cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Co-parenting and feeding in early childhood: Reflections of parent dyads on how they manage the developmental stages of feeding over the first three years

Family-level influences on the development of healthy eating behaviors start in infancy and toddlerhood with how families manage developmental stages of feeding. Little research on home feeding environments for young children has examined how mothers and fathers collaborate around feeding issues or contribute jointly to feeding. The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine co-parenting with regard to infant/toddler feeding practices. Twenty-four sets of co-resident, biological parents with a child between 6 months and 3 years were interviewed together about their feeding practices and how they discussed and collaborated on feeding during the main stages of feeding development in the first three years. Analyses illuminate themes related to how specific domains of co-parenting (satisfaction with labor, support, agreement, conflict) factor into infant and toddler feeding as well as how additional factors such as having older children and employment schedules shape how both food parenting practices and co-parenting are managed in relation to feeding. Mothers were the primary managers of feeding labor. Fathers participated in feeding in different ways and levels starting in infancy and increased involvement in feeding over the first few years requiring an ongoing negotiation around co-parenting related to feeding. Overall, this study develops insights into how multiple caregivers construct a family environment specifically related to early feeding - a perspective missing from current conceptualizations of home feeding environment. Attention to the concept of co-parenting within home feeding environments should help inform more effective approaches to intervene with families on issues around childhood obesity and family health.
Polyamine transporter in Streptococcus pneumoniae is essential for evading early innate immune responses in pneumococcal pneumonia

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common bacterial etiology of pneumococcal pneumonia in adults worldwide. Genomic plasticity, antibiotic resistance and extreme capsular antigenic variation complicates the design of effective therapeutic strategies. Polyamines are ubiquitous small cationic molecules necessary for full expression of pneumococcal virulence. Polyamine transport system is an attractive therapeutic target as it is highly conserved across pneumococcal serotypes. In this study, we compared an isogenic deletion strain of S. pneumoniae TIGR4 in polyamine transport operon (ΔpotABCD) with the wild type in a mouse model of pneumococcal pneumonia. Our results show that the wild type persists in mouse lung 24 h post infection while the mutant strain is cleared by host defense mechanisms. We show that intact potABCD is required for survival in the host by providing resistance to neutrophil killing. Comparative proteomics analysis of murine lungs infected with wild type and ΔpotABCD pneumococci identified expression of proteins that could confer protection to wild type strain and help establish infection. We identified ERM complex, PGLYRP1, PTPRC/CD45 and POSTN as new players in the pathogenesis of pneumococcal pneumonia. Additionally, we found that deficiency of polyamine transport leads to up regulation of the polyamine synthesis genes speE and cad in vitro.
Crystal Growth and Characterization of the X-ray and γ-ray Detector Material Cs2Hg6S7

Cs2Hg6S7 is a promising compound for X-ray and γ-ray detection with a band gap of 1.63 eV. A new method is reported for the synthesis of Cs2Hg6S7, along with growth studies of large Cs2Hg6S7 crystals of dimensions up to several centimeters using the Bridgman method. Our growth technique gives reproducible crystals with high resistivity (106 ohm·cm). Crystals grown in this work exhibit figure of merit mobility lifetime (μτ) products comparable to commercial cadmium zinc telluride (CZT). The Cs2Hg6S7 crystals exhibit a strong photoluminescence signal at low temperature in the range 1.50–1.75 eV. The thermal properties of the crystal, including the thermal expansion coefficient and the thermal conductivity, have been characterized. The nature of defects affecting the charge transport properties in the as-grown Cs2Hg6S7 crystals is discussed. The noncentrosymmetric character of the tetragonal crystal structure (space group P42nm) gives rise to a nonlinear optical second harmonic generation response.
Low-Grade Gliomas

Astrocytomas are the most common subgroup of central nervous system (CNS) tumors in children. The most frequent histological types are pilocytic and fibrillary astrocytomas, which are considered low-grade astrocytomas. A variety of other, less common glial tumors are also seen in children, including pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA), subependymal giant cell astrocytoma, high-grade gliomas, ganglioglioma and desmoplastic infantile ganglioglioma, astroblastoma, ependymoma, and oligodendroglioma. This chapter focuses on low-grade astrocytomas with an emphasis on infiltrating astrocytoma, cerebellar astrocytoma, optic pathway glioma, and oligodendroglioma.
Symptom-Diagnosis-Care: A Framework for a Collaborative Medical Chat Bot

Medical chat bots could have the ability to deliver fast, high-quality information directly to people all over the world. A step preventing this from becoming a reality is training medical chat bots with reliable medical data. Medical books though, such as The American Medical Association Family Medical Guide, are well structured with a series of flowcharts to help users diagnose their symptoms by answering yes and no questions. In this paper we present and evaluate a tool for crowd workers to train medical chat bots using the information in books. To enable the collaboration of crowd workers, we present the symptom-diagnosis-care framework. The medical chat bot on the phone allows the information accessible to people that primarily use a mobile phone and are not medical professionals. By having the data on the phone, we are able to make the data actionable by integrating it with the computational capabilities and sensors of the phone.
DD77: „Papa, kann eine Bank ethisch sein?“ (November 2008)

