cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Ecological Risk Assessment of the Acute and Chronic Toxicity of the Herbicide Picloram to the Threatened Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) and the Rainbow Trout (Onchorhyncus mykiss)

We conducted acute and chronic toxicity studies of the effects of picloram acid on the threatened bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) and the standard coldwater surrogate rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Juvenile fish were chronically exposed for 30 days in a proportional flow-through diluter to measured concentrations of 0, 0.30, 0.60, 1.18, 2.37, and 4.75 mg/L picloram. No mortality of either species was observed at the highest concentration. Bull trout were twofold more sensitive to picloram (30-day maximum acceptable toxic concentration of 0.80 mg/L) compared to rainbow trout (30-day maximum acceptable toxic concentration of 1.67 mg/L) based on the endpoint of growth. Picloram was acutely toxic to rainbow trout at 36 mg/L (96-h ALC50). The acute:chronic ratio for rainbow trout exposed to picloram was 22. The chronic toxicity of picloram was compared to modeled and measured environmental exposure concentrations (EECs) using a four-tiered system. The Tier 1, worst-case exposure estimate, based on a direct application of the current maximum use rate (1.1 kg/ha picloram) to a standardized aquatic ecosystem (water body of 1-ha area and 1-m depth), resulted in an EEC of 0.73 mg/L picloram and chronic risk quotients of 0.91 and 0.44 for bull trout and rainbow trout, respectively. Higher-tiered exposure estimates reduced chronic risk quotients 10-fold. Results of this study indicate that picloram, if properly applied according to the manufacturer’s label, poses little risk to the threatened bull trout or rainbow trout in northwestern rangeland environments on either an acute or a chronic basis.
Remediation in the Community College: An Evaluator's Perspective

Remediation is the most common approach to preparing students academically and socially during their early stages of college. However, despite its profound importance and its significant costs, there is very little rigorous research analyzing its effectiveness. The goal of this article is to provide a conceptual framework for the evaluation of remedial education programs. Based on previous literature, we review a list of ingredients for successful interventions, present a number of approaches to remediation that make use of these ingredients, discuss alternative research designs for systematic evaluations, and enumerate basic data requirements.
Use of Raman Microspectroscopy to Study Partioning of Molecules During Freeze-Processing of Protein Solutions

Biostabilization processes, based on desiccation, cooling or freezing, are surface-induced and thus are inevitably governed by scale-dependent kinetic constraints. During processing, these kinetic constraints induce heterogeneity (solute, and solvent concentration gradients, thermal gradients, and eventually, phase separation in the medium). During freezing, ice crystallization induces thermal (due to latent heat release), and concentration gradients (due to solute rejection) causing phase separation in the medium (i.e., formation of regions at different thermodynamic states). For example, during a typical cryopreservation application initially the bulk water freezes, increasing the concentration of the solutes in the rest of the unfrozen solution. Upon further cooling, the freeze-concentrated solution may also vitrify (or some constituents may crystallize), creating at least two distinct regions within the same medium with two distinct states.© 2008 ASME
Wavelength interrogation of grating-based optical biosensors in the input coupler configuration

Abstract A planar optical waveguide with an input grating coupler was used as a label-free biodetection device. Nanoimprint lithography was used to integrate the grating patterns with low loss silicon oxynitride thin film waveguides. A widely tunable laser source at 1550 nm was used to characterize the device sensitivity to bulk medium changes, to thin film adsorption, and to protein binding. For each test, a comparison was performed between the sensitivity of wavelength interrogation and the more standard angular interrogation approach. The results indicate that these devices used in wavelength interrogation with a telecom laser source are perfectly suited to be integrated in compact and sensitive biodetection systems.
Effects of Job Peripherality and Personal Characteristics on the Job Satisfaction of Part Time Workers

Sixteen groups of part time employees in a retail sales organization were created by classifying employees by the number of hours they worked per week and whether they were employed on a seasonal o...
Medical reconciliation of dietary supplements: Don’t ask, don’t tell

Objective To explore inpatient reconciliation of dietary supplement (DS) use and determine characteristics associated with DS documentation.
FREEZE-DRIED AND THAWED CLAYS

Heating montmorillonites to their dehydroxylation temperatures destroyed their ability to form an aerogel. The breakdown of the aerogel structure coincided with the loss of hydroxyl water from the montmorillonite. Apparently, this loss of water was accompanied by a loss of the layer charge. Particle size and aerogel-forming ability appear to be inversely related properties for at least some montmorillonites. The kaolinite investigated did not form an aerogel in any size fraction. The formation of montmorillonite aerogels from various concentrations of clay was investigated. The texture and physical appearance of these aerogels was examined and presented herein. Thawed clay suspensions exhibited a variety of behaviors. The Volclay bentonite, which appar- ently formed a true sol was unaffected by freezing. In all other clays at least some of the fine clay particles agglomerated on freezing and large clumps were observed dropping out of the melting ice. After stirring the thawed suspensions less clay was dispersed than in the unfrozen suspension counter- parts. Addition of a dispersing agent to these suspensions caused more clay to remain dispersed following freezing-thawing-stirring.
The massacre of ottoman armenians and the writing of ottoman history

