cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Age-Related and Gender-Related Changes in Monaural Speech Recognition

Previous studies of older listeners suggest age-related declines in speech recognition. However, the interpretation of these results is not straightforward because auditory thresholds, which account for the largest proportion of the variance in speech-recognition scores, also vary considerably with age. Here, effects of age, gender, and auditory thresholds on several measures of speech recognition were assessed for a large sample of individuals enrolled in a longitudinal study of age-related hearing loss. Participants ranged in age from 55-84 years. They were evaluated with a battery of conventional audiometric measures and speech-recognition materials, including NU-6 monosyllabic words, Synthetic Sentence Identification sentences, and high-context and low-context sentences from the Speech Perception in Noise test. Two analyses were conducted to assure that changes in speech-recognition scores with age were examined independently of age-related changes in auditory thresholds. In the first analysis, no significant differences in speech recognition were observed for individuals in three age groups (55-64, 65-74, 75-84 years) who were selected so that average puretone thresholds for the groups were within 5 dB. In the second analysis, using partial correlations to adjust both score and age for their association with average thresholds, significant declines with age were observed for males in maximum word recognition, maximum synthetic sentence identification, and keyword recognition in high-context sentences. For females, no significant changes in speech recognition with age were observed for any test.
Interspecific scaling of the hindlimb skeleton in lizards, crocodilians, felids and canids: does limb bone shape correlate with limb posture?

During locomotion, lizards and crocodilians generally use a more sprawling limb posture than most mammals and experience substantial axial rotation of the femur. Consequently, the limb bones of most mammals are loaded predominantly in bending, but the limb bones of lizards and crocodilians are loaded primarily in torsion. As body size increases, torsional shear stress in limb bones is expected to increase more than bending stress; therefore, limb bone diameters of lizards and crocodilians might be expected to scale with relatively greater positive allometry than limb bone diameters of mammals that use upright posture. To test this hypothesis, scaling patterns of the femur and tibia in lizards (iguanians and varanids) and crocodilians were compared with patterns in felid and canid mammals, using both non-phylogenetic statistical methods and phylogenetically independent contrasts. Comparisons with theoretical models indicate that size-related changes in limb bone geometry do not completely compensate for size-related increases in limb bone stress in the lizard or crocodilian lineages examined. Unless lizards and crocodilians compensate for size-related increases in limb bone stress through other mechanisms (e.g. changes in limb kinematics or the mechanical properties of limb bones), limb bone stresses are predicted to be relatively greater among larger species of these lineages. However, limb bone diameters appear to scale with greater positive allometry (relative to body mass) in varanids than in iguanians, suggesting that larger lizard lineages might compensate for increased stress through changes in bone geometry to a greater degree than smaller lineages. Allometric scaling patterns for many limb bone diameters among iguanians are more similar to those of felids and canids than to those of varanids; thus, sprawling locomotor habits do not correlate clearly with a particular pattern of limb bone scaling. This suggests that similarity of interspecific scaling patterns of limb bone lengths and diameters is not sufficient to justify inferences of similar locomotor function.
Allogeneic stem cell transplant in renal failure: engraftment and prolonged survival, but high incidence of neurologic toxicity.

Allogeneic stem cell transplant is increasingly used in older patients and those with comorbidities. Pre-transplant kidney injury is a common problem in patients with hematologic malignancies who m...
The Use of Behavioral Assessment to Prescribe and Evaluate Treatments for Severely Handicapped Children.

Behavioral assessment procedures were used to prescribe and evaluate treatments of maladaptive behavior for 2 children with severe multiple handicaps. In Experiment 1, the results of an assessment of reinforcer preference were used in conjunction with a functional analysis of the conditions maintaining self-injurious behavior to prescribe a treatment for a child with severe disabilities. The treatment procedure involved the use of a pressure-sensitive microswitch to activate reinforcing stimuli during two solitary conditions, during which self-injurious behavior had occurred at high rates. The results were evaluated with a multiple baseline across settings design and indicated that self-injury decreased with concomitant increases in microswitch activation. Results were maintained at 6 weeks, 8 weeks, and 6 months. In Experiment 2, the results of behavioral assessments of reinforcer preference and self-injurious behavior were combined to develop a treatment for a second severely handicapped child, who exhibited high rates of self-injury in demand situations. This treatment was evaluated with a multiple baseline across tasks design and resulted in the elimination of self-injury for up to 15 months.
A multi‐stage inventory model

An inventory control problem, in which inventory may be maintained on raw materials or on work after each stage of a three-stage process, is solved.
Action embellishment: an intention bias in the perception of success.

