cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ankle Bracing, Fatigue, and Time to Stabilization in Collegiate Volleyball Athletes

Context: Fatigue has been shown to disrupt dynamic stability in healthy volunteers. It is not known if wearing prophylactic ankle supports can improve dynamic stability in fatigued athletes. Objective: To determine the type of ankle brace that may be more effective at providing dynamic stability after a jump-landing task during normal and fatigued conditions. Design: Two separate repeated-measures analyses of variance with 2 within-subjects factors (condition and time) were performed for each dependent variable. Setting: Research laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: Ten healthy female collegiate volleyball athletes participated (age 5 19.5 6 1.27 years, height 5 179.07 6 7.6 cm, mass 5 69.86 6 5.42 kg). Intervention(s): Athletes participated in 3 separate testing sessions, applying a different bracing condition at each session: no brace (NB), Swede-O Universal lace-up ankle brace (AB), and Active Ankle brace (AA). Three trials of a jump-landing task were performed under each condition before and after induced functional fatigue. The jump-landing task consisted of a singleleg landing onto a force plate from a height equivalent to 50% of each participant’s maximal jump height and from a starting position 70 cm from the center of the force plate. Main Outcome Measure(s): Time to stabilization in the anterior-posterior (APTTS) and medial-lateral (MLTTS) directions. Results: For APTTS, a condition-by-time interaction existed (F2,18 5 5.55, P 5 .013). For the AA condition, Tukey post hoc testing revealed faster pretest (2.734 6 0.331 seconds) APTTS than posttest (3.817 6 0.263 seconds). Post hoc testing also revealed that the AB condition provided faster APTTS (2.492 6 0.271 seconds) than AA (3.817 6 0.263 seconds) and NB (3.341 6 0.339 seconds) conditions during posttesting. No statistically significant findings were associated with MLTTS. Conclusions: Fatigue increased APTTS for the AA condition. Because the AB condition was more effective than the other 2 conditions during the posttesting, the AB appears to be the best option for providing dynamic stability in the anteriorposterior direction during a landing task.
Addition of alternate phase nanoparticle dispersions to enhance flux pinning of Y-Ba-Cu-O thin films

Nanoparticle dispersions of various phases were added to YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-x/ (YBCO or 123) thin films by multilayer pulsed laser deposition, to determine their effect on flux pinning. The different pinning materials examined include Y/sub 2/BaCuO/sub 5/ (Y211 or green-phase), La/sub 2/BaCuO/sub 5/ (La211 or brown-phase), Y/sub 2/O/sub 3/, CeO/sub 2/, and MgO, with lattice constant mismatches varying from 0.5% to 12% with respect to YBCO. Y211 and Y/sub 2/O/sub 3/ provided significant pinning increases at temperatures of 65 K and 77 K, however other phases provided enhancements only at 65 K (for CeO/sub 2/ and La211) for limited range of applied field strengths. An interesting correlation between T/sub c/ transition widths and pinning strengths was observed. The additions produced markedly different nanoparticle and film microstructures, as well as superconducting properties.
Canadian Figure Skaters, French Judges, and Realism in Sport

N. Dixon is with the Philosophy Department at Alma College, Alma, MI 48801. This article was delivered as the presidential address at the 2002 meeting of the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport and underwent the same blind review process—handled by the associate editor to avoid conflict of interest—as other submissions to JPS. Canadian Figure Skaters, French Judges, and Realism in Sport
A biophysical approach to the adhesion of human gingival epithelial cells to tooth and glass surfaces

Isolated gingival cells and tooth particles carry a net negative charge as determined by particle electrophoresis in RPMI1630 medium with 10% calf serum. By use of colloid theory, computations of the average interaction forces between epithelial cells of human gingjva and tooth and glass surfaces were made, using the experimentally determined electrokinetic data. An experimental check for our computations was made by attempting to centrifuge cells through the computed “barriers” due to repulsion forces, which were equivalent to 1800 g for spherical cells. Relative centrifugal forces of 3,000 g were insufficient to bring the cells into close contact with glass or enamel surfaces, indicating that the computations underestimated the repulsive interactions between the cells and various surfaces, and that cells must exhibit some “escape” mechanism to adhere to these surfaces. The relevance of the in vitro system to the in vivo situation was discussed.
Modeling the Radiation Response of Fully-Depleted SOI n-Channel MOSFETs

A continuous analytical model for radiation-induced degradation in fully-depleted (FD) silicon on insulator (SOI) n-channel MOSFETs is presented. The combined effects of defect buildup in the buried oxide and band-to-band tunneling (BBT) have been shown to be the primary mechanisms that determine the radiation effects on the electrical characteristics. Closed-form expressions for the front and back-gate surface potential incorporate these effects, thereby enabling accurate modeling of the degraded current voltage characteristics that result from ionizing radiation exposure.
The Effect of Quantitative Computed Tomography Acquisition Protocols on Bone Mineral Density Estimation

