cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dramatically Enhanced Performance of Flexible Micro‐VCSELs via Thermally Engineered Heterogeneous Composite Assemblies

elevated temperatures. [ 13,19,20 ] Development of novel integration pathways to allow implementation of VCSELs in mechanically compliant formats without sacrifi cing their wafer-level performance is therefore critically important to realize the full potential of this technology for future applications in fl exible and wearable optoelectronics. In this Communication, we present approaches that can overcome aforementioned performance limitations of printed micro-VCSELs on fl exible substrates having low thermal conductivities by exploiting thermally engineered composite assemblies. Systematic studies on electrical, optical, and thermal properties of fl exible micro-VCSELs at various assembly confi gurations, together with thermal modeling based on 3D fi nite element analysis (FEA), highlight that the developed concept of materials design and device fabrication enables facile and effi cient heat removal from micro-VCSELs printed on plastics and therefore allows the realization of performance characteristics that are comparable to or even higher than those achievable on the source wafer, in ways that also preserve their critical benefi ts in mechanically fl exible and optically transparent constructions. Figure 1 a shows schematic illustration for printed arrays of micro-VCSELs in thermally engineered composite assemblies that heterogeneously incorporate materials of high thermal conductivity between the VCSEL and a polymeric substrate to facilitate an effi cient thermal management. Specifi cally, a thin (on the order of a few μm) layer of metal is introduced on the front surface of fl exible substrate, the bottom surface of the released micro-VCSEL, or on both, respectively, which we refer to as V-A-M-P, V-M-A-P, and V-M-A-M-P, respectively, where V, A, M, and P denote micro-VCSEL, organic adhesive, metal, and polymeric substrate, respectively. Figure 1 b shows schematic illustration and corresponding cross-sectional scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of the composite VCSEL assemblies on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET, ≈50 μm thickness), in which the thickness of adhesive and metal (Cr/Ag/Au: 10 nm/1000 nm/30 nm) layers is about ≈1.0 and ≈1.04 μm, respectively. Such advanced designs of fl exible composite assemblies for the effi cient thermal management of printed micro-VCSELs permitted dramatic improvement of output performance of devices operating on plastics while minimally affecting the mechanical fl exibility as well as the level of optical transparency in printed modules. Figure 1 c shows a photographic image of 5 × 5 arrays of interconnected microVCSELs integrated on a PET substrate mounted on a curved surface (bending radius: ≈12.0 mm), with comparable output characteristics to devices on the GaAs source wafer even under the fl exible and optically transparent format (Figures S1–S3, Supporting Information). This outcome was enabled by the Dramatically Enhanced Performance of Flexible MicroVCSELs via Thermally Engineered Heterogeneous Composite Assemblies
Effects of glucose and of lactate on phosphofructokinase flux during gluconeogenesis

We have examined the effects of glucose and lactate, the products of the gluconeogenic-glycolytic pathways, on phosphofructokinase flux during gluconeogenesis in hepatocytes from fasted rats. With dihydroxyacetone as substrate, phosphofructokinase flux is rather active. Addition of lactate, at concentrations of 5-10 mM, causes a lowering of this flux to the levels found when lactate alone is the substrate. Inhibitor studies suggest that a mitochondrially formed metabolite of lactate is the likely effector involved. Addition of glucose (10mM or greater) to dihydroxyacetone causes an increase in phosphofructokinase flux. Only small effects are seen unless the cells are preincubated with glucose, in which case an estimated 2-3-fold increase in phosphofructokinase flux occurs.
Elastase from Staphylococcus epidermidis

WE report the discovery of an elastolytic enzyme secreted extracellularly by a variant of Staphylococcus epidermidis found on normal human skin. The 30 per cent incidence of this variant in our isolants of Staph. epidermidis, the most abundant organism on human skin, indicates that it is present in much larger numbers as part of the normal flora of a tissue than any other previously discovered elastase-producing micro-organism. The elastases are enzymes capable of digesting the scleroprotein, elastin, a component of mammalian connective tissues important in, for example, arteries, lung and skin. The screening of micro-organisms on human skin for elastase began as a search for the aetiology of perifollicular macular atrophy (Fig. 1), a skin disease characterized by a selective loss of orcein-staining elastic fibres around hair follicles, without loss of collagen or significant inflammation. The clinical features of this disease consist of white, atrophic 1–4 mm sized circular flat patches in the skin with a central hair follicle (unpublished work).
Failed Mirroring as a Cultural Phenomenon

Mirroring has failed when the reflection an individual receives is inaccurate or distorted. Though typically focused on parent–child interactions, mirroring and failed mirroring are also cultural phenomena. For women with dis/abilities, failed mirroring occurs when societal representations of dis/ability are reflected back rather than personal attributes. This essay suggests failed mirroring as a possible consequence of disabled women’s encounters with stares and analyzes one woman’s experience with a staring person that results in a temporary destabilization of self-knowledge and self-worth. Healthier relationships with others and the Divine have the potential of restoring or healing what has been lost or denied in such distortions.
Intracranial pathology in elders with blunt head trauma

