cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pet ownership in the unsheltered homeless population in Los Angeles

To examine pet ownership among unsheltered homeless adults. Surveys collected as part of the Los Angeles County (LAC) annual homeless count across three years were analyzed. In 2017, 2018, and 2019...
Chemical and physical transformations of carbon-based nanomaterials observed by liquid phase transmission electron microscopy

This article addresses recent advances in liquid phase transmission electron microscopy (LPTEM) for studying nanoscale synthetic processes of carbon-based materials that are independent of the electron beam—those driven by nonradiolytic chemical or thermal reactions. In particular, we focus on chemical/physical formations and the assembly of nanostructures composed of organic monomers/polymers, peptides/DNA, and biominerals. The synthesis of carbon-based nanomaterials generally only occurs at specific conditions, which cannot be mimicked by aqueous solution radiolysis. Carbon-based structures themselves are also acutely sensitive to the damaging effects of the irradiating beam, which make studying their synthesis using LPTEM a unique challenge that is possible when beam effects can be quantified and mitigated. With new direct sensing, high frame-rate cameras, and advances in liquid cell holder designs, combined with a growing understanding of irradiation effects and proper experimental controls, microscopists have been able to make strides in observing traditionally problematic carbon-based materials under conditions where synthesis can be controlled, and imaged free from beam effects, or with beam effects quantified and accounted for. These materials systems and LPTEM experimental techniques are discussed, focusing on nonradiolytic chemical and physical transformations relevant to materials synthesis.
Validation of a Retrospective Computing Model for Mortality Risk in the Intensive Care Unit.

Abstract Objective To compare the predictive performance of Epic Systems Corporation’s proprietary intensive care unit (ICU) mortality risk model (IMRM) with that of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) IV score. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study of patients treated from January 1, 2008, through January 1, 2018. This single-center study was performed at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), a tertiary care teaching and referral center. The primary outcome was death in the ICU. Discrimination of each risk model for hospital mortality was assessed by comparing area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). Results The cohort mostly comprised older patients (median age, 64 years) and men (56.7%). The mortality rate of the cohort was 3.5% (2251 of 63,775 patients). The AUROC for mortality prediction was 89.7% (95% CI, 89.5% to 89.9%) for the IMRM, which was significantly greater than the AUROC of 88.2% (95% CI, 87.9% to 88.4%) for APACHE IV (P Conclusion The IMRM was superior to the commonly used APACHE IV score and may be easily integrated into electronic health records at any hospital using Epic software.
Three-Photon Absorption Spectra and Bandgap Scaling in Direct-Gap Semiconductors

We present 3-photon-absorption (3PA) measurements of 9 direct-gap semiconductors, including the 3PA spectra of ZnS, GaAs, and ZnSe and use a Kane 4-band model to fit the spectra and show the bandgap dependence.
Asymptotics of Tracy-Widom Distributions and the Total Integral of a Painlevé II Function

The Tracy-Widom distribution functions involve integrals of a Painleve II function starting from positive infinity. In this paper, we express the Tracy-Widom distribution functions in terms of integrals starting from minus infinity. There are two consequences of these new representations. The first is the evaluation of the total integral of the Hastings-McLeod solution of the Painleve II equation. The second is the evaluation of the constant term of the asymptotic expansions of the Tracy-Widom distribution functions as the distribution parameter approaches minus infinity. For the GUE Tracy-Widom distribution function, this gives an alternative proof of the recent work of Deift, Its, and Krasovsky. The constant terms for the GOE and GSE Tracy-Widom distribution functions are new.
Stochastic Cooling with Strong Band Overlap

Up to present time the stochastic cooling was only tested and used at the microwave frequencies. Majority of these stochastic cooling systems operate without Schottky band overlap which greatly simplifies tuning of cooling systems and removes unwanted coupling between different cooling systems. A transition from the microwave stochastic cooling to the optical stochastic cooling or to the coherent electron cooling increases the central frequency of cooling systems by orders of magnitude and makes impossible a cooling system operation without overlap of Schottky bands. In this paper we consider how the band overlap affects the maximum cooling rate and the optimal gain.
Crash and Burn

The concept of Early Access, an approach to game development and funding, promised to free developers from the tyranny of large publishers and encourage innovation by small, independent design teams. However, the Early Access marketplace is now littered with buggy, incomplete, or abandoned games and a slew of broken promises that have sometimes risen to the level of fraud. While the Early Access market relies on a disturbing mutation in late-stage capitalism whereby workers are now asked to pay for the privilege of being employed by a company, the practice can also be used as a lens to examine a cultural fetishization of technology-abetted, open-ended possibility. One symptom of this in writing classes is the replacement of the idea of “draft” with that of “drafting,” an apparently innocuous shift that presents an obstacle to the teaching of intellectually responsible skills of research and writing.
Evaluating the roles of temperature-dependent eigenvectors in predicting phonon transport properties of anharmonic crystals using normal mode analysis methods

