cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bone mineral density and knee osteoarthritis in elderly men and women : the Framingham study

Objective. To examine the possible inverse relationship between osteoporosis and osteoarthritis (OA) by evaluating the association between bone mineral density (BMD) and knee OA in the Framingham Study cohort. Methods. Of the 1,154 Framingham Study cohort subjects in whom BMD measurements were obtained at biennial examination 20, 932 (81%) had had knee OA assessed during the Framingham Knee OA Study 4 years earlier. BMD of the proximal femur and radius was measured by densitometry. Knee OA was assessed from a weight-bearing anteroposterior radiograph and graded on a scale of 0 (no OA) to 4 (severe OA). Osteophytes and joint space narrowing were also evaluated separately. Linear regression was used to test the association of BMD with knee OA, with osteophytes, and with joint space narrowing, after adjustment for age, body mass index, and mean number of cigarettes smoked per day. Results. The subjects included 572 women and 360 men with an age range of 63–91 years (mean 71 years). Of these, 351 had no OA, 269 had grade 1 OA, 170 had grade 2 OA, 93 had grade 3 OA, and 49 had grade 4 OA. Mean femoral BMD at the 3 proximal femur sites was 5–9% higher in men and women with either grade 1, grade 2, or grade 3 knee OA, compared with those with no knee OA (P < 0.0001). Mean femoral BMD in those with grade 4 OA was not higher than in those with no OA. Radius BMD was not associated with knee OA in subjects of either sex. Women with osteophytes had higher BMD compared with women with no osteophytes. Mean BMD did not differ across levels of joint space narrowing. Conclusion. We conclude that, among women, femoral BMD is higher in those with osteophytosis of the knee, and BMD is not necessarily associated with joint space narrowing.
Alternative Views of the Terrorist Threat

Editor's Note: Four years have passed since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the initiation of the war on terrorism. Questions have been raised about US progress in this war, its successes and failures, and the challenges that lie ahead. Academics, government officials, and media representatives gathered at Syracuse University, March 31–April 2, 2005, to consider these issues. The Forum emerges from that symposium entitled The Global War on Terrorism—Round II, which was sponsored by the Lewis A. Bantle Chair in Business and Government Policy, the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism, and the National Security Studies Program located on the Syracuse campus. It focuses on the composition, formation, and operation of groups involved in global terrorism and the nature of the threat they pose. The contributors to the Forum, Boaz Ganor and Marc Sageman, bring a unique background to this topic. Boas Ganor is the deputy dean of the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Israel and the founder, as well as director, of the International Policy Institute for Counterterrorism, which is based at the Herzliya Center. He is also a member of Israel's National Committee for Homeland Security Technologies. He consults with the New York City Police Department and lectures widely on terrorism and counterterrorism both within Israel and internationally. He is the author of numerous articles on counterterrorism and a recent book entitled The Counterterrorism Puzzle. Marc Sageman is in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. Although trained as a psychiatrist, he is also a political sociologist. In his career, he has served a tour as a flight surgeon in the US Navy and with the Central Intelligence Agency. While with the Central Intelligence Agency, he was on the Afghan task force and in Islamabad …
Effects of reward sensitivity and regional brain volumes on substance use initiation in adolescence

This longitudinal study examines associations between baseline individual differences and developmental changes in reward (i.e. behavioral approach system (BAS)) sensitivity and relevant brain structuresvolumes to prospective substance use initiation during adolescence. A community sample of adolescents ages 15-18 with no prior substance use was assessed for substance use initiation (i.e. initiation of regular alcohol use and/or any use of other substances) during a 2-year follow-up period and for alcohol use frequency in the last year of the follow-up. Longitudinalincreasesin BAS sensitivity were associated with substance use initiation and increased alcohol use frequency during the follow-up. Moreover, adolescents with smaller left nucleus accumbens at baseline were more likely to initiate substance use during the follow-up period. This study provides support for the link between developmental increases in reward sensitivity and substance use initiation in adolescence. The study also emphasizes the potential importance of individual differences in volumes of subcortical regions and their structural development for substance use initiation during adolescence.
A new method of analyzing the short-circuit current of silicon solar cells

New approximations for the carrier generation rates in silicon under AM1 and AM2 solar illumination are presented. They may simplify the analysis of silicon solar cells, particularly when done by hand.
Transcriptomic analysis of F344 rat nasal epithelium suggests that the lack of carcinogenic response to glutaraldehyde is due to its greater toxicity compared to formaldehyde.

