cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Oral contraceptive use and premenstrual syndrome among sexually active female university students in Cameroon.

Introduction premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a prevalent health problem affecting women of reproductive age and some young women use oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) to prevent unwanted pregnancy. However, the association between OCP use and the experience of symptoms of PMS has not been studied in Cameroon. We examined the association between the use of OCPs and PMS among female university students in Cameroon. Methods we used data extracted from a larger study on sexual and reproductive health that was conducted between July and August 2018 among female university students at the University of Yaounde 1, Cameroon. A pre-tested, validated and paper-based self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. We extracted data (demographic and health characteristics, contraceptive use and experience of PMS) for the 424 sexually active students who participated in the larger study. We used Poisson regression analysis to examine the association between OCP use and PMS and conducted stratified analysis to determine effect modification. The level of statistical significance was set at p≤0.05. Results the median age of the 424 sexually active female university students was 23 years (IQR=21-25). About 77.8% of participants self-reported to have experienced symptoms of PMS prior to their last menstrual period. The most commonly reported symptoms of PMS were breast tenderness (55.7%), acne/pimples (39.2%) and abdominal pain (31.1%). After adjusting for confounders in multivariate analysis, we found a statistically significant relationship between the use of OCPs and experience of symptoms of PMS. Current OCP users had a slightly increased risk (PR=1.21; 95%CI, 1.09-1.32, p<0.001) of developing symptoms of PMS compared to non-pill users. We found that age modified the effect of this association. Among older students (≥25 years), the direction of the effect was strongly positive and statistically significant (APR=1.32; 95%CI, 1.12-1.56, p=0.001). Conclusion the proportion of female university students who reported to have experienced symptoms of PMS prior to their last menstrual period was high. The use of OCPs was positively associated with the risk of developing symptoms of PMS and this relationship was modified by age. Further studies in Cameroon and other sub-Saharan African countries are required to understand this relationship.
Exploring Organizational Leadership for English Learner Equity

In this study, we explore leadership practices in a dual-language elementary school led by three leaders of color committed to the ideals of cultural responsiveness. We employ an organizational lea...
Peripheral Vasculature MRA

The sections in this article are 1 Introduction 2 Techniques 3 Clinical Data 4 Phase Contrast (PC) 5 3D MRA 6 Artifacts 7 Biographical Sketches Related Articles
Arabidopsis plants deficient in constitutive class profilins reveal independent and quantitative genetic effects

The actin cytoskeleton is involved in an array of integral structural and developmental processes throughout the cell. One of actin’s best-studied binding partners is the small ubiquitously expressed protein, profilin. Arabidopsis thaliana is known to encode a family of five profilin sequence variants: three vegetative (also constitutive) profilins that are predominantly expressed in all vegetative tissues and ovules, and two reproductive profilins that are specifically expressed in pollen. This paper analyzes the roles of the three vegetative profilin members, PRF1, PRF2, and PRF3, in plant cell and organ development. Using a collection of knockout or severe knockdown T-DNA single mutants, we found that defects in each of the three variants gave rise to specific developmental deficiencies. Plants lacking PRF1 or PRF2 had defects in rosette leaf morphology and inflorescence stature, while those lacking PRF3 led to plants with slightly elongated petioles. To further examine these effects, double mutants and double and triple gene-silenced RNAi epialleles were created. These plants displayed significantly compounded developmental defects, as well as distinct lateral root growth morphological phenotypes. These results suggest that having at least one vegetative profilin gene is essential to viability. Evidence is presented that combinations of independent function, quantitative genetic effects, and functional redundancy have preserved the three vegetative profilin genes in the Arabidopsis lineage.
Sabbatino, Sosa, And “Supernorms”

The U.S. Supreme Court’s foundational decisions in Banco Nacional de Cuba v. Sabbatino and, forty years later, Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain demonstrate the Court’s application of a consistent, overarching principle of restraint: a U.S. court should adjudicate only claims involving what we call “supernorms.” In short, a supernorm is an international legal prohibition that has become so crystallized and entrenched as to be effectively unquestionable and inviolable either by sovereign entities or by individuals, particularly those acting under color of state authority.
Characterization of large deletions occurring during a single round of retrovirus vector replication: novel deletion mechanism involving errors in strand transfer.

