cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Immunotoxicology of organic acid anhydrides (OAAs)

Organic acid anhydrides (OAAs) have considerable economic importance due to their extensive use in the production of alkyd, epoxy, and polyester resins. Occupational exposure to OAAs has been associated with a variety of health effects, which may be classified into two major categories of direct toxicity/irritant and hypersensitivity. The hypersensitivity diseases associated with OAA exposure are thought to be related to the reactivity of these chemicals and in particular their ability to form protein conjugates that may be recognized as neo-antigens by the immune system. This review will present a brief discussion of the basic chemistry of these compounds and the environmental and biological monitoring methods used for exposure measurements. The clinical syndromes associated with exposure to these compounds will be discussed along with factors that may affect disease susceptibility. Finally, animal models that have been developed to examine the mechanisms of disease will be discussed.
Children's Attitudes Toward Singing and Song Recordings Related to Gender, Ethnicity, and Age:

This study examines students' attitudes toward singing and choir participation related to gender, age, and ethnic background. It also looks at attitudes toward recordings from basal music series that are designed to provide an appropriate model and to encourage singing. Participants (N = 249) were third to fifth graders enrolled in two public schools in Texas. After completing a brief survey concerning their attitudes toward singing and choir, participants listened to nine recordings of various songs selected from two music textbook series. For each song, participants indicated their preference for the singers and the song. Results indicate few significant differences between boys and girls in their attitudes toward singing, but less positive attitudes for singing from the Hispanic participants, particularly the males. African American participants did not differ by gender and were more positive toward singing and all types of song recordings. The decline of positive attitudes toward school music was foun...
Compact, passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser for the MESSENGER mission to Mercury

A compact, passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser has been developed for the Mercury Laser Altimeter, an instrument on the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging mission to the planet Mercury. The laser achieves 5.4% efficiency with a near-diffraction-limited beam. It passed all space-flight environmental tests at subsystem, instrument, and satellite integration testing and successfully completes a postlaunch aliveness check en route to Mercury. The laser design draws on a heritage of previous laser altimetry missions, specifically the Ice Cloud and Elevation Satellite and the Mars Global Surveyor, but incorporates thermal management features unique to the requirements of an orbit of the planet Mercury.
A multiple thruster array for 30-cm thrusters

The 3.0-m diameter chamber of the 7.6-m diameter by 21.4-m long vacuum tank at NASA LeRC was modified to permit testing of an array of up to six 30-cm thrusters with a variety of laboratory and thermal vacuum bread-board power systems. A primary objective of the Multiple Thruster Array (MTA) program is to assess the impact of multiple thruster operation on individual thruster and power processor requirements. The areas of thruster startup, steady-state operation, throttling, high voltage recycle, thrust vectoring, and shutdown are of special concern. The results of initial tests are reported.
46-Year-Old Man With Fevers, Chills, and Pancytopenia

R c D S E A C eases, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN (M.R.S.). A 46-year-old man from Minnesota presented to his primary care physician with a 2-week history of furuncle on his abdomen that was gradually increasing in size and had started to produce purulent drainage. Physical examination revealed a firm 4-cm lesion with a small amount of surrounding erythema and induration in the left lower abdominal quadrant. He did not report any recent travel, animal exposures, tick bites, or sick contacts. His medical history was significant for hypothyroidism and dyslipidemia, and he had no known drug allergies.
Mortality of American Alligators Attributed to Cannibalism

Abstract Mortality of juvenile (<122 cm total length; TL) American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) attributed to cannibalism on Orange Lake, Florida was examined. Alligator web tags used in mark–recapture studies were found in 12% of 267 stomachs sampled from alligators ≥168 cm TL. Captive alligators retained 76% of force-fed tags during a 588-d tag-retention trial. Models relating the probability of tag recovery to the annual probabilities of juvenile survival, cannibalism, tag retention, adult survival, and adult harvest suggested that cannibalism may on average remove 6–7% of the juvenile alligator population annually. Vulnerability continued to 140 cm TL (age 6–8 yr). Cannibalism of juveniles may serve to regulate the alligator population on Orange Lake. Alligator cannibalism may vary widely among populations, depending on demography and environmental conditions. The role and importance of cannibalism in alligator population dynamics should be more fully assessed and environmental and populati...
Keyboard Design: An Investigation of User Preference and Performance

This study investigated the effects of several alphanumeric keyboard characteristics including: audible feedback; location, size, and shape of the carriage return key; and the shape and style of keycaps. Four of the six keyboards were experimental prototypes, while the remaining two were production models.Eighteen subjects were used in a mixed factorial design. Subjects performed a text entry task during which they were not allowed to correct any errors. Four types of data were collected: 1) total errors per trial, 2) total time for text entry, 3) individual preference questionnaire data for each keyboard, and 4) comparative questionnaire data across keyboards. Results indicate that time on task was not significantly different among keyboards; however, with audible feedback, a marginally significant result was found. Highly trained typists committed significantly more errors than did the other two less experienced groups. Subjects indicated that the location, size, and shape of the return key were importa...
Overview of diagnostic testing for chest pain of unknown origin

