cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
End-of-Life Care in Neonatal Intensive Care Units from an Asian Perspective: An Integrative Review of the Research Literature.

Background: End-of-life (EOL) care in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) can vary depending on religious beliefs of health care providers and families as well as the sociocultural environment. Although guidelines exist for EOL care in NICUs, most are based on Western studies, and little is known about such care in Asian countries, which have different religious and social background. Objective: This review synthesized empirical research to reveal the state of the science on infant EOL care in Asian countries. Design: This was an integrative review. Setting/Subjects: Data were collected from studies identified in CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, and PubMed. The search was limited to current empirical studies involving infant EOL care in Asian countries and published in English between 2007 and 2016. Results: Of 286 studies initially identified, 11 empirical studies conducted in Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Mongolia, Taiwan, and Turkey were included in the review. Four themes were captured: factors influencing decision making, trends in decision making, practical aspects of EOL care, and health care providers' preparation. In most NICUs, health care providers controlled decisions regarding use of life-sustaining treatment, with parents participating in decision making no more than 60% of the time. Although care decisions were gradually changing from "do everything" for patient survival to a more palliative approach, comfort care at the EOL was chosen no more than 63% of the time. Conclusion: While infant EOL care practice and research vary by country, few articles address these matters in Asia. This integrative review characterizes infant EOL care in Asia and explores cultural influences on such care.
Fertility counseling in cancer patients: A study of patients and physicians.

e17721 Background: In 2008, over 130,000 people in the US under age 45 were diagnosed with cancer. Due to increased survival rates, treatment-related infertility is a growing concern among patients...
Insecure connection bootstrapping in cellular networks: the root of all evil

In the cellular ecosystem, base stations act as trusted intermediaries between cellular devices and the core network. During connection bootstrapping, devices currently, however, do not possess any mechanisms to authenticate a base station before connecting to it. This lack of authentication has been shown to be exploitable by adversaries to install fake base stations which can lure unsuspecting devices to connect to them and then launch sophisticated attacks. Despite being a well-known threat to the cellular ecosystem, this weakness is not addressed in the current protocol versions including 5G. The current paper sets out to fill this void by proposing a Public-key infrastructure (PKI) based authentication mechanism which builds on top of the asymmetric cryptography used in 5G and adheres to the relevant deployment constraints. Our proposed authentication scheme leverages precomputation-based digital signature generation algorithms and employs optimizations in three dimensions---PKI scheme-level, protocol-level, and cryptographic scheme-level---to address the trilemma of small signature size, efficient signature generation, and short verification time. Our evaluation on a real testbed indicates that the proposed scheme is not only readily deployable but also performs better than a symmetric key-based scheme (i.e., TESLA) in terms of security guarantee, overhead, and deployment constraints (e.g., backward compatibility).
The Sociology of Race & Racism: Key Concepts, Contributions & Debates

ABSTRACTIn this paper we highlight key conceptual, empirical, and theoretical contributions of the sociology of race and racism, particularly those relevant to education scholars. We suggest that e...
Forecasting leachate generation from pilot woodchip stockpiles using a three-dimensional transient flow model.

Abstract Leachate generation from open stockpiles of recycled woodchip materials is potentially harmful to aquatic ecosystems. There is growing interest in using numerical models to simulate leachate generation from outdoor piles, but this requires information about the hydraulic properties of the materials. The objectives of this study were to simulate leachate from woodchip piles with the numerical model HYDRUS-3D and to optimize subsets of parameters for single (SPM) and dual (DPM) pore flow models with the Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm DREAMZS. Three experimental piles, each approximately 30 m3, were setup with mixtures of either once (coarse) or twice (fine) ground woodchips. Leachate continuously collected over a period of six months was similar across piles. As a result, subsets of optimized flow parameters for the coarse and fine woodchips were not different. Leachate predictions by the two pore flow models were similar and agreed reasonably with the field measurements, as indicated by Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency values greater than 0.6. This result suggests the simpler SPM is adequate for field predictions of leachate. However, leachate was consistently under-predicted by both pore models by 13–27% during rainfall events with more than 1 cm in 6 h. The optimized flow models can be used as a tool for studying pile management strategies.
Accommodating Emotion and Affect in Political Discussions in Classrooms

This article calls for greater attention to the role of emotion and affect in classroom discussions where theoretical models of discussion and deliberation tend to emphasize the rationalistic eleme...
The N-terminal but not the C-terminal CRD of galectin-8 and the presence of cellular glycosylation are required for the externalization of galectin-8

