cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A virtual tornadic thunderstorm enabling students to construct knowledge about storm dynamics through data collection and analysis

A visually realistic tornadic supercell thunder- storm has been constructed in a fully immersive virtual reality environment to allow students to better understand the complex small-scale dynamics present in such a storm through data probing. Less-immersive versions have been created that run on PCs, facilitating broader dissemination. The activity has been tested in introductory meteorology classes over the last four years. An exercise involving the virtual storm was first used by a subset of students from a large introductory meteorology course in spring 2002. Sur- veys were used at that time to evaluate the impact of this activity as a constructivist learning tool. More recently, data probe capabilities were added to the virtual storm activity en- abling students to take measurements of temperature, wind, pressure, relative humidity, and vertical velocity at any point within the 3-D volume of the virtual world, and see the data plotted via a graphical user interface. Similar surveys ap- plied to groups of students in 2003 and 2004 suggest that the addition of data probing improved the understanding of storm-scale features, but the improved understanding may not be statistically significant when evaluated using quizzes reflecting short-term retention. The use of the activity was revised in 2005 to first have students pose scientific ques- tions about these storms and think about a scientific strategy to answer their questions before exploring the storm. Once again, scores on quizzes for students who used the virtual storm activity were slightly better than those of students who were exposed to only a typical lecture, but differences were not statistically significant.
Is regression of left ventricular hypertrophy in maintenance hemodialysis patients possible

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), present in 70-80% of patients at the start of dialysis, results from chronic high blood pressure, volume overload, or both, in association with a number of metabolic and neurohumoral alterations. LVH is associated with poor outcome and was considered irreversible until the end of the 20th century. Conversely, in recent years, numerous studies have been published demonstrating that LVH may regress through various therapeutic strategies such as prevention and control of anemia, control of volume load, use of antihypertensive drugs, use of daily or nocturnal hemodialysis (HD), prevention and treatment of hyperphosphatemia, administration of vitamin D or with multifactorial interventional approaches. However, it must be emphasized that most of these studies have included a small number of patients, that many are single-arm and that few are randomized and controlled. In general, it seem that further, adequate, randomized, controlled studies are warranted to better define the optimal therapeutic approach to treat LVH in end-stage renal disease patients receiving chronic HD.
An Oblivious Spanning Tree for Single-Sink Buy-at-Bulk in Low Doubling-Dimension Graphs

We consider the problem of constructing a single spanning tree for the single-sink buy-at-bulk network design problem for doubling-dimension graphs. We compute a spanning tree to route a set of demands along a graph G to or from a designated sink node. The demands could be aggregated at (or symmetrically distributed to) intermediate edges where the fusion cost is specified by a nonnegative concave function f. We describe a novel approach for developing an oblivious spanning tree in the sense that it is independent of the number and location of data sources (or demands) and cost function at the edges. We present a deterministic, polynomial-time algorithm for constructing a spanning tree in low doubling-dimension graphs that guarantees a log3 D-approximation over the optimal cost, where D is the diameter of the graph G. With a constant fusion-cost function, our spanning tree gives an O(log3 D)-approximation for every Steiner tree that includes the sink. We also provide a Ω(log n) lower bound for any oblivious tree in low doubling-dimension graphs. To our knowledge, this is the first paper to propose a single spanning tree solution to the single-sink buy-at-bulk network design problem (as opposed to multiple overlay trees).
Missing-in-Metastasis regulates cell motility and invasion via PTPδ-mediated changes in SRC activity

MIM (Missing-in-Metastasis), also known as MTSS1 (metastasis suppressor 1), is a scaffold protein that is down-regulated in multiple metastatic cancer cell lines compared with non-metastatic counterparts. MIM regulates cytoskeletal dynamics and actin polymerization, and has been implicated in the control of cell motility and invasion. MIM has also been shown to bind to a receptor PTP (protein tyrosine phosphatase), PTPδ, an interaction that may provide a link between tyrosine-phosphorylation-dependent signalling and metastasis. We used shRNA-mediated gene silencing to investigate the consequences of loss of MIM on the migration and invasion of the MCF10A mammary epithelial cell model of breast cancer. We observed that suppression of MIM by RNAi enhanced migration and invasion of MCF10A cells, effects that were associated with increased levels of PTPδ. Furthermore, analysis of human clinical data indicated that PTPδ was elevated in breast cancer samples when compared with normal tissue. We demonstrated that the SRC protein tyrosine kinase is a direct substrate of PTPδ and, upon suppression of MIM, we observed changes in the phosphorylation status of SRC; in particular, the inhibitory site (Tyr527) was hypophosphorylated, whereas the activating autophosphorylation site (Tyr416) was hyperphosphorylated. Thus the absence of MIM led to PTPδ-mediated activation of SRC. Finally, the SRC inhibitor SU6656 counteracted the effects of MIM suppression on cell motility and invasion. The present study illustrates that both SRC and PTPδ have the potential to be therapeutic targets for metastatic tumours associated with loss of MIM.
Solving MCDM problems with the skeleton method

