cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bird use of grain fields and implications for habitat management at airports

Abstract Airport properties often include agricultural land cover that can attract wildlife species hazardous to aircraft, despite recommendations against row crops near air operations areas. However, few studies have directly quantified bird use of corn, wheat, and soybean fields relative to bird-aircraft collision (strike) hazard levels to support land cover recommendations. Therefore, we compared bird use among corn, wheat and soybean fields and predicted that corn and wheat would attract bird species recognized as hazardous to aviation. We also anticipated that soybeans would pose minimal attraction to such birds. Here, hazard ranking (low to extremely high) reflects the percentage of strikes involving a species that resulted in damage to aircraft. We investigated bird use among 22 corn, wheat, and soybean fields near Oak Harbor, OH, using approximately weekly point transects from 2013 to 2014. We used generalized distance sampling models and analysis of variance using distance matrices to determine bird abundance and community responses to row crop land coverages and crop height. We observed 4331 birds of 40 species, with most birds observed in wheat fields (n = 2555 birds) and standing stubble (n = 2409 birds). Large flocks occurred more in corn and wheat fields than soybean fields, but soybean fields harbored greater cumulative hazard scores than corn, likely due to consistent detections of small, non-flocking birds in soybean fields. Crop type and height had greater influence on medium- and high-hazard level bird species than other hazard levels. Density of medium- and high-hazard level birds increased with increasing crop height in soybean and wheat fields with wheat fields having slightly greater densities than soybeans. Corn fields also had the greatest bird densities in the tallest crop height categories. Categories of very and extremely high-hazard level bird species were rarely detected, but their abundance peaked in crops 0–15 cm, similar to low-hazard level bird species. However, model selection results included null models for very and extremely high-hazard level bird species suggesting minimal effects. Overall, our results suggest that all three crop types can harbor birds hazardous to aircraft, and crop height can enhance bird use. Although not directly tested in our study, land management surrounding airports may benefit most from alternative land covers (e.g., biofuel crops), but additional research is necessary.
Effective kinetic energy harvesting via structural instabilities

Vibration energy harvesting has been shown as a promising power source for many small-scale applications mainly because of the considerable reduction in the energy consumption of the electronics, ease of fabrication and implementation of smart materials at small scale, and scalability issues of the conventional batteries. However, conventional energy harvesters are not quite robust to changes in excitation or system parameters, suffer from narrow bandwidth, and are very inefficient at small scale for low frequency harvesting. In addition, they have a low power to volume ratio. To remedy the robustness issues, improve their effectiveness, and increase their power density, we propose to exploit structural instabilities, in particular instabilities in multi-layered composites which are inherently non-resonant. The induced large strains as a result of the structural instability could be exploited to give rise to large strains in an attached piezoelectric layer to generate charge and, hence, energy. The regular high-strain morphological patterns occur throughout the whole composite structure that in turn enable harvesting at a larger volume compared to conventional harvesters; hence, harvesting via structural instabilities can significantly improve the harvested power to volume ratio. In this study, we focus on harvesting from wrinkling type of instabilities.
Does Potassium Deficiency Contribute to Hypertension in Children and Adolescents

The increasing prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in children and adolescents has been largely, but not entirely, related to the childhood obesity epidemic. Among the noted risk factors detectable in children is elevated blood pressure. Emerging findings indicate that in addition to overweight and obesity, sodium intake is associated with elevated blood pressure in youth. Moreover, dietary sodium intake is quite high and well above recommended levels throughout childhood. In adults, the relationship of sodium consumption with hypertension is well established, and there is evidence from both population and clinical studies that potassium intake is also associated with blood pressure. Higher potassium intake is associated with lower blood pressure; and potassium deficit leads to an increase in blood pressure. Findings on relationships of potassium intake with blood pressure in childhood are sparse. There are some reports that provide evidence that a dietary pattern that includes potassium-rich foods is associated with lower blood pressure and may also lower blood pressure in adolescents with elevated blood pressure. Considering the secular changes in dietary patterns throughout childhood, it is prudent to encourage a diet for children that is high in potassium-rich foods.
Opposing Roles of Rapid Dopamine Signaling Across the Rostral-Caudal Axis of the Nucleus Accumbens Shell in Drug-Induced Negative Affect.

