cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Left Atrial Appendage Ligation and Exclusion Technology in the Incubator

Stroke is the most feared complication of atrial fibrillation (AF). Targeting the left atrial appendage (LAA) mechanically is attractive as a means to simultaneously reduce stroke risk, the need for anticoagulation, and hemorrhagic complications in patients with non-valvular AF. The results of the PROTECT-AF and PREVAIL randomized clinical trials support this approach as a viable therapeutic alternative to warfarin in selected patients and add to accumulating evidence regarding the importance of the LAA in thromboembolism in AF. A number of devices for percutaneous LAA closure are under investigation or development. In this article, key design features of these ligation and exclusion technologies will be discussed, with a focus on aspects of LAA morphology, relational anatomy, thrombosis, and thromboembolism relevant for successful device development and deployment.
Seismic quiescence before the landers (M = 7.5) and big bear (M = 6.5) 1992 earthquakes

The Landers earthquake of 28 June 1992 was preceded by a seismicity rate decrease of 75% in a volume approximately 11 by 23 by 15 km, located adjacent to and north of the epicenter. This anomaly started, for all magnitude bands, in January 1988, lasting 4.5 yr up to the mainshock. A smaller volume (7 by 14 by 15 km), to the south of the epicenter, showed a seismicity rate decrease of 75% starting in November 1989. The Big Bear earthquake of the same day was preceded by a 100% decrease of the seismicity rate, within a volume of approximately 13 by 22 by 15 km around the hypocenter. This volume contained 192 earthquakes of M ≧ 1.6 during the background period of 9 yr, but none during the 1.6 yr from December 1990 to 27 June 1992. The standard deviate z values characterizing these rate changes are very high, 6.3 and 12.3, respectively, and the anomalies are unique, not surpassed in significance by any other rate decrease in portion of the southern California earthquake catalog examined (117°06′W to 115°40′W and 33°45′N to 35°10′N). No seismicity rate change was found in the vicinity of the M = 6.1 Joshua Tree earthquake of 23 April 1992. Based on magnitude signatures and frequency-magnitude analyses, we conclude that the two quiescence anomalies could not have been due to a shift or a compression of the magnitude scale, and we interpret them as precursor anomalies. This analysis was carried out using the declustered earthquake catalog for the Landers area with corrections of 0.2 and 0.1 (August 1985 and May 1990) for two suspected magnitude shifts. With a new visualization technique we can investigate the stability, and changes, of the seismicity rate as a function of time and space. By mapping z values for rate changes at every time interval, and in volumes centered on a dense grid of points (latitude, longitude), this computer code furnishes an almost continuous sequence of smooth contour maps of the degree of rate changes. Any anomalies, artificial or real, may thus be defined accurately.
Community medicine. Informed consent. Emotional responses of patients.

A study was made of the effects on patients of detailed written information about a forthcoming hysterectomy. Results showed that knowledge of risks and possible complications did not increase preoperative anxiety levels or deter patients from undergoing surgery and was possibly beneficial in that anxiety levels after surgery were lower in experimental subjects than in controls.
The Effect of Bismuth in Gray Cast Iron and the Chemistry of its Neutralization with Rare Earth Metals

The cast metals industry depends upon recycled material for most of the metal consumed and, as a result, changes in the nature of the charge materials available can have a profound effect on the metallurgical aspects of the products produced. Recently there has been an effort to increase the amount of free machining steel used in the manufacturing of various components. Economic considerations have been responsible for these changes, and have been accompanied by environmental concerns which have encouraged a shift from lead to bismuth treatment to manufacture these specialized steels. Furthermore, a change in foundry melting procedures toward greater use of induction melting has caused the presence of these steels in the charge to warrant more attention.
The Sociology of Knowledge and Surrender-and-Catch

From the beginning of its career in the 1920s, the term “sociology of knowledge” has been a misnomer. In the first place, “sociology of knowledge” is a bad translation of the German “Wissenssoziologie,” the dictionary to the contrary notwithstanding: both terms are narrower in English than in German. “Sociology,” at least at the time the term “Wissenssoziologie” was coined, was less far removed from philosophy than it is in the Anglo-Saxon world and has since become to some extent in German sociology as well; it is, or was, not so sharply distinguished from social philosophy. But more important, and also more clearcut, is the difference between “knowledge” and “Wissen.” For “knowledge” refers predominantly if not exclusively to positive or scientific knowledge, whereas the German term also covers such kinds of knowledge as philosophical, metaphysical, theological, artistic, or religious. The term “sociology of knowledge” thus means or connotes something other than its original.
Sexual Selection on Human Voices

