cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Development of a farm-scale, quasi-mechanistic model to estimate ammonia emissions from commercial manure-belt layer houses

Poultry production significantly contributes to atmospheric ammonia (NH3) emissions, causing concerns over their environmental impacts and the effects on human and bird health inside the poultry houses. A model is needed to estimate NH3 emissions from poultry facilities in order to develop effective mitigation strategies and science-based regulations. The laboratory-scale mechanistic NH3 emission model developed by Tong, Zhao, Heber, and Ni (2020) requires extensive monitoring and laboratory work for the inputs and therefore cannot be conveniently used by producers or regulatory agencies. Based on this mechanistic model, a farm-scale model was developed for estimating dynamic NH3 emission rates from commercial manure-belt layer houses. Sub-models were developed to estimate the inputs of the mechanistic model from farm-scale conditions that are commonly known during poultry production. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models and analyses of manure characteristics were used to estimate air conditions, manure properties, and NH3 emission areas inside layer houses. The model estimated daily NH3 emission from typical commercial manure-belt layer houses for given dates with input data consisting of hen inventory, ambient air temperature, house ventilation mode and rate, and manure management practices. Model performance was evaluated by comparison with NH3 emission data from four commercial manure-belt layer houses with different ventilation systems. Uncertainties of 26–32% relative to the mechanistic model were obtained based on the uncertainties of individual sub-models along with their corresponding sensitivities. The model had an acceptable performance during ordinary egg production (p-value = 0.10–0.61), but it needs further development for special events such as moulting and introduction of new flocks.
Whiteness and religious experience

In this paper I argue that racism’s subtle and insidious reach should lead us to prefer an account of religious experience that is capable of reckoning with that reach, an account that, I shall argue, appears in the work of St. John of the Cross. The paper begins with an analysis of race and racism and the way in which the latter can have existential and even spiritual effects. The argument is then applied particularly to white people and the deleterious effects racism has on their intellects, wills, and even memories, not merely inwardly but also as a result of what Charles Mills famously calls an epistemology of ignorance. Notably, intellect, will, and memory are the key sites for union in St. John’s discussion. In the last main section, I discuss how progress in the mystical life can be hindered by racism’s effects even while it is possible for there to be “touches of union” on the way. Another result of this inquiry is that it shows how a widely-used schema, such as St. John’s, will require spiritual aspirants to deal with racism, both in themselves and in the world.
It’s Dirty Work but Someone Has To Do It: An Examination of Correctional Officer Taint Management Techniques

Since the 1950s scholars have applied the term dirty work to occupations that society views as demoralizing or disgusting. Occupations are labeled as dirty when they require work which is physically, socially and/or morally tainted. Correctional officers experience pervasive levels of all three types of taint while working in a low prestige occupation. This article relies on ethnographic data to examine how occupational stigma management techniques are taught to new officers and what techniques are most prominent. The findings indicate that new officers are taught occupational ideologies regarding stigma management primarily through sense-making and storytelling. We find that officers manage stigma primarily through reframing their work.
Examination of risky truancy behaviors and gender differences among elementary school children

There has been a dramatic increase in the rate of truancy cases throughout the United States, and despite truancy reduction efforts, truancy rates remained constant. Truancy is frequently associate...
Safeguards and the perils of preferential trade agreements: Dominican Republic–Safeguard Measures

The legal-economic implications of how WTO members apply an import-restricting safeguard measure become more complex in light of the increasing web of trade concessions undertaken through their preferential trade agreements (PTAs) in addition to their WTO commitments. This paper examines a number of complex issues that arose in the WTO litigation between five new PTA partners through the Dominican Republic–Safeguard Measures disputes. First, we highlight the difficulties in assessing the extent to which safeguards imposed following a PTA are the result of PTA concessions relative to developments that pre-date or are otherwise unrelated to the PTA. Second, we examine how the WTO Panel resolved a number of previously unanswered questions in the WTO's safeguards jurisprudence that arose in these cases. We suggest that the Panel rightly foreclosed a number of potentially dubious practices that WTO members might otherwise have pursued when using safeguards to circumvent trade concessions. Third, we identify how safeguard-related provisions within a PTA may give rise to constraints that subsequently affect how a country may apply safeguards available under the WTO Agreements, and we describe some implications for PTA design and negotiation. Finally, we analyze the broader implications that arise from the interplay of PTAs, safeguards, and dispute settlement in light of the availability of both relatively substitutable policy instruments and dispute resolution forums.
A Brewing Back Pain

A Brewing Back Pain A 67-year-old man presented with a 1-week history of lumbar back pain that worsened with lying down. He had fatigue and had lost 10 kg intentionally over 3 months. He had no fev...
Quasi 2D and 1D van der Waals quantum materials