Abstract Background Negative reinforcement theories of drug addiction posit that addicts use drugs to alleviate negative mood states. In a preclinical model developed in our laboratory, rats exhibit negative affect to a normally rewarding taste cue when it predicts impending but delayed cocaine. The emergence of this state is accompanied by a reduction in dopamine concentration in the rostral nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell. However, the rostral and caudal regions of the shell have been implicated in promoting opposing appetitive and aversive states, respectively. Here, we tested whether dopamine transmission along the rostral-caudal axis of the shell plays differential roles in the emergence of drug-induced negative affect. Methods In TH::Cre rats, the dopaminergic pathways from the ventral tegmental area to the rostral and caudal regions of the shell were optogenetically stimulated during intraoral delivery of a taste cue signaling delayed cocaine. Affective responses to the taste cue were measured using taste-reactivity, and optical self-stimulation of the rostral and caudal shell was also examined. Results Optical stimulation of the rostral shell during tastant infusion prevented the emergence of negative affect, but activation of the caudal shell exacerbated aversive responses. These effects endured in the absence of optical stimulation, and the degree of negative affect in our model predicted self-stimulation responding. Conclusions These findings reveal unprecedented, pronounced and opposing roles of rapid dopamine signaling across the rostral-caudal axis of the NAc in the control of drug-induced negative affect, a hallmark of continued drug seeking and use in human addicts.
Combination liposomal amphotericin B, posaconazole and oral amphotericin B for treatment of gastrointestinal Mucorales in an immunocompromised patient.

Abstract Mucormycosis is a life threatening infection caused by fungi in the order Mucorales. Mucormycosis can affect any organ system with rhino-orbital-cerebral and pulmonary infections being the most predominant infection types. Gastrointestinal mucormycosis is rare and accounts for only 4–7% of all cases. Here, we present a case of invasive gastrointestinal mucormycosis in an immunocompromised host treated with systemic and topical anti-mold therapy.
The rise of the American conservation movement: power, privilege, and environmental protection

The Rise of the American Conservation Movement: Power, Privilege, and Environmental Protection is the third part of a three-book series on human-environment relations and environmental politics wri...
Biomaterials to Treat Pediatric Medical Conditions

Given the growing global burden of disease, novel treatment strategies are needed to address a multitude of health maladies and conditions. In acknowledging this, we use Nigeria as case study where feasible, functional interventions that utilize bio-based materials can be deployed infield at healthcare facilities to improve healthcare access, delivery, and most importantly, the quality of life for people. As previously mentioned, pneumonia, diarrheal disease, and traumatic injuries are among the top causes of morbidity and mortality for children under the age of 5 in countries such as Nigeria. In this chapter, each condition is discussed in terms of the clinical prognosis, current shortfalls in mechanisms for treatment, and the role-specific biomaterials could play in improving outcomes. The primary agricultural crops considered are soybeans, corn, and kenaf, for the introduction of biomaterials to manage these complex diseases, pathologies, and traumatic injuries.
Fitting More Complex Bayesian Models: Markov Chain Monte Carlo

So far we have been dealing primarily with simple, conjugate Bayesian models for which it was possible to perform exact posterior inference analytically. In more realistic and complex Bayesian models, such analytical calculations generally are not feasible. This chapter introduces the sampling-based methods of fitting Bayesian models that have transformed Bayesian statistics over the last 20 years.
Micromechanical Modeling of High-Strain Thin-Ply Composites

This paper presents a micromechanical analysis for the elastic and viscoelastic behavior of high-strain thin-ply composites. The modeling approach is based on unit cell homogenization. The geometry of the internal weave architecture and ply configuration is characterized via micrographic analysis and explicitly modeled in the unit cell. The composites are modeled as Kirchhoff plates and the homogenization analysis computes the effective relaxation ABD matrix represented by Prony series using the elastic and viscoelastic properties of the constituent fiber and matrix. The formulation of the micromechanical model and numerical implementation d. Composite laminates with 3-ply and 4-ply configurations are studied.
Characterizing A549 Cell Line as an Epithelial Cell Monolayer Model for Pharmacokinetic Applications

Transport of three different molecules across a porous membrane, with and without a confluent A549 cell monolayer, has been investigated in Transwells and microfluidic devices. The A549 cell line was selected since it has extensively been utilized in toxicology studies due to its potential target for drug delivery of macro molecules. The measured molecular transport rate was found to decrease with increasing molecular size due to lower diffusivity. The confluent cell monolayer presents a barrier to molecular, significantly reducing the transport rate of larger molecules with little effect on the paracellular transport of smaller molecules. The results indicate that the microfluidic system is a good model for pharmacokinetic applications.
The Career of John Abernethy (1680–1740) Father of Nonsubscription in Ireland and Defender of Religious Liberty

