cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by deficits in communication and social interaction and the presence of restricted and repetitive behavior. This chapter will provide an overview of ASD including screening and evaluation process, physical health implications, and current knowledge of interventions. The chapter will also focus on interprofessional issues associated with providing treatment to individuals with ASD including increased presence of behavioral and medical disorders, number of practitioners providing service across different settings, and the importance of and methods to facilitate coordination of services.
Character Design and Validation on Aerial Robotic Platforms Using Laban Movement Analysis.

Exploring the application of aerial robots in human-robot interaction is a currently active area of research. One step toward achieving more natural human-robot interactions is developing a method in which an aerial robot successfully portrays a character or exhibits character traits that a human can recognize. Recognizable character types are conveyed through movement in many performing arts, including ballet. However, past work has not leveraged the movement expertise of ballet dancers to create a method and portray complex characters on low-degree-of-freedom aerial robots. This paper explores the recognition and differentiation of archetypal characters used in classical ballet using Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) and applies the results from tracking the movements to an aerial robotic platform. Movement sequences were created on a Bebop Drone to emulate these character types. This process was subsequently validated by a user study, highlighting the successful application of state recognition through movement on aerial robots. Such work can be used to create robots with recognizable movement signatures for quick identification by human counterparts in social settings.
Association of elevated levels of AR and PAKT in the diagnostic prostate needle biopsy with a greater risk for disease progression: Implications for prognostic models and future treatment decision making.

e16007 Background: We previously developed a biopsy pre-treatment systems-based risk assessment assay for patients recently diagnosed with prostate cancer (PCA) and demonstrated the importance of a...
Simulated cochlear-implant processing results in major loss of acoustic information regarding differences in talkers' voice qualities

The ability to recognize different voice qualities is essential for good talker identification; yet, little is known about how well voice quality cues of talkers are transmitted through the degraded speech signals delivered by cochlear implants (CIs). This study examined how CI speech filtering affects acoustic distinctiveness of individuals with and without voice disorder. Sustained /a/ vowels uttered by speakers with normal or disordered voice were processed using 4, 8, 12, 16, 22, and 32 channel noise-vocoders. The effect of CI processing on the distinctiveness of talkers with normal and disordered voices was measured using the Mahalanobis distance measure on Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients derived from samples across these groups. The analysis confirmed that CI vocoding dramatically degrades acoustic cues in frequency sub-bands that signal abnormal voicing behavior. Remarkable spectral degradation was observed in low- ( 12 kHz) bands for simulated conditions compared with unprocessed signals. These findings indicate that CI users likely have almost no ability to distinguish talkers differing in voice qualities. These results highlight challenges that CI users face for recognizing talkers differing in voice quality, due to these users’ lack of access to fine-grained spectro-temporal details in voices.
ERCP in Surgically Altered Anatomy

There are several reasons that make altered anatomy endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) difficult. These include lack of adequate endoscopic accessories, use of forward-viewing enteroscopes, alteration of angles with a caudal approach to the papilla, lack of an elevator, and difficulty in identification of biliopancreatic limb and papilla. Successful ERCP in patients with altered surgical anatomy requires a thorough understanding of the various surgical alterations in anatomy. A thorough history and review of records, including surgical operative reports and abdominal cross-sectional images, are highly recommended. A clear understanding of the types of endoscopes, their lengths, caliber of the working channel, and available accessories is needed when choosing the type of enteroscope. Both fluoroscopic and endoscopic visual cues should guide the endoscopist to correctly identifying the afferent limb and the papilla or the bilioenteric anastomosis. Understanding the anatomy of the papilla when approaching caudally, attaining stable scope position, and using endoscopic and fluoroscopic images to align the angle of the scope to the bile duct are important principles that help achieve successful therapeutic ERCP in patients with altered surgical anatomy.
Resources for Further Exploration

In the first three chapters, we discussed flipped learning and academic learning at the university, explored connections between language learning and flipped learning, and suggested ways to hold students accountable and assess their learning. In Chaps. 4 and 5, we described how we transitioned from traditional teaching to flipping through three example topics in the English language courses we teach. In this final chapter, we offer additional resources that can support flipped learning. We first describe the technological tools and resources that we use for providing opportunities for instructional content, student practice, collaboration, and knowledge construction, as well as in-class quizzes and accountability measures. We then offer suggestions for further professional development, networking, and further reading on flipped learning.
Workflow at the Edges of Care

Workflow assessment, mapping and modeling often are used in well-resourced care settings. However, we can and must also understand healthcare workflow at the edges of care, defined as workflow at or across the boundaries between healthcare organizations. Examples include from inpatient to outpatient, from large healthcare systems to external health and social services, or between clinics and pharmacies or other community settings. The edges of care may also include settings or areas of healthcare where workflow is not normally considered due to resource limitations or other systemic barriers, such as small or rural primary care practices, community health centers, and community-based health organizations. The operational definition of the “edges of care” comes with the growing understand that most healthcare takes place beyond the four walls of a hospital, into home-based, community-based, and consumer health settings. In this chapter, we will further describe this concept of the “edges of care” and discuss (1) the importance of studying workflow at the edges of care; (2) the current state of workflow study at the edges of care; and (3) opportunities to more efficiently or innovatively study workflow at the edges of care.
Preoperative Proteinuria and Reduced Glomerular Filtration Rate Predicts Renal Replacement Therapy in Patients Supported With Continuous-Flow Left Ventricular Assist Devices.

