cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cytochrome c oxidation determined by multiwavelength optical spectral analysis in the isolated perfused heart

Optical spectroscopy has previously ben used to investigate mitochondrial function in muscle, but spectral overlap of the absorbing species in muscle has limited the accuracy of these determinations. This report demonstrates a multispectral approach to determine cytochrome c redox state in the isolated perfused heart using partial least squares analysis. Optical spectra were acquired in the visible region from the surface of the isolated perfused guinea pig heart and interpreted using reference spectra obtained from in vitro solutions. Calibration spectra were acquired form separate light scattering solutions that contained cytochrome c or myoglobin in both oxidized and reduced states. Cytochrome c redox state and myoglobin oxygen saturation were determined separately form each spectrum obtained form 16 guinea pig hearts during baseline perfusion with oxygenated buffer, during 90 seconds of ischemia and during recovery following the ischemic period. A brief delay between myoglobin deoxygenation and cytochrome c reduction was determined, demonstrating that both processes could be determined simultaneously form the same spectra. This approach may lead to improved determinations of mitochondrial function in the isolated perfused heart.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The temperature dependence of Lowe-Norberg beats in CaF2

Abstract Measurements of the nuclear free induction decay shape in CaF2 show the predicted elimination of Lowe-Norberg beats by phonons at the Debey temperature does not occur. Measurements of diffusion motional relaxation and narrowing at 800 – 1200°K are included.
The inhibitory effect of human interferon α on the generation of lymphokine-activated killer activity

The generation of lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) activity and the proliferative response to human recombinant interleukin-2 (IL-2) were significantly reduced by the presence of human recombinant leukocyte interferon (IFNα) in cultures of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Mature natural killer (NK) cells can be depleted from PBMC with the toxic lysosomotropic agentl-leucine methyl ester. The generation of cytotoxic cells from lymphocytes depleted in leucine methyl ester was also inhibited by indicating that the IFN-α effect is not limited to mature cytotoxic NK cells. Depletion of adherent cells from PBMC did not affect the suppression of LAK induction by IFN-α. Surface marker analyses of Tac antigen and transferrin receptor (TfR) showed that the presence of IFNα throughout the culture period significantly suppressed the typical increase in IL-2-induced Tac- and TfR-positive cells. In contrast, IFNα treatment before and after IL-2 culture enhanced LAK cytotoxic activity. Therefore, combinations of these biological response modifiers for clinical use should take into account the dual effect of IFNα on key features of the IL-2 response.
Design of a low loss wideband millimeter-wave balun on a multilayer liquid crystal polymer technology

In this paper, we present a millimeter-wave wideband balun embedded in a multilayer low-cost organic liquid crystal polymer (LCP) substrate. The balun exhibits a 10-dB bandwith that ranges from 39 to 63.1 GHz, with an amplitude imbalance of less than 4 dB. The main purpose of this work is to reduce the fabrication cost of the balun using a low-cost processing technology, and reducing its size with a multilayer configuration.
Why and how inequality matters.

In this article, I share some thoughts about how we might extend the study of mental health inequalities by drawing from key insights in sociology and sociological social psychology about the nature of inequality and the processes through which it is produced, maintained, and resisted. I suggest several questions from sociological research on stratification that could help us understand unexpected patterns of mental health inequalities. I also advocate for the analysis of “generic” social psychological processes through which inequalities are produced, maintained, and resisted within proximate social environments. I consider the role of two such processes—status/devaluation processes and identity processes—in mental health inequalities. I then discuss how we can strengthen connections across subfields of the sociology of mental health by applying status and identity theories to two areas of research: (1) help-seeking and (2) the effects of mental health problems on social attainments.
Modeling Financial Crises and Sovereign Risks

The complex interactions, spillovers, and feedbacks of the global crisis that began in 2007 remind us of how important it is to improve our analysis and modeling of financial crises and sovereign risk. This review provides a broad framework to examine how vulnerabilities can build up and suddenly erupt in a financial crisis, with potentially disastrous feedback effects for sovereign debt and economic growth. Traditional macroeconomic analyses overlook the importance of risk, which makes them ill-suited to examine interconnectedness, risk transmission mechanisms, and contagion. After presenting an overview of the key features of the global 2007-2009 crisis, this review discusses new directions for research on modeling financial crises and sovereign risk, including the need for integrating risk into macroeconomic policy models and enhancing early warning system and financial contagion models through a more comprehensive view of economy-wide risks. Also, new tools to mitigate and control macro risk need to b...
A note on competitive bribery games

Abstract Within a competitive bribery game in which each player has incomplete information, we show that there exists a unique Nash equilibrium which is symmetric. Similar results hold for another bribery game form that prevails in the literature. Implications for corrupt practices in relation to economic development are also discussed.
Fabrication and size dependent properties of porous silicon nanotube arrays.

