cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Perinatal changes in bombesin-stimulated muscle contraction in rabbit stomach and colon

Bombesin and its mammalian homologue, gastrin-releasing peptide, stimulate smooth muscle contraction and may promote the growth of gastrointestinal tissues. Isometric contraction of strips from circular muscle of the gastric fundus and longitudinal muscle of the distal colon were used to compare changes in the response to bombesin in newborn and weanling rabbits. There was an age-related qualitative change in gastric muscle from biphasic contractions including phasic and tonic components in the newborn to phasic contractions alone in the weanling. The colon contractions were tonic at both ages. In both tissues there was an age-related fivefold increase in stress in response to maximally effective concentrations of bethanechol (P less than 0.05). In contrast, in the stomach age-related decreases in the response to maximally effective concentrations of bombesin were observed, from 2930 +/- 179 mN/cm2 (98% of the maximal response to bethanechol) in the newborn to 565 +/- 81 mN/cm2 (4% of the maximal response to bethanechol) in the weanling (P less than 0.005). In the colon, a twofold increase in response to bombesin was observed, from 446 +/- 59 mN/cm2 (82% of the response to bethanechol) in the newborn to 862 +/- 11 mN/cm2 (29% of the response to bethanechol) in the weanling (P less than 0.05). No age-related changes were observed in the potency of bombesin in either tissue. Neither atropine nor tetrodotoxin altered the contractions in either tissue, suggesting that bombesin interacted directly with myocytes. There was three times as much bombesinlike immunoreactivity in the stomach compared with the colon, but no age-related changes in either tissue. In summary, by the age of weanling the stomach lost the tonic component of contraction and 80% of the efficacy of bombesin-stimulated phasic contraction that had been present in the newborn. The loss of efficacy, absolute in the stomach and relative to bethanechol in the colon, suggest that bombesin may be most important in stimulating motility in the neonatal period.
Artificial selection for increased wheel-running activity in house mice results in decreased body mass at maturity

To test the hypothesis that body size and activity levels are negatively genetically correlated, we conducted an artificial selection experiment for increased voluntary wheel-running activity in house mice (Mus domesticus). Here, we compare body masses of mice from control and selected lines after 14 generations of selection. In both groups, beginning at weaning and then for 8 weeks, we housed half of the individuals with access to running wheels that were free to rotate and the other half with wheels that were locked to prevent rotation. Mice from selected lines were more active than controls at weaning (21 days) and across the experiment (total revolutions during last week: females 2.5-fold higher, males 2.1-fold higher). At weaning, mice from selected and control lines did not differ significantly in body mass. At 79 days of age, mice from selected lines weighed 13.6 % less than mice from control lines, whereas mice with access to free wheels weighed 4.5 % less than ‘sedentary’ individuals; both effects were statistically significant and additive. Within the free-wheel-access group, individual variation in body mass of males was negatively correlated with amount of wheel-running during the last week (P 0.40). The narrow-sense genetic correlation between wheel-running and body mass after 8 weeks of wheel access was estimated to be −0. 50. A negative genetic correlation could account for the negative relationship between voluntary wheel-running and body mass that has been reported across 13 species of muroid rodents.
An assessed digital mammography segmentation algorithm used for content-based image retrieval

In a previous work, we presented a comprehensive validation analysis to evaluate the performance of three existing digital mammography segmentation algorithms against manual segmentation results produced by two expert radiologists. In that study it was concluded that the region growing combined with maximum likelihood (RGCwML) model yielded not only the best accuracy, specificity, percent error and algorithm ranking, but also the greatest ratio of average computer to observer agreement and average inter-observer agreement (WI'). It was also noted that the upper limit of the 95% confidence interval (CI) was greater than 1.0 and thus each individual observer is a reliable member of the group. These studies are especially important for the development of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems for cancer; equally important is the ability to retrieve "similar" images (mammograms) from a standing database. A framework for a new digital mammography content-based image retrieval system (DMCBIR) is discussed in this communication
Amateur radio in an electrical engineering program

The author describes how he has woven the amateur radio hobby into the electrical engineering design curriculum at Morgan State University. He notes that students understand, relate to, and enjoy the technical aspects of design projects which are rooted in amateur radio. The hobby is very broad and one can find practical applications of virtually every concept which is taught at the undergraduate level. Amateur radio has proven to be an excellent arena for teaching design. The author also provides guidance on how to teach a minicourse to prepare students for the Federal Communications Commission examinations to obtain their Technician Class license. >
On Compassion in Scholarship: Why Should We Care?

