cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chemotherapy-induced-peripheral neuropathy, gait and fall risk in older adults following cancer treatment

Abstract Background Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy often experience chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), which reportedly causes gait disturbances that may increase their risk for falls. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether CIPN is associated with spatial-temporal gait adaptations and fall risk in post-treatment adult cancer survivors. Method This study enrolled 16 subjects between 50 and 70 years of age, including 8 subjects with CIPN and 8 subjects with age and morphologically-matched controls. Gait velocity, step length, step time, base of support, swing time, single support time, and double support time as measured by GAITRite. Fall risk was assessed utilizing the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. Results Overall, gait velocity (110.75 cm/s, SD = 26.79, p = 0.006) was significantly slower, and step length (53.92 cm, SD = 23.55, p = 0.005) was significantly shorter in those subjects with CIPN. Additionally, CIPN participants had a significantly higher TUG Score (12.33 s, SD = 6.25, p = 0.001) compared to the controls (6.62 s, SD = 1.10). Conclusion Our investigation suggested that gait speed and step length are key indicators for fall risk. Compared to controls, cancer patients with CIPN may display slower gait velocities, shorter step length, and are at an increased fall risk as indicated by TUG scores. The presence of CIPN appears to increase fall risk, which may easily be assessed in a clinical setting using the TUG test.
Contrasting trends in the Northeast United States groundfish and scallop processing industries

Abstract In the northeast United States, groundfish landings have declined almost continually since 1983. Fresh groundfish processors have redeployed their marketing capital by substituting other seafood products in place of regional groundfish and expanding into different markets. Meanwhile, northeast U.S. Atlantic sea scallop landings sharply increased starting in 1998, peaked in 2004, remained relatively constant until declining in 2013 and 2014. In order to leverage their favorable access to increased landings, scallop processors invested in development of new products, such as individually quick frozen (IQF) scallops, and invested in marketing activities to attract new customers, including those located in foreign nations. This behavior is consistent with Montgomery and Wernerfelt's theory of diversification in response to excess capacity of firm-specific resources and investments in product development and marketing in firm specific resources. Price and quantity indicators were used to examine the effects of shifting landings and composition of landings on exvessel values. These indicators show that declines in groundfish exvessel values were driven by declining quantities, which is consistent with processors substituting other products rather than biding up exvessel prices. Increases in scallop exvessel values were driven by both increasing prices for all sizes and by increasing quantities for large scallops, which is consistent with investment in marketing for larger scallops.
Clinical Implications From the Treatment of Severe Childhood Aggression (TOSCA) Study: A Re-Analysis and Integration of Findings.

Objective The Treatment of Severe Childhood Aggression (TOSCA) project examined augmentation of stimulant treatment and parent training (PT) with risperidone for severe physical aggression. This article summarizes the clinical implications; reanalyzes the data to examine the utility of 4 criteria for deciding to augment; and presents a treatment algorithm. Method The newly analyzed 4 criteria for augmenting after 3 weeks of stimulant and PT treatment consisted of not meeting a Clinical Global Impressions–Improvement (CGI-I) score of 1 and a normal score (≤15) on the Nisonger Child Behavior Rating Form Disruptive–Total (D-Total); a CGI-I score of 1 or 2 plus 25% improvement in D-Total score; a D-Total score no higher than 15; and a CGI-Severity score of 3 (mild) or better. Effect sizes were calculated. Prior TOSCA publications were reviewed for clinically relevant findings. Results All 4 criteria resulted in medium or better effect sizes (d = 0.59–0.72) when comparing risperidone with placebo. Providing risperidone to children who did not reach a CGI-I score of 1 plus a D-Total score no higher than 15 resulted in the greatest benefit. In addition, a review of clinically relevant data suggests that stimulant plus PT shows further improvement after 3 weeks even without augmentation. Conclusion For those children who did not attain a CGI-I score of 1 and a D-total score no higher than 15, adding risperidone maximized the number of children benefitting from treatment and the average amount of benefit. Unless clinical circumstances dictate otherwise, practitioners should delay an antipsychotic drug for at least 1 month after the optimal stimulant dose is achieved and PT has commenced. Clinical trial registration information–Treatment of Severe Childhood Aggression (The TOSCA Study); http://clinicaltrials.gov ; NCT00796302 .
Rhodium-Catalyzed Desymmetrization of meso-Glutaric Anhydrides to Access Enantioenriched anti,anti-Polypropionates

An expedient desymmetrization of 3,5-dimethyl-4-alkoxyglutaric anhydrides to access anti,anti-polypropionates is described. The previously unknown anhydrides are rapidly assembled from readily available precursors. A Rh(I)·t-BuPHOX catalyst system was found to provide good yield and high selectivities. With these conditions, the trisubstituted anhydrides were desymmetrized with various alkyl zinc reagents to provide synthetically useful enantioenriched anti,anti-2,4-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-δ-ketoacids. An identical catalyst system also affords access to syn,syn-stereotriads as well as a partial kinetic resolution of a chiral anhydride.
Prospective Testing of a Clinical Mammography Workstation for CAD: Analysis of the First 10,000 Cases

