cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Immunohistological localization and expression of alpha-actin in the baboon (Papio anubis) corpus luteum.

SUMMARY We have recently shown the presence of E-cadherin and of a - and g -catenins in human and baboon corpora lutea. These are components of adherens junctions between cells. The cytoplasmic catenins link the cell membrane-associated cadherins to the actinbased cytoskeleton. This interaction is necessary for the functional activity of the E-cadherins. Our aim therefore was to determine the presence of a -actin in the baboon corpus luteum, to further establish whether the necessary components for E-cadherin activity are present in this tissue. An antibody specific for the smooth muscle isoform of actin, a -actin, was used for these studies. The results using immunohistochemistry show that (a) a -actin is present in steroidogenic cells of the active corpus luteum, theca externa of the corpus luteum, cells of the vasculature, and the tunica albuginea surrounding the ovary. The intensity of immunoreactivity for a -actin varied, with the cells of the vasculature reacting more intensely than the luteal cells. A difference in intensity of immunoreactivity was also observed among the luteal cells, with the inner granulosa cells showing stronger immunoreactivity than the peripheral theca lutein cells. There was no detectable immunoreactivity in the steroidogenic cells of the atretic corpus luteum. However, in both the active and atretic corpora lutea, a -actin-positive vascular cells were dispersed within the tissue. (b) Total a -actin (luteal and non-luteal), as determined by Western blot analyses, does not change during the luteal phase and subsequent corpus luteum demise (atretic corpora lutea). (c) hCG stimulated the expression of a -actin and progesterone secretion by the early luteal phase (LH surge 1 1‐5 days) and mid-luteal phase (LH surge 1 6‐10 days) cells in culture, but only progesterone in the late luteal phase (LH surge 1 11‐15 days). The data show that a -actin is present in luteal cells and that its expression is regulated by hCG, thus suggesting that E-cadherin may form functional adherens junctions in the corpus luteum. (J Histochem Cytochem 45:71‐77, 1997)
High Testosterone Prior to Song Crystallization Inhibits Singing Behavior in Captive Yearling Dark-Eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis)

In passerine birds, song is considered crucial in advertising reproductive and territorial status to conspecifics. Variation in the quality and frequency of song may be influenced by hormonal effects during the individual's development. This variation in turn may affect the function and potency of song. We studied the influence of testosterone on vocal production in first-year male dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis), using subcutaneous silastic implants filled with testosterone. Subjects were visually but not acoustically isolated from one another and after capture had no exposure to female or adult male models. Implants were administered when subjects were in the plastic song phase (i.e., after they had begun to sing but before song was fully crystallized). Control males (C males) received empty implants. Experimental males were of two classes: TI males received one dose of testosterone (a single 10-mm implant), and TII males received two doses. Testosterone implants kept plasma levels high well into the breeding season, whereas in nature, levels normally drop after territorial acquisition and pair formation. Control males sang at higher rates than testosterone-treated males of both classes and had the greatest number of song types. This inhibitory effect of testosterone on vocal production suggests that disturbance of seasonal profiles of testosterone in birds may interfere with the production of species-typical song.
Primary Immune Response to Sheep Red Blood Cells (SRBC) as the Conventional T-Cell Dependent Antibody Response (TDAR) Test

The production of antigen-specific antibodies represents a major defense mechanism of humoral immune responses. Several assays have been developed to assess T-cell-dependent antibody responses (TDAR). Of these assays, the antibody forming cell assay (AFC) or plaque forming cell (PFC) assay and ELISA are the two most often used tests to assess immunotoxicity. Historically, the T-cell-dependent antigen of choice has been sheep red blood cells (SRBC). The SRBC AFC assay is considered the “gold standard” for TDAR based on extensive intra- and inter-laboratory validation in mice and has been utilized for over 35 years. The quantification of the primary AFC response (i.e., the specific IgM antibody-forming cell response) was found to provide one of the best predictors of immunotoxicity in mice. The SRBC-specific ELISA is relatively new, with the first publication of the method appearing in 1993. Data from the application of using both the SRBC specific AFC and ELISA for evaluation of potential immunotoxicity of chemicals in rodents and the pros and cons and associated issues of each method were presented. Specifically, the following was discussed: (1) studies investigating the incorporation of the SRBC-specific IgM ELISA in rats on standard toxicology study; (2) characterization of an approach to developmental immunotoxicology assessment in the rat using SRBC as the antigen; and, (3) data from an inter-laboratory study comparing the AFC assay and ELISA in outbred rodents using both cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone.
Entrainment of ventricular tachycardia in postoperative tetralogy of Fallot

