cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transplantation for cystic fibrosis: Effect on the skeleton

Publisher Summary Cystic fibrosis (CF) occurs because of a mutation in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein, which is a chloride channel found in epithelial tissues in the lungs, pancreas, gastrointestinal tract, and skin. CFTR modulates the transport of salt and water across these epithelia. Mutations in CFTR lead to changes in the viscosity and hydration of epithelial tissue lining fluid leading to alterations in host defense in the respiratory tract and ultimately resulting in respiratory failure early in life. The origin of the bone disease in CF is poorly understood and probably multifactorial. Important contributing factors include malnutrition and poor growth, pancreatic insufficiency, vitamin D insufficiency, deficiency of sex hormones, inflammatory cytokines, and glucocorticoids therapy. Chronic pulmonary inflammation increases serum cytokine levels, which probably augment bone resorption and suppress bone formation. Decreased bone mineral density (BMD) resulting from these factors can lead to pathological fractures and kyphosis decades earlier than seen in the general population. The multifaceted nature of bone disease in CF makes it a particularly difficult problem to manage. Prevention, early recognition, and treatment are the most effective strategies for sustaining bone health to help maintain the quality of life of many CF patients.
Introduction: Embryonic Beginnings

Palko offers a summary of the literary connections between Irish and Caribbean literatures. She develops a controlling metaphor of the placenta, drawing on the work of Luce Irigaray and Helene Rouch. This conceptualization of the placenta as a “third space” opens up intriguing possibilities for developing a metaphorical understanding of the reciprocal nature of influence between Irish and Caribbean literatures. The placenta functions as a mediator between two intimately connected but ultimately individual beings who maintain autonomous integrity. The placenta privileges neither one nor the other, the survival and even thriving of each being its objective. This image works to concretize the echoings of maternal explorations between the two literatures and addresses the interpersonal relationships formed by and the gendered nature of the postcolonial experience.
Routing optimization for DTN-based space networks using a temporal graph model

Interplanetary Networks (IPN) are classified among challenged networks and hence are hard to model using static graphs. Furthermore, they do not behave optimally when operated using the standards and techniques of static networks. Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) is one of the suggested solutions to overcome these networks' challenges. The more widely used implementation of DTN uses Contact Graph Routing (CGR) to find the path from source to destination. In this paper, we identify the shortcoming of CGR that results from overlooking the future contacts and propose the Earliest Arrival Optimal Delivery Ratio (EAODR) Routing that examines all the paths both with the desired earliest departure time and in the future in order to choose the earliest arrival path from a given node. EAODR finds the route that delivers the exchanged message (a.k.a. bundle) at most at the same time as CGR's route. We propose a Modified Temporal Graph (MTG) model that provides a near-real-time representation of the deterministic dynamic networks. We base EAODR routing algorithm on the MTG model. Our results show that we can reduce the delay by 12.9% compared to CGR when we apply our algorithm to over 50 combinations of bundle sizes and transmission times.
Planning Military Drinking Water Needs: Development of a User-Friendly Smart Device Application

ABSTRACTPotable water is essential to maintain health and sustain military operations, but carrying and transporting water is a major logistical burden. Planning for group drinking water needs is complex, requiring understanding of sweat losses on the basis of intensity of activity, clothing biophysical parameters, and environmental conditions. Use of existing prediction equations is limited to tabled doctrine (e.g., Technical Bulletin, Medical 507) or to individuals with extensive expertise in thermal biophysics. In the present project, we translated the latest updated equations into a user-friendly Android application (Soldier Water Estimation Tool, SWET) that provides estimated drinking water required from 5 simple inputs based upon a detailed multiparametric sensitivity analysis. Users select from multiple choice inputs for activity level, clothing, and cloud cover, and manually enter exact values for temperature and relative humidity. Total drinking water needs for a unit are estimated in the Mission...
Combining SMAP and Sentinel data for high-resolution Soil Moisture product

This presentation illustrates and discusses the possibility of SMAP-Sentinel combined product for the recovery phase of the SMAP mission post radar failure. Initial assessment and results are preliminary and show great promise.
A Historical Theory of Reasons

