cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Acetaminophen use in pregnancy: Examining prevalence, timing, and indication of use in a prospective birth cohort

BACKGROUND Previous studies of prenatal acetaminophen use have not addressed what indications and maternal co-factors describe acetaminophen use. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to describe these parameters in a well-characterised, prospective birth cohort. METHODS Data were drawn from the MotherToBaby study of pregnant women enrolled from 2004 to 2018. Daily acetaminophen diaries were calculated for all exposed women with complete dose and duration information. Descriptive statistics were used to assess maternal characteristics associated with acetaminophen use. Prevalence by 2-year interval was described, and linear regression was used to test for trend. Indication of use and dose per indication were summarised. RESULTS Of 2441 subjects, 1515 (62%) reported use of acetaminophen. Over the 15-year period, there was a decline in use of 2.5% for each 2-year period (test for trend = 0.001) with 58% reporting acetaminophen use in 2017-2018. Among women with acetaminophen use in pregnancy (n = 1515), 58% reported <10 days of use, 13% reported 10-19 days of use, 9% reported 20-44 days of use, and 9% reported 45 or more days of use. Twelve per cent had undefined duration of use. Increasing duration of exposure was associated with tobacco use, obesity, self-reported depression or anxiety, and antidepressant use. The most frequently reported indication was headache, however, indication varied by duration of use, with more women reporting use for sleep or pain/injury in the categories with the longest duration of use. Median dose per exposed day was highest among those reporting use for sleep, and higher doses were more frequently reported for arthritis, injury, and pain. CONCLUSION Acetaminophen is used by the majority of pregnant women, and some continue to use for many weeks in pregnancy. Given the heterogeneity in duration of use, indication, and dose, studies that estimate the risk of adverse outcomes associated with acetaminophen must carefully consider these factors.
Risk of Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis in Patients With Stage 4 or 5 Chronic Kidney Disease Receiving a Group II Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agent: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Importance Risk of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) to individual patients with stage 4 or 5 chronic kidney disease (CKD; defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate of Objective To assess the pooled risk of NSF in patients with stage 4 or 5 CKD receiving a group II GBCA. Data Sources A health sciences informationist searched the Ovid (MEDLINE and MEDLINE Epub Ahead of Print, In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citation, and Daily and Versions), Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, and Open Grey databases from inception to January 29, 2019, yielding 2700 citations. Study Selection Citations were screened for inclusion in a multistep process. Agreement for final cohort inclusion was determined by 2 blinded screeners using Cohen κ. Inclusion criteria consisted of stage 4 or 5 CKD with or without dialysis, administration of an unconfounded American College of Radiology classification group II GBCA (gadobenate dimeglumine, gadobutrol, gadoterate meglumine, or gadoteridol), and incident NSF as an outcome. Conference abstracts, retracted manuscripts, narrative reviews, editorials, case reports, and manuscripts not reporting total group II GBCA administrations were excluded. Data Extraction and Synthesis Data extraction was performed for all studies by a single investigator, including publication details, study design and time frame, patient characteristics, group II GBCA(s) administered, total exposures for patients with stage 4 or stage 5 CKD, total cases of unconfounded NSF, reason for GBCA administration, follow-up duration, loss to follow-up, basis for NSF screening, and diagnosis. Main Outcomes and Measures Pooled incidence of NSF and the associated upper bound of a 2-sided 95% CI (risk estimate) for the pooled data and each of the 4 group II GBCAs. Results Sixteen unique studies with 4931 patients were included (κ = 0.68) in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled incidence of NSF was 0 of 4931 (0%; upper bound of 95% CI, 0.07%). The upper bound varied owing to different sample sizes for gadobenate dimeglumine (0 of 3167; upper bound of 95% CI, 0.12%), gadoterate meglumine (0 of 1204; upper bound of 95% CI, 0.31%), gadobutrol (0 of 330; upper bound of 95% CI, 1.11%), and gadoteridol (0 of 230; upper bound of 95% CI, 1.59%). Conclusions and Relevance This study’s findings suggest that the risk of NSF from group II GBCA administration in stage 4 or 5 CKD is likely less than 0.07%. The potential diagnostic harms of withholding group II GBCA for indicated examinations may outweigh the risk of NSF in this population. Trial Registration PROSPERO identifier:CRD42019123284
Prosthetic urology: past, present, and future.

The global population is collectively getting older, and age is directly correlated with erectile dysfunction (ED). With the advent of effective oral agents and wide availability of the Internet, a larger portion of the population is becoming aware of the different treatment options for men with ED. The penile prosthesis is a definitive and effective treatment for ED which has been available for just over half a century.
Associations of Early COVID-19 Cases in San Francisco with Domestic and International Travel.