In this keynote talk, I will describe the properties and device applications of quasi-2D and quasi- 1D quantum van der Waals (vdW) materials. The 2D vdW materials include TMDs, which exfoliate into quasi-2D atomic layers. The focus will be on 1T-TaS2, a unique material with charge-density-wave (CDW) phases observed above room temperature. The 1D vdW materials include members of the TMT family, which exfoliate into quasi-1D atomic threads. I will discuss switching among various CDW phases and possibilities of their device applications; the use of the current fluctuations for observing phase transitions; and current carrying capacity of TaSe3 atomic bundles.
Empowering Flight Exercise: Teaching Students the Design, Underlying Processes, and Organizational Outcomes of Empowering Work Systems:

Employee empowerment yields positive outcomes for employees, managers, and organizations. Yet, too many employees feel disempowered at work, and managers, while wanting to empower employees, often ...
Decentralized or Centralized Control of Online Service Platforms: Who Should Set Prices?

Online service platforms that enable customers to connect with a large population of independent servers have been successfully developed in many sectors, including transportation, lodging, and delivery, among others. We ask a basic, yet fundamentally important, question - who should set the prices on the platform? The platform or the servers? In addition to regulatory implications for the classification of the workers on the platform as either employees or contractors, this choice influences the degree of competition among servers, and in turn determines both the amount of supply available and the overall attractiveness of the platform to consumers. We find that when the platform uses a simple commission contract to earn revenue, the price delegation decision depends on the importance of regulating competition among the large population of servers relative to the value of allowing servers to tailor their prices to their privately known costs. The same tradeoff exists in fully disintermediated platforms, such as those enabled with blockchain technology. However, merely adding appropriate linear quantity discounts or surcharges to the basic commission contract maximizes the platform's revenue and allows all participants to enjoy the benefits of both centralized and decentralized control of prices.
Mycobacterium marinum and Fish and Frog Models of Infection

Mycobacterium marinum is a natural pathogen of poikilothermic organisms including fish and frogs. In addition to M. marinum, M. fortuitum and M. chelonae subsp. abscessus can cause natural infection of poikilothermic animals including fish. From the viewpoint of the host, M. marinum infection in its natural hosts displays the characteristic immune hallmarks of giant-cell formation and granuloma formation that are seen in human tuberculosis. The development of two animal models, the goldfish, Carassius auratus, and the leopard frog, Rana pipiens, has provided the first natural-infection models for the study of mycobacterial pathogenesis. A relevant observation about the fish model is the similarity of the fish host response to M. marinum infection and the human host response to M. tuberculosis infection. Natural infection of reptiles and amphibians with M. marinum has not been systematically studied. Tadpoles, the developmental stage of the frog, were also susceptible to M. marinum infection. Thus, the frog model has been used to dissect the complex pattern of M. marinum gene expression in the granuloma, the site most likely to harbor M. marinum during the latent stage of infection. In summary, the fish and frog models of mycobacterial infection offer an opportunity to examine the interaction of a Mycobacterium species, M. marinum, with its host in natural infection models. The advantages in using the fish and the frog are that these models reflect a natural-infection model and, in comparison to other animal models, have a low cost.
Maturation of the adrenal medulla. III. Practical and theoretical considerations of age-dependent alterations in kinetics of incorporation of catecholamines and non-catecholamines.

Abstract Rats were sacrificed at 10-day intervals from birth to 50 days of age and the kinetics of uptake of epinephrine (E) and metaraminol (MA) into isolated adrenal medullary storage vesicles were measured. The K m for epinephrine remained at about 30 μM throughout development, but the maximal uptake ( U max ) at birth was 30 nmoles/30 min/100 μg of endogenous catecholamines compared to 2 nmoles at subsequent ages. The K m for MA was about 4 mM at birth, 0·7 mM at 10–20 days of age and 1·2 mM thereafter, while U max was approximately 170 nmoles initially, 50 nmoles at 10–20 days and 70 nmoles thereafter. The preference of the vesicles for uptake of E vs MA (both at 0·1 mM) was approximately 6 to 1 at birth, 1 to 1 at 10 days, 3·5 to 1 at 20 days and 5 to 1 thereafter, while the preference for E vs tyramine was 2 to 1, except at 10 days, when the ratio was 1 to 1. These data suggest that the two vesicular uptake mechanisms, typified by incorporations of E and of MA, develop independently of each other and that the age-dependent alterations are present both at the level of the vesicle membrane and intravesicular storage. The development of a kinetic model aids in the identification of probable sites of specific age-dependent alterations. Maturational changes in uptake and specificity can produce parallel changes in synthesis of catecholamines as determined by conversion of newly incorporated tyramine to octopamine.
Secondary electron emission from electrically charged fluorinated-ethylene-propylene Teflon for normal and non-normal electron incidence