Osteoporosis is characterized by bony material loss and decreased bone strength leading to a significant increase in fracture risk. Patient-specific quantitative computed tomography (QCT) finite element (FE) models may be used to predict fracture under physiological loading. Material properties for the FE models used to predict fracture are obtained by converting grayscale values from the CT into volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) using calibration phantoms. If there are any variations arising from the CT acquisition protocol, vBMD estimation and material property assignment could be affected, thus, affecting fracture risk prediction. We hypothesized that material property assignments may be dependent on scanning and postprocessing settings including voltage, current, and reconstruction kernel, thus potentially having an effect in fracture risk prediction. A rabbit femur and a standard calibration phantom were imaged by QCT using different protocols. Cortical and cancellous regions were segmented, their average Hounsfield unit (HU) values obtained and converted to vBMD. Estimated vBMD for the cortical and cancellous regions were affected by voltage and kernel but not by current. Our study demonstrated that there exists a significant variation in the estimated vBMD values obtained with different scanning acquisitions. In addition, the large noise differences observed utilizing different scanning parameters could have an important negative effect on small subregions containing fewer voxels.
Special Education Research Advances Knowledge in Education

Research in special education has yielded beneficial outcomes for students with disabilities as well as typical achieving students. The authors provide examples of the valuable knowledge special education research has generated, including the elements of response to intervention (e.g., screening and progress monitoring), instructional practices such as systematic instruction and feedback, and intensive interventions designed to meet the specific learning needs of students with disabilities. They present the importance of maintaining an appropriate funding stream for research in special education to ensure that robust research findings continue to be available to the educational community to improve outcomes for students with disabilities as well as typical learners.
The Evolution of Living Kidney Donation and Transplantation in Older Adults

Kidney transplantation is a good option for adults aged 65 and older with end-stage renal disease because it has been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality, improve quality of life, and is more cost-effective than other renal replacement options. However, older age has been a deterrent to access to the deceased donor waiting list, and individuals aged 65 and older have a lower probability of being referred to and listed for transplantation compared to younger adults. Because the deceased organ supply is limited, living donor kidney transplantation offers an effective alternative for older adults facing long waiting times for cadaveric organs. This article describes the evolution of living kidney donation and transplantation in older adults over 15 years using the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network/Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients database. Between 1997 and 2011, 28,034 kidney transplantations were performed in adults aged 65 and older. Living-donor and cadaveric kidney transplantation increased in older adults over the 15-year period. Offspring are the most common living donors in this age group, followed by unrelated donors (e.g., friends), whereas the most common donors in younger transplant recipients are spouses, siblings, and parents. The number of living kidney donors aged 65 and older is slowly increasing, although the total number of transplants in this age group remains low. The expansion of living-donor kidney transplantation in the aging population may offer a solution for organ shortage and thereby improve the quality of life of older adults. More research is needed to understand the older donor–recipient relationship and barriers to transplantation in this population.
Slowing Translation between Protein Domains by Increasing Affinity between mRNAs and the Ribosomal Anti-Shine–Dalgarno Sequence Improves Solubility

Recent studies have demonstrated that effective protein production requires coordination of multiple cotranslational cellular processes, which are heavily affected by translation timing. Until recently, protein engineering has focused on codon optimization to maximize protein production rates, mostly considering the effect of tRNA abundance. However, as it relates to complex multidomain proteins, it has been hypothesized that strategic translational pauses between domains and between distinct individual structural motifs can prevent interactions between nascent chain fragments that generate kinetically trapped misfolded peptides and thereby enhance protein yields. In this study, we introduce synthetic transient pauses between structural domains in a heterologous model protein based on designed patterns of affinity between the mRNA and the anti-Shine-Dalgarno (aSD) sequence on the ribosome. We demonstrate that optimizing translation attenuation at domain boundaries can predictably affect solubility patterns in bacteria. Exploration of the affinity space showed that modifying less than 1% of the nucleotides (on a small 12 amino acid linker) can vary soluble protein yields up to ∼7-fold without altering the primary sequence of the protein. In the context of longer linkers, where a larger number of distinct structural motifs can fold outside the ribosome, optimal synonymous codon variations resulted in an additional 2.1-fold increase in solubility, relative to that of nonoptimized linkers of the same length. While rational construction of 54 linkers of various affinities showed a significant correlation between protein solubility and predicted affinity, only weaker correlations were observed between tRNA abundance and protein solubility. We also demonstrate that naturally occurring high-affinity clusters are present between structural domains of β-galactosidase, one of Escherichia coli's largest native proteins. Interdomain ribosomal affinity is an important factor that has not previously been explored in the context of protein engineering.
Thermoelectric Figure of Merit, ZT, of Single Crystal Pentatellurides (MTe5-XSex: M = Hf, Zr and x = 0, 0.25)

The thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT = α2σT/λ, has been measured for pentatelluride single crystals of HfTe5, ZrTe5, as well as Se substituted pentatellurides. The parent materials, HfTe5 and ZrTe5, exhibit relatively large p- and n- type thermopower, |a| > 125 μV/K, and low resistivity, ρ ≤ 1 mΩ•cm. These values lead to a large power factor (α2σT) which is substantially increased with proper Se substitution on the Te sites. The thermal conductivity of these needle-like crystals has also been measured as a function of temperature from 10 K ≤ T ≤ 300 K. The room temperature figure of merit for these materials varies from ZT “0.1 for the parent materials to ZT ≈ 0.25 for Se substituted samples. These results as well as experimental procedures will be presented and discussed.
Evaluation of NKX2-2 expression in round cell sarcomas and other tumors with EWSR1 rearrangement: imperfect specificity for Ewing sarcoma

Ewing sarcoma shows considerable histologic overlap with other round cell tumors. NKX2-2, a homeodomain transcription factor involved in neuroendocrine/glial differentiation and a downstream target of EWSR1-FLI1, has been reported as an immunohistochemical marker for Ewing sarcoma. We assessed the specificity of NKX2-2 for Ewing sarcoma compared with other round cell malignant neoplasms and other soft tissue tumors with EWSR1 translocations. We evaluated whole-tissue sections from 270 cases: 40 Ewing sarcomas (4 with atypical/large cell features), 20 CIC-DUX4 sarcomas, 5 BCOR-CCNB3 sarcomas, 9 unclassified round cell sarcomas, 10 poorly differentiated synovial sarcomas, 10 lymphoblastic lymphomas, 10 alveolar rhabdomyosarcomas, 10 embryonal rhabdomyosarcomas, 10 Merkel cell carcinomas, 10 small cell carcinomas, 20 melanomas, 5 NUT midline carcinomas, 10 Wilms tumors, 10 neuroblastomas, 10 olfactory neuroblastomas, 12 mesenchymal chondrosarcomas, 10 angiomatoid fibrous histiocytomas, 10 clear cell sarcomas, 5 gastrointestinal clear cell sarcoma-like tumors, 5 desmoplastic small round cell tumors, 10 extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcomas, 10 soft tissue and cutaneous myoepitheliomas, and 19 myoepithelial carcinomas. NKX2-2 positivity was defined as moderate-to-strong nuclear immunoreactivity in at least 5% of cells. NKX2-2 was positive in 37/40 (93%) Ewing sarcomas, including all atypical Ewing sarcomas and cases with known EWSR1-FLI1 or EWSR1-ERG fusion; 85% of Ewing sarcomas showed diffuse (>50%) staining. NKX2-2 was positive in 9 (75%) mesenchymal chondrosarcomas, 8 (80%) olfactory neuroblastomas, 1 CIC-DUX4 sarcoma, 1 poorly differentiated synovial sarcoma, 1 neuroblastoma, 2 unclassified round cell sarcomas, and 3 small cell carcinomas; all other EWSR1-associated tumors were negative for NKX2-2, apart from 1 desmoplastic small round cell tumor, 1 myoepithelioma, and 1 myoepithelial carcinoma. In summary, NKX2-2 is a sensitive but imperfectly specific marker for Ewing sarcoma. Nonetheless, NKX2-2 may be helpful to distinguish Ewing sarcoma from some histologic mimics including CIC-DUX4 and BCOR-CCNB3 sarcomas. Most other EWSR1-associated soft tissue tumors are negative for NKX2-2.
High-Sensitivity and High-Resolution SPECT/CT Systems Provide Substantial Dose Reduction Without Compromising Quantitative Precision for Assessment of Myocardial Perfusion and Function.

UNLABELLED There is increasing concern about radiation exposure from myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS). γ-cameras with solid-state cadmium-zinc-telluride (CZT) detectors have better count sensitivity and spatial resolution than conventional sodium iodine detectors, allowing for significant reductions in radiotracer dose or acquisition time. This study aimed to demonstrate the capability of a hybrid CZT SPECT/64-slice CT system for dose reduction and to determine the maximal reduction possible without compromising image quality or the quantification precision of clinical MPS. METHODS The imaging data of patients with normal myocardial perfusion and 30 patients with mid-sized to large perfusion defects who had undergone stress (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin MPS were postprocessed. Low-dose (361 ± 60 MBq) and high-dose (725 ± 142 MBq) (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin scans were included, with 6-min and 4-min scanning times, respectively. List-mode SPECT data were reconstructed with CT-based attenuation correction and with full as well as 50% and 75% reductions in acquisition time to simulate the corresponding relative dose reductions. The reconstructed SPECT images were analyzed to calculate global MPS defect size and regional defect size for 3 coronary artery territories-left anterior descending, left circumflex, and right-as well as left ventricular (LV) volume and ejection fraction. RESULTS For patients with normal MPS results, there were no differences in defect size, LV volume, or ejection fraction, regardless of whether 50% or 75% reduction was used. For patients with abnormal MPS results, at a 50% reduction there was a significant difference in global defect size but not in regional defect size in the left anterior descending, left circumflex, and right coronary artery territories, whereas at a 75% reduction the difference was statistically significant in all territories, including the difference in global defect size. Nonetheless, differences in the defect size were minimal. The LV end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes and LV ejection fraction were not significantly different, regardless of whether 50% or 75% dose reduction was used. CONCLUSION Ultra-low-dose (<190 MBq) MPS even with short imaging times (<6 min) is feasible using a hybrid CZT SPECT/CT camera without compromising image quality or significantly altering quantification of myocardial perfusion or LV function. We demonstrated that an additional 50% reduction in the current low-dose recommendations from the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology guidelines for (99m)Tc-labeled MPS is highly feasible while retaining short imaging protocols.
Color-coded volume holographic filters for spatial-spectral imaging systems