Identifying the cause of recurrent chest pain may be difficult. Significant coronary artery disease must be excluded before patients can be assured that their symptoms are truly "noncardiac." A normal coronary angiogram is the most definitive test but this may not preclude the presence of a new "fly in the ointment," i.e., microvascular angina. Musculoskeletal pain syndromes, psychological problems, and esophageal disorders, including both esophageal motility disorders and gastroesophageal reflux disease, are the most common causes of noncardiac chest pain. Nearly 30% of these patients will have an esophageal motility disorder, although its clinical relevance in the asymptomatic patient is controversial. Simple, inexpensive, provocation tests (most commonly edrophonium, bethanechol, and/or balloon distention) have been developed to recreate motility-related chest pain in the laboratory-These tests can identify the esophagus as the source of pain, but in most cases they do not direct therapy. Other disadvantages of provocation tests include the lack of a gold standard reference point, side effects, and the need for placebo because of a subjective end point. Recently, ambulatory esophageal pH and pressure monitoring have been used to define precisely the cause of esophageal chest pain. These systems can record multiple episodes of pain for up to 24 hours in an outpatient setting and have shown that gastroesophageal reflux (rather than motility disorders) is the most common esophageal cause of pain. However, these studies also suggest that many episodes of chest pain do not have an identifiable esophageal cause. Furthermore, this equipment is expensive, uncomfortable, may alter normal activity, and is not useful in patients having infrequent pain episodes. Psychological disturbances should be carefully sought in any patient with noncardiac chest pain: Many patients have anxiety, depression, or panic attacks that may complicate or contribute to their reported symptoms. It is questionable if these patients need additional testing. Rather, the challenge of the future is to prove that the multitude of tests aid in the overall treatment and outcome of patients with noncardiac chest pain.
Shear-induced lamellae alignment in matched triblock and pentablock copolymers

Lamellae forming CEC triblock and CECEC pentablock copolymers located near the order−disorder transition temperature were subjected to reciprocating shear as a function of strain amplitude and thermal history. Both variables strongly influence the mix of perpendicular vs parallel lamellae alignment in the triblock copolymer, while only the strain amplitude significantly affects the pentablock material. Dramatically different responses of CEC vs CECEC to shear are rationalized on the basis of viscoelastic contrast and nonlinear chain stretching, each operating differently on the initially disordered and ordered states.
Polarization dependence of light scattered from rough surfaces with steep slopes

We discuss measurements of the infrared scattering properties of one- and two-dimensional conducting randomly rough surfaces. The surfaces are fabricated in photoresist and are checked with a stylus profilometer to verify that the surface statistics agree with the desired results. For surfaces that have steep slopes and lateral scale sizes comparable to the illumination wavelength, we observe strongly enhanced backscattering toward the source. These observations are shown to be strongly dependent on polarization. In the case of a one- dimensional surface, four distinct quantities appear in the Stokes scattering matrix, and examples of measurements of these quantities are presented. For the case of a two- dimensionally rough surface it is discussed that, even if the incident field is purely linearly polarized, the scattered light consists of both polarized and randomly polarized components. In the backscattering region, the polarized component contains linear, elliptical, and even nearly circular polarization states at various field angles. These data are interpreted and are consistent with the statistical isotropy of the surface.
An evaluation of three wood shred blends for post-fire erosion control using indoor simulated rain events on small plots

The assessment teams who make post-fire stabilization and treatment decisions are under pressure to employ more effective and economic post-fire treatments, as wild fire activity and severity has increased in recent years across the western United States. Use of forest-native wood-based materials for hillslope mulching has been on the rise due to potential environmental, erosion control efficacy, and economic incentives. One concern regarding use of woody materials prepared on or near burned sites is the wide range in the size distribution of the shredded materials. We tested three blends of shredded woody materials, each blend containing different amounts of fine (less than 2.5 cm in length) woody particles. The blends (AS IS with 24% fines, MIX with 18% fines, and REDUCED with 2% fines) were applied at 50 and 70% ground cover to 5-m2 plots containing burned soil placed at 40% slope and evaluated through simulated rain events which consisted of a rain only, a rain plus low flow, and a rain plus high flow period. The REDUCED blend was the optimum for both runoff and sediment concentration reduction under conditions of rainfall and rainfall plus concentrated flow. There was no difference between application rates of 50 and 70% for either of the rainfall plus concentrated flows tested. Our recommendation was that 50% ground cover of the REDUCED blend was adequate for both rainfall and sediment reduction compared to a bare soil. The other two blends were effective in reducing runoff but not sediment concentration compared to a bare soil. The wood shred manufacturing and blending process resulted in two statistically different relationships between application rate and ground cover; relationships were controlled by the amount of fines.
Ligands for FKBP12 increase Ca2+influx and protein synthesis to improve skeletal muscle function