Background—Renal failure requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT) has detrimental effects on quality of life and survival of patients with continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices (CF-LVADs...
Occupational Carcinogens and Cancer in Children

This chapter reviews two aspects of the literature relating childhood cancer to occupational exposures. First, we review published reports that examine associations between childhood cancer and parental exposures to carcinogens in the workplace. In the first portion of this chapter, we consider maternal as well as paternal exposures to occupational carcinogens in several different windows of time – preconception (more than 1 year prior to birth), periconception (3 months before and after conception), during pregnancy, and postnatally. Then in the second portion of this chapter, we examine the emerging literature on the health consequences of child workers’ occupational exposures to carcinogens in the workplace. Here we consider carcinogenic hazards confronting youth workers in the United States (US) as well as those confronting child laborers in developing countries.
ANTIGENIC VARIATION OF VISNA VIRUS

Antigenic variants of visna virus have been compared using the genomic RNA and analyzing the large RNase T1-resistant oligonucleotides. Mutants isolated from a persistently infected sheep contained a small number of changes in their oligonucleotide patterns when compared with parental virus. To determine whether the changes in the nucleotide structure were clustered in one region of the genome, the oligonucleotides of the parental and mutant RNA were ordered along the genome with respect to the 3′ polyadenylated end. All but one difference between the parental strain and the antigenic mutant used for mapping were located within 2 kilobases from the 3′ terminus. The electrophoretic mobilities of some of the oligonucleotides which differed from the parental to the mutant suggest that they might be derived by simple mutation. To determine whether this was how the mutants arose, the complete nucleotide sequence of several oligonucleotides were determined. These analyses showed that a number of the oligonucleotides which were different between the parental and mutant could be accounted for by single base changes.
Postural precursors of motion sickness in head-mounted displays: drivers and passengers, women and men

Motion sickness is preceded by distinctive patterns of postural activity that differ between the sexes. We asked whether such postural precursors of motion sickness might exist before participants were exposed to a virtual driving game presented via a head-mounted display. Men and women either controlled a virtual vehicle (drivers), or viewed a recording of virtual vehicle motion (passengers). Before exposure to the game, we recorded standing body sway while participants performed simple visual tasks (staring at a blank page vs. counting target letters in a block of text). Following game exposure, participants were classified into Well and Sick groups. In a statistically significant interaction, the multifractality of body sway varied as a function of sex, vehicle control, and motion sickness status. The results confirm that postural precursors of motion sickness differ between the sexes, and extend these to the control of virtual vehicles in head-mounted displays. Practitioner Summary: We asked whether postural sway might predict motion sickness during exposure to a driving game via a head-mounted display. Participants drove a virtual car (drivers), or watched recorded car motion (passengers). Beforehand, we measured standing body sway. Postural precursors of motion sickness differed between the sexes and drivers and passengers. Abbreviations: M: meters; SD: standard deviation; kg: kilograms; COP: centre of pressure; AP: anterior-posterior; ML: mediolateral; cm: centimeters; s: seconds; min: minutes; MF: DFA: multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis; DFA: detrended fluctuation analysis; ANOVA: analysis of variance; CI: confidence interval; Hz: hertz; SE: standard error of the mean.
Exercise for Sport-Related Concussion and Persistent Postconcussive Symptoms.

Context:Emerging research supports the use of mild to moderate aerobic exercise for treating sport-related concussion (SRC) and persistent postconcussive symptoms (PPCS), yet the current standard o...
Tennis Anyone? Teaching Experimental Design by Designing and Executing a Tennis Ball Experiment

Understanding the abstract principles of statistical experimental design can challenge undergraduate students, especially when learned in a lecture setting. This article presents a concrete and eas...
The FCC’s High-Cost Programs, Rural Broadband Penetration & Rural Broadband Service Quality

