella” merely because the company’s commercial appropriation of the character has not been complete enough. I argue that we need a doctrine that would deny even the first market entrant the ability to appropriate such a public domain character. I argue in favor of extending the doctrine of aesthetic functionality, which denies trademark protection to features of a product that confer a non-reputationally-related advantage on the trademark holder, to cultural elements in the public domain.
Sedimentary n-alkanes and n-alkanoic acids in a temperate bog are biased toward woody plants

Abstract Sedimentary plant waxes and their hydrogen and carbon (δ2H and δ13C) isotopes are important proxies for past hydrologic and vegetation change. However sedimentary waxes accumulate from diverse sources, integrating uncertainties from: (i) variable isotope fractionation among plant species, and (ii) unresolved processes controlling the transport of waxes from plants to sediments. We address these uncertainties by comparing the molecular and isotopic composition of n-alkanes and n-alkanoic acids in recent bog sediments with all major plant species growing in the catchment of Browns Lake Bog (BLB) in Ohio, USA. There are two distinct plant assemblages at BLB, including a forest dominated by trees and a bog shoreline composed of shrubs, woody groundcover, herbs and graminoids. n-Alkane concentrations in trees were 10–300 times higher than in shoreline plants, while n-alkanoic acid concentrations were generally lower and comparable across all species. The overall range of wax δ2H values among individual plants (77‰ for n-C29 alkane and 84‰ for n-C28 alkanoic acid) was likely driven by interspecies differences in biosynthetic δ2H fractionation as well as source water differences between forest and shoreline plants. A considerably smaller range of δ2Hwax values in the bog sediments (9‰ for n-C29 alkane and 11‰ for n-C28 alkanoic acid) suggests that sediments are either biased toward specific plants, or that signal averaging processes during or after deposition are constant. The combined δ2H and δ13C signatures of plant sources and sediments indicate a sediment bias mainly toward trees, with contributions from woody shrubs and groundcover growing in the bog shoreline. Within trees and woody shrubs, we observed δ2Hwax–δ13Cwax relationships of opposite sign for n-C29 alkane and n-C28 alkanoic acid, which we speculate may reflect contrasting seasonal timing of synthesis and plant metabolic status between compound classes. The net apparent δ2H fractionation between precipitation and wax (eapp) was approximately 30‰ larger for n-alkanes (−133‰) than for n-alkanoic acids (−103‰), both at the plant level and in sediments. These results demonstrate the sensitivity of sediments in a hydrologically closed basin to woody plants growing in the associated catchment and can guide eapp estimates for sedimentary records from similar depositional settings.
Commoning the Komal: The Toronto Kurdish Community Centre

Within the walls of this two-story storefront, a distinct alternative practice of radical politics and life is taking place. In fact, what would appear to be an extension of the Kurdish social movement, as it is understood, is being practiced against a backdrop of the refugee experience within the metropolitan city limits of Toronto. This practice of what is arguably feminist anarchism has become known in the recent years by the title “Democratic Confederalism” (Ocalan 2011). Democratic Confederalism in its feminist anarchist framework reflects our understanding of what is known within the Marxist tradition today as “the commons” (Federici & Linebaugh 2018). This paper seeks to show that the Kurdish Community Centre has, over nearly three decades, established for its members within Toronto a space that attempts to practice a radical feminist politics mirroring our understanding of “the commons”. However, similar to the dilemma of most leftist social movements, struggles with the divide between theory and praxis across space and time mark the centre’s main concerns. Exclusive to the diasporic experince, the Kurdish refugees are faced with trying to navigate their anti-state Kurdish revolutionary struggle within a nation that has provided them refuge. This paper will explore what is understood as “ komal” (community) and how have these community centres come to represent the Kurdish social movement in diaspora spaces through refugee lived experiences—particularly the Kurdish woman’s.
Novel therapeutics: response and resistance in ovarian cancer

