cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dasistoma macrophylla: hemiparasite growth and impact on Acer saccharum and Quercus macrocarpa.

Abstract Dasistoma macrophylla (Nutt.) Raf. is a photosynthetically competent hemiparasitic plant known to parasitize 21 different tree species. How different tree species vary in quality as hosts for this hemiparasite and how parasitism affects host growth have not been explored. We tested the hypothesis that D. macrophylla form more vascular connections, known as haustoria, to roots of the tree species that promotes greater growth of the hemiparasite in a greenhouse experiment. Juvenile Acer saccharum Marshall (sugar maple), a known host, and Quercus macrocarpa Michx. (bur oak), a previously untested species common to the locality, were grown alone or with one seedling of D. macrophylla derived from one of two populations. Additional D. macrophylla seedlings were grown alone. After 17 wk, dry shoot and root mass of the tree, dry shoot, and root mass of the hemiparasite, and the number of haustoria formed by the hemiparasite were determined. Dasistoma macrocarpa grew better with A. saccharum than it did ...
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Parents of Children With Developmental Delays: A Follow-Up Study

Parents of children with developmental delays (DD) consistently report higher levels of stress compared to parents of typically developing children. Elevated parenting stress is concerning, not onl...
Assessment of Hemodynamic Changes and Hyperperfusion Risk After Extracranial-to-Intracranial Bypass Surgery Using Intraoperative Indocyanine Green-Based Flow Analysis.

Background Intraoperative blood flow assessments during cerebral bypass would ideally assess vessel patency, downstream perfusion, and risk of postoperative hyperperfusion syndrome (HPS). Previous studies using indocyanine green–based flow analyses (ICG-BFA) have identified multiple parameters that can intraoperatively track bypass-related changes in cerebral perfusion and potentially predict postoperative risk of HPS. Herein, we determine the most robust parameter and anatomic location for intraoperative ICG-BFA assessment of bypass-related perfusion changes and prediction of postoperative risk of HPS. Methods Retrospective analysis of an institutional review board–approved prospective database identified patients undergoing superficial temporal artery-to-middle cerebral artery bypass. Demographic and clinical information, as well as manually calculated and automated pre- and postbypass intraoperative ICG-BFA data from cortical, arterial, and venous regions of interest were recorded and analyzed. Results Seven patients underwent superficial temporal artery-to-middle cerebral artery bypass (4 Moyamoya, 3 carotid occlusions). Average age was 48.2 ± 13.9 years (3 female, 4 male). Although all parameters measured showed trends toward improvement postbypass, only changes in arterial and venous automated ICG-BFA slope (also known as blood flow index [maximum intensity/rise time]) reached significance. None of the patients experienced symptomatic HPS, despite 5 of 7 (71.4%) having an increased HPS risk based on previously published ICG-BFA data. Conclusions ICG-BFA has utility for the intraoperative assessment of bypass-related changes in cerebral perfusion, with automated blood flow index being the most robustly affected parameter. Although previously published ICG-BFA indices did not predict the development of symptomatic postoperative HPS, larger-scale studies correlating observed ICG-BFA changes with risk of HPS are warranted.
Temporal dynamics of subsurface soil water content estimated from surface measurement using wavelet transform

Abstract Temporal variation of water in the vadose zone is important to understand processes such as solute transport and nutrient cycling. Measurements of soil water content (SWC) in the subsurface are less common than those near the surface and predictions using numerical models are limited by data availability. Wavelet decomposition of surface measurements of SWC could improve modeling of subsurface SWC by segregating features at different temporal scales and projecting them to the subsurface. The objectives of this work were to: 1) predict subsurface SWC using surface SWC and a combination of wavelet analysis and linear regression, and 2) investigate relationships between soil properties and the movement of soil water at various temporal scales, s . Climate data and SWC at various depths were collected from eight sites in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the USA. Soil water retention and hydraulic conductivity ( k ) functions of each horizon were optimized by comparing measured and predicted (using HYDRUS-1D) soil water contents. Each time series of SWC was decomposed into 50 scale components using the Mexican Hat wavelet and later reduced to 5 group components with minimal impact on the characteristics of the signal. Changes in the values of each group component with depth were represented with transfer coefficients that could be estimated with predictors derived from particle size distributions and optimized soil hydraulic functions. Prediction depth and saturated k were the two most important predictors for s k at −10 kPa was the best predictor for 256 h s s > 724 h. Subsurface soil water content can be reasonably predicted with the proposed approach, particularly when vertical movement of soil water is unrestricted.
Natural weathering of styrene–butadiene modified bitumen