Objectives: To examine presentations and prevalence of head injury among elder victims of blunt trauma and to estimate the prevalence of occult injuries associated with a normal level of consciousness, absence of neurologic deficit, and no evidence of significant skull fracture. Methods: The study population consisted of all patients aged 65 years or older enrolled in the National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study (NEXUS) II head injury cohort. The authors assessed the prevalence and patterns of intracranial injuries among this cohort and compared the prevalence of specific presenting signs and symptoms among injured and uninjured patients. An occult injury subcohort was also constructed, and injury prevalence was examined among this group. Results: A total of 1,934 elder patients were identified among the 13,326 subjects in NEXUS II (14.5%). Significant intracranial injury, defined as an injury that typically requires procedural intervention or is associated with persistent neurologic impairment or long-term disability, was found in 178 elder patients (9.2%; 95% confidence interval = 8.0% to 10.6%) as compared with 697 individuals among 11,392 younger patients (6.1%; 95% confidence interval = 5.7% to 6.6%). Focal neurologic deficits were present in 55.8% of elder patients with injury. Prevalence of specific injuries among elder and younger patients, respectively, included the following: subdural hematoma, 4.4% and 2.4%; contusion, 4.0% and 3.2%; epidural hematoma, 0.5% and 1.0%; and depressed skull fracture, 0.2% and 0.5%. Forty-two elder patients (2.2%) had an occult injury, compared with only 92 younger patients (0.8%). Conclusions: Elder patients with head trauma are at higher risk of developing a significant intracranial injury, including subdural and epidural hematoma. An occult presentation is also more common in elders.
Wavelet-aided spatial carrier fringe pattern analysis for 3-D shape measurement

The latest time-frequency tool, wavelet analysis, is presented to extract the phase information φ ( x , y ) from a single spatial carrier fringe pattern. First, the fringe pattern is generated and projected onto an object. The spatial carrier fringe pattern, carrying the 3-D shape of the object, is then captured using a CCD camera. Afterward, the spatial carrier fringe pattern is modulated by two high-frequency waves, which makes the spectrum of the carried phase relatively lower among the spectra of two modulated patterns. Following this, the spectrum of the object is separated into the approximation subband using a wavelet transform. The phase map of the 3-D shape of the object is then extracted from the mixed spectra by reconstructing only the approximation of their wavelet transforms. Finally, the 3-D shape of the object can be calculated from the phase map.
Pole placement using dynamic compensators

The problem of designing a compensator to obtain arbitrary pole placement in the system consisting of the plant and compensator in cascade is considered. The design uses only those state variables which can be measured. It is shown that for a controllable observable plant a compensator of order \beta = \min(\nu_{c} - 1, \nu_{o} - 1) is sufficient to achieve this result. Here \nu_{c}(\nu_{o}) is the controllability (observability) index of the plant. This result is obtained by first showing that any multi-input multi-output linear time-invariant system may be made controllable (observable) from a single input (output) using only output feedback. The main result is then proved in a constructive manner which explicitly relates the compensator parameters to the coefficients of the desired characteristic polynomial.
The oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) localizes to human chromosome 3p25 by fluorescence in situ hybridization and PCR analysis of somatic cell hybrids

The human oxytocin receptor regulates parturition and myometrial contractility, breast milk let-down, and reproductive behaviors in the mammalian central nervous system. Kimura et al. recently identified a human oxytocin receptor cDNA by means of expression cloning from a human myometrial cDNA library. To elucidate further the molecular mechanisms that regulate oxytocin receptor gene expression and to define the expected Mendelian inheritance of possible human disease states, we must determine the number of genes, their localization, and their organization and structure. We summarize below our data indicating that the human oxytocin receptor gene is localized to 3p25 and exists as a single copy in the haploid genome. 9 refs., 2 figs.
Optical bistability in a vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifier (VCSOA): pulsed input

We report experimental observations of optical bistability in a vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifier subject to an external pulsed input. Results show that the nonlinear transition exists with 1ns-duration pulsed input.
Ribosome dynamics and the evolutionary history of ribosomes

The ribosome is a dynamic nanomachine responsible for coded protein synthesis. Its major subsystems were essentially in place at the time of the last universal common ancestor (LUCA). Ribosome evolutionary history thus potentially provides a window into the pre- LUCA world. This history begins with the origins of the peptidyl transferase center where the actual peptide is synthesized and then continues over an extended timeframe as additional functional centers including the GTPase center are added. The large ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) have grown over time by an accretion process and a model exists that proposes a relative age of each accreted element. We have compared atomic resolution ribosome structures before and after EF-G bound GTP hydrolysis and thereby identified the location of 23 pivot points in the large rRNAs that facilitate ribosome dynamics. Pivots in small subunit helices h28 and h44 appear to be especially central to the process and according to the accretion model significantly older than the other helices containing pivots. Overall, the results suggest that ribosomal dynamics occurred in two phases. In the first phase, an inherently mobile h28/h44 combination provided the flexibility needed to create a dynamic ribosome that was essentially a Brownian machine. This addition likely made coded peptide synthesis possible by facilitating movement of a primitive mRNA. During the second phase, addition of pivoting elements and the creation of a factor binding site allowed the regulation of the inherent motion created by h28/h44. All of these events likely occurred before LUCA.
Arm-cranking muscle power and arm isometric muscle strength are independent predictors of all-cause mortality in men.

