cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
suPAR and Team Nephrology

Primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) accounts for nearly 10 % of patients who require renal replacement therapy. Elevated circulating levels of soluble urokinase receptor (suPAR) have been identified as a biomarker to discriminate primary FSGS from other glomerulopathies. Subsequent reports have questioned the diagnostic utility of this test. In a study in BMC Medicine, Huang et al. demonstrate that urinary soluble urokinase receptor (suPAR) excretion assists in distinguishing primary FSGS from other glomerular diseases, and that high plasma suPAR concentrations are not directly linked to a decline in glomerular filtration rate (GFR). This observation suggests that further investigation of suPAR is warranted in patients with FSGS. It should be interpreted in light of a recent report that B7-1 is expressed in the podocytes of a subset of patients with FSGS, and that blocking this molecule may represent the first successful targeted intervention for this disease. These advances highlight the rapid pace of scientific progress in the field of nephrology. Nephrologists should work together, share resources, and expedite the design of protocols to evaluate these novel biomarkers in a comprehensive and scientifically valid manner.
Vibration suppression of a satellite using an adaptive composite thruster platform

Adaptive or intelligent structures which have the capability for sensing and responding to their environment promise a novel approach to satisfying the stringent performance requirements of future space missions. This research focuses on a finite element analysis active vibration suppression of an intelligent composite platform that is designed for thrust vector control of a satellite thruster and has simultaneous precision positioning and vibration suppression capabilities. This smart platform connects the thruster to the structure of the satellite and has three active struts and one active central support with one piezoelectric stack in each. A finite element harmonic analysis was employed to develop a vibration suppression scheme, which was then used to study the vibration control of the satellite structure using the vibration suppression capabilities of the intelligent platform mounted on the satellite. The applicability of the model is first demonstrated on a single strut using a one-dimensional approach. This approach is then extended to the full intelligent composite platform employing a three-dimensional approach. In this approach, the responses of the structure to a unit external force as well as unit internal piezoelectric control voltages are first determined, individually. The responses are then assembled in a system of equation as a coupled system and then solved simultaneously to determine the control voltages and their respective phases for the system actuators for a given external disturbance. This approach is an effective technique for the design of smart structures with complex geometry to study their active vibration suppression capabilities and effectiveness.
Anorexia as a general effect of cancer.

Anorexia is a frequent problem in cancer patients and is a major determinant of cancer cachexia. Anorexia can be analyzed in the context of normal food intake control mechanisms and changes in these mechanisms observed in cancer patients. Two major determinants of normal food intake control are: 1) chemo-receptors located within the ingestive apparatus which serve a gating and motivational or excitatory role and 2) the affects of accumulation of ingested substances in the intestinal tract which tend to counteract the excitatory effects of gustatory stimulation and thus result in an inhibition of food intake. Stimuli from the chemoreceptor system and the intestinal volume receptor system are integrated within the central nervous system. Studies in cancer patients have delineated changes in taste and smell sensation which blunt the normal excitatory stimuli from food intake. Patient symptoms and observations in an animal model suggest alterations within the gastrointestinal tract which may also negatively influence food intake in the cancer patient. Food intake is also influenced by glucosensitive receptors and amino-acid-sensitive receptors, and alterations in glucose metabolism and in profiles of amino acids may negatively influence food intake in the cancer patient. Since all of these cues are integrated within the central nervous system, it is likely that different aberrations may be determinants of anorexia in different patients and that patients with the most severe degrees of anorexia may be suffering from aberrations of multiple cues for food intake. Selection of food which has a flavor and odor which may appeal to the patient with altered chemoreceptors, and selection of food requiring minimum mechanical and digestive activity within the intestinal tract may be of value in ameliorating anorexia.
Performance optimization for the k-nearest neighbors kernel on x86 architectures

Nearest neighbor search is a cornerstone problem in computational geometry, non-parametric statistics, and machine learning. For N points, exhaustive search requires quadratic work, but many fast algorithms reduce the complexity for exact and approximate searches. The common kernel (kNN kernel) in all these algorithms solves many small-size problems exactly using exhaustive search. We propose an efficient implementation and performance analysis for the kNN kernel on x86 architectures. By fusing the distance calculation with the neighbor selection, we are able to utilize memory throughput. We present an analysis of the algorithm and explain parameter selection. We perform an experimental study varying the size of the problem, the dimension of the dataset, and the number of nearest neighbors. Overall we observe significant speedups. For example, when searching for 16 neighbors in a point dataset with 1.6 million points in 64 dimensions, our kernel is over 4 times faster than existing methods.
The relationship between parents' personality and their ratings of their preschool children's behaviors

Abstract Parents of 46 preschool children independently rated their children's behaviors on the Burks' Behavior Rating Scales and responded to the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Parents with higher N scores reported more problem behaviors in their children. Also, parents with higher L scores reported fewer problem behaviors. Fathers with high P scores reported more child problem behaviors, while mothers' P was unrelated to problem behaviors. Parents' E was unrelated to child problem behaviors. It was concluded that behavior ratings must be considered a product of the behavior of the person being rated and the personality of the person doing the rating.
Delayed platysma myocutaneous turnover flap for repair of pharyngocutaneous fistula.

