cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Environmental conditions encountered during typical consumer retail display affect fruit and vegetable quality and waste.

Abstract Temperature and relative humidity (RH) are the most important environmental factors affecting the sensory quality of fresh produce, and therefore, the consumer acceptability for fruits and vegetables displayed in a produce department. Poor temperature management inevitably occurs in commercial handling and reduces the quality and maximum potential shelf life of fruits and vegetables. Since there is a lack of information on the actual temperatures registered inside local distribution trucks or in consumer retail displays, and the effects on the produce quality, the current study was designed to evaluate the segment of the distribution chain that comprises the time the produce arrives from the distribution center to the store, is displayed at the store, and then stored under household conditions. Temperature and RH were recorded in three different produce departments, at reception and during a 6-week retail display period. Truck and produce temperatures were collected immediately upon opening of the doors, and display temperatures were monitored inside 27 refrigerated and non-refrigerated retail displays. Visual quality of 37 different produce items was evaluated, and surface or pulp temperatures were measured immediately upon unloading from the delivery truck. Reasons for produce waste were recorded on a daily basis during a 6-week period. Shelf life studies were conducted under simulated household conditions using samples collected at the stores. Results from this study showed that chilling-sensitive commodities were transported under too cold conditions, whereas heat-sensitive commodities were transported under too warm conditions. Visual quality of the produce received at the store ranged from good to poor depending on the fruit or vegetable evaluated, with raspberry receiving the lowest visual quality score in 6.7% of store deliveries, and banana, fresh-cut vegetables, peach and pineapple receiving the best visual quality score in 100% of store deliveries. Temperatures measured inside retail displays showed a wide variation, depending on the store and location inside the display, ranging from −1.2 °C to 19.2 °C in refrigerated displays and from 7.6 °C to 27.7 °C in non-refrigerated displays. RH ranged from 55.9% to 92.9% in refrigerated displays and from 29.7% to 86.6% in non-refrigerated displays. Poor temperature management was the major cause of produce waste (55%) whereas expired date and mechanical damage accounted for 45% of the produce wasted. Results from this study show that fruits and vegetables are often handled under adverse environmental conditions, resulting in produce with poor quality and shorter shelf life, and increased waste at the retail and consumer levels.
Functional outcomes following percutaneous surgery in the solitary kidney.

Purpose: We assessed the impact of percutaneous renal surgery on renal function based on the modification of diet in renal disease estimated glomerular filtration rate in solitary renal units. We also determined the variables predictive of functional improvement or impairment following percutaneous surgery in solitary kidneys.Materials and Methods: A prospective database was augmented by retrospective chart review. Between 1984 and 2007, 81 patients with a solitary kidney, which was anatomical in 61.7%, functional in 18.5%, a transplant allograft in 11.1% and unknown in 8.6%, underwent a total of 92 percutaneous procedures. Serum creatinine was measured preoperatively, postoperatively, at 1 month and at 1 year. The 4-variable modification of diet in renal disease equation was used to calculate estimated creatinine clearance. The study population was divided into 3 groups, including group 1—a change in the estimated glomerular filtration rate of 5% or less at 1 year, group 2—an increase of greater than 5% ...
Neurophysiology: Neural fingerprints of visual attention

Pronounced effects of attention have been demonstrated in a region of visual cortex previously thought to be devoid of such influences; identifying the features critical for eliciting these effects should teach us a great deal about the neural underpinnings of visual attention.
Studies of the arterial pulse wave.

Previous studies have shown abnormalities of the arterial pulse wave in hypertensive subjects of all age groups. The major change has been diminution to disappearance of the dicrotic wave. The pharmacologic differences between epinephrine and norepinephrine offer a means of studying the mechanism of this change in the dicrotic wave. In the present study, normotensive subjects have had transient hypertension induced by the infusion of epinephrine and norepinephrine. The different effects of these drugs on their arterial pulse waves have been recorded.
Experience in prevention of sternal wound infections in nasal carriers of Staphylococcus aureus

Nosocomial and surgical-site infections are significant burdens to the health care system that account for $5 billion and $1.6 billion each year in the United States, respectively. These infections are associated with significant morbidity and mortality rates, increased length of hospitalization, and increased treatment costs that are often not reimbursed by third-party payers. Approximately 40% of sternal wound infections in cardiac surgery patients are caused by Staphylococcus aureus and the prevalence of methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA) has risen dramatically in the past 2 to 3 decades. The economic burden that is associated with MRSA is significant; infections caused by MRSA cost approximately $3700 more to treat than infections caused by methicillin-sensitive S aureus, and the death rate for MRSA infection is nearly 3 times that of methicillin-sensitive S aureus. Thus, interventions to prevent nosocomial infection in patients who undergo cardiac surgery may improve outcomes and decrease costs. Advances in diagnostic testing may help to target intranasal antibiotic therapy to those patients who are most likely to receive a benefit. The LightCycler System is a fast and effective polymerase chain reaction-based diagnostic test that may be used to identify patients with nasal colonization of S aureus. Carrier status can be determined in a matter of hours rather than days as is the case with traditional culture techniques.
Fibril formation and neurotoxicity by a herpes simplex virus glycoprotein B fragment with homology to Alzheimer’ β amyloid peptide