The secondary electron emission coefficient was measured for a charged polymer (FEP-Teflon) with normally and obliquely incident primary electrons. Theories of secondary emission are reviewed and the experimental data is compared to these theories. Results were obtained for angles of incidence up to 60 deg in normal electric fields of 1500 V/mm. Additional measurements in the range from 50 to 70 deg were made in regions where the normal and tangential fields were approximately equal. The initial input angles and measured output point of the electron beam could be analyzed with computer simulations in order to determine the field within the chamber. When the field is known, the trajectories can be calculated for impacting electrons having various energies and angles of incidence. There was close agreement between the experimental results and the commonly assumed theoretical model in the presence of normal electric fields for angles of incidence up to 60 deg. High angle results obtained in the presence of tangential electric fields did not agree with the theoretical models.
Ontogenetic variability of chill tolerance in larval Artemia salina: II. Dual cryoprotectants

Abstract Chill tolerance was determined for various larval stages of Artemia salina in solutions with and without dual cryoprotectants (glycerol and sucrose) and in saline solutions of corresponding osmolalities. Synchronous batch cultures of larvae were removed from a donor culture at post-hatch intervals (0, 3, 6, 12 and 24 h) and transferred immediately to solutions at -1 ± 0.2°C for 10-, 30- and 90-min intervals. Survival of control groups (cryoprotectant-free sea water, salinity 40 ppt) varied with age. In these groups, 0 h post-hatch larval survival decreased linearly with exposure time to 27.1%. Older stages, however, were insensitive to prolonged -1°C exposure after the initial 10-min period. The addition of combined glycerol-sucrose cryoprotectants to the chilled solutions enhanced survival patterns, with 0h post-hatch nauplii showing the greatest enhancement and 3-, 6- and 12-h nauplii the least. Maximum survival enhancement exceeded 250% of controls. A 4 M glycerol concentration provided more cryoprotection than 1, 2 or 3M. No enhancement was afforded any age groups maintained under hyper-saline conditions.
Reconfigurable ultra-wideband array with tunable band rejection across a 7∶1 Bandwidth

A reconfigurable tightly-coupled array (TCA) for tunable band rejection is presented. This is achieved, for the first time, by a capacitively-reconfigured balun feed, integrated with an ultra-wideband phased array. The carefully-introduced capacitance creates a resonance that can be tuned within the total array's bandwidth covering 0.6 to 4 GHz (7∶1). The achieved gain rejection is of at least 15dB at the resonance without any efficiency reduction at other frequencies. The design is carried out using equivalent-circuit simulations of the array's unit cell and verified via respective full-wave simulations. Preliminary measurements of the balun are performed by introducing fixed capacitors on the integrated Marchand balun. Three different capacitance values are tested corresponding to different rejection frequencies across the entire band. Future work entails a fully reconfigurable, 8×8 array prototype with variable capacitors to be presented at the symposium. It should be noted that the proposed system is the first reported reconfigurable array that enables interference rejection critical for ultra-wideband antennas.
Developmental regulation of Th17‐cell capacity in human neonates

Human neonates are at significantly greater risk of serious infection than immunocompetent adults. In particular, very low birth weight infants in the neonatal intensive care nursery are at high risk of developing life-threatening bacterial and fungal infections. Recent studies have identified Th17 cells as critical mediators of immunity to bacterial and fungal infections at epithelial barriers. Little is known, however, about the ontogeny of Th17-cell responses in humans. The frequency of serious bacterial infections in preterm infants and the importance of Th17 cells in providing protection against such infections in animal studies prompted us to study Th17-cell development in human neonates. Naive CD4+ T cells from extremely preterm infants, term infants, and adults were assayed for their capacity to develop into Th17 effector cells. Surprisingly, Th17-cell capacity was inversely related to developmental age. Neonates expressed higher levels of IL-23R, RORγt, and STAT3 prior to activation and showed a significant Th17-cell bias after activation. In contrast, adult cells expressed more TBX21 with a corresponding Th1-cell bias. CD161 expression on Th17-cell precursors was also developmentally regulated. Our results suggest there is significant developmental regulation of CD4+ effector lineages with a strong bias toward Th17-cell development early in life.
Coronary artery disease in the hurler syndrome: Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the extent of coronary narrowing at necropsy in six children

The amount of cross-sectional area luminal narrowing in each 5 mm segment of each of the four major epicardial coronary arteries (right, left main, left anterior descending and left circumflex) is described at necropsy in six children (aged 3 to 16 years) with the Hurler syndrome. In five patients at least one of the four major coronary arteries was narrowed 76 to 100 percent, and in four of these five patients all four major arteries were narrowed to this extent. Of the 24 major coronary arteries in the six patients, 17 (71 percent) were narrowed 76 to 100 percent at some point. A total of 182 segments were examined from the 24 major coronary arteries, and the extent of narrowing was as follows: 96 to 100 percent, 14 (8 percent); 76 to 95 percent, 61 (34 percent); 51 to 75 percent, 59 (32 percent); 26 to 50 percent, 39 (21 percent) and 0 to 25 percent, 9 (5 percent). By applying a score of 1 to 4 to each 5 mm segment according to its category of narrowing (1 = 0 to 25 percent; 2 = 26 to 50 percent; 3 = 51 to 75 percent and 4 = 76 to 100 percent), the 182 segments had a total score of 570 and a mean score of 3.2, indicating that each segment was narrowed an average of about 67 percent in cross-sectional area. Thus, narrowing of the major epicardial coronary arteries at necropsy is usually diffuse and severe in the Hurler syndrome, which is the cause of the most severe coronary narrowing in childhood.
The Least Miserable Option: The Political Economy of U.S. Nuclear Counterforce, 1949-1989