Thinking about appropriate concession has a history. Suppose a childless young woman is competing for a job with a young man who has a family to support. In an earlier era, many Americans would have agreed that fairness – appropriate concession in the relevant cooperative contexts – required that the job be given to the young man, provided he could do it at all. In contemporary American society, fewer would say this. How are we to understand changes like this in generally accepted views about what is required by fairness or the other central values of the morality of reciprocal concern? It is important to appreciate the full dimension of the change. It has not simply been a change in the behavior of employers. Social changes of other kinds, for example, changes in the understanding of what constitutes a fair division of labor between a man and a woman cooperating to maintain a household, have also played a part. Changed ideas about what constitutes a good life for a woman have been important as well. In Chapter 1, it was suggested that objective conceptions of human well-being can play a role in thinking about whether there is a disparity of concession in a particular cooperative undertaking, and if so, how great it is. It is now more widely accepted that a good life for a woman, objectively understood, will involve work outside the home. It is also more widely accepted that a good life for a man with children will involve active parenting. Changes in thinking about a variety of further moral and evaluative issues have, then, contributed to the changed understanding of what fairness requires when an employer is confronted with the choice described. This change has led to legal changes, which may themselves have prompted changes in the moral thinking of some people. In the case we are considering, then, change in the understanding of what constitutes appropriate concession has been a complex conceptual and social process with many interconnected parts. In Chapter 1, I proposed a constructivist account of judgments of fairness and unfairness. On that account, the fact that thinking about fairness has a history means that fairness itself has a history. The ways of organizing cooperation that are required by fairness now may not have been required by fairness in the past, and vice versa.
Pegfilgrastim Versus Filgrastim To Accelerate Hematopoietic Recovery after High Dose Melphalan and Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant (ASCT) for Multiple Myeloma.

Abstract High-dose melphalan followed by ASCT is a common component of the early treatment for patients with multiple myeloma. Daily subcutaneous injections of filgrastim (Neupogen) at 5 ug/kg/day until ANC > 500/ul are routinely administered at our center from day +4 following ASCT, in order to accelerate hematopoietic recovery and lessen neutropenic complications. Pegfilgrastim (Neulasta) as a single 6 mg fixed dose subcutaneous injection has been shown to have similar efficacy and ease of use when compared to filgrastim in the non-transplant setting, but little data is available in the transplant setting. We began using pegfilgrastim day +1 following ASCT for patients with multiple myeloma and performed a retrospective cohort study comparing those who received filgrastim (n=6) with those who received pegfilgrastim (n=11). Transplants occurred between July 2002 and January 2004 and included all patients transplanted for myeloma in that time period for whom sufficient data was available. All patients had at least 2 x 106 CD34+ cells/kg peripheral stem cells harvested after cytoxan and filgrastim mobilization. Main outcome measures were: days from stem cell infusion to WBC nadir, days to ANC>500/ul, and days to ANC>1000/ul. Subjects were excluded if CBCs were drawn less frequently than every four days. There were no significant differences between the filgrastim and pegfilgrastim groups with respect to the following demographic variables: age, gender, hemoglobin, creatinine, calcium, albumin and beta-2 microglobulin at diagnosis. The groups were also balanced with respect to SPEP, UPEP, presence of lytic lesions and number of prior lines of therapy. The median number of CD34+ cells infused was similar: 5.7 x 106 in the filgrastim group vs 4.8 x 106 in the pegfilgrastim group (p=0.28). After transplant, median number of days to WBC nadir in the filgrastim group (FG) was 7 (range 5–9) vs 6 (range 5–8) in the pegfilgrastim group (PG) (p=0.31). However, median number of days to ANC>500/ul in the FG was 11.5 (range 11–17) vs 10 (range 9–12) for PG (p=0.02). Similarly, median number of days to ANC>1000/ul was 12 (range 11–17) for FG vs 11 (range 10–13) for PG (p=0.03). Five of six patients in the FG had neutropenic fever after transplant, compared to five of eleven patients in the PG (p=0.30). Currently, no significant differences in infection or relapse rates between groups have been noted and there were no deaths in either group. In this retrospective cohort study, pegfilgrastim was safe and at least equivalent to filgrastim for accelerating hematopoiesis after ASCT for multiple myeloma. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the incidence of neutropenic fever, infection and survival, suggesting a similar clinical utility.
Skeletal Fluorosis Due to Fluorocarbon Inhalation from an Air Dust Cleaner.

Skeletal fluorosis (SF) is an osteosclerotic metabolic bone disorder caused by excessive ingestion or inhalation of fluoride. SF is extremely rare in developed countries. We report a case of SF due to inhalational abuse from a fluoride-containing air dust cleaner. A 33-year-old man with no past medical history presented with progressively worsening low back pain for 2 years. Physical examination was notable for loss of lumbar lordosis and tenderness over the lumbar spine. Radiographs were notable for uniform generalized osteosclerosis in the long bones, entire spine, rib cage, and pelvic bones, and loss of the normal lumbar curvature. DXA scan showed Z-scores of +10.7 at the lumbar spine, +6.5 at the total hip, and +1.0 at the 1/3 radius. Laboratory studies were notable for elevated serum alkaline phosphatase (334 U/L, ref: 40–129 U/L) compared to a normal value 3 years prior, suggesting acquired osteosclerosis. Serum fluoride concentration returned elevated (2.8 mg/L, ref: 0.0–0.2 mg/L). Initially, the source of fluoride excess could not be identified. At a follow-up visit, he was found inhaling from a can of an air duster hidden in an inner pocket. He admitted “huffing” 2–7 cans weekly from a fluorocarbon-containing air dust cleaner for the past 3 years to achieve a euphoric feeling, explaining the source of his SF. Fluoride inhalation can be a potential source for SF, and should be suspected in patients with acquired osteosclerosis, as inhalant abuse is increasingly practiced in many countries.
The effect of thermomechanical processing on second phase particle redistribution in U-10 wt%Mo