Despite significant progress in the elucidation of the genetic basis of early-onset familial Alzheimer's disease (AD), the etiology of sporadic cases remains elusive. Although certain genetic loci play a role in conferring susceptibility in some sporadic AD cases, it is likely that the etiology is multifactorial; hence, the majority of cases cannot be attributed to genetic factors alone, indicating that environmental factors may modulate the onset and/or progression of the disease. Head injury and infectious agents are environmental factors that have been periodically implicated, but no plausible mechanisms have been clearly identified. With regard to infectious agents, speculation has often centered on the neurotropic herpes viruses, with herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1) considered a likely candidate. We report that an internal sequence of HSV1 glycoprotein B (gB) is homologous to the carboxyl-terminal region of the Aβ peptide that accumulates in diffuse and neuritic plaques in AD. Synthetic peptides were g...
Tensile superplastic deformation of YBa2Cu3O7−x high-TC superconductors

Abstract The superplastic behavior of polycrystalline YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− x was investigated. Tensile elongations above 85% were achieved for fine-grained ( −6 to 10 −3 /s. It is suggested that the dominant superplastic deformation mechanism is grain boundary sliding accommodated and controlled by interface reaction, characterized by a stress exponent of n =2, a grain size exponent of p =1.5, and an activation energy of Q sp =515±104 kJ/mol. A Langdon–Mohamed deformation mechanism map was constructed. Overlaying the available experimental data onto the map, including the results from creep studies, gives an insight into the deformation mechanisms involved in high-temperature deformation of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− x .
Tumour necrosis factor-α inhibition can stabilize disease in progressive vitiligo

Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, a proinflammatory cytokine central to many autoimmune diseases, has been implicated in the depigmentation process in vitiligo. We review its role in vitiligo by exploring its pro- and anti-inflammatory properties and examine the effects of blocking its actions with TNF-α antagonist therapeutics in reports available in the literature. We found that TNF-α inhibition halts disease progression in patients with progressive vitiligo but that, paradoxically, treatment can be associated with de novo vitiligo development in some patients when used for other autoimmune conditions, particularly when using adalimumab and infliximab. These studies reinforce the importance of stating appropriate outcomes measures, as most pilot trials propose to measure repigmentation, whereas halting depigmentation is commonly overlooked as a measure of success. We conclude that TNF-α inhibition has proven useful for patients with progressive vitiligo, where TNF-α inhibition is able to quash cytotoxic T-cell-mediated melanocyte destruction. However, a lingering concern for initiating de novo disease will likely prevent more widespread application of TNF inhibitors to treat vitiligo.
Belief in Afterlife as a Buffer in Suicidal and Other Bereavement

To assess whether degree of belief in afterlife enhanced bereavement recovery following different types of death (suicide, homicide, accidental, and natural), 121 bereaved persons (31% of those ask...
Leukocyte alkaline phosphatase in disease.

(1971). Leukocyte Alkaline Phosphatase in Disease. CRC Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences: Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 243-278.
Mid-Holocene drought and lake-level change at Elk Lake, Clearwater County, Minnesota: Evidence from CHIRP seismic-reflection data

Despite many studies of Holocene paleoclimate records from small lakes in the mid-continent of North America, direct estimates of lake-level changes associated with mid-Holocene aridity are rare. Varved sediments from Elk Lake, Clearwater County, Minnesota, are among the best studied in terms of paleoenvironmental proxies, yet the sedimentary architecture of those sediments has not been previously studied and the hydrological responses of the lake – changes in level and volume – are poorly known. High-resolution seismic-reflection (CHIRP) profiles of Elk Lake reveal complex sedimentary basins in the lake, a pattern of nearshore onlap of sediments onto older substrates, and the focusing of sediments into several deep basins. Biogenic gas obscures sediments in the deepest parts of the basins, but beneath the rest of the lake, a three-part Holocene sequence is clear. The transitions between these parts are correlated with lithological changes defined in earlier core studies. Sediments of the modern stage are...
Novel Use of External Tissue Expander for Management of Sternal Wound Dehiscence

Sternal wound dehiscence and its associated complications contribute to significant morbidity and mortality after coronary bypass operations. We present the novel use of continuous external tissue expansion to achieve delayed primary closure of a previously dehisced sternal wound.
Identification of explosives and explosive formulations using laser electrospray mass spectrometry

