cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
International Monetary Fund Reform

Recent expansions in trade, investment, and technological capability to transfer financial resources internationally, have led to much larger capital flows. But the major economic problems in many countries, raise questions about the IMFâ€™s capacity to handle larger-scale economic crises and widespread investor panic, such as were rampant among international markets in 1997 and 1998. The IMF was created to ensure stability of exchange rates and support international trade and investment, not to manage economic problems of such magnitude. IMF practices generate â€œmoral hazardsâ€ inhibiting financial prudence and needed reforms, and tend to involve massive subsidies to borrowing countries. IMF decision making lacks transparency, and the IMF is not really acting as a â€œlender of last resort.â€ This essay analyzes these problems and proposes major changes.
Correlates of Blunt Smoking Among African American, Hispanic/Latino, and White Adults: Results From the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

ABSTRACTBackground: Blunt use is highly prevalent in the United States and has been associated with several negative health consequences, such as an increased risk for cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. Although recent studies have identified characteristics (e.g., gender) that are associated with blunt use, it is unclear if these factors correlate with blunt use equally across racial/ethnic groups. Methods: Using cross-sectional data from the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, this study aimed to determine if demographic, health and substance use correlates of current (i.e., past 30-day) and lifetime blunt use were similar across 37,628 non-Hispanic African American, Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic White adults. Results: Findings revealed 8.3% of African American, 3.3% of Hispanic/Latino and 2.5% of White adults reported current blunt smoking. Across all racial/ethnic groups, age and current and lifetime cigarette and illicit drug use were associated with current and lifetime blunt use. Ho...
The frequency of urinary tract infection and subclinical bacteriuria in dogs with allergic dermatitis treated with oclacitinib: a prospective study.

Background Oclacitinib is a selective Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of canine allergic pruritus and atopic dermatitis in dogs. Glucocorticoids and ciclosporin increase urinary tract infection (UTI) frequency in dogs with inflammatory skin disease. Objective Prospective study to evaluate the frequency of UTI and subclinical bacteriuria in dogs with allergic dermatitis receiving oclacitinib. Methods Client-owned dogs ≥2 years of age with a history of allergic dermatitis without apparent history of urinary tract disease or predisposition to UTI were included. Prior to enrolment, urinalysis and quantitative urine culture were performed after a washout period of at least 14 days from systemic antimicrobial drugs and 28 days for ciclosporin and systemic glucocorticoids. Dogs received oclacitinib at labelled dosing for an intended period of 180–230 days with a follow-up urinalysis and urine culture performed regardless of urinary tract signs. Systemic antimicrobial and immune-modulating drugs were not administered during the study. Results None of the 55 dogs in this study developed UTI while receiving oclacitinib based on follow-up urinalysis and urine culture performed during a range of 58–280 days (mean 195 days). Two dogs developed self-limiting abnormal urinary tract signs without urine culture or urinalysis findings consistent with UTI. Conclusions and clinical importance These findings indicate that bacteriuria is not an expected adverse effect in dogs treated with oclacitinib without a prior history of UTI or predisposing condition during this treatment period. Therefore, routine urine culture is not indicated for such dogs in the absence of abnormal urinalysis or clinical signs of urinary tract disease.
Type of Work Experience Important for Hotel Managers’ Success: Focus versus Variety

The goal of the present study was to determine the experience background factors that could predict the extent to which hotel managers would use knowledge from their job experiences to solve proble...
Content-oriented sparse representation (COSR) denoising in CT images

Denoising has been a challenging research subject in medical imaging in general and in CT imaging in particular, because the suppression of noise conflicts with the preservation of texture and edges. The purpose of this paper is to develop and evaluate a content-oriented sparse representation (COSR) denoising method in CT to effectively address this challenge. A CT image is firstly segmented by thresholding into several content-areas with similar materials, such as the air, soft tissues and bones. After being ex-painted smoothly outside it boundary, each content-area is sparsely coded by an atom from the dictionary that learnt from the image patches extracted from the corresponding content-area. The regenerated content-areas are finally aggregated to form the denoised CT image. The efficiency of image denoising and the ability of preserving texture and edges are demonstrated with a cylinder water phantom generated by simulation. The denoising performance of the proposed method is further tested with images of a pediatric head phantom and an anonymous pediatric patient that scanned by a state-of-the-art CT scanner, which shows that the proposed COSR denoising method can effectively preserve texture and edges while reducing noise. It is believed that this method would find its utility in extensive clinical and pre-clinical applications, such as dedicated and low dose CT, image segmentation and registration, and computer aided diagnosis (CAD) etc.
Student perceptions of self-efficacy in the foreign language classroom: A design-based research study