Here we review the latest pre-clinical and clinical developments for treatment of ovarian cancer, presented at the American Association of Cancer Research/Rivkin Center Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium held at the University of Washington in September 2018. Abstracts and presentations pertaining to the 'Novel Therapeutics' session were reviewed and are summarized here. The session featured a keynote presentation from Dr Ursula Matulonis, who summarized the current state of the art of treatment of ovarian cancer, including recent clinical trials incorporating the use of novel agents, including poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, other DNA-damaging agents, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor inhibitors, mirvetuximab soravtansine, and immune checkpoint blockade. Dr Jung-Min Lee then summarized the rationale and the results of early studies for targeting cell cycle checkpoint kinases for anti-cancer therapy. Eight submissions were selected for oral presentations, and 36 abstracts were presented as posters. The topics covered a range of clinical and pre-clinical strategies and biomarkers, including immunotherapy, mechanisms of chemotherapy, and PARP inhibitor resistance, DNA-damaging agents, and other novel therapeutic strategies. Key studies have highlighted that resistance to chemotherapy and PARP inhibitors remain a major challenge in therapy of ovarian cancer. Cancer stem cells represent an important mechanism of chemoresistance and strategies to target these cells may be a pathway to prevention of ovarian cancer relapse. Advancement of novel therapeutics targeting DNA damage, cell metabolism, and endoplasmic reticulum present some of the novel strategies in the pipeline. Emerging compelling pre-clinical data with novel antibody-drug conjugates targeting various surface receptors in ovarian cancer alone and in combination with immune checkpoint blockade generate a strong enthusiasm for rapid translation of these strategies to clinic.
Reluctant males: why blue monkey males reject female sexual advances

Classical sexual selection theory predicts that males should mate eagerly, yet blue monkey males often reject females’ sexual invitations. We evaluated how males’ responses to female solicitations related to female characteristics, number of males and conceptive females present, and the male’s recent copulations. Using 12 years of data from a wild population, we found that males accepted only 20% of female solicitations. Odds of acceptance (copulation) increased for conceptive females, for females with whom the male copulated recently, and when fewer males were present. Odds of accepting nulliparous females decreased when more conceptive females were available, consistent with market models. Male responses did not relate to female rank or matings with other females the same day. When males responded negatively, nulliparous females were especially likely to receive aggression vs. mere refusal. Overall, males’ decisions to mate with willing females depended both on female characteristics, especially fertility, and on social context.
Pre-service teachers’ application of understanding by design in lesson planning

This study focused on preservice secondary teacher’s use of the Understanding by Design (UbD), framework to create effective, engaging lessons for their future secondary level students. The subjects consisted of 69 secondary pre-service secondary education majors at a Texas University who were enrolled in a required course for admission into the teacher education program. Pre-posttest surveys of lesson knowledge design were administered to all subjects. Comparing pre- posttest results revealed that knowledge of lesson design showed improvement and knowledge gain in the following areas: concepts and vocabulary; unpacking standards; use of verbs from the standards; rigor; content objectives; formative assessment and summative assessment. The analyses made use of descriptive statistics and descriptions.
Detailed 3D Fault Representations for the 2019 Ridgecrest, California, Earthquake Sequence

We present new 3D source fault representations for the 2019 M 6.4 and M 7.1 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence. These representations are based on relocated hypocenter catalogs expanded by template matching and focal mechanisms for M 4 and larger events. Following the approach of Riesner et al. (2017), we generate reproducible 3D fault geometries by integrating hypocenter, nodal plane, and surface rupture trace constraints. We used the southwest–northeast‐striking nodal plane of the 4 July 2019 M 6.4 event to constrain the initial representation of the southern Little Lake fault (SLLF), both in terms of location and orientation. The eastern Little Lake fault (ELLF) was constrained by the 5 July 2019 M 7.1 hypocenter and nodal planes of M 4 and larger aftershocks aligned with the main trend of the fault. The approach follows a defined workflow that assigns weights to a variety of geometric constraints. These main constraints have a high weight relative to that of individual hypocenters, ensuring that small aftershocks are applied as weaker constraints. The resulting fault planes can be considered averages of the hypocentral locations respecting nodal plane orientations. For the final representation we added detailed, field‐mapped rupture traces as strong constraints. The resulting fault representations are generally smooth but nonplanar and dip steeply. The SLLF and ELLF intersect at nearly right angles and cross on another. The ELLF representation is truncated at the Airport Lake fault to the north and the Garlock fault to the south, consistent with the aftershock pattern. The terminations of the SLLF representation are controlled by aftershock distribution. These new 3D fault representations are available as triangulated surface representations, and are being added to a Community Fault Model (CFM; Plesch et al., 2007, 2019; Nicholson et al., 2019) for wider use and to derived products such as a CFM trace map and viewer (Su et al., 2019).
Fibrous skeleton reconstruction for invasive aortic and mitral valve endocarditis

