cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition for the Diabetic Patient: A Case-Based Approach

Patients’ nutritional status is essential to ensure beneficial outcomes. However for the diabetic, the caloric energy required is not only sustaining but problematic if not managed appropriately. Uncontrolled hyperglycemia places these patients at risk of complications such as infections, neuropathy, and retinopathy. Health care providers can assist in tailoring nutritional support for diabetic patients. Possible interventions include adjusting caloric requirements to minimize carbohydrates and maximize fat as a main calorie substitute and to suggest appropriate macronutrient sources. Other disease state complications such as diabetic-associated nephropathy and gastroparesis affect nutritional support and present opportunity for further interventions. Diligence regarding blood glucose monitoring is imperative. Additional anti-diabetic therapies can be used to maintain tight glucose control; however, close monitoring must occur to minimize hypoglycemic episodes, which can be life-threatening.
On the saturation of n-detection test sets with increased n

An n-detection test set contains n different tests for each target fault. The value of n is typically determined based on test set size constraints, and certain values have become standard. In this work we investigate appropriate values for n by considering the saturation of the n-detection test generation process. As n is increased, eventually the rate of increase in test set quality starts dropping. Saturation occurs when the increase in test set quality with n drops below a certain level. We introduce three parameters of an n-detection test set to measure saturation of the test generation process: (1) the fraction of faults detected n times or less by the test set, (2) the fraction of faults detected fewer than n times by the test set, and (3) the test set size relative to the size of a one-detection test set. We demonstrate that the behavior of each one of these parameters follows a unique pattern as n is increased, and certain features of this behavior can be used to identify saturation. All the parameters are easy to compute during the test generation process.
A dynamic adaptive sampling algorithm (DASA) for real world applications: finger print recognition and face recognition

In many real world problems, data mining algorithms have access to massive amounts of data (defense and security). Mining all the available data is prohibitive due to computational (time and memory) constraints. Thus, the smallest sufficient training set size that obtains the same accuracy as the entire available dataset remains an important research question. Progressive sampling randomly selects an initial small sample and increases the sample size using either geometric or arithmetic series until the error converges, with the sampling schedule determined apriori. In this paper, we explore sampling schedules that are adaptive to the dataset under consideration. We develop a general approach to determine how many instances are required at each iteration for convergence using Chernoff Inequality. We try our approach on two real world problems where data is abundant: face recognition and finger print recognition using neural networks. Our empirical results show that our dynamic approach is faster and uses much fewer examples than other existing methods. However, the use of Chernoff bound requires the samples at each iteration to be independent of each other. Future work will look at removing this limitation which should further improve performance.
Transgenic models of prion disease

There is growing concern that bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) may have passed from cattle to humans, resulting in ~70 cases of an atypical, variant zCJD (vCJD) in teenagers and young adults. We report here that transgenic (Tg) mice expressing full-length bovine (Bo) PrP serially propagate BSE prions and that there is no species barrier for transmission from cattle to Tg(BoPrP) mice. Surprisingly, these same mice were also highly susceptible to vCJD and natural sheep scrapie. The incubation times (~25O d), neuropathology, and PrPSc isoforms in Tg(BoPrP) mice inoculated with vCJD and BSE brain extracts were indistinguishable and differed dramatically from those seen in these mice injected with natural scrapie. In efforts to identify PrP sequences required for prion formation, we found that a redacted prion protein of only 106 amino acids (PrP106) containing two large deletions supported prion propagation. In Tg(PrP106) mice, an artificial transmission barrier for the passage of full-length mouse prions was diminished by the coexpression of full-length wt MoPrPc, suggesting that wt MoPrP acts in trans to accelerate the replication of “miniprions” containing PrPSc106. Following a single passage (~300 d) in Tg(PrP106) mice, the miniprions efficiently transmitted disease to Tg(PrP106) mice after only ~66 days. Our findings with Tg(BoPrP) mice provide compelling evidence that prions from cattle with BSE have infected humans and caused fatal neurodegeneration, the unique features of miniprions offer new insights into the mechanism of prion replication, and the trans-acting effects of full-length PrP coexpression suggest a new approach to the development of even more efficient animal models for prion diseases.
The binding of antihistone antibodies to Crithidia luciliae kinetoplasts is growth cycle-dependent.