Formaldehyde is cytotoxic and carcinogenic to the rat nasal respiratory epithelium inducing tumors after 12 months. Glutaraldehyde is also cytotoxic but is not carcinogenic to nasal epithelium even after 24 months. Both aldehydes induce similar acute and subchronic histopathology that is characterized by inflammation, hyperplasia, and squamous metaplasia. Because early aldehyde-induced lesions are microscopically similar, we investigated whether transcriptional patterns using cDNA technology could explain the different cancer outcomes. Treatments included 1-, 5-, or 28-day exposure by nasal instillation of formaldehyde solution (400 mM) or glutaraldehyde solution (20 mM). Animals were euthanized and the nasal respiratory epithelium removed for gene expression analysis and a subset of rats treated for 28 days was processed for microscopic examination. RNA was isolated and processed for expression assessment using Clontech ® Atlas Toxicology II Arrays. Both aldehydes induced hyperplasia, squamous metaplasia...
Lack of association of the HMGA1 IVS5-13insC variant with type 2 diabetes in an ethnically diverse hypertensive case control cohort

Recently, the high-mobility group A1 gene (HMGA1) variant IVS5-13insC has been associated with type 2 diabetes, but reported associations are inconsistent and data are lacking in Hispanic and African American populations. We sought to investigate the HMGA1-diabetes association and to characterize IVS5-13insC allele frequencies and linkage disequilibrium (LD) in 3,070 Caucasian, Hispanic, and African American patients from the INternational VErapamil SR-Trandolapril STudy (INVEST). INVEST was a randomized, multicenter trial comparing two antihypertensive treatment strategies in an ethnically diverse cohort of hypertensive, coronary artery disease patients. Controls, who were diabetes-free throughout the study, and type 2 diabetes cases, either prevalent or incident, were genotyped for IVS5-13insC using Taqman®, confirmed with Pyrosequencing and Sanger sequencing. For LD analysis, genotyping for eight additional HMGA1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was performed using the Illumina® HumanCVD BeadChip. We used logistic regression to test association of the HMGA1 IVS5-13insC and diabetes, adjusted for age, gender, body mass index, and percentage European, African, and Native American ancestry. We observed IVS5-13insC minor allele frequencies consistent with previous literature in Caucasians and African Americans (0.03 in cases and 0.04 in controls for both race/ethnic groups), and higher frequencies in Hispanics (0.07 in cases and 0.07 in controls). The IVS5-13insC was not associated with type 2 diabetes overall (odds ratio 0.98 [0.76-1.26], p=0.88) or in any race/ethnic group. Pairwise LD (r2) of IVS5-13insC and rs9394200, a SNP previously used as a tag SNP for IVS5-13insC, was low (r2=0.47 in Caucasians, r2=0.25 in Hispanics, and r2=0.06 in African Americans). Furthermore, in silico analysis suggested a lack of functional consequences for the IVS5-13insC variant. Our results suggest that IVS5-13insC is not a functional variant and not associated with type 2 diabetes in an ethnically diverse, hypertensive, coronary artery disease population. Larger, more adequately powered studies need to be performed to confirm our findings. clinicaltrials.gov (NCT00133692)
Starvation Strengthens Addiction

In the United States alone, more than 20 million people suffer from eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia, or binge eating), which have the highest mortality rate among psychiatric conditions and are associated with destructive behaviors. One such behavior is drug and alcohol abuse, which occurs in 50% of people with eating disorders compared with 9% of the general population. Now, Branch and colleagues identify alterations in the brain that may serve as new therapeutic targets for some of these behaviors. It is well known from rodent studies that food restriction increases self-administration of most major classes of abused drugs. Because feeding and abused drugs increase concentrations of extracellular dopamine in specific areas of the brain, Branch et al. hypothesized that dopaminergic circuits might play a role in starvation-induced addiction. The authors focused their study on dopamine-containing neurons in the substantia nigra of laboratory mice and found that the firing rate of these cells increased after food restriction. In contrast to animals fed ad libitum, firing increased further when the psychomotor stimulant cocaine was given to food-restricted mice. The boost in firing of dopamine-containing neurons likely resulted from enhanced responses of these cells to glutamate-mediated stimulation. The authors concluded that food restriction increases the responsiveness of dopamine-containing neurons to cocaine, enhancing the effects of cocaine on the brain. The new work suggests that food restriction amplifies the addictive effects of cocaine via mechanisms that involve glutamate-mediated stimulation of dopamine-containing neurons in the substantia nigra, an area of the brain involved in reward, addiction, and motor behavior. If similar mechanisms also operate in patients, these findings have the potential to facilitate the development of specific interventions for addiction in people with eating disorders. S. Y. Branch et al ., Food restriction increases glutamate receptor-mediated burst firing of dopamine neurons. J. Neurosci . 33 , 13861–13872 (2013). [[Full Text]][1] [1]: http://www.jneurosci.org/content/33/34/13861.full
Mind and Experience in a Hindu City

