cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Recognition of emotions in facial expressions by emotionally disturbed and nondisturbed children

Groups of emotionally disturbed and nondisturbed elementary and junior high subjects were tested for ability to recognize primary emotions in facial expressions. Emotionally disturbed groups were found to be significantly less proficient both for overall emotion recognition ability and for several individual emotions. On the whole, the junior high groups were found to be better identifiers of emotion than the younger groups, but precise relationships between emotion recognition ability and age and also intelligence were unclear. Several possible interpretations of these findings and their implications for educational planning are discussed, and suggestions for additional research are presented.
The invasive New Zealand mudsnail, Potamopyrgus antipodarum, is an effective grazer of algae and altered the assemblage of diatoms more than native grazers

Exploitation of shared resources often mediates the impacts of invasive species on native species. In a field experiment, we compared the ability to graze periphyton and the genera of diatoms removed by the invasive New Zealand mudsnail, Potamopyrgus antipodarum, a native caddisfly larva (Brachycentrus sp.), and a native mayfly nymph (Ephemerella sp.) over 1 week. P. antipodarum removed as much or slightly more periphyton than the native grazers, depending on whether chlorophyll a or ash-free dry mass was used to measure periphyton biomass. When we examined the diatoms in the periphyton, P. antipodarum altered the diatom assemblage more than the native grazers. Effective grazing of periphyton by P. antipodarum may impact native grazers by consuming shared algal resources. In particular, because Ephemerella sp. were also effective grazers, these mayflies may compete for periphyton with P. antipodarum in the western United States. Taken together, these results suggest that ability to procure food resources may contribute to the invasion success of P. antipodarum.
Nondirectional motion may underlie insect behavioral dependence on image speed

Behavioral experiments suggest that insects make use of the apparent image speed on their compound eyes to navigate through obstacles, control flight speed, land smoothly, and measure the distance they have flown. However, the vast majority of electrophysiological recordings from motion-sensitive insect neurons show responses which are tuned in spatial and temporal frequency and are thus unable to unambiguously represent image speed. We suggest that this contradiction may be resolved at an early stage of visual motion processing using nondirectional motion sensors that respond proportionally to image speed until their peak response. We describe and characterize a computational model of these sensors and propose a model by which a spatial collation of such sensors could be used to generate speed-dependent behavior.
O2 dependence of in vivo brain cytochrome redox responses and energy metabolism in bloodless rats

Oxygen-dependent changes in brain cytochrome redox state and cerebrocortical energy metabolism were evaluated in fluorocarbon-circulated rats at hematocrits of less than 1%. Redox levels of three respiratory chain cytochrome complexes, b, c, and a,a3 (cytochrome c oxidase), were continuously measured directly through the intact skulls of animals using reflectance spectrophotometry. The in vivo redox status of cytochromes at different FiO2 was directly compared with in vitro measured changes in cortical metabolites known to reflect energy production, i.e., glucose, pyruvate, lactate, phosphocreatine (PCr), ADP, and ATP. Lowering the FiO2 to less than 1.0 caused the cytochromes to become increasingly more reduced. This was associated with increased tissue accumulation of pyruvate and lactate and a concomitant increase in the lactate/pyruvate (L/P) ratio. At FiO2 = 0.6, cytochromes b, c, and a,a3 were 57, 53, and 46% reduced, respectively. There was no apparent cerebral energy deficit since changes in cortical PCr, ADP, and ATP concentrations were not statistically significant. Bloodless animals did not survive below FiO2 = 0.5. At this FiO2, the inability of the animals to sustain arterial pressure correlated (r = 0.87) with depletion of PCr and further increases in the L/P ratio (r = 0.66). Yet, the cortical ATP content was reduced by only 9% of control value. These data provide direct evidence that fluorocarbon emulsion (FC-43) sustains brain oxygenation and energy metabolism at high partial pressures of molecular O2. At lower FiO2, however, mitochondrial O2 uptake becomes limited as a function of decreasing perfusion pressure.
Application Communication Reliability of Wireless Sensor Networks Supporting K-coverage

Application communication in wireless sensor networks (WSN) depends on two important factors: acquisition of sensed data from a specific area, and network connectivity that concerns the reliable delivery of the observed data from sensor nodes to the sink node. In this paper, we consider the application communication reliability (ACR) of WSN supporting K-coverage in the presence of shadowing for a specific monitored area. The analytical evaluation of ACR involves two steps. We first identify all the K-coverage sets. Then, we evaluate the communication reliability of delivering the observed data from sensor nodes within the identified K-coverage sets to the sink node. Two single-path routing algorithms, shortest-path distance algorithm and shortest-path hop algorithm, are considered for evaluating the communication reliability during the second step; their performances in terms of ACR and energy consumptions are compared through an empirical analysis of several examples. Different scenarios are considered to evaluate the impact of node density, channel condition and different monitored areas on ACR. Simulation and analytical results show that WSN using the shortest-path distance algorithm is more reliable than that using the shortest-path hop algorithm in most cases, but WSN using the shortest-path hop algorithm consumes less energy for delivering the sensed data to the sink node.
Modeling of a Diffusion Controlling Oxidation Process With Scale Removal in Oxygen-Containing Liquid Flow

