cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Modeling and field testing of an electromagnetic energy harvester for rail tracks with anchorless mounting

Abstract This paper presents the design, modeling, lab test and field demonstration of a railroad energy harvester featuring rapid anchorless mounting. By harvesting energy from rail track deflections, the proposed system can be used as an alternative energy source along the trackside of railroads. Compared to the widely electrified passenger rails, most freight rails are still lack of cost-effective access of electricity because of the long haul and remoteness of the geographic location. This paper aims to address two challenges: increase power capacity and ease of installation. A spring preload and reset mechanism is used to eliminate the need of anchoring the harvester into the railroad foundation, allowing the harvester to be installed rapidly without affecting the track substructures. A dynamic model including the AC generator, the mechanical motion rectifier, and the spring preload is created and the design parameters are obtained from numerical simulations. Lab and in-field tests are carried out to verify the model and simulation. In-field test results show 7 W (average)-56 W (peak) electrical power are generated with a freight train traveling at 64 km/h (40 mph) under 5.7 mm deflections. The proposed harvester has the potential to support many track-side electrical devices and serves as an alternative energy source to enhance rail operational safety.
Bevacizumab Eligibility in Patients with Metastatic and Recurrent Cervical Cancer: A Retrospective Review:

Objective:Bevacizumab is approved for use in combination with chemotherapy for metastatic/recurrent cervical cancer (CC), with increased survival/response rates. However, use of bevacizumab is not ...
Biogenesis of the Lysosomal Membrane

Lysosomes serve as a major digestive compartment of eukaryotic cells. They are responsible for the degradation of both foreign material internalized by endo-cytosis and intracellular material delivered to lysosomes during autophagocytosis (de Duve, 1983). Lysosomes are defined as dense vacuoles containing a variety of acid-dependent hydrolases allowing them to perform their functions. However, lysosomes fuse with endosomes, phagosomes, and a plasma membrane, and they can play a central role in a membrane’s flow and dynamics. Because such membrane flow can come from both the endocytic and biosynthetic pathways, it is difficult to define lysosomes. However, it appears that the definition of de Duve, one of the discoverers of lysosomes, is still appropriate and was recently elaborated upon by Kornfeld and Mellman (1989). Thus, lysosomes are defined as the final repository of macromolecules for degradation products derived from the extracellular space (via endocytosis) or from within the cell (via autophagocytosis). Lysosomes are enriched with various hydrolases that separate them from other cytoplasmic components. The lysosomal membrane that forms such a unique vacuole must have a distinct structure and function. Thus, the lysosomal membrane is characterized by its resistance to degradation by lysoso-mal hydrolases, its maintainence and generation of an acidic intralysosomal environment, and its ability to selectively transport the products of hydrolysis by lysosomal hydrolases (Cohn and Ehrenreich, 1969; Ohkuma and Poole, 1978; Neufeld and Ashwell, 1980; Helenius et al., 1983). It is also likely that the lysosomal membrane has a specificity with which it interacts and fuses with other membrane organelles such as endosomes, phagosomes, and the plasma membrane (Mellman, 1984).
Breast Augmentation: Axillary Approach

The main indication for a breast augmentation is hypomastia or breast asymmetry. The author discusses the preoperative consultation, the preoperative workup, the type of implants to use, and whether to do a mastopexy. The technique of breast augmentation using the axillary approach, postoperative care, and possible complications are described. The advantages of the axillary approach include a small and inconspicuous scar, the ability to insert the implant subpectorally with minimal muscle dissection, less time needed to perform the surgery, minimal bleeding, less trauma and scarring, less pain, less bruising, and a shorter recovery time with minimal complications. The milk ducts are not manipulated, so the risk of losing the ability to breastfeed after a breast implant with this approach is negligible. The breast tissue is not dissected, so there is no additional scarring that may affect mammogram readings. There is a lower probability of injuring the 4th intercostal nerve that supplies sensation to the nipple, so this approach has an extremely high probability of normal nipple sensation after the breast augmentation.
Manufacturing and characterization of long-acting levonorgestrel intrauterine systems.