Robert Levy's study of the ritual and religious or- ganization of a city in Nepal offers insights into how the peo- ple of this Hindu community are shaped by cultural context. (Hinduism, selfhood, ritual, Robert Levy) any people may assume that Robert Levy's work ended with the Tahitians, but his work in Nepal pursues themes central to his study of Tahiti. Consistent with his belief in a comparative anthropology, he continued to explore the question of how mind exists in different cultural settings, as these settings exist within different kinds of communities. Relative to Tahiti, in Nepal he finds a different kind of community, one unimagined in the wildest dreams of the South Seas: a Hindu city in the shadow of the Himalayas, a place with a caste hierarchy, an intricate ritual system, and a Tantric tradition, a place where goddesses accept blood sacrifices, and religion organizes much of life. Out of his fieldwork here comes a monumental book, Mesocosm. In it, Levy examines Bhaktapur, the city where he worked in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley, in terms of its religious organization, with a central focus on the cycles of rituals central to the civic order. What Levy offers is a study of Hinduism in an urban incarnation, of urbanism in a Hindu incarnation. The dialectical relationship is crucial. Levy shows us how Hinduism and urbanism constitute each other in a particular city, yet one that represents a historically important class of Hindu communities-those that developed as the royal centers of small Hindu states. Levy also sees Bhaktapur as relevant to the comparative understanding of a wider set of ancient cities, including the Greek cities of antiquity.
Arabidopsis MICROTUBULE DESTABILIZING PROTEIN40 Is Involved in Brassinosteroid Regulation of Hypocotyl Elongation

The brassinosteroid (BR) phytohormones play crucial roles in regulating plant cell growth and morphogenesis, particularly in hypocotyl cell elongation. The microtubule cytoskeleton is also known to participate in the regulation of hypocotyl elongation. However, it is unclear if BR regulation of hypocotyl elongation involves the microtubule cytoskeleton. In this study, we demonstrate that BRs mediate hypocotyl cell elongation by influencing the orientation and stability of cortical microtubules. Further analysis identified the previously undiscovered Arabidopsis thaliana MICROTUBULE DESTABILIZING PROTEIN40 (MDP40) as a positive regulator of hypocotyl cell elongation. BRASSINAZOLE-RESISTANT1, a key transcription factor in the BR signaling pathway, directly targets and upregulates MDP40. Overexpression of MDP40 partially rescued the shorter hypocotyl phenotype in BR-deficient mutant de-etiolated-2 seedlings. Reorientation of the cortical microtubules in the cells of MDP40 RNA interference transgenic lines was less sensitive to BR. These findings demonstrate that MDP40 is a key regulator in BR regulation of cortical microtubule reorientation and mediates hypocotyl growth. This study reveals a mechanism involving BR regulation of microtubules through MDP40 to mediate hypocotyl cell elongation.
Race Still Matters: The Minimal Role of Income and Housing Cost as Causes of Housing Segregation in St. Louis, 1990

Two techniques are used to examine the extent to which racial housing segregation in the St. Louis metropolitan area in 1990 is attributable to income and housing cost differences between African-A...
Varieties of alexia from fusiform, posterior inferior temporal and posterior occipital gyrus lesions.

Reading impairments of three alexia patients, two pure alexia and one alexia with agraphia, due to different lesions were examined quantitatively, using Kanji (Japanese morphogram) words, Kana (Japanese phonetic writing) words and Kana nonwords. Kana nonword reading was impaired in all three patients, suggesting that widespread areas in the affected occipital and occipitotemporal cortices were recruited in reading Kana characters (corresponding to European syllables). In addition, the findings in patient 1 (pure alexia for Kanji and Kana from a fusiform and lateral occipital gyri lesion) and patient 2 (pure alexia for Kana from a posterior occipital gyri lesion) suggested that pure alexia could be divided into two types, i.e. ventromedial type in which whole-word reading, together with letter identification, is primarily impaired because of a disconnection of word-form images from early visual analysis, and posterior type in which letter identification is cardinally impaired. Another type of alexia, alexia with agraphia for Kanji from a posterior inferior temporal cortex lesion (patient 3), results from deficient whole-word images of words per se, and thus should be designated “orthographic alexia with agraphia”. To account for these impairments, a weighted dual-route hypothesis for reading is suggested.
Actin from Heart Muscle: Sulfhydryl Groups

The number and reactivity of the sulfhy-dryl groups of cardiac and skeletal actin preparations have been examined, using material from dogs and rabbits. The number of sulfhy-dryl groups of all actins was approximately six per mole, two of which could be characterized as fast-reacting and were not essential for polymerization. The time course of the reaction of the sulfhydryl groups of heart and skeletal actins with -pmercuribenzoate were identical, and the effects of Ca++ Mg++ and adenosinetriphosphate upon this reaction were similar for actins from the two tissues. In accord with previous structural comparisons, no difference between cardiac and skeletal actin has been detected.
Futility--from hospital policies to state laws.

While recognizing the value that a “due process” approach has brought to resolving conflicts over allegedly futile medical care, Wojtasiewicz (2006) has drawn attention to the differential impact t...
Genomics of bacteria and archaea: the emerging dynamic view of the prokaryotic world

The first bacterial genome was sequenced in 1995, and the first archaeal genome in 1996. Soon after these breakthroughs, an exponential rate of genome sequencing was established, with a doubling time of approximately 20 months for bacteria and approximately 34 months for archaea. Comparative analysis of the hundreds of sequenced bacterial and dozens of archaeal genomes leads to several generalizations on the principles of genome organization and evolution. A crucial finding that enables functional characterization of the sequenced genomes and evolutionary reconstruction is that the majority of archaeal and bacterial genes have conserved orthologs in other, often, distant organisms. However, comparative genomics also shows that horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a dominant force of prokaryotic evolution, along with the loss of genetic material resulting in genome contraction. A crucial component of the prokaryotic world is the mobilome, the enormous collection of viruses, plasmids and other selfish elements, which are in constant exchange with more stable chromosomes and serve as HGT vehicles. Thus, the prokaryotic genome space is a tightly connected, although compartmentalized, network, a novel notion that undermines the ‘Tree of Life’ model of evolution and requires a new conceptual framework and tools for the study of prokaryotic evolution.
Frequency of Occurrence of Cone- and Seed-Destroying Insects on Shortleaf Pine in the Georgia Piedmont