Vocal communication is important in many mammals, including many nonhuman primates, but in no species is it more important than in humans. Given the relevance of vocal communication to both men and women, it is conspicuous that some of the largest human sex differences occur in the voice. Understanding why men’s and women’s voices differ as dramatically as they do promises to elucidate human communication and social dynamics in general and human mating and status competition in particular. We review research suggesting that sexual selection shaped the acoustic features of the human voice and consider how mate choice and contest competition may have influenced women’s and men’s voices. We find that male mate choice may have maintained high, youthful-sounding voices in women, perhaps because feminine voices advertise women’s fertility. We also review evidence that men’s voices were shaped by female mate choice and male contests and advertise men’s mate value and threat potential and that women’s preferences for and men’s deference to masculine voices reflect this information content. We discuss data suggesting that vocal masculinity influences men’s mating opportunities and reproduction and conclude by highlighting directions for future research.
Gaze stabilization and dynamic visual acuity in people with multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND The functional capacity of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) is not well understood in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). OBJECTIVE To determine the psychometric properties of computerized Gaze Stabilization Test (GST) and Dynamic Visual Acuity Test (DVAT) in people with MS. METHODS This cross-sectional study determined discriminant validity of the GST and DVAT between 15 healthy controls and 30 participants with MS, and between participants with MS who had higher versus lower disability. This study also determined same-day and between-session test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity with patient-reported outcomes (PROs) of balance, dizziness, and fatigue. RESULTS GST (p < 0.001) and DVAT (p = 0.001) scores were lower in participants with MS compared to controls. GST (p = 0.035) but not DVAT (p = 0.313) scores were lower in those with higher compared to lower disability. Test-retest reliability intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC (2,1)) were fair-to-good for the GST (0.48 to 0.74) and DVAT (0.47 to 0.60). PROs correlated significantly with GST, but not DVAT scores. CONCLUSIONS This study provides initial evidence that the functional capacity of the VOR is impaired in people with MS as measured by the GST and DVAT. Further investigation is warranted to determine usefulness of both measures as outcomes for people with MS.
Examining the learning effects of live streaming video game instruction over Twitch

Abstract Technology facilitates advances in learning and drives learning paradigms. One recent innovation is Twitch™, an online streaming platform often used for video game tutorials but also enables amateur online instruction ( Hamilton, Garretson, & Kerne, 2014 )). Twitch represents a unique learning paradigm that is not perfectly represented in previous technologies because of its “ground-up” evolution and the opportunity for novice instructors to educate mass audiences in real-time over the Internet while enabling interaction between teachers and learners and among learners. The purpose of this research is to empirically examine the efficacy of Twitch as a learning platform by manipulating each of the key characteristics of Twitch and to understand the conditions in which novice instructors may be beneficial. Drawing from Cognitive Load Theory, we demonstrate the worked-example effect in the Twitch environment by manipulating teacher-learner-learner interactions, live versus recorded streaming, and expert-versus novice-based instruction. Based on a laboratory experiment involving 350 participants, we found that learning performance under novice instructors was at least as good as that of experts. However, an exploratory analysis of learner personalities revealed that extroverts benefit only when learner-learner interaction is enabled. Surprisingly, those who are highly agreeable and less neurotic benefited more from novice instructors.
The Many Janus Faces of Angie O’Deemer

Mrs. Banner woke up one morning with lopsided facial swelling that made it look like a water balloon was stuck in her cheek (Figs. 1.1 and 1.2). She freaked out and her husband called 911. This had never happened before, despite her 82 years of an active life. She was not eating at the time. Mrs. Banner felt as if she could not breathe; her throat felt like it was closing! Paramedics transported her to a big university hospital where she was given intravenous steroids, Benadryl®, Zantac®, and oxygen. It took a full day for her symptoms to slowly resolve. Fortunately, she was not intubated. Nothing she did made this worse once it occurred—nothing she did attenuated her symptoms in the hospital. This was so severe she looked like a “carny” at a freak show. Her iPhone® photos before and after seem like someone photoshopped her left face and lips in a Kylie Jenner way. On examining her prior medical history, nothing was really remarkable. Mrs. Banner had four healthy adult children delivered via normal spontaneous vaginal delivery. Her grandchildren were all healthy. Her husband was an obese ex-smoker with cardiac disease doctors usually were worried about. She, however, was the picture of health! In the past year, Mrs. Banner’s primary care provider prescribed a blood pressure pill for essential hypertension, which was now well-controlled. The name of this medicine is lisinopril—part of a class of drugs called angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, which block the body’s conversion of a chemical called angiotensin I to angiotensin II. The reason lisinopril controls high blood pressure is that by blocking creation of angiotensin II, there is no angiotensin II to constrict blood vessels to increase blood pressure. Nevertheless, lisinopril concurrently increases levels of bradykinin, a chemical that makes blood vessels leaky and causes swelling in 15.5%, or about one in five, of patients on the drug. This often clinically leads to a dry cough—from airway swelling—but in Mrs. Banner’s case, a more severe reaction occurred. This was not an allergy per se. This was a severe adverse reaction related to the mechanism of the drug. But was there more to Mrs. Banner?
Natural Killer cells from primary human head and neck squamous cell carcinomas upregulate NKG2A

Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer therapy primarily by targeting checkpoint inhibitors found on endogenous immune cells. We analyzed and compared NK cells from the blood and tumor of HNSCC patients by flow cytometry for the expression of NK cell activating and inhibitory receptors. We found that NK cells from the primary tumor, but not the blood of HNSCC patients, significantly downregulated activating receptors NKG2D, DNAM-1, NKp30, CD16 and 2B4. Surprisingly, the majority of inhibitory KIR receptors on tumor-infiltrating NK cells were decreased compared to NK cells from the blood. However, the inhibitory receptors NKG2A and PD-1 were found to be highly overexpressed in tumor-associated NK cells. We believe that this study provides the first in-depth look at NK cells from primary HNSCC tumors. We found that tumor-associated NK cells express a profoundly different phenotype than NK cells from the blood of the same patients, with multiple activating receptors downregulated and the inhibitory receptor NKG2A over-expressed. These results support the therapeutic strategy of targeting NKG2A.
Pancreas and Biliary Tract

In this chapter neoplasms will be discussed, with particular emphasis on fine needle aspiration (FNA). Epidemiologic data indicate that incidence and mortality rates of carcinoma of the pancreas steadily increased until 1970, and has since then plateaued.1 The epidemiology of pancreatic cancer has been controversial. Most consistently documented etiologic factors are cigarette smoking, a high fat diet, diabetes mellitus, and an industrial carcinogenic exposure.2–5 Most pancreatic cancers are duct cell adenocarcinoma and 65% occur in the head of the pancreas, resulting in jaundice. The remaining cases occur in the body and tail and are at an advanced stage at the time of diagnosis.
Optimal Formulations with Phantolid for Extending the Duration of Effectiveness of Trimedlure and Methyl (E)-6-Nonenoate as Attractants to Male Mediterranean Fruit Flies

In 1976 we reported1 that certain perfume fixatives controlled the release of trimedlure,2 an attractant of male Mediterranean fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), and thereby enhanced the duration of effectiveness of this lure. The perfume fixatives were evaluated in an olfactometer stocked with laboratory massreared flies, and included tonalid, musk R-1, ambrettozone, galaxolide, astrotone, hibiscolide, phantolid, and musk BRB.
An Online Course to Prepare Preservice Teachers to Promote Movement Integration

Previous research has not explored the potential of distance learning to prepare preservice teachers (PCTs) for promoting children’s physical activity. The purpose of this study was to (a) examine ...
Evaluating the Benefits of an Updated Blood Ordering Process

Evidence-based medicine optimizes patient care to provide appropriate patient oversite. By providing the patient with treatment that has benefits, blood management programs have decreased blood component utilization1,2 and stimulated treatment plans that span the continuum of care, from prior to hospital admission through patient discharge.2 Evidence-based medicine is not a new concept nor is the concept of providing the patient with tailored care. In the 19709s, the concept of matching cross-matched red cell inventory to the needs of the patient stimulated studies that led to the maximum surgical blood-ordering schedule.3,4 Also, by pairing cross-match inventory to the patient9s transfusion requirements, a blood bank tool was created to assist in patient-care, controlling red cell unit inventory, and reducing cost.3 Patient-care changes have further evolved since the 19709s. Medical innovations today have minimized surgical blood loss through the use of laparoscopy, hemostatic agents, and improved surgical techniques. The blood bank has also evolved techniques to decrease the time it takes to provide blood to the patient. With the advancement in transfusion service testing and computer technology, blood ordering schedules can be customized to the institution, to the surgical procedure, and to the individual patient. An updated maximum surgical blood ordering schedule can further assist in optimizing compatibility testing orders, minimize component waste, and associated cost based on current evidence-based, best practice patient-care. This article will discuss the benefits of an updated blood-ordering schedule. ABBREVIATIONS:MSBOS - Maximum surgical blood ordering schedule, NBCUS - National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey, C:T - Crossmatch to Transfusion ratio, THR - total hip replacement; TKR - total knee revision, EBL - estimated blood loss, PSBOS - Patient –specific blood ordering system, SBOE - surgical blood order equation
The Supreme Court and Digs: Agenda Setting and Strategic Behavior

Almost all cases reach the U.S. Supreme Court's docket through discretionary grants of writs of certiorari. On rare occasions the Court will dismiss a writ of certiorari as improvidently granted, or DIG the case. The DIG process has received relatively little attention in the scholarly literature. This paper fills that gap in several ways. First, it documents the 155 cases the Court has DIGged in the Warren, Burger, and Rehnquist Courts (1954 through 2004 Terms). It then examines related empirical issues, including how often the Court, collectively or through individual Justices, explains or criticizes a DIG; how often the issue presented in the DIGged case returns to the Court in subsequent litigation; and how the disposition of DIGged cases compares to cases where the Court considered but declined to DIG. The paper then considers how the Court may use DIGs to control the number and types of cases on the docket. Finally, it considers whether DIGs should be conceptualized as, or are sometimes examples of, strategic behavior by the Justices.
Acoustoelasticity Analysis of Transient Waves for Non-Invasive In Vivo Assessment of Urinary Bladder.

