cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Union experience and worker policy: Legislative behavior in California, 1999-2012

Unions influence the U.S. political process in numerous ways. Although scholarship has examined labor’s effects on political office-holding, less research is available on the relationship between unions and legislator policy choice. In this article, I use theories of social identification, civic engagement, and intergenerational transfer of political values to explore the relationship between various definitions of a legislator’s prior union experience and his or her roll-call voting once in office. I employ multilevel mixed-effects regressions to analyze 2,427 federal and statewide worker-related votes cast by California’s legislators from 1999 to 2012. Results indicate that higher probabilities of having worked in a unionized occupation or having a family member who belonged to a union are positively associated with voting for union-supported issues. The relationship is not cumulative, however, and is moderated by factors both endogenous and exogenous to the legislator.
Internal consistency of a Psychological Effectiveness Scale.

Poe (1973) developed a Psychological Effectiveness Scale1 and found that the ratings of personality concepts by 93 college students were internally quite consistent. Coefficient alpha for the ratings of the concepts abnormal, typical, mentally healthy, and ideal person were 92 , .97, .95, and .95 respectively. Subsequently, Nowacki and Poe (1973) found that 256 college students' ratings of the mentally healthy male and female were also internally consistent; coefficient alpha was .91. Having observed high consistency in the rating of personality concepts, it was of interest to assess the consistency of ratings of acmal personalities. The author obtained self-ratings by urban college s t u d e n t s ~ m a a l s = 81, females = 55). The internal consistency of the Psychological Effecciveness Scale was as high on this self-rating task as in the earlier ratings of personaliry concepts; alpha was 91. Nunnally (1967) indicates that coefficient alpha represents the expected correlation of a test with an alternate form of the test. Though it is desirable that the internal consistency of the Psychological Effecciveness Scale be assessed with additional samples and ratings tasks, it is expected that subsequent ratings with the scale would have comparable characteristics to those described here.
Assessment of Energy Potential and Vibration Mitigation of Regenerative Tuned Mass Dampers on Wind Excited Tall Buildings

Significant amount of inherent vibration energy present in tall buildings as they oscillate under the action of wind is traditionally dissipated into heat by the building damping or damping devices like Tuned Mass Dampers (TMDs) introduced to ensure the structural safety and occupants’ comfort. A portion of this large amount of vibration energy can be harvested if we replace the damping devices with appropriate energy harvesters and power electronics. Accordingly, this paper assesses the potential of harvestable energy from various TMD configurations and evaluates their effectiveness in mitigating building motion. The wind is modeled and simulated using an autoregressive model and the responses of the building to the across- and along-wind load are calculated via spectral approach. The classic TMD, parallel multiple TMDs, and series multiple TMDs are designed based on the decentralized H2 control for optimal stiffness constants and damping coefficients. The performances, namely, the building acceleration, energy potential, and strokes of the TMDs, are studied and compared for different wind speeds and an actual recorded wind event. During high wind events, over 85 K W of power can be harvested from a building used in a benchmark study. TMDs in series configuration with significantly smaller mass than the classic single TMD can achieve similar performance level and energy harvesting with enhanced robustness, but they require larger strokes.© 2011 ASME
Pharmacological properties of recanescine, a new sedative alkaloid from Rauwolfia canescens Linn.

SummaryA new alkaloid isolated from Rauwolfia canescens, recanescine, appears to lack the methoxyl group in the C-ll position of reserpine. Preliminary evidence indicates that this compound retains the characteristic pharmacologic activity of reserpine. Thus, the methoxyl group is not essential for the sedative and hypotensive action of reserpine.Note added in proof Since submission of this manuscript, Stoll and Hofmann have reported the isolation of a new alkaloid, canes-cine, which is probably identical with our recanescine. (Stoll, A., and Hofmann, A., J. Am, Chem. Soc, 1955, v77, 820.)
Disruption of performance of a lab-born orangutan after introduction of irrelevant foreground cues.

Summary.-Discrimination performance of the three great ape genera has previously been shown to be differentially influenced by the introduction of irrelevant foreground cues, with accuracy of performance of orangutans significantly more disrupted than chimpanzees or gorillas. This disruption may be speciesrelated to how arboreal or terrestrial the subjects would be in their natural habitat. The tendency of the orangutan toward disruption of performance following the introduction of visual foreground cues is not dependent upon an early arboreal environment, because the performance of the lab-born orangutan tested in similar conditions in the present study was commensurate with the performance of previously tested wild-born orangutans. Rumbaugh, Gill, and Wright (1973) demonstrated that when apes were trained to a criterion on each of a series of 2-choice visual discrimination problems and then given critical test trials with %-in. wire mesh (an irrelevant cue) positioned immediately in front of each problem's objects (Fig. l), accuracy of performance was significantly more disrupted in orangutans than in chimpanzees and gorillas (N = 8 for each group). On trials where the wire mesh was present, gorilla performance remained at about 90% correct (the pretest criterion level), chimpanzee's performance fell to about 80% correct, and orangutan's performance fell to 70% correct. Rumbaugh, et al. suggest that the disruption on chis task may be species-related to how arboreal or terrestrial rhe subjects would be in FIG. 1. (a) The Plexiglas bins as used for crlterional acqu~sition. The objects are typical of those used in the discrimination task. (b) The Plexiglas bins with sections of %-in. wire mesh inserted immediately behind the Plexiglas front (Photo credir, D. R.
A Time-Motion Study by Methods of High-Speed Cinematography