Naive theories of behavior hold that actions are caused by an agent's intentions, and the subsequent success of an action is measured by the satisfaction of those intentions. However, when an action is not as successful as intended, the expected causal link between intention and action may distort perception of the action itself. Four studies found evidence of an intention bias in perceptions of action. Actors perceived actions to be more successful when given a prior choice (e.g., choose between 2 words to type) and also when they felt greater motivation for the action (e.g., hitting pictures of disliked people). When the intent was to fail (e.g., singing poorly), choice led to worse estimates of performance. A final experiment suggested that intention bias works independent from self-enhancement motives. In observing another actor hit pictures of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, shots were distorted to match the actor's intentions, even when it opposed personal wishes. Together these studies indicate that judgments of action may be automatically distorted and that these inferences arise from the expected consistency between intention and action in agency.
Solid state chemistry of proteins: II. The correlation of storage stability of freeze‐dried human growth hormone (hGH) with structure and dynamics in the glassy solid

This research presents storage stability of human growth hormone, hGH, in lyophilized di-saccharide formulations. Stability via HPLC assay was assessed at 40 and 50 degrees C. Structure of the protein in the solids was assessed by infrared spectroscopy. Molecular mobility was characterized by structural relaxation times estimated from DSC data and by measurement of atomic motion on a nanosecond time scale by neutron scattering. Very large stability differences were observed among the various formulations, with both chemical and aggregation stability showing the same qualitative trends with formulation. Near the T(g), T(g) appeared to be a relevant stability parameter, but for storage well below T(g), stability seems unrelated to T(g). Stability (chemical and aggregation) was weakly correlated with secondary structure of the protein, and there was a partial quantitative correlation between degradation rate and the structural relaxation time. However, at equivalent levels of disaccharide relative to protein, sucrose systems were about a factor of two more stable than trehalose formulations, but yet had greater mobility as measured by structural relaxation time. Secondary structure was equivalent in both formulations. Neutron scattering results documented greater suppression of fast dynamics by sucrose than by trehalose, suggesting that well below T(g), fast dynamics are important to stability.
Case Study: Possible Demotion Of A Long-Time And Faithful Employee

This HRM case deals with the transfer and demotion of a “long-time and faithful” employee due to poor work performance. The case is based upon an actual event that occurred at a Fortune 500 company. This case study can be used for any undergraduate or graduate level human resource management class.
Novel routes for administering chemoprevention: local transdermal therapy to the breasts

Breast cancer prevention with pharmacologic agents requires that the breast be exposed to an effective drug; systemic exposure is unnecessary, and its harms lead many eligible women to decline preventive therapy. Local transdermal therapy (LTT) to the breast involves the application of active drugs to the breast skin, resulting in high concentrations in the breast but low systemic exposure. It is non-invasive, self-delivered, and not dependent on hepatic metabolism. Existing data on LTT include investigations demonstrating relief of mastalgia with topical 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4-OHT, an active tamoxifen metabolite). Two presurgical window trials in women with invasive breast cancer, and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) demonstrate that LTT decreases proliferation of invasive and non-invasive cancer cells to a similar degree as oral tamoxifen, with low systemic levels, and no effect on coagulation proteins. These data are promising regarding the use of LTT for the primary prevention of breast cancer, and for therapy of DCIS, since systemic exposure is not required for either of these purposes. They also suggest that an LTT approach could be developed for any small, lipophilic molecule with good dermal permeation, thus greatly expanding the menu of drugs that could be tested for breast cancer prevention.
The Sensitivity of the Hydrological Cycle to Internal Climate Variability versus Anthropogenic Climate Change

AbstractIn response to rising CO2 concentrations, climate models predict that globally averaged precipitation will increase at a much slower rate than water vapor. However, some observational studies suggest that global-mean precipitation and water vapor have increased at similar rates. While the modeling results emphasize changes at multidecadal time scales where the anthropogenic signal dominates, the shorter observational record is more heavily influenced by internal variability. Whether the physical constraints on the hydrological cycle fundamentally differ between these time scales is investigated. The results of this study show that while global-mean precipitation is constrained by radiative cooling on both time scales, the effects of CO2 dominate on multidecadal time scales, acting to suppress the increase in radiative cooling with warming. This results in a smaller precipitation change compared to interannual time scales where the effects of CO2 forcing are small. It is also shown that intermodel ...
Racial differences in sexual behaviors related to AIDS in a nineteen-city sample of street-recruited drug injectors

