cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Localized Mg-vacancy states in the thermoelectric material Mg2−δSi0.4Sn0.6

Mg2SixSn1−x has been widely studied as a thermoelectric material owing to its high figure-of-merit, low cost, and non-toxicity. However, its electronic structure, particularly when the material contains Mg vacancies, has not been adequately described. The n-type nature of Mg2−δSi0.4Sn0.6 has been a puzzle. Mg deficiency can be present in Mg2SixSn1−x due to Mg evaporation and oxidation. Therefore, an investigation of the role of Mg vacancies is of great interest. In this work, we have prepared a series of samples with various Mg deficiency and Sb doping levels and measured their transport properties. The Seebeck coefficient of these samples all reveals n-type conduction. We propose that Mg vacancies in Mg2−δSixSn1−x create localized hole states inside the band gap instead of simply moving the Fermi-level into the valence band as would be predicted by a rigid band model. Our hypothesis is further confirmed by density-functional theory calculations, which show that the hole states are trapped at Mg vacancies above the valence band. Moreover, this localized hole-states model is used to interpret electrical transport properties. Both the Seebeck coefficient and resistivity of Mg2−δSi0.4Sn0.6 indicate an electron-hopping transport mechanism. In addition, the data suggest that localized band-tail states may exist in the conduction-band edge of Mg2SixSn1−x.
Correlation of CRP, fasting serum triglycerides and obesity as cardiovascular risk factors.

Objective To determine the correlation of C-reactive protein (CRP) with fasting triglycerides (TG) among pre-obese and obese patients without established diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD). Study design A comparative cross-sectional study. Place and duration of study Mayo Hospital, Lahore, from January to June 2010. Methodology Patients with BMI > 23 kg/m2 aged between 18 - 65 years were inducted and above variables were studied. Patients with signs of fluid retention, collagen vascular disease, CAD, patients on corticosteroids, immunomodulators or lipid lowering medications and febrile patients were not recruited. Body mass index was also determined. Independent sample t-test was applied to see the mean difference of age, CRP level and triglycerides level in relation to gender. Chi-square test was used to see the association between qualitative variables. ANOVA was applied to see CRP and fasting serum TG level in relation to BMI categories. Pearson correlation and simple linear regression was applied to see the dependency of CRP and triglycerides with BMI. P-value ² 0.05 was taken as significant. Results Raised CRP was major finding among all groups of BMI. Most of obese and pre-obese patients were young and middle aged and belonged to pre-obese group followed by class-1 and class-2 obesity. CRP level increased with body mass index. No such trend was observed for triglycerides. There was an intermediate positive correlation between CRP and BMI and triglycerides and BMI showed a weak negative correlation. If BMI increases by 1 unit on the average, CRP rises by 0.239 times and this unit rise was significant. Whereas 1 unit rise increase in triglycerides on the average cause CRP to decrease -0.006 times but this value was insignificant. Conclusion Raised CRP and high fasting TG were major findings in all age groups especially among young and middle aged people. Obesity, hypertriglyceridemia and raised CRP are interrelated suggesting that obesity is not only linked to hypertriglyceridemia but vascular inflammation among pre-obese and obese without overt diabetes mellitus causes high CRP as well and this can be used as a marker to predict the future risk of CAD. However, in the absence of dyslipidaemia, raised CRP can still be considered as a strong predictor of CAD and stroke.
Ecological selectivity of the emerging mass extinction in the oceans

To better predict the ecological and evolutionary effects of the emerging biodiversity crisis in the modern oceans, we compared the association between extinction threat and ecological traits in modern marine animals to associations observed during past extinction events using a database of 2497 marine vertebrate and mollusc genera. We find that extinction threat in the modern oceans is strongly associated with large body size, whereas past extinction events were either nonselective or preferentially removed smaller-bodied taxa. Pelagic animals were victimized more than benthic animals during previous mass extinctions but are not preferentially threatened in the modern ocean. The differential importance of large-bodied animals to ecosystem function portends greater future ecological disruption than that caused by similar levels of taxonomic loss in past mass extinction events.
A sorted partitioning approach to high-speed and fast-update OpenFlow classification

OpenFlow packet classification needs to satisfy two requirements: high speed and fast updates. Although packet classification is a well-studied problem, no existing solution satisfies both requirements. Decision tree methods, such as HyperCuts, EffiCuts, and SmartSplit can achieve high-speed packet classification but not fast updates. The Tuple Space Search (TSS) algorithm used in Open vSwitch achieves fast updates but not high-speed packet classification. In this paper, we propose a hybrid approach, PartitionSort, that combines the benefits of both TSS and decision trees achieving both high-speed packet classification and fast updates. A key to PartitionSort is a novel notion of ruleset sortability that provides two key benefits. First, it results in far fewer partitions than TSS. Second, it allows the use of Multi-dimensional Interval Trees to achieve logarithmic classification and update time for each sortable ruleset partition. Our extensive experimental results show that PartitionSort is an order of magnitude faster than TSS in classifying packets while achieving comparable update time. PartitionSort is a few orders of magnitude faster in construction time than SmartSplit, a state-of-the-art decision tree classifier, while maintaining competitive classification time. Finally, PartitionSort is scalable to an arbitrary number of fields.
Genres: Uses and Gratifications

