cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Methyl Donor Supplementation Blocks the Adverse Effects of Maternal High Fat Diet on Offspring Physiology

Maternal consumption of a high fat diet during pregnancy increases the offspring risk for obesity. Using a mouse model, we have previously shown that maternal consumption of a high fat (60%) diet leads to global and gene specific decreases in DNA methylation in the brain of the offspring. The present experiments were designed to attempt to reverse this DNA hypomethylation through supplementation of the maternal diet with methyl donors, and to determine whether methyl donor supplementation could block or attenuate phenotypes associated with maternal consumption of a HF diet. Metabolic and behavioral (fat preference) outcomes were assessed in male and female adult offspring. Expression of the mu-opioid receptor and dopamine transporter mRNA, as well as global DNA methylation were measured in the brain. Supplementation of the maternal diet with methyl donors attenuated the development of some of the adverse effects seen in offspring from dams fed a high fat diet; including weight gain, increased fat preference (males), changes in CNS gene expression and global hypomethylation in the prefrontal cortex. Notable sex differences were observed. These findings identify the importance of balanced methylation status during pregnancy, particularly in the context of a maternal high fat diet, for optimal offspring outcome.
Doubly stochastic powers of nonnegative irreducible matrices

Abstract We consider a nonnegative irreducible matrix A in Perron-Frobenius-Wielandt normal form with nonzero blocks only for (i, i+1) entries. We denote such entries by Ai,i = 1,2,…,h. A necessary and sufficient condition for Ap to be doubly stochastic is that each Ai is α i α i +1 row-stochastic and β i β i +1 column-stochastic, indices mod h, where αi,βi,i = 1,2,3,…,h, are some real positive numbers. We have ( α i α i+1 )( β h−i+1 β h−i )= η i+1 η i , where Ai is ηi×ηi+1.
Humoral inhibition of Na transport by chloride permeability alteration.

Abstract 1. 1. We have previously described an in vivo Na transport adaptive mechanism in frogs mediated by a decrease in passive Cl permeability (conductance, G Cl ) and independent of active Na transport change. 2. 2. It is produced by pre-immersion in high salinity solutions. 3. 3. Selective chloride permeability decrease, induced by preconditioning in arginine chloride solution, allows clear demonstration of the system. 4. 4. In this study, plasma from frogs preconditioned in arginine chloride was tested on isolated frog skin and met the following criteria for a humoral agent producing this mode of adaptation in Na transport : (a) decrease in G Cl (Cl flux in the short-circuited state) without change in active Na transport (short-circuit current); and (b) decrease in net Na flux when the ions were electrically coupled (open-circuit state).
Time-dependent effects of post-trial amphetamine treatment in rats: evidence for enhanced storage of representational memory

Two studies were conducted to test the ability of post-trial amphetamine treatment to improve later recall in a nonaversively motivated task. These studies utilized 8- and 12-arm radial mazes, respectively, with an 11-h retention interval imposed after the rat traversed half the arms of the maze (termed, the to-be-remembered-event, or TBRE). In Experiment 1, the rats were injected with amphetamine (0, .25, and .50 mg/kg) immediately after the TBRE. Because the drug treatment improved retention, a time dependency study was conducted in which the drug (0 and .33 mg/kg) was administered 0, 3, and 6 h after the TBRE. The finding that amphetamine injection at 0, but not 3, h post-trial improved later recall indicates that the benefit derived from the former treatment is not due to proactive influences at the time of the retention test. Drug treatment 6 h post-trial produced a borderline improvement of recall; possible mechanisms are discussed. Two conclusions can be drawn from these results: (1) amphetamine administration can improve recall under conditions in which this effect cannot be attributed to alterations in information processing during either the learning or the retention sessions, indicating that the drug modulates memory storage processes; and (2) amphetamine treatment can improve working memory, thus excluding an alternative interpretation for the previous reports of impaired short-term memory in animals, all of which entailed assessments of working memory. The possibility remains, however, that the impairment seen in these tasks reflects the requirement for erasure of information from previous trials within each daily session, rather than the duration of the retention interval.
Methods of Analysis of Enteropathogen Infection in the MAL-ED Cohort Study