A general method for the formation of a broad family of silicon nanotube arrays (Si NTAs) relevant to diverse fields – ranging from energy storage to therapeutic platforms – is described. Such nanotubes demonstrate a thickness-dependent dissolution behavior important to its potential use in drug delivery. Under selected conditions, novel porous silicon nanotubes can be prepared when the shell thickness is on the order of 12 nm or less, capable of being loaded with small molecules such as luminescent ruthenium dyes associated with dye-sensitized photovoltaic devices.
On computational open-endedness in Martin-Lof's type theory

Computational open-endedness in a type theory is defined as the property that theorems remain true under extensions to the underlying programming language. Some properties related to open-endedness that are relevant to machine implementations of type theory are established. A class of computation systems, specified by a simple but fairly general kind of structural operational semantics, with respect to which P. Martin-Lof's (6th Int. Congress for Logic, Methodology, and Philosophy of Science, p.153-175, 1982) type theory (and most of its descendants) is open-ended is defined. It is shown that any such system validates a useful form of type free reasoning about program equivalence and that symbolic computation procedures can be automatically derived from these specifications. The main result is the definition of a particular computation system that includes a collection of oracles sufficient to provide a classical semantics for Martin-Lof's type theory in which the excluded middle law holds. >
Role analysis: The use case analysis extension for in-depth investigation of actor properties

A concept of role analysis is presented. The role analysis extends the traditional use case analysis in the area of actor properties investigation. The role analysis algorithm forms required images of actors based on given use cases and technical constraints. The algorithm can be used to determine required skills of system users and to form images of external systems that interact with the designed one. The idea of role analysis can be applied both in software and generic technical systems design. This paper provides an example in which a preliminary image of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) electronic warfare (EW) system is being constructed using the proposed algorithm.
IMPLEMENTS OF STATE POWER: Weaponry and martially themed obsidian production near the Moon Pyramid, Teotihuacan

The expansionary strategies of Teotihuacano political leaders involved the large-scale manufacture of weaponry and the production of ceremonial items representative of a coherent suite of symbols expressing themes of warfare and sacrifice. Recent excavations at the Moon Pyramid demonstrate that such production activities were undertaken next to the monument, where obsidian was reduced into dart points and eccentrics linked to militarism and sacrificial practices in the art and archaeology of the city. These craft production activities were likely directly administered by state functionaries and formed part of the physical and ideational bases of state political authority. The finished products served as means of direct military coercion and symbolic reification of state authority, materialized through the militaristic offering complexes within the major temples of the city. This study presents a detailed technological analysis of the production activities and contextualizes their social significance by examining their symbolic manipulation in the art and sacrificial offerings of Teotihuacan.
All Types of Inequality are not Created Equal: Divergent Impacts of Equality on Economic Growth

Evidence of an increase in various forms of inequality since the 1970s has motivated research on its relationship to growth and development. The findings of that research are contradictory and inconclusive. One source of these divergent results is that researchers rely on different group measures of inequality. Inequality by gender, household, class, and ethnicity may produce divergent effects on growth since they operate on macroeconomic outcomes via alternative pathways. Further, even within groups, the effect of inequality on growth depends on the measure used. For example, inequalities in capabilities (such as education and health status) may operate differently on growth than inequality in wages and income. This paper explores the different conceptual approaches to measuring between-group and within-group inequality and delineates the sometimes contradictory pathways by which these measures affect economic growth and development. The typology is applied to the cases of East Asia and Latin America.
Chemical preparation and photoluminescence of partially Al-substituted MgO-ZnO (s.s.) powders

Recently ZnO has attracted some interest because it is considered a promising green light-emitting phosphor for low-voltage luminescence in flat panel displays such as vacuum fluorescent tube (VFDs) and field emission displays (FEDs). The green emission has been associated with the lattice defects such as interstitial zinc ions [1] or oxygen vacancies [2, 3]. Blue light-emitting cathode phosphor has been increasingly requested to develop blue cathode phosphors with high-efficiency and low-cost. In nanometer-sized semiconductors, the band gap increases with decreasing particle size, and therefore the emission wavelength of semiconductor often becomes shorter owing to the nanometer-sized quantum effect. However, the nanometer-sized powders are not good for handling in manufacturing process. The blue emission luminescence can be expected in hexagonal Mg-doped ZnO because the band gap energy increases under partial substitution of insulating MgO (ca. 8eV) for ZnO. It is important in photo-luminescent application to prepare chemical homogeneous and fine powders of Mg-doped ZnO. In the present work, the chemical preparation for partially Al-substituted MgO-ZnO (s.s.) powders and the effect of partially substituted Al on the photoluminescence (PL) were investigated.
Psychological ethics codes: a comparison of twenty-four countries.