The author presents a new method for solving multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) problems that is based on the skeleton concept of optimality. The theoretical foundations of the skeleton method are presented. The MCDM problem is formulated and the concept of optimality of the skeleton method is explained. Given upper and lower aspiration levels in the objective space, the skeleton set is determined and the best compromise solution is found as the intersection point of the skeleton and the nondominated set. >
Approximation algorithms for metric facility location and k-Median problems using the primal-dual schema and Lagrangian relaxation

We present approximation algorithms for the metric uncapacitated facility location problem and the metric k-median problem achieving guarantees of 3 and 6 respectively. The distinguishing feature of our algorithms is their low running time: O(m logm) and O(m logm(L + log (n))) respectively, where n and m are the total number of vertices and edges in the underlying complete bipartite graph on cities and facilities. The main algorithmic ideas are a new extension of the primal-dual schema and the use of Lagrangian relaxation to derive approximation algorithms.
Pynchon's “Hysterical Sublime”

ABSTRACT This article looks at the work of Thomas Pynchon as an example of the “hysterical sublime.” Pynchon's fiction displays some key attributes of the Kantian sublime, such as blockage and excess, which, taken together, thwart the understanding. The result is a body of fiction whose register is better defined by hysteria than paranoia.
Two results on optimal modeling with differential-delay systems

Let G(i\omega) be a fixed causal filter. The first result of this paper shows that for any positive integer k and any delay time T > 0 there is an "optimal model" for G(i\omega) out of the class of differential-delay systems of order \leq k (and utilizing delay T ). The second and main result shows that unless G(i\omega) corresponds exactly to a purely differential system of order \leq k then there always exists some delay time T > 0 and corresponding differential-delay system of order \leq k that is a better model for G(i\omega) than even the optimal purely differential system of order \leq k .
Handedness and calendar orientations in time–space synaesthesia

In one common variant of time-space synaesthesia, individuals report the consistent experience of months bound to a spatial arrangement, commonly described as a circle extending outside of the body. Whereas the layout of these calendars has previously been thought to be relatively random and to differ greatly between synaesthetes, Study 1 provides the first evidence suggesting one critical aspect of these calendars is mediated by handedness: clockwise versus counter-clockwise orientation. A study of 34 time-space synaesthetes revealed a strong association between handedness and the orientation of circular calendars. That is, left-handed time-space synaesthetes tended to report counter-clockwise arrangements and right-handed synaesthetes clockwise. Study 2 tested whether a similar bias was present in non-synaesthetes whose task was to memorize and recall the spatial configuration of a clockwise and counter-clockwise calendar. Non-synaesthetes' relative performance on these two sorts of calendars was significantly correlated with their handedness scores in a pattern similar to synaesthetes. Specifically, left-handed controls performed better on counter-clockwise calendars compared to clockwise, and right-handed controls on clockwise over counter-clockwise. We suggest that the implicit biases seen in controls are mediated by similar mechanisms as in synaesthesia, highlighting the graded nature of synaesthetic associations.
Effects of contrast agent infusion rates on thresholds for tissue damage produced by single exposures of high-intensity ultrasound

Stabilized microbubble ultrasound contrast agents (UCA) have potential to aid tissue ablation during ultrasound surgery by enhancing both cavitational and thermal damage mechanisms. Previously, we showed UCA infused at a rate of 1 /spl mu/L/kg/min prior to ultrasound exposure could reduce the total energy required to produce tissue damage by up to two orders of magnitude. In this paper, we evaluate thresholds for macroscopic tissue damage with UCA infusion rates (IR) of 0.1, 0.3, 1, 3, and 10 /spl mu/L/kg/min to determine IR, potentially effective for ultrasound therapy. Canine kidneys were surgically externalized and insonified with single exposures of focused ultrasound. Incident exposures were 1.44 MHz tone bursts, either 250 ms in duration with intensity between 500 W/cm/sup 2/ and 3200 W/cm/sup 2/, or 100 /spl mu/s to 1 s in duration with intensity equal to 3200 W/cm/sup 2/. Probabilities of tissue damage occurrence were determined for each set of exposure conditions (intensity, duration, and IR). A threshold intensity and threshold duration, defined as the quantities for which tissue damage occurred with probability equal to 0.5, were estimated for each IR. Results show that, as IR increased from 0.1 to 10 /spl mu/L/kg/min, the threshold intensity decreased by up to a factor of 3, and threshold duration decreased by up to a factor of 200. Microbubble introduction at IR up to 10 /spl mu/L/kg/min thus may be effective in aiding ultrasound therapy.
Equal Efficacy of Endoscopic and Surgical Cystogastrostomy for Pancreatic Pseudocyst Drainage in a Randomized Trial

