cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of different stressors on voluntary ethanol intake in ethanol-dependent and nondependent C57BL/6J mice

Several animal models have evaluated the effect of stress on voluntary ethanol intake with mixed results. The experiments reported here examined the effects of different stressors on voluntary ethanol consumption in dependent and nondependent adult male C57BL/6J mice. In Experiment 1, restraint, forced swim, and social defeat stress procedures all tended to reduce ethanol intake in nondependent mice regardless of whether the stress experience occurred 1 h or 4 h prior to ethanol access. The reduction in ethanol consumption was most robust following restraint stress. Experiment 2 examined the effects of forced swim stress and social defeat stress on drinking in a dependence model that involved repeated cycles of chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) exposure. Repeated exposure to forced swim stress prior to intervening test drinking periods that followed repeated cycles of CIE exposure further increased ethanol consumption in CIE-exposed mice while not altering intake in nondependent mice. In contrast, repeated exposure to the social defeat stressor in a similar manner reduced ethanol consumption in CIE-exposed mice while not altering drinking in nondependent mice. Results from Experiment 3 confirmed this selective effect of forced swim stress increasing ethanol consumption in mice with a history of CIE exposure, and also demonstrated that enhanced drinking is only observed when the forced swim stressor is administered during each test drinking week, but not if it is applied only during the final test week. Collectively, these studies point to a unique interaction between repeated stress experience and CIE exposure, and also suggest that such an effect depends on the nature of the stressor. Future studies will need to further explore the generalizability of these results, as well as mechanisms underlying the ability of forced swim stress to selectively further enhance ethanol consumption in dependent (CIE-exposed) mice but not alter intake in nondependent animals.
Species Identification of Golden and Bald Eagle Talons Using Morphometrics

Abstract The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) and Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) are the largest avian predators in North America, and are thus species of great ecological importance and cultural significance. There is a long history of human use of eagle body parts, and this use continues today: Bald and Golden eagles are among the North American birds most affected by the illegal wildlife trade. Detached eagle talons are often recovered in both law enforcement and archaeological contexts, but data to allow morphological identification of these talons have been lacking. This study documents measureable differences in the morphology of Bald Eagle and North American Golden Eagle talons, which can be used to identify the detached talons of these two species. We measured talon samples of both species from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory and other collections and categorized them according to species, sex, age, and digit number (Digits I–IV). We then...
Enhanced Cortical Thickness Measurements for Rodent Brains via Lagrangian-based RK4 Streamline Computation.

The cortical thickness of the mammalian brain is an important morphological characteristic that can be used to investigate and observe the brain’s developmental changes that might be caused by biologically toxic substances such as ethanol or cocaine. Although various cortical thickness analysis methods have been proposed that are applicable for human brain and have developed into well-validated open-source software packages, cortical thickness analysis methods for rodent brains have not yet become as robust and accurate as those designed for human brains. Based on a previously proposed cortical thickness measurement pipeline for rodent brain analysis,1 we present an enhanced cortical thickness pipeline in terms of accuracy and anatomical consistency. First, we propose a Lagrangian-based computational approach in the thickness measurement step in order to minimize local truncation error using the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. Second, by constructing a line object for each streamline of the thickness measurement, we can visualize the way the thickness is measured and achieve sub-voxel accuracy by performing geometric post-processing. Last, with emphasis on the importance of an anatomically consistent partial differential equation (PDE) boundary map, we propose an automatic PDE boundary map generation algorithm that is specific to rodent brain anatomy, which does not require manual labeling. The results show that the proposed cortical thickness pipeline can produce statistically significant regions that are not observed in the previous cortical thickness analysis pipeline.
Lack of Synergistic Relationship Between Thyroid and Salivary Gland Function

SummaryIt is believed that the salivary glands play no active role in metabolism of such thyroid analogues as DIT in the dog. The amount of iodide cleared into the saliva appears to be strictly a function of the circulating plasma level of iodide ion and is not influenced by exogenous thyroid hormone. This clearance will depend of course upon the rates with which exogenous diiodotyrosine. thyroxine and triiodothyronine become deiodinated. Since neither dog nor rat salivary glands appear to contain a DIT deiodinase system such as that found in liver and kidney tissue, it is concluded that these glands are not involved in the metabolism of DIT nor in the control of the circulating blood level of this analogue.
Peroxidation of lipids in alveolar macrophages. Production by aqueous extracts of cigarette smoke

Incubation of sonicates of rabbit alveolar macrophages and pulmonary protective factor with an aqueous extract of cigarette smoke (AECS) resulted in peroxidation of lipids, as estimated by the 2-thiobarbituric acid reaction (TBA). The accumulation of malonaldehyde was not reduced by supplementing the incubation media with cysteine. These studies suggest that oxidants or free radicals in AECS-induce peroxidation of unsaturated lipids in alveolar macrophages and in an acellular material that coats the cells in the lung.
Blurred Lines: Homelessness & the Increasing Privatization of Public Space

Downtown areas are a vital port for social services, human contact, the exercise of free speech, employment, food, and other necessary resources; however, visibly poor people are increasingly shut out as laws and policies increasingly restricts access to these core spaces. Business improvement districts (BIDs) have significant influence on the creation and enforcement of laws that regulate downtown public space. BIDs wield significant political and economic power; they can also effectively deputize citizens to act as a form of private security with broad authority and discretion to enforce these spatial regulations. This brief examines the increasing privatization of public space, the role of BIDs in this process, and the impact on visibly poor people.
One hour in 1 ATA oxygen enhances rat alveolar macrophage chemiluminescence and fungal cytotoxicity.

