cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Role of Service-Learning in Preparing Teachers and Related Professionals to Promote Health and Physical Activity in Early Childhood

Preparing professionals in teaching and related professions to deliver developmentally appropriate health-based physical activity/physical education for early childhood learners can be facilitated through a pedagogical practice called service-learning. Through service learning, teacher candidates and practitioners may learn the importance of promoting health and lifelong physical activity in a community-based fashion. Service learning follows a cycle of action and reflection. This chapter will articulate the role of service-learning professional preparation specific to degreed majors of early childhood physical education, special education and early childhood education. An overarching framework known as the Seven Elements for High Quality Service Learning will be used to illustrate how to design service-learning pedagogy involving school-based and community-based settings.
A Necessary and Sufficient Condition for the Existence of Absolute Minimizers for Energy Functionals with Scale Invariance

In (Haidar 2009) and (Haidar 2007), we constructed models in higher dimensional nonlinear hyper-elasticity that establish that strong ellipticity of the stored energy does not imply that all solutions to the corresponding equilibrium equations which pass through the origin and have finite energy are trivial. While that work, by itself, settled a longstanding problem posed by J. Ball in 1982 (Ball 1982), it also shed new light on another central, very difficult problem of nonlinear elasticity, namely, that of regularity of weak equilibria and material instabilities.
Nonrelativistic Off-Shell Two-Body Coulomb Amplitudes

Publisher Summary The off-shell T-matrix of a two-body interacting system provides, in principle, all the necessary information about the system. On very general grounds, it can be shown that the simple poles of the off-shell T-matrix correspond to the bound states of the system and the residues at these poles are related to the wavefunctions of corresponding bound states. The separable series representation together with partial wave decomposition permits the reduction of the Faddeev equations from a five-variable to a single-variable integral equation. The Coulomb branch-point singularities are actually part of the distortion factors to account for the long range Coulomb effects, which are absent in the plane-wave momentum representation for the incident wave and the propagation of the colliding particles. There are arguments concerning whether the Coulomb branch-point singularities on the initial and final half of the energy shell are physical, because in all cases of physical interest, the scattering of charged particles is caused by an interaction that is somewhat screened at very large distances. Consequently, these singularities should be removed by introducing appropriate screening in actual applications. Because physical results should not depend on the screening, it is therefore expected that correct results can be obtained by allowing the screening to approach zero.
Viral Teamwork Pushes CRISPR to the Breaking Point.

Viruses have evolved inhibitors to counteract the CRISPR immune response, but they are not fully potent and need some time to be expressed after the beginning of infection. In this issue of Cell, Borges et al. and Landsberger et al. show that sequential infection gradually immunosuppresses the host to allow effective CRISPR inhibition.
Improving MPI Multi-threaded RMA Communication Performance

One-sided communication is crucial to enabling communication concurrency. As core counts have increased, particularly with many-core architectures, one-sided (RMA) communication has been proposed to address the ever increasing contention at the network interface. The difficulty in using one-sided (RMA) communication with MPI is that the performance of MPI implementations using RMA with multiple concurrent threads is not well understood. Past studies have been done using MPI RMA in combination with multi-threading (RMA-MT) but they have been performed on older MPI implementations lacking RMA-MT optimizations. In addition prior work has only been done at smaller scale ( In this paper, we describe a new RMA implementation for Open MPI. The implementation targets scalability and multi-threaded performance. We describe the design and implementation of our RMA improvements and offer an evaluation that demonstrates scaling to 524,288 cores, the full size of a leading supercomputer installation. In contrast, the previous implementation failed to scale past approximately 4,096 cores. To evaluate this approach, we then compare against a vendor optimized MPI RMA-MT implementation with microbenchmarks, a mini-application, and a full astrophysics code at large scale on a many-core architecture. This is the first time that an evaluation at large scale on many-core architectures has been done for MPI RMA-MT (524,288 cores) and the first large scale application performance comparison between two different RMA-MT optimized MPI implementations. The results show a 8.6% benefit to our optimized open source MPI for a full application code running on 512K cores.
Ralstonia solanacearum Species Complex: A Quick Diagnostic Guide

Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith 1896) Yabuuchi et al. 1996 is ranked second among the top 10 most economically important plant pathogenic bacteria. The soil-borne bacterium affects over 200 plant spe...
Thinking beyond pannus: a review of retro-odontoid pseudotumor due to rheumatoid and non-rheumatoid etiologies

Retro-odontoid pseudotumor, or mass-like retro-odontoid soft tissue thickening, is an uncommon but important imaging finding that may be associated with rheumatoid arthritis, crystal deposition diseases, as well as non-inflammatory conditions such as cervical degenerative changes and mechanical alterations. Retro-odontoid pseudotumor is commonly associated with atlantoaxial microinstability or subluxation. MRI and CT have an important role in the detection and diagnosis of retro-odontoid pseudotumor. However, due to a wide range of imaging characteristics and ambiguous etiology, it is a frequently misunderstood entity. The purpose of this article is to review relevant anatomy of the craniocervical junction; describe various imaging appearances, pathophysiology and histology in both rheumatoid and non-rheumatoid etiologies; and discuss differential diagnosis of retro-odontoid pseudotumor in order to help guide clinical management.
Readability of online patient-based information on bariatric surgery