Theoretical modeling of phonon transport process in strongly anharmonic materials at a finite temperature needs to accurately capture the effects of lattice anharmonicity. The anharmonicity of potential energy surface would result in not only strong phonon scatterings but also shifts of phonon frequencies and eigenvectors. In this work, we evaluated the roles of anharmonicity-renormalized phonon eigenvectors in predicting phonon transport properties of anharmonic crystals at high temperatures using molecular dynamics-based normal mode analysis (NMA) methods in both time domain and frequency domain. Using PbTe as a model of strongly anharmonic crystal, we analyzed the numerical challenges to extract phonon lifetimes using NMA methods when phonon eigenvectors deviate from their harmonic values at high temperatures. To solve these issues, we proposed and verified a better fitting strategy, Sum-up Spectrum Fitting Method (SSFM) than the original frequency-domain NMA method. SSFM is to project the total spectrum energy density data of all phonon modes onto an inaccurate (harmonic or quasi-harmonic) eigenvector base and then manually sum up the peaks that belong to the same phonon mode (at the same frequency). The SSFM relaxes the requirement for accurate temperature-dependent eigenvectors, making it robust for analyzing strongly anharmonic crystals at high temperatures.
Progression of Disease after Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Therapy: Refining Patient Selection for Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy before Radical Cystectomy.

Purpose:Data from the pre-neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) era suggests patients who progress on bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) to muscle-invasive bladder cancer (P-MIBC) exhibit worse outcomes compa...
Reworking Race, Nation, and Diaspora on the Margins

At the turn of the twentieth century, terms like globalization, transnationalism, and diaspora heralded the increasing interconnectedness of cultures, nations, and politics. While such global netwo...
MultiSDGAN: translation of OCT images to superresolved segmentation labels using multi-discriminators in multi-stages.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been identified as a non-invasive and inexpensive imaging modality to discover potential biomarkers for Alzheimer's diagnosis and progress determination. Current hypotheses presume the thickness of the retinal layers, which are analyzable within OCT scans, as an effective biomarker for the presence of Alzheimer's. As a logical first step, this work concentrates on the accurate segmentation of retinal layers to isolate the layers for further analysis. This paper proposes a generative adversarial network (GAN) that concurrently learns to increase the image resolution for higher clarity and then segment the retinal layers. We propose a multi-stage \& multi-discriminatory generative adversarial network (MultiSDGAN) specifically for superresolution and segmentation of OCT scans of the retinal layer. The resulting generator is adversarially trained against multiple discriminator networks at multiple stages. We aim to avoid early saturation of generator model training leading to poor segmentation accuracies and enhance the process of OCT domain translation by satisfying all the discriminators in multiple scales. We also investigated incorporating the Dice loss and Structured Similarity Index Measure (SSIM) as additional loss functions to specifically target and improve our proposed GAN architecture's segmentation and superresolution performance, respectively. The ablation study results conducted on our data set suggest that the proposed MultiSDGAN with ten-fold cross-validation (10-CV) provides a reduced equal error rate with 44.24% and 34.09% relative improvements, respectively (p-values of the improvement level tests<.01). Furthermore, our experimental results also demonstrate that the addition of the new terms to the loss function improves the segmentation results significantly by relative improvements of 31.33% (p-value<.01).
Students’ Experiences in Summer Enrichment Engineering Courses: An Input–Process–Outcome Model of Collaborative Creativity:

In this study, we examined students’ experiences regarding precollege engineering curricula, classroom environments, and their experiences with the creative process in two engineering courses offer...
Validation of self-reported cancer diagnoses using Medicare diagnostic claims in the U.S. Health and Retirement Study, 2000-2016

Background The US Health Retirement Study (HRS) is an ongoing population-representative cohort of US adults aged >50 with rich data on health during aging. Self-reported cancer diagnoses have been collected since 1998, but they have not been validated. We compared self-reported cancer diagnoses in HRS interviews against diagnostic claims from linked Medicare records. Methods Using HRS-Medicare linked data, we examined the validity of first incident cancer diagnoses self-reported in biennial interviews from 2000-2016 against ICD-9 and ICD-10 diagnostic claim records as the gold standard. Data were from 8,242 HRS participants aged {greater than or equal to}65 with 90% continuous enrollment in fee-for-service Medicare. We calculated the sensitivity, specificity, and k for first incident invasive cancer diagnoses (all cancers combined, and each of bladder, breast, colorectal/anal, uterine, kidney, lung, and prostate cancers) cumulatively over the follow-up and at each biennial study interview. Results Overall, self-reports of first incident cancer diagnoses from 2000-2016 had 73.2% sensitivity and 96.2% specificity against Medicare claims (k=0.73). For specific cancer types, sensitivities ranged from 44.7% (kidney) to 75.0% (breast), and specificities ranged from 99.2% (prostate) and 99.9% (bladder, uterine, and kidney). Results were similar in sensitivity analyses restricting to individuals with 100% continuous fee-for-service Medicare enrollment and when restricting to individuals with at least 24 months of Medicare enrollment. Conclusion Self-reported cancer diagnoses in the HRS have reasonable validity for use in population-based research that is maximized with linkage to Medicare. Impact These findings inform the use of the HRS for population-based cancer and aging research.
Landscape simplification decreases wild bee pollination services to strawberry

