cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Perceived Barriers to Contraceptive Access and Acceptance among Reproductive-Age Women Receiving Opioid Agonist Therapy in Northeast Tennessee.

Objectives Women with substance use disorders experience unique challenges to contraceptive obtainment and user-dependent method adherence, contributing to higher than average rates of unintended pregnancy. This study estimated the prevalence of barriers to contraception and their associations with contraceptive use and unwanted pregnancies among women receiving opioid agonist therapy (OAT) in northeast Tennessee. Methods A cross-sectional survey was piloted among female patients aged 18 to 55 years from 2 OAT clinics. Logistic regression was used to evaluate associations between contraceptive barriers and current contraceptive use and previous unwanted pregnancies among women receiving OAT. Results Of 91 participants, most experienced previous pregnancies (97.8%), with more than half reporting unwanted pregnancies (52.8%). Although 60% expressed a strong desire to avoid pregnancy, ambivalence toward becoming pregnant was common (30.0%). Most experienced ≥1 barriers to contraceptive use or obtainment (75.8%), the most prevalent being aversion to adverse effects (53.8%), healthcare provider stigmatization (30.7%), scheduled appointment compliance (30.3%), and prohibitive cost (25.0%). Experience of any contraceptive barrier (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 8.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.03-36.79) and access to a contraceptive provider (AOR 5.01, 95% CI 1.34-18.77) were positively associated with current use of prescribed contraceptives, whereas prohibitive cost was negatively associated (AOR 0.28, 95% CI 0.08-0.94). Conclusions Although most participants desired to avoid pregnancy, ambivalence or uncertainty of pregnancy intention was common. Most experienced barriers to contraception, which were more strongly associated with previous unwanted pregnancy than current contraceptive use. The provision of long-acting reversible contraceptives and contraceptive education at OAT clinics represents an opportunity to reduce the incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome.
Timing is everything: Drivers of interannual variability in blue whale migration

Blue whales need to time their migration from their breeding grounds to their feeding grounds to avoid missing peak prey abundances, but the cues they use for this are unknown. We examine migration timing (inferred from the local onset and cessation of blue whale calls recorded on seafloor-mounted hydrophones), environmental conditions (e.g., sea surface temperature anomalies and chlorophyll a), and prey (spring krill biomass from annual net tow surveys) during a 10 year period (2008-2017) in waters of the Southern California Region where blue whales feed in the summer. Colder sea surface temperature anomalies the previous season were correlated with greater krill biomass the following year, and earlier arrival by blue whales. Our results demonstrate a plastic response of blue whales to interannual variability and the importance of krill as a driving force behind migration timing. A decadal-scale increase in temperature due to climate change has led to blue whales extending their overall time in Southern California. By the end of our 10-year study, whales were arriving at the feeding grounds more than one month earlier, while their departure date did not change. Conservation strategies will need to account for increased anthropogenic threats resulting from longer times at the feeding grounds.
COHD-COVID: Columbia Open Health Data for COVID-19 Research

Background The novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has threatened the health of tens of millions of people all over the world. Massive research efforts have been made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilization of clinical data can accelerate these research efforts to fight against the pandemic since important characteristics of the patients are often found by examining the clinical data. Publicly accessible clinical data on COVID-19, however, remain limited despite the immediate need. Objective To provide shareable clinical data to catalyze COVID-19 research, we present Columbia Open Health Data for COVID-19 Research (COHD-COVID), a publicly accessible database providing clinical concept prevalence, clinical concept co-occurrence, and clinical symptom prevalence for hospitalized COVID-19 patients. COHD-COVID also provides data on hospitalized influenza patients and general hospitalized patients as comparator cohorts. Methods The data used in COHD-COVID were obtained from NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center's electronic health records database. Condition, drug, and procedure concepts were obtained from the visits of identified patients from the cohorts. Rare concepts were excluded and the true concept counts were perturbed using Poisson randomization to protect patient privacy. Concept prevalence, concept prevalence ratio, concept co-occurrence, and symptom prevalence were calculated using the obtained concepts. Results Concept prevalence and concept prevalence ratio analyses showed clinical characteristics of COVID-19 cohorts, confirming well-known conditions of COVID-19 (e.g., acute lower respiratory tract infection and cough) recorded high prevalence and high prevalence ratio in the COVID-19 cohort compared to the hospitalized influenza cohort and general hospitalized cohort. Concept co-occurrence analyses showed potential associations between specific concepts. In case of acute lower respiratory tract infection in the COVID-19 cohort, it showed high co-occurrence ratio with COVID-19 related concepts and commonly used drugs (e.g., disease due to coronavirus and acetaminophen). Symptom prevalence analysis indicated symptom-level characteristics of the cohorts confirming that well-known symptoms of COVID-19 (e.g., fever, cough, and dyspnea) showed higher prevalence than the hospitalized influenza cohort and general hospitalized cohort. Conclusions We present COHD-COVID, a publicly accessible database providing useful clinical data for hospitalized COVID-19 patients, hospitalized influenza patients, and general hospitalized patients. We expect COHD-COVID will provide researchers and clinicians quantitative measures of COVID-19 related clinical features to better understand and fight against the pandemic.
Scenario Visualization: An Evolutionary Account of Creative Problem Solving