The term “genre” is defined and the problematic nature of genres is discussed, with a focus on genre in films. The enigma of genres is explored: do genres arise out of a body of works with similar formulas or do formulas generate genre texts. It is suggested that genre works, such as the novel and film The Maltese Falcon, can also be great works of art.
An investigation and application of the crustal transfer ratio as a diagnostic for explosion seismology

Abstract Because the spectral behavior of seismic first arrivals contains much information about the nature of the transmission path, the Thomson-Haskell matrix formulation for the response of layered systems has received much attention. In particular, the transfer ratio, i.e., the ratio between the vertical and horizontal transfer functions, invites study because it can be compared with the ratio spectrum, an observable quantity, independent of the source function and characterizing the model alone. An investigation of this quantity as a function of the parameters in the layered model shows that it is insensitive to densities in the model, that the shear velocities in the model are less critical than the layer thicknesses and compressional velocities, and that it is probably impossible to numerically invert the problem uniquely, that is, to find a unique model whose calculated transfer ratio matches the observed ratio spectrum of a seismogram. The transfer ratio can provide a useful and sensitive constraint on models derived from other methods, however. By searching the parameter space around several different types of models, models which satisfy observed ratio spectrums in the least square sense can be found. Inspection of these models9 transfer ratios and response functions discriminates between model types which are acceptable and those which are not.
A genome-wide query of somatic copy number alterations to predict lymph node metastases and survival in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

325Background: Patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) have a poor prognosis if the cancer has metastasized to surrounding lymph nodes (LN). Adding tumor-based genomic tests that improve prediction of LN status and prognosis over clinical variables alone would be useful to clinicians in making treatment decisions, potentially improving outcomes for these patients. Methods: We performed a genome-wide query of copy number alterations (CNAs) in MIBC tumors from 237 patients in The Cancer Genome Atlas who had radical cystectomy and lymphadenectomy ( ≥ 10 nodes) without neoadjuvant treatment. We independently analyzed pathology reports and copy number data to confirm LN status and gene-level CNAs. Using elastic net and logistic regression models, we sought to identify a set of genes with CNAs that predict LN status. We also tested for association between CNAs and survival. Results: We identified 26 genes with CNAs that predicted LN status. Those located on chr3p25 and chr11p11 had gains associated ...
Approximating the Optimal Threshold Levels under Robustness Cost Criteria for Stochastic Manufacturing Systems

Abstract A stochastic manufacturing system under a long run average cost arid minimax (robust control) criteria is considered in this work. In addition to minimizing the production cost, we also take the maintenance effor : into consideration. Furthermore, as an unknown bounded process, the demand can be either deterministic or random. In lieu of finding the optimal control of the system, our attention is focused on the threshold type of control polices. The underlying problem is then converted to an optimization problem. Our objective is to find the optimal threshold levels under worst case demand fluctuation. By means of stochastic approximation methods, we construct recursive algorithms to locate the optimal threshold levels. Under suitable conditions, the algorithm is shown to be convergent. Examples are considered; the numerical experimental results are also provided.
Culture in la clínica: Evaluating the utility of the Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI) in a Mexican outpatient setting

While the classification of psychiatric disorders has been critiqued for failing to adequately account for culture, the inclusion of the Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI) in the DSM-5 has been v...
The Lure of Latimeria

Weinberg, S. 1999. A fish caught in time. The search for the coelacanth. Fourth Estate, London. 239 pp. £13.99 (also in 2000, idem, HarperCollins Publishers, New York. 220 pp. US $24.00).
The Limitations and Strengths of the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale as a Measure of Correctional Employees’ Attitudes: A Psychometric Evaluation

Evidence-based practices (EBPs) hold tremendous potential for improving the outcomes of corrections interventions. The implementation of EBPs requires support from staff at all levels of an organization; however, the study of correctional staff attitudes toward organizational change and EBPs is in its infancy. The current study examines the psychometric properties of the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS), an instrument originally designed for mental health professionals, to measure correctional employees' readiness to implement EBPs. The results indicate mixed conclusions regarding the use of the EBPAS with correctional staff. We found that the total scale and subscales are reliable and exhibit high internal consistency. However, the results of an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis failed to replicate the factor structure from previous research with mental health providers. The findings indicate potential drawbacks regarding the construct validity of the EBPAS for use with correctional personnel.
The medial patellofemoral ligament: Review of the literature.