Warum sind denn so viele Unternehmen in die Wirren verwickelt, die den Finanzmarkt erschuttern und das Jahr 2008 in die Nahe von 1929 rucken? Wir haben zuerst nur geglaubt, es seien einzelne schwarze Schafe. Dann aber gingen uns die Augen uber. Hey, Leute, Sie verstehen die Mathematik von Gut und Bose nicht! Es ist gar nicht so einfach, gut zu sein. Es kann sogar umbringen.
Comparison of Several Sulfluramid Bait Formulations for Control of the Red Imported Fire Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Various bait formulations containing 0.3% or 0.6% of the fluoroaliphatic sulfone, sulfluramid, were evaluated for control of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, in field tests in Florida and Georgia. No significant differences were indicated in the effectiveness of sulfluramid baits containing 19.4, 24.4, 29.4 or 29.7% once-refined soybean oil; all gave control equivalent to that given by the hydramethylnon (Amdro®) standard in all tests. Sulfluramid baits were slightly more effective when applied in spring or summer than in late fall. Although higher rates were slightly more effective, differences in rate of application of formulated bait or active ingredient did not significantly affect effectiveness of the treatments in any given test. Rates of 2.52 - 13.44 g/ha of active ingredient or 0.84 to 1.68 kg/ha of formulated bait resulted in population index reductions of 80–99 percent.
Abdominal aortic aneurysm in the setting of Clostridium perfringens pancreatitis.

We report a case of a 56-year-old woman who presented with worsening abdominal pain located in the left upper quadrant together with abdominal distention, nausea and anorexia. One month prior to this admission, she had presented and had been diagnosed with concurrent acute pancreatitis and rapidly expanding abdominal aortic aneurysm. The aneurysm was prioritised over the pancreatitis and she underwent uncomplicated endovascular repair. Cross-sectional imaging was consistent with infected pancreatic necrosis and also revealed a large collection located in the anterior pararenal space with extensive gas formation. An image-guided fluid aspiration revealed Clostridium perfringens as the causative organism. She was treated by placement of large bore drains along with irrigation and targeted intravenous antibiotic for 6 weeks. The collections resolved completely and at 6 months follow-up she was well and symptom free.
Power converter design options for the 12 kVdc bus system

The US Navy's recent reduction of the dc bus voltage for the new surface combatant, from the original 20 kV to the new target of 12 kV, opens up the design space to a broader range of options than was possible to date. This paper is an attempt to address the opportunities and risks associated with the adoption of multi-level topologies and Silicon-Carbide switches in the design of power converters for the new ships when compared with a more evolutionary innovative path offered by using soft-switching topologies with Silicon switch technology.
Ibrutinib discontinuation in Waldenström macroglobulinemia: Etiologies, outcomes, and IgM rebound

Ibrutinib is the first approved therapy for symptomatic patients with Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM). The reasons for discontinuing ibrutinib and subsequent outcomes have not been previously evaluated in WM patients. We therefore conducted a retrospective review of 189 WM patients seen at our institution who received treatment with ibrutinib, of whom 51 (27%) have discontinued therapy. Reasons for discontinuation include: disease progression (n = 27; 14%), toxicity (n = 15; 8%), nonresponse (n = 5; 3%), and other unrelated reasons (n = 4; 2%). The cumulative incidence of ibrutinib discontinuation at 12, 24, 36, and 48 months from treatment initiation was 22%, 26%, 35%, and 43%, respectively. A baseline platelet count ≤100 K/µL and presence of tumor CXCR4 mutations were independently associated with 4-fold increased odds of ibrutinib discontinuation. An IgM rebound (≥25% increase in serum IgM) was observed in 37 patients (73%) following ibrutinib discontinuation and occurred within 4 weeks for nearly half of patients. The response rate to salvage therapy was 71%; responses were higher in patients without an IgM rebound and when salvage therapy was initiated within 2 weeks of stopping ibrutinib. Patients who discontinued ibrutinib due to disease progression versus nonprogression events had significantly shorter overall survival (21 versus 32 months; P = .046). Response to salvage therapy was associated with an 82% reduction in the risk of death following ibrutinib discontinuation. WM patients who discontinue ibrutinib require close monitoring, and continuation of ibrutinib until the next therapy should be considered to maintain disease control.
Integrated Structural Biology for α-Helical Membrane Protein Structure Determination