The superpowers' Cold War nuclear arsenals have been frequently mocked as "arsenals of folly" that greatly exceeded the requirements of deterrence. This paper instead demonstrates that the U.S. arsenal was principally driven by the political economy of U.S. military committments to Europe. Ultimately the least bad option for the United States given constraints was to plausibly threaten nuclear first use, which in turn required plausible dmage limitation by destroying Soviet nuclear forces. This paper demonstrates that this logic inexorably drove U.S. nuclear doctrine and posture, and in fact had the desired effect on the Soviet leadership of making nuclear first use seen plausible.
A Phase I and pharmacological study of the glutamine antagonist acivicin with the amino acid solution aminosyn in patients with advanced solid malignancies.

Acivicin is a glutamine analogue antimetabolite that inhibits several glutamate-dependent synthetic enzymes. Previous studies of this agent administered on a 72-h continuous i.v. infusion schedule every 3 weeks demonstrated a high rate of severe, albeit reversible, central nervous system (CNS) toxicity at the 30 mg/m2/day dose level. Animal studies have shown that the CNS toxicity of acivicin can be prevented by a concomitant infusion of amino acids postulated to block drug uptake in the CNS by a saturable transport system that is common to endogenous amino acids. This study evaluated the feasibility of escalating acivicin doses in cancer patients by administering acivicin with a concomitant 96-h i.v. infusion of a mixture of 16 amino acids (Aminosyn, 10%). Twenty-three patients with advanced malignancies were treated with acivicin on a 72-h continuous infusion schedule at doses ranging from 25 to 60 mg/m2/day every 3 weeks. Reversible, dose-limiting CNS toxicity, characterized by lethargy, confusion, and decreased mental status, occurred in the two patients enrolled at the 60 mg/m2/day dose level, precluding further dose escalation. The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and recommended dose for additional evaluation of acivicin on this schedule is 50 mg/m2/day. Other toxicities observed were dose-related neutropenia that was grade 4 in four patients (four courses), complicated with fever in three of those patients, and grade 3-4 thrombocytopenia in three patients (three courses). Pharmacokinetics studies performed in 15 patients revealed that the acivicin plasma Css increased from 0.44 microg/ml (range, 0.28-0.59 microg/ml) at the 25 mg/m2/day to 1.06 microg/ml (0.64-1.5 microg/ml) at the 50 mg/m2/dose level. Acivicin Css at the MTD was not significantly higher than previously reported values with single-agent acivicin on the same schedule of administration at the MTD of 25 mg/m2/day dose level (0.60 microg/ml; range, 0.43-0.81 microg/ml). Neurotoxicity did not correlate with acivicin Css, but relationships between exposure to acivicin and the occurrence of both neutropenia and thrombocytopenia were well described by a sigmoidal Emax model. This trial demonstrated that concomitant infusions of amino acid can prevent acivicin-induced CNS toxicity, which allows the dose of acivicin to be escalated 2-fold above previously tolerable doses; however, this effect did not translate in a significant increment in acivicin Css.
Radiotherapy of carcinoma of the cervix following simple hysterectomy

Abstract A study of patients referred to M. D. Anderson Hospital after having had a simple hysterectomy for, or in the presence of, carcinoma of the cervix have resulted in the following conclusions: Patients who had early tumors and have no gross disease remaining after hysterectomy have excellent results when given immediate postoperative radiotherapy. Even if there is residual disease there is a fair chance of cure if aggressive radiotherapy is instituted immediately postoperatively. The prognosis is considerably worsened if treatment is delayed until definite recurrent carcinoma develops.
Automatic configuration for a biometrics-based physical access control system

Selecting appropriate thresholds and fusion rules for a system involving multiple biometric verifiers requires knowledge of the match score statistics for each verifier. While this statistical information can often be measured from training data, that data may not be representative of the environment into which each verifier is deployed. To compensate for missing statistics, we present a technique for estimating the error rates of each verifier using decisions made after a system has been deployed. While this post-deployment data lacks class labels, it is guaranteed to be representative. Extracted error rates can be used to select appropriate fusion rules and search for thresholds that meet operational requirements.
Correlation of the suicide phenomenon in Aeromonas species with virulence and enteropathogenicity.