Abstract Introduction Pharyngocutaneous fistula (PCF) is a common and serious complication after total laryngectomy. Numerous surgical and non-surgical treatment approaches have been described. Here we describe a platysma myocutaneous turnover flap for repair of PCF. Materials and methods Platysma myocutaneous turnover flap is described and two patients are used as examples. Results Repair was initially successful in both patients; however, one patient had recurrence of fistula after her cancer recurred at the stoma. Discussion Numerous surgical techniques have been described for repair of PCF. Here a turnover flap was used, a technique not previously described for this problem. The delay technique enhances the viability of the flap thought to be through numerous mechanisms. Conclusion The platysma myocutaneous turnover flap is useful for closure of pharyngocutaneous fistula when non-operative measures have failed.
Nicotine activates NPY and catecholaminergic neurons in brainstem regions involved in ACTH secretion

Nicotine rapidly and potently stimulates ACTH secretion via a centrally mediated mechanism. The purpose of the current study was to identify the phenotype of nicotine-sensitive neurons in brainstem catecholaminergic regions previously shown to be responsive to nicotine. Immunocytochemical double-labeling was used to detect c-Fos expression in neurons positive for activin, galanin, or neuropeptide Y (NPY), in comparison to those containing tyrosine hydroxylase (TH, catecholaminergic biosynthetic enzyme). These neuropeptides were chosen because (1) each is located in nicotine-sensitive brainstem regions, (2) neurons containing each of these peptides project to the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus, and (3) each has been shown to affect ACTH secretion. Freely moving, adult, male rats received an intravenous (i.v.) infusion of saline or nicotine (0.045 mg/kg over 30 s or 0.135 mg/kg over 90 s) and were cardiac perfused 60 min thereafter. Nicotine significantly increased c-Fos expression in a dose-dependent manner in the brainstem regions examined. In nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS)-A2 and NTS-C2, both NPY+ and TH+ neurons responded to the lower dose of nicotine, whereas the activin and galanin neurons in these regions were unresponsive to either dose of nicotine. In contrast, the higher dose of nicotine was required to activate NPY+ neurons in the A1 region and both NPY+ and galanin+ neurons in the locus coeruleus; the C1 region was unresponsive to nicotine. Since plasma ACTH is elevated by the low dose of nicotine and only NTS neurons are activated by this dose, NPY projections from the NTS are likely to contribute to nicotine-stimulated ACTH secretion, in addition to the previously described catecholaminergic neurons.
Successful pregnancy in a bone marrow transplant recipient following oocyte donation

We describe the successful establishment of pregnancy in a woman status post-bone marrow transplantation using assisted reproduction. Oocyte donation offers women with gonadal failure secondary to cytotoxic agents a reasonable chance at childbearing.
Ab Initio characterization of several states of nitroxylium (NO 3 + .: Comparison of fragmentation energies of nitroxylium, nitroxyl (NO 3 , and nitrate

Ab initio calculations have been performed at the self-consistent field (HF') level, and its perturbative extensions up to fourth-order (MPn), for several electronic states of nitroxylium (NO;) as well as for a large number of reference species. Geometries are optimized at the HFiDZ and HF/DZP levels (double zeta and double zeta plus polarization bases). The ground state is found to be the D, 'A; state, with the C,,, 'A, (closed Y) state higher by 0.94 eV. The relationship between adding electrons or oxygen atoms to NO+ and NO; is explored, especially in relation to fragmentation energies of NOgq (q = 0 or 1). A comparison is drawn between NO; and two isoelectronic species, CO, and C(CH,),, where no surprises are found.
Interferon regulatory factor 8 mediates tumor-induced inhibition of antigen processing and presentation by dendritic cells

Introduction Suppression of dendritic cells (DCs) is a crucial mechanism by which tumor cells escape immune recognition and elimination. We have recently reported that MHC class I antigen processing machinery (APM) component expression in human DCs is down-regulated by tumor-derived gangliosides. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this abnormality were not identified. Thus, the aim of this work was to analyze the role of interferon regulatory factor 8 (IRF-8) in APM protein expression and the antigen presenting capacity of DCs developed in the tumor microenvironment.
α‐4/β‐1 and α‐L/β‐2 integrins mediate cytokine induced lung leukocyte‐epithelial adhesion and injury