In early-to-mid March 2020, 20 of 46 (43%) COVID-19 cases at a tertiary care hospital in San Francisco, California were travel-related. Cases were significantly associated with travel to Europe or New York (odds ratio 32.9). Viral genomes recovered from 9 of 12 (75%) cases co-clustered with lineages circulating in Europe.
Pediatric Type 2 Diabetes: Not a Mini Version of Adult Type 2 Diabetes.

Pediatric type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is increasing in incidence, with risk factors including obesity, puberty, family history of T2DM in a first-degree or second-degree relative, history of small-for-gestational-age at birth, child of a gestational diabetes pregnancy, minority racial group, and lower socioeconomic status. The pathophysiology of T2DM consists of insulin resistance and progression to pancreatic beta-cell failure, which is more rapid in pediatric T2DM compared with adult T2DM. Treatment options are limited. Treatment failure and nonadherence rates are high in pediatric T2DM; therefore, early diagnosis and treatment and new pharmacologic options and/or effective behavioral interventions are needed. © 2020 Elsevier Inc.
Pediatric Resident Training in Tobacco Control and the Electronic Health Record

Given the dangers posed by tobacco use and tobacco smoke exposure, pediatricians should address tobacco use and exposure with patients and parents at every opportunity, but this is not consistently done in practice. One reason may be that many medical residents do not receive education on how to address tobacco use and tobacco smoke exposure with patients and their parents. In a 2012 survey of U.S. pediatric program directors, 65% of programs reported covering tobacco control in their curricula, but most training programs focused on tobacco's health effects and not intervention strategies for clinical practice. Since that survey, electronic health records have been implemented broadly nationwide and utilized to address tobacco smoke exposure. Investigators surveyed U.S. program directors in 2018 and residents in 2019 to explore the ways in which the residents learn about tobacco use and tobacco smoke exposure, components and use of the electronic record specific to tobacco use and tobacco smoke exposure, and perceived resident effectiveness in this area. All the program directors and 85% of the residents valued training, but 21% of the residents reported receiving none. Moreover, a minority of the residents assessed themselves as effective at counseling parents (19%) or adolescents (23%), and their perceived effectiveness was related to small group learning and active learning workshops, modalities that were infrequently implemented in training. Respondents also reported infrequent use of electronic health record prompts regarding tobacco and the absence of prompts about critical issues (e.g., addressing tobacco smoke exposure in vehicles or other settings or offering treatment or referrals to parents who smoke). This paper provides recommendations about augmenting pediatric resident training in simple ways.
Multilevel barriers to communication in pediatric oncology: Clinicians' perspectives

Background Communication serves several functions in pediatric oncology, but communication deficiencies persist. Little is known about the broad spectrum of barriers contributing to these deficiencies. Identifying these barriers will support new strategies to improve communication. Methods The authors performed 10 focus groups on perceived communication barriers with nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians, and psychosocial professionals across 2 academic institutions. They analyzed transcripts by adapting a multilevel framework from organizational psychology. Results The authors identified 6 levels of barriers to communication from the clinicians' perspectives: individual, team, organization, collaborating hospital, community, and policy. Individual barriers were subdivided into clinician characteristics, family characteristics, or characteristics of the clinician-family interaction. Within each level and sublevel, several manifestations of barriers were identified. Some barriers, such as a lack of comfort with difficult topics (individual), cultural differences (individual), a lack of a shared team mental model (team), and time pressure (organization), manifested similarly across professions and institutions. Other barriers, such as a need for boundaries (individual), intimidation or embarrassment of family (individual), unclear roles and authority (team), and excessive logistical requirements (policy), manifested differently across professions. With the exception of collaborating hospitals, participants from all professions identified barriers from each level. Physicians did not discuss collaborating hospital barriers. Conclusions Nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians, and psychosocial professionals experience communication barriers at multiple levels, which range from individual- to policy-level barriers. Yet their unique clinical roles and duties can lead to different manifestations of some barriers. This multilevel framework might help clinicians and researchers to identify targets for interventions to improve communication experiences for families in pediatric oncology. Lay summary Clinicians and families experience many barriers to communication in pediatric oncology. The authors performed 10 focus groups with 59 clinicians who cared for children with cancer. In these focus groups, barriers to effective communication were discussed. In this article, the authors report on an analysis of the responses. Six levels of barriers to communication were found: individual, team, organization, collaborating hospital, community, and policy. With an understanding of these barriers, interventions can be developed to target these barriers in hopes of improving communication for parents and patients in pediatric oncology.
Systematic review: Psychosocial factors of resilience in young people with inflammatory bowel disease.