Studies of diarrheal etiology in low- and middle-income countries have typically focused on children presenting with severe symptoms to health centers and thus are best equipped to describe the pathogens capable of leading to severe diarrheal disease. The Etiology, Risk Factors and Interactions of Enteric Infections and Malnutrition and the Consequences for Child Health and Development (MAL-ED) cohort study was designed to evaluate, via intensive community surveillance, the hypothesis that repeated exposure to enteropathogens has a detrimental effect on growth, vaccine response, and cognitive development, which are the primary outcome measures for this study. In the setting of multiple outcomes of interest, a longitudinal cohort design was chosen. Because many or even the majority of enteric infections are asymptomatic, the collection of asymptomatic surveillance stools was a critical element. However, capturing diarrheal stools additionally allowed for the determination of the principle causes of diarrhea at the community level as well as for a comparison between those enteropathogens associated with diarrhea and those that are associated with poor growth, diminished vaccine response, and impaired cognitive development. Here, we discuss the analytical methods proposed for the MAL-ED study to determine the principal causes of diarrhea at the community level and describe the complex interplay between recurrent exposure to enteropathogens and these critical long-term outcomes.
Continuum radial dielectric functions for ion and dipole solution systems

Radial dielectric constant (permittivity) functions for ionic solute, polar solvent systems of the type obtainable from the Lorentz-Debye continuum field formulations are reexamined. Major interest is focused on the assumptions underlying these formulations and their expression in limiting field behavior. The analysis is extended to dipolar solutes and the importance of two types of corrections are evaluated. The first draws connections with the concept of the reaction field as employed by Onsager. This correction is shown to be significant as regards range of predicted saturation effects and for dipole moment self-consistency, for the same type molecule serving as solute and solvent. The second type correction involves the phenomenon of electrostriction whose effects appear much more limited both in range and on the intensity of the fields necessary for its observation. Application of the permittivity functions developed to compute modified Born model hydration energies for a variety of ions is illustrated. Excellent asymptotic approximations for all radial permittivity equations of interest are also presented which should enhance their future utility.
Diagnosis and Management of Stage A Heart Failure

Reduction of the monetary and societal costs of the heart failure epidemic can best be achieved by prevention of new heart failure cases. To effectively prevent heart failure, patients at risk must be identified and treated. The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guidelines for Evaluation and Management of Chronic Heart Failure in the Adult define the stage A heart failure patient as one with identified risk factors for heart failure, particularly coronary heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes, but no evidence of cardiovascular damage. In this review, the authors discuss the commonly recognized, as well as some less commonly recognized, risk factors that define the stage A patient. The authors also discuss data demonstrating that risk factor modification can reduce heart failure incidence. Given the size of the population at risk, through increased awareness of heart failure risk and aggressive treatment, health care providers can critically impact this public health concern.
Predictors of creative computing participation and profiles of experience in two Silicon Valley middle schools

Examination of the ''digital divide'' has increasingly gone beyond the study of differences in physical access to computers to focus on individuals' use of technological tools for empowered and generative uses. In this research study, we investigated the relationship between access to tools and experience with creative production activities. Our participants included 160 8th grade learners from two public middle schools. The local communities represented by the two schools differed in parent education levels, proportion of recent immigrants, and average family income. Findings indicated substantial variability in students' history of creative production experiences within both communities. Three sets of analyses were completed. First, the two school populations were compared with respect to average levels of student creative production experience, access to tools at home, use of learning resources, frequency of technology use, and access to computing outside of their home. Second, correlates of variability in individuals' breadth of experience with creative production activities were explored across both schools through a regression analysis. The resulting model indicated that students' experience was best predicted by the number of technology tools available at home, number of learning resources used, frequency of computer use at home, and non-home access network size. In a third analysis, profiles of experience were created based on both breadth and depth of experience; the resulting four groups of students were compared. More experienced students utilized a broader range of learning resources, had access to more tools at home, taught a wider range of people, and were more confident in their computing skills. The groups did not differ in their self-reports of interest in learning more about technology.
In situ measurements of HCl during plasma etching of poly-silicon using a diode laser absorption sensor

Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy is used to monitor hydrogen chloride (HCl) concentration in a commercial, high-density, low-pressure plasma reactor during plasma etching. A near-infrared diode laser is used to scan the P(4) transition in the first overtone of HCl near 1.79 µ mt o measure changes in HCl levels. A variety of HBr and Cl2 feedstock recipes are investigated at a process pressure of 10 mTorr as a function of rf power transformer coupled plasma, bias power and the total flow rate. Using 50 ms averaging and a signal modulation technique, we estimate a minimum detectivity of 4 × 10 −6 in peak absorbance, which corresponds to an HCl number density of ∼2 × 10 11 cm −3 .T hediode-laser based HCl sensor is sufficiently sensitive to detect small concentration variations and HCl concentration correlates with poly-Si etch rate for the conditions studied. These measurements demonstrate the feasibility of a real-time diode laser-based sensor for etch rate monitoring and the potential for process control.
Preserved hypocapnic pial arteriolar constriction during hyperammonemia by glutamine synthetase inhibition