The purpose of this study was to determine if 100% O2 would enhance rat pulmonary alveolar macrophage (PAM) oxidative killing of conidia of the fungus Neurospora crassa. First, we found that incuba...
Benign pericardial effusion in the course of chronic myelogenous leukemia.

1. Pericarditis with effusion is a rare complication, except terminally, during the course of leukemia. 2. A patient is presented who developed a benign pericardial effusion with recovery during the course of chronic myelogenous leukemia.
Using Best-Worst Scaling to Understand Patient Priorities: A Case Example of Papanicolaou Tests for Homeless Women

PURPOSE Best-worst scaling (BWS) is a survey method for assessing individuals' priorities. It identifies the extremes—best and worst items, most and least impor - tant factors, biggest and smallest influences—among sets. In this article, we demonstrate an application of BWS in a primary care setting to illustrate its use in identifying patient priorities for services. METHODS We conducted a BWS survey in 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts, to assess the relative importance of 10 previously identified attributes of Papanico - laou (Pap) testing services among women experiencing homelessness. Women were asked to evaluate 11 sets of 5 attributes of Pap services, and identify which attribute among each set would have the biggest and smallest influence on pro - moting uptake. We show how frequency analysis can be used to analyze results. RESULTS In all, 165 women participated, a response rate of 72%. We identified the most and least salient influences on encouraging Pap screening based on their frequency of report among our sample, with possible standardized scores ranging from+1.0 (biggest influence) to -1.0 (smallest influence). Most impor - tant was the availability of support for issues beyond health (+0.39), while least important was the availability of accommodations for personal hygiene (-0.27). CONCLUSIONS BWS quantifies patient priorities in a manner that is transpar - ent and accessible. It is easily comprehendible by patients and relatively easy to administer. Our application illustrates its use in a vulnerable population, showing that factors beyond those typically provided in health care settings are highly important to women in seeking Pap screening. This approach can be applied to other health care services where prioritization is helpful to guide decisions.
Photoacoustic imaging with an acoustic lens detects prostate cancer cells labeled with PSMA-targeting near-infrared dye-conjugates

There is an urgent need for sensitive and specific tools to accurately image early stage, organ-confined human prostate cancers to facilitate active surveillance and reduce unnecessary treatment. Recently, we developed an acoustic lens that enhances the sensitivity of photoacoustic imaging. Here, we report the use of this device in conjunction with two molecular imaging agents that specifically target the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) expressed on the tumor cell surface of most prostate cancers. We demonstrate successful imaging of phantoms containing cancer cells labeled with either of two different PSMA-targeting agents, the ribonucleic acid aptamer A10-3.2 and a urea-based peptidomimetic inhibitor, each linked to the near-infrared dye IRDye800CW. By specifically targeting cells with these agents linked to a dye chosen for optimal signal, we are able to discriminate prostate cancer cells that express PSMA.
Volatility as an Asset Class and the Smile

The volatility smile is a fascinating topic in finance. Yet, it is also a complex phenomenon and more research needs to be done on its causes and on the ways to model it. This chapter presents volatility as an asset class, as funding, and smile. It explains some concepts such as Dirac Delta Functions, option payoffs, option prices as gamma gains, preliminaries, volatility smile, and smile dynamics. The chapter also discusses the Breeden-Litzenberger theorem.
Assessment and Optimization of Configurational-Bias Monte Carlo Particle Swap Strategies for Simulations of Water in the Gibbs Ensemble

Particle swap moves between phases are usually the rate-limiting step for Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo (GEMC) simulations of fluid phase equilibria at low reduced temperatures because the acceptance probabilities for these moves can become very low for molecules with articulated architecture and/or highly directional interactions. The configurational-bias Monte Carlo (CBMC) technique can greatly increase the acceptance probabilities, but the efficiency of the CBMC algorithm is influenced by multiple parameters. In this work we assess the performance of different CBMC strategies for GEMC simulations using the SPC/E and TIP4P water models at 283, 343, and 473 K, demonstrate that much higher acceptance probabilities can be achieved than previously reported in the literature, and make recommendations for CBMC strategies leading to optimal efficiency.
World Relations: Hegemony Versus Globalization