Abstract Objective Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects a growing number of young people. While factors associated with poor disease experience in pediatric IBD have garnered much attention in the literature, less attention has focused on the factors associated with the resilient outcomes seen in the majority of young people with IBD. This review seeks to contribute to the literature by synthesizing research on the psychosocial factors that promote resilience in pediatric IBD and by offering future directions for the field. Methods Systematic searches of the MEDLINE, Embase, PsychInfo, and CINAHL databases were performed for quantitative English-language studies with keywords for IBD, resilience or factors of resilience, and pediatric populations, with no date restrictions. Reference lists of all included articles were searched. Quality assessments were performed using an NIH tool. Results Of 3315 articles identified, 17 were included. Studies were heterogeneous, with 19 psychosocial factors identified and analyzed for associations with over two dozen indicators of resilience. A narrative synthesis of included studies was performed. Study details were organized into three domains—individual, social, and family. Preliminary data indicate that resilience in pediatric IBD may be associated with positive body image, increased mindfulness, and improved social functioning, among other potential factors. Conclusions Resilience in pediatric IBD is largely unstudied. Only one study pursued an understanding of resilience as an aim, and no studies incorporated validated measures of resilience. Future prospective, theory-driven research is needed to elucidate the network of factors and mechanisms that can foster resilience in children and adolescents with IBD.
Altered resting state neuromotor connectivity in men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: A MAPP: Research Network Neuroimaging Study

Brain network activity associated with altered motor control in individuals with chronic pain is not well understood. Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a debilitating condition in which previous studies have revealed altered resting pelvic floor muscle activity in men with CP/CPPS compared to healthy controls. We hypothesized that the brain networks controlling pelvic floor muscles would also show altered resting state function in men with CP/CPPS. Here we describe the results of the first test of this hypothesis focusing on the motor cortical regions, termed pelvic-motor, that can directly activate pelvic floor muscles. A group of men with CP/CPPS (N = 28), as well as group of age-matched healthy male controls (N = 27), had resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans as part of the Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) Research Network study. Brain maps of the functional connectivity of pelvic-motor were compared between groups. A significant group difference was observed in the functional connectivity between pelvic-motor and the right posterior insula. The effect size of this group difference was among the largest effect sizes in functional connectivity between all pairs of 165 anatomically-defined subregions of the brain. Interestingly, many of the atlas region pairs with large effect sizes also involved other subregions of the insular cortices. We conclude that functional connectivity between motor cortex and the posterior insula may be among the most important markers of altered brain function in men with CP/CPPS, and may represent changes in the integration of viscerosensory and motor processing.
L 1 adaptive control with sliding-mode based adaptive law

This paper presents an adaptive control scheme with an integration of sliding mode control into the L 1 adaptive control architecture,which provides good tracking performance as well as robustness againstmatched uncertainties. Slidingmode control is used as an adaptive law in the L 1 adaptive control architecture, which is considered as a virtual control of error dynamics between estimated states and real states. Low-pass filtering mechanism in the control law design prevents a discontinuous signal in the adaptive law from appearing in actual control signal while maintaining control accuracy. By using sliding mode control as a virtual control of error dynamics and introducing the low-pass filtered control signal, the chattering effect is eliminated. The performance bounds between the close-loop adaptive system and the closed-loop reference system are characterized in this paper. Numerical simulation is provided to demonstrate the performance of the presented adaptive control scheme.
On Donald Davie

Of all the first-rate poets of the age, Donald Davie is the most notably re actionary. If only with some strain, we might see him, to advantage, as mining in the great ascetic vein of contemporary art, where the classical spirit thins away? as in Rothko, Bresson, Sarraute, Beckett, Cage?in ever starker forms. And yet Davie stands far to the right of most of his fellow ascetics?indeed, within hail ing distance of the eighteenth century. In tone, diction, and verse form, he often recalls the late Augustan poets, of whom he has written well and whom he has also anthologised. Above all he has tried, like the Augustans, to be urbane: to voice (in words he quotes from Matthew Arnold) "the tone and spirit of the center." This is reactionary indeed. For of course there is no longer any center. Or the center is but a maelstrom, a contention. In Purity of Diction in English Verse (1952), Davie, comparing Landor unfavorably with Carew, observes that "in the latter speaks the voice of Caroline culture, whereas in Landor's verses nothing speaks but the voice of the poet himself." But of course it is just the poet's voice, and only this, that we hear speaking in Davie's poetry. It could not be otherwise. "To make poetry out of moral commonplace," Davie notes, "a poet has to make it clear that he speaks not in his own voice (that would be impertinent) but as the spokesman of a social tradition." This is not, I think, true, as Emily Dickinson, Marianne Moore, and still others amply witness. But it does prompt us to add that "to make poetry out of moral commonplace," as Davie tries to do, when the commonplace itself seems damaged, indeed marooned?indeed, forlorn?does require something like impertinence; and rapping on roving knuckles with yardsticks borrowed from old classrooms, impertinently using the word "impertinence" with its haughty assump tion of determinate absolutes, what Davie himself exemplifies, we may feel, is not "the tone and spirit" of any center, but something more courageous and signifi cant, not to say lonely: the individual man working out the necessities of his conscience. Moreover, what really fires this conscience, we may feel, is not at all being at the center, whatever that may happen to be in any age, but being right: right about the need for civilized restraint, for faith in the idea of civilization itself. We hear in Davie s poetry a voice that will speak out in spite of its knowl edge of the indifference or incredulity that awaits it?a voice consciously coming, not from the center of contemporary culture, but from out on the edge, in a kind of nagging nostalgia for an austerer day, when men lived and died by Nonconformist lights, or for Reason, Loyalty, Restraint, the Right. It is the voice of a conscience that?protestingly?finds itself left behind.
Lyman Alpha Flux Power Spectrum and Its Covariance