The mechanism of ventricular tachycardia (VT) in postoperative tetralogy of Fallot has been ascribed to both reentry and triggered automaticity. We performed electrophysiologic studies on a patient with this condition and induced sustained uniform ventricular tachycardia by programmed extrastimulation. Pacing during the tachycardia at multiple cycle lengths from the right ventricular apex (RVA) and outflow tract (RVOT) produced constant but progressive fusion between the paced and tachycardia QRS. With termination of pacing, the last captured complex was unfused but coupled at the paced cycle length and then the tachycardia resumed at its intrinsic rate. Therefore, the VT was entrained. In addition, an area of slow conduction between the RVOT and RVA was demonstrated. These findings support a reentrant mechanism of this arrhythmia.
Dihydrotestosterone inhibits insulin-stimulated cyclin D2 messenger ribonucleic acid expression in rat ovarian granulosa cells by reducing the phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate-1

The effect of 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) on insulin-stimulated granulosa cell proliferation was examined using cyclin D2 mRNA as a marker. Granulosa cells from 3-d estradiol-treated immature rats showed a concentration-dependent increase in cyclin D2 mRNA expression in response to insulin. Exposure to DHT reduced the insulin-stimulated cyclin D2 mRNA expression. Inhibition of the two insulin-signaling pathways, ERK and phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3 kinase), by using specific inhibitors, also reduced this insulin-stimulated response. These results suggest that both ERK and PI3 kinase signaling are involved in insulin stimulated granulosa cell proliferation. DHT exposure resulted in reduced insulin-stimulated ERK phosphorylation. DHT treatment also reduced the insulin mediated insulin receptor substrate-1 and Raf-1 phosphorylation, the upstream molecules of ERK in insulin signaling pathway. Additionally, inhibition of insulin stimulated PI3 kinase activation reduced ERK phosphorylation. The present s...
Text-dependent speaker recognition by compressed feature-dynamics derived from sinusoidal representation of speech

Prevalent speaker recognition methods use only spectral-envelope based features such as MFCC, ignoring the rich speaker identity information contained in the temporal-spectral dynamics of the entire speech signal. We propose a new feature for speaker recognition based on sinusoidal representation of speech called compressed spectral dynamics (Sinogram-CSD), which effectively captures such spectral dynamics and the inherent speaker identity. The discriminative power of CSD allows classification to remain simple. The proposed CSD-MSRI method uses a simple nearest neighbor classifier to deliver performance competitive to conventional MFCC+DTW based text-dependent speaker recognition methods at significantly lower complexity.
State Estimates of Uninsured Children

Abstract: About twelve million American children lack health insurance. Attempts to assess the effectiveness of Medicaid expansions and other reforms are hampered by the lack of reliable state-level data on this population. This DataWatch presents baseline statistics on the insurance status of children, based on the Current Population Surveys from 1988, 1989, and 1990. The study finds the sharpest increase in uninsured rates from 1987 to 1989 among middle-class children and among children ages seven to twenty-one, suggesting that expanding Medicaid will fail to reach a large portion of the population at greatest risk.
Investigation Of Elemental Sulfur Corrosion Mechanisms

Sour gas wells frequently co-produce elemental sulfur which can cause catastrophic corrosion of mild steel. As producing wells become increasingly sour, the incidence of sulfur corrosion will likely increase. Despite the severity of this problem, limited mechanistic information about this process exists in the literature. The objective of this study is investigation of the corrosion mechanism involving elemental sulfur.
The “cold‐solutioning” phenomenon in cellulose triacetate–acetone mixtures

Direct mixing of cellulose triacetate (CTA) in acetone at room temperature produces only an opaque swollen gel at all concentrations. However, cycling the mixture between room temperature and −78 ± 3°C results in a stable solution at room temperature, if the concentration is less than 6% (w/w). This process has been called “cold-solutioning.” Such a process also produces a clear solution at concentrations between 6% (w/w) and 10% (w/w); however, in time, the solution separates slowly into at least two phases, a clear liquid and an opaque gel phase. At concentrations above 10% (w/w) and below 20% (w/w), the system exhibits two phases. A completely opaque swollen gel forms at concentrations of 20% (w/w) and above. The above-described cold-solutioning phenomena are shown to be the coupled kinetic and thermodynamic consequences of (1) the large thermal stresses that would result from thawing a swollen mixture of CTA and acetone, arising from the large differences in their thermal expansion coefficients; and (2) the “bimodal” composition of the cellulose derivative. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 1697–1707, 2003
Quinolone Resistance Due to Reduced Target Enzyme Expression

