cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Beyond health beliefs: the role of trust in the HPV vaccine decision-making process among American college students

ABSTRACTTo address low HPV vaccination rates, the purpose of this study is to examine the role of trust in the HPV vaccine decision-making process among American college students. In particular, this study employs social-cognitive constructs from the widely used Health Belief Model (HBM), but also incorporates the role of interpersonal trust in one’s doctor and two types of institutional trust. A survey was administered to a convienance sample of 755 college students at a large Midwestern university between November 2012 and January 2013. Structural Equation Modelling was used to identify the direct and indirect pathways from three types of trust and three health beliefs to HPV vaccine intentions. Findings suggest that there are multiple pathways through which health beliefs and trust affect HPV vaccine intentions, with trust in one’s doctor having a direct, positive relationship with intentions, as well as indirect relationships through health beliefs. This study addressees some of the limitations of the...
Smartphone Apps Meet Evidence-Based Medicine: The Future of Medicine May (Or May Not) Be in Your Smartphone

"The future of medicine is in your smartphone," proclaimed an eminent medical researcher in a 2015 Wall Street Journal essay. In a sense, that future has already arrived, judging from the proliferation of apps and medical devices now connected to smartphones. One 2015 industry study identified more than 165,000 health-related smartphone apps available from the Google Play Store and Apple iTunes. But to what extent does this technology lead to improved patient outcomes? That question is one for evidence-based medicine, to be answered by clinical trials and systematic reviews by medical experts.
Ethane dehydrogenation on pristine and AlOx decorated Pt stepped surfaces

Ethane dehydrogenation on pristine and AlOx decorated Pt surfaces was studied using density functional theory (DFT) calculations and reaction kinetics experiments. Following the study of adsorption of fourteen distinct C2Hx and CHx species, the whole reaction network for ethane dehydrogenation on the terrace and the step of the pristine Pt(433) surface was systematically analyzed using DFT. We show that the under-coordinated step edge sites bind C2Hx and CHx species more strongly than terrace sites. These under-coordinated step sites facilitate deep dehydrogenation, resulting in accumulation of coke precursors on the surface and catalyst deactivation. We demonstrate that by decorating the step with AlOx species the step edge sites can be blocked, leading to substantial suppression of deep dehydrogenation and coke formation. These findings were corroborated by reaction kinetics experiments where a four-fold enhancement of the turnover frequency for ethylene formation was measured on 10-cycle atomic layer deposited (ALD) alumina overcoated Pt/γ-Al2O3 catalyst compared to Pt/γ-Al2O3 without decoration with ALD-alumina. Our results suggest that AlOx decorated Pt is a promising catalyst for alkane dehydrogenation and could have applications, including in endothermic cooling in hypersonic flights.
Multidisciplinary conference to standardize survivorship care.

17Background: Survivors of breast cancer can face a multitude of long term and late effects after completing active treatment. Recommendations for side effect management can vary widely based on pr...
Measurement of Amide Hydrogen D/H Fractionation Factors in Proteins by NMR Spectroscopy

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the measurement of amide hydrogen D/H fractionation factors in proteins by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. It presents a new method that employs two-dimensional heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy of 15 N labeled proteins for measuring D/H fractionation factors at individual backbone amides. In developing this technique, the study uses as a model system the enzyme staphylococcal nuclease H124L (16.8 kD) labeled uniformly with 15 N to 99 atom%. Nuclease H124L (Nase) is the recombinant protein produced from Escherichia coli whose sequence is identical to that of the nuclease produced by the V8 strain of Staphylococcus aureus. Nase differs from the variant produced by the Foggi strain by having leucine at position 124 in place of histidine. The enzyme, which requires Ca 2+ for activity, catalyzes the degradation of DNA and RNA to mono- and oligonucleotides. Most importantly, for this study, nearly complete 15 N NMR peak assignments are available for Nase, and three high-resolution crystal structures have been solved for the Foggi strain enzyme.
1.8 Structure Validation and Analysis

Despite significant progress, structure determination of macromolecules by X-ray crystallography remains a complex and often challenging task which still involves significant manual intervention. This chapter focuses on the validation and analysis of macromolecular structures determined by X-ray crystallography. Basic principles and criteria for evaluating structural models based on crystallographic data are presented, followed by a section on implementation of X-ray structure determination in a high-throughput environment.
Funding Global Environmental Public Goods Through Multilateral Financial Mechanisms

Multilateral financial mechanisms (MFMs) are becoming increasingly prevalent as a means for addressing global public good problems. MFMs raise funds from member countries through “burden sharing” arrangements, and these funds are disbursed as grants to finance environmental projects around the world. These projects are impure public goods, as they help achieve global (public) objectives like climate change mitigation, and they also generate local (private) benefits for recipient countries. This paper constructs a model of MFMs and explores how impure public goods influence burden sharing arrangements. I design an optimal burden sharing mechanism and show how resultant environmental quality and welfare are affected by the choice of grant allocations. Counterintuitively, grant reallocations can be redistributive, Pareto improving, or immiserating, and these results are shaped by the initial distribution of grants and by substitute and complement relationships between private and public consumption.
Parent-child interaction therapy: Taking the next steps

