cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Antagonistic donor density effect conserved in multiple enterococcal conjugative plasmids

ABSTRACT Enterococcus faecalis, a common causative agent of hospital-acquired infections, is resistant to many known antibiotics. Its ability to acquire and transfer resistance genes and virulence determinants through conjugative plasmids poses a serious concern for public health. In some cases, induction of transfer of E. faecalis plasmids results from peptide pheromones produced by plasmid-free recipient cells, which are sensed by the plasmid-bearing donor cells. These plasmids generally encode an inhibitory peptide that competes with the pheromone and suppresses self-induction of donors. We recently demonstrated that the inhibitor peptide encoded on plasmid pCF10 is part of a unique quorum-sensing system in which it functions as a “self-sensing signal,” reducing the response to the pheromone in a density-dependent fashion. Based on the similarities between regulatory features controlling conjugation in pAD1 and pAM373 and those controlling conjugation in pCF10, we hypothesized that these plasmids are likely to exhibit similar quorum-sensing behaviors. Experimental findings indicate that for both pAD1 and pAM373, high donor densities indeed resulted in decreased induction of the conjugation operon and reduced conjugation frequencies. This effect was restored by the addition of exogenous inhibitor, confirming that the inhibitor serves as an indicator for donor density. Donor density also affects cross-species conjugative plasmid transfer. Based on our experimental results, we propose models for induction and shutdown of the conjugation operon in pAD1 and pAM373. IMPORTANCEEnterococcus faecalis is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. Its ability to transfer antibiotic resistance and virulence determinants by sharing its genetic material with other bacteria through direct cell-cell contact via conjugation poses a serious threat. Two antagonistic signaling peptides control the transfer of plasmids pAD1 and pAM373: a peptide pheromone produced by plasmid-free recipients triggers the conjugative transfer in plasmid-containing donors, and an inhibitor peptide encoded on the plasmid and produced by donor cells serves to modulate the donor response in accordance with the relative abundance of donors and recipients. We demonstrate that high donor density reduces the conjugation frequency of both of these plasmids, which is a consequence of increased inhibitor concentration in high-donor-density cultures. While most antibiotic strategies end up selecting resistant strains and disrupting the community balance, manipulating bacterial signaling mechanisms can serve as an alternate strategy to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance.
Learning Behavior Characterization with Multi-Feature, Hierarchical Activity Sequences.

This paper discusses Multi-Feature Hierarchical Sequential PAttern Mining, MFH-SPAM, a novel algorithm that efficiently extracts patterns from students’ learning activity sequences. This algorithm extends an existing sequential pattern mining algorithm by dynamically selecting the level of specificity for hierarchically-defined features individually for each pattern. Consequently, MFH-SPAM operates on a larger space of patterns in the activity sequences. In this paper, we employ a differential version of MFH-SPAM to extract a small set of patterns that best differentiate students with different learning behavior profiles in the Betty’s Brain system. Our results illustrate that: (1) MFH-SPAM identifies important patterns missed by traditional sequence mining approaches; and (2) the differential patterns provide additional information for characterizing learning behaviors. This has implications for developing targeted and adaptive scaffolding in open-ended learning environments.
IL-17: overview and role in oral immunity and microbiome

Interleukin-17 (IL-17) is a multifaceted cytokine with diverse roles in both immune protection and also immunopathology. IL-17 has a well-recognized role in immune surveillance at mucosal and barrier surfaces, but also has been increasingly implicated as a driver of immunopathology in settings of autoimmunity and chronic inflammation. The current review introduces basic aspects of IL-17 biology and examines the protective and pathogenic roles of IL-17 with a focus on oral mucosal immunity and inflammation. Specific emphasis is given to the role of the IL-17 response as a catalyst in 'shaping the microbiome at the oral barrier'.
Families and Communities: A Social Organization Theory of Action and Change

Families and the community structures and processes that surround them are the focus of this chapter. A social organization theoretical framework is employed as a means of understanding prior work on how families and their communities intersect, and is also invoked to suggest new directions in this area of family science. As backdrop to presenting a theory of action and change, major works in family science, from the 1960s through the present, are analyzed regarding discussions of the families/communities interface. These major works include all sourcebooks and theory compilations centered on families. In addition, three principal journals in family science are analyzed for the period of 2000–2009, with a focus on family research centered on community contexts. This analysis provides a clear roadmap for directions future research might take. The chapter concludes by presenting the essential elements of a social organization theory of action and change, including its assumptions about families and their communities. Community antecedents (the social and physical infrastructures), social organizational processes (networks, social capital, and community capacity), intermediate results (sense of community), and important outcomes for individuals and their families are then elaborated.
Digitizing Mathematical Symbolism Through Pen and Touch Technology: A Beginning Taxonomy of Affordances for Learner Flow in Mathematics