Background: Web-based patient education literature has been shown to be written at reading levels far above what is recommended. Little is known about the overall readability of current internet-based bariatric surgery information. The purpose of this study was to assess the readability of current bariatric material on the internet. Methods: The term "weight loss surgery" was searched using the Chrome browser on the first 15pages of URLs that appeared with content written in English. Using five readability measures, scores were generated using Readable.io for written content on a sample of 96 websites. Scores were sorted into the readability categories of "easy," "average," and "difficult." Results: Almost 93% of websites, both .com and .org, sampled received an unacceptable readability score on each assessment. Conclusion: Accurate and appropriate information about bariatric procedures is critical for patient comprehension and adherence to recommended protocols.
Ernst Cassirer, Kurt Lewin, and Hans Reichenbach

This chapter concerns the philosophical and personal interactions between the Neo-Kantian philosopher Ernst Cassirer and two members of the Berlin Group, Kurt Lewin and Hans Reichenbach. Both Lewin and Reichenbach were students of Cassirer’s in Berlin, and both explicitly discuss Cassirer’s work in their writings. After some biographical material drawn from their published and unpublished works and correspondence (Sect. 4.1), Sect. 4.2 of the paper argues that each of the three shared a broad conception of philosophy as the “logical analysis of science,” though each carried out this project in different ways. Lewin used philosophical ideas from Cassirer to motivate his original and consequential research program in experimental psychology (Sect. 4.3). Reichenbach, on the other hand, initially drew on Cassirer’s theory of the a priori in isolating a priori “coordinating principles” in general relativity, and then later rejected Cassirer’s theory by relabeling these principles as conventions (Sect. 4.4). That Cassirer did not follow Reichenbach into conventionalism springs, I argue, from Cassirer’s rejection of Reichenbach’s view that theory-neutral experimental measurements could ground physical theories in an objective way.
Seamless Manual-to-Autopilot Transition: An Intuitive Programming Approach to Robotic Welding

An intuitive on-site robot programming method for small-lot robotic welding is presented. In current robotic welding, a human operator has to input numerous parameters, including feedrate, swing width, and frequency, by using a teach pendant or a control panel before executing the task. This traditional approach is suitable for mass production, but requires tedious, time-consuming programming, which does not fit low-volume manufacturing, such as shipbuilding. In this paper, a method is developed for acquiring those parameters directly from an on-site human demonstration and seamlessly transitioning from manual operation to automatic control. With this method, a welding worker can directly execute a welding task, and the motion of a welding torch is observed, from which key parameters are identified and the machine performs the rest of the task autonomously. No tedious parameter input is required, but the worker can jump-start the task. The motion of a welding torch is represented as a combination of sinusoidal and linear functions. Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) and Recursive Least Squares (RLS) estimates are used for identifying the parametric model in real time. Furthermore, an algorithm is developed for determining whether an appropriate estimation result has been obtained and when to switch from manual operation to autonomous control. The method is implemented on a virtual teleoperation system and seamless control transition is demonstrated.
Pediatric Emergency Medicine Didactics and Simulation (PEMDAS): Serotonin Syndrome

Introduction Serotonin syndrome is caused by an accumulation of serotonin in the body from drug interactions or overdose of serotonergic medications, including commonly used antidepressants. Sympto...
Social Atmospherics, Affective Response, and Behavioral Intention Associated With Esports Events

The purpose of this study was to conceptualize social atmospherics in the context of esports attendance and examine the relationship among social atmospherics, affective responses, and behavioral intention. Based on review literature, we conceptualized social atmospherics as five dimensions in esports events' environments: social density, suitable behavior, similarity, cosplay, and cheering behavior. Notably, cosplay (i.e., a portmanteau of the words "costumes" and "play") and cheering behavior factors adopted from extant social atmospherics served to capture the unique features associated with esports events. Via an online survey, data were collected (n = 372) from esports fans who have experienced attending esports events. The data set was split into half; the first data set (n = 189) was used to examine the psychometric properties of the measurement model and the second data set (n = 184) was employed to test the hypothesized model. The initial model fit was not shown to be acceptable. The model was re-estimated using the second data set after dropping four items with low factor loadings, resulting in the acceptable model fit. The results via structural equation modeling indicated that cheering behavior, similarity, cosplay, and social density positively and significantly influenced affective responses and behavioral intention. However, there was no significant relationship between suitable behavior and affective responses. In terms of theoretical contributions, we tested a five-factor model of social atmospherics associated with esports events and its effects on behavioral intention through affective responses. The findings in this study extend the sportscape model (Wakefield and Sloan, 1995) by incorporating the mediating effect of affective responses and expand the utility of the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework as a viable theory that can explain esports consumption behavior.
Measurement of the sound velocity and Grüneisen parameter of polystyrene at inertial confinement fusion conditions