For over ten years, we have been developing automated computerized schemes to assist radiologists in detecting breast cancer from mammograms. These detection schemes have been implemented on an “intelligent” mammography workstation that has been used prospectively on screening mammograms for over three years. The purpose of this study was to analyze the performance of the workstation in comparison to radiologists’ clinical interpretations of the same screening mammograms.
Application of Bioengineering to Disease Diagnosis

Bioengineering offers great promise for revolutionizing disease diagnosis. Traditional approaches such as clinical, pathological, and etiological methods remain important; however, the newer techniques and reagents can add to the rapidity and specificity of diagnosis. The principal technological advances contributing to these new approaches include methods of recombinant DNA, monoclonal antibody, and immunoassays. The application of these techniques to disease diagnosis in animal diseases is reviewed in this chapter.
Stage-specific effects of fire: Effects of prescribed burning on adult abundance, oviposition habitat selection, and larval performance of Cope’s Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis)

Abstract To effectively manage landscapes that support species with complex life cycles, managers should consider how current practices affect habitats these organisms rely on in each life stage. Prescribed fire is a landscape level disturbance that may alter both aquatic and terrestrial habitat characteristics. However, our knowledge of the effects of fire on amphibians is primarily limited to adult responses in terrestrial habitats. Here we present an integrated approach to test the response of Cope’s Gray Treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis) to fire across terrestrial and aquatic habitats by examining responses in tadpole performance and survivorship, adult abundance, and oviposition choice. In a common garden experiment, tadpoles reared with unburned leaf litter grew much faster those in pools with burned litter. To determine how fire in terrestrial and aquatic habitats acts to shape oviposition choice, we embedded aquatic mesocosms containing a substrate of either burned or unburned leaf litter within burned and unburned terrestrial plots. Observed oviposition was an order of magnitude higher in unburned terrestrial plots, regardless of the aquatic leaf litter treatment. This trend was not driven by differences in adult abundance in burned and unburned plots. Our findings are consistent with a scenario where adult treefrogs use terrestrial cues to preferentially breed in aquatic sites in unburned landscapes where tadpoles also experience greater growth. These insights highlight the value of adopting a multi-scale integrative approach that links stage and habitat specific effects on abundance, behavior, and performance to understanding the effects of anthropogenic and natural stressors on animal with complex life cycles.
Social networking websites and personnel selection: A call for academic research.

This chapter describes the traditional way of developing Situational Judgment Testing (SJTs), followed by a literature review concerning how design considerations impact the quality of the SJT. It also design considerations affect six important selection test criteria. After developing the SJT items, the response instructions have to be determined. There are two types of response instructions that can be used: knowledge-based and behavioral tendency instructions. Almost all construct-related validity evidence until now has been restricted to paper-and-pencil SJTs. The meta-analysis of McDaniel shows that response instructions had little moderating effect on criterion-related validity. Although empirical-based scoring methods often have high validity, the method is criticized for being atheoretical. A construct-based approach offers several theoretical and practical advantages, such as the ability to generalize findings across time and jobs. The chapter also reviews the traditional way of developing and scoring SJTs and how different development and scoring procedures affect the SJT's reliability, validity, ethnic score differences, fakability, and acceptability.
Mindfulness Training and Physical Health: Mechanisms and Outcomes.

ABSTRACTObjectiveThere has been substantial research and public interest in mindfulness interventions, biological pathways, and health for the past two decades. This article reviews recent developments in understanding relationships between mindfulness interventions and physical health.MethodsA sele
A Distributed Computing Model for Dataflow, Controlflow, and Workflow in Fractionated Cyber-Physical Systems

With the ongoing trend to parallelize computations for scalability, better performance, and reliability, distributed dataflow models are attracting interest at all design levels, ranging from processorarchitectures to local- and wide-area computing clusters in the cloud. Data-driven computation has also been an important paradigm in sensor networks and embedded systems, which have evolved into a larger research effort on networked cyber-physical systems (NCPS), that can sense and affect their environment. Fractionated cyber-physical systems (FCPS) are an interesting subclass of NCPS where the redundancy and diversity of many unreliable and potentially heterogeneous networked components is exploited to improve scalability, reliability, and verifiability of the overall system. In this paper we present the theory of a new distributed computing model for such systems as a first step toward a model-based design methodology for FCPS. To uniformly capture dataflow, controlflow, and workflow, we use a subclass of Petri nets as an intuitive high-level model, which is translated into a weaker model — namely, a new variant of Petri nets that does not make any atomicity assumptions but instead uses a partial order to ensure eventual consistency. In the full version of this paper, we briefly discuss an application to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms, which has been implemented on top of a prototype of our theory for both simulation models and real world deployments.
Immunological efficacy of self-assembled nanoparticle anti-mite vaccine