We analyze the flux power spectrum and its covariance using simulated Lyman alpha forests. We find that pseudo-hydro techniques are good approximations of hydrodynamical simulations at high redshift. However, the pseudo-hydro techniques fail at low redshift because they are insufficient for characterizing some components of the low-redshift intergalactic medium, notably the warm-hot intergalactic medium. Hence, to use the low-redshift Lyman alpha flux power spectrum to constrain cosmology, one would need realistic hydrodynamical simulations. By comparing one-dimensional mass statistics with flux statistics, we show that the nonlinear transform between density and flux quenches the fluctuations so that the flux power spectrum is much less sensitive to cosmological parameters than the one-dimensional mass power spectrum. The covariance of the flux power spectrum is nearly Gaussian. As such, the uncertainties of the underlying mass power spectrum could still be large, even though the flux power spectrum can be precisely determined from a small number of lines of sight.
Assessment of first aid knowledge and decision making of coaches of youth soccer

The purpose of this study was to assess the first aid knowledge of coaches of youth soccer and to assess the decision making ability of those coaches in hypothetical athletic situations. The study investigated coaches with passing scores on the First Aid Assessment test (FAA) and first aid and CPR certification; years of coaching experience and scores on the FAA; the difference between years of coaching experience and return to play; the relationship between first aid and CPR certification and education level and the scores on the FAA and education level. Coaches completed a FAA test, Game Situation Data Sheet (GSDS), and a brief demographic information sheet. Thirteen (11.4%) coaches out of 114 coaches earned a passing score on the First Aid Assessment test. Of the 114 coaches that completed the demographic data sheet, 31 (27%) reported being current first aid certified and 24 (21%) reported being current CPR certified. Of those 55 coaches, only 13 coaches passed the FAA test. This shows that coaches currently certified in first aid and CPR were more successful in passing the FAA test. A coach's decisions to return an injured athlete to competition are dependent upon the game situation and the rank of player involved (starter, backup, or bench player).
Some chemical and structural factors related to the metastabilities of energetic compounds

Summary We have presented an overiview of various attempts to relate the impact and shock sensitivities of energetic materials to their molecular structures. The objectives of such efforts are to better understand the chemical and structural determinants of these sensitivities and to develop a predictive capability to facilitate the evaluation of new and proposed energetic compounds. Our particular emphasis in this discussion has been upon the relationship of impact sensitivities to the electrostatic potential patterns on the molecular surfaces. The current status of our analyses is represented by eqs. (7)–(9). While the success of these expressions is pleasing, we certainly do not claim that they are infinal form. They reflect small data bases and measurements with a relatively high level of uncertainty. As more compounds are included, it may well be that the specific formulations given in eqs. (7)–(9) will be modified; i.e. other functions of S − and S + or σ − 2 and σ + 2 may turn out to be more effective. What is important at present, however, is the unifying concept that we have found to apply to all three of these classes of compounds, namely that their impact sensitivities can be related to the degree of imbalance between their typically stronger positive surface electrostatic potentials and weaker negative ones.
Common data link from space - preliminary lessons from the TacSat-2 demonstration program

Several Air Force and Army organizations have collaborated over the last two years to prepare and fly a common data link (CDL) subsystem on the TacSat-2 satellite, an experiment in tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) from space. This revolutionary application of legacy technology provides a 274 Mbps downlink to existing in-theater communications systems from a small, tactical imagery satellite and supports direct theater tasking of this asset by the theater commander. The TacSat-2 CDL effort, and the operationally responsive space program it supports, promises a truly transformational ISR capability for the theater commander. Technology service corporation has led the space CDL system engineering effort, integrating airborne-heritage components with space-heritage components, and guiding the adaptation of these elements into the TacSat-2 spacecraft architecture. The TacSat-2 program has performed a number of engineering feats, and the first-ever operation of CDL to/from space can be counted among the most significant of those. This paper describes the history, technology, and development process associated with that accomplishment, offering some of the lessons learned during the experience. To the extent that additional information regarding deployment and operation is available at conference time, it is shared in the presentation
The Changing Professional Environment and the Ideal of General Practice