We present the design and performance characterization of color-coded multiplexed holographic filters. Image data demonstrate the filters’ ability to obtain information from multiple depths using illumination by multiple broadband LEDs.
Exploring Employment Preparation and Postschool Outcomes for Students with Mild Intellectual Disability.

Employment is an important postschool goal for students with mild intellectual disability; yet, results for this particular population are often not disaggregated from other disability categories. ...
CHROMOSOMAL EVOLUTION IN HAPLOPAPPUS GRACILIS: A CENTRIC TRANSPOSITION RACE.

Haplopappus gracilis (Nutt.) Gray (Compositae) is a chromosomally polymorphic species with 2n numbers of 4, 5, and 6 (Jackson, 1965). Populations with n= 2 are the most widespread, while populations homozygous for n = 3 are limited to an area of a few square kilometers. The 2n = 5 plants are generally found where the n = 2 and n = 3 races come into contact. Two kinds of supernumerary chromosomes have been reported (Jackson, 1960; Pritchard, 1968), and these may be responsible for other chromosome counts reported for the species. The n=2 race is widespread, extending from southern Colorado to western Texas, southwest to Durango, Sonora, and Baja California, Mexico, and west to southwestern Utah. A number of ecological races are found throughout this range, and these occur in such disparate habitats as desert grasslands at about 2,000 ft. to open pine glades at 7,000 ft. Within the n = 2 race, two structurally different chromosome races are found. The widespread, standard type occupies most of the species range (Jackson, 1964, 1965). A second type, distinguished by a change in centromere position and referred to as the Mexican race, is apparently restricted to the Big Bend area of Texas in the U.S.A. and to Chihuahua, Durango, and northeastern Sonora in Mexico. The change in centromere position in the Mexican race has occurred in chromosome A and has resulted in movement of the centromere from a median position toward one end. Such a change generally would be referred to as a pericentric inversion in a routine karyotype analysis, and the literature is replete with such assumptions, particularly more recent literature on vertebrate karyotype studies (Jackson, 1971). However, the usual proof of a pericentric inversion is obtained by a meiotic analysis of F1 hybrids between the normal and the derived structural types. The purpose of this paper is to present data from such a meiotic analysis. These data will show that in Haplopappus gracilis a centric position change is not the result of a pericentric inversion and that there is reason to doubt this as a mechanism of karyotype evolution in some animal species.
The Microstructure of ZrN/GaAs Schottky Contacts and its Correlation with Electrical Properties.

The self-aligned GaAs metal-semiconductor field-effect transistor technology requires that the gate material maintains a good rectifying contact with the GaAs substrate when subjected to high-temperature annealing around 800–900° C. ZrN Schottky contacts to GaAs were previously shown to have excellent electrical properties at high tempratures. An increase of barrier height and a decrease in the reverse breakdown voltage with rapid thermal annealing at temperatures up to 900° C has been observed. The ideality factor increases after rapid thermal annealing at 900° C. In an attempt to explain the above observations, we investigated the interface structure of such contacts under as-deposited and annealed conditions. By high resolution TEM it was found that the interface of as-deposited samples is fairly flat but protrusions form after rapid thermal annealing treatment at 850 and 900° C. The selected area diffraction analysis shows the presence of ZrO2 near the interface. It is therefore likely that protrusions are the cause of the degradation of electrical properties of the contacts. These protrusions may be caused by the presence of a residual oxide layer before deposition. Indeed, a deposition of ZrN after sputter cleaning the substrates before deposition procedure resulted in an abrupt interface even after annealing at 900° C.
Plant Allelopathy and Its Application in Practical Production

The plant allelopathy is a new research direction and has became a hot field in agroecology and chemical ecology in recent years over the world.The paper reviews the concept of plant allelopathy and its application in practical production.
Investigation on Microbial Contamination of Drinking Water in Funing County