Mass analysis is demonstrated for the detection of sub-microgram quantities of explosive samples on a metallic surface at atmospheric pressure using laser electrospray mass spectrometry (LEMS). A non-resonant femtosecond duration laser pulse vaporizes native samples for subsequent electrospray ionization and transfer into a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. LEMS was used to detect 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane (DMNB), 1,3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), 3,4,8,9,12,13-hexaoxa-1,6-diazabicyclo[4.4.4]tetradecane (HMTD), and 3,3,6,6,9,9-hexamethyl-1,2,4,5,7,8-hexaoxacyclononane (TATP) deposited on a steel surface. LEMS was also used to directly analyze composite propellant materials containing an explosive to determine the molecular composition of the explosive pellets at atmospheric pressure. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Social annotations in web search

We ask how to best present social annotations on search results, and attempt to find an answer through mixed-method eye-tracking and interview experiments. Current practice is anchored on the assumption that faces and names draw attention; the same presentation format is used independently of the social connection strength and the search query topic. The key findings of our experiments indicate room for improvement. First, only certain social contacts are useful sources of information, depending on the search topic. Second, faces lose their well-documented power to draw attention when rendered small as part of a social search result annotation. Third, and perhaps most surprisingly, social annotations go largely unnoticed by users in general due to selective, structured visual parsing behaviors specific to search result pages. We conclude by recommending improvements to the design and content of social annotations to make them more noticeable and useful.
Fuzzy sets and models of decision making

Abstract Results of research into the use of fuzzy sets for handling various forms of uncertainty in optimization problems related to the design and control of complex systems are presented. Much attention is given to considering the uncertainty of goals that is associated with a multicriteria character of many optimization problems. The application of a multicriteria approach is needed to solve 1. (1)|problems in which solution consequences cannot be estimated on the basis of a single criterion, that involves the necessity of analyzing a vector of criteria, and 2. (2)|problems that may be considered on the basis of a single criterion but their unique solutions are not achieved because the uncertainty of information produces so-called decision uncertainty regions, and the application of additional criteria can serve as a convincing means to contract these regions. According to this, two classes of models (〈 X, M 〉 and 〈 X, R 〉 models) are considered with applying the Bellman-Zadeh approach and techniques of fuzzy preference relations to their analysis. The consideration of 〈 X, R 〉 models is associated with a general approach to solving a wide class of optimization problems with fuzzy coefficients. This approach consists in formulating and analyzing one and the same problem within the framework of interrelated models with constructing equivalent analogs with fuzzy coefficients in objective functions alone. It allows one to maximally cut off dominated alternatives. The subsequent contraction of the decision uncertainty region is associated with reduction of the problem to multicriteria decision making in a fuzzy environment with its analysis applying one of two techniques based on fuzzy preference relations. The results of the paper are of a universal character and are already being used to solve problems of power engineering.
Cognitive Models of Test-Item Effects in Human Category Learning

Imagine two identical people receive exactly the same training on how to classify certain objects. Perhaps surprisingly, we show that one can then manipulate them into classifying some test items in opposite ways, simply depending on what other test items they are asked to classify (without label feedback). We call this the Test-Item Effect, which can be induced by the order or the distribution of test items. We formulate the Test-Item Effect as online semi-supervised learning, and extend three standard human category learning models to explain it.
Close adult friendships, gender, and the life cycle

Drawing on 25,185 responses collected via an online news website, our findings extend and update Fischer and Oliker’s (1983) classic study on gender and life cycle differences in friendship. We found no substantial gender differences in number of friends people can count on to celebrate birthdays, discuss intimate matters like one’s sex life, or depend upon when experiencing trouble late at night (ds = .04–.20); however, number of friendships varied substantially according to marital status, age, and parental status. Residential population size was not associated with number of friendships. We also found that virtually all respondents reported having at least one close friend. Satisfaction with friends was a better predictor of life satisfaction than was number of friends.
Paragraph text reading using a pixelized prosthetic vision simulator: parameter dependence and task learning in free-viewing conditions.

PURPOSE. To investigate the feasibility of adequate reading by recipients of future prosthetic visual implants through simulation in sighted observers. METHODS. Four normally sighted subjects used a video headset to view short-story segments at a sixth grade reading level, presented in 6- to 11-word paragraphs through a pixelizing grid defined by five parameters (dot size, grid size, dot spacing, random dropout percentage, and gray-scale resolution). Grid parameters were varied individually, and four character sizes and two contrast levels were used. RESULTS. Reading speeds of 30 to 60 words per minute without errors were recorded for some parameter combinations. In general, reading accuracy and speed were influenced by all parameters. Reading accuracy exceeded 90% if the following conditions were met: At least 3 dots/charwidth were presented, and dropout did not exceed 50%. Reading speed deteriorated below 20 words per minute if accuracy fell below 90% and at low contrast if the grid spanned less than two characters. CONCLUSIONS. It is uncertain whether and to what extent retinal reorganization may limit the perception of multiple phosphenes by blind prosthesis recipients. If distinct phosphenes can be perceived, these results suggest that a 3 X 3-mm 2 prosthesis with 16 X 16 electrodes should allow paragraph reading. The effects of stabilizing the dot grid on the retina must be investigated further.
Comparative impacts of stormwater runoff on water quality of an urban, a suburban, and a rural stream