Abstract The multi-pass hot-rolling process of an annealed uranium–10 wt% molybdenum (U10Mo) coupon was studied by plane-strain compression finite element modeling. As-cast U10Mo typically contains second phase particles such as uranium carbides (UC) and silicides along the grain boundaries. The volume fraction of UC is typically large, while the other phases can be redissolved in the matrix by certain heat treatments. The UC particle distribution is important due to its influence on the recrystallization processes (particle stimulated nucleation) that occur during annealing between rolling passes. Unfavorable particle distribution and fracture after rolling can affect the grain size and also influence the fuel performance in the reactor. A statistical method, i.e., the two-point correlation function (2PCF), was used to analyze the carbide particle distribution after each rolling reduction. The hot rolling simulation results show that the alignment of UC particles along grain boundaries will rotate during rolling until it is parallel to the rolling direction, to form stringer-like distributions which are typically observed in rolled products that contain inclusions. 2PCF analysis shows that the interparticle spacing shrinks along the normal direction (ND) and increases along the rolling direction (RD). The simulated particle distribution is very similar to that measured experimentally for similar rolling reductions. The magnitudes of major peaks of 2PCF along the ND decrease after large reduction. The locations of major peaks indicate the inter-stringer distances. Many more small peaks appear for the 2PCF along the RD, and this is related to the neighboring particles within stringers, which are along the RD.
Scalable Stamp Printing and Fabrication of Hemiwicking Surfaces

Hemiwicking is a process where a fluid wets a patterned surface beyond its normal wetting length due to a combination of capillary action and imbibition. This wetting phenomenon is important in many technical fields ranging from physiology to aerospace engineering. Currently, several different techniques exist for fabricating hemiwicking structures. These conventional methods, however, are often time consuming and are difficult to scale-up for large areas or are difficult to customize for specific, nonhomogeneous patterning geometries. The presented protocol provides researchers with a simple, scalable, and cost-effective method for fabricating micro-patterned hemiwicking surfaces. The method fabricates wicking structures through the use of stamp printing, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) molding, and thin-film surface coatings. The protocol is demonstrated for hemiwicking with ethanol on PDMS micropillar arrays coated with a 70 nm thick aluminum thin-film.
Health Perceptions, Stroke Risk, and Readiness for Behavior Change: Gender Differences in Young Adult African Americans.

The presence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors has increased among young African American (AA) adults, making them more susceptible to stroke. We examined baseline data from the Stroke COunseling for Risk REduction (SCORRE) study to describe health perceptions, stroke risk, and readiness for behavior change along with gender differences in a cohort of young AA. Self-administered questionnaires were used to assess perceptions of general health, stroke risk, competence to live a healthy lifestyle, and readiness for behavior change. Actual stroke risk was measured using the American Heart Association (AHA) Life’s Simple 7® (LS7) program. Data were collected from 116 participants (86 women, 30 men) who had a mean age of 24.6 (SD = 4.5). On average, participants had 2.6 (SD = 1.1) out of 7 risk factors for stroke, rated their overall health at the midpoint of the scale (“good”), perceived a low risk of future stroke, felt competent they could live a healthy lifestyle, but were not at a stage of readiness for behavior change. A significantly higher proportion of men than women met AHA recommendations for physical activity (77% vs. 49%; p 120/80 (70% vs. 34%; p < 0.01), and smoked cigarettes/cigars (20% vs. 2%; p < 0.01). Fewer men than women were at a stage of readiness for behavior change to reduce stroke risk (13% vs. 40%; p < 0.01). Stroke risk needs to be assessed early in AA and the LS7 can be used to assess and communicate risk. Understanding gender differences may help with tailoring stroke prevention education and treatment programs.
Considerations for implementing culturally grounded trauma-informed child welfare services: recommendations for working with American Indian/Alaska Native populations

Cultural humility in trauma informed practice is of paramount importance when working with underserved minority populations. Societal structures and systems of oppression, such as disproportionate ...
Lightweight TiC-(Fe-Al) ceramic-metal composites made in situ by pressureless melt infiltration

Lightweight ceramic–metal (cermet) composites combine stiffness and hardness with fracture toughness and ductility. TiC and Al are ideal pairs among lightweight cermet composites because of their relatively high strength-to-weight ratios, but these materials are hard to process in solid state or with Al melt infiltration without making an aluminum carbide phase, which is detrimental to mechanical properties. In this research, Fe is added to a TiC powder preform to reduce the activity of Al with TiC during Al melt infiltration and to aid in pressing TiC preforms, making a lightweight TiC–(Fe–Al) composite while avoiding other, unwanted phases. The composites are made by first pressing TiC powder mixed with Fe followed by Al melt infiltration; the result is a composite with high TiC content in a two-phase matrix, both of which are Fe–Al-based. The composite has low density, low porosity, high hardness, no detectable Al4C3 phase with X-ray diffraction and retains shape well during infiltration.
Linkages between Extreme Precipitation Events in the Central and Eastern United States and Rossby Wave Breaking