Background and purpose: Injury to the alveolar epithelium is a critical feature of acute lung injury (ALI). Using a cytokine model of ALI we demonstrated previously that newly recruited mononuclear phagocytes (MNP) contributed to lung inflammation and injury. We hypothesized that cytokines delivered into the alveolar airspace would have multiple effects on the lung that may contribute to lung injury. Experimental approach: Intratracheal cytokine insufflation and leukocyte adoptive transfer in vivo were combined with in vitro analyses of lung epithelial cell-MNP adhesion and injury. Lung inflammatory injury was assessed by histology, leukocyte infiltration, and release of LDH and RAGE. Key results: Cytokine insufflation was associated with apparent MNP-epithelial adhesion, up-regulation of alveolar ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, and the release of LDH and RAGE into the bronchoalveolar lavage. Insufflation of small molecule integrin antagonists suppressed adhesion of MNP and modulated release of LDH and RAGE. Adoptive transfer of MNP purified from cytokine insufflated lungs into leukopenic rats demonstrated the requirement of MNP for release of LDH that was not induced by cytokine alone. Corroboration that disrupting the ICAM/LFA1 interaction or the VCAM/VLA4 interaction blocked MNPepithelial cell interaction and injury was obtained in vitro using both blocking monoclonal antibodies and the small molecule integrin antagonists, BIO5192 and XVA143. Conclusions and implications: MNP recruited following cytokine insufflation contributed to lung injury. Further, integrin antagonists reduced alveolar epithelial cell injury induced during lung inflammation. Intratracheal delivery of small molecule
Narrative enrichment in the psychotherapy for persons with schizophrenia: a single case study.

Recovery from schizophrenia may involve persons developing a renewed sense of their illness, identity, agency, and worth within their life stories. To explore the requirements and challenges of psychotherapy that could facilitate this, we present a case study of a person with schizophrenia enrolled in treatment for over 19 months. Observed challenges to this process include the therapist's inclinations to “fix” the client, the client's own deficits and symptoms, and discomfort within the therapeutic relationship. Techniques to address these difficulties are presented, along with an objective means of assessing the treatment outcomes in terms of changes in narrative processes.
Screening for bone metastases. Are only scans necessary

The results of total skeletal scintigraphy with technetium 99m-labeled diphosphonate in 200 patients with biopsy-proven primary cancer demonstrated abnormalities in 114; 57 had normal roentgenograms. In 32 of the 57 patients, the abnormalities were ascribed to malignant lesions. This is a false-negative rate of 17% for the roentgenographic examinations. Only three patients had abnormal roentgenograms but normal scans, a yield of 1.6% false-negative scans. In a comparison of scan and roentgenographic findings with the skeleton divided into 12 regions, 119 of 160 abnormalities seen on scans but not on roentgenograms were attributed to tumor. Only five of 17 regions that were abnormal on roentgenogram but not on scans were unexplained false-negative findings. Thus, on a regional basis, the yields of false-negative roentgenograms and scans were 9.1% and 0.4%, respectively. ( JAMA 231:46-50, 1975)
The Comorbidity of Major Depression and Anxiety Disorders: Recognition and Management in Primary Care

BACKGROUND: Depressive and anxiety disorders commonly occur together in patients presenting in the primary care setting. Although recognition of individual depressive and anxiety disorders has increased substantially in the past decade, recognition of comorbidity still lags. The current report reviews the epidemiology, clinical implications, and management of comorbidity in the primary care setting. METHOD: Literature was reviewed by 2 methods: (1) a MEDLINE search (1980-2001) using the key words depression, depressivedisorders, and anxietydisorders; comorbidity was also searched with individual anxiety diagnoses; and (2) direct search of psychiatry, primary care, and internal medicine journals over the past 5 years. RESULTS: Between 10% and 20% of adults in any given 12-month period will visit their primary care physician during an anxiety or depressive disorder episode (although typically for a nonpsychiatric complaint); more than 50% of these patients suffer from a comorbid second depressive or anxiety disorder. The presence of depressive/anxiety comorbidity substantially increases medical utilization and is associated with greater chronicity, slower recovery, increased rates of recurrence, and greater psychosocial disability. Typically, long-term treatment is indicated, although far less research is available to guide treatment decisions. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants are the preferred treatment based on efficacy, safety, and tolerability criteria. Knowledge of their differential clinical and pharmacokinetic profiles can assist in optimizing treatment. CONCLUSION: Increased recognition of the high prevalence and negative psychosocial impact of depression and anxiety disorder comorbidity will lead to more effective treatment. While it is hoped that early and effective intervention will yield long-term benefits, research is needed to confirm this.
Critical self-evaluation for excellence

The author discusses the use of critical self-evaluation of performance as a stimulus for excellence. Self-evaluation inherently provides acceptance and ownership of a problem, thereby motivating change. Some of the key elements of self-evaluation are discussed, such as unbiased observations and appropriate performance standards. As circumstances change, an ongoing self-appraisal approach provides continuing feedback to maintain and further excellence. Two examples of critical self-evaluation in use at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) are discussed-an individual application called Walking Your Spaces, in which the manager or supervisor actually goes to the area where his overseen work is going on, to observe and communicate with employees and a group application, the Nuclear Manager's Review Group. >
Online change detection: Monitoring land cover from remotely sensed data