3436 Galectin-8 is a member of mammalian β-galactoside binding lectins and contains two tandem carbohydrate recognition domains (CRDs) linked by hinge peptides. As an extracellular matrix protein, galectin-8 modulates cell growth, cell adhesion, cell transformation, embryogenesis, and apoptosis. Several studies have found that galectin-8 is widely expressed in tumor tissues, and its expression level may be associated with a state of differentiation and metastatic potential of tumor cells. Although galectin-8 lacks a signal peptide and a transmembrane domain, it is expressed on the cell surface and is exported by a poorly understood, non-conventional secretory mechanism. To investigate the impact of carbohydrate binding activity on the extracellular transport of galectin-8, we generated four CHO transfectants expressing either wild-type human galectin-8 or one of three mutants (R69H, R233H, and R69H/R233H). The R69H and R233H mutations are known to abrogate the carbohydrate binding activity of the N- and C-terminal CRD, respectively. Immunohistochemical analysis of permeabilized transfectants revealed that galectin-8 was expressed both in the cytoplasm and the nucleus whether or not a mutation was present, suggesting that the carbohydrate binding activity of neither N-terminal nor C-terminal CRD is essential for the intracellular localization of galectin-8. However, while wild-type galectin-8 and galectin-8/R233H were clearly detected on the cell surface by flow cytometry analysis, galectin-8/R69H and R69H/R233H were not. Cell surface expression of galectin-8 was enabled following the addition of recombinant galectin-8 protein to R69H and R69H/R233H expressing transfectants confirming that the cell surface ‘galectin-8 receptor’ was intact. Analysis of transfectant supernatants demonstrated the presence of a secretory form of galectin-8 for wild-type and galectin-8/R233H, but not galectin-8/R69H or R69H/R233H. To further examine the extracellular transport of galectin-8, we utilized the Lec8 mutant CHO cell line which poorly glycosylates proteins and lipids due to a point mutation in UDP-galactose transporter (UGT). While Western blot analysis detected galectin-8 expression in Lec8/galectin-8 transfectants, cell surface expression of galectin-8 was not detected in Lec8/galectin-8. However, forced expression of wild-type UGT by Lec8/galectin-8 restored the localization of galectin-8 to the cell surface. These results demonstrate that two processes are required for the extracellular expression of galectin-8: the carbohydrate binding activity of the N-terminal, but not the C-terminal, CRD and the presence of glycosylation activity in the host cell. These results may provide an insight into understanding the non-classical secretory pathway of galectins.
People of Filipino Heritage

The Filipino way of life is a tapestry of multicultural influences superimposed on indigenous tribal origins. The people are predominantly of Malayan ancestry with overlays of Chinese, Japanese, East Indian, Indonesian, Malaysian, and Islamic cultures. The Philippine culture is distinct from its Asian neighbors largely because of the major influences from Spanish and American colonization. Many Filipinos migrate primarily for economic prosperity or to join family members in other countries. This chapter follows the dominant values and beliefs according to the 12 domains of the Purnell Model of Cultural Competence: overview/heritage, communication, family roles and organization, workforce issues, biocultural ecology, high-risk behaviors, nutrition, pregnancy, death rituals, spirituality, health-care practices, and health-care practitioners.
Calving Front Machine (CALFIN): glacial termini dataset and automated deep learning extraction method for Greenland, 1972–2019

Abstract. Sea level contributions from the Greenland Ice Sheet are influenced by the rapid changes in glacial terminus positions. The documentation of these evolving calving front positions, for which satellite imagery forms the basis, is therefore important. However, the manual delineation of these calving fronts is time consuming, which limits the availability of these data across a wide spatial and temporal range. Automated methods face challenges that include the handling of clouds, illumination differences, sea ice melange, and Landsat 7 scan line corrector errors. To address these needs, we develop the Calving Front Machine (CALFIN), an automated method for extracting calving fronts from satellite images of marine-terminating glaciers, using neural networks. The results are often indistinguishable from manually curated fronts, deviating by on average 86.76 ± 1.43 m from the measured front. Landsat imagery from 1972 to 2019 is used to generate 22 678 calving front lines across 66 Greenlandic glaciers. This improves on the state of the art in terms of the spatiotemporal coverage and accuracy of its outputs and is validated through a comprehensive intercomparison with existing studies. The current implementation offers a new opportunity to explore subseasonal and regional trends on the extent of Greenland's margins and supplies new constraints for simulations of the evolution of the mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet and its contributions to future sea level rise.
Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenditures Among United States Children: Parental Perceptions and Past-Year Expenditures, 2016 to 2017