Codes of ethics from 19 countries, representing a total of 24 countries, were compared to the United States using the American Psychological Association's (APA) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Canada's code of ethics was most similar to the US/APA code and China's the most dissimilar. Ten individual standards may be approaching universal agreement, while eight others were unique to the APAethical code. The relationship of ethical codes to cultural values, and future research suggestions, are discussed.
Cholesterol treatment with statins: Who is left out and who makes it to goal?

Background: Whether patient socio-demographic characteristics (age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, and education) are independently associated with failure to receive indicated statin therapy and/or to achieve low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) therapy goals are not known. We examined socio-demographic factors associated with a) eligibility for statin therapy among those not on statins, and b) achievement of statin therapy goals. Methods: Adults (21-79 years) participating in the United States (US) National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 1999-2006 were studied. Statin eligibility and achievement of target LDL-C was assessed using the US Third Adult Treatment Panel (ATP III) on Treatment of High Cholesterol guidelines. Results: Among 6,043 participants not taking statins, 10.4% were eligible. Adjusted predictors of statin eligibility among statin non-users were being older, male, poorer, and less educated. Hispanics were less likely to be eligible but not using statins, an effect that became non-significant with adjustment for language usually spoken at home. Among 537 persons taking statins, 81% were at LDL-C goal. Adjusted predictors of goal failure among statin users were being male and poorer. These risks were not attenuated by adjustment for healthcare access or utilization. Conclusion: Among person’s not taking statins, the socio-economically disadvantaged are more likely to be eligible and among those on statins, the socio-economically disadvantaged are less likely to achieve statin treatment goals. Further study is needed to identify specific amenable patient and/or physician factors that contribute to these disparities.
On the Trail of Joan of Arc

The year 2012 marked the 600 th anniversary of the birthday of Joan of Arc (Fr., Jeanne d’Arc) (1412–1431). Tributes to this national heroine can be found all over France. There are literally countless statues, streets and restaurants named after her and many sites dedicated to her life. However, despite widespread social and mechanical reproduction and cultural naming in relation to the Maid of Orleans, there is no official network or integrated signage in France to promote cultural heritage tourism to the numerous Joan of Arc sites and festivals, even though her life and death, by any measure, were seminal events in the country’s history. Unfortunately, the pilgrim who wants to follow or intersect with Joan of Arc’s trail through France, for cultural, historical or religious reasons, must do so without much help. Using Actor Network Theory and Site Sacralization Theory as framing devices, this paper explores human actors and tangible and intangible non-human factors that may have contributed to the lack of a unified tourism product despite the existence of an adequate Joan of Arc tourismscape. Insights gleaned from this research include Joan’s conflicted status as both/either saint and/or patriot, the existence of no cooperation or linkage between Joan of Arc sites, and cautious French tourism development policies. Several possible scenarios are suggested as suitable means to help implement or foster the creation of an on-the-ground or virtual Joan of Arc trail or tour.
Activation of c-SRC underlies the differential effects of ouabain and digoxin on Ca2+ signaling in arterial smooth muscle cells

Cardiotonic steroids (CTS) of the strophanthus and digitalis families have opposing effects on long-term blood pressure (BP). This implies hitherto unrecognized divergent signaling pathways for the...
A cost effective system for optical imaging

An optical imaging system using pulsed NIR to monitor brain activity of the frontal lobe has been developed. This system utilizes the transducers and the computer-based controller/analyzer to obtain data from the brain, and presents the results in a two-dimensional display. As contrasted to MRI or PET, this portable device can be used to detect brain dysfunction in children who cannot be easily immobilized.
Pseudo-rigid continua: basic theory and a geometrical derivation of Lagrange's equations

Pseudorigid bodies are regarded here as globally constrained threedimensional homogeneous continua. The constraint reaction stresses play a fundamental role in maintaining the homogeneity of the de...
Laguerre based adaptive control of piezoelectric actuator for nanopositioning

This paper considers the Laguerre based adaptive control of piezoelectric actuator for nanopositioning. Laguerre-based adaptive filters provide an attractive alternative to adaptive FIR filters in the sense that they provide better approximation of system with a long impulse response with a restricted order. Laguerre also keeps many of the advantages of adaptive FIR filter, such as unique global minimum and guaranteed stability. In this paper, the Laguerre based model matching problem is studied. A better optimal solution can be achieved by proper chosen pole location of all-pass filter in Laguerre filter. The Least-Mean-Square (LMS) algorithm based on Laguerre structure is then discussed. The results show that with same step size constraint, the Laguerre based LMS algorithm introduces less excessive mean-square-error. The Laguerre-based LMS algorithm is then applied to the adaptive control for reference tracking. Due to the model mismatch, the traditional adaptive feed-forward structure is modified to the adaptive inverse control structure for better tracking performance. The proposed approach is implemented in FPGA with 100kHz sampling rate and applied to piezoelectric actuator for nanopositioning. Experimental results show effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Genotype-Phenotype Correlations in Alternating Hemiplegia

Researchers at the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, and multiple centers in Japan, analyze the clinical features and ATP1A3 mutations in 35 Japanese children diagnosed with alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC).
Antimicrobial drug use monitoring by a hospital pharmacy

An antimicrobial drug use monitoring program which also provides clinical pharmacy services in a 635-bed hospital is described. The program includes culture sensitivity monitoring, antimicrobial use monitoring, aminoglycoside monitoring, physician consultation and reporting of results to the medical staff. It requires 34 hours of pharmacist time per month, at an estimated annual cost of #4,100.
The actions of bradykinin and eledoisin in the canine isolated kidney: relationships to prostaglandins.

