cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Long-Term Prognosis of Low-Risk Women Presenting to the Emergency Department with Chest Pain

Abstract Background Prognosis of low-risk women presenting to the emergency department (ED) with chest pain has not been clarified. We assessed early and long-term outcomes of such patients and determined the need for predischarge testing. Methods Retrospective assessment of consecutive low-risk women presenting to the ED with chest pain evaluated in a chest pain unit (CPU). Criteria of low risk: age ≤51 years; no history of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or smoking; negative initial electrocardiogram (ECG); and cardiac troponin. Predischarge testing (treadmill or stress imaging) was performed at the discretion of the CPU attending physician. Results The study group comprised 214 consecutive women. Predischarge testing was performed in 142 patients (66%, age 43.9 years) and 72 patients (34%, age 43.1 years) had no predischarge testing. Predischarge testing comprised exercise treadmill (n = 102, 72%) or stress imaging (n = 40, 28%). Length of stay with no predischarge testing was 4.1 hours, compared with 8.6 hours with predischarge testing ( P = .04). There were no cardiovascular events in the index presentation; during a 5-year interval (100% follow-up), there were 2 cardiovascular events (fatal heart failure, 1 patient; fatal stroke, 1 patient [total, 2/214, 0.93%]). Conclusions Low-risk women presenting to the ED with chest pain have an excellent short- and long-term prognosis. A majority of patients did not receive predischarge testing, and their length of stay was reduced by >50% compared with those with predischarge testing. These findings suggest that such patients may not require predischarge testing for disposition from a CPU, which can reduce length of stay, decrease cost, and improve resource utilization.
The “UIC German” game app for the enhancement of foreign language learning - Case study

This qualitative case study reports the adoption of gamification in a college level foreign language courses. An exploratory approach allows the authors to describe how gamification was applied and what results were documented. A custom mobile app was adopted to increase engagement and interest of students in the specific field of study. External systems were integrated, such as Kahoot and Duolingo, to allow for added practice and learning activities. The results of the research demonstrate a way to adopt gamification and increase instructor and student engagement.
Seasonal succession and spatial patterns of Synechococcus microdiversity in a salt marsh estuary revealed through 16S rRNA gene oligotyping

Synechococcus are ubiquitous and cosmopolitan cyanobacteria that play important roles in global productivity and biogeochemical cycles. This study investigated the fine scale microdiversity, seasonal patterns, and spatial distributions of Synechococcus in estuarine waters of Little Sippewissett salt marsh (LSM) on Cape Cod, MA. The proportion of Synechococcus reads was higher in the summer than winter, and higher in coastal waters than within the estuary. Variations in the V4-V6 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene revealed 12 unique Synechococcus oligotypes. Two distinct communities emerged in early and late summer, each comprising a different set of statistically co-occurring Synechococcus oligotypes from different clades. The early summer community included clades I and IV, which correlated with lower temperature and higher dissolved oxygen levels. The late summer community included clades CB5, I, IV, and VI, which correlated with higher temperatures and higher salinity levels. Four rare oligotypes occurred in the late summer community, and their relative abundances more strongly correlated with high salinity than did other co-occurring oligotypes. The analysis revealed that multiple, closely related oligotypes comprised certain abundant clades (e.g., clade 1 in the early summer and clade CB5 in the late summer), but the correlations between these oligotypes varied from pair to pair, suggesting they had slightly different niches despite being closely related at the clade level. Lack of tidal water exchange between sampling stations gave rise to a unique oligotype not abundant at other locations in the estuary, suggesting physical isolation plays a role in generating additional microdiversity within the community. Together, these results contribute to our understanding of the environmental and ecological factors that influence patterns of Synechococcus microbial community composition over space and time in salt marsh estuarine waters.
An examination of social and psychological influences on academic learning: a focus on self-esteem, social relationships, and personal interest

The present study focused on an examination of both global and domain-specific self-esteems in secondary mathematics learning. The extent to which self-esteem, in general, would account and explain educational success through social relationships with teachers and peers, and personal interest in learning tasks is the main inquiry of this correlational investigation. Two hundred and eighty-three year 10 students (128 girls, 155 boys) were asked to respond to a number of Likert-scale inventories. Causal modeling procedures, aided by the statistical software MPlus 7.3, were used to analyze the data and to test the hypothesized model. A series of a posteriori analyses yielded a modified model for discussion, producing a number of key findings, namely: (a) the differential influences of both global (e.g., →relationship with teachers) and domain-specific (e.g., →relationship with peers) self-esteems, (b) the positive influences of social relation with teachers (e.g., →exam result) and interest in learning tasks (e.g., →end-of-school term grade), and (c) the mediating functioning of relationship with peers and interest in learning tasks. This evidence, overall, provides additional theoretical insights into the operational nature and trajectories of effective learning.
Macrophage-Dependent Regeneration of Pulmonary Epithelia Requires Trefoil Factor 2 for Wnt Expression