Abstract This report demonstrates the effects of self-assembled nanoparticle anti-caries vaccine Glu-FTH and Glu+ Poly(I:C) (in combination with adjuvant Poly(I:C) and antigen Glu) on specific humoral and mucosal immunity in mice. Mice were randomly divided into 6 groups, and Glu-FTH, Glu, Glu-FTH + Poly (I: C), Glu+Poly (I: C), FTH, and PBS were injected into mice via nasal mucosa. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect specific antibody levels in serum and saliva. Results indicate that Glu-FTH, Glu, Glu-FTH+Poly(I:C), Glu+Poly(I:C) can effectively increase anti-Glu IgG levels in mouse serum; Glu+Poly(I:C) and Glu It can effectively increase the level of anti-GlusIgA in mouse saliva. Therefore, we demonstrate that Glu-FTH has a certain immune effect. The combination of adjuvant Poly(I:C) and antigen Glu can induce strong immune response.
Benefit–Cost Analysis of an Innovative Program for Self-Sufficiency and Homeownership:

Background:Federal policy has increasingly sought to build financial capability, earnings, and assets of subsidized housing recipients.Objective:We conduct a benefit–cost analysis of the Denver Hou...
Unpredictability of AI.

The young field of AI Safety is still in the process of identifying its challenges and limitations. In this paper, we formally describe one such impossibility result, namely Unpredictability of AI. We prove that it is impossible to precisely and consistently predict what specific actions a smarter-than-human intelligent system will take to achieve its objectives, even if we know terminal goals of the system. In conclusion, impact of Unpredictability on AI Safety is discussed.
Fresh versus frozen embryo transfer has no effect on childhood weight.

Objective To evaluate the effect of frozen, compared with fresh, embryo transfer on neonatal and pediatric weight and weight gain trajectory. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Academic medical center. Patient(s) Women who underwent fresh or frozen embryo transfer at the Mayo Clinic from 2010 to 2014. All included embryo transfers resulted in a singleton live birth. Children were followed from birth to at least 18 months. When possible, growth was evaluated to 5 years of age. Interventions(s) Fresh versus frozen embryo transfer. Main Outcome Measure(s) Propensity score methodology was used to balance the two groups by maternal characteristics and gestational age before evaluating outcomes. Each infant and childhood growth measurement was compared between the two groups. Result(s) Of the 136 women, 87 underwent a fresh embryo transfer and 49 underwent a frozen embryo transfer. Birth length and head circumference were significantly different in infants delivered after fresh versus frozen embryo transfer. There was a statistically significant difference in birth weight between infants born after fresh versus frozen embryo transfer. However, this difference did not persist when adjusted for gestational age, sex, and maternal factors. Childhood growth measurements including age- and sex-specific weight, and body mass index percentiles were not significantly different between groups. Conclusion(s) This study confirmed an association of frozen embryo transfer and increased birth weight, but the association did not persist when controlling for confounding maternal factors. We found no effect of fresh versus frozen embryo transfer on neonatal weight and childhood weight gain trajectory.
A record of flooding on the White River, Arkansas derived from tree-ring anatomical variability and vessel width

Tree rings preserve important records of past flooding. We present the results of an examination of inter-annual tree-ring anatomical variability and vessel width in overcup oak (Quercus lyrata) an...
Deep Venous Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism in Cardiac Surgical Patients.

Background Deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism are life-threatening complications after surgery, warranting prophylaxis. However prophylaxis is not uniformly practiced among cardiac surgical patients. This study aimed to characterize the national incidence, mortality, and costs associated with thromboembolism after cardiac surgery. Methods The 2005 to 2015 National Inpatient Sample was used to identify all adult patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting or valve surgery. International Classification of Disease codes were used to identify patients with deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Results Of approximately 3 million patients undergoing cardiac surgery, 1.62% developed deep venous thrombosis and 0.38% pulmonary embolism. Those with deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism were more commonly women (33.2% and 36.2 vs 31.2%, P Conclusions The mortality and financial burden related to thromboembolism in cardiac surgery are significant. Prophylaxis may be indicated in cardiac surgery patients to improve quality of care and reduce healthcare costs. Future controlled randomized trials investigating the benefit of thromboembolism prophylaxis in cardiac surgery are warranted.
Measures of adiposity correlate with renal filtration in young nulliparous women: An observational cohort study.