Abstract Objective To examine the association between parental perceptions of out-of-pocket (OOP) health care costs for their child and the total amount of OOP health care expenditures for that child during the past year. Methods We used data from the 2016 and 2017 National Surveys of Children's Health, cross-sectional, parent-reported, and nationally representative surveys of noninstitutionalized US children, ages 0 to 17 years. We conducted bivariate analyses to assess characteristics associated with the amount of OOP expenditures and parental perceptions of these costs. We estimated adjusted prevalence ratios for parental perceptions of OOP costs using logistic regression. Results Based on parent report, nearly two thirds (65.7%) of children incurred some amount of past-year OOP expenditures, with 13.3% of children incurring expenditures of ≥$1000. Parents reported that costs were unreasonable for 35.3% of children with past-year expenditures. The amount of OOP spending was associated with parents’ perceptions that costs were unreasonable, with 16.5% of those with $1 to 249 in expenditures reporting unreasonable costs compared to 77.5% of those with >$5,000 in expenditures (P Conclusions This study demonstrates an association between attitudinal and economic measures of health care expenditures for children while demonstrating differences in the perception of costs by measures of family economic vulnerability. Results may inform efforts to assess adequacy of health insurance coverage.
Pharmacokinetics and Safety of Glasdegib in Participants With Moderate/Severe Hepatic Impairment: A Phase I, Single-Dose, Matched Case-Control Study.

This phase I open-label trial (NCT03627754) assessed glasdegib pharmacokinetics and safety in otherwise healthy participants with moderate (Child-Pugh B) or severe (Child-Pugh C) hepatic impairment. Participants with hepatic impairment and age/weight-matched controls with normal hepatic function received a single oral 100-mg glasdegib dose under fasted conditions. The primary end points were area under the plasma concentration-time curve from time zero to infinity (AUCinf ) and maximum plasma concentration (Cmax ). Twenty-four participants (8/cohort) were enrolled. Glasdegib plasma exposures in moderate hepatic impairment were similar to controls, with adjusted geometric mean ratios (GMRs) of 110.8% (90% confidence interval [CI], 78.0-157.3) for AUCinf and 94.8% (69.9-128.4) for Cmax versus controls. In severe hepatic impairment, glasdegib plasma exposures were lower than controls (AUCinf GMR, 75.7%; 90%CI, 51.5-111.0; Cmax GMR, 58.0%; 90%CI, 37.8-89.0). Unbound glasdegib exposures were similar to controls for moderate (AUCinf,u GMR, 118.1%; 90%CI, 88.7-157.2; Cmax,u GMR, 101.1%; 90%CI, 78.4-130.3) and severe hepatic impairment (AUCinf,u GMR, 116.3%; 90%CI 81.8-165.5; Cmax,u GMR, 89.2%, 90%CI, 60.2-132.3). No treatment-related adverse events or clinically significant changes in laboratory values, vital signs, or electrocardiograms were observed. Together with previous findings, this suggests glasdegib dose modifications are not required based on hepatic impairment.
Short-segment cement-augmented fixation in open separation surgery of metastatic epidural spinal cord compression: initial experience.

Objective High-grade metastatic epidural spinal cord compression from radioresistant tumor histologies is often treated with separation surgery and adjuvant stereotactic body radiation therapy. Historically, long-segment fixation is performed during separation surgery with posterior transpedicular fixation of a minimum of 2 spinal levels superior and inferior to the decompression. Previous experience with minimal access surgery techniques and percutaneous stabilization have highlighted reduced morbidity as an advantage to the use of shorter fixation constructs. Cement augmentation of pedicle screws is an attractive option for enhanced stabilization while performing shorter fixation. Herein, the authors describe their initial experience of open separation surgery using short-segment cement-augmented pedicle screw fixation for spinal reconstruction. Methods The authors performed a retrospective chart review of patients undergoing open (i.e., nonpercutaneous, minimal access surgery) separation surgery for high-grade epidural spinal cord compression using cement-augmented pedicle screws at single levels adjacent to the decompression level(s). Patient demographics, treatment data, operative complications, and short-term radiographic outcomes were evaluated. Results Overall, 44 patients met inclusion criteria with radiographic follow-up at a mean of 8.5 months. Involved levels included 19 thoracic, 5 thoracolumbar, and 20 lumbar. Cement augmentation through fenestrated pedicle screws was performed in 30 patients, and a vertebroplasty-type approach was used in the remaining 14 patients to augment screw purchase. One (2%) patient required an operative revision for a hardware complication. Three (7%) nonoperative radiographic hardware complications occurred, including 1 pathologic fracture at the index level causing progressive kyphosis and 2 incidences of haloing around a single screw. There were 2 wound complications that were managed conservatively without operative intervention. No cement-related complications occurred. Conclusions Open posterolateral decompression utilizing short-segment cement-augmented pedicle screws is a viable alternative to long-segment instrumentation for reconstruction following separation surgery for metastatic spine tumors. Studies with longer follow-up are needed to determine the rates of delayed complications and the durability of these outcomes.
Octogenarians Undergoing Medial Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty Have Similar Patient-Reported Outcomes as Their Younger Counterparts.