This chapter explores the impact of global relations and competition on American citizenship. American citizenship has consolidated much of its meaning from the clashes on the global stage, including the more recent advent of terrorism. Trade relations with countries all over the world and the success of American goods in securing world markets have paved the way for American hegemony, which in turn has been protected and expanded through military might. Unlike past decades when the expansion of American power was translated into greater citizenship rights, such as the GI Bill or the inclusion of minorities, the American state now seemson a path of reduction of the social rights of citizenship, offering different citizenship privileges for the elite versus the poor.
Bacterial-Plant Gene Cloning Shuttle Vectors for Genetic Modification of Plants

Directed genetic transformation of plant cells is one of the fundamental requirements for tailoring plants’ cells to harbor desirable characteristics. This requirement can be achieved by the development of systems for the delivery and integration of foreign genes into the plant genome. Two potential gene delivery systems have been the focus of considerable attention: the Ti plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and the DNA plant virion cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV)1–8. Although these are the most thoroughly characterized systems, reports on the successful application of these vectors in the manipulation of the plant genome have been premature. The inherent limitations of these vectors have been previously pointed out3,4,6,7, yet the design of a cloning vector capable of replication in bacteria and plants continues to center around the Ti plasmid and DNA plant viruses.
Abstract 82: Epigenetic reader ZMYND8 bridges BRD4 and hypoxia-inducible factors to mediate breast cancer progression and metastasis

Metastatic breast cancer has high rates of relapse and mortality. The absence of definitive prognostic biomarker and effective therapeutic target is the major obstacle to end this aggressive disease. Epigenetic dysregulation plays a crucial role in breast cancer metastasis. However, the mechanism by which epigenetic dysregulation stimulates the hypoxia-mediated breast cancer progression and metastasis remains unknown. Based on luciferase reporter assays and analysis of expression changes of 720 epigenetic genes in three microarray datasets, we identified epigenetic reader ZMYND8 as a novel hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) target gene. Human breast cancer tissue microarray data indicated that ZMYND8 is highly expressed in invasive breast tumors and this overexpression is significantly correlated with poor clinical outcomes in patients with breast cancer. ZMYND8 depletion dramatically attenuates the tumorigenic potential of breast cancer cells in colony formation, migration and invasion in vitro, and suppresses breast tumor growth and metastasis in mice. To elucidate the underlying mechanism, we performed co-immunoprecipitation, chromatin immunoprecipitation and quantitative PCR assays and found that ZMYND8 interacts with HIF complex and acetyl lysine 16 of histone H3 at the hypoxia inducible elements (HREs) to provoke the expression of HIF target genes LOX, AGR2, AQP1 and VEGFA. ZMYND8 controls breast cancer growth and metastasis through HIF in mice. We further found that p300 binds and acetylates ZMYND8 in breast cancer cells. Acetylated ZMYND8 interacts with and recruits BRD4 to the HREs to stimulate RNA polymerase II phosphorylation, thereby promoting transcriptional elongation of HIF target genes. ZMYND8 acetylation is necessary and sufficient for breast tumor growth and metastasis in vitro and in mice. Together, p300-ZMYND8-BRD4-HIF axis is critical for breast cancer progression and metastasis. In summary, ZMYND8 represents a positive feedback mechanism that amplifies HIF-mediated breast cancer progression and metastasis, and provides a potential epigenetic target for the prognosis and treatment of breast cancer. Citation Format: Yan Chen, Bo Zhang, Lei Bao, Lai Jin, Mingming Yang, Yan Peng, Jennifer Wang, Chenliang Wang, Xuan Zou, Yingfei Wang, Weibo Luo. Epigenetic reader ZMYND8 bridges BRD4 and hypoxia-inducible factors to mediate breast cancer progression and metastasis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 82.
Drugs of Abuse as Possible Co-Factors in AIDS Progression

A Panel Discussion on the question whether drugs of abuse act as possible co-factors in AIDS progression was presented at the Symposium on AIDS, Drugs of Abuse and Neuroimmune Axis. Panelists were well-known biomedical scientists in the area of drugs of abuse research. The first panelist was Dr. Harry Haverkos, Director of the AIDS Office at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Dr. Clyde McCoy, Director of the Comprehensive Drug Research Center at the University of Miami School of Medicine and Dr. Paul Shapshak, Director of the Retrovirus Laboratory in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Miami School of Medicine also were penalists. Dr. Shapshak is well known as a biomedical scientist studying the AIDS virus and the CNS. Dr. McCoy is a widely known epidemiologist. The third panelist was Dr. David Vlahoy from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and a widely renown epidemiologist. Dr. Robert Donahoe, Director of the Psychoimmunol­ogy Laboratory at the Georgia Mental Health Institute and the Department of Psychiatry at Emory University was also a panelist. His expertise deals with virology and monkey models of AIDS. Dr. Phillip Peterson, Professor and Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota Medical School, was also a panelist. His expertise deals with infectious diseases, including AIDS, and studies of how HIV affects the immune response as well as the CNS. Dr. Martin Adler, Professor of Pharmacology at Temple University School of Medicine was also a panelist and discussed the relationship between pharmacologi­cal principles and epidemiology in resolving the conflict between the dirth of epidemiologi­cal evidence that drugs of abuse are involved in AIDS progression and the disparity between numerous laboratory and experimental studies showing that drugs of abuse, in animal models, are major factors in suppressing the immune response and enhancing or augmenting HIV replication in vitro.
IEEE guide on human factors engineering of computer-based monitoring and control displays