Abstract Successful conservation of pollination services depends upon an understanding of the processes that influence pollinator diversity within the landscape, as well as the relationship between pollinator community composition and the provision of services. In this study, the influence of landscape simplification on the composition of pollinator communities and the provisioning of pollination services to cultivated strawberry was evaluated (Fragaria × ananassa). Additionally the relative pollination efficiency for the five most common bee genera visiting strawberry flowers was measured. Pollinators were collected during bloom with pan traps on 14 commercial farms all growing the same strawberry variety in the Finger Lakes Region, NY, USA. The farms were chosen to represent a gradient in the proportion of agricultural land uses in the surrounding landscape from 0.09 to 0.60. Landscapes with greater proportions of agricultural area had lower pollinator abundances and species richness. While yield was positively correlated with pollinator abundance, species richness had little effect on the level of pollination services. This conclusion was supported by the finding that visitor identity did not explain pollination efficiency in strawberry. Our results show that a high proportion of agricultural land in the landscape negatively impacts wild pollinators and pollination services to strawberry.
Taking place and space seriously: reflections on 'Disparity and diversity in the contemporary city'.

Rob Sampson’s “Disparity and Diversity in the Contemporary City” establishes two very critical points for sociologists generally, and for scholars of the city in particular. First and foremost, it highlights the importance of individual perception, a form of cognitive processing, as a key determinant in social outcomes. While not entirely new, this claim is in need of serious re-consideration and further discussion in sociology today. Second and most innovatively, if not importantly, Sampson introduces a concern with perception into studies of the city and applies it to the phenomenon of segregation, both income and race-based. By so doing, he extends the role of perception and cognition beyond the domain of subjective urban experience, a subarea of study already well-developed in the work of the urban sociologist Claude Fischer. Sampson argues provocatively that perceptions of social disorder are central to the reproduction of neighborhood composition and urban socio-spatial form. Above and beyond his fascinating findings about the race-linked interpretive biases that drive individuals to perceive greater social disorder in certain neighborhoods than actual empirical evidence would dictate, Sampson’s research will bring the discipline of urban sociology more in line with recent innovations in brain and cognitive science that are changing the way many established fields are coming to understand individual thought and behavior.
Are international stock returns predictable?: An examination of linear and non-linear predictability using generalized spectral tests

Abstract This paper uses generalized spectral tests to examine whether international stock index returns are predictable using the history of the series. Unlike many other testing procedures, the generalized spectral tests used in this paper are robust to distributional assumptions, the presence of time-varying volatility, and allow for various forms of non-linear predictability. We find evidence of predictability in mean for over half of the international returns examined. In addition, we find most of the predictability to be non-linear in nature. The patterns of predictability are consistent with calendar effects and in some cases long-run dependence. Regardless of the implications of predictability of returns, this study is important because the generalized spectrum is defined for a range of different frequencies (corresponding to cycles of 2 days and greater), and we can therefore examine at what frequencies predictability occurs. This provides insight into whether there exists short-run, long-run, or both types of dependence.
Nociceptive and Neuropathic Pain in Patients With Lung Cancer: A Comparison of Pain Quality Descriptors

Predictive validity of each word from the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) has not been investigated in relation to pain etiology. The purpose of this study was to explore differences in the words used to describe nociceptive and neuropathic pain. Patients with lung cancer (N = 123) selected words from the 78 MPQ pain quality descriptors and indicated the corresponding pain site for each word. Using only the MPQ pain location, and the cancer and treatment data abstracted from medical records, each pain site was classified as nociceptive or neuropathic (etiology). Pain etiology and quality descriptors were tested for proportional differences with sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value calculated for statistically significant descriptors. Of the 457 pain sites, 343 were classified as nociceptive (75%), 114 as neuropathic (25%). Lacerating, stinging, heavy, and suffocating were selected for a significantly larger proportion of nociceptive sites whereas throbbing, aching, numb, tender, punishing, pulling, tugging, pricking, penetrating, punishing, miserable, and nagging were selected for a larger proportion of neuropathic sites. Ten words correctly predicted 78% of the sites with 81% sensitivity to nociceptive pain and 59% sensitivity to neuropathic pain. Interestingly, several pain quality descriptors (burning, shooting, flashing, tingling, itching, and cold) previously associated with neuropathic pain did not distinguish between neuropathic and nociceptive pain. Infrequent selection of many MPQ words and lack of neurological exam data in the medical records are possible explanations for inconsistency with previous literature. Prospective studies are needed to validate pain quality descriptors for nociceptive and neuropathic types of lung cancer pain.
The Indultados of Tescua: Criminal Rebellion and Judicial Reckoning during the War of the Supremes