Acute patellar dislocations, most commonly in the lateral direction, carry high risk of recurrent patellar instability. The medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) is one of multiple ligaments found surrounding the patella and is one of the primary stabilizers of the patella. Up to 94–100% of patients suffer from medial patellofemoral ligament rupture after first time patellar dislocation.1 Due to a six degree valgus angle between the femur and tibia in the coronal plane along with a similar angle between the trochlear groove and the tibial tubercle, there is a lateral force vector acting on the patella with the contraction of the quadriceps.2 The primary role of the MPFL1 is to resist this lateral migration of the patella and to keep the patella centered within the patellofemoral groove. The MPFL is the primary ligamentous restraint of the patella, providing 50–60% of the restraining force against lateral displacement.3 It is most effective between 0–30° of flexion, with the trochlea becoming the primary restraint to lateral migration beyond this range. The MPFL is most commonly injured during lateral patellar dislocation. This typically occurs when the foot is planted and an internal rotatory force is applied to the flexed knee in valgus.4 It is the most important structure that is injured in cases of acute dislocation of the patella.5
A method for overcoming the ceiling effect of bounded pain scales.

Objective.The Verbal Numerical Scale (VNS) for rating pain isbounded between 0 (= no pain) and 10 (= worst pain imaginable). Wehypothesized that the limitations inherent to this boundary when ratingextremely painful stimuli may be identified by integrating the VNS with anunbounded score such as magnitude estimation of relative change. Methods.Volunteers received stimuli of increasing current via cutaneous electrodesuntil they rated > 5 on the VNS scale. This stimulus, termed S, wasarbitrarily assigned a magnitude estimate of 100%. Then, stimuli of varyingcurrents were delivered; two were 10 mA and 20 mA higher than S(S+10 and S+20), two were 1/2 of the current for the Sstimulus (S1/2), and one was at the original current(Srepeat). The pain elicited by each stimulus was scored inproportion to the S stimulus. The extrapolated VNS score (VNSext)was determined by multiplying this magnitude estimate (%) by the VNS score forS. Main Results.Seventy percent of the stimuli with higher intensitythan S generated a VNSext score above 10. The mean magnitudeestimations for S+10 and S+20 were 186% and 242%: theygenerated mean (median) VNSext values of 12.4 [12] and16.2 [14], respectively (p = 0.019 for the differencebetween them by Wilcoxon signed rank test). Conclusions.The combineduse of VNS and magnitude estimation confirmed that the ceiling of the boundedpain scale may significantly limit a patient's ability to describe a newpain stimulus. VNSext may provide a means of overcoming thislimitation.
Persecuting Plastic Bags

Did you know that after San Francisco banned plastic bags, the documented cases of E. coli–related ER visits went up by about one-fourth? Or after governments banned plastic bags in Palo Alto and Malibu, California, and in Fairfax, Virginia, there was a 46 percent increase in deaths from foodborne illness? This chapter makes a strong case for reevaluating plastic bag bans and taxes, and urges policymakers to think about all the actual costs associated with such restrictions. Key takeaways: (1) Plastic grocery bag bans and taxes are becoming increasingly popular, but these bans have unintended consequences. (2) Bans and taxes on plastic bags may not actually achieve their stated goal of reducing carbon emissions because people who would be reusing the bags for another purpose (such as lining trash cans) instead use bags made of thicker plastic.
Franck-Condon Factors for the Transitions N 2 , C 3 π u → B 3 π g and CN, B 2 Σ + → X 2 Σ +

Franck-Condon factors for the transitions N2, C3πu→ B3πg and CN, B2Σ+ → X2Σ+ have been calculated by the method of Chang and Karplus.
What ministers should know: identifying expectations for minister knowledge in Protestant American Free Churches

This research investigates espoused expectations for effective ministers, focusing on minister knowledge and preparation. Mixed-method research allowed respondents to answer open ended questions an...
Trade War, PPE, and Race

Tariffs on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as face masks and gloves, weaken the American response to COVID. The United States has exacerbated PPE shortages with Section 301 tariffs on these goods, part of a trade war with China. This has a disparate impact felt by minority communities because of a series of health inequity harms. COVID’s racial disparity appears in virus exposure, virus susceptibility, and COVID treatments. This essay makes legal, policy, and race-and-health arguments. Congress has delegated to the U.S. Trade Representative expansive authority to increase tariffs. This has made PPE supplies casualties of the trade war. In political terms, the Trump administration has prioritized increasing tariffs over public health readiness. Regarding race, PPE shortages exemplify the socio-economic effects of trade policies and add to COVID’s racial disparities.
A novel treatment for autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy? (4706)