[Objective]To study the contamination status and bacteriologic index of drinking water in Funing county,provide the basis for supervision and management,so as to prevent water-borne diseases.[Methods]650 samples of finished water and tap water were collected from county water plant and centralized water supply of townships,and the bacteriological monitoring and evaluation were conducted according to Standards for drinking water quality(2006).[Results]Among samples in two years of monitoring,the total qualified rate of county water plant was 100.0%,and that of centralized water supply of townships was 89.8%.The qualified rate of the dry season and wet season was 97.8% and 86.3% respectively.[Conclusion]In this area,the qualified rate of drinking water in county town was high,and that in township was low relatively,especially in wet season.The rectification,supervision and monitoring of drinking water in township should be improved,and the protection of various water sources should be strengthened.
Space-Efficient Randomized Algorithms for K-SUM

Recent results by Dinur et al. (2012) on random SubsetSum instances and by Austrin et al. (2013) on worst-case SubsetSum instances have improved the long-standing time-space tradeoff curve. We analyze a family of hash functions previously introduced by Dietzfelbinger (1996), and apply it to decompose arbitrary k -Sum instances into smaller ones. This allows us to extend the aforementioned tradeoff curve to the k -Sum problem, which is SubsetSum restricted to sets of size k. Three consequences are: a Las Vegas algorithm solving 3-Sum in O(n 2) time and \(\tilde{O}(\sqrt{n})\) space, a Monte Carlo algorithm solving k -Sum in \(\tilde{O}(n^{k-\sqrt{2k}+1})\) time and \(\tilde{O}(n)\) space for k ≥ 3, and a Monte Carlo algorithm solving k -Sum in \(\tilde{O}(n^{k-\delta(k-1)} + n^{k-1-\delta(\sqrt{2k}-2)})\) time and \(\tilde{O}(n^{\delta})\) space, for δ ∈ [0, 1] and k ≥ 3.
Grounded Theory Method

Grounded theory methodology has undergone many changes over the past 50 years, moving from a primarily postpositivist approach for theory creation using interview and observational techniques to a postmodern analytical tool for mapping out conditions using multiple forms of data. This entry reviews the recent developments and trends in gerontological grounded theory research. Overall, methodologists have created at least four major versions of grounded theory embedded in objectivist, social constructionist, and postmodern philosophical perspectives. These have been used to inform gerontological and developmental research. As the methodology expands, more creative approaches that maintain the rigor but allow for greater insight will undoubtedly surface. Keywords: adult developmental psychology; disability; gerontology; grounded theory; methods; qualitative research; research
Regenerative Engineering of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, both acute and chronic, are common in sport injuries. The presence of the synovial fluid in the knee joint inhibits the spontaneous healing of the ACL, thus requiring surgical intervention. Although current methods to reconstruct the ACL can stabilize the knee joint, the progression of osteoarthritis is not halted. This chapter describes the current clinical methods to reconstruct an injured ACL and new methods to enhance the healing process. Three therapeutic strategies will be discussed in this chapter on the repair of ACL: (1) single bundle versus double bundle surgical techniques, (2) biodegradable matrices for ACL repair, and (3) biological adjuvants to enhance ACL repair. These strategies are promising clinically translatable methods to allow patients to return to normal activity levels and to alleviate pain and discomfort caused by osteoarthritis.
Stickie: Mobile Device Supported Spatial Collaborations

Stickie is an application that enables people to remotely perform sticky note collaborations over the Internet by utilizing two highly ubiquitous workplace devices -- smartphones & TV screens. The phone acts as an interface between the tangible and digital space. Users can leave notes from their phones onto a TV screen by placing the phone itself on any ordinary non-touchscreen display. This research constructs a novel technique for sticky note brainstorming across the Internet. It extends the interaction spatially by incorporating cues of participants' physical expressions and activities.
Characteristics of a professional: Survey of primary care and non-primary care residents

Dear Editor,We wish to share our research on characteristics of a professional as defined by primary care and non-primary care residents and link our results to speculations on how this might mitig...
Intraabdominal Surgery and Anesthesia Management.

Inspired Oxygenation in Surgical Patients During General Anesthesia With Controlled Ventilation: A Concept of Atelectasis. By Bendixen HH, Hedley-Whyte J, and Laver MB. New Engl J Med 1963; 269:991-996. Reprinted with permission. Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine if the pattern of ventilation, by itself, influences oxygenation during anesthesia and surgery and examine the hypothesis that progressive pulmonary atelectasis may occur during constant ventilation whenever periodic hyperventilation is lacking, but is reversible by passive hyperinflation of the lungs. Eighteen surgical patients, ranging in age from 24 to 87 yr, without known pulmonary disease, were studied during intraabdominal procedures and one radical mastectomy. Although ventilation remained constant, changes occurred in arterial oxygen tension and in total pulmonary compliance, with an average fall of 22% in oxygen tension and 15% in total pulmonary compliance. This fall in oxygen tension supports the hypothesis that progressive mechanical atelectasis may lead to increased venous admixture to arterial blood. The influence of the ventilator pattern on atelectasis and shunting is further illustrated by the reversibility of the fall in oxygen tension that follows hyperinflation. A relation between the degree of ventilation and the magnitude of fall in arterial oxygen tension was found, where large tidal volumes appear to protect against falls in oxygen tension, while shallow tidal volumes lead to atelectasis and increased shunting with impaired oxygenation.
A Sweet Fragrance in Winter