Background & Aims Although surgery is the standard technique for drainage of pancreatic pseudocysts, use of endoscopic methods is increasing. We performed a single-center, open-label, randomized trial to compare endoscopic and surgical cystogastrostomy for pancreatic pseudocyst drainage. Methods Patients with pancreatic pseudocysts underwent endoscopic (n = 20) or surgical cystogastrostomy (n = 20). The primary end point was pseudocyst recurrence after a 24-month follow-up period. Secondary end points were treatment success or failure, complications, re-interventions, length of hospital stay, physical and mental health scores, and total costs. Results At the end of the follow-up period, none of the patients who received endoscopic therapy had a pseudocyst recurrence, compared with 1 patient treated surgically. There were no differences in treatment successes, complications, or re-interventions between the groups. However, the length of hospital stay was shorter for patients who underwent endoscopic cystogastrostomy (median, 2 days, vs 6 days in the surgery group; P Conclusions In a randomized trial comparing endoscopic and surgical cystogastrostomy for pancreatic pseudocyst drainage, none of the patients in the endoscopy group had pseudocyst recurrence during the follow-up period, therefore there is no evidence that surgical cystogastrostomy is superior. However, endoscopic treatment was associated with shorter hospital stays, better physical and mental health of patients, and lower cost. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00826501.
The Compartment Syndrome of the Abdominal Cavity: A State of the Art Review

Abdominal compartment syndrome gains increasing recognition. It impairs physiology and requires treatment. It occurs more commonly with acute rather than chronic abdominal hypertension. Functional ...
Potential effects of regional pumpage on groundwater age distribution

[1] Groundwater ages estimated from environmental tracers can help calibrate groundwater flow models. Groundwater age represents a mixture of traveltimes, with the distribution of ages determined by the detailed structure of the flow field, which can be prone to significant transient variability. Effects of pumping on age distribution were assessed using direct age simulation in a hypothetical layered aquifer system. A steady state predevelopment age distribution was computed first. A well field was then introduced, and pumpage caused leakage into the confined aquifer of older water from an overlying confining unit. Large changes in simulated groundwater ages occurred in both the aquifer and the confining unit at high pumping rates, and the effects propagated a substantial distance downgradient from the wells. The range and variance of ages contributing to the well increased substantially during pumping. The results suggest that the groundwater age distribution in developed aquifers may be affected by transient leakage from low-permeability material, such as confining units, under certain hydrogeologic conditions.
Geologic offsets across the northern Karakorum fault: Implications for its role and terrane correlations in the western Himalayan-Tibetan orogen

Abstract While the > 1000 km long Karakorum right-slip fault is one of the most prominent structures in the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen, considerable disagreement exists as to the total magnitude of offset across the fault and the role it has played in accommodating convergence between India and Asia. Using satellite images, I have correlated a well defined carbonate unit, the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic Aghil formation, across the northern portion of the Karakorum fault from the southwest Pamir to the Tianshuihai terrane of western Tibet. The northern and southern exposure limits of the Aghil formation have 149–167 km of separation, which I interpret to represent the magnitude of displacement on the northern Karakorum fault. These values overlap with estimates correlating the Bangong-Nujiang and Shyok sutures across the central Karakorum fault and maximum offsets of the Miocene Baltoro Granite and rule out correlations of the Bangong-Nujiang suture and the Rushan Pshart suture. The displacement yields a geologic slip rate of 10.8 ± 1.3 mm/yr using an initiation age of 14.7 ± 1 Ma, or 6.89 ± 0.8 mm/yr with an initiation age of 23 ± 1 Ma. This result supports previous work showing limited offset across the Karakorum fault and indicates that the fault that has not accommodated either large magnitudes (i.e. 100's of km) of eastward lateral extrusion of Tibet or hundreds of kilometers of offset between terranes of the western and central portions of the orogenic belt.
Description and phylogenetic position of a new angiosperm family, Guamatelaceae, inferred from chloroplast rbcL, atpB, and matK sequences

The monotypic genus Guamatela was originally described from Guatemala and has also been collected in Honduras and Mexico. This taxon has been placed in tribe Neillieae of Rosaceae based on its follicular fruits and persistent stipules, but it is anomalous in the tribe due to lack of endosperm, while some of its other characters, such as opposite leaves, lack of a well developed hypanthium, and fused styles, are unusual for the entire family. No other taxonomic placement has ever been proposed for Guamatela, however, and morphological characters alone do not suggest any likely alternative. DNA was extracted from two herbarium specimens of G. tuerckheimii, one collected in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico in 1969 and the other in the department of El Progreso, Guatemala in 2000. Phylogenetic analyses of the chloroplast rbcL, atpB, and matK genes amplified from the materials, along with sequences from representatives of most major eudicot groups, strongly support Guamatela as a member of the rosid order Crossosomatales, as circumscribed in APG II. None of the molecular data supports the inclusion of Guamatela in any described family in the order, and the unique combination of morphological characters does not fit the description of any of those families. Based on these results, we here propose the new family Guamatelaceae to accommodate this genus.
A low-profile, compact, wideband antenna array with cardioid-shaped radiation patterns in the azimuth plane