The article presents a speech about compassion in scholarship that was delivered by the president of the Academy of Management Anne S. Tsui at an August 5, 2012 meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. Topics include corporate social responsibility, corporate philanthropy, and the "Academy of Management Discoveries" journal.
Children's Health in the Rural Environment

The rural environment is not as wholesome as some might think. In fact, smoking, drinking, illicit drug use, and obesity are more prevalent in rural than in urban youngsters. Childhood mortality is higher in rural areas, with drowning, motor vehicle accidents, firearm injuries, and farm machinery accidents as the leading causes. Air and water quality are monitored less and actually may be worse in the country than in urban areas. This article describes children's health problems associated with the rural environment and provides a list of resources for addressing these problems.
Dielectric Relaxation of Ethylene Carbonate and Propylene Carbonate from Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Ethylene carbonate (EC) and propylene carbonate (PC) are widely used solvents in lithium (Li)-ion batteries and supercapacitors. Ion dissolution and diffusion in those media are correlated with solvent dielectric responses. Here, we use all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of the pure solvents to calculate dielectric constants and relaxation times, and molecular mobilities. The computed results are compared with limited available experiments to assist more exhaustive studies of these important characteristics. The observed agreement is encouraging and provides guidance for further validation of force-field simulation models for EC and PC solvents.
Longterm health‐related quality of life after living liver donation

There are little data on longterm outcomes, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and issues related to living donor right hepatectomy specifically. We studied longterm HRQoL in 127 living liver donors. A donor-specific survey (DSS) was used to evaluate the living liver donor morbidity, and the 36-item short-form health survey (short-form 36 health survey, version 1 [SF-36]) was used to assess generic outcomes. The DSS was completed by 107 (84.3%) donors and the SF-36 by 62 (49%) donors. Median follow-up was 6.9 years. Of the 107 donors, 12 (11.2%) donors reported their health as better, whereas 84 (78.5%) reported their health the same as before donation. Ninety-seven (90.7%) are currently employed. The most common postdonation symptom was incisional discomfort (34%). Twenty-four donors (22.4%) self-reported depression symptoms after donation. Ninety-eight (91.6%) rated their satisfaction with the donation process ≥ 8 (scale of 1-10). Three factors-increased vitality (correlation, 0.44), decreased pain (correlation, 0.34), and a recipient who was living (correlation, 0.44)-were independently related to satisfaction with the donor experience. Vitality showed the strongest association with satisfaction with the donor experience. Mental and physical component summary scale scores for donors were statistically higher compared to the US population norm (P < 0.001). Donors reported a high satisfaction rate with the donation process, and almost all donors (n = 104, 97.2%) would donate again independent of experiencing complications. Our study suggests that over a longterm period, liver donors continue to have above average HRQoL compared to the general population.
Landscaping of Highway Medians and Roadway Safety at Unsignalized Intersections

Abstract Well-planted and maintained landscaping can help reduce driving stress, provide better visual quality, and decrease over speeding, thus improving roadway safety. Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Standard Index (SI-546) is one of the more demanding standards in the U.S. for landscaping design criteria at highway medians near intersections. The purposes of this study were to (1) empirically evaluate the safety results of SI-546 at unsignalized intersections and (2) quantify the impacts of geometrics, traffic, and landscaping design features on total crashes and injury plus fatal crashes. The studied unsignalized intersections were divided into (1) those without median trees near intersections, (2) those with median trees near intersections that were compliant with SI-546, and (3) those with median trees near intersections that were non-compliant with SI-546. A total of 72 intersections were selected, for which five-year crash data from 2006–2010 were collected. The sites that were compliant with SI-546 showed the best safety performance in terms of the lowest crash counts and crash rates. Four crash predictive models—two for total crashes and two for injury crashes—were developed. The results indicated that improperly planted and maintained median trees near highway intersections can increase the total number of crashes and injury plus fatal crashes at a 90% confidence level; no significant difference could be found in crash rates between sites that were compliant with SI-546 and sites without trees. All other conditions remaining the same, an intersection with trees that was not compliant with SI-546 had 63% more crashes and almost doubled injury plus fatal crashes than those at intersections without trees. The study indicates that appropriate landscaping in highway medians near intersections can be an engineering technology that not only improves roadway environmental quality but also maintains intersection safety.
Abstract LB-406: Identification of functional enhancer SNPs in breast cancer models though ChIP-sequencing screening

The American Cancer Society estimates there were 288,130 new breast cancer diagnoses, and 39,520 breast cancer deaths nationwide in 2011. A number of life-style factors can influence breast cancer risk, however, it is apparent that both previously identified and still unknown genetic risk factors are contributing to the disease. Recent estimates place the unknown genetic component at around 70% of the total familial risk. Knowing the underlying genetic risk factors in these cases could greatly influence prevention and treatment strategies and outcome. The role of polymorphism and breast cancer and disease risk in various populations, and multiple genome-wide association (GWAS) studies have identified variants that confer risk for developing cancer or for disease progression. Importantly, the majority of these variants confer small increases in risk. Recent developments in genomics is rapidly increasing the amount of known genetic variants further confounding the discovery of risk alleles due to the need for extremely large cohorts in GWAS studies. Thus there is a clear and growing need to refine the static data with functional screening. Much of the genetic variation maps to non-coding gene deserts, leading to the popular idea that they affect cis-regulatory regions (distal enhancers) that serve as binding sites for long-range transcription factor (TF) activity, as recently demonstrated for a common variant that lies 350 kb upstream of the MYC oncogene. In order to identify functional variants that reside in and affect distal enhancer function we are employing high depth ChIP-sequencing of nuclear hormone receptors and their pioneer factors combined with SNP-array and whole genome sequencing data. Through this strategy we are building a bank of known functionally relevant SNPs that have direct association to a known DNA binding factor and its biological outcome in breast cancer models. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-406. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-LB-406
Fabrication of Piezoelectric ZnO and PZT Films for FPW Device