While great progress has been made, only 10% of the nearly 1,000 integral, α-helical, multi-span membrane protein families are represented by at least one experimentally determined structure in the PDB. Previously, we developed the algorithm BCL::MP-Fold, which samples the large conformational space of membrane proteins de novo by assembling predicted secondary structure elements guided by knowledge-based potentials. Here, we present a case study of rhodopsin fold determination by integrating sparse and/or low-resolution restraints from multiple experimental techniques including electron microscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Simultaneous incorporation of orthogonal experimental restraints not only significantly improved the sampling accuracy but also allowed identification of the correct fold, which is demonstrated by a protein size-normalized transmembrane root-mean-square deviation as low as 1.2 A. The protocol developed in this case study can be used for the determination of unknown membrane protein folds when limited experimental restraints are available.
Lithium Improves Dopamine Neurotransmission and Increases Dopaminergic Protein Abundance in the Striatum after Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract Experimental models of traumatic brain injury (TBI) recapitulate secondary injury sequela and cognitive dysfunction reported in patients afflicted with a TBI. Impairments in neurotransmiss...
Stem Cells and Stem Cell Niches in Tissue Homeostasis: Lessons from the Expanding Stem Cell Populations of Drosophila

New stem cell populations and their niches have been discovered continuously in Drosophila, changing the view that the adult Drosophila body consists primarily of post-mitotic organs and is not suited for the study of dynamic tissue homeostasis. With a century of genetics history as well as many sophisticated tools for the genetic analysis of cellular and developmental biology, Drosophila has now emerged as an impressive model system in which to study stem cell biology in great detail.
Vasopressin action in the mammalian cerebral cortex.

One of the hallmark characteristics of the cerebral cortex is its integrative capacity. Information derived from the external environment, from systems that control homeostasis and from internal conscious and unconscious events all converge onto the cerebral cortex for processing and storage1. A critical, as yet unanswered question, concerns the mechanism(s) by which integration of information occurs in the cerebral cortex. To address this question, we have investigated the receptor system for the neural peptide, vasopressin, which has been found to enhance long-term memory function, a cognitive function associated with the cerebral cortex.
Retrospective study of haemophagocytic syndrome hospitalisations in children in the USA.

Introduction The haemophagocytic syndrome (HS) is a rare condition that presents with uncontrolled inflammation leading to multiorgan failure and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Current national estimates of children hospitalised due to HS are unknown. Characterising and understanding the burden of HS-related hospitalisations at a national level is the initial step in optimising the overall care. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2012 to 2014. The NIS is the largest all-payer inpatient care dataset in the USA that contains more than seven million hospital stays and its large sample size is ideal for developing national estimates of rare conditions. All patients aged up to 18 years who were primarily hospitalised due to HS were selected for our study. Descriptive statistics were used. A multitude of patient-level and hospital-level variables were assessed. Outcome variables included overall in-hospital mortality, hospital charges and the length of stay. Results A total of 840 patients aged up to 18 years were hospitalised primarily due to HS in the USA. Mean age was 5.7 years. 57.4% were males. Whites comprised 45%. 6.5% died in hospital. A vast majority (78%) were admitted on an emergency/urgent basis. The most frequent payers included Medicaid (50%) and private insurance (36.9%). Almost 80% of children had at least one comorbid condition. 96.3% of patients were treated in urban teaching hospitals. Southern regions accounted for 42.6% of all hospitalisations. The median length of stay in hospital was 9.6 days and the median hospitalisation charge was US$100 426. Conclusion Nearly 1 in 15 children who were hospitalised due to HS died. The resource utilisation associated with HS-related hospitalisations is considerable. The majority of hospitalised children with HS had comorbid conditions.
General Biology of the Developmental Origins of Health

Health across the life span is predicted by cellular health as established in tissue and organ structure and function early in life. The cellular machinery of mitosis and the platforms for transcription-mediated cell differentiation give rise to phenotypic varieties of embodied experience through growth. Earliest cell fate decisions reflect stochastic processes. Competitive cell lineage commitments follow, encouraged by gene expression patterns influenced by the environment through hierarchical hub negotiations, and carried out by translational signaling. Cell-level negotiations emerge as the anlage for building multi-cellular bodies. Mechanistically linked to cell fate, metabolic strategies underlie early cell decisions and are core influences on variable phenotypic outcomes in changing environments. Fundamental biological processes, including oxidative stress, inflammation and stem cell regenerative potential mediate healthy aging at the cellular level. This chapter is an overview of fundamental biological platforms for developmental programming of life-course cell level dynamics involved in building the fetal body.
280 TP53 domains’ mutations alter glycolysis in epithelial ovarian carcinoma: ex-vivo and in vitro study