A non-invasive method for measurement of the bladder wall nonlinear elastic behavior is presented. The method is based on acoustoelasticity modeling of the elasticity changes in bladder tissue modulus at different volumetric strain levels. At each volume, tissue strain is obtained from the real-time ultrasound images. Using acoustic radiation force, a transient Lamb wave is excited on the bladder wall and instantaneous modulus of shear elasticity is obtained from the 2-D Fourier analysis of the spatial-temporal dispersion maps. Measured elasticity and strain data are then used in an acoustoelasticity formulation to obtain the third order elastic coefficient, referred to as nonlinearity parameter A, and initial resting elasticity μ0. The method was tested in ex vivo porcine bladder samples (N = 9) before and after treatment with formalin. The estimated nonlinearity parameter, A, was significantly higher in the treated samples compared to intact (p < 0.00062). The proposed method was also applied on 16 patients with neurogenic bladders (10 compliant and 6 non-compliant subjects). The estimated nonlinearity parameter A was significantly higher in the non-compliant cases compared to the compliant (p < 0.0293). These preliminary results promise a new method for non-invasive evaluation of the bladder tissue nonlinearity which may serve as a new diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for management of the patients with neurogenic bladders.
Gentrification, Market Regimes, and the New Entrepreneurial Principal: Enacting Integration or Displacement?.

The last 30 years of school reform have left us with an increase in urban school districts with market regimes (school choice, charter schools, and managerialism). Sociologists of the professions h...
Cognitively‐Based Compassion Training for parents reduces cortisol in infants and young children

This study tests a group-based secular contemplative practice intervention, Cognitively-Based Compassion Training (CBCT), with parents of young children. We report on a randomized controlled preliminary efficacy study. Certified teachers administered CBCT for 20 hr across 8 to 10 weeks in two cohorts of parents with infants and young children. The intervention group was compared to a waitlist control group. Thirty-nine parents and their children, who ranged in age from 4 months to 5 years, were evaluated at pre- and postintervention (n = 25 intervention, n = 14 waitlist control) on hair cortisol concentration. Parents also completed self-administered questionnaires at both time points regarding demographics, physical symptoms of stress, parenting stress, self-compassion, and mindfulness. Children of parents in the CBCT group experienced significant decreases in cortisol at the postintervention assessment, as compared with the control group. However, parent cortisol and self-report measures did not significantly change other than a small effect on clinical levels of parenting stress. CBCT may be a positive new way to intervene with parents to lower infants' and young children's cumulative physiological stress.
Twenty-Three-Hour-Stay Colectomy Without Increased Readmissions: An Analysis of 1905 Cases from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program

Isolated case series from highly specialized centers suggest the feasibility of a 23-h hospital stay after colectomy. We sought to determine preoperative variables associated with discharge within 23 h after colectomy to identify patients best suited for a short-stay model. The American College of Surgeons NSQIP Colectomy-Targeted database was used to identify patients who underwent elective colectomy from 2012 to 2017. All cases with missing length of stay or inpatient death were excluded. Patients with a postoperative hospital stay ≤1 day were identified. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with early discharge. A total of 1905 patients were discharged within 23 h after surgery (1.6%). These patients were noted to be younger (59 versus 61 years, p < 0.001) and less likely to have insulin-dependent diabetes (3.0 versus 4.4%, p < 0.001), preoperative dyspnea (2.2 versus 6.0%, p < 0.001), COPD (3.0 versus 4.2%, p = 0.011), and hypertension (40.7 versus 46.9%, p < 0.001) than patients who stayed longer. Shorter operative time (OR 0.986, 95% CI 0.985–0.987, p < 0.001), minimally invasive techniques (OR 2.969, 95% CI 2.686–3.282, p < 0.001), lack of ostomy (OR 0.614, 95% CI 0.478–0.788, p < 0.001), and lack of ureteral stenting (OR 0.641, 95% CI 0.500–0.821, p < 0.001) were associated with early discharge in multivariable analysis. There was no increased incidence of readmission in patients discharged within 23 h. Twenty-three-hour-stay colectomy is feasible on a national level and does not result in an increased incidence of readmission. Patients undergoing elective procedures without significant medical comorbidities may be eligible for early discharge. Preoperative factors may be used to select patients best suited for this short-stay model.
Biosynthesis of Benzylic Derivatives in the Fermentation Broth of the Edible Mushroom, Ischnoderma resinosum.

Employing isotope incubation studies, the biosynthetic pathway leading to a series of benzylic derivatives was elucidated in the fermentation broth of the edible mushroom Ischnoderma resinosum (P. ...
Why do young people get cancer

Oncologists and cancer biologists are frequently confronted by the question of what causes cancer? This is particularly vexing for cancers affecting children and young adults who have had limited exposure to environmental mutagens and the effects of aging. Here, I focus on a general framework of the causes of early-onset cancer development in children and young adults by relating inherited and constitutional cancer predisposition, oncogenic pathogens, and developmental mutations. This framework has implications not only for mechanistic investigation of young cancers, but should also clarify improved strategies for their treatment, screening, and potential prevention.
Anoxia, calcium and contracture as mediators of myocardial enzyme release.