Objective Renal hyperfiltration, which has been documented in severe obesity and obesity-associated hypertension, can occur with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Identification of prepregnancy risk factors for unrecognized renal hyperfiltration could inform screening and intervention strategies to protect against pregnancy complications. In young, healthy, nulliparous women, associations between associations between measures of adiposity, insulin resistance, and renal vascular resistance were thus evaluated. Methods This is a secondary analysis of a prospective observational trial characterizing associations of prepregnancy and late-pregnancy maternal physiology. Seventy-nine nulligravid women aged 18-42 years without major medical conditions were assessed for percent android body fat using dual-energy X-ray absorption. Renal cortical vessel blood flow resistance index (CVRI) was determined using Doppler ultrasonography. Creatinine clearance was calculated from 24-hour urine collection. Results Renal CVRI inversely correlates with body mass index (r = -0.23, p = 0.047), percent android fat (r = -0.30, p = 0.008), and supine pulse (r = -0.44, p < 0.001). Creatinine clearance is positively associated with BMI and HOMA-IR.In regression modeling, supine pulse (r2 = 0.22, p < 0.001) and cardiac index (r2 = 0.05, p = 0.045) predict renal CVRI, whereas HOMA-IR (r2 = 0.11, p = 0.008) and cardiac output (r2 = 0.06, p = 0.039) predict creatinine clearance. Measures of adiposity are not independently predictive of either measure. Conclusions In healthy young women, measures of adiposity and insulin resistance correlate positively with renal filtration. Preclinical manifestations of renal hyperfiltration may have implications for pregnancy outcomes.
Investigation of the resonance of nonwetting droplets in constricted capillary tubes

ABSTRACTFluids in porous media could resonate due to passing seismic waves when meeting certain conditions of excitation frequency and pore geometry. This study of the resonance of fluids can contr...
Development and LQR Control of Prosthetic Leg Prototype for Human Gait

Physical disabilities cause great distress in daily routine of people especially for leg amputees as their movement is restricted. As a civilized society, it our responsibility to provide them with better prosthetics so they can live a normal life. Previously, prosthetic legs developed are either for lower leg amputees or the upper body is considered fixed. This paper models prosthetic leg with flexibility of movement to the upper body. The human walking gait is simulated in sim mechanics by modelling four body parts that assist during walk. These parts are the torso (upper body), hip, knee and ankle joint. The movement of the upper body and the leg is initiated by the movement of these four joints. The main goal of this paper is to allow flexibility and single degree of freedom to each joint modelled in sim mechanics. The movements of these joints are synchronized in such manner that overall stability of the body is maintained. The movement of these joints will be made with reference to positions achieved by original leg. These joints are responsible for walking gait, assisted by an optimal controller, which ensure speedy response of joint movement against final position and also reduce error between measured and desired states. Linear-quadratic regulator (LQR) is used as state-feedback controller to stabilize and control the whole model. A well-tuned weighting matrix of LQR controller helps to achieve desired response from the prosthetic leg. A comprehensive analysis of measured states from joint sensors and control inputs to Joint Actuators for the Prosthetic leg model is presented as part of research. The results achieved are within physically possible limits to replicate a perfect human walking gait.
Progestogen Sensitization: a Unique Female Presentation of Anaphylaxis

Progestogen hypersensitivity (PH) is a condition which typically occurs in women in childbearing years with a spectrum of symptoms ranging from urticaria with or without angioedema, dermatitis to systemic anaphylaxis. Herein, a clinical case of PH is presented followed by a discussion on the evaluation, diagnosis, and management of PH. Progestogen hypersensitivity (a.k.a. “autoimmune progesterone dermatitis”) symptoms are associated with exogenous progestin exposure (e.g., contraceptive medicines, in vitro fertilization therapy) or endogenous progesterone from progesterone surges during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and pregnancy. This condition can be difficult to recognize due to its heterogeneous clinical presentation. The mechanism of PH is believed to be primarily IgE-mediated; however, less commonly other immune responses may be involved. There is now a useful progesterone specific IgE immunoassay to assist in diagnosis and well-defined treatment algorithms that can be used to successfully manage PH. The epidemiology of PH is still poorly elucidated but is likely to be encountered by clinicians and especially allergists given the extensive use of oral contraceptives and increased use of supra-physiologic doses of progesterone required to support pregnancy in IVF. Including PH in the differential diagnosis of women presenting with cyclic hypersensitivity will accelerate diagnosis and successful management of this condition.
Chapter 79 – Neurofibromatoses

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and type 2 (NF2) are autosomal dominant tumor predisposition syndromes with prominent involvement of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Clinical features of NF1 typically include, but are not limited to, cafe-au-lait spots, neurofibromas, skinfold freckling, optic pathway gliomas, Lisch nodules and bony lesions, such as sphenoid bone dysplasia. Neurofibromatosis type 2 is characterized by the development of bilateral vestibular schwannomas, meningiomas, ependymomas, and lenticular opacities. Both syndromes result from mutations in tumor suppressor genes, whose loss of function leads to increased cell growth. Molecular biology and animal models have provided critical new insights into the mechanisms underlying NF1 and NF2 protein function. While past treatment approaches have been focused on traditional chemotherapy or surgical techniques, the improved understanding of the pathogenesis of these conditions afforded by basic science research has led to the implementation of novel targeted therapies.
Seminole Tribe v. Florida: Sovereignty and the Eleventh Amendment Imag(in)ed

The Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as ratified in the 1790s, reflects an abiding commitment to the idea that the states of the Union were entitled as sovereigns to a measure of immunity from suit in federal court. This chapter from a forthcoming collection, Painting Constitutional Law: Xavier Cortada’s Images of Constitutional Rights (H. Wasserman & M. Mirow eds. forthcoming 2021), explores the conflicting ideas of sovereignty that were embedded in that Amendment. In his painting of one leading modern judicial interpretation of the Eleventh Amendment, the Supreme Court’s 1996 decision in Seminole Tribe v. Florida, Xavier Cortada allows us to see state sovereignty both as a restriction on the sovereign power of Congress and as a special form of state power to deny the competing sovereignty claims of Native people. One finds in Cortada’s depiction of a tattered Native jacket both the imprint of the Eleventh Amendment and the weight of an indigenous people’s history.
Alloplastic Auricular Reconstruction: Review of Implant Types, Adverse Events, and Aesthetic Outcomes.

IMPORTANCE Alloplastic implants have been applied successfully in reconstruction of the external ear, either for congenital microtia or traumatic injury. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to conduct a comprehensive systematic review of alloplastic implant materials utilized in the reconstruction of the external ear stratified by indication, specific implant type, postoperative complications, and aesthetic outcomes. EVIDENCE REVIEW A comprehensive systematic review of published literature on alloplastic external ear reconstruction data was conducted utilizing Medline/PubMed database without timeframe limitations in June 2019. Articles were stratified by (1) indication (microtia versus trauma reconstruction) and (2) implant material type. All postoperative complications were recorded and comparatively analyzed between implant types. Aesthetic outcomes were also identified and compared between implant types. FINDINGS A total of 755 patients (14 case series; follow-up range = 3 months--10 years) met the criteria for this study. Overall complication rate was 12.05% across all indications and materials used. The most frequent complications reported were graft exposure (7.8%), graft explantation (1.72%), and wound dehiscence (0.8%). Of the patients requiring graft explantation (n = 13), 7 (53.85%) received Medpor implants, and the other 6 (46.15%) were identified in silicone implants. Infection was only reported in Medpor implants. The overall rate of an acceptable aesthetic outcome was 99.34%. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Alloplastic implants are a reliable means of achieving an acceptable complication profile in external ear reconstruction. While there was an overall high rate of acceptable aesthetic outcomes, the studies evaluated in this systematic review differed in their criteria for final evaluation of aesthetic outcomes.
Bacterial genomic GC content drifts slowly downward due to a biased mutation rate

In every kingdom of life, GC->AT transitions are the predominant type of mutation that accumulates over evolutionary time periods. In eukaryotic genomes, this slow loss of GC base pairs is counteracted by biased gene conversion which increases genomic GC content as part of the recombination process. However, this type of biased gene conversion has not been observed in bacterial genomes so we hypothesized that GC->AT transitions cause a reduction of genomic GC content in prokaryotic genomes. To test this hypothesis, we used a phylogenetic approach to analyze triplets of closely related genomes representing a wide range of the bacterial kingdom. The resulting data indicate that genomic GC content is slowly declining in bacterial genomes where GC base pairs comprise 40% or more of the total genome. In contrast, genomes containing less than 40% GC base pairs have fewer opportunities for GC->AT transitions to occur so genomic GC content is relatively stable or actually increasing at a slow rate.
Is the lack of evidence in older adults with cancer compromising safety

The number of older adults with cancer is increasing, and this group is forecasted to represent a larger portion of the field of oncology over the decades to come. Many unique challenges exist in t...
Damage modeling and detection for a tree network using fractional-order calculus

Large networks are increasingly common in engineered systems, and therefore, monitoring their operating conditions is increasingly important. This paper proposes a model-based frequency-domain damage detection method for an infinitely large self-similar network. The first aim is to exactly model the overall frequency response for any specific damage case of that network, which we show has an explicit multiplicative relation to the undamaged transfer function. Then, leveraging that knowledge from modeling, this paper also proposes an algorithm to identify damaged components within that network as well as quantifies their respective damage amounts given a noisy measurement for that network’s overall frequency response.
Non-linear 3D tomographic object reconstruction of partially coherent broadband transmission illumination microscopy systems

Accurate reconstruction methods are needed to extend the reach of quantitative 3D microscopy to diverse samples in biology with illumination in an arbitrary states of spatial and temporal coherence. Recent research in optical diffraction tomography (ODT) reconstruction has incorporated non-invertible physics-based forward models, such as beam propagation or the Lippman-Schwinger equation, to overcome these effects. However, partially coherent methods have yet to incorporate more accurate physical models, as these artifacts are reduced by the incoherence of the illumination and require heavy computation. Here we leverage the sparsity of the 3D Green’s function solution to the Helmholtz equation in k-space to reduce the problem’s dimensionality to rapidly compute a partially coherent forward model, allowing for a gradient descent-type iterative solver to reconstruct 3D thick biological samples in a variety of illuminations, including broadband light.
Water Temperature and Availability Shape the Spatial Ecology of a Hot Springs Endemic Toad (Anaxyrus williamsi)