Water quality data at 12 sites within an urban, a suburban, and a rural stream were collected contemporaneously during four wet and eight dry periods. The urban stream yielded the highest biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), orthophosphate, total suspended sediment (TSS), and surfactant concentrations, while the most rural stream yielded the highest total organic carbon concentrations. Percent watershed development and percent impervious surface coverage were strongly correlated with BOD (biochemical oxygen demand), orthophosphate, and surfactant concentrations but negatively with total organic carbon. Excessive fecal coliform abundance most frequently occurred in the most urbanized catchments. Fecal coliform bacteria, TSS, turbidity, orthophosphate, total phosphorus, and BOD were significantly higher during rain events compared to nonrain periods. Total rainfall preceding sampling was positively correlated with turbidity, TSS, BOD, total phosphorus, and fecal coliform bacteria concentrations. Turbidity and TSS were positively correlated with phosphorus, fecal coliform bacteria, BOD, and chlorophyll a, which argues for better sedimentation controls under all landscape types.
Postischemic anti-inflammatory effects of bradykinin preconditioning

We sought to determine the mechanisms whereby brief administration of bradykinin (bradykinin preconditioning, BK-PC) before prolonged ischemia followed by reperfusion (I/R) prevents postischemic mi...
Repeated intra-ventral tegmental area administration of SKF-38393 induces behavioral and neurochemical sensitization to a subsequent cocaine challenge.

To assess the role of dopamine receptor subtypes in the initiation of behavioral sensitization to cocaine, the partial D1 agonist SKF-38393 (0.01-1.0 microgram/side), the D2/3 agonist quinpirole (0.1-1.0 microgram/side) or saline was infused once daily over 3 days into either the ventral tegmental area (VTA) or the nucleus accumbens shell. Relative to saline controls, intra-VTA SKF-38393 administration did not influence behavior during the treatment regimen, whereas the higher dose of quinpirole produced a significant suppression of locomotor activity after the third daily administration. Infusion of 1.0 microgram/side SKF-38393 into the nucleus accumbens shell produced marked behavioral hyperactivity after both the first and last daily infusions, with no significant difference between the behavioral responses on these days. In contrast, quinpirole did not influence behavior after its infusion into the nucleus accumbens shell. Two weeks after the last daily intracranial drug infusion, all animals were administered cocaine (15 mg/kg, i.p.) and behavioral activity was monitored. The repeated administration of SKF-38393 into the VTA resulted in sensitization to the locomotor-activating effects of cocaine. No other drug pretreatment influenced the cocaine-induced behavioral response. To determine whether repeated D1 agonist administration influenced dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens shell, in vivo microdialysis was performed in this structure after three daily intra-VTA infusions of saline or 0.1 microgram/side SKF-38393. The increase in dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens shell induced by cocaine was significantly greater among rats pretreated with repeated SKF-38393 administration. Taken together, these results indicate that the repeated intra-VTA administration of a D1 agonist mimics the sensitization process produced by repeated cocaine administration.
Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Role of Syndromic Surveillance in the Developing World

Despite impressive advancements in diagnostic and treatment technologies, infectious diseases still cause a significant amount of mortality and morbidity throughout the world due to the unpredictable and inevitable rise of new or previously dormant pathogens. Emerging infectious disease (EID) outbreaks are mainly associated with changes in physical environment and human behavioral activities, and disproportionately affect developing countries. Syndromic surveillance, while challenged in developing countries by inadequate communication and public health infrastructure, could build on pre-existing systems to complement existing governmental and non-governmental programs for outbreak detection and offers a promising avenue to detect EID eventsearlier in the course of an outbreak.
The Abortive American Loan to Russia and the Origins of the Cold War, 1943-1946

THE American ambassador to Moscow, W. Averell Harriman, cabled the Department of State in January 1945 that the Soviet Union placed "high importance on a large postwar credit as a basis for the development of 'Soviet-American relations.' From his (V. M. Molotov'sl statement I sensed an implication that the development of our friendly relations would depend upon a generous credit."' In October 1945, a diplomat at the Foreign Ministers Council meeting in London noted the issues which he thought were impeding amicable Russian-American relations-the atomic bomb and an American loan to Russia.2 A few years later, an associate of Donald M. Nelson, War Production Board chairman, wrote: "Although little publicized, the possibility of this loan for a time almost certainly influenced Soviet policy toward the United States, and its refusal coincided significantly with the increasing aggressiveness of the Kremlin."3 In the 1943-1945 period, a postwar American loan to the Soviet Union might have served as peacemaker; but by the early part of 1946 both nations had become increasingly uncompromising on the major international issues, and the usefulness of a loan to the United States, to Russia, and to amicable and productive relations had been called into serious doubt. "Whether such a loan," Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius, Jr., later wrote, "would have made the Soviet Union a more reasonable and cooperative nation in the postwar world will be one of the great 'if' questions of history."4 The recent availability of historical sources provides material for a suggestive answer to Stettinius' question.5 The evidence suggests that
Survival of Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes on inoculated walnut kernels during storage.