In this paper an attempt has been made to evaluate a method of motion study pertaining to moving machinery. The test object was a 13-ton capacity punch press and the motion study was performed with a high-speed motion picture camera. It is shown that the motion picture camera produces: (1) a visual indication of the actual occurrence which allows an understanding that nonvisual means could not afford; (2) a method of study which does not influence the system studied in the least; and (3) a record of the occurrence which has very little inherent error.
Cerebrospinal fluid serotonin in brain tumor and other neurological disorders determined by a spectrophotofluorometric technique.

Abstract A spectrophotofluorometric technique was applied to a study of the serotonin content of cerebrospinal fluid obtained from 208 neurological patients (233 samples) and 23 normal controls (23 samples). The concentrations of 5-hydroxytryptamine in each of the latter was less than 20 mμg. per milliliter. The amine occurred with appreciably greater frequency and concentration in primary (30 samples) as compared with metastatic brain tumor (30 samples). In one instance, that of an acoustic neuroma, the level of serotonin in the spinal fluid was greater than the concomitant level in the serum. There was no relationship between the individual levels of spinal fluid serotonin and protein. However, in both primary and secondary cerebral neoplasms and in the nontumor group, the mean protein concentration tended to be higher in the positive than in the negative fluids. The neurofibroma was the only spinal cord tumor manifesting an increased concentration of cerebrospinal fluid serotonin. Elevated spinal fluid levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine were also associated with recent cerebrovascular diseases, acute cerebral trauma, grand mal seizures, hepatic coma, and diffuse central nervous system disease of unknown etiology with cerebral atrophy. It is suggested in the latter that the neurological findings may be related to an abnormality in serotonin metabolism.
Materials Research, Super Batteries, and the Technopolitics of Electric Automobility

The protracted commercialization of battery electric passenger vehicles is often ascribed to the failure of the automobile industry to embrace the latest power sources. In this article, I argue that the pace of progress in this context was instead dictated largely by the ways researchers constructed metrics of power source performance. Such processes can in turn be seen as issuing from the conflicting agendas of academic, industrial, and state research. Knowledge of advanced power sources historically tended to be generated not in the automobile industry but in the research laboratories of allied industries and especially in state-funded academic networks. Notable in this regard was materials science and engineering, which exerted an important epistemic influence on advanced power source and electric vehicle research and development. Materials researchers tended to select compounds for reactivity rather than safety and durability, giving rise to the idea of a super battery and leading them and others to treat power sources as essentially materials rather than parts of complex technological systems. This way of thinking prevented technologists from appreciating the physical limits of power sources in real-world applications, setting up crises of expectation at later stages of electric automobile research and development. In the gap between basic research and the exigencies of industrial technoscience, the imagined super-battery electric vehicle came to be mobilized for ends consonant with multiple entrenched interests.
The Effectiveness of Total Worker Health Interventions: A Systematic Review for a National Institutes of Health Pathways to Prevention Workshop

The Total Worker Health program was created in 2011 to focus attention on integrated approaches to worker health and safety. This review evaluates evidence about the benefits of integrated health p...
Engendering Self Through Monologue and Performance: Helping Your Clients Explore Identity and Sexuality

This chapter focuses on the combined use of writing and performance as a means of exploring and validating gender identity and sexual orientation. The chapter is written from my perspective as a licensed social worker, whose training in the use of these modalities derives from conferences, workshops, and extensive reading. My experience suggests that social workers can integrate these modalities into their practices even in the absence of a formal degree in expressive therapies, as long as they have basic training and can secure qualified supervision.
A future after freedom

Just after the Civil War, two African-American families left Maryland to build new lives in northern Delaware. Sidney and Rachel Stump and David and Sarah Walmsley probably did not know each other in Maryland, but they settled in nearby communities in Delaware. There work, family, church, and community connections may have introduced them. Both men labored on area farms, when they could get work, until they were at least 70 years old. Both women did laundry and sewing for neighbors in town. Both families raised their children to work hard and to value education, their faith, and “joyous play.” The Stumps and Walmsleys drew on their pasts and looked to the future as they created a distinctive cultural style framed by racism and constrained opportunities. Archaeology prompted by the Delaware Department of Transportation’s road-building activities has brought us closer to these families’ stories. In this paper, readers visit them in their homes on the edge of town, as they prepare for a most important event in their annual festive calendar, the Big Quarterly.
Engineering the failure-free lifetime for Cu vias