The foreign language (FL) classroom can be an anxious environment where students feel uncomfortable having to communicate in a language in which they feel inadequate and have little practice. Low self-efficacy in skill-specific tasks is oftentimes the culprit. While there are a number of factors involved in successful language learning, this study examines how practice affects students’ sense of self-efficacy in the foreign language classroom. Using self-efficacy theory and design-based research, this qualitative study ‘flipped’ the classroom to focus on student input and output practice in class with grammar instruction video-recorded for homework. Data were recursively collected and analyzed from ten courses over three semesters. Classroom observations and reflection were triangulated with interviews and focus groups. Findings suggest that practice and self-efficacy in the FL classroom are indeed linked and that other factors such as peer familiarity and grading also play a role. The paper concludes with implications for language learning and teaching.
Ethical Issues in Industrial Social Work Practice

The valuational dimension of social work expertise is often overlooked. The profession needs to address the emerging value issues and dilemmas in the rapidly growing, nontraditional setting of indu...
Assemblage-level structure in Morrison Formation dinosaurs, Western Interior, USA

­The Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation is both geographically extensive and well-sampled, making it an ideal candidate for biogeographic analysis at both coarse and ‑ner scales. Historically, however, this has not translated into a consensus on patterns of ecological structure and connectivity, particularly with regard to the characteristic dinosaur faunas. Here, we use both traditional (genus richness, alpha and beta diversity) and bipartite network-based (biogeographic connectivity, local endemism, and average occurrence) measures to examine patterns of structure on a per-locality basis. Given the broad geographic range of the formation, we subdivide the Morrison Formation into four discrete regions based roughly on latitude and lithology—north (Montana, South Dakota, and northern Wyoming), west (Utah and western Colorado), east (central and eastern Colorado and southern Wyoming), and south (Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma). Further investigation revealed many coeval sites (ca. 152 Ma) in the east and west regions. Presence-absence data were also compared using network analysis to determine the presence and content of discrete subassemblages within the larger region-level assemblages. Based on our results, we favor reconstructions of the Morrison Formation as a ‘mosaic’ type environment over most of its depositional history, with patches of open environments interspersed with more closed, forested regions. ­is is suggested by relatively low rates of local endemism (patches are consistent in plant and animal structure) and connectivity across the majority of the formation, as well as the recovery of three non-overlapping assemblages dominated by dierent guilds of herbivorous dinosaurs.
Neurotransmitter Stimulation for Retinal Prosthesis: The Artificial Synapse Chip

Retinal prostheses may one day improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) or millions of blind patients with advanced age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), depending on their effectiveness. While considerable progress has been made in electrical stimulation of the retina, herein we explore some possible alternatives to electrical stimulation for retinal prosthesis. Since neurotransmitters normally shape visual responses, some groups have been developing visual prostheses based upon the spatially and temporally controlled delivery of neurotransmitters to the retina. This chapter examines the possibilities for utilizing these chemical messengers, as a means to effectively stimulate retinal ganglion cells and produce vision along established visual information channels.
Do people with Alzheimer’s disease improve with repeated testing? Unpacking the role of content and context in retest effects

Objective retest effects may be attributed to 'repeated content' in neuropsychological tests such as words in word list-learning tests, or the 'testing context' which involves procedural memory and reduced test anxiety following repeated administration. Alzheimer's Disease (AD) severely impairs episodic memory, so longitudinal cognitive testing among people with dementia may reveal the relative contributions of content versus context to retest effects in neuropsychological testing. Method we used data from the Critical Path Institute's repository of placebo arm data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of dementia conducted by participating pharmaceutical companies (N = 990 people, 4,170 study visits, up to 2.4 years of follow-up). To estimate retest effects on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), we used linear regressions with random effects for people and time, adjusting for age, sex and race, and longitudinal quantile regressions. Results average MMSE score (16.6 points, SD = 5.5, range 1, 27) declined by 2.0 points/year (95% confidence interval, CI: -2.3, -1.8). Mean retest effect was 0.6 points (95% CI: 0.4, 0.8) at second assessment (average 4 months after baseline). Retest effects were similar among participants with and without any recall on the short-delay word recall subscale score at baseline, and at the 30th, 50th and 70th percentiles of the MMSE distribution, suggesting similar retest effects across the spectrum from mild to severe cases of dementia. Conclusions retest effects are apparent in people with dementia despite reduced episodic memory, suggesting a prominent role of the testing context in RCTs and cohort studies.
Principal Frontal Zones of the Northern Hemisphere in Winter and Summer

Daily synoptic analyses for five winter and summer seasons are used to obtain mean frontal positions for the Northern Hemisphere. These positions are found to differ in several important respects f...
P022NGS homopolymer detection error resulted A*03:01 mistyped as A*03:21n