Poor muscle strength is associated with mortality, presumably due to low muscle mass. Notably, muscle power declines more rapidly than muscle strength with increasing age, which may be related to m...
Comparison of immune response to the influenza vaccine in obese and nonobese healthcare workers.

OBJECTIVETo determine whether there is a difference in antibody titers and functionality after receipt of the influenza vaccine for obese versus nonobese healthcare workers (HCW).DESIGNProspective observational study.SETTINGTertiary medical center.PARTICIPANTSHealthcare workers.METHODSBaseline influenza antibody titers for obese and nonobese HCW were recorded during the hospital’s 2011 annual influenza vaccination day and follow-up antibody titers were measured 4 weeks later. Antibodies were measured using the hemagglutination inhibition assay and functionality was measured using the micro-neutralization method.RESULTSOf 200 initial HCWs, 190 completed the study (97 obese and 93 nonobese). Seroprotection after immunization was not significantly different for nonobese compared with obese HCW for each strain (influenza A [H1N1], 99% and 99%; influenza A [H3N2], 100% and 99%; and influenza B, 67% and 71%, respectively)All geometric mean titers measured by micro-neutralization showed statistically significant increases in activity. In comparison, there was no difference in the 4-fold increase in H1N1 or B titers. There was a significant difference in the 4-fold increase of H3N2 titers between the nonobese and obese HCWs (82/93 [88%] vs 64/97 [66%], P=.003)In an ad hoc analysis we found that obese HCWs had a statistically greater number of 4-fold decreases in titers with H1N1 and H3N2.CONCLUSIONSThere was no significant difference in protection from influenza between obese and nonobese HCWs after immunization.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2014;00(0): 1–5
Morphological, Structural, and Spectral Characteristics of Amorphous Iron Sulfates

Current or past brine hydrologic activity on Mars may provide suitable conditions for the formation of amorphous ferric sulfates. Once formed, these phases would likely be stable under current Martian conditions, particularly at low- to mid-latitudes. Therefore, we consider amorphous iron sulfates (AIS) as possible components of Martian surface materials. Laboratory AIS were created through multiple synthesis routes and characterized with total X-ray scattering, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, visible/near-infrared (VNIR), thermal infrared (TIR), and Mossbauer techniques. We synthesized amorphous ferric sulfates (Fe(III)2(SO4)3 · ~ 6-8H2O) from sulfate-saturated fluids via vacuum dehydration or exposure to low relative humidity (<11%). Amorphous ferrous sulfate (Fe(II)SO4 · ~1H2O) was synthesized via vacuum dehydration of melanterite. All AIS lack structural order beyond 11 A. The short-range (<5 A) structural characteristics of amorphous ferric sulfates resemble all crystalline reference compounds; structural characteristics for the amorphous ferrous sulfate are similar to but distinct from both rozenite and szomolnokite. VNIR and TIR spectral data for all AIS display broad, muted features consistent with structural disorder and are spectrally distinct from all crystalline sulfates considered for comparison. Mossbauer spectra are also distinct from crystalline phase spectra available for comparison. AIS should be distinguishable from crystalline sulfates based on the position of their Fe-related absorptions in the visible range and their spectral characteristics in the TIR. In the NIR, bands associated with hydration at ~1.4 and 1.9 μm are significantly broadened, which greatly reduces their detectability in soil mixtures. AIS may contribute to the amorphous fraction of soils measured by the Curiosity rover.
Two-dimensional materials for ubiquitous electronics

The last few years have witnessed a tremendous research effort on two-dimensional materials for electronic applications. Graphene was the first one of these materials, quickly followed by boron nitride, di-chalcogenites and other compounds. Some of these materials are semimetals, others are semiconductors, and a few others excellent dielectrics and insulators. They represent a new toolbox of electronic materials with very unique properties. Thanks to the development of chemical vapor deposition techniques, they can be grown in very large areas, potentially in a roll-to-roll basis. In addition, their extreme thinness makes them highly transparent and extremely flexible. In summary, they constitute the basic building blocks of a new generation of electronics that could be integrated everywhere, a new ubiquitous electronics. This talk will discuss some of the recent results that our group has achieved on MoS2 electronics, including the development of the first RF transistors, integrated circuits and memory devices.
Increases in Recent HIV Testing Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Coincide With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Expanded Testing Initiative