AbstractLinkages between extreme precipitation events (EPEs) in the central and eastern United States and synoptic-scale Rossby wave breaking are investigated using 1979–2015 climatologies of EPEs ...
Use of Microbeads for Cell Transplantation

Transplantation of isolated hepatocytes and other animal cells have many potential therapeutic and investigative applications. Liver cell transplantation, if successful in man, could be used in managing acute liver failure, which at this time carries dismal prognosis. It could also possibly be used for replacement of specific deficient liver functions in inherited liver diseases. Finally, hepatocytes or other transplanted cells may have potential application as vehicles for somatic gene therapy.
Contributions, challenges, and emerging patterns of short-term missions:

It was not until the last decade that missiologists placed the short-term missions (STM) movement at the center of their research. As the initial wave of STM scholarship surfaced, research centered...
Abstract D001: Can small area estimates explain variation in cancer outcomes? 500 cities’ tobacco use estimates and prostate cancer mortality in Philadelphia

Background: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in U.S. men, and racial disparities in incidence and mortality persist. Tobacco use has been associated with aggressive histologic grade and mortality; however, population-based cancer registries have limited data on lifetime tobacco use or SHS exposure. Community-level small-area estimates calculated from individual-level survey data offer a useful tool for understanding neighborhood effects, and estimating individual behaviors when direct observation is not feasible. Methods: This project used data on all 2005-2014 incident prostate cancer cases in Philadelphia, a city with high burden from both tobacco use and poverty. Using multi-level models, the odds of death from prostate cancer were estimated in relation to individual case characteristics (age, race, year of diagnosis, and tumor histologic grade) and Census tract-level estimates of tobacco use, using CDC’s 500 Cities small area estimates. Mediation analyses were used to examine whether tobacco use plays a role in the relationship between race and both aggressive histologic grade and prostate cancer related mortality. Results: From 2005-2014, 6% of the 10621 cases died from prostate cancer. Cases residing in Census tracts with higher estimated proportion of adults who smoke were more likely to have aggressive grade tumors, and more likely to die from their cancer. Analyses revealed that aggressive grade partially mediated the relationship between tobacco use and cancer death, and that tobacco use partially mediated the relationship between black race and cancer death. Conclusions: Findings support the utility of small area estimates for investigating area-level influences in exploratory studies. Citation Format: Ann C Klassen, Russell McIntyre, Maxwell Boamah, Scott Keith, Loni Tabb, Charnita Ziegler-Johnson. Can small area estimates explain variation in cancer outcomes? 500 cities’ tobacco use estimates and prostate cancer mortality in Philadelphia [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr D001.
Value Cards: An Educational Toolkit for Teaching Social Impacts of Machine Learning through Deliberation

Recently, there have been increasing calls for computer science curricula to complement existing technical training with topics related to Fairness, Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics. In this paper, we present Value Card, an educational toolkit to inform students and practitioners of the social impacts of different machine learning models via deliberation. This paper presents an early use of our approach in a college-level computer science course. Through an in-class activity, we report empirical data for the initial effectiveness of our approach. Our results suggest that the use of the Value Cards toolkit can improve students' understanding of both the technical definitions and trade-offs of performance metrics and apply them in real-world contexts, help them recognize the significance of considering diverse social values in the development of deployment of algorithmic systems, and enable them to communicate, negotiate and synthesize the perspectives of diverse stakeholders. Our study also demonstrates a number of caveats we need to consider when using the different variants of the Value Cards toolkit. Finally, we discuss the challenges as well as future applications of our approach.
The Replicator and the First Amendment

As 3D printing technology improves, the theoretical endpoint comes into view: a machine that, like the “replicators” of Star Trek, can produce anything the user asks for out of thin air from a digital blueprint. Real-life technology may never reach that endpoint, but our progress toward it has accelerated sharply over the past few years — sharply enough, indeed, for legal scholars to weigh in on the phenomenon’s disruptive potential in areas ranging from intellectual property to gun rights.This paper is concerned with the First Amendment status of the digital blueprints. As of August 2014, it is the first law review article to address the intersection of 3D printing with free speech beyond the specific context of 3D-printed guns. I show that as “replicator” technologies pick up, the distribution of digital blueprints will begin to replace the distribution of goods as a central regulatory concern. This transition, in turn, will inspire First Amendment challenges to efforts by the government to restrain or penalize the distribution of the files. A handgun licensing law, for instance, might be said to violate the First Amendment prohibition against prior restraints if it were applied against a digital blueprint’s “informational” content.Such arguments should fail, and fail badly, in most situations. Indeed they will have to, lest free speech become a wide Lochner-esque freedom to manufacture. Instead, I will argue that the “informational” appearance of a digital blueprint is constitutionally irrelevant, and that the First Amendment should not even come into play absent some extrinsic reason to think that the digital blueprint is being used for an expressive purpose. The presence of a digital blueprint in a fact pattern, in other words, should not in itself affect the First Amendment analysis either positively or negatively. I nonetheless express some skepticism, drawing on turn-of-the-century case law on software and recent case law on medical data, that the Supreme Court will maintain this attitude of equanimity with perfect consistency.
The Impact on the Marital Deduction of Expenses Chargeable to Post-Mortem Income: Does United States v. Stapf Answer the Question?

