cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hypersensitivity Reactions Secondary to Dupilumab in Two Patients with Moderate to Severe Atopic Dermatitis

Dupilumab is a human monoclonal IgG4 antibody that is widely used to treat atopic dermatitis. Dupilumab was recently FDA approved to treat moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. Here we decribe two cases of patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis who developed an acute hypersensitivity reaction within hours of their second dose of dupilumab.
Comparison of aerial and ground sprayer fungicide application technologies on canopy coverage, disease severity, lodging, and yield of corn

Abstract Fungicides may be applied to corn using an airplane or a ground sprayer. Questions regarding which technology is better at coverage throughout the corn canopy are common among farmers and agronomists. The objectives of this study were to compare the efficacy of three application technologies in terms of canopy coverage, foliar disease management, lodging and yield response. A fungicide was applied to corn at silking (R1) by airplane, a traditional ground sprayer with an overhead spray boom, or a ground sprayer with 360 Undercover sprayers that hang down into the canopy. Replicated on-farm and small-plot trials were conducted across Iowa in 2017 and 2018 for a total of nine site-years. Fungicide coverage was measured as ppm of pyrenetetrasulfonic acid (PTSA) dye detected on corn leaves, percent coverage of water sensitive spray cards, and percent of total application received. Foliar disease data were collected in three zones of the canopy: the upper canopy (UC), the ear leaf (EL), and the lower canopy (LC). Coverage and disease severity were not correlated with yield. In the 2017 on-farm trials, all three application methods delivered similar fungicide coverage on the EL and LC. In 2018, traditional and undercover methods provided greater coverage when compared to aerial application, however, fungicide distribution within the canopy was similar among the application methods. Overall trends indicated the traditional spray method delivered the best coverage to the UC. The aerial spray method delivered the least coverage to the EL and LC for three site-years. The undercover spray method resulted in greater coverage to the LC. Foliar fungicides applied by all three application methods significantly reduced foliar disease severity, and fungicide application methods did not differ from each other, and reduced disease severity to similar levels. Lodging was reduced approximately 50–75% by all application methods. For 8 of 9 site years, fungicide application did not affect yield significantly (P > 0.05), although numerically less yield was consistently recorded in the non-sprayed controls. Our findings indicate these three application technologies were similarly effective in reducing plant disease levels and lodging. But the reduction in disease due to fungicide application did not affect corn yield.
Rapid-Onset Obesity with Hypothalamic Dysfunction, Hypoventilation, and Autonomic Dysregulation/Neuroendocrine Tumor (ROHHAD/NET) syndrome

ROHHAD syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by rapid-onset obesity with hypothalamic dysfunction, hypoventilation, and autonomic dysregulation. More than 100 cases have been reported in the literature since its first description in 1965. An estimated 40% of cases are associated with neuroendocrine tumors (NET) (Sirvent Med Pediatr Oncol 40:326–328, 2003). Features of ROHHAD overlap in limited features with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) and obesity syndromes such as Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), and thus, it is important to be able to clinically differentiate these syndromes. The etiology of ROHHAD remains unknown, although genetic, epigenetic, autoimmune, and paraneoplastic factors have been implicated. Due to the requirement of ventilatory support and potential mortality from cardiorespiratory arrest, it is critical to make a prompt diagnosis.
“I Had a Lot More Planned”: The Existential Dimensions of Prognosis Communication with Adults with Advanced Cancer

Background: Communication about prognosis is a key ingredient of effective palliative care. When patients with advanced cancer develop increased prognostic understanding, there is potential for exi...
Electronic medical record use in nurse education curricula: A systematic review

Abstract Background Electronic medical records are commonplace in clinical nursing practice, yet nursing schools have not fully incorporated electronic documentation into their curriculum. Purpose To assess student and faculty perceptions of academic electronic medical records. Methods We conducted a systematic review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to examine the study objectives. Critical Appraisal Skills Program and the Risk of Bias in Non-Randomized Studies of Interventions Tools were used to assess the quality of the articles. Findings Eleven studies were included that met inclusion criteria; three qualitative studies and eight quantitative studies. There were nine studies that assessed student competency and/or perception of AEMRs; and two studies focused on faculty perception of AEMRs. Discussion Students favorably viewed academic electronic medical records and while supported by faculty, barriers to effectively integrate and teach these skills were great. Policy recommendations are proposed to overcome challenge in integrating electronic documentation into nursing curriculum.
Lung Ultrasound Findings in Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19.