Aim Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) has enabled the characterization of complete HLA gene sequences and has become widely recognized as the preferred method for HLA typing. The importance of accurately adapting NGS into routine clinical testing has emerged. Homopolymer (HP) is a sequence of consecutive identical bases. Approximately 1.43 million HPs (also known as mononucleotide microsatellites) exist in the human exome, with the size of 4-mer and up. NGS have a relatively high error rate in determining HP due to the principles used for detection. Here we report an HLA sequencing error resulted from NGS HP detection limitation and hope to raise awareness and develop preventative steps. Methods: Routine clinical HLA allelic typing was performed using Immucor Mia Fora Flex kit. Stringent QC pass/fail criteria based on vendor’s recommendation were followed. Mia Fora Smart Flagging System Genotype status was incorporated into routine analysis. Two complementary bioinformatics, mapping and phasing, were used for analysis. Heterozygous calls were made if two nucleotides were present at a position with coverage ratio >20%. Results Two samples were typed as A*03:21 N during two NGS runs, A*03:21 N, A*33:01 and A*03:21 N, A*68:02 respectively. A*03:21 N is a well-documented allele, both assignments were acceptable by lab quality criteria. The frequency of A*03:21 N assignment caused concern and both samples were reflexed to Sanger SBT and confirmed as A*03:01. The difference is in exon 4, position 628, codon 186 where A*03:01 has 7-mer C vs. 8-mer C in A*03:21 N. A*03:21 N was defined as 627-628insC caused frameshift and premature stop at codon 196. Detailed NGS analyses revealed the number of ‘C’ call at position 628 were >20%, resulted A/C heterozygous calls and A*03:21 N assignment. Calling the common A*03:01 as non-expressed A*03:21 N has significant clinical impact. Even more problematic is that the assignments lacked warning sign. Conclusions NGS has revolutionized the field of genomic sequencing and rapidly adapted by HLA lab for clinical typing. However, NGS limitations, such as GC bias, preferential amplification and HP, are less known. Better understanding of these hidden risks and vendor software improvement can provide valuable benefit for labs utilizing NGS as their primary typing method.
Variation in Physician-Specific Episode Payments for Major Cancer Surgery and Implications for the Merit-Based Incentive Program.

Abstract Background Nearly 1.5 million clinicians in the United States will be affected by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) new payment program, the Merit-based Incentive Program (MIPS), where clinicians will be penalized or rewarded based on the health care expenditures of their patients. We therefore examined expenditures for major cancer surgery to understand physician-specific variation in episode payments. Methods We used Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results–Medicare data to identify patients aged 66–99 y who underwent a prostatectomy, nephrectomy, lung, or colorectal resection for cancer from 2008 to 2012. We calculated 90-d episode payments, attributed each episode to a physician, and evaluated physician-level payment variation. Next, we determined which component (index admission, readmission, physician services, postacute care, hospice) drove differences in payments. Finally, we evaluated payments by geographic region, number of comorbidities, and cancer stage. Results We identified 39,109 patients who underwent surgery by 1 of 7182 providers. There was wide variation in payments for each procedure (prostatectomy: $7046–$40,687; nephrectomy: $8855–$82,489; lung resection: $11,167–$223,467; colorectal resection: $9711–$199,480). The largest component difference in episode payments varied by condition: physician payments for prostatectomy (29%), postacute care for nephrectomy (38%) and colorectal resections (38%), and index hospital admission for lung resections (43%) but were fairly stable across region, comorbidity number, and cancer stage. Conclusions For patients undergoing major cancer surgery, 90-d episode payments vary widely across surgeons. The components driving such variation differ by condition but remain stable across region, number of comorbidities, and cancer stage. These data suggest that programs to reduce specific component payments may have advantages over those targeting individual physicians for decreasing health care expenditures.
Much Library and Information Science Research on Open Access is Available in Open Access, But There Is Still Room to Grow

A Review of: Chilimo, W. L., & Onyancha, O. B. (2018). How open is open access research in library and information science? South African Journal of Libraries & Information Science, 84(1), 11-19. https://doi.org/10.7553/84-1-1710 Abstract Objective – To investigate the open access (OA) availability of Library and Information Science (LIS) research on the topic of OA, the relative openness of the journals in which this research is published, and the degree to which the OA policies of LIS journals facilitate free access. Design – Bibliometric, quantitative dataset analysis. Setting – African academic library and information science department. Subjects – 1,185 English-language, peer-reviewed articles published between 2003 and 2013 on OA and published in journals indexed by three major LIS databases, of which 909 articles in the top 56 journals received further analysis. Methods – Authors first searched LIS indexes to compile a dataset of published articles focusing on OA. They then manually identified and evaluated the OA policies of the top 56 journals in which these articles were found. The openness of these journals was scored according to a rubric modified from the Scholarly Publishing and Academic resources Coalition’s (SPARC’s) 2013 OA spectrum. Finally, authors manually searched Google Scholar to determine the OA availability of the articles from the dataset. Main Results – Of the 909 articles published in the top 56 journals, 602 were available in some form of OA. Of these, 431 were available as gold copies and 171 were available as green copies. Of the 56 journals evaluated for openness, 13 were considered OA, 3 delayed OA, 27 hybrid/unconditional post-print, 2 hybrid/conditional post-print, and 11 had unrecognized OA policies. Conclusion – The increasing amount and significance of LIS research on OA has not directly translated to the comprehensive adoption of OA publishing. Although a majority of the articles in the dataset were available in OA, the authors indicate that some measures of OA adoption and growth assessed in this study are only somewhat higher than in other disciplines. The authors call upon LIS professionals to become more conversant with journals’ OA policies. An acknowledgement that not all LIS scholars researching OA are necessarily advocates thereof led the authors of this study to recommend further investigation of OA research not available in OA to shed light on those scholars’ perceptions and preferences.
Treating pain in primary care: Optimizing an integrated psychological intervention based on perspectives of psychologists, primary care providers, and patients.