Rapamycin at high doses (2–10 mg/kg body weight) inhibits mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) and protein synthesis in mice. In contrast, low doses of rapamycin (10 μg/kg) increase mTORC1 activity and protein synthesis in skeletal muscle. Similar changes are found with SLF (synthetic ligand for FKBP12, which does not inhibit mTORC1) and in mice with a skeletal muscle-specific FKBP12 deficiency. These interventions also increase Ca2+ influx to enhance refilling of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ stores, slow muscle fatigue, and increase running endurance without negatively impacting cardiac function. FKBP12 deficiency or longer treatments with low dose rapamycin or SLF increase the percentage of type I fibers, further adding to fatigue resistance. We demonstrate that FKBP12 and its ligands impact multiple aspects of muscle function.
The debate over robotics in benign gynecology

The debate over the role of the da Vinci surgical robotic platform in benign gynecology is raging with increasing fervor and, as product liability issues arise, greater financial stakes. Although the best currently available science suggests that, in the hands of experts, robotics offers little in surgical advantage over laparoscopy, at increased expense, the observed decrease in laparotomy for hysterectomy is almost certainly, at least in part, attributable to the availability of the robot. In this author's opinion, the issue is not whether the robot has any role but rather to define the role in an institutional environment that also supports the safe use of vaginal and laparoscopic approaches in an integrated minimally invasive surgery program. Programs engaging robotic surgery should have a clear and self-determined regulatory process and should resist pressures in place that may preferentially support robotics over other forms of minimally invasive surgery.
Female visual displays affect the development of male song in the cowbird.

The role of social stimulation in avian vocal learning is well documented1. The separate contribution of social, as opposed to vocal, stimulation has been difficult to address, however, because in almost all cases both tutor and pupil sing. The opportunity to isolate such effects arose in cowbirds (Molothrus ater ater) after discovering that males housed with non-singing female cowbirds made vocal changes which related directly to the female preferences for native song2–4. Here we report how females communicate with males about songs. We describe a visual display by females, a wing stroke, that is elicited by specific vocalizations. The songs that trigger wing strokes are in turn highly effective releasers of copulatory postures, and thus this previously unnoticed female display has biological significance. The data not only provide the first evidence of the tutorial role of male–female interactions during song ontogeny, they also clearly implicate visual stimulation in song learning, a process that has until now been assumed to be affected only by auditory information5.
The Role of Clock Genes in Pharmacology

The physiology of a wide variety of organisms is organized according to periodic environmental changes imposed by the earth's rotation. This way, a large number of physiological processes present diurnal rhythms regulated by an internal timing system called the circadian clock. As part of the rhythmicity in physiology, drug efficacy and toxicity can vary with time. Studies over the past four decades present diurnal oscillations in drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. On the other hand, diurnal variations in the availability and sensitivity of drug targets have been correlated with time-dependent changes in drug effectiveness. In this review, we provide evidence supporting the regulation of drug kinetics and dynamics by the circadian clock. We also use the examples of hypertension and cancer to show current achievements and challenges in chronopharmacology.
Space-time multi-block coding and beamforming with side information for mobile transceivers

In this paper, we first introduce a quasi-orthogonal space-time block coding scheme over multiple antenna block fading channels. The proposed code exploits temporal diversity due to the mobile nature of the block fading channel as well as spatial diversity due to multiple antennas. We then propose a beamforming strategy over temporally correlated channel blocks. It is assumed that the channel undergoes Doppler frequency shift and an AR1channel model is adopted to track the channel temporal correlation coefficients at the transmitter. Using the combination of transmit beamforming and quasi-orthogonal block coding over adjacent channel blocks, we accomplish to achieve the available array gains on top of notable diversity gains and coding gains, compared to the standard solutions in the conventional wireless communication schemes. In our model, the knowledge of the channel statistics at the transmitter side is based on the approximation of the Jakes' model and does not require frequent feedback updates from the receiver. Simulation results show the superiority of our scheme to the existing coding schemes with knowledge of the channel statistics at the transmitter
A method for determination of optimal gaits with application to a snake-like serial-link structure

In this paper, we present a method of determining optimal gaits for shape actuated locomotion systems. This method is the synthesis of techniques for computing reduced equations for robotic locomotion systems and a numerical optimal control strategy. Symmetry reduction processes induce a form of locomotion system dynamics that reveals a cyclic-like coupling between group, shape, and momenta coordinates. This form allows one to focus on designing gaits, abandoning concern over shape dynamics. Using this vantage point we indicate how a numerical optimal control method based on Gaussian quadrature may be acclimatized to periodicity, thus providing optimal gaits. The method is demonstrated by means of its application to a snake-like serial-link structure or snake robot. This application provides scientific merit to hypotheses concerning observed locomotion phenomena amongst animals employing undulatory propulsive mechanisms.
Virtual Self-Modeling: The Effects of Vicarious Reinforcement and Identification on Exercise Behaviors