Coordination between epithelial and myeloid cell lineages may facilitate tissue repair, but mechanistic evidence is lacking. Independently of Type 2 cytokines (interleukin-4/13), and T, B or ILC populations, lung macrophages promoted epithelial proliferation following injury caused by Nippostrongylus brasiliensis or bleomycin sulfate. Multiple myeloid populations up-regulated Trefoil factor 2 (TFF2) following lung injury and CD11c-driven Tff2 deletion impaired the proliferative expansion of pro-SpC + distal lung epithelial progenitors. Direct interactions between macrophages and damaged epithelia resulted Wnt production, which accelerated epithelial proliferation, trans-epithelial resistance, and barrier function in a TFF2-dependent manner. In summary, the current study demonstrates that TFF2 is a regenerative cytokine expressed by macrophages to facilitate repair of infectious or non-infectious lung damage.
Understanding cascading failures through a vulnerability analysis of interdependent ship-centric distributed systems using networks

Abstract System vulnerability is of critical concern when evaluating the operational performance of a naval vessel. The identification of system failures as well as subsequent cascading failures of related systems is required to understand if the vessel's distributed systems can survive a damage scenario through the prevention of large scale failures. In late-stage ship design, high-fidelity system analysis and scenario simulations can identify this type of emergent failure. However, in early-stages when distributed system design information is limited, vulnerability analysis typically focuses on component damage and vessel layout. Without considering the effect of distributed system design, the identification of cascading failures can not be identified early in the design process. To address this problem, the authors describe a distributed system model and corresponding vulnerability analyses to consider how vessel layout and distributed system configuration impact vessel performance under damage with limited information. The approach uses network-based methods to reduce the design detail required for distributed system modeling and vulnerability analysis. This approach is demonstrated on illustrative cases and a naval ship concept example to illustrate the importance of identifying cascading failures in early stage design.
Avoiding Exploitation in Phase I Clinical Trials: More than (Un)Just Compensation:

Lowering compensation to research subjects to protect them from “undue inducement” is a misguided attempt to shoehorn a concern about exploitation into the framework of autonomy. We suggest that oversight bodies should be less concerned about undue influence than about exploitation of subjects. Avoiding exploitation in human subjects research requires not only increasing compensation, but enhancing the dignity of research participation.
Is delayed school entry harmful for children with disabilities

Abstract We examine whether the academic achievement of students with disabilities who delay entry into kindergarten differs from on-time entering students within the categories of students’ identified with disability in a large and representative state using educational administrative data on three cohorts of kindergarten students (N = 262,000). Analyses indicate that the negative association between redshirting (delayed kindergarten entry) as a student later identified as having a disability varies across students with different types of disability. For most disability designations, achievement outcomes were substantially lower for redshirted students compared to students with the same designation who enrolled in kindergarten on time. This supports the hypothesis that schools may provide young children with better access to early identification and intervention services, which outweigh the benefits of maturation experiences during the redshirt year. However, redshirted students with speech–language impairments had slightly higher achievement compared with students with speech–language impairments who entered on time. Study findings suggest that young children with disabilities may benefit from entering kindergarten when first eligible.
Lung Tissue Mechanics

Lung parenchyma consists of millions of interconnecting cellular units, called alveoli, that are homogeneously distributed between two parallel repeatedly branching networks, the pulmonary airways and vasculature. On the alveolar scale (100 μm) the forces in the tissue membranes are heterogeneously oriented. However on a scale that encompasses several alveoli, the macroscopic properties of lung parenchyma can be defined in terms of average stesses and average strains. On this scale the lung parenchyma is fairly homogeneous and isotropic (1). For small quasistatic deformations, the lung parenchyma is assumed to behave elastically. However, the lung is known to exhibit both viscous and plastic properties. The lung also undergoes changes in volume that are outside the range of linear elasticity. For large changes in volume, the inelastic behavior of the lung is accentuated. Thus, the concept of elasticity as applied to the lung is restricted to small changes in distortion.
Lifestyle as a Risk Factor for Metabolic Syndrome and Neurological Disorders

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a constellation of interrelated risk factors of metabolic origin that promote the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The primary components of MetS are insulin resistance, central obesity, dyslipidemia, low-grade chronic inflammation, and hypertension. Modifications of diet and introduction of exercise delay the induction of insulin resistance and onset of MetS. Biochemically, MetS is accompanied not only by the dysregulation in the expression of TNF-a and IL-6 but also by alterations in levels of leptin, a peptide hormone secreted largely by adipose tissue that controls food intake and energy expenditure. MetS is an important risk factor for neurological disorders (stroke, AD, and depression). The molecular mechanisms involved in the relationship between MetS and neurological disorders are not fully understood. However, it is proposed that impairment of endothelial cell function, abnormality in essential fatty acid metabolism, and alterations in lipid mediators along with abnormal insulin/leptin signaling may contribute to the relationship between MetS and neurological disorders. A healthy diet and exercise postpone or delay the onset of MetS and neurological disorders.
Detection and measurement of hormone secretion from individual pituitary cells.

