cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
6-Mercaptopurine augments glucose transport activity in skeletal muscle cells in part via a mechanism dependent upon orphan nuclear receptor NR4A3

The purine anti-metabolite 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) is widely used for the treatment of leukemia and inflammatory diseases. The cellular effects of 6-MP on metabolism remain unknown; however, 6-MP was recently found to activate the orphan nuclear receptor NR4A3 in skeletal muscle cell lines. We have reported previously that NR4A3 (also known as NOR-1, MINOR) is a positive regulator of insulin sensitivity in adipocytes. To further explore the role of NR4A3 activation in insulin action, we explored whether 6-MP activation of NR4A3 could modulate glucose transport system activity in L6 skeletal muscle cells. We found that 6-MP increased both NR4A3 expression and NR4A3 transcriptional activity and enhanced glucose transport activity via increasing GLUT4 translocation in both basal and insulin-stimulated L6 cells in an NR4A3-dependent manner. Furthermore, 6-MP increased levels of phospho-AS160, although this effect was not modulated by NR4A3 overexpression or knockdown. These primary findings provide a novel proof of principle that 6-MP, a small molecule NR4A3 agonist, can augment glucose uptake in insulin target cells, although this occurs via both NR4A3-dependent and -independent actions; the latter is related to an increase in phospho-AS160. These results establish a novel target for development of new treatments for insulin resistance.
Effects of dispersion and birefringence on the performance of quantum well mode converters

The device characteristics of GaAs multiple quantum well (MQW) polarization modulators, designed for operation at wavelengths of 865 and 870 nm, respectively, are investigated and shown to depend strongly on the dispersive and anisotropic optical properties of the quantum well medium. Results indicate that the observed decrease in spectral bandwidth and conversion efficiency at wavelengths detuned from the excitonic bandgap by approximately 250 AA can be accounted for, theoretically, if electroabsorptive loss terms are included in the coupled-mode analysis of polarization conversion in MQW waveguides. Device design considerations and applications of MQW polarization modulators to integrated optic filtering, wavelength division multiplexing/demultiplexing, and the frequency tuning of semiconductor lasers are presented. >
Aromatic proteinaceous surfactants stabilize long‐lived gas microbubbles from natural sources

Three different types of protein‐specific chemical tests were performed on long‐lived gas microbubbles derived from aqueous solutions of agarose powder and from filtered aqueous extracts of Hawaiian forest soil. The separate protein‐specific tests involved use of either 0.3% (w/v) ninhydrin, 100 μM methylene blue dye, or 0.7–1.0 M 2‐hydroxy‐5‐nitrobenzyl bromide. The chemical test results obtained with each of the two natural substances, i.e., agarose powder and Hawaiian forest soil, were very similar and indicate that the biological surfactants which surround and stabilize long‐lived gas microbubbles are proteinaceous compounds that contain, and whose surface activity depend upon, aromatic amino acid residues, particularly tryptophan.
Electrostatics and nanoparticles: What's the same, what's different?

This paper provides a brief review of the status of research in the field of solid nanoparticles. The field may be divided into the broad categories of particle creation, utilization, and manipulation. Several examples are provided for gas- and liquid-phase production of particles, as well as the many uses found for them in manufacturing, microelectronics, and medicine. Electrostatic self-assembly, a phenomenon that occurs in liquids, is discussed as a method for producing uniquely tailored structures. The use of nanoparticles as vehicles for the transdermal administration of medicaments and vaccines is also presented as a topic of ongoing research.
Discrimination in the Markets for Farm Capital

Recent empirical investigations have estimated differential earnings of white and nonwhite labor and education and have interpreted these differences as the combined effects of many forms of economic discrimination. In this paper we use a relatively straightforward model to analyze the implications of discrimination in markets for capital funds. The model is designed to focus upon intermarket flows of goods, in this case white to black, and represents a simple modification of the common excess demand and supply frame of reference. The empirical evidence suggests that earned rates of return do not vary with the race of farm operators as most "theories" of discrimination would suggest. However, there is evidence that rates of return increase with farm size, and since Negroes operate smaller farms it is possible that discrimination has served as an impediment to expansion.
Prospective noise induced changes to hearing among construction industry apprentices.

