cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Womb, Infertility, and the Vicissitudes of Kin-Relatedness in Vietnam

This article explores the significance of the womb as an organizing principle for relatedness in Vietnam. It argues that contemporary individual and collective responses to in vitro fertilization bring into sharp relief the enduring importance of gestation and the mother-child bond for kinship formation. The author traces the womb as a site for determining maternal relatedness in contemporary assisted reproduction policy through cultural beliefs about gestation, popular legend, and contemporary and historical forms of polygamy and surrogacy, drawing attention to the continuities between past and current practices surrounding infertility and indigenous solutions to the challenges infertility poses in forming kin-relatedness.
Simple multi-level microchannel fabrication by pseudo-grayscale backside diffused light lithography

Photolithography of multi-level channel features in microfluidics is laborious and/or costly. Grayscale photolithography is mostly used with positive photoresists and conventional front side exposure, but the grayscale masks needed are generally costly and positive photoresists are not commonly used in microfluidic rapid prototyping. Here we introduce a simple and inexpensive alternative that uses pseudo-grayscale (pGS) photomasks in combination with backside diffused light lithography (BDLL) and the commonly used negative photoresist, SU-8. BDLL can produce smooth multi-level channels of gradually changing heights without use of true grayscale masks because of the use of diffused light. Since the exposure is done through a glass slide, the photoresist is cross-linked from the substrate side up enabling well-defined and stable structures to be fabricated from even unspun photoresist layers. In addition to providing unique structures and capabilities, the method is compatible with the “garage microfluidics” concept of creating useful tools at low cost since pGS BDLL can be performed with the use of only hot plates and a UV transilluminator: equipment commonly found in biology labs. Expensive spin coaters or collimated UV aligners are not needed. To demonstrate the applicability of pGS BDLL, a variety of weir-type cell traps were constructed with a single UV exposure to separate cancer cells (MDA-MB-231, 10–15 μm in size) from red blood cells (RBCs, 2–8 μm in size) as well as follicle clusters (40–50 μm in size) from cancer cells (MDA-MB-231, 10–15 μm in size).
The Possibility of Reform: Micropolitics in Higher Education

The purpose of this case study was to examine the restructuring of an institution of higher education's teacher preparation program and to assess the possibility for systemic reform. Although teacher education represents a vital link in not only the educational system but in curricular reform, the increased expectations for educational reform made this institution unavoidably more political. These conditions meant that the study of micropolitics was critical to understanding how organizations change or fail to initiate change. Any effort to reform an organization requires examination of the reform effort's underlying assumptions, social and historical context for the reform, and how reform is congruent with the values, ideologies, and goals of the constituents. This case will serve those critiquing reform and also takes the extant K-12 micropolitical research into the heretofore unstudied realm of higher education therefore impacting reform at the post secondary level. Schools are vulnerable to a host of powerful external and internal forces. They exist in a vortex of government mandates, social and economic pressures, and conflicting ideologies associated with administrators, faculty, and students. Efforts to reform school are confounded by competing political agendas. At the very least, reform is an opportunity for political action by people in power. While literature regarding effective schools touts strong leadership and shared values, accomplishing school reform continues to remain problematic. Despite the widespread interest and infusion of resources for restructuring teacher education, the history of educational reform shows that initiatives have often failed. The study began with the micropolitical hypothesis that the educational system comprises diverse constituencies with differing ideologies regarding schooling. Qualitative methodology was employed to portray intra-organizational processes, to provide concrete depiction of detail, and to study social change. Micropolitics and symbolic interactionism, the theoretical frameworks for the study, influenced the design and production of research and functioned as the interpretive focus. The study followed a multi method approach to understand meanings in context and to interpret these patterns in light of broader contexts. We employed the following multiple methods to generate a credible account of constituent ideologies: 23 semi-structured interviews, document review, and observational data. Data reveal fundamental differences in the images of five constituencies in these areas: curriculum, teachers, pupils, and teacher education and support the micropolitical assertion that systemic reform is unobtainable.
Influence of a Cross‐Cultural Training Course on Racial Identity Attitudes of White Women and Men: Preliminary Perspectives

The authors examine the influence of cross-cultural training on the racial identity attitudes of 35 White graduate counselors in training (10 men and 25 women) and the impact of gender on training. A pretest-posttest comparison of responses to the White Racial Identity Attitudes Survey (WRIAS) was used. Results indicated that the cross-cultural training course (a) influenced racial identity attitudes of White counselors in training and (b) racial identity attitudes were influenced by gender.
Influence of Thermal Annealing on the Mechanical Properties of PLLA Coiled Stents