The survival of single strains or cocktails of Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes was evaluated on walnut kernels. Kernels were separately inoculated with an aqueous preparation of the pathogens at 3 to 10 log CFU/g, dried for 7 days, and then stored at 23°C for 3 weeks to more than 1 year. A rapid decrease of 1 to greater than 4 log CFU/g was observed as the inoculum dried. In some cases, the time of storage at 23°C did not influence bacterial levels, and in other cases the calculated rates of decline for Salmonella (0.05 to 0.35 log CFU/g per month) and E. coli O157:H7 (0.21 to 0.86 log CFU/g per month) overlapped and were both lower than the range of calculated declines for L. monocytogenes (1.1 to 1.3 log CFU/g per month). In a separate study, kernels were inoculated with Salmonella Enteritidis PT 30 at 4.2 log CFU/g, dried (final level, 1.9 log CFU/g), and stored at −20, 4, and 23°C for 1 year. Salmonella Enteritidis PT 30 declined at a rate of 0.10 log CFU/g per month a...
122 Pre Implant Noncompliance Does Not Predict Social Success in LVAD Recipients

Pre Implant Noncompliance Does Not Predict Social Success in LVAD Recipients M. Maltby, M. Flattery, A. Barclay, V. Kasirajan, D. Tang, M. Hess, S. Harton, M.E. Olbrisch, K. Shah. Department of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, Richond, VA; Pauley Heart Center, Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, Richmond, VA; Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.
Enlisting industry support for a flight controls design lab

This paper provides a case study illustrating how industry support was obtained to build and equip a flight controls research and design laboratory. The key here was to form a talented team of students from many disciplines and to combine them with industry sponsors in a publicized engineering design competition. In this particular case the competition involved a year-long endeavor to build an autonomous flying vehicle for the First International Aerial Robotics Competition held in Atlanta, Georgia, during the summer of 1991. The interdisciplinary approach to design provided invaluable experience for students. They were challenged to work in a team with a cooperative spirit. From the conception to completion of the project, the students experienced both the exhilaration and frustration that accompany an actual open-ended engineering design project. The educational experience met all ABET guidelines for engineering design. The project has evolved into an enhancement of the Flight Controls Design Laboratory at Cal Poly to facilitate creative undergraduate experiments related to flight control design and test ing.
Size matters in the water uptake and hygroscopic growth of atmospherically relevant multicomponent aerosol particles

Understanding the interactions of water with atmospheric aerosols is crucial for determining the size, physical state, reactivity, and climate impacts of this important component of the Earth’s atmosphere. Here we show that water uptake and hygroscopic growth of multicomponent, atmospherically relevant particles can be size dependent when comparing 100 nm versus ca. 6 μm sized particles. It was determined that particles composed of ammonium sulfate with succinic acid and of a mixture of chlorides typical of the marine environment show size-dependent hygroscopic behavior. Microscopic analysis of the distribution of components within the aerosol particles show that the size dependence is due to differences in the mixing state, that is, whether particles are homogeneously mixed or phase separated, for different sized particles. This morphology-dependent hygroscopicity has consequences for heterogeneous atmospheric chemistry as well as aerosol interactions with electromagnetic radiation and clouds.
Application of Expression Profiling to the Developing Lung: Identification of Putative Regulatory Networks Controlling Matrix Production: Thomas A. Neff Lecture

If we hope to repair damaged lung tissue associated with a variety of acquired and developmental diseases, we must first gain a full appreciation of normal lung development. As an approach, we have utilized Affymetrix (Santa Clara, CA) high-density, oligonucleotide-based microarrays to generate an expression profile of the entire process of rodent lung development, which will be made publicly available. Our initial results were internally consistent and correlated closely with those generated with standard expression techniques such as Northern hybridization. We have verified known expression of genes, found other genes with previously unsuspected expression during lung development, as well as uncovered many expressed sequence tags whose role in lung development awaits further study. Data mining reveals close relationships of expression profiles between specific genes, suggesting novel regulatory relationships. In the future, application of these methods to the study of gene-targeted mice with abnormal lung development should uncover pathways of airway and alveolar development. Ultimately, expression profiling of diseased lungs might allow us to understand why the lung fails to repair, and strategies to influence repair might become apparent.
A New Family of Large Omnivorous Bats (Mammalia, Chiroptera) from the Late Eocene of the Fayum Depression, Egypt, with Comments on Use of the Name “Eochiroptera”