Social cognitive theory is often implemented when researchers develop treatments and campaigns for health behavior change. Immersive virtual environment technology (IVET) enables novel explorations of health behavior modeling. In Study 1, participants were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: vicarious reinforcement, in which a virtual representation of the physical self (VRS) gained or lost weight in accordance with participants' physical exercise; an unchanging VRS; or no virtual representation. The reinforcement group performed significantly more exercise in a voluntary phase than those in other conditions. Study 2 separated reward (weight loss) from punishment (weight gain) and also explored model identification by contrasting the effects of a VRS with a VRO (virtual representation of an other); participants exercised significantly more when they viewed the VRS, regardless of whether reward or punishment was shown. In Study 3, participants were exposed to either a VRS running on a treadmill, ...
Genetic Dominance & Cellular Processes

In learning genetics, many students misunderstand and misinterpret what “dominance” means. Understanding is easier if students realize that dominance is not a mechanism, but rather a consequence of underlying cellular processes. For example, metabolic pathways are often little affected by changes in enzyme concentration. This means that enzyme-producing alleles usually show complete dominance. For genes producing nonenzymatic proteins such as collagen or hemoglobin, the amount of product matters, and dominance relationships are more complicated. Furthermore, with hemoglobin, dominance can change depending on what aspect of the phenotype is being studied and on the environmental conditions. X-linked genes are a special case, whether enzymatic or not. Because of X-chromosome inactivation, only one X-linked allele can be active in a cell, which means that the concept of dominance cannot be applied at the cellular level. Instead, a type of dominance is demonstrated at the individual level; but even so, dominant traits may fail to be expressed, and recessive traits can be expressed. Teaching not only what is happening but why it's happening will give students a deeper understanding, not only of dominance relationships, but of the underlying cellular processes as well.
The evaluation of analgesic drugs

The current status of the experimental, as opposed to the traditional clinical, approach to the evaluation of analgesic activity is examined in the light of recent observations made with the submaximal tourniquet and electric shock methods of inducing experimental pain. The results obtained indicate that the submaximal effort tourniquet technique shows an acceptable degree of sensitivity in detecting the analgesic activity of both narcotic and non-narcotic agents which is not the case with the electric shock method. These differences in sensitivities between two different experimental methods are examined and some possible explanations offered for the findings. It is concluded that some modern experimental methods may now provide a valid and desirable alternative to the clinical approach for the evaluation of analgesic agents.
Penetrative convection in stably stratified fluids

The downward convection of discrete masses of heavy fluid, called thermals, in a gravitationally stable environment is studied experimentally. For simplicity the ambient stratification is chosen to have a discontinuous two-layer structure with fluid of uniform density in each layer. When released into the homogeneous upper layer the thermal acquires the circulation of a turbulent ring vortex as reported earlier. For weak stratifications, which are however capable of halting the thermal, this circulation is destroyed in a dramatic fashion during the penetration of the lower layer; restoring buoyancy forces then develop a reversed circulation as the thermal flattens and spreads. For strong stratifications no reversal of the circulation occurs, rather the flattening and spreading of the thermal is associated with a gradual decay of the original circulation. A dimensional argument is proposed to indicate the parameters which determine the extreme penetration of the thermal into the lower layer: this is confirmed by experiment. In order to generalize the results to more realistic geophysical cases a mechanistic description of thermal behaviour is put forward. The treatment is shown to rationalize the data for environments with ( a ) neutral stratification, ( b ) a discontinuous two-layer structure and ( c ) constant density gradient. Thermal behaviour in a stratification consisting of ( a ) surmounted by ( c ) is then predicted. Observations made by the author of the penetration of tall cumulus clouds into the sub-tropical stratosphere permit a test of the applicability of this model in one geophysical area. For every 1 km of penetration it is deduced that convective motions have an average vertical intensity of 10 m/sec: this prediction is shown to be in good agreement with the limited observational data. DOI: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1962.tb00130.x
Postchemotherapy Laparoscopic Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection: Evaluation of Complications