To investigate the influence of elevated annealing temperature (70–90 °C) on the mechanical properties of coiled helical PLLA stents. PLLA 0.10 mm fibers and O3 mm × 12 mm stents were fabricated and annealed at 70, 80 and 90 °C for 25 min. The mechanical properties of the fibers and the functional characteristics of the stents were measured and compared to a control group processed at 21 °C. The stents were mounted, expanded and relaxed using an O3 mm × 2 cm balloon catheter to a maximum balloon pressure of 12 atm. Measurements of stent diameter, length, and the balloon pressure were used to determine the effective circumferential strain, incremental stiffness, elastic recoil, and lengthening of the stents. Stents exhibited progressively higher incremental stiffness with annealing temperature, higher collapse resistance and a reduction in elastic recoil vs. controls. Single fiber mechanical properties decreased as annealing temperature increased. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed crystallinity increased within thermally annealed stent fibers compared with controls. SEM examination indicated thermally annealed stents underwent less twisting than controls during balloon-induced unfurling. Thermal annealing of PLLA fibers and stents between 70 and 90 °C induced changes in crystalline structure, thereby favorably influencing fiber stress–strain behavior and stent expansion characteristics.
Automated plasmapheresis with a nylon membrane

Abstract A new nylon membrane is an effective alternate to the original polycarbonate membrane in the Autopheresis-C® plasmapheresis system. With the original membrane some donors were noted to have reduced plasma flow rates (less than 15 mL/min) and therefore increased plasmapheresis times. In the study reported here, 30 of these low-flow donors were matched for age, sex, and blood group with 32 normal-flow donors, and all underwent plasmapheresis using the new nylon membrane. No significant differences could be found between the groups in apheresis time, plasma flow rate, amount of plasma donated or amount of Factor VIII:C or other biological parameters measured in the plasma.
Identification in rodents and other species of an mRNA homologous to the human β-amyloid precursor

Abstract The isolation and sequencing of the core peptide (β-amyloid) found in the plaques of patients with Alzheimer's disease has allowed the identification of a cDNA for the precursor protein. Using a human cDNA clone for this β-amyloid material, we have identified an homologous mRNA (3.8 kb) in brain tissue obtained from 8 additional species. We have also determined its distribution in 7 brain regions and 12 organs obtained from rodents. A prominent, second mRNA species (2.2 kb) has been identified in rat non-neuronal tissues. The β-amyloid gene is amply expressed in the brain of all vertebrates tested and in most rodent organs, indicating that it encodes a highly conserved and ubiquitous protein.
Considerations for Use of the Barnett and Preisendorfer (1987) Algorithm for Canonical Correlation Analysis of Climate Variations

Bretherton et al. (1992) have pointed out that for most problems involving interseasonal and longer timescale variability of the atmosphere and oceans, prefiltering data is necessary for canonical correlation analysis (CCA) to perform comparably to certain other multivariate statistical schemes like singular value decomposition. This approach to CCA for climate problems was first suggested by Barnett and Preisendorfer (1987, hereafter BP), who filtered multiple fields of time series by replacing them with a truncated set of their principal components (PCs). Subsequent to its introduction, the BP method was applied extensively to linear climate prediction at the National Weather Service (Barnston 1994), which in turn has led to several further applications, both published (Barnston and Smith 1996, hereafter BS; He and Barnston 1996; Barnston and He 1996) and in progress. The CCA procedure produces an orthogonal hierarchy of predictor–predictand pattern pairs that represent in turn the maximum amount of cross correlation between the predictor and predictand fields, the second largest portion, etc. The transformation matrix relating the ordered predictor and predictand patterns can be used to optimally linearly specify the latter from the former. Its use (specifically the BP method) was adopted by us to address variants of the specification (i.e., simultaneous relationships) problems studied by BS (see Smith and Livezey 1998, hereafter SL, and Livezey and Smith 1998, hereafter LS2). In the course of this work it became apparent that the application of PC prefiltering
Physiological comparisons of switchgrass cultivars differing in transpiration efficiency

Production of forage species like switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is often relegated to areas with low inputs of water and fertilizer, therefore, selection should be based on efficient use of these resources. This study examined genotypic variation in switchgrass transpiration efficiency (TE), defined as the weight of dry matter per unit of water transpired, under conditions of water and N stress. Since reports show TE to be correlated with specific leaf weight (SLW) and leaf ash, these easily measured traits were assessed for their potential as predictors of switchgrass TE. In one greenhouse experiment with 9 cultivars (Alamo, Blackwell, Carthage, Cave-in-rock, Forestburg, Greenville, Kanlow, Pathfinder and Shelter) and 2 outdoor pot experiments in Vermont, USA, (in the summers of 1997 and 1998) with 2 cultivars, Alamo and Greenville, plants were grown in closed 5-litre containers in a soil-peat mix or solution culture and subjected to water or N deficit. Cultivars differed in TE; however, TE did not differ between water stressed and well-watered conditions. With decreasing N in solution, TE also decreased. Cultivars differed in their values of TE when grown in nutrient solutions containing 10.0 and 1.0 mM N, but not at 0.3 mM N. Transpiration efficiency was positively correlated with SLW in each experiment and across all experiments (r=0.85). Correlation between TE and leaf ash was inconsistent, with a negative relationship in the N experiment. The results show differences in TE among switchgrass cultivars and show that SLW is consistently predictive of TE.
Treatment goal preference and problem perception of chronic alcoholics: behavioral and personality correlates.