Objectives To investigate the effect of TP53 different domain mutations on its transcriptional activity, its ability to induce apoptosis and to regulate glucose consumption and lactate production in epithelial ovarian cancer Methods 30 ovarian cancer biopsies were characterized. Viability and Annexin V tests were performed to study the ability of mutant p53 to induce apoptosis. The expression of the glycolytic enzymes regulated by p53 was quantified by qPCR. SK-OV-3 cell line was transfected by different p53 mutated plasmids, and the same experiments performed on the biopsies were done on transfected cells. Results 17 out of 22 ovarian cancer cases were characterized as High-Grade Serous Carcinoma. Out of these 17, mutations were detected in 9 of the cases. 8 patients showed mutations affecting the apoptosis domain of the gene (exons 2, 3 and 4). The immunohistochemistry and qPCR showed an approximately 2 folds increase in p53 expression between wild type and mutated cases. The expression of p21 and MDM2 decreased only in DNA binding domain mutated cases and transfected cells, which indicates a decreased transcriptional activity with this type of mutation. The highest increase in apoptosis induction was clear in Sk-Ov-3 cells transfected with WT p53, and p53 proline rich domain mutations decreased the protein’s apoptotic function. Glucose consumption and lactate production increased by mutated cells compared to wild type. Conclusions Mutant p53 is overexpressed in ovarian cancer cells. DNA binding domain mutations modify the protein’s transcriptional activity, whereas proline rich domain mutations decrease the protein’s apoptotic activity. Glycolysis is affected differently in both types.
Beaver canals and their environmental effects

Beaver canals and their environmental effects are much less studied than beaver dams, despite being widespread in some beaver-inhabited areas. In this study, we completed a systematic review of pre...
Drosophila macrophages switch to aerobic glycolysis to mount effective antibacterial defense.

Macrophages are the immune system's first line of defense against infection. These immune cells can be found in all tissues and organs, watching for signs of disease-causing agents and targeting them for destruction. Maintaining macrophages costs energy, so to minimize waste, these cells spend most of their lives in 'low power mode'. When macrophages sense harmful bacteria, they rapidly awaken and trigger a series of immune events that protect the body from infection. However, to perform these protective tasks macrophages need a sudden surge in energy. In mammals, activated macrophages get their energy from aerobic glycolysis – a series of chemical reactions normally reserved for low oxygen environments. Switching on this metabolic process requires a protein called hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF-1 α), which switches on the genes that macrophages need to generate energy as quickly as possible. Macrophages then maintain their energy supply by sending out chemical signals which divert glucose away from the rest of the body. Fruit flies are regularly used as a model system for studying human disease, as the mechanisms they use to defend themselves from infections are similar to human immune cells. However, it remains unclear whether their macrophages undergo the same metabolic changes during an infection. To address this question, Krejcova et al. isolated macrophages from fruit flies that had been infected with bacteria. Experiments studying the metabolism of these cells revealed that, just like human macrophages, they responded to bacteria by taking in more glucose and generating energy via aerobic glycolysis. The macrophages of these flies were also found to draw in energy from the rest of the body by raising blood sugar levels and depleting stores of glucose. Similar to human macrophages, these metabolic changes depended on HIF1α, and flies without this protein were unable to secure the level of energy needed to effectively fight off the bacteria. These findings suggest that this metabolic switch to aerobic glycolysis is a conserved mechanism that both insects and mammals use to fight off infections. This means in the future fruit flies could be used as a model organism for studying diseases associated with macrophage mis-activation, such as chronic inflammation and autoimmune diseases.
North Carolina Stroke Prevention and Treatment Facilities Survey Statewide Availability of Programs and Services

Background/Purpose —The aim of this study was to determine the statewide availability of facilities and programs for stroke prevention and treatment to identify underserved regions and target educational efforts. Methods —A single-page survey was mailed to the directors of each inpatient medical facility in North Carolina. Data collected included the availability of selected diagnostic tests, programs, and services. Facilities were categorized as providing basic (emergency department, brain CT, treatment with rtPA, transthoracic echocardiography, carotid ultrasonography, cerebral angiography, carotid endarterectomy) or advanced (basic services plus brain MRI, MR angiography, transesophageal echocardiography, transcranial Doppler ultrasonography, interventional radiology) services. The availability of other programs and services, including having a neurologist on staff, organized anticoagulation clinics, inpatient rehabilitative services, diffusion-weighted MRI, community awareness and rapid stroke identification programs, stroke teams, stroke acute care units or an equivalent, and the use of stroke-care maps, were also determined. Results —Complete responses were obtained from all of the state’s 125 inpatient medical facilities. Overall, 97% of the state’s population resided in counties with a hospital providing at least some stroke prevention or treatment procedures or services. Full basic services were provided by 23 facilities located in 19 of the state’s 100 counties and were available to 52% of the state’s population based on county of residence; advanced services were provided by 8 facilities located in 7 counties and were available to 26% of the state’s population based on county of residence. Stroke-care maps were used in 83% of basic or advanced centers versus 23% of other hospitals ( P P =0.001), stroke units or equivalents were available in 61% versus 9% ( P P P =0.005). Conclusions —Only 52% of the state’s population reside in counties with hospitals providing full basic services; by expanding these services to only 6 additional facilities and thereby encompassing the state’s 50 most populous counties, this proportion would be increased to 84%. Services that may improve outcomes and reduce costs (eg, stroke teams, stroke units, care maps) are not widely used, even in centers with full basic capabilities. Targeting educational efforts to these centers could improve the overall level of stroke care for the majority of the state’s population. The study serves as a model that can be applied to other states and regions.
Salience, supervenience, and layer cakes in sellars's scientific realism, McDowell's moral realism, and the philosophy of mind