The Crithidia luciliae immunofluorescence (CLIF) assay is widely used to test for native DNA (nDNA) antibodies in the diagnosis and management of systemic lupus erythematosus. However, sera from patients with drug-induced lupus erythematosus or rheumatoid arthritis, which should not contain nDNA antibodies, occasionally react with the CL kinetoplast. We examined 36 sera from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome, and drug-induced lupus erythematosus, who had positive CLIF tests. All 36 sera were also antinuclear antibody-positive with homogeneous and/or peripheral staining patterns on mouse kidney substrates. After hydrochloric acid extraction of the CL smears to remove histone and other nuclear protein antigens, 14 of the 36 sera no longer produced a positive result on the CLIF test. Ten of these 14 sera again gave a positive CLIF result after the hydrochloric acid-extracted Crithidia substrate had been reconstituted with purified histone. These studies demonstrated that kinetoplast binding was due to antihistone antibodies in at least 10 of 36 initially CLIF-positive sera. Antihistone antibodies were then purified with a histone-affinity column, and these purified antibodies were reactive with CL kinetoplasts. Thus, the CLIF test is not specific for nDNA antibodies. Additional studies using CL from different days of culture indicated that histone antigen expression in the CL kinetoplast was a function of the life cycle of this organism and is most readily detected 2 days after initiation of culture.
Prognostic Significance of iNOS in Human Melanoma

Melanoma is the leading cause of death from skin cancer, particularly in young adults. Precise staging of melanoma progression is highly critical as even relatively small melanomas can metastasize and it is extremely difficult to treat once the tumor has metastasized beyond the locoregional area. Clinical and histological variables such as primary tumor invasion, ulceration, and lymph node status might be unsuccessful to identify early stage that will eventually progress to further stages of disease. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop biomarkers that might help to identify patients with early-stage melanoma who are likely to develop advanced disease and would benefit from additional therapies. In recent years, molecular biology and the identification of molecular markers in melanoma have been a major focus for cancer researchers. Thus, for human melanoma, a growing number of molecular markers, including transcription factors, oncogene products, and loss of tumor suppressor molecules, have been proposed. Most human melanoma tumor cells are known to express the enzyme, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), which is responsible for cytokine-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in macrophages during immune responses. This constitutive expression of iNOS in many patients’ tumor cells, as well as its strong association with poor patient survival, has led to the consideration of iNOS as a molecular marker of poor prognosis, as well as a possible target for therapy. The mechanisms underlying the expression of iNOS expression and the molecular pathways affected by NO are currently active areas of research.
Survival Analysis Modeling of Phylogenetic and Coalescent Trees

Both phylogenetic and coalescent trees are the recordings of evolution over time. In other words, each distinguishable node on the tree, either interior or exterior, represents an evolutionary event. Ignoring the complexity involved in evolution, these events are time-to-events, which means that they can be described with a special type of positive random variables -time-to-event random variables (also known as survival, lifetime, or failure time). There is a branch of mathematical statistics, known as survival analysis, which is advanced to study time-to-event random variables. In this paper, after a brief review of the issues in phylogenetic and coalescent data analysis and modeling, we suggest that survival analysis holds great potential in the modeling of phylogenetic and coalescent trees. To the best of our knowledge, there have been only a very small handful of applications of survival analysis in phylogenetics (we only found seven ad hoc application papers in literature). It appears that there have never been any comprehensive tutorials or reviews on the potential of survival analysis in phylogenetics and coalescent research. We hope that this concise review of state-of-the-art research in survival analysis and the perspective of its applications in phylogenetics and coalescence research will fill the gap.
Mental Representation and the Metaphysics of Meaning in Wittgenstein's Tractatus

Etude de la metaphysique de la signification developpee par Wittgenstein dans le «Tractacus» contre la strategie traditionnelle qui consiste a expliquer la signification d'un signe en reference au locuteur. Comparant les differentes versions proposees par le logicien dans sa premiere philosophie du langage puis dans sa philosophie tardive, l'A. montre que Wittgenstein evite la doctrine classique du representationnalisme mental en substituant a la conception processuelle de la pensee une approche de l'activite de l'usage des signes.
Plasma B-type natriuretic peptide levels predict postoperative atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Background— Postoperative (postop) atrial fibrillation (AF) occurs in up to 60% of patients after cardiac surgery, leading to longer hospital stays and increased healthcare costs. Recently, B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) has been reported to predict occurrence of nonpostoperative AF. This study evaluates whether elevated preoperative (preop) plasma BNP levels predict the occurrence of postop AF. Methods and Results— One hundred eighty-seven patients with no history of atrial arrhythmia who had a preoperative BNP level and had undergone cardiac surgery were identified. Their records were reviewed, and postoperative ECG and telemetry strips were analyzed for AF until the time of discharge. Postop AF was documented in 80 patients (42.8%). AF patients were older (68±11 versus 64±14 years, P=0.04), but there was no difference in sex distribution, hypertension, left ventricular (LV) function, LV hypertrophy (LVH), left atrial size, history of coronary artery disease (CAD), or β-blocker use. Preop plasma BNP l...
Enhanced nitrate fluxes and biological processes at a frontal zone in the southern California current system