Objective: To introduce a potential novel treatment for autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy (AAG). Background: AAG is a rare disorder characterized by subacute, generalized sympathetic and parasympathetic failure. Pathogenesis is attributed to an underlying autoimmune etiology, evidenced by detection of ganglionic nicotinic acetylcholine receptor serum antibodies (α3-nAChR). Treatment guidelines are not established, and typically include a combination of immunomodulatory therapies. Design/Methods: Case report. Results: We report a case of a 57-year-old man who presented with worsening orthostatic hypotension over 12 months on a background of seronegative polyarthritis for 15 years. At his initial presentation in 2003, he had symptoms of syncope, sicca, chronic constipation, incomplete bladder emptying, decreased sweating, and weight loss. He was found to have generalized autonomic dysfunction associated with nAChR of 14.3 nmol/L (normal Etanercept, a tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitor was started in 2005 at an outside hospital for treatment of his polyarthritis. The patient experienced symptomatic improvement in AAG with etanercept, with subsequent improvement in autonomic function testing (AFT). He now presents with clinical deterioration in the setting of nAChR of 98.5 nmol/L. Quantitative autonomic testing revealed abnormal parasympathetic (abnormal heart rate variability to deep breathing and Valsalva maneuver) and sympathetic function (abnormal blood pressure response during a Valsalva maneuver and a >100 mmHg drop in systolic blood pressure). Conclusions: This case highlights the inadvertent treatment of AAG for >10 years using etanercept in a patient being treated for seronegative polyarthritis. These findings suggest etanercept may be a novel treatment option for patients with AAG - a disorder that may require two or more immunomodulatory interventions - although the recent resurgent symptoms and increase in antibody titer suggest a limited durability of treatment. Disclosure: Dr. Shekhawat has nothing to disclose. Dr. Tang has nothing to disclose. Dr. Freeman has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gibbons has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Lundbeck Inc.. Dr. Gibbons has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for Associate Editor for Autonomic Neuroscience: Basic and Clinical. Dr. Gibbons has received compensation for serving on the Board of Directors of Cutaneous NeuroDiagnostics. Dr. Gibbons holds stock and/or stock options in Cutaneous NeuroDiagnostics. Dr. Gibbons has received research support from Grifols Inc..
Percent of Normal: A Pragmatic Patient-Reported Outcome Measure for the Orthopaedic Trauma Clinic.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to compare a single numerical patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) to general health and injury-specific PROMs. Design Retrospective cohort. Setting Urban level one trauma center. Patients/participants 175 patients with 34 humerus, 54 pelvis, 31 acetabular, and 56 ankle fractures. Main outcome measurements Patients were administered three PROMs: the 12-item short-form (SF-12), an injury-specific PROM (QuickDASH - humerus; Majeed Pelvic Outcome Score (Majeed) - pelvis; modified Merle d'Aubigne score (Merle) - acetabular; Foot and Ankle Disability Index (FADI) - ankle), and the Percent of Normal (PON) PROM, a single numerical PROM, which asked, "How would you rate yourself, if 100% is back to normal?" Floor/ceiling effect, convergent validity, and responsiveness of PROMs were assessed. Results None of the PROMs demonstrated a floor effect. The Merle was the only PROM with a ceiling effect (19%). The PON had a strong correlation with the QuickDASH (r=0.78) and Majeed (r=0.78), a moderate association with the SF-12 physical component score (PCS)(r=0.63), Merle (r=0.67), and FADI (r=0.55), and a weak association with the SF-12 mental component score (MCS)(r=0.22). The regression coefficient for change in PROM over time, a measure of responsiveness, was greater for the PON, compared to the SF-12 PCS/MCS, Majeed, Merle, and FADI, but not the QuickDASH. Conclusion The PON is a pragmatic PROM that can be easily administered in clinic by the physician to quickly assess and manage a variety of fractures, avoiding the disadvantages of non-relative general or region-specific PROMs. Level of evidence Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Comparative Methodologic and Practical Considerations for Life Expectancy as a Public Health Mortality Measure.

IntroductionLife expectancy is a public health metric used to assess mortality. We describe life expectancy calculations for US counties and present methodologic considerations compared with years ...
Reporting of Study Participant Demographic Characteristics and Demographic Representation in Premarketing and Postmarketing Studies of Novel Cancer Therapeutics.