Ammonia intoxication, which results in astrocytic edema and glutamine accumulation, blocks cerebral vasodilation during hypercapnia but not during hypoxia. Ammonia’s effect on blood flow during hyp...
RpoS Synthesis Is Growth Rate Regulated in Salmonella typhimurium, but Its Turnover Is Not Dependent on Acetyl Phosphate Synthesis or PTS Function

The RpoS sigma factor of enteric bacteria is either required for or augments the expression of a number of genes that are induced during nutrient limitation, growth into stationary phase, or in response to stresses, including high osmolarity. RpoS is regulated at multiple levels, including posttranscriptional control of its synthesis, protein turnover, and mechanisms that affect its activity directly. Here, the control of RpoS stability was investigated in Salmonella typhimurium by the isolation of a number of mutants specifically defective in RpoS turnover. These included 20 mutants defective in mviA, the ortholog of Escherichia coli rssB/sprE, and 13 mutants defective in either clpP or clpX which encode the protease active on RpoS. An hns mutant was also defective in RpoS turnover, thus confirming that S. typhimurium and E. coli have identical genetic requirements for this process. Some current models predict the existence of a kinase to phosphorylate the response regulator MviA, but no mutants affecting a kinase were recovered. An mviA mutant carrying the D58N substitution altering the predicted phosphorylation site is substantially defective, suggesting that phosphorylation of MviA on D58 is important for its function. No evidence was obtained to support models in which acetyl phosphate or the PTS system contributes to MviA phosphorylation. However, we did find a significant (fivefold) elevation of RpoS during exponential growth on acetate as the carbon and energy source. This behavior is due to growth rate-dependent regulation which increases RpoS synthesis at slower growth rates. Growth rate regulation operates at the level of RpoS synthesis and is mainly posttranscriptional but, surprisingly, is independent of hfq function.
Assortive Mating in Later Life: Some Initial Considerations

BASED on initial concerns expressed in this article over lack of information on assortive mating in later life, a theoretical model of structural and attitudinal variables is developed for utilization in the comparative study of endogamy and homogamy. Exploratory data are presented to compare mating parameters between the young and the old and between older men and older women. From this effort, it is concluded that information about young adults' courtship contexts and mate selection cannot necessarily be generalized to courtship and marriage in later life and that additional, more refined, investigation into the latter area would be fruitful conceptually and pragmatically.
Increase of cholesterol turnover of old rats connected by parabiosis with young rats.

Abstract 2 and 3 days after i.v. injection of H 3 -cholesterol, the serum radio-activity level is much higher in the older (13 months) than in the young ( 2·5 months) and adult (6 months) rats of fisher inbred strain. Incorporation of H 3 -cholesterol into the aorta, muscles, brain, liver, collagen fibres and fat tissue is smaller in older animals, whereas incorporation into the spleen cholesterol is equal in the young and older animals. Parabiotic connection of young and older animals increases H 3 -cholesterol turnover of the old partner: their H 3 -cholesterol level in the blood decreasesfaster and H 3 -incorporation into their aortas and muscles increases to levels similar to those seen in younger animals.
Altering patients' responses to surgery: An extension and replication

This study of 58 cholecystectomy and 57 herniorrhaphy patients was designed to determine the reliability of the effects of preoperative preparation on postoperative recovery that were observed in a previous study. The preoperative preparation consisted of information that focused on the typical subjective sensory experiences of surgical patients in combination with instruction in postoperative exercises. The effects of prehospital admission preparation, restatement postoperatively of preparatory information, and adding temporal orienting information to the preparatory information on postoperative course were also examined. The main results of the original study were replicated. In the cholecystectomy sample, the preoperative information intervention significantly reduced length of postoperative hospitalization and length of time posthospital discharge before patients ventured from home. Temporal orienting information reduced feelings of helplessness postoperatively in the cholecystectomy sample. Consistent with the original study, only trends for effects were observed in the herniorrhaphy sample.
Pharmacokinetic Prodrug Modeling: In Vitro and In Vivo Kinetics and Mechanisms of Ancitabine Bioconversion to Cytarabine

Conversion rates of the prodrug ancitabine to the antileukemic cytarabine have been measured in vivo (rabbits) and in vitro (in the presence of rabbit blood and human red blood cells, blood, and plasma) using HPLC analyses for the prodrug, drug, and its inactive metabolite, 1-beta-D-arabinosyluracil. These observed pH-dependent in vitro rate constants were consistent with those for chemical hydrolysis determined from controls using Tris buffers. Hydrolysis of ancitabine to cytarabine is chemically, not enzymatically, mediated. The blood concentration-time course for administered compound was described by a two-compartment open model following a rapid intravenous injection of prodrug, drug, or metabolite in each of three rabbits. The in vivo conversion rate constant (kc) following a rapid intravenous prodrug injection was estimated by simultaneous nonlinear regression of ancitabine and cytarabine blood concentration-time courses using equations for two-compartment prodrug and drug with all possible models describing potential conversion sites. The best fit was obtained for the case allowing simultaneous conversion of the prodrug in both central and peripheral compartments to the drug in the central compartment with a common value for kc. The resulting kc value (0.09 h-1, three rabbits) is similar to that for chemical hydrolysis (0.07 h-1) at 38.8 degrees C. Reasons why this agreement is regarded as fortuitous are discussed.
Body and Emotion: The Aesthetics of Illness and Healing in the Nepal Himalayas