Little of the writing about the massacres of Armenians, which occurred in 1915, not long before the Ottoman Empire's demise, has utilized Ottoman-language materials. Yet, Ottomanists have a responsibility to research these events and their origins to promote a more complete understanding of them. Providing explanations of the violence that states organize against their own subjects and citizens should be the task of historians able to read the documentary record of the states concerned.
"EVERY MAN KILLS THE THING HE LOVES": OBJECT-USE AND POTENTIAL SPACE IN THE WINTER'S TALE

LEONTES: O, she’s warm! If this be magic, let it be an art Lawful as eating. —The Winter’s Tale, V. iii. 109–111 The final moments of The Winter’s Tale, in which Hermione, wife of King Leontes of Sicily, returns from the dead as a statuecome-to-life, offer audiences of the play an occasion for “wonder” (1974, 5.3.22) that is almost unprecedented in Shakespeare’s work. The wonder is at the fact of Hermione’s corporeal presence, her aliveness, as expressed in Leontes’ amazement at her touch: “O, she’s warm!”—warmth, along with breath, being synonymous with life itself. This is one of those “post-Christian” (Bloom, 1998, p. 518) moments in Shakespeare’s drama, in this case a moment like the death of Cordelia in King Lear, which seems to recall aspects of the Jesus story, while at the same time insisting on its radical difference: in this instance, as in Lear ,o n the purely human experience we are witnessing, its happening in this world and in this world alone. This paper will offer a “reading” of the final scene of The Winter’s Tale that is indebted to Winnicott’s theory of objectuse, in which destructiveness leads, provided the object of attack survives (or does not retaliate), to a new kind of psychic clarity, a new appreciation of the object’s “value” (Winnicott, 1969, p. 90) as part of “a world of shared reality” (1969, p. 94). The final scene of the play creates what Michael Eigen (1981) has called an “area of faith” (p. 109) (appropriately presided over by a character named Paulina) that the audience both on and off the stage
Iwahori-spherical representations of GSp(4) and Siegel modular forms of degree 2 with square-free level

A theory of local old- and newforms for representations of GSp(4) over a p-adic field with Iwahori-invariant vectors is developed. The results are applied to Siegel modular forms of degree 2 with square-free level with respect to various congruence subgroups.
Sertraline Effects on Dyspnea in Patients With Obstructive Airways Disease

Dyspnea can have a debilitating effect on psychosocial and physical functioning in patients with chronic obstructive airways disease. Previous research has suggested that treatment of concomitant mood or anxiety symptoms can improve dyspnea and exercise intolerance among patients with respiratory disease. The authors report here on a case series of 7 patients with obstructive airways disease who reported improvements in dyspnea after sertraline 25-100 mg/day was added to their medication regimens. Four of the seven patients did not appear to meet syndromal criteria for a mood or anxiety disorder. Subjective improvements in dyspnea may have been related to relief of mood or anxiety symptoms or to direct effects on central respiratory systems. Controlled studies are needed to clarify the potential antidyspneic effects of sertraline.
Estrogen as a neuromodulator of MPTP-induced neurotoxicity: effects upon striatal dopamine release

The effects of estrogen upon MPTP-induced neurotoxicity were examined using in vitro superfusion. In Experiment 1, striatal tissue from ovariectomized rats was infused with MPP+ (10 μM), a combination of MPP+ and 17β-estradiol (300 nM), the same dose of estradiol preceding MPP+, or no treatment infusion. The effects of these treatments on dopamine release rates during the infusion periods were determined. Infusion of MPP+ resulted in a significant increase in dopamine release as compared to the control. Estradiol added to the MPP+ infusion significantly attenuated this dopamine (DA) release, while estradiol treatment preceding the MPP+ had no effect. In Experiment 2, three different doses of estradiol (0.3, 3, or 300 nM) were infused simultaneously with the MPP+. Doses of estradiol below 300 nM did not attenuate the DA release. In Experiment 3, estradiol alone (300 nM) was infused, to determine dopamine release rate effects of the hormone itself. There was no difference between estradiol treated and non-infused control groups. These results demonstrate that the gonadal steroid hormone estradiol can modulate responses of striatal dopamine neurons to MPP+ by altering the immediate increase in dopamine release which occurs in response to this neurotoxin. These modulating effects of estradiol are dose-dependent, and represent a direct effect upon striatal neurons, most likely involving a non-genomic mechanism of action. These results implicate that hormonal modulation of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurotoxicity may represent an important variable responsible for the sex differences which are reported in Parkinson's disease.
Men’s Health Innovation