Etude de la critique de la conception stratifiee de la science chez Sellars. Examinant les contreparties empiriques des lois theoriques, l'A. rapproche la philosophie de l'esprit de Sellars a la these du projectionnisme moral chez McDowell, concernant la problematique de la survenance naturaliste et de la survenance microphysique.
Free-standing bilayered vanadium oxide films synthesized by liquid exfoliation of chemically preintercalated δ-LixV2O5·nH2O

A free-standing film composed of bilayered vanadium oxide nanoflakes is for the first time synthesized using a new low-energy process. The precursor powder, δ-LixV2O5·nH2O, was prepared using a simple sol–gel based chemical preintercalation synthesis procedure. δ-LixV2O5·nH2O was dispersed and probe sonicated in N-methyl pyrrolidone to exfoliate the bilayers followed by vacuum filtration resulting in the formation of a free-standing film with obsidian color. X-ray diffraction showed lamellar ordering of a single-phase material with a decreased interlayer distance compared to that of the precursor powder. Scanning electron microscopy images demonstrated stacking of the individual nanoflakes. This morphology was further confirmed with scanning transmission electron microscopy that showed highly malleable nanoflakes consisting of ∼10–100 vanadium oxide bilayers. One of the most important consequences of this morphological rearrangement is that the electronic conductivity of the free-standing film, measured by the four-probe method, increased by an order of magnitude compared to conductivity of the pressed pellet made of precursor powder. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements showed the coexistence of both V5+ and V4+ oxidation states in the exfoliated sample, possibly contributing to the change in electronic conductivity. The developed approach provides the ability to maintain the phase purity and crystallographic order during the exfoliation process, coupled with the formation of a free-standing film of enhanced conductivity. The produced bilayered vanadium oxide nanoflakes can be used as the building blocks for the synthesis of versatile two-dimensional heterostructures to create innovative electrodes for electrochemical energy storage applications.
Bromodomain protein BRD4 directs and sustains CD8 T cell differentiation during infection

In response to infection, pathogen-specific CD8 T cells differentiate into functionally diverse effector and memory T cell populations critical for resolving disease and providing durable immunity. Through small-molecule inhibition, RNAi studies, and induced genetic deletion, we reveal an essential role for the chromatin modifier and BET family member BRD4 in supporting the differentiation and maintenance of terminally fated effector CD8 T cells during infection. BRD4 bound diverse regulatory regions critical to effector T cell differentiation and controlled transcriptional activity of terminal effector-specific super-enhancers in vivo. Consequentially, induced deletion of Brd4 or small molecule-mediated BET inhibition impaired maintenance of a terminal effector T cell phenotype. BRD4 was also required for terminal differentiation of CD8 T cells in the tumor microenvironment in murine models, which we show has implications for immunotherapies. Taken together, these data reveal an unappreciated requirement for BRD4 in coordinating activity of cis regulatory elements to control CD8 T cell fate and lineage stability.
Psychological Distress and Quality of Life in Participants Undergoing Genetic Testing for Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy Caused by TMEM43 p.S358L: Is It Time to Offer Population-Based Genetic Screening?

PURPOSE We have identified 27 families in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) with the founder variant TMEM43 p.S358L responsible for 1 form of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. Current screening guidelines rely solely on cascade genetic screening, which may result in unrecognized, high-risk carriers who would benefit from preemptive implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapy. This pilot study explored the acceptability among subjects to TMEM43 p.S358L population-based genetic screening (PBGS) in this Canadian province. METHODS A prospective cohort study assessed attitudes, psychological distress, and health-related quality of life (QOL) in unselected individuals who underwent genetic screening for the TMEM43 p.S358L variant. Participants (n = 73) were recruited via advertisements and completed 2 surveys at baseline, 6 months, and 1 year which measured health-related QOL (SF-36v2) and psychological distress (Impact of Events Scale). RESULTS No variant-positive carriers were identified. Of those screened through a telephone questionnaire, >95% felt positive about population-genetic screening for TMEM43 p.S358L, though 68% reported some degree of anxiety after seeing the advertisement. There were no significant changes in health-related QOL or psychological distress scores over the study period. CONCLUSION Despite some initial anxiety, we show support for PBGS among research subjects who screened negative for the TMEM43 p.S358L variant in NL. These findings have implications for future PBGS programs in the province.
Agriculture Employment and the Role of AI in Improving Productivity