The British theological world was stirred at the beginning of the eighteenth century by what the learned and staunchly orthodox Presbyterian historian James Seaton Reid has called “latitudinarian notions on the inferiority of dogmatic belief and the nature of religious liberty.” In the 1690s John Locke had published his Reasonableness of Christianity and Letters on Toleration , followed by John Toland's Christianity Not Mysterious. In 1710 “Honest Will” Whitson, Sir Isaac Newton's successor as Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, was expelled from the University for embracing Arian views. His departure was accompanied by rumors—long since substantiated—about his great predecessor's heterodox theology. Traditional theologians were shocked next by the appearance of Dr. Samuel Clark's Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity which resulted in the author's arraignment before Convocation of the Church of England in 1714. The very same year John Simson, Professor of Divinity in the University of Glasgow, was first tried before the General Assembly of the Scottish Presbyterian Church for teaching Arian and Pelagian errors. In 1729, after three more trials, Simson was suspended from his professorship for denying the numerical oneness of the Trinity. Fierce doctrinal contentions also began to occupy English Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Baptists, erupting during the famous Salters’ Hall meeting early in 1719.
Characterization of the Earliest Intermediate of Fe-N2 Protonation: CW and Pulse EPR Detection of an Fe-NNH Species and Its Evolution to Fe-NNH2+

Iron diazenido species (Fe(NNH)) have been proposed as the earliest intermediates of catalytic N2-to-NH3 conversion (N2RR) mediated by synthetic iron complexes and relatedly as intermediates of N2RR by nitrogenase enzymes. However, direct identification of such iron species, either during or independent of catalysis, has proven challenging owing to their high degree of instability. The isolation of more stable silylated diazenido analogues, Fe(NNSiR3), and also of further downstream intermediates (e.g., Fe(NNH2)), nonetheless points to Fe(NNH) as the key first intermediate of protonation in synthetic systems. Herein we show that low-temperature protonation of a terminally bound Fe-N2- species, supported by a bulky trisphosphinoborane ligand (ArP3B), generates an S = 1/2 terminal Fe(NNH) species that can be detected and characterized by continuous-wave (CW) and pulse EPR techniques. The 1H-hyperfine for ArP3BFe(NNH) derived from the presented ENDOR studies is diagnostic for the distally bound H atom ( aiso = 16.5 MHz). The Fe(NNH) species evolves further to cationic [Fe(NNH2)]+ in the presence of additional acid, the latter being related to a previously characterized [Fe(NNH2)]+ intermediate of N2RR mediated by a far less encumbered iron tris(phosphine)borane catalyst. While catalysis is suppressed in the present sterically very crowded system, N2-to-NH3 conversion can nevertheless be demonstrated. These observations in sum add support to the idea that Fe(NNH) plays a central role as the earliest intermediate of Fe-mediated N2RR in a synthetic system.
Titrating Gene Function in the Human Fungal Pathogen Candida albicans through Poly-Adenosine Tract Insertion.

ABSTRACT A recent study demonstrated that the insertion of poly-adenosine (poly-A) tracts into an open reading frame can suppress expression of the encoded protein in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic species. Furthermore, the degree of suppression is proportional to the length of the poly-A insertion, which can therefore provide a reliable and predictable means to titrate a specific protein’s expression. The goal of this study was to determine if this methodology can be applied to modulate the expression of proteins in the prevalent human fungal pathogen, Candida albicans. Insertion of increasing numbers of AAA codons encoding lysine at the N terminus of the C. albicans lanosterol demethylase (Erg11p) progressively diminished expression without significantly reducing the levels of mRNA. This suggests that Erg11p expression was attenuated at the posttranscriptional level. A direct correlation between the number of AAA codons inserted and C. albicans susceptibility to the Erg11p inhibitor fluconazole was also noted, indicating a progressive loss of Erg11p activity. Finally, we constructed a series of C. albicans strains with 3 to 12 AAA codons inserted at the 5′ end of the ARO1 gene, which encodes a pentafunctional enzyme catalyzing five sequential steps of the aromatic amino acid biosynthetic pathway. Increasing numbers of AAA codons progressively reduced the growth rate of C. albicans in standard laboratory medium, indicating a progressive loss of ARO biosynthetic activity. These data unequivocally demonstrate the potential utility of the poly-A insertion method to examine the phenotypic consequences of titrating target protein function in C. albicans. IMPORTANCE Investigating a protein’s functional importance at the whole-organism level usually involves altering its expression level or its specific activity and observing the consequences with respect to physiology or phenotype. Several approaches designed to partially or completely abolish the function of a gene, including its deletion from the genome and the use of systems that facilitate conditional expression, have been widely applied. However, each has significant limitations that are especially problematic in pathogenic microbes when it is desirable to determine if a particular gene is required for infection in an animal model. In this study, we sought to determine if an alternative approach—the insertion of poly-A repeats within the coding sequence of the gene—is sufficient to modulate its function in the prevalent human fungal pathogen C. albicans. Our results confirm that this approach enables us to predictably and gradually titrate the expression level of a protein and thus to investigate the phenotypic consequences of various levels of gene/protein function.
The Mythology of Sanctuary Cities