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has assigned responsibility for coordination and development of nuclear power plant human factors standards to a subcommittee of the Power Engineering Society Nuclear Power Engineering Committee. The Human Factors and Control Facilities Subcommittee is a consensus standards committee made up of balanced representation of utilities, vendors, consultants, national laboratories, and US Nuclear Regulatory Commission with expertise in instrumentation and controls engineering and human factors engineering. This committee has successfully developed several IEEE human factors engineering (HFE) standards currently in use: IEEE Std 845-1988, [open quotes]IEEE Guide to the Evaluation of Man Machine Performance in Nuclear Power Generating Station Control Rooms and Other Peripheries[close quotes]; and IEEE Std 1023-1988, [open quotes]IEEE Guide for the Application of Human Factors Engineering to Systems, Equipment, and Facilities of Nuclear Power Generating Stations.[close quotes] These standards serve as top-level standards, and other IEEE standards are being developed to provide more detailed HFE guidance to address more specific issues in the nuclear power industry. The objective of this paper is to summarize the status of the committee's efforts to address the specific issue of HFE in the design of computer- based monitoring and control displays used in nuclearmore » power generating stations.« less
Tree cover shows an inverse relationship with depressive symptoms in elderly residents living in U.S. nursing homes

Abstract People who live near more greenspace report less anxiety and depression. Do these findings hold for elderly populations living in care facilities, such as nursing homes? The answer to this question has not been directly examined. Studies on the relationship between greenspace and mental health in this population have focused on nature-based therapy programs rather than on greenspace coverage. Research on outdoor greenspace coverage is important for facility design. Facilities should know whether to prioritize greening investments in indoor atriums where programming can be provided year-round or in outdoor greenspace, which can also promote health by providing restorative views and reducing harmful exposures (e.g., noise and air pollution). To investigate whether nursing homes residents benefit from outdoor greenspace cover, we examined the relationship between tree canopy cover around 9186 U.S. nursing homes and the percentage of residents suffering from depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms data were obtained from the 2011 Minimum Data Set, and canopy data were obtained from the 2011 National Land Cover Database. Because facilities with more resources and higher qualities of care might also have more trees, we gathered 2011 data on occupancy rates, staffing ratios, age, sex, percent Medicaid eligibility, care needs, for-profit status, presence of special care units from the Long Term Care Focus dataset as well as air quality and population density and used these potential covariates in adjusted generalized linear mixed models and spatial lag models. We observed an inverse relationship between depressive symptoms and tree cover surrounding facilities. Associations did not vary by aggregated racial or socioeconomic characteristics of residents but did became weaker at greater distances from facilities. These findings provide hypotheses for future testing regarding whether nursing homes should incorporate outdoor greening in addition to nature-based therapy programs for residents’ mental health.
Clinical safety assessment of the Halcyon system.

Purpose The Halcyon consists of precommissioned linear accelerator and treatment planning algorithms that were designed to simplify the acceptance, commissioning, and clinical workflow for image-guided intensity-modulated radiotherapy. The purpose of this work was to perform a comprehensive safety assessment for the clinical use of the Halcyon. Methods Systems-Theoretic Process Analysis was used as the safety assessment tool. As part of the analysis, a number of control loops and control actions are created to describe system function. Safety is assessed by determining unsafe control actions and a corresponding list of causal scenarios that leads to accidents. The scope of the analysis was from the acceptance of the Halcyon to routine patient treatments. All aspects of treating patients were considered including the roles of physicians, physicists, dosimetrists, and therapists. The analysis was completed by four physicists with input from other members of the radiation therapy team. The causal scenarios were summarized using the causality categories from the consensus recommendations for incident learning database structures in radiation oncology (Med Phys, Vol. 39, No. 12, Dec 2012). Results Twenty-three (23) control loops containing 52 control actions were created for the clinical use of the Halcyon. One hundred forty-four (144) unsafe control actions were identified with 385 associated causal scenarios. Twenty-seven percent (27%) of the causal scenarios were related to equipment technical issues, while 73% of the causal scenarios were predominantly related to procedural issues, human behavior, and organizational management. Conclusions For routine clinical use of closed or largely automated radiation therapy equipment, the majority of safety concerns is related to nontechnical issues. The Halcyon and other similar systems may present opportunities to streamline, reduce, or eliminate some traditional equipment commissioning and routine quality assurance activities in exchange for an increased focus on issues related to organizational management, procedures, and human behavior.
Communist Legacies and Left-Authoritarianism:

Communist regimes were avowedly leftist authoritarian regimes, a relative rarity among autocracies. The growing literature on regime legacies would lead us to expect that postcommunist citizens wou...
Vitamin K Status, Cardiovascular Disease, and All-Cause Mortality: A Participant-Level Meta-Analysis of 3 US Cohorts

Background Vitamin K-dependent proteins in vascular tissue affect vascular stiffness and calcification, which is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality. Objective To determine the association of circulating vitamin K concentrations with CVD and all-cause mortality by conducting a participant-level meta-analysis. Methods We obtained individual participant-level data from the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study, the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, and the Framingham Offspring Study, known cohorts with available measures of fasting circulating phylloquinone (vitamin K-1) and confirmed CVD events and mortality. Circulating phylloquinone was measured in a central laboratory from fasting blood samples and categorized as ≤0.5 nmol/L, >0.5-1.0 nmol/L, and >1.0 nmol/L. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression with multiple imputations was used to evaluate the association of circulating phylloquinone with incident CVD and all-cause mortality risk. Results Among 3891 participants (mean age 65 ± 11 y; 55% women; 35% nonwhite), there were 858 incident CVD events and 1209 deaths over a median of 13.0 y. The risk of CVD did not significantly differ according to circulating phylloquinone [fully adjusted HR (95% CI) relative to >1.0 nmol/L: ≤0.5 nmol/L, 1.12 (0.94, 1.33); >0.5-1.0 nmol/L, 1.02 (0.86, 1.20)]. Participants with ≤0.5 nmol/L circulating phylloquinone had an adjusted 19% higher risk of all-cause mortality compared with those with >1.0 nmol/L [fully adjusted HR (95% CI): 1.19 (1.03, 1.38)]. Mortality risk was similar in participants with >0.5-1.0 nmol/L compared with >1.0 nmol/L [fully adjusted HR (95% CI): 1.04 (0.92, 1.17)]. Conclusions Low circulating phylloquinone concentrations were associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, but not of CVD. Additional studies are needed to clarify the mechanism underlying this association and evaluate the impact of increased phylloquinone intake on cardiovascular and other health outcomes in individuals with low vitamin K status.
Absorbed doses from GCR and albedo particles emitted by the lunar surface

Abstract When high energy galactic cosmic ray (GCR) particles collide with the lunar regolith, they eject “albedo” particles from the surface. The albedo particles could be either scattered incident ions, or secondary ions and neutrons produced by the collisions of incident ions with the lunar regolith. In an effort to understand the nature of these albedo particles, we use the MCNP6 transport code to estimate the angular and energy distribution of albedo particles at an altitude of 50 km to calculate the resulting total absorbed dose rates, which are compared with measurements from the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) instrument aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft. MCNP6 simulations estimate that the albedo particles account for 19.9% of the total absorbed dose rate. The albedo photons account for 8.81% of the total absorbed dose rate, the highest among albedo species followed by protons (4.97%), electrons (2.47%), positrons (1.89%), neutrons (1.17%), deuterons (0.5%), tritium ions (0.07%), helium-3 ions (0.02%), and alphas (0.01%). In addition, recent studies indicate the presence of hydrogen on the Moon. We simulate a hypothetical lunar regolith enriched with hydrogen to study its effect on the lunar albedo. The results herein show that the proton absorbed dose rate is slightly increased if hydrogen is present in the regolith, which is primarily caused by the increased flux of energetic albedo protons leaving the lunar surface.
Determination of Rayleigh scattering cross sections and indices of refraction for Ar, CO2, SF6, and CH4 using BBCES in the ultraviolet

Abstract Rayleigh scattering cross sections for argon, carbon dioxide, sulfur hexafluoride, and methane were measured using Broadband Cavity Enhanced Spectroscopy (BBCES) between 264 and 297 nm, extending the region of experimental cross section data available for all four gases. The experimentally derived values for Ar and CO2 are in excellent agreement with refractive index based (n-based) calculations, within 0.8% and 1.0% on average, respectively. Our measured Rayleigh scattering cross sections for SF6 and CH4, however, suggest that n-based calculations for these gases should be revised. We derive new dispersion relations for SF6 and CH4, incorporating data from this study and from our previous work at 333–363 nm, to provide improved indices of refraction and n-based Rayleigh scattering cross sections.
Caring for Dialysis Patients in a Time of COVID-19.