OBJECTIVES: Lung ultrasound (LUS) can accurately diagnose several pulmonary diseases, including pneumothorax, effusion, and pneumonia. LUS may be useful in the diagnosis and management of COVID-19. METHODS: This study was conducted at two United States hospitals from 3/21/2020 to 6/01/2020. Our inclusion criteria included hospitalized adults with COVID-19 (based on symptomatology and a confirmatory RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2) who received a LUS. Providers used a 12-zone LUS scanning protocol. The images were interpreted by the researchers based on a pre-developed consensus document. Patients were stratified by clinical deterioration (defined as either ICU admission, invasive mechanical ventilation, or death within 28 days from the initial symptom onset) and time from symptom onset to their scan. RESULTS: N = 22 patients (N = 36 scans) were included. Eleven (50%) patients experienced clinical deterioration. Among N = 36 scans, only 3 (8%) were classified as normal. The remaining scans demonstrated B-lines (89%), consolidations (56%), pleural thickening (47%), and pleural effusion (11%). Scans from patients with clinical deterioration demonstrated higher percentages of bilateral consolidations (50 versus 15%; P = .033), anterior consolidations (47 versus 11%; P = .047), lateral consolidations (71 versus 29%; P = .030), pleural thickening (69 versus 30%; P = .045), but not B-lines (100 versus 80%; P = .11). Abnormal findings had similar prevalences between scans collected 0-6 days and 14-28 days from symptom onset. DISCUSSION: Certain LUS findings may be common in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, especially for those that experience clinical deterioration. These findings may occur anytime throughout the first 28 days of illness. Future efforts should investigate the predictive utility of these findings on clinical outcomes.
A dynamical model for the origin of anisogamy.

Abstract The vast majority of multi-cellular organisms are anisogamous, meaning that male and female sex cells differ in size. It remains an open question how this asymmetric state evolved, presumably from the symmetric isogamous state where all gametes are roughly the same size (drawn from the same distribution). Here, we use tools from the study of nonlinear dynamical systems to develop a simple mathematical model for this phenomenon. Unlike some prior work, we do not assume the existence of mating types. We also model frequency dependent selection via “mean-field coupling,” whereby the likelihood that a gamete survives is an increasing function of its size relative to the population’s mean gamete size. Using theoretical analysis and numerical simulation, we demonstrate that this mean-referenced competition will almost inevitably result in a stable anisogamous equilibrium, and thus isogamy may naturally lead to anisogamy.
Wheels to Meals: Measuring the Economic Impact of Micromobility on the Local Economy

Micromobility services have grown significantly in recent years, but their impact upon consumer purchase behavior has remained largely unstudied. The authors estimate how the largest and fastest growing subsegment of the micromobility market – the dockless electric scooter (‘e-scooter’) sharing industry – impacts consumer purchase behavior in the restaurant and other eating places sector, one of the largest segments of the local economy. Using a novel collection of data sources, the authors find that e-scooter usage has a significant positive effect upon spending in this sector, but that this effect varies by category, with strong positive effects upon quick service restaurant and other food and beverage store spending and no effect upon sit-down restaurants. This effect is larger for individuals with higher income, and for businesses that sell at lower prices, have higher market shares and higher penetration. The results suggest that e-scooter activity’s economic spillovers for this sector are largely driven by an increase in unplanned purchase frequency. The analysis suggests that these spillovers are economically significant, with existing e-scooter programs in cities such as Austin and Washington DC increasing sales in this sector over the second half of 2019 by approximately 0.6%.
Granger Causality Based Directional Phase-Amplitude Coupling Measure

Phase-amplitude coupling (PAC), which quantifies the coupling between the amplitude of a fast oscillation and the phase of a slow oscillation, is reported as a possible mechanism that controls the flow of information in the brain. Although there is ample evidence suggesting that neural interactions are directional, conventional PAC measures mostly quantify the cross-frequency coupling, failing to provide information on the direction of interactions. In this paper, we introduce a Granger causality (GC) based approach to estimate the direction of PAC. This approach infers the directionality of cross-frequency coupling by computing GC between the instantaneous phase and amplitude components extracted from the signal through a complex time-frequency (t-f) distribution, known as the Reduced Interference Distribution (RID)-Rihaczek. The method is evaluated on both simulated and real electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. The results demonstrate that the proposed GC based directional PAC measure can infer the direction of neural interactions across frequency bands.
Paradoxical Temporal Enlargement: An Expansion of Superficial Temporal Fat Pad Following Interfacial Technique for Pterional Craniotomy.

Objective Contour irregularities in the temporal region have been reported previously after procedures involving temporal dissection. In this study, we report paradoxical temporal enlargement (PTE) following interfascial pterional craniotomy. Methods A retrospective review of patients who underwent a unilateral transcranial procedure with frontotemporal approach at our institution between September 2013 and December 2017 was performed. Patients with a previous craniotomy or bilateral craniotomy were excluded. Radiological imaging series including computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging were utilized to calculate temporal soft tissue volumes both preoperatively and postoperatively by using advanced software technology. Relative soft tissue volume differences between the operative side and the contralateral side were calculated at different time-points including preoperative, 3-months follow-up (3M), 12-months (12M) follow-up, and the last follow-up (LFU, over 1-year). Results Forty-three patients were included. Mean age was 52.7 ± 4.5 years. Mean follow-up was 27.9 ± 15.8 months. Significant changes of temporal fat pad relative-volume difference were observed between the preoperative and the corresponding 3M (t [82] = -2.8865, P = 0.0050); 12M (t [77] = -4.4321, P Conclusions Paradoxical temporal enlargement with more than 10% volumetric change was observed in 24% of the patients at their LFU (>1-year). This change was not due to temporalis muscle changes. Paradoxical temporal enlargement was due to hypertrophy of the superficial temporal fat pad. Before surgical correction of postoperative temporal contour changes, it is important to obtain imaging and characterize the etiology of the deformity.
Periviable delivery of a pregnancy in a rudimentary uterine horn: A case report.