Publisher Summary The most enduring debate in neuroendocrinology is whether feedback control by peripheral hormones occurs indirectly at the hypothalamus or directly on the pituitary gland. Of all the hormones of the pituitary gland, the secretion of luteinizing hormone (LH) has provoked the greatest controversy probably because of the complexity of its regulation. Dual inhibitory and stimulatory effects of ovarian estradiol are observed depending on whether its concentrations are low or high, respectively. This chapter explains about immunecytochemistry on plaque-forming cells, growth hormone/prolactin secretion from the same pituitary cells, regulation of secretion among the different pituitary cell types, and measurement of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) binding and LH release by individual gonadotropes. The preovulatory surge of LH secretion is evoked by estrogen acting partly at the hypothalamus to increase GnRH secretion and partly at the pituitary gland to increase its responsiveness to the releasing actions of GnRH. This increased responsiveness is characterized by an elevation in the number of GnRH receptors and an increase in the fraction of the LH content that maximal doses of GnRH can release. The reverse hemolytic plaque assay for measurement of LH secretion by individual gonadotropes has been used to determine if subpopulations of cells exist and, if so, whether they contribute to such physiologic phenomena observed in vivo.
Chapter 7: Transnational Legal Process Theories

This Chapter of The Oxford Handbook of International Adjudication is devoted to transnational legal process theories. The main thrust of the Chapter is that the field of transnational legal process theories has proceeded without the benefit of conceptual clarity regarding the key underlying concept: the concept of a/the ‘legal process’ and that a myriad of partly-overlapping concepts — such as international adjudication, supranational adjudication, and transnational litigation — are used interchangeably, willy-nilly. This, in turn, may be explained by three observations. First, that the relevant discourse attempts, by design of the field’s forefathers, to capture both transnational public adjudication and private transnational commercial adjudication (international arbitration) within a single framework. Second, is the tendency to group together international adjudication — arbitration and litigation in international courts and tribunals — and cross-border litigation — litigation with a foreign component in national courts. Third, is a theory deficit — little has changed since Harold Koh observed a “void in legal scholarship” in the mid-1990s, despite the explosion of international adjudication at that time. The Chapter opens with definitions of ‘transnational legal process(es)’ and with a brief history of the concept. The main section presents some of the leading theories, grouped based upon the underlying perspective of the theorists: The lawyers and legal theorists; the political science and international relations theorists; and the sociologists and socio-legal theorists. In addition to describing these dominant approaches, the Chapter highlights competing methodologies and key themes, such as the internationalization of the rule of law and its discontents and the intended and unintended consequences of the transplantation of institutional models. The Chapter concludes with some general observations and with a number of suggestions for further research.
Ultrasound freeze casting: Fabricating bioinspired porous scaffolds through combining freeze casting and ultrasound directed self-assembly

Abstract Lightweight porous engineered materials are advantageous in a broad range of research fields because they combine desirable mechanical properties with the ability to leverage their porous structure. Existing techniques for fabricating porous material structures are limited by material choice, require multiple steps, and/or additional post-processing to create regions of varying material properties within the material structure, and are not easily scalable. In contrast, we implement and characterize a fabrication process for macroscale porous engineered material samples with a user-specified microstructure, by combining freeze casting, which allows fabrication of porous materials samples, with ultrasound directed self-assembly, which allows controlling the microstructure of the porous materials. We refer to this process as “ultrasound freeze casting (UFC),” and employ it to fabricate bioinspired materials that mimic the concentric rings of natural materials such as osteons and Liesegang rings. Specifically, we employ the UFC process to create material samples with three, four, and five concentric rings of alternating dense and porous TiO2 material. We find statistically significant differences of both the porosity and Vickers hardness when comparing the porous and dense regions of the material samples. These results will provide a new pathway to fabricate porous engineered materials with user-specified microstructure.
An analytic approach to identifying the sources of the low-frequency round window cochlear response.