Abstract Retroviruses mutate at a high rate during replication. We used a spleen necrosis virus-based vector system and helper cell line to characterize mutations occurring during a single round of retrovirus replication. The vector used, JD216HyNeo, codes for two drug resistance genes, hygromycin resistance (hygro) and neomycin resistance (neo). The downstream neo gene is expressed only when a mutation alleviates a block to splicing which is located in the upstream hygro gene. The mutations allowing splicing were large deletions, ranging in size from about 500 to about 2,000 bp. Most of the mutant proviruses lacked the encapsidation sequence, as shown by our inability to rescue the mutant proviruses with wild-type reticuloendotheliosis virus strain A and confirmed by Southern blotting and direct DNA sequence analysis. We therefore concluded that most of the deletions arose during reverse transcription in the target cell, rather than during transcription in the host cell. The sequence data also indicated that the deletions occurred by at least three different mechanisms: (i) misalignment of the growing point; (ii) incorrect synthesis and termination in the primer-binding sequence during synthesis of the plus-strand strong-stop DNA; and (iii) incorrect synthesis and termination before the primer-binding sequence during synthesis of the plus-strand strong-stop DNA. The second mechanism also led to the incorporation of cellular sequences into the proviral genome, pointing to a potential novel mechanism by which retroviruses can acquire cellular genes.
Endothelial cell-conditioned medium downregulates smooth muscle contractile protein expression

Smooth muscle cells (SMC) within atherosclerotic lesions proliferate and exhibit phenotypic modulation, but the contribution of vascular endothelium to this process is poorly understood. Our aim was to examine the effects of endothelial cell-conditioned medium (ECCM) on vascular SMC growth and differentiation. Rat aortic ECCM stimulated a ninefold increase in [3H]thymidine incorporation and downregulated smooth muscle-specific myosin heavy chain and alpha-actin synthesis in rat aortic SMC. These effects were not inhibited by antibodies to platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB or PDGF-AB or with a PDGF beta-receptor subunit. Treatment with PDGF-BB (at a concentration found in ECCM), PDGF-AA, basic fibroblast growth factor, endothelin-1, or transforming growth factor-beta did not reproduce these effects. The ECCM activities were sensitive to heat and trypsinization, were >30 kDa in molecular mass, and bound weakly to heparin-Sepharose. Our data indicate that cultured endothelial cells produce a factor(s) that downregulates contractile protein expression in SMC, which may contribute to SMC dedifferentiation and proliferation.
Suicide attempts by rock-climbing falls

The true intent of a suicidal act is sometimes masked by it appearing as an "accident". Two cases are reported that present a unique opportunity to study suicide attempts that took the form of rock-climbing "falls" and to study the two people who chose this way to die. Rock-climbing falls, occasionally speculated about as possible suicidal equivalents yet having no recognition as such in the literature, are illustrated as methods used by these impulsive, action-oriented and risk-taking people.
Efficient algorithms for finding highly acceptable designs based on module-utility selections

In this paper we present an iterative framework to solve module selection problem under resource, latency, and power constraints. The framework associates a utility measure with each module. This measurement reflects the usefulness of the module for a given a design goal. Using modules with high utility values will result in superior designs. We propose a heuristic which iteratively perturbs module utility values until they tend to good module selections. Our experiments show that the module selections formed by combinations of modules with high utility values are superior solutions. Further by keeping modules with high utility values, the module exploration space can drastically be reduced.
The effect of meclofenamate on renal blood flow in the unanesthetized dog: Relation to renal prostaglandins and sodium balance

