cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Acute Effects of Ethanol and the First Suckling Episode in the Newborn Rat

Background: In humans, early postnatal experience with alcohol is far from rare and includes exposure to alcohol through breast milk or through the bottle to attain sedative effects (Croce, 1987). Exposure to alcohol though mother's milk alters the infant's suckling behavior. However, acute effects of alcohol on suckling behavior using animal models remain to be investigated. Methods: The present study was designed to examine the effects of neonatal alcohol exposure on attachment to a surrogate nipple and ingestion of milk in rat pups, nafve both to suckling and to maternal care. Cesarean-delivered rat pups were pre-exposed to four dosages of ethanol (0, 1, 2, and 3 g/kg intragastrically) and tested 30 min after ethanol administration. Results: Suckling behavior was impaired only in pups exposed to a dosage of 3 g/kg of ethanol. Pups in this group demonstrated longer latency to attach followed by less efficient suckling–the pups maintained contact with the nipple but showed decreased ingestion of milk from it. Pups treated with 1 g/kg of ethanol showed the greatest suckling efficiency, ingesting far more milk per minute attached to the surrogate nipple than pups in all other groups. At the same time, nonevoked motor activity was significantly suppressed by all three dosages of ethanol. Blood alcohol levels showed a linear relationship with dose at 30 min postintubation. Conclusions: These findings suggest a dissociation between acute ethanol effects on suckling and overall motor activity, with suckling apparently less sensitive to suppressive and more sensitive to activating effects of ethanol.
Stochastic multivariable control: A polynomial equation approach

A new technique to design optimal multivariable controllers is presented for stochastic plants described by rational transfer matrices. The objective is to minimize a weighted sum of the steady-state variances at the plant input and output subject to the asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system. The technique is based on polynomial matrices. Essentially, the design procedure is reduced to solving a linear matrix polynomial equation whose coefficient matrices are obtained by spectral factorization. The solution of this equation then directly yields the optimal controller transfer matrix as well as the associated minimum cost. The reported approach is relatively simple, computationally attractive, and lays bare the necessary and sufficient conditions for the optimal controller to exist. It is general enough to handle problems that cannot always be addressed by standard time-domain LQG techniques, such as problems involving plants with improper transfer matrices and/or singular noise intensities and weighting matrices.
Low-Flow Motion in the Vascular Ocean

Much like the ebb and tide of the seas, most physiologic functions are observed to operate in balance; a constant yin and yang of biology operates to maintain the body in careful equilibrium, yet the realm of vascular biology has focused mostly on the ability of vessels to dilate in an effort to improve the supply of flow to demanding tissues. It is only fitting and appropriately balanced that new data now support the concept of the endothelium and vascular wall directing constriction to low-flow territories. Moreover, we just might be able to harness the ability of vessels to appropriately constrict as a measure of endothelial health. Despite the fact that the notion of low-flow mediated constriction (L-FMC) has been intermittently studied over the past decades,1,2 and recently been reprised in the cardiac literature,3 relatively little is known regarding the mechanisms behind this phenomenon, let alone their potential clinical implications. In this issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions , Dawson et al4 present new data showing that vascular injury—potentially secondary to denudation of the endothelium or smooth-muscle cell injury—following a radial access approach impairs both endothelial-dependent dilation and L-FMC, and moreover, that this can be ameliorated with subsequent isometric handgrip exercise training. This complex study design and provocative set of results not only implicates a potential mechanism for L-FMC, but also provides a relatively safe and easy treatment for an increasingly common complication seen in interventional practice. Article see p 713 The present study by Dawson et al essentially combines 2 separate experiments to effectively underscore the importance of the endothelium in L-FMC. The first experiment follows 32 patients immediately before a radial approach to percutaneous coronary intervention and then 1 day after, to measure vascular reactivity to reactive hyperemia in both the catheterized arm and …
Phosphorylation by Casein Kinase I promotes the turnover of the Mdm2 oncoprotein via the SCFβ-TRCP ubiquitin ligase

Summary Mdm2 is the major negative regulator of the p53 pathway. Here, we report that Mdm2 is rapidly degraded after DNA damage and that phosphorylation of Mdm2 by casein kinase I (CKI) at multiple sites triggers its interaction with, and subsequent ubiquitination and destruction, by SCF β-TRCP . Inactivation of either β-TRCP or CKI results in accumulation of Mdm2 and decreased p53 activity, and resistance to apoptosis induced by DNA damaging agents. Moreover, SCF β-TRCP -dependent Mdm2 turnover also contributes to the control of repeated p53 pulses in response to persistent DNA damage. Our results provide insight into the signaling pathways controlling Mdm2 destruction and further suggest that compromised regulation of Mdm2 results in attenuated p53 activity, thereby facilitating tumor progression.
Reflectance characteristics of reference materials used in lidar hard target calibration