This paper analyzes the efficacy of the Universal Service Fund's High-Cost Support programs in achieving two of its formal aims—increased availability and comparable or improved service quality. In light of a narrowed rural digital divide, increased facilities-based competition, and significant disparities in support among US states, we separately analyze subprograms active in the 48 contiguous states and Alaska between July 2014 and December 2017. In the 48 contiguous states, we find that Phase II of the Connect America Cost Model (CAF II) support predicts aDSL availability and increased aDSL speeds. Meanwhile, we find evidence that the Alternative Connect America Model (ACAM) may be effective in inducing new fiber deployment, but no evidence that ACAM support affects fiber speeds. With the exception of the Rural Broadband Experiments (RBE), we find that High-Cost Support has no relationship or is negatively related with cable speeds and availability, but we cannot infer if this negative relationship is attributable to “crowding out” by subsidized incumbents or program selection effects. In Alaska, we find that Census blocks targeted by Alaska Plan support have greater availability and faster speeds from aDSL and fiber carriers. Heterogeneity in our results highlight the importance of evaluating High-Cost subprograms separately when analyzing the efficacy of High-Cost programs in achieving universal service objectives.
Real-world Cardiovascular Outcomes Associated with Degarelix vs Leuprolide for Prostate Cancer Treatment

Importance With a growing interest in the use of real-world evidence for regulatory decision-making, it is important to understand whether real-world data can be used to emulate the results of randomized clinical trials. Objective To use electronic health record and administrative claims data to emulate the ongoing PRONOUNCE trial (A Trial Comparing Cardiovascular Safety of Degarelix Versus Leuprolide in Patients With Advanced Prostate Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease). Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective, propensity-matched cohort study included adult men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease who initiated either degarelix or leuprolide between December 24, 2008, and June 30, 2019. Participants were commercially insured individuals and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries included in a large US administrative claims database. Exposures Degarelix or leuprolide. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary end point was time to first occurrence of a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE), defined as death due to any cause, myocardial infarction, or stroke, analogous to the PRONOUNCE trial. Secondary end points were time to death due to any cause, myocardial infarction, stroke, and angina. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to evaluate primary and secondary end points. Results A total of 32 172 men initiated degarelix or leuprolide for prostate cancer; of them, 9490 (29.5%) had cardiovascular disease, and 7800 (24.2%) met the PRONOUNCE trial eligibility criteria and were included in this study. Overall, 165 participants (2.1%) were Asian, 1390 (17.8%) were Black, 663 (8.5%) were Hispanic, and 5258 (67.4%) were White. The mean (SD) age was 74.4 (7.4) years. Among 2226 propensity score–matched patients, no significant difference was observed in the risk of MACE for patients taking degarelix vs those taking leuprolide (10.18 vs 8.60 events per 100 person-years; hazard ratio [HR], 1.18; 95% CI, 0.86-1.61). Degarelix was associated with a higher risk of death from any cause (HR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.01-2.18) but not of myocardial infarction (HR, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.60-2.25), stroke (HR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.45-1.85), or angina (HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 0.43-4.27). Conclusions and Relevance In this emulation of a clinical trial of men with cardiovascular disease undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, degarelix was not associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events than leuprolide. Comparison of these data with PRONOUNCE trial results, when published, will help enhance our understanding of the appropriate role of using real-world data to emulate clinical trials.
Characterization of Microorganisms of Interest to Homeland Security andPublic Health Utilizing Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry

CHARACTERIZATION OF MICROORGANISMS OF INTEREST TO HOMELAND SECURITY AND PUBLIC HEALTH UTILIZING LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY/MASS SPECTROMETRY By: Robert Anthony Everley, Ph.D. A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2008 Major Director: Timothy R. Croley Adjunct Professor, Department of Chemistry Liquid chromatography/quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (LC/QTOF MS) utilizing electrospray ionization was employed to monitor protein expression in Escherichia coli and Shigella organisms. Automated charge state deconvolution, spectral subtraction and spectral mirroring were used to reveal subtle differences in the LC/MS data. Reproducible intact protein biomarkers were discovered based on their unique mass, retention time and relative intensity. These markers were implemented to differentiate closely related strain types, (e.g. two distinct isolates of E. coli O157:H7) and to correctly identify unknown pathogens. Notable, was the distinction of multiple serotypes of enterohaemorrhagic E. coli which cannot be distinguished by clinical
Persistence of sham feeding after intragastric meals in the rat: Concentration-intake relations

In rats sham fed through esophageal fistulas, responsiveness to sucrose over a range of concentrations was assessed under two conditions: immediately following a large intragastric (IG) preload of liquid diet, and after 10 h of deprivation with no preload. The preload had no reliable effect on sucrose sham feeding at any sucrose concentration. Therefore, the insensitivity of sham feeding to IG loads is not confined to intense or highly palatable oral stimuli, but extends even to minimally effective ones.
Experimental validation of equations for 2D DIC uncertainty quantification.