Body and Emotion: The Aesthetics of Illness and Healing in the Nepal Himalayas. ROBERT R. DESJARLAIS. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992. xiii + 300 pp., illustrations, notes, photographs, glossary, references, index.
User-Friendly Self-Deception

Since many varieties of self-deception are ineradicable and useful, it would be wise to be ambivalent about at least some of its forms.1 It is open-eyed ambivalence that acknowledges its own dualities rather than ordinary shifty vacillation that we need. To be sure, self-deception remains dangerous: sensible ambivalence should not relax vigilance against pretence and falsity, combating irrationality and obfuscation wherever they occur.
An MPI-Stream Hybrid Programming Model for Computational Clusters

The MPI programming model hides network type and topology from developers, but also allows them to seamlessly distribute a computational job across multiple cores in both an intra and inter node fashion. This provides for high locality performance when the cores are either on the same node or on nodes closely connected by the same network type. The streaming model splits a computational job into a linear chain of decoupled units. This decoupling allows the placement of job units on optimal nodes according to network topology. Furthermore, the links between these units can be of varying protocols when the application is distributed across a heterogeneous network. In this paper we study how to integrate the MPI and Stream programming models in order to exploit network locality and topology. We present a hybrid MPI-Stream framework that aims to take advantage of each model's strengths. We test our framework with a financial application. This application simulates an electronic market for a single financial instrument. A stream of buy and sell orders is fed into a price matching engine. The matching engine creates a stream of order confirmations, trade confirmations, and quotes based on its attempts to match buyers with sellers. Our results show that the hybrid MPI-Stream framework can deliver a 32% performance improvement at certain order transmission rates.
Using wearable sensors to predict the severity of symptoms and motor complications in late stage Parkinson's Disease

This paper is focused on the analysis of data obtained from wearable sensors in patients with Parkinson's Disease. We implemented Support Vector Machines (SVM's) to predict clinical scores of the severity of Parkinsonian symptoms and motor complications. We determined the optimal window length to extract features from the sensor data. Furthermore, we performed tests to determine optimal parameters for the SVM's. Finally, we analyzed how well individual tasks performed by patients captured the severity of various symptoms and motor complications.
The role of CTCF in regulating V(D)J recombination

V(D)J recombination in B and T cells is required for the generation of receptors with a broad spectrum of specificity to foreign antigen. A total number of three immunoglobulin (Ig) and four T cell receptor (Tcr) loci can be targeted by the recombinase enzyme (RAG1/2) in a defined series of recombination events, which drive the progression of B and T cell development. This process is regulated at multiple levels to ensure lineage specific, ordered rearrangement and allelic exclusion [ 1 ]. One key component of this is modulation of chromatin looping and locus contraction, which is important in bringing widely separated gene segments into close contact with each other to enable synapse formation for lineage and stage specific V gene rearrangement [ 2 , 3 , 4• , 5 , 6• ]. Recent studies provide new insight into looping and its role in these processes. In this review we focus on the contribution of the 11 zinc finger nuclear protein, CTCF, in mediating loop formation and conformational changes that are important for the regulation of Ig and Tcr rearrangement.
Mechanisms underlying age-and performance-related differences in working memory

This study took advantage of the subsecond temporal resolution of ERPs to investigate mechanisms underlying age-and performance-related differences in working memory. Young and old subjects participated in a verbal n-back task with three levels of difficulty. Each group was divided into high and low performers based on accuracy under the 2-back condition. Both old subjects and low-performing young subjects exhibited impairments in preliminary mismatch/match detection operations (indexed by the anterior N2 component). This may have undermined the quality of information available for the subsequent decision-making process (indexed by the P3 component), necessitating the appropriation of more resources. Additional anterior and right hemisphere activity was recruited by old subjects. Neural efficiency and the capacity to allocate more resources to decision-making differed between high and low performers in both age groups. Under low demand conditions, high performers executed the task utilizing fewer resources than low performers (indexed by the P3 amplitude). As task requirements increased, high-performing young and old subjects were able to appropriate additional resources to decision-making, whereas their low-performing counterparts allocated fewer resources. Higher task demands increased utilization of processing capacity for operations other than decision-making (e.g., sustained attention) that depend upon a shared pool of limited resources. As demands increased, all groups allocated additional resources to the process of sustaining attention (indexed by the posterior slow wave). Demands appeared to have exceeded capacity in low performers, leading to a reduction of resources available to the decision-making process, which likely contributed to a decline in performance.
A Measure of Adjustment Strain in International Students