Lidar hard target calibration is discussed, emphasizing the transfer target methodology. Characteristics of example calibration target surfaces are described in light of the four reflectance mechanisms: specular, diffuse, retroreflection, and off-specular reflectance. This ideal transfer target is one which can be described as entirely diffusely reflecting, i.e., Lambertian. Correction for retroreflection is required when using the flowers of sulfur transfer target at CO(2) laser wavelengths. Corrections for specular and retroreflection for the integrating sphere are negligible; however, the off-specular reflectance of rough metal surfaces used in the integrating spheres is only qualitatively compared with the diffuse reflectance of flowers of sulfur.
Dynamics of strongly interacting Fermi gases of atoms in a harmonic trap

Dynamics of strongly interacting trapped dilute Fermi gases is investigated at zero temperature. As an example of application we consider the expansion of the cloud of fermions initially confined in an anisotropic harmonic trap, and study the equation of state dependence of the radii of the trapped cloud and the collective oscillations in the vicinity of a Feshbach resonance.
Education on Sexually Transmitted Infections: Finding Common Ground among Youth, Parents, Providers and Policy Advocates.

Outcomes from sex education are shaped not only by the knowledge and attitudes of youth but also by groups influential in young people's lives. American youth bear one of the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the industrialized world. Four constituencies with important roles in communicating about STIs are youth, parents, healthcare providers and policy advocates of sex education. This paper aims to understand the attitudes held by these key groups and to ascertain common ground. Eight focus groups were conducted with: youth 15–23 years old (n = 20), parents of youth 10–19 years old (n = 18), healthcare providers (n = 17), and advocates working with national policymakers (n = 6). Participants discussed the issue of STIs in youth within both individual and societal contexts: the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of individual youth – Ignorance, Exploration, Peer Pressure, Denial, and Indifference; and the influence of segments of society that could affect decisions by youth – Sex ...
A 3 μW, 400 MHz divide-by-5 injection-locked frequency divider with 56% lock range in 90nm CMOS

An ultra-low power injection locked frequency divider (ILFD) is presented and demonstrated. Based on a 5-stage single ended ring oscillator, the ILFD achieves a lock range of 56% at a division ratio of 5 in the medical implant communications service (MICS) and the 433 MHz ISM frequency bands. The ILFD is implemented in a 90 nm CMOS process. It consumes 3 muW of power from a 1.0 V supply and 100 mum2 of area. The circuit achieves a frequency divider figure-of-merit of 134 GHz/mW.
AN EPISTEMIC LOGIC WITH QUANTIFICATION OVER NAMES

Sentential theories of belief hold that propositions (the things that agents believe and know) are sentences of a representation language. To analyze quantification into the scope of attitudes, these theories require a naming map-a function that maps objects to their names in the representation language. Epistemic logics based on sentential theories usually assume a single naming map, which is built into the logic. I argue that to describe everyday knowledge, the user of the logic must be able to define new naming maps for particular problems. Since the range of a naming map is usually an infinite set of names, defining a map requires quantification over names. This paper describes an epistemic logic with quantification over names, presents a theorem-proving algorithm based on translation to first-order logic, and proves soundness and completeness. The first version of the logic suffers from the problem of logical omniscience ; a second version avoids this problem, and soundness and completeness are proved for this version also.
DNA Damages Processed by Base Excision Repair: Biological Consequences

Base damages, sugar damages, and single-strand breaks produced by free radicals are the preponderant lesions produced in DNA by ionizing radiation. These lesions have been individually introduced into substrate, template, and biologically active DNA molecules and enzymatic processing and biological consequences determined. Free radical-induced DNA lesions are processed by base excision repair and many are potentially lethal in simple viral systems. Furthermore, a number of free radical modifications of purine and pyrimidine bases are premutagenic lesions. The results of the enzymatic and biological processing of a number of the more well-studied and stable lesions are summarized.
An interface-enriched generalized FEM for problems with discontinuous gradient fields

SUMMARY A new generalized FEM is introduced for solving problems with discontinuous gradient fields. The method relies on enrichment functions associated with generalized degrees of freedom at the nodes generated from the intersection of the phase interface with element edges. The proposed approach has several advantages over conventional generalized FEM formulations, such as a lower computational cost, easier implementation, and straightforward handling of Dirichlet boundary conditions. A detailed convergence study of the proposed method and a comparison with the standard FEM are presented for heat transfer problems. The method achieves the optimal rate of convergence using meshes that do not conform to the interfaces present in the domain while achieving a level of accuracy comparable to that of the standard FEM with conforming meshes. Various application problems are presented, including the conjugate heat transfer problem encountered in microvascular materials. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Texture of cooked potatoes: Relationship between the compressive strength of cooked potato disks and release of pectic substances