In addressing this subject, like many other aspects of American institutions, it is interesting to begin with a passage from Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville. De Tocqueville had much to say about the legal profession, all of it interesting and much of it very acute. The following is part of his introduction to On the Spirit of the Lawyer in the United States and How it Serves as a Counterweight to Democracy:
Language Use in the Negotiation of Linguistic and Cultural Knowledge and the Sustenance of Online Diasporic Relations

With ongoing immigration patterns, the movement of people has also meant the spread of languages. Mungaka, an indigenous language spoken in Bali, Cameroon has moved to domains beyond its borders due to such migration patterns. Mbonbani is an online forum created to maintain communication between those who moved away and those who stayed. This study investigates language use and ideologies as manifested on this online forum and seeks to find out the following: •How does language use in an online diasporic e-group mediate culture and sustain relations between the Diaspora and the home country? •How do diasporic communities maintain an awareness of the linguistic and cultural knowledge within the structures of such dislocation? •What role does information technology play in the preservation of these diasporic relations? I look at language use on Mbonbani to underscore how the Internet allows a linguistic space where participants appropriate new technologies to advance and enhance cultural traditions. I highlight how a multiplicity of languages is used to co-create indigenous knowledge through the construction and deconstruction of meaning.
Arterial α2-Na+ pump expression influences blood pressure: lessons from novel, genetically engineered smooth muscle-specific α2 mice.

Genetically decreased or increased, mouse smooth muscle-specific α2-Na+ pump expression effects on blood pressure are attenuated by compensatory changes in arterial Ca2+ transporter expression. Thi...
Chapter 7 Biology and strain variants

Publisher Summary The first HHV-6 isolate, also known as HBLV, was reported from patients from The United States with AIDS and other lymphoproliferative disorders. In a group of six patients, 2 HHV-6 isolates—that is, GS and Davilla, were first compared biologically, immunologically, and by molecular analysis and were found to be similar. Because there has been no uniform study reported comparing the HHV-6 isolates biologically, immunologically, or by molecular analysis, a study was conducted to compare 15 isolates obtained from different sources, to detect differences and similarities that may be utilized for sero-epidemiologic studies and for association with any particular disease state. One may assume that the differences among the isolates may have profound effects on disease. The chapter also presents HHV-6 isolates for comparison of biologic, immunologic, and molecular analysis properties.
Multilocus Evolution in Fire Ants: Effects of Selection, Gene Flow and Recombination

The reproductive success of individual fire ant queens (Solenopsis invicta) previously has been shown to be strongly influenced by their genotype at a single enzyme-encoding gene, designated Pgm-3. This paper presents evidence that a second, tightly linked gene, designated Gp-9, is under similarly strong selection in these ants. Selection appears to act independently on the two genes and is detectable in only one of the two social forms of this species (the ``polygyne'' social form, in which nests contain multiple fertile queens). Strong directional selection on Pgm-3 in this form involves worker destruction of all queens with genotype Pgm-3(AA) before they reproduce. Selection on Gp-9 is more complex, involving both lethality of all Gp-9(bb) females and a strong or even complete survival advantage to reproductive queens with the heterozygous genotype Gp-9(Bb). Pgm-3 and Gp-9 are tightly linked (r(f) = 0.0016) and exhibit strong gametic phase disequilibrium in introduced populations in the U.S. This disequilibrium seems not to have stemmed from the founder event associated with the introduction, because the same associations of alleles found in the U.S. apparently occur also in two native populations in Argentina. Rather, selection acting independently on Pgm-3 and Gp-9, in conjunction with gene flow from the alternate, ``monogyne'' social form (in which nests contain a single fertile queen), may explain the origin of disequilibrium between the two loci in polygyne fire ants.
Effect of crofelemer extract on severity and consistency of experimentally induced enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli diarrhea in newborn Holstein calves