This essay highlights a rationale for pen and touch in K16 mathematics classrooms, arguing that digitizing mathematical cognition can promote learner flow. The personal computing and mobile technologies that have transformed society since the 1980s left a large element of mathematics learning, which relies on non-keyboard symbol systems and drawing, untouched in comparison to learning in disciplines that involve construction and manipulation of written text that can be expressed with a keyboard. Yet over the past decade pen and touch has gradually brought into the digital era that large fraction of K16 mathematics that relies on symbol and visual systems that exceed the representational capacity of the standard keyboard. It has become a portal for research in new forms of research and new forms of mathematical learning. The paper argues that learner flow can be promoted through pen and touch and identifies a three-tier initial taxonomy for classifying such applications.
The Role of Technology in Education: Reality, Pitfalls, and Potential

Publisher Summary This chapter explains why teachers are the key to the successful adoption and use of educational technology. It discusses the research findings about technology's effectiveness, examines some of the uses of education technology, identifies key issues involved with its adoption and use, and discusses some of the critical policy issues associated with adopting and using technology. Effective use of technology is defined here as using technology to help students achieve desired learning outcomes and to enhance students' learning experiences by providing them with resources, opportunities, and tools that would otherwise be unavailable to them. The implications of this definition are straightforward. Technology is not the most important variable in the learning process; instead, it is how teachers use the technology that is critical. Clearly, the nature of learning and its required tasks must drive the use of technology and not vice versa. Teachers should always have compelling instructional reasons for using technology, and if none can be found, then technology should not be applied to a given learning situation. As such, technology becomes one of many tools that teachers use to help their students learn, instead of the only tool. The chapter provides some general recommendations to the policy makers in the area of educational technology adoption and use.
The Internet as a Cross-Disciplinary Learning Environment

Medical and vocational service providers seldom experience collaborative education, although patients with chronic and/or permanent disabilities require both the medical and vocational perspective to achieve fullest functioning. The intensity of medical and vocational services is reciprocal, with medical service dominating at onset, vocational services at discharge, and both continuing over a period of time to maintain health and employment. The usual learning environment for medical or vocational students does not facilitate cross-diseiplinary learning of comprehensive rehabilitation. Electronic communication allows instructors to engage students in various sites and disciplines in problem based learning. A pilot project was conducted providing asynchronous access to professionals who chose a case and interacted with a group of students for a period of 12 weeks.
Epidemic Mental Disorders

This chapter focuses epidemic mental disorders, which refer to mental disorders or pathological psychological reactions that occur among groups of people in a contagious way within a relatively short period of time in a particular social setting. The mental disorders may involve a small number of subjects or hundreds or even thousands collectively through the process of contagion in an endemic or epidemic fashion. The psychiatric symptoms are usually manifested as hysterical conversion reactions such as fainting, paralysis, or convulsions; or panic states such as fear of disaster, danger, or death. However, they may also take the form of collective depressive or delusional states or a mixture of various disturbances. An important condition that seems to be present is some preexisting stress or group apprehension caused by a various sources, such as an authority-submission conflict, academic or achievement stress, fear of enemy infiltration, or sociocultural or interethnic tension associated with ethnic migration, refugees, or socioeconomic change. In other words, some unusual tension, fear, or anger among the group becomes a fertile ground for such outbreaks. From a public health standpoint, when any collective mental disorder begins, it is important to establish a diagnosis quickly so that an organic cause, such as infection or intoxication, can be ruled out. Once the underlying cause of a tension or conflict is detected, an effort should be made to focus on the problem and resolve it as soon as possible.
Physical and Chemical Properties of the Protoplasm of Paramecium

In the first edition of this book, the protoplasmic structure, optical properties, surface area and volume, specific gravity, cyclosis and viscosity, and other physical and biochemical properties were described in detail and hence will not be reported here. On the other hand, more recent information stemming from discoveries in electron microscopy (EM) and molecular biology will be presented in this chapter and elsewhere.
Quantifying the flexibility of hydrogen production systems to support large-scale renewable energy integration

Abstract Hydrogen is a flexible energy carrier that can be produced in various ways and support a variety of applications including industrial processes, energy storage and electricity production, and can serve as an alternative transportation fuel. Hydrogen can be integrated in multiple energy sectors and has the potential to increase overall energy system flexibility, improve energy security, and reduce environmental impact. In this paper, the interactions between fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), hydrogen production facilities, and the electric power grid are explored. The flexibility of hydrogen production systems can create synergistic opportunities to better integrate renewable sources into the electricity system. To quantify this potential, we project the hourly system-wide balancing challenges in California out to 2025 as more renewables are deployed and electricity demand continues to grow. Passenger FCEV adoption and refueling behavior are modeled in detail to spatially and temporally resolve the hydrogen demand. We then quantify the system-wide balancing benefits of controlling hydrogen production from water electrolysis to mitigate renewable intermittency, without compromising the mobility needs of FCEV drivers. Finally, a control algorithm that can achieve different objectives, including peak shaving, valley filling, and ramping mitigation is proposed. Our results show that oversizing electrolyzers can provide considerable benefits to mitigate renewable intermittency, while also supporting the deployment of hydrogen vehicles to help decarbonize the transportation sector.
Parenting Is an Environmental Predictor of Callous-Unemotional Traits and Aggression: A Monozygotic Twin Differences Study