Abstract Mirena® is long-acting (5 years) contraceptive intrauterine device. It is composed of a hollow cylindrical drug reservoir (containing Levonorgestrel and polydimethylsiloxane), which is covered with a release rate controlling silicone membrane. This structure presents a manufacturing challenge and to date, there have been no literature reports on the manufacturing, product design and quality evaluation of these hollow cylindrical intrauterine devices. It is vital to develop a reproducible and robust manufacturing process for these long-acting intrauterine devices or systems to obtain an understanding the in vitro and in vivo performance of such drug-device combinations. In this study, a twin-syringe method with a customized mold was developed to manufacture hollow cylindrical polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based levonorgestrel intrauterine systems (LNG-IUSs). Different mold materials, curing temperatures and times were screened to fabricate PDMS-drug reservoirs with good quality characteristics (easy demolding, good appearance and appropriate physicochemical characteristics). The prepared PDMS-drug reservoirs were covered with the release rate controlling membrane to fabricate the LNG-IUSs. Physicochemical characterization (drug content and content uniformity, powder X-Ray diffraction (PXRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of the PDMS-drug reservoirs with different drug loadings (10%, 25% and 50% w/w) was conducted. Real-time in vitro drug release testing of LNG-IUSs with different drug loading was performed in normal saline (0.9% w/v NaCl) at 37 °C using a water bath shaker rotating at 100 rpm. The prepared PDMS-drug reservoirs demonstrated good and reproducible quality characteristics including appearance (smooth surfaces), targeted drug loading and good drug content uniformity in the PDMS matrix. The PXRD showed that the crystallinity of the API was maintained inside the PDMS matrix. DSC, TGA and FTIR confirmed the structure of the drug and the PDMS, indicating no interaction between the drug and the PDMS matrix in the prepared LNG-IUSs. Real-time in vitro drug release from the LNG-IUSs with different drug loadings showed zero-order release kinetics, and the drug release rate (based on daily release percentage) was inversely proportional to the drug loading.
Bioinspired Preservation of Natural Killer Cells for Cancer Immunotherapy.

The ability to cryopreserve natural killer (NK) cells has a significant potential in modern cancer immunotherapy. Current cryopreservation protocols cause deterioration in NK cell viability and functionality. This work reports the preservation of human cytokine-activated NK cell viability and function following cryopreservation using a cocktail of biocompatible bioinspired cryoprotectants (i.e., dextran and carboxylated e-poly-L-lysine). Results demonstrate that the recovered NK cells after cryopreservation and rewarming maintain their viability immediately after thawing at a comparable level to control (dimethyl sulfoxide-based cryopreservation). Although, their viability drops in the first day in culture compared to controls, the cells grow back to a comparable level to controls after 1 week in culture. In addition, the anti-tumor functional activity of recovered NK cells demonstrates higher cytotoxic potency against leukemia cells compared to control. This approach presents a new direction for NK cell preservation, focusing on function and potentially enabling storage and distribution for cancer immunotherapy.
Recalibration and External Validation of the Risk Analysis Index: A Surgical Frailty Assessment Tool.

OBJECTIVE AND BACKGROUND The Risk Analysis Index (RAI) predicts 30-, 180-, and 365-day mortality based on variables constitutive of frailty. Initially validated, in a single-center Veteran hospital, we sought to improve model performance by recalibrating the RAI in a large, veteran surgical registry, and to externally validate it in both a national surgical registry and a cohort of surgical patients for whom RAI was measured prospectively before surgery. METHODS The RAI was recalibrated among development and confirmation samples within the Veterans Affairs Surgical Quality Improvement Program (VASQIP; 2010-2014; N = 480,731) including major, elective noncardiac surgery patients to create the revised RAI (RAI-rev), comparing discrimination and calibration. The model was tested externally in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program dataset (NSQIP; 2005-2014; N = 1,391,785), and in a prospectively collected cohort from the Nebraska Western Iowa Health Care System VA (NWIHCS; N = 6,856). RESULTS Recalibrating the RAI significantly improved discrimination for 30-day [c = 0.84-0.86], 180-day [c = 0.81-0.84], and 365-day mortality [c = 0.78-0.82] (P < 0.001 for all) in VASQIP. The RAI-rev also had markedly better calibration (median absolute difference between observed and predicted 180-day mortality: decreased from 8.45% to 1.23%). RAI-rev was highly predictive of 30-day mortality (c = 0.87) in external validation with excellent calibration (median absolute difference between observed and predicted 30-day mortality: 0.6%). The discrimination was highly robust in men (c = 0.85) and women (c = 0.89). Discrimination also improved in the prospectively measured cohort from NWIHCS for 180-day mortality [c = 0.77 to 0.80] (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS The RAI-rev has improved discrimination and calibration as a frailty-screening tool in surgical patients. It has robust external validity in men and women across a wide range of surgical settings and available for immediate implementation for risk assessment and counseling in preoperative patients.
KnowBias: A Novel AI Method to Detect Polarity in Online Content

We propose a novel training and inference method for detecting political bias in long text content such as newspaper opinion articles. Obtaining long text data and annotations at sufficient scale for training is difficult, but it is relatively easy to extract political polarity from tweets through their authorship; as such, we train on tweets and perform inference on articles. Universal sentence encoders and other existing methods that aim to address this domain-adaptation scenario deliver inaccurate and inconsistent predictions on articles, which we show is due to a difference in opinion concentration between tweets and articles. We propose a two-step classification scheme that utilizes a neutral detector trained on tweets to remove neutral sentences from articles in order to align opinion concentration and therefore improve accuracy on that domain. We evaluate our two-step approach using a variety of test suites, including a set of tweets and long-form articles where annotations were crowd-sourced to decrease label noise, measuring accuracy and Spearman-rho rank correlation. In practice, KnowBias achieves a high accuracy of 86 (rho = 0.65) on these tweets and 75 (rho = 0.69) on long-form articles. While we validate our method on political bias, our scheme is general and can be readily applied to other settings, where there exist such domain mismatches between source and target domains. Our implementation is available for public use at this https URL.
SURGICAL AND TRANSCATHETER MITRAL VALVE REPLACEMENT IN MITRAL ANNULAR CALCIFICATION- A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Surgical mitral valve replacement (SMVR) in severe mitral annular calcification (MAC) remains a challenge. Transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) is an emerging alternative in higher risk patients with appropriate valve anatomy. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Register were searched for studies
Muscle Forces During the Squat, Split Squat, and Step-Up Across a Range of External Loads in College-Aged Men.