Abstract: This chapter reports on the long-term weathering of 12 bituminous sealants that contain thermoplastic elastomers, namely block copolymers of polystyrene and polybutadiene. The goal of the work was to determine the rate and mechanisms of sealant weathering so that future accelerated aging tests could be developed. By means of physico-chemical analysis, much weathering was found to occur in the early years of service. Weathering pathways were found to be mass loss, oxidation, and copolymer degradation. Specific mechanisms include the loss of aromatics with time, the formation of sulphoxides, sulphones, and their acids, ketones, and carboxylic acids. Block copolymer degradation occurs mainly through a scission between polystyrene and polybutadiene blocks, and the crosslinking of polybutadiene fragments. The chapter ends with a brief discussion of the suitability of current accelerated aging tests to simulate the natural weathering of elastomeric sealants.
Practices to Address the Social Determinants of Health

Social determinants of health vulnerability require ecological approaches that simultaneously address microlevel and macrosocial transformation. This chapter describes some practices that are geared toward the elimination of social inequalities that create cumulative disadvantages in certain population groups. Emphasis is placed on the role of education in transforming practices of health professionals by developing global citizenship, critical reflection, cultural competence, and community empowerment skills. Integration of the ethical principles of human rights, beneficence, and social justice in practice is the foundation for health advocacy for vulnerable populations. Curricular and extracurricular activities should be designed to strengthen community engagement, advocate for health equity in all policies and programs, and advance collaborative transformation of people’s lives.
Blood serum and BSA, but neither red blood cells nor hemoglobin can support vitellogenesis and egg production in the dengue vector Aedes aegypti

Aedes aegypti is the major vector of dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya viruses that put millions of people in endemic countries at risk. Mass rearing of this mosquito is crucial for strategies that use modified insects to reduce vector populations and transmission of pathogens, such as sterile insect technique or population replacement. A major problem for vector mosquito mass rearing is the requirement of vertebrate blood for egg production since it poses significant costs as well as potential health hazards. Also, regulations for human and animal use as blood source can pose a significant obstacle. A completely artificial diet that supports egg production in vector mosquitoes can solve this problem. In this study, we compared different blood fractions, serum and red blood cells, as dietary protein sources for mosquito egg production. We also tested artificial diets made from commercially available blood proteins (bovine serum albumin (BSA) and hemoglobin). We found that Ae. aegypti performed vitellogenesis and produced eggs when given whole bovine blood, serum, or an artificial diet containing BSA. Conversely, egg production was impaired after feeding of the red blood cell fraction or an artificial diet containing only hemoglobin. We also found that egg viability of serum-fed mosquitoes were comparable to that of whole blood and an iron supplemented BSA meal produced more viable eggs than a meal containing BSA alone. Our results indicate that serum proteins, not hemoglobin, may replace vertebrate blood in artificial diets for mass mosquito rearing.
Geminal dicarboxylates as carbonyl surrogates for asymmetric synthesis. Part II. Scope and applications.

An enantioselective synthesis of allylic esters has been achieved by a novel asymmetric alkylation of allylic gem-dicarboxylates. The catalyst derived from palladium(0) and R,R-1,2-di(2‘-diphenylphosphinobenzamido)cyclohexene efficiently induced the alkylation process with a variety of nucleophiles to provide allylic esters as products in good yield. High regio- and enantioselectivities were observed in the alkylation with most nucleophiles derived from malonate, whereas a modest level of ee's was obtained in the reactions with less reactive nucleophiles such as bis(phenylsulfonyl)ethane. In the latter case, a slow addition procedure proved effective, leading to significantly improved ee's. The utility of the alkylation products was demonstrated by several synthetically useful transformations including allylic isomerizations, allylic alkylations, and Claisen rearrangements. Using these reactions, the chirality of the initial allylic carbon−oxygen bond could be transferred to new carbon−oxygen, carbon−carb...
Financial implications of biparametric prostate MRI

Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MP-MRI) targeted biopsy has been shown to identify more clinically-significant cancers and reduce the detection of clinically-insignificant disease when compared to systematic biopsy; however, the wide-spread accessibility of MP-MRI is limited. A potential strategy for reducing the cost, study time, and contrast-associated risks associated with MP-MRI is elimination of the dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) sequence, relying instead on biparametric MRI (BP-MRI). BP-MRI has been shown to have a diagnostic accuracy and cancer detection rate that are equivalent to those of MP-MRI. We modeled the potential cost of BP-MRI compared to MP-MRI to determine what cost savings would occur if DCE was eliminated from these studies. When controlled for a 45 min time window that allows for one full MP-MRI or three full BP-MRI studies, the BP-MRI 45 min gross profit is $1531.32. This is an increase in gross profit of $892.58 for the 45 min time window or $10,710.98 in a 9-h business day when performing BP-MRI compared to MP-MRI for prostate cancer detection. BP-MRI has the potential to result in substantial cost benefit and increased access to MRI in the diagnostic workflow and risk-stratification of men being evaluated for prostate cancer when compared to conventional MP-MRI. • Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MP-MRI) has been shown to identify more clinically-significant cancers and reduce the detection of clinically-insignificant disease. • Biparametric magnetic resonance imaging (BP-MRI) has diagnostic accuracy and cancer detection rates that are equivalent to those of MP-MRI. • BP-MRI reduces cost, study time, and contrast-associated risk by eliminating the dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) sequence. • BP-MRI has the potential to increase access to advanced imaging for men being evaluated for prostate cancer.
Use of Phytoestrogens in Q’eqchi’ Maya Ethnomedicine