Objectives Initial publications on postchemotherapy laparoscopic retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (LRPLND) have described significant intraoperative and postoperative morbidities. This report reviewed the complication rate with additional experience. Methods A retrospective review of the medical records of 16 consecutive patients who underwent postchemotherapy LRPLND by a single surgeon from September 1996 to September 2005 was performed. The evaluation included tumor type, clinical stage, pathologic stage, and intraoperative and postoperative complications. Results Postchemotherapy LRPLND was successfully performed in 14 (87.5%) of 16 patients. Seven patients (43.8%) developed complications and 2 (12.5%) required open conversion. The most complications occurred during the postoperative period and were classified as minor. Of the total patient population, 25% had minor postoperative complications. The median hospital stay was 2 days. No patient who underwent the procedure died. All intraoperative complications were vascular injuries and occurred during the first half of the series (1996 to 2000). In the second half of the series (2000 to 2005), no complications during the operative period and no vascular or major complications occurred. No retroperitoneal recurrence was noted during a mean follow-up of 32.7 months (range 5 to 108). One patient developed distant recurrence and underwent successful salvage chemotherapy. Conclusions Postchemotherapy LRPLND remains a challenging, but feasible, operation. With greater experience, the incidence of complications and morbidity can be reduced.
Learning feature transforms is an easier problem than feature selection

We argue that optimal feature selection is intrinsically a harder problem than learning discriminative feature transforms, provided a suitable criterion for the latter. We discuss mutual information between class labels and transformed features as such a criterion. Instead of Shannon's definition we use measures based on Renyi entropy, which lends itself into an efficient implementation and an interpretation of "information forces" induced by samples of data that drive the transform.
Combining D,L‐α‐difluoromethylornithine with [3H] thymidine increases killing of rat gliosarcoma cells in vitro

The present studies were done to test the hypothesis that the cytostasis caused by D,L-α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) would enhance cellular retention of [3H] thymidine and thereby increase the effective internal radiation dose and cell killing. To test this hypothesis, 9L rat brain tumor cells were cultured in the presence of 10 μCi of [3H] thymidine for 4 days (about 5 divisions) with or without 1 mM DMFO. After 4 days the [3H] thymidine was removed from the cultures and both groups of cells were treated with 1 mM DFMO for the remainder of the experiment. After 24 days the untreated control group had 2.5 × 1014 colony-forming cells (CFC) and the group with [3H] thymidine or DFMO alone had 2 × 109 and 2 × 106 CFC, respectively. The group with sequential treatments (4 days [3H] thymidine followed by DFMO) had only 6 × 103 CFC, but the group with simultaneous treatments (DFMO added on day 0 with the [3H] thymidine) had too few CFC remaining by day 8 to measure accurately. In the group given [3H] thymidine and DFMO sequentially, retention of [3H] thymidine was enhanced, but in the group given DFMO simultaneously there was almost total retention as well as increased initial uptake of [3H] thymidine. These studies suggest that combining DFMO with short-range radioemitters may be a useful approach to brain tumor therapy. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Real-time moment-to-moment emotional responses to narrative and informational breast cancer videos in African American women

In a randomized experiment using momentto-moment audience analysis methods, we compared women’s emotional responses with a narrative versus informational breast cancer video. Both videos communicated three key messages about breast cancer: (i) understand your breast cancer risk, (ii) talk openly about breast cancer and (iii) get regular mammograms. A community-based convenience sample of African American women (n 5 59) used a hand-held audience response device to report the intensity of their emotional reaction while watching one of the two videos. Strong emotions were more likely to correspond to contextual information about characters in the video and less likely to correspond to health content among women who watched the narrativevideo comparedwiththose who watched the informational video (P < 0.05). Women who watched the narrative video were more likely to report feeling attentive (41 versus 28%, respectively), inspired (54 versus 34%) and proud (30 versus 18%) and less likely to feel upset (8 versus 16%) (all P < 0.05). Women in the narrative group were more likely to mention women’s personal stories than health information in open-ended recall questions, but this did not detract from obtaining health information. Findings suggest that stories can be used to communicate health information without distracting from core health content.
Biogenetic - Type Synthesis of 12,16 - Deoxyfuroscalarol

Abstract Cationic cyclization of a bicyclic furanosester-terpene precursor to a furoscalarane is reported.
LESSONS LEARNED FROM A COMMUNITY COALITION WITH DIVERSE STAKEHOLDERS: THE PARTNERSHIP FOR CITRUS WORKER HEALTH

The Partnership for Citrus Worker Health is a coalition formed by researchers at the University of South Florida Prevention Research Center and the Farm Worker Association of Florida. With the help of a community advisory board composed of agricultural laborers, public health professionals and agricultural employers, the project conducted research and designed an intervention that focused on eye safety among citrus harvesters. This case study demonstrates the successful use of a variety of participatory techniques and approaches, including social marketing, focus group research, community health workers, and quantitative measures of behavior change. The case also demonstrates how diverse stakeholders, including the researchers, the community advisory board and the target audience, collaborated to define problems and adopt solutions that make the agricultural workplace safer and improve conditions in the community. However, the way in which agricultural production utilizes migrant labor ultimately sets limits to the success of such collaborative approaches.
Electrocardiographic Repolarization-Related Variables as Predictors of Coronary Heart Disease Death in the Women's Health Initiative Study