Explanations on the importance of the agricultural sector in the economy as economic growth progresses have benefitted greatly from the dual sector theory of Arthur Lewis. In this theory, the modern service or industrial sector utilizes the surplus labor in the agricultural or primary sector as its source of growth, along with the capital generated by the investment of savings, to expand its production and thus the gross output of the economy [1]. As the services or industrial (modern) sector expands in importance, there is a concomitant reduction in the percentage contribution to gross output by the agricultural sector (please see Table 6.1). This growth process thus generally requires the movement of labor from rural areas to urban areas with a decline of the rural population as a percentage of the national population. Paradoxically, the rural population and percentage of agriculture employment to total employment play an important role in the growth of agriculture. In the following figure, you can observe employment change trend in the agriculture (decline) and service industries (increase).
New Inotropic Agents

Left ventricular dysfunction after myocardial infarction has become widely recognized as the single most important determinant of survival in patients with coronary artery disease (1–4). Patients with chronic congestive heart failure (CHF) and coronary artery disease have a decidedly worse prognosis than patients without CHF, and mortality is greater in patients with severe symptoms (NYHA Class IV) than in those with mild or moderate symptoms (Class I, II, III) (1). In addition, prognosis can be further shown to be related to the severity of certain hemodynamic indexes of left ventricular function, including mean arterial pressure, left ventricular filling pressure, systemic vascular resistance, right atrial pressure, ejection fraction and stroke work index (2–4). Hence, any therapy directed at either improving the functional class or indexes of left ventricular function in patients with coronary artery disease and CHF has the potential to improve longterm prognosis.
Climate Prediction and Weather Forecasting

Agricultural science is often directed towards an identified application or need. However, a goal of application does not ensure a successful science program. For example, since 1989, the US spent approximately $2 billion dollars per year on climate change research that purportedly aimed to support decisions. However, there is little evidence that it produced a commensurate amount of useable information (Pielke Jr. and Sarewitz 2003), due to problems of legislative ambiguity, models of scientific thought and a tenuous relationship between the realities of modeling and needed information (see also Chaps. IV.3, IV.9 and IV.17). Unlike some other fields, such as theoretical physics or astronomy, agricultural and meteorological research have not historically been disconnected from concerns of application and use. However, creating linkages between research programs intended for decision support and benefit to societal actors, including agricultural producers and decision makers, is fraught with complexities of context, ideology, and institutional design.
“Micro to macro (M2M)”—A novel approach for intravenous delivery of propofol

Abstract Purpose Propofol emulsions have limited shelf life and safety concerns for injection. Microemulsions of propofol are thermodynamically stable and simpler to manufacture, but cause additional pain on injection. We propose a novel micro to macro (M2M) approach of destabilizing a microemulsion immediately prior to injection. Methods Microemulsions of propofol were prepared at two to three times the drug loadings of commercial formulations. We determined suitable microemulsion compositions which destabilize into macroemulsions after two or three fold dilutions with water. Droplet growth after dilution was measured with dynamic light scattering. Increasing solution turbidity after dilution was also measured optically with millisecond resolution. Experimental data was analyzed in the context of a coalescence model. Results Microemulsions rapidly coalesce into larger droplet size macroemulsions after dilution according to the phase diagram shift. The resulting macroemulsions are metastable retaining their droplet size for several hours. Droplet growth occurs on the order of seconds and a metastable size of about 1 micron is reached in minutes. Rates of droplet growth and metastable droplet sizes depend on the surfactant composition. The coalescence model predicts droplet growth with good agreement but only after accounting for the finite probability of coalescence from each collision. Conclusions The M2M concept has been demonstrated for the anesthetic drug propofol which may improve stability and manufacturability in addition to reducing pain on injection. This approach could be adapted to other hydrophobic vesicant drugs as well.
Simple Tasks, Abstractions, and Semantic Dispositionalism

According to certain kinds of semantic dispositionalism, what an agent means by her words is grounded by her dispositions to complete simple tasks. This sort of position is often thought to avoid the finitude problem raised by Kripke against simpler forms of dispositionalism. The traditional objection is that, since words possess indefinite (or infinite) extensions, and our dispositions to use words are only finite, those dispositions prove inadequate to serve as ground for what we mean by our words. I argue that, even if such positions (emphasizing simple tasks) avoid the traditional form of Kripke's charge, they still succumb to special cases of the finitude problem. Furthermore, I show how such positions can be augmented so as to avoid even these special cases. Doing so requires qualifying the dispositions of interest as those possessed by the abstracted version of an actual agent (in contrast to, say, an idealized version of the agent). In addition to avoiding the finitude problem in its various forms, the position that results provides new materials for appreciating the role that abstracting models can play for a dispositionalist theory of meaning.
9 Influenza: An Emerging Microbial Pathogen