Findings from this research contribute to the literature on Q’eqchi’ Maya ethnomedicine by associating the biological activity with the traditional remedies, subsequently further validating traditional Maya medicine and broadening the understanding of the efficacy of these plants. Documentation of traditional medical treatments aids in preserving the knowledge of these traditions and creates documents that can be used in the training of new apprentices in traditional Maya medicine, in addition to the long tradition of studying one on one with an elder traditional healer. We hope that in demonstrating the associated bioactivity in the medicines that are being used in this traditional medical system, these results will further validate and return prestige to traditional Maya medicine.
Singularity and existence for a wave system of nematic liquid crystals

Abstract In this paper, we prove the global existence and singularity formation for a wave system modeling nematic liquid crystals in one space dimension. In our model, although the viscous damping term is included, the solution with smooth initial data still has gradient blowup in general, even when the initial energy is arbitrarily small.
Who Is Responsible for Confronting Prejudice? The Role of Perceived and Conferred Authority

Perceived responsibility for responding predicts whether people confront others’ discriminatory behavior, but who is seen as and actually feels responsible for confronting prejudice? Study 1 examined whether people view status-based authority figures, stigmatized targets, or other bystanders as responsible for confronting a witnessed prejudicial remark. Results revealed that participants viewed the authority figure as most responsible for responding, and they reported feeling less personally responsible in the presence of both authorities and targets. Study 2 examined whether being in a position of authority enhances perceptions of responsibility for responding to discrimination and, in turn, facilitates confrontation. Participants who were randomly assigned to a leadership (vs. non-leader control) condition witnessed a racially insensitive remark. Leadership increased perceived responsibility, but did not significantly increase confrontation. Study 3 builds on the previous two studies by showing that leaders in actual organizations feel more responsible for confronting prejudice compared to those who are not conferred authority status. These findings extend previous studies by uncovering an important antecedent (i.e., conferred authority) of feeling responsible for addressing prejudice, which is shown to be a key factor in predicting whether bystanders confront discrimination. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
The politics of the “post-political” contesting the diagnosis

ABSTRACTThe diagnosis of our present age as “post-political” have become commonplace among political theorists and other scholars. This diagnosis is critiqued here on the grounds that it offers an ...
A Business Framework for Distributed Power Demand and Storage Response with the Maximization of Renewable Energy Accommodation

With the increasing concern for environment protection and fossil energy depletion, the development of renewable energy generations is supported all over the world. However, the rapid increasing of renewable resources also brings the accommodation issue of massive power supply from renewable generation units. Specifically, the marginal operation cost for absorbing renewable energy can increase with high renewable generation and lead to the curtailment of partial renewable energy. Therefore, the potential of co-scheduling for distributed power demand and energy storage resources is explored with a framework designed to facilitate the consumption of renewable generation power. A case study tested on a single-node power system has verified the effectiveness of the proposed optimization architecture to maximize the absorption of renewable energy with the participation of power demand and energy storage.
In Search of Judicial Legitimacy: Criminal Sentencing in Vietnamese Courts

How do authoritarian courts, conventionally viewed as weak legal actors, build legitimacy? Inspired by Ernst Fraenkel’s concept of the “dual state” and building on Richard Fallon’s framework of judicial legitimacy that undergirds democratic courts, this Article seeks to operationalize the nebulous concept of legitimacy as related to authoritarian judiciaries. While Fallon’s tripartite framework of sociological-moral-legal legitimacy provides an insightful typology on democratic courts’ legitimation sources, it does not (and is not meant to) capture the undercurrents of authoritarian courts, many of which lack independence and struggle to build institutional capacity. This Article extends Fallon’s framework to courts in authoritarian regimes by proposing a fourth dimension — interbranch legitimacy — that texturizes the relationship between authoritarian courts and the political actors on whom these courts depend for prestige and resources. Using a multi-method empirical inquiry, this Article demonstrates how this extended framework operates in one such authoritarian context — Vietnam. By taking an empirical and comparative approach, this Article seeks to contribute to both the theory and practical discourse on authoritarian legality, rule of law, and comparative law.
Perception-Action Coupling in Usage of Telepresence Cameras

Telepresence tele-action robots enable human workers to reliably perform difficult tasks in remote, cluttered, and human environments. However, the effort to control coordinated manipulation and active perception motions may exhaust and intimidate novice workers. We hypothesize that such cognitive efforts would be effectively reduced if the teleoperators are provided with autonomous camera selection and control aligned with the natural perception-action coupling of the human motor system. Thus, we conducted a user study to investigate the coordination of active perception control and manipulation motions performed with visual feedback from various wearable and standalone cameras in a telepresence scenario. Our study discovered rich information about telepresence camera selection to inform telepresence system configuration and possible teleoperation assistance design for reduced cognitive effort in robot teleoperation.
Determinants of Bank Performance: ROE, ROA Profitability Measures Amongst Islamic and Conventional Banks in the GCC