We present a fast and statistically principled approach for land cover change detection. The approach is illustrated with a geographic application that involves analyzing remotely sensed data to detect changes in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in near real time. We use the Wal-Mart land cover change data set as a nontraditional way to monitor and validate known cases of NDVI change. A reference distribution has been justified to fit the available data. An adaptive metric based on the exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) of normal scores derived from p-values is tracked for new or streaming data, leading to alarms for large or sustained changes. A heuristic algorithm based on the property of the metric is proposed for change point detection. The proposed framework performed well on the validation dataset.
Voice and Fluency Changes as a Function of Speech Task and Deep Brain Stimulation

Purpose Speaking, which naturally occurs in different modes or “tasks” such as conversation and repetition, relies on intact basal ganglia nuclei. Recent studies suggest that voice and fluency para...
Stability analysis for drugs with multiple active ingredients

For every drug product on the market, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that an expiration dating period (shelf-life) must be indicated on the immediate container label. For determination of the expiration dating period of a drug product, regulatory requirements and statistical methodology are provided in the FDA and ICH Guidelines. However, this guideline is developed for drug products with a single active ingredient. There are many drug products consisting of multiple active ingredients, especially for most traditional Chinese medicine. In this article, we propose a statistical method for determining the shelf-life of a drug product with multiple active ingredients following similar idea as suggested by the FDA and assuming that these active ingredients are linear combinations of some factors. Stability data observed from a traditional Chinese medicine were analysed to illustrate the proposed method.
Investigation of Normal and Acne Skin Surface Lipids

Human skin surface lipid samples from both acne patients and normal individuals were examined with respect to both total acidity and the detailed composition of the free acid fraction. On the basis of this study, there is no apparent relationship between the total acidity of the surface lipid and the severity of the acne condition, nor is there a gross difference in the composition of the free acid fraction between the normal and the acne condition. Corynebacterium acnes has been cultured in a medium containing certain glycerides normally found in sebum and its esterase activity established.
Handedness differences in information framing.

Previous research has shown that strength of handedness predicts differences in sensory illusions, Stroop interference, episodic memory, and beliefs about body image. Recent evidence also suggests handedness differences in the susceptibility to common decision biases such as anchoring and sunk cost. The present paper extends this line of work to attribute framing effects. Sixty-three undergraduates were asked to advise a friend concerning the use of a safe allergy medication during pregnancy. A third of the participants received negatively-framed information concerning the fetal risk of the drug (1–3% chance of having a malformed child); another third received positively-framed information (97–99% chance of having a normal child); and the final third received no counseling information and served as the control. Results indicated that, as predicted, inconsistent (mixed)-handers were more responsive than consistent (strong)-handers to information changes and readily update their beliefs. Although not significant, the data also suggested that only inconsistent handers were affected by information framing. Theoretical implications as well as ongoing work in holistic versus analytic processing, contextual sensitivity, and brain asymmetry will be discussed.
Metabolic and Anatomical Specialization Within the Retina

The retina comprises the photosensitive and neural integrative portion of the eye. It develops embryologically as an ectopic portion of the primitive fore-brain, and it never loses its similarity to the central nervous system. The inner layers of the mature retina show a lamanellar organization comparable to that of the gray matter in the cortex. The optic nerve shows the compartmentation by pia and the absence of sheaths of Schwann that characterize white matter in brain(1); thus, the optic nerve has the characteristics of a central nervous system fiber tract.
Autonomous routing algorithms for networks with wide-spread failures

We study end-to-end delay performance of different routing algorithms in networks with random failures. Specifically, we compare delay performances of Differential Backlog (DB) and Shortest Path (SP) routing algorithms and show that DB routing outperforms SP routing in terms of throughput when the network is heavily loaded and/or the failure rate is high while SP routing achieves better delay performance in the low load regime. Then, we investigate delay performance of a hybrid routing algorithm that combines principles of both SP and DB routing algorithms and show that it outperforms both of these routing algorithms. Finally, we demonstrate improvements in delay performance of DB routing through the use of a digital fountain approach which was originally proposed for multicast applications. In addition, our results show that there exists an optimal coding rate where digital fountain based DB routing achieves minimum end-to-end delay. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work which investigates delay performance of DB routing and its enhanced versions for networks with link failures.
A History of the English‐Speaking Peoples Since 1900 – By Andrew Roberts

An unabashed celebration of the Anglo‐American “special relationship” with lip service to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the Anglophone Caribbean, this doorstop volume by Sunday Telegraph writ...
Growth kinetics of Eschericia coli containing temperature‐sensitive plasmid pOU140