Pregnancy in a rudimentary uterine horn is an extremely rare form of ectopic pregnancy, with an incidence of 1 in 76,000-140,000 pregnancies. Given its high-risk nature, the standard of care is to terminate such pregnancies at the time of diagnosis. This is a case of a nulliparous patient at 23 5/7 weeks of gestation with a new diagnosis of a rudimentary horn pregnancy. She elected to proceed with full intervention for her fetus and was delivered at 24 0/7 weeks after administration of antenatal corticosteroid therapy. While the infant did have some adverse effects related to prematurity, she met developmental milestones and was alive and well at the age of two. Although the standard of care is to manage these cases as ectopic pregnancies, when diagnosed at a periviable gestational age, optimization of fetal status prior to delivery may be an alternative approach to immediate delivery.
Forking Belief in Cryptocurrency: A Tax Non-Realization Event

When the community of believers in a cryptocurrency splits into two, the currency may experience a “hard fork” and split into two independent currencies. Indeed, like fiat currencies, cryptocurrencies only have value if people believe they have value and are willing to use them in transactions. Hard forks do not create new value unless they inspire new belief; otherwise, they merely split the value of the original currency between the two new currencies. The Internal Revenue Service is wrong to conclude in Revenue Ruling 2019–24 that the value of the new currency resulting from a hard fork constitutes gross income inthe hands of coin owners. A hard fork is properly understood as a division of each coin of the original currency into two resulting coins and is no more a taxable event than when a property owner subdivides a larger parcel of land into two smaller lots. The appropriate question is not whether there is income, but how the owner’s basis in the original property should be split between the two resulting parts. After delving into the nature of hard forks and exploring the governing law, the author suggests an approach for basis allocation.
Metastatic papillary gallbladder carcinoma with a unique presentation and clinical course.

Context Papillary gallbladder adenocarcinoma (PGA) represents 5% of malignant gallbladder tumors. Metastatic disease frequently involves lymph nodes or other structures in the hepatoduodenal ligament. Case report A Fifty-nine-year-old female with right upper quadrant pain and a giant gallbladder on ultrasound was found to have a segment 6 liver lesion during an attempted laparoscopic cholecystectomy. After appropriate staging, she underwent an open cholecystectomy and extended right hepatic lobectomy with portal lymph node dissection. Pathology demonstrated well-to-moderately differentiated PGA with identical morphology and immunohistochemistry in the liver resection specimen with negative margins. Despite adjuvant chemotherapy, she developed increased uptake in the head of the pancreas on PET scan. Endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration demonstrated metastatic PGA. She underwent an attempted Whipple operation but due to repeatedly positive pancreatic duct margins, she ended up with a total pancreatectomy and splenectomy. Final pathology showed metastatic PGA along the entire length of the pancreatic duct with only a single focus of tumor invasion into the pancreatic parenchyma. She developed a new liver metastases six months later that was unresponsive to FOLFOX therapy and she died of metastatic disease 33 months from her initial diagnosis. Conclusion To our knowledge, this is the first report of metastatic PGA recurring along the entire pancreatic duct with disease confined to the pancreas only. We hypothesize that papillary tumor cells spread to pancreatic duct via the common bile duct and remained dormant for several years. An aggressive surgical approach may prolong survival in well-selected patients with PGA’s. Image: Metastatic papillary gallbladder adenocarcinoma with positive CK20 staining.
Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Bounded Covariance in Linear Stochastic Systems

The common assumption in much of the literature that an asymptotically stable system will result in bounded covariance in the limit as t ? ? is disproved by a simple counter-example. Necessary and sufficient conditions for bounded covariance are given and proved.
7.5 Molecular Analysis of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Virulence

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the molecular analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The exquisitely broad range of infections caused by the Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa poses unique strategic and logistic problems when bacterial virulence factors and host contribution to the pathogenesis are investigated. At one end of its wide dynamic range as a pathogen, P. aeruginosa can cause acute and sometimes systemic infections, which can result in fatal sepsis. Several adhesins, toxins, and other virulence factors of P. aeruginosa are characterized at the molecular level. In some cases, these determinants are able to satisfy the molecular Koch's postulates in adequate infection models. In this context, the molecular genetic analyses of P. aeruginosa virulence genes have provided a fair share of contributions to the overall advancement of the field of molecular pathogenesis. The chapter further discusses a recent approach in investigating one particular aspect of P. aeruginosa virulence, the newly discovered extreme stress response, which controls conversion to mucoidy in P. aeruginosa strains, infecting people with cystic fibrosis (CF). Chronic endobronchial infections with P. aeruginosa and the associated host inflammatory response are the major cause of high morbidity and mortality in people with CF.
Watershed Education for Sustainable Development

Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (GREEN) is an international network that seeks to bring students, teachers, and communities in the world closer together through the bond of studying and improving our river systems. The network is an expanding global communication system that invites participants to analyze watershed usage, monitor the quality and quantity of river water, reflect on ways that land and water usage and cultural perceptions influence river systems, and present their findings and recommendations to appropriate governmental and nongovernmental organizations. The pedagogical model that GREEN has been working under is “Action Research and Community Problem Solving (ARCPS).” It is a process that enables students and teachers to participate more fully in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of educational activities aimed at resolving an issue that the learners have identified. Some of the cornerstones of the instructional approaches are watershed analysis, experiential learning, interdisciplinary orientation, integrated problem solving, action-taking, and the support of networks. GREEN encourages classrooms to consider a cross-cultural component to their watershed education program in an effort to further global citizenship by linking students, teachers, and community members from different regions of the world.
Diffuse Baryons in the Universe: Galaxies, Warm Gas, or Cold Lonely Lumps

It would seem that baryons are playing a clever game of hide and seek. Theorists tell us, almost precisely, how many baryons should be out there, but mere observers seem to have difficulty in locating the main baryonic repositories. While observations are necessarily imprecise, it does seem likely that the missing baryons are in some diffuse component (either cold or warm) that is simply very difficult to detect. In this contribution I will discuss the possible nature of this diffuse component and our ability to detect it.
The politics and economics of global interventionism

The editors of Opposing the Crusader State indicate that the volume is intended to contribute to a more peaceful and prosperous world by reconsidering “current approaches to international security and economic development” (ix). The fourteen chapters (not including the Introduction authored by the editors) critically examine U.S. foreign policy with a particular emphasis on the relevance of noninterventionism as an alternative to current policy. This book is not intended to be a specific contribution to Austrian economics. That said, Austrian economists will find this volume intriguing because they have long engaged in the economic and historical analysis of foreign policy and global interventionism. In light of the United States’ long history of global interventionism, the insights of this volume and the writings of Austrian economists on these issues are of the utmost contemporary importance. The purpose of this essay is twofold. First, I aim to provide the reader with an overview of the main contents of Opposing the Crusader State. Second, I discuss some of the central themes in the writings of Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek and Murray Rothbard on the topics of U.S. foreign policy, global interventionism, and the alternative of noninterventionism. In doing so, I hope to show how elements of the insights of the authors in Opposing the Crusader State can be found in the work of these scholars. Although not explicitly intended to be a contribution to Austrian economics, many of the papers in the volume under review complement and expand on the earlier writings of Austrian economists. Rev Austrian Econ (2009) 22:181–191 DOI 10.1007/s11138-009-0085-5
Thue equations and the method of Coleman-Chabauty

In this paper, we prove that a Thue equation F(x,y) = h, where h is an integer and F is a polynomial of degree n with integer coefficients and without repeated roots, has at most 2n^3 - 2n - 3 solutions provided that the Mordell-Weil rank of the Jacboian of the corresponding curve is less than (n-1)(n-2)/2. The proof uses the method of Coleman-Chabauty, extended here to apply to arbitrary regular models of curves, along with an explicit construction of a portion of a regular model for the curve corresponding to the Thue equation.
Perhydro‐9b‐Boraphenalene and Perhydro‐9b‐Phenalenol

Perhydro-9b-boraphenalene and perhydro-9b-phenalenol intermediate: cis,cis,trans-2-(perhydro-9′b-phenalyl)-1,3,2-dioxaborole product: cis,cis,trans-perhydro-9b-phenalenol product: cis,trans- and cis,cis-perhydro-9b-boraphenalene Keywords: addition, to CC; annulation, carbocyclic-[M,N]; carbonylation; hydroboration; hydroboration; oxidation, miscellaneous; diglyme; triethylamine; borane-THF; perhydro-9b-boraphenalene; perhydro-9b-boraphenalene; autoclaves and pressure reactors, pressure vessel, for carbonylation
HIV-1 Is Restricted prior to Integration of Viral DNA in Primary Cord-Derived Human CD34+ Cells

Certain cells have the ability to block retroviral infection at specific stages of the viral cycle by the activities of well-characterized factors and transcriptional silencing machinery. Infection of murine stem cells (MSCs) by the murine leukemia viruses (MLVs) is profoundly blocked postintegration by transcriptional silencing. Here, we show that a dominant point of restriction of HIV-1 in human CD34+ cells is prior to integration of viral DNA and that HIV-1 restriction by human CD34+ cells is fundamentally different from MLV restriction by mouse cells.
ABU BAKR IBN AL-MUNDHIR, AMPUTATION, AND THE ART OF IJTIHAD