The principal Hugoniot, sound velocity, and Gr\"uneisen parameter of polystyrene were measured at conditions relevant to shocks in inertial confinement fusion implosions, from 100 to 1000 GPa. The sound velocity is in good agreement with quantum molecular dynamics calculations and all tabular equation of state models at pressures below 200 GPa. Above 200 GPa, the experimental results agree with two of the examined tables, but do not agree with the most recent table developed for design of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments. The Gr\"uneisen parameter increases with density below $\ensuremath{\sim}3.1\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{g}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$ and approaches the asymptotic value for an ideal gas after complete dissociation. This behavior is in good agreement with quantum molecular dynamics results and previous work but is not represented by any of the tabular models. The discrepancy between tabular models and experimental measurement of the sound velocity and Gr\"uneisen parameter is sufficient to impact simulations of ICF experiments.
A State-Based Method to Simultaneously Reduce Cycle Slips and Noise in Coherent GNSS-R Phase Measurements From Open-Loop Tracking

The carrier phase measurements of coherent Global Navigation Satellite Systems Reflectometry (GNSS-R)signals have demonstrated the potential for high-accuracy altimetry applications. However, the coherent components in the reflected signal are often accompanied by noncoherent scattered signals, which may cause numerous cycle slips in the conventional open-loop (OL) tracking and postprocessing approach. These cycle slips can lead to meter-level errors in the altimetry retrieval. This article presents a simultaneous cycle slip and noise filtering (SCANF) method for dual-frequency GNSS-R phase measurements generated by OL tracking. The performance of this method is demonstrated using real GNSS-R phase measurements recorded by receivers on board Spire’s low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. The retrieved sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) has an average root mean square (rms) of 7.3 cm for sea and sea ice surface reflections relative to the mean sea surface (MSS). The technique presented in this article is also applicable to GNSS carrier phase measurements obtained under other challenging conditions, such as signals propagating through ionosphere plasma structures, radio occultation (RO) signals traversing lower troposphere, and multipath-rich environments.
Peripheral blood transcriptomic sub-phenotypes of pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is heterogeneous and may be amenable to sub-phenotyping to improve enrichment for trials. We aimed to identify subtypes of pediatric ARDS based on whole blood transcriptomics. This was a prospective observational study of children with ARDS at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) between January 2018 and June 2019. We collected blood within 24 h of ARDS onset, generated expression profiles, and performed k-means clustering to identify sub-phenotypes. We tested the association between sub-phenotypes and PICU mortality and ventilator-free days at 28 days using multivariable logistic and competing risk regression, respectively. We enrolled 106 subjects, of whom 96 had usable samples. We identified three sub-phenotypes, dubbed CHOP ARDS Transcriptomic Subtypes (CATS) 1, 2, and 3. CATS-1 subjects (n = 31) demonstrated persistent hypoxemia, had ten subjects (32%) with immunocompromising conditions, and 32% mortality. CATS-2 subjects (n = 29) had more immunocompromising diagnoses (48%), rapidly resolving hypoxemia, and 24% mortality. CATS-3 subjects (n = 36) had the fewest comorbidities and also had rapidly resolving hypoxemia and 8% mortality. The CATS-3 subtype was associated with lower mortality (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.04–0.86) and higher probability of extubation (subdistribution HR 2.39, 95% CI 1.32–4.32), relative to CATS-1 after adjustment for confounders. We identified three sub-phenotypes of pediatric ARDS using whole blood transcriptomics. The sub-phenotypes had divergent clinical characteristics and prognoses. Further studies should validate these findings and investigate mechanisms underlying differences between sub-phenotypes.
Syntheses and solid-state structures of two cofacial (bis)dipyrrin dichromium complexes in different charge states.

The dichromium Pacman com­plex (tBudmx)Cr2Cl2·C4H10O (1) [(tBudmx)H2 is a di­­methyl­xanthene-bridged cofacial (bis­)dipyrrin, C49H58N4O] was synthesized by salt metathesis using anhydrous CrCl2 and previously reported (tBudmx)K2. Treat­ment of 1 with two equivalents of the reductant potassium graphite afforded K2(tBudmx)Cr2Cl2(thf)3·0.5C4H10O·0.5C4H8O (thf is tetra­hydro­furan, C4H8O) (2), with both potassium ions inter­calated between the pyrrolic subunits. Comparison of the solid-state structures for 1 and 2 reveals minimal changes in the primary coordination sphere of each Cr ion, with notable elongation of the dipyrrin C—C and C—N bonds upon reduction, consistent with com­putational support for a ligand-based reduction.
Assessment of the Global Practice of Living Donor Liver Transplantation.