Importance Adequate representation of demographic subgroups in premarketing and postmarketing clinical studies is necessary for understanding the safety and efficacy associated with novel cancer therapeutics. Objective To characterize and compare the reporting of demographic data and the representation of individuals by sex, age, and race in premarketing and postmarketing studies used by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to evaluate novel cancer therapeutics. Design, Setting, and Participants In this cross-sectional study, premarketing and postmarketing studies for novel cancer therapeutics approved by the FDA from 2012 through 2016 were identified. Study demographic information was abstracted from publicly available sources, and US cancer population demographic data was abstracted from US Cancer Statistics. Analyses were conducted from February 25 through September 21, 2020. Main Outcomes and Measures The percentages of trials reporting sex, age, and race/ethnicity were calculated, and participation to prevalence ratios (PPRs) were calculated by dividing the percentage of study participants in each demographic group by the percentage of the US cancer population in each group. PPRs were constructed for premarketing and postmarketing studies and by cancer type. Underrepresentation was defined as PPR less than 0.8. Results From 2012 through 2016, the FDA approved 45 cancer therapeutics. The study sample included 77 premarketing studies and 56 postmarketing studies. Postmarketing studies, compared with premarketing studies, were less likely to report patient sex (42 studies reporting [75.0%] vs 77 studies reporting [100%]; P < .001) and race (27 studies reporting [48.2%] vs 62 studies reporting [80.5%]; P < .001). Women were adequately represented in premarketing studies (mean [SD] PPR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.90-0.91) and postmarketing studies (mean PPR, 1.00; 95% CI, 1.00-1.01). Although older adults and Black patients were underrepresented in premarketing studies (older adults: mean PPR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.72-0.74; Black patients: mean PPR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.31-0.32), these groups continued to be underrepresented in postmarketing studies (older adults: mean PPR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.75-0.76; Black patients: mean PPR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.21-0.21). Conclusions and Relevance This study found that older adults and Black patients were underrepresented in postmarketing studies of novel cancer therapeutics to a similar degree that they were underrepresented in premarketing studies. These findings suggest that postmarketing studies are not associated with improvements to gaps in demographic representation present at the time of FDA approval.
An MRI Case Study: The Anatomic Cleft Restoration Concept Utilizing Buccal Flaps in a Primary Palatoplasty:

Purpose: Primary palatoplasties using the Anatomic Cleft Restoration Philosophy uses the buccinator myomucosal flap (buccal flap) as the major tissue replacement flap to correct the tissue deficien...
Metalloradical catalysis: A radically different approach for molecular construction

Download : Download high-res image (333KB) Download : Download full-size image Cindy is currently a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry at Boston College. Under the supervision of Professor Peter Zhang, Cindy’s PhD research involves the development of new catalytic radical processes for stereoselective organic synthesis via metalloradical catalysis. Before her graduate study at Boston College, she received her BS degree in chemistry from National Taiwan Normal University and MS degree in organic chemistry from the University of San Francisco under the supervision of Professor Jie Jack Li. Her research interests are in the general area of organic synthesis with a focus on asymmetric catalysis.
COVID-19 in Senegal: Exploring the Historical Context

While many academics and popular journalists have recently addressed historical epidemics in the context of COVID-19, much of this literature concerns the history of former colonial powers rather than the history of formerly colonized states. This review finds that the French colonial regime frequently used disease as a means to exert increased political power over the people of the Senegal. Primary sources, analyses of colonialism and disease in Senegal, and current popular media reveal that post-colonial successes in managing epidemic disease, when contrasted with colonial-era racialization of rampant disease, is likely shaping the Senegalese government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instrumental Community: Probe Microscopy and the Path to Nanotechnology

How networked structures of collaboration and competition within a community of researchers led to the invention, spread, and commercialization of scanning probe microscopy. The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) has been hailed as the "key enabling discovery for nanotechnology," the catalyst for a scientific field that attracts nearly $20 billion in funding each year. In Instrumental Community, Cyrus Mody argues that this technology-centric view does not explain how these microscopes helped to launch nanotechnology-and fails to acknowledge the agency of the microscopists in making the STM and its variants critically important tools. Mody tells the story of the invention, spread, and commercialization of scanning probe microscopy in terms of the networked structures of collaboration and competition that came into being within a diverse, colorful, and sometimes fractious community of researchers. By forming a community, he argues, these researchers were able to innovate rapidly, share the microscopes with a wide range of users, and generate prestige (including the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics) and profit (as the technology found applications in industry). Mody shows that both the technology of probe microscopy and the community model offered by the probe microscopists contributed to the development of political and scientific support for nanotechnology and the global funding initiatives that followed. In the course of his account, Mody charts the shifts in U.S. science policy over the last forty years-from the decline in federal basic research funding in the 1970s through the rise in academic patenting in the 1980s to the emergence of nanotechnology discourse in the 1990s-that have resulted in today's increasing emphasis on the commercialization of academic research.
Understanding Strategy: An Assessment of Theory and Practice

Is the U.S. love affair with strategic planning over? Are we coming out of an extended period of dominance by a particular management fad? Or have we learned, adapted, and gained the wisdom to select what works and what does not? This chapter explores the continuing evolution of strategic planning theory and practice in business and in higher education, draws lessons from today’s college and university practitioners, and suggests future areas of study.
A Misdiagnosed Cause of Chronic Pelvic Pain: Abscess with Foreign Body

Objective. Chronic pelvic pain may present a diagnostic challenge. Setting. Academic tertiary care center. Design. Case report. Case Report. A 46-year-old woman presented with pain on micturition and a 15-month history of right-sided pelvic pain aggravated by an abdominal massage. Her course and outcome, aided by use of computed tomography (CT) scan, is described, identifying a 6-cm, mass-like lesion in the right lower quadrant enclosing an ambiguous linear calcified lesion, which on laparotomy revealed a fish bone embedded in a section of the terminal ileum and the perivesical area. Conclusion. Chronic pelvic pain refractory to treatment merits consideration of CT to examine for foreign body.
Anterior Glenohumeral Laxity and Stiffness After a Shoulder-Strengthening Program in Collegiate Cheerleaders