Author(s): Li, QP; Franks, PJS; Ohman, MD; Landry, MR | Abstract: Processes that occur at mesoscale and submesoscale features such as eddies and fronts are important for marine ecosystem dynamics and biogeochemical fluxes. However, their impacts on the fate of biogenic organic carbon in coastal oceans are not well quantified because physical and biological interactions at such features are very complex with short time-and small spatial scales variability. As part of the California Current Ecosystem Long-Term Ecological Research (CCE-LTER) Process studies in the southern California Current in October 2008, we sampled across a strong temperature and chlorophyll front ('A-Front') separating water masses with distinct hydrographic and biogeochemical characteristics and a modified biological assemblage at the frontal interface. Thorpe-scale analyses of the hydrographic data from a free-fall moving vessel profiler suggested an increased diapycnal diffusive nitrate flux at the front zone. Based on these field data, we use data-driven diagnostic biogeochemical models to quantify how the front-induced physical mixing influenced the production, grazing and transport of phytoplankton carbon in the southern California Current. Our results suggest that enhanced diffusive diapycnal fluxes of nutrients stimulated phytoplankton primary production at the front; this effect, together with reduced microzooplankton grazing, increased net growth of the phytoplankton community leading to locally enhanced biomass of large phytoplankton, such as diatoms, in the frontal zone. © 2012 The Author.
Powder raman spectra: Application to displacive ferroelectrics

Abstract Powder Raman measurements have recently been used to study the lattice vibrational modes of ferroelectrics. This technique is discussed and reviewed. The technique should be applicable to a number of other areas of research.
Entrance and exit dose regions for a clinac-2100C

Abstract Purpose: While significant advances have taken place in confirming dose in homogeneous media and accounting for changes due to distant heterogeneities, interface dosimetry is still a dose assessment problem. The entrance and exit surfaces of the patient are a prime example where dose assessment is questionable, but important, in many clinical situations. Methods and Materials: Data were taken to examine the effect of such parameters as field size, source-to-skin distance, blocking tray, compensation materials (lead, aluminum and brass) and various patient support materials (Mylar, graphite, thermal plastic, and foam) on the surface doses from a dual energy (6 MV, 18 MV) linear accelerator. Measurements were conducted with a thin window parallel-plate chamber. Results: Relative surface dose was found to have a proportional dependence on field size for both energies with surface doses ranging from 6% to 53%. A surface depth dose of 22.6% for a 15 cm field was measured for the low energy beam while a surface dose of 223% was observed for the 18 MV beam. The surface dose increased significantly for short source to skin distances and with the presence of a blocking tray. Compensating filter materials had little influence on surface dose. However, patient support devices such as Alpha Cradle and the graphite of the table can increase the surface dose to as much as 92%. Conclusion: We found there was a loss in dose at the exit surface (in comparison with percent depth dose tables, which assume infinite depth) on the order of 15% and 11% for the 6 MV and 18 MV beams, respectively. However, this loss is quickly compensated for with the introduction of most inherent backscattering media, [which in fact can increase the dose] for example, graphite in the patient support assembly tabletop.
A rigorous bound for the e+e−→π0γ cross-section

Using only the analyticity of the γγπ0 form factor and the experimental lifetime of the π0, we determine the bound $$\int\limits_{4m_\pi ^2 }^\infty {ds s^k \sigma _{tot} (s) \geqslant 35.3 \mu b (MeV)^2 (4m_\pi )^{2k} \{ 5.91 + k^2 + 4.44k + 256a^2 - 32ak - 70.9a\} } $$ (1) where σtot(s) is the total cross-section for e+e−→π0γ,k is an arbitrary real number, anda is the slope of the form factor ats=0. Bounds are also obtained for the isoscalar and isovector cross-sections separately.
Surface-based GPR underestimates below-stump root biomass

While lateral root mass is readily detectable with ground penetrating radar (GPR), the roots beneath a tree (below-stump) and overlapping lateral roots near large trees are problematic for surface-based antennas operated in reflection mode. We sought to determine if tree size (DBH) effects GPR root detection proximal to longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill) and if corrections for could be applied to stand-level estimates of root mass. GPR (1500 MHz) was used to estimate coarse root mass proximal to 33 longleaf pine trees and compared to the amount of biomass excavated from pits proportional in area to tree basal diameter. Lateral roots were excavated to a depth of 1 m and taproots were excavated in their entirety. GPR underestimated longleaf pine below-stump mass and the magnitude of the underestimation increased with tree DBH. Non-linear regressions between GPR estimated root mass/excavated root mass and tree diameter at breast height (DBH) were highly significant for both below-stump (lateral + taproot) root mass (p < 0.0001, R2 0.77) and lateral coarse root mass (p < 0.0001, R2 0.65). GPR underestimates root mass proximal to trees, and this needs to be accounted for to accurately estimate stand-level belowground biomass.
Why teach? One dental student's views from both sides of the lectern.