In experiments where the interaction of starch and cell size were kept to a minimum by taking identical material for each experiment (disks from the same tuber), the loss of compressive strength of potato tissue on cooking was found to be related to the release of pectic substances into the cooking liquor. This relationship was found to hold true whether large differences in compressive strength were produced by cooking the disks in water for varying lengths of time or by cooking disks in solutions of calcium or potassium chloride for fixed times. The release of starch into the cooking liquor was not related to loss of compressive strength when the results of a number of experiments from disks from the same tuber were compared. Increased cooking time, or the presence of potassium chloride in the cooking solution, reduced compressive strength and increased the amount of pectic substances released. The presence of calcium chloride had the reverse effect. It was not clear whether the effects of calcium chloride were due to calcium per se or the pH of the solutions after cooking, which were inversely related to calcium chloride concentration.
Time Series Analysis of Monte Carlo Fission Sources - III: Coarse-Mesh Projection

A coarse-mesh projection method has been developed for the Monte Carlo calculation of dominant eigenvalue ratio [dominance ratio (DR)]. The first step of the method consists of the regression analysis of the multivariate time series from the coarse-mesh binning of the Monte Carlo fission source distribution. The second step is computation of the eigenvectors of the adjoint matrix of noise propagation. In general, projections on these eigenvectors can be utilized to compute important characteristics of the eigenmodes of fission source distribution. In this work, it has been proven that if the eigenvector corresponding to the largest eigenvalue of the aforementioned adjoint matrix is taken to be the vector for projection, the projected scalar time series follows the autoregressive process of order one with the root of characteristic polynomial, i.e., the autocorrelation coefficient, being the DR of fission source distribution. Numerical results are presented for four problems including one-energy-group checkerboard-type problems, a one-energy-group cube problem and a continuous-energy pressurized water reactor core problem. The strength of the method is twofold; (a) the elimination of the use of autoregressive moving average fitting, and (b) no need to optimize the order of fitting.
Whither a Coalition? Afro Latino Consciousness, Participation, and Perceptions of Blacks

We examine the experiences of immigrants and naturalized citizens who can define themselves as black, Hispanic, or both in the cities of Boston, Chicago, Miami, and New York City. For this research, I interviewed 198 Afro Cubans in Miami, 74 Dominicans in Boston, 73 Dominicans in Chicago, and 110 Dominicans in New York City. We asked them a variety of question about their racial identity, experiences with discrimination, and perceptions of African Americans and black ethnics. We first wish to ascertain whether Afro Cubans and Dominicans have a shared racial group consciousness with the members of their respective groups and what impact it has on their political participation. Second, what political activities do they frequently engage in and what impact does the presence or absence of group consciousness have on this political participation? Finally, based on their perceptions of black citizens and elected officials, will Afro Cubans and Dominicans contribute to or hamper the ability of African Americans and other blacks to gain political power in these cities?
Accordion arrays

In this work, we present accordion arrays, a straight-forward and effective memory compression technique targeting Unicode-based character arrays. In many non-numeric Java programs, character arrays represent a significant fraction (30-40% on average) of the heap memory allocated. In many locales, most, but not all, of those arrays consist entirely of characters whose top bytes are zeros, and, hence, can be stored as byte arrays without loss of information. In order to get the almost factor of two compression rate for character vectors, two challenges must be overcome: 1) all code that reads and writes character vectors must dynamically determine which kind of array is being accessed and perform byte or character loads/stores as appropriate, and 2) compressed vectors must be dynamically inflated when an incompressible character is written. We demonstrate how these challenges can be overcome with minimal spaceand execution time overhead, resulting in an average speedup of 2% across our benchmark suite, with individual speedups as high as 8%.
How to best treat your patient based on evidence based practice

This article is to help you as nurse practitioner in practice, keep up to date in your knowledge how to best treat the patients based on evidence-based practice (EBP). Achieving the goal of practicing evidence-based health care is not easy. What are the best resources to answer your clinical questions to help you in your clinical practice?
Current-driven phase oscillation and domain-wall propagation in WxV1-xO2 nanobeams.

We report the observation of a current-driven metal (M)−insulator (I) phase oscillation in two-terminal devices incorporating individual WxV1-xO2 nanobeams connected to parallel shunt capacitors. The frequency of the phase oscillation reaches above 5 MHz for ∼1 μm long devices. The M−I phase oscillation, which coincides with the charging/discharging of the capacitor, occurs through the axial drift of a single M−I domain wall driven by Joule heating and the Peltier effect.
Effect of protein supplementation and forage allowance on the growth and reproduction of beef heifers grazing stockpiled tall fescue.