Criteria that drive the selection and utilization of living liver donors are limited. Herein, the global availability of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and components of donor selection and utilization were assessed via an international survey. There were 124 respondents representing 41 countries, including 47 from Asia/Middle East (A/ME), 20 from Europe, and 57 from the Americas. Responses were obtained from 94.9% of countries with ≥10 LDLT cases/year. Most centers (82.3%) have defined donor age criteria (median 18-60 years), while preset recipient MELD cutoffs (median 18-30) were only reported in 54.8% of programs. Overall, 67.5% of programs have preset donor BMI (body mass index) ranges (median 18-30), and the mean acceptable macrosteatosis was highest for A/ME (20.2 ± 9.2%) and lowest for Americas (16.5 ± 8.4%, P = 0.04). Americas (56.1%) and European (60.0%) programs were more likely to consider anonymous donors versus A/ME programs (27.7%, P = 0.01). There were no differences in consideration of complex anatomical variations. Most programs (75.9%) perform donor surgery via an open approach, and A/ME programs are more likely to use microscopic arterial reconstruction. Despite variations in practice, key aspects of living donor selection were identified. These findings provide a contemporary reference point as LDLT continues to expand into areas with limited access to liver transplantation.
Potential clinical impact of reporting breast arterial calcifications on screening mammograms in women without known coronary artery disease.

Cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of death in women. 10-year likelihood for a cardiovascular event is determined by the American College of Cardiology Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular disease risk score calculator (ASVCD); however, this does not encompass risk factors unique to women. Breast arterial calcifications (BAC) detected on screening mammography may serve as a proxy for coronary atherosclerosis (CAC) in women. Our purpose was to investigate the correlation between BAC and CAC on imaging in women without a diagnosis of atherosclerosis to determine the potential clinical impact. Retrospective review was performed on a cohort of females evaluated by internists at our institution in 2019. Study patients had a screening mammogram within 1 year of a noncardiac chest CT. Clinical data were collected to determine ASCVD risk score. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of BAC in detecting CAC were determined. 222 women met inclusion criteria, ranging from 41 to 77 years of age, among which 25% (56/222) had BAC. 84% (47/56) of women with BAC had CAC on CT, yielding a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of 51%, 93%, 84%, and 72%, respectively. Of the 47 patients who had both BAC and CAC, 66% had an unknown or low-to-borderline ASCVD score. Women with BACs have a high specificity for CAC. The reporting of BACs should prompt clinicians to risk stratify women for atherosclerotic disease. These women may otherwise be undetected by conventional risk calculators.
Health-related quality of life among US young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: Psychiatric symptoms and emotional experiences to target within clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: The current study aimed to determine the role of psychological experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic (depression, anxiety, loneliness, and COVID-19-related grief and worry) on young adult physical and mental health functioning as measured by health-related quality of life (HRQoL). METHODS: Using hierarchical multiple regression analyses, this cross-sectional study examined psychological predictors of physical and mental health functioning among young adults (age 18 to 30 years) from April 13 to September 5, 2020. RESULTS: Pre-existing depression diagnoses (beta = -0.124, P < .001), current depression symptoms (beta = -0.298, P < .001), and COVID-19-related worry (beta = -0.142, P < .001) significantly predicted poorer physical health functioning. Current depression and anxiety symptoms (beta = -0.342 and beta = -0.268), loneliness (beta = -0.135), and COVID-19-related grief (beta = -0.180) predicted lower self-reported mental health functioning (P < .001). Black (beta = -0.072) and Hispanic/Latinx participants (beta = -0.082) were more likely to indicate poorer physical health functioning (P < .01) relative to White participants, whereas women reported poorer mental health relative to men (beta = -0.047, P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies potential negative impacts of pandemic-related psychological experiences for young adults' health during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a need to consider mental health symptomatology, COVID-19-related experiences, race, and gender when designing efforts to address long-term implications on health.
A Mixed-Methods Examination of Inpatient Breastfeeding Education Using a Human Factors Perspective

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine postpartum, inpatient mother-lactation educator (LE) breastfeeding education, resulting perceptions, and patient-reported worries and outcomes....
UbiTrack: enabling scalable & low-cost device localization with onboard wifi