We look at the profitability measures of the conventional and Islamic banking sectors in 5 GCC countries. We focus on the bank specific profitability determinants using panel regression models. In contrast to some of the results in the literature, we find no significant differences between the two sectors and hypothesis a possible local investor bias between the two sector potentially explaining the market differences.
An Evaluation of Various Inspiratory Times and Inflation Pressures During Airway Pressure Release Ventilation

Background: There are few recommendations on how best to apply certain modes of mechanical ventilation, and the application of airway pressure release ventilation (APRV) in particular requires strategic implementation of specific inspiratory times (i-times) and particular mean airway pressures (Paw) neither of which is standardized. We sought to identify whether an ideal i-time or Paw could be identified to favor positive clinical outcomes. Methods: Institutional Review Board approval was obtained. A retrospective analysis of archived electronic health record data was assessed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of adult patients that had been placed on APRV for a target of at least 8 h. Sixty-eight adult subjects were evaluated as part of a convenient sample. Results: All outcomes of interest (surrogates) for short-term clinical outcomes to include the PaO2/FIO2 (P/F) ratio, Oxygen Index (OI), oxygen saturation index (OSI), and modified Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (MSOFA) scores showed improvement after approximately 8 h on APRV. There was significant improvement in P/F ratio (P= .012) and OSI (P Conclusions: It was found that settings for Phigh, Plow, and Tlow in addition to overall Paw and body mass index (BMI) had significant correlation to impact at least one of the short-term clinical outcomes measured and a lower setting for both Phigh and Paw was predictive of a better post-APRV OSI and MSOFA score.
O espectro dos Blackamoor: representando a África e o Oriente

Falar da figura de Blackamoor e falar de varios imaginarios entrelacados, especialmente ao longo do duplo eixo geografico Leste / Oeste e Norte / Sul. Hibrida do negro africano e do mouro muculmano, a figura de Blackamoor condensa representacoes frequentemente conceituadas isoladamente nas cartografias compartimentadas dos varios estudos de area. O escrutinio dos Blackamoor, nesse sentido, ajuda a lancar luz sobre continuidades discursivas esquecidas, bem como sobre conectividades historicas entre continentes e oceanos; neste caso, aqueles que operam ao longo das costas sinuosas do Mediterrâneo da Europa, Africa e Asia. Fabricados em oficinas europeias, o Blackamoor pode, em um nivel, ser analisado como parte de uma arte ornamental que reflete varias tendencias esteticas e tambem reflete o gosto de seus produtores e consumidores. Em outro nivel, o Blackamoor pode ser examinado criticamente, como uma imagem estereotipada do corpo negro racializado e de genero. Aqui, no entanto, colocarei um conjunto diferente de perguntas: o Blackamoor, aparentemente tranquilizador e domesticado, tambem pode ser visto como uma manifestacao visual de uma continua ansiedade europeia em relacao aos seus "outros?" medo em relacao aos continentes vizinhos da Africa e da Asia? Poderia a aparente civilidade dos Blackamoor ornamentais mascarar as ansiedades sobre mistura racial, sincretismo cultural e influencia intelectual? Abstract To speak of the Blackamoor figure is to speak of several intertwined imaginaries, especially along the East/West and North/South double geographical axis. A hybrid of the African Black and the Muslim Moor, the Blackamoor figure condenses representations often conceptualized in isolation within the compartmentalized cartographies of the various Area Studies. Scrutiny of the Blackamoor, in this sense, helps shed light on forgotten discursive continuities as well as on historical connectivities across continents and oceans; in this case, those operating along the winding Mediterranean shores of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Manufactured in European workshops, the Blackamoor can on one level be analyzed as part of an ornamental art that reflects various aesthetic tendencies while also reflecting the taste of its producers and consumers. On another level, the Blackamoor can be examined critically, as a stereotypical imaging of the racialized and gendered Black body. Here, however, I will pose a different set of questions: Can the putatively reassuring and domesticated Blackamoor also be viewed as a visual manifestation of an ongoing European anxiety about its “others?” Might this image of Blackamoor docility testify indirectly to a doubly repressed fear toward the neighboring continents of Africa and Asia? Could the apparent civility of the ornamental Blackamoor mask anxieties about racial mixing, cultural syncretism, and intellectual influence?
BKK: Commercializing a New Drug