During the 1996-97 term, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Estate of Hubert v. Commissioner, which concerns issues of extreme importance to estate tax practitioners. The Court granted certiorari in Hubert to resolve a split of authority among the circuits regarding whether administration expenses allocable to post mortem income reduce the marital deduction. Since the tax court first adopted the pro-taxpayer position endorsed by the Eleventh Circuit in Hubert, commentators have been analyzing, supporting and justifying the tax court's position. This article uses the Court's reasoning in United States v. Stapf to predict the Court's resolution of the issues raised in Hubert.
Personal Achievement Skills for Individuals with Visual Impairments

Describes the Personal Achievement Skills training package that has been adapted for visually impaired persons. Presents evidence that such training can help visually impaired persons achieve highe...
Using the Psychiatry Resident-In-Training Examination (PRITE) to Assess the Psychiatry Medical Knowledge Milestones in Psychiatry

Objective The introduction of the Milestone Project underscored the need for objective assessments of resident progress across the competencies. Therefore, the authors examined the Psychiatry Resident-In-Training Examination (PRITE) utility for measuring improvements in medical knowledge (MK). Methods The authors compared the mean performance for each MK subcompetency by resident year for all residents taking the PRITE from 2015 to 2017 (18,175 examination administrations). In addition, they surveyed psychiatry residency program directors regarding how well they thought they teach these subcompetencies. Results Increases in MK subcompetencies by resident year were significant for Psychopathology (p Conclusions The PRITE measured significant improvements in medical knowledge for several of the core subcompetencies. The program director's responses would suggest that the lack of statistically significant differences found for Development and Clinical Neuroscience reflects areas in need of curricular development. The disparity between PRITE performance and program director perception of the Practice of Psychiatry subcompetency may reflect difficulties in defining the scope of this subcompetency. Overall, this suggests that structured examinations help measure improvements in certain subcompetencies and may also help identify curricular needs. However, there may be potential problems with the definition of some subcompetencies.
An Off-Road Terrain Dataset Including Images Labeled With Measures Of Terrain Roughness

This paper describes the structure and functionality of a dataset designed to enable autonomous vehicles to learn about off-road terrain using a single monocular image. This dataset includes over 12,000 images of off-road terrain and the corresponding sensor data from a global positioning system (GPS), inertial measurement units (IMUs), and a wheel rotation speed sensor. The paper also describes and empirically evaluates eight roughness labeling schemas derived from IMU z-axis acceleration for labeling the images in our dataset. These roughness labels can be used for training deep learning models to detect terrain roughness.
Demographic and developmental patterns in telomere length across adolescence

Telomere length is often used in studies of adults as a biomarker of cellular aging and an indicator of stress exposure. However, we know little about how telomeres change over time, particularly over the course of the important developmental period of adolescence. We use data on telomere length collected at two points in time spanning adolescence (Years 9 and 15) from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine longitudinal patterns (n = 1,654) in telomere length. We find a quantitatively small but significant average lengthening in telomere length across adolescence and little evidence of associations between telomere length and pubertal development.
Dietary supplements, cytochrome metabolism, and pharmacogenetic considerations.

Dietary supplement use has continued to rise. In addition to supplement-drug interactions, it is prudent to consider how dietary supplements may interact with a patient’s specific pharmacogenetics. Variations in genes associated with CYP 450 enzymes have evidence of impacting drug metabolism and adverse effects. This research was performed to evaluate CYP P450 enzyme activity of the top 15 dietary supplements used in the USA in order to initiate pharmacogenetic considerations specific to commonly used dietary supplements. The most common dietary supplements used in the USA were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Primary literature detailing supplement CYP P450 activity was compiled from PubMed using MeSH search terms: supplement name(s), cytochrome P450 enzymes, metabolism, and pharmacokinetics. Additional resources utilized for documented CYP enzyme genotypes were the pharmacogenetic databases from Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium and The Pharmacogenomic Variation Consortium. Of the 15 most common dietary supplements used in the USA, 53% (cranberry, echinacea, garlic, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, melatonin, milk thistle, and valerian) exhibit CYP P450 metabolism, with some having possible induction activity as well. Melatonin and garlic are substrates of CYP1A2 and CYP2C19, respectively. Additionally, there is evidence of echinacea having possible CYP3A4 induction activity. CYP P450 activity is an important consideration for any patient but becomes increasingly critical if patients have certain CYP P450 phenotypes that impact metabolism. These popular supplements have the potential for changes in supplement exposure, and adverse effects based on pharmacogenetic profiles. Furthermore, these sites of metabolism are shared with many medications, setting the stage for possibly more profound interactions between medications and supplements. This paper highlights the mechanisms in which dietary supplements may constitute a risk for patients with certain CYP P450 phenotypes. Further research is needed in the area of dietary supplements and their pharmacogenomic implications.
California Water Law and Its Economic Effects on Southern California