I entered New York University College of Dentistry with a different perspective from most other dental students. Dentistry is a second career for me. I taught public school for six years before hearing the call of dentistry—four years in elementary education and two years teaching high school
A robust CORBA to LabVIEW solution

The DoD has mandated that all software radio contracts follow the standard Software Communications Architecture (SCA). A component of the SCA is the Common Object Resource Broker Architecture (CORBA) to promote portability between vendors. LabVIEW is a standard software product used as test language by many manufactures in their factories. In this paper we discuss techniques for interfacing LabVIEW with CORBA to enable streamlining the testing process in the factory.
Swinging for the Fences: Strategic Risk Taking in Entrepreneurship

Traditional entrepreneurship research holds that a role of entrepreneurs is to bear risk and that entrepreneurs are risk seeking, or at least less risk averse than others. Using a tournament model we show that, due to competitive effects, even risk-neutral entrepreneurs appear to be risk seeking and will take on significant levels of risk. To explain this we introduce the concept of strategic risk, which we define as rational risk taking that arises due to competition. We show that the traditional view may have it backwards: we do not observe risky behavior because entrepreneurs have a taste for risk, but rather the structure of some markets induces rational strategic risk taking, and it is the presence of risk and uncertainty that allows entrepreneurship to exist. The model predicts that industries with higher uncertainty and riskier strategies available to entrepreneurs will have higher levels of entrepreneurial entry. We offer an alternative explanation to why radical innovations disproportionately come from small entrepreneurial firms, and why certain industries are more innovative than others.
Confronting diversity: Africans challenging Japanese societal convictions

This paper examines how sub-Saharan Africans in Japan challenge three Japanese societal convictions: the myth of Japanese homogeneity, ideas concerning contemporary blackness, and inclusivity into ...
An examination of the relationship between urban decentralisation and transit decentralisation in a small-sized US metropolitan area

Many scholars point to urban decentralisation as a key contributor to transit’s decline in the USA during the 20th century. This paper examines the link between decentralisation and transit by testing the scholarly argument that transit should decentralise. Using a case study of a smaller US metropolitan area whose transit service was restructured from a centralised to a decentralised model, the authors found that in this context the change involved making tradeoffs between improving service for some parts of the community and degrading it for others. While ridership increased in previously unserved suburban markets, the net result was not an overall ridership increase because of its decline in inner-city neighbourhoods. The authors argue that these results, which were unanticipated based on a review of the scholarly literature, suggest the need for more sensitivity to the importance of local context for scholars working in this domain.
Rotational and Isotopic Effects in the H2 + OH+ → H + H2O+ Reaction

Initial state selected time-dependent wave packet and quasi-classical trajectory methods are employed to study the effects of reactant rotational excitations and isotopic substitutions on the title reaction. The coupled-channel (CC) and/or centrifugal sudden (CS) integral cross sections are calculated quantum mechanically. It was found that the CS cross sections are slightly smaller than the CC counterparts over the collision energy range studied. The quantum dynamical and quasi-classical trajectory results agree reasonably well and both indicate that the rotational excitation of H2 enhances the reaction in all energies, whereas the rotational excitation of OH+ promotes the reaction more strongly at low collision energies but has a negligible effect at high collision energies. In addition, there exist significant isotopic substitution effects: The reaction cross section of the D2 + OH+ reaction is much lower than those of the H2 + OH+ and HD + OH+ reactions, which are quite close.
Clinical Supervision Dilemmas Related to Child Abuse in Wraparound Treatment

We conducted two separate, exploratory studies to evaluate the differences between the supervision of wraparound (in-home) and outpatient (office) child treatment interventions. Study one (n = 96) examined the structure and norms of supervision between groups as well as rates of general disclosure to direct supervisors. Study two (n = 116) specifically examined the frequency of child abuse and neglect encountered in each intervention setting, and the level of disclosure in supervision of these mandatory reporting events. Findings from the first study suggest that wraparound clinicians received significantly less individual supervision and colleague consultation than their office-based counterparts. Additionally, wraparound clinicians were significantly more likely to withhold information about client cases from their direct supervisors. In the second study, wraparound clinicians endorsed significant increases for observed child abuse, observed child neglect, and verbally reported child neglect compared to their office-based counterparts. In regards to mandatory reporting issues with children, wraparound clinicians were found to be significantly less likely to disclose issues pertaining to child neglect to their direct supervisors than office-based clinicians. Our studies show preliminary evidence for a needed increase of individual supervision in wraparound practice, in addition to a greater focus on clinician disclosures related to incidents of child abuse and neglect.
Dependence of Mean and Peak Streamflow on Basin Area in the Conterminous United States