Kipp, K, Kim, H, and Wolf, WI. Muscle forces during the squat, split squat, and step-up across a range of external loads in college-aged men. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2020-Knowledge about the load-dependent demand placed on muscles during resistance training exercises is important for injury prevention and sports performance training programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of external load on lower extremity muscle forces during 3 common resistance training exercises. Nine healthy subjects performed 4 sets of the squat (SQ), split squat (SS), and step-up (SU) exercises each with 0, 25, 50, and 75% of body mass as additional load. Motion capture and force plate data were used to estimate individual muscle forces of 11 lower extremity muscles through static optimization. The results suggest load-dependent increases in muscle forces for the m. gluteus maximus, m. gluteus medius, vastus lateralis, m. vastus medius, m. vastus intermedius, m. semitendinosus, m. semimembranosus, m. biceps femoris long head, m. soleus, m. gastrocnemius lateralis, and m. gastrocnemius medialis during the execution of all 3 exercises. In addition, load-dependent increases in m. gluteus maximus, vastus lateralis, m. vastus medius, m. vastus intermedius, and m. biceps femoris long head forces were often more pronounced during the SS and SU than the SQ across the range of loads used in this study. These results suggest that the mechanical demands imposed by resistance training exercises scale with external load and that the extent of that scaling depends on the specific exercise.
Restorative reconstruction after total mesorectal excision for rectal cancer is associated with significant bowel dysfunction from initial presentation.

Abstract Background Patients often desire restorative reconstruction following total mesorectal excision. Reconstruction has become synonymous with providing high-quality rectal cancer care. However, the bowel functional outcomes of restoration from presentation are unknown. We aimed to evaluate the bowel functional effects of rectal cancer treatment from presentation through surveillance. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study from 2014 to 2019 using prospectively collected data. Patients underwent treatment for rectal adenocarcinoma including restorative reconstruction. Patients completed the validated Colorectal Functional Outcome questionnaire during clinic visits (1) at presentation, (2) after neoadjuvant therapy, (3) after restoration of continuity, and (4) at surveillance. Scores range from 0 to 100 with a higher score indicating worse bowel function. Results Sixty-eight patients (age: 62 ± 12 years, 40% female) were included. The mean tumor height was 7 ± 4 cm with 85% symptomatic. Bowel function did not worsen from presentation to after neoadjuvant therapy in Total Colorectal Functional Outcome and most domain scores; there was improvement in frequency and stool-related aspects. Bowel function worsened in all scores from after neoadjuvant to restoration of continuity (mean anastomotic height: 5 ± 2 cm); there were similar findings between presentation and restoration of continuity. At surveillance, there was improvement in most domains compared with restoration of continuity. There remained significant worsening of incontinence, social impact, and need for medication scores at surveillance compared with presentation. Conclusion Restorative reconstruction after total mesorectal excision is associated with significant bowel dysfunction. For some patients, restorative reconstruction may not be high-quality rectal cancer care.
Social Work Training in Palliative Care: Addressing the Gap:

As people live longer with chronic disease and serious illness in the U.S., palliative care teams are called upon to support patients and their families. Social workers are an integral part of the palliative care interprofessional team, and yet there are disproportionately few training programs for social workers who wish to specialize in this area. The curriculum of a post-graduate palliative care training program for social workers should be based on the current standards for palliative care and social work, as described by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), Council for Social Work Education (CSWE) and the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC). Trainees should develop skills to care for patients who have chronic or life-limiting illness, patients who are nearing their end of life, patients who are in the active dying phase and their families around end of life planning, medical decision making, grief and bereavement. A post-graduate social work training program that aims to prepare social workers to work in the field of palliative care should consist of clinical rotations at multiple sites, robust didactic curriculum and clinical supervision. Interprofessional learning is necessary and training should include opportunities for scholarly work, quality improvement activities, leadership, and teaching. Post-graduate training programs in palliative care will prepare future social workers to be experts in a sub-specialty skill set to meet the needs of people living with chronic disease. These needs and opportunities call on the social work profession to take action to develop post-graduate training programs in palliative care.
CRISPAltRations: a validated cloud-based approach for interrogation of double-strand break repair mediated by CRISPR genome editing