Of 11,034 shortleaf pine, Pinus echinata Mill., cones sampled, 12.7% were damaged by insects. The second year cone was the only structure, of those involved in seedproduction, that was attacked consistently. Two orders of insects, Lepidoptera and Diptera, were found to be responsible for most of the seed destruction.
Survival and Development of Larvae of the Cereal Leaf Beetle, Oulema melanopa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), on Various Species of Gramineae

In laboratory studies conducted during 2 winters, using 23 species of Gramineae and under 2 sets of environmental conditions, larvae of Oulema melanopa (L.) were transferred to the various food plants within 8 hr of eclosion and were observed for survival and development. Contrary to results reported by others, the cereal leaf beetle was found not to be polyphagous within the family Gramineae. Several plants, notably species of Setaria, Echinocloa , and Arundinaria , exhibited antibiosis. Generally, the small grains (oats, barley, wheat, spelt, and rye) were superior food plants. Some forage grasses were favorable, but usually the larval development on them was slower than on the small grains.
The TPSR Alliance: Learning with a Family Who Won't Give up on You.

The TPSR Alliance has become a vital community of practice for my graduate students and for me personally. During the past decade, I (the first author) have worked with graduate students at Boston University to provide a program for youth development through sports and fitness at a large, high-needs public high school in the Boston area. Our program, “Get Ready,” is inspired by the teaching personal and social responsibility (TPSR) framework and has offered a variety of services to hundreds of students. The Get Ready program is run through the Institute for Athletic Coach Education in the School of Education at Boston University. Our efforts have been supported in part by a collaboration among Boston-area universities named “Step Up.” The goal of this effort is for universities to provide assistance to Boston public schools in closing the achievement gap and “to give our city's students the best education possible and to help them reach their full potential.”The purpose of this article is to describe the ...
Chromosomal assignment of genes involved in glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor biosynthesis: implications for the pathogenesis of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is an acquired clonal hematologic disorder that affects both sexes equally. The biochemical defect in PNH resides in the incomplete enzymatic assembly of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors used for surface protein attachment. In all PNH patients tested to date, the biosynthetic defect occurs at the addition of N-acetyl-glucosamine to the phosphatidylinositol molecule (class A defect). A human cDNA, Piga, that repairs cell lines with the class A GPI-anchor biosynthetic defect has been recently cloned. Mapping of Piga to the X chromosome suggests that a single acquired mutation within Piga could alter GPI-anchor synthesis and result in PNH. However, this finding does not explain why all PNH patients have the class A defect. In the current study, the chromosomal assignment of Piga, as well as of Pigf and Pigh, two additional genes involved in GPI-anchor biosynthesis, has been established using a mouse interspecific backcross mapping technique. In contrast to Piga, both human and mouse Pigf and Pigh genes map to autosomes. The location of Pigf and Pigh suggests that mutations on both alleles of these autosomal genes would be necessary to produce PNH. This helps to explain the predominant class A defect in PNH.
Introduction: The Nature of the Problem

The innovation, adaption, and use of new technologies on the battlefield have a history which precedes even the written record. How to identify the nature of their impact and regulate their use has been an ongoing challenge for centuries. Contemporary innovation, however, may well represent a shift in traditional paradigms, given that innovation is democratized, that is available to anyone with minimal constraints, and flourishes in unregulated spaces. How to describe emerging technologies and their impact on the battlefield is of considerable importance as humankind wrestles with the legal and ethical decisions required to insure that it is not overtaken by, and perhaps destroyed by, technology’s unintended potential.
Crystal structure of (OC)5W(μ-dppe)W(CO)5.

The centrosymmetric title complex, [μ-ethane-1,2-diylbis(di­phenyl­phosphane)-κ2P:P′]bis­[penta­carbonyl­tungsten(0)], [W2(C26H24P2)(CO)10], consists of two W(CO)5 moieties bridged by a bis­(di­phenyl­phosphan­yl)ethane (dppe) ligand. The W0 atom has a slightly distorted octa­hedral coordination environment consisting of 5 carbonyl ligands and one P atom from the bridging dppe ligand with the nearest W0 atom 5.625 (5) A away. The complex resides on a center of symmetry.
Examination of teachers’ preparedness and strategies used to teach English language learners in kindergarten