1. The effects of two vasodilator polypeptides, bradykinin and eledoisin, were studied in isolated blood-perfused canine kidneys before and after administration of indomethacin, an inhibitor of prostaglandin synthesis. Bradykinin, but not eledoisin, releases renal prostaglandins. 2. Before administration of indomethacin, bradykinin decreased urinary osmolality and increased free water clearance, whereas eledoisin did not affect the excretion of solute-free water. After administration of indomethacin, the renal vasodilator action of bradykinin was reduced but the vasodilator action of eledoisin was unaffected. 3. Fractional excretion of sodium was not affected by bradykinin before but was increased after administration of indomethacin. Reduction in glomerular filtration rate contributed to changes in sodium excretion produced by bradykinin and eledoisin. 4. The release of prostaglandins from the kidney by bradykinin amplifies the renal vasodilator action of the kinin and possibly mediates its effect on excretion of solute-free water.
Vision-based counting of pedestrians and cyclists

This paper describes a vision-based cyclist and pedestrian counting method. It presents a data collection prototype system, as well as pedestrian and cyclist detection, tracking, and counting methodology. The prototype was used to collect approximately 50 hours of data which have been used for training and testing. Counting is done using a cascaded classifier. The first stage of the cascade detects the pedestrians or cyclists, whereas the second stage discriminates between these two classes. The system is based on a state-of-the-art pedestrian detector from the literature, which was augmented to explore the geometry and constraints of the target application. Namely, foreground detection, geometry prior information, and temporal moving direction (optical flow) are used as inputs to a multi-cue clustering algorithm. In this way, false alarms of the detector are reduced and better fitted detection windows are obtained. The presented project was the result of a partnership with the City of Pittsburgh with the objective of providing actionable data for government officials and advocates that promote bicycling and walking.
Absorption Spectroscopy of an Individual Fano Cluster

Plasmonic clusters can exhibit Fano resonances with unique and tunable asymmetric line shapes, which arise due to the coupling of bright and dark plasmon modes within each multiparticle structure. These structures are capable of generating remarkably large local electromagnetic field enhancements and should give rise to high hot carrier yields relative to other plasmonic nanostructures. While the scattering properties of individual plasmonic Fano resonances have been characterized extensively both experimentally and theoretically, their absorption properties, critical for hot carrier generation, have not yet been measured. Here, we utilize single-particle absorption spectroscopy based on photothermal imaging to distinguish between the radiative and nonradiative properties of an individual Fano cluster. In observing the absorption spectrum of individual Fano clusters, we directly verify the theoretical prediction that while Fano interference may be prominent in scattering, it is completely absent in absorp...
Indole-3-Carbinol Exerts Sex-Specific Effects in Murine Colitis

Due to the severe adverse effects that can accompany conventional therapies for Crohn's disease, the search for natural complementary therapies has increased dramatically in recent years. Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a constituent of cruciferous vegetables, possesses anti-inflammatory properties; however, its effects on intestinal inflammation have yet to be evaluated. To test the hypothesis that I3C dampens intestinal inflammation, C57Bl/6 mice were treated with I3C and exposed to 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) to induce colitis. Several parameters of disease severity and inflammation were subsequently evaluated. I3C dampened the disease severity, as indicated by decreased body weight loss and decreased severity of clinical signs. Interestingly, this effect was observed in female but not male mice, which displayed a trend towards exacerbated colitis. Differential effects were observed in the profiles of cytokine production, as the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines was increased in males. The sex-specific effect of I3C in TNBS-induced colitis is a novel finding and warrants further investigation since this is a common dietary compound and is also available commercially.
Conditional Processes of Effective Instructor Communication and Increases in Students' Cognitive Learning.