Abstract Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a pandemic and a public health emergency. The overwhelming rise in the number of cases has brought significant challenges to healthcare systems worldwide. Patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) are highly vulnerable with the multiple comorbidities that make them susceptible to adverse outcomes with COVID-19. Over 2 million people worldwide receive maintenance hemodialysis (HD) at outpatient centers. Effectively preventing the spread of infection among HD centers, healthcare personnel, and patients is essential to ensure the continued delivery of dialysis to ESKD patients. This article discusses dialysis patients' care during COVID-19, addressing measures for patient and health care personnel protection and care of dialysis patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
Measuring student discussion engagement in the college classroom: a scale validation study

This paper presents findings from a scale validation study of discussion engagement using data from multiple in-person courses from a public flagship university in the United States. The Discussion...
Presaccadic attention enhances contrast sensitivity, but not at the upper vertical meridian

Human visual performance is not only better at the fovea and decreases with eccentricity, but also has striking radial asymmetries around the visual field: At a fixed eccentricity, it is better along (1) the horizontal than vertical meridian and (2) the lower than upper vertical meridian. These asymmetries, known as performance fields, are pervasive -they emerge for many visual dimensions, regardless of head rotation, stimulus orientation or display luminance- and resilient -they are not alleviated by covert exogenous or endogenous attention, deployed in the absence of eye movements. Performance fields have been studied exclusively during eye fixation. However, a major driver of everyday attentional orienting is saccade preparation, during which visual attention automatically shifts to the future eye fixation. This presaccadic shift of attention is considered strong and compulsory, and relies on fundamentally different neural computations and substrates than covert attention. Given these differences, we investigated whether presaccadic attention can compensate for the ubiquitous performance asymmetries observed during eye fixation. Our data replicate polar performance asymmetries during fixation and document the same asymmetries during saccade preparation. Crucially, however, presaccadic attention enhanced contrast sensitivity at the horizontal and lower vertical meridian, but not at the upper vertical meridian. Thus, instead of attenuating polar performance asymmetries, presaccadic attention exacerbates them.
Vocational and social rehabilitation of delinquents: A study of experimentals and controls

Abstract The effectiveness of vocational rehabilitation programs in the treatment of juvenile deUquency ha never been evaluated adequately. A review of experimental designs has demonstrated that serious methodological flaws invalidate the research findings. A before and after experimental-control group design, with subjects who were matched, paired and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups, was developed and applied to data on delinquents from intake to follow-up. The results of the comparison of experimental and control groups indicated that vocational rehabilitation did not enhance significantly delinquent boys' vocational development, self-esteem, and attitude towards authority, and made no significant difference in reducing recidivism. Five possible explanations for non-tigniiicant remits were given.
ON THRESHOLD VALUES THAT SEPARATE PEDESTRIAN WALKWAYS THAT ARE SLIP RESISTANT FROM THOSE THAT ARE NOT

Pedestrian accidents generate significant direct, morbidity and mortality costs. Slip accidents are generally a result of a number of factors. One factor that has received considerable attention is the walkway-surface slipperiness. It is desirable to be able to isolate, to the extent possible, the contribution of the walkway surface to slipperiness. It has been the practice of those involved in evaluating walkway slip resistance to test the floor against a standard test foot under specified conditions and compare the results of that testing against a threshold. Those walkway surfaces that produce a friction coefficient above the threshold are considered acceptable. Past and present tests and associated thresholds are discussed. Abuse issues are discussed. It is recommended that field tests measure the available friction with a tribometer capable of correctly characterizing the friction model experienced by the pedestrian and compare that against a utilized friction threshold, determined by normative or force-plate means, for activities foreseeable in the area where a fall occurs.
Post Walrasian Macroeconomics: Who Is Post Walrasian Man?

This paper, written for a conference volume on "post-Walrasian macro-economics," reviews what we have learned, and perhaps not learned, about the character of economic man over the last few decades, and discusses some of the macroeconomic implications of this research.
Remarks upon Receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Jersey Chapter of NASW

This presentation was made in May 2012 as the author accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Jersey chapter of the National Association of Social Workers).
Relative Stability of Membrane Proteins in Escherichia coli

The relative stability of membrane proteins in Escherichia coli was investigated to determine whether these proteins are degraded at heterogeneous rates and, if so, whether the degradative rates are correlated with the sizes or charges of the proteins. Cells growing in a glucose-limited chemostat with a generation time of 15 h were labeled with [(14)C]leucine. After allowing 24 h for turnover of (14)C-labeled proteins, the cells were labeled for 15 min with [(3)H]leucine. By this protocol, the rapidly degraded proteins have a high ratio of (3)H to (14)C, whereas the stable proteins have a lower ratio. The total cell envelope fraction was collected by differential centrifugation, and the proteins were separated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The relative ratio for each protein was determined by dividing its (3)H/(14)C ratio by the (3)H/(14)C ratio of the total membrane fraction. Although most of the 125 membrane proteins had relative ratios close to the average for the total membrane fraction, 19 varied significantly from this value. These differences were also observed when the order of addition of [(14)C]leucine and [(3)H]leucine was reversed. In control cultures labeled simultaneously with both isotopes, the relative ratios of these 19 proteins were similar to that of the total membrane fraction. Thirteen of these proteins had low relative ratios, which suggested that they were more stable than the average protein. An experiment in which the normal labeling procedure was followed by a 60-min chase period in the presence of excess unlabeled leucine suggested that the low relative ratios of 3 of these 13 proteins may be due to a slow post-translational modification step. Six membrane proteins had high relative ratios, which indicated that they were degraded rapidly. In contrast to the relationships found for soluble proteins in mammalian cells, there were no strong correlations between the degradative rates and either the isoelectric points or the molecular weights of membrane proteins in E. coli.
Flexible resource optimization to mitigate operational problems from variable generation