Sanctuary jurisdictions — be they cities, counties, or states — employ various means of disentangling local law enforcement from federal civil immigration enforcement. Much of the criticism directed at these “sanctuary cities” revolves around a set of myths — such as that these jurisdictions are lawless or dangerous. This Essay identifies nine myths about sanctuary cities and subjects each to a fact-based shakedown.
The Varied College Pathways of Latino Young Adults: A Narrative Study of Empowerment Theory:

School counselors are uniquely positioned to promote college going and improve lagging postsecondary matriculation for Latino men. Hipolito-Delgado and Lee’s empowerment framework guided this narra...
Inorganic Fertiliser Use Among Smallholder Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa: Implications for Input Subsidy Policies

In recent years, use of inorganic fertiliser among smallholder farm households in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has increased, in large part due to the scale-up of input subsidy programmes (ISPs). However, fertiliser use efficiency for maize remains low, so the benefits of ISPs are often less than their costs. In order to make ISPs more cost-effective, sustainable and beneficial to smallholders, governments who implement ISPs should move towards implementing self-targeting mechanisms where more productive farmers opt into participation and relatively less productive farmers opt out. Such mechanisms include (i) increasing the amount of money that beneficiaries are required to contribute to acquire subsidised inputs and (ii) making receipt of subsidised inputs conditional on a household’s willingness to implement soil fertility management practices that can increase the amount of maize produced per kilogram of fertiliser in future. Limited resource farmers who cannot provide complementary inputs to subsidised fertiliser would likely be better served by a cash transfer programme rather than an input subsidy.
Synthesis of a triethylene glycol-capped benzo[1,2-c:4,5-c']bis[2]benzopyran-5,12-dione: A highly soluble dilactone-bridged p-terphenyl with a crankshaft architecture

Abstract 3,10-Bis(triethylene glycol)benzo[1,2-c:4,5-c']bis[2]benzopyran-5,12-dione has been synthesized as an example of a dilactone-bridged p-terphenyl with a C2h crankshaft architecture that exhibits significant fluorescence. Lactone-bridged rotationally restricted p-terphenyl compounds are relatively unexplored, with the few known examples having very poor solubility and are therefore difficult to characterize and study. This superior TEG-solubilized analog has been shown to have much improved solubility, which should improve processability, and has attractive optical properties including efficient absorption in the near UV and significant emission of blue-violet light. Studies enabled by this TEG-solubilized crankshaft shaped molecule establishes that compounds with this architecture could be useful as pH-driven molecular switches with limited switching cycles or as “turn-off” sensors with instant fluorescence and UV absorption attenuation at high pH values.
Mother's exposure to domestic and community violence and its association with child's behavioral outcomes.

This study investigated the potential cumulative effect of maternal exposure to violence both at home and in community on children. This study used the data (N = 2506) from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study. We found that maternal nonphysical victimization, either by witnessing violence in the community or by experiencing psychological domestic violence, had a direct negative effect on children's depression and anxiety. Maternal nonphysical victimization also indirectly elevated child's aggression through mother's use of psychological and physical aggression toward the child. Witnessing community violence by mothers, directly and indirectly, worsened the child's withdrawal behaviors through the mother's psychological aggression toward the child. Mother's direct victimization by community violence and physical domestic violence was not related to child's behavioral outcomes after controlling for other risk factors. This study points to important considerations for devising intervention and prevention for mothers and children. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Urocortin-3 neurons in the mouse perifornical area promote infant-directed neglect and aggression.

While recent studies have uncovered dedicated neural pathways mediating the positive control of parenting, the regulation of infant-directed aggression and how it relates to adult-adult aggression is poorly understood. Here we show that urocortin-3 (Ucn3)-expressing neurons in the hypothalamic perifornical area (PeFAUcn3) are activated during infant-directed attacks in males and females, but not other behaviors. Functional manipulations of PeFAUcn3 neurons demonstrate the role of this population in the negative control of parenting in both sexes. PeFAUcn3 neurons receive input from areas associated with vomeronasal sensing, stress, and parenting, and send projections to hypothalamic and limbic areas. Optogenetic activation of PeFAUcn3 axon terminals in these regions triggers various aspects of infant-directed agonistic responses, such as neglect, repulsion, and aggression. Thus, PeFAUcn3 neurons emerge as a dedicated circuit component controlling infant-directed neglect and aggression, providing a new framework to understand the positive and negative regulation of parenting in health and disease.
SONO case series: peritonsillar abscess.