Survey data from almost 12000 street-recruited drug injectors in nineteen cities were analyzed to determine racial differences which may affect HIV transmission. Hartford Jersey City Newark New York and Philadelphia were classified as multicultural-black/white/Puerto Rican cities; Houston Long Beach San Antonio San Francisco and Tucson as multicultural-black/white/Mexican-origin cities; and Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus Dallas Dayton New Haven New Orleans Portland (Oregon) and Washington as biracial-black/white cities. The participants were almost equally divided between the three city-types with 75% aged 20-39 years 76% male 61% black 16% Latino and 22% white. Data were collected in confidential face-to-face interviews. While most respondents know that bleach and alcohol are effective needle decontaminants and that latex condoms are effective semen barriers the self-reported sexual behaviors of drug injectors were found to differ between racial/ethnic groups and by city-type. Each racial/gender group in each city-type however averaged 15 or more episodes of unprotected vaginal sex per month with 10% of most subgroups reporting having anal sex within the past six months. The reported percentage of sex acts in which a condom was used was similar for black white and Puerto Rican men and for black and white women in all city types but Puerto Rican women reported more condom use than black women. Of racial/ethnic groups Mexican-origin drug users were least likely to report using condoms in multicultural-black/white/Mexican-origin cities. Black and Latino males in multicultural-black/white/Mexican-origin and biracial cities reported an higher level of unprotected vaginal sex than white male drug injectors. Black drug users of both sexes were however less likely than white and Latino drug users to report unprotected anal sex in multicultural-black/white/Mexican-origin and multicultural-black/white/Puerto Rican cities. The interviews further found that black drug injectors Puerto Rican men and whites in multicultural-black/white/Mexican-origin cities are particularly likely to report having sex partners who do not inject drugs. At least 45% of subjects in each city-type reported having sex with noninjectors of the opposite gender. These data are consistent with HIV spreading to drug injectors their sex partners and their future children in all racial/ethnic groups.
Latent fingerprint matching in large databases using high performance computing

Most of the fingerprint matching systems use the minutiae-based algorithms with matching of ridge patterns. These systems consider ridge activity in the vicinity of minutiae points, which has poorly recorded/captured exemplar prints (information). In this research, we recommend the MapReduce technique to identify a required fingerprint from the reference fingerprint database. In the proposed MapReduce process, minutiae of the latent fingerprint used as keys. The latent fingerprints are analyzed using Bezier ridge descriptors to enhance the matching of partial latent against reference prints. Since the retrieval of reference print is same as retrieval of the required document, we suggested the MapReduce model for detection of required fingerprint.
Are Low Patient Satisfaction Scores Always Due to the Provider?: Determinants of Patient Satisfaction Scores During Spine Clinic Visits

Study Design.A prospective study.Objective.The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of various components on patient satisfaction scoresSummary of Background Data.Patient satisfaction has become an important component of quality assessments. However, with many of these sources collecting
Long-term therapy with Bendavia (MTP-131), a novel mitochondria-targeting peptide, reverses mitochondrial abnormalities in left ventricular myocardium of dogs with advanced heart failure

Background: Mitochondria (MITO) of failed human hearts and hearts of dogs with experimental heart failure manifest functional abnormalities characterized by reduced state-3 respiration, reduced membrane potential (Δψm) and increased opening of membrane permeability transition pores (mPTP). These abnormalities lead to reduced ATP synthesis that adversely impacts LV function. Bendavia (MTP-131), a novel, first in class, MITO-targeting peptide, has been shown to improve LV systolic function in dogs with chronic heart failure and to improve ATP synthesis in multiple organs including heart, kidney and skeletal muscle in other animal models of disease. The present study tested the hypothesis that long-term therapy with Bendavia reverses functional MITO abnormalities in dogs with chronic heart failure. Methods: Studies were performed in cardiomyocytes isolated from LV myocardium of 14 HF dogs produced by intracoronary microembolizations (LV ejection fraction ∼30%). Dogs were randomized to 3 months monotherapy with subcutaneous injections of Bendavia (0.5 mg/kg once daily, n=7) or saline (Control, n=7). MITO state-3 respiration was measured using a Clark electrode. Δψm was measured using the dye JC-1 and mPTP was measured based on the rate of calcein exit from MITO. MITO ATP synthesis was measured using the bioluminescent ApoSENSORTM assay kit. Results: Compared to Control, Bendavia significantly improved MITO state-3 respiration, increased Δψm, decreased the rate of calcein exit from MITO thus decreasing mPTP opening and increased in ATP synthesis (Table). View this table: Indexes of mitochondria function Conclusions: Therapy with Bendavia reverses abnormalities of MITO function in LV myocardium of dogs with chronic heart failure and increases ATP synthesis. The latter can explain the observed improvement of LV systolic function following long-term therapy with Bendavia in dogs with HF.
Microwave Antigen Retrieval in Citrate Buffer