ABSTRACTThis study examined two effective teaching behaviors traditionally considered by instructional communication scholars to associate positively with students’ academic experiences: instructor clarity and immediacy. Our study situated these teaching behaviors in a conditional process model that integrated two key assumptions about student learning: (a) the process by which student learning occurs is due, in part, to the sustained attention that students give to effective instructors (a mediated test of learning) and (b) some students self-regulate their learning despite the (in)effectiveness of the teaching they receive (a moderated test of learning). Three hundred and sixty-two college students were randomly assigned to one of four lecture conditions that manipulated instructor clarity and nonverbal immediacy in a 2 × 2 factorial experiment and completed post-test assessments including a test of cognitive learning. Results indicated that: (a) clear instruction with or without nonverbal immediacy cue...
Welfare, Justice, and Freedom

(1981). Welfare, Justice, and Freedom. Journal of Economic Issues: Vol. 15, The Papers of J. Fagg Foster, pp. 1053-1069.
The Influence of the Situational Context on Product Usage

This study first proposed a model of the extended situational context to provide a device for integrating and extending previous findings from research into situational influences. Then, the four elements of the model were operationalized as follows, using food as the focal product: objective situation in terms of who eats the food; object in terms of the particular food item; subject in terms of the values held by the serving homemaker; and the criterion of behavioral response in terms of product usage rate. A projective field experiment supported the model by finding significant prediction of food usage from the main effects representing the first three elements, and all first order interactions.
“How Could I Have Done This?” Thoughts of Mothers of Children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Biological mothers of children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) must cope with the struggles of parenting a child with special needs with the knowledge that their children’s problems are due to their alcohol use during pregnancy. Qualitative interviews were conducted by telephone with 11 biological mothers of children with FAS. This group of mothers understood their use of alcohol during pregnancy through reliance on the disease model, inaccurate or incomplete knowledge of the consequences of drinking during pregnancy, the advice of others, and a lack of awareness of the pregnancy.
Rapid decadal convective precipitation increase over Eurasia during the last three decades of the 20th century

Convective precipitation—localized, short-lived, intense, and sometimes violent—is at the root of challenges associated with observation, simulation, and prediction of precipitation. The understanding of long-term changes in convective precipitation characteristics and their role in precipitation extremes and intensity over extratropical regions are imperative to future water resource management; however, they have been studied very little. We show that annual convective precipitation total has been increasing astonishingly fast, at a rate of 18.4%/°C, of which 16% is attributable to an increase in convective precipitation occurrence, and 2.4% is attributable to increased daily intensity based on the 35 years of two (combined) historical data sets of 3-hourly synoptic observations and daily precipitation. We also reveal that annual daily precipitation extreme has been increasing at a rate of about 7.4%/°C in convective events only. Concurrently, the overall increase in mean daily precipitation intensity is mostly due to increased convective precipitation, possibly at the expanse of nonconvective precipitation. As a result, transitional seasons are becoming more summer-like as convective becomes the dominant precipitation type that has accompanied higher daily extremes and intensity since the late 1980s. The data also demonstrate that increasing convective precipitation and daily extremes appear to be directly linearly associated with higher atmospheric water vapor accompanying a warming climate over northern Eurasia.
Robust phaselift for phase retrieval under corruptions

Consider the phase retrieval problem with many outliers. Without outliers and with a small fraction of outliers, PhaseLift is known to recover a vector exactly, with high probability, under a linear number of Gaussian measurements. In the present paper, we study the robustness of PhaseLift to significant corruptions in the scenario where the majority of measurements are outliers, and where each outlier is above or below its true value with equal probability. We prove that PhaseLift can tolerate noise and arbitrarily small values of the fraction of uncorrupted measurements.
Case report: ACTH-secreting pituitary carcinoma metastatic to the liver in a patient with a history of atypical pituitary adenoma and Cushing’s disease

Pituitary carcinoma is a rare entity requiring the presence of metastasis to confirm its malignant potential. We report a case of pituitary carcinoma and discuss the diagnosis and management of this lesion in relation to the existing literature. The patient is a 51-year-old woman with Cushing’s disease and intact adrenal glands who was diagnosed with metastatic pituitary carcinoma to the liver, 29 months after initial resection of an ACTH-secreting primary atypical pituitary adenoma (APA). Prior to detection of this metastasis the patient underwent repeat resection and radiotherapy for residual cavernous sinus disease. The metastatic lesion was detected by interval surveillance of serum ACTH and 24-hour urine cortisol, which despite stable pituitary MRI, were significantly elevated. These abnormalities prompted a PET scan that demonstrated hypermetabolic liver parenchyma, which was suspicious for metastasis on abdominal MRI. An ultrasound-guided liver biopsy demonstrated nests of moderately-differentiated cells with intermediate-sized, monotonous nuclei, distinct nucleoli, and abundant basophilic cytoplasm, confirmed by immunohistochemistry to represent metastatic pituitary carcinoma. The liver lesion was subsequently successfully removed by wedge resection. One year later, the patient’s residual cavernous sinus disease grew markedly, and she was placed on dual-agent chemotherapy consisting of oral temozolomide and capecitabine, with stabilization of her intracranial disease to present, although liver metastases recurred. Pituitary carcinoma is a rare entity impossible to recognize as a primary tumor because its diagnosis by definition requires the presence of metastasis. Maintaining awareness of the entity and its precursor lesion APA is essential for its accurate pathologic diagnosis and appropriate management.
Multidisciplinary team approach to traumatic spinal cord injuries: a single institution’s quality improvement project