Invasive endocarditis of the aortic and mitral valves with involvement of the intervalvular fibrosa is a particular surgical challenge. We describe a technique for aortic and mitral valve replacement with concomitant reconstruction of the intervalvular fibrosa, utilizing a folded bovine pericardial patch (Commando operation).
Learning Health System in Crisis: Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is the gravest public-health crisis that the United States has seen in more than a century. Healthcare delivery systems are the focal point for interfacing with COVID-19; however, many were and remain unprepared for this or similar outbreaks. In this paper, we describe the Learning Health System (LHS) as an ideal organizing principle to inform an evidence-based response to public-health emergencies like COVID-19. We further describe barriers and challenges to the realization of the LHS and propose a call to action for a substantial investment in the LHS, with a focus on public health. Specifically, we advocate for a Learning Health Network that promotes collaboration between health systems, community-based organizations, and government agencies, especially during public health emergencies. We have approached this commentary through the unique lens of researchers embedded within a large, integrated healthcare delivery system, with direct experience working with clinical and operational units in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Genomic analysis in myeloid sarcoma and comparison with paired acute myeloid leukemia.

Summary Myeloid sarcoma (MS) is a rare manifestation of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) characterized by extramedullary proliferation of myeloid blasts. Owing to the rarity of MS, the clonal evolution of cell populations giving rise to MS is not well understood. To study the genomic signature of MS, we used a capture-based next-generation sequencing panel targeting 479 cancer genes to interrogate the genetic variants present in MS samples and compared their genetic profiles with their paired AML samples from a cohort of seven individuals. We identified a spectrum of single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) and a spectrum of copy number alterations in MS. Our study found that variant profiles observed in MS were generally similar to AML from the same individual, supporting the notion that these tumors are derived from a common precursor, rather than de novo tumors in a susceptible host. In addition, MS cases with a higher number of SNVs show worse clinical outcomes than MS with a lower number of SNVs. Identification of these abnormalities could potentially contribute to improved prognostic classification and identify new therapeutic targets for MS.
Delivery room oxygen physiology and respiratory interventions for newborns with cyanotic congenital heart disease.

OBJECTIVE To characterize pulse oxygen saturation (SpO2) trajectories and respiratory interventions after birth for newborns with cyanotic congenital heart disease (CCHD). STUDY DESIGN Retrospective single-site study of newborns ≥32 weeks gestation with CCHD: single ventricle with critical aortic obstruction (SV-CAO), critical pulmonic obstruction (CPO), transposition of the great arteries (TGA). Minute-to-minute SpO2 values and respiratory interventions were summarized and compared. RESULTS Two hundred infants were enrolled. SpO2 at each minute differed across groups (p < 0.01), with the lowest values in TGA. All interventions were most frequent in TGA (p < 0.01). Continuous positive airway pressure was provided in 22% SV-CAO, 23% CPO, and 66% TGA. Positive pressure ventilation occurred in 7% SV-CAO, 14% CPO, and 33% TGA. Intubation occurred in 4% SV-CAO, 10% CPO, and 53% TGA. CONCLUSION We defined SpO2 trajectories and delivery room respiratory interventions for three CCHD phenotypes. These results inform delivery room management of these high-risk populations.
Surface and Radar Observations of Winter Weather Conditions during Traffic Crashes in Northern Indiana

We examine the relationship between snow events and traffic crashes in four counties in northern Indiana across three consecutive winters, totaling 15,515 crashes. We compare daily crash occurrence...
The U.S. Posture on Global Access to Medication & the Case for Change