Increased penetration of variable resources mainly in the form of wind and PV plants creates new challenges to power system operation, in the form of increased thermal unit cycling, ramping requirements and increased capacity reserve requirements. One approach is to address these issues by utilizing the increased flexibility offered by energy storage devices (utility and customer owned), distributed responsive load and thermally controlled loads. The flexible resources come with their own set of physical and customer convenience constraints to their flexibility. In this paper, the flexible power system operation problem is cast as a multi-step OPF problem which includes transition constraints of flexible dynamic resources and customer requirements. The flexible resource constraints are derived from their physically-based model and imposing the “no customer inconvenience” requirement. Model, objectives and constraints are expressed with quadratized models (objects) leading to an object-oriented quadratic flexible OPF. An efficient solution algorithm with good convergence properties is presented. Initial results in a sample system are also presented.
Simultaneous Rapid Measurement of Whole Blood Myoglobin, Creatine Kinase MB, and Cardiac Troponin I by the Triage Cardiac Panel for Detection of Myocardial Infarction

This multicenter study evaluated the Biosite Triage® Cardiac Panel as a quantitative, multimarker, whole blood system for the detection of acute myocardial infarction (MI). Optimum cutoffs for the discrimination of acute MI (n = 192 patients, 59 with MI) as determined by ROC curve analyses were as follows: 0.4 μg/L for cardiac troponin I (cTnI); 4.3 μg/L for the creatine kinase MB isoenzyme (CK-MB); and 107 μg/L for myoglobin. The Triage Panel showed the following concordances for detection or rule-out of MI compared with established devices: cTnI >89%; CK-MB >81%; myoglobin >69%. No significant differences were present between methods for the same marker. Diagnostic efficiencies demonstrated comparable sensitivities and specificities for the diagnosis of MI in patients presenting with symptoms compared with the Dade, Beckman, and Behring CK-MB, cTnI, and myoglobin assays; the ratio of sensitivity to specificity for each marker was as follows: cTnI, 98%:100%; CK-MB, 95%:91%; myoglobin, 81%:92%. The areas under the ROC curves for the Biosite myoglobin, CK-MB, and cTnI were 0.818, 0.905, and 0.970, respectively; the areas were significantly different, P <0.05. In patients with skeletal muscle injury and renal disease, the Triage cTnI showed 94% and 100% specificity, respectively. The Triage panel offers clinicians a whole blood, point-of-care analysis of multiple cardiac markers that provides excellent clinical sensitivity and specificity for the detection of acute MI.
Type A-derived genetically modified live attenuated Francisella tularensis is immunogenic and efficacious in rabbits (VAC7P.965)

Francisella tularensis is a gram negative non-motile coccobacillus that is the causative agent of tularemia. There is concern that F. tularensis could be used as a biological weapon and development of vaccines is a high priority. Type A strains are highly virulent but the current live vaccine strain (LVS) is based on a type B strain and is only partially protective against aerosol challenge with SCHU S4, a type A strain. A series of live attenuated vaccine candidates were derived from the SCHU S4 strain containing specific deletion mutations in target genes. After initial studies in mice, these attenuated strains were evaluated in rabbits. Rabbits were vaccinated by scarification which induced a mild fever and eschar formation at the inoculation site but no other clinical signs of disease. Serum IgG responses could be detected in all vaccinated rabbits as early as day 7 and continued to increase through day 21 before declining slightly on day 28. CD4+ T cells but not CD8+ T cells proliferated when cultured in vitro with heat-killed SCHU S4. Three of the vaccine strains conferred partial protection against death (ranging from 27-40%) and prolonged time to death in animals that did succumb. Vaccination with LVS prolonged survival by 1-2 days but did not protect against death. Type A-derived vaccines are immunogenic and provide better protection than LVS in the rabbit model against a robust aerosol challenge. These candidates warrant further study and evaluation.
The problem of transaction costs in group-based microlending: An institutional perspective

Abstract To be financially viable, group-based microlending needs to economize on transaction costs for both lenders and borrowers. Group lending programs vary in their transaction cost characteristics depending on their specific credit delivery arrangements and social contexts. This article illustrates these arguments by examining the challenges faced by various group lending programs Worldwide. It also examines how social capital, or the lack of it, affects the transaction costs and operations of three typical group lending arrangements — group loan with joint liability, individual loan with joint liability and individual loan with individual liability.
Orthogonal edge polynomials in the variational solution of some boundary layer problems in elasticity