Uncertainty quantification (UQ) equations have been derived for predicting matching uncertainty in twodimensional image correlation a priori. These equations include terms that represent the image noise and image contrast. Researchers at the University of South Carolina have extended previous 1D work to calculate matching errors in 2D. These 2D equations have been coded into a Sandia National Laboratories UQ software package to predict the uncertainty for DIC images. This paper presents those equations and the resulting error surfaces for trial speckle images. Comparison of the UQ results with experimentally subpixel-shifted images is also discussed.
Abstract 11521: Prognostic Value of Left Atrial Function in Normal Exercise Stress Echocardiography

Background: The association between poor left atrial (LA) function and adverse outcomes in subjects following an acute myocardial infarction is recognized. On the other hand, prognostic value of LA function in low risk subjects is not well characterized. The purpose of this study was to assess the prognostic value of LA function in subjects who have exercise stress echocardiography negative for ischemia. Methods: Subjects who underwent exercise stress echocardiography for exclusion of coronary artery disease (CAD) between January to April 2010 were included. Subjects were excluded if they were in atrial fibrillation/flutter at the time of exercise, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 45%, moderate or severe valvular disease, echocardiographic evidence of exercise-induced myocardial ischemia, or had known CAD. Maximum metabolic equivalents (METs), LA total strain (analyzed offline with Siemens Syngo VVI), LV E/e’, LA volume index (LAVI) were measured for all subjects. Diagnosis of major adverse car...
The initial immune response during experimental cysticercosis is of the mixed Th1/Th2 type

The immunological events that occur during the initial stages of experimental cysticercosis are not known. The studies presented here examined the cytokines produced by peritoneal exudate cells (PECs), splenocytes and mesenteric lymph node (MLN) cells during the first week of infection with larval Taenia crassiceps in BALB/cJ mice. Proliferation assays determined that the earliest time when antigen-specific responses could be measured was 5 days post-infection. Concanavalin A (ConA) stimulation of host cells elicited an initial burst of IL-4 production at 24 h of infection and ConA-stimulated Th2-type cytokine production is predominant by 7 days post-infection. Thus, there are responses at day 1 of infection that seem to promote a Th2-type response. Stimulation of MLN cells, splenocytes and PECs with larval antigens supported previous reports of mixed Th1/Th2-type cytokine production with increases in interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10 and interferon (IFN)-γ. Ex vivo IFN-γ production by PECs from infected mice was increased at 3, 5 and 7 days post-infection, whereas at these times reduced ex vivo IL-10 production was observed. This ex vivo IFN-γ response preceded an increasing IL-10 production by PECs between 3 and 7 days post-infection in parasite-specific and ConA-induced proliferation assays. Thus, infection with larval T. crassiceps results in an initial response mediated by IFN-γ that is quickly followed by an increase in IL-10 production and subsequent reduction in the amount of IFN-γ being produced.
EXTREME RETURNS WITHOUT NEWS: The Case of Currencies

What triggers extreme returns in financial markets? Though news is the source of volatility in standard theoretical models, in reality volatility is often unrelated to news in both equity and foreign exchange markets. This paper shows that extreme exchange-rate returns – and, more generally, high return kurtosis – are statistically inevitable even in the absence of news. It identifies four microstructural sources of return kurtosis in price-contingent order flow: (1) high kurtosis in the distribution of price-contingent order sizes; (2) clustering of pricecontingent order executions at certain times of day; (3) clustering of order executions at certain price levels; and (4) the tendency of positive-feedback trading to propagate trends. When each factor operates in isolation, the one that contributes most to kurtosis in returns is kurtosis in the order-size distribution. When the factors operate simultaneously, however, their interactions prove far more important than any single one. Thus one of the most important determinants of extreme returns is something that can be neither measured or nor anticipated. (Key words: kurtosis; exchange rates; order flow; high-frequency; microstructure; jump process; value-atrisk; risk management) (JEL codes G1, F3.)
Two Agendas for Bioethics: Critique and Integration

Many bioethicists view the primary task of bioethics as 'value clarification'. In this article, I argue that the field must embrace two more ambitious agendas that go beyond mere clarification. The first agenda, critique, involves unmasking, interrogating, and challenging the presuppositions that underlie bioethical discourse. These largely unarticulated premises establish the boundaries within which problems can be conceptualized and solutions can be imagined. The function of critique, then, is not merely to clarify these premises but to challenge them and the boundaries they define. The second agenda, integration, involves honoring and unifying what is right in competing values. Integration is the morally ideal response to value conflict, offering the potential for transcending win/lose outcomes. The function of integration, then, is to envision actions or policies that not only resolve conflicts, but that do so by jointly realizing many genuine values in deep and compelling ways. My argument proceeds in stages. After critically examining the role and dominant status of value clarification in bioethical discourse, I describe the nature and value of the two agendas, identify concrete examples of where each has been and could be successful, and explain why a critical integrative bioethics--one that appreciates the joint necessity and symbiotic potential of the two agendas--is crucial to the future of the field. The ultimate goal of all of this is to offer a more compelling vision for how bioethics might conduct itself within the larger intellectual and social world it seeks to understand and serve.
Afro-Mexico: Dancing Between Myth and Reality