This article is about the syrup derived from the Bengali date palm tree, Phoenix sylvestris , which is processed for use as a sweetener. This sweetener, called khejur gur , is an important item in Bengali gastronomy because of its distinctive aroma and flavor. References to the use of khejur gur and the date palm tree can be found in ancient Sanskrit texts. The trees are tapped in winter, between December and February, a process that requires considerable expertise. The harvested syrup (collected in clay pots suspended from notches cut in the trunk) is boiled down to achieve different consistencies ranging from liquid to solid. Most Bengali confectioners substitute khejur gur for cane sugar in making sweets during the winter months. The undying popularity of khejur gur has also given it a notable presence in the literature and culture of the Bengal region, including the Indian state of West Bengal and the country of Bangladesh.
Simulation analytics for virtual statistics via k nearest neighbors

"Virtual statistics" are performance measures that are conditional on the occurrence of an event; virtual waiting time of a customer arriving to a queue at time t is one example. In this paper, we describe a k-nearest-neighbor method for estimating virtual statistics post-simulation from the retained sample paths, examining both its small-sample and asymptotic properties. We implement leave-one-replication-out cross validation for tuning the parameter k, and compare the prediction performance of the k-nearest-neighbor estimator with a time-bucket estimator.
Drug Exposure and Intrauterine Growth

The effects of prenatal drug exposure on intrauterine growth restriction are widely acknowledged. Prevalence rates of drug-abusing women who are of reproductive age are of concern worldwide. This chapter summarizes what is known regarding the impact of prenatal exposure to various illicit and legal drugs on intrauterine growth. Brief descriptions of the drugs and the mechanisms which impact growth are also discussed. Decreased birth weight, height and head circumference, as well as increased incidence of prematurity and small for gestational age are common findings in infants who were prenatally exposed to cocaine, methamphetamines, opiates, methadone, buprenorphine, marijuana, alcohol, and nicotine. However, the studies reviewed vary in sample size and characteristics, measures used to confirm drug use, study design, and whether or not they control for potential confounders. A major design flaw in many studies is the lack of control for polydrug use. Though some studies have found no effects of prenatal drug exposure, these results should not diminish the importance of educating females regarding the potentially harmful effects of drug use during pregnancy and for continued efforts to identify optimal treatment therapies for drug-dependent pregnant and parenting women.
Innate immune driven evolution via immunostimulatory RNA: Viruses that mimic hosts, tumors that mimic viruses

Abstract While the innate immune system is a key player in detecting viruses and tumors, its role in their evolution is relatively understudied compared to protein evolution. I discuss theoretical approaches to understanding the effect of immunostimulatory RNA on genome evolution. I describe settings where it may drive a virus to mimic its host's genomic environment, along with possible exceptions. Surprisingly, in tumors innate activation is also an issue, both fundamentally and practically in terms of response to therapy. It is hoped that an increased theoretical understanding of these issues will lead to an appreciation of when innate immune stimulation is an evolutionary advantage or disadvantage for a tumor or pathogen – an understanding that should be exploitable therapeutically.
Electricity cost and emissions reduction in optical networks

The goal of energy cost-aware Routing and Wavelength Assignment (RWA) is to minimize the total electricity expenditure in an optical network. While effective, just aiming to reduce the electricity consumed does not necessarily mitigate the environmental impact. A new approach is required to reduce the emissions produced as a by-product of RWA. We present a method for doing so through the use of Mixed Integer Linear Programming, which can find the optimal solution that minimizes the electricity cost of RWA for a static set of requests. This objective is quantitatively compared to alternative goals, including directly minimizing the emissions produced, reducing the length of established paths, and balancing reductions in both emissions and electricity cost simultaneously.
Proximal peroneus longus tear: rare case in a teenage athlete and review of the literature

We present the case of a 15-year-old teenager who sustained an ankle inversion injury while playing American football, which yielded only minimal pain, but also foot numbness and a lateral leg bulge. Magnetic resonance imaging evaluation revealed a proximal peroneal tear. These rare injuries are often associated with compartment syndrome, a surgical emergency, which was ultimately excluded clinically in this patient. Relevant anatomy, mechanism of injury, and clinical manifestations are discussed.
Mapping the Highly Skilled: Employment Situation and Geographical Distribution of Temporary Skilled Migrants in the United States

ABSTRACTIn the past two decades, migrant workers have become an important source of the skilled labor force in the United States. The H-1B visa program has also become one hotly debated topic of U....
Regression-based noninvasive estimation of intracranial pressure