Abstract Certain strains of mesophilic aeromonads (Aeromonas hydrophila, A. sorbria, and A. caviae), when grown in broth containing 0.5% glucose, undergo growth inhibition concomitant with acetate accumulation. Because these strains are nonviable after 24 h, this phenomenon is termed suicide. We investigated suicidal strains of Aeromonas species as a means of understanding animal virulence and enteropathogenicity. To assess virulence, batches of five white mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with 10(7) cells (washed) of suicidal and nonsuicidal strains of A. hydrophila and A. sobria and suicidal strains of A. caviae. The three nonsuicidal strains of A. sobria tested showed lethality as early as 12 h and were uniformly fatal within 36 h postinoculation. After 36 h, the three suicidal strains killed only 1 of 15 mice inoculated. Four A. hydrophila strains tested which showed the suicide phenomenon at 37 degrees C were variably lethal (40 to 100%). None of three suicidal strains of A. caviae were lethal. Enteropathogenicity was studied by orally inoculating three white mice each with the same Aeromonas strains (10(8) cells, in skim milk) and assessing diarrhea and intestinal fluid accumulation. Diarrhea and fluid accumulation were present in all mice inoculated with two nonsuicidal strains of A. sobria and in 4 of 12 mice given four suicidal strains of A. hydrophila. Two suicidal strains each of A. sorbria and A. caviae failed to elicit any gastrointestinal disturbances. These data suggest that the suicide phenomenon may explain strain-specific (A. sobria and A. hydrophila) and species-specific (A. caviae) virulence and enteropathogenicity.
Surgical Management of Constipation

Most constipation can be managed medically. However, significant relief from agonizing abdominal symptoms can be accomplished by surgical treatment of constipation in selected individuals. Preoperative evaluation is critical to assess who these selected individuals are and what can be done to help them.
Hispanic Perceptions of Communication Discrimination

The present study was designed to obtain an overall picture of the relative importance of different manifestations of communication phenomena interpreted as discriminatory. In addition, the individual contribution of a set of predictors of communication discrimination was assessed. Four dimensions of perceived discrimination were explored: the contexts/situations where Hispanics perceive discrimination to take place; the attributes perceived by Hispanics as elicitors of discriminatory behaviors on the part of Anglos; the characteristics of those Anglos perceived to be more likely to discriminate; and the behaviors which can be interpreted as being discriminatory by Hispanics. Contexts, in particular work and school, were found to be the most important predictors of communication discrimination.
Optical coherence tomography for increasing the diagnostic yield of TBNA

Introduction: Bronchial biopsy techniques of peripheral nodules are associated with poor diagnostic yields. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) can be used to assess tissue microstructure in vivo, however is typically restricted to airway or pleural-based approaches. The aim of this study was to develop a transbronchial OCT catheter, and to investigate the potential of OCT to differentiate nodules from parenchyma with the goal of increasing the TBNA diagnostic yield of peripheral nodules. Methods: We developed a narrow diameter OCT catheter compatible with standard 21-guage TBNA needles. Safety and feasibility was demonstrated in 3 swine, in vivo. To determine the accuracy of OCT for differentiating nodules from surrounding parenchyma, OCT was conducted in 55 surgically resected tissue specimens. 2 OCT experts, 2 pathologists, and 2 pulmonologists interpreted the OCT data offline. Results: Successful imaging was conducted in all swine. Image criteria for differentiating parenchyma from nodule included signal void spaces corresponding to alveoli, and linear regularly spaced specular reflections representing collapsed alveoli. Nodules were found to have a generalized homogeneous appearance. Blinded readers diagnosed the OCT images as nodule or parenchyma with an average accuracy of 95.6%. Conclusions: We have developed the first transbronchial OCT catheter that is compatible with standard 21-gauge TBNA needles, and have demonstrated that OCT can accurately differentiate nodules from surrounding parenchyma. We anticipate that transbronchial OCT may be useful in increasing the diagnostic yield of TBNA by confirming the needle placement within the target nodule prior to biopsy.
How Psychology Can Keep Its Promises: A Response to Lana

In my article, "Why Psychology Hasn't Kept Its Promises" (Schlinger, 2004), 1 argued that psychology hasn't become the science its practitioners had hoped because psychologists continue to focus on mentalistic constructs and they adhere to a methodology that emphasizes statistical inference over experimental analysis. 1 concluded that in order to better keep their promise of a psychological science, psychologists should return to studying the relationship between observed behavior and its context with the type of experimental analysis that characterizes the other experimental sciences. In his reply, Lana (2004, this issue) suggests that there may be aspects of human social and verbal behavior that are so complex that we may not be able to carry out a solid experimental analysis, thus limiting what we can discover about our own nature. Lana concludes that the methodologies needed to understand these more complex social relationships are hermeneutic and historical rather than experimental in nature. I concur with Lana both that an experimental analysis of much of human behavior may not be possible and that psychologists must, therefore, rely on complementary descriptive, interpretive, and historical analyses. I argue, however, that the interpretive language and the historical hindsight must be based on a foundation of basic principles derived from the systematic experimental analysis of behavior.
BIOSYNTHESIS OF HIGHLY LABELED ACTINOMYCINS