Objective Callous-unemotional (CU) traits increase risk for children to develop severe childhood aggression and conduct disorder. CU traits are typically described as highly heritable, and debate continues about whether the parenting environment matters in their etiology. Strong genetically informed designs are needed to test for the presence of environmental links between parenting practices and CU traits. Our objective was to determine whether parental harshness and parental warmth were related to children’s aggression or CU traits when accounting for genetically mediated effects. Method We examined 227 monozygotic twin pairs (454 children) drawn from population-based and at-risk samples of twin families, leading to oversampling of twins living in poverty. We computed multi-informant difference scores combining mother and father reports of their harshness and warmth toward each twin, and differences in mother reports of each twin’s aggression and CU traits. Results Twin differences in parental harshness were related to differences in both aggression and CU traits, such that the twin who received harsher parenting had higher aggression and more CU traits. Differences in parental warmth were uniquely related to differences in CU traits, such that the twin receiving warmer parenting evidenced lower CU traits. These effects were not moderated by child sex, age, or family income, with the exception that the relationship between differential parental harshness and differential child aggression was stronger among low-income families. Conclusion Parenting is related to child CU traits and aggression, over and above genetically mediated effects, with low parental warmth being a unique environmental correlate of CU traits.
Flower in the Mirror and Moon in the Water: The Problem of Chinese Allegory Revisited

"In the context of the rise of deconstructive criticism, it may not be a mere coincidence that from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s, a series of articles and books in Sinology (comparative literature) demonstrated a preoccupation with rhetoric, paying special attention to the Chinese concept of metaphor and allegory. The Western sense of allegory/metaphor, as these articles and books invariably suggest (Saussy 24), is absent from Chinese poetics and its literature. To quote Andrew Plaks’s description of this difference between East and West, “Representatives of the Chinese and European traditions are accorded a particular privilege of neat, even antipodal, contrast” (vii). While the Western sense of allegory/metaphor implies disjunction ... its Chinese counterpart embodies a totalizing...coherent whole. Pre-established, historical, and organic, the Chinese allegory/metaphor is a synecdoch, not the substitution. Given the milieu of deconstruction’s remarks on language-the demystification of symbol/concept on the one hand and the corresponding rehabilitation of metaphor/allegory on the other-this series of books and articles, now in hindsight over thirty years later, seems an interesting phenomenon that deserves further examination."
Safety and Efficacy of Intraventricular Delivery of Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Hemorrhagic Stroke Model

External ventricular drain (EVD) is used clinically to relieve intracranial pressure and occasionally to deliver medications following intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy has been shown to be neuroprotective and can induce neuroregeneration in stroke models. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of delivering MSCs intraventricularly in a rat hemorrhagic stroke model. Using autologous blood, hemorrhagic stroke was induced at specific coordinates in the right basal ganglia. After 30 minutes, rats were treated with either bone marrow-derived MSCs or a phosphate-buffered saline placebo via direct intraventricular infusion. Three dosages (2 × 105/kg, 5 × 105/kg, and 1 × 106/kg) of MSCs were administered. Forelimb use asymmetry test was employed to evaluate functional improvement after cell therapy. At the end of the experiment, peripheral blood samples and organs were harvested; biochemistry, cytokine, and growth factor analysis and histology evaluations were performed to explore cell toxicity and cell fate, and the effects of MSC therapy on injury volume, anti-inflammation, and neurogenesis. Intraventricular administration of MSCs in ICH rat model showed improved behavior and alleviated brain damage. Additionally, treated ICH rats showed significantly reduced expression of IL-1α, IL-6, and IFN-γ. No obvious cell toxicity was noticed through blood chemistry and histology evaluation. None of the infused MSCs were detected at the end of the experiment. EVD is safe and effective to use as a method of delivering MSCs to treat ICH. Intraventricularly delivered MSCs have anti-inflammatory properties and a capacity to induce neurogenesis and improve function following ICH injury.
Communication for Participatory Development: Dialogue, Action, and Change