Alterations in tissue antigens during routine aldehyde fixation and subsequent paraffin embedding often require antigen retrieval techniques to enhance or recover immunoreactivity for selected cell peptides. Based on studies published to date, the most promising of these techniquesappears to be one based on microwave heating of tissue sections in citrate buffer. The application of this method to the detection ofdiagnostically relevant determinants depends in great deal on careful control of heating times and attention to tissue morphology. The optimization of the method, with these constraints in mind, can be achieved by monitoring the intensity and distribution of immunohistochemical staining following a series of progressively longer microwave incubations. Practical aspects of this optimization protocol are considered in a review of the method and its limitations.
Permeability of Filter Pressed Monosized SiO2

The feasibility of slip casting monosized ceramic powders has been investigated using colloidal (spherical) SiO2 particles. Pertinent aspects of powder syntheses, particle characteristics, and slip preparation are discussed. Processing variables affecting the permeability of the cast compact to fluid flow are discussed in relation to forming cast bodies with near ideal (ordered) particle packing.
A survey on knowledge and behaviors related to AIDS among male construction workers

Objectives:To investigate the knowledge of male construction workers about AIDS and to survey on their sex behavior and prevalence of HIV,HCV and syphilis in Guiyang between 2011 and 2013.Method:1,203 respondents selected by cluster random sampling were investigated by questionnaire and tested for HIV,HCV and syphilis.Results:From 2011 to 2013,the awareness rate of AIDS were 29.1%,42.1%,52.5% respectively.Those who were 20 to 39 years old,unmarried,and with high education had higher awareness.HIV high risk behaviors were common.During the recent years,the rates of using condom each time were 22.2%,16.7%,64.0% with sex worker,and 27.3%,22.2%,17.9% with temporary sex partner.Syphilis positive rate were 2.5%,0.7%,1.0%.HCV positive rate were 0.2%,0.5%,0.3%.One case of HIV positive was found in 2011.Conclusion:The knowledge about AIDS and the rates of using condom are low among male construction workers in Guiyang.Health education,intervention and monitoring should be strengthened.
Preparation and Equipment Useful for Surgery in Small Exotic Pets

Because many exotic pets are so small, the instrumentation and equipment used for surgery are different from in larger animals. Magnification greatly improves the surgeon's ability to accomplish surgeries in small patients and helps to provide hemostasis because small amounts of blood are significant in these tiny patients. Microsurgical instrumentation is important to allow for proper tissue handling and suture placement. Various other considerations, instrumentation, and equipment are useful when performing surgery on small exotic pets.
Form Processing Modules in Primate Area V4

Ghose, Geoffrey M. and Daniel Y. Ts'o. Form processing modules in primate area V4. J. Neurophysiol. 77: 2191–2196, 1997. Area V4 occupies a central position among the areas of the primate cerebral ...
Patient-reported outcomes in liver transplant recipients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND The effect of awarding MELD exception points for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) is unknown. We evaluated the physical and mental health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and symptoms of anxiety and depression in liver transplant recipients with HCC compared to patients without HCC. METHODS The single-center sample measured PROs before and after transplant, which included 1521 multisurvey measurement points among 502 adults (67% male, 28% HCC, follow-up time: <1-131 months). Data were analyzed using multivariable mixed-effects models. RESULTS Longitudinal PRO values did not differ between persons who received HCC exception points and those who did not have HCC. Patients with HCC who did not receive exception points had reduced physical HRQOL (P=.016), a late decline in mental HRQOL, and delayed reduction in anxiety (time-by-outcome interaction P<.050) compared to patients with HCC who received exception points. CONCLUSION Transplant recipients who received HCC exception points had PROs that were comparable to those of patients without HCC, and reported better physical HRQOL and reduced symptoms of anxiety compared to patients with HCC who did not receive exception points. These analyses demonstrate the impact of HCC exception points on PROs, and may help inform policy regarding HCC exception point allocation.
A History of Nigeria: Oil, state, and society, 1970 – 1983

As Nigeria emerged from the civil war, it was clear that severe ethnic and regional fissures continued to exist, preventing the establishment of a strong national identity and therefore inhibiting the development of a stable, democratically elected federal government. These issues were temporarily marginalized, however, as the Nigerian economy grew drastically due to the rapid expansion of the petroleum sector in the early 1970s. Located mostly in the Niger delta region, petroleum became Nigeria's chief export and single-handedly made Nigeria the wealthiest country in Africa during the 1970s. Rather than contributing to the overall development of Nigeria and to improved living conditions for Nigerian citizens, however, this wealth was distributed unequally, benefiting primarily those people who had access to state power and, therefore, to the licenses, contracts, and revenues that accrued to the government from the petroleum sector. The result was a government apparatus that became increasingly divorced from its subjects, creating a stark disconnection between the will of the people and the actions of government officials – a disconnection that continues to afflict Nigeria. Three different regimes, two military and one civilian, oversaw the growth of the oil economy in the period between 1970 and 1983, but all three mismanaged government funds and contributed to the development of a kleptocracy that continues to plague Nigeria today. While a small class of politicians and entrepreneurs has become exceedingly wealthy via the oil economy, the majority of Nigerians remain mired in perpetual poverty.
The Grassroots Origins of the German Energy Transition