The synthesis of tritiated actinomycin having a specific activity of 80,000 cpm/µg has been accomplished by growing Streptomyces antibioticus in the presence of methyl labeled L-methionine.
An integrated system for autonomous robotics manipulation

We describe the software components of a robotics system designed to autonomously grasp objects and perform dexterous manipulation tasks with only high-level supervision. The system is centered on the tight integration of several core functionalities, including perception, planning and control, with the logical structuring of tasks driven by a Behavior Tree architecture. The advantage of the implementation is to reduce the execution time while integrating advanced algorithms for autonomous manipulation. We describe our approach to 3-D perception, real-time planning, force compliant motions, and audio processing. Performance results for object grasping and complex manipulation tasks of in-house tests and of an independent evaluation team are presented.
Improving Chinese nursing students' communication skills by utilizing video-stimulated recall and role-play case scenarios to introduce them to the SBAR technique

Summary Purpose Effective communication among healthcare workers is critically important for patient safety and quality care. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate outcomes of a workshop designed to teach Chinese nursing students to use the Situation–Background–Assessment–Recommendation (SBAR) communication tool and examine their attitudes toward utilizing SBAR as a communication tool. Method A convenience sample of 18 master's degree nursing students at a Chinese university was introduced to SBAR through a workshop. The workshop combined the SBAR tool, video-stimulated recall and role-play case scenarios to illustrate potential positive and negative communication-related patient outcomes. Students completed a 12-item questionnaire before and after participating in the workshop. Four of the items examined the four elements of the SBAR tool (situation, background, assessment, recommendation, score range 0–20), and eight of the items evaluated students' self-perceived attitudes towards utilizing the SBAR tool in their clinical practice (score range 0–40). Results Pre- and post-workshop scores on the four elements of the SBAR tool demonstrate significant improvement in knowledge of SBAR (14.0 ± 2.9 vs. 16.6 ± 2.2, respectively; p = 0.009). Pre- and post-workshop scores on the items testing students' self-perceived abilities also demonstrate significant improvement (26.9 ± 3.5 vs. 32.6 ± 4.5, respectively; p p Conclusion Participating in the SBAR workshop in combination with video-stimulated recall and role-play case scenarios significantly improved the Chinese nursing students' knowledge of SBAR and their self-perceived attitudes towards using SBAR tool. Future studies using a larger sample size and longer post-workshop follow-up are needed to confirm the long-term benefits of the workshop.
Aromatase expression in oral mucosa and squamous cell carcinoma

Aromatase is a cytochrome P-450 enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of androgens to estrogens. It has been found to be expressed not only in the ovaries and testes but also in extragonadal tissues such as skin, muscle, fat, bone, and brain, contributing to the local estrogen formation in these tissues. Its increased expression in breast carcinomas makes it a promising target of chemointervention for hormonal-responsive breast carcinomas. Aromatase expression has never been investigated in normal oral mucosa or in squamous cell carcinomas. Using Western blot and a commercially available aromatase antibody, we found 2 immunoreactive bands of 53 and 60 kDa in dispase-separated oral epithelium obtained from crown-lengthening procedures. The 2 bands were also detected in the primary culture of normal oral epithelial cells (NOEC) from different individuals as well as an oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cell line. However, in NOEC the 60 kDa band was considerably more prominent, while in SCC the 53 kDa was more predominant. Our results indicate that normal oral epithelial cells as well as oral squamous cell carcinoma have the ability to synthesize estrogen. Further immunohistochemical and RT-PCR studies are in progress.
A system to measure minute hydraulic permeability of nanometer scale devices in a non-destructive manner

We report an automated system for measuring the hydraulic permeability of nanoporous membranes in a tangential-flow configuration. The system was designed and built specifically for micromachined silicon nanoporous membranes (SNM) with monodisperse slit-shaped pores. These novel membranes are under development for water filtration, artificial organ and drug delivery applications. The filtration cell permits non-destructive testing of the membrane over many remove–modify–replace testing cycles, allowing for direct experiments into the effects of surface modifications on such membranes. The experimental apparatus was validated using microfluidic tubing with circular cross sections that provided similar fluidic resistances to SNM. Further validation was performed with SNM chips for which the pore dimensions were known from scanning electron microscopy measurements. The system was then used to measure the hydraulic permeability of nanoporous membranes before and after surface modification. The system yields measurements with low variance and excellent agreement with predicted values, providing a platform for determining pore sizes in micro/nanofluidic systems with tight pore size distributions to a higher degree of precision than can be achieved with traditional techniques.
TFinDit: transcription factor-DNA interaction data depository