In 1841 the public of Bogota followed the trial of 22 prisoners charged with the crime of rebellion during the War of the Supremes. Captured while serving as officers at the battle of Tescua, the accused claimed they had been forced to serve in the rebel army. This excuse was ignored and 21 of the defendants were sentenced to death, only to be spared by decrees of indulto in the following months. This article examines the logic behind such judicial reckoning, the narrative strategies employed by the accused in their defense, and the meaning of clemency in the early republic.
The Film Experience as Cognitive Structure

A structural analysis of film can make good on the traditional “film is language” metaphor in several ways. As a linguistic grammar formally partitions the world into sentential and nonsentential objects, a structural theory of film partitions the world into those objects that are narrative film scenes and those that are not. Additionally, it is argued, such an analysis offers substantive foundation for descriptions of structural relations between film scenes, the organization of film perception, the film as an aspect of human symbolic capacity, and of film aesthetics.
Ecological constraints on sensory systems: compound eye size in Daphnia is reduced by resource limitation

Eye size is an indicator of visual capability, and macroevolutionary patterns reveal that taxa inhabiting dim environments have larger eyes than taxa from bright environments. This suggests that the light environment is a key driver of variation in eye size. Yet other factors not directly linked with visual tasks (i.e., non-sensory factors) may influence eye size. We sought to jointly investigate the roles of sensory (light) and non-sensory factors (food) in determining eye size and ask whether non-sensory factors could constrain visual capabilities. We tested environmental influences on eye size in four species of the freshwater crustacean Daphnia, crossing bright and dim light levels with high and low resource levels. We measured absolute eye size and eye size relative to body size in early and late adulthood. In general, Daphnia reared on low resources had smaller eyes, both absolutely and relatively. In contrast to the dominant macroevolutionary pattern, phenotypic plasticity in response to light was rarely significant. These patterns of phenotypic plasticity were true for overall diameter of the eye and the diameter of individual facets. We conclude that non-sensory environmental factors can influence sensory systems, and in particular, that resource availability may be an important constraint on visual capability.
Ueber die Kontraktilität von Katgut und die Theorie der Muskelkontraktilität

Vorliegende Mitteilung hat den Zweck, einen Beitrag zu einer kolloidchemischen Theorie der Kontraktilitat des gestreiften Muskels zu liefern.
Protein kinase A activation of glucocorticoid-mediated signaling in the developing retina.

Abstract This report establishes that increasing the activity of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase A; PKA) potentiates glucocorticoid-mediated signaling in embryonic day 5.5 (E5.5) chicken retina. Expression of a glutamine synthetase-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) fusion gene is not induced by treatment with glucocorticoid hormone in transfected E5.5 retina. However, treatment of the retina with forskolin, an activator of adenyl cyclase, or cotransfection with an expression vector encoding PKA is sufficient to render the fusion gene hormonally responsive. Similar results are obtained after forskolin treatment of E5.5 retina that have been transfected with a plasmid that contains the CAT reporter gene under transcriptional control by the thymidine kinase promoter and a 46-nucleotide enhancer with two glucocorticoid response elements (GREs). In contrast, forskolin augments but is not required to achieve glucocorticoid-inducible CAT gene expression in E5.5 retina transfected with a plasmid that contains the reporter driven by a minimal promoter with six juxtaposed GREs. Based on these results, we postulate that E5.5 retina contain glucocorticoid receptors whose signal transduction properties are enhanced by PKA. Unlike the transiently expressed glutamine synthetase fusion gene, however, activation of PKA does not render the endogenous glutamine synthetase gene glucocorticoid-inducible. Thus, its expression appears to be subject to an additional level of control in the developing retina.
Characterization of an avianpox virus isolated from an Andean condor (Vultur gryphus)

A novel pox virus, condorpox virus (CPV) isolated from the spleen of an Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) by inoculation of chorioallantoic membranes (CAM) of specific pathogen free (SPF) chicken embryos was compared biologically, antigenically and genetically with fowlpox virus (FPV), the type species of the genus Avipoxvirus. Susceptible chickens inoculated with CPV developed only mild localized lesions but were not protected against subsequent challenge with FPV. Based on Western blotting, in addition to the presence of cross-reacting antigens, distinct differences in antigenic profiles of CPV and FPV were observed. Sequence analysis of a 4.5 kb HindIII fragment of CPV genomic DNA revealed the presence of eight co-linear genes corresponding to FPV open reading frame (ORF)193-198, 201 and 203. Interestingly, reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) sequences present in the genome of all FPV were absent in CPV. Although, the results of a phylogenic analysis suggested that CPV is a member of the genus Avipoxvirus, its unique antigenic, biologic and genetic characteristics distinguish it from FPV to be considered as a new member of this genus.
Phonological Facilitation of Semantic Errors in Normal and Aphasic Speakers