Abstract The effects of anoxia and calcium-free perfusion on enzyme release, were studied in perfused rat hearts, at 37°C. In oxygenated hearts, calcium-free medium caused detachment of cells at intercalated discs, but no cell separation or enzyme release. Sixty minutes of anoxia with calcium-free medium caused striking cell separations, contracture of sarcomeres and enzyme release. Anoxia, followed by calcium-free medium, produced a sudden, energy-independent enzyme release with contracture and cell separations. Contraction bands as well as cell separations, were present in anoxic hearts reoxygenated in the absence of calcium. It is proposed that calcium-free media causes loss of integrity of intercalated disc junctions and contraction, and anoxic contracture pulls cells apart at weakened cell junctions, mediating membrane damage and enzyme release.
Analyzing the Complexities of Online Education Systems: A Systems Thinking Perspective

Online education continues to surge in popularity. However, terms used to describe and define online education vary. In addition to unclear definitions and understanding, online education practice comes with challenges. While educational institutions see its value, they struggle with implementation. Undoubtedly, online education is disruptive. A system by itself, it brings change with complex problems, especially with the evolving nature of technologies. Therefore, a systems thinking perspective is needed to analyze and understand it. This conceptual article explores online education as a complex system, it describes its components, and it ends with a discussion on the interrelation between them.
FoxP1 is a transcriptional repressor associated with cancer cachexia that induces skeletal muscle wasting and weakness.

BACKGROUND Skeletal muscle wasting is a devastating consequence of cancer that affects up to 80% of cancer patients and associates with reduced survival. Herein, we investigated the biological significance of Forkhead box P1 (FoxP1), a transcriptional repressor that we demonstrate is up-regulated in skeletal muscle in multiple models of cancer cachexia and in cachectic cancer patients. METHODS Inducible, skeletal muscle-specific FoxP1 over-expressing (FoxP1iSkmTg/Tg ) mice were generated through crossing conditional Foxp1a transgenic mice with HSA-MCM mice that express tamoxifen-inducible Cre recombinase under control of the skeletal muscle actin promoter. To determine the requirement of FoxP1 for cancer-induced skeletal muscle wasting, FoxP1-shRNA was packaged and targeted to muscles using AAV9 delivery prior to inoculation of mice with Colon-26 Adenocarcinoma (C26) cells. RESULTS Up-regulation of FoxP1 in adult skeletal muscle was sufficient to induce features of cachexia, including 15% reduction in body mass (P < 0.05), and a 16-27% reduction in skeletal muscle mass (P < 0.05) that was characterized by a 20% reduction in muscle fibre cross-sectional area of type IIX/B muscle fibres (P = 0.020). Skeletal muscles from FoxP1iSkmTg/Tg mice also showed significant damage and myopathy characterized by the presence of centrally nucleated myofibres, extracellular matrix expansion, and were 19-26% weaker than controls (P < 0.05). Transcriptomic analysis revealed FoxP1 as a potent transcriptional repressor of skeletal muscle gene expression, with enrichment of pathways related to skeletal muscle structure and function, growth signalling, and cell quality control. Because FoxP1 functions, at least in part, as a transcriptional repressor through its interaction with histone deacetylase proteins, we treated FoxP1iSkmTg/Tg mice with Trichostatin A, and found that this completely prevented the loss of muscle mass (p = 0.007) and fibre atrophy (P < 0.001) in the tibialis anterior. In the context of cancer, FoxP1 knockdown blocked the cancer-induced repression of myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2)-target genes critical to muscle differentiation and repair, improved muscle ultrastructure, and attenuated muscle fibre atrophy by 50% (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS In summary, we identify FoxP1 as a novel repressor of skeletal muscle gene expression that is increased in cancer cachexia, whose up-regulation is sufficient to induce skeletal muscle wasting and weakness, and required for the normal wasting response to cancer.
Accounting for the Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensity of Regional Electricity Transfers

Accurately quantifying greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is essential for climate policy implementation but challenging in the case of electricity transfers across regulatory jurisdictions. Regulating emissions associated with delivered electricity is further complicated by contractual arrangements for dynamic electricity transfers that confound emission accounting approaches rooted in the physics of grid operations. Here, we propose a novel consumption-based accounting methodology to reconcile the nominal and the physical flows of electricity from generators to consumers. We also compare capacity factor-based and regression-based approaches for estimating default emission factors, in the absence of fully specified nominal electricity flows. As a case study, we apply this approach to assess the methods by which California regulators quantify specified and unspecified electricity imports and their associated GHG emissions. Collectively, these efforts illustrate principles for a comprehensive, empirical accounting framework that could inform efforts to improve the accuracy and consistency of policies regulating regional electricity transfers.
An Economic Study for the Production of Green Pepper Crop in Greenhouses in Dakahlia Governorate دراسة إقتصادية لإنتاج محصول الفلفل بالصوب الزراعية بمحافظة الدقهلية