A stepwise multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach to the injured trauma patient has been reported to have an overall benefit, with reduction in mortality and improved morbidity. Based on clinical experience, we hypothesized that implementation of a dedicated Spinal Cord Injury Service (SCIS) would impact outcomes of a patient specific population on the trauma service. The trauma center registry was retrospectively queried, from January 2011 through December 2015, for patients presenting with a spinal cord injury. In 2013, a twice weekly rounding SCIS MDT was initiated. This new multidisciplinary service, the post-SCIS, was compared to the 2011–2012 pre-SCIS. The two groups were compared across patient demographics, mechanism of injury, surgical procedures, and disposition at discharge. The primary outcome was mortality. Secondary endpoints also included the incidence of complications, hospital length of stay (HLOS), ICU LOS, ventilator free days, and all hospital-acquired infectious complications. Logistic regression and Student’s t test were used to analyze data. Ninety-five patients were identified. Of these patients, 41 (43%) pre-SCIS and 54 (57%) post-SCIS patients were compared. Mean age was 46.9 years and 79% male. Overall, adjusted mortality rate between the two groups was significant with the implementation of the post-SCIS (p = 0.033). In comparison, the post-SCIS revealed shorter HLOS (23 vs 34.8 days, p = 0.004), increased ventilator free days (20.2 vs 63.3 days, p < 0.001), and less nosocomial infections (1.8 vs 22%, p = 0.002). While the post-SCIS mean ICU LOS was shorter (12 vs 17.9 days, p = 0.089), this relationship was not significant. The application of an SCIS team in addition to the trauma service suggests that a structured coordinated approach can have an expected improvement in hospital outcomes and shorter length of stays. We believe that this clinical collaboration provides distinct specialist perspectives and, therefore, optimizes quality improvement. Level of evidence Epidemiologic study, level III.
Providing Solutions to LGBT Homeless Youth: Lessons From Baltimore’s Youth Empowered Society

In the United States, nearly 1.7 million youth under the age of 18 run away from home and often end up homeless each year. Reports estimate that between 20% and 40% of the runaway and homeless youth population identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) (Durso & Gates, 2012; Kaiser Family Foundation, 2014). This suggests that as many as 80,000 LGBT youth are homeless for over a week each year (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2012). In addition, LGBT youth are more likely to suffer from poverty, substance abuse, violence, mental illness, and attempted suicide as a result of harassment and discrimination (Cray, Miller, & Durso, 2013; Kaiser Family Foundation, 2014; Swan, 2014). Grounded in social equity theory (Frederickson, 2010) and intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1991), this article argues that additional legal protections are necessary in order to ensure the constitutional rights of LGBT youth. A case study of the Youth Empowered Society (YES) in Baltimore City is provided as an exam...
Shared Voice and Vision: Fostering Professional Communities for Student Success

The National Policy Board for Educational Administration developed professional standards for educational leaders that include fostering a professional community to promote student success. The principal’s priorities must include pedagogy and the professional learning of teachers. The principal’s primary work is to build a school culture where vision and priorities are clear. In order to achieve this, the role of the principal as lead learner is critical. Using the work of Fullan and DuFour on leading professional learning, the chapter focuses on how to create a culture focused on trust, shared vision, and action research. This type of learning community focuses not only on testing data but on the creation of a collaborative community where every person shares responsibility for learning so that student success and well-being are optimized.
Impacts of RF shimming on local SAR caused by MRI 3T birdcage coil near femoral plate implants

Numerical studies of local specific absorption rate (SAR) were conducted for femoral plate implants in MRI 3T birdcage coil. Both the quadrature excitation and RF shimming conditions were evaluated in anatomical models of human body. All the results were normalized to 2W/kg average whole body SAR and Q-Matrices formalism method was used to improve the SAR calculation efficiency. The RF shimming procedure homogenize the magnitude of B 1+ field in femur region. Under RF shimming condition both the value and location of the worst local SAR point were changed. The maximum local SAR is 573 W/kg under quadrature excitation condition and 154 under RF shimming condition. As the results suggested, significant impacts on local SAR near femoral plate implants due to RF shimming were observed.
Evaluation of the Tearing Patient