Monitoring of intracranial pressure (ICP) is indicated in patients with a variety of conditions affecting the brain and cerebrospinal fluid space. The measurement of ICP, however, is highly invasive as it requires placement of a catheter in the brain tissue or cerebral ventricular spaces. Several noninvasive techniques have been proposed to overcome this issue, and one class of approaches is based on analyzing cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) and arterial blood pressure (ABP) waveforms to infer ICP. Here, we analyze a physiologic model linking ICP to CBFV and ABP and present a regression-based approach to estimating ICP. We tested the model on 20 datasets recorded from three patients in intensive care. Our estimates achieve a mean error (bias) of −1.12 mmHg and a standard deviation of the error of 5.56 mmHg, for a root-mean-square error of 5.68 mmHg, when compared against the invasive ICP measurement. Since transcranial Doppler ultrasound based CBFV measurements depend on the Doppler angle ϕ between the direction of the ultrasound beam and the (main) direction of blood flow velocity, we investigated the robustness of our ICP estimates against variations in ϕ. Our results show a change in the estimated ICP that is <1 mmHg if we assume ϕ ∼ N(μ; σ2), with μ = 0 and σ = 10°.
Tertiary Structure Prediction

The polypeptide chain of globular protein is linear, but the three-dimensional of tertiary structure is quite contorted. This was apparent from the first crystallographic determination of the structure of a protein by Kendrew et al. (1960). The contortion arises because of the need to satisfy a multitude of conflicting interactions: the hydrogen-bonding requirements of buried nitrogen and oxygen atoms, placement of the remaining polar groups near the protein-solvent interface, and internalization of most hydrophobic residues. Anfinsen et al. (1961) demonstarted that the amino acid sequence contained enough information to define a protein tertiary structure. These experiments defined the protein-folding problem: by computation determine the precise tertiary structure of a protein from its amino acid sequence. In the 25 years that have followed, much regularity and order have been recognized in protein tertiary structure (for reviews, see Richards, 1977; Nemethy and Scherega, 1977; Schulz and Schirmer, 1979; Richardson, 1981; Sternberg, 1983; Chothia, 1984). This chapter describes some of the theoritical methods designed to predict protein structure.
Intergenerational Transmissions of Mother-Child Loneliness: A Moderated Mediation Model of Familial Social Support and Conflict Avoidance.

Loneliness is a psychological health issue related to deleterious physical health outcomes such as mortality and chronic disease. The aim of this research was to examine intergenerational transmiss...
The Development of Possible Selves During Adulthood

Possible selves show dramatic change in form and function over the lifespan. In the present review, the ideal self-image (the self as one would like to be) is examined first. Developmental changes in the discrepancy between the real (or current) self and the ideal self are reviewed. Attention is given next to whether or not a high ideal self is adaptive for individuals at different life stages. Age-related changes in the content of the ideal self-image, as revealed in participants’ own ideal self-descriptions, are then examined. The nightmare self (the self as one does not want to be) is also considered. Marked changes with age in the content of this possible self are reviewed. Other possible selves such as the moral (or ought) self and the fantasy self (the self as one would like to be if anything were possible) are briefly considered and the dearth of research on developmental changes in these selves is noted.
Measuring changes in pharmacy and nursing students' perceptions following an interprofessional high-fidelity simulation experience.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of interprofessional high-fidelity simulation-based learning (SBL) on third-year pharmacy and senior nursing students’ perceptions of interprof...
The Impact of Political Debate on Government Trust: Reminding the Public What the Federal Government Does

Americans' confidence in government is low by historical standards. We fielded a national telephone survey to examine influences on government confidence and whether public discontent was affected by altering the salience of specific government operations. We used a question order experiment where we alternated between first asking a general question about confidence in government and first asking about confidence in specific government operations. We found that posing the specific policy questions first elevated general confidence more than the reverse. The largest and most noticeable effects were observed for Republicans and those most knowledgeable and attentive to politics. Findings of context effects and the partisan subgroup differences are consistent with existing theories on public opinion change as well as with previous question order experiments. But, evidence that the cognitive elite was especially influenced by question order challenges previous theories that presumed that its sophistication made it immune to influence. We suggest that education and political knowledge expand rather than contract the opportunities for priming.
An Organoid-Based Preclinical Model of Human Gastric Cancer

Background & Aims Our goal was to develop an initial study for the proof of concept whereby gastric cancer organoids are used as an approach to predict the tumor response in individual patients. Methods Organoids were derived from resected gastric cancer tumors (huTGOs) or normal stomach tissue collected from sleeve gastrectomies (huFGOs). Organoid cultures were treated with standard-of-care chemotherapeutic drugs corresponding to patient treatment: epirubicin, oxaliplatin, and 5-fluorouracil. Organoid response to chemotherapeutic treatment was correlated with the tumor response in each patient from whom the huTGOs were derived. HuTGOs were orthotopically transplanted into the gastric mucosa of NOD scid gamma mice. Results Whereas huFGOs exhibited a half maximal inhibitory concentration that was similar among organoid lines, divergent responses and varying half maximal inhibitory concentration values among the huTGO lines were observed in response to chemotherapeutic drugs. HuTGOs that were sensitive to treatment were derived from a patient with a near complete tumor response to chemotherapy. However, organoids resistant to treatment were derived from patients who exhibited no response to chemotherapy. Orthotropic transplantation of organoids resulted in the engraftment and development of human adenocarcinoma. RNA sequencing revealed that huTGOs closely resembled the patient's native tumor tissue and not commonly used gastric cancer cell lines and cell lines derived from the organoid cultures. Conclusions The treatment of patient-derived organoids alongside patients from whom cultures were derived will ultimately test their usefulness to predict individual therapy response and patient outcome.
Blunted stress reactivity reveals vulnerability to early life adversity in young adults with a family history of alcoholism