A low-profile, wideband, vertically-polarized antenna array with cardioid-shaped directional radiation characteristics in the azimuth plane is presented. The antenna is composed of four half loops with the shape of bent diamond arms that are fed at the center and short circuited to the ground plane at their ends. Two of the loops are fed in phase and the other two are fed out of phase. Then, these two antenna arrays are fed using a proper feed network to obtain a cardioid-shaped radiation pattern over a large bandwidth (2:1). The antenna array has a compact size with electrical dimensions of 0.65λmin × 0.4 λmin × 0.094 λmin at its lowest frequency of operation.
Women in Russian Government Bodies

Indices reflecting women's representation in state and local bodies of government have declined over the last ten years. Some indices even approach zero: from 33 percent of women in the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1984) to 0.5 percent women in the Federation Council of the Russian Federation (1997). Sociologists offer various interpretations of these facts.
Variability in Outcome Based on Type of Concurrent Chemotherapy for Treatment of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oropharynx

Variability in Outcome Based on Type of Concurrent Chemotherapy for Treatment of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oropharynx D.N. Margalit, M. Puzanov, B. Rawal, R.I. Haddad, J.D. Schoenfeld, G. Rabinowits, N. Chau, J. Lorch, L.A. Goguen, D.J. Annino, T. Thomas, P.J. Catalano, and R.B. Tishler; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute / Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School and Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
Enhancement of Thermally Injected Spin Current through an Antiferromagnetic Insulator

This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Science, under Award Grant No. DE-SC0009390. W. L. was supported in part by C-SPIN, one of six centers of STARnet, a SRC program sponsored by MARCO and DARPA. K. C. and S. Z. were supported by National Science Foundation under Grant No. ECCS-1404542. W. L. thanks Ssu-Yen Huang from National Taiwan University for fruitful discussions.
17β-Estradiol acts separately on the LDL particle and artery wall to reduce LDL accumulation

Estrogen replacement therapy has been shown to attenuate atherogenesis, although the mechanisms for this effect are incompletely defined. Previously, we showed that 17-beta estradiol (estradiol) attenuated oxidant stress-induced increases in vascular low density lipoprotein (LDL) accumulation. It was unclear whether estradiol's effect was imparted on the lipoprotein particle or the artery wall. To examine this, we chronically treated rats with the following sex hormones: low estradiol, high estradiol, progesterone, low estradiol + progesterone, placebo, or control. Carotid arteries (n = 8/group) were isolated and perfused with fluorescently labeled LDL. Rates of LDL accumulation were measured before and after treatment with 10 ng/ml tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) using quantitative fluorescence microscopy. We observed a 50% decrease in basal LDL accumulation rates (P < 0.01) and a 25% decrease in endothelial layer permeability (P < 0.01) in arteries from estradiol-treated animals. There was no effect of hormone replacement on rate of TNF-induced LDL accumulation (P = 0.451), while incubation of LDL with 65 pg/ml estradiol attenuated the TNF effect (P < 0.01). These experiments suggest two independent mechanisms of anti-atherogenic protection by estradiol: 1) decreased endothelial layer permeability; and 2) incorporation of estradiol into the LDL particle and prevention of LDL binding to the artery wall.
Human life history variation and sex differences in mortality rates.

Sex differences in mortality rates stem from multiple causes that are best understood when integrated in an evolutionary life history framework. This study investigates the relationship of sex differences in mortality rates across nations to indicators of the life history characteristics of populations. Controlling for gross national income per capita, the overall sex difference in mortality rates was directly related to the adolescent fertility rate, the percentage of newborns with low birth weight, and was inversely related to the average mother's age at birth of first child. Sex differences for behavioral (external) causes of mortality were also directly related to the difference between the average age of males and females at first marriage. These findings indicate that the sex difference in mortality rates is an important life history indicator, and is related to reproductive patterns. Greater sex differences in mortality may reflect greater degrees of male competition for resources, social status, and mates.
Inhalation of α-gal/sialic acid liposomes: a novel approach for inhibition of influenza virus infection?

Effective inhibition of influenza virus infection in symptomatic patients may be feasible by inhalation of aerosol-containing liposomes presenting α-gal epitopes and sialic acid epitopes. The virus binds to sialic acid epitopes and the natural anti-Gal antibody binds to α-gal epitopes on the liposomes and activates the complement system to generate chemotactic peptides that recruit macrophages. These macrophages bind and internalize via their Fc receptors, anti-Gal-coated liposomes and the influenza virus bound to them, process the viral antigens and transport them to the regional lymph nodes for eliciting a rapid, protective immune response that prevents progression of the virus infection.
The Effect of Galactose on the Growth of Certain Fungi

The toxic effect of galactose on green plants was observed first by Knudson (7) in his experiments on vetch (Vicia villosa L.) and Canada field pea (Pisum sativum L.). He found that plants when grown in two per cent galactose media, very early in their development showed browning, discoloration, and marked injurythe injury being manifested by a killing of the roots and accompanied by a reduction in the growth of the tops. He showed, furthermore, that whereas galactose acted deleteriously toward the roots of the Canada field pea, the sugars, glucose and sucrose, acted beneficially when compared with the check cultures of green plants grown without sugar. The manner in which injury is caused by the galactose was not determined by Knudson. He suggested, however, the possibility that the oxidation products of galactose are the injurious agents causing the toxic effects on green plants. In a later paper Knudson (8) discovered that mannose sugar behaved in a manner similar to that of galactose, causing discoloration, injury and retardation of root growth in the presence of mannose at a concentration of 0.025 mol. He found also that the toxic effects of galactose and of mannose sugars were prevented in the presence of an equal concentration of glucose or sucrose.
Surgical Resection of Retroperitoneal Sarcomas: Analysis of Factors Determining Outcome.