Context: Approximately 62% of all cheerleaders sustain some type of orthopaedic injury during their cheerleading careers. Furthermore, the occurrence of such injuries has led to inquiry regarding optimal prevention techniques. One possible cause of these injuries may be related to inadequate conditioning in cheerleaders. Objective: To determine whether a strength and conditioning program produces quantifiable improvements in anterior glenohumeral (GH) laxity and stiffness. Design: Descriptive laboratory study. Setting: University laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: A sample of 41 collegiate cheerleaders (24 experimental and 17 control participants) volunteered. No participants had a recent history (in the past 6 months) of upper extremity injury or any history of upper extremity surgery. Intervention(s): The experimental group completed a 6-week strength and conditioning program between the pretest and posttest measurements; the control group did not perform any strength training between tests. Ma...
Feedback regulation of the spc operon in Escherichia coli: translational coupling and mRNA processing.

Abstract The spc operon of Escherichia coli encodes 10 ribosomal proteins in the order L14, L24, L5, S14, S8, L6, L18, S5, L30, and L15. This operon is feedback regulated by S8, which binds near the translation start site of L5 and inhibits translation of L5 directly and that of the distal genes indirectly. We constructed plasmids carrying a major portion of the spc operon genes under lac transcriptional control. The plasmids carried a point mutation in the S8 target site which abolished regulation and resulted in overproduction of plasmid-encoded ribosomal proteins upon induction. We showed that alteration of the AUG start codon of L5 to UAG decreased the synthesis rates of plasmid-encoded distal proteins, as well as L5, by approximately 20-fold, with a much smaller (if any) effect on mRNA synthesis rates, indicating coupling of the distal cistrons' translation with the translation of L5. This conclusion was also supported by experiments in which S8 was overproduced in trans. In this case, there was a threefold reduction in the synthesis rates of chromosome-encoded L5 and the distal spc operon proteins, but no decrease in the mRNA synthesis rate. These observations also suggest that transcription from ribosomal protein promoters may be special, perhaps able to overcome transcription termination signals. We also analyzed the state of ribosomal protein mRNA after overproduction of S8 in these experiments and found that repression of ribosomal protein synthesis was accompanied by stimulation of processing (and degradation) of spc operon mRNA. The possible role of mRNA degradation in tightening the regulation is discussed.
A new control design methodology for robotic manipulators with flexible joints

In this paper, we present a simple controller structure for robotic manipulators which contain flexible joints of arbitrary compliance between the actuating motors and the robot links. The proposed controller structure results in a singularly perturbed system whose boundary layer system is linear, time-invariant and exponentially stable. With the proposed structure, most of the control design effort is based on the reduced order model associated with the singularly perturbed system. This reduced order model has the structure of a rigid robot; hence there are many available design methods for the major portion of the control design. We impose no restrictions on the stiffness of the joints; hence robots with very flexible joints can be successfully treated, Numerical simulation results for a single link manipulator are included.
From Margin to Center: From Medical Anthropology to Cultural Studies of Science

Writing at the Margins: Discourse between Anthropology and Medicine. Arthur Kleinman. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995. 314 pp. Sickness and Healing: An Anthropological Perspective. Robert A. Hahn New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1995. 327 pp. The Harmony of Illusions: Inventing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Allan Young. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995. 327 pp.
Update on Acute Asthma

There have been several important changes in the updated NIH asthma guidelines regarding the management of acute asthma. At home during an exacerbation, doubling the dose of inhaled corticosteroids is not recommended. Pre-hospital, a standing order for albuterol is important in implementation of protocols such as the CDC model protocol. There are new cut points of 40% and 70% predicted peak expiratory flow rates. When someone presents to the emergency department with a flow rate less than 40% predicted (approximately 200 L/min for typical adult woman and 250 L/min for typical adult man), there are several adjunct treatments that merit consideration, such as heliox and intravenous magnesium sulfate. Consider initiating inhaled corticosteroids at discharge from the emergency department. Inhaled anticholinergics can be used in the first hours of presentation to the emergency department, but are not recommended during inpatient hospitalization.
Do Worldviews Matter? Post‐materialist, Environmental, and Scientific/Technological Worldviews and Support for Agricultural Biotechnology Applications

This paper draws upon the social science literature to evaluate whether materialist/post‐materialist, environmental, and scientific/technological worldviews predict levels of support for biotechnology applications. The novelty of this research is two‐fold: 1) it incorporates the post‐materialist hypothesis in risk perception models, and 2) it evaluates the effects of the these three worldviews simultaneously. Data from a regional southwest telephone survey in the United States conducted in Spring 2004 were used to investigate whether these three worldviews were related to support of various animal and plant biotechnology applications. The results illustrated that post‐materialist values were not significantly related to support for animal or plant biotechnology applications. However, environmental and science and technology measures were related to support. One of the new ecological paradigm items, “humans have the right to modify nature,” was consistently related to support for animal and plant biotechno...
Mechanical Circulatory Support: Candidate Selection, Benefits, and Potential Complications