Piezoelectric ZnO and PZT films for acoustic wave device have been investigated. The films used for acoustic wave devices require textured structure, high piezoelectric coefficients, and high electromechanical coupling coefficients, because the piezoelectric films launch and receive the acoustic wave. We fabricated ZnO films by RF magnetron sputtering, and PZT films by chemical solution deposition (CSD). Results showed that uniform, dense and highly textured films were obtained under optimal process parameters. The film texture was controlled by modifying process parameters, such as gas kinds, gas ratio, and substrate type for sputtered ZnO films, and the presence of chelating agent, temperature of heat treatment, and substrate type for solution derived PZT films. Flexural plate wave (FPW) device has been successfully integrated onto 4-inch silicon wafers with optimized piezoelectric films.
Adjustment to College in an Urban Commuter Setting: The Impact of Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Athletic Participation.

College student adjustment, success, and retention have been a focus of college administrators and student development professionals for decades. However, national college retention and graduation statistics are typically focused on traditional, residential, full-time, college populations. The purpose of the current study was to examine more closely the impact of race/ethnicity, gender, and athletic participation on the adjustment to college of 162 college freshman attending a diverse urban commuter institution. The Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) was employed to test the impact of the three independent variables (race/ethnicity, gender, athletic participation) on the four SACQ subscales (dependent variables). Findings revealed significant Pearson correlations and multivariate analysis of variance main effects among the variables of gender and athletic participation on certain SACQ subscales. More specifically, multivariate analysis of variance main effect findings were revealed for the...
Serum lipiprotein responses to exogenous cholesterol in spider monkeys: effect of levels of dietary protein.

SummaryThe interacting effects of high (25%), low (8%), and very low (4%) dietary protein on the serum lipoprotein concentrations have been studied in spider monkeys (Ateles Sp.). Although the level of dietary protein per se had no appreciable main effect on the basal levels of serum total cholesterol, very low protein diet produced significant elevation in a-lipoprotein cholesterol. The serum lipoprotein responses to exogenous cholesterol varied at different levels of protein intake, the degree of response being highest at 4% protein level and lowest at 8% protein level. The changes were observed mainly in (B- and a-lipopro-teins.The authors appreciate the histologic examinations of liver biopsy done by Dr. William Newman, Jr., of the Department of Pathology, and the technical assistance of Mr. Charles C. Smith.
Delivering a Pilot Smoking Cessation Program through the Patient Portal of an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) at a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH)

Pharmacists are providing clinical services in nontraditional practice settings including the patient-centered medical home (PCMH). PCMHs strive to improve patient outcomes in a number of ways, including through innovative use of health information technology (HIT) and by encouraging patients to take an active role in their health care. This paper describes a pharmacist-directed smoking cessation program at a PCMH that utilizes HIT to engage patients in the smoking cessation process and lessons learned from implementation of the program to guide other pharmacists considering implementing a similar program. Secure messaging through the patient portal of the electronic medical record (EMR) can be an effective way to deliver a smoking cessation program for appropriately selected patients and aligns with PCMH standards as the program uses HIT to engage patients in self-management. Type: Original Research
Acute arterial thrombosis following chemotherapy in a patient with a gastric carcinoma : case report - online article

The pathogenesis of in situ thrombosis in cancer patients is not well known. Possible factors include endothelial damage, decreasing levels of anticoagulant factors and increasing levels of pro-coagulants. In the literature, the incidence of arterial thrombosis in cancer patients is reported to be 3.8%; 5-fluorouracil is mentioned as a rare causative agent, whereas cisplatin is thought to be the most common agent responsible for in situ thrombosis. In this report we present a 43-year-old male patient with bilateral popliteal artery embolism after 5-fluorouracil/cisplatin/taxotare combination chemotheraphy for gastric carcinoma. He had no additional risk factors such as smoking or any persistent organic arterial disease. He had sinus cardiac rhythm on electrocardiography and there were no abnormalities on echocardiography that could have been source of emboli. Surgical thrombectomy was performed with effective anticoagulation. After the operation, our medical oncologist discontinued 5-fluorouracil. At follow up, there was no evidence of thrombosis, with normal vascular flow rate.
[Molecular epidemiological study of Rickettsia raoultii in ticks from Xinjiang, China].