Stockpiled tall fescue can provide adequate winter forage for beef cattle, although unsupplemented replacement heifers may display marginal performance before breeding. The objective of this study was to determine if protein supplementation and/or additional forage improves growth and reproductive performance of replacement heifers grazing stockpiled fescue. Cattle averaging 272 ± 1.59 kg were stratified by BW and then randomly assigned to 1 of 4 plots within a pasture replication. Treatment combinations were assigned in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement and included 1) a conservative forage allocation ("normal," targeting 85% forage use) and mineral supplement (normal forage allocation with mineral supplement [FM]), 2) normal forage allocation with protein tub (FT), 3) more liberal forage allocation ("extra," targeting 70% forage use) and mineral supplement (extra forage allocation with mineral supplement [EM]), and 4) "extra forage allocation with protein tub (ET). Treatments were administered for 8 wk from early November to early January. Heifers were fed fescue hay for 1 wk before breeding in late January. Heifers were synchronized with the 7-d CO-Synch + controlled internal drug release device protocol and inseminated in late January. Heifers were checked for pregnancy by ultrasonography at 35 and 90 d after AI. Main and interaction effects between the 2 treatments were determined. Total supplement intake was greater for protein tub than mineral supplement (0.36 vs. 0.11 kg·heifer·d, respectively; 0.05). Overall, feeding a protein supplement or providing extra forage increased gain and interacted to increase BCS but did not have an effect on reproductive performance. Supplementing with protein and providing extra forage are strategies that can increase gain in heifers, which could aid heifers in reaching puberty before estrous synchronization.
Measurement and Control System of the Plasmatron Plasma Reactor for Recovery of Metals from Printed Circuit Board Waste

The article presents the measurement and control system of plasmatron plasma reactor for utilization and recovery of metals from waste of printed circuit boards built in the Industrial Research Institute for Automation and Measurements in Poland. The plasma reactor is the key component of a test stand developed to conduct research on processing and recovery of metals from used electric and electronic equipment, especially from electronic printed circuit boards. The system allows, recording multiparametric measurements realized in real time and time-correlated, visualization of current values of measurements and states by means of SCADA software. Besides main functions of data acquisition and visualization, the system allows local and remote control of operation of reactor subsystems. Analysis of measurement chain is presented for the key parameter of reactor work, which is temperature measurement inside the reactor. Standard uncertainty of measurement of the temperature is evaluated and in this case equal to 5 °C.
Modeling the WorldView-derived seasonal velocity evolution of Kennicott Glacier, Alaska

Glacier basal motion generates diurnal to multi-annual fluctuations in glacier velocity and mass flux. Understanding these fluctuations is important for prediction of future sea-level rise and for gaining insight into glacier physics and erosion. Here, we derive glacier velocity through cross-correlation of WorldView satellite imagery to document the evolution of ice surface velocity on Kennicott Glacier, Alaska, over the 2013 melt season. The summer speedup is spatially uniform over a ~12 km2 area, over which the spring velocity varies significantly. Velocity increases by 1.4-fold to tenfold across the study domain, with larger values where spring velocities are low. To investigate the cross-glacier distribution of basal motion required to explain the observed surface speedup, we employ a two-dimensional cross-sectional glacier flow model. We find the model is insensitive to the spatial distribution of basal slip because stress gradient ice coupling diffuses the surface expression of the basal velocity field. While the temporal evolution of the subglacial hydrologic system is critical for predicting a glacier's response to meltwater inputs, our work suggests that glacier and ice-sheet models do not require a detailed representation of subglacial hydrology to accurately capture the spatial pattern of glacier speedup.
High-Throughput Analysis of Gene Expression

Microarrays are widely regarded both for side-by-side comparisons of two or more samples and as remarkable tools for high-throughput screening. A microarray, also known simply as an array or a gene chip, is typically a glass slide, a silicon wafer, or even a plastic substrate upon which very large numbers of individual gene sequences have been permanently applied. Microarrays were originally developed for the assay of mRNA expression from various biological sources. Microarrays are considered high-throughput tools though they are not especially quantitative. Candidate genes are generally identified by high-throughput microarray analysis; more refined quantitative gene expression data results from ensuing real-time PCR. Heat maps are one of the most useful methods for reporting data that often represent many samples, many genes, or both. A heat map is a graphical two-dimensional representation of microarray data in which the values of the data are represented in color. The most obvious advantage of microarray-based profiling of gene expression is the ability to assay very large numbers of genes in a single hybridization experiment. As a result of this rapid analysis of literally thousands of genes, microarray data are now being used to implicate specific genes and gene relays in the onset and progression of various diseases. The basic steps performed in a typical microarray analysis are acquisition of the microarray, isolation of high-quality RNA, cDNA synthesis, linkage of fluorescent dyes, purification of Cy-labeled probes, microarray hybridization, acquisition of data from the microarray slide or the filter, and determination of the biological significance and relevance of data.
Design of a new multi-projection imaging system for chest radiography

Overlapping anatomical structures may confound detection of lung nodules in conventional projection chest radiography. To alleviate the visual clutter due to overlying anatomy, a dedicated digital multi-projection system for chest imaging was recently developed at the Radiology Department of Duke University. The system has a translating X-ray tube and acquires multiple projections of the same patient in rapid succession from slightly different angles about the posterior- anterior (PA) orientation. Geometric correlation information across these multiple projections is used to positively identify suspicious nodules and reduce false alarms. The unique feature of this system is that it can acquire images along both the horizontal and vertical axes and is therefore capable of traversing an arbitrary trajectory on a plane parallel to the detector. We are reporting the physical design considerations in the development of the multi-projection imaging system and the initial performance in our ongoing clinical trials using the system. Future application in correlation imaging and stereoscopic imaging are also noted.
Aspects of Weak Interactions between Folate and Glycine Betaine