Reviewed Medium: book Authors: Anita Gonzalez Year: 2010 Pages: 190 Publisher: University of Texas Press ISBN: 978-0-292-72324-5 (hard cover).
Cholesterol biosynthesis and 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme a reductase in cultured glial and neuronal cells: Regulation by lipoprotein and by certain free sterols

Regulation of cholesterol synthesis and, particularly, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase was studied in C-6 glial and neuroblastoma cells. Comparison of rates of incorporation of radioactivity from [14C]-acetate or [3H]mevalonate into digitonin-precipitable sterols indicated that HMG-CoA reductase is the major rate-limiting enzyme in cholesterol biosynthesis in both cell types. HMG-CoA reductase exhibited marked changes in enzymatic activity according to the lipoprotein content of the medium. However, significant differences were observed between the two cell types in the quantitative and temporal aspects of this regulation. Thus, in C-6 glial cells, when total serum lipoprotein was removed from the medium, reductase activity increased by 7–8-fold between 2 and 6 h later. After 24 h reductase activity in cells grown in lipoprotein-poor serum was 20-fold higher than in cells grown in regular serum. In neuroblastoma cells, under similar conditions, reductase activity did not increase at all until cells were in lipoprotein-poor serum for more then 6 h, and after 24 h, enzyme activity in cells grown in lipoprotein-poor serum was only approx. 3-fold higher than that in cells grown in regular serum. Addition of total serum lipoprotein caused a rapid decline in enzymatic activity in both cell types, with a t12 of 2–2.5 h; however, the onset of the decline was immediate in the glial cells but delayed 1–1.5 h in the neuronal cells. The critical regulatory component in the total lipoprotein fraction was shown to be contained in the low density lipoproteins for the reductase of both cell types. Regulation of reductase by free sterols was shown in both the glial and neuronal cells. However, effects were more marked and evolved more rapidly in the glial cells. The data thus provide important insight into the regulation of cholesterol synthesis in two cell types which are considered to be good models of neurons and glia of developing brain. The occurrence of more marked and more rapid regulation in the glial than in the neuronal cells is compatible with the important role glia play in brain lipid synthesis. The demonstration of dramatic regulation of HMG-CoA reductase by desmosterol, a sterol found in high concentration in brain early in development, may indicate a heretofore unrecognized role for this sterol in the regulation of cholesterol biosynthesis during maturation. 7-Ketocholesterol was shown to induce in C-6 glial cells a rate of decline of HMG-CoA reductase activity compatible with a t12 of just 20 min. This extremely rapid rate of decline suggests that the effect involves an alteration in catalytic efficiency of the enzyme. The mechanism of this effect remains to be determined.
Time-localization of forced oscillations in power systems

In power systems forced oscillations occur, and identification of these oscillations is important for the proper operation of the system. Two of the parameters of interest in analyzing and addressing forced oscillations are the starting and ending points. To obtain estimates of these parameters, this paper proposes a time-localization algorithm based on the geometric analysis of the sample cross-correlation between the measured data and a complex sinusoid at the frequency of the forced oscillation. Results from simulated and measured synchrophasor data demonstrate the algorithm's ability to accurately estimate the starting and ending points of forced oscillations.
The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation as a Probe of The Large-Scale Structure of the Universe

Over scales in excess of a few percent of our present horizon, the search for anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation promises to provide unique information on the existence of inhomogeneities in the matter distribution. Anisotropy at some level seems inevitable in any plausible scenario for the origin and evolution of structure in the early Universe. My goal here is to review the implications of galaxy formation theory for the presence of large-scale fluctuations. The dipole and recently discovered quadrupole anisotropy of the microwave background radiation severely constrain such theories. Interesting modifications of the predicted radiation anisotropy arise from the effects of spatial curvature and the possible presence of massive neutrinos.
Lightness in Action: Elizabeth Streb + Gravity

In the months before his death, Italo Calvino, the Italian writer and explorer of the imaginary, was working on a series of essays, which he called Lezioni americane: American lessons (translations mine). The English title was Six Memos for the New Millennium, and in fact both are fitting: Calvino was investigating fast, shiny, forward-looking ideas like “Exactitude” and “Quickness.” The first and most intriguing essay in the book is called “Lightness.” At the center of the “Lightness” essay is a story about the poet Guido Cavalcanti, taken from Boccaccio’s Decameron. One afternoon, Boccaccio writes, the mercurial and enigmatic poet Cavalcanti is confronted by a roving band of Florentine youths, who taunt him for not joining in their revels. They surround him in a graveyard, their horses edging closer and pawing nastily, and then, quite suddenly, answering them with the quickest of wit and the lightest of leaps, Cavalcanti lays one hand on a nearby marble arch in the wall, vaults nimbly over it, and is gone.
153. Latent cytomegalovirus infection enhances baseline anti-tumor cytotoxicity but impairs NK-cell responses to acute exercise through preferential expansion of NKG2C+ NK-cells in healthy humans