ABSTRACT A new fossil from the Late Eocene BQ-2 locality in the Birket Qarun Formation in the Fayum Depression of northern Egypt (dated to ~37 mybp) does not fit within the diagnosis of any previously described family of bats from Africa or any other continent. Known from a partial maxilla, this taxon has dilambdodont tribosphenic molars with a well-developed, symmetrical, W-shaped ectoloph lacking a distinct mesostyle but with a strong parastyle and shallow U-shaped ectoflexus—all traits that are found in most archaic bat families and that are probably plesiomorphic for bats. However, this taxon also has an M2 with a large metaconule cusp and a large, bulbous hypocone set low on the posterolingual corner of the tooth, neither of which occur in any known bat family, living or extinct. Also notable is the size of the new BQ-2 bat, which appears to have been approximately the same size as the largest extant bats with dilambdodont dentitions, falling well within the size range of plant-eating megabats and ca...
Expression of ZPPS in human breast carcinoma and its relationship with Her-2 gene amplification

Purpose To detect the expression of Zheng's plant protein segment(ZPPS) in breast invasive carcinoma,and to evaluate the relationship of ZPPS's expression in breast invasive carcinoma with clinicopathological parameters and Her-2 gene amplification.Methods The expression of ZPPS was detected in normal breast tissue and breast invasive carcinoma by immunohistochemistry(IHC) in breast carcinoma.The expression of Her-2 gene was detected in breast invasive carcinoma by fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH).Results The expression of ZPPS was much higher in invasive carcinoma(74.51%) than that in normal breast tissues(34.78%).Twenty of fifty-one(39.22%)cases of breast cancer showed positive for HER-2 gene amplification.The expression of the ZPPS had a significant correlation with Her-2 gene(P0.05).And there was a correlation between the expression of ZPPS and the lymph node metastasis(P0.05).Conclusions ZPPS may play a key role in diagnosing and judging lymph node metastasis in breast invasive carcinoma.The negative relationship between expression of ZPPS with Her-2 gene may suggest Her-2 gene amplification is detection by FISH in the breast cancer with negative ZPPS expression,which to reduce the detection of Her-2 gene and rationally select the cases for molecular targeting therapy of Herceptin in breast cancer.
Analysis on Disinfection Effect of Medical Institutions in Yingcheng City during 2009-2010

[Objective]To understand the disinfection status of medical institutions in Yingcheng city,find the problems and the weak link,so as to effectively control nosocomial infection and improve the quality of disinfection. [Methods]According to the Disinfection Technical Guidelines and the Standard of Hospital Disinfection(GB15982-1995),the disinfection monitoring was conducted in medical institutions at all levels,and monitoring data from 2009 to 2010 were analyzed. [Results]The qualified rate of disinfection in 2010 was significantly higher than that in 2009(χ2=11.52,P0.01).The qualified rate of city level medical institutions was slightly higher than that of township hospitals and community service station,and the difference was not significant(χ2=2.34,P0.05).The qualified rate of disinfection solution(99.6 %) was the highest,and that of object surface,air and hands of medical workers was lower,which was 86.2%,88.6 % and 92.7% respectively. [Conclusion]Compared with 2009,the qualified rate of disinfection increased in 2010.The medical institutions should pay attention to pollution indications,such as hands of medical workers,object surface and air.
A Multicomponent Intervention to Improve Pneumococcal Vaccination Knowledge Among Internal Medicine Residents.

Abstract Introduction The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices updated its pneumococcal vaccination guidelines in September 2014 and provided an additional recommendation in February 2016. ...
Drug product distribution systems and departmental operations

Technologies affecting institutional pharmacy practice and the operation of pharmacy departments are reviewed, future developments are outlined, and implications of these developments for pharmacy education are proposed. Computer technology, especially as applied to areas such as artificial intelligence, online information databases, electronic bulletin boards, hospital information systems, and point-of-care systems, will have a strong impact on pharmacy practice and management in the 1990s. Other areas in which growth is likely to be active include bar-code technology, robotics, and automated drug dispensing. The applications of these technologies are described, with particular attention placed on the effects of increased automation on the drug-dispensing function. Technological advances may effect marked reductions in dispensing and medication errors; questions concerning the cost-effectiveness of these new systems remain to be answered. These advances also create new opportunities for clinical involvement by pharmacists; however, a fundamental understanding of computer systems is essential. Current practitioners can benefit from attending seminars, participating in users' groups, and keeping current with the computer literature. Many students now acquire the needed skills in computer laboratories and in the classroom. Technological advances will offer the opportunity for pharmacists to expand their clinical role.
Video Compression Using Variable Block Size Motion Compensation with Selective Subpixel Accuracy in Redundant Wavelet Transform

This paper proposed a high performance video coding system in redundant wavelet domain utilizing a multihypothesis variable size block motion compensation technique. The redundant wavelet transform (RDWT) provides several advantages over the traditional wavelet transform (DWT). The RDWT retains all the phase information of wavelet transform and provides multiple prediction possibilities in ME/MC in transform domain. The paper presents a new adaptive partitioning scheme and decision criteria that utilizes more effectively the motion content of a frame in terms of the size and shape of the blocks. The experimental results show that our proposed MH-VSBMC has a better performance and uses less number of partition blocks. In addition, the approach using selective strategy for subpixel accuracy achieves similar PSNR and other quality values while using less computation steps.
One Theme or Many?: The Search for a Deep Structure in Global Juvenile Justice