According to National HIV Behavioral Surveillance system data, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing increased among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men from 2008 to 2011 in cities funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Expanded Testing Initiative, suggesting that focused HIV testing initiatives might have positive effects.
Opportunities for reduced power dissipation using three-dimensional integration

The opportunities for reducing power dissipation using three-dimensional integration, particularly the power needed to switch the interconnects, are investigated. In a three-dimensional implementation, both the gate pitch and the total interconnect length in gate pitches can be reduced from the values required in a two-dimensional implementation. The simultaneous scaling of these two values leads to an overall reduction in the interconnect power by roughly a factor of the square root of the number of strata. For example, use of four strata leads to roughly a 50% reduction in total interconnect power. The reduction in interconnect lengths leads to smaller interconnect capacitances, offering the opportunity to lower transistor power as well.
Assessing Risk for Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias and Sudden Cardiac Death Is There a Role for Cardiac MRI

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is most commonly precipitated by malignant ventricular tachyarrhythmias and readily prevented by insertion of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs). However, our ability to identify which individuals are at highest risk for SCD and thus candidates for ICDs remains inadequate. Current clinical guidelines for selecting patients who have yet to experience clinical evidence of sustained ventricular arrhythmias target those with reduced global left ventricular (LV) function (LV ejection fraction [LVEF] <30–35% with or without heart failure) as meeting criteria for primary prevention ICDs.1 Patients who have survived a cardiac arrest episode, in the absence of a reversible cause, generally meet criteria for secondary prevention ICDs, as may individuals presenting with sustained ventricular tachyarrhythmias, particularly those with structural heart disease.1 Using an LVEF threshold focuses on subpopulations with the highest incidence of SCD and originates from the results of previously published ICD and antiarrhythmic trials that preferentially included only these higher-risk cohorts. However, as was first noted by Myerburg et al2 in 1992, the highest absolute number of SCD events in the population as a whole occurs in patients without systolic LV dysfunction or established heart disease and few to no cardiac risk factors (see Figure 1; Zipes et al).1 Hence, many patients who are at risk for SCD are not being identified as candidates for ICDs. This deficiency in risk stratification practice was articulated in a recent National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and Heart Rhythm Society workshop publication, which concluded that “Current methods of clinical risk prediction are inadequate and there is increasing recognition that employment of the LV ejection fraction as a risk predictor is effective in only a small subgroup of patients.”3 Articles see pp 12 and 78 In the majority of cases, the pathogenesis of ventricular arrhythmias involves the interplay …
Electrical resistance as an indicator of fatigue

The dependence of the electrical resistance on strain and fatigue was analyzed for the case of electrical interconnections subjected to a sinusoidal strain. Measurements of the resistance change at the drive frequency and at twice the drive frequency provided greater sensitivity than static resistance measurements. Equations were developed to model the electrical resistance to second order in the strain. The resistance change gives a direct measure of the interconnect strain. The amplitude of the resistance change at twice the drive frequency was found to increase rapidly with fatigue. The ratio of the resistance change at twice the drive frequency to the change at the drive frequency was approximately 20% at low cycle fatigue failure. The ratio was suggested as a fatigue indicator for reliability analyses or for accelerated testing. >
A unified formulation for detection using time-frequency and time-scale methods

A unified theory is developed for the detection of signals in nonwhite noise using time-frequency and time-scale signal transforms. This class includes the cross-Wigner distribution and certain other members of Cohen's class, the Gabor transform, and the wavelet transform. Necessary and sufficient conditions are established such that a signal transform is applicable to the nonwhite noise detection problem. Applying this result to the reproducing kernel Hilbert space associated with a finite-dimensional approximation of the noise covariance leads to weighted correlator structures in the time-frequency and time-scale domains. This extends results previously available only for the white noise case. >
Iterative Stack-Based Detection for Unknown ISI Channels

We propose a turbo-style receiver for detecting convolutionallyencoded data transmitted over multiple unknown dispersive channels. The receiver employs two Bayesian maximum likelihood sequence detectors (BMLSD), each of which uses a stack-based tree search algorithm to generate an estimate of the transmitted data. The detectors exchange soft information about the underlying bits, thereby reducing the number of branch explorations required to detect a transmitted block. The proposed structure is particularly attractive when receiver memory is limited, as the iterative exchange of priors can overcome the erasures typically associated with small stack size in tree search algorithms. Simulation results show that the turbo-BMLSD receiver achieves significant performance gains over the original BMLSD algorithm and approaches the performance of MLSD for a known channel.
Reexamining Discrete Approximations to Continuous Distributions