Parent–child interaction therapy is not only an effective treatment for childhood conduct problems but also a highly versatile intervention, readily tailored or adapted to meet the needs of families (1) from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures, (2) with a wide range of presenting problems, and (3) in need of services in a variety of settings or formats. The variety of PCIT adaptations that have been investigated is not typical of most parenting interventions. This tremendous versatility raises the question, What components allow PCIT to be so frequently and successfully adapted? This chapter reviews answers to the question and considers steps that must still be taken in order for PCIT to reach the many families in need of services who do not receive them.
Chapter 4: Engagement Structures and the Development of Mathematical Ideas

We describe the relationship that exists between shifts in engagement and shifts in mathematical thinking, using the construct of engagement structures. The engagement structure construct (Goldin et al. 2011) is a way to account for and describe the complex dynamical interactions that recur as students solve mathematical problems. Our research is focused on a group of eighth grade students solving a problem in a group setting in an urban district. Our analysis involves video-recorded episodes, retrospective interviews and comprehensive field notes. We also document the social conditions present in the classroom that surrounded the shifts. Our findings suggest a variety of changes that can occur within an individual student, and across students in the same classroom, depending upon the social context. At times, changes in mathematical ideas preceded shifts in engagement, and vice-versa. Aside from the within student differences, our research provides an example of how, within the same classroom, students can have very different engagement and mathematical experiences.
Inverse Rational Control: Inferring What You Think from How You Forage

Complex behaviors are often driven by an internal model, which integrates sensory information over time and facilitates long-term planning. Inferring an agent's internal model is a crucial ingredient in social interactions (theory of mind), for imitation learning, and for interpreting neural activities of behaving agents. Here we describe a generic method to model an agent's behavior under an environment with uncertainty, and infer the agent's internal model, reward function, and dynamic beliefs. We apply our method to a simulated agent performing a naturalistic foraging task. We assume the agent behaves rationally --- that is, they take actions that optimize their subjective utility according to their understanding of the task and its relevant causal variables. We model this rational solution as a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP) where the agent may make wrong assumptions about the task parameters. Given the agent's sensory observations and actions, we learn its internal model and reward function by maximum likelihood estimation over a set of task-relevant parameters. The Markov property of the POMDP enables us to characterize the transition probabilities between internal belief states and iteratively estimate the agent's policy using a constrained Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm. We validate our method on simulated agents performing suboptimally on a foraging task currently used in many neuroscience experiments, and successfully recover their internal model and reward function. Our work lays a critical foundation to discover how the brain represents and computes with dynamic beliefs.
Individual short‐acting opioids and the risk of opioid‐related adverse events in adolescents

Purpose Hydrocodone, codeine, oxycodone, and tramadol are frequently prescribed to adolescents for moderate pain related to minor trauma or dental, surgical, or medical procedures. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic differences between these opioids could affect their relative safety. We aimed to compare occurrence of opioid-related adverse events in adolescents without cancer or other severe conditions taking hydrocodone, codeine, oxycodone, and tramadol. Methods Retrospective cohort study of 201 940 Tennessee Medicaid enrollees 12 to 17 years of age without cancer, other severe conditions, or evidence of substance abuse with 529 731 filled prescriptions for study opioids. Adverse events were defined as an emergency department visit, hospital admission, or death related to opioid use, confirmed by medical record review. Serious events had opioid-related escalation of care, hospitalization, or death. Propensity-score adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated with hydrocodone as the reference category. Results The incidence of opioid-related adverse events per 10 000 person-years of opioid exposure was 97.5 for hydrocodone (127 events/13 026 person-years), 91.2 for codeine (58/6,359), 229.7 for oxycodone (43/1,872), and 317.7 for tramadol (47/1479). The HRs for tramadol in comparison with hydrocodone for all and serious events were 2.98 (2.03-4.39) and 2.94 (1.81-4.75), respectively. Increased risk for tramadol was consistently present when the adverse events were restricted to those with neurologic-respiratory depression/other symptoms of possible overdose. Conclusion In adolescents without cancer or other severe conditions prescribed short-acting opioids, the incidence of both all opioid-related adverse events and more serious events with opioid-related escalation of care, hospitalization, or death was consistently greater for tramadol than for hydrocodone.
Fueling the Optimal Microbiome: Interventions for Severe Acute Malnutrition.