This article introduces the legal methodology of independent mujtahid (legal scholar) Abu Bakr ibn al-Mundhir al-Naysaburi (d. 930) in order to shed light on the nature of ijtihād (independent judgment in a legal or theological question) on the eve of crystallization of the four Sunni legal schools. Ibn al-Mundhir's presentation of laws concerning punishment for theft indicates that the Qurʿan and Prophetic hadith played a modest role in early elaboration of Islamic law. Instead, the bulk of this early mujtahid's efforts were devoted to culling and evaluating legal opinions of the companions, successors, and, in particular, a small group of postsuccessor jurists. I conclude by locating Ibn al-Mundhir within the literature of juristic disagreement ( ikhtilāf ) and highlighting the features that make his writings exceptional within this tradition.
John Clare and Biopolitics

My essay intervenes in ecocritical readings of John Clare by tracking how enclosure dramatically altered the way he viewed the relations between humans and animals and shaped his later poetry. I argue that enclosure was biopolitical in nature, establishing, for Clare, distinctively estranging and violent modes of interaction between humans and animals. I track how Clare's poetry, from his early birds' nest poems to “The Badger” sonnet sequence, exhibits a differential ethical awareness, stimulated by the changing ecologies he observes, about animals. I show how his later poem, “The Badger,” exploits the fundamental paradox of prosopopoeia – its chiasmatic marriage of the human and non-human – to issue an ethical imperative that humans examine the violent ways in which they observe, describe, and treat animals or risk acceding to enclosure's biopolitical distancing effect between human and animal life.
Matlab and mathcad: updates for popular numeric systems

"Drop everything," barks your boss, dropping a file folder on your desk. "I need a mathematical simulation of this control system to show a customer, and oh yes, give me some good graphics of its behavior for a meeting tomorrow!"
Prospective Trial of Real-Time Electronic Surveillance to Expedite Early Care of Severe Sepsis

Study objective An automated, real-time electronic medical record query and caregiver notification system was developed and examined for its utility in improving sepsis care. We hypothesize that the algorithm will increase the rate and timeliness of sampling of blood lactate and blood cultures, performance of chest radiography, and provision of antibiotics. Methods A before-and-after, prospective study with consecutive enrollment examined an algorithm that automatically identified adult patients accumulating 2 or more systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria and 2 or more blood pressure measurements less than or equal to 90 mm Hg during their emergency department (ED) stay. In phase 1, the system collected information but did not alert caregivers. In phase 2, caregivers were notified by alphanumeric paging and a text entry into the electronic medical record of the patients' potential illness and were provided with specific recommendations. Results Patients (33,460) were screened during 6 months; 398 patients activated the system, including 184 (46%) appropriately identified as severely septic. The algorithm had a 54% positive predictive value and 99% negative predictive value in detecting severe infection with acute organ dysfunction. The median time for patients to accumulate SIRS and blood pressure criteria was 152 minutes (interquartile range [IQR] 71 to 284 minutes), underscoring the dynamic nature of diagnosing critical illness in the emergency setting and the need for detection algorithms to repeatedly assess patients during their evaluation. After implementation, 2 interventions were performed more frequently, chest radiograph before admission (odds ratio 3.2; 95% confidence interval 1.1 to 9.5) and collection of blood cultures (odds ratio 2.9; 95% confidence interval 1.1 to 7.7). Only blood culture testing was performed significantly faster in the presence of decision support (median time to culture before intervention 86 minutes, IQR 31, 296 minutes; median time to culture after intervention 81 minutes, IQR 37, 245 minutes; P =.032 by Cox proportional hazards modeling). The predominant shortcoming of the strategy was failing to detect severely septic cases before caregivers. Conclusion An automated algorithm for detecting potential sepsis increased the frequency and timeliness of some ED interventions for severe sepsis. Future efforts need to identify patient features present earlier in ED evaluation than SIRS and hypotension.
Pain Management in the Nursing Home

This article is about pain management and some of the best practices to address the problem of pain in nursing home patients who have a serious illness and multiple comorbid conditions. Management of the emotional distress that accompanies chronic or acute pain is of foremost concern. In this article, the topics discussed include general pain management in a nursing home for a long-term care resident who has chronic pain, the relief of symptoms and suffering in a patient who is on palliative care and hospice, and the pain management of a postoperative patient with acute pain for a short transitional period (post-acute illness or surgery).
Origins of clock watching

History of the Hour: Clocks and Modern Temporal Orders. By Gerhard Dohrn-van Rossum. University of Chicago Press: 1996. Pp. 455. $29.95, a£23.95.
Rapid help desk revitalization