Abstract Background As a procedure with lower surgical morbidity, unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) may present a practical solution for elderly patients with unicompartmental arthritis. However, few studies have analyzed the results of UKA in the extreme elderly. This study compared the functional and perioperative outcomes between octogenarians and age-appropriate controls undergoing UKA. Methods Prospectively collected data of 44 patients aged ≥80 years who underwent unilateral UKA were analyzed. Each octogenarian was matched 1:3 with 132 patients aged 65-74 years using propensity scores adjusting for gender, body mass index, Charlson comorbidity index, and preoperative scores. Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score for Joint Replacement and Short Form-12 were collected preoperatively and 2 years postoperatively. Complications, reoperations, readmissions, and unplanned visits were recorded up to 1 year postoperatively. Results The mean age was 70.0 ± 2.7 years in the control group and 83.0 ± 3.0 years in the octogenarian group (P Conclusion Octogenarians undergoing UKA can experience clinical outcomes that are similar to those of their younger counterparts. The clinical trajectory outlined may help clinicians provide valuable prognostic information to elderly patients and guide preoperative counseling.
Editorial Comment: Improving Awareness and Identification of High-Risk Sessile Serrated Lesions at CT Colonography.

This Editorial Comment discusses the following AJR article: Detection of High-Risk Sessile Serrated Lesions: Multi-Target Stool DNA Versus CT Colonography.
Proportionality and the Difference Death Makes

Proponents and opponents of the death penalty both typically assume that punishment, in some form or other, is justified, somehow or other, and that just punishment must in some sense be proportionate to the crime. These shared assumptions turn out to embarrass both parties. Proponents have to explain why certain prima facie proportionate punishments, such as torture, are off the table, while death remains, so to speak, on it. Opponents have to explain why their favored alternatives to capital punishment, such as life without parole, are both proportionate to the worst crimes and not as bad as death. The commitment to proportionality makes trouble for both sides of the issue, and its resolution is unlikely until there is a satisfactory general account of proportionality in punishing. Such an account is nowhere in sight.
Some Physico-Chemical Properties of Lactose: V. The Influence of Other Substances upon the Equilibrium Rotation of Lactose

Summary In glycerol solutions, the equilibrium mixture of the high and low rotating forms of lactose contains more of the high rotating component than is found in aqueous solutions. The specific rotation of lactose is increased in glycerol solutions but, according to other workers, it is decreased in alcoholic or acetone solutions. Therefore, it may be assumed that water is not an important factor in determining the ratio of the sugars at equilibrium. This implies that the amount of aldehydrol present in solution is small, or else that its specific rotation is approximately equal to the weighted mean of the rotations of the two anhydrides, taking their equilibrium concentrations into consideration. The specific rotation of lactose is altered by the presence of salts. The effect is small in dilute solutions. Changes in the concentration of lactose, or of the salt, result in shifts of the equilibrium rotation which are in agreement with the theory that molecular compounds are formed in salt solutions.
SLURM: Simple Linux Utility for Resource Management

A new cluster resource management system called Simple Linux Utility Resource Management (SLURM) is described in this paper. SLURM, initially developed for large Linux clusters at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), is a simple cluster manager that can scale to thousands of processors. SLURM is designed to be flexible and fault-tolerant and can be ported to other clusters of different size and architecture with minimal effort. We are certain that SLURM will benefit both users and system architects by providing them with a simple, robust, and highly scalable parallel job execution environment for their cluster system.
Interaction between nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and biological membranes-IV. Effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and of various ions on the availability of sulfhydryl groups on lymphoid cells and mitochondrial membranes.

Abstract A stimulation effect of various nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) on a sulfhyd-ryl-disulfide interchange reaction between serum protein sulfhydryl groups and 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitro-benzoic) acid (DTNB) has been described. We now describe a similar reaction between 65 μM DTNB and protein sulfhydryl groups in rat, rabbit and human lymphocyte membranes and rat liver mitochondria. This reaction is greatly accelerated in the presence of ten different NSAID. The stimulation of this sulfhydryl-disulfide interchange reaction appears to be dependent on drug concentration. It is also closely related to the ionic composition of the incubation medium which, by itself, according to specific cationic and anionic sequences, influences the availability of sulfhydryl groups on membranes. The reaction of 0·6 mM carboxypyridine disulfide (CPDS), which is another molecule able to react specifically with sulfhydryl groups on membranes, is affected in a similar way by NSAID. According to the well known involvement of sulfhydryl groups in inflammatory reactions, this peculiar effect of NSAID on the availability of membrane sulfhydryl groups, especially of lymphoid cells, could be related to some of their clinical properties.
Integer computation of JPEG2000 wavelet transform and quantization for lossy compression