A diffusion controlling oxidation model, considering scale removal, is developed in an oxygen-containing liquid flow environment. Scale removal is implemented and the effect of the scale removal rate on the formation mechanism of the duplex oxide layer structure is analyzed in the model. The volume expansion effect caused by density difference is coupled with the weight gain during oxidation. A coordinate transform technique is employed to obtain the diffusion equations with advection term. The governing equations are non-dimensionalized and analogized with the Stefan problem and solved numerically by the finite difference method. The non-dimensional parameters are studied and the model is extended to an oxide growth model with duplex layer structure and noble elements. The model is benchmarked with previous results, and good agreement is obtained.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Multifunctional Nanocomposites With High Damping Performance for Aerospace Structures

Polymer matrix composites with reinforcement of carbon nanofibers and carbon nanotubes in the form of paper sheet have shown significant vibration damping improvement compared to pure matrix materials. The large specific area (1000 m2 /g) and aspect ratio (>1000) of carbon nanotubes and nanofibers promote significant interfacial friction between carbon nanotubes/nanofibers and a polymer matrix, which causes much higher energy dissipation in the polymer matrix. In this study, a unique concept of manufacturing nanocomposites with carbon nanotube/nanofiber based nanopaper sheets for vibration damping applications has been explored. The new approach includes making carbon nanopaper sheet by the filtration of well-dispersed carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibers under controlled processing conditions. Subsequently, carbon nanopaper sheets are integrated into composite laminates as surface layer using the vacuum assistant resin transfer molding (VARTM) process. To compare the damping property of laminates constituted by different fibers, three kinds of fibers, including glass fiber, basalt fiber, and carbon fiber are used. For the comparative study, the vibration damping ratios of samples with and without carbon nanopaper sheets are determined. To identify the damping characteristics of each specimen, the Frequency Response Function (FRF) was estimated by a pair of piezoceramic patches: one as an actuator to excite the specimen and the other as a sensor to detect the induced vibrations. From the FRF, the damping ratio of the specimen at each modal frequency of interest was calculated. The experimental results clearly show a significant improvement of vibration damping properties of the nanocomposites plates. This research demonstrates vibration damping enhancement of a polymer matrix via incorporation of carbon nanopaper sheets and provided basic understanding of the damping characteristics for the optimal design and fabrication of high performance damping composites, which have the potential to be used as structural components for different applications.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Intrasite spatial variation of the Omo Kibish Middle Stone Age assemblages: artifact refitting and distribution patterns.

Abstract The middle–late Pleistocene Kibish Formation of the Lower Omo Valley (Ethiopia) contains some of the oldest dated Homo sapiens fossils. Archaeological excavations at the Omo Kibish between 2002 and 2003 recovered numerous stone tools from extensive horizontal exposures of two sites, KHS (dated to 195 ± 5 kyr) and BNS (dated to at least 104 ± 7 kyr). Analysis of artifact distributions, lithic-debris densities, and refitting artifact sets sheds light on site-formation processes. Both localities reveal weak patterns of differentiation, and BNS seems to have a preferred refit orientation.
Talking and Thinking about Qualitative Research

This script comes from an edited transcript of a session titled “Talking and Thinking About Qualitative Research,” which was part of the 2006 International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on May 4-6, 2006. This special session featured scholars informally responding to questions about their personal history with qualitative methods, epiphanies that attracted them to qualitative work or changed their perspectives within the qualitative tradition, ethical crises, exemplary qualitative studies, the current state of qualitative methods, and challenges and goals for the next decade. Panelists included Arthur Bochner (communication), Norman Denzin (sociology/communication/critical studies), Yvonna Lincoln (education), Janice Morse (nursing/anthropology), Ronald Pelias (performance studies/ communication), and Laurel Richardson (sociology/gender studies). Carolyn Ellis (communication/sociology) served as organizer and moderator.
Biodistribution and pharmacokinetic studies of bone-targeting N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide copolymer-alendronate conjugates

The biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of bone-targeting N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymer−alendronate conjugates were evaluated following intravenous administration of radioiodinated conjugates to young healthy BALB/c mice. The synthesis of a polymerizable and cathepsin K cleavable alendronate derivative, N-methacryloylglycylglycylprolylnorleucylalendronate, enabled the preparation of HPMA copolymer−alendronate conjugates with varying composition. Using the RAFT (reversible addition−fragmentation chain transfer) polymerization technique, four conjugates with different molecular weight and alendronate content and two control HPMA copolymers (without alendronate) with different molecular weight were prepared. The results of biodistribution studies in mice demonstrated a strong binding capacity of alendronate-targeted HPMA copolymer conjugates to bone. Conjugates with low (1.5 mol%) alendronate content exhibited a similar bone deposition capacity as conjugates containing 8.5 mol % of alen...
Handgrip strength among older American Indians: the Native Elder Care Study