INTRODUCTION Retroperitoneal sarcomas (RS) are rare malignant tumors characterized by high local recurrence rates and poor survival, Aggressive surgical resection may improve local recurrence rates and disease-specific survival (DSS), The aim of our study was to determine predictors of survival and local recurrence in primary RS. METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis and identified 68 patients who underwent surgical resection of a primary RS between 1985 and 2010, Clinical and pathologic variables were used to create univariate and multivariate models for both survival and recurrence. RESULTS 68 patients (37% male) with mean age 59 (range 25-84) underwent surgical resection for RS. Median tumor size was 12.0 cm (range 7.0-18.0 cm). 75% of tumors were intermediate/high grade, Incontinuity organ resection was performed in 29 (43%) patients. Seven patients (10%) underwent vascular resection with graft placement. Overall survival at 5, 10 and 15 years was 55%, 42%, and 33%, respectively. Grade (p<0.007), tumor size (p=0.048) and margin status (p<0.05) were found to significantly affect local recurrence. In a multivariate analysis, recurrent disease (p<0.001), age (p<0.003) and high/intermediate grade (p<0.001) significantly affected DSS. Incontinuity organ resection did not significantly affect recurrence (HR = 1.1, CI 0.63 - 1.85) or survival (HR = 1.4, CI 0.8 - 2.9). CONCLUSION Surgical resection of RS affords the best chance of survival. Incontinuity organ resection did not affect outcome on multivariate analysis; however, margin status did significantly affect recurrence and could not be achieved without aggressive resection of incontinuity organs.
Transient characteristics of flow boiling in large micro-channel heat exchangers

Abstract This study investigates both time-averaged and transient characteristics of large area micro-channel evaporators incorporated into an R-134a vapor compression loop that simulates thermal control for future space vehicles. The loop contains two separate micro-channel evaporators, one to simulate heat acquisition from the spacecraft crew and the other from the avionics. Both evaporators feature parallel 1 × 1-mm 2 micro-channels, with the smaller crew evaporator yielding relatively low qualities, and the larger avionics evaporator both low and high qualities. Heat transfer measurement and high speed video are used to investigate variations of heat transfer coefficient with quality for different mass velocities and heat fluxes, as well as transient fluid flow and heat transfer behavior. Relatively low qualities in the crew evaporator are dominated by slug flow and the nucleate boiling mechanism. On the other hand, the avionics evaporator produces different flow regimes and heat transfer mechanisms depending on quality range, with low qualities associated with slug flow and dominated by nucleate boiling, and high qualities by annular flow and convective boiling. Further increases in quality trigger incipient dryout of the annular film and transition to mist flow. An important transient phenomenon that influences both fluid flow and heat transfer is a liquid wave composed of remnants of liquid slugs from the slug flow regime. The liquid wave serves to replenish dry wall patches in the slug flow regime and to a lesser extent the annular regime. Two-phase flow in the two evaporators shows clear signs of parallel-channel instability.
How to Arrive at a Teaching-Research Question?

This chapter presents three different routes to the formulation of the teaching research (TR) questions practiced in the community of teacher-researchers of the Bronx. The differences and similarities among them are interesting. On the one hand, their natural development in the context of improving the general quality of teaching is described by Vrunda Prabhu, followed by William Baker’s discussion that carries a higher level of specification in the context of a large scale teaching experiment involving many students from different sections of the course in both colleges.
A frequency tunable, eight-channel correlation ECE system for electron temperature turbulence measurements on the DIII-D tokamak

A new eight-channel correlation electron cyclotron emission diagnostic has recently been installed on the DIII-D tokamak to study both turbulent and coherent electron temperature fluctuations under various plasma conditions and locations. This unique system is designed to cover a broad range of operation space on DIII-D (1.6-2.1 T, detection frequency: 72-108 GHz) via four remotely selected local oscillators (80, 88, 96, and 104 GHz). Eight radial locations are measured simultaneously in a single discharge covering as much as half the minor radius. In this paper, we present design details of the quasi-optical system, the receiver, as well as representative data illustrating operation of the system.
Listening to the Land: Tracks Left While Muddling Through Overlapping Borders

Listening to the Land: Tracks Left While Muddling Through Overlapping Borders DOI:10.2458/azu_rangelands_v32i5_box
The effects of abortion on perceived sex role

We investigated the effect of abortion on the sex role attitudes of 118 women undergoing the procedure. Perceived femininity, masculinity, and androgyny were measured during the week preceding the abortion, and then at 2 weeks and 3 months following the abortion. Because the decision to abort requires assertiveness not common to the traditional female role and a denial of maternity, we expected that postabortion femininity scores would decrease and masculinity scores would increase, resulting in greater androgyny. While no significant differences in femininity scores were found across the 3 testing times, masculinity and androgyny scores differed significantly from the first to third and second to third testing times.
Headache Resolution After Rathke Cleft Cyst Resection: A Meta-Analysis.