Basin area is the primary control on both mean and peak streamflows, but relationships vary with regional meteorological conditions. Rich historical data sets permit deduction of these relationships for most areas of the United States, revealing both expected and unexpected correlations. On log-log plots, mean flows for most basins with >75 cm/y rainfall have unit slopes, with the y-intercept approximating the mean annual runoff. Lower slopes characterize regions where runoff is greatest at high topographic elevations, or where significant withdrawals for irrigation occur at lower elevations. Peak flows also correlate strongly with basin area, but the regressions for most regions have slopes ranging from 0.4 to 0.9, and y-intercepts that increase with increasing flood recurrence interval. The slopes on these log-log plots for peak flows are highest in cool regions with low sunshine and low evapotranspiration, and lowest where sunshine is abundant, evapotranspiration is high, and small convective storm cells are common. Effects of relief are small and inconsistent. Peak flows of small watersheds are huge compared to their mean flows, commonly being several thousand times greater, particularly in the USA midcontinent where the slopes for peak flows are low.
Transforming STEM to STEAM (Work in Progress): How a traditionally run STEM camp succesfully incorporated the arts into its framework

Summer learning loss remains an ongoing concern for K12 students. Learning loss varies based on subject matter, with summer learning loss associated with math at the higher end of the scale. Greater effects of summer learning loss are generally associated with lower income families. Additionally, minorities and women remain underrepresented in the STEM Fields. Based on this information and desires to engage with community in effective and scholarly ways, founders of the Lafayette College Summer camp established a summer STEM education venue for young children in 2011. Recognizing that inclusion of the Arts added interest to our general theme and education modules, and served to enhance our education messaging, STEM Camp became STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, ARTS, and Math) Camp in 2014. An additional highlight of this camp is the fact that the leadership, ideas, design and organization of all modules is a production led by two undergraduates, one student majoring in Arts-Humanities and a second majoring Science-Engineering. A group of volunteers made up of faculty, local K12 teachers, college and high school students, and community members, support all camp activities throughout the four-day event. This “Work in Progress” manuscript lays out the structure of the camp, goals and objectives, and assessment strategies, as well as initial formal and informal findings.
Cultural Mismatch in Roma Parents’ Perceptions: The Role of Culture, Language, and Traditional Roma Values in Schools

This article draws on data from a two-year qualitative study exploring the factors contributing to Roma students’ disparate outcomes in Bulgaria. I utilize ethnographic observations, oral history, and in-depth interviews with twenty Roma parents to gain understanding of Roma children’s “cultural capital” and relation to formal schools. The article builds on theoretical orientations, generated primarily in the U.S., that emphasize strengths and the need for culturally relevant pedagogy, and explores the possibility to extend these to the case of Roma communities in Europe. The findings indicate that the traditional education of Roma children differs considerably from the mainstream values emphasized in Bulgarian schools. These include the practice of community-based, informal education, child independence, and early participation in adult life, which have the potential to make the transition from home to school problematic. I argue that if educational equity is the goal, policies and practices must shift their current focus from promoting a monocultural Bulgarian curriculum and pedagogical approaches to meaningful incorporation of culturally relevant content and creating educational environments conductive to Roma students’ learning. Cet article se fonde sur des donnees provenant d’une etude qualitative qui a dure deux ans et qui a porte sur les facteurs qui contribuent aux resultats divergents des etudiants roms en Bulgarie. Mes donnees reposent sur des observations ethnographiques, l’histoire orale et des entrevues detaillees aupres de vingt parents roms et ce, pour mieux comprendre le « capital culturel » des enfants roms et leur relation aux ecoles formelles. L’article s’appuie sur des orientations theoriques issues surtout de milieux americains et qui soulignent l’importance des bienfaits d’une pedagogie pertinente sur le plan culturel, fait valoir le besoin d’une telle approche et explore la possibilite d’appliquer ces orientations au cas des communautes roms en Europe. Les resultats indiquent que l’education traditionnelle des enfants roms differe considerablement des valeurs communement soulignees dans les ecoles bulgares; parmi les elements divergents, notons la pratique d’une education informelle et communautaire, l’autonomie des enfants et la participation precoce a la vie adulte – facteurs qui ont le potentiel de rendre difficile la transition de la maison a l’ecole. J’affirme que si l’objectif est l’equite en matiere d’education, les politiques et les pratiques doivent se detourner de la promotion d’un curriculum et d’approches pedagogiques homogenes bulgares vers une integration significative de contenu culturel pertinent et la creation de milieux pedagogiques propices a l’apprentissage par les etudiants roms.
A self-test scheme for embedded memories using the coupling fault model

For VLSI chips with large embedded RAMs the inclusion of logic to generate patterns for complex fault models becomes worthwhile and even necessary. This is appealing for a number of reasons: required testing time otherwise is significant, more complex fault models are applicable, some of the necessary logic is already required on-chip for logic functions, and the additional logic is a small percentage of the chip logic. A number of methods have been proposed to generate test patterns on-chip, such as inclusion of a random pattern generator, storing the patterns in a ROM, and inclusion of special purpose logic to actually generate the patterns. Randomly generated test patterns require a large number of patterns to achieve even stuck-at fault coverage for a RAM (1J. Including all of the patterns a RAM needs in a ROM requires too much area. Special purpose logic to generate test patterns [2,3,4] has only used patterns that test for the stuck-at fault model or an ad hoc list of possible faults. However, this method can be extended to more complex fault models.
Psychometric rigor of the Grasp and Release Test for measuring functional limitation of persons with tetraplegia: a preliminary analysis.