Stress induced void (SIV) nucleation and growth is studied using phenomenological creep models and used to predict failure rates in Cu/low-k via chains from a 110nm process. It is argued that the void formation is induced at grain-boundaries, triple-junctions, and microstructural changes due to the local stress concentrations and stress-gradients inducing micro-fracture and subsequent flux divergence. The longer term stress-relaxation is described by a power-law in the thermal stress. Experiments are performed to verify the impact of via adhesion, via gouging, via diameter, via placement in extensions relative to large metal leads, and geometrical variations in the metal layer. High Temperature Storage (HTS) tests completed at 125 to 250° are compared to long-term, low-temperature (30° C) data to verify the acceleration model. Our data indicates that a failure-free lifetime (FFL) may exist for certain geometries, and new scaling relationships are used to establish conditions where SIV does not impact the long-term reliability of Cu vias. A novel HTS protocol is suggested for scaling to immortal vias using the right hand side of the cumulative distribution function and model fitting to a generalized Pareto distribution, where the Pareto parameter is equal to the power-law of the stress-relaxation. The short-term and long-term HTS protocols are linked in the model, so that measurement of one can provide information about the other, allowing for the use of the distribution to establish process and design factors that ensure high reliability.
Identification of most important rice root morphological markers in response to contrasting moisture regimes under vegetative stage drought

The experiment was carried out to examine the effect of moisture stress (drought) on different root traits, rooting pattern and to identify important root morphological markers contributing to stress tolerance. Moisture stress was imposed on 21 days old seedlings of selected rice genotypes grown in PVC cylinders. Samplings were done at 10 and 20 days after imposition of stress to examine the effect of stress on root growth and development. Results revealed that rate of assimilate allocation impeded more under 20 days stress (severe) than in 10 days stress (moderate) in terms of enhanced root: shoot ratio, maximum root length to shoot length ratio and root volume. Magnitude of trait variation among genotypes was more pronounced under severe stress than under moderate stress. The root: shoot ratio, maximum root length to shoot length ratio and root volume were observed to be the most crucial morphological markers in determining drought tolerance in rice genotypes analyzed through biplot analysis. Among the thirteen genotypes tested, AC-42994, AC-42997, AC-43020, CR-143-2-2, Ronga Bora and Bora were found to possess desirable root traits and these genotypes can be used in the breeding programme for enhancing drought tolerance in rice.
Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging: Concepts, Basal Ganglia Variation in Age-Related Iron Deposition, and Artifacts

Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) is a novel technique that has been increasingly utilized over the past several years to visualize vasculature, hemorrhage, and deposits of calcium or metals as well as other causes of susceptiblity artifact. SWI combines both magnitude and phase data in order to optimize, visualize (and sometimes quantify) magnetic susceptibility effects. The foundations for this technique were developed in the late 1990s, initially intended as an MR venographic technique (by Reichenbach and coworkers in 1997), as it was designed to take advantage of the paramagnetic properties of deoxygenated hemoglobin, which is higher concentrations within venous blood, and thus it was considered to be a form of blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) imaging at that time. While BOLD imaging went on to become the mainstay for functional MRI (fMRI) imaging, several later iterations and contributions were involved in the eventual evolution to the technique of SWI that is currently available today for routine implementation from the major MRI scanner manufacturers.
Assessment of Sex Differences in Body Composition Among Adolescents With Anorexia Nervosa

Abstract Purpose To compare deficits in fat mass (FM) and lean body mass (LM) among male and female adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) and to identify other covariates associated with body composition. Methods We retrospectively reviewed electronic medical records of all subjects aged 9–20 years with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition diagnosis of AN and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scans after initial evaluation at Stanford between March 1997 and February 2011. From the dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scans, LM and FM results were converted to age-, height-, sex-, and race-specific Z-scores for age using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey reference data. Results A total of 16 boys and 119 girls with AN met eligibility criteria. The FM Z-score in girls with AN (−3.24 ± 1.50) was significantly lower than that in boys with AN (−2.41 ± .96) in unadjusted models ( p = .007). LM was reduced in both girls and boys with AN, but there was no significant sex difference in LM Z-scores. In multivariate models, lower percentage median body mass index was significantly associated with lower FM Z-scores (β = .08, p p = .0002), whereas lower whole body bone mineral content Z-score was significantly associated with lower LM Z-score (β = .21, p = .0006). Conclusions FM deficits in girls were significantly greater than those in boys with AN in unadjusted models; however, the degree of malnutrition appeared to be the primary factor accounting for this difference. There were no significant sex differences in FM or LM in adjusted models.
CHAPTER 14 – Gonadotropin Signaling in the Ovary