CRISPR systems enable targeted genome editing in a wide variety of organisms by introducing single- or double-strand DNA breaks, which are repaired using endogenous molecular pathways. Characterization of on- and off-target editing events from CRISPR proteins can be evaluated using targeted genome resequencing. We characterized DNA repair footprints that result from non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) after double stranded breaks (DSBs) were introduced by Cas9 or Cas12a for >500 paired treatment/control experiments. We found that building our understanding into a novel analysis tool (CRISPAltRations) improved results quality. We validated our software using simulated rhAmpSeq amplicon sequencing data (11 gRNAs and 603 on- and off-target locations) and demonstrate that CRISPAltRations outperforms other publicly available software tools in accurately annotating CRISPR-associated indels and homology directed repair (HDR) events. We enable non-bioinformaticians to use CRISPAltRations by developing a web-accessible, cloud-hosted deployment, which allows rapid batch processing of samples in a graphical user-interface (GUI) and complies with HIPAA security standards. By ensuring that our software is thoroughly tested, version controlled, and supported with a UI we enable resequencing analysis of CRISPR genome editing experiments to researchers no matter their skill in bioinformatics.
Lessons Learned During COVID-19 Pandemic - A Case Study in a Las Vegas Health Clinic

Lessons Learned During COVID-19 Pandemic - A Case Study in a Las Vegas Health Clinic C J Howell-Canada,MD,FAAP, L A Canada, MD Abstract Background In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, health care facilitypreparedness is on the forefront of hospital administrators decision making Telehealth rapidly became themost important function of healthcare facilities to effectively manage and serve patients via telemedicine andface-to-face video chat appointments Maintaining the ability to continue to provide modified well child checksthrough telemedicine is important for pediatric providers to ensure the continuity of care at all age levels Telehealth gives the opportunity to address acute care concerns for the pediatric population Methods In thispaper, we analyze the foundation necessary to implement and support telemedicine/telehealth servicesduring a pandemic in a union sponsored medium-sized health care center in Las Vegas, NV This paperanalyzes and outlines the healthcare process of determining ways to ensure episode preparedness andeffective communication from the organizational level Data was collected through retrospective observation and detailed accounts from organizational information distribution and provider input Results The lessonslearned are that health care providers need an informed decision making process;communication flow fromhealth care administration is a priority, needing to be disseminated without barriers;all possibilities need tobe exhausted to avoid disruption of day-to-day medical services;medical policies and procedures need to beestablished to encompass all aspects of medical services provided (in-person, via telephone, telemedicine);and operational decisions should reflect effective communication along with preparedness with transparency Keywords: telehealth, telemedicine, organizational preparedness, healthcare process
Scales and Scores

Acute neurology and neurocritical care have their share of scales. Scales or scores have a substantially better chance of acceptance if they apply to a larger ICU population. These scales mostly quantify abnormal levels of consciousness, acute confusional states, or delirium. Their use in practice is unknown, although some scales and scores are now mandated in stroke centers. Many scores and scales have not been validated repeatedly, and one (in-house) validation study is often the norm. This chapter is mainly on clinical scales but must include neuroimaging scales when they can lead to a conclusive decision in clinical practice.
In vitro evaluation of a novel oxygen-generating biomaterial for chronic rhinosinusitis therapy.

BACKGROUND Hypoxia due to closure at the ostiomeatal complex is widely considered one of the major pathogenic mechanisms leading to chronic inflammation in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). The objective of this study was to develop and characterize an oxygen-generating biomaterial (OGB) as an innovative treatment strategy for CRS. METHODS An OGB was fabricated by coating hydrophobic beeswax (BW, 15mg or 30mg) on the surface of calcium peroxide - catalase complex (CPO-CA, 30mg) and characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In vitro releases of both oxygen and hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) were spectrophotometrically quantified, and cytotoxicity in human sinonasal epithelial cells (HSNECs) was evaluated. The influence of OGB on transepithelial Cl- secretion was also determined by pharmacologically manipulating HSNECs, cultured under hypoxic conditions, in Ussing chambers. RESULTS Three groups of OGBs: (1) CPO only; (2) CPO coated with CA and BW (1:1 ratio, CPO-CA(1)-BW(1)); and (3) CPO coated with CA and BW (1:0.5 ratio, CPO-CA(1)-BW(0.5) were analyzed for accumulated oxygen release over 7 days: highest release (mmol/mg) was observed in CPO-CA(1)-BW(1) = 0.11 ± 0.003, followed by CPO-CA(1)-BW(0.5) = 0.08 ± 0.010, and CPO = 0.05 ± 0.004 (p < 0.0001). H2 O2 production (mM) was significantly higher in CPO (1.87 ± 0.50) compared to CPO-CA (1)-BW(1) (0.00 ± 0.00) (p < 0.001) after 24 h. CPO-CA(1)-BW(1) showed significantly reduced cytotoxicity and increased Cl- transport compared to the CPO group. CONCLUSION A novel OGB (CPO-CA-BW complex) exhibited sustained oxygen release over 7 days without significant cytotoxicity after 24 h in vitro. Preclinical studies evaluating the efficacy of OGB in CRS are warranted, especially for potential therapy in an obstruction-based CRS model.
Editorial Comment: Saline-Aided Ultrasound for Pediatric Upper Gastrointestinal Obstruction.