Background We evaluated 25 repolarization-related ECG variables for the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) death in 52 994 postmenopausal women from the Women's Health Initiative study. Methods and Results Hazard ratios from Cox regression were computed for subgroups of women with and without cardiovascular disease (CVD). During the average follow-up of 16.9 years, 941 CHD deaths occurred. Based on electrophysiological considerations, 2 sets of ECG variables with low correlations were considered as candidates for independent predictors of CHD death: Set 1, Ѳ(Tp|Tref), the spatial angle between T peak (Tp) and normal T reference (Tref) vectors; Ѳ(Tinit|Tterm), the angle between the initial and terminal T vectors; STJ depression in V6 and rate-adjusted QTp interval (QTpa); and Set 2, TaVR and TV1 amplitudes, heart rate, and QRS duration. Strong independent predictors with over 2-fold increased risk for CHD death in women with and without CVD were Ѳ(Tp|Tref) >42° from Set 1 and TaVR amplitude >−100 μV from Set 2. The risk for these CHD death predictors remained significant after multivariable adjustment for demographic/clinical factors. Other significant predictors for CHD death in fully adjusted risk models were Ѳ(Tinit|Tterm) >30°, TV1 >175 μV, and QRS duration >100 ms. Conclusions Ѳ(Tp|Tref) angle and TaVR amplitude are associated with CHD mortality in postmenopausal women. The use of these measures to identify high-risk women for further diagnostic evaluation or more intense preventive intervention warrants further study. Clinical Trial Registration URL: . Unique identifier: [NCT00000611][1]. [1]: /lookup/external-ref?link_type=CLINTRIALGOV&access_num=NCT00000611&atom=%2Fahaoa%2F3%2F4%2Fe001005.atom
Rethinking the Concept of Truth: A Critique of Deflationism

Various arguments advanced in favor of deflationism force us to rethink our concept of truth. Deflationists indicate numerous problems with the standard ways of defming truth (correspondence, coherence, pragmatism), and try to convince us that the concept of truth is far less interesting than philosophers usually take it to be. If deflationists are right, the perennial philosophical problems concerning the nature of truth are based on an inflated concept of truth. Their positive view is that, for any proposition (or sentence) p, a simple equivalence schema — ‘p’ is true if and only if p — captures this concept better than any traditional theory of truth. Deflationists think the schema is sufficient to describe the logical behavior of the truth-predicate and explain why it is useful to have such a device in our language1.
Loss of endogenous Nfatc1 reduces the rate of DMBA/TPA-induced skin tumorigenesis

Immunosuppressive therapies using calcineurin inhibitors, such as cyclosporine A, are associated with a higher incidence of squamous cell carcinoma formation in mice and humans. Calcineurin is believed to suppress tumorigenesis in part through Nfatc1, a transcription factor expressed primarily in hair follicle bulge stem cells in mice. However, mice overexpressing a constitutively active Nfatc1 isoform in the skin epithelium developed increased spontaneous skin squamous cell carcinomas. Because follicular stem cells can contribute to skin tumorigenesis, whether the endogenous expression of Nfatc1 inhibits or enhances skin tumorigenesis is unclear. Here we show that loss of the endogenous expression of Nfatc1 suppresses the rate of DMBA/TPA-induced skin tumorigenesis. Inducible deletion of Nfatc1 in follicular stem cells before tumor initiation significantly reduces the rate of tumorigenesis and the contribution of follicular stem cells to skin tumors. We find that skin tumors from mice lacking Nfatc1 display reduced Hras codon 61 mutations. Furthermore, Nfatc1 enhances the expression of genes involved in DMBA metabolism and increases DMBA-induced DNA damage in keratinocytes. Together these data implicate Nfatc1 in the regulation of skin stem cell-initiated tumorigenesis via the regulation of DMBA metabolism.
Ack1 is a dopamine transporter endocytic brake that rescues a trafficking-dysregulated ADHD coding variant

The dopamine (DA) transporter (DAT) facilitates high-affinity presynaptic DA reuptake that temporally and spatially constrains DA neurotransmission. Aberrant DAT function is implicated in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder. DAT is a major psychostimulant target, and psychostimulant reward strictly requires binding to DAT. DAT function is acutely modulated by dynamic membrane trafficking at the presynaptic terminal and a PKC-sensitive negative endocytic mechanism, or “endocytic brake,” controls DAT plasma membrane stability. However, the molecular basis for the DAT endocytic brake is unknown, and it is unknown whether this braking mechanism is unique to DAT or common to monoamine transporters. Here, we report that the cdc42-activated, nonreceptor tyrosine kinase, Ack1, is a DAT endocytic brake that stabilizes DAT at the plasma membrane and is released in response to PKC activation. Pharmacologic and shRNA-mediated Ack1 silencing enhanced basal DAT internalization and blocked PKC-stimulated DAT internalization, but had no effects on SERT endocytosis. Both cdc42 activation and PKC stimulation converge on Ack1 to control Ack1 activity and DAT endocytic capacity, and Ack1 inactivation is required for stimulated DAT internalization downstream of PKC activation. Moreover, constitutive Ack1 activation is sufficient to rescue the gain-of-function endocytic phenotype exhibited by the ADHD DAT coding variant, R615C. These findings reveal a unique endocytic control switch that is highly specific for DAT. Moreover, the ability to rescue the DAT(R615C) coding variant suggests that manipulating DAT trafficking mechanisms may be a potential therapeutic approach to correct DAT coding variants that exhibit trafficking dysregulation.
Analyses of Landing Mechanics in Division I Athletes Using the Landing Error Scoring System.