Objective Rathke cleft cysts (RCC) are benign lesions of the sella that often present with headache. It is not currently well established whether surgical resection of RCC results in resolution of headache. We conducted a meta-analysis to examine the effect of RCC resection on headache resolution. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were searched through June 2017 for articles that evaluated the effect of RCC resection on headache resolution. Pooled effect estimates were calculated using fixed-effects and random-effects models. Results Ten case series with 276 patients were included. Transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) was used to resect RCC in all of the studies. Only 1 patient in 1 study underwent transcranial surgery. Using the fixed effect model, the overall headache resolution prevalence was 71.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 65.3%, 77.3%) among patients who underwent resection of RCC (I2 = 76.9%; P-heterogeneity Conclusion This meta-analysis demonstrates that the resection of RCC in patients presenting with headache is associated with headache resolution.
Age-Related Positivity Effect and Its Implications for Social and Health Gerontology

Aging has long been associated with sadness, fear, and loss. From the downtrodden visage of Picasso’s “The Old Guitarist” to the incompetent shenanigans of TV’s Mr. Magoo, older adults have been depicted as depressed and cognitively impaired, and negative stereotypes of aging are ubiquitous. Recent empirical evidence, however, has revealed that older adults experience more positive and fewer negative emotions in their daily lives compared to younger adults (for a review, see Charles and Carstensen (2010)). Older adults also appear to favor positive over negative information in attention and memory compared to younger adults, a developmental phenomenon known as the age-related positivity effect. This entry provides an overview of the empirical origins and theoretical foundations of the positivity effect, the debates concerning its underlying mechanisms, the moderators of the effect, and open questions for future research in this area. Implications of the positivity effect for social behavior and well-being in later life are discussed.
Patient-Rated Trust of Spine Surgeons: Influencing Factors.

Study design Descriptive analysis using publicly available data. Objectives The purpose of this study was 2-fold: to assess patient-rated trustworthiness of spine surgeons as a whole and to assess if academic proclivity, region of practice, or physician sex affects ratings of patient perceived trust. Methods Orthopedic spine surgeons were randomly selected from the North American Spine Society directory. Surgeon profiles on 3 online physician rating websites, HealthGrades, Vitals, and RateMDs were analyzed for patient-reported trustworthiness. Whether or not the surgeon had published a PubMed-indexed paper in 2016 was assessed with regard to trustworthiness scores. Total number of publications was also assessed. Individuals with >300 publications were excluded due to the likelihood of repeat names. Results Recent publication and total number of publications has no relationship with online patient ratings of trustworthiness across all surgeons in this study. Region of practice likewise has no influence on mean trust ratings, yet varied levels of correlation are observed. Furthermore, there was no difference in trust scores between male and female surgeons. Conclusion Total academic proclivity via indexed publications does not correlate with patient perceived physician trustworthiness among spine surgeons as reported on physician review websites. Furthermore, region of practice within the United States does not have an influence on these trust scores. Likewise, there is no difference in trust score between female and male spine surgeons. This study also highlights an increasing utility for physician rating websites in spine surgery for evaluating and monitoring patient perception.
Green’s Function Monte Carlo for Fermions

We present an exact and stable Green’s function Monte Carlo algorithm for few-fermion systems. Results are given for low-Z atoms. Possible improvements in constructing the importance functions are discussed. We also present a bilinear algorithm for sampling the product of two wavefunctions.
Prediction of Delayed Cerebral Ischemia with Cerebral Angiography: A Meta-Analysis

Cerebral catheter angiography is the gold standard for diagnosing cerebral artery vasospasm (vasospasm) in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). We have previously published a meta-analysis of prediction of delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) from transcranial Doppler (TCD) evidence of vasospasm. Analogous data relating to prediction of DCI have not been previously collated for cerebral angiography nor reconciled against TCD. We searched PUBMED, the Cochrane database, and clinicaltrials.gov for studies that used cerebral angiography for diagnosis of vasospasm and evaluated DCI in patients with SAH. We performed a random-effects meta-analysis of prediction of DCI with cerebral angiography, reconciling its accuracy against that of TCD. We also report quality of evidence for the value of cerebral angiography and TCD in SAH based on pooled data from our meta-analyses. A total of 15 studies (n = 5463) were included in the meta-analysis. Sensitivity (SN), specificity (SP), positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of cerebral angiography for prediction of DCI are 57, 68, 32, and 90%. These metrics for TCD, based on our previous meta-analysis, are 90, 71, 57, and 92%. We report that test accuracy estimates are “moderate” for TCD and “low” for angiography based on pooled data from our meta-analyses. TCD evidence of vasospasm is a better predictor of DCI than angiographic vasospasm. Future comparative effectiveness studies can better define the value of these diagnostic tools in patients with SAH.
Plasma Position and Shape for Transient Analysis