This Editorial Comment discusses the following AJR article: Saline-Aided Ultrasound Versus Upper Gastrointestinal Series in Neonates and Infants With Suspected Upper Gastrointestinal Obstruction: A...
Arginine addiction in AML

In this issue of Blood, Miraki-Moud et al demonstrate that the majority of acute myeloid leukemias (AMLs) have low expression of argininosuccinate synthetase-1 (ASS1), rendering AML cell lines and primary AML blasts dependent on exogenous arginine and sensitized to arginine deprivation.
Problems in (Really) Living

In recent years behaviorists and behavior therapists have begun studying the behavior and treating the problems of the elderly (Baltes & Barton, 1977; Hussian, 1981; Skinner & Vaughn, 1983). These endeavors give rise to some important questions regarding the assumptions and the goals of what is often called “behavioral gerontology” For example: What can be a proper rationale for a behaviorally oriented clinician or researcher to demarcate a subset of the population (i.e., those over 65 years of age) for special study?; Is this consistent with the behavioral theoretical framework?; Are there any considerations that render the demarcation criterion (advanced chronological age) problematic?
Interactive motion analysis for video surveillance and long term scene monitoring

In video surveillance and long term scene monitoring applications, it is a challenging problem to handle slow-moving or stopped objects for motion analysis and tracking. We present a new framework by using two feedback mechanisms which allow interactions between tracking and background subtraction (BGS) to improve tracking accuracy, particularly in the cases of slow-moving and stopped objects. A publish-subscribe modular system that provides the framework for communication between components is described. The robustness and efficiency of the proposed method is tested on our real time video surveillance system. Quantitative performance evaluation is performed on a variety of sequences, including standard datasets. With the two feedback mechanisms enabled together, significant improvement in tracking performance are demonstrated particularly in handling slow moving and stopped objects.
Testability measure and analysis

Testability is a major concern in the design of VLSICs and ASICs. Testing can be simplified and made more effective if design for testability (DFT) techniques are incorporated into the design. There are many methods to analyze, measure, and evaluate the effectiveness of a DFT technique. A review of some of the widely used methods for measuring testability is presented. >
Effect of annealing on the thermal properties of poly(4‐hydroxybenzoate‐co‐p‐phenylene isophthalate)s

A series of poly(4-hydroxybenzoate-co-p-phenylene isophthalate)s (1) was prepared by melt polycondensation of 4-acetoxybenzoic acid, p-phenylene diacetate, and isophthalic acid followed by solid state polymerization. The thermal properties of the as-made samples were found to be significantly different from the second run thermal properties. The copolyesters with the same thermal history were annealed at 270°C in the DSC at various time intervals, and the thermal properties were further determined by DSC. For different compositions, annealing had different effects on the thermal properties of the copolyesters. With increasing annealing time the transition temperature and transition heat of 1 containing 50 and 60 mol-% of monomeric units (m. u.) of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA50 and HBA60) were found to increase. The second run DSC curves of HBA40, HBA30 and HBA20 (containing 40, 30 and 20 mol-% of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid m. u.) show two endotherms; transition heat and transition temperature of the lower temperature transition increase with the annealing time, but the transition heat of the higher temperature transition decreases. Finally, only one endotherm was observed for long-time annealing. The difference in thermal properties between the as-made sample and the second run could be described as annealing effect during solid state polymerization.
Don't Bother Me with Instructional Design--I'm Busy Programming!: Suggestions for More Effective Educational Software

Abstract This article reviews three classes of instructional design techniques that are necessary if educational courseware is to teach. These techniques can be grouped into those that affect three areas of instructional design: (a) instructional strategy, (b) screen design and (c) human factors. The first section identifies design strategies which are believed to have a direct impact on the amount of learning that occurs as a result of instruction. Instructional design strategy involves the arrangement of content elements and other information in such a way that learning is facilitated. The second section identifies screen display techniques which are believed to facilitate the students' ability to interact with the materials. Screen display refers to the way that information is exhibited on the monitor. In this section I have attempted to identify a few display characteristics which may enhance or inhibit learning. Screen display refers to the way that information is exhibited on the monitor. The third section of this paper identifies some human factors, characteristics, and concerns which will make educational software easier to use and thus result in more efficient learning.
Searching for a Vulnerable Dark Triad: Comparing Factor 2 Psychopathy, Vulnerable Narcissism, and Borderline Personality Disorder