To develop a measure of the adjustment strains for international students, more than 250students of high school age, from five South American countries, were assessed twice during their yearlong sojourn in the United States. The Inventory of Student Adjustment Strain (ISAS) was developed and administered twice during the students' sojourn, along with a standard measure of self-concept, which had also been administered prior to students' departure to the United States. Six psychologically meaningful subscales of high internal consistency were derived from the ISAS. Sociodemographic data were collected, as were students' perceptions of their exchange experience. Students' host families reported on the adjustment and integration of the students into family, school, and American life. These auxiliary data pointed to the utility and validity of the ISAS.
A family of destabilized cyan fluorescent proteins as transcriptional reporters in S. cerevisiae.

The ‘programmable’ features of the N-end rule degradation pathway and a ubiquitin fusion strategy were exploited to create a family of destabilized cyan fluorescent proteins (CFP) to be used as transcriptional reporters. The N-degron CFP reporters characterized in this report have half-lives of approximately 75, 50 and 5 min, but further modification of the N-degron signal sequences could readily generate additional variants within this range. These destabilized CFP reporters have been engineered into convenient plasmid constructs with features to enable their expression from upstream activating sequences of choice and to facilitate their targeted integration to the URA3–TIM9 intergenic region of chromosome V. The advantages and limitations of these reporters as temporal indicators of gene expression in living cells are illustrated by their application as reporters of galactose- and pheromoneinduced transcription. The plasmid design we describe and the range of different stabilities that are theoretically feasible with this strategy make the N-degron CFP reporters easily adapted to a variety of applications. Copyright  2006 John Wiley &S ons, Ltd.
Effects of cytokines on vascular endothelium: Their role in vascular and immune injury

In its unique position at the interface between blood and tissues, vascular endothelium participates in critical homeostatic functions, including the regulation of transcapillary permeability, the maintenance of a non-thrombogenic surface, the modulation of vascular tone and reactivity, the control of proliferation of vascular hematopoietic cells, and the modulation of immune function [1, 2]. Recent studies have also shown that endothelial cells play active roles in all phases of immunologic and nonimmunologic inflammation, and that in these roles they serve not only as targets which undergo cell injury, but respond by exhibiting specific alterations in their normal constitutive properties, or by acquiring new functions [3, 4]. Much of the new information regarding endothelial function in inflammation has come from studies of the effect of cytokines on endothelial cells in culture. Although few of these studies have been performed on renal endothelium, which has been difficult to culture, there is no a priori reason why the cytokine-induced effects are not relevant to the kidney. In this paper, we will review the effects of well characterized cytokines on endothelial cells in vitro, examine the role of endothelial activation in several clinical settings in vivo, and emphasize those reactions that may be particularly relevant to renal injury.
The Impact of Visibility on Demand in the Market for Mobile Apps

The growth of mobile applications on smartphones and tablets ("apps") ranks as one of the most astonishing technological developments of the recent past. The marketplaces for these mobile apps (i.e., the Apple iOS App Store and Google Play) are a significant disruptive change in the way content is created and consumed. In this paper, taking a data-driven approach, we study the impact visibility in these marketplaces has on demand that apps obtain. The market platforms feature "top-ranked" charts that list apps by number of downloads. A shift to a high position in these charts is typically followed by a remarkable boost in demand. We call the effect of top-rank position on future sales an *indirect effect.* Our main contribution is to estimate the magnitude of this indirect effect. We develop a novel econometric methodology that allows us to deal with the significant endogeneity in the problem: ranks are determined by downloads, but also affect downloads. Our results show that the indirect effect is statistically significant and substantial; for example, we find that moving from position 20 to position 1 can nearly double the demand for an app.
Application of the inverse generalized perturbation theory to the optimization of fuel assembly design

Many methods have been proposed to optimize fuel assembly design, most of them based on metaheuristic techniques. The method presented here is based on the inverse perturbation theory. Parameters to be optimized are some isotope densities, such as Gd, 235U, 239Pu. The optimization is constrained to some target values of relevant reactor observables, such as the breeding ratio, the reactivity loss rate during the fuel cycle, the maximum reactivity, the spectral index. The method is fit to solve multi-objective problems. In the examples, 2 or 3 simultaneous objectives are determined.
Allocating Emissions Among Co-Products: Implications for Procurement and Climate Policy