More than halfway to the 2015 deadline, measurable progress has been achieved on some of the eight millennium development goals established in 2000 by leaders of 189 countries (United Nations, 2007). For instance, according to the United Nations (UN; 2007), from 1990 to 2004, the proportion of people living in extreme poverty (living on a dollar or less a day) dropped from 1.25 billion (32%) to 980 million (19%), and child mortality declined worldwide. However, severe problems remain, as half a million women die annually from preventable and treatable complications from pregnancy and childbirth, and there has been little progress in halving the proportion of underweight children. Moreover, in Sub-Saharan Africa, only 5% of children under age 5 sleep under insecticide-treated bed nets, an effective tool for preventing malaria, far short of the 60% target that was set for 2005. Deaths from AIDS increased to an estimated 2.1 million in 2007, with more than 15 million children having lost one or both parents to the disease. Half the population of the developing world still lives without basic sanitation and over a billion people lack access to safe water. Meanwhile, many of the benefi ts of global economic growth are not being equally shared.
The Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Machine Learning to Determine Myocyte Damage in Cardiac Transplant Acute Cellular Rejection

Purpose Cardiac transplant patients must be on lifelong surveillance for the occurrence of acute cellular rejection (ACR). Despite potent immunosuppressants, ACR occurs when recipient T cells recognize donor antigens to cause cardiac myocyte destruction. Identifying myocyte damage is critical for determining the grade of rejection, and thus greatly impacts treatment decisions. The aim of this study is to determine if a machine learning algorithm can reach acceptable performance of identifying myocyte damage representative of ACR from benign conditions. AI technology has recently been under robust investigation in cancer pathology but is in its infancy in transplant pathology. This is the first AI algorithm to our knowledge, to identify myocyte damage in cardiac transplant patients. Methods All regions of myocyte damage were annotated by a board-certified cardiac pathologist at a high-volume cardiac transplant center. Cases diagnosed as antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) were excluded. Annotations were extracted using the Openslide software and fed into a convolutional neural network which used the locked VGG16 base for transfer learning. Keras was used for AI modeling and training. Four annotation classes were included in the algorithm (normal, healing injury, Grade 1R1A and Grade 1R2). Results A total of 19,617 annotations (10,855 regions of ACR, 5002 healing injury, 3760 normal) were completed from 200 hematoxylin and eosin slides scanned using a Leica Aperio AT2 digital whole slide scanner at 40X magnification. The AI algorithm successfully distinguished myocyte damage (Grade 1R2) from non-myocyte damage (Grade 1R1A) with 94% validation accuracy. ACR was distinguished from healing injury with 98-99% validation accuracy, and from normal cardiac myocytes with 99% validation accuracy. Conclusion This study provides evidence for the first time, that a machine learning algorithm can be taught and validated to distinguish myocyte damage ACR from non-myocyte damage ACR. To our knowledge, this is one of the first AI tools developed in cardiac transplant pathology that may be used as an adjunct tool to decrease inter-observer diagnostic variability and reduce diagnostic error amongst pathologists.
A review of coal heating value correlations with application to coal char, tar, and other fuels

Abstract Accurately measuring a fuel’s heating value is one of the first steps in the classification of a new fuel. Heating values are widely used in coal combustion research and are becoming more useful in other fuel types as well. Many different empirical correlations to predict heating values based on primary organic (CHONS) elemental composition are found in the literature, many of which were originally created to predict heating values of parent coal, and some of which have been extended for biomass. However, no correlations exist for heating values of coal chars and tars. Thirteen literature heating value correlations (10 model forms with 13 unique sets of coefficients) were evaluated for their predictive accuracy of a wide variety of fuel types, including 353 coals. This comparative analysis showed that the predictive capabilities of many of these literature models are very similar for coal-based fuels, with good correlation of coal char heating values. Correlation of coal tar heating values was hampered by the lack of heating value data. The choice of which model to use becomes more important for biomass fuels as well as for more unique fuel types like propellants and explosives, municipal solid waste, etc. The best model forms for each fuel type are suggested based on several statistical measures of fit.
The Influence of Image Salience on the Artistic Renditions of Cave Lions in the Early Upper Paleolithic

Large felid predators have posed significant threats to various primate lineages since Miocene times. In the case of leopards (Panthera pardus), natural selection has fostered the ability to recognize these cats in a number of nonhuman primates. This perceptual ability is maintained in habitats where these predators are no longer present. In a similar domain, the hominin fossil record provides evidence of a long period of exposure to felid predators. Thus, it is reasonable to hypothesize that natural selection engendered some evolved felid-recognition abilities in human ancestors. As explorations of this potential, experimental studies show that children and adults are capable detectors of lion images embedded in arrays of nondangerous antelope. In this chapter, the perceptual aspects of lions are investigated further by reviewing the neurobiological underpinnings of face recognition and shape and texture-processing which include the contextual associations that promote object recognition. Cave lions (Panthera spelaea) were an important component of cave drawings and mobiliary sculptures of Aurignacian hunter–gatherers in the early Upper Paleolithic of Europe. Some features of cave lions, such as facial markings and body contours are portrayed in drawings and figurines with anatomical realism, suggesting a level of visual salience that might be indicative of an evolutionary influence.
delta-Melt: Nucleic acid conformational penalties from melting experiments

Thermodynamic propensities of biomolecules to adopt non-native conformations are crucial for understanding how they function, but prove difficult to measure experimentally. Combining optical melting experiments with chemical modifications and mutations, we developed delta-Melt for measuring the energetic penalties associated with nucleic acid conformational rearrangements and how they vary with sequence and physiological conditions. delta-Melt is fast, simple, cost effective, and can characterize conformational penalties inaccessible to conventional biophysical methods.
Donor Heart Coronary Calcification: Do We Take This Donor Heart?