Objective: The purpose ofthe study was to further develop the psychometric rigor ofthe Grasp andRelease Test (GRT), a hand function assessment designed to measure tendon transfer and functional ele...
The Effect of Private School Vouchers on Political Participation: Experimental Evidence From New York City

ABSTRACTIn 1997, the New York School Choice Scholarships Foundation Program (SCSF) randomly offered three-year scholarships to attend private schools to approximately 1,000 low-income families in New York City. In this paper we leverage exogenous variation generated by the SCSF to estimate the causal effect of the private school voucher offer—and the private school attendance it induced—on later-life voter registration and turnout outcomes. Our results demonstrate that the voucher intervention had no effect on registering to vote or voting in any of several elections for either the full sample or any of several demographic subgroups. Although unique aspects of the SCSF context impose limits on the scope of our results, they have clear implications for assessing the relative effectiveness of public and private schools in preparing democratic citizens. We close the paper by discussing the implications of the results for research and policy.
Circulating intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP) levels in acute decompensated heart failure.

Abstract Background Venous congestion has become increasingly recognized as a potential contributor to end-organ dysfunction in heart failure. Elevated I-FABP, which is excreted specifically from damaged intestinal epithelial cells, has been found in patients with abdominal hypertension and intestinal ischemia. We hypothesize that elevated intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP) levels would identify patients with more advanced heart failure who have venous and intestinal congestion. Methods Baseline serum I-FABP levels were measured in 69 acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) patients admitted to the intensive care unit for invasive hemodynamic monitoring and tailored medical therapy. Comprehensive echocardiography examinations were performed in all study patients, and clinical outcomes (death, cardiac transplant or left ventricular assist device placement) were assessed. Results The median circulating I-FABP level was 853 pg/ml (interquartile range: 533 to 1448 pg/ml). Age, gender, race, and baseline comorbidities were comparable between patients with low and high I-FABP levels. Although there were no significant correlations between I-FABP levels and invasively-measured hemodynamic parameters nor echocardiographic parameters, patients with higher I-FABP levels (≥ 853 g/ml) had significantly worse clinical outcomes compared to those with lower I-FABP levels ( Conclusion Circulating I-FABP levels had no association with invasively-measured hemodynamic parameters, but were associated with adverse clinical outcomes in patients with ADHF with systolic dysfunction.
The lung is a site of platelet biogenesis and a reservoir for haematopoietic progenitors

Platelets are critical for haemostasis, thrombosis, and inflammatory responses, but the events that lead to mature platelet production remain incompletely understood. The bone marrow has been proposed to be a major site of platelet production, although there is indirect evidence that the lungs might also contribute to platelet biogenesis. Here, by directly imaging the lung microcirculation in mice, we show that a large number of megakaryocytes circulate through the lungs, where they dynamically release platelets. Megakaryocytes that release platelets in the lungs originate from extrapulmonary sites such as the bone marrow; we observed large megakaryocytes migrating out of the bone marrow space. The contribution of the lungs to platelet biogenesis is substantial, accounting for approximately 50% of total platelet production or 10 million platelets per hour. Furthermore, we identified populations of mature and immature megakaryocytes along with haematopoietic progenitors in the extravascular spaces of the lungs. Under conditions of thrombocytopenia and relative stem cell deficiency in the bone marrow, these progenitors can migrate out of the lungs, repopulate the bone marrow, completely reconstitute blood platelet counts, and contribute to multiple haematopoietic lineages. These results identify the lungs as a primary site of terminal platelet production and an organ with considerable haematopoietic potential.
The Signed Basis of f

14.1.1. There is a very close connection between Cartan data and graphs with automorphisms. Given an admissible automorphism a of a finite graph (\({\bf{I}}{\rm{, }}H,{\rm{ }}h \mapsto [h]\)) (see 12.1.1), we define I to be the set of a-orbits on I. For i, j ∈ I, we define i · j ∈ Z as follows: if i ≠ j in I, then i · j is -1 times the number of edges which join some vertex in the a-orbit i to some vertex in the a-orbit j; i · i is 2 times the number of vertices in the a-orbit i. As shown in 13.2.9, (I, ·) is a Cartan datum. Conversely, we have the following result.
The nature of the inclusion body of verruca vulgaris; a histochemical study of nucleotids.