Semantic errors produced by normal and aphasic speakers on a picture naming test were examined for their phonological similarity to the targets they replaced. In both groups of subjects, semantic errors preserved phonological characteristics of the target word at rates greater than would be expected by chance. These results are consistent with previous findings in speech error corpora (e.g. Dell amp; Reich, 1981) and error elicitation studies (Martin, Weisberg, & Saffran, 1989) and lend support to the assumption that semantic and phonological representations of a word are retrieved in two overlapping stages. In addition to extending this finding to the aphasic population, the use of a picture naming task in the present study eliminated some of the potential confounds that arise in connected speech. In a second study, we examined phonological relationships within sets of semantically related words and showed that there is no tendency for these words to share phonological characteristics. This finding subst...
Adapting the Roter interaction analysis system for telemedicine: lessons from four specialty clinics

Four specialists (a child psychiatrist, an oncologist, a cardiologist and a rheumatologist) conducted telemedicine clinics using videoconferencing at a bandwidth of 128-384 kbit/s. The consultations were videorecorded. The coded interactions from the first two patients recruited from each of the four telemedicine clinics were analysed. Tapes were coded by two raters. We adapted the Roter interaction analysis system (RIAS) for the telemedicine context. Utterances were coded into socio-emotional and task-focused categories. There were 1055 utterances in total. Providers generated significantly more utterances across categories than patients. In the patient-provider interactions, only 2% of the total utterances related to the technology. The predominance of socio-emotional utterances compared with task-focused utterances for providers was contrary to our expectations. Further studies are required to establish the reliability of the adapted RIAS measure and to increase understanding of telemedicine communication patterns.
Repeated measures of adult normal walking using a video tracking system

Abstract The reproducibility of quantitative gait analysis measurements is an important consideration when analyzing data of both normal subjects and patients. Waveform similarity statistics were used to assess the reproducibility of lower extremity kinematic and kinetic data collected on 5 normal adult subjects. For each subject, gait evaluations were done on 3 separate test days with 3 trials collected each day. Pelvis angles were fairly repeatable, however, with notably poor reproducibility in sagittal plane tilt. Re-application errors of the sacral wand coupled with a small range of motion are believed to be the principle contributors to variability in this pelvis angle. The sagittal plane angles for the hip, knee, and ankle demonstrated excellent repeatability within test days and between test days. Frontal and transverse plane angles were fairly repeatable within test days but between-day repeatability was considerably lower. The `downstream' errors accompanying Euler angle calculations coupled with the smaller ranges of motion in the non-sagittal plane angles are suggested to contribute to the ambient variability already in these data and, thus, affect the within-day repeatability. Errors in re-application of midthigh and midcalf wands further contribute to the variability of these data between test days. Net resultant joint forces and moments were repeatable overall with slightly lower between-day statistical values. The exception to this observation was the adduction moment of the ankle which was notably variable between test days. Several explanations for this variability are presented. Results of this study have led to modifications in some marker placement procedures and reinforced the need for others already being used.
A model of the bursting process in non-newtonian fluids

Abstract A model for predicting the frequency of occurrence of sublayer bursts in non-Newtonian fluids is developed. The model is based on the similarity between turbulent pipe flow and a flat plate boundary layer at zero incidence. All parameters in the model are determined from hydrodynamic studies. The predicted bursting periods for Newtonian, power-law, and drag-reducing fluids are in reasonable agreement with previously published data and correlations.
Anisotropic renormalization of thermodynamic quantities above the nematic-smectic-A phase transition

The results of a self-consistent, one-loop model for the nematic--smectic-A phase transition are presented. Fluctuation-induced renormalization of the correlation lengths parallel and perpendicular to the director and of the twist and bend elastic constants are calculated. The inherently anisotropic nature of the coupling between the director fluctuations and the smectic order parameter directly leads to anisotropic renormalization of the correlation lengths and elastic constants. Because the renormalization of the four quantities mentioned above becomes significant at different temperatures, the crossover from the isotropic high-temperature behavior to the critical, strongly anisotropic behavior is very gradual, producing an extended, weakly anisotropic region, consistent with experimental observations.
Identification of a novel pool of extracellular pro-myostatin in skeletal muscle.

Myostatin, a transforming growth factor-β superfamily ligand, negatively regulates skeletal muscle growth. Generation of the mature signaling peptide requires cleavage of pro-myostatin by a proprotein convertase, which is thought to occur constitutively in the Golgi apparatus. In serum, mature myostatin is found in an inactive, non-covalent complex with its prodomain. We find that in skeletal muscle, unlike serum, myostatin is present extracellularly as uncleaved pro-myostatin. In cultured cells, co-expression of pro-myostatin and latent transforming growth factor-β-binding protein-3 (LTBP-3) sequesters pro-myostatin in the extracellular matrix, and secreted pro-myostatin can be cleaved extracellularly by the proprotein convertase furin. Co-expression of LTBP-3 with myostatin reduces phosphorylation of Smad2, and ectopic expression of LTBP-3 in mature mouse skeletal muscle increases fiber area, consistent with reduction of myostatin activity. We propose that extracellular pro-myostatin constitutes the major pool of latent myostatin in muscle. Post-secretion activation of this pool by furin family proprotein convertases may therefore represent a major control point for activation of myostatin in skeletal muscle.
Pathogenesis of Experimental Viral Hepatitis

EXPERIMENTAL studies with hepatitis viruses in animals and in cell-culture systems have provided basic information concerning the pathogenesis of virus-mediated liver injury and the host response t...
One-Tailed or Two-Tailed P Values in PLS-SEM?