Abstract To investigate differences among alcoholics with respect to treatment goal (abstinence or controlled drinking) and motivation for treatment, 154 male veteran alcoholics completed a battery of psychometric tests, the rod and frame measure of field dependence, and a structured interview. Ss were classified into 4 groups: 1. Abstinence goal—motivated for treatment candidates (n = 86), 2. Abstinence goal—spurious treatment candidates (n = 11), 3. Controlled drinking goal—motivated for treatment candidates (n = 46) and 4. Controlled drinking—spurious treatment candidates (n = 11). No differences on any variables were observed as a function of treatment goal, but spurious treatment candidates exhibited significantly less subjective emotional distress on the self-report psychometric tests than did alcoholics motivated for treatment. Spurious treatment candidates had higher MMPI lie scale scores and were more field dependent as well, suggesting that such alcoholics are not problem free and well-adjusted. The implications of these findings for assessment of treatment motivation and the need for use of behavioral assessment procedures are discussed.
Controlling quantum dot energies using submonolayer bandstructure engineering

We demonstrate control of energy states in epitaxially-grown quantum dot structures formed by stacked submonolayer InAs depositions via engineering of the internal bandstructure of the dots. Transmission electron microscopy of the stacked sub-monolayer regions shows compositional inhomogeneity, indicative of the presence of quantum dots. The quantum dot ground state is manipulated not only by the number of deposited InAs layers, but also by control of the thickness and material composition of the spacing layers between submonolayer InAs depositions. In this manner, we demonstrate the ability to shift the quantum dot ground state energy at 77 K from 1.38 eV to 1.88 eV. The results presented offer a potential avenue towards enhanced control of dot energies for a variety of optoelectronic applications.
Hair density in African Americans.

Background The meager data on normal hair density in humans have been gathered from a predominantly white population. Examination of scalp biopsy specimens from African Americans suggests that hair density in this group may be lower than in whites. This study was performed to quantify any differences between white and African American patients. Design A retrospective case series of subjects who had undergone a biopsy of clinically healthy scalp skin. The 4-mm punch biopsy specimens were sectioned, and all follicles contained within the specimens were counted at various levels (suprabulbar, isthmus, and infundibulum) to arrive at the number and type of hairs present. Setting Outpatient clinic in a tertiary care medical center. Patients A consecutive sample of 22 African American and 12 white patients with clinically healthy scalp skin specimens that were studied and compared with previously reported data. Main Outcome Measures Patients' age and total number of follicles, terminal follicles, vellus follicles, terminal anagen hairs, and terminal telogen hairs. Results Total hair density (number of follicles per 4-mm punch biopsy specimen) and total number of terminal follicles and terminal anagen hairs were significantly lower in African Americans ( P Conclusions Hair density in African Americans is significantly lower than that in whites, which must be taken into consideration when evaluating a biopsy specimen from an African American patient. Data previously collected from white patients may not provide adequate guidance when evaluating scalp biopsy specimens from African Americans and could lead to an incorrect diagnosis.
MAGNET: a tool for debugging, analyzing and adapting computing systems

As computing systems grow in complexity, the cluster and grid communities require more sophisticated tools to diagnose, debug and analyze such systems. We have developed a toolkit called MAGNET (Monitoring Apparatus for General kerNel-Event Tracing) that provides a detailed look at operating-system kernel events with very low overhead. Using the fine-grained information that MAGNET exports from kernel space, challenging problems become amenable to identification and correction. In this paper, we first present the design, implementation and evaluation of MAGNET. Then, we show its use as a diagnostic tool, an online-monitoring tool and a tool for building adaptive applications in clusters and grids.
Annotation-based empirical performance tuning using Orio

For many scientific applications, significant time is spent in tuning codes for a particular high-performance architecture. Tuning approaches range from the relatively nonintrusive (e.g., by using compiler options) to extensive code modifications that attempt to exploit specific architecture features. Intrusive techniques often result in code changes that are not easily reversible, and can negatively impact readability, maintainability, and performance on different architectures. We introduce an extensible annotation-based empirical tuning system called Orio that is aimed at improving both performance and productivity. It allows software developers to insert annotations in the form of structured comments into their source code to trigger a number of low-level performance optimizations on a specified code fragment. To maximize the performance tuning opportunities, the annotation processing infrastructure is designed to support both architecture-independent and architecture-specific code optimizations. Given the annotated code as input, Orio generates many tuned versions of the same operation and empirically evaluates the alternatives to select the best performing version for production use. We have also enabled the use of the Pluto automatic parallelization tool in conjunction with Orio to generate efficient OpenMP-based parallel code. We describe our experimental results involving a number of computational kernels, including dense array and sparse matrix operations.
Rates and processes of bedrock incision by the Upper Ukak River since the 1912 Novarupta ash flow in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, Alaska