Studies of the intestinal microbial environment largely focus on microbial taxonomy, without clarifying their health benefits. Two recent studies (Raman et al. and Gehrig et al.) classify microbial environments into "ecogroups" that provide insight into their metabolic and/or nutritional pathways and how this can be used for interventions in malnourished children.
Embryotoxic impact of Zika virus in a rhesus macaque in vitro implantation model

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes in humans, and infection in the first trimester can lead to miscarriage and stillbirth. Vertical and sexual transmissions of ZIKV have been demonstrated, yet the impact of infection during the initial stages of pregnancy remains unexplored. Here we defined the impact of ZIKV on early embryonic and placental development with a rhesus macaque model. During in vitro fertilization (IVF), macaque gametes were inoculated with a physiologically relevant dose of 5.48log10 plaque-forming units (PFU) of Zika virus/H.sapiens-tc/PUR/2015/PRVABC59_v3c2. Exposure at fertilization did not alter blastocyst formation rates compared to controls. To determine the impact of ZIKV exposure at implantation, hatched blastocysts were incubated with 3.26log10, 4.26log10, or 5.26log10 PFU, or not exposed to ZIKV, followed by extended embryo culture for 10 days. ZIKV exposure negatively impacted attachment, growth, and survival in comparison to controls, with exposure to 5.26log10 PFU ZIKV resulting in embryonic degeneration by day 2. Embryonic secretion of pregnancy hormones was lower in ZIKV-exposed embryos. Increasing levels of infectious virus were detected in the culture media post-exposure, suggesting that the trophectoderm is susceptible to productive ZIKV infection. These results demonstrate that ZIKV exposure severely impacts the zona-free blastocyst, whereas exposure at the time of fertilization does not hinder blastocyst formation. Overall, early stages of pregnancy may be profoundly sensitive to infection and pregnancy loss, and the negative impact of ZIKV infection on pregnancy outcomes may be underestimated.
The Four Approaches to Managing Retirement Income Risk

Sequence-of-returns risk amplifies the impacts of investment volatility when taking distributions from a volatile investment portfolio in retirement. There are four techniques for managing this sequence risk: reduce the spending rate, adjust spending to portfolio performance, reduce portfolio volatility in the early retirement years, and draw from a buffer asset outside the portfolio to support spending when the portfolio is underperforming. We examine the peculiarities of sequence risk using an example with U.S. market returns which leads to wealth depletion after a thirty-year retirement. We show how minor spending adjustments can lead to dramatically different outcomes for remaining investment wealth at the end of the thirty-year retirement period. We provide examples for how each of these risk management techniques can be implemented in practice by integrating a wider range of tools to create the potential for greater retirement efficiency in terms of supporting the retirement financial goals with the available asset base. Examples include delaying Social Security, using annuities with lifetime spending protections, employing a rising equity glidepath in retirement, using a time segmentation or bucketing strategy, and creating a “buffer asset” with a reverse mortgage or whole life insurance.
Assessment of a multi-institution integration of cultural competency activities

Abstract Introduction To meet educational standards and provide effective patient care, student pharmacists must be well-prepared to interact with a diverse patient population. Thus, the objective was to assess the effectiveness of four different active learning strategies in enhancing the cultural competency (CC) of student pharmacists at multiple institutions. Methods Across two years, eight colleges/schools of pharmacy integrated two sets of CC activities with different student cohorts (first-third professional year) that were designed to address different aspects of CC. Pre- and post-activity, a modified electronic version of the Clinical Cultural Competency Questionnaire (CCCQ) that included the addition of activity-specific questions was distributed to students. Results A total of 1009 students participated in these activities across eight colleges of pharmacy. The integration of activities resulted in significant increases in most items on three of the four subscales of the CCCQ (knowledge, skills, and encounters/situations). Items on the attitude subscale remained the same. Students also felt the activities were beneficial in addressing their intent. Conclusions Faculty were able to incorporate these activities throughout their respective curricula with minimal time commitment and resources. The activities improved student perceptions of their CC knowledge, skills, and ability to handle encounters and situations. These activities may be useful for other institutions as they determine the best approach to improve student CC and prepare them for practice.
Salmonella meningitis in a 7-month old child - A case report

Meningitis due to Salmonella Typhi is quite rare owing to inhibition by the blood-brain barrier. However,Salmonella meningitis remains a threat to young children in both developing and developed countries. We present a case of seven-month-old female child who presented with history offever, vomiting, diarrhoea and seizures. Child was provisionally treated as a case of bacterial meningitis on the basis of clinical history, examination and CSF report, later blood culture revealed SalmonellaTyphi spp. The patient clinical improvement on third-generation cephalosporin and was discharged. In conclusion, meningitis is a very rare and one of the severe complications of Salmonella Typhi infection, which has high morbidity and mortality in infants.
Profiles of family engagement in home- and center-based Early Head Start programs: Associations with child outcomes and parenting skills