In this paper, an integer-based CDF 9/7 wavelet transform as well as an integer quantization method used in a lossy JPEG2000 compression engine is presented. The conjunction of both an integer transform and quantization step allow for a complete integer computation of lossy JPEG2000 compression. The lossy method of compression utilizes the CDF 9/7 wavelet filter, which transforms integer input pixel values into floating point wavelet coefficients which are then quantized back into integers and finally compressed by the EBCOT tier 1 encoder. Integer computation of JPEG2000 allows a reduction in computational complexity of the wavelet transform as well as ease of implementation in embedded systems for higher computational performance. The results of the integer computation show an equivalent rate/distortion curve to the JasPer JPEG2000 compression engine as well as a 35% reduction in computation time of the wavelet transform and a 56% reduction in computation time of the quantization processing, on average.
Two-time-scale digital controller design for a position servo system

In this paper we propose a new digital controller for a position servo system. The controller is an observer based controller which takes advantage of the two-time-scale structure of the motor. Only some knowledge of the mechanical and electrical time-constants, and not a detailed mathematical model or exact parameter values, are required to implement the controller and that the closed loop system performance specifications can be met reasonably well under the lack of detailed modeling. The transient mismatch phenomenon which occurs for this class of designs is fully discussed and a sufficient condition is obtained to guarantee that such a mismatch will not occur.
Impact of changes in the Sun's conveyor-belt on recent solar cycles

Plasma flowing poleward at the solar surface and returning equatorward near the base of the convection zone, called the meridional circulation, constitutes the Sun's conveyor-belt. Just as the Earth's great oceanic conveyor-belt carries thermal signatures that determine El Nino events, the Sun's conveyor-belt determines timing, amplitude and shape of a solar cycle in flux-transport type dynamos. In cycle 23, the Sun's surface poleward meridional flow extended all the way to the pole, while in cycle 22 it switched to equatorward near 60°. Simulations from a flux-transport dynamo model including these observed differences in meridional circulation show that the transport of dynamo-generated magnetic flux via the longer conveyor-belt, with slower return-flow in cycle 23 compared to that in cycle 22, may have caused the longer duration of cycle 23.
Automatic segmentation of neonatal images using convex optimization and coupled level set method

Accurate segmentation of neonatal brain MR images remains challenging mainly due to poor spatial resolution, low tissue contrast, high intensity inhomogeneity. Most existing methods for neonatal brain segmentation are atlas-based and voxel-wise. Although parametric or geometric deformable models have been successfully applied to adult brain segmentation, to the best of our knowledge, they are not explored in neonatal images. In this paper, we propose a novel neonatal image segmentation method, combining local intensity information, atlas spatial prior and cortical thickness constraint, in a level set framework. Besides, we also provide a robust and reliable tissue surfaces initialization for our proposed level set method by using a convex optimization technique. Validation is performed on 10 neonatal brain images with promising results.
Biological Properties of the Encapsulated Staphylococcus aureus M

Strain M, classified as a Staphylococcus aureus, behaves like the other rare encapsulated staphylococcal strains. It was clumping-factor negative, grew in diffuse-type colonies in serum-soft agar, and produced rapidly fatal disease in mice. Strain M was highly resistant to phagocytosis by human or mouse leukocytes and required both specific antibody and heat-labile serum factor(s) for efficient ingestion by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Electron micrographs confirmed the presence of a large capsule. Agglutination studies, active or passive mouse protection experiments, and opsonic studies revealed that strain M represents a new, immunologically distinct strain of encapsulated staphylococcus. Strain M differs from other known encapsulated staphylococci in several other respects: its cellular and colonial morphology is atypical; its LD(50) in the mouse peritoneal model is 100 times less than that of other mouse lethal strains; it is poorly opsonized by normal human serum; and, finally, it possesses an unusually large capsule as seen in electron micrographs.
Geomorphic‐Ecological Relationships Highly Variable between Headwater and Network Mountain Streams of Northern Idaho, United States1

Abstract: Headwater streams are critical repositories of biodiversity and are important sources of water, nutrients, and energy to downstream rivers. I investigated relationships between stream geomorphology and habitat, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fish assemblages between headwater and network streams (n = 18) of mountain drainages in northern Idaho, United States. I found that a stream geomorphic condition assessment (rapid geomorphic assessment, RGA) designed to evaluate channel adjustment explained more variation in habitat assessment scores in headwater (R2 = 0.79) than in larger streams (R2 = 0.51). Results from redundancy analysis indicated that geomorphic-biotic relationships were stronger in headwater than in network streams. For aquatic macroinvertebrates, relationships in headwaters were largely related to sediment size and slope. Fish-geomorphic associations in both headwater and network streams were quite variable, although the RGA was correlated with fish diversity in both systems. Large wood was related to macroinvertebrate and fish descriptors in both headwater and network streams, but in distinct ways. This work supports an ecogeomorphic approach to the conservation of headwater streams including the use of tailored stream geomorphic assessment protocols.
Discovering specific cascades in critical care transfer networks