Verrucae are of interest to the clinician as a common disease of the skin and are important to the laboratory investigator as tumours induced by a filterable infectious agent. This paper reviews the established evidence for much of our present knowledge of warts, and reports the results of an investigation of some of the important chemical changes which occur in the infected epithelial cells. The findings not only aid in making an accurate microscopic diagnosis of the disease, but also provide evidence forameehanism of virus multiplication.
History of Indian Textile Industry

The cotton industry has always occupied a honoured place in Indian industrial system. India is the accredited birthplace of cotton manufactures. Certain passages in Rig Veda, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas, etc. indicate the antiquity and flourishing state of the industry from the prehistoric times (Govil 1950). Ray (1986) explains that ancient Indians were using dyes such as indigo, lac, turmeric, madder, resins and red ochre. Varahamihira (500 AD), in his celebrated Brihat Samhita, refers to mordants such as alums and sulphates of iron to fix dyes on textile fabrics. During the Buddhist period, the Indian cotton fabrics were exported worldwide, according to the records of various travellers and ambassadors a few centuries ago. The industry was fortunately not much affected by the wars and rebellions during the Muslim invasion, as this was relatively short, and was patronized by the Mughal emperors, who were lovers of luxuries and fine articles. Daca, Masulipatnam, Madras, Gujarat, Ahmedabad and Banares emerged as prominent textile centres. Indian cotton fabrics were known for their fine quality.
RBC Transfusions Are Associated With Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation in Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

OBJECTIVES Blood products are often transfused in critically ill children, although recent studies have recognized their potential for harm. Translatability to pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome is unknown given that hypoxemia has excluded pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome patients from clinical trials. We aimed to determine whether an association exists between blood product transfusion and survival or duration of ventilation in pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome. DESIGN Retrospective analysis of prospectively enrolled cohort. SETTING Large, academic PICU. PATIENTS Invasively ventilated children meeting Berlin Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome criteria from 2011 to 2015. INTERVENTIONS We recorded transfusion of RBC, fresh frozen plasma, and platelets within the first 3 days of pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome onset. Each product was tested for independent association with survival (Cox) and duration of mechanical ventilation (competing risk regression with extubation as primary outcome and death as competing risk). A sensitivity analysis using 1:1 propensity matching was also performed. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Of 357 pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome patients, 155 (43%) received RBC, 82 (23%) received fresh frozen plasma, and 92 (26%) received platelets. Patients who received RBC, fresh frozen plasma, or platelets had higher severity of illness score, lower PaO2/FIO2, and were more often immunocompromised (all p < 0.05). Patients who received RBC, fresh frozen plasma, or platelets had worse survival and longer duration of ventilation by univariate analysis (all p < 0.05). After multivariate adjustment for above confounders, no blood product was associated with survival. After adjustment for the same confounders, RBC were associated with decreased probability of extubation (subdistribution hazard ratio, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.51-0.83). The association between RBC and prolonged ventilation was confirmed in propensity-matched subgroup analysis. CONCLUSIONS RBC transfusion was independently associated with longer duration of mechanical ventilation in pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome. Hemoglobin transfusion thresholds should be tested specifically within pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome to establish whether a more restrictive transfusion strategy would improve outcomes.
Plasma proteins associated with circulating carotenoids in Nepalese school-aged children.

Abstract Carotenoids are naturally occurring pigments that function as vitamin A precursors, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents or biomarkers of recent vegetable and fruit intake, and are thus important for population health and nutritional assessment. An assay approach that measures proteins could be more technologically feasible than chromatography, thus enabling more frequent carotenoid status assessment. We explored associations between proteomic biomarkers and concentrations of 6 common dietary carotenoids (α-carotene, β-carotene, lutein/zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, and lycopene) in plasma from 500 6–8 year old Nepalese children. Samples were depleted of 6 high-abundance proteins. Plasma proteins were quantified using tandem mass spectrometry and expressed as relative abundance. Linear mixed effects models were used to determine the carotenoid:protein associations, accepting a false discovery rate of q 10% of all child samples. Among these, relative abundance of 4 were associated with β-carotene, 11 with lutein/zeaxanthin and 51 with β-cryptoxanthin. Carotenoid-associated proteins are notably involved in lipid and vitamin A transport, antioxidant function and anti-inflammatory processes. No protein biomarkers met criteria for association with α-carotene or lycopene. Plasma proteomics may offer an approach to assess functional biomarkers of carotenoid status, intake and biological function for public health application. Original maternal micronutrient trial from which data were derived as a follow-up activity was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00115271 .
The role of the vasopressin system and dopamine D1 receptors in the effects of social housing condition on morphine reward.