Abstract Using the Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Study (Baby FACES; Vogel & Boller, 2009-2012 ), the present study employed a person-centered approach to identify profiles of family engagement in home- and center-based Early Head Start (EHS) programs. We identified three profiles with different patterns across two structural dimensions (home involvement and program involvement) and one relational dimension (parent-staff relationships) of family engagement in both program types. We then examined associations of these profiles with child and parenting outcomes at age 3 and the outcome change scores from age 2 to 3. For home-based programs, children in profiles 2 and 3 indicating high home involvement showed significantly higher engagement/orientation skills than children in profile 1 indicating low home involvement and low parent-staff relationships. For center-based programs, a high home and low program involvement (profile 2) and a high involvement (profile 3) showed better child and parenting outcomes in the areas of child receptive vocabulary, parental sensitivity, stimulation of cognitive development, and intrusiveness as well as greater increases in parental cognitive stimulation than families in a low home and high program involvement (profile 1). Profiles 1 and 3 showed fewer child problem behaviors and greater increases in child engagement/orientation than profile 2, while profile 3 showed higher social competence than profile 2. In addition, profile 1 showed greater increases in child emotional regulation than profiles 2 and 3. This study contributes to advancing our understanding of the role of different dimensions and patterns of family engagement in home- and center-based EHS programs.
A Test of Diversity — What USMLE Pass/Fail Scoring Means for Medicine

A Test of Diversity Although the effect of a pass/fail USMLE Step 1 exam on trainees from underrepresented groups remains uncertain, the change may help diversify the medical profession, opening a ...
Single-Task and Dual-Task Tandem Gait Performance Across Clinical Concussion Milestones in Collegiate Student-Athletes.

OBJECTIVE To determine the length of time after concussion that impaired tandem gait performance is observed. DESIGN Clinical measurement, prospective longitudinal. SETTING NCAA collegiate athletic facility. PARTICIPANTS Eighty-eight concussed NCAA Division I student-athletes and 30 healthy controls. INDEPENDENT VARIABLES Group (concussion/control) and time (Baseline, Acute, Asymptomatic, and RTP). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Participants completed 4 single-task and dual-task tandem gait trials. The concussion group completed tests at the following time points: preseason (Baseline), within 48 hours after concussion (Acute), on the day symptoms were no longer reported (Asymptomatic), and when cleared to return to sports (RTP). Controls completed the same protocol at similar intervals. The dual-task trials involved minimental style cognitive questions answered simultaneously during tandem gait. We analyzed the best time of the 4 trials, comparing groups with a linear mixed model. RESULTS Acutely after concussion, the concussion group performed single-task tandem gait slower (worse) than controls (concussion: 11.36 ± 2.43 seconds, controls: 9.07 ± 1.78 seconds, P < 0.001). The concussion group remained significantly slower than controls (9.95 ± 2.21 vs 8.89 ± 1.65 seconds, P = 0.03) at Asymptomatic day but not RTP. There were significant group (P < 0.001) and time (P < 0.001) effects for dual-task tandem gait. The groups were not significantly different at baseline for single-task (P = 0.95) or dual-task (P = 0.22) tandem gait. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that tandem gait performance is significantly impaired acutely after concussion, compared with both preseason measures and controls. Postural control impairments were not present when the student-athletes were cleared for RTP. This information can assist clinicians when assessing postural control and determining recovery after a concussive injury.
A Large Thyroid Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy Cohort with Long-Term Population-Based Follow-Up.

Background: Prior studies evaluating thyroid fine needle aspiration biopsies (FNABs) have limited the calculation of risk of malignancy (ROM) to cytologic specimens with corresponding histologic specimens, and clinical follow-up for those patients who do not undergo immediate surgery has been largely disregarded. Moreover, there is marked variability in how researchers have approached thyroid FNAB statistical analyses. This study addresses the urgent need for information from a large cohort of patients with long-term clinical follow-up to more accurately determine the performance of thyroid FNAB and ROM for each diagnostic category. Methods: A retrospective review of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), pathology database for thyroid FNABs from January 1, 1997, to December 31, 2004, was performed. Diagnoses were coded using the 2017 The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (TBSRTC), and patients were matched to both the UCSF cancer registry and California Cancer Registry. Data were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and stratified by TBSRTC diagnostic category. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to estimate incidence rates of malignancy, stratified by FNAB category. Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine the instantaneous ROM. Results: Initial FNABs from 2207 patients were included. Median follow-up period after the first thyroid FNAB was 13.9 years (range: 10.5-18.4 years). During follow-up, there were 279 confirmed diagnoses of thyroid malignancy. Estimates derived from Kaplan-Meier curves demonstrated that the risk of having a thyroid malignancy was low for nondiagnostic and benign categories, intermediate for atypia of undetermined significance (AUS), follicular lesion of undetermined significance (FLUS), AUS/FLUS combined, and follicular neoplasm, and high for suspicious and malignant categories. A total of 52/1575 false-negative cases (3.2%) were identified. Excluding papillary microcarcinomas, the false-negative rate was 1.5% (23/1575). No patients with a false-negative diagnosis died of thyroid cancer during the follow-up period. Conclusions: Asymptomatic patients with low-risk clinical and radiologic features and initially benign or unsatisfactory biopsy are unlikely to develop thyroid malignancy and highly unlikely to die of thyroid cancer. FNAB is highly accurate in detecting malignancy. Additional studies evaluating similar large data sets after the adoption of TBSRTC and the integration of molecular testing are needed.
Cytochrome C with peroxidase-like activity encapsulated inside the small DPS protein nanocage.