This chapter discusses signaling pathways through which follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) promotes follicle maturation and luteinizing hormone (LH) promotes ovulation and corpus luteum formation. The gonadotropic hormones FSH and LH initiate signaling events in ovarian target cells that govern the reproductive cycle and thus the continuation of a species. The ovarian follicle is the key structure that houses the oocyte, and upon appropriate stimulation by FSH and LH, follicles produce hormones that promote the development of secondary sex characteristics and that regulate the hypothalamic–pituitary axis as well as uterine receptivity. Additionally, the follicle must extrude the oocyte at an appropriate time to allow for fertilization, and remaining cells within the follicle must differentiate into cells of the corpus luteum that produce hormones necessary to sustain pregnancy. Although there is a great deal of species variability, LH is uniformly required to initiate progesterone production by the corpus luteum, which is necessary for implantation and the maintenance of pregnancy. In the absence of FSH, follicles do not develop beyond the preantral stage, and animals are infertile. Similarly, in the absence of LH, ovulation does not ensue, corpora lutea do not form, and animals are infertile. Both gonadotropic hormones initiate their activities by binding to surface protein receptors.
Vestibular Activation Habituates the Vasovagal Response in the Rat.

Vasovagal syncope is a significant medical problem without effective therapy, postulated to be related to a collapse of baroreflex function. While some studies have shown that repeated static tilts can block vasovagal syncope, this was not found in other studies. Using anesthetized, male Long-Evans rats that were highly susceptible to generation of vasovagal responses, we found that repeated activation of the vestibulosympathetic reflex with ±2 and ±3 mA, 0.025 Hz sinusoidal Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (sGVS) caused incremental changes in blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) that blocked further generation of vasovagal responses. Initially, BP and HR fell ≈20-50 mmHg and ≈20-50 beats/min (bpm) into a vasovagal response when stimulated with sGVS in susceptible rats. As the rats were continually stimulated, HR initially rose to counteract the fall in BP; then the increase in HR became more substantial and long lasting, effectively opposing the fall in BP. Finally, the vestibular stimuli simply caused an increase in BP, the normal sequence following activation of the VSR. Concurrently, habituation caused disappearance of the low frequency (0.025 and 0.05 Hz) oscillations in BP and HR that must be present when vasovagal responses are induced. Habituation also produced significant increases in baroreflex sensitivity (P<0.001). Thus, repeated low frequency activation of the VSR resulted in a reduction and loss of susceptibility to development of vasovagal responses in rats that were previously highly susceptible. We posit that reactivation of the baroreflex, which is depressed by anesthesia and the disappearance of low frequency oscillations in BP and HR are likely to be critically involved in producing resistance to the development of vasovagal responses. SGVS has been widely used to activate muscle sympathetic nerve activity in humans and is safe and well tolerated. Potentially, it could be used to produce similar habituation of vasovagal syncope in humans.
A peptide adhesive molded by magnesium glues Rubisco's subunits together

Rubisco enzymes play central roles in carbon fixation, with potential importance in biotechnology, but have eluded a full description of their multistep assembly and function. A new article describes the fascinating discovery that some archaeal Rubiscos contain a built-in assembly domain inserted into an otherwise canonical Rubisco fold, providing a tremendous expansion of our understanding of the diversity of naturally occurring Rubiscos.
A life-history theory perspective on obesity.

We extend Nettle et al.’s insurance hypothesis (IH) argument, drawing upon life-history theory (LHT), a developmental evolutionary perspective that documents downstream consequences of early-life exposure to unpredictable environments. We discuss novel evidence consistent with both IH and LHT, suggesting that early-life exposure to unpredictable environments is associated with reduced engagement in weight management behaviors and a greater probability of adulthood obesity.
Adaptive Extreme Sports

High risk, adrenaline, action—these are the hallmarks of an extreme sport. Once thought to be inaccessible, the arena of extreme sports is quickly becoming a cultural norm for adaptive athletes. Increasing media exposure and advancements in technology have allowed the recreational participant to be involved in extreme sports in a fun yet protected manner.
Drugs Affecting the Respiratory System

Differences in the disposition of drugs among exotic animals is a well-recognized hurdle when treating disease. Differences exist in pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and disease processes. This article focuses on the principles of treating respiratory tract diseases, with the recognition that not all drugs are indicated for use in all exotic species. The discussion begins with a description of respiratory physiology as it pertains to response to drugs, using the mammalian lung as a template. The role of respiratory defense mechanisms in airway protection and disease is addressed. Drugs used to treat the respiratory tract include the bronchodilators and anti-inflammatory drugs, drugs that modify respiratory secretions (e.g., mucolytics, mucokinetics, and expectorants), antitussive drugs, and decongestants. Aerosolization is an important adjuvant for respiratory therapy as long as precautions are met. Infectious diseases are among the more common respiratory diseases encountered, and the discussion includes a focus on the use of antibiotics for treating respiratory tract infections.
Impulsive choice and pre‐exposure to delays: iv. effects of delay‐ and immediacy‐exposure training relative to maturational changes in impulsivity