Rickettsia(R.)raoultii是一种新发现的斑点热群立克次体(spotted fever group Rickettsiae),为胞内革兰阴性菌,主要通过蜱叮咬传播.其分布广泛,目前已从13个国家和地区的革蜱(D.silvarum)等10种蜱中检出[1,2].近期研究表明,R.raoultii是蜱致淋巴结病(tick-borne lymphadenopathy,TIBOLA)的潜在病原.我国新疆地区地域广阔,生境多样,蜱种丰富且数量众多.境内天山山地、伊犁山地及阿勒泰山地植被覆盖率高,广泛分布有森林革蜱、边缘革蜱(D.marginatus)和草原革蜱(D.nuttallii)等蜱种[3].本研究利用分子生物学方法,研究新疆北部阿尔泰山区的白哈巴地区、西部阿拉套山区的夏尔希里地区、中部天山山区的和硕乃仁克地区采集蜱中R.raoultii自然感染情况. 关键词：Rickettsia raoultii;分子流行病学
Modified Eversion Carotid Endarterectomy (mECEA): Analysis of Clinical and Financial Outcomes

Background Several carotid endarterectomy techniques have been described, including conventional carotid endarterectomy (CCEA) performed with patch repair and eversion carotid endarterectomy (ECEA) performed with transection of the internal carotid artery. We describe our simplified technique of modified eversion carotid endarterectomy (mECEA) with longitudinal arteriotomy limited to the carotid bulb, without transection of the internal carotid artery and present our analysis of its safety, efficacy, and cost effectiveness. Methods A retrospective review of all carotid endarterectomies performed by 3 vascular surgeons over a 3-year period was completed. About 197 mECEA were performed during the study period. Follow-up data were obtained on 77.7% of patients. A comparison was made with the contemporary literature with respect to outcomes for both CCEA and ECEA. Results Between January 2012 and December 2014, a total of 197 mECEA were performed. The perioperative stroke and death rates for those undergoing mECEA was 0.5% and 0.5%, respectively. Late stroke and death rates were 3.0% and 5.1%, respectively. Perioperative rate of myocardial infarction was 1.0%. Early restenosis rates of >70% occurred in 1.4%, whereas late restenosis of >70% occurred in 2.7%. Mean operating time for those undergoing mECEA was 57.9 min. Average costs savings for mECEA compared to CCEA were $5,835. Conclusions This simplified technique has comparable outcomes to those described in the contemporary literature for both CCEA and ECEA with respect to postoperative neurologic events as well as restenosis rates. In our institution, the short mean operative times with mECEA has led to reduced resource utilization.
FASTER test reactor preconceptual design report summary

The FASTER reactor plant is a sodium-cooled fast spectrum test reactor that provides high levels of fast and thermal neutron flux for scientific research and development. The 120MWe FASTER reactor plant has a superheated steam power conversion system which provides electrical power to a local grid allowing for recovery of operating costs for the reactor plant.
Pulse compression in a synchronously pumped OPO: experiment and theory

Recently we reported on the 20-fold intracavity compression of generated pulses down to 500 fs in a β-barium-borate (BBO) synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator (SPOPO) pumped by trains of 6011 -ps at 355 nm (the third harmonic of an active-passive-mode-locked Nd:YAG laser with passive negative feedback).1 This high ratio of compression means that femtosecond pulses tunable over a wide spectral region can be generated by using a conventional mode-locked picosecond laser as a pump source. We report on further experiments with pulse compression in an SPOPO and on the further development of our model of SPOPO operation.
“Out of the Vault”: Engaging Students in Experiential Learning Through Special Collections and Archives

Special collections and university archives materials function as conduits that provide students and volunteers with hands-on learning through engagement with primary sources. This chapter investigates how proactive programming consisting of class visits to the archive, exhibit curation, and staff mentoring influence the learning experience of students and volunteers.
Activation Analysis for the ITER Divertor Cassette

A detailed three-dimensional model (3-D) has been developed for the divertor cassette in the ITER design. The layered configurations of the dome PFC and vertical targets were modeled accurately wit...
UWB communication using SAW correlators

A simple approach to ultra-wideband (UWB) communication has been demonstrated using surface acoustic wave (SAW) correlators to provide direct RF-to-baseband conversion. The SAW correlators used are bi-phase shift key (BPSK) coded devices that can directly generate or detect an RF signal. This continuous wave (CW) approach to UWB communication is markedly different from the prevailing pulse-based techniques and offers advantages of simplicity, lower component count, and lower cost. The resulting transmitter and receiver architectures eliminate mixers, IF amplifiers, IF filters, and most baseband signal processing. Transmitters and receivers were built operating at 915 MHz, 2.43 GHz, and 5.6 GHz using SAW correlators with 1.25%, 3.3%, 12.5% ,25%, and 50% fractional bandwidths.
Legal Briefs: Did Vacuum Extraction Use Cause Brain Injury?