A 36-year-old otherwise healthy man who presents with two weeks of sore throat and associated hoarse voice, followed by 5 days of odynophagia. He denies fevers or chills. He does not smoke tobacco. No medical or surgical history. No home medications. No allergies. BP: 135/83 mm Hg, heart rate: 61, temperature: 36.8°C, respirations: 16, SpO2: 100%. Young man resting comfortably in bed. Non-toxic appearing. The patient was noted to have a ‘hot potato’ voice. Examination apart from intraoral was benign. Oral examination was notable for bilateral erythematous and swollen peritonsillar regions, left greater than right (figure 1). Figure 1 Intra-oral physical exam findings. None were drawn. 1. What are the indications for performing a point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) of the peritonsillar region? Indications for this examination include evaluating for peritonsillar abscess. A peritonsillar abscess typically progresses from tonsillitis to peritonsillar cellulitis and then grows into an abscess. As with most soft-tissue infections, ultrasound can be used as a medium for diagnosing abscesses.1 2. Which probe is most ideal in the assessment of peritonsillar region? Images are obtained by with the use of the endocavitary transducer. Remember to keep your thumb aligned with the marker dot when using the endocavitary probe and to …
Anaplastic plasma cell myeloma and immunoblastic lymphoma: clinical, pathologic, and immunologic comparison

To test whether highly anaplastic myeloma and immunoblastic lymphoma are truly identical disease processes, simultaneous series were compared in respect to cytomorphologic features, immunoglobulin content or secretion, clinical and laboratory findings, and patient survival. Although the series partially overlapped in each studied feature, different trends served to distinguish them. Of the 14 patients with myeloma, all were dead at two years, whereas six of the 22 patients with lymphoma were disease-free at 35 to 78 months. Only 50 percent of patients with myeloma received intensive chemotherapy, whereas all 19 patients with stage III or IV lymphoma received such therapy. Myelomas secreted predominantly IgA heavy chain rather than IgG and lambda light chain rather than kappa. Lymphomas contained predominantly IgM rather than IgG and kappa rather than lambda. There were no IgM myelomas and no IgA lymphomas. The shorter survival of patients with the extremely anaplastic form of myeloma, as compared with patients who had immunoblastic lymphoma, may relate, in part, to prior therapy for previous lower grade myeloma; however, intrinsic differences in the nature of these two disease processes are reflected in their disparate immunologic characteristics.
Multicultural curriculum and critical family history

Family history research connects very well with multicultural curriculum because it opens up the multiple experiences of members and communities of a society, as well as helping to make visible the historic construction and ongoing legacy of unequal relationships. The author of this article began to play with what she later called “critical family history,” while simultaneously teaching a course on Multicultural Curriculum Design and researching her own family history. However, it wasn’t until years later that she was able to include critical family history within a multicultural education course. In this article, after discussing various ways in which people approach family history research, the author offers three theoretical lenses for critical family history, then two sets of tools to guide research. Then she discusses her experience teaching a multicultural curriculum course for teachers that included critical family history. She concludes by proposing critical family history as a highly useful tool ...
Supervision in Social Work

ABSTRACT This paper reviews the status of the social work labor force engaged in supervision as a primary or secondary function based on 1995 data drawn from the full membership of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Changing patterns are illustrated through comparisons to 1988 and 1991 NASW data. The demographics, areas of practice, auspice of practice, and career development patterns of this sub-set of social workers are explored. Significant trends include the decrease in the proportion of NASW members holding supervisory positions and the dearth of supervisors in the for-profit sector. These labor force trends are then discussed within the context of actual and potential changes in the purposes and practice of social work supervision, particularly in a managed care environment, and the implications of such changes for the profession.
It was a most unusual time: : How memory bias engenders nostalgic preferences

Nostalgic preferences are widespread�people believe past movies, music, television shows, places, and periods of life to have been better than their present counterparts. Three experiments explored the cognitive underpinnings of nostalgic preferences. Participants rated past experiences to have been superior to similar present and recent experiences. These nostalgic preferences appeared to be due to the belief that the atypically positive experiences that participants recalled at the time of judgment were more representative of their past experiences than of their present experiences.
A new indirect adaptive algorithm for feedforward control

This paper considers the deterministic adaptive feed-forward control problem for disturbance rejection. A new indirect adaptive control algorithm is presented as an alternative to the well-known "filtered-X LMS" algorithm when the disturbance is periodic with unknown frequency. This new algorithm requires the solution of a Diophantine equation and a simple scheme to recursively solve this equation is developed. The new algorithm is shown to converge without the use of a dither signal for plant modeling. Simulations demonstrate that the proposed algorithm has improved transient response and convergence speed than the filtered-X algorithm. The applicability of the algorithm to the adaptive active noise cancelling problem is considered.
Metal Complexes in Proteins

The metalloproteins are widely distributed in living systems, and they function in key cellular processes. The metal complexes which characterize these proteins have been studied by a variety of physical methods, and the complete three-dimensional structures of a number of metalloproteins have been determined by single crystal, X-ray analysis. The electron density maps on which the X-ray models are based seldom reach atomic resolution, however, and important structural features of the complexes may not be clear in the maps. The purpose of this account is to indicate the detail that can be visualized at several resolutions, to summarize the structural information on complexes in metalloproteins that have been studied by single crystal, X-ray methods, and to discuss and compare the complexes in several iron proteins.
A comparative perspective of knowledge management via social media: India and China