Impulsive choice describes preference for smaller, sooner rewards over larger, later rewards. Excessive delay discounting (i.e., rapid devaluation of delayed rewards) underlies some impulsive choices, and is observed in many maladaptive behaviors (e.g., substance abuse, gambling). Interventions designed to reduce delay discounting may provide therapeutic gains. One such intervention provides rats with extended training with delayed reinforcers. When compared to a group given extended training with immediate reinforcers, delay-exposed rats make significantly fewer impulsive choices. To what extent is this difference due to delay-exposure training shifting preference toward self-control or immediacy-exposure training (the putative control group) shifting preference toward impulsivity? The current study compared the effects of delay- and immediacy-exposure training to a no-training control group and evaluated within-subject changes in impulsive choice across 51 male Wistar rats. Delay-exposed rats made significantly fewer impulsive choices than immediacy-exposed and control rats. Between-group differences in impulsive choice were not observed in the latter two groups. While delay-exposed rats showed large, significant pre- to posttraining reductions in impulsive choice, immediacy-exposed and control rats showed small reductions in impulsive choice. These results suggest that extended training with delayed reinforcers reduces impulsive choice, and that extended training with immediate reinforcers does not increase impulsive choice.
SOME NEW DICHOTOMOUS REGRESSION METHODS

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses some new methods in dichotomous regression. It discusses the analogy between dichotomous regression and normal-theory ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and describes a statistic, that is, the likelihood-equivalent error rate that has R 2 -like properties. Dichotomous regression coefficients are usually measured in nonintuitive units. The chapter presents ICU analysis that requires the fitting of a wide variety of functional forms for the link function, special procedures to screen for bad fitting subsets of the data and for poorly behaved likelihood functions, and the ready availability of fitted probabilities and residuals for each case.
Stopped-flow linear sweep voltammetry at the reticulated vitreous carbon electrode in a flow injection system

Abstract A flow injection system was used to introduce a sample in to a flow-through electrochemical cell based on a reticulated vitreous carbon (r.v.c.) electrode. Products of the initial electrolysis are trapped in the porous electrode by stopping the flow. Linear sweep voltammetry under stopped-flow conditions forms the basis of a determination of a reversibly electrolyzed species in the presence of an irreversibly electrolyzed species. The determination of dopamine in the presence of ascorbic acid was used as an illustrative example. Response varied linearly with dopamine concentration between 8 X 10−7 and 3 X 10−5 M and the detection limit (S/N = 3) was 5 X 10−7 M dopamine.
Die Revolution der Prozessautomatisierung bei Versicherungsunternehmen: Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Die nachste Stufe der Prozessautomation durch kunstliche Intelligenz ist noch in ihren Anfangen. Fur Versicherer scheinen die Moglichkeiten durch IPA (Intelligent Process Automation) in Kombination mit RPA endlos zu sein. Von der Verwendung virtueller Assistenten und Agenten, uber Chatbots fur ein neuartiges Interaktionserlebnis bis zur Erkennung von Mustern und verdachtigen Aktivitaten zur Betrugserkennung.
Application of Machine Learning Classification Algorithm to Cybersecurity Awareness

Cybersecurity plays a vital role in protecting the privacy and data of people. In the recent times, there have been several issues relating to cyber fraud, data breach and cyber theft. Many people in the United States have been a victim of identity theft. Thus, understanding of cybersecurity plays an important role in protecting their information and devices. As the adoption of smart devices and social networking are increasing, cybersecurity awareness needs to be spread. The research aims at building a classification machine learning algorithm to determine the awareness of cybersecurity by the common masses in the United States. We were able to attain a good F-measure score when evaluating the performance of the classification model built for this study.
EDSGuard: Enforcing Network Security Requirements for Energy Delivery Systems

Recently, energy delivery systems (EDS) have been targeted by sophisticated network-based attacks tailored to disrupt the proper distribution of energy among different geographical regions, resulting in non-trivial socio-economical loses and a loss of public confidence in EDS infrastructures. Such attacks were facilitated by the lack of native security measures regarding existing network communication protocols for EDS, which allowed attackers to deliberately manipulate the state of network connections between control modules and field devices. In order to address these concerns, this paper presents EDSGuard, a state-based firewall and monitoring tool that leverages state-of the-art packet inspection techniques along with software-defined networks (SDN), to intelligently implement a set of security requirements and best practices for protecting EDS networks, as issued by regulatory organizations within the EDS community in the last years. In addition, EDSGuard implements a series of first-response countermeasure strategies, which can automatically react to anomalies and attacks, thus effectively mitigating their consequences and impact as a result. We provide the overall rationale behind our approach, as well as a description of our experimental results depicting a set of attack scenarios inspired by recent incidents affecting EDS infrastructures, which provide evidence of the suitability of EDSGuard for being fully adopted in practice.
Molecular basis for the faithful replication of 5-methylcytosine and its oxidized forms by DNA polymerase β