We compared the effects of sodium meclofenamate (5 mg/kg i.v.), an inhibitor of prostaglandin synthesis, on renal function in six unanesthetized dogs maintained for 5 to 7 days before the experiment on 100 mEq/day of NaCl and after sodium depletion by furosemide administration and salt deprivation. Plasma renin activity (PRA) during sodium depletion (12.35 +/- 3.93 ng ml-1 hr-1) was higher than during sodium repletion (1.46 +/- 0.47 ng ml-1 hr-1; P less than .05). The administration of meclofenamate did not alter mean arterial pressure, renal blood flow, urine volume, excretion of sodium and potassium or PRA in the sodium replete dog. However, during sodium depletion meclofenamate reduced renal blood flow from 168 +/- 35 to 105 +/- 23 ml/min (P less than .01) and urine flow from 0.32 +/- 0.09 to 0.16 +/- 0.05 ml/min (P less than .05) but did not affect mean arterial pressure, electrolyte excretion or PRA. The meclofenamate-induced reduction in renal blood flow during sodium depletion was well correlated with control PRA. After administration of meclofenamate, the urinary excretion of immunoreactive prostaglandin E2 fell by 66% (P less than .05) in the sodium replete dog and by 72% (P less than .05) in the sodium depleted dog. This study demonstrates that the effects of meclofenamate on renal hemodynamics vary with the state of sodium balance and in relation to PRA.
Nurturing Preservice Music Teacher Dispositions: Collaborating to Connect Practice, Theory, and Policy

This article argues that education policy should support school-university partnerships that place preservice music teachers with their college professors in a laboratory school environment. With roots in Dewey's experimental school of 1896, the laboratory concept is a variation of the professional development schools now in vogue. The policies recommended here are not tied directly to this school-university partnership model, but they do support the collaborative concept. Policy recommendations include re-conceptualization of the student teaching experience; compensation of faculty members through financial incentives and professional development credits; and consideration for university faculty members engaged in such partnerships when determining workload and reviewing teaching, scholarship, and service for tenure or promotion decisions. The policy recommendations call for the creation of release time for school personnel to meet with university personnel to plan and assess the partnered collaboration,...
An intraspecific analysis of trade-offs in sprinting performance in a West Indian lizard species (Anolis lineatopus)

We examined whether a trade-off exists in sprinting ability among individuals within the Caribbean lizardAnolis lineatopus. Specifically, we made the following predictions: Longer-legged (relative to body size) individual lizards should sprint faster than shorter-legged lizards on a broad (5.1 cm diameter) rod. However, longer-legged lizards should also decline in sprinting performance to a greater extent than shorter-legged lizards when sprinting on rods of different diameters. To test these predictions, we examined morphology and sprinting performance in adult male, adult female and juvenileA. lineatopus. As predicted, longer-legged lizards are faster sprinters than shorter-legged lizards on the broad substrate, but they also decline more in speed between the broad and narrow (0.7 cm diameter) dowel. However, despite statistically significant morphological differences among intraspecific classes, differences in morphology did not result in differences in sprinting performance among intraspecific classes, with the exception that larger lizards run faster than smaller lizards on each dowel size.
Silicon Surface Functionalization Targeting Si–N Linkages

Silicon substrates have been a fascinating topic of fundamental and applied research for well over 50 years. They have attracted even more attention over the last couple of decades with advances in chemical functionalization that made oxide-free silicon surfaces a reality. Fundamentally new electronic properties and chemical reactivity became available, and the focus of chemical research turned more toward targeting specific chemical bonds and functionalities on silicon. Although thermodynamics clearly drives most processes under ambient conditions toward the formation of an oxide layer, kinetic control of the oxidation processes and thermodynamic tricks based on gaining stability of surface monolayers with high-density assembly have allowed for the formation of stable Si–C bonds and Si–O–C linkages on oxide-free silicon crystals. This feature article targets recent advances in making Si–N linkages on the same oxide-free single crystals. It covers the range of chemical approaches to achieving this goal an...