Many economic studies have examined the economic effects of water law. These studies tend to cover much of the same ground and to arrive at rather parallel conclusions. It would serve little purpose therefore to tread that same ground here and to present another detailed examination of California water law and its economic effects. This paper eschews such an effort and confines itself to summarizing other studies that describe the salient features of California water law.1 Those studies generally attribute at least part of the blame for observed inefficiencies in water use to water law and its rigidities. This paper takes an entirely different tack in that it attempts to explain why existing water law is unequal to the task of directing water to its most valuable uses.It concludes that water law, as someone said about Christianity, is a wonderful system; what a pity that is has never been used! It concludes further that the reason that water law is not used to resolve water disputes is found in extra-legal considerations. The reasons for the inability of water law to resolve disputes can be analyzed most conveniently by the method of analysis developed in the contemporary theory of the economics of bureaucracy, or in the closely aligned field known as public choice.
Inhibition of γ-Glutamyl Transpeptidase Activity by Acivicin in Vivo Protects the Kidney from Cisplatin-induced Toxicity

Abstract Cisplatin [ cis -dichlorodiammineplatinum(II)] is a widely used chemotherapeutic drug that is toxic to the proximal tubule cells of the kidney. γ-Glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) is localized to the luminal surface of the renal proximal tubules. GGT catalyzes the initial step in the metabolism of glutathione-conjugated drugs to mercapturic acids, some of which are severely nephrotoxic. We proposed that the nephrotoxicity of cisplatin was dependent on the cleavage of a cisplatin-glutathione conjugate by GGT. To test this hypothesis, renal GGT activity was blocked in male Sprague-Dawley rats by acivicin, a non-competitive inhibitor of GGT. Treatment with cisplatin alone caused extensive acute necrosis of the proximal tubules, but the proximal tubule cells appeared normal in rats treated with acivicin prior to cisplatin. Blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine levels confirmed the protective effect of acivicin. Glutathione is a physiological substrate for GGT. Administration of an 83-fold excess of glutathione 30 min prior to cisplatin also inhibited cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. These data provide important new evidence that a large bolus of glutathione blocks the nephrotoxicity of cisplatin by competitively inhibiting GGT. These results indicate that cisplatin is conjugated to glutathione in vivo . The platinum-glutathione conjugate is nontoxic until metabolized by the proximal tubule cells. Formation of the nephrotoxic derivative of cisplatin requires GGT activity.
Modified Selective and Differential Isolation Medium for Vibrio parahaemolyticus

The semiselective salt-starch-agar formulation of Baross and Liston was modified as the result of a systematic study of the effect of each constituent on the growth of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and competitive species characteristic of the marine environment. The selection of nutrient constituents depended on an analysis of their effect on generation time. The addition of inhibitors depended on an analysis of minimal inhibitory concentrations. The modified formulation included: peptone, 2.0%; yeast extract, 0.2%; corn starch, 0.5%; NaCl, 3.0%; agar, 1.5% (pH 8.0). Penicillin at 2 to 5 units/ml increased selectivity without significantly inhibiting Vibrio in pure suspensions. Over 62% of the most sensitive strain (YM-K33) was recovered at a concentration of 5 units of penicillin per ml. The per cent recovery of V. parahaemolyticus from fish homogenate compared favorably with other selective formulations. At an initial concentration of 105 cells/ml, recovery varied with the strain used from 60 to 119%, whereas at 102 cells/ml the range was 36 to 94%. Applications of the medium for Vibrio quantification are discussed.
Another round of fraternity membership and binge drinking

This paper describes a successful attempt to replicate DeSimone [5] which investigates the effect of fraternity membership on binge drinking using both probit and interval regression models. We encountered software-related difficulties that hampered our repl ication effort, though ultimately we showed that DeSimone’s published results are replicable. This is due to default settings in Stata that correctly identify the problem of complete separation, in which the maximum likelihood estimator does not exist. Other statistical packages, such as R, do not recognize the complete separation problem and do not automatically remove the observations before estimation. This poses several econometric obstacles for replication. Without prior knowledge of which observations Stata drops from the probit regression, inconsistencies between the samples used for the probit and interval regression models would arise, regardless of which software package is used. Second, when attempting replication in a program, such as the GLM function in R, that does not automatically remove the necessary observations, one will not be able to exactly duplicate the results due to a sample that is not identical to the one use d for estimation by Stata. Thus, without knowledge of which observations are dropped, precise replication would be impossible. Therefore, we advocate the benefits of data/code archives in facilitating accurate verification of published results. We find that once the correct sample is obtained we are able to ide ntically replicate the paper. It should be noted that the results are qualitatively identical, regard less of which sample size or software package is used.
Peer-to-Peer Systems