Nature utilizes self-assembled protein-based structures as subcellular compartments in prokaryotes to sequester catalysts for specialized biochemical reactions. These protein cage structures provide unique isolated environments for the encapsulated enzymes. Understanding these systems is useful in the bioinspired design of synthetic catalytic organelle-like nanomaterials. The DNA binding protein from starved cells (Dps), isolated from Sulfolobus solfataricus, is a 9 nm dodecameric protein cage making it the smallest known naturally occurring protein cage. It is naturally over-expressed in response to oxidative stress. The small size, natural biodistribution to the kidney, and ability to cross the glomerular filtration barrier in in vivo experiments highlight its potential as a synthetic antioxidant. Cytochrome C (CytC) is a small heme protein with peroxidase-like activity involved in the electron transport chain and also plays a critical role in cellular apoptosis. Here we report the encapsulation of CytC inside the 5 nm interior cavity of Dps and demonstrate the catalytic activity of the resultant Dps nanocage with enhanced antioxidant behavior. The small cavity can accommodate a single CytC and this was achieved through self-assembly of chimeric cages comprising Dps subunits and a Dps subunit to which the CytC was fused. For selective isolation of CytC containing Dps cages, we utilized engineered polyhistidine tag present only on the enzyme fused Dps subunits (6His-Dps-CytC). The catalytic activity of encapsulated CytC was studied using guaiacol and 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) as two different peroxidase substrates and compared to the free (unencapsulated) CytC activity. The encapsulated CytC showed better pH dependent catalytic activity compared to free enzyme and provides a proof-of-concept model to engineer these small protein cages for their potential as catalytic nanoreactors.
The Pittsburgh Transition: Not Quite So Simple:

Benjamin Armstrong’s article compares state economic development policies in Pittsburgh and Cleveland in the 1980s, the period of major regional economic restructuring. Armstrong argues that what s...
Analysis of Swarm Intelligence Based ANN Algorithms for Attacking PUFs

Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) are used for authentication and generation of secure cryptographic keys. However, recent research work has shown that PUFs, in general, are vulnerable to machine learning modeling attacks. From a subset of Challenge-Response Pairs (CRPs), the remaining CRPs can be effectively predicted using different machine learning algorithms. In this work, Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) using swarm intelligence-based modeling attacks are used against different silicon-based PUFs to test their resiliency to these attacks. Amongst the swarm intelligence algorithms, the Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA), Cuckoo Search Algorithm (CS), Particle Swarm Optimizer (PSO) and the Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO) are used. The attacks are extensively performed on six different types of PUFs; namely, Configurable Ring Oscillator, Inverter Ring Oscillator, XOR-Inverter Ring Oscillator, Arbiter, Modified XOR-Inverter Ring Oscillator, and Hybrid Delay Based PUF. From the results, it can be concluded that the first four PUFs under study are vulnerable to ANN swarm intelligence-based models, and their responses can be predicted with an average accuracy of 71.1% to 88.3% for the different models. However, for the Hybrid Delay Based PUF and the Modified XOR-Inverter Ring Oscillator PUF, which are especially designed to thwart machine learning attacks, the prediction accuracy is much lower and in the range of 9.8% to 14.5%.
Hidden price promotions: Could retailer price promotions backfire?

Abstract Hidden-price promotions, a type of uncertain price promotion in which the final price is not revealed when consumers first encounter the product, have been recently adopted by retailers. However, current research suggests that hidden-price promotions have the potential to backfire and result in reduced consumer purchase intention. Across seven studies, we reveal that hidden-price promotions can be effective but risk increasing discount expectations, as consumers expect a large discount. Only when the discount level meets or exceeds inflated expectations does the excitement built by the promotion positively impact purchase intention. For cognitive purchases, even without providing a high discount, hidden-price promotions are as effective as traditional ones. This research provides guidelines for retailers that want to employ hidden-price promotions.
3DUI Contest 2018: 3D Interaction

We developed novel interactions to enable user interaction with the 3D virtual environment addressing the three tasks (Ladder Climbing, First-Person View Flying, and Tower Stacking) of the 3DUI contest 2018. Using Unity3D as our development environment, we implemented and deployed our application on HTC Vive HMD system.
Health informatics education; an information-related undergraduate perspective