Dr. Brad Worthington, surgeon and anesthesiologist, has created BKK, a nonopioid surgical pain reliever. A combination of three FDA-approved drugs, BKK has beneficial properties beyond those of the individual medications of which it is made. Having obtained a patent for BKK, Worthington and his business partner, Thurman Ballard, are evaluating three paths to market, each with its own risks, costs, timelines, and possible outcomes: 1) seek venture capital investment to fund a New Drug Application for FDA approval; 2) partner with a compounding pharmacy that can manufacture and distribute the drug wholesale; or 3) develop a relationship with a manufacturer that can produce convenience kits containing all three drugs, bottled separately, with directions for mixing and administering them.This case provides a close look into the barriers to entry for new drug commercialization for an individual or small business. Innovations in healthcare delivery, medical technology, and even new drug development or new uses for existing drugs are often generated by those closest to patient carenurses, doctors, and other medical personnel. But without significant resources, even the most ingenious new ideas require entrepreneurial thinking to bring them to market. Students have the opportunity to build a decision tree and explore the qualitative and quantitative data presented to justify all three options. Which should Worthington and Ballard choose? Excerpt UVA-QA-0909 Rev. Jan. 15, 2021 BKK: Commercializing a New Drug The Decision Dr. Brad Worthington and his friend, Thurman Ballard, needed to pull the trigger on a business decision. The choice was agonizing. It was January 2018, and Worthington had spent most of the last 18 years developing, using in his anesthesia practice, and teaching others how to use BKK, his unique and proprietary formulation of nonopioid anesthesia drugs. Worthington had created BKK by combining three other drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)bupivacaine, ketorolac, and ketamineto form a locally infiltrated pain reliever at the surgical site that worked for up to 40 hours. Bupivacaine was a local anesthetic sometimes used as a nerve block; ketorolac was a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID); and ketamine was a common anesthesia drug with a long and safe history. When ketamine was administered in subanesthetic doses, it was currently the best-known drug for pain relief. The unique combination in BKK had many benefits. It prevented nausea and inflammationinflammation was the cause of a significant portion of a surgical patient's painand worked so well that it greatly reduced and often eliminated the patient's need to take opioid pain relievers during and after surgery. Some peers found it hard to believe, but even patients who had undergone complicated back, neck, and joint surgeries, which normally required one- or two-night inpatient stays, reported reduced opioid use and went home shortly after surgery. Many patients did not need any opioids after their procedures. . . .
Reifying Racism in the COVID-19 Pandemic Response.

This commentary discusses how racism can be perpetuated in two of the areas discussed in Sabatello et al: research for identifying remedies and contact tracing. Racism is a social system where the ...
Japanese Families in the United States

This chapter will examine Japanese families living in North American, specifically in the United States. This chapter will focus on a discussion of the movement of Japanese families to North America in the later part of the twentieth century due to the globalization of the Japanese economy. After providing a brief history of Japan and discussing trends in marriage and family within Japanese society, this chapter will discuss the impacts that Japanese families’ migration to the United States has had on cross-cultural socialization, interracial marriages and children, education, and career choices. The impacts of socialization into multiple ethnic and national groups on identity formation will also be explored. This chapter will conclude with suggestions for further research and implications for educators, counselors, and social workers.
Effectiveness of Virtual Wellness Programming for Adults with Disabilities: Clients' Perspectives

INTRODUCTION: The health status of adults with disabilities Is recognized as a formal health disparity. Due to COVID-19, participation in wellness programs for this population has been restricted. To provide program participants with continued accessibility, one regional wellness program for adults with disabilities adopted a virtual format. The purpose of this research is to determine the effectiveness of a virtual wellness program for this population. METHODS: Study subjects consisted of adults with disabilities who participated in a regional virtual wellness program. A survey was developed and disseminated electronically to study participants through Qualtrics software. Part 1 of the survey included demographic information, while Part 2 surveyed participants' perceptions and satisfaction with the virtual program using a 5-point Likert scale. RESULTS: 10 out of 14 participants responded to the survey. Results indicated that the majority (80%) of participants utilized the program at least 1-2 times/week. All participants reported that, despite preferring in-person wellness classes, they were satisfied with the virtual format of the program. Positive responses were also reported for survey items related to self-perceived health and functional benefits from participation, degree of staff and peer support offered through virtual means, ease of technology use, and the degree of safety within the virtual environment. DISCUSSION: Given the health status of adults with disabilities during an ongoing global pandemic, continued restrictions limiting participation with in-person wellness programs is anticipated. Virtual formats may offer an advantageous solution to provide adults with disabilities with continued access to this essential programming. While the current study showed positive self-perceived health and functional benefits from participation, further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of this format through expanded and standardized objective outcome measures and to better understand factors that may impact participation. J Allied Health 2021;50(2):e63-e66.
Biologically Active Volume of Disease (BaVD) Predicts for Survival in Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S) Multiple randomized trials incorporating locally ablative therapy in oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have used number of metastatic sites to identify which patient populations benefit from aggressive local therapy. In this study, we measure the amount of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) activity on positron emission tomography/computerized tomography (PET/CT) scans to quantify the biologically active volume of disease (BaVD) at diagnosis. We hypothesize that BaVD is a significant predictor of overall survival (OS) for NSCLC. MATERIALS/METHODS We reviewed consecutive charts of metastatic NSCLC patients treated at our institution. All patients included had a PET/CT scan prior to starting any therapy. An oncology imaging informatics system was utilized to auto-contour individual PET/CT scans. A threshold SUV of 3 was selected a priori to auto-contour all FDG avid areas on each patient's pre-treatment PET/CT. SUV activity was measured in cubic centimeters (cc). Normal physiologic activity in expected organs including brain, heart, liver, spleen, genitourinary track, and gastrointestinal track was removed through auto-contouring and adjusted manually if needed. All plans were reviewed by a radiation oncologist to confirm FDG avid areas contoured only included areas of gross disease. Kaplan-Meier analysis evaluated overall survival (OS) based on volume of metastatic disease at diagnosis. Multivariate Cox regression (MVA) was performed accounting for age, histology, gender, race, smoking status, molecular mutations, presence of brain metastasis at diagnosis, number of metastatic sites (1-3, 4-5, > 5 sites), and type of systemic treatment received. RESULTS A total of 43 patients were included. Median volume of disease using an SUV cutoff of ≥3 was 317 cc (range, 23-2476 cc). Median survival was worse for patients with ≥ 317 cc of disease compared to those < 317 cc, 17 mo vs 22 mo (P = 0.010). Volume of disease was found to be significant under univariate analysis (UVA) both when analyzed as a continuous (hazard ratio [HR] 1.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00-1.02, P < 0.001) and categorical variable with a cutoff of 317 cc (HR 3.27, 95% CI, 1.26-8.48, P = 0.013). On MVA, volume of disease remained a significant predictor of OS (HR 5.19, 95% CI 1.17-22.99, P = 0.030). Additional variables associated with OS included older age (HR 6.26, 95% CI 1.65-23.76, P = 0.007) and receipt of chemotherapy/immunotherapy (HR 20.51, 95% CI 1.98-212.09, P = 0.011) vs targeted therapy. While number of metastatic sites was significant under UVA (HR 8.45, 95% CI 1.10-64.72, P = 0.040), it was not significant under MVA (HR 5.23, 95% CI 0.56-49.91, P = 0.164) CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to demonstrate the significance of BaVD as an important predictive factor of OS in metastatic NSCLC. Our results also suggest BaVD may be a stronger correlate to OS compared to number of metastatic sites. Further work is needed to better understand the impact BaVD on OS.
Between the Binaries: Exploring the Legal Boundaries of Nonanonymous Sperm Donation