SIR—Increased age is associated with declines in muscle strength and muscle mass, a condition referred to as sarcopenia [1]. Assessing handgrip strength is an easy test that can provide an approximation of total body muscle strength [2]. Research has found grip strength to be associated with functional disability [3, 4], chronic illnesses [5–8], hospitalisation and longer lengths of stay [9, 10] and mortality [2, 11]. Such studies have led to grip strength being considered a robust measure of frailty [8]. American Indians possess many of the risk factors for weaker grip. Notably they possess disproportionately high rates of functional disability [12] and chronic disease [13, 14]. Only one published study has examined hand strength in American Indians, measured by summing grip strength, two-point pinch and three-point pinch [15]. Given the limited information about grip strength in this population, coupled with their risk factors, we compared grip strength from a sample of American Indians to normative values and identified their correlates of weaker grip strength.
Critical Damping in Certain Linear Continuous Dynamic Systems.

Abstract Free damped vibrations of linear elastic structures composed of uniform beam elements with a continuous distribution of mass are studied. Axial, torsional and flexural vibrations are considered. The amount of damping, which can be either internal or external viscous type, varies among the various beam elements of the structure resulting in many critical damping possibilities. A general method is developed which, with the aid of dynamic stiffness influence coefficients defined for every element, determines the “critical damping surfaces” of the system. These surfaces represent the loci of combinations of amounts of damping leading to critically damped motion and thus separating regions of partial or complete underdamping from those of overdamping. The dimension of a critical damping surface is equal to the number of independent amounts of damping present in the system, while the number of these surfaces is infinite, i.e. equal to the number of degrees of freedom of the system. Three examples are presented in detail to illustrate the proposed method for determining critical damping and demonstrate its importance.
Real Earnings Management and Subsequent Operating Performance

Real earnings management (REM) is the manipulation of business activities to meet an earnings threshold. Despite concern that REM activities create real economic costs, research on the relation between REM and subsequent operating performance is inconclusive. We develop two firm-level methods of estimating abnormal discretionary expenditures and implement a more proactive method of identifying REM activity. Using firm-level estimates of abnormal expenditures, we find strong evidence that REM is negatively related to subsequent period return on assets and cash flows from operations. Our results suggest that the inconclusive results in prior research may be in part due to estimating abnormal expenditures using industry-level models.
New Methodologic Approaches for the Study of Transport in the Liver

Knowledge of the mechanisms of hepatic transport systems has increased rapidly in the last few years, as new techniques have become available to study this complex physiologic process. Traditionally, investigators have relied on the bile fistula animal, isolated perfused liver preparations, and isolated hepatocyte suspensions to probe these transport systems. While each model has provided significant information, certain disadvantages are inherent in each of the models that limit interpretation. For example, the bile fistula animal has proven useful for characterizing both stimulants and inhibitors of bile secretion. However, problems arise from the inability to monitor changes in hepatic circulation or to distinguish parenchymal cell from bile duct functions. For this reason, the isolated perfused liver has been a much used technique for studies of hepatic uptake and biliary secretion and has the advantage over the bile fistula animal that hepatic hemodynamics (flow and perfusion pressure) can be monitored in a controlled fashion.
The Opportunities and Challenges for Shared Decision-Making in the Rural United States

The ethical standard for informed consent is fostered within a shared decision-making (SDM) process. SDM has become a recognized and needed approach in health care decision-making. Based on an ethical foundation, the approach fosters the active engagement of patients, where the clinician presents evidence-based treatment information and options and openly elicits the patient’s values and preferences. The SDM process is affected by the context in which the information exchange occurs. Rural settings are one context that impacts the delivery of health care and SDM. Rural health care is significantly influenced by economic, geographical and social characteristics. Several specific distinctive features influence rural health care decision-making—poverty, access to health care, isolation, over-lapping relationships, and a shared culture. The rural context creates challenges as well as fosters opportunities for the application of SDM as a natural dynamic within the rural provider–patient relationship. To fulfill the ethical requirements of informed consent through SDM, it is necessary to understand its inherent challenges and opportunities. Therefore, rural clinicians and ethicists need to be cognizant of the impact of the rural setting on SDM and use the insights as an opportunity to achieve SDM.
Chemosurgery for the microscopically controlled excision of skin cancer