Co-production (simultaneous production of multiple outputs) occurs in some emission-intensive basic material and agricultural industries. This paper is motivated by ones in which a supplier sells its primary product to a buyer that incurs an emissions cost (voluntarily, or due to government-imposed climate policy) and sells co-products into markets without emissions costs. Emission-accounting standards provide three candidate rules for allocating the supplier’s emissions among its products. This paper shows that under the value-based allocation, imposing an emissions tax on the primary product can increase emissions, by motivating the supplier to lower the price and sell a larger quantity. In contrast, with the socially optimal choice of allocation rule characterized in this paper, imposing the emissions tax on the primary product can greatly reduce emissions and increase welfare. In the absence of climate policy, under value-based allocation, a buyer might achieve greater profit by paying to offset its s...
Influence of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on Pain Intensity Levels in OEF/OIF/OND Veterans

Objective. Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common among US veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND). We postulated that these injuries may modulate pain processing in these individuals and affect their subjective pain levels. Design. Cross-sectional. Subjects. 310 deployed service members of OEF/OIF/OND without a lifetime history of moderate or severe TBI were included in this study. Methods. All participants completed a comprehensive evaluation for Blast Exposure, mTBI, PTSD, and Pain Levels. The Boston Assessment of TBI-Lifetime Version (BAT-L) was used to assess blast exposure and potential brain injury during military service. The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) characterized presence and severity of PTSD. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was used to assess pain intensity over the previous month before the interview, with higher scores indicative of worse pain. Statistical analysis was performed by ANOVA and results were adjusted for co-morbidities, clinical characteristics and demographic data. Results. In comparison to control participants (veterans without mTBI or current PTSD), veterans with both current PTSD and mTBI reported the highest pain intensity levels, followed by veterans with PTSD only ( P < 0.0001 and P = 0.0005, respectively). Pain levels in veterans with mTBI only were comparable to control participants. Conclusions. Comorbid PTSD and mTBI is associated with increased self-reported pain intensity. mTBI alone was not associated with increased pain.
Quantum walks on trees with disorder: Decay, diffusion, and localization

Quantum walks have been shown to have impressive transport properties compared to classical random walks. However, imperfections in the quantum-walk algorithm can destroy any quantum-mechanical speedup due to Anderson localization. We numerically study the effect of static disorder on a quantum walk on the glued trees graph. For small disorder, we find that the dominant effect is a type of quantum decay, and not quantum localization. For intermediate disorder, there is a crossover to diffusive transport, while a localization transition is observed at large disorder, in agreement with Anderson localization on the Cayley tree.
Fetal Echocardiography to Diagnose Fetal Heart Disease

Fetal echocardiography plays a central role in the evaluation of fetuses at risk for heart disease. It allows for detection of cardiac malformations, dysrhythmias, and evaluation of cardiac function. Indications for fetal echocardiography span a wide range that extends from the abnormal screening ultrasound in a low-risk pregnancy to the high-risk pregnancy with multiple extracardiac malformations and suspected fetal heart disease. In the hands of trained professionals, this imaging modality has high accuracy. It is readily available and provides families with vital information about their unborn child’s cardiac status. Moreover, early diagnosis provides families and medical professionals with precious time to prepare for postnatal management. Emergent treatments and procedures, such as initiation of prostaglandin to maintain patency of the ductus arteriosus and balloon atrial septostomy, can be planned ahead of time. The following review will underscore the value of fetal echocardiography, not only as a diagnostic tool, but most importantly as a means to improve the outcomes of fetuses affected by heart disease.
Not Just Cigarettes: A More Comprehensive Look at Marijuana and Tobacco Use Among African American and White Youth and Young Adults.