The growth dynamics of Escherichia coli with the temperature-sensitive plasmid, pOU140, were examined. Recombinant cells exhibited nearly identical kinetic behavior to host cells at low culture temperatures and low copy numbers. However, at higher temperatures, in which the copy number was significantly increased, the recombinant cells showed decreased stability along with lower growth rates and substrate yields as compared to the host. Furthermore, the production of a constitutive cloned-gene protein was shown to increase with temperature in an Arrhenius fashion when culture temperature was varied between 38 and 42 degrees C. These results suggest that temperature can be used to quantitatively control the production of a desirable plasmid-coded gene product.
Current and future directions in early breast cancer therapy

Abstract A growing proportion of women diagnosed with breast cancer present with earlier disease stages, and many will relapse and die from their disease. While survival rates are improving with the development of new systemic therapies, there is an urgency to improve treatment outcomes further in early breast cancer. Gene expression profiling is fundamentally changing our understanding of breast cancer biology at the molecular level. It is providing a refined classification of breast cancer and has reinforced the notion that breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease. This knowledge has great potential for a better selection of patients in need of adjuvant therapy, as well as for tailored treatment approaches. The use of new compounds, such as trastuzumab (Herceptin ®)and capecitabine, used in combination with established agents, also represent important advances. The development of both new technologies and novel agents will optimise systemic therapy for early stage breast cancer in the future.
Antiepileptic and Antiepileptogenic Performance of Carisbamate after Head Injury in The Rat: Blind and Randomized Studies

Carisbamate (CRS) exhibits broad acute anticonvulsant activity in conventional anticonvulsant screens, genetic models of absence epilepsy and audiogenic seizures, and chronic spontaneous motor seizures arising after chemoconvulsant-induced status epilepticus. In add-on phase III trials with pharmacoresistant patients CRS induced <30% average decreases in partial-onset seizure frequency. We assessed the antiepileptogenic and antiepileptic performance of subchronic CRS administration on posttraumatic epilepsy (PTE) induced by rostral parasaggital fluid percussion injury (rpFPI), which closely replicates human contusive closed head injury. Studies were blind and randomized, and treatment effects were assessed on the basis of sensitive electrocorticography (ECoG) recordings. Antiepileptogenic effects were assessed in independent groups of control and CRS-treated rats, at 1 and 3 months postinjury, after completion of a 2-week prophylactic treatment initiated 15 min after injury. The antiepileptic effects of 1-week CRS treatments were assessed in repeated measures experiments at 1 and 4 months postinjury. The studies were powered to detect ∼50 and ∼40% decreases in epilepsy incidence and frequency of seizures, respectively. Drug/vehicle treatment, ECoG analysis, and [CRS]plasma determination all were performed blind. We detected no antiepileptogenic and an equivocal transient antiepileptic effects of CRS despite [CRS]plasma comparable with or higher than levels attained in previous preclinical and clinical studies. These findings contrast with previous preclinical data demonstrating large efficacy of CRS, but agree with the average effect of CRS seen in clinical trials. The data support the use of rpFPI-induced PTE in the adolescent rat as a model of pharmacoresistant epilepsy for preclinical development.
Comparing strategies for operator eye protection in the interventional radiology suite.

Purpose To evaluate the impact of common radiation-shielding strategies, used alone and in combination, on scattered dose to the fluoroscopy operator's eye. Materials and Methods With an operator phantom positioned at the groin, upper abdomen, and neck, posteroanterior low-dose fluoroscopy was performed at the phantom patient's upper abdomen. Operator lens radiation dose rate was recorded with a solid-state dosimeter with and without a leaded table skirt, nonleaded and leaded (0.75 mm lead equivalent) eyeglasses, disposable tungsten-antimony drapes (0.25 mm lead equivalent), and suspended and rolling (0.5 mm lead equivalent) transparent leaded shields. Lens dose measurements were also obtained in right and left 15° anterior obliquities with the operator at the upper abdomen and during digital subtraction angiography (two images per second) with the operator at the patient's groin. Each strategy's shielding efficacy was expressed as a reduction factor of the lens dose rate compared with the unshielded condition. Results Use of leaded glasses alone reduced the lens dose rate by a factor of five to 10; scatter-shielding drapes alone reduced the dose rate by a factor of five to 25. Use of both implements together was always more protective than either used alone, reducing dose rate by a factor of 25 or more. Lens dose was routinely undetectable when a suspended shield was the only barrier during low-dose fluoroscopy. Conclusions Use of scatter-shielding drapes or leaded glasses decreases operator lens dose by a factor of five to 25, but the use of both barriers together (or use of leaded shields) provides maximal protection to the interventional radiologist's eye.
Variation in Medicare Payments for Colorectal Cancer Surgery

Medicare spending in the first year after colorectal cancer surgery varies across hospitals even after case-mix adjustment and price standardization.
Epidemiology and costs of depression: A hidden burden