Contemporary practices in alternative insemination are challenging binaries — the either/or categories — on which family law has long relied. In particular, when unmarried women use the sperm of known donors, often bypassing physician assistance and medical regulation, they defy traditional rules that distinguish parents from nonparents and sexual conception from nonsexual conception. Several highly publicized recent cases showcase the shortcomings of family law’s conventional approach. These cases present contests over a known donor’s visitation rights and support obligations as well as claims advanced by the “free sperm movement.” This Article analyzes these cases and responds to the problems that they raise by considering the promise of three less categorical and more flexible solutions: an intermediate status lying between “parent” and “donor,” contractual relationships, and analysis centered on the child’s interests.
Postponing Passage: Doorways, Distinctions, and the Thresholds of Personhood among Older Chicagoans

This article analyzes the quotidian ways that older Chicagoans remade and traversed physical boundaries between their homes and the city beyond. In so doing, it explores how changing engagements with the environment impact social personhood in later life. In a context in which personhood is equated with independence, elders relying on paid care workers to remain in their homes found themselves at the threshold of social death. To sustain their independence and personhood, older Chicagoans sought to prevent spatial and social transitions using a range of everyday tactics and material practices located around the doorways of their homes. These liminal practices simultaneously reasserted racial, class, and other social distinctions between elders, home care workers and others, helping elders continue to occupy familiar subject positions. For these older adults, homes and their thresholds became a resource with which they resisted profound changes to their daily lives, subjectivities, and social personhood.
Individual Preferences over NGO Projects: Evidence from Microlending on Kiva

Peer to peer (P2P) microfinance connects philanthropic citizens with poor entrepreneurs in the developing world. Although its popularity has grown exponentially with the creation of several competing online platforms, very little is known about how individual lenders behave and whether their priorities differ from those of traditional development practitioners. This paper presents evidence on how individual lenders choose between borrowers, and how lenders' preferences relate to the objectives of the microfinance sector. Using data from Kiva.org, we present estimates of the impact of publicly visible project characteristics on funding speed. Results suggest that Kiva lenders rationally consider indicators of the likelihood of repayment as well as borrowers' need. Smaller loans, groups and women get funded faster as do loans to sectors of activity with low entry costs. Meanwhile, loans requested to finance education and health projects or those advertised by NGOs with better risk ratings, and lower default and delinquency rates, fund faster. The results imply that policy makers and practitioners who seek to use microfinance as a poverty alleviation tool should invest in the P2P approach.
Macrophages activated by C-reactive protein through Fc gamma RI transfer suppression of immune thrombocytopenia.