This paper considers health infonnatics education from the perspective of the provision of undergraduate teaching, based on infonnatics foundations, and adopting an integrated and infonnation­ related approach. Some educational approaches to the subject are reviewed, and the proposed BSc degree in Health Infonnatics at City University is outlined as an exemplar. 1. Informatics as a discipline I take health informatics to be, simply, the application of the information sciences to problems of health care; we shall look at the concept in more detail later. Most commen­ tators regard health informatics, both pragmatically and philosophically, as a part of the healthcare disciplines (1). There is, however, an alternative perspective, which regards the subject as an part of the information sciences; or, perhaps better, an instantiation of informatics in one application domain, that of medicine and health-care generally. Both perspectives are valid. Indeed, this dichotomy, while it undoubtedly causes some confu­ sion, is a source of creative tension which can stimulate the interdisciplinary interac­ tions which are a major force behind the development of the field. The term "informatics" is one with a long history, but relatively little consensus in meaning. Originating in Russia during the 1950s, it was adopted in English, German (Informatik) and French (informatique). It has often been used for the term "computer science". However, an alternative meaning has come into widespread usage, to denote a broader discipline, dealing with all aspects of the handling of information and knowl­ edge, and often used synonymously with "information science/s". That is the sense in which I shall use the term. The approach to the topic adopted here is based on that of the educational philosopher Paul Hirst (2), who proposed that there are seven basic ''forms of knowledge": math­ ematics; physical sciences; human sciences; literature and the fine arts; morality; reli­ gion; philosophy. These are sometimes stated equivalently as: logico-mathematical; empirical; interpersonal; aesthetic; moral; religious; philosophical. Each of these has its own methods and paradigms.
Approach to Osteochondral Lesions of the Medial Talus

Osteochondral lesions (OCL) of the talus are a challenge to access due to coverage by the tibial plafond and malleoli. As a result, a variety of approaches have been proposed to gain visualization and/or surgical access to talar lesions. Posteromedial and anterolateral OCLs were classically thought to be the most common location of talar lesions [ 42 ].
Decreased epileptic discharge of pubertal CA1 hippocampus is due to increased expression of α4βδ GABA-A receptors (P4.250)

OBJECTIVE: To test the role of extrasynaptic α4βδ GABA-A receptors (GABARs) in regulating ictal discharge of CA1 hippocampus in adolescent female mice. BACKGROUND: More than half of children with epilepsy outgrow their seizures as they mature, yet the underlying mechanism is not yet understood. GABAergic inhibition increases at puberty due to the increased expression of extrasynaptic α4βδ GABAA receptors (GABARs, Shen et al., 2007), when the threshold for triggering an action potential is increased and spiking is decreased. This less excitable state is not observed in the δ-/- mouse, implicating α4βδ GABARs in increasing hippocampal inhibition during adolescence. DESIGN/METHODS: Field potentials were recorded from CA1 stratum radiatum of hippocampal slices from pre-pubertal (~28-32 PND) and pubertal (~35-44 PND, assessed by vaginal opening) female wild-type or α4-/- mice at ~30o C using aCSF- filled microelectrodes and an Axoclamp-2A amplifier. Spontaneous bursts were induced by high K+ (8.5 mM) to mimic epileptic discharge. Cumulative coastline length, a measure of burst amplitude and duration, was assessed, as was the percentage of slices exhibiting ictal discharge. RESULTS: 8.5 mM K+ induced both ictal and interictal discharge in slices from pre-pubertal animals, with 69.2[percnt] exhibiting ictal discharge, a greater proportion than observed in pubertal slices (7.1[percnt], P=0.02). The coastline length was more than 50[percnt] greater in pre-pubertal slices (2594 ± 469 vs. 1651 ± 221, pubertal, P=0.037). However, recordings from pubertal α4-/- slices revealed seizure activity (57.1[percnt] ictal, 3742 ± 953, coastline length) similar to pre-pubertal, but significantly greater than wild-type (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Ictal activity triggered by high K+, a model of epileptic conditions, decreases at puberty in female mice, when hippocampal α4βδ GABARs are increased. Knock-out of α4 prevents this pubertal decrease in ictal activity, suggesting that α4βδ GABARs, which emerge during adolescence, may reduce pre-existing seizure activity. Study Supported by: NIH grant R01-MH100561 Disclosure: Dr. Merlin has nothing to disclose. Dr. Yang has nothing to disclose. Dr. Smith has nothing to disclose.
Privacy in india: attitudes and awareness

In recent years, numerous surveys have been conducted to assess attitudes about privacy in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the European Union. Very little information has been published about privacy attitudes in India. As India is becoming a leader in business process outsourcing, increasing amounts of personal information from other countries is flowing into India. Questions have been raised about the ability of Indian companies to adequately protect this information. We conducted an exploratory study to gain an initial understanding of attitudes about privacy among the Indian high tech workforce. We carried out a written survey and one-on-one interviews to assess the level of awareness about privacy-related issues and concern about privacy among a sample of educated people in India. Our results demonstrate an overall lack of awareness of privacy issues and less concern about privacy in India than has been found in similar studies conducted in the United States.
The δ18O of dissolved O2 as a tracer of mixing and respiration in the mesopelagic ocean