Chemosurgery is a method by which cutaneous cancers can be excised under complete microscopic control by the systematic use of frozen sections. The technique consists of three main steps: (1) application of a zinc chloride fixative paste, (2) excision of a layer of fixed tissue, and (3) systematic microscopic scanning of frozen sections cut through the undersurface of the specimens. The procedure is repeated in the cancerous areas until a completely cancer-free plane is reached. Advantages of the method are unprecedented reliability, conservatism, low operative mortality, excellent healing, and the fact that it extends operability to many patients with cancers too extensive for hope of cure by other methods. Special training is essential for optimal results. Though the method is used by over 50 physicians, more should be trained so that chemosurgery is available in every large population center.
Superconductive tunneling study of the spin-filter and proximity effects

Abstract Metal-EuS-Al junctions and EuS/Al bilayers have been studied by superconductive tunneling. In the former, the tunnel current showed a spin-polarization up to 85%, which was attributed to the splitting of the EuS conduction band. The EuS/Al bilayers displayed a large extra Zeeman splitting in the quasiparticle density of states in Al due to the exchange interaction between the conduction electrons and the localized and spontaneousely ordered Eu2+ moments. From the dependence of this internal (exchange) field on the Al film thickness, the exchange constant was found to be about 13 meV.
Building interprocess communication models using STILE

The authors describe the STILE (Structure Interconnection Language and Environment) general-purpose computer-based graphical design and development system for describing logical relationships among components of systems. The syntax of the graphs produced using STILE is separate from the semantics, which are supplied by a postprocessor. A major advantage of this approach is the ability to address different models of computation, especially different concurrency models, using the same graphical environment. The authors show how to create primary building block parts for analog computing and data-flow computing from parts defined in a different model of computing. Composing parts in this fashion eliminates the need to build postprocessors for these additional models of computation, thereby overcoming one of the major problems introduced by separating graphical syntax from semantics. >
A Bayesian multiscale framework for Poisson inverse problems

This paper describes a maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation method for linear inverse problems involving Poisson data based on a novel multiscale framework. The framework itself is founded on a carefully designed multiscale prior probability distribution placed on the "splits" in the multiscale partition of the underlying intensity, and it admits a remarkably simple MAP estimation procedure using an expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. Unlike many other approaches to this problem, the EM update equations for our algorithm have simple, closed-form expressions. Additionally, our class of priors has the interesting feature that the "non-informative" member yields the traditional maximum likelihood solution; other choices are made to reflect prior belief as to the smoothness of the unknown intensity.
A Comparison of Three Strategies to Rule Induction from Data with Numerical Attributes

Our main objective was to compare two discretization techniques, both based on cluster analysis, with a new rule induction algorithm called MLEM2, in which discretization is performed simultaneously with rule induction. The MLEM2 algorithm is an extension of the existing LEM2 rule induction algorithm. The LEM2 algorithm works correctly only for symbolic attributes and is a part of the LERS data mining system. For the two strategies, based on cluster analysis, rules were induced by the LEM2 algorithm. Our results show that MLEM2 outperformed both strategies based on cluster analysis, in terms of complexity (size of rule sets) and, more importantly, error rates.
Open Secrets: The Widespread Availability of Information about the Health and Environmental Effects of Chemicals

Numerous mechanisms exist to ensure the disclosure of information about chemical hazards to the public: some federal laws drive the disclosure of information regarding hazards that chemicals may pose to health or the environment. Other federal laws and the tort system create substantial liabilities for entities that conceal chemical hazard information. Laws requiring and promoting disclosure of hazard information are discussed, including relevant provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, OSHA's Hazard Communication standards, and the Freedom of Information Act. The chemical industry's voluntary programs to publish risk information, such as the High Production Volume Challenge Program, CHEMSTAR, and Voluntary Children's Chemical Evaluation Program are described.
A RETROSPECTIVE VOTING MODEL WITH HETEROGENEOUS POLITICIANS

This paper extends the performance-based voting models of Barro (1973), Ferejohn (1986), and Austen-Smith and Banks (1990) by including heterogeneous politicians. The introduction of heterogeneous politicians has three major implications. First, the act of voting must now simultaneously address both “moral hazard” and “adverse selection” problems. Accordingly, this paper demonstrates that voters will usually have to trade off the twin goals of (i) securing the optimal performance from a given type of politician, and (ii) insuring that only the best types of politicians are selected to office. Second, both equilibrium reelection rates and the tenure-performance relationship are shown to depend on the value of holding office. For example, when the value of holding political office is large relative to other employment opportunities. incumbents will experience very high reelection rates: and longer-serving politicians will perform poorer, on average, than shorter-serving politicians. Finally, we demonstrate the surprising result that increased heterogeneity of politicians can make voters worse off.
Cold acclimation enhances cutaneous resistance to inoculative freezing in hatchling painted turtles, Chrysemys picta