Should P values associated with path coefficients, as well as with other coefficients such as weights and loadings, be one-tailed or two-tailed? This question is answered in the context of structural equation modeling employing the Partial Least Squares Method (PLS-SEM), based on an illustrative model of the effect of e-collaboration technology use on job performance. A one-tailed test is recommended if the coefficient is assumed to have a sign (positive or negative), which should be reflected in the hypothesis that refers to the corresponding association. If no assumptions are made about coefficient sign, a two-tailed test is recommended. These recommendations apply to many other statistical methods that employ P values, including path analyses in general, with or without latent variables, plus univariate and multivariate regression analyses.
Brands and national image: An exploration of inverse country-of-origin effect

The study explores the relationship between perceptions about products produced in a country and the country's reputation and image. It considers country-of-origin effect (COO) from an inverse perspective; rather than looking at how national reputation affects perceptions of products, it measures how brand image affects country image. It used a method that blends survey and experimental design to test the effects of brand association on country image using 488 subjects. The results indicate support for an inverse COO: knowledge of the country of origin of a brand can enhance the image of the country in which the brand originated. An implication of the study is that the public and private sectors could work together to shape a country's image.
Psoriasis and blue sclerae in girls with Turner syndrome

found in house dust, beach sand, and swimming pools, and N. asteroides is a part of the normal flora of the oral cavity and upper respiratory tract. 5, 7 Infection has also been reported to be caused by insect bite 8 and cat scratch. 9 Sulfonamides are the treatment of choice for cutaneous Nocardia infections, although there have been a few reports of treatment failures. 4,5 Minocycline or amikacin may also be used as primary therapy. Other drugs reported to be successful are imipenem and third-generation cephalosporins.4, 5,7 The duration of therapy for cutaneous Nocardia infection, but most sources recommend treatment periods of 6 weeks to 6 months. Some relapses have been reported after 15 months. 4 Therefore it is important to observe patients for a minimum of 6 to 12 months and to repeat tissue cultures if recurrence is suspected. Some authors advocate continuation of antibiotics for 3 months after resolution of infection in some patients .7 R E F E R E N C E S
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Spot (ELISPOT) Assay for Interferon‐Gamma Independently Predicts Renal Function in Kidney Transplant Recipients

Post-transplant monitoring of cellular immunity might be useful in predicting long-term outcomes of kidney transplant recipients. We used an enzyme linked immunoabsorbent spot (ELISPOT) assay to serially measure the frequency of peripheral blood lymphocytes producing interferon-gamma in response to stimulator cells from donors or third parties in 55 primary kidney transplant recipients. Mean frequencies measured during the first 6 months after transplantation correlated significantly with the serum creatinine concentration at both 6 and 12 months following transplantation. The mean frequencies were higher in patients with acute rejection than in those without acute rejection. Multiple regression analyses indicated that the correlations between the early ELISPOT measurements of interferon-gamma and serum creatinine were independent of acute rejection, delayed graft function, or the presence of panel reactive antibodies before transplantation. Patients with low mean frequencies of interferon-producing cells in the early post-transplant period were generally free from acute rejection and exhibited excellent renal function at 6 and 12 months post-transplant. In conclusion, using the ELISPOT assay, we show an independent correlation between early cellular alloreactivity and long-term renal function. Increased levels of early alloreactivity measured with this assay may serve as a surrogate for chronic allograft dysfunction.
Reductions in Hamster Serum Thyroxine Levels by Melatonin Are Not Altered by Changes in Serum Testosterone

Daily melatonin injections reduce reproductive and thyroid hormones in male Syrian hamsters. The interrelationship between the decline in these hormones is not known. To explore this relationship, male Syrian hamsters were divided into four groups: castrated, implanted with testosterone (5-mm silastic implants), both treatments, or neither treatment. One-half of each group of hamsters (n = 7 or 8) were injected with melatonin (25 mg) daily at 1730 h. The other half of each group received daily vehicle injections. Ten weeks later, the hamsters were anesthetized and decapitated. Testes weights, serum testosterone, and serum thyroxine levels were measured. As expected, testes and serum testosterone levels were uniformly low in all of the melatonin-treated hamsters. All of the melatonin-treated groups also had lower than normal thyroxine values irrespective of gonadal treatment. Interestingly, in the non-melatonin-treated hamsters, serum thyroxine values were decreased in the castrated group and increased in the testosterone-implanted group. These results suggest that castration can reduce serum thyroxine levels in male Syrian hamsters and that replacement of testosterone restores these levels to normal. Notably, the declines in thyroxine levels produced by daily melatonin injections were not restored by testosterone implants in castrated or intact hamsters. Therefore, melatonin-induced reductions in thyroxine are not mediated by concurrent reductions in serum testosterone levels. It appears that melatonin-induced reductions in serum thyroxine levels do not use the same mechanism as castration-induced reductions.
Structured singular values and stability analysis of uncertain polynomials, part 2: a missing link