An account of how humans evolved a conscious, vision-related ability unique to their species in order to solve nonroutine problems. In order to solve problems, humans are able to synthesize apparently unrelated concepts, take advantage of serendipitous opportunities, hypothesize, invent, and engage in other similarly abstract and creative activities, primarily through the use of their visual systems. In Scenario Visualization, Robert Arp offers an evolutionary account of the unique human ability to solve nonroutine vision-related problems. He argues that by the close of the Pleistocene epoch, humans evolved a conscious creative problem-solving capacity, which he terms scenario visualization, that enabled them to outlive other hominid species and populate the planet. Arp shows that the evidence for scenario visualization-by which images are selected, integrated, and then transformed and projected into visual scenarios-can be found in the kinds of complex tools our hominid ancestors invented in order to survive in the ever-changing environments of the Pleistocene world. Arp also argues that this conscious capacity shares an analogous affinity with neurobiological processes of selectivity and integration in the visual system, and that similar processes can be found in the activities of organisms in general. The evolution of these processes, he writes, helps account for the modern-day conscious ability of humans to use visual information to solve nonroutine problems creatively in their environments. Arp's account of scenario visualization and its emergence in evolutionary history suggests an answer to two basic questions asked by philosophers and biologists concerning human nature: why we are unique; and how we got that way. Robert Arp is Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the National Center for Biomedical Ontology. His areas of specialization include philosophy of biology and philosophy of mind. He is the author of numerous articles and the forthcoming An Integrated Approach to the Philosophy of Mind.
On Extended Supersymmetry of 4d Galileons and 3-Brane Effective Actions

We use on-shell amplitude methods to systematically analyze the possibility of extended supersymmetry for 4d Galileon models, expanding on previous $\mathcal{N}=1$ results. Assuming spins $\le 1$, we prove that there exists no $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric extension of any 4d Galileons. Thus the Galileons cannot be part of the effective action of a single flat maximally supersymmetric D3-brane, and that explains why such terms do not appear in the $\alpha'$-expansion of the abelian open superstring amplitude. For $\mathcal{N}=2$ Galileons, we show that the complex scalar $Z = \phi + i \chi$ of the vector supermultiplet cannot have $\phi$ and $\chi$ both enjoy enhanced shift symmetry; instead, $\chi$ can at best be an $R$-axion with constant shift symmetry. Using the soft bootstrap, we demonstrate that the quartic DBI-Galileon is incompatible with $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetry. A similar analysis performed at 7-point shows that a 2-parameter family of $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric quintic Galileons coupled with DBI passes the soft bootstrap. Finally, we show how supersymmetric coup\-lings between Galileons and gravitons arise in generalizations of our constructions, and we conclude with a discussion of Galileons and DBI-Galileons in the context of UV-completability vs.~the Swampland.
Nanopatterned Area-Selective Vapor Deposition of PEDOT on SiO2 vs Si-H: Improved Selectivity Using Chemical Vapor Deposition vs Molecular Layer Deposition

Area-selective deposition (ASD) of polymers is expected to be useful for self-aligned patterning of nucleation inhibitors, sacrificial layers, and air-gap materials during future bottom-up nanoscal...
The position of operative leasing in fleet management

This article is orientated on accomplishment of comparative analysis of chosen alternatives in fleet management in road cargo transport. Actually it deals with the comparison of operative leasing of the fleet with individual administration in conditions of food distribution. The analysis is concentrated on comparison of total costs for both alternatives in define term and contains the summary of all assets and risks with the respect of all logistical and economical priorities.
Trophic and Neurite-Promoting Factors for Cholinergic Neurons

The term neuronotrophic factor (NTF) designates a biological macromolecule that is required for the maintenance and general growth capabilities of selected nerve cells (Varon, 1977; Varon and Adler, 1980). The prototype for such factors has been nerve growth factor (NGF), a protein discovered some 30 years ago that acts both in vivo and in vitro on sensory and sympathetic peripheral neurons (e.g., Levi-Montalcini and Angeletti 1968; Varon, 1975a; Green and Shooter, 1980; Thoenen and Barde, 1980; Varon and Skaper, 1983a,b). Virtually all the NGF studies have relied on the use of tissue-culture techniques for the quantitative measure and monitoring of its biological activities.
Elevated expression of transforming growth factor-beta in adipose tissue from obese mice.

Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is chronically elevated in the adipose tissue from obese humans and mice. This increase in TNF-α contributes to the insulin resistance, elevated plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) levels, and cardiovascular complications associated with obesity and noninsulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM). PAI-1 gene expression in adipose tissue is also stimulated by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). Experiments were performed to determine whether TGF-β is regulated by TNF-α and elevated in obesity. The concentration of TGF-β and PAI-1 mRNA in murine adipose tissue and cultured 3T3-L1 adipocytes was determined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and the cellular localization of these molecules was evaluated using in situ hybridization and cell fractionation. Total TGF-β protein was determined by employing an ELISA assay. TGF-β mRNA and protein were increased in the adipose tissue from two different strains of genetically obese mice (i.e., ob/ob and db/db), compared with their lean counterparts. This increase in TGF-β may result from TNF-α since TNF-α increased TGF-β mRNA expression in the adipose tissue of lean mice and stimulated TGF-β production by cultured adipocytes. Administration of TGF-β increased PAI-1 antigen in the plasma and PAI-1 mRNA in the adipocytes of lean mice, and enhanced the rate of PAI-1 synthesis by adipocytes in vitro. TNF-α contributes to the elevated TGF-β expression demonstrated in the adipose tissue of obese mice. A potential role for TGF-β in the increased PAI-1 and vascular pathologies associated with obesity/NIDDM is suggested.
Comparison of haplotype-based statistical tests for disease association with rare and common variants