Peer to peer systems are bringing Windows-based computers onto the Internet as full participants. Peer to peer systems utilize the connectivity and capacity to share resources offered by the Internet without being bound by the constraints imposed by the domain name system. Peer to peer (P2P) systems are so named because each computer has the same software as the other—every computer is a peer. In contrast, an application on a server is far more powerful than the client that accesses the server. Peer computers are fundamentally equals. In the history of the network, computation has cycled, from distributed on the desktop to concentrated in one centralized location. Peer to peer systems are at the decentralized end of the continuum. P2P systems utilize the processing power or data storage capacities at the end points of the Internet. The fundamental basis of P2P is cooperation. Therefore P2P systems require trust. Cooperation is required to share any resource, whether it be two children splitting chocolate cake or two million people sharing files. Discussions of P2P therefore require some discussion of trust and security. P2P systems are powerful because they are able to leverage computers that are not consistently identified by domain name or IP address, are not always connected to the network, have highly variable processing power when connected, and are not designed to have particular server capabilities other than that provided by the peering network. The systems are built to withstand high uncertainty and therefore can accept contributions from anyone with a connection, even a modem. After considering the generic issues of P2P systems specific systems are described: Napster, SETI @home, Gnutella, Freenet, Publius, and Kazaa. Limewire and Morpheus are implementations of Gnutella. Rougher introductions are provided for commercial peer to peer systems Groove and Tenix. The specific systems are used to illustrate problems of coordination and trust. Coordination includes naming and searching. Trust includes security, privacy, and accountability (J. L. Camp, 2001). Keywords: client; client/server; domain name system; metadata; node; peers; server
Parental support and high school students' motivation in biology, chemistry, and physics: Understanding differences among latino and caucasian boys and girls

Individuals are at an increased risk to drop out of the STEM pipeline if they are female or Latino, and during certain periods including high school. Families are a potential untapped resource of support for high school students. Based on the expectancy-value model, we examined if a variety of parental behaviors predicted students' ability self-concepts in and value they placed on biology, chemistry, and physics. Self-report surveys were collected from 988 9th grade Latino boys, Latina girls, Caucasian boys, and Caucasian girls. The findings suggest that, as early as the beginning of high school, students hold different motivational beliefs for biology, chemistry, and physics. Caucasian boys reported higher parental behaviors and motivational beliefs compared to Latino boys, Latina girls, and Caucasian girls. Latina girls reported the lowest parental behaviors and motivational beliefs. Parent education and Spanish language use partially explained some of these differences suggesting ethnic differences are in part due to differences among Caucasians and Latinos on parent education and language use. Parents' positivity, co-activity and school-focused behaviors predicted higher adolescent ability self-concepts and importance values in all three sciences for all adolescents in this study. Parents can support adolescents in science through a variety of behaviors at home. Many of these behaviors do not require parents to be science experts and thus may be attainable for a range of families. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 52: 1386–1407, 2015.
Diagnostic characteristics of sinonasal organizing hematomas: avoiding misdiagnosis

Background Organizing hematomas of the paranasal sinuses are diagnostic dilemmas clinically and radiographically, mimicking benign or malignant neoplastic processes and causing patients and clinicians undue worry regarding these diagnoses. Diagnostic criteria for correctly identifying these lesions are not well known. Methods A retrospective case series of 7 patients with sinonasal organizing hematoma was studied. Radiographic imaging, clinical characteristics, and pathology were reviewed for new insights. Results Three patients presented with a primary complaint of epistaxis, 4 had masses visible on nasal endoscopy, and 2 had vascular malformations or small hemangiomas adjacent to the mass found on final pathology. Biopsy of these masses were consistently nondiagnostic prior to complete resection. The most diagnostic findings were “shells” of T2 hypointensity on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) surrounding the lobules of each of the masses. These correspond to rims of fibrosis at the periphery of the lobules on pathology. Areas of fresh hemorrhage are located at the center of these lobules. Conclusion Sinonasal organizing hematomas are rare lesions of the paranasal sinuses whose clinical characteristics lead to misdiagnoses of benign or malignant neoplasms. Endoscopy, preoperative biopsy, and computed tomography (CT) imaging do not lend helpful information in differentiating these lesions from more worrisome neoplastic processes. However, MRI can lead to positive diagnosis by recognizing the distinct outer rims of T2 hypointensity typically seen in these lesions.
Polypharmacy in nursing home residents in the United States: Results of the 2004 National Nursing Home Survey