The rates and patterns of bedrock channel incision significantly influence landscape evolution and long-term interactions among climate, tectonics, and erosion. Unfortunately, only sparse field data are available to quantify the controls on river incision rates. We exploit the diversion of the upper Ukak River by an ash flow in 1912 to measure rates of incision along a newly formed bedrock channel. Minimum estimates of the rate of incision into intact rock vary from 0.01 to 0.10 m·yr –1 . This variation reflects differences in channel slope, channel width, lithologic facies, and intensity of jointing as well as the effects of upstream knickpoint migration. A streampower–type incision model adequately explains the incision-rate data, provided (1) variations in channel width are prescribed on the basis of field measurements, (2) the slope exponent is significantly less than unity (n = 0.4 ± 0.2), and (3) observed downstream changes in lithologic facies and the intensity of jointing account for the apparent twofold downstream decrease in the coefficient of erosion. Despite the very rapid rate of incision, calibrated stream-power erosion coefficients for the Ukak River (K = 2.4 × 10 –4 m 0.2 ·yr –1 to 9.0 × 10 –4 m 0.2 ·yr –1 ) are within the range of previously published estimates. Two plausible explanations for the low values of the slope exponent n are that incision rate is limited by either (1) a combination of physical weathering and hydrodynamic joint-block extraction or (2) block fracture due to bedload impacts modulated on steeper channel segments by suspension of a significant fraction of the sediment load.
An alternative to radioactive microspheres for measuring regional myocardial blood flow, part 2: Laser-doppler perfusion monitor*

Objective: To compare measurements of regional myocardial blood flow volume between microsphere measurement of regional flow (0.5- to 2-g tissue sampling) and a potential alternative measure, local flow (1 mm 3 ) in the microcirculation measured by laser-Doppler perfusion monitor. Design: Prospective, randomized, controlled. Setting: University research laboratory. Participants: Pigs. Interventions: After anesthetization, in 5 pigs (25 to 30 kg), the left anterior descending coronary artery was isolated and its resting flow measured by a perivascular-Doppler flowmeter. Left ventricular pressure and first time derivative of left. ventricular pressure were measured. The laser-Doppler probe needle (type N) (Model ALF-21, Transonic Systems, Inc, Ithaca, NY) was inserted 2 to 3 mm into the wall of the left ventricle, parallel to the coronary artery. All 5 pigs were subjected to 0 (control), 50%, 75%, and 100% constriction of the left anterior coronary artery. Measurements and Main Results: Measurements by radioactive microspheres correlated poorly with those by laser-Doppler and extremely poorly with those by perivascular Doppler flowmeter. For percent change from baseline in the constricted arterial zone, radioactive measurements correlated well with those by laser-Doppler but not those by Doppler flowmeter. Also, radioactive measurements of percent change in flow in the circumflex (nonconstricted) zone and laser-Doppler measurements in the constricted arterial zone did not correlate well. Conclusions: Laser-Doppler can be recommended for experimental research to monitor local flow. These measurements may relate to change in regional flow during normal perfusion and hypoperfusion. Before the laser-Doppler perfusion monitor can be used clinically, tissue trauma from the 0.55-mm needle needs to be evaluated.
“Check This Out”: Assessing Customer Service at the Circulation Desk

The access services staff at Milner Library, Illinois State University, designed a customer service assessment to evaluate how effectively the department was carrying out its mission statement. Areas of assessment included the department's waiting times, helpfulness, and courtesy. The assessment activity focused on circulation services, which is the library's service point reaching the greatest number of patrons. The staff created a survey instrument collaboratively, distributed in paper and electronic format for a week. Results suggested that the department provides prompt and helpful service but has areas of improvement for courtesy. The department adapted customer service training for staff and student assistants.
Major Quantitative Trait Loci Affecting Honey Bee Foraging Behavior

We identified two genomic regions that affect the amount of pollen stored in honey bee colonies and influence whether foragers will collect pollen or nectar. We selected for the amount of pollen stored in combs of honey bee colonies, a colony-level trait, and then used random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers and interval mapping procedures with data from backcross colonies to identify two quantitative trait loci (pln1 and pln2, LOD 3.1 and 2.3, respectively). Quantitative trait loci effects were confirmed in a separate cross by demonstrating the cosegregation of marker alleles with the foraging behavior of individual workers. Both pln1 and pln2 had an effect on the amount of pollen carried by foragers returning to the colony, as inferred by the association between linked RAPD marker alleles, D8-.3f and 301-.55, and the individual pollen load weights of returning foragers. The alleles of the two marker loci were nonrandomly distributed with respect to foraging task. The two loci appeared to have different effects on foraging behavior. Individuals with alternative alleles for the marker linked to pln2 (but not pln1) differed with respect to the nectar sugar concentration of their nectar loads.
Consciousness and Self‐Regulation in Mobile Communication