* Abbreviations: CT, : computed tomography IVH, : intraventricular hemorrhage MRI, : magnetic resonance imaging A 33 4/7 weeks’ gestation, 1,900-g female infant was born to a 21-year-old mother whose pregnancy was complicated by hypertension. The mother was admitted to the hospital and given magnesium sulfate 5 days before delivery. After a course of antenatal corticosteroids, the obstetrician induced labor because of worsening hypertension. Spontaneous rupture of membranes occurred 4 hours after oxytocin was started. Variable decelerations occurred, for which the obstetrician ordered an amnioinfusion. The obstetrician retained by the plaintiff was critical of the amnioinfusion, stating that the salt load given to the mother during this procedure was contraindicated because of the mother's hypertension. Nine hours after oxytocin was started, when the cervix was completely dilated, the mother had 2 brief seizures. The fetal heart tracings were normal during the seizures. Ten minutes later, the obstetrician placed a vacuum device on the fetus and delivered the infant. The plaintiff's obstetrical expert pointed out that the literature and the manufacturer's guideline state that a fetus of less than 34 weeks’ gestation should not have a vacuum-assisted delivery. The treating and defense obstetrician said that the vacuum extraction was warranted because of the mother's seizures. The Apgar scores were 8, 9, and 9 at 1, 5, and 10 minutes, respectively. The infant's physical examination showed molding, cephalohematoma, facial bruising, retinal hemorrhage, a normal head circumference of 32 cm, and a low blood pressure of 53/21 mm Hg with a mean of 31 mm Hg, for which a 20-mL bolus of normal saline was given. The initial hematocrit was 63.9%. The magnesium level was 3.8 mEq/L (1.9 mmol/L). The infant began having more apnea and required intubation at 9 hours because of increasing severity of apnea. The treating and defense neonatologist said the apnea was secondary to the magnesium and/or apnea of prematurity. The plaintiff neonatologist said …
Toward Understanding the Structural Basis of Partial Agonism at the Dopamine D3 Receptor

Both dopamine D3 receptor (D3R) partial agonists and antagonists have been implicated as potential medications for substance use disorders. In contrast to antagonists, partial agonists may cause fewer side effects since they maintain some dopaminergic tone and may be less disruptive to normal neuronal functions. Here, we report three sets of 4-phenylpiperazine stereoisomers that differ considerably in efficacy: the (R)-enantiomers are antagonists/weak partial agonists, whereas the (S)-enantiomers are much more efficacious. To investigate the structural basis of partial agonism, we performed comparative microsecond-scale molecular dynamics simulations starting from the inactive state of D3R in complex with these enantiomers. Analysis of the simulation results reveals common structural rearrangements near the ligand binding site induced by the bound (S)-enantiomers, but not by the (R)-enantiomers, that are features of partially activated receptor conformations. These receptor models bound with partial agoni...
Neural and psychologic factors in sudden death.

No problem looms larger in contemporary cardiology than that of containing sudden death. In the United States this one condition claims annually about 450,000 victims or nearly one each minute around the clock. Such death is not the end stage of irreversible coronary artery atherosclerosis nor is it the consequence of coronary thrombosis, or acute myocardial infarction. It is the result of a cardiac electrical accident which is both reversible and preventable (1). To identify and protect the subject at risk must be high on the agenda of medical attention and research preoccupation. If effective clinical strategies are to be evolved, there must be clarity as to the precipitants of the electrical accident. It is our view that transient risk factors catapult the electrically unstable heart into repetitive and disorganized rhythmic activity. Inputs from higher nervous centers are among the major transient risk factors.
Interference suppression using repeated reduced rank adaptive filtering in Fractional Fourier Transform domains

The Fractional Fourier Transform (FrFT) is a powerful tool that cancels interference and noise in non-stationary, real-world, environments to pull out a signal-of-interest (SOI). This requires estimation of the best rotational parameter ‘a’ to rotate the signal to a new domain along an axis ‘t a ’ for filtering. The value of ‘a’ is usually chosen to give the minimum mean-square error (MMSE) between the desired SOI and its estimate. Recently, a technique was presented that uses repeated MMSE-FrFT filtering. This is done with a training sequence using mean-square error (MSE) as the metric by which to compute ‘a’ at each stage. This simple approach improves performance over conventional single stage MMSE-FrFT methods or methods based solely on filtering in frequency using an FFT. In this paper we apply repeated reduced rank adaptive filtering using a multistage Wiener filter (MWF). We show that the proposed MMSE-MWF-FrFT repeated filtering method significantly reduces the MSE over the repeated MMSE-FrFT method typically with just L = 1 or 2 stages and a nominal filter rank, D = 5, vs. L = 3 for MMSE. This is demonstrated by simulation using non-stationary channels as well as two types of non-stationary interference: chirp and Gaussian signals, at signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) as low as 0 dB and carrier-to-noise ratios (CIRs) also down to 0 dB. Reduction in MSE from 0.001 to 10−4 or 10−5, or lower, is observed.
STRUCTURAL AND COMPOSITIONAL ANALYSES OF ISOLATED CONE MATRIX SHEATHS