Innovation is a hot topic in all industrial sectors of the U.S. economy. Health care is no stranger to innovation. The passage of the Affordable Care Act and technological changes in health care systems has propelled health care into the dire need for innovation as a means for sustained future success. Health care continues to make rapid advances to improve patient outcomes and health care delivery systems. Health care providers are a key asset in the innovation of health care. Innovations in health care should be bidirectional—from a top-down and bottom-up approach. An innovation is generally considered implementing new ideas, creating new products or service lines, or creating a new method of utilizing an existing idea, product, or service. The old saying “identify a need and fill a need” is central to innovation. Innovation in men’s health is no different. We need to identify the unique men’s health needs and develop new innovative approaches, products, or services to improve men’s health. In this call for action, I am suggesting that all men’s health care providers need to think creatively and innovatively regarding men’s health (Gehrt, 2014). Innovative men’s health strategies are dependent on innovative leaders. Innovative leaders are defined as possessing critical attributes. These innovative leadership attributes are self-awareness, lifetime learner, visionary, inspiring, change advocate, agile, positively deviant, passion, courage to fail, engaged, honest, and respectful. To promote positive men’s health innovation, men’s health leader attributes are further shaped by an innovative health care environment. An innovative health care environment creates mechanisms to generate and incubate ideas, supports innovation with appropriate resource allocation, invests in early adaptors, promotes time to generate innovation, celebrates successes, celebrates failures and supports learning from failures, and promotes leadership supportive of innovation (Gehrt, 2014). Men’s health is dependent on innovation. It is critical that men’s health care providers are active partners and engaged in the creation of innovative health care services for men. With the current changes in health care systems stimulated by the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, now is the time to ensure innovative and creative integration of men’s health into primary and acute health care services.
Explicit submodeling and digital image correlation based life-prediction of leadfree electronics under shock-impact

Relative damage-index based on the leadfree interconnect transient strain history from digital image correlation, explicit finite-elements, cohesive-zone elements, and component's survivability envelope has been developed for life-prediction of two-leadfree electronic alloy systems. Life prediction of pristine and thermally-aged assemblies, have been investigated. Solder alloy system studied include Sn1Ag0.5Cu, and 96.5Sn3.5Ag. Transient strains during the shock-impact have been measured using digital image correlation in conjunction with high-speed cameras operating at 50,000 fps. Both the board strains and the package strains have been measured in a variety of drop orientations including JEDEC horizontal drop orientation, vertical drop orientation and intermediate drop orientations. In addition the effect of sequential stresses of thermal aging and shock-impact on the failure mechanisms has also been studied. The thermal aging condition used for the study includes 125°C for 100hrs. The presented methodology addresses the need for life prediction of new lead-free alloy-systems under shock and vibration, which is largely beyond the state of art. Three failure modes have been predicted including interfacial failure at the copper-solder interface, solder-PCB interface, and the solder joint failure. Explicit non-linear finite element models with cohesive-zone elements have been developed and correlated with experimental results. Velocity data from digital image correlation has been used to drive the attachment degrees of freedom of the submodel and extract transient interconnect strain histories. Explicit finite-element sub-modeling has been correlated with the full-field strain in various locations, orientations, on both the package and the board-side. The survivability of the leadfree interconnections under sequential loading (thermal aging and shock-impact) from simulation has been compared with pristine circuit assemblies subjected to shock-impact. Sequential loading changes the failure modes and decreases the drop reliability as compared to the room temperature experimental results. Damage index based survivability envelope is intended for component integration to ensure reliability in harsh environments.
Systemic Administration of Polymer-Coated Nano-Graphene to Deliver Drugs to Glioblastoma

Graphene—2D carbon—has received significant attention thanks to its electronic, thermal, and mechanical properties. Recently, nano-graphene (nGr) has been investigated as a possible platform for biomedical applications. Here, a polymer-coated nGr to deliver drugs to glioblastoma after systemic administration is reported. A biodegradable, biocompatible poly(lactide) (PLA) coating enables encapsulation and controlled release of the hydrophobic anticancer drug paclitaxel (PTX), and a hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) shell increases the solubility of the nGr drug delivery system. Importantly, the polymer coating mediates the interaction of nGr with U-138 glioblastoma cells and decreases cytotoxicity compared with pristine untreated nGr. PLA-PEG-coated nGr is also able to encapsulate PTX at 4.15 wt% and sustains prolonged PTX release for at least 19 d. PTX-loaded nGr-PLA-PEGs are shown to kill up to 20% of U-138 glioblastoma cells in vitro. Furthermore, nGr-PLA-PEG and CNT-PLA-PEG, two carbon nanomaterials with different shapes, are able to kill U-138 in vitro as well as free PTX at significantly lower doses of drug. Finally, in vivo biodistribution of nGr-PLA-PEG shows accumulation of nGr in intracranial U-138 glioblastoma xenografts and organs of the reticuloendothelial system.
The resistance and crystal structure of cerium as determined by temperature cycling