We report for the first time low-level quinolone resistance mediated by decreased expression of topoisomerase IV in Staphylococcus aureus. A single-step mutant of wild-type S. aureus strain ISP794, P18 selected by using twice the MIC of premafloxacin, had four- and four- to eightfold greater MICs of premafloxacin and ciprofloxacin, respectively, than the wild type. Sequencing of parEC and gyrBA with their promoter regions revealed a point mutation (G-->A) 13 bp upstream of the start codon of parE. Genetic linkage studies showed that there was a high level of correlation between the mutation and the resistance phenotype, and allelic exchange confirmed the contribution of the mutation to resistance. Decreased expression of ParE and decreased steady-state levels of parEC transcripts in P18 and in resistant allelic exchange mutants were observed. The steady-state levels of gyrBA and topB transcripts were increased in P18 but not in two resistant allelic exchange mutants, and sequencing upstream of either gene did not reveal a difference between ISP794 and P18. The steady-state levels of topA transcripts were similar in the various strains. Growth competition experiments performed at 30, 37, and 41 degrees C with a susceptible allelic exchange strain and a resistant allelic exchange strain suggested that loss of fitness was associated with reduced levels of ParE at 41 degrees C. However, P18 had a growth advantage over ISP794 at all temperatures, suggesting that a compensatory mechanism was associated with the increased levels of gyrBA and topB transcripts. Thus, reduced levels of ParE appear to be compatible with cell survival, although there may be a fitness cost during rapid cell multiplication, which might be overcome by compensatory mechanisms without reversion of the resistance phenotype.
Addressing Gender-Based Violence in an International Context

This Article, exploratory in nature, revisits the feasibility of establishing workable international standards for addressing the dehumanizing violence and discrimination that women suffer by virtue of their gender. It concludes that human rights activists and organizations seeking justice for women must not rely on contemporary international law, but must instead focus on local grassroots and watch group institutions that are intimately aware of the abuses faced by women. Part I examines the nature of abuses against women qua women and looks critically at the United Nations' response to these crises. Part II discusses the deficiencies in public international law, namely the United Nations' Charter and the Women's Convention, and the inherent limitations of the framework of international law in addressing the issue of gender-based discrimination. Part III suggests local and regional solutions, particularly the development of extra-legal strategies and institutions to counter more effectively gender-based abuses and to change public attitudes about gender equity. This Article neither attempts nor claims to solve the problem of international human rights for women. It suggests seeking justice for women in an alternative setting: Human rights for women can be attained more fruitfully through localized structures that both prioritize education, control, and management and seek concrete solutions in the struggle against gender bias.
Quantum Derivative Fitting and Biomolecular Force Fields: Functional Form, Coupling Terms, Charge Flux, Nonbond Anharmonicity, and Individual Dihedral Potentials

Computer simulations are increasingly prevalent, complementing experimental studies in all fields of biophysics, chemistry, and materials. Their utility, however, is critically dependent on the validity of the underlying force fields employed. In this Perspective we review the ability of quantum mechanics, and in particular analytical ab initio derivatives, to inform on the nature of intra- and intermolecular interactions. The power inherent in the exploitation of forces and second derivatives (Hessians) to derive force fields for a variety of compound types, including inorganic, organic, and biomolecules, is explored. We discuss the use of these quantities along with QM energies and geometries to determine force constants, including nonbond and electrostatic parameters, and to assess the functional form of the energy surface. The latter includes the optimal form of out-of-plane interactions and the necessity for anharmonicity, and terms to account for coupling between internals, to adequately represent t...
Know When to Hold Em: Shuffling Deterministically in a Parser for Nonconcatenative Grammars

Nonconcatenative constraints, such as the shuffle relation, are frequently employed in grammatical analyses of languages that have more flexible ordering of constituents than English. We show how it is possible to avoid searching the large space of permutations that results from a nondeterministic application of shuffle constraints. The results of our implementation demonstrate that deterministic application of shuffle constraints yields a dramatic improvement in the overall performance of a head-corner parser for German using an HPSG-style grammar.
Potential mechanisms for low uric acid in Parkinson disease

Several epidemiologic studies have described an association between low serum uric acid (UA) and Parkinson disease (PD). Uric acid is a known antioxidant, and one proposed mechanism of neurodegeneration in PD is oxidative damage of dopamine neurons. However, other complex metabolic pathways may contribute. The purpose of this study is to elucidate potential mechanisms of low serum UA in PD. Subjects who met diagnostic criteria for definite or probable PD (n = 20) and controls (n = 20) aged 55-80 years were recruited. Twenty-four hour urine samples were collected from all participants, and both uric acid and allantoin were measured and corrected for body mass index (BMI). Urinary metabolites were compared using a twoway ANOVA with diagnosis and sex as the explanatory variables. There were no significant differences between PD and controls for total UA (p = 0.60), UA corrected for BMI (p = 0.37), or in the interaction of diagnosis and sex on UA (p = 0.24). Similarly, there were no significant differences between PD and controls for allantoin (p = 0.47), allantoin corrected for BMI (p = 0.57), or in the interaction of diagnosis and sex on allantoin (p = 0.78). Allantoin/UA ratios also did not significantly differ by diagnosis (p = 0.99). Our results imply that low serum UA in PD may be due to an intrinsic mechanism that alters the homeostatic set point for serum UA in PD, and may contribute to relatively lower protection against oxidative damage. These findings provide indirect support for neuroprotection trials aimed at raising serum UA.
Erich Lehmann’s contributions to multiple decision making