Folate, or vitamin B9, is an important compound in one-carbon metabolism. Previous studies have found weaker binding of dihydrofolate to dihydrofolate reductase in the presence of osmolytes. In other words, osmolytes are more difficult to remove from the dihydrofolate solvation shell than water; this shifts the equilibrium toward the free ligand and protein species. This study uses vapor-pressure osmometry to explore the interaction of folate with the model osmolyte, glycine betaine. This method yields a preferential interaction potential (μ23/RT value). This value is concentration-dependent as folate dimerizes. The μ23/RT value also tracks the deprotonation of folate’s N3–O4 keto–enol group, yielding a pKa of 8.1. To determine which folate atoms interact most strongly with betaine, the interaction of heterocyclic aromatic compounds (as well as other small molecules) with betaine was monitored. Using an accessible surface area approach coupled with osmometry measurements, deconvolution of the μ23/RT value...
Global and Local Citizens and the Creation of a Teaching Community at CSU

I still vividly recall the first words spoken by the then director of the ELC in 2004 to the foreign teachers at a welcome dinner after we had arrived at CSU on complimentary air tickets: “Welcome to China, you have come to reform English language teaching.” Few of us had lived in China or could speak Mandarin Chinese fluently at the time, let alone had any knowledge of Cantonese or any other local dialects; it was simply the case that our education and cultural backgrounds gave us the expertise to come as reformers to CSU. As further investigated in this chapter, these internationalizing desires and emphasis on foreign teachers as reformers would come to have complex effects on the teaching identities, classroom practices, and community-building of CSU teachers. In keeping with the goal of this book, which is to move away from entrenched dichotomies and modes of analysis, this first data chapter further introduces the CSU context through an analysis of local and foreign relationships both inside and outside the classroom. Specifically, this chapter examines the tensions inherent in the national and local English-teaching policies summarized in Chap. 1, and the simultaneous local and global influences and orientations of CSU teachers, students, and administrators.
Constructing and Implementing Transgender Policy for Public Administration

Sex and gender are increasingly complex topics that prompt new policy and administrative responses within public agencies. As the federal workforce evolves, federal employment policy must accommodate the needs of employees who do not fit traditional sex/gender categories. One emerging area of policy targets transgender employees, particularly policy that guides the employer response throughout the transitioning process. This research seeks to answer the following questions: How can transitioning policy and implementation within federal agencies affect employees? and How should transitioning policy be crafted and implemented? This work addresses organizational behavior and management issues by presenting a successful case of a workplace transition. Interviews of an administrator guiding the transitioning process and one of the first federal employees to complete a transition while in a federal field office are conducted. Ultimately, this research explores challenges with emergent policy and suggests avenue...
VE/VCO2 IS A POWERFUL PREDICTOR OF MORTALITY IN WILD-TYPE TRANSTHYRETIN AMYLOIDOSIS

Background: Wild-type transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRwt) results in a progressive cardiomyopathy (CMY). The utility of cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX) in determining prognosis in ATTRwt CMY is unknown. Given the recent emergence of novel drug therapies to treat ATTRwt, we investigated the
Characteristics of compatible pair participants in kidney paired donation at a single center

Compatible pairs of living kidney donors and their intended recipients can enter into kidney paired donation (KPD) and facilitate additional living donor kidney transplants (LDKTs). We examined 11 compatible pairs (the intended recipients and their intended, compatible donors) who participated in KPD, along with the recipients' 11 matched, exchange donors. The 11 pairs participated in 10 separate exchanges (three were multicenter exchanges) that included 33 total LDKTs (22 additional LDKTs). All the intended donors were blood group O and female, with a mean living kidney donor profile index (LKDPI) of 27.6 (SD 16.8). The matched donors had a mean LKDPI of 9.4 (SD 31.7). Compatible pairs entered KPD for altruistic reasons (N=2) or due to mismatch of age (N=7) or body/kidney size (N=2) between the recipient and intended donor. In four cases, retrospective calculation of the LKDPI revealed that the matched donor had a higher LKDPI than the intended donor. Of the 22 recipients of LDKTs enabled by the compatible pairs, three were highly sensitized, with PRA >80%. In conclusion, most compatible pairs entered into KPD so that the recipient could receive a LDKT transplant from a donor whose age or body/kidney size were more favorable to post-transplant outcomes.
Mabel D’Amico (1909-1998): Reminiscences From the Past