One of the crucial steps in regulation of gene expression is the binding of transcription factor(s) to specific DNA sequences. Knowledge of the binding affinity and specificity at a structural level between transcription factors and their target sites has important implications in our understanding of the mechanism of gene regulation. Due to their unique functions and binding specificity, there is a need for a transcription factor-specific, structure-based database and corresponding web service to facilitate structural bioinformatics studies of transcription factor-DNA interactions, such as development of knowledge-based interaction potential, transcription factor-DNA docking, binding induced conformational changes, and the thermodynamics of protein-DNA interactions. TFinDit is a relational database and a web search tool for studying transcription factor-DNA interactions. The database contains annotated transcription factor-DNA complex structures and related data, such as unbound protein structures, thermodynamic data, and binding sequences for the corresponding transcription factors in the complex structures. TFinDit also provides a user-friendly interface and allows users to either query individual entries or generate datasets through culling the database based on one or more search criteria. TFinDit is a specialized structural database with annotated transcription factor-DNA complex structures and other preprocessed data. We believe that this database/web service can facilitate the development and testing of TF-DNA interaction potentials and TF-DNA docking algorithms, and the study of protein-DNA recognition mechanisms.
A dynamic programming approach to solving the assortment planning problem with multiple quality levels

While the assortment planning problem, in which a firm selects a set of products to offer, has been widely studied, several problem instances exist which have not yet been solved to optimality. In particular, we consider an assortment planning problem under a locational choice model for consumer choice with both vertical and horizontal differentiation. We present a combined dynamic programming/line search approach which finds an optimal solution when customer preference for the horizontal attributes are distributed according to a unimodal distribution. The dynamic program makes use of new analytical results, which show that high quality products will be distributed near the mode. This enables significant state reduction and therefore efficient solution times. Efficient computation times allow us to study the solution for a wide range of system parameters and thereby draw several managerial conclusions.
Treatment of localized prostate cancer: when is active surveillance appropriate?

Many men diagnosed with prostate cancer as a consequence of PSA testing have clinically insignificant disease. In this Review, Peter Albertsen discusses risk assessment in prostate cancer and strategies to identify these patients at low-risk of disease progression. The benefits of active surveillance are considered as an option for these men, as opposed to either surgery or radiation that are recommended for men who have a significant risk of disease progression.
The effects of superimposed hydrostatic pressure on deformation and fracture: Part II. Particulate-reinforced 6061 composites

The effects of various levels of superimposed hydrostatic pressure on the tensile ductility and fracture micromechanisms were determined for 6061 + 15 pct Al203 composites heat-treated to underaged (UA) and overaged (OA) conditions of equivalent yield strength. Superimposed pressures of 0.1, 150, and 300 MPa were selected, while the ductility significantly increased with each increment in pressure. At 300 MPa pressure, the monolithic 6061 and 6061 composite exhibited nearly identical ductility. It is shown that the levels of pressure chosen significantly inhibit void growth and coalescence in the composite. Void nucleation in the composites occurredvia the fracture of the reinforcement, followed by void growth and coalescence in the matrix. Tests conducted with 500 MPa pressure additionally provided evidence for suppression of void nucleation. Neither the ductility nor the pressure response was significantly affected by the heat treatments chosen.
Emergence and petrology of the Mendocino Ridge

The Mendocino Fracture Zone, a 3,000-km-long transform fault, extends from the San Andreas Fault at Cape Mendocino, California due west into the central Pacific basin. The shallow crest of this fracture zone, known as the Mendocino Ridge, rises to within 1,100 m of the sea surface at 270 km west of the California Coast. Rounded basalt pebbles and cobbles, indicative of a beach environment, are the dominant lithology at two locations on the crest of Mendocino Ridge and a40Ar/39 Ar incremental heating age of 11.0 ± 1.0 million years was determined for one of the these cobbles. This basalt must have been erupted on the Gorda Ridge because the crust immediately to the south of the fracture zone is older than 27 Ma. This age also implies that the crest of Mendocino Ridge was at sea level and would have blocked Pacific Ocean eastern boundary currents and affected the climate of the North American continent at some time since the late Miocene. Basalts from the Mendocino Fracture Zone (MFZ) are FeTi basalts similar to those commonly found at intersections of mid-ocean ridges and fracture zones. These basalts are chemically distinct from the nearby Gorda Ridge but they could have been derived from the same mantle source as the Gorda Ridge basalts. The location of the 11 Ma basalt suggests that Mendocino Ridge was transferred from the Gorda Plate to the Pacific Plate and the southern end of Gorda Ridge was truncated by a northward jump in the transform fault of MFZ.
Synthesis, characterization and biocompatibility studies of oligosiloxane modified polythiophenes