Advanced heart failure remains a deadly disease despite recent medical and surgical advances in its therapy. Heart transplantation is still considered the best long-term therapeutic option for patients with end-stage heart failure, but its use is severely limited by donor availability. While various treatment modalities as alternatives to cardiac transplantation continue to be investigated, mechanical circulatory support has proven to be succesful when used as a bridge to transplantation. Its success in this mission will likely make it a front-runner among future permanent therapeutic options for terminal heart failure. Candidate selection, benefits, and potential complications of mechanical circulatory support are reviewed in this article.
A Late Holocene Pollen and Charcoal Record from La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica

Pollen and charcoal analysis of a 5.9-m-long sediment profile from a swamp on an alluvial terrace on the edge of La Selva biological station, Costa Rica (10◦26� 23�� N, 84◦00� 24�� W, 36 m asl), documents three millennia of human and natural disturbance within a lowland tropical rain forest. The record indicates that the highly diverse rain forest that presently surrounds the Cantarrana swamp regrew following forest clearing and maize agriculture that ended only a few centuries ago. The first maize pollen appears in sediments deposited ∼1070 calendar-year BP. Older sediments below the ‘maize zone’ contain macroscopic charcoal, abundant microscopic charcoal, and possible pollen indicators of forest clearance, perhaps signaling local cultivation of root crops that left no pollen in the sediments. Interpretation of local archaeology indicates that La Selva reserve may have been most heavily populated during the El Bosque and La Selva regional archaeological phases from 2250‐950 yr BP. However, the distribution of maize pollen in the sediments is clear evidence that the reserve was also occupied during the later La Caba˜ na phase (950‐400 yr BP), from which few artifacts have yet surfaced. Natural forest disturbance from treefalls and stream dynamics, and hydrological shifts associated with late-Holocene climate variability, form a backdrop to the human land-use history preserved in the Cantarrana sediment profile.
Optimizing the synthesis of composite polyvinylidene dichloride-based selective surface flow carbon membranes for gas separation

Selective surface flow (SSF) carbon membranes were fabricated by pyrolysis of polyvinylidene dichloride (PVDC) layer deposited on macroporous ceramic supports. The pore properties of PVDC carbons were examined by physical adsorption of nitrogen and subsequent micropore analysis. The measured average pore sizes range from 1.23 to 1.42 nm for PVDC carbons with the pyrolysis temperature range of 873–1273 K respectively. The advantage of PVDC-based SSF carbon membranes is their low transport resistance with typical gas permeances of 10 −6
The neuropsychiatry of multiple sclerosis.

Objective:This article examines the cognitive and psychiatric features of multiple sclerosis. MS can manifest as a neuropsychiatric disturbance even in the absence of physical disabilities.Method:Two MS patients with predominant behavioral symptoms are described, and the literature is reviewed.Results:The first patient had an interhemispheric disconnection syndrome, and the second patient had cognitive fatigue and depression. Other patients have slowed information processing speed, memory retrieval difficulty, frontal-executive dysfunction, and visuospatial difficulty.Conclusions:MS results in specific cognitive deficits and mood disorders. These two patients had organic mental disorders from cerebral demyelination particularly affecting the corpus callosum. Other patients have neuropsychiatric symptoms from extensive demyelination of prefrontal-subcortical circuits. Evaluation and management strategies are discussed.
Adrenocortical insufficiency in infants with the adrenogenital syndrome; a clinical and pathologic study of four cases.

Summary This paper deals with clinical, chemical, and pathologic observations on fourinfants who presented the picture of adrenal cortical insufficiency in association with bilateral adrenal hypoplasia as shown at autopsy. The condition was found in 0.52 per cent of autopsies done on infants under1 year of age, indicating a higher incidence than is suggested by the literature. The familial pattern which was apparent in two of our patients remains unexplained and requires endocrinologic studies of the mothers of such infants. In our own group and in all eases thus far reported the patients were either female pseudohermaphrodites with a characteristic deformity of the genitalia or else true males. In the latter, external manifestations of virilism are not apparent in early infancy. The presenting clinical features were gastrointestinal symptoms, especiallydiarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration. Serial chemical studies performed in two cases showed a lowering of the“total base,” bicarbonate and chloride values in the plasma. The blood sugar levels were found normal in three patients. Anatomic and histologic examination of the adrenals showed diffuse hyperplasia of the cortex with apparent replacement of the zona glomerulosa by eosinophilic cells which often contained fuchsinophil granules. A correlation of these findings with the clinical manifestations is suggested. The physiologic disturbance appears to be one of overproduction with respect to N hormone and underproduction of substances regulating salt and water metabolism. The apparently intact carbohydrate metabolism differentiates these patients from those with true Addison's disease as regards the manifestations of adrenal insufficiency. Further studies of the carbohydrate metabolism in such patients are needed. It is suggested that the administration of DOCA and salt may be a complete substitution therapy in patients exhibiting this syndrome.
Ab Initio Characterization of the Isomerism between the μ-η2:η2-Peroxo- and Bis(μ-oxo)dicopper Cores