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection markedly expands NKG2C+/NKG2A- NK-cells, which are potent killers of infected cells expressing the non-classical MHC molecule HLA-E. As HLA-E is overexpressed in several bloodborne malignancies, we examined the impact of latent CMV infection and acute exercise on NK-cell cytotoxic activity (NKCA) against a wide range of tumor target cells with varying levels of HLA-E expression. In resting blood, the expansion of NKG2C+ NK-cells with CMV was associated with strong anti-leukemia (K562) and anti-myeloma (U266) NKCA that was proportionate to the level of target cell HLA-E expression. NKCA against transfected (HLA-E-bright) 221.AEH cells was 3-times higher in those with CMV, but no effect of CMV was found on NKCA against HLA-E-negative 721.221 cells. Blocking the interaction between NKG2C and HLA-E completely eliminated the effect of CMV on NKCA against 221.AEH cells. Although NK-cells were redeployed in large numbers with exercise, NKG2C+ NK-cells were among the poorest responders of the NK-cell subsets to 30-min of cycling exercise. This contributed to a blunted exercise-induced redeployment of total NK-cells in those with CMV. Moreover, NKCA against U266 and 221.AEH target cells was enhanced during exercise recovery, but not in those with CMV. In conclusion, latent CMV infection enhances NKCA through preferential expansion of NKG2C+ NK-cells; however, these cells respond poorly to a single bout of exercise indicating that CMV may impair acute stress-induced immunosurveillance.
A collaborative GIS framework to support equipment distribution for civil engineering disaster response operations

After an eXtreme Event (XE) hits an urban area, well-organized response operations are required to mitigate the chaotic situation. Efficient allocation of resources such as construction equipment is critical to the performance of disaster response operations. This paper presents a Geographic Information System (GIS) based framework that facilitates equipment allocation in response to disasters. The framework is composed of three subsystems to facilitate information gathering and decision making for equipment distribution. First, an application that runs on mobile devices for on-field resource request is developed. Second, a resource repository is implemented with a geosaptial database that enables spatial query of resources with a graphical interface. In addition, a GIS which enables automated decision making such as resource matching and route finding for resource distribution is presented. Integration of decision models into the framework to support complex decision making for equipment distribution is also proposed. With the framework in place, disaster response operations could become more efficient. Simulated test cases have been carried out for Champaign, IL, the City of Chicago and the New York City. Future research will be directed towards further expansion and validation of the framework through interaction with emergency management agencies in the US.
Competence and African American Children in Informal Kinship Care: The Role of Family

African American children are more likely than any other racial or ethnic group to live in kinship care, yet there is little empirical knowledge available to help understand the attributes of these families that contribute to children's development of competence. This study analyzed existing longitudinal data to explore the family-level factors that promote these children's competence. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that average quality of the biological mother's relationship with child, the quality of the biological father's relationship with child, and kinship care family functioning predicts children's average competence. Additionally, changes in family resources and family functioning over time are related to corresponding changes in children's competence levels. Results from this study highlight that African American informal kinship care families possess the strengths and resources that contribute to children's competence.
Does Vocational Overshadowing Even Exist? A Test of the Robustness of the Vocational Overshadowing Bias

Vocational overshadowing (P. M. Spengler, D. L. Blustein, & D. C. Strohmer, 1990) is a hypothesized underemphasis of clients' career concerns when more interesting, prestigious, or economically rewarding "personal" problems coexist. This study tested the robustness of the vocational overshadowing bias by using an expanded array of case material, by including practicing counseling psychologists (n = 125) and clinical psychologists (n = 121), and by assessing the moderating effects of clinician informationprocessing and attitudinal characteristics. Clinical psychologists were more likely than counseling psychologists to underemphasize vocational concerns combined with severe noncareer problems. More complex thinking about career counseling and higher preference for working with career problems were associated with greater attention to clients' career concerns. However, no clear evidence was found for the vocational overshadowing bias by either equal or less severe noncareer problems. Implications of these findings for career counseling and clinical judgment research are discussed. In spite of rapid advances in career counseling theory and research (e.g., theory convergence, Savickas & Lent, 1994; process research, Swanson, 1995), questions remain as to whether these and other developments have positively influenced attitudes toward career counseling held by academic and practicing counseling psychologists. Past surveys of counseling psychologists, especially of new graduates (Birk & Brooks, 1986; Fitzgerald & Osipow, 1986, 1988; Goldschmidt, Tipton, & Wiggins, 1981; Pinkey & Jacobs, 198S), report declining interest in career counseling (P. P. Heppner & Neal, 1983; Osipow, Cohen, Jenkins, & Dostal, 1979; Watkins, Lopez, Campbell, & Himmell, 1986; Watkins, Schneider, Cox, & Reinberg, 1987). More recently, M. S. Heppner, O'Brien, Hinkelman, and Flores (1996) found that 42% of students attribute their negative attitudes toward career counseling to derogatory comments made by professors and to boring career courses. Vocational psychologists speculate that these negative attitudes unfavorably influence counseling interventions with all clients because of the inherently integrative nature of work and love (Blustein & Spengler, 1995).
Crystalline sodium hyaluronate.