Desert amphibians are limited to exploiting ephemeral resources and aestivating or to inhabiting scarce refuges of permanent water, such as springs. Understanding how amphibians use these resources is essential for their conservation. Dixie Valley Toads (Anaxyrus williamsi) are precinctive to a small system of cold and hot springs in the Dixie Valley, Nevada, USA. The toads have been petitioned for listing under the US Endangered Species Act, and information about how they use terrestrial and aquatic resources will help managers to conserve the toads and identify threats like geothermal energy development that might affect these toads. We used radiotelemetry to study the seasonal home ranges, movements, and habitat associations of Dixie Valley Toads in autumn 2018 and spring 2019. We found that toads were very closely associated with water in both seasons, with most observations occurring in water, especially for males in spring and all toads in the autumn. Even when found in terrestrial habitat, toads were a median distance of 4.2 m (95% credible interval = 3.3–5.3) from water; 95% of the time in spring and autumn, toads were within 14 m of water. Dixie Valley Toad habitat selection indicated a similar pattern, with selection in both spring and autumn for locations closer to water and for warmer water and substrates than at nearby available locations. In autumn, toads also avoided bare ground and terrestrial graminoids. Dixie Valley Toads selected brumation sites in, over (within dense vegetation), or near water, often near springs where water depths and temperatures are likely stable through the winter. The reliance of Dixie Valley Toads on water in spring, autumn, and during brumation suggests that alteration to historical flows and water temperatures are likely to affect the toads. Changes to the hydrothermal environment when toads are brumating could be particularly detrimental, potentially killing inactive toads.
He knew more than we wanted him to know: Parent perceptions about their children's sense of pediatric cancer-related financial problems.

BACKGROUND Treatment for pediatric cancer generates costs that place sizeable demands on family finances relative to household income. Little is known about whether children sense that their cancer has created financial problems for the family. The study purpose was to describe parents' perceptions about whether their child sensed that pediatric cancer created financial problems for their family. PROCEDURE Family Communications Theory informed our study. We used descriptive statistics and content analysis to examine parents' (n = 417) responses to questions about the child's sense of pediatric cancer-related financial problems from a larger survey study. RESULTS Approximately 56.2% of parents indicated that their child had no sense of the pediatric cancer-related financial problems and 44.1% indicated their child had some. Proportions of children perceived to sense these financial problems steadily increased with age grouping, while proportions perceived to have none declined. With content analysis, we identified cognitive capacity as the key child factor influencing children's sense of these problems. Influential context factors included social norms, observed changes in family routines and spending patterns, and overheard conversations between adults. Child psychological outcomes included guilt, anxiety about money, and feelings of being a burden. CONCLUSION Pediatric oncology professionals and staff should be mindful of parent preferences about burdening children with sensitive financial information, and modify their behaviors and processes accordingly. They can also provide anticipatory guidance and psycho-education about psychological responses related to the effects of pediatric cancer on family finances and the role of cognitive development in the evolution of children's awareness of those effects.
Aptamers with self-loading drug payload and ph-controlled drug release for targeted chemotherapy

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a common anti-tumor drug that binds to DNA or RNA via non-covalent intercalation between G-C sequences. As a therapeutic agent, DOX has been used to form aptamer-drug conjugates for targeted cancer therapy in vitro and in vivo. To improve the therapeutic potential of aptamer-DOX conjugates, we synthesized trifurcated Newkome-type monomer (TNM) structures with three DOX molecules bound through pH-sensitive hydrazone bonds to formulate TNM-DOX. The aptamer-TNM-DOX conjugate (Apt-TNM-DOX) was produced through a simple self-loading process. Chemical validation revealed that Apt-TNM-DOX stably carried high drug payloads of 15 DOX molecules per aptamer sequence. Functional characterization showed that DOX payload release from Apt-TNM-DOX was pH-dependent and occurred at pH 5.0, which reflects the microenvironment of tumor cell lysosomes. Further, Apt-TNM-DOX specifically targeted lymphoma cells without affecting off-target control cells. Aptamer-mediated cell binding resulted in the uptake of Apt-TNM-DOX into targeted cells and the release of DOX payload within cell lysosomes to inhibit growth of targeted lymphoma cells. The Apt-TNM-DOX provides a simple, non-toxic approach to develop aptamer-based targeted therapeutics and may reduce the non-specific side effects associated with traditional chemotherapy.
The Text of the Early View

In Chapter 1 we discussed Kant’s three presentations of his early view of representation. These presentations form the nucleus of the early text and provide us with key doctrines and terminology that are signposts of the early view. In this chapter our goal is to lay out the entire early text using these signposts. We begin in Section 1 with the early Aesthetic. Then in Section 2 we complete the early text with the Second Paralogism, and the Dynamical Antinomies. We end with a chart of what the early text looked like. This is important for it enables us to see what Kant had to work with when he came to revise that text.
Observations of Two of Our Brightest Stars