Summary 1Neonatal Painted Turtles, Chrysemys picta (Schneider 1783), typically spend the first winter of their life inside the shallow, subterranean nest where they completed incubation the preceding summer. This behaviour commonly causes hatchlings in northerly populations to be exposed in mid-winter to life-threatening conditions of ice and cold. Neonates apparently withstand such exposure by remaining unfrozen and becoming supercooled. 2Recently hatched turtles are unable to resist freezing by inoculation (i.e. freezing that is induced by the penetration of ice crystals through the integument and into body compartments from frozen soil). Consequently, newly hatched animals that make contact with ice are highly susceptible to freezing when temperature goes below the equilibrium freezing point for their body fluids (c. −0·7 °C). Freezing is fatal, even when temperature does not go below −2 °C, so newly hatched turtles have only a very limited tolerance for exposure to ice and cold. 3Acclimation (or acclimatization) by neonatal turtles to low temperatures in the interval between hatching and the start of winter elicits an increase in effectiveness of the cutaneous barrier to the penetration of ice into body compartments from the environment. Acclimated hatchlings coming into contact with ice in frozen soil usually remain unfrozen and supercooled, and survival by supercooled turtles is uniformly high. This thermally induced enhancement of the cutaneous barrier to inoculation is key to an overwintering strategy based on supercooling.
Comment: Some Statistical Concerns on Dimensional Analysis.

We would like to congratulate Albrecht et al. (2013)— henceforth ANAC—on their innovative and inspiring work on design of experiments for DA. The idea of incorporating DA into statistics could be c...
The temperature dependence of radiation sensitivity of large molecules

The change in radiation sensitivity with temperature is quantitatively the same for biological macromolecules and synthetic polymers. The mechanism(s) for this effect is (are) due to secondary processes occurring after the primary ionization and are associated with the presence of free radicals.
Stigma: An insider's view

The literature on stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination has typically focused on the ways dominant groups negatively view and respond to minority groups. We suggest an insider’s perspective to focus attention on the stereotyped or stigmatized ingroup’s responses, experiences, and beliefs and the paradox of being both an active constructor of one’s everyday reality and an involuntary target of negative attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs that shape this reality. We propose that an insider’s perspective affords a view of stigmatized groups as actively seeking to make sense of their social world and attain positive outcomes, not simply avoid negative outcomes. In this sense, an insider’s perspective acknowledges that stigmatized groups are not simply victims or passive recipients of stereotyping but rather actively attempt to construct a buffering life space. The literature on stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination has typically focused on the ways dominant groups negatively view and respond to minority groups, illustrating the extent, pervasiveness, and influence of negative attitudes and stereotypes on information processing, memory, judgment, and emotional response of dominant group members. In this way, dominant groups have been the subject and subordinate groups the object of research, with stigmatized group members being seen as victims or targets: objects rather than active agents. For example, much of the history of the study of prejudice has dealt with studying the individual, intergroup, and cultural origins of racism among dominant
Power management subsystem with bi-directional DC to DC converter for μ-power biomedical applications

This paper presents a power management subsystem for μ-power biomedical applications. The power management subsystem is embedded in a wireless sensor SoC that requires 1.5V to operate, with the exception of the sensor bias and RF transmitter which require 3V. The proposed power management block can accept a 3V coin cell or 1.5V button cell battery to operate the entire IC. A bi-directional DC/DC converter is implemented such that 3V can be generated from a 1.5V battery, or, alternately, a 1.5V power supply, can be generated from a 3V battery. When using a 1.5V battery the forward mode DC/DC converter generates a 3V supply with 97% efficiency, while in the reverse mode the 3V supply generates a 1.5V supply with 95% efficiency. The circuit is specially designed to be highly efficient with micro-power loads up to 60µW. The power management circuit is comprised of a bi-directional DC/DC converter or Charge Pump, Charge Pump Startup Circuit, Real Time Clock (RTC), Power On reset (POR), micro power bandgap, analog temperature circuit, 6 degree C temperature comparator, LDO, ADC reference and sensor reference. The circuit is fabricated in a 0.35µm BCD technology and occupies an area of 1.125 mm2.
Tb(III)-ion-binding-induced conformational changes in platelet factor XIII.