C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute-phase protein with therapeutic activity in mouse models of systemic lupus erythematosus and other inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. To determine the mechanism by which CRP suppresses immune complex disease, an adoptive transfer system was developed in a model of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Injection of 200 μg of CRP 24 h before induction of ITP markedly decreased thrombocytopenia induced by anti-CD41. CRP-treated splenocytes also provided protection from ITP in adoptive transfer. Splenocytes from C57BL/6 mice were treated with 200 μg/ml CRP for 30 min, washed, and injected into mice 24 h before induction of ITP. Injection of 106 CRP-treated splenocytes protected mice from thrombocytopenia, as did i.v. Ig-treated but not BSA-treated splenocytes. The suppressive cell induced by CRP was found to be a macrophage by depletion, enrichment, and the use of purified bone marrow-derived macrophages. The induction of protection by CRP-treated cells was dependent on FcRγ-chain and Syk activation, indicating an activating effect of CRP on the donor cell. Suppression of ITP by CRP-treated splenocytes required FcγRI on the donor cell and FcγRIIb in the recipient mice. These findings suggest that CRP generates suppressive macrophages through FcγRI, which then act through an FcγRIIb-dependent pathway in the recipient to decrease platelet clearance. These results provide insight into the mechanism of CRP regulatory activity in autoimmunity and suggest a potential new therapeutic approach to ITP.
Density deconvolution of different conditional distributions

Recently, a new technique to circumvent the ill-posedness of the deconvolution problem has been suggested. This technique is based on what is known as multi-channel convolution system. In this paper, we modify and develop this technique in order to adapt it for statistical use. We then apply it to the problem of estimation of deconvolution density in the case of different conditional densities. This method enables us to combine equations efficiently for any set of conditional densities and to construct estimators in cases where the characteristic functions of the conditional distributions vanish at some points, as it happens in the case of uniform and triangular distributions.
Particle and field signatures of substorms in the near magnetotail

The near-earth magnetotail (10 less than or equal to r less than or equal to 20 R/sub E/) portion of the terrestrial magnetosphere is very likely the region in which magnetospheric substorms are initiated and it is in this location that substorm-related magnetic reconnection appears to occur. An observational advantage compared to other astrophysical regions is that the near magnetotail can be nearly continuously monitored by spacecraft that are relatively fixed in location. Observations of magnetic fields and plasma distribution functions in the neartail reveal a very regular and predictable sequence of variation in association with substorms. These data, considered in a global context, provide very strong evidence for the neutral line substorm model and, thus, for the regular occurrence of magnetic reconnection in the near-earth magnetotail during substorms.
Accuracy of sonographically guided posterior subtalar joint injections: comparison of 3 techniques.

Objective The primary purpose of this investigation was to determine the accuracy of 3 different sonographically guided posterior subtalar joint (PSTJ) injection techniques in an unembalmed cadaveric model. Methods A single experienced examiner injected the PSTJs of 12 unembalmed cadaveric ankle-foot specimens using the anterolateral, posterolateral, and posteromedial approaches. The injection order for each specimen was randomized, and each technique was completed with a different-color diluted latex solution. Coinvestigators blinded to the injection technique dissected each specimen and graded the colored latex location as accurate (in the PSTJ), accurate with overflow (within the PSTJ but also in other regions), or inaccurate (no latex in the joint). Results All 3 sonographically guided PSTJ injection approaches accurately placed latex into the PSTJ (100% accuracy). Latex was also found in adjacent regions in 19.4% (7 of 36) of injections: 8.3% (3 of 36) within the tibiotalar joint, 8.3% (3 of 36) in the peroneal (fibularis) tendon sheath, and 2.8% (1 of 36) in the flexor hallucis longus tendon sheath. The anterolateral approach placed latex outside the PSTJ 25% of the time (3 of 12 injections: 1 tibiotalar and 2 peroneal [fibularis] sheath), the posterolateral approach 25% of the time (3 of 12 injections: 1 tibiotalar, 1 peroneal [fibularis] sheath, and 1 flexor hallucis longus tendon sheath), and the posteromedial approach 8.3% of the time (1 tibiotalar). Conclusions This cadaveric investigation suggests that all 3 sonographically guided PSTJ techniques may be used to access the PSTJ with a high degree of accuracy. Clinicians should consider sonographically guided PSTJ injections as a favorable alternative to fluoroscopy and computed tomographic guidance when diagnostic or therapeutic image-guided PSTJ injections are indicated.
Enhancer trapping in zebrafish using the Sleeping Beauty transposon