The author who has been associated to E. Schroedinger at the University of Vienna 1956–59 and to P.A.M. Dirac at Florida State University 1974–84 discusses some of his experiences characterizing the two founders of modern physics and their outlook on science and various scientific problems.
Developmental changes in spontaneous electrocortical activity and network organization from early to late childhood

We investigated the development of spontaneous (resting state) cerebral electric fields and their network organization from early to late childhood in a large community sample of children. Critically, we examined electrocortical maturation across one-year windows rather than creating aggregate averages that can miss subtle maturational trends. We implemented several novel methodological approaches including a more fine grained examination of spectral features across multiple electrodes, the use of phase-lagged functional connectivity to control for the confounding effects of volume conduction and applying topological network analyses to weighted cortical adjacency matrices. Overall, there were major decreases in absolute EEG spectral density (particularly in the slow wave range) across cortical lobes as a function of age. Moreover, the peak of the alpha frequency increased with chronological age and there was a redistribution of relative spectral density toward the higher frequency ranges, consistent with much of the previous literature. There were age differences in long range functional brain connectivity, particularly in the alpha frequency band, culminating in the most dense and spatially variable networks in the oldest children. We discovered age-related reductions in characteristic path lengths, modularity and homogeneity of alpha-band cortical networks from early to late childhood. In summary, there is evidence of large scale reorganization in endogenous brain electric fields from early to late childhood, suggesting reduced signal amplitudes in the presence of more functionally integrated and band limited coordination of neuronal activity across the cerebral cortex.
Myeloperoxidase potentiates nitric oxide nitrosation of 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline

761 Colitis (inflammation) and well-done red meat intake (heterocyclic amines) are risk factors for colon cancer. We have recently demonstrated that reactive nitrogen oxygen species (RNOS) nitrosate the heterocyclic amine colon carcinogen 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5- f ]quinoline (IQ) forming 2-nitrosoamino-3-methylimidazo[4,5- f ]quinoline (N-NO-IQ). Because nitrosamines/amides are known to cause GI tumors and N-NO-IQ can be activated by myeloperoxidase (MPO) to form the same DNA adduct as N-HO-IQ (N-(deoxyguanosin-8- yl)-IQ), we propose N-NO-IQ as an alternative to N-OH-IQ initiation of colon cancer, particularly in individuals with colitis. RNOS are formed by the reaction of nitric oxide (NO) with either oxygen or superoxide. While the reaction of NO with superoxide to form peroxynitrite is very fast, the reaction of NO with oxygen (autoxidation) is slow and considered unlikely to occur in vivo. In this study, we evaluated MPO potentiation of NO-mediated IQ nitrosation. DEA NONOate (DEA, 0.1 mM), a NO donor, transformed 0.06 mM 14 C-IQ to N-NO-IQ by autoxidation. With DEA, 85 nM MPO, and 0.1 mM H 2 O 2 , N-NO-IQ formation was increased about 7 to 10-fold with IQ concentrations from 0.02 to 0.2 mM. N-NO-IQ was the only product observed. The affinities of nitrosating species produced by NO for IQ were greater in the presence (-1/X int = 60 + 6 μM) than absence (-1/X int = 104 + 10 μM) of MPO. At infinite concentrations of IQ, the maximal rates of N-NO-IQ formation were greater in the presence (1/Y int = 259 + 15) than absence (1/Y int = 84 + 5) of MPO. MPO at 25 to 170 nM potentiated N-NO-IQ formation. Different test agents were used to differentiate nitrosation by autoxidation from that observed with MPO. Nitrosation by autoxidation was inhibited 100, 51, and 0 % by 0.3 mM azide, 100 mM NaCl, and 10 ug/ml catalase, respectively. In contrast, MPO-potentiated N-NO-IQ formation was inhibited 42, 0, and 91 % by corresponding concentrations of the same sequence of test agents. Other test agents such as 1 mM glutathione, 0.3 mM ascorbic acid, 0.1 mM NADH, and 30 mM DMPO had similar effects on both pathways. MPO does not metabolize IQ in the absence of NO. However, in the presence of 0.3 mM NO 2 - , an end-product of NO metabolism, MPO metabolizes IQ to two nitroproducts and an IQ dimer. Thus, MPO metabolism of IQ depends upon both the presence and the type of RNOS. Human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (10 6 cells/ml) were incubated with 0.1 mM spermine NONOate and 0.01 mM IQ. Phorbol ester (0.055 mM) increased N-NO-IQ formation 3-fold. This increase was prevented by catalase and further increased to 6-fold with superoxide dismutase. Results demonstrate MPO potentiation of IQ nitrosation. N-NO-IQ formation is dependent upon the inflammatory response; its formation is potentiated by MPO, and its activation to form DNA adducts facilitated by MPO.
Mass Spectrometry of Biomolecules