Recent literature has highlighted the advantages of haplotype association methods for detecting rare variants associated with common diseases. As several new haplotype association methods have been proposed in the past few years, a comparison of new and standard methods is important and timely for guidance to the practitioners. We consider nine methods-Haplo.score, Haplo.glm, Hapassoc, Bayesian hierarchical Generalized Linear Model (BhGLM), Logistic Bayesian LASSO (LBL), regularized GLM (rGLM), Haplotype Kernel Association Test, wei-SIMc-matching and Weighted Haplotype and Imputation-based Tests. These can be divided into two types-individual haplotype-specific tests and global tests depending on whether there is just one overall test for a haplotype region (global) or there is an individual test for each haplotype in the region. Haplo.score is the only method that tests for both; Haplo.glm, Hapassoc, BhGLM and LBL are individual haplotype-specific, while the rest are global tests. For comparison, we also apply a popular collapsing method-Sequence Kernel Association Test (SKAT) and its two variants-SKAT-O (Optimal) and SKAT-C (Combined). We carry out an extensive comparison on our simulated data sets as well as on the Genetic Analysis Workshop (GAW) 18 simulated data. Further, we apply the methods to GAW18 real hypertension data and Dallas Heart Study sequence data. We find that LBL, Haplo.score (global test) and rGLM perform well over the scenarios considered here. Also, haplotype methods are more powerful (albeit more computationally intensive) than SKAT and its variants in scenarios where multiple causal variants act interactively to produce haplotype effects.
Metformin and erlotinib synergize to inhibit basal breast cancer

Basal-like breast cancers (BBCs) are enriched for increased EGFR expression and decreased expression of PTEN. We found that treatment with metformin and erlotinib synergistically induced apoptosis in a subset of BBC cell lines. The drug combination led to enhanced reduction of EGFR, AKT, S6 and 4EBP1 phosphorylation, as well as prevented colony formation and inhibited mammosphere outgrowth. Our data with other compounds suggested that biguanides combined with EGFR inhibitors have the potential to outperform other targeted drug combinations and could be employed in other breast cancer subtypes, as well as other tumor types, with activated EGFR and PI3K signaling. Analysis of BBC cell line alterations led to the hypothesis that loss of PTEN sensitized cells to the drug combination which was confirmed using isogenic cell line models with and without PTEN expression. Combined metformin and erlotinib led to partial regression of PTEN-null and EGFR-amplified xenografted MDA-MB-468 BBC tumors with evidence of significant apoptosis, reduction of EGFR and AKT signaling, and lack of altered plasma insulin levels. Combined treatment also inhibited xenografted PTEN null HCC-70 BBC cells. Measurement of trough plasma drug levels in xenografted mice and a separately performed pharmacokinetics modeling study support possible clinical translation.
A Comparison of the Strains Due to Edge Cracks and Cuts of Finite Width With Applications to Residual Stress Measurement

The strains on the surface near a loaded crack or cut are compared for cuts of different width to depth ratios. General solutions are obtained for an arbitrary distribution of normal and shear tractions on the faces of the crack or cut. Numerical results are presented for normal stress distributions which vary with distance from the surface as power functions of zero to third order. The results are useful for measurement of near surface residual stresses and should also be of value for crack compliance measurements of stress intensity factors.
Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies: Rationale, Unique Features, and Training

This the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies (DIGS), a clinical interview especially constructed for the assessment of major mood and psychotic disorders and their spectrum conditions. The DIGS, which was developed and piloted as a collaborative effort of investigators from sites in the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Genetics Initiative, has the following additional features: (1) polydiagnostic capacity; (2) a detailed assessment of the course of the illness, chronology of psychotic and mood syndromes, and comorbidity; (3) additional phenomenologic assessments of symptoms; and (4) algorithmic scoring capability. The DIGS is designed to be employed by interviewers who exercise significant clinical judgment and who summarize information in narrative form as well as in ratings. A two-phase test-retest (within-site, between-site) reliability study was carried out for DSM-III-R criteria—based major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective disorder. Reliabilities using algorithms were excellent (0.73 to 0.95), except for schizoaffective disorder, for which disagreement on estimates of duration of mood syndromes relative to psychosis reduced reliability. A final best-estimate process using medical records and information from relatives as well as algorithmic diagnoses is expected to be more reliable in making these distinctions. The DIGS should be useful as part of archival data gathering for genetic studies of major affective disorders, schizophrenia, and related conditions.
Thinking through others: Cultural psychology and the psychoanalytic treatment of immigrants