Abstract The cochlear microphonic, traditionally thought of as an indication of electrical current flow through hair cells, in conjunction with suppressing high-pass noise or tones, is a promising method of assessing the health of outer hair cells at specific locations along the cochlear partition. We propose that the electrical potential recorded from the round window in gerbils in response to low-frequency tones, which we call cochlear response (CR), contains significant responses from multiple cellular sources, which may expand its diagnostic purview. In this study, CR is measured in the gerbil and modeled to identify its contributing sources. CR was recorded via an electrode placed in the round window niche of sixteen Mongolian gerbils and elicited with a 45 Hz tone burst embedded in 18 high-pass filtered noise conditions to target responses from increasing regions along the cochlear partition. Possible sources were modeled using previously-published hair cell and auditory nerve response data, and then weighted and combined using linear regression to produce a model response that fits closely to the mean CR waveform. The significant contributing sources identified by the model are outer hair cells, inner hair cells, and the auditory nerve. We conclude that the low-frequency CR contains contributions from several cellular sources.
Acute treadmill exercise discriminately improves the skeletal muscle insulin-stimulated growth signaling responses in mice lacking REDD1

A loss of the regulated in development and DNA damage 1 (REDD1) hyperactivates mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 (mTORC1) reducing insulin-stimulated insulin signaling, which could provide insight into mechanisms of insulin resistance. Although aerobic exercise acutely inhibits mTORC1 signaling, improvements in insulin-stimulated signaling are exhibited. The goal of this study was to determine if a single bout of treadmill exercise was sufficient to improve insulin signaling in mice lacking REDD1. REDD1 wildtype (WT) and REDD1 knockout (KO) mice were acutely exercised on a treadmill (30 min, 20 m/min, 5% grade). A within animal noninsulin-to-insulin-stimulated percent change in skeletal muscle insulin-stimulated kinases (IRS-1, ERK1/2, Akt), growth signaling activation (4E-BP1, S6K1), and markers of growth repression (REDD1, AMPK, FOXO1/3A) was examined, following no exercise control or an acute bout of exercise. Unlike REDD1 KO mice, REDD1 WT mice exhibited an increase (P < 0.05) in REDD1 following treadmill exercise. However, both REDD1 WT and KO mice exhibited an increase (P < 0.05) AMPK phosphorylation, and a subsequent reduction (P < 0.05) in mTORC1 signaling after the exercise bout versus nonexercising WT or KO mice. Exercise increased (P < 0.05) the noninsulin-to-insulin-stimulated percent change phosphorylation of mTORC1, ERK1/2, IRS-1, and Akt on S473 in REDD1 KO mice when compared to nonexercised KO mice. However, there was no change in the noninsulin-to-insulin-stimulated percent change activation of Akt on T308 and FOXO1/3A in the KO when compared to WT or KO mouse muscle after exercise. Our data show that a bout of treadmill exercise discriminately improves insulin-stimulated signaling in the absence of REDD1.
College Students’ Knowledge and Perceptions of Tourism Climate Change Impacts: Do Major, Grade and Gender Matter?

The purpose of this study was to examine the level of understanding and perceptions of climate change using the variables of major, gender, and class level with a sample of undergraduate college st...
Intradetrusor injection of botulinum toxin A in children: a 10-year single centre experience.

We evaluated the efficacy and safety outcomes of endoscopic intradetrusor botulinum toxin A (BTA) injections for the treatment of children with neuropathic bladder (NB) and non-neuropathic bladder (NNB) with or without detrusor overactivity in a single centre with a retrospective analysis. For the period 2006–2015, children who received BTA in our hospital were analysed. They were divided into group 1, those with underlying NB and group 2, those without a clear neuropathic cause of symptoms (NNB). Data are given as percentages or medians (interquartile range). Over the study period, 52 children (28 boys, 54%) received BTA, 28 in group 1 (54%; 17 (61%) boys) and 24 in group 2 (46%; 11 (46%) boys). Age at first injection was 11.8 (9.5–14.4) years. After initial injection, 40 (77%) reported symptomatic improvement, 17 (43%) becoming dry. There was no significant difference in response to initial injection between groups (p = 0.11). Duration of improvement after first injection was 7 (5.8–14) months. Twenty-five (48%) had further injections, of whom 3 (12%) were initial non-responders. Ongoing improvement was reported in 20 (80%), 11 (44%) of whom were dry. There was no significant difference in overall response to injections between groups (p = 0.11). Of the 11 non-responders, none (0/3) improved after subsequent injection and 3 (27%) subsequently underwent major urological surgery. Of the 40 who responded, 2 (5%) underwent major surgery. BTA injection produced symptomatic improvement in 77% of our study population, with no significant differences in response between NB and NNB groups. In 95% of those who improved, major urinary tract procedures were avoided during the period studied. None of the initial non-responders improved after subsequent BTA injection. BTA injection is effective and reliable in the management of children with NB and NNB refractory to medical therapy.
Frequentist operating characteristics of Bayesian optimal designs via simulation