Wireless sensing and the Internet of Things support real-time monitoring and data-driven control of the built environment, enabling more sustainable and responsive infrastructure. As buildings and physical structures tend to be large and complex, instrumenting them to support a wide range of applications often requires numerous sensors distributed over a large area. One impediment to this type of large-scale sensing is simply tracking where exactly devices are over time, as the physical infrastructure is updated and interacted with over time. Having low-cost but accurate localization for devices (instead of users) would enable scalable IoT network management, but current localization approaches do not provide a suitable tradeoff in terms of cost, energy, and accuracy for low power devices in unknown environments. We propose UbiTrack, a low-cost indoor positioning system that enables accurate tracking for single antenna commodity WiFi devices, without the need for a complex antenna array. UbiTrack leverages two-way channel state information (CSI) across all WiFi channels to measure the distance between nodes, and uses a new probabilistic localization algorithm based on Bayesian estimation to locate each device. We demonstrate the system on commodity $4.00 ESP32 WiFi chips and realize 1-meter level position accuracy in an indoor environment. This approach provides localization for everyday IoT devices, enabling more scalable deployments and new IoT applications.
Constraints on energies of 15 F(g.s.), 15 O((1/2) + ,T=(3/2)), and 16 F(0 + ,T=2)

Coulomb energy calculations for the lowest ${0}^{+},T=2$ state in $A=16$ nuclei allow tight constraints on the masses of the lowest $1/{2}^{+},T=3/2$ state in $^{15}\mathrm{O}$ and $^{15}\mathrm{F}$, and of the ${0}^{+},T=2$ state in $^{16}\mathrm{F}$.
G Proteins and Toxin-Catalyzed ADP-Ribosylation

Cholera, a devastating diarrheal disease characterized by abnormalities in fluid and electrolyte flux, results in part from the action of cholera toxin (choleragen), a secretory product of Vibrio cholerae, on the intestinal mucosa (Carpenter, 1980; Kelly, 1986). Cholera toxin exerts its effects by catalyzing the ADP-ribosylation of Gsα, the α subunit of the heterotrimeric stimulatory guanine nucleotide-regulatory protein that activates the adenylyl cyclase catalytic unit and is involved in the modulation of ion channels (Birnbaumer et al., 1987; Casey and Gilman, 1988; Moss and Vaughan, 1988). Activation of adenylyl cyclase, as well as other toxincatalyzed reactions, is enhanced by membrane and soluble factors that have been identified in preparations from numerous animal cells and tissues (Gill, 1976; Enomoto and Gill, 1980; Nakaya et al., 1980; Le Vine, III and Cuatrecasas, 1981; Pinkett and Anderson, 1982; Schleifer et al., 1982; Gill and Meren, 1983; Kahn and Gilman, 1984; Kahn and Gilman, 1986; Tsai et al., 1987, 1988; Gill and Coburn, 1987). A 21 kDa protein that stimulated the toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of Gsα was purified from liver membranes and termed ADP-ribosylation factor or ARF (Kahn and Gilman, 1984).
Stayin' Alive?: BG Group, PLC v. Republic of Argentina and the Vitality of Host-Country Litigation Requirements in Investment Treaty Arbitration

Over the last few decades, international arbitration has emerged as the preferred mechanism for resolving high-stakes international investment disputes. Last Term the Supreme Court of the United States decided BG Group, PLC v. Republic of Argentina, the first case the Court had ever heard concerning an international arbitration award rendered pursuant to an investment treaty dispute. The bilateral investment treaty (BIT) at issue expressly required litigation in a host-country's courts prior to international arbitration, but petitioner BG Group sought arbitration directly against Argentina without first seeking recourse in the Argentine courts. The arbitral tribunal held that failure to fulfill this condition did not strip it of jurisdiction and the tribunal reached the merits, finding in favor of BG. Because the parties chose the United States as the seat of arbitration, Argentina began proceedings in the U.S. national courts to vacate the award. On March 5, 2014, the Supreme Court ruled not to vacate, relying chiefly on the premise that fulfillment of the litigation requirement in the BIT was a procedural precondition to arbitration and thus a question for an arbitrator, not a court, to decide. But what about the text of the BIT, which plainly insists on host-country litigation prior to arbitration? What about the broader criticism that the current investment treaty arbitration (ITA) regime shortchanges host-country sovereignty in order to please foreign investors? Or that host-country courts are better positioned than international arbitral tribunals to decide questions of host-country law? These concerns deserve a response if ITA is to maintain its prominence. Thus, in addition to exploring the implications of the Court's decision for ITA and international commercial arbitration, this Note proposes an improved host-country litigation requirement, arguing that countries should learn from BG Group and seek to implement or improve host-country litigation requirements in their BITs.
Sex Differences in Pain and Misuse of Prescription Analgesics Among Persons with HIV