Purpose – This research paper aims to showcase current knowledge management (KM) practices via social media that is being adopted by organizations in India and China. India and China are considered leading economies in today’s global market. Any understanding of management practices in these countries will help practitioners in doing businesses in these nations. Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual paper analyzes KM practices in India and China using an in-depth analysis of the extant literature to provide a comparative perspective of KM policies in these two economies. This paper has used a wide range of scholarly and non-scholarly databases from ABI Global Inform to Business Source Complete to Google Scholar among others. Findings – This research offers valuable insights into characteristic KM trends followed by Indian and Chinese firms. This paper also highlights different approaches adopted by these two cultures in managing their KM practices. The study also provides hypotheses that can be te...
Thrombolytic treatment for in-hospital ischemic strokes in United States.

BACKGROUND: Despite the recent emphasis on protocols for emergent triage and treatment of in-hospital acute ischemic stroke, there is little data on outcomes of patients receiving thrombolytics for in-hospital ischemic strokes. The objective of this study was to determine the rates of patients with in-hospital ischemic stroke treated with thrombolytics and to compare outcomes with patients treated on admission. METHODS: We analyzed an eight-year data (2002-2010) from the National Inpatient Survey. We identified patients who had in-hospital ischemic strokes (thrombolytic treatment after one day of hospitalization) and those treated on admission day. We compared demographics, clinical characteristics, in hospital complications and procedures, length of stay, hospitalization charges, and discharge disposition between the two groups. RESULT: A total of 25193 (19%) and 109784 (81%) patients received thrombolytics for in-hospital and on admission acute strokes, respectively. In hospital complications including intracerebral hemorrhage, pneumonia, deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and sepsis and in-hospital procedures such as cerebral angiography, endovascular thrombectomy, carotid artery stent placement, carotid endarterectomy, intubation, mechanical ventilation, gastrostomy and transfusion of blood products were significantly higher in the in-hospital stroke group. In a multivariate analysis, those who were treated following in-hospital stroke had higher rates of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio (OR) 1.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0-1.3, p=0.05), and post-thrombolytic ICH (OR 1.2, CI 1.0-1.3, p=0.03). CONCLUSION: One out of every five acute ischemic stroke patients treated with thrombolytics is receiving the treatment for in-hospital stroke. The higher mortality and complicated hospitalization in such patients needs to be recognize
Screening for type 2 diabetes and prediabetes in obese youth: evaluating alternate markers of glycemia – 1,5-anhydroglucitol, fructosamine, and glycated albumin

Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is increasingly performed over the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) as the initial screening test for type 2 diabetes in youth. However, the optimal strategy for identifying type 2 diabetes in youth remains controversial. Alternate glycemic markers have been proposed as potentially useful tools for diabetes screening. We examined the relationships among fructosamine (FA), glycated albumin (GA), and 1,5-anhydroglucitol (1,5-AG) with traditional screening tests, HbA1c and OGTT. Youth 10-18 yrs, BMI ≥85th‰, and HbA1c <7.5% had a single visit with measurement of HbA1c, 1,5-AG, FA, GA, and a standard OGTT. Distributions of FA, GA, and 1,5-AG by HbA1c and 2-hour glucose (2hG) categories were compared. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC)-curves were generated to determine the cut points at which alternate markers maximized sensitivity and specificity for predicting prediabetes and diabetes. One hundred and seventeen, 62% female, 59% Hispanic, 22% White, 17% black, median 14.1 yr, and body mass index (BMI) z-score 2.3 participated. Median values of each alternate marker differed significantly between prediabetes and diabetes HbA1c and 2hG categories (p < 0.017). Only GA medians differed (p = 0.006) between normal and prediabetes HbA1c. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC-AUCs) for alternate markers as predictors of prediabetes (0.5-0.66) were low; however, alternate marker ROC-AUCs for identifying diabetes (0.82-0.98) were excellent. Although the alternate markers were poor predictors of prediabetes, they all performed well predicting diabetes by 2hG and HbA1c. Whereas the usefulness of these markers for identifying prediabetes is limited, they may be useful in certain scenarios as second line screening tools for diabetes in overweight/obese youth.
Signals used to compute errors in monkey vestibuloocular reflex: possible role of flocculus