The interconversion of model compounds {[(NH3)3Cu]2(μ-η2:η2-O2)}2+ (1) and {[(NH3)3Cu]2(μ-O)2}2+ (2) has been examined using multireference second-order perturbation theory with an 8-electron/8-orbital active space. At this level of theory, 1 and 2 are separated by only 0.3 kcal/mol, and the barrier to isomerization is predicted to be very low based on single-point energy calculations for intermediate structures. The flat nature of the potential energy surface along the interconversion coordinate derives from a balancing of Coulomb forces and nondynamic electron correlation. The latter effect depends critically on the significant energy change experienced by the 13au virtual orbital on passing from one isomer to the other. In addition, solvation electrostatics favor 2 over 1.
Does a Scaling Law Exist between Solar Energetic Particle Events and Solar Flares

Among many other natural processes, the size distributions of solar X-ray flares and solar energetic particle (SEP) events are scale-invariant power laws. The measured distributions of SEP events prove to be distinctly flatter, i.e., have smaller power-law slopes, than those of the flares. This has led to speculation that the two distributions are related through a scaling law, first suggested by Hudson, which implies a direct nonlinear physical connection between the processes producing the flares and those producing the SEP events. We present four arguments against this interpretation. First, a true scaling must relate SEP events to all flare X-ray events, and not to a small subset of the X-ray event population. We also show that the assumed scaling law is not mathematically valid and that although the flare X-ray and SEP event data are correlated, they are highly scattered and not necessarily related through an assumed scaling of the two phenomena. An interpretation of SEP events within the context of a recent model of fractal-diffusive self-organized criticality by Aschwanden provides a physical basis for why the SEP distributions should be flatter than those of solar flares. These arguments provide evidence against a close physical connection of flares with SEP production.
Characterizing the Shiga Toxin-Receptor Interaction

The Shiga toxin (Stx) secreted by Shigella dysenteria and the shigatoxigenic group of Escherichia coli (STEC) causes over a million deaths annually and poses a global health problem. Stx invades its host by binding to globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) at the cell surface. Once internalized, it is trafficked to the Golgi via early endosomes, bypassing the late endosomes and lysosomes, hence avoiding degradation. This sorting is mediated by its B subunit (StxB) binding to the coiled-coil domain of GPP130, a host cell transmembrane protein that cycles constitutively between the endosomes and the Golgi. However, this interaction is only poorly characterized, in particular in context of membranes. Detailed characterization of this interaction is expected to offer new targets for therapeutic intervention, aiding rational drug design. Here we report the development of a physiologically relevant in vitro assay that uses sparsely tethered bilayer lipid membranes (stBLMs) to enable studies of the toxin-receptor interaction. To mimic the transmembrane receptor, we anchored hexa-histidine tagged GPP13036-247, comprising the coiled-coil domain of full-length GPP130, on stBLM surfaces via conjugation to Ni2+-presenting NTA lipids. We are thus able to establish a significant membrane surface density of His-GPP13036-247 that can be used to quantify STxB interactions with the membrane under various reaction conditions and to study membrane-bound structures of STxB with neutron scattering. The influence of Gb3 and pH conditions (matching endosomes where binding takes place or the Golgi where release is thought to occur) on binding will be discussed.
DESIGNING ONLINE COURSES TO PROMOTE STUDENT RETENTION

Although the issue of student retention is a campus-wide one, it is of special interest in online distance learning courses, where retention rates are reported to be lower than in face-to-face classes. Among the explanations and theories of retention rates in online courses, one that struck us as most useful is a structural one, namely, course design. The question we raise is, can online course designs promote student retention? In this article, we report on how we used Quality Matters to design and revise online courses in psychology and statistics. Quality Matters, a research-based initiative, advocates the use of eight general review standards to review online courses. In our psychology and statistics courses, our retention rate across multiple offerings of both courses is approximately 95%.
Four approaches to improve the tensile ductility of high-strength nanocrystalline metals

Until recently, the reported tensile ductility of high-strength nanocrystalline metals was disappointingly low. This article presents a brief overview of the latest encouraging progress in developing nanocrystalline metals that offer not only gigapascal strength but also decent ductility. Four different approaches have been identified in recent studies, including some of the author’s experiments. These efforts are interesting extensions of previous/parallel success in optimizing the tensile properties of bulk nanostructured/ultrafine-grained metals.