Purpose The donor shortage in heart transplantation (HTx) has led to programs accepting older donors. Coronary calcification is common in older people and is known to correlate with underlying coronary artery disease. It is not known whether these donors with coronary calcification impart an increased risk for the recipient to develop cardiac allograft vasculopathy. Methods Between 2010 and 2017, we assessed 31 heart transplant patients who were found to have coronary calcification within the first 3 months after heart transplantation, either by coronary angiography or chest CT scans. These patients were compared to a contemporary cohort of 192 patients (transplanted with donors >30 years old) without coronary calcification for the following outcomes: 3-year survival, 3-year freedom from cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV, as defined by stenosis ≥30% by angiography), 3-year non-fatal major adverse cardiac events (NF-MACE: myocardial infarction, new congestive heart failure, percutaneous coronary intervention, implantable cardioverter defibrillator/pacemaker implant, stroke), and 1-year freedom from any treated rejection (ATR), acute cellular rejection (ACR), and antibody-mediated rejection (AMR). Results Those patients with donor coronary calcification compared to those without had a significantly lower 3-year freedom from CAV (64.5% vs 85.9%, P=0.001). There was no significant difference in 3-year survival, freedom from NF-MACE, and 1-year rejection episodes. The severity of CAV observed in the donor coronary calcification group included: CAV1 = 13, CAV2 = 1, CAV3 = 0. Conclusion Donor coronary artery calcification appears to be a marker for greater risk for developing CAV after heart transplantation. Caution must be taken to accept these organs and if accepted, early modification of immunosuppression with a proliferation signal inhibitor may be indicated.
That's Interesting! A Flawed Article Has Influenced Generations of Management Researchers:

Davis's (1971) article “That's interesting! Towards a phenomenology of sociology and a sociology of phenomenology” is regarded by many management researchers as a classic work and a basis for guidi...
mSAIL: milligram-scale multi-modal sensor platform for monarch butterfly migration tracking

Each fall, millions of monarch butterflies across the northern US and Canada migrate up to 4,000 km to overwinter in the exact same cluster of mountain peaks in central Mexico. To track monarchs precisely and study their navigation, a monarch tracker must obtain daily localization of the butterfly as it progresses on its 3-month journey. And, the tracker must perform this task while having a weight in the tens of milligram (mg) and measuring a few millimeters (mm) in size to avoid interfering with monarch's flight. This paper proposes mSAIL, 8 × 8 × 2.6 mm and 62 mg embedded system for monarch migration tracking, constructed using 8 prior custom-designed ICs providing solar energy harvesting, an ultra-low power processor, light/temperature sensors, power management, and a wireless transceiver, all integrated and 3D stacked on a micro PCB with an 8 × 8 mm printed antenna. The proposed system is designed to record and compress light and temperature data during the migration path while harvesting solar energy for energy autonomy, and wirelessly transmit the data at the overwintering site in Mexico, from which the daily location of the butterfly can be estimated using a deep learning-based localization algorithm. A 2-day trial experiment of mSAIL attached on a live butterfly in an outdoor botanical garden demonstrates the feasibility of individual butterfly localization and tracking.
Enabling Next-generation Holographic Displays with Artificial Intelligence