The cone matrix sheath is a biochemically and structurally distinct domain of the retinal interphotoreceptor matrix that is specifically associated with cone photoreceptor cell inner and outer segments. An aqueous extraction technique for the isolation of cone matrix sheath-enriched retinal fractions was developed and used to examine the structure and composition of this extracellular matrix domain. A complex substructural organization of the cone matrix sheath was observed. Many longitudinally oriented, filamentous structures extend the entire length of the sheath and terminate in filamentous rings at both the apical and basal ends. These longitudinal filaments are interconnected by a finer, anastomosing filamentous network. The basal rings of cone matrix sheaths are interconnected with similar rings of matrix material associated with rod photoreceptor inner segments. Gel electrophoresis and lectin blot analyses of cone matrix sheath-enriched fractions reveal the presence of 17- and 32-kilodalton bands, labeled by peanut lectin, that are likely to be components of the structural elements of cone matrix sheaths. Thus, structural elements potentially capable of mediating adhesion between the neural retina and the retinal pigmented epithelium are present in the cone matrix sheath and may be at least partially responsible for the observation that cone matrix sheaths are firmly adherent to the pigmented epithelium and the neural retina.
An integrated proteomic and glycoproteomic approach uncovers differences in glycosylation occupancy from benign and malignant epithelial ovarian tumors.

Epithelial ovarian carcinomas encompass a heterogeneous group of diseases with a poor 5-year survival rate. Serous carcinoma is the most common type. Most FDA-approved serum tumor markers are glycoproteins. These glycoproteins on cell surface or shed into the bloodstream could serve as therapeutic targets as well as surrogates of tumor. In addition to glycoprotein expressions, the analysis of protein glycosylation occupancy could be important for the understanding of cancer biology as well as the identification of potential glycoprotein changes in cancer. In this study, we used an integrated proteomics and glycoproteomics approach to analyze global glycoprotein abundance and glycosylation occupancy for proteins from high-grade ovarian serous carcinoma (HGSC) and serous cystadenoma, a benign epithelial ovarian tumor, by using LC–MS/MS-based technique. Fresh-frozen ovarian HGSC tissues and benign serous cystadenoma cases were quantitatively analyzed using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation for both global and glycoproteomic analyses by two dimensional fractionation followed by LC–MS/MS analysis using a Orbitrap Velos mass spectrometer. Proteins and N-linked glycosite-containing peptides were identified and quantified using the integrated global proteomic and glycoproteomic approach. Among the identified N-linked glycosite-containing peptides, the relative abundances of glycosite-containing peptide and the glycoprotein levels were compared using glycoproteomic and proteomic data. The glycosite-containing peptides with unique changes in glycosylation occupancies rather than the protein expression levels were identified. In this study, we presented an integrated proteomics and glycoproteomics approach to identify changes of glycoproteins in protein expression and glycosylation occupancy in HGSC and serous cystadenoma and determined the changes of glycosylation occupancy that are associated with malignant and benign tumor tissues. Specific changes in glycoprotein expression or glycosylation occupancy have the potential to be used in the discrimination between benign and malignant epithelial ovarian tumors and to improve our understanding of ovarian cancer biology.
REDUCING HYDROLOGIC PARAMETER UNCERTAINTY

A methodology is introduced that can be used in hydrologic frequency analysis to reduce the parameter uncertainty. The methodology consists of developing generalized values of the parameters (mean, standard deviation, and skewness) through the use of a weighting procedure between sample and regionalized statistics. Weights are defined as a function of the variances of the sample parameters and regionalized parameters. The variances of the sample parameters are determined using two nonparametric statistical methods, the jackknife and the bootstrap. The variances of the regionalized parameters are determined through regression analysis. The ability of this methodology is illustrated using flood flow frequency data for the Southwestern United States.
Analytic Analysis of the Data-Dependent Estimation Accuracy of Battery Equivalent Circuit Dynamics

This letter investigates the fundamental relationship between the estimation accuracy of the equivalent circuit dynamics and the measurement data, i.e., input current and output voltage. Specifically, the Cramer–Rao bounds of the model parameter estimation are derived analytically as explicit functions of generic input/output data. The derivation is performed in both discrete-time and Laplace representation, and for both single- and multi-variable estimation scenarios. The sinusoidal current input is then used as an example for illustration. The analytic results could benefit the estimation practice in multiple ways, including the estimation reliability/robustness evaluation, offline experiment design for system identification, and data selection for online estimation.
Considerations in physical therapy management of a non-responding patient with low back pain.