Like many similar institutions, Brown University initially developed its Help Desk using a student staff. As technology became an integral part of the university, the expected level of desktop computing support began to rise. Because these expectations were not met, users became dissatisfied with support services. The number of support calls dropped and many departments began to hire staff to provide desktop computing support. In July 2002, under new leadership, we began the rapid Help Desk revitalization process, establishing a plan to improve the level of desktop computing support. Our immediate goals were to clarify the means of accessing computer help by making the Help Desk the clearing house for all computing questions, to ensure that 85% of the calls would have a wait time of one minute or less, to escalate fewer problems to level 2, and to provide support to our customers with as little interruption as possible. With these goals in hand, Brown made a rapid transition from a student staffed Help Desk to a professionally staffed Help Desk, implementing new tools for call-handling and remote assistance and started providing Service on Site (SOS) for faculty, staff and students - all in two months time.At the nine-month mark, the effect on our campus has been dramatic. We are receiving high praise from our customers. Letters and phone calls let us know the positive impact we are having not just on campus technology but also on the whole campus community. It is still too soon to label our work a success, but we are definitely headed in that direction. This paper will cover these customer service based improvements:The Roll of the Professional Help Desk SpecialistChange in our hours of operationsAutomatic Call Distribution systemRemote Desktop accessImplementing SOS.
Teaching Mathematics and Science in Urban Elementary Schools

Elementary teachers from a large urban school district with a 74 percent minority student population were surveyed to assess their capacity to provide quality mathematics and science instruction. Forty-nine percent of the surveys distributed to a random sample of teachers were returned. Both strengths and barriers to capacity building were identified. Strengths included use of collaborative student work, manipulatives, informal learning environments, and alternative assessment practices; availability of calculators and computers; and high expectations for student learning. Barriers included lack of professional development, infrequent science instruction, limited calculator use, lack of planning time, inadequate resources, and the perception that science was not valued as highly as mathematics.
NF-κB controls growth of glioblastomas/astrocytomas

NF-κB is a family of transcription factors that have been shown to be elevated in a variety of tumor types and in some cases central to their survival and growth. Here we present evidence that U-87 MG and U-118 MG growth is regulated by NF-κB and controlled by PDGF. NF-κB activity was suppressed by a dominant negative mutant of the human PDGF type β receptor and PDGF-B chain neutralizing antibodies. Creation of cell lines that had inducible expression of shRNAs directed against either c-Rel or RelA inhibited growth almost 90% indicating that NF-κB plays a central role in glioblastoma growth.
Selective evolutionary pressure from the tissue microenvironment drives tumor progression

Cells grow within defined environmental niches and are subject to microenvironmental control. Outside of their niche, the environment is hostile, the normal cells lack appropriate survival signals which leads to anoikis. During tumor development and progression, malignant cells must escape the local tissue control and resist anoikis. The inherent genetic instability of tumor cells makes their phenotype very plastic, which changes under continuous environmental selection pressure. In this way the microenvironment drives the somatic evolution of the tumor. In the current review, we assess how this environmental selection pressure fits into the classical scheme of tumor progression.
Nuclear localization and the heat shock proteins

The highly conserved heat shock proteins (HSP) belong to a subset of cellular proteins that localize to the nucleus. HSPs are atypical nuclear proteins in that they localize to the nucleus selectively, rather than invariably. Nuclear localization of HSPs is associated with cell stress and cell growth. This aspect of HSPs is highly conserved with nuclear localization occurring in response to a wide variety of cell stresses. Nuclear localization is likely important for at least some of the heat shock proteins’ protective functions; little is known about the function of the heat shock proteins in the nucleus. Nuclear localization is signalled by the presence of a basic nuclear localization sequence (NLS) within a protein. Though most is known about HSP 72’s nuclear localization, the NLS(s) has not been definitively identified for any of the heat shock proteins. Likely more is involved than presence of a NLS; since the heat shock proteins only localize to the nucleus under selective conditions, nuclear localization must be regulated. HSPs also function as chaperons of nuclear transport, facilitating the movement of other macromolecules across the nuclear membrane. The mechanisms involved in chaperoning of proteins by HSPs into the nucleus are still being identified.
Targeting of Constitutively Active Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase to GLUT4-containing Vesicles in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes

Constitutive activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) stimulates glucose transport and GLUT4 glucose transporter translocation to the plasma membrane in adipocytes. To determine whether a direct interaction of PI3K with GLUT4-containing vesicles (hereafter called GLUT4 vesicles) is important for the effect of insulin on GLUT4 translocation, we targeted constitutively active PI3K to GLUT4 vesicles. We fused the inter-Src homology region 2 of the regulatory p85α subunit of PI3K (iSH2) either to a C-terminal sequence of GLUT4 (G4c, amino acids 406–509) or to this region and the N-terminal tail of GLUT4 (G4n, amino acids 1–19), resulting in the fusion proteins iSH2-G4c and G4n-iSH2-G4c, respectively. Coexpression of the fusion proteins or untargeted iSH2 with the catalytic p110α subunit of PI3K (p110) in 3T3-L1 adipocytes by adenovirus-mediated gene transfer increased total PI3K activity in homogenates 5.0–6.7-fold over nontransduced cells or cells transduced with adenovirus encoding β-galactosidase. In contrast, PI3K activity in GLUT4 vesicles increased 11–13-fold with expression of either targeted construct and p110 but only 2-fold with the untargeted iSH2 and p110, indicating successful targeting of PI3K to GLUT4 vesicles. Both targeted and nontargeted constructs stimulated DNA synthesis to levels greater than insulin, demonstrating that both types of constructs had biologic activity in intact cells. Despite this, untargeted iSH2/p110 coexpression was more effective in stimulating 2-deoxyglucose uptake (6-fold) than either iSH2-G4c/p110 or G4n-iSH2-G4c/p110 coexpression (both 2-fold). Only iSH2/p110 coexpression led to a significant GLUT4 translocation to the plasma membrane. Insulin-stimulated glucose transport was unaffected by any construct. Thus, a direct interaction between PI3K and GLUT4 vesicles is either not required or not sufficient for GLUT4 translocation and stimulation of glucose transport.
Effects of buthionine sulfoximine and cysteine on the hepatotoxicity of butylated hydroxytoluene in rats.