Bayesian adaptive designs have become popular because of the possibility of increasing the number of patients treated with more beneficial treatments, while still providing sufficient evidence for treatment efficacy comparisons. It can be essential, for regulatory and other purposes, to conduct frequentist analyses both before and after a Bayesian adaptive trial, and these remain challenging. In this paper, we propose a general simulation-based approach to compare frequentist designs with Bayesian adaptive designs based on frequentist criteria such as power and to compute valid frequentist p-values. We illustrate our approach by comparing the power of an equal randomization (ER) design with that of an optimal Bayesian adaptive (OBA) design. The Bayesian design considered here is the dynamic programming solution of the optimization of a specific utility function defined by the number of successes in a patient horizon, including patients whose treatment will be affected by the trial's results after the end of the trial. While the power of an ER design depends on treatment efficacy and the sample size, the power of the OBA design also depends on the patient horizon size. Our results quantify the trade-off between power and the optimal assignment of patients to treatments within the trial. We show that, for large patient horizons, the two criteria are in agreement, while for small horizons, differences can be substantial. This has implications for precision medicine, where patient horizons are decreasing as a result of increasing stratification of patients into subpopulations defined by molecular markers.
Exploring the selenium-over-sulfur substrate specificity and kinetics of a bacterial selenocysteine lyase

Selenium is a vital micronutrient in many organisms. While traces are required for utilization by the microbe, excess amounts are toxic; thus, selenium can be regarded as a biological double-edged sword. Selenium is chemically similar to the essential element sulfur, but curiously, evolution has selected the former over the latter for a subset of oxidoreductases. Enzymes involved in sulfur metabolism are less discriminate in terms of preventing selenium incorporation; however, its specific incorporation into selenoproteins reveals a highly discriminate process that is not completely understood. We have identified SclA, a selenocysteine lyase in the nosocomial pathogen, Enterococcus faecalis, and characterized its enzymatic activity and specificity for L-selenocysteine over L-cysteine. It is known that a single residue in the human selenocysteine lyase, D146, is considered to control selenocysteine specificity. Thus, using computational biology, we identified H100, a D146 ortholog in SclA, and generated mutant enzymes with site-directed mutagenesis. The proteins were overexpressed, purified, and characterized for their biochemical properties. All mutants exhibited varying levels of activity towards L-selenocysteine, suggesting a catalytic role for H100. Additionally, L-cysteine acted as a competitive inhibitor towards all enzymes with higher affinity than L-selenocysteine. Our findings offer key insight into the molecular mechanisms behind selenium-over-sulfur specificity and may further elucidate the role of selenocysteine lyases in vivo.
Transabdominal Approach Associated with Increased Long-Term Laparotomy Complications after Open Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair

OBJECTIVE Although the transabdominal approach (TAA) and lateral approach (LA) to open abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (OAR) are both acceptable and widely used, a paucity of data evaluating subsequent postoperative laparotomy-associated complications (LCs) is available. The aim of the present study was to establish the incidence of LCs after OAR and determine which approach was associated with an increase in long-term LCs. METHODS An institutional database for OAR (2010-2019) was queried, excluding urgent and emergent cases. The primary endpoint was long-term LCs, defined as any complication related to entry into the abdomen. The LA included retroperitoneal and thoracoabdominal approaches and the TAA included all patients with midline incisions. A Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to estimate the freedom from LCs, and the Fine-Gray method was used to determine the predictors of LCs, with death as a competing risk. RESULTS A total of 241 patients (mean age, 70.0 ± 9.1 years; 71.7% men) had undergone OAR, 91 via a TAA and 150 via a LA. The patients in the TAA group were significantly younger (age, 66.7 ± 8.9 vs 72.1 ± 8.7 years; P < .001), more likely to be male (83.5% vs 64.7%; P = .002), and more likely to have a history of small bowel obstruction (SBO; 3.3% vs 0%; P = .025). Patients in the LA group were more likely to have required a supraceliac clamp (20.7% vs 1.1%; P < .001). No difference was found in the incidence of perioperative complications or long-term mortality. The most common LCs were hernia (TAA, 26.4%; LA, 11.3%; P = .003), SBO (TAA, 8.8%, LA, 1.3%; P = .005), and other (TAA, 13.2%; LA, 2.0%; P = .001), which included evisceration, bowel ischemia, splenic injuries requiring reintervention, enterocutaneous fistula, internal hernia, and retrograde ejaculation. Operative LCs were more common in the TAA group (17.6% vs 2.7%; P < .001). The unadjusted 1-, 3-, and 5-year freedom from LCs was 77.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 66.0%-85.8%), 60.5% (95% CI, 46.5%-71.9%), and 54.0% (95% CI, 38.8%-67.0%) for TAA and 94.8% (95% CI, 88.8%-97.7%), 82.2% (95% CI, 72.2%-88.9%), and 79.1% (95% CI, 68.4%-86.5%) for LA, respectively (log-rank P < .001). The predictors for LCs were a history of SBO (P = .001), increasing body mass index (P = .005), and the use of the TAA (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Use of the TAA was an independent predictor of long-term LCs after OAR, along with an increasing body mass index and a history of SBO. In patients with amenable anatomy, the LA is favorable for preventing long-term LCs, especially in high-risk patients.
Determining the key childhood and adolescent risk factors for future BPD symptoms using regularized regression: comparison to depression and conduct disorder