Patients with insuffi cient lacrimal drainage may present to the ophthalmologist with a complaint of tearing. This tearing may be unilateral or bilateral, intermittent or constant, isolated or associated with other ocular symptoms. Tearing may cause blurred vision, problems with contact lens wear, or annoyance with tears fl owing down the cheek. Patients may also complain of a buildup of mucopurulent material in the medial canthus, leading to mattering of the eyes. To correctly identify and treat the cause of tearing, it is helpful to fi rst differentiate between hyperlacrimation (tear overproduction) and epiphora (decreased tear outfl ow). Hyperlacrimation may be attributable to a variety of causes and must be ruled out before addressing any potential outfl ow problems. Causes of hyperlacrimation, listed in Table 6.1, include the general categories of supranuclear and infranuclear etiologies, refl ex lacrimation, and direct lacrimal gland stimulation. Epiphora may be caused by problems at any point along the lacrimal outfl ow apparatus: punctum, canaliculus, lacrimal sac, lacrimal pump, nasolacrimal duct, and the valve of Hasner at the nasal opening of the nasolacrimal duct. Specifi c problems involving these areas are listed in Table 6.2.
The Effects of Exercise on Genitourinary Function

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the relationships between kidney functions, electrolyte homeostasis, and exercise. The changes occurring in renal function and fluid and electrolyte balance in acute exercise are counterbalanced by changes that occur during the repetitive heavy exertion during the physical training. The fall in glomerular filtration, total body water, and total body sodium is counterbalanced by the rise of these factors during repetitive exercise. These adaptations are a fundamental part of the training process. Alterations in the renin–aldosterone–angiotensin system appear to be part of the physiological adaptation to exercise but may also account for some of the abnormalities such as proteinuria, which is seen in subjects undergoing heavy exertion. Maintenance of relatively normal water and electrolyte balance are important in the prevention of untoward effects of heavy exercise on the kidney, namely, rhabdomyolysis and subsequent acute renal failure.
Fluoridation and county-level secondary bone cancer among cancer patients 18 years or older in New York State

The decision whether to fluoridate drinking water continues to be controversial in some communities. Dental and skeletal fluorosis in response to chronic fluoride overexposure are cited as reasons to avoid community water fluoridation in spite of evidence of the oral and skeletal health benefits fluoridation confers. Community fluoridation of ~ 1 mg/L fluoride has not been found to be associated with primary bone cancer but is associated with improved bone strength. No studies have examined fluoride exposure and secondary bone cancer, a common metastasis with significant morbidity. We hypothesize that fluoridation could diminish the likelihood of secondary bone cancer due to its role in bone fortification. We examined the association between community water fluoridation category and prevalence of secondary bone cancer from 2008 to 2010 among cancer patients of 18 years of age or older in counties in New York State. Relative to counties with less than 25% of the water supply fluoridated, we report no association between secondary bone cancer among cancer patients in counties with 25–75% of the water supply fluoridated (β = 0.02, p = 0.96) and among those in counties with > 75% fluoridated (β = 0.02, p = 0.97). We found no evidence of an association between community water fluoridation category and secondary bone cancer from 2008 to 2010 at the county level in New York State.
Association between mutation variant allele fractions (mVAFs) and response to immunotherapy (IO) in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).

e16575Background: Quantitation of mVAFs in ctDNA can provide a reliable surrogate of cancer clone frequency. Using a cutoff of 0.3% may exclude subclonal entities and thus specifically capture driv...
Deciphering the essentiality and function of the anti‐σM factors in Bacillus subtilis

Bacteria use alternative sigma factors to adapt to different growth and stress conditions. The Bacillus subtilis extracytoplasmic function sigma factor SigM regulates genes for cell wall synthesis and is crucial for maintaining cell wall homeostasis under stress conditions. The activity of SigM is regulated by its anti-sigma factor, YhdL, and the accessory protein YhdK. Here, we show that dysregulation of SigM caused by the absence of either component of the anti-sigma factor complex leads to toxic levels of SigM and severe growth defects. High SigM activity results from a dysregulated positive feedback loop, and can be suppressed by overexpression of the housekeeping sigma, SigA. Using a sigM merodiploid strain, we selected for suppressor mutations that allow survival of yhdL depletion strain. The recovered suppressor mutations map to the beta and beta-prime subunits of RNA polymerase core enzyme and selectively reduce SigM activity, and in some cases increase the activity of other alternative sigma factors. This work highlights the ability of mutations in RNA polymerase that remodel the sigma-core interface to differentially affect sigma factor activity, and thereby alter the transcriptional landscape of the cell.
Modeling cocaine traffickers and counterdrug interdiction forces as a complex adaptive system