ABSTRACTThe intent of the present study was to examine kindergarten teachers’ preparedness and training to teach English language learner (ELL) students and strategies that they utilise in the classroom to teach this population. Teacher surveys and phone interviews were employed to gather data. The majority of the teachers felt prepared to teach ELL students, felt committed to work with this population, and were eager to attend professional training workshops related to this topic. Follow-up interviews provided further insights into the issue of their preparedness to work with this population, challenges to meeting the needs of ELL children, and need for more professional training opportunities on this topic. The implications of these findings for the field of early childhood care and education and suggestions for future research have been discussed in detail.
Hemostatic Factors and Shortened Sleep

Abstract Abstract 5137 Introduction: Enhanced coagulation has been reported in persons with sleep disturbances and sleep apnea. However, it is unclear whether shortened sleep duration in the absence of disordered breathing is associated with higher levels of hemostatic factors. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 582 community-dwelling adults were randomly sampled. They underwent polysomnography to determine the apnea hypopnea index (AHI), a measure of sleep disordered breathing, and wrist actigraphy for 7 nights to assess sleep duration. A morning blood sample was collected for measurements of factor VIII (FVIII), von Willebrand Factor (vWF), thrombin antithrombin complexes (TAT), and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). Logistic regression analyses were used to model the odds of being in the upper quintile of each hemostatic factor by AHI score or sleep duration. Results: Participant ages ranged from 35 to 65 (mean 48), with 57% women and 30% Blacks. Hypertension was present in 18% and diabetes in 6%. The mean (SD) sleep duration was 7 (1. 07) hours/day, and 34% had an AHI ≥5. Mean values (SD) for hemostatic factors were FVIII (U/ml), 1. 06 (0. 41); vWF (U/ml), 1. 21 (0. 51); TAT (ng/ml), 2. 66 (2. 25); and PAI-1(ng/ml), 23. 4 (21. 4). vWF increased with age and FVIII, vWF, and TAT were higher in Blacks vs Whites. Associations (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval) were observed for FVIII with diabetes (3. 16, 1. 36–7. 32) and PAI-1 with hypertension (1. 9, 1. 06–3. 41) and diabetes (2. 58, 1. 15–5. 76) after adjustment for demographic and cardiovascular covariates. In unadjusted analyses, participants with AHI ≥5 had elevated levels of FVIII and vWF, but this association was attenuated after adjustment for demographic and cardiovascular covariates (see Table). However, AHI ≥5 remained significantly associated with elevated PAI-1 in fully adjusted models. The majority of participants (90%) had a low likelihood of apnea (AHI Table . Apnea hypopnea index (AHI: FVIII vWf TAT PAI-1 AHI Unadjusted 1.61 (1.06, 2.44) * 1.55 (1.02, 2.35) * 1.34 (0.87, 2.04) 2.21 (1.46, 3.35) ** Model 1 1.52 (0.96, 2.41) 1.24 (0.78, 1.96) 1.17 (0.74, 1.85) 2.16 (1.38, 3.38) ** Model 2 1.53 (0.96, 2.44) 1.26 (0.80, 2.01) 1.16 (0.73, 1.84) 2.07 (1.32, 3.27)+ Model 1: adjusted for age, race, and gender Model 2: adjusted for age, race, gender, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, depressive symptoms * p=. 04; ** p Conclusion: In a random population sample, we confirmed that mild apnea is associated with elevated PAI-1. However, among those persons free of apnea, there were no associations of sleep duration with FVIII, vWF, TAT or PAI-1. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and Its Individual Components Among Midwestern University Students

Michigan has the 17th highest adult obesity rate in the United States. Among college-aged adults between 18 and 25 years old, the rate of obesity was 11.6%. Obesity is a key precedent for the development of metabolic syndrome. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its individual components among a sample of students at Central Michigan University. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 462 students, aged 18–25 years, in Spring 2015 and Fall/Spring 2016 semesters. Students were recruited throughout the campus via flyers, in-class, and Blackboard announcements. Biochemical, anthropometric, and blood pressure measurements were taken for all students. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome was estimated based on the National Cholesterol Education Program’s Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines. Multivariable analysis was used to assess the prevalence of metabolic risk components. To explore the association between metabolic risk factors and lifestyle behaviors, students filled out a validated online questionnaire related to their eating habits, physical activity, and sleep patterns. Metabolic syndrome was not prevalent in our sample. However, about one-third of the students had at least one metabolic abnormality, and 6.0% had two metabolic abnormalities. The most common metabolic abnormalities were low HDL-cholesterol levels (22.0%) and high waist circumference (12.6%), and elevated serum triglyceride (5.8%). Adjusting for other factors, excess adiposity and high visceral fat scores were associated with increased risk of metabolic risk factors, whereas healthy lifestyle practices such as daily breakfast consumption, eating three meals a day, being active, and not smoking were associated with lower risks for MetS. Given the adverse consequences of undiagnosed metabolic abnormalities, efforts to identify and manage MetS among asymptomatic college students, particularly women, is essential and warrants further research.
A Global Look at the Reform of Public Pension Systems

This article provides a descriptive and introductory overview of issues driving the initiatives to reform public pensions in the international arena. This includes a presentation of select international demographic andfiscal highlights relevant to social security arrangements around the world, along with a review of the reforms and pension arrangements in Chile and the United Kingdom. A discussion of the current state of social security and reform proposals in the United States is also provided
Toward an Optimal Donation Solicitation: Evidence from the Field of the Differential Influence of Donor-Related and Organization-Related Information on Donation Choice and Amount