Much of statistical theory and methodology deals with testing a single hypothesis or specifying a single confidence set. But many, probably most studies deal with a number of questions, requiring more than one test or confidence set. In fact, within the last 20 years, advances in scientific and computer technology has made it possible to collect and analyze massive amounts of data, resulting in decision-making for thousands, even millions, of items.
Seed Crystal Homogeneity Controls Lateral and Vertical Heteroepitaxy of Monolayer MoS2 and WS2

Heteroepitaxy between transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) monolayers can fabricate atomically thin semiconductor heterojunctions without interfacial contamination, which are essential for next-generation electronics and optoelectronics. Here we report a controllable two-step chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process for lateral and vertical heteroepitaxy between monolayer WS2 and MoS2 on a c-cut sapphire substrate. Lateral and vertical heteroepitaxy can be selectively achieved by carefully controlling the growth of MoS2 monolayers that are used as two-dimensional (2D) seed crystals. Using hydrogen as a carrier gas, we synthesize ultraclean MoS2 monolayers, which enable lateral heteroepitaxial growth of monolayer WS2 from the MoS2 edges to create atomically coherent and sharp in-plane WS2/MoS2 heterojunctions. When no hydrogen is used, we obtain MoS2 monolayers decorated with small particles along the edges, inducing vertical heteroepitaxial growth of monolayer WS2 on top of the MoS2 to form vertical WS2/...
Advancing Phenomenology as a Practical Endeavor

Within the phenomenological tradition, there has long been a clear awareness that science and philosophy are not merely aggregations or even systematic and internally consistent sets of propositions, but also practices that are undertaken by human beings with certain aims and interests. One recalls, for instance, Martin Heidegger’s important insight articulated at the very beginning of Being and Time, that science is something human beings do – or as he puts it, a Verhalten des Daseins.Martin Heidegger, Sein und Zeit (Tubingen: Niemeyer 1956), pp. 11–13; translated by John Macquarrie and Edward Robinson as Being and Time (New York: Harper & Row, 1962), pp. 32–33. Moreover, even before Heidegger, Edmund Husserl, who in the Logical Investigations introduced science as a set of logically interrelated truths and is often presented as a modern day Descartes operating within the pure egological bubble of his own solitary reflections, was the same figure who devoted much of his final work to the question of how the modern ways of practicing science emerged, who made clear that all of this takes place against a common set of shared cultural assumptions, and who was well aware that even his own phenomenological work is merely part of a shared research project that he hoped would be taken up and continued by other researchers throughout subsequent generations.
FRAMING PUERTO RICAN IDENTITY: POLITICAL OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURES AND NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZING IN NEW YORK CITY*

This article examines three decades of Puerto Rican social movement organizing in three New York City neighborhoods. It begins with a look at Puerto Rican nationalist movements in the late sixties and early seventies, moves to the housing movements in the mid-seventies to early eighties and concludes with the AIDS activist movements from the mid-eighties through the nineties. It argues that mobilizing frames and trajectories of these neighborhood movements were determined by differences in the local political opportunity structure, in particular (1) the distribution of political power among competing ethnic groups, (2) the opportunity to form political coalitions, and (3) the divergent trajectories and frames of previous movements. These different frames shaped the way organizers responded to new issues, influencing in particular activists' selection of targets, alliance partners, tactics, and discourse. On May 18, 1993 a fracas broke out at the Lower East Side Community Board between the Puerto Rican chairman, an appointee of the local Puerto Rican councilman, and the leaders of progressive community organizations concerned with housing, AIDS, and the arts, some of whom were also Puerto Rican. During the shouting match the chairman of the council and his allies accused his opponents of presiding over the deterioration of the Lower East Side, acting like "befogged apparatchiks" and bringing a population of predators into the neighborhood. Across the Williamsburg bridge in Brooklyn, Puerto Rican activists were planning an illegal occupation of the new public housing projects to protest preferential treatment for Hasidic Jews. Puerto Rican leaders of several housing, AIDS, and arts-related community groups met with the local Puerto Rican councilman, who assured them that he would support them in their struggle for equal access to low income housing. Meanwhile, in Mott Haven, in the South Bronx, activists were organizing to prevent the local machine boss from nominating another one of his cronies for city council, following the recent indictment of his last associate. Housing organizations and AIDS activists aligned themselves on opposing sides. These three contrasting stories of local community activism raise significant questions about the relationship between local political opportunity structures, social movement strategies, and collective identity formation. First, why did local activists
The Relationship Of Accounting Majors Cognitive Style And Technological Proficiency: Are Students Prepared To Enter An Increasingly Knowledge-Based Profession?