The TRIPS Waiver sought by India and South Africa features as the hot button issue of 2021. This paper enables that discussion by empirically showcasing the traditional role of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on the question of pharmaceutical patents. The USTR is authorized by statute to identify and pursue countries perceived as denying adequate and effective protection of intellectual property (IP) rights and/or fair and equitable market access to U.S. industries or entities that rely on IP protection. The paper examines whether the allegations of poorer nations that repeatedly, the changes sought by the US have often deterred other member nations from using negotiated trade flexibilities. In doing so, this paper highlights that, it is a fact that the USTR has historically exerted pressure - often, unilaterally - on other countries in a manner that violates the spirit of the multilateral dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organization. The paper showcases the number of times the USTR has tended to focus its allegations of violations on pharmaceuticals, seemingly only based on the rhetoric from PhRMA. In fact, once a country is an identified violator, the USTR has tended towards applying direct and indirect pressure through trade negotiations and preference systems in order to win policy changes favoring the U.S. intellectual property owners. The unfortunate reality, this paper concludes , is that traditionally many such changes sought by the USTR lack due consideration of local realities, and has not truly allowed allies to use negotiated TRIPS- flexibilities meant to provide access to medications in the targeted nations. The numbers in this paper speaks for itself as the US considers whether the TRIPS Waiver should be supported. The adverse impact of COVID-19 on trade necessitates us to factually asses local realities as well as the role of the US as a global leader to prioritize GLOBAL public health as a means to restore trade.
Effects Of Ultra Violet Light Exposure on Gated Sillicon Field Emitter Arrays

Ultra violet (UV) light assisted residual gas desorption was performed on silicon gated field emitter array (Si-GFEAs) with 1000×1000 tips. These GFEAs can be used as vacuum nano-transistors. Here, Si-GFEAs with tips are studied experimentally in normal condition as well as under ultra-violet (UV) light exposure for a period of 100 minutes with a time step of 20 minutes. After the experiment, it was found that UV exposure enhanced the field emission current by tenfold and decreased the gate to emitter leakage by greater than ten times. This enhancement can be attributed to the residual gas desorption (water) stimulated by UV exposure, thus reducing the gate surface leakage as well as the work function of emitter tips.
New Private Privacy Intrusions in Illinois During Prelitigation Civil Claim Investigations

In Lawlor v. North American Corporation of Illinois, 2012, IL 112530, the Illinois Supreme Court first recognized the intentional tort of intrusion upon seclusion. It then applied the tort in favor of a former employee against a former employer whose agents deceitfully investigated the employee in contemplation of future civil litigation. In Lawlor, the employer’s lawyer was also involved in the investigation. Under certain circumstances, under the Lawlor rationale, that lawyer could also be liable in tort to the former employee. Lawyer liability after Lawlor could be founded on either the intentional or unintentional acts of either the lawyer or the lawyer’s agent. Liability might fail, however, if there was a privacy waiver. The circumstances permitting lawyer liability for intrusion upon seclusion during prelitigation civil claim investigations often include violations of the lawyer ethics rules employed for lawyer discipline. Because those harmed by lawyer intrusions seem far more likely to complain in their own civil suits than in lawyer disciplinary proceedings, in the future lawyer presuit civil claim investigations will increasingly be scrutinized under lawyer ethics rules in tort rather than disciplinary settings. The Lawlor rationale raises many questions about lawyer liability for private privacy intrusions during civil claim investigations, including questions about agency, deceit and waiver. After Lawlor, Illinois lawyers will investigate civil claims even more cautiously than in the past.
Comparison of genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimizer when evolving a recurrent neural network

This paper compares the performance of GAs and PSOs in evolving weights of a recurrent neural network. The algorithms are tested on multiple network topologies. Both algorithms produce successful networks. The GA is more successful evolving larger networks and the PSO is more successful on smaller networks.
Nutrient losses in surface and subsurface flow from pasture applied poultry litter and composted poultry litter