AbstractThe present research decomposes consumer donation behavior into two components: donation choice (i.e., whether to donate) and donation amount (i.e., how much to donate). It then considers how information related to the donor and information related to characteristics of the soliciting organization may differentially influence the two decisions. Results from four field experiments suggest that donor-related appeals have a greater effect on the donation choice decision (vs. organization-related appeals), whereas organization-related appeals have a greater effect on the donation amount decision (vs. donor-related appeals). This might lead one to conclude that presenting both types of appeals in a solicitation is ideal. However, the studies presented herein also suggest that this strategy may backfire. The simultaneous presentation of donor- and organization-related appeals can hamper both donation response rates and average contribution amounts. To address this issue, the authors identify and test an...
Long-Term Stability of 18 Nutritional Biomarkers Stored at -20 °C and 5 °C for up to 12 Months.

Background: Consistent information on long-term storage stability for a broad range of nutritional biomarkers is lacking. We investigated the stability of 18 biomarkers stored at suboptimal temperatures (−20 °C and 5 °C) for up to 12 months. Methods: Multiple vials of serum or whole blood pools (3 concentrations) were stored at −20 °C or 5 °C, removed from the −20 °C freezer after 3, 6, 9, and 12 months and from the 5 °C refrigerator after 6 and 12 months, and placed into a −70 °C freezer until analysis at study completion. Vials stored continuously at −70 °C were used as the reference condition for optimal storage. We measured 18 biomarkers: 4 iron status, 1 inflammation, 8 water-soluble vitamin, and 5 fat-soluble vitamin. For each temperature, we calculated geometric mean concentrations and average percent changes of geometric means across pools relative to the reference condition estimated from a linear mixed model. Results: Most biomarkers (13 of 18) showed no difference in concentration after 12 months of storage at −20 °C. Serum ferritin (1.5%), soluble transferrin receptor (−1.7%), and folate (−10.5%) showed small to moderate significant changes at 6 months, but changes were acceptable based on biologic variability. Serum pyridoxal-5′-phosphate (−18.6% at 9 months) and vitamin C (−23% at 6 months) showed large and unacceptable changes at −20 °C. All serum fat-soluble vitamins and iron status indicators, vitamin B12, total homocysteine, and methylmalonic acid showed acceptable changes when stored at 5 °C for up to 12 months. Conclusions: Overall, we found good long-term stability for multiple nutritional biomarkers stored at suboptimal temperatures.
Monocular 3D facial shape reconstruction from a single 2D image with coupled-dictionary learning and sparse coding

Abstract Monocular 3D face reconstruction from a single image has been an active research topic due to its wide applications. It has been demonstrated that the 3D face can be reconstructed efficiently using a PCA-based subspace model for facial shape representation and facial landmarks for model parameter estimation. However, due to the limited expressiveness of the subspace model and the inaccuracy of landmark detection, most existing methods are not robust to pose and illumination variation. To overcome this limitation, this work proposes a coupled-dictionary model for parametric facial shape representation and a two-stage framework for 3D face reconstruction from a single 2D image by using facial landmarks. Motivated by image super-resolution, the proposed coupled-model consists of two dictionaries for the sparse and the dense 3D facial shapes, respectively. In the first stage, the sparse 3D face is estimated from facial landmarks by using partial least-squares regression. In the second stage, the dense 3D face is reconstructed by 3D super-resolution on the estimated sparse 3D face. Comprehensive experimental evaluations demonstrate that the proposed coupled-dictionary model outperforms the PCA-based subspace model in 3D face modeling accuracy and that the proposed framework achieves much lower reconstruction error on facial images with pose and illumination variations compared to state-of-the-art algorithms. Moreover, qualitative analysis demonstrates that the proposed method is generalizable to different types of data, including facial images, portraits, and facial sketches.
A Tale of Two Journals: Women’s Representation in Public Administration Scholarship

This study examines women’s representation in public administration scholarship by analyzing the research method and the content of 618 articles published in the Journal of Public Administration Re...
Traumatic Brain Injury in Combat Casualties

The purpose of this review is to give an overview of recent updates in the management of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in military settings. Studies from the recent conflicts in Central and Southwest Asia have demonstrated that appropriate aggressive neurosurgical intervention in austere settings has been associated with improved outcomes. Modern management of military TBI has evolved from the era of Cushing in WWI to damage control and rapid aeromedical evacuation today. Aggressive management of severe injuries has been shown to increase survival. These interventions have included an emphasis on measures to reduce secondary brain injury—aggressive cranial decompression, addressing intracranial vascular injuries, and aeromedical evacuation to facilities with neurosurgical capability. Additionally, advances in the screening of mild TBI have led to increased awareness of the prevalence of this injury and potential associated long-term effects.
spatial analysis of herbicide decay rates in louisiana