Objective. Women represent the largest percentage of new HIV infections globally. Yet, no large-scale studies have examined the experience of pain and its treatment in women living with HIV. Design. This study used structural equation modeling to examine sex differences in pain and the use and misuse of prescription analgesics in a representative sample of HIV+ persons in the United Stated within a prospective, longitudinal design. Outcome Measures. Bodily pain subscale of the Short-Form 36 and Modified Short Form of the World Health Organization's Composite International Diagnostic Interview (opioid misuse). Results. Women reported more pain than men over a roughly 6-month period regardless of mode of HIV transmission or prior drug use history. Men acknowledged more misuse of prescription analgesics over an approximate 1-year period compared with women, after taking into account pain, use of analgesics specifically for pain, and drug use history. Weaker associations between pain and use of analgesics specifically for pain that persisted over time were found among women compared with men. For both men and women, pain was stable over time. Problem drug use history exerted significant direct and indirect effects on pain, opioid misuse, and pain-specific analgesic use across sex. Conclusion. The current findings are consistent with prior evidence indicating female pain predominance as well as the undertreatment of pain among women with HIV. Efforts should be made to improve the assessment and long-term management of pain in HIV+ persons.
Where is the magnetic energy for the expansion phase of auroral substorms accumulated

[1] Characteristics of the ionospheric current system (the directly driven (DD) / unloading (UL) currents) and the power e during auroral substorms are examined semiquantitatively in terms of input-output relationship. The study confirms (a) The magnetic energy for the expansion phase is accumulated with the rate of a little more than 1018 erg/s during the growth phase which lasts for about 1 h (because the ionosphere cannot dissipate the input power). (b) The global energy dissipation rate in the ionosphere (including the Joule heat production and the particle precipitation) is more than 3.3 × 1018 erg/s. (c) Thus, the total energy consumption by the ionosphere during the impulsive expansion phase (lasting for about 1 h) is 1.2 × 1022 erg or up to 1023 erg for medium substorms. (d) However, it is shown that even the total magnetic energy in the magnetotail at a distance between 10 RE and 20 RE (6.5 × 1021 ergs = 6.5 × 1014 J) cannot supply the energy for the expansion phase. This estimate is consistent with the most recent satellite observations (4.3 × 1013 J (= 4.3 × 1020 ergs)). Thus, the following conclusions may be applicable for medium intensity substorms: (i) The major part of the magnetic energy for the expansion phase must be accumulated within a distance of 10 RE and be released almost totally during the expansion phase (because the duration of the growth phase and the expansion phase is about the same). (ii) This suggests that there is an upper limit of the energy which the magnetosphere can accumulate even at distances less than 10 RE. Further, it is confirmed that: (a) The expansion phase is characterized by a single cell current system UL (not a twin cell current system DD which is driven by the earthward plasma convection from the magnetotail). (b) The UL current is independent of the DD current, requiring a different origin. (c) During the recovery phase, the UL current is absent and the DD current approximately follows e (no accumulation of the energy), because the ionosphere is capable of dissipating the power even if the power is moderate). (d) Based on these results, as an example, one possible chain of processes within 10 RE is proposed as the release process of the accumulated magnetic energy by taking into account the fact that the frozen-in field condition is observed to be broken down.
Regulation of ion transport in porcine distal colon : effects of putative neurotransmitters

Porcine distal colon epithelium was mounted in Ussing chambers and bathed with porcine Ringer's solution. The effects of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, norepinephrine, and carbamylcholine on Na and Cl fluxes and transepithelial electrical parameters were determined after their serosal administration. Vasoactive intestinal peptide increased the Cl-dependent component of the short-circuit current with a half-maximal effect at 115 nmol/L. Transepithelial Na and Cl flux studies demonstrated that the increase in current was caused by stimulation of Cl secretion. Norepinephrine also stimulated Cl secretion and increased the serosal-to-mucosal Na flux, producing a half-maximal effect at 1.6 μmol/L. Selective blockade of α 1 adrenoceptors by 0.5 μmol/L prazosin produced an eightfold decrease in norepinephrine potency. Carbamylcholine produced a significant increase in Cl secretion and decreased absorption of both Na and Cl with a concentration of 10 μmol/L producing a half-maximal effect. The muscarinic cholinoceptor blocker atropine (0.1 μmol/L) produced a 22-fold decrease in carbamylcholine potency. The effects of all three transmitter substances were unaffected after pretreatment of tissues with the neuronal conduction—blocker tetrodotoxin or an inhibitor of arachidonic acid metabolism. These results indicate that (a) vasoactive intestinal polypeptide stimulates Cl secretion without affecting Na absorption; (b) norepinephrine acting through α 1 adrenoceptors stimulates net Cl secretion and activates a serosal-to-mucosal Na transport mechanism; and (c) carbamylcholine acting through muscarinic receptors stimulates Cl secretion and inhibits Na and Cl absorption.
The influence of chemotherapy on survival in acute leukemia.