Homogene Randbedingungen sind langs der Kanteny=±1 undx=a (a≫1) eines Rechtecks vorgeschrieben, inhomogene langs der Kantex=0. Zur Losung der Gleichung∇4Φ=0, und besonders zur Bestimmung ihres Verhaltens in der Nahe vonx=0, wird von einer Minimisierung des Energieintegrals $$2EU = \int {\int {[\Phi _{xx}^2 + 2\Phi _{xy}^2 + \Phi _{yy}^2 ]} dydx} $$ ausgegangen. Wenn Φ(x, y) durch∑AnΦn=∑Anfn(y)gn(x) approximiert wird, wo die (von vornherein gewahlten)fn(y) orthogonal sind und die Randbedingungen any=±1 erfullen, so ist die Funktionenscharf′n(y) und die Funktionenscharf¨'n(y) nahezu orthogonal, und das Integral vereinfacht sich zu $$2EU \simeq \Sigma {\rm A}_n^2 \int {\int {[\Phi _{n,xx}^2 + 2\Phi _{n,xy}^2 + \Phi _{n,yy}^2 ]dydx.} } $$ Nachdem ubery integriert wird, kann man die Funktionengn(x) als Losungen einer einfachen Euler-Gleichung erhalten; die KoeffizientenAn konnen mittels der Fourier-Entwicklungs-Formel bestimmt werden, und das Problem ist gelost. In dem elastischen Endproblem des Zylinders kann man das IntegralU durch Einfuhrung geeigneter ProduktfunktionenΦn=Fn(v)Gn(z) in gleicher Weise vereinfachen; jedoch findet man, dassFn(r) sich nicht in der ublichen Weise orthogonalisieren lasst; man benutzt zur Orthogonalisierung eine Verallgemeinerung der Idee des Rayleighschen Quotienten.
Three-dimensional thermal boundary layer corrections for circular heat flux gauges mounted in a flat plate with a surface temperature discontinuity

Three-dimensional Navier-Stokes computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis has been performed in an effort to determine thermal boundary layer correction factors for circular convective heat flux gauges (such as Schmidt-Boelter and plug type)mounted flush in a flat plate subjected to a stepwise surface temperature discontinuity. Turbulent flow solutions with temperature-dependent properties are obtained for a free stream Reynolds number of 1E6, and freestream Mach numbers of 2 and 4. The effect of gauge diameter and the plate surface temperature have been investigated. The 3-D CFD results for the heat flux correction factors are compared to quasi-21) results deduced from constant property integral solutions and also 2-D CFD analysis with both constant and variable properties. The role of three-dimensionality and of property variations on the heat flux correction factors has been demonstrated.
Diffusion tensor imaging to guide surgical planning in intramedullary spinal cord tumors in children

Intramedullary spinal cord neoplasms (ISCN) in children provide diagnostic, treatment and management dilemmas. Resection results in the best chance for disease control, but the greatest risk of neurologic deficit. We hypothesize that diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and diffusion tensor-fiber tracking (DT-FT) can help characterize margins of pediatric ISCN to aid in surgical planning. This HIPAA compliant retrospective study was performed after Institutional Review Board approval. Patients with ISCN from a single tertiary care pediatric institution were identified, and patients with preoperative DTI were evaluated. Ten patients (eight males and two females) with ISCN with preoperative DTI were identified. The mean age was 11.1 ± 6.2 years (range, 2–18 years). Eight tumors demonstrated DTI and DT-FT evidence of splayed cord tracts, and two demonstrated evidence of infiltration of cord tracts. The eight patients with splayed tracts underwent resection, with seven achieving gross-total resection and one subtotal resection. The two patients with infiltration of white matter tracts underwent biopsy of their lesion. DTI of pediatric ISCN can aid in defining the margins of the tumor and relationship to the intrinsic white matter structures of the spinal cord. Splaying and displacement of fiber tracts appears to predict a discrete margin to the tumor and resectability, whereas infiltration of the white matter tracts suggests biopsy may be more advisable.
Residual stress control by ion beam assisted deposition

The origin of residual stresses were studied in both crystalline metallic films and amorphous oxide films made by ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD). Monolithic films of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} were deposited during bombardment by Ne, Ar or Kr over a narrow range of energies, E, and a wide range of ion-to-atom arrival rate ratios, R and were characterized in terms of composition, thickness, density, crystallinity, microstructure and residual stress. The stress was a strong function of ion beam parameters and gas content and compares to the behavior of other amorphous compounds such as MoSi{sub x} and WSi{sub 2.2}. With increasing normalized energy (eV/atom), residual stress in crystalline metallic films (Mo, W) increases in the tensile direction before reversing and becoming compressive at high normalized energy. The origin of the stress is most likely due to densification or interstitial generation. Residual stress in amorphous films (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, MoSi{sub x} and WSi{sub 2.2}) is initially tensile and monotonically decreases into the compressive region with increasing normalized energy. The amorphous films also incorporate substantially more gas than crystalline films and in the case of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} are characterized by a high density of voids. Stress due to gas pressure in existingmore » voids explains neither the functional dependence on gas content nor the magnitude of the observed stress. A more likely explanation for the behavior of stress is gas incorporation into the matrix, where the amount of incorporated gas is controlled by trapping.« less