From the 1920s through the 1940s, a number of artist-teachers developed methods of creative self-expression in their teaching. The life and teachings of artist and art educator Mabel D’Amico (1909-1998), wife of Museum of Modern Art museum educator Victor D’Amico, are considered within this context. This article attempts to construct an educational biography of Mabel D’Amico using oral history as a primary method. While Victor D’Amico’s story as an art educator has been told, Mabel D’Amico’s story has remained in his shadow. Through her work and personal philosophy Mabel D’Amico attempted to create closer relationships among her students, the school, and the students’ home and community. Thus, understanding Mabel D’Amico’s life as an artist and an educator can be a powerful way to uncover hidden histories of artist-teachers and women leaders from the era of pedagogical progressives in art education history.
FNA smears of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma are superior to formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue as a source of DNA: Comparison of targeted KRAS amplification and genotyping in matched preresection and postresection samples

Background The current study was conducted to compare DNA yield, including normalization to nuclear area, DNA amplification functionality, and detection of KRAS mutations between matched fine-needle aspiration (FNA) specimens and pancreatic resections diagnostic of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Methods A retrospective sample of 30 matched single FNA smears and macrodissected formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) curls (2 5-μm curls) were compared by measuring the following: nuclear area (via digital image analysis), DNA yield (via NanoDrop spectrophotometry and Quantus fluorometry), and polymerase chain reaction threshold cycles for KRAS amplifications. Variants in KRAS codons 12/13 and 61 were detected by fluorescent melt curve analyses, followed by Sanger DNA sequencing. Results Despite a similar nuclear area, FNA smears yielded greater DNA per nuclear area via 2 DNA quantification methods. KRAS codon 12 mutations were detected in 23 of 30 FNA specimens (77%) compared with 17 of 30 matched FFPE specimens (57%), for a concordance rate of 74%. No KRAS codon 13 or 61 mutations were detected. Conclusions FNA specimens are a more optimal source of DNA, and represent an important resource in the preresection and postresection molecular analysis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Cancer Cytopathol 2017;125:838-47. © 2017 American Cancer Society.
Photochemistry and Anion-Controlled Structure of Fe(III) Complexes with an α-Hydroxy Acid-Containing Tripodal Amine Chelate

The tripodal amine chelate with two pyridyl groups and an α-hydroxy acid (AHA) group, Pyr-TPA-AHA, was synthesized. Different Fe(III) complexes form with this chelate depending upon the counterion of the Fe(III) source used in the synthesis. A dinuclear complex, Fe(III)2(Pyr-TPA-AHA)2(μ-O), 1, and mononuclear complexes Fe(III)(Pyr-TPA-AHA)X (X = Cl- or Br-, 2 and 3, respectively) were synthesized. 2 can be easily converted to 1 by addition of silver nitrate or a large excess of water. The structure of 1 was solved by X-ray crystallography (C32H34N6O7Fe2·13H2O, a = 14.1236(6) A, b = 14.1236(6) A, c = 21.7469(15) A, α = β = γ = 90°, tetragonal, P42212, Z = 4). 2 and 3 each have simple quasireversible cyclic voltammograms with E1/2 (vs aqueous Ag/AgCl) = +135 mV for 2 and +470 for 3 in acetonitrile. The cyclic voltammogram for 1 in acetonitrile has a quasireversible feature at E1/2 = -285 mV and an irreversible cathodic feature at -1140 mV. All three complexes are photochemically active upon irradiation with UV light, resulting in cleavage of the AHA group and reduction of the iron to Fe(II). Photolysis of 1 results in reduction of both Fe(III) ions in the dinuclear complex for each AHA group that is cleaved, while photolysis of 2 and 3 results in reduction of a single Fe(III) for each AHA cleavage. The quantum yields for 2 and 3 are significantly higher than that of 1.
Parent and Family Skills Training in Targeted Prevention Programs for At-Risk Youth

The first part of this paper provides an overview for targeted preventive interventions using parent and family skills training with high risk children. The typical format and goals of these programs are presented. Empirically-examined parent training programs have either been delivered to the parents alone, to the parents and children in separate group meetings, or to the parents and children together in sessions for at least part of the time. An overview of findings from research on these programs indicates that these programs have consistent and replicated effects on children's behavior, on parents' improved use of effective discipline strategies, and on improved family functioning.
Clinical Characteristics and Factors Associated With Disability and Impaired Quality of Life in Children With Juvenile Systemic Sclerosis: Results From the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance Legacy Registry