Today's immigrants often have the twenty-first-century desire to maintain the cultural ideals and practices that their predecessors were eager to shed. This paper is concerned with psychoanalytic receptivity to these ideals and practices and, more abstractly, with the conception of cultural difference that informs psychoanalytic theory and practice. The author introduces a conceptual framework from cultural psychology to theorize differences in everyday practice, thought, feeling and relationship patterning across cultures. A case vignette contrasts three potential interpretive responses to a cultural practice that, while common around the world, is relatively unfamiliar to psychoanalysis. It is suggested that a pluralistic conception of difference facilitates modes of listening essential to psychoanalytic work across cultures. In addition, the author suggests that cultural psychology's pluralistic conception of difference may be useful to the psychoanalytic project of theorizing linkages between individual subjectivity, relational phenomena and culture.
Some observations of the reactions between phenol and sulphur

Abstract Preliminary investigations of the reactions between phenol and sulphur in the presence of NaOH at 140° and at 180° are reported. With the ratio PhOH:S ≥ 5:1, the products are mixtures of 2,2′-, 2,4′- and 4,4′-monothiobisphenols and 50% of the incident sulphur is eliminated as hydrogen sulphide. NMR spectra in the presence of hexamethylphosphoramide have demonstrated the intermediate formation of polythobisphenols at 140° and it is suggested that a sequence which involves desulphurations of these polythiobisphenols in a manner similar to that suggested in the previous paper for 4,4′-trithiobisphenol may be involved. With the ratio PhOH: S = 1: > - 1, 50% of the incident sulphur again is eliminated as hydrogen sulphide and in the limit the products appear to be monosulphidically bridged oligonuclear phenols which may be formed by a similar sequence of reactions.
Anticardiolipin IgG subclasses association of IgG2 with arterial and/or venous thrombosis

Objective To determine whether the presence of anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) of a specific IgG subclass is associated with clinical complications of the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) and whether polymorphisms of Fc receptors for IgG (FcgammaR) with differential binding preferences contribute to an increased risk of thrombotic complications. Methods In 60 patients with IgG aCL, we assessed clinical complications of the APS, measured the level of antibody activity, and determined the IgG subclass distribution of aCL by a modified enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with murine anti-human IgG subclass monoclonal antibodies. Selective IgG subclass adsorption studies were performed to determine the relative contribution of specific IgG subclasses to overall aCL activity. Fcgamma receptor IIA (FcgammaRIIA) genotypes of aCL patients with thrombosis and of non-systemic lupus erythematosus controls were determined by polymerase chain reaction amplification of genomic DNA and allele-specific probes. Results IgG2 aCL, detected in 75% of the patients, was the major subclass of aCL. Selective adsorption studies demonstrated that IgG2, in contrast to IgG1, was the predominant subclass responsible for aCL reactivity. IgG2 aCL was the only subclass associated with clinical complications, specifically, arterial and/or venous thrombosis (P 40 GPL [IgG phospholipid] units) aCL patients with thrombosis, 40% were homozygous for FcgammaRIIA-H131, compared with 25% of disease-free controls (P = 0.042). Conclusion While all 4 IgG subclasses are found in autoimmune aCL, only the presence of IgG2 is significantly associated with thrombotic complications. Reactivity in aCL ELISA is largely due to the presence of IgG2 in high-titer patients. The presence of IgG2 aCL, particularly in association with FcgammaRIIA-H131, may be a useful clinical predictor of increased thrombotic risk in patients with autoimmune IgG aCL. Allelic variants of FcgammaRIIA with distinct capacities to interact with IgG subclasses provide a mechanism for genetic susceptibility to an autoantibody-induced prothrombotic state.
Revisiting Theories with Enhanced Higgs Couplings to Weak Gauge Bosons

Based on recent LHC Higgs analyses and in anticipation of future results we revisit theories where Higgs bosons can couple to weak gauge bosons with enhanced strength relative to the Standard Model value. Specifically, we look at the Georgi-Machacek model and its generalizations where higher ``spin'' representations of $SU(2{)}_{L}$ break electroweak symmetry while maintaining custodial $SU(2)$. In these theories, there is not only a Higgs-like boson but partner Higgs scalars transforming under representations of custodial $SU(2)$, leading to a rich phenomenology. These theories serve as a consistent theoretical and experimental framework to explain enhanced couplings to gauge bosons, including fermiophobic Higgses. We focus on the phenomenology of a neutral scalar partner to the Higgs, which is determined once the Higgs couplings are specified. Depending on the parameter space, this partner could have (i) enhanced fermion and gauge boson couplings and should be searched for at high mass ($g600\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{GeV}$), (ii) suppressed couplings and could be searched for at lower masses, where the Standard Model Higgs has already been ruled out, and (iii) fermiophilic couplings, where it can be searched for in heavy Higgs and top resonance searches. In the first two regions, the partner also has substantial decay rates into a pair of Higgs bosons. We touch briefly on the more model-dependent effects of the nontrivial $SU(2{)}_{C}$ multiplets, which have exotic signals, such as a doubly charged Higgs. We also discuss how the loop induced effects of these scalars tend to reduce the Higgs decay rate to photons, adding an additional uncertainty when extracting the couplings for the Higgs boson.
The Effect of Food Neophobia on the Quality of Diets in a Pediatric Population