This paper reviews the most recent epidemiological, clinical services and economic literature on depression. The epidemiological section discusses the intriguing question if there has been a change in the frequency of depression during the last decade and concludes that there is not enough empirical evidence to support the presence of an epidemic in depression. The clinical services section addresses the issue of the unmet need for treatment and finds that to date, no criteria have been developed to decide who should be treated if not everybody can be treated due to scarce resources. The economic section describes the various approaches used to estimate the economic burden of depression on society. The paper points out that the discrepancy between diagnostic and treated prevalence implies that many untreated cases are hidden for various reasons and this results in unnecessary, hidden economic loss.
Religious Education and the Communal Shaping of a Christian Social Consciousness: The Testimony of César Chávez.

Abstract At the heart of the Christian experience lies the conviction that justice and freedom are essential to build communities where God's love is authentically experienced by all. Such conviction emerges as part of an intentional process of faith formation that begins at home and must be constantly nurtured throughout the life cycle. This article argues that the shaping of a Christian social consciousness is an exercise that involves the work of many: family, mentors, religious educators, community of believers, and the larger society. The article is structured around the life and words of Catholic labor organizer Cesar Chavez. It highlights how he was introduced to key elements of Christianity that shaped his work and examines the effects of his Gospel-inspired actions to achieve conditions of justice and freedom for many during his lifetime.
Poverty and Affluence across the First Two Generations of Voluntary Migration from Africa to the United States, 1990–2012

The first substantial waves of voluntary migration from Africa arrived in the United States in the last quarter of the twentieth century. The largest number of them hailed from Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and South Africa. Highly select in their educational aspirations and achievements, many of them settled and started families. By 2010, their U.S.-born children had begun to reach adulthood, offering us a first look at intergenerational mobility among voluntary migrants from Africa. The racial diversity in this group of immigrants allows us to gauge the impact of racial stratification on immigrant adaptation. 1990 U.S. census and 2008–2012 American Community Survey data are used to uncover patterns of affluence and poverty among young Egyptian, Ethiopian, Nigerian, and South African immigrants in 1990 and U.S.-born men and women of those ancestries in 2008–2012. White and Black cohorts of U.S. birth and stock serve as additional referents. I find that women of the African second generation have advanced fas...
Identification of Clathrate Hydrates, Hexagonal Ice, Cubic Ice, and Liquid Water in Simulations: the CHILL+ Algorithm

Clathrate hydrates and ice I are the most abundant crystals of water. The study of their nucleation, growth, and decomposition using molecular simulations requires an accurate and efficient algorithm that distinguishes water molecules that belong to each of these crystals and the liquid phase. Existing algorithms identify ice or clathrates, but not both. This poses a challenge for cases in which ice and hydrate coexist, such as in the synthesis of clathrates from ice and the formation of ice from clathrates during self-preservation of methane hydrates. Here we present an efficient algorithm for the identification of clathrate hydrates, hexagonal ice, cubic ice, and liquid water in molecular simulations. CHILL+ uses the number of staggered and eclipsed water–water bonds to identify water molecules in cubic ice, hexagonal ice, and clathrate hydrate. CHILL+ is an extension of CHILL (Moore et al. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2010, 12, 4124–4134), which identifies hexagonal and cubic ice but not clathrates. In addi...
A Statistical Approach to Correcting Cross Annotations in aMetagenomic Functional Profile Generated by Short Reads

Background: Categorizing protein coding sequences into one family, if the proteins they encode perform the same biochemical function, and then tabulating the relative abundances among all the families, is a widely-adopted practice for functional profiling of a metagenomic sample. By homology searching of metagenomic sequencing reads against a protein database, the relative abundance of a family can be represented by the number of reads aligned to its members. However, it has been observed that, for short reads generated by next-generation sequencing platforms, some may be erroneously assigned to the functional families they are not associated to. This commonly occurred phenomenon is termed as cross-annotation. Current methods for functional profiling of a metagenomic sample use empirical cutoff values, to select the alignments and ignore such cross-annotation problem, or employ summarized equation to do a simple adjustment. Result: By introducing latent variables, we use the Probabilistic Latent Semantic Analysis to model the proportions of reads assigned to functional families in a metagenomic sample. The approach can be applied on a metagenomic sample after the list of the true functional families being obtained or estimated. It was implemented in metagenomic samples functionally characterized by the database of Clusters of Orthologous Groups of proteins, and successfully addressed the cross-annotation issue on both in vitro-simulated, bioinformatics tool simulated metagenomic samples, and a real-world data. Conclusions: Correcting cross-annotation will increase the accuracy of the functional profiling of a metagenome generated by short reads. It will further benefit differential abundance analysis of metagenomic samples under different conditions.
Quantitative Boundary-Layer Transition Measurements Using IR Thermography