MOST hyaluronates in living tissues are in the form of protein complexes. Physical-chemical investigations on these complexes yield results which differ, depending on the source of the material and also on the extent to which the hyaluronic acid was purified of proteins1. It appears necessary that, in addition to the descriptions of the divergences of these complexes, one should investigate the nature of the complexing itself. Two views are prevalent in this matter. Noguchi2 advocates a pure electrostatic interaction between protein and polyuronide, and Partridge3 believes that the polyuronides have an orienting effect on proteins upon complexing. The last view presupposes certain stereospecific interactions besides electrostatic forces. Although hyaluronates are known to be birefringent and electron-microscopic investigations indicate a fibril structure4, X-ray diffraction studies have so far proved that hyaluronic acid films or fibres are of amorphous nature.
The Measurement of Performance of Combustors Using Passive Acoustic Methods: Additional Results

§This paper presents results obtained as part of a “proof of concept” program being carried out at the University of Nevada, Reno and the NASA Glenn Research Center. The purpose of this program is to determine the feasibility of using passive acoustic methods to determine the performance of jet engines and/or turbines. Data were recorded from six (6) acoustic transducers (microphones) mounted on a combustor ring and installed on a High Pressure Burner Rig (HPBR) located at the NASA Glenn Research Center. The HPBR was operated over several hours using a prescribed “duty cycle” of different fuel/air mixtures. Time frequency signal processing of the data showed that passive acoustic methods could be used to determine fuel/air ratios. These results have been reported in a previous paper. This paper presents additional results obtained by applying other signal processing techniques to the same data set. Correlation techniques and a multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm were applied to the data from each of the microphones. The MUSIC algorithm provided pseudospectrum estimates of the signals by performing eigenspace analysis of the signal’s correlation matrix. The MUSIC algorithm was particularly suited to this data since it is narrow band and has dominant frequencies. Preliminary results presented in this paper indicate that this approach may lead to the ability to generate isothermal maps of a crosssection of a combustor.
Responses of Gallus chicks to the static environment

Domestic chicks (Gallus domesticus) reared either in social groups or in social isolation within a particular static environment were given choice tests between test areas incorporating various configurational, color/pattern aspects of similarity and dissimilarity to the rearing compartment and to each other. Both socially reared and isolate-reared birds exhibited a preference for the test compartment which was most like the rearing compartment. An illuminated light bulb in the compartment was of primary importance to recognition of the rearing compartment. Pattern was used as a secondary cue to recognition if the heat/light features of the illuminated bulb were present, and chicks discriminated between familiar and unfamiliar areas even when both areas contained an illuminated light bulb. There was a greater incidence of general maintenance types of behaviors, characteristic of undisturbed birds in their familiar rearing cages, when the birds were in the home compartment replica than when they were in an unfamiliar test area. Hence, chicks form a code for their familiar environment and display attachments for specific features of their rearing compartments.
A Linear, O-Coordinated η1-CO2 Bound to Uranium

The electron-rich, six-coordinate tris-aryloxide uranium(III) complex [((AdArO)3tacn)UIII] [where (AdArOH)3tacn = 1,4,7-tris(3-adamantyl-5-tert-butyl-2-hydroxybenzyl)1,4,7-triazacyclononane] reacts rapidly with CO2 to yield [((AdArO)3tacn)UIV(CO2)], a complex in which the CO2 ligand is linearly coordinated to the metal through its oxygen atom (η1-OCO). The latter complex has been crystallographically and spectroscopically characterized. The inequivalent O–C–O bond lengths [1.122 angstroms (A) for the O–C bond adjacent to uranium and 1.277 A for the other], considered together with magnetization data and electronic and vibrational spectra, support the following bonding model: UIV=O=C⚫–O– ↔ UIV–OC–O–. In these charge-separated resonance structures, the uranium center is oxidized to uranium(IV) and the CO2 ligand reduced by one electron.
Fluorescent Biphenyl Derivatives of Phenylalanine Suitable for Protein Modification