Counterdrug interdiction efforts designed to seize or disrupt cocaine shipments between South American source zones and US markets remain a core US "supply side" drug policy and national security strategy. However, despite a long history of US-led interdiction efforts in the Western Hemisphere, cocaine movements to the United States through Central America, or "narco-trafficking," continue to rise. Here, we developed a spatially explicit agent-based model (ABM), called "NarcoLogic," of narco-trafficker operational decision making in response to interdiction forces to investigate the root causes of interdiction ineffectiveness across space and time. The central premise tested was that spatial proliferation and resiliency of narco-trafficking are not a consequence of ineffective interdiction, but rather part and natural consequence of interdiction itself. Model development relied on multiple theoretical perspectives, empirical studies, media reports, and the authors' own years of field research in the region. Parameterization and validation used the best available, authoritative data source for illicit cocaine flows. Despite inherently biased, unreliable, and/or incomplete data of a clandestine phenomenon, the model compellingly reproduced the "cat-and-mouse" dynamic between narco-traffickers and interdiction forces others have qualitatively described. The model produced qualitatively accurate and quantitatively realistic spatial and temporal patterns of cocaine trafficking in response to interdiction events. The NarcoLogic model offers a much-needed, evidence-based tool for the robust assessment of different drug policy scenarios, and their likely impact on trafficker behavior and the many collateral damages associated with the militarized war on drugs.
Designing multicellular intestinal systems

Abstract The mammalian intestinal wall is one of the most complex organs in the body. A collection of heterogeneous cell types including immune, neural, and epithelial, among others, creates a complex physiology that is difficult to simulate outside of the body, in vitro. Methodologies for studying the intestinal wall in vitro range from cultured monolayers of immortalized cells to more complex cocultures with multiple cell types and a third dimension, to those that use explants of actual gut tissues with more realistic three dimensions. The majority of current in vitro culture systems fail to capture the richness of the physiology of the gut in vivo. However, cutting-edge engineering technologies open a window for novel approaches, using microfluidics to provide opportunities for new generations of organotypic methods with large potential. As intestinal disease rates rise globally, the need for reliable and heuristic methods for studying intestinal physiology outside of the body is apparent. This chapter presents current systems available for studying gut physiology in vitro, and then shifts to focus on physiological prescriptions for future needs of ex vivo gut cultures. A framework of biological specifications is provided that may help engineer devices and culture systems faithfully capture the in vivo physiology of the ex vivo gut wall.
Breakfast Positively Impacts Cognitive Function in College Students With and Without ADHD

Purpose:To compare the effects of a nutritionally balanced breakfast on cognitive function in college students with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Design:Pre–post dieta...
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in "Real-World" Community Cardiology Practice.

Differences in presentation and natural history of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC) between community cardiology practice and referral centers has been a source of considerable uncertainty. We report here a cross-sectional analysis of 253 consecutive HC patients from a “real-world” clinical cardiology setting. When compared with a highly selected referral center cohort, patients in clinical practice proved to be similar with regard to disease expression such as left ventricular (LV) wall thickness, outflow obstruction, and natural history, including stable and largely benign clinical course with no or mild symptoms (61% in community practice vs. 55% in referred patients, p = 0.23), occurrence of atrial fibrillation (22% vs. 24%, p = 0.75) and nonfatal sudden death (SD) events (3% vs. 4%, p = 0.8). In contrast, progressive heart failure symptoms were most common in the referral cohort (36% vs. 26%, p = 0.04). In clinical practice, SD was prevented by prophylactic implatable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) in 5 of 44 patients (11%), although risk was overestimated in 6 patients who were implanted with ICDs in the absence of risk markers (14%). In 16 of 61 (26%) severely symptomatic drug-refractory patients with LV outflow obstruction, recommendation for surgical myectomy (or alcohol septal ablation) was delayed. In conclusion, clinical characteristics and course of HC patients in community practice were generally similar to those in HC referral centers. Community cardiologists managed HC patients predominantly in concert with guideline-based strategies, although risk for SD could be overestimated, and the significance of outflow obstruction with timely reversal of refractory heart failure by intervention was underappreciated.
A Note on the Efficiency of Common Law

The economic theory of common law developed around the central idea that the law tends toward efficiency. This paper focusses on the corollary contention that judicial mistakes, in the form of disruptive precedents, are self-correcting. Such disruptive precedents supposedly stimulate litigation until additional decisions direct the law back toward the efficient path. Recent work has expanded beyond the simple model of efficiency as the driving force of legal change to consider other variables, such as the impact of judge preferences and the role of lawyers. It is shown that even in the absence of such complicating factors, judicial mistakes will not be self correcting. Under plausible assumptions, a decision that contradicts prior law and therefore increases legal uncertainty may reduce rather than increase litigation.
Cloud Platform Optimization for HPC

The special requirements of HPC have typically been tacked onto existing cloud infrastructure and practices. As a result, most cloud offerings aren’t completely optimized for HPC, or aren’t yet feature-complete as far as traditional supercomputing experience is concerned. This work addresses the progress made in (1) optimizing the performance of HPC workloads in a cloud environment, and (2) evolving the usability of cloud HPC environments. Specifically, this work discusses efforts made to minimize and eliminate the impact of virtualization on HPC workloads on cloud infrastructure and move towards a more familiar supercomputing experience. Initial experience with “cloud-native” HPC is also discussed. In many aspects, this work is inspired by and impactful for many HPC workloads in many disciplines including earth sciences and manufacturing.