Paulhus and Williams (2002) identified a "Dark Triad" comprising the following related personality styles: narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. The heterogeneity found in narcissism and psychopathy raises the possibility of a second triad made up of emotional vulnerability and dark traits (i.e., the vulnerable dark triad; VDT). Along with vulnerable narcissism and Factor 2 psychopathy, the third member of the hypothesized VDT is borderline personality disorder (BPD). Using a sample of 361 undergraduates, we examine the relations between these constructs and their relations with criterion variables, including personality, environmental etiological factors (e.g., abuse), and current functioning (e.g., psychopathology, affect). The results suggest that the VDT constructs are significantly related to one another and manifest similar nomological networks, particularly vulnerable narcissism and BPD. Although the VDT members are related to negative emotionality and antagonistic interpersonal styles, they are also related to introversion and disinhibition. Ultimately, it seems there is a "dark continuum" of pathological personality traits that differ primarily in relation to negative and positive emotionality and disinhibition.
Itemized Rating Scales (Likert, Semantic Differential, and Stapel)

Itemized rating scales are ordinal scales used to measure consumer attitudes such as attribute perceptions, product preferences, purchase intentions, and service satisfaction. Three types of scales are commonly used in marketing research: Likert, semantic differential, and Stapel. Likert scales ask consumers to agree or disagree to declarative statements. Semantic differential and Stapel scales ask consumers to rate entities along an ordered continuum. Attitude scales in marketing research are usually created as multiitem scales, which are analyzed using regression and factor analytic methodologies to examine reliability and validity. Newer analysis methods based upon latent variable models assume that itemized rating scales only have ordinal measurement properties, but allow the development of continuous measures of consumer attitude. Keywords: Likert scale; semantic differential; Stapel scale; reliability; validity; multitrait–multimethod matrix; factor analysis; latent trait theory
Volatility Risk Pricing

In both the academic and popular press, the subject of volatility risk has been an issue of debate. Keywords: volatility risk pricing
Ein Dynamischer Ansatz zur Repräsentation von Objekten

Aufgabe der Reprasentation ist die Anordnung von Objekten einer Objektmenge N = {1,...,n} als Punkte in einem “minimal” dimensionierten Raum ℝq, so das die relative Lage der sich ergebenden Punkte x i ` = (xi,...,xiq) ∈ ℝq, i ∈ N, die Ahnlichkeit bzw. Verschiedenheit der Objekte angemessen beschreibt. Zur Losung dieser Aufgabe werden Methoden der Faktorenanalyse und der Mehrdimensionalen Skalierung (MDS) verwendet.
Accuracy and Precision of an Accelerometer-Based Smartphone App Designed to Monitor and Record Angular Movement over Time

Abstract Background: Therapeutic exercise is a central component in the management of many common conditions. It is imperative, therefore, that clinicians monitor and correct patient performance to facilitate the use of proper form both in the clinic and during home exercise programs. Although clinicians are trained to prescribe exercise and analyze form, there are many subtleties that may be missed by relying on visual assessment. This study investigated the accuracy and precision of a novel, exercise-training smartphone application (app), running on an iPhone® (Apple, Cupertino, CA) 4 and using its LIS331DLH accelerometer to dynamically measure and record movement during exercise. Materials and Methods: The iPhone, running the app, was mounted to the movement arm of a Biodex™ isokinetic dynamometer System 4 (Biodex Corp., Shirley, NY). Angle and time measurements taken by the app were compared with the dynamometer (gold standard) while rotating at 30°/s, 60°/s, 90°/s, 120°/s, and 150°/s. Accuracy was as...
Pulp and Paper Industry: Microbiological Aspects of

Wood Degradation and Biological Pulping and Bleaching Keywords: biotechnology; brown rot fungi; fungi, brown rot; fungi, white rot; paper industry; pulp and paper industries; white rot fungi
Manganese (III) based oxidative free-radical cyclizations. 3. Polycyclization reactions proceeding through secondary radicals.

Abstract Oxidative cyclizations of 3 , 14 , 18 and 21 with Mn(OAc) 3 ·2H 2 O give the tricyclic products 6 , 15 , 19 and 23 , respectively, in good yield. These reactions proceed through a monocyclic secondary radical which adds to the benzene ring prior to the second oxidation.
A clinical evaluation of two base metal alloys and a gold alloy for use in fixed prosthodontics: a five-year study

Etude sur 2 alliages Ni−Cr et un alliage Au−Pt−Pd pour placage de porcelaine. Pas de differences sensibles de comportement entre ces 3 alliages
Implementing finite structures in mathematica via a skeletal topos of finite sets

To implement finite structures in a symbolic computation program such as Mathematica, we consider a skeletal topos N which is equivalent to the category Setf of finite sets. Objects of N are nonnegative integers, and morphisms f : n → m are lists (f1,..., fn) of integers such that 1 ≤ fi ≤ m, for all i. A full and faithful functor from N to Setf is obtained by identifying n with the set [n] = {1,..., n} and identifying (f1,..., fn) with the function i ↦ fi. A topos structure on N (appropriate for Mathematica) is obtained by transporting the topos structure of Setf along a suitable pseudo-inverse C of the functor from N to Setf described above. The code for the Mathematica implementation included below is also available as a Mathematica Notebook.
Blackness and Race Mixture: The Dynamics of Racial Identity in Colombia