Introduction Although behavioral health treatment can improve distress and pain functioning for patients with chronic pain, few who are referred by their primary care physician will see a behavioral health specialist. Given the benefits of integrating behavioral health into primary care, this may be an avenue for delivering a psychological intervention for chronic pain. The purpose of this study was to optimize a psychological intervention for patients with chronic pain to be delivered in primary care, utilizing the perspectives of providers and patients. Method Psychologists (n = 9), primary care providers (n = 9), and patients with chronic pain (n = 9) participated in separate focus groups. Participants reviewed the proposed 4-session intervention, provided feedback prompted by a set of open-ended questions, and completed a survey. Results Statements from focus groups were transcribed and coded into 2 thematic categories: (a) content of the intervention and (b) logistics and design. Participants believed that offering a brief, behavioral intervention for chronic pain in a primary care clinic was feasible and useful. All providers (100%) agreed or strongly agreed that they would refer a patient to this intervention, and 100% of patients agreed or strongly agreed that they would participate. Discussion Feedback solicited from the focus groups led to alterations to the treatment manual, such as adding a fifth session, using different psychological strategies, and logistical changes in delivery (i.e., meeting biweekly and intervisit contacts). The modified version of this intervention will be evaluated with a pilot randomized controlled clinical trial. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Information Theoretic Feature Selection Methods for Single Cell RNA-Sequencing

Single cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) technologies have generated an expansive amount of new biological information, revealing new cellular populations and hierarchical relationships. A number of technologies complementary to scRNA-seq rely on the selection of a smaller number of marker genes (or features) to accurately differentiate cell types within a complex mixture of cells. In this paper, we benchmark differential expression methods against information-theoretic feature selection methods to evaluate the ability of these algorithms to identify small and efficient sets of genes that are informative about cell types. Unlike differential methods, that are strictly binary and univariate, information-theoretic methods can be used as any combination of binary or multiclass and univariate or multivariate. We show for some datasets, information theoretic methods can reveal genes that are both distinct from those selected by traditional algorithms and that are as informative, if not more, of the class labels. We also present detailed and principled theoretical analyses of these algorithms. All information theoretic methods in this paper are implemented in our PicturedRocks Python package that is compatible with the widely used scanpy package.
Maternal Differential Treatment and Psychological Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Marital Tension and Sibling Tension?

Objectives Past research used equity theory and social comparison theory to explain the direct effect of maternal differential treatment (MDT) on psychological well-being. However, this focus on psychological pathways ignores possible social pathways, such as indirect effects of MDT on well-being through disrupting other family relationships. This study uses stress proliferation theory to argue that MDT, as a primary stressor in mother-child relationships, can produce secondary stressors in other family relationships (e.g., sibling tension and marital tension), which in turn leads to lower psychological well-being. Methods To investigate this mechanism, we conducted multilevel mediation analysis using data collected from 720 adult children nested within 308 families, as part of the Within-Family Differences Study. Results We found that sibling tension mediates the association between adult children's perceptions of maternal disfavoritism and their psychological well-being-a process we call the stress proliferation of maternal disfavoritism. In contrast, adult children's perceptions of maternal favoritism cannot trigger this stress proliferation process of producing marital tension nor sibling tension. Discussion The evaluation of the stress proliferation process of maternal favoritism and disfavoritism can help us to understand the difference in effects across various dimensions of MDT. This study contributes to the literature on social relationships as social determinants of health by investigating how intergenerational relationships are connected to other family relationships to affect family members' health.
Simultaneous iterative solutions for the trust-region and minimum eigenvalue subproblem

Given the inability to foresee all possible scenarios, it is justified to desire an efficient trust-region subproblem solver capable of delivering any desired level of accuracy on demand; that is, ...
Perceived Benefits and Burdens of Participation for Caregivers of Cancer Patients in Hospice Clinical Trials: A Pilot Study