Aims: To characterise the development of noise induced damage to hearing. Methods: Hearing and noise exposure were prospectively monitored among a cohort of newly enrolled construction industry apprentices and a comparison group of graduate students, using standard pure tone audiometry and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs). A total of 328 subjects (632 ears) were monitored annually an average of 3.4 times. In parallel to these measures, noise exposure and hearing protection device (HPD) use were extensively monitored during construction work tasks. Recreational/non-occupational exposures also were queried and monitored in subgroups of subjects. Trade specific mean exposure Leq levels, with and without accounting for the variable use of hearing protection in each trade, were calculated and used to group subjects by trade specific exposure level. Mixed effects models were used to estimate the change in hearing outcomes over time for each exposure group. Results: Small but significant exposure related changes in DPOAEs over time were observed, especially at 4 kHz with stimulus levels (L1) between 50 and 75 dB, with less clear but similar patterns observed at 3 kHz. After controlling for covariates, the high exposure group had annual changes in 4 kHz emissions of about 0.5 dB per year. Pure tone audiometric thresholds displayed only slight trends towards increased threshold levels with increasing exposure groups. Some unexpected results were observed, including an apparent increase in DPOAEs among controls over time, and improvement in behavioural thresholds among controls at 6 kHz only. Conclusions: Results indicate that construction apprentices in their first three years of work, with average noise exposures under 90 dBA, have measurable losses of hearing function. Despite numerous challenges in using DPOAEs for hearing surveillance in an industrial setting, they appear somewhat more sensitive to these early changes than is evident with standard pure tone audiometry.
The age and origin of the Labyrinth, western Dry Valleys, Antarctica: Evidence for extensive middle Miocene subglacial floods and freshwater discharge to the Southern Ocean

A 50! -km-long network of bedrock channels and scoured terrain occupies the ice-free portion of a major trough that crosses the Transantarctic Mountains in southern Victoria Land. The channels, collectively termed the Labyrinth, emerge from beneath the margin of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (Wright Upper Glacier) and are incised into a 300-m-thick sill of Ferrar Dolerite at the head of Wright Valley. Upper- and intermediate-elevation erosion surfaces of the Labyrinth exhibit striations and molding characteristic of glacial erosion. Channels and canyons on the lower surface are as much as 600 m wide and 250 m deep, have longitudinal profiles with many reverse gradients, and contain potholes ! 35 m deep at tributary junctions. These characteristics are most consistent with incision from fast-flowing subglacial meltwater; estimated discharge is on the order of 1.6-2.2 " 10 6 m 3 s # 1 . Our 40 Ar/ 39 Ar analyses of volcanic tephra from the Labyrinth show that the chan- nels are relict, that major channel incision predates 12.4 Ma, and that the last major subglacial flood occurred sometime between 14.4 Ma and 12.4 Ma. The most plausible origin for the Labyrinth is erosion associated with episodic drainage of subglacial lakes in East Antarctica. One compelling possibility is that discharge of large volumes of sub- glacial meltwater to the Southern Ocean, and to the Ross Sea in particular, may have coincided with, and contributed to, oscillations in regional and/or global climate during the middle Miocene.
The Place of Families: Fostering Capacity, Equality, and Responsibility

The Place of Families: Fostering Capacity, Equality, and Responsibility. By Linda C. McClain. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006. 392p. $45.00.Linda McClain's excellent book provides a comprehensive account of the political issues concerning families in United States public policy and a coherent perspective from which to evaluate proposals for change in these policies. Writing as a liberal feminist, McClain has an approach that will not please everyone, but since her starting point takes families seriously as political units, no serious discussant in these debates can ignore this book.
Data-Oblivious Data Structures

An algorithm is called data-oblivious if its control flow and memory access pattern do not depend on its input data. Data-oblivious algorithms play a significant role in secure cloud computing, since programs that are run on secret data—as in fully homomorphic encryption or secure multiparty computation—must be data-oblivious. In this paper, we formalize three definitions of data-obliviousness that have appeared implicitly in the literature, explore their implications, and show separations. We observe that data-oblivious algorithms often compose well when viewed as data structures. Using this approach, we construct data-oblivious stacks, queues, and priority queues that are considerably simpler than existing constructions, as well as improving constant factors. We also establish a new upper bound for oblivious data compaction, and use this result to show that an “oine” variant of the Oblivious RAM problem can be solved with O(logn log logn) expected amortized time per operation— as compared with O(log 2 n/ log logn), the best known upper bound for the standard online formulation. 1998 ACM Subject Classification D.4.6 Security and Protection, E.1 Data Structures, F.1.1 Models of Computation, F.1.2 Modes of Computation
Peptide Ligands That Bind Selectively to Spores of Bacillus subtilis and Closely Related Species

As part of an effort to develop detectors for selected species of bacterial spores, we screened phage display peptide libraries for 7- and 12-mer peptides that bind tightly to spores of Bacillus subtilis. All of the peptides isolated contained the sequence Asn-His-Phe-Leu at the amino terminus and exhibited clear preferences for other amino acids, especially Pro, at positions 5 to 7. We demonstrated that the sequence Asn-His-Phe-Leu-Pro (but not Asn-His-Phe-Leu) was sufficient for tight spore binding. We observed equal 7-mer peptide binding to spores of B. subtilis and its most closely related species, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, and slightly weaker binding to spores of the closely related species Bacillus globigii. These three species comprise one branch on the Bacillus phylogenetic tree. We did not detect peptide binding to spores of several Bacillus species located on adjacent and nearby branches of the phylogenetic tree nor to vegetative cells of B. subtilis. The sequence Asn-His-Phe-Leu-Pro was used to identify B. subtilis proteins that may employ this peptide for docking to the outer surface of the forespore during spore coat assembly and/or maturation. One such protein, SpsC, appears to be involved in the synthesis of polysaccharide on the spore coat. SpsC contains the Asn-His-Phe-Leu-Pro sequence at positions 6 to 10, and the first five residues of SpsC apparently must be removed to allow spore binding. Finally, we discuss the use of peptide ligands for bacterial detection and the use of short peptide sequences for targeting proteins during spore formation.
Calculation of ADCP Alignment Offsets Using Single-Beam Velocity and Depth Data