Over application of poultry litter may cause pollution of surface and ground water. Spatial variability in soil characteristics makes predictions difficult. Composting poultry litter could reduce the risk of pollution by creating more stable organic components. Three rates of poultry litter and compost (10 Mg ha-1 litter, 20 Mg ha-1 litter and 10 Mg ha-1 litter combined with 50 Mg ha-1 compost) to three watersheds under pasture. The watersheds were monitored for surface and subsurface flow. Nitrate-N concentrations in subsurface flow did not exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standard of 10 mg L-1. Soluble phosphorus concentrations in runoff were high, reaching a maximum of 8.5 mg L-1 under the compost treatment. These concentrations are generally lower than reported on smaller scale studies, which shows the need of studies at the correct scale.
Teaching the Skills to Question: A Credit-Course Approach to Critical Information Literacy

Critical Information Literacy does not dispense with teaching ‘rules’ (of grammar, citation, research, writing, etc.), but also places these elements within larger frameworks of critical dialogue, creative thinking and learning, and political and historical inquiry. All of these elements together empower students far more than a mastering of the rules and techniques of research. “Research and Documentation for the Information Age” is the critical information literacy course currently offered by the Library department at New York City College of Technology. With the luxury of three credits, we emphasize integration of library skills into all facets of assignments rather than presenting them as discrete competencies to be mastered and measured. Students come away not only with the ability to succeed in the world, but also with an ability to better understand their world’s origins, structures, and functions, and with a clearer idea of how those structures are contingent and open to challenge. In other words, critical information literacy enables students to believe that they have the ability to change that world.
Persistence of the dens as the body of C1. A case report of a reare anomaly

A patient with persistence of the dens as the body of the first cervical vertebra is described. This is an extremely rare anomaly and in this patient was associated with instability of the first cervical vertebra. Embryologic considerations and the clinical implications of this anomaly are discussed.
Post-Transcriptional Modifications of the Anticodon Loop Region: Alterations in Isoaccepting Species of tRNA's During Development in Bacillus subtilis

Abstract Structural similarities of tRNA's were compared using three sets of isoaccepting species that had previously been shown to undergo significant changes in chromatographic elution properties as a function of developmental stage in Bacillus subtilis. Comparisons of the structures of the tRNA's were based on the composition of their modified nucleosides, comparisons of oligonucleotide elution profiles from RPC-5 columns, and two-dimensional electrophoretic fingerprint analysis of oligonucleotides. The tRNA's studied were tRNALys1 and tRNALys3; tRNATyr1 and tRNATyr2; and tRNATrp1 and tRNATrp2. The results suggest that the difference among these pairs of isoaccepting species is a difference in the degree of post-transcriptional modifications of the anticodon loop region. The nucleosides involved were N6-(Δ2-isopentenyl)adenosine (i6A), 2-methylthio-N6-(Δ2-isopentenyl)adenosine (ms2i6A), and an unknown nucleoside K, which occurred in a position analogous to N-[9-(β-d-ribofuranosyl)purin-6-ylcarbamoyl]threonine. The amounts of i6A and ms2i6A, determined using total tRNA from exponential-or stationary-phase cells, suggest that the thiomethylation of i6A is a pleiotropic phenomenon affecting several tRNA species. As opposed to the situation in Escherichia coli tRNA, where ms2i6A constitutes about 90% of the total hydrophobic nucleosides at all growth stages, B. subtilis tRNA's have i6A as the predominant hydrophobic nucleoside in exponential growth and ms2i6A as the predominant nucleoside in stationary phase. Thus, the enzyme system which forms i6A and the enzyme system which thiomethylates i6A are not coordinated during growth in B. subtilis as they are in E. coli. It is suggested that these changes in anticodon loop modifications in B. subtilis may be related to changes in the translational apparatus which occur during sporulation.
Overview of: “The Differential Short‐Term Impacts of Executions on Felony and Non‐Felony Homicides”