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a standardized botanical extract of Croton lechleri, named crofelemer extract, on fecal dry matter and fecal scores on diarrheic newborn Holstein bull calves induced by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli. A double-blinded randomized clinical trial was performed in which 60 newborn Holstein bull calves were clean caught and transported to an isolation facility where calves were individually housed and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatment groups: placebo (control), enteric-coated formulation of crofelemer extract (ECROF), and nonenteric-coated formulation of crofelemer extract (CROF). Diarrhea was induced at first feeding with an inoculum of the enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ATCC 31616) administered with a third of the recommended dose of a colostrum replacer. All calves enrolled in this study received treatments starting on the second feeding (diarrhea onset) and treatments were administered before feeding time (0600 and 1600h) for 6 feedings consecutively. All calves in this study had failure of passive transfer. The only cause of death in this study was due to septicemia, accounting for 1 death out of each treatment group. All the calves were examined twice daily, within 2h after feeding, from d 1 (prechallenge) until 10, on d 15, and a last examination on d 25 of life. Five parameters were evaluated during each examination; rectal temperature, clinical assessment of dehydration status, fecal scores, attitude, and appetite. No differences were observed between treatment groups for rectal temperature, attitude, and appetite. Fecal dry matter was analyzed as prechallenge fecal dry matter, dry matter during treatment, and fecal dry matter after treatment cessation. No difference in prechallenge fecal dry matter was observed and prechallenge fecal dry matter was used as a covariate in the models. Fecal dry matter during treatment was significantly higher for ECROF calves when compared with control calves and CROF calves. Additionally, ECROF fecal dry matter after treatment cessation had a statistical tendency to be higher when compared with control calves. Together, these results suggest that enteric-coated formulation of the standardized crofelemer extract, a natural-product with antisecretory properties, can significantly increase fecal dry matter of neonatal calves with experimentally induced enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli diarrhea. More research is needed to test the efficacy of enteric-coated crofelemer on incidence and severity of secretory diarrhea on calves under natural challenge conditions.
Genetic linkage and complex diseases, with special reference to psychiatric disorders

Recent linkage findings for psychiatric disorders, in particular schizophrenia, manic-depression, and Alzheimer disease, have raised a number of important conceptual issues regarding the genetic etiology of these diseases, as well as the appropriate interpretation of linkage results in studying complex diseases. Perspectives on mode of inheritance, genetic heterogeneity, and phenotypic variation are given.
Knee Angle Analysis Using a Wearable Motion Analysis System for Detection and Rehabilitation of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) are common in soldiers and athletes, and can affect many areas of a person’s daily life including gait [1]. Current methods of measuring gait parameters involve expensive optical motion capture systems, time intensive setup, wires, complicated filtering techniques, and a laboratory setting. A wearable and wireless motion analysis system would allow gait analysis to be performed outside of a laboratory setting during activities of daily living, in a clinical setting or on a football field. The purpose of this study was to develop and verify an algorithm to calculate knee flexion during slow gait, particularly during terminal stance and pre-swing phases, using wireless wearable sensors.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
A statistical study of the clinical significance of lymphocytic and fibrocytic replacements in the hyperplastic thyroid gland.

RELATIVELY little is known concerning the significance of lymphocytic and fibrocytic replacement in the hyperplastic thyroid gland (1). Thyroiditis has been studied in detail as an independent clinical and pathologic entity (2–4); the association of thyroiditis and exophthalmic goiter in the same patient, however, has received scant attention (5–8). It has been assumed that lymphocytic replacement and fibrocytic replacement of the hyperplastic parenchyma are related in some way to reduction in the intensity of the disease but their relationship to specific clinical signs and symptoms has not been extensively investigated (9). One year before Parry established exophthalmic goiter as a definite clinical entity in 1825, Conradi (10, 11) distinguished between inflammation of the goitrous gland, the so-called strumitis of later writers, and inflammation of the previously normal gland. Between 1825 and 1914 lymphocytes and fibrous tissue in the hyperplastic thyroid gland attracted the attention of numerous work...
The effects of evidence in persuasive communication

This study found that the auditors with initially extreme attitudes were affected differently by a speaker's evidence than were those with initially neutral attitudes and suggests that the role which evidence plays in persuasion may be related to the particular “game” a communicator plays with his audience.
Power and Influence in State Legislative Policymaking: The Interaction of Gender and Position in Committee Hearing Debates.

ere is an implicit assumption behind advocating for more minorities or women in elected office, namely, that these officials will bring a new power and influence to their underrepre.5 sented groups. However, for women, this idealized viewpoint ignores the social dynamics that subordinate women's words and actions even in "well-balanced" male and female group interactions. Using transcribed verbatim transcripts of 12 state legislative committee hearings, this research analyzes the conversational dynamics of committee members, witnesses, chairs, and sponsors. Sex differences among committee members are highly significant, even after accountingfor political factors and structural features of the hearing. In addition, male and female chairs do not conduct hearings in the same way, and these differences affect the behavior of witnesses and committee members. The findings suggest that as the proportion of women increases in a legislative body, men become more verbally aggressive and controlling of the hearing. Women legislators may be seriously disadvantaged and unable to participate equally in legislative policymaking in committee hearings.
New techniques for determining domain morphologies in block copolymers