Introduction Cigarettes, cigars, and marijuana have generally been studied in isolation yet their use does not occur in isolation. Focus on cigarette smoking may overstate the observation that African American youth and young adults are less likely to smoke any combustible product compared with their white counterparts. Assessing cigarette, cigar, and marijuana use trends may help identify the extent of this difference. Methods Data from the 2002-2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (N = 25 541 to N = 28 232) were used to investigate past 30-day cigarette, cigar, and marijuana use trends among African American and white youth (12-17) and young adults (18-25). Logistic regressions assessed trends in combustible tobacco (cigarettes and cigars) and marijuana use, alone and in combination. Results From 2002-2012, the absolute difference in cigarette smoking prevalence between African American and white youth (9.6%-4.2%) and young adults (19.0%-10.5%) narrowed. Any combustible tobacco/marijuana use was significantly lower among African Americans than whites but, relative to cigarettes, the absolute difference was much smaller among youth (7.2%-2.2%) and young adults (15.8%-5.6%). Among any combustible tobacco/marijuana users, using two or more substances ranged from 31.4% to 40.3% among youth and 29.1% to 39.8% among young adults. Conclusion Any combustible tobacco/marijuana use trends suggest the smoking prevalence difference between African American and white youth and young adults is real, but less pronounced than when assessing cigarette smoking alone. Policies and programs addressing smoking behaviors may benefit from broadening focus to monitor and address cigar and marijuana use as well. Implications Trends in any use of cigarettes, cigars, and/or marijuana suggest the difference in smoking prevalence between African American and white youth and young adults is real, but less pronounced than when cigarette smoking is assessed alone. In 2012, more than 10% of African American and white youth, more than a third of African American young adults, and nearly half of white young adults reported past 30-day use of cigarette, cigars, and/or marijuana. Public health programs aimed at reducing these behaviors among youth and young adults could be informed by considering detailed, race-specific information regarding tobacco and marijuana use patterns.
Study on iodine nutrition status of residents in Dongshan island

Objective To understand iodine nutrition status of residents living in island,and provide evidence for the effective implementation of preventive strategy of scientific iodine supplement.Methods Using stratified cluster sampling,several groups of residents from different coverage rate of iodized salt areas were investigated on iodine content in household drinking water,coverage rate of iodized salt,proportion of households using adequately iodized salt and urine iodine(UI) level in children aged 0 to 2,8 to 10 years old children,adults,pregnant and lactating women,respectively.Results The median UI level of children,adults,lactating women and children aged 0 to 2 in high coverage rate of iodized salt group were all in the adequate ranges.The median UI level of adults,lactating women in low coverage of iodized salt group were lower than WHO recommendation and children just reached the lower limit of WHO recommendation.In this survey,we found that the UI levels of pregnant women in different coverage rate of iodized salt areas were relatively lower than limit of WHO recommendation.Conclusion The iodine nutrition level of residents living in island is adequate in the consumption of iodized salt with current concentration,and the iodine excess doesn't exist.The supply of iodized salt is still needed in island.We should highly concern about the iodine nutrition status of pregnant women,and the monitoring for this part of population should be in the priority and taken into our routine monitoring.
Promoting adjustment among women with breast cancer and their partners: a program of research

A three-phase program of research consisted of: (1) data collection at eight data points across one year on predictors and outcomes of adjustment among 128 women diagnosed with breast cancer and 121 partners; (2) development of phase-specific interventions: standardized education by videotape (SE), and telephone counseling (TC); and (3) a pilot study among 12 patient-partner pairs. Four phases were identified: diagnostic, post-surgical, adjuvant therapy, and ongoing recovery. Needs were categorized as those related to: (1) physical well-being, (2) emotional well-being; (3) support; and (4) the healthcare system. In the pilot study, each group consisted of 4 patient-partner pairs, randomly assigned to one of four groups. At each of the four phases, all groups received the currently accepted disease management (DM). Group 1: DM * Group 2: DM+SE * Group 3: DM+TC * Group 4: DM+SE+TC. Measures of outcomes validated in the longitudinal study were administered. The feasibility of a confirmatory randomized clinical trial was demonstrated. Preliminary evidence indicates the importance of research-based, phase-specific educational and counseling interventions that have a positive effect on adjustment among both patients and their families.
Genome sequence, prevalence and quantification of the first iflavirus identified in a phytoplasma insect vector.

The leafhopper Euscelidius variegatus is a natural vector of chrysanthemum yellows phytoplasma (CY) and an efficient vector of flavescence doree phytoplasma (FD) under laboratory conditions. During a transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) project aimed at investigating the interactions between the insect and the two phytoplasmas, a 10,616-nucleotide-long contig with high sequence similarity to known picorna-like viruses was identified among the assembled insect transcripts. The discovery came totally unexpected, because insects from the laboratory colony did not show any evident symptom that could be related to the presence of a virus. The amino acid sequence, the shape and size of viral particles, and the results of phylogenetic analysis suggest that this virus, named Euscelidius variegatus virus 1 (EVV-1), can be considered a new member of a new species in the genus Iflavirus. EVV-1 was detected in all of the tested insects from the laboratory colony used for RNA-seq, both in phytoplasma-exposed and in non-exposed insects, but the viral load measured in FD-exposed samples was significantly lower than that in non-exposed insects. This result suggests the possible existence of an intriguing cross-talk among insects, endogenous bacteria, and viruses. The identification of two other E. variegatus laboratory colonies that were free of EVV-1 could represent the key to addressing some basic virological issues, e.g., viral replication and transmission mechanisms, and offer the opportunity to use infectious clones to express heterologous genes in the leafhopper and manipulate the expression of endogenous genes by promoting virus-induced gene silencing.
Hierarchical Control for Large Scale Systems - A Survey