Abstract Some children may not eat a variety of foods because they are reluctant to try new foods, a characteristic known as food neophobia. Subjects for this study were all fourth and fifth grade students in the Princeton School District. They were screened for food neophobia by completing a Pliner Food Neophobia Scale (FNS) questionnaire. A score between 10 and 70 is possible with a maximum score of 70 being indicative of a high degree of neophobia. A sample of children (N=23) who scored >41 and were classified as food neophobes were interviewed to obtain dietary information using a three day food intake record These diets, analyzed for macro and micro nutrients, food consumption, and Healthy Eating Index (HEI) were compared with a sample of children (N=17) who scored
Ion atmosphere of three-way junction nucleic acid.

The ion atmosphere of three-armed symmetric Y-shaped and asymmetric y-shaped A-RNA junctions in aqueous solution containing multivalent ions is described within the framework of a polyelectrolyte model. The fraction of "screening counterions" per polyion charge that shield the residual unneutralized charges from interacting with one another and the condensed counterions per polyion charge as a function of sodium and magnesium ion concentrations are determined. The predictions for the slope of log(k o /k f ) as a function of Na + and Mg 2 + concentration, where k o and k f are the opening and folding rates of the three-helix junction molecule, respectively, are compared with experimental data (Kim et al. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2002, 96, 9077-9082).
An Interpretation of the observable properties of ‘sea’ waves in terms of the energy spectrum of the Gaussian Record

The results of a basic paper in communication theory by Rice are applied to ocean waves. On the basis of new results obtained by Neumann on the nature of wave spectra many complicated properties of the waves are explained theoretically. It is shown that the average of the time intervals between successive crests does not yield a “period” which is representative of the period where most of the spectral energy is concentrated. It is shown that the formula L = gT2/2π does not apply to sea conditions. An explanation of the period increase of ocean swell is given which does not depend upon selective attenuation of the low period waves in the spectrum.
Derivatives of alpha-Amino Aldehydes II: Semicarbazones

Semicarbazone hydrochlorides have been prepared of aldehyde analogs of naturally occurring α-amino acids. These compounds were synthesized by a Rosenmund-type reduction of the α-phthalimido acid chlorides, followed by semicarbazone formation and phthaloyl cleavage using hydrazine. Ten per cent palladium-on-charcoal was found more effective for the reduction than the conventional catalyst. Antiviral testing did not reveal any appreciable activity with these compounds.
Synthesis of nicotinic acid in Chlamydomonas eugametos

Abstract 1. 1. It is known that nicotinic acid is synthesized from tryptophan in mammals and Neurospora , whereas in higher plants and most bacteria synthesis occurs from the condensation of glycerol and succinatc. 2. 2. The unicellular green alga, Chlamydomonas eugametos has been shown to synthesize nicotinic acid by the pathway beginning with tryptophan. 3. 3. Wild-type C. eugametos , a mutant that excretes nicotinic acid ( apy-I ), and a nicotinic acid auxotroph ( mic -4) were incubated in the presence of radiolabeled glycerol, succinic acid, or tryptophan. 4. 4. The specific activity of the resultant nicotinic acid was determined in each case. 5. 5. Incorporation of label from glycerol and succinic acid was shown to have occurred through a recycling of those compounds to tryptophan, followed by metabolism of tryptophan.
Fabrication of low band-gap polymer solar cells using chemical vapor deposition polymerization

For the first time, insoluble poly(isothianaphthene-3,6-diyl) (PITN(3,6)) thin-film has been successfully deposited from 3,4-diethynylithiophene via chemical vapor deposition polymerization. PITN(3,6) with an optical band-gap of about 1.8 eV, is a conjugated polymer with its backbone constructed through phenyl rings. The low band-gap was expected from an idea that the quinoid state of the polymer could be stabilized by the thiophene ring fused into the phenyl ring. Electrochemical analysis further provided the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital levels with values of 5.0 eV and 3.2 eV respectively. PITN(3,6) was also synthesized through more conventional liquid-solution based synthesis (Bergmann cyclization). The structural analysis showed there were undesirable side reactions during the process leaving terminal alkyne groups and five membered thiophene rings within PITN(3,6) thin-film while PITN(3,6) deposited by CVDP showed very clean structure. Finally, a bi-layer heterojunction between carbonized poly(p-phenylenevinylene) and PITN(3,6) was fabricated. Without optimization, an open circuit voltage of about 300 mV was measured. Ultimately, CVDP can realize multi-layer organic optoelectronic devices on any platform because of its low substrate temperature and highly conformal coating capability.
Shakespeare in the Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic occupies a period in German history that has long fascinated students of theatre and drama. It was a period of profound change in German social, political, and cultural experience, and rarely has the confluence of those experiences figured so influentially upon the performance of William Shakespeare's plays. In decades previous to Weimar, German Shakespeare productions manifested the awed reverence in which the playwright was held, since most German actors, directors, and designers regarded Shakespeare in the same light as they did Goethe and Schiller. In 1864, for example, Germany celebrated the three-hundredth anniversary of the playwright's birth with the founding of the Deutsche Shakespeare Gesellschaft and the proclamation that Shakespeare was not “a foreign poet, but one which England must share with us, due to his inborn Germanic nature.” In the Weimar Republic, however, the view of Shakespeare as playwright changed; it did so perhaps because everything else was changing in that volatile period, and also because Weimar culture encouraged innovation and experimentation. The republic itself, after all, was an experiment. If in retrospect the Weimar Republic's experimentation with democracy seems a failure, its success and achievement in painting, architecture, music, literature, and theatre cannot be denied. One overlooked area of particular achievement is the work of Weimar theatre artists who succeeded in their attempts to dismantle Shakespeare's status as a cultural icon.
Native renal function after combined liver-kidney transplant for type 1 hepatorenal syndrome: initial report on the use of postoperative Technetium-99 m-mercaptoacetyltriglycine scans.