تعتبر مشاريع الصوب الزراعية وخاصة التى تقوم بإنتاج وزراعة محاصيل الخضر من أکثر المشاريع التى تحقق أرباحا غير عادية ، حيث تؤدى تلک المشاريع إلى سد الفجوه بين العرض والطلب من تلک المحاصيل فى الأسواق المحلية، إضافة إلى زيادة دخل المزارعين من خلال زراعة محاصيل عالية القيمة تحقق مکاسب مرتفعة مما يؤدى لرفع مستوى معيشة المزارعين ، وتوفير فرص عمل لشباب الخريجين ، کما يمکن تصدير المحاصيل الناتجة من الصوب الزراعية للأسواق الخارجية وخاصة الأسواق الأوروبية وفتح أسواق جديدة للصادرات الزراعية المصرية مما يعمل على زيادة الصادرات الزراعية وخفض العجز فى الميزان التجارى الزراعى وتوفير عملة صعبة للدولة.فعلى الرغم من أهمية مشاريع الصوب الزراعية فى زيادة الإنتاج الزراعى والتخفيف من ظاهرة موسمية الإنتاج الزراعى والحد من ظاهرة البطالة ،وخفض الفجوة بين العرض والطلب فى المحاصيل الزراعية الناتجة من الصوب الزراعية سواء فى الأسواق المحلية أو بتصديرها إلى الأسواق الخارجية، وعلى الرغم أيضا من إرتفاع العائد الإقتصادى الناتج من زراعة محاصيل الخضر حيث تزيد إنتاجية الفدان الواحد من الصوب الزراعية بحوالى ستة أضعاف ما تنتجه الزراعة التقليدية من تلک المحاصيل الإ إن مشاريع الصوب الزراعية لا تزال تعانى من ضعف الإنتشار، وقد يرجع ذلک لإرتفاع تکاليف إنشائها.
Chapter 10 Current issues regarding subcortical electrical stimulation for pain control in humans

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the current issues regarding subcortical electrical stimulation for pain control in humans. Electrical stimulation of specific sites in the human brain has been used to provide relief or suppression of pain. The efficacy of deep brain stimulation in the management of chronic pain has been presented in the chapter. Although the implantation of electrodes and chronic stimulation of the subcortical area in the humans are not entirely without risk or complications, the technique provides safe, satisfactory control of pain for the patients who have severe and intractable pain, which is difficult or impossible to manage without medical means. Despite large, recently compiled clinical series of subcortical stimulation for pain control, there is a considerable disagreement regarding precise targets for stimulation, stimulation parameters, actual effect on the sensory perception beyond clinical pain relief, and a possible mechanism of the pain suppression achieved by the stimulation of subcortical structures in humans. The primary reason for confusion in these areas is focused in one main area—that is, the failure to provide either radiologic or histologic documentation of the stimulation site. Recently introduced magnetic resonance imaging techniques may rapidly resolve such problems.
Combined integrin siRNA therapy and radiotherapy of breast cancer.

5175 Objective: Radiation induces the expression of α v β 3 integrin, which is shown to play a key role in tumor angiogenesis and metastasis. We testified the effect of integrin α v β 3 in tumor resistance to irradiation and evaluated the anti-cancer efficacy of combining integrin α v siRNA therapy with irradiation to treat breast cancer. Methods: Wild-type and α v integrin siRNA (10 nM) transfected human breast cancer MDA-MB-435 cells were irradiated with different doses of X-rays, and the radiosensitivity of these cells were evaluated by clonogenic survival assay. To determine whether siRNA treatment against α v β 3 integrin could enhance the efficacy of irradiation, MDA-MB-435 cells were divided into 5 groups: control; non-specific siRNA; α v integrin siRNA; irradiation; combination of siRNA and irradiation. The treatment effect was assessed by cell proliferation assay. Integrin expression levels and the influence of siRNA pre-treatment on cell cycle were measured by flow cytometry. Results: Survival curve showed that MDA-MB-435 cells pre-treated with siRNA (low α v β 3 integrin expression) are more responsive to irradiation than wild-type cells (high α v β 3 integrin expression). The anti-tumor effect of combination therapy is much better than either siRNA or irradiation treatment alone. Flow cytometry showed thatα v β 3 integrin expression increased in the irradiation group while the α v β 3 expression in siRNA or combination group decreased. Furthermore, cell cycle analysis showed that transfection with α v integrin siRNA increased G 2 -M arrest of irradiated cells. Conclusion: Gene silencing with α v integrin siRNA can increase the radiosensitivity of MDA-MB-435 cells. The combination of siRNA treatment and irradiation is more effective than either treatment modality alone.
Facing the Specter of Immigration in Biutiful

While news reporters and academic scholars alike have often linked the specter of immigration in Spain to a history of Muslim conquest and Christian reconquest, very little scholarship seems to connect Spain's ability—or inability—to grapple with the “ghost” of contemporary immigration to a pattern and history of emigration. This analysis of the award-winning film Biutiful (2010), by Mexican director, cowriter, and producer Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (1963–present), aspires to do precisely this: to examine divergent ghosts, to consider how they dialogue with each other, and to see what an analysis of these specters might indicate to us about Spain's relationship to migrants and migration in the present day.
Is It Different in Dixie? Percent Black and Residential Segregation in the South and non-South

Identifying the relationship between the proportion African American and the level of segregation aids in unlocking the key to the past and present state of race relations. National-level studies h...
Evaluating Advice: Self-Presentational Biases between High and Low Self-Monitors