This chapter uses the global portrait of juvenile justice found in the rest of this volume — that includes chapters on juvenile justice in China, Europe, India, Latin America, Muslim-majority states, Poland, Scandinavia, South Africa, and South Korea and Japan — to discuss possible explanations for the almost ubiquitous existence of separate juvenile courts around the world. After briefly analyzing the role that power, emulation, and structural factors have played in the global diffusion of the juvenile court, we discuss what theory of juvenile courts may underlie their actual practices. We argue that the main function that juvenile courts have performed has been letting juvenile offenders grow up out of crime and that such a function also provides the best justification for the continuing existence of these courts.
Closed-Loop Stimulation in Emotional Circuits for Neuro-Psychiatric Disorders

Psychiatric illnesses are a major public health challenge, with high burdens of disability and few effective treatments. Electrical stimulation of brain areas involved in emotion and cognition may help re-regulate dysfunctional limbic circuits. Despite promising early results, those open-loop therapies have not improved clinical outcomes. Closed-loop approaches may be more effective, as they can respond to fluctuations of brain and emotional state. We discuss the challenges in finding brain signals for closed-loop neurostimulation control and outline two possible routes to a solution. First, we describe how patients with existing deep brain stimulators can help us identify markers for feedback titration, by considering the unique case of a therapy that works for both depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Second, we outline a novel approach that adapts brain-computer interface technologies originally developed for paralysis. Both methods may be applicable to multiple diagnoses, and should be feasible with existing clinical hardware.
Superman, Champion of the Oppressed

This chapter discusses Superman as a champion of social justice. It discusses claims that Superman exemplifies the Jewish idea of tikkun olam (healing the world) and shows how this is historically impossible. Instead, the argument situates Superman as a deeply convinced New Dealer, who kept up his efforts long after the New Deal lost steam. It does so by situating Superman’s activism within a broader Jewish American, and a more narrowly biographical, context, to argue that his conviction most likely owes to his creators’ own lives as Jewish Americans. Special attention is paid to the Jewish American turn to the liberalism championed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) and his Democratic Party.
Frameless image-guided radiosurgery for trigeminal neuralgia.

Background Frameless image-guided radiosurgery (IGRS) is a safe and effective noninvasive treatment for trigeminal neuralgia (TN). This study evaluates the use of frameless IGRS to treat patients with refractory TN. Methods We reviewed the records of 20 patients diagnosed with TN who underwent frameless IGRS treatments between March 2012 and December 2013. Facial pain was graded using the Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) scoring system. The initial setup uncertainty from simulation to treatment and the patient intrafraction uncertainty were measured. The median follow-up was 32 months. Results All patients' pain was BNI Grade IV or V before the frameless IGRS treatment. The mean intrafraction shift was 0.43 mm (0.28-0.76 mm), and the maximum intrafraction shift was 0.95 mm (0.53-1.99 mm). At last follow-up, 8 (40%) patients no longer required medications (BNI 1 or 2), 11 (55%) patients were pain free but required medication (BNI 3), and 1 (5%) patient had no pain relief (BNI 5). Patients who did not have prior surgery had a higher odds ratio for pain relief compared to patients who had prior surgery (14.9, P = 0.0408). Conclusions Frameless IGRS provides comparable dosimetric and clinical outcomes to frame-based SRS in a noninvasive fashion for patients with medically refractory TN.
Racial Discrepancies in the Participation Between Alcohol Prohibition and the Drug War

Why is it that young Italian-American men were shooting each other over turf during the prohibition of alcohol in the 20th century, and young African-American men are shooting each other over turf in the 21st? Was this just a historical accident? Could it easily have been the other way around? That is the question with which the present paper attempts to wrestle.
Load forecasting using 24 solar terms

Calendar is an important driving factor of electricity demand. Therefore, many load forecasting models would incorporate calendar information. Frequently used calendar variables include hours of a day, days of a week, months of a year, and so forth. During the past several decades, a widely-used calendar in load forecasting is the Gregorian calendar from the ancient Rome, which dissects a year into 12 months based on the Moon’s orbit around the Earth. The applications of alternative calendars have rarely been reported in the load forecasting literature. This paper aims at discovering better means than Gregorian calendar to categorize days of a year for load forecasting. One alternative is the solar-term calendar, which divides the days of a year into 24 terms based on the Sun’s position in the zodiac. It was originally from the ancient China to guide people for their agriculture activities. This paper proposes a novel method to model the seasonal change for load forecasting by incorporating the 24 solar terms in regression analysis. The case study is conducted for the eight load zones and the system total of ISO New England. Results from both cross-validation and sliding simulation show that the forecast based on the 24 solar terms is more accurate than its counterpart based on the Gregorian calendar.
The Individual and History: An Introduction

The relationship between the individual and society has long been the concern of philosophers, sociologists, and psychologists. The more sophisticated and appropriate question of the relationship between the individual’s development and societal changes is about as old as the first problem but has not been raised with the same persistency. Not all scholars have directed their attention to the growth of the individual and to the growth of society and very few, indeed, to the interactive development of both. Undoubtedly, such disregard restricts their interpretations in a serious manner.
Biomimetic Orthopedic Materials