Most Americans will need the services of Intensive Care Units (ICUs) at some point during their lives. There are wide variations between hospitals in the outcome of critical care and, as a result, thousands of patients who die each year in ICUs may have survived if they were at the appropriate hospital. A policy agenda---including an IOM report---calls for effectively transferring patients to more capable hospitals to improve outcomes. But there appear to be substantial inefficiencies in the existing system. In particular, patients recurrently transfer to secondary hospitals rather than to a most-preferred option. Analyzing critical care transfer data across nearly 5,000 hospitals over 10 year in Medicare, we present evidence that these transfers to secondary hospitals repeatedly cascade across multiple transfers, and that specific "hotspot" hospitals appear to be triggers of such cascades. We present data mining schemes to discover inefficient cascades of transfers in this dataset. We also present methods to determine the statistical significance of these discovered cascades. We examine the exemplar case of Michigan, suggesting a possible application to create alerts when multiple, significant cascades occur.
Exploring the Potential of Nucleic Acid Bases in Organic Light Emitting Diodes

Abstract : Naturally occurring biomolecules have increasingly found applications in organic electronics as a low cost, performance-enhancing, environmentally safe alternative. Previous devices, which incorporated DNA in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), resulted in significant improvements in performance. In this work, nucleobases (NBs), constituents of DNA and RNA polymers, are investigated for integration into OLEDs. NB small molecules form excellent thin films by low-temperature evaporation, enabling seamless integration into vacuum deposited OLED fabrication. Thin film properties of adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), thymine (T), and uracil (U) are investigated. Next, their incorporation as electron-blocking (EBL) and hole-blocking layers (HBL) in phosphorescent OLEDs is explored. NBs affect OLED performance through charge transport control, following their electron affinity trend: G A C T U . G and A have lower electron affinity (1.8 2.2 eV), blocking electrons but allowing hole transport. C , T , and U have higher electron affinities (2.6 3.0 eV), transporting electrons and blocking hole transport. A-EBL-based OLEDs achieve current and external quantum efficiencies of 52 cd A 1 and 14.3%, a ca. 50% performance increase over the baseline device with conventional EBL. The combination of enhanced performance, wide diversity of material properties, simplicity of use, and reduced cost indicate the promise of nucleobases for future OLED development.
The Value of a Psychology Major: Bridging the Gap between Perceptions and Reality

In theory, a psychology major provides students with a set of skills that is highly valued by employers. In practice, however, US psychology majors fare relatively poorly in the job market. We hypothesised that one cause of this paradox may be a mismatch between student perceptions and the reality of the working world. To test this hypothesis, we first used existing data to determine what skills employers value most, and what types of jobs US psychology majors typically obtain. The results were compared with interview responses provided by US psychology majors near to graduation. This comparison revealed a substantial mismatch between perceptions and reality. One way to address this mismatch is through a careers course, and data are presented demonstrating that this approach can be effective. However, we argue that career preparation should not be considered as an isolated piece of the curriculum, but in the context of the larger debate regarding the appropriate goals for a college education.
Role of nasal nitric oxide in the resolution of experimental rhinovirus infection

Abstract Background Human rhinovirus (HRV) infections are associated with exacerbations of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and sinusitis. Nitric oxide (NO) might play an important role in host defense through its potent antiviral properties. Previous studies have shown that HRV infection in human subjects increased nasal epithelial expression of type 2 nitric oxide synthase (NOS2), an isoform of the enzyme that produces NO. Objective We sought to investigate whether increases in exhaled NO (eNO) would accompany the increased NOS2 expression and would be associated with clearance of the virus. Methods Six human subjects were infected with HRV-16 intranasally. eNO from nasal and lower airways was measured by means of direct measurement at multiple controlled flow rates. eNO was monitored at baseline (day 1) and on days 2 to 5, 8, 14, and 42 after infection. Nasal lavages were performed on days 1 to 5 and 8, and nasal scrapings were performed on days 1 to 4. NOS2 mRNA expression in nasal cells was measured by using quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Viral shedding in nasal lavage fluid was monitored by using real-time RT-PCR and bioassay. Results Peak HRV titers and symptom scores were correlated on day 3, and HRV persisted until day 5 (n=4) or day 8 (n=2). Infection was associated with transient but significant increases in lymphocytes and monocytes in nasal lavage fluid. Significant increases in both nasal and lower airway eNO concentrations accompanied HRV infection and were positively correlated. Increased nasal eNO concentrations on day 3 were associated with increased expression of NOS2 mRNA in nasal scrapings. Symptom scores on day 4 were inversely correlated with the increases in nasal eNO concentration. Conclusions We conclude that increased production of NO occurs as part of the host response to HRV infection and speculate that NO plays a beneficial role in viral clearance.
Purification and characterization of ceramide-activated protein phosphatases.