This chapter locates the origins of Germany’s push for renewable energy in the environmental and anti-nuclear movements of the 1970s. It is based on a case study of the Freiburg area in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg. The grassroots opposition to nuclear power, and the informed desire to find alternatives to it, inspired the bottom-up development of renewable energy in a region whose political leadership was tied particularly strongly to the conventional energy industry. Hager shows how local activists built a self-reinforcing network of innovation that began to transform Freiburg into Germany’s “Solar Region” well in advance of federal policy for promoting renewables. Anti-nuclear activists themselves were an important source of technological and political innovation, and they still form the core of the regional renewables network.
Cobalamin-independent Methionine Synthase Distribution and Influence on Vitamin B12 Growth Requirements in Marine Diatoms.

The requirement for cobalamin (vitamin B12) in microalgae is primarily a function of the type of methionine synthase present within their gene repertoires. Our study validates this concept through analysis of the distribution of B12-independent methionine synthase in ecologically relevant diatom genera, including the closely related bloom-forming genera Pseudo-nitzschia and Fragilariopsis. Growth and gene expression analysis of the vitamin B12-requiring version of the methionine synthase enzyme, METH, and the B12-independent version, METE, demonstrate that it is the presence of the METE gene which allows Fragilariopsis cylindrus to grow in the absence of B12. Pseudo-nitzschia granii’s lack of a functional METE gene means that it cannot survive without the vitamin. Through phylogenetic analysis, we further substantiate a lack of obvious grouping in METE presence among diatom clades. In addition, we also show how this trend may have a biogeographical basis, particularly in regions such as the Southern Ocean where B12 concentrations may be consistently low. Our findings demonstrate the important role vitamins can play in diatom community dynamics within areas where vitamin supply may be variable and limiting.
Further Evaluation of Associations Between Reactive and Proactive Aggression and Suicidal Behavior in a Treatment Seeking Sample of Youth

This study examined associations between reactive and proactive functions of aggression and suicidal behavior in a sample of outpatient treatment seeking youth (n = 111, 60.5% male) ranging from 6 to 17 years of age (Mean age = 10.57 years). Additionally, hope was evaluated as a moderator of these associations. Child reports of measures were used to evaluate associations. When also considering the variance associated with child depressive symptoms and hope, reactive, but not proactive, aggression was uniquely associated with suicidal behavior. Moreover, hope moderated this association, such that reactive aggression was only positively associated with suicidal behavior when levels of hope were low. Findings and their implications for targeting hope with aggressive youth for the prevention of suicidal behavior are discussed.
Abstract A18: Gut microbiota changes in response to treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA)

Compelling evidence suggests that gut flora influences colorectal cancer risk through direct effects on colonic bile acid composition. Bile acids are widely implicated in the etiology of colorectal cancer with the strongest evidence involving a detrimental role for the secondary BA, deoxycholic acid (DCA) and a protective effect of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). In a study of patients with prior colorectal adenomas who were randomized to UDCA (n=188 males, 64 females), a bile acid based intervention aimed at modulating bile acid composition, or placebo (n=162 males, 89 females), we determined effects of the intervention on the gut microbiome through 16S rRNA sequencing and bile acid composition at baseline using mass spectrometry. We observe a consistent shift in microbial composition for males (t=5.83, p=3.6e-8) and females (t=3.14, p=0.003) treated with UDCA. No effect was observed in the placebo group for either males (t=-0.08, p=0.93) or females (t=-0.09, p=0.92). There were significant correlations between the gut microbiome and BA composition (r=0.31, p This suggests that UDCA treatment had an effect on the gut microbial communities relative to the placebo group. Interestingly, the magnitude of the change in the microbiome over time is similar in the two groups, but UDCA treatment seems to drive specific microbiome changes. These results are consistent with our previously reported observation that UDCA appears to have a greater effect in men for the prevention of colorectal adenomatous polyps, while increasing risk for women. Citation Format: Talima Pearson, J Gregory Caporaso, Monica Yellowhair, Jessica A. Martinez, Betsy Wertheim, Denise Roe, Patricia Thompson-Canino, Peter Lance. Gut microbiota changes in response to treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Colorectal Cancer: From Initiation to Outcomes; 2016 Sep 17-20; Tampa, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(3 Suppl):Abstract nr A18.
A model of changes in inferotemporal activity during a delayed match-to-sample task