Abstract To extract the maximum quality results from shipborne acoustic Doppler current profiler data, it is necessary to know how the beams are aligned with respect to the earth. Individual beam velocities, relative to the water or the bottom, have been used to estimate the rotation of the transducer relative to the ship and the pitch offset of the transducer. Individual beam bottom-track ranges can be used to make an independent estimate of pitch offset and an estimate of the roll offset.
Structural Organomanganese Chemistry

In the more than 50 years since the first manganese compound with MnC bonds was crystallographically characterized (Mn2(CO)10, in 1957), the number of structurally authenticated organomanganese compounds has grown to several thousands. The richness of structural features in organomanganese compounds now rivals that of any other first row transition metal. The range of structural features and bond types is large, and encompasses MnC, MnC, and MnC bonds, as well as complexes with MnMn, MnMn, and MnMn linkages. Crystallographically characterized examples are known with oxidation states from Mn0 to MnV, and the accessibility of two spin states of comparable energy in complexes of MnII adds an additional variable to the fundamental structural types. The present review of structural organomanganese chemistry focuses largely on crystallographically characterized complexes, whose geometries are the most reliably established. Representative examples of major compound classes are considered, and statistical analysis of typical bond length ranges is provided for various Mn/C and Mn/Mn interactions. Bond lengths in organomanganese compounds are highly context-sensitive, and even when only a specific bond order is under consideration, the spread of distances makes comparisons difficult unless closely related molecules are examined. Keywords: cyclopentadienyl complexes; cymantrene; manganese; manganocene; organometallic chemistry; paramagnetic compounds; solid-state structures; spin states; steric bulk; X-ray crystallography
Red Cell Distribution Width and Mortality in Hemodialysis Patients

Background Red cell distribution width (RDW) is an index of red blood cell volume variability that has historically been used as a marker of iron deficiency anemia. More recently, studies have shown that elevated RDW is associated with higher mortality risk in the general population. However, there is lack of data demonstrating the association between RDW and mortality risk in hemodialysis (HD) patients. We hypothesized that higher RDW is associated with higher mortality in HD patients. Study Design Retrospective observational study using a large HD patient cohort. Setting & Participants 109,675 adult maintenance HD patients treated in a large dialysis organization from January 1, 2007, to December 31, 2011. Predictor Baseline and time-varying RDW, grouped into 5 categories: Outcome All-cause mortality. Results Mean age of study participants was 63±15 (SD) years and the study cohort was 44% women. In baseline and time-varying analyses, there was a graded association between higher RDW and incrementally higher mortality risk. Receiver operating characteristic, net reclassification analysis, and integrated discrimination improvement analyses demonstrated that RDW is a stronger predictor of mortality as compared with traditional markers of anemia, such as hemoglobin, ferritin, and iron saturation values. Limitations Lack of comprehensive data that may be associated with both RDW and HD patient outcomes, such as blood transfusion data, socioeconomic status, and other unknown confounders; therefore, the possibility of residual confounding could not be excluded. Also, lack of information for cause of death; thus, cardiovascular mortality outcomes could not be examined. Conclusions In HD patients, higher RDW is associated with incrementally higher mortality risk. RDW is also a stronger predictor of mortality than traditional laboratory markers of anemia. Further studies are needed to determine the mechanisms underlying the association between RDW and mortality.
Policy Models and Equal Educational Opportunity

If anyone doubts that policy analysis is like a hot dog—its contents are both variable and suspect— Sabatier's essay in this issue should remove those doubts. His outlines of the open systems/funnel of causality, rational actors within institutions, policy streams, and advocacy coalitions approaches make pellucid that adherents to any one of these perspectives will examine different variables in searching for truth, beauty, or at least explanation in public policy-making. A full illustration of how each of these lens, when focused on the same policy area, would yield a somewhat different image would require a volume of significant length. While the profession waits for Sabatier to produce such a volume, perhaps we can be satisfied with a brief discussion of how the pursuit of equal educational opportunity would be viewed through a pair of these lenses. The rational actors within institutions and advocacy coalition lenses are used to examine this important policy area. When the U.S. Supreme Court accepted the “separate but equal” interpretation of the constitution ( Plessy v. Ferguson , 1896) and followed that quickly with a decision ignoring the “but equal” part of the phrase in public education ( Cumming v. County Board of Education , 1899), racially segregated schools were legitimized. What followed was a long war, waged most obviously by the legal arm of the NAACP (Tushnet, 1987), which led to the Supreme Court's reversal of the Plessy decision ( Brown v. Board of Education , 1954, 1955). At that point policy-making in the area of equal educational opportunity shifted from a focus on overturning a loathsome judicial precedent to implementing a favorable one. Initial euphoria led to overly optimistic predictions about the speed with which segregated school systems could be dismantled.
Cefoperazone Therapy for Obstetric and Gynecologic Infections