Three-hundred and ninety-nine patients with acute leukemia examined during the period 1947-1964 were divided into three sequential series and their survival, from diagnosis to death, was compared. A statistically significant increase in duration of survival for myeloblastic leukemia from a median of 2 to 5 months occurred between series I and series III. This is the first convincing evidence that 6-mercaptopurine therapy influences survival in myeloblastic leukemia. A steady increase in median survival of patients with lymphoblastic leukemia from 4 to 8 to 12 months was found in the three series. The results of analysis of these series are compared to other reported series. The hypothesis —that the longer survivals reported for patients treated in hematology clinics compared to that of patients selected from population areas reflects patient selection—was examined and appeared unlikely.
Tick-Associated Diseases: Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention

Abstract According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are eleven tick-associated diseases prevalent in the United States. Most commonly diagnosed are Lyme disease, anaplasmosis (ehrlichiosis) and babeisois, with Lyme disease being the most common vector-borne disease in the country. In southeastern states, studies have shown the prevalence of southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI), which is similar to Lyme disease. Healthy People 2010's 14-8 objective is to reduce Lyme disease, with a “44 percent improvement” by the year 2010. A key component for success of this objective is to provide the public with important information that can yield early detection or prevention against tick-associated disease, such as Lyme disease. Additionally, awareness of signs, symptoms and how to protect oneself from tick-borne illnesses is critical for individuals living in regions where these diseases are most prevalent. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to convey the sign...
Optimal admission control of secondary users in preemptive cognitive radio networks

We study optimal admission control of secondary users (SUs) in cognitive radio (CR) networks in presence of preemption. In this model, when a primary user (PU) arrives to the system and finds all the channels busy, it preempts an SU unless all the users in the system are PUs. We apply admission control on the SUs only. Using dynamic programming (DP), we find the optimal admission control policy that maximizes the long-run average profit. As our main contribution, we show that the optimal admission control of the SUs depends only on the total number of users in the system (i.e. it does not depend on the number of PUs and SUs in the system individually) and is of threshold type. Therefore, although the system is modeled as a two-dimensional Markov chain, our findings allow simple and efficient computation of the optimal control policy.
Destabilization of covert networks

Covert networks are often difficult to reason about, manage and destabilize. In part, this is because they are a complex adaptive system. In addition, this is due to the nature of the data available on these systems. Making these covert networks less adaptive, more predictable, more consistent will make it easier to contain or constrain their activity. But, how can we inhibit adaptation? Herein, covert networks are characterized as dynamic multi-mode multi-plex networks. Dynamic network analysis tools are used to assess their structure and identify effective destabilization strategies that inhibit the adaptivity of these groups.
Psychomotor Effects of Dopamine Infusion Under Decreased Glutathione Conditions

Abstract Administration of buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) selectively inhibits glutathione (GSH) biosynthesis, thereby inducing a GSH deficiency. Because GSH plays a critical role in intracellular antioxidant defense, decreased GSH levels in the brain may result in less oxidative stress (OS) protection. Thus, the pro-oxidant effects of dopamine (DA), which rapidly oxidizes to form reactive oxygen species, may increase. In this study, the behavioral consequences of reduced OS protection were examined by administering BSO (3.2 mg in 30 μ l Ringer's solution, intracerebroventricularly) every other day for 12 d to male Fischer 344 rats. In addition, DA (15 μ l of 500 μ M) was administered every day; when given on the same day as BSO, it was either 1 h after BSO (BSO + DA group) or 1 h before BSO (DA + BSO group). Tests of psychomotor behavior—rod walking, wire suspension, and plank walking—were performed five times during the experiment. BSO + DA administration, but not DA + BSO, impaired performance by decreasing latency to fall in the rod and plank walk tests compared to a vehicle only (Ringer's) group. Therefore, depletion of GSH with BSO, followed by DA treatment, produced deficits in psychomotor behavior. These deficits are similar to those seen in aged rats, suggesting that the oxidation of DA coupled with a reduced capacity to respond to OS may be responsible for the induction of age-related motor behavioral deficits.
Assaying Environmental Nickel Toxicity Using Model Nematodes

Although nickel exposure results in allergic reactions, respiratory conditions, and cancer in humans and rodents, the ramifications of excess nickel in the environment for animal and human health remain largely undescribed. Nickel and other cationic metals travel through waterways and bind to soils and sediments. To evaluate the potential toxic effects of nickel at environmental contaminant levels (8.9-7,600 µg Ni/g dry weight of sediment and 50-800 µg NiCl2/L of water), we conducted assays using two cosmopolitan nematodes, Caenorhabditis elegans and Pristionchus pacificus. We assayed the effects of both sediment-bound and aqueous nickel upon animal growth, developmental survival, lifespan, and fecundity. Uncontaminated sediments were collected from sites in the Midwestern United States and spiked with a range of nickel concentrations. We found that nickel-spiked sediment substantially impairs both survival from larval to adult stages and adult longevity in a concentration-dependent manner. Further, while aqueous nickel showed no adverse effects on either survivorship or longevity, we observed a significant decrease in fecundity, indicating that aqueous nickel could have a negative impact on nematode physiology. Intriguingly, C. elegans and P. pacificus exhibit similar, but not identical, responses to nickel exposure. Moreover, P. pacificus could be tested successfully in sediments inhospitable to C. elegans. Our results add to a growing body of literature documenting the impact of nickel on animal physiology, and suggest that environmental toxicological studies could gain an advantage by widening their repertoire of nematode species.
Extinction of prolactin gene expression in somatic cell hybrids is correlated with the repression of the pituitary-specific trans-activator GHF-1/Pit-1.