ABSTRACTStudy Design: Case Study. Background and Purpose: Low back pain is a common condition managed by physical therapists (PT). Screening tools have been developed to assist the PT with medical screening of patients for serious disease. Sinister pathologies may present as musculoskeletal symptoms during the patient examination. It is important for the PT to frequently reevaluate their patient’s response to therapeutic interventions and refer for further evaluation if they are not responding to conservative care. Case Description: This case reports on the history and examination findings of a 36-year-old male presenting with recurrent low back pain. An emphasis is placed on the therapist’s understanding and use of screening tools when interviewing patients and determining when medical referral may be indicated based on the patients history and examination findings. A review of the evidence on the diagnostic accuracy of screening strategies for malignancy in patients presenting with low back pain is pres...
Speaking About Mortgages: Parol Evidence or the Document's Text

Commentary on a recent California Supreme Court decision changing the rule as to the parol evidence rule in cases of fraud.
Role of Multiagency Response and On-Scene Times in Large-Scale Traffic Incidents:

Traffic incidents, often known as nonrecurring events, impose enormous economic and social costs. Compared with short-duration incidents, large-scale incidents can substantially disrupt traffic flow by blocking lanes on highways for long periods. A careful examination of large-scale traffic incidents and associated factors can assist with actionable large-scale incident management strategies. For such an analysis, a unique and comprehensive 5-year incident database on East Tennessee roadways was assembled to conduct an in-depth investigation of large-scale incidents, especially focusing on operational responses, that is, response and on-scene times by various agencies. Incidents longer than 120 min and blocking at least one lane were considered large scale; the database contained 890 incidents, which was about 0.69% of all reported incidents. Rigorous fixed- and random-parameter, hazard-based duration models were estimated to account for the possibility of unobserved heterogeneity in large-scale incidents...
Opioid Use Following Total Hip Arthroplasty: Trends and Risk Factors for Prolonged Use.

Abstract Background The purpose of this study is to answer the following questions: (1) What is the prevalence of opioid use prior to primary total hip arthroplasty (THA)? (2) What is the typical trend in opioid use following THA over the first post-operative year? (3) What are the risk factors for prolonged opioid use following primary THA? Methods Primary THA patients were identified in the Humana database from 2007 to 2015. Pre-operative and post-operative opioid use was measured by monthly prescription refill rates. Rates of opioid use were trended monthly for 1 year post-operatively and compared based on pre-operative opioid user (OU) status as well as other patient demographics and co-morbidities. Results In total, 37,393 THA patients were analyzed and 14,309 patients (38.2%) were pre-operative opioid users (OUs). Pre-operative opioid use was the strongest predictor for prolonged opioid use following THA, with non-opioid users filling significantly less opioid prescriptions than OUs at every time point analyzed. Younger age, female sex, and all other diagnoses analyzed were found to significantly increase the rate of opioid refilling following THA throughout the entire post-operative year. Conclusion Over one-third of THA patients use opioids within 3 months prior to THA and this percentage has increased 6% during the years included in this study. Pre-operative opioid use was most predictive of increased refills of opioids following THA. These data provide an important baseline for opioid use trends following THA that can be used for future comparison while identifying risk factors for prolonged use that will be helpful to prescribers as we all work to decrease opioid use, misuse, and abuse.
Self Tuning and Adaptive Control of Chemical Processes

The paper reviews the results obtained from applying the self tuning regulator to several different chemical process control problems. This research has revealed that some minor modifications to the original theory lead to better performance and robustness characteristics in the face of nonlinear and time-varying process dynamics. This paper describes the results from using a variable in lieu of a fixed forgetting factor, and an extended horizon control policy for compensation of systems that have time-varying transport delay and non-minimum phase dynamics. We also describe how steady state design models can be used to compensate for some nonlinear process characteristics via nonlinear model compensation techniques.
Calibration and Direction of Arrival Performance of Sonar Arrays Composed of Multiple Sub-arrays

Distributed sonar arrays are promising in achieving high resolution acoustic imaging. For such arrays, however, the array manifold must be estimated from observations using calibration sources. This paper investigates the performance bounds on jointly estimating the manifold parameters of a distributed array as well as the direction of arrival of an unknown target. Simulations use two calibration sources with known bearings and a single target with an unknown bearing. It is shown that for a system of two uniform linear arrays in channels with exponentially decaying spatial coherence, there are predictable optimal separations between the sub-arrays. Furthermore, the optimal separation is shown to be nearly invariant to source calibration and target parameters.
La paciencia en la fortuna: An Unprinted Play by Lope de Vega

La paciencia en la fortuna is an early seventeenth-century Spanish play on royal favoritism whose author remains unknown. This is an entertaining, thoughtful, and well-written play that, aside from being listed in some catalogs of Spanish theater, has so far received no attention from scholars. This article explores the unprinted play, traces its textual history, places it into the wide framework of theatrical representations of royal favorites, and argues that Lope de Vega is its author.
Real-time implementation and analysis of a modified energy based controller for the swing-up of an inverted pendulum on a cart

Abstract In this paper we derive a modified energy based swing-up controller using Lyapunov functions. During the derivation, all effort has been made to use a more complex dynamical model for the single inverted pendulum (SIP) system than the simplified model that is most commonly used. We consider the electrodynamics of the DC motor that drives the cart, and incorporate viscous damping friction as seen at the motor pinion. Furthermore, we use a new method to account for the limitation of having a cart-pendulum system with a finite track length. Two modifications to the controller are also discussed to make the method more appropriate for real-time implementation. One of the modifications improves robustness using a modified Lyapunov function for the derivation, while the other one incorporates viscous damping as seen at the pendulum axis. We present both simulation and real-time experimental results implemented in MATLAB Simulink.
A Dual-modality Smartphone Microendoscope for Quantifying the Physiological and Morphological Properties of Epithelial Tissues