The safety and clinical efficacy of cefoperazone therapy for obstetric and gynecologic infections have been evaluated in clinical trials involving 107 women hospitalized at nine medical centers. The indications for cefoperazone therapy have included post-partum and postoperative uterine infections, pelvic inflammatory disease, postoperative pelvic infections, and miscellaneous pelvic infections. A variety of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, including members of the genera Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Escherichia, Klebsiella, Proteus, Neisseria, Bacteroides, Peptococcus, and Peptostreptococcus, were isolated from these patients. More than 80% of these isolates were inhibited in vitro by cefoperazone concentrations less than or equal to 2.0 micrograms/ml. Symptomatic cures were achieved in 91% of patients, and 96% of isolated pathogens were eradicated during therapy. Adverse drug-related reactions occurred in only 4% of patients. Follow-up laboratory evaluations demonstrated only minor abnormalities that affected a small number of patients. These results indicate that cefoperazone offers safe and effective therapy for common obstetric and gynecologic infections.
Management of pregnancy after cesarean section.

Management of 226 patients with previous low transverse cesarean section in a special obstetric clinic for high-risk pregnancies significantly and safely reduced the incidence of purely elective cesarean section to less than 10%. A substantial incidence (25%) of other high-risk factors dictating antepartum indicated cesarean section were found in this population. There was 38.5% incidence of vaginal delivery in 145 patients who underwent a trial of labor. Patients delivered vaginally followed a normal labor curve up to full dilatation. Oxytocin was required in three cases of prolonged second stage of labor and resulted in instrumental vaginal delivery in all instances. There were no uterine ruptures on vaginal exploration after delivery or at the time of repeat cesarean section during labor. There was no maternal death or perinatal loss. No justification for the present clinical practice of a 99% incidence of elective repeat cesarean section could be found. Substantial savings in hospital cost, as well as a decreased number of diagnostic tests for the otherwise normal gravid woman, can be safely achieved.
Methods for studying the function of cytomegalovirus GPCRs.

All of the cytomegaloviruses discovered to date encode two or more genes with significant homology to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The functions of these cytomegalovirus GPCRs continue to be actively studied and it is clear that they exhibit numerous interesting functions in vitro and in vivo. In this chapter, we review the various methodologies that can be used to examine biochemical aspects of viral GPCR signaling in vitro, as well as examine the biological activity of these viral GPCRs in vitro and in vivo in virus infected cells using recombinant cytomegaloviruses.
Pathogenic Microfungi Associated with Spartina in Salt Marshes

Diebacks associated with disease in salt marshes are not as frequently observed as in terrestrial systems. However, when they do occur, the ecological costs to the marsh system can vary from devastation, in the case of Sudden Vegetation Dieback, to a minor cost, as in the case of Spartina rust outbreaks. All major diebacks of Spartina alterniflora have occurred along its native range in the western Atlantic and Gulf Coast. Fungi, herbivores, and abiotic stressors are frequently associated with the dieback. Many dieback/disease events have occurred as a result of fungal pathogens being introduced on invasive S. alterniflora. The dieback of the native common reed grass Phragmites australis in Shanghai, China, was found to be associated with F. palustre being vectored on S. alterniflora where it spread onto Phr. australis. Another example was where S. alterniflora presumably introduced the Spartina strain of ergot (Claviceps purpurea) to Europe where it increased on Spartina anglica. Although ergot was already present on the native Spartina foliosa in the eastern Pacific Coast marshes, the more resistant and robust hybrids that resulted between the invasive S. alterniflora and native S. foliosa were selectively favored over the native S. foliosa, thus advancing the dominance of the hybrids in these marshes. The incidence of Spartina rust incited by Puccinia sparganioidis is frequently seen in the marsh, but the rust is not considered to have a significant ecological cost to the marsh. The main economic concern is the disfigurement it can cause to its alternate host, ash (Fraxinus spp.). The last fungus discussed (Phaeosphaeria spartinicola) did not incite disease, but was highlighted due to its important function as a saprobe and in its facultative, mutualistic relationship with the herbivorous periwinkle snail. During periods of drought, these two organisms interacted in a way that led to massive dieback. Given the resilience of Spartina spp., it is surprising when these fungi cause significant damage. Most disease problems, however, tend to be associated with global spread of S. alterniflora into nonnative habitats.
Control Processes and Affect