Abstract Context Hospice is a service for those with a life expectancy of six months or less. Family caregivers suffer from depression and anxiety as they care for their loved one until they die. Little is known about how research participants decide to consent to participate in clinical trials in the hospice setting. Objectives This pilot study sought to answer two research questions: 1) In what way do demographic characteristics, mental health, and perceived caregiving experience impact the decision by caregivers to participate in hospice clinical trials? 2) In what ways do the perceived physical, psychological, economic, familial, and social dimensions of caregivers' lives influence their decision to participate in hospice clinical trials? Methods The characteristics and stated reasons for consent of hospice caregivers participating in a clinical trial were compared with individuals who refused clinical trial consent and only consented to this pilot study. Demographic, mental health, and perceptions of caregiving experience were measured as influencers to the consent decision. Recruitment calls were recorded and coded using framework analysis to identify perceived benefits and burdens impacting the decision to consent to the clinical trial. Results Overall, trial participants were more often adult children to the patient (55% vs. 21%, P = 0.005), younger (56 vs. 63 years, P = 0.04), and employed (47% vs. 24%, P = 0.02) as compared with those who did not consent to participate in the trial. Reported levels of depression, anxiety, and quality of life were not significantly different between those who chose to participate in the clinical trial and those who participated only in this pilot study; however, caregiver burden was higher for those consenting to the clinical trial (4.05 vs. 7.16, P Conclusion The benefits and burdens model for clinical trial participation is applicable to the caregiver experience in the hospice setting. Understanding the perceptions and dimensions of benefits and burdens to potential study participants is critical to not only the intervention design but also the tailoring of recruitment contacts and informed consent process.
Opioid consumption following orthopedic shoulder surgery: a retrospective analysis.

Background Prescription opioid misuse has become an epidemic in the United States and is a leading cause of death in Americans. Postoperative opioid prescriptions are a significant contributor to the opioid epidemic, with orthopedic surgeons being the third highest prescribers of opioid prescriptions among physicians across all specialties. Our aim was to retrospectively evaluate overall opioid consumption patterns following surgical treatment for shoulder pathology and recommend evidence-based guidelines for standardized postoperative opioid prescriptions. Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients who underwent shoulder arthroscopy or arthroplasty from a single shoulder/elbow fellowship-trained surgeon (principal investigator). Patient and surgery characteristics were summarized for the entire sample and further stratified by surgery type. Total opioid consumption at the time of the first postoperative visit and refill patterns were compared between each surgery group. Opioid consumption was analyzed in morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs) and is reported in the equivalent number of 5-mg oxycodone tablets. Results A total of 119 patients were included in our analysis. The average age was 58 ± 13 years, and 59% of patients were male. Rotator cuff repair was the most frequent surgery (n = 52), followed by arthroplasty (n = 35) and arthroscopy (n = 28). On average, the patients in the study used 82.5 ± 233 MME units, equivalent to 11 ± 31.067 tablets of 5-mg oxycodone. Sixteen percent of patients did not use any opioids. There was no significant difference in opioid consumption or refills across surgery type. In the bivariate analysis for the entire sample, age was the only predictor that was statistically significantly associated with the amount of opioid consumption. In the multivariable model for patient demographics, significant predictors of opioid consumption were age, gender, and pain scores. In the multivariate analysis by surgery type, significant predictors of higher opioid consumption were age, gender, pain score, and surgery performed on the dominant side. Conclusion On the basis of the consumption patterns observed in our patient cohort, we recommend prescribing 112.5 MME (15 tablets of 5-mg oxycodone) for arthroscopic shoulder procedures, and 75 MME (10 tablets of 5-mg oxycodone) for shoulder arthroplasties.
How Do Stronger Creditor Rights Impact Corporate Acquisition Activity and Quality

We exploit a quasi-natural experiment (the adoption of state anti-recharacterization (AR) laws) to study the effect of strengthened creditor rights on corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A). We find that, following the passage of AR laws, firms significantly reduce M&A activities. This effect is stronger for firms with higher bankruptcy risk. Conditional on making an acquisition, M&A announcement returns to both shareholders and bondholders are larger for acquirers with high bankruptcy risk, indicating no evidence of wealth transfers. Our evidence suggests that ex-ante strengthened creditor rights prompt firms to conduct more value-enhancing deals.
Development of crash modification factors for roadway illuminance: A matched case-control study.