Adaptive changes were induced in the vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) of monkeys by oscillating them while they viewed the visual scene through optical devices ("spectacles") that required changes in the amplitude of eye movement during head turns. The "gain" of the VOR (eye velocity divided by head velocity) during sinusoidal oscillation in darkness underwent gradual changes that were appropriate to reduce the motion of images on the retina during the adapting procedures. Bilateral ablation of the flocculus and ventral paraflocculus caused a complete and enduring loss of the ability to undergo adaptive changes in the VOR. Partial lesions caused a substantial but incomplete loss of the adaptive capability. We conclude that the flocculus is necessary for adaptive changes in the monkey's VOR. Further experiments in normal animals determined the types of stimuli that were necessary and/or sufficient to cause changes in VOR gain. Full-field visual stimulation was not necessary to induce adaptive changes in the VOR. Monkeys tracked a small spot in conditions that elicited the same combination of eye and head movements seen during passive oscillation with spectacles. The gain of the VOR showed changes 50-70% as large as those produced by the same duration of oscillation with spectacles. Since the effective tracking conditions cause a consistent correlation of floccular output with vestibular inputs, these data are compatible with our previous suggestion that the flocculus may provide signals used by the central nervous system to compute errors in the gain of the VOR. Prolonged sinusoidal optokinetic stimulation with the head stationary caused only a slight increase in VOR gain. Left-right reversal of vision and eye movement during sinusoidal vestibular oscillation caused decreases in VOR gain. In rabbits, both of these stimulus conditions produced large increases in the gain of the VOR, which implied that eye velocity signals were used instead of vestibular inputs to compute errors in the VOR. Our different results argue that vestibular signals are necessary for computing errors in VOR gain in the monkey. The species difference may reflect the additional role that smooth pursuit eye movements play in stabilizing gaze during head turns in monkeys.
Stability study of a voltage-mode buck regulator using system poles approach

This paper presents a stability study of a voltage-mode buck regulator using system poles approach. Under different input and output conditions the different operating points are first found individually. Sensitivity matrices of these operating points are studied in order to estimate whether the points are stable or not. When system poles (i.e., eigenvalues of the sensitivity matrix) go into an unstable region, oscillating or bifurcation would occur. Hence, the system behavior of the voltage-mode buck regulator under a variation of input and output conditions is demonstrated. This paper also investigates the stability caused by the feedback capacitor of the buck regulator through this system poles approach. Making use of the system poles movement, stable operation can be extended and explained systematically.
Future Trends in Wildlife Conservation and Management Programs

Much of what we have to say in this chapter about future trends in wildlife conservation and management will be influenced by whether you are a technological or economic optimist or pessimist. If you are an optimist, we urge you to review thoroughly your entire framework for your optimism, particularly the laws of thermodynamics and our current economic system based upon unlimited growth. Energy is fundamental to human civilization and some forms cannot be easily substituted for others. Our modern industrial civilization is structured around nonrenewable fossil fuels. Being nonrenewable, each fossil fuel, whether coal, oil, or gas, has a certain life span that is dependent on the initial amount and rate of extraction. Extraction and depletion of these resources have certain characteristics. Oil, for instance, is characterized by an increase in rate of extraction, a peaking, and then a decrease, similar in shape to a bell curve. By some accounts, Peak Oil is already upon us. The peaking of world oil means that there will never again be as much oil extracted in subsequent years to meet current and future demands for it. The debate is not if it will happen, but when, and how we will deal with it. We always knew that this event would happen, as oil is a nonrenewable resource along with other fossil hydrocarbons, such as coal and natural gas, each having their own finite limits. We have built an entire global civilization on these nonrenewable resources at great cost to the environment and the biota inhabiting it. How will our fossil fuel dependency be dealt with as these fuels become scarce and more costly, both from a monetary and environmental aspect? Will we make a technological transition and substitute alternative energy sources at the requisite scale? Will we come up with a new source of cheap liquid fuel that is environmentally benign and that will allow us to continue this global civilization, or will we have to “powerdown” in ways presently unanticipated by most people? What will these events mean to contemporary wildlife conservation and management?
The Oak Ridge Polycystic Kidney (orpk) disease gene is required for left-right axis determination