Type 1 hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is characterized by rapid deterioration of renal function. We sought to assess native kidney function after combined kidney-liver transplant (CLKTx) performed for type 1 HRS. We performed a retrospective, cross-sectional, single-center study. All patients with Type 1 HRS who received a CLKTx at the University of California, San Francisco from 1997 to 2007 were screened for enrollment. Patients with a baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥30 ml/min/1.73 m(2) were eligible. Twenty-three patients were identified and consented to receive a Technetium-99 m-mercaptoacetyltriglycine (MAG3) nuclear scan to measure the native kidney contribution to overall renal function. Only 4 of the 23 subjects (17.4%) demonstrated native renal function that consisted of a contribution ≥50% of total renal function. Several factors and comorbidities such as age, gender, race, duration of HRS, need for and duration of renal replacement therapy, need for pressors, urine sodium, proteinuria, and use of octreotide/midodrine were analyzed and not found to be significant in predicting native renal function. The assessment of post-transplant native renal function following CLKTx may allow for improved accuracy in identifying the patients in need of CLKTx, and thus allow for greater optimization of dual-organ allocation strategies in patients with concomitant liver and renal failure.
Synthesis of uridinediphospho-(6-3H) glucose with a cell-free extract of Phytophthora cinnamomi.

Abstract UDP-[6- 3 H]glucose (80–90% yield) was enzymically synthesized from [6- 3 H]glucose-6-phosphate utilizing commercially purified phosphoglucomutase, inorganic pyprophosphatase, and a crude UDPG pyrophosphorylase preparation from Phytophthora cinnamomi .
Effect of trisodium phosphate adaptation on changes in membrane lipid composition, verotoxin secretion, and acid resistance of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in simulated gastric fluid.

Abstract Escherichia coli O157:H7 (HEC), E. coli O157:H7 rpoS mutant (HEC-RM), and nonpathogenic E. coli (NPEC) were step-wise adapted to trisodium phosphate (TSP) by incubation in broths of increasing concentration, from 0% to 0.6%, at 37 °C for 24 h. After incubation at each concentration, each population was examined for acid resistance (D value) in simulated gastric fluid of pH 1.5, cell envelope membrane lipid composition, and intracellular and extracellular verotoxin concentrations. The ratio of cis-vaccenic acid (18:1ω7c) to palmitic acid (16:0) increased, indicating increased membrane fluidity with increasing TSP concentration up to 0.4%, but decreased at 0.6%. HEC and HEC-RM adapted at 0.4% TSP had the highest verotoxin concentrations of 1805 and 1879 ng/ml, respectively. In addition, with HEC the ratio of extracellular to intracellular verotoxin concentration decreased at higher TSP concentrations. In contrast, the ratio for HEC-RM increased at 0.4% TSP. HEC adapted to 0.4% TSP had the greatest survival in gastric fluid (58 min D value) among all treatments. For HEC, the increase in membrane fluidity was associated with increased acid resistance and extracellular verotoxin concentration for cells adapted to 0.4% TSP. In contrast, the increase in membrane fluidity was associated with decreased acid resistance of TSP adapted HEC-RM although the extracellular verotoxin concentration increased. Therefore, the deletion of the rpoS gene appeared to affect the changes in verotoxin concentration and acid resistance of TSP adapted E. coli O157:H7.
Speaking the Body/Mind Juncture: An Interview With Gayle Salamon Assuming a Body: Transgender and Rhetorics of Materiality (New York: Columbia University Press, 2010)

This interview/dialogue considers how a body's materiality and desire assume fleshly form as a series of relational/embodied bids that extend, construct, and undo sensations, perceptions, and relations. Salamon's employment of both phenomenology and psychoanalysis toward an enhanced notion of a bodily schema and the body ego are queried and discussed. Particular attention is paid to how Salamon seeks to illustrate transgendered bodies, desires, and identities as they are lived, materialized, and fantasized.
Community detection in cellular network traces

Studies of user behavior in cellular networks have served as a knowledge base for development of critical applications and services catered to specific user needs. In this paper we examine community persistence in egocentric social graphs extracted from cellular network traces in the Cote d'Ivoire provided by Orange. The goal of our study is to inform mechanisms for improved dissemination of information by identifying subscribers or groups that can serve as information relays. We find that communities that persist in an egocentric network are independent of one another. Thus, multiple information relays can be selected from each independent community, to increase the probability that information will flow to the ego.
Diel changes in plasma melatonin and corticosterone concentrations in tropical Nazca boobies (Sula granti) in relation to moon phase and age.