The increasingly knowledge-based economy has generated technological innovations that demand different competencies for accounting practitioners. In particular, professional service firms such as public accounting practices depend on converting individual expertise into codified knowledge shared within firms and with customers. A key to this knowledge conversion cycle is proficiency with a number of technological tools. Further, individuals who can successfully participate in the creation and transfer of knowledge may have distinct cognitive style characteristics. One important question is whether cognitive style is related to technological proficiency. This study examines the cognitive styles of a group of undergraduate accounting majors (those intending careers in accounting) at several U. S. universities to examine any patterns in their cognitive style characteristics. This study further explores the relationship between cognitive style and technological proficiency. Results indicate that accounting students are predominantly linear-thinking (Concrete Sequential), consistent with prior literature. However, those who have stronger proficiency with computers and technology fit into different cognitive style groups. Implications for the accounting profession and accounting education are discussed.
The Politics of Rage: Empowering Women of Color in the Academy

Through narratives, we reclaim an emotion often regarded as negative, and examine how anger serves as a means of social and personal transformation, serving as a way to heal from oppression and exploitation. Using critical race feminist theory as a framework, we use storytelling to share our experiences in the White academy. We argue that rage is a necessary part of achieving critical consciousness. We have learned to use our anger, as a means to survive everyday racism have learned and grown to cope with it, understanding that this rage partially defines us.
A Study of the Effect of Mixed Cores on the Stability of BWRs

Cores loaded with a mixture of fuel types are known to reduce stability margins. Mixed fuel cores have become more common as utilities change fuel suppliers, or when fuel vendors upgrade their fuel designs to take advantage of improved thermal and mechanical margins. This paper studies some of the physical processes that reduce the stability of mixed cores. A number of runs have been performed using the LAPUR6 stability code to evaluate the effect on mixed cores on the stability of a typical BWR. To this end, two fuel types have been set up with two different single-phase to two-phase pressure drop ratios by artificially adjusting the spacer and inlet orifice friction coefficients. The flow and pressure drop characteristics of both fuels have been matched at full flow, full power conditions. All manufacturers match the pressure drop of new fuels so that the flow distributions among the new and old fuel elements operating at the same power are approximately constant. The critical power ratio and thermo-mechanical criteria are typically limiting at full power; therefore matching the flow performance at full power maximizes the margin to these criteria. Stability is of concern at low flows, especially at natural circulation, where the thermal-hydraulic conditions are significantly different from full flow and power. Our simulations show that even if two fuel elements are perfectly matched at full flow, the axial void fraction distribution changes significantly when the flow is reduced to natural circulation conditions and the two fuel elements are not fully thermal-hydraulically compatible at the reduced flows. Basically, the two fuel types set up two separate natural circulation lines, and one of the fuel types essentially starves the other from flow. Since stability has such a strong dependence with channel flow, the reactor stability is controlled by the fuel type that has the smaller flow at natural circulation. A counterintuitive result of this study shows that, in general, loading a more stable fuel type into a mixed core has the opposite effect, and the stability margin of that mixed core is lower until the new, more stable fuel becomes dominant. Because of the burnable Gadolinium in most modern BWR fuels, the highest reactivity fuel elements are the once-burned. Loading a more stable fuel type starves the flow of the high-reactivity older fuel, reducing the stability margin.© 2010 ASME
Matrix Crystals in Urine Sediments

Crystals of the urate-oxalate variety seen in a cytologic preparation of a urine specimen contained organic matrix, which included acid and neutral mucopolysaccharides. A large number of crystal-shaped structures, as seen by light microscopy and polarizing light microscopy, appeared to consist of matrix only. This new finding suggests that organic material may play a role in the formation of certain urinary crystals.
Pre-Communist and Communist Developmental Legacies

This article discusses two distinctive approaches for thinking about historical legacies in the post-communist context. The first approach, which builds on the work of Ken Jowitt, emphasizes the di...
More Than a Knapsack: The White Supremacy Flower as a New Model for Teaching Racism

This article suggests that White supremacy versus White privilege provides a clearer and more accurate conceptual understanding of how racism operates, evolves, and sustains itself. This article suggests a specific model for teaching White supremacy, the White supremacy flower, and describes the application and benefits of the model.
Biomechanically Based Clinical Decision Making in Pediatric Foot and Ankle Surgery

The understanding and classification of functional deviations and deficits at the ankle and foot are based upon an appreciation of normal function during the gait cycle. Clinical decision making for the management of ankle and foot deformities in children can be standardized by the use of a diagnostic matrix. This chapter provides an overview of normal ankle and foot function during the gait cycle. A diagnostic matrix is then constructed for the identification of common (or coupled), and uncommon (or uncoupled), segmental malalignment patterns of the ankle and foot. This is followed by an overview (principles and indications) of the most common soft tissue (lengthening, and transfer) and skeletal (guided growth, osteotomies, and arthrodesis) surgeries utilized to correct these segmental malalignments. Finally, a standardized approach for the preoperative, intraoperative, postoperative, and surveillance assessment of ankle and foot alignment and function is presented.
Overview of High Yield Fertilization Technique of Rice in Cold Region