Background:Injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) can be detrimental to any athlete, having both short- and long-term health consequences. Examining preseason screening landing mechanics ca...
Water Planning Models in North Atlantic Study

Large-scale computerized water flow demand and supply models for the North Atlantic Regional Water Resources Study are described together with their use in the planning process. The demand model is a requirements projection model based on a regionalized input-output table, a regression projection equation, and water use coefficients. The supply model is a mathematical programming model that minimizes costs of supply subject to constraints. The models were used in a multiobjective planning context in which efforts were made to incorporate model results into the planning process. The use of the models in this context had positive effects on the planning process.
Une division sociale du travail linguistique : enseigner le tamoul comme langue d’origine à Montréal, Québec

Les politiques nationalistes et internationales exercent des influences diverses sur la valeur economique et le capital social rattaches a des varietes de tamoul, enseignees comme deux langues d’origine differentes dans les ecoles des communautes sri-lankaise et indienne et les ecoles publiques de langue francaise et de langue anglaise a Montreal (Quebec). En reinterpretant la division locale du travail linguistique en milieu scolaire francophone et anglophone a Montreal, les immigrants indiens et les refugies sri-lankais poursuivent chacun de leur cote differentes strategies pour financer deux programmes d’enseignement de langue d’origine distincts et s’associent avec differents partenaires pour les mettre sur pied. Alors que les Sri-Lankais veulent conserver une variete litteraire du tamoul percue comme depositaire de leur patrimoine culturel et liee a leur pretention d’authenticite culturelle, les immigrants indiens veulent pour leur part moderniser leur variete plus familiere du tamoul afin de s’ouvrir aux marches internationaux et de favoriser la mobilite sociale de ses locuteurs en leur permettant de rejoindre une modernite mondiale. Ces differentes evaluations d’une langue minoritaire mettent en relief les dynamiques concurrentielles et collaboratives du neoliberalisme.
Comparison Between Peer-to-Peer and Single-Spacecraft Refueling Strategies for Spacecraft in Circular Orbits

The lifespan of satellite constellations can be extended by periodic refueling and/or servicing of the satellites in the constellation. The traditional approach for satellite refueling/servicing is for a single satellite to refuel all satellites in the constellation in a sequential manner. Recently, an alternative, decentralized refueling approach has been proposed, namely, peer-to-peer (P2P) refueling. In a P2P refueling architecture, there is no a priori designated refueling satellite. Instead, all satellites in the constellation can play the role of the refueling/servicing spacecraft. In this paper, we compare single-spacecraft and mixed P2P refueling scenarios. We show that a mixed strategy with a P2P component may result in better overall fuel consumption. Satellite constellations offer a robust, flexible alternative to the operation of single, large satellites in orbit. The redundancy provided by a large number of satellites provides distinct advantages, and for several missions (e.g., interferometry) the coordinated operation of several satellites is the only option. Regardless of the specific application, it appears that the current trend of operating a large number of satellites in unison (in lieu of large monolithic spacecraft) is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, especially for LEO and MEO missions. Maintaining a large number of satellites in orbit introduces several challenges. Ideally–and in order to keep ground operations to a minimum–one would require the constellation to have at least some on-board autonomy. Decentralization of several regular orbit maintenance operations should be part of the overall constellation capabilities. Moreover, for a LEO constellation the lifespan of the satellites is severely limited by the amount of available onboard fuel, which is depleted due to orbit correction maneuvers that have to be performed on a regular basis to keep the satellites in their original orbital slots. Once the onboard fuel is depleted the satellite has to be replaced by another one launched from Earth. Replacing all the satellites in the constellation every few years is an expensive proposition. Refueling the satellites offers a great alternative for lengthening the lifetime of the constellation. On-orbit refueling can increase the constellation’s profitability and survivability. In fact, recent studies have shown that just the incorporation of refueling capability in each satellite (without even implementing actual refueling in orbit) can decrease insurance costs by 50%. A second advantage stems from the option to refuel the satellite at a later stage after launch. Therefore, a refuel-capable satellite may carry lesser propellant during launch. This decrease in propellant mass at launch time translates directly to increased payload mass.
Dibenzo[a,e]penta­cyclo­[12.2.1.16,9.02,13.05.10]octa­deca-2(13),5(10)-diene