Objective Research has yielded factors considered critical to risk for borderline personality disorder (BPD). Yet, these factors overlap and are relevant to other disorders, like depression and conduct disorder (CD). Regularized regression, a machine learning approach, was developed to allow identification of the most important variables in large datasets with correlated predictors. We aimed to identify critical predictors of BPD symptoms in late adolescence (ages 16-18) and determine the specificity of factors to BPD versus disorders with putatively similar etiology. Method We used a prospective longitudinal dataset (n = 2,450) of adolescent girls assessed on a range of clinical, psychosocial, and demographic factors, highlighted by previous research on BPD. Predictors were grouped by developmental periods: late childhood (8-10) and early (11-13) and mid-adolescence (14-15), yielding 128 variables from 41 constructs. The same variables were used in models predicting depression and CD symptoms. Results The best-fitting model for BPD symptoms included 19 predictors and explained 33.2% of the variance. Five constructs - depressive and anxiety symptoms, self-control, harsh punishment, and poor social and school functioning - accounted for most of the variance explained. BPD was differentiated from CD by greater problems with mood and anxiety in BPD and differences in parenting risk factors. Whereas the biggest parenting risk for BPD was a punitive style of parenting, CD was predicted by both punitive and disengaged styles. BPD was differentiated from MDD by greater social problems and poor behavioral control in BPD. Conclusions The best predictors of BPD symptoms in adolescence are features suggesting complex comorbidity, affective activation, and problems with self-control. Though some risk factors were non-specific (e.g., inattention), the disorders were distinguished in clinically significant ways.
Growth factors in the therapy of bronchopulmonary dyplasia

Abstract Several growth factors have been associated with human bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), while a select few have been shown to have a causal role in the pathogenesis of experimental BPD in a variety of animal models (mice, rat, lamb, rhesus monkey and baboon). These include connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, pulmonary hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), transforming growth factor (TGF)β1, insulin-like growth factor (IGF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Although inhaled nitric oxide (iNO; downstream of VEGF signaling) use had disappointing clinical outcomes when used for prevention of BPD, potential new targets involving VEGF signaling could be activation of the HIF signaling pathway either by inhibition of prolyl hydroxylase domain-containing proteins (PHDs) by using FG-4095 or by using sildenafil. Clinical evidence for a mechanistic role of other growth factors and pathways does not exist, but laboratory studies suggest potential roles for many. These include the following: the anti-TGFβ antibody ID11, curcumin, elafin and etanercept are possible future therapeutics that have not yet entered the clinical arena of BPD. Recombinant human (rh) HGF could have a possible role, though currently there are no clinical trials targeting the HGF signaling pathway. Inhibition of CTGF and/or β-catenin (using ICG001) signaling appears to hold some promise based on the experimental data. The recent report that rhIGF-1/IGFB-3 reverses the lung and pulmonary resistance changes of experimental BPD in neonatal rats and the promising results of a phase II clinical trial of the same have reawakened interest in the manipulation if IGF-1 signaling to combat BPD. Currently, the most anticipated results are those of the concomitant administration of recombinant human IGF-1 (rhIGF-1) and IGF binding protein (rhIGFBP)-3 in an ongoing clinical trial for the prevention of BPD.
Applying Synthetic Control Method to Estimate the Impact of the Lava Jato Operation on the Worldwide Governance Indicators in Brazil

In 2014, the most prominent anti-corruption investigation in Latin America called Lava Jato, exposed a Brazilian corruption scheme with reverberations in 61 countries, resulting in legal judgments ...
Methane from microbial hydrogenolysis of sediment organic matter before the Great Oxidation Event.

Methane, along with other short-chain alkanes from some Archean metasedimentary rocks, has unique isotopic signatures that possibly reflect the generation of atmospheric greenhouse gas on early Earth. We find that alkane gases from the Kidd Creek mines in the Canadian Shield are microbial products in a Neoarchean ecosystem. The widely varied hydrogen and relatively uniform carbon isotopic compositions in the alkanes infer that the alkanes result from the biodegradation of sediment organic matter with serpentinization-derived hydrogen gas. This proposed process is supported by published geochemical data on the Kidd Creek gas, including the distribution of alkane abundances, stable isotope variations in alkanes, and CH2D2 signatures in methane. The recognition of Archean microbial methane in this work reveals a biochemical process of greenhouse gas generation before the Great Oxidation Event and improves the understanding of the carbon and hydrogen geochemical cycles. Microbial CH4 kept the early Earth warm under the faint young sun, but clear records are lacking. Here the authors present isotopic evidence that CH4 seepage in the Canadian shield is from hydrogen biodegradation in a Neoarchean ecosystem rather than an abiotic synthesis product.
Graduated Consent Theory, Explained and Applied