The fertilizer for high yield rice production in cold region should be based on the principle which"early days more,midterm less and later period supplemented",applied the fertilizer according to the progress of leaf age and the change of leaf color.From now on,adding silicon fertilizer was necessary and the pattern of fertilizer application should be changed from three elements(N,P,and K) to four elements(N,P,K and Si).In the circumstance of no change of planning amount,the period of fertilizer application should be postponed.
Force-displacement differences in the lower extremities of young healthy adults between drop jumps and drop landings

Abstract We measured ground reaction force and lower extremity shortening in ten healthy, young adults in order to compare five trials of drop jumps to drop landings. Our dependent variable was the percentage of displacement (shortening) between the markers on the ASIS and second metatarsal heads on each LE, relative to the maximum shortening (100% displacement) for that trial at the point of greatest ground reaction force. We defined this as “percent displacement at maximum force” (%d Fmax ). The sample mean %d Fmax was 0.73% ± 0.14% for the drop jumps, and 0.47% ± 0.09% for the drop landings. The mean within-subject difference score was 0.26% ± 0.20%. Two-tailed paired t test comparing %d Fmax between the drop jump and drop landing yielded P = 0.002. For all participants in this study, the %d Fmax was greater in drop jumps than in drop landings. This indicates that in drop jumps, the point of maximum force and of maximum shortening was nearly simultaneous, compared to drop landings, where the point of maximum shortening followed that of maximum force by a greater proportion. This difference in force to displacement behavior is explained by linear spring behavior in drop jumps, and linear damping behavior in drop landings.
Coding for lossy function computation: Analyzing sequential function computation with distortion accumulation

We consider the problem of lossy linear function computation for Gaussian sources in a tree network. The goal is to find the optimal tradeoff between the sum rate (the overall number of bits communicated in the network) and the achieved distortion (the overall mean-square error of estimating the function result) at a specified sink node. Using random Gaussian codebooks, an inner bound is obtained that is shown to match the information-theoretic outer bound (obtained in our earlier work [1]) in the limit of zero distortion. To compute the overall distortion for the random coding scheme, we applied the analysis of Distortion Accumulation which was quantified in [1] for MMSE estimates of intermediate computation variables instead of for the codewords of random Gaussian codebooks. The key in applying the analysis of Distortion Accumulation is showing that the random-coding based codeword on the receiver side is close in mean-square sense to the MMSE estimate of the source, even if the knowledge of the source distribution is not fully accurate.
Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy US Trends and Disparities in Utilization and Outcomes

Background— The use of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has increased significantly since its initial approval in 2001 for use in patients with advanced heart failure. However, trends in utilization of CRT have not been systematically characterized. Methods and Results— We used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database to identify all patients with CRT implantation during 2002 to 2010. The overall trends in CRT device implantation, patient characteristics, and outcomes were examined in detail and compared among demographic subgroups. During 2002 to 2010, a total of 374 202 CRT procedures were recorded. Significant and persistent gender and racial disparities favoring men (71.4%) and white (79.6%), respectively, were noted in all years. The highest number of CRT devices were implanted in the 65- to 84-year age group (64.6%), with significant increase in number of CRT implants in older patients ≥85 years over the years ( P =0.02). The CRT-associated in-hospital mortality improved from 1.08% in 2003 to 0.70% in 2010 ( P =0.03). The correlates of higher mortality included males (0.93% versus 0.71% in females; P =0.04) and older age (age ≥85 years had 1.5% mortality versus 0.8% for age females), older age, and greater comorbidities. Conclusions— CRT implantation is a relatively safe procedure that has become safer in higher risk patients. However, significant disparities in CRT utilization exist in certain demographic subgroups, and these disparities have persisted across the years.
Examination of Knee Morphology After Secondary Ipsilateral ACL Injury Compared With Those That Have Not Been Reinjured: A Preliminary Study

Context: Modifiable and nonmodifiable risk factors have been identified for sustaining a primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury; however, less research is available examining risk factors for a second injury. Identifying whether bony morphological factors are different (or more exaggerated) among those that experience a secondary ACL injury is critical to understanding if nonmodifiable risk factors are associated with a second injury. Objective: To determine if bony morphology is different among those that experience a secondary ACL reinjury as compared with those that do not. Design: Case-control. Setting: University laboratory. Participants and Interventions: ACL participants were tracked after return to play following primary reconstruction, and if individuals experienced a second ipsilateral injury (ACLx2; n = 14, 8f/6m, 17.9 ± 4.0 y), the primary clinical MRI was analyzed for bony morphological risk factors. ACLx2 participants were matched to individuals (sex, age, height, graft, gender, and...
Effects of mandatory continuing education related to infection control on the infection control practices of dental hygienists.

