cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stem cell transplantation demonstrates that Sox6 represses εy globin expression in definitive erythropoiesis of adult mice

Sox6, a member of the Sox transcription factor family, is essential for the silencing of ey globin gene expression in definitive erythropoiesis of mice. Homozygous Sox6 -null mice are neonatally lethal, precluding analysis at later stages. We created adult mice that are deficient in Sox6 specifically in hematopoietic tissues by transplanting embryonic liver stem cells from Sox6-deficient mice into lethally irradiated congenic wild-type adult mice. The mice receiving mutant stem cells (mutant engrafted) showed high expression levels of ey in bone marrow, spleen, and circulating blood compared with mice receiving wild-type and heterozygous stem cells (control engrafted). The level of expression of ey in circulating blood was directly correlated with the percentage of successful mutant donor cell engraftment. Additionally, the mutant engrafted adult mice showed an increase in erythroid precursor cells in bone marrow, spleen, and blood. Thus, Sox6 continues to function as a major regulator of ey in adult definitive erythropoiesis and is required for normal erythrocyte maturation. Therefore, Sox6 may provide a novel therapeutic target by reactivating ey in patients with hemoglobinopathies such as sickle cell anemia and beta-thalassemia.
Vision vs. reality: planning for the implementation of a Web-based online catalog in an academic library

Many academic libraries are migrating to Web‐based online catalogs from traditional text‐based versions. These Web OPACs function as gateways to resources held not only locally, but beyond the library’s physical boundaries, using a Web browser as a common user interface. As library planners prepare to shift to a Web‐based online catalog, they face a range of complicated challenges. The coordinated efforts of staff throughout the library organization are required to implement the new paradigm. This article presents the issues that will be confronted in implementing a Web OPAC by systems, reference and cataloguing staffs.
Posttraumatic stress symptoms, PTSD, and risk factors among lower Manhattan residents 2-3 years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks

Manhattan residents living near the World Trade Center may have been particularly vulnerable to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the September 11, 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks. In 2003-2004, the authors administered the PTSD Checklist to 11,037 adults who lived south of Canal Street in New York City on 9/11. The prevalence of probable PTSD was 12.6% and associated with older age, female gender, Hispanic ethnicity, low education and income, and divorce. Injury, witnessing horror, and dust cloud exposure on 9/11 increased risk for chronic PTSD. Postdisaster risk factors included evacuation and rescue and recovery work. The results indicate that PTSD is a continued health problem in the local community. The relationship between socioeconomic status and PTSD suggests services must target marginalized populations. Followup is necessary on the course and long-term consequences of PTSD.
Parameter Estimation of the Gompertz Population

The Gompertz distribution has been used to model human mortality and fit actuarial tables. In the recent years, this distribution has been studied by some authors. The MLE estimates for the parameters of the Gompertz distribution were disucssed by GARG, RAO and REDMOND (1970). The purpose of this paper is to develop an exact confidence interval and an exact joint confidence region for the parameters of the Gompertz distribution.
The EU as a Global Actor: Grand Strategy for a Global Grand Bargain?

Like it or not, the European Union, in the wake of Lisbon, has become an international actor. It now faces two major external challenges. The first is to develop a strategic vision for a potentially tumultuous emerging multi-polar world. The European Council's December 2008 ‘Report on the Implementation of the European Security Strategy’ recognized that, over the last five years, the threats facing the EU had become ‘increasingly complex’, that ‘we must be ready to shape events [by] becoming more strategic in our thinking’. The second challenge is to help nudge the other major actors towards a multilateral global grand bargain. Such a bargain will be the necessary outcome of the transition from a US-dominated post-1945 liberal world order, towards a new 21st-century order accommodating the rising powers and sensitive to the needs of the global south. Without such a comprehensive and co-operative bargain, the emerging multi-polar world will be rife with tensions and highly conflict-prone.
Rac1 Controls the Subcellular Localization of the Rho Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor Net1A To Regulate Focal Adhesion Formation and Cell Spreading

RhoA is overexpressed in human cancer and contributes to aberrant cell motility and metastatic progression; however, regulatory mechanisms controlling RhoA activity in cancer are poorly understood. Neuroepithelial transforming gene 1 (Net1) is a RhoA guanine nucleotide exchange factor that is overexpressed in human cancer. It encodes two isoforms, Net1 and Net1A, which cycle between the nucleus and plasma membrane. Net1 proteins must leave the nucleus to activate RhoA, but mechanisms controlling the extranuclear localization of Net1 isoforms have not been described. Here, we show that Rac1 activation causes relocalization of Net1 isoforms outside the nucleus and stimulates Net1A catalytic activity. These effects do not require Net1A catalytic activity, its pleckstrin homology domain, or its regulatory C terminus. We also show that Rac1 activation protects Net1A from proteasome-mediated degradation. Replating cells on collagen stimulates endogenous Rac1 to relocalize Net1A, and inhibition of proteasome activity extends the duration and magnitude of Net1A relocalization. Importantly, we demonstrate that Net1A, but not Net1, is required for cell spreading on collagen, myosin light chain phosphorylation, and focal adhesion maturation. These data identify the first physiological mechanism controlling the extranuclear localization of Net1 isoforms. They also demonstrate a previously unrecognized role for Net1A in regulating cell adhesion.
Effects of hemlock mortality on streams in the southern Appalachian mountains

Abstract The death of eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) trees in response to infestation by the introduced hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) may affect ecosystem processes and structure of streams. Prior to hemlock mortality, we documented the conditions of eight small streams and their associated riparian forests within the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, U.S.A. Hemlock was the dominant tree species on all riparian sites and was always associated with rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum). Significant trends of increasing canopy openness, increasing light to the streams and increasing annual temperature range were observed. Contributions of hemlock to litterfall, in-stream wood, and benthic organic matter were important at the beginning of the study, suggesting that the loss of hemlock may significantly modify the trophic dynamics and physical structure of southern Appalachian streams. Increased growth of rhododendron in response to hemlock mortality may compensate for the trophic influence...
MapSplice: Accurate mapping of RNA-seq reads for splice junction discovery

The accurate mapping of reads that span splice junctions is a critical component of all analytic techniques that work with RNA-seq data. We introduce a second generation splice detection algorithm, MapSplice, whose focus is high sensitivity and specificity in the detection of splices as well as CPU and memory efficiency. MapSplice can be applied to both short (<75 bp) and long reads (≥ 75 bp). MapSplice is not dependent on splice site features or intron length, consequently it can detect novel canonical as well as non-canonical splices. MapSplice leverages the quality and diversity of read alignments of a given splice to increase accuracy. We demonstrate that MapSplice achieves higher sensitivity and specificity than TopHat and SpliceMap on a set of simulated RNA-seq data. Experimental studies also support the accuracy of the algorithm. Splice junctions derived from eight breast cancer RNA-seq datasets recapitulated the extensiveness of alternative splicing on a global level as well as the differences between molecular subtypes of breast cancer. These combined results indicate that MapSplice is a highly accurate algorithm for the alignment of RNA-seq reads to splice junctions. Software download URL: http://www.netlab.uky.edu/p/bioinfo/MapSplice.
Enhancement of autophagy by simvastatin through inhibition of Rac1-mTOR signaling pathway in coronary arterial myocytes.

Background/Aims: In addition to their action of lowering blood cholesterol levels, statins modulate biological characteristics and functions of arterial myocytes such as viability, proliferation, apoptosis, survival and contraction. The present study tested whether simvastatin, as a prototype statin, enhances autophagy in coronary arterial myocytes (CAMs) to thereby exert their beneficial effects in atherosclerosis. Methods and Results: Using flow cytometry, we demonstrated that simvastatin significantly increased the autophagsome formation in CAMs. Western blot analysis confirmed that simvastatin significantly increased protein expression of typical autophagy markers LC3B and Beclin1 in these CAMs. Confocal microscopy further demonstrated that simvastatin increased fusion of autophagosomes with lysosomes, which was blocked by autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine or silencing of Atg7 genes. Simvastatin reduced mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) activity, which was reversed by Rac1-GTPase overexpression and the mTOR agonist phosphatidic acid. Moreover, both Rac1-GTPase overexpression and activation of mTOR by phosphatidic acid drastically blocked simvastatin-induced autophagosome formation in CAMs. Interestingly, simvastatin increased protein expression of a contractile phenotype marker calponin in CAMs, which was blocked by autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine. Simvastatin markedly reduced proliferation of CAMs under both control and proatherogenic stimulation. However, this inhibitory effect of simvastatin on CAM proliferation was blocked by by autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine or silencing of Atg7 genes. Lastly, animal experiments demonstrated that simvastatin increased protein expression of LC3B and calponin in mouse coronary arteries. Conclusion: Our results indicate that simvastatin inhibits the Rac1-mTOR pathway and thereby increases autophagy in CAMs which may stabilize CAMs in the contractile phenotype to prevent proliferation and growth of these cells.
A Shocking Complication of a Pneumothorax: Chest Tube-Induced Arrhythmias and Review of the Literature

We describe a patient with a recent chest tube insertion leading to atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular rate that led to multiple inappropriate internal cardiac defibrillator (ICD) shocks. This is the first reported case of this occurring in a patient with an ICD leading to inappropriate shocks. Our elderly patient with emphysema presented with a spontaneous pneumothorax and developed rapid atrial fibrillation following emergency tube thoracostomy. The patient had a single lead ICD and received multiple inappropriate shocks for the rapid ventricular rate in the therapy zone. Although medical treatment helped stabilize the patient, resolution of the atrial fibrillation occurred only after the chest tube was removed. In a patient with a chest tube or other intrathoracic catheters, maintaining a high index of suspicion that chest tube insertions can cause secondary life threatening cardiovascular complications needs to be considered. In such patients, removal of the device proves to be the most prudent treatment action.
Electrical Aspects of Adsorbing Colloid Flotation. XVIII. Flotation with Mixed Surfactant Systems

Abstract The effect of a number of alcohols in reducing the critical micelle concentration (cmc) of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) was measured conductimetrically; it was found that alcohols quite substantially reduce the cmc. This suggested that these alcohols might be used as relatively low-cost surfactant extenders in precipitate: and adsorbing colloid flotation separations. It was found that n-butanol, n-hexanol, n-octanol, and octanoic acid quite markedly reduced the quantity of SDS needed for the flotation of ferric hydroxide floes and of ferric hydroxide floes in which Cu(II) had been coprecipitated/adsorbed. Octanoic acid was found to be the most effective cosurfactant for the adsorbing colloid flotation of Cu(II) with ferric hydroxide.
Correction for measured resonant frequency of unloaded cavity

Ginzton's method of Q-factor measurement provides the necessary data for taking into account the detuning effect of the coupling circuit by means of which the measurement is performed.
Transmission-line delay limitations of laser bandwidths

The paper describes the constraints placed on modulation bandwidths of horizontal cavity semiconductor lasers by the dissipative and dispersive effects due to the transmission of electric signals along a narrow injection stripe. The calculations employ a distributed transmission-line model where the incremental small-signal laser equivalent circuit incorporates the effects of photon-carrier interactions represented in relaxation oscillations. At 150 µm cavity length, such as those feasible in strained quantum-well structures, the bandwidths appear to be limited to approximately 30 GHz even under the most idealised conditions. It is suggested that further improvements in bandwidths will require a judicious design of the laser travelling-wave structure. Vertical cavity laser structures may offer an alternative approach to increasing the bandwidth.
Tolerance in Heart Transplantation: The Holy Grail, or an Attainable Goal?

The father of cardiac transplantation, Norman Shumway, famously predicted that tolerance was the future of the field, and always would be. Although his prediction remains true to date, significant progress has been made toward this goal, the "Holy Grail" for transplant clinicians. Current efforts are fueled by disappointing long-term outcomes associated with chronic immunosuppression, and the promise that partial or complete tolerance will impact long-term results favorably. This article provides a clinical definition of tolerance primarily based on lessons learned from animal heart allograft models. It reviews several promising strategies for inducing tolerance and detecting its presence through the use of biomarkers in peripheral blood or the graft, and outlines a possible path toward making this vision a clinical reality.
The Effects of Arginine Vasotocin on the Calling Behavior of Male Cricket Frogs in Changing Social Contexts

We investigated the effects of the neurohypophysial peptide, arginine vasotocin (AVT), on the calling behavior of male Acris crepitans during and immediately following a simulated acoustic agonistic encounter. AVT did not block the aggressive response to agonistic calls, as the changes in temporal call characteristics in response to the encounter were similar to those of saline-treated males. However, AVT caused males to begin calling sooner during the agonistic encounter and to call significantly more than saline males during and after the agonistic encounter. In addition, AVT-treated males maintained a higher dominant frequency compared to saline animals during and following the agonistic encounter. Changes in temporal characteristics in the period following the agonistic encounter indicated that control males were more likely to exhibit a rebound effect which resulted in larger changes in calling parameters compared to AVT-treated animals. The results indicate that AVT causes changes in calling behavior in male A. crepitans during and following an agonistic encounter that are consistent with animals highly motivated to maintain vigorous active calling throughout changing social conditions.
Aquatic Biofouling Larvae Respond to Differences in the Mechanical Properties of the Surface on which they Settle

Surface energy has been proposed to explain the resistance of dimethyl silicones (DMS) to biofouling, but surface energy considerations alone cannot explain all the data. Because the crosslinking density of a polymer influences its elastic modulus, biofouling on DMS substrata that differ in degree of crosslinking was studied. In addition to the recently described easier release of adult macrofouling, decreasing the elastic modulus between about 0.01-0.1 kPa significantly decreased larval settlement of three groups of test organisms. It is hypothesized that larvae sense variations in elastic modulus by deformation of sensory membranes, which causes changes in mechanosensitive ion channels.
Process investigations for a 30-GHz f/sub T/ submicrometer double poly-Si bipolar technology

Major process issues are investigated to establish a manufacturable process for a 30-GHz f/sub T/ deep-trench isolated submicrometer double polysilicon bipolar technology. A thinner deep-trench surface oxide minimizes crystal defects generated by thermal stresses during the subsequent processes, and significantly improves collector-to-emitter leakage currents in npn transistors. The effects of reactive-ion-etch (RIE) process used for the base surface oxide etch are evaluated in terms of current gain, emitter resistance, and cutoff frequency of the npn transistors. Silicon surface roughness created by an RIE process produces a nonuniform interface oxide film between the emitter polysilicon and the silicon surface, which results in a lower current gain due to a retardation of arsenic diffusion from the emitter polysilicon through the unbroken thicker portion of the interface oxide film. Lateral pnp transistors and Schottky diodes using a vanadium silicide are characterized as a function of epitaxial layer thickness. Schottky diodes are integrated with high performance npn transistors without using extra photo-masking process steps. The reverse leakage currents of Schottky diodes fabricated by using an RIE process are acceptable for practical use in circuits. A planarization process is investigated by employing an RTA reflow of BPSG films deposited in an LPCVD furnace. The maximum RTA reflow temperature is limited to 1000/spl deg/C in order to maintain an acceptable integrity of TiSi/sub 2/ layer formed on top of the n+ polysilicon layer. The planarity achieved by an RTA reflow at a temperature between 975/spl deg/C and 1000/spl deg/C is acceptable for double polysilicon bipolar integrated circuits using metal interconnects produced by an electroplated gold process. >
Early speech motor development: Cognitive and linguistic considerations.

This longitudinal investigation examines developmental changes in orofacial movements occurring during the early stages of communication development. The goals were to identify developmental trends in early speech motor performance and to determine how these trends differ across orofacial behaviors thought to vary in cognitive and linguistic demands (i.e., silent spontaneous movements, babble, and first words). Movements of the lower lip and jaw were recorded using a three-dimensional motion capture system. Twenty-four infants were observed every 3 months, from 9 to 21 months of age. Jaw and lower lip speed, and lower lip range of movement increased with age. Silent spontaneous movements were consistently slower than words, whereas kinematic measures associated with babble did not differ from those associated with words. These findings suggest that speech movements may reflect linguistic and cognitive processing demands and that the continuity hypothesis between babbling and words may also be observed at the kinematic level. Learning outcomes: Readers will be able to: (1) describe the potential role of cognition and language in early speech development, (2) describe kinematic changes in the orofacial system from 9 to 21 months of age, and (3) identify the differences in kinematic characteristics for silent spontaneous orofacial movements, babbles and words between 15 to 21 months of age.
Automatic detection of large object features from SAR data

The feature extraction operation, from SAR images, encounters many difficulties due to the high level of noise and the poor quality of the object contour. This paper aims towards an implementation of an automated algorithm for extracting features of large objects such as rivers, lakes, or highways from SAR imagery. The method uses a watershed algorithm to detect homogeneous areas. The above areas are then grouped into probable objects using heuristic reasoning about the similarity between neighbouring regions and the difference between larger background areas. Results from SAR images of the Ottawa area are given. >
Abnormal tactile experience early in life disrupts active touch

The importance of early tactile experience in the development of discriminative somatomotor function was assessed by examining the proficiency and movement strategies of rats raised without normal sensory inputs provided by their mystacial vibrissae. Infant-trimmed animals had their whiskers clipped daily from birth to 45 d of age, after which they were allowed to regrow for 60–70 d before initiation of behavioral training, which lasted as long as several months. Adult- trimmed animals had their whiskers trimmed for comparable periods during adulthood. Rats were tested on one of two tactile discriminations, rough versus smooth or rough versus rough, that differed with respect to the overall size of their surface features. Whisker movements during task performance were examined in detail using video-based motion analysis software. Infant-trimmed animals performed rough versus smooth discriminations as well as adult-trimmed rats or normally reared animals. Except for one subject, infant-trimmed rats were severely impaired in their ability to distinguish rough versus rough surfaces. Deficits persisted in spite of months of training with the regrown vibrissae. The animals that failed to master this task displayed whisking patterns that notably lacked frequencies in the normal range of 6–12 Hz. Thus, abnormal tactile experience early in life substantially, and perhaps permanently, impairs sensorimotor integration underlying active touch.
Gin Lane: did Hogarth know about fetal alcohol syndrome?

Following recognition and identification in 1973 of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), a pattern of abnormalities occurring in children born to alcoholic women (Jones and Smith, 1973), some medical historians have looked for evidence that features of the syndrome have long been known. Much of this effort has focused on the ‘gin epidemic’, a dramatic increase in gin drinking which occurred during the second quarter of the 18th century in London. The contention is that gin drinking became so rampant that it necessarily resulted in a dramatic increase in the birth of children prenatally exposed to alcohol, and, as a result of so many children being affected, features of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) became widely recognized and were depicted by artists and writers of that period (e.g. Rosett, 1976; Pratt, 1981; Rodin, 1981; Warren and Bast, 1988). The artist whose work is most frequently mentioned in this regard is William Hogarth (1697‐1764). In fact, Hogarth’s Gin Lane has become so closely associated with the syndrome’s history that it is almost de rigeur to begin any lecture about it with a slide of his engraving. This article examines Gin Lane, and discusses what Hogarth was depicting and what he, and by implication, his audience, recognized by way of the features of the syndrome. It begins with a consideration of the context in which Hogarth drew Gin Lane, namely the ‘gin epidemic’ and the appalling living conditions experienced by the ‘inferior sort of people’ (a term widely used to describe the poor), whose gin drinking was blamed for the alleged increase in weak and sickly children.
Studying textbooks in an information age—a United States perspective

This paper discusses issues centered around three topics related to studying textbooks in an information age. First considered are the multiple roles of textbooks, from a source of content and questions to a vehicle for changing the curriculum. Second are some of the lessons we have learned from studies comparing student performance with different textbooks within the United States, including the recognition that a common test given to students using two different curricula cannot cover the differences between the curricula and still be fair to all the students. Third is the consideration of textbooks as a delivery system and their comparison with electronic delivery of curriculum, including a discussion of the overt nature of textbooks as compared to the covert nature of electronic systems. We distinguish this use of electronic devices from the use of computers and calculators to do mathematics. Finally, predictions are given regarding the future of textbooks in an age of electronic delivery systems. The perspective of this paper is from the United States and based on the author’s four decades of experience directing studies of instruction and student performance with different mathematics textbooks.
Small-signal modeling and analysis of parallel-connected voltage source inverters

Numerous benefits promote the proliferation of renewable and distributed energy resources in power grids. Some recent research has focused on the concept of microgrids, in which a number of renewable energy sources can be connected together to supply power to customers as a complement to traditional power sources or as main power sources. In a microgrid, multiple distributed energy sources are operated in parallel through power converters with several control loops of different control objectives. Thus the dynamic stability problem is increasingly important in microgrids due to the existence of a large number of power converters, and has not yet been widely studied. This paper presents a small-signal model of parallel operated voltage source inverters, in which the variations in d-q axis currents and output d-q axis voltages are taken as state variables, the variations in the power inverter duty cycles are used as the control input, and the variations in the DC power source voltages are considered as external disturbances. Frequency-domain characteristics of the open-loop and closed loop systems are analyzed. Control strategies are designed for two parallel connected inverters. Time-domain simulation studies are carried out to verify the small-signal model and controller design.
The DOE systems biology knowledgebase (KBase): progress towards a system for collaborative and reproducible inference and modeling of biological function

KBase (http://kbase.us) is an integrated software and data platform designed to meet the grand challenge of systems biology---predicting and designing biological function on a range of scales, from the biomolecular to the ecological. Users can perform large-scale analyses and combine multiple lines of evidence to model plant and microbial physiology and community dynamics. KBase offers open access to quality-controlled data and high-performance modeling and simulation tools that enable researchers to build new knowledge, interpret missing information necessary for predictive modeling, test hypotheses, design experiments, and share findings such that they can be reproduced and extended by others. KBase is being built to integrate a growing collection of data resources and analytical services including microbial and plant genomes such as poplar and Arabidopsis that are integrated with phenotype experiments, gene expression profiles, regulatory, interaction, and metabolic networks. These data sources can be used as input to KBase analysis tools to build models and generate new hypotheses such as metabolic reconstruction and flux balance analyses based on transcriptomes. In addition, user-furnished data can be uploaded, analyzed using high-performance bioinformatics tools, and overlaid visually and analytically on KBase-provided data. We envision KBase as a comprehensive environment that accelerates the integration of new information from external reference sources and users, improving predictions of biological function from individual enzymes to ecosystems and thereby enabling users to greatly amplify the results of their own work by most effectively leveraging that of others.
The next assignment

A NYONE who, like myself, has the honor to serve as president of this 11 association and to address it on the occasion of its annual meeting may be presumed to have devoted many years to the historical profession, to have taught many successive college generations, to have trained numerous young scholars, and to have written at least some books and articles. The chances are great that he has reached those exalted levels of the academic life which involve so many administrative and advisory duties, as well as such expenditure of time and energy in seeing people, in writing recommendations, and in reading the writings of others that he is most unlikely ever again to have much time to pursue his own researches. Nonetheless, his, long and varied experience and his ever broadening contacts with others working in many diverse fields have probably sharpened his understanding of the problems of
Side-Chain Oxysterols: From Cells to Membranes to Molecules

Abstract This review discusses the application of cellular biology, molecular biophysics, and computational simulation to understand membrane-mediated mechanisms by which oxysterols regulate cholesterol homeostasis. Side-chain oxysterols, which are produced enzymatically in vivo, are physiological regulators of cholesterol homeostasis and primarily serve as cellular signals for excess cholesterol. These oxysterols regulate cholesterol homeostasis through both transcriptional and non-transcriptional pathways; however, many molecular details of their interactions in these pathways are still not well understood. Cholesterol trafficking provides one mechanism for regulation. The current model of cholesterol trafficking regulation is based on the existence of two distinct cholesterol pools in the membrane: a low and a high availability/activity pool. It is proposed that the low availability/activity pool of cholesterol is integrated into tightly packing phospholipids and relatively inaccessible to water or cellular proteins, while the high availability cholesterol pool is more mobile in the membrane and is present in membranes where the phospholipids are not as compressed. Recent results suggest that oxysterols may promote cholesterol egress from membranes by shifting cholesterol from the low to the high activity pools. Furthermore, molecular simulations suggest a potential mechanism for oxysterol “activation” of cholesterol through its displacement in the membrane. This review discusses these results as well as several other important interactions between oxysterols and cholesterol in cellular and model lipid membranes. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Membrane protein structure and function.
Access to primary care physicians differs by health insurance coverage in Mississippi.

Objectives: The objective of the study was to measure how access to primary health care in Mississippi varies by type of health insurance. Methods: We called primary care physician (general practitioner, family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, and pediatric) offices in Mississippi three times, citing different types of health insurance coverage in each call, and asked for a new patient appointment with a physician. Results: Of all of the offices contacted, 7% of offices were not currently accepting new patients who had private insurance, 15% of offices were not currently accepting new Medicare patients, 38% were not currently accepting new Medicaid patients, and 9% to 21% of office calls were unresolved in one telephone call to the office.
TOLSTOY'S BESTIARY: animality and animosity in the kreutzer sonata

Tolstoy's remarkably economical novella The Kreutzer Sonata manages to create one of the most intense, vivid, and thought-provoking portraits of jealousy in the canon, and is as disturbing to read ...
X-Ray Diffraction Studies of Nb/Ta Superlattices

We have grown high crystal quality niobium/tantalum multilayer super-lattices in an MBE system. The films were deposited from electron beam hearths operating at 3–4 kilowatts onto rotating sapphire substrates held at a variety of temperatures ranging from 775°C to 1000°C. With liquid nitrogen filled cryopanels in the deposition chamber, pressures were held at 10-9 to 10-8 Torr during growth.
Measuring Effective Tax Rates on Risky Assets

In the economic literature the fiscal burden on financial claims is usually measured by the expected tax rate. Auerbach has demonstrated that the use of this method can be seriously misleading. This paper develops a method for defining an effective tax rate adjusted for risk on uncertain financial claims. This Effective Tax rate is then applied for evaluating different kinds of tax systems.
Implementation of a diuretic stewardship program in a pediatric cardiovascular intensive care unit to reduce medication expenditures

Purpose The implementation of a diuretic stewardship program in a pediatric cardiovascular intensive care unit (ICU) is described. Methods This retrospective study compared the use of i.v. chlorothiazide and i.v. ethacrynic acid in pediatric cardiovascular surgery patients before and after implementation of a diuretic stewardship program. All pediatric patients admitted to the pediatric cardiovascular service were included. The cardiovascular surgery service was educated on formal indications for specific diuretic agents, and the diuretic stewardship program was implemented on January 1, 2013. Under the stewardship program, i.v. ethacrynic acid was indicated in patients with a sulfonamide allergy, and i.v. chlorothiazide was considered appropriate in patients receiving maximized i.v. loop diuretic doses. A detailed review of the pharmacy database and medical records was performed for each patient to determine i.v. chlorothiazide and i.v. ethacrynic acid use and expenditures, appropriateness of use, days using a ventilator, and cardiovascular ICU length of stay. Results After implementation of diuretic stewardship, the use of i.v. chlorothiazide decreased by 74% (531 fewer doses) while i.v. ethacrynic acid use decreased by 92% (47 fewer doses), resulting in a total reduction of $91,398 in expenditures on these diuretics over the six-month study period and an estimated annual saving of over $182,000. The median number of days using a ventilator and the length of ICU stay did not differ significantly during the study period. Conclusion Implementation of a diuretic stewardship program reduced the use of i.v. chlorothiazide and i.v. ethacrynic acid without adversely affecting clinical outcomes such as ventilator days and length of stay in a pediatric cardiovascular ICU.
Alkaline phosphatases of the chick. Partial characterization of the tissue isozymes.

SummaryThe results in this experiment suggest that the increased serum alkaline phosphatase does not appear to be of liver or intestinal origin but may be of bone origin. Evidence in support of this finding has been obtained by the following: changes in alkaline phosphatase activity of various tissues during growth, measuring the change of enzyme activity and Ca45 concentration of various tissues after water dosing, enzyme properties of these tissues during ammonium sulfate fractionation and dialysis, and the chromato-graphic behavior of this enzyme from various tissues. It was also observed that the change of alkaline phosphatase activity in bone and blood is associated with the calcium metabolism.
Unsteady Flame Embedding (UFE) Subgrid Model for Turbulent Premixed Combustion Simulations

This work is supported by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Award No. KUS-11-010-01.
A Higher “Standard of Life” for the World: U.S. Labor Women's Reform Internationalism and the Legacies of 1919

In 1919, in the immediate aftermath of World War I, women labor reformers from nineteen nations and three continents gathered in Washington, D.C., to hammer out a set of international labor standards and worker rights. The ten-day International Congress of Working Women (icww), called by the National Women’s Trade Union League of America (nwtul), with the counsel and encouragement of British and French labor women, was timed to coincide with the inaugural meeting of the International Labor Organization (ilo), the body charged by the Treaty of Versailles with formulating international labor policies in the postwar world. The two hundred women who responded to the call demanded a voice for working women in shaping a new world order. Through international labor legislation and worker organization, they believed, “the standard of life of women workers throughout the world” could be raised. They met at a time of heady possibility. Women’s suffrage in the United States and in much of Europe was imminent. The Bolsheviks had seized power in Russia in 1917; socialist movements and labor parties were on the rise across Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. The 1919 icww adjourned on a high note with plans for a permanent organization, the International Federation of Working Women (ifww).1 In the last few decades, U.S. history has been transformed by research on international organizations and on the global movements of peoples, ideas, and commodities. Histori-
Reactions of H2 and R3SiH with Electrophilic Cobalt(III) Alkyl Complexes: Spectroscopic Characterization, Dynamics, and Chemistry of [Cp*Co(L)(H)(η2-H2)][B(ArF)4] and [Cp*Co(L)(H)(η2-HSiR3)][B(ArF)4]

Co(III) agostic alkyl complexes [Cp*Co(L)(CH2CH2-μ-H)][B(ArF)4] (Cp* = C5(CH3)5, L = P(OCH3)3, 1a, or P(CH3)3, 1b; ArF = 3,5-(CF3)2C6H3) react with H2 to yield ethane and trihydride complexes characterized as η2-dihydrogen hydride species [Cp*Co(L)(H)(η2-H2)][B(ArF)], 2a and 2b, in which there is rapid scrambling between the η2-H2 ligand and the terminal Co−H. Complexes 2a and 2b react with a variety of neutral donor ligands (L‘ = RCN, PMe3, P(OMe)3, H2O, CH3OH) to yield [Cp*Co(L)(L‘)(H)][B(ArF)4] complexes. Reaction of silanes with either 1a,b in the presence of traces of water or 2a,b yields η2-silane hydrides, [Cp*Co(L)(H)(η2-HSiR3)][B(ArF)4]. Analysis of the dynamics of these species by NMR spectroscopy provides evidence for an extremely rapid process involving silyl migration between hydrogens and a slower process in which a cobalt-silyl η2-H2 complex is formed as an intermediate and results in hydrogen scrambling between the two diastereomers of [Cp*Co(L)(H)(η2-H-SiHMePh)][B(ArF)4]. The structures a...
Reproductive Biology of a Tropical, Non-Hibernating Ground Squirrel

To examine the effects of climate and hibernation on reproductive patterns, I compared tropical and temperate species of ground and tree squirrels. I studied the reproductive biology of a tropical species, the Cape ground squirrel ( Xerus inauris ), by observing marked individuals in the Kalahari-bushveld region in Namibia. Breeding occurred throughout the year, although there was some seasonality. Interestrous intervals were 76.5–146 days, gestation averaged 47.7 days, lactation averaged 52 days, there were one to three litters per year, with litters of one or two young. Subadult males reached reproductive maturity at 8 months, while females had their first estrus at 10 months. Comparisons of these reproductive traits with other species in the family Sciuridae suggest that reproduction in the Cape ground squirrel is influenced by a long active season in an unpredictable habitat. Of the potential factors affecting reproduction in squirrels, I conclude that climate is the most critical, and nutrition, predation, and allometry are less important.
The Effects of Presence and Time of Exposure on Simulator Sickness

This study explored the relationships among presence, simulator sickness, and length of simulator exposure. Previous research shows that presence and simulator sickness are negatively correlated with each other, but both have been found to be positively correlated with length of simulator exposure. The general goal of this research was to determine whether an interaction relationship existed. Results of the analysis provide evidence showing an interaction relationship (β = −1.08, p < .01; Fchange = 6.51, p < .01), i.e., at different levels of presence, simulator sickness increases at different rates over time. High presence led to less of an increase in simulator sickness over time than low presence.
Google Books Review

ABSTRACTGoogle Books provides a large number of resources that have been scanned by participating libraries and publishers. Google indexed these works using Optical Character Recognition software to make them discoverable. Due to the nature of health sciences research and its reliance on up-to-date materials, most of the content in Google Books does not seem to be of great use. However, if library integration is introduced into this product in the future, as it is currently with Google Scholar, Google Books may become a much more useful resource for health sciences libraries.
Reductive Dechlorination of Trichloroethene by Zero-valent Iron Nanoparticles: Reactivity Enhancement through Sulfidation Treatment

Zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) synthesized in the presence of reduced sulfur compounds have been shown to degrade trichloroethene (TCE) at significantly higher rates. However, the applicability of sulfidation as a general means to enhance nZVI reactivity under different particle preparation conditions and the underlying cause for this enhancement effect are not well understood. In this study, the effects of sulfidation reagent, time point of sulfidation, and sulfur loading on the resultant particles were assessed through TCE degradation experiments. Up to 60-fold increase in TCE reaction rates was observed upon sulfidation treatment, with products being fully dechlorinated hydrocarbons. While the reactivity of these sulfur-treated nZVI (S-nZVI) was relatively unaffected by the sulfidation reagent (viz., sodium sulfide, dithionite, or thiosulfate) or the sequence of sulfidation relative to iron reduction, TCE reaction rates were found to depend strongly on sulfur to iron ratio. At a low sulfur loadi...
Poor Glycemic Control Is Associated with Failure to Complete Neoadjuvant Therapy and Surgery in Patients with Localized Pancreatic Cancer

The impact of glycemic control in patients with pancreatic cancer treated with neoadjuvant therapy is unclear. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) values were measured in patients with localized pancreatic cancer prior to any therapy (pretreatment) and after neoadjuvant therapy prior to surgery (preoperative). HbA1c levels greater than 6.5% were classified as abnormal. Patients were categorized based on the change in HbA1c levels from pretreatment to preoperative: GrpA, always normal; Gr B, worsened; GrpC, improved; and GrpD, always abnormal. Pretreatment HbA1c levels were evaluable in 123 patients; there were 67 (55%) patients in GrpA, 8 (6%) in GrpB, 22 (18%) in GrpC, and 26 (21%) in GrpD. Of the 123 patients, 92 (75%) completed all intended therapy to include surgery; 57 (85%) patients in GrpA, 4 (50%) patients in GrpB, 16 (72%) patients in GrpC, and 15 (58%) patients in GrpD (p = 0.01). Elevated preoperative carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) (OR 0.22;[0.07–0.66]), borderline resectable (BLR) disease stage (OR 0.20;[0.01–0.45]) and abnormal preoperative HbA1c (OR 0.30;[0.11–0.90]) were negatively associated with completion of all intended therapy. Abnormal preoperative HbA1c was associated with a 2.74-fold increased odds of metastatic progression during neoadjuvant therapy (p = 0.08). Elevated preoperative HbA1c is associated with failure to complete neoadjuvant therapy and surgery and a trend for increased risk of metastatic progression.
Effects of Group Discussion on Accepting Risk and on Advising Others to be Risky

Risk following group discussion was examined by administering the usual advisory decision making form of the Kogan & Wallach (1964) Choice Dilemmas Questionnaire and a Risk Acceptance form which asked that the subject imagine himself as the central decision-maker in each decision situation. Sixteen groups discussed 5 problems; however, pre- and post-discussion risk levels were assessed for 10 problems. Analysis of covariance demonstrated a significantly greater increase in risk following discussion for groups in the Risk Acceptance condition (p <.01). Individual subjects in the latter condition also showed greater variability in amount of shift than did subjects in the Advisory condition (p < .01). The results were interpreted as supportive of Brown’s value of risk theory.
Evaluating the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement project risk calculator: results from the U.S. Extrahepatic Biliary Malignancy Consortium

Abstract Background The objective of this study is to evaluate use of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) online risk calculator for estimating common outcomes after operations for gallbladder cancer and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Methods Subjects from the United States Extrahepatic Biliary Malignancy Consortium (USE-BMC) who underwent operation between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2014 at 10 academic medical centers were included in this study. Calculator estimates of risk were compared to actual outcomes. Results The majority of patients underwent partial or major hepatectomy, Whipple procedures or extrahepatic bile duct resection. For the entire cohort, c-statistics for surgical site infection (0.635), reoperation (0.680) and readmission (0.565) were less than 0.7. The c-statistic for death was 0.740. For all outcomes the actual proportion of patients experiencing an event was much higher than the median predicted risk of that event. Similarly, the group of patients who experienced an outcome did have higher median predicted risk than those who did not. Conclusions The ACS NSQIP risk calculator is easy to use but requires further modifications to more accurately estimate outcomes for some patient populations and operations for which validation studies show suboptimal performance.
Cultivo de Eruca sativa sob diferentes manejos nutricionais

Com a presente pesquisa objetivou-se avaliar o desempenho agronomico de rucula com aplicacao de diferentes fontes e doses de nitrogenio em cobertura. O experimento foi conduzido em casa de vegetacao na area experimental do IF Goiano Câmpus Ceres. O delineamento foi inteiramente casualizado em esquema fatorial 2x4 com duas fontes de N (ureia normal e protegida), quatro doses N (0, 80, 160, 240 mg dm -3 ) e oito repeticoes. Cada unidade experimental foi constituida por tubetes com capacidade para 0,3 dm 3 de solo e duas plantas. Foram realizadas duas aplicacoes de cobertura sendo a primeiro no dia seguinte ao desbaste e a segunda dez dias apos a primeira. As fontes de nitrogenio aumentaram a altura das plantas, com resposta linear. Para o numero de folhas a maior quantidade foram obtidas com dose de 177,77 e de 350 mg dm -3 , para ureia protegida e normal, respectivamente. A massa fresca de raiz a dose que possibilitou maior quantidade foi de 150 mg dm -3 para ureia protegida e de 350 mg dm -3 para ureia normal. A massa fresca da parte aerea as doses de 200 e 350 mg dm -3 para ureia protegida e normal, respectivamente, proporcionaram maior massa. A massa seca das folhas apresentaram maiores valores na dosagem de 176,5 mg dm -3 de ureia protegida e de 192,3 mg dm -3 de ureia normal. O numero de folhas, massa fresca de raizes e parte aerea e massa seca das folhas apresentaram respostas quadraticas. A adubacao nitrogenada promove incrementos nas caracteristicas agronomicas de rucula.