Abstract In Part 1 of this paper, a generalized notion of structured singular value is introduced and studied specifically in the case when a certain matrix is of rank one. In Part 2 of this series, we demonstrate that the framework developed in Part 1 is particularly suitable for a class of stability problems and its unifies several frequency-based stability conditions obtained via alternative approaches. Generally, these problems correspond to a class of uncertain polynomials whose coefficients are perturbed in an affine fashion. Several stability conditions are derived readily from solution of the structured singular value presented in Part 1, which either extend or coincide with previously known results. In particular, for family of interval and diamond polynomials, we further show that the stability conditions based on the structured singular value and the corresponding results in the spirit of Kharitonov theorem lead to one another, thus establishing a link between the two types of drastically different results and accomplishing one of our main goals in this series. A related robust stabilization problem is also investigated in this framework.
A National View of Storm Surge Risk and Inundation

AbstractThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), specifically the National Weather Service’s (NWS) National Hurricane Center (NHC), utilizes the hydrodynamic Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricanes (SLOSH) model to simulate storm surge in 27 basins along the U.S East and Gulf Coasts. This information is provided to federal, state, and local partners to assist in a range of planning processes, risk assessment studies, and decision making. Based on climatology, tens of thousands of hypothetical hurricanes are simulated in each basin, and the potential storm surges are calculated. Storm surge composites—maximum envelopes of water (MEOWs) and maximum of maximums (MOMs)—are created to assess and visualize storm surge risk under varying conditions.While MEOWs and MOMs provide a local assessment of storm surge risk, they do not provide a national perspective owing to the 27 discrete grids. National assessments must therefore merge the grids together, which is a laborious task requiring ...
Effects of restricted mass transfer on the efficiency of micellar chromatography

Abstract A model treating restricted mass transfer in micellar chromatography based on the kinetics of adsorption—desorption of the solute on the stationary phase and entrance—exit rates from micelles in the mobile phase is proposed. This model provides an explanation for the lower chromatographic efficiency of micellar mobile phases relative to conventional mobile phases. Based on our studies, the efficiency of micellar chromatography can be optimized by use of elevated temperatures, low flow-rates and minimal micelle concentrations. All of these experimental variables are targeted at maximizing the kinetic rate parameters.
Salt, Moisture and Aging Time Effects on the Viability of Trichinella spiralis in Pork Hams and Shoulders

SUMMARY– Twenty-four weanling pigs were infested with Trichinella spiralis, by dosing with trichina larvae. The hogs were raised to market weight and slaughtered. Lean samples from each ham and shoulder were digested in a pepsin-HCI solution and microscopically examined. The samples contained respectively an average of 192 and 175 larvae per gram. The hams and shoulders were dry-cured for 2 days per pound, using 8 pounds of cure per 100 pounds of meat. The mixture contained salt, sugar, potassium nitrate, and sodium nitrite. After being cured, the meat was hung for 30 days for salt equalization, rinsed, allowed to dry, smoked for approximately 24 hr at 90 to 100°F, and aged at 75°F. Cores were taken from randomly selected hams and shoulders at weekly intervals and analyzed for salt and moisture while part was digested and examined for live trichinae. Live trichinae persisted through the curing and salt equalization periods but began to be reduced in number after one week of aging. Samples taken from hams and shoulders aged for one month were found to be void of any live trichina larvae. Meat from similar samples was force-fed to rats for 5 days. After 8 weeks the rats were sacrificed and the carcasses digested and examined. No trichina larvae were found.
Ferreting things out: Biosecurity, pandemic flu and the transformation of experimental systems

At the end of 2011, microbiologists created a scientific and media frenzy by genetically engineering mutant avian flu viruses that transmitted through the air between ferrets, the animal most widely used to model human flu. Though the studies offered new evidence of avian flu’s pandemic potential, they were nevertheless restricted from publication because of concerns about their possible threat to human health and security. In this article, I examine the mutant flu controversy to show how nascent biosecurity regulations engender transformations in experimental systems; namely, in the use and interpretation of experimental organisms, and in the establishment of a culture of security among a globalizing community of scientists. Drawing on analyses of academic publications, interviews with microbiologists and biosecurity regulators, and ethnographic observations at a biosecure laboratory, I show how these experimental transformations are structured by the local demands of scientific production as well as by broader concerns about biosecurity made visible in formal and informal regulations on scientific conduct. I further argue that while the controversy signals unprecedented controls over publication in the biological sciences, such controls build upon and extend on-going shifts in scientific thought and practice in the wake of pandemic threats.
Effects of ethephon on the respiration and ethylene evolution of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) fruit at different development stages.