Research Summary Social scientists have debated about whether the death penalty and/or executions deter homicides and thus save lives for at least half a century. Recent empirical analyses by Kovandzic, Vieraitis, and Boots (2009) and Land, Teske, and Zheng (2009) implied that if a deterrent effect of executions exists, it is small in magnitude and relatively short term. Discussions of Kovandzic et al. (2009) by Donahue (2009) and Rubin (2009) led to the question studied in this article: Do executions impact felony and non-felony homicides similarly? To address this question and build on recent studies, monthly time-series data on counts of executions and felony-type and non–felony-type homicides in Texas for the years 1994–2007 are analyzed. The results indicate a modest reduction, a deterrence effect, of approximately 1.96 non–felony-type homicides in the month after an execution followed by a rebound in the following second month with a net effect of 1.4 during a 12-month period. By comparison, the corresponding analyses of the felony-type homicide events series produce an estimated increase, a brutalization effect, in the month after an execution of approximately 0.5 homicide events. Combining these two counterbalancing effects produces a slight short-lived deterrent effect of an execution on all homicides taken together. This finding is consistent with the previous findings of Land et al.'s (2009) analyses of all homicides grouped together and with findings from prior studies of felony- and non–felony-type homicides. Policy Implications These findings provide additional evidence that the deterrent effects of executions are modest and short term. In addition, they imply that there would be little, if any, deterrence of homicides in Texas if executions were not used frequently. Recently however, Texas has been a state with (a) a large population, (b) a large number of capital murders and convictions, (c) a continuing stream of convicted murderers sentenced to death, and (d) a willingness to use executions extensively. Whether the modest, short-term deterrent effects of executions found in Texas occur in other states is an open question. But it is evident that few other U.S. states have these four characteristics. At the same time, the downside of the use of executions extensively in Texas is a partially counterbalancing brutalization effect—a slight, short-term increase in the frequency with which perpetrators of felony crimes such as robbery kill in the process of committing the crime. And none of this speaks to ethical or cost–benefit issues in the use of capital punishment as a public policy.
Changes in the Gallus gallus Proteome Induced by Marek’s Disease Virus

Marek’s disease virus (MDV) is a highly oncogenic avian herpesvirus. We have used a modified MudPIT analysis to examine the effect of MDV infection on the chicken proteome. We identified 3561 unique nonphosphorylated peptides, representing 1460 chicken proteins, in a mock-infected sample versus 4240 unique nonphosphorylated peptides, representing 1676 proteins, in an MDV-infected sample. Of these unique peptides, 59.1% from the mock- and 49.6% from the MDV-infected samples were detected in both samples, and for the represented proteins, 69.1% from the mock- and 60.2% from the MDV-infected samples were common to both samples. In terms of phosphorylation, 357 and 506 phosphopeptides, representing 342 and 483 proteins, were detected in the mock- and MDV-infected samples, respectively. At the phosphopeptide level, 10.1% from the mock- and 7.1% from the MDV-infected samples overlapped, and for the represented phosphoproteins, 12.0% from the mock- and 8.5% from the MDV-infected samples were common to both sampl...
A Predictive Approach to Model Selection

Abstract This article offers a synthesis of Bayesian and sample-reuse approaches to the problem of high structure model selection geared to prediction. Similar methods are used for low structure models. Nested and nonnested paradigms are discussed and examples given.
Optic nerve crush mice followed longitudinally with spectral domain optical coherence tomography.

Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death induced by optic nerve crush injury has been used as a model to investigate axonal degeneration of the central nervous system in mice.1–4 In adult mice, approximately 60% of RGCs are lost within 3 weeks after optic nerve crush injury, as determined by histology.1,4 Ophthalmic imaging techniques such as confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (CSLO) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) can provide quantitative and detailed structural information from the retina and optic nerve head (ONH) region. In vivo images of RGCs in mice and rats after optic nerve crush have been acquired using retrograde labeling and CSLO.5–7 Recently, Leung et al.8 demonstrated the use of CSLO with Thy-1 cyan fluorescent protein expressing transgenic mice to monitor RGCs in vivo after nerve crush. The authors in these studies were able to observe the loss of RGCs in the same eyes over time, contrary to previous experiments using histology that required several different animals at each time point. OCT allows for noninvasive, in vivo imaging of ocular structures and has been used to obtain optical cross sections of the mouse retina.9–12 Time-domain OCT9,10 and spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT)13–17 imaging have been used to observe retinal thinning in mouse models of retinal degeneration. One study used SD-OCT to image axotomized rats and manually obtained measurements of retinal layers in six cross-sectional images.18 This approach, however, is prone to subjective bias both in the selection of individual cross-sections and in the manual segmentation of retinal layers. To fully benefit from the high resolution and rapid scanning provided by SD-OCT, it would be desirable to obtain automated measurements from the area of interest. The goal of this study, therefore, was to investigate the longitudinal effect of optic nerve crush injury on total retinal thickness (TRT) in adult mice using automated segmentation analysis of SD-OCT images.
Sex Differences in the Electrocardiogram