We investigated the effects of moon phases and age on diel rhythms of plasma melatonin and corticosterone in free-living Nazca boobies (Sula granti) on the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Melatonin and corticosterone secretion are regulated by the circadian system and the two hormones play a role in the control of locomotor activity and foraging, which can be influenced by moon phases. These seabirds have a long life span and in many vertebrates circadian function deteriorates with age. The functioning of the circadian system under different environmental conditions and changes related to age are poorly understood and hardly studied in wild birds. Nazca boobies had generally low plasma melatonin concentrations but showed a diel variation with higher concentrations at 00:00 and 16:00h. The diel variations in melatonin concentrations disappeared during full moon, suggesting that natural light levels at night can suppress melatonin secretion in Nazca boobies. Maximal melatonin concentrations tended to decline in older birds (10-19 years). Birds showed a clear diel variation in basal plasma corticosterone with a peak in the early morning, before the active period begins, and low concentrations throughout the day. As with melatonin, there were no diel variations in corticosterone at full moon, which may be due to different activity patterns in response to food availability or changes in the circadian system. While other studies have found a relationship between corticosterone and melatonin, we found no such correlation in Nazca boobies. The lunar cycle appears to affect the hormone titers of Nazca boobies both directly and indirectly. First, melatonin rhythms can be directly affected by the light intensity associated with full moon. Second, prey availability may change foraging patterns and can therefore indirectly alter corticosterone secretion in Nazca boobies.
Efficacy of simulated epinephrine-containing epidural test dose after intravenous atropine during isoflurane anesthesia in children

Background and Objectives A double-blind, randomized study was performed to investigate heart rate (HR) and blood pressure responses to 2 doses of intravenous (IV) epinephrine (0.5 and 0.75 μg/kg) in 61 children, ages 3 months to 12 years. Methods Anesthesia was maintained with isoflurane (age-adjusted 1 minimal alveolar concentration [MAC]) in oxygen. All patients received IV atropine (10 μg/kg) and 5 minutes later were randomized to receive IV solutions (0.1 mL/kg) containing 1% lidocaine (n = 19, group I) with saline; lidocaine 1% with epinephrine 0.5 μg/kg (n = 21, group II); or lidocaine 1% with epinephrine 0.75 μg/kg (n = 21, group III). HR was recorded at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 seconds, and 2, 3, 4, and 5 minutes after test-dose injection. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure, and end-tidal carbon dioxide were recorded at steady-state isoflurane anesthesia, after the injection of atropine, and at 45-second intervals after test-dose injections. Results Median maximum increases in HR were similar in groups II and III at 19 and 22 beats per minute (beats/min), respectively. An HR increase of ≥10 beats/min was observed in 19 of 21 patients who received 0.5 μg/kg epinephrine and 21 of 21 patients receiving 0.75 μg/kg. None of the patients in group I developed HR increases ≥10 beats/min. SBP increased ≥15 mm Hg in 17 of 21 patients in group II and 19 of 21 in group III. No dysrhythmias or T-wave amplitude change was noted. Conclusions A simulated epidural test dose containing lidocaine 1 mg/kg with epinephrine 0.75 μg/kg, administered IV following atropine, may reliably increase HR to indicate unintentional injection into epidural vessels of children anesthetized with 1 MAC isoflurane.
Capric Acid Absorption in the Presence of Hydroxypropyl-β-Cyclodextrin in the Rat Ileum using the In Situ Single-Pass Perfusion Technique

The purpose of the present study was to gain quantitative mechanistic insight into the role cyclodextrin carriers may play in the intestinal absorption of highly lipophilic molecules. The physical model approach was employed to investigate capric acid absorption in the rat ileum using the in situ single-pass method with 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPB) present in the perfusate. Two physical models were examined: the flat surface model in which the intestinal wall was treated as a hollow, smooth, circular cylinder, and the villus model in which the intestinal surface allowed for the presence of villi. Capric acid absorption was found to be essentially 100% aqueous boundary layer controlled at low HPB concentrations and increasingly membrane controlled at the higher HPB concentrations. Theoretical calculations based on the experimental data and model parameters were found to be consistent with: at low HPB concentrations, capric acid was mainly absorbed at the villus tips and there was very little capric acid penetration into the intervillus space; in contrast, at 50 mM HPB, there was considerable capric acid penetration into the intervillus space, this corresponding to around a 4.5-fold increase in the accessible area for absorption when compared with 0 mM HPB. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 104:2832–2844, 2015
A study of the effect of process oxygen on stress evolution in d.c. magnetron-deposited tin-doped indium oxide