We discuss recent advances of computer-generated holographic display systems that incorporate artificial intelligence to achieve unprecedented holographic image fidelity and real-time framerates.
Cell-Mediated Dexamethasone Release from Semi-IPNs Stimulates Osteogenic Differentiation of Encapsulated Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Scaffold-based delivery of bioactive molecules capable of directing stem cell differentiation is critical to the development of point-of-care cell therapy for orthopedic repair. Dexamethasone-conjugated hyaluronic acid (HA-DXM) was synthesized and combined with hydrolytically degradable, photo-cross-linkable PEG-bis(2-acryloyloxy propanoate) (PEG-bis-AP) to form semi-IPNs. Dexamethasone (DX) release was limited in physiological buffer and substantially increased in the presence of encapsulated human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) or exogenous hyaluronidase, confirming that release occurred primarily by a cell-mediated enzymatic mechanism. hMSCs encapsulated in PEG-bis-AP/HA-DXM semi-IPNs increased osteoblast-specific gene expression, alkaline phosphatase activity, and matrix mineralization, attaining levels that were not significantly different from positive controls consisting of hMSCs in PEG-bis-AP/native HA cultured with DX supplementation in the culture medium. These studies demonstrate that PEG-bis-AP/HA-DXM semi-IPNs can provide cell-mediated release of bioactive free DX that induces hMSC osteogenic differentiation. This approach offers an efficient system for local delivery of osteogenic molecules empowering point of care applications.
Cultural influences on handedness: Historical and contemporary theory and evidence.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the cultural influences on handedness. Right-handers comprise the vast majority of the adult population. Judging from the depictions of hand use in the works of art and from the analysis of the design of weapons, tools, and other historical artifacts, they also would seem to have been the norm since prehistoric time. Handedness represents the end-product of a long and multifaceted biosocial process. The environmental role can be studied in a number of ways. One way is through direct observation of the development of hand use in the context of the social and cultural environment. Direct observations might reveal whether parents are encouraging this preference by their own actions. Observations also could be made at the preschool and school-age periods and in every social situation throughout the life span. Older children and adults can be asked directly whether their hand preference has been encouraged or discouraged, and with what result, and inquiries can be made of teachers and school administrators as to their policies and practices. Cross-cultural surveys of the prevalence of left-handedness offer another way to measure the environmental role. The reason is that, although all cultures are designed for the right-hander, the rules are applied more liberally, or flexibly, in some cultures than in others.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Children with Cancer

This edition has been restructured and opens with a major section on Active treatment, which includes chapters addressing quality of life, pain, psychosocial aspects of treatment and interventions, art therapy and different fantasy-based ...
Network Effects in Technology Adoption: The Case of DVD Players

This paper analyzes a model of consumer adoption of DVD players (the hardware-side) and movie studios’ supply of movies on DVD discs (the softwareside). My primary focus is the estimation of complementarities between DVD player adoption and availability of content on DVD discs. The size of the complementarities determine the level of strategic inter-dependence between hardware and software firms, and thus play an important role in designing co-marketing strategies through which hardware and software firms can align their incentives. I estimate the parameters of the hardware adoption using household level panel data. To estimate the parameters of the software model, I use a cross section of movies released at different time periods. Estimated complementarities are statistically and economically significant. The hardware-side estimation shows that a 1% increase in new DVD releases during May 2001 would increase DVD player sales by 0.5%. The software-side estimation indicates that a 1% increase in DVD player installed base in May 2001 increases the number of new DVD releases by 0.19%. Finally, I present the importance of estimated complementarities from a practitioner’s stand point. In particular, I examine the amount of subsidy the movie studios would be willing to give to increase DVD player sales by 1 more unit.
Discourse on Gender: Historical Contingency and the Ethics of Intellectual Work

The family being the primary social unit in the African community structure, discussion of matters pertaining to it must be carried out with some seriousness and due regard for its integrity. Gender relations, the manner in which men relate to women and vice versa, is one such matter, one that has attracted considerable interest in recent years. Like discussions on other aspects of African life that on gender and family relations has been subject to assumptions, intentional or otherwise, of modern Western normativity, the assumption that the modern Western way is the correct way and all others are malignancies. Moreover, examinations African relational practices and their rationales too often tend to be undertaken from already constituted positions that predetermine the nature of the findings.
Electron Capture and Loss to Continuum States in Gases and Solids

Among the many processes that occur when fast particles interact with target atoms there is the interesting case where the projectile captures target electrons, not necessarily into well-defined bound states, but into slightly unbound continuum states [1]. The net result is that one or more target electrons leave the target with speeds and directions that are nearly coincident with that of the bombarding projectile, but are not bound to the projectile. Present theories inadequately describe single and multiple capture processes to either bound or unbound states in the medium-velocity range.
Proteolysis-coupled secretion of the N terminus of apolipoprotein B. Characterization of a transient, translocation arrested intermediate

We have shown that non-hepatic Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO) have a specific inability to translocate and secrete apolipoprotein B (apoB), leading to its complete degradation in the endoplasmic reticulum (Thrift, R. N., Drisko, J., Dueland, S., Trawick, J. D., and Davis, R. A. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89, 9161-9165). To gain an understanding why a protein having no predictable trans-membrane sequences can be stably integrated into the endoplasmic reticulum, we determined the topography and metabolic fate of apoB in both CHO cells and human hepatoma cells (HepG2). Using epitope-specific antibodies, we show that in microsomes from both cell types, apoB assumes a trans-membrane orientation having 69 kDa of its N terminus in the lumen and the remaining portion of the C terminus residing on the cytoplasmic surface. In both cell types, proteolytic cleavage of the translocation arrested apoB by a process that can be blocked by acetyl-leucine, leucine, norleucal, produces an 85-kDa N-terminal fragment that resumes translocation and is secreted. This same N-terminal 85-kDa fragment is also found in human plasma. These results show that sequences residing outside of the membrane spanning domain can block translocation. Moreover, our data provide compelling evidence showing that apoB undergoes an unusual transient, translocation arrest, that serves as an entrance into the intracellular degradative pathway regulating its secretion.
Pediatric orthopaedic lower extremity trauma and venous thromboembolism