Ca(II) ions are crucial during proteolytic conversion of Factor XIII zymogen into the active enzyme Factor XIIIa. Factor XIII proteolyzed by thrombin or trypsin in the presence of 5 mM-EDTA resulted in rapid inactivation of transglutaminase activity. Factor XIIIa formed by thrombin or trypsin in the presence of 40 microM-Tb(III) ions, however, was indistinguishable from Factor XIIIa formed in the presence of 2-5 mM-Ca(II) ions with respect to molecular mass and transglutaminase activity. Thrombin treatment of Factor XIII in the presence of 1-5 microM-Tb(III) ions resulted in three fragments (76 kDa, 51 kDa and 19 kDa) with simultaneous loss of transglutaminase activity. Tb(III) ions at concentrations greater than 40 microM made platelet Factor XIII resistant to proteolysis by either thrombin or trypsin. Other lanthanide(III) ions [Ln(III) ions] tested [Ce(III), La(III) and Gd(III) ions] functioned similarly to Tb(III) ions during proteolytic activation of Factor XIII. Ln(III) ions (10-100 microM) were unable to replace the Ca(II) ions required for transglutaminase activity of Factor XIIIa. Tb(III) ions also inhibited in a non-competitive manner the transglutaminase activity of Factor XIIIa (Ki 71 microM) even when measured in the presence of 200-fold molar excess of Ca(II) ions. Factor XIII selectively bound to a Tb(III)-chelate affinity column, and could not be eluted by 100 mM-CaCl2. Binding of Tb(III) ions to Factor XIII was demonstrated by fluorescence emission due to Forster energy transfer. A 10(4)-fold molar excess of CaCl2, but not NaCl, partially quenched Tb(III) fluorescence. Low concentrations (5-20 microM) of Tb(III) ions also inhibited the binding of Factor XIII to des-A-fibrinogen by about 43%, whereas higher concentrations (40-100 microM) promoted binding. Conformational changes in Factor XIII consequent to the binding of Tb(III) ions could be responsible for the observed effects on protein structure and function. Images
Chirality Inversion of CdSe and CdS Quantum Dots without Changing the Stereochemistry of the Capping Ligand

L-cysteine derivatives induce and modulate the optical activity of achiral cadmium selenide (CdSe) and cadmium sulfide (CdS) quantum dots (QDs). Remarkably, N-acetyl-L-cysteine-CdSe and L-homocysteine-CdSe as well as N-acetyl-L-cysteine-CdS and L-cysteine-CdS showed "mirror-image" circular dichroism (CD) spectra regardless of the diameter of the QDs. This is an example of the inversion of the CD signal of QDs by alteration of the ligand's structure, rather than inversion of the ligand's absolute configuration. Non-empirical quantum chemical simulations of the CD spectra were able to reproduce the experimentally observed sign patterns and demonstrate that the inversion of chirality originated from different binding arrangements of N-acetyl-L-cysteine and L-homocysteine-CdSe to the QD surface. These efforts may allow the prediction of the ligand-induced chiroptical activity of QDs by calculating the specific binding modes of the chiral capping ligands. Combined with the large pool of available chiral ligands, our work opens a robust approach to the rational design of chiral semiconducting nanomaterials.
Inheritance of resistance to permethrin in culex pipiens quinquefasciatus.

The mode of inheritance of resistance to permethrin was studied in 2 strains of the southern house mosquito selected with the d-trans and d-cis isomers of this pyrethroid. Resistance was found to be co dominant (D = −0.014 to 0.14) in the d-trans -selected strain, and partially recessive (D = −0.15 to −0.35) in the d-cis -selected strain. The similarity of dominance values (D) in each pair of reciprocal crosses indicates a lack of sex linkage. Dose response lines for the backcross progeny (F1 ♂×S♀) were significantly different from those which might be expected on the basis of single gene inheritance, leading to the conclusion that permethrin resistance in this mosquito is of polyfactorial origin.
Urinary and Fecal Coproporphryn Excretion in Rats. II. Results in Experimental Liver Damage.

Summary and Conclusions1. Despite the presence of severe liver involvement, no consistently significant increases were noted in the excretion of urinary or fecal coproporphyrin in rats fed a choline-deficient diet or thioacetamide. Average 3- to 4-fold increases, however, were observed in the ratio of urinary to fecal coproporphyria 2. Essentially similar results were obtained in choline-deficient rats maintained on either alcohol or water as drinking fluid. 3. Transitory increases were found in the urinary coproporphyrin and the urinary/fecal coproporphyrin ratio following acute exposure to carbon tetrachloride vapor. 4. The combination of Rose Bengal and ultraviolet irradiation failed to produce any increase in urinary porphyrin excretion in rats. 5. The injection of lead in rats produced a striking increase in the excretion of urinary coproporphyrin.
Fluoroquinolones: is there a different mechanism of action and resistance against Streptococcus pneumoniae?