DNA methylation is an epigenetic mark that regulates gene expression in mammals. One method of methylation removal is through ten-eleven translocation-catalyzed oxidation and the base excision repair pathway. The iterative oxidation of 5-methylcytosine catalyzed by ten-eleven translocation enzymes produces three oxidized forms of cytosine: 5-hydroxmethylcytosine, 5-formylcytosine, and 5-carboxycytosine. The effect these modifications have on the efficiency and fidelity of the base excision repair pathway during the repair of opposing base damage, and in particular DNA polymerization, remains to be elucidated. Using kinetic assays, we show that the catalytic efficiency for the incorporation of dGTP catalyzed by human DNA polymerase β is not affected when 5-methylcytosine, 5-hydroxmethylcytosine, and 5-formylcytosine are in the DNA template. In contrast, the catalytic efficiency of dGTP insertion decreases ∼20-fold when 5-carboxycytosine is in the templating position, as compared with unmodified cytosine. However, DNA polymerase fidelity is unaltered when these modifications are in the templating position. Structural analysis reveals that the methyl, hydroxymethyl, and formyl modifications are easily accommodated within the polymerase active site. However, to accommodate the carboxyl modification, the phosphate backbone on the templating nucleotide shifts ∼2.5 A to avoid a potential steric/repulsive clash. This altered conformation is stabilized by lysine 280, which makes a direct interaction with the carboxyl modification and the phosphate backbone of the templating strand. This work provides the molecular basis for the accommodation of epigenetic base modifications in a polymerase active site and suggests that these modifications are not mutagenically copied during base excision repair.
Neural Activation During Visual Attention Differs in Individuals with High versus Low Macular Pigment Density.

SCOPE: The neural efficiency hypothesis for lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z) suggests that higher levels of L+Z in the central nervous system (CNS) are predictive of stronger stimulus‐specific brain responses. Past research suggests that supplementing L+Z can improve neural processing speed and cognitive function across multiple domains, which supports this hypothesis. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which CNS L+Z levels predict brain responses using an attentionally taxing task. METHODS AND RESULTS: Macular pigment optical density (MPOD) is measured at baseline in 85 participants ranging in age from 18–92 years. Brain activation is measured using dense array electroencephalography. Stimuli evoking the signal include a grating array of vertical bars, oscillating at four driving frequencies. Significant stimulus‐specific interactions are detected between attend condition, location, and age (p < .002) for unattended image locations, and between age and location (p < .008) for attended locations. Although no differences are found across age by MPOD, this measure is found to be predictive of neural power at parafoveal bar locations (R² .080). CONCLUSION: CNS L+Z status is related to differences in brain activation in conditions designed to stress visual attention. These differences are strongest for older subjects.
Congenital Anomalies of the Kidney and Urinary Tract: A Clinical Review

This review highlights the most common congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) that are encountered in pediatric practices. CAKUT are the most common cause of prenatally diagnosed developmental malformations and encompass a spectrum of disorders impacting lower urinary tract development as well as kidney development and function. In pediatric and adolescent populations, developmental abnormalities are the leading cause of end-stage kidney disease. The goal of this review is to provide pediatric providers a framework for appropriate clinical management as well as highlight when referral to subspecialty care is needed. While the exact etiologies of CAKUT are not completely defined, new evidence demonstrates that genetic and molecular changes impact embryonic kidney and urinary tract development. As a result, phenotypes and clinical outcomes may be affected. Because pediatric providers provide frontline care to children and adolescents with developmental kidney and urinary tract anomalies, updated knowledge of CAKUT pathogenesis, embryology, clinical management, and patient outcomes is needed. This manuscript reviews CAKUT etiologies and essential diagnostic, prognostic, and management strategies.
Reward deficits in compulsive eating

Abstract Food is consumed for at least two reasons: to maintain energy homeostasis and to obtain the pleasurable properties of palatable food items. Consumption driven by the hedonic properties of palatable food can result in excessive caloric intake, which likely plays an important role in the strikingly high rates of obesity in developed countries. Compared with the well-characterized mechanisms of homeostatic feeding, less is known about the mechanisms of hedonic feeding. Palatable food can stimulate activity in brain reward systems, and emerging evidence suggests that excessive consumption of such food items can trigger counteradaptive responses in reward circuitries similar to the actions of drugs of abuse. Here, I will summarize our current understanding of how overconsumption of palatable energy-dense food can alter the activity of brain reward systems and the role that such diet-induced reward dysfunction may play in the emergence of compulsive eating.
Outcomes of The BODY Project: A Program to Halt Obesity and Its Medical Consequences in High School Students