The isotopic composition of dissolved oxygen in the mesopelagic ocean is a unique tracer of respiration and transport. New δ18O of O2 data from the tropical South Atlantic oxygen minimum zone are presented and compared to global δ18O data. The δ18O variability in oxygen poor waters is attributed to differences in physical and biogeochemical processes. Simple respiration-transport models show that both isopycnal diffusion and advection must be properly considered when interpreting oxygen isotope signatures along an isopycnal surface. We estimate rates of respiration and oxygen isotope fractionation for the study region using a two-dimensional (2-D) isopycnal and 1-D diapycnal model. Estimated respiration rates are consistent with previous studies. However, to account for observed δ18O values at low [O2], model solutions need to invoke either very low [O2] that have not been observed in the South Atlantic or an isotope effect that is lower than values measured in the laboratory or euphotic zone.
A component-based approach for modeling failure propagations in power systems

Resiliency and reliability is of paramount impor- tance for energy cyber physical systems. Electrical protection systems including detection elements such as Distance Relays and actuation elements such as Breakers are designed to protect the system from abnormal operations and arrest failure propagation by rapidly isolating the faulty components. However, failure in the protection devices themselves can and do lead to major system events and fault cascades, often leading to blackouts. This paper augments our past work on Temporal Causal Diagrams (TCD), a modeling formalism designed to help reason about the failure progressions by (a) describing a way to generate the TCD model from the system specification, and (b) understand the system failure dynamics for TCD reasoners by configuring simulation models.
Polyamine Levels During Growth, Sporulation, and Spore Germination of Bacillus megaterium

Spermidine was the major (>95%) polyamine of Bacillus megaterium in all stages of growth, although it could be replaced completely by spermine. Log-phase cells had 40 to 50% as much spermidine, based on ribonucleic acid (RNA) content, as did either stationary-phase cells or dormant spores; similar results were obtained in three other bacilli including an asporogenous mutant. Polyamine levels were essentially the same in B. megaterium grown in rich or poor media, or in media of high or low ionic strength. Polyamine levels were elevated three- to sixfold by exogenous spermidine without a major effect on growth, sporulation, or subsequent spore germination. During germination, the absolute amount of spermidine remained constant for almost 2 h until net RNA synthesis had lowered the polyamine/RNA ratio to a value close to that in log-phase cells. At this time, the spermidine level began to rise, and thereafter spermidine and RNA increased in parallel. This parallel relationship between the spermidine and RNA levels was abolished by actinomycin D, but not by chloramphenicol.
The effects of parvocellular lateral geniculate lesions on the acuity and contrast sensitivity of macaque monkeys

The effects of ablating the visual pathway that passes through the parvocellular (dorsal) LGN were tested in 2 macaque monkeys by measuring acuity and both luminance and chromatic contrast sensitivity. Thresholds were tested monocularly before and after ibotenic acid was used to lesion parvocellular layers 4 and 6 of the contralateral geniculate. The injections were centered at the representation of 6 degrees in the temporal field on the horizontal meridian, and vision was tested with localized stimuli at this location. In addition, in one of the monkeys, a lesion was made in magnocellular layer 1 of the opposite geniculate, and the same thresholds were tested. Physiological and anatomical reconstructions demonstrated complete destruction of the target layers in 1 parvocellular lesions and in the magnocellular lesion, and sparing of the nontarget layers in the tested region. Parvocellular lesions caused a 3–4-fold reduction in visual acuity within the affected part of the visual field, while the magnocellular lesion did not affect acuity. Both luminance and chromatic contrast sensitivity, tested with stationary gratings of 2 c/degree, were severely reduced by parvocellular lesions, but not affected by the magnocellular lesion. However, when luminance contrast sensitivity was tested with 1 c/degree gratings, counterphase modulated at 10 Hz, it was reduced by both parvocellular and magnocellular lesions. This study demonstrates that the parvocellular pathway dominates chromatic vision, acuity, and contrast detection at low temporal and high spatial frequencies, while the magnocellular pathway may mediate contrast detection at higher temporal and lower spatial frequencies.
Epistemological Distinctions Between Science and History

This article describes epistemological distinctions between science and history. Science investigates models of natural law using repeatable experiments as the ultimate arbiter. In contrast, history investigates past events by considering physical evidence, documentary evidence, and eyewitness testimony. Because questions of natural law are repeatably testable by any audience that exercises due experimental care, models of natural law are inherently more objective and testable with greater certainty than theories of past events.
Medical Education under Siege: Critical Pedagogy, Primary Care and the Making of â€œSlave Doctorsâ€