Blackness and Race Mixture: The Dynamics of Racial Identity in Colombia. Peter Wade. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993. xv. 415 pp., figures, maps, photographs, appendixes, references, index.
Reactions to Feedback about Performance: A Test of Three Competing Models1

Reactions to an important college exam were used to test enhancement, consistency, and stability contingent theory. Before the exam, students completed a measure of level and stability of self-esteem. After the exam, cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses to the feedback were taken. Enhancement theory predicts that persons low in self-esteem have a strong need to think and feel better about themselves. Thus, they should indicate more acceptance of success and more rejection of failure than persons high in self-esteem. Consistency theory asserts that people avoid inconsistency because it is psychologically uncomfortable. This model predicts that high self-esteem persons should accept success more than lows, who in turn should be more accepting of failure than highs. Finally, the stability contingent theory highlights the importance of stability of self-esteem as a moderator of self-motives. This model predicts that enhancement effects should occur for persons with unstable self-esteem, whereas consistency effects should occur for those with stable self-esteem. Our data provide no support for the stability contingent theory. Support for the other two models depended upon the type of feedback that was assessed: Cognitive reactions to feedback supported consistency theory, whereas affective reactions supported enhancement theory.
Experimental evidence of host race formation in Mitoura butterflies (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

A population of herbivorous insects that shifts to a novel host can experience selection pressures that result in adaptation to the new resource. Host race formation, considered an early stage of the speciation process, may result. The current study investigates host shifts and variation in traits potentially involved in the evolution of reproductive isolation among populations of the juniper hairstreak butterfly, Mitoura gryneus. Mitoura are closely associated with their host trees (Cupressaceae) and exhibit host plant fidelity: in addition to larval development and oviposition, host trees support male leks and mating. Female oviposition preference for the natal host, and differential fitness of larvae when reared on natal versus alternate hosts, are indications that specialization and local adaptation to the natal host plant are occurring. Populations with single host plant associations (Juniperus ashei, J. pinchotii and J. virginiana) as well as populations with multiple hosts (both J. ashei and J. pinchotii) were examined. Concordance between female preference and larval performance was found for J. ashei-associated populations. Population-level variation in the patterns of female preference and larval performance, both within and among host associations, may reflect differences in the timing and direction of colonization of hosts. For a single nominal species that otherwise exhibits no morphological or phenological differences, the experimental assessment of specialization and host fidelity in M. gryneus provides strong support for the hypothesis of ongoing host race formation in these butterflies.
Regular and chaotic motion of classical electrons in the wake potential of fast ions in solids

The classical dynamics of an electron under the influence of a screened Coulomb potential around fast ions in solids is investigated. A transition from regular to chaotic motion as a function of the binding energy is observed. We discuss possible signatures of chaotic dynamics in the final-state distribution of foil-excited atoms.
Niacin for Stroke Prevention: Evidence and Rationale

Low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol are associated with increased atherothrombotic events, including stroke. Niacin is a safe and effective means of raising HDL, yet its role in stroke prevention is not well characterized. The purpose of the study is to determine the role of niacin in stroke prevention. A search of the PUBMED database using the keywords niacin, stroke, atherosclerosis, and/or carotid artery was undertaken to identify studies for review. National guidelines from the American Heart Asssociation and National Cholesterol Education Program were reviewed. Treatment of low serum HDL (<40 mg/dL) is an identified goal of dyslipidemic therapy. Niacin is effective in raising HDL levels and reducing cardiovascular events in individuals with high vascular risk and can be used for treatment of stroke patients with low serum HDL. Niacin can be used safely in combination with statins, the first-line dyslipidemic treatment for secondary stroke risk reduction, with increased efficacy. Studies are needed to better define the role for niacin in secondary stroke prevention. Treatment of stroke patients with extended-release (ER) of niacin, alone or in combination with statins, should be considered in stroke patients with atherosclerotic mechanisms with low serum HDL-C levels.
Is your patient fully resuscitated

Learn the limitations of traditional clinical parameters to help nurses adequately assess a patient's condition.
Levels of nerve growth factor and neurotrophin-3 are affected differentially by the presence of p75 in sympathetic neurons in vivo.