Abstract Purpose Research on venous thromboembolism events (VTE), such as deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), in pediatric orthopaedic trauma patients is sparse. We describe the incidence in the USA of VTE associated with pediatric lower extremity orthopaedic trauma, and characterize injury patterns and VTE treatment methods. Methods The Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) was queried from 2004 to 2013 using ICD-9 codes for lower extremity fractures (pelvis, femur, tibia, ankle, foot) and dislocations (hip, knee, ankle, subtalar) and VTE. Records were queried for age, diagnoses, and VTE treatment. Results During the study period 285,611 clinical encounters reported lower extremity trauma. Of those, 167 patients were simultaneously coded with VTE (99 DVT, 50 PE, 18 combined DVT/PE), to give an incidence of VTE associated with pediatric lower extremity trauma of 0.058 %. Patients were from 39 centers, with an average age of 12.9 years (range 0–19). There were 249 fractures and 2...
Residual-stress effects at a notch root in A723 steel to extend fatigue life

Fatigue-life tests were performed with notched bend specimens of ASTM A723 steel with three types of notch treatment and resulting residual stress; shot peening, hole swaging, and tensile overload. The three notch treatments produced widely different depths and surface values of residual stress near the notch root and different fatigue lives, depndent mainly on the notch root surface value of compressive residual stress. The highest life was measured from overload specimens, which had both the deepest and the highest surface-value residual-stress distribution. Fracture-mechanics-based calculations of fatigue life agree well with measurements. The calculations account for the following factors which affect fatigue life: the crack-growth properties of the material; the shallow surface-crack configuration; the applied loading; and the depth and surface magnitude of the residual-stress distribution. A consistent description of fatigue life was obtained from a ΔK versus calculated life plot, where the ΔK is that for a shallow crack near the notch root and in the region of compressive residual stress. A power-law relationship between ΔK and life agrees well with the results from both the untreated notches and those with the three types of residual stress, indicating that life predictions could be made with some confidence for tests under generally similar conditions.
The taste of ethanol in a primate model. II. Glossopharyngeal nerve response in Macaca mulatta.

Abstract The glossopharyngeal nerve (NG) mediates taste from the posterior part of the tongue. Here, we studied the effects of ethanol on the tongue in recordings from both the whole NG and individual taste fibers of the rhesus monkey, Macaca mulatta . The results show that the nerve activity increased at 0.7 M ethanol, reaching half maximum at around 4 M alcohol. Previously, we identified three types of taste fibers in the rhesus monkey NG: S fibers predominantly responding to sweeteners, Q fibers responding to bitter, such as quinine hydrochloride (QHCl), and M fibers responding best to monosodium glutamate, NaCl and acids [Hellekant, G., Danilova, V., & Ninomiya, Y. (1997). Primate sense of taste: behavioral and single chorda tympani and glossopharyngeal nerve fiber recordings in the rhesus monkey, Macaca mulatta . J Neurophysiol 77 , 978–993]. Here, this fiber classification was used to elucidate the oral effects of ethanol and ethanol mixtures with NaCl, sucrose, citric acid and QHCl. One and three molar concentrations of ethanol stimulated all fiber types. Mixtures of ethanol with QHCl elicited a smaller response in Q fibers than did QHCl alone. In S fibers, mixtures of ethanol with sucrose gave a larger response than did sucrose alone. The variability of M fibers was too large to allow a conclusion about the effect of ethanol. These results suggest that ethanol suppresses the taste of QHCl. Similarly, the taste of sucrose might be enhanced by adding ethanol to sucrose. These effects and conclusions corroborate an earlier ethanol study of the chorda tympani (CT) nerve [Hellekant, G., Danilova, V., Roberts, T., & Ninomiya, Y. (1997). The taste of ethanol in a primate model: I. Chorda tympani nerve response in Macaca mulatta . Alcohol 14 , 473–484].
RNA Selection: Aptamers achieve the desired recognition

In vitro selection procedures can generate RNA molecules, known as aptamers, that bind pre-determined ligands with an affinity and selectivity comparable to highly evolved protein molecules.
Restoration of immunoglobulin secretion in vitro in common variable immunodeficiency by in vivo treatment with polyethylene glycol-conjugated human recombinant interleukin-2.