Adolescent obesity continues to be a major public health issue with a third of American adolescents being overweight or obese. Excess weight is associated with cardiovascular risk factors and pre-diabetes. High school students identified as carrying excess weight [body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m2, or BMI percentile ≥85 %] were invited to participate in The BODY Project, an intervention that included a medical evaluation and a personalized medical report of the results of that evaluation sent to the parent/guardian at home. The medical evaluation and report was repeated 12 months later. The reports also contained advice on how the individual student could modify their lifestyle to improve the specific medical parameters showing abnormalities. Outcomes were change in BMI, blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), fasting glucose, and fasting insulin. Students participating in The BODY Project intervention demonstrated modest, yet significant, reductions in BMI (p < 0.001) 1 year later, and also had significant improvements in systolic blood pressure (p < 0.001) and cholesterol profile (HDL p = 0.002; LDL p < 0.001) at follow-up. The BODY Project, by means of a minimal educational program anchored on the principle of teachable moments around the students’ increased perception of their own risk for disease from the medical abnormalities uncovered, demonstrates evidence of potential effectiveness in addressing adolescent obesity.
Evaluation and Management of Scaphoid-Trapezium-Trapezoid Joint Arthritis

Degenerative arthritis at the articulation of the scaphoid, trapezium, and trapezoid (STT or triscaphe joint) is a common degenerative disease of the wrist. Pain and weakness with grip strength reduction and functional limitations when performing routine daily tasks are common complaints of patients with STT arthritis. Initial conservative treatments for STT arthritis include splinting, bracing, activity modification, anti-inflammatory medication, and steroid injections for pain relief. Failure of conservative treatment is the main indication for surgery, which may include distal scaphoid excision, with or without filling of the void after excision, trapeziectomy, STT arthrodesis, or STT implant arthroplasty.
Hysteresis and beating phenomena in loop quantum cosmology

Difference in pressure during expansion and contraction stages of the cosmic evolution can result in a hysteresislike phenomenon in nonsingular cyclic models sourced with a massive scalar field. We discuss this phenomenon for spatially closed isotropic spacetimes in loop quantum cosmology (LQC) for a quadratic and a coshlike potential, with and without a negative cosmological constant using an effective spacetime description of the underlying quantum geometry. Two inequivalent loop quantizations are investigated---one based on holonomies of the Ashtekar-Barbero connection using closed loops, and another based on the connection operator. Due to the underlying quantum geometric effects, both of the models avoid classical singularities, but unlike the holonomy based quantization, the connection based quantization results in two quantum bounces. In spite of the differences in nonsingular effective dynamics of both of the models, the phenomena of hysteresis is found to be robust for the ${\ensuremath{\phi}}^{2}$ potential. Quasiperiodic beats exist for the coshlike potential, irrespective of the nature of the classical recollapse whether by the spatial curvature, or a negative cosmological constant. An interplay of the negative cosmological constant and the spatial curvature in the presence of potentials results in rich features such as islands of cluster of bounces separated by an accelerated expansion and a universe which either undergoes a steplike expansion with multiple turnarounds or quasiperiodic beats depending on a ``tuning'' of the steepness parameter of the potential.
An unexpected peripheral blood finding: microfilaria.

Microfilaria are not parasites native to the continental United States. On a routine peripheral blood smear examination from an emergency room patient, a microfilaria was identified. The patient wa...
Stability And Boundedness In Nonlinear And Neutral Difference Equations using New Variation of Parameters Formula And Fixed Point Theory

In the case of nonlinear problems, whether in differential or difference equations, it is difficult and in some cases impossible to invert the problem and obtain a suitable mapping that can be effectively used in fixed point theory to qualitatively analyze its solutions. In this paper we consider the existence of a positive sequence and utilize it in the capacity of integrating factor to obtain a new variation of parameters formula. Then, we will use the obtained new variation of parameters formula and revert to the contraction principle to arrive at results concerning, boundedness, periodicity and stability. The author is working on parallel results for the continuous case.
In Support of Innovative Partnerships for Crime Prevention: The Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program

This chapter serves as the introduction to a set of cases that describe the planning, implementation, and assessment of a federally funded and locally administered crime prevention program: the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) program. The BCJI program emerged in 2012 as part of a suite of three federal programs known as the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI). This three-pronged initiative sought to link federal support to improvements in affordable housing crime prevention and a decrease in poverty through investments in education, training, and targeted incentives for private development in designated areas. While the BCJI program represented a new type of federal anti-crime program, it shares much in common with other programs that have come before it, many with similar theories as to the causes of crime, as well as a clear set of prescriptions toward its reduction and prevention. This chapter offers a description of the BCJI program; the history of federal efforts in support of local crime reduction; a concise review of the relevant theories that drive the programs’ preferred set of intervention points; and a summary of nine local case studies, followed by a final chapter that describes the technical assistance challenges in building locally informed, innovative, and comprehensive crime prevention programs.
A prospective cohort study of post-traumatic stress disorder and maternal-infant bonding after first childbirth.