Abstract Background The association with opioid-abusing individuals or even the perception of opioid abuse by peers are risk factors for the initiation and escalation of abuse. Similarly, we demonstrated that morphine-treated animals housed with only morphine-treated animals (referred to as morphine only) acquire morphine conditioned place-preference (CPP) more readily than morphine-treated animals housed with drug-naive animals (referred to as morphine cage-mates). However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects are still elusive. Methods Mice received repeated morphine or saline while housed as saline only, morphine only, or cage-mates. Then, they were examined for the expression levels of D1 dopamine receptor (D1DR), D2 dopamine receptor (D2DR), dopamine transporter (DAT), oxytocin, and Arginine-vasopressin (AVP) in the striatum using qPCR. Additionally, we examined the effects of the AVP-V1b receptor antagonist, SSR149415, on the acquisition of morphine conditioned place-preference (CPP). Results Increased striatal expression of D1DR and AVP was observed in morphine only animals, but not morphine cage-mates. No significant effects were observed on the striatal expression of D2DR, DAT, or oxytocin. Antagonizing the AVP-V1b receptors decreased the acquisition of morphine CPP in the morphine only mice, but did not alter the acquisition of morphine CPP in the morphine cage-mate mice. Conclusions Housing with drug-naive animals protects against the increase in striatal expression of D1DR and AVP elicited by morphine exposure. Moreover, our studies suggest that the protective effect of housing with drug-naive animals on the acquisition of morphine reward might be, at least partially, mediated by AVP.
Addressing sexual and reproductive health in adolescents and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Purpose of review This review provides support for promoting the sexual health of adolescents and young adults with developmental disabilities, and particularly those with intellectual disabilities. It offers guidance for pediatricians on incorporating counseling on sexuality and reproductive healthcare, socially appropriate behavior, and sexual abuse prevention for adolescents and young adults with developmental disabilities into healthcare visits. Additionally, it provides resources for developmentally appropriate sexuality education in the home and community to allow access to the comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare patients deserve. Recent findings Adolescents and young adults with developmental disabilities often do not receive developmentally appropriate sexual health education, and this is associated with poor sexual health outcomes and increased rates of sexual abuse in this population. Summary Pediatricians should discuss sexual health with all patients, including adolescents and young adults with developmental disabilities. They are well suited to provide sexual health education and inform families about appropriate sexual health resources.
Another Day Another Dollar Metric? An Event History Analysis of Student Loan Repayment

Students increasingly borrow money to attend postsecondary education. Yet, little attention in the literature has been paid to the repayment of student loans, aside from failure indicators like def...
Thermal Properties Enhancement of Polybenzoxazines: The Role of Additional Non-Benzoxazine Polymerizable Groups

Publisher Summary Benzoxazine research is developing rapidly because of the many potential applications of the materials. While future applications might span across many fields, currently, commercial applications of this new class of thermosetting polymers are just beginning to be implemented in the electronic and aerospace industries. Molecular design flexibility is illustrated by the different functionalities present in the monomers. Benzoxazine polymerizes via a cationic ring-opening mechanism and is studied extensively. The polymerization of benzoxazine typically takes place through thermally accelerated ring-opening polymerization; a process that occurs without purposefully added initiators and/or catalysts or producing byproducts. Polymerizable groups in the benzoxazine monomer are a viable method for significantly improving thermal stability of the cross-linked polybenzoxazines. Increased thermal stability is achieved due to a higher cross-linking density in the polymer matrix. Anchoring the dangling side groups that are susceptible to earlier thermal degradation helps increase the degradation temperature. Extremely thermally stable engineering materials can be created while maintaining many advantages of benzoxazine resin. Benzoxazine resin has excellent thermal stability for an organic polymeric material, processing similar thermal properties to phenolic resins and polyimides. The thermal stability and degradation patterns for many types of polybenzoxazines have been studied with great interest for applications that require thermal resistance.
Deliberation In and Through Higher Education

This article explores how deliberative democracy has the ability to change how colleges and universities function. Deliberation offers a powerful way for students, faculty, staff, and community partners to learn and practice modes of reasoning and deciding together in a variety of settings such as classrooms, other campus settings, and in communities. The article includes scholarly resources as well as examples of deliberation in various contexts. The article suggests that deliberation can replace, or at least complement, many of the more familiar models pervasive in our institutions.
The 'Common Good' and the Value Proposition of Business

Conventionally economists discern between a private sector in pursuit of its own interest and a public sector that caters to the common good. There are problems with this idea. On a factual level, ...
Head and Bottle Angles Achieved by Patients During High-Volume Sinonasal Irrigations:

BackgroundCertain head positions can optimize topical irrigation distribution to specific sinuses. No studies have assessed whether patients attain these positions when irrigating.ObjectiveThe purp...