Infrared (IR) thermography has been frequently utilized for detection of laminar-turbulent transition. This technique exploits the large differential in shear stress, and thereby convection rate between laminar and turbulent flow. Typically, the model is either heated or cooled during the test. The turbulent region is then driven closer to the freestream temperature by the locally high convection rate, while the laminar region is comparatively insulated from the freestream. This differential can then be detected using an IR camera. Details of this technique can be found in Ref. 1. This technique provides a global measurement of the transition front with high fidelity. However, the resulting images are often noisy due to reflections on the surface, warm spots caused by heat from internal electronics, nonuniform temperatures generated by the model’s internal structure, sunlight and shadows on the model, etc. While these effects can be mitigated by careful test and model design, they cannot, in general, be entirely avoided. Because of this, image filtering is highly desirable to make the images easier to interpret. Traditionally, these images are then analyzed by a human in order to visually extract a transition location. This procedure is typically limited to an accuracy of approximately ±5% chord, and is subject to significant human bias error. As such, a more quantitative method is required. Additionally, manually adjusting the colorization and filtering of IR images using the stock FLIR ExaminIR software, and then visually extracting a representative transition location is a time consuming process. This rapidly becomes time prohibitive when hundreds or thousands of images require processing and analysis.
Evaluating and Managing Insomnia: Non-pharmacological Treatments

For about 40% of Americans, Insomnia is a major health issue that often leads to fatigue, reduced immunity, and dangerous driving. A good night sleep is essential for functioning and performance. It also influences mood, cognition, concentration, fatigue, and healing. Insomnia may be related to medical and psychiatric disorders, shift work, stimulants, travel, anxiety, pain, and other problems (e.g., poor sleep environment). People with insomnia (e.g., difficulty falling asleep, frequent awakenings and daytime drowsiness) tend to rely on alcohol, drugs, and other remedies. Insomnia may reflect sleep apnea or other medical or mental health disorders that require evaluation as well as poor sleep hygiene. Insomnia can be brief, episodic or chronic. Unfortunately, many people assume that insomnia is normal and do not report it to the nurse or seek treatment. Sleep deprivation impairs the person's physical, mental, and cardiac functioning. Often insomnia is treated with medications which may have side effectives or be habit forming. Individuals with insomnia need evaluation of the precipitants of insomnia, education about sleep hygiene, and information about non-pharmacological treatments. In clinic and hospital settings, nurses are in a pivotal position to identify sleep problems, educate patients, and refer them for follow up.
Testing Thirteen Attitude Scales for Agreement and Brand Discrimination

This article describes a study in which 630 women rated brands of package goods on each of 13 popular scales and compares the ratings to find which scales were related and which discriminated best ...
Problems associated with routine immunizations.

(1957). Problems Associated With Routine Immunizations. Postgraduate Medicine: Vol. 22, No. 5, pp. 445-454.
Nuclear Legacies: Communication, Controversy, and the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Production Complex

This chapter engages communication surrounding the history and future of U.S. nuclear weapons production. The authors begin by arguing that these phenomena are normalized, and thus neglected, among citizens and communication scholars, and respond by reviewing the history of the U.S. nuclear weapons production complex and by characterizing communication among its associated organizations and communities. They then examine the material and discursive legacies of this system, emphasizing recent changes that have opened new possibilities for communication between institutions and their stakeholders. The authors next develop three theoretical frames for analyzing communication in this dense and rapidly evolving scene: (a) democracy, participation, and the nuclear public sphere; (b) organizational crisis, change, and stakeholder communication; and (c) nuclear history, memory, and heritage. They conclude by identifying and addressing various challenges associated with adopting this research program. Throughout, ...
These Unequal States: Corporate Organization and Income Inequality in the United States

In an analysis of data on employment in the 48 contiguous United States from 1978 to 2008, we examine the connection between organizational demography and rising income inequality at the state leve...
Preliminary study on the impact of digital breast tomosynthesis scanning angle on micro-calcification imaging

A preliminary investigation of image-reconstruction algorithm and scanning angular-range impact on μcalc imaging in digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is presented. The total-variation (TV) minimization and expectation-maximization (EM) algorithms are compared on synthetic data derived from a breast phantom. These algorithms are compared for 11-view data sets covering 30°, 60°, and 90°. For images resulting from truncating the iteration number at 10, it appears that TV-minimization for the 30° scan yields the highest contrast for μcalc imaging.
Choosing Variety for Joint Consumption

AbstractConsumers often make choices for joint consumption with committed relationship partners, and these choices may include more or less variety. When planning a weekend for oneself and one’s spouse, for example, a person could choose more varied activities (e.g., going out to dinner, to a movie, and to a concert) or less varied activities (e.g., seeing several different movies). What might affect how much variety people choose? Five experiments demonstrate that how much variety consumers prefer for joint consumption in committed relationships depends on their relationship time perspective (i.e., the perceived time ahead in the relationship). When consumers perceive more (vs. less) time ahead in a committed relationship, they prefer more variety for joint consumption with their partners. This increased preference for variety is driven by a shift in how much excitement is valued within the relationship and is unique to choices for joint consumption with the specific relationship partner. The findings de...
Exploring Mindful Eating and Weight Status Among Underserved Youth and Their Parents Living in Public Housing