Ceramide has emerged as a potential regulator of diverse cellular functions, and a few direct targets have been identified for its action including protein kinases and phosphatases. In this study, we have purified the predominant ceramide-activated protein phosphatase (CAPP) from rat brain. Utilizing a novel chromatographic approach, CAPP was purified to near homogeneity using hydrophobic interaction chromatography on phenyl Sepharose followed by anion-exchange chromatography on MonoQ. The purified protein was composed of three major bands on SDS−polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis which comigrated with the three subunits of heterotrimeric PP2A. Immunologic studies further identified CAPP to be composed predominantly of heterotrimeric AB‘C and ABαC as well as heterodimeric PP2A (AC), where C is the catalytic subunit, and A and B are regulatory subunits. These results were also supported by the coelution of CAPP with trimeric and dimeric PP2A on size-exclusion chromatography. These studies provide a conveni...
Immunostimulatory DNA and applications to allergic disease.

Abstract The vertebrate immune system reacts to certain sequences of DNA with a strong T H 1-inducing innate response. These sequences, termed immunostimulatory DNA sequences, are not fully defined but generally consist of a central nonmethylated CG dinucleotide, flanked by less highly conserved sequences (hence the alternate name CpG motifs). These sequences seem to be rare in vertebrates but relatively common in many lower organisms, including bacteria and viruses. It is likely that these sequences represent a danger signal to the immune system; a powerful T H 1 response is induced against colocalized foreign antigen. This can be used to modify an allergic response away from a pathogenic T H 2-dominated immune profile toward a nonpathogenic and even protective T H 1 profile. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 1999;104:902-10.)
A Note on a Simplified Technique for the Administration of Isotopes to Animals

Quick freezing of a tracer dose of a radioactive isotope provides a simple, precise method of administration to experimental animals and minimizes loss of radioactive substance.
The Relationship of Vitamin K to the Incidence of Blood Spots in Eggs and Blood Prothrombin Time of Layers

Abstract We are aware of only one report indicating that supplemental vitamin K decreases the incidence of blood spots in eggs (Berruti and Didrick, 1961). A recent report by Suater et al. (1963) indicates that supplemental alfalfa meal, a rich source of vitamin K, increases egg blood spotting. Waldroup and Harms (1962) added dicumarol, a vitamin K antagonist, to a layer ration and failed to significantly increase blood spotting of eggs. These workers also concluded that blood prothrombin time was not related to the incidence of blood spots in eggs. The present study was conducted to determine the effect of menadione sodium bisulfite complex (MSBC) and alfalfa meal on blood spotting of eggs and to determine if there is a relationship between blood prothrombin time and the incidence of blood spots in eggs. EXPERIMENTAL White Leghorn layers were maintained in individual cages and allowed feed and water ad libitum. Three basal…
Using Elasticity to Improve Inline Data Deduplication Storage Systems

Elasticity is the ability to scale computing resources such as memory on-demand, and is one of the main advantages of utilizing cloud computing services. With the increasing popularity of cloud based storage, it is natural that more deduplication based storage systems will be migrated to the cloud. Existing deduplication systems however, do not adequately take advantage of elasticity. In this paper, we illustrate how to use elasticity to improve deduplication based systems, and propose EAD (elasticity aware deduplication), an indexing algorithm that uses the ability to dynamically increase memory resources to improve overall deduplication performance. Our experimental results indicate that EAD is able to detect more than 98\% of all duplicate data, however only consumes less than 5\% of expected memory space. Meanwhile, it claims four times of deduplication efficiency than the state-of-art sampling technique while costs less than half of the amount of memory.
An ultracold neutron source at the NC State University PULSTAR reactor

Abstract Research and development is being completed for an ultracold neutron (UCN) source to be installed at the PULSTAR reactor on the campus of North Carolina State University (NCSU). The objective is to establish a university-based UCN facility with sufficient UCN intensity to allow world-class fundamental and applied research with UCN. To maximize the UCN yield, a solid ortho-D2 converter will be implemented coupled to two moderators, D2O at room temperature, to thermalize reactor neutrons, and solid CH4, to moderate the thermal neutrons to cold-neutron energies. The source assembly will be located in a tank of D2O in the space previously occupied by the thermal column of the PULSTAR reactor. Neutrons leaving a bare face of the reactor core enter the D2O tank through a 45×45 cm cross-sectional area void between the reactor core and the D2O tank. Liquid He will cool the disk-shaped UCN converter to below 5 K. Independently, He gas will cool the cup-shaped CH4 cold-neutron moderator to an optimum temperature between 20 and 40 K. The UCN will be transported from the converter to experiments by a guide with an inside diameter of 16 cm. Research areas being considered for the PULSTAR UCN source include time-reversal violation in neutron beta decay, neutron lifetime determination, support measurements for a neutron electric-dipole-moment search, and nanoscience applications.
Structure and Targeting of RyR1: Implications from Fusion of Green Fluorescent Protein at the Amino-Terminal