Among functional elements of a metazoan gene, enhancers are particularly difficult to find and annotate. Pioneering experiments in Drosophila have demonstrated the value of enhancer "trapping" using an invertebrate to address this functional genomics problem. We modulated a Sleeping Beauty transposon-based transgenesis cassette to establish an enhancer trapping technique for use in a vertebrate model system, zebrafish Danio rerio. We established 9 lines of zebrafish with distinct tissue- or organ-specific GFP expression patterns from 90 founders that produced GFP-expressing progeny. We have molecularly characterized these lines and show that in each line, a specific GFP expression pattern is due to a single transposition event. Many of the insertions are into introns of zebrafish genes predicted in the current genome assembly. We have identified both previously characterized as well as novel expression patterns from this screen. For example, the ET7 line harbors a transposon insertion near the mkp3 locus and expresses GFP in the midbrain-hindbrain boundary, forebrain and the ventricle, matching a subset of the known FGF8-dependent mkp3 expression domain. The ET2 line, in contrast, expresses GFP specifically in caudal primary motoneurons due to an insertion into the poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG) locus. This surprising expression pattern was confirmed using in situ hybridization techniques for the endogenous PARG mRNA, indicating the enhancer trap has replicated this unexpected and highly localized PARG expression with good fidelity. Finally, we show that it is possible to excise a Sleeping Beauty transposon from a genomic location in the zebrafish germline. This genomics tool offers the opportunity for large-scale biological approaches combining both expression and genomic-level sequence analysis using as a template an entire vertebrate genome.
Localization of oligomycin-sensitive ADP-ATP exchange activity in rat liver mitochondria.

Abstract Intact rat liver mitochondria catalyze an ADP-ATP exchange which is partially inhibited by oligomycin and dinitrophenol ( Wadkins and Lehninger, 1963 ; Guillory and Slater, 1965 ). It has been postulated that the dinitrophenol- and oligomycin-sensitive ADP-ATP exchange reaction is catalyzed by the enzyme(s) participating in ATP formation during oxidative phosphorylation ( Wadkins and Lehninger, 1958 ; 1963 ). However, the presence of large amounts of adenylate kinase and nucleoside diphosphokinase, which catalyze oligomycin-insensitive ADP-ATP exchanges, has rendered further investigation of the oligomycin-sensitive exchange difficult. In this communication it is shown that when rat liver mitochondria are fractionated with digitonin the oligomycin-sensitive ADP-ATP exchange activity is recovered with the inner membrane-matrix fraction, while all of the nucleoside diphosphokinase and adenylate kinase activity is released with the outer membrane. The exchange activity found in the inner membrane-matrix fraction is localized in the inner membrane and is completely inhibited by oligomycin, dinitrophenol, and atractyloside when assayed in the absence of added Mg ++ . Thus, the oligomycin-sensitive ADP-ATP exchange activity observed in intact mitochondria does not appear to be catalyzed by nucleoside diphosphokinase or adenylate kinase.
High speed, two-wavelength radiation thermometry of single micro particles during CO2 laser heating

Abstract A high speed, two-wavelength radiation thermometer that is capable of monitoring surface temperatures of 50–150 μm diameter particles in the 600–2000 K range and at heating rates of up to 106 K/s, characteristic of pulverized coal combustion, was designed and constructed. To meet the above characteristics, special attention was paid to detector wavelength range and speed, detection electronics and optical system alignment. The thermometer was calibrated using an in-house constructed, black cavity radiation source. Spherocarb model particles, which have more uniform size, physical properties and emissivity than coal particles, were used to demonstrate the level of short term reproducibility attainable. Consistent, reproducible temperature—time profiles obtained for particles from different coals indicate that non-grey body effects do not dominate these measurements.
Characterization of a partial provirus from a gibbon ape naturally infected with gibbon ape leukemia virus.

Abstract We have previously described a nonleukemic gibbon ape (6G-4) which had been exposed to a highly viremic leukemic gibbon ape (6G-1) with leukemia. The virus present in 6G-1 was of a new subtype of gibbon ape leukemia virus (GaLV) and was designated GaLV H . The nonleukemic gibbon 6G-4 was apparently also infected with GaLV H , since it manifested persistent serum antibodies to viral proteins. Despite the apparent infection, neither viral proteins nor complete or replicating virus could be detected in the peripheral blood of this animal. Molecular hybridization studies, however, detected GaLV H proviral sequences in DNA from the liver, spleen, and kidney of 6G-4, but not in DNA from other tissues, including bone marrow. The extent of hybridization of GaLV H cDNA to the positive DNA samples and the lack in 6G-4 DNA of one of the virus-specific bands generated by Bam restriction nuclease digestion of 6G-1 DNA were consistent with the idea that the detected 6G-4 viral sequences were those of a partial provirus. In this report, we demonstrate that DNA from 6G-4 liver indeed contains a partial provirus, present at approximately 1 copy per haploid genome. Hybridization of cDNA specific for different regions of the viral genome indicates that the detected proviral sequences are homologous to the extreme 5′ end and the 3′ 30–40% of the GaLV H genomic RNA, and that most of the sequences of GaLV H RNA between these two regions are not present in 6G-4 DNA. If the gene order for GaLV H is similar to that of other type-C viruses, the sequences which are present would correspond for the most part to the env gene. In addition, at very high C 0 t values (∼80,000) and DNA to cDNA ratios, a second component of the hybridization reaction with 6G-4 liver DNA is observed. These sequences are present at only about 1 copy per 30 haploid genomes and may represent a complete provirus. The data thus demonstrate the establishment of a partial retroviral provirus in a naturally occurring infection of a gibbon ape.