We often speak of consent in binary terms, boiling it down to "yes" or "no." In practice, however, consent varies by degrees. We tend to afford expressly consensual transactions more respect than transactions backed by only implied consent, for instance, which we in turn regard as more meaningful than transactions justified by merely hypothetical consent. A mirror of that ordinal ranking appears in our judgments about unconsensual transactions. This article reviews how a wide range of authorities regard consent, discovering that they treat consent as a matter of degree and a measure of justification. By abstracting from that evidence, we can outline a theory of graduated consent. This article concludes by testing a graduated consent theory against such problems as enforcing standardized agreements, justifying political coercion, and reading a constitution. In those and other applications, a theory of graduated consent can contribute to legal, moral, and economic reasoning.(Part II of this paper materially revises and expands on material first presented in, "The Scale of Consent," a working paper available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1322180.)
Are Publicly Financed Health Insurance Schemes Working in India

Our analysis shows that it is premature to dismiss the health insurance initiatives based on the existing analysis because these schemes perform better with time. This could be due to supply side factors such as improved implementation or demand side factors such as awareness of the scheme and financial literacy amongst users. To test this, we run the analysis by varying the definition of treatment group to only include districts that have schemes running for (a) at least a year and (b) longer than 2 years. The outcomes that we analyze are impoverishment, catastrophic healthcare expenditure and poverty gap change.
Design, fabrication and analysis of a Terfenol-D based magnetostrictive external cavity diode laser sensor with an advanced signal processing capability

Miniature magnetometer is desired in many applications, such as undersea survillance, buried landmine detection, vehicle tracking and guidance and personal dosimetry. This dissertation reports the fabrication, and characterization of a miniature magnetometer, which utilizes the highly magnetostrictive material, Terfenol-D and an ultra-short external cavity diode laser sensor. A thin slice of the magnetostrictive material, biased by an open magnetic circuit, is configured as an external reflector modulating the effective modal reflectivity of the diode laser cavity in response to an ac magnetic field. The detection limit of the sensor are being investigated and the principle of the device is being examined as an abruptly terminated dielectric waveguide problem. Numerical results are obtained. Further­ more, the spatial variation of the magnetostriction amplitude across the transducer is being examined with a heterodyne interferometer. Suggestions are provided on improving the device performance, and extending the numerical capability to account for non-ideal reflec­ tor. Other metrology applications using the diode laser sensor is discussed.
Engaging in Education: By Invitation Only.

Abstract This article argues for the use of dialogue journals as a means to engage students individually in their educational communities. Practical considerations, such as choice of form and methodology, are included.
Acetate supplementation attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced neuroinflammation

Glyceryl triacetate (GTA), a compound effective at increasing circulating and tissue levels of acetate was used to treat rats subjected to a continual 28 day intra-ventricular infusion of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This model produces a neuroinflammatory injury characterized by global neuroglial activation and a decrease in choline acetyltransferase immunoreactivity in the basal forebrain. During the LPS infusion, rats were given a daily treatment of either water or GTA at a dose of 6 g/kg by oral gavage. In parallel experiments, free-CoA and acetyl-CoA levels were measured in microwave fixed brains and flash frozen heart, liver, kidney and muscle following a single oral dose of GTA. We found that a single oral dose of GTA significantly increased plasma acetate levels by 15 min and remained elevated for up to 4 h. At 30 min the acetyl-CoA levels in microwave-fixed brain and flash frozen heart and liver were increased at least 2.2-fold. The concentrations of brain acetyl-CoA was significantly increased between 30 and 45 min following treatment and remained elevated for up to 4 h. The concentration of free-CoA in brain was significantly decreased compared to controls at 240 min. Immunohistochemical and morphological analysis demonstrated that a daily treatment with GTA significantly reduced the percentage of reactive glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive astrocytes and activated CD11b-positive microglia by 40-50% in rats subjected to LPS-induced neuroinflammation. Further, in rats subjected to neuroinflammation, GTA significantly increased the number of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-positive cells by 40% in the basal forebrain compared to untreated controls. These data suggest that acetate supplementation increases intermediary short chain acetyl-CoA metabolism and that treatment is potentially anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective with regards to attenuating neuroglial activation and increasing ChAT immunoreactivity in this model.
Euler-type Boundary Value Problems in Quantum Calculus

We study a boundary value problem consisting of a second-order q-difference equation together with Dirichlet boundary conditions. Separation of variables leads us to an eigenvalue problem for a second-order Euler q-difference equation. We determine the exact number of eigenvalues.
Development of a Computerized Laboratory System