Neurons in inferior temporal (IT) cortex exhibit selectivity for complex visual stimuli and can maintain activity during the delay following the presentation of a stimulus in delayed match to sample (DMS) tasks. Experimental work in awake monkeys has shown that the responses of IT neurons decline during presentation of stimuli which have been seen recently (within the past several seconds). In addition, experiments have found that the responses of IT neurons to visual stimuli also decline as the stimuli become familiar, independent of recency. Here a biologically based neural network simulation is used to model these effects primarily through two processes. The recency effects are caused by adaptation due to a calcium-dependent potassium current, and the familiarity effects are caused by competitive self-organization of modifiable feedforward synapses terminating on IT cortex neurons.
SDN/NFV Telco Case Studies

In this chapter, we introduce two case studies of SDN and NFV in the mobile core networks, which is a foundation of the next-generation mobile core network (5G).
Enduring Casualties of War: Delayed Treatment of Combat Stress in World War II Veterans

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an issue facing veterans today, from the soldiers returning from Iraq to those who fought in previous wars. Although this may seem like a contemporary issue, the discussion occurring now is a reaction to a time when PTSD was ignored. Although behavioral changes in combat veterans were noticed for centuries, initially no resources were available and later psychiatric treatment carried a stigma. The effects of PTSD on soldiers became increasingly clear as the Iraq War progressed; however, as veterans of previous wars are aging the issues surrounding misdiagnosed or untreated psychological disorders are becoming known.
Type II Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome as Risk Factors for Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by the accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) and hyperphosphorylated Tau. These products are present in amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, respectively. Accumulation of these products contributes to oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and synaptic and neuronal loss along with impairment in cognitive dysfunction. A host of comorbid conditions associated with aging, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome, are risk factors for AD. These conditions are also characterized by high blood glucose levels, increase in hepatic glucose production, impairment in insulin production by pancreatic beta cells, and “insulin resistance,” which is defined as the inadequate response to insulin by target cells due to a downregulated expression of the insulin receptor, the insulinlike growth factor-1 receptor, and the insulin receptor substrate proteins. Type 2 diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and AD are accompanied by the upregulation of chronic inflammation through primary and secondary mechanisms such as oxidative stress, excitotoxicity, calcium perturbations/increase, and dyshomeostasis.
Fabrication and Characterization of Ultra-wide Bandgap AlN-Based Schottky Diodes on Sapphire by MOCVD

AlN Schottky diodes with various device geometries were fabricated on sapphire substrate and their temperature-dependent current–voltage characteristics were analyzed. At forward bias, high ideality factors were obtained, indicating a large deviation from the ideal thermionic emission model. At reverse bias, the breakdown voltage showed a negative temperature dependence, and the leakage current was well described using a 2-D variable-range hopping conduction model. Furthermore, the breakdown voltages and leakage currents of the devices showed a strong dependence on the surface distance between the ohmic and Schottky contacts, but a relatively small dependence on the area of the Schottky contacts. These results suggest surface states between ohmic and Schottky contacts play a more important role than the metal/AlN interface in determining the reverse breakdown and leakage current of AlN Schottky diodes. A quantitative study of AlN Schottky diodes at high temperature reveals a geometry-dependent surface breakdown electric field and surface leakage current. Surface passivation and treatments may enhance the device performances and impact the reverse breakdown and current leakage mechanisms. These results will serve as the guidance for the design and fabrication of future AlN electronic devices.
Metropolitan Growth and Migration: The Patterns Since 1950

The chapter discusses the patterns of metropolitan growth and migration since 1950. The concept of urban economic growth can be interpreted in a somewhat broader sense to embrace changes in average and in per capita measures of various economic phenomena, in which case, the meanings of the concepts of urban economic growth and urban economic development are much closer. When the narrower connotation of urban growth is adopted, situations can be conceptualized in which growth occurs without development or in which development occurs in the absence of growth and even in the presence of decline. However, when average and per capita measures of growth are adopted, economic growth and economic development are more likely to move together. This chapter describes the patterns of urban economic growth in the United States over the period from 1950 to 1975 for a fairly large sample of metropolitan areas. The most comprehensive and best data to utilize in examining patterns of urban employment growth are from the Census of Population : 1950, 1960 , and 1970 . These data are particularly useful because they can be corrected for changes in the spatial areas covered by the various standard metropolitan statistical areas.
Facebook: A business perspective on the power of intelligent networking and social media

Facebook is the world’s largest social network, with more than 900 million active users around the world. In a few short years, Facebook has become one of the principal giants of the digital age challenging companies like Google and Amazon with its vision of the Internet tied together by personal relationships and recommendations, rather than by search algorithms. Facebook is available in over 70 languages. Its users flood the social network with their thoughts, commentaries and photos on a daily basis. While Facebook is first and foremost a social medium, it has also become an important business tool. Facebook has proven to be an essential communication and marketing strategy for those organizations that wish to operate in today’s digital media environment. Central to this idea is that social media like Facebook provide a low cost platform with which to market and promote a company’s brand. Secondly, it provides an excellent way to recommend products, services and ideas based on advice and support coming from someone the user knows. This chapter provides a case study analysis of Facebook with special attention given to the power of intelligent networking and social media.
Suffix interference in Russian