In 424 men and 142 women, clinically "healthy," ages 40 through 59 years, significant sex differences in electrocardiographic characteristics were found. The differences were minor in the limb-lead amplitudes (P, Q, R, S, T), but QRS and P-R duration was significantly shorter in women. Precordiallead amplitudes (R, S, T) were significantly smaller in women. Present normal standards derived from groups of men are not valid for women.
Subcellular localization of human placental aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase.

Abstract Homogenates of human placentas were fractionated by a variety of differential centrifugation techniques. Prepared subfractions were assayed by ultrastructure analysis and marker enzyme quantitation. The lowest ratios of cytochrome oxidase/aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activities were observed in a 6.24 × 10 6 g -min sediment fraction following sequential precentrifugations at 1.5 × 10 4 , 9.75 × 10 4 , 2.18 × 10 5 , 3.03 × 10 5 and 4.64 × 10 5 g -min. Investigations of subfractions with respect to acid phosphatase, glucose-6-phosphatase, nucleoside disphosphatase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, and aryl sulfatases A, B, and C also tended to support a concept of localization of the mixed-function oxidase system in the endoplasmic reticulum of human placental cells. Consistent with these chemical observations was the enrichment of membranous components seen in electron micrographs of the respective homogenate subfractions.
A public choice framework for controlling transmissible and evolving diseases

Control measures used to limit the spread of infectious disease often generate externalities. Vaccination for transmissible diseases can reduce the incidence of disease even among the unvaccinated, whereas antimicrobial chemotherapy can lead to the evolution of antimicrobial resistance and thereby limit its own effectiveness over time. We integrate the economic theory of public choice with mathematical models of infectious disease to provide a quantitative framework for making allocation decisions in the presence of these externalities. To illustrate, we present a series of examples: vaccination for tetanus, vaccination for measles, antibiotic treatment of otitis media, and antiviral treatment of pandemic influenza.
VIBRATION-ROTATION BANDS OF HYDROGEN AND DEUTERIUM SELENIDE

Abstract The infrared fundamental vibration-rotation bands of H 2 Se and D 2 Se have been measured with a vacuum prism-grating spectrograph with spectral slit widths of about 0.2 cm −1 . Using ground state energy levels obtained from far infrared pure rotational data, the bands have been analyzed to obtain rotational constants for the various excited vibrational states.
The intergenerational transmission of inequality: Maternal disadvantage and health at birth

Health at birth is an important predictor of long-term outcomes, including education, income, and disability. Recent evidence suggests that maternal disadvantage leads to worse health at birth through poor health behaviors; exposure to harmful environmental factors; worse access to medical care, including family planning; and worse underlying maternal health. With increasing inequality, those at the bottom of the distribution now face relatively worse economic conditions, but newborn health among the most disadvantaged has actually improved. The most likely explanation is increasing knowledge about determinants of infant health and how to protect it along with public policies that put this knowledge into practice.
Sex differences in analgesic responses: evidence from experimental pain models.