The infection control (IC) practices of dental hygienists, who were practicing in states with and without mandatory continuing education (CE) related to IC, were compared using a nationwide survey approach. The percentages of respondents from states with mandated IC CE, who reported compliance with 8 practices described in the current IC guidelines and acquiring more CE units and taking more recent IC CE, were greater (P < .005) than the percentages of respondents from states without the requirement.
Professional Development for International Teachers: Examining TPACK and Technology Integration Decision Making

AbstractThis mixed-methods study explored the impacts of a semester-long technology professional development for secondary school international teachers from developing nations around the world. We used (a) a survey approach to examine international teachers' perceived technology integration abilities using the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework and (b) a design task to understand their rationale behind technology integration decisions. As a group (N = 16), international teachers reported increased abilities in all TPACK domains. Qualitative analysis of their rationales revealed that though teachers learned to consider the affordances of technology, technology access issues were pivotal in their choice and use of technology in instruction planning. With education becoming increasingly global, the study has implications for the motivation and design of technology professional development programs for international teachers.
First birth and the trajectory of women's empowerment in Egypt.

Women’s empowerment is often used to explain changes in reproductive behavior, but no consideration is given to how reproductive events can shape women’s empowerment over time. Fertility may cause changes in women’s empowerment, or they may be mutually influencing. Research on women’s empowerment and fertility relies on cross-sectional data from South Asia, which limits the understanding of the direction of association between women’s empowerment and fertility in other global contexts. This study uses two waves of a panel survey from a prominent Middle Eastern country, Egypt, to examine the trajectory of women’s empowerment and the relationship between first and subsequent births and empowerment over time. Using longitudinal data from the 2006 and 2012 Egyptian Labor Market Panel Survey, a nationally representative sample of households in Egypt, for 4660 married women 15 to 49 years old, multilevel negative binomial, ordinary least squares, and logistic regression models estimate women’s empowerment and consider whether a first and subsequent births are associated with empowerment later in life. Women’s empowerment is operationalized through four measures of agency: individual household decision-making, joint household decision-making, mobility, and financial autonomy. A first birth and subsequent births are significantly positively associated with all measures of empowerment except financial autonomy in 2012. Women who have not had a birth make 30% fewer individual household decisions and 14% fewer joint household decisions in 2012 compared to women with a first birth. There is also a positive relationship with mobility, as women with a first birth have more freedom of movement compared to women with no births. Earlier empowerment is also an important predictor of empowerment later in life. Incorporating the influence of life events like first and subsequent births helps account for the possibility that empowerment is dynamic and that life course experiences shape women’s empowerment. This and the notion that empowerment builds over time helps portray women’s lives more completely, demonstrates the importance of empowerment early in the life course, and addresses issues of temporality in empowerment fertility research.
Cell Proliferation during Carcinogenesis

Many classical concepts about the nature of normal and neoplastic growth have a largely intuitive basis and are often proved erroneous when confronted with quantitative data. The recent development and application of sophisticated analytical methods has shown that proliferative growth is a function of many complicated interdependent parameters, all of which require careful definition. Nevertheless, it is apparent that growth and cell division are certainly among the most striking attributes of cancer.
Cultural Innovation from an Americanist Perspective

No matter how wide a search one might conduct, it would be difficult to find another topic in anthropology that has played as an important a role as innovation in framing arguments about why and how human behavior changes (O’Brien 2007; O’Brien and Shennan 2010). Clearly, innovation was implicit in the nineteenth century writings of ethnologists, such as Tylor (1871) and Morgan (1877), both of whom viewed the production of novelties – new ideas, new ways of doing things, and the like – as the underlying evolutionary force that keeps cultures moving up the ladder of cultural complexity. From their point of view, the vast majority of cultures that have ever existed pooped out somewhere on the way up – presumably because they either ran out of good ideas and products or were too set in their ways to borrow them from other cultures. A few were innovative enough to escape the lower rungs and develop into civilizations through the acquisition of traits, such as writing, calendars, and monumental architecture.
Integration of big-data ERP and business analytics (BA)

Abstract Technology advancements in cloud computing, big data systems, No-SQL database, cognitive systems, deep learning, and other artificial intelligence techniques make the integration of traditional ERP transaction data and big data streaming from various social media platforms and Internet of Things (IOTs) into a unified analytics system not only feasible but also inevitable. Two steps are prominent for this integration. The first, coined as forming the big-data ERP, is the integration of traditional ERP transaction data and the big data and the second is to integrate the big-data ERP with business analytics (BA). As ERP implementers and BA users are facing various challenges, managers responsible for this big-data ERP-BA integration are also seriously challenged. To help them deal with these challenges, we develop the SIST model (including Strategic alignment, Intellectual and Social capital integration, and Technology integration) and propose that this integration is an evolving portfolio with various maturity levels for different business functions, likely leading to sustainable competitive advantages.
Treatment of Orthostatic Hypotension Due to Autonomic Dysfunction (Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension) in a Patient with Cardiovascular Disease and Parkinson's Disease