Background and aims People with blunted stress reactivity have poor impulse control and also show increased risk for alcoholism. Exposure to early life adversity (ELA) contributes to blunted reactivity, but individual differences in susceptibility to ELA are not well understood. This study aimed to determine whether exposure to ELA has a greater impact on stress reactivity in young adults with a family history of alcoholism (FH+) compared with young adults with no family history of alcoholism (FH-). Design Observational study using linear modeling. Setting Oklahoma, USA. Participants Seven hundred and nine young adults (398 females) recruited through community advertisement. Measurements We obtained heart rates and cortisol levels in subjects while undergoing public speaking and mental arithmetic stress compared with a resting control day (1418 test sessions). ELA was quantified as 0, 1 or > 1 adverse events experienced by age 15 years. FH+ people had one or two parents with an alcohol use disorder, and FH- controls had no such history for two generations. Findings Increasing levels of ELA predicted progressive blunting of cortisol and heart rate reactivity for the whole sample (Fs = 4.57 and 4.70, Ps ≤ 0.011), but examination by FH status showed that the effect of ELA was significant only among FH+ (Fs ≥ 3.5, Ps 0.40). This difference in ELA impact was not explained by the cortisol diurnal cycle or subjective evaluation of the stressors. Conclusions People with a family history of alcoholism appear to be vulnerable, in terms of changes to physiological stress response, to the impact of exposure to early life adversity while people with no family history of alcoholism appear to be resilient. Blunted stress reactivity may reflect differential vulnerability to early life adversity in young adults with a family history of alcoholism.
Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity: 1996-2008

Overall, the 2008 entrepreneurial activity rate increased slightly over 2007. An average of 0.32 percent of the adult population (or 320 out of 100,000 adults) created a new business each month - representing approximately 530,000 new businesses per month - as compared to 0.30 percent in 2007. While entrepreneurial activity has remained generally consistent over the past decade, the Kauffman Index points out important shifts in the demographic and geographic composition of new entrepreneurs across the country. The annual Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, a leading indicator of new business activity, provides the earliest documentation of new business development across the United States. Analyzing matched monthly data from the Current Population Survey since 1996, the Kauffman Index allows comparisons of new business creation over time.Key findings include:• The oldest age group - ages 55 to 64 - experienced a big increase in business-creation rates from 2007 to 2008 and, as a result, has the highest level of business creation (0.36 percent).• The activity rate increased sharply for immigrants in 2008 - from 0.46 percent in 2007 to 0.53 percent in 2008 - further widening the gap between immigrant and native-born rates. Although the increase in entrepreneurship rates among immigrants was driven entirely by low- and medium-income-potential types of businesses, immigrants also are more likely than U.S. natives to start high-income-potential types of businesses.• Latinos’ entrepreneurial activity rate increased from 0.40 percent in 2007 to 0.48 percent in 2008, continuing an upward trend that began in 2005. Over the thirteen years of the study, Latinos have had the highest percentage increase in entrepreneurial activity (from 0.33 percent in 1996 to 0.48 percent in 2008).• Asian-Americans’ entrepreneurial activity also increased sharply, from 0.29 percent in 2007 to 0.35 percent in 2008. Non-Latino white business-creation rates increased slightly, while African-American rates slightly declined.• Entrepreneurial activity increased from 2007 rates for both men and women (from 0.41 percent to 0.42 percent for men and from 0.20 percent to 0.24 percent for women).• With the exception of the Midwest, all regions saw increased entrepreneurial activity from 2007 to 2008. • The states with the highest 2008 entrepreneurial activity rates were Georgia, New Mexico, Montana, Arizona, Alaska and California.• The states with the lowest entrepreneurial activity rates were Pennsylvania, Missouri, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Iowa and Ohio.• Among the United States’ fifteen largest metropolitan statistical areas, Atlanta had the highest entrepreneurial rate (0.74 percent) in 2008. Philadelphia had the lowest rate (0.16 percent).
Abstract 618: Identification of Novel Disease Genes for Metabolic Syndrome

Factors that underlie the association of diverse traits of the metabolic syndrome have remained largely unknown. The strong heritable nature of this condition provides an exceptional avenue for dis...
The Role of Early-Phase Design-Response.

Dr. Ratain's letter allows us to reiterate the primary message of the publication: to meet the challenges of contemporary dose-finding, the 3+3 algorithm should be abandoned. This commonly used algorithm performed poorly even in the simple, single-agent, monotonic dose toxicity scenario presented in