Abstract Patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVI) have decreased immunoglobulin levels resulting in frequent infections. Although previous studies have suggested that the B cell is intrinsically defective, numerous T cell deficiencies, including reduced interleukin-2 (IL-2) production, have been described. Since the addition of T cell cytokines to CVI B cells can increase Ig secretion in vitro, hypogammaglobulinemia in CVI may be due to defective T cell functions. To assess this possibility directly, we treated five CVI patients intravenously with a new biologic, human recombinant IL-2 conjugated to polyethylene glycol. Doses were 250,000 IU/m2 weekly for Weeks 1–4, 500,000 IU/m2 for Weeks 5–8, and 106 IU/m2 for Weeks 9–12. During and after treatment, B cells of all patients secreted 10- to 1000-fold more Ig in vitro. There was also a striking improvement in T cell helper activity since T cells of treated patients could induce 10- to 10,000-fold increases in Ig secretion by B cells from normal donors. No increase was seen in serum Igs during the study, but the anti-tetanus antibody of the IgG isotype could be detected in cell culture supernatants. Whether the effects of infused polyethylene glycol IL-2 are mediated through T or B cells, or both, is still unknown. However, these data reinforce the concept that CVI B cells may be competent, but, lacking essential T cell growth factors, in vivo maturation to Ig production does not occur.
Tonal strength and melody recognition after long and short delays.

In a continuous-running-memory task, subjects heard novel seven-note melodies that were tested after delays of 11 sec (empty) or 39 sec (filled). Test items were transposed to new pitch levels (to moderately distant keys in the musical sense)and included exact transpositions (targets), same-contour lures with altered pitch intervals, and new-contour lures. Melodies differed in tonal strength (degree of conformity to a musical key) and were tonally strong, tonally weak, or atonal. False alarms to same-contour lures decreased over the longer delay period, but only for tonal stimuli. In agreement with previous studies, discrimination of detailed changes in pitch intervals improved with increased delay, whereas discrimination of more global contour information declined, again only for tonal stimuli. These results suggest that poor short-delay performance in rejecting same-contour lures arises from confusion that is based on the similarity of tonality between standard stimuli and lures. If a test item has the same contour and a similar tonality to a just-presented item, subjects tend to accept it. After a delay filled with melodies in other tonalities, the salience of key information recedes, and subjects base their judgments on more detailed pattern information (namely, exact pitch intervals). The fact that tonality affects judgments of melodic contour indicates that contour is not an entirely separable feature of melodies but rather that a melody with its contour constitutes an integrated perceptual whole.
Complexation which facilitates rejoining of horse cytochrome c apofragment [Homoser-lactone65](1-65) or [Homoser-lactone65] (23-65) to apofragment (66-104).

We have shown that two CNBr fragments of horse apocytochrome c, [Homoser-lactone65](1-65) and (66-104), bind to the ferric heme fragment (1-25)H to form a non-productive three-fragment complex, and that when the heme of this complex has been kept reduced for 48 h at 25 degrees, the peptide bond between residues 65 and 66 is restored with a yield of 24% or more. We have also shown that another CNBr fragment [Homoser-lactone65](23-65), but not [Homoser-lactone65](39-65), similarly rejoins to fragment (66-104) in the presence of the ferrous heme fragment with 25% or more yield. For complex of ferro-heme fragment [Hse-lacton65](1-65)H and apofragment (66-104) of horse cytochrome c, which restores the peptide bond between residues 65 and 66 (located on the left side of the heme) (cf. Harbury, H.A. (1978) in Semisynthetic Peptides and Proteins (Offord, R.E. & DiBello, C., eds.), pp. 73-89, Academic Press, New York). Corradin & Harbury have suggested that axial ligation of methionine 80 to the heme (on the left side) is important. Consistent with their idea, fragment [Hse80](66-104) was found not to link to [Hse-lactone65](1-65) in the presence of ferro(1-25)H. Furthermore, the present studies indicate that the interaction involving residues 26 to 38 (on the right side) is also important for such a conformation which assists in the rejoining of the two apofragments. Combining these two ideas, we suggest that restoration of the peptide bond between residues 65 and 66 reflects the structural integrity of these complexes in the reduced form. Thus, the present reaction system can be used not only for chemical synthesis of [Homoser65] apocytochrome c but also to extend amino acid substitution studies of cytochrome c to residues 1 to 64.
Near-saturated two-stage designs with dispersion effects

Many experimental processes are quite expensive, and traditional factorial or central composite design experiments are beyond the scope of the experimental budget. Situations in which calibrated equipment must be purchased or batches of material created are two examples. In situations like these, experimenters prefer to use saturated or near-saturated response surface designs, such as Koshal designs, hybrid designs, or small composite designs, to reduce the cost of the experimental process. Applications of such near-saturated designs are abundant, but most are applied to processes that assume homogeneous process variance throughout the design region. However, in many situations the assumption of homogeneous process variance is violated, and instead a unknown heterogeneous variance structure must be considered. Traditional statistical procedures involve the application of weighted least squares to analyze the data from such an experiment. This analysis considers the application of a two-stage experimental ...