Abstract Roadway lighting is used to ensure nighttime safety and security for multimodal road users. However, the absence of reliable quantitative analyses of the safety effects of roadway lighting photometric characteristics prevents accurate assessment of street lighting maintenance and retrofitting projects. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between nighttime crash risk and two critical photometric criteria, i.e., average lighting level and uniformity. To achieve this goal, high-resolution horizontal illuminance data were collected in Florida for 300 + center-miles from 2011 to 2014. Based on the data, a matched case-control study was conducted to address two major issues existing in previous studies: (1) the confounding effects of illuminance standard deviation on illuminance mean and (2) spatially-unrelated extreme values for ratio-based uniformity. By eliminating the confounding effects through a random matching strategy (one case, a segment with nighttime crashes, to one control, a segment without nighttime crashes at 1,046 strata), this study successfully isolated the negative effects of the standard deviation and developed more significant crash modification factors (CMFs) for average lighting levels: 0.679 for increasing the average lighting level from [0 fc, 0.5 fc] to (0.5 fc, 1.0 fc] and 0.581 for increasing the average lighting from [0 fc, 0.5 fc] to higher than 1.0 fc. Additionally, a CMF of 1.391 for a max-min ratio greater than 10 was identified by controlling the segment length at a short uniform unit (1,200 ft). The developed CMFs overcame the underestimation issue in previous studies and are implementable in current street lighting design and safety management.
Corticosteroids, Outflow Facility and Aqueous humor formation

There is much interest in the effect of corticosteroids on aqueous humor (AH) dynamics. Armaly [1,2] found that, in comparable age groups, the dexamethasone-induced increase in intraocular pressure (IOP) was greater in the glaucomatous eye than in the normal eye. Becker [3] and Becker and Mills [4] showed elevation of IOP after topical application of corticosteroids in glaucomatous patients and glaucoma suspects. These responses were thought to be genetically determined. However, Francois and colleagues [5] were not able to confirm this theory. There have also been reports of increased IOP after systemic corticosteroid therapy [6] and after long-term topical prednisone [7].
Imaging of the Earth by Iterative Reconstruction Methods

Cross borehole imaging (tomography) is an inversion technique that recreates the velocity field between two wells using observed travel times. The standard procedure is based on the decomposition of the cross hole area into a number of square-shaped cells. Two iterative techniques, the Algebraic Reconstruction Technique (ART) and the Simultaneous Iterative Reconstruction Technique (SIRT), are the basis for reconstructing images from observed travel times. These two techniques are compared to show the advantages and disadvantages for image reconstruction using synthetic data.
Approach to Multigas Sensing and Modeling on Nanostructure Decorated Porous Silicon Substrates

An approach to multiple gas sensing on decorated porous silicon (PS) substrates is presented. The simple microelectromechanical systems/nanoelectromechanical systems platform that we have developed facilitates the modeling of the interaction of nanostructured metal oxide islands with the analytes of interest, which are exemplified by NO and NH3. These conductometric sensors operate at room temperature and atmospheric pressure and, as they are forgiving, do not require film-based technology or lithography for their construction. We show that diffusion dominates the conductometric response. The direct response and the derivatives of this response are considered. The first derivative allows a quick evaluation of sensor response and the derivative is linear with concentration. The spectral simulations have been refined to include adsorption/desorption effects of the analyte gas and assess subsequent non-linear interface sensitivities. By including the physics of adsorption/desorption, the simulated sensor response is now a non-linear function of concentration. We model the absorption/diffusion through the use of the Langmuir absorption isotherm and find substantial agreement with experiment for the mixed analyte interactions of NH3 and NO combinations on several metal oxide decorated PS interfaces.
Calpain cleavage of integrin β cytoplasmic domains

We showed previously that the calcium-dependent protease, calpain, cleaves the cytoplasmic domain of the integrin beta3 subunit. To investigate whether susceptibility to calpain is a common feature of all integrin beta subunits, and to map calpain cleavage sites in different integrin beta tails, we treated recombinant cytoplasmic domains of integrin beta1A, beta1D, beta2, beta3 and beta7 subunits with purified calpain in vitro. We found that the cytoplasmic domains of all these integrin chains were cleaved by calpain. HPLC followed by mass spectrometry was used to identify calpain cleavage sites. These sites were clustered in the C-terminal half of the integrin beta cytoplasmic domains in regions flanking the two NXXY motifs, suggesting the possibility that the structural framework provided by these motifs is recognized by calpain. We used the knowledge of these cleavage sites to develop cleavage site-specific antibodies and to demonstrate cleavage of the beta1A cytoplasmic domain in intact platelets stimulated with calcium ionophore or thrombin. Thus susceptibility to calpain cleavage is common to integrin beta subunits, can be induced in intact cells, and appears to favor regions surrounding two conserved NXXY motifs.
Elementary teachers' ideas about effective science teaching: a longitudinal study

Beginning elementary teachers face numerous challenges in engaging in effective science teaching, and the expectations for elementary science teaching are becoming even more demanding. Since teachers' beliefs mediate their practice, characterizing their beliefs about effective science teaching can yield insights about ways to support beginning elementary teachers as they learn to teach science. This longitudinal study follows six elementary teachers in their early years of teaching. Five conceptions of effective science teaching are identified. In addition, though the teachers' beliefs are largely consistent over time-indicating that these are, indeed, central beliefs within their beliefs systems--a move away from reform-oriented practices is identified for most of the teachers in their third year of teaching. Implications for teacher preparation and induction point to the importance of supporting teachers in understanding the rationales behind reforms such as inquiry-oriented science teaching and engaging students in scientific practices.
Castes in Xylocopine Bees