Abstract Simultaneous measurements of electrical resistances and crystal phase fractions of two samples of cerium were made near 300°K, 80°K, and 10°K. The samples were cycled over this temperature range several times. It was found that the quantities of Ce-α and Ce-γ present in the samples during the first cycles decreased in succeeding cycles; the Ce-β contents increased. During the first two or three cycles, changes in the resistances roughly followed changes in the amounts of Ce-γ present in the samples. As the cycling proceeded, the resistances and crystal phase fractions tended to fluctuate about mean values.
4 kV silicon carbide Schottky diodes for high-frequency switching applications

Schottky rectifiers exhibit minimal reverse recovery current, and are thus preferred over PiN diodes for high-frequency switching applications such as industrial motor controls and electric vehicle inverters. Implementation of Schottky devices in SiC material has the advantage of producing very high blocking voltages with a moderate epi thickness compared to silicon devices produced in industry today. In this report we describe the first 4 kV Schottky diodes in 4H-SiC. The development of these devices follows earlier work in which breakdown voltages of 1720 V were obtained on 13 /spl mu/m 4H-SiC epilayers.
Design Guidelines for Radio Frequency Non-contact Vital Sign Detection

The design guidelines for non-contact vital sign detection are presented in this paper. Firstly, the choice of radio frequency and antenna beamwidth is demonstrated by numerical simulation based on ray-tracing technique and spectrum analysis. Guided by the numerical results of the first part, three typical radar architectures are recently built in one of the ISM bands (the 5.8 GHz band). The characteristics of each architecture are demonstrated and compared based on measurement results. Experiments show that direct-conversion non-quadrature architecture has DC offset and null detection point problem; direct-conversion quadrature architecture can eliminate null detection point but lead to complexity and higher power consumption in effectively combining two quadrature channels. Double-sideband indirect-conversion with simpler radio architecture and less baseband requirement can effectively alleviate the DC offset and null detection point problems.
Transgenic expression of a GFP-rhodopsin COOH-terminal fusion protein in zebrafish rod photoreceptors

To facilitate the identification and characterization of mutations affecting the retina and photoreceptors in the zebrafish, a transgene expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused to the C-terminal 44 amino acids of Xenopus rhodopsin (Tam et al., 2000) under the control of the 1.3-kb proximal Xenopus opsin promoter was inserted into the zebrafish genome. GFP expression was easily observed in a ventral patch of retinal cells at 4 days postfertilization (dpf). Between 45-50% of the progeny from the F1, F2, and F3 generations expressed the transgene, consistent with a single integration event following microinjection. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that GFP is expressed exclusively in rod photoreceptors and not in the UV, blue, or red/green double cones. Furthermore, GFP is localized to the rod outer segments with little to no fluorescence in the rod inner segments, rod cell bodies, or rod synapse regions, indicating proper targeting and transport of the GFP fusion protein. Application of exogenous retinoic acid (RA) increased the number of GFP-expressing cells throughout the retina, and possibly the level of expressed rhodopsin. When bred to a zebrafish rod degeneration mutant, fewer GFP-expressing rods were seen in living mutants as compared to wild-type siblings. This transgenic line will facilitate the search for recessive and dominant mutations affecting rod photoreceptor development and survival as well as proper rhodopsin expression, targeting, and transport.
Production of Rubella Hemagglutinating Antigen in Suspension Culture

Rubella virus specific hemagglutinating antigen was prepared in the fluid phase of suspension cultures. Systems employing baby hamster kidney culture adapted inocula, nonadapted inocula, and cells derived from long-term infected suspension cultures were evaluated. Optimal specific hemagglutinating titers were obtained when kaolin-treated fetal bovine serum was used in the media and when the incoulum had previously been adapted in a suspension culture system. When cultures derived from long-term infected suspension systems were studied, the number of daily harvests in which acceptable titers were present was prolonged. However, titers were generally higher in suspension systems employing cells which had recently been infected.
Providing survivability against jamming attack via joint dynamic routing and channel assignment

Built upon a shared wireless medium, wireless network is particularly vulnerable to jamming attacks. The ability to recover from attacks and maintain an acceptable level of service degradation is a crucial aspect in the design of a wireless network. To address this issue, this paper investigates the network restoration solutions via the joint design of traffic rerouting, channel re-assignment, and scheduling. Efficient routing and channel assignment schemes can relieve the interference caused by both the normal network nodes and the jamming nodes. Therefore, based on the necessary conditions of schedulability, we first formulate the optimal network restoration problem as linear programming problem, which gives an upper bound on the achievable network throughput. After we solve the LP problems, we have a set of flows assigned to edges that have been assigned to different channels. And based on the LP solutions, we provide a greedy scheduling algorithm using dynamic channel assignment, which schedules both the network traffic and the jamming traffic. In particular, we consider two strategies, namely global restoration and local restoration, which can support a range of tradeoffs between the restoration latency and network throughput after restoration. To quantitatively evaluate the impact of jamming attacks during and after restoration, we define two performance degradation indices, transient disruption index (TDI) and throughput degradation index (THI). Finally, extensive performance evaluations are performed to study the impact of various jamming scenarios in a multi-hop multi-channel wireless network.
Identification of a Mutation Associated with Permethrin Resistance in the Para-Type Sodium Channel of the Stable Fly (Diptera: Muscidae)