Abstract We have developed several new techniques for examining the domain morphologies of microphase-separated block copolymers. By selective degradation and removal of the matrix component of suitable block copolymers, the domain-forming component can be left intact in its original morphological form and available for characterization. Thus we have selectively removed the polydiene (polybutadiene or polyisoprene) matrix component of poly(styrene-b-diene) copolymers by treatment with ozone. The remaining polystyrene domains were stained with ruthenium tetroxide or shadowed with platinum and examined by electron microscopy. A marked improvement in the ability to distinguish domain morphologies and their three-dimensional character was found when these degradation techniques were used. Details of domain morphologies that were not apparent when using conventional osmium tetroxide staining methods on undegraded films often became clearly apparent with this new technique.
Analysis of Plasma Membrane Integrity by Fluorescent Detection of Tl+ Uptake

The exclusion of polar dyes by healthy cells is widely employed as a simple and reliable test for cell membrane integrity. However, commonly used dyes (propidium, Yo-Pro-1, trypan blue) cannot detect membrane defects which are smaller than the dye molecule itself, such as nanopores that form by exposure to ultrashort electric pulses (USEPs). Instead, here we demonstrate that opening of nanopores can be efficiently detected and studied by fluorescent measurement of Tl+ uptake. Various mammalian cells (CHO, GH3, NG108), loaded with a Tl+-sensitive fluorophore FluxOR™ and subjected to USEPs in a Tl+-containing bath buffer, displayed an immediate (within <100 ms), dose-dependent surge of fluorescence. In all tested cell lines, the threshold for membrane permeabilization to Tl+ by 600-ns USEP was at 1–2 kV/cm, and the rate of Tl+ uptake increased linearly with increasing the electric field. The lack of concurrent entry of larger dye molecules suggested that the size of nanopores is less than 1–1.5 nm. Tested ion channel inhibitors as well as removal of the extracellular Ca2+ did not block the USEP effect. Addition of a Tl+-containing buffer within less than 10 min after USEP also caused a fluorescence surge, which confirms the minutes-long lifetime of nanopores. Overall, the technique of fluorescent detection of Tl+ uptake proved highly effective, noninvasive and sensitive for visualization and analysis of membrane defects which are too small for conventional dye uptake detection methods.
Cobalt and nickel coordination polymers containing 3-pyridylnicotinamide and five-membered ring dicarboxylates

Cobalt and nickel coordination polymers containing the conformationally flexible 3-pyridylnicotinamide (3-pna) ligand and a five-membered ring-based dicarboxylate ligand have been prepared and structurally characterized via single-crystal X-ray diffraction. [Co(tpdc)(3-pna)]n (1) was prepared using 2,5-thiophenedicarboxylic acid (H2tpdc). This material shows a 2-D layer structure containing {Co2(OCO)2} dimers linked by tpdc and 3-pna ligands. Compound 1 manifests an underlying 3,5-connected (426)(42678) 3,5L2 topology. The isostructural pair of solids [Co(D-cam)(3-pna)(H2O)2]n (2) and [Ni(D-cam)(3-pna)(H2O)2]n (3) was obtained from the chiral D-camphorate (D-cam) ligand. These two materials possess acentric ribbon coordination polymer motifs. Compound 1 manifests antiferromagnetic coupling concomitant with Kramers doublet formation. Thermal properties of these materials are also discussed.
Regulation of enzyme levels by proteolysis: the role of pest regions.

Enzymes can be regulated in a variety of ways. Readily reversible mechanisms, such as phosphorylation, are frequently used by cells to control metabolic pathways. Less often, enzyme levels are regulated by changing the rate at which the protein is destroyed. Although these changes, too, are reversible through protein synthesis, large variations in enzyme concentration can be produced in very short periods of time by combinations of transcriptional control, translational control and rapid degradation. We recently examined the primary sequences of proteins whose intracellular half-lives are less than two hours. With a single exception, each short-lived protein contains one or more regions rich in proline (P), glutamic acid (E), serine (S) and threonine (T). These PEST regions range in length from 12 to 60 residues, and they are often flanked by possibly charged amino acids. Similar inspection of 35 more stable, structurally characterized proteins revealed only three weak PEST regions. All PEST proteins appear to be important regulatory molecules, and their fast turnover surely reflects a metabolic requirement for rapid changes in their concentrations. Known PEST proteins include oncogene products, key enzymes and components of signal pathways. In addition, there are a number of PEST-containing proteins that are suspected of being rapidly degraded. These proteins include Drosophila homeotic proteins (e.g., notch, snake, caudal, ftz and even-skipped) and a host of yeast cdc mutants. PEST regions, which target the molecules containing them for destruction, thus appear to be widely distributed among metabolically unstable proteins.
Extreme Asceticism: Confucian Practice and Riesebrodt's Religious Virtuoso