Discretization is a common decision analysis technique for which many methods are described in the literature and employed in practice. The accuracy of these methods is typically judged by how well they match the mean, variance, and possibly higher moments of the underlying continuous probability distribution. Previous authors have analyzed the accuracy of differing discretization methods across a limited set of distributions drawn from particular families e.g., the bell-shaped beta distributions. In this paper, we extend this area of research by i using the Pearson distribution system to consider a wide range of distribution shapes and ii including common, but previously unexplored, discretization methods. In addition, we propose new three-point discretizations tailored to specific distribution types that improve upon existing methods.
Biological activity of oestradiol sulphate in an oviparous amniote: implications for maternal steroid effects

Understanding the many factors that underlie phenotypic variation is of profound importance to evolutionary biologists. The embryonic endocrine environment is one such factor that has received much attention. In placental amniotes, the dynamic interaction of maternal and embryonic steroid production and metabolism is critical to regulating the endocrine environment. Less is known about how embryos of oviparous amniotes regulate their endocrine environment because most studies have focused on relating initial steroid levels in the yolk at oviposition to offspring phenotype. We tested the hypothesis that embryos of oviparous amniotes regulate their endocrine environment by conjugating maternal steroids and subsequently using the metabolites as precursors for steroid production later in development. Using the red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta), we first characterized the conjugation of exogenous oestradiol to either oestradiol glucuronide or oestradiol sulphate (E2-S) in ovo during the first 15 days of development. Results show that oestradiol is primarily conjugated to E2-S. We then examined whether E2-S influenced sex determination and report that E2-S increases the production of female offspring. These data demonstrate that oviparous amniotes can both sulphonate steroids and respond to sulphonated steroids during embryonic development in a manner similar to placental amniotes.
False Allegations of Sexual Touching by Physicians in The Practice of Pediatrics

It is normal for adolescents to be concerned about their bodies and harbor thoughts and worries about their sexuality.1 This can be manifested as anxiety during the physical examination, especially when the genital examination is performed.2-4 Because of this and the possibility of misinterpreting medical procedures such as breast and pelvic examinations, it has been suggested that male practitioners examine female adolescent patients in the presence of a chaperone. Studies involving chaperones use in office practice show a wide variation of approaches.5-7 Recently there has been an increasing recognition of sexual contact between physicians and their patients, both in the medical,8 psychiatric,9 and the lay literature,10 raising consciousness among the public about possible inappropriate sexual behavior by professionals.
Muscle stiffness and spinal stretch reflex sensitivity in the triceps surae.

Context: Greater musculotendinous stiffness may enhance spinal stretch reflex sensitivity by improving mechanical coupling of the muscle spindle and the stretch stimulus. This heightened sensitivity would correspond with a shorter latency and higher-amplitude reflex response, potentially enhancing joint stability. Objective: To compare spinal stretch reflex latency and amplitude across groups that differed in musculotendinous stiffness. Design: Static group comparisons. Setting: Research laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: Forty physically active individuals (20 men, 20 women). Intervention(s): We verified a sex difference in musculotendinous stiffness and compared spinal stretch reflex latency and amplitude in high-stiffness (men) and low-stiffness (women) groups. We also evaluated relationships between musculotendinous stiffness and spinal stretch reflex latency and amplitude, respectively.
Immunohistochemistry study of human vestibular nerve schwannoma differentiation.

Differentiation of primary human vestibular nerve schwannomas (VS) caused by mutations of the NF2 gene was evaluated by examining the expression patterns of genes that are specifically expressed in different stages of Schwann cell lineage. In schwannoma cells that are not in contact with an axon, the expression levels of the major myelin sheath proteins, such as protein zero glycoprotein (P0), myelin basic protein (MBP), and peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22), were greatly reduced. However, high expression levels of nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR), neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM), and cell adhesion molecule L1 (L1) were observed. In addition, expression of transcription factors Krox20, Krox24, and SCIP/Oct6 was also detected in the tumor cells. These results suggest that loss of the NF2 gene was responsible for the transformation of the Schwann cells into a neoplastic stage that has a similar genetic profile to the pro-myelinating stage. Finally, the primary human vestibular schwannoma cells failed to be regulated and redifferentiated by a regenerating axon, when the human tumors were transplanted into sciatic nerve of nude rat. These results suggest that the NF2 gene might be involved in the differentiation of Schwann cells.
Gene expression analysis in Fmr1KO mice identifies an immunological signature in brain tissue and mGluR5-related signaling in primary neuronal cultures