In a recent study, we demonstrated that structurally compact fluorophores incorporated into the side chains of amino acids could be introduced into dihydrofolate reductase from Escherichia coli (ecDHFR) with minimal disruption of protein structure or function, even when the site of incorporation was within a folded region of the protein. The modified proteins could be employed for FRET measurements, providing sensitive monitors of changes in protein conformation. The very favorable results achieved in that study encouraged us to prepare additional fluorescent amino acids of potential utility for studying protein dynamics. Presently, we describe the synthesis and photophysical characterization of four positional isomers of biphenyl-phenylalanine, all of which were found to exhibit potentially useful fluorescent properties. All four phenylalanine derivatives were used to activate suppressor tRNA transcripts and incorporated into multiple positions of ecDHFR. All phenylalanine derivatives were incorporated w...
College students, the GI Bill, and the proliferation of online learning: A history of learning and contemporary challenges

Abstract Recent developments in areas of online education and the modernization of the GI Bill of Rights in the form of the Montgomery GI Bill have served to enact an unparalleled era in the history of higher education. Now, more than ever, servicemen and servicewomen have both the financial resources and the technological resources to pursue higher learning while actively deployed in remote regions of the world. Higher education is also moving quickly to accommodate these soldier-students. Accompanying this proliferation of opportunity are several problematic issues that can subvert efforts made by individual students in the military. Resolving these initial problems will be a key to the perpetuation of these opportunities for current and future American soldiers.
Beyond platelet inhibition: potential pleiotropic effects of ADP-receptor antagonists

The adenosine diphosphate (ADP) receptor antagonists, specifically the class of thienopyridines, have emerged as potent tools in the clinician’s arsenal for the treatment of athero-thrombotic disease over the last two decades. Though these medications have been clearly demonstrated to have significant platelet-inhibiting effects, their potential positive impact on other systemic processes has been less well elucidated. Recent evidence points to a number of potential pleiotropic effects of these agents, most notably in the attenuation of several pro-inflammatory pathways, which may be independent of their anti-platelet-aggregating effect. Additionally, several new ADP receptor antagonists are under investigation; it remains to be seen if these agents possess any additional beneficial pleiotropic properties as well.
Suprathreshold stereo-depth matches as a function of contrast and spatial frequency.

Thresholds for stereoscopic-depth perception increase with decreasing spatial frequency below 2.5 cycles deg−1. Despite this variation of stereo threshold, suprathreshold stereoscopic-depth perception is independent of spatial frequency down to 0.5 cycle deg-1. Below this frequency the perceived depth of crossed disparities is less than that stimulated by higher spatial frequencies which subtend the same disparities. We have investigated the effects of contrast fading upon this breakdown of stereo-depth invariance at low spatial frequencies.Suprathreshold stereopsis was investigated with spatially filtered vertical bars (difference of Gaussian luminance distribution, or DOG functions) tuned narrowly over a broad range of spatial frequencies (0.15–9.6 cycles deg−1). Disparity subtended by variable width DOGs whose physical contrast ranged from 10–100% was adjusted to match the perceived depth of a standard suprathreshold disparity (5 min visual angle) subtended by a thin black line. Greater amounts of cros...
Diffusion and sorption of simple ions in cellulose acetate—semipermeability

Abstract The diffusion and sorption properties of NaCl, NaI, KCl and KI have been studied in cellulose acetate (CA) membrane. Sorption is not reversible. Residual solute remains which can only be removed by ion exchange. Thus H+, K+ and Na+ membranes were prepared. The sorption of K was almost twice that of Na in which connection the biological difference between K and Na is of interest. Both K and Na sorption decrease with decreasing pH. The diffusion of NaCl was much less in the CA than in cellulose and decreased with decreasing concentration. At the higher concentrations the diffusion concentration gradient data implies a single barrier across the membrane as with cellulose but this becomes multibarrier at lower concentration. The observations are understandable according to electrokinetic theory. Salt retention properties in reverse osmosis are thus explained including the decreasing of the semipermeability with increasing solute concentrations. The much greater effectiveness of cellulose acetate vs cellulose is evident in terms of the reduced absorption and diffusion in the more compact less swollen molecular chain network of lower average dielectric constant.
THE BIMODAL WARM SEASON PRECIPITATION PROFILE OF THE UPPER MIDDLE WEST

ABSTRACT An unusual climatic feature of interior Anglo-America, and more specifically the Upper Middle West, is the bimodal character of its average annual rainfall profile during the warm season. One peak commonly is in June and a second one in September; July and August show some waning. The proportion of precipitation gauging stations with this bimodal warm-season maximum has declined in recent years, although the general pattern of bimodality persists.