Abstract Pretreatment with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO; 900 mg/kg) induced the elevation of serum GOT and GPT activities in a non-toxic dose of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT; 250–500 mg/kg) in rats. The elevation of serum enzyme activities was accompanied by a remarked depletion of the hepatic glutathione (GSH) concentration. In contrast, pretreatment with cysteine (100–200 mg/kg) inhibited the elevation of serum enzyme activities at a toxic dose of BHT (1000 mg/kg). The effects of BSO and cysteine on BHT-induced hepatotoxicity in rats are discussed.
Cerebrospinal fluid calcium homeostasis: evidence for a plasma membrane Ca2+-pump in mammalian choroid plexus

Abstract A major unanswered question in central nervous system physiology concerns the mechanism by which cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Ca 2+ homeostasis is maintained in the face of hypo- or hypercalcemia. To address this question, we sought and found a protein of M r ∼ 140,000 in choroid plexus plasma membranes that forms a phosphorylated intermediate with characteristics of a plasma membrane Ca 2+ -pump. A choroid plexus plasma membrane protein of this molecular weight also bound to a monoclonal antibody prepared against the human erythrocyte plasma membrane Ca 2+ -Mg 2+ ATPase Ca 2+ -pump. When this monoclonal antibody was used for immunohistochemical localization, the plasma membrane Ca 2+ -pump was found primarily in the CSF-facing membranes of choroid plexus cells from rats, cats, and man. The localization of a plasma membrane Ca 2+ -pump in the CSF-facing membranes of the choroid plexus suggests that the choroid plexus, by mechanisms including this pump, may regulate CSF Ca 2+ concentrations.
Technological change, globalization, and the community college

Globalization and technological change will continue to eliminate some jobs and create others, generating a need for skilled, flexible workers with a global perspective.
On static and dynamic methods for condensation-based privacy-preserving data mining

In recent years, privacy-preserving data mining has become an important problem because of the large amount of personal data which is tracked by many business applications. In many cases, users are unwilling to provide personal information unless the privacy of sensitive information is guaranteed. In this paper, we propose a new framework for privacy-preserving data mining of multidimensional data. Previous work for privacy-preserving data mining uses a perturbation approach which reconstructs data distributions in order to perform the mining. Such an approach treats each dimension independently and therefore ignores the correlations between the different dimensions. In addition, it requires the development of a new distribution-based algorithm for each data mining problem, since it does not use the multidimensional records, but uses aggregate distributions of the data as input. This leads to a fundamental re-design of data mining algorithms. In this paper, we will develop a new and flexible approach for privacy-preserving data mining that does not require new problem-specific algorithms, since it maps the original data set into a new anonymized data set. These anonymized data closely match the characteristics of the original data including the correlations among the different dimensions. We will show how to extend the method to the case of data streams. We present empirical results illustrating the effectiveness of the method. We also show the efficiency of the method for data streams.
Paracrine Hedgehog Signaling in Stomach and Intestine: New Roles for Hedgehog in Gastrointestinal Patterning

Background & Aims Hedgehog signaling is critical in gastrointestinal patterning. Mice deficient in Hedgehog signaling exhibit abnormalities that mirror deformities seen in the human VACTERL (vertebral, anal, cardiac, tracheal, esophageal, renal, limb) association. However, the direction of Hedgehog signal flow is controversial and the cellular targets of Hedgehog signaling change with time during development. We profiled cellular Hedgehog response patterns from embryonic day 10.5 (E10.5) to adult in murine antrum, pyloric region, small intestine, and colon. Methods Hedgehog signaling was profiled using Hedgehog pathway reporter mice and in situ hybridization. Cellular targets were identified by immunostaining. Ihh-overexpressing transgenic animals were generated and analyzed. Results Hedgehog signaling is strictly paracrine from antrum to colon throughout embryonic and adult life. Novel findings include the following: mesothelial cells of the serosa transduce Hedgehog signals in fetal life; the hindgut epithelium expresses Ptch but not Gli1 at E10.5; the 2 layers of the muscularis externa respond differently to Hedgehog signals; organogenesis of the pyloric sphincter is associated with robust Hedgehog signaling; dramatically different Hedgehog responses characterize stomach and intestine at E16; and after birth, the muscularis mucosa and villus smooth muscle consist primarily of Hedgehog-responsive cells and Hh levels actively modulate villus core smooth muscle. Conclusions These studies reveal a previously unrecognized association of paracrine Hedgehog signaling with several gastrointestinal patterning events involving the serosa, pylorus, and villus smooth muscle. The results may have implications for several human anomalies and could potentially expand the spectrum of the human VACTERL association.
Telepsychiatry treatment outcome research methodology: Efficacy versus effectiveness