Previous research has demonstrated that high and low self-monitors sought advice from others who shared their underlying motivational dispositions. Here, three studies extend the prior research by exploring how consumers’ underlying motives direct the type of advice offered and how it is evaluated. In Study 1, high and low self-monitors were asked to evaluate the advice they gave others. As predicted, high self-monitors rated their advice more favorably than did low self-monitors. The underlying motivation that caused high self-monitors to evaluate their advice more positively was investigated in Study 2. Results indicated that high self-monitors rated their advice higher because it appeared to be meeting a social-adjustive function (i.e., self-presentational needs). In Study 3, high and low self-monitors created an advertisement that featured their advice on dating for a fictitious online matchmaking service. As expected, advertisements created by high self-monitors contained advice that addressed social-adjustive needs while those created by low self-monitors contained advice that addressed value-expressive needs. The results of these studies suggest that underlying motivations of the individual play an active role in how advice is crafted and evaluated. C � 2012 Wiley
Here I Stand: Mediated Bodies in Dissent

Of all of the various forms of political dissent, the most dramatic as a form of expression is that which places lived bodies in tension with the prevailing social order. Bodies so presented—in marches, strikes, sit-ins, demonstrations and other mass assemblies—are just the opposite of Foucault’s docile bodies. They are a collective will concretized, an intersubjective mass animated by a common purpose that fills a public space and obstinately makes their shared demand. The presence of such dissenting bodies assembled in various public spaces have at times been essential in dramatizing grievances and re-constituting the meaning of a political landscape. Though such dissenting bodies have often been met with the full force of the state, the political efficacy of such bodies has been seriously undermined in recent years due to more subtle strategies to suppress such dissent, and counterstrategies meant to circumscribe these efforts at suppression. The goal of this essay is to explore these developments through phenomenological analysis. Preliminary considerations of (1) different forms of political potency and (2) the lived body and its movement through space, will be followed by (3) an investigation of what it means to be a dissenting body witnessed within a public place, and (4) what happens when dissenting bodies are consigned to circumscribed spaces or retreat to the “virtual.” This analysis will show how these developments have rendered dissenting bodies far less politically effective than they have been in the past, which dangerously weakens the democratic traditions of free speech and open dissent. This, in turn, supports a call (5) for a re-assertion of the embodied subject into the practice of political dissent.
The photochemistry of the atmospheres of the outer planets and their satellites

The thermal structure and composition of Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, Jupiter, Titan, and Io are described. Molecular hydrogen is the dominant constituent in the atmosphere of the outer planets. The hydrogen and helium, methane, ammonia and phosphine, and carbon monoxide photochemical reactions of the outer planets are studied. The importance of Jupiter's lightning as a source of organic matter is examined. The aerosol and haze layers of the stratosphere of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus are observed. The photochemistry of Titan's atmosphere, which includes nitrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide reactions, is analyzed. The SO2 atmosphere on Io is discussed.
“Anxious Suicidality”: A New Subtype of Childhood Suicide Ideation?

The current study examined the presence of anxiety in children with suicide ideation. From a sample of 100 inpatients, children who displayed suicide ideation (n = 27) were selected and divided into two groups, high and low anxiety. Findings indicated that children with suicide ideation and anxiety were less happy and satisfied, experienced more negative life events, and were more distractible and intense than children with suicide ideation only. Additionally, according to their self-reports, parents of children with high anxiety reported more obsessive-compulsive and anxiety symptoms as well as greater hostility than parents of children with low anxiety. The authors have identified a subgroup of children with suicide ideation who are highly anxious and can be termed as experiencing "anxious suicidality."
A potential proteasome-interacting motif within the ubiquitin-like domain of parkin and other proteins

Parkin and other unrelated proteins contain a ubiquitin-like domain (UbLD). This article describes a motif that might be important in the interaction of UbLD-containing proteins (UbLPs) with the proteasome. The proteasome-interacting motif, which is conserved in a subset of UbLPs, such as parkin, Rad23 and several transcription factors, is likely to enable the UbLPs to form a complex with the proteasome for proteolysis or the recently discovered non-proteolytic functions of the proteasome.
Energy levels and correlation crystal-field effects in Er3+-doped garnets.

The crystal-field energy-level structures of three different Er 3+ -doped garnet systems are analyzed and compared in this study. The garnet hosts are Y 3 Al 5 O 12 (YAG), Y 3 Sc 2 Al 3 O 12 (YSAG) doped with Tm 3+ as a sensitizer ion, and Y 3 Sc 2 Ga 3 O 12 (YSGG) doped with Cr 3+ as a sensitizer ion. The focus is on energy levels assigned to Er 3+ ions substituted for Y 3+ at dodecahedral (D 2 symmetry) sites in the cubic garnet lattices
The ecological transition in speciation