Abstract We report on the effect of oxygen stoichiometry on the amorphous structure and crystallization kinetics of indium tin oxide. DC magnetron sputtering was used to deposit 200-nm-thick films under low, optimum (with respect to conductivity), and high oxygen partial pressures (0, 0.1 and 2 vol.%, respectively). The film stress and electron transport characteristics (hall mobility and carrier density) of these films were measured before, during and after the crystallization of 9.8 wt.% SnO 2 doped In 2 O 3 . We report that the crystallization rate of films grown with oxygen contents above (2 vol.%) and below (0 vol.%) that required for optimum conductivity (0.1 vol.%) is reduced and that the as-deposited stress is, in all three cases, compressive and increases with increasing oxygen content in the sputter gas. In situ stress measurements were used to determine the change in molar volume attending both the crystallization of ITO and the oxidation of oxygen vacancies. Based on these measurements we report a measure of the effective volume of an oxygen vacancy in indium oxide.
Problems in the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography

Diagnostic problems occurred in five out of 55 patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography who subsequently proved to have carcinoma of the pancreas. In one patient the pancreatic duct was normal, two had non-specific ductal abnormalities, one had pancreas divisum, and one had ductal ectasia. Two patients with non-specific changes on retrograde pancreatography had evidence of tumor on their retrograde cholangiogram. Two patients had ductal obstruction simulating pancreatic cancer, in one due to compression by the thoracic spine, in the other by inflammatory changes.
Bridging Troubled Waters Learning Communities for the 21st Century

In contrast with traditional pedagogical approaches to higher education that are isolating and didactic in nature, a progressive educational approach responds to students' changing needs and redefines the university's role in contemporary society. Two innovative George Mason University initiatives are described to illustrate and analyze the strengths and challenges of alternative approaches that have been designed to better meet the changing needs of the students and communities they serve. In both cases, the traditional classroom is redefined as a learning community and is built around a philosophy of teaching and learning that emphasizes interdisciplinary and democratic collaboration, reflective practice, relations between theory and practical applications, and a commitment to continuous improvement. The authors discuss the highly participatory, interdisciplinary environment, intense faculty-student interaction, strong sense of community, intense collaborative work, interconnections between theory and e...
The use of serial CA 125 concentrations to monitor endometriosis in infertile women

To evaluate the potential use of CA 125 concentrations in monitoring women with endometriosis, serial determinations were correlated with the clinical course of the disease and pregnancy rates. Preoperative CA 125 concentrations were obtained in 134 consecutive infertile women with endometriosis. Seventy-six (57%) women had values greater than or equal to 16 U/ml and were followed up for 18 months. At the 6-, 12-, and 18-month intervals, pregnancies occurred in 18 of 45 (30%), 14 of 24 (58%), and 5 of 12 (42%) women in the good prognosis group, respectively; pregnancy rates in the poor prognosis group were 1 of 31 (3%), 2 of 33 (6%), and 0 of 26 (0%) women (p less than 0.001). Changes in the CA 125 values correlated with the surgical findings in 24 of the 26 women (92%) who had a second-look operative procedure. The study supports the use of serial CA 125 concentrations to assist in the management of women with endometriosis.
DNA-binding properties of the major core protein of adenovirus 2

Abstract The major adenovirus core protein (P.VII) binds to various species of duplex and single-stranded DNA molecules as a linear function of P.VII concentration. P.VII progressively condenses 32S Ad2 DNA into rapidly sedimenting forms having an S value of around 2,280. P.VII does not coat DNA like cytochrome C, instead DNA-protein beads are visualized in the electron microscope at low protein concentration. These beads appear to interact forming larger structures and at high P.VII concentrations the DNA molecule becomes highly compacted. Analysis of DNA fragments formed after digestion of P.VII-DNA complexes and isolated cores with micrococcal nuclease suggest that the organization of the DNA in the two structures is essentially identical. The initial P.VII and DNA interaction is sensitive to both ionic and hydrophobic environments, whereas the in vitro DNA-P.VII complexes are extremely stable and are not disrupted in the presence of 3 M NaCl, 1% sarcosyl or 5% deoxycholate. Properties of these in vitro DNA-protein VII complexes share striking similarities to isolated viral core particles.
The in vitro pharmacological characterization of naloxone benzoylhydrazone

Abstract On the basis of its in vivo activity and binding affinity, naloxone benzoylhydrazone has been characterized as a κ 3 -opioid receptor agonist and a μ-opioid receptor antagonist. This paper continues its pharmacological characterization with the help of isolated tissue preparations. Naloxone benzoylhydrazone was found to have partial agonist activity in the guinea pig ileum longitudinal muscle/myenteric plexus preparation. As an antagonist, naloxone benzoylhydrazone is similar to naloxone, with pA 2 values of 8.8, 7.8, and 7.8 for μ-, δ-, and κ 1 -opioid receptors, respectively. Its agonist activity in the guinea pig ileum preparation was not influenced by β-funaltrexamine treatment but was reversed by the selective κ-opioid receptor antagonist nor-binaltorphimine and by the irreversible κ 1 -opioid receptor blocker UPHIT (1 S ,2 S )- trans -2-isothiocyanato-4,5-dichloro- N -methyl- N -[2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-cyclohexyl] benzeneacetamide. The presence of κ 3 -opioid receptors could not be demonstrated by [ 3 H]naloxone benzoylhydrazone binding in the guinea pig ileum longitudinal muscle/myenteric plexus preparation. From these studies it is concluded that the partial agonist activity of naloxone benzoylhydrazone in this bioassay is probably due to the activation of the κ 1 -opioid receptors.