We report a nonconcurrent dual-modality fiber-optic microendoscope (named SmartME) that integrates quantitative diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and high-resolution fluorescence imaging (FLI) into a smartphone platform. The FLI module has a spatial resolution of ~3.5 µm, which allows the determination of the nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio (N/C) of epithelial tissues. The DRS has a spectral resolution of ~2 nm and can measure the total hemoglobin concentration (THC) and scattering properties of epithelial tissues with mean errors of 4.7% and 6.9%, respectively, which are comparable to the errors achieved with a benchtop spectrometer. Our preliminary in vivo studies from a single healthy human subject demonstrate that the SmartME can noninvasively quantify the tissue parameters of normal human oral mucosa tissues, including labial mucosa tissue, gingival tissue, and tongue dorsum tissue. The THCs of the three oral mucosa tissues are significantly different from each other (p ≤ 0.003). The reduced scattering coefficients of the gingival and labial tissues are significantly different from those of the tongue dorsum tissue (p < 0.001) but are not significantly different from each other. The N/Cs for all three tissue types are similar. The SmartME has great potential to be used as a portable, cost-effective, and globally connected tool to quantify the THC and scattering properties of tissues in vivo.
Educating for Global Citizenship: Lessons from psychology

As the world becomes increasingly interconnected and problems require complex, coordinated solutions, encouraging students' identification as global citizens becomes a priority.
Love Across Borders: Asian Americans, Race, and the Politics of Intermarriage and Family-Making

High rates of intermarriage, especially with Whites, have been viewed as an indicator that Asian Americans are successfully "assimilating," signaling acceptance by the White majority and their own desire to become part of the White mainstream. Comparing two types of Asian American intermarriage, interracial and interethnic, Kelly H. Chong disrupts these assumptions by showing that both types of intermarriages, in differing ways, are sites of complex struggles around racial/ethnic identity and cultural formations that reveal the salience of race in the lives of Asian Americans. Drawing upon extensive qualitative data, Chong explores how interracial marriages, far from being an endpoint of assimilation, are a terrain of life-long negotiations over racial and ethnic identities, while interethnic (intra-Asian) unions and family-making illuminate Asian Americans’ ongoing efforts to co-construct and sustain a common racial identity and panethnic culture despite interethnic differences and tensions. Chong also examines the pivotal role race and gender play in shaping both the romantic desires and desirability of Asian Americans, spotlighting the social construction of love and marital choices. Through the lens of intermarriage, Love Across Borders offers critical insights into the often invisible racial struggles of this racially in-between "model minority" group -- particularly its ambivalent negotiations with whiteness and white privilege -- and on the group’s social incorporation process and its implications for the redrawing of color boundaries in the U.S.
Implementation of Dynamic Regulator Settings for Voltage Control in Distribution Systems

Dynamic step voltage regulator settings for voltage control scheme is proposed in an active distribution system in the presence of distributed photovoltaic (PV) systems to mitigate excessive tap operations during high PV variability period. Voltage regulating devices, such as load tap changers, step voltage regulators, and capacitor banks need to be properly controlled and coordinated while interacting with the smart inverter functionalities to improve power quality, and system efficiency. The proposed dynamic regulator settings use a unidirectional communication link to update its controller setpoints based on the PV and load forecast to achieve the desired voltage profile throughout the feeder. The proposed scheme is tested on a modified IEEE test system with PV integrated using OpenDSS and Matlab COM interface and the performance under different system operation condition is evaluated.
Entamoeba sp. infection in a bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps)

A 3-year-old, male intact, pet inland bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) presented with a history of diarrhea, progressive inappetence and weight loss. A palpable cranial celomic mass was identified on physical examination and confirmed to be hepatic in origin by celomic ultrasonography. Hematologic and biochemical abnormalities were mild and consistent with inflammation, regenerative anemia, and hepatocellular injury. Fine needle aspiration of the liver masses was suggestive of amoebiasis and the patient was humanely euthanized. PCR and Sanger DNA sequencing of liver aspirates were supportive of Entamoeba infection, although definitive speciation was not possible. Pathogenic amoebiasis due to infection by E. invadens has been reported in a wide range of reptiles and is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in these species.
Buen Suceso: A New Multicomponent Valdivia Site in Santa Elena, Ecuador

New radiocarbon dates and excavations show that Buen Suceso (OSE-M-2M-4) in Santa Elena, Ecuador, was occupied between 3700 and 1425 BC. These dates demonstrate that Buen Suceso is a rare multicomponent Valdivia site and one of the longer-occupied Valdivia sites investigated to date.