Starting in the 1950s, study and elucidation of the biochemical mechanisms of resistance to antibiotics led to the understanding of both the biology of bacteria and the mode of action of antibiotics. This holds true for the relationship between Streptococcus pneumoniae and the fluoroquinolones. A new feature in this approach is the availability of the nearly complete chromosome sequence of this major human pathogen. In S. pneumoniae, resistance appears to be mainly due to mutational alterations in the intracellular targets of the fluoroquinolones, the type II DNA topoisomerase gyrase and topoisomerase IV. Both enzymes appear to be the primary targets of the drugs in this species. Mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR) of the gyrA gene or the parC gene, which encode the A subunits of DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV respectively, confer resistance to single-step mutants. Mutations in gyrB and parE, which encode the B subunits of DNA gyrase and topo IV, respectively, have also been implicated in the fluoroquinolone resistance of certain mutants obtained in vitro. The antibiotics most affected by a single mutation are those for which the mutation occurs in their preferred target e.g. gyrase for sparfloxacin and gatifloxacin and topo IV for ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin. The activity of all fluoroquinolones is decreased further when two or more mutations are present. Because they possess similar targets of action, there is cross resistance, albeit at various degrees depending on the intrinsic activity of the molecule, among fluoroquinolones. This stresses, once more, the misleading concept of breakpoints for clinical categorization. A second mechanism of resistance, enhanced active efflux of hydrophilic quinolones such as norfioxacin and ciprofloxacin, is mediated by the membrane-associated protein, PmrA (pneumococcal multidrug resistance). This protein is a 12-transmembrane segment proton-dependent multidrug efflux pump of the major facilitator family. The combinatorial approach of bacteria to fluoroquinolone resistance implies that the molecule actually used, as well as a less active member of the class that is more apt to detect resistance mechanisms (e.g. ciprofloxacin), should be tested in vitro.
Basic Description of Laser Diode Dynamics by Spatially Averaged Rate Equations: Conditions of Validity

A laser diode is a device in which an electric current input is converted to an output of photons. The time-dependent relation between the input electric current and the output photons is commonly described by a pair of equations describing the time evolution of photon and carrier densities inside the laser medium. This pair of equations, known as the laser rate equations, is used extensively in the following chapters. It is, therefore, appropriate, in this first chapter, to summarize the results of Moreno [2] regarding the conditions under which the rate equations are applicable.
Continuity of the Elastic BIE Formulation

The paper presents a brief mathematical investigation of the continuity properties of the Somigliana displacement and stress identities. It is shown that the regularity conditions for the boundary-integral equation are fully consistent with the continuity requirements for the interior displacements and stresses in elasticity. A new stress-based BIE is obtained. The implications of the new stress-based BIE on the continuity of BEM formulations will be discussed in the full paper.
The media of the ultra-right: Discourse and audience activism online

In light of the rise of ultra-right ideologies in Europe, this article offers an in-depth analysis of the discourse on immigration presented by CasaPound Italia (CPI), a self-defined fascist organization in Italy. This case study illustrates the importance of media and communication activism for the promotion of contemporary ultra-right movements. Specifically, the analysis focuses on how CPI reported one of the first widely covered immigration-related disaster in the Mediterranean, on 3 October 2013, and on the audience interactions that followed on the organisation’s website. In this article, I argue that CasaPound Italia’s online communique and its members’ comments need to be considered as one discursive event in which the encoding/decoding processes at play can be explored in detail. The examination, which draws from critical discourse studies, reveals audiences’ contributions in unpacking the implicit message contained in the original communique and underlines the active role that “rank and file” members play in the promotion of ultra-right ideologies.
Estimation of Basic Quantities for Other Sampling Schemes

In Chapter 4, we examined techniques for estimating the survival function for right-censored data in sections 4.2–4.5 and for left-truncated data in section 4.6. In this chapter, we discuss how to estimate the survival function for other sampling schemes, namely, left, double, and interval censoring, right-truncation, and grouped data. Each sampling scheme provides different information about the survival function and requires a different technique for estimation.
A Paradox of Matter and Form

In the face of the puzzles of material constitution, some philosophers (hylomorphists) have been moved to posit a distinction between an object's matter and its form. A familiar difficulty for contemporary hylomorphism is to say which properties are eligible as forms: for example, it seems that it would be intolerably arbitrary to say that being statue shaped is embodied by some material object, but that other complex shape properties aren't. Anti-arbitrariness concerns lead quickly to a plenitudinous ontology. The usual complaint is that the super-abundance of material objects is too extraordinary to accept, but I want to raise a different worry: I argue that the most natural way of developing this picture is already inconsistent. I show that a simple version of plenitudinous hylomorphism is subject to a Russellian argument, but argue that we cannot treat the problem straightforwardly as an instance of Russell's Paradox of Sets.
C5 inhibition prevents renal failure in a mouse model of lethal C3 glomerulopathy

C3 glomerulopathy is a potentially life-threatening disease of the kidney caused by dysregulated alternative pathway complement activation. The specific complement mediator(s) responsible for kidney injury in C3 glomerulopathy are yet to be defined and no specific therapy is currently available. We previously developed a mouse model of lethal C3 glomerulopathy with factor H and properdin gene double mutations. Therefore, we used this model to examine the role of C5 and C5a receptor (C5aR) in the pathogenesis of the disease. Disease severity in these factor H/properdin double-mutant mice was found to be correlated with plasma C5 levels, and prophylactic anti-C5 mAb therapy was effective in preventing lethal C3 glomerulopathy. When given to these double-mutant mice that had already developed active disease with severe proteinuria, anti-C5 mAb treatment also prevented death in half of the mice. Deficiency of C5aR significantly reduced disease severity, suggesting that C5aR-mediated inflammation contributed to C3 glomerulopathy. Thus, C5 and C5aR have a critical role in C3 glomerulopathy. Hence, early intervention targeting these pathways may be an effective therapeutic strategy for patients with C3 glomerulopathy.
Sickle Cell Trait and Risk of Cognitive Impairment in African Americans: The Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Cohort