ABSTRACT The insect sodium channel is of particular interest for evaluating resistance to pyrethroids because it is the target molecule for this major class of neurotoxic insecticides. The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), sodium channel coding sequence representing domains IS6 through IVS6 was isolated, and the sequence encoding domain II was compared among individuals of a laboratory strain selected for resistance to permethrin and the unselected, parental generation. A point mutation resulting in a leucine-to-histidine amino acid change was identified (Leu1014His), and its location corresponded with that observed for knockdown resistance (kdr) mutations in other insects. As a result, the allele was designated kdr-his. A molecular assay was developed to assess the frequency of this mutation in genomic DNA of individual stable flies from the laboratory selections, which provided further evidence that the kdr-his allele accounts for the observed level of permethrin resistance in th...
DRS operating primitives based on distributed mutual exclusion

Distributed mutual exclusion (DME) is an important concept in any multi-agent systems, including the distributed robotic system (DRS). Several basic DME algorithms employing sign-board as their inter-robot communication mechanism are presented. It is shown that a large number of DRS operating primitives, such as leader finding, dynamic ordering of robots and events, job assignment, and resource sharing, can be effectively implemented with algorithms based on DME.
Use of Redox Potentials in Wastewater Treatment

Effective process control requires an understanding of where the process is with respect to reaction potential and completion. Online measurements allow for greater monitoring of the state of the process from flowrates to chlorine residuals. A measure of dissolved oxygen in the system is useful until anoxic and anaerobic conditions are encountered. Once those environmental conditions are achieved, as is the case with biological nutrient removal (BNR), the ability to measure a wider range of conditions may be achieved with oxidation–reduction potential (ORP). Keywords: redox potential; biologic nutrient removal; aerobic metabolism; ATP (adenosine triphosphate); anaerobic metabolism; anoxic
Pairing Physician Education With Patient Activation to Improve Shared Decisions in Prostate Cancer Screening: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND Most expert groups recommend shared decision making for pros- tate cancer screening. Most primary care physicians, however, routinely order a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test with little or no discussion about whether they believe the potential benefits justify the risk of harm. We sought to assess whether educating primary care physicians and activating their patients to ask about prostate cancer screening had a synergistic effect on shared decision mak- ing, rates and types of discussions about prostate cancer screening, and the phy- sician's final recommendations. METHODS Our study was a cluster randomized controlled trial among primary care physicians and their patients, comparing usual education (control), with physician education alone (MD-Ed), and with physician education and patient activation (MD-Ed+A). Participants included 120 physicians in 5 group practices, and 712 male patients aged 50 to 75 years. The interventions comprised a Web- based educational program for all intervention physicians and MD-Ed+A patients compared with usual education (brochures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). The primary outcome measure was patients' reported postvisit shared decision making regarding prostate cancer screening; secondary measures included unannounced standardized patients' reported shared decision making and the physician's recommendation for prostate cancer screening. RESULTS Patients' ratings of shared decision making were moderate and did not differ between groups. MD-Ed+A patients reported that physicians had higher prostate cancer screening discussion rates (MD-Ed+A = 65%, MD-Ed = 41%, control = 38%; P <.01). Standardized patients reported that physicians seeing MD-Ed+A patients were more neutral during prostate cancer screening recom- mendations (MD-Ed+A = 50%, MD-Ed = 33%, control = 15%; P <.05). Of the male patients, 80% had had previous PSA tests. CONCLUSIONS Although activating physicians and patients did not lead to signifi - cant changes in all aspects of physician attitudes and behaviors that we studied, interventions that involved physicians did have a large effect on their attitudes toward screening and in the discussions they had with patients, including their being more likely than control physicians to engage in prostate cancer screening discussions and more likely to be neutral in their final recommendations.
A large area circular position sensitive Si detector

Abstract Circular position sensitive detectors with sensitive areas of 17 cm 2 have been constructed by connecting gold strips on the front surface of a Li-drifted silicon detector to an external resistor network. Detector responses to alpha-particle sources and pulsed-light sources are presented which demonstrate the position and energy response characteristics of the detectors. Measurements with a pulsed-light source equivalent of 140 MeV show that a resolution (fwhm) of 0.19 mm (the width of the gold strips) can be achieved for energy deposits of ∼ 40 MeV. The position resolution (fwhm) obtained from these detectors mounted in a telescope exposed to 95–350 MeV/nucleon 40 Ar nuclei is 0.82 mm for a single detector.
Combining Remote Sensing and Community Participation in Measuring Carbon at Landscape Level: An Example from Senegalese Agroforestry Systems