The tissue-specific expression of the PRL and GH genes is dependent on the presence of a pituitary-specific trans-activator, GHF-1/Pit-1. Previous studies indicate that somatic cell hybridization of rat pituitary GH3 cells with LB82 mouse fibroblasts frequently results in the extinction of GH and PRL expression. The extinction of the GH gene occurs at the transcriptional level, and is accompanied by repression of GHF-1/Pit-1 synthesis. To elucidate the mechanism of PRL extinction we further characterized these same somatic cell hybrid lines as well as the parental GH3 and LB82 cells. The pattern of PRL extinction and reexpression paralleled that of GH in the three hybrid lines that were examined. Two of these lines extinguished both GH and PRL synthesis, while a third displayed reexpression of both genes, apparently due to the loss of mouse chromosomal material. These studies revealed that the extinction of PRL expression in these hybrid lines occurs at the level of mRNA accumulation and is strongly corre...
Dempster-Shafer theory and Bayesian reasoning in multisensor data fusion

ABSTRACT Bayesian and Dempster-Shafer Theory based methods are among the alternative algorithmic approaches to multisensor datafusion. The two approaches differ significantly and the extent oftheir applicability to data fusion is still being debated. Thispaper presents a Monte Carlo simulation approach for a comparative analysis of a Dempster-Shafer Theory based and aBayesian multisensor data fusion in the classification task domain, including the implementation of both formalisms, and theresults ofthe Monte Carlo experiments ofthis analysis.Keywords: Multisensor data fusion, Dempster-Shafer Theory, Uncertainty reasoning, Bayesian methods, Monte Carlosimulation. 1. INTRODUCTION Data fusion is one of the critical elements in artificial intelligent systems. The process of reasoning, i.e., the inference ofconclusions based on the information representing the state of the external world, appears to be at the core of intelligentsystems' operation. A self-evident notion that biological intelligent systems routinely aggregate information from diversesensors, e.g., visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, is corroborated by numerous biological studies. Likewise, it appears self-evident that an information processing system will benefit from an ability to aggregate descriptions of the external state from amultitude of sensors.
DIGIKON: The direct digital control system analysis program for shuttle

The degree of reliance a control system analyst can place on computer solutions of systems equations is critically dependent on the computational algorithms selected, and the care employed in programming to control error propagation. This paper describes characteristics of practical systems influencing the choice of algorithms and error control and offers suggested precautions. It is based on experience in the development of a system for linear analysis of large scale systems involving discrete control with multiple sampling rates.
Superconducting Transition-Edge Sensors for Waveguide Coupled Single Photon Detection

We present the design and important preliminary superconducting properties of an evanescently coupled number-resolving single photon detector operating near 1550 nm that is in development for integration into a silicon-on-insulator waveguide based optical system.
Adoption and use of social media among public health departments

Effective communication is a critical function within any public health system. Social media has enhanced communication between individuals and organizations and has the potential to augment public health communication. However, there is a lack of reported data on social media adoption within public health settings. The purposes of this study were to assess: 1) the extent to which state public health departments (SHDs) are using social media; 2) which social media applications are used most often; and 3) how often social media is used interactively to engage audiences. This was a non-experimental, cross sectional study of SHD social media sites. Screen capture software Snag-It® was used to obtain screenshots of SHD social media sites across five applications. These sites were coded for social media presence, interactivity, reach, and topic. Sixty percent of SHDs reported using at least one social media application. Of these, 86.7% had a Twitter account, 56% a Facebook account, and 43% a YouTube channel. There was a statistically significant difference between average population density and use of social media (p = .01). On average, SHDs made one post per day on social media sites, and this was primarily to distribute information; there was very little interaction with audiences. SHDs have few followers or friends on their social media sites. The most common topics for posts and tweets related to staying healthy and diseases and conditions. Limitations include the absence of a standard by which social media metrics measure presence, reach, or interactivity; SHDs were only included if they had an institutionally maintained account; and the study was cross sectional. Social media use by public health agencies is in the early adoption stage. However, the reach of social media is limited. SHDs are using social media as a channel to distribute information rather than capitalizing on the interactivity available to create conversations and engage with the audience. If public health agencies are to effectively use social media then they must develop a strategic communication plan that incorporates best practices for expanding reach and fostering interactivity and engagement.
Radiative-lifetime measurements of levels in the 5p 4 6p configuration of singly ionized xenon*

Radiative lifetimes were measured for six levels that constitute the upper states of the more-important cw xenon-ion laser transitions. The values ranged from about 7 to 10 ns and were determined within limiting errors of about 5%.