It is the striving toward the known goal that confers unity, not the successful arrival. (Gordon Allport, Personality: A Psychological Interpretation ) And later, much later, he realized it was the going itself, not the arriving, for which he cared. (Jeffrey A. Carver, Panglor ) Much of human behavior is accompanied by feelings, good and bad. During an average day most people experience brief (and sometimes more extended) periods of anxiety, sadness, irritation, and happiness. Often there are also passing moments of guilt, shame, joy, envy, jealousy, and relief. Although most people go through occasional periods in which emotions are relatively absent, affect is an important part of life. Our feelings color our experiences in ways that make those experiences threedimensional. In doing so, feelings tell us critical things about those experiences. In this chapter, we consider feelings and their origins. Many theorists have analyzed the kinds of information feelings provide and the kinds of situations in which they come to exist (e.g., Frijda, 1986; Izard, 1977; Lazarus, 1991; Ortony, Clore, & Collins, 1988; Roseman, 1984; Scherer & Ekman, 1984). The question we address here is a slightly different one, however: What's the internal mechanism by which good and bad feelings come to arise? What creates affect? This is a deceptively simple question. Some would say good feelings come from getting what you want – goal attainment – and bad feelings come from failing to get what you want, or from exposure to punishers.
Role of coronary computed tomography angiography for the diagnosis of coronary anomalies

Background: Coronary anomalies are rare heart diseases that can cause sudden cardiac death, especially in young individuals. Coronary computed tomography angiography delivers a three-dimensional view of excellent quality with information of the origin, course and anatomic relationships of the anomalous vessel, allowing differentiation between benign and malignant variants, entities that require different management and treatment. Aim: To show that coronary computed tomography angiography is the non-invasive technique of choice for the evaluation of a coronary anomaly due to its high diagnostic accuracy. Material and methods: Between 2008 and 2014, 368 coronary computed tomography angiographies were carried out. Six (1.6 %) patients had a coronary anomaly. Results: The age of these six patients ranged from 38 to 82 years (five were women). The coronary computed tomography angiography was requested due to cardiac symptoms (angina and dyspnea) in two patients, after a selective coronary arteriography to obtain additional information of the coronary anomaly in three patients, and after a cardiorespiratory arrest in one patient. Three patients had an anomaly of the right coronary artery, two patients had an anomaly of the left coronary artery and one patient had absent left main coronary artery. In five patients the coronary anomaly was malignant. Conclusions: Coronary computed tomography angiography is a robust diagnostic method to evaluate patients with suspected coronary anomalies.
Is More Violent Better? The Impact of Group Participation in Violence on Group Longevity for Far-Right Extremist Groups

ABSTRACTRecent research has begun to explore the causes of organizational death for domestic far-right extremist groups. An important aspect that has not been examined is whether or not a group's participation in violence influences its longevity. This study addresses this gap in the literature by examining over 400 domestic far-right extremist groups that persisted for varying lengths of time to determine whether or not group participation in violence influences their longevity. Additionally, this study also examines whether a variety of external (environmental) and internal correlates influence the longevity of violent and nonviolent groups differently.
Mechanistic Study of the Reaction of •Cr(CO)3C5Me5 with H2S Yielding HCr(CO)3C5Me5, HSCr(CO)3C5Me5, and C5Me5(CO)2CrSCr(CO)2C5Me5. Kinetic Evidence for Formation of the Substituted Radical Complex •Cr(CO)2(H2S)C5Me5†

Reaction of a large excess of H2S with 2 mol of •Cr(CO)3C5Me5 yields HCr(CO)3C5Me5 and HSCr(CO)3C5Me5. Kinetic studies of this reaction show two reaction pathways are followed. At pressures of CO above 10−15 atm and temperatures ≤10 °C, a third-order rate law d[P]/dt = k3rd order[•Cr(CO)3C5Me5]2[H2S] is followed. The value of the third-order rate constant 70 ± 5 M-2 s-1 is essentially independent of temperature in the range −30 to +10 °C. As the pressure of CO is reduced, mixed-order kinetics is followed, and under argon atmosphere the reaction obeys the following second-order rate law: d[P]/dt = k2nd order[•Cr(CO)3C5Me5][H2S]. The value of k2nd order was found to be 0.20 ± 0.05 M-1 s-1 at 1 °C and 0.30 ± 0.05 M-1 s-1 at 10 °C. This reaction channel is proposed to proceed by rate-determining ligand substitution and formation of the hydrogen sulfide substituted radical complex •Cr(H2S)(CO)2C5Me5. The rate of ligand substitution of •Cr(CO)3C5Me5 by PMe2Ph yielding the phosphine-substituted radical •Cr(PMe2...
Numerical analysis of time dependent inhibition kinetics: comparison between rat liver microsomes and rat hepatocyte data for mechanistic model fitting.

Time-dependent inhibition (TDI) may confound drug interaction predictions. Recently, models were generated for an array of TDI kinetic schemes using numerical analysis of microsomal assays. Additio...
Early signs of cardiovascular dysregulation in young adult binge drinkers.