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the different aspects of influenza. The highly contagious, acute respiratory illness known as “influenza” appears to have afflicted humans since ancient times. The sudden appearances of respiratory diseases that persist for a few weeks and equally suddenly disappear are sufficiently characteristic to permit the identification of a number of major epidemics in the distant past. Retrospective seroepidemiological analysis, also known as “seroarcheology,” suggests that the influenza epidemic in humans in 1889 and 1890 was caused by a virus antigenically similar to more contemporary Asian strains. The structure of influenza viruses of types A and B is similar, whereas influenza C reveals a different pattern of surface projections. The influenza viruses are unique among the respiratory tract viruses in that they undergo significant antigenic variation. Both of the surface antigens of the influenza A viruses undergo two types of antigenic variation: antigenic drift and antigenic shift. Antigenic drift involves minor antigenic changes in the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA), whereas shift involves major antigenic changes in these molecules resulting from the replacement of the gene segment.
Bioethics of Cloning

The bioethics of cloning includes a range of discussions in law, philosophy, medicine, social policy and animal and human rights. The bioethical debates about cloning have focused mainly on human cloning for research and reproduction. All the types of cloning are explained and bioethical concerns for each are identified. A non-normative definition of cloning is provided. The concept of moral status is introduced and defences of research cloning and reproductive human cloning are offered. The harm argument and the monozygotic twin analogy are both evaluated as objections and defences of different types of cloning. Additional bioethical concerns relating to plant monoculture, genetically modified foods and climate change are shown to be relevant to the bioethics of cloning. Although a defence of reproductive human cloning is offered, the nearly worldwide ban on human reproductive cloning makes it unlikely that cloning will become a common practice. Key Concepts A diploid nucleus contains a full compliment of genetic material, genes, from both a paternal and maternal parent. Cloning is an asexually produced copy of a pre-existing genetic sequence, cell or individual organism. SCT or nuclear cell somatic transfer is the fusion or insertion of a diploid nucleus into an egg (oocyte) and is sometimes referred to as SCNT (somatic cell nuclear transfer). Blastomeres occur after the zygote divides into a two-celled organism, and remains a balstomere until the 16–32 cell state at which point it becomes a mourla. Cellular compaction and differentiation occurs at different points in embryonic development for different species, but the basic point is that the cells of the embryo cleave together at some point and begin to specialise into the particular kinds of cells they are gong to be. Enucleated eggs are eggs which have their nucleus removed for either implanting a new nucleus or using the removed nucleus. Totipotent, pluripotent and multipotent cells are the three kinds of cells in the human body, where totipotent cells can give rise to any differentiated cell in the body, pluripotent cells can become most cells in the body and multipotent cells can become a subset of the special differentiated cells. Keywords: bioethics; cloning; moral status; research techniques; human reproduction
Implementation and sustainability of statewide transition support services for youth with intellectual and physical disabilities

Purpose Significant gaps in care and limited existing models establish the need to innovate systems of care for youth with special health care needs in the transition between pediatric to adult health care settings. Methods Using implementation science, a statewide transition support program was created. University and community partners explored needs and adopted a strategic plan and funding sources. The existing consensus statement provided a framework. A team was hired, policies were piloted and the initial ambulatory consultative transition service for youth with special needs ages 11 to 22 was launched. Full program activities during year four were analyzed. Results During 2011, there were 139 consultations for youth with intellectual disability and/or physical disability (average 16.74 years, 46% female). Services include routine and focused co-morbidity screening and recommendations, care coordination of complex health and community service needs, and support for families. The evolving transdisciplinary team adapted their methods to collaborate with a growing population of youth and primary care providers. Conclusion A statewide transition support program is a viable delivery model to provide needed resources for youth, families and primary care practices. Weekly improvement meetings continue to adapt services to sustain family satisfaction and community provider satisfaction.
Temporal analysis of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) performance based on remotely sensed precipitation products

No study has systematically evaluated streamflow modelling between monthly and daily time scales. This study examines streamflow from seven watersheds across the USA where five different precipitation products were used as primary input into the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to generate simulated streamflow. Time scales examined include monthly, dekad (10 days), pentad (5 days), triad (3 days), and daily. The seven basins studied are the San Pedro (Arizona), Cimarron (north-central Oklahoma), mid-Nueces (south Texas), mid-Rio Grande (south Texas and northern Mexico), Yocano (northern Mississippi), Alapaha (south Georgia), and mid-St. Francis (eastern Arkansas). The precipitation products used to drive simulations include rain gauge, NWS Multisensor Precipitation Estimator, Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM), Multi-Satellite Precipitation Analysis, TRMM 3B42-V6, and Climate Prediction Center Morphing Method (CMORPH). Understanding how streamflow varies at sub-monthly time scales is important because there are a host of hydrological applications such a flood forecast guidance and reservoir inflow forecasts that reside in a temporal domain between monthly and daily time scales. The major finding of this study is the quantification of a strong positive correlation between performance metrics and time step at which model performance deteriorates. Better performing simulations, with higher Nash–Sutcliffe values of 0.80 and above can support modeling at finer time scales to at least daily and perhaps beyond into the sub-daily realm. These findings are significant in that they clearly document the ability of SWAT to support modeling at sub-monthly time steps, which is beyond the capability for which SWAT was initially designed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Gender Differences in Delinquency and Juvenile Justice Processing Evidence From National Data