Abstract Objective To investigate risk factors for childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder (CR-PTSD) measured 1-month after first childbirth, and the association between CR-PTSD and maternal-infant bonding. Methods In this prospective cohort study 3006 nulliparous women living in Pennsylvania, USA, were asked about CR-PTSD at 1-month postpartum, and maternal-infant bonding at 1, 6 and 12-months postpartum. Multivariable logistic regression models identified risk factors for CR-PTSD and associations between CR-PTSD and maternal-infant bonding at 1, 6 and 12-months postpartum, controlling for confounding variables - including postpartum depression, stress and social support. Results Nearly half (47.5%) of the women reported that during labor and delivery they were afraid that they or their baby might be hurt or die, and 225 women (7.5%) reported experiencing one or more CR-PTSD symptoms at 1-month postpartum. Depression, stress and low social support during pregnancy were associated with CR-PTSD, as well as labor induction, delivery complications, poor pain control, and unplanned cesarean delivery. Women with CR-PTSD reported a less positive childbirth experience, less shared decision-making, and were more likely to score in the bottom third on maternal-infant bonding at 1-month postpartum (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.5, 95% CI 1.8–3.3, p Conclusion In this large-scale prospective cohort study we found that CR-PTSD was consistently associated with lower levels of maternal-infant bonding over the course of the first year after first childbirth.
Women’s Business Ownership and Entrepreneurship Through the Lens of U.S. Federal Policies

Although the U.S. is at the forefront of nations promoting women's business ownership and entrepreneurship, the role of U.S. federal policies in supporting these goals remains unexamined. This study examines six decades (1951-2011) of U.S. Federal Statutes to answer the research question—how do U.S. federal policies support women’s business ownership and women’s entrepreneurship? The study methodology includes quantitative and qualitative analysis of federal laws and resolutions. The quantitative analysis suggests that in 1988, with the passage of the Women’s Business Ownership Act, the U.S. began to intensify policy interest in this area. What began as policy experimentation in 1988 gradually became institutionalized. The qualitative analysis suggests that in terms of broad policy intent and intended outcomes not much has changed since 1988. Given this sobering finding, we discuss important implications and future research questions to motivate stronger research on how government can better support women business owners and entrepreneurs.
Constitutional Dysfunction on Trial: Congressional Lawsuits and the Separation of Powers: Farrier, Jasmine. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2019. 198 pages. $115 (hardcover); $29.95 (softcover).

There is widespread agreement today that the United States’ separation of powers system is dysfunctional. The executive branch increasingly expands its power at the expense of Congress. Congress ra...
Global Cities and Socioeconomic Inequality: A Pathways Inquiry

Inequality in metropolitan areas is part of a paradoxical triangle of competing motives over resources allocation. Chief among inequality/equity rivals is the penchant for urban economic development, but in recent decades, ecological sustainability has also become increasingly important in this triangle. To understand inequality in global cities in such a context, one must recognize the intensity of economic development motives for those particular metropolitan areas seeking to maintain worldwide centrality, connectivity and command over the forces of globalization. As a comparative analysis of 53 large U.S. metropolitan areas, this paper examines the apparatus of a global city in response to globalization, particularly since such metropolitan areas produce higher socioeconomic inequality than other places. Through a causal path analysis, it empirically uncovers essential components of the paradoxical triangle in the ongoing struggle of global cities to sustain their world-city status. In so doing, the evidence suggests heightened inequality is a function of (a) the global city’s use of certain “cornerstone” resources to sustain global advantage, and (b) its resultant polarized employment structure and commensurate skewed social stratification.
Optimization, identification, and comparison of peptides from germinated chickpea (Cicer arietinum) protein hydrolysates using either papain or ficin and their relationship with markers of type 2 diabetes

Abstract The objective was to optimize and compare the production of antidiabetic peptides from germinated chickpea isolated protein using either papain or ficin. Kabuli chickpeas were germinated for 2, 4 and 6 days. Proteins were isolated, and peptides were produced based on a central composite design selecting human dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP-IV) inhibition as a response. Peptide sequencing was performed to identify and evaluate the physiochemical, biochemical and bitterness properties. DPP-IV inhibition using papain was 84.66 ± 8.72%, with ficin being 72.05 ± 1.20%. The optimum hydrolysate conditions were 6 days germination, 1:10 E/S, and 30 min ficin hydrolysis; SPGAGKG, GLAR, and STSA were identified. Pure SPGAGKG had relatively high affinity for DPP-IV (-7.2 kcal/mol) and α-glucosidase inhibition (-5.9 kcal/mol), with an IC50 of 0.27 mg/mL for DPP-IV inhibition. Peptides in the chickpea hydrolysate inhibited markers of T2D, indicating that the optimal conditions could be used to prepare a functional food ingredient.