The ascetic ideals initially established by Confucius are moderate and rational. Yet, virtuoso asceticism became a social phenomenon when the state desired to institute a more powerful channel to disseminate Confucian values in the broader populace beyond the literati. The reason that the cult of the virtuoso particularly served this purpose was that the enshrinement of virtuoso generated social power within community. That social power, somewhat equivalent to charisma, derived from the enshrined spirit's connection with transcendence having official and public offerings from community. The social process in the formation of the ascetic virtuoso and its social function in the Confucian tradition follow a pattern similar to that laid out by Martin Riesebrodt: denial of the physical self, restructuring of social relations, and spiritual transformation. Ascetic virtuosos stemming from the tradition of “inner-worldly” asceticism closed a gap between a rationalized system of behavior-regulating practices and interventionist practice with reference to transcendence.
Synchronization assessment in power networks and coupled oscillators

Synchronization problems in complex networks have recently attracted tremendous scientific interested. Moreover, assessing the existence, stability, and robustness of synchronous states is a pervasive topic in the operation of power networks. Scientists in both communities have long aimed to identify sharp synchronization conditions as functions of the network topology and parameters. This paper proposes an insightful approach to this problem based on algebraic graph theory. We present a novel synchronization condition applicable to a general coupled oscillator model. We rigorously establish that our condition is exact for various interesting network topologies and parameters. Via statistical studies we show that our condition predicts accurately the existence of stable synchronous solutions for generic networks as well as various power network test cases. From these statistical studies, we conclude that our proposed condition is correct for almost all network topologies and parameters. Indeed, we also show that there exist possibly-thin sets of network topologies and parameters, where our condition is not sufficiently tight.
Optimal control modification adaptive law for time-scale separated systems

Recently a new optimal control modification has been introduced that can achieve robust adaptation with a large adaptive gain without incurring high-frequency oscillations as with the standard model-reference adaptive control. This modification is based on an optimal control formulation to minimize the ℒ 2 norm of the tracking error. The optimal control modification adaptive law results in a stable adaptation in the presence of a large adaptive gain. This study examines the optimal control modification adaptive law in the context of a system with a time scale separation resulting from a fast plant with a slow actuator. A singular perturbation analysis is performed to derive a modification to the adaptive law by transforming the original system into a reduced-order system in slow time. A model matching conditions in the transformed time coordinate results in an increase in the actuator command that effectively compensate for the slow actuator dynamics. Simulations demonstrate effectiveness of the method.
An online training course for instructors wishing to implement team-based learning (TBL)

Due to success at adapting and implementing team-based learning (TBL) for use in sophomore-level electric circuit theory courses, an initiative is underway to encourage other faculty to use TBL in their courses, and instruct them in how to do so. The purpose of this work-in-progress paper is to describe an online training course that is being developed to assist engineering instructors in learning to use TBL as well as other forms of group-based student-centered active learning in the classroom. Currently, the course consists of five units, each of which culminates in a quiz that must be taken successfully before moving on to the next section. The content sections consist of Powerpoint slides plus detailed instructor commentary for further explanation. Also included are selected illustrative video clips taken during an exemplary classroom session.
Sharing open secrets in training future generations of clinical psychologists

Commentary writers vary in their agreement with the ideas presented in the C.R. Snyder and T.R. Elliott lead article (this issue), but they share the view that clinical–counseling psychology already is in the midst of an evolution. There are two general camps to such commentaries. First, there are those who caution us to move slowly and carefully as we respond to the change-inducing forces. Second, there are those who see this time as one in which we should make bold moves in our field in response to the societal forces that we are encountering. We suggest that the lightning rod for potential changes in the field of clinical–counseling psychology must be a shared emphasis on our scientific heritage. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol.
Repeat biopsy strategy in patients with atypical small acinar proliferation or high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia on initial prostate needle biopsy

Purpose: Isolated high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and/or atypical small acinar proliferation on prostate biopsy increases the risk of identifying cancer on repeat biopsy. We report the results of repeat prostate biopsy for high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and/or atypical small acinar proliferation, and propose an optimal repeat biopsy strategy.Materials and Methods: Of 1,391 men who underwent standard systematic sextant biopsy of the prostate 137 (9.8%) had isolated high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia or atypical small acinar proliferation, including 100 who underwent repeat prostate biopsy within 12 months of the initial biopsy.Results: Adenocarcinoma was detected in 47 of the 100 patients who underwent repeat biopsy. The initial biopsy site of high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and/or atypical small acinar proliferation matched the sextant location of cancer on repeat biopsy in 22 cases (47%). Repeat biopsy directed only to the high grade prostatic int...
Validation status of the TARDEC visual model (TVM)

An extensive effort is ongoing to validate the TARDEC visual mode (TVM). This paper describes in detail some recent efforts to utilize the model for dual need commercial and military target acquisition applications. The recent completion of a visual perception laboratory within TARDEC is a useful tool to calibrate and validate human performance models for specific visual tasks. Some validation examples will be given for low contrast targets along with a description of the TVM and perception laboratory capabilities.