The everyday use of mobile devices is sometimes performed in a minimally conscious manner (e.g., automaticity, habits, impulses), whereas other times it is performed in a highly conscious manner (e.g., immersion, presence, absorption). In Study 1, we surveyed individuals (n = 250) to evaluate the seemingly oppositional relationship between automatic (less conscious) and immersive (more conscious) tendencies toward texting. Despite their standard separation, confirmatory factor analyses revealed that automaticity and immersion were actually positively related independent of usage frequency. In Study 2 (n = 526), these consciousness tendencies were related to select facets of trait self-control and mindfulness. Together, these studies underline the importance of media cognition in combination with personality factors for understanding the psychology of mobile device use.
Effect of Phenylalanine Metabolites on Urinary Excretion of Indole-3-acetic Acid and 5-Hydroxyindole-3-acetic Acid in Man.∗

Summary1) Oral administration of phenylpyruvic acid, phenylacetic acid, and o-hydroxyphenylacetic acid to human subjects resulted in increase in urinary excretion of indoleacetic acid. A smaller increase in excretion of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid followed administration of phenyrpyruvic acid and o-hydroxyphenylacetic acid. 2) o-Hydroxyphenylacetic acid was demonstrated to be more effective than either phenylpyruvic acid or phenylacetic acid in increasing excretion of indoleacetic acid. 3) The relation of these findings to inhibition of tryptophan decarboxylase and 5-hydroxytryptophan decarboxylase is discussed.
On origin of near-axis volcanism and faulting at fast spreading mid-ocean ridges

At fast and superfast spreading mid-ocean ridges, such as the East Pacific Rise, a plate boundary is defined by a narrow (tens to hundreds of meters wide) neovolcanic zone within which the bulk of the upper oceanic crust is created. However, detailed near-bottom observations indicate that the volcanic construction may occasionally persist several kilometers off of the ridge axis. It has been proposed that off-axis volcanism manifests tapping of a wide melting region that supplies magma to the ridge axis, or spatial migration of magmatic sources in the crust and upper mantle. We demonstrate that off-axis eruptions may be a natural consequence of variations in magma supply rate even if the ridge axis is stationary in space, and the magma delivery is perfectly focussed at the ridge axis. Theoretical modeling and field observations indicate that off-axis volcanism may result from magma emplacement in sills that propagate toward the surface after their characteristic horizontal size exceeds their emplacement depth. Volcanic construction and faulting due to sill intrusions may contribute to the formation of abyssal hills, arguably the most abundant relief form on Earth. fl 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Phase II Trial of Sorafenib Combined With Concurrent Transarterial Chemoembolization With Drug-Eluting Beads for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Purpose To evaluate safety and efficacy of combined transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) with doxorubicin-eluting beads (DEB) and sorafenib in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Mutant p53 expression: a marker of diminished survival in well-differentiated soft tissue sarcoma.

The aim of this study was to assess the translational value of the quantitative assay of mutant p53 protein expression as both a prognostic indicator and a tool to determine appropriate therapy in a group of relatively innocuous and morphologically similar soft tissue sarcomas (STSs). Using a quantitative ELISA, we analyzed mutant p53 protein expression in 47 well-differentiated (grade I) STSs from patients treated in our Department of Surgical Oncology. Sixteen of 47 tumors expressed up to 42.6 ng mutant p53 protein/mg total protein. After a mean follow-up of 112 months, 63% of the patients with mutant p53+ tumors but only 16% of the patients with mutant p53- tumors had died (P /=4.5 ng predicted even greater reduction in survival. These data show that mutant p53 expression identifies biologically aggressive grade I STSs. This molecular marker should have translational value as a tool to select those patients likely to benefit from aggressive multimodal therapy and intense surveillance.
High-utility pattern mining: A method for discovery of high-utility item sets

We present an algorithm for frequent item set mining that identifies high-utility item combinations. In contrast to the traditional association rule and frequent item mining techniques, the goal of the algorithm is to find segments of data, defined through combinations of few items (rules), which satisfy certain conditions as a group and maximize a predefined objective function. We formulate the task as an optimization problem, present an efficient approximation to solve it through specialized partition trees, called High-Yield Partition Trees, and investigate the performance of different splitting strategies. The algorithm has been tested on ''real-world'' data sets, and achieved very good results.
3D artificial objects recognition under virtual environment