Xylocopinae are not usually thought of as having castes and two of the three major included tribes are not or scarcely mentioned in accounts of social behavior in bees (e.g., Michener 1974a). The methods and objectives of this review are the same as for the Halictinae treated in the preceding chapter. The only xylocopine tribe treated in detail in 1974 is now called the Allodapini (Michener 1974a, Chapter 27), then called simply the allodapine group of Ceratinini. We now know that some species in the other tribes are also, in varying degrees, social. Such species have, in some nests, two or more adult females with division of activities among them and sometimes behaviorally recognizable castes. This chapter is devoted largely to a descriptive account of the evidence for castes in xylocopine bees, with enough general natural history to show the relations of the castes to the life cycles of the species. So far as known no xylocopines are obligately eusocial.
Cryochemistry of animal tissue: Biochemical changes in poultry muscle during freezing and storage

Summary The nature of biochemical changes occurring in chicken muscle tissue as a result of freezing and frozen storage was studied to aid in understanding the mechanism of freezing damage and quality deterioration. Comparative studies on freshly frozen muscle showed that slow freezing caused a larger loss of drip on thawing and a larger loss of nitrogenous constituents and nucleic acid derivatives in the drip as well as a larger loss of waterholding capacity than fast freezing. Quantitative examination of muscle proteins showed that protein extractability decreased during frozen storage because of loss of solubility of the actomyosin fraction. This decrease accompanied a loss of adenosine triphosphatase activity and a decrease in the sulfhydryl group content of muscle proteins. The stroma protein fraction remained unaffected, and the sarcoplasmic protein fraction decreased only after long storage. In the nonprotein nitrogen fraction, protein breakdown products increased as a result of proteolysis. The extent of these changes depended directly on storage temperature and time. The results indicate that slow freezing causes greater damage and greater release of proteolytic enzymes to the muscle tissue than fast freezing, and that during frozen storage muscle proteins undergo denaturation and limited proteolysis. The significance of these changes in freezing damage and quality deterioration was discussed.
AIM2 inflammasome is protective in regulating adaptive responses to oxidative stress in the liver (INM6P.410)

Inflammasome activation leads to activation of caspase1 and maturation of IL1β/IL18 in immune cells. Our previous data showed a novel role for caspase1 in hepatoprotection after redox stress by induction of mitochondrial autophagy, and this is independent of IL1β/IL18. Here, we further investigated inflammasome activation pathways after redox stress in liver. Mice deficient in known main inflammasome components NLRP1a, NLRP3, AIM2 or WT control (C57BL/6) mice underwent hemorrhagic shock with resuscitation (HS/R). NLRP3-/- mice had comparable IL18 levels, liver damage and hepatocyte (HC) caspase1-cleavage as WT mice at 6h. Knockdown of NLRP1a significantly suppressed levels of circulating IL-18 (162±21 vs 101±11pg/ml, p<0.01, control vs NLRP1a knockdown) after HS/R, but similar liver damage and HC caspase1 cleavage to control mice. AIM2-/- mice had similar levels of plasma IL18 as control mice (128±15 vs 135±29pg/ml), but significantly elevated liver injury (195±12 vs 995±287 IU/L, p<0.01) after HS/R, similarly to caspase1-/- mice. Similarly, in vitro AIM2-/- HC had decreased beclin1 expression (2.7 fold decrease in comparison with WT HC) and decreased mitochondrial clearance during redox stress as compared with WT cells. Taken together our data suggest that NLRP1-inflammasome regulates caspase1-activation in immune cells after redox stress, but that AIM2-inflammsome regulates caspase1-activation and mitophagy in HC/liver and is hepatoprotective after HS/R.
Solid lipid particles in lipid films to control the diffusive release of 2-heptanone.

Background Controlled-release formulations of bioactive agents are of increasing interest for effective pest control. Volatile 2-heptanone is a bioactive agent that has shown potential as a pesticide. The aim of this study was to investigate the kinetics of release of 2-heptanone incorporated into lipid films or composite solid lipid particle (SLP) films. Results Effective 2-heptanone diffusivity was estimated to be between 0.1 and 2.5 mm2 day−1 during the first week and between 0.05 and 0.1 mm2 day−1 during the next 5 weeks. The films that showed better retention of 2-heptanone were the paraffin lipid films. Inclusion of SLPs into paraffin films increased the release rate of 2-heptanone, mainly owing to a decrease in the film firmness as the composite SLP film became less crystalline and more brittle. In contrast, SLPs decreased the kinetics of 2-heptanone release in Acetem films owing to an increase in the film firmness. Conclusions The results indicated that the use of SLPs as a method for controlled release can improve the delivery of the natural pesticide 2-heptanone if the SLPs have good compatibility with the matrix, leading to an increase in firmness of the films without increasing their porosity. Published 2012. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Management of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms. Perspectives on Endosaccular Coiling and Persistent Uncertainties