The development and survival of sympathetic neurons is critically dependent on the related neurotrophic factors nerve growth factor (NGF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT3), the actions of which must be executed appropriately despite spatial and temporal overlaps in their activities. The tyrosine receptor kinases, trkA and trkC, are the cognate receptors for NGF and NT3, respectively. The p75 neurotrophin receptor has been implicated in neurotrophin binding and signaling for both NGF and NT3. In this study, the authors used mice that overexpressed NGF (NGF-OE) or NT3 (NT3-OE) in skin and mice that lacked p75 (p75(-/-)) to understand the dynamics of sympathetic neuron response to each neurotrophin and to address the role of p75. NGF and NT3 were measured in sympathetic ganglia and skin (a major target of sympathetic neurons) by using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. A three- to four-fold increase in skin NT3 was seen in both NT3-OE and p75(-/-) mice. Moreover, both mouse lines exhibited a three-fold increase in ganglionic NT3. However, the increase in ganglionic NT3 was accompanied by a decrease in ganglionic NGF in p75(-/-) mice but not in NT3-OE mice. This indicated that p75 plays an important role in determining the level of NGF within sympathetic neurons. In NGF-OE mice, the overexpression of NGF was correlated with increased ganglionic NGF and increased ganglionic expression of p75 mRNA. In addition, in NGF-OE mice, ganglionic trkC expression was decreased, as was the amount of NT3 present within sympathetic ganglia. These results indicate that the level of p75 is integral in determining the level of sympathetic NGF and that NGF competes with NT3 by increasing the expression of p75 and decreasing the expression of trkC.
MOTIVATION AND RETENTION OF DENTAL OFFICERS IN THE INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE

In this report Drs. Donald Boggs and Anthony Schork have provided administrators of public programs with a pattern for motivating and retaining their staffs.
The exact solution of the time-dependent equation of radiative transfer in the interior of a semi-infinite atmosphere

Abstract An exact solution to the time-dependent radiative transfer equation for the interior intensity in a semi-infinite atmosphere exhibiting temporal capture is obtained. The intensity is constructed from a solution found in neutron transport theory and can be expressed in terms of quadratures of elementary functions. The origin of the form of the emergent intensity found by Matsumoto is given, as well as a similarity relation and the relationship of the intensities in absorbing and nonabsorbing media.
Upper-Tropospheric Aerosol Sampled during Project FIRE IFO II

Abstract During the FIRE IFO II project, aircraft were available for airborne sampling in and around cirrus cloud. Aerosols can play a role in the cloud formation process through the heterogeneous nucleation mechanism, and in turn, once formed, cirrus clouds can impact the ambient aerosol through scavenging and other collection mechanisms. University of Missouri aerosol sampling facilities were employed on these aircraft for in situ collection and characterization of the particulates near cirrus cloud level. Tandem differential mobility analyzer and impactor techniques were used to measure aerosol size distribution, hydration capability, and particle composition information. Evidence of aerosol layering was observed near the tropopause, and there was a tendency toward depletion of the ambient aerosol at both ends of the condensation nuclei (CN) size distribution. A large variability in the fine particle CN concentration was found, ranging from several tens to several thousands per cubic centimeter. The si...
The action of chelating agents on 212Pb in the blood: the particular value of the steady state after 228Th administration to the beagle.

SummaryAn animal that has previously been injected with 228Th has a significant steady-state concentration of 212Pb in its blood. The steady-state nature of the system offers several unusual aspects for the study of removal of lead from blood by chelating agents. First, the system regenerates itself so that one animal can be used for a series of studies. Second, since 212Pb is being produced continuously, the temporal course of effect of the chelating agent can be followed. Third, since there is 212Pb elsewhere in the animal, the effect of the chelating agent in removing lead from tissue deposits can be determined. This model applied to the beagle has been used to investigate the effect of amount of chelating agent administered, the comparative effectiveness of equimolar amounts of three chelating agents, and the comparative effectiveness of subcutaneous and oral administration.
The relation of medical risk and maternal stimulation with preterm infants' development of cognitive, language and daily living skills

High-risk (HR) and low-risk (LR) preterm infants (N = 212) and full-term infants (FT, N = 128) from low socio-economic homes were studied with their mothers in the home at 6 and 12 months of age. Infants' cognitive, language and daily living skills were evaluated in relation to mothers' warm sensitivity, use of strategies which maintained the infants' attention and directiveness. Higher levels of maternal attention-maintaining were positively related to infant development for all groups. During toy play, attention-maintaining was most strongly related to expressive language skills for the HR infants; during toy play and daily activities, this maternal behavior was more strongly related to cognitive and language skills for both preterm groups than for the FT infants.
The neurobiology of pathological gambling.

Despite relatively high prevalence rates and significant morbidity and mortality associated with pathological gambling (PG), our understanding of the neurobiological basis of PG lags in comparison to that for other psychiatric illnesses of comparable magnitude. An improved understanding of the neurobiology of PG would facilitate targeted investigations into more effective treatments. Emerging data suggest shared neurobiological features determine in part pathological gambling and substance use disorders. These findings both challenge current conceptualizations of addictions and provide a substantial basis of knowledge on which to design investigations into the understanding and treatment of pathological gambling. The findings that substance use disorders and the behavioral "addiction" of PG share common causative features raise the question as to what extent other compulsive disorders (eg, compulsive shopping, compulsive sexual behaviors, compulsive computer use) might be biologically related.