Our experience in the integration of a computer into the regular daily operation of a conventional, research and development, physical properties laboratory is described-from the conception of the idea through planning, design, implementation, and startup to on-line operation. Development of the system paralleled closely the guidelines currently being formulated by ASTM Committee E-31 on Computerized Laboratory Systems. Detailed considerations of laboratory objectives and computer capabilities resulted in the design of a system based on a minicomputer. The system has the flexibility to handle various types of laboratory instruments within the design limits of data acquisition rate, storage capacity, and analysis program size. Experience has shown that the computerization of the laboratory has been readily accepted by both professional scientists and laboratory technicians, test results are more accurate, consistent, and error-free, costs to acquire the same type test results as were previously obtained are lower, and additional useful data may be acquired from each test without incurring additional costs.
The reaction of propane sultone with cuanosine, adenosine, and related compounds

Propane sultone (3-hydroxypropanesulfonic acid-γ-lactone) which is a monofunctional directacting alkylating carcinogen, has been shown to react irreversibly with DNA from various sources in vitro. It reacts with guanosine in DMSO to yield the N-7 alkyl nucleoside, while reaction with 2′-deoxyguanosine yields the corresponding N-7 alkyl purine. Evidence for the structure of these products and of one formed when adenosine and propane sultone react is presented.
Statistical analysis for negotiation support

In this paper we provide an overview of the issues involved in using statistical analysis to support the process of international negotiation. We will illustrate how the approach can contribute to a negotiator's understanding and control of the interactions that occur during the course of a negotiation. The techniques are suited to the analysis of data collected from ongoing discussions and moves made by the parties. The analyses are used to illuminate influences and processes as they operate in particular cases or in negotiations in general. They do not identify a ‘best’ strategy or outcome from among alternatives suggested either from theoretical assumptions about rationality and information-processing (see Munier and Rulliere's paper in this issue), from personal preference structures (see Spector's paper in this issue), or from a rule-based modeling system (see Kersten's paper in this issue). This distinction should be evident in the discussion to follow, organized into several sections: From Empirical to Normative Analysis; Statistical Analysis for Situational Diagnosis; Time-Series Analysis of Cases, and Knowledge as ‘Leverage’ Over the Negotiation Process. In a final section, we consider the challenge posed by attempts to implement these techniques with practitioners.
Architecture in the Sixties and the Sixties in architecture

by Larry Busbea, Cambridge, MIT Press, 2007, 320 pp., $24.95 (paperback), ISBN 78‐0262026112 by Alastair Gordon, New York, Rizzoli, 2008, 304 pp., $65.00 (cloth), ISBN‐10 0847831051 by Stanley Matt...
Prototype 1.75 MV X-band linear accelerator testing for medical CT and industrial nondestructive testing applications

Flat panel imagers based on amorphous silicon technology (a-Si) for digital radiography are accepted by the medical and industrial community as having several advantages over radiographic film-based systems. Use of Mega-voltage x-rays with these flat panel systems is applicable to both portal imaging for radiotherapy and for nondestructive testing (NDT) and security applications. In the medical field, one potential application that has not been greatly explored is to radiotherapy treatment planning. Currently, such conventional computed tomographic (CT) data acquired at kV energies is used to help delineate tumor targets and normal structures that are to be spared during treatment. CT number accuracy is crucial for radiotherapy dose calculations. Conventional CT scanners operating at kV X-ray energies typically exhibit significant image reconstruction artifacts in the presence of metal implants in human body. Using the X-ray treatment beams, having energies typically ≥6MV, to acquire the CT data may not be practical if it is desired to maintain contrast sensitivity at a sufficiently low dose. Nondestructive testing imaging systems can expand their application space with the development of the higher energy accelerator for use in pipeline, and casting inspection as well as certain cargo screening applications that require more penetration. A new prototype x-band BCL designed to operate up to 1.75 MV has been designed built and tested. The BCL was tested with a prototype portal imager and medical phantoms to determine artifact reductions and a PaxScan 2530HE industrial imager to demonstrate resolution is maintained and penetration is improved.
Seasonal Variation and Spatial Patterns of the Atmospheric Component of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation

AbstractThe Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) is an El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-like climate oscillation that varies on multidecadal and higher-frequency scales, with a sea surface temperature (SST) dipole in the Pacific. This study addresses the seasonality, vertical structure, and across-variable relationships of the local North Pacific and downstream North American atmospheric signal of the PDO. The PDO-based composite difference fields of 500-mb geopotential height, surface air temperature, sea level pressure, and precipitation vary not only across seasons, but also from one calendar month to another within a season, although month-to-month continuity is apparent. The most significant signals occur in western North America and in the southeastern United States, where a positive PDO is associated with negative heights, consistent with underlying temperatures in the winter. In summer, a negative precipitation signal in the southeastern United States associated with a positive PDO phase is consis...