The use of videoconferencing technology to provide mental health services (telepsychiatry) offers hope for addressing longstanding problems regarding work force shortages and access to care, especially in remote or rural areas. However, data on treatment outcomes (i.e., based on randomized clinical trials) from telepsychiatry applications are virtually nonexistent, representing an important gap in the literature. An important methodological decision point in developing treatment outcome research is whether to take an efficacy or effectiveness approach. Efficacy approaches offer enhanced internal validity; however, they may have limited generalizability to real-world settings. Effectiveness approaches offer enhanced external validity. But, they are typically less controlled than efficacy studies, thereby limiting the assumptions that can be made about causality. The current state of telepsychiatry research necessitates efficacy studies, the outcomes from which can be used to inform future effectiveness stu...
Proton stopping powers: Binary encounter calculations based on accurate speed distributions for target electrons

Abstract Atomic and molecular electronic stopping powers for medium energy protons (≈ 10 keV-10 MeV) have been calculated using the binary-encounter approximation in conjunction with (1) either an energy or maximum impact parameter cut-off based on minimum excitation energies; and (2) ab initio electronic speed distributions. The maximum impact parameter approach yields good agreement with experiment for inert gases and closed-shell polyatomic molecules comprised of first-row atoms.
Activation of 4-Hydroxycinnamate Hydroxylase in Extracts from Sorghum

Three types of activation of 4-hydroxycinnamate hydroxylase have been observed in extracts of Sorghum bicolor. One involves the elimination of a lag period either by increasing the enzyme concentration or by the addition of a catalytic amount of caffeic acid. Two involve increases after freezing of incubation mixtures containing both hydroxycinnamate and ascorbate, one being a rapid but short-lived increase that may be limited to the freeze-thaw period, the other a slower and more sustained effect on the maximum linear rate obtained during the incubation period after thawing.
Refugee education in Croatia: ethnic conflict and ethnic identity

Abstract This chapter focuses on the attempt by Croatian leaders to use educational policies to incorporate ethnic minorities into the societal mainstream and create an ideal contemporary Croatian citizen. Unfortunately, progress toward these goals is difficult in light of the serious emotional consequences of Yugoslavian Civil War. The case of Marina, a Croatian adolescent, is used to highlight the differences between the stated curriculum and what actually transpires during conversations in schools and classrooms. The chapter reminds us that the politics of education cannot be understated. Refugees and displaced students are particularly vulnerable to the political whims of many groups.
Influence of Molecular Structure and Film Properties on the Water-Stability and Sensor Characteristics of Organic Transistors

Low-voltage organic thin-film transistors were fabricated to investigate the stability of organic semiconductors in water and determine the critical parameters for aqueous phase chemical detection. We showed that the molecular structure, alkyl-chain length, and thin-film morphology strongly influence the electrical characteristics in water. Highly two-dimensional films of alkyl-substituted semiconductors greatly reduced the influence of water on the electrical characteristics. The sensitivity and response times of OTFT sensors were also impacted by the thin-film structure of the organic semiconductor. OTFT sensors were used to detect 10 parts per billion cysteine and 40 ppm TNT in aqueous solutions.
Online transmission line loadability assessment using synchrophasor measurements

This paper proposes a measurement-based method to assess transmission line loadability, particularly when determined by stability constraints. A power system two-area equivalent model provides the basis for the proposed line loadability assessment method, with the angle across this equivalent model defining a metric of the closeness to the system stability limits. In this paper, using advanced synchrophasor measurements, Kalman filter-based algorithms are applied to estimate the parameters and variables of the aforementioned equivalent system model. A significant benefit of the proposed method is that it does not rely on the knowledge of the system topology and parameter values. The proposed method is illustrated through a two-bus system example and a two-area system case study.
Do patients with a negative Emergency Department evaluation for syncope require hospital admission

Is hospitalization needed for patients in whom an underlying cause of syncope is not detected in the Emergency Department (ED)? To answer this question, we conducted a prospective, short-term outcomes study of consecutive patients > or = 50 years old presenting to our ED after a syncopal episode. All subjects received a structured ED evaluation. Forty-five patients met inclusion criteria, 67% were hospitalized. None of the patients experienced a life-threatening event or required significant therapeutic interventions during the hospitalization. No patient had a new diagnosis relevant to syncope. Follow-up interviews 1 month later revealed no repeat ED visits, hospitalizations, or deaths (95% upper CI, 6.5%). One patient reported a recurrent syncope (recurrence 2.2% [95% upper CI, 10%]). This pilot study suggests that a negative structured ED evaluation may identify patients > or = 50 years of age who may be safely discharged from the ED. Further validation is required before this observation is applied to clinical practice.