The phenomenon of â€œsuffix interferenceâ€ has been used as evidence for a distinction between inflectional and derivational processes (e.g. Pinker & Prince, 1988; Pinker, 1999; Pinker & Ullman, 2002). Yet much of the work on affix priming exists in English, a morphologically poor language, and suffix interference appears inconsistently in cross-linguistic data. The greater reliance on morphological complexity in Russian, and its use of an infinitival suffix and aspectual affixes that may bridge the distinction between traditional definitions of inflectional and derivational word forms, call into question how generalizable the original findings on suffix interference may be for morphologically-complex languages. Investigating these questions, this paper provides unexpected findings: suffix interference is absent in Russian, inflectional suffixes reveal significantly more robust priming effects, and the infinitival suffix is best considered a special case of affix priming, failing to pattern with either inflectional or derivational suffixes. Thus, Russian appears to defy the assumption that inflections are â€œstrippedâ€ during morphological parsing; instead, verbal inflections prove the greatest facilitators of morphological priming. A linear mixed effects model indicates these effects cannot be explained by frequency alone.
Lipoic Acid, a Metabolic Antioxidant Stimulates the Insulin Signaling Pathway in Adipocytes and Counteracts Oxidative Stress and Age Related Mitochondrial and Cognitive Dysfunction

Healthy aging and disease prevention by antioxidant nutrition is increasingly a subject of academic and public health interest and research. Antioxidants play an important role in maintaining physiological redox status of cellular constituents against free radicals. Antioxidants may change their redox state, be targeted for destruction, regulate oxidative processes involved in signal transduction, affect gene expression and pathways of cell proliferation, as well as differentiation and death. This chapter will provide an overview of the antioxidant defense system with special relevance to the brain and aging.
Reproductive and Sexual Function Disorders

Women and clinicians have long been aware of changes in mental and physical states related to the menstrual cycle. These changes, first described by Frank (1931) as premenstrual feelings consisting of “indescribable tension, irritability,” and “a desire to find relief by foolish and ill-considered actions,” came to be called the premenstrual tension syndrome. Since tension is only one of the components occurring during this period, the term “premenstrual syndrome” is currently preferred, since it more completely encompasses somatic and psychological components. A recent review (Steiner and Carroll, 1977) offers “premenstrual dysphoria” as an alternative term.
"Excuse me: I'll have...": teaching appropriate attention-getting behavior to young children with severe handicaps.

Procedures to teach two young children with severe handicaps to get an adult's attention when needing to make a request were developed. Both children were already capable of making requests in the presence of an adult, but not capable of getting the attention of the adult if not in close proximity. Both children acquired the response of getting out of his or her seat, walking over to the adult in the classroom, and exhibiting appropriate attention-getting behavior after training. This behavior maintained at a 3-week follow-up.
Phototransduction in Limulus Ventral Photoreceptors: Roles of Calcium and Inositol Trisphosphate

The rhabdomere of invertebrate photoreceptors has long been considered to be the site of visual transduction. Exner wrote in 1891 (p. 96) “This arrangement suggests that the most fundamental visual process — the transduction of light energy into nervous excitation — be it by photochemical or other means takes place, or is at least initiated during the passage of light along the strongly refracting rods.” Modern electrophysiological experiments (Hagins et al. 1962; Lasansky and Fuortes 1969) conclusively demonstrated that the microvillar membrane of the rhabdomere, which contains the visual pigment, is the site where electrical current flows into the cell upon illumination. This photocurrent underlies the receptor potential, which is a depolarization of the receptor cell membrane (Millecchia and Mauro 1969).
The Veterans With Diabetes Transition Study. Veterans Experience of the Process of Transition Following Active Duty Diagnosis.