The prevalence of neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (nOH) increases with age and is associated with autonomic failure in neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Parkinson's disease). Symptoms can interfere with daily activities that require standing or walking and can increase risk of falls and related morbidity. Many patients with nOH have or develop cardiovascular comorbidities that can predate nOH symptoms or may arise as a result of autonomic dysregulation. In this report, we describe a complicated case of a patient with cardiovascular disease and Parkinson's disease who presented with orthostatic symptoms. A 78-year-old man with a history of coronary heart disease, class III heart failure, cardiac cachexia, long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation (AF), Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and Parkinson's disease presented with weakness, dizziness, presyncope, fatigue, and inability to stand. Orthostatic blood pressure (BP) measurements revealed a seated BP of 120/70 mmHg that decreased to 60/40 mmHg upon standing, accompanied by a slight increase in heart rate from 70 to 74 beats per minute. He was diagnosed with nOH and prescribed droxidopa (titrated to 600 mg three times daily). Treatment with droxidopa improved the patient’s ability to stand and his orthostatic BP. Droxidopa is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat symptomatic nOH and is not contraindicated in patients with cardiovascular conditions. In this case, treatment with droxidopa improved the patient’s orthostatic tolerance and, importantly, did not change the patient’s rate-controlled AF or his symptoms of class IV heart failure. Because symptoms associated with nOH can be detrimental to patient safety and mobility, it is critical to screen for and treat patients with nOH, even when there are cardiovascular comorbidities. Editorial support and article processing charges were funded by Lundbeck. Plain language summary available for this article.
Nocturnal navigation by whip spiders: antenniform legs mediate near-distance olfactory localization of a shelter

Navigation by terrestrial arthropods that wander away from a shelter in search of food or mates in uncluttered environments invariably relies on path integration mechanisms, which provide distance and direction information used to compute a straight-line return trajectory. Navigation in cluttered habitats is more typically visually guided, even in species that are nocturnal. Nocturnal, tropical arachnids in the order Amblypygi, however, depend neither on path integration nor on vision to navigate and are hypothesized to instead rely on highly sensitive olfactory structures. The distal articles of their antenniform legs are covered with receptors that presumably bind the odour stimuli thought to control, at least in part, their impressive ability to relocate a shelter after they wander in a rainforest understory. To test the hypothesis that olfactory inputs from the antenniform legs support their near-distance ability to localize a shelter, we conducted a laboratory experiment with the amblypygid Phrynus marginemaculatus in which an olfactory cue (with contact chemoreception precluded) identified the location of a shelter, the position of which was varied as subjects were trained. Localization of a shelter was readily learned and performance was fully retained over a 2-week period in which subjects were not trained. Localization of the odour-cued shelter declined markedly, however, when the distal articles of the antenniform legs were amputated. Moreover, the residual discrimination ability displayed by subjects when they were subsequently retrained depended on how many olfactory receptors had been removed. The results clearly demonstrate that odour cues can support near-distance goal localization and that receptors on the antenniform legs are the locus of the peripheral neural transduction necessary when odour is used to identify the position of a shelter.
A Quality Initiative for Optimal Therapeutic Hypothermia during Transport for Neonates with Neonatal Encephalopathy.

Introduction Neuroprotection with therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is standard of care for neonatal encephalopathy (NE) and decreases death and neurodevelopmental disability. TH initiated shortly after birth insult results in greater neuroprotection compared with delayed initiation. Methods Quality improvement methodology was used to improve temperature control during transport to a level IV neonatal intensive care unit. We included neonates with NE transported to a single institution for TH from 2010 to 2016. The quality improvement interventions were 2-fold. Review of the Transport Body Cooling Protocol revealed a suboptimal temperature goal of 34-35°C; this protocol was revised to 33-34°C. The second intervention was the implementation of an active cooling protocol. Clinical characteristics were compared using 2-sample t tests for continuous variables and Fisher's exact tests for categorical variables; statistical process control chart was used to monitor admission temperatures. Results We obtained baseline data for 78 neonates admitted from 2010 to 2014. These data were compared with postintervention data for 26 patients admitted between 2015 and 2016. Distance transported, NE severity, and seizures were similar between the 2 groups. The use of active cooling increased from 8% preimplementation to 31% postimplementation (P Conclusion Increased utilization of active cooling during transport for TH improves the percentage of neonates admitted within the target temperature range. However, 42% of neonates remained outside the target temperature range, supporting the need for additional tools to improve admission temperatures.