See related article, pages 899–904 . In the retrospective analysis of their experience in treating 173 patients with 202 unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) with endosaccular coiling over a 12 year span from 1992 through August 2004, Standhardt et al1 document treatment outcomes with low morbidity and mortality but highly variable efficacy relative to durable, complete aneurysm obliteration. Such has been the experience of other investigators.2 Although the reported data are of interest, numerous questions remain, including the comprehensive postprocedure assessment of morbidity and mortality, and risk of adverse outcomes compared to natural history. In this series 48% of the aneurysms were incidentally discovered, and approximately 30% were “other” aneurysms in patients having experienced hemorrhage from another aneurysm, so-called Group II patients in the International Study of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms (ISUIA),3 and 14% were symptomatic due to mass effect (typically larger aneurysms). Nearly 44% of these aneurysms were small in size (<7 mm diameter), 37% of medium size (7 to 12 mm) and nearly 20% large to giant in dimension. About half of the aneurysms had a small neck (<4 mm in breadth) which is commonly regarded as optimal for endosaccular coiling assuming no complicating anatomy such as branches arising from the aneurysm base or conditions such as existence of intraluminal thrombus. Relative to procedural risk, particularly as compared to those of craniotomy and aneurysm clipping, the results which these operators have achieved are excellent—mortality in 0.5% …
Risk analysis as a source of professional knowledge

Most severe criticism of computer security risk analysis is founded on a single, positivist, philosophical viewpoint. From this viewpoint, the method lacks objective elementary data points, and its simple statistical decision model fails at least one major test of scientific methods. However, such a method might be scientifically valid as a source for professional knowledge when applied within more appropriate social philosophical frameworks. For example, risk analysis has been, from its earliest descriptions, suitable as an interpretive artifact. The practical implications of these concepts include the importance of experience for practitioners, the ease of misuse, and the danger to the method's validity of naive extensions or adjustments to the original simple method. The practitioner should also recognize the ethical issues raised by the method's communication channel.
Improving the quality of health services organization structure by reengineering: circular design and clinical case impact in an academic medical center.

Innovation to improve the quality of structure and process in health care organization is reported in this case example of change in an academic medical center. Interactive planning and the circular organization de sign concept were the driving principles and methods. This report presents the needs for and initial obstruc tions to change, planning and project design work, a description of the change process, and illustrative ac complishments to date— two cases, one of conscious sedation policy and one of nuisance pages. Evaluative criteria for judging the progress and lessons of the project regarding key design characteristics also are included.
Influence of Organization Structure on Role Conflict and Ambiguity for Three Occupational Groupings.

The impact of organization structure on perceptions of role conflict and ambiguity was examined within a multivariate framework and found to explain substantial portions of variation in both role p...
Optimization problems in gravitational attraction

Abstract Three types of problems in gravitational attraction are considered. In the first type, two isoperimetric ones are solved elementarily by means of a known inequality concerning integral means. In the second one, it is shown that if a homogeneous ellipsoid is divided into two measurable sets, then the gravitational attractive force between them is greatest when the two sets are hemiellipsoids formed by a plane containing the two largest principal axes. In the third one, it is shown that the motion of a free particle in a straight tunnel through a homogeneous ellipsoidal planet is simple harmonic. Furthermore, the periods achieve their maximum and minimum values when the tunnels are parallel to the largest and smallest axes, respectively.
Purification of Heterotrimeric G Protein α Subunits by GST-Ric-8 Association: PRIMARY CHARACTERIZATION OF PURIFIED Gαolf*

Ric-8A and Ric-8B are nonreceptor G protein guanine nucleotide exchange factors that collectively bind the four subfamilies of G protein α subunits. Co-expression of Gα subunits with Ric-8A or Ric-8B in HEK293 cells or insect cells greatly promoted Gα protein expression. We exploited these characteristics of Ric-8 proteins to develop a simplified method for recombinant G protein α subunit purification that was applicable to all Gα subunit classes. The method allowed production of the olfactory adenylyl cyclase stimulatory protein Gαolf for the first time and unprecedented yield of Gαq and Gα13. Gα subunits were co-expressed with GST-tagged Ric-8A or Ric-8B in insect cells. GST-Ric-8·Gα complexes were isolated from whole cell detergent lysates with glutathione-Sepharose. Gα subunits were dissociated from GST-Ric-8 with GDP-AlF4− (GTP mimicry) and found to be >80% pure, bind guanosine 5′-[γ-thio]triphosphate (GTPγS), and stimulate appropriate G protein effector enzymes. A primary characterization of Gαolf showed that it binds GTPγS at a rate marginally slower than Gαs short and directly activates adenylyl cyclase isoforms 3, 5, and 6 with less efficacy than Gαs short.