Objective To investigate clinical manifestations of juvenile systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma), including disease characteristics and patient quality of life, using the multinational Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) Legacy Registry. Methods Patients with juvenile SSc were prospectively enrolled between 2010 and 2013. The diagnosis of juvenile SSc was determined by the enrolling pediatric rheumatologist, with the requirement for disease onset prior to age 18 years. Collected data included demographics, disease characteristics, medication exposure, and quality of life metrics. Results In total, 64 patients with juvenile SSc were enrolled a median of 3.6 years after disease onset, which occurred at a median age of 10.3 years. The most common organ manifestations were dermatologic and vascular, followed by musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, and pulmonary; in 38% of patients, ≥4 organ systems were affected. Patients with juvenile SSc had significantly more disability at enrollment compared with CARRA Legacy Registry patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, dermatomyositis, or systemic lupus erythematosus. Although physician-reported measures correlated most closely with arthritis, dermatologic manifestations, and pulmonary manifestations, poor patient-reported measures were associated with gastrointestinal involvement. During >50 person-years of follow-up, most organ manifestations remained stable, and no mortality or development of new solid organ involvement after enrollment was reported. Conclusion In the first multicenter prospective cohort of patients with juvenile SSc in North America, the disease burden was high: multiorgan manifestations were common, and functional disability was greater than that observed in patients with other childhood-onset rheumatic diseases. Gastrointestinal involvement had the greatest impact on quality of life.
Are the Neck Positions and Muscle Activity Observed when Reading a Tablet Similar to That of the Cervical Flexion-Relaxation Onset?

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS Tablet use has become more common in the workplace and people typically use neck flexion interacting with them. In this position, it is common to observe that the cervical...
- High Temperature Flexible Polyolefins a User's Perspective

This chapter discusses some of the special requirements specific to the medical device and packaging industries. Medical industry always attaches a premium to material's optical clarity. For example, in many primary packaging, prior to administration of the medical fluid to the patient, the nurse is required to inspect visually for particulate matter (PM) contamination. This inspection is required to protect patients against the danger of exposure to the visible contaminants. Another attribute specific to the medical industry is the need to deliver therapies in a sterile manner. Consequently, compatibility with common sterilization methods is necessary. These methods include steam autoclaving, ethylene oxide, and ionizing radiation (either gamma or electron beam). A third requirement that receives increasing attention is the environmental compatibility. Various ways to achieve optically clear thermoplastic elastomeric behavior and high temperature properties are examined in this chapter. The flexible, plasticized PVC is used as a standard of comparison. To attain attributes such as optical clarity, easy processibility, high temperature stability, as well as cost for medical devices, the metallocene catalyzed thermoplastic elastomeric polypropylenes hold a great promise and bright future.
Proof Without Words: An Alternating Sum of Squares

SummaryA visual proof that alternating some of the first n squares counts the number of edges in the complete graph on n + 1 vertices.
Indices for Assessing Copper Nutriture in Animals and Humans

The importance of copper in animal nutrition was first demonstrated by feeding a diet (milk) low in copper (1). Copper deficiency also developed in human infants fed diets similar to those employed for inducing copper deficiency states in experimental animals (2,3,4). Although the importance of adequate copper content of animal diets has long been recognized, only recently has the importance of adequate dietary copper for humans received renewed interest. Indeed, the recommendation of a “safe and adequate” daily dietary intake of 2–3 mg by the Food and Nutrition Board of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1980 (5) has resulted in increased attention to methods for assessing copper status in both animals and humans.
Suicidal Ideation Assessment in Individuals with Premanifest and Manifest Huntington Disease.

BACKGROUND Huntington disease (HD) is associated with increased risk of suicide. OBJECTIVE This study compares suicide ideation in HD to the general population, assesses factors associated with increased prevalence of suicidal thoughts, and compares clinician-rated to self-reported assessments of suicidal ideation. METHODS We examined 496 participants with premanifest or manifest HD. Clinician-rated suicidal ideation was measured using the Problem Behaviors Assessment - short form. Self-reported ideation was measured using two items from the HDQLIFE Concern with Death and Dying item bank. Independent sample t-tests were conducted to compare the prevalence of suicidal thoughts between our HD sample and the U.S. POPULATION Logistic regression analyses were used to determine characteristics associated with higher odds of clinically significant suicidal ideation. Kappa agreement coefficients were calculated to evaluate concurrence between clinician-rated and self-reported assessments. RESULTS Our sample had a significantly higher occurrence of suicidal ideation (19.76%) and suicidal plans (2.1%) than the general population (p < 0.0001). Odds of clinically significant suicidal ideation were 6.8 times higher in females (p = 0.04) on the clinician measure, and Hispanic/Latinos had 10.9 times higher odds than non-Hispanics (p = 0.025) on the self-report measure. Clinician-rated assessment had fair agreement (k = 0.2-0.4) with self-reported assessments, except in early stage HD where there was no overlap in the identification of participants with clinically significant suicidal ideation. DISCUSSION Assessment for suicidal ideation and clinically significant suicidal thoughts in HD with a multimodal approach that includes clinician-rated and self-report measures is critical at all stages of the disease.
A unified figure of merit for interband and intersubband cascade devices