Background: Despite the need for and benefits of medications, polypharmacy (defined here as concurrent use of ≥9 medications) in nursing home residents is a concern. As the number of medications taken increases, so does the risk for adverse events. Monitoring polypharmacy in this population is important and can improve the quality of nursing home care. Objectives: The aims of this article were to estimate the use of polypharmacy in residents of nursing homes in the United States, to examine the associations between select resident and facility characteristics and polypharmacy, and to determine the leading therapeutic subclasses included in the polypharmacy received by these nursing home residents. Methods: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study of a nationally representative sample of US nursing home residents in 2004; the outcome was use of polypharmacy. The 2004 National Nursing Home Survey was used to collect medication data and other resident and facility information. Resident characteristics included age, sex, race, primary payment source, number of comorbidities, number of activities of daily living (ADLs) for which the resident required assistance, and length of stay (LOS) since admission. Facility characteristics included ownership and size (number of beds). Results: Of 13,507 nursing home residents who received care, 13,403 had valid responses for all 9 independent variables in the analyses. The prevalence of polypharmacy among nursing home residents in 2004 was ~40%. A multiple regression model controlling for resident and facility factors revealed that the odds of receiving polypharmacy were higher for residents who were female (odds ratio [OR] = 1.10; 95% CI, 1.00–1.20), were white, had Medicaid as a primary payer, had >3 comorbidities (OR = 1.57–5.18; 95% CI, 1.36–6.15), needed assistance with <4 ADLs, had an LOS since admission of 3 to <6 months (OR = 1.25; 95% CI, 1.04–1.50), and received care in a small, not- for-profit facility (data not shown for reference levels [OR = 1.00]). The most frequently reported medications for residents who received polypharmacy included gastrointestinal agents (laxatives, 47.5%; agents for acid/peptic disorders, 43.3%), drugs that affect the central nervous system (antidepressants, 46.3%; antipsychotics or antimanics, 25.9%), and pain relievers (nonnarcotic analgesics, 43.6%; antipyretics, 41.2%; antiarthritics, 31.2%). Conclusions: Despite awareness of polypharmacy and its potential consequences in older patients, results of our analysis suggest that polypharmacy remains widespread in US nursing homes. Although complex medication regimens are often necessary for nursing home residents, monitoring polypharmacy and its consequences may improve the quality of nursing home care and reduce unnecessary health care spending related to adverse events.
Molecular cloning and initial characterization of African green monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops) corticotropin releasing factor receptor type 1 (CRF1) from COS-7 cells.

Abstract We report the expression of endogenous CRF1 in COS-7 cells (African green monkey origin). Cloning of the coding region of CRF1 gene identified three alternatively spliced isoforms with nucleotide and predicted amino acid sequences corresponding to the membrane bound α and c and soluble e isoforms. DNA sequencing of the main isoform CRF1α showed homologies of 99%, 97% and 91% with the rhesus monkey, human and rodent genes, respectively; the deduced protein sequence differed in only one amino acid with rhesus monkey and human. Western blot analysis with antibodies against human CRF1 demonstrated immunoreactive proteins with MW of 37, 52, 70 and 80–85 in crude membrane or cytoplasm preparation; two additional species of 40 and 60 kDa were detected only in the cytoplasmic fraction. On immunocytochemistry CRF1 was localized to both the cell surface and intracellularly. The receptor was functional, e.g., addition of CRF to COS-7 cells inhibited cell proliferation and stimulated release of arachidonic acid; nevertheless, it was poorly coupled to cAMP production (its stimulation was minimal in native cells). In conclusion, COS cells that are routinely used for the study of transfected CRF receptors do express endogenous CRF1 mRNA with splicing behavior similar to that reported in human and rodent cells, and translated into functional CRF1 receptors.
Numerical Simulation of Local Temperature Distortions During Ice Nucleation of Cells in Suspension.

Knowledge of intercellular ice formation in cells embedded in an extra-cellular suspension is essential for effective design of freezing protocols. The presence of cell membrane causes super-cooling of the intra-cellular region, which nucleates at much lower temperatures than the surrounding extra-cellular space and is accompanied by the exothermic release of the latent heat. This is a dynamic process and causes thermal distortions in and around the cell where nucleation occurs. In the present study, an attempt has been made to numerically determine the magnitude of thermal distortion (ΔT) and the time (dt) it takes for this distortion to damp out to the local temperature. A two-dimensional computational model is presented in which the maximum thermal distortions (with an assumed cell diameter of 50 μm, nucleating at −5 °C while being cooled at 5 °C/min; denoted as Scenario 1) and the lowest-possible thermal distortions (with an assumed cell diameter of 5 μm, nucleating at −20 °C while being cooled at 100 °C/min; denoted as Scenario 2) are determined. Extensive computations have been performed assuming either the presence of a single, dual, or four cells in suspension. It is expected that these representative results would serve the purpose of estimating an effective sampling rate of microscale thermocouples currently being fabricated and of other biomedical devices used to measure intracellular ice formation.