Agro-forestry has multitude activities which all have the potential of creating income for farmers and contribute to fix carbon in trees biomass and in the soil. / However, the benefits of carbon for farmers cannot be fully perceived if the carbon is not quantified accurately and the efforts to estimate carbon sequestration in agro-forestry systems are still facing a big challenge. / I will explore an accurate carbon measurement method in savanna systems. This method will combine remote sensing and ground data. I will try to understand the relationships between tree diameter at breast height (DBH) and tree crown projection area (CPA) and between these two tree parameters and carbon. Using regression analysis, I will also find which regression model can be used to better explain the relationships and provide a more accurate estimation of carbon. / The second part of the study will investigate the potential of involving local communities in this process of measuring and monitoring the carbon in their own farms without altering the accuracy and reliability of carbon estimates. / Finally, using a household survey, I will see how engaging rural communities in carbon measurement and monitoring in their own farms may put carbon among the adoption factors of agroforestry. /
Quasiparticle Transport in Thick Aluminum Films Coupled to Tungsten Transition Edge Sensors

We have fabricated and characterized test devices of a new geometry for cryogenic dark matter search superconducting sensors. The modified design uses the same photolithography masks used to fabricate earlier-generation devices, but with the Al and W films deposited in reverse order. This inverted film geometry (Al over W instead of our conventional W over Al) offers a simplified and robust way to dramatically increase the thickness of Al energy-collecting fins coupled to thin W-TESs—tungsten-transition edge sensors. Data are presented from experiments with inverted geometry test devices exposed to X-rays from a NaCl fluorescence source. The results are compared to data obtained with similar devices fabricated in the standard, non-inverted geometry.
Evoked Responses from the Pudendal Nerve

AbstractEvoked responses on stimulation of the dorsal nerve of the penis were recorded in a group of healthy male subjects and in patients with distinct neurologic lesions. Responses were recorded over the bulbocavernosus muscle by a new percutaneous method, and over the spinal cord and cerebral cortex by computer averaging of multiple stimuli applied to the pudendal nerve. The neurologic lesions in patients with bladder symptoms secondary to diabetic peripheral neuropathy, myelopathy owing to multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease were confirmed using these tests, as well as cystometry and somatosensory evoked responses from the posterior tibial nerve.
Should All Patients Be Included in Alternative Payment Models for Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty and Total Knee Arthroplasty

Abstract Background Alternative payment models in total joint replacement incentivize cost effective health care delivery and reward reductions in length of stay (LOS), complications, and readmissions. If not adjusted for patient comorbidities, they may encourage restrictive access to health care. Methods We prospectively evaluated 802 consecutive primary total hip arthroplasty and total knee arthroplasty patients evaluating comorbidities associated with increased LOS and readmissions. Results During this 9-month period, 115 patients (14.3%) required hospitalization >3 days and 16 (1.99%) were readmitted within 90 days. Univariate analysis demonstrated that preoperative narcotic use, heart failure, stroke, chronic kidney disease (CKD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and liver disease were more likely to require hospitalization >3 days. In multivariate analysis, CKD and COPD were independent risk factors for LOS >3 days. A Charlson comorbidity index >5 points was associated with increased LOS and readmissions. Conclusion Patients with CKD, COPD, and Charlson comorbidity index >5 points should not be included in alternative payment model for THA and TKA.
Prediction of contaminant persistence in aqueous phase: a quantum chemical approach.

At contaminated field sites where active remediation measures are not feasible, monitored natural attenuation is sometimes the only alternative for surface water or groundwater decontamination. However, due to slow degradation rates of some contaminants under natural conditions, attenuation processes and their performance assessment can take several years to decades to complete. Here, we apply quantum chemical calculations to predict contaminant persistence in the aqueous phase. For the test compound hexamethylphosphoramide (HMPA), P−N bond hydrolysis is the only thermodynamically favorable reaction that may lead to its degradation under reducing conditions. Through calculation of aqueous Gibbs free energies of activation for all potential reaction mechanisms, it is predicted that HMPA hydrolyzes via an acid-catalyzed mechanism at pH < 8.2, and an uncatalyzed mechanism at pH 8.2-8.5. The estimated half-lives of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years over the groundwater-typical pH range of 6.0 to 8.5...
Thermochemical properties of 1,10-Phenanthroline hydrate

A precision rotating-bomb combustion calorimeter in which thermistors were used as the elements of temperature control and temperature measurement was constructed in the laboratory.The calorimeter was calibrated with benzoic acid with purity of 99.999%.The energy equivalent of standard calorimeter system is(18604.99±8.14)J·K-1.The combustion energy of 1,10-Phenanthroline hydrate determined in the precision rotating-bomb calorimeter is(-5757.45±2.53)kJ·mol-1 and the standard enthalpy of combustion is(-5759.93±2.53)kJ·mol-1.The standard enthalpy of formation of phen·H2O calculated is(-391.34±2.98)kJ·mol-1.
ADAPTATION TO CHRONIC OXIDATIVE STRESS (OxS) DURING LATENT STAGES OF CARCINOGENEIS: AN EVOLUTIONARY COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEM BASED MODEL OF BREAST CARCINOGENESIS