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder whose biochemical manifestations involve dysregulation of mGluR5-dependent pathways, which are widely modeled using cultured neurons. In vitro phenotypes in cultured neurons using standard morphological, functional, and chemical approaches have demonstrated considerable variability. Here, we study transcriptomes obtained in situ in the intact brain tissues of a murine model of FXS to see how they reflect the in vitro state. We used genome-wide mRNA expression profiling as a robust characterization tool for studying differentially expressed pathways in fragile X mental retardation 1 (Fmr1) knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) murine primary neuronal cultures and in embryonic hippocampal and cortical murine tissue. To study the developmental trajectory and to relate mouse model data to human data, we used an expression map of human development to plot murine differentially expressed genes in KO/WT cultures and brain. We found that transcriptomes from cell cultures showed a stronger signature of Fmr1KO than whole tissue transcriptomes. We observed an over-representation of immunological signaling pathways in embryonic Fmr1KO cortical and hippocampal tissues and over-represented mGluR5-downstream signaling pathways in Fmr1KO cortical and hippocampal primary cultures. Genes whose expression was up-regulated in Fmr1KO murine cultures tended to peak early in human development, whereas differentially expressed genes in embryonic cortical and hippocampal tissues clustered with genes expressed later in human development. The transcriptional profile in brain tissues primarily centered on immunological mechanisms, whereas the profiles from cell cultures showed defects in neuronal activity. We speculate that the isolation and culturing of neurons caused a shift in neurological transcriptome towards a “juvenile” or “de-differentiated” state. Moreover, cultured neurons lack the close coupling with glia that might be responsible for the immunological phenotype in the intact brain. Our results suggest that cultured cells may recapitulate an early phase of the disease, which is also less obscured with a consequent “immunological” phenotype and in vivo compensatory mechanisms observed in the embryonic brain. Together, these results suggest that the transcriptome of cultured primary neuronal cells, in comparison to whole brain tissue, more robustly demonstrated the difference between Fmr1KO and WT mice and might reveal a molecular phenotype, which is typically hidden by compensatory mechanisms present in vivo. Moreover, cultures might be useful for investigating the perturbed pathways in early human brain development and genes previously implicated in autism.
Novel tandem isomerization/ cationic polymerization of allyl ethers

Allyl ethers, a class of well-known unsaturated compounds, fail to undergo cationic polymerization under usual conditions. A novel transition metal-catalyzed tandem isomerization and polymerization reaction has been developed by which allyl ethers and related compounds can be readily and spontaneously polymerized to give high molecular weight polymers. The rationale leading to the discovery of this new type of polymerization is discussed. Certain Group VIII transition metal carbonyls in combination with organosilanes are effective catalysts for this new reaction. Possibilities for the utilization of this new polymer-forming reaction include the synthesis of novel polymeric architectures, namely block, comb, star, and graft copolymers.
Ethnic Differences in Childhood Blood Pressure

Blood pressure in children is still assessed using normative data from the National High Blood Pressure Education Program which include adjustment for an individual’s age, gender, and body height. The current threshold values ignore any ethnic differences in childhood blood pressure. While young children likely have no differences in BP related to ethnicity, emerging data suggest that, at least in older children, race and ethnicity may be important factors influencing blood pressure. We review the evidence for ethnic differences in childhood blood pressure, including childhood ambulatory blood pressure, and discuss some of the potential mechanisms behind these differences.
Knowledge Discovery and Induction of Decision Trees in Spatial Decision Problems

Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, investigates the mechanisms by which knowledge is acquired through experience. A large number of machine learning methods and algorithms have been developed, including neural computing (Freeman and Skapura 1991), case-based reasoning (Kolodner 1993), genetic algorithms (Goldberg 1989), and inductive learning (Quinlan 1988). These approaches form the essential toolbox of methods to extract useful information from data sets built into the knowledge base of expert systems. It has been argued that these computational methods are not only useful for the design and implementation of effective and efficient decision support and expert systems, but also as support tools in furthering scientific knowledge discovery above and beyond what conventional methods of inquiry have so far permitted. In the domain of the Spatial Sciences, this viewpoint is forcefully advocated in the research white paper on ‘Spatial Analysis in a GIS Environment’ of the University Consortium for Geograhic Information Science (UCGIS 1997).
College Students Beware of the Attack Because Partisanship Is the New Black

The 2013 United States Supreme Court case, Shelby v. Holder, repealed section 4 of the Voting Rights Act. This decision framed the political sphere for which voting rights exists as well as signified a movement towards a post-racial society. Voter suppression is a strategy used to discourage or prevent people from voting. Political partisanship is a bias or prejudice in favor of a political party. This comment argues that current acts of voter suppression are not based on racial-exclusion practices, but instead are motivated by political partisanship. This will be illustrated through the assessment of voter-suppression laws affecting college students, their families, and universities. College students collectively are not considered a minority group, nor are they all members of a particular race or class. Therefore, an assessment of the laws affecting them will support suppression based on partisanship.
Synthesis and characterization of a novel asymmetric ferrocene alkoxycarboxylate of titanium, Ti4O2(OiPr)6(eta 5-O2CC5H4)Fe(eta 5-C5H5))6.

The utilization of ferrocene carboxylic acid as opposed to a metal cluster or organic carboxylic acid leads to a hexanuclear assembly of ferrocene units supported by a tetranuclear titanium oxyalko...
Arterial viscoelasticity: a generalized model. Effect on input impedance and wave travel in the systematic tree.