Summary Ecological transitions are at the core of different modes of speciation. These transitions face both genetic and demographic hurdles. This paper focuses on how these hurdles are overcome, allowing ecological speciation and speciation via hybridization and/or polyploidy. Niche shifting is a two-step process. First there is the establishment of ill-adapted populations where ecological opportunity allows. This is followed by the genetic refinement of populations, which allows them to be integrated into novel communities and habitats. These steps are more readily accomplished in unsaturated floras, where competition is less intense. Ecological transitions in saturated floras may be facilitated by disturbance. Invasive species serve as heuristic model systems for understanding the early stages of speciation where niche shifts are involved.
Strategic tradeoffs for wildlife‐friendly eco‐labels

Labels on products are meant to influence consumer behavior. Consumers buying products labeled as eco-friendly may hope to help conserve the environment, but eco-labels vary in their claims and credibility. We define three types of wildlife-friendly eco-labels, according to their potential to conserve wildlife, and describe barriers to convincing consumers of their claims. Eco-labels we term “Supportive” donate revenues to conservation organizations and are, at best, indirect interventions, opaque to consumer scrutiny. “Persuasive” eco-labels certify manufacturing/collection practices, under the assumption that wildlife will benefit as a result. “Protective” eco-labels certify wildlife conservation, which can gain the highest level of credibility, but require the greatest verification effort. Proving that producers conserved wildlife is costly, time-consuming, and technically challenging, because wild animals ignore property boundaries and experience mortality and dispersal irrespective of people, but the...
A Three-Stage Kinetic Model of Amyloid Fibrillation

Amyloid fibrillation has been intensively studied because of its association with various neurological disorders. While extensive time-dependent fibrillation experimental data are available and appear similar, few mechanistic models have been developed to unify those results. The aim of this work was to interpret these experimental results via a rigorous mathematical model that incorporates the physical chemistry of nucleation and fibril growth dynamics. A three-stage mechanism consisting of protein misfolding, nucleation, and fibril elongation is proposed and supported by the features of homogeneous fibrillation responses. Estimated by nonlinear least-squares algorithms, the rate constants for nucleation were ∼10,000,000 times smaller than those for fibril growth. These results, coupled with the positive feedback characteristics of the elongation process, account for the typical sigmoidal behavior during fibrillation. In addition, experiments with different proteins, various initial concentrations, seeding versus nonseeding, and several agitation rates were analyzed with respect to fibrillation using our new model. The wide applicability of the model confirms that fibrillation kinetics may be fairly similar among amyloid proteins and for different environmental factors. Recommendations on further experiments and on the possible use of molecular simulations to determine the desired properties of potential fibrillation inhibitors are offered.
Characterization of Resilin-Based Materials for Tissue Engineering Applications

Modular proteins have emerged as powerful tools in tissue engineering because both the mechanical and biochemical properties can be precisely controlled through amino acid sequence. Resilin is an attractive candidate for use in modular proteins because it is well-known for having low stiffness, high fatigue lifetime, and high resilience. However, no studies have been conducted to assess resilin's compressive properties, cytocompatibility with clinically relevant cells, or effect on cell spreading. We designed a modular protein containing repeating sequences of a motif derived from Anopheles gambiae and cell-binding domains derived from fibronectin. Rapid cross-linking with tris(hydroxymethyl)phosphine was observed. The hydrogels had a complex modulus of 22 ± 1 kPa and yield strain of 63%. The elastic modulus in compression, or unconfined compressive modulus, was 2.4 ± 0.2 MPa, which is on the same order as human cartilage. A LIVE/DEAD assay demonstrated that human mesenchymal stem cells cultured on the resilin-based protein had a viability of 95% after three days. A cell-spreading assay revealed that the cells interacted with the fibronectin-derived domain in a sequence-specific manner and resulted in a mean cell area ~1.4-fold larger than when cells were seeded on a sequence-scrambled negative control protein. These results demonstrate that our resilin-based biomaterial is a promising biomaterial for cartilage tissue engineering.
Identity Production in Figured Worlds: How Some Multiracial Students Become Racial Atravesados/as

Using Holland et al.’s (Identity and agency in cultural worlds, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1998) theory of identity and their concept of figured worlds, this article provides an overview of how twenty-five undergraduates of color came to produce a Multiracial identity. Using Critical Race Theory methodology with ethnographic interviewing as the primary method, I specifically focus on the ways in which Multiracial figured worlds operate within a racial borderland (Anzaldua in Borderlands: La Frontera—The New Mestiza, Aunt Lute Books, San Francisco, 1987), an alternate, marginal world where improvisational play (Holland et al. in Identity and agency in cultural worlds, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1998) and facultad became critical elements of survival. Participants exercised their agency by perforating monoracial storylines and developed a complex process of identity production that informed their behaviors by a multifaceted negotiation of positionalities. I end by focusing on implications for urban education that can be drawn from this study.
Practice Makes Perfect: Updating Borrowing Policies and Practices at a Small Academic Library

In 2011, staff from the undergraduate libraries at the College of William & Mary came together to evaluate circulation policies related to borrowing periods and billing. In an attempt to better align the policies across each unit, and with the intention of creating a more consistent user experience, new policies were proposed and implemented in the fall of 2012. These changes were found to dramatically decrease staff time necessary for billing, while improving user satisfaction with the borrowing policies. Significantly fewer books went into billing, suggesting no adverse effects on collection maintenance.