Background and objective: Sex-related influences on the experience of pain have received considerable empirical attention. Women are at greater risk for several forms of clinical pain and exhibit greater perceptual responses to experimental pain. In recent years, investigators have turned their attention to the influence of sex-related factors on analgesic responses. The purpose of this review is to examine the literature on sex differences in analgesic responses, emphasizing findings from experimental studies. Methods: First, important methodological issues in laboratory pain research are presented, and sex differences in responses to experimentally-induced pain are briefly addressed. Next, previous data from non-human animal research and human experimental and clinical research related to sex differences in analgesia are discussed. Also, preliminary results are presented from an ongoing study in our laboratory examining analgesic responses in women and men. Results and conclusions: Both previous research and preliminary findings from our laboratory suggests that opioids produce greater analgesic responses in women than men. Potential mechanisms underlying sex differences in analgesia are proposed, and important directions for future research are suggested.
Molecular evolution of plant immune system genes

Molecular population genetic studies are providing new perspectives on the evolution of genes that confer resistance to pathogens and herbivores. Here, we compare the evolutionary history of different components of the defense response (detection, signaling and response) and of genes with parallel function in plants and Drosophila. A review of the literature indicates that the dominant form of selection acting on defense genes (balancing, positive and purifying) differs among components of defense. Sampling of particular classes of genes and genes from non-model organisms, however, remains limited. Future studies combining molecular evolutionary analyses with ecological genetic and functional analyses should better reveal how natural selection has shaped defense gene evolution.
Teachers: A Critical But Overlooked Component of Bullying Prevention and Intervention

To complete this special issue on theoretical bases for antibullying efforts in schools, we focus in this article on the importance of teachers and other educators in the ecology of schools. First, we present evidence that teachers are not perceived to be effective at intervening when bullying occurs. Then, using a social motivational lens, we provide an overview of teachers' role as a socializing agent in the classroom and school with a particular emphasis on their influence on bullying behaviors among students. Then we present two theories, the theory of planned behaviors, and the transactional theory of emotions and coping. We believe these theories highlight the complexity of teacher responses and make the case that teachers need more than knowledge of bullying to be effective in their role. We discuss implications for teacher training and professional development.
Risk factors for pathologic gambling and other compulsions among Parkinson’s disease patients taking dopamine agonists

Three hundred patients with Parkinson's disease taking dopamine agonists were surveyed for the presence of compulsions. Fifty-eight reported active compulsions which had developed after initiation of dopamine agonists. These included 25 with sexual compulsions and 28 with self-described compulsive gambling, of whom 17 met criteria for pathologic gambling. Males were over-represented. Patients with any compulsion and those with pathologic gambling were about 6 years younger than those without compulsions. These behavioral problems were not associated with an individual dopamine agonist, nor dose or duration, nor concomitant levodopa. Follow-up of the pathologic gamblers 1 year after intervention, which was cessation of the dopamine agonist in most cases, found ongoing but controlled gambling in five and complete cessation within 4 months in the remainder.
Highly Sorbent Films Derived from Ni(SCN)(2)(4-picoline)(4) for the Detection of Chlorinated and Aromatic Hydrocarbons with Quartz Crystal Microbalance Sensors.

A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) spray-coated with a Ni(SCN)2(4-picoline)4 film is a sensitive detector for small aromatic (benzene, toluene) and chlorinated (trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene) vapors with a planar molecular geometry. Frequency changes during transient exposures to these vapors are rapid and reversible. In contrast, frequency changes during transient exposures to carbon tetrachloride vapor exhibit a very slow rise and decay. Impedance studies demonstrate that the QCMs are responding only to mass changes in the film. Calibration curves exhibit both linear and near-saturation responses, depending on the vapor and vapor concentration. Partition coefficients obtained from the linear response regimes of the calibration curves are in the 10 000−100 000 range, more than an order of magnitude larger than the partition coefficients for a prototypical soft polymer, poly(isobutylene). Despite the absence of evidence for crystallinity by optical or X-ray diffraction methods, the spray-coated fi...
The impact on the reflectance in VIS of a type of crude oil film floating on the water surface.

This paper reports the reflective features of a water surface covered with an oil film expressed by the dependence of the reflectance on the angle of light incidence and wavelength and film thickness with respect to downward and upward light fluxes. The sensitivity of the shape of these functions on the oil type appears especially strong in case of the upward light fluxes as opposed to downward fluxes.