Abstract The role of ethylene on sweet cherry ( Prunus avium L.) fruit respiration was studied at three stages of development. An ethylene-releasing compound, ethephon [(2-chloroethyl)phosphonic acid], was applied at concentrations from 10 to 1000 ppm to straw-, pink- and mahogany-colored fruits. Depending upon the ethephon concentration applied, rates of ethylene evolution as high 6 μl C 2 H 4 kg fruit −1 h −1 were detected. Ethylene evolution was undetectable from untreated, mature fruits. Fruit respiration rates declined at all stages, regardless of the rate of ethylene evolved. Ethephon did not affect the firmness of mature, mahogany-colored sweet cherry fruit. These results confirm that sweet cherry fruit are nonclimacteric because untreated fruit produced neither respiratory nor ethylene peaks near maturity. Respiration was not stimulated in the presence of exogenous ethylene during these later stages of sweet cherry fruit development, as it is in other nonclimacteric fruits.
A general model to predict the elastic-plastic stress distribution and fracture strength of notched bars in plane strain bending☆

A theoretical model for predicting elastic-plastic, plane strain stress distributions in notched bars under bend loading has been developed by combining the elastic solutions of Neuber with the slipline field solutions of Hill. The model is used to calculate the plastic zone size as a function of the externally applied load (moment), the yield stress σisec and geometrical parameters such as root radius, notch depth, and ligament depth. The theoretical predictions are found to be in very good agreement with experimentally measured values of the plastic zone size in notched bars of high nitrogen steel. The fracture strength of notched bars of varying geometries was measured at cryogenic temperatures and the value of KIC was determined. It is shown that the value is consistent with a fracture criterion based on the attainment of a critical tensile stress σf∗ over a small volume in front of the notch. Unstable fracture occurs when the plastic zones have spread to a critical distance such that the maximum tensile stress level in the plastic zone is raised from σisecup toσf∗. The model therefore relates the notch strength of bars containiag various notches to the material's intrinsic fracture characteristics. It is found that there is an effective minimum root radius of about 0.002 in. which governs the fracture toughness of specimens containing sharper notches and cracks.
Erosion effects on soil properties and soybean yield of a Miamian soil in Western Ohio in a season with below normal rainfall

Abstract Accelerated erosion can have adverse effects on soil properties and crop yield. Therefore, an onfarm evaluation of the effects of past soil erosion on productivity was done for a Miamian soil (fine, mixed, mesic Typic Hapludalfs) in central Ohio in 1991. Three levels of soil erosion identified by a field survey and topsoil depth included slight (20–25 cm topsoil depth), moderate (15–20 cm) and severe erosion (10–15 cm). Soybean yield and soil properties under these conditions were compared with those for uneroded soil (wooded conditions with topsoil of 25–30 cm depth) and for deposition sites (30–35 cm depth). Soil properties measured included bulk density, particle density, organic carbon contents, infiltration capacity, and moisture retention at different suctions. Bulk density of 0 to 10 cm depth was significantly low in uneroded control (1.20 Mg/m3). High bulk density of 1.45 to 1.49 Mg/m3 was observed in moderately and severely eroded phases. The moisture retention at 0.03 MPa (0.47 V V ) was the highest in uneroded control. The highest available water capacity of the 0 to 10 cm layer (0.16 to 0.17 V V ) was observed for wooded control and slight erosion phase. Total aggregation was also the least on slightly eroded phase. Soil organic carbon content did not differ among three erosional phases with a 0 to 10 cm depth mean value of 1.03% compared with 1.83% for deposition and 2.93% for wooded soils. Similar trends were observed for the 10 to 20 cm depth. Concentrations of exchangeable K, Ca, and Mg and total CEC increased with increasing degree of erosion for both depths. There were no differences in CEC of the 0 to 10 cm depth for severely eroded and wooded soils. The rainfall received during 1991 was below normal. There were no differences in soybean yield among slight, moderate and severely eroded phases. Because of severe crusting and drought stress, crop stand was poor on slightly eroded plateau soils. Adverse soil physical conditions, low soil organic carbon content, severe crusting, and drought were likely responsible factors for low yields on slightly eroded plateau soils. Soybean grain yield was 1.5 Mg/ha for slight erosion, 1.4 Mg/ha for moderate erosion, 1.6 Mg/ha for severe erosion, and 3.1 Mg/ha for deposition soil. There were no differences in grain yield or biomass production among slight, moderate or severe eroded phases. The highest yields of soybean obtained on deposition sites were attributed to the favorable soil moisture regime during this unusually dry growing season of 1991 in central Ohio.