Binge drinking is widespread on American college campuses, but its effects on the cardiovascular system are poorly understood. This study sought evidence of preclinical cardiovascular changes in binge drinking young adults (n = 24) compared to nondrinking (n = 24) and social drinking (n = 23) peers during baseline, paced sighing (0.033 Hz), and paced breathing (0.1 Hz) tasks. Binge drinkers showed consistent but often statistically nonsignificant evidence of greater sympathetic activation and reduced baroreflex sensitivity. Interestingly, the structure of group-averaged baseline heart rate spectra was considerably different between groups in the low frequency range (0.05-0.15 Hz). In particular, the binge drinking group-averaged spectra showed several spectral peaks not evident in the other groups, possibly indicating two functionally distinct subranges (0.05-0.08 and 0.08-0.15 Hz) that reflect vascular tone baroreflex activity and heart rate baroreflex activity, respectively. Vascular tone baroreflex gain and power in two peaks in the 0.05-0.08 Hz range were associated with years of drinking in the binge drinking group. Vascular dysfunction may be an early indicator of drinking-related change in the cardiovascular system.
Molecular and Continuum Transport Perspectives on Electroosmotic Slip Flows

Velocity slip in electroosmotic flows (EOF) is investigated using an analytical solution of Poisson–Boltzmann and Stokes (PB-S) equations with slip correction, and the results are compared with the predictions from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Particularly, EOFs of NaCl solution in silicon nanochannels are simulated, and channel dimensions are picked to exhibit plug flow behavior in the bulk region. Electrochemical conditions are specified within the validity region of PB theory to avoid charge inversion and flow reversal effects. The analytical model shows normalization of the slip length (an interfacial property) with the Debye length determined by the ionic concentration, implying that the slip enhancement in EOFs is independent of the channel height. MD results are compared with the analytical solution using the apparent viscosity and slip lengths determined by force-driven flow simulations in charged silicon nanochannels. Onset of slip velocity within the electrical double layer and its effec...
Investigating Users’ Experiences and Attitudes Towards Mobile Apps’ Reviews

One of the daily routines of the smartphone users is using the mobile applications. Individuals explore the app stores and select a potential app. The selection procedure is affected by the information that the app stores display for each app. Reviews of the apps are an important factor in making decisions to select an app. Likewise, Users experiences and attitudes are affected by the information that they read and see on the interface of apps’ reviews. In our study, we aim to investigate the users’ experiences and attitudes towards mobile apps’ reviews. To achieve our goal, we constructed a survey consists of statements divided into five categories to collect a variety of data about the users’ experience and attitude. The questionnaire’s categories were designed to generate data regarding users’ experiences and attitudes when selecting apps. Likewise, to investigate the criteria that users set to evaluate the apps’ quality. Moreover, participants were asked about their experiences with the comments section in the apps’ reviews. Also, investigating if there are complaints regarding the reviews’ comments. Furthermore, we investigated what users can know from the interface of the mobile apps reviews in the app stores. We had 102 participants in our survey. Our results showed that free apps, especially if there is a need for the app, have the most chance to be installed even with a lower rate. We also found that, besides the apps’ rating and download statistics, users tend to adapt self-judgment for determining the apps’ quality. Regarding the reviews’ comments, users wish there is a way to limit the length of the reviews. Users like the reviews that are short and specific. We found that the current interface design of the review needs revisions to help users to be aware of critical apps-related issues such as apps’ permissions.
Chia as a New Source of ω-3 Fatty Acids

In pre-Columbian times chia was one of the basic foods of Central American civilizations, following corn and beans in terms of importance, but being more important than Amaranth. Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, received between 5,000 and 15,000 tons of chia as an annual tribute from conquered nations. Chia seed was not used just as a food, but also offered to the Aztec gods. Today there are ω-3 enriched eggs on the market that are produced by adding flaxseed, chia seed, fish oil/meal or marine algae to the hen’s diet. The purpose of this paper is to compare chia with these other raw materials. Available information suggests that the level of ω-3 found in chia eggs could not be reached using flax, fish oil or algae based diets without negatively affecting the hens and/or one or more of the intrinsic characteristics of eggs. In all cases a limiting factor when feeding high percentages of the other ω-3 sources is flavor, smell and/or atypical texture transmitted by these products to the eggs. In the case of flax production also decreases.
Shelters and Services

An emergency is created when any individual or family becomes homeless. Lack of a home means inadequate food, poor health, diminished social supports, and continual stress—an absence of the most basic moorings of individual identity and well-being. The primary goal of most of the 5,400 shelters in the United States is to meet these emergency needs, preventing them from progressing quickly to even more complete misery and death (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD], 1989).
Psychiatric Therapies and Their Presumed Effects

The above quotation comes close to sounding the theme of this thesis, which is that to determine the results of psychiatric treatment is a Promethean* task because of (1) the diversity of patients, (2) the protean goals and modalities of therapy, (3) the personality of the therapist(s) and (4) inadequate or illusive follow-up.
Exercise Testing: Procedures and Implementation