Presents a method for visualization, understanding and recognition of artificial objects. The method using linear combination is simple and needs only a few learning samples. Furthermore, it can strengthen the advantages of conventional methods while overcoming their drawbacks. Also, it is able to distinguish objects with very similar patterns and is more accurate than other conventional methods in the literature. Four experiments are included to demonstrate the method's simplicity and accuracy.
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α induces rat sterol carrier protein x promoter activity through two peroxisome proliferator-response elements

Abstract Sterol carrier protein x (SCPx) plays a critical role in the peroxisomal oxidation of fatty acids. It has been previously demonstrated in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats that SCPx expression is induced in association with an elevation in serum fatty acid and triglyceride levels. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying the expression of this gene during diabetes, the rat SCPx promoter was cloned and analyzed for regulatory motifs. Sequence analysis of this TATA-less promoter revealed two putative peroxisomal-proliferator-response element (PPRE) binding motifs at positions −134 and −869 relative to the translation start site. To examine peroxisomal-proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) effects on this gene, 935 bp of the SCPx promoter containing both PPRE motifs was cloned in front of the chloramphenicol acetyl-transferase gene or the luciferase gene and co-transfected into HTB-9 cells with vectors that encoded for PPARα and retinoid X receptor (RXR). The results indicate that PPARα was able to induce SCPx promoter activity in both cases, an effect that was enhanced by RXR and clofibrate. In addition, mutational analysis studies demonstrated that both PPREs contributed to the PPARα/RXRα-dependent activation of the SCPx promoter. Mobility shift assays and supershift analysis showed that nuclear extracts containing PPARα bound to the two PPRE motifs. This investigation indicates that similar to other genes involved in β-oxidation, SCPx transcription may be controlled by fatty acid levels via PPARα.
Feedback Controller Parameterizations: Finite Hidden Modes and Causality

Parameterizations of feedback controllers are derived in a unifying way, using polynomial matrix internal descriptions, and the important design issues of causality and hidden modes are clarified.
Evaluation of Several Variations of the Mouse Ear Swelling Test (MEST) for Detection of Weak and Moderate Contact Sensitizers

The ability of a chemical to cause contact sensitization has traditionally been evaluated in animal models typically using the guinea pig. However, these methods are expensive and require subjective analysis of erythema, which makes evaluation of dyes difficult. The mouse ear swelling test (MEST) is a more quantitative and less costly method, but it has not always been reliable for the detection of moderate and weak sensitizers. To identify a MEST that can reliably detect weak sensitizers, several published MEST procedures were examined using the strong sensitizer 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) and three weaker sensitizers, glutaraldehyde, formalin, and an azo dye (Solvent Red 1 [SR1]). Almost all variations of the MEST procedures detected the strong sensitizer (DNFB) after optimizing the chemical concentration and sensitizing procedure; however, only one protocol detected the weaker sensitizers, glutaraldehyde, formalin, and SR1. This sensitive MEST protocol required test animals to be fed a vitamin A-s...
“When you are here, you have high blood pressure”: Liberian refugees’ health and access to healthcare in Staten Island, NY

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine health issues among Liberian refugees living in Staten Island and access potential barriers to accessing healthcare. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative methods including interviews (n=68) with West African immigrants, predominantly Liberian refugees, and long-term ethnography were employed to elicit West Africans’ views on health, acculturation, and access to service providers. Framework analysis was employed to analyze the data thematically. Findings – Chronic health diseases, depression, isolation, and inadequate access to healthcare were the main concerns of the population studied. The findings are in contrast to the public health experts’ concentration on infectious diseases. Practical implications – The barriers to access proper healthcare have implications for healthcare providers and government institutions and information about these barriers can help them to refocus their health efforts to better address the needs of West African refugees. ...
The Reliability of Diagnosing Broad and Narrow Skills in Middle School Mathematics with the Multicomponent Latent Trait Model

The multicomponent latent trait model for diagnosis (MLTM-D;Embretson and Yang, Psychometrika 78:14–36, 2013) is a conjunctive item response model that is hierarchically organized to include broad and narrow skills. A two-stage adaptive testing procedure was applied to diagnose skill mastery in middle school mathematics and then analyzed with MLTM-D. Strong support for the reliability of diagnosing both broad and narrow skills was obtained from both stages of testing using decision confidence indices.
Fungi Producing Heart-Rot of Apple Trees

Any one familiar with the old apple orchards of the East is aware that there must be specific causes connected with the rotting of the trunks of the trees. When trees that ought to be in the prime of life are found with huge knot-holes leading into great hollows in the trunk, the pathologist feels perfectly certain that some fungus has gained entrance to the wound caused by the removal of a limb at this point. At Camp Columbia, near Litchfield, Conn., and on the farms in the vicinity, there are many old orchards that are especially favorable for a study of diseases peculiar to the apple tree. Nature is left to take its course in the abandoned orchard, with the result that fungi directly or indirectly the cause of wood-rot are given an opportunity to develop their fruiting bodies, without which the identification of the disease is still more uncertain.
Gray Scale Nephrosonography: Current Status