There is growing interest on the effects of mindfulness techniques, particularly mindful eating (ME), on eating behaviors and weight status. This study aimed to (1) evaluate whether the ME practices of adult parents and adolescents were associated to their respective weight status and (2) assess the relationship between a parent’s ME behaviors and those of their adolescent child. Data was collected as part of a secondary data analysis from a cross-sectional observational study conducted with primarily Hispanic parent and youth dyads (n = 57) from public housing sites in Phoenix, Arizona. Participants completed the Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ) and research staff collected anthropometric data. Adjusted multivariate linear regressions were used in data analysis. No associations were observed between ME and weight status for either parents or youth. However, parent overall MEQ scores were associated with adolescent overall MEQ scores (r = 0.47, p < .01). Analysis using adjusted regressions confirmed the findings: overall adolescent MEQ score was associated with overall parent MEQ score (p < .01). These findings suggested that there may not be a relationship between weight status and ME among this low-income population. However, the relationship between parent and youth ME scores highlights the need for further research on the long-term impact ME has on weight status of youth over time.
Exposure to Celebrities as a Possible Explanatory Mechanism in the Perception of American Narcissism

Recent studies have examined perceived levels of narcissism as rated by Americans and non-Americans and found support for early assumptions that American culture is perceived as narcissistic (Miller et al., 2015; Wolfe, 1976). However, specific reasons for this phenomenon remain unclear. The aim of the current study was to test if proximal, salient exposure to narcissistic exemplars (i.e., celebrities) acts as one mechanism that explains this perception. Participants (N = 300) were randomly assigned to exposure to either celebrity magazines or neutral magazines conditions, and subsequently asked to provide American PNC ratings. No hypothesized differences by condition were found in terms of narcissism or FFM profile; however, American PNCs were rated as pathologically narcissistic in both conditions.
Predictive maintenance: strategic use of IT in manufacturing organizations

A combination of big data and predictive analytics orchestrated through the Internet of Things (IoT) offers many opportunities for researchers in Information Systems, Operations Management and Strategy to look at old problems in new ways, and to identify completely new research areas. While there is much hype, little research has been conducted that informs companies about how to profitably integrate the IoT with strategic or operational processes. This paper views the IoT through the lens of predictive maintenance -- the use of real-time data and predictive analytics algorithms to dynamically manage preventive maintenance policies. These are being used by numerous manufacturing organizations to transition from product-oriented to service-oriented business models. In particular, we analyze optimal preventive maintenance policies in an environment where equipment is subject to a deterioration, which shifts it from its initial, fully-productive state, having a specified, age-dependent failure rate to a less-productive or deteriorated state, having a different, presumably higher, age-dependent failure rate. The deterioration, itself, is a random process.
A fast, highly selective and sensitive anion probe stemmed from anthracene-oxazine conjugation with CN- induced FRET

Abstract An anthracene-oxazine conjugate was synthesized by hybridizing the fluorescent anthracene unit with the photochromic nitrosubstituted oxazine. The structure of the conjugate was established by using IR, NMR, HR-MS and single crystal X-ray crystallography. The anthracene-oxazine conjugate was evaluated for affinity towards different anions in aqueous medium and selectivity towards cyanide ion was observed through development of color visible to the naked eye as well as through changes in fluorescence signal. An excellent value of 58 nm limit of detection value was obtained, which indicated an excellent sensitivity of the probe towards cyanide ion. The probe displayed fluorescence quenching via intramolecular energy transfer from the hybridized anthracene unit to the parent oxazine photochrome upon addition of the cyanide ions in aqueous medium. DFT calculations were performed to support the experimental data.
A new pricing strategy evaluation model

Academics and practitioners agree that better pricing strategies are important drivers of return on investment (ROI), yet this premise has not been fully tested. We develop a new pricing adherence fraction (PAF) and then investigate whether it is related to changes in return on investment for a firm's products. We test this PAF-ROI performance relationship using ten pricing strategies defined and quantified by Noble and Gruca (1999) using logit modelling and regression analyses. Survey results of 385 durable capital goods manufacturers in business-to-business (B2B) markets provide the data for this research. A statistically significant PAF-ROI relationship is found between using the best pricing strategy for a given pricing situation and an increased return on an investment. Confidence interval analysis reveals that pricing mistakes can cost firms up to a 10% decrease in ROI. The PAF methods and procedures for a particular pricing situation allow a current pricing strategy to be compared systematically to the best pricing strategy among ten possible pricing strategies.