Although important strides have been made in related procedures, exercise ECG remains an invaluable tool in the initial assessment of coronary disease and yields a great deal of prognostic information. Access to limited health care resources often hinges on its outcome. Proper methodology is critical to patient safety and to obtain accurate results. The importance of patient education, physician interaction with the patient, skin preparation, and criteria for exclusion and termination cannot be overemphasized. A brief physical examination and 12-lead ECG in both the supine and standing positions should precede exercise testing. Few studies have correctly evaluated the relative yield or sensitivity and specificity of different electrode placements for exercise-induced shifts in the ST segment. The use of other leads in addition to V5 increases test sensitivity, but the specificity may be reduced. ST-segment changes isolated to the inferior leads are frequently false-positive responses. Vectorcardiographic and body surface mapping lead systems do not appear to offer any advantage over simpler approaches for clinical purposes. Changes caused by exercise electrode placement can be kept to a minimum by placing arm electrodes on the shoulders, off of the chest. The exercise protocol should be progressive, with even increments in speed and grade whenever possible. Smaller, even, and more frequent work increments are preferable to larger, uneven, and less frequent increases, because the former yield a more accurate estimation of exercise capacity. The value of individualizing the exercise protocol rather than using the same protocol for every patient has recently been emphasized by many investigators. The optimal test duration is from 8 to 12 minutes, and the protocol workloads should be adjusted to permit this duration. Because ramp testing uses small increments, it permits a more accurate estimation of exercise capacity and can be individualized for every patient to yield a targeted test duration. Target heart rates based on age should not be used because the relationship between maximal heart rate and age is poor and varies greatly. The Borg scale is a useful means of quantifying an individual's effort. Exercise capacity should not be reported in total time but rather as the VO2 or MET equivalent of the workload achieved. This permits comparison of the results between many different exercise testing protocols. Gas-exchange techniques can greatly supplement exercise testing by adding precision and reproducibility and increase the yield of information concerning cardiopulmonary function. Estimating work from treadmill or cycle ergometer workload introduces a great deal of error and variability.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Engineering the ideal: applied modern poetics as applied modern science

Many scholars have traced the influences of theoretical science in modernist poetry. However, at the beginning of the twentieth century western audiences were principally enamoured of the applied s...
Exploring the Effects of Foreign Language Instructional Practices on Student Proficiency Development.

While a growing body of research has addressed the outcomes of K–12 foreign language (FL) study, relatively little is known about the relationship between teachers’ practices and students’ proficiency development (Hlas & Hlas, 2012; Tschirner & Malone, 2012). To fill this gap, the current study, set in a large urban school district, investigates how differences in teachers’ (N = 26) self‐reported use of the target language (TL) and explicit grammar instruction relate to secondary FL students’ (N = 2,179) yearlong gains on a standardized language performance assessment. Findings reveal a largely positive effect for TL usage, which was most pronounced in the beginner levels. Meanwhile, explicit grammar instruction yielded mixed results, beginning with a negative effect in Level I and transitioning toward a positive effect by Level IV. Collectively, the findings suggest that best practices for FL teaching may in fact vary according to the level of instruction.
High-power terahertz metasurface quantum-cascade VECSELs (Conference Presentation)

The VECSEL architecture is shown to be an effective approach for building THz quantum-cascade lasers with scalable watt-level output power in a high quality beam pattern. The enabling component is a “metasurface” made up of sub-wavelength arrays of antenna-coupled sub-cavities loaded with quantum-cascade active material. By using a sub-cavity antenna based upon a third-order resonance (rather than a first order resonance), metasurfaces with higher fill factors are demonstrated which are suitable for large output powers. Watt-level pulsed output powers have been demonstrated in a single mode, with tunability achieved by intra-cryostat tuning of the cavity length.
Behavioral Effects of Vasopressin Treatment: Cognitive Implications

The past two decades have witnessed an explosion of research activity concerning the possible role that neuropeptides may play in central nervous system functioning. Neuropeptides such as vasopressin, oxytocin, the endorphins, ACTH, cholecystokinin (CCK), and MSH have all been implicated in various aspects of cognition, including learning, memory, attention, and habituation. The following discussion will focus primarily on vasopressin’s putative cognitive role: the conclusions that can be drawn from the existing data, the methodological and theoretical approaches which have limited these conclusions, and the problems that need to be considered when attempting to extrapolate from behavioral data in laboratory animals to theories concerning general mammalian cognitive processes. Although these issues will be discussed in terms of the vasopressin literature, they are central to the evaluation of any substance thought to play a role in cognitive functioning A more in-depth discussion may be found elsewhere (28).
Extreme weather and migration: evidence from Bangladesh

Using retrospective migration history data collected in southwestern Bangladesh, we examine the relationship between extreme weather conditions—warm spells, dry spells, wet spells, and intense precipitation—and the likelihood that male household heads make a first internal or international migrant trip. We also investigate whether and how agricultural livelihoods and having a close migrant relative are associated with migration in response to extreme weather. Findings reveal that dry spells are most consistently associated with increased migration, although we see some evidence that first trips also increase after warm spells and above average rainfall. Associations between dry spells and warm spells are more pronounced among household heads with agricultural livelihoods. We find little evidence that having migrant relatives is associated with migration after extreme weather events, but some evidence that the presence of migrant networks at the community level is associated with international migration after an environmental shock.
Breadboard sized photo-acoustic spectroscopy system using an FPGA based lock-in amplifier