Current knowledge of contribution of mutations resulting from oxidative DNA damage to carcinogenesis is based largely on studies of effects of acute-OxS. Emerging evidence suggests that epithelial cancers arise from cells residing in niches in epithelia subjected to chronic-OxS that have become adapted to OxS. Supporting this postulate are our recently reported findings of; a) prevalence of loci in reduction-mammoplasty tissues of healthy young women immunopositive for 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal adducts (4HNE+), markers of chronic OxS; b) altered expression of mRNAs encoding OxS-related genes in such tissues and; c) Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) microscopic evidence of differences between the biomolecular profile of mammary epithelial cells in 4HNE+ vs. 4HNE- terminal-lobular-ductal units (TDLUs), where cells of origin of cancers reside, and stromal cells that define their microenvironment. We present here evidence of reprograming of a wide range of homeostatic mechanisms in tissues with many 4HNE+ TDLUs revealed by Illumina DASL >24,000 gene and SABioscience PCR Cell Death Array, including many of potential relevance to carcinogenesis. We present also our first findings from experiments aimed at comparing immunophenotype of individual cells within 4HNE+ vs. 4HNE- TDLUs using the Toponome Imaging System (TIS) that enables identifying up to 100 biomolecules in a tissue section (www.toposnomos.com/).
Relationship of hypertensive disease to abruptio placentae

The purpose of the present retrospective study was to examine the relationship between hypertension and abruptio placentae. Two hundred sixty-five consecutive cases of abruption were reviewed, with an emphasis on the occurrence and severity of hypertensive disease. The results confirm a close relationship between abruptio placentae and hypertension. The incidence of abruption was highest with eclampsia (23.6%), followed by chronic hypertension (10.0%) and preeclampsia (2.3%). In addition, those with eclampsia and chronic hypertension had a significantly higher perinatal mortality than those without these conditions. These data demonstrate that hypertension is associated with an increased risk of abruption. Furthermore, the degree of this increased risk is clearly dependent upon the specific type of hypertensive disorder.
An Individualized Risk Calculator for Research in Prodromal Psychosis

Objective:Approximately 20%–35% of individuals 12–35 years old who meet criteria for a prodromal risk syndrome convert to psychosis within 2 years. However, this estimate ignores the fact that clinical high-risk cases vary considerably in risk. The authors sought to create a risk calculator, based on profiles of risk indicators, that can ascertain the probability of conversion to psychosis in individual patients.Method:The study subjects were 596 clinical high-risk participants from the second phase of the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study who were followed up to the time of conversion to psychosis or last contact (up to 2 years). The predictors examined were limited to those that are supported by previous studies and are readily obtainable in general clinical settings. Time-to-event regression was used to build a multivariate model predicting conversion, with internal validation using 1,000 bootstrap resamples.Results:The 2-year probability of conversion to psychosis was 16%. Higher levels of un...
Summary and a Full Model: It’s a Tough Life

Remember Isaac Newton’s third law of motion, mentioned in Chapter 1: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Now I reconsider and extend that idea, and thus re-engage opponent process theory to draw some conclusions about toughness. Perhaps the first law of toughness should read: For activities that use, tax, or deplete physiological systems in appropriately intermittent rhythms of challenge and recovery, there are opponent processes that will, over time, rebuild and restore those systems to even increased capacities; those toughened physiological systems shall, in turn, foster the mental/psychological aspects of toughness. Perhaps I should append a footnote explaining that for toughening to develop, depletion need not imply emptying physiological reservoirs. For toughening, sufficient depletion may follow from merely activating neural and endocrine systems, so that substantial amounts of consumable neurochemicals and energy are used.
Nuclear data upset stellar model

Few people realized the importance of understanding how chemical elements are produced in stars better than the late astro-physicist and Nobel Laureate Willy Fowler. "We've got to get all this theory out of things," he used to say about the fundamental nuclear reactions involved. Now, a laboratory-based experiment has beautifully illustrated the importance of this goal.
Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Escherichia coli Infections After Transrectal Biopsy of the Prostate in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System.