Abstract Gray scale ultrasound evaluation of the kidney permits visualization of the texture of renal and hepatic parenchyma. This fact has led to more specific diagnoses in renal disease by non-invasive techniques. Current applications of gray scale ultrasound are presented. Ultrasound serves as a significant complementary technique to other modalities and is useful in some situations as a primary study.
Axioms of Network Analysis

In this Chapter we relate the mathematical abstractions of the preceding pages to the realities exemplified by an actual resistive network. We manufacture such a resistive network by assigning a positive real number to each branch of an abstract network. The resistive network, however, is not an isolated object; it participates in a more complicated circuit, and its behavior is described by its branch currents and branch voltages.
The reproducibility and significance of carbon dioxide urethral profilometry.

AbstractInfusion urethral profilometry using carbon dioxide as a medium is an interesting study with a wide range of variability from day to day in a single individual, a fact that considerably reduces the value of a single measurement as a diagnostic tool. Presently, all forms of infusion profilometry must be considered to be interpretable only within the framework of the entire neurourologic evaluation. The study may be useful to make the clinician more secure about a particular diagnosis and as an objective measurement for medico-legal documentation. It also may be useful in predicting and objectively demonstrating treatment results if normal variability can be excluded. However, a high level of skepticism should be maintained regarding the value of the profile in those situations in which its interpretation does not correlate with the impression formed from the remainder of the neurourologic evaluation.
Operations optimization of hybrid energy systems under variable markets

Hybrid energy systems (HES) have been proposed to be an important element to enable increasing penetration of clean energy. This paper investigates the operations flexibility of HES, and develops a methodology for operations optimization to maximize its economic value based on predicted renewable generation and market information. The proposed operations optimizer allows systematic control of energy conversion for maximal economic value, and is illustrated by numerical results.
A Chemical Probe Strategy for Interrogating Inhibitor Selectivity Across the MEK Kinase Family.

MEK4 is an upstream kinase in MAPK signaling pathways where it phosphorylates p38 MAPK and JNK in response to mitogenic and cellular stress queues. MEK4 is overexpressed and induces metastasis in advanced prostate cancer lesions. However, the value of MEK4 as an oncology target has not been pharmacologically validated because selective chemical probes targeting MEK4 have not been developed. Despite a high level of sequence homology in the ATP-binding site, most reported MEK inhibitors are selective for MEK1/2 and display reduced potency toward other MEKs. Here, we present the first functional and binding selectivity-profiling platform of the MEK family. We applied the platform to profile a set of known kinase inhibitors and used the results to develop an in silico approach for small molecule docking against MEK proteins. The docking studies identified molecular features of the ligands and corresponding amino acids in MEK proteins responsible for high affinity binding versus those driving selectivity. Wate...
Expressing Biologically Active Membrane Proteins in a Cell-Free Transcription-Translation Platform

Cell-free transcription-translation platforms have been widely utilized to express soluble proteins in basic synthetic biological circuit prototyping. From a synthetic biology point of view, it is critical to express membrane proteins in cell-free transcription-translation systems, and use them directly in biocircuits, considering the fact that histidine kinases, G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) and other important biosensors are all membrane proteins. Previous studies have expressed membrane proteins in cell-free systems with the help of detergents, liposomes or nanodiscs, but have not demonstrated the ability to prototype circuit behavior for the purpose of testing more complex circuit functions involving membrane-bound proteins. Built on previous efforts, in this work we demonstrated that we could co-translationally express solubilized and active membrane proteins in our cell-free TX-TL platform with membrane-like materials. We first tested the expression of several constructs with β1 and β2 adrenergic receptors in TX-TL and observed significant insoluble membrane protein production. The addition of nanodiscs to the cell free expression system enabled solubilization of membrane proteins. Nanodisc is lipoprotein- based membrane-like material. The activity of β2 adrenergic receptor was tested with both fluorescence and Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) binding assays by monitoring the specific binding response of small-molecule binders, carazolol and norepinephrine. Our results suggest that it is promising to use cell-free expression systems to prototype synthetic biocircuits involving single chain membrane proteins without extra procedures. This data made us one step closer to testing complex membrane protein circuits in cell-free environment.
A novel method for rotation invariant palm print image stitching

Although not as popular as fingerprint biometrics, palm prints have garnered interest in scientific community for the rich amount of distinctive information available on the palm. In this paper, a novel method for touchless palm print stitching to increase the effective area is presented. The method is not only rotation invariant but also able to robustly handle many distortions of touchless systems like illumination variations, pose variations etc. The proposed method also can handle partial palmprints, which have a high chance of occurrence in a scene of crime, by stitching them together to produce a much larger-to-full size palmprint for authentication purpose. Experiment results are shown for IIT-D palmprint database, from which pseudo partial palmprints were generated by cropping and randomly rotating them. Furthermore, the quality of stitching algorithm is determined by extensive computer simulations and visual analysis of the stitched image. Experimental results also show that the stitching significantly increases the area of palm image for feature point detection and hence provides a way to increase the accuracy and reliability of detection.
Too many Asians in universities? The effect of social dominance orientation on support for admissions limits.