This analysis presents results based on a five-yearstudy recently supported by the Louisiana Departmentof Transportation and Development (DOTD) in which theacute toxicity, fate and effect of herbicide mixtureson human health and the environment were assessed. Three sites were routinely sprayed by DOTD to killweeds along the roadsides. Two herbicide mixtures wereused, 2,4-D and Roundup, and Garlon 3A and Roundup.Water, vegetation, soil and sediment samples werecollected quarterly for three years and were analyzedfor pesticide content to study the fate and impact ofherbicides in the environment. Results indicate acorrelation between soil type, herbicide type, andpersistence of the herbicide in the environment. Usingthe correlations found in these data, spatial analysisidentified areas where herbicide use may potentiallycause surface water and sediment contamination, basedon soil composition/properties, type of herbicideapplied, and proximity of water bodies to sprayed areas.
Energy response of FD-7 RPL glass dosimeter compared with LiF Mg, Ti and Al2003:C dosimeters

The aim of this study was to compare the energy dependence of Radio-Photoluminescent Glass Dosimeter (RPLGD) with thermoluminescent LiF:Mg,Ti (TLD-100) and Optically stimulated luminescent (Al2O3:C) dosimeters. In this work, a Monte Carlo simulation with MCNP5 was carried out to estimate the energy responses of these dosimeters. The following common clinical radiation qualities were applied: 50?300 kVp X-rays, 4?20 MeV electron beam and 60Co ? rays as the reference. The current study is compared to previous measurements and MC simulation in literature. For kilovoltage photon beams, the dosimeters displayed an increasing response with decreasing energy with a significant over response factor at 70 kVp of RPLGD and Al2O3:C about 4.39 and 3.40 respectively, and a maximum of about 1.40 for TLD-100. For electron beams were found to be with a maximum of 5.1% and 3.5% for RPLGD and TLD-100 dosimeters respectively, for OSLD a maximum of 6% in 6?20 MeV and 11% at 4 MeV. This paper has clearly confirmed that all three dosimeters should be used with an energy compensation filter in low energy X-ray (<250 kV). All studied dosimeters are recommended for clinical and experimental use particularly in radiotherapy.
Virus-templated Pt–Ni(OH)2 nanonetworks for enhanced electrocatalytic reduction of water

Abstract Clean hydrogen production via water electrolysis is incumbent upon the development of high-performing hydrogen evolution reaction electrocatalysts. Despite decades of commercial maturity, however, alkaline water electrolyzers continue to suffer from limitations in electrocatalytic activity and stability, even with noble metal catalysts. In recent years, combining platinum with oxophilic materials, such as metal hydroxides, has shown great promise for improving performance potentially by enabling stronger water dissociation at the surface of electrocatalysts. In this work, we leveraged the nanoscopic proportions and surface programmability of the filamentous M13 bacteriophage in the design, synthesis, and exceptional performance of 3D nanostructured biotemplated electrocatalysts for alkaline hydrogen evolution. We developed a facile synthesis method for phage-templated, Pt–Ni(OH)2 nanonetworks, relying on scalable techniques like electroless deposition. After optimization of the platinum content, our materials display –4.9 A mg–1Pt at −70 mV versus the reversible hydrogen electrode, the highest reported mass activity in 1 M KOH to date, and undergo minimal changes in overpotential under galvanostatic operation at −10 mA cm–2geo. Looking forward, the performance of these catalysts suggests that biotemplating nanostructures with M13 bacteriophage offers an interesting new route for developing high-performing electrocatalysts.
Chapter 5 – Interoperability

Interoperable health information technologies are essential for patient care, population health management, public health, and research. The term “interoperability” can be defined both functionally and technically. Interoperable systems allow for the exchange of health information from one system to another. This health information exchange can be realized through point-to-point capabilities of electronic health records or through dedicated technologies managed by separate health information organizations. An understanding of the current and future capabilities of interoperable systems requires a familiarity with data standards and health information exchange technologies. New types of devices and scientific data sources will necessitate ongoing efforts to realize the true potential of data through health information systems.
Modeling Segregation in Granular Flows.

Accurate continuum models of flow and segregation of dense granular flows are now possible. This is the result of extensive comparisons, over the last several years, of computer simulations of incr...
Localized Magnons (Theory)

The Heisenberg Hamiltonian for impure ferro — or antiferromagnets is of the class originally discussed by Lifshitz(1) in his work on the properties of the energy spectra of disordered systems. Within the simple (non-interacting) spin wave approximation, applicable in the low temperature limit, the problem is closely analogous to that of phonons in impure lattices, to which the general theory was first applied. One expects (and finds) for appropriate impurity parameters true localized modes at energies outside the pure crystal spin wave band and virtual modes (or “resonances”), with finite lifetimes, at energies within the band. However, even in this simple picture, there is no analog to the most easily treated disordered lattice — with a single isotopic impurity. The spin magnitude enters dynamically in the exchange interaction and the “force constant” associated with a magnetic impurity must therefore be changed along with its “mass.” In general, the substitutional impurity may differ from the atom it replaces in the exchange constants coupling it to its neighbors as well as in spin magnitude.
Patient-Defined Visit Priorities in Primary Care: Psychosocial Versus Medically-Related Concerns.