This article traces the historical coverage of the gender issue in the criminological literature. It also provides contemporary empirical evidence about differences and similarities between girls and boys with respect to juvenile crime and to processing by the juvenile justice system, by analyzing several national juvenile crime data series, all of which have been recently updated. This research has produced numerous results that indicate that female and male delinquents possess more similarities than differences concerning arrest rates, arrest statistics, juvenile court data, and juvenile corrections data.
THREE BY TWO: TWO AUTHORS, TWO VOLUMES, BUT THREE BOOKS

LEE, J. M. PALLONE, N. J Guidance and Counseling in Schools: Foundations and Processes. LEE, J. M. AND PALLONE, N. J. (EDS.) Readings in Grdidance and Conmeling.
The KOSI experiments

Whipply's icy conglomerate model of the comet nucleus has enjoyed progressively increasing acceptance and success in explaining Earth-based observations of comets since its very inception (Whipple, 1950, 1951). According to this model, the nucleus is a solid body composed of frozen gases and dust. The missions to Comet Halley in 1986, in particular the Vega and the Giotto missions, have confirmed that there is a single solid nucleus that is the root of all the observed phenomena that can be associated with an active comet. Two new comet mission (CRAF and Rosetta) are planned by NASA and ESA to extract further details about the structure and composition of the nucleus. Laboratory experiments play an important role in defining and identifying the objectives of these missions. Although such experiments have been carried out in many laboratories in Europe, the Soviet Union, the USA, Israel, and Japan, the KOSI experiments are the first large-scale investigations (in spatial dimensions and duration). (KOSI is an acronym for Kometensimulation, German for comet simulation). Starting with a summary and explanation of the KOSI experiments by Grun et al. (1991) and some of the experimental limitations by Keller and Markiewicz (1991), the author reports in this specialmore » issue the progress achieved about halfway through the planned series of investigations.« less
Genericity and structural stability of non-degenerate differential Nash equilibria

We show that non-degenerate differential Nash equilibria are generic among local Nash equilibria in games with smooth costs and continuous strategy spaces, and demonstrate that such equilibria are structurally stable with respect to smooth perturbations in player costs. This implies that second-order conditions suffice to characterize local Nash equilibria in an open-dense set of games where player costs are smooth functions. Furthermore, equilibria that are computable using decoupled myopic approximate best-response persist under perturbations to the cost functions of individual players.
Coupled-mode analysis of periodic dielectric waveguides

Abstract The coupled-mode formalism is used to describe the behavior of a corrugated dielectric waveguide. Explicit expressions for the dispersion near the Bragg regime are given. These are compared with the results of an “exact” analysis.
Absence of soluble leptin receptor in plasma from dbPas/dbPas and other db/db mice.

The leptin receptor (Ob-R) is alternatively spliced into at least five different RNAs designated Ob-R(a-e). Ob-R(a-d) predict receptors with a single transmembrane domain, and Ob-Re predicts a secreted form of the receptor. The presence of an ∼120-kDa soluble leptin receptor in mouse plasma was confirmed by precipitation with leptin-Sepharose beads followed by immunobloting with anti-leptin receptor antibodies. The soluble leptin receptor is larger than that predicted by the primary sequence. Deglycosylation of the receptor with peptide N:glycosidase F results in a decrease in molecular mass to a size consistent with that of the primary sequence. The secreted receptor was present in plasma from wild type mice but was truncated in plasma fromdb 3J /db 3J and absent indb Pas /db Pas plasma. Although db 3J /db 3J mice are known to have a frameshift mutation at amino acid 625, the basis for the mutation indb Pas /db Pas mice was not known. Further studies indicated thatdb Pas /db Pas mice carry a duplication of exons 4 and 5 of Ob-R. This mutation introduces a premature stop codon into the protein at amino acid 281. The absence of Ob-R in db 3J /db 3J and db Pas /db Pas mice confirm the identify of the 120-kDa plasma protein as Ob-Re.
Environmental influences on milk constituents.

Abstract The influence of some major environmental factors on milk composition was investigated in 2,936 complete lactations, from nine Holstein herds in the North Carolina Institutional Breeding Association. Ratio extension factors for incomplete lactations were developed for milk yield and percentages of fat, protein, and PLM (protein-lactose-mineral). Age at freshening accounted for 21.7, 14.3, 5.3, and 1.9% of the variance in milk yield and PLM, protein, and fat per cent, respectively, on a within-herd-year-season-sire basis. Days open prior to conception accounted for 6.8 and 0.4% of the variance in milk yield and PLM per cent, but no significant influence on fat or protein per cent was evident. Differences between month of freshening were significant for milk yield and PLM and protein per cent, but not significant for fat per cent. The two six-month seasons, November to April and May to October, account for most of the seasonal variation in milk yield and milk composition. Cows freshening in November through April had the highest average milk yield; whereas, cows freshening from May through October had the highest average percentage values for the milk constituents.