Background: Recent reports suggest that infections due to fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) are an increasingly common complication of transrectal biopsy of the prostate (TBP) in the United States. A better understanding of the magnitude and scope of these infections is needed to guide prevention efforts. Our objective is to determine whether the incidence of infections due to fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli after TBP has increased nationwide in the Veterans Affairs Health Care System and to identify risk factors for infection. Methods: We performed a retrospective, observational cohort study and a nested case-control study within the US Deparment of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. The primary outcomes were the incidence of urinary tract infection (UTI) and bacteremia with E. coli and with fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli strains within 30 days after TBP. Secondary endpoints focused on the correlation between fluoroquinolone-resistance in all urinary E. coli isolates and post-TBP infection and risk factors for infection due to fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli infection. Results: 245 618 patients undergoing 302 168 TBP procedures from 2000 through 2013 were included in the cohort study, and 59 469 patients undergoing TBP from 2011 through 2013 were included in the nested case-control study. Between 2000 and 2013, there was a 5-fold increase in the incidence of E. coli UTI (0.18%–0.93%) and a 4-fold increase in the incidence of E. coli bacteremia (0.04%–0.18%) after TBP that was attributable to an increase in the incidence of fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli UTI (0.03%–0.75%) and bacteremia (0.01%–0.14%). The increasing incidence of fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli infections after TBP occurred in parallel with increasing rates of fluoroquinolone-resistance in all urinary E. coli isolates. By multivariable logistic regression analysis, independent risk factors for fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli UTI after TBP included diabetes mellitus, fluoroquinolone exposure, prior hospitalization, and prior cultures with fluoroquinolone-resistant gram-negative bacilli. Conclusion: In the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, the incidence of E. coli infection after TBP has increased significantly since 2000 due to a dramatic rise in infections with fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli . Keywords: bacteremia; case-control studies; cohort studies; early detection of cancer; Escherichia coli infections; microbial drug resistance; postoperative complications; prostate; retrospective studies; United States Department of Veterans Affairs; urinary tract infections.
Impact of Joint Bleeding on Joint Function in a Murine Model of Hemophilia A.

Abstract Hemophilia is a congenital bleeding disorder that commonly results in musculoskeletal complications due to recurrent bleeding into joints. After an acute joint bleed, there is pain, swelling and limited motion due to the increase in intra-articular pressure and inflammation. Blood in the joint space provokes a proliferative and inflammatory disorder known as hemophilic synovitis (HS), which causes mechanical dysfunction and eventually destruction of the articular surface and bone. Among persons in the USA with severe hemophilia, nearly half have some restriction in activity (Evatt 2004) and it is estimated that 73% of boys enter adolescence with arthropathy and between 13–16 years of age, two or more major joints are affected (Brackmann,1992). Detail examination of the earliest changes in joint function following 1–3 joint hemorrhages is difficult to perform in patients. In this project, a murine model of HS (Valentino,2004) was used to examine the impact of a minimum number of hemarthrosis on joint function. The hypothesis tested was that there is a relationship between hemarthrosis and joint dysfunction. It was expected that joint dysfunction would be observed following few bleeds. Also, it was expected that a single hemarthrosis will result in permanent joint dysfunction. To test these hypotheses, 25 mice deficient in factor VIII coagulant activity were injured, times three, at weekly intervals to induce hemarthrosis then their ability to ambulate monitored using a Rotorod: Economex apparatus, which is intended for testing coordination and impairment of locomotor agility of laboratory animals. Mice were trained to ambulate on the rotating rod then injured and retested 2, 4 and 7 days after each hemarthrosis. A 2nd group of 25 mice was not injured and served as controls. At the conclusion of the experiment, mice were sacrificed and the knee joints examined by gross and histological methods. Correlations were drawn between the ambulatory dysfunction and the pathological changes observed. Preliminary data showed: mice can be trained to ambulate on the Rotarod, acute hemarthrosis temporarily impairs their ability to ambulate, and after mice recover from acute injury they regain their lost ability to ambulate to the point that their performance is better than previous.
Intrinsically disordered proteins in overcrowded milieu: Membrane-less organelles, phase separation, and intrinsic disorder

Although the cellular interior is crowded with various biological macromolecules, the distribution of these macromolecules is highly inhomogeneous. Eukaryotic cells contain numerous proteinaceous membrane-less organelles (PMLOs), which are condensed liquid droplets formed as a result of the reversible and highly controlled liquid-liquid phase transitions. The interior of these cellular bodies represents an overcrowded milieu, since their protein concentrations are noticeably higher than those of the crowded cytoplasm and nucleoplasm. PMLOs are different in size, shape, and composition, and almost invariantly contain intrinsically disordered proteins (e.g., eIF4B and TDP43 in stress granules, TTP in P-bodies, RDE-12 in nuage, RNG105 in RNA granules, centrins in centrosomes, NOPP140 in nucleoli, SRSF4 in nuclear speckles, Saf-B in nuclear stress bodies, NOLC1 in Cajal bodies, CBP in PML nuclear bodies, SOX9 in paraspeckles, KSRP in perinucleolar compartment, and hnRNPG and Sam68 in Sam68 nuclear body, to name a few), which indicates that the formation of these phase-separated droplets is crucially dependent on intrinsic disorder. The goal of this review is to show the roles of intrinsic disorder in the magic behind biological liquid-liquid phase transitions that lead to the formation of PMLOs.