Abstract This paper describes the preparation and characterization of homopolymers of 3-oligo(dimethylsiloxane)thiophene macromonomers, V–VIII, and copolymers with 3-methylthiophene. The thiophene macromonomers were prepared by hydrosilylation reaction between ω-(Si–H)-oligo(dimethylsiloxane), I–IV, and 3-propenylthiophene using a platinum-divinyltetramethyldisiloxane complex as the catalyst. The products were characterized by 1H, 13C, 29Si NMR and IR spectroscopy; DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) and GPC studies. Two distinct glass transition temperatures are observed for poly[VIII], a Tg at −79 °C corresponds to the soft oligo(dimethylsiloxane) phase and the Tg at 190 °C corresponds to the hard thiophene backbone. Homopolymers of V and VI, and copolymers may be doped with I2 to generate electronic conductive material, a copolymer of poly[V]-co-poly[3-methylthiophene] (50/50, w/w) has an electronic conductivity value of 5 × 10−5 S/cm at 25 °C. The polymers are tractable and may be molded into thin films; a number of the polymers are soluble in organic solvents. Polythiophene modified with oligosilioxanes are biocompatibile; the polymers minimally interfere with the growth of HeLa cells.
Inter-Rater Reliability of a Holistically Scored Essay Test Used for Student Placement in Remedial/Developmental Writing Classes

(1992). Inter-Rater Reliability of a Holistically Scored Essay Test Used for Student Placement in Remedial/Developmental Writing Classes. Journal of College Reading and Learning: Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 17-26.
False memories and fantastic beliefs: 15 years of the DRM illusion

This article reviews research using the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) associative memory illusion, whereby people falsely remember words that were not presented. This illusion has broadly influenced basic theories of memory in cognitive psychology and neuroscience and naturally raises the question as to how these theories apply to more complex autobiographical memories. Some applicability is evident from research linking individual differences in the DRM illusion to false autobiographical memories (e.g., misremembering public events) and fantastic autobiographical beliefs (e.g., memories from past lives). But which aspects generalize? Here it is argued that a process-oriented approach is needed in order to answer this question. Many productive years of DRM research indicate that multiple and often opposing psychological processes cause even the most basic false memories. In light of these discoveries, more researchers need to use methods that isolate these component processes if the goal is to understand false memories both in the lab and in life.
ATP-binding cassette transporter A3 (ABCA3) mutation in a late preterm with respiratory distress syndrome

Surfactant protein abnormalities are rare causes of respiratory distress syndrome. A late preterm (36 wks) who presented with respiratory distress syndrome. He was found to be a homozygous for a G to T transversion at the first base in intron 24, of ABCA3 gene which is necessary for lamellar body formation and surfactant production. He died of severe respiratory failure even after multiple doses of surfactants and ventilation. Surfactant deficiency with ABCA3 gene mutation needs to be suspected in late preterms who present with respiratory distress syndrome.
Meteors by radio: Getting started

A system for detecting meteors by radio is described which is simple and reliable, and thought to be suitable as a science fair project. There is a relatively detailed discussion of the various factors involved in such a project, along with some typical results to indicate the kind of data that is possible.
Comment: Let us celebrate Darwin

Religious leaders should engage their congregations in discussions about the compatibility of faith and science, says Michael Zimmerman
This, that, and the other: Fraught possibilities of the souvenir

Souvenirs are evidence of a complex interaction between Self and Other that is apprehended and enlivened while traveling. Souvenirs are objects of performative potential that suggest, capture, activate, and bring home a useful melding of Self and Other-other people, other places, other times, other imaginaries, other memories. By examining personal narratives about the uses and meanings of souvenirs and the memories they inspire, we explore how these objects can become more than travel markers. We suggest that souvenirs can serve as positive fetishes, touchstones for inspiring resistant narratives and performances in which an imagined or appropriated Other joins with the Self-a kind of memory-morphing that opens up possibilities for tactical maneuvers of liberating performance in the play of everyday life.
Use Scenarios for Design Space Exploration With a Dynamic Multiobjective Optimization Formulation

In a recent publication, we presented a new strategy for engineering design and optimization, which we termed formulation space exploration. The formulation space for an optimization problem is the union of all variable and design objective spaces identified by the designer as being valid and pragmatic problem formulations. By extending a computational search into this new space, the solution to any optimization problem is no longer predefined by the optimization problem formulation. This method allows a designer to both diverge the design space during conceptual design and converge onto a solution as more information about the design objectives and constraints becomes available. Additionally, we introduced a new way to formulate multiobjective optimization problems, allowing the designer to change and update design objectives, constraints, and variables in a simple, fluid manner that promotes exploration. In this paper, we investigate three use scenarios where formulation space exploration can be utilized in the early stages of design when it is possible to make the greatest contributions to development projects. Specifically, we look at s-Pareto frontier generation in the formulation space, formulation space boundary exploration, and a new way to perform inverse optimization. The benefits of these methods are illustrated with the conceptual design of an impact driver.Copyright © 2012 by ASME