Over the past several years we have developed a photo-acoustic spectroscopic (PAS) technique for trace gas detection that is capable of parts per trillion (ppt) detection limits. The desire to reduce the size of the system has led to several efforts that have reduced the size of the various components of the system. We have reduced the dimensions of the resonant cell to micrometer scale (MEMS). We have worked with Daylight Solutions to reduce the size of the tunable quantum cascade laser (QCL) used in the system. In this paper we demonstrate the reduction in size of the entire system to a 12” x 12” footprint. We do this by implementing the lock-in amplifier on a field programmable gate array (FPGA) demonstration board that is also capable of acting as the system controller and data output device. We briefly describe the digital lock-in amplifier and sketch our implementation on the FPGA. We go on to compare the spectroscopic data we collected using this system with data we collected using a large rack mounted Stanford Research Systems SR830 lock-in amplifier and a PC.
Environmental and ecological correlates of avian field metabolic rate and water flux

The field metabolic rate (FMR) of an endothermic animal represents its energy expenditure in a natural environment, or its energy budget, and its field water flux (FWF) reflects the animal's water requirements. We examined FMR of 103 species and FWF of 75 species of adult birds from direct field measurements using the doubly labelled water method, and used the phylogenetic generalized least squares method to conduct a phylogenetically informed, comprehensive analysis of the relationship between FMR, FWF and multiple environmental and biological variables. Field metabolic rate was strongly positively associated with body mass with an allometric exponent of 0.66, and seabirds had lower FMR than terrestrial species. Birds consuming plant matter had lower FMR compared to omnivores, carnivores or nectarivores and low ambient temperature was associated with higher FMR. There was little evidence for phylogenetic covariance in FMR, even though previous studies identified a phylogenetic signal for basal metabolic rate. Life‐history traits, such as fecundity and migration, were also not strongly associated with FMR. Field water flux was strongly positively associated with body mass with an allometric exponent of 0.61, and was strongly related to precipitation but not to temperature. Diet and habitat use had significant effects on FWF, with nectarivores and marine species exhibiting higher values than granivores and forest birds. Thus, FMR and FWF are affected similarly by body size and differently by environmental temperature and precipitation, while the roles of diet, life‐history traits and habitat are more nuanced and generalities remain elusive. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Chapter 8: Biophysical Characterization and the Development of Therapeutic Proteins

During the formulation and development of therapeutic proteins, a thorough understanding of their structure and stability is essential. In this chapter, we discuss the most common methods used for this purpose and their individual advantages and disadvantages. This discussion is organized in terms of levels of structure (primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary including aggregation). Special attention is given to peptide mapping, circular dichroism, infrared and Fourier transform methods, ultraviolet absorbance, intrinsic and extrinsic fluorescence, and dynamic and static light scattering. Brief discussions concerning micro-flow imaging, nanoparticle tracking analysis, analytical ultracentrifugation, micro-calorimetry and hydrogen/deuterium exchange, and viscosity measurements are also included. Detailed examples are illustrated in figures and their legends.
Abstract P5-12-03: Socio-demographic differences in utilization of genomic testing and receipt of endocrine therapy in the National Cancer Database

Background & Objectives Breast cancer outcome disparities for racial and ethnic minorities continues to be a problem in the United States. Genomic testing in early stage hormone positive breast cancer is the current standard of care given the useful predictive and prognostic value of testing. However, chemotherapy treatment decisions based on genomic testing results are predicated on the assumption that patient adhere to adjuvant endocrine treatment. Factors that could contribute to ongoing disparities for racial and ethnic minorities include both the utilization of genomic testing and adherence to hormonal therapy. Understanding these patterns of care across the United States with a large dataset has not yet been done. Methods We analyzed a cohort from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) of 387,008 female patients diagnosed with Stage I-II, ER+ breast cancer between 2010 and 2014. Demographic variables included age, race, ethnicity, insurance status, income, education, Charlson-Deyo comorbidity score. Clinicopathologic and treatment variables included tumor grade, histology, receptor status, facility type, delivery of treatment at >1 facility and receipt of genomic testing. Descriptive statistics using chi-square testing were computed to describe patient, tumor and treatment characteristics. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds of genomic testing and receipt of hormone therapy among patients who did or did not receive genomic testing. Results Among a total sample size of 387,008, median age was 63 years old, majority white (87%), non-Hispanic (95.4%), without co-morbidities (88%). A total of 147,863 (38.2%) patients underwent genomic testing. Compared to patients with ages 18- Citation Format: Naomi Y Ko, Mustafa Q Muhammad, Michael R Cassidy, Lauren Oshry, Ariel E Hirsch. Socio-demographic differences in utilization of genomic testing and receipt of endocrine therapy in the National Cancer Database [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2019 Dec 10-14; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-12-03.