Abstract This paper presents a view of the present status of the field of hierarchical control for large scale systems. Because of the trends which exist in such controls today the paper will concentrate on distributed digital elements and their necessary associated overall communication techniques to achieve the hierarchy desired. In addition, because of the authors experiences, the paper will describe the hierarchical controls necessary for a large scale industrial system. It is felt that enough commonality exists in the high level functions involved between industrial and other systems that translation of the points made here should be readily possible. This paper will include a discussion of the management system associated with the hierarchical control implemented by the computer network involved. Each side of the man/computer relationship must receive equal attention in any hierarchical design in order to achieve a truly synergistic result from the combined efforts of both.
Labor market impacts from ozone nonattainment status: a regression discontinuity analysis

The potential economic effects of environmental regulations are often a concern when discussing policy initiatives. This study employs a regression discontinuity (RD) design to test effects of ozone nonattainment status and the accompanying regulations on economic conditions in US counties from 2004 through 2011. Comparing ozone nonattainment counties to similarly polluted attainment counties, the results estimate roughly 24% lower employment in polluting industries in nonattainment areas and a negative though statistically insignificant effect on the number of polluting-industry establishments in nonattainment areas. When using total county employment as the dependent variable, the analysis finds no statistically significant evidence of nonattainment status effects. Overall, the estimated effects in this analysis imply that any economic impacts of nonattainment status are predominantly felt in those industries most directly affected by ozone regulation. This could lead to changes in local industrial composition.
Origin, Transformation, and Stability of Clay Particles

Hard rocks weather and turn into substrates for higher plants. The mineral assemblies of rocks are fragmentized to gravels, sands, and silts and transform themselves chemically to clay particles, molecules, and ions. Clay formation is a cardinal pedogenic process.
Grid Convergence for Three Dimensional Benchmark Turbulent Flows

Grid convergence studies are performed to establish reference solutions for benchmark three dimensional turbulent flows in support of the ongoing turbulence model verification and validation e ort at the Turbulence Modeling Resource website curated by NASA. The bench- mark cases are a subsonic flow around a hemisphere cylinder and a transonic flow around the ONERA M6 wing with a sharp trailing edge. The study applies widely-used computational fluid dynamics codes developed and supported at the NASA Langley Research Center: FUN3D, USM3D, and CFL3D. Reference steady-state solutions are computed for the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model on families of consistently-refined grids composed of different types of cells. Coarse-to- ne and code-to-code solution variation is described in detail.
Untethered soft robotics

Research in soft matter engineering has introduced new approaches in robotics and wearable devices that can interface with the human body and adapt to unpredictable environments. However, many promising applications are limited by the dependence of soft systems on electrical or pneumatic tethers. Recent work in soft actuation and electronics has made removing such cords more feasible, heralding a variety of applications from autonomous field robotics to wireless biomedical devices. Here we review the development of functional untethered soft robotics. We focus on recent advances in soft robotic actuation, sensing and integration as they relate to untethered systems, and consider the key challenges the field faces in engineering systems that could have practical use in real-world conditions. This Review Article examines the development of functional untethered soft robotics, evaluating recent advances in soft robotic actuation, sensing, and integration in relation to untethered systems.
Timing and technique impact the effectiveness of road-based, mobile acoustic surveys of bats.

Mobile acoustic surveys are a common method of surveying bat communities. However, there is a paucity of empirical studies exploring different methods for conducting mobile road surveys of bats. During 2013, we conducted acoustic mobile surveys on three routes in north-central Indiana, U.S.A., using (1) a standard road survey, (2) a road survey where the vehicle stopped for 1 min at every half mile of the survey route (called a "start-stop method"), and (3) a road survey with an individual using a bicycle. Linear mixed models with multiple comparison procedures revealed that when all bat passes were analyzed, using a bike to conduct mobile surveys detected significantly more bat passes per unit time compared to other methods. However, incorporating genus-level comparisons revealed no advantage to using a bike over vehicle-based methods. We also found that survey method had a significant effect when analyses were limited to those bat passes that could be identified to genus, with the start-stop method generally detecting more identifiable passes than the standard protocol or bike survey. Additionally, we found that significantly more identifiable bat passes (particularly those of the Eptesicus and Lasiurus genera) were detected in surveys conducted immediately following sunset. As governing agencies, particularly in North America, implement vehicle-based bat monitoring programs, it is important for researchers to understand how variations on protocols influence the inference that can be gained from different monitoring schemes.