Background: Primary care providers (PCPs) are often challenged to address multiple patient concerns during time-limited visits. The need for PCPs to limit the number of issues addressed may have a negative impact on discussion of patient-defined visit priorities. Methods: Using data from a recent clinical trial (Aligning Patients and Providers, ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02707146), we examined the association between patient-defined visit priorities and subsequent provider actions taken during and after the visit. We tested the hypothesis that psychosocial concerns (eg, stress, anxiety, caregiving demands) are less likely to be addressed than traditional medical concerns. Results: We analyzed 147 patient-defined visit priorities submitted just before the visit by 109 patients (mean age, 59.0 ± 12.7 years; including 73.4% women, 47.7% non-White race/ethnicity). Nearly one quarter of patient-defined visit priorities were related to psychosocial concerns (35/147; 23.8%). In models adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and familiarity with PCP, patients9 psychosocial priorities were significantly less likely than medical priorities to be addressed during the visit (63% vs. 88%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.16; 95% CI, 0.06 to 0.41; P Conclusions: Patient-defined psychosocial priorities are less likely to be addressed during (or immediately after) primary care visits compared with patient-defined medical priorities.
Promising directions for research on the second-generation immigrants

ABSTRACTThis article engages with Luthra, Soehl and Waldinger’s (2018) Origins and Destinations to consider the future of comparative work on the experiences of second generation immigrants. I high...
Simultaneous Dual Isotope ToF-PET Imaging

ingle tracer positron emission tomography (PET) is a powerful molecular imaging technique. PET using multiple tracers can improve the specificity of PET and broaden its uses. For instance, there are demonstrated benefits to sequential imaging using two different tracers staggered in time. Unfortunately, this staggered imaging approach not only increases imaging time but also does not provide for simultaneous imaging of multiple tracers and may lead to errors due to temporal changes in physiological and molecular functions. Simultaneous dual isotope PET imaging has previously been investigated using a pure emitter and a dirty emitter. The main challenges of simultaneous dual isotope imaging are low detection efficiency of triple coincidences and low separability of pure and dirty positron emitters. With the rapid advance of coincidence time resolution (CTR) in PET (214ps in a commercial system), we can localize an annihilation event by the difference in their arrival time at the detectors. In this work, we used estimated annihilation positions to represent detected events and a novel method to separate dirty emitters from pure emitters in PET images. A simulation of a complex mixed source phantom in a dedicated brain PET system with an end-cap detector was carried out in GATE to demonstrate this proof of concept of simultaneous dual isotope PET imaging using time of flight (ToF) information. For pure and dirty sources, a relative error about 3% is achieved in the region of interest (RoI).
Transient and steady-state viscoelastic contact responses of layer-substrate systems with interfacial imperfections

Abstract This paper reports the development of a novel semi-analytical model for solving the transient and steady-state contact responses of a rigid sphere sliding/rolling on a viscoelastic layer-elastic substrate system. The displacement transmissions at the layer-substrate interface are affected by spring-like or dislocation-like defects. The analytical transient and steady-state viscoelastic frequency response functions (FRFs) are derived from the elastic solutions with imperfect interfaces. Instead of using the integration form of the creep function, viscoelastic modulus E(ω) is directly incorporated into the viscoelastic FRFs by a frequency-velocity transform that links the time-related frequency, ω, and sliding velocity, V, with the space-related frequency number, m, i.e. ω=−mV. The solutions are so formulated that fast numerical techniques, such as the conjugate gradient method (CGM) and the discrete convolution-fast Fourier transform (DC-FFT) algorithm, can be incorporated for computation efficiency. The developed model is employed to investigate the effects of layer thickness, modulus, sliding velocity, and the degree of interface imperfection on the viscoelastic contact response of the material system, including pressure distributions, displacements, viscoelastic dissipation, and subsurface stresses.
Testimony of Jesse M. Fried on Stock Buybacks before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets

This statement presents my views on buybacks and my general reactions to provisions in four pieces of legislation relating to stock buybacks. Part I describes the role of stock buybacks in the economy and offers some “investor-benign” explanations for firms’ use of repurchases rather than dividends to distribute cash to investors. Part I then explains that the overall level of shareholder payouts (that is, the total amount of dividends and repurchases) does not appear to be too high; in fact, it may well be too low. Part II describes the current regulation of buybacks, which I believe is too lax and enables their abuse by corporate executives. In particular, I will explain how current regulation can enable executives to use buybacks to enrich themselves at the expense of public investors, through (1) indirect insider trading, (2) the manipulation of the stock price and EPS metrics in compensation arrangements, and (3) “false signaling:” announcing repurchases that executives do not intend to carry out, solely to boost the stock price before executives unload shares. Part III suggests a disclosure rule that would reduce executives’ ability to engage in the above-mentioned abuses, and therefore, better protect public investors: requiring public firms (like their insiders) to disclose trades in firm stock within two business days. I also describe additional measures that could be taken if this disclosure rule turns out be insufficient. Part IV offers initial reactions to key provisions in these four pieces of legislation.