Abstract In the first part of this paper most of the reported results concerning measurements of the viscoelastic properties of the systemic arterial wall are discussed. The various mechanical models of the vessel wall that have been proposed and which usually account for a special aspect of viscoelastic properties are reviewed critically. From these discussions a new mathematical model for the wall properties emerges. It accounts in quantitative terms for the frequency dependence of the Young modulus, stress-relaxation, creep, and hysteresis. Hence this new description, which is in terms of the complex Young modulus, covers all the known aspects of the viscoelastic wall properties. In the second part of this paper the complex Young modulus is incorporated in a model of the systematic arterial tree for the purpose of studying the effect of the viscous properties of the wall. Wave travel and input impedances are given for the case of a purely elastic wall and for the case of a realistic viscoelastic wall; the differences are compared. Addition of the viscous wall properties proves to have a significant effect on input impedance and wave travel.
Successful Breast Reconstruction Despite Dislodgement of Tissue Expander Magnetic Ports

Structural failure of breast tissue expanders (TE) has previously been reported (port dislodgement,1-3 reversal of port magnetic polarity,4 and excessive heating of the magnetic port5), but in each case the surgeon has chosen to remove the failed tissue expander, thereby interrupting the reconstructive sequence and subjecting the patient to an additional, unanticipated anesthetic event. A 46-year-old woman underwent preoperative chemotherapy, bilateral skin-sparing mastectomy, immediate reconstruction with bilateral sub-pectoral Natrelle 600 mL 133MX-14 TE (Allergan, Dublin, Ireland) in November 2014. This was followed by postoperative radiation to the left axilla and chest wall. She then developed symptoms concerning for brain metastases, and 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (3T MRI) was attempted, but as the table was being advanced towards the magnet, she felt the acute onset of pain in her bilateral breasts. She was immediately withdrawn from the MRI, and the test was aborted. She reported discomfort in her chest for approximately 72 hours, although physical exam did not reveal any changes (eg, burns, deformation of breast mounds). Her neurologic symptoms resolved, and her oncologists opted to not pursue further …
Geographic variation in cost of care for pituitary tumor surgery

Geography is known to affect cost of care in surgical procedures. Understanding the relationship between geography and hospital costs is pertinent in the effort to reduce healthcare costs. We studied the geographic variation in cost for transsphenoidal pituitary surgery in hospitals across New York State. Using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Database for New York from 2008 to 2011, we analyzed records of patients who underwent elective transsphenoidal pituitary tumor surgery and were discharged to home or self-care. N.Y. State was divided into five geographic regions: Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, and Downstate. These five regions were compared according to median charge and cost per day. From 2008 to 2011, 1803 transsphenoidal pituitary tumor surgeries were performed in New York State. Mean patient age was 50.7 years (54 % were female). Adjusting prices for length of stay, there was substantial variation in prices. Median charges per day ranged from $8485 to $13,321 and median costs per day ranged from $2962 to $6837 between the highest and lowest regions from 2008 to 2011. Within New York State, significant geographic variation exists in the cost for transsphenoidal pituitary surgery. The significance of and contributors to such variation is an important question for patients, providers, and policy makers. Transparency of hospital charges, costs, and average length of stay for procedures to the public provides useful information for informed decision-making, especially for a highly portable disease entity like pituitary tumors.
Mechanistic Role of Emotion Regulation in the PTSD and Alcohol Association.

OBJECTIVE: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been linked to problematic alcohol use. Those with PTSD have greater difficulty regulating emotions, which may help to explain the PTSD-drinking co-occurrence. However, emotion regulation as a mediator of PTSD-alcohol associations has been limited. In the present study, we examined this association. METHOD: College students (N = 466, Mage = 19.5, 53% female) were assessed for PTSD by structured clinical interview, and were categorized into three groups: those who had not experienced a significant trauma (No Trauma, n = 182), those who had experienced a significant trauma but did not have current PTSD symptoms (Trauma Only, n = 171), and those with significant trauma and with current PTSD (partial or full; PTSD, n = 113). Alcohol use over the past six months and emotion regulation were assessed via self-report (DDQ; Collins, Parks, & Marlatt, 1985; DERS; Gratz & Roemer, 2004). RESULTS: Findings revealed that those with trauma and clinically significant PTSD reported greater difficulty with emotion regulation than those who had not been exposed to trauma, which in turn significantly predicted alcohol use. This mediating effect was not found in those with trauma exposure alone, suggesting an important role for PTSD in this pathway. FINDINGS also indicated that the ability to control emotion-based impulses is a particularly relevant mediating facet of emotion regulation. CONCLUSION: These results implicate emotion regulation as a potential explanatory link between PTSD and alcohol use, lending further support to the inclusion of emotion regulation training in PTSD treatment. Language: en
Rates of Hospitalization Among African American and Caucasian American Patients With Crohn's Disease Seen at a Tertiary Care Center