Background:Sickle cell anemia (SCA) has been associated with cognitive dysfunction, perhaps in part due to vascular occlusive disease. Increasing evidence suggests that some complications of SCA might also affect those with sickle cell trait (SCT), including chronic and end-stage kidney disease and venous thromboembolism. Thus, SCT may not be a benign condition. Based on data that SCA may influence cognition, we hypothesized that SCT is a risk factor for cognitive impairment in African-Americans. Methods: Participants were African-American adults aged 45 and older from a national prospective cohort study of 30,239 white and black Americans; the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study. The study collected extensive baseline risk factor data, and conducted baseline and annual cognitive function testing using the Six-Item Screener (SIS), a validated telephone-administered instrument for global cognitive function that yields a score from 0 to 6. Participants included in this analysis were African-Americans without SCA who had available data on baseline and at least one follow up SIS, SCT genotyping and principal components of ancestry. Participants with baseline SIS ≤4 were excluded as having prevalent impairment. Incident cognitive impairment was defined as having a score at the most recent assessment of ≤4. Logistic regression was used to model associations of SCT with incident cognitive impairment, adjusted for risk factors (listed in table footnote). Results:Among 5,507 participants (mean age 63.5), 731 developed incident cognitive impairment with average follow up of 8.1 years. Those with incident cognitive impairment were more likely to be male with prebaseline history of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia, and had lower income and education. They were slightly more likely to have SCT (7.9% vs 7.3%). In sequentially adjusted models (table), there was no association of SCT with incident cognitive impairment, with a fully adjusted odds ratio of 1.16 (95% CI 0.79-1.71). There were no significant differences in this odds ratio by age, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease or smoking status (p for interaction with SCT all >0.4). Conclusion:In this prospectively followed general population cohort of middle-aged and older adults with longitudinal cognitive function testing, SCT was not associated with increased risk of incident cognitive impairment overall or in various high-risk subgroups. These findings suggest that unlike in SCA, SCT does not result in chronic cerebrovascular dysfunction. To confirm and extend these findings, further work is needed on associations of SCT with specific domains of cognitive function. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Translating Stem Cell Discoveries

Stem cells are moving rapidly in translation and into clinical trials. Those based on sound scientific data will eventually dominate the clinical spectrum of new therapeutics. Presently there are many studies that do not show significant and repeatable efficacy in the larger cohorts of patients that may be due to the lack of rigor in determining the basic mechanism of action of the cellular therapy. Drawing together academic, clinical, and company interests in a new modality of using stem cells as therapeutics is helpful for addressing difficult issues arising, enables deeper infrastructure, provides focus in meeting the demands of translation for trial registration and targets ensure that clinical relevance is addressed. The demands of translation and the costs of studies required mean that both public and private finance is needed. As an example, CIRM (California Institute for Regenerative Medicine) has a large portfolio of projects with private partnerships that are increasing the potential clinical opportunities for many diseases and injuries with little treatment currently available. With this increasing pressure for clinical trials, new approaches are needed for networked clinical facilities in the tertiary medical institutions. The translation of primary stem cell discoveries has considerable momentum and likely to provide many new therapies and cures for a wide spectrum of conditions.
Person-environment fit is a formative construct

Abstract This study explores the concept of person-environment (PE) fit. There has been a push recently to move beyond unidimensional definitions of fit and to consider fit at a variety of dimensions and levels of the environment simultaneously, which has led to questions about how this multidimensional construct should be conceptualized. Specifically, is fit on dimensions and levels a manifestation of overall fit (i.e., a reflective model) or does fit at the dimensions and levels combine to collectively define overall fit (i.e., a formative model)? This study focused on two main research questions. First, is PE fit a formative or reflective construct? Second, how does specifying PE fit as formative or reflective affect the prediction of outcomes? Six hundred and eighty-eight employees from a variety of occupations and organizations rated their fit with various aspects of their work environment and several attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. The results supported the hypotheses that PE fit should be conceptualized as a formative construct. The results also suggest that formative models slightly improve the prediction of outcomes. This suggests that the dimensions and levels of fit combine to form employees' perceptions of fit. Limitations, directions for future research, and implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Measuring oral contraceptive adherence using self-report versus pharmacy claims data

Objective Proportion of Days Covered (PDC) is a measure of medication adherence that uses prescription claims data to describe the proportion of days that the patient possessed medication. The objective of this study is to compare PDC and self-report as measures of oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) adherence and to identify individual-level predictors of adherence.