INTRODUCTION Veterans face several potential difficulties upon leaving active duty. Among these is transition of healthcare to a different setting. The transition from active duty to veteran status is often a challenging time for veterans with diabetes. Changes in healthcare have been shown to decrease diabetes care compliance and diabetes self-management resulting in exacerbation in diabetes symptoms and increased healthcare expenditure. A seamless transition in healthcare management from active duty to veteran status has the potential to maintain or increase diabetes self-management. A gap in the literature exists regarding the transition process between healthcare systems, including the DoD and VA. This paper describes the transition experience of a sample of veterans with diabetes from active duty to veteran status. MATERIALS AND METHODS A qualitative study was designed to document the experience of veterans diagnosed with diabetes while on active duty. A semi-structured questionnaire developed for the study served to elicit each veteran participant's general description of the transition process. Quantitative instruments S-TOFHLA and DDS were used as measurements of potential barriers to diabetes self-management and navigating or adjusting to a changed priority within a healthcare system. RESULTS Two main themes, those of unplanned and undesired end of a military career and feeling prepared to leave the military, were expressed by participants. Four additional themes were also discovered. Responses to quantitative instruments lacked variability and did not allow for further analysis. Specifically, the S-TOFHLA indicated all participants had adequate health literacy and the DDS showed no distress from diabetes. CONCLUSIONS Study participants reported consistent compliance in diabetes self-management. Skills and attitudes obtained during military service led to participant's desire to manage their healthcare with determination to cope with challenges accompanying diabetes. The healthcare transition process would benefit from additional exploration of veteran's needs. Improved processes may facilitate the healthcare management transition of personnel with diabetes from active duty to veteran status.
Different neural processes underlie visual speech perception in school-age children and adults: An event-related potentials study.

Abstract The ability to use visual speech cues does not fully develop until late adolescence. The cognitive and neural processes underlying this slow maturation are not yet understood. We examined electrophysiological responses of younger (8–9 years) and older (11–12 years) children as well as adults elicited by visually perceived articulations in an audiovisual word matching task and related them to the amount of benefit gained during a speech-in-noise (SIN) perception task when seeing the talker’s face. On each trial, participants first heard a word and, after a short pause, saw a speaker silently articulate a word. In half of the trials the articulated word matched the auditory word (congruent trials), whereas in the other half it did not (incongruent trials). In all three age groups, incongruent articulations elicited the N400 component and congruent articulations elicited the late positive complex (LPC). Groups did not differ in the mean amplitude of N400. The mean amplitude of LPC was larger in younger children compared with older children and adults. Importantly, the relationship between event-related potential measures and SIN performance varied by group. In 8- and 9-year-olds, neither component was predictive of SIN gain. The LPC amplitude predicted the SIN gain in older children but not in adults. Conversely, the N400 amplitude predicted the SIN gain in adults. We argue that although all groups were able to detect correspondences between auditory and visual word onsets at the phonemic/syllabic level, only adults could use this information for lexical access.
A symbolic interactionist model of human communication

In the preceding pages, I have presented an elementary description of the manner in which symbolic interactionist principles could be applied to the analysis and description of some theoretical and empirical issues in the field of human communication. The general method of exposition has been essentially a naturalistic and phenomenological one based upon the view that the most enlightening social psychological approach to an understanding of communication begins with a consideration of what the human individual is actually doing when he encodes and transmits messages, and when he receives and decodes messages, in the real social situation in which this kind of behavior occurs.
The mysteries of macrocyclic colibactins.

The biosynthetic pathway that produces the structurally uncharacterized gut bacterial genotoxin colibactin can produce unstable, macrocyclic products; however, the extent to which these structures contribute to colibactin’s biological activities is not yet fully understood. Now, two recent studies have provided new insights and reached distinct conclusions regarding their potential mechanisms of action and relevance for genotoxicity.
Distribution and strength of interlaminar synaptic connectivity in mouse primary visual cortex revealed by two-photon optogenetic stimulation

Abstract The most common synaptic connections between neurons in different cortical layers form the basis of the canonical cortical microcircuit. Understanding of cortical function will require further development and application of methods to efficiently characterize synaptic connections within and outside of the canonical pathway. Accordingly, we measured synaptic inputs onto superficial excitatory neurons in response to sequential two-photon optogenetic stimulation of neurons in deeper layers. Layer 4 excitatory neurons and somatostatin-neurons within layer 2/3 represented the most common sources of input. Although connections from excitatory and somatostatin-neurons in layer 5 were less common, the amplitudes of synaptic responses were equally strong. We examined synaptic strength across all connections, as well as the relationships between the strength of connections diverging from a common presynaptic neuron or converging to a single target. While the overall distribution indicates synaptic weight is concentrated to a few connections, strong excitatory connections are distributed across cells.
High Q-factor 3D Solenoid Inductor on InFO Package for RF System Integration

High Q-factor (quality factor) 3D solenoid inductor formed by RDL (redistribution layer) and copper via in the molding compound on InFO package was fabricated. The effect of the turns and cross sectional area on Q-factor is discussed. The 3D solenoid inductor with 3 turns achieves the Q-factor of 59 at 3GHz and 0.68× lower of resistance and 1.6× higher of Q-factor than 2D spiral inductor at the same inductance. The coupling between two closely placed inductors is also investigated and it is found that the coupling in orthogonal placement is 12 dB lower than that of in parallel placement. The sample was fabricated and measured. The measurement results agree with the simulation, indicating the feasibility of the 3D inductor on InFO package.