Background There is equivocal evidence regarding differences in the clinical course and outcomes of Crohn's disease (CD) among African Americans compared with Caucasian Americans. We sought to analyze whether African Americans with CD are more likely to be hospitalized for CD-related complications when compared with Caucasian Americans with CD. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study including 909 African Americans and Caucasian Americans with CD who were seen at our tertiary care Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) referral center between 2000 and 2013. We calculated the rate of hospitalization for CD-related complications among African Americans and Caucasian Americans separately. Zero-inflated Poisson regression models with robust variance estimates were used to estimate crude and multivariable adjusted rate ratios (RR) for CD-related hospitalizations. Multivariable adjusted models included adjustment for age, sex, duration of CD, smoking and CD therapy. Results The cumulative rate of CD-related hospital admissions was higher among African American patients compared with Caucasian American patients (395.6/1000 person-years in African Americans vs. 230.4/1000 person-years in Caucasian Americans). Unadjusted and multivariable adjusted rate ratios for CD-related hospitalization comparing African Americans and Caucasian Americans were 1.59 (95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 1.10-2.29; P=0.01) and 1.44 (95%CI: 1.02-2.03; P=0.04), respectively. Conclusions African Americans with CD followed at a tertiary IBD-referral center had a higher rate for CD-related hospitalizations compared with Caucasian Americans. Future studies should examine whether socioeconomic status and biologic markers of disease status could explain the higher risk observed among African Americans.
A Comparative Study of the Grassland of California and Chile

Summary Immigrant species from Eurasia have become established in areas of similar climate in California and Chile where they comprise annual grassland vegetations of considerable structural and floristic similarity. However, analysis of associations among species indicates that the similarities do not extend to finer levels of organization. Land use practices and short term climatic variability are believed to account for the differences.
Why add the supernatural

ABSTRACTA theme common to many of the essays is that of identifying the unique contribution that religion (specifially, supernatural thinking) adds to human social life. We argue that the contribution may have been efficiency. Supernatural thinking may have made cooperation easier to implement in human social groups. We explore this possiiblity in two areas: partner choice and parenting.
MRI RF pulse spectral regrowth contributions by PIN diodes

Spectral regrowth is a concern to the MRI system designer because of the potential for RF pulse distortion and subsequent excitation of nuclei outside of the region of interest. Previous work on spectral regrowth produced by series-connected PIN diodes has focused on their influence in communication systems but to the author's knowledge, no work to date has studied this spectral regrowth in MRI applications. This paper looks at the contributions of PIN diodes following MR power amplifiers in the generation of adjacent channel power, focusing on the RF slice select pulse. The analysis shows how PIN diode nonlinearities influence spectral regrowth and how the PIN diode operating conditions affect the out of band components.
Associations of sleep disturbance with physical function and cognition in older adults with cancer.

Although sleep disturbances are common in older adults, studies evaluating the prevalence of sleep disturbance and its influence on functional outcomes in older adults with cancer are few. In this study, we examined the prevalence of sleep disturbance and its association with physical function and cognition in older adults with cancer. This is a cross-sectional study of patients who were referred and evaluated in the Specialized Oncology Care & Research in the Elderly (SOCARE) clinics at the Universities of Rochester and Chicago from May 2011 to October 2015. All patients underwent a geriatric assessment (GA) as part of their routine evaluation. Our final study cohort included patients who completed a sleep assessment and consented to the study. We collected demographics (age, sex, race, marital status, and education level) and clinical characteristics (depression, comorbidity, cancer type, and stage) from the GA and medical chart reviews. Presence of sleep disturbance was self-reported (yes/no). Physical function was assessed using Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs), physical activity (PA) survey, falls in the preceding 6 months, and Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Cognition was screened using the Blessed Orientation-Memory-Concentration Test (impairment >4) or Montreal Cognitive Assessment (impairment <26). Bivariate and multivariable analyses were used to examine the associations between sleep disturbance with functional outcomes and cognition. We included 389 older patients. The prevalence of sleep disturbance was 40%. Sixty-eight percent had ≥1 IADL impairment, 76% had PA limitation, 37% had ≥1 fall, 70% had impairment on SPPB, and 47% screened positive for cognitive impairment. On bivariate analyses, sleep disturbance was associated with IADL impairment (odds ratio [OR] 1.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.23–3.13, P = 0.005), and PA limitation (OR 2.43, 95% CI 1.38–4.28, P = 0.002). The associations remained significant on multivariable analyses. Sleep disturbance was not significantly associated with falls, impairment on SPPB, and performance on the cognitive screen. Sleep disturbance was associated with IADL impairment and PA limitation. It is important for oncologists to inquire about sleep problems, and these patients should also be screened for functional impairment if sleep disturbance was present.