In skeletal muscle, an anterograde signal from the dihydropyridine receptor (DHPR) to the ryanodine receptor (RyR1) is required for excitation-contraction (EC) coupling and a retrograde signal from RyR1 to the DHPR regulates the magnitude of the calcium current carried by the DHPR. As a tool for studying biosynthesis and targeting, we constructed a cDNA encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused to the amino terminal of RyR1 and expressed it in dyspedic myotubes. The GFP-RyR1 was present in a restricted domain near the nucleus injected with cDNA and was fully functional, which places constraints on the location of the amino terminal in the folded structure of RyR1.
Shape reanalysis and sensitivities utilizing preconditioned iterative boundary solvers

The computational advantages associated with the utilization of preconditioned iterative equation solvers are quantified for the reanalysis of perturbed shapes using continuum structural boundary element analysis (BEA). Both single- and multizone three-dimensional problems are examined. Significant redutions in computer time are obtained by making use of previously computed solution vectors and preconditioners in subsequent analyses. The effectiveness of this technique is demonstrated for the computation of shape response sensitivities required in shape optimization. Computer times and accuracies achieved using the preconditioned iterative solvers are compared with those obtained via direct solvers and implicit differentiation of the boundary integral equations. It is concluded that this approach employing preconditioned iterative equation solvers in reanalysis and sensitivity analysis can be competitive with if not superior to those involving direct solvers.
Continued fraction expansions of rational expressions with irreducible denominators in characteristic 2

Abstract Given any irreducible polynomial q of degree n over the field with two elements, there is a sequence of polynomials p n , p n …1 ,…, p 0 with p n = q , with p 0 = 1, with the degree of p i equal to i , and with p i ≡ p i …2 (mod p i −1 ). In other words, given an irreducible q there is a p , relatively prime to q , with degree one less and such that the degrees of the remainders in Euclid's Algorithm for the greatest common divisor of p and q go down by exactly 1 at each step.
Excision of the large congenital melanocytic nevus facilitated by the use of the tissue expander

Large congenital melanocytic nevi both present a cosmetic problem and may predispose to the development of a melanoma. We present a series of three patients in whom the tissue expander was employed to facilitate a large excision with primary closure and excellent cosmesis.
Is ocean fertilization credible and creditable

It is possible that the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, which drives global warming, could be partially mitigated by adding iron to ocean waters. In their Policy Forum “Dis-crediting ocean fertilization” (12 Oct., p. [309][1]), S. W. Chisholm et al. argue that “the known consequences
SHP-2 Mediates Target-Regulated Axonal Termination and NGF-Dependent Neurite Growth in Sympathetic Neurons

The tyrosine phosphatase SHP-2 has been implicated in a variety of signaling pathways, including those mediated by neurotrophins in neurons. To examine the role of SHP-2 in the development of sympathetic neurons, we inhibited the function of SHP-2 in transgenic mice by overexpressing a catalytically inactive SHP-2 mutant under the control of the human dopamine β-hydroxylase promoter. Expression of mutant SHP-2 did not influence the survival, axon initiation, or pathfinding abilities of the sympathetic neurons. However, mutant SHP-2 expression resulted in an overproduction of sympathetic fibers in sympathetic target organs. This was due to interference with SHP-2 function, as overexpression of wild type SHP-2 had no such effect. In vitro, NGF-dependent neurite growth was inhibited in neurons expressing mutant SHP-2 but not in those expressing wild type SHP-2. Mutant (but not wt) SHP-2 expression also inhibited NGF-stimulated ERK activation. The NGF-dependent survival pathway was less affected than the neurite growth pathway. Our results suggest that NGF-regulated axon growth signals, and to a lesser degree survival signals, are mediated through a SHP-2-dependent pathway in sympathetic neurons. The increased sympathetic innervation in target tissues of neurons expressing mutant SHP-2 may result from interference with normal “stop” signals dependent on signaling by gradients of NGF.
Extension Properties for the Space of Compact Operators

Let Z be a fixed separable operator space, X⊂Y general separable operator spaces, and T: X→Z a completely bounded map. Z is said to have the Complete Separable Extension Property (CSEP) if every such map admits a completely bounded extension to Y and the Mixed Separable Extension Property (MSEP) if every such T admits a bounded extension to Y. Finally, Z is said to have the Complete Separable Complementation Property (CSCP) if Z is locally reflexive and T admits a completely bounded extension to Y provided Y is locally reflexive and T is a complete surjective isomorphism. Let K denote the space of compact operators on separable Hilbert space and K0 the c0 sum of Mn's (the space of “small compact operators”). It is proved that K has the CSCP, using the second author's previous result that K0 has this property. A new proof is given for the result (due to E. Kirchberg) that K0 (and hence K) fails the CSEP. It remains an open question if K has the MSEP; it is proved this is equivalent to whether K0 has this property. A new Banach space concept, Extendable Local Reflexivity (ELR), is introduced to study this problem. Further complements and open problems are discussed.