Biomimetics refers to the design and engineering of artificial materials, structures, and systems that emulate those naturally occurring in biological entities. In recent years, interdisciplinary approaches based on biomimicry, materials sciences, and tissue engineering have enabled the development of biomimetic materials with defined chemical composition, physical structure, and biological function for a wide range of biomedical applications. These types of materials mimic the biochemical properties of native tissues, while also possessing the physical properties of core materials. Hence, they can be used to deliver different types of physiological stimuli that can modulate cell behavior. Significant efforts have been made to engineer biomimetic materials that can recapitulate specific features of the native ECM to act as bioactive templates to promote the repair and functional reconstruction of various types of tissues. In this chapter, we will provide an overview of current trends in the design of biomimetic orthopedic materials, which feature structural and functional properties inspired from biological entities.
Acute Hypoxia Induces Enkephalin Production and Release in an Adrenergic Cell Line Model of Neonatal Chromaffin Cell Responses to Hypoxic Stress.

Objective Prior to maturation of the human sympathetic nervous system, the neonatal adrenal medulla senses and responds to hypoxia. In addition to catecholamine release, the adrenal medulla synthesizes and stores opioid peptides, notably enkephalin (ENK). However, it is not known whether acute hypoxia evokes adrenal ENK production and release, as seen in the central nervous system (CNS). We hypothesize that acute hypoxia stimulates synthesis and release of ENK in chromaffin cells. Study Design Cultures of adrenergic mouse pheochromocytoma cells (MPC) 10/9/96CR were incubated in 10% oxygen (O 2 ) at intervals of up to 60 minutes. ENK content and release were measured by Met-ENK enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). ENK messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) was analyzed by quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results Incubation of MPC 10/9 cells in 10% O 2 evoked rapid release of epinephrine and of Met-ENK which increased approximately twofold in 15 minutes. Reduced [O 2 ] also induced an overall increase (14%) in cellular ENK peptide content within 60 minutes. Acute hypoxia-stimulated release of Met-ENK was accompanied by increased mRNA ENK expression in MPC 10/9s, a cell culture model of adrenergic chromaffin cells. Conclusion We speculate that the ability of reduced [O 2 ] to evoke ENK release from chromaffin cells may influence blood pressure regulation and heart contractility, thereby providing an adaptive survival advantage during neonatal asphyxia.
Changes in the Aphakic Refraction of Children With Unilateral Congenital Cataracts

Forty-two infants who presented to the Children's Hospital in Boston with unilateral congenital cataracts and had cataract surgery by 6 months of age received serial refractions (N = 369) of their aphakic eyes during the first 4 years of life. The 14 patients followed most intensively (185 refractions) showed a rapid decrease in mean spherical equivalent during the first year of life from +30.75 D to +26.36 D, with a less rapid decrease thereafter (24 months, +23.02 D; 36 months, +21.19 D; 48 months, +20.86 D). The rate of change per month decreased from .43 D between 1 and 6 months, .37 D between 6 and 12 months, .30 D between 12 and 18 months, .24 D between 18 and 24 months, and less than .19 D per month thereafter. This study shows that the refractive error of the aphakic eye of patients treated for unilateral congenital cataracts decreases most rapidly during infancy and less rapidly during the next few years of childhood. This information will be helpful in facilitating the treatment of these infants by allowing an approximation of their future contact lens refractive power changes.
The Retention of Nutrients (C, N, P), Heavy Metals (Mn, Cd, Pb, Cu), and Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Narragansett Bay

Abstract Nixon, S.W., Hunt, C.D. and Nowicki, R.L., 1986. The retention of nutrients (C, N, P), heavy metals (Mn, Cd, Pb, Cu), and petroleum hydrocarbons in Narragansett Bay. In: P. Lasserre and J.M. Martin (eds), Riogeochemical Processes at the Land-Sea Boundary. Elsevier, Amsterdam. Various workers have assembled relatively complete assessments of the annual input h e major biological nutrients (C, N, P), certain heavy metals (Mn, Cd, Pb, Cu), and petroleum hydrocarbons to Narragansett Bay. Other studies have developed inventories h e amounts of these materials in the sediments of the Bay. We have brought these data together with information on sediment accumulation ratesin the Bay to determine degree to which this one estuary serves as a sink for different types of materials in their passage between land and the coastal ocean. It appears that Narragansett Bay retains less than 5% of the nutrients, less than 10% of the Mn, and perhaps 15-30% of the Cd that is input to the system each year. The removal of Cu (70-95%) and Pb (80-100%) i s much more effective. Somewhere between 25–65% of the petroleum hydrocarbons entering the Bay remain in the sediments. These estimates are in agreement with the behavior of the different materials in sediment-water flux measurements and in experiments using the large MERL mesocosms.