Abstract By exploring a semi-empirical model, the saturation current density J0 is identified to manifest the significant difference in carrier lifetime between interband cascade devices (ICDs) and intersubband quantum cascade devices (QCDs). Based on this model, the values of J0 have been extracted for a large number of ICDs and QCDs from their current-voltage characteristics at room temperature. By analyzing and comparing available ICD and QCD data, we demonstrate how J0 can be used as a unified figure of merit to evaluate both interband and intersubband cascade configurations for their device functionality. The significance of J0 on the performances of mid-infrared detectors and photovoltaic cells is illustrated by comparing the measured detectivity (D*) and the estimated open-circuit voltage (Voc), respectively. From extracted values of J0, which are more than one order of magnitude lower in ICDs than that in QCDs with similar transition energies in active regions, and discussion of the consequences on device performance, the advantages of interband cascade configurations over intersubband quantum cascade configurations have been clearly revealed based on the same framework. The overall picture for both QCDs and ICDs sheds light from the perspective of a united figure of merit, which will provide useful guidance and stimulation to the future development of both ICDs and QCDs.
Security Analysis of Mobile Money Applications on Android

Mobile Money Applications are thriving due to the ease and convenience it brings to people, where it offers to transfer money between people's bank accounts/cards with a few taps on a smartphone either in the form of Mobile Banking or Mobile Payment Services. However, a key challenge with gaining user adoption of mobile banking and payments is the customer's lack of confidence in the security of the services, and that makes much sense because whenever people grant service access to their debit/credit cards or bank accounts that automatically opens the door for identity thefts, fraudulent transactions, and stolen money. Add to that, the fact that already people and developers are not giving much attention to the security aspect of the applications. This paper consists of two parts: first, an intensive security analysis on a selection of different mobile banking and mobile payment applications on Android platform where 80% of the selected applications were found not following the best security measures. And second, a thorough step by step Android security testing guide in the form of this paper to ease the process of security testing any Android application to be used by developers, ethical hackers, and anyone interested in testing the security of any application.
Stochastic Composite Convex Minimization with Affine Constraints

This paper presents the basic ingredients of a novel method, the stochastic Fejer-monotone hybrid steepest descent method S-FM-HSDM), designed to solve affinely constrained and composite convex minimization tasks. The minimization task is not known exactly; noise contaminates the information about the composite loss function and the affine constraints. S-FM-HSDM generates sequences of random variables that, under certain conditions and with respect to a probability space, converge pointwise to solutions of the noiseless minimization task. S-FM-HSDM enjoys desirable attributes of state-of-the-art stochastic-approximation techniques such as splitting of variables and constant step size (learning rate). Furthermore, it provides a novel way of exploiting the information about the affine constraints via fixed-point sets of appropriate mappings. Among the offsprings of S-FM-HSDM, the hierarchical recursive least squares (HRLS) takes advantage of S-FM-HSDM’s versatility toward affine constraints and offers a novel twist to LS by generating sequences of estimates that converge to solutions of a hierarchical optimization task: Minimize a convex loss over the set of minimizers of the ensemble least-squares loss. Numerical tests on a synthetic $\ell_{1}$-norm regularized LS task show that HRLS compares favorably to several state-of-the-art convex, as well as non-convex, stochastic-approximation and online-learning counterparts.
P93 Utilizing Sensory Evaluation Methodology in Recipe Development for Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)

Background Federal programs such as EFNEP provide nutrition education for limited resource consumers. A component of the nutrition education often includes the inclusion of recipes which are provided to increase healthy eating behaviors among targeted audiences. Currently, there is limited information regarding sensory evaluation of recipes targeted to limited resource consumers. Objective To utilize sensory evaluation methodology to assess acceptability including overall liking (OL) and liking of specific sensory attributes (appearance, flavor, texture) for 16 recipes taught and demonstrated through the University of Georgia EFNEP Food Talk nutrition education curriculum. Study Design, Settings, Participants A total of 872 EFNEP eligible Georgian adults who participate in the Food Talk Nutrition Education Curriculum conducted sensory evaluation on sixteen existing recipes through the EFNEP Food Talk curriculum. Recipes were prepared following standardized instructions for consistency of preparation and portion size. Measurable Outcome/Analysis Sensory evaluation used the traditional nine-point hedonic scale to evaluate OL and specified sensory attributes (1= dislike extremely, 5 = neither like nor dislike, and 9 = like extremely). Standard range of acceptability for a recipe is ≥ 7.0. OL based on recipe title, and purchasing intent of recipe ingredients were also measured. Results Recipes with the highest acceptability ratings were fruit-based recipes (Fruit Smoothie, mean OL = 7.67, flavor = 7.56, texture = 7.54; Crunchy Apple Salad, mean OL = 7.97, flavor = 8.18, texture = 8.02). Recipes with the lowest acceptability ratings were Easy Cheesy Broccoli Soup (mean OL = 6.63, flavor = 6.51, texture = 6.64) and Curly Noodle Supreme (mean OL = 6.11, flavor = 5.58, texture = 6.56). Conclusion Study findings suggest sensory evaluation should be a part of any nutrition education curriculum designed to improve diet quality through the introduction of new recipes and recipe modifications to promoted meaningful behavior change within the nation's most vulnerable populations. Funding None.