According to Kerr White, medical education is "mired in unhelpful rhetoric, unbecoming hubris, and reliance on an outmoded biomedical paradigm that ignores social, environmental, and psychological influences on health and health care.” This article is an ethnographic case study of a six-year, $6 million project at Michigan State University (and three surrounding communities) that challenged this reality. The goal was to create community-oriented primary care. Commu­nity participation was a paramount goal in all areas of project life. On paper the project was quite radical as local communities were to be empowered to shape and create the medical curriculum. The project was called the Community/University Health Partnerships. Underwritten by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation it was part of a larger $50 million effort in seven U.S. states. The author, an anthropologist, served as an evaluator on the project, charged with the mission to make it succeed. The article shows how he used critical pedagogy and critical ethnography towards these ends. It traces the relationship between neoliberalism and medical education and highlights significant instances of hegemony and counterhegemony between the medical schools and the communities in the doomed project.
Management of the sensitized adult heart transplant candidate

Heart transplant recipients sensitized to human leukocyte antigens comprise a challenging subgroup of patients. Sensitization has been associated with a variety of effects that determine short-term and long-term outcomes. These include a higher rate of acute rejection and graft loss, and a heightened risk for developing cardiac allograft vasculopathy. Because of improvements in both tissue typing and immunomodulatory therapies coupled with the growing population receiving mechanical circulatory support/LVAD, the percent of sensitized patients listed for heart transplantation has increased, inflicting a greater burden to the already scarce donor pool. Despite these potentially adverse developments, pre-transplant immunologic management has resulted in decreased waiting times and outcomes that were not possible over 10 yr ago. The following review will focus on the contemporary management of the sensitized heart transplant candidate and highlight therapies that have allowed the successful transplantation of this growing and challenging patient population, including several approaches in development.
Arsenic mobilization from mine tailings in the presence of a biosurfactant

Batch experiments were conducted to investigate As mobilization from mine tailings in the presence of a biosurfactant (JBR425, mixed rhamnolipids) and to evaluate the feasibility of using biosurfactant in remediating As contaminated mine tailings/soils. Introduction of the biosurfactant increased As mobilization greatly. When the mass ratio was 10 mg biosurfactant/g mine tailings at pH 11, As mobilization by the biosurfactant was greatest after 24 h, with a corresponding concentration ratio (the ratio of As mobilization by the biosurfactant to that by distilled water at same adjusted pH, wt/wt) of 21.6. Selective sequential extraction indicated that As was easily mobilized from the weakly bound and relatively more mobile fractions by washing with the biosurfactant. A mobilization isotherm was developed to predict As mobilization from the mine tailings in the presence of biosurfactant. It was shown that biosurfactant sorption to the mine tailings is essential for As mobilization. Arsenic mobilization was found to be positively correlated with the mobilization of Fe and other metals (i.e., Cu, Pb and Zn), which might further enhance As mobilization by helping incorporate it into soluble complexes or micelles. Capillary electrophoresis analyses indicated that As redox or methylation reactions had insignificant effect on As mobilization. Biosurfactants might be used potentially to remove bulk As from mine tailings or contaminated soils under alkaline conditions.
A molecular injury-response model for the understanding of chronic disease

Over the past century, modern medicine has been remarkably effective in managing acute diseases. However, medical paradigms have been less successful in the understanding and treatment of chronic inflammatory and degenerative disorders such as multiple sclerosis, connective-tissue disorders, chronic infections and chronic transplant rejection. Despite significant advances in biology over the past two decades, much of this knowledge has yet to be translated to medical practice. In this article, we propose a new framework for chronic disorders that could aid in the correlation of molecular, cellular and clinical data, leading to more rational treatments.
Cell cycle and proliferation dynamics of adult rat oligodendrocytes.

Adult oligodendrocytes (OLGs) have been shown to be mitotically responsive when co-cultured with dorsal root ganglion. We have investigated the population dynamics of the OLG proliferative response, including the maximum percent of cells which will proliferate and the cell cycle duration time of the adult rat OLG. Adult OLGs were stimulated with pituitary extract and either continuously labeled or pulse labeled with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU). The labeled cells were stained with a fluorescent antiBrdU monoclonal antibody, and fluorescence measurements were made with a multiparameter flow cytometer. A maximum number of 53% of the adult OLGs entered the cell division cycle after 9 days. The cell division cycle duration time (T,) was determined to be approximately 35.4 hr, and the durations of GI, S, and G2M found to be 12.1, 8.5, and 5.8 hr, respectively. A scenario was generated for adult OLG proliferation in which 2.2% of the initial population is stimulated to enter the cell division cycle in the first 24 hr. This initial population divides and continues in the cell division cycle. Another 2.2% of the initial population enters the cell division cycle during the second 24 hr period, divides, and continues in the cell division cycle. This entry of 2.2% of the cells into the proliferative phase continues until 53% of the initial population has left a quiescent state and entered the cell cycle. Q 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.