This paper tests the hypothesis that support for limits on the admission of Asian students into universities is motivated by people’s social motivation—namely, the desire to maintain the status hie...
Embedding Features in a Cartesian Grid

Grid-based mesh generation methods have been available for many years and can provide a reliable method for meshing arbitrary geometries with hexahedral elements. The principal use for these methods has mostly been limited to biological-type models where topology that may incorporate sharp edges and curve definitions are not critical. While these applications have been effective, robust generation of hexahedral meshes on mechanical models, where the topology is typically of prime importance, impose difficulties that existing grid-based methods have not yet effectively addressed. This work introduces a set of procedures that can be used in resolving the features of a geometric model for grid-based hexahedral mesh generation for mechanical or topology-rich models.
Adaptive beamforming contrast enhanced super resolution imaging for improved sensitivity and resolution in deep tissues

Ultrasound contrast enhanced super resolution imaging has recently attracted extensive attention due to its extraordinary resolution. Vessels that were detected in small animals with ultrafast plane wave imaging sequences were about ten fold smaller than the resolution predicted by a the classical diffraction limit. However the imaging depth in small animals is shallow. To translate this technology to clinical use in humans, it is necessary to detect small vessels at deeper locations. In this study, we propose an “adaptive multifocus” ultrasound imaging sequence that combines the high frame rate feature of a plane wave imaging with the increased bubble detection sensitivity of a focused beam. This sequence targets two or more foci with a single emission, hence retaining a high frame rate comparable to plane wave imaging. Numerical simulations and ex vivo experiments with microtubes embedded in porcine tissue were performed to determine the improvements in penetration and detectability. Results show that the adaptive multifocus sequence improves microbubble detection sensitivity by a factor of 8 when compared to conventional methods. This translates to improved penetration. For example it is demonstrated that a 105 μm microtube can be detected as deep as 55 mm, which would not be detectable using conventional sequences.
Evaluation of Several Electronic Glycemic Management Systems

Computerized insulin dosing software provides decision support in the form of pattern management identification, standardized dosing, and ease of use in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. The purpose of this analysis article is to review the features of all three electronic glycemic management systems available in the United States and to discuss the potential benefits of an automated insulin dosing system compared to a paper protocol or electronic order set. Four articles will be presented in this inpatient focused issue that examine the safety and efficacy of the Glytec® eGlycemic Management system in a variety of patient populations.
A survey of the knowledge, attitudes and practices on Zika virus in new York City.

Over 900 travel-associated Zika virus cases have been identified in New York City (NYC), New York. A survey was administered in NYC adapted from the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) survey on Zika virus developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). A standardized, self-administered, anonymous questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample in Manhattan and the Bronx from June 30th, 2016 to October 21st, 2016. Responses were grouped into six domains based on the content and structure of the questions and were summarized using descriptive statistics or converted into a continuous knowledge score and assessed for associations with pregnancy status and travel history using linear regression. There were 224 respondents with a mean age of 33 (SD ± 11.6) with 77% (170/224) female and 24% (51/224) pregnant. The majority (98% (213/217)) were unable to identify all of the symptoms associated with acute Zika virus infection and all modes of transmission (97% (213/219)). Most participants (85% (187/219)) identified mosquitoes as a mode of transmission. 95% (116/122) reported an association between Zika virus and microcephaly. The most concerning aspect of Zika virus in 46% (91/200) was the risk of disabilities to babies, and risk of sexual transmission (25% (49/200)). When asked what precautions pregnant persons should to reduce the risk of transmission when traveling to a Zika endemic region, only 27% (50/185) identified using condoms during intercourse or refraining from intercourse while pregnant. Knowledge of Zika transmission is significantly positively associated with pregnancy status, but not with travel history. Our results indicate an overall poor understanding of Zika virus symptoms and possible complications, transmission modes, and current recommended prevention guidelines. Pregnancy is positively associated with Knowledge of Zika Transmission, but not other knowledge scores. Reported travel history to Zika endemic regions is not significantly associated with Zika knowledge. There is a need for implementing future public health interventions that particularly focus on protection against Zika transmission, that Zika is sexually transmitted, and risks that the Guillain-Barre Syndrome poses a risk to adults.