This paper presents a method for quick determination of plasma shape and position in a tokamak. It is based on relating the plasma shape parameters to multipoles of the external poloidal magnetic f...
Differences Between U.S. GAAP and IFRS in Accounting for GoodwillImpairment and Inventory: Tax Treatment Under the Internal Revenue Code

This paper examines how to account for goodwill impairment and inventory under the Financial Accounting Standard Board’s (FASB) U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). Although U.S. GAAP and IFRS accounting standards share some similarities, there are still some key fundamental differences between the two standards. This paper will also detail the treatment of these items by the IRC and how taxation may share some similarities and differences to its financial reporting counterpart.
Differentiating borderline personality from bipolar disorder with the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ): A replication and extension of the International Mood Network (IMN) Nosology Project.

Abstract Introduction Vohringer et al. identified a triad of items on the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) that best discriminated between borderline personality disorder (BPD) and bipolar disorder (BD) in a tertiary mood clinic setting [23]. The present study aimed to replicate and extend these findings by examining the performance of the triad across a range of cut-off scores and comparing the operating characteristics of the triad to the full MDQ. Methods Patients presenting for treatment were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) and the BPD module of the Structured Interview for DSM-IV Personality (SIDP-IV). The present report is based on 476 depressed patients who had a principal diagnosis of major depressive disorder or BD and who completed the MDQ. Results Fifty-seven patients were diagnosed with BD and fifty-four patients were diagnosed with BPD. Both the triad and full MDQ significantly predicted BD diagnosis (p Conclusion Within a sample of depressed patients, the MDQ triad is a better screener for BD than the full MDQ, particularly if a positive triad screen is indicated by the presence of any two items. The triad is particularly good for differentiating between BD and BPD, whereas the full MDQ does a poorer job of differential diagnosis. Future studies should administer the triad as a stand-alone scale.
A theoretical analysis of mechanical and durability enhancement of circular reinforced concrete columns repaired with UHPC

Abstract Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) has been promoted as a strong, durable construction material which can provide a barrier to corrosion due to its low permeability, and can thus be an ideal durable repair strategy for corrosion management. A UHPC based solution to enhance the mechanical strength of axially-loaded, sub-structural reinforced concrete elements, was proposed and experimentally investigated in an earlier study by the authors. The results recommended that depending on the UHPC shell thickness, this repair method may cause shifting of the critical section, which should be a design consideration. In this paper, the effect of the UHPC shell thickness on structural performance and durability of the retrofitted structure was numerically investigated. A well-established numerical sectional analysis method was utilized to estimate the capacity of the repaired section of prototype bridge columns with varying UHPC shell thicknesses, and a simplified method for predicting the structural enhancement of UHPC repair was proposed. Furthermore, analytical models were developed to predict the service life of the repaired sections by calculating the time required for chloride ions to reach the surface of the reinforcement.
Principal Component Analysis of Simultaneous PET‐MRI Reveals Patterns of Bone–Cartilage Interactions in Osteoarthritis

Background Bone-cartilage interactions have been implicated in causing osteoarthritis (OA). Purpose To use [18 F]-NaF PET-MRI to 1) develop automatic image processing code in MatLab to create a model of bone-cartilage interactions and 2) find associations of bone-cartilage interactions with known manifestations of OA. Study type Prospective study aimed to evaluate a data analysis method. Population Twenty-nine patients with knee pain or joint stiffness. Field strength/sequence 3T MRI (GE), 3D CUBE FSE, 3D combined T1 ρ/T2 MAPSS, [18F]-sodium fluoride, SIGNA TOF (OSEM). Assessment Correlation between MRI (cartilage) and PET (bone) quantitative parameters, bone-cartilage interactions model described by modes of variation as derived by principal component analysis (PCA), WORMS scoring on cartilage lesions, bone marrow abnormalities, subchondral cysts. Statistical tests Linear regression, Pearson correlation. Results Mode 1 was a positive predictor of the bone abnormality score (P = 0.0003, P = 0.001, P = 0.0007) and the cartilage lesion score (P = 0.03, P = 0.01, P = 0.02) in the femur, tibia, and patella, respectively. For the cartilage lesion scores, mode 5 was the most important positive predictor in the femur (P = 3.9E-06), and mode 2 were predictors, significant negative predictor in the tibia (P = 0.007). In the patella, mode 1 was a significant positive predictor of the bone abnormality score (P = 0.0007). Data conclusion By successfully building an automatic code to create a bone-cartilage interface, we were able to observe dynamic relationships between biochemical changes in the cartilage accompanied with bone remodeling, extended to the whole knee joint instead of simple colocalized observations, shedding light on the interactions that occur between bone and cartilage in OA. Evidence Level: 3 Technical Efficacy: Stage 3 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2020.
RNAi of AGAMOUS genes in sweetgum alters reproductive organ identity and decreases fruit persistence