In the title compound, C26H24, the central cyclo­octa­tetra­ene ring has a boat conformation, and the mol­ecule is saddle shaped. The seat is defined by the mean plane of the four-atom attachment points (r.m.s. deviation = 0.014 A) of the two bicyclo­heptane substituents. These substituents comprise the pommel and cantle, with each mean plane defined by four atoms proximate to the seat (r.m.s. deviations = 0.001 and 0.000 A). Relative to the seat, the pommel and cantle bend up 33.36 (5) and 34.22 (4)°, while the benzo units (flaps, r.m.s. deviations = 0.008 and 0.013 A) bend down 33.48 (4) and 36.58 (4)°.
Causative Analysis of Depression in Patients with Nongonococcal Uretheritis and Psychological Care

Objective To identify causes of depression in patients with nongonococcal urethritis and discuss specific nursing measures.Methods Questionnaire was conducted of 82 patients with nongonococcal urethritis and the results were statistically analyzed.Results Middle-aged male patients with low literacy degree were prone to develop depression,and the further analysis showed that other causes included poor cognition, inadequate external support,suspiciousness and introversion.Conclusion Nursing personnel ought to give more psychological care to patients with depression arising from nongonococcal urethesis so as to reduce the probability of developing depression and improve their psychological health.
The Value of Game-Play and Collaboration

This study explores the use of activities in presentation of information to first-year students at an urban community college. To facilitate student orientation to campus resources we presented information in both a game-play format and reading activity. Students were quizzed on the application of this information. Results were contrasted with a control group who did not participate in either activity. Although inconclusive based on the scope of this study, results suggested that participation in an activity contributed to short-term retention of information.
Electrical Stimulation of Visual Cortex Can Immediately Improve Spatial Vision

Published in final edited form as:Curr Biol. 2016 July 25; 26(14): 1867–1872. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2016.05.019.
WE‐H‐BRC‐06: A Unified Machine‐Learning Based Probabilistic Model for Automated Anomaly Detection in the Treatment Plan Data

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to investigate the ability of a machine-learning based probabilistic approach to detect radiotherapy treatment plan anomalies given initial disease classes information. Methods In total we obtained 1112 unique treatment plans with five plan parameters and disease information from a Mosaiq treatment management system database for use in the study. The plan parameters include prescription dose, fractions, fields, modality and techniques. The disease information includes disease site, and T, M and N disease stages. A Bayesian network method was employed to model the probabilistic relationships between tumor disease information, plan parameters and an anomaly flag. A Bayesian learning method with Dirichlet prior was useed to learn the joint probabilities between dependent variables in error-free plan data and data with artificially induced anomalies. In the study, we randomly sampled data with anomaly in a specified anomaly space.We tested the approach with three groups of plan anomalies – improper concurrence of values of all five plan parameters and values of any two out of five parameters, and all single plan parameter value anomalies. Totally, 16 types of plan anomalies were covered by the study. For each type, we trained an individual Bayesian network. Results: We found that the true positive rate (recall) and positive predictive value (precision) to detect concurrence anomalies of five plan parameters in new patient cases were 94.45±0.26% and 93.76±0.39% respectively. To detect other 15 types of plan anomalies, the average recall and precision were 93.61±2.57% and 93.78±3.54% respectively. The computation time to detect the plan anomaly of each type in a new plan is ∼0.08 seconds. Conclusion: The proposed method for treatment plan anomaly detection was found effective in the initial tests. The results suggest that this type of models could be applied to develop plan anomaly detection tools to assist manual and automated plan checks. The senior author received research grants from ViewRay Inc. and Varian Medical System.
Betamethasone Treatment Of Ataxia-Telangiectasia

The response to corticosteroid therapy in a 3-year-old boy with ataxia-telangiectasia is reported from University of Siena, Italy.
Walking-Stair Climbing Control for Powered Knee Prostheses

Recent progresses in powered lower-limb prostheses have the potential of enabling amputee users to conduct energetically demanding locomotive tasks, which are usually beyond the capability of traditional unpowered prostheses. Realizing such potential, however, requires responsive and reliable control of the power provided by prosthetic joints. In this paper, an integrated walking-stair climbing control approach is presented for transfemoral prostheses with powered knee joints. Leveraging the similarities between walking and stair climbing, this new approach adopts the general finite-state impedance control framework. Furthermore, important modifications are introduced to model the biomechanical characteristics that are beyond the capability of standard impedance control. The transition between the walking and stair-climbing modes is triggered through the real-time measurement of the spatial orientation of the user’s thigh, which provides a reliable indicator of the user’s intention of making such transition. This new control approach has been implemented on a powered knee prosthesis, and its effectiveness was demonstrated in human subject testing.Copyright © 2016 by ASME