This paper reviews the present status of mass spectrometry of large molecules. Emphasis is given to the use of ionization methods for nonvolatile, thermally labile molecules and to the utilization of tandem mass spectrometry for structural characterization. The combination of desorption ionization and tandem mass spectrometry is relatively new and must undergo additional development before it is a routine analytical method. This review discusses areas where further developments are required and the potential effects that such developments could have on the problems of molecular characterization by mass spectrometry-based methods.
Covariance/Variance/Correlation

In this entry, I describe the covariance, variance, and correlation, each in a common framework that allows their interrelationships to be apparent. Specifically, the covariance is the uniting concept, within which the variance and correlation are special cases. Following separate treatments, I present a formula that explicitly shows the relationships between the three indices. Finally, I briefly describe the role of each in Structural Equations Modeling (SEM). Keywords: covariance; variance; correlation; invariance under linear transformation; centering; standardizing; structural equations modeling (SEM)
Cytochrome Composition of Some Members of the Actinoplanaceae

The cytochrome composition of 19 strains of Actinoplanaceae has been investigated. The principal cytochrome found was cytochrome b, and occasional strains showed the presence of cytochrome a.
Preclinical Trials in Mouse Cancer Models

The goals of this chapter are to address general principles involved in testing cancer therapeutics in the mouse with an emphasis on how murine cancer models might be deployed to overcome some of the difficulties involved in evaluating new agents in human beings. We compare xenograft systems with genetically engineered models and discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each. We suggest criteria that should be considered in designing and implementing preclinical trials in mouse models. Keywords: mouse cancer models; preclinical trials; new cancer therapies; human patients; human xenografts; immunodeficient mice; genetically engineered mouse models; preclinical trials
Biological Treatment of Synthetic Fuel Wastewater

A wastewater biological treatability study was performed with effluent from the Grand Forks Energy Technology Center slagging fixed-bed coal gasification process. It was found that ammonia stripped wastewater could be processed reliably at 33% strength at substrate removal rates less than approximately 0.6 mg COD removed/mg MLVSS-day. The wastewater when diluted to 33% strength contained highest reported concentration of organic contaminants in coal conversion effluents processed successfully by air activated sludge. The bacterial yield coefficient for treatment of 33% strength stripped wastewater was 0.29 (COD basis) and the endogenous respiration rate coefficient was 0.038 day\u-¹ (COD basis). Raw wastewater with no ammonia removed could be processed at 40% strength. Nitrification was feasible with both stripped and unstripped wastewater. COD removal rates which impaired nitrification were dependent on ammonia loading, as nitrification could be sustained at higher values of substrate rate with unstripped wastewater than was observed with stripped wastewater.
A phoneme dependent voicing source for speech synthesis

Summary form only given, as follows. The quality of vowel sounds in synthetic speech produced by commercially available formant synthesizers very often lacks the desired naturalness. One reason is that most systems are implemented without including the effect of acoustic coupling of the vocal tract with the glottal and subglottal sections of the voice-production system. The authors present a method for determining the effect of this interaction on the shape of the glottal volume velocity signal, and also an algorithm which incorporates the acoustic coupling in vowel production and in vowel-vowel coarticulation in a cascaded formant synthesizer in real time. >
Legal and Philosophical Fictions: At the Line Where the Two Become One

Anti-foundationalism is a central topic in recent legal scholarship. The critical legal studies movement (CLS) has mounted a strong challenge to the traditional belief that legal materials (constitutions, statutes, and precedents) determine legal outcomes and constrain judicial decision making. This scholarship has overlooked, however, the degree to which the debate between traditional legal determinacy and anti-foundational indeterminacy is yet another manifestation of a continuous debate in Western thought – one that has its roots in pre-Socratic rhetoric and philosophy. This paper traces the indeterminacy thesis back to the contest of ideas between Protagoras and Plato. I examine two well-known and elated Protagorean notions: first, that two arguments (logoi) are always set in opposition to one another with regard to every matter and, second, that the rhetorician can always ‘make the weaker argument the stronger.’ I contend that taking these Protagorean notions seriously – perhaps even more seriously than self-avowed anti-foundationalists customarily do – leads paradoxically to a modified endorsement of foundationalism that is nevertheless wholly consistent with the Protagorean project. Calling upon texts by Aristotle, Seneca and Rene Girard, I focus upon how fictionality in representations of Platonically conceived Truth reveals a binarization in thought that is simultaneously untenable and unavoidable.
Nonlinear optics in single crystal fibers

Since the advent of low loss optical fibers fifteen years ago, considerable research effort has been directed towards the study of nonlinear interactions in fibers. A variety of devices have taken advantage of the combination of transverse confinement and long interaction lengths available in glass fibers to operate efficiently at relatively low pump powers. Because glasses are inherently centro-symmetric, only third-order nonlinear processes, e.g. Raman1 and Brillouin2 scattering, optical Kerr effect,3 self-phase modulation,4 or extremely weak quadrupole second order processes5 are allowed. Thus, the combination of fiber geometry and the second order susceptibility of non-centro-symmetric single crystals would open the door to a broad range of nonlinear applications not possible in glass fibers.