Sweetgums (Liquidambar), members of the family Altingiaceae (Altingiales), have inflorescences and floral organs that are distinctive in structure compared with other angiosperms in which the roles of floral homeotic genes have been studied. To begin to understand the role of AGAMOUS (AG)-a floral homeotic gene that has a major role in stamen and carpel development-in development of the monosexual flowers of sweetgum, we used RNAi to reduce the expression of two members of the AG subfamily. Because AG suppression should induce floral sterility, RNAi might also provide a tool to mitigate the risks of invasiveness-and to reduce the production of its nuisance fruits or allergenic pollen-when sweetgum is used as an exotic shade or forest tree. We tested 33 independent transgenic events and non-transgenic controls during 10 years in the field. The RNAi-AG sweetgum trees maintained normal growth, phenology, and vivid fall coloration during the 10 years of study, but 8 insertion events had highly modified inflorescence and floral morphology. The modified flowers had anthers and carpels that were converted to flat leaf-like structures lacking pollen grains and ovules, respectively. The female inflorescences developed into dry papery structures that failed to produce seeds. These infructescences were smaller than control infructescences, and lost a greater percentage of biomass in a controlled decay assay. RNAi against AG genes was highly effective at impairing fertility and modifying reproductive development without significant vegetative effects in sweetgum and gave phenotypes distinct from, but similar to, that of AG loss of function in other angiosperms.
Toxicity and covalent binding of substituted bromobenzenes to isolated hepatocytes.

The hepatotoxicity of bromobenzene (1) has been associated with its metabolic activation and the subsequent covalent binding of a reactive metabolite, presumably its 3,4-oxide, to liver macromolecules (Reid and Krishna, 1973). In view of the presumed non-enzymatic nature of the covalent binding step, it was hypothesized that modulation of the reactivity of the metabolite through the use of substituent effects would lead to predictable alterations in the toxicity of the precursor bromobenzene derivatives, and this was indeed found to be the case (Toranzo et al., 1977). The hepatotoxicity of bromobenzene was increased dramatically by electron withdrawing ortho-substituents (e.g. NO2, CN, Br) and conversely was decreased by electron-donating substituents such as CH3O, CH3, or C2H5. When the metabolism of these compounds was investigated in vitro with rat liver microsomes, the substituents were found to have exactly the opposite effect, i.e., electron-donating groups increased the rate of metabolic oxidation while electron-withdrawing groups made the rates imperceptibly slow (Wiley et al., 1979).
Characterization of Rose rosette virus and development of reverse genetic system for studying virus accumulation and movement in whole plants

ABSTRACT Rose rosette virus (RRV) is an Emaravirus, a negative-sense RNA virus with a 7-segmented genome that is enclosed by a double membrane. While the genome sequences of many emaraviruses are reported, there is negligible information concerning virus replication and movement in host plants. Computational methods determined that RNA1 encoded the RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), RNA2 encoded glycoprotein precursor, and the RNA3 encoded the nucleocapsid (N), all share significant homologies with similar proteins of the Orthobunyavirus family. The RRV terminal UTR sequences are complementary and share significant identity with the UTR sequences of Bunyamwera virus. We report a minireplicon system and a full length infectious clone of RRV, which are the first for any emaravirus species. The photoreversible fluorescent iLOV protein was used to replace the RNA5 open reading frame (R5-iLOV). We demonstrate that agro-infiltration of Nicotiana benthamiana leaves to deliver RNA1, RNA3, and R5-iLOV cDNAs led to iLOV expression. A mutation was introduced into the RdRp active site and iLOV expression was eliminated. Delivery of four segments or seven segments of the RRV infectious clone produced systemic infection in N. benthamiana and rose plants. iLOV was also fused to the glycoprotein precursor (R2-iLOV). Using confocal microscopy, the R2-iLOV was seen in spherical bodies along membrane strands inside N. benthamiana epidermal cells. This new technology will enable future research to functionally characterize the RRV proteins, to study the virus-host interactions governing local and systemic infection, and examine the subcellular functions of the Gc. IMPORTANCE RRV has emerged as a severe threat to cultivated roses, causing millions of dollars in losses to commercial producers. The majority of the viral gene products have not been researched or characterized until now. We constructed a minireplicon system and an infectious clone of the seven-segmented RRV genome that is contained in a binary vector and delivered by Agrobacterium. This technology has been slow to develop for viruses with negative-strand RNA genomes. It has been especially tricky for plant viruses with multicomponent negative-strand RNA genomes. We report the first reverse genetic system for a member of the genus Emaravirus, Rose rosette virus (RRV). We introduced the iLOV fluorescent protein as a fusion to the Gc protein and as a replacement for the open reading frame in genome segment 5. This game-changing reverse genetic system creates new opportunities for studying negative-strand RNA viruses in plants.
Wollstonecraft in Jamaica: the international reception of A Vindication of the Rights of Men in the Kingston Daily Advertiser in 1791

Re-reading Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790) in the context of the international politics after the start of the French Revolution in 1789 and before the rise of the H...