Analysis of several mutations in the mouse is providing useful insights into the nature of the genes required for the establishment of the left-right axis during early development. Here we describe a new targeted allele of the mouse Tg737 gene, Tg737(Delta)2-3(beta)Gal), which causes defects in left-right asymmetry and other abnormalities during embryogenesis. The Tg737 gene was originally identified based on its association with the mouse Oak Ridge Polycystic Kidney (orpk) insertional mutation, which causes polycystic kidney disease and other defects. Complementation tests between the original orpk mutation and the new targeted knock-out mutation demonstrate that Tg737(Delta)2-3(beta)Gal) behaves as an allele of Tg737. The differences in the phenotype between the two mutations suggest that the orpk mutation is a hypomorphic allele of the Tg737 gene. Unlike the orpk allele, where all homozygotes survive to birth, embryos homozygous for the Tg737(Delta)2-3(beta)Gal) mutation arrest in development at mid-gestation and exhibit neural tube defects, enlargement of the pericardial sac and, most notably, left-right asymmetry defects. At mid-gestation the direction of heart looping is randomized, and at earlier stages in development lefty-2 and nodal, which are normally expressed asymmetrically, exhibit symmetrical expression in the mutant embryos. Additionally, we determined that the ventral node cells in mutant embryos fail to express the central cilium, which is a characteristic and potentially functional feature of these cells. The expression of both Shh and Hnf3(beta) is downregulated in the midline at E8.0, indicating that there are significant alterations in midline development in the Tg737(Delta)2-3(beta)Gal) homozygous embryos. We propose that the failure of ventral node cells to fully mature alters their ability to undergo differentiation as they migrate out of the node to contribute to the developing midline structures. Analysis of this new knockout allele allows us to define a critical role for the Tg737 gene during early embryogenesis. We have named the product of the Tg737 gene Polaris, which is based on the various polarity related defects associated with the different alleles of the Tg737 gene.
Some properties of the labeled material excreted by intact and adenohypophysectomized ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) given single doses of labeled corticosterone.

The chromatographic, physiologic, and enzymic characteristics of labeled material isolated from cloacal fluid of ducks given a single iv dose of labeled corticosterone suggest that several metabolites of labeled corticosterone are excreted. More than 85% of the labeled material in cloacal fluid was excreted via the kidneys. Approximately one-tenth of the labeled material was soluble in methylene chloride, and chromatographic separation of this extract in a cyclohexane:dioxane:methanol:water (100:75:50:25) system showed three peaks of radioactivity. The least abundant fraction had a mobility (Rf = 0.6) similar to authentic corticosterone and tetrahydrocorticosterone, the most abundant fraction was found in the slowest moving (Rf = 0.14 – 0.29) peak, and the remainder was associated with a peak of intermediate polarity (Rf = 0.38 – 0.46). The n-butanol extract of the aqueous phase contained more than 90% of the total radioactivity collected. Alumina column and paper chromatography of this extract revealed seven peaks of labeled material. Enzymic hydrolysis of these labeled compounds suggested the presence of conjugated labeled corticosterone and conjugated and unconjugated derivatives of labeled corticosterone. The labeled material present in each chromatographic peak was stable when added to urine and separated once more chromatographically. Also, with the exception of the labeled material in one peak, each was stable when recirculated intravenously in intact birds and isolated from the cloacal fluid for a second time. The recirculated labeled material from each chromatographic peak showed a pattern of disappearance from plasma and a distribution in compartmental volumes that permitted it to be distinguished from its chromatographic neighbors. The relative abundances of the chromatographically distinct labeled substances in n-butanol extracts of cloacal fluid from intact birds maintained under normal laboratory conditions and conditions of acute cold-stress and starvation were the same. A significant shift in the relative abundances of these labeled materials was found in cloacal fluid from chronically adenohypophysectomized birds, and the relative abundances were restored to normal after treatment with corticosterone.
Inhibitory effects of 2,3-DPG on enzymes of purine nucleotide metabolism.

The effect of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) upon three partially purified enzymes from human erythrocytes, 5-phosphoribosyl-l-pyrophosphate synthetase (PRibPP synthetase, E.C.2.7.6.1), IMP:pyrophosphate phosphoribosyltransferase (E.C.2.4.2.8 HPRibTase) and AMP:pyrophosphate phosphoribosyltransferase (E.C.2.4.2.7 APRibTase) has been studied kinetically. PRibPP synthetase was not greatly inhibited at physiologic concentrations of 2,3-DPG at optimal phosphate concentration, but it was inhibited appreciably by 2,3-DPG at physiologic phosphate levels. Both HPRibTase and APRibTase were inhibited by 2,3-DPG at its normal intracellular concentration. 2,3-DPG is a competitive inhibitor with respect to the substrates, ribose-5-phosphate and 5-phosphoribosyl-l-pyrophosphate. The Ki values for these inhibitions are given and the possible physiologic significance of these findings are discussed.
Monte Carlo Modeling of Amorphous Polymer Deformation: Evolution of Stress with Strain

A three-dimensional polybead model of the structure and large strain deformation of amorphous polymeric networks is constructed and evolved via Monte Carlo techniques. The model has successfully simulated various deformation conditions and been found to qualitatively capture the proper state of deformation, rate of deformation, and temperature dependence of real amorphous polymeric materials. Partitioning of the stress calculations indicates that strain softening following yield is a result of the evolution of intermolecular contributions to the response whereas the strain hardening phenomenon is a result of evolution in the intramolecular contributions. These calculations provide a fundamental basis for development of continuum-level plasticity models